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HARD WICKE'S

SCIENCE-GOSSIP

For 1867.

HARDWICKE'S

AN ILLUSTRATED MEDIUM OF INTERCHANGE AND GOSSIP

FOR STUDENTS AND

LOVERS OF NATURE.

Edited by M. C. COOKE,

AUTHOR OF "A PLAIN AND EASY ACCOUNT OF THE BRITISH FUNGI," "MICROSCOPIC FUNGI,"

"A MANUAL OF BOTANICAL TERMS," AND OF "STRUCTURAL BOTANY," THE

"BRITISH REPTILES," "A FERN BOOK FOR EVERYB )DY," ETC. ETC.

LONDON:
ROBERT HARDWICKE, 192, PICCADILLY.

1868.

WYMAN AND SONS,

ORIENTAL, CLASSICAL, AND GENERAL PRINTERS,

GREAT QUEEN STREET, LONDON, W.C.

) o5 r3

WINTEE WOEK.

" Look on Nature as a volume
Ever open to inspection,
In which characters are written
By the Hand of the Almighty :
Reverently turn its pages."

NjjT HE reign of Winter

is now fairly begun;
and the naturalist,
who has occupied
the preceding
months in the
study of the won-
ders presented to
his eye in the
world around him, begins
to find a diminution in
their number. Not that
nothing is left to engage
his attention. Myriads of
Fungi, of bright and varied
hues, spring up in the wood
and on the hedgebank ;
a few hardy Wild Flowers
brave the inclement season ;
and underground, many an
Insect is awaiting the re-
turn of genial weather to
assume its perfect state.
To such naturalists as are
also collectors, the want of active employment in
searching after additions to their store is often a
most welcome " rest from their labours." The
Botanist delights in a long winter evening, when he
can bring out his treasured specimens from their
various hiding-places in music-books or old news-
papers, to transfer them neatly to their destined
foolscap ; and the Entomologist has always his
insects to arrange or re-arrange, to select specimens
for "exchange," or fight his battles over again—
in describing to a correspondent how he captured
Edusa flying over a clover-field, or how his supposed
Cabbage Butterfly proved to be a Bath White !
No. 25.

No : the Winter is no dead time for the collector —
rather is it a time for additional exertion in-doors,
compensating for the comparative inactivity with-
out.

But, besides these, there are many who have not
time or inclination to do more than cursorily inspect
the works of Nature — who have noticed many of
their beauties during the summer months, and,
having neither insects to arrange nor plants to
mount, still do not wish to lose altogether the
memory of the enjoyment of their country walks.
They know too little to enable them to appreciate
scientific works, and Natural History books which
are at once cheap and good are " few and far
between ; " and yet they would like to keep up and
add to the little information they have already
gained, so that another season may find them more
prepared to observe and admire. The question,
then, is : Can we provide a means by which infor-
mation may be pleasantly gained at a time unfavour-
able for the examination of natural objects in their
most perfect state ? In answer, it may be said that,
to a certain extent, this is possible ; and the follow-
ing suggestions for so doing are offered in the hope
that they may prove useful to at least a few of our
readers.

In many of our larger towns, and in not a few
villages, there exists a Natural History Society, the
members of which meet during the summer months
for rambles in different parts of their district, with
a view to increasing their knowledge of the natural
objects which it contains. It is gratifying to learn
that such societies are greatly on the increase ; but
it is to be regretted that many of them confine their
investigations to the summer months, remaining
(like many of the objects of their study) dormant
during the winter. Where such a society is fairly

B

2

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Jan. 1, 1867.

established, the meetings should be held as regularly
in winter as in summer; and personal experience
testifies that they are even better attended. In such
a case, the staff of the society is responsible for the
management of the meetings, &c. ; but our hints
are intended more especially for those who have no
such assistance.

In most places there is at least one person who
takes an interest in Nature's works, Very probably
he is in humble circumstances ; in all likelihood he
is considered harmlessly insane by his compeers, or,
as they would phrase it, " a button short ! " There
are also usually two or three more, who use their
eyes, and know something of the habits of birds,
insects, or plants. If these three or four would
meet together, and talk the matter over, they could
arrange affairs according to their own convenience ;
and, all being straightforward, we may suppose
them to agree in inviting as many people as they
think likely to come, to attend at such a place on
such a night. In villages it is always easy to hire a
room for such a purpose at a trifling cost ; and in
them, as in towns, one or more of the parties inte-
rested will, in all probability, be able to lend a room
or rooms, on one occasion at least. Where practi-
cable, the sociability of the evening is much
enhanced by having tea or coffee handed round
before the real proceedings begin. The conversation
which then arises serves to place at their ease those
who might otherwise be prevented by shyness from
taking part in the business of the evening. Indeed
our experience leads us to believe that naturalists
seldom find any difficulty in conversing with one
another when once the ice is broken ; and the
pursuit of Nature is so truly Catholic that Church-
man and Dissenter, Papist and Protestant, can
alike join in it without any fear of treading upon
one another's (mental) corns. The humanising
influence of Natural History is certainly not the
least of its many charms ; and it is pleasant to
notice how the instinctive good-feeling, which all
true naturalists possess, enables them to avoid
topics which are likely to be in any way distasteful
to those with whom they are temporarily associated.
In towns the tea is frequently provided at the ex-
pense of the lender of the room, but this of course
cannot be expected ; and the small cost is easily
defrayed by a proportionately small contribution
from each present.

Having thus supposed that all preliminary diffi-
culties have been surmounted, and that our friends
are comfortably gathered together, the next question
is, what to provide for their amusement ? It is well
to start with the definite principle that the evening
is to be devoted solely to Natural History, and that
objects of vertu or art, however beautiful or interest-
ing in themselves, must consequently for this occa-
sion be left unnoticed. In this respect some little
judgment is necessary ; for people willing to assist,

but lacking objects suitable for exhibition, will offer
for inspection a collection of coins, or some curiosi-
ties from China, or a volume of portraits— all
extremely interesting, no doubt, but quite out of
place at a Natural History meeting ; and it is
sometimes difficult to refuse without giving offence
to the would-be lenders. We must not, however,
particularise too minutely as to the objects exhi-
bited, lest we be reminded of the old adage,
" Beggars must not be choosers ; " but we would
suggest that the first place should be given to
specimens connected with the district in which the
meeting is held, and the next to those which are
furnished by other parts of the British Isles. Cases
of Birds or Insects (especially the latter) are attract-
ive objects to many, both on account of their varied
and beautiful colours, and because they may be
looked at without any great trouble on the part of
the inspector. Dried Plants, which require to be
turned over with care, and lose so much of their
beauty when pressed, are seldom much noticed,
with the exception, however, of Perns, which are
more frequently appreciated. A Microscope, if avail-
able, and if presided over by one well "up " in its
use, will be found to excite considerable interest ;
and a few nicely-illustrated books (relating, of
course, to natural objects) may be placed upon the
table. As many specimens as possible should be
exhibited in a living state. Slow-worms, Toads, and
other reptiles may be temporarily domiciled in glass
globes (which may be borrowed for the occasion, at
a trifling expense, from any china-shop) ; and
Water-beetles, Pishes, and other aquatic objects,
may be shown in a similar manner. Specimens of
the few plants to be found in flower, the common
Perns and Mosses, and various forms of Pungi —
all these should be pressed into service. The one
great advantage gained by the exhibition of such
objects is, that they, by their presence, furnish and
suggest appropriate subjects for conversation ; but,
in addition, it is always as well to have at least one
short paper read by some one present, upon some
local or interesting natural production. This should
be as much as possible original : the writer should
speak from his own individual knowledge — and
makes a break in the evening, besides affording
further material for conversation. The simpler the
style of language employed, the better. In the
succeeding discussion, many . facts may be elicited
which, though perhaps trivial in themselves, all
go to perfecting the links of Nature's endless
chain.

Such are a few of the ideas which arise upon this
subject, most of which have had the test of success
applied to them, and have stood it well. Imperfect
as they are, they may suggest to some a course of
action as yet new to them ; while others may, from
their own experience, add further hints, which may
prove yet more useful. B.

Jax. 1, 1S67.]

HAKDWICKB'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

AN INTERESTING EVENT.

"On the 24th day of November, 1866, at the Zoological
Gardens, Regent's Park, London, the wife of Polar Bear, Esq.,
of a son and daughter."

fTlEE receipt of this important intelligence induced
-*- me to start at once from my residence, situate in
the southern part of the metropolis, for the " Zoo."
— Why do I employ the abbreviation ? Because the
heaviest of heavy swells always say they are going
to "do the Zoo.," and I like to follow the example
of my betters. It may be as well to state, that I
possess a lawful right and privilege to append three
important letters to my otherwise unobtrusive name.
E.Z.S. gives to it an outward show of importance,
not to be lightly estimated. I deem it expedient to
state this fact, because it will in some measure
account for my anxiety to see the twins, to which I
have a sort of paternal right. More than this I
cannot visit the nursery of a Lady Polar-bear, in her
home amidst the bergs and floes, so I do the next
best thing within my reach, which is to get a peep
at the infant bruins in their snug room at the Zoo-
logical Gardens, a plan by the way in every respect
much safer and immeasurably more comfortable.

As very few persons are admitted to the domestic
sanctuary wherein the babies of Madam Bear are
deposited, I am induced to believe there are many
readers of Science Gossip, who will feel interested
in hearing about them. Assuming this desire for
information concerning bear babies to exist, — and I
see no reason why Polar bears' infants should not
obtain a share of public attention, — I shall commence
by stating that having discovered Mr. Bartlett, the
intelligent superintendent, the next item in the pro-
gramme was to proceed to a small room behind the
Aquarium House. The door being securely locked
we had to await the advent of the keeper, who, as
he let me pass in, confidentially whispered into my
ear, " they (meaning the infant bears) are a sleeping
quite comfortable ; " and so they were, nevertheless
there was nothing cherub like about the slumberers,
neither did I feel at all impressed with any very
exalted ideas of the beauty of infantile bruins.
Gazing upon the twain, I could recall nothing to
my remembrance to which they bore so apt a
similitude as kittens, when, dead and dripping
wet, these slaughtered innocents are dragged from
out the pail in which they have been drowned.
Before giving a more detailed description of the
young bears, I had better put the reader in posses-
sion of a few links in their brief history. When
Madam Bear was observed to be ill, she was con-
tinually watched by a keeper equipped with a
scraper affixed to a long handle, and immediately
each infant appeared in the world it was scraped out
of the den, rolled in flannel, and carried as rapidly as
possible to he house I am now visiting. Here a small
rough-haiied terrier was in waiting to become their

foster-mother; the terrier had just produced a litter
of pups, all of winch, excepting one, were removed
from her. She took kindly to the strange children,
although it was very evident her instincts were
sorely tried to comprehend the change. The Mamma
Bear is a badly disposed, unnatural old parent ; twice
before she has had cubs whilst a resident in the
Gardens, and on both occasions they were lost. I am
told when her children become fat and substantial
she devours them. In order to frustrate such Sa-
turnine propensities this time, the cubs are to be
reared, if possible, by a less savage mother.

Now the reader will the better comprehend how it
came about that I saw on entering the room a terrier,
small in size, coiled up in a box before the fire, and
nestling close to her, two young white bears and a
black puppy. What completely "staggered me, was
the tiny size of the bear-cubs. The terrier was a
remarkably small one, and her pup more than
usually diminutive, even for that class of mongrel ;
nevertheless, the puppy was considerably larger
than either of the cubs, notwithstanding the age of
each was about the same. I measured the cubs,
and the extreme length from the nose to the root of
the tail was barely nine inches, whereas the mother
is over six feet ; and, roughly speaking, the young
bears would not weigh more than a few ounces,
whilst the parent would turn the scale at seven
hundred weight ; there are instances recorded of
Polar bears weighing sixteen hundred pounds. In
colour the infants were of a pinkish white, the pink
cast being attributable to the thinness of the hair
permitting the skin to show through, the ears were
quite bare, and gave one the idea of being two fleshy
teats. The only thing about these quaint little crea-
tures that in the remotest degree suggested theirbear
descent was, that all four feet were armed with well
developed claws, and the foot itself had the wide
flat look of that belonging to a Plantigrade animal.
The eyes firmly closed, will not be opened, if
the creatures live, for fifteen days. Not the least
singular part of these singular little cubs was
discoverable in the construction of their mouths,
the gape of which for such small animals appeared to
be preposterous, and the tongue was doubled in at
the edges, so as to form a kind of tube, in which the
teat lay during the act of sucking. Like babies
higher in the scale of creation, they grew cross and
clamorous if their tiny foster-mother mt>ved, or in
any way disturbed them ; and it seemed to me these
baby bruins proved, even at this early stage of their
existence, that " cross as a bear " is an adage having
in it a good slice of truth, and I shall adopt it for
the future with a firmer confidence in the aptness
of its application to un-amiable human kind from
babies upwards, than I have been wont to do hereto-
fore. The cusious noise the little bears make sorely
bothers the terrier, and in some degree frightens
her into the bargain ; what she thinks about it is

b 2

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Jan. 1, 1867.

more than I can tell, but this I know, she dislikes
to hear them, and I feel sure it is often an open
question with mamma-terrier whether to abandon or
bite the ' noisy chits is the better plan of pro-
ceeding.

Why the cubs of the Bear family (for the same
fact holds good in its application to the entire
race as it does to the Polar Bear) should be so
remarkably diminutive in proportion to the parent
is a matter worthy of serious consideration. I can-
not help thinking the remarkably small size of the
cubs accounts for the fact, and fact I know from
long experience it is, viz., that hunters very rarely
kill a female bear in cub. Now it occurs to
me, having seen these infant Polars, that female
bears may be frequently killed in this interesting
condition, and the embryo be so small as to escape
a hunter's observation ; and at or near to the time
of birth the female bear hides, and does not re-
appear until from two to three months after the
cubs are born, during which time she neither eats
nor drinks, but suckles her cubs whilst in a quasi-
state of hybernation. She lives during that period
upon the material supplied her by the absorption of
her own fat and tissues.

The habits of the Polar Bear, apart from its
aquatic and carnivorous propensities, differ entirely
from those of the North American, Brown, and
Black Bears. The latter hybemate during the
colder months of winter ; the former, although
subject to perpetual Arctic cold, never does. The
female Polar Bear when in cub retires about
the month of November, and hides in a cave,
or in some secure retreat deep beneath the snow ;
in December, so say the Esquimaux, she brings
forth two cubs. This, as far as dates are concerned,
tallies nearly with the birth I have just recorded in
the Zoological Gardens. Thus concealed, and with-
out tasting food of any description, the Mamma
Bear carries on her maternal duties until the month
of April in the year following ; she then quits her
nursery, thin, savage, and terribly exhausted, but
running at her heels are two cubs, by this time as
large as good-sized dogs. These, her children, she
teaches to feed on seal and fish, to swim, to hunt,
and to become fitted for and presentable to the best
society in bear-land. This duty accomplished, the
mother drives them off to live by their own claws
and teeth as best they can.

Papa Polar Bear, during the retirement of his
•srife, leads that disreputable, roaming, ne'er-do-well
sort of life the lord of creation is always accused
of indulging in— whether deservedly or not, let him
so stigmatised answer— when cast loose upon the
world, freed from the protecting guidance of the
fair. He keeps no regular hours, sleeps anywhere,
dines when it suits his humour, flirts with un-
married lady Polars, indulges in a fight now and
again, just, as the Hibernian says, to keep his hand

in, and altogether does the unbridled bachelor —
mind, I do not say husband ; I tremble to think
what might befall me were I to commit myself to
so rash a statement.

Now if these tiny bears came into the world
larger and more fully developed, would it not
probably happen that, with erratic and disobedient
habits, always inherent in young animals, they
would incautiously quit their nursery too soon, and
get starved to death by cold and hunger ? More than
this, the most pressing desire for food would hardly
tempt the female bear to quit them whilst in a help-
less condition ; but if she found her cubs could
follow her before the snow was gone or food obtain-
able, might she not be tempted to sally forth from
her snug den too soon, and by so doing imperil the
safety of her offspring ? But being so small at
birth, and withal so utterly helpless, it becomes
absolutely necessary that many months should pass
away before the possibility arrives of their being
able to follow the mother.

Twice only in my long experience as hunter and
trapper has it fallen to my lot to see a bear killed in
cub. So rarely does it happen even to Indians who
are always bear-hunting to destroy a female in cub,
that they hold doing it in superstitious dread, and
firmly believe and maintain that he who so destroys a
pregnant female bear will die before the end of a year.
Once during the marking the Boundary line in North
West America it occurred that a bear was killed in
cub ; and in this case the hunter who shot Madam
Bear was an Indian, in the employ of the Commission.
Of course his comrades thought him doomed ; but
as it was not very clear in what manner harm could
befall him, the matter passed away, and I had
almost forgotten it, when, strange to say, the very
Indian who killed the bear was shot dead in a fray
with some gold-washers — a coincidence that the
more firmly established in the red-skins' mind the
truth of their belief.

The time a she-bear carries her young is about
seven months, and I have never seen a bear with
more than two cubs. I am indebted to Mr. Bartlett,
the able superintendent of the Zoological Gardens,
for the knowledge of the singular arrangement
observable in the mamma; or teats of the female
bear. There are six in all ; but four of them are
placed at the posterior part of the abdomen, and
two on the anterior, the latter two being separated
from the posterior four by a wide interval/to all
appearance unprovided with any lacteal glands.
There is some reason for this, but what that may
be, a more intimate acquaintance with the habits of
the beast can only determine.

Eear of occupying space that can be more profit-
ably employed forbids my writing a tithe of what
I should like to write concerning this, to me
most interesting subject. I have, however, been
tempted to offer these somewhat crude speculations

Jan. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

in the pages of Science Gossip in the hope of
inducing some other naturalists or hunters to give
us their theories, or experiences— which is much
better— about bears and their cubs.

I left the baby Polars with a hearty wish, that
during their babyhood " good digestion might wait
on appetite, and health on both."*

John Keast Lokd, F.Z.S.

THE WHITE DODO.

|TT is an interesting though melancholy matter of
-*- observation to the natural historian and the
philosopher, to witness the gradual diminution and
ultimate extinction of various living races from the
surface of the globe. Man himself, the lord of the
creation, is not exempt from this destiny ; but in
some one or other of the numerous branches of the
human family is obliged to yield to the mighty and
various (though, perhaps, little regarded) causes
which are producing such striking results. The
tribes of Red Indians which inhabited Newfound-
land have entirely disappeared within the last fifty
years, and are now only known in the records of the
past ; while their co-genitors of the adjacent conti-
nent are as gradually, though as surely, diminishing
before the progress of the backwoodsman of the
"far west." In Australia, also, the same results
are visible ; for her aboriginal inhabitants are yearly
decreasing, while in Tasmania not one remains.

But it is not our present purpose to enter on the
discussion of the changes which have 'affected the
human family. In the lower orders of animals these
changes are equally marked, and their results,
perhaps, are the more striking because they are
entirely effected by external and unnoticed agencies ;
and it is seldom, until a species has become nearly
extinct, that our attention is called to the matter.
Nor need we go far to seek for these changes, for
in England itself they are rapidly going on.
Macaulay, speaking of the state of the country in
the seventeenth century, says, " The red deer were
then as common in Gloucestershire and Hampshire
as they now are among the Grampian Hills. On
one occasion, Queen Anne on her way to Portsmouth
saw a herd of no less than five hundred. The wild
bull, with his white mane, was still to be found
wandering in a few of the; southern forests. The
badger made his dark and tortuous hole on the side
of every hill where the copsewood grew thick. The
wild cats were frequently heard by night wailing
round the lodges of the rangers of Whittlebury and
Needwood. The yellow-breasted marten was still
pursued in Cranbourne Chase for his fur, reputed
inferior only to that of the sable. Sea eagles,
measuring more than nine feet between the extre-

«.! ^l^sh w^s not real>zed.' Since the above went to press
the baby bears have died.

mities of the wings, preyed on^ fish along the coast
of Norfolk. On all the downs from the British
Channel to Yorkshire, bustards strayed in troops of
fifty or sixty, and were often hunted with greyhounds.
The marshes of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire
were covered during some months of every year by
immense crowds of cranes. Some of these races
the progress of cultivation has extirpated. Of
others, the numbers are so much diminished that
men crowd to gaze at a specimen as at a Bengal
tiger or a polar bear."* The most remarkable
illustration of the changes which have been men-
tioned is that singular bird the Dodo {Didus inept us),
which in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was
numerous in the islands of Mauritius, Rodriguez,
and Bourbon, but is now totally extinct.

Indeed until very recently, a few disjointed and
decaying relics in the British Museum, and in the
Ashmolean Museum, at Oxford, a painting in oil in
the former, and a few rude pictorial representations
in the journals of the early Dutch voyagers, were
nearly all that remained to attest their past ex-
istence. The disappearance of this species is the
more remarkable from its having been comparatively
recent, for from one of the Sloane MSS. in the
British Museum, there is every reason to believe
that, in 1639, a living dodo was exhibited in England.
Yet until the discovery of the head and foot in a
lumber-room in the Museum at Oxford, so myste-
rious and sudden had been its extinction from the
islands where it was alleged to have been found,
that it was almost considered to have been a fabu-
lous creature. The admirable memoir by Dr. Mel-
ville, and the late Mr. Strickland, has, however,
thrown much light on [the subject, proving not only
their existence, but that they .belonged, notwith-
standing their large size and unwieldly flightless
character, to the family of the Columbian, or
Pigeons, and somewhat allied to the genus Treron.
The MS. note to which we have alluded, is by Sir
H.'Lestrange, and is as follows :—" About 1639, as
I walked London streets, I saw7.the picture of a
strange fowle hong out upon a cloth, and myself,
with one or two more in company, went in to see it.
It was kept in a chamber, and was a great 's fowle,
somewhat bigger than the largest turkey cock, and
so legged and footed, but stouter and thicker, and
of a more erected shape, coloured before like the
breast of a young cock fesan, and on the back of
dunn or deare colour. The keeper1 called it a
Dodo." It seems most probable that this very bird
was bought by Tradescant, and on its death was
placed in his museum, for when the latter was pre-
sented to the University of Oxford, by Ashmole, it
contained a perfect stuffed Dodo. There it re-
mained, having become decayed from neglect, until
January 8, 1755, on which day it was ordered by the

History of England." Vol. 1, p. 312.

6

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Jan. 1, 1867.

Vice-Chancellor and his co-trustees to be burnt !
So disappeared the last of the. Dodos, the head and
foot, now in the Aslimolean Museum, being by
accident saved from destruction.

Unwieldly as this bird was, yet it seemed per-
fectly fitted for the position in which it existed. The
island of Mauritius, when the Dutch took possession
of it in 159S, was covered with dense forests of
palms and other fruit trees. Professor Bernhardt
well remarks, "A bird adapted to feed on the fruits
produced by these forests, would, in that equable
climate, have no occasion to migrate to distant
lands ; it would revel in the perpetual luxuriance of
tropical vegetation, and would have but little need
of locomotion. Why, then, should it have the means
of flying ? Such a bird might wander from tree to
tree, tearing with its powerful beak the fruits which
strewed the ground, and digesting their stony
kernels with its powerful gizzard, enjoying tran-
quillity and abundance, until the arrival of man
destroyed the balance of animal life, and put a term
to its existence. Such, in my opinion, was the
Dodo, a colossal, brevipennate, frugivorous pigeon."

Its flesh does not appear to have been very pala-
table, for the Dutch sailors called the bird Walck-
vogels, or disgusting birds, from their toughness.

Much interest has been excited by the discovery
of numerous bones of the Dodo, by Mr. Clark, in a
marsh, on the estate of M. de Bissy, in Mauritius.
This was made so recently as October, 1865, and
strongly proves the truth of the narratives of the
Dutch navigators as to the numbers of the birds
which they found. The Mauritius Commercial
Gazette gives an interesting account of Mr. Clark's
discovery, stating that all the bones have been
found except the toes. Some of these have been
sent to Professor Owen, and are now in the British
Museum, where our readers may see them.

And now for the evidence respecting the existence
of a white Dodo. In the Illustrated London News,
of September, 1856, an engraving appeared of a
white Dodo, and a red-necked goose, accompanied
by the following information : — " When I was stay-
ing with a friend a few days ago, he showed me
some old drawings, which he told me were made by
an artist in Persia, representing birds of that
country. Amongst them was one containing five or
six species of waterfowl, all of them common to the
north of Europe and Asia, well drawn, and accu-
rately coloured, although somewhat faded by age.
The two birds, of which I send you an accurate copy
of the same size as the original, are in the fore-
ground. They represent the Anser ruficoUis (as any
ornithologist will at once recognise), and an unknown
species of Dodo, differing considerably from that
which formerly inhabited the Isles of Bourbon and
Mauritius, in the form and colour of the beak,
wings, and tail plumes, as well as in the texture
and colour of the plumage, but still bearing a strong

general resemblance to it. Its appearance is so
singular, that I should at once have supposed it to
be the creature of the artist's imagination, had it
not been surrounded by a number of other figures
of well-known species; and it is certainly not a
little odd that one purely ideal bird should be intro-
duced amongst a group of real ones. I should be
glad if any of your ornithological correspondents
can throw any light on the matter. The bird figured
in company with this nondescript is an inhabitant
of northern latitudes ; but as it is a bird of passage,
with an extensive range, this does not prove that
the artist intended to intimate that his Dodo was
also a northern bird, though it must have probably
been an inhabitant of a^much cooler climate than
his congener of the Isle of Bourbon.

Hartley Lodge, Parkstern. Wm. W. Coker."

The drawing of the two birds was sent to Mr.
Gould, the ornithologist, who made the following
remarks respecting it:— "The drawing which you
have sent for my inspection is not without interest.
The front figure is a good representation of the
Anser ruficoUis ; the other appears to me to have
been taken from an Albino, or white variety of the
Dodo. Now, as everything pertaining to t his extinct
bird is regarded with great interest, I think it de-
sirable that a drawing of the same size should be
published in the Illustrated London News. The
Anser doubtless sometimes visits Persia; but I
should suppose that the artist had made his sketch
of the Dod<? from a Mauritius or Bourbon specimen,
for we have no evidence that this bird was ever
found elsewhere."

I have lately had an opportunity of examining the
original drawing alluded to, and possess a photo-
graph of it. It is most carefully and minutely
drawn, and coloured in body colours. Besides the
two birds which have been mentioned, the drawing
contains figures of six others, amongst which are
the Tufted Duck {Fuligula cristuta), a Spoonbill,
and a Merganser. To me they are evidently drawn
from life, as all are in most life-like attitudes. In
the left-hand corner of the drawing is the artist's
monogram, " P. W.," which a friend has ascertained
to be that of Pierre Witthoos, who died at Amster-
dam in 1693. The question arises, did the artist
make his drawing in Persia as Mr. Coker's friend
supposes, or was it not more likely to have been
made by Witthoos from menagerie specimens in
Holland? It seems undoubted that living specimens
of the Dodo were taken to Holland by the Dutch
navigators, and there is every reason to believe that
the oil painting in the British Museum was painted
from life. Why not the drawing of the White Dodo
in question ? As Mr. Gould remarks, it is a sub-
ject of much interest, and makes us long to know
something more of the mysterious bird than a mere
glance at its portrait. W. J. Steuland.

Jan. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S' SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

Fig. 1.

I~N the Gentleman's Magazine for August, 1SG6,
-*- appeared au article entitled, " Notes ou a young
Crocodile found in a Farm-yard at Over-Norton,
Oxfordshire," by George K." Wright, E.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 farm-
house 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 dis-
covery : —

"He said, that one morning, in the year 1S5G
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 pre-
sented 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 sug-
gestions 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

8

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Jan. 1, 1SG7.

' Mimiy 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. Yesalius
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 re-
quest 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 tra-
velling 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 1S61 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.

fTHHE 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.1
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 1^ 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 care-
fully attended to the "milky" appearance, com-
plained 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 arrange-
ment after taken out of the liquor potassce, they can
be thoroughly washed in warm water and placed on
the slides in the position they are intended per-
manently 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 con-
taining 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

\

M/V

|A

XI

►v - 1 r

Jan. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

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 opera-
tion I should recommend an old penknife blade with
a sharp point heated in the flame of the spirit lamp,
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 be-
fore the cover is tied on, but with some this is un-
certain, 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 potasses, 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 tnem 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 de-
scribed.

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. Eor this purpose
the older the balsam is the better. After evaporat-
ing 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

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.

MANY persons have heard of these beautiful
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 Diatomacere (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 foimd 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
i-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 dif-
ference 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 animalculse attached ; and
when the weeds are rubbed and stirred about in the
water, they come off and form a cloud of muddiness,

10

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Jan. 1, 1S67.

which is to be allowed to settle, and the water then
poured off and the sediment transferred to an oil-
flask (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 con-
tents, 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,
maybe found the Triceratiumfavus,whichis oneof the
largest of the Diatomacese, and is about the rib-th of
an inch in diameter. It is in the form of an equilateral
triangle, with slightly curved sides. At each comer
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 hexa-
gonal 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 ground-
edged 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 out-
side edge towards the centre, where a clear space
may be observed. Surirella plicata has no resem-
blance 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 Cosci/wdiscus,
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 ser-
pentina is found in great numbers, and is like a card-
case, with four curved lines running from opposite
ends towards the centre. Different kinds of Navi-
culee, or little ships, are to be found by careful
examination ; and they arc 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 open-
ings : 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 else-
where) . 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 i-inch that will show even these may
be considered very good.

JPimularia dactylus is like Surirella constricta,
only much smaller and expanded instead of con-
tracted 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 South-
end 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 sby cutting an orange in half
transversely. Then every alternate triangle you
must suppose to be marked with a different pat-
tern— 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 mark-
ings. 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 Nacicula.

Jan. 1, 1S67J

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

11

Guano, the dry excrement of sea-fowls, is very
rich in objects. One, the Arachnoidisacs, is like a
small and perfect spider's web (whence its name),
with all the colours of the rainbow condensed in it.
A large variety, or indeed two or three varieties, of
the Coscinodiscus are present in considerable num-
bers ; 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 guauo. 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 recom-
mend the use of hydrochloric acid first, and secondly
nitric acid, when the former ceases to act.
With large quantities this would be more econo-
mical ; 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 con-
clusive. 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 every-
one 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 pro-
minences, 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 recog-
nize the forms when found. Andrew Waine.

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

PINE-APPLE.

(A?ianassa sativa.)

" T3INE-APPLE, a penny a-slice!" is a sound
-1- 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 Pingers," 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 Eagin,
yielding fruit twice a-year, which, j 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 j 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 Car-
triofoli, 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 sperma-
tick 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 speci-
mens, 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 pro-
nounce 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 for-
saking the " midnight oil " for— some other " par-
tickler wanitv."

12

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Jan. 1, 1S67.

Eig. 3. PINE APPLE {Ananassa sativa).

Before us lies a list of names by which the pine-
apple is known in about forty languages or dialects,
and the root of the majority of them is the original
South American Nonas; from which the Tamul
Anasa, and the Arabic Anannas, as well as the
generic Latin name, by which the plant is known to
botanists, is derived. There is but little doubt that
America was the original home of the pine-apple,
whence it became introduced into eastern and southern
Asia. How it got into Africa we do not pretend to
explain, nor would we like to assert that it is not

known anywhere on the habitable globe, wherever
the temperature is sufficient for its production.

When Oliver Cromwell ruled in these realms, a
present of pine-apples was one of the things which
fell to his lot, and this was probably the first intro-
duction of the fruit into England, although it was
known on the Continent four years previously. Eour
years afterwards and Evelyn writes of its appear-
ance on the royal table.

But the fruit, however much it may have been
extolled, is not the only good product of this plant.

Jan. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE. GOSSIP.

13

Erom the leaves thereof is procured a fibrous
material known and appreciated by the barbarous
hordes of Africa and the semi-civilized Malays.
The celebrated pine-apple cloth of the Philippines,
resembling the finest muslin, is woven with the
delicate fibres of the uncultivated pine-apple plant.
This muslin is embroidered by the nuns of the con-
vents of Manilla with excellent skill and taste, so
that the " Pina " muslin of the Philippines has be-
come a celebrated article of manufacture. Mr. Ben-
nett has observed in his " Wanderings," that one of
the coarser fibres may be subdivided into filaments
of such fineness as to be barely perceptible, and yet
sufficiently strong for textile purposes.

The Malays use the fibre of the pine-apple to
manufacture their fishing nets, and so plentiful is
the plant in many parts of India and the East, that
it forms immense thickets; and Dr. Heifer says that
the fruit is so abundant in the Tenasserim provinces
that it is sold in Amherst Town during June and
July at the rate of two shillings for a boat load.
"What an inducement for the rapturous devourers of
pine-apples ! Should a Tenasserim Pine-apple
Emigration Company (Limited) become one of the
projects for 1867, we shall not permit the fact to be
forgotten, that its suggestion originated with our-
selves and the New Year.

UP-HILL WORK.

"A/TR- CHARLES BONER has recently pub-
-*■**- lished a very portable and useful little guide to
tourists and mountain-climbers ; and, although this
is not exactly the season when people sling the
" Rucksack " over their shoulders, and grasp the
alpen-stock, with a determination to brave the
dangers of the Wetterhorn, or "do" the Capel
Curig ascent of Snowdon, we are, nevertheless, in-
duced to make our readers acquainted with the
mysteries of the alpen-stock as revealed by the said
Charles Boner, in anticipation of next season.

" Your pole should be of your own height— six
feet, we will say ; light, tough, unbending, and iron-
shod." One who has done a little climbing every
autumn adds that it should be of good,' tough, old,
well-seasoned ash,

" Let your whole body be as quiet as possible,
slightly bending forward, and your pole before you.
Such pole properly used is a great help in going up
a mountain': a great assistance and support. But
if you plant it behind or beside, instead of before
you, thus pushing yourself on, its use will fatigue
rather than otherwise. The staff being in front,
you lean the whole weight of your forward-bending
body upon it — thus quite resting on it— as you
step.

" In coming down a ' Geroll ' (sloping bed of
stones), you will soon get to the bottom. With

your pole behind you, and your body bent back-
ward and leaning upon it, jump on boldly among

the loose stones, with your heels downwards and
the toes well pointed upwards. The weight of your

Fig. 5.

body will carry the mass on which you alight several
feet forwards. The 'Geroll' will slide on like a
miniature landslip, and you slide with it. To go

14

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Jan. 1, 1SC7.

down thus, leaping along, is pleasant enough, and
very speedy ; only be careful to come down on your
heels, which, sinking somewhat in the rubbish, push
it forward. You might sprain your ankle other-
wise. You cannot fall ; for your pole behiud, which
bears your whole weight, keeps you up.

" Always descend with your face turned thither
where you are going. Never go backwards like one
descending a ladder. Should you do so you could
make no use of your pole, and that is certainly of
greater assistance to you than your hands afford by
thus holding the rocks ; for you only thus go back-
wards in order not to relinquish your hold of them ;
besides, your pole would be in your way if you were
to descend in this manner. As was said above, keep
your pole behind you in coming down, never before
you. Neglect of this rule will make your task of
descending doubly difficult.

"In climbing convince yourself that the chief thing
to be considered is whether the spot your foot rests
on he firm. You do not want much space to obtain
a firm footing, .for you may stand well on anything
not larger than the palm of your hand, but it must
be sure. If your head be steady, you may in reality
walk along a ledge not broader than the soles of
your shoes, but then you must have the conviction
that the ground beneath your feet is as firm as the
mountain. Should you have to walk along such
place lean your body inwards.

" Do not look out into space, but keep your eyes
fixed ou the path, however narrow, before you ; for
the grand thing is that the eye have something to
rest on, to seize, and, as it were, to hold by. You
have grown giddy because the range of your vision
had no boundary : it was lost in the indefinite. Let
it be bounded by the small but defined form which
that spot then affording you a footing presents, and
your eye grows at once quieter, for it has again
what its and your nature are accustomed to and
require. In daily life your vision rests at every
second on distinct outlines of things, and you move

among them safely, your eye helping you to avoid
them ; but they also, by your sight finding something
to rest on — to lean upon, as it were — in their turn
give a support and lead you along progressingly.

" On moving over certain ground you cannot help
loosening larger or smaller stones. In such places
do not follow directly behind him who precedes you,
but a little to the side, so that when a stone comes
leaping down it may fly by and not against your
head or shins. Should you loosen a stone, call at
once to those behind to look out, so that they may
jump aside as it comes bounding towards them.
Stones thus sent rolling fly down with terrible force
and inflict serious injury."

In this manner Mr. Boner gives plain and easy
instructions to hill-climbers, in familiar language,
and without affectation. Every paragraph contains

Jan. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

15

some good practical advice, or friendly caution;
and for the inexperienced, who for the first time
emulates to climb a mountain, his little volume is as

\ /if

Fig. 8.

indispensable as the " Rucksack," or the " alpen-
stock," and those who have trodden the rugged path
will doubtless do it better the next time after taking
a little of his advice.

PERILS OE A NATURALIST.

TjmOM a letter by Mr. William Gray (District
-■- Inspector of Public Works in Ireland), pub-
lished in the Belfast Northern Whig of December
15th last, we glean the following singular narrative.
Being in Londonderry on the Wednesday previous,
he resolved to find a correspondent, whom he had
not seen. Not knowing where to find the street he
inquired of a man on the footpath for Pump Street.
This individual not only pointed the way, but offered
to go with Mr. Gray and show him. During the
walk the conductor in " seedy uniform " says that

he is a " harbour-constable." Arrived at the street,
and the number, the name on the door-plate proved
to be some other than the one which Mr. Gray was
seeking ; he resolved, therefore, on returning to his
hotel without further inquiry. The officious con-
ductor steps up to his side, learns the name of the
person sought, and again offers his services, this
time more pressingly, and urge* that it is all on the
way to the hotel. Pulling up at a doorway, they
enter, two or three policemen are standing about,
the conductor inquires for the sergeant, and Mr.
Gray for Mr. Greer for whom he was seeking.
Light then broke in upon him as his " seedy " friend
announced, in not very choice language, " You are
my prisoner ; I arrest you on suspicion ; I charge
you with coming down Pump Street and knocking
at every house you passed." Protestations were
vain, the prisoner was taken into the kitchen of the
police-barrack ; he explained who and what he was,
gave his card, announced his business, and produced
the following letter -. —

" 19, Pump Street, Londonderry, March 2, 1866.

"Dear Sir, — I would take it as a particular favour
if you would let me have a small quantity of the
Diatomaceous earth you refer to in Science Gossip.
I enclose two stamps, and remain yours, &c."

The fact was made clear that he was a naturalist
and had exchanged letters with this gentleman
through the medium of a publication called Science
Gossip, but had never seen his correspondent, and
had been in search of him. By dint of perseverance
he was permitted to go again, under the protection
of two police, in search of his unknown corre-
spondent. This time the search was successful, one
of the police soon presented himself with Mr. Greer.
The latter apologized that since his note was written
the number on the door had been altered. The rain
poured in torrents as the five individuals marched
to see the mayor. This functionary was entertain-
ing a large dinner party, but did attend to his un-
bidden visitors. The "seedy harbour-constable"
made the charge, the prisoner denied, and ulti-
mately it was understood that the mayor was satis-
fied that the prisoner need not be detained, but
should be taken to the head-constable and have his
papers examined, and if he was satisfied Mr. Gray
might be released. The head-constable was not at
home. Eor an hour or more he was waited for. In
the interval Mr. Gray and Mr. Greer had time to
talk over their favourite pursuits. This did not
improve matters with the " harbour-constable," who,
of course, took care to hear all. "Eor," says Mr.
G., " when we talked of the thousands of Diatomacea>.
to be had in my district, the beauty of the Polycysiins,
the movements of Navicular, and the best way of
mounting Algse and Polyzoa, the poor constable
seemed utterly bewildered, and expressed his feel-
ings by saying, ' It was d d quare that fellows

16

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Jan. 1, 1867.

that never knew each other should have so many
acquaintances ; and, look here,' he says to one of
the police, 'there's something quare about this;
just read that word.' 'Well,' says the policeman,
' I am not a great reader, read it yourself.' And
he began to spell — ' di-i-a-t-o-&c.' Observing his
perplexity, I told him that the word was ' Diatoma-
ceous earth,' and if he required to know further, he
must refer to ' Pritchard's Infusoria ' or ' Smith's
Diatomaceae.' He professed to know all that, but
still he was certain 'there was something about it
that required to be explained ! ' " Suffice it to say
that on the return of the head-constable, his ex-
anination of the papers, &c, after some altercation,
to the great annoyance and chagrin of the " harbour-
constable," Mr. Gray obtained his liberty again
between 10 and 11 o'clock at night. We regret
that our space would not allow us to reprint Mr.
Gray's letter in full. It is a most amusing episode,
as good as a farce to any but our unfortunate corre-
spondent.

WHEAT MILDEW (Puccinia graminis).

rTlHE wheat mildew is but too well known in .its
-*- external appearances to all who are interested
in agriculture, to need much description, and even
amongst townsmen there are but few who have not
heard of it, many that on account of its reputation
have made acquaintance with its uninviting exterior.

Fig. 9-

Of its internal and microscopical character very few
of those who know it as a pest have any experience,
and it is with a view to its better acquaintance that
we have selected it for illustration. Early in the
year and whilst the plant is still green the leaves of
wheat and grass become more or less covered with
a bright rust-coloured or orange powder, which
bursts through the cuticle and disperses itself over
the surface of the plant. This is what has been
called the " rust," and is undoubtedly a stage or
condition of the mildew, and if examined micro-

scopically in the autumn the globose or elliptical
spores of the rust (fig. d) will be found in all stages
intermediate between the simple form and the elon-
gated septate spores of the " mildew " (fig. c). The
mature mildew occurs on the yellow straw, and
fading leaves at harvest time, in elongated dark-
brown, almost black sori, or compact tufts, bursting
through the cuticle (fig. a) ; and if a portion is
removed with the point of a penknife and placed
with a drop of water on a slide the tufts will be
seen to be composed (fig. b) of a mass of stalked
spores, each divided transversely by a medial wall or
partition, dividing each spore into two nearly equal
parts, of which the upper is more deeply coloured
than the lower, and blunt or obtuse at the apex.

It was long believed in agricultural districts that
wheat grown in the neighbourhood of Berberry
bushes was sure to be mildewed, and that there was
some mysterious connection between the Berberry
and the mildew. In consequence of this belief the
Berberry was carefully extirpated from the neigh-
bourhood of cornfields. Scarcely more than twelve
months ago Dr. De Bary announced that as the
result of careful experiments he had come to the
conclusion that the parasite (JEcidiurn) of the Ber-
berry was only another condition of the mildew of
the wheat. Although his observations require con-
firmation before they are accepted as incontrovertible
fact, there is every reason to believe that there is a
mysterious link which unites the two parasites.
For many years mycologists have strenuously opposed
the popular belief as a vulgar error, and in 1S13 an
eminent authority in the pages of the " Gardener's
Chronicle " (p. 694) observed, " we should as soon
soon believe that a hen's egg would be hatched into
toads as that the seed of an JEcidium would produce
Uredo or Puccinia." Twenty-one years after this
and there is every probability of its becoming an
admitted fact that Uredo (or Trichobasis) and
JEcidium are the same plants as Puccinia indifferent
conditions of a kind of " alternation of generations."

M. C. C.

ZOOLOGY.

Spidek Poison. — I have read with some interest
the discussion which has appeared from time to
time in the pages of Science Gossip regarding the
poisonous property of the spider. The little article
in a recent number has, I should presume, settled
tYivfact that the .insect is endowed with a poison
apparatus. I have been curious to observe if any
of your readers' experience on this point has been
similar to my own, and as no one has as yet quoted
personal experience, I now venture to state mine.
One summer morning, feeling a smart degree of
irritation about the middle of the forearm, instead
of rubbing the part as one instinctively does, I
cautiously turned up my shirt-sleeve a little, when,

Jan. 1, 1S67.]

HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

17

to my surprise, and^I must also add disgust, a large
black spider [dropped out. Looking at the seat of
irritation, I could not observe the mark of auy
puncture, but there was a red spot at the part
about three-fourths of an inch iu diameter. The
irritation was slight and soon went off. It is not
always safe to use the post hoc propter hoc argument,
but from your late correspondent's description of
the poison-gland, I think that conclusion may now
be considered correct. — G. A. W.

Common Tekn (Sterna Hirundo) .—I succeeded in
shooting a single specimen of the above bird some
short time since in this neighbourhood. With us it
is a very rare visitant ; no doubt it was driven out
of its course by contrary winds which prevailed at
that time. Scores of people were watching it at
the time I shot it. — C. Benny, Kelvedon.

The Baen Owl. — In all old barns a hole may be
observed in the angle of the roof, made on purpose
to allow of the owls flying in and out. It is not
made in the newer barns ; but surely it was more
sensible thus to encourage these great destroyers of
vermin than to shoot them, as both gamekeepers
and farmers now do. — W. B. Tate, Grove Place,
Denmark Hill.

Swallows and the Choleba. — A correspondent
whose signature is familiar to the readers of Science
Gossip, draws attention to the fact that these birds
deserted those districts affected by the fatal scourge,
and I venture to suggest a reason for their doing so.
Swallows are insect-feeders, and I have noticed
that on the appearance of cholera, flies and other
insects decrease ; may not this account for the de-
parture of the birds ? It was a long time ago, the
first advent of cholera that I remember, and persons
were far more nervous about it then than they are
at present. I was a very little girl, but can well re-
collect remarks to the effect that, " the cholera had
not reached us, because the flies were as numerous
as ever:" it having been observed that in those
towns where the plague raged, there was not a fly
to be seen. — Helen E. Watney.

Galls on the Elm. — At a meeting of the En-
tomological Society (November 5th), Mr. E. Smith
exhibited some large galls formed by Aphides, and
found at Deal, on the elm. On the 24th of July
last, Mr. R. McLachlan observed numbers of these
galls on some elms on the banks of the Thames,
near Hampton Court. Each was at, or near, the
extremity of a twig. In size they varied from that
of a walnut to that of a medium-sized potato, of an
irregular shape, green externally, turning to rosy on
the side exposed to the sun. They were hollow,
and each had a large hole on one side. Internally
they were half full of liquid. Mr. McLachlan con-
siders that the insect which produces the gall is
Schizoneura gallarum-ulmi of De Geer. The account

from which the above notice is taken will be
found in the Entomologists Monthly Magazine,
December, 1SG6. Mr. McLachlan is reminded
that in Italy and the south of Erance, similar, if not
identical, galls are produced on the elm, sometimes
as large as the fist, containing a clear water called
eau d'orme, which is sweet and viscid, and is recom-
mended to wash wounds, contusions, and sore eyes.
Towards autumn, when the galls become dry, a
residue in the form of a yellow or blackish
balsam, called beaume d'ormeau, is found, which is
said to be recommended for diseases of the chest.
Kirchner (in "Lotos," 1S55, p. 241), calls the
insect Schizoneura lanuginosa, Hart., of which Mr.
McLachlan's S. gallarum-ulmi is probably a synonym.
The same authority states that it has a parasite in a
new species of Entedon. — Ed.

Eine Tench.— I succeeded in capturing a fine
tench some short time since, weighing upwards of
two pounds and a half, length eighteen inches,
girth thirteen and a half inches, and which is now
in course of preservation by Mr. H. Rose of Cogges-
hall. — G. Benny, Kelvedon.

Lateness or Martins and Swallows. — These
birds stayed with us remarkably late this year, later
than I ever knew them to stay before ; up to the
14th of November several specimens were observed,
I suppose, owing to the mildness of the season. —
C. Benny, Kelvedon.

Bittekn in Nokfolk. — I have a fine female
specimen of the Bittern (Ardea Stellaris, Linn.)
shot on Barton Broad, Norfolk, 26th November
last. As these birds have nearly, if not entirely,
become extinct in Norfolk, I think very probably it
was blown over from Holland during the gales that
prevailed about that time. ' Several beautiful
specimens of the BohemianvWaxwjng>(5o«^i7/a
garrulus) have been shot at different jwts of Norfolk
during the last three we*eks, at- Cromer, Wroxham,
Beestpn, Hickling, Mutford, and other places.
Erom the numbers already procured,7 there must
have Heen a very unusual 'flock of them visiting us
this wrinter. The extremities of their wings are
adorned with waxlike tips of a bright red colour,
and varying from two to seven on each wing. The
tails in some specimens are slightly tipped in the
same manner. Their food here appears to consist
of the haws of the whitethorn. It is three years
since any number has been noticed here, when about
sixteen were shot. — Stephen Wm. Utting.

Nesting of the Pied Wagtail (Motacilla
alba). — Eor some years a pair of Chimney Swal-
lows built their nest in an unused chimney ; but
three years ago, before their arrival, a pair of
Wagtails took possession of it, and, spite of an
endeavour to dislodge them, they reared four young
ones, and have continued to build in the same
chimney ever since. — John Hanson, Linton-on-Ouse.

18

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Jan. 1, 1867.

BOTANY.

Ctjeiotts Elowek,. — One of the most singular
flowers growing in this pretty garden (of the Panama
Railway Company) was an orchid, called by the
natives " Elor del Espiritu Santo," or the " Elower
of the Holy Ghost." The blossom, white as Parian
marble, somewhat resembles the Tulip in form ; its
perfume is not unlike that of the Magnolia, but more
intense. Neither its beauty nor fragrance begat for
it the high reverence in which it is held, but the
image of a dove placed in its centre. Gathering the
freshly-opened flower, and pulliug apart its alabaster
petals, there sits the dove ; its slender pinions droop
listlessly by its side; the head inclining gently forward,
as if bowed in humble submission, brings the delicate
beak, just blushed with carmine, in contact with the
snowy breast. Meekness and innocence seem em-
bodied in this singular freak of nature ; and who
can marvel that crafty priests, ever watchful for any
phenomenon convertible into the miraculous, should
have knelt before this wondrous flower, and trained
the minds of the superstitious natives to accept the
title, the "Elower of the Holy Ghost," to gaze upon
it with awe and reverence, sanctifying even the
rotten wood from which it springs, and the air laden
with its exquisite perfume? But it is the flower
alone I fear they worship ; their minds ascend not
from "nature up to nature's God;" the image only
is bowed down to, not He who made it. The stalks
of the plant are jointed, and attain a height of from
six to seven feet, and from each joint spring two
lanceolate leaves ; the time of flowering is in June
and July. — J. K. Lord's "The Naturalist in Vancouver
Island"

The Tulip. — It is related that a sailor, having
taken some goods to a Dutch merchant, had a
herring given him for his breakfast ; but seeing what
he supposed to be a kind of small onions lying on the
counter, the tar carelessly took up a handful, which
he immediately ate with his dried fish. These proved
to have been tulips of so much value, that it was
estimated a magnificent breakfast might have been
given to the heads of the Dutch government for
less expense than the cost of the sauce which the
sailor so inadvertently took with his salt herring. —
Flora Historica.

Talipat Palm {Corypha umbraculifera). — The
most majestic and wonderful of the Palm tribe is
the talpat or talipat, the stem of which sometimes
attains the height of 100 feet, and each of its enor-
mous fan-like leaves, when laid upon the ground,
will form a semicircle of sixteen feet in diameter,
and cover an area of nearly 200 superficial feet.
The tree flowers but once, and dies ; and the na-
tives assert that the bursting of the spadix is accom-
panied by a loud explosion.— Tennent's Ceylon.

Wintek.gb.eens. — In a fir-wood not far from my
residence several plants of JPyrola minor, Lesser
Wintergreen, are growing in a patch of a few yards
in extent. I have examined them occasionally, three
or four years last past, for the purpose of procuring
specimens for friends. Last season I was somewhat
surprised to find six or eight plants of Pyrola secunda
growing in the midst of the other species. I had
never observed a single specimen before. I cannot,
of course, be positive that this is the first appearance
of P. secunda ; but if it is, it would lead to grave
doubts about the permanency of distinction between
closely-allied species. Is it possible that P. minor,
under certain conditions, stretches out its style till
it becomes P. secunda ? for this length of style
seems the principal difference between them. — W. B.

Eungi. — Has the past year been noted for an
unusual growth of fungi ? In this district (Knap
Hill), immense numbers and in great variety have
appeared ; although, singularly enough, the common
mushroom {Agaricus campestris) has been far from
plentiful. A fir plantation, adjoining the Woking
Necropolis, was especially rich in many forms of the
larger kinds of fungi. On the side of a recent road
cutting, and apparently springing out of the bare
sand (the mycelium had probably fallen there from
the top of the bank), appeared a group of the
Amanita muscaria, some of large size, the pileus of
a bright scarlet hue, and studded with white warty
excrescences. Amongst the heath on the adjoining
common, were found several examples of the hollow-
stemmed Marasmius scorodonius, rather uncommon
in this country. But the most remarkable form of
fungus for extent, beauty, and persistency, was due
to a singular cause. Bather more than two months
since, the sleepers (firwood) of a^temporary tram-
way, of several hundred yards in extent, and which
had been down for two and a half years, were re-
moved, leaving in the shallow trenches, portions of
decaying wood. Erom nearly every trench, sprung
up immense clusters of orange cups (Peziza
aurantia), successive crops of which have continued
to appear for two months. The earlier growths were
of a dark orange red (even darker than the one
figured on the title-page of M. C. Cooke's British
Fungi) ; but the later ones were much paler, some
being almost yellow. The fierce and sudden way in
which some of the matured groups, when gathered,
ejected their spores, in the form of a minute dust-
shower, was very amusing. — T. N. Brushfield,M.D.,
Broolcwood, near Woking.

Anachaius alsinastrtjm. — We may state a
singular fact that has recently come to our know-
ledge with reference to this plant ; that whereas
some time since it was very abundant in the lake in
front of the palm-house at Kew, it was this season
all but supplanted by Nitella Jlexilis. — Gardeners'
Chronicle, Dec. 1, 1S60.

Jan. 1, 1S67.J

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

19

MICROSCOPY.

Stephanot-s, &c. — Referring to your figure iu
December No., it may be interesting to some of
your correspondents to learn that the other species
of Stephanops, viz., S. muticus, was obtained in toler-
able abundance by me on Hampstead Heath on the
12th of last November. At times their movements
were very rapid, but they would often remain so
motionless for minutes together that they might
have been taken for dead, except for a Blight ciliary
motion which a one-fifth objective rendered visible.
They were in company with the' beautiful Conochilus
vol vox, which objects to confinement so strongly
that it commits suicide by breaking itself up, if the
" durance vile " be long continued. The glass slides
having a deep depression in them keep it alive
longest. I also obtained at the same time a re-
markably abundant gathering of the more common
desmids and Vohox globator. The filamentous
desmid {Desmidium) may be obtained on Wands-
worth Common in fine condition.— S. J. Mclntire.

Melicerta, Eloscitles, &c— It maybe interest-
ing to microscopists in search of Infusoria, &c., at
this time of year, to know that I found, on the 14th
of November, in a pond behind the temporary
church Hampstead Fields, Belsize Lane, the fol-
lowing : Floscularia in abundance, Melicerta, Hydra
viridis, Epislylis, Vaginacola, and many bunches of
large Vorticella>, &c. This, so late in the year, is
interesting, and I would advise any one being in
that neighbourhood to visit this prolific pond. —
67. H. F.

Tarnish, as an Object.— A drop of the trans-
parent varnish used by photographers for varnishing
collodion pictures, forms an interesting microscopic
object. The drop should be placed upon a cold
glass slide, and viewed with a power of about 200
diameters. As the spirit evaporates the varnish is
broken up into small globules, which settle on the
glass, and are surrounded with exceedingly minute
globules, exhibiting very rapid motions, in conse-
quence of the currents produced by evaporation.
The slide should be slightly inclined at first, in order
to spread the varnish, and then viewed upon a
horizontal stage.—/. S. Tute.

Eish Scales.— These are mounted "dry," and iu
balsam. If for use with ordinary transmitted light,
the first method is preferable, as the balsam renders
them (generally speaking) too translucent. If,
however, they are required for the polariscope, they
must be mounted in the latter way. Glycerine
might give good results for viewing them by trans-
mitted light, but I have no experience of this.

To mount dry.— Eirst clean the scales by washing
them in a weak solution of caustic potash, then

thoroughly free them from all traces of the alkali,
by repeated washings in clear water. They may
then be placed flat between two glass slides,
held together by clips at either end, and suffered
to dry, but witlioid heat, or they will curl up upon
the glass being removed. When thoroughly dry,
take them out and mount at once, to prevent any
chance of their curling up again.

To mount in Balsam. — Proceed as before, but
wheu dry, soak for a few hours in spirits of turpen-
tine, and then mount as usual, leaving a clip upon
the thin glass cover until the balsam has set hard.
Chloroform and balsam answer well for these
objects.

Wheat Eels [Vibrio Tritici).— Several years ago
a friend of mine gave me a slide containing a large
quantity[of these eels; he also gave me some account
of their habits and character, since which I have
desired to obtain specimens for my own examination ;
and lately, while in our corn market, I incidentally
looked into a sack of wheat and saw amongst the
perfect grains some black, dried-looking seed of
some kind, which, on closer inspection, proved to be
blighted grains of wheat, and on cutting open one
and placing the contents in water found it was what
I had been so long looking for. I am not intending
to give a description of them. I have by me about
100 grains containing these little creatures, wrhich
are interesting microscopic objects, and I shall be
glad to supply amateurs with two or three grains, if
they will send a stamped addressed envelope. The
grains will require to be soaked two clays in water,
then taken out, cut open, and the contents placed in
a watch glass in water. In two or three hours after
while in water they will display considerable anima-
tion by twisting about; they then, or before if
desirable, may be taken out in sufficient numbers,
placed on a slide, and mounted in Dean's gelatine.
When this is sufficiently cooled, say from four to
six hours, wash off with cold water the gelatine ex-
tending beyond the edges of the glass cover, wipe it
dry with a cloth, and use the liquid varnish brush so
as to make the gelatine air-tight, which will soon
dry on, cover this with black asphalt, you will then
have a very neat nice slide — take care that the
asphalt is quite dry before you put it away ; place
a label on the slide and the whole business is ac-
complished.—/. /. Fox, Devizes.

Mounting Whalebone.— Mr. E. Davies recom-
mends the steeping of whalebone for twenty-four
hours in Liq. Potass.," to show the structure. I
have repeatedly tried his plan without success.
The result I have obtained each time has been the
swelling of the section and giving it the appearance
of gelatine and the destruction of its polarizing pro-
perties. Several of my friends have tried the plan
with the same result. — 67. M. I.

20

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Jan. 1, 1867.

GEOLOGY.

Sandstone Markings. — At the meeting of the
British Association, held at Leeds on September 22,
1858, a paper was read by Mr. Albany Hancock of
Newcastle, on certain vermiform fossils found in the
mountaiu limestone of the North of England, and
which afterwards appeared in the " Transactions of
the Tyneside Naturalist Eield Club," vol. iv., with
elaborate illustrations. Your correspondent will find
in this paper a different solution for these mysterious
markings to the prevailing opinion that they are
" worm borings " or " worm casts." Mr. Hancock
was struck with the appearance of some track-like
markings on the sand of the sea-shore, which, after
patient and careful investigation, he discovered to
arise from the borings of a small crustacean — one of
the Amphipoda — something like a common sand-
hopper, but not quite so long. He watched the
whole process of the little creature's operations,
and saw the sand rise on its being pushed upwards
by the animal's back, while the arch or tunnel thus
formed partially subsided as it passed onward, and,
breaking along the centre, a sort of median groove
was produced. This crustacean has been named
Suleator arenarius. The fossil markings seen on
the carboniferous slabs have exactly the appearance
and structure of the galleries made by arenaria, or
such as might be expected to result from similar
operations in a more coherent substance than plain
sea-sand, and Mr. Hancock concludes " that if the
tunnel-tracks were formed in a tenacious material,
their walls would not entirely collapse, but the
cylindrical form would be more or less retained. It
is, therefore, fair to suppose that the sedimentary
matter, as it was being deposited, would gradually
find its way into these lengthened tunnels or burrows
afler their submergence, and ultimately fill them
up; but the particles of such infiltrated matter,
having a different arrangement from those forming
the general mass of the rock, the phenomenon pre-
sented on breaking it up into slabs would neces-
sarily occur — the casts of the tracks would become
isolated, like the fossil remains of any organic body,
or might be left in relief in either the upper or the
lower slab." This very plausible theory seems to
answer your correspondent's inquiry, and accounts
for the character he alludes to, viz., "being in bas-
relief," and that a " broken line should show at the
point of fracture a compressed circle" — A. W. D.,
Seaham.

Clays are largely derived from felspars, and
felspar itself has perhaps been originally derived
from still older clays. Granite, gneiss, basalt,
clay-slate, and some other metamorphic and igneous
rocks yield clay soils on decomposition. This is
owing to the facility with which the sand and other
minerals mixed with the clay are carried away on
disintegration, leaving the clay behind.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Self-Denial of Cats.— In answer to "W. P.," as
to the self-denial of cats in abstaining from taking
young birds from the nest until they are ready to
fly, I could give him many instances noticed by
myself. I have a large cat, which I have very
frequently seen in this particular most self-denying.
I have noticed this cat attend regularly many nests,
beginning his attentions soon after their commence-
ment, and continuing it (and that most regularly)
both during the time occupied in building, and also
that of incubation ; and having carefully noticed the
cat during that time, I never once have known him
to satisfy his murderous appetite until the young
were just about to quit the nest ; and then, one by
one, the unfortunate fledglings have been carefully
abstracted and devoured with the most self-satisfied
air. Not only in one case, but in numberless cases,
have I watched this cat, and with exactly the same
result ; and have upon many occasions (upon dis-
covering the placing of the first few twigs of a nest)
been obliged to tie brambles round the trunk of the
tree to prevent the attentions and active inter-
ference of "Peter."— W. A. S.

Carmine foe Injections. — Let " J. B. B." try
the following receipt (Dr. Carter's), taken from the
third edition of Dr. Beale's excellent book, " How
to Work with the Microscope : " —

Pure Carmine 1 drachm.

Liq. Amnion, fort
Glacial Acetic Acid..
Solution of Gelatine
(1 to 6 of water) . .
"Water

2 drachms.

1 drachm 26 minims.

2 ounces.
1* ounces.

Dissolve the carmine in the solution of ammonia
and water, and filter if necessary. To this add an
ounce and a half of the hot solution of gelatine, aud_
mix thoroughly. With the remaining half ounce of
gelatine solution mix the acetic acid, and then drop
this, little by little, into the carmine solution, stirring
briskly during the whole time. — J. /. R.

Skipjack (Science Gossip, vol. i. p. 69) is the
Gasterosteus saltatrix, Linn.

War-Bird (Science Gossip, vol. ii. p. 46). —
Major Ross King, in a recently-published work,
" The Sportsman and Naturalist in Canada,"
bestows this name upon the Scarlet Tanager (Pij-
ranga rubra, Swains) ; but I think that the descrip-
tion extracted from the " Backwoods of Canada "
can hardly apply to this bird.— H. 67. 0.

Grand Lory (Science Gossip, vol. ii. p. 213).—
I am convinced that the bird inquired about was
the Psittacus grandis, Linn. — H. G.

Pagoda Thrush (Science Gossip, vol. ii. p. 213).
— This is the Tardus pagodarum, Linn., called by
Jerdon Temenuchus pagodarum. In Madras it is
called the "Brahmin's Myna," or "Black-headed
Myna," and I have also heard it called " Rajah
Myna."— H. G.

Athela of Babylon (Science Gossip, vol. ii.
p. 214). — The ancient tree alluded to is Tamarix
orientalis, Eorsk. The Egyptian name is said to be
Athle. It is known to the Arabs as "Asul;" but
Burckhart, Lynch, and others give the Arabic name
as turf a or turf a. — Bangalore.

Jan. 1, 1867.]

HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE GOSSIP.

21

Mounting in Balsam. — I am convinced by my
own experience that any-one who wishes to attain
proficiency in preparing microscopic objects, must
rely upon himself, and not upon directions in books.
The latter are often more a hindrance than a help. A
" mounting instrument," a " water-bath," a " spirit-
lamp," a slider-forceps," an " air-pump," and all
the other implements usually recommended, are ex-
pensive to obtain, and practically useless when got.
For most purposes, a penknife, a camel-hair brush,
a pin, and a candle, will be found sufficient. To
follow the advice of some writers, it would require
a mouth or six weeks to prepare the proboscis of a
fly. First it must be steeped in potash ; then it
must be washed in water, after which it will take a
fortnight to dry. Then it must be steeped in tur-
pentine for another week, and dried again before it
is mounted. To harden the balsam, the slide has
now to be put " in a warm situation," where it may
remain from "May till September," and then not
be hard. By the plan I adopt the whole of this
business may be performed in a few minutes. The
length of time the object must remain in the potash
will depend upon its texture ; but when it is taken out
of the potash, if it is washed with turpentine instead
of water, it may be mounted immediately. The tur-
pentine most effectually clears it of the " milky ap-
pearance," which forms the difficulty of " T. B. N."
Having washed the object with turpentine until the
milky appearance is gone, place a little balsam upon
the glass slip, hold it over the candle until the
balsam boils, then place the object in it, and put on
the cover. When the slide cools, the balsam will
be perfectly hard, and the specimen may at once be
cleaned for the cabinet. The whole of this process,
from the taking of the object out of the potash to
the finish, may be performed in about five minutes.
Of course, expertness at the work is gained only by
experience; and every preparer will have a way
peculiar to himself. The answer to James "W. Impey
is : — The hardening of the balsam depends -upon the
amount of heat applied to it, and this must be regulated
by the state of the balsam and the nature of the object.
And if " T. B. N." will wash with turpentine instead
of water, the " milky appearance " will cease to
trouble him. — T. Craggs, Gatesliead.

Cement for Slides. — I see amongst several
correspondents, J. W. Impey complains of the time
balsam takes to harden ; and so it will ; and even
after it seems hard, a very slight degree of warmth
will soften it. I venture again to mention the way
in which I set a great majority of objects. I put
them on the slide very slightly damp, put some
balsam over them, and the glass at top ; and gently
heat them till the water boils away : the balsam
takes its place. The vapour of the water takes
most of the air away, and a little manipulating with
the thin glass removes the rest. This done, the
balsam sets hard at once, and three or four minutes
will finish the slide.

I see some of your correspondents find difficulty
in dissolving india-rubber, and it is a troublesome
thing to do unless they get the right kind of naphtha.
If they use india-rubber which has been dissolved,
they will find it easier ; but it is best to buy it.
Some years ago I wanted some cement to put round
slides in which glycerine was used, and, for want of
something better at the time, I used the contents of
a bottle of preserving waterproof varnish for shoes ;
I found it do veiw nicely, and have used nothing else
since. It dries quickly and tough, and doesn't peel
off the glass. I cannot tell the name of the maker,

but it came from 39, Queen-street, Lincoln's-Inn'
Perhaps the notice of this may prove useful. —
K T. Scott.

_ Tenacity of Life in a Flea. — A few days
since one of these irritating little creatures attacked
a member of the genus Homo, and while in the act
of piercing the skin, the individual placed his linger
on it, and put it into a basin full of clean water.
This was about eleven o'clock p. m. Next morning
it was found at the bottom of the water, to all ap-
pearance quite dead. It was then put into an
envelope, and placed in the_ gentleman's waistcoat
pocket for inspection at his leisure. An hour or
two afterwards the envelope was examined, when out
jumped the animal with all the agility for which the
genus Pulex are remarkable, after having been
under water ten hours. Not being an amphibious
animal, I cannot understand upon i-.what principle it
could escape drowning; having spiracles and a tra-
cheal system it would appear impossible that these
should not fill with water, and thus kill the little
creature ; but it was not so ; it still lives. — /. J. Fox.

Mounting in Balsam. — The difficulty experi-
enced in mounting with Canada balsam may arise
in several ways ; the most probable is, that the balsam
employed is genuine that is to say, in its thick state ;
as imported, such a specimen will not acquire solidity
so rapidly as is absolutely necessary for the purpose.
Another cause of indifferent mount may be that the
vendor has diluted the pure article with commercial
spirits of turpentine ; and although this is to a cer-
tainty preferable to the undiluted balsam it is by no
means satisfactory. If your inquirer will attenuate
the pure balsam with camphor (a highly rectifying
spirit of turpentine, until it acquires a consistence a
little less limpid than olive-oil, he will be, as I have
been, perfectly satisfied with the result. I pre-
sume its superiority is due to the increased solu-
bility which it acquires by the addition of the
camphor. I ought to observe that, having mixed
as above, the compound should not be used until
perfectly clear (it will become so after a few hours).
— W. B.

Blue Birds of Galilee. — I see that a corre-
spondent in a late number inquired what was " the
blue bird of Galilee." I suppose that fancy may be
allowed some scope in the question, but as a matter
of fact there are but two birds to which it can be
applied — the blue Thrush (Petrocincla cyanea) which
is scattered about the Galilean hills and glens in
small numbers all the year round, and the Boiler
(Coracias garrula) which is very common over the
whole country in summer only. The Sun-bird
(Nectarinia osea) is quite out of the question. It is
not blue, and it barely exists in Galilee • one or two
pairs merely straggling into the neighbourhood oi
the Lake of Galilee. It is a bird of the Lower Jordan
valley and Dead-Sea basin strictly, and even there
will only be seen by those who look closely for it. —
II. B. Tristram.

[" T. G. P." writes to us again in support of his
opinion that the bird alluded to by Benan, as "so
small and light that it can rest on a blade of grass
without bending it," must be some such small crea-
ture as Cinnyris osea .]

Bidmusk (Science Gossip, vol. ii. p. 214), called
in Persia and the gardens of Northern India, Bed-
mooskh (" Boyle Illustrations," p. 345), is Salix
Mgyptiaca. — H. G. ^

22

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Jan. 1, 1867.

Skeleton Leaves. — The following method has
been communicated to the Botanical Society of
Edinburgh : — " A solution of caustic soda is made
by dissolving 3 oz. of washing soda in 2 pints
of boiling water, and adding 1| oz. of quick
lime, previously slacked; boil for ten minutes,
decant the clear solution and bring it to the boil.
During ebullition add the leaves ; boil briskly for
some time — say an hour, occasionally adding hot
water to supply the place of that lost by evapora-
tion. Take out a leaf and put into a vessel of water,
rub it between the fingers under the water. If the
epidermis and parenchyma separate easily, the rest
of the leaves may be removed from the solution, and
treated in the same way ; but if not, then the boil-
ing must be continued for some time longer. To
bleach the skeletons, mix about a drachm of chloride
of lime with a pint of water, adding sufficient acetic
acid to liberate the chlorine. Steep the leaves in
this till they are whitened (about ten minutes),
taking care not to let them stay in too long, other-
wise they are apt to become brittle. Put them into
clean water, and float them'out on pieces of paper.
Lastly, remove them from the paper before they are
quite dry, and place them in a book or botanical
press." — Dr. G. Dickson.

Movements in Closterium.— On a recent oc-
casion your paper contained a short discussion of
the " Closterium," iu which the author refers
cursorily to the circulating movement observed
within those plants. The character of the move-
ments has not, I believe, been very distinctly ascer-
tained. The motion in the two species most common
in this locality differs considerably. In Closterium
rostratum the ends appear to be freely open, the
small bodies within exhibit by their movements a
current flowing inwards and outwards at either end,
and this constant, and not in pulsations ; and the
bodies themselves are, I believe, foreign, and do not
in any sense belong to the plants under investiga-
tion ; in fact, simply monads. In C. striolatum, on
the contrary, there does not seem to be any com-
munication by the ends with the water outside ; but
at each end may be seen an oval body, deeply
coloured, continually revolving on itself, 'within, as
it were, a closed cage, and this not freely, but as
though it were attached by a cord at the inner end
of its longer axis. I do not refer to the circulation
to be frequently observed along the edges which
appears to be independent of that at the ends to
which the foregoing remarks apply. There are few
objects so curious or so beautiful as these very
common desmids ; but they so rapidly become
"quiet," when in the collecting bottle, that se-
dentary Londoners seldom get a sight of them in
their most lively condition.— 0. F. W., St. Amies
Heath, Chertsey.

Saws oe Flies.— In addition to " J. J. R.'s "

account of the saws of some flies, the vessel which
runs along the saw of the Tenthredo deserves notice,
and so does the foot. The body between the two
claws iu its natural condition is folded up between
them, but in using becomes expanded into a beau-
tiful kind of sucker. The whole leg is covered with
hairs and spines, and is a lovely object altogether.
One can see how like this sucker is to a boy's
leather one in action. So unlike is it in its mecha-
nism to the sometimes so-called sucker of a fly. A
collection of the different saws and ovipositors of
insects is very interesting. And besides those
mentioned by " J. J. 11.," 1 would notice the saws of

the ruby-tailed fly, which resemble a key-hole saw ;
the dragon-fly's ovipositor; and that of a beautiful
green saw-fly, which is found about the gooseberry-
tree. This last is particularly worthy of notice. —
K J. Scott.

Confervoid Growth in Slides. — Whether "J.
M. S." can apply it or not, I cannot say ; but in old
times when objects were put into shades without
balsam or other preparation, they soon became
covered with a kind of mould. To prevent it, I
used to wet the object and slide with a solution of
corrosive sublimate. If the solution of it in spirit
of wine is sufficiently diluted, it will not crystallize
so as to be noticed, but used to prove a very
effectual antidote. — E. J. Scott.

Sanguinaria. — Mr. H. J. Bacon calls the atten-
tion of microscopists to sections of the root of
Sanguinaria canadensis as an interesting object ; but
he does not state where the fresh root, which he
appears to allude to, can be obtained, as it is not a
plant in common cultivation.

Double Egg-Shell. — Knowing you are curious
in natural-history matters, I think it may interest
you to hear that yesterday I met with a hen's egg
with two shells. The outer was the supplemental
one, and the thickest ; the inner, the natural one,
and rather thinner than usual. The two were
divided by a thin, damp, false membrane, similar in
appearance, but differing iu structure from the true
membranes. My attention was directed to the fact,
by finding the shell unusually hard to fracture at
each end with my penknife, before sucking it. I
have cracked scores of eggs before, but never met
with a like case. I should like to know whether
such a thing has been observed before. — A. J. C.

Circulating Case. — It has occurred to me that
those subscribers to Science Gossip who feel in-
terested in marine algse might add to their col-
lections by forming a society for the interchange of
specimens by means of a circulating case. Bather
more than a year ago there was a society in existence
for the exchange of botanical specimens, of which
I was a member. Erom some cause or other it
failed — at least the case ceased to come to me, and
I took for granted it had gone down. Perhaps the
readers of this journal would communicate their
mind on the subject. Should it be started I will be
happy to do all in my power to secure subscribers. —
James Greer, jun.

Preservation oe Fossils. — I have a fine speci-
men of the tusk, teeth, and forearm bone of a large
elephant, which was dug up in a railroad cutting in
a bed of river gravel. The tusk has been broken,
but sufficient remains to show it must have been
sixteen or seventeen feet in length. It feels hard,
but is rapidly diminishing from the process of ex-
foliation. I have well soaked it in a solution of
gelatine, yet the decay continues. Should any of
your correspondents be acquainted with any manage-
ment to preserve the specimens it will much oblige.
— Charles Bailey.

The Yiper.— -Cau any of your readers say why
they do not succeed, at the Zoological Gardens, in
keeping the common Viper — after a few months or
so they die. The last time I was in New Forest I
intended to have investigated this subject, but the
weather was so unfavourable that I was prevented
from so doing. — G. M.

Jan. 1, 1867.]

HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

23

Halo of a Shadow. — The following singular
effect, which seems to be due to diffraction, may
perhaps be worthy of notice. I have observed,
when in a boat on the sea, that, when the sun is
shining and the shadow of the person falls upon the
water, a peculiar brightness surrounds the shadow ;
not unlike one of those softened glories which sur-
round some of the pictures of saints in old paintings.
The same effect I nave observed in strong moon-
light, when the shadow was thrown upon grass
covered with hoar-frost ; though the effect is not so
marked as it is on the sea. — /. S. Tide.

Preserving Eossils. — The following extract
from Mansell's " Medals of Creation," may be of
use to " L. F. R." (S. G., vol. ii., page 2S3) :—

" The broken porous bones may be repaired by a
hot weak solution of glue; and when the joinings
are set, the bone should be saturated with thin glue,
well brushed in, and the surface be spunged clean
with very hot water before the cement is congealed."
(A liquid called " Neuber's liquid glue " is an ex-
cellent cement. It is sold at 51, Oxford Street,
London.)

" When the bones are tolerably perfect, but
dry and friable from the loss of their animal oil,
they may be made durable by saturating them with
drying-oil, and exposing them to a considerable
degree of heat. In this manner the magnificent
skeletons of the Sloth tribe — the Megatherium
and Mylodon, in the Hunterian Museum— were pre-
pared. (The drying-oil is made by boiling litharge
in oil, in the proportion of one ounce of litharge to a
pint of oil.)

"For the Ichythyosauri, &c, in the British
Museum, Mr. Hawkins employed a strong, watery
solution of gum arabic as the cement, and plaster
of Paris as the ground, using shallow wooden trays
of well-seasoned wood in which the specimens were
permanently imbedded : the bones, scales, &c., were
then varnished with a solution of mastic, and the
ground coloured bluish grey to imitate the Lias." —
Vol. i. p. 46 et seq., Bohn' sedition. — A.H., Torquay.

Hare-Rabbits. — In the October number of this
Journal, " G. B. C." mentions a gamekeeper catch-
ing a supposed hybrid between a hare and a rabbit.
I have not before heard of a wild one being seen ;
but quantities are imported from Belgium by the
great rabbit-fanciers. They are called Hare-Babbits.
Many gentlemen purchase them for turning loose,
to improve the wild breed. They may be ob-
tained for 15s. each. I kept three last year, a buck
and two does. I found that, like other mules, they
would not breed with one another ; but they breed
very well with the common rabbit, having seven or
eight at a time. Their habits are, in all respects,
similar to the common rabits. — C. K.

[" H. S." and other correspondents who write
doubtfully, will learn that the question was long
since decided by the experiments of M. Bouy, of
Angouleme. It can no longer be said that the
rabbit will not hybridize with the hare.]

_ Dyeing Grass, Mosses, &c— By using Judson's
simple dyes, which can be procured at any chemist's
in bottles at 6d. each with directions, "J. H." can
dye grass, &c, a variety of colours without any
previous preparation. 1 may also state that I have
used the dyes to tinge animal substances (freed from
grease), which otherwise were so transparent as to
be almost invisible when mounted in balsam, with
excellent effect.—/. M., Barnard Castle.

Tenacious Anemone.— On the 26th of October
some sea anemones {Actinia Mesemhrijanthim) were
packed in wet sea-weed in a stone jar. On the 30th
I received them in good condition. In unpacking
them, one was accidentally left in the sea-weed,
which was thrown into a wooden bucket without
any water. On the 12th of November I found the
sea-weed nearly dry, except in one or two places.
Whilst I was collecting it to throw it away some-
thing stuck to my fingers, which I discovered to be
a small actinia nearly dried up. Wishing to try if
there was any vitality left in the unfortuuate animal
I broke off the bit of sea- weed to which it adhered
and which was perfectly dry, and put it into sea-
water. In a few minutes it moved almost imper-
ceptibly, in an hour it began to put forth its
tentacles, and in the course of four or five hours it
was sufficiently recovered to produce ten young ones
nearly white, with the tentacles formed. The fol-
lowing morning the little actinia was perfectly
flourishing and fully expanded.— T. L. N.

_ India-Rubber Cement. — I experienced all the
difficulties named by several of your correspondents,
until I adopted the following plan, which answers
admirably. 1. Dissolve the caoutchouc in chloro-
form ; 2. Dissolve the asphalt in benzole ; add
No. 1 to No. 2 until you find, by experiment — drying
a little on glass — that the brittleness is overcome.
— G. S. R, Blachheatli.

Marine-Glue Varnish.— (In answer to "J. H.
McK." and others). I have tried a mixture of
marine glue and naphtha with very good results. It
dissolves readily in the naphtha, and probably will
answer the same result as the asphalt, forming a
very useful cement. — F. J. B.

Mounting in Balsam. — Since sending my last
on the difficulty experienced in getting the balsam
to harden properly, I have tried baking the slides in
a common Dutch oven before the fire, with perfect
success. After about six hours' good baking, the
balsam becomes perfectly hard and well set. The
air bubbles also disappear in a miraculous way. I
hope this may be of use to your correspondents. —
F. J. B.

Milky Appearance.— The milky appearance of
objects mounted after soaking in liquor potassae is
ascribed by numerous correspondents to imperfect
washing. "A. B.," " T. S.," "A. M. C," and "V. F."
recommend thorough washing, first in water, and
afterwards in turpentine, and then mounting in the
usual manner, as described by " F. Fletcher," in
Science Gossip, vol. ii. p. 282.

Scarcity op Insects.— "B. C.R." and "F. R."

complain of scarcity of lepidoptera. They may
possibly recollect that at the close of the summer of
1865 we had some days of hot weather, swarms of
butterflys came out, particularly the common
cabbage butterfly ; also numbers of the mischievous
though beautiful little white (hawthorn) moth.
There was a sudden change in the weather, rain
with easterly wind prevailed for some time, and, of
course, as they had an untimely birth they met with
an untimely end. Having observed this, 1 predicted
a paucity of early butterflies in 1866, and have been
highly gratified in finding my prediction verified, and,
consequently, my cabbages flourishing, and two fine
red hawthorn bushes luxuriant in flowers and foliage
which in 1S65 were eaten nearly bare by thousands
of the tiny caterpillars of the " Little White Moth."
— H. C. R, Streatltam Hill.

21

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE - GOSSIP.

[Jan. 1, 1SG7.

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, contri-
butions should not be received later than the 15th of each
month. No notice whatever can be taken of communi-
cations which do not contain the mime and address of the
writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be with-
held. 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 manu-
script 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 : x 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 inad-
missible under any circumstances. Those of the popular
names of British plants and animals are retained and regis-
tered lor publication when sufficiently complete tor that
purpose, in whatever form may then be decided upon.
Address No. 192, Piccadii.lt, London', W.

B. — The mosses are — 14, Rhyncostegium depressum ; 15,
Eurhynchium Swurtzii ; )6, Nec/cera complanata. — R. B.

F. S. — What kind of information is desired about truffles?
See an article in " Popular Science Review," vol. i., p. 496 ;
also Sciknck Gossip, vol. i., pp. 89, 139.

A. L. D. — The moss is Philonotis fontana, var. y, falcata. —
R. D. '

C. P. C. — From the sketch your fungus appears to be
Agnricus (Co/lybiu) radicatus, but the rooting portion is
broken off.

J. P. — Aeckcra crispa.

H. H. M. — No larva enclosed.

D. R. — We much regret to learn that H. Balls, of Reedham,
has failed to fulfil the engagements of his advertisements in
our columns at the close of la>t year. The publisher exercises
all the caution that he can to prevent other than bond fide
advertisements being admitted to our pages, but manifestly
he cannot make inquiries into the particulars of every adver-
tisement that is sent for insertion or the character of the ad-
vertiser.

S. J. B.— Of course it does.

J. G. — No prospectus received.

M. D. — We have never made solutions of corrosive sub-
limate in spirit by weight or measure ; it should be very finely
powdered, and we should think two grains to the ounce
sufficient. It does not injure the specimens.

J. W. I.— Your parasite is Puccinia compositarum.

H. W. K.— The galls on oak-leaves were at one time regarded
as fungi, were published as such in collections of fungi, and
are often sent to us as " a curious fungus."

G. A. W. — We could not answer your query here, and you
did not enclose full address.

E. F. W.— No one could even guess from such a description.
Was it an Amoeba ?

A. L. — Certainly no improvement on the very cheap wire-
clips which can now be purchased.

T. P. F. should write his queries separately, and on one
side of the paper, otherwise we cannot insert them.

J. J. R. should have been quite sure that we were wrong in
printing aterrimus, at p. 273, before calling us to account.

A. G. — Safe this time. We cannot say when " Groser's
Beetles" will be published. It is impossible to name your
foreign gasteropod from its tongue. Beetles not yet named.

B. D.-We have already figured a fountain, Sciknck Gossip,
vol. ii., p. 14 ; and yours is no improvement.

W. C— " London Catalogue of British Plants," 4d., Dulau
& Co., Soho-square.

J. A. (Mile End).— The fungus is Agaricus ostreatus.

J. H. G.— See p. 19 in this number. Single slides may be
transmitted safely in the black millboard cases sold by all
opticians.

F. HintTON (Powick). 1 Letter awaits yon. Send correct
A. Badger (Eccleshall). j address.

G. F. P.— The section "Mineralogy" in " Orr's Circle of
Sciences," or " Weale's Mineralogy," will either of them suit
your purpose : at from one to two shillings.

A. A. A. — We object to recommend any special maker of
microscopes. A useful instrument may be had for j£'5 of more
than one maker. Dr. Lankester's " Handbook of the Aqua-
vivarium " is being revised for a new edition.

B. D. — The mycelium of some fungus, proceeding from an
old stump or decayed vegetable matter.

H. G. (Bangalore).— The title of the book is "A General
History of Humming Birds, or the Trochilidse, with especial
reference to the Collection of J. Gould, F.R.S.," by W. C. L.
Martin. 12mo., London, H. G. Bohn, 1861.

J. A. B. is reminded that the letters which he alludes to are
the initials of certain societies of which the person using them
is a fellow or member. They have no relation either to aca-
demic honours or to scientific attainments, since, with scarcely
an exception, money, to pay for admission and annual fees, is
the only real sine qua non.

Bangalore. — The Australian acacia is Acacia dealbata. —
J. G. B.

J. B. L.—" Berkeley's Introduction," £ 1." Is., Bailliere.
" Hooker's Jungermannise," out of print, and scarce.

J. H. C. — If he requires more than we insert in our ex-
changes, it must be paid for and inserted as an advertisement.

R. B.- — Bryum Atropurpureum,

S. L. B. — A mistaken notion. Replace your camphor, or,
if you prefer it, try benzine. More on the subject next month.

T. H. H— No. 1, Xylophasia polyodon ; 2, Polia Chi; 4,
Hypena probosctdaHs ; 3 and 5, in too bad a condition for
identification. — F. M.

EXCHANGES.

Objkcts of Interest, mounted or unmounted. — Send lists
to A. L., 61, Buckingham road, N.

Oak-wood from St. Helena. — Send stamped envelope to J.
Powell, 19, Burton-road, Brixton, S.

British Mosses, named, for Foreign Shells or rare British
species.— Jane S. Milne, Buckland, Faringdon, Berks.

Pencil-tail (Polyrenus lagurns). see Science Gossip, vol.
i., p. 230, in exchange for Barbadoes Earth or other good
(unmounted) objects. — J. Webster, Hanwell, Middlesex.

Mounted Objects, dry, in fluid, or balsam. A large
variety in exchange for mounted microscopic Fungi, or other
objects. — For lists, send specimen slide and address to W.
Hislop, 108, St. John Street-road, E.C.

Campylodiscus costatus, for any other Diatoms or Lepi-
doptera. — J. W. Whelan, Bank, Bury St. Edmunds.

Paulownta Seeds, unmounted, for other objects of in-
terest.—T. Buckle, Tunbridge.

Objects, sixty varieties, unmounted.— Send lists to G. W.
Webb, 108, White Rock-street, Liverpool.

Pelargonium Petals (mounted), for other objects of in-
terest.—E. M., 6, Holford-square, Pentonville, W.C.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

"The Technologist." No. 5, New Series, December, 1S66.
Kent & Co.

" Die Entwickelung der Ideen in der Naturwissenschaft."
Von Justus von Liebig. Mi'mchen, 1866.

" Hints on Spectacles, when to wear and how to select
them." By W. Ackland. London: Home & Thornthwaite.

" The European and Asiatic Races." By Dadabhai Naoroji.
London : Trubner & Co.

Communications Received. — F.W.— M. D. — E.J. S. C. —
T. G. P.— D. R.— G. S. R.— J. G.— E. T.— J. P.— A. J. C—
A. L.— H.B.T.— S. J. Mel.— A. M— C.P.C.— J. S. T— E.T. S.
—A. H.-J. P.— J. W. I.— S. J. B.— E. F. W.— H. H. M.—
Ebba (no name).— A. W.— G. A. W— G. H. F— G. M.-L. G.
— H. B.— H. E. W.— W. J. S— C. D.— F. S.— C. B.— H. E. A.
—J. R.— J. J. R.— J. M— W. F.— J. S. M.— F. S.— H. W.—
A. G.— J. W.— B. D.— W. C— W. H.— W. N— J. M— J. A.,
Jun.— J. A. (Mile End).— T. P.— W. S. G— A. W.— J. J. F.—
G. M. I.— A. A. A.— J. R.-J. W. W.— S. W. V.—G. F. P —
S. B— G. W. W— T. B.— H. C. O.— J. M.— J. O.— B. A. J.—
H. E. R.— T. H. H— J. B— H. W.— C. A.— H. S.— H. D. C—
F. K.— J. H. C— S. L. B.— \V. H. B.

Feb. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

9S

TKAVELLEBS' TALES.

" We ought not to be too hasty in casting ridicule upon the narrative? of ancient travellers. In a geographical point
of view they possess great value, and if sometimes they contain statements which appear marvellous, the mystery is often
explained away by a more minute and careful inquiry." — Tennant's " Ceylon."

T is an unfor-
tunate circum-
stance, that the
necessary isola-
tion of explorers
should render
them so liable
to the insinua-
tions of the malicious and the
cavils of the hypercritical.

Marco Polo, • Bruce, and
Du Chaillu have successively
suffered, in character and in
prospects, from suspicions
which subsequent inquiry has
proved to have been utterly
groundless.

Brave men are seldom un-
truthful, and the high quali-
ties of head and heart neces-
sary to form a successful
explorer are rarely, if ever, combined with that
meanness and mendacity which can claim credit
for actions neve^r performed, or discoveries never
made. At the same time, it cannot be denied,
that too many travellers have unnecessarily exposed
themselves to the attacks of hostile critics by a
deficient chronological arrangement of their narra-
tives, by exaggerated statements, and a neglect to
properly discriminate between mere hearsay and
actual observation.

It is against the statements of the great geo-
graphers and historians of antiquity, that modern
critics have specially delighted to break a lance,
and condemn as more or less fabulous and untrust-
worthy. Upon this subject Sir Emerson Tennant
has made some just observations in his work upon
" Ceylon."
In recent times many of the suspected statements
No. 26.

of ancient writers have been strikingly corroborated.
The gorilla of Hanno have been rediscovered,
probably upon the same coast upon which the
Carthaginian explorer found them ; the remains
of that prodigious bird, the iEpyornis, have been
disinterred in Madagascar — the very country in
which Eastern tradition located the monstrous
roc, so well known to all readers of the "Arabian
Nights;" and the gold-fields of California and
British Columbia are situated precisely in that
portion of North America in which the traditions
of the American aborigines placed the El-Dorado of
the Spanish conquerors.

It is curious that after an interval of some two
thousand years, a people should still exist in
Southern and Central Africa, almost exactly an-
swering to the description which Pliny, Aristotle,
and Herodotus gave of the Ethiopian Troglodytes.
Yet the Bosjesmen of to-day have the same croaking
speech, the same cave-dwelling and reptile-eating
propensities. These Bushmen have generally been
considered to be a deteriorated branch of the
Hottentots ; but I believe that, on the contrary, it
will be found that the former is the purer race, and
that the Hottentots, who, thanks to the Dutch
Boers, are now nearly extinct, are an improved and
hybrid race formed by some slight admixture of
Kaffir blood.

Aristotle and others mention four peculiarities of
the dwarfish Troglodytes, who, apparently, then
dwelt in Abyssinia, a country from which they
have been since driven or extirpated by the Gallas,
Kaffirs, Mayintu, and other Asiatic-African races.
Pirst, they left the sick and aged to die alone,
oftentimes of hunger and thirst. This the Hottentots
did when first discovered by Europeans. Secondly,
some of them ate their parents ichen they attained old
age. Kingsley has defended tins act as dutiful and
religious, and without going quite so far, it may be

c

26

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Feb. 1, 1867.

observed that the Calanti and Pcedsei of ancient
India and the Battas of the interior of Sumatra did
the same. Thirdly, they fought battles with cranes.
This may have been merely a playful way of
satirising their diminutive stature ; but Winwood
Reade tells us, on the authority of some old Jesuit
missionaries, that enormous birds once dwelt in
Abyssinia, and your correspondent " B. " of Melle,
has observed that the Maori traditions record an
analogous fact, viz., that their ancestors had to
contend with (may this phrase not bear the meaning
of "to hunt?") the moas and other gigantic birds
which formerly inhabited the islands of New
Zealand. Fourthly, they buried the dead under
heaps of stones, and accompanied these burials with
loud shouts of laughter. We nowhere read that
the Bushmen retain these peculiarities ; but how
strongly these stone-heaps resemble the cairns, and
these festivities, the*wakes or funeral revels of our
Celtic ancestors !

The traveller Bruce was very generally dis-
believed when he described the "feasts of living
animals " in which the Abyssinians indulge ; but the
literal truth of the statement has since been amply
vindicated. Nor is the custom, barbarous as it
may appear, entirely unprecedented, for a sect ex-
isted till very recently'in Bengal who were " sheep-
eaters," and devoured those animals piecemeal
while alive ; a representation of one of these people
in the act of devouring a sheep, faces the title-page
of the third volume of the " Proceedings of the
Asiatic Society."

Most of the curious and mythical animals of
antiquity really exist or have some foundation in
natural history. Thus the idea of the Mermaid is
evidently derived from the strong resemblance
which the upper part of the bodies of some of the
seal tribe bear to the human, and especially the
female, figure ; this resemblance is stated to be most
fully developed in the Cow-fish of Brazilian rivers.

Again, it is extremely doubtful whether the
Unicorn, which figures so; conspicuously in our
royal arms, is an extinct animal, a rare animal, an
ideal derived from the appearance of some ante-
lope seen in profile, or from the rhinoceros. The
inhabitants of Thibet assert that a creature of this
character is known in the unexplored tracts of
Mongolia, and the skull of an unknown animal of
this type may be seen at^the Museum of the African
Missionary Society.

That the Sea-Serpent and Norwegian Kraken, or
Gigantic Polyp, really exist, I am firmly convinced ;
and I think that any one who takes the trouble to
read two very ingenious and interesting articles
upon the subject, which appeared in Beeton's Boys'
Monthly Magazine in the course of 1S61, will become
a convert to my opinion.

Even the Centaurs of ancient Greece were no
myths ; they were, beyond doubt, the first horse-

riders. The Aztecs, it may be remembered, who
had never seen a horse before the invasion of
Mexico by Cortes were with difficulty persuaded
that the horse and man were not one animal.

It seems also very probable that the Fairies, so
frequently mentioned in our literature and folk-lore,
were in reality the Druids and their votaries, who,
driven into concealment by the persecutions of the
Roman governors and the spread of Christianity,
long performed their mystic rites under cover of
night, in the depths of their sacred groves. The
peasantry, seeing them thus engaged, would natu-
rally regard them as supernaturals — a belief which
the dread of Druidic enchantments mightjncrease.
A mingled affection for the old faith and dread of
the powers of the Druids would procure for them
the name of the " good-folk," so universally applied
to the fays, and explain the origin of the curious
legends which the native Irish so implicitly believe.

Thus, whilst the flippant and superficial condemn
all ancient authors as mere story-tellers, and all
ancient, traditions as apocryphal, the painstaking
may extract from them most interesting and valu-
able information, thereby exemplifying the old pro-
verb, "that what is one man's meat is another
man's poison." The works of Captain Cook and
Dr. Livingstone afford examples of the scrupulous
truthfulness which distinguishes the highest class of
travellers. Captain Cook's charts and observations
are so accurate that mariners still use them on the
coasts of Tasmania and New Zealand ; while it has
been remarked that Dr. Livingstone, the discoverer
of the vast Yictoria Falls on the Zambesi River,
committed the rare error of under-estimating their
extent. If all travellers were as cautious in their
statements, there would be little point in the prac-
tice of stigmatizing improbable stories as "Tra-
vellers' Tales." F. A. Allen.

Voracity of the Stabling. — During the snow-
storm of last week, Sergeant-Major Collins, of the
Dorset Militia, observed a common starling {Stumus
vulgaris) [perched uponl the top rail of a fence in
the neighbourhood of the barracks. Suddenly it
pounced upon something in the snow, and evidently
swallowed it. The serjeant-major resolved to see
what this was, and immediately shot the starling,
when, on wringing off the head after the most
approved style of doing execution on these peculiar
birds, what was his surprise to find projecting from
the thorax of the bird thus decapitated, the sharp
head and eyes with the two fore-claws of a nimble
lizard (Lacerta agilis), three or four inches in lengt li,
which the starling had swallowed entire. The
serjeant-major exhibited the lizard alive in Dor-
chester market on Saturday ; for, strange to say,
after remaining dormant for 21 hours, it revived. —
Weymouth and Dorchester Telegram, Jan. 10.

Feb. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

27

THE BLOOD-BEETLE.

IT was in the month of October several years ago
that I first became acquainted with the Blood-
Beetle. It was crawling over some herbage at a
very sluggish pace, totally different to the hurrying
race of a Sun-Beetle across your path, or a Weevil
over the leaves, and I took it up to examine it.
While turning it over, I found my fingers were
covered with what I at first took to be blood ; recol-
lecting, however, that none of the other beetles
with which I was acquainted afforded the sangui-
neous fluid, I looked a little closer, and discovered
a rich scarlet bead, very translucent in appearance,
emerging from the creature's mouth. Upon taking
up several others they behaved in the same way,
and the habit appeared evidently a defensive one,
although the fluid was to me perfectly harmless ; it
might not be so, however, to the enemies of the
Beetle. This habit, together with the firm ovate
appearance, and the worse than snail's pace at
which it crawled along, made the insect very inte-
resting to a neophyte in Natural History ; and not
knowing its name, I called it pro tern, the Blood-
Beetle, which, perhaps, is slightly more refined
than its common English cognomen, " The Bloody-
nosed Beetle." As it was then rather late in the
year, there was not much opportunity for dis-
covering many of its peculiarities ; it soon retired
from observation, probably burying itself among
thick moss or herbage. Early in January, however,
it was abroad in the sunshine under the hedges, and
my interest was again drawn to it. In April I
noticed another curious creature — very common :
it appeared to be some kind of larva. It was about
ten lines in length, of a dull metallic green above
and pinkish beneath, the whole body very wrinkled,
and in general appearance convex. It was feeding
on bed-straw ; and, where one specimen was seen,
plenty of others were sure to be found. It was not
until I had taken several up to look at that some of
the well-known fluid appeared, and the thought at
once struck me that the creature was the larva of
my new friend, the Beetle. It fed, too, on the
same food, Galium aparine, and more rarely on 0.
mollugo. I at once collected the larvae and caged
them, and after a time found my suspicions correct,
for they produced some very fine imagos.

This was one of my first entomological dis-
coveries; and, like every other beginner, I felt a
good deal of satisfaction at having made it myself
without the aid of a book. I mention this simply
as an illustration of the pleasure awaiting any one
who chooses to search for it in the insect world.
A few of the notes I have since made on the same
species may, perhaps, prove interesting to some of
our readers.

The Beetle itself is, at least round High
Wycombe, the most plentiful of the larger coleop-

tera, being found on every bank and under every
hedge; it appears also to be the most hardy, for
there is probably no season of the year when it may
not be seen — I have caught it in every month except
December. The larvae are to be found in April and
May on bed-straws, looking when young merely like
small black protuberances on the leaves. At first
sight it would appear that they do not possess the
usual number of prolegs or claspers— so prominent
among the lepidopterous caterpillars— having appa-
rently only one at the tail. Although Westwood
mentions this as single, it is evident to the naked
eye, and much more so through a glass, that it is a
double one, quite as much as that of a hawk-moth
larva ; the other four pairs are present in the shape
of small tubercles on the abdomen, and are seen
quite plainly if the creature be allowed to cross the
hand held up horizontally to the light each is then
seen to be brought into full play in the act of
walking ; they are not so easily detected when it is
crawling over the herbage. When seized it rolls
itself up like a hedgehog, not being proportionally
long enough to do so after the fashion of ''larger
caterpillars. When alarmed, I have known it, in
various instances, to emit the scarlet fluid, but it is
not done so freely as by the imago. It changes its
skin at regular intervals, appearing immediately
after of a reddish hue, particularly about the head
and legs : it gradually darkens in colour. The larva
is quite as sluggish in its movements as the perfect
insect.

All my specimens were buried by June 10th, but
some had gone down into the earth a fortnight
before. On July 4th I disinterred one or two ; they
were then of a very light pink colour, very jelly-like
in appearance ; the legs were perfectly formed, and
the wings lay loosely by the side of the body, which
was on its back. A small cavity had been formed
in the soil in the usual way, the sides of which were
made quite compact by the pressure of the body,
and at one end lay the cast-off skin ;" the antennae
were full size ; but these, like the legs, were pink,
much deeper in shade than the body. On July 22nd
I disinterred another almost perfect, but the body
was still soft and pink, while the elytra were of
their proper hue : a second specimen was still with-
out the wing cases. The first imago emerged July
30th, and this was soon followed by the others.

The perfect insect is very ovate in appearance
and firm in consistency, the under-surface and also
the legs are of a glistening metallic dark blue, the
elytra are nearly black, as is also the head and
thorax. It is placed in the family Chba'someud-E,
and in the genus Timarcha, though formerly it was
called a Tenebrio : the specific name is tenebricosa,
or more lately Icevigata : the latter term is prefer-
able, as it serves more directly to contrast it with
the other species in the same genus— coriaria. The
elytra are soldered together longitudinally; and

C 2

28

HA11D,WICKE'S SCIENCE. GOSSIP.

[Feb. 1, 1S67.

when they are forced open, the Beetle is found to
be wingless ; it is thus totally incapable of flight, and
is the largest vegetable-feeding insect in England so
constituted. The tarsi are very broad, and afford it
the power of taking a firm hold of the herbage over
which it crawls. At night it rests clinging to
stems with its head downwards ; they are difficult
to discover in the early morning, being covered with
heavy dew, and looking more like dry seeds than
anything else ; as soon as the heat of the sun has
caused all the moisture to evaporate, they begin
their peregrinations. The antennae look like strings
of small beads, very beautiful ; and, when the insect
is moving, they are in constant motion from side to
side, tapping the ground or stem over which it is
travelling, as if to test its safety. The scarlet fluid
is said by Westwood to be emitted both from
the mouth and the joints of the limbs ; I have
never, however, been able to detect the smallest
particle flowing from the latter places. Country
people say it is a specific for the toothache ; and,
having once tried it, I am inclined to believe them :
I found relief from rubbing it over the tooth and
gums ; but, perhaps, one is not entitled to state it as
a general fact from one trial.

■<£&,

Fig;. 10. The Blood-beetle (Timarc/ta laevigata).

The Blood-Beetle is often figured and spoken of
in old works as the Catch-weed Beetle, no doubt
from its being commonly found on Galium aparine.

Folkestone. Hy. Ullyett.

WHAT IS DERMESTES?

A T the December meeting of the Quekett Micro-
-^*- scopical Club, a question was asked, " What
is the insect called ' Dermestes,' the hairs of the
larva of which are employed as test-objects ? "
During the discussion which ensued, the figure in
Science Gossip (vol. i., p. 230) was alluded to as
being that of the larva intended. The following
observations may tend to elucidate the subject: —

The Dcrmestidae are a small family of Necro-
phagous Beetles, of which six genera, containing
fifteen species, are recorded in Great Britain. This
number may be reduced for our purpose to eleven
species, the other four being doubtful or disputed
natives. Of the foregoing, four species, including
the Bacon Beetle, belong to the genus Dermestes.

In this genus the larvae are not possessed of the
peculiar tail and tufts of hairs believed to be found
on the larvae used for microscopical purposes. This
reduces the number to seven, amongst which the
desired insect is to be found.

Fig-. 11. Larva of Bacon-beetle.

In the genus Attagenus, Latreille informs us, the
larva is long, of a reddish brown colour, and shining,
clothed with hairs, those at the extremity of the
body forming a tail. Its motions are very irregular,
creeping along by fits and starts.

In the genus Megatoma, Professor Westwood
states that in the larva the extremity of the body is
furnished with two bundles of hairs, which it ex-
pands like a fan, and to which it imparts a tremulous
motion, so rapid as scarcely to allow the fans of
hair to be perceived while it lasts.

In Tiresias the larva is of an elongate, ovate,
and depressed form, narrowed towards the tail, and,
covered with long brown hairs, the terminal seg-
ment of the body being also furnished with a long
brush of hair, and destitute of the two spines

F'ig. 12. Larva of Tiresias serra.

observed in the larva of Dermestes. It is found
during the winter under the loose bark of elm-
trees, in company with a small spider, which spins a
web-like case, in which it resides.

Thinking that to this genus, which contains only
one British species, the so-called Dermestes be-
longed, we forwarded a copy of Mr. Mclntire's
article, with its woodcuts, to an eminent authority on
kindred subjects ; aud he refers the figure of the larva
and its hairs to some species of the following genus.

Professor Westwood, writing of the genus Au-
threnus, states that "in the larva state they are

Feb. 1, 1SG7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

29

most injurious in neglected museums, devouring the
integuments uniting the bones, which soon fall from
each other, skins, hairs, and the feathers of birds.
The larva is elongate-ovate, thick, somewhat leathery
in its texture, and very hairy, especially towards
the posterior extremity ; the jaws are very strong,
and horny; the six legs are of small size. The
hairs upon the body of these larva? are arranged in
small bundles along the sides, and the tail furnished
on each side with a pair of tufts of larger size,
which are laid when at rest upon the back ; but

'-'•-'-.

'</.' p,/|. ■■■ vs sW'-i '• ■' i ,. ■

m ;-

Fig. 13. Tail of Larva of Anthrenus, from De Geer.

when the insect is disturbed, it spreads these out,
so as somewhat to resemble a shuttlecock. These
hairs are of great service to the larva, enabling it
to glide between the fingers when handled, as
though covered with oil. The appearance of these
larva; under the microscope is very pleasing, the
hairs upon the body being discovered to be fur-
nished with still more minute hairs; whilst those
forming the terminal bristles are individually formed
of, a series of miuute conical pieces placed in suc-
cession, the base being very slender, and the extre-
mity of each hair forming a large oblong knot,
placed on a slender footstalk."

It is to this genus of Anthrenus that the larva
called Dermestes at page 230 of vol. i. is referred.
There are certainly three British species, but the
most common is Anthrenus museorum.

We have given the characters of the larvae in all
the four closely-allied genera, three of which con-
tain only one species each, under the impression
that it may lead to the closer examination of those
also, as it is not improbable that some of the
"hairs of Dermestes" mounted for the microscope
may be derived from one or other of them. It is
pretty clear that none are obtained from the Bacon
Beetle, or any other species of the^genus Dermestes.

We take advantage of this opportunity to correct
an error in the scientific name of the " Pencil-tail "
(also described in vol. i., p. 230). It should have
been Polyxenus.

THE DEATH WATCH.

TN the number of Nature and Art for October
-*- will be found a very interesting article " con-
cerning insects, commonly called Death Watches,"
by the llev. W. Houghton. I was much surprised
on reading the paper, that so many entomo-
logists of note should have been unaware of, or
altogether denying the fact of, Atropos puhatoria
being the author of the ominous sound that has
tilled so many superstitious folks with dread. Mr.
Houghton says that "being anxious to ascertain
whether any living entomologists had personal ex-
perience of the noise asserted to be produced by the
Atropos puhatoria, in the writings of some natura-
lists and denied in those of others, I wrote to Mr.
Erederick Smith, to ask whether he had any know-
ledge of the matter." The subject was brought by
that gentleman before the notice of the Entomolo-
gical Society, " but no one had any knowledge of
Anobium, Atropos, or any insect tapping," and he
himself " was inclined to think that the ticking
said to be caused by Atropos puhatoria was
scarcely substantiated, as he could not conceive it
possible that so soft and delicate a creature could
produce any sound whatever." (Science Gossip,
Eeb. 1S66.) The same opinion seems to have been
shared by our most eminent entomologists, as on
referring to Swainson and Shuckard's " Natural
History and Classification of Insects," page 357, I
find that Mr. Shuckard, in describing the genus
Atropos, says, " which contains the so celebrated
book -louse, famous for its reputed ticking, whence
it has also been called the death-watch ; which is
doubtless a fable, as it is more than probable that
the noise is produced by an Anobium, for it is scarcely
possible that so small and delicate an insect as the
Atropos should cause so loud a sound." Mr. West-
wood also, in his Entomologist's Text Book, page
307, in the article on the " Sense of Hearing,"
describes the noise made by the death-watch
Anobium striatum " by beating the front of its head
against the surface upon which it is stationed," but
no notice is taken of Atropos ; and at page 36S of
the same work, in general description of the order
Neuroptera, a figure of Atropos puhatoria is given,
the only notice concerning which is that it "is
ordinarily found amongst books and papers."

On the other side we have the evidence of that
celebrated entomologist Mr. Doubleday, who in a
communication to Mr. Houghton says, from his
own observation he felt no doubt that Atropos was
one of those insects that produced the sounds in
question. There is also the paper by Mr. Noble in
Science Gossip for April of this year, in which
the " circumstantial evidence " is very strong and
almost conclusive. But from the time of Derham
up to the present, no naturalist appears to have
seen the insect in the act of producing the sound,

30

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Feb. 1, 1S67.

which has given rise to such a diversity of opinion.
It is for this reason that I have brought forward
these few observations, and also to give my own
experience in this matter.

My first acquaintance with Atropos, or, as it is
generally called here, the wood-louse, commenced
about thirteen or fourteen years ago ; at that time
I lived in an old house in Brompton, near Chatham,
and in my bedroom, which was also my library and
museum, I had a very olla podrida of Natural
History hanging about the walls ; among the rest
was a honey-comb. It was soon after the introduc-
tion of this to my list of curiosities that the strange
ticking sound (which at the time sorely puzzled me)
commenced, and that led me eventually to the inves-
tigation of the cause. I soon found that the noise
proceeded from the comb, and on closer examina-
tion I saw a number of wood-lice travelling about
from one cell to another, and appearing very busy
in their explorations. After a while the ticking
commenced, which I quickly traced to a particular
cell, and by the aid of a common convex lens I could
perceive Atropos beating with its head against the
side of the cell, the noise produced being quite as
loud as the tick of an ordinary watch ; thus con-
firming Mr. Derham's observations, " and, viewing
them with a convex lens, I soon perceived some of
them to beat or make a noise with a sudden shake
of their body," &c.

From this time the honey-comb, which perhaps
from its pecidiar sonorous nature, suited them so
well, became the head quarters' of Atropos, and
night after night, and sometimes by day, might be
heard the tick, tick, tick, by the hour together;
sometimes one, sometimes two or more, ticking
away with all their might, as if to out-tick each
other. At any time, by carefully approaching the
comb, and waiting a second or two quietly, they
might with the aid of a lens be seen at their peculiar
pastime. Since then I have lived in my present
house, a comparatively new one, for about twelve
years, and during that time have constantly heard
the familiar tick from time to time, twice during
this last week, October Sth and 10th. Atropos is
very numerous here, seeming to prefer the mantel-
piece, upon which are several vases filled with paper
artificial flowers, and any night they may be seen
by the dozen prying into any little crevice, or
minutely surveying petal after petal of their floral
habitation.

I hope I have thus assisted to settle the much-
vexed question of Atropos pulsotoria.

W. Chanet.

Edible Larvae.— Dr. Livingstone states that
in the valley of Quango, South Africa, the natives
dig large white larvse out of the damp soil adjacent
to their streams, aud use them as a relish to their
vegetable diet.

WHAT'S IN THE HONEY ?

"jY/FK- E, GILL has called our attention to a
-L-'J- series of sketches, which he has made at
different times, of the objects found by him, not
only in Jamaica, but also in English honey. The

Fig. u.

Fig. 15.

Fig. 16.

Fig. 17-

majority of these objects are certainly pollen grains,
and that our readers may have the opportunity of
forming their own opinion on the subject, we have
figured a number of those derived from English

Fig. 18.

Fig. 20.

Fig. 21.

Fig. 22,

Fig. 23.

honey. It is possible that duriDg the examination
of the pollen of various plants in the coming
summer, some one or other of our correspondents
may be able to identify these granules with the
plants from which they are derived. Mr. Gill [also

Feb. ,1, 1SG7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

31

detects other forms which, from their branched and
slender, threadlike character, he is disposed to
regard as the mycelium of fungi. There are objects
of which Mr. Gill writes, "in placing some of this
honey in water, in about three weeks very beautiful

Fig. 24.

Fig. 25.

masses of elongated cells are formed from groups of
these objects. Each of the cells has divisions with
four or more granules in each. The cells after
breaking up, the granules being free in the water,
have a slight movement, and appear in every re-
spect to be like the parent bodies in a gradual state
of development. These objects have a great resem-
blance to some of the Desmidiacese. The colours
vary from deep golden to pale yellow, some of
them having a faint rose tint." Eor our own part,
we must confess that we can find in all the sketches
submitted to us far greater affinities with pollen
grains than any unicellular algse.

AMIDST THE RUINS.

WE take it for granted that every person,
though resident in far-off countries, has by
this time heard or read of the late fire at the Crystal
Palace. Two-thirds of the stately edifice fortunately
remain uninjured ; but the North Transept, or that
portion of the building which was usually desig-
nated " the tropical end of the Palace," must be
numbered amongst the things that were.

It is sad to contemplate the destruction of unique
and costly works of art, very many of which are
beyond the power of money, or even human skill, to
reproduce ; quite as pitiful is it to see trees, shrubs,
and flowers, that were brought from tropical coun-
tries, at an incalculable outlay of capital and labour,
reduced to dust and ashes ; yet I assert without
fear of contradiction that it is ten times more
harrowing to gaze upon the black and cindered
remains of all sorts of living things, which we know
were roasted alive, like human martyrs were wont
to be, chained to stakes, or so securely fastened into
cages of iron as to forbid the faintest chance of
escape from the greedy flames.

Thoughts akin to these passed through my mind
as I wandered, with saddened heart, over the ruins
of the tropical department, a short time after its
ever-to-be-lamented destruction. It may interest
you, courteous reader, to follow me in fancy, as I
briefly recount my stroll amidst the ruins.

It will be as well, perhaps, in the first place to

recall to your remembrance that the Crystal Palace
building, above the basement floor, consists of a
central nave, two side aisles, two large galleries,
three transepts, and two wings; that it is con-
structed principally of iron and glass. "We must
except in this general statement a considerable
portion of the west front, which is made up of
wood panelling. The extreme length of the building
is 1,608 feet : add to this the wings, each 574 feet,
and the colonnade, which is 720 feet, and we get as
the total length of the palace 3,476 feet, or, in round
numbers, nearly three-quarters of a mile. It is
rather startling to think so large a piece of ground,
should be completely covered in by a roof of glass.

If all the columns employed in the building
and wings, were laid end to end in a straight
line, the distance covered would be sixteen miles
and a quarter. The weight of iron used in the
main building and wings, amounts to the incredible
quantity of 9,611 tons, 17 cwt., 1 quarter.

The superficial quantity of glass used in this
monster edifice is 25 acres, and its weight 500
tons. If the panes were laid side by side, they
would extend a distance of 4S miles ; if end to end,
•242 miles. The bolts and rivets weigh 175 tons,
1 cwt., 1 quarter; and the nails employed for a
variety of purposes 103 tons, 6 cwt. All this is
apart from the colonnade, which has a superficial
area of 15,500 feet, and has in its construction 60
tons of iron and 30,000 superficial feet of glass.

The plan practised for raising the temperature of
this mammoth building is by using hot water. The
pipes for the conveyance of the hot water, run in all
directions underneath the floor of the building and
wings ; these pipes, if arranged in a straight line,
would reach to a distance of more than 50 miles,
and the heated fluid flowing from and returniug
again into the boilers, travels one mile and three
quarters. When all the fountains are playing,
11,78S jets are in operation, throwing 120,000 gallons
of water per minute. A single grand display of the
fountains consumes 6,000,000 gallons of water. The
towers at each end of the Palace, built by Mr. Brunei
for the purpose of raising the tanks for the supply
of the fountains, contain 800 tons of iron in their
substance ; the tanks are calculated to hold 357,675
gallons of water. The engine-power required to do
all the work is that of 320 horses.

Having refreshed our memories with this brief
summary of statistics, we will quit the grand central
nave and enter a door beneath the large screen that
shuts off the tropical end from the rest of the build-
ing. On our left, we first notice scattered masses
of coloured arabesque and mosaic work, splintered
columns and damaged walls — all that remains
whereby we can recognize the once splendid
Alhambra, the Hall of the Abencerrages, the Court
of Lions, and Tribunal of Justice.
As we scramble about over broken mouldings, and

32

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Feb. 1, 1S67.

fragments of masonry, threading our way through
the shattered palace of the Moors, we unexpectedly
arrive at a heap of arms and legs, bodies without
heads resting by the side of others whose faces are
so battered and bemauled, that recognition is im-
possible; some are clad in chain-mail, others are
draped in priestly vestments, and very many are not
clad at all. By a little play of fancy we might easily
suppose all the statues must have recently gone in
for a sanguinary battle, and that we had stumbled
upon the remains of the fallen, gathered together,
awaiting the grave-digger. We find, however, on
inquiry, the workmen bring all the odds and ends
they discover, and deposit them at this spot.

A short distance further down the ruin, brings us
beneath the two colossal figures from the Temple of
Barneses the Great, at Aboo Simbel, in Nubia.
Towering sixty feet above our heads, their monstrous
features, never very comely, are so altered by the
action of fire, that one might readily suppose two
sinful giants had been made to suffer death by fiery
martyrdom. A friend of the writer's, who was pre-
sent at the time these figures were partially burnt,
observed a column of flame pour through the tops
of their heads, giving to them the quaint semblance*
of wearing plumes of fire. We scramble past the
avenue of Sphinxes, or rather where it was once
shaded by plants of the stately Papyrus, the leaves
of which, in bygone times, supplied the Egyptians,
as well as other nations, with sheets whereon their
manuscripts were inscribed ; here, where we now
tread, grew the Sabal Palmetto, Cocos, Wine Palms,
Date Palms, Cabbage Palms, immense ferns, the
Cinnamon, Peruvian Bark, and Tea-tree. We can
likewise remember the silvery-leaved Looking-glass
plant, and the graceful Black Bamboo, a shoot of
which has been known to add twelve inches to its
height in a single day. Not far from us, the great
Palm-tree, from the Isle of Bourbon, forty feet high,
spread its feathery fronds alike over the Ficus
Buxburgii, which bears its figs on the stem close to
the ground, and the Mahogany-tree from Honduras.
We maynot tarry to recall many other species of rare
and beautiful plants, mostly of Eastern growth, no
trace of which remains save the black dust beneath
our feet. Where is the Nineveh Court ? Why, all that
remains of it is to be found in that heap of fragments
before us. The stupendous winged bulls, with their
uncannie faces and impossible beards, are now
blackened, headless, wingless trunks ; and the
giants, together with the lions they were for ever
strangling, lie buried beneath the gorgeous ceilings,
richly painted cornices, and sculptures graven with
arrow-headed inscriptions, that covered the walls of
the Assyrian hall. As we cross over to the opposite
side of the ruin, we note that Monti's fountains are
not so very seriously damaged, although the pond
surrounding them is dry and filled with dirty
rubbish — broken glass and iron ; and we learn with

sorrow, from a man at work there, that the poor
little fish were nearly boiled alive in the miniature
lake, in which scores of them had grown from infancy
to a goodly maturity. And now we are at the spot
whereon the Mammoth-tree stood, known to
botanists as Wellingtonia gigantea. It was the bark
only that represented the tree which stood when
alive, in California, and was about 400 feet in
height. I have often stood beneath the shadows
of these forest monarchs in California, The
best plan to realize mentally the average height and
size of these stupendous trees, is to look at the
monument on Fish Street Hill, and picture in your
mind what a grove of trees must look like, every
one of which is taller, and many of them equal to
the Monument in girth. When Lady Franklin
visited California, only a few years since, Arch-
deacon Wright read the morning service to a
numerous congregation ; his "church was the stump
of a single tree, this stump is sometimes used as a
ball-room on festive occasions. Each tree has some
fanciful name bestowed upon it : — Hercules is 326
feet high, and 97 in girth ; the Hermit is 320 feet
high, and 60 in girth ; the Old Maid, a substantial,
portly lady, is 266 feet high, and 60 feet round her
waist. Addic and Mary are buxom damsels each in
height about 300 feet, and in circumference over 60
feet. The most forlorn looking of the group, with
rents in his bark, and a general air of seediness and
shabbiness, is the Old Bachelor, 300 feet high, and
70 feet in girth. We fear this representative
of the Mammoth-trees, burnt in the Crystal Palace,
will never be replaced. The cost of removing the
bark in narrow bands, or rings, was enormous ; and
the transport of so bulky a matter from California
to the United States, and thence to England, was
far greater than any company or individual will be
likely ever to outlay a second time.

Not far from the site of the tree, just a little to
our left, the brilliantly-plumaged Cockatoos and
Macaws passed their lives, dividing their time
pretty equally betwixt screaming, eating, and coax-
ing philanthropic visitors to scratch and tickle them.
How very sad to recall the fact to our minds that
these poor birds were literally, and not in mere
figure of speech, roasted alive whilst chained to
their perches ; we can almost in fancy, even now, hear
the piercing screams of the imprisoned Monkeys,
and the frantic cries of the Chimpanzee, as they
clutched hold of, and in desperate agony hurled
themselves against, the iron bars of their cages until
the iron grew too hot to hold, and suffocation put
an end to their miseries. Here, too, resided the
" happy family " of opposites ; in one cage, living
amicably together, were cats, rabbits, Guinea pigs,
and the delicate musk-deer from Java — as they had
lived so they died, to the last unable to part com-
pany. Nightingales that were wont to make the
building vocal on ■ summer evenings with their

Feb. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

33

mellow notes, together with Mocking-birds from
the States ; Canary birds direct from their native
islands ; Finches, rare and curious, from Australia
and Tasmauia; Grosbeaks from North America;
Sparrows from a variety of localities ; a case of
Doves presented by the late Lola Montes ; the
Zebra, and other exquisitely-plumaged Paroquets,
talking Parrots, together with the ingenious little
weaver-bird, were alike devoured by the greedy
flames. A few only were set at liberty, the greater
number are burnt ; Blondin's present, a Florida
Parrot, was saved from death by smoke and fire
through the kind interference of his Grace the
Duke of Sutherland. The baby Hippopotamus had
his residence not far from where we now stand ;
the most strenuous efforts were made to rescue the
quaint little beast, though in vain ; the fire ruth-
lessly did its work, until at length the floor of the
animal's dwelling gave way with a crash, and through
it went the half-roasted hippopotamus ; we can see
for ourselves where its remains were subsequently
dug out. The poor little fellow was discovered
lying on a printing-press, its appearance bearing a
comical resemblance to that of a huge sausage over-
fried.

We could willingly have lingered very much
longer "amidst the ruins," but time and space
forbid. We could have contemplated with interest
the remains of the class-room and its adjoining
orangery, where 110 orange-trees grew and throve,
some of them 400 years old, once the property of
the late Louis Philippe, and originally brought from
his chateau of Neuilly — their loss is irreparable.
The school of art, the reading-room, and library,
wherein was burnt a valuable collection of rare books,
the rarest of them all, perhaps, the copy of " Das
Neue Testament," which was printed in 1S51 for the
King of Prussia, 25 copies only of which were ever
struck off. The ruins of the Byzantine court, too,
would have amply repaid us, could we have rambled
over its remains to recall and chat about the many
interesting incidents connected with the statues,
models, and various works of high art that flourished
from the 6th to the loth centuries. Every part of
this splendid court was replete with interesting
relics, now little other than charred, broken, shape-
less fragments, destroyed by the withering flames
beyond every possibility of restoration.

It would take a good-sized volume to contain a
detailed account of all the treasures consumed in
this disastrous fire. We have certainly one consoling
thought as we shut the door upon the chaotic heaps
and piles, and inextricable confusion of smashed
glass, twisted iron, broken columns, masses of
masonry, and fragments from Moorish, Assyrian,
and Byzantine structures, mixed with, and half-
buried in, the dust and debris of a miniature tropical
forest :— no human being perished in the blazing pile.

J. K. Lord, F.Z.S.

ON THE EXAMINATION OF MELICERTA
WITH HIGH POWERS.

MY attention was drawn to these interesting
objects for the microscope by finding, in
October last, a colony of them on some weed, taken
from a pond in the Hampstead Fields, near the
Swiss Cottage. A bath, 3 inches by 2, and £ inch
wide, was constructed for their accommodation, and
placed on a shelf in the window, in front of a
binocular, provided with a 1-inch power. The
intention was to watch their reproduction; but
though they increased rapidly, and the commence-
ment of the tube was frequently seen, in other
respects this effort was unsuccessful.

Fig. 26. Melicerta ringens. Front View of the Disc.

A fine specimen very near the front glass formed
an inducement to try a T4o, but it proved just beyond
the focus ; so a smaller bath was made, having a
front of thin microscopic glass, and a space of
about i of an inch between the slides.

Fig. 27. Sheath-like character of the horn.

In this several bits of weed were placed; and
when a specimen happened to be in a favourable
position, near the first glass, the -^ worked excel-
lently. But the whole affair was clumsy ; and it
was soon abandoned for another, formed entirely of
thin glass, with a space of the TV of an inch

34

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP.

[Feb. 1, 1867.

between the surfaces, and with this success com-
menced. A specimen, once inserted between the
glasses, could be} kept in good working order for
several days, a power of £ employed, and the con-
densers brought to bear with great convenience.
Added to this, the bath was readily reversed, and
that without dangerto the object. The slimness of
the glass also proved of further value, as, in con-
sequence of its flexibility, the sides could be brought
into contact without fracture !

Fig. 28. Disc of Melicerta ringens. The arrows show the
direction of the currents.

On using the £, my attention was immediately
drawn to the great extent of the ciliated surfaces ;
the whole of the upper portion of the creature
seemed to be alive with their action. Not only were
the lobes fringed with cilia, but a second row was
found to exist on the inner surface of the two upper
lobes, the action of which was for some time mis-
taken for currents of water. This inner series is in
connection with the two finger-like valves, which
protect the entrance to the gullet ; and its especial
office is to pass forward to them all particles
brought within its influence ; these are then in-
spected by the cilia covering the valves, and if
considered lit, are allowed to enter the passage
leading to the gizzard. From this a ciliated surface
extends to the lintel or chin over the mould ; its
action creates a strong back current, by which all
that is unfit for food is thrown off, with the excep-
tion of certain particles, which appear to be selected
for the pellet ; these are directed to a side-channel
lcadiug to the mould. Here the cilia are again seen
in full activity — its hollow may be said to be lined
with them ; and it is by their action that the

spinning motion of the pellet is set up and con-
tinued.

The following drawings will serve to assist the
description: — Fig. 28, exhibits the inner row of
cilia, the action of which is indicated by the arrows.
The finger-like valves are shown; and over the
mould is seen, in profile, the surface by which the
back current is produced. Fig. 29 gives a side view
of this surface («), the direction of the current
being shown by the arrows ; and the channel
leading to the mould is seen at b.

Fig. 29. Profile of disc of Melicerta ringens.

It is very possible that all which has been de-
scribed has been noticed before, but it is equally
possible that it has never been so clearly and con-
tinuously observed. Nothing that I have ever seen
has surpassed the definition of the mould under the
£, assisted by the condenser; the eye seemed to
enter within its walls, and there to witness the
coming in of the first particles after a pellet had
been deposited. Curious, indeed, was the action of
the cilia, playing like fingers, with the nucleus, and
turning it first in one direction and then in another
till the rotatory motion was commenced. My
pleasure was indeed of the highest degree ; and this
paper is written with the hope that it may be the
means of adding to the pleasure of others, and not
only this, but that, while contemplating these
wonders of creative power, our minds may bow in
silent adoration of that Great Being for whose
pleasure more especially " they are and were
created."

The manufacture of this kind of bath is so simple
that a few instructions are added, by which any one
of moderate ingenuity may make several in the
course of an hour or two.

The requirements are a stock of thin glass, a
sharp writing diamond for cutting it, and a tin
trough in which to melt some of the best red seal-
ing-wax. Cut first a piece of glass about 2 inches

Feb. 1, 1SC7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

35

by lir, then another piece -J- inch narrower, the extra
size of the first being required as a ledge, on which
to drop the water or rest the object previously to
inserting it between the glasses. Now prepare a
piece of cardboard or cartridge-paper, half an inch
less in width than the length of the bath ; this is to
be placed between the two glasses, and withdrawn
after the bath is complete. Upon its thickness
depends the depth of the water between the glasses;
and, therefore, if a high power is to be employed,
cartridge is better than cardboard.

i

j ;

Fig. 30. Cell used in the observation of Melicerta with
high powers.

When all is "prepared, and the wax melted, the
edges of the glasses which project beyond the card-
board are to be dipped into the wax, which soon
forms a union between them ; and in a few minutes
the card may be withdrawn, and the bath is ready
for use. It should then be filled with water by a
dipper, and a specimen selected for insertion.
Before doing this, it is advisable to remove as much
of the weed as possible, so that the piece which is
left may be flat, or it will not pass between the
glasses. This is effected by first resting it on the
projecting ledge, and then moving it gently forward
with a needle or any thin object, till it is fairly
positioned for observation. The water evaporates
slowly, and must be renewed occasionally with the
dipper. The peculiar advantage of this bath in the
case of Melicerta consists in the free supply of
water, as without this these delicate creatures will
close or work so fitfully that sustained observations
are impossible. It would also be found highly
valuable for Zoophytes, or any creatures of a
similar character. XL E. Gheen.

[The above is an abstract of a paper read at the
Quekett Microscopical Club.]

Pliny tells us that Cato of Utica was one time
reproached for selling poison, because when dis-
posing of a royal property by auction he sold a quan-
tity of Cantharides at the price of 60,000 sesterces.

RHIZOSOLENIA.

A CURIOUS genus of Diatoms was introduced
-^*- to notice by Mr. Brightwell in the sixth
volume of the Microscopical Journal. This was
called Rhizosolcnia, and with a view to its better
acquaintance, we have given figures of two species,
and a brief summary of the rest.

Five British species are on record, and besides
the singularity of their forms, they are remarkable
for being only found in the
interior of marine animals,
chiefly Ascidians. Rhizo-
solenia styliformis is figured
to the left hand (fig. 31),
that on the right being
Rhizosolenia im bricata

(fig. 2), so named from the
imbricated appearance of
the valve. Rhizosolenia
setigera has a terminal
bristle, sometimes nearly as
long as the frustule. Rhizo-
solenia alata is a curious
little species, with a short
bristle seated at the base
of the hood-like cap which
ends the frustule. And
Rhizosolenia robusta is more
anomalous in its form, being
broad, somewhat sigmoid,
and terminating at each ex-
tremity in a short bristly
point. The latter was
found by Mr. Norman in
Ascidians from the northern
coasts of England, the rest
were all found by Mr. Brightwell. We should be
glad to hear from any of our correspondents who
are fortunate enough to meet with specimens of
these rare and singular Diatoms.

The Plane-tree— Pliny records the particulars
of several remarkable plane-trees, and tells us of
one in Lycia, that had a cave or hollow in the
trunk, which measured SI feet in circumference, in
which were stone seats covered with moss ; and
that Licinius Mutianus, when consul, with eighteen
of his friends, used to dine and sup in the cavity of
the tree, the branches of which, we are told, spread
to such an extent, that this single tree appeared like
a grove ; and this consul, says our author, preferred
sleeping in this hollow tree to his marble chamber,
where his bed was composed of curious needle-
work, and canopied with beaten gold. — Sylva
Florifera.

Fig. 31.

Fig. 32.

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Feb. 1, 1867.

FORAMINIFERA IN CHALK.

I HAVE for some years past successfully prac-
tised a simple method of obtaining Foramini-
fera, &c, from chalk.

Fig. 33. Gravesend Chalk.

As many persons are desirous of obtaining a
good supply of these interesting objects, the fol-
lowing directions may prove useful.

Having procured a lump of fresh chalk,
break it into pieces of about the size of a
large walnut ; then, with some heavy in-
strument, crush, not pound nor grind,
these pieces into a coarse powder ; when
a sufficient quantity (say one or two
pounds) has been thus prepared, either
pass it through a sieve, or remove the
large pieces, crush them, and return
them to the powder; next procure a
piece of stout calico, into which place the
chalk, and tie it up as a housewife would
a pudding. A large vessel of clean water
should now be obtained, and the crushed
chalk, having been allowed to become
saturated with the fluid, the bundle should
be kneaded, in the hands only : the con-
tents will soon become a thick pasty
mass, the milky water gradually ooze
through, and the bulk of the chalk be-
come considerably diminished. From
time to time, after allowing the fluid to
drain off, the cloth should be untied, and
rctied closer to the mass, and when the
contents are reduced to about one-third, or less,
of their original bulk, all large pieces of chalk, por-

tions of spines of Echini, &c, should be removed,
as the attrition of these hard bodies would greatly
injure the delicate and beautiful little fossils.

When the greater portion of the chalk has escaped
through the cloth, much greater care must be used,
and at last the bag should be merely
shaken, until the water which flows from
it is almost clear; the contents of the
cloth may then be transferred to a bottle
of clear water, which should be vio-
lently shaken, the organisms occasionally
allowed to subside, the milky fluid poured
off, and fresh added : this operation to be
repeated until the water remains clear
when agitated. The white powder should
be dried and sifted ; the coarser will be
found to consist of minute corals of
great beauty, sponges, shells, and the
larger foraminifera, &c, and the finer of
the smaller foraminifera, &c.

So far from this apparently rough mode
of proceeding injuring these delicate or-
ganisms, the majority of even the most
fragile are quite uninjured : this, no
doubt, is owing to the semifluid contents
of the bag not being allowed to escape
too quickly ; if too coarse a cloth be used,
not only do the more minute fossils pass
through, but the softer part of the chalk
being at the same time removed, the
hard pieces of some portions of shells and spines
would be brought into a more immediate contact

Fig. 34." Chalk of Mcndon.

with these minute bodies, and their inevitable
destruction would be the result. The operation is

Feb. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

37

a tedious one, not more so, however, than the pre-
paration of most microscopic objects, and the result
will richly compensate one for the pains bestowed,

I have now before me sixteen small boxes, con-
taining as many different kinds of shells, spines,
&c., one holding about thirty sorts of corals, many
of exquisite beauty ; the whole of these
specimens, weighing with those not yet
sorted nearly one ounce and a half, were
obtained from about one pound weight
of chalk. I have also another box of
small foraminifera, prepared from a like
quantity of chalk ; these are equally
beautiful, but weigh somewhat less than
3 drachms, and no corals can I find. It
must, however, be very poor in fossils,
if a lb. of chalk do not yield a sufficient
quantity to satisfy any microscopic ob-
server. Edwakd H. Robertson.

[Note— The woodcuts, Figs. 33 to 36,
from Figuier's "World before the De-
luge," were kindly placed at our disposal
by Messrs. Chapman & Hall.]

A

Fig. 35. Chalk of the Isle of Mocn, Denmark.

as a vast number of beautiful forms are obtained.
Some practice is required, a little judgment must

Fig. 36. Chalk of Cattolica, Sicily.

be exercised, and] the result will vary, according as
the chalk used is prolific of fossils, or otherwise.

SPIDER'S NEST.

SPIDER'S nest of an unusual kind
has been built in a peony bush,
this summer in my garden. A descrip-
tion of it may possibly interest some
of your readers.
It is a conical bag of fine close web, nearly four
inches long ; the point rested in
a crutch of five leaves, two of
which, of equal size, about two
inches long, were fastened up the
back of the bag ; the three smaller
leaves were attached slightly to
the front of the bag only at the
bottom of each leaf.

The top, or mouth of the bag,
about two inches in diameter, was
kept open in a perfect circle by
strings of strong web, fastened to
leaves an inch or two off. From
those leaves more web was
stretched to leaves or branches,
and repeated until the supports,
woven sideways, upward, and
downward, spread over the bush
sixteen inches square or more.
When this was finished, a trian-
gular piece of thick web, like the
bag, was woven on the top, reach-
ing about one-quarter of the cir-
cumference, and stretched and
suspended like a beautiful arched
canopy over half the mouth of the
bag ; when that was completed,
another was woven by the side of it, and suspended
in the same way : consequently the mouth of the

38

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Feb. 1, 1867

bag was so covered that nothing could fall in ; but
the canopy was not closed down along the front
half of the bag by nearly an inch.

A leaf was then drawn down on the canopy, and
woven over about half-way down the leaf; in like
manner five other of the surrounding leaves were
woven down, and made a perfect cover. The edge
of the canopy was then let down, and woven to the
other half of the bag. I suppose he had shut him-
self in, for I saw him no'more. He used to sit on
the edge of the bag, under the canopy, but if I
stooped or moved a hand toward the nest he darted
instantly to the bottom. Snails used to get under
the shelter of the nest ; I frequently removed them
by passing my arm under the busb, but it was not
possible to do that without breaking some of his
ramifications.

After it had been closed about three weeks I cut
off the branch and brought it in-doors, but was
prevented attending to it until the surrounding
leaves had become dry. When I moved them the
spider lay dead outside the nest : on removing the
three small leaves at the point of the bag there was
a small hole through which I imagine he must have
come out. I cut the bag from the point upwards ;
it was quite empty for more than two inches. I
cut another inch and a half, and found a bag fully an
inch long, and nearly as wide, suspended by twelve
arms of close web to the outer bag or nest. I then
cut the inner bag : it was with difficulty that a
sharp pair of scissors went through it, it was so
remarkably tough. As soon as an opening was
made, a young one ran out, but soon returned into
the hole, through which you may see a bunch
of little black things huddled together. Perhaps
they have hatched before the proper time, through
being indoors ; at present they keep quiet in the
nest.

The old one was what may be called a fierce
repulsive-looking creature (though I do not like to
call anything so), nearly black legs, strong and
hairy, and brilliant eyes.

I saw a nest of the same kind in a bush four or
five feet from the ground about the year 1816, and
have wished to meet with another, but have not
seen one till now; therefore I conclude they are not
common. No meution is made of it in " Homes
without Hands."

Streatham Hill. H. C. P.

Anobium. — M. Peignot mentions an instance,
where, in a public libraiy that was but little fre-
quented, twenty-seven folio volumes were perforated
in a straight line by one and the same larva of a
small insect (Anobium periinax, or A. striatum) in
such a manner that on passing a cord through the
perfectly round hole made by the insect, these
twenty-seven volumes could be raised at once.

ERESH-WATER STICKLEBACKS IN
SEA-WATER AQUARIUM.

jTT is perhaps undoubted that sticklebacks
-*- (Gasterosteus aculeatus), born and bred in
fresh water, are able to live, apparently without
inconvenience, in sea water. It may, however, not
be uninteresting to some of the readers of Science
Gossip, to hear a short account of an endeavour to
establish fresh-water sticklebacks in a marine
aquarium. Without fish of some sort, an aquarium
lacks one of its greatest attractions ; but to keep
them, it needs not only a well-constituted balance
of animal and vegetable life, but also a careful
selection of the sorts of animals. As the aquarium
of which the following account is written is not
near the sea, difficulty is found in obtaining salt-
water fish ; and the innumerable fresh-water stickle-
backs in the mill-streams near Newport suggested
the plan of introducing some of them to the society
of their foreign brethren. My aquarium has now
been in existence for some fourteen months, and
until the 29th September last without any change of
water. In this respect it has been more successful
than any that I have previously had. I believe that
very much depends on obtaining thoroughly pure
water to begin with.

During the last year, I have on several occasions
placed fresh-water sticklebacks in the aquarium.
Once I put in, I think, five, and the next morning
only one was to be seen — and that one dead in the
arms of an anemone. The same day I put in another
seven, and afterwards five or six more, and similar
numbers at other times, but always with the same
result,— none survived the second day, and most of
them disappeared after the first night. After the
new sea-water had been placed in the aquarium, I
obtained five sticklebacks of different sizes, one a
tiny fish not more than half an inch long, and the
other four varying from one inch to an inch and a
half; two of these I placed at once into a basin of
sea water, and the other three into a basin of fresh
water, to which I gradually added sea water. As
they seemed to be perfectly at ease in their new ele-
ment, I transferred them on the second day to the
aquarium, and I then sat myself down to watch, to
see if I could discover the enemy that destroyed
these brilliant little fish.

Within a very few minutes one of two prawns
(Palcptnon serratus), which were in the aquarium,
came from its hiding-place, and with great eagerness
began searching for the new comers, whose advent
was, I suppose, announced to it by a strange and
delightfully new " fish-like smell." It soon found
one of my little ones, and, seizing it with its nippers,
was carrying it off to kill and eat, or rather, I
expect, eat and kill, when I came to the rescue of
my pets and sent the crystal dragon jerking away.

Feb. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

39

It was, however, of little use to stand on guard with
my knitting-needle, I could hardly shield the whole
five from harm ; and to divert the attention of the
enemy I dropped large pieces of meat into its claws,
and so for a time succeeded in quieting him. Being
then called away I could only leave my poor fish
with too sure a dread that havoc would be made
amongst them soon.

Returning a few hours after, I found that one fish
was missing, and although I could not see any
remains of it either in the jaws of the prawn or in
the aquarium, I had little doubt now as to the secret
of the disappearance of it and its predecessors, and
soon I had conclusive proof. I came suddenly upon
Master Prawn greedily eating another of {he fish,
quite a third of it being already nibbled up. Each
day has seen another fish victimized, and this evening
I could not find the last solitary survivor, and so
must conclude that all have vanished in the same
way. I do not believe that a single fish of this last
lot was caught by an anemone, although my anemones
of each kind have been widely expanded— luxuriating
in the new water. Even the fish whose body I found
in the grasp of an anemone was, I think, either
driven to its fate by the pursuing prawn or was
dropped dead into its clutches. I account for the
more rapid destruction of my previous lots of fish
by the fact that there were then nine or ten prawns
in the aquarium.

I have given thus full an account of my trials and
failures, because to my mind two things are pretty
well proved— first, that sticklebacks will live and
thrive in sea water ; but, second, that if you wish
to keep them, you must either not have prawns with
them, or else select very young prawns, and stickle-
backs of a superior size and strength to them. I
should be very sorry to banish prawns from my
aquarium, as they are both handsome and useful,—
handsome in their varied movements, and in their
amber crystal bodies heightened with gold and
brown at the joints, and exceedingly useful as
scavengers.

Before concluding, I should like to ask if any
philosophical or other reason has been found out
wherefore some few fresh-water fish will do well in
sea water, whilst the greater number, I believe,
perish almost instantaneously. E. S.

ZOOLOGY.

The Bereaved Dog.— A poor disconsolate dog
has been wandering about the scene of the late
catastrophe in Regent's Park, disdainiug all food,
and refusing to be comforted. His late master was
undoubtedly one of the drowned, but hitherto the
animal has owned no one, and is owned by none.
He excites pity from all who are led by curiosity to
the spot, not only on account of his faithfulness,
but from his intelligent appreciation of his loss, and
the manifestations of his grief.

A Prolific Anemone. -In October, 1860, a brief
paragraph was inserted respecting a prolific ane-
mone, Sagartia Bellis, which I then had in my
aquarium. In the paragraph referred to it is stated
that the anemone had at one birth produced upwards
of 100 young. I have now to state that 'in the
following week it produced about 150 additional;
about four weeks after that it added 50 to the
number of its young ; and in the month of Decem-
ber it again increased its'numerous progeny by giving
birth to 50; immediately after which it sickened
and died. It had lived healthy and well in my
aquarium for about four years. — T. P. Barlcas,
Newcastle -on-Tyne.

The Edible Bird's Nest so much prized by
the Chinese for making soup (and of which I-have
several specimens) resembles a mass of fibrous
isinglass matted together, and forming a small
shallow cup which the bird lines with feathers.
Large quantities of these nests are collected in Java,
the coasts of Papua, and the islands towards the
north end of Australia. The material with which
the bird builds this nest has always been a mystery
to Europeans. Charles Waterton would not
venture to hazard a conjecture whence the bird
obtains it. I can however set the matter at rest.
Some years ago, when passing northwards through
Torres' Straits, the [ship was daily anchored soon
after noon, as the sun's light then began to fall on
the submerged coral reefs at such an angle as to
obs cure them, and render the navigation dangerous.
Landing on the reefs and islets in search of shells, I
found at low water great numbers of the hideous
looking mollusc called "Trepang," and "Beche-de-
mer;" it looks like a gigantic slug, varying from 2 to
5 feet in length, and is as thick as my wrist ; it is
collected and smoke-dried for the China market, to
be made into soup. On taking up one of these
animals it is found to be covered with a very
tenacious slime, like white birdlime, which however
readily comes off the animal's skin, and floats up to
the beach in long streaks with the froth of the
rising tide. One afternoon my attention was
attracted to a flock of little brownish, ash-coloured
birds, who were busily engaged all along the edge
of the rising water, and as they were very tame, I
approached to within a few feet of them to see what
they were doing; and could distinctly see them
gathering with their beaks the white slime thrown
off by the " Trepang ; " numbers of them flying off
with it on their beaks, and new-comers twittering
and settling down at the edge of the water. The
bird is a diminutive martin, and builds its nest
against the face of the rock, just as the English
martin constructs its mud nest under the eaves of

40

HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Feb. 1, 1867.

our houses. As these little martins,- with, all the
swallow tribe, are insectivorous, they were no doubt
collecting the exuviae of the Trepang, not for food,
but as the material wherewith to construct their
nests, the slime being moist and plastic, when first
thrown off, and hardening into a kind of dry isin-
glass when put into shape by the bird. — H. Kelsall,
M.1).

An Eagle in Hylands Park. — On Thursday,
au eagle made its appearance in Hylands Park,
causing great consternation among the rooks and
other birds. It was seen again the next day, and
was observed to leave the ice-house clump. The
keepers, expecting the rare visitor to roost in the
high trees of the clump, posted themselves with
guns towards dusk on each side of the ice-house,
and had scarcely taken up their position when he
came soaring over, and was knocked down by one
of the keepers, and, with some difficulty, secured
alive. It proves to be a white-tailed, or cinereous
eagle {Halieetus albicilla). It is a bird of this
year in fine plumage, and measures 7 feet across the
wings. On the 11th it was alive and likely to re-
cover from its wound, which appears to be only in
the wing. I should like to know if this species is
common on the Eastern coast. — H. Wiglesworth.

Nest of the Trapdoor Spider. — New-comers
into the country which the Trapdoor Spider inhabits
are often surprised by seeing the ground open, a
little lid lifted up, and a rather formidable spicier
peer about, as if to reconnoitre the position before
leaving its fortress. At the least movement on the
part of the spectator, back pops the spider, like the
cuckoo on a clock, clapping its little door after it
quite as smartly as the wooden bird, and in most
cases succeeds in evading the search of the astonished
observer, the soil being apparently unbroken, without
a trace of the curious little door that had been so
quickly shut. — Eev..J. G. Wood's "Homes without
Hands."

Torpidity of the Snail. — The following in-
stance of prolonged torpidity in Helix nemoralis is
so remarkable that I think it worth putting on
record. In August, 1863, 1 was staying for a few
weeks at Swanage, in Dorsetshire, and in one of my
walks on the road between Swanage and Studland,
I picked up some very pretty specimens of this
species. These I put into a chip box and brought
home, placing them in a drawer of my cabinet,
where they were forgotten until about a fortnight
since. On opening the box I found them dead, the
bodies being dried up and shrivelled, in some in-
stances having fallen out into the box, in others
remaining in the mouth of the shells. I picked out
all these, and placed the empty shells in my cabinet.
Having occasion to look at them yesterday
(Nov. 28th, 1866), I saw, to my intense surprise, a

black head and a pair of horns protruding from one
of the shells which I had supposed to be empty.
Presently the animal entirely emerged, and walked
about in as lively a manner as when first picked up.
The ordinary period of their torpidity is, I believe,
about six or seven months, but I am aware of an
instance in which a supposed empty shell had been
glued down to a block in one of the table cases in
the British Museum for two years, when the unsus-
pected tenant made its appearance. Put my pri-
soner had never been removed from the box in
which it had been first placed for three years and a
quarter ! Is not this a remarkable instance, or
have any of the readers of Science Gossip known
it to be exceeded ? — W. J. Sterland.

The Poisonous Spider of Russia. — We have
received the following account of a poisonous black
spider, which has of late years made its appearance
in Eussia. We are indebted for the information to
a traveller, who passed the greater part of last year
in the province of Berdiausk. The appearance of
this insect amongst the wheat at harvest time,
created for a few clays a panic among the labouring
classes, and, indeed, one of so threatening a cha-
racter, that wages rose to double their ordinary
rate, and it was with difficulty that the labourers
could be induced to work. More than 300 persons
were bitten by this venomous insect, but only three
cases are reported to have proved fatal, and these
deaths, it is supposed, are not to be attributed
solely to the bite of the spider. Fortunately, this
visitation was restricted to one part of the town
lands, otherwise the consequences might have been
very serious. The bite of this insect was indicated
by a hard, white spot. The first symptoms ex-
perienced were alternate violent heat and cold,
shortness of breath, bordering on suffocation, and
increased pulsation of the heart, and pains in the
chest and back, then weakness in the legs, and
dizziness in the head. After a few hours these
symptoms diminished, and in two days the patient
was able to resume his work. The general remedy
employed was to cup the poisoned part, and liberally
wash it with cold water. Some cauterized the
place ; but this remedy was not so efficacious, and
it created besides a fresh wound. The first time
this spider was seen at Berdiansk, was in 1861 ; but
a very few persons were bitten by it. Last year,
however, it increased to a most alarming extent. It
was remarked that the spider was very active in
killing locusts, on which it seemed principally to
feed, and it was only when disturbed that it stung
persons. The majority of the persons bitten did
not know the cause of their illness, and it was only
the same symptoms in each case that proved it to
be the sting of the spider. This poisonous insect
has again visited Russia this year, but we under-
stand it has done but little mischief. — Technologist.

Feb. ], 1SG7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

41

Crocodiles near London. — A circumstance
came under my notice the other day, which may be
interesting as having some bearing on the question.
Some time after seeing Mr. Wright's paper in The
Gentleman's Magazine, I happened to go into the
Welsh Harp Hotel, in the Edgware Road, where
there are a good many preserved specimens of
natural history; among these I observed a case
containing a reptile, very similar in appearance to
that described by Mr. Wright. I at once inquired
its history, and ascertained from the persons in the
house, who were anxious to give me every informa-
tion, that it was a young alligator, brought over to
this country by Heenan, the well-known American
prize-fighter ; that it was presented to the landlord
alive, and that it lived with them for six months :
indeed, as they said, it might have been alive still,
had it not come to an untimely end at the hand of
some evil-disposed angler, who, seeing it on the
bank of the reservoir, terminated its existence with
a blow from the butt-end of his fishing-rod. Erom
their account it appeared to have been tolerably
tame, as although when it first came into their pos-
session it was kept confined, it was after a time
allowed to go at large, when it used to crawl about
the margin of the large reservoir at the rear of the
house, returning regularly for its meals to its old
quarters ; and they further said that it was well
known to all who frequented the house. The little
creature was not well preserved, and it was there-
fore very difficult to get a correct estimate of its
proportions. As far as I could judge, however, it
seemed to be about a third size larger than the
crocodile described by Mr. Wright. It seems to me
clear from the history of this alligator, and from its
having existed for some months in a semi-wild state
in this country, that there can be no difficulty in
believing that a creature of similar habits and orga-
nisation might also exist under the same or the like
conditions, although it would seem that the high
authority of Professor Owen is against this view of
the subject. — The Gentleman' 's Magazine.

Mice as Destroyers oe Birds' Eggs. — In my
experience as a bird-nester, I have frequently found
the eggs of birds broken in the nest, and this
destruction of eggs I have attributed to the weasel.
I have a cat, a noted bird-destroyer ; but I never
knew her to take young ones out of the nest, nor
to destroy the eggs; but several times she has
grievously disappointed me by destroying the old
birds on the nest. I have frequently, at the latter
end of the breeding season, found mice in nests ;
but I never could find, though I have diligently
looked for them, any traces of the eggs, which I
should unquestionably have done, had the mice been
the destroyers. I am of opinion that deserted nests
are frequently taken possession of by mice, and used
by them as homes. I found four young mice (blind)

in a chaffinch's nest ; I also found a litter in a
blackbird's nest ; and last year, whilst looking for
the nest of a tree-sparrow, I found two mice, pro-
bably a male and a female, iu the deserted nest of a
hedge-sparrow. When I suddenly withdrew my
hand, they ran along the branches of the hawthorns
with as much ease as if they had been used to it
all their lives. — John Hanson, Linton-on-Ouse.

The Anchovy {Engranlis encrasicholus). — I have
just received a specimen of this fish, above 64 inches
long, caught with the sprats on the Lincolnshire
coast, near Boston. According to Mr. Yarrell, this
fish is very rare on that coast, although well known
in the West of England. Yarrell says (vol. ii., p.
219), "In a series of notes on the occurrence of
rare fish at Yarmouth, and its vicinity, with which I
have been favoured by Dawson Turner, Esq., there
is mention of a specimen of the Anchovy taken on
the beach, which measured six inches and a half in
length. Mr. Couch says he has seen it in the
Cornish seas of the length of seven inches and a
half, additional proofs of the large size acquired
by this fish on our shores." — C. Adcock, Birmingham.

Alas ! poor Atropos ! — In a recent communica-
tion to the Tint. Mag. (pp. 180), Mr. McLachlan
proposes that Atropos pulsatoria should henceforth
be called Atropos divinatoria, and denies it the
power of making a noise. He says, "That various
species of Anobium cause this sound, is proved
beyond doubt ; but that a creature with a body so
soft that the least touch annihilates it can in any
way produce a noise sensible to human ears, seems
to me impossible. I look upon it as a perpetuated
superstition commenced centuries ago, at a time when
the human mind was peculiarly sensitive to impres-
sions of the supernatural, and having its origin in
the habitat of the creature ; the real producers of
the sound, species of Anobium, were not seen or
suspected, and Atropos, as being the only iusect
supposed to frequent the spots whence the sounds
proceeded, was naturally accused. The apprehen-
sions excited by what is only the love-call of a
small beetle, still exist with the uneducated."

On this subject see prior communications (S.G.,
vol. ii., pp. 77 and 251).

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Picus major).—
Perhaps you may be interested to know that on
Monday, the 31st of December, I shot a female
specimen of the Great Spotted Woodpecker. I
killed it in an open country, away from any wood. —
/. B. B. Maxfield, Stone, Staffordshire.

Rein-deer Bot.— At a recent meeting of the
Zoological Society, Dr. J. Murie read a notice of
the occurrence of (Estrus tarandi in a Reindeer in
the Society's Gardens, and made some remarks on
the summer dress of the Llama and Alpaca as
exhibited in the Gardens during the past summer.

•12

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Feb. 1, 1867.

BOTANY.

Primroses.— While shooting at East Hothley,
in Sussex, on Saturday, the 8th of December, I
picked a fine bunch of Primroses ; and on the fol-
lowing day, one of my little boys found a bunch of
the ripe fruit of the Wild Strawberry (Fragaria
vesca) in this parish. — W. N., Uckfield.

Proliferous Hart's-Tongue. — Daring the end
of last summer, a plant of the curly-leaved variety
of the hart's-tougue fern (Scolopendrium vulgare),
which I had frequent opportunities of seeing, put
out on the surface of an oldish frond two little
brown specks, which grew and developed just as the
similar outshoots of the Asplenium bulbiferum do.
In a little time, the mother frond began to wither,
was cut off and planted in soil ; the two young ones
flourished, put out roots, and are now healthy grow-
ing plants. — Leonard W. Sedgwick, M.D.

The True Papyrus— The Ptev. H. B. Tristram
has communicated to the Linnean Society that he
found the true Cyperus Papyrus L. in Palestine, by
the shores of the Lake of Galilee, sometimes grow-
ing to the length of sixteen feet. He afterwards
found, in the almost inaccessible marshes of Huleh
(the ancient Merom), many acres of the same plant.
The stems are cut down by the Bedouins for thatch-
ing their huts and for mats. This plant was only
known to occur in the marshes of the White Nile,
in Nubia, prior to this discovery, it having dis-
appeared from Egypt. — See Joiirn. Linn. Soc,
No. 38.

Cocoa-nut Milk. — A tropical sun soon makes
one thirsty. I wanted " a drink," and, for the first
time in my life, tasted iced cocoa-nut milk. Never
in my life have I drunk anything half as delicious.
Do not imagine that in the least degree it resembles
the small teacupful of sweet insipid stuff dribbled
out from the cocoa-nut as we buy it here in England.
What we eat as kernel is liquid in the young nut,
and the outer husk soft enough to push your thumb
through. Surely the cocoa-nut palm must have
been specially designed for the dwellers in the
tropical world. It supplies everything uncivilized
man can possibly need, to build his ships, rig, paddle'
and sail them ; from its products too, he can make
his houses, and obtain food, drink, clothing, and
culinary utensils. Strictly littoral in its habits, the
cocoa-palm loves to loll over the sea, and let the
frothy ripple wash its rootlets. This also looks like
another link in the chain of Divine intentions. The
nuts necessarily fall into the sea — winds and currents
carry them to coral reefs, or strand them on desert
shores, there to grow, and, by a sequence of won-
drously ordered events, in time make it habitable
for man. — /. K. Lord's " The Naturalist in Vancouver
Island."

Holly in Elower. — I observed a holly-tree
(Ilex aquifolium) in flower last month, at Pickers-
leigh, near Malvern. It still continues in flower, at
a very unusual time of the year, when other trees
are bearing ripe fruit. — Arthur D. Melvin, Dec, 1SC6.

The Moss-rose. — Madame de Genlis tells us
that, during her first visit to England, she saw moss-
roses for the first time, and that she took to Paris a
moss rose-tree, which was the first that had been
seen in that city ; and she says, in 1810, " the cul-
tivation of this superb flower is not yet known in
Erance."— Sylva Florifera.

The Jordan Almond-tree was first planted in
England in the reign of Henry VIII., 1518 (Hortus
Kewensis). Dr. Turner notices it in the year 1615,
and says, "Almond-trees growe muche in hyghe
Germany beside Sypre in a cytie called Newstat,
and great plentye in Italye, and some growe in
England, but I have hearde of no greate store of
the fruyte of them that growe in England."

The Myrtle. — It was upon a memorable occasion
that the myrtle was introduced into this country, —
as it is said to have been brought from Spain by Sir
Walter Raleigh and Sir Erancis Carew, in 15S5,
when they resided in Spain, and discovered the pre-
parations for the Spanish Armada against us. — Sylva
Florifera.

The Sweet-Pea, the emblem of delicate pleasures,
was unknown in the British gardens until the first
year of the eighteenth century, when it blossomed in
the garden of Dr. Uvedale, at Enfield, in Essex (sic),
who is supposed to have been the first cultivator of
this favourite flower in England, which has now
spread itself over the whole of Europe, — entering
every garden where the florist is disposed to

— — " Lend a staff to the stili gadding pea."

Flora Historica.

Holy-Ghost Plant. — The Orchid described in
your last number under the foregoing title is the Peri-
steria elata of our stoves. It may be seen in flower
during the months of July and August, at Messrs.
Veitch & Son's, Koyal Exotic Nursery, or at any
other nursery of eminence in the vicinity of London.
— W. J. D. A.

Dove-plant. — It may be interesting to some of
your readers to know that the " Flor del Fspirito
Santo" or Dove-plant, Peristeria etata* (Hooker),
is in cultivation in this country. It was introduced
as early as 1826, and flowered for the first time in
1S30, and a figure and description of it appeared in
the Botanical Magazine, vol. lviii., p. 3116.

W. B. H.

* From 7rcpi<TTfpa: a dove, from the resemblance in the
shape and colour to that bird.

Feb. 1, 1867.]

HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE GOSSIP.

43

MICEOSCOPY.

Polariscopic Objects. — I desire to direct at-
tention to a beautiful series of polariscopic objects
which may easily be obtained from prawns, and
possibly from shrimps and other crustaceans. Under-
neath the shell of these may be found, at certain
times, a very slight, incomplete, and fragmentary
deposit of crystals not much unlike the scales on
some fish. The crystals are of irregular forms and
various sizes, and are probably carbonate or oxalate
of bme, and when united they appear to form the
new shell of the prawn which is ready for use when
the older shell has been cast away. On mounting
the crystals or scales on balsam, and placing
them under a polariscope, they will be found to
exhibit the most beautiful iridescent colours ; and
so thoroughly and essentially polariscopic are the
crystals, ttkat even without a selenite plate their
colours are gorgeous. — T. P. Barkas, Neiccastle-
on-Tyne.

Hardening Canada Balsam. — At the Decem-
ber meeting of the Quekett Microscopical Club,
during a discussion on this subject, Mr. Hislop
described the following simple and effective plan
which he had adopted with great success. He had
two plates of brass, 2} inches wide by 5 or 6 inches
long, and TV of an inch, thick, which were placed
on a tripod over a gas flame turned down to the
blue, so as to keep the plates hot enough to be
unpleasant to the hand. After mounting the
objects, he places the slides on the brass plates ;
and on taking them off again in an hour's time, he
finds the balsam in nine cases out of ten to be hard
enough to scrape off and finish. No difficulty is
found to arise from air-bubbles, and those which
form of themselves disappear as the balsam be-
comes hard.

The Quekett Soiree. — The first soiree of the
Quekett Microscopical Club was held at University
College on the 4th of January, and, notwithstanding
the inclemency of the weather, about 400 persons
were present. Amongst the " attractions " of the
evening were Dr. Mary Walker, a living Stepliano-
ceros, Quekett's own microscope, and a curious
microscope exhibited by Mr. Burgess, which gave a
field of apparently eighteen inches. These divided
a lion's share of attention amongst them. A large
number of microscopes were exhibited by the mem-
bers, including the principal makers.

Acari. — Any correspondents willing to aid in the
investigation of British Acari, with a view to the
publication of a work on the subject, are invited to
send specimens of mites, water-mites, or ticks, in-
closed in quills, addressed to "Acarus," care of the
Editor, 192, Piccadilly, London, W.

Asphalt Cement. — The number of commu-
nications you have on the subject of making asphalt
cement from Mr. Davies's receipt, shows that many
fail in their attempts to dissolve, the asphaltum iu
naphtha, and are driven to other expedients, such
as dissolving it iu benzoli, turpentine, &c. Having
myself at once succeeded in this, I have since made
some experiments, with the view of finding out the
cause of disappointment. Procuring naphtha from
four different places, I found that two of the samples
dissolved the asphaltum readily, after its being
brokenup, allowed to remain in the naphtha 24 hours,
and then heated to about 190° ; the other two had
no more effect upon it than is described by Mr.
Eowley in Science-Gossip, vol. ii., page ;263 ;
clearly showing that the only difficulty is to get the
right quality of mineral naphtha, when it is very easy
to dissolve the asphaltum in it. I may say the same
with regaid to the india-rubber : if the sheet or any
other kind is used which has been previously dis-
solved, two or three days, occasionally shaking the
bottle, will generally effect a solution ; the thick lumps
sold for erasing pencil-marks are not suitable for
this purpose, being very difficult to dissolve. Before
making the quantity required, it is better to put a
spoonful of the naphtha in a small bottle, with a few
bits of asphaltum as a test, which will soon show its
dissolving power. Mineral naphtha and pure india-
rubber can be procured of Mr. Woolley, 69, Market
Street, Manchester, with which the operation may be
begun and finished in two days, with the application
of heat, or iu four clays without it. — E. Greenhough,
Matlock.

Bricks oe Dashour. — A celebrated botanist and
palaeontologist of Vienna has recently published
some remarks on the bricks of the pyramids of
Dashour, which was built about 3,400 years before
our era. One of them being examined through the
microscope by the Professor, he discovered that the
mud of the Nile, out of which it was made, con-
tained not only a quantity of animal and vegetable
matter, but also fragments of many manufactured
substances ; whence we may conclude that Egypt
must have enjoyed a high degree of civilization
upwards of 5.000 years ago. Professor Unger has
been enabled by the aid of the microscope to discover
iu these bricks a vast number of plants which at
that time grew in Egypt. — Boston Post, U.S., Bee.
8, 1866.

Separation of Vegetable Cells and Cu-
ticles.— The quickest and easiest method for
obtaining isolated cells is the plan devised by
Schultz, viz., boiling in a mixture of nitric acid and
chlorate of potash. After being thus treated, boil
in alcohol, and afterwards in distilled water. Cuticles
of leaves separate readily, even if they have been
dried for many years. Mount in glycerine, chloride
of calcium, or weak spirit. — Fredk. Kitton, Norwich.

44

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Feb. 1, 18G7.

GEOLOGY.

Preservation of Fossils— Owing to the loose
mineral character of the Tertiary deposits, in which
most of the Mammalian and other vertebrate
remains are found, consisting as these deposits
chiefly do of sands, gravels, clay, or peat, their fossils
are necessarily in a more or less friable condition,
difficult to preserve entire, or to handle for scientific
examination with safety. The substances generally
used are glue or gelatine. Eor the bones of the
larger Mammalia there is nothing better than the
best glue ; whilst for the more delicate bones of the
smaller Mammals, Birds and Pishes, gelatine is the
best, being purer, dissolving more easily, and im-
parting but little, if any, colour to the fossil. The
consistency of these substances when used will have
to be varied according to the structure of the bone ;
and as they also differ greatly in quality, it is
impossible to lay down any definite rule as to the
exact proportions to be used with a given quantity
of water ; this must be left to the judgment of the
operator. As a general rule, however, all bones
which have a coarse cellular structure, as the ends
of large limb-bones, deer-antlers, &c, and also
specimens from some deposits— for example, the
peat-bed near Colchester, the fossils from which
have their internal cellular structure either totally
or partially destroyed— require the glue-solution to
be of a consistency which will form a stiff jelly when
cold; whilst for bones of a compact structure a
much thinner solution, about the consistency of
ordinary size, will suffice ; if the solution is too
thick, it clogs the absorbing power at the surface,
and prevents its penetrating to all parts of the bone.
The fossils should be thoroughly dried and cleaned
from as much of the matrix as can be removed with
safety; and if it can be managed, tcarmed before
being placed in the solution. When the glue is all
dissolved, and the liquid nearly at boiling heat
(ebullition should be avoided, if possible), it is ready
for the immersion of the fossils, and they should
remain in it as long as air-bubbles rise to the sur-
face ; when these cease they will be sufficiently
soaked. When taken out, they should not be
drained, but laid in a position to retain as much as
possible of the imbibed solution, until they are cold,
when the glue will have set. Their position must
then be shifted, to prevent their adhering to the
board on which they may be laid. Any glue that
may have drained from them may be then removed
with a wet sponge. The vessels required are of the
simplest kind. The common domestic utensils
will answer for most purposes. The ordinary house-
copper, saucepan, or, better still, a large-sized fish-
kettle with its strainer. But whatever the vessel
used, a strainer of some kind, on which to place
the bones for immersion and withdrawal, is indis-

pensable ; for the copper nothing is better than a
wire-sieve. Por bones too large for the vessel used,
the treatment will have to be varied. 'Por long
limb-bones, strong enough to bear their own weight
when saturated, it is only necessary to place one
end in the vessel, and ladle the solution over the
other end for a short time, and then reverse their
position. But for bones which will not bear such
treatment, the only plan is to securely fix them to a
board, and place them in a slanting position in the
solution, and well saturate them with it by ladling.
Por these, and for long portions of tusks of the
Mammoth, and horn-cores of the large species of
Bos, a special vessel, about three feet long, one foot
wide at the top, nine or ten inches wide at the
bottom, and nine inches deep, made of stout tin or
galvanized iron, with a handle at each end, will be
found most useful. Occasionally fossils are found
which are either too large or too friable (as skulls
and tusks from their natural construction frequently
are) to be placed in the solution : for these a different
method must be adopted to preserve them entire.
Cover the fossil with thin paper, over which— on
the sides and underneath if possible— put a coating
of plaster of Paris, just thick and strong enough to
keep together ; when firmly set, gently pour the
solution boiling-hot over the fossil as long as it
continues to absorb, to assist which it may be
necessary to remove in a few places some of the
surface-bone, which can be carefully replaced ; in
two or three days the plaster may be partly
removed by sawing and in small pieces, taking care
not to injure the fossil by jarring it ; the paper will
prevent the plaster adhering to it. But this process
is never so effective as submersion in the solution,
and may require to be repeated. Some bones are
better for being dipped a second time, but not
allowed to remain long enough in the solution to
melt the glue they had previously imbibed. Delicate
shells from the same kind of deposits may be treated,
with care, in a similar manner with advantage. —
Jfr. Davies, Brit. Museum, in Geological Magazine.

Petroleum. — During the past six years the
United States of America have produced about 450
millions of gallons of petroleum. The average
daily yield for 1S66 has been at least 12,000 barrels.
The business of collecting, transporting, and refining
it, employs as many hands as either the coal or the
iron trade. — Professor Hitchcock.

Possils oe the Lias.— Mr. Ralph Tate, Curator
of the Geological Society, Somerset House, London,
being engaged in the preparation of a monograph of
the gasteropoda of the lias, for the Palceonto-
graphical Society, begs to request the kind assist-
ance of private collectors by the loan of specimens
for examination and description. He would be
pleased to exchange fossils of various formations
for those of the lias.

Feb. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

43

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Relations at Sea.— A very interesting paper
was recently read by Dr. Gi'mtlier, at the Zoo-
logical Society, on the Eishes of Central America,
in which he brought zoological research to bear
upon the history of earth-changes. It had been
supposed that the existing fauna of the Atlantic
was quite distinct from that of the Pacific ; but
Dr. Giinther finds (in a collection recently made by
Mr. Salvin), of the total number of species taken
on both sides of the Isthmus of Panama, 30 per
cent, to be specifically identical. Nay, they do not
even appear to vary enough for Dr. Giinther to be
able to tell whether any given individual came from
the Atlantic or the Pacific side. There was, there-
fore, no doubt, a communication between the two
oceans, since the existing species of fish came into
being; and the land across the isthmus near
Panama is nowhere more than 400 feet high ; while
to the north, through Lake Nicaragua, there is
auother tract, nowhere more than 150 feet above
the sea-level. That these low tracts o§ land mark
the site of former sea-channels, is rendered still
more probable from the fact that in the Lake
Nicaragua a sea-fish still exists, the ancestors of
which were probably imprisoned by the land's
upheaval. Dr. Giinther believes that there has
been no such interoceanic communication since the
latter part of the Pliocene period ; in which case, the
persistence of these piscine specific forms would be
very remarkable. It is well known that, in ancient
Miocene times, one fauna extended on both sides
of what is now the separating land ; but the specific
identity of so many existing forms is quite a new
fact. — British Medical Journal.

Insects in Cabinets.— S.L.B. remarks, having
read that camphor by its evaporation obscured and
injured specimens in cabinets, and should never be
used, desires a substitute. The caution originated
in a " mare's nest," for the volatility of camphor,
which causes it to evaporate and deposit again on
insects, will also cause it in turn to evaporate from
them until no trace is left. Let S. L. B. try a lump
of camphor under a tumbler, and after it is all
evaporated, report to us how much residue he finds
anywhere. He may try " benzole " for a change,
but will without doubt return again to camphor.

Frog in Oolite. — I beg to submit the following
certificate and observations to those who are inte-
rested in natural history : —

" I, William Munton, of Waltham, in the county
of Leicester, quarryman, hereby certify that I was
witness to the discovery of the stone and frog, now
before me (in possession of Mr. Simon Hutchinson,
of Manthorpe Lodge, Grantham), in the stone
quarry, at "Waltham, from ten to twelve feet below
the natural surface of the ground, in solid rock.
When the stone was split, the frog appeared alive ;
in size equal to the cavity therein. It continued to
live about ten days after its release, and was after-
wards preserved in spirit by the late Mr. Stow, of
Waltham. Before the stone was broken, no crack
or crevice was anywhere visible. As witness my
hand this 1st day of December, 1S66.

William Munton."

This discovery is familiar to persons now living
at Waltham, besides Mr. Munton ; therefore, per-
sonal inquiry can be made by the sceptical, or
silence, in future, will be most becoming. The

skeleton of the frog and the stones, also, are open
for inspection. It is natural to exclaim, how could
a helpless frog penetrate solid stone ? It is not dif-
ficult, however, to imagine a live frog first enveloped
in mere mud, which afterwards hardens into solid
stone, ever remaining sufficiently porous to admit
air and moisture enough to maintain torpid exist-
ence ; and which, like seed of natural vegetation
buried immensely deep in the outer crust of the
earth, from its first formation, remains dormant,
until some accident brings it within the influence of
the sun to re-animate or develope, and ultimately
exhaust its vitality. As to the age of the animal, I
offer no theory. — Simon Hutchinson, Manthorpe
Lodge.

The Apple. — The English name of this valuable
fruit is evidently derived from the Saxon word
(eppel; and from which circumstance we may safely
conclude that the fruit was cultivated in this country
under the Saxon government, if not previously by
the Romans. — Phillips's "Fruits of Great Britain."

Last and Next November. Stab Showers. —
A comparison of the whole number of meteors
observed, with the numerical results of previous
showers, shows that this shower was far less signifi-
cant than some of its predecessors. Whether other
parts of the world witnessed a grander phase in the
display than we in England did, we cannot say, for
there is at present no authentic information on the
point. M. Coulvier Gravier, who ought to be an
authority, at a recent sitting of the French Academy
of Sciences, suggested that the maximum display of
the epoch might be expected in November, 1S67;
because, he said, the really great showers are thirty-
four years apart instead of thirty-three, and the last
of these was that of 1833. Moreover, he called
attention to the fact that every very grand shower is
preceded by one not so grand in the year before it.
This was the case in 1832-33 ; whether it will be so
this time we must wait till next November to learn.
— The Gentleman 's Magazme.

Is it Podura? — While searching for poduras
very lately, a black individual made its appearance
which 1 immediately recognized as a species new to
me. Its motions were far more rapid than those of
poduras generally, and its antennae, which were
longer than usual, extended out straight instead of
curved over, as is mostly the case. On microscopic
examination I found it had twelve eyes, while all the
poduras I have met with have, I think, sixteen ;
but it possessed the curious forked tail, and was in
other respects a good deal like the black podura
(Macroloma nigra). I killed it with chloroform, and
on examining the scales, found to my surprise they
were not like podura scales at all, but were more
like lepisma scales, pleated like those of Lepisma
saccharina and cross-striated like those of the sea-
side species, Petrobius maritimus, — both of which
are figured in Science Gossip, vol. ii., p. 5G. The
scales are minute and very finely marked ; many of
them are pentagonal, more or less regular, and
many of the form of those of Lepisma saccharina.
I have some recollection of having seen for sale,
slides of Lepisma-like scales labelled " Podura
scales," but I thought this an error on the part of
the mounter. Is the insect known, and what is its
name ? — /. Mclntire.

[In the genus Orchesella, the individuals are
characterized as particularly agile, and with six eyes
on each side. See Templeton in Transactions
Entom. Soc, vol. i., p. 93, PI. xi— Ed.]

46

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Feb. 1, 1867.

Movements in Diatoms. — On the forenoon of
December 25, 1866, I took a small gathering of
diatoms, comprising Campylodiscus spiralis and
Pinnularia viridis. In several specimens of the
latter, I noticed an unmistakable movement of large
oily-looking globules, or granules, of which I
counted from two to six in each half of the several
individuals I examined. This movement was of a
trembling and oscillating character, not unlike the
granular movement which may be seen going on in
the ends of Closterium lunula, except that in the
diatoms in question the granules did not retain the
grouping and rapid motion which distinguish them
in the former, but passed at slow intervals through
about one-fifth the length of half the cell. This
granular activity could not, I think, be an error of
observation ; for I noticed it in many specimens,
some of which were watched by me very closely for
a considerable length of time. Nor could it be
occasioned hy the diatom's proper movement through
the water, because some of the forms in which I
observed it were not moving, but were perfectly
stationary at the time. I shall be glad to know if
any other readers of Science Gossip have observed
this movement ? — B. Taylor.

Daisy Anemone (Sagarlia bellis). — I have
had two very curious specimens of Daisy Anemone,
born in one of my aquariums lately, one having three
distinct heads, each with its proper amount of
tentacles, which I have named Cerberus, and
another two. Is this an unusual circumstance ? I
think it must be, as Mr. Gosse does not mention it
in any of his books. — E. J. J.

Lopping Trees. — Can any of your readers tell
me if the following lines in Tusser's " Eive Hundred
Points of Good Husbandry " are founded upon fact ;
and if so, what is the scientific explanation ?—

" In lopping old Iocham, for fear of mishap,
One bough stay unlopp'd, to cherish the sap ; '
The second year after then boldly ye may,
For dripping; his fellows that bough cut away."

And again, —

" For sap, as ye know,
Let one bough grow j
Next year ye may
That bough cut away."

Also the reason for the following assertion : —

" Pluck broom, broom still;
Cut broom, broom kill."

F. A. A.

Cat and Cockroaches. — Our house was per-
fectly free from cockroaches till June last, when we
got a kitten, and immediately the cockroaches ap-
peared. The cat showed peculiar enmity to them,
and used to hunt and eat them by the dozen every
day; and always after being fed, she would go
under the grate to hunt for them. Some weeks
back she, having been ill for a long time, was taken
away ; and from that very day the cockroaches dis-
appeared also, one solitary individual having been
seen on one occasion since ; and since he came to
grief, not one has appeared. Can there be any con-
nection between their disappearance and the removal
of the cat ? It seems more than a coincidence, and
her enmity to them makes it remarkable. — M. A.

Cats and Rain.—" Cats sitting with their backs
to the fire an indication of rain." Can you inform
me in your next number if the above statement is
but vulgar gossip, or whether it is a scientific
truth ? If the latter, on what grounds ? — W. B. B.

Blackbirds. — Whilst my children were feeding
the birds yesterday morning, our cat came down
upon and devoured a fine cock blackbird. Three
hen blackbirds (I believe of the same brood) wit-
nessed the circumstance from neighbouring trees.
As soon as Tom had finished his meal and departed,
they gathered ,up the scattered feathers of their
brother, and carried every one of them away
amongst the trees of the garden. Was this done
from sisterly affection, or from an instinctive feeling
of reverence for the dead ? — Ben. Snow.

Halo op a Shadow. — Permit me to corroborate
the statement of the Rev.- J. S. Tute, as to the halo
of a shadow. I experienced a remarkable instance of
this, one fine spring morning in 1S65. Two friends
and myself had started at five o'clock for a walk,
just as the sun rose above a hill on our right, casting
our shadows on to the slope to the left below, some
fifty yards off. Our gigantic figures seemed to be
surrounded by a " nimbus " of brilliant light,
extending at least a foot and a half all round. The
young whe^; on which our shadows were projected
was drenched with dew, and the reflection from the
drops, each sparkling like a diamond, no doubt
produced the appearance described. I have fre-
quently seen it since, but never to equal this occa-
sion.— Daydon Jackson.

Halo of a Shadow. — This curious phenomenon
(Science Gossip, p. 23) is quoted also in " Ksemtz's
Meteorology," chap. xix.,under the name oUAnthelie;
and J. S. T. is quite right in attributing it to
diffraction : — " When the sun is near the horizon,"
says K., " and the shadow of a person falls on grass,
a field of corn, or any surface covered with dew, an
aureola is observed around this shadow, the light of
which is the strongest at the head ; this light is
owing to the reflexion by the stalks or straws, the
dew-drops, or the vesicules of a mist lying in low
strata on the sea. It is the brightest around the
head, because the stalks situated in the proximity of
that part of the shadow show all their enlightened
sides, while other stalks that are farther show en-
lightened parts and others that are not ; the stalks
being cylindrical, the aureola is somewhat larger in
the vertical sense." Praunhofer attributed all this
to diffraction, and observations confirmed his theory.
When reflected beams pass through other vesicules,
these beams are also diffracted, and coloured rings
are the result. Anthelies were observed in the
Polar seas by Captain Scoresby, &c. (more parti-
culars vide Ksemtz). — B. Melle.

Double Shell of Eggs. — A gentleman in
Cumberland had a hatching of the eggs of the
Moscovy duck sent him; one, from its very large size
(it weighed over five ounces), was supposed to
contain a double yolk, and was therefore broken for
domestic purposes, when a second shell was dis-
covered inside. The enclosed egg was of the
ordinary size and appearance. The interval between
the shells was filled with a fluid resembling the
ordinary white of egg, but rather thinner.— W. Gain,
Tuxford, Notts.

Cordon Bleu. — In answer to a query, Science
Gossip, vol. ii., p. 262, I said, p. 283, Ampelis
cotinga was cordon bleu; I found since, another
bird has also that name, viz. the Sucrier gamtocin,
Cynniris collaris, Vieil.— cordon bleu of Levaillant
{vide Lev., " Hist, des Ois. d'Afrique," Tl. cexcix.,
pp. 1, 2). -B. Melle.

Feb. 1, 1867.]

HABDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

47

Terns inland— A correspondent writing from
Kelvedon, Essex, informs the readers of Science
Gossip for January, that he has " succeeded " in
shooting a Tern in that neighbourhood. Surely it
would have been a far more estimable feat if he
had succeeded in preventing the bird from being
shot, so that it might have been seen by other
people besides himself. I have constantly visited, the
spot and have taken others thither. I believe that
most of our large ponds would be ornamented by
these most elegant birds, were they allowed to live
when they came. In 1865 I saw one skimming
over the pond on Wisley Heath, Surrey. It was
shot at by the landlord of the " Kut " tavern there
(who has already three stuffed specimens in his
parlour) : although he did not " succeed" in killing
it, he so wounded the beautiful creature, that it flew
away heavily, soon to be brought down by somebody
more " successful " than himself. Every naturalist
should do all in his power to prevent this cruel and
stupid practice of destroying all our most beautiful
birds, or at least not himself join in it. Our rural
districts would then be enlivened by many species
of birds, which now only occasionally come, to be
shot. — W. B. Tate, Grove Place, Denmark Hill.

A Curiosity op Nature. — A house-wife of
Eingmei-, Sussex, in breaking eggs for the Christ-
mas pudding, broke one out of which, to her no
small astonishment, dropped another egg, completely
shelled, and about the size of a wren's egg. This
latter she has preserved as a curiosity of nature. —
Brighton Observer.

Poor Eellow ! — A squirrel, which I have had for
nearly two years, was attacked a few weeks ago with
what seemed to me to be a stroke of paralysis
— causing him to lose the use of his hind legs —
which on Sunday last proved fatal. On looking at
the body about an hour after death, I found a number
of full-grown gentles issuing from it. Were they
the cause of death, and of his losing the use of his
limbs some weeks before ? If not, what was the
cause of the gentles appearing so soon after death,
as there was no smell or other sign of decav ? —
C. L. C.

Cat-Eueas. — Being desirous of exhibiting the
larva of the cat-flea at the Soiree of the Quekett
Club, on the 4th January, I proceeded to collect
eggs_. A cloth was laid for puss to sleep upon late
at night, and early in the morning the eggs were
gathered. The first night gave 62 eggs, the second
78 eggs, the third 67, and the fourth 77. Erom these
numbers, an idea of some of the troubles which puss
experiences may be gained. Fortunately the eggs
require very great fostering care to hatch them (our
own brood all died two days after the soiree), or the
owners of cats would soon find their pets an intoler-
able nuisance, because the species, to our certain
knowledge,will attack man. Probably not a twentieth
part of the eggs laid reach their full development. —
S. J. Mclntire.

Lept no Address.— E. A., Chippenham, Wilts,
would feel obliged by any reader furnishing him
with the address of W. Winter, who, on Eeb. 23rd,
1866, was residing at Mulbarton, near Norwich, and
who advertised in Science Gossip late in the year
1865, through the medium of his friend H. Balls,
Needham, offering to supply subscribers, at one
guinea each, with thirty microscopic specimens, to
be collected by him in his own and adjoining dis-
tricts, in the course of the following year.

Mice eating Pup^e.— I have just had twenty
fine pupaj of Sphingidce eaten by mice. Is it gene-
rally known that they are to be numbered among
the entomologist's foes ? I went to put some fresh
moss over the box they were buried in, and found
the earth scattered about, and not a skin, or a piece
of one, left. — Henry Ul/yelt, Folkestone.

[We have heard and read of such propensities in
mice, but cannot remember in what journal recorded.
—Ed.]

Hyalonema.— At the meeting of the Zoological
Society, January 18, 1867, an interesting pauer°was
read by Dr. Bowerbank, F.R.S., on Hyalonema
mirabile, in which he adduced many arguments in
support of his statement, that the whole of this
beautiful structure was a true sponge, and that the
so-called "polypheads" on the crust which sur-
rounds the long "glass whip" (as it has been
termed), are, in reality analogous to the oscula of
some _ British sponges, specimens of which he
exhibited. This opinion has been vigorously
disputed by Dr. J. E. Gray. Dr. Carpenter was
present, and remarked that, having entered the
room free from prejudice, he was convinced by the
evidence brought forward by Dr. Bowerbank, that
his view of the question was correct. The following
amusing lines on the discussion appeared in Land
and Water: —

A FIGHT AT THE "ZOO"' about a ZOO-PHYTE.

When doctors the views of each other deride,

It is often exceedingly hard to decide

On the weight of the arguments offered by each

In support of the doctrines they sev'rally teach.

And whether their difference belong to Geology,

Divinity, Chemistry, Physic, Zoology,

When two masters in science are pleading their cause

(Be they doctors of medicine or doctors of laws),

Outsiders can only be modestly silent,

And judge him in the wrong who appears the most vi'lent.

Men of science well know there has been a contention

'Twixt two eminent men of right honest intention,

As to whether a " thing " in the national collection

Stands nearest allied and in closest connection

With the sponges ; or whether it's really no lower

In Nature's great scale than the class Polyzoa ;

And this question of " Sponge or Zoophyte new,"

Very nearly occasioned & fight at the " Zoo "

(One of words, of course, only : I hope you'll excuse,

For the sake of the pun, the expression 1 use;.

The " bone of contention " was placed on the table,

Around which were seated some men the most able,

From their ardent devotion to Natural History,

To decide on the point and unravel the mystery.

'Twas " Hyalonema mirabile " dictu,

And had long flinty spicules so sharp that they pricked you;

(The Chairman pronounced the penultimate long,

i thus use it, althoueh it's decidedly wrong).

These fibres, which looked like spun-glass, formed a core,

Which measured in length fourteen inches, or more.

And around which was gathered a dark-looking crust,

Which Dr. Gray always has taken on trust,

To be what he calls " Polypigerum corium," —

That is, he believes it to be an emporium *

Inhabited, made, and secreted by creatures

Possessing the polyps' distinguishing features.

Dr. Bowerbank soon of this \iew made a clearance,

And proved to the meeting how, spite of appearance,

The dark-looking crust and the sponge at its base,

With the long flinty spicules which both these encase,

Were all formed by a creature with sponges identical,

And that no part of either had ever borne tentacle,

Demonstrated, in fact — (which has always been my "idee ") —

That the whole thing belonged to the genus " Spongiad<E."

This appears to be settled ; but if his opponent

Again of his views should become the exponent,

Atid the two should once more into argument plunge,

Dr. Bowerbank never need throw up the sponge.

H.L.

* I don't like emoloying this queer word " emporium,"
But I can't find another to rhyme well with " corium."

4S

HAKDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Feb. 1, 1867.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

All communications relative to advertisements, post-office
orders, and orders for the supply of this Journal should be
addressed to the Publishkr. All contributions, books,
and pamphlets for the Editor should be sent to 192,
Piccadilly, London, W. To avoid disappointment, contri-
butions should not be received later than the 15th of each
month. No notice whatever can be taken of communi-
cations which do not contain the name and address of the
writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be with-
held. 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 manu-
script 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 : x 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 inad-
missible under any circumstances. Those of the popular
names of British plants and animals are retained and regis-
tered for publication when sufficiently complete lor that
purpose, in whatever form may then be decided upon.
Address No. 192, Piccadu.lv, London, W.

H. D. C— The number of microscopists is so great that we
fear we could not devote the space required to carry out jour
suggestion of publishing their names and addresses.

S. B.— See our reply to D. R. in the December number.

J. H. M.— The first complaint of the kind which has reached
us. Our copy for last year was bound at the close of the
year, and there is not the least trace of the type " setting
off" on the opposite page.

T. H.— Shere and Abinger for some species. Anywhere for
the commonest. A large number of species of mosses moun-
tainous districts alone will furnish.

E. W.— A complete list of British insects has been promised
to the public for twelve months, but is not yet published.
Rye's " British Beetles " (Reeve & Co., 10s. 6d.) contains the
Coleoptera, so also does Waterhouse's "Catalogue of British
Coleoptera" (7s. 6d.). The only cheap work, with descrip.
tions, is Stephens's " Manual" (about 6s.), now almost out of
date.

F. A. A. — Thistles will grow from seed as other plants.

A. G. — The water- beetle is Agalnis hipunctatus, Fabr., very
common throughout the country. The small beetle. Niptus
hololevcus, Fald., is also common, and apparently very
destructive. — JR. G. K.

G. W. F. — Corky development of the bark, very common in
the elm and hedge maple.

C.F.W.— Lists of British Mosses, 4d. : Mr. Dixon, Great
Ayton, near Stokesley, Yorkshire.

W. B. M. — It is the ordinary commercial seal-skin which is
derived from some species of Phoca inhabiting the Arctic
seas.

W. R. T. — Your bog plant is Narthechim ossifragum. —
W. C.

S. M. P.— Your plant is hemp (Cannabis saliva). — W. C.

Lepidoptera. — E. wishes for larvae or pupa;, and will send
stamps and address to any one who will assist.

M. C. C— Tate's "Land and Freshwater Shells," Cs.,
coloured: R. Hardwicke, 192, Piccadilly.

E. W.— The fossils are — 1. Ammonites bifcr, Quenst. ; 2.
Corbis supra-liassicus (n. s.) ; 3. Vermicularia polygonalis,
Low. Send address to R. Tate, Esq., Geological Society,
Somerset House, London.

W. H. R.— The query was inserted in our first volume and
never answered.

J. C— The bodies on Sallow-Bark are a Coccus, but what
species is not so easy to tell.

H. H. M.— The larva of one of the Bomhycir!a3 (Lepido-
ptera), but it is impossible to identify it, from the condition in
which sent.

W. S. G.— The shell is a purple- coloured Lacuna puteolus.
—R. T. *

G. D. — We really cannot devote a column to answering
your queries, which any book on British Buds would do for
you.

H. B.-We do not dabble in mesmerism.

J. J. F.— Did you read the article on Wheat Mildew in our
last >

H. R. L.— Of Mr. King, Great Portland-road, London.

T. W.— For British Ferns, consult Mrs. Lankester's book;
and for a list of Foreign Ferns suitable for cultivation, see
Smith's " Feins, British and Foreign," both published at 192,
Piccadilly.

W. W. S.— That subject is undergoing investigation.

F. B. W. — A similar instance lias already been recorded.

W. L. H — Toynbee's "Hints for Local Museums, &c.,"
published by R. Hardwicke, 192, Piccadilly, at Is.

J. B. G.— 1. We should decline. 2. " Our Reptiles," p. 166.
3. We know of none.

F. Hortov and A. Badger. — Please send addresses, as
letters await you.

EXCHANGES.

Brvvm itosmni in fruit for Buxbaumia aphylla. — E. M.
Holmes, 2, Arundel crescent, Fix mouth.

Orxithokhvnchus paradoxus (stuffed) for shells, corals,
or other objects of interest.— George Potter, ;, Montpelier-
road, Upper Holloway, N.

Ovules of Orchis, showing the embryo, mounted, for
other objects. — J. H. Campbell, Ro>al Infirmary, Edinburgh.

Pauloma imferialis.— A few seeds for distribution. —
Stamped envelope to B., care of the Editor, 192, Piccadilly.

Cowage. — Hair from pods of Mvcuma pruriens for other
good (unmounted) objects.— W. II., Stamp Cilice, Fording-
bririge.

Mounted Objects in exchange for other equally good
slides.— Send lists to E. G.Towell, 10, Norfolk-street, Strand.

Palates of Whelk, mounted, for other objects of interest.

— G. E. Q., 109, Long-lane, Southwark.

Flint Flakes, Diatomaceous Earth from Tooroe Bridge,
and Rock specimens, for fossils, shells, or microscopic objects.

— William Gray, Mount Charles, Belfast.
Phyi.lactidium pulcheli.um offered for Helinpelta. or

Actinocyclus nndu/ntus,—R. P. Ayhvard, Id, Cotham-street,
Strangevvays, Manchester.

Birds' Kggs (British) offered for British Land and Fresh-
water Snails. — T. Hcdwor'h, Dunston, Gateshead.

Quinine, Santonine, Salicine, Sec, ottered for mounted
Microscopic Fungi.— F. W. C, 36, Hall-street, Birmingham.

Diamond Beetle (mounted) for other objects of interest.
—J. R., 172, George-street, Aberdeen.

Fern Scales trom stem of Ct/rtoniiinn falcatam for other
unmounted objects.— W. H. Reid, 12, Bonaccord-lane, Aber-
deen.

Ma xe- hair of Lion for <ther unmounted objects of interest.

— E. M , 6, Holford- square, Pentonville, W.C.
Astronomical Objective, 4\ in. diameter, 5 ft. 6 in.

focus, and portion of brass mountings, ottered for a complete
4 ft. telescope of smaller aperture. — H. Davis, 24, Cornhill,
E.C.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

"The Popular Science Review," January, IS67. London:
R. Harawicke.

"The Technologist," No. C, New Series, January, IS67.
London : Kent & Co.

"The Quarteily Journal of Microscopical Science," No.
XXV., January, IS67. London : Churchill & Sons.

" Intensity Coils, how made and how u;ed.'' By " Dyer."
London : Snter, Alexander, & Co.

" The Distinctive Characters of the principal British Natural
Orders of Plants." Arranged in Tables by William A.Tilden,
F.C.S. London: 1 7, Bloomsbur> -square.

"The Life of a Salmon." The Autobiography of the late
Salmo Salar, Esq., comprising a Narrative of the Life,
Personal Adventures, and Death of a Tweed Salmon. Edited
by a Fisherman. London: Day & Son (Limited). 1867.

"Hooper & Co.'s General Spring Catalogue for IS67."
Horper & Co., Covent Garden Market. ISO'7.

Communications Received.— E. M. H.— T. P. B.— M. D.

— S. H.-J. H. M.— S. B.— H. P.— G. P.-E. R.— H. W.—
H. K.-R.T.— W. H. B.— H.S.— II. D. C— F. K.— W.W. G —
C. A.-T. H.-E. W.— S. F. C.-W. C. U.— F.W. C— F. A. A.

— W. II. 1?.— A. B. C— J. R. 1!. M — W. M. C— E. J— E. W.
—W.W. F.— E. G. T.-W. F. H.-L. W. S.-M. A.— W. B.W.
—J. U.— B. (Melle).— W. A. G.— W. L. H.— W. B. M.—
C. L. C— G. A. W.— J. B. G.— S. J. M. I.— H. B.— J. J. F.—
P. 11 — S. M. P.— W. F. H.— D. J.-C. W. F.— W. B. H.—
C. F. W.— A. B.— H. U.— T. O.— S. U.— H. R. L.— T. W.—
G. W. F.— W. G— E. A.-W. R. T.— E. G.—A. F. W. 15.—
W. G— E. G. Q.-M. C. C— J. E. P.— T. D.-H. C. W. A.—
T. J.— H. H. M.— W. B. B.-J. C— G. A.— W. R. T.— J. R.—
W. J. D. A.— W. H. R.— J. R.— F.W. C— T. H.— B. S.— J.W.

— H. P. A.-M. M.— A. A.— W. W. F._ H. D.— H. L.—
J. W. M.— W. W. S.— A. G. W.— G. D— F. H. W— H. C—
H. E. E.— T. G. P.

March 1, 1867.] HAPDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

4»

THE RHYTHM OF FLAMES.

A light in sound, a sound-like power in light,
Rhythm in all thought, and joyance everywhere.

Coieridoe.

N days of old
what a beauti-
ful fable would
have been added
by the poets to
the mythology
of Paganism in
describing the
elder and more gentle of the
offspring of Fire and Vapour,
had they but dreamed of the
strong attractive powers of
music over flame. In our
matter-of-fact days no rival to
Orpheus and Eurydice will
spring into being, and yet
the myths would be so far
kindred as proving —

That things inanimate have moved,
And, as with living souls, have been

inforni'd
By numbers and persuasive sound.

In a recent lecture, delivered by Professor Tyn-
dall at the Royal Institution, on " the rhythm of
flames," or, as the more familiar title expresses it,
on "sounding and sensible flames," a flame of mar-
vellous sensibility was exhibited, some twenty
inches long, which fell down to eight upon the
slightest tap on an anvil, placed at a considerable
distance, and which responded to every tinkle of a
bunch of keys, or a few pence shaken together in
the hands. The slightest vibration of sound affected
the flame, which gave recognition sensibly when the
lecturer walked across the floor, and was set in
violent commotion by the creak of his boots, the
rustle of a silk dress, or even the crumpling of a
bit of paper. Iu that true London "Cave of Mys-
tery," the laboratories beneath the lecture-room,
this flame, said the Professor, " is called the ' Vowel
Elame,' because the different vowel sounds affect

No. 27.

it differently." Thus, to begin at the wrong end of
the "gamut," at TJ, pronounced, more Germanorum,
with open mouth from the throat, and not affectedly
like yew, its gentle nature feels no response ; so it
passes it by, as a vulgar sound, without recognition.
At 0 the flame quivers, and if you give I the Con-
tinental sound of our e, it is strongly affected. A,
as we pronounce it, is again a dead letter, but let it
sound full, like Ah /, and it oscillates violently and
convulsively. Then in combined sounds it has its
favourites. At the words "boot," "bout," and
" beat," uttered in succession, it passes the first by
without notice, at the second it gives a start, but at
the third, as if conscious of the threatened indignity,
it is fairly thrown into violent commotion.

The Professor's heart is evidently bound up in
his favourite. How would it respond to Long-
fellow's definition of love — should he utter it ? —

Love is the root of creation : God's essence. Worlds

without number
Lie on His bosom like children : He made them for His

purpose only —
Only to love and to be loved again. He breathed forth

His Spirit
Into the slumbering dust, and upright standing it laid its
Hand on its heart, and felt it was warm with a flame out

of Heaven.
Quench, O quench not this flame ! It is the breath of your

being !

Eor be it known the flame follows the recitation of
verse as keenly as a critic, oscillating at intervals
more or less violently, according as it picks out
sounds to which it can respond. With true feminine
instincts it is startled by the plashing of a drop of
rain, and sibilation, or even the sound of a sibilant,
in however distant part of the lecture-room, throws
it immediately into violent convulsions.

It is always difficult fairly to adjust to each
pioneer in opening up new sources of scientific
investigation his share of the merit and of the
gratitude due to him. Trivial discoveries at first,

50

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Makch 1, 1867.

often cast aside as soon as brought to light, and
contradictions piled up upon no better foundation,
are in general the germs of every branch of science ;
so the world, wisely perhaps, awards to the master-
mind that unravels the tangled web and makes all
clear, the full title of an original discoverer. The
sounding of a hydrogen flame in a glass tube was
first noticed by Dr. Higgins, in 1777. Since then
the subject has been investigated by Chladni, De
la Rive, Earaday, Wheatstone, Kundt, and others.
The action of sounds of a definite pitch on flames
inclosed in tubes has been investigated by Count
Schaffgotsch and Professor Tyndall. Indeed, under
the latter, " The Philosophy of Elame " has for years
been one of the leading subjects of investigation in
the laboratories of the Royal Institution. The
jumping of a fish-tail flame in response to musical
sounds was accidentally discovered by Professor
Lecomte at a musical party in America. In passing
a candle with steadily burning flame rapidly through
the air, an indented band of light is produced, and a
slightly musical vibration indicates the rhythmic
character of the motion. The solution of this
problem, and of those which follow, is the subject
of Professor Tyndall's lecture, and, as like another
Columbus, he has broken the egg, by his aid we
shall comprehend another of these ideas which
cluster round that comprehensive phrase, "the con-
servation of force," as clearly as he has laid before
us " heat as a mode of motion." But to proceed : a
gas flame having been introduced into a tube
sufficiently long and wide, the current of air passing
over the flame produces a vibration, which, by the
aid of the tube's resonance, becomes a musical
sound. Thus, from a tube three feet long the
musical note will be rich ; from one six feet long it
will be an octave lower ; and in a tube fifteen feet
long the deep bass vibrations have an intensity of
such power that in the lecture-room, filled by an
audience of some six hundred persons, pillars, floors,
seats, gallery, and audience are all sensibly shaken.
The note rises in pitch as the tube diminishes in
length, and the intense heat of the sounding column
produces a greater number of vibrations than any
organ pipe of the same length. The flame in a tube
17f inches long vibrated 459 times in a second, and
another in a tube 10f inches long 717 times in a
second. These vibrations consist of a series of partial
extinctions and revivals of the flame, forming, when
viewed in Wheats tone's rotating mirror, a series of
flame images of transcendent beauty.

Other equally interesting experiments served to
illustrate the subject : one, which recalled the way
in which boys teach jackdaws and jays to speak, by
splitting their tongues ; and another, as more plainly
showing the cause of the phenomenon, must, how-
ever, suffice. The bright flame of a fish-tail, which
appeared perfectly insensible to all sounds, musical
or not, and to which Handel's Harmonious Black-

smith would apparently have hammered away to no
purpose, was severed in two by a stream of air.
This done, no sooner was a whistle sounded than
the flame started ; a knock on the table caused the
separated flames to re-unite and form for an instant
a flame of the ordinary shape. In the second
experiment, a steady, clear flame, issuing from a
circular orifice, four inches in height, was insen-
sible to sound. Baised to ten inches, it responded
by a slight quiver to the whistle ; at sixteen inches,
the increased quivering showed the flame to be on
the brink of roaring, and with a little increase of
the pressure it roared, shortening itself at the same
time to eight inches ; reducing the pressure, the
flame was again extended to sixteen inches. It did
not roar, but was on the point of roaring, standing,
as it were, on the brink of a precipice, and the
whistle then forced it over, upon which it roared,
simultaneously shortening itself, as it did before
under the increase of pressure. "And herein," says
Professor Tyndall, " is the true explanation of all the
phenomena of these c sounding or sensitive flames,'
that the sonorous pulses furnish the supplement of
energy or force necessary to produce the roar and
shorten the flame." The pitch of the note chosen to
force this flame over the brink of the precipice on
which it rests must be equal to the occasion. Eour
tuning-forks, vibrating respectively 256, 320, 384,
and 512 times in a second, produced no effect on a
certain flame. But besides these fundamental notes
these forks will sound a series of notes of very high
pitch, producing 1,600, 2,000, 2,400, and 3,200
vibrations per second ; and to each of these the flame
jumped in response, but most energetically in
response to the highest note.

THE SWALLOWS.

"TNDER this heading appeared in a recent
*J number a most interesting letter from E. L.
Simmonds, telling us that early in November,
1865, when at the mouth of the river Niger, in West
Africa, "innumerable swallows passed for a whole
day together over his head from seaward, flying in
a northerly direction," and he asks, " could they be
coming from America ? " Now, as the several
habitats of these most interesting birds, and their
periodical migrations in the different parts of the
world, have engaged my attention for many years
past (as indeed the columns of the Field and your
own Science Gossip pages will attest), I will con-
dense, in as few lines as I can, all the information
which I have been enabled to collect from French and
English works, regarding the hirundines of Africa.
Now these may be classed geographically as four
distinct species— according to what I learn from
that Ornithological text-book, the Ibis — and those
again may be subdivided latitudinally into north

Maech 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

51

and South African hirundines, as respects the
equator (their divisional line oihahitat demarcation).
Now swallows, like all migrant birds, regulate their
yearly emigrations and immigrations by that conserva-
tive instinct which impels them to seek ever for the
most genial climate, and to escape from the extremes
of the different atmospheric conditions of cold and
heat, rain and drought. Now these conditional
states of the atmosphere are reversed yearly in
Africa, according to the sun's position in the
ecliptic ; and the monsoon rains are regulated
by the solar declination, according as that
luminary is north and south of the equator ;
whilst that equatorial belt of perpetual condensa-
tion, 300 or 400 miles broad (as described by Captain
Maury in his great work on physical phenomena),
and which vibrates latitudinally, agreeable to the
sun's position, between latitude 5° south and lati-
tude 15° north, is ruled by the same influence.
What then are these climate repellents, and how do
they operate locally, as regards the great African
peninsula? Why thus. On April 13th, the sun is
yearly vertical to Sierra Leone, Katunga on the
Niger, and the southern uplands of Abyssinia ; and
what is the result of the sun's declination being then
at nine degrees over this belt of Africa, from west
to east ? Why, that the deluging monsoon
rains, following the sun as they do, inundate the
countries south of latitude 9° to the extent of
500 miles, and 300 miles to the north thereof — em-
bracing thus to the southward, Fernando Po, the
Cameron Mountains, the mouths of the Niger River,
the Gold, Slave, and Ivory Coasts ; to the west-
ward, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia Settlements ;
to the northward, the mountain sources of the
rivers Gambia and Niger, and the affluents of Lake
Tchad, with the vicinity south of Timbuctoo ; and to
the eastward, on the other side of Africa, Magadoxo,
Afan, Somanli, Gallas, Abyssinia, and Nubia, col-
lectively. Now this solar movement regulates all
the hirundiues that Jnjbernate north of the equator,
and which emigrate yearly to Europe, aud Asia, and
the Azores, in April, earlier or later, according as
the monsoon rains set in.

Now what occurs six months afterwards, namely,
on 13th October, when the sun having re-crossed
the line, and become vertical to those parts or
Southern Africa that lie north and south of latitude
9° south ? Why this ! The same advancing clima-
tic foe (the sun's attendant ever), the deluging rains
which drove the swallows to the north, as he moved
towards the tropic of Cancer in April, now chases
them to the south, when that luminary is moving in
October, towards the opposite tropic of Capricorn.
And thus the migratory movements of the African
hirundiues are reversed geographically; for when
the sun is advancing northward in April, the Sene-
gambian and Abyssinian swallows seek their tem-
perate, food-abounding countries, Europe and Asia,

for comfort and nidification ; whilst the swallows of
the Cape, Natal, and the Mozambique Coast, are
driven to the south, for their temperate climate and
generative purposes, in October or thereabouts,
yearly; which accords, indeed, with Dr. Living-
stone's narrative, and the accounts of Le Valliant
and other naturalist observers and writers. Now,
I have always assumed that the equatorial calm belt
of constant precipitation, as referred to above,
divides permanently the North African from the
South African swallow as to migratory movements,
and the periods of moulting and incubation, and all
I have read on the subject confirms this my convic-
tion ; for, as the climatic conditions of North and
South Africa are reversed, so are the animal phe-
nomena depending thereon (as it is in India, Aus-
tralia, and the two American continents). Whence
then were the swallows seen by E. L. Simmouds
coming, and whither proceeding, in November,
1S65 ? Why — selon moi— they were the hirundiues
of Lower Guinea, the same as Dr. Livingstone
speaks of in 1855, as seen at Loanda in June (but
not those he saw in migratory transit at Kuruma
in December, 1852 ; for these last were Cape of
Good Hope swallows); and as the SW. monsoon —
which blows on the coast of Upper Guinea, and into
the Gulf of Guinea— is over about the end of Octo-
ber, these birds were returning thither for their
winter hybernation, south of the mountains of Kong,
as the European swallows do to the north and
north-east of that chain, but 500 miles and more to
the northward. H. E. Austen,

Lieutenant -Colonel and M.B.M.S.
St. Hclier's, Jersey.

N.B. — The Abyssinian swallows pass into
Eastern Europe, Syria, and Turkey in Asia, in
summer ; and the swallows of Lower Guinea
oscillate migratorily between Cape Erio in latitude
6S° south and latitude 8° north probably.

APROPOS.

fTUIE insertion, in the last number of Science
-*- Gossip, of an extract from my Monograph of
the British Psocida? ("Ent. Month. Mag."), wherein
I avow myself a sceptic as to the ability of Atropos
to produce an audible sound, following Mr. Chaney's
article in which he distinctly claims for the insect
the attribute of causing a ticking, induces me to say
a few words on the subject. Without wishing to
call in question Mr. Chaney's powers of observation,
I still think that some error has occurred, and shall
remain an unbeliever until I catch Atropos, flagrante
delicto. I shall be only too glad if Mr. Chaney
will forward to me living examples of the insect vi hich
have been seen and heard in the act of "ticking."
Having been as a boy brought up in a then wild part
i of Essex, which, though actually not twenty miles

52

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Maech 1, 18C7.

from London, was, so far as the inhabitants were
concerned, ten times that distance, I became fully
initiated into all the popular superstitions arising
from various natural phenomena, so prevalent in
agricultural districts, and among them was duly im-
pressed with the belief that the ticking noise heard in
the house, in the still evening, was a portent of some
domestic calamity ; and further, that the said ticking
was produced by the little creature to which the fates
(and Leach) have applied the name of Atropos. We
all know how difficult it is to shake off an impression
deeply rooted in childhood, and it was not until I
came to reflect upon the structure of the creature,
that I for a moment doubted the power of Atropos
to send the country folk sighing at the trouble
which its supposed ticking was sure to foretell.
Mature consideration has forced me to the convic-
tion that it is not in the power of Atropos to pro-
duce any sensible sound. The integuments of the
creature are so soft that the fine wetted point of a
camel's hair brush is sufficient to rupture them, and
nowhere, not even in the thickened femora, is there a
surface which, being sharply applied to a sonorous
opposing one, coudl occasion an audible sound ; even
Anobium, encased as it is almost in a coat of mail,
can only cause a little more than perceptible noise.
I cannot imagine, therefore, how Atropos can possibly
be the culprit. In the house in which I am now
writing, I have far too many of Atropos in my insect-
room ; yet during ten years I have never heard the
" death-watch" there, whereas in my bed-room it is
sometimes so loud and constant as to become a
positive nuisance, its frequence in the latter room
being pointed to significantly by the numerous drill-
ings of Anobium in an old-fashioned bedstead. My
credulity in astonishing freaks of Nature is pretty
considerable ; even, on ocular evidence, I will
believe in the protracted existence of ancient toads
in blocks of compact stone; but, as before said,
until I see Atropos making certain movements, and
a sound proceeding from the spot, and keeping time
with the movements, I elect to discard what I now
consider a deeply-rooted superstition. It seems to
me possible that in the case of both Mr. Derham's
and Mr. Chaney's observations an Anobium has been
concealed in the same spot with the Atropos, but
was not discovered. I ask your readers to take any
substance of the same consistence as the head of
Atropos, and try if by any means they can produce a
ticking as loud as that of a watch, or any ticking at
all, by striking it against a sonorous surface.

"With one other remark I conclude. Owing to
the whole of my remarks in the "Ent. Month. Mag."
not having been extracted, it is made to appear that
I have arbitrarily changed the familiar specific name
pulsatoria to that of divinatoria (0. E. M filler in
" Zoologicae Danica; Prodromus," 1776). This is not
so. 1 have reluctantly dropped the Linnsean name,
because a glauce at his description of Termes pul-

satorius will suffice to show that the insect intended
is an allied creature, described by Westwood as
Clothilla studiosa, with similar habits and general
appearance, but differing, inter alia, in the possession,
when mature, of small, rounded, coriaceous, readily
deciduous wing-scales. Our common Atropos is
most probably the Termes fatidicus of Linnaeus, but
the description, probably by a slip of the pen, in-
dicates a very much larger creature.
Forest Hill. R. McLachlan.

THE DODO.

TE you, Mr. Editor, or your readers, care to pursue
■** the subject of the Dodo further, the subjoined
quaint description of this extinct bird, from a copy
in my possession of the "Travels into divers parts
of Africa and Asia the Great," of Sir Thomas
Herbert, Bart., may be acceptable. The passage is
taken verbatim from the earliest edition, published
in 1638.

" Here [Mauritius] and in Bygarrois (and no
where else that ever I could see or heare of) is
generated the Dodo (a Portuguize name it is, and
has reference to her simpleness) a Bird which for
shape and rareness might be call'd a Phoenix (wer't
in Arabia :) her body is round and extrame fat, her
slow pace begets that corpulencie; few of them
weigh lesse than fifty pound : better to the eye
than stomack : greasie appetites may perhaps
commend them, but to the indifferently curious
nourishment, but prove offensive. Let's take her
picture : her visage darts forth melancholy, as
sensible of Natures injurie in framing so great and
massie a body to be directed by such small and
complementall wings, as are unable to hoise her
from the ground, serving only to prove her a Bird,
which otherwise might be doubted of : her head is
variously drest, the one half hooded with downy
blackish feathers ; the other perfectly naked ; of a
whitish hue, as if a transparent Lawnehad covered it :
her bill is very howked and bends downwards, the
thrill or breathing place is in the midst of it ; from
which part to the end the colour is a light greeue
mixt with a pale yellow ; her eyes be round and
small, and bright as Diamonds ; her cloathing is of
finest Downe, such as you see in Goslins : her trayne
is (like a China beard) of three or foure short
feathers ; her legs thick and black, and strong ; her
tallons or pounces sharp, her stomack fiery hot, so
as stones are easily digested in it ; in that and
shajje not a little resembling the Africk CBstriches •.
but so much, as for their more certain difference I
dare to give thee (with two others) her representa-
tion."—Eolio. London, 1638. P. 347.

As a later edition contains some emendations, the
following extract is given from the "Fourth Im-
pression," to which " are added (by the Author now

Makch 1, 1867.] HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

53

living) as well many additions throughout the whole
work, as also several Sculptures, never before
printed." Folio. London, 1677.

" This noble Isle [Mauritius] as it is prodigal in
her water and wood, so she corresponds in what
else a fruitful Parent labours in : not only boasting
in that variety, but iu feathered creatures also ; yea,
in the rareness of that variety : I will name but
some, and first, the Dodo ; a Bird the Dutch call
Walghvogel or Dod Ersen : her body is round and
fat which occasions the slow pace or that her cor-
pulencie ; and so great as few of them weigh less
than fifty pound : meat it is with some, but better
to the eye than stomach ; such as only a strong ap-
petite can vanquish : but otherwise, through its
oyliness it cannot chuse but quickly cloy and
nauseate the stomach ; being indeed more pleasur-
able to look than feed upon. It is of a melancholy
visage, as sensible of Natures injury in framing so
massie a body to be directed by complemental wings,
such indeed as are unable to hoise her from the
ground, serving only to rank her amongst Birds : her
head is variously drest ; for one half is hooded with
down of a dark colour ; the other half, naked and of
a white hue, as if Lawn were drawn over it ; her
bill hooks and bends downwards, the thrill or
breathing place is in the midst, from which part to
the end, the colour is of a light green mixt with a
pale yellow ; her eyes are round and bright, and in-
stead of feathers has a most fine down ; her train
(like to a Chyna beard) is no more than three or four
short feathers : her leggs are thick and black ; her
tallons great ; her stomach firey, so as she can easily
digest stones; in that and shape not a little re-
sembling the Ostrich : The Dodo, Cacato or Parrat
and one of the Hens take so well as in my Table-
book I could draw them."

This description is worthy of respect, inasmuch
as it is from the pen of a well-known old traveller,
who saw the ungainly bird in its native habitat; but
as for the " sculpture " of the male and female of
the species with which the garrulous baronet ac-
companies his text, one is compelled to add that, if
his drawing of the pair of Dodos resembles the
originals no more faithfully than that of the " Ca-
cato [cockatoo] or Parrat " resembles that well-
known bird, his pictorial memoranda from his " Table-
book " are a " world too wide " from nature to serve
any useful purpose. Henry Campkin.

Reform Club.

WoitK. — As in travelling so in thinking ; he who
has started must work with the means which he owns,
however small the stock may be. There is a time
for gathering such mental gear ; when it is gone, the
time comes for using engines or expedients. If
grammar, logic, and mathematics be mysteries, the
rule-of-thumb must serve their turn. — Frost and
Fire.

PODUILE*

have often been asked by friends interested
-*- in microscopical pursuits where Podura:
were to be obtained, and I myself was puzzled
over the problem once. Mr. Hogg's work on the
Microscope, and Dr. Carpenter's more elaborate
treatise, had sharpened my curiosity on the point,
and I regretted I did not count among my ac-
quaintances some one to whom I could apply for
the entree of a wine-cellar, there to put in practice
the plan recommended for the capture of these in-
sects by means of oatmeal and a basin — a plan
which I was led to think would produce abundant
results. Soon, at Smith and Beck's, I bought a
slide of the scales, and to my great disappointment
found I could not see them satisfactorily fin my
microscope. But there is no wonder in this, for
beginners are not usually furnished at the outset
with the best class of objectives, by means of which
alone can the markings on this microscopic test-
object be plainly seen.'

Fig. 37. Podura, without scales ; common under stones.

However, though I had obtained a slide of the-
scales, I wanted to see a living Podura. " Surely,"
thought I, " if they are so common in cellars, there
is a chance of their being found in the lower regions
of the house in which I live." So I took a candle,
and commenced a search on the outside of a beer-
barrel. Peering into its seams, I soon discovered
in these localities, and on the wall, tiny creatures of
a leaden hue, with purplish reflections in those parts
where the light chiefly played. "Can these be

* Read at the Quekett Microscopical Club, Nov. 23, 1866.

54

HATLDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[March 1, 1867.

Podurre ? " The question was soon settled in the
affirmative after the examination had been made
under the microscope of two or three captured
specimens. The scales were, however, smaller and
more transparent than those on my bought slide,
and the markings far less distinct. Having paid
some attention to these insects since then, I proceed
to record my notes.

With regard to the habits of Podurae, and the
places where they may be successfully sought, I
may say they all love damp situations. Some pre-
fer an excessively moist condition, such as the sur-
face of a puddle in the open country or by the road-
side. These are destitute of scales, and sometimes
occur of considerable size. (See figure in "The
Micrographic Dictionary," page 554.) They may
also be found under stones in damp places, and
often are abundant at the edges of weedy ponds.
Others are content with the humid atmosphere
under the broad leaves of a dock, or at the roots of
a dandelion ; and others again show their aversion
to daylight by taking up their abode under a stone,
or amid the cobwebs and the darkness of a damp
cellar. In these latter localities more particularly
do the scale-bearing species delight.

They feed upon decaying animal and vegetable
substances, such as a stale cooked potato, decaying
leaves or vegetables, a rotten bone or an egg-shell.
All these form capital baits. In addition I find
oatmeal is moderately successful in a cellar, and an
old shoe has been recommended to us as possessing
special attractions. The easiest mode of capturing
Podurae, when found, is one told me by Mr. Powell,
the eminent optician. A small glass tube a quarter
of an inch in diameter, and about two inches long
(a quill will do nearly as well), open at one end and
corked at the other, is placed over the insect, which
most probably takes a leap into it instantly. The
open end can then be closed, and you have your
prisoner safe. In order to obtain the scales I ad-
minister chloroform vapour, and then, with the side
of a needle, press the Podura gently on the thin glass
cover, which has been previously cleaned. I some-
times find they leap into the glass tube so violently
as to die on the spot from their self-inflicted injuries.

The Podura belongs to the order Thysanura, the
characteristics of which, as extracted from the
" Micrographic Dictionary," are as follows :—
"Wings absent; not undergoing metamorphosis;
not parasitic ; mouth furnished with mandibles and
maxillaj ; eyes simple, in two groups; abdomen
mostly terminated by setse or a bifid tail."

The Podura possesses about sixteen simple eyes,
arranged in two groups, one on each side of the
head. Each group, containing eight, looks like a
cluster of beads.*

The forked tail is not less curious in its structure
than in the use to which it is applied. When at
rest it is kept in a groove under the abdomen, but
it is brought into operation very effectively in case
of danger threatening its possessor. If the alarmed

* It would appear that some species have 14 or only 12 eyes :
there is often much difficulty in counting them.

Fig. 3S. Tail of Podura, expanded, x 40.

insect finds its legs cannot carry it into safe quarters
quickly enough, it suddenly straightens out its tail
horizontally, thus striking a smart blow with it on
the ground. The force of the blow is sometimes so
great as to cause the creature to rise into the air
some twelve inches or so, and then it alights in an
unexpected place, whence it crawls away in security.
I think a curious orgau (situated between the third
pair of legs), which I also saw, on one occasion, used
as a sucker, when the Podura was walking in an in-
verted position on the under-side of the cell-cover,
assists the tail in the operation. The whole appa-
ratus bears some resemblance to the ingeniously
contrived wooden toy frog, which, by means of a
string, a piece of wood, and a bit of cobbler's wax,
can be made to leap for the amusement of children.
The antennae are four-jointed, and the whole body
is covered with a series of scales arranged very
much after the fashion of those on the wings of
moths. The antennae, as well as the legs, which
terminate in two claws or toes, are clothed with
fine hairs, and also in some cases with scales.

My experience refers especially to two kinds of
scale-bearing Podurae ; oue of them black or leaden-
coloured (P. plumbea ?), and another of a fawn-
colour, somewhat speckled. I shall speak of it as
the Speckled Podura, for want of knowing its scien-
tific name. I do not think it has been described ;
its scale certainly has not, and I shall allude to it
presently. The former is of frequent occurrence
under some boards at the back of our house, and
also in similar situations in a cellar at Brixton ; the
latter occurs in the same cellar, but inhabits the
woodwork and the whitewashed wall, rarely being

March 1, 1867.1

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

55

CWR

Eig. 39. Black Podtjra.

seen on the floor, except during the winter months.
I can catch a black Podura occasionally by means
of oatmeal, but have to trust to my eyes and fingers
alone in the case of the speckled. Both kinds will,
however, eat oatmeal when kept in confinement.
I have had numbers of them both enclosed in roomy,
wooden cells, and have derived much pleasure while
watching their habits. The floors of the cells were
covered with moistened blotting-paper, in order
that the humid atmosphere in which the insects
live might be imitated.

Fig. 40. Black Podura, front view, x 40.

The Black Podura* is a most superb object under
the microscope, because the scales decompose light
strongly ; hence brilliant colours, especially purple,
play over the surface of the little creature when it
is well illuminated. I do not succeed well in the
preservation of dead specimens. One only has
hitherto afforded me a somewhat satisfactory slide :
it is mounted in the dry. If fluids are used, all the
scales come off directly. The application of fluid,
however, enables the examination of the mode of
attachment of the scales to be performed very
readily.

On one occasion a fine colony of this species was
found on a rotten chip of wood, aad deposited in a

* The colour varies much : some specimens are dull grey,
and others have bronze reflections. It has been suggested to
me that possibly the correct scientific name of this species is
Macrotoma nigra.

deep cell for observation. They disliked their po-
sition exceedingly, and made vain attempts to get
away, but ultimately accommodated themselves to
circumstances pretty well. I noticed that they
often cast their skins. One was observed shortly
previous to, and immediately after, the operation.
During the process its colour became much paler,
almost white, and large drops of fluid adhered to it
in various places. In the course of a couple of
hours I looked again, when lo ! it had extricated
itself from the old coat, and was busy turning round
and round in a bran new one (which was many
shades darker than the old), as if to try how it
fitted* The exuvid (scales, antennae, portions of
the tracheae, &c.) were all attached to the cell-cover,
which I removed in order to identify the various
parts under high powers. The full size of the insect
is about one-eighth of an inch in length.

This family produced, while in confinement, a
brood of young ones. The eggs were not noticed
because they were concealed under the rotten chip
of wood, but on the 18th June about twenty tiny
white Podura? were seen, apparently just born.
They were clothed with hairs and rudimentary
scales, the head was large in proportion to the body,
the eyes red, and the general resemblance to the
parents great. They seemed to feed greedily on
the fungoid growths which had arisen in the cell,
owing to the conditions existent there, and were
very active. Soon they betook themselves to an
oatmeal diet, and in course of time grew, so that on
the 3rd of July there was little except their size to
distinguish between them aud the old ones. They
had then acquired iridescence, doubtless by casting
off their skins several times, and behaved just like
their parents, running hither and thither, meanwhile

* The process has been repeatedly witnessed since then.
The tail is the last part drawn out of the exuviae. I have
some now (Feb. 1), which were confined at the close of last
November, and they appear to be in perfect health.

5")

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Mauch 1, 1867.

Eig. 41. Speckled Podura, x 30.

rapidly waving their antennae, and making active
efforts to escape whenever I opened the cell. All
Podurse are very attentive to personal cleanliness,
and their constant habit of preening themselves is
very curious to witness. They suddenly double
their antennae under the head, passing them through
the mouth many times, and treat every part of their
bodies that may be within reach in a similar manner.

>#>'"l'»H<1!ffi'V.

i.i!...!. !»:»«.. .iiiiiii..;'.'"

'ttiif,!!,l«,',»mmtili|.t!,f('"(

»»lt!lll(«l''lll»fl(«"»Wi,''

tea

V ,,ii','"t««iiip(f
TfefflfiW

V',1,, IIIKIIH"/

M, iiiiiiiiiiii/

Fig. 42. Scale of Black Podura; J objective, A eyepiece.

The scale of this Podura is very like that supplied
to me as the real "test scale." The markings,
though clear, are much finer, and I suspect that
the test scales are only found on the oldest Podurse,
but I am open to correction. Accurate information
about Podurse seems at present difficult to obtain.
The adult insect should be selected in preference to
the young specimen, the tegumentary appendages
of which appear to me to be imperfectly developed.
I notice that the small ones are more iridescent
than the full-grown insects.

The other species ot .Fodura which has come
particularly under my notice is rather larger than
the black species. Its colour is very light brown,
often speckled with black, and there is no symptom

of iridescence. The antennas are much longer in pro-
portion to the body, which is liberally furnished
with hairs, especially near the neck, and its head is
not carried so low as in the case of the black kind
(see figure). It also inhabits a drier situation, and
in my experience is not nearly so often met with.
I only know of one place where I may calculate
with some certainty on finding a specimen (viz., on

VI : .1 InwiJ I I IT Hi "UK

mm

ii

\%m mVMf

um\

Fig. 43. Scale of Speckled Podura; J objective, A eyepiece.

the whitewashed door, or similarly treated wall of
the cellar at Brixton) ; but I have unexpectedly
caught stray ones in other places, chiefly indoors;
hence I suspect it inhabits the decayed woodwork
of houses. Under the microscope, this sort dis-
plays a speckled or banded appearance — the back
and sides being clothed with scales, mostly dark
brown or black, ai ranged in transverse rows. The
individual scales are exceedingly beautiful and much
more easily resolved than Lhe standard test scales.
They also possess faint transverse striae on the
elevated portions. Hitherto they have seldom, if

Makch 1, 1S67.] HAPDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

57

ever, been mounted for sale, but they well merit
attention"; and though on close examination their
markings are found to be similar to those on
the test scale, omitting all consideration of the

1

I

fciti.Tll

w

Fig. 44. Damaged Scale of Speckled Podura, opaque ;
i objective, B eyepiece and Beck's patent illuminator.

striae, yet at the first glance most persons to whom
I have shown them seem to have a difficulty in
recognising them as Podura scales at all.

1 .11 VW ■■'Tiff : W ft

iffiii
■ Pi

Fig. 45. Scale of Speckled Podura, by reflected light, small
side ; condensing lens, J objective, C eyepiece.

About the 6th of June nine of these insects were
inclosed in a cell, and on the 16th I noticed that
about sixty globular eggs were laid. On the 24th
of the same month, the eyes of the contained young
might be perceived through the shells, which burst
on the 27th, and permitted the young to make their
exit.

These are lively from the first, and resemble their
parents in all, saving that they appear to be very
delicate and destitute of scales.

While the young of the black Podura; seemed to
be quite comfortable in the damp cell, these ap-
peared soon after to be in an unhealthy condition,

and many died. I therefore liberated those re-
maining in the cellar whence their parents were
obtained, lest the species should be exterminated.
I have tried several times since, without success, to
keep this species in confinement : they always pine
away and die ; and though they will eat oatmeal,
they do so but sparingly.

* The progeny of b oth kinds of Podura were very
numerous in their native haunts on the 1st of
October. Possibly the dampness of the past sum-
mer had promoted their increase. In several places
the under sides of certain boards swarmed with the
black species, and their exuviae were equally
abundant in the same situations.

Fig. 46. White Podura {Lepidocyrtus Albinos?).

I have lately noticed another Podura — pearly-
white in colour, with red eyes, small, having rather
long antenna;, and furnished besides with long hairs
somewhat like the speckled. I am told its name
is Lepidocyrtus Albinos, and that it is the smallest

Fig. 47. Scale of White Podura ; \ objective, A eyepiece.

of the scale-bearing Podura;. It seems to be very
partial to the vicinity of flower-pots, and under-
neath them it may often be found. One specimen
was damaged in being captured, two of the joints of
one antenna being broken ; but in the course of
ten days the damage was repaired, and the one
antenna was almost the counterpart of the other.
The scales, which were first described to me by the
late lamented Mr. Richard Beck, are very thin ;
but notwithstanding this the markings are very

58

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Mauch 1, 1SG7.

distinct, and have a great tendency to follow each
other in longitudinal rows. In order to give a
rough idea of their appearance comparatively with
others we attach a figure, exhibiting them as seen
under an &th object-glass. In Mr. Beck's beautiful
paper in the Microscopical Journal, on the subject of

fi

<fc

well with a good half-inch objective, assisted by the
condenser and a deep eyepiece ; but, although they
are said to be visible with a one-inch, it is only, to
quote from Dickens, when you " make believe very
much " that the mottlings then seen are comfortably
resolved.

iffiWffil

Fig. 48. TestPodura Scale; upper portion, £ objective,
A eyepiece ; lower portion, & objective, C eyepiece.

the Scale of Lepidocyrtus, he says : " The best scales
are obtained from the insects found in comparatively
dry places." So far, and in some other particulars,
I find our experiences agree. His speciality (which we
figure as the "test scale") is either a variety of the
black Podura or a distinct species ; most probably
the latter. The outlines of Podura scales are very
different in different species ; and although there
are many erratic shapes, those drawn will, we
think, be found to be the forms which predominate.
The drawings of the scales have all been made
with the aid of Ross or Beck's object-glasses and
Powell and Lealand's achromatic condenser (170°).
The markings can be seen without an achromatic
condenser; but the view is infinitely more satis-
factory when this apparatus is used. I have also
employed Smith and Beck's, which is admirably
adapted for exhibiting them. A moderate aperture
only is requisite, both in the object-glass and the
illuminating apparatus, for their perfect display ; but
the workmanship of the objective must be of the
best description. Any error in the correction of
the lenses, whether in the manufacture or in their
adjustment for penetrating the thin covering glass,
is immediately betrayed by the peculiar appearance
which the markings present. Mr. R. Beck has
dealt with this subject so thoroughly in the paper I
have alluded to, that I hardly feel competent to
speak on it* I have seen the markings moderately

* I refer more particularly to the accepted standard test
scale. '

Fig. 50. Same
Scale, direct
illumination ;
TV objective,
C eyepiece.

Fig. 49. Scale of Speckled Podura, oblique illumination.

An object-glass, which will show the Podura scale
perfectly, may be predicted to be capable of being
employed satisfactorily on the easier diatoms, such
as P. angulata and P. hippocampus; but it does
not follow that another glass, which will show the
striae on the N. rhomboides, Surirella, P. fasciola,
N. cuspidata, &c, will perform equally well on the
Podura scale. It is possible, however, for a good
high-power glass to be equal to both these require-
ments. Amateur mounters should cover the scales
they put up with the thinnest possible glass, so that,
when opportunity offers for an examination of the
slide under a remarkably good -^th or TVth, they
may not find themselves doomed to disappointment,
owiug to the inability of the objective to penetrate
the thick cover.

In conclusion I beg to offer a few remarks on
the scale of the Speckled Podura. As I have
stated above, it possesses transverse striae, and
these are rendered most distinct when the central
rays of the achromatic condenser are stopped out.
I believe that the structure of Podura scales in
general may be best studied in this one. From very
careful examinations I have no doubt that the

March 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

59

surface is uneven, and believe that its irregularity is
the result of both upper and lower membranes
being folded into a number of minute pleats or
wrinkles, which have a tendency to overlap each
other— a difference in detail only, not in plan,
between these markings and those on the scales of

Fig. 50. Scale of Podura, unknown species, x 450.

all other insects. This is best shown by oblique
illumination ; but when the illuminating ray is in a
direction corresponding to the axis of the micro-
scope the appearance is totally changed, and the
wedge-shaped markings, which I believe to be
hollows between the pleats or corrugations (and
not particles, as stated in the " Micrographic
Dictionary" and elsewhere), come into view directly.
Their dark outlines, I think, represent the shelv-
ing sides of the little pits, and the bright space in
the centre of each is the deepest portion, which
from its position with regard to the ray, obstructs
the least amount of light.

By moving the diaphragms of Powell's condenser
a little backwards and forwards, so as to obtain
alternately direct and oblique light, the appearances
represented in the figure attached are given. The
conclusion I have arrived at seems still further
supported, if one of the most strongly-marked scales
be examined with a £th objective, and Smith and
Beck's patent illuminator for opaque objects under
high powers. The wedge-shaped markings are then
distinctly seen to be little pits.

Opaque illumination by means of the side-con-
densing lens and a |th object-glass shows the tops of
the ridges of pleats illuminated, and the spaces
between in very strong shadow, provided the beam
of light strike the scale sideways. If it strike
lengthways, the view is too indistinct to be satis-
factory. My opinion on the subject differs slightly
from that of Mr. Beck, who regards the wedge-
shaped markings as elevations, and argues ac-
cordingly. The question as to whether they are
hollows or elevations is of no great importance, and
it is exceedingly difficult of resolution. Mr. Beck's
remarks refer to the test scale.

S. J. McIntire.

ANALOGY OF SMELL.

A N article on the " Analogy of Eorm " in the
-"- last number of Science Gossip, brought to
my mind the very remarkable instances which are
to be found in the Analogy of Smell among the
Eungi. I have lately been turning my attention to
these interesting productions of nature, and have
often been quite astonished at the exact resemblance
which the odours of certain species have borne to
something extremely familiar to me, but of a
totally different nature.

During the month of October last, as I was
ascending one of the rising slopes of the Cottes-
wold hills, in the vicinity of Cheltenham, I thought
I perceived the peculiar but agreeable scent of
Russian leather, and recollecting that there was a
fungus reputed to possess that odour, I immediately
directed my search for it. Several specimens were
growing around me where I stood, and thus I had
been led to detect this little white fungus by its
scent, as we sometimes do the violet in the spring
of the year, before the eye reveals its whereabouts.

The Rev. M. J. Berkeley says of this species
{Hygrophorus Busso-coriaceus), that it is rare ; but
I have a suspicion that it may have been overlooked
as the young, or a small state of Hygrophorus vir-
gineus, which at a distance it somewhat resembles.
It may, however, be readily known from that species
by its delightful scent alone, which it retains after
drying, and to such an extent, that I think it might
be made available for the scenting of drawers, &c.

In the same pasture I gathered Hygrophorus
murinaceus, which/possesses the odour of aquafortis
— far less agreeable, but perhaps equally remark-
able. The collector of the larger fungi is fre-
quently reminded of this singular similarity of odour
to a series of odd things, both of a disgusting and
agreeable nature, as the following brief enumera-
tion will illustrate, viz., cinnamon, garlic, helio-
trope, cucumber, gas-tar, tarragon, new flour, mice,
bugs, ripe apricot, putrid flesh, &c. The similarity
of form and colour which some insects bear to
portions of the vegetable kingdom, would lead one
to suppose that they were designed to protect them
from wholesale destruction by birds, &c. ; but as
regards the odour of fungi, it seems more difficult
to form an opinion. The mycologist, however,
often finds that they serve him as valuable aids in
the determination of species, and without which,
his conclusions might be more exposed to error.

H. Beach.

Marks.— A delta is a water-mark; around crater
a fire-mark ; and every force which acts on a sur-
face makes a tool-mark which may be learned. Each
mark is like a letter. It has a form and a meaning,
but only for those who learn to read.— Frost and
Fire, i'.

GO

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[March 1, 1867.

THE WASP'S STING, ITS POISON GLAND.

TI^HE discussion relative to the fang and poison
-*- gland of the spider, which has appeared, from
time to time, in the pages of Science-Gossip, and
in which I have taken a part, has led me to examine
the stings of bees and wasps, with a view to satisfy
myself as to their structure, and to observe wrhat
similarity there might be between them and the
fangs of spiders, especially in reference to their
poison glands. Accordingly, I cut out the sting of
a wasp with all its attachments, in as unbroken a
state as possible. I spread out the whole on a
glass slide, and washed the parts with lukewarm
water, without using liquor potassse. I then
allowed the water to evaporate gradually, and the
sting, &c, to become quite dry on the slide ; and
finally, having moistened the object with turpentine,
1 mounted it in balsam.

I found that in wasps, as in spiders (Science-
Gossip, for 1866, page 229), the poison gland is
attached by a hollow cord of about the length of
the gland itself, and that the course of the cord
could be traced down the body of the sting. The
gland is similar in shape and size to that of the
spider, and when examined under the microscope,
with ordinary transmitted light, did not exhibit
anything remarkable, except that there was a kind
of knot in its extreme end, and attached to it,
which seemed to be ramified with a structure of
tracheae. Upon examination with polarized light,
nothing particular demanded attention, until this
knot came in the field of view, when brilliant star-
like crystals blazed forth on the dark ground. The
crystals were small, each had a dark cross in its
■ centre, and with selenite gave the usual appearance
of complementary colours.

If I would indii-ge in a deduction from the above
appearances, 1 would say, that the gland contained
a fluid poison, in which the crystals were in solution,
the evaporation of the fluid poison leaving the
crystals as observed.

It would be interesting to try whether a similar
treatment of the poison glands of the spider would
lead to similar results. This I may attend to, on a
future occasion, if I be not anticipated by a more
diligent observer.

The slide containing the sting and the gland with
the crystals, I have in my possession, and I have no
objection to lend it for the examination of any reader
of Science-Gossip, who may be sceptical, because
unable to verify the appearances I have related.
Armagh. Lewis G. Mills, LL.B.

A Landsman who has only seen a puddle in a
storm, has no clear notion of the Atlantic in a gale ;
and so it is with a man who has never been far from
home. — /. F. Campbell.

SP1ROGYRA.

rjlHE various species of Spirogyra are found,
■*■ during the spring and summer, in open
exposed pools of water, or in slowly moving streams,
and are all remarkable for the beautiful manner in
which the bands of chlorophyll are disposed within
the cells. They consist of bright green filaments,
varying from the hundredth part of an inch to a
yard in length, made up of cylindrical cells, joined
end to end. Some of these occur in nearly every
pool, and appear on the top of the water in green
or brownish patches, with bubbles of air entangled
in their mass. In streams, they attach themselves
to weeds, and the long green filaments, waved to
and fro by the current, are very pretty.

When viewed under the microscope, with a power
of one or two hundred diameters, the bands of
chlorophyll are seen disposed in various elegant
spirals. In some species these bands are single,
in others there are two, three, or four. Upon these
bands, which are generally slightly jagged along
their edges, are grains of brighter green, disposed
at pretty regular intervals, and adding greatly to
the beauty of the plant. Sometimes the larger
grains are surrounded with smaller ones, and the
bands appear like two' festoons of exquisite green
flowers (fig. 3).

In some cells, but by no means in all, a nucleus
may be seen, clinging to the side of the cell or
apparently held iu its position by strings of proto-
plasm (figs. 1, 5). In the terminal cell the rotation
of the protoplasm is frequently observable, the
current seeming to flow down the middle of the cell,
and return by the sides.

A young plant is represented in fig. 6, the whole
number of cells in which was 20, but only those at
each end and in the middle are represented, in
order to show the root-like termination, and the
manner in which the spiral bands are gradually
developed. In the two lowest cells the chlorophyll
appears in a shapeless mass, in the third, the spiral
bands begin to be marked, and in the middle of the
filament they appear as at b. At the growing
point, they are distinctly marked, but somewhat
compressed. In the ordinary cells of this species,
the spiral bands, which are rather lax at the ends
of the cell, in the middle run close up to one
another, and give a peculiar character to the
filament.

The cells of different species are not always ter-
minated in the same manner. In some a cell sepa-
rated from the rest exhibits a rounded outline, in
others it is at first slightly constricted, and then
rounded (fig. 10). In the former case, the junction
of two cells is flat, but in the latter the cell-wall is
folded back. This may be readily observed, when
the plant is treated with iodine (fig. 10,/).

March 1, 1867.]

IIARDWICKE'S SCIENCE. GOSSIP.

GL

Fig 51. Spirogyea.

All the species of Spirogyra exhibit the process of
conjugation. Two neighbouring plants throw out
from the sides of their cells little processes (figs. 7,
8) ; when these meet together a union is effected,
the intervening cell-walls are absorbed, or ruptured,

and the contents of one cell pass into the other.
Before, however, this takes place, the spiral coils
are relaxed, and their curves turned towards the
process ; then the contents lose their symmetrical
form, and become altogether shapeless (figs. 7, 9).

62

HABDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[March 1, 1S67.

When the conjugation is complete, the combined
contents of the two cells become an oval spore
(figs. 8, 12), from which a new plant eventually
springs.

Eig. 7 represents a curious instance of a filament,
which has conjugated with two others.

In ordinary cases the conjugation takes place as
has been just described, but in some cases it takes
place in two contiguous cells of the same filament
(fig. 9), and the contents of one cell pass over into
the next and form a spore.

When the plants have been kept a considerable
time in the same vessel, the contents of the cells
are sometimes changed into brown moving bodies
(fig. 11), but whether these are zoospores or not,
seems a little uncertain. The contents of the cells
are also changed into green zoospores, which escape
from the ruptured cell. J. S. Tute.

The Blood-Beetle.— That the scarlet fluid said
by Westwood to be emitted from the joints of the
limbs of this beetle is a fact, I can assure Mr.
Ullyett from personal observation. The beetle is
rather common on our " down," and often, on taking
it between my fingers, it has emitted this scarlet fluid
from the leg-joints next the body, as well as from
the mouth. — Eliza C. Jellie, Bedland, Bristol.

Fig. 52. Triple Jargonelle Pear (greatly reduced).

Triple Bear.— In September, 1856, 1 picked in
my garden, from a jargonelle pear-tree, a curiously
formed triple pear. In looking over an old folio a
day or two since, I found a drawing of it I made at
the time, and thinking it may have some interest
for the readers of Science-Gossip, I enclose you a
copy. It would seem as though three blossoms had
formed their fruit oue within the other.— /. B.
Keene, teh February, 1867.

ZOOLOGY.

Barr or Salmon. — As thus buoyant, elated,
and self-confident, I proceeded onwards, I observed
a boat, with a young man in it, anchored in strange
fashion a little on one side of the main stream down
which I was passing. The anchor consisted, in
fact, of another individual, older than the occupant
of the boat, who, standing in the water as deep as
his somewhat long legs would allow, leaned his
weight upon the stern of the boat, and so held it
fast in its position. I passed them carelessly, and
when but a few yards in advance, my attention was
attracted to a small, struggling, brown fly, which
had apparently just dropped into the water. Bush-
ing towards it, and rising suddenly to the surface,
I greedily seized, and was preparing to swallow, the
delicate morsel ; .but scarcely did it touch my lips
when a slight but smart sensation, as of a thorn
pricking my mouth, was felt by me, and I found
myself dragged by some invisible but irresistible
force against the stream, until, half choked, I ap-
proached the boat, into which, by the aid of a light
net, I was instantly lifted. I found myself clasped
by a dreadfully warm hand, and held, in spite of
my struggles, firmly until the hook, attached to the
treacherous fly I had seized, was extracted, not
untenderly, from my .wounded jaw. I was already
more than half dead, limp, faint, and bleeding.
" It's just a wee parr beastie," said the elder of the
two, preparing to slip me into the water. " It's of
no use putting it back," said the other ; " parr or
not, it's dead." "It may dee and be dom'd; I
wash my hands of it," was the reply with which my
profane friend placed me in the water, carefully
enough. I felt sick and helpless; without power
to sustain my proper position, I floated, with my
back downwards, until I rested against some long
floating grass, a few yards from the boat, to which
the eddy of the stream had carried me. Although
too weak to move, I retained my senses, and heard
the younger man say to his companion — "Why, John,
what made you throw that poor little dead beast
into the water again?" "Deed," was the reply,
"yon beastie's just a smolt, an' there's a fine for
killing sich like." "But you killed a parr just
now?" "Ay." "But yon call this a parr?"
"'Deed, an' it's the fau't of those who gie the same
name to twa different fishes." "What do you
mean?" "A' mean that there's a wee fish ye
killed justnoo ca'ed'the parr,' an' it's a fish of
itself,* an' has melt an' roe as every ither fish has,

* I have opened hundreds of the Burn Parr, Salmo Salmu-
lus, male and female. I have seen them on their spawning-
beds, and taken them out of burns where salmon never yet
ascended, nor could by possibility ascend. I have baited
hooks with the tough little beggars, and released them alive
after they had towed a trimmer for six hours about a loch ;
the salmon parr being as soft as a pat of butter, and endowed

March 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKB'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

63

an' ye'll find it in rivers an' burns, an' abune water-
falls, an' in mountain tarns, where no sautnon ever
yet was seen or could get, an' it's streekit an' bar-
red all the same as the young sauraon-parr ; and it's
just the confusion of ca'ing the twa by the ae name
that's raised a' the fash that's made about the
' edentity,' as they ca' it, of the parr with the young
saumon." " Then yon believe that the parr is not
the young of the salmon ?" " If ye ca' the young
saumon the parr, the parr is the young saumon;
but there's anither parr that has a better right to
the name, an' it's a pity that twa fish should be
bund to hae but ae name betwixt them." — Auto-
biography of a Salmon.

Dog in Trouble. — A singular mishap befel a
young Retriever of mine when he was about four
months old. Up to that time he exhibited all the
playfulness, and distinguished himself for mischief
as much, if not more, than the majority of pups, but
at the age of four months he suddenly became
serious; the change was so sudden I could not
account for it. If I attempted to draw him out
with a bit of his favourite carpet, which in his
younger days was his delight, he would only survey
it well with his head, first on one side and then the
other, and sometimes attempt to seize it, but he
would recollect himself and turn away, evidently
disgusted with it. At first his behaviour was a
source of amusement to me ; he appeared at times
half inclined to play, and at the same time as if he
had made up his mind not to do so ; in fact, he
became quite a droll dog. After he had been in this
state for about a week, I was patting and caressing
him one day when I chanced to touch him rather
roughly on his left side, which made him wince and
howl, which drew my attention more closely to the
spot, and on examination I found a slight swelling
just beyond the last rib. I concluded he had been
wounded, bathed the place with warm water, and
examined it carefully every day. I began to get
rather anxious about poor Rover, as he was evidently
in great pain, and the least touch on the swelling
made him whine piteously. He continued in this
state for about three weeks, and by this time the
swelling had increased considerably, when one
morning my attention was called to the dog, and
on going out to look at him I observed a slight
discharge from his side, and on examining it I
slightly bent his body, when to my astonishment
the point of a wood-skewer protruded from his side.
I immediately took hold of it and drew it forth.
I thought it would never end ; it came out at last,
a perfect unbroken skewer five-and-a-half inches
long. I could scarcely believe my own eyes ; but
there was the skewer in my hand, and poor Rover
was quite conscious of the relief, as he began

with about as much power of sustaining hardships. Doubt-
less the young salmon is the parr, but the parr is not always
the young salmon.

frisking about and licking my hands with great
delight. lie stood quite Christian-like while I
bathed him well with warm water. He soon resumed
his old tricks, and returned to the forsaken frag-
ments of carpet with increased vigour ; and I am
happy to say Rover is himself again. I can account
for the skewer finding its way there from the fact
that the dog was in the habit of having meat occa-
sionally from the "cat's meat man," which is sold
on skewers, and he must have had a lot thrown to
him before it was taken from the skewer. I have
since compared the skewers, and hud they are not
like the common butcher's skewer, but are made of
pine. — James Rowley.

Hen with Cat and Kittens. — At Falking-
ham, Lincolnshire, in the early part of last October
(1S66), was daily seen the following curious instance
of maternal affection. A hen was sitting upon her
eggs for hatching ; she had them taken away from
her, but still she persevered in keeping on her nest.
One day, when away to feed, an old pussey took
possession, and kittened five kittens within it. On
the hen's return, instead of being disconcerted at the
intruders, she took to both cat and kittens, and with
the same assiduity as if her own chickens began
and continued to regularly brood them, always pull-
ing any stray kitten under her wings, and, if any
curious person, on viewing them, displaced one,
would make as great a disturbance as if one of her
own chickens had been taken from her. During
this singular attachment she would always make
room for the old cat to suckle them. She was
allowed to have them under her care for three weeks ;
then she was prevented going to them, and ap-
parently suffered a great loss by the privation. —
/. Ward.

Spawning oe the Frog. — Perhaps the following
fact may be interesting to some of your readers.
It is, I believe, generally stated in works on Natural
History that the frog spawns about the middle of
March. Now, although such may be the case in other
parts of England, certainly here in the South of Devon-
shire the spawning takes place at a much earlier
period. Por the last fifteen years I have observed
that in the absence of frost the frogs in this im-
mediate neighbourhood spawn on the 14th or 15th
of January, and so punctual are they to the day, that
I have always succeeded in capturing some dozen
for observation on those dates. The spawning takes
place in the night, and the little creatures, being
subsequently weak and exhausted, remain for the
next twenty-four hours immediately under and
covered by the cake, or else slightly buried in the
mud in the immediate vicinity ; hence it is very
easy to catch them, as they generally select very
shallow water for the purpose ; but after recruiting
their strength for twenty-four hours, they move off
and are no longer to be found. This year the severe

64

HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[March 1, 1S67.

weather has retarded their operations, but the night
before last the thaw set in, and yesterday the ice
had nearly disappeared. Supposing that froggy
might require twenty-four hours to recover from
his torpidity, I, this morning, sallied forth to my
accustomed hunting ground (for they always appear
to frequent the same place year after year), a road-
side gutter or small ditch not having more than three
or four inches of water in the deepest part, and
scarcely two feet broad. Here I found about a dozen
cakes of spawn which had evidently been deposited
during the night, and I immediately caught ten
frogs for my fernery in a distance of less than thirty
yards. Now as most persons having microscopes
are always glad to be provided with a few frogs for
observation, I think if they note the days on which
the frog begins to spawn in their neighbourhood,
they will, another season, be able to secure an ample
supply. — George Dansey, Levonport.

Silk.— Heliogabalus was the first Roman who
wore a garment all silk, which must have been
about the year 220 a.d. The Emperor Aurelianus,
who died in 275, denied his empress a robe of silk
because it was too dear. In the year 555, some
monks, who had been in India, brought some eggs
of the silkworm to Constantinople, where, in time,
they produced raw silk, which was manufactured at
Athens, Thebes, Corinth, &c. Charlemagne sent
Offa, king of Mercia, a present of a belt and two
silken vests, in the year 780, which is the earliest
account we have of silk being seen in this country.
— Phillips's " Fruits of Great Britain."

The Shrike {Enneoctonus collurio). — There is a
popular idea that this bird always has nine impaled
creatures at hand, and that when it eats one it
catches another, and with it replaces the one which
has been eaten. In consequence of this notion,
which prevails through several counties, the bird is
called nine-killer. The generic name, Enneoctonus,
is composed of two Greek words which have a
similar signification. So strongly is this idea held
by some persons, that I have seen a treatise upon
instinct, where the shrike was gravely produced as
an example of arithmetical powers possessed by
birds. These theories generally fail when confronted
by facts. I have seen numberless shrike's nests,
and though in some cases there may have been nine
impaled animals, in some there were more, and in
others less.— Rev. J. G. Wood's "Homes without
Hands."

"Cardinals."— A large and hideous species of
spider, said to be found only in Hampton Court
Palace, is known by the name of " Cardinals."
This name has been given them from a superstitious
belief, that the spirits of Cardinal Wolsey and his
retinue still haunt the palace in their shape. — Holes
and Queries, vii., 431.

Swallows in Algeria.— I saw lately a book
advertised with the title "A Winter with the
Swallows," and having procured a copy, I was
surprised to find that the locality of the swallows'
winter residence was Algiers. I had always ima-
gined that the supposed winter residence of swallows
was somewhere in the centre of Africa; and Bev.
H. B. Tristram, in his interesting work entitled
"the Great Sahara," states that in that region the
Arabs informed him that " for one Swallow in
winter they have twenty in summer. The natives
are perfectly familiar with the fact of the swallow's
emigration, as they say they go to visit Timbuctoo,
the El Dorado of Arab and Swallow" (p. 39S). I
myself have passed twenty-five successive winters
in Algeria, either at Algiers or Oran, and from
repeated observations I found that the swallow
arrived on the 6th March, but an occasional swallow
may be rarely observed flitting about in the month
of January, if the day be very fair and warm.
Swallows, and quails, and corncrakes arrive at
Algiers almost simultaneously, although the great
emigration of these birds may be put down at the
end of March. — G. Munby, Wood Green.

Insect Pests. — Can we wonder at the increase
of the insects which destroy our fruits, and at the
great loss sustained by those who have extensive
orchards and gardens? The birds are the only
possible agents to counteract the deadly unseen
insects which are every hour being bred almost
everywhere. Nature has formed the bird's eye for
detecting insects where the eye of man is useless.
Wholly destroy the birds, and the fruit is wholly
destroyed. — The Gentleman's Magazine.

Nesting of the Grey Wagtail (Motacilla
boaruld). — During the last season I found a nest of
this little bird in a hole on the banks of the Ouse,
a position, to me, quite new. Another was found
in a barn. This nest was of a curious construction.
The nest from top to bottom was six inches in
height, and much clay was woveu in among the
bents. That portion of the nest in which the eggs
were deposited was unusually neat. — John Ranson,
Lint on-on-0 use.

Male Gall-Elies. — Startling as the announce-
ment really was in the first instance, it still appears
that we have a want of evidence to prove that a
male in the genus Cynips has any positive existence.
— F. Smith, in Ent. Mon. Mag.

Diamond Beetle. — At Bio Janeiro the brilliant
Diamond Beetle, Eulimis nobilis, is in great request
for brooches for gentlemen, and ten piastres are often
paid for a single specimen.— Cowan's Curious Facts.

Domestic Spiders. — Sir Hans Sloane says that
the housekeepers of Jamaica keep large spiders in
their houses to destroy the cockroaches, with which
they are infested.

March 1, 1S67.]

HABDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

65

BOTANY.

Dombeya angulata. — The stamens in this plant,
as in all the Malvales, may be looked upon as com-
pound, while the ordinary stamen corresponds to a
simple leaf; the groups of stamens in the Mallows
and allied orders may be regarded as the equivalents
of compound leaves, united together at their bases.
Some of the lobes or leaflets of these compound
leaves bear anthers, while others are destitute of
anthers, and constitute the barren stamens or stami-
nodes. Some light is thrown on the uses of these
barren stamens by an examination of the plant now
under consideration. In the fully expanded flower,
the inner surface of the upper angle or point of each
petal is about on a level with the stigma and with
the tip of the barren stamen, the outer flat surface
of which latter, as well as the adjacent portion of
the petal, are often dusted over with pollen, the true
stamens, nevertheless, being at a considerable dis-
tance beneath these organs. In less fully developed
flowers the barreii stamens may be seen curving
downwards and outwards, so as to come in contact
with the shorter fertile stamens, whose anthers open
outwardly, and thus allow their contents to adhere
to the barren stamens. These latter, provided with
their freight of pollen, uncoil themselves, assume
more or less of an erect position, and thus bring
their points on a level with the stigma, whose
curling lobes twist rouud them and receive the pollen
from them. The use, then, of the long staminodes
seems to be to convey pollen from the short fertile
stamens to the stigma, which, but for their inter-
vention, could not be influenced by it. The presence
of pollen on the upper and inner corner of the
petals is readily explained by the fact that, owing to
their position and peculiar form, they all come in
contact with the ends of the staminodes and the
stigmas, and hence they too get dusted with pollen.
These arrangements would therefore seem to favour
self-fertilisation, and they show how an organ
spoken of sometimes rather contemptuously as
barren, rudimentary, imperfect, or the like, may yet
play an important part both in the architectural plan
of the flower, and in its life history. — M.T.M.,
Garcl. Chron., Jan. 26, 1807.

Eerns Buried with the Dead.— An urn, dug
up in the island of Anglesea, was, with its contents,
brought to me for examination by Mr. Albert Way.
After having determined the presence of human
bones belonging to an adult and to a child, pro-
bably to a mother and her offspring, certain fila-
ments were found adhering to the inner surface of
the urn ; these were of a brown colour, and arranged
in definite order like the veins of leaves. Upon
microscopically examiniug sections of these, scalari-
iorm vessels were noticed precisely similar to those

occurring in the Bracken. This fern is very abun-
dant in the district in which the urn was discovered,
and most probably portions of fronds were placed
in the receptacle before the ashes of the deceased
persons were deposited in it. — Que/ceit's Lectures on
Histology.

Papyrus in Europe. — The true Papyrus grows
abundantly on the banks of the river Anapas in
Sicily, not far from Syracuse, fully 10 or 12 feet
high, with stems 6 or 8 inches in circumference, and
with large tufts on the top. This is the only instance
of the free growth of the Papyrus in Europe. —
M. H.

Enormous Boletus. —My friend, Mr. E. C.
Penrose, has just sent me a tracing of the section
of an enormous specimen of Boletus luridus, found
by him. The circumference is exactly three feet, and
the pileus and stem, are stout in proportion. It was at
first mistaken for a milking stool left out by accident
all night, but on closer acquaintance turned out to
be a gigantic fungus of the Boletus tribe. —
IF. G. S.

The Evening Primrose.— This North American
flower was first sent from Virginia to Padua, in the
year 1619, but at what exact period it reached
England is uncertain, since Parkinson is the earliest
author who notices it ; but it must have been some
time previous to 1629, as in his " Garden of Pleasant
Elowers," which was published in that year, he
speaks of it in a more familiar style than he would
have done had it been of late introduction. This
author calls it Tree Primrose of Virginia. — Flora
Historica.

Divination by Bib-grass. — It was once, and
perhaps still is, a custom in Berwickshire to practise
divination by means of "kemps" (Tlantugo lan-
ceolata). Two spikes were taken in full bloom, and
being bereft of every appearance of blow, they were
wrapt in a dock leaf, and put below a stone. One
of them represented the lad, the other the lass.
They were examined next morning, and if both
spikes appeared in blossom, then there was to be
" aye love between them twae ;" if none, "the course
of true love" was not "to run smooth."— Johnston'' s
"Eastern Borders.'''

Plants in Australia.— A number of European
genera of plants indigenous to the country, or at
all events from their situations giving reason to
suppose so, grew in the vicinity of this river (Mur-
rumbidgee) ; among others the "sow-thistle" (the
young tops of which are eaten by the natives just
before the plant commences to blossom), a small
red poppy, the crow-foot, a dock, geranium, and
"shepherd's purse "were abundant, and they are
seen very far in the interior, beyond this place—
Bennett's " Wanderings."

66

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[March 1, 1S67.

MICKOSCOPY.

Glass-cells. — I beg to enclose a rough sketch
'of a simple and inexpensive form of an instrument,
now made, but in a most complicated way, and at a
cost which many would not care to incur. The one
figured below can be made at the cost of about a
shilling. The advantages of this instrument are

B

0

O

o

Fig. 54. Glass slide drilled with three holes.

D

B

I

i

<

i

I

r>

/TV

1

C !

<-+

Ql)

+■*

( o J

xs jy

B

Fig. 55. Side view. Fig. 56. Upper view.

A, cell drilled in the slide. B B, common paper screws.

D D, thin glass covers above and below.

great, enabling an insect (say a Daphnia or Cyclops)
to be kept in water in the field of an inch-and-a-half,
or two-inch objective, while the thin covering plates
enable circulation of blood, &c, to be clearly seen
under even these low powers. A -j^th works well also
with this instrument. I trust that this may be of
service to my fellow microscopists.— /. W. llencher.
P.S.— The drilled slides can be obtained of
Mr. Charles Baker; the screws at nearly any
stationer's.

Vibbio Tbitici. — Allow me to add a supplement
to Mr. Fox's remarks on the Wheat Eel, contained
in Science-Gossip for January. The rearing
of these curious creatures has been a favourite

amusement with me for a number of years, and as
the process is simple, and the results highly in-
teresting, some of your readers may perhaps be
disposed to put my plan in practice. I proceed
thus : — After selecting about eight grains of good
wheat, and an equal number of the infected ones,
I wrap them in pairs in small pieces of paper, and
thus plant them in my garden. Here the damp
earth causes the good grain to vegetate, and at the
same time resuscitate the eels ; and as the wheat
plant grows, they enter the fibrous roots, and passing
up the stem, enter the ear and deposit their eggs.
It is somewhat difficult to detect them in the stem;
for this purpose I take a stem long before there is
any appearance of the formation of the ear, and cut
very short sections, which I bruise in a drop of
water, or a glass-slide'; but the more easy and
pleasing part of the process is to watch them in the
infected grain from the first entrance till their
maturity. To do this, it is requisite to have the
wheat growing close at hand, so that daily access to
it can be had, and the time I recommend for com-
mencement is as soon as the grain begins forming
in the ear. The first object to be sought is the
parent eel filled with eggs. These, when first
extruded, are of a dark colour, and opaque, but
gradually become more transparent, at which time
the young eels will be seen curled up in various
figures, and slowly moving round in their shells,
from which they ultimately break forth and con-
tinue to live on the farinaceous matter of the grain
till all is consumed, when they become torpid, and
so remain till brought again to life by means similar
to those which gave activity and instinct to their
parents. With a low power, no difference can be
seen between these and the Paste Eel, except the
greater activity and varied sizes of the latter. But
the difference is very marked when carefully exa-
mined with a high magnifier. — A. Nicholson.

Toubmaline. — This is a true Proteus among
stones : it imitates almost all the gems by the variety
of its colours. Thus there are brown, green, blue,
yellow and red Tourmalines, and of these there are
a great variety of tints. It is principally in Ceylon
that the brown and hyacinth-red Tourmalines are
found, sometimes mixed with those of some other
colour. In Spain they are chiefly brown ; and in
other parts of Europe a variety is found of a dark-
brown approaching to black. Of late years it has
acquired additional importance from its application
in the examination of objects by polarized light;
for if a plate of brown Tourmaline be cut parallel
to the axis, it absorbs one of the polarized pencils
of light. — Jackson's "Minerals"

Solvent fob Caoutchouc.— I recommend the
best benzole as a solvent for asphaltum and india-
rubber, the best I found after experimentalising for
months. — H. B.

March 1,1867.]

HAOWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

C7

GEOLOGY.

Eish Beds.— Eish Lave been found floating dead
in shoals beside submarine volcanoes— killed either
by the heated water or by mephitic gases. There
are, however, no marks of volcanic activity in con-
nection with the ichthyolite beds. They abound,
as has been said, in bine, and the thought has often
struck me that calcined lime cast out as ashes
from some distant crater, and carried by the winds,
might have been the cause of the widely-spread
destruction to which their organisms testify. I
have seen the fish of a small troutiug stream, over
which a bridge was in course of building, destroyed
in a single hour, for a full mile below the erection,
by the few troughfuls of lime that fell into the
water when the centring was removed. — Miller's
" Old Bed Sandstone?'

Human Remains. — Human bones have been
found in the Lelim of the valley of the Rhine, at
Engisheim, near Colmar, in a marly deposit, in which
the bones of a large stag were also found, with a
molar tooth of the mammoth, and a metatarsal bone
of a bison. M. Eaudel records this in th e Comptes
Rendus, and concludes that man Lived in the valley
of the Rhine contemporaneous with the fossil stag,
bison, and mammoth, and that the appearance of
man in the country would have been previous to
certain movements of the earth, which took place
after the deposition of the " diluvium," and which
have given the ground its present physical con-
figuration.

Submarine Action. — In the year 1783 a sub-
marine eruption took place six or eight miles from
Reykiavick, which gave birth to a new island a
mile in circumference, which, however, the fol-
lowing year again disappeared. A submarine erup-
tion also took place about the same time seventy
miles from the same cape, which is said to have
thrown up pumice sufficient to cover the sea for a
space of one hundred and fifty mdes around. —
Daubeny's "Volcanoes."

Anthracite Coal. — A correspondent of the
Times writes that, — "Erom constant experience of
this coal in furnaces he believes it is capable of
being applied as a perfect substitute for smoky
bituminous coal iu houses." Now as I have had con-
stant experience, for seven years, of Anthracite coal
in houses, perhaps the readers of Science- Gossip
may like to know how to render this invaluable,
smokeless fuel available in their own residences. I
used anthracite in every room in the house during the
time I lived in South Wales, from the top bedrooms
down to the outer kitchens. We resided in the
vicinity of authracite, or, as they are there called,
stone-coal mines — the Gwendraeth Works — and had
we failed to use the hard coal, must have sent many

miles for soft. All our grates were arranged for it,
with fire-brick sides (cheeks) and backs ; for there is
something in the ordinary iron sides and backs that
effectually prevents anthracite fuel from showing to
the best advantage. The grand essential is a
thorough draught through the fire ; and to ensure
this we had round holes drilled in the fire-brick back
communicating with a chamber, or flue, at the back
of the grate, so as to convey the current of air
through the fire and up the chimney. Anthracite
coal is invaluable for cooking purposes ; our English
servants were charmed with it,— we never had to
complain of smoked viands. Cooks were satisfied
with their own efforts in the frying and boiling line,
and, better still, we were satisfied with their skill.
I strongly advise all married ladies, whose lords and
masters are, in servants' phraseology, "very par-
ticular " on the subject of good dinners (a few men
are so perfectly angelic as not to be affected in
temper by a badly-dressed dinner) to immediately
institute anthracite coal fires in their kitchens. Our
housemaids never complained of "the horrid smoke,"
nor the laundrymaid of those " nasty blacks." An
anthracite fire gives out great heat, is clear, smoke-
less, and healthy All common grates can be fitted
with brick backs and cheeks at a very moderate
expense. We altered a large kitchen-range so as to
burn anthracite effectually. — Helen F. Watney.

A Stone Standard. — In Iceland, the marks of
Erost are on a vast scale, but they are mingled with
the work of Eire. These denuding and upheaving
forces are working natural engines— air, water, ice,
and steam, side by side, — and their marks are
mingled. Marks made by glaciers upon igneous
rock are the same as those which are made by land
ice, in Norway and Switzerland, on rocks of all
kinds ; but the chips are different. Here ice-ground
glens are partially filled with lava ; water-worn
boulders, pebbles, and sand, are smothered, under
sand which fell from the air ; great stones have been
cast through the air, and rest among glacial rubbish.
Snow is often blackened with ashes ; ashes are
whitewashed with snow; water flows under the
lava, and there freezes and forms subterraneous
glaciers. Glacier rivers carry fine mud, which
glaciers grind ; but it is mixed with volcanic dust,
sulphur, cinders, sticks, and all things which rain
can wash from such a land into the sea. The sea-
beach is strewed with lava and Arctic shells ;
American drift timber, mahogany, strange sea-weeds
of great size ; " horse-eyes " from the West Indies ;
dead puffins from the Arctic ocean ; fish-bones and
seals ; and sometimes the Arctic current brings an
ice-fleet — it may be freighted with stones and mud
picked up at Spitzbergen, Jan Mayen, or Greenland.
The surface of the land is a stone standard by which
to read geological hieroglyphics elsewhere. — "Frost
and Fire"

GS

HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[March ], 1857.

NOTES AND UUERIES.

Pollen in Honey. — Pig. 15 of your Illustrations
in Science-Gossip is evidently the Pollen of " Passi-
flora," and 25 that of " (Eiiothera ; " the rest I can-
not make out. Your paper is very interesting. —
W. T., Iliff.

Woodpeckers' Eggs.— In my cabinet I have two
woodpeckers' eggs which, during the last few
months, have become thickly speckled with ash-
coloured spots. Can any reader inform me of the
cause, and how I can remove them ? The eggs have
been in my cabinet more than two years. — H. Tasker.

Eifteen - Spine Stickleback. — I _ have made
several attempts to keep the fifteen-spined stickle-
back {Gasterosteus spinachia) in my aquarium, but
have always failed to keep it alive for more than a
month or so at the most, and even for this short
time only in the latter part of spring and beginning
of summer. I have never managed to keep it over
the winter. I attribute my failure solely to my not
knowing the proper food to give them. In the
spring and earlier part of summer I used to get a
small fly about the windows which they swallowed
quite easily, and upon which they seemed to thrive;
but as the season advanced these became scarce and
latterly disappeared altogether. I then tried them
with the common house-fly, which, almost without
an exception, they were unable to swallow, although
they made great efforts to do so, and gradually they
pined away and died. The other fish (Blennius
pholis, Coitus bubalis, Gobius, &c.) I fed upon
beef which the sticklebacks never attempted to
touch ; the reason of which I take to be the want of
any signs of life in the beef as it fell to the bottom
of the tank ; so they would not even bite at a fly
unless it happened to be making some motion on
the surface of the] water. Perhaps some reader
who has been more successful in keeping them than
the subscriber, may be able to say something on the
subject. — J". C. H., Glasgow.

Unknown Object.— I should be greatly obliged
to any of your readers who would give me informa-
tion respecting the following beautiful and interest-
ing object, which I had an opportunity of observing
in my microscope the summer before last. It was,
If. suppose, the larva of a fly or beetle ; and the
breathing organ was probably the part I noticed.
The creature was but a small speck on the leaf of
Anacharis, on which it quietly rested, looking like a
minute slug. Under the microscope it showed a
very ugly head. At the tail was a wonderful appa-
ratus, consisting of a number of loops. These were
alternately drawn up or down, producing the effect
of an ordinary paint brush, at one moment wetted
and drawn together, the next showered out and each
hair curling back at the tip. It is not easy to de-
scribe, but most beautiful to behold. I should be
glad to learn what this larva becomes in its perfect
state, in the hope of obtaining specimens.— L. S. M.,
Ryde.

Black on White.— A friend of mine has a hen
of the Polish breed, which, six months ago, was of a
glossy black colour, but which has undergone a
complete change, and is now of a snowy white. This
transformation was not done by moulting, but by a
gradual change of colour.—//. L., Rose Hill, Old
T raff or d.

Watebton's Peocess. — Do you know if the pro-
cess by which Mr. Waterton preserved his natural
history collection, is known ? Prom a paper written
by Rev. J. G. Wood, in the Intellectual Observer
for July, 1863, it seems it was not at that time. If
it has since been discovered, and you can give it to
the readers of Science-Gossip, you wili be con-
ferring a great favour on many, who are disgusted
with the old mode of wire and stuffing. — H. M. G.

Queen Apple. — The correspondent, E.|W., Man-
chester, in the December number, wishes to know
about this fruit. In Disraeli's " Curiosities of Lite-
rature " (article " Introducers of Exotic Flowers
Fruits, &c") is a quotation from Peacham's " Em-
blems," 1812—

And red queen apple, so envidej

Of school boles, passing by the pole ;

and in a note it is stated to have been probably named
after Queen Elizabeth ; and it is added that apples
had become red by being grafted on a mulberry
stock, known to Pliny. Mr. Disraeli says further
that the race is not extinct. The only apple I can
hear of approaching the above is a red-fleshed fruit,
called hereabouts "red ripe," no doubt well known
in the London markets. — W. I)., Brenchley.

The Papuans.— Has any reader of S. G. ever
noticed the following passage in Captain Cook's
account of his first voyage? It seems extraordi-
nary, but from his remarkable truthfulness is pro-
bably quite reliable. After saying that Messrs.
Banks, De Solander, and others, landed on the
coast of New Guinea, near the Cape de la Coltade
San Bonaventura, he proceeds : — " After they had
advanced about a quarter of a mile from the boat,
three Indians rushed out of the wood with a hideous
shout, and as they ran towards the English, the
foremost threw something out of his hand, which
flew on one side of him and burned exactly like
gunpowder, though without making any report.
* * * *

"While the English gentlemen were viewingthem,
they were shouting defiance, and letting off their
fires by four or five at a time. Our people could
not imagine what these fires were, or what purpose
they were intended to answer. Those who dis-
charged them had in their hands a short piece of
stick, which they swung sideways from them, and
immediately there issued fire and smoke, exactly
resembling those of a musket, and of as short a
duration. The men on board the ships who observed
this surprising phenomenon were so far deceived
by it, as to believe that the Indians had fire-arms.
To the persons in the boat it had the appearance of
the firing of volleys without a report." Can this
be some unknown engine of war of a pyrotechnic
character ? Have the Dutch, who have a settle-
ment in Papua, or any subsequent navigators,
observed the same phenomenon? These are in-
teresting questions, which some one may possibly
be able to solve. — F. A. A.

Mabmalade. — There is a tree in India known
to botanists as JEgle marmelos. It belongs to the
orange family, and yields a fruit about the size and
appearance of an orange, which makes a delicious
preserve. The Dutch for many years imported this
preserved fruit into Europe under the name of
" marmelos," a name by which it is known in
Ceylon. In imitation of this preserve, and in cor-
ruption of its name, originated " marmalade." —
E. Waring, M.D.

March 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

69

Squirrels.— The disease described by C. L. C.
as having killed his squirrel is known as the "Rot."
It is caused by too moist food. Bread and milk in
the shape of "pap " will mostly prove fatal. I was
applied to for advice in a similar case by a young
lady who had a favourite grey squirrel, whose hind
limbs were so paralyzed. 1 prescribed dry food, in
the shape of hemp-seed and gingerbread, which was
a perfect cure. When a squirrel dies of the rot the
maggots appear externally ; and, I presume, are en-
gendered daring life. The squirrel may be kept in
health on a diet of hemp-seed, varied by a piece of
bread dipped in milk only (not soaked), nuts, and
green buds. Let him drink his fill of water once
daily, and stuff his bed box quite full of nice dry
hay, he will then amuse himself by biting it to
pieces and making a very cosy nest. — John Hunter,
New Maiden, Surrey.

Shooting Rare Birds. — I feel sure that every
true naturalist will agree with Mr. Tate in condemn-
ing the shameful practice, which appears to be
sorely on the increase, of killing every rare bird,
which, unfortunately for it, is led towards our
shores. It is almost impossible to take up any
paper on natural history without meeting with
numerous instances. Take, for example, the Wax-
wing (Bombycilla garrula), which has appeared
in great numbers during the few weeks past.
Where possible, every flock has been extermin-
ated, and the birds have been sent to the nearest
stuffer. In the last number of Science-Gossip
there is an account of a country correspondent
shooting a female Great-spotted Woodpecker (Picus
major). The gentleman who sends the information
is not quite sure in his own mind as to how it will
be received, for he commences to say, "Perhaps
you may be interested, &c." (p. 41). How such
wanton persecution can in any way be interesting is
a mystery to me! It would be very interesting if
instead of shooting the birds your correspondents
would watch their habits, and give us the parti-
culars ; by so doing they would add to our know-
ledge of ornithology, whilst at the same time they
would have the satisfaction of knowing that they
had saved the lives of rare visitors. I wish, with
Mr. Tate, that this "stupid practice of destroying
all our most beautiful birds "could be stopped; but
I cannot see how it is to be done, because the temp-
tation of shooting a rare bird to add to a collection
is too great to be resisted by many who call them-
selves naturalists. — Edward Simpson, Chelsea.

Frog in Oolite. — In speaking of the discovery
of a frog in the oolite, Mr. Simon Hutchinson says :
" Personal inquiry can be made by the sceptical, or
silence in future will be most becoming." Why
should personal inquiry be made ? What will it
prove more than Munton's letter proves? 1 sup-
pose no one would care to doubt that he truthfully
describes what he saw. But why should Mr.
Hutchinson wish to compel people to a belief in his
explanation of the phenomenon, or else to silence ?
One had thought that rational men had given up
such bigotry as this. Surely no sane person would
now-a-days try to uphold such an absurdity as the
existence of a frog in oolite mud. Why, how would
salt water agree with him ? To say nothing of
minor difficulties. If Mr. Hutchinson will take the
trouble to examine the stone quarries around Grant-
ham, and especially those at Ancaster, he will find
Elenty of fissures through which poor froggy might
ave come to grief in his wooing expedition. I
think, sir, this is a much more rational mode of ex-

plaining the presence of the "apple in the dump-
ling " than by supposing the crust to have been
raised and baked some hundred thousand years
-Li.

as;o.

Conochilus Volvos.— Mr. Mclntire, in the
January number, remarks that the " Conochilus
Volvox " will not live in confinement. Knowing
this, I was surprised to find that large numbers
made their appearance in my aquarium in October,
1S65, and continued for nearly two months to
the delight of myself and microscopic friends. The
aquarium is rectangular, holds about seven gallons
of water, and is exposed to a north light. At that
time it had six gold fish in it, and the plants were
Anacharis alsinastrum, Chara vulgaris, Valisneria
spiralis, and a species of rush (I don't know the
name). Pump-water was used for filling. Now,
in dipping for Conochilus, the most likely place to
find them is amongst rushes. Could the rushes in
the aquarium have had anything to do with their
production in this instance ? Through an accident
I had last spring to remodel my aquarium, and sup-
pose I did not fulfil the same conditions, as they
did not again favour me. — John Davis, Stoic-
market.

Microscopic Camera. — In vol. ii., p. 233,
Science-Gossip, is a description of a " Microscopic
Camera Obscura." Whilst waiting for the Prism
there mentioned, any one can obtain an excellent re-
sult by using a common looking-glass hung inside the
box, and made moveable by an attached string
passing through a small pulley on the top of the box.
After removing the eye-piece and adjusting the glass,
so that it may form an angle of 45° with the axis of
the microscope, a beautiful image is visible upon the
paper underneath, which image is, of course, made
to vary in its brilliancy by altering the intensity of
the light— H. W.

Object for Microscope. — In the January
number J. S. Tute mentions varnish evaporating
as an object. Another interesting one is a small
quantity of powdered charcoal mixed with a little
spirit of wine, and put between two glasses. The
regular movement of the charcoal in the current
of the evaporating spirit is curious. A bit of chalk
or zinc dissolving in weak acid is a capital object
for the gas microscope.— E. T. Scott.

Dust on Aquaria. — I dare say many of your
readers who keep aquaria have been, like myself
much troubled by the collection of dust on the sur-
face of the water. Thisisafertilesource of annoyance,
especially in shallow aquaria where everything
depends on the clearness of the surface. I have
adopted a plan which may not be original, although
I have not seen it mentioned anywhere. It is to
take a small gallipot, and to hold it just below the
surface of the water. In the other hand I hold a
funnel with a piece of rag in it, into which I throw
the contents of the gallipot as often as it fills. This
I find speedily and effectually skims off all the dust
and leaves the water as clear as a looking-glass. —
George Gatehouse.

Barn-Bat and Marsh-Worm. — Have any of
your correspondents seen the barn-rat feeding on
the marsh-worm (Lumbricus minor) ? Last summer
I saw several in the day-time feeding on this worm,
which they gathered up in their paws and eat like a
squirrel, sitting up on their hind-quarters. They
often went below the surface of the water whilst
seeking for the worm. — H. Smith.

70

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE - GOSSIP.

[March 1, 1867.

A Boy Charmed by Serpents.— The Mays-
mile (Kentucky) Eagle says that a boy, four or five
years of age, in Bracken county, was in the habit,
during the whole of last summer, of going out in the
woods near his home to play with his "pretty
things," as he called them. After much persuasion
one day, his mother was induced to follow him to
his playgrounds to see what attracted him so much,
when, to her horror, she discovered her little darling
playing with a trio of huge black snakes, wholly
unconscious of his peril. The boy was completely
fascinated, and would advance and retreat, and sport
and dally with his hideous comrades as if he were in
the charmed circle of his brothers and sisters. The
mother, in terror, ran to the house crying for help,
when the father of the child rushed to the rescue of
the boy, and, after some difficulty, killed the snakes.
Wonderful to relate— and we have this information
from a gentleman of unquestionable veracity — the
little boy soon took to his bed, from which he never
arose,
the

Can the above be true ? — J. B.

LB UU.V SUUll LUUh. lu ina ucu, iiuni vviiiuu uc iicvci

se. He pined away and died, an early victim of
fascination of the serpents. — New York Times.

Twin Trout.- — I paid a visit the other day to
Mr. King, of Portland Road, whose name is so well
known to the public for his exertions in connection
with the recent calamity in Regent's Park. He has
just now — or had when I called — a curious lusus
naturae, a sort of Siamese twin trout, hatched on
the premises. This extraordinary joint-stock fish
(limited) finds it as difficult to get on, apparently, as
some of his brother Co.'s. There are two distinct
bodies, but only one tail; and as the two bodies
don't always take the same thing into their respective
heads, the common tail has its work cut out to
steer them. I have never heard of a case of the
sort before. I also saw the curious parasites, found
in the gills of a salmon, which were recently ex-
hibited at the meeting of the Quekett Club. Mr.'
King is an ardent naturalist, and has devised a
scheme for the employment and amusement of the
young, which 1 for one should be glad to see taking
the place of purposeless postage-stamp collecting.
He suggests that schools, or the young people of
various neighbourhoods collectively, should make
gatherings (in duplicate) of the natural objects of
their districts. A central bureau should be estab-
lished, where prizes would be given for the best
collections, and where exchanges might be effected.
By these means, the study of natural history would
be promoted, and museums established in various
parts ; not to mention other advantages. The idea
seems to me a very good one.— Town Talk, in Fun,"
Feb. 9.

Shell Money. — It is somewhat curious, that
these shells {Entails sp.) should have been employed
as money by the Indians of N.W. America, that is,
by the native tribes inhabiting Vancouver's Island,
Queen Charlotte's Island, and the mainland coast
from the straits of Fuca to Sitka. Since the intro-
duction of blankets by the Hudson's Bay Company,
the use of these shells, as a medium of purchase,
has to a great extent died out, the blankets having
become the money, as it were, or the means by
which everything is now reckoned and paid for by
the savage. A slave, a canoe, or a squaw, is worth
in these days so many blankets; but it used to be
so many strings of Bentalia. In the interior, east
of the Cascade Mountains, the beaver-skin is the
article by which everything is reckoned, in fact, the
money of the inland Indian. — /. K. Lord, F.Z.S.

Frederick J. Foot. — Those of our readers who
remember the interesting chapter on Sea-Anemones
(Science-Gossip, vol. i. p. 155), by F. J. Foot,
M.A., will regret to learn from an obituary in the
Geological Magazine for February, that on the
evening of the 17th January a number of people were
skating upon the ice of Lough Kay, near Boyle, in
Ireland. Two of them having ventured upon a
weak portion of the ice, it gave way, and they fell
into the lake. Seeing their extreme danger, Mr.
Foot came to their assistance, and in a noble effort
to save their lives, lost his own. They were both
rescued, but he was drowned. Mr. Foot was at-
tached to the Irish Branch of the Geological Survey,
and though only thirty-six years of age, had commu-
nicated many useful and interesting papers to the
Natural History Society of Dublin, on botany aud
zoology, as well as written several geological
notices.

Birds breeding in Confinement.— Can any
of your readers give me any information so that I
may get my birds to breed? I have pairs of the
following birds : — Siskin, Snow Bunting, Bullfinch,
Goldfinch, Brown Linnet, Lesser Redpole, and
Canary. I have them in a room, and feed tnem on
hemp, canary and rape-seeds, and in summer I sup-
ply them plentifully with green food, but for all
that I cannot get them to build ; the canary is the
only pair that breed. If I could get any hints that
would tend towards inducing them to breed, 1 should
be very glad. They seem to be very healthy and
tame, and very seldom fly against the netting or
the window. — A. Pickard.

Aquarium Pest. — Last year some of your cor-
respondents mentioned, under this name, the nests
of the fresh water snails that are so apt to appear
on the sides of an aquarium ; others said there was
no need to remove them, as they were " greedily
devoured " by the fish. My children have a fresh-
water aquarium, on the sides of which upwards of
100 of these nests have appeared within the last
six weeks. So far from being " greedily devoured,"
not one has been touched either by fish, newts, or
beetles : every tiny egg, moreover, contaius a black
spot, which must be the embryo snail. Why, then,
do they never hatch ? Some of them have been
there more than a month; and last summer,
being curious to see what would come from them,
we removed from the aquarium some aquatic plants
covered with them, and kept them for many weeks
in a separate glass jar, with no living creatures
to molest them. If they are the eggs of the
snail, why does nothing come from them ? —
L. H. F.

Among Wasps. — One day last autumn I ob-
served a small cluster of wasps on the ground,
busily engaged in moving round some object in
their centre. After a few moments' observation,
their movements allowed me to discover that the
object of their assiduous attentions was a queen
wasp, which they were engaged in attacking, exactly
in the same manner as the working bees do the
drones, when about to lay up their winter stores.
In both cases they attempt to tear or destroy the
wing, especially at its attachment to the body, with
their mandibles. The issue of the assault I cannot
record, as the whole combatants soon took flight. I
could only observe that, like the drones, the queen
wasp's defence seemed very [languid. Are these
struggles usual ? — G. A. W.

March 1, 1S67.]

HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

71

Blood Beetle. — In your interesting periodical
for this month appears a short paper signed " Hy
Ullyett," on the natural history of the " Blood
Beetle." Erom his description I imagine it to be
that kiud known more generally as the " Oil
Beetle," numbers of which may be found in most
hedgerows in the early months of spring. The
figure he gives appears to be a male insect, the
broad tarsi of which are not, as he supposes, for
merely holding on to vegetation, but chiefly for the
fulfilment of higher duties belonging to its sex.
The female has the tarsi slender and narrow : an ex-
ample is given in a woodcut, indifferently executed,
in "Wood's Common Objects of the Country,"
Plate J., fig. 11. It is a matter of regret to me, and
perhaps to others, that in Bye's "British Beetles "
many of the most familiar, and by no means least
interesting, varieties are not figured. — /. Hawkes,
M.D.

Left no Address. — In your last number, E. A.
inquires the address of W. Winter, late of Mulbar-
ton. Like E. A., I was induced to subscribe for
entomological specimens, and not having heard from
Winter, I wrote to a gentleman in Suffolk named
by him as a reference. From this gentleman, I
learn that Winter left his home last spring, ostensi-
bly to go to London, since which time he has not
been heard of. He left behind him his books and
instruments, a very few debts, and a wife and
family, who have since been obliged by distress to
have recourse to parish relief. 1 am informed that
Winter, who was a parochial schoolmaster, and
always bore a high character for honesty and in-
tegrity, had up to this time always fulfilled his
engagements. If his friend H. Bales be likewise
" non est inventus," I fear the case looks suspicious ;
but any how, the wife and children are the greatest,
sufferers. I have sent them a trifling help, and if
any charitably disposed reader will give them a few
stamps, I shall have pleasure in forwarding the con-
tribution.— H. W. Livett, M.D., Wells, Somerset,

We are sorry to add to the above that, from
letters which we have received, we are in a position
to state that Winter's engagements for 1S63-4 are
some of them still unfulfilled, as well as those of
last year. — Ed.

Bulbul op the East.— In reply to S. M. P.,
there are several Asiatic birds known by the name
of " Bulbul." Pycnonotus pygceus is the Bulbul of
Hamilton, and Pycnonotus hamorrhous is the Bulbul
of Jerdon. Another species is called the Hill bush
Bulbul, and another the yellow Bulbul. Phyllornis
Jerdoni is the common green Bulbul, and a species
of thrush (Merula Boulboul) is sometimes called
Bulbul. The name probably belongs more strictly
to one of the first two species above named.

Orchil Weed. — The dyer's lichen was first ex-
ported from the islands of the Archipelago to Venice,
Genoa, France, and England, for the use of the dyers.
Towards the commencement of the last century it
was discovered in the Canary Islands, and was soon
placed among the regalia of the Spanish Crown.
This excited the attention of the Portuguese, who
collected it without restriction in the Cape de Verd
Islands, Madeira, Porto Santo, and the Azores. In
the year 1730 the Jesuits asked of King John V.
the privilege of collecting the Hervinha secca ; but
the Crown took advantage into its own hands, and
farmed the right of collecting it. At a later period
the lichen was ceded to the mercantile company of

Gram Para, and Maranhao ; and lastly, in the year
1790, the government again took this branch of
commerce under its own care, because it had
declined considerably under the bad management of
the company. — Spix and Martins Travels.

Napoleon's Willow.— Having been frequently
asked the history and age of the tree called Napo-
leon's Willow, which grows in the Royal Botanic
Garden at Kew, I send you the following account
of it. Soon after the death of Napoleon I, in 1S21,
Thomas Fraser, then a young gardener at Kew, was
engaged to proceed to St. Helena, for the purpose
of growing vegetables to supply the East India
Company's homeward-bound ships that touched at
that island. He returned in 1S25, bringing with
him Tree Ferns and other interesting plants of the
island, and amongst them a twig of the willow-
tree which grew over the tomb of Napoleon. This
twig on arrival was found to have become decayed
at the lower part, but the upper portion, which was
only a few inches in length, being green and fresh,
I placed it under a bell-glass as a cutting, where it
soon rooted and became an established plant. A
paragraph having appeared in the newspapers
announcing the fact that a plant had been received
at Kew from Napoleon's tomb, and the far-famed
names Bonaparte and Waterloo being still fresh in
the public mind, many visitors came to see it,
" especially on Sundays ;" and on one Sunday, before
the hour for opening the Gardens, the crowd was
so great, that by its pressure the bolts of the gate
gave way, and those who were foremost fell, others
falling over them, so great was the eagerness
evinced to get a sight of this willow. In 1827 the
tree was planted where it now stands, near the
walk, which was a continuation from the then
public entrance, the willow in question being the
first conspicuous object seen on entering the garden.
For the first twenty years of its growth it had the
advantage of being sheltered by a high trellis fence
and shrubbery, which passed near it. It is now
forty years old, and although it grows in dry, light
soil, it has attained the height of 40 feet, the spread
of its branches being 44 feet, the circumference of
the trunk near the ground S| feet, and its height 5
feet, at which point it divides into three main stems.
Coming from St. Helena, it was at first thought to
be a distinct species, but it soon became evident
that it was the common Salix babylonica. — /. Smith,
Gard, Chron., Feb. 2, 18G7.

West-Indian Ticks.— Mr. Sells has stated that
in Jamaica dogs as well as cattle and horses are very
subject to the attacks of ticks of large size, and
which are occasionally so injurious to the latter as
to cause their ears to drop down without the horses
having the power of raising them again ; indeed it
is a regular custom once a week, whilst the horses
are out at grass, for them to be driven home to be
"licked," the parts infested being rubbed over
with lamp oil, no other remedy having been
discovered. — Joum. of Proc. Ent. Soc., vol. i.,
p. lxviii.

Bedeguar. — H. W. K. desires to be informed of
the origin and meaning of Bedeguar, as applied to
the mossy galls of the wild rose.

Male Cockroach. — Can any of your corres-
pondents tell me the use of wings to the male cock-
roach ? — for I have never seen or heard of it flying.
—E. F. B.

72

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[March 1, 1867.

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, contri-
butions should not be received later than the 15th of each
month. No notice whatever can be taken of communi-
cations which do not contain the name and address of the
writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be with-
held. 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 manu-
script 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 : x 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 inad-
missible under any circumstances. Those of the popular
names of British plants and animals are retained and regis-
tered for publication when sufficienlty complete lor that
purpose, in whatever form may then be decided upon.
Address No. 192, Piccadii.lv, London, W.

A. R. W.— " Nichols's Dictionary of Scientific Terms" will
perhaps suit you ; price 1 2s. Reeve & Co.

M. H. — The hairs on your larva? are simple, not compound,
as in Anthrenus.

A. K. L.— Because heat and spirit will dissolve some
crystals, either, or both, often accompany mounting in
balsam.

J. A., Jun. — The Natural History division of the " English
Cyclopaedia " now publishing in parts or volumes by Bradbury
& Evans.

G. W. — A good suggestion, and will be remembered.

J. C. — "Microscopic Fungi," 6s.; "British Fungi," 6s.
Published by R. Hardwicke, 192, Piccadilly. To preserve
fungi, consult these works.

M. G. F. asks the name of the " phosphorescent centi-
pede." The " Apples of Sodom " are galls formed on a
species of oak.

A. B. — If communications are not inserted within three or
four months, it may reasonably be concluded that we have
been unable to find room for them.

Lizzie. — See Notes and Queries in this present number
for a full reply, headed " Squirrels."

J. W. W. — We have no knowledge of the method employed
by Dr. Gregory with Glenshira sand.

A. E. M. — Only by continued practice and perseverance can
you hope to equal the slides of selected Diatoms you name.
Is it worth the labour ?

T. J. — The fly is Bibio Marci, so named because it appears
in abundance at the period of St. Mark's Day. The other
insect is a Pimpla, family Jchneumonida?, too much broken
for determination. — F. W.

J. R., Jun.— Several kinds of Willow Galls, so that the
query is vague. The covers will also hold the advertise
ments.

A. P. — The Waxwing has visited a great many localities
this year. It is much to be regretted that they are so ruth-
lessly destroyed.

T. J.— There has been a parasitic fungus on No. 3, but it is
all gone. It is old and exolete.

J. H. D.— See our answer to G. F. P. in January number,
p. 24.

W. W. S.— It is Torula herbarium, spores globose, in
chains.

S. L. B. — We do not hear of any maker of the section
machine you name. A machine called "Topping's Machine ''
may be had for 15s.

J. M. — No. 1. Cuprwa pediculus CL.) : 1. Oliva bullata
(Reeve) ; 3. Conns (Sp.) ; 4. Lucina divaricata (L.) : 5.
Neritina viridis (L.); 6. Pecten vestalis (Reeve) ; 7. Cardium

(Sp.).-iJ. r.

Mosses (J. F.). — 1. Weissia controversa ; 2. Pleuridiam
alternifolium ; 3. Trichostomum rigidulum; 4. Hedwigia
ciliata ; 5. Didirmodon rubel/us. — It. B.

J. H. — There is nothing strange in any of theReptilia hyber-
nating.

P. P. — Gardiner, High Holbom, or Cooke, Oxford Street,
London. We do not know where Bermuda earth can be
obtained.

M. R.— " Harvey's Synopsis of British Seaweeds; " Reeve
& Co. ; 5s. You may obtain " prepaid skins " of either of the
naturalists above-named (answer to P. P.).

S. G. — The best is Val Vi>neria spiralis.

S. A. M.— It is such a common occurrence that we cannot
afford it space.

S. M. P.— We object to giving very precise localities for
rare plants, which may end in their extermination. There is
war enough against rare plants and animals now, which we
have no desire to increa-e. We would not, if we could, give
the Dorsetshire station, and must be excused from inquiring.

E. G. M.— One of the curious Algae, probably from the
Southern Ocean, of the genus Cora/Una.

E. T. S.— The hard fungus is Sclerotium durum, with a
mould {Polyactis cinerea) growing from it.

W. F. H.— Closterium, in S"ch a miserable condition that
no one would thank you for them.

D. C. B —Obtain " Gardner's Taxidermy " for one shilling
or eighteenpence.

R. G. — Apparently Podura {Achorutes) fimetaria. — I. 0. W.

EXCHANGES.

Birds' Egos (British) for British Lepidoptera.— Apply to
H. L., Rose-hill, Old Trafford, Manchester.

Chinese Beetles, &c. tor injections or entomological
slide— W.T. Loy, 10, Rood-lane, Eastcheap.

British Mosses.— West country mosses offered in ex-
change for Devonshire or other species. — F. B., 19, Clarendon-
place, Plymouth.

Foraminifkra from Kentish chalk for other good objects
(mounted).— W. Freeman, 2, Ravensboume-hill, Lewisham-
road, Greenwich, S.E.

Oran Earth and seeds of Pauloumia. — J. W. Leakey, 3,
Prince of Wales Avenue, Maiden-road, Haverstock-hill.

Mummy Cloth (genuine from Luxor), unmounted, for sec-
tions, animal or vegetable.— W. Spicer, Itchen Abbas, Aires-
ford.

Hair op Tiger, Leopard, &c, and corallines, for mounted
palates of nmllusca, except whel* and periwinkle. — E. C
Jellie, Eldon Villa, Redland, Bristol.

Epithemia turciiia or Coscinodiscus (mounted) for Arach-
noidiscusor Tricerutium. — G. Moore, Dereham-road, Norwich.

Ferns. — Seedling Gymnogramma Chwrophylla for seedling
G.leptophy/la.— H. J. Charlton, 2, Richmond-grove, Queen's-
road, Everton, Liverpool.

Smut in Wheat. — Send stamped envelope (with address)
to J. J. Fox, Devizes.

Fish Scales offered for unmounted specimens of the
same.— J. H. M , 17, Walham grove, St. John's, Fulham, S.W.

Land and Freshwater Shells (British) wanted in ex-
change for land and freshwater shells of Maine (U.S.). —
Address, Rev. E. C Bolles, Portland, Maine, U. States.

Fibrous Copper offered for otlnr mineral objects (un-
mounted).— A. S., 2, Hanover-pUce, Rye-lane, Peckham.

Microscopic Objects for bat hairs from named specimens.
— Geo. Potter, Moutpellier-road, Upper Holloway, N.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

"The Technologist." No. ", New Series, February, I867.

"The Quarterly Magazine of the High Wycombe Natural
History Suciery," January, 1 867. No. 3.

" Catalogue of Ferns." R. M. Stark, York-road, Trinity,
Edinburgh.

" A Fox's^Ta'e : a Sketch of the Hunting Field." Day & Son
(Limited). 1867. __^_^

Communications Received. — F. B. — A. P. — J. R. —
W. T. L— S. L. B— S. G— F. W. C— J. S. T.-S. J. M. I.—
A. E. M.— L. S. M.— H. M. G.-G. G.— J. W. W.— Lizzie G.—
H. L— A. B.-C. S. B.— H. H. A. F.— M. G. F.— E. F. B.—
E. T. S.— G. C. D. — J. B.— J. C— W. G. S.— G. W.— J. A.,
Jun.— R. McL— J. H.— L (Lynn).— H. L.-L. H. F.— E. U. J.
—A. K. L.— M. H.— J. B. K — A. R. W.— H. W.— T. G. P.—
R. H.-F. B— J. H. M.— H. H K.-C. D.-H. W. L.— E. M. H.
— E. C. J. -J. D.— J. C. H. (Glasgow) —W. F. -J. W. L.—
W. W. S.— W. T. I.-G. M.— G. E. C.-H. W.— J. W.— T. B.
— W. A. L.— W. P.— H. J. C— G. M.— R. G.— A. M.— A. N.—
J. J. F.— J. H.— M. II.— P. P.— E. J.— J. F— E. G. M.—
E. T. S.— W. F. H.— S. M. P.-A. M. B.— F. M. B.-E. C. B.
(Portland, U.s..).-C. H.— S. A. M.— H. T.— G. P.— W. W.—
J. M. C— W. L. H.— G. G.— D. C. B. -A. S.— J. R., Jun.—
B.T.— E. D. B.— J. R.— E. S. W— E. D. C— J. B.— J. P.—
H. G. G.— W. A. L.— A. P.

Paulownia sent to T. L. B.— E. B.— C. B.— J. B. (Cocker-
mouth).— J. B (Euston).— G. E. C.-J. F.C.— J. C. D.— M. F.
— E. G.— G. G.— W. H. H.— J. C. H.— H. (Sheffield).— H.
(London).— A. L.— J. H. M— S.-G. E. S— J. S— E. W.—
F. W— J. T. Y.— A. B.— F. B.— D. H.— R. H. M.— W. H.

Ai-iul 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

7:5

HOW TO STUDY NATUKAL HISTOBY.*

By PROFESSOR HUXLEY, E.R.S, &c.

ATTJRAL HISTORY is the

name familiarly applied to the

study of the properties of such

natural bodies as minerals, plants,

and animals ; the sciences which

embody the knowledge man has

acquired upon these subjects

are commonly termed Natural

Sciences, in contradistinction to

other so-called "physical," sciences;

and those who devote themselves

especially to the pursuit of such

sciences have been, and are, commonly

termed " Naturalists."

Linnaeus was a naturalist in this wide
sense, and his " Systema Naturae " was
a work upon natural history in the
broadest acceptation of the term ; in it
that great methodizing spirit embodied all
that was known in his time of the distinctive
characters of minerals, animals, and plants. But the
enormous stimulus which Linnaeus gave to the in-
vestigation of nature soon rendered it impossible
that any one man should write another " Systema
Naturae," and extremely difficult for any one to
become a naturalist such as Linnaeus was.

Great as have been the advances made by all the
three branches of science, of old included under the
title of natural history, there can be no doubt that
zoology and botany have grown in an enormously
greater ratio than mineralogy; and hence, as I sup-
pose, the name of "natural history" has gradually
become more and more definitely attached to these
prominent divisions of the subject, and by "natu-
ralist " people have meant more and more distinctly
to imply a student of the structure and functions of
living beings.
However this may be, it is certain that the

* The substance of these remarks was embodied in a
lecture on Zoology delivered at the South Kensington
Museum in I860.

No. 28.

advance of knowledge has gradually widened the
distance between mineralogy and its old associates,
while it has drawn zoology and botany closer to-
gether ; so that of late years it has been found
convenient (and indeed necessary) to associate
the sciences which deal with vitality and all its
phenomena under the common head of " biology ; "
and the biologists have come to repudiate any
blood-relationship with their foster-brothers, tha
mineralogists.

Certain broad laws have a general application
throughout both the animal and the vegetable
worlds ; but the ground common to these kingdoms
of nature is not of very wide extent, and the multi-
plicity of details is so great, that the student of
living beings finds himself obliged to devote his
attention exclusively either to the one or the other,
If he elects to study plants, under any aspect, we
know at once what to call him ; he is a botanist,
and his science is botany. But if the investigation
of animal life be his choice, the name generally-
applied to him will vary, according to the kind of
animals he studies, or the particular phenomena of
animal life to which he confines his attention. If
the study of man is his object, he is called an
anatomist, or a physiologist, or an ethnologist ; but
if he dissects animals, or examines into the mode in
which their functions are performed, he is a com-
parative anatomist or comparative physiologist. If
he turns his attention to fossil animals, he is a palae-
ontologist. If his mind is more particularly directed
to the description, specific discrimination, classifica-
tion, and distribution of animals, he is termed a
zoologist.

Eor my present purpose, however, I shall recog-
nize none of these titles save the last, which I shall
employ as the equivalent of botanist ; and I shall
use the term zoology as denoting the whole doctrine
of animal life, in contradistinction from botany,
which signifies the whole doctrine of vegetable
life.

Employed in this sense, zoology, like botany, is

E

HABDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Aran, 1, 1367.

divisible into three great but subordinate sciences —
morphology, physiology, and distribution, each of
which may, to a very great extent, be studied inde-
pendently of the other.

Zoological morphology is the doctrine of animal
form or structure. Anatomy is one of its branches,
development is another ; while classification is the
expression of the relations which different animals
bear to one another, in respect of their anatomy and
their development.

Zoological distribution is the study of animals in
relation to the terrestrial conditions which obtain
now, or have obtained at any previous epoch of the
earth's history.

Zoological physiology, lastly, is the doctrine of
the functions or actions of animals. It regards
animal bodies as machines impelled by certain
forces, and performing an amount of work, which
can be expressed in terms of the ordinary forces of
nature. The final object of physiology is to deduce
the facts of morphology on the one hand, and those
of distribution on the other, from the laws of the
molecular forces of matter.

Such is the scope of zoology. But if I were to
content myself with the enunciation of these dry
definitions, I should ill exemplify that method of
studying this branch of physical science, which it is
my chief business to recommend. Let us turn
away, then, from abstract definitions. Let us take
some concrete living thing, some animal (the
commoner the better), and let us see how the appli-
cation of common sense and common logic to the
obvious facts it presents inevitably leads us into all
these branches of zoological science.

I will suppose that I have before me a lobster.
"When I examine it, what appears to be the most
striking character it presents? Why, I observe
that this part which we call the tail of the lobster
is made up of six distinct hard rings and a seventh
terminal piece. If I separate one of the middle
rings, say the third, I find it carries upon its under
surface a pair of limbs or appendages, each of
which consists of a stalk and two terminal pieces.

If I now take the fourth ring I find it has the
same structure, and so have the fifth and the
second ; so that in each of these divisions of the
tail I find parts which correspond with one another,
a ring and two appendages ; and in each appendage
a stalk and two end pieces. These corresponding
parts arc called, in the technical language of
anatomy, " homologous parts." The ring of the
third division is the "homologue" of the ring of
the fifth ; the appendage of the former is the homo-
logue of the appendage of the latter. And as each
division exhibits corresponding parts in correspond-
ing places, we say that all the divisions are con-
structed upon the same plan. But now let us
consider the sixth division. It is similar to, and yet
different from, the others. The ring is essentially

the same as in the other divisions ; but the appen-
dages look at first as if they were very different ;
and yet when we regard them closely, what do we
find ? A stalk and two terminal divisions exactly
as in the others, but the stalk is very short and
very thick, the terminal divisions are very broad
and flat, and one of them is divided into two
pieces.

I may say, therefore, that the sixth segment is
like the others in plan, but that it is modified in its
details.

The first segment is like the others, so far as its
ring is concerned ; and though its appendages differ
from any of those yet examined in the simplicity of
their structure, parts corresponding with the stem
and one of the divisions of the appendages of the
other segments can be readily discerned in them.

Thus it appears that the lobster's tail is composed
of a series of segments which are fundamentally
similar, though each presents peculiar modifications
of the plan common to all. But when I turn to the
fore part of the body, I see at first nothing but a
great shield-like shell, called technically the " cara-
pace," ending in front in a sharp spine, on either
side of which are the curious compound eyes, set
upon the ends of stout moveable stalks. Behind
these, on the under side of the body, are two pairs
of long feelers or antennaj, followed by six pairs of
jaws, folded against one another over the mouth,
and five pairs of legs, the foremost of these being
the great pinchers or claws of the lobster.

It looks at first a little hopeless to attempt to
find in this complex mass a series of rings, each
with its pair of appendages, such as I have shown
you in the abdomen, and yet it is not difficult to
demonstrate their existence. Strip off the legs, and
you will find that each pair is attached to a very
definite segment of the under wall of the body ;
but these segments, instead of being the lower
parts of free rings, as in the tail, are such parts of
rings which are all solidly united and bound to-
gether ; and the like is true of the jaws, the feelers,
and the eye-stalks, every pair of which is borne
upon its own special segment. Thus the conclusion
is gradually forced upon us that the body of the
lobster is composed of as many rings as there are
pairs of appendages, namely, twenty in all, but that
the six hindmost rings remain free and moveable,
while the fourteen front rings become firmly sol-
dered together, their backs forming one continuous
shield — the carapace.

Unity of plan, diversity in execution, is the lesson
taught by the study of the rings of the body ; and
the same instruction is given still more emphatically
by the appendages. If I examine the outermost
jaw, I find it consists of three distinct portions— an
inner, a middle, and an outer, mounted upon a
common stem ; and if 1 compare tihs jaw with the
legs behind it or the jaws in front of it, I find it

April 1, 1SG/.]

IIARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

quite easy to see that in the legs it is the part of
the appendage which corresponds with the inner
division, which becomes modified into what we
know familiarly as the "leg," while the middle
division disappears, and the outer division is hidden
under the carapace. Nor is it more difficult to dis-
cern that, in the appendages of the tail, the middle
division appears again, and the outer vanishes ;
while on the other hand, in the foremost jaw, the
so-called mandible, the inner division only is left ;
and, in the same way, the parts of the feelers and
of the eye-stalks can be identified with those of the
legs and jaws.

But whither does all this tend ? To the very
remarkable conclusion that a unity of plan, of the
same kind as that discoverable in the tail or abdo-
men of the lobster, pervades the whole organization
of its skeleton, so that I can return to any one of
the rings of the tail, and by adding a third division
to each appendage, use it as a sort of scheme or
plan of any ring of the body. I can give names to
all the parts, and then if I take any segment of the
body of the lobster, I can point out exactly what
modification the general plan has undergone in that
particular segment ; what part has remained move-
able, and what has become fixed to another ; what
Las been excessively developed and metamorphosed,
and what has been suppressed.

But I imagine 1 hear the question, how is all this
to be tested ? No doubt it is a pretty and ingenious
way of looking at the structure of any animal, but
is it anything more ? Does Nature acknowledge in
any deeper way this unity of plan we seem to
trace ?

The objection suggested by these questions is a
very valid and important one, and morphology was
in an unsound state so long as it rested upon the
mere perception of the analogies which obtain
between fully formed parts. The unchecked inge-
nuity of speculative anatomists proved itself fully
competent to spin auy number of contradictory
hypotheses out of the same facts, and endless mor-
phological dreams threatened to supplant scientific
theory.

Happily, however, there is a criterion of morpho-
logical truth, and a sure test of all homologies.
Our lobster has not always been what we see it ; it
was once an egg, a semifluid mass of yolk, not so
big as a pin's head, contained in a transparent
membrane, and exhibiting not the least trace of any
one of those organs whose multiplicity and com-
plexity, in the adult, are so surprising. After a
time a delicate patch of cellular membrane appeared
upon one face of this yolk, and that patch was the
foundation of the whole creature, the clay out of
which it would be moulded. Gradually investing
the yolk, it became subdivided by transverse con-
strictions into segments, the forerunners of the
rings of the body. Upon the ventral surface of

each of the rings thus sketched out, a pair of bud-
like prominences made their appearance — the rudi-
ments of the appendages of the ring. At first all
the appendages were alike, but as they grew, most
of them became distinguished with a stem and two
terminal divisions, to which in the middle part of
the body was added a third outer division ; and it
was only at a later period that, by the modification
or abortion of certain of these primitive consti-
tuents, the limbs acquired their perfect form.

Thus the study of development proves that the
doctrine of unity of plan is not merely a fancy ;
that it is not merely one way of looking at the
matter, but that it is the expression of deep-seated
natural facts. The legs and jaws of the lobster
may not merely be regarded as modifications of a
common type, — in fact and in nature they are so,' —
the leg and the jaw of the young animal being, at
first, indistinguishable.

These are wonderful truths, the more so because
the zoologist finds them to be of universal applica-
tion. The investigation of a polype, of a snail, of
a fish, of a horse, or of a man, would have led us,
though by a less easy path, perhaps, to exactly the
same point. Unity of plan everywhere lies hidden
under the mask of diversity of structure — the com-
plex is everywhere evolved out of the simple.
Every animal has at first the form of an egg, and
every animal and every organic part, in reaching its
adult state, passes through conditions common to
other animals and other adult parts ; and this leads
me to another point. I have hitherto spoken as if
the lobster were alone in the world, but, as I need
hardly remind you, there are myriads of other
animal organisms. Of these, some— such as men,
horses, birds, fishes, snails, slugs, oysters, corals,
and sponges— are not in the least like the lobster.
But other animals, though they may differ a good
deal from the lobster, are yet either very like it, or
are like something that is like it. The Cray fish,
the rock lobster, and the prawn, and the shrimp, for
example, however different, are yet so like lobsters,
that a child would group them as of the lobster
kind, in contradistinction to snails and slugs ; and
these last again would form a kind by themselves,
in contradistinction to cows, horses, and sheep, the
cattle kind.

But this spontaneous grouping into " kinds " is
the first essay of the human mind at classification,
or the calling by a common name of those things
that are alike, and the arranging them in such a
manner as best to suggest the sum of their likenesses
and unlikenesses to other things.

Those kinds which include no other subdivisions
than the sexes, or various breeds, are called, in
technical language, species. The English lobster is
a species, our cray fish is another, our prawn is
another. In other countries, however, there are
lobsters, cray fish, and prawns very like ours, and

e 2

70

HAllDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[April ], 1SG7-

yet presenting sufficient differences to deserve dis-
tinction. Naturalists, therefore, express this re-
semblance and this diversity by grouping them as
distinct species of the same "genus." But the
lobster and the cray fish, though belonging to distinct
genera, have many features in common, and hence
arc grouped together in an assemblage which is
called a family. More distant resemblances connect
the lobster with the prawn and the crab, which are
expressed by putting all these into the same order.
Again, more remote, but still very definite, resem-
blances unite the lobster with the woodlouse, the
king crab, the water-flea, and the barnacle, and
separate them from all other animals ; whence they
collectively constitute the larger group, or class,
Crustacea. But the Crustacea exhibit many peculiar
features in common with insects, spiders and centi-
pedes, so that these are grouped into the still larger
assemblage or "province" Articulata, and, finally,
the relations which these have to worms and other
lower animals, are expressed by combining the
whole vast aggregate into the sub-kingdom of
Aunulosa.

If 1 had worked my way from a sponge instead of
a lobster, I should have found it associated, by like
ties, with a great number of other animlas into the
subkiugdom Protozoa; if I had selected a fresh-
water polype or a coral, the members of what
naturalists term the subkingdom Ceelenterata, would
Lave grouped themselves around my type ; had a
snail been chosen, the inhabitants of all univalve
and bivalve, land and water shells, the lamp shells,
the squids, and the sea mat would have gradually
linked themselves on to it as members of the same
subkingdom of Mollusca ; and finally, starting from
man, I should have been compelled to admit first,
the ape, the rat, the horse, the dog, into the same
class, and then the bird, the crocodile, the turtle,
the frog, and the fish, into the same subkingdom of
Vertebraia.

And if I had followed out all these various lines
of classification fully, I should discover in the end
that there was no animal, either recent or fossil,
which did not at once fall into one or other of these
subkingdoms. In other words, every animal is
organized upon one or other of the five, or more,
plans, whose existence renders our classification
possible. And so definitely and precisely marked is
1 he structure of each animal, that, in the present
state of our knowledge, there is not the least
evidence to prove that a form, in the slighest degree
transitional between any two of the groups Verte-
braia, Annulosa, Mollusca, and Co'lenterata, either
exists, or has existed, during that period of the
earth's history which is recorded by the geologist.
Nevertheless, you must not for a moment suppose,
because no such transitional forms are known, that
the members of the subkingdoms are disconnected
from, or independent of, one another. On the con-

trary, in their earliest condition they are all alike,
and the primordial germs of a man, a dog, a bird,
a fish, a beetle, a snail, and a polype, are in no
essential structural respects, distinguishable.

In this broad sense, it may with truth be said,
that all living animals, and all those dead creations
which geology reveals, are bound together by an
all-pervading unity of organization, of the same
character, though not equal in degree, to that which
enables us to discern one and the same plan amidst
the twenty different segments of a lobster's body.
Truly it has been said, that to a clear eye the smallest
fact is a window through which the Infinite may be
seen.

Turning from these purely morphological con-
siderations, let us now examine into the manner in
which the attentive study of the lobster impels us
into other lines of research.

Lobsters are found in all the European seas ; but
on the opposite shores of the Atlantic and in the
seas of the southern hemisphere they do not exist.
They are, however, represented in these regions by
very closely allied, but distinct forms — the Homarus
Americanus and the Homarus Capensis, so that we
may say that the European has one species of
Homarus ; the American, another ; the African,
another; and thus the remarkable facts of geo-
graphical distribution begin to dawn upon us.

Again, if we examine the contents of the earth's
crust, we shall find in the later of those dcposits}
which have served as the great burying grounds of
past ages, numberless lobster-like animals, but none
so similar to our living lobster as to make zoologists
sure that they belonged even to the same genus.
If we go still further back in time, we discover in
the oldest rocks of all, the remains of animals, con-
structed on the same general plan as the lobster,
and belonging to the same great group of Crustacea;
but for the most part totally different from the
lobster, and, indeed, from any other living form of
crustacean ; and thus we gain a notion of that suc-
cessive change of the animal population of the
globe, in past ages, which is the most striking fact
revealed by geology.

Consider, now, where our inquiries have led us.
We studied our type morphologically, when we
determined its anatomy and its development, and
when comparing it, in these respects, with other
animals, we made out its place in a system of classi-
fication. If we were to examine every animal in a
similar manner we should establish a complete body
of zoological morphology.

Again, we investigated the distribution of our
type in space and in time, and, if the like had been
done with every animal, the sciences of geographical
and geological distribution would have attained their
limit.

But observe one remarkable circumstance, that,
up to this point, the question of the life of these

Apkil 1, 18fi7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

77

organisms lias not come under consideration.
Morphology and distribution might be studied
almost as well, if animals and plants were a
peculiar kind of crystals, and possessed none of
those functions which distinguish living beings so
remarkably. But the facts of morphology and dis-
tribution have to be accounted for, and the science,
whose aim it is to account for them, is physiology.

Let us return to our lobster once more. If we
watched the creature in its native element, we
should see it climbing actively the submerged rocks,
among which it delights to live, by means of its
strong legs ; or swimming by powerful strokes of
its great tail, the appendages of whose sixth joint
are spread out into a broad fan-like propeller ; seize
it and it will show you that its great claws are no
mean weapons of offence ; suspend a piece of carrion
among its haunts, and it will greedily devour it,
tearing and crushing the flesh by means of its
multitudinous jaws.

Suppose that we had known nothing of the lobster
but as an inert mass, an organic crystal, if I may
use the phrase, and that we could suddenly see it
exerting all these powers, what wonderful new ideas
and new questions would arise in our minds ! The
great new question would i be, "How does all this
take place ? " the chief new idea would be the idea
of adaptation to purpose, — the notion that the con-
stituents of animal bodies are not mere unconnected
parts, but organs working together to an end. Let
us consider the tail of the lobster again from
this point of view. Morphology has taught us that
it is a series of segments composed of homologous
parts, which undergo various modifications — beneath
and through which a common plan of formation is
discernible. But if I look at the same part physio-
logically, I see that it is a most beautifully con-
structed organ of locomotion, by means of which
the animal can swiftly propel itself either backwards
or forwards.

But how is this remarkable propulsive machine
made to perform its functions ? If I were suddenly
to kill one of these animals and to take out all the
soft parts, I should find the shell to be perfectly
inert, to have no more power of moving itself than
is possessed by the machinery of a mill, when dis-
connected from its steam-engine or water-wheel.
But if I were to open it, and take out the viscera
only, leaving the white flesh, I should perceive that
the lobster could bend and extend its tail as well as
before. If I were to cut off the tail I should cease
to find any spontaneous motion in it — but on pinch-
ing any portion of the flesh, I should observe that
it underwent a very curious change— each fibre be-
coming shorter and thicker. By this act of contrac-
tion, as it is termed, the parts which the ends of the
fibre are attached are, of course, approximated ;
and according to the relations of their points of
attachment to the centres of motion of the different

rings, the bending or the extension of the tail results.
Close observation of the newly-opened lobster would
soon show that all its movements are due to the
same cause — the shortening and thickening of these
fleshy fibres, which are technically called muscles.

Here, then, is a capital fact. The movements of
the lobster are due to muscular contractility. But
why does a muscle contract at one time and not at
another? Why does one whole group of muscles
contract when the lobster wishes to extend its tail,
and another group, when he desired to bend it ?
What is it originates, directs, and controls the
motive power ?

Experiment, the great instrument for the ascer-
tainment of truth in physical science, answers this
question for us. In the head of the lobster there
lies a small mass of that peculiar tissue which is
known as nervous substance. Cords of similar
matter connects this brain of the lobster, directly or
indirectly, with the muscles. Now, if these com-
municating cords are cut, the brain remaining entire,
the power of exerting what we call voluntary motion
in the parts below the section is destroyed, and on
the other hand, if, the cords remaining entire, the
brain mass be destroyed, the same voluntary mobility
is equally lost. Whence the inevitable conclusion
is, that the power of originating these motions
resides in the brain, and is propagated along the
nervous cords.

In the higher animals the phenomena which attend
this transmission have been investigated, and the
exertion of the peculiar energy which resides in the
nerves, has been found to be accompanied by a dis-
turbance of the electrical state of their molecules.

If we could exactly estimate the signification of
this disturbance ; if we could obtain the value of a
given exertion of nerve force by determining the
quantity of electricity or of heat of which it is the
equivalent ; if we could ascertain upon what arrange-
ment, or other condition of the molecules of matter,
the manifestation of the nervous and muscular
energies depends (and doubtless science will some
day or other ascertain these points), physiologists
would have attained their ultimate goal in this direc-
tion ; they would have determined the relation of
the motive force of animals to the other forms of
force found in nature ; and if the same process had
been successfully performed for all the operations
which are carried on, in and by, the animal frame,
physiology would be perfect, and the facts of morpho-
logy and distribution would be deducible from the
laws which physiologists had established, combined
with those determining the condition of the sur-
rounding universe.

There is not a fragment of the organism of this
humble animal, whose study would not lead us into
regions of thought as large as those which I have
briefly opened up ; but what I have done, I trust,
has not only enabled my readers to form a conception

78

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[April 1, 1867.

of the scope and purport of zoology, but has given
au imperfect example of the manner in which, in
my opinion, that science, or indeed any physical
science, may be studied. The great matter is to
make the study real and practical, by fixing the
attention on particular facts ; but at the same time
it should be rendered broad and comprehensive by
constant reference to the generalizations of which
all particular facts are illustrations. The lobster
has served as a type of the whole animal kingdom,
and its anatomy and physiology have illustrated for
us some of the greatest truths of biology. The
student who has once seen for himself the facts
which I have described, has had their relations ex-
plained to him, and has clearly comprehended them,
has so far a knowledge of zoology, which is real and
genuine, however limited it may be, and which is
worth more than all the mere reading knowledge of
the science he could ever acquire. His zoological
information is, so far, knowledge and not mere
hearsay.

MOSQUITOES.

" En avant, Monseigneur Maringouin ! "

"DEADERS of Science Gossip, permit me to
-*-*' make you acquainted with a Madam and
Monseigneur Mosquito, recently from North-
western America. At the same time I can assure
you, from a past and painful experience, that an
introduction to them in these pages is infinitely
preferable to being on terms of greater familiarity.

To obstinate, self-willed, persistently persevering
persons, whose sole end and aim is to pester all
with whom they are brought into collision, it is a
common custom, " down South," to say, " en avant,
Monseigneur Maringouin!" Individuals such as
these are for all the world like to Mosquitoes, and
the admonitory warning just quoted is as good as
it is truthful. Who ever knew a Mosquito give
up ? Determined obstinacy is the very substance
and stamina of its existence. Eret and work your-
self into a state of irritability bordering upon frenzy,
stamp, scratch, slap, rub — it is not of the slightest
use ; after every rebuff, the inveterate persecutors
only buzz the more loudly, and stab their blades the
deeper into one's flesh.

As regards Monseigneur, we have not much to
say : he takes things very easily, does pretty much
as he likes, dines and sups as best befits his inclina-
tions— finding amidst the nectar-making! flowers
everything suited to his requirements. Having
paid his addresses to the ladies, and flirted to his
heart's desire, he grows rapidly old, and very soon
dies.

With Madam it is altogether a different affair ; she
has important duties to perform : publicly, to annoy
and persecute every "man, woman, and beast within

her reach ; privately, to deposit her eggs safely in a
fitting situation, to insure the perpetuation of her
species. Madam and all her kindred have a dis-
agreeable fondness for my blood, why or wherefore
is not easy of explanation, and invariably make me
their especial victim. So surely as I am enjoying
myself, it matters not how many persons are present,
I always observe these blood-loving amazons prefer
to leave the rest, and, with self-satisfied hums, make
straight for me, to crowd into my ears and up my nose,
and, as though they were "ile seekers,"eack one there
and then bores a hole, aud greedily pumps up the
much-coveted fluid. They have even a more detest-
able habit than this : they seem to delight in taking-
refuge in my whiskers, and to rout them from this
ambush is as difficult a job as that of routing bears
and peccaries from out a cane-brake, which can only
be accomplished by setting the place on fire— a
stratagem that would in all likelihood prove quite
as disagreeable to me as the Mosquitoes; in this
dilemma I patiently await their movements, and
deftly press my finger on every offender as the prick
of the lancets reveals its whereabouts. Now this
suspense, metaphorically waiting for a bite, is
tantalising in the extreme, if you are trying just at
that critical moment to say something more than
usually impressive to some favoured fair one, and
distrust the stability of your nerves. Mentally I
exclaim, " En avant, Madam Maringouin ! " bite a
person with a more delicate skin, or feast upon one
of your own sex, or

Try some plump alderman, and suck his blood,
Enriched by generous wine and costly meat ;
On well-filled skins, sleek as thy native mud,
Fix thy light pump and press thy freckled feet.
Go to the men for whom, in ocean's halls,
The oyster breeds and the green turtle sprawls.

Whether the female Mosquito has in all cases the
same number of lancets, it is difficult to determine.
Leuwenhoek says four, Reaumur five, Swammerdam
and Latreille mention six, and there are others who
stand out for seven ; but of one thing I am positive,
some Mosquitoes are able to inflict a puncture
in less time, and of greater depth, than others.
Will any one be bold enough to say, the stab of a
summer gnat, or even that of the full-sized Mos-
quito we are ordinarily familiar with, is inflicted by
an instrument identical with that which enabled the
" Skeeters " to pierce through the military boots of
the Father of the States, in the Jersey marshes,
and, if history is truthful in its record of that event,
caused that usually exemplary man to indulge in bad
language, or, as we read it, "swear like a trooper ;"
or that attacked the army of Julian the Apostate,
and drove him back ; or that compelled Sapor, king
of Persia, to raise the siege of Nisibis, stinging his
elephants and camels into a state of fury ; or that
render the banks of the river Po at some places
uninhabitable ; or, as Humboldt tells us, oblige the

AmiL 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S S CIENCE- GO S S IP.

70

people residing at the month of the river Urare to
sleep in pits dug for the purpose, buried up all but
their heads, which they cover with a rug ; and last,
though not least, that drove the Boundary Commis-
sion, one aud all, to quit the prairies and take up
their quarters in the mountains— stopping the work

Fig. 5". East Indian Mosquito* (male) x 8 diameters

of nearly a hundred men. No, I cannot but think
the lancet-blades in some Mosquitoes are longer,
sharper, and better fitted to inflict pain, than are
similar weapons in other species. The Californian
Mosquitoes are not half so bad as the thorough-bred
British Columbians.

Fig. 58. East Indian Mosquito* (female) x 8 diameters

The above portraits greatly resemble a goodly
number that perished betwixt the leaves of my
note-book.

When we were marking the boundary line,
our camp was on the Sum ass prairie, but the
Mosquitoes became so formidable at last that
the camp had to be abandoned. It is no ex-
aggeration to state, that the swarms were as
dense as an ordinary fog; and, if possible, more
bloodthirsty during the night than in the day.
time. Sleeping was utterly impossible, unless one
could manage to shut up the tent so that no Mos-
quitoes could gain admission, and then set to work
and kill every one within the canvas prison. Coming
out in the morning was anything but a joke ; unless

* From native drawings in the India Museum.

your dress was quite Mosquito-proof you did not
stand a chance, the legions were upon you— thrust-
ing, humming, and pumping out your blood, despite
all your efforts at self-protection. We used to tie
our sleeves tightly at the wrists, our trowsers round
the ankles, wear thick leather gloves, and a gauze-
bag over the head and face, tied in
round the throat. The poor dogs
suffered frightfully, and would
soon have died from the irritation
caused by the punctures, had we
not removed the animals up into
the mountains. During this reign
of terror, I started with the Chief
Commissioner to visit Fort Hope,
about four days' canoe-voyage up
the Eraser river ; three Indians and
the Commissioner's servant made
up the crew. The first day we
were terribly beset by Mosquitoes,
having to keep close to the river
bank to gain the advantage of the slack water.
Each person armed with a wisp of leafy twigs kept
up a continuous flogging, to beat down and drive
off our foes. About sundown, we neared a sandy
island, situate in the middle of a wide lake or ex-
panse of the river; landing, and seeing no Mos-
quitoes, determined us at once to
camp ; there being plenty of drift-
wood, a fire was soon kindled, sup-
per cooked, and preparations made
for sleeping. All at once, I sup-
pose attracted by the | fire-light,
clouds of Mosquitoes swooped
down upon us. There was nothing
to be done but to bear it. The
Commissioner tried all he could
to get a doze, and rolled himself
so tightly in his rugs, as to defy
the Mosquitoes to find an entrance ;
vain hope : the pests soon found
a hole, and poured in through ft
like a crowd to see a pantomime on Boxing-night.
I could trace the outline of the Commissioner,
as the pale moonlight slanted on the island,
writhing about beneath his rugs, as if suffering
from violent choleraic cramps. The Bed Men
crouched in the smoke, and at short intervals
pluuged into the river like seals, to return to the
smoke dripping wet, and shining as though made of
highly burnished metal. I did not try to sleep, but
lighted my pipe and paced up and down the island
until daylight came, and with it, release from our
miseries. I could recount endless stories of Mos-
quito adventures, if space permitted me to do so.

The darkies down South relate the following
story, to account for the origin of the name Mos-
quito : —

"De white man he come, he settle down, he grow

80

HAPDWICKE:S SCIENCE- GOSSIP.

[April 1, 1S67.

de corn and cotton ; den come de leetle fly — cry
golly ! how he bite ! Whoop ! whoop ! white man,
slap him face, and stamp like mad. He say ' must —
quit— oh ! ' He shout louder den ebber, and whop
de tother side, ' must— quit— oh ! ' Den behind,
den before, dis side, dat side, all de time, ' must —
quit — oh ! must — quit — oh ! ' "

This is by no means a bad derivation. I felt I
must — quit — oh ! if 1 did not say it during the
memorable short night on the sandy island.

Scientifically the Mosquito family belong to the
order Diptera, family Culicidce, genus CuJex. The
species brought from North-west America turned
out to be new to science, and was named Culex
piiiguis, because it was fatter, rounder, and more obese
than any other of its known kindred ; the specific
description is appended as a foot-note. We read
the following description in Westwood's " Insects,"
page 509, vol. ii., explanatory of the system
by which the fly extracts or sucks up the blood :'—
" Taking its station upon an uncovered part of the
skin, it lowers its rostrum and pierces the skin by
means of its exceedingly slender needle-like lancets,
which are barbed at the tips, and, as by degrees it
pushes these deeper into the skin, the lower lip or
sheath, in which they are enclosed when at rest,
becomes more and more elbowed towards the breast,
until the whole length of the lancets are introduced
into the skin. It is supposed that, at the same
time, it instils into the wound a venomous liquid,
which, while it enables the blood to flow faster, is
the chief cause of the subsequent irritation." Kir by
and Spencer give many interesting and curious
details relative to the attacks of these insects in
various parts of the world. The larva} of the
Mosquito are entirely aquatic, very active, swim-
ming with great rapidity, frequently diving to the
bottom of the water, and again ascending to the
surface.

During this stage of their existence, they undergo
several moultings, to assume the pupse form. The
pupae take no nourishment, although brisk and
active in all their movements. Space does not
allow of my describing the beautiful arrangement
observable in the respiratory systems of the larvae and
pupse, but compels me to skip these interesting
details, and to refer only and very briefly in con-
clusion to the system adopted by the female to
insure the safety of her eggs, and the singular
way the mature insect extricates itself from the
pupse case.

Thefemale Mosquito, when thepropertime arrives,
selects some quiet eddy in a murmury brook, or the
tranquil waters of a lake, buoyed up on a leaf or float-
ing spray. She crosses her hind legs and begins build-
ing her boat, which, when finished, contains usually
over four huudred eggs. The eggs nearest the
ends are said to contain the males, those in the
middle the females. So admirably is this boat con-

structed that to upset or sink it, is an impossibility.
One would almost be disposed to think the eggs
were indestructible : though they remain frozen
during the winter, they still retain their vitality un-
impaired. Many species do not build boats of their
eggs ; one, I may instance as an example, is found
in the swamps of the Southern States. The female
sinks a hole in the soft mud with the end of her
tail, and leaves her suspended eggs in the holes by
long slender ropes or stalks. When the larva? come
from out the eggs, there is always a sufficiency of
water for their sustenance collected at the bottom of
the hole, and to support life until the time arrives
for the grub to disappear into the mud therein, to
undergo its final change. An American writer
speaks of a Mosquito that deposits its eggs in the
sandy plains of the Carolinas and Georgia : " She
selects a spot exposed to the fury of the sun, and
drops her eggs among the grains of sand. The
larvae, when hatched, must penetrate very deep
to obtain moisture. Their proceedings and
habits are yet to be tested. All you can see is the
mother fly dropping her eggs. Twelve or fifteen
days from this time the metamorphosis is complete.
; Place the hillock betwixt you and the sun as he is
j setting : the flies ascend in such numbers that you
would think it must be smoke from a boiling spring.
These are the genuine ' stingers ' and contain more
\ venom than ten other tribes amalgamated."

When the period for the final transformation is at
hand, the pupse float on the surface of the wafer,
and should the day prove bright and sunny, each
pupa case splits, and the little fly with extreme care
and deliberation draws out her front legs from their
casings. The insect mariner has to be wary now :
to tilt on one side is certain death from drowning.
; Her two front legs are next placed on the water
j (for be it known, a Mosquito walks easily upon the
i water), and the other four bent underneath her body,
! in order to support the boat on an even keel, so to
speak ; let the insect but capsize it, and all chance
I of righting again is at an end. The wings at this
stage of the proceedings are wet and lumpy, and
would turn the insect over, boat and all, but for the
support afforded by the bent body and the legs held
firmly down beneath it ; slowly the crumpled wings
separate, the air blows freely through them, and as
the gauzy structures dry, so they become additional
aids in maintaining her balance. The long, taper
body now elongates itself, the fragile wings assume
their natural shape, and soon become thoroughly
dry. The antennae unfurl like miniature flags, the
feathery plumes (if it be a male) float like pennants
in the breeze. Lastly, the legs are drawn forth,
the body nicely poised, then a few strokes of the
wings are given to test their strength and fitness
for service. Pausing for a few seconds, probably
to admire its own image mirrored in the water, and
to fall in love with itself, as did Narcissus of old,

April 1, 1S67.]

HAllDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

SI

the Mosquito plies its newly-acquired organs, rises
like a fairy into the genial air, and bids adieu for
ever to the tiny barque it owes so much to, left
to drift away— an empty, useless wreck.

"We may not follow Madam's or Monseigneur's
proceedings any further, you know them both, I
am sure, by the introduction I have given you : more
especially Madam : her unwearying solicitations, her
ill-manners, and ill-temper, her greed and thirst
after blood, her peevish, crying requests— you are
familiar with them all, and methinks I hear you say
as you lay down Science Gossip, "En avant,
Monseigneur Maringouin ! "

John Keast Loud, E.Z.S.

Culex pinguis, N. S.

Fam. — Cervinus, robustus; rostro apicem versus nigro ;
abdominis pube subaurata, pedibus robustis pallidioribus ;
alis cinereis, venis fulvis subpilosis.

Sp. Ch. — Fawn colour, stout : proboscis, much longer than
the head, and the throat black towards the tip; abdomen
with slightly gilded down; legs stout, paler than the body :
tarsi darker ; wings cinereous ; veins tawny, slightly pilose .
radial and subapical veins with long forks. Length of the
body 3$ lines; of the wings, ^ lines. Habitat, British
Columbia.

Yorticella and Cyclofs.— This morning, wish-
ing to mount a few specimens of Cyclops quadri-
comis, I captured some examples with the dipping
tube, and transferred them to a small cell about
half an inch diameter and a tenth of an inch deep.
While they were swimming in about four or five
drops of water, I introduced a single drop of pure
alcohol, which caused wild commotion for a moment,
and in a few seconds— certainly less than half a
minute— the Entomostraca lay dead. After three or
four minutes, the cell was filled up by the addition
of one or two drops of water, a thin cover put on,
and all made secure with asphalte. After two hours
the slide was placed under the microscope, wheu I
found that several of the dead Entomostraca bore
colonies of Vorticella, or some allied genus, all alive.
Every now and then an individual jerked back with
the movement generally thought indicative of the
seizure of prey, though no living prey were visible,
nor would one imagine they existed in this dilute
spirit. The Vorticellse, however, not only existed in
the alcoholic bath, but vibrated their cilia and seemed
to pursue their ordinary avocations. After five
hours some were still living, but many had detached
themselves from their stalks and lay motionless at
the bottom of the cell. When seven hours had
elapsed, one or two showed feeble signs of life, but
after eight hours, the last of the infusoria had de-
parted their lives and foot-stalks. They not only
survived the treatment that proved almost instantly
fatal to the Cyclops, but maintained life for many
hours in the more dilute solution. — George Guyon,
Ventnor, I.W.

COCCONEIS.

IF the figures which we give in illustration of
this group are consulted, it will be observed
that the valves are elliptical, with a central longi-
tudinal line, and to this character is generally added
" and having a central nodule." It is not always
that the central nodule can be clearly made out.
This is a large genus, containing, at the least,
twenty-five British examples. These are grouped
for convenience in two sections : in the smaller of
these, the disc is either smooth or striated longi-
tudinally ; and in the other, and larger section, the

Fig. 5Q. Cocconeis major.

disc has radiating or transverse markings. Both
our illustrations are from the latter section. Coc-
coneis major was discovered [ by Dr. Gregory in
dredgings from Lamlash Bay, and though remark-
able, is rare (fig. 59); and Cocconeis nitida was also
first found by the same observer in dredgings from
the same locality, and also from Loch Eine (fig. 60).

^

Fig. 60. Cocconeis nitida.

More than half the number of British species
were discovered by Dr. Gregory, either in the Glen-
shira Sand or the Erith of Clyde and Loch Fine.
It is only our wish in the present instance to indicate
the characters by which the members of the genus
Cocconeis may be known, and not to give a list
of the names of species which may be found in
Mr. Carruthers' catalogue, included in Dr. Gray's
handy "Handbook of British Water-weeds or
Algse."

S2

HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE -GOSSIP.

[April 1, 1867.

SKELETON OE PURPLE URCHIN.
{Echinus lividus).

THE Purple Urchin of our shores is so common
an object that few, if any, of my readers — scien-
tific or otherwise— can have failed at some time or
other to have seen and admired it. Not many, how-
ever, I believe, who have seen it know— to use a
hackneyed but expressive phrase— what a world of
wonder is wrapped up in its prickly box. A little
of this wonder I propose to reveal, confining myself,
however, entirely to its skeleton. To commence
with the shell or test, as it is called : This is made

Fig. 61. Portion of Shell, x 230.

up of numerous polygonal plates jointed together in
so perfect a manner that the seams or divisions
between them can be with difficulty detected. The
structure of this shell is everywhere the same ; it
is composed of a network of carbonate of lime, with
a basis of animal matter. The interspaces or
areola of this network vary greatly in size, form,
and number, as is shown in fig. 61, which represents
a portion of the shell of the Purple Echinus magni-
fied.

Fig. 62. Ambulacral Disc, x ISO.

Every one who has ever kept an Echinus in the
aquarium alive must have noticed its mode of loco-
motion— how it protrudes from orifices in its shell
sundry curious suckers, by means of which it clings

to the smooth surface of the glass or stones. Each
of these suckers is terminated by a disc, the skele-
ton of which presents the same calcareous network
as the shell, but in a more beautiful and symmetrical
form. Eig. 62 gives a magnified representation of
this ambulacral disc, as it is called.

In many foreign species of Echinus the spines,
when examined in section under the microscope,
present a very beautiful appearance, somewhat
similar to that of exogenous wood. This appear-
ance is produced by successive rings of open spaces
and solid pillars, which mark the yearly growth of
the spine.

Although the spine of Echinus lividus does not
present this beautiful ringed appearance, doubtless,
as has been suggested, from its being the result of
only one year's growth (being exuriated and repro-
duced annually), still it presents a very striking
appearance. It is, in common with the species of
other echini, composed of solid calcareous ribs,
alternating with bands of an open calcareous net-
work.

Fig. 63. Transverse Section of Spine, x 60.

These ribs and bands in section appear as alter-
nating rays, and the network being coloured purple,
they are very striking. Eig. 03 represents a trans-
verse section of the spine, and exhibits the alter-
nating bauds of solid ribs and open network.

Attached by a peduncle to the spines are to
be found the curious bodies called Pedicellarise.
These, at one time supposed to be parasites, are
now generally considered as simple appendages to
the spine, although their function is somewhat
doubtful. Each of these consists of a thin cal-
careous stalk, surmounted by a curious pincer-like
apparatus, the whole being invested by the general
animal membrane of the Echinus. Eig. 6± represents
the head of a pedicellaria. The pincers are double,
and are formed of a fine calcareous network, resem-
bling that of the shell. The edges of each limb of
the pincers are serrated.

Thus much for the external portion of the skele-
ton. Internally, the only part of the animal requiring

April 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

83

the support of a skeleton is that connected with
the movements of the teeth and jaws.

This oral skeleton consists of the teeth, the
plates to which they are attached, and the pro-
cesses for the attachment of the muscles. From its
curious form it was compared by Aristotle to a
lantern, and hence is now often called the Lantern
of Aristotle ; it is a well-known seaside specimen.
The teeth resemble somewhat the front teeth of a

Fig:. 64. Pedicellaria, x 60. Fig. 65. Section of Tooth.

rodent ; they have the same chisel-shaped form,
but they have an addition in the shape of a keel
which runs along the back. If a longitudinal sec-
tion of one of these teeth be examined, it will be
seen to bear a striking resemblance in its structure
to the teeth of the higher animals.

The keel is composed of rods of carbonate of
lime, lying obliquely to the axis of the tooth. The
chisel-shaped edge consists firstly of a series of
triangular calcareous plates, called the "primary
plates;" these constitute a framework with which
the other parts become connected. To these plates,
at some distance from the base, are attached a

Fig-. 66. Longitudinal Section of Tooth.

series of lappet-shaped lamina;, called by Mr. Salter
the " secondary plates" To these again are added a
third set of appendages named the "flabelliform
processes ; " these last consist of reticulations of
calcareous fibres, having a fan-shaped termination.
The flabelliform processes are succeeded nearer the
apex by an appearance closely resembling the

tubuli of bone or dentine. This is caused by the
different portions of the tooth being more or less
closely cemented together by minute particles of
calcareous matter, which bear the name of the " sol-
dering' particles.'" Thus a longitudinal section of
the tooth presents somewhat the appearance of
bone with its lacunae, canaliculi, and laminae. The
edge of the chisel- shaped portion of this tooth is
coated with a layer of enamel. The tooth is shown
in longitudinal section in Figs. G5 and 66.

The plates and processes of the " lantern " par-
take of the general network structure of the shell,
and therefore call for no particular remark.

Thomas Graham Ponton.

HARDY FOREIGN FERNS.

rpHE question is sometimes asked — what hardy
■*■ foreign ferns are there, which could be ob-
tained at a nursery, and which would succeed in an
open-air fernery ? It shall be our endeavour briefly
to enumerate those of which we have any know-
ledge, with a few of their characteristics inter-
spersed, so as to redeem our notes from condemna-
tion as a mere list. It may be premised that April
or May is a very good month in which to transplant
ferns, and therefore a few hints will be opportune.
Need we repeat the caution that if ferns are to
succeed they must not be planted in too dry a spot,
or much exposed to the sun. A shady sloping bank,
and good specimens will soon result in a good
fernery.

Fig. 6". Ostrich Fern.

The Royal Fern is a great favourite, and so would
be its foreign relatives if they were better known.
The Cinnamon Osmund [Osmunda cinnamomea) from
North America, is equally beautiful, and quite dis-
tinct in appearance. So also is Clayton's Osmund
{Osmunda Claytoniana), another hardy North Ame-
rican species. Either of these would flourish in the
open air, and prove a great acquisition to any one
with room to grow them.

84

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[April 1, 1867.

The prince of hardy exotics is the Ostrich Fern
(Struthiopteris Germanicd), which is not half so well
known as it deserves to be. The erect pale-green
fronds, about two feet in height, stand around the
crown like the feathers in a shuttlecock, forming an
inverted cone. Every one who'aspires to an out-door
fernery should obtain this species, which is as hardy
and easy of cultivation as the Male Eern.

Fig. 6S. Virginian Fern (Woodwurdia Virginica).

There are also two North American ferns, belonging
to a genus of which we have no British representa-
tive, with fronds about eighteen inches in length.
These are the Virginian Eern {IFoodwardia Virginicd)
and the Florida Eern {Woodwardia areolata). They
are both of them hardy enough to stand the winter
out of doors.

Our own Lady Eern is so beautiful that a know-
ledge of it is sufficient to induce any one to pur-
chase a Lady Eern on trust, and if it should be
Michaux's Lady Eern {Athjrium Michauxii) they
will not by any means be disappointed. This North
American species does not attain more than half the
size of the British, which perhaps is in itself a re-
commendation.

Amongst the Spleenworts there is a hardy species
which may be called the Narrow-leaved Spleenwort
(Aspleniim angustifolium), which may be grown on
a rockwork out of doors.

The Maiden-hair Fern is often made the subject
of complaint that it is too delicate for the out-door
fernery, except in the extreme south. Such com-
plainants ought to know that there is a North
American species, equally beautiful, easily grown,
and more hardy than the European Maiden-hair.
This deserves the name of Hardy Maiden-hair, but
it is known to gardeners and nurserymen as Adian-
tum pedatum. There is also an Australian species
{Adiantum assimile), but it is not more hardy than
the indigenous species, and very much resembles it
in size and appearance.

Fig. 69. Onuclea sensibilis.

A very commonly cultivated fern is Onoclea
sensibilis, with fronds two feet in length, and with
the fertile and barren fronds differing in form.
There is no great care required in its cultivation,
and its appearance is very different from any other
hardy fern.

Another genus which has no representative
amongst British ferns, furnishes a hardy species with
a character somewhat resembling the Marsh Fern.
The fronds are about two feet in length, and its
name nearly as long, if written large enough ; this
is Diplazium thelypteroides.

There are also two species of Buckler Ferns
belonging to the same genus as the Male Fern,
which are certainly hardy enough for out-door
culture. One of these is a native of China, and is
known as Lastrea decurrens ; the other is a North
American species called by cultivators and botauists

April 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCI EN C E-GOS SIP.

S5

Lastrea marginalis. The last named has the cover

(iudusium) of the spore-cases white.

Fig. 70. Sieboltl's Fern (Lastrea podophylla).

Two other species of the same genus may be named
as worthy of attention,— Goldiu's Fern, {Lastrea
Goldiana) and Siebold's Fern {Lastrea podophylld).
The latter is from Japan, and probably would hardly
endure the winter's frosts unharmed.

Our two rare little Woodsias have representatives
in the United States and Mexico, with fronds one
foot and upwards in length. The Mexican Woodsia

Fern {Pohjstichum acrostichoides) as affording a
pleasing associate with our native Shield Ferns,
and equally capable of standing the climate. And
an evergreen species of Cyrtomium from Japan
{Cyrtomium falcatum), with rich dark fronds more
than eighteen inches in length, with large leaflets.

mm

\ . ... ... ..a**^

Fig. 71. American Shield Fern (Potystk-hum acrostichoides).

{Woodsia mollis) and Perrin's Woodsia {Woodsia
obtusa) are both hardy, and very desirable for an
open-air fernery.
Finally we might commend an American Shield

Fig. 72. Cyrtomium falcatum.

It is the more desirable as it serves to illustrate a
genus of which we have no indigenous species.
It is quite possible that some species has been
omitted which is equally hardy,
and equally worthy with the fore-
going for out-door culture ; but
we have named sufficient to prove
that an excellent collection of
exotic ferns may be grown out of
doors, many of which are pro-
bably unknown to amateurs. It
has been a necessity to employ
the botanical names, because with-
out them it would be very difficult
to order them from a nurseryman,
should any of our readers be so
disposed. The majority of the
above are too large to be grown in a closed
case. The woodcuts illustrate the fructification,
but hardly give any idea of the appearance of the
fronds.

sc

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Apeil 1, 1367.

RURAL NATURAL HISTORY.

TV/TY friend "B." will, I hope, pardon me for
-'-'-"- " cribbing " the title of his interesting paper
in the April number of the Science Gossip ; but I
do so, because I am going to write upon the same
subject, and because if some of our correspondents
in different parts of the country were to collect the
curious and superstitious remedies that are in vogue
in their neighbourhood, and the strange ideas about
plants and animals that prevail amongst the people,
and were to record them under the same head, what
a book full of amusing — perhaps, now and then, of
instructive — matter we should have ! It would be
interesting to find that the same things were be-
lieved in remote places ; more interesting still to
trace them to their origin, and find the one grain of
truth that very often really exists, and has served
as the foundation upon which a fantastic structure
of ignorance and error has been built. Since I
wrote about "Strange Remedies," in one of the
early numbers, I have met with many more that are
curious, and many I had already collected, but
whether peculiar to Cheshire or not, I cannot tell.

We have three infallible cures for whooping-
cough, or, as it is called, "Chink" cough. (The
drawing in of the breath in laughing is also called,
"Chinking.")

Receipt No. 1. — A lock of hair is to be cut from
the back of the head of the child that is suffering
from the ailment. A hole must be bored in the
stem of a wicken tree (mountain ash), the lock of
hair stuffed into it, and the hole be plugged up
again. The patient will sometimes recover in two or
three days. That the charm may work well, how-
ever, it must be done secretly, or, as we should say
in Cheshire, " unbeknown," and the charmer must
not be the father of the child ; any one else can per-
form it.

Receipt No. 2. — A woman whose married name
is the same as her maiden name has the gift of
curing whooping-cough. She has simply to give
the child something to eat or drink (it is generally
a " sugar butty ") and it will get well. I have a
neighbour who married her cousin, and did not
chauge her name, who, I believe, thus practises.

Receipt No. 3. — A portion of hair from the cross
on a donkey's shoulders is in great demand, and is
thought to be very efficacious ; and very lately a
man came to our house, and begged some from a
donkey that our children ride, in order to cure his
child. The hair is wrapped up in flannel, and the
flannel sewed round the child's neck, and it is sure
to get well.

In the article upon " Rural Natural History,"
above referred to, "B." speaks of the dock being
used in Buckinghamshire as an antidote to the
sting of the nettle. It is also used here, and is, I

think, really efficacious ; but here children make use
of a sort of charm when applying it, saying —

"Dock go in, nettle come out."

Is it possible that a grain of truth may even be
found in the following superstition ? If a lock of
human hair should be thrown out of doors, and a
toad should happen to get it entangled round its
leg, the person from whose head it came will have
perpetual headache for the rest of his life. What a
dreadful contingency !

It is considered very unlucky to cut a child's nails
during its first year; and Cheshire mothers are very
careful not to do so, lest it should cause the child
to be " light-fingered." We should think it would
be a good deal lighter fingered after a twelvemonth's
growth of nail was cut off.

Ointment should never be spread with the first
finger, which is supposed to be venomous.

Ereckles on the skin are called " fawn-freckles,"
and are supposed to come at the same time as, ana
be in some way consequent on the building of birds'
nests. Is this because so many eggs are spotted
with brown ? or are the spots on the skin and those
on eggs supposed to be caused by the same influ-
ence, whatever it may be ?

A child during its first month is supposed to see
all that is to happen to it through life. If it laughs
much, it is a sign that its life will be happy. Every
one must have the "frog" (thrush) once in his life.
If not in infancy, then certainly before death. I
may remark that in books this disease is called
thrush or " throg," and that "frog " appears to be
a corruption of the word " throg." It may be, how-
ever, not unlikely that "frog" is the older word,
and "throg" the corrupted pronunciation. In the
same way many of our country people call thistles,
'fistles" as if derived from the Latin "fistula." If
this be the true derivation, it shows that the name
" fistle," in common use still, is as old as the time of
the Romans in England ; and I am inclined to think
that it also shows us that the Romans had local
names for plants, " fistula " being a local Roman
name for " carduus," the classical word for thistle.

It is thought to be very unlucky to have money
bidden for anything, especially a live animal, that you
do not wish to sell. It is sure to go wrougin some
way or other. This, however, is a general belief,
and not, I think, confined to Cheshire.

Bees should never be bought, or if bought, should
be paid for in gold, otherwise they will do no good.
They should be either begged, or borrowed, or
stolen. It is the custom in Cheshire, when any one
wishes to begin bee-keeping, for some neighbour
who already keeps bees, to give him a swarm, with
the understanding that it is to be paid back if re-
quired. I have, however, seen bees bought, and for
a good deal less than gold, and I recollect an amus-
ing episode happening at a sale, where an old woman

April 1, 1SG7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

87

had two hives of bees, stand included, knocked
clown to her for six shillings. Some of our old-
fashioned auctioneers demand a shilling per head
for all live stock, as a sort of deposit, and no sooner
did the hammer fall, than the auctioneer, a merry
old fellow, and almost as fat as Daniel Lambert,
demanded from the old woman a shilling a piece for
every bee in the hives. But he got his answer in-
stantly, "Then yo' mun count 'em."

The pretty rye brome-grass (Bromus secalinus) and
the Darnel (Lolium temulentum) are both very com-
mon in some parts of Cheshire. The former is
known by the name of " Drook." A labourer once
told me that Drook was degenerated oats, and as a
convincing proof said that it was only found growing
amongst that grain, and that Darnel was degene-
rated wheat, and was never found amongst oats,
but I do not know whether this bebef is very
general in Cheshire. I could not persuade him that
he was mistaken, but a very little observation would
at least have shown him that drook is quite common
amongst wheat, and darnel amongst oats. Our
labourers, although they have nature's works con-
stantly spread out before their eyes, only distinguish
plants (unless it may be medicinal ones) by very
superficial characters; but they may be pardoned
for thinking that a drooping panicle of brome-grass
is somewhat akin to oats, and the stiff spike of
grain-bearing darnel is related to wheat.

Robert Holland.

STICKLEBACK IN SALT WATER.

FN answer to your correspondent E. S., I have
-*- myself tried simdar experiments last year on
both the three and ten-spined Sticklebacks, and
found both species alike would live and thrive in
salt as well as fresh water. I was induced to try
these experiments from having obtained several
full-grown specimens of the three-spined out of the
sea in shrimp-nets (vide Couch), which in two cases
were full of well-matured roe, but never met with
a ten-spined one under those circumstances. There
are several small streams which contain these fish,
running into the sea, and probably they were thus
carried down.

But the last part of your correspondent's letter
deserves much attention and close investigation as
of much interest to ichthyologists. I shall not pre-
tend or presume to offer any opinion on Ihe subject,
but will submit for consideration the following re-
marks : — Let it be taken for granted that all true
fish breathe through gills, that is, life is supported
by the blood being renovated by coming in contact
with the oxygen contained in the water, by means
of innumerable laminae on the surface of the gills.
Such being granted,

I. Why do most fresh-water fish die in salt water,
and vice versa ?

II. Why can a few of each sort live equally well
in either?

1. In the case of fresh-water fish. Submitted :—
Cannot the component parts of salt water, or par-
ticles of the different salts, so affect the gills that
they get incrusted (if I may use the word) there-
with, and thus prevent the required amount of oxy-
gen coming in contact with the blood ? Or, is it
not possible that the blood itself may become im-
pregnated with saline particles, which prove fatal
to life ? or, if impossible for such salts to enter thus
into the system, may not these particles on coming
in contact with the gills, decompose and unite writh
the oxygen, and thus cause death ?— Next, as to
salt-water fish dying in fresh water. May not the
very absence or want of these salts in the system
destroy life ? or, the action of these soluble particles
on the laminae may cause a muscular irritability
indispensable for the exhaustion of oxygen, and if
deprived of which the active principle ceases, and
death ensues ?

2. Where fish live in either fresh or salt water,
such as the salmon, stickleback, eel, mullet, &c, is
it not possible that with these and a few others,
they may have the power of disengaging or throwing
off those salts from the gills when exposed to their
action ? or, if admitted into the system, absorb them
without functional derangement ? Or else, will the
salt-water fish, when deprived of these salts, be able
to exert more muscular power and increased re-
spiration, and thus obtain the necessary supply of
oxygen ?

I am aware that objections may be raised to
placing the above-named fish under the same cate-
gory, as the salmon and eel are essentially nugatory
and require both conditions for their well-being,
whereas the mullet is a salt and the stickleback a
fresh-water fish. But I have done so advisedly, to
bring under notice the difficulties (at least to me) of
fixing a theory where different conditions have to
be brought under the question— "How do these
fish live in either water without visible inconve-
nience?" Might not the microscope reveal that
the gills of different species of fish vary ; and, if so,
even in an infinitesimal degree, taking into consider-
ation the immense area exposed to the action of the
water,* that variation might produce entire change
in the natural economy of the fish ?

Again. Has the blood of those fish now under
consideration been analysed; and if not, might it
not tend to show if any or what salts are necessary
to the one, absent in another, or present or absent
in the migratory ones at the period of migration to
and from the sea ?

Bridlington. H. H. Knocker, R.N.

* Mr. Couch says the surface of the whole gills of a large
skate is equal to 2,250 square inches, or more than fifteen
square feet.

ss

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[April 1, 1S67.

ZOOLOGY.

Black Spider of Jamaica. — There is a spider
in Jamaica the bite of which is venomous, being
speedily followed by inflammation, with pain and
swelling of the wounded part ; the natives are conse-
quently much afraid of it. It is of small size, the
body not being larger than a small pea, with short
legs. It is entirely black, except a spot of bright
scarlet upon the head, rendering it so conspicuous,
and at the same time so repulsive, that a person
unacquainted with its venomous properties would
instructively shrink from it ; a peculiar and interest-
ing provision of nature, observed in many obnoxious
animals, whereby, as St. Pierre and others have
remarked, mankind are put on their guard against
their attacks, from some peculiarity of form, colour,
sound, or other disgusting quality. — W. Sells, in.
Jourit. ~Ent. Soc, I. p. xlviii.

Pose-chafers. — A very pretty species of the
Cetoniadce, the Agestrata luconica, is of a fine
brilliant metallic green, and found in the Philippine
Islands. These the ladies of Manilla keep as pets
in small bamboo cages, and carry them about with
them whithersoever they may go. — Baud's Cyc.
Nat. Sci,

Little Bustard {Otis tetrax). — A female
specimen of this rare bird was shot by Mr. A rah am,
of South Clifton, Notts, December 21st, 1 S66. The
bird was purchased by Mr. Adriau, naturalist, of
Monson Street, Lincoln, by whom it is being pre-
served.— H. T. „?

The Redstart {Phcenicicra rtiticilla).— -The sill
of my study window being very much decayed, a
pair of redstarts chose it to rear their "young ones
in. During the time that the young ones required
their parents' attention, I frequently timed the
parent bird, and found that she came to the nest
twice in five minutes. Before she flew into the
nest, she always rested on an espalier, and flew from
it direct to the nest, so that I could always bave a
fair view of what she brought, which was chiefly
caterpillars. As far as singing went, tbe male did
his duty, for he sat for an hour together, in the
cherry-tree, pouring out his song; but he did
little in way of feeding the young. From early
dawn to dusk did the hen labour for her brood,
aud she could not bring less than 350 caterpillars
to the nest in a day ; and thus she did good to
that extent; and living, as they do, exclusively on
insects, I think they deserve to be classed among
our benefactors, and protected accordingly. The
cock is a very beautiful bird, in my opinion the
most handsome bird we have in England. The hen
is a much plainer bird than the cock, aud when she
flies, she shows the hazel-red feathers on her rump,

and is from that peculiarity called here the "brand-
tail" and "jenny red-tail." — John Banson, Linton-
on-Ouse, York.

Glaucous Gull {Larus glaucus).—K fine Glau-
cous Gull was shot near Dunbar on January 2nd,
J 867, by a fisherman of that place. It was a young
bird of the first year, and measured six feet across
the extended wings. Its total length was twenty-
seven inches. A Green-shank {Totanus glottis)
was also shot near Dunbar with some difficulty,
owing to its being very shy, on December 4th, 1S66.
— F. 31. Balfour, Whittinghame, Preslonkirk.

The ShipwormX^w/o navalis). — Destructive as
it may be, the Shipworm will ever be an object of
interest to Englishmen, inasmuch as its shell-lined
burrow gave to Sir I. Brunei the idea which was
afterwards so efficiently carried out in the Thames
Tunnel. And, though from tbe alteration of sur-
rounding circumstances, that wonderful monument
of engineering skill has not been so practically
useful as was anticipated, it has proved of incalcu-
lable value as pioneer to the numerous railway
tunnels of this aud other countries. — Rev. J. G.
Wood's "Homes without Hands."

Value of the Starling to the Farmer.— A
pair of starlings having built their nest in our roof,
I frequently timed the parents, and found that they
returned to the nest, on an average, once in five
minutes, and that their labours extended over seven-
teen hours a day, i.e. from three in the morning
until eight in the evening. This would make the
number of visits to the nest 204 in a day : thus, a
single pair of birds in the breeding season would
destroy 204 slugs, worms, or noxious insects a day,
and 5,712 during the month of attendance on their
young. In addition, it is to be remembered that
they live the whole year through on the same food.
Yet there are farmers who destroy them because
they build in the pigeon-cot ; but we are glad to
find them very much on the increase, and the old
prejudices giving way to sounder and more truthful
opinions ; for nothing could be more absurd than
the half-exploded idea, that because they built in
the pigeon-cot, they were injurious to the doves.
During the last five years, they have increased fifty-
fold in this village, and nearly every cottage has its
pair. This is in part owing to natural history
having some attention paid to it in the village
school. The starling is locally known as the " she-
poter." — J. Sanson, Linton-on-Ouse, York.

" Cardinals." — These spiders, although un-
doubtedly first introduced at Hampton Court
Palace, probably in some piece of furniture from
abroad, have spread thence for several miles round.
They are frequently taken in old houses and cot-
tages at Cobham, seven miles from Hampton Court
in a straight line. — IF. 11. Tate.

Ai-ril 1, ]SG7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

80

Spawning of the Erog.— It may interest Mr.
Dansey and others to know that the earliest date
on which I noticed frogs spawning last year in the
vicinity of London was March 17th — in 1S65,
April 4th. About the best place to which micro-
scopists can repair for finding frogs in spring is the
market-garden ground by the Thames, between
Chelsea and Eulham. The gardens are intersected
by numerous ditches cut from the river for the
purpose of affording a ready supply of water for the
ground, and in these ditches the frogs spawn. The
walk: through these gardens is a very pleasant one;
as the orchards afford shelter for numerous yellow-
hammers, greenfinches, and other interesting birds.
— W. 11. Tate.

Testacella Maugei is a snail not often found
in England. It is said to be a native of the Canary
Islands, and more than fifty years ago was trans-
ported into the nursery grounds' of an eminent firm
in business at Clifton, near Bristol, and is naturalized
in several localities in the West of England, pro-
bably sent out from the said nursery in the earth
with plants, in the same way in which it is supposed
to have been imported. It differs very much in
appearance, habits, and character, from our common
garden snail {Helix aspersa), or, indeed, from any of
the other varieties of land or water snails. It is a
ground snail of strictly carnivorous habits, pene-
trating the soil to the depth of two or three feet or
more, and preying voraciously upon earthworms ;
they are sometimes dug up in the act of devouring
a worm of large size, and admirably adapted is their
grinding apparatus (the palate) for this purpose.
When once the teeth are fixed in the worm, there is
no chance for its escape ; the teeth are long and
sharply pointed, and so numerous and strong, that
its victim is certain to meet with its death. The
palate differs from those of all other species, which,
by the bye, are all beautiful as microscopic objects,
but none are so peculiar, so extraordinary as this,
except perhaps that of the Doris tuberculata. It
polarizes verynicely when wellmounted, which should
not be done in balsam. Deane's gelatine is not an
unfit medium in which to mount it, and Remington's
(of Bradford) glycerine jelly answers well ; some-
times it is mounted dry, but I prefer the jelly_
They are sometimes found in Devizes, but not in
large numbers, and only when the gardeners are
preparing their ground for crops, or digging up
their crops, the demand here for them, for the sake
only of their palates is great, and the price high,
comparatively. I have bought them at a penny each,
but siuce the demand has increased, so has the
price ; I have paid lately sixpence each for them.
Four or five years ago I turned a few into my walled-
iu garden, with an expectation and hope that there
they would colonize, but I have not since seen one ;
nor is this remarkable, as they are seldom seen

above ground, and they arc so much the colour of
the ground that gardeners would not be likely to
notice them in digging unless they were looking
especially for them. They have no house on their
back as others have, but are provided with a small
shell near the posterior extremity, about one-fourth
of their length — a mere apology for a covering for
its body. When gliding along, the Testacella looks
more like a slug; but on close inspection it will be
seen that it has an appendage as above described.
Their interior structure appears to differ considerably
from others ; but I have not made a comparative
examination of their anatomical structure generally,
but of their palate only, which really is very remark-
able, and very large. I have no objection to exchange
one for a palate of either of the varieties of Testa-
cella.— /. J. Fox, Devizes.

Winter Butterflies. — The Brimstone Butter-
fly {Gonepteri/x rhamni) made its first appearance
here on Wednesday, the 2Sth of February ; when I
saw it fly past my drawing-room windows. I hear,
however, that it was seen at Uckfield, our post-town,
four miles off, some days previously. On Saturday,
the 2nd of March, one of my female servants caught
a fine specimen of the peacock butterfly {Vanessa 16)
behind some newspapers in a storeroom, where it
had probably been hibernating. It was very lively
when first captured, and flew about in the sun; but,
as the day declined, it became very sluggish, and
finally died in the afternoon. The mean thermo-
meter on the day in question only reached 33'9",
while that on the grass descended to 24°. — IF. N.

Water Boatman. — As a microscopist, of course
I possess an aquarium, need I say aquaria, if a 2oz.
bottle to a two-pailful glass tank are either of them
worthy of the name. At present I will treat only
of one in which I grow Vallisneria, Anacharis, &c,
&c. ; but independently of my vegetable life, I must
bring under notice one of the most interesting little
chaps in the animal line that I know of. I allude
to the water boatman, Notonecta glauca. The one in
my tank, however, does not appear to always swim
on his back, but uses his paddles in the truly legiti-
mate way ; he seems to find plenty to live on, and
the way in which he apparently rubs his nose and
then cleans his back, finally patting his own stomach,
would really do good to any of our city function-
aries. Altogether, let me recommend Notonecta to
possessors of aquaria.— John Bochett.

Stag Beetle {Lucanus cervus). — A popular
belief in Germany is ttiat the Stag Beetle carries
burning coals into houses, by means of its jaws, and
that it has thus occasioned many fearful fires.— The
Mirror, xix., p. ISO.

Origin of Crickets.— The Mormons say that
crickets are the produce of a cross between the
Spider and the Buffalo.— 7&w# and Brenchleij.

90

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[April 1, 1867.

BOTANY.

Poison and Antidote. — Eor the first time I
gathered the poison-oak {Rhus toxicodendron), a
pretty plant, that climbs by rootlets like the ivy, and
trails gracefully over both rocks and trees. Some
persons are most seriously affected by it, especially
such as are of fair complexion, if they only venture
near where it grows. It produces swelling about the
eyes, dizziness, and fever ; the poisonous effects are
most virulent when the plant is bursting into leaf.
I picked, examined, and walked amidst the trees
over which it twined thickly, but experienced not
the slightest symptoms of inconvenience. Still I
know others that suffer whenever they come near
it. Where the poison-oak thrives, there, too, grows
a tuber known to the settlers as Bouncing Bet, to
the botanist as Saponaria officinalis, the common
soap-wort. The tuber is filled with a mucilaginous
juice, which, having the property of entangling air
when whisked up, makes a lather like soap. This
lather is said to be an unfailing specific against the
effects of the poison-oak — the poison and its anti-
dote growing side by side. — /. K. Lord's " Natu-
ralist in Vancouver Island."

The Larch-Tree. — Amongst the timber which
was brought to Rome for the purpose' of building
the bridge called Naumachiaria, about the 20th year
a.d., was a Larch that measured two feet square in
thickness throughout, from end to end, and was of
the extraordinary length of 120 feet ; the tree must,
therefore, have been not less than from 130 tol50 feet
in height. Tiberius Caesar would not allow this won-
derful trunk to be used in the erecting of the bridge
then building, but commanded it to be placed where
all persons might see it as a curiosity, and where it
remained for about thirty years, until Nero em-
ployed it in building his vast amphitheatre. Dr.
Pallas, in his survey of the Russian dominions in
Asia, observed several tumuli in Kamtschatka, reared
at a period so remote that none of the present in-
habitants had any tradition respecting their origin.
The platform was covered by larch-wood, over which
the mound of earth was raised, and the wood was
found to be incorrupted. — Syha Florifera.

Ancient Names of Plants.— Much informa-
tion about them will be found in the " Cruydt
boek, or Herbarium " of the Belgian botanist, R.
Dodonasus, of which there are existing five Elemish,
one French, two Latin, and five English editions ;
the latter, 1st ed. 1578, under the name of " A new
Herball," translated by Henry Lyte, printed by
Van Der Loe at Antwerp, and "to be sold at
London in Powels Churchyarde, by Gerard Dewes/'
the second English edition (158G), and the 3rd
(1595), only have plates ; 1st, 4th (1000) and 5th
(1619) have none. The edition of 1595 was " im-

prented at London by Edmund Bollifant." In 1850,
Dr. Alavoine, of Malines, and Prof. Charles Morren,
of Liege, published a concordance of the names
given by Dodonseus, with the Linnaean denomina-
tions.—i?., Melle.

The Birch.— Christopher the Third, King of
Denmark, in 1450, received the unjust surname of
Berka Earning, which signifies King of Bark,
because in his reign there was such a scarcity that
the peasants were obliged to mix the bark of this
tree with their flour. — Syha Florifera.

Patthur-ke-phul. — Under this name two lichens
found in Britain, Parmelia perlata and Parmelia
perforata, are sold in the bazaars of India, and are
employed medicinally by the Hakeems, or native
doctors.

Pith. — The economic uses of pith have not been
numerous, but amongst them must be mentioned
the rice-paper used in China, and prepared by
Kieung ; the pith of the JEschynomene, and the
Aralia papyrifera, cut in a circular manner, so as
to obtain large thin and evenly-cut sheets. It is
used for drawing, and for writing. The cellular
pith-like stems of the JEschynomene aspera, called
" shola," have been forwarded to this country, from
India, and have been made into various ornaments,
models of buildings, hats, boxes, and life-buoys.
Its lightness and non-conducting property of heat,
render it very fitted for the manufacture of hats. —
Dr. Edward Smith.

Babeer. — In the February number there is a
notice of the true papyrus having been discovered in
the marshes of the Huleh, by the Bev. H. B. Tris-
tram. Dr. Thomson, in his " Land and the Book,"
speaking of the same locality, says, — " It is an im-
penetrable jungle of ordinary cane, mingled with that
peculiar kind called ' babeer,' from whose stems the
Arabs make coarse mats for the walls and roofs of
their huts. This cane is the prominent and distinc-
tive production of these marshes, both at the north
and south end of the lake. I have seen it also on
the banks of brooks on the plain of Sharon, north of
Jaffa. The stalk is not round, but triangular. It
grows eight or ten feet high, and ends above in a
wide-spreading tuft of stems like broom-corn, shoot-
ing out in every direction with surprising regularity
and beauty. It imparts a singular appearance to
the whole marsh, as if ten thousand thoua nd
brooms were waving over it." Is this "babeer
cane " another, or merely local, name for the true
papyrus? If so, it would appear to be more
widely distributed in Palestine. Du Chaillu, I
believe, mentions the papyrus in Western Equa-
torial Africa, as also Speke, in one of the lakes near
the source of the Nile.— E. D. C.

April 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

91

MICROSCOPY.

Hints to Object Mounters.— The following
few bints on mounting objects for tbe microscope
may possibly be of service to tbe large number of
amateurs who are engaged in tbe study of tbat
instrument. Tbese remarks refer to Canada balsam,
the medium used for all, excepting certain classes of
objects which require to be mounted dry or in some
fluid. Eirst, with reference to bottles used to con-
tain the balsam and turpentine, I should recommend
the wide-mouthed bottles with covers which fit out-
side the neck ; this effectually prevents the recur-
rence of a constant source of annoyance to those
who close their bottles with corks in the ordinary
way, for in withdrawing a drop of balsam with the
glass rod or wire while mounting an object, it fre-
quently happens that the inside of the neck is
smeared with it, the cork is presently inserted and
when next it is used is stuck fast, and in removing
it some small fragments are torn off and probably
fall into the balsam, and perhaps sometime or other
get into a good mounting and materially injure it ;
by adopting the above method this accident will be
impossible. It will also be advisable to use the
same sort of bottle for tbe turpentine, as it prevents
dust and dirt accumulating round the neck, and
getting into the preparations. These bottles may
be obtained at any glass bottle warehouse; they
are manufactured by the York Bottle Company,
either with screw covers (which are preferable), or
merely tightly fitting covers lined with cork, which
answer the purpose perfectly. Turpentine is a
most important article in mounting in balsam, and
too much care cannot be used in obtaining it pure ;
the compound sold in the oilshops is generally a
vile mixture, containing but a very small portion of
pure turpentine, and quite unfitted for use in mount-
ing ; it may, however, be procured of good quality
of any respectable chemist, at a cheap rate, and is
known as " spirits of turpentine." The following
is a method of proceeding which I adopt in mount-
ing in Canada balsam objects of great delicacy,
which will not bear drying on slides without great
risk of damage in removing. The object, on being
taken out of the potash or other solution, is
thoroughly washed in clean, warm water, and when
perfectly clean, immersed in spirits of wine (the
ordinary methylated spirit answers perfectly). It
should remain for some little time, say half an hour
or so, and may then be removed, slightly dried on
blotting paper, transferred to the turpentine, re-
maining there as long as necessary, and then
mounted in balsam in the usual way. In this plan
of proceeding it will be seen that the object is
never once dried, and is therefore not so liable to
get damaged as in the ordinary way of drying on
a slide and then removing. I might here mention

that I do not think the plan of drying on slides
and then immersing the whole in turpentine is al-
together satisfactory; for however well an object
may be washed, it always leaves a trace of im-
purity on the slide on which it is dried, and with-
out removing it of course this cannot be got rid of.
The balsam I prefer is that usually sold at the
shops, thinned when necessary with pure spirit of
turpentine ; the chloroform and balsam I have no
liking for, and must say I have not found it as
satisfactory as the unsophisticated article.— G. E.
Cox, F.EJI.S., 9, Mincing Lane.

Whelk Eggs. —Are the readers of Science-
Gossip generally aware of the extreme beauty of
the membrane enclosing the eggs of the common
Whelk {Buccinum tuidatum), when placed under the
polarizing apparatus ? The softness of the colouring
and the delicate blending of the tints are equalled
by few, and surpassed by none, of the polarizing
objects with which I am acquainted.. The bunches
of whelk's eggs are (as every seaside visitor knows)
a " common object of the seashore." I have a few
by me, and shall be happy to supply them, as far as
they will go, to any one sending a stamped envelope
to Rev. W. Spicer, Itchen Abbas, Alresford.

The membrane must, of course, be mounted in
balsam.

Genera and Species of Diatoms. — At the
meeting of the Quekett Microscopical Club, held
February 22nd, an interesting communication was
read from Mr. E. Kitton, of Norwich, on the con-
struction of genera and species upon insufficient
data. The illustrations and application of the re-
marks were chiefly confined to the Diatomacese ; and
the writer contended that it was very unwise to
accept a single specimen, or a portion of a frustule,
as a type, and constitute thereupon a new species
or new genus. Instances were quoted in which this
course had been adopted, to the great confusion of
the student ; and he further affirmed that it would
be better to throw such unique or imperfect speci-
mens into the fire, and not attempt to name a new
form as a distinct species until a good gathering had
been made. In further confirmation of his views,
he adverted to the variation in contour of well-
known forms, derived from different localities, and
the difference in the markings, or striae, in the
secondary layer of the silicious shields, which had
on some occasions been accepted as distinct species.
The tendency had been greatly to multiply both
species and genera of Diatoms, without regard to
the mutability of form, resulting from the influence
of external conditions, and consequently, to create
almost inextricable confusion by a formidable array
of synonyms. The limits of species and genera
have of late attracted so much attention, that
the subject of the above paper acquired thereby
additional interest.

92

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[April 1, 1SG7.

GEOLOGY.

" Giants in those Days."— There is a widely-
spread popular tale, common to Ireland and Scot-
land, and told with many variations. The gist of it
is, that in the days of Eionn there were deer and
birds far larger than any which now exist. Ossian,
it is said, when old and blind, lived in the house of
his father-in-law, or in the house of St. Patrick, and
they were busily writing down all he had to tell them
of the history of the Eeinne. But no one would
believe what he said about the strength of the men,
and the size of the deer, the birds, the leaves, and
the rolls of butter,— that these were in the "Eeinne,"
the country and age of Eionn. To convince the
unbelievers, the last of the old race prayed that he
might have one more day's hunting, and his
prayer was heard. A boy and a dog, the worst of
their class, came to him in the night, and with them
he went to some unknown glen. There, with many
strange incidents, it is told how they found a whistle
and a store of arms, and a great caldron ; and how
the blind hero collected deer and birds by sounding
his whistle, or horn, or "dord." Deer came as big
as houses, or birds as big as oxen. Guided by the
boy, his hand drew the bow and slew the quarry, and
when the chase was done, they dined as heroes used
to dine. A hind-quarter was brought home, and the
bone of an ox went round about in the marrow-hole
of the shank of the creature which Ossian had
brought from the "Eeinne." With endless variations
this story is told all over Scotland and Ireland; and
it is firmly believed by a very large class of her
Majesty's Celtic subjects in Ireland, Scotland, and
Wales, that there were giants and monstrous animals
in the days of King Arthur and of Eionn. There
is no geological evidence yet for gigantic men, but
peat-bogs, gravels, and caves, are full of the bones
of beasts as big as a small haystack ; and the word
used in the talc, " con," means " elk " as well as
bird.— Campbell's "Frost and Fire."

Ancient Nuts. — I am in possession of some
hazel nuts (Corylus Avellana), of the filbert variety,
which were procured with many others, and the
antlers of a deer, from the remains of a forest
between forty and fifty feet below the bed of the
River Trent — this was bored through in excavating
for a foundation for the piers of the railway bridge
at Keadby. The nuts, as regards the shell, arc in a
perfect state of preservation, blackened of course
by age, and without any kernel; whether natu-
rally so, or as the effect of time, 1 am unable to say,
but in all probability the latter. Now, as it is well
known that at the period of the Roman invasion,
upwards of 1,900 years since, an immense forest
existed in this part of Lincolnshire (Isle of Ax-
holme), and the adjacent Yorkshire district, west of
the river Don, and that as a place of refuge for the i

Brigantes and Coritani, it was destroyed by the
invaders, either by fire or the axe ; the inference
is tolerably certain that the date at which these
nuts grew, could not be posterior to that event, but
in fact might have been anterior to it. It is mani-
fest, however, that since that time, great changes
must have taken place in the relative level of land
and water, for at the depth where we now find the
remains of these trees, none could at present grow.
It is obvious, too, that the river must have altered
its course, and that in all probability, its channel
was more easterly, and at the base of that range of
hills of the secondary and oolitic formation, known
now as the cliffs, and which from the enormous
quantities of fossil shells, such as, Grypluea, JJnio,
Terebratttlce, &c. found there, must have formed the
bed of an ancient sea. To return, however, to the
nuts, I am in a position to state that many have been
recently found at Hull, of probably greater antiquity
even than those I have by me. — Henry W. T. Fills.

Ancient Sea-makks on the coast or Sweden.
— At the meeting of the Geological Society, held
6th March, 1S67, a paper was read by the Right
Hon. the Earl of Selkirk, E.R.S, E.G.S., which
contained a detailed description of some observations
made in the month of July, 1866, upon certain
marks placed so as to show the level of the sea on
the coast of Sweden, which were seen by Sir Charles
Lyell thirty-two years ago, and which were sup-
posed to indicate a gradual and equable rise of the
land of about three feet in a century. Two of these
marks were off the harbour of Gefle, and one on
the Island of Graso, off Oregrund, on the east coast
of Sweden ; the rest were on the west coast, a little
to the north of Goteberg. The conclusion arrived
at was that these marks do not afford any very
certain proof of such rise of the land ; the fluctu-
ation of the level of the water being so great that
any difference of the level of the land in thirty-two
years is lost in comparison with the daily and
weekly changes owing to shifts of wind and other
causes affecting the water, not the land. The marks
off Gefle gave most indication of a change of level ;
but there were various elements of uncertainty
connected with them.

The Use of Fossils in geological investigations
is very considerable. They tell us of time elapsed,
as well as mechanical changes effected, and of con-
ditions of existence of animals and vegetables dif-
ferent from the present. They are also, by their
specific character, by their mode of grouping, and
by the succession observable with regard to them,
characteristic of geological formations. They are,
in fact, the very hieroglyphics of nature, marking
the condition of the earth at the time and place of
their deposit ; and thus they are the true materials
from which wc deduce the earth's history. — Prof.
D. T. Amted.

Arnn, 1, 1SG7.J

HARDWICKE'S SC IE N CE-GOSS IT.

93

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Bieb Slaughter.— In almost every number of
Science Gossip and other similar journals, some
energetic naturalist announces the "interesting"
fact of his having "succeeded "in shooting some
rare or beautiful bird or birds,— in one case no less
than 41. In fact a bird has only to possess these
qualities, which one would think ought to insure
its preservation, and every gun in the locality ap-
pears to be pointed at it. If the present system of
destruction continue, many species of our existing
birds, winch now give an additional charm to
nature's handiwork, will soon become a matter of
history, represented only by a few stuffed speci-
mens/or, like the Dodo and Moa, by a skeleton or
solitary egg. I am pleased to read the remarks of
Mr. Tate on this subject. So far from being in-
teresting, the exploits of these bird-killers arc dis-
tressing^ all true lovers of nature.— E. Greenhoiigh,
Matlock.

Wind Courses. — Wherever a tree grows on the
western coast of Ireland, it bows its head to the
north-east. Every exposed Welsh tree bends
towards the dawn. Every exposed tree on the west
coast of Scotland seems to be driven by a furious
wind on the calmest day. About Edinburgh it is
the same. On the east coast, in North Berwick
Law, an old thorn-tree streams towards the north-
east, and every tree in that neighbourhood that
dares to peep over a wall, straightway assumes the
form of an old broom, and points eastwards. —
" Frost and Fire."

Polarizing. — Mr. Bestall, of Camberwell New-
road, has for some time past been in the habit of
making an interesting apparatus for the exhibition
of the effects of polarized light. It consists of two
or three plates of glass about six inches square,
some objects, as a flower, parrot, butterfly, &c,
prepared and mounted, about three inches square,
and a little "box of mystery," about an inch
square, to be held in the Augers and_ peeped
through. Though not announced as anything new,
it well deserves to be better known, as a good
popular mode of exhibiting the effects of polarized
light. '

A Boy Charmed by Serpents.— " Can the
above be true?" asks "J. B." in Science Gossip,
after quoting from an American paper a long account
of a child having been fascinated by serpents. With
a vivid recollection of a Welsh tale told me in my
youthful days, I should say decidedly not. The
Maysmlh Fagh has only Americanized a Cambrian
fable which ran thus. A little boy of five years old
was observed by his mother to carry off his bowl of
bread and milk into the garden every morning, and
on bning questioned, said he shared his breakfast
with two "pretty things." His father followed him
the next day, and saw to his horror two large snakes
(all the Welsh, in the lower ranks of life, regard
every snake as venomous) eating out of his boy's
basin. The visitors were rather greedy, it would
appear, for the boy had occasionally to give one or
other of them a pat on the head with his wooden
spoon. Breakfast over, a game of play ensued, and
at last the child was allowed to return to the
cottage unharmed ; but on being prevented from
again joining his playfellows, the snakes, he "pined
away and died." — H. F. Watney.

Pork Measles. — A few days ago, a man brought
a piece of pork to me for microscopical examination.
In cutting up the carcase, of which the piece
brought me was a portion, his attention was
attracted by certain small, almost round, fat-like
bodies, which were profusely scattered through the
whole of the flesh, but most abundant in that of
the shoulders. They were imbedded in elongated
cavities about three times their own size. They
are clearly parasitic organisms. I have examined
many of them and find them alike. The part I take
for the head is very curious — it appears to be com-
posed of five ciicular parts ; four of which, looking
like suckers, are arranged round a centre one con-
taining a great number — perhaps from fourteen to
twenty claws, very like those found in the fingers of
Ophiocoma. The interior I take to be a _ sack or
cell, whose inner membrane is gathered in folds.
And it is filled with an immense number of spore-
like granules, some of which are elongated — con-
stricted several times, as though they had been
growing. — B. Taylor.

The specimens above alluded to were forwarded
to Dr. Cobbold, who has kindly furnished the follow-
ing reply :— I have carefully examined the parasites
forwarded by Mr. Taylor. They are well formed
and highly characteristic examples of the so-called
pork-measle, or Cysticercus telce cellulosce. Mr.
Taylor's description, so far as it goes, is very good ;
but should he desire further particulars relating to
the structure and economy of these organisms, you
will please to refer him to my large treatise on the
"Entozoa" (p. 216, Plate 12), or to my smaller
work on "Tapeworms," in which (at p. 19, et seq.)
he will find a popular exposition respecting the
origin and development of this minute larval para-
site. I may mention, as a fact likely to interest
your readers, that only yesterday I examined a
portion of human brain, which, strange to say, con-
tained an astonishing number of these Cysticerci. If
any ardent sewage-distributor should read your
useful little journal, I hope he will duly reflect on
the importance of this fact, and console himself with
the thought that his benevolent designs may not
unfrequently be the (undesigned) means of hurrying
some fellow creature into eternity. — T. Spencer
Cobbold, M.D., F.R.S.

Cleaning Reflectors. — At a time when so
many of the microscopical lamps are fitted with
reflectors which require constant cleaning, I would
beg to recommend that all parties possessing some,
should obtain a small bottle of negative photo-
graphic varnish ; that called Scehnceis the best; and
warm the underneath side of the reflector until the
hand can only just bear the heat, and then, with
a slight rotatory motion, coat the silvered side with
varnish. I used to clean all my reflectors once even-
week with very fine jewellers' rouge and water,
using my little finger as a polisher, just the same as I
do in the case of my Lieburkuhns and side reflec-
tors, but as the lamp reflectors are so thinly coated
with silver the copper soon appears through.
Since I have adopted this varnishing plan, not a
single cleaning has taken place for now six weeks,
and their brightness is unimpaired. — John Boekett.

Drilling Glass.— A ready and inexpensive
mode of drilling glass slides may be of use to some
of your numerous readers. Obtain a small three-
sided saw file, grind the apex into a triangular
sharp point— not too acute, as it will be apt to
break if the steel is, as it should be, very hard—

91

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[April 1, 1867.

apply the sharp point of the file (previously wetted
with turpentine) to the glass to be perforated, with
firm pressure, keeping the point of the file in the
same spot, and giving the upper part a motion from
side to side, and also circular. The moment the
surface of the glass is abraded the action will go on
rapidly, keeping the point still wet with spirit of
turpentine. When half way through it is best to
hegin on the other side of the glass. When the
aperture is made sufficiently large, it may be in-
creased by using a small "rat-tailed" file, kept wet
with the turpentine. — /. B. Spencer.

Sensitive Plants. — There are said to be three
plants of the British Elora that give manifestations
of sensitive properties, of which the Berberry is one.
Pray oblige by supplying the names , of the two
others. — /. L. B.

An Egg within an Egg. — I saw to-day a rather
large hen's egg ; the interior had been eaten at
breakfast; at the pointed end inside was found a
smaller egg, about the size of a ringdove's, and
joined on one side to the shell of the outside one.
This, I believe, differs from previous communica-
tions.— C. A. J.

A Confiding Chaffinch. — I constantly see
anecdotes of birds in Science Gossip, so the
following instance of tameness on the part of a
chaffinch may not be uninteresting, and as it was
related to me by an eye-witness, the gentleman to
whom the house and garden belonged, I can vouch
for its being a fact. Sir R. and Lady N. were
staying in Hertfordshire last spring, and they noticed
a chaffinch's nest in a low alcove in the garden. The
hen bird was sitting when they first observed her,
but iu a few days the young birds were hatched,
and Lady N. amused herself by feeding them. The
mamma chaffinch did not approve of this at all ; at
first, she perched on an adjoining tree out of reach,
evidently in much alarm, but became in a short
time so bold that she positively would remain on
the side of the nest, and, after her young family
had been fed, open her own beak for a dainty
morsel. The male bird was always within sight,
and used to sing while the meal was going on, but
uever conquered his shyness so far as to come and
partake of Lady N.'s hospitality. — Helen Watney.

Destruction of Small Birds. — Mr. C. Roach
Smith, F.S.A., offers a plea for small birds in the
Gentleman's Magazine. He concludes thus : — " Can
we wonder at the increase of the insects which
destroy our fruits, and at the great loss sustained by
those who have extensive orchards and gardens ?
The birds are the only possible agents to counteract
.the deadly unseen insects which are every hour being
bred almost everywhere. _ Nature has formed the
bird's eye for detecting insects where the eye of
man is useless. Wholly destroy the birds, and the
fruit is wholly destroyed. At Hartlip, some years
ago, in the face of truth and facts, the sparrows
were exterminated entirely as being injurious ! The
orchards were immediately covered with the webs
and nests of innumerable caterpillars and other
insects ; and in two years it was calculated that
over £1,000 was lost in consequence of this insane
slaughtering. But far more startling instances
could be adduced ; and yet we see no steps taken to
stay the evil ! 1, sir, look more to youth than to
the hardened man, who has steeled himself into
erroneous convictions, and will never part with them
but with life. It is not so with boys — they are to

be reasoned with ; and if the country gentry and
clergy would make friends of them, ana explain the
nature and use of birds, and their importance in the
great scheme of Providence, I am assured they
would soon be induced to be protectors, instead of
destroyers, of the birds ; and they would thus find
doing good much more grateful and profitable than
working evil."

Bedeguar (p. 71). — Johann Leunis, in his
" Synopsis der Naturgeschichte des Thierreichs,"
says that the name is " Aus dem Hebraischen
Bedeguach, Rosenapfel, gebildet (formed from the
Hebrew Bedeguach, or Rose Apple)." I am not
aware whether the Rose Apple {Jambosa vulgaris,
Dec.) was known to the Hebrews. If it was, there
is perhaps sufficient similarity between its feathery
stamens and the filamentous coating of the Bede-
guar to have led them to transfer the name from
the flower to the gall— W. W. S.

Santonin.— Can any correspondent tell me how
to procure good slides of this salt ? I have tried
fusion on the slide itself, and solution in boiling
spirit, with indifferent success. Is Canada Balsam
the best medium for mounting ? — E. 31.

The Blood Beetle (p. 71). — The simple fact
that the Beetle described by Mr. Ullyett at p. 26
exuded a "sanguineous fluid" would in itself be
sufficient to shield him from the suspicion of having
mistaken the Oil Beetle for it. As far as my
experience goes, the Blood Beetle is very much
commoner than the Oil Beetle. The English name
of each species ably indicates its distinctive pecu-
liarity.— B.

The remarks of Mr. Hawkes in your last number
caused me to look very carefully over the descrip-
tion of the Blood Beetle which I had given, for
they made me wonder what egregious mistake I
had made. I must confess, however, that I can see
none, and that I am utterly at a loss to conceive
how any one that had ever seen the beetle could
confound it with the Oil Beetle (Ifeloe majalis),
which belongs to a totally different family. This
latter is the one represented (and very well, too) in
AVood's " Common Objects." The male and female
of both majalis and laevigata differ in little else but
size. I am quite willing to acknowledge that the
broad tarsi serve more particularly for the purpose
he mentions, but must request him to catch and
examine the female of the latter, as he will find the
tarsi are not " slender and narrow," but almost as
broad as those of the male. It certainly does
appear necessary to have our very commonest
beetles figured as well as described. — Hy. Ullyett.

Early Wasp. — On the 3rd of March I found on
one of the windows in my dining-room, a wasp
{Vespa vulgaris), of course a female, in a semi-
torpid condition, but which, on being placed under
a glass-shade in a warm situation, speedily revived,
and soon began to feast on some sugar placed near
it. ,The weather for the three previous days had
been cold, with light easterly winds, sharp frosty
nights, but a brilliant sun, and to this last circum-
stance may, probably, be attributed the fact of the
insect having emerged from its retreat, at a period
considerably earlier than has been recorded by
White, Markwich, or any other observer, except
Jenyns, who gives somewhere about the same date
for its first appearance. — Henry W. T. Ellis.

April 1, 1807.]

HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE. GOSSIP.

Halo bound Shadow. — I hare observed a

phenomenon (and probably others have noticed the
same) which appears to me to be of interest, when
taken in connexion with the note in your January
number, entitled, " Halo of a Shadow," and with
two others in the succeeding number. If an in-
dividual stands in the rays of strong sun-light, his
shadow falling on a white ground, say a white
marble slab, the shadow will be seen to present
around, or without its margin, an appearance like
mist or smoke in motion, or rather of the shadow of
one or the other. The appearance is seen where
the naked body gives its shadow, and also in a less
degree where the shadow is cast from a portion of
the body covered with clothes. I myself have set
down this wavy or smoky appearance to the transpi-
ration from the skin, but am I right ?— R. G.

The Phosphorescent Centipede. — "M. G. P."
asks the name of this. As I was coming home one
evening last August, I found several among the
herbage, and took one home. It proved to be that
represented in " Wood's Natural History," vol. iii.,
p. 693, ArthronomaltiS longicornis. — Hy. Ullyett.

Palse Hair as a Cause of Disease. — On
Thursday evening at the Harveian Society of Lon-
don, the scieutiiic points involved in the "chignon
question" were commented upon by Dr. Tilbury
Pox in a paper which had reference to the influence
of parasites in the production of diseased conditions
of the skin. It has been asserted, first, that false
hair contains the germs of pediculi, which are de-
veloped by the warmth supplied by the human
head; secondly that bodies called "gregarinae"
exist in false hair, and may become pediculi. The
first statement is wholly incorrect, but the so-called
"nits" are nothing but empty shells, whence the
young pediculi have escaped. The female pediculus
lays her ova at the part of the hair close to the
scalp; in six days the young are hatched, the
empty shell is carried forward by the growiug hair,
and as this is cut from the head at the distance of from
one to two inches, no true ova are brought away
with it. The inference is clear that no false hair
ever contains the materials from which pediculi
develop, and where these are present their exist-
ence must be accounted for by uncleanliness. The
second statement is equally untrue ; gregarines are
only found in Russian hair, which does not enter
the English market ; they have vegetable affinities,
and never give rise to any form of insect. In his
large experience of diseased states Dr. Pox stated
he had never seen them once on the hair. Lastly,
he described a real source of danger as yet unnoticed
by any observer. On some of the light brown or
reddish false hair of German origin, he had found a
species of " mildew " fungus, which unquestionably
would, if implanted upon the surface of weak per-
sons, give rise to "ringworm" and he produced
microscopic evidence and instanced cases in which
he had apparently seen mischief result in this way.
Cleanliness is a great preventive of evil, and such
hair should be subjected to proper processes to
insure protection against the production of disease.
While the great majority of the statements that
have been made recently about "chignons" are
wholly untrue and absurd, there is no doubting the
fact that without proper precaution the use of false
hair may give rise to certain uncomfortable con-
ditions of the part next which it is worn, but that
even this source of evil may be remedied. — Times,
March 9.

Aquarium Pest. — My experience (of many years'
standing) with aquariums is that the snail spawn
does hatch, and the. young, if allowed, grow to a
good size, but with much thinner and brighter
shells than their pond relatives. Also that the
fishes, particularly the sticklebacks, do eat, not the
spawn, but the young snails, to an extent that
prevents most of them from arriving at maturity.
The jelly is sometimes gnawed in holes; I think
by the beetles. — Henry Faulkner, Jun.

Aquarium Pest.— Can any of your numerous
correspondents suggest a plan by which the Aniscus
— an insect that devours the roots of the Valisneria
—can be destroyed without disturbing the aqua-
rium ? Do any of the smaller water-beetles feed
upon them? If so, what variety? Any prac-
tical suggestion will be thankfully received by
J. S.

We have also received communications on this
subject from L. A. G. and H. M., which want of
space compels us to postpone.

Waterton's Process. — Your correspondent
"H. M. G." will find this fully described in the last
edition of "Lee's Taxidermy" (Longman & Co.).
It is described as performed by Mr. Waterton him-
self in the presence of the writer. — Jas. W. Impey.

Hyalodiscus. — I do not find that Pritcharcl
gives the pretty diatom, Hyalodiscus subtilis, var.
Icevis, as a British species. I find it in the washings
of weeds and stones, procured from under Bangor
Suspension Bridge. 1 have a slide to spare, and
shall be happy to send it, to any one who studies
their forms, through the Editor of Science-Gossip.
— R. G.

The Rhythm of Plames. — In the Gossip for
last month there is an inaccuracy or an omission
which I wish to correct. A palm is assigned to Dr.
Tyndall, which he has not claimed for himself, and
which belongs to another. In the Philosophical
Magazine for February, Dr. Tyndall has published
an abstract of his lecture ; and in it he alludes to
Mr. Barrett (the lecturer on Experimental Science
at the International College) as having indepen-
dently observed not only the effect of sound upon
flames, but also the increase of light which accom-
panies the shortening of a flame by a musical
sound, and the superior effect of high notes. In
the same magazine for March, Mr. Barrett gives
the history of his discovery, and an account of his
experiments. He observed the extreme sensitive-
ness of a tall and tapering gas-flame while producing
the higher notes on a vibrating plate. He found
this flame shrank down several inches at a sharp
and shrill sound. Subsequently, having intensified
this phenomenon, he made a number of beautiful
experiments on similar flames. The jumping of a
fish-tail flame in response to musical sounds, an
effect the reverse of the above, had been observed
in 185S by Professor Leconte. To Leconte, there-
fore, is due the discovery of the spasmodic pro-
jection of tongues of flame by a fish-tail jet ; and
to Mr. Barrett we owe the observation of the
sensitiveness of a long and slender flame. In Mr.
Barrett's article above referred to, he says he was
made aware for the first time of Leconte's dis-
covery by the article of Dr. Tyndall. The discovery
may or may not lead to more important results, yet
to correct an inaccuracy so often repeated cannot
be unimportant. — R. W., Brixton.

93

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[April 1, 18C7.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

All communications relative to advertisements, post-office
orders, and orders for the supply of this Journal should be
addressed to the Pi/blishkr. All contributions, books,
and pamphlets for the Editor should be sent to 192,
Piccadilly, London, W. To avoid disappointment, contri-
butions should not be received later than the 15th of each
month. A'o notice whatever can be taken of communi-
cations which do not contain the name and address of the
writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be with-
held. 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 mierht 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 manu-
script 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 : x 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 inad-
missible under any circumstances. Those of the popular
names of British plants and animals are retained and regis-
tered for publication when sufficiently complete lor that
purpose, in whatever form may then be decided upon.
Address No. 192, Piccaiiii.lv, London', W.

F. A. C. — Menyanthes trifoliata grows on Hampstead
Heath ; the others are American plants. Not stated whether
dried or growing plants are required.

W. A. L. — As C. B. resides in Vienna, he cannot answer
for himself. We know of no place in England where the
articles can be obtained.

J. P. and T. H. N. — As there must be a limit somewhere,
we have resolved not to admit apparatus into our Exchange
column, which is designed for objects in Natural History.

E. D. C— Most probably.

E. T. S. — Macrosporium sarcinula.

R. G. — The Podura, doubtfully referred to Achorvtes fime-
taria at p. "2, accords with the JJesoria viatica of Nicolet ;
but his descriptions are so concise that it is difficult to speak
positively. — I. 0. W.

A. B. P. — A great deal of nonsense ha« been written about
" Gregarines " developing into Pediculi. There is more
romance than truth in the newspaper reports.

R. H. — The book you mention is probably Daniel Cooper's
" Flora Metropolitana : or, Botanical Rambles within Thirty
Miles of London" (S. Highlev, 183b); or possibly the Middle
sex portion of Turner & Dillwyn's " Botanist's Guide." Both
these, however, have been superseded by Watson's "New
Botanist's Guide ; but Dr. Trimen's announced " Flora of
Middlesex " will be likely to give you the most recent infor-
mation.— N.

T. H., Ju.v. — 1. Hypnum (Brachythecium) rutabnhim ; 2.
The same, vat. Q longiselum ; 3. Atrichum undulatum 3

4. Hypnum (Brachythecium) Velutinum.—R. B.

A. N. — Forwarded to E. H. R. as requested.

H. M. G. — "Taxidermy made Easy" (Gardiner, 52, High
Holborn, W.C., price Is. 6d.) contains Waterton's Method of
Stuffing Birds, reprinted from his " Wanderings."

W. H. — See answer to H. M. G. above. For insects, " The
Butterfly Collector's Manual" (Kent & Co.), or the volume of
" Insect Miscellanies."

H. P. A. — We cannot judge from the name alone. Send
drawing and description.

Acarus.— Letters and specimens from the following duly
leceived :— W. W. S., A. S., W. T. I.

W. C— See our oft-repeated notice at the head of this
column.

J. G.— Thanks for your offer. See the reply to H. M. G.

A. J. and R. H. N. B. — Compel ns again to say that we
cannot notice communications where the name of tlie writer
is not given.

T. P. — Thuidium tamariscinum, Br and Sch. (Hypnum
tarn. Hedg.), Common. — R. B.

H. G. G — 1. Ompliulod.es verna, a Boraginaceous plant,
nearly allied to Cynoglosswm, of which genus it was formerly
considered a species. 2. Not frequent. 3. The white-flowered
variety of Lamium purpureum is not uncommon. — B.

C. H. G. — 1. No. 2. We cannot say. 3. Question is not
clear. 4. None specially. 5. Dr. Carpenter's work on the
Microscope, pp. 618, second edition.

Waterton's Process. — We have to thank numerous cor-
• respondents who have sent manu-cript directions for this
i process, or indicated in what books it is to be found.

J. S. K. — Your Lichens are common species, and may he

', found in any old orchard. We cannot undertake to return

specimens ; duplicates must be kept, with corresponding

numbers. 1. Ramalinn fraiinea; 2. Rnmalinu fustiginta ;

' 3. Ecernia prunastri ; 4. Borrera ciliaris; 5. Usnea hirta. —

I R. B.

J. E. T.— Tortilla fallax.— R. B.

A. W. C. — They may be found in a recent number of the
Microscopical Journal.

M. A. B. — We should think one of the large silk-houses in
the City, but much depends upon the quantity you have to
dispose of.

Youghal. — Your specimen is a portion of a vulcanic bomb,
probably introduced with ballast. — R. T.

W. M. — Tne report is unfortunately derived through too
trustworthy a channel to leave much hope of its being un-
true that Dr. Livingstone, the celebrated African traveller,
has been murdered bv natives.

EXCHANGES.

Salicine and Seeds (20 varieties), mounted, for Entomo-
logical or other mounted slides. — E. M., 6, Holford-square,
Peiitouville, W.C.

Podura Scales (Podura plumbea), mounted as test
object*, for other unmounted objects. — E. Histed, 3, Great
Bourne-street, Hastings.

Mosses. — Fifty capsules of Bryum calophyllum for one of
Zieria demissa, and ten of B. lacustre for one of Webera
acuminata. — J. Whitehead, 17, ohaw-street, Dunkinfield,
Cheshire.

Dicravum crispi'.m for other British mosses. — Send lists
to G. E. Wright, 18, Brunswick-street, Manchester.

Microscopic Objects (mounted or unmounted) for Spicula
or other objects. — Lists to W. H., Stamp Office, Fording-
bndge.

Wasiiivcs from Wiltshire Chalk (unmounted) for other
objects.— W. F. H., D. Harding & fcon, Winchester-street,
Salisbury.

Kentish Glory, and other rare Insects, for British or
Foreign Shells. — J. W. Taylor, 7, Freehold- street, Leeds.

Fossil Earth from Toome Bridge, or mounted Diatoms,
for Ichaboe guano (unmounted), old deposit, 1844. — E. W.,
48, Tollington-road, Holloway, N.

Foraminifbrous Sand fmm Smyrna. — Stamped envelopes
to G. E.Q., 109, Long-lane, Southwark, S.E.

BOOKS RECEIVER.

"The Technologi-t," No. 8. New Series. March, I867.

Hard wicke's "Bibliographical and General Index to Current
Literature," No. 1. Oct. to Dec, 1866.

"The Twin Records of Creation," by G. W. V. Le Vaux.
London : Lockwood & Co.

" Second Annual Report of the Bolton Scientific Students'
Association." Bolton. 1866.

Communications Received.— F. A. C— T. H., Jun.— B —
J. J F.— E. T. S.— J. L. B.-J. P.— R. H.— .1. V.— E. D. B.—
T. R.— E. S.Wr.— F. S.— A. B.— J. B. S.— W.T. I.--F. A. A.—
C. R. D.— A. L.— W. R. T.— W. N.— W. H.— E. A.-G. E. H.
— F. S.-R. H— T. R. C— C. A. J.— T. P.-H. Wr.— W. J. G.
— B. T.— J. B.— E. D. C— J. V.— H. S.— A. N.— H. P. A —
J. S— E. S.— W. C— J. W.-J. G.-G. E.— H. L.— J. B. B.—
J. B. (Birmingham).— W. J. D. A.— R. G.— H. M.— A.W. C—
M. A. B.-L. A. G— H. U.— H. F.-C. H. G.-J. H. A.—
j.W. I.— W. J. S.— W. W. S.— S. A. S.— F. R. R.— F. F. W\—
H. W. (Jarrow).— D. H.— B. (Melle).— T. P. B.— G. E. B.
(Bangalore). -H. B. H.— L. G. M — J. E. T— H. W. T. E.—
H. G. B— H. R. W.— R. P.— R. B. — H. H— H. B.-R. R.—
A. G. H.— H. Smith.— E. A. (Norwich).— J. M— Mrs. D.

May 1, 1SC7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

97

A VOICE FEOM PAEIS.

OWN the Champs
Elysees flows the
tide of fashion-
able Paris, and a
pair of solitary-
rooks have built
their nest on the
top of a plane-tree at the
corner of Rue de Moray, to
contemplate at their leisure
the ever-flowing human stream
between the Tuileries and the
Arc de l'Etoile. I wonder what
these rooks think of Paris,
and how they came to establish
themselves in such a spot.
That may be a problem, but
there is a greater problem yet
unsolved in the Champs de Mars. It is the Great
Exposition of IS67. Let the stranger cross the
Pont de 1'Alma, and obtain his first glance at the
extraordinary mausoleum in which lie entombed so
many of the fondest hopes and the rarest achieve-
ments of Science and Art which the Great Fair of
1S67 has collected together from all parts of the
civilized globe, and he may well ask himself if that
is indeed the temple which the most artistic of
civilized nations has dedicated to universal genius.
It might have been designed for a big gasometer, or
an elliptical railway station, but, spoilt for both
these purposes, it has become the Great Exposition.
What is it possible to say, even yet, of the
contents of such a chaos as the interior exhibits ?
And yet there are a few objects of interest which
have already emerged from the packing-cases, to
which an allusion may be acceptable. Everybody
knows that, although the " show " is opened to the
public, it is not half complete; and what is
unknown and hidden always acquires a mysterious
importance ; hence it becomes a feasible excuse to
plead that the most wonderful things are not yet
exhibited. It is reported that the Chevalier Bonelli,
No. 29.

of Milan, has produced or invented a novel optical
instrument, called a Photobioscope, which depends
for its effect upon the property possessed by the
retina of the eye of retaining for a brief space the
image of any object after the withdrawal of the
latter from the visual range. But its great efficacy
is said to result from the alliance of microscopic
photography, which, by reproducing the delicate
gradations of any given movement, produces mar-
vellous effects. The Photobioscope is a stereoscope
which in addition to the appearance of solidity
imparts that of life and motion to the object seen
through it. " Ships are seen gliding on the surface
of the deep, the waves twinkle in the merry sun-
light, the cataract descends in glittering spray and
foam from the brow of the jutting rock, cattle roam
in search of pasture on the mountain skirts, the
leaves are trembling in the breeze. Hands and
arms are never still, mouths open and shut, the
very eyelids wink." Such marvellous results are
attributed to the Photobioscope, but as many of the
treasures of Art and Science from Italy still slumber
in then- packages, it is impossible to verify the
glowing account from actual observation, or even
to affirm whether such a thing as a Photobioscope is
exhibited in the Italian department of the Exposi-
tion of 1867.

Amongst the things that are really worth seeing
may be mentioned one of the great attractions of the
Rue des Indes— that is, the avenue of the building
in which the contributions from British India are
exhibited. This is a most masterly and lifelike
group of stuffed animals, consisting of the body of
a deer, over which a Hon and tiger are engaged in
deadly conflict. The grouping is happy in con-
ception, and in execution leaves nothing to be
desired. All day long a crowd blocks up the
passage in front of this group, the work of Mr.
Edwin Ward, of Wigmore Street, London ; and it
promises to be literally one of the "lions" of the
Exhibition. Nearly opposite are Messrs. Smith and
Beck's and Mr. Ross's microscopes, almost the

98

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[May 1, 1867.

only first-class microscopes I have yet seen in the
Exhibition. But more of this anon. Microscopy is
not one of the social institutions of Erance.

As a naturalist I was disappointed, after hearing
the glowing descriptions at the " Silver Swan,"
which is located not very far from the above-named
group. I was perhaps wrong in expecting too
much of nature from art. Back again to the Indian
Court I am accustomed to wend my way to take
another look at the stuffed fishes which Captain
Mitchell has sent for exhibition from the Madras
Museum. They are certainly the most praiseworthy
efforts at reproducing the natural appearance of
these most difficult objects in Natural History
which I remember to have seen, and are by no
means the satires upon fish-life which most of
the attempts at preserving fish, even in our best
museums, have hitherto been. There is, however,
one drawback, in that the glass eyes which have
been employed are very convex, instead of being
nearly plane.

Several allusions have been made in these pages
to the gigantic extinct birds of New Zealand, and it
may be of interest to allude in passing to the re-
mains of one of these birds which Major Michael, of
Madras, will exhibit in the New Zealand Court, as
soon as that court is ready for their reception. They
are portions of a bird which must have attained a
height of not less than fourteen feet.

No one who has seen and experienced the kind
of life in which the entire Parisian population in-
dulge, can be surprised that they do not pursue
more closely the study of minute life through the
medium of the microscope. The habit of dining in
the evening at the cafe or restaurant, and spending
the close of the day out of doors, — the absence of
anything approaching the domestic life of England
— solitude, retirement, study, or even intellectual
recreation, — whilst it surprises an Englishman,
forces on him the conviction that it is not here he
must look for improvements in that instrument
which, of all others, is becoming so widely the
source of amusement and instruction, and attaining
the position of a national institution in his own
country.

After carefully searching through Class XII. in the
Exposition, I have found small microscopes ex-
hibited by E. Guudlach, of Berlin, in the Prussian
Department, and in the court devoted to mathe-
matical instruments on the Erench side are Nachet's,
Hartnach's, and Chevalier's small microscopes. The
best of any of these, as they stand in their show-
cases, only remind me of the instruments furnished
by good English makers at from five to ten guineas
each. What they may be in operation is still a
mystery, but the impression is anything but favour-
able. No one would suppose that the instruments
shown under the name of Nachet are those which
Erenclimen are in the habit of speaking of as the

best and most expensive that are made in Paris.
The stands are low, and by no means elaborate in
construction ; the stage is devoid of any movement,
for it is observed that both French and Germans
prefer moving the slide containing the object with
their fingers, and at the same time declare that they
do so with greater precision than with any me-
chanical motion. The microscopes are all small,
say about nine or ten inches in the entire height,
when ready for work, and look as if they had been
constructed somewhere about twenty years ago.
Certainly there are two binoculars which from
peculiarity of construction have a most singular
appearance. Moreover, microscopes are exhibited
with two or three divergent tubes which all unite
at the lower end in a nozzle containing the object-
glass, and two or three observers are supposed
to be able to see the same object at the same
time, by looking down the respective tubes.
How much light can be thrown upon the object
under such circumstances never appears to have
entered into the consideration of the designer.
Under any circumstances they deserve a place
amongst the curiosities of microscopy. The Ger-
mans are said to prefer an instrument which is per-
manently erect, and the facility of inclining the body
at any angle is regarded as an innovation, and not as
an improvement. This reminds me that a friend
has informed me that an enterprising manufacturer
at Hamburg constructed a large instrument on the
English pattern two or three years ago, and has
never been able to dispose of it, so that it remains
in his window as a monument of disappointed hopes.
Surely the continental microscopists cannot be
addicted to bending their heads and stretching
their necks over a microscope hour after hour as
Englishmen sometimes do, or they never would be
so infatuated with their erect bodies. Every one
has his tastes, but mine does not include either
French or German microscopes, as far as I have
hitherto become acquainted with them.

Another evidence of the want of universality in
microscopic pursuits on the Continent appears to be
the entire absence of all the little contrivances for
mounting and observation which are so common in
all the opticians' shops in London. One sees none
of the "knicknacks" which accompany the
microscope at home, and my own travelling micro-
scope is looked upon here, by all who have seen it, as
a kind of curiosity. Microscopical societies are
almost unknown. The Microscopical Society of
Paris is confined only to a few members, and is not
even known by name, save in a limited circle.

In the Belgian Court a large series of photo-
micrographs are exhibited under the name of
A. L. Neyt, of Gaud ; they are of a large size, but
deficient in clearness, and are by no means equal to
those which we are accustomed to see. The same
photographs are exhibited also by agents in other

May 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

99

portions of the building. The objects selected are
diatoms, acari, &c, many of them identical in
subject with those produced by Dr. Maddox. At
present I have been unable to find any exhibits of
this kind in the American Court ; but only a
portion of the objects here are yet exposed, and
photo-micrographs may repose still with other
mysteries in the packing-cases.

Microscopic objects are exhibited in the British
section by Mr. Topping and Mr. Norman, of
London, Mr. Cole, of Liverpool, and Mr. Webb,
of Birmingham ; and in the Erenck department by
Messrs. Burgogne and Aliot. These require a more
careful survey than I have yet been able to make,
before any special objects can be indicated.
Messrs. Burgogne's injections attracted much at-
tention in 18G2, but the display here is far inferior
in number, though probably fully equal in quality.

The Exhibition catalogue contains, amongst
other things which are scarcely possible to find, an
intimation that microscopes are exhibited by N. E.
Evrard, A. N. Lebrun, J. N. Wentzel, and A.
Miraud, of Paris ; by J. J. Van Zelst Zaalberg, of
Amsterdam ; E. A. Nobert, of Barth ; S. Merz, of
Munich ; J. Cavalleri, of Milan ; as well as micro-
scopical preparations by J. Nacovich, of Padua,
P. Marchi, of Elorence, and E. Oehl, of Pavia.
Time will, perhaps, reveal all.

Messrs. H. and W. Crouch and M. Pillischer
have microscopes exhibited in the British section,
but these are too well known to our readers to need
description.

It does not enter into my province to* discuss the
system of classification which the Imperial Com-
mission has established, or to indicate how here
a country and there a country has a classification of
its own, — how vainly some have struggled to follow
out the indicated arrangement, and how others
have apparently despised it, and consequently how
exceedingly difficult it is to find anything which
may be required, especially in some groups, though
it was prophesied that it would be so easy to find
everything, that all former exhibitions would, on
this point, be left far behind. Alas ! that all the
prophets should have prophesied so falsely; for
some of the juries cannot determine, in many
cases, whether certain goods belong to their class
or to anybody else's, and the same natural products
in one or two instances are referred to three
different classes.

There is certainly much to amuse, and there are
many sources of instruction in the Exhibition of
1867 ; and when everything is in its place, it will
undoubtedly, as a whole, prove a superior exhibition
of what is excellent in Science and Art to any of
its predecessors ; and it may be added withal that it
deserves the honour of being the ugliest and best
abused of all the great collective fairs of the present
century. M. C. C.

SOMETHING TO DO.

" He would pore by the hour
O'er a weed or a flower,
Or the Slugs that come crawling out after a shower ;
Blackbeetles and Bumble-Bees, Bluebottle Flies,
And Moths were of no small account in his eyes ;
An ' Industrious Flea ' he'd by no means despise,
While an ' Old Daddy Long-legs,' whose ' long legs ' and

thighs
Pass'd the common in shape, or in colour, or size,
He was wont to consider an absolute prize ;
Nay, a Hornet or Wasp he could scarce ' keep his paws off '
—he

Gave up, in short,
Both business and sport.
And abandon'd himself, tout entier, to Philosophy."

Ingoldsby.

OIB THOMAS THE GOOD, made famous by
^ Ingoldsby, must indeed have been a model
Naturalist. His tastes, as described in the above
passage, were very comprehensive ; and his observa-
tions must have embodied the fruits of long and.
careful study. It is quite clear that he could not
have been a mere collector. None but a true Natu-
ralist, and a patient one withal, would "pore by the
hour o'er a weed or a flower ; " and we shall find
much in his example that we shall do well to
imitate, although we may hope that his sad fate
will not befall us.

Nature is now beginning to awake from her
winter sleep. The Botanist hails with delight the
Violet and the Primrose, the Pilewort aud the
Marsh Marigold, bright forerunners of the floral
train which another month will unfold to our view ;
the Entomologist, when he sees the gay Brimstone
Butterfly on the wing, instinctively gets his net in
order, and prepares for " the pleasures of the
chase ; " and the followers of every branch of
Natural History feel that it is indeed time to be
" up and doing." It is delightful to a Naturalist to
learn that every year witnesses an increase in the
number of Nature's votaries, that each returning
spring gives a fresh impetus to the desire of be-
coming better acquainted with the wonders of
creation. And surely he must indeed be apathetic
who can wander on a genuine spring day through
lane, field, or wood without really feeling, as well as
seeing, the general awakening of all around, without
feeling that simply to live, is in itself a wondrous
pleasure.

As in a former paper we attempted to show what
might be done in the way of " Winter Work," so
will we now hint at a few of the ways in which
novices in Natural History may learn to appreciate
the wonders contained in the fast-unfolding pages
of the great book of Nature spread over the
world.

One very common error into which such people
are liable to fall is to be found in the idea that they
can begin in the middle, as it were, and thus make

100

HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP.

[May 1, 1867.

or themselves a " royal road to learning," forget-
ting that he who would read must first master the
alphabet ; and many, when they find that Nature,
too, has an alphabet which all must learn, give up
the whole affair in disgust. They won't begin to
study Botany, for instance, in the early spring, when
the Groundsel and Dead Nettle claim their atten-
tion. No : these are not sufficiently " interesting "
for them ; they will wait until the spring flowers
appear, and then they will set to work. They forget
the parable which tells us that he who was made
"ruler over many things" was first "faithful in a
few things ; " but when every day brings with it a
fresh flower, they begin to find this out — they have
much more to do than they expected, and so the
year is wasted. It is here that we would offer our
first hint : the sooner in the year you begin, the
better. Gather yourself a January posy — Shepherd's
Purse, Groundsel, and Red Dead Nettle ; study
well each of these; find out the names of their
various parts ; and " when found," as Captain
Cuttle says, " make a (mental) note of." If this
seems a dry way of commencing, remember that
nothing worth knowing was ever learnt without
little trouble. You will have made a good begin-
ning, and you will therefore stand a chance of perse-
vering— not to the end, that is never attained,
but to a more perfect degree of the knowledge
of the wondrous, though neglected, works of
God.

Novices in Natural History frequently suppose
that, in order to become well acquainted with the
branch which they have taken up, they must " col-
lect;" that bundles of dried plants are necessary to
the study of Botany ; a drawer of insects to that of
Entomology; and so on. This, too, is a great mistake.
We are quite aware that a really good collection of
dried plants, brought together by one's self, is both
valuable and interesting, particularly when each
specimen brings back to one's mind the circum-
stances under which it was gathered. But few,
comparatively, have sufficient time at their disposal
to form a good collection ; and some, thinking that
this is essential, give up the study simply on this
account.

Now, a mere collector is, in a Naturalist's eyes,
a creature of a very low order indeed : he it is
who greedily seizes on every rare bird, plant, or
insect, simply that each may be placed in his own
"collection;" and then remains content in the
knowledge that they are his. Nothing comes amiss
to such an one : he is Geologist, Botanist, Entomolo-
gist, Ornithologist, all in one. The consequence is,
that, being "Jack of all trades," he is "master of
none ; " he names his objects, certainly, but look
over any one of his collections, and you will scarcely
fail to find glaring errors. Such an one had much
better turn his attention to Postage Stamps, or Trade
Marks, of which he may form a collection which, if

it does no good, will not, at any rate, destroy Life —
that mysterious principle so easy to remove, so
impossible to restore. Eor this reason, it is by no
means advisable that every incipient Naturalist
should be a collector ; at least, he should restrict
himself to common objects, so that, should he feel
disinclined to pursue the study, he may not have
deprived others, more persevering than himself, of
their reward. Natural History is not a thing of
books, or of preserved specimens; a mere museum,
or hortus siccus : no, it is a living study, having its
"sermons in stones," its "books in the running
brooks."

And now for a word or two to those who are
already professed Naturalists. Have we not a
tendency to wander too far abroad in search of
objects for our contemplation ? Do we not often
find that we are better acquainted with the Botany
of a place, two or three miles distant, than we are
with that of a mile round our own residence ? Again,
have we not too great a desire to obtain rare species ?
are not the common ones often neglected ? because
"we can get them at anytime" — and is not any
time too often no time ? Are we always as careful
as we should be, not to take more specimens than
we really require of any plant or animal ? — especially
the latter — for we may well remember that many,
both naturalists and divines, affirm that animals
will be sharers with us "in the Land of the
Hereafter."

To those who are not already acquainted with
them, let us introduce the advantages of keeping a
Kalendar, after the fashion of good old Gilbert
White, in which should be recorded the dates of the
appearance of birds and butterflies, or the leafing
and flowering of plants. We ourselves have kept
such a Kalendar for the last eight or nine years,
and very interesting we find it. At first, our
Kalendar was not only useful, but ornamental —
an elaborate (not to say troublesome) arrangement
showed, not only the Latin name of the plant, but
its English equivalent, the date of its appearance,
the locality in which it was gathered, with other
particulars ; while the pages were embellished with
divers and sundry striking (not to say illegible)
headings, in astonishing letters of red, blue, and
black ink ! But after a year or two, we gave up
this style of thing; first, because the embellish-
ments, etc., took up more time than we could
conveniently spare ; next, because we found it
impossible always to remember on our arrival at
home all that we had seen during our walk;
and a book 8 in. long by 6£ broad is of an incon-
venient size for the pocket. The plan which then
suggested itself to us, and which we still follow,
was this : a lined MS. book, 8|'in. long by 3f broad,
has each page divided into five columns : the first
of these is about 1| in. broad, and allows ample
space for the Latin name of the [species, while the

May 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

101

remainder is divided into the four other columns,
each being devoted to one year : thus—

Leontodon Taraxacum

1865.

1866.

1867.

1868.

Jan. 4.

Jan. 2.

Jan. 24.

This book slips easily into a side-pocket. The
list of plants should be first made out at home, and
should include all that are found, or may possibly
be found, in the district. Only one side of the
page should be used for the list ; as the opposite
oue may be handy for brief notes, or local names,
for each species. The saving of time effected in
this manner is very great : besides which, each plant
can be noted down with a pencil as soon as
observed, so that the risk of forgetting it is done
away with. The list is also a very useful companion
when we are spending a day in a new district, and
want to learn as much of its Botauy as possible ;
as a pencil mark affixed to the name of the plant
will be sufficient to indicate that it has been ob-
served. Of course a table of birds or insects can
be added at will : so that one's pocket-book
may be made a useful vade-mecum.

On a botanical excursion, we must, of course,
carry a good-sized vasculum, alias sandwich-case;
but on a short stroll, we need not thus encumber our-
selves. Some of Huntley and Palmer's biscuits
are sent out in little flat tin boxes, about 4i in.
long, by 3^ broad : one or two of these will travel
very comfortably in our pockets, and the lids may
be secured with a stout elastic band. Those who
know Pry's Chocolate Paste, will find the neat
little round tins, in which it is enclosed, very handy
companions : if their shape is less convenient than
that of the former, the tin is less flexible; and, if
accidentally sat upon, does not sustain the same
amount of injury which, sad experience convinces
us, is suffered by the former; besides which, the
lids fit closer. These boxes are suitable receptacles
for beetles, snails, and many other objects ; and are
none the less useful because of their homely origin.
The field Botanist will also find a small book of any
description, which has a tightfitting clasp, very
convenient for blossoms, such as those of Speed-
wells or Poppies, which are better pressed as soon
as gathered; and specimens dried under such
circumstances frequently retain their colour better
than those with which more trouble has been
taken. As a general rule, however, we do not
think it advisable to dry plants while "on the
march ; " it occupies a great deal of time, with
scarcely any compensating advantages. One of our
botanical brethren [used to sally forth, with an
elaborate arrangement of paper, boards, and straps,
at his back; but we remember that the wind, on
several occasions, violently resisted his attempts
to spread out his specimens satisfactorily; while

the placing of specimen No. 2 interfered very
materially with the comfort of specimen No. 1 .

In conclusion, we may inform those who are as
yet ignorant of the fact, that dried plants may be
sent by book-post, according to the Post-office regu-
lations. This was first ascertained a few years since
by a friend, and we have frequently availed our-
selves of the privilege. The name and, if wished,
the description of the plant may be written on the
sheet to which the specimen is affixed : though, of
course, anything in the shape of a letter must be
excluded. We would, however, advise our friends
to see to the posting of packets of plants in this
way, themselves; for district postmasters are not
all aware of this privilege ; and, although open to
conviction, will occasionally, as we can testify,
demur.

Let us, during the coming season, endeavour
to become better acquainted with the inhabitants
of our woods and fields : let us try to make our
own district, as it were, a Selborne ; and increase
our knowledge, as well as that of others, of the
wonders which it contains, remembering the words
of the poet : —

" He prayeth best who loveth best
All things both great and small ;
For the great God who loveth us,
He made, and loveth all."

B.

THE SWALLOWS.

"DY way of an appendix to the elaborate and
-*-* learned essay by Lieut.-Col. Austen which
appeared recently in Science-Gossip, perhaps I
may be allowed to say a few words in defence of the
antiquated and now generally abandoned idea
that a certain portion of the Mrundines winter in
the countries which they inhabit during the summer
months. I have long taken au interest in this
subject, because it is one upon which theory and
experience seem to differ very widely. The most
eminent naturalists deny the possibility of the
hybernation of swallows ; eye-witnesses innumerable
have at different times declared that they have found
them in the winter months in a torpid state. It is
scarcely probable that science can lead naturalists
far astray, now that our knowledge of and interest
in nature have so much increased ; but, on the other
hand, it is incredible that all these witnesses can have
been deceived. Only one course remains open, viz.,
to acknowledge both theories to be partially correct,
and to attempt to discover the reasons for the
migration of one portion of the Mrundines, and for
the hybernation of the other ; by doing this we
shall be rendering a far greater service to the cause
of truth, than by hastily adopting one or the other
theory, and branding the supporters of the opposite
idea as ignorant and credulous. . .

102

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[May 1, 1867.

When Cowper wrote in his " Invitation into the
Country," addressed to the Rev. Mr. Newton, the
lines —

" The swallows in their torpid state

Compose their useless wing,
And bees in hives as idly wait
The call of early spring,"

he undoubtedly expressed an opinion which has
been held by all nations'from the remotest antiquity.
The Jesuit missionary Hue quotes an old Chinese
naturalist named Luchi to this effect : " The
ancients thought that swallows changed their
climate, but it is difficult to imagine how they
should have done so, since no one has ever seen
them set out in the direction of southern countries,
nor proceed in troops, like the migratory birds that
come every year from Tartary, and return thither in
the spring. These draw themselves up into regular
armies, and their passage lasts several days ; whilst
the swallows when they disappear from one pro-
vince are not seen in any greater numbers, in the
other, even in the provinces nearest the sea ;" and
he concludes by saying that the swallows do not
emigrate, but remain always about the same
country, and during the winter merely hide them-
selves in holes and caverns. The naturalist
Spallanzani saw swallows in October on the
island of Lipari (near Sicily), and was told that
when a warm south wind blew, they were frequently
seen skimming about the streets. He thence
concluded that the swallows did not all go over to
Africa, but remained in the island, issuing from
their warm retreats in quest of food on hot days.
The Dutch naturalist Jonston says, " It is certain
that in hollow trees, lying many close together, they
(the swallows) preserve themselves by mutual
warmth ;" and the old ornithologists Albertus
Magnus, Gaspar Heldelin, Augustine Niphus, and
others held this idea also. In England, White of
Selborne held the hybernation of swallows as an
indisputable fact, and the Rev. W. T. Bree, who
turned his attention to the subject, corroborated
him. He says, after reviewing the circumstances
of the case, " However far they may fall short of
positive proof, they undoubtedly afford much pro-
bability to White's opinion, that the hirundines do
not all leave this island in winter." Linnseus
expressly asserts that "the chimney-swallow,
together with the window-swallow, demerges, and
in spring emerges." Baron Cuvier asserts of the
bank-swallow as " well authenticated, that it falls
into a lethargic state during winter, and even that
it passes that season at the bottom of marshy
waters." The objections to this theory of the
torpidity of swallows are numerous ; probably the
most weighty are, firstly, that they are physiologi-
cally unsuited for the process, and, secondly, that
experiments have failed to prove their powers of
endurance either of cold, hunger, or submersion.

With regard to the first objection, it may be replied
that in the bat, dormouse, bear, and other hy-
bernating animals there are no such structural
peculiarities- as would lead us [to expect them to
become torpid in winter ; and with regard to the
second, it must be remembered that it is impossible
for us to simulate the exact conditions by which
nature induces torpidity, and that in all probability
if these experiments had been tried upon the bear
or other creatures known to become torpid, they
would have resulted in failure, and yet not have
disproved the facts of the case.

I now come to the consideration of the all-im-
portant question, Have swallows ever been dis-
covered during winter in this state by competent
witnesses ? This, Mr. Gould, Professor Owen, and
others who discredit the old theory deny ; and it is
but just to confess that there is much difficulty in
getting reliable evidence about it. To recur to
China, M. Hue tells us : " It is recorded in the
annals of China that the people being overwhelmed
by the misfortunes that afflicted them during the
reign of the Emperor Ngan-ty, more than a thousand
families deserted their villages, and went to seek a
refuge in the wildest mountain solitudes, in order
to escape the horrors of insurrection and famine.
As there were no vegetable crops, they were re-
duced to feed on rats and swallows, which they
found collected in masses in the caverns and hol-
lows of the rocks." Another historian reports an
analogous fact : " The Emperor Yang-ty having
ordered some repairs on the banks of the Yellow
River, there were found immense multitudes of
swallows collected in the holes and caves of the
rocks, and wherever the shore was steep and
solitary." These extracts are taken from a work
entitled "The Chinese Empire," by M. Hue.

In one of Knight's Educational Series the
following is recorded: "The Hon. Dames Bar-
rington told Mr. Pennant, on the authority of Lord
Belhaven, that numbers of swallows had been found
in old dry walls and in sandhills near his lordship's
seat in East Lothian ; not once only, but from
year to year ; and that when they were exposed to
the warmth of the fire they revived. We have also,
he adds, heard of the same annual discoveries near
Morpeth, in Northumberland, but cannot speak of
them with the same assurance as the two former ;
neither in these instances are we certain of the par-
ticular species. In other places," he continues, ".they
have been found, but I will not vouch for the truth
of it ; as, first, in a decayed hollow tree that was
cut down near Dolgelly, in Merionethshire ; secondly,
in a cliff near Whitby, in Yorkshire, 'where, in
digging out a fox, whole bushels of swallows were
found in a torpid condition ; thirdly, the Rev. Mr.
Conway, of Lychton, Flintshire, a few years ago,
between All Saints and Christmas, on looking down
an old lead mine in that country, observed numbers

Mat 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

103

of swallows clinging to the timbers of the shaft,
seemingly asleep, and on flinging some gravel on
them, they just moved, but never attempted to fly
or change their place." The proverb " One swallow
does not make a summer," which is common to
almost every language, confirms the theory, since it
is more reasonable to consider the isolated swallows
seen on warm winter days to be members of the
hybernating portion of the tribe tempted by the
weather from their retreats, rather than as the fore-
runners of an immigration which often does not
occur for weeks or months afterwards. Numerous
cases have been adduced of lumps of torpid
swallows having been found under ice, and in the
mud-beds of lakes. Olaus Magnus, a Swedish
Archbishop, says, in a work published in 1555 :
"Erom the northern waters swallows are often
dragged up by fishermen in the form of clustered
masses, mouth to mouth, wing to wing, and foot to
foot, these having at the beginning of autumn
collected amongst the reeds previous to submer-
sion." And he goes onto say : " When young and
inexperienced fishermen find such clusters of
swallows, they will by thawing the birds at the fire
bring them indeed to the use of their wings, which
will continue but a very short time, as it is a pre-
mature and forced revival." Etmuller, a professor
at Leipsic, a century after, asserts that he found
" more than a bushel measure of swallows closely
clustered under the reeds of a fish-pond, under the
ice, all of them, to appearance, dead, but the heart
still pulsating." The English naturalist Derham
also cited in 1713, at a meeting of the Royal Society,
the personal testimony of a Dr. Colas, who asserted
just the same facts. Allowing for exaggeration,
it is quite possible that the swallows which be-
come torpid upon river banks should fall upon
the ice or amongst the reeds, and that the fact of
their being discovered, occasionally, in these po-
sitions, should have given rise to wild and visionary
tales.

But it may' be said, All these are old wives', fables ;
have you no modern testimony to adduce ? In the
third volume of " Kingston's Magazine for Boys,"
now defunct, on pages 267-S will be found a very
interesting communication from an anonymous
correspondent signing himself M. K., stating that
a friend of his father once found a bird-ball upon
the banks of the Ribble, which sprang into life upon
being placed near the fire. The pages of Science-
Gossip itself will also afford confirmatory evidence
of a very late date ; for this I beg to refer my
readers to pages IIS and 160 of vol. ii. In these
very recent statements of eye-witnesses almost
every one of the assertions of the old writers is
reiterated. On which side, then, I ask, lie the
credulity and ignorance ? On the side of those
who adapt science to suit facts, or with those who
disregard facts because they are old-fashioned, and

do not accord with their preconceived and arbitrary
ideas of the laws which govern nature ?

E. A. Allen.

PROCESSES AND INFLATIONS IN
DIATOMS.

FN the examination of diatoms it will be found
-*- that the double valves of those that have pro-
cesses have these processes situated alternately on
the valves. Thus in a double valve of Auliscus
Peruvianus, if, upon focusing for upper valve, the
two processes appear, one to the right and the
other to the left, then, upon focusing for the lower
valve, the processes of that valve will be seen, one
at the top, and the other at the bottom.

This rule will be found to be of general applica-
tion, no matter what may be the number of the
processes. Again, in the diatoms that have infla-
tions, the same rule applies. Eor example, in the
Aulacodiscus formosus, of Upper Bolivian Guano,
the four large inflations of the upper valve are
alternate in position to those of the lower valve.
It follows, therefore, that in the multiplication of
these diatoms by duplicative subdivision, the raised
processes and inflations of one valve fall into the
hollows and depressions of the valve with which
they are in contact ; and thus there is an example
of that economy of space so frequently to be ob-
served in natural productions, and there is less
likelihood of the processes and inflations being
injured by the abrasion of their raised surfaces
against each other.

As the above facts may have escaped the observa-
tion of some who are interested in the study of
diatoms, I have considered them worthy of a note
in Science-Gossip.

Armagh. Lewis G. Mills, LL.B.

A Leap fob, Liee. — I remember on one occasion,
how I saved myself, by a desperate manoeuvre, from
the jaws of a hungry trout. The savage brute
singled me out from among all the rest of the shoal,
and, hunting me round and round until I was well
nigh exhausted, was on the point of making me his
prey, when a bold and happy idea occurred to me :
springing out of the water, six inches or more upon
the dry shingle, I lay gasping and half dead with fear,
but out of reach of my enemy. The refraction of the
water enabled me to see him, though he could not
see me ; he beat up and down the spot at which I
had disappeared, with much the air of a retriever
puppy, when the squirrel he has chased for the first
time takes refuge in a tree. His search being in
vain, he retired, and I had just strength left to
squatter into the water again, and soon regained
my accustomed haunt beneath the stone. — Auto-
biography of a Salmon.

104

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[May 1, 1867.

ACTINOPHRYS.

A SPECIES of Actinophrys, which is not de-
-*--*- scribed in the "Micrograpliic Dictionary,"
occurs abundantly in some of the pools in this
neighbourhood. It differs from A. sol in being of a
deep orange colour ; but perhaps it may be only
some peculiar condition of that creature. The
body of this Actinophrys sometimes appears as a
simply granulated mass, contained in a colourless
envelope. At other times, the contents of the
envelope are gathered into irregularly rounded
masses of a darker colour, as at fig. 73, a. The ten-
tacles are of various lengths, seldom exceeding the
diameter of the body. Upon each tentacle there
frequently occurs one or two very small globules of
sarcode. These run rapidly from the body to the
extremity of the tentacle, and after a little while
return, but much more slowly. Possibly by this
means the creature is enabled to capture its food,
and to draw it into itself. I have, however, never
noticed any foreign body in it. During the winter
months, it becomes encysted, and attached to the
filaments of Spirogyra, and other similar floating
plants ; and in this manner becomes exposed to
the influences of the sun and air.

Fig. /3. Actinophrys x 300.

The cyst consists of a tough, colourless, oval case,
in which at last the creature becomes divided into
two Qj), the escape of which from the cyst I had
an opportunity of observing.

Erom the ruptured side, apparently from a
round hole, first one passed out (b, c), leaving the
other in the cyst, with certain chocolate-coloured
particles, some of which escaped at the same time
with the Actinophrys, and were cast off into the
surrounding water. These particles seem to be
merely dead matter, thrown off during the encysting

process. When one of the creatures had escaped,
it assumed the usual round form, and then slowly
moved away to a little distance. After a short
time, it returned towards the other, which was in a
similar manner passing out of the cyst. In a few
moments more, a fusion or conjugation of the two
took place (d), and the whole finally left the cyst,
as at e. I have not noticed any further develop-
ments, though it is quite possible that the rounded
bodies represented at a may be germs.

This may possibly be a new species, as it does
not agree with any of the species given in the
" Micrograpliic Dictionary." If so, perhaps
Actinophrys aurea would describe it sufficiently.

Markington, Ripley, Yorkshire. J. S. Tute.

SALAMANDBJNE.

TT is well known that Aristotle and Pliny, as well
-*- as other writers of more recent times, relate
extraordinary stories respecting certain Batrachians ;
and although a good deal of the more mysterious
and extravagant of these statements has worn off
iu the course of time, the belief that toads, newts,
and salamanders are highly poisonous animals was
quite general down to our own times, when this
notion was altogether discarded as
unworthy of our enlightened age.
Many a modern work on natural
history draws particular attention to
this subject, and declares the suspicion
with which these animals are still
regarded by the uneducated to be
wholly without foundation, and indeed
a mere superstition.

Nevertheless, in this matter natu-
ralists have clearly gone from one
extreme to another, and this is only
another instance proving how reluctant
and, careful we ought to be in dis-
regarding or denying altogether such
statements of the ancient writers as
may at first appear either untrust-
worthy or fabulous ; for, though often
distorted and exaggerated, they gene-
rally contain some foundation in fact.
During the last ten years several
physiologists have paid attention to
this subject, and have brought to light sufficient
facts to re-establish the old belief in the poisonous
nature of the toad, the newt, and the salamander;
but the educated public seem to be still disinclined
to recognize the results of their inquiries— relying
no doubt on the fact that these harmless and in-
offensive creatures have hardly ever an opportunity
of bringing their venomous propensities into
action.

In addition to the observations made by Gradiolet
and Cloez (Compt. rend, xxxii. p. 592 ; et xxxv. p.

May 1, 1867.]

HAKDWICKE'S S CIEN CE- GO S SIP.

105

729), and those by Vulpian (Etude physiologique des
Venins Crapauds, du Triton et de la Salamandrc
terrestre, Mem. de la Soc. de Biologie, 1856, p. 122),
there has recently been published a paper on the
poison of the " Salamandra metadata" by Dr.
Zalesky, who has isolated and examined the poi-
sonous principle of the secretion of this animal.
This investigation has been carried out in the well-
known laboratory of Professor Hoppe-Seyler, at
Tubingen, and is especially interesting on account
of its being the first accurate chemical examination
of an animal poison.

The poison was obtained by scraping the head
and back of the animal with a teaspoon, and collect-
ing thereby the whitish secretion, which is of a
viscid consistency, possessing a strong alkaline
reaction, an acrid bitter taste, and a faint but not
unpleasant odour. Prom this secretion, the poison-
ous principle was isolated by a somewhat lengthened
chemical process, and found to be a true alkaloid,
possessing all the characteristic properties of this
class of substances. That this alkaloid (Saman-
drine) is in reality the poisonous principle of the
secretion of the salamander has been proved by
direct experiments, which show that it belongs to
the most potent poisons. A fish, a duck, and a dog
to whom it had been administered, died of its effect.

There are a few instances on record in which cases
of poisoning are ascribed to the salamander; but
they are perhaps on the whole not well enough
authenticated to be accepted as facts; it would
therefore be interesting if this subject should
receive some attention from those of your readers
who may have an opportunity of making observa-
tions or collecting trustworthy evidence.

H. M.

CLIP POP, ZOOPHYTE TROUGH.

TN the ordinary zoophyte trough used for exa-
-*■ mining under the microscope animal or vege-
table objects in water in a free, unconfined con-
dition, the position of the inclined glass plate is
regulated by an ivory wedge in front, supported by
a whalebone spring at the back inside the trough ;
but this construction has the objection that the
spring is liable to be upset sideways by an acci-
dental touch of the hand, or by catching the stage
bracket of the microscope, causing the object in view
at the time to be suddenly washed out of the field
and perhaps lost altogether, to the disappointment
of the observer.

Por the purpose of removing this objection, I have
devised, in conjunction with Mr. Pumphrey, a double
clip that takes the place of the wedge and spring,
and is found very satisfactory and convenient, and
quite free from risk of disturbance accidentally. This
clip is shown full size in the accompanying drawing,
and is made of a piece of ebonite about one-eighth

of an inch thick, having two long cuts upwards from
the bottom end, inclined to one another so as to leave
a wedge-shaped piece between them, corresponding
to the ordinary wedge for regulating the position of
the inclined glass plate; whilst the front and back
portions act as spring clips, holding the front plate
of the trough and the inclined plate, the two cuts
in the clip being made narrower at the bottom end
than the thickness of the glass plates, so as to hold
them by a slight spring pressure, as shown in the
detached view of the clip.

, •• — — '-' | ■-;---• ' - - - -

(

I

i
!

I

Fig. 74. Zoophyte Clip. Full size.

By sliding this clip up or down, the width of the
space between the plates that contains the objects
under examination, is regulated in the same manner
as by the ordinary wedge ; and the clip at the same
time holds the inclined plate securely in each posi-
tion, without any risk of being displaced or moved
unintentionally, as the clip is entirely free from the
back of the trough, and keeps clear of the stage
bracket in all positions whilst the trough is being
moved upon the microscope stage.

The narrowness of this clip is also an advantage,
as the ordinary wide wedge occupies an inconvenient
amount of the field of view.

The inclined glass plate, which is usually made as
high as the back of the trough, is cut down in this
case to the same height as the front of the trough,
as this is found to be a sufficient height, and allows
the clip to be shorter.

A specimen of these clips is enclosed herewith, and
they are now made by Mr. Pumphrey, Paradise
Street, Birmingham, from whom they can be ob-
tained. In the drawing the larger of the two sizes
of zoophyte trough in ordinary use is shown, but
the same clips suit also the smaller size of trough,
and in that case the original height of the inclined

glass plate is not altered.

W. P. Marshall.

106

HABDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Mat 1,1867.

JUVENILE MUSEUMS.

THE paragraph in the March number of Science
Gossip, extracted from " Town Talk " in Fun,
suggested to me the importance of adopting means
to encourage young persons in various localities to
make collections of natural objects, and the result
is that I propose to arrange for offering prizes to
the young people of both sexes in Northumberland
and Durham for the best collections in the following
departments ; the prizes to be awarded in the
month of October. I intend that four prizes shall
be given in each of the following departments of
Natural History and Botany.

1st prize, any scientific instrument of the value
of £1 ; 2nd prize, ditto, 10s. ; 3rd prize, ditto, 6s. ;
4th prize, ditto, 4s.

Department I. — The best collections of marine
and freshwater algae, prepared, mounted, and classi-
fied.

Department II. — The best collections of marine
and freshwater shells, prepared and classified.

Department III. — The best collections of ferns
and wild flowers, dried, mounted, and classified.

Department IV. — The best collections of fossils
from limestone, the coal measures, and clay slate,
named and classified.

Department V. — The best collections of butter-
flies and moths, mounted and classified.

The conditions to be —

I. — That each boy or girl competing shall not
be more than 16 years of age.

II. — That they shall themselves gather the objects
exhibited in competition.

III. — That all the objects exhibited be accom-
panied by a document, stating when, where, and by
whom the objects were found.

IV. — Any competitor may compete in any one or
in all departments.

V. — That all objects exhibited in competition be
gathered during the present year.

VI. — Competent adjudicators to be appointed for
each department.

VII. — AH objects exhibited to be obtained within
the area of Northumberland and Durham, or off
their coasts.

VIII. — Each competitor to arrange his or her
objects in cases, which will be provided for the
purpose in the Museum of the Natural History
Society, or other convenient room.

IX. — All intending competitors to enrol their
names before the end of May.

As it is desirable to discourage as much as pos-
sible the tendency to injure small birds, no prizes
will be given for collections of birds' eggs.

I throw out these general suggestions in order
that gentlemen in other parts of the kingdom inte-
rested in the spread of a love for Natural History

among young persons may adopt such measures for
interesting them as may be adapted to their re-
spective localities. It is intended to prepare and
print a prospectus of this project for general circu-
lation in this neighbourhood, and any reader of
Science-Gossip who will forward me an addressed
and stamped envelope shall receive a copy of the
prospectus by return of post.
Newcastle-on-Tyne. T. P. Barkas.

THE CHIGNON EUNGUS.

IVrOTHING could more clearly have shown the
-1-* amount of ignorance of the natural history
of minute life abroad amongst the public, and the
little trouble people will take to make the most
trivial use of their common sense, when a novelty,
embellished by plausible description, is presented
to them, than the rampant nonsense which has been
penned and believed in regard to the so-called
gregarinee infesting certain varieties of false hair.
The "chignon controversy" has been one of the
most widespread but at the same time transient
sensations of the age : started abroad, it soon reached
England, where it bewildered the fashion worshippers
of the day. The immediate cause of this hubbub was
the appearance in the Hamburg paper I)er Freischiitz,
of the 7th of February, 1867, of an article based upon
the account given in the "Archiv. der Gericht.
Medicin und Hygienie," and in which we are in-
formed that " Mr. Lindemann professes to have dis-
covered and observed a new microscopical parasite,
to which he has given the name of Gregarine. He
reports, according to his observations, that the
gregarine — a protozoic animalcule — is of the lowest
order of development of the animal organism, and
is found parasitically within the animal and human
body, where it floats about with the blood, by which
it is nourished. The most striking instance of the
parasitism of the gregarine is said to be its existence
on the human hair. The gregarinous hair, however
differs in no [way from the sound hair. Only if
one looks very closely, little dark brown knots,
which are generally at the free end of the hair,
may be distinguished even with the naked eye.
Those are gregarines. Out of thirty samples of
hair procured from a hairdresser iu Nislmi
Novgorod, gregarines were found in seventy-five
per cent. And it is well known that the hair used
for the chignons of the better half of Russia is
bought of the poor peasant women, who are
proverbially of dirty habits. Pursuing his inquiry,
Mr. Lindemann has discovered that almost every
louse has in its interior an enormous number of
gregarines, and he convinced himself by further
experiments that the gregarines on the human
hair are deposited there by lice. He observes
that the most favourable conditions for the growth

May 1, 1S67/J

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

107

of gregarinse are light, increased temperature,
and a moist atmosphere ; and lie declares that in the
ballroom these are not without their influence on
the parasites when they exist on false hair, for they
at once revive, grow, and multiply, get disseminated
in millions, and in consequence of the increased
respiration produced by the exertion of dancing, are
inhaled freely into the lungs, reach their specific
gregarine nature, and after a while induce disease in
the body.

In these quotations prevalent fashions were de-
picted as sources of danger, inducing discomfort and
disease. A writer in one of the daily papers (" In-
vestigator") asserted that he had witnessed from
direct observation the development of gregarinse
into lice, an assumption that implies a liberty with
Darwinism that its most zealous and radical devo-
tees would at the present time hesitate to suggest.
It is only just to say that the Lancet, which first
noticed the matter, and confined itself to a mere
mention of the facts, urged its readers to accept
the statements put forth, with the gravest
caution. Lindemann's assertions are very startling
to scientific men, because they are wholly in
antagonism with observed facts. Whilst scientific
research has as yet afforded little insight of the
habits of the lower forms of animal and vegetable
life, the revelations of the microscope within the
last few years are pregnant with significance as
regards their ubiquity, and teach us that we are
not to be astonished if we find living forms in
unexpected sites, undergoing themost manifold varia-
tions in aspect when brought under the play of
different influences. At the same time we have
the amplest experience to caution us against the
acceptance of new species without the keenest
criticism. What, then, is the truth in this matter ?
In my devotion to the subject of diseases of the skin,
it has laiu in my way during the last ten years to
investigate the whole subject of diseases of the hair
connected with the development of vegetable para-
sites, and I think no one has made a larger number
of microscopic observations. I have never seen a true
gregarina in connection with the hair ; but I have
recently found a vegetable growth on false German
hair answering in naked eye appearances to that
described by Lindemann as little dark specks
surrounding the hair towards its end. Gregarinse,
according to Lindemann, are made up of cells,
which he states to be vegetable, and it is possible
that that which I have found may be identical with
his gregarina?. I cannot help thinking that many
bodies totally dissimilar in nature have been classed
with gregarinse, which my friend Ray Lankester,
than whom no higher authority on the point exists,
declares to be truly animal. The growth I have
found I now proceed to describe.

If you take a hair on which the parasite exists,
and hold it between yourself and the light, towards

the outer half you will see one or more, perhaps
half a dozen, little dark knots the size of pin-
points, surrounding the shaft of the hair ; they are
readily felt on drawing the hair through the fingers ;
they are somewhat difficult to detach. If a hair be
placed under the microscope with a quarter-inch
objective, the mass will be seen to be made up of
cellular bodies surrounding the hair, such as are
seen in figs. 75 and 76, kindly drawn for me by Dr.
Braxton Hicks, F.R.S.

Fig. "5.

It will be seen that the mass has the appearance
of a fungus growth, of which two distinct forms
are here present, viz., mycelial or filamentous, seen
in the central part of fig. 75 ; and sporular or cellular,
seen in fig. 76, which is the outer part of fig. 75 con-
siderably enlarged.

Fig. 76.

The hair is apparently healthy, and if the slide be
pressed the mass will break away from the hair
on either side, bringing away with it more or less
of the cuticle, and leaving behind a healthy shaft.
The cells are seen to be of various shapes and sizes.

Fig. 77-

Pig. 77 gives a good representation of them ; they
are from ^Vs to 5^00 inch; many are like the

108

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[May 1, 1SG7.

Fig. 78.

torula cells, developed from Penicillium. Others
are larger, undergoing division very actively, as in
lig. 78, seen with a ^ inch ; they
may be subdivided into two, three,
or four parts, or much more freely.
This indicates the assumption by
the parasite of an algal condition.

In watching the mass on the
hair carefully, it is evident that
a number of small cells become detached from
the outer or spoiular form, and at once move
actively about. These small cells indicate an
active growth by subdivision, and a fruitful
source of propagation ; they subsequently become
the cells seen in fig. 77. Certainly this variety of
fungus so far described is the most active growth
I have come across in my researches, and I have
been enabled to germinate it most successfully, so
as to set all questions as to its nature completely at
rest. Placed under favourable circumstances in water,
the spores (figs. 76 and 77) enlarge considerably,
and the mycelial filaments increase also, as seen in

Fig. 79-

fig. 79, which represents the fungus after its growth
two days in water ; but there is at this time to be

Fig. 80.

observed a very remarkable occurrence, though not
in all cases. Some of the large cells hi fig. 75 have

become filled with smaller cells ; and in others, in
addition to these, processes have been put forth
from the circumference of the walls in a radiating
manner ; in other cases the enlarged cells have two
long cilia attached to them, by which they move
about rapidly, whilst a part of the hair, previous to
this free from the fungus, has become dotted all
over by minute cells similar to those seen in the
interior of the larger ones. All this is seen in fig. SO.
But more than this, I have observed most dis-
tinctly large cells filled with smaller cells, furnished
with exceedingly delicate radiating processes and
putting forth pseudopodia. One of these cells of
large size is represented in fig. 81.

Fig. 81.

It will here be seen to have assumed the features
of an amoeboid body. Smaller ones are seen in fig. 82.

L\m/M

Fig. 82.

Nothing could have been more distinct to myself,
and those who were observing with me, than this
peculiar form ; and it seems to me that we have
here a pretty complete history of the life of this
fungus— namely, the sporular subdividing and
assuming an algal form, which in turn becomes
amcebiform, and furnishes ciliated cells that supply
the earliest condition of the fungus, as seen in fig. SO,
scattered over the hair.

But not satisfied with these results, I set to work
to grow the fungus in sugar and water, under
constant observation. A rapid enlargement of the
sporular cells took place, as in the former case, and
in some of the larger cells the most distinct circula-
tion of the granules around the inner circumference
of the parent cell was witnessed by myself and my
friends, and a beautiful object it was. Finally, I
obtained a result similar to the former one.

May 1, 1S67.]

HAKDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

109

Kg. 83 represents the appearance of the fungus
at the end of fourteen days, seen with an A -inch
object-glass.

Fig. 63.

Eig. 84 is a portion of the mycelium, taken from
the part over the hair, more highly magnified with
a ytt object-glass.

Fig. 84.

The ends of the filaments seen in fig. 85 are
analogous, in fact identical with those forms which
I have figured in my work on parasitic diseases of
the skin as resulting from the growth of oidium.
The globose head containing spores, is an early

stage of that represented in fig. 86. The double
cell figured on the left was of a green colour like
many others.

Fig. 85.

Accompanying these appearances were, as in the
former case, cells — filled with smaller cells and

Fig. 86.

granules in active motion — furnished with] cilia, and
bodies undergoing the "amoeboid" transformation,
as seen in figs. 87 and SS, with y%-inch Powell and
Lealand.

r

•

Fig. 87

Fig.

Here, agaiu, we have the growth taking on an
algal phase in one direction, and fructifying into a
perfect fungus on the other hand. The drawings
I have given were made on the spot from the
microscopic objects, and I must do the artist
credit to say he has most faithfully and cleverly por-
trayed the actual appearances presented by the para-
site. The observations now recorded are in complete
harmony with those of Dr. Braxton Hicks on the
Volvox, and De Bary in his work published in
]864, at Leipsic, "Die Mycetozoen, Ein Beitrag zur
Kentnniss Der Neidersten Organismen," and are
completely confirmatory of the opinion before a
vanced by myself, that the fungi found upon or
within man belong to one genus, and undergo an
infinity of variations under different circumstances.
In the present case the fungus approaches to the

110

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[May 1, 186?.

character of Torula rather than any other. There'are
many most interesting questions that cannot be
discussed here. The only one I need refer to is
the influence which this species of parasite has in
the production of disease. In the immediate
condition in which we find it on the hair it need
cause but little anxiety ; but the minute form as
seen in fig. 80 transplanted to a suitable soil —
and the scalp of delicate children best furnishes it-
would produce disease of the scalp : of that I have
no doubt. Luckily, the tissues of adults, viz., those
who wear chignons, are not prone to the more
severe forms of diseases produced by vegetable
parasites; and as the mass of false hair used in
England is free from the fungus described above,
the total danger on the whole is slight.

Tilbury Eox, M.D.Lond.

THE UNITY OE MANKIND.

TN a thousand different ways we are continually
-*- reminded of the common origin of the whole
human race, irrespective of colour, language, or
habitat. The coincidences observable betwixt the
usages and traditions of nations, often very far
removed from each other, are endless ; and plainly
point to a time when the minor differences which
at present divide mankind were unknown. The
writers of works upon Geography and Ethnology
often perplex the student, instead of aiding him, by
presenting him with some highly complex and
utterly unworkable list of the divisions of man-
kind'; whereas if they kept to the broad and simple
lines of demarcation, which nature has herself laid
down, they would be doing a great service to the
cause of science.

The simplest mode of classifying the human race
appears to me to be by colour ; and, taking this as
the basis of operations, there are three varieties of
men — the white, brown, and black ; but of these the
brown is merely the first variety in a transition
state.

The white nations are the Circassians, only one
branch of whom differs in colour from the parent
stem; the Mongols, including the Chinese, Tartars,
(to whom belong all the tribes of Chinese, Indepen-
dent Tartary, and of Siberia,) Turks, Japanese, and
Coreans ; the Arabs (and Moors), the Persians and
Esquimaux (akin to whom are the Eins, Laps,
Samoycdes, Biscayans, and Magyars).

The brown nations comprise the American Abori-
gines, the Asiatic- African races (Abyssinians, Egyp-
tians, Kaffirs, and Gallas) ; the Hottentots ; the
Malays (also Malay Polynesians and Hovahs of
Madagascar) ; Affghans ; and Indo-Chinese races.

The black are few in number, i.e., the Negroes of
Africa and Polynesia; the Papuans (of whom the
Negrittos are probably a variety) ; the Hindoos (who

are Circassians), and other races which under ex-
ceptional circumstances have changed hue.

It is very important to prove that the brown
nations are merely white nations becoming black ;
because, if we can do so, it will be a complete
answer to the assertions of those individuals who
dispute the identity of the white and black races,
on the ground that we nowhere see the change
between the two extremes of colour going on. If
we can succeed in convincing them that this change
goes on through the medium of the brown races,
we shall have removed an important obstacle to the
general acknowledgment of the unity of mankind.
That white nations have become black, we know
from history, and the testimony of our senses ; for,
at the present day, there are the black Jews of
Bombay, the Hindoos, and the Shegya Arabs of
Nubia, all perfectly black, whilst the great m.ass of
their respective nations remain white ; and that this
change was produced solely by climatic influences,
we are sure from the fact that in every one of these
cases intermarriages with other tribes have been
strictly forbidden. Of the Shegya Arabs, who live
down the Nile above Dongola, Mr. Waddington
says : " They are distinguished in every respect from
the negroes, by the brightness of their colour, by
their hair and the regularity of their features, by the
mild and dewy lustre of their eyes, and by the soft-
ness of their touch, in which last respect they yield
not to Europeans."

The first thing that we have to prove, then, is that
a white skin under certain influences becomes
' brown, and secondly, that the brown under like
circumstances deepens into black. About the truth
of the first clause I suppose there cannot exist
much difference of opinion; an inspection of the
face and hands of a countryman, or of the com-
plexion of fan old Indian resident, will sufficiently
prove the reddening and tanning influence of the
sun. To my mind the fact that amongst the brown
nations the children and high castes who are pro-
tected from the sun, are nearly as white as Euro-
peans, conclusively proves this. The Parsees, the
ancient Guebres or fire-worshippers of Persia, who
fled before the Mahometan invasion under the
Caliph Omar, in A.D. 651, to Bombay and Western
India, must originally have been of the same fair,
yellowish complexion as the modern Persians, but
are now so altered by the Indian climate as to be of
a dark blackish brown, although they have not
intermarried with the natives. No nation exhibits
this facility for changing hue, consequent upon
geographical position, more clearly than the Arabs.
Bruce observes that "some of the women are ex-
ceedingly fair," and on the mountains of Ruddua,
near Yambo, on the coast of Yemen, he was told
that the water freezes there in winter, and that
some of the inhabitants have red hair and blue eyes,
a thing scarcely ever to be seen but in the coldest

May 1, 1867.]

HABDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

Ill

mountains in" the East. The Arabs of Muscat, on
the eastern part of the peninsula, are described as
resembling Mulattoes in colour, of a sickly yellow
hue, with a deeper brownish tinge about the eyes,
neck, and joints. Voluey says that some of the
Bedouins are black, and the Arabs of Nubia whom
I have previously described, are assuredly so.
Here are the three gradations — yellow, brown,
and black. Singularly enough the same conditions
which produce blackness seem also to produce
the crisp and curly hair erroneously called "wool,"
for Bruce says that the tribes who inhabit
the middle of the deserts have locks somewhat
crisped, extremely fine, and approaching the woolly
hair of the negro.

It has always been noticed that brown individuals
were very numerous amongst black nations, such as
the Negroes, Australians, and Hindoos, especially
amongst those inhabiting the healthier districts of
their respective countries ; this otherwise inex-
plicable fact is satisfactorily solved by adopting the
theory that it is the brown nations which under
favourable circumstances become black. For-
tunately we are not left only to conjecture upon
this subject, for Winwood Beade tells us in his
" Savage Africa," that the Camma tribes inhabiting
the interior of the Gabun country have entirely
changed their complexion since they came down to
the coast for the purpose of trade with Europeans.

Within the memory of man it was rare to find a
black individual amongst them, now they have all
become black. There is collateral evidence on this
point, for higher up the coast nearer the Senegal
the red Foulahs (who are strongly suspected to
have been once white) have been swallowed up so
entirely in the black Foulahs, who have come to the
French and English settlements to trade, as to be
practically extinct. This has been hitherto attri-
buted to intermarriage with the natives ; but, as
there is no proof of its having been carried on to an
extent sufficient to account for such a transforma-
tion, it seems most reasonable to consider it a
parallel case to that cited by Winwood Beade.

This gentleman, in order to account for the self-
evident fact that the great majority of the Negro
race are actually brown, and not black as we have
been accustomed to consider them, broaches a
theory well worthy of consideration ; he asserts, and
strongly supports the assertion, that the distinctive
blackness of the West African Negro, as well as
his other physical defects, are the result of disease.
Dr. Livingstone tells us,'in his recent work on "The
Zambezi and its Tributaries," that the negroes there
are light brown in colour, and that none of the
peculiar malformations of the frame which we
have come to regard as inseparable from the
true negro are known, so that the question is
seriously suggested, how is it that the negro of
the Guinea coast differs so much from his congeners

on the East coast ? Winwood Beade believes that
the solution to this question is to be found in the
pestilential climate of the West coast which has
become quite proverbial. I would go further, and
would suggest that in the case of every black nation
throughout the world, its blackness is the result of
disease. It is a significant fact that the same con-
ditions as those prevailing in West Africa, exist in
every land where black races are fouud, and these
conditions are a flat and swampy country, usually a
sea-coast, intense heat, rank vegetation, and a more
or less pestilential climate. Who can deny that
the Andamans, the lowlands of the Indian Penin-
sula, and the shores of most of the East India
Islands, exactly answer to this description ?
Wherever the land is higher and the climate more
healthy, the race is found to be more muscular and
lighter (browner) in colour, as is the case in
Australia, Papua, Fiji, Yoruba, and the South
Indian highlands.

That the blackness is caused by disease is proved
by the fact that the more intense the colour the
more degraded the mind, the more stunted and
distorted the body, and the shorter the average
duration of life become. In the Hindoo this is
perhaps marked less distinctly than in the others,
but he comes from a better stock, and who can
deny that he is terribly deteriorated, especially in
his physical strength and length of life, when com-
pared with other Circassian races ? It may be said,
in objection to this theory, that if the blackness is
caused by climate and surroundings, this ought to
disappear when the Negro is placed in a different
position, as he is in the West Indies and America.
It must be remembered, however, that two in-
fluences militate against his restoration to the
original type. Firstly, he is the descendant of a
nation of criminals; for most of the negroes who
were sold to the slavers were negro criminals, and
therefore, according to the theory of natural
selection, ought to be, as he is, the most deeply
degraded variety of his race. And secondly, that
after all, his external circumstances were not much
changed by his transfer, for he was generally em-
ployed in districts which could not safely be
cultivated by whites, and the delta of the Missis-
sippi, the lowlands of the West India Islands, and
the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia, are
very little more salubrious than his native Guinea.
Here I must conclude my essay, which I intended
to be both brief and comprehensive, but which has
ended by being long and confined to one or two
topics. Perhaps I may finish the subject on a
future occasion, by giving some interesting facts
which I have gathered from various sources, in
conjunction with two or three examples of the
identity of the customs and traditions of nations
far removed from each other, which have come
under my notice. F. A. A.

]12

HAllDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[May 1, 1367.

MAY MUSHROOMS (Agaricus prunulus).

T?EW who walk abroad in the fields in May, but
•*- must have noticed some rings of grass much
taller and of a darker colour than that of the rest of
the field: these are generally known as "Fairy
Rings," and legendary lore tells us that they are
formed by the circular dances of which the "good
folk " were supposed to be so fond.

These rings, however caused, are known to the
Botanist as the locale for the Agaricus prunulus, a
most delicious mushroom, probably the identical
species from which the French term mousseron, and
hence our mushroom, has been derived.

As this species is abundant in the district around
Cirencester, I introduced it to the notice of my
numerous pupils as well as that of my brother Pro-
fessor at the College, and I have known seventy
persons to make a hearty supper of them at one
meal, without a single case of inconvenience, and,
in fact, we always looked forward to the month of
May for gathering our usual treat.

Some years since I took a small basket of them to
a May meet of the Cotteswold Club, which was
appointed at Swindon Station ; these were sent to
the kitchen to be cooked for our breakfast, and
when placed on the table, the perfume the dish ex-
haled, like that of Lamb's burnt pig, caused each
member to forget his scruples, and, for the first time,
to taste " toadstools." After breakfast the landlord
made his appearance and asked for some informa-
tion about the mushroom, as an Italian cook, im-
mediately upon seeing it, struck an attitude, and com-
menced heroics on " Verdant Italy." The truth is,
this is a favourite species in Italy, where it fetches
a good price, and where, as stated by Dr. Badham,
early examples are sent as " bribes to lawyers, and
fees to medical men." The dried fungus is sold in
England at the Italian warehouses under the name
of " funghi." I never had them cooked so well as
at Swindon, though I have always found them good
fried with a little bacon, having been previously
sprinkled with pepper and salt. A lady friend of
ours once stewed them, but the result was a most
unsavoury fluid, in which was roused something like
bits of soaked buckskin.

Still, cooked well this is an agreeable, wholesome,
nutritious plant, and is so abundant in some of the
pastures in the first two or three weeks of May,
that even tons of a good kind of food may be ob-
tained from them ; and here there can be no mistake,
for in as far as I know, no other fungus grows in
" Fairy Rings " in May, though I have seen the same
rings occupied by the A. orendes, also a good species,
and the A. personatus— the " blewit "—later in the
season* J. Buckman.

* For information on this useful tribe of plants, see " British
Fungi," by M. C. Cooke, a book which no one living in the
country should be without. It is published by R. Hardwicke.

ZOOLOGY.

Gracula beligiosa. — Thinking that the orni-
thological readers of Science Gossip would be
interested by a short description of two rather rare
birds, located at the present time in our town, I
will give the result of my interview with the
"Talking Minos" (Gracula religiosa). They are
in size between a blackbird and jackdaw; about
12 inches from beak to tip of tail ; of a beautiful
black colour, with yellow ears and eyelids, which,
coupled with the peculiar heavy hops and jumps,
gives them a very knowing and intelligent appear-
ance. Both birds are very loquacious, and readily
learn anything in the way of short sentences. The
tone of voice is very deep, but clear and distinct,
both birds keeping up a continual chatter, using
such expressions as the following : " Half-past six
—time to go to tea ! " " Call the watch ! " " Pretty
boy ! oh, you are a pretty boy ! " " Call the dog —
Toby ! Toby ! Toby!" (following which comes a long
whistle) ; cough three or four times ; and other
things too numerous to mention. They appear in
perfect health, very docile, not objecting to be
handled, and have been some time in England. —
/. /. Owles.

Cuckoo. — The cuckoo has appeared unusually
early this year. I saw the bird on the 27th of
March, and one of my family distinctly heard its
note some hours previous to my seeing it. The
cuckoo here almost invariably lays its egg in the
nest of the wagtail ; but about three years since, I
noticed a young cuckoo being fed and cared for by
the redstart.— 67.

Slowworm Climbing. — Is the slowworm known
to have any climbing propensities ? I have in my
possession a smallish specimen, being rather under
twelve inches in length, and in the case which he
inhabits is a diminutive dead tree, that grows nearly
upright for about six inches, and then slants for
eight inches more at an angle of 45° or less with the
ground. Up this he frequently climbs as far as the
branch extends, when he stretches about in various
directions, showing great muscular power, until he
usually overbalances, and descends quicker than he
went up. Though I have had this reptile two or
three months I have not seen him take food ; he
goes up to either worm or slug, as if to take it, but
after examination turns away with an air of indiffe-
rence.— George Guyon.

The Nightingale.— On the 12th of this mouth
(March), I distinctly heard the notes of a nightin-
gale in some woods between Claygate and Leather-
head. Two were heard near Monmouth on the 7th
(vide the Field, March 13th). These dates are, I
believe, very early, but one could scarcely mistake
the beautiful notes of the nightingale. There are a
great many about here. — L. S., Surhilon, Surrey.

May 1, 1SG7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

113

The Baillie's Salmon-Rob. — I was lying list-
lessly one day in summer thirty feet beneath tlip
surface, beyond the influence of the rapid stream
above, in the fathomless pool called The Pot, some
half-mile below Merton Bridge, a boat, kept in its
place by two light oars, floating above me, when the
fragments of a conversation reached my ears, which
by degrees absorbed my attention. A river-keeper
was detailing to his employer the circumstances
connected with the capturing of a poacher. "Ay,
sir," he said, " but that saumon-roe is a sair temp-
tation ; mony a guid mon has been beguiled by it.
A' ken ane, a baillie ; a' took him mysel'." " How
came that ? Tell us all about it," was the reply.
" A' was watching, mebbe six months syne, up in
the Pavilion Water ; the fish were thranging sair
upon the spawning-beds, and weel a' kent they were
thrang on the bank abune the Whirlies. A' was
hidden in the wee brae just abune the brig, and a'
hadna' been there mebbe twa hour, when a' see a
mon come daintily alang. Looking carefully this
way an' that, an' seeing naebody, he just out vvi' the
gaff, an' screwing it on to the end of his walking-
stick, stepped lightly into the water. It wouldna'
be mickle abune bis knee, an' the back fin o' mair
than ae great fish was plain to be seen on the bank
before him. 'Deed, but he wasted little time in
selection, an' varra little ceremony he treated 'em
with. In a second the gaff was in a puir half-spawned
beastie, an' lugging her ashore, he started aff bet
foot towards Melrose. A' up an' after him, an' for
a weighty mon he made mickle running. When he
saw me he dropped the fish, but no' stopping to
pick it up, a' just kept on under the radway brig,
down the meadows, by Ailwand Foot, under Melrose
Brig, an' there, as he was creeping up the steep
bank, a' grippit hold of him ahint ; a' grippit hard,
an' he turned and said, ' Sandy, lad ! dinna grip sae
hard ; ye'll rive ma breeks.' ' Ay, Baillie, said I,
'is that you? How cam' ye to do it?' And he
said quite solemn-like, 'Sandy!' he said, 'it was
neether the need nor the greed, but joost the
saumon-roe ! " ' Ech, Baillie,' a' said, 'a' wadna'
have believed it of ye, but it will be dear saumon-
roe to ye.' And sae it proved, for he was fined five
pund, and ither harm cam' of it." — Autobiography
of a Salmon.

Sea Eish in Fresh Water.— Last month a fish
was captured in the river Blyth, near Halesworth,
supposed to be a large specimen of the common
trout, but on examination of the head and shoulders
which were sent to me, I am confident it was a sea
or bull trout {Salmo eriox). As I believe the occur-
rence of this fish to be uncommon on the Norfolk
and Suffolk coasts, I thought the following descrip-
tion might interest some of your readers : — Length,
3 feet 4 inches, from the tip of his snout to the end
of his tail ; girth, 21 inches ; weight, 15 lbs. ; head,

peculiar in shape and size, armed with large strong
teeth. The extreme end of the lower jaw turned
up more than an inch, with a blunt point, nearly at
right angles, fitted with a corresponding hollow in
the upper jaw. The colour, a pale orange, with
spots, not very bright ; flesh very inferior.— 2?. A.,
Norwich. \

Yankee Receipt for Cockroaches.— Close in
an envelope several of these insects, and drop it
into the street unseen, and the remaining cockroaches
will all go to the finder of the parcel. It is also
said that if a looking-glass be held before cock-
roaches, they will be so frightened as to leave the
premises. — Cowan's Curious Facts.

Wintry Fleas. — During the winter of 1762, at
Norwich, after a chilling storm of snow and wind
that had destroyed many lives, myriads of fleas were
found skipping about on the snow. — Gent. Mag.,
xxxii., 20S.

Small Birds for the Antipodes. — The
caterpillar, we {New Zealand Herald) hear, is
making great havoc with the grain crops south of
Auckland, about Otahuhu, Mangarei, Wairoa, and
other places. Oats, wheat, and barley have had to
be cut green for hay, and some farmers have lost
hundreds of pounds by this pest. Again and again
we have urged upon the local legislature the neces-
sity of encouraging the importation of small birds,
and the neglect of doing so is painfully manifest in
the ravages which have taken place in the farmers'
fields this year. It is neither the climate, nor the
fact that New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere,
as some imagine, that is the cause of the presence
of these armies of caterpillars. The same thing
would occur in England were there no small birds
to destroy the insects and their larva?. In districts
at home where a ruthless destruction of small birds
has been permitted, the same results have occurred
as here. It would seem as if our local legislatures,
puffed up with the idea that they are full blown
statesmen, thought the matter of encouraging the
importation of small birds beneath their notice. A
few sparrows and finches may in themselves be very
insignificant things, but the destruction of the grain
on a whole country's side for the want of them, con-
siderably alters the question. — N. Z. Advertiser.

A Hint. — Those that know the most, are most
sensible how little they know in comparison of what
is yet unknown, and therefore consider things with
modesty and candour ; but Ignorance cries out at
once it "cannot be," inconsiderately measuring the
powers of Nature by the scanty compass of its own
experience, and more ready to reject the truth than
take the pains to find it out.— Baker, "On the
Polype."

in

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[May 1, 1S67.

BOTANY.

Distribution of Plants.— In connection with
this subject, it is, I think, quite as interesting and
important to notice what species are absent from a
district, as it is to record those which occur in it.
As an instance of this, I may name the Red Campion
{Lychnis diurna), which is at present unknown with-
in five miles of High "Wycombe; it is, I believe,
scarcely known throughout Cambridgeshire, in
which county the Barren Strawberry {Potentilla
Pragariastrum) is also said to be very uncommon.
In our Wycombe district, well wooded as it is, the
Yellow Cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense) is found
in but a very small portion ; and this is also the
case with the Wood Sage {Teucrium Scorodonia). But
when we descend to smaller districts, and to even
more common plants, we still find the same curious
irregularity. In one part of Essex, the Wake-
Robin {Arum maculatum) is almost unknown; while
a few miles off, every hedge-bottom is filled with it.
All who have really, attempted to investigate the
botany of any one district in particular, will agree
with me that the distribution of plants is in itself
a subject of deep interest, and one which deserves
far more attention than it has yet obtained. — B.

A Deodara {Cedrus deodara), in the garden of
the Vicarage, Bredwardine, produced two fertile
cones last year. On comparing them with cones
taken at the same"time[Trom a Cedar of Lebanon in
the same garden, the only differences I noticed were,
that the cone of the Deodara was smaller and more
obtusely' pointed than the Cedar of Lebanon, and
was of a looser structure. I have been told that it
is by no means uncommon for Deodaras to produce
cones in England, but that the trees which do so
are generally stunted. This is by no means the case
with this one. It is a remarkably well-grown and
graceful tree. Its age, as nearly as I can discover,
is from 35 to 40 years. — R. B.

Sensitive Plants. — Your correspondent
" J. L. B." will find that the stamens of the Pock
Pose {Heliauthemum vidgare) are similarly sensitive
to those of the Barberry. The only British species
with which I am acquainted which really deserves
the name of sensitive plant is the Wood-sorrel
{Oxalis acetosellci). If its leaves be roughly han-
dled, they will gradually fold up — not in the same
wonderfully instantaneous manner as those of the
Mimosa, but quite perceptibly, though slowly;
but, curiously enough, this property is more evident
in some specimens than in others. I first noticed it
in some plants of wood-sorrel which I had in culti-
vation. The remarkable manner in which the seed
is dispersed was also then first brought under my
observation. Many plants are sensitive of the
approach of rain, but the Oxalis leaves arc the only
ones I know which close at the touch. — B.

Exogens.— When the axe is laid to the roots of
the monarch of the woods, and other forest trees, a
host of adventitious buds are thrown out from the
more -or less remaining stump, which progress, and
in some cases bid fair to rival their progenitors. I
believe the rule holds good in both deciduous and
evergreen Exogens, with the exception of a few
genera, from Quercus (the oak) down to the humblest
shrub. The Coniferse seem the only kinds, whether
young or of more advanced growth, 'that lack the
vegetative power in the stump. I have observed the
denuded trunk of larch to send forth shoots when
laid on the ground, but not one from the former,
although'.I have watched closely for a series of years,
Have any of your readers observed the same, and can
they suggest a cause ? I am aware that if a plant
be severed at the junction of radicle, and plumule
(termed the neck), it is certain death. Can this be
said to apply to trees, such as the larch and pine? —
/. Maughan.

The Mezereon {Daphne Mezereon). — This
rare plant is, I am glad to say, not yet extinct in
Bucks. I have found it this year in one of its old
localities near High Wycombe; and it has been
observed also in another wood not far hence. — B.

The Primrose {Primula vulgaris). — The form
of this plant, which is generally known by the name
of Oxlip — although the true oxlip {P. elatior, Jacq.)
is a widely differing species— is one of the most
beautiful and interesting of our spring flowers. A
very fine specimen which was brought me the other
day had on the same root the umbels elevated on a
footstalk, which characterise the oxlip, and the
apparently solitary flowers of the primrose. I am
inclined to believe that this oxlip is not/as has been
asserted, a hybrid between the cowslip and primrose,
but rather a development of the latter species. I
have found oxlips among primroses frequently, but
never among cowslips ; and although they seem to
assume a middle position between the two, I fancy
the primrose characteristics are always the more
defined. Perhaps, after all, Linuseus was in the
right when he united all these forms under one
species, which he named P. veris. I have been
much struck this spring with the curious metamor-
phoses which occur in the calyx of the garden
polyanthus. In some, this is transformed into a
second corolla, under the first; this I have observed
in two or three instances, and in widely differing
forms. A more curious variation still is that in
which the calyx is replaced by leaves, which spread
out and far exceed the corolla in size. In some
cases these are green, in others green streaked with
red, and in texture a curious compound of leaf and
petal. This form is very common in our cottage
gardens. Perhaps Mr. Holland, who is so well up
in monstrosities, may be able to give some ad-
ditional examples. — B.

May 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

115

MICROSCOPY.

Cuticle of Leaves.— At the last meeting of the
Quekett Microscopical Club, an interesting dis-
cussion took place on the relative advantages of
removing the cuticle from the leaves of plants by
the slow process of maceration iu pure water, or the
quicker one of boiling iu uitric acid. Since then I
have made a first and successful attempt by the
latter method, aud hoping it may induce others to
try experiments who hitherto have been deterred by
fancied difficulties, I now give the result. A leaf of
a rhododendron which had been dry for some
months, and a freshly gathered leaf of an azalea,
were put into a test tube, and covered with un-
diluted nitric acid of commerce — I believe about
1*320 specific gravity : the tube was held over a
spirit lamp until the acid just boiled, and the
contents were then thrown into a basin of cold
water. The cuticle of the rhododendron leaf par-
tially separated spontaneously ; that of the azalea
came off without the least difficulty The whole
operation did not occupy more than five minutes.
Undoubtedly many leaves, according to then- texture,
will require different strengths of acid, and longer
or shorter periods of boiling ; therefore, if members
of the club will try experiments, noting the specific
gravity of acid used, and, if diluted, the proportion
of water added, and communicate the results to each
other, much useful information may be obtained. —
W. J. B. Arnold, Fulham.

Diatoms in Shell Eish.— Dwellers in towns
need not go far to obtain certain diatoms for their
microscopes, as a large variety is at once procurable
from the nearest fishmonger. This the following
experiments may serve to prove. During the past
month I purchased and brought home a quart of
cockles. These I opened one by one, and placed
what 1 supposed were the intestines (brown-looking
little threads, plainly visible when the animal is
split open with a penknife) by themselves in a
wine-glass. After treating these with hot acids, and
cleaning and washing as usual, I obtained slides
containing specimens of the following genera :
Coscinocliscus, Hyalodiscvs, Actinoptychus, Navi-
cula, Surirella. I then tried mussels, and got valves
of Cymatopleura, Bictyocha, Campylodiscus, Cocco-
neis, Trice ratium ; and, lastly, by cleaning the
washings of a few oyster-shells, obtained specimens
of Biddulphia, Amphitetras, Nitzschia, Pleurosigmu,
Statironeis, Zygoceros, &c. After a few trials, I
found that the most satisfactory way of getting
slides of the above genera was by patiently picking
the valves out under an erector, mounting them as
selected diatoms, and restricting the number to four
or five on a slide. This will perhaps be found a
tedious process, but I know of no royal road to the
preparation of good slides. I was told that the

cockles were brought from Holy Island, the mussels
from Yarmouth, and the oysters from the west
coast of Scotland. — //. W.

Rack or Binoculars.— Allow me to call the
attention of the various makers to an error in the
construction of, I believe, all binocular microscopes
—but one that is as easily avoided as committed.
The spindle of the pinions, which work the racks of
the draw -tubes, is, in every instrument which I have
seen, placed at a right-angle to the axis of the
principal tube. The result is (the teeth being the
same in both), that the left tube travels further for
each revolution of the pinion than the right — and
hence a difference of focus in the two eye-pieces.
Some may consider this of small importance, but I
maintain that a first-class instrument should be free
from all avoidable defects, however minute. In my
case, it is of considerable importance as I am un-
usually wide between the eyes ; and I find that
when the tubes of my microscope are sufficiently
drawn to suit my eyes, the difference in the distance
travelled by the two amounts nearly to -^ of an
inch. The obvious way of overcoming this, is to
place the spindle at a right-angle to a line drawn
from the edge of the prism to a point midway
between the two eye-pieces. It would thus be at
an equal angle to both racks, and their movement
would be alike. — James Vogan.

Erector, for Binoculars. — At the March
meeting of the Quekett Club, a member exhibited
an application of the erector to Richards' Universal
Investigation tube, for the purpose of dissection, &c.
By this means an erect and binocular view of the
object is obtained, with little loss of light, and good
definition. This combination, which seems to offer
some advantages over the erector as usually con-
structed, is to be had of Mr. C. Baker, High Holborn,
at a less cost (including the tube) than that usually
charged for the erector alone.

Spermaceti. — My attention was drawn to this
substance by observing the crystalline appearance
it gave to pomade ; and the idea suggested itself
that it would make a good polarizing object. I took
a small quantity, and proceeded with it in the same
manner as for fusible crystals, only that when melted
on the slide it should have a thin cover dropped
on it, otherwise the substance is too dense to allow
sufficient light to pass through. I think this is
something entirely new ; to watch the manner of
concretion is worthy of remark. — E. Histed.

Turntable. — I recently felt the want of some
shallow cells for mounting minute crystals in pre-
servative solutions, and not having a turntable at
hand I set to work" to make one. I failed on my
first attempt, but was easily able to remedy its
faults in the second ; as it is a very simple contriv-
ance, and one; requiring but a small amount of

116

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[May 1, 1867.

mechanical skill, I thought some of your readers
might perhaps prefer one of their own constructiou
to investing from 5s. to 15s. on what would not
answer the purpose one whit the better, and so I
send you an account of my proceedings. The first
I made of soft deal ; it consisted of two wheels of
three and four inches diameter grooved on the cir-
cumference, the smaller one to hold the slide was
made to revolve by an endless band passing from it
to the larger one, which was turned by the hand. It
was not the thing, however ; there was too much
friction between the lower surface of the wheels and
the board on which they were screwed, and as they
worked rather loosely around the screws their
centres were not constant ; and thus, though I
managed with it to point several cells, they did not
come up to my idea of circles. I found that the
two essentials of the machine are perfect centreing,
and the reduction of friction to a minimum, and
after turning it over in my mind for a short time,
I hit upon an expedient for accomplishing this ad-
mirably. I took a piece of heavy Spanish maho-
gany, and cut a circle a little more than three inches
in diameter and half an inch thick («), and drilled a
hole through the centre ; I then got a small key, filed
off the wards, cut it in half, and drove it into the

Fig. 89. Section of Turntable.

hole. Eor a pivot I took a brass-headed nail,
knocked off its head, and filed it till it accurately
fitted the key, finishing it off with a point (b) ; I then
drove the other end into a bit of deal (c), and drop-
ping a little oil into the barrel of the key, inverted
it on the pivot ; on giving it a sharp spin it revolved
exactly half a minute. To hold the slide in place,
fasten a slip of wood, the thickness of slide, half an
inch from centre of circle, and upon this, and at
right angles to it, about an inch and a half apart,
screw two narrow strips of thin brass or sheet-tin,
which may be readily cut with a strong pair of scissors.
Before securing them in their places, they should be
bent a little downwards, so as to act as a clip. I
do not imagine this turntable is superior in principle
to those of the instrument-makers, though I never
had the opportunity of examining one ; if there is
any merit, it is in utilizing two articles within every-
body's reach for the pivot and pivot socket ; hoping,
if anyone makes the experiment, he will succeed as
well as I have done. — Frederic H. Ward.

GEOLOGY.

Plesiosatjrtjs. — A new species of Plesiosatirus
has been purchased by the British Museum. The
specimen is from the Lower Lias, near Charmouth,
and has been named „by Professor Owen Plesiosaurus
caticeps. It measures nearly fourteen feet long,
and with the exception of the displacement of a
few caudal vertebrae, the vertebral column is in
a complete and natural state.

Colliery Explosions and the Barometer. —
Mr. J. Rofe writes to the Geological Magazine, and
shows that colliery proprietors have only to watch
the barometer, and provide in accordance with its
indications for the supply of air to the mines.
Alluding to the well-known " Blowing-well " of
Preston, in Lancashire, he states that some time
since, in a well recently constructed by him as a
cesspool to some chemical works, he observed the
phenomena characterising the " Blowing-well."
When the atmospheric pressure diminished, the air
came from the well loaded to a disagreeable extent
with the offensive vapour from the cesspool. On
continuing his observations with a barometer, he
found similar results. He concludes from these
facts that a coal mine must be regarded as a gigantic
well from which, when the atmospheric pressure
diminishes, the air expands, and rushes out with
great violence. This circumstance is not of itself
dangerous, but if there be an excess of gas in the
mine, and at the same time, from accident or careless-
ness, a means of ignition, then, indeed, the con-
sequences are very likely to be serious. Hence the
barometer becomes the miner's safest guide.

Origin of Petroleum. — Although nearly all
geologists are agreed as to the organic origin of
petroleum, a great many are of opinion that the
rock-oil is the result of a natural distillation of coal.
Professor Hitchcock, however, no mean authority,
comes to a different conclusion. Admitting with all
who have carefully studied the matter that pe-
troleum is of organic origin, he says that in his
opinion it comes from plants, and that it is not, as
some have suggested, a fish-oiL or a substance altered
to adipocere. It does not appear to be the result of
a natural distillation of coal, since its chemical com-
position is different from the oil manufactured
artificially from the cannels, containing neither nitro-
benzole nor aniline. Moreover, petroleum occupied
fissures in the Silurian and Devonian strata long
before the trees of the coal period were growing
iu their native forests. The nearly universal
association of brine with petroleum, and the fact of
the slight solubility of hydro-carbons in fresh, but
insolubility iu salt water, excite the inquiry whether
the salt water of primaeval lagoons may not have
prevented the escape of the vegetable gases beneath,
and condensed them into liquids.

May 1, 1S67-]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

117

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Water Boatman.— Should any one be tempted
to follow the advice of Mr. John Bockett by in-
troducing the Water Boatman into an aquarian), let
him beware of putting him in company with fish.
When less experienced than at present, I introduced
several into my children's aqua-vivarium, and in
about two or three days such was the mortality that
we thought some terrible epidemic had seized our
fish. While looking mournfully at our pets, with
this idea, we saw a Water Boatman lodge on the
head of a rather large gold fish, who shook it off and
swam away, but in a few minutes staggered,
struggled, turned on its side, and died. Carefully
watching them, we witnessed several similar attacks
•with the same result ; I need not say the murderers
were summarily ejected. No doubt they are
amusing creatures in a separate tank. — L. H. F.

Rural Natural" History.— I know not how
far Mr. Holland's ingenious speculation regarding
"fistles" is correct, but he may be interested in
knowing that "fistula" is in the district (W Nor-
folk), generally pronounced by the poor "thistulo."

Cure for Ague? — A curious mode of treatment
for ague is practised in Marshland. I give it as it
was narrated to a clerical friend in that district.
"Well, sir, you must catch a moll, and it must
be a male moll." " What is a moll ? " says his
reverence. "A moll, sir! why one of those little
creatures which they hang on trees " (meaning, 0
illiterate reader, a mole'). "Well, sir, you must
then skin it, and dry the body in the oven, and then
powder it, and you must take as much of the powder
as will lie on a shilling every day in gin. You must
take it for nine days running, and then miss nine,
and then take it nine days more, and then (note well
the final part of the treatment ! ) miss nine. By this
time you are cured." " Thank you," said my friend,
departing. " But mind, sir," shouts the doctress,
" it must be a mule moll." — L.

Birds Breeding in Confinement.— The best
and I believe only successful plan, is to put the pair
of birds intended for breeding into the cage intended
for that purpose, which should be hung against the
wall of the room in which you intend having your
birds at liberty, and (if they will) let them get as far
as having young ones ; at night open the doors of
the cage (gently) ; in the morning and next day
they will most likely fly in and out, and feed the
young. The birds reared in this manner are stronger
and healthier than when kept in a closed cage. Some
of the birds mentioned by A. P. he will find it very
difficult to get to breed in confinement, as Siskin
and Snow Bunting, but all the others ought to do
so freely. At first the Linnets are rather sulky,
but when once they begin they get on very well.
The hemp seed should be given very sparingly, as it
makes them corpulent, and not inclined for breeding.
Hard egg is most essential, and should be given
(one between each pair) every week ; it need not be
chopped up, as was the old style, but cut in two and
left in the half shells ; in this way it will keep better.

— a. r. <.

Early Wasp. — I caught a female wasp {Vespa
vulgaris) on the 22nd February, this year, being
nine days earlier than the one recorded by your
correspondent Henry W. T. Ellis. It was captured
on a tree in Kensington Gardens, and was extremely
lively— if. H. QFurrell.

Spawning of the Erog. — Your correspondent
for March (George Dansey), in alluding to the
above subject, stated that "spawning takes place in
the night." This may be occasionally, but not as a
rule. "At our last meeting (Lower Mosley Street,
Schools Natural History Society), one of the
members made a communication to the effect that
he and his friend had been in the fields, and had
come across a number of frogs that were in the act
of spawning, some of which he picked up, and
received the spawn in his hand. This was about
four o'clock in the afternoon. 1 myself saw some
toads spawning last summer at midday, in the
Manchester Museum. As this is an interesting
subject, it would be advisable for those who have
watched the habits of frogs to give their experience,
in order that we may ascertain whether they (frogs)
do or do not spawn during the night.—//. Hyde.

Skeleton Leaves.— I would feel greatly obliged
if you or any of the subscribers to Science-Gossip
could inform me how to dry skeleton leaves. After
bleaching them, how do you prevent them from
sticking to the paper on which you lift them out of
the water ? You can take them out of the water in
the same manner as seaweeds, but then they stick
fast to the paper. — /. S. S.

Dust on Aquaria. — The following is a simple
method of removing this. Lay a piece of paper
gently on the surface of the water, allowing the
whole under-side to become wet; then, carefully
raising one end of the paper, peel it off, and the
dust, &c. will be entirely removed, adhering to the
paper. By repeating the process two or three times
wherever dust, &c, occurs, the water will be found
perfectly clean.— George Henslow.

Earo apophyllite. — Can any of your corre-
spondents give some information about this crystal ?
Quekett, in his work on the microscope, mentions
it, on the authority of Sir David Brewster, as a
splendid polariscopic object, " when the prisms are
complete." — A. S.

How did they get there ?— Some years ago
while staying at Bicester, in Oxfordshire, I met
with a circumstance which has often struck me as
worthy of record. I was standing, on a hot summer's
day on a bridge over a little stream, the parapet of
which was formed of broad thin slices of stone,
cemented one upon the other. The top stone
appearing loose, I pushed it off, and its removal was
followed by that of another, and another — to the
detriment, I fear, of the bridge. When I had
arrived at about the third layer, a toad hopped out,
and as I progressed in my work of destruction,
many more appeared— in all about a dozen. How
did they get there? The cement appeared quite
firm, save just at the top ; and I could see no
crevices through which they could have entered.
The toads were very dry and dusty, and seemed to
be quite at home in their nooks. The remarkable
point was, that the lower I went, the more toads
appeared ; and how they got in is still to me an
unexplained mystery. — B.

The First Swallow. — I was much surprised to
see a martin {Chelidon urhicd) on the 5th of this
month. Mr. Jesse, in his " Gleanings," notes the
3rd of April as the earliest date for the appearance
of the swallow; but here I never remember seeing
them before the 15th or Kith. We are not aiviug
our old friend a very genial welcome. — Robert
Holland.

118

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[May 1, 1S67.

Birds Breeding in Confinement. — Though I
cannot supply A. Pickard with the information he
desires, yet the record of my experience may be of
some assistance. Bechstein, I think, cites a few
instances of cage birds breeding in confinement;
but the occurrence is very rare.

A pair of greenfinches were brought up from the
nest by a pair of canaries ; the male bird acquired
the song calls of his foster-father ; but the female
preserved the calls of the species. Eor several
successive summers these greenfinches built nests,
the hen laid eggs, but the male on every occasion
prevented her from sitting. I have no doubt that
if A. P. reared the birds from the nests, and thus to
some extent domesticated them, they might be
brought to breed in confinement, especially if they
have the use of an aviary, containing growing shrubs
and plants. — B. Tate.

Revolving Stereoscopes. — There are few
instruments more attractive and interesting in the
family circle than a good revolving stereoscope, but
unfortunately they have, because of their great cost,
been used to a very limited extent. The importance
of obtaining revolving stereoscopes to contain fifty
slides, at greatly reduced prices, led me to suggest
to two of the principal wholesale dealers in optical
instruments in London, the desirability of producing
revolving stereoscopes at such prices as would
enable working men in the receipt of weekly wages,
to obtaiu them with comparative ease ; and I am
glad to inform your numerous readers that revolving
stereoscopes of neat appearance, and of excellent
optical capabilities, may now be had of any respect-
able dealer in optical instruments, at about one
third the sum previously charged for such apparatus.
So popular are the new revolving stereoscopes that
one dealer in Newcastle-on-Tyne has within the
last few days ordered upwards of one hundred, and
a similar or even greater sale, might by a little
enterprise be obtained in all the large towns in the
kingdom. — T. P. Barleas, Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Honey Ant of Texas. — A Texas paper of a late
date, speaking of the honey ant, says : " We have
often heard of the 'honey ant ' of Texas, but the ac-
count seeming so romantic, we have heretofore been
hardly able to credit it, but as we now! have a speci-
men before us, furnished by our friend Leo Smith,
of this city, we can no longer have any doubts on
the subject. These ants are a medium size between
the large and small red ants, aud are of a reddish
and brown colour. Appended to the rear of each one
is a transparent sac or globe filled with pure, clear
honey, of a most delicious flavour. These sacs vary
in size on different ants — ranging between the size
of a buckshot and a navy pistol ball. On this sac,
at short intervals, are attached thin layers about
the length and width of half a grain of rice, and of a
dark colour, evidently to strengthen it and keep it in
shape. These interesting animals, when they craw],
draw their delicious load after them, and if the
sac is empty, they set themselves to work to re-
plenish it again. Whether they deposit this honey
in their great general reservoir among the rocks, to
draw froni it as occasion may require, or hold and
use it as individual property, we are not informed.
Here is a curiosity that we believe has heretofore
escaped the eyes and pens of our celebrated natu-
ralists."

Are these ants unknown to entomologists, as the
Editor of the American Paper believes, or if known,
by what name are they distinguished ?—S. A.
Stewart.

Rural Natural History.— Will you allow me
to correct a slight error into which my friend
Mr. Holland has fallen, in your last number ? He
represents me as saying that the dock is "used in
Buckinghamshire as an antidote to the sting of the
nettle;" whereas I specified Essex as the county in
whichthis use obtains (S. G., ii., 83). I would not
have troubled you with this, save that I have not
yet met with the practice in Bucks.— B.

Poffanas multiformis .* — This curious fish is
imported every year into England at the end of
March, or in the first days of April, coming especially
from the United States, sometimes also from Prance.
Great numbers of species, or rather varieties, are
known -. the P. capensis or lunarius reported to have
been found by Dr. Herschel at the Cape of Good
Hope. The P. Martii found fossil in America in an
aerolite, &c, are most interesting specimens. I
believe the whale that was cast upon the shore
near Dunkirk, in April, 1863, during a south-eastern
storm, and which is described in a recent Prench
work, is the P. bolcencrformis. A new species is P.
therm a lis, just found at the island of Santorin (when
out of hot water the fish dies), is boiled and eatable.
English and Prench journalists sometimes gratify
their friends with a dish of Puffanasfish; the Prench
call them generally "Poisson d'Avril." I beg to
warn your readers against any too marvellous news
they may meet with in the papers at this season,
assuring them, probably, it will belong to the^genus
Puffanas. — B. Melle.

Dust on Aquaria. — To remove this, I cut a news-
paper into strips about 16 inches by 2| inches, my
aquarium being 18 inches wide, aud I frequently
skim soup or broth. I find that two sweeps of the
skim the surface of the_ water by running the edge of
the strip of paper over it in the same manner as cooks
strip of paper remove all the dust resting on the
surface of the water, and leave it perfectly clean and
brightly. Another advantage is that very little
water is wasted, and the aquarium may be perfectly
cleaned in twenty seconds. — T. P. Barleas.

Double Oranges. — I have in my possession a
small orange that was found in the centre of a large
one, and is quite perfect except that the rind is
wanting. And it was only the other day that I read
in the Manchester Examiner and Times of one having
been found with the rind upon it, and strange to
say it was of the same yellow colour as the larger
orange. As I am quite ignorant of the cause of the
development of these double oranges, I shall be
glad if any of your correspondents will enlighten
me— H. H.

Aquarium Pest.— L. HP. (p. 70), asks why
do the eggs of the water-snails, which are adherent
to the sides of his or her aquarium, never hatch ?
Why, give them time ! In my little book on the
British Snails, I have stated that the eggs of the
fresh-water snails are hatched in about thirty days ;
and I dare say, 'ere this, L. H. P. will have verified
this.— P. Tate.

Polarising a Rainbow. — When a portion of a
rainbow is viewed through a Nichol's prism, and
the prism turned till the long diagonal coincides
with the chord of the arc viewed, the coloured rays
disappear. Do they consist of light polarised in
one direction ? — /. W.

* Puff and anas = canard.

May 1, 1S67.

HABDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

119

Spawning of Frogs. — Frogs began to spawn
here during the warm weather which we had at the
end of February. I did not note down the exact
date, but on March 2nd I passed a quantity of
spawn imbedded in ice. Would the vitality of this
be destroyed ? A strange notion prevails here that
three-year-old frogs destroy all the four-year-old
frogs. The females are generally larger than the
males, and hence the idea that they are of different
ages ; whilst the fact that many of the females do
die after spawning, — from exhaustion, or because
from weakness they cannot escape from their
enemies, the boys, — has given rise to the belief that
the smaller ones kill the larger ones. Frogs arc
also looked upon as good weather-guides. If they
are of a bright yellowish colour, it will be fine
weather; if of a dull brown, it will rain. Frogs
certainly vary greatly in colour, but whether they
are capable of changing their hue, like a chameleon,
I do not know. — Robert Holland.

Hyalodiscus. — Your correspondent " R. G."
kindly sent me a slide of diatoms from under Menai
Bridge^ containing one specimen of what he considers
to be Hyalodiscus subtilis, var. hrvis. I find abundant
specimens of the same form in slides of diatoms
from Teignmouth and Isle of Arran. I believe it to
be a Podosira, possibly Podosira maculata (S.), see
Pritchard, p. 815, 4th edition, and S. B. D., vol. ii.,
p. 51, pi. 19, fig. 328. The disc is certainly convex,
and not flat, convexity being the distinguishing
characteristic of Podosira as opposed to Hyalodiscus.
The markings, moreover, are not like an engine-
turned back of a watch, but the disc appears ob-
scurely divided into compartments, each with two
sets of oblique, intersecting, distinct strise. — H. R.

The Lackey Moth. — I recently found some
eggs, greeuish and of a conical shape. From a
drawing 1 have seen, I believe them to be the eggs
of the Lackey Moth. If so, a rather curious cir-
cumstance presents itself. In all books on insects
that I have read, the eggs of the Lackey Moth are
represented as being made in a ring round the
branch of a tree. Now these eggs were laid on
the trunk of a tree, and in a patch not — a ring. Is
this a common occurrence ? I have never seen it
noted by any writer on entomology. Perhaps some
of the readers of Science-Gossip may have met
with a similar instance. — H. H. O'Farrell.

Brimstone Butterfly. — I saw here this year
the first Brimstone Butterfly on the lothof February.
I believe this butterfly has no regular time for its
apparitions, as several others; I have observed since
nearly twenty years the periodical visits of birds,
insects, &c, and have seen it sometimes very soon,
when there was only a glimpse of fine weather. In
1852 it appeared on the 21st December ; in 1862 on
the 11th of January. The Brimstone Butterfly is
called in French " Citron," the Brimstone Moth
"Soufre."— B. Melle.

Mice and Cockroaches. — In the struggle for
existence, is there any antagonism between mice
and cockroaches ? My house at one time, and for
years, was swarmed with the latter, of which I have
a special horror. At that period we had no mice.
Within the last year or two mice have taken their
abode with us, and are now not only numerous but
supreme, the cockroach having disappeared before
it, and this without any poison or other means
having been resorted to. Have the mice eaten
them or frightened them away ?— /. B. Keene.

Sensitive Plants (v. S. G., p. 91).— I have seen
in some authors that the false Acacia (Robinia
pseudo Acacia), w;hen suddenly and violently shaken,
seems also sensitive, but I never experienced that.
— B. Melle.

Babeer (v.S. G. p.90).— Might that cane not bethe
Briophorum Cannabhium, called, 1 believe, in India
" Bhabhar," and employed there with other grasses
for making ropes ? — B. Melle.

An Egg within an Egg (v. S. G. p. 91). — We have
here, in the Museum, an egg enclosed in another,
just as the one described by C. A. J. A communi-
cation was made last year to the Academie des
Sciences of a similar occurrence. The case seems
to happen occasionally. — B. Melle.

Santonine, &c. — E. M. will readily procure
most_ beautiful crystals of santonine from its solu-
tion in chloroform. By varying the strength of the
solution, and the quantity laid upon the slide, E. M.
will procure a variety of combinations. Let the
solution evaporate spontaneously. My specimens
are mounted dry. Has your correspondent tried
Naphthaline ? If not, he should do so, thus. Place
a flake or two at the bottom of a watch-glass, over
which put a lidless salve or pill box, with the
bottom uppermost, and with a hole punched in it ;
over the hole place your glass slip, and apply a
spirit-glass to the under side of the watch-glass,
when the vapour of the naphthaline will condense on
the slide in most exquisite crystals (vide Intell. Obs.
vol. vi., p. 111). I have not yet been very suc-
cessful in mounting this highly volatile substance. —
J. E. Whalley.

Double Pear. — A notice of a peculiar pear
in Science-Gossip reminds me of one I saw some
time ago. It differed from that described by your
correspondent in being a double pear, the second
growing out of the eye of the first— hanging and
separated from it by a stalk. This pear grew on a
tree against a wall. — H. Smith.

Stickleback out of Water.— The other day
the boys were turning out the aquarium, and left
the fish — which were three-spined sticklebacks
(Gasterosteus aculeatus) — rather too long in a
bottle. The consequences were that many of them
died. The aquarium glass was refilled, and the
boys put the live sticklebacks in, leaving the sup-
posed dead ones— of which I rescued three — in
a saucer, without any water. This was at 1 p.m.
Just before I went to bed — it being then 10 p.m. —
I saw that the boys had not taken away the sup-
posed dead fish. I determined to give them a small
lecture for the omission ; aud poured a little water
into^the saucer, and put it on one side. The next
morning, when I told a boy to take it away, he
said, " Why, sir, here is one of the fish alive ! "
And sure enough there was. We put it into the
aquarium, and it has lived a week. Do sticklebacks
generally live six hours without water ? — P. R. R.

Santonine. — To prepare slides of rosette crystals,
place about ten grains of santonine in a small test
tube, and pour upon it one dram of chloroform,
and dissolve by a gentle heat ; then drop upon
glass slips a small portion of the solution, which
will rapidly evaporate, depositing fine rosette
crystals of the salt. Canada balsam or Deane's
gelatine medium will answer well for mounting
them. — P. R. Martin, Redland, Bristol.

120

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[May 1, 1S67.

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, contri-
butions should not be received later than the 15th of each
month. No notice whatever can be taken of communi-
cations which do not contain the name and address of the
writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be with-
held. 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 manu-
script 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 : x 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 inad-
missible under any circumstances. Those of the popular
names of British plants and animals are retained and regis-
tered for publication when sufficiently complete for that
purpose, in whatever form may then be decided upon.
Address No. 192, Piccadilly, London, W.

A. C. K. — It is clearly impossible.

A. G. H. — 1. Helve hispid a ; 2. Limnea glaber ; 3. Pisidinm
cinereum ; 4. Helix concinna ; 5. No specimen; 6. Limncea
palustris ; 7- Helicella excaoata. — R. T.

J. D. L. — Your specimen is the operculum of a recent
species of Turbo.— R. T. Letters received after the 15th of
the month cannot be replied to until the following month.

P. E. B. — Most probably a species of Dytiscus.

S. J. B. — Alcoholic solution of corrosive sublimate. Alcohol,
50 parts to 1 of the salt. Let your objects be perfectly dry.

Erratum.— Page 66, Vol. III., for J. W. Mencher, read
J. W. Meacher.

J. H. A. — Your quill arrived unsealed. No insects, nor
remains of them, to be found.

J. D.— The caterpillar is that of the Magpie Moth (Abraxas
grossulariata) .

M. — "Our Common Insects," by Mrs. E. W. Cox, price
2s. 6d. London: R. Hardwicke.

W. V. A. — You have omitted to enclose your address.

H. H. — The fault of which you complain is certainly fre-
quently committed, but we hardly see how you would propose
to remedy it. A cheap work must necessarily be, to a certain
extent, elementary also.

W. N. — Nothing new. It is constantly observed.

H. R. — Your packet for R. G. is to hand. We must, how-
ever, decline the responsibility of forwarding glass and a letter
by " Pattern post." Both are forbidden by the rules of the
Post Office.

R. H.— Thanks. You shall be advised in good time.

E. C. — We cannot recognise the insect from your descrip-
tion. Try tobacco smoke, or syringing with a strong decoction
of tobacco.

T. O.-We have tried your experiment, but failed of
success. It is not easy to understand a priori why the effects
of which you speak should b« produced.

H. C. — 1. Impossible, without first identifying the species.

2. They rarely lay in this country ; we do not know where
eggs can be obtained. 3 and 4. See Vol. II., pp. 164, 186, 213,
237, and 256. 5. Consult " Brewster's Optics," or " Lardner
on the Microscope."

J. B. L. — 1. Bryum alpinum ; 2. Hypnum cotnmutatum ;

3. Sypnum (Eurhynchium) preelongutn. — R. B.

Th. — Hypnum (Eurhynchium) piliferum, with preelongtun
intermixed. Planlugo coronopus is very variable— sometimes
hirsute, sometimes nearly glabrous. The Riccia appears to be
barren fronds of Sphanocarpus Miclielii. — R. B. Can you
forward a few specimens of this genm for a correspondent?

W. C. — It is very unsatisfactory attempting to name speci-
mens from sketches or bare descriptions. Can you not send
a frond ?

W. H. — We know of many similar works, but none contain-
ing more detailed information. What branch of Entomology
do you intend to study ?

W. D. G. — You have omitted to give your name. " Lan-
kester's Aquavivsrium " is the best, but is now out of print.

H. R. O— 1. "Anatomical Manipulation," by Tulk and
Henfrey (Van Voorst, 1844), which may be picked up, second-
hand, for 3s. or 4s. 2. We know of no single book that would
supply the deficiency.

J. M.— Solitary butterflies are often taken at unseasonable
periods.

W. V.—Podura: can be obtained at any time during the
summer.

T. L.— Such abnormal forme are far from uncommon.

W. F. S.— You cannot do better than purchase " Davies on
Mounting," London: R. Hardwicke, in which you will
find all the particulars you seek.

C. J.— Your red sea-weed is Ptilola plumosa.

M. H.— Your suggestion is good, and shall have due con-
sideration.

Double Egos. — Having been overwhelmed with corre-
spondence upon this subject, we are compelled to postpone
many communications for want of space.

EXCHANGES.

Flint Flakes (arrowhead?), several varieties from the
gravels around Belfast, for similar flakes from other locali-
ties, or Geological specimens. — W. Gray, Mount Charles,
Belfast.

Diato.maceous Earths from Antrim, &c, for other
objects, mounted or unmounted. — W. Gray, Mount Charles,
Belfast.

Fossil Diatomack/e (mounted) for other mounted objects.
— W. Fletcher, Grammar School, Bromsgrove.

British Seaweeds for British Birds' Eggs, or Preserved
Foreign Reptiles.— F. Stanley, Harold-road, Margate.

Gorgonia spicules and Tabellaria flocculosu (mounted)
for other good slides of Diatoms or Polariscope objects. —
W. H., Stamp Office, Fordingbridge.

PEN'cii.-TAiLSfor Infusorial Earths or Diatoms, unmounted.
— H. H., 3, Edward-street, Moseley-road, Birmingham.

Fossil Wood in sections from Ashby de-la- Zouch. —
Stamped envelope to J. Butterworth, 5, Bridgewater- street,
Oldham.

Cotton Seed for Diatoms or Entomological slides. — E. M.,
6, Holford-square, Pentonville, W.C.

Calytrcea (20 species) for a good skeleton of the Squirrel.
— G. A. Lebour, Fez Lodge, Addison-crescent, Kensington,
W.

British Birds' Skins for Eggs of the same. — J. Aspdin,
Richmond, Yorkshire.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

"The Birds of Norfolk," by Henry Stevenson, F.L.S.
Vol. I. London : Van Voorst.

"The Doctrine of the Correlation of Forces," by the Rev.
J. Cranbrook. Edinburgh : Edmonston & Douglas.

" The Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science."
No. XXVL, April, I867. London: Churchill & Sons.

"The Quarterly Magazine of the High Wycombe Natural
History Society." No. IV. Wycombe: W. Butler.

" Theoretical Astronomy Examined and Exposed," by
" Common Sense." London: Job Caudwell.

Communications Received: — J. R. C. — J. S. T. — A. L. —
J. W. M.— W. S. M. D'U.— W. G.— W. F.— J. D. L.— D. E. G.
—J. G.— R. H.— F. A. A.— J. E. W.— Dr. L.— S. J. B.— A. S.—
E. K.— F. S.— L. H. F.— F. E. B.— C. D.— W. P. M.— B.—
H. H. O'F., Jun.— J. P.— J. S. S.— J. D.— F. R. M.— J. G.
(Sherborne).— C. J. W— J. J. O.— F. R. S— W. C— S. C—
H. R.— H. H.— A. W. C— J. B. K.— J. P.— J. M.— M.— E. H.
— C. G. F— W. G. (Belfast).— J. W.— B. (Melle).— G. B. C—
W. N.— J. D. L— J. B.— W. V. A— G. B.— E. C,— J. H. B.—
T. O.— C. C. K.— G. G.— J. A.— G. A. L.— A. H,— H. C— L. S.
— G. H.— J. W. W.— H. U. C.

June 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

121

EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE, 1867.

For me, the genial day, the happy crowd,
The sport half-science, fill me with a faith.
This fine old world of ours is but a child
Yet in the go-cart. Patience ! Give it time
To learn its limbs : there is a hand that guides.

T/ic Princess.

'NOT HER and filial
stroll through the
Paris Exhibition ena-
bles me to add a few
memoranda to the
notes which appeared
in the May number.
It must be premised
that everything approaches as
much towards completion as it
is likely to attain, and now it
would furnish plenty of occu-
pation for a week to see all
that is to be seen in the Palace
and Park. The fresh- water
aquarium is in operation, but
the marine was still unfinished,
and consequently unfurnished,
when I left. In one of the
German courts (XXXVII. ), in the outer circle,
are two full-length life-size portraits of Napoleon
and Erederic the Great, which at the distance
of a few yards appear to be oil paintings, but on
approaching closer they are seen to be composed
entirely of dried " everlasting " flowers. These
are exhibited by J, C. Schmidt, of Erfurt, and the
only drawback connected with them is, that they
are placed in such an out-of-the-way corner, that it
would be difficult to find them, unless by devoting
some time in hunting for them. Not far from hence
(Sal XXXVI. ), a number of small cases are ex-
hibited, which contain a most complete series of
" Bees and their enemies," which well deserve
notice. In the Russian department, inner court,
near the Eine Arts, is a small collection of consider-
able interest, though not occupying much more than
a square foot of space; it consists of spiders and cater-
pillars, both very difficult objects to preserve well,
No. 30.

and yet here they are as plump and nearly as
brightly coloured as when alive. The caterpillars are
crawling over artificial green leaves, and look as
though they were "all alive," enjoying a meal. Ask
me not how they are done, for I cannot tell ; there
was not the slightest intimation, not even of the
name of the exhibitor, and not a soul present who
could tell me. Not far from this spot, in the same
court, are groups of dried flowers, especially pansies
and pelargoniums, looking as fresh and natural as
the caterpillars.

In the Austrian department I was attracted
towards a picture about twenty-seven inches long,
by a kind of presentiment that the subject was
familiar, and so it was, though not scrupulously
exact, but a very good representation of West-
minster Abbey, done in straw mozaic, by E. Otto,
of Linz, and priced at 1,500 francs. It required
close observation to detect that it really was all
straw. One is often led by association into a
curious train of thought, as I was on this occasion.
Passing into the Bavarian court, a quantity of wool
recovered from old garments, under the well-known
names of "mungo" and "shoddy" was exhibited,
and beside it the catalogue, or trade list — not in
German, nor in Erench, but in English. Of course
one might imagine that the lists were printed in the
language of the country in which the goods were in
greatest demand. With the consolation that there
was still plenty of " shoddy " in the world, I passed
on, and found myself in the Rue d'Espagne, where a
long row of cases against the wall, by different
exhibitors, contained a very large collection of the
remains found in the Swiss Lacustrine habitations.
Here was a day's work to examine the hundreds of
objects, well displayed, named, and with the extra
advantage of a gentleman then on the spot, probably
one of the exhibitors, ready and willing to afford

G

122

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP.

[June 1, 1SG7.

any information; but our watchword was "onward,"
and the day was one of the hottest of the three or
four hot days which the Exhibition has yet experi-
enced.

Before leaving the subject of this Exhibition, I
must once more advert to microscopic matters con-
nected therewith ; not that I have any reason to
alter the general opinion expressed in "A Voice
from Paris," but to add one or two facts then
unnoticed. First of all comes the discovery in the
Erench department of a microscope with a moveable
stage and a lever, and still more surprising a large
microscope (not quite so large as No. 2 size of the
London opticians), with two rack-work movements
to the stage. I must add that the exhibitors of
these phenomena are Mirand & Fils, Rue Galande,
52. It is but fair to add that the Parisian opticians
are not at fault in shunning stage movements and
other improvements, but, as a friend writes me
from another corner of the Continent, there is a
reason at the bottom. " I read with interest," he
says, " your remarks on the microscopes. You are
certainly quite right in reflecting on the small
dimensions of the continental instruments, and on
the very general non-adoption of machine stages and
inclining joints, but you might have given (if you
could have done so without offence) the true
reason— a desire for cheapness. A German or
Frenchman likes the luxury of a Ross, Smith and
Beck, or Powell and Lealand, as much as any one,
and when they affect to despise English appliances
on principle, I never believe them."

I have also seen the working of high powers
constructed on Jhe "immersion" principle, at a
comparatively cheap rate, and certainly with ex-
cellent results. I am disposed to think that we know
too little of these objectives in England, and have
hitherto regarded them with a trifle too much of
prejudice. Fancy, for instance, looking at Pleuro-
sigma angulatum, with an apparent diameter of
about two inches, without artificial light, or con-
denser of any kind, and, more than all, mounted in
the ordinary manner, with the common thin glass,
not extra thin glass, and being able to take the
slide off the stage without moving the objective out
of focus. The magnifying power is said to be equal
to about Vo-th of an English inch, and the price 300
francs. Messrs. Hartnack exhibit objectives of a
very superior character to those heretofore manu-
factured in France ; and their new pattern objectives,
without immersion, are spoken of by all who have
tried them in terms of high praise. On this point,
however, I am only echoing the opinions of others,
although my own impression, from a casual peep or
two through one of them, is much in their favour.

By the way, I am not aware that the spot lens,
with the spot on the plane face of an inverted cone
of glass, described by M. Nachet, mike Microscopical
Journal some years ago, has been used in England.

It appears to be approved both in France and
Germany.

Before turning my back on the Exhibition, I must
mention the splendid mass of crystals of purple
Tourmaline exhibited by Colonel Guthrie, in a case
directly opposite to Messrs. P. & J. Beck's case.
These crystals, about six inches in height, are said
to be the finest which have ever been seen. C.

" AT HOME IN THE WILDERNESS."

HOME is not shut within narrow limits, is not
confined to scenes of pleasure, regal splen-
dour, or the dwellings of the great. Wherever
warm hearts are to be found together, with content-
ment and a hearty desire at all times to do the best
that can be done under existing circumstances,
health and strength, a will to work, and an
unwavering trust in God, who cares even for the
sparrows,— there, believe me, exists the primal
elements, the magic of home. Thus writes Mr. J.
K. Lord at the commencement of a book* which lie
has just issued with the above title, and which is
intended to teach all wanderers how, if they have
but the will, they may make themselves " at home '
in the wilderness." One of the most important
requirements for such a task the author possesses,
a long experience on the subject of which he writes.
Still another scarcely less welcome recommendation
will be found in the interesting, aye, fascinating
manner in which he inveigles his reader into follow-
ing him through what a less efficient hand would
have left a dry detail of makeshifts about as
interesting as a cookery book or a pharmacopoeia.
The object of the book is equally achieved, but in a
different manner. We learn " where and when to
camp ; how to equip and manage a train of pack-
mules ; break, gear, and saddle wild horses ; cross
streams, build log shanties, trenail a raft, dig out a
canoe, or build it with bark or hide ; manage dog
sleighs, and tramp on snow shoes ; what to carry,
and what to leave at home;" in fact, all that a
wanderer would desire to know, freely interspersed
with illustration and anecdote, joined with hearty
and wholesome advice, and all so disguised that we
fancy we are reading a new book of travels which
we cannot leave until it is finished, and which has
the merit all books of travel do not possess, of
leaving the reader a wiser man.

Let us collect an incident or two from this little
volume in illustration of our remarks. No one
would think it a matter of much consequence in
buying a horse whether the animal had a long tail
or a short one. Oh, yes it is ! says Mr. Lord. " In

* " At Home in the Wilderness : being full instructions
how to get along, and to surmount all difficulties by the
way." 3y " The Wanderer." 323 pp., post 8vo. London:
Robert Hardwicke.

June 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

123

proof of the 'value of a horse's tail, in a country
infested with blood-sucking'flies, I may state that I
once, when at Walla-Walla, a small steamer-landing
and town situated at the head of navigation on the
Columbia river, purchased a Siskyoo horse, which
means a horse with its ears cropped short like a
terrier's, and a tail cut oil' close up' to the rump. This
is, or once was, a common custom with the Siskyoo
Indians, and all horses so trimmed are designated
by the generic name of " Siskyoo." The object of
this barbarous custom was to enable these Indians
easily to recognise their own horses if stolen and
subsequently discovered herding with other bands.
Horse-stealing is the primary cause of nearly every
Indian war and quarrel. The poor Siskyoo beast,
although as perfect a cob as any man need have
looked on, was nevertheless utterly valueless during
the summer ; nnable to whip away his tormentors,
they worried him with impunity, until want of rest
and continuous irritation reduced him wellnigh to
a skeleton. ' When found make a note of.' Always
look out for long-tailed mules and horses in a fly
country."

The author of this book was Naturalist to the
British North American Boundary Commission, and
when reading his account of one difficulty which he
had to surmount to the west of the Cascade moun-
tains, we could not help wondering what some of

mg: po.

our "parlour naturalists" would have done in such
a strait. The place is now called the Diamond
Tree Pass. " It certainly was an awful place up
which to make a trail that should be available for
packed mules, and, to add to the difficulty, a good-
sized stream of water tumbled rather than ran
down the hill-side. The distance from the base to
the summit, in a straight line, was not more than
three-quarters of a mile, but it was rocky and
densely timbered. The difficulty, too, was the more

complicated, inasmuch as the prairie leading to the
pass was intersected by several streams not fordable,
and two swamps that must be crossed. I thought
the matter carefully over, climbed up and down the
hill, and recalling the words of Napoleon, ' Impos-
sible, e'esi le mot d'linfoic,' Anally made up my mind
to do it. By describing how this apparent impossi-
bility was overcome, I shall give all the practical
hints relating to trail-making, bridge-building, and
fording swamps which a wanderer can require." But
our space will by no means permit us to narrate
how it was done, and we can only recommend all who
desire to know, to procure the book and read it for
themselves.

In compensation for omitting the details of the
Diamond Tree Pass, we purpose to conclude with
the picture of a " buffalo run" : —

"The scene of my adventure is on the broad plains
in the Red River settlement. The sun is just
creeping from behind the eastern hills, tinting with
the rosy hues of morning the splintered summits of
many a far-off peak, and at the same time shedding
a paler glow over the grassy slopes ; the different
intensities of the light give to the flat surface of
the plains the appearance of being an ocean of mist.
A band of Red Indians with whom I am hunting
and living are mounted and ready for the hunt, and
few have ever looked upon a more picturesque
sight. Their only garment, a piece
of skin tied round the waist, makes
the muscular figures of the savages
look more like exquisite carvings
than real flesh and blood. Thus sit-
ting their prancing half-tamed horses
with matchless ease and grace, their
black hair flowing in tangled locks
down their backs, confined only by a
narrow band of ermine-skin, with an
eagle's feather sewn to it, they look
as wild and fearless as the beasts
they are about to chase. We are
waiting for the mist to rise, which it
will do when the sun comes fairly
above the horizon. Ah ! there it
goes, the fog lifting like a veil. It
does not evaporate, so to speak, and
disperse, but rises en masse like a
balloon, and at once becomes invi-
sible. And now we can make out the
buffalos scattered over the plain. Some are busily
cropping their dewy breakfast, others are still lying
down in little groups — but all are in happy ignorance
of the due enemies lurking behind the knoll
watching their every movement. Craftily, and
with extreme caution, we walk our horses to
windward of the herd, and as we emerge from
the cover of the ridge, the trumpet-like notes
of the older bulls tell us that we are discovered.
Concealment is now of no further use, the

G 2

124

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE -GOSSIP.

[June 1, 1867.

beasts are crowding together like sheep when
scared by a dog. The Indians give a piercing
whoop, and we dash wildly after the now rapidly
retreating herd, their tails upheaved and their
horns rattling noisily against one another. The very
plain seems to shake, clouds of blinding dust,
raised by thousands of hoofs, nearly hides the
hunters from each other/whilst a rumbling noise,
like subdued thunder, seems to absorb and swallow
up all other sounds. I soon overtake the rearmost
animals, and singling out a young cow, drop her in
her tracks ; recharge my gun, and single out this
time a fine old bull. He seems to roll rather than
gallop along, his nose nearly touching the grass,
and his shaggy brown mane tossing wildly in the
breeze. My horse, though thoroughly up to his
work, appears to know by past experiences that it
is no mean foe he has to deal with ; laying back his
ears, and pushing out his nose, as if to make the
most of every breath of air, the gallant mustang
thunders on at such a pace that I find myself side
by side with the shaggy bull before I have time to
think of my position in reference to the other
stragglers of the herd. Now or never I must fire,
or lose my chance. Lowering my gun, I pull the
trigger.

" It appeared to me that the cap had hardly ex-
ploded ere my mustang wheeled short about with
such startling velocity, that it was with the utmost
difficulty I contrived to retain my seat ; but as if the
fates were against me, two other buffalos were
directly in the way, and for a few seconds prevented
the horse from galloping away from the bull, which,
turning nearly as rapidly as the horse, charged, and
striking the horse on the point of the shoulder sent
us both rolling on the plain. I was terribly
frightened and shaken, but adopting Ealstaff's
maxim, ' that the better part of valour is discretion,'
I lay still to await the issue of events. The mus-
tang had by this time regained his legs, aud was,
with evident difficulty, limping away as fast as his
damaged shoulder permitted. That the bull was
badly wounded I could see by his rolling gait,
heavy breathing, and the bloody froth besmearing
his nostrils and lips. I do not think he saw me,
for his glaring eyes were directed towards the horse,
which he made a vigorous attempt to follow ; but it
proved a signal failure. The wounded beast seemed
to be perfectly aware that if once he fell to the
ground all hope for him was at an end, so bracing
his muscles firmly, and planting his massive legs
wide apart, the powerful animal seemed determined
to stand up to the last. Hurt and frightened as I
was, I felt sorry for him ; the eyes lost all their fire,
and a saddened expression took its place. He tried
to get glimpses of his comrades, by this time nearly
lost in the distance ; and I know that dying buffalo
was quite aware that he should never see them
again. His great chest was heaving convulsively,

and low plaintive sounds, more resembling sobs
than anything else I know of, told in language plain
as printed words how terrible were his sufferings.
The head dropped, until the nose was nearly
touching the grass, the ponderous body rocked like
a storm-tossed ship from side to side, a gurgling
sound replaced the stentorous breathing ; then
suddenly the muscles seemed to lose all further
power, and with a heavy crash the king of the plain
fell dead amidst the grass and wild flowers. The
Indians soon recovered my lost steed, for his
shoulder was so much injured that he could only
contrive to limp slowly away."

Of course every wanderer in the future will
read this book before he starts on his travels,
and so should every one who stays at home, unless
his home is a wilderness, and he desires to make it a
desert.

SOCIABLE MITES.

UNDER the name of " Sociable Mites," I am
desirous of interesting those who have oppor-
tunities for observing the small organisms which
make their appearance during the summer months,
on behalf of a little known group of Acari, which
are associated by naturalists under the generic
name of Tetranychus. Scattered notices occur of
the appearance of some of these minute visitors in
immense numbers in former years, and now, being
forewarned, it is hoped that some of the readers of
this journal will be prepared to add a little to our
knowledge should they encounter any of the little
creatures about to be alluded to, during their
summer rambles.

There are probably about twenty different species
of this genus described, and a few only of them
have as yet been certainly known to inhabit the
British Isles. Several have the singular habit of
living in very large communities, and the history of
one species, as described by Dr. Milner Barry in a
letter read before the Entomological Society of
London in 1855, will serve as an introduction to
the rest.

"When strolling across Rusthall Common this
afternoon, I noticed some red powder lying in thick
cobwebs entangled in the furze. I took up some of
the powder, and found it was living and moving, and
consisted of myriads of vivacious red insects,
resembling Acari." When the mass reached my
hands, it was of the size and shape of a sparrow's
egg, the Acari running over it in all directions, and
each adding to the bulk by leaving behind him a
continuous thread of the finest conceivable silk. 1
subsequently sent the mass to Mr. Meade, the
Arachnologist, who has carefully examined it, and
kindly sent me the following information :— " The
minute animals inhabiting the curious cocoon you
sent me are Acari, belonging to the genus Tetrany-

June 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

125

elms of Dufour, the type of which is the little red
spider so injurious to plants in hothouses and
rooms, the Acarus telarius of Linngeus ; most of
the species live iu societies, on plants, and possess
the power of forming webs." Koch says, when
speaking of an allied species, Tetranychus socius,
" It appears in certain years in such numbers that
it covers the trunks and the branches of the lime-
trees which it frequents, with such a thick web that
they look as if clothed with glazed satin. I cannot
find any description of the species sent by you,
although it is closely allied to the common Tetrany-
chus telarius, and I uever before saw or found any-
thing like the curious nest which it inhabits."
Since the receipt of Mr. Meade's note, I have paid
some little attention to the Tetranychus telarius,
and find that the network of infinitely minute
silken threads is admirably adapted to its singu-
t'ormed feet, and these are equally well adapted.
to the office of holding on while it perforates the
cuticle of the leaf with its rostrum ; its hold is so
secure that no amount of washing by means of a
garden engine seems to have the effect of removing
it. As I have no doubt whatever that these little
creatures are exclusively vegetable feeders, the web
cannot serve, as in spiders, the purpose of securing
prey, and it is, moreover, never accompanied by the
glutinous particles which render the web of spiders
so adhesive. As a matter of course, if the Acari
caa resist the action of a water-engine, they have
little to fear from the effects of rain."

Fig. 91. Tetranychus telarius.

The "red spider," as it is called by gardeners,
having been alluded to iu the above communication,
as forming the type of the present genus, it has
been figured in this place, although too well known
to all who are associated with greenhouses and
conservatories (fig. (JJ) to need further description.

Ten years prior to the above communication by
Dr. Milner Barry, the plane-trees in Regent's Park
were observed by Air. George Wilson to be infested
by " sociable mites," of which occurrence the follow-
ing account was transmitted to the society already
named:—

At the beginning of September, Air. Wilson's
attention was directed to the trees, several of

which had the trunks and branches entirely or
partially covered with a very delicate web, upon
which myriads of a small Arachnidous insect were
running to and fro, extending their webs rapidly
along the branches. The web was so fine as to
appear like a thin compact layer of varnish upon
the stems of the trees, and from the vast number of
the insects, the grey web appeared dusted with a
reddish powder, the iusects being of a light orange
colour, inclining to brown. Prom the web so com-
pletely enveloping the tree aud obstructing the vital
influence of the atmosphere, the leaves became
withered and fell. This was especially the case
with the plane-trees, the elms and horse-chestnuts
being free from them. The weather for several days
previously and subsequently was fine and sultry,
but in the course of a few days a heavy fall of rain,
accompanied by a thunderstorm, put a stop to the
injury by destroying the insects. On placing a por-
tion of the web with its inhabitants in a bottle, Mr.
Wilson observed that in about an hour a beautiful
transparent cylinder had been spun within the
bottle, from the base to the top, impinging against
the side of the bottle at about half its height ; and it
was remarkable that there was not a single thread
stretched across the inside of the cylinder, nor was
a single insect enclosed within it. Having com-
pleted their first cylinder, they threw a second
around it, more slender than the former, leaving
only a small interval between them.

Fig. 92. Tetranychus tiliarius.

V

Air. White considered the species to be Trom-
bidium tiliarum, or an allied species, and distinct
from Acarus telarius, L., and Trombidium socium,
the habits of which, as described by Hermann, were
mentioned by Air. White.

The species described and figured by Hermann and
Koch under the name of Tetranychus tiliarius, or
the "Lime-tree Alite," is engraved (fig. 92) forthe
benefit of my readers. It must be observed that
bright colours characterize the majority of the
members of this genus, although that feature is
omitted in the woodcuts.

Careful readers of the past volumes of Science-

126

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[June 1, 1867.

Gossip will remember that allusions have been
made to a curious little red mite which deposits its
white eggs on stones, and similar substances. This
" Stone Mite " (fig. 93) is Tetranychus lapidus, and
the extract from the Entomologists'' Monthly Maga-
zine alluding to it, which was quoted (Science-
Gossip, 1865, p. 22), need not be repeated here.
Gervais states that the eggs may be seen in autumn
on the stones of the public promenades in Paris.
These eggs (fig. 91) were observed and figured in
one of the earliest numbers of Loudon's excellent
Magazine of Natural History.

Fig. 93. Tetrunychus lapidus. Fig. 94. Eggs of the same.

M. Duges has described another and smaller
species, ;with similar habits, under the name of
Tetranychus glabrus, but which he says is so very
minute that it is scarcely visible to the naked eye.
A figure is given (fig. 102) belonging to the present
species, and is copied from the one furnished by
M. Duges.

*^v , K

Fig. 95. Tetrunychus major.

Another species, which may be called the Laurus-
tinus mite, having a long appendage (Tetranychus
caudatus), is found in colonies on the lower sur-
face of the leaves of the Laurustinus, but has not
yet been recorded in Britain.

Already allusion has been made to the " Social
Mite " (Tetranychus socius), of which a figure is now

given (fig. 96). It is of a pale colour, and also
prefers to consort in colonies.

The "Plum-tree Mite" (Tetranychus prunicolor)
is said by Gervais to be found in the months of

Fig. 96. Tetranychus socius.

July and August, on the leaves of the pear and plum
trees in some parts of Erance, and when mature is
of a violet-brown colour, but when young, greenish.
One species, affecting elm-trees, is called by
Koch — Tetranychus ulrai, and is of a bricky red
(fig. 97).

Fig. 9/. Tetranychus ulmi.

Another attaches itself to willows, and has ac-
quired from hence the name of Tetranychus salicis
(fig. 98). In general colour it resembles the last.

&

-

^ w

Fig. 98- Tetranychus salicis.

-V

%.

Fig. 99. Tetranychus Tiburni.

The guelder-rose also cherishes its sociable mite,
which is called Tetranychus Viburni (fig. 99), and
is orange- coloured when mature.

Upon the poplar a greenish mite has been dis-
covered, belonging to the same genus, and which is
named by Koch— Tetranychus populi (fig. 100).

June 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

127

The many foes of the common nettle are still
further augmented by a rather elegant species of
mite called Tetranychus Urticre (fig. 101).

fa ^

Fig. 100. Tetranychus populi.

To the above may be added Tetranychus major
(fig. 95), and a red species which is not confined to
any kind of tree in particular, but which spins a web
resembling that of a spider, and dwells in societies.
This is Tetranychus lintearius.

Fig. 101.
Tetrunyclius Urticoe.

Fig. 102.
Tetranychus glabrus.

The above enumeration comprises the best known
of these singular creatures, but the most that is
known of them is very meagre and unsatisfactory.
It is hoped that readers of Science-Gossip will
strive to make their better acquaintance, and com-
municate the result.

OPHIOCYTIUM.

I~N the Micrographic Dictionary it is said that no
■*■ species of Ophiocytium have yet been observed
in Britain. The plant, therefore, of which I send a
drawing, and which seems to be undoubtedly a
species of Ophiocytium, is interesting as an addition
to our Microscopic Flora. It seems only to differ
in size from O. majus, figured in plate 45 of the
Micrographic Dictionary. I have found it abun-
dantly in a small pond, entangled amongst the fila-
ments, &c, of other Algse; and I think that it is
only from its minuteness that it has hitherto escaped

the observation of microscopists. The plant con-
sists of a single cell, filled with pale chlorophyll, in
which occur denser granules irregularly dispersed.
It has a short stipes by which it is sometimes
attached to other bodies. Eig. 103 shows the

Fig. 103. The lower figures x 350.

different stages of its growth. Eig. a is a decaying
frond containing a globule of oil, and two globules
of brown matter. The pool of water is in a hollow
of the glacial drift, which overlies the magnesian
limestone in this neighbourhood.
Markington. J. S. Tute.

A CENTURY AGO.

MOST of your readers will not need to be
informed that Natural History a century
ago was a very different science to what it is at the
present day. In order to bring this the more vividly
before them, perhaps you will allow me space to
make a few extracts from an old work which I have
met with. It is, I believe, a fair sample of the
text-books which our grandfathers and grand-
mothers used in their youth.

It is entitled, "A description of Three hundred
Animals, viz., Beasts, Birds, Eishes, Serpents and
Insects. With a particular Account of the Manner
of their catching of Whales in Greenland. Extracted
from the best Authors, and Adapted to the Use of
all Capacities. Illustrated with Copper-plates,
whereon is curiously engraven every Beast, Bird,
Eish, Serpent, and Insect, described in the whole
book. The Ninth Edition, carefully corrected
and ameuded. Printed for C. & It. Ware at
the Bible and Sun, on Ludgate-hill, 1763." If,
having in some measure recovered breath, after
reading this lengthy title, we proceed to the preface,

128

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[June 1, 1867.

we shall find, that "the Instruction of Children
having been always thought, by wise Men, of great
Use, both with regard to the present Age, and to
Posterity; and most of the Books, which have been
made use of to introduce Children into an Habit of
Reading, being such as tend rather to cloy than
entertain them." The anonymous author has ex-
tracted from "the most considerable Authors,"
a short account of all the Beasts, Birds, In-
sects, and Pishes. He somewhat magniloquently
closes the preface by sayiug, " If this brief Essay
shall any Ways contribute to the End proposed, let
God have the Glory, and the Compiler the Good
Wishes and Prayers of Parents." It will be observed
that throughout my extracts I carefully followed
the somewhat primitive punctuation and typography
of the original. Every substantive is commenced
with a capital letter, as in modern German.

There are three of the Animals described which
have apparently become extinct in later years ;
unless, indeed, some of your readers, who are so
widely scattered over the world, can personally
testify to having encountered them. Eirst, on page
19, we read that "the Manticora (or, according to
the Persians, Mantiora), a Devourer, is bred among
the Indians ; having a triple Bow of Teeth beneath
and above, and in Bigness and Roughness like a
Lion's ; as are also his Peet ; Pace and Ears like a
Man's ; his Tail like a Scorpion's, armed with a
Sting, and sharp-pointed Quills. His Voice is like
a small Trumpet or Pipe. He is so wild 'tis very
difficult to tame him; and as swift as an Hart.
With his Tail he wounds the Hunters, whether they
come before or behind him. When the Indians
take a Whelp of this Beast, they bruise its Buttocks
and Tail, to prevent its bearing the sharp Quills ;
then it is tamed without Danger."

On the next page a still more marvellous creature
is described, i. e., " The Lamia, concerning which
there are many fictitious Stories, is (according to
the Opinion of some Writers) the Creature men-
tioned in the 31-th Chapter of Isaiah, called in
Hebrew, Liliath ; as also the same which [is men-
tioned in the 4th of Lamentations. It is thought
to be the swiftest of all four-footed Creatures, so
that its Prey can seldom or never escape it ; And
by its Praud it destroys Men, (or, when it sees a
Man, it lays open its Breast, aud entices him to
draw near ; and when it has him within Reach, it
falls upon and devours him. It is said to be bred
in Libya; and to have a Pace and Breasts like a
very beautiful Woman. It has no Voice but that
of hissing like a Serpent. Its hinder Parts are like
a Goat's, its fore Legs like a Bear's ; its Body is
scaled all over. It is said, they sometimes devour
their own young."

It is almost superfluous to add that there appears,
in his turn, "The Unicom, a Beast which, tho'
doubted of by many Writers, yet it is by others thus

described : He has but one Horn, and that an
exceeding rich one, growing out of the Middle of
his Porehead. His head resembles an Hart's, his
Peet an Elephant's, his Tail a Boar's, aud the rest
of his Body an Horse's. The Horn is about a Poot
and a half in Length. His Voice is like the Low-
ing of an Ox. His Mane and Hair are of a yellowish
Colour. His Horn is as hard as Iron, and as rough
as any Pile, twisted or curled like a flaming Sword ;
very straight, sharp and everywhere black, excepting
the Point. Great Virtues are attributed to it, in
expelling of Poison, and curing of several Diseases.
He is not a Beast of Prey."

A picture of the Whale-Fishery, on p. 132, is
very curious, the seamen being dressed in long coats
resembling a soldier's tunic, and in triangular
cocked-hats — rather a different style of dress from
that indulged in by modern sailors. On arriving
at the Serpents, after a very terrible description of
divers Dragons, of which the author very wisely
says, "it may be justly questioned whether they
exist," we find the Cockatrice described as "Called
the King of Serpents, not from his Bigness, for he
is much inferior, in this Respect, to a great many
Serpents ; but because of his majestic Pace, for he
does not creep upon the Ground, like other Serpents,
but goes half-upright ; for which Cause all other
Serpents avoid him ; and it seems, Nature designed
him that Pre-eminence, by the Crown or Coronet
upon his Head. Writers differ concerning the
Production of this Animal. Some are of Opinion
that it is brought forth of a Cock's Egg, and fed
upon by a Snake, or Toad, and so becomes a Cocka-
trice, &c."

The last extract I have space for is a story on
p. 200, concerning a combat between a spider and
toad, which runs as follows: — "A certain Earl
travelling near Woburn in Bedfordshire, some of
his Company espied a Toad fighting with a Spider,
under a Hedge by the High-way Side, whereat they
stood still, till the Earl came also to behold the
same ; and there he saw how the Spider still kept
her Standing, and the Toad divers times went back
from the Spider, and did eat a Piece of an Herb like a
Plantain ; at last, the Earl having seen the Toad do
it often, and still return to the Combat against the
Spider, ordered one of his Men to go and cut off
that Herb ; which he performed, and brought it
away. Presently after the Toad returned to seek it,
and, not finding it, according to her Expectation,
swelled and burst asunder ; for, having received
Poison from the Spider in the Combat, Nature
taught her the Value of that Herb, to expel and
drive it out ; but wanting the Herb, the Poison did
instantly work, and destroy her." Here is valu-
able evidence for the correspondents who wrote
lately in Science - Gossip about the " Spider's
Poison Vessels " ! Of course, in the preceding
extracts, I have merely quoted the descriptions

June 1, 1SC7.]

IIARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

129

which would appear most extraordinary and amus-
ing to our modem ideas ; there is, it is only fair to
add, a considerable amount of really useful informa-
tion in the volume. But, without actually reading
extracts from works of this nature, I believe few
would credit the fact that such preposterous state-
ments were prevalent even " a century ago."

E. Allen.

FORAMINIFER A.

IT is not a little remarkable that whilst the shells
of foraminifers are amongst the common objects
most familiar to microscopists, and thousands of
miles of the soft beds of our deepest oceans, and
whole mountains and great tracks of land — the
solidified mud of the oceans of geologic ages— are
almost entirely composed of the carapaces and debris
of these tiny beings in uncountable myriads, that
hardly any one knows anything about them in their
living state, and very few naturalists even can be
said to be at all reliably acquainted with the
proper history of the various species, still less with
their actual habits.

What is a foraminifer ? may indeed be easily
answered. It is one of the very lowest forms of
life. It belongs to the class of Rhizopods, merely
gelatinous animals of which the Amoeba is the
simplest form. This curious spec of living jelly is
devoid of any visible organization, has no perceptible
muscles or nerves, no head, no mouth, neither arms
nor legs— a mere minute mass of sarcode. And yet
life is there— life in one of the most mysterious of
its many forms and manifestations. That thin flesh,
seemingly all on the run like limpid starch, quivers
to the sensation of touch, contracts with the pain
of injury, protrudes long filaments as arms to seek
for food, perhaps more tender than even its own
transparent substance, or uses these thread-like
limbs— pseudopods, as the Greek-and-Latin-loving
savans have termed them — as cables to pull itself
along. Whether these Amoebae even have the
thinnest of skins is more than any one could swear
to, though of course they ought to have ; but if any
kind of these animals possesses no other difference
than that of the power of consolidating calcareous,
siliceous, or horny matter around it, and turning its
skin into a shelly house, it becomes at once a poly-
cyst in or a foraminifer. ; In the main, if it has a
siliceous shell, it is the former ; if a calcareous shell,
perforated with a lot of little holes for the protru-
sion of the pseudopods, the latter. There are, how-
ever, imperforate foraminifers and perforate poly-
cystins, and these of course have mimetic resem-
blances to each other. Naturally, however, the
imperforate foraminifers have more affinity with the
polycystins than the perforate polycystins have with
the foraminifera. We cannot here, however, enter

into details of affinities or classification, for the main
object of this article is to suggest work required to
be done, rather than to teach what has been accom-
plished.

Two subjects require at the hands of naturalists and
students full consideration and attention : a general
review of the accepted classification into families,
genera, and species ; and a careful and actual investi-
gation of the living forms and their actual stages of
development. The one question involves the other ;
and we must start with an hypothesis. We must pre-
sume that the primitive typical form of a foraminifer
is a simple single sphere, and that this primitive form
is the first rudimentary stage of every species, how-
ever complex may be its ultimate mature condition.

Shut up in its stony cell, then, how will it propa-
gate its kind ? The mass of sarcode, constantly
fed, increases, exudes ; and the exuded mass ulti-
mately forms another individual, which coats itself,
and builds another house next door to its parent's,
and the two have become a pair of semi-detached
Amoeban villas. Nutrition of the sarcode still goes
on, and exudation again takes place ; another house
is added, and yet another and another, until in the
order of generation a street of Amoeban residences
is built. All this is very simple, and one would
hardly have preconceived the possibility of much
variety in the results of a process so extremely
rudimentary. And yet species and varieties more
numerous than those of any other single order of
animals abound, and the class of foraminifers is
prolific in variety and beauty of forms. But all this
variety and beauty are due entirely to the way in
which each particular species builds its house, and
the plan upon which it forms its street.

Let us explain ourselves by a selection of actual
examples. Some foraminifers are perfectly round
and solitary, as the membranous Ground, and the
calcareous shelled Orbulina. Other kinds will put

Fig. 104. Fig. 10.5.

Orbulina universa. Lagenu glubosu.

Fig. 106.
L. caudata.

on shapes of every modification a viscous sphere is
susceptible of. One sort, the Oolina, puts on a form

Fig. 107.
L. sulcata, young.

Fig. 108.
L. sulcata, adult.

Fig. iog.

L. malo.

something like an elongated globule of glass broken
off from the stick of the blower, with a short bit of
the tag attached. Another of this group, the Lagena,

130

HARDWICKE'S SCIEN C E - G OSSIP.

[June 1, 1867.

puts on all the intermediate shapes between this
elongated condition and a primary tear-drop form,
some species being plain, others ribbed, cross-
barred, chequered, and variously ornamented by the
extraneous solidification of the shell-growtb. This
selection indicates, too, something of the wonderful
variety of modifications put on by the species within
the limits of every separate genus.

Fig. no.
L. squamosa.

Fig. 111.
L. semistriata.

Fig. 112.
L. Itevis.

Another group follows in which all these spheres
or elongated globules adhere together in lines or
rows— single axes which may be straight, or
may be bent or curved. Of those thus formed on
a straight line, we may take a few examples from
amongst the Nodosarice, and in which we shall

Fig. 113. Fig. 114. Fig. 115. Fig. 116.

Nodosuriu hispida. N. rugosa. N.longisulcata. N. spinicosta.

again see further illustrations of that wonderful
exuberance of modification which characterizes, as

Fig. 117-
Kodosaria striaticollis.

Fig. 118.
Lingalina carinata.

we have already noticed, every kind of develop-
mental plan.

The Lingulinae (fig. 118) also present another con-
dition of this development of lobes— we prefer not
to call them chambers— upon a single straight axis.

From the straight to the bent is but an easy step,
and then all these exuberant modifications in the con-
tiguity of lobes, and of their external ornamentation,
can be run over again. The Bentalina is an example

of the simply bent row (fig. 119) ; and mMarginuliiia
(fig. 120) we have the rudiment of a tendency to
spirality, and which has made still further progress
in the examples given of Vulvulina (fig. 121), and

Fig. 119. Dentallna Fig. 120. Marginulina Fig. 121. Vulvulina
semicostata. Webbiana. oblonga.

RotaUna (fig. 122), until an actual nautiloid spiralis
perfected in Robulina.

And now again set in the currents of modifications
of lobation and variations of ornamentation. The
spiral may be on a flat plane or a direct vertical plane
(fig. 123), or it may be of greater or less rising pitch,

Fig. 122.
Rotalina Canariensis.

Fig. 123.
Robulina Canariensis.

or screw-like, or it may be absolutely involute or
coil-like, as in Fusilina (fig. 124). And the shells
formed on each or all these plans may be plain,

Fig. 124.
Fusilina cylindrica.

Fig. 125.
Robulina Ariminensis.

waved (fig. 125), keeled, spurred (fig. 126), ribbed,
barred, indented; may be perforate or imperforate;

Fig. 126. Robulina echinata. Fig. 127. Globigerina bulloides.

may have tubular asperities, or be hirsute ; or the
lobes, although spirally arranged, may be so far

June 1, 1S67-]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

131

individually distinct as to amount to little more
than a mere congeries of globules.

Another branch of development of form goes off
in the direction of a purely circular arrangement,
as in the Cyclolinfe (fig. 129), and Nummulites ;

Fig. 128. G. hirsute.

Fig. 129. Cyclolina cretacea.

whilst the straight line and circular systems are
compounded and compromised in such genera as
Frondicularia (fig. 130), and Cuneolina (fig. 131).

ca^

Fig. 130.
Frondicularia annularis.

._;. .

Fig. 131.
Cuneolina pavonia.

There is yet another division of developments as
important as those we have been considering, and
capable of permitting again all those modifi-
cations of lobation and ornamentation we have
previously witnessed under novel and different
circumstances. This division is that constituted by
the compound forms — that is, those in which the
development of the lobes takes place upon a
plurality of lines. The lobes may be added upon
two, three, or more axes, and these axes may be
straight, bent, or spiral ; and in each of these
cases the lobation and ornamentation may repeat
the wonderful variety characteristic of the simple
classes. In Biloculina (fig. 132) we have one lobe

Fig. 132.
hiloculinu simplex.

Fig. 133.
Triloculinu Auslriaca.

Fig. 134.
T. nitida.

merely adherent to the side of another; in
Triloculina, a third lobe is patched on to the side
(figs. 133, 134). In Spiroloculina (fig. 135) we have
many lobes alternately added; and in Quinquelo-
culina, .and others, we have other still more com-
plex arrangements.

Amongst the most abundant genera and species

of the compound division are those which make up
their lobation on a sort of chrysalis-like plan, such
as Bulimina, Chrysalidina, Uirigerim (figs. 130, 137,
138).

Fig. 135.
Spiroloculina
canaliculata.

Fig. 136.

Bulimina

pupoides.

Fig. 13;.
Chrysalidina

gradutu.

There still remains another group to be noticed —
those which, the lobations being more or less er-
ratic, become confluent, as in Planorbulina larvata,
and ultimately in some cases produce amorphous
masses like those of aged specimens of Planor-

■

$\

Fig. 138.
Ueigeriua pygmcea.

Fig. 139.
Truntulina variabilis.

bulina retinactilata. Of this nature possibly is the
recently discovered very remarkable fossil from the
lowest of all known fossiliferous rocks — the Eozoon
Canadense.

Amongst the simple single-axis forms, even crops
up, as an example of erratic growth, Truntulina
variabilis (fig. 139).

Such, then, is in the main the groundwork of
the classification of the foraminifera — a classifica-
tion based on the plans of arrangement of the lobes
or segmentation of the shell. The animal inhabitants
are treated as all alike, mere masses of jelly-like
flesh. It is evident that a classification founded
entirely on the disposition of the parts of the shell
cannot be a perfect one, and that considerable
modifications must at the least be engrafted on it
as the knowledge of the living structure of the
animals and of their modes of generation is acquired.
Now it is just this knowledge which is needed, and
it is the acquirement of this information that is an
open and fame-giving field for microscopists. Almost
all that has been done in the way of modifying the
primary basis of a purely shell classification has
been done by inductive reasoning upon general
considerations or microscopic examinations of shell-
structure. What is wanted is a regular systematic

132

HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[JUxNE 1, 1S67.

investigation of the living forms. The foraminifers
should be captured alive, and put into and bred in
household vivaria. I see no difficulty in any one
doing this who has leisure sufficient. The tanks, if
constructed something on the plan of Mr. Ward's
ingenious fern-cases, with the addition of a heating
or refrigerating chamber for the regulation of the
temperature of the water and air, might be made
suitable for the condition of any species, tropical or
arctic ; and indeed as some particular forms are
known to exist in great abundance in many of the
estuaries of our own coast, it would seem that such
species must be sufficiently hardy to withstand any
of the ordinary conditions of indoor reservoirs, and
certainly any one residing on the borders of such
estuarinc districts could have ample means for the
observation of such foraminifers under their proper
natural conditions. The most important points to
be settled are : 1. Whether the shell of the fora
minifer is formed piecemeal or lobe after lobe ; or
whether the whole mass of sarcode exists in an
unprotected condition, and exhibits segmentation
before the formation of, the enveloping shell. 2.
Whether spontaneous fission does or does not take
place. 3. How generation is effected, and whether
by one or more than one means. 4. What are the
characters of the germs or ova, and what the dif-
ferences in the young stages between the fry of
various species ?

The little that is known, added to what we have
reason to believe, amounts to this conviction, that
the sarcode exudes freely as it increases in mass by
nourishment from every pore and orifice of the
foraminifer's enveloping case, the whole shell
being covered with a film of sarcodous flesh ; at a
suitable period the exuded sarcode gathers itself
up into an additional fleshy lobe, and assumes
a characteristic aud definite shape. On the obten-
tion of permanency of form, shell-secretion goes
rapidly on, and the new animal is encased in a
contiguous lobe to the previous shell. This view
acquires confirmation from the fact that the older
lobes have more layers of shell-matter than the
more recent ones. Eor example, the primary lobe
of a four-lobed shell will have four layers, the
second three, the third two, and the last one layer
of shell-matter shown in its transverse section.
Moreover, as a general rule old shells are thicker
than merely adult ones, and largeness of individual
dimensions and conditions of ample food-supply,
and their reverses, induce such modifications of the
stoutness of the shell-structure as are in further
harmony with this view.

That some foraminifera are viviparous we also
know, because the larger chambers of some indi-
viduals have been seen full of the shelled young
in considerable stages of advance. But how these
young are liberated has never been witnessed, so
far as I kuow, by human eyes. Most probably their

growth increases until disrupture of the parent shell
is effected ; but it is on such points that actual obser-
vation is so much required. The young forms in a
free state are also found commingled in the same
samples of sand and mud with the adults of the
same species, and we think it may be pretty safely
asserted that the second youngest stage of all the
compound forms is that of one lobe joined on to the
primary animal, and which condition would not
occur if the foraminifer were perfected in its mere
sarcodous growth, and segmented before the forma-
tion of its shell.

Of the special habitats of the various species,
much knowledge has been obtained, and although
there are some seeming discrepancies in the con-
flicting statements of naturalists, the reconciliation
of many of them is assured. Eor example, Dr.
Wallich views certain forms as inhabiting the depths
of the ocean, and says he has netted through seven
hundred fathoms of sea-depth from the surface
without the capture of a single individual ; whilst
Major Owen, coming over the same sea, bags in
abundance by net-sweeping the surface. It ap-
pears, however, when the subject is closely looked
into, that the same species abound in the same
regions, and that the kinds found living at the
top of the sea are also found living at the bottom.
Moreover, the Doctor swept in the daytime, and
the Major at night. This much is certain, that
some forms of foraminifers are not free, but are
firmly attached to foreign bodies, and such parasitic
forms adherent to otolithes and stones having been
dredged up from the greatest depths, are decisive
proof of the residence and vitality of those organisms
under those abyssmal bathymetrical conditions.
As other forms have essentially creeping habits,
being found travelling over the stems and leaves
of seaweeds— along the tidal and laminarian zones,
we may fairly infer that in accordance with their
state of development, their attained size, the
thickness or thinness of their shells, and the
relative energy of their particular vitality, individuals
of even the same species may be met with exempli-
fying all the intermediate conditions between abso-
lute fixity, crawling, and free swimming.

Here we must leave this most interesting subject,
with the hope that these few pages will have
encouraged higher motives than a desire for the
mere possession of so many slides of these exquisite
pelagic life-grains, and that future pages of
Science-Gossip may show the fruits of good work
done. S. J. Mackie, E.G.S.

Suspended Judgment. — A truly wise man is so
fully sensible how little he knows, and what things
he once was ignorant of which he is now acquainted
with, that he is far enough from supposing'his own
judgment a standard of the reality of things. —
Baker "On the Polype."

June 1, 1SG7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

133

MONMOUTH DEPOSIT.

THE Editor of this journal Laving received from
the Rev. E. C. Bolles, President of the Portland
Institute, a quantity of a rich diatomaceous deposit
from Monmouth, Maine, U.S., for distribution under
the conditions named in the exchange list, I have
acceded to his request to furnish an account of the
forms which this deposit contains.

It resembles the majority of the American fossil
fresh- vrater deposits, namely, those of New York;
Wellington, Counecticut ; New Hampshire ; Blue
Hills, Maine ; Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, &c, in being
very rich in the genus Pinnularia. It also resembles
the Bergmchl found iu Lapland, in containing many
species of Eunotia.

This deposit is perhaps the most purely dia-
tomaceous of all that I have been fortunate enough
to obtain. No action takes place on the addition of
acids, showing the absence of any calcareous matter,
thus indicating that the water in which the diatoms
lived was free from lime. The diatoms are un-
usually perfect, and the strife upon the more delicate
species are as easily resolved as those upon recent
forms.

.

140.

Fig. Ml.

The following are some of those which I have
found in this material. Pinnularia gigas of Ehren-
burgh, and Pinnularia major of Kutzing, the latter
figured in Science-Gossip for 1S66, and repeated
here (fig. 140). These species, together with Pinnu-
laria nobilis and Pinnularia mesogongyla, might
with propriety be made one species, as their specific
differences are not sufficient to warrant their separa-
tion. Ehrenberg gave a figure of Pinnularia gigas
in the Mikrogeologie (plate 2, 3, fig. 1).

Pinnularia dactylus of Ehrenberg resembles the

above-named in its conspicuous costae, but differs
in the apices being slightly narrower, and the centre
not inflated.

Beside these, may be found Pinnularia stauroeni-
formis of Smith (figs. Ill and 112), Pinnularia
divergens of Smith (fig. 143), and Pinnularia acro-
spha;ria of Smith (fig. 1 I

-■:.

Fig. 142.

Fig. 143.

Fig. 144.

The genus Navicula is represented by Navicula
Bacillum of Ehrenberg, Navicula dilatata of
Ehrenberg, and Navicula amphigomphus of Ehren-
berg. The two latter are scarcely sufficiently
distinct to warrant their separation. Navicula
microstoma and Navicula firma are probably only
varieties ; the appearance of longitudinal lines near
the margin is caused by the curved margin of the
valve, as I hope to explain by the aid of figures in
a future paper on the forms in this deposit, which
contains a very beautiful variety of this species.

■v m

Fig. 145.

Fig. 148.

Navicula Trochus of Ehrenberg was first observed
in a fossil deposit from Sweden, and has since been
detected in several of the American deposits, and by
G. Norman, Esq., of Hull, in a recent gathering from
Norway, and by myself iu the washings of some moss
gathered in Heigham, Norfolk. This, although a
small form (the largest specimen 1 have seen did
not exceed T400 of an inch in length), is readily
detected by its peculiar form. It has a strongly
inflated centre, with rostrate and obtuse apices.

134

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[June 1, 1867.

The next most conspicuous genus is that of
Eunotia, including Eunotia triodon (fig. 115),
tetraodon, diadema, octodon, and ennaodon. The
crenate Eunotia; with coarse markings might, as
suggested by Mr. Ralfs, be advantageously united
into one species, which he proposes to call Eunotia
robusta.

Fig. 147.

Fig:. 148.

To the foregoing may be added the names of the
following, which also occur in theMonmouth deposit :
Eunotia Camelus of Ehrenberg, Eunotia octonaria
of Ehrenberg, Eunotia hemicyclus of Ehrenberg
(fig. 116), Stauroneis Baileyi of Ehrenberg, Stau-
roneis phaenicenteron of Ehrenberg, which, although
figured before in this journal, is repeated here
(fig. 117), and Stauroneis gracilis of Ehrenberg
(fig. 148).

In a future communication I hope to add a
description of the rarer forms which I have detected.
By that time, I doubt not, many of the readers of
this journal will have become possessed of a portion
of the deposit about to be distributed, and thus be
enabled to follow with more interest any observa-
tions which 1 may make.

Norwich. E. Kitton.

Coffee is said to have been first brought to Eng-
land by Mr. Nathaniel Conopius, a Cretan, who
made it his common beverage at Balliol College, at
Oxford, in the year 1641 ; but it must evidently
have been a few years prior to this date, as Evelyn
says in his Diary, 1637, " There came in my tyme
to the Coll. one Nathaniel Conopios out of Greece,
from Cyrill the Patriarch of Constantinople, who,
returning many years after, was made (as I under-
stand) Bishop of Smyrna; he was the first I ever
saw drink coffee, which custom came not into Eng-
land till 30 years after."— Phillips' Fniits of Great
Britain.

ZOOLOGY.

Curious Sea Anemone.— In the winter of 1865,
I found on the sands of Weymouth Bay several
Anemones, Anthea Cereus (the lead and vivid green
varieties), and Sagartia parasitica on Whelk Shells,
cast up by the heavy sea. On taking them home,
and putting them into sea water, I found one of the
Sagartia parasitica to have tico perfect discs. It was
a very large specimen. The tentacula were white.
When raw beef was offered to one set of tentaculee,
the other set showed no sign of closing, or sensation
from the presence of meat. Having had much
experience in keeping sea monsters of various kinds
upwards of nine years, and yet never having met
with such a curiosity before, I should esteem it a
favour if any gentleman would intimate, through the
pages of the Journal, of having met with a similar
case in any variety. — Alfred Rawes, Bath.

Amputated Anemone. — I have often noticed,
in books on Aquaria, the assertion that a healthy
Actinia mesembryanthemum, if cut vertically in
two, will form two perfect Anemones ; but the fol-
lowing fact will, I think, interest all aquarians.
Last year I received a consignment of Anemones
from Tenby. A Sagartia nivea having been roughly
detached from the rock, was suffering from a rupture
on one side ; it was very bad, and was coated with
mucus and white threads. In a day or two the side
began to decay, and quite tainted the water of the
temporary shallow pan in which I had placed it;
during this, the other side of the Anemone was
quite healthy, and the tentacles expanded. I thought
it was a pity to lose this Anemone, and debated
in my mind what amputation would effect; so
determining to try the experiment, I took a
sharp knife, and cut the anemone in two, cutting off
all decayed matter, and put the remainder on a rock
in the shady part of a well-established tank. In a
day or so, the Anemone assumed the shape of a
crescent, and the severed sides, in the course of ten
days, joined, forming a circular Anemone, quite
perfect, without the slightest trace of a seam. This
curiosity fed, throve, lived in my tank for months
after.— Alfred llawes, Bath.

A Elea Encampment. — In moving a bed some
time ago we came upon an encampment of the
enemy. The flea wigwams were scattered over the
white surface of a long piece of dimity placed
between the bed and the partition of the room. I
had often asked what became of fleas in cold
weather ; and here, in this hamlet of minute [huts,
the mystery was explained : we saw them in winter
quarters; each habitation was a little over one-
eighth of an inch long, and the exact shape of a
cocoon, attached to the white field of the dimity,
apparently after the manner of a chrysalis. While

June 1, 1SG7.J

IIARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

135

curiously looking at them, the ensconced fleas
proved they were on the alert, for first one and then
another of these single tenements opened like a
mussel-shell, and away went the startled occupants
in quick succession, the whole making their escape
in magical celerity. The piece of dimity looked as
if it was nibbled. How do the fleas work up these
snuggeries — the little abodes with only room for
one, and a close fit too ? And does each occupier
know his own house? I once saw thousands of
these insects, bound on some expedition, crossing a
road closely adjacent to a beach, skipping, jumping,
and scrambling, in such close order that the space
of road, about a yard in diameter, was darkened by
their migration, their direction being inland. — IF. B.

A Canary's Antipathy. — It may interest some
of your readers to note the extraordinary antipathy
for certain colours of a pet canary-bird of ours. Any
shade of violet or blue appears to drive him nearly
mad. He not only flutters, but beats himself against
the cage wires or the bottom of the cage, and I
really believe would kill himself if the objection-
able colour was not removed. The least bit of
either of these colours is detected by him in a
moment. One day, while my wife was feed ing her
pets, the cook came to speak to her, and had som e
ribbon of a violet shade to her cap . Poor little
Dickey was off in a moment, violently beating and
fluttering till the cap-strings disappeared. We
have tried him with almost every other colour, arid
he takes no notice. I may add that he was brought
up by hand, and is so tame that he is constantly
hopping about us as we get up in the morning ; any
stranger can take him on their finger. In a moment,
however, at sight of a dress or ribbon of the colours
named he immediately commences trying to knock
his brains out, or to do himself some other " grievous
bodily harm." Can any one account for the strange
fear of these particular colours ? — /. N. W.

A "New River" Horse. — At the brickfields
close to the E'mchley-road, where the Midland
Extension Railway crosses, are some very sim pie
siphons for supplying the works with water. Th cy
are merely bent pipes, with a lever tap inserted below
the bend. One of these is close to a field fence.
My daughter, who pays considerable attention to
animals, saw a common cart-horse walk up to the
spot, put his head over the fence, and, with his
teeth, turn the lever tap full on. He then craned
his neck further over, so as to get his mouth below
the stream, and caught the water as it fell. A
gentleman standing near saw the ingenious creature
refreshing himself, and to try whether it were
accident or design, drove him away and turned off
the tap. On his retreating, the horse renewed the
experiment, and obtained a fresh supply. And it
is worth note that to do this the animal had to push

the tap from him a quarter of a circle, the mouth of
the spout being turned away from the fence. We
have all seen the elephant at the Zoological Gardens
fill his pail at the driver's bidding, but I conceive
this is rather a new branch of industry for horses.
No doubt they make progress in the useful arts as
well as their masters. But though my Welsh pony
used to open gates for me, by lifting the wooden
latch with his nose and then thrusting with his
shoulder, I could never get him to turn round and
close the gate for me. Nor in this experiment did
the horse turn off the tap when he had drank:
euough. I believe his masters sometimes exhibit a
like forgetfulness at the neighbouring tavern, so
both horses and men have something to learn. As
an instance of observation, reflection, and experi-
ment, followed by deduction, I think the action of
our four-footed philosopher worth notice. — /. IF.
Salte?\

Lepidoptera wanted. — Eor many years I have
paid a sort of desultory attention to subjects con-
nected with those branches of natural history, the
study of which it is the special business of your
excellent little work to promote, and the attention
has been only desultory because my every-day avoca-
cations have rendered a close study impossible. I
should, however, much like to exchange specimens
with any one who would like to open a correspon-
dence with me for that purpose, premising that I
am more likely to possess spare specimens of the
Lepidoptera than those of other orders. If it be
not too late, I should be obliged to any one who
would send me a few eggs of any new silk moth, par-
ticularly those of the Ailanthus (Bornbyx Cynthia).
We have here, somewhat common, a moth which
seems very closely allied to the above, judging from
drawings I have seen of the Ailanthus, and which
feeds on the apple and pear trees, but I should like
to rear a few of the Ailanthus for the purpose of
making a comparison. I hope the person favouring
me with any eggs will accompany them with such
instructions as may be necessary to the proper
treatment of the caterpillar. Please make such
use of this note as may most efficiently conduce to
bringing about the object to be attained.— /?''. V.
Andrews, Post Office, Box 2905, New York City,
U.S.

Cheating a Spider. — Professor Rennie writes :
"We have tried numerous experiments by moving
and vibrating the lines of many species, so as to
imitate as nearly as possible the entrapment of a fly;
but in no case have we succeeded in bringing the
spider to the spot, because, as we inferred, her eyes
always detected our attempted deception." We
once were so clever as to cheat a spider. Gently
shaking a very small hook, called the midge-fly, in
the lowest line of her web, our barometrical friend
— whose pre-sensation gave warning of wet — was

136

H A It D W I C K E'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[June 1, IS67

fairly taken in : rushing on the hook, and grasping
it, great was her astonishment. Finding that she
should not believe her eyes, she precipitately lied ;
and no subsequent temptation, though renewed
weeks afterwards, enabled us rgain to boast that
we excelled Professor Bennie in angling for spiders.
— Contributions to Natural History by a Rural D.D.

Catching a Diver. — On the 8th of April last,
a Speckled Diver (I believe it to be a young
Colymbus septentrionalis) was caught in Bridlington
Bay, on a line shot for cod and haddock, at a depth
of four or five fathoms. It had not swallowed the
hook, but was caught by a bight (or a twist) of the
snood. I forward this note to show at what distance
these birds dive in search of food, in case it may
interest any of your ornithological readers.— H. II.
Knocker.

House-dogs. — Several articles on rural natural
history having appeared lately, it may perhaps more
amuse than instruct some of your juvenile readers
to be informed that within a month or two a lady
friend residing in Corfu asked a countryman to
procure a small dog for the children. This he did,
but the animal's ears were cropped close off, and on
being asked why, he replied that it was to make
it a good house-dog. The lady, astonished, wished
to be informed in what manner such effect was
produced, when the peasant said, " It is a known
fact that if a puppy's ears are cut off, then cut up
and mixed with oil, and made to eat it, that it makes
them the best house-dogs." I leave your readers
to judge of the merits of the case, and mention it
simply to show superstition in the nineteenth
century. — H. H. Knocker.

Striped Hawk Moth. — I see by c: the books "
that the Striped Hawk Moth (Deilephila Livornica)
is so great a rarity that is has been a question
whether it is really a native of these islands. On
the 8th of May I was fortunate enough to
capture an undoubtedly genuine and beautiful
specimen of this moth in a garden in Eunis. It
was resting on a piece of lily of the valley when I
found it, in the middle of the day. Thinking it
likely there might be more " where it came from,"
I have searched diligently all round, and burned
decoy-lamps at night ; but have failed to find any
more. — S. Leslie Brakey, Funis.

A Baseless Sea Anemone. — In cleaning out
one of my tanks, I accidentally tore in two a fine
specimen of Sagartia sp/iyrodeta, leaving the base
on the slate of the tank ; the Anemone was rather
out of sorts, having no base, and his inside tumbling
out. I put it in a spare tank, and in a few weeks
the rupture healed, with a puckered appearance.
The Anemone has no sticking base, and keeps its
mooring by attaching the warts of its body to large
pebbles. — Alfred Ilawes.

BOTANY.

May Mushrooms. — Will Professor Buckman
allow me to correct a slight inaccuracy in his article
on " May Mushrooms," iu last number of Science-
Gossip? The agaric to which he refers is not
A. prunulus, which is an autumn species, but
A. gambosus, which belongs to the sub-genus " Tri-
choloma," and is one of the white-spored Agarics.
A. prunulus is one of the " Hyporhodii," or those
Agarics in which the spores are pale-rose, or salmon-
coloured, and belongs to the sub-genus " Clitopilus."
No doubt Professor Buckman's mistake arises from
a perusal of Dr. Badham's " Esculent Eungi of
Great Britain," in which A. gambosus is called
A. prunulus, and the latter species is described
under the name of A. Orcella. The true A. Orcella
has not, as far as I am aware, been found in this
country; but A. prunulus is not uncommon in grassy
woods, in the months of August and September,
and is also a very good fungus for the table. Its
gills are at first quite white, but afterwards become
decidedly rose-coloured. — Arc/id. Jerdon.

Tiian-hmo. — Your correspondent " W. T. H."
(whom I regret to say I cannot bring to my recollec-
tion by the slender aid of initials), has referred to me
(Science-Gossip, November ,;1S66) as a likely person
to give you information on the subject of our native
anthelmintic, the fungus called by the Burmese
Thau-gya-hmo or Wa-hmo, i.e., Worm-passing-fungus,
or Bamboo-fungus. I am sorry to say I have nothing
to add to what appears to be already known of this
plant. In the Gardeners' Chronicle for August 11,
1SGG, it is described by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley,
our highest authority in mycology, under the name
of Polyporus anthelminticus, and some account of it
is also given. Its virtue as a vermifuge appears to
be thought great by the Burmese. But (as the
article in the Gardeners' Chronicle says) since we
possess so excellent a remedy in Santonins (which
has found its way out here, and is eagerly sought
after by the natives as soon as they become ac-
quainted with it), there is no advantage in intro-
ducing what in all likelihood is, at least, an inferior
remedy. I believe it is tolerably abundant in the
rainy season, though, I am told, only on one kind of
bamboo. The Burmese have a superstition that
if one who has taken this medicine touch iron, its
eifect will be neutralized. — C. S. P. Parish,
Moulmein,

The Primrose.— In answer to " B.'s " inquiry as
to the varieties of Primula in which the calyx is so
strangely altered, I do not remember to have seen
any other than the three kinds mentioned by him,
but I think I have seen the one in which the calyx
is partly green and partly red, varying to green
and white. This particular variety (with the red

June 1, 1867.]

HAIIDWICKE'S SCIEN CE-GO S SIP.

137

and green calyx), is a great favourite in our cottage
gardens, and goes by the name of " King Charles
in the Oak." It is a very showy plant. With
respect to the form of primula intermediate between
the primrose and the cowslip, when first I began
botanizing, I, of course, labelled it "Primula
elatior," but I learned after awhile that it was not
the true oxlip (which plant, however, I have never
had the good fortune to see), and for a long time I
have looked upon the cowslip (Primula veris), the
primrose (P. vulgaris), and the spurious oxlip (P.
intermedia, if I may so call it), as varieties of one
species, but I feel quite convinced now that what I
venture to name intermedia is a true hybrid between
the other two species. My reasons for arriving
at this conclusion are that I have found it in
every imaginable stage of development between the
cowslip and the primrose. Amongst cowslips,
which, however, are not very common with us, I
have sometimes found individual plants having the
flowers cup-shaped like a cowslip, deep yellow,
with an orange centre ; cowslip-scented, sometimes
drooping, but sometimes erect, and considerably
larger than ordinary cowslip flowers. These, cer-
tainly, may be a development of the cowslip, and
not hybrids at all ; but then the development goes
on, and I find oxlips with the flowers still deep-
yellow in colour, but flat |like a primrose (some-
times slightly cupped), and almost as large as a
shilling. And, again, I find oxlips having the
flowers quite like a primrose in colour, shape, and
size ; but a specimen of this kind now before me
has the unmistakable coicslip odour very strongly,
while a yellow one, also before me, has very little
perfume at all, and what it has is more like
primrose than cowslip. I have no particular notes
on the subject, but I am under the impression
that I have frequently seen oxlips amongst cow-
slips where the latter were plentiful, and I fancy
that Professor Buckman will remember and cor-
roborate the fact that we found oxlips amongst
cowslips in a small wood at Ewen, near Cirencester,
many years ago, and that there were sometimes
on the same root oxlips and cowslips, sometimes
oxlips and primroses, but not primroses and cow-
slips. I take it that the hybrid will most resemble
the cowslip when a cowslip has produced the seed,
and that such a plant will occasionally send up
umbels of both oxlips and cowslips, but that the
hybrid will be most like a primrose when the
primrose has been the female parent, and that it
will then have a tendency to send up umbels of
oxlip and single-flowered scapes from the same
root. "What I have written does not prove anything,
but the subject seems worthy of investigation, and
I hope during the next few days to begin some
experiments by impregnating cowslips with primrose
pollen, and primroses with cowslip pollen, and saving
the seed, and if others would do the same, w hen

opportunity occurs (it will be too late this year
when this is read), I fancy we should arrive at some
valuable and certainly interesting results. — Robert
Holland.

Tiie Oxlip. — The view entertained by your cor-
respondent "B." in reference to the consanguinity
of this plant with the primrose, rather than with
the cowslip, requires confirmation, and his observa-
tion of the facts on which that view is based
assuredly does not agree with my own. In this dis-
trict of East Sussex, where the soil is cloggy, the
primrose flourishes most luxuriantly, but I have
never once met with the oxlip here, nor even
the cowslip; and I have heard aged labourers
say they have never seen the oxlip growing here,
but it is common enough on the calcareous soil
of the South Downs. In Dorsetshire the
cowslip is very abundant, and I have often found
the oxlip growing with them. The primrose does
not grow so luxuriantly there as it does in this soil.
Some years ago I sowed some garden polyanthus
seed which produced cowslips, oxlips, and polyan-
thuses, but no primroses.— S.

Bust and Smut in India. — At our request,
Dr. Stewart, Officiating Conservator of Porests at
Lahore, has just forwarded to us specimens of rust
and smut on Indian Graminacese. These include
the common smut {Ustilago segetuni) upon Cgmbo-
pogon Iwaruncusa, upon wheat, and upon a species
of Saccharum and of Eragrostis, in the latter mixed
with a kind of Macrosporium, with a singularly hard
compact form on barley from the Jhelum district ;
also the glume rust, Triclwbasis glumarum, on wheat.
Together with these was a species of Tulostoma from
Montgomery District. It is allied to Tulostoma
mammosum, but appears to differ in the depression
around the stipe at its junction with the globose
head, at which point the head easily separates from
the stem. Undoubtedly the common red rust and
the corn mildew occur on grain in Northern India,
but of this we have at present no evidence. We
wish that some of our Indian correspondents would
send us the ergot on rice which is said to occur in
Bengal.

Winged Seeds. — In the seed of Lophospermitm
erubescens, in which the thin membranous wing
surrounds the entire circumference of the seed, the
cells, with their spiral fibres, are well shown. The
most remarkable specimen of wing, however, and
one in which this tissue is largely developed, occurs
in a plant from the East Indies (Calosanthcs Indica),
the wing being more than an inch in length on each
side of the seed. — Quelcetfs "Lectures on His-
tology"

Bitter-vetch Cluster Cups (JEcidium Orobi,
D. C.).— A correspondent has sent us this rare
parasite from Sheffield.

138

HARDWICKE'S SCIEN CE - GOSS IP.

[June 1, 1867.

GEOLOGY.

Toome Bridge Earth and Flint Flakes. —
Toome Bridge is a small village on a branch of the
Northern Counties Railway, between Randalstown
and Castle Dawson — about five miles from Randals-
town, and three from Castle Dawson. It is situated in
the county Antrim, but is close to the boundary of the
county Londonderry. The bridge from which the
locality takes its name was a curious old nine-arch
structure that formerly crossed the river Bann,
which at this spot divides the counties. The
bridge was removed some time ago, and the County
Boad deviated ; and now the County Boad crosses the
river by an iron bridge at a short distance from the
site of the former old stone bridge. The river thus
"crossed is called the Lower Bann, to distinguish it
from the Upper Bann, which, after rising in the
Mourne Mountain of the county Down, falls into
Lough Neagh at its south end, near the town of
Lurgan. The Lower Bann leaves the Lough again
at Toome Bridge, and falls into the sea a little to
the north of Coleraine. Some fifteen years ago
extensive works were carried on at Toome with the
view of improving the navigation of the Lower
Bann. During the progress of those works, a large
number of stone and bronze implements were found,
the majority of which are now in the Museum of the
Royal Irish Academy, in Dublin. At this time also
a bed of earth was cut into, which is now known as
Toome Bridge earth, and mounted specimens of it
are to be found in the cabinets of most microscopists,
few of whom know anything of its whereabouts.
The land at both sides of the river, particularly
at the western side, is very low for hundreds of
acres, and doubtless at one time was covered by the
water of Lough Neagh ; indeed, previous to the
alteration of the bed of the river, the adjoining
lands, and even the County Boad, used to be fre-
quently submerged during winter. From indi-
cations given in several directions, it is probable
that the diatomaceous earth occurs over the whole of
the extensive fiat country, and when it has been cut
through it shows a thickness of from three to five
feet. All the hedgerows along the roads, and
dividing the fields, are built of it ; and even bricks
have been manufactured from it, and it is so often
turned up in the fields that the farmers returning
from their work look as white all over as if they had
been working in lime all day. An excellent section
is exposed all along the river banks. This white
earth is well marked, and it seems to rest upon a
sunken peat moss. At low water during the
summer the peat is exposed, and trunks of trees
project from the peat up into the diatomaceous earth,
so that the earth itself is newer than the peat. The
latter forms in some places the bed of the river. A
second iron bridge carries the railway across the
river between the above County Boad bridge and the

Lough, and the peat forms the bed of the river
between the railway bridge and the Lough. On
this peat there occurs a bed of gravel, and in this
gravel there are vast quantities of flint flakes similar
to those found in the valley of the Somme, and the
ossiferous caverns of England and the Continent.
The boys in the locality wade out into the water in
the summer, and collect the flakes, many of them
very well formed, although mere flakes, there being
no chippings upon them. With these flakes, how-
ever, there are some arrow-heads and stone celts
found, and in some of the adjoining bogs inland
flakes, arrow-heads, and celts have been found,
similar in every respect to those found in the bed
of the Bann.— W. Gray.

The Petrified Forest. — This celebrated forest,
or rather plain of prostrate trees, is about an hour's
ride from Cairo. The fragments are scattered about
in all directions as far as the eye can reach ; the hills
all round and the valleys of the desert are strewed
with them. There you see branches in one place,
trunks in another, roots in another. Some of the
pieces are split up, as if they had cracked from age
or the heat of the sun. Many of the pieces are
evidently of the palm tree. All the fragments are
as hard as the hardest flint. Petrifactions of this
kind are found in other parts of Egypt, but not to
the same extent. Many speculations and sugges-
tions have been offered as to the cause of these
petrifactions, but it is beyond doubt that the trees
were at one time under water. It cannot now be
known whether they grew where they lie or whether
they were brought there by a flood (or rather the
flood) from a distance. The place, though now a
howling wilderness, might have been in the earlier
ages of the world a laud of great and luxuriant
vegetation. There is no doubt, however, that these
trees date fiom the time of the deluge. They may
indeed have been uprooted in some distant land,
brought by the advancing flood, and deposited where
they now lie. Many of these trees measure from
40 to 60 feet in length, and several are above 3 feet
in diameter. The small fragments may be counted
by millions, and thousands lie buried under the sand.
They are capable of a high polish, and might be used
as ornaments of various kinds. — E. St. John Fair-
man.

Rocks of the Aqueous Deposit behind the
Citadel, Cairo. — Immediately behind the citadel
at Cairo there is a small range of mountains called
the Mokattam mountains, which is almost entirely
composed of shells, roots of various vegetable sub-
stances, and small branches and roots of trees, all
petrified and forming a solid rock. Besides these,
sharks' teeth and crabs have been found in these
mountains. There is no doubt that these rocks
have been deposited by water, and, taking into con-
sideration the evidence of other phenomena equally

June 1, 1867.]

HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

139

strange to be met with in various parts of Lower
Egypt— as, for instance, the existence of sea-water
shells in different portions of the desert, and above
all the petrified desert— it is evident that the whole
of this part of the country was at one time covered
by the sea. The Mokattam mountains are of a light
yellow colour ; the summits are quite free of any sort
of vegetation, and various parts are covered with loose
blocks of stones of the calcium species. There is
in these mountains a very remarkable rock of a
reddish colour, called by the Arabs Ghebel Achmar,
which means literally red mountain. It is of a
very soft nature, and closely resembles red ochre.
In this range there are also immense caves, in each
of which a regiment of soldiers might easily be
quartered. The whole of Upper Egypt might be
said to be a vast mass of granite, but Lower Egypt,
at all events the Delta, having been probably formed
by the clay and sand brought down by the Nile,
shows no visible traces of this rock. The centre of
the earth is a vast crucible in which materials of
which we have no precise knowledge are fused or
melted together, and then forced up to the surface,
either by the intense heat or by a sort of centri-
fugal force. The composition called granite is formed
and forced upwards in this manner, and as it cools
and hardens bursts its way through the softer strata
until it appears above the surface, assuming in many
places the forms of stupendous mountains. Some-
times the force is only sufficient to raise the strata
above to a certain height, while the granite itself
remains concealed underneath. This may account
for aqueous deposits being found in the shape of
mountains, as in the instance of the Mokattam
mountains in question. They once probably formed
the bed of the ocean, and in the course of ages were
raised to their present height by the upheaving of
igneous rocks from below. — E. St. John Fairman.

Age of Niagara. — Many eminent geologists
affirm that the eroding power of the swift rolling
waters of the Columbia, Potomac, and Missouri
could not, on an average, effect the stupendous
erosions alluded to in less than 40,000 years ; and
Sir Charles Lyell asserts, after personal study, and
close searching and accurate observation of the
nature and properties of the Silurian rocks of the
Niagara bed, and of the average annual rate of the
erosion at present, that the strength of the eroding
power, great though it be, could not possibly have
effected the retreat of the cataract to its modern
site in less than 35,000 years. — The Twin Records of
Creation.

Eossil Dormouse. — At the meeting of the
Zoological Society of London, 9th May, Dr. A.
Leith Adams read a communication respecting a
new fossil Dormouse from the quarternary forma-
tions of Malta, proposed to be called Myoxus
melitensis.

MICROSCOPY.

Feathers for Mounting.— The feathers from
the drake's head form a very interesting object
under the microscope. Under a power of 80 dia-
meters they appear to be divided into rectangular
cells. Their colour, when viewed opaque, is beau-
tiful. Can any one tell me if there is mention of
them in any work on the microscope ? The cells
are best shown when mounted in balsam.—^. W.
Cooper.

Centering Objects. — As hardly any hint in
microscopic manipulation is too trifling to be of
use, at least to beginners, I venture to send the fol-
lowing device, which I have used for some years, as
from the exce?itric position which objects sometimes
occupy on the slide it is evident that some mounters
trust (vain confidence !) to the eye alone. Cut a
piece of card the exact size of a slide, draw two
lines diagonally from corner to corner, the point of
intersection will show the centre, where a small hole
should be punched or cut out. To use the con-
trivance, place it carefully on a slide, and with a
pen put a dot of ink on the glass through the hole ;
the object is of course to be mounted on the other
side of the slide, and the ink-spot is easily scraped
off afterwards. The dot on the glass is preferable
to any loose mark placed underneath while mount-
ing, as it cannot possibly shift its position. — George
Guyon.

Mounting Objects. — As I continually see in
Science-Gossif discussions on the relative merits
of various fluids for mounting microscopic objects,
I would say a word on behalf of a very simple
one, viz., distilled water. I have now lying before
me on my table two specimens which were among
my earliest attempts at mounting, and which were
mounted at least eighteen years ago. Out of these
eighteen years they have passed more than fourteen
with me in the tropics, and yet they are as green
and as fresh, and as perfect for microscopic examina-
tion as they were on the day they were mounted.
The objects are Nostoc vulgare and Jungermannia
tomentetla. They are both mounted on slips of glass
of the usual size, viz., 3 inches by 1. In one case
the cell in which the object lies was built up of red
sealing-wax dissolved in spirits of wine, and the
thin glass cover cemented with the same. As the
sealing-wax was laid on in a broad band (nearly
three-tenths of an inch) no air at all has got in, and
the specimen is in every respect as perfect as it was
eighteen years ago. This is the more surprising as
sticks of the very same sealing-wax brought out to
: this country, and laid in a drawer, in consequence
; of the heat, soon ran together, and flowed out into a
' flat circular cake. The effect of dissolving it in
spirits of wine seems to have been to enable the wax

140

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[June 1, 1867.

to preserve its hardness and brittleness, for that on
tlie specimen in question is extremely hard, and as
sharp at the edges as at first. In the other case
the object was mounted in a cell ground out of
the glass, and the thin glass cover cemented with
black asphalte cement, which also has stood re-
markably well, though, as it was laid on in a very
narrow band, a large globule of air has got in, which
spoils the appearance of the slide as a mounted
specimen, but has not aifected the object in the least
degree. Distilled water, having thus stood the
test of eighteen years, is, I think, shown to be a
suitable fluid for, at least, vegetable tissues.

While on the subject of fluids and cements, I
may take the opportunity of stating that marine
glue (which answers so admirably for fastening
glass rings to slides) when kept in the lump, loses
its properties after two or three years in a hot
country. When strips of it are laid on a slide and
held over a spirit lamp, or if a piece of it be held in
the flame, instead of melting, it bums and smoulders
away into a dry ash, and is therefore useless. It is
the same, also, with ordinary English sealing-wax,
so that it is impossible to seal a letter with it.—
C. S. P. P., Mouhnein.

Eatty Acids.— E. Histed speaks of spermaceti
as a good polariscopic object : I, to the same effect,
recommend the fatty acids, either by E. H.'s process
or otherwise in the ordinary way. — S. D.

Movements oe Diatoms. —Science-Gossip is,
I apprehend, a publication in which I may quietly
buttonhole your own proper person, and relate what
I have seen recently in our instrument of instru-
ments, the microscope. Now, although I possess a
few books relating more or less to all subjects which
come under the said instrument's glass eyes, I am .
not aware of any which clear up the question of
"How do the navicular force their way through
the water ? " Neither do I for one moment suppose
that a humble individual like myself is going at
once to solve it. I shall, however, relate (if you
will kindly lend your ear) what I have lately seen.
After a trip last Saturday, May 11th, to Swanscombc,
which somehow or other is not now what Swans-
combe was formerly (speaking from a microscopic
point of view), I found that I had got Surirella,
P. angulata, Nitzschia, P. elongata, P. fasciola,
P. quadrata, Amphiplura, &c., &c, not to mention
any quautity of ciliated and non-ciliated animalcules.
With regard to the means of viewing them, I con-
sidered my Poss compressorium the best, and conse-
quently transferred from my soup-plate (into which
all the gatherings had been as usual turned) a drop
from the surface. Eor the first time in my life I
found a quadrat urn on edge— not having, as in ninety-
nine cases out of a hundred, screwed down the top

glass until all underneath must be flat — which gave it
a curious appearance. In the ordinary mode of
seeing these minute objects, there appears when
alive, as every one has seen, a central spot, and
a minute ring at either extremity. Our friend
viewed sideways, gave me apparently the idea
that the two rings might be the orifices of two
tubes, and it struck me that the Puthven pro-
peller, in which water is sucked in at one end of the
vessel and ejected at the other, might really be the
principle upon which our Pleurosigma get along.
If this is anything very old, let your humble servant
down as lightly as possible. I mention it purely as
gossip. 1 saw no motion, but I think my specimen
was defunct. Does the central ring exercise any
influence upon the two tubes in contracting and
expelling the fluid, or otherwise ? The powers used
were a good ^ and £. The y would not go through
the thickness of glass and water necessary to keep
the object in position. I bring this forward simply
because it is likely some of your readers may have
seen the same sort of thing, and at the same time,
with that feeling of diffidence that makes those who
work long at the microscope not always to believe
their own eyes. — John Bockeit.

Glenshira Sand.— In answer to J. W. W.'s
inquiry respecting the method employed by the
late Dr. Gregory with Glenshira sand, I have
pleasure in informing him that, in a letter written
by the Professor to an acquaintance of mine, he
directed him to have four or six glasses, each about
twelve inches high ; into the first, nearly filled with
water, to pour some of the sand, and to allow it
one minute to settle, the fluid to be then carefully
poured into the second glass, and two minutes to
be allowed previous to the fluid being decanted
from the deposit into the third glass, and here
four or five minutes were to be allowed ; the process
to be thus repeated, doubling the time for the
sediment to settle in each glass; the deposit will
consist almost entirely of sand in the first glass, in
the next of sand and the larger diatoms, the finest
kinds being found in the last glasses.

If J. W. W. is desirous of exchanging Glenshira
sand for other diatomaceous material, the writer
will be glad to hear from him. — Joseph B. Bod man,
Castor, Peterborough.

Mounting Diatoms.— How must I proceed in
order to make diatoms stick on the slides after they
are arranged ? 1 have succeeded in arranging small
groups, but all trials to make them stick have been
in vain; the diatoms float away as soon as the
balsam is put on them, and yet it is possible to fix
them, as is proved by the beautiful preparations
which are sold in England. — E. W. Schoenebcck,
Prussia.

June 1, 1S67.]

HABDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

141

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Aquarium Pest. — I last year collected from my
aquarium several pieces of the Valisneria spiralis,
ou which were deposited the ova of the Planorbis
corneas, and put them iu a small glass jar containing
water, which I placed in a window with a south
aspect, and let it remain there several weeks, when
on examining its contents I found upwards of one
hundred minute molluscs, some of which I now
have iu an aquarium ; they vary in size from three-
sixteenths to seven-sixteenths of an inch in diameter.
If your correspondent L. H. P. will adopt the same
course, and keep the jar where the sun can act upon
it, I have no doubt he will be satisfied that the
" nests " he names are the eggs of the snail, and
that "something will come from them."— H. M.,
Sheffield.

Eggs op the Lackey Moth. — Mr. H. H.
O'Farrell inquires if any of the readers of Science-
Gossip have met with the eggs of the Lackey Moth
laid in a patch, and not a ring. I believe i t is a
very common occurrence, as I myself have frequently
found them so.—E. F.

Skeleton Leaves. — Your correspondent J. S. S.
will have no difficulty with her skeleton leaves if
she removes them from the water on blotting paper,
and she may detach them from it with dry blotting
paper and a careful use of her fingers. The same
paper may be dried and used several times. — A. S.

Primroses. — In Science-Gossip for May 1st,
your correspondent B. mentions having found
Oxlips amongst Primroses, but never among Cows-
lips ; it may therefore be interesting to state that
here, on the Mendip Hills, in fields which are almost
covered with Cowslips, we frequently find very fine
specimens of the Primula elatior growing amongst
them. — /.

[Is our correspondent certain of its being Primula
elatior ? — Ed.]

Impressions of Leaa^es. — Could you inform me
what is the best method of obtaining exact nature-
printed copies of the leaves and impressions of leaves
found in the Lower Bagshot pipe-clays ? I have a
great many obtained from the Lower Bagshot beds
about here — B. C. C. L.

Mice and Cockroaches (p. 119). — It is very
likely that the common mouse will feed on cock-
roaches : that they do feed on insects, we had
positive proof down here. In the roof of this
house — i. e., between the ceiling of the upper rooms
and the slates — we have small apertures in the gable
for ventilation, which are filled up with perforated
zinc, and the larger flies all draw towards these
apertures, especially on a sunshiny evening ; but
they cannot get out through the perforated zinc,
and I was at first somewrhat surprised to see mice
running up the zinc and catching these flies in vast
numbers. I find they eat all but the wings, which
they manage to clip off as clean as if cut with a
pair of scissors; but mice and rats are nearly
omnivorous, according to circumstances. — IF. P.

Leg Legends. — Is it a recognized fact amongst
naturalists that thrushes acquire new legs, and cast
the old ones when about ten years old ? A great
many persons in this neighbourhood give what

appear well-authenticated instances of this : one
of a thrush belonging to a clergyman at Stanwix,
near Carlisle, which was visited and examined by
many when the change was going on; another near
Whitehaven, &c. The matter has been brought under
my notice now on looking through the library of a
deceased friend of mine who was a very close
observer of nature. At the end of "Swainson's Birds"
he has made the note, "A thrush kept in a cage at
Lyneside (Kirklinton), said to be about ten years
of age, has recently acquired a new pair of legs, the
old ones drying up and dropping off. The first time
I saw the bird, the new feet were protruding from
the front of the knee joint, and looked soft and
light-coloured. On my second visit they had
lengthened considerably, but were not of any use to
the bird. Afterwards I saw it when the new feet
were used, and the old ones shrivelling up, soon
after which the old feet dropped off." I have heard
him speak of the circumstance, and express regret
that he had not secured the cast-off legs as an
evidence for unbelievers. — Wm. Dodgson.

[We suspect that the unbelievers are legion. —

Ed.]

Aquaria. — All who are in contemplation of stock-
ing fresh-water aquaria during the ensuing summer
months, will do well if they introduce a greater num-
ber of plants of a floating nature than of those which
require to be set in soil, as the fish will then have
greater scope and room ; whilst oxygen, which is
essential to their preservation, will still be supplied
in sufficient quantity. The thick foliage of many
subaquatic plants is calculated to considerably retard
the free movements of the fish, especially when the
aquarium in which they are kept is small. Of course
under-water vegetation should not be entirely dis-
carded, for if sparingly introduced it affords a
grateful shelter to newts and some species of fish
which are fond of seclusion. Asa rule, it is advis-
able to have plenty of space, in order that the living
objects can be more easily observed. It is by no
means advantageous, for the same reason, to have
too great a display of rockwork, and in fact there
ought to be hardly an}', unless the aquarium is of
large dimension. — /. H. F., Harleston.

Perforating Squirrels.— In the very interest-
ing and able article on the flint-flakes of Devon,
&c, by Mr. Tate, in the April number of the
Popular Science Review, there is, 1 think, a slight
error in regard to the habits of the Squirrel. At
p. 173. it is stated that "perforation in the nuts
demonstrates that Squirrels skipped among the
branches of the trees that grew there." Now, whilst
I have no doubt that Squirrels did skip among the
branches at the time referred to, I do not think that
they made the perforations found in the nuts, but
that these were the work of the common Dormouse.
I have kept both Squirrels and Dormice, and so far
as my observation goes the latter always nibble a
nearly circular hole in the nut, whilst the former,
having first rapidly cut an irregular opening, insert
the lower incisors into it, and break off one side of
the shell before beginning to eat the kernel. This
may be thought a trifling matter, but in natural
history, as in all other departments of science, we
cannot be too exact in relation to the facts on
which we base the reasonings by which we advance
into new fields of knowledge. I have hence deemed
it well to call the attention of your readers to this
poiut; and possibly others, with wider opportunities
than I possess, may show that Squirrels do leave
perforations in nuts. — Fras. Buclcell, 3I.R.C.S.

113

HAllDWICKE'S SCIENCE. GOSSIP

[June 1, 1867.

Dust on Aquaria. — 'Would it not be better to
prevent the dust getting into an aquarium than
adopting any of the ingenious (?) plans which some
of your correspondents have suggested to get rid of
it after it has got there ? The way I do it is by
keeping one, two, or more pieces of glass (according
to the size of the vessel) on the top of the tank,
which not only effectually keep out dust, but also
prevent any loss of water by evaporation, and the
escape of any of the live-stock. — Geo. Abbott.

Double Oranges. — Oranges such as are men-
tioned by your correspondent H. H. (p. 118) are
not of unfrequent occurrence, and originate in all
probability from the formation of a second row of
camels within and above the first. In those
instances where the latter do not completely close
over the supernumerary organs, but leave them
more or less exposed, the nature of the case is
obvious. H. H. will find references to similar fruits
in ''Trans. Linn. Soc," vol. xxiii. p. 366, and
specially in a paper of M. Clos in the fifth scries of
the "Annales des Sciences Naturelles," t. iii.,
p. 312— 31. T. 31.

Book Wanted. — I should be very glad if any
reader of Science-Gossip could inform me where
I could meet with a copy of Witham's " On the
Internal Structure of Fossil Vegetables of the Car-
boniferous and Oolitic Periods." I believe the
work is out of print, but some of the readers of the
Gossir may know of a second-hand copy. — John
Bzdtericorth.

Gnat Pites. — As there is the probability of a
large supply of gnats this summer, can you or any
of your readers furnish a remedy for their very
troublesome, and to me very painful bites ? — D. G.

Eako apopiiyllite. — Your correspondent A. S.
(in Science-Gossip of May, 1867,) will perhaps
find the following information sufficient. The
mineral known as Apopiiyllite ichthyophthalmite
albine belongs to the zoolitic series, but differs from
other zoolites in its chemical constitution, the silicate
of lime taking the place of the silicate of alumina.
It consists chemically of a double silicate of potash,
with eight equivalents of silicate of lime, and six-
teen equivalents of water. Its specific gravity is 2'3
to 2'16; the degree of hardness, -±'5 to 5 (the diamond
being 10). Acids easily decompose it, and it fuses
readily with the blowpipe, colouring the flame a yel-
low-red, and gives off water. It crystallizes in right
square prisms, generally Avith truncation of the
angles, or quadrate pyramids, and more rarely in
quadrate tables with truncate angles or foliated
masses. In colour it varies from a vitreous trans-
parency to rose-red and brown. Apopiiyllite is
found at Andreasberg, in the Ilarz Mountains, of
a rose colour ; in the Earoe Isles colourless. The
tabular form, or ichthyophthalmite (fishes'-eyes
stone) is found in the Eassathal, South Tyrol. A
variety of Apopiiyllite called tesselite or tesselated
Apopiiyllite, when cut in thin plates transversely
to the axis, appears when polarized to consist of
nine crystals, contained within a number of parallel
veins or plates. The central crystal has only one
axis, and no double refraction, the other two. (See
" Pereira on Polarized Light.") — F. Kitton,Noricich.

The Value or Scientific Knowledge. — The
late Edward Eorbes was in the habit of relating an
excellent anecdote illustrating the practical advan-
tages which the public sometimes derive from the

delivery of public lectures on natural history. In
one of his popular discourses on jelly-fishes, de-
livered in a small town in Scotland, he had been
demonstrating to the audience how very few grains
of solid matter a cartload of medusae would con-
tain, and how useless it would be to distribute these
animals over the land as manure. At the close of
the discourse, a canny farmer stepped up to the
j platform and tendered his thanks for the hint, for
at considerable expense he had been in the constant
habit of collecting and distributing myriads of these
creatures, under the impression that his crops would
be improved by their presence. —Dr. Cobbold's
" New Entozoic Malady."

Exchange of Slides. — The Quekett Microsco-
pical Club has just issued the following rules for
the exchange of slides : —

I. That all slides be deposited with the Ex-
change Committee.
II. That the slides be classified by the Committee
into sections, numbered according to
quality. The first section to be a special
class for rare specimens, the value of which
will be determined by the Exchange Com-
mittee.

III. Members to select from the class in which

their slides are placed, after the ordinary
meetings of the club.

IV. Members may leave the selection to the Ex-

change Committee, if they prefer it.
V. Slides once exchanged cannot be exchanged
again.
VI. A register shall be kept in which the slides
deposited shall be entered and numbered,
witli the date of receipt, and in which
exchanges shall also be noted.
VII. All expenses incurred in the transmission of
slides, or in correspondence respecting
them, to be borne by the member on whose
account such charges may be incurred.

Parcels to be addressed —

•

Mr.

W. M. Bywater,

192, Piccadilly,

[Exchange.]

London,

W.

Note. — As much inconvenience frequently arises
from the breakage of slides in transmission through
the post, the following method is recommended : —
Pack the slides in a small wooden box, which can
be obtained of any optician, tie it securely with
string, and attach a slip of parchment to one end,
sufficiently large to receive the postage stamps,
address, and local Post-office stamps during trans-
mission. If paper be used as a wrapper to the box,
the colour should be black. When twelve or more
slides are sent, they should be packed in a racked
box, and forwarded by railway carriage prepaid.

Black Surface.— What is the nature of the
solution ordinarily in use by opticians to give a
dead black surface ? Lamp-blaclc mixed with shell-
lac dissolved in alcohol would give a glossy black.

June 1, 18G7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

143

The American Naturalist. — The Essex Insti-
tute (Salem, Mass., U.S.), the Microscopical section
of which is one of the most vigorous and healthy in
the United States, has_ just commenced the publi-
cation of a monthly journal called The American
Naturalist, of fifty-six octavo pages, at a little less
than eighteen-pence per single number. Such a
medium was wanted by our transatlantic friends,
and we wish it success.

Silkworm Gut. — The silk in the reservoirs (of
the silkworm) is sometimes used in commerce,
being sold under the name of "gut." The process
of obtaining the gut is very simple ; it consists in
preparing worms ready to spin by putting them in
strong vinegar for eighteen hours ; a transverse
opening is then carefully made on the under side
and about the middle of the body, taking care not
to injure the silk reservoirs, which are very distinct.
The glands, or reservoirs, are then taken out and
stretched parallel to each other on a board, and
dried in the shade for several days. — The American
Naturalist.

Great aquariums are numerically increasing
in France. One was long since established by Mr.
W. A. Lloyd in the Jardin d'Acclimatation, Bois de
Boulogne, Paris. Another has been some time
opened in the Boulevard Montmartre. A fresh-
water aquarium is already opened in the Park of
the Exposition of 1S67, and a marine aquarium of
equal size is in process of construction. There is,
moreover, one at Boulogne, and another at Ar-
cachon.

Mice and Cockroaches.— Although I by no
means desire to propound any theory on the subject,
I have twice observed a similar occurrence to that
mentioned in a recent number of Science-Gossip.
We had plenty of mice, but a cockroach was seldom
to be seen. A cat was introduced into the esta-
blishment to reduce the numbers of the mice, which
she did effectually, but now that there are no mice
cockroaches appear in legions. The same thing has
been observed by me in two separate houses in
which I have resided during the past five years.
There is no reason for affirming or denying that
mice will eat cockroaches. We can only state facts —
mine in corroboration of others, and look to future
investigation and experience to develop the
cause. — A. C.

Mice and Cockroaches. — In reply to the query
of your correspondent, " Whether any antagonism
exists between the domestic mouse ( Mus musculus)
aud the cockroach {Blatta motendinaria, or
orientalis)," my experience leads me to answer in
the negative ; and as one fact is worth more than a
thousand theories, I will furnish him with what I
consider a conclusive instance. A kitchen in my
house has been much infested with cockroaches for
years, in common with the crickets {Acheta or
Grijllus domesticus), who are also tenants, and live
in the utmost harmony with their more numerous
neighbours. They are night insects, or lucifugae.
The floor at dark has been literally alive with them.
During the same period the mice, although not in un-
disturbedpossession, or allowed to "reign supreme,"
have had the range of the premises, and have certainly
defied all attempts to extirpate them in kitchen and
elsewhere. _ I am entirely unable to account for the
alternate disappearance and reappearance of these

I

pests, as recounted by your correspondent, but if it
be a fact in natural history that the domestic mouse
devours insects, I am quite unaware of it, although
of course every one knows that his congener of the
harvest-field (Mus messorius) is insectivorous as well
as graminivorous. In this case, however, I have
never heard that his ambition leads him to aspire to
larger or higher game than the bluebottle fly
(Musca carnicora). On one occasion, in order to
clear the place of the cockroaches, two hedgehogs
{Erinaceus Europecits) were introduced, but the
animals were the reverse of abstemious, and in the
height of their gluttony (in this respect apicius-
likej gorged themselves so much that they absolutely
died from indigestion, the effect of overloaded
stomachs ; otherwise I believe they would have
effectuallv done the work allotted to them.— Henry
IF. T. Ellis, Crowle.

Which Bangor?— In L. Lane Clarke's "Objects
for the Microscope," p. IS, under the head of
" Diatoms of Guano," the infusorial earth of Bangor,
U.S., is mentioned as very fine. Now, Bangor is in
our State, but its diatoms are new to us here. I
cannot imagine where it is, or what the deposit may
be, unless it be intended to mean the fossil forami-
nifera which are to be obtained sparingly from the
marine clays which occur on the banks of our rivers.
Also where is Wreatham, U.S., given in the same
list ? There is a town named Wrentham in Massa-
chusetts, which has a good many ponds, &c., where
diatoms might be deposited, but I do not know of
any celebrity obtained by , this locality. —E. C.B.,
Portland, Maine, U.S.

[Can any one help our correspondent ? — Ed.]

Baillon's Crake. — I have in my possession a
very beautiful specimen of Baillon's Crake, a female
bird, weighing only three-quarters of an ounce,
which was caught by a cat near St. Leonards-on-
Sea on the 12th of April. It does not appear to
have been seen in this neighbourhood before. — John
Bissenden.

Meerschaum. — It may appear surprising that so
little is written on this extraordinary article, for its
use is daily becoming more apparent. Doubtless
many of your valuable correspondents indulge in
a pipe — and a meerschaum. Lord Brougham,
Tennyson, Thomas Miller, and a host of learned and
distinguished men', smoke ; and it is stated that
Tennyson may be seen with his large meerschaum,
in his walks, frequently during the summer months,
culling over some of his brilliant ebullitions. Dr.
E. D. Clarke may be accepted as a reliable authority,
and he states that before the capture of the Crimea
this substance was a considerable article of com-
merce with Constantinople. It was sold to German
merchants for the making of those beautiful pipes
which after long smoking were sold for forty and
fifty pounds of our money. In Natolia, at the
present day, 1,000 hands are employed in its manu-
facturing process, and in Vienna, meerschaum pipes,
from their artistic designs, realize 100 guineas. It
appears all authorities agree as to its being classified
as a mineral, but its exact nature is not precisely
known ; aud as considerable ignorance prevails
amongst the English of its nature, formation, and
properties, I again repeat my question for answer's
by your valuable contributors — " What is meer-
schaum, and how is it identified when manufactured
into smoking pipes ? " — C. M.

]W

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[June 1, 1S67.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

■p S, k. It is not our province to name packets of objects ;

we really cannot afford the time to do for others what, with
a little care, they could do for themselves. No. 1 is Dadaleu
quercina. , , ,

E M. H.— No. 1. Yes! it will do so. 2. The only book for
a beginner is Lindsay's " British Lichens," Routledge & Co.
3. It is impossible to say.

G. G. — The fungus is Polyporus versicolor.

A (Dartmouth) could name his Corallines with the aid of
Johnstone's " Zoophytes," published by Van Voorst. His
No. 2 is Corallina officinalis.

H. H. (Fairy Villa).— It is not very easy to discover what
you require. If we understand you correctly, it is that you
desire to know just those problems which are continually
puzzling men of science, and for the discussion of which our
columns are unsuited. ... <■

J G desires some certain method of ridding his house of
cockroaches. We have heard of many remedies, but never
had any occasion for making the experiment. See Science-
Gossip, 1865, pp. 42, 66.

L. A. G.— Is it the thread-worm (Gordius aqualwus) > See
Science-Gossip, 1865, pp. 107, 197.

R. T. A.— The slide contained no organic form whatever.

F. S. F. (Plymouth).— We regret that we can give no in-
formation of the process beyond the extract quoted.

W. W.— R. W.-We never attempt to name objects from
description only.

The Nightingale.— Science-Gossip, bottom of page 112,
for " March," in both instances read " April."— L. S.

J. L.— J. H. W.— Messrs. Hooper & Co., Covent Garden,
or Mr. Sim, of Foot's Cray, Kent, or any other nursery-
man growing ferns extensively, would furnish the prices of
any of the ferns named in the article alluded to, upon applica-
tion by letter enclosing stamp.

W. W. S.— Mix glycerine and spirit, says " Davis on Mount-
ing," p. 17. We use gum-tragacanth, mixed with gum-
arabic or calcined starch, sometimes called British gum.

W. D. R.— No book containing descriptions of the species
of British Coleoptera has been published since " Stephens'
Manual," and that, of course, is now very imperfect.

r, w.— There is no cheap work on Diatoms. We have
given in Science-Gossip instructions for mounting crystals.

G. L.— You will find answers to all your queries in " Davis
on Mounting," &c. price half-a-crown.

B. L. W.— We cannot inform you ; probably the result of a
wound.

J. G. T.— Patience and plenty of water works wonders.

D. S.— It is sometimes called the " great saw-fly."

J. B.— Many larger specimens. It might possibly have
occupied the matrix of a femoral bone, but this is speculation.

Lizzie should remember how much easier it is to ask ques-
tions than to answer them.

W. F.— We have already given full instructions for cleaning
Fossil Diatomacese.

E. F. M.— Very like a " canard."

S. C. surely must have made a mistake. Was it the Barn
owl, and not the Snowy owl?

E. C. J.— White's " Popular History of the Crustacea."
London : Routledge. Price 7s. 6d. The malformation of the
daisy is not uncommon.

British Insects.— The printed lists of British Insects,
entitled " A Catalogue of British Insects in all the Orders," by
the Rev. F. O. Morris, B.A., is at length published.

Mrs. K— T. H.— A. Dartmouth.— D. W.— W. R.— It is im-
possible for us to name all the specimens of mosses, lichens,
zoophytes, &c, which are continually sent us, notwithstand-
ing our repeated protests, in parcel-; of from six to twelve
species from a single correspondent. Henceforth, therefore,
whatever number may be sent, we shall only name one out of
each packet.

W. D.— F. W. — We only insert in our exchange list objects
of Natural History for which other like objects are required.
Other exchanges may be inserted as advertisements, the
charge for which may be learnt from the Publisher.

W. F. H.— Any water-mites are desired. The mollusc is a
common species — Cyclostoma elegans.

W. R. — No. 1 is Climacium dendroides.

D. W. Skye.— No. 8, Mercurialis perennis.

H. M. (Birmingham).— It is Julus terrestris, not an in-
habitant of the water, but having got into the spout of the
pump came out with the water.

W. M.— Please to refer to page 96 of Science-Gossip. It
is carelessness to ask a question which has only just been
answered in two consecutive numbers.

J. S. K. — No English work contains coloured figures of all
the British Lepidoptera. The nearest approach is Wood's
Index Entomologicus. Nor is there a work in which British
Lichens are all figured. For British Mosses, see Wilson's
" Bryologia Britannica."

F. H.-We really know of no book " fuller " than that
named. Its want can only be supplied by several books in
different branches.

B. (Manchester).— Any large bottle warehouse, or dealer in
druggists' sundries, in London. Surely also in Manchester or
Liverpool such things can be obtained. If not, the dimensions
must be sent to some friend in London, who may call upon us
for advice.

J. B. S.— Davis on Mounting Microscopic Objects, page 80.

P. P., who inquired in March number for Bermuda Earth,
will please to furnish name and address to the Editor.

Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science. — Vol.
VII., for 1859, wanted. A good price will be given. Ad-
dress, the Editor of Science-Gossip.

C. D. H.— Unfortunately your plant was too much shrivelled
to determine with certainty.

B. T.— No. 1 is Scatophaga stercoraria (Order, Diptera).
No. 2 is Chrysopa perla (Order, Neuroptera).—F. W.

Deodara.— R. B. states that the age of the tree alluded to
in our last is only thirty years.

EXCHANGES.

Schistostega in fine fruit, and Trichostomum flavonirens,
for Seligerim or Splachnea.— E. M. Holmes, 2, Arundel-
crescent, Plymouth.

British Birds' Skins and eggs for other British birds'
eggs. Lists to John M. Hartley, 6. Cliff- terrace, Leeds.

C. Rolphii, C. laminatn.B. montanus, and otier shells, for
British or foreign species.— J. W. Taylor, 7, Freehold-street,
Leeds.

Planorbis glaber.— This rare fresh-water shell, for good
microscopical material.— T. Sharp, Ackwurth, near Ponte-
fract.

Pleistocene Fossils (20) from Maine, US., in exchange
for British fossils or British marine shells.— E. C. B., care of
Editor of Science-Gossip.

Marine Shells (55) from Maine, U.S., in exchange for
an equal collection of British marine shells or British fossils.
— E. C. B., care of Editor of Science-Gossip.

Diatomaceous Earth (unmounted) from Monmouth,
Maine, U.S., in exchange for good mounted diatoms or
desmids.— E. C. B., care of Editor of Science-Gossip.

British Ferns— Dried fronds for those of other species.
—For lists, address H. R. F. C, Foley Cottage, Redlard,
Bristol.

Meridion circulake (unmounted) for mounted objects.
— W. Swinburn, 5, Rosemary-lane, Whitehaven.

Triphosa cbrvinata for other rare species.— C.-R.
Doward, 41, Copenhagen-street, Worcester.

English and Foreign Shells for British marine.— For
lists, address, Beta, Post Office, South Shields.

Sanguinaria Canadensis, sections of root, for stamped
and directed envelope.— B. Taylor, 57, Lowther-street,
Whitehaven.

Orchids, or other Botanical specimens, wanted for Ameri-
can plants.— W. W. Denslow, Post Office Station, N., New
York City, U.S.

Mosses (unmounted), wanted for Toome-bridge Earth or
mounted objects.— E. W., 48, Tollington-road, Holloway, N.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

" Contributions to Natural History," by a Rural D.D.
Edinburgh and London : Blackwood & Sons, I867.

"A Catalogue of British Insects in all the Orders," by the
Rev. F. O. Morris, B.A., London, 1867.

" The Laboratory." No. 1 to 5. London : James Firth.

" Instructions for the Prompt Treatment of Accidents," in
a sheet. Illustrated. London ; W. H. Collingridge.

" Elementi per lo studio delle Desmidiacea; Italiche di
Guiseppe de Notaris." Genova, I867.

"Cronaca della Briologia Italiana per G. de Notaris.
Part II. Genova, 1867

"Neue Infusorien im Seeaquarium," von Dr. Ferdinand
Cohn, in Breslau.

" At Home in the Wilderness," by The Wanderer. London :
Robert Hardwieke, I867.

Communications Received. — J. — F. S. F. — E. F. — L. S.
F S — F.A.C.— H.W.— P.B.B.— R.H.— W.D.-J. L.— R.T.A.
-J. S.— W. D. R.— E. M. H.— W. V. A.— H. M. G.-G. S.—
C D H — W. F. H.— C. S. P. P. (Moulmein).— J. M. H.—
W. W.— E. C. B.— J. S. T.— W. W. S.— E. St. J. F.-E. K.—
A. S.— T. P. B.— T. S. P.— A. W. (Walograve).— R. G.—
E. G. K.-J. B.-D. G.-D. S.-E. J. S.— J. G. T.-J. W. S.—
S F. C— H. R.— B. L. W.— J. H. F.— R. W.— J. W. T.—
T.H. Jun.— F. A. A.— W. D. (Wigton).— J. G. B.-A. W.—
T. S. K.-J. A.— G. L.-F. B.-R. B.-F. K.-H. II. W.—
E. T. S.-E.C. J.-J. H. W.-C. R. D.— C. P.— A. J.-Dr. W.
_W F H — S. F. C.-S. D.— M. T. M.— F. W.— W. S.-J. B.
-E B -F T.-J. C. D.-J. B.-G. A.-T. W. W. S.-W. R.
-g'. N.-H. R. F. C— R. M. C— T. A.-G. B.— F. H.— B.
(Manchester).— W. P.— H. H. K.— S. L. B.— C. M.— J. S. K.
—J B. S -J. B. W.-W. M.-H. W. T. E.-B. T-R. B.-
W. W. S.-J. B.— C. D.— F. K.-R. B.- F. W.- R. H. J.—
G. E.-R. C. C. L.-E. W.— W. P.-A. M. E.

July 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

145

THE FEAST OF KOSES.

Crop the gay rose's vermeil bloom

And waft its spoils, a sweet perfume

In incense to the skies.

Ogilvie.

F all the flowers
that have ever
adorned the face
of the earth none
has furnished to
the poet more
delicate similes
than the Rose.
-Ks>><^ The poet in return
has supplied the romance of its
birth. Sir John Maundeville
gives one legend of Christian
origin ; the Mahometans have
another. Writing of Bethlehem,
Sir John records that a fair
maiden was blamed with wrong,
and slandered, and was condemned
j>^-^^-^__ ; to be burnt at that place, and as
the fire began to burn about her,
she made her prayers, that as truly as she was not
guilty it might be made known to all men; and
that thereafter she entered into the fire, and imme-
diately the fire was extinguished, and the faggots
that were burning became red rose-bushes, and
those that were not kindled became white rose-
bushes, full of roses. And these were the first
rose-trees and roses, both white and red, that ever
any man saw. On the other hand, it is reported
that the Turk can by no means endure to see the
leaves of roses fall to the ground, because that
some of them have dreamed that the first or most
ancient rose did spring of the blood ot Venus ; and
others of the Mahometans say that it sprang of the
sweat of Mahomet. If we are to believe the said
poets, this flower is beloved of the gods as well as
men, for Cupid was by them adorned with a wreath
of roses.
No. 31.

The rose is the honor and beautie of flowers,
The rose is the care and the love of the spring,

The rose is the pleasure of th' 'eavenly powres.
The boy of faire Venus, Cythera's darling-,

Doth wrap his head round with garlands of rose,
When to the daunces of the Graces he goes.

Anacreon.

Whether the roses of Abraham were believed by
the Ghebers to be the first that had bloomed on
earth, or not, the romance deserves remembrance
in company with those we have already narrated.
"The Ghebers believe," says Tavernier, "that
when Abraham, their great prophet, was thrown
into the fire, by order of Nimrod, the flame turned
instantly into a bed of roses, where the child sweetly
reposed." This legend is alluded to in "Lalla
Rookh " by the lines, —

When pitying heaven to roses turned,
The death flames that beneath him burned.

Old Gerarde, in his " Herbal," apologizes for the
company in which he placed such an august flower
as the Rose, in his own quaint style. " The plant
of roses, though it be a shrub full of prickles, yet
it had beene more fit and convenient to have placed
it with the most glorious flowers of the worlde, than
to insert the same among base and thorny shrubs ;
for the Rose doth deserve the chiefest and most
principal place among all flowers whatsoever, being
not only esteemed for his beautie, vertues, and his
fragrant and odoriferous smell, but also because it
is the honor and ornament of our English scepter,
as by the conjunction appeereth in the uniting
of those two most royal houses of Lancaster and
York."

The Oriental poets especially gave the pre-
ference to the Rose above all other flowers.
The two greatest of the Persian poets, Hafiz and

H

346

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[July 1, 1867.

Sadi, filled their writings with the odour of

roses, —

Hafiz loves, like Philomel,
With the darling- rose to dwell.

Sadi was the author of " Gulistan," which means
"garden of roses ;" for " gul" is, in more than one
of the Oriental • languages, the name of the Rose.
The following is the motive which the author assigns
for having written this poem :— " On the first day of
the month of May I resolved with a friend to pass
the night in my garden. The ground was enamelled
with flowers, the sky was lighted with brilliant
stars ; the nightingale sang its sweetest melodies,
perched on the highest branches; the dew-drops
liung on the rose, like tears on the cheek of an
angry beauty; the parterre was covered with
hyacinths of a thousand hues, among which mean-
dered a limpid stream. When morning came, my
friend gathered rose,s, basilisks, and hyacinths, and
placed them in the folds of his garments ; but I said
to him, ' Throw these away, for I am going to com-
pose a Gulistan' (Garden of Roses) 'which will
last for eternity, whilst your flowers will live
but a day.' "

Roses were known to the ancient Greeks and
Romans. Herodotus writes of roses in the garden
of Midas, the son of Gordius, in Phrygia, that had
sixty leaves, which grew of themselves, and had a
more agreeable fragrance than all the rest. The
Romans employed them at their feasts. Lucullus
expended fabulous sums, in order to be able to have
them at all seasons. In the time of the Republic
people used not to be satisfied unless their cups of
Ealernian wine were swimming with roses.

" The Spartan soldiers, after the battle of Cirra,
were so fastidious as to refuse to drink any wine
that was not perfumed with roses. At the Regatta
of Baise, the whole surface of the Lucrine Sea used
to be strewn with this flower. In some of his ban-
quetings, Nero caused showers of the rose to
be rained down upon his guests from an aperture in
the ceiling. Heliogabalus carried this to such an
insane length as to cause the suffocation of several
of his guests, who could not extricate themselves
from the heaps of flowers. The Sybarites used to
sleep upon beds that were stuffed with rose-leaves.
The tyrant Dionysius had couches stuffed with roses,
on which he lounged at his revels. Verres would
travel iu a litter, reclining on a mattress stuffed with
roses. He wore, moreover, a garland of roses on
his head, and another round his neck. Over the
litter a thin net was drawn, with rose-leaves inter-
twined, whose fragrance he thus leisurely inhaled.
It was a favourite luxury of Antiochus to sleep,
even in winter, in a tent of gold and silk, and upon
a bed of roses. Cleopatra, in the entertainment she
gave in honour of Antony, spent an immense sum
in roses," with which she covered the floor of her
banquetiug-room to the depth of an ell.

When Nero honoured the house of a Roman
noble with his presence at dinner, there was some-
thing more than flowers ; the host was put to an
enormous expense by having his fountains flinging
up rose water. While the jets were pouring out
the fragrant liquid, while rose-leaves were on the
ground, in the cushions on which the guests lay,
hanging in garlands on their brows, and in wreaths
around their necks, the couleur de rose pervaded
the dinner itself, and a rose pudding challenged the
appetites of the guests. To encourage digestion
there was rose wine, which Heliogabalus was not
only simple enough to drink, but extravagant enough
to bathe in. He went even further, by having the
public swimming-baths filled with wine of roses
and absinth. After breathing, wearing, eating,
drinking, lying on, walking over, and sleeping upon
roses, it is not wonderful that the unhappy ancient
grew sick. His medical man gave him immediately
a rose draught : whatever he ailed the rose was
made in some fashion to enter into the remedy for
his recovery. If the patient died, as he naturally
would, then of him, more than of any other, it
might be truly said he

Died of a rose in aromatic pain.

In almost all Oriental poetry and romance the
Bulbul, or nightingale, as it is erroneously called, is
associated with the rose. "You may place a
hundred handfuls of fragrant herbs and flowers
before the nightingale, yet he wishes not in his con-
stant heart for more than the sweet breath of his
beloved rose;" or, as Moore has expressed the
same sentiment —

though rich the spot

With every flower this earth has got,

What is it to the nightingale
If there his darling rose is not ?

Advantage is taken of the same belief by Lord
Byron in his " Bride of Abydos," wherein Znleika
plucks a rose and offers it to Selim, seated at his
feet, pleading through the simile of the nightingale's
love on behalf of her own —

This rose to calm my brother's cares,
A message from the Bulbul bears ;
It says to-night he will prolong
For Selim's ear his sweetest song :
And though his note is somewhat sad,
He'll try for once a strain more glad,
With some faint hope his altered lay
May sing these gloomy thoughts away.

And also in "The Giaour" the opening description
contains a no less happy allusion to ihe rose as the
"sultana of the nightingale," and to the nightingale
as " the Bulbul of a thousand tales,"—

For there— the Rose o'er crag or vale,
Sultana of the Nightingale,
The maid for whom his melody.
His thousand songs are heard on high,

July 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

147

Blooms blushing: to her lover's tale;
His queen, the garden queen, his Rose,
Unbent by winds, unchilled by snows,
By every breeze and season blest,
Far from the winters of the west,
Returns the sweets by nature given
In softest incense back to heaven,
And grateful yields that smiling sky
Her fairest hue and fragrant sigh.

So intimate are the bonds of attachment between
the rose and the bulbul, and so sensitive is the
former to the song of the latter, that it is said to
burst from the bud and open at the sound.

Oh, sooner shall the Rose of May
Mistake her own sweet nightingale,

And to some meaner minstrel's lay
Open her bosom's glowing veil,

than that we should longer continue to chant the
praises of both, or lull our readers to sleep over the
song of the one or the sweet odour of the other.

The very common expression, " under the rose,"
has been referred to two or three sources. Haydn,
in his " Dictionary of Dates," says, — " The rose a
symbol of silence, gave rise to the phrase 'under
the rose,' from the circumstance of the Pope's pre-
senting consecrated roses, which were placed over
confessionals to denote secresy." Whilst others
contend that the old Greek custom of suspending
a rose over the guest-table was employed as an
emblem that the conversation should not be re-
peated elsewhere. Whichever was the true origin,
whether Christian or Pagan, it is evident that both
regarded the rose as an emblem of secresy, and in
the same sense, but less studiously followed, we are
supposed to regard the same flower, whenever we
pick up a stray scrap of scandal, "under the rose."

This reminds us of the association of this flower
with the names of persons, places, and things. It
has been said that Syria derived its name from Suri,
a beautiful and delicate species of rose, whence
came " Suristan," the land of roses.

Now upon Syria's land of roses
Softly the light of eve reposes.

Beside a goodly number of such more evident com-
pounds as Rosenthal, Rosenberg, Rosenau, &c, to
say nothing of the beautiful visions of feminine
humanity which have blessed the day-dreams of
prosaic man, bearing for themselves the fragrant
appellations, not merely of the Rose of Arragon or
the Rose of Castile, but the less assuming Rose,
Rosa, Rosina, or Rosalind. Ill-natured old bachelors
and gouty sexagenarians may mutter incoherently
about "thorns" and "briars" but we will not listen
to them, we will not believe them —

We have a vision of our own,
And why should we undo it ?

Cultivated Roses are supposed to have been first
planted in this country in A.D. 1522. The damask
rose {Rosa damascena) being introduced from the

south of France some time prior to A.D. 1573.
The Province rose {Rosa provincialis) , from Italy,
before A.D. 1596. The moss rose not much earlier
than A.D. 1721, and the China rose perhaps about
A.D. 1787. Resides these we have, and had long
before these dates, wild roses, less beautiful and
fragrant, but equally deserving of a remembrance
at a "Feast of Roses."

How are we to enumerate the species of Rosa
which are indigenous to Great Britain, since so
much depends on the limitation of the word
"species," upon which point botanists are not
agreed. If we take the last edition of Sowerby's
" Botany," we find that the first place is given to
sixteen, which are by many authorities accepted as
good species. These are again subdivided by
others, for under the name of the Dog-rose twenty-
one forms are named and characterized as species,
so that there are to be found men of strong faith
who can believe that in the British Islands we
possess forty distinct species of native roses. On
the other hand, Mr. Bentham limits the number to
fice. It matters but little to us for our present
purpose whether there are forty species or only five.
We believe in the Dog rose, the Burnet rose, and
the sweetbriar ; and if there were no others, we
should still delight in the fragrance of the Eglantine,
and have faith in the roses of England so long as a
rose could he found to entwine with the thistle and
shamrock, and never quarrel, whether it be known
to science as Rosa canina, or Rosa verticillacantha,
or Rosa platyphylla .

A wild rose-tree {Rosa canina) grows in the
crypt of the cathedral of Hildesheim, which has
the reputation of being one thousand years old.
Baron Humboldt states that, from accurate informa-
tion which he obtained, the age of the main stem
did not exceed eight hundred years. This is,
however, a respectable antiquity, and he adds that
a legend connects this rose with a vow of the first
founder of the cathedral, Louis the Pious, and a
document of the eleventh century says, that when
Bishop Hezilo rebuilt the cathedral, which had
been burnt down, he inclosed the roots of the rose-
tree within a vault still remaining, raised on the
latter the walls of the crypt, which was re-conse-
crated in 1061, and spread the branches of the
rose-tree over its sides. The stem, still living, is
nearly twenty-seven feet in height, and only two
inches thick, and spreads across a width of thirty-
two feet over the outer wall of the eastern crypt.
It is undoubtedly of very considerable antiquity,
and well worthy of the renown it has so long
enjoyed throughout Germany.

The Abbe Berleze gives an account of a rose-
tree which he saw flourishing at Caserta, near
Naples, in 1819, and which had been planted near a
poplar sixty feet high, and had clambered up to the
topmost brandies of its companion tree.

H 2

148

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP.

LJuly 1, 1SG7.

The giant of all the roses is said to have
flourished some few years since at Toulon, with a
stem two feet eight inches in circumference at the
surface of the soil, and when in full bloom bears
the enormous quantity of from fifty to sixty thou-
sand roses, and

The last rose of summer left blooming alone

does not fall to the ground till chilled by the cold
of November.

And who has not heard of the Otto or Uttur* of
Rose ? This valuable and delicious perfume is ad-
mired both in the East and in the West. The
" Utturs" of India and Persia are highly esteemed
both in the broker's sale-room and the lady's
boudoir. And not to possess a soul for Otto of
Eose is equivalent to vulgarity, or worse. Let any
rash mortal confess that he doesn't care for " straw-
berries and cream" or " otto of roses," the surnmum
bonum of two of the senses, and he will at once be
regarded as " out of his senses" altogether. And
there is also that delicate luxury of the East called
" Rose-water," so refreshing in sultry weather,
that one cannot wonder that it is almost one of the
necessaries of life with the Hindoo. Avicenna, an
Arabian physician of the tenth century, is said to
have invented the method of extracting and pre-
serving the odour of flowers, and to him the merit
of distilling the first rose-water is attributed by
those matter-of-fact men who seek for causes in the
regions of science rather than in the realms of
mystery and romance.

Around one station in India, that of Ghazeepore,
in Bengal, there are about 150 acres of ground laid
out in small detached fields as rose-gardens. These
gardens are let out for about three pounds sterling
per thousand rose-trees for the season, and the cost
of cultivation is about another sovereign. The
value of the roses yielded should be nearly double
this sum, or from six to eight pounds. The culti-
vators seldom distil their own flowers, but dispose of
them to contractors. Erom the beginning of March
to the end of April is the great rose harvest.
Early in the mornmg men, women, and children
swarm about the rose-trees like a colony of bees,
plucking the flowers, and carrying them in bags to
the contractors. The " still" is of the simplest
and rudest construction ; its boiler will hold from
eight to twelve gallons ; into this are cast from
12,000 to 16,000 roses, about fifteen to twenty
quarts of water are added, and the result will be
about one quart of rose-water from each thousand
of roses. After distillation the rose-water is placed
in a glass carboy and exposed to the sun for several
days to ripen, or mix well the floating attar with
the water. The value of one still of rose-water is

* Written as Attur, Attar, Uttur, and Otto ; the last,
perhaps, least correct.

about 245. to 30?. on the spot. This is for the pure
unadulterated rose-water. Adulteration is duly
appreciated and resorted to in the East, and neither
rose-water nor attar of roses are exceptions. It is
difficult to obtain either of them pure. The great
medium of adulteration is oil of sandal-wood, and
the native does not appear to trouble much whether
he gets the odour of the rose or the sandal. At
the commencement of the rose season, people
arrive from all parts at Ghazeepore to purchase
their rose-water, and large quantities are prepared
and sold. The value of the roses sold in this
district for the manufacture of rose-water has been
estimated at from 15,000 to 20,000 rupees a year, or
1,500/. to 2,000/., and the value of the rose-water
made therefrom is about double this sum.

We had almost forgotten the most valuable pro-
duct, but the "attar" must share a little of our
attention; and, at the risk of being regarded as
tedious, a brief notice of how it is obtained.

The origin of this delicious perfume is thus
chronicled in the romantic stories of the East : —
Noorjehan Begum, the favourite wife of Jehan-
Geer, was once walking in her garden, through
which ran a canal of rose-water, when she remarked
some oily particles floating on the surface. These
were collected, and their aroma found to be so
delicious, that means were devised to produce the
precious essence in a regular way.*

The roses are distilled just in the same manner
as for rose-water, and the product, which is indeed
" rose-water," is transferred to a large metal basin,
and tied over with wet muslin to keep out the
insects. This vessel is let down into a hole in the
ground about two feet deep, and allowed to stand
quiet all night. The attar is always made early in
the season when the nights are cool. In the morn-
ing a little film of attar has risen to the surface of
the rose-water. This is skimmed off with a feather,
and placed in a bottle. When obtained only three
or four days it is of a pale greenish hue, but in a
few weeks' time it subsides into a pale yellow
colour. It requires the produce of 1,000 rose-trees
to obtain a tolah, or 180 grains of attar. The attar
obtained in the Indian bazaars is always adulte-
rated, as not even the richest native will give the
price for pure attar, which is only sold to Europeans.
The price ranges between £5 and £10 per tolah, or,
according to our English weights and measures,
from £13 to £25 per ounce. So that a vial of the
best Indian attar of roses the size of that which
contains a " black draught," would be worth nearly
£50.

Attar of roses made in Cashmere is con-
sidered superior to any other, a circumstance not
surprising, as, according to Huge], the flower is

* Lieut. -Col. Palier in " Asiatic Researches."

July 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE S S CIENCE-30SSIP.

149

here produced of surpassing fragrance, as well as
beauty —

Who has not heard of the vale of Cashmere,
With its roses the brightest that earth ever gave ?

A large quantity of rose-water, twice distilled, is
placed over night in a running stream, and in the
morning the oil is found floating on the surface, and
is carefully skimmed olf with a leaf of the sword-
lily. When cool it is greenish, and nearly solid.
Between 500 and GOO pounds of roses only produce
one ounce of attar.

Extensive rose-farms exist also in Turkey, at
Adrianople, Broussa, and Ushak. The cultivators
are chiefly the Christian inhabitants of the low
countries of the Balkan. In good seasons 75,000
ounces are said to be produced iu this district, and
it is estimated that 2,000 flowers are required to
produce one drachm of attar.

In the Orient the "Atar-gul," or essential oil
of roses is used as a perfume, and rose-water is
sprinkled about from vessels constructed for the
purpose over the guests and apartments, often to
the astonishment of Europeans, when their first
greeting chances to be, as it often is, a shower of
rose-water " squirted " in their faces.

She snatched the urn wherein was mixed
The Persian Atargul's perfume,
And sprinkled all its odours o'er
The pictured roof and marble floor ;
The drops that through his glittering vest
The playful girl's appeal addressed
Unheeded o'er his bosom flew,
As if that breast were marble too.

Wejare told that after the taking of Constanti-
nople the church of St. Sophia (or Constantine)
prior to its conversion into a mosque was washed
throughout with rose-water ; that Saladin would
not enter the walls of the temple of Jerusalem in
1188 until it had been purified by similar ablutions
of the same odoriferous fluid ; that the Moslems
employ it universally in the dedication of their
temples, and that even young Erench nobles were
formerly baptized in " Eau de Rose," or —

Their earliest sniff
Of this world was a whiff
Of the genuine Otto of Roses !

During the whole season in which the roses are
in bloom, the inhabitants of Cashmere are said to
hold the " Eeast of Roses." Why should we attempt
to draw the veil which conceals the mysteries of
this long festival, of the sad or happy hearts upon
which the sun rises and sets in the vale of Cash-
mere ; of the moonlight meetings in the alcoves of
roses ; and of the consummation attained by the
" maid of Cashmere " when at the close of this glad
season all doubts and fears shall have vanished like
the morning dew from the petals of the rose.

And happier now for all her sighs,

As on his arm her head reposes,
She whispers him, with laughing eyes,

" Remember, love, the Feast of Roses ! "

THE BIRDS OF NORFOLK *

r OCAL Floras have always been, from some
■*-* cause or other, more numerous than local
Faunas. During the past year or two several good
Floras of English counties have made their appear-
auce, but, until now, not one county has had a
recent record of its "birds, beasts, or fishes."
Those who know anything of the ornithology of
Norfolk will not be surprised that a county so rich
in birds should be the first to set the example.
That the plants of a county should change with the
increase of cultivation may be reasonably expected,
and pleaded as an excuse for the publication of new
Floras. It may be urged, with equal truth, that
this change in vegetation also necessitates a like
change in the insects and birds, as well those birds
which are insect-feeders as those which are entirely
vegetarians. Hence a revision of the lists of birds
which inhabit counties is as much a necessity as
revised Floras. In the present instance it is not a
list which has been given to us, but a " history " in
two large octavo volumes, of which the first only is
at present published.

In all departments of Natural History, when no
monograph or other special work is published
during a long series of years, much valuable and
important information becomes scattered over the
pages of our current scientific literature, and is
almost buried and forgotten. To recover all that
relates to the birds of Norfolk from this semi-
oblivion, has been one of the objects of the present
work. For many years the author has been one of
the chief contributors of " stray facts " to the
Zoologist, and similar publications, from this locality,
and hence he is now to a large extent the collector
and reviser of his own contributions. This forms
but a portion of the work which, though professing
to be only a local bird-Fauna, is a valuable addition
to the ornithology of the British Islands.

In the " Introduction," the county is divided into
six districts, which are called respectively the
broad, cliff, meal, breck, fen, and inclosed districts.
It was in the first of these that most of our ornitho-
logical experience was gained. It is only neces-
sary, as Mr. Lubbock remarks, to draw an imaginary
triangle on the map from Lowestoft to Norwich,
and thence in a north-easterly direction to the sea
at Happisburgh, to include the whole of that
" great alluvial flat, once the bed of the Gariensis
ostium" whose sluggish waters give rise to those
shallow lakes, or lagoons, here locally termed
" Broads." These lagoons are peculiarly rich in
water fowl, and consequently the " Broad " district
will contribute much to the second volume. The

* " The Birds of Norfolk, with Remarks on their Habits,
Migration, and Local Distribution." By Henry Stevenson,
F.L.S. In 2 vols. London: Van Voorst.

150

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[July 1, 1867.

frontispiece view of Surlingharn bro cd (not executed
in Hahhart's best style) will give a general idea of
one of these waters. Tills will be assisted by Mr.
Stevenson's description. "Deep, sedgy 'ronds,'
or' dense masses of reeds and rushes, shut out, at
times, the adjacent marshes. On the one hand, a
wide expanse of swampy ground, relieved here and
there with belts of alder and birch, or dwarf coverts,
suggestive of pheasants and woodcocks in autumu,
blends broad with broad ; on the other, some slight
recess in the waving reed-screen is covered in sum-
mer with a profusion of water-lilies, or an alder-
carr, fringing the water's edge, casts a grateful
shade in strange contrast to the surrounding glare.
Everywhere the rich aquatic herbage teems with
bird-life. Reed and sedge — warblers, with their
constant companion, the black-headed Bunting, are
heard on all sides ; and occasionally, though yearly
becoming more scarce, the beautiful little Bearded
Titmice, may be seen uttering their sweetly musical
notes as they flit amongst the reeds. Coots, Rails,
and Water Hens, appear and disappear at every
bend. Black-headed Gulls from their breeding-
grounds at Hoveton, mingle their incessant cries
with the warning notes of the Lapwing and Red-
shank ; and the common Snipe, which here breeds
regularly and in considerable numbers, adds its
strange drumming noise, at intervals, to the
' armony of fowles.' Wild Ducks in large quan-
tities, and many a ' coil ' of Teal, are also reared
on these waters, and afford good ' flapper ' shooting
in July and August ; and of the rarer species that
may still be named as summer residents on the
larger broads, are the Shoveller, Garganey, and
Great Crested Grebe ; the Ruff, now confined
entirely to Sickling, and the Marsh Harrier, if by
chance escaping the doom of its race. The Spotted
Crake, as well as the common Water-Rail, nest in
the almost impenetrable swamps, which accounts
for their eggs being so rarely obtained ; and the
accidental discovery, at Potter Heigham, during the
past summer, of the nests and eggs of Baillon's
Crake, never before known to breed in Norfolk,
shows that even greater rarities may pass un-
observed in such localities."

It is stated, on the authority of Professor Babing-
ton, that out of 1,767 species of flowering plants
found in Britain, 1,067 are found in Norfolk. Out
of somewhere about 350 species of British birds,
our author observes that the actual number forming
the bird-Pauna of Norfolk, amounts to no less than
291 at the present time.

The book before us could hardly have been written
by any one except a resident, and no better resident
for the purpose need be desired than Mr. Stevenson.
All will read it (or should do so) who are interested
in the Natural History of the Eastern Counties.
To ornithologists it will be welcome as the produc-
tion of a field naturalist, and a practised observer.

And to the general reader it will commend itself by
its popular style, the absence of pedantry, and the
presence of an earnest purpose, and an ardent love
for the feathered ornaments of God's creation.

GERMINATION OP THE TOAD-RUSH.

"OASSING through a deserted brickfield, some
*- few weeks since, my attention was drawn to
a dense carpet of minute bright green threads, each
tipped with an orange-brown knob, which, wet with
recent rain, now glistened in the sun like a veritable
little topaz. Not recognising at the moment to
what this appearance was due, and having no time
for investigation, I hastily snatched up a tuft of the
mossy, jewel-bespangled pile and brought it home for
more leisurely examination. When an opportunity
occurred, I tried to make out what my carpet was
composed of; but, at first, I could see nothing but
the green threads, a little curved at the upper end,
and there bearing- the glistening knobs aforesaid.
What could they be ? It was little use speculating
vaguely when a pocket-lens was at hand which
might dissipate the conjecture in a moment. Better
to use the lens first, and if that did not reveal the
structure there would then be all the more room for

Fig. 14g. Toad-rush Seedlings.

conjecture. The lens, however, solved the mystery
at once, by showing that the little knob was a seed ;
but what was the thread supporting it ? Not a
root, from its green colour; besides, there was the
root below it, fine, hair-like, and all but destitute of
colour. Was it the stem ? Hardly, for stems do
not usually, at any rate, go downwards ; besides,
when one came to look at other specimens, there
was a little thickeniug to be seen at this junction
between the hair-like root and the green thread,
while the lower part of the hitter was clearly seen
to be split on one side; and, in other cases,
emerging from the chink so formed, another green
thread was seen to protrude. So, then, the green
thread resolved itself into a sheath ; now, neither
roots nor stems form sheaths of this character, so
our green thread must be a leaf, and if so it must
be the first leaf— the seed leaf, or cotyledon — one
end of which remains within the seed, the other end
being pushed downwards along with the root.

Clearly, then, the plant was monocotyledonous ;
and, putting two and two together, I arrived at the
conclusion that the seedlings were probably those

July 1, 1S67J

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

151

of the Toad Rush (Juncus bufonius). A subse-

qucut visit to the brickfields enabled me to confirm
this impression, and to collect numerous specimens
in all stages of germination. Many of the seeds
sprout while still within the rotting capsule, and
emerge from its cavity 'iu brilliant little tufts, such
as those which first caught my eye. The seeds are
very small, oblong, somewhat three-cornered, and

Fig. 150. The Toad Rush.

on cutting them down lengthwise they may be seen
to be filled in the interior with floury matter
(albumen), at one end of which is a very minute
embryo, which a lucky touch with the needle will
serve to detach ; and which, when examined under a
lens, is seen to be a mere torso, a headless, limbless
trunk,— in other words, a solid embryo in which no
distinction of parts is visible. As germination pro-
ceeds, one end of this lengthens and protrudes to
form the first root; afterwards comes the green
thread, or cotyledon, the upper end of which never
separates from the seed till both decay together,
while its lower extremity forms the sheath before
mentioned, encircling what must be considered as
the extremely contracted stem, from which the other
leaves proceed in due time. Ultimately, a tuft of
leaves is formed around a little bulb-like mass,
from whose lower surface proceed a number of
young rootlets. TYhile all this is going on, the
original cotyledon and the primary root are gra-
dually decaying; they have accomplished their
parts, and give place to a new generation.

Not heeding the temptations which the very
simplicity of the embryo in this plant holds out to
go into " transcendental " dissertations as to the
intrinsic identity or diversity of leaf and stem, I

venture merely to recommend those of my readers
in search of an occupation to watch the processes
of germination in our common wild plants. No
great trouble and but little skill are requisite for
these observations, which, nevertheless, are interest-
ing, all the more so that it is comparatively new
ground; in hardly a tenth part of our wild plants
has the process been correctly observed and
recorded. Nor is there the sameness that might
be expected ; on the contrary, there is much
diversity, in some cases of a very singular character,
e.g., in some of the genera of Umbellifers, while
systematic investigation could hardly fail to be
productive of results of great value to botanical
science. I have only to add that in all essential
points the mode of germination here described in
the Toad Rush finds its parallel in many other
monocotyledons, e.g., Allium, Canna, some palms,
&c. M. T. M.

OOTOLITES.

A T the meeting of the Quekett Microscopical
■£*- Club (April 26th), Mr. Higgins read a
communication on "The Auditory Apparatus of
Eishes," of which the following is a digest : —

All air-breathing animals live in a different medium
from that inhabited by those living in water, and
the adaptation of their organization to the condi-
tions of their existence is nowhere more clearly
marked than in their organs of hearing. In the
Mammalia the complexity of structure in these
organs is much greater than in lower orders, and
probably enables them to distinguish in a greater
degree the modulations of sound. In air-breathing
animals the auditory organs may be said to consist
mainly of the ossicula auditus and the cochlea,
with an external ear, the use of the latter being to
receive and collect the vibrations of sound. In
fish an auditory organ of this description would be
a very great nuisance, because water conveys sound
so much more readily than air that the effect of a
small sound would produce the sensation of stunning.
True fish are, therefore, deprived of the external
ear, except in some members of the Ray family and
the Sharks, where there is a small process which
occupies the position of an ear. In almost all
other fish the whole of the auditory organs are
contained in the ootochrones, which are two holes,
one on either side of the head. The internal
surfaces of the bones of the heads of fish are
covered with cartilage, and the semicircular canals,
though not large, are not more than half the size of
the holes through which they pass, and they are
delicately suspended in the middle of them by
means of a number of fine threads, the object of
this probably being to lessen the shocks which loud
sounds might otherwise produce. There are very

152

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE -GOSSIP.

[July 1, 1867.

distinct differences observed in various families of
fish. [Instances were given of various modifica-
tions in form, and diagrams illustrative of the
anterior, external, and posterior portions were
exhibited.] The sacculus consists of one large sac,
and the superior ootolite occupies this position.
This was its ordinary position ; but in two speci-
mens of the Wolf Fish the speaker had found that
the superior ootolite occupied different positions,
and from this circumstance he judged that they
might have the power of moving about from side to
side. Amongst the Cyprinidse (or Carp family) the
ootolites occupy a different position. Here they
are all placed in contact inferiorly, forming a chain
of bones. Erom the lower sac two tubes pass
through the base of the skull, and open through
the anterior portion of the saccula. These saccula
are the only true representatives of the ossicula
auditus in the Mammalia, according to the opinion
of most writers upon the subject; but his own
belief was, that no fish at all have any true repre-
sentatives of it, but that this is only an excessive
development of the ootochrones. The ootolites
themselves are found to consist of carbonate and
sulphate of lime, with a very small quantity of
animal matter; but whether to call it a kind of
condensed sarcode, or to consider it the same in
composition as the foraminifera, or as that of the
oyster-shell, the meeting of the doctors on the
subject has not been satisfactory in determining.
By comparison and examination of these objects he
had in many instances been able to identify species,
and in many other instances he could identify
genera ; and he thought that this was more than
could be said of the fins or any parts of a fish. He
might mention that, out of about 4,000 specimens
which he had examined, only one instance had been
found in which the species could not be identified,
and this one was a common form which had from
some cause become abnormal in shape and carti-
laginous in structure. Specimens are occasionally
found in which they are wanting on one side of the
fish. He had not examined the true structure of
the granulus, but in their original forms they pre-
sent the appearance of rhombic crystals.

Under the Hose. — The first rose ever seen
was said to have been given by the god of Love to
Harpocrates, the god of Silence, to engage him not
to divulge the amours of his mother Venus ; and
from hence the ancients made it a symbol of silence,
and it became a custom to place a rose above their
heads in their banqueting-rooms, in order to banish
restraint, as nothing there said would be repeated
elsewhere ; and from this practice originated the
saying " Under the Rose," when anything was to
be kept secret.— Sylva Florifera.

THE UNITY OE MANKIND.

IN Science Gossip for May, a writer, under the
signature of " E. A. A.," proposes to divide the
human race according to colour; and I propose,
Avith the Editor's permission, to make a few remarks
upon his classification.

The gentleman in question tells us that the
division according to colour is at once the simplest
and the best. It gets rid of all the trouble entailed
by the study of features, language, mental develop-
ment, and religion. It relieves us from the dangers
of embroiling our brains over the conflicting views
of Prichard and Knox, Pickering and Lawrence.
Such writers, to use "E. A. A.'s" own words,
" perplex the student instead of aiding him."

The colours he divides into white, brown, and
black ; including under the white the Mongols, who
I always thought belonged to the yellow races of
men, the Moors and Arabs, some of whom, at any
rate, are almost black, and the Laplanders, who are
often almost as dark as the inhabitants of very hot
climates. Among the brown races are comprised
the Red Indians, and, I presume, as a natural
sequence, the dirty-olive-coloured Californians, the
olive-green hunters of San Francisco, the pale green
Chanuas, and the dark sea-green people of the
Marian Islands ; the chocolate-hued Sauks, and the
Flatheads, whose tint can only be compared to that
of a red brick, or Armenian bole. Finally, among
the black races, we find the Hindoos, who are stated
by Heber, Mill, and others, to present a great
variety of tints, many being nearly copper-coloured,
and a black being as rare among them as a white
pariah; if, indeed, the term black can be justly
applied to what is really a very dark brown, like
strong coffee.

The next step to which "F.A.A." calls our
attention, is that of proving that brown nations are
merely white people turningblack, and this he demon-
strates to be simple and easy in the highest degree.
" To see the first stage, or the conversion of white
into brown, we have only to inspect the hands and
face of a countryman, or the complexion of an old
Indian resident." Mr. Winwood Reade's assertion
that the Gamma tribes inhabiting the interior of the
Gaboon country have turned black within the memory
of man, conclusively proves the second stage.

That white people tan, and that even dark people
may grow browner in a hot climate, or when exposed
to the sun, no person in his senses would deny; but
some very able observers, indeed, deny that this
change is in any way lasting, or that it deepens with
descent in any part of the world. They are even so
unreasonable as to assert that climate has nothing
to do with complexion, and that there is not a jot of
evidence to show that a white race has ever been
converted into a dark one. Sir W. Lawrence says,

July 1, 18G7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

153

"the theory which would refer the characteristic
differences in colour in the varieties of the human
species, and particularly to the degree of solar heat,
is entirely improved ; " and Mr. Crawford says,
"The Creole Spaniards, who have for as long a time
(three centuries) been settled in tropical America,
arc as fair as the people of Arragon and Andalusia,
with the same variety of colour in the hair aud eye
as their progenitors. The pure Dutch Creole colo-
nists of the Cape of Good Hope, after dwelling two
centuries among black Caffres and yellow Hottentots,
do not differ in colour from the people of Holland."
The latter fact was long ago communicated to me
by the late Eobert Knox.

The readers conversant with the subject will
notice here that Mr. Reade has solved a problem
which had long bothered observers like Lubbock,
Prichard, Millers, and a host of others. They were
puzzled to know how it happened that on monu-
ments in Egypt, which cannot be set down as later
than 2,400 years before Christ, the negro appears as
he is seen in our day. They might have spared
themselves all the patient research they devoted to
the subject ; and it would be just as unnecessary to
assume an error in the established chronology, or
revise the calculations of Usher and Petarius. One
generation being enough to turn brown men black,
there can be no difficulty now hi understanding that
the rest follows as a matter of course.

The writer in question says, "that white nations
have become black, we know from history and the
testimony of our senses." Such being the case, I hope
"E. A. A." will kindly give us the names of these
historians, and say in what part of their works they
state that races of men now known to be black were
in their time white. I was under the impression
that history, sacred or profane, is silent on the
subject of colours, as it only too often is on the
most interesting subjects ; that it does not tell us
whether the Jews of Cochin were or were not black,
when, at the mandate of Nebuchadnezzar, they went
forth from the land of the Euphrates to settle in
Malabar, or whether, a thousand years ago, the
Parsees were dark or fair ; whether a Chinaman
was always yellow, and a Hindoo of no certain tint.

"E. A. A." then recommends to our notice the
theory put forward by Mr. Winwood Reade
about the nature of the blackness. He asserts that
the distinctive blackness of the West African negro,
as well as his other physical defects, are the result
of disease. Now this sentence proves two things ;
first, that Mr. Reade knows grammar better
than Lindley Murray, Walker, and others, and
secondly, that he has at one move pierced deeper
into the shadows of physiology, especially the
physiology of the skin, than such men as Wilson,
Miiller, Sugol, and others, going on in the old
stupid way of noting down facts for years without
venturing to draw a conclusion, would be likely to

accomplish in a lifetime. Thanks to such teachers
I had hitherto believed that the blackness of the
negro was a normal product, and that, though it is
very difficult to track even a single family, yet there
was reason to conclude that a diseased race died out
in about the fourth generation at the very latest.
But I know better now.

" F. A. A." further tells us that the more intense
the colour, the more degraded the mind, the more
stunted and distorted the body, and the shorter the
average duration of life become. Here, too, I was
all wrong. I was of opinion that the negro race
had produced specimens of mental development far
superior to any ever seen in the red Indian or the
Laplander; that Toussaint L'Ouverture, Ereidig, the
musician ; Hannibal, the mathematician, who rose to
be colonel in the Russian artillery ; Lislet, the me-
teorologist, Capitein, who wrote the "Dissertatio
de Servitude" which went through four editions,
were men of a far higher stamp than any brave of
the Rocky Indians or Hudson's Bay savage. In my
innocence I believe that Lillywhite or Biasson would
have thrashed any two Persians, and any half-dozen
Hindoos. Indeed, I imagined that the negro was
also long lived. Mais nous avons change tout cela.

Supposing it granted that climate tends to trans-
form white races into brown, and then brown into
black, it becomes a puzzle to understand how it acts
so differently, not only upon different races, but
upon different members of the same race. On the
west coasts of Africa are found the Cabendas, whose
skins are of a moderately dark yellow. Just south
of them are the jet black Congo people, while im-
mediately to the north are the Loungos who are
equally black. In Ireland, which does not extend
over four degrees of latitude, we see the dark-haired,
dusky-skinned, oval-faced Milesian, and the red, or
brown haired, grey-eyed Celt ; while in the north-
west of Europe, from the southern border of Saxony,
south of the lowest point of Ireland, to North Cape,
a distance of more than twenty degrees, climate has
produced a perfectly uniform fair race — at least we
are told so in books which, by a stretch of language,
are constituted authorities. Again, whatever be
the origin of the gipsies of England, the Welsh and
the English, their residence here extends beyond
historic times. Yet climate has as little assimilated
them in complexion as it has in temper. The variety
of colour in the Hindoos has already been spoken of,
and it is to be remembered that this difference does
not in any way depend upon exposure to light, for
it is seen in the fishermen who are all naked alike.
Close to the black Jews of Cochin we find a colony
of white Jews who are said to have emigrated
thither when Titus destroyed the temple. If so, they
must have resided there eighteen centuries, yet they
have undergone no change, aud don't seem likely to
undergo any.

Nor is this the only difficulty. We find not only

154

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[July 1, 1867.

decidedly fair races in very hot climates, but it is iu
these parts that we find the most colourless variety
of the human family, the Albinos. On the other
hand, the Kamtschatkans and Aleutians have skins
as swarthy, and hair as dark, as the natives of hot
climates. Dr. Prichard has figured in his "Natural
History of Man," one of each of these tribes with
complexions equal in tint to a Malayan ; and La
Perouse and Krusenstein both relate, that the in-
habitants of the Bay of Crillon, living in what ought
to be a temperate, if not a cold region of the north-
east coast of Africa, are nearly black !

J. L. Milton.

A RAMBLE IN SOUTH APRICA.

BY CAPT. G. E. BTJLGER, F.L.S.

A BROAD, steep, and rough path of two or
-^-*- three hundred yards in length, led us from
the high ground where the regiment was encamped,
down to the road which skirts the southern edge of
the Buffalo River, and connects the ferry with the
town of East London. This road runs close to the
foot of the somewhat lofty cliffs that here form the
right-hand boundary of the stream, and ends just
above the ferry, where two large cables are stretched
across from bank to bank for the purpose of warping
the pout, or floating bridge, backwards and for-
wards. It is a good road so far as it goes, and a
pleasant one, inasmuch as it affords two attractive
views — one up and the other down the river. The
first exhibits a charming reach of the broad and
imposing stream, with its bold and picturesquely
wooded banks ; and the other the debouchement of
its waters into the South Atlantic Ocean, where the
huge rolling billows of that most stormy sea dash
themselves on the dangerous bar with a crashing
roar that is scarcely ever silent, even in the calmest
weather.

East London — a straggling little town without a
particle of beauty — is built upon the right bank of
the river, and directly opposite is the more pictu-
resque village of Panmure. The Buffalo, which
flows between them, is here a noble stream, being
at the ferry, between two and three hundred yards
across. Its banks are a series of bold, roundish
hills, which on the Panmure side are wooded more
or less throughout, though in parts near the sea
the trees are by no means plentiful, and the under-
brush is thin and scarce enough. Above the ferry
the forest is strikingly peculiar, being for some
distance composed exclusively of the Giant Euphor-
bia (Euphorbia grandidens) , which is here tall and
large, and remarkably abundant. This most strange-
looking tree, so common to many portions of the
South African landscape, is singularly unattractive
in its appearance, owing to the dull uniformity of
its succulent andjleafless stems, which, resembling

gigantic candelabra in shape, are rigid and unna-
tural-looking in the extreme — much more suggestive
of death than life ! The woods which it forms are
of a dark and mournfully uniform hue. The gaunt
weird-like stems stand up all around one like skele-
tons. There is no grace of general figure, no beauty
of detail. There are no leaves dancing iu the sun-
light—none of those lovely and perpetually changing
effects of light and shade, caused by the incessant
vibration of the foliage iu ordinary forests. All is
dull ; all is moveless ; all is silent as the grave !
Apparently utterly deserted, motion seems to be
lost amidst these gloomy groves, and one involun-
tarily shudders at the unnatural solitude which is
their constant characteristic. Nevertheless, when
viewed in the distance, they are very picturesque,
and their sombre colour and dense solid-looking
masses contrast well with the swaying branches and
lighter green of the other trees around.

On the East London side the remains of " bush"
are but scanty, particularly near the mouth of the
river ; but higher up the axe has not been so de-
structive, and there is still enough of woodland left
to render the scene exceedingly wild and beautiful.

The river nobly foams and flows,
The charm of this enchanted ground,

And all its thousand turns disclose
Some fresher beauty varying round.

The ferry is about half a mile above the junction
of the Buffalo with the sea, and the pont consists of
a double boat, united under one strong deck, which
is of sufficient size to receive two cf the long wag-
gons of the country, with spans of fourteen or six-
teen oxen each, upon it.

Having crossed the river by means of the pont,
we ascended a steepish slope to the village of Pan-
mure, and then, turning to our right-hand, took
what would be called in America a " bee-line," as
nearly as possible in the direction of a rather pro-
minent sand-hill, which forms a tolerably conspicu-
ous landmark on the coast, a short distance beyond
a rocky point where a noble barque, called the
Medusa, was wrecked a few months ago. On our
way we passed a small pond, or vlei, as it is called
out here, prettily fringed with aquatic plants of
various kinds, and adorned with a number of small
islets of vegetation, amongst which we could discern
some tiny water-fowl paddling about ; but they
were too quick in their motions, and too distant to
enable us to glean much information concerning
them. They probably belong to the species Orty-
gometra pusillus.

Having reached the coast, we quitted the uneven
summit of the bank and scrambled down to the
beach, then presenting a noble expanse of hard,
firm sand, uncovered by the ebb tide. It was so
beautifully smooth and compact, that one experi-
enced a positive pleasure in moving over its level

July 1, 1S67-1

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE. G O SSI P.

155

surface, and for more than a mile we followed
every bend and indentation of the coast-line.

On our left rose a range of abrupt and occasionally
lofty sand-hills, varying: much in height and form,
but nevertheless uniting in a sort of chain from
the high laud at Panmure to the extent of our vision
along the shore, excepting where a ravine, through
which the "Blind River" flows slowly seaward,
cuts deeply into the surface of the country. This
river possesses a considerable stream of water; but
its outlet, if it has one, is invisible — hence its name ;
and the dense, solid-looking beach offers a seem-
ingly perpetual barrier between it and the wild,
fierce sea without. Its banks are pretty, and pictu-
resqucly adorned with shrubs and other lesser
plants, and the water is clear and bright-looking.

All the hills in this neighbourhood are apparently
composed of white sea-sand, and covered with a
peculiar succulent vegetation, amongst which the
Hottentot fig (Mesembryanthemum edule) abounds,
as well as another thick-leaved plant, at present
crowded with bright red berries, which are strikiugly
handsome and conspicuous. Trees of any magni-
tude are few and far between, but the lesser forest
is dense and luxuriant — indeed in some places almost
impenetrable. The rock of the coast is of a most
peculiar formation — sand and comminuted shells,
which have been agglutinized by the action of the
waves. It is exceedingly rough and honey-combed,
and presents the most varied and singular ap-
pearances,— here piled in long thin cones, like the
smaller pinnacles of an ice-field; there offering a
curious resemblance to the tall ruins of some castel-
lated structure rising from the naked sand ; and,
again, displaying large rents and chasms, which may
almost be called caverns from their size aud forma-
tion. The surface throughout is rough, and pro-
fusely armed with sharp edges, which are most
unpleasant to walk over, to say nothing of the
limpets and other shells that cover it below tide-
mark in myriads. The greater portion of the rock —
that is to say, all above high-water mark — is literally
naked, not even a lichen being visible to break the
uniformity of the brownish-grey hue, which pervades
it throughout.

About a mile or so beyond the large sand-hill, we
arrived at the object of our expedition, the Bats'
Cave, which is, indeed, very curious and interesting.
It is an enormous rent or opening in the rock, of
between thirty and forty feet in length, by perhaps
twenty in width, and rather less in height, with
rough aud jagged sides, and an irregularly arched
roof, honey-combed and uneven in appearance, like
all the rest of this peculiar coast formation. It
does not run in its general direction, as we expected,
at right angles to the shore-line, but rather parallel
to it, and the entrance is on the landward side, very
nearly facing the town of East London. In its
immediate vicinity there are some immense masses

of rock scattered about, just as if some giant hand
had thrown them there at random, aud one of
these stands nearly across the opening, at the dis-
tance of about twenty yards. It resembles in a
slight degree a rough, irregular gateway, with the
aperture corresponding so nearly in shape to the
mouth of the cave as to give one the idea that it
had at one time been the true entrance, aud that
some convulsion of nature had removed a large piece
of the rock forming the roof and outward side, and
thus disconnected the two parts. The flooring, if
I may so use the term, of the cavern consists of a
series of little rocky basins, full of the most
pellucid sea-water, green and brilliant as emerald,
in which are growing most luxuriantly several kinds
of beautiful seaweeds, as well as splendid Actinice
and elegant Serlularice of various species. Round
the edges of these little tidal pools, the projecting
rock afforded comparatively dry but slippery foot-
ing to those who wished to explore the mysteries of
the interior, and one of our party availed himself of
the opportunity. Instead of disturbing multitudes
of bats, as we expected, however, some dozen or so
of red-winged Spreeuws [Lamprotornis morio) came
flitting out of the darkness, apparently exceedingly
astonished at our intrusion amongst their wild
domains, and exclaiming loudly at our presence, an
employment in which they were ably assisted by a
number of Giant Kingfishers (Alceclo gigantea), and
two or three of the smaller and commoner kind, the
lovely Halcyon- capensis, whose splendid plumage
flashed in the sunlight like burnished metal. A few
Sanderlings (Calidris arenaria) were running about
aud feeding close to the edges of the waves, and
here and there, flitting from rock to rock, fearless
and confiding as ever, were some of the little wag-
tails of the country (Motacilla capensis).

By the time we had finished our explorations, the
tide was beginning to return, aud the surf was
breaking within a few yards of where we stood.
The noise of the waves as they crashed upon the
rocks and hard sandy beach, added to the wildness
of a scene at all times striking from its peculiar
loneliness, and the screams of a couple of startled
curlew (Numenius arquatd) seemed not unfitting
accompaniments to the roar of the seething ocean.

Dog Life. — It is a curious thing that dogs,
which cannot only learn of man, but show such
natural cunning, should yet never seem to teach
one another. Probably they accept an accomplish-
ment as an instinct. They don't know that they
learn, do not notice their progress. Did you ever
consider what an isolated life a dog leads ? He is
occupied mainly with the passing moment ; he rarely
meditates or looks forward ; he seldom listens
except when spoken to. No wonder, poor fellow,
that he delights to bark and bite ; his life would be
otherwise dull enough. — Jo?ies's Holiday Papers.

156

HAllDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[July 1, 1867.

JOVA

MONMOUTH DEPOSIT.

BEPORE proceeding with the description of the
diatoms detected in this deposit, I would ob-
serve that no truly accurate description can be given
of forms occurring in fossil deposits unless they
have been previously studied in the living state.
Dr. Lewis, in the proceedings of the Academy of
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, January, 1865,
quotes some remarks of Professor H. L. Smith, who
has long studied the habits of the living Diatomacese.
He says,—" When I find Navicula amphirhynchus
conjugating and producing Navicula firma, Stauro-
neis gracilis producing Stauroneis Phnenicenteron,
Surirella splendida producing Surirella nobilis,
quite different in form and striation, I cannot but
doubt the propriety of making new species out of
every different shape and marking."

In addition to the forms
already indicated (pp. 133),
I have met with the follow-
ing : — Navicula firma (Kut-
zing), "valve large, turgid,
oblong, lanceolate, with ob-
tuse cuneate apices, thick-
ened borders, large median
nodule, striae wanting or
obscure." The median no-
dule of Kutzig is rather a
large blank space, accom-
panied by a slight thicken-
ing of silex, than a nodule ;
the striae are transverse,
delicate, and about 40
100.

\\

m

Fig. 151. Navicula firma, var. R
(Navicula dilatata, Ehr.) x 400.

Fig. 152. Navicula firma,
var. y, x 400.

Variety a, linear oblong = Navicula Iridis, Ehr.

Variety /3, pointed elliptic = Navicula dilatata,
Ehr. (fig. 151, outline only).

Variety y, cuneate = Navicula amphigomphus,
Ehr. (fig. 152, outline only).

Variety £, valves turgid elliptical-lanceolate, with
several marginal longitudinal bnes, large median

blank space, striae distinct. This is undoubtedly
the finest of all the varieties of Navicula firma.
Eig. 153, valve. Eig. 153 a, b, ideal sections of
valve and frustule ; a represents a central transverse
section, showing thickening of the silex forming the
blank median space; b, transverse section of frustule
beyond the median space, and intended to illustrate
the contour of the frustule : it will be seen that one
portion of the valve inclines downwards towards the
median line, and the other, or marginal part, forms
a broad curve towards the connecting zone.

_

153. Navicula firma, var. 0, d x 400, c x ],O0O.

Eig. 153 c represents a small part of a valve magni-
fied 1,000 diameters, showing that the appearance of
longitudinal lines is produced by the greater
distance of the striae on that portion of the valve.

I

■W

Fig. 154. Navicula Fig. 155. Navicula Fig. 156. Navicula
bacillum x 400. serians. serians, var. |3 x 800.

Navicula bacillum (Ehr.), Valves linear, with
truncate rounded apices, terminal and central
nodules distinct, striae parallel, delicate, about 50 in
100, not reaching the median line (fig. 151). Navi-
cula bacillaris of Dr. Gregory was supposed to be
identical with this species ; but a careful examina-
tion shows them to be distinct. It is rare in the
lighter parts of this deposit.

July 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

157

Navicula ssrians (Kutzing), Valves acute with
two sets of stria, longitudinal, distinct, about 30 in
100, under a low power apparently undulate, trans-
verse striae delicate, about 50 iu 100 ;(fig. 155).
Common in this material.

Variety a (apiculate), varying from lanceolate-
elliptic to rhomboid, with apices more or less pro-
duced, and capitate (Lewis). This form I have not
yet detected in the deposit ; variety /3 (cruciform) =
Navicula follis = Navicula trochus? = Navicula in-
flata (Ehr.) ? Valves much inflated, compressed,
sloping abruptly towards the produced apices
(Lewis) (fig. 156). Navicula follis and Navicula
trochus are no doubt identical; and that this variety
is identical with it is equally certain. Common in
this deposit.

Navicula rhomboides (Ehr.), Valves nearly quad-
rangular, .stria; faint, parallel, 85 in 100 j (Smith)
(fig. 157). Variety a of Lewis does not occur in
this deposit. Variety /3 = Navicula diaphana (Ehr.),
Valves lanceolate, extremities slightly obtuse,
median line terminating in an
obtuse rounded nodular expan-
sion, striae transverse, about 55
to 60 in 100 ; longitudinal striae
coarser, slightly wavy, about 45
in 100, more or less indis-
tinct about the central nodule
(Lewis) (fig. 15S). This and
var. a are considered to be
sporangial varieties of the
typical Navicula rhomboides,
not uncommon in this deposit.

m

Fie:. 15;.
Navicula rhomboides, Ehr.

Fig. 158.
Navicula rhorr.boides, var. R.

Stauroneis Baileyi = (Ehr.), valves large, broadly
lanceolate, tapering gradually to the obtuse apices ;
surface with very firm longitudinal wavy lines,
stauros linear reaching the margin (Kutzing). In
the Microgcologie of Ehrenberg are many figures of
this form, and Stauroneis Phcenicenteron ; but, on
careful examination, it is not at all clear what
Ehrenberg means. S. Phcenicenteron has fine trans-
verse striae, and a slightly dilated stauros, but not
the wavy longitudinal lines. Ehrenberg, however,
gives a figure of a form with a dilated stauros and

distinct wavy lines, which he calls Stauroneis
Phcenicenteron (Baileyi), (sic) ; thus mixing up the
two species. Dr. Lewis at one time supposed that
this was a sporangial variety of Stauroneis acuta ;
but from further observation he has come to the
conclusion that Stauroneis Baileyi and Stauroneis
pteroidea arc interchangeable varieties of a com-
mon species, probably Stauroneis Phoenicenteron.
(Eig. 159), fig. b, under surface, showing a siliceous
plate at the apex of valve ; fig. c, ideal section of
same at d, showing vacant space between valve and
plate.

e^§? ~-~

b. Under surface.

\ ~ -"

c<^J

Mi

Fisr. 159. Stauroneis Baileyi
(upper surface), x 400).

Fig. 160. Stauroneis
legumen, x 500.

Stauroneis legumen (Ehr.), this form (fig. 160) is
considered by Dr. Lewis to be an aberrant variety of
the above species — not uncommon in this deposit.

Eunotia septena (Ehr.), fig. 161, is a variety of
Eunotia robusta. Eunotia camelus (Ehr.), fig. 162 ;
this species varies much in outline, and is probably
only Himantidium bidens. Eunotia bactriana
(Ehr)., fig. 163; all the above are common in this
deposit.

158

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[July 1, 1867.

Eunotia incisa (Gregory) . — Valves arcuate, slender,
with obtuse or subacute apices, and subterminal
notches or depressions on the ventral margin ; striae

Fig. 161. Fig. 162.

Eunotia septena, x 500. Eunotia caraelus, x 500.

delicate. The preceding species of Eunotia are
common in this deposit (fig. 164).

Fig. 163. Eunotia bactriana, x 500.

Himantidium undulatum (Smith). — Valves arcu-
ate ; constricted near the extremities, with a central
inflation on the concave surface, and one or more
dorsal elevations ; striae 22 in 1'.

1

Fig. 164. Eunotia incisa (Greg.).

Figures 165 a and b are considered by Lewis to be
sporangial varieties of the above ; common.

Fig. 165. Himantidium undulatum.

Actinella punctata (Lewis). — Frustules linear
arcuate, commonly in radiating clusters of from sis
to twelve individuals. Valve arcuate, with a well-
marked notched inflation at the free extremity ;

Fig. 166. Actinella punctata Fig. 167. Actinella punctata,
in situ, x 100. valve x 400.

smaller (attached) end rounded, sharp, with con-
vergent striae, and a row of marginal puncta. Eig.

167, valve magnified 400 diameters ; fig. 166, frus-
tules in situ ; from Dr. Lewis's drawing magnified
100 diameters.

Fragments of this strange form are not uncom-
mon in the deposit. Dr. Lewis considers it related
to Eunotia, and representing a near approach to the
Nitzschioid type. I am, however, not prepared to
admit this ; and judging from examples that have
come under notice in this deposit, and in a recent
gathering, I should feel inclined to place it close to
Synedra. The remainiug forms observed in this
deposit will be described hereafter.

Norwich.

F. KlTTON.*

NEW BRITISH MOSS.

AMONG some mosses placed in my hands by
Mr. M. C. Cooke, and collected in the Clova
district by the late A. O. Black, are specimens of
a fine Dicranum, which appear to be identical
with a Norway species established by Professor

Fig. 168.
Dicranum arcticum.

Fig. 169.
Leaf and section magnified.

Schimper, in his recently published "Musci Europaei
Novi," Fascic. 3, and characterized as follows :—

* The strise as shown in the figures are not intended to
represent the distance apart as described in the text, but the
general appearance of the valve as seen by oblique light.

Juli- 1, 1867.]

HAUDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

159

D. arcticum, Schpr. Monoicous, crcspitosc, without
tomentum, 2 to 5 inches high, simple or dicho-
tomous (fig;. 168), leaves erccto-patent, rarely subse-
cuud, nearly straight, the lowest minute, lanceolate,
nerveless, upper from an oblong; base, lanceolate-
subulate, quite entire, very concave, the margin
incurved so as to form a channelled subula (fig. 162).
Alar cells orange-brown, quadrate, nerve narrow,
compressed (fig. 170). Capsule (fig. 171) cernuous,

-•

Fig. 170. Base ofleaf magnified. Fig. 1/1. Capsule.

subarcuate, strumose, not striate. Anuulus simple.
Lid rostrate. Teeth purple, cleft to middle. The
localities on the tickets are Cairn-Taggart, and
Loch-na-Neem, and the species will rank next to
Dicranum Starkii. — B. Braitlncaite, M.D., F.L.S.

NILE MUD.

THE mud brought down by the Nile in such
immense quantities at the period of the
inundation (for at other times the water is almost
pure) is in part distributed over the level land,
thereby enriching the soil ; a part is deposited iu the
beds of the river and canals, and a large quantity is
carried into the sea. When the Nile is on the rise,
the water gradually becomes turbid, and finally
assumes a reddish hue. This is of course owing to
the large quantity of sand and clay which it brings
with it in its rapid course from the upper countries.
The mud which is deposited iu the bed of the river,
when exposed to the sun and dried, immediately
turns into sand ; even by watering occasionallyit will
not assume the nature of that which has been
deposited on the land. The reason is simple. The
Nile washes over granite rocks, and carries away
particles from them, such as mica, felspar, and
hornblende ; even quartz, although the heaviest, is
borne along by the impetuous force of the stream.
The lighter substances, mica and felspar, the latter
of which is dissolved, together with clay, 'are carried
over the fields, and form that rich black soil of
which the Delta for the most part is composed.
The heavier particles are deposited in the bed of the

river, and form a very fine sand. It has been pro-
posed, as a matter of speculation, to utilize the sand
(which is improperly called Nile mud) by sending
shiploads of it to Europe for the purpose of
manuring the land, as they do with guano. This
would be a great mistake. It contains very few
manuring properties, being really nothing but sand.
It would be a good thing for Egypt if it could be
got rid of, because it chokes up the river and the
canals. The Arab cultivators never make use of it
as manure, although they make use of pigeons'
dung and decayed vegetable matter. On the con-
trary, when the soil is too rich, they mix this river
sand with it. The houses, or rather huts, of the
poor Arabs are constructed of mud bricks dried in
the sun, but they do not use the mud of the river, as
bricks made of it would crumble to pieces imme-
diately on being dried, even when mixed with straw.
Eor this purpose they use the stiff soil of the fields.
This applies also to burnt bricks. Should any
European, therefore, be so foolish as to engage in
such a wild speculation as that referred to above, he
would find that he has had his pains for nothing,
for his mud will turn into sand, and be good only
perhaps for mixing with lime to make mortar.
Even for this purpose the Arabs of the villages con-
sider it worthless. There is little doubt, however,
that a cargo of the rich, black, alluvial soil which
is to be found on the sides of the embankments along
the Nile and the large canals would be very valu-
able. This soil close to the embankments is in
many places from 20 to 30 feet deep. The large
canals are cleared out about every third year. From
20,000 to 30,000 Fellahs are impressed by the
Government for this work on each canal. This
operation of course takes place when the Nile is at
its lowest. The embankments are also repaired or
strengthened throughout about once in every three
years. This strengthening merely consists in making
the embankments higher with earth. It has been said
aud with truth, that the beds of the Nile and the
cauals are rising higher every year. But the em-
bankments are raised in proportion, and it is pro-
bable that the whole of the Delta is becoming
gradually more elevated. There is therefore no fear
that the Nile will lose its bed and be directed into
some other channel. During a great part of the
year the country suffers much from the want of
water, and there is no doubt that if the irrigation
of the lands was managed properly, the country
would produce at least three times as much as it
does. The waters subside very fast, and the poor
Fellahs have not always the means of raising it up
the steep embankments. Many Europeans have
proposed to erect steam pumps in the interior for
the purpose of supplying the cultivators with water
for their crops at a cheap rate. The Fellahs would
be very glad to adopt the proposition, but the
Viceroy will not allow it, as he says it would inter-

160

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[July 1, 1S67.

fere with the irrigation of his own lands. It would
be a fortunate circumstance for Egypt were the bed
of the river and the canals really composed of stiff
clay, or soil or mud properly so called, instead of
sand, because then the inhabitants could repair
their embankments with it. As it is, they are obliged
to dig up the earth from the fields on both sides,
thereby causing double labour, and destroying a
large portion of arable land. The sand which they
remove in cleaning out the canals is a great em-
barrassment. They do not know what to do with it.
It is no use as manure, and it would never do to put it
on the embankments, because in a few days it would
be all blown away by the wind. Even if not blown
away, still it would be a great inconvenience, for the
embankments, being the highroads of the country,
would be almost impassable with two or three feet
of sand upon them. Besides, it would offer but a
very feeble resistance to the impetuosity of the
water in a high Nile. The consequence is that they
remove it a little on each side of the canal, leaving
the middle only clear. When the Nile rises, all this
sand is of course carried back again to the centre of
the canal. The Nile itself is never cleaned out or
dredged. It is stated that in ancient times there
were large caves, either natural or formed artificially
for the purpose, in Upper Egypt, into which the
superabundant waters of the Nile were diverted
and preserved until wanted in the lower country.
These immense cisterns are, it is believed, now for
the most part choked up with sand. Perhaps it
would not be too wild a scheme to propose that
they should be restored to their original uses. This
may be, however, impracticable, but a system of
floodgates might be adopted in the canals, as in
other countries, to prevent the water from going to
waste — from going, in fact, into the sea. Were
such a measure carried out, it is not too much to say
that the canals would not be dry for so many months
of the year as they are now. The pyramid at
Dashoor is composed of mud bricks which have with-
stood the ravages of three thousand years. Had
these bricks been made of the so-called Nile mud,
they would have crumbled to dust ages ago ; in
fact, the pyramid could not have been built with
them at all. The real Nile mud is that which is
washed up on the sides of the embankments, and
that which is carried over the fields when the river
is high. This mud serves the Arabs in various ways
besides fertilizing their lands. They make bricks
with it, both burnt and unburnt. They use it mixed
with chopped straw to plaster their houses inside
and outside. They also use it as mortar without
straw. They construct water jars and various
kitchen utensils with it ; and they seal their maga-
zines or store-houses with it. This mud, when
preserved in a cool place, becomes extremely hard,
as may be seen in the Nilometer at Roda.— E. St.
John Fairman.

ZOOLOGY.

A Robin's Punishment.— About a month ago
a robin, which was allowed to fly about my room,
swallowed a butterfly ready set for the cabinet, and
with it the needle, with which the body was trans-
fixed. This took place in the presence of my son
and of a young girl, who happened to be in the
room at the time. Eor several days the bird was
much less active than usual, remaining quite still,
with its feathers disordered, and rarely attempting
to fly ; in short, poor robin was evidently anything
but comfortable after his meal. By degrees these
symptoms passed away ; the little animal resumed
its usual cheerful habits, and no one would have
supposed that it had a long needle inside it ! How-
ever, at the end of about ten days, the feathers of
the neck began to raise themselves, and in a short
time became decidedly upright. Next a bright
spot made its appearance on the surface of the skin,
which proved eventually to be the point of the
needle projecting among the feathers. The bird
was constantly scratching the place, and made
numerous attempts to extract the cause of its
trouble with its beak; at the same time it betrayed
no symptoms of dulness, or of being out of health.
Yesterday morning the needle was found lying on
the floor, and since then the neck feathers have
resumed their customary appearance. I have kept
the needle, on which are still to be seen traces of
dried matter, and fragments of feathers. — From the
" Leipziger Tageblatt," Nov., 1866.

Bonnets at Eault. — The note in Science
Gossip on the dislike of a canary to certain colours,
has recalled to my recollection an equally singular
caprice in some eagles. About thirty years ago,
being in Yorkshire, I received an invitation to join
a pic-nic party at Whotley Park. After we had
discussed the good things provided for the dinner,
it was proposed to pay a visit to see the eagles,
when our host informed the ladies that it was abso-
lutely requisite to remove their bonnets before they
approached the large cage where the birds were
kept. This being done, we had a •long aud satis-
factory view of three majestic eagles, who appeared
to eye us with great disdain. When some of the
party resumed their bonnets (not the small things
worn now), the eagles, with loud screams, flew into
an inner apartment out of sight. This, I was told,
was their constant habit, and that the bonnet was
the only thing to which they had any dislike —
/. B. B.

Destruction of Rare Birds.— In his "Birds of
Norfolk" Mr. Stevenson records the destruction of
sixty-five specimens of that rare and beautiful bird,
the Hoopoe, in that county alone between the
years 1850 and 1865.

July 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

161

The Palmate Newt. — It may interest some of
my fellow-subscribers to your interesting periodical
if I inform them that I have met with the Palmate
Newt (Lophinus palmatus) in this neighbourhood. —
Win. Nettleton, Huddersfield.

Slowworm (p. 112). — These are very interesting
creatures, and are by no means difficult to keep in
health, and in apparent comfort, even in Wardian
cases ; but, of course, the more space the better ;
let them only have a little fresh moss, and places to
hide in,— a broken garden-pot, with some coarse
dry sand or earth in it. We had one in London for
years ; it became tame, and would readily, wheu
hungry, take a small slug (they refuse the large
coarse black slugs) from the hand; but it might be
well at the first to put in with him a good number
of small ones, — the common small grey garden slug
is his favourite. I do not remember to have ever
seen him eat worms. Their movements are extremely
graceful, and I have no doubt they will climb :
they are very fond of basking in the sunshine. —
W.P.

Crane at Sandhurst.— On the 1st of May I
saw that rara avis, the Crane, in the marshes near
Sandhurst. Have any of your readers ever seen
this bird at a place as far inland ?—F. W. Gibson,
M.D., Broadmoor, Berks.

[Is our correspondent certain that he saw a
veritable " crane " ? — Ed.]

An Ocean op Eire.— As the ship sails with a
strong breeze through a luminous sea on a dark
night, the effect produced is then seen to the
greatest advantage. The wake of the vessel is one
broad sheet of phosphoric matter, so brilliant as to
cast a dull pale light over the after-part of the
ship ; the foaming surges, as they gracefully curl on
each side of the vessel's prow, are similar to rolling
masses of liquid phosphorus ; whilst in the distance,
even to the horizon, it seems an ocean of fire, and
the distant waves breaking, give out a light of an
inconceivable beauty and brilliancy; in the com-
bination the effect produces sensations of wonder
and awe. — Wanderings of a Naturalist.

Preserved Fishes.— Recently we alluded to
the excellently preserved fishes exhibited by Captain
Mitchell at the Paris Exhibition. We have since
had our opinion of their merits confirmed. Dr.
Gunther, in a recent number of the "Annals of
Natural History," unhesitatingly affirms that in his
large experience these arc the best-preserved fishes
he remembers to have seen. Moreover, it is
whispered that the International Jury has awarded
for them a medal.

Malayan Birds and Insects. — Mr. A. P.
Wallace's very interesting collection is being exhi-
bited at 76|, Westboumc Grove.

Death Adder op New South Wales. — This
hideous reptile is thick in proportion to its length ;
the eye is vivid yellow, wilh a black longitudinal
pupil ; the colour of the body is difficult to be
described, being a complication of dull colours,
with narrow blackish bauds, shaded off into colours
which compose the back ; abdomen slightly tinged
with red; head broad, thick, and flattened. The
specimen I examined measured two feet two inches
in length, and five inches in circumference. It is,
I believe, an undescribed species. A dog that was
bitten by one died in less than an hour. The
specimen I examined was found coiled up near the
banks of the Murrumbidgee river, and being of a
torpid disposition, did not move when approached,
but quietly reposed in the pathway, with its head
turned beneath the belly. — Bennett's Wanderings.

Elying Eish — The greatest length of time that
I have seen these volatile fish on the fin, has been
thirty seconds, by the watch ; and their longest
flight mentioned by Captain Hall, has been two
hundred yards ; but he thinks that subsequent
observation has extended the space. The most
usual height of flight, as seen above the surface of
the water, is from two to three feet ; but I have
known them come on board at a height of fourteen
feet and upwards ; and they have been well ascer-
tained to come into the channels of a line-of-battle
ship, which is considered as high as twenty feet and
upwards. But it must not be supposed they have
the power of elevating themselves in the air, after
having left their native element ; for, on watching
them, I have often seen them fall much below the
elevation at which they first rose from the water,
but never in any one instance could I observe them
raise themselves from the height at which they first
sprang, for I regard the elevation they take to
depend on the power of the first spring or leap
they make on leaving their native element. — Wan-
derings in New South Wales.

Portuguese Man-op-War. — This splendid
physalia is often seen floating by the ship ; the
inflated, or bladder portion of this molluscous
animal, glowing in delicate crimson tints, floats upon
the waves, whilst the long tentaculse, of a deep
purple colour, extend beneath, as snares to capture
its prey. It is oftentimes amusing to see persons
eager to secure the gaudy prize ; but they find, by
painful experience, that, like many other beautiful
objects of the creation, they possess hidden tor-
ments ; for no sooner have they grasped the tinted
and curious animal, than, encircling its long filiform
appendages over the hands and fingers of its cap-
turer, it inflicts such pungent pain, by means of an
acrid fluid discharged from them, as to cause him
to drop the prize, and attend to the smarting occa-
sioned by it. — Bennett's Wanderings.

162

HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE - GOSS IP.

[July 1, 1SG7.

Cheating a Spider. — One clay last autumn on
going into one of the greenhouses, I noticed a fine
spider web stretched between the lower part of a
wire basket, and some long depending stems of the
Ivy Snap Dragon hanging over its sides. A tray
of silver sand standing near suggested to me the
idea of testing for myself, the different adhesive
powers of the concentric and radiating threads of
the web. I took a small pinch and from a little
distance gently threw it on to the web, which was
immediately speckled all over almost as one sees
them glistening with dew on an early morning.
There was far less sand retained by the radiating
threads, than by the concentric ones, but still there
was some. Whether my friend the spider recog-
nized the true state of affairs, or imagined the
agitation was caused by some unhappy fly, whose
intrusion he was prepared to resent, I cannot tell ;
but at all events, he was down "like a shot" into
the centre of the web, and I imagined was some-
what non-plussed at its remaining perfectly motion-
less ; with its anterior pair of legs it then seized
two of the radii, and gave the web a good shake.
As this elicited no response, it turned, and rapidly
retracing its steps, took up its position at the
bottom of the flower pot. In a few seconds I
treated it to a little more sand, and again almost
too quickly to be followed by the eye it was in the
centre of the web, and once more made use of the
same shaking process to ascertain what was the
matter. Eour times I threw in the sand, and four
times it responded by putting in an appearance, but
the fifth time it seemed to have gained wisdom by
experience for it would not stir. I waited for a
longer interval, and then tried it again, but the fact
still seemed fresh upon its memory and it remained
in statu quo. By this time the web contained about
as much sand as it comfortably could, so as I
resolved to try the experiment next day, I thought
it would be as well that we should have a fresh
web, and so swept away the old one. Next
morning on paying my visit I found a first-class
web in about the same position, but I could not
detect the whereabouts of the spider ; however, no
sooner had I made advances by an offering of sand,
than he took the field as before, prepared to wage
an exterminating war with all or airy trespassers
on his domain. I was called away just then, and
when I next visited the place there was no trace of
either spicier or web. I do not know the specific
name of the creature, but it was a small black one
of the geometrical kind. I was not aware till I
read your last number, that there was any difficulty
in cheating a spider, but I firmly believe this one
was taken in. I am not in a position to speak
positively, and should feel some diffidence in doing
so in the face of Professor Rennie and the Rural
D.D., but I am of opinion that as the Notonecta

will seize the finger, or indeed almost anything if
dipped gently in the water, it does so with the idea
that it is going to have a meal ; and as the death-
watch (be it Auobium or Atropos) will tap several
consecutive times at a good imitation of its call (as
I have proved on several occasions), I imagine it
believes itself answered by one of its own species,
and so I believe that the light falling of some
grains of sand upon a spider's web produces a
vibration so similar to the contact of a fly, that the
difference cannot always be recognized by the
spider, cunning though he be. — Frederic Henry
Ward, Manor House, Poplar.

Striped Hawk-Moth. — In the June number of
Science Gossip, it is mentioned that a specimen
of that rare moth the Striped Hawk (Deilephila
Livornica), was found this spring in Ireland. I have
also been so fortunate as to obtain a fine specimen
of this moth, which was taken at Predbury, near
Stockport, on the 27th of April last, a remarkably
early time of the year. It appeared to have just
emerged from the chrysalis, and was caught in a
garden on a window sill, by a friend who did not
know at the time the rarity of the specimen. —
William P. Marshall.

H air-Worms. — The violent thunderstorm ac-
companied by a deluge of rain, which burst over the
metropolis in the early morning of Monday, 3rd June,
was followed in the course of a few hours by a
curious phenomenon, but rarely observed. The rose-
bushes and other shrubs in various gardens at Ken-
nington, Brixton, and other southern suburbs,
were seen to be swarming with small slender hair-
worms (about 2 or 3 inches long, and not thicker
than a lace-pin). These creatures are occasionally
found in the earth, but they are parasitic in the
bodies of different kinds of insects. A correspondent
from the neighbourhood of Carlisle, in a letter also
dated 3rd June, informs us that he had found a
number of these creatures in his garden, stating
that " they come out in quantities in our garden on
damp evenings. They are long hairlike-looking
worms, from 3 to 4 inches in length, rather pale in
colour, and their habit is to wind halt' of their length
round some leaf or stalk, raid make a circular sort of
motion in the air with the other halt'," Their
history is very obscure, but we believe they are in
no wise injurious to plants. — /. 0. W., in Gardener's
Chronicle.

[See also Science-Gossif, for 1S65, pp. 107, 197,
2S8, and 1SC6, p. 255.]

Gannet and Diver.— A Gannet was caught
alive at Coggeshall, Essex, a short time since, as was
also a Black-throated Diver. Both of these birds
are considered rare visitors iu that neighbourhood.
• — C. Denny.

July 1, 18(37.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

163

BOTANY.

An Ancient Rose-tree. — While very old oaks
yews, and chestnuts have each found their "vates"
to embalm their memories in the pages of history,
there is an humbler member of the vegetable king-
dom which has not, so far as I know, found a place
in English botanical records. I allude to an ex-
ceedingly ancient rose-tree at Hildesheim, in Han-
over, which is still flourishing (as a friend of mine,
who has lately seen it, tells me), with all the vigour
of youth. This remarkable tree (or rather climber,
for it is supported against the wall of a church),
was in existence when Christianity itself was little
more than 1,000 years old ; and, if we may believe
tradition, had even then been blooming for well-
nigh 300 summers ! But I will give its history in
the words of the well-known botanist, Herr Leunis,
himself a resident at Hildesheim. " The oldest
known rose-tree in the world is one at present
growing against the wall of the cathedral of this
town (Hildesheim), remarkable alike for its extreme
age, and for the scanty nourishment with which it
has supported itself for so many centuries. It
varies but slightly from the common Dog-rose
(R. canina) : the leaves are rather more ovate, the
pedicels and lower leaf-surfaces more hairy, the
fruit smaller and more globular. The stem is
2 inches thick at its junction with the root, and the
whole plant covers some 24 square feet of the wall.
Bishop Hezilo, who flourished 1054—1079, took
special interest in this rose as being a remarkable
monument of the past ; aud when the cathedral was
rebuilt, after being burnt down in 1061, he had it
once more trained against the portion of wall which
had been spared by the fire. Tradition states that,
in the year of grace 814, the Emperor Ludwig the
Pious, son of Charlemagne, was staying with his
Court at Elze. Being desirous of hunting in the
huge forest where now stands Hildesheim, mass
was said by the Imperial Chaplain at the place of
rendezvous. By some mishap, when the service
was concluded and the party dispersed, the vessel
containing the sacred elements was left behind. On
returning to the spot the following day, great was
the surprise of the chaplain, to find the holy vessel
overshadowed by the tender branchlets of a lovely
rose, which had sprung up in the night, and now
filled the air with the perfume of its flowers. The
Emperor shortly after arrived and by his command
a chapel was built, with the altar standing on the
spot occupied by the roots of the rose,— that very
rose which is now blooming as freshly as though a
single decade, and not a thousand years, had passed
over its head \" So far tradition. Certain it is
that the roots of the existing rose-tree are buried
under the altar of the cathedral, and, consequently,
are inside the building, the stem being carried
through the wall to the outer air by a perforation

made expressly for it. My informant tells me that
the plant is held in the highest veneration by the
inhabitants, and that no one is permitted to gather
the flowers or break the branches.— /F. W. S.

Carex Buxbaumii— Your readers interested in
our native plants will be glad to hear that Carex
Buxbaumii (Wahl.), Carex canescans {Linn), still
exists near Toome, co. Deny, This rare species is
in Britain only found within the compass of a few
square yards, and Dr. Dickie, in the "Flora of
Ulster," issued a few years since, says, "it is perhaps
now lost through the partial drainage of the lake."
In the "Cybele Hibernica," published last summer,
it is mentioned as gathered in 1S55 by the late
Mr. Woods. Further, I was informed by the care-
taker of the grounds on which the plant is found
that, four years since, a gentleman had been there
and taken away a specimen of a grass which was
not to be had anywhere else. If this meet the eye
of the aforesaid botanist, he will learn that his visit
is still remembered.

On the 1st of June of this year, the Belfast
Naturalists' Field Club made an excursion to
Toome ; and, starting by a train in advance of my
fellows, I had a few hours to search for the carex,
which, to my great delight, proved to be still occu-
pying the very limited area where Dr. Moore
discovered it more than thirty years ago.

It is satisfactory to record that the visit of the
Belfast Club to Toome did not involve any injury to
the Carex Buxbaumii. It is, perhaps, the most
elegant of our carices, and its extinction would be
a grievous loss to the Irish Flora. The perennial
roots were left untouched, and two flowering stems
only taken away. One of these now adorns my
own herbarium ; the other is reserved for my friend,
R. Tate, Esq., F.G.S., as a souveuir, reminding
him of our joint attempt last summer to find this
plant, which attempt only failed for lack of a very
necessary element in these pursuits, — time. — S.
Alex. Steicart, Belfast.

Oxlip. — Is there not some mistake about the
true Primula el atior (Jacq.) growing on the Mendip
Hills ? Will it not rather be a caulescent form of
the common primrose ? I laboured for some time
under the delusion that I had the true oxlip in my
herbarium, which afterwards proved to be only
Primula vulgaris /3 caulescens. If it is the true
oxlip, it will be a very interesting locality. — B.

Natural History has been said by some to be
a study of facts ; by others, a science of observa-
tion. Each of these statements is, to a certain
extent, true ; it is only by observation that we can
acquire a knowledge of the facts upon which all
ulterior views must be based.— Rev. Leonard
Jenyns, M.A.

164

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[July 1, 1867.

MXCKOSCOPY.

Examining Soundings, etc. — As I was looking
through a great many specimens of foraminiferous
soundings from the Indian ocean, which I received
through the kindness of Mr. Latimer Clark, I felt
much inconvenienced by constantly stretching my
neck towards the sky in order to examine the objects
in a good light with my Coddington lens. More-
over, it took some time and trouble to fix some of
the ooze between the two plates of glass. A glass
prism happened to lie on the table, and I found that
if the object is laid on one side of the same, and

Fig. 172. Section of Prism.
0 indicates the position of the object.

which is held horizontally, then the other side will
reflect the sky light through the object into the eye
in a manner exceedingly pleasant to the observer.
In this manner a drop of water may be examined,
which will not run off. A rectangular prism I found
to be better suited then an equilateral one, and it
may be mentioned that the quality of glass beiug of
no consequence, the expense of one is very trifling
indeed. I mentioned this application of the prism
to several microscopic friends who did not know of
it, and I think its publication in the Science-
Gossip may be a welcome hint to microscopists. —
C. Becker.

Movement of Diatoms. — Mr. Bockett's idea of
the nature of the motive power of diatoms is very
ingenious ; but, as it differs from the opinion I
have formed after a long course of observation, I
venture to offer a few notes upon the subject. We
may take it for granted that a diatom moves by
means of organs, acting either upon the water
surrounding it, or upon the solid matter over which
it glides. That it moves with considerable force is
evident from the ease with which it pushes its way
through particles of sand, and masses of tangled
conferva. To produce this force, any organs acting
only upon the water would have to move with con-
siderable velocity, and would cause a commotion in
the immediate neighbourhood of the diatom, which
would be rendered plainly visible by the agitation
of the minute particles floating in the water ; but
no such disturbance is perceptible. Besides this,
the diatom would have the power of moving when
suspended in the water, but it appears quite helpless
when so situated. We may therefore reasonably
conclude that diatoms do not move by means of
organs acting upon the water. Of the other known
modes of propulsion, there are only two which seem
worthy of consideration ; the first of these, by

means of the protrusion of sarcode or eudochrome,
so as to form pseudopoda, seems unlikely, from the
consideration that if such organs existed1, we might
reasonably expect that they would be visible in our
microscopes ; the steady uniform gliding motion of
the Naviculse seems rather to point to the other
form of motive power, the type of which we find in
the Gasteropoda; that is to say, in wave -like
motions of the so-called foot. It is generally ad-
mitted that diatoms have an external layer of soft
homogeneous matter, which has to be removed with
acids in the process of preparing the valves for
mounting. It is possibly in this layer, and in the
line of the keel, that the power of motion is situated.
I have observed that the Navicula3 always move
with their keel pressed against the substance over
which they are passing; I have seen them leave
the glass slide, and pass over a surface perpen-
dicular to it, and in doing so they have turned over
at right angles so as to keep their keel pressed
against the new surface ; even iu this position I
have seen nothing of the wave-like motion, but it is
quite possible that it may never be seen, for even in
a snail it is only visible under exceptional condi-
tions, such as when it is seen crawling over a pane
of glass. I have fancied that I have seen a motion
of this nature in Bacillarice, and it is difficult to
account for the movements of those singular
organisms in any other manner, as all who have
watched their wonderful military-like manoeuvres
will admit. We see what we may call a company
slowly stretch itself out into a long single file, then
in an instant, as if anticipating a charge from some
of the lanceolata about, fall back and form square
" with inconceivable rapidity." Now if we suppose
that each member of this company has the power
of gliding along its neighbour, it is evident that
acting simultaneously, no more time will be required
for the whole line to draw back than for one of the
diatoms to crawl its own length. — F. IF. .1/".

What to do, and now to do it.— He who
would learn the exquisite delights Nature has for
those who ardently pursue her, and would acquire a
deep sense of reverence and piety in presence of
the great and unfathomable mysteries which encom-
pass life, must give his mornings to laborious
searchings on the rocks, his afternoons to patient
labour with the microscope. — Lewes' "Sea-side
Studies."

Medium Size. — The largest animal known is the
llorqual, which is about 100 feet in length. The
smallest is the Twilight Monad, whose dimensions
are 12,000th of an inch. It is evident that the
middle term is £rd of an inch, about the length of
the common house fly, which may therefore be con-
sidered as an animal of medium size in the creation.
—P. E. Gosse.

July 1, 1S67."J

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

165

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Struck by Lightning.— Oh Friday, the 7th of
■Tunc, during a thunderstorm, which passed over
Shiere, near Guildford, a man, who was ploughing at
the time, and his two horses, were instantaneously
killed by the lightning. The tobaceo-box and knife
which were in the pocket of the deceased plough-
man, were rendered magnetic. No mark of any kind
was visible on the bodies of man or beast. — E. C.

Gold Fish. — Would any of your correspondents
have the kindness to inform me what is the best way
of rearing gold fish out of doors ? About a fortnight
ago I put a few of them into a small pond in my
garden, thinking they would there take care of
themselves. Two of the number have already died,
and a third looks as though he would soon follow.
I may mention the pond is about 9 feet by 5 feet,
and in depth slopes from 8 inches to 14 inches. The
bottom was recently laid with Portland cement.
There is a constant change of fresh water, as a jet
rises from the centre of the pond, and trickles down
from a series of basins. A few worms appear to
have crawled in, and there is also a little vegetable
debris in the form of leaves and scales, that have
blown in lying at the bottom.— G. A. W.

Gnat -Bites. — Prevention is better than cure.
Upon that principle I advise D. G. to garnish his
hat this summer with a bunch of elder flowers. The
scent of this blossom is much disliked by the insect
in question. When the elder bloom is over, I think
that washing the face with elder-flower water before
going out, might answer the same purpose. At
any rate, I know it is a very soothing application
after a bite.— Helen Wainey.

Gnat-Bites.— In reply to "D. G.," I can inform
him, that if he rubs the place bitten with a piece of
washing soda, or with hartshorn, it will stop the
irritation. I used to have a bite trouble me for
weeks sometimes, till 1 tried this. The poison
seems to be of an acid nature. Flies, during the
summer, are very troublesome, too; but this may
be effectually prevented by bruising two or three
elder-leaves, and rubbing them over the face and hat.
The flies will not settle. In driving, it is a good
plan to do the same with the head. &c., of the horse.
It saves a deal of misery. — E. T. Scott.

Meerschaum. — " What is meerschaum, and how
is it identified when manufactured into pipes ?," asks
C. M. in Science-Gossip. The word meerschaum
is the German for sea foam, and it is so called from
its lightness and white appearance ; but it really is
a mineral of soft texture, not unlike chalk. It is
composed of silica, magnesia, and water. The Turks
absolutely employ it as a substitute for soap in
washing, for it is quite soft and soap-like when first
dug from the earth, and it lathers in water, and will
remove grease. When shown at the Exhibition of
1851, the jury came to the conclusion that there
was no certain test for distinguishing the true
meerschaum from the imitation, but the pipes made
of the false are generally heavier and less perfect
than those made from the true. There are many
blemishes caused by the presence of foreign mine-
rals in the genuine. I am told by smokers that the
much-admired yellow colour, which is brought out
after long smoking, is produced by the blocks
having been kept for some time in a mixture of wax
and i&t.— Helen Watney.

What is Meerschaum ? — In reply to your corre-
spondent " C. M.'s" inquiry, " What is Meerschaum,
and how is it recognized when manufactured into
pipes ?" perhaps the following may suffice : — 1. It is
a hydrated silicate of magnesium. 2. Its chemical
composition is (Mg2 Si3 + f H), and its percentage
composition is, —

Silica 02-6

Magnesia 2S'3

Water 91

100-0 (Nicol).

Several varieties are known. 3. Generally asso-
ciated with hornblendic rocks. 4. It breaks with
a fine earthy fracture, that is, like fine-grained chalk.
5. Its hardness is about 2°, or, in other words, it may
be scratched with the finger-nail. 6. Its specific
gravity is 0'8, hence it will float in water, and it is
from its being picked up at times floating on the sea
that the Germans call it "foam of the sea," this being
the meaning of the word meerschaum. 7. It has a
greasy or soapy feel, in common with most magnesian
minerals. 8. When a fractured surface is applied
to the tongue it adheres strongly. It is brought
principally from Asia Minor, Greece, near Madrid
and Toledo, Moravia, and Wermelnnd. The best
tests are those numbered 4, 5, 6, and 7. The above
account is that given by Professor Smyth, M.A., in
his course of lectures on "Mineralogy," to the
students of the Royal School of Mines, Jermyn
Street. I may, perhaps, add the pipes are made
from the solid mineral, which is steeped in od or
wax, only the inferior articles being made from the
compressed scrapings. The specific gravity of it
is one of its most distinctive properties. Specimens
may be obtained from most dealers in minerals. —
Archd. Liversedge.

The Oxlip. — I have often found the oxlip grow-
ing with the cowslip, both in Wales and Hampshire,
but I don't remember ever having seen it growing
with the primrose. I have seen it stated that Pro-
fessor Henslow found the primrose, cowslip, and
oxlip, produced from the same root ; but the general
opinion, I know, is that the Primula elatior is a
hybrid between the cowslip and the primrose. The
oxlip is of much more vigorous growth than the
cowslip, has scentless, pale yellow flowers, and the
tube of the corolla is much longer than the calyx.
A friend of mine brought in a very fine specimen
this spring which he had found growing with cow-
slips in a field .at the back of the lodge. — Helen,
Watney.

Squirrels Perforating Nuts. — Having had a
squirrel in confinement for the last eight months, I
can endorse what Mr. Buckle says with regard to
their method of breaking open the nutshell before
beginning to eat the kernel. My squirrel always
bites a little irregular hole in the nut, and then
breaks off a portion of the shell sufficiently large to
enable him to get at the eatable morsel it contains,
which he immediately sets about devouring with
great apparent relish. What squirrels when at
liberty may do to nuts growing upon trees I do
not know. — Helen Watney.

Tail of Locust. — In the Clerical Journal for
June, 1866, there is an account of a flight of locusts
over Bethlehem ; and, in describing one which had
dropped, it is said to have had a tail like that of a
scorpion. Is there a known variety with such an
appendage ? — /. M. P.

166

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[July 1, 1867.

Killing Cockroaches. — In answer to J. G. in
your last number, I beg to recommeud phosphor
paste spread on bread and butter (I dare say almost
any eatable would do, but this is what I used), as a
remedy for Cockroaches. Some years ago my house
swarmed with them, but some ten days (more or
less) after this treatment none were to be found.
I am told these creatures are cannibals, and I
believe it is so ; and, if so, the riddance of their
presence is easy to be accounted for. While speak-
ing of these unpleasant intruders, I should like to
ask if any of your readers have met with intestinal
worms in them. I have been working at Cock-
roaches a little of late, and have found several with
these worms in the intestinal canal — all sizes, ^ to
^ of an inch in length ; but all the large ones have
eggs in them, which generally are extended from the
body of the animal as soon as it dies. — W. Hcnwell.

Nest or the Hydrophilus— Should any of your
readers be curious on the subject of the nests of
water insects, let me recommend them to procure a
pair of the large harmless Water-beetle {Hydro-
philus Pireus). Yesterday morning I saw Mrs.
Hydrophilus cutting up a whole water-plant of a
thin grassy kind, and, suspecting her purpose, I
removed her with the plant, and a few stray leaves
of another, from the aquarium to a separate jar.
There, she first made a white silk bag out of materials
provided by herself, laid a large number of eggs in
it, tied it up, made a basket round it of the water
plant, and closed it up with a handle made of another
plant, which she painted of a brown colour with her
ovi-positor : my children and I watched the whole
process— she was far too much absorbed to notice
us — the result is a thing looking like a miniature
swan ! the handle sticking up like the head. Can
any of your readers inform us how long her eggs
will take to hatch ? I have succeeded in hatching
the eggs of the water-snail, and can only suppose
that on former occasions the contents had been
devoured before we removed them. — L. H. F.

Dead Black. — Mix lamp or vegetable black with
common size, or, what is still better, turpentine. I
should think a good instrument for the taking of
skeleton-leaves off blotting-paper, and moving from
place to place, would be a pair of forceps or tweezers,
as used by gold-beaters in laying the gold-leaf on the
books. — Geo. Scovell.

To Easten Diatoms. — In _ reply to E. W.
Schoenebeck, respecting fastening the diatoms on
the slides, Professor Williamson adds a few drops
of gum-water to the last washing, which causes
them to adhere to the glass sufficiently to prevent
the balsam conveying them away. (See Davies on
Mounting, p. 62).— W. Fletcher.

Daisy and Buttercup, both with Easciated
Stems (G. B. and A. M. M.). — In these specimens
it is clear that uot only is there flattening, but also
a fusion of several flower stalks into one. Moquin
Tandon, the great authority on these subjects, con-
sidered fasciation as the result simply of the flatten-
ing of a single stem.— M. T. M.

The Zoological Society of Hamburg is
desirous to obtain living marine animals for the
aquarium. Liberal prizes will be given for desirable
specimens delivered near London, and collectors
are invited to apply in the first instance to Mr. W.
A. Lloyd, Zoological Gardens, ^Hamburg, North
Germany.

Weather-wise.— In the country the weather pre-
dictions which are the most popular next to those
of Moore's or Poor Richard's Almanacks depend
upon the estimation of trees as thus : —

If the Oak's before the Ash
We may then expect a splash,
With the Ash before the Oak
We are sure to get a soak.

The simple meaning being, that if the leaves of the
ash come out before those of the oak we are to
expect but a splash or dash of wet for that season;
but if the oak take precedence, much wet is to be
expected. Now, as I happened to travel from
Dorset to London on the 10th of May of the pre-
sent year, I noticed that while the oak was almost
sufficiently leafy to conceal a king, the ash was one
uniform bundle of bare twigs ; but, strange to say,
that this state of things only continued as far as
Swindon, as from a little beyond Swindon, and
more certainly in the London district the ash was
the most forward. Are we, then, from these facts, to
predicate a different summer for the west from that
of the east; and, if we are not, "Erancis Moore,
physician," and Old Richard ought to have left us
eastern and western weather predictions ? Some
years there is good reason for gardening and farm-
ing according to the behaviour of the leaves of
the elm-tree, as thus : —

When the elmen leaf is as big as a farding,
It's time to sow kidney beans in the garding ;
When the elmen leaf is as big as a penny,
You must sow beans if you aim to have any.

But also for this year those who obeyed the first
injunction have suffered woefully! Nay, more, —
even the cautious ones who waited for the penny size
have in the west suffered grievously from the frosts
of the 22nd, 23rd, and 21th of May, and, indeed, we
are all sowing afresh. It remains to be seen how
far this kind of almanac will be right as regards
barley sowing, the country legend being as fol-
lows : —

When the Elmen leaf is as big as a mouse's ear,

Then to'sow barley never 'fear.
When the Elmen leaf is as big as an ox's eye,

Then says I, "hi boys, hi !

As a rule, barley may safely be sown as soonas the elm-
buds burst ; but if left until the leaf is nearly grown,
it will be usually too late to insure a good crop ; but
this year some of the earlier sown barleys have suf-
fered like most other things from an unusually
severe spring. These remarks may, perhaps, serve
to show that it is as difficult to make weather pre-
dictions come true bv rhyming as it is by reasoning.
—J.B.

Dead-black. — The dull-black used by opticians
for "coating" the insides of microscope and tele-
scope tubes, is a mixture of the best " lamp-black "
and "lacquer." The former should be _ well
pulverized, adding sufficient of the latter to give it
the fluidity of ink. If too much lacquer be present,
a "glossy" instead of a "dead" surface is the re-
sult. It may be laid on with a sable brush after
shaking the bottle, and the tubes must be heated to
insure quick evaporation. — Thomas Curties.

Sticking Diatoms— In your last number Mr.
E. W. Schoenbeck inquires how diatoms may be
made to stick on the slides before being mounted in
balsam. If he will place a thin film of a very weak
solution of gum on the slide, and then deposit the
diatoms in it, and allow it to dry, he will lind them
sufficiently fixed to prevent their being floated out
by the balsam.— T. W. G. \

July 1, 1S67.

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

1G7

Poisonous Plies.— The Austrian journals state
that swarms of poisonous flies 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.
Buekell. In wroods and shady places I often come
on little cozy retreats, nicely stuffed with soft moss,
evidently the habitation of some tiny animal whose
"Ivjokkeumoddings" 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 prolilication,"
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.— 31. T. 31.

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, andthe
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 displace-
ment, and the gum will not interfere in any way
with the clearness of the slide. — F. IF. 31.

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 it they should accidentally
happen to bite a person, placing a small quantity of
the juice on the wound is said to cure it instan-
taneously. Is this true ; and if so, what is the real
name of the plant, and where is it possible to pro-
cure a specimen ? There is also a bird called " the
snake bird" which, when bitten by s,nakes (on
which it preys), flies towards .the above-mentioned
plant, eats a portion of it, and returns to the
attack anew.— 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
Mtkanid Guaco, others are probably species of
AristolocJiia. In the majority of instances the re-
puted power is fabulous, and the substance extolled
is inert. — Ed.]

Bird's-eye Pbimrose {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 in-
cidents connected with the Caddis Worm ? Having
caught a fine specimen, I introduced it into a can
containing some young dace, intended as contribu-
tions 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 1 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 wras correct ; for though 1 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. — /. 0. 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 recom-
mend my fellow readers who are not satisfied with
the appearance of their tanks to try a few, and
report the result.— W. 31. 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 sing-
ing, the upland larks appear to fly almost perpen-
dicularly 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 pur-
chasing a bird for a cage or the avairy, to choose
only those that are light coloured: they will be
found superior in many respects. — B.

168

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[July 1, 1S67.

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, contri-
butions should not be received later than the 1 5th of each
month. No notice whatever can be taken of communi-
cations which do not contain the name arid address of the
writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be with-
held. 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 manu-
script 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 : x 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 inad-
missible under any circumstances. Those of the popular
names of British plants and animals are retained and regis-
tered for publication when sufficiently complete for that
purpose, in whatever form may then be decided upon.
Address No. 192, Piccadii.lv, 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 Coeconeis 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, Birming-
ham.

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 " camels," 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 Cicendia Jiliformis, 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 I860, p. 260, "Wanted to

kill."

W. F. P.— Ihe water wagtail often select-* an equally
eccentric spot for its nest, such as woodstack, a pile of stories,
or an old wall.

A. M. D.— The publishers of the Rev. F. O. Morris's Cata-
logue of British Insects are Messrs. Longmans, London.

W. M. C. — British moths and their transformations was
published bv 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
Desmareslia aculeata, although unbranched.

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

T. S. K. — No. 11, Hypnum cupressiforme. No. 12, Metz-
geria furcata. — R. B.

W. R. — No. 1, Thamnium ulopecurum. — /{. B.

T. Howse. — No. 2, Milium rostra turn. — It. B.

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

W. D. R. — The beetle is Anchometrus prusinus. — J. 0. W.

H. H. — We cannot see how we could follow your sugges-
tion, 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.

A. (Dartmouth). — No. 3, Plumularia falcata. No. 6,
Sertuluriu abietina ; both common. — E. C.

A. W. — A species of Amelanchier .— W. C.

C. D. H— It is Thlaspi ulpestre.— W. C.

J. R. W. — No. 3. Luzula campestris. — W. C.

EXCHANGES.

British and Forrign Diatomace^e. — 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.

Brvum 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, Stafford-
shire.

Orthosira 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 Cluusilia laminuta var. albida, for
foreign land shells, or British vertigos.— W. Nelson, Alma-
place, 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., Mat-
lock Bath, Derbyshire.

Cyphus Germarii. — C. imperiulis, S. orbicularis diatoms,
&c. (mounted), for good objects.— Send list to T. Forshaw,
Bowdou, 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, New-
town, Margate.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

'■An Index to Mineralogy," by T. Allison Redwin, F.G.S.,
&c. London : E. & F. N. Spon. IS67.

" A Fern-book for Everybody," by M. C. Cooke. London :
Frederick Warne & Co. I867.

"The Technologist." No. XI. New Series, June, 1S07.
London : Kent & Co.

"The Fourth Annual Report of the Belfast Naturalists'
Field Club. 1866-7.

" Naturalist's Note Book." Nos. I to VI. January to June.
I867.

Communications Received. — H. W. — H. H. — E. W. —
J. B.— G. E. F.— G. A. W.— T. W. W.— H. D. C— A. L.—
p. 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.— VV. 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.

Aug. 1, 1SG7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIEN CE-GO SSIP.

1G9

LEAF-MINING LAEV.E.

By H. T. STAINTON, F.R.S, &o.

i HE most un-
observant can
scarcely have
failed to notice,
some time or
other, leaves of
plants with
pale blotches or
s on them. These
re formed by the
: of small insects,
which, feeding between the
skins of the leaf, devour more
or less of the green fleshy-
portion of the leaf, and so
discolour it.

There are four orders of
insects which furnish us with
leaf-mining larvae, &c. ; but
two of these are not nume-
rously represented, and are comparatively seldom
observed. I allude to the mining larvae of saw-flies
among the Hymenoptera, and the mining larvae of
some of the weevils among the Coleoptera. The two
orders which furnish the great bulk of our leaf-
mining larvae are the Lepidoptera and Diptera. The
Biptera, 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 leaf-
mining larvae, and we see these mines constantly
on the leaves of the primrose, honey-suckle, butter-
cup, &c, &c. Those who search for the mining
larvae of Lepidoptera know only too well how very
plentiful the mining larvae of Diptera are; but
as the mining larvae 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 Tineiaa, a group which com-
prises the smallest known Lepidopterous insects,
we have more than twenty genera of which the
No. 32.

larvae 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: bramble-
leaves 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
comer in which it spins a small, flat, brownish-
green, 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 bramble-
leaves is very different ; the leaf does not

I

170

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE - GOSSIP.

[Aug. 1, 1867.

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 remind-
ing one of a ram's horn or cornucopseia : 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
margined (fig. 175).

In the month of June we may frequently find on
young oak-bushes that many of the leaves have ex-
tensive 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 hold-
ing 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 well-
defined 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 sub-
terranean 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 arc 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

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 larva; 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 larvse 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 Corischtm Brongniar-
dettum (fig. 176).

Aug. 1, 1S67.]

IIARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

171

Fig:. 174. Mined Bramble Leaf, and Larva of Nepticula aurella, magnified.

Fig. 175. Mined Bramble Leaf, and Larva of Tischeria marginea, enlarged.

Iu July and September, if we examine the leaves
of the oak, we are pretty sure to notice some which
are mined in a peculiar way; a portion of the lower
skin is loosened, and then drawn together, gene-
rally showing a distinct plait lengthwise. This
gives a certain curve to the upper side of the leaves ;
and the small larva which feeds within, on the
fleshy green portion of the leaf, l-emoves here and
there the green part which is in contact with the

upper skin of the leaf, which hence assumes a
prettily-mottled appearance. The larva which does
this is whitish, with a greenish line along the back,
and with the head, which is very pointed, pale
brown; it changes to the pupa state within the
mine ; and in summer, after an interval of only
two or three weeks, the pupa protrudes its anterior
segments through the skin of the leaf, and the little
moth makes its appearance. Those which assume

1 2

172

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Aug. 1, 1867.

the pupa state in the autumn, remain unchanged till
the following May; and many a fallen brown leaf,
blown hither and thither by every gust of winter's
wind, contains within it one of these living pupae,
destined to appear in the ensuing May, as one of

Fig. ];6. Mined Oak Leaf, and Larva of Coriscium
Brongniardellum, enlarged.

the most elegantly and delicately marked of our
native small moths. There are several species which
mine the leaves of the oak in the way described, but
they all belong to the genus LitJwcolletis (fig. 177).
When the month of October is 'well advanced
and the leaves of the oak are fast turning brown,
one very small mining larva will sometimes produce
a very singular effect. It commences a very narrow
slender gallery close to the midrib, and then, after
proceeding a short distance in one direction, turns
sharp round, so as to form the continuation of its
mine in close proximity to the part already mined;

by repeated turns, it thus eventually forms a small
blotch close to the midrib, the larva as it proceeds
getting gradually farther and farther away from the
midrib. It thus completely separates the part of
the leaf immediately beyond its mine from any con-
nection with the midrib, and one singular effect

Fig. 177. Oak Leaf mined by Lithocolletis.

thereby produced is, that whilst the remainder of
the leaf becomes brown, the part towards which the

Fig. 178. Mined Oak Leaf, and Larva of Nepticula sub-
bimaculella, enlarged.

larva is mining continues green ; and by these green
blotches on the leaves we often readily detect the
presence of the larva, which is of a very pale green,
with a pale brown head. When full-fed, it quits the

Aug. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

173

leaf, and descends to the surface of the ground, and
spins its small silken cocoon, in which it changes
to the pupa state ; and iu the following month of
June, the little moth emerges from the cocoon, and
may be found sitting on the trunks of oak-trees. It
is barely a quarter of an inch in the expanse of the
wings ; the fore wings are black, with two nearly
opposite triangular whitish spots in the middle.
This we call Nepticula subbimaculeila (fig. 178).

In the months of May and June, we of 'en find
large brown blotches on the leaves of hawthorn ;
and, on holding one of these leaves up to the light,
we see that the entire green portion of the leaf has
been eaten away, nothing- being left but the upper
and lower cuticles of the leaf ; where these brown

Fig. 179. Mined Hawthorn Leaf, and Larva of Co!eophora
nigricella, natural size, and magnified.

blotches are, moreover, we see in the lower cuticle
a small round hole. On some leaves we may find
attached a small brown cjdindrical object, about
half an inch long ; this is the portable habitation,
or case, formed by the larva which has mined the
hawthorn leaf, and its mode of proceeding is as
follows : it fastens its case to the underside of a
leaf, and bites the round hole in the lower skin of
the leaf, and then proceeds to devour the fleshy
green portion of the leaf. By degrees it eats the
green portion of the leaf away all round the spot
where its case is fastened, but carefully leaves the
skins of the leaf unbroken ; and as it comes
further and further out of its case as the mined
space becomes larger, and as it has to reach to a
great distance for some of the green substance of
the leaf, it will frequently happen that it comes
entirely out of its case into the leaf; but if in
any way alarmed, it retreats quickly to its case,
which in due time it transports to another leaf, and
repeats a similar process. When full-fed, it gene-
rally fastens its case to the upper side of a leaf, and
then assumes the pupa state. In two or three
weeks the moth makes its appearance, and may be
seen sitting on hawthorn leaves with its antennae

stretched straight out before it ; the expansion of
the wings is nearly half an inch, and the forewings
are unicolorous — blackish. This we call Coleoplwra
nigricella (fig. 179).

It will thus be seen that the leaf-mining larvae
do not all work after the same fashion, but that each
sort of larvae has its special work to do, which it
does after its kind. We have in this country several
hundred leaf-mining larvae of the order Lepidoptera,
and possibly, when all the orders are considered
which furnish examples of leaf-mining larvae, they
may without exaggeration be numbered by thou-
sands.

THE UNITY OF MANKIND.

TE Mr. Milton had taken the trouble to read my
•*- essay carefully before he attempted to criticise
it, he would have done himself no harm and me less
injustice. He asserts that in my essay I allude to
Prichard aud Knox, Pickering and Laurence, as
likely to perplex the student instead of aiding him.
I say nothing so ridiculous, but simply advise him
to avoid those writers who abound in arbitrary and
endless classifications. I, of course, do not in the
least discourage the study of the religion, language,
and customs of every race in order to discover from
them its origin and affinities ; but I maintain that
while this process is going on, some such memoria
technica as this arbitrary division according to
colour would afford, is wanted to do what the
Linnaean system has done for Botany, i.e., to keep
together the various elements of the science until
its natural laws and divisions have been ascertained
with some degree of accuracy. The division of
mankind by colour is, after all, no novelty, but
sanctioned by some of the highest authorities
extant ; and in proof of this I may refer to that
very learned work on " The Geographical Distribu-
tion of Mammals," by Mr. Andrew Murray, which
has recently appeared, and in which a system very
similar to the one which I advised is adopted. Of
course Mr. Milton will be able to adduce many
exceptions to such a theory. There are doubtless
races which cannot be strictly characterised as
black, white, or brown ; but those who have studied
the subject will, I think, agree with me when
I say that, according to our present knowledge, the
classification I have adopted is the only one capable
of any extended application.

I do not for a moment believe that heat alone
produces a dark skin ; but heat, an unhealthy
climate, and prolonged isolation will, I think it is
impossible to doubt, produce and perpetuate the
most marked and extraordinary peculiarities. The
vast desert of the Sahara was, geologists tell us,
once the bed of an inland sea which completely
severed Africa from the rest of the old world and

174

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Aug. 1, 1867.

the Himalayas, performing the same office for
Hindustan. We have, I believe, in this fact the
secret of the marked idiosyncracy of the two races.
Mr. Milton's argument, deducible from the different
hues of the races inliabiting the African coast-line,
does not appear to me to be worth much ; for we
know that the Kaffirs, Gallas, and other races of
comparatively light colour, have permeated every
part of South and Central Africa. The display
of negrophilism contained in Mr. Milton's essay
argues, I think, strongly against his theory ; for if
so imitative and numerous a race, which has been
so petted and pampered for the last half-century,
can produce nothing better than the few medio-
crities cited, how greatly inferior must it be to the
European and Asiatic nations, who have made every
single discovery and invention which has been of
the slightest benefit to man ! The remarks upon
the colour of the Esquimaux are incidentally
answered below.

In an interesting paper recently read before the
Ethnological Society by the chairman, Mr. Craw-
furd, entitled, " The Skin, the Hair, and the Eyes,
as tests of the Races of Men," the very views which
I advanced are ably contested ; but the essay is
wholly destructive, and Mr. Crawfurd is forced to
admit that dark-skinned races do usually inhabit
hot countries. Now, if this is merely a coincidence,
it is surely a very singular and suggestive one !
One argument which he employs appears at first
sight to carry some weight, and I will therefore
briefly advert to it. He argues that the vulgar
theory which attributes darkness of complexion to
the influence of the sun cannot be correct, because
the Esquimaux, who inhabit arctic countries, are
brown, or at any rate dark, in colour, whilst the
Scandinavian nations, who live in a far milder
climate, are much lighter in hue. But it must be
recollected that Sir John Richardson thought the
Esquimaux white, also that they belong to the Mon-
golian race, which is almost invariably darker than
the Circassian, to which the Scandinavians belong.
Until Mi\ Crawfurd can clearly prove that the
Arctic climate darkens the complexion, we are
quite at liberty to attribute the dark colour of the
Esquimaux to their southern origin, all trace of
which the climate of the Arctic regions has not yet
eradicated. The fact that ethnologists now acknow-
ledge the existence, in remote times, throughout
the whole of Europe, Asia (perhaps even of North
America), of a race akin to the Esquimaux, proves
their southern origin, and their comparatively recent
banishment to northern fastnesses by successive
immigrations of Celts, Teutons, Sarmatians, Red
Indians, and other warlike tribes.

Which is the primitive nation? What an inte-
resting train of thoughts is opened up by this ques-
tion ! It is noteworthy that the red races of
mankind— the Etruscans, Trojans, Egyptians, and

Toltecs — were all diminutive in stature, peaceful in
their habits, and of great intellectual capacity. The
Phenicians and Babylonians were probably of a
somewhat different hue, but their physical and
mental characteristics are so similar to those of the
red races that one cannot doubt their consanguinity.
The Hindus also, who must once have been very
light in colour, show in their ancient classics a
minute acquaintance with the geography and ethno-
logy of Eastern Africa ; whilst their buildings and
customs are almost identical with those of Ancient
Egypt. All these nations were of Shemitic origin,
and in all of them commercial and mechanical
talent was developed to the highest degree, forming,
in this respect, a remarkable contrast to the Greeks
and other Japhetic races who ultimately superseded
them in the empire of the world, who were charac-
terized by an herculean physique, and a passionate
love of liberty and of war.* It seems highly pro-
bable to my mind, that the Chinese justly claim to
be descended from Noah (Fohi). The resemblances
between the civilization of the Chinese and Hindus
are too numerous to be accidental ; indeed, we
know that the religious system of Boodh prevailed
in both countries. Anyone who will carefully com-
pare the religious and social systems of the eight
primitive races which I have mentioned, will, I
think, be firmly persuaded of their identity, and
will have gained a good idea of the characteristics
of that earlier Shemitic civilization which preceded
the dispersion, and subsequent conquests, of the
Japhetic (Aryan?) races, and probably embodied the
attainments of the Antediluvians. It will be
recollected that immediately after the flood, a
great architectural work was commenced. Whence
could the skill requisite for the undertaking have
been obtained but from the traditions of the ante-
diluvian earth, handed down by the sons of Noah ?
That the Antediluvians had attained to a consider-
able degree of refinement appears highly probable
from this consideration, and we must remember
the advantages which they enjoyed of a vastly
lengthened existence ; a denser population (in new
countries populations always spread fastest), and
probably of a balmier atmosphere, favoured the
spread of knowledge and the completion of great
undertakings. It is difficult to see how the degree
of wickedness which provoked their overthrow
could have been reached in a savage or pastoral
community. The complex sins and vices of civil-
ization alone will explain the enigma.

The early civilization of the Shemitic race, which
discovered letters, and attained such architectural
and commercial successes, appears to have been
extinguished, slowly but surely, by the same

* Although these Shemites generally lived under des-
potisms, the theocratic or republican form prevailed in
Etruria and in Toltec America.

Aug. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

m

agency. The Greeks conquered Troy and Tyre ;
the Romans, Etruria, Carthage, and Egypt; the
Persians, Babylon; the American Indians, the
Toltecan Empire. The Chinese and Hindoos, being
to the eastward of the great westerly emigration of
the Japhetic races, escaped conquest, it is true, but
were completely isolated, and their valuable secrets
had to be re-discovered in the middle ages. This
theory explains, I think satisfactorily, the co-exist-
ence of an effete and decaying eastern, and a
vigorous and progressive western, civilization. In
every case in which the primitive races were con-
quered, the victors became in time leavened with
the civilization of the vanquished, and so far re-
cognised its superiority, as to partially adopt the
religious and social systems of their predecessors.
Thus arose the Aztec and Peruvian empires on the
ruins of that of the Toltecs ; the Roman empire
out of the Etruscan ; the dynasty of the Ptolemies
out of the Egyptian. In each of these cases this
second civilization was obviously and confessedly
inferior to the one from which it was copied; just
as the Saxons were far surpassed in refinement by
the Romanized Britons whom they displaced.
These remarks cannot be carried further in the
present essay, but will be suggestive, I doubt not,
to those who take an interest in the early history of
mankind.

The southern origin of the Gael of Scotland is
curiously shown by the reverence which this people
pay in all their rites and ceremonies to the south.
They preserve, as was stated some time back in
Good Words, the Druidic custom of carrying the
dead round the churchyard the southern way, fol-
lowing the course of the suu ; also of sending the
bottle round the table in the same way. The Celts
all seem to highly respect the south, for they call
the right hand " Deus " (i.e., the south hand), the
same word signifying " being ready," " being ex-
pert," and " being handsome."

The existence of two distinct races of men in the
archipelagos of Polynesia, the Negrittos (Papuans),
and Malay-Polynesians, has often puzzled ethno-
logists. I think, however, there can be no doubt,
if we investigate the legends and traditions of the
natives, as to which is the aboriginal race. It will
be found that whilst the Malay-Polynesians in-,
variably recount their arrival by sea at their present
homes, the Eijians (the most cultivated of the
Papuans) claim to have been created upon the soil.
This fact, taken in connexion with the argument
deducible from the fact that the Papuans appear to
inhabit the interior of the larger islands, and those
groups of volcanic, and therefore older, formations,
such as Papua, Eiji, &c, while the Malay-Poly-
nesians inhabit the coral islands of more recent
origin, such as Tongatabu, and the shores of the
larger islands, argues strongly in favour of the
hypothesis that the Papuans represent an old and

widely extended race, which once inhabited a con-
tinent stretching from Australia or Malaya to South
America ; whilst the Malay-Polynesians are allied
to the Hindus or Burmans, and have come to the
South Seas by conquest only. The close resem-
blance observable between two races so widely
severed as the Maories of New Zealand and the
Hindus, is very remarkable ; with some curious and
interesting details of this likeness, 1 must close my
remarks.

In Knight's work upon the " Hindoos," p. 370,
the following occurs:— "The Hindoos, especially
the Nairs of Travancore, a vigorous and athletic
race, drink by pouring water, from vessels with
spouts, in a stream into their mouths, it being con-
sidered indelicate to touch the lips with a vessel.
Thus wheu the Portuguese, under Vasco-de-Gama,
reached India, and were handsomely entertained by
the Zamorin at Calicut, having been informed that
this was etiquette, they strove to conform, and by
choking themselves, and deluging their clothes or
the table, threw the court into roars of laughter."
Curiously enough in the same series, in the volume
entitled " The New Zealanders," p. 133, a picture
is copied from Rutherford's work on the natives, in
which an aboriginal is represented, drinking from a
calabash, held at some distance from his mouth, and
this is stated to be a national custom !

The missionary, Taylor, also states that the
native name of the New Zealanders, "Maori," is
closely allied to our word "Moor," i.e., a "dusky
person." He states also that the figures in the
renowned caves of Elephanta (Bombay) much re-
semble the Maories. The resemblance between
the "caste" of the Hindus, and the "tabu" of
the Malay-Polynesians is too obvious to need
remark. E. A. A.

BITTEN BY A VIPER.

I~T appears still to be a disputed question as to
whether any one has been poisoned by a viper,
and the poison has directly proved fatal. I say
directly, for it no doubt may be, and has been, an
indirect cause of death ; as, for instance, where a
person has been bitten in the neck, and the swelling
has produced suffocation. But in such a case we
should not say the man was fatally poisoned by the
creature, although the poison caused his death in-
directly : similar consequences have been known to
result from the sting of a wasp : — A man was once
drinking from a vessel into which a wasp had fallen,
and the insect stung him on the tongue, which
swelled to such an extent that he was suffocated.
We are as yet without any well authenticated
instance of the poison of Pelias Berus proving fatal
from its own nature. Yet almost every country
churchyard has its grave pointed out to children

176

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Aug. 1, 1867.

and strangers as a caution against meddling with
snakes and adders ; I remember in particular a
churchyard in one of the lonely villages of Norfolk,
in which was a tombstone, ornamented with the
sculpture of a snake with its tail in its mouth, form-
ing a ring. Doubtless it was meant as an emblem
of eternity, but there it was looked upon as proof
positive of the mode of the man's death, and we
children used to look at it with awe, while one of
our elders related the story of the man gathering
wood, when an adder stung him, &c. As there is,
no doubt, some residuum of truth, even in the
wildest legends, we may believe that death from the
bite of a viper is not an utterly unknown circum-
stance. The physical constitution of the victim,
the state of his health at the time, the heat of the
weather, will no doubt affect the case. Very likely
a person of feeble constitution, whose blood was in
an impure state, and who chanced to get bitten in
the sultry days of July and August, might succumb
to the venomous bite ; otherwise I should say not.
Any instances brought forward on either side of the
question must necessarily be interesting. Erom one
or two accounts I have read, and from the follow-
ing, for which I can vouch, it would appear that the
venom does not always act in the same way. Mr.
Wood mentions a case in which there was intense
pain and fever ; in the following instance there was
little of either.

I was out entomologising a few days ago when I
saw a very beautiful specimen of Pelias Bents, about
half grown. Meeting a brother of the net a few
minutes afterwards, I mentioned it to him. "Of
course you killed it ? " said he. " No, I did not ; I
very seldom do." " Perhaps you were never bitten
by one ? or else you always would." No, I had
not. I had kept them in confinement, and I am
always shy of killing any creature that I have watched
and studied. Upon which he told me that he had,
and the circumstances and consequences were as
follow :— He was out butterfly hunting, and caught
a viper in his net as it was gliding over the ground :
not knowing then the difference between vipers and
snakes, he was not at all afraid of it, but handled it
repeatedly, and when he reached home, placed it on
the table to watch its movements. He took it up
several times, till at last it turned its head sharply
round, and bit him on the forefinger of the right
hand. Still he took no notice, and continued hand-
ling it as before ; though he was careful now to lay
hold of it closer to the head. Shortly, however, he
felt a curious drowsy sensation stealing over him,
and told his friends of it, but they attributed it to
fancy. But it was not long before he became
seriously ill, his mind wandered, they put him in bed,
and sent for a medical man. No olive oil was ap-
plied, and the priucipal thing given him was neat
brandy in occasional doses. The object of this
■was to cause a re-action from the great weakness

which ensued ; he felt utterly prostrated, and
needed all that could be given him to restore his
physical strength. He lay in bed a fortnight, no
fever ensued, and more curiously no pain, nothing
but excessive weakness, and, immediately after the
bite, insensibility and delirium. The hand, arm,
and side as low as the hip were immensely swollen,
and almost black ; the two former were frequently
bathed in hot water.

Having gone through this little experience, he
always made it a rule to kill a viper when he had
the opportunity ; not because there was any danger
of its attacking anybody, he knew it was a very
timid creature, but then "you might tread on one."
I cannot agree with him, though I can make every
allowance for his feelings : vipers, like all other
created beings, have their allotted work to perform,
and they are neither sufficiently numerous nor
wautonly aggressive, to warrant our endeavours to
exterminate them .

I mentioned olive oil to him, and also sucking out
the poison, but, as he remarked, and with great
plausibility too, one pulsation — the very first —
carries the poison into the system, and unless it can
be followed up there by some antidote, in the same
way that some one has lately been advising nitrate
of silver in the case of hydrophobia, I do not see
how its ill effects can possibly be stopped. Pro-
bably death may be prevented, and pain or fever1
assuaged by applying remedies in this manner ; but
a certain amount of suffering, more or less severe,
must ensue. Since writing the above I have had a
conversation with a gentleman, in which he men-
tioned that sportsmen's dogs are occasionally killed
by vipers ; he had lost two very valuable ones him-
self. Young ones generally die, but occasionally
recover ; old ones seldom fall victims. One that he
had had some years had been bitten twice when
young, but as it grew older it became an adept iu
killing its foes: it used to spring upon them, all
four feet coming down at once, and then with its
head up in the air, trample them to death.

Henry Ullyett.

Nightingale Ereak. — I found last week
a whole nest of canaries disappear iu about three
days. I could not account for them, as they hung
against a wall, being [too young to get out of
the nest. A few days after, another nest hatched,
and next morning we found the hen canary and a
nightingale in fierce combat, but the nightingale
took the young bird, and then commenced a regular
chase with the nightingales (of which there were
three) to get [the youngster, which of course they
soon killed, and before I could get it away, the head
was half gone. Do nightingales usually eat young
buds ?— Charles Eudd.

Aug. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

177

RURAL "FOLK-LORE."

THERE is scattered amongst the rural population
a large amount of that sort of knowledge
graphically called " Eolk-Lore," from one branch of
which, namely, that which your correspondents, B.
and R. Holland, call "Rural Natural History," I
propose to offer a few examples, taken almost at
random from the "Eolk-Lore" of the North and
East Ridings of Yorkshire.

It is generally believed that the cuckoo sucks the
eggs of birds, and that when that kind of food fails,
the cuckoo loses his voice, —

The cuckoo, he sings in the spring of the year,
And he sucks little birds' eggs to make his voice clear !

Old Rhyme.

It is also believed in some parts that the cuckoo,
having no further occasion for the services of his
foster-parents, repays them for their kindness by
swallowing them. This -was an article of "Eolk-
Lore " with the ancient Greeks and Romans. Aris-
totle believed it, and Shakespeare — the universal
Shakespeare — alludes to this article of "Eolk-Lore"
twice : once in the tragedy of " King Lear." The
old, doating king had stripped himself of his crown
and kingdom, and given them to his two daughters.
Goneril had begun to look coldly on the father, and
to seek a cause of quarrel with him ; and during a
pause in her inditement, the fool says :

For you know, nuncle, the hedge sparrow fed the cuckoo
so long that it had its head bit off by its young ; so out went
the candle, and we were left darkling.

And again, in the first part of "King Henry IV.,"
Worcester, reminding the king of his broken pro-
mises, says :

And being fed by us, you used us so,

As that ungentle gull the cuckow's bird

Useth the sparrow ; did oppress our nest,

Grew by our feeding to so great a bulk,

That even our love durst not come near your sight

For fear of swallowing. — Act 5, sc. 1.

In the same play the king, speaking of Richard II.,
says:

He was but as a cuckoo is in June. — Act 3, sc. 2.

That is, he was common, and he had lost the power
to attract ; his voice was like the voice of the
stuttering cuckoo, no longer commanding attention,
except to be unfavourably contrasted with its
former perfection. Richard, when he began his
reign, was the nation's idol : Pomfret tells the
rest.

The old fallacy of the cuckoo wintering here is
not yet exploded. It is also believed that if you
have any money in your pocket, when you first hear
the cuckoo, and turn it over, you will have good
luck for the next twelve months. May not the
expression "turning a penny" have arisen from
this old relic of " Eolk-Lore ? " Some persons
take out their money when they first hear the

welcome cry, and spit upon it for good luck. Spit-
ting for good luck on the first money taken during
the clay is very common ; this money is popularly
called " hansel!' Tettigonia spumaria, the froth
exuded from the body of which is found so common
upon grass in the summer months is said by some
to be cuckoo-spit, whilst others call it toad-spit.
"Scabbed as a cuckoo" is a Yorkshire saying,
alluding, I suppose, to the great quantity of scurE
which comes off the young birds.

The lady-bird (Coccinelhc) is eagerly sought after
by country boys, who believe, or profess to believe,
that the price of corn for the next year will be as
many shillings per bushel as there are dots on the
wing-cases of this little insect. In our rambles we
often see young Rusticus with one on his finger
end, to which he sings the old rhyme, —

Lady-bird ! Lady-bird ! fly away home '.
Your house is on fire, and all your banes gone!
Lady-bird ! Lady-bird ' ! fly away home.
Fly away ! fly away ! ! fly away home ! ! !

Woodlice {Armadillo) are an infallible remedy for
fits. A friend of the writer's was in the constant
habit of swallowing Armadillo vulgaris like pills.
Docks {Rumex sp.) are a remedy against the
sting of the nettle. You must take the leaf of the
dock, aud rub it well on the place nettled, saying
nine times, " Docken in, nettle out." Rooks do not
breed until two years old. Birds pair on St. Valen-
tine's day, and do not build on Holy Thursday.
Hedgehogs suck milk from cows. Eels are not
in season when beans are in flower ; and bean-swads-
rubbed well into a wart are a cure for it. The
latter remedy I have frequently applied, and always
with success. A roasted mouse is a cure for the
whooping-cough.

The ass, before our Saviour's entry into Jeru-
salem, had not the mark of a cross on his back ;
but that distinguishing mark was a token of our
Saviour's favour, given to the ass that bore him on
Palm Sunday, and has been ever since borne by
all asses.

If you take up a haddock, and examine both the
gill-cases, you will observe on each what are not
unlike the marks of the pressure of a thumb. These
are said to be marks made by the finger and thumb.
of St. Peter, when he opened the mouth of the fish
to take out the tribute-money. The fish in whose
mouth it was found must of course have been a
haddock, but I question whether that fish is an
inhabitant of the Sea of Tiberias.

Pigeon-feathers are never used for beds or pillows,
it being an article of " Eolk-Lore " that a person
cannot die on such a bed, but that his agonies are
only prolonged. It is also believed that death most
frequently takes place on the turn of the tide.

Such are a few of the articles of " Eolk-Lore " in
Yorkshire.

Linton-on-Ouse, York. Jjsto. Ranson..

178

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GO SSIP.

[Aug. 1, 1867.

PHYLLACTIDIUM.

SEVERAL correspondents having applied for
information concerning the freshwater plant
called Phyllactidium pulchellum ; we have resolved
upon communicating a few paragraphs of its history.
During the spring of 1866, Mr. Aylward, of Man-
chester, sent us, for determination, some curious
little green discs which had grown in a bottle of
water collected in the previous autumn from a small
pond near the new Assize Court, Manchester. When
collected, this water contained Volvox globator in
abundance, but no discs ; during winter all traces
of Volvox disappeared, and the little green discs
supplied their place. At first, and for some time,
Mr. Aylward suspected that they were a condition
of Volvox, and sent us the discs to be named, these
were submitted to Dr. Gray, E.R.S., whom we
knew to have been for very many years deeply in-
terested in Algse (indeed, almost a walking polyglot
of all forms of vegetable and animal life), and in
July, 1866, a description of these discs, under the
name of Phyllactidium pulchellum, appeared in
Seemann's "Journal of Botany," contributed by
Dr. Gray, in which the scientific affinities of the
plant were discussed, and much useful information
supplied.

This discoid water-weed received the above
names, generic and specific, from Kutzing, who
appears to have been the first to observe it, and we
gather from a private letter, from this author, that
he first found it in his fresh-water aquarium which
he had in 1838-10, in his study. He found about
seven or eight specimens of various sizes attached
to the glass, and took a drawing of several of them,
afterwards describing the plant in his " Phycologia,"
under the name which it still bears, but he does not
seem to have met with it again, or in any other situa-
tion. When Dr. Gray wrote the account above
alluded to, he was under the impression that it had
not been before observed in Great Britain ; but,
within a few days after its appearance, Professor
Balfour stated at a meeting of the Botanical Society
of Edinburgh, that it was found thirteen years ago
in Scotland by Mr. George Lawson, in the water of
a vase at the Royal Botanic Gardens, and specimens
were exhibited under the microscope which were
put up at that time by Mr. Lawson. In December,
1866, Dr. Gray communicated to the "Journal of
Botany " an additional note on Phyllactidium, in
which he announced the discovery of a still older
authority for this plant in Britain, for that Mr.
Ralfs had read a paper before the Botanical Society
of Edinburgh in December, 1841, which was printed
in the "Annals of Natural History" in 1815 (vol. xvi.
p. 308), in which the same plant was described and
figured under the name of Coleochcete scutata. He
also says that he sent specimens to Professor Kiitz-
ing, and that gentleman considered it to be the

same as his Phyllactidium pulchellum. Hence it
was known in Britain in 1S11, and the merit of dis-
covery is due to Mr. Ralfs, who adds to his account
that he was indebted to Dr. Dickie for determining
its name. It is also somewhat singular that Mr.
Ralfs gives so many stations for this plant, as,
Victoria Park and Windermere, on the authority of
Mr. Sidebottom ; Aberdeen, where it was found by
Dr. Dickie; Henfield, and near Tunbridge Wells,
as communicated by Mr. Jenner ; near Pleetwood, on
the authority of Mr. J. S. Ashworth ; near Bristol,
found by Mr. Thwaites ; ponds at Singleton and
Sketty, near Swansea, accordiug to Mr. Moggridge ;
also abundant in Cromlyn Bogs, near the same
town, and in several stations near Penzance and
Dolgelly.

HEW''* ' ■ ■ '-^m:W^r>''

Fig. 180. Phyllactidium pulchellum magnified.

So much for the history of this interesting plant
which we have figured from a specimen furnished to
us by Mr. Aylward. We will not follow Dr. Gray
in discussing whether it should be called Phyllacti-
dium or Coleochcete, or Bulbochcete, but refer those
interested in the more technical phases of the
subject to Dr. Gray's two communications in the
" Journal of Botany " for 1866. For the sake of those
who may still be strangers to this organism we give
Dr. Gray's excellent description. "The form is
discoidal, circular, slightly concave on one side,
formed of very many minute, nearly equal-sized ;
square cells, placed on forked lines regularly spread-
ing from a central cell to the circumference ; the
frond is thin, membranaceous, and the upper and
under surfaces are similar. The fructification con-
sists of 12 to 16 square thickened patches, forming
a circle (sometimes two) rather nearer the margin
than the centre of the disc, the square patches being
often placed in pairs. The fructification was first
observed, and is well figured by Suringar, in his
thesis entitled ' Observations Physiologies, '
delivered in Leyden on the 3rd of March, 1857,
(p. 26, fig. 4, a)." The student may also consult
Dr. Pringsheim's monograph of the genus Bul-
bochcete in his "Jahrbucher," vol. vii., for I860.

We shall be happy to record additional localities,
if authenticated by the name aud address of the
writer.

Aug. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

179

MY LITTLE GREEN MONKEY.

I HAVE the prettiest little monkey I ever saw,
a wee green creature, with large red-brown
eyes, and hands wonderfully like a human being's.
Pretty may seem an inappropriate name to apply to
a monkey, but this particular one is really deserving
of it.

I have only had it a short time, and I wish to
know how to treat it in the winter, in cold weather.
It now lives in a hut on the lawn, fastened, by a
chain, to a long pole which it can run up and down
at will. It eats bread, milk, and ripe fruit. Milk
and raw eggs are its especial weakness.

I fancy the poor little thing has been very badly
treated in its earlier years by some organ-man or
other, for one of these wandering gentlemen entered
my garden the other day, and Jock evinced intense
terror. He spraug on my shoulder and nearly
strangled me with; his long slender arms, clasped
them tightly round my throat, and began to chatter
in monkey language, telling mc I have little
doubt, could I but have understood him, some tale
of sensational cruelty.

"That ere monkey will hurt you," cried the
organist.

Poor Jock, I believe, understood him, for as if to
reassure me, he let go his grasp, and nestled down
•on my arm with such an imploring look, that I at once
unfastened his chain, and carried him off in-doors,
flung him on the rug where his friend the cat lay
curled up, and giving the man a few pence asked
him to move on. When I came back, Jock was rolled
up like a ball in the cat's arms. It is amusing to
watch their friendship for each other ; puss shares
his saucer of milk, and then licks Jock's coat all
over. He will gravely hold out his hands to the
process or put up his face to be so washed, just like
a man holds his face up under the hands of the
barber. This cat I must tell you is an old acquaint-
ance of his, belonged to his former mistress, a
clergyman's wife, and I was presented with puss in
order that the friends might not be parted ; but
Jock is not fond of kittens. I have a white one ;
she ventured one day rather too near his domain,
and after he had thrown her about like a little snow
ball for a few minutes, he coolly flung her into the
pond to frighten the stickle-backs. My little boy
was fortunately at hand, otherwise she would soon
have been food for them. Chickens he invariably
begins to feather alive ; he holds them cook fashion,
and plucks away finely, regardless of the old hen
who from a coop close by abuses him loudly.

It is the custom in country villages for the dif-
ferent clubs, headed by a band of music, to call at
most of the houses in the neighbourhood. I had a
visit last week, and Jock, who hates music, was so
frightened by the sound of the drum, that he broke

his chain, sprang across the lawn, and mounted a tall
beech tree. We tried in vain to coax him down,
but early the next morning, he was on the top of the
greenhouse, peeping in at mc ; a little fresh milk
proved too much for his powers of resistance. He
came down with a run, and having finished his
breakfast very quietly, went to pay his respects to
the cat, and was soon chained agaiu.

H. E. Watney.

THE BLIND WORM.

THOUGH I can throw no light on the climbing
propensities of the slow-worm, perhaps a few
particulars concerning one which was in my
possession for several months may not be un-
acceptable to Mr. Guyon, nor altogether uninte-
resting to some among your readers. My specimen
was captured one warm day in May, on Clifton
Down, was twelve inches long, with beautifully
iridescent scales about the head, and a skin smooth
and shining as satin. The "pretty fellow" soon
became a favourite, and although his proper abode
was a covered basket, furnished with some folded
flannel, yet, as he was not an object of repugnance
to any member of the family, a considerable portion
of his time was spent in comparative liberty, thus
affording every opportunity for observation. The
only food he would ever take was the small delicate
grey slug so destructive in our gardens and fields ;
of these four or five would generally satisfy his
appetite, though he would sometimes eat as many
or seven or eight at one time, renewing his repast
every three or four days-; but he could bear long
fasting without any perceptible diminution of vigour
or activity, and the summer being a very dry one, I
had sometimes great difficulty in finding the requisite
food, and was unwillingly obliged to put his powers
of abstinence to severe tests. However hungry, he
would take no notice of anything else I could offer
him, neither would he eat the small black slug,
yellow underneath, perhaps on account of the very
viscid slime and tough skin of these little creatures.
When about to take a slug, the slow-worm would
open his mouth to its widest extent, generally turn-
ing the head on one side, and gliding slowly up to
its victim, seize it exactly in the middle, with a grip
like a vice. This appeared entirely to disable the
creature, which was then slowly gorged, the opera-
tion, even on so small a scale, being decidedly
unpleasant to witness. Erom this mode of capture
he never varied, but if, as occasionally happened,
from the very slippery nature of the prey, the first
attempt failed, he never made another immediately,
but would turn away with a most ludicrous air of
unconcern, a very flimsy attempt to cover his evident
mortification. He would drink freely of water,
lapping it with his dark forked tongue, and every
now and then lifting his head, precisely in the same

ISO

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Aug. 1, 1S67.

•

maimer as a chicken drinking. He had a great love
for warmth, particularly that derived from personal
contact, and nothing delighted him more than being
allowed to coil round my hand. He would interlace
himself between the fingers in the most graceful and
complicated folds, and it was on these occasions I
was particularly struck with the muscular power
referred to by Mr. Guyon. The manner in which
my fingers were imprisoned in his coils made me
realize, as I had never done before, the tremendous
strength which the boa-constrictor must be able to
exercise. Once established in his favourite position,
he would retain it without moving for hours, if my
occupation permitted. My singular pet was pos-
sessed of a very inquisitive disposition, and would
investigate every object on the table with the
utmost minuteness, particularly pleasing himself
with getting into my work-box, and making almost
as great a commotion among my cotton reels as a
kitten. One day his researches led him into the
salt-cellar, a result with which he appeared by
no means satisfied. Of course, having so much
liberty, he had many hair-breadth escapes, more
especially in the way of falls, as he had no concep-
tion of danger when approaching the verge of any-
thing, and if not observed when getting near- the
edge of the table, the next thing was sure to be a
" flop " on the floor, but he never seemed the worse
for these accidents. I hoped to have kept him
through the winter, but on my return from an
absence of some weeks in the autumn, I found my
" pretty fellow " was dead. He lived in captivity
from May till November. The terror and astonish-
ment he inspired amongst servants was most
amusing, and at a small watering-place to which he
accompanied me in the summer, I believe I am still
remembered as the lady with the snake ! — F. T. .

MONMOUTH DEPOSIT AGAIN.

/T^O the two papers already devoted to an enumer-
-*- ation of the diatoms found in the Monmouth
deposit, from Maine, U.S. I have a few "last
words" to append. In a letter recently received
from the Rev. E. C. Bolles, he states that this
deposit is derived from the old bed of a lake, as one
would have suspected, and that it is authentically
what ,it purports to be.

In addition to the forms already enumerated, I
find—

Surirella linearis (Smith). The valve occasionally
constricted, obtuse, or acuminate. The longitudinal
central line distinct. Alac conspicuous (fig. 187).
I have hitherto only found the constricted variety,
and that but rarely, in this material.

Surirella anceps (Lewis). Erftstules free, linear.
Valve sigmoid and elongated, with rounded sub-
acute extremities. Alas very small (sometimes

nearly obsolete) or sub-marginal. Caualiculi very
inconspicuous, often wanting. Striae very sharp
and clear, extending to the wide, and well-defined
central space, which runs from end to end of the
valve. Colour of the dry frustule a rich chestnut
brown (fig. 184). This singular form of Surirella
occurs but sparingly in the deposit, and very rarely
perfect. It was detected by Dr. Lewis in a gather-
ing from a pond near the Saco river, and sufficiently
plentiful to allow of his giving the above charac-
teristics.

Fig. 185.

Fig. 183.

Fig. 184.

Fig. 136.

Surirella intermedia (Lewis). Frustules free.
Valve linear, strongly sigmoid, with attenuated
rounded apices. Alas usually distinct, twisted near
the ends of the valves, giving rise to a spathulate
appearance. Caualiculi numerous, inconspicuous,
reaching the narrow central blank line. Stria) dis-
tinct. This form is very rare in the present deposit.
Dr. Lewis found it mixed with the preceding
species; it is probably identical with Nitzschia
curvula of Smith.

Cocconema lanceolatum (Ehr.). Eront view lan-
ceolate, obtuse. Valve cymbiform, elongated, and
concave. Margin with a central inflation and sub-
median line, central and terminal nodules. Striae
distinct aud moniliform. Erustules stipitate.

Aug. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

181

Cymbclla Ehrenbergii (Kiitzing). Valves cymbi-
form ; the median line sub-central, with central and
terminal nodules. Strife distinct, costate (fig. 1SS).

Cymbclla cuspidata (Kiitzing). Valves with the
extremities produced and slightly acuminate. Striae
obscurely moniliform (fig. 190).

Fig. I8y.

Fig. I S3.

Gomphonema acuminatum (Ehr.). Frustule
stipitate. Valve with central inflation, triangular
and apiculate above, attenuated below, with median
line, and central and terminal nodules. Stria?
conspicuous, moniliform. Variety (3, much elongated

(fig. 191).

Gomphonema capitatum (Ehr). Valve slightly
constricted towards the upper extremity, which is
somewhat rounded ; much attenuated towards the
lower, which is slightly acute. Stria; distinct,
moniliform (fig. 192).

Cocconeis Thwaitesii (Smith). Valve slightly
constricted towards the obtuse apices. Median line
sigmoid. Stria; very faint. I refer the form in
this deposit to this species with some hesitation as
it differs in some degree from the form described in
the " Synopsis of British Diatomacese."

Odontidium Tabellaria (Smith). The figures
(183, 185, 186, 181) are considered by Dr. Lewis
to be sporangial states of this species. They are
common in the lighter part of the Monmouth
deposit.

Eig. 182 represents the valve of a minute form
considered by Dr. Lewis to be an abnormal state of
Tetracyclus. The absence of the frustules from the
deposit renders it impossible to decide as to the
correctness of this view.

Eig. 189 represents a valve of Pinnularia gigas.
This fine form has not, 1 believe, ever been figured
in any English work on the Diatomacese.

Eunotia hemicyclus (figured at page 133, fig. 146)
has been found by Dr. Lewis growing like Syncdra
lunaris, the frustules attached to a fixed point, and
he has removed it to that genus. A curious

abnormal variety may occasionally be detected in
the deposit — it has an angular central inflation on the
inner margin of the valve.

This enumeration of forms found in the Monmouth
deposit, commenced at page 133, continued at page
156, and now terminated, must not be regarded as a
complete catalogue of the Diatoms to be found in
it. There are several species which I could not
satisfactorily refer to any forms previously described,
and I do not feel myself warranted in describing as
new species forms occurring in a fossil deposit.

Fig. 190.

W

Fig. 191.

Fig. 189.

Fig. 192.

In conclusion, it is with pleasure that I publicly
tender my thanks to the Rev. E. C. Bolles for his
kindness in forwarding this deposit to the Editor for
distribution amongst the students of Diatomaceas in
Great Britain, hoping that his example may be
followed by others in respect of deposits of a similar
character from other and little known localities.

Norwich. E. Kitton-

1S2

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Aug. 3, 1867.

CORNISH. COLLOQUIES.

/~\UIt early home was in a Cornish valley on the
v banks of a tidal river. This valley, hemmed
in by wooded heights, in some parts rocky, was
periodically flooded. Its sheltered situation, with
the combination of wood and water (salt and fresh),
cliffs and meadow-land, gave us an opportunity of
observing a larger variety of plants and animals
than are often seen in one locality. Not only on
the rocky-bank side, and under the woods before
referred to, but further down the valley, toward
the mouth of the stream, where the river sides were
muddy or sandy, have we frequently seen the king-
fisher darting about or perched on some low
stretched-out bough, or other projection. These
reaches abounded with tiny fish, crabs, and many
kinds of little marine animals ; and many were the
sea-birds which frequented them*— cormorants
(called " shags " by the Cornish), &c.

Apropos of " shags," I may remark that when
staying near the Lizard, a favourite pleasure to my
relatives and myself was to go out with the fisher-
men as far as the tide line and see what they call
the "trammel nets " drawn, and I once saw a poor
drowned "shag," its feet entangled in the meshes
of the net, still holding in its beak the fish after
which it had dived.

A pair of Cornish choughs frequented a cliff a
long way down the river, and all kinds of gulls
seen, with "sea-swallows," even black terns, were
plovers, snipes, curlews, woodcocks, sand-pipers,
oyster-catchers, and herons.

We often saw in little solitary glens (for as
children we had a strange longing to push our way
where as we could imagine, "human feet had never
trod"), the curious little water-ouzel or dipper—
" water-blackbird " we called him. I cannot but
maintain, in spite of judgment to the contrary so
vehemently pronounced by many of your corre-
spondents, that I have again and again seen the
dipper walking on the gravelly bottom of the clear
streams before referred to— observed them not
only diving and swimming, but, as one of your
correspondents remarks, "disappearing under water
at one place, and after several seconds had elapsed
reappearing at another." My husband tells me he
has observed the same habits in water-ouzels on the
Teme, in Worcestershire, and in Monmouthshire.
Their mossy, leafy nests, and dirty-white eggs were
more than once found by us.

Eour kinds of woodpeckers were seen in our
woods— the three pied kinds, and the great green
"bird.

A fir plantation belonging to some friends of ours

* I believe, since we left the neighbourhood, the whole
valley to the river's mouth has been embanked, and part of
it brought under cultivation.

was visited year after year (with intervals for which
there seemed no special reason) by large numbers
of the beautiful crossbill.

Great was the excitement produced in three suc-
cessive years by the report that a nightingale had
been heard in a coppice not far from our house-
nightingales being unknown in Cornwall and Devon-
shire. Some of us went again and again (I am
sorry to say surreptitiously), remaining till long
after midnight to listen to the exquisite song ; but
those who had heard nightingales sing, pronounced
the notes quite unlike that. I do not remember
hearing that the sweet songster was ever identified,
but it was certainly not a blackcap.

Salmon abounded in the larger streams, and a
most delicious fish called "salmon peel," which I
am told, s:'nce I left Cornwall, must have been
"grilse," "par," "sewen," (?) last spring's
salmon, &c. &c. All I can say is, at times we
bought small salmon, and they were as unlike large
" salmon peel " of the same size, as trout are unlike
both. Unfortunately, "mundic water" from the
many mines has now spoilt the beauty and utility
of most of the Cornish streams, and "salmon peel"
are almost a thing of the past.

To Mr. Jonathan Couch, of Polperro, I was often
promised an introduction by a much - regarded
friend, and well-known local naturalist (Mr.
Clement Jackson, of Looe, Cornwall), and I wish
that my uninformed remarks on the salmon peel
may elicit from him, or any other ichthyologist, some
information on the subject.

Referring to Mr. Jackson, I deem it due to his
memory to state (what Mr. Couch could probably
corroborate) that as early as 1840, and for some
years previously, he had made himself acquainted
with the principle of the aquarium : how a
judicious admixture of plants and animals will keep
each other in health, the plants feeding on the car-
bonic acid gas, evolved by the animals ; the health of
the animals kept up by the oxygen given off by the
plants. Mr. Jackson was a chemist in theory and
practice, an experimentalist, and a close observer of
nature.

Quite young when I was first privileged with his
friendship, my interest and delight in the results of
his close and accurate observations were indescrib-
able. His little shop was an omnium gatherum and
not the least interesting portion of its furniture were
the odd-looking tubs, jars, and bottles in which
were placed the plants and animals whose natural
habits he desired, as far as possible, to observe. I
well remember his assertion that the pretty coral-
line, found in every pool on the Looe rocks, was a
vegetable, and not an animal, and giving proof of
the fact. Very retiring, he never paraded his
knowledge, and he died some years since, or he
might have been induced to make some of his dis-
coveries more public. An excellent taxidermist,

Aug. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

183

his valuable collection of stuffed birds was, I
believe, his legacy to the museum at Truro. Among
his "curiosities" was a "white blackbird." I have
also seen a white rook, and one partly white, with
some white varieties of other birds, usually of
coloured plumage. I observe two of your corre-
spondents refer to the grey phalcrope. This bird was
observed by one of my cousins (himself a naturalist),
one cold winter, on a small pool close to the town,
where'we were then living, many miles inland. I
was taken by him to see it, and it seemed quite un-
disturbed by the presence of spectators.

Our early home afforded an excellent field for
ornithological pursuits. Moths and butterflies in
almost endless variety were seen. Of the latter, I
may mention ^the rare Purple Emperor, Peacocks,
Admirals, and Painted Ladies, and Eritillaries of
many sorts — the Granville Fritillary, which is, I
believe, very local, being abundant. We had also
both the copper butterflies ; the larger having now,
1 am told, almost forsaken England. We now find
that some of the white varieties of butterfly we got
there are very rare (my specimens were long since
too dilapidated to be of any use), and white varieties
of " clouded sulphur " and " clouded yellow " were
not unknown to us. A privet hedge in our garden
was frequented by the Privet Hawk moth,ra sunny
walk by the Humming-bird Sphinx, and more than
one specimen of the Elephant and of the splendid
"Death's-head" moth was captured. One of the
latter, I remember, made a fearful noise while
dying— a sort of shriek, which horrified my mother,
who was its murderer, and very tender-hearted.

While on the subject of moths, I may mention
that a moss house in one of tbe gardens of our
after-home, situated near a valley, was the resort of
the Goat-sucker or Night-jar, and we often found
the floor strewed with the wings of the Puss moth,
Oak-egger, &c. Walking once on Kinver Edge, in
Staffordshire, I came upon what I thought was a
piece of wood covered with some peculiar lichen ;
but, stooping towards it, noticed the sparkle of a
bright, bead- like eye, in which life was evident, and,
bending nearer, there was a Goat-sucker, cowering
so closely to the heathery ground, I thought he
must be wounded. But no — before I could grasp
him, up he flew, and was out of sight and reach in
a moment. I well remember how hard my mother
fought, during our childhood, against our dairy-
woman's prejudices as to this much-maligned bird.
Some dishonest people had milked our cows in the
field, and old " Becky " would have it that Goat-
suckers, or else Hedgey-boars (the equally harm-
less English porcupine, or hedgehog), had sucked
them. Cornish people hold the belief your corre-
spondent mentions, i. e., that if you try to kill a
snake, "it will not die till sundown;" they also
give full credit to the healing powers of that hand-
some St. John's-wort, " Tutsan."

In the woods before referred to, we often found
colonies of the great wood ant, with high conical
nests, in part made, as your correspondent observes,
of fir leaves, but also, apparently, of grass stalks,
and the thin stems of small plants. We often saw
winged ants of this species near the nests, and
though we watched the insects closely, I do not
remember that either of us was stung by them at
any time.

I am very unlearned as to spiders, for I
must confess I have a silly but unconquerable
antipathy to the whole race (unlike one of my
brothers, who succeeded in so far taming some
large spiders, as to get them to come to the edge of
their webs, instead of hiding themselves at his
appearance. The same brother was also a successful
tamer of toads, of which he kept a large number).
Despite my dislike to the race, I am bound to say I
never saw such handsome spiders as were found in
that neighbourhood — " Huge Zebras," more than
one of which was not unlike a moderate-sized white
strawberry, a large green spider, &c.

That spiders are capable of inflicting wounds on
human beings I have had proof in my own person.
I slept, one hot night, in what is called a turn-up
bed ; and, tossing restlessly aboufr, my right hand
got up into the corner of the bed's head : I felt a
kind of prick in my forefinger, and a sharp pain
shot up my arm, and next morning the finger was
sore and slightly festered ; and where- it had struck
the corner was a common black spider, crushed and
dead. Some of your young readers may be amused
at hearing, in connection with " Spider Gossip,"
that a cousin of mine, an engineer, who was super-
intending the erection of some saw-mills in South
America, shot one of the large hairy spiders which
there devour small birds; the English workmen
being afraid to pass beneath its web lest it should
drop on them, and the creature being out of ordi-
nary reach.

The botany of the neighbourhood of our early
home was also most interesting ; but I need not say
that many flowers and ferns seem almost peculiar
to the slaty and granitic soil of north and west
Cornwall. The delicate little Cornish money-wort,
with its small whitish flowers, we greatly prized ;
and obtained from many a moist and shady place.
Like Mrs. Howitt, we had a little garden exclu-
sively for wild flowers, to which every pretty or
interesting plant we could obtain was transplanted
with as much of the original soil as we could con-
vey ; and much happy labour have I spent in secur-
ing shade for one and sunshine for another, &c. &c,
at the same time. Only once since I left that
neighbourhood have I seen that beautiful fungus
the Carmine Peziza. It grew, year after year, on a
time-worn elder tree in one of our fields, and the
rich scarlet of its little cups was visible from some
distance. A. C. P.

]8i

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Aug. 1, 1867.

ZOOLOGY.

Flying Eish.— At page 161, there is a quotation
from that excellent naturalist, Mr. George Bennett,
on the flying fish, in which he maintains the com-
monly received notion that its aerial movement is
not a true "flight, but merely a single leap, wholly
dependent on the original impulse given in the
water, and therefore incapable of augmentation in
force, or change in direction, while in the air. In
this opinion, though backed by so great an authority
as Alexander Humboldt, I am persuaded he is in
error. More than twenty years ago, in a voyage to
Jamaica, I set myself to examine with great care
this very point, as I had, in former voyages, seen
what had appeared to me a distinct motion of the
pectoral fins. The result fully confirmed my scep-
ticism of the common statement, as will be seen by
the following extracts from my journal.®

"November 20, 1844— Many flying fishes ap-
peared : a silvery species with clear wings, of
middling size ; the kind commonly seen in the
Atlantic— probably Uxoccetus volitcnis. I now feel
certain that these fishes have power to change their
direction when in the air ; more than one which I
saw to-day turned aside at nearly a rigid angle.

"November 22.— Flying fishes leap every few
minutes. Several made courses distinctly angular ;
and some, I am quite sure, rose and sunk in undula-
tions. To confirm my own observation, I requested
a gentleman on board to notice this point ; and he
was quite certain of both these facts.

"November 24.— I observed a flying fish, after
flying a very short distance, suddenly turn down-
ward, abruptly and perpendicularly, as if alarmed,
and enter the water. The action exactly resembled
that of a bird.

"November 25.— Several times I have observed in
the flight of these fishes, when near the ship, an
occasional fluttering of the pectorals. In general,
these wing-like fins appear motionless ; but at the [
moment of rising to avoid the crest of a wave, there
is a slight but rapid vibration of these organs dis- !
tinctly perceptible.

"November 29.— I noticed a flying fish curve its
course, so as to describe more than half a circle."

Surely these observations prove that the aerial
course of the flying fish is a true flight, increased,
directed, and terminated at will, by the action of
the pectorals, exactly as is the flight of a bird by
the action of its wings.— P. II. Gosse, F.R.S.,
Torquay.

I hope it is not hypercritical to add that a state-
ment in the next quotation is somewhat incautiously
expressed. The terrible irritation produced by
touching the dependent; appendages of the Portu-

Nat. Sojourn in Jamaica, pp. 9.11.

guese Man-of-war, is caused by the emission from
them, and the entrance into the human skin, of
multitudes of those wronderful stinging weapons
the barbed wires {ecthorced) of nettling cells (cnidce),
which are found abundantly in our own sea ane-
mones and jelly fishes. The injection of a poisonous
fluid is rather a plausible inference than a matter of
sensible observation. (For a detailed account of
these remarkable organs, I may refer to my "British
Sea-anemones, Introduction,", pp. xxix. to xl.) —
P. II. G.

"Hats off."— Having been greatly amused by
the accounts given in Science- Gossip of the dis-
likes evinced by various animals to different colours
aud articles of dress, I think an account of poor
" Brutus's " peculiar fancies may not be uninterest-
ing. The Brutus I allude to was a dog— the
Brutus mentioned by his fond master (the Hon.
Grantley E. Berkeley) in many of his well-known
works. I came down into the drawing-room one
day at Winleton, dressed in my hat and cloth
bernous ; we were going to the river side to see
Mr. Berkeley fish, when Brutus, who lay on the rug,
got up and looked at me. He neither growled nor
grumbled— simply looked : such a look ! I can not
describe it ; but it frightened me, fond as I am of
dogs— much as I liked -Brutus; and I cried out
in mortal fear, " Oh ! what is the matter with
Brutus ? " His master looked up, and immediately
spoke to the dog, who resumed his place. "He
does not approve of your hat." He shows
his taste, thought I ; for an uglier felt never
sat on woman's head; but it looked like rain, and I
did not want to spoil my bonnet. "He is not
partial to cloaks," added Mr. Berkeley ; " a gentle-
man called here last week, and Brutus nearly tore
his Inverness off his shoulders. He dislikes blue :
my butcher is his abomination. The poor man has
tried to conciliate him by bringing him pieces of
meat, but in vain; his blue frock is odious in
Brutus's eyes, and it is useless to try and deceive
him by placing another over it ; the fellow has done
that. Brutus on one occasion tumbled butcher,
tray, and all over in the road ; and legs of mutton,
&c, &c, flew about charmingly. I believe the
butcher used the then empty tray as a shield." I
was far from feeling at ease with Brutus during our
walk, and I caught him stealing suspicious glances
at my offending head-covering. His master's com-
mands prevented his taking the matter into his own
paws, but he looked "Hats off!" very plainly.—
Helen.

An Original Mode of gathering Ertjit. —
I have in my garden a pear tree, the fruit of which
though small, is of a remarkably sweet and delicate
flavour. As the crop ripened last summer, I looked
for the usualj quantity of windfalls ; but, strange

Aug. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

185

to say, in spite of an abundant produce and rather
high winds, scarcely a single pear rewarded my
daily search. I of course suspected that some
thieving neighbour anticipated me, and I deter-
mined to bring my friend to account. With this
object in view, I one morning hid myself behind
the hedge which skirts the orchard. There was a
west wind blowing, and I amused myself with
watching the luscious little pears as they dropped
from the boughs and fell with a "thud" on the
soft earth below. An hour passed away, and I
began to wonder whether the thief would make his
appearance after all, when my attention was drawn
to the movements of a hedgehog, which crawled
out of the hedge on the opposite side of the
orchard, and trotted towards the pear tree with its
peculiar shuffling gait. I remained perfectly still,
with my eye upon the little animal, more for the
sake of amusement than with any idea of the im-
portant part it was about to play in the robbery of
my pears. I thus became witness of the following
curious scene. After snuffling among the fallen
fruit for a short time, the hedgehog took one up in
its mouth by the stalk, carried it a few yards, and
laid it carefully down ; it then returned, seized
another, and laid it. by the first one. This was
repeated until no less than sixteen pears were
lying close together, or rather heaped upon each
other. Satisfied, I suppose, with the amount, and
conscious that he had collected as many as he
could conveniently carry at one trip, the animal
spread out its prickles to their widest possible extent,
deliberately threw itself on the heap of pears, and
rolled from one side to the other, until the whole
of the fruit was transfixed, and then calmly walked
off with its ill-gotten booty to the place from
whence it had issued, where I could plainly see
some little ones awaiting her return, and no doubt
anticipating a juicy breakfast. I made no attempt
to disturb the clever little thief, grateful to it for
giving me the opportunity of witnessing a fact
which has long been treated as a fable — viz., the
power and ability of the hedgehog to carry off food
on its back. — B. L.

[From Die Gartenlaube, a weekly periodical pub-
lished at Leipzig, 1865.]

Swallows hybernating. — Though residing
some three thousand miles awray from the dear old
country, I have been a subscriber to your invaluable
Science-Gossip since its commencement ; and feel-
ing much interest in your articles on the hibernation
of swallows, would feel obliged by the insertion
of the following in the columns of your ever-welcome
monthly. An intelligent German, a native of Dant-
zig, employed in our office as an engraver, informs
me that it is a matter of very common occurrence
for the fishermen who ply their vocation during
the winter season in the reedy and marshy pools

and sluggish streams around the city of Dantzig, to
dredge up in their nets from beneath the ice
numerous swallows in a torpid condition. He tells
me that in shape they somewhat resemble the
handle of a shoemaker's awl ; the head is turned
downwards, aud the beak pressed into the feathers of
the breast so as to be scarcely discernible ; the body
is stiff and hard, as if frozen, and their weight much
lighter than when in a normal state. He remembers
an instance in particular of one being given to his
mother hi this condition by a fisherman; she placed
it in tepid water, when it revived, but soon after-
wards died. On one occasion he saw six taken up
from the stream, clinging by their claws to a
broken reed, from which it appears they had not
detached themselves on immersion, as in most
cases they do. In autumn they assemble in large
flocks, and alight on the reeds overhanging the
streams, when their weight accumulates to an
amount sufficient to bear down the reeds into the
water, the claws appear to relax their grasp, and as
the birds disappear beneath the surface, the reeds
again rise, and resume their pei'pendicular position.
Professor Lieber, of Elbing, near Dantzig, has for
a number of years paid great attention to the
habits of these birds, and would, I have no doubt
(if still living), feel great pleasure in communi-
cating any facts relating to them. From the des-
cription of the bird, I should presume it to be the
common house swallow [Uirundo rustica), but am
not certain. — G. IF., Philadelphia, U.S.

The Pearl Fisheries. — Perhaps my fellow-
readers of Science-Gossip would like to hear a
little concerning a work which is throwing light
upon a branch of Natural History, whilst its imme-
diate object is to fill the purse. I refer to the inves-
tigations now being carried on with regard to the
Pearl-fishery of Ceylon. There is no necessity for
me to give an account of the fishery. That has
been done frequently already. But before giving
some extracts from a private letter, kindly placed
at my disposal, perhaps it will be as well if I give a
short account of the circumstances which called for
the inquiry. I need not say that the pearl-oyster
is no oyster at all, but belongs to the genus Avicula
of class Conchifera of the Mollusca. It rejoices in
the name Avicula margaritifera, or Meleagrina mar-
gar, Lamarck, or Mytilus margar, Linnaeus. It is
well known of what importance and what a fertile
source of revenue the Pearl-fishery is to Ceylon.
For some years the fishery gradually lost its lucra-
tiveness, until at length the oysters disappeared
from the beds. In consequence of this Mr. E. TV".
H. Holdsworth was sent out as naturalist to see
what could be done. The chief questions which
required solution would seem to be — first, what
were the causes which led to the disappearance of
the oysters— secondly, what could be done to obtain

18G

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE -GOSSIP.

[Aug. 1, 1867.

oysters on the beds again— thirdly, what rules must
in future be. observed in fishing so as to prevent a
similar misfortune. It is evident that this last
question will involve a thorough investigation of
the habits of the pearl-oyster. It is, therefore,
interesting to the lover of Natural History to know
that there is a prospect of something being done in
this direction. Mr. Holdsworth went out in October,
1865, and after more than a year of difficulties and
disappointments, he is able to say in a letter, dated
March, 1867, which I am allowed' to quote,— "The
pearl-oysters have again made their appearance on
the Ceylon banks. Two patches of ground — one
half a mile square, the other a mile square — are
covered with young oysters, as thickly as they can
well be placed. They are, however, very young,
ranging from about two weeks to two months old,
being much younger than any of the present fishery
officials have seen; so that there is a prospect of
ascertaining the rate of growth, if these young
creatures remain on the banks. To know the age
of an oyster when it is found, is one of the most
important matters in connection with the fishery,
since the oyster should be taken just when it arrives
at maturity, and just before it dies, which it is said
to do when sis or seven years old."— Robert Blight.

Grasshopper Warbler (Salicaria locustella). —
This is an exceedingly shy bird. On its arrival here
in the spring, it generally takes up its abode in
some thick stunted hedge, which affords it both
food and concealment. Seldom moving from the
spot so selected, in the evening its peculiar note
may be heard, which has a fine ventriloquial effect ;
not often is it heard in the daytime, although I
have seen it in the early morning perched on the
topmost spray of the hedge, with quivering wings,
warbling forth its notes. The nest is very artfully
concealed a few inches above the ground, by the
side of a ditch, and is composed of dried grass. The
eggs are generally six or seven in number. Should
the female be disturbed while sitting, she generally
drops down among the grass, and shuffles along
under it like a mouse for some distance. During
the period of incubation the song of the male is
very seldom heard ; but as soon as the young is
fledged, he is again harmonious, and continues so
until their departure from our shores. — Thos. H.
Hedworth, Duiiston.

"Voracity of the Trout. — Whilst fishing in
one of the Hampshire trout-streams on the 2Sth of
June, I caught several trout, one of which on being
opened the following day was found to contain
another, which it must have swallowed at least
twenty-four hours previously. The length and
weight of the fish are as follows : — The large one :
extreme length 15 in., weight 1 lb. ; the smaller
trout : length 7 in., weight 3 oz. — //. T.

Pussy's Eoster-Pup — A small Scotch terrier
had six pups ; the three prettiest were left jvith the
mother, the others were condemned to be drowned.
One of the servants begged leave to bring up one of
the ugly pups by hand, as a kitchen dog. Leave
was granted, and the servant placed the pup in a
basket belonging to a cat who had been deprived of
her kittens a fortnight before. When the servant
returned, she found that the cat was in the basket,
and had taken possession of the pup, which she
would not allow any one to touch. She took entire
charge of the pup, and brought it up, with a very
little assistance from the servant, who occasionally
administered a little milk with a spoon. Eor some
time the pup was very tiny. Puss used to wash it,
carry it about, and in every way treat it as a child
of her own. After he was six months old, the dog
grew considerably ; he is now about six years old,
very ugly but very intelligent. In some ways he
seems to have the nature of his foster-mother ; he
hates getting his feet wet or dirty, dislikes dogs,
but is friendly to cats, and washes his face like a
cat, by passing his paw behind his ear and over his
face.— -Abigail.

Snake and Mouse. — I was out lately on one of
my expeditions in the neighbourhood of Sheffield,
and captured a very fine specimen of the ring-
snake ; he was 35 inches long, very plump, and full
of life and animation. I put the reptile into a
wooden box with a glass front, so that myself and
friends might the better watch his movements.
We could get him to eat nothing. Toads and
frogs, bread and milk, meat raw and boiled : but
nothing would he touch. At length we put a live
mouse into his box ; but the mouse ate the snake —
at any rate he ate four or five inches of his tail.
Lest it should be said that I was mistaken, I took
two or three friends with me to witness the novelty
for themselves. The mouse was two days in the
box before he commenced his repast. He first bit
the tail off, I think ; for when we observed his
mouseship dining, he was munching the loose end
with great gusto; so that instead of the snake
eating the mouse, the mouse commenced devouring
the snake.—/. Potts.

Died of a Shrew.— Iu one instance (during the
severe winter of 1859-60) a kingfisher was seen to
pitch down close to the bank of the river, and rising
again fly off to a rail close by. The person watch-
ing this bird saw it attempt to swallow something,
when it suddenly fell backwards, and was picked up
dead. On being examined afterwards it was found
to have bolted a little shrew mouse, which unusual
morsel had evidently caused its untimely end, and
showed how hard pressed these poor birds must
have been for their natural food. — Stevenson's Birds
of Norfolk.

Aug. 1, 1807.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

187

BOTANY.

"Walking Fern.— I send a specimen of the
curious plant Asplenium rhizophyllum or Walking
Peru, rare in our neighbourhood. I gathered it at
Plat Rock, on the Schuylkill River, about eight
miles above Philadelphia. It possesses the curious
property of rooting from the end of the leaf, and
would soon cover a large space with its matted
foliage. Its favourite habitat is rocky woods, or
lichen-covered rocks under shady trees. I should
be pleased to collect and forward any species of
plants growing around here to such of your readers
as may think them worth the postage.—*?. W.,
Philadelphia, U.S.

Lattice Stinkhorn (Clathrus cancellatus). —
On the 14th of June, one of the above-named rare
fungi, was brought to me by Mrs. Browne of Ash-
field Tor. The species has, I believe, never been
found in England, excepting in two localities, in
Torquay, and one or two specimens in the Isle of
Wight. The first that was found in Torquay was
in the grounds of Mrs. Tracey, who gathered it in
the egg, or nidus state, and as she carried it into
the house, the beautiful lattice-like top suddenly
broke through the white upper skin of the cap, and
rose into its latticed form. The bars of the lattice
work were so like coral, both in colour, and apparent
substance, that you might believe them carved out
of that substance. The pileus is of the purest
snow-white, somewhat reticulated, white veinings.
The hollow part at the bottom cap is full of a
green slime of the most detestable odour. The
late Mrs. Griffiths, the well-known algologist,
figured the specimens found by Mrs. Tracey ;
Miss Griffiths also brought me several specimens
in different stages. It was ten or twelve years
ago that I had these specimens from Miss Griffiths,
and about two years afterwards, some little girls
brought me two or three fine ones from Ashfield,
the only place, excepting those in Mrs. Tracey's
grounds, where I have heard of their being found.
Since that time I have not seen a Clathrus
cancellatus, until this one was brought me this
month. If any of the readers of Science-Gossip
has seen or heard of this fungus at any other place
in England than those I have named, I shall feel
obliged by information on the subject. The smell of
all that I have had has been so offensive that I could
not bear them even on a passage table and under a
bell glass, and was obliged to keep them out of
doors— 31. D. P.

The Orobanche Picridis.— Picris Broom-rape
occurs in Dorset in such quantity that, on my farm
between Yeovil and Sherborne, I have estimated
that in a field of clover are 11,073 plants to the
acre ; and as the parasite when compared with the

clover, presents the same difference in size, as the
cuckoo and the water wagtail, it may be guessed
what mischief it does to the crop. I find this
species here on several kinds of clovers and their
allies, in the fields, Picris heracioides in the hedge-
rows, and I found a specimen on a pelargonium in
my greenhouse; and to-day I have taken up a
parsley root with this species of broom-rape at-
tached. It is the only species I have found here,
and an examination of it inclines me to think that
there is some confusion in th£ nomenclature of our
broom-rapes, as I find specimens varying iu size
from two or three inches to twenty inches in height.
Occasionally too, but very rarely, they are branched,
but in all the examples I have examined the fold
at the upper lip simulating a notch (see Syme's
description, "English Flora," vol .vi.) is very sig-
nificant. I confess to having doubts about the
difference in species, from our present plant and
Orobanche minor.— J. B.

Varieties or Perns.— I have found wild in the
woods here, Lastrcea fili.v-mas, var. cristata, for
which Moore, in "Nature-printed Perns," only gives
two places in Devonshire. Also, Athyrmm filix-
fccjiiiua, var. polydactylum, and Scolopendrium vul-
gare, var. multiforme. — W. 2). R., Lonsdale, West-
moreland.

A. Stick without an End.— There may be
seen in the churchyard at Shaftesbury, a somewhat
remarkable freak of nature. In the language of the
foreman at the gas-works, it is " a stick without an
end." A branch of a goodly elm has grown into,
and become part of another branch of the same
tree, in such wise that it has become really " a
stick without an end." — //. Poclclington.

The Oxlip. — It appears to me that a great deal
of the uncertainty with regard to this plant, arises
from its being so often confused with the variety
caulescens, of P. vulgaris, which it somewhat
closely resembles. This is very common in many
parts of the country, and will be often found to
have single primroses on the same plant, P. veris,
may have claims to hybridity, but after examining
great numbers of individuals, the specific distinc-
tions always remain well-defined and clear. The
only point upon which I feel misgivings, is that it
occurs at wide intervals, and has a very limited
distribution in those localities, whereas, it ought
to be as abundant, c/Heris paribus, as the prim-
rose or cowslip. If your correspondents will con-
sult Professor Babington's Manual of Botany, they
will find the characters well given. The leaves
abruptly contracted below ; the lanceolate-toothed
calyx, the points of which arc reflected when the
plant is in fruit ; the concave corolla-limb ; and
open mouth ; abundantly serve to distinguish P.
veris from all others. — L.

188

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Aug. 1, 1867.

MICROSCOPY.

Diatomace.e. — It will be interesting to the
readers of Science-Gossip to know that Herr
Eulenstein of Wurtembergis at present engaged on
a complete synopsis of "British and Foreign Dia-
tomacepe. It is to consist of five sections, and each
section lias to be accompanied by 100 slides of
mounted diatoms, each slide being as far as practic-
able pure, that is free from intermixture of diatoms,
other than those it is intended to illustrate. I
believe Herr Eulenstein will be glad to receive
communications from any English diatomists, of
pure gatherings of either fresh-water or marine
diatomacea?, but specially of the latter. — T. P.
Barkas, Neiccastle-on-Tyne.

Mounting Desmids.— The great want which
has marred all efforts (to mount desmids success-
fully) has been a fitting medium ; a fluid of such a
nature that the plant, when immersed in it shall not
become distorted, or indeed receive any appreciable
change for a long lapse of years, provided the
cement inclosing it retains its air-tight properties.
The want of success, it must be allowed, has not
arisen from the positive evaporation of the liquids
employed, but from the method of employing them.
Following a natural law, the frustule, immediately
upon being inclosed in its cell, begins to part with
the water contained within itself. And what is the
consequence? The surrounding medium cannot
take the place of the water, the primordial utricle
contracts, the contents of the cell collapse, and
the plant is left as much changed 'and disfigured
as though it had been originally dried. The bota-
nical world is, therefore, greatly indebted to Herr
Hantzsch, of Dresden, for his researches in this
direction, which have resulted in discovering an
arrangement which completely supersedes the
various unsatisfactory plans hitherto adopted.

[This plan is fully detailed in "Nave's Handy-
book to Collection, &c," just published, from which
the above remarks are quoted. The old process
would occupy too much space to quote entire ;
we must therefore refer our readers to the book
itself, in which they will find many other useful
hints.— Ed.]

Microscopic Measurement.— At the meeting
of the Dublin Microscopical Club (21st of March),
Mr. Stoney submitted to the club reasons which
appeared to him, in the present state of science, to
require the general adoption by scientific men, of
the subdivisions of the metre in estimating micro-
metrical magnitudes. He observed, too, that all
confusion and inconvenience arising from the use of
fractions may be avoided by a very simple extension
of the nomenclature of the metrical system, which

he thought himself justified.in recommending to the
club, from the assistance he had himself received
from it.

Ciliary Muscle of the Eye.— At the Quekett
Microscopical Club (May 21th), Ernest Hart, Esq.,
President, submitted his reasons for doubting the
existence of sphinctral muscles, or circular fibres of
ciliary muscle, which could influence the accom-
modative action of the eye, and in a very interesting
and lucid communication expounded the theories
which have been 'propounded, to account for the
accommodation of the eye, with the result of his own
investigations on the subject.

The Study of Mosses.— Dr. R. Braithwaite,
E.L.S., at the Quekett Microscopical Club (June 26),
read a paper on the structure and classification of
mosses, during which he gave a succinct account of
the structure, growth, and development of these
plants, with hints for their collection, preservation,
and examination, adding thereto some remarks on
the principles adopted in their classification. A
large number of mounted preparations, illustrative
of the subject, were exhibited under a series of
microscopes provided for the purpose. Later in
the evening, it was proposed that classes for the
study of mosses and microscopic fungi should be
organized in the autumn, Dr. Braithwaite and Mr.
M. C. Cooke offering to take charge of such classes
respectively.

Otolites. — Mr. Higgins complains of the report
of his communication on this subject, published at
p. 151 — that he did not read a paper, but com-
municated his observations viva voce, hence our
report, taken from shorthand notes made for the
committee, was not literally correct — that
"Otolites" was spelt incorrectly throughout the
report. And, finally, he sends us a corrected ac-
count, which we fear that we cannot avail ourselves
of, in a manner so as to make the errata wholly
intelligible to our readers, except by reprinting the
entire communication. In line 23, read " though in
some members of the Ray family and the Sharks,
there is a tubular prolongation of the lining mem-
brane, reaching from the otocrane to the external
surface of the skull. In almost all other fish, the
whole of the auditory organs are contained in the
otocrane, which are two deep depressions in the
interior of the skull, situated on either side of the
brain.'" And at p. 152, line 6, "The sacculus
consists of one large sac, containing the central
otolite. The ordinary position of the superior otolite
is at the junction of the anterior and posterior semi-
circular canals, but in two specimens, &c." And at
line 16, "From the lower sac, two tubes pass
through the base of the skull, communicating by a
chain of ossicles with the tube of the anterior air-
bladder. These ossicula are the only true, &c."

Arc. 1, 1SG7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

1S9

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Locusts witii Tails. — There is a species _ of
locust, one of the genus Acridiumfwith a projecting
spine between the fore legs. Is it possible that the
writer to the Clerical Journal, not being a
naturalist, made the mistake of imagining this spine
to be a tail ?— N. G. IF.

Cheating a Sfider. — Some time ago I amused
myself by watching a very large spider at work in
a fine large webv After observing him complete his
task, and post himself on the look-out, I tried him
with some flies, which he soon settled. One day I
tempted him by touching the web, and evidently
deceived him more than once. On one occasion I
presented him with a small piece of raw beef about
the y^ of an inch long, which I held to him on the
point of a pencil. The first time he seized it fiercely
with his strong jaws, but almost immediately after-
wards threw it away in disgust, nor would he again
venture, though I tried him several times. Once,
after much fine weather, it threatened rain, and 1
saw him carefully passing over his web along the
spiral threads, detaching them as he passed each
intersection with the radial lines, and forming the
whole into a roll or ball beneath his abdomen, which,
when he had reached the centre of the web he care-
fully let drop to the ground, and then retired to a
snug corner on the gate, to which his principal ties
were attached. There lie remained during several
days, until I no longer had the opportunity to con-
tinue my observations. All the radial lines of the
web were left intact, as though he intended making
future use of them. — /. B. Keene.

Nut Borers. — Eor the benefit of your sub-
scribers in general, and of Mr. S. A. Stewart in
particular, I beg to state that the author of the
nut-boring, mentioned in your last number of
Science-Gossip, is the Myoxus avellanarius, class
Sciurichr, so called from their principal food being
hazel-nuts. It is gregarious, building principally
in dense thickets near the ground, where it
lays up a considerable winter stock of nuts, wild
apples, corn, haws, &c. It has all the habits of the
common squirrel, holding its food between its two
fore paws, and sitting upon its haunches whilst
feeding. Towards winter it becomes exceedingly
corpulent, and when winter fairly sets in it retires
to its nest, and remains dormant nearly the whole
winter, clement weather only rousing it at times to
feed. Towards spring it awakes, and follows its
usual avocations, conjugal and paternal — the
young being born blind, of which there are generally
two litters. It is very easily tamed, and has no
offensive smell. It is known all over Europe. In
England, Kent and Essex most abound in the
dormouse, where they are very commonly seen, and
are easily caught with the hand. But, lastly, let
me warn those of your readers who rejoice in the
hope of catching, and expecting to catch one, in try-
ing the experiment, not to hold them by the tail, as
they very commonly leave the epidermis and fur
between the fingers, and " skedaddle," and thus the
expectant captor of the fair prize is thwarted. —
Cleland Lammiman.

The Petrified Forest.— It may interest our
readers to know that fine specimens of the silicified
wood from the " petrified forest " near Cairo may
be seen in the Technological Museum at the Crystal
Palace. They were sent by His Excellency Heke-

kyan Bey, with the interesting collection illustrat-
ing the manners and customs of modern Egypt
exhibited in the above-named museum. — P.

Larva of Hydropiiilus. — Could any of your
correspondents (especially the lady who signs
" Helen Watney," and gave so interesting an
account of an insect vivarium in the Science-
Gossip for April, 18GG,) inform me how these little
creatures should be fed ? The eggs in the Hydro-
piiilus nest which I described in last month's num-
ber, were hatched on the eighth day. About sixty
fine, healthy, lively larva came out. We supplied
them plentifully with water plants, and finding they
did not cat them, with small red worms — all in
vain : they grew languid, and all died within a fort-
night— I fear of hunger. Should we succeed in
obtaining a nest another year, we should feel very
grateful to any one who would advise us as to how
to avoid a similar catastrophe. — L. H. F.

Guaco. — In answer to Henry Cooke, in the last
number of Science-Gossip. I lived for some time
in South America, and mixed a good deal with the
natives, and I know for certain that they inocu-
late themselves with the juice of the " Guaco " in
their feet, and always carry some of the leaves
about them, to eat in case of a bite from a snake.
I cannot say from experience that Guaco is a cure
for a snake bite ; but unless it is so, I cannot
imagine why these Indians think so highly of it.
That the snake-bird does as mentioned by your
correspondent, I can confidently affirm. — Rev.
William Goss.

New Legs.— In S. G. for Juue, Mr. William
Dodson calls attention to a note on a thrush that
had been kept in a cage acquiring a new pair of
legs. Surely no person in this age believes in such
a phenomenon. I will, however, give Mr. Dodson
what I consider to be the real foundation for
such an absurd supposition. Having had a number
of such deformities brought under my notice, I can
speak not only from what I have heard, but from
what I have really seen. I have found that it is
not an unusual occurrence to see thrushes, black-
birds, larks, and many others, after being confined
some years in a cage, with their legs deformed in
the manner I am about to describe. Erom some
cause — want of the necessary food or exercise — the
scales of the legs increase to a prodigious size,
often being five or six times as large as the ordi-
nary legs, and taking a downward growth, fre-
quently overhang the feet, and in some instances
prevent the bird from standing upon a level sur-
face. These scales becoming extremely dry, they
are by the slightest accident detached from the leg
as far as the knee joint ; the scales at that part
being smaller, and the skins more flexible, allow the
mass of scales, still retaining the shape of the
original legs, to remain suspended. The legs after
being divested of their old scales, appear extremely
thin, and quite pale ; and to any person that does
not make such an examination as they should, but
arrive at a hasty conclusion that the bird has four
legs, and that the cast-off scales, which are so much
the largest, must be the old legs, are very likely to
be deceived themselves, and misguide others. I
have seen several instances of hawks that have
evidently been trapped, and made their escape with
the loss of one foot, and several other birds— a
lark amongst the rest, that had been deprived of
both feet ; and this bird had lived for some consider-
able time after, as the legs had quite healed, and

190

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Aug. 1, 1S67.

become covered with a hard, horny substance,
which enabled' it to get about in some way or
other. Now, surely, if such as your correspondent
states be correct, these poor cripples would be fit
subjects for nature's handiwork. But even in such
cases where birds are sometimes hatched with four
legs,_ they only make use of two, and were they
deprived of these, the remaining ones would prove
useless.—/. B. Waters.

Snake Charming. — The remarks relative to
snake charming in Science-Gossip for February,
remind me of a commonism that I used to hear long
years ago, at least half a century, in a country-
place, bearing upon the same subject, it was this :
"Get an your own side, speckle-back," and the origin
of the saying was given as this — a little girl used to
sit upon the doorstep to eat her bread and milk, a
snake used to come every morning for his share,
and if by chance he got on the wrong side, she
would give him a rap on the head with her spoon,
exclaiming, " Get on your own side, speckle-back."
Eventually the snake was destroyed by the child's
friends fearing it might injure her, but, unfortu-
nately, she took her loss so to heart, that she pined
away and died broken-hearted. — G. B.

Dog in Trouble. — An acquaintance of mine
had a rather valuable breed of poodles : amongst the
number was one that was the most active, lively,
and the finest; suddenly he seemed to lose the
power of leaping up, and when stroked on the back
shrunk from the hand. It went on thus for about
six months, growing gradually weaker as if from
consumption, and then died. A post mortem showed
a skewer partially embedded in the lungs, thus
causing a painful, lingering death. I have no
doubt that these (see p. 63) are by no means soli-
tary cases, and it seems a great pity they cannot be
generally known, as a means of inducing care to be
taken to prevent like occurences. — 67. B.

Cats at the Eire. — In country places you
will hear this commonism — ■

When the cat sleeps on her brain,
'lis a sure sign ofrai*.

And I have repeatedly noticed that when the
weather is heavy the cat lies with the back of her
head on the ground. There is one thing relative
to the cat that I cannot at all understand, I have
hundreds of times produced electric sparks from
the cat's back by rubbing the hair the wrong way;
that was in the country some years ago ; but here in
London all my efforts to do so have proved abor-
tive, although the weather has been cold enough
for such purpose one would imagine, neither do I
find any one but my wife who ever witnessed it.
Can you tell me why F — G. B.

Gold Eisii. — We have a pond of circular form,
some eighteen or twenty feet in diameter, having
water-lilies, two kinds of pondweed, water crow-
foot, &c. ; and had in the dry summer of 1865, not
less than eighteen inches of water in it. Into this
were placed, two years ago, when it was dug (early
in 1865), a few gold fish, which, in consequence of
the supply of food which the pond contains, through
having so many plants in it, have increased to an
enormous extent, and some of the young ones of
1865 are already assuming the beautiful metallic
colours which make these fish such an ornament to
a piece of water, and which does not generally take

place, out of doors, in water of the same tem-
perature as the atmosphere, until the third year. If
" G. A. W." prepared a pond with a natural bottom
and without a jet of water, he would most likely
succeed better, as gold fish are said, in common
with others of the carp family, not to breed in run-
ning water. — Y. D.

Tail of Locust. — The female Locusta viridissima
has a straight sword-shaped ovipositor, which may
possibly be the tail, like that of a scorpion," I. M. P."
speaks of. This is not the species which does so
much mischief in the East ; that being scientifically
known as Acri/dium migratorium, or as it was named
by Linnaeus Gnjllus migratorius, but possibly the
one may have been mistaken for the other. — Y. B.

Are Anemones Oviparous. — On the 14th of
July, I observed what I had not before seen, during
my eight years' experience as a keeper of marine
aquaria. I have frequently seen anemones of
various kinds multiply by fission, by budding, and
viviparously, but until to-day, I had not seen
anemones give off ova. I observed a mass of
greyish-looking matter near the orifice of a very fine
strawberry mesembryanthemum which I have had
in my aquarium for four years, and on attempting to
remove it by means of a brush, which I generally
use for brushing the anemones, and for removing
impurities, I discovered that the mass was feebly
gelatinous, and that every attempt to remove it,
only removed a portion, the mass being broken by
the brush passing through it. While engaged in
the removal, I observed another and a larger mass
of similar substance, being ejected from the mouth
of the anemone, and on this occasion, I removed it
by means of a glass dipping-tube. On examining
the contents of the tube, I discovered it consisted
of a mass of ova about ^th part of an inch in
diameter, and entirely covered with radii or ciliary
processes. When examined under a microscope,
the globules did not present any appearance of
motion, were very uniform in size, were very
symmetrical, and perfectly spherical. The quantity
of ovarian matter emitted on the two occasions
above referred to would have filled a small thimble,
and correctly to estimate the number of the ova,
exceeds my powers of calculation : I roughly esti-
mate them upwards of a million. Can any of the
readers of Science- Gossir inform me if ova so
voided ever become anemones, or are they merely
unprolific germs ? — T. P. Barkas.

Hair-worms. — A large quantity of these worms
were found after the thunder-storm of June the 3rd,
at Epsom and its vicinity, but all disappeared in
the afternoon. They were at first supposed to be
Gordius aquaticus, but turned out to be Mermis
nigrescens. During the dahlia season they are
here parasitic, in the bodies of the earwigs, in the
proportion of five to ten per cent. — W. T. II iff,
Epsom.

Death's-head Moth.— In "British Moths," by
Edward Newman, authority is brought forward to
verify his statement that the chrysalis and cater-
pillar of the death's-head moth {Acherontia atropos)
have power to emit sounds. I have kept a great
many of the former, and have three now, but I have
failed to hear the slightest noise made by them. I
know that the moth can (when touched) make a
noise similar to a mouse, but more plaintive. —
Frederick Stanley.

Aug. 1, 1S67.]

HAUDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

191

Impressions of Leaves. — To obtain exact
nature-printed copies of the leaves and impressions
of leaves found in the Lower Bugshot Pipe-clays,
let " It. C." mix well with cold drawn linseed oil,
indigo and chrome yellow to a very smooth con-
sistence with a palette-knife, till it assumes a good
vegetable green ; then, with a small camel's hair
pencil let him paint the impression very carefully,
and before it gets too dry, he may obtain on thin
paper, by gentle pressure with a piece of clean
flannel, a very good impression. — Wokingham.

Mirage.— One hot day in the summer of 1865,
a mirage was seen off the coast of Hants : the
image of a large war-ship appeared upside-down,
just above the horizon. — K.

Nut-borers— In vol. ii., "Insect Architecture,"
by James ltennie, pp. 102, Ravages of Insects,
Mr. Murray will find a short article upon the nut
weevil {Balaninus nucum, Germar). As the entire
article might be too long for S.G., I send a con-
densed account for Mr. M's information, as he may
not have the work at hand. This weevil drills the
hole with its long horny beak {rostrum) while the
nuts are in their young and soft state, about the
beginning of August; the female lays one egg
which is thrust into the nut: it is of a brown colour,
and is hatched in about a fortnight, the grub
feeding on the interior of the shell as well as the
soft pulp. It is remarkable that during this period
care is taken not to injure the kernel, which is per-
mitted to ripen before it is attacked, for had this
been prematurely done it would have been starved,
as it had not the power of perforating another nut.
It is said to be careful to preserve the original hole
made by the mother by gnawing around its inner
edges, in order to facilitate its exit, which it effects
when the nut falls to the ground in September or
October. Two eggs are never laid in the same nut.
This insect in all probability caused the hole in
the nut observed by Mr. M.— W. P., Newark.

Skunk odour. — It is lucky for the trade of per-
fumers, that their skill in essences has not as yet
attained to the power of concocting a perfume
equal in persistency to that secreted in the oil-glands
of this most disagreeable animal ; if such were the
case, the sale of one small phial would supply an in-
dividual for a lifetime. A handkerchief odorized with
scent so permanent would defy the combined
powers of soap, soda, and washerwomen to remove
the mephitic bouquet, as long as the fabric retained
its entirety —

Bury and wash, and rub as you will,

The scent of the skunk will cling to them still.

Lord's British Columbia.

Magpie.— I have a magpie the feathers of which
of late continually looked greasy, as though the bird
perspired profusely ; and now he has not only lost
his tail, but the greater part of his feathers, and
though once a fine bird has become a miserable ob-
ject. Can any one enlighten me as to the cause, or
its cure? As I imagine, it must be in some manner
associated with his food, a hint or two towards a
rectification of his dietary would oblige. — R. H.

What's the
suppose that a .

feathers when they see it applying its bill to its
plumage, aud running it down a feather, from the
root to the extremity ; but a man well versed in the
habits of birds knows, when he sees the bird do this

Bird doing.— People are apt to
bird is preening, or rectifying its

(except after it has got wet), that it is trying to dis-
lodge the vermin which cling with an astonishing
pertinacity to the feathers. Now, while the bird is
thus employed on that part of its body just above
the tail, where there is a gland, some people imagine
that the bird is procuring a liquor from the gland,
by means of its beak, in order to apply it to its
feathers. But, at best, this can be only mere con-
jecture on the part of the observer, because the
feathers on the rump completely preclude the
possibility of his having a distinct view of what the
bird is doing. — IFaterton's Essays.

Song of the Lark.— No doubt much of the
pleasure derived from the song of the Lark depends
upon association, and to him who finds delight in
wandering over the green fields, along the daisied
margin of the clear stream that winds in the bottom
of the pastoral glen, or upon the ferny brae, where
the "lang yellow broom" and "blossomed furze
unprofitably gay," shoot up amidst the wild thyme,
yarrow, and blue bell, it is pleasant to listen even to
the "skirl" of the Corn Bunting, the seesaw song of
the Tit, the creaking cry of the Partridge, or the
singular crake of the Land-rail ; but, independently
of circumstances and associations, the song of the
Lark imparts'an elasticity to the mind, elevates the
spirits, and suspends for a time the gnawing of
corroding care. — Macgillvray's British Birds.

Cement wanted.— I shall feel obliged if I cau
be informed- through the medium of your "Notes
and Queries" what is the best cement for fasten-
ing india-rubber to britannia metal. — William Bate.

Milton and Reade— " T. A. H." writes us in
defence of the grammatical construction of the
passage quoted by "F. A. A." and condemned by
Mr. Milton in our last number. We cannot sanction
philological discussions in our columns, and regret
that Mr. Milton's grounds of complaint against
" F. A. A." should have required sucii adventitious
aid.— Ed.

Eish Tanks. — In answer to your correspondent
" G. A. W." concerning gold fish, I would observe, in
the first place, that the recent covering of the
bottoms with Portland cement would in all proba-
bility prove fatal to his fish. It has the same blind-
ing and killing properties as lime, therefore all
tanks, ponds, basins for fountains and aquariums in
the construction of which lime or cement has been
used should have the water drained off once a week
for about a month previous to the introduction of
the fish. I would also recommend about one inch of
gravel sand or burnt earth spread over the bottom .
Your correspondent states that the depth of his
pond is from 8 inches to 14 inches. Now 14 inches
of water is not enough to protect fish from the
burning rays of a summer's sun, neither is it suffi-
cient to preserve them from the winter's cold. Give
them three feet in the middle, procure some roots
of the water lily and a couple of deep propagating
pans in which plant the lilies, well securing them in
the pans by placing large stones or pebbles upou
the top of roots. A pot or two of the Calla plant
look very beautiful in a pond and does well ; the
foilage of the lilies will prove an agreeable shelter
to the fish without which no fish can thrive. Pur-
suing this plan, I have had them in water under my
care breed by thousands, so numerous that every
summer we were obliged to thin them, and this in a
gentleman's garden within 4 miles of the Marble
Arch, London. — Henry Morgan.

192

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Aug. 1, 1867.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Alt. 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, contri-
butions should not be received later than the 15th of each
month. No notice whatever can be taken of communi-
cations which do not contain the name and address of the
writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be with-
held. 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 manu-
script 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 : x 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 inad-
missible under any circumstances. Those of the popular
names of British plants and animals are retained and regis-
tered for publication when sufficiently complete for that
purpose, in whatever form may then be decided upon.
Address No. 192, Piccadilly, London, W.

P. B. — Your brand is Pnccinia Lychnideavum, which is
quite different from the wheat mildew.

E. T. S.— In using "immersion" objectives, a drop of
water is placed on the lens.

J. P. — The "tick" from weasel does not seem to be dif-
ferent from the Dog-tick {Ixodes ricinus).—W. W. S.

W. R. and G. T. S. — The remains of organisms received
were not in a condition to determine with certainty. The red
patches in the water as described by you and seen at the
docks, with the fragments received, lead to the conclusion
that they were a large species of Daphnia (Science-Gossip,
1866, pp. 156-7).

R. G. A.— We have been informed that a complete list of
British Mosses is in preparation, and will shortly be pub-
lished.

H. C. — Have you seen " Liebig's Letters on Chemistry," or
"Johnston's Chemistry of Common Life"? A book on
" Chemical Analysis " will be of very little use to one " unac-
quainted with the principles of chemistry."

C. P. S.— It is Seaside Barley {Hordeum maritimum).

W. D. R.— No. 1, the common Weevil {Phyllobius uni-
fortius), a pretty object for the microscope; No. 2, the still
commoner Bracken-clock (Anomala horticola). — 7. O. W.

W. H. — All the instruments you require for dissecting
flowers will be a pocket-lens (about Is. 6d.) and a good pen-
knife. You may have a useful little microscope for three
guineas. No book of Biitish moths, coloured, can be had at
a low price.

W. P. W. S.— Only " Insect Transformations," published
nearly forty years ago.

E. A. C— The query has been answered in Science-Gossip.
There is no patent method for finding Triceratum without
trouble.

W. R. — No. 2, Atrichum undulatum ; No. 3, Polytrichum
piliferum. — R. B.

T. H., Jun.— No. I, Hypnum rutabulum; No. 5, Ncckera
crispa. — R. B.

J. R. W.— No. I, Antennaria dioica; No. 2, Salix repens.—
R. 7.'.

Jemima.— Hieracium pilosella, very common.

H. B. H.— Cooke's "Fungi Britannici," cent. Hi., is just
published, and can be obtained at 192, Piccadilly.

T. P. F.— The maple-leaf insect is the curious little Phvllo-
phorus testudinatus of Thornton, the Chelymorpha phyllophora
of Clark, and the Periphyllus testudoof Van der Hoeven.— W.

W. M. J.— To determine the genus and species of ferns, it
is absolutely essential that the fronds sent to us should
possess fructification.

C. J. T. — We know of no works on British Marine Alga?
superior, if equal, to those by the late Professor Harvey.

Water-filters.— Referring to inquiries as to purifying
water, we would recommend that application be made to the
Silicated Carbon Filter Company (Battersea) for one of
their Illustrated Lists, as these Filters have been spoken of in
the highest terms by the Lancet, the Popular Science Review,
and the British Medical Journal.

B. T. — It is really quite out of our power to name so many
specimens at a time. We are willing to do all that we can for
our subscribers, but this is one of the things that we cannot
do. Could not some of our friends think of tbe Editor, as
well as of themselves, when they pack up a dozen " odd
things " for him to name for them ?

M. B.— A second issue of Mrs. Bury's " Photographs of
Polycystius " is in progress, and will soon be published.

A. A.— See Nave's Handybook, just published at 2s. 6d. by
Mr. Hardwicke, 192, Piccadilly.

B. R.— We cannot say. Inquire of Mr. King, Portland-
road.

R. S.— In the present number you will find a chapter on
Leaf-miners. It is most likely a Dipterous larva which
mines the honeysuckle leaves forwarded to us.

EXCHANGES.

Grasshopper-Warbler's Egos for good specimens of
Acherontia atropos, Endrominis versicolor, or other good
Lepidoptera.— S. H. Hedworth, Dunston, Gateshead.

Gums, seeds, microscopic objects (mounted, &c), for fossil
teeth and recent or fossil echini.— W. Gray, 16, Crooked-lane,
London Bridge, E.C.

Leaf Insect {Chelymorpha phyllophora) in a living state,
or the leaf fungus [Xenodochus carbonari as), for other objects.
— J. P. Fernie, Kimbolton.

BniTisH Grasses (25 varieties) for a similar number of
British Mosses, Ferns, or Butterflies.— F. Stanley, Harold-
road, Newtown, Margate.

Blowfly (head and tongue mounted), or Campylodiscus
clypeus, for other mounted objects.— E. Histed, 3, Great
Bourne-street, Hastings.

British Ferns and varieties, fronds or spores, for others.
—J. Morley, Jun., Sherborne-road, Balsall Heath, Birming-
ham.

British Lepidoptera for others in good condition. — For
lists, apply to Mr. Brunton, Glenarm Castle, Lame, N. Ire-
land.

British Ferns, Mesembryanthemum, Cactus, &c, esta-
blished in pots, in exchange for shells or fossils. — J. W.,
4, Meadow-view, Whitehaven.

Eggs of Landrail, Lapwing, &c, for exchange.— Lists on
application to G. C. Davies, Coneygreen House, Oswestry,
Salop.

Fish Scales (six kinds, mounted) for other objects. — F. S.,
Post-office, Rugeley.

Trochilium tipuliforme and other Lepidoptera for ex-
change.—A. B. Farn, 5, Ebenezer-terrace, Parson's Mead,
Croydon, S.

Nyssia hispidakia and il7. tristata for exchange. — H.
Willits, 38, Mowbray- street, Sheffield.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

" Popular Science Review " for July, I867. London :
Robert Hardwicke.

" A Handybook to the Collection and Preparation of Fresh-
water and Marine Algre, Diatoms, Desmids, Fungi, Lichens,
Mosses," &c, by Johann Nave. Translated and edited by
the Rev. W. W. Spicer, M.A. London: Robert Hardwicke.
186".

" Summary Notes on Vegetable Anatomy and Physiology,
and the Classification of British Plants," by Louis C. Miall.
London : Simpkin & Co. 1867.

" A Summary of the Occurrences of the Grey Phalarope in
Great Britain during the Autumn of 1866," by J. H. Gurney,
Jun. London: Van Voorst.

" The Technologist " for July, 1867. London : Kent & Co.

" The Quarterly Magazine of the High Wycombe Natural
History Society," No. 5, June, I867. Wycombe: W. Butler.

" Remarks on Pyrula carica and Pyrula perversa," by T.
Graham Ponton. Reprinted from "Annals and Magazine of
Natural History."

Communications Received. — W. J. B. — R. H. — T. B. —
J. B.— W. A. G— G. T. S.— J. S. T.— B. T.— W. W. S.— J. R.
— F. B.— L. H. F.— P. H. G— A. L.— E. C— W. G.— C. P. S.
— S. S.— E. W.— E. T. H— F. A. A.— C. L.— A. B.— J. B. K —
E. T. S.— J. B. W.— L.— H. E. W.— C. W.— T. P. B.-M. D. P.
— H. U— J. H. M.— J. P. F.— J. P.— A. C. E— G. C. D.—
W. T. I.— G. E. B.— E. H.-R. G. A.— F. S.— T. H. H.— K.—
H. C— A B. F.— W. D. R.— B. T.— J. B— F. S.— J. B. L.—
J. M— G. C. D.— J. W.— Y. D— W. H.— W. P. (Newark).—
W. P. W. S.— H. T.— J. B— J. W. M.— W. M. J.— W. A. L.—
T. A. H.— W. D.

Sept. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

193

THE DISGUISES OE INSECTS.

By ALFRED R. WALLACE, E.R.G.S, F.L.S., M.E.S.

i VERY one has beard
of the wonderful
Leaf-insect of the
tropics, which is
scarcely less a puz-
zle to the scientific
naturalist than it
is to the natives of the coun-
tries it inhabits. I have been
told over and over again by
intelligent persons in the East
of the curious plaut whose
leaves changed into insects !
And I could never convince
them that this was not the
true explanation, for they
would say, "It is no good
your trying to persuade me, for
I have seen the creature myself;
and I assure you that it has real leaves growing
out of it, exactly the same as the other leaves that
grow upon the tree." And we really cannot wonder
at this belief, for when the creature is alive it re-
mains motionless among the foliage, and the
colour, veining, form, and texture of its wing-covers
and appendages, are so wonderfully like those of
leaves that it is extremely difficult to distinguish it
at all.

A few years since a specimen of the Phyllium
scythe, the " Walking Leaf " of India, was kept
alive at the Royal Botanic Garden at Edinburgh.
Mr. Andrew Murray wrote a long account of it, and
among other matters says : " It so exactly resembled
the leaf on which it fed, that when visitors were
shown it, they usually, after looking carefully over
the plant for a minute, declared that they could sec
no insect. It had then to be more minutely pointed
out to them; and although seeing is notoriously
said to be believing, it looked so absolutely the
same as the leaves among which it rested, that this
No. 33.

test would rarely satisfy them ; and nothing would
convince them that there was a real live insect
there but the test of touch — it had to be stirred up
to make it move, or taken off the plant to crawl on
the finger of the attendant."

But these remarkable insects do not stand alone.
There are many others in every order which are
" disguised " in a somewhat similar manner, some
with equal perfection, others less accurately, but
all serving the same purpose— that of protecting
the insect from the enemies that would destroy it.
I propose now to give a short account of some of
the more interesting cases that occur both at home
and in the more luxuriant regions of the tropics.

Almost every one must have noticed the very
different way in which the bright colours are dis-
tributed in butterflies and moths. In the former,
the whole upper surface of the wings is adorned
with equally gay colours, while the under surface is
always less brilliant, and is generally blotched or
mottled with obscure or simple hues. In most
moths, on the contrary, the bright colour is re-
stricted to the upper surface of the lower wings,
the upper wings being usually of variously mottled
brown or ashy tints. This difference is at once seen
to be connected with the habits of the insects, the
conspicuous colours being so arranged as to be
visible during flight, but hidden in repose. On the
other hand, the beautiful mottlings and spots and
delicate shadings that cause so many moths to re-
semble bark or lichens, or leaves or twigs, are never
developed on those parts of the wings which are
hidden during repose. Thus all the Bombycidse and
Noctuidaj, which conceal their hind wings when at
rest, have them either quite plain or ornamented
with rich orange or crimson hues ; while almost all
the Geometridai, which rest with their wings spread
open, and such of the Bombycida? as have the same
habit, are mottled and tinted alike on both front
and hind wings.

K

191

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Sept. 1, 1867.

These general facts as to the distribution of
colour are the first stage in that process of " dis-
guise" which becomes so wonderfully developed in
a few conspicuous cases. The next stage is exhi-
bited by the fact that there is a general agreement
between the colour of a large number of moths and
the ^prevailing tints of nature at the season when
they appear. Out. of fifty-two autumn-flying moths,
it has been noticed that a large proportion are of
various tints of yellow and brown, so as exactly to
match with the " sere and yellow leaf ; " while in
winter they are of grey and silvery tints, like the
washed-out leaves and grass, the fog and the hoar-
frost, which give a tone to every landscape at this
season.

We now come to a closer and more special dis-
guise. Many of the moths that rest during the day
on paUngs or on the trunks of trees are marked and
coloured so as to match the tints of the bark and
lichens, and thus to escape observation. As exam-
ples of this numerous class, we may mention two of
our commonest species — the " Dagger " (Acronycta
psi) and the pretty green Agriopis aprilina. The
Lappet moth (Gastropacha quercifolia) when at
rest resembles very closely a small bunch of dead
leaves ; and at a little distance could hardly be
taken to be a moth, so curiously does it spread out
its hind wings so as to project beyond the others.
The accompanying cut (fig. 193) by [Mr. T. W.
Wood, is an accurate representation'of this insect
in°its attitude of repose.

cjor.

Fig. 193. Lappet Moth.

One of the most curious of these resemblances is
that of the Buff- tip moth (Pygtera bucephala). This
insect closes its wings so as almost to form a
cylinder ; and on the tip of each wing is an oval
yellowish spot, edged with a dark brown double
line. The wings are greyish and hoary ; and the
head, again, is much contracted beneath the large
thorax, which is also of a buff colour, with a double
brown marginal line. The result of this arrange-
ment is that the insect looks at first sight like a

piece of stick, one end being broken off "nearly
square, the other end more obliquely (fig. 191) ; and
as it often rests on the ground, among grass or on
leaves, it may easily be mistaken for a piece of a
broken branch which has fallen to the ground. Many

Fig-. 194. Buff-tip Moth.

more of these beautiful adaptations remain to be
discovered in our native insects. That most elegant
insect the Elephant Hawk moth is of a reddish-pink
colour, mingled with dull yellowish-green, and with
specks and streaks of white ; but it has not been
noticed how closely all these colours must assimilate
it to the handsome red-flowered Willow-herb (Epi-
lobium), on which the larva feeds, and on which the
female insect, while depositing her eggs, no doubt
often reposes. The petals of the common Epilobium
angustifolium, for instance, are of the same pinky-
red as the moth ; its stems and seedpods are green,
tinted with brown-purple or yellowish, while the
white filaments of its stamens correspond to the
white lines and streaks on the insect. It is evident,
therefore, that while reposing amid a clump of these
plants, the Elephant Hawk-moth, although so bril-
liantly coloured, must be exceedingly difficult to
detect, since every part of its body is of exactly the
same hue as some portion of the flowers.

We owe the discovery of one of the most beau-
tiful examples of " disguise " in a native insect to
the talented young artist and close observer of
nature who has furnished the illustrations for this
article. He tells us that one fine afternoon in May,
being overtaken by a shower, he sought shelter
under a hedge, where, among other flowers, the wild
parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) grew in the greatest
profusion. While observing the light and elegant
forms of these plants, he noticed what appeared to
be a small bunch of flowers projecting beyond the
rest ; and a closer examination led him to the inter-

Sept. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S S CIE N CE-GO S SIP.

19;"

esting discovery that our beautiful little " Orange-
tip," one of the gayest and brightest of our native
butterflies, was reposing among these flowers in
such a manner as to gain a complete protection by
its resemblance to them. He was now able to see
the use of almost every detail, both of the form and
colouring of this insect. The bright orange patch,
so beautiful when the insect is on the wing, was
hidden beneath the hind wings ; and there is thus a
very good reason for the circumstance that the
colour does not extend so far on the under as on
the upper surface of the wing, and also for the tip
of the upper wings being mottled with green be-
neath, like the whole surface of the hind wings ; for

Fig. 195. Orange-tip Butterfly.

as they are a little longer than the hind wings, the
whole form one'uniformly coloured surface when the
wings are closed (fig. 195). Various other species of
Anthocharis, as well as the pretty Zegris of Eastern
Europe and our rare Pieris daplidice, are coloured
in a similar manner on the under side, though with
varying degrees of brilliancy; and it is probable
that they are accustomed to l'epose on the flowers
of umbelliferous or cruciferous plants of suitable
colours. One of the handsomest species of Indian
Pieridse, the Iphias glaucippe, whose upper wings
are ornamented above with a large patch of vivid

orange-red, is so tinted and mottled on the under
side as to resemble a dry leaf ; and a strong dark
line running through the centre of the wings repre-
sents the midrib. This species often rests on the
ground, on the banks of streams, or on beds of
gravel, and depresses the upper wings so much
between the lower ones as to form an outline very
similar to that of a leaf ; and this is no doubt a
great protection to it; for although so large and
showy an insect, it is very plentiful.

By far the most singular and most perfect disguise
I have ever met with in a Lepidopterous insect is
that of a common Indian butterfly, Kallima inachis,
and its Malayan ally Kallima paralekta. I had the
satisfaction of observing the habits of the latter in
Sumatra, where it is rather plentiful at the end of
the dry season. It is a large and showy insect
when on the wing ; the upper surface being glossed
with blue and purple, and the fore wings crossed
obliquely by a broad band of rich orange. The
under surface of the wings is totally different, and
is seen at a glance to resemble a dead leaf. The
hind wings terminate in a little tail, which forms the
stalk of the leaf, and from this to the apex is a
slightly curved dark brown line representing the
midrib. The transverse striae which cross the
discoidal cell in many butterflies are here continued
so as to form lateral veins, and the usual sub-
marginal striae on the hind wings, slightly modified,
represent others towards the base of the wing.
But it is only when the habits of the insect are
observed that the disguise becomes manifested in all
its perfection (fig. 196). This butterfly, like many
others, has the habit of resting only upon a nearly
vertical twig or branch, with the wings closed to-
gether so as completely to conceal the upper surface.
In this position, the little tail of the hind wings
exactly touches the branch, and we now see why it is
always curved inwards a little ; for if it were quite
straight, it would hang clear of the branch, and thus
fail to represent an attached leaf. There is a little
scallop or hollow on the margin of the fore wings at
the base, which serves to conceal the head of the
butterfly, which is very small for its size, and the
long antennae are carried back and hidden between
the folded wings. When sitting on a twig in the
manner described, the insect is to all appearance a
perfect dry leaf, — yet it is evident that its chances
of escape would be much increased if it were
surrounded by real dry leaves instead of by green
ones ; for if, when pursued, it took shelter in a
growing bush, it could hardly fail to be still a
conspicuous object. Marvelous to relate, it does
possess the habit of almost invariably entering a bush
loaded with dead leaves, and is so instantly lost to
sight, owing to its close resemblance to all the sur-
rounding objects, that I doubt if the most vigilant
fly-catcher could detect it. I have myself often
been utterly puzzled. I have watched it settle,

k 2

196 HARDWICKE'S SCIEN.CE-GO S S IP.

[Sept 1, 1867.

Fig. 196. Indian Butterflies at rest.

apparently in a very conspicuous situation, a few
yards off, but on crawling carefully up to the spot
have been quite unable to detect any living thing.
Sometimes, while gazing intently, a butterfly would
start out from just before my eyes, and again enter
another dead bush a few yards off, again to be lost
in the same manner. Once or twice only was I able
to detect it sitting, and admire the wonderful dis-
guise which a most strange combination of colour,
form, and habits enabled it instantaneously to assume.
But there is yet another peculiarity which adds to
the concealment of this species. Scarcely two of the
specimens are alike in colour on the under side,
but vary through all the shades of pale buff, yellow,
brown, and deep rusty orange which dried leaves
assume. Others are speckled over with little black
dots like mildewed leaves, or have clusters of spots
or irregular blotches, like the minute fungi that
attack dead leaves ; so that a dozen of these insects
might settle on a perfectly bare spray, and clothe it
at once with withered foliage not distinguishable
from that of the surrounding branches !

The protection derived from a vegetable disguise
is not confined to the perfect Lepidoptera, but
is often equally remarkable in their larvse. The

caterpillar of a European moth that feeds on the
privet (Hadenaligustri) is so exactly the colour of the
under side of the leaf, on which it sits in the day-
time, that you may have the leaf in your hand and
yet not discover it. In the caterpillars of the
Geometrician, form, colour, and habit combine to
disguise many of the species. Those of the Brim-
stone and Swallow-tail moths may be taken as
examples. They have the habit of stretching them-
selves out obliquely when in repose, attached only
by the clasping legs at the further extremity, and will
remain stiff and motionless in this position for hours.
The little protuberances on the body, their colour
and attitude, give them so exactly the appearance of
twigs of the living tree, that we may easily conceive
the advantage this disguise must be to them ; for
it is certain that many will escape destruction
when more conspicuous insects will be devoured.

Among the extensive group of the Coleoptera, the
examples of a protective disguise are literally innu-
merable. In the tropics, every fallen tree swarms
with beetles, and a large number of these so closely
resemble the bark to which they cling, that it
requires a close examination to detect them. The
families of the Longicoms and Curculios furnish the
greater part of these ; and among the former, that

Sept. 1, 1807.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

197

which wears perhaps the most perfect disguise is
the Onychocerus scorpio. This beetle is common
in South America, and was found abundantly by
Mr. Bates on the banks of the Amazon, but always
clinging to the rough bark of one kind of tree,
called by the natives Tapiriba. This bark was so
closely imitated by the beetle itself,— its elytra and
thorax being tubercled and coloured so as'exactly to
match it, and the insect clinging so closely as to
form, apparently, one surface with the tree, that Mr.
Bates assures me it was often absolutely impos-
sible to detect it by the closest inspection as long
as it remained motionless !

Many of the Tiger beetles, although they are such
conspicuous and beautiful objects in our cabinets,
are well disguised when in their natural stations.
Our commonest species, Cicindela campestris, is
fond of grassy banks, where its green colour makes
it difficidt to see it. Cicindela maritima is almost
exactly the same colour as the sandy shores it
haunts. The large Cicindela heros frequents the
mountainous forests of Celebes, where its brown
colour exactly matches with the dead leaves that
cover the ground. The magnificent velvety-green
Cicindela gloriosa was captured only on wet moss-
covered rocks in the bed of a mountain torrent in
the island of Celebes, where it was very difficult to
see it. The pale-coloured Cicindela Durvillei was
found on coral sand of almost exactly its own colour ;
and I noticed generally that, whatever the colour of
the sand or the soil, the common Tiger beetles of the
locality were of the same hue. A most remarkable
instance of this was a species which 1 found only
on the glistening, shiny mud of salt marshes, the
colour and shine of which it matched so exactly
that at a few yards' distance I could only detect it
by the shadow it cast when the sun shone !

Several Buprestidse of the genus Corcebus re-
semble the dung of birds freshly dropped on leaves,
and I have often been puzzled to determine whether
what I saw was worth picking up or not. Mr. Bates
tells us that Chlamys pilula cannot be distinguished
from the dung of caterpillars. Our own Ontho-
philus sulcatus is very like the seed of an
umbelliferous plant, and the common Pill beetle
(Byrrhus pilula) would be taken for anything rather
than an insect.

TVe must now turn to the Orthopterous insects,
which contain some of the most surprising cases of
disguise yet discovered. The true Walking Leaf
has been already described at the commencement of
this article, but there are other insects of a quite
different structure which almost equally resemble
leaves, as shown by the names given to them by the
old writers ; such as Locusta citrifolia, L. laurifolia,
L. myrtifolia, &c. Acrydium gallinaceum, from the
Malay Archipelago, has an immense erect leaf-like
thorax ; A. platypterum has wings like the most beau-
tiful smooth green leaves ; while A. gi bbosum is like

a little shapeless lump of mud or stick. The vora-
cious Mantidse arc often concealed in a similar
manner. Many have the thorax broadly dilated, and,
with the wing-covers, coloured like a dead or a green
leaf; and one has large brown legs and small wings,
so that it looks more like a cluster of bits of stick
and withered leaves than a living insect.

Fig. 197. Stick Insect.

The true Phasmidse, or Stick-insects, are the most
curious, perhaps, of all, and they are much more
abundant in the eastern forests than the Leaf-
insects. They vary from a few inches to a foot
long, and are almost always of the colour and shape
of pieces of stick, the legs forming the branches.
One of the most curious facts connected with them
is that they seem to know that if they rested in the
symmetrical attitudes in which they are always
drawn, with their legs spread out uniformly on each

198

IIARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Sept. 1, 1S67.

side, they would soon be detected. They are ac-
cordingly found stretched out motionless in the
most unsymmetrical manner possible — one leg out
on one side, and two on the other, for example, the
remaining legs fitting so closely to the body that they
appear to form one piece with it. They lay generally
across leaves and twigs, as if they had accidentally
fallen there from some dry branch overhead ; and so
impossible is it to detect them by the eye that I
used to make it a practice, when walking along in
the forests, to touch every suspicious bit of dead
stick I saw loose on the foliage, as the only means of
finding out whether they were real sticks or Stick-
insects. Sometimes they are exactly the colour of
lichen-covered branches, and are covered with little
i'oliaceous expansions. One that inhabits the
swampy forests of Borneo has these of a beautiful
olive-green colour, so as exactly to resemble a
creeping moss or jungermannia ; and the Dyak who
brought it me assured me it was very curious, for
he had never before seen an insect grown all over
with moss while alive ! I was quite as much
astonished as he was, for I could hardly believe my
eyes, and it was only after close and repeated ex-
amination that I could convince myself it was not a
real plant that covered the animal. This insect
loses all its beauty when dried, and it has been
very poorly figured by the Dutch naturalists, and
very inappropriately named Ceroxylus laceratus,
from its torn and shaggy appearance in the pre-
served specimens.

In the deserts of Egypt are some curious Man-
tidse which are so exactly the colour of the soil they
live upon that the closest inspection can scarcely
detect them. It is even stated that where the soil
changes from brown to white or yellow in a few
yards' distance, the insects change also, and always
correspond in colour to their habitation. The
caterpillar of a European moth, Bryophila algae, is
said to change in a similar manner, being yellow
when found on the yellow Lichen juniperinus, but
grey when on the grey Lichen saxatilis. In this
case, however, the food may probably produce the
change of colour, as it is known to do in some other
larvae. Some cases more to the point have been
observed by our artist, Mr. T. W. Wood, lie
states that the chrysalis of the common Tortoise-
shell butterfly is of a very different colour accord-
ing to its position. When attached to a nettle, it is
of a golden colour ; when on a wall or fence, mottled
grey ; and when on a tarred paling, nearly black.
Once he placed some larvae of the Swallow-tailed
butterfly in chip boxes, where they changed into
chrysalids ; but, strange to say, instead, of being-
green or dusky, as they usually are, they were of
exactly the same colour as the inside of the box,
without any marking whatever. Some of them pro-
duced very fine butterflies, which shows that they
were healthy.

These curious facts prove that we have yet
much to learn as to the causes which determine
the colours of animals, and it is to be wished
that a few of our young naturalists would ex-
periment on some of our commonest insects,
rearing them from the egg exposed to the influence
of differently coloured objects and carefully register-
ing the result. In this article I have only been
able to call attention to some curious facts in the
colouring of insects, and more especially to the
disguises which serve to protect them from their
enemies, or enable them more easily to entrap their
prey. Such of my readers as may wish to know
more of this subject, and may desire to learn how
these strange modifications of form and colour have
probably arisen, ai-e referred to an article in the
Westminster Review for July last, on " Mimicry, and
other Protective Resemblances among Animals," in
which the most recent views of Mr. Darwin's
disciples are fully explained.

PRIMEVAL BRITAIN.

IN the April number of Science-Gossip there
appeared a very interesting extract from Camp-
bell's "Erost and Eire," treating of a legend re-
corded in the Gaelic poems of Ossian, and in the
folk-lore of the Irish, Welsh, and Highlanders.
This story asserts that in Ancient Britain, in
the days of Eionn, and in the "Eeinne" (which
may be taken to mean, I suppose, the dynasty
which he founded or the domain over which he and
his posterity ruled), there lived men and animals of
gigantic stature. This curious tradition, like most
others, is probably founded on a truth which, when
discovered, might greatly increase our knowledge of
the eax-ly history of our race and land.

While Mr. Campbell quite sees reason, from the
remains of large fossil animals which have been dis-
covered in this country, to believe the latter part of
the legend, he finds the former part, viz., the sup-
position of a gigantic race of men, incredible. Now
it has; occurred to me that the very name of the
monarch under whom this state of things prevailed
is the key to the enigma. Surely this Eionn is no
other than the personage to whom almost all the
old Erse legends relate, viz., Earsaidh, Einiusa-
Earsa, or Phenius the Sage— the personification, in
fact, of the rule of the Tyrian (Phenician) traders,
whose attainments must have appeared so won-
derful and gigantic (to use a material comparison)
to the native Irish. It is well known that uncivilized
nations regard those" who have attained more know-
ledge than themselves as giants in intellect ; and it
is perfectly comprehensible how this reverence for
superior intellectual powershould becomechanged in
time into an actual belief in their superior stature.
In the sense of "learned" or "gifted" man, the
word " giant " is frequently used in Scripture. If

Sept. 1, 1867. j II ATID WICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

109

however, a literal interpretation of the word "giant"
should be insisted on, it is not at all impossible to
conceive that the gigantic races of Canaan — the
Emim and Anakim— took service with the Phe-
uicians as mercenaries, in the same way as Goliah
and his family appear to have been employed by the
Philistines.

The Greek geographers relate that Carthaginian
artificers and husbandmen left the Punic colonies in
Northern Spain to settle in Ireland ; and this immi-
gration into that country must have been carried on
to a large extent, to affect, as it has done, the native
language ; for modern Erse is nearly pure Punic.
The native legends attribute the iirst colonization
of Ireland to three fishermen from Northern Spain ;
and it may be that this is true, since Rennell's
Current, a branch of the Gulf Stream, runs directly
from Biscay to Cape Clear. The Irish bards em-
bodied in their songs a tradition that part of the
country was once in the possession of settlers called
" Phenies," who came from Spain ; and it is thus
owing to the dim recollection of the glories of the
colonial empire of Carthage that the modern Irish
rebels took the name of " Eenians." St. Jerome says
that "Poenus," a Carthaginian, is clearly derived
from the term "Phenician."

When we proceed to examine the attributes as-
cribed to this Phceuius by the Irish traditions, we
discover that they strikingly coincide with the
known characteristics of the Phenicians. Eor in-
stance, he is said to have loved learning, invented
the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin alphabets, and to
have held commercial dealings with Syria and
Africa. The Phenician race had its two capital
cities in Syria and Africa, was the most commercial
one on the face of the earth, the reputed inventor
of letters, and probably, from its wide dealings,
greatly skilled in philology. Even in dress and
personal appearance, the likeness between the
Irish and the inhabitants of Northern Spain is most
marked at the present day. The red cloaks of the
women and the variegated plaids of the men, which
the Irish formerly wore and the Gael still wear, are
the usual articles of dress in Northern Spain. Pro-
bably at the time when Ireland was thus occupied
by the Phenician colonists, the gigantic elk, auroch,
bear, and wolf were alive in the dense forests
of the two islands; if not the hyena, mammoth,
rhinoceros, and great cave tiger of Britaiu, whose
hones have been found in the drift or gravel
stratum at Brentford and elsewhere. This last
animal was of the feline race, as large as the largest
African lion or Bengal tiger — probably some-
thing between the two, like the puma, but with
stronger-knit limbs. It is not necessary to suppose
that the climate was much warmer when it lived
here than it is now, since the tiger at the present
day often follows herds of antelopes to the verge of
perpetual snow in the Himalayas, and goes far into

Siberia. The large animals of the bovine species,
with which our ancestors, to judge from the legends
which reach us at the present day (" Guy and the
dun cow," &c), had such terrible conflicts, are
nearly extinct. The auroch is only known to exist
hi two or three imperial forests in Lithuania and
Poland; the "ox with the high promontory" of
Celtic legends, probably the bison, is now confined
to North America, and is being rapidly extirpated
there; the indigenous wild ox only survives at
Chillingham Park, in Northumberland, and at
Hamilton Palace, in Lanarkshire. The wolf is the only
animal, of those previously mentioned, of whose ex-
tirpation in Britain there is any record in history.
The last was killed in Scotland by Sir Ewen Cameron
of Lochiel in 1680; in Ireland they survived till
1710.

The bones and antlers of the elk are found in the
peat-bogs of Ireland and the Isle of Man, in excel-
lent preservation ; but we have no records of their
existence in our laud, even in the time of the
Romans.

Nothing is more striking than the similarity be-
tween the animals and plants of Northern Europe
and North America. This fact seems to point to
the union of the two continents at some distant
date. Mr. Murray, in his work on " The Distribu-
tion of Mammals," tells us that Shetland shows
evident signs of having been once inland ; and to
make it so again a rise of only seventy fathoms is
necessary, which would connect it with America by
way of the Paroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland.
In North America we find the dwarfish Esquimaux,
who are one and the same people with the Lap-
landers of Northern Europe ; and in both continents
we find the bison (fossd in Europe), elk, reindeer
(called " cariboo " in America), beaver, polar bear,

and several smaller mammals.

E. A. Allen.

BITTEN BY A VIPER.

npHAT fatal results have followed the bite of
-*- the viper, the records of many a country
surgeon's note-book, I am satisfied, would show :
that death has been the immediate consequence of
the bite, in all cases, I am not so certain. That con-
stitutional and other predisposing causes, in certain
cases, will render a fatal issue inevitable to some
persons when so bitten, cannot be doubted ; and so
will these causes influence the course and termina-
tion of the effects resulting from the infliction of
other injuries'upon the human body ; e. g., punctures
from rusty nails, thorns of some shrubs, the sting of
the wasp or bee, and the bite of the common flea and
bed-bug, or other insects. Cases have come under
my notice where severe constitutional disturbance
and much local suffering and inflammation have
resulted from the sting of a bee, inflicted upon the

•200

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP.

[Sept. 1, 1867.

palm of a healthy young man ; and I am no stranger
to the feverish excitement and severe local irritation
resulting from the bites inflicted by bed-bugs in
discharge of their allotted task. I destroy all such
pests when they intrude upon me, and I cannot
imagine that many are of Mr. Ullyett's way of
thinking respecting the viper, and care to protect so
obnoxious a reptile,— for, independent of his inter-
esting cases as to the comparative harmlessness of
the reptile's bite, I fancy many instances could be
produced where it would be seen that the viper's
bite is a malignant and a deadly one. The recollec-
tion of the following case induces me to imagine
that the venom of the viper, when fairly introduced,
is capable of producing death, or a very close
approximation to it, to the person so injured. Some
sixteen years ago, while residing in Essex, a healthy,
industrious, and temperate labouring man, came
under my notice, he having, some twelve or fourteen
hours previously, been bitten by an adder on the
dorsum of his right hand, about an inch above the
first joint of the middle finger. The man's age was
about 3G years, and he had enjoyed very good health
for several years, not during this period being
necessitated to absent himself from his daily labour.
He was, when bitten, in the enjoyment of his usual
good health, and he was engaged in the fields cut-
ting some fagots or dry stubble (I forget just now
exactly which), but he came upon a group of adders ;
one of these sprang at him, and seized his right
hand, as mentioned ; he shook it from him, and
killed it. He sucked the wound well, but not im-
mediately after he had rid himself of the reptile,
but after he had destroyed it, so that absorption of
the virus was complete. Soon after this he began
to experience a sense of burning and stabbing pain
in the hand; the arm also became heavy and stiff.
The wound gradually assumed an angry look, while
the hand became much swollen.

When I saw him he was in bed ; the bitten mem-
ber had been placed in a warm poultice of herbs ;
the man was feverish, flushed, and excited— the
pulse being small and rapid, the tongue and fauces
parched ; he was very thirsty. A sedative was given
to him, and a free but guarded supply of ammonia,
with brandy, given at rather frequent intervals. A
faint and bright redness was extending up the fore-
arm, nearly to the elbow, and some marked amount
of swelling also was clearly present. A large linseed
poultice was applied over the entire bmb, from the
fingers to the elbow-joint. He passed a restless
night, and next day at noon the hand and forearm
were greatly swollen, the band being mottled with
-green and yellow on a dusky red ground ; the wound
on the dorsum was sloughy, and discharged a dirty-
coloured sanies. The forearm was much swollen
and discoloured, but less so than the hand. Inflam-
matory and morbid action was extending up the
•arm; it was dusky-red in colour, painful, and swollen.

At times, a low form of delirium existed, and the
tongue was dry and brownish. Increased attention
was given to the poor fellow, and on the extension
of the morbid action over the entire limb — from
fingers to shoulder— several long and free incisions
were made through the distended and discoloured
integuments, so as to prevent sloughing of the
whole, and also to give vent to the dark-coloured
and foetid sanies which had accumulated from dis-
organization of the cellular tissue. Much relief
followed these incisions, and charcoal and other
poultices gradually corrected the fcetor of the dis-
charge; while, at intervals, considerable portions
of the cellular tissue sloughed away through the
openings mentioned. All this anxious period the
patient required the closest attention and care ; the
delirium, restlessness, and tendency to collapse
were combated by the rather free use of opiates,
ammonia, brandy, strong beef-tea, &c, until after
the lapse of ten or twelve days, when the danger,
once so great, was considered as past, and a decrease
in our solicitude took place.

However, some six or eight weeks were consumed
before he could resume some of his duties as a farm
labourer, and then only with an enfeebled limb, and
one marked with distinct scars, which will ever
remind him of the danger he had experienced from
the bite of a viper. Against the whole tribe the man
vowed vengeance.

Now, although this case of being bitten by a
viper had not a fatal termination, I fancy it will
not acquire any increased toleration for the reptile
from those who may read its details. Had the man
been less robust, or been deprived of ordinary care
and attention, I fancy a fatal result would have
been recorded. Supposing the reptile had bitten a
child instead of the man, death would then have
been certain, I.e., if we may judge from the
symptoms reported.

Sir Charles Bell, I think, like to Mr. Ullyett, has
expressed his belief in the non-fatal effects of the
viper's bite ; and while respecting Mr. Ullyett's
humane motive — the protection of the creatures he
studies— I must confess, from the recollection of
the above case, that 1 should be induced to destroy
the reptile whenever and wherever I might see it.
It has a bad, a very bad character, and is, there is no
gainsaying it, a dangerous reptile ; and from some
resemblance it has to the common and harmless
snakes, it passes its own demerits upon its harm-
less and certainly useful congeners, who are ac-
cordingly sacrificed needlessly by all who believe
all snakes to be, like the viper, poisonous.

Frederick Hall.

The writer of a very interesting article (" Bitten
by a Viper") in your issue for last month, says
that when he suggested that the viper's bite should
be sucked or cauterized, his friend asserted the use-
lessness of these expedients, excepting, perhaps,

Sept. 1, 1867. ]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

201

in partially alleviating the effects of the poison—
"Since," lie said (I quote from memory), "the very
first pulsation, after the bite had been inflicted,
would carry a portion of the poison into the circu-
lation." Now as the matter referred to is of con-
siderable importance, perhaps you will permit me to
say that my own experience connected with snake-
bites—extending over a service of sixteen years in
the East Indies— does not coincide with the asser-
tion of the above writer's friend.

I have myself treated four cases of cobra-bites
among my native servants and the men of my regi-
ment ; and in all the cases I found that speedy
cauterization with liquor ammonia fortior, combined
with small doses of brandy at short intervals, and
making the sufferer walk about for half an hour or
more after treatment, always succeeded in checking
bad consequences. A tourniquet was at the same
time applied above the bite (in my cases all four
men were bitten in the leg), and kept tightly
screwed up till the caustic had done its work. It
is possible that merely sucking the wound might
not suffice to remove the poison (to say nothing of
the risk caused through any abrasion, however
slight, in the mouth of the operator) ; but I feel
sure that the prompt use of a ligature above the
wound, and the application of liquid caustic to the
bite would, in almost every instance, suffice for a
perfect cure — certainly in the case of a bite from a
common viper, whose venom has not the activity of
that of the cobra di capello.

On a person being bitten by a snake, the poison
is not at once admitted into the circulation. Nature
endeavours by every means to prevent its entrance
into the blood. The effusion of blood, on the bite
being inflicted, is an effort on her part to wash out
the veins, as it were ; and although in the case of
acute poisons (such as that of some snakes) this
effort rarely suffices to expel the whole of the
offending matter, still time is thus afforded for the
application of further means for its removal. It
would therefore be a great mistake to refuse to aid
Nature's efforts by the use of ligatures, cupping-
glasses, or liquid caustic.

All animal poisons when introduced into the cir-
culating fluid— whether the poison be that of snake-
bite, rabies, syphilis, &c. — have a longer or shorter
period of incubation before they commence their
work of destruction, and it is during this period of
inactivity that means should be employed for their
elimination ; and I feel confident that were a man
who was bitten by a venomous snake to at once tie
his handkerchief or neckcloth tightly above the bite
(should such be practicable), and cauterize the
wound either with fire, lunar caustic, liquor ammo-
nite, or any strong acid {the liquid applications being
far preferable), he would, in nine cases out of ten,
escape, with nothing worse than the inevitable tem-
porary shock to the system. W. S. Y.

TOADFLAXES.

September woods, September skies, so soft and sunny all !

Unfaded and unfall'n your leaves, and yet so soon to fall.

Ah I what avails that dying smile which gilds your fading
green,

While Winter peeps, like Death, behind, to shut the fare-
well scene !

fl^HE wane of the year is again upon us : the
-^ fields, cleared for the most part of their " golden
grain," present a forlorn appearance ; and the
shortening days, as well as the gorgeous hues of the
fading leaves, tell us that Autumn has indeed
arrived. There is always a certain amount of sad-
ness associated with the ingathering of the corn ;
we feel that the full beauty of the year has departed,
and in the stubble which remains we seem to find
an intimation of the coming Winter. Not that a
stubble-field is, in itself, dull or gloomy ; for many
a bright flower, hitherto concealed by the waving
corn, now appears in great force ; but still there is
an air of desolation about it which we cannot over-
look. We must therefore study the more carefully
the remaining flowers, in which almost every day
marks a diminution, and may appropriately select
for consideration in the present paper the British
members of the pretty genus Linaria.

Fig. 108.
Toadflax, peloria form.

Fig. 199-
Toadflax, normal flower.

The common Snapdragon, or Bull's - mouth
(Antirrhinum majus), with its curiously-shaped
blossoms of various gay colours, is a plant with
which almost every one is familiar. The mouth of
the curious monopetalous corolla is closed by the
palate attached to the lower lip ; and it is only
when we press the back of the flower that it opens
and discloses the four white stamens, two long and-
two short, which tell us that the plant belongs to
the Linnean class Didynamia. The Toadflaxes, or
Linarise, much resemble the Snapdragon; indeed
the above-described corolla (technically termed per-
sonate) is among British plants confined to these
two genera; but the two are distinguished by the-
presence, in the species of Linaria, of a spur at the-
back of the corolla, which spur is wanting in the
species of Antirrhinum.

We find, then, that our Toadflaxes agree in

202

HARDWICKE'S SCIENC E -GOSSIP.

[Sept. 1, 186.7.

having each a personate, spurred corolla, with
didynamous stamens, and are thus readily dis-
tinguishable ;>e may add that, as far as our species
are concerned, the blossoms are all of some shade of
blue, yellow, or white.

There are six British species of Toadflax suf-
ficiently frequent to merit description ; besides one
(Linaria pelisseriana) which is confined to Jersey ;
another, a doubtful native (Linaria supina), which
occurs in one or two places in Cornwall, Devon,
and Dorset; and a third (Linaria purpurea), for-
merly much cultivated in gardens, which occasionally
strays from them. None of these merit more than
this passing notice in a paper which aims rather at
instructing in common things than at encouraging
the search for rare ones.

We shall find it convenient in this, as in previ-
ously considered genera, to divide our six species
into groups, for the purpose of more readily con-
sidering each ; and two very natural ones at once pre-
sent themselves — the first containing three species,
with upright stems and narrow leaves ; the second,
the remaining three, with trailing stems and broadish
leaves.

I. The Common Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris) is the
handsomest of our British species, and demands our
first attention, as to it we are evidently indebted for
both the Euglish and Latin names of the genus.
It is clear that the name Toadflax was originally
bestowed npon this species alone, although it has
since been extended to the entire genus. In our
old herbals we find the name Toadflax applied
especially to Linaria vulgaris, and exclusively to the
species with long narrow leaves and upright stems.
Mr. Holland thinks that the reason for this may be
found in the supposition [that the word toad is pre-
fixed as meaning spurious or false— the name of an
unpopular reptile being given to what, at first sight,
appeared to be like flax (which Linaria vulgaris
certainly does before flowering), but which proved
not to be the right thing ; just as dog is prefixed
to the names of many plants to denote that they are
not the genuine article— dog-rose, dog-violet, to
wit. That the name Toadflax really means false
or spurious flax, he considers is rendered more
apparent by the fact that in Cheshire it is applied
to the Corn Spurrey (Spergula arvensis), a plant
which bears a very superficial resemblance, es-
pecially in flower, to the Mountain Elax (Linum
catharticum), which is there in immense repute[as a
stomachic herb. Gerarde speaks of Linaria vulgaris
as "Wild-flax, Tode-flax, or Elax-weed," which
strengthens the above-expressed opinion ; although
he points to another derivation of the name when
he says that the flowers have " a mouth like nntoe
a frog's mouth "—a somewhat fanciful resemblance,
from which the Danish torstmuiid, or haddock-
mouth, evidently originates. Linaria vulgaris is more
like the Snapdragon than any of the other species,

both in the size of its blossoms and in general
growth ; the flowers are very handsome— pale yellow,
with a deep orange palate ; the narrow grey-green
leaves have been before alluded to. Withering says
that cows, horses, and swine refuse to eat them, and
that sheep and goats are not fond of them ; while
the smell of the flowers is obnoxious to flies. Besides
the names above mentioned, this species is known
as Butter-and-Eggs, Pattens-and-Clogs, Gall-weed,
and Wild Snapdragon. It is by no means uncommon
throughout England ; and although preferring a
gravelly soil, is not confined to it : in the north of
Scotland it is of rare occurrence. Linaria vulgaris
grows chiefly in hedges or the borders of fields. Mr.
Holland says that "it is almost a sure indicator of
an admixture of peat and sand in the soil." The
first specimens we ever saw were brought, curiously
enough, from the Toad Rock at Tunbridge Wells.
It blossoms from June until late autumn. — Our
second species, the Creeping, or Pale Blue Toadflax
(Linaria repens), is the rarest of the six we are now
attempting to describe. The term creeping applies
only to the young shoots, as the flowering stems are
erect, sometimes attaining, or even exceeding, the
height of two feet. The leaves resemble those of
Linaria vulgaris, but are shorter ; the blossoms are
white, tinged with blue or purple, the palate pale
yellow, and the upper lip marked with purple
lines ; they are also sbghtly fragrant, and smaller
than those of the common Toadflax. Bay, who
calls this species the " Blue Toadflax, with short and
narrow leaves," appears to have first directed
attention to it as a British plant, "found by that
learned and eminent physician Dr. Eales, in Hait-
fordshire." One of the best-known stations for 1 he
plant, also first noticed in Ray's " Synopsis," is
Henley-on-Thames ; here it was "found by Mr. Dan-
dridge, on the side of a hill called Marvell Hill, by
Henley townside, and by Mr. J. Sherard on i lie
church walls at Henley, and in a field on the left hand
the road from London, on a steep bank a little
before you come to the town, plentifully." Mr.
Stubbs, of Henley, to whom we are indebted for the
specimens from which the above description was
drawn up, writes that it still " grows profusely on
the chalk hills about Henley — noticeably on White
or Bemenham Hill. I have also met with it on
walls, and I believe the upper portion of the south
face of the church tower is verdant with it, though
the great height from the road will not enable me to
speak with certainty. Ray's nomenclature," he con-
tinues, " is obsolete ; at least, I have never heard of
Marvell Hill." Linaria repens grows on a chalky soil,
and is most frequent in the south of England, becom-
ing gradually rarer towards the north, and is seldom,
if ever, found in Scotland : it commences to blossom
in July;— The Least Toadflax (Linaria minor) difl'ers
considerably from the two before described. Linaria
vulgaris and Linaria repens are perennials; Linaria

SEra. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

203

minor is an annual ; besides which, the flowers of
the former are racemose, while in this species they
are solitary, growing- in the axils of the leaves. It
is a small plant, with a weak but erect stem, much
branched, and somewhat clammy, about six inches
in height, but often much shorter ; the flowers are
small and inconspicuous, of a light purple colour,
tinged with yellow or white ; the leaves are narrow
and dark green. The old writers evidently con-
sidered this a true Snapdragon ; they called it the
Least Calf 's-snout, or Small Creeping Snapdragon,
thus connecting it with Antirrhinum Orontium, which
they call the Lesser Calf's-snout, or Snapdragon.
It is by no means uncommon in cornfields, or as a
weed in gardens ; and we have noticed it in two
places growing in great profusion between the lines
on the railway, a habitat apparently congenial to it.
In Macgillivray's arrangement of TTithering's
British Plants, this species is spoken of as " rare " ;
but this statement must be taken with reference to
Scotland only, as in England it is very generally
distributed, although less frequent towards the
north. It blossoms from the end of May until late
in the season.

II. We now come to our second group, which
contains the three species with procumbent stems
and broader leaves ; the blossoms of each are also
solitary. The first of these is the Ivy-leaved Toad-
flax (Linaria Cymbalaria), a plant which, originally
introduced, has most completely established itself
in the land of its adoption. Johnson, in his edition
of Gerarde's Herbal (1633), says that it " growes
wilde upon walls in Italie, but in gardens with us;"
while Ray, in the " Synopsis " (1721), gives only
two or three localities for it, mentioning especially
the walls of Chelsea Garden, and neighbouring
places. It is now, however, common on walls in
many parts of England, especially in the neighbour-
hood of London; it prefers a damp situation, in
which the leaves attain great luxuriance. These,
as the name of the plant implies, resemble those of
the ivy, although very much smaller ; they are deep
green above, frecpiently pink or purple beneath, and
of a somewhat fleshy texture. The blossoms of this
Toadflax, as of the two next species, are axillary, on
long footstalks ; they are small, pale-blue spotted
with yellow and white, and very numerous. The
whole plant is very graceful in appearance, especi-
ally when, growing on the top of a wall, the long
trailing shoots hang down in dense mass'es on either
side. Miss Pratt, in the " Flowering Plants of Great
Britain," says that " the capsules, before ripening,
turn round towards the wall on which the plant
so often grows, and place themselves in a crevice or
hole, so as to shed the seeds, when ripened, in a
place where they may thrive, instead of scattering
them on the ground, where they would be wasted."
The fine fibrous roots insinuate themselves so tightly
into these crevices, that it is almost impossible

to remove them without breaking. Although an
introduced plant, the Ivy-leaved Toadflax has
obtained not only "a local habitation," but also
" a name" — in fact, two or three ; it is popularly
called Mother of Thousands, and, less frequently,
Pellitory-of-the-Wall, and Maiden-hair. The winter
frosts are usually too severe for it, and the leaves
then disappear, but it is by nature a perennial ; the
blossoms peep out about the end of April, and con-
tinue until the approach of winter. — Our other two
species are known by the English name Eluellin,
and have so much in common that they may be
appropriately considered together. The Bound-
leaved Eluellin (Linaria spuria) is a trailing plant
with many stems, and grey-green, dusty-looking
leaves, mostly alternate, which are usually downy,
and round or egg-shaped. The blossom, although
small, is extremely beautiful, the lower lip being-
pale yellow, and the upper deep purple, almost
black. The Halbert- leaved, or Sharp -pointed
Eluellin (Linaria Elatine), has leaves of the same
dusty hue, but they are narrower, longer, halbert-
sluqied, and sharply pointed ; the flowers are also
like those of Linaria spuria, but smaller, and the
purple of the upper lip is of a somewhat lighter
shade. Both are annuals, growing in cornfields, and,
more rarely, on waste ground, in England and Ireland,
preferring, although not confined to, a gravelly soil :
Linaria Elatine is the more common. Their blossoms
expand in July ; but it is not until after harvest that
they attract much notice, being previously over-
shadowed by the waving wheat. We shall often,
however, find a stubble-field gay with these two
species, in conjunction with the Least Toadflax, the
blue and scarlet Pimpernels, the Spreading Bur
Parsley, and the Basil Thyme, and many more
equally pretty, and hitherto equally overlooked.
Although not now used in medicine, the "vertues"
of Linaria Elatine seem to be very noteworthy— as
the following extract from Gerarde, which we cannot
resist quoting, will show. It is " not onely of a
singular astringent facultie, but of such singular
efficacy to heale spreading and eating cankers, and
corrosive ulcers, that its vertue in a manner passeth
all credit in these fretting sores, upon sure proofe
done unto sundry persons, and especially upon a
man whom Pena reporteth to have his nose
eaten most grievously with a canker or eating sore,
who sent for the Physitions and Chirurgions that
were famously knowne to be the best, and they with
one consent concluded to cut the said nose off, to
preserve the rest of his face : among these Surgeons
and Physitions came a poore sorie Barbar, who had
no more skill than he had learned by tradition, and
yet undertook to cure the patient. This foresaid
Barbar, standing in the companie and hearing their
determination, desired that he might make triall of
an herbe which he had seene his master use for the
same purpose, which herbe (Elatine), though he were

201

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Sept. 1, 1867.

ignorant of the name whereby it was called, yet he
knew where to fetch it. To be short, this herbe he
stamped, and gave the juice of it unto the patient to
drinke, and outwardly applied the same plaisterwise,
and in very short space perfectly cured the man, and
staied the rest of his body from further corruption,
which was ready to fall into a leprosie " ! Perhaps a
little judicious " puffing " would elevate our little
Fluellin into a post of honour equally dignified with
Parr's Life Pills and Holloway's Ointment ; at any
rate, here is a testimonial to its "vertues," equal, if
not superior, to any produced in favour of the above-
named compounds.

Before quitting our Toadflaxes, we would just
direct attention to a very remarkable malformation
which they occasionally present. This form is
termed peloria ; and in it the mouth of the blossom
is closed up, while instead of one spur, there are
from two to five : the stamens also are sometimes
five in number, and the corolla becomes tubular.
It appears to have been first noticed in Linaria
vulgaris, in which species it is rare ; but modifica-
tions of it have been observed in Linaria repens,
Linaria minor, Linaria Elatine, and Linaria spuria.
Mr. Holland writes that the two last are "very
common on the oolitic clays of the Cotteswold
Hills around Cirencester, and are both very prone
there to have peloria flowers." It is said that the
roots of this form, in Linaria vulgaris, if planted in
rich soil, will produce blossoms in which the peloria
appearance is retained ; but in poor soil, they
return to the normal appearance. Blossoms are
occasionally found with two or three spurs, although
otherwise of the usual form. B.

THE MAPLE. APHIS. T

TTAVLNG had communications on this subject,
it will gratify some of our readers if we
furnish the substance of MM. Balbiani and
Signoret's remarks in the " Comptes Rendus " of
June 17th, as translated and published in the
" Annals of Natural History."

" In 1852 an English naturalist, Mr. J. Thornton,
indicated, under the name of Phyllophorus testu-
dinatus, an Hemipterous insect which he had found
on the leaves of the common maple (Acer campestre),
and which he regarded as the larva of an unde-
termined species of aphis. Subsequently, in 1858,
Mr. Lane Clark also observed it, and placed it,
under the name of Chelymorpha phyllophora, in a
genus intermediate between the Aphididae and the
Coccidse. Lastly, in 1802, M. Van der Hoeven, of
Leyden, described it, also as a new genus, replacing
the generic names Phyllophorus and Chelymorpha
by that of Periphyllus, the other names being pre-
viously employed to designate other genera of
insects ; and our Hemipteron received from the

illustrious Dutch naturalist the name of P. testudo.
Like Mr. Thornton, M. Van der Hoeven regarded it
as the larva of an aphis of which the adult form
was still unknown.

"These brief historical indications form a summary
of all that was known about this insect when we on
our part undertook some investigations upon it, the
results of which we now propose to communicate.
We first ascertained that, far from constituting a
new genus, or even a distinct species, the Periphyllus
is really nothing but the larva of one of the known
species of Aphides which live on the maple —
namely, Aphis aceris, a brown species which is to be
met with during a great part of the year upon the
leaves and at the extremities of the young shoots of
that tree. But, at the same time that we ascertained
this fact, we were set on the track of a most un-
expected discovery, constituting a new and very
remarkable peculiarity in the development of the
animals of this group, already presenting such
curious phenomena in connexion with their re-
production.

M 3k»:»>»

- > «:x'r fa

Fig. 200. Maple Aphis (Aphis aceris;, young, magnified.

" This was the faculty, become transmissible to all
the generations of a particular species, of engender-
ing two kinds of individuals — one normal, the other
abnormal — of which the former aloue, after their
birth, continue the course of their development, and
become capable of reproducing the species ; whilst
the latter retain throughout their existence the form
which they possessed on coming into the world, and
appear to be incapable of propagating. Moreover
these two categories of individuals present such
marked characters that, without having watched
their birth, and being thus convinced that they are
really produced by identical females, and sometimes
even by one and the same mother, one would
inevitably consider them to belong to two species,
nay even to two completely dill'crent genera. Now

Sept. 1, 1867.]

IIARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

20."

one of these is nothing but the Periphyllus men-
tioned at the commencement of this note as having
been described by the authors who had observed it
as a separate genus in the family of the Aphides.

" Such is, in summary, the singular observation
that we have made upon Aphis aceris. We may
now give some fuller details upon each of the two
kinds of individuals of which this species is com-
posed.

"When we examine with the naked eye or with
a lens the embryos of the brown Aphis of the maple
at the moment of their being produced by the
females, or after opening the bodies of the latter,
we see at once that all of them have not the same
coloration. In some they are of a tolerably bright
green, whilst in others their colour is more or less
brownish or greenish-brown. The brown embryos
present no peculiarities, and only differ from their
mothers by characters analogous to those which are
remarked in all species of Aphides between the
newly bom young individuals and the adult females.
As in these latter, their bodies and appendages are
furnished with rather long simple hairs, and, like
all young Aphides at the moment of their birth,
they already contain rudiments of embryos in the
interior of their generative apparatus. If, on the
other hand, we examine the green embryos, we at
once detect, besides their peculiar coloration, very
marked differences between them and their brown
congeners. The various parts of the body and limbs
do not present the same conformation as in the
latter, but one is especially struck by the extraordi-
nary development and the unusual appearance of
their tegumentary system. Thus their surface is no
longer furnished only with simple hairs, but also
and principally with scaly transparent lamella), more
or less rounded or oblong, and traversed by diver-
gent and ramified nervures. These lamella? occupy
especially the anterior margin of the head, the first
joint of the antenna? (which is very stout and pro-
tuberant), the outer edge of the tibia; of the two
anterior pairs of legs, and the lateral and posterior
margins of the abdomen. Moreover the whole
dorsal surface of the latter and of the last thoracic
segment is covered with a design having the aspect
of a mosaic composed of hexagonal compartments,
and which, is not without analogy to the pattern
formed bythe scaly platcsof the carapace of tortoises.
These peculiarities give our insect a great elegance
of appearance, which causes it to be much in re-
quest with the amateurs of the microscope in
England, where it is commonly known under the
name of the 'Leaf-insect.' The entire animal is
strongly flattened, and resembles a small scale ap-
plied to the surface of the leaf upon which it reposes,
and on which it requires a certain amount of care
to detect it.

" Another remarkable character of these abnor-
mal individuals of Aphis aceris is the rudimentary

statc of their generative apparatus. This is reduced
'to a few groups of small pale and scarcely visible
cells, none of which arrives at maturity to become
transformed into an embryo ; and it retains this
character as long as it is possible to observe the
animal. The functions of nutrition, also, are per-
formed in them in a very unenergetic manner ; for
from the moment of their birth until that at which
we cease to observe them, they increase but little
in size, attaining scarcely one millimetre. They
undergo no change of skin, never acquire wings like
the reproductive individuals, and their antennae
always retain the five joints which they present in
all young Aphides before the first moult. Never-
theless they possess a well-developed rostrum aud
an intestinal canal, the peristaltic contractions of
which we have distinctly observed. In short,
although we have observed them for several months
(that is to say, from May to November), no change
in their condition was ascertained ; and they dis-
appeared with the leaves which bear them, without
its being possible to ascertain what becomes of
them subsequently.

"The question naturally arose, What was the
signification of these abnormal individuals of the
Aphis of the maple, and what part did they fulfil in
the reproductive functions of the species to which
they belong ? They are evidently not males, since
their generative apparatus retains the same rudi-
mentary form at whatever epoch we examine them.
Moreover in no known species of Aphis are the
males produced at the same time as the viviparous
individuals, which are not the true females of the
species. There is therefore no other alternative
but to regard them as a modification of the specific
type constantly reproduced with the same characters
by the successive normal generations. Our ab-
normal Aphides are indeed deprived of the faculty
of reproduction, either by sexual generation or in
any other manner; but after the observations of
M. H. Landois upon the law of sexual development
in insects, we know that in them the sexes depend
simply upon the conditions of alimentation of the
larva. Because, in the present state of things, these
conditions have not yet occurred for one of the two
sorts of larvae of Aphis aceris, there is no reason for
our concluding that they may not some day be
realized ; and by thus acquiring, with the attributes
of the sexes, the faculty of propagating directly in an
indefinite manner, these abnormal individuals will
become in their turn the origin of a new species pro-
duced by deviation from an anterior specific type."

Contrary to Nature. — The truth is that folks'
fancy that such and such things cannot be, simply
because they have not seen them, is worth no more
than a savage's fancy that there cannot be such a
thing as a locomotive, because he never saw oue
running wild in the forest. — Water Bulks.

206

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE -GOSSIP.

[Sept. 1, 1867.

"HAIRS OF DERMESTES."

"VrOTWTTHSTANDING the strictures to which
J-^l we were subjected for using the above title
on a former occasion, we have adopted it again,
because, though not absolutely correct, it is suffi-
ciently so for such a purpose, and having used it
before, it is advisable not to change it upon resum-
ing the same subject. Mr. S. J. M'Intire, who has
already contributed towards clearing the mystery
which enshrouded the source of the so-called " hairs
of Dermestes," during last month sent us the
following communication : —

" I enclose two specimens of beetles bred from
larvae producing the hairs known as ' Hairs of
Dermestes.' The larger is the insect referred to in
my article in S.G., vol. i., page 230, and the smaller
one, which is a very pretty microscopic object (being
covered with scales like the Curculio family) is from
larvae found by Frank Blatch, Esq, in a wood-shed
on his premises at Theale, Berks. The individuals
he sent me, as well as the larvae from under the
elm-tree bark, fed while I kept them, upon the
dried-up remains of a butterfly, until they com-
pleted their transformations. Perhaps you will
kindly name both insects for the benefit of those
interested in the subject which has occupied some
space in the pages of SciENCE-Gossir."

In consequence of this letter we wrote requesting
to be informed more minutely on certain particulars
ragarding these insects, which were embodied in a
second letter communicated to us by the same
gentleman.

"1. The larva: of the large beetle were found under
the bark of an elm-tree at Ealing. One or two
small specimens that I obtained at the same time
have lived with me ever since and have grown con-
siderably ; they have also cast their skins, and the
halbert-shaped hairs on the new skins are far more
numerous than on the old ones. I have fed them
on entomological specimens. They seldom feed
while under microscopical observation, but that
they devour the food I have given them when shut
up iu the dark is obvious.

" 2. The first larva of the small beetle that my
friend Mr. Batch sent me was found entangled in a
spider's web. Others he has since found on the
door, and various places besides in the same shed ;
and the perfect insects he obtains on the slabs. I
think they fed while I kept them on the body of a
hawk-moth ; at all events they took refuge in its
body, and effected their final change while inside it.

"3. I send the exuviae of both insects mounted tem-
porarily to admit of close examination, and I think
you will find that there arc hairs attached still to
both skins.

" I notice that the elm-tree larvae hairs are very

much lighter in colour than those from the other
insect, in which they are of a deep brown. This
peculiarity is only noticeable in the living larva?
when the halbert-shaped hairs are very abundant."

All that now remains for us to do is to give a
figure of the large beetle magnified (fig. 201),
which certainly appears to be Tiresias serra, the
larvae and hairs of which do not differ from those
figured from Mr. MTntire's drawings in Science-
Gossip for 1865, p. 230 (fig. 202).

Fig. 20!.

Fig. 202.

Fig. 203.

The smaller beetle corresponds with Anthrenus
varius, the hairs from the larvae of which are now
figured for comparison with those derived from
the larvae of the larger beetle (fig. 203). We have
before affirmed our belief that hairs, scarcely dis-
tinguishable from each other, might be obtained
from several ot the Dermestidae, and perhaps also
from the allied family of Mycetophagidae, and wc
do not suppose by any means that Tiresias serra,
Anthrenus varius, and Anthrenus inuscorum are the
only beetles the larvae of which yield the beautiful
hairs long known under the name of "Hairs of
Dermestes." Mr. S. J. MTntire deserves thanks
for his patient pursuit of this inquiry to a suc-
cessful termination.

THE CHOLERA FUNGUS.

IN the Standard of August 27th is an important
communication on this subject, from which we
are only able, at this late period, to give the follow-
ing extract ; — ■

" In the report of the medical officer of the Privy
Council just issued, an account is given of some
remarkable researches of Professor Hallier on this
important subject. Hallier believes that he has
discovered the active agent which causes cholera.
In examining the contents of the bowels in cholera,
this observer has noticed a very large amount of a
vegetable fungus in the shape of cells (or seed) and
filaments (or roots, as they may be termed). The
cells attach themselves to the remnants of any food

iu

Sept. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GO SSIP.

207

or animal structures, such as the cells that cover
over the mucous or liuiug membrane of the intes-
tines, and seem to have the power of growing at the
expense of the latter, which they therefore destroy
Hallier soon set to work to cultivate this growth,
and in due time produced a microscopic plant which
possessed characters that allied it in nature to a
fungus, which constitutes the white masses seen in
the 'thrush' of infants, and which belongs to a
genus called Oidium. This oidium afterwards bore
as fruit other forms of growth, which rank with
' mildews ' and moulds. Varying his experiments,
Hallier procured, under conditions similar to those
which obtain in cholera, a phase in the development
of the fungus which exactly resembled a form
which grows on diseased cereals, and is called
Urocystis. It occurs in true cholera excreta. (It
must be noticed here that microscopic fungi assume
in the course of their growth, under the influence of
different circumstances, a diversity of form, and that
what are now known to be varieties were formerly
regarded as distinct species.) Well, Hallier infers
from his experiments, and especially his inability to
produce the urocystis form of fungus except in the
contents of the intestines of cholera patients, that
this form is not indigenous in Germany, but that it
has travelled with cholera from India. He does not,
moreover, believe that 'the original habitat of the
fungus should be the human intestine, which is
under much the same conditions in India as in
Europe ; but he sees in the high temperature of the
intestine a condition capable of maintaining this
fungus in activity. A similar high temperature, as
provided by the mean climate of India, and by the
extreme summer climate of Europe, also furnishes
the condition requisite for the development of
the fungus outside the body. Thus in summer,
and in summer only in European latitudes, could
the fungus find in earth and night-soil the neces-
sary temperature for its increase.' The uro-
cystis form, then, that which is supposed to be
peculiar to cholera, requires a high temperature for
its life, and it is confidently asserted by Hallier
that if it be the contagious agent or material of
cholera, cholera 'cannot maintain itself permanently
in our latitudes,' because of the cold which exists.
Hallier then believes that this cholera fungus travels
in the intestines of cholera patients from India ; and
he has pointed out the source from whence it may
be possibly derived. Hallier ' recalls the fact that
other forms of the fungus under consideration (for
variation in form is characteristic of fungi) are
peculiar to cereal plants, and that the urocystis with
its characteristic cysts, inhabits the delicate and
highly nitrogenized tissues of grasses ; and he asks
whether the cholera cysts may not also, in then-
native soil, be parasites to some graminaceous plant
in India, just as the form (tilletia) which can exist
in an European climate is a parasite upon the

imported cereal wheat, which acclimatizes itself in
these .latitudes.' We now come to the most inter-
esting part of the matter. It seems that the fungus
experimented upon by Hallier is identical with
that which grows upon the rice-plant when in an
unhealthy condition, and it is therefore important
to consider whether diseased rice has any influence
upon the development of cholera. When the
cholera was first studied by English physicians, it
was called in India the 'rice disease' {morbus
oryzeus). In the year 1S33, Dr. Tytler, in a paper
which he had read before the Medical Society of
London, stated ' that he was prepared to submit to
the members a statement of facts of the utmost
importance, in proof of an opinion which he enter-
tained that the disease which had been described
under the name of the Asiatic cholera, and which
was said to have arisen in Jessore in ;1S17, was
occasioned or kept up in India by the consumption
of unsound rice as an article of food.' Dr. Tytler
exhibited various samples of 'ergoted' rice in
London, and found rice of a like character selling
in the shops. Many travellers and others have at
different times called attention to the fact of intes-
tinal ailments having been produced by the use of
diseased rice."

ZOOLOGY.

Incakcerated Erogs — A near neighbour, upon
whose veracity I can rely, recently opened a drain,
when he made the following discovery. At the
mouth of the drain were placed two large stones, in
measurement nearly two feet square, and three
inches thick ; the one at the top rested closely upon
the one beneath. Upon lifting it from the lower
stone, the skeletons of five frogs were discovered ;
they were in a circle in the centre of the stones,
quite flat. Upon taking one of them up, and holding
it to the light, there was only a threadlike appear-
ance of bones between the dry, flattened, and flesh-
less skins : these skins were clear, and beautifully
marked. In this state they were seen by several
persons, and by each of them the frogs were con-
sidered to be dead ; but when the water commenced
to flow over them, there was a slight gasping per-
ceived in the throats of each, by degrees the bodies
swelled, and life and motion returned ! Then, to
the surprise of the beholders, the frogs sprang up,
and ran away into the drain. How did these frogs
get beneath the stone that covered the lower one so
closely ? There was no space for them to enter or
depart, and upon the surfaces there was not the
slightest indention made by the frogs. It was sup-
posed to be thirty years ago since the stones were
placed over the drain.— S. G., Benenden, Kent.

Fly Acarus.— My friend Mr. S. having captured
a fly for the purpose of microscopical amusement,

203

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Sept. 1, 1867.

observed two small insects escape from the under
surface of its body. We took the measurements of
one of these insects, and found that in its greatest
length it was exactly ^ inch, and in its greatest
breadth -^hj inch. The jaws were extremely sharp-
pointed, and moved by lateral action. The two
anterior members (A) were armed with grasping
claws similar to those of a lobster. The next two
(B) terminated in spongy-looking enlargements,
from which proceeded numerous hair-like processes
of considerable size. The third pair were longer
and more distinctly jointed, and terminated in

I

Fig. 204. Fly Acarus.

a tuft of hairs. Next came the six legs, the first
pair of which possessed two booklets at their ex-
tremity, whilst the rest terminated in fine points. I
enclose a sketch of one of the insects traced by a
" Beales' tinted camera," and an enlarged view of
the more complex members. On further investiga-
tion, Mr. S. and myself have since discovered other
parasites of somewhat different character upon the
common house-fly, so that such things appear to be
less rare than we at first imagined. Whether or not
this be the case, we should much like to hear the
opinion of more learned correspondents. — A. M.

Cat and Squirrels. — Some two years ago,
when living at Kelvedon, in Essex, I found a
squirrel's nest, aud having taken two young ones,
tried to rear them with a bottle. But under this
treatment they did not thrive well ; so, it being
suggested that we should give them to a cat that
had recently been deprived of her young ones
(I must say with some misgivings as to their recep-
tion by " Tabby "), I gave them to her. To my
great surprise, she nurtured them as kindly as if

they had been her own. When full grown, they
became quite domesticated, and would behave more
after the fashion of a member of the tabby tribe
than after their own wild sportive nature. — George
Jackson.

Great Ribbon -fish. — It may interest the
readers of Science-Gossip to know that, after a
storm last year, a superb specimen of Banks Oar-
fish, or Great Ribbon-fish, was cast up on the
shore at Seaton Carew, in Durham. It is 15 feet
long, and by far the finest example I know ; it is
stuffed with care, and placed in a large case. It is
the property of Matthew Lamb, of Seaton Carew,
who will answei any questions respecting this rare
production of our seas. — E. Wood, F.G.S., Richmond,
Yorkshire.

Deatii's-Head Moth Larvae. — In July last I
took six larvae of Acherontia atropos, feeding on the
tea-tree (Lycium barbarum) ; all were coloured
and marked similarly to those usually described,
viz., green with diagonal lilac stripes. Three of the
larvae, during their last change became insects of a
totally different colour. The description of these
last is as follows : length, 44 inches ; general colour,
olive -brown, the sides rather darker than the
back — in some instances the oblique lateral stripes
entirely wanting ; the markings on the back form
the letter X on each segment ; the lower portion of
this X is but one-third the size of the upper. The
marking on the back, as a whole, present the fol-
lowing appearance

Fig. 2"5.

They are of an indigo-colour. The body is covered
with whitish spots about the twentieth of an inch
apart, each having a black point in the centre ; the
thoracic segments have the groundcolour of a pinkish
white with an irregular brown-black longitudinal
division, and faint white lines dividing the same
longitudinally and transversely ; the colour from the
under side of the body runs in an irregular form
into the white segments; the front of the head,
which in the usual form is green, is in this variety
greyish-white pencilled with lines. Eive out of the
six larvae have buried themselves. I have separated
the varieties, and shall watch with interest the
appearance of the perfect insect. I have not been
able to detect any sound from the larva\— John
Berney, Croydon.

[The most interesting feature in the above account
is the fact that the variation took place at a period
subsequent to the early stages of the larva?, which
were at first all so exactly alike that no trace of
variability could be distinguished.— Ed.]

Sept. 1, 1867.]

IIABDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

209

BOTANY.

Fertilization by Insects. — The mode of ferti-
lization in the American Laurel (Kalmia) has
already been well described, but I fancy I may be
excused for adding my testimony concerning this
beautiful and interesting plant. When the anthers
are liberated from the pockets in the corolla, the
stamens suddenly straighten and throw jets of
pollen often for a foot or more, " acting," as
Professor Gray used to say, "like a boy's pea-
shooter." Many times when the dew was on, I
have seen the common honey-bee and other Hyme-
noptefa about these flowers. When the bee alights
on a flower, the style comes up between the legs
where they join the body, or sometimes further
back against the abdomen. In this position they
turn around, as though they were balanced on a
pivot, generally inserting the tongue outside of the
filament, and, while doing this, pull the stamens
with their legs towards the centre of the flower,
releasing them and frequently receiving the shots of
pollen on their ownbody. A single visit from an insect
is sufficient to release all the anthers. By noon it
was a difficult matter to find a flower which had not
been visited in this way. Insects seem to be abso-
lutely necessary for the perfect fertilization of Kalmia
angustifolia and K. latifolla, for I tied small nets
over some flower-clusters (corymbs), and found that
when the bees were kept away, the flowers withered
and fell off, most of the anthers still remaining in
the pockets, and the filaments so decayed that their
elasticity was entirely gone. The very few authors
liberated were probably brought out by the shaking
of the bushes by the wind. Considerable pollen
was found stuck on the corollas by the nectar, which
was uncommonly abundant, as no insects of much
size were allowed to remove it. The wind might
have carried some of this pollen to other flowers, or
it might have dripped from those above to flowers
below in drops of water (there were two showers
during these experiments) ; but I infer this was not
the case in the examples mentioned, because the
flowers, especially the stigmas, remained fresh much
longer than those which were left exposed to the
visits of insects. — W.J. Beat, in American Naturalist.

Blue Pimpernel.— Yellow and Red Pimpernel
are common enough, but I never met with the blue !
variety before this morning. Surely it must be
very rare— rare as it is lovely. I came upon it j
quite by accident, having nearly lost my way in a
wood, and doubtful of finding anything like a beaten
path, and unwilling to retrace my steps, if indeed
that would have been possible ; I made my way, at
last, through a partial opening in a hedge, and
emerged at once into a turnip held. It was here,
while gazing with delight upon the expanded wings
of a splendid "Admiral butterfly," and soon after

being charmed with the sight of a large fritillary,
that I found a large bunch of the lovely blue pim-
pernel, of which I send one of the two sprigs 1
plucked. By leaving the rest, I am in hopes the
flower will seed, and so produce more ; and thus, at
some future season, give delight to the botanist,
who, like me, may be fortunate in finding it. If
any of the readers of Science-Gossip have found
or may find, the Blue Pimpernel, it would be very
interesting to have the locality recorded. — G.,Ilfra-
conibe.

Double Bittercress. — I found lately, near
Dublin, a curious double variety of Bittercress
(Cardamiue pratensis). When first it blossoms,
there is nothing peculiar about it, only the pistil is
a little larger than usual ; but after the petals fall
off, the ovary, instead of containing seeds, becomes
changed into a bud, which opens out into a very
double flower, without stamens or pistil. The
flower continues for a considerable time, new petals
coming out in the centre as those outside die away.
My attention was called to it by seeing upon the
same plant both single and double flowers. — C. B.
Ball, Dublin.

Hampshire Lycopod.— The following letter,with
the editorial remarks appended, appeared in the
Gardener 's Chronicle for August 3rd : — " I gathered
the enclosed specimens of Lycopodium alpinum at
Lower Wagner's Wells, in the parish of Bramshot,
Hants ; the soil a sandy peat, the elevation not more
than GOO or 700 feet, the situation sheltered, and
growing near to the roots of Heath, about 18 inches
high, by which it appears to be almost smothered.
Has Lycopodium alpinum ever been properly de-
scribed ? All authors describe it with a repent stem
above ground ; our plant has one an inch below the
surface, but it agrees in every other particular with
L. alpinum, its four-garious habit distinguishes it
from L. complanatum. May it (L. alpinum) not
have sometimes a running stem above ground, and
sometimes under? Lastrea Thelypteris, in its
native bogs, runs above the soil, but under culti-
vation it grows with a subterraneous rhizome." — ■
John Lloyd.

" There are some doubts as to the true name of
this Lycopodium, arising from the fact that the
specimens sent are the barren stems only. Professor
Babiugton ' inclines to place it under L. chamcecy-
parissus, B. Br. — a plant of the llhine valley.' It
may be L. alpinum, but the subterranean rhizome is
unlike that species." — Ed. Gard. Chron.

Pear-tree in bloom.— There is a pear-tree in
Sir Allan Bellingham's garden at Castle Billingham
in full bloom, and, at the same time, having pear
on it each as large as two walnuts. — T. A. H.

[Similar occurrences were common last year. —
Ed.]

210

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Sept. 1, 1S67.

Sticks without end. — The note in last number,
signed " H. Pocklington," relating to a " stick
without an end," reminds me of some remarkable
phenomena of this kind which came lately
under my observation. In the demesne of Lord
Hill of Hankstone, in Salop, and near the wind-
mill end of the pool, there is a large beech tree
in which I' counted twenty-three cases of " sticks
without end." Mr. P. calls the phenomenon a freak
of nature. I regard it as a striking contrivance of
Nature to strengthen and maintain the symmetry of
the tree fabric. In the case I refer to, this design
is most palpable : the general rule appearing
thus— a branch from above dips down and grows
into one of the immense lower limbs of the struc-
ture, thus connecting it with the trunk and aifording
support more effective than bauds of iron could do.
— Wu). Hindshaw, Satford.

SoNCHTJS PALUSTRIS, L. (2I(irsh Sow-thistle).—

Those amongst your readers who are botanists, and
they are doubtless many, will probably be interested
in knowing that one of the rarest and most magnifi-
cent plants which are indigenous to these islands,
still flourishes luxuriantly in a habitat seemingly
secure from all but the most determined and
systematic depredators. It does not appear that
this plant has ever occupied a prominent position
in the British Elora ; our experience justifies us in
assuming that, wherever seen, its peculiar appear-
ance and imposing habit has attracted an attention
at once fatal to its existence ; we know, too, that
marsh and fen, the only condition of soil in which
this plant can nourish, are, and have long been,
gradually disappearing in many parts of the country :
it is not surprising then that, marked for destruction
whenever observed, and finding the conditions
necessary for its being withdrawn from around it, it
should have been compelled to seek immunity fiom
violence, as well as a congenial atmosphere, in the
most secluded spots that remained for it, at length
becoming almost extinct. It was, however, my
good fortune a few days since to penetrate an ex-
tensive retreat of this rarity, though I believe I
have not materially injured its prospects thereby.
Being on an excursion in a large tract of barren
and desolate country accompanied by two other
botanists, we came to a large morass overrun with
reeds of the tallest growth, and walking along a
high bank adjacent, we noticed some gigantic plants
overtopping the reeds at various points whose
flowering - heads were remarkably conspicuous ;
availing ourselves of a boat which was luckily at
hand, to cross a deep stream intervening between
us and the reeds, we were constrained to get out
and wade through the tangled mass, which, though
stauding in nearly two feet of water, entirely forbade
ingress to theboat. Eorcing ourway in through about
twenty yards, we came upon a fine cluster of the plants,

and noble ones they were, towering above our heads ;
the reeds were nearly seven feet high, but the
Sonchus was considerably taller, the largest speci-
men being quite eight feet from the crown of the
root to the summit of the inflorescence. There
were many other clusters visible at intervals in the
swamp ; but having succeeded in securing a fair
specimen (as well as in getting uncomfortably wet),
we retired, thinking ourselves amply repaid for our
exertions. Those who have seen the recent plant
in the full height of its luxuriant beauty, can say
with me that it is indeed " a plant which once seen
is never to be forgotten." — Jos. W. White.

[We much regret that our correspondents who
make communications like the above do not permit
us to insert their full addresses as well as their
names ; it would add so much more weight to their
testimony. — Ed.]

Phyllactidium pulchellum. — In the spring of
last year, while watching the manoeuvres of a
water-spider in a jar of Anacharis and Lemnce,
obtained from the " Heigham osier carr " adjoining
the river, almost within the city, I detected ad-
hering to the glass on the side furthest from the
light some minute green discs which turn out to
be this plant. I put up two slides in glycerine and
camphor water — and what is most remarkable, they
have contiuued to grow and fructify. There were
no sporcells at first visible, but these have become
developed, and are most abundant ; some showing
the green spores within, while others have discharged
their contents, and whole colonies of young ones of
from one to two or three cells are now making their
appearance. — W. Kencely Bridgman, Norwich.

MICROSCOPY.

American Diatomaceous Deposits.— The Mon-
mouth deposit is an example of a class of sediments
which are very common in this country, especially
in the Eastern States. I have over fifty similar.
They are the result of the accumulation of the dead
lorica of recent Diatomacea?, and generally form at
the bottom of ponds ; sometimes they accumulate to
a considerable depth. I examined one that had been
traced down over ten feet. They are not truly fossil,
which I take to mean containing for the most part
extinct species, but perhaps might be called post-
tertiary, as some one has dubbed them. However,
I consider them as but recent deposits of existing
forms. I know of no deposit of fresh-water Diatoms
of an age as old even as the Tertiary, and I have
examined scores of them, and have several now
under examination for the State Geological Survey
of California.— A. 21. Edwards, New York, U.S. #

The Stone Mite. — If any person living in the
country wishes for an interesting opaque object for

Sept. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

211

bis microscope, let him search diligently for the ova
of the above-named Acarus (Tetranychus lapidum).
They are of pearly whiteness, cup-shaped, with a
cover slightly larger than the cup itself, and marked
with a number of raised lines radiating from near
the centre to the circumference. This cover is, I
believe, pushed aside, when the larva makes its
entrance into the world. The ova are to be found
on the upper surface of stones, on open downs, and
in similar situations; the masses standing boldly
out, so as to be plainly conspicuous to the naked
eye. When placed under the microscope, they bear
considerable resemblance to some forms of minute
fungi. A friend of mine has found them in this
neighbourhood (Clifton), on a singular nidus, viz.,
the paper envelope of used-up cartridges, which had
been fired off by Volunteers while practising. The
acari have taken advantage of the tiny folds and
sinuosities in the paper, and have filled them with
irregular rows of ova. The fact of the ova being-
found on paper shows that the acari do not confine
themselves (as their specific name would imply) to
stones. A notice of this curious acarus may be
found at page 22 of Science-Gossip for 1865, and
again at page 120 of the volume for the present
year, where there are also figures of the animal and
its ova. The central portion of the ovum in this
figure is not quite accurate. It should be " um-
bonate," not plane, much less depressed at the
centre. — W. W. Spicer.

Slough of Amobiuji. — A friend, a few years
since, gave me the exuvia of the larva of some beetle
which he had found in an old book in his office, ask-
ing me if I could inform -him to which of the coleo-
ptera it belonged. This I was unable to do, and until
lately had no opportunity of learning anything re-
specting it. One day, looking into a closet in my
study, the receptacle of many odds and ends, I
found an old tray, divided into compartments, and
which had beeu made for some round game of cards :
this was so perforated by the larva of Amobium that

Fig. 206. Scales from Larva of Amobium.

it broke on laying hands on it. In one of the com-
partments, in the midst of a quantity of the dust
from these borings, lay some of the beetles and three
or four of the larva-sloughs which I instantlv re-

cognised as the same I have alluded to. The
body is divided into twelve segments, covered with
scales of two kinds ; one, comparatively broad and
marked with fine striae, the others long, narrow, and
hair-like ; attached to the last segment is a bunch of
veryllongi hairs. The jaws are strong and of a
brown colour; antenna? short, and appearing to
consist of only three or four joints ; the legs ter-
minated with simple claws. The scales and details
of the head are well seen with a 5-inch objective.
I may observe that the ticking sound, familiarly
known as the death-watch, proceeded at, all hours
during the spring, from the above-mentioned closet,
leading me to think that the amobium produced
it.—/. B. B.

Centring Objects. — Mr. G. Guyon describes
his very ingenious manner of centring objects upon
slides ; but I think I have a better. For a long time
I have been in the habit of picking out single
specimens of Diatoms and mounting but one on a
slide. Thus I can keep my cabinet in order, and in
time have representatives of every species. I used
for some time a white card having a space three
inches by one set out on it, and with a small black
spot at the centre. On this I place my slide, and
the spot serves as a guide to place the object.
Small Diatoms are readily seen against the black
background. I have now a card with a raised
edge, made of thick cardboard, around three sides
of it, and three ink spots, so that I can at once
drop the slide into its place, and mount on it one or
three objects, each under its own cover. I cannot
understand why so many persons find difficulty in
making Diatoms stick to the slide ; my experience
has been that, if they are not quite clean the dirt
holds them well enough, and if they are clean, that
they often hold so tight when dry that it is even
difficult to brush them off.— A. M. Edwards, Neio
York, U.S.

Diatoms of British Columbia.— Mr. J. K.
Lord, in the appendix to his "Naturalist in Van-
couver Island and British Columbia," enumerates
119 species of diatomaceae found in gatherings made
by him in British Columbia, and on the shores of
Vancouver Island.

Parasite of Harvest-men (Trombidium pha-
hiiHjii). — Among the thyme I noticed one of those
long-legged cousins of the spiders that are familiarly
called Harvest-men; it was the common Phalanguim
comutum. I was first induced to look at it by the
under parts appearing of a bright red hue, which,
however, was derived from the Scarlet Mite (Trom-
bidium phalangii), which so commonly infests the
insects of this genus. I counted no fewer than
forty-eight of the little pests, all sucking the poor
wretch's juices from his belly aud legs. — Gosse's
" Tenby r

212

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP.

[Sept. 1, 1867.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Gkeat Grey Shrike. — Observing something
unusual about a bird the other day flying across the
garden, curiosity prompted me to watch its move-
ments. It pounced down upon a young bird aud
carried it away to a plum-tree ; I approached cau-
tiously, and perceived at once that the strange bird
was the larger Shrike ; it was mangling and tearing
the bird it had caught like a carnivorous animal.
Is this the bird's habit, as I never saw the like be-
fore ? — H. Morgan.

Mr. Thomas Fenton, preserver of animals in
Edinburgh, informs me that eight years ago, being
out with a young man, Francis Dick, about half a
mile to the north of Dundee, he was surprised to see
a grey Butcher-bird fly out of a hedge with a bird
dangling in its talons. His companion shot at but
missed it, on which it flew to some distance, and
alighted in a field, when they succeeded in shooting
it. — Macgillivray's Birch.

Cockroaches. — In answer to "J. G.," cock-
roaches may be much thinned, if not exterminated,
by pouring a small quantity of common creosote (a
gallon may be had at a gasworks for 6c/.) into the
crevices and about the places in which they usually
appear. I think if a number of neighbours used it,
the effect would be to clear the neighbourhood, and
the only disadvantage is a healthy smell of coal tar.
— Thomas Dunn.

The Rattlesnake. — I never once saw the rattle-
snake attempt to spring at, or attack either man,
dog, or horse. I have, again and again, teased a
large rattlesnake with a twig, but never succeeded
in provokiug it to attack me. It is very sluggish
in all its movements, and remarkably fond of creep-
ing in the dust. — Lord's Naturalist In Vancouver.

The papers have recently recorded an instance of
a rattlesnake which had escaped from confinement
in a menagerie at Tunbridge Wells, attacking and
killing a horse and a buffalo. The circumstances
have been so fully detailed and widely circulated,
that we need not repeat them. What reason can
be assigned for this difference in the behaviour of
rattlesnakes at home and abroad ?—C. M.

To drill Glass.— Dr. Lunge gives the following
method. It is simply the employment of dilute
sulphuric acid ; and he found it , on trial, to answer
much better thau the method referred to. Not
only, it appears, is the efficacy of the cutting tool
more increased by sulphuric acid than by oil of
turpentine, but also, strauge as it seems, the tools
(liles, drills, &c.) are far less rapidly destroyed by
being used with the acid than with the oil. He
also found it stated that, in the engineering esta-
blishment of Mr. Pintus, at Berlin, glass castings
for pump barrels, &c, were drilled, planed, and
bored, just like iron ones, and iu the same lathes
and machines, by the aid of sulphuric acid. As to
drilling, Dr. Lunge can fully testify to the efficacy
of that method. Whenever he wants, say, a hole
in the side of a bottle, he sends it, along with some
dilute (1 : 5) sulphuric acid, to the blacksmith, who
drills in it, with a hand-brace, a hole of i-inch
diameter. This hole is theu widened to the
required size by means of a triangular or round
file, again wetted with the acid. He also finds a
great help in the latter when makiug graduations
sn litre-flasks, &c. There is hardly any smell

perceptible during the work, which proves how
little the acid acts upon the tools, undoubtedly
owing to their being tempered ; but each time after
use, he takes the precaution to wash and dry the
files at once, and he has so far observed no sensible
deterioration in them.

Tjmeer-Borers. — The timber-boring insect,
Tomicus monographus, has recently been introduced
into Australia, where it seems to have been pre-
viously unknown. It is a most destructive creature,
which seems to prey on casks and barrels with a
voracity almost unequalled in the class to which it
belongs. The T. typographus, a species more familiar
to entomologists, is said to have destroyed no less
than a million and a half of pines in the Hartz
forest in the year 1783. An AustraUan paper gives
the following description of this species^ and of its
ravages among the casks in some of the local
breweries. The proboscis forms an excellent gimlet,
with which the little insect penetrates the hardest
wood in an incredibly short time, while the hinder
portion is shaped like a shovel, and is employed in
getting rid of the sawdust. They make clean holes
through the staves ; and some of the full barrels
are leaking in fifty places. In a wine-cellar,
thousands burrow into the wine and spirit casks.
As soon as they get nearly through the wood, the
liquor begins to ooze out, and the animal, of course,
gets killed. Every description of box or barrel is
full of them, also the doors and timber in the
building. Almost every store in the township is
infested with these mischievous insects. The head
is red, with a proboscis somewhat resembling a
parrot's bill ; and the body is like a small black
glass bugle broken off at the end ; the whole length,
a quarter of an inch. — Pop. Set. Review.

Writing the words "Rural
reminds me of an amusing

Leaf -Miners.
Natural History

circumstance connected with the Bramble Leaf
miner, described in Mr. Stainton's most charming
article on Leaf-mining Larva in Science-Gossip for
July. I fancy the larva of this moth must have been
unusually abundant the particular year I allude to ;
for all the bramble leaves for miles round were what
the country people called " snake-marked" and you
will scarcely credit the alarm excited by these
" signs." It is a fact, 1 assure you, numberless poor
persons, and some educated people who ought to
have been better informed, deemed these marks on
the bramble leaves to be a "sign" that the end of
the world was at hand. Some years have elapsed,
but to this day they think iu the part of Wales
I am alluding to, that if the bramble leaves are
marked there will be much sickness. — Helen E.
Watney.

Cats' Hair and Electric Sparks.— A black
cat is the best to experiment upon, and do it in the
dark, or at any rate iu the dusk. It was a favourite
diversion of mine when a girl. I wonder now that
my old pet cat's hair did not stand on end, so
continually did I brush it the wrong way. — Helen
E. Watney.

Baby Hydrophilus.— "L. II. F." must give the
larvae small slugs and snails. They will not, I think,
touch water-plants. They require molluscs ; and,
strange to relate, will break their shells adroitly.
They make a sort of rest or table of their own
backs, and bend their heads over in the most extra-
ordinary way. — Helen E. Watney.

Sept. 1, 1S67.]

HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

213

Woodlice. — Ijliavc discovered that these pests
are fond of oatmeal. Therefore, in order to trap
them, I got some glass bottles, and, after breaking
the necks off them, I let them down into my
cucumber-bed, pressed the soil firmly round them,
and then sprinkled a little meal round the edge of
the necks of the bottles, which must be made level
with the surface of the bed. I also put a little in
the bottom of the bottles, the result of which has
been that next morning I had trapped some
hundreds, and I continue to do so every night. —
/. B. S. S., in Gard. Chron.

Hedgehog Eccentricities, &c— In the August
number of Science-Gossip you mention the fact of
a hedgehog transfixing pears on its spines aud
carrying them off. A friend of mine, and upon
whose veracity I can rely, told me some few years
since, that he had witnessed, when a boy, a hedge-
hog rolling itself amongst the apples fallen from a
crab-tree, and when its coat was well covered by
the fruit, quietly retreating to eat them at its
leisure. You have also an article upon the bite of
the adder (Pelias Berus). I may mention that a
relative of mine had a very valuable pointer which
had been bitten by an adder, and after being some
time ill it recovered its health, but with the loss of
nearly the whole of its hair,— looking as if it was a
victim of chronic mange. There can be very little
doubt but that the bite has proved fatal to the
human ' being. I think it is Taylor, in his Medical
Jurisprudence, who relates more than one fatal
case. I have several times had both larva and pupa
of Acherontia atropos, but have never heard them
emit the noise mentioned by Mr. Newman, although
there can be but one opinion as to the moth having
the power to do so. — A. B. F.

Great American Spider (Aranea avicularis,
Linn.). — This spider is indigenous to almost all
South America, where it is called Abamdui, or
Nbamdu-guazu,— that is, " the great spider." These
spiders are two inches and one-fifth in length,
and the thorax is an inch in diameter. They have
eight hairy legs, terminating in fleshy pads. I do
not know whether this spider belongs to the hunting
or to the working spiders, that is, whether or not it
makes its web in order to take insects, since I always
observed it wandering over the ground or upon the
trunks of trees, or concealed in the earth. If it
does not fiud insects enough for its food, it boldly
attacks humming-birds, small birds a little larger
than itself, while they are upon the eggs or upon
the young birds in the nests, and if it cannot have
the parent birds, it feeds upon the young aud upon
the eggs. This great spider produces cocoons pro-
portioned to its size, containing thousands of eggs,
and places them in the fissures on the trunks of trees.
The cocoon is three inches long and one inch and a
quarter of a line broad. This extraordinary size of
the cocoon has made the inhabitants, who do not
observe carefully, imagine that this spider would
take the cocoon of the bombice moth del Guyavo
(Jantts, Linn.), and having destroyed or eaten the
chrysalis, would place her own eggs there, and then
artificially close the hole by which she had penetrated
it. — Termeyer, in Proc. Essex Institute, U.S.

The Prog Season. — The frog season is now at
its height. The thousands of frogs born early in
the spring now swarm the marshy ground. The
quantity disposed of in Buffalo is surprisingly large.
The principal dealers sell easily 1,200 per day, and
the consumption of four [hotels which have the

delicacy in their bills of fare will probably add 500
to that amount. As there are several smaller
grocery stores which sell daily from 25 to 50 pairs,
it will be safe to say that not less than 2,000 are
being eaten in Buffalo every day. Already over
100,000 have been sold, and the remaining two
months of the season will increase that amount to
nearly 300,000, which is but a moderate quantity,
considering the already large and yearly increasing
numbers which inhabit the river islands and all
along the shore of Canada. The article retails at
from 1 dol. to 1 dol. 50c. per 100. — Buffalo Express.

Grasshoppers in America. — The ravages of
these little pests seem to have begun in earnest.
The hemp crop 'of the county has been almost
entirely destroyed. A few crops may escape them.
Oue day suffices for them to clean off a hemp-field
as bare as before the sowing. The blue grass is hi
many places destroyed, and has suffered much
wherever they have gone. Timothy and clover have
also been very greatly damaged. The oat crop, it
is thought, will be utterly ruined, as they prefer
that to wheat, which they have so far only slightly
damaged. The corn is not exempt, but has been
injured less than any other crop except wheat. The
gardens have suffered terribly; nearly all early
vegetables have been eaten by them. They
swept a garden bare in a few hours. A lady
informs us that in the morning she had as fine
a garden as she ever saw, and in the evening
scarcely a vestige of it was left. It is consoling
to know that the weeds also suffered. — Minnesota
Paper.

Bangor and TYrentham. — In reference to
queries in Science - Gossip concerning these
localities, I always supposed that the Bangor men-
tioned by dealers was Bangor, Maine, although I
do not know of any earth from near there ; but as
such deposits (sub-peat deposits I have been in the
habit of calling them) are common all over our
country this side of the Alleghanies, no doubt one
was once found there. Such deposits being but
small, as a general rule, soon get obliterated. The
" Wreatham, U.S." is "Wrentham, Mass., a locality
from which Ehrenberg had specimens.— J. M. Ed-
wards, New York.

Bearing Gold Pish.— Your correspondent in-
forms us (p. 165) that his small pond or fountain
basin is 9 feet by 5 feet, and lined with Portland
cement. Presuming from that information, the
pond contains nothing more than water, beside the
debris he mentions. Now, one thing is certain (I
write from some years' experience): your correspon-
dent, G. A. W., will not succeed in keeping his fish
(much less rearing them) unless he adopts some
method of keeping up vegetable growth in the
water, whereby there may be kept up a constant
interchange of gases between the two kingdoms ;
and that may be attained by the following simple
method : — Cover the bottom of the pond with gravel
(washed, if he prefers, but I think not so good) two or
three inches thick, in which insert a quantity of plants
of common fresh- water weeds, and when they be-
come established, and make a little growth, then
G. A. W. may hope to keep his gold fish alive and
healthy. The losing of two or three fish may
arise from one of two causes : first, they may
have been purchased of a dealer who had had them
some time on hand ; secondly, they may have been
what are commonly called Warm-water Fish."—
B.H.

214

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Sept. 1, 1867.

Wanted a Medium.— I have again tried my
Land on Deane's Gelatine and Lawrence's Jelly,
and Lave again failed. I can't get them as clear as
I want them. I used Cox's Gelatine (English) the
best I could get here. In the Glycerine Jelly,
though made with extreme exactness and care, con-
fervoid growths appeared in less than a week in my
bottle, though I put it up, sealing as closely as I
could. But I made one or two experiments — the
most successful of which I will state. When the
jelly was as clear as I could get it, I prepared a
solution of carbolic acid by shaking up a few drops
of the acid with distilled water, and added of this
what I thought would flavour the jelly to the dis-
taste of animalculee or confervse. This vial has till
now been entirely free from any growth or cloudi-
ness other than the original impurities, which I
have not succeeded in getting out. — E. C. B., Port-
land, U. S.

Cat-Eleas.— In Mr. M'ln tire's article under this
title (Science-Gossip i., 278) a figure is given
showing the spinous fringe on the under side of the
head and on the pro-thorax, which agrees with my
own observations of this_ species. In the " Micro-
graphic Dictionary," article " Pnlex," the dog-flea
is described as the possessor of these appendages,
and the head of the cat -flea is referred to as "naked."
The figures on Plate 2S correspond to the letter-
press. I shall be glad if some gossiper can en-
lighten me on this discrepancy. My own specimens
were " taken from the life," and I keep no dog. —
K Marls.

Deatii's-Head Moth (Acherontia atropos). —
Your correspondent in the August number appears
to have some doubt about the pupae of this insect
uttering the shrill sound peculiar to the moth, and
I also question very much if, during the chrysalis
state, it has auy power at all of producing sound.
I have had from time to time many pupa?, but never
heard the slightest noise from any of them, nor do I
remember to have ever heard or read of an instance
of pupse producing sound, but, on the other hand,
I have several times heard from the moth itself
this singular shrill note, and I believe it to be a
peculiarity only exhibited by the perfect insect. —
T. G. R, Leeds.

Insect-Sounds. — In books on British moths the
Death's Head is said to produce a squeaking noise,
and no other instance is given of either moths or
butterflies producing a similar sound. I cannot but
think this to be an error. In several butterflies I
have noticed that when caught they have emitted a
sound like that of a blowfly. Having caught a
specimen of the small tortoiseshell (Vanessa urticce),
on proceeding to nip it near the thorax I was struck
by the sound it made, only differing in intensity
from that caused by a fly under similar circum-
stances.— H. H. 0. Farrell.

Laev/e in Mushrooms. — Can any of your readers
inform me in what manner the larva enters the
mushroom? I have frequently noticed immense
quantities of these — many half an inch in length,
white, with nearly a black head, — and have been
much puzzled concerning them, knowing that the
food is so short a time coming to perfection. How
old can the grub or larva be when it makes its
appearance ; and if it has not been feeding in the
ground previous to the mushroom showing itself,
it must grow with amazing rapidity. — J. B. Waters.

To Gitow Chara. — Dr. S. would be glad of infor-
mation on the proper method of treating Chara and
Nitella when grown in aquaria, in order to prevent
the growth of Conferva upon them. A large
quantity of this is constantly springing up, which
he finds is not prevented by keeping a number of
water-snails in the glass jars. He has always lost
these plants from the same cause.

Bottom of Aquarium. — As very many marine
animals burrow, and as the observation of their pro-
ceedings is very interesting, they should be provided
with the means of gratifying their inclinations. Eor
this purpose a layer of sand should be put on the
bottom of the tank, which may vary in depth from
one to three inches. If sand from a sea-beach can
be readily obtained, it is the most suitable ; but the
next best is coarse river sand, such as the Thames
sand, commonly sold at the stone-wharves of London
for building purposes. It should be well washed
until the water runs away clean ; fresh water will
do very well for this, but it must be drained off
before the sand is put in. What is called silver
sand, and the common yellow earthy sand sold in
the shops for scouring, are not at all suitable, as
they will tinge the water after any amount of wash-
ing, the former with lime the latter with ochre.
Small pebbles or fine gravel, likewise well washed,
may be used to vary the bottom with the sand.
Masses of rock, of dimensions suitable to the
aquarium, should be put in, to afford shelter and
concealment to such animals as like the gloom. To
afford this in the highest degree, a flat piece may be
set, like a table or cromlech, upon two or three up-
right blocks ; or two tall pieces may lean against
each other, forming a rude arch, care being taken,
whatever arrangement be chosen, that the masses
stand with stability. It is of little consequence
what sort of rock is selected — limestone, sandstone,
granite, conglomerate — but the rougher and the
more full of cavities and angles the blocks are, the
better will be the effect. — Gosse's Aquarium.

Hybernation or Birds. — In Jesse's " Gleanings
from Natural History" are included some of
Gilbert White's, of Seihorne, unpublished papers,
in one of which is the passage, "Repeated ac-
counts of Swallows, in large numbers, being seen,
spring and fall, perched on branches of trees over-
hanging the water, induce me greatly to suspect
that House Swallows have some strong attachment
to water independent of the matter of food ; and
that if they do not retire into that element, they
conceal themselves in the banks of pools aud rivers
during the uncomfortable months of winter." The
hybernation of Swallows, either by submersion or
concealment in holes and crevices, was a favourite
theory of Mr. White's, and a subject that he tried
to elucidate, but without success. Had the worthy
old naturalist known such a fact as that stated by
your correspondent " G. W.," his theory would
have been much strengthened. I have myself seen
Swallows taken out of the thatched roofs of old
cottages, and out of chimneys, in appearance very
like those described as taken out of the water near
Dantzic ; but in every case they were dead. Erom
their appearance, they seemed to have crept into the
holes, and become torpid, and then, probably from
cold, perished. Is it possible that birds of any
kind, even in a torpid state, can exist for a length-
ened period under water? The fact related by
your correspondent would seem to prove that they
can— B. 0. 0.

SErT. 1, 1867.J

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE -GOSS IP.

215

Beeches.— Eor several years past there has been
considerable mortality among beech-trees in some
plantations of thirty or forty years' grow) h having
been quite emptied of those trees. The first symp-
tom of disease which I have noticed is that portions
of the bark arc covered with a substance resembling
mould, but which seems to consist of the eggs of
some kind of insect. The following year, these
having disappeared, the bark begins to separate
from the tree aud to decay, and in about two years
the tree dies. Can you tell me whether the insect
is the real cause of this ? I have enclosed a little
of the substauce containing the eggs. — R. 0. 0.

Birds Preening. — I think the paragraph from
"Waterton's Essays," in Science-Gossip for Au-
gust, " What's the bird doing ? " is not altogether
correct in the remark about the preening to clear
themselves of insects. Now, 1 don't think it fair
to accuse " our feathered friends," when at their
toilet, of being infested with vermin. Birds that
become so infested do not preen their feathers, but
sit moping ; and when they do move, it is by sharp,
hurried movements and frequent lifting of the feet,
evidently being annoyed, as though something was
pricking their feet. Canaries, when so infested,
often stand quite still, looking suspiciously at their
feet or shoulders. Birds which often bathe and
preen their feathers are free from, or seldom have,
any insects about the body or feathers. On the
other hand, birds that are more careless of them-
selves, and do not preen much, are very much in-
fested. Eor instance, the Woodlarks will sing aud
be in good condition, but do not preen themselves,
and are mostly infested. I have a young Blackbird
in my aviary. So assiduous is he, that he bathes
once or twice a day, and much of his time is spent
in preening his feathers ; and I think I could safely
say he has not any insects about him. Indeed, I
have seen young birds, without feather or stubble,
and scarcely any down on them, go through the
routine of cleaning their feathers. And the gland
over the tail certainly does contain an oily matter,
which is used by birds to put a gloss on their
feathers, also to make them, to a certain extent,
resist wet. If a bird is closely watched while
cleaning himself, one may observe him take the
gland in his bill, squeeze the oil to the top of the
gland, pass the side of his head over the gland, and
touch himself lightly about the body. This simple
fact may be seen by taking notice of water-fowl
when preening themselves. — Chas. Rudd.

YOLCANOES IN THE CaMEROONS MOUNTAIN. — It

may interest you to hear that the Cameroons
Mountain, whose volcanic fires have long lain
dormant, is again in a state of active eruption. On
the night of the 15th inst., the lava seemed to rush
with tremendous force out of the east side, a few
hundred feet from the top, then pour over in a
grand cataract of fire, and flow off E.S.E. iu a
crooked fiery stream down the mountain-side. The
molten lava poured out, from sunset, when it was
first seen, till after midnight, increasing in volume.
Clouds obscured the mountain next morning, but it
has been seen burning thrice since. It is apparently
quiet now. There was no thunder for several days
preceding, but we had a gale of wind from the
E.N.E. — an unusual direction — coming an hour
before sunset on the 14th inst. : a tornado, in fact,
without thunder or rain, except a few drops. —
Extract of a Letter from C. Livingstone, Esq., H.B.M.
Consul, Fernundo Po, to Dr. Hooker, F.R.S.

Canary Antipathies.— A friend of mine reading
iu the Science-Gossip a paragraph on canaries dis-
liking blue, told me of a canary of hers that had the
same antipathy to black, and if, when dressed in that
colour, she approached the bird, it would nearly kill
itself, by violently beating its head against the bars
of the cage. All other colours had not the same
effect.— B. L. W.

Foraminifera.— I should feel obliged if any of
your correspondents would inform me whether the
Eoraminifera portrayed in No. 26 of your journal
are obtained from oue washing, or from how much
chalk. I have washed a considerable quantity,
aud though I find beautiful pieces of quartz and
shapeless masses of transparent and opaque material,
yet I find no fossil deposit whatever, unless the
pencils I see are such. Do I wash too much, and
throw away the shells, &c. ? — /. H. Gramslutw, M.D.

An Invading Army of Snails.— On the 11th of
May of the present year, I was witness, with seven
other members of my family, to an extraordinary
concourse of snails. I took notes of the occurrence
at the time, and send them at the risk of their being a
little out of date, having omitted to do so at the time.
A light accidentally held down to some hencoops in a
yard adjoining the house, about ten o'clock on
Saturday, the 11th of May, revealed a most extra-
ordinary and disgusting sight. Snails, with and
without shells — chiefly the long black snail — were
climbing up the bars of the coops, filling the food-
pans and blackening the ground. The whole family
was called out to witness it, and it was soon found
that an army of these slimy creatures was advancing
from the kitchen garden, the entrance to which was
about ten yards distant from the coops. A further
search showed that some other hen-coops at the top
of the flower-garden were similarly but not quite so
abundantly infested. The day had been showery,
and it followed one of frequent thunderstorms and
great rain aud hail. These storms followed, as your
readers may remember, on some excessively hot
weather quite unusual at that time of year. I cannot
well give an idea of the number of slugs and snails ;
some of those who saw them said there must have
been thousands. Salt was profusely applied, aud the
dead bodies were shovelled up next morning. Were
these creatures attracted by the barley-meal ? What
sense led them to the coops ? Why did they leave
the gardens ? Had electricity anything to do with
their appearance ? — L.

The Maelstrom. — What is the nature aud
causation of what is called the Maelstrom on the
coast of Norway ? What are its phenomena ? Does
such a thing really exist ? as many tell me it is all
a myth. Is it in any way connected with our
volcanic phenomena? or what gave rise to it? —
C. T. Richardson.

Volvox Query. — I have recently taken Volvox
Globator in considerable quantities (the first I have
ever found), but I cannot succeed in keeping these
more than a day or two. Are they all devoured by
the other inhabitants of the water? I have no
microscopic friend to enlighten me, or I would not
trouble you. — F. G. Paine.

The Harvest Moon. — What constitutes the
difference of what is called the Harvest Moon ?
There are not any two volumes giving similiar ideas
upon the subject, and all are scanty and unsatis-
factory in their information. — C. T. Richardson, j

216

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Sept. 1, 1867.

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, contri-
butions should not be received later than the 1 5th of each
month. No notice whatever can be taken of communi-
cations which do not contain the name and address of the
writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be with-
held. 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 manu-
script 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 : x 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 inad-
missible under any circumstances. Those of the popular
names of British plants and animals are retained and regis-
tered for publication when sufficiently complete for that
purpose, in whatever form may then be decided upon.
Address No. 192, Piccadii.lv, London, W.

W. E. M. — We regret our inability to inform you where you
can obtain the deposit you require.

B. L. W. — The "lumps" on willow-leaves are galls pro-
duced by an insect. If you will rear the insect from the
galls and send it, we will endeavour to name it for you.

j, s. — We are informed that a complete catalogue of
British Mosses is in course of preparation.

F. A. W.— In the winter, when living food for your frogs
cannot be found, they will not require it. Have you really
forgotten that reptiles hybernate ?

C. E. D. will only find what she requires by searching
through numerous volumes, such as Gould's " Birds of
Asia," &c. &c.

J. B. L. — No. 1, Oithotrichum pulchellum ; 2, Bryum pseu-
do-triquetrum ; 3, Climacium dendroides. — R. B.

G. C. B. (Darjeeling). — The plants are Isopyrum thalic-
troides, L., and Hymenophyllum ciliatum, Sw., the latter new
to India, although well known in tropical America and Asia,
and has lately turned up in New Zealand. Will our corre-
spondent forward herbarium specimen for one of our national
collections.— J. G. B.

I. R. B. — You will find all particulars respecting mounting
seaweed in " Davies on Mounting, &c. " (price 2s. 6d.).

T. P. — More extraordinary instances of tame fish than that
you describe are on record. Did you never hear of the trained
"gold fish of the Chinese ?

G. B. C— Communications acknowledged but not inserted
should be considered as declined.

Silkworms.— We fear that Miss B. will be much disap-
pointed in rearing silk and selling it. Dr. Wallace, of Col-
chester, did supply eggs of the Ailanthas silkworm.

J. R. W. — No. 4, Cares panicea; 5, Eriophorum angusti-
folium.

W. R. — No. 4 is Luzula campestris.— R. B.

J. C. D.— Sphagnum acutifolium ?

T. H., Jun.— No. 3, Bartramia fontana ; 4, Homalothecium
sericeum. — R. B.

T. P. F. — The white substance on beech-trees formerly
classed as a fungus, under the name of Psilonia nivea, is an
insect production.

A. G. W. — We are desired to inform you of your mistake,
the fungus being the common Stinkhorn (Phallus impu-
dicus).

W. D. R. — No book published with coloured figures of all
the British Neuroptera. Coloured figures of British moths
are contained in Wood's Index Entomologicus, which may be
had for about £i.

W. M. J.— No. 1, Pellaia hastata; 2, Pteris longifolia; 3,
Aspidium I'Cyrtomium) falcatum.— J. G. B.

J. H. R. — Galeopsis Ladanum and Carex ovalis. — J. G. B.

G. E. B. (Darjeeling'). — Polygonum molle (Don), and Sym-
plocos ramosissima Wall.). — J. G. B.

W. G.— The form and position of the basal ray-plates in
your little star show it to be Ophiocoma neglecta of Forbes
(Br. Star Fishes p. '30), Ophiura elegans of Leach (Zool.
Misc., ii. 57). Opliiolepis elegans of Gray (Cat. of Radiata
B. M., p. 24).— P. H. G.

Clare. — The Beetle is a female of Saperda carcharias, not
at all common in Britain. — W. H. B.

W. H.— We are not aware of any means of obtaining the
scientific journals for perusal, except by purchasing them, or
as member of some scientific society.

A. L.— The fern is Pteris tremula, Br.— J. G. B.

D. W. R. — The caterpillar of Acronyeta Psi.

EXCHANGES.

Beetles. — Carded specimens of British Beetles in ex-
change for other species. — James Walkden, 89, Grosvenor-
street, Manchester.

Zeolite or Needlestone (Crystals) from the Giant's Cause-
way, affording beautiful slides for the polariscope, in exchange
for other objects. — William Gray, Mount Charles, Belfast.

Eggs of Ringed Plover, Snipe, Teal, &c, offered for those
of the Cuckoo, Kingfisher, &c— Mrs. C. Battersby, Cromlyn,
Rathowen, Westmeath.

Alpine Plants in exchange for others in good condition.
— T. Howse, Jun , Garrybank, West Hill, Upper Sydenham.

British Mosses. — Specimens of fifty species for British
Grasses, Sedges, or Willows. Lists exchanged. — R. A.,
Leegomery-road, Wellington, Salop.

Echinus Spines. — Acrocladia trigonaria from Feejee
Islands, unmounted sections for other objects.— Lists to E.
Marks, 6, Holford-square, Pentonville, W.C.

Melicerta ringens may be obtained on application to
A. Nicholson, Fareham. A small bottle or sealed quill should
accompany the request.

Fossil Wood, Fossils from the Chalk, &c, for other
Fossils.— Address, F. Stanley, Harold-road, Newtown, Mar-
gate.

Hipparchia semele, &c, for other Lepidoptera in good
condition.— D. Baxendale, Akroydon, Halifax.

Raspberry Brand.— Aregma gracile. — Send stamped and
directed envelope to T. W. W., 53, Buckingham-place,
Brighton.

Vicia sylvatica for Gonepteryx Rhamni, or Arge Gala-
thea. — W. D. Robinson, 2, Shandwick-place, E.

Polariscope Objects (Crystals, &c, mounted) for ex-
change.—A. L., 61, Buckingham-road, N.

Acvaktiiss i.osgipes, Diatoma vnlgare, or Synedra
radians (mounted), for other mounted Diatoms. — E. Capron,
Shere, near Guildlord.

British Land and Freshwater Shells offered for common
Echinodermata. — W. H. G., Vernon Cottage, Thornhill-road,
N.

British Birds' Eggs in exchange for others.— James W.
Lloyd, Kington.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

"The London Catalogue of British Plants." Sixth edition.
London: Robert Hardwicke. 186".

"The American Naturalist," July, 1857. No. 5. Salem:
Essex Institute.

"Proceedings of the Essex Institute." Vol. V., No. 3.
Salem : Published by the Essex Institute, June, I867.

" A Trip to the Land's End," by the Rev. M. C. T. Sturman,
B.A —London : E. Billing & Son, 152, Bermondsey-street.

"The Naturalist's Circular for July and August, I867."
London.

" Second Report of the Quekett Microscopical Club, July,
1867."

" Symons's Monthly Meteorological Magazine," No. XIX.,
August, 1 867. London: E.Stanford.

" Country Life," Nos. I. and II. London: 10, Bolt-court,
Fleet- street.

Communications Received. — A. M. E.— T. H.
F. II— B.— H. H. O'F.— R. B.— H. E. W.— P. F.
E. A. B. (Cleveley).-C. B. B.— A. M.— W. E. M.-J

B. L. W.— J. B. A.— F. I. B.— G.— A. G. W.— J. H.-
— J. F. R— D. C. B.— W. G.— S. C— F. A. W.— B.-
J. W. W.-J. S.— J. S. (Perth).- W. E. B.— A. S.— T.
R. A.— T. P.-L R- B.-G. J.-W. H.-R. O. O.-
J. H. R.— A. L.-D. B.— M. A. G.-B. H.-F. S.-G.
R. R. S.— B. D.— James.— R. A. S.— P. P.— W.— J.
A. N.— W. W. J.— L. L. S.— A. M. E.-W. D. R.— A

C. R.— T. W. W.— J. B.— E. L. L.— J. H. G.— J.
S. D. L. A— G. D— J. H. R.— E. C. B.— A. L— W.
J. B.-W. H.-C. T. R.-C. H. G.-.I G. T.-F.

D. W. R.— J. W. L.— G. T. K.— J. A. T.

, Jun. —

& Co.—

. B. B.—

■C. E. D.

•E. W.—

G. D.—

E. M.—

B. C.—

N. E —

. B.F.—

B. W.—

K. B.—

G. P.—

Oct. 1, 1S67.]

HAHDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

217

LEFT BY THE TIDE.

Here, too, were living flowers,
Which, like a bud compacted,
Their purple cups contracted ;
And now in open blossom spread,
Stretched, like green anthers, many a seeking head.

Southet.

E any one will
take the trouble
to visit which
he pleases of
the fashionable
watering-places
on the coast
during the pre-
sent season of the year, un-
less convinced by the de-
mands made upon his purse
at every turn, a stroll on the
beach will afford conclusive
evidence that humanity has
its migrations as well as
feathered bipeds. Some
mature specimens will in-
dulge in ablutions, others in
inglorious sprawlings upon
the beach, and juveniles will
rush deep into the mysteries
of sand-pies, shovels and pails, when and where
sand is to be found. One and all seem to be bliss-
fully ignorant or indifferent to everything but draw-
ing in as much fresh air as will be equivalent to
their railway fare — plus their lodgings,, and a few
items in the way of "extras." Yet children will
be inquisitive — they will demand of parents and
guardians replies to all kinds of unconnected queries,
for which the said parents and guardians are not at
all times prepared. The subject of many such queries
are the strange-looking objects which lie scattered
up and down upon the beach, " left by the tide."
We cannot suppose that the intelligent parents
whose eyes habitually scan our pages are unable to
satisfy the demands made upon them relative to
objects so common as those we are about to allude

to, but it may
No. 34.

afford them some gratification to

be able to refer the querist to the present number
for an answer, whflst they, reclining in dreamy
wakefulness, can survey in peace the flight of a
solitary seagull, or watch the waves dashing and
splashing over the sunken rocks, rehearsing to
themselves, meanwhile, the lay of " The Ancient
Mariner," or the ballad of " The Inchcape Bell."

Localization has its advantages, even when the
commonest objects are to be described, and we may
as well confess at once that the objects to illustrate
this chapter were picked up on the beach at
Hastings — a place no naturalist need be ashamed
of visiting, for it has other charms beside sea-air,
mermaids, and fishy odours. Romance may cling
to the Lover's Seat, and take no note of the stray
wanderer below, cracking the old thistle stems, and
looking for a rare beetle which he might seek in
vain elsewhere. It's of no use that he offers half-
a-crown apiece for specimens of another coveted
rarity, which he hopes will parade the streets of St.
Leonards. It's low water, and everybody is off to
the beach, regardless of beetles or butterflies, and
thither we follow.

Here, there, and everywhere lies the Sea Wrack,
which we have figured and described in a former
volume (Science-Gossip, 1S66, page 204). Most
common is the Serrated Wrack, and scarcely less so
the Black Tang, or Bladder Wrack. Of other sea-
weeds, the long furbelows of Laminaria saccharina
are extremely common, and at every few steps a
fragment or two of Carrageen (Chondrus crispus), or
Irish Moss (fig. 207), as it is sometimes called. It
is one of the most useful of seaweeds, and when
carefully washed to remove the salt-water, may by
boiling be made into a very palatable article of
food. Seaweeds are much used as food by the
Chinese and Japanese, especially the Agar-agar of
the Malays, a species not found on our coasts.

L

218

HABDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Oct. 1, 1SG7.

{ , The rocks left uncovered at low water are green
with two species, either of which is suitable for a
marine aquarium. The narrow kind is Entero-

Fig.207. Carrageen (Chonrtrus crispus).

morpha compressa, and the broad, like green frills,
is Ulva latissima; in company with them is the
purplish Irideea edulis, the common Bhodymenia

Fig. 208. Rhodymenia palmata.

paltnata (fig . 208), and the delicate wavy purple
fronds of the laver Porphyra laciuiata, which are so

thin that they cling to the fingers like a film when
any attempt is made to lift them from the water.
The little pools on the rocks are often fringed with
the interesting Corallina officinalis,
long believed to belong to the animal
kingdom, from the quantity of lime
which it secretes (fig. 209). Bleached
specimens cast upon the beach are of
a chalky whiteness, but when living it
is of a purplish tint.

But the shore has other spoils of the
ocean which have been left by the tide
beside seaweeds, and much more
likely to attract attention. There are
the pixy-purses, or egg-cases, of the
Spotted

Fig. 209.

Dog-fish, and the common c°rai}""1m^f "
Skate, described and figured in this
work (for 1865, page 182) ; and there are also those
common but puzzling objects the tufts of egg-cases
of the common Whelk (fig. 210), which roll and blow

Fig. 210. Egg-cases of Whelk.

about upon the beach, and are certain to elicit a
query from juveniles. The membrane, mounted in
balsam, is a good microscopic object (Science-
Gossip, 1SG7, p. 91). Less common are the clusters.

Fig. 211. Eggs of Cuttle-fish.

like bunches of black grapes (6g. 211), of the eggs
of the cuttle-fish, ot the same kindred as the
Octopus, so graphically described by Mr. J. K. Lord
in a former number (1865, page 50), and the original
of the "Devil-fish" of Victor Hugo's "Toilers of
the Sea." Apropos of the cuttle-fish, the white
oblong plates commonly called " cuttle-fish bone,"

Oct. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

219

which constitute the solid framework of the Cuttle
(Sepia officinalis), and the transparent plates of the
Calamary (Loligo vulgaris), sometimes called " Sea-
pen," will occasionally be seen on the beach near
the fisherman's quarter. The dead cuttle-fish may
themselves be seen there, but often more offensive
to the nose than pleasing to the eye.

The common Star-fish, or "Five Fingers"
(Uraster rubens), is too well known on the beach
to need description, and our woodcut will be a suf-
ficient introduction to those who stay at home (fig.
212). A very pretty little star, not exceeding an

Fig. 212. " Five Fingers."

inch in diameter, may be collected by hundreds at
low water at one spot at Hastings, and we failed to
find them anywhere else. This little animal is the

sc&m^

Fig. 2)3. Opbiocoma neglecta. («. natural size.)

Ophoicoma neglecta of Eorbes (fig. 213). Just by
the outlet of the drainage excavations at the base
of East Cliff, a cluster of rocks is left bare at low

water. The surface of these rocks contains nume-
rous hollows or pools, some no larger than a hand-
basin, fringed or lined with mussels, which latter
are covered with green seaweeds. If a handful of
these mussels are torn from their moorings, and
separated from each other, scores of this little star-
fish will be found amongst the threads (byssus), by

Fig. 211. Alcyoniclicm.

means of which the mussel attaches itself to the
rock. To preserve these little animals in a dried
state/ they should be plunged into fresh water,
which kills them at once with the arms expanded.
They may then be dried by exposure to the air,
and are beautiful little objects. Specimens of the
Common^Sun-star (Solaster papposa), with twelve
or more rays, are sometimes cast upon the beach
atj Hastings, and less commonly the Egg-urchin

220

HARDWICKE'S S C IEN C E - G OSSIP.

[Oct. 1, 1867.

(Echinus sphsera). Though both of them are
designated " common," they are certainly neither of
them common, according to our experience, in the
locality alluded to.

Of Zoophytes and Polyzoa, dead specimens are
plentiful enough. There is the Oaten Pipe Coralline
(Tubularia indivisa), and the Branched Pipe Coral-
line (see Science-Gossip, 1865, page 177) ; still more
commonly the Sickle Coralline (Plumularia falcata),
and the Sea Eir (Sertularia abietina), both of which
are figured in a former number (August, 1865). One
of the most frequent of Polyzoa is the Sea Mat
(Elustra foliacea), and, nearly as common, the Paper-
Sea Mat (Elustra chartacea), to say nothing of the
parasitic species on sea mat, coralline, or seaweed.

Of all the strange objects which a high tide leaves
stranded, there is one not at all attractive by any
beauty which it possesses, but which is sure to raise a
host of inquiries (fig. 211). It has a most variable
form and size, ranging between two or three inches
and a foot in length, of a colour resembling sponge,
the substance tough, fleshy, and somewhat firm;
and the odour nothing in particular when fresh, but
particularly undesirable as it becomes stale. This
is the "Dead Man's Fingers" (Alcyonidium gelati-
nosum, fig. 212), a republic of "low life." Under
the microscope, the whole surface will be found
covered with teat-like projections ; and should the
specimen be really alive, an animal resident within
each of these projections will protude its tentacles.
It is most probable that the specimens picked up
on the beach will be past all exhibition of vitality.

We must not forget the sea-anemones, which the
receding tide will leave exposed to the stroller's
gaze like little lumps of jelly adhering to the rocks.
No great variety will be found here ; but, especially
on the rocks near the old town, marked by the
remains of old piles, their tops worn to cones and
covered with green seaweed, hundreds of smooth
anemone, of all shades and sizes, may be collected.
This species is figured under the name of "Beadlet"
(Actinia mesembryanthemum) in our volume for
1865 (page 157, fig. 10). Its chief beauty resides
in the turquoise beads which surround the disc ;
otherwise the colours are usually some shade
between brown and green.

Towards the other end of the town, a little to the
east of the Infirmary, when the water is very low,
as at new and full moon, a few Daisy Anemones
(Sagartia bellis) may be seen, with an occasional —
very occasional — " crass," or Dahlia Wartlet (Tealia
crassicomis). To see them is one thing, but to get
them, if required for an aquarium, is another. This
applies particularly to the Daisy Anemone, which of
all others is the most desirable for a small aquarium.
Our hostess had never seen such creatures until we
established a temporary tank in a hand-basin for
their reception; and her brother, although seventeen
years resident, had neither seen nor heard of such

things before. Well, we have all of us a world of
our own, and theirs had certainly not the same
orbit.

Of Molluscs, thousands of mussels are attached to
the rocks, and the Dog-whelk (Purpura lapillus)
crawls amongst the seaweed. The conical shells of
the Limpet (Patella vulgata) are almost as numerous
(fig. 215), and the little Yellow Perriwinkle (Lit-
torina littoralis) is quite at home amongst the sea-

Fig. 215. Limpet.

wrack. The common shells of the beach are con-
fined to a few species, such as the Scallop (Pecten

Fig. 216. Scallop.

varius, fig. 216), and the pretty little elongated shells
of the Donax politus (fig. 217). The larger and

Fig 21/. Donax politus.

more rounded shells of the Trough-shell (Mactra
stultprum, fig. 218) are also numerous. The shells
of the mussel, limpet, rocks, stones, iron drain-pipes,
&c, are profusely covered with the Acorn Barnacle
(Balanus balanoides), and the rocks are perforated
in all directions by Pholas dactylus, one of the most
wonderful of Nature's excavators.

There are other objects besides those which we
have enumerated thus briefly, each of which has a
history, and possesses an interest ; but had we at-

Oct. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

221

tempted more than this barren enumeration, the
present number of Science-Gossip would have con-
tained but a single chapter — "a consummation not

Fig. 2 IS. Mactra stultorum.

devoutly to be wished." The Nudibranche Molluscs,
found on the rocks at low tide, have been almost

Fig. 2!0. ^Eolis coronata.

forgotten, and of these the pretty little iEolis
coronata (fig. 219) is very attractive. Annelids, or

sea-worms, must also be
passed by, with an al-
lusion to the tubes of
a species of Terebella,
found either attached to
or drifted amongst the
seaweed. These tubes
are about the thickness of
a tobacco-pipe (fig. 220),
nd composed of sand,
little stones, and minute
shells, or fragments of
shells, agglutinated toge-
ther into a flexible tube,
somewhat after the man-
ner of the cases of the
caddis. The mouth of
the tube is fringed with
a number of smaller hair-
like tubes of a similar
construction. Lively
crustaceans "left by the
tide " consist of crabs of
all sizes, hermit crabs
— shrimps, and sand-
hoppers. It is expedient to furnish the juveniles
with small hand-nets, and send them off to the
shallow pools on the sands to catch shrimps, so that

Fig. 220. Tube of Terebella.

we may come to a termination. As for their elders
(like " the three clerks " in the ballad)—

Sauntering down the shady hollow,

Strolling o'er the sunny sands,
Letting fancy idly follow .

Steamers bound for distant lands ;
Watching, through the distance hazy,

Vessels standing out to sea,

we will leave them to try an aquarium in a hand-
basin, as we have done. If a recipe is desired, let
the following suffice. Take a basin, bowl, or pan
of coarse earthenware capable of holding a gallon of
water ; spread on the bottom thereof a quart of small
beach pebbles well washed from sand. Lay thereon
two or three stones, or fragments of rock, on which
green seaweeds are vigorously growing. Over all
pour a half gallon of clear sea-water, and allow it to
stand a day or two. Einally, collect and transfer to
the bowl half a dozen sea-anemones, a dog-whelk or
two, — and anything else will probably be too much,
for shrimps and sandhoppers will soon die, hermit-
crabs won't like it, aeolis will attack the anemones
when they become hungry : hence it is advisable to
"leave well alone," and be content with strolling up
and down to ascertain what has been " reft by the
tide."

MERMIS NIGRESCENS.

By R. T. Lewis.*

npHE subject of the following remarks — Mermis
•*- nigrescens— is a creature concerning which
there has of late been much discussion, both of a
scientific and of a speculative character. The facts
of its recent appearance have gone the round of the
newspapers and serials, and it has been a topic of
conversation at several meetings of learned societies.
It will no doubt be remembered that the first two
days of last June were unusually hot, with light
wind from the S.W. ; and that during the night
of the 2nd a remarkably heavy rain-fall took place9
accompanied by lightning and thunder. On the
following morning much surprise was created in
the districts over which the storm had passed by
the appearance of great numbers of hair-worms on
the leaves of plants, bushes, and, in some instances,
of trees. They were chiefly observed to be hanging
by one extremity, and waving their slender bodies
to and fro in the air, seeming at first sight to be so
many threads of silk ; but on being taken into the
hand, they immediately coiled up in that peculiarly
intricate manner which originally suggested a name
for the family to which they belong. Mention was
made of them at the meeting of the Entomological
Society on the evening of June 3rd, but they were
then thought to be Gordius aquaticus ; and at the
meeting of the Linnsean Society on June 22nd,

* Read at the Quekett Microscopical Club, Aug. 23rd.

HAHDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Oct. 1, 1867.

living specimens were exhibited to the Eellows ;
whilst from information received then and since, it
seems that their appearance was general and simul-
taneous at a large number of places in the counties
of Sussex, Kent, Surrey, and Middlesex. Naturally
the first question that arose was, where did the
creatures come from ? And in reply to this there
were not wanting persons who, connecting their
appearance with the storm and the rain, boldly
claimed for them a celestial origin, and well-authen-
ticated instances of the descent of small fish and
frogs from the clouds were adduced in support of
the notion ; whilst other persons gravely inquired
whether they might not have been produced by
electricity— an idea which, though at first sight
absurd, certainly does not, upon reflection, seem to
be surrounded by any greater difficulties than those
of the more fashionable but less novel theories of
spontaneous generation. Whilst endeavouring to
investigate the subject, I thought it worth while to
make inquiries whether anything special or peculiar
in the condition of the atmosphere had been noted
by meteorological observers; but with the exception
of the unusual depth of the rainfall — registered at
Kew as 727 inches, but at Steyning as no less than
2"44 inches, — I cannot ascertain that anything re-
markable was anywhere recorded. But it is worthy of
mention that sudden appearances of immense num-
bers of these worms took place in the years 1781,
1832, and 1845 — on each occasion in the month of
June, and immediately after thunderstorms with
heavy rainfall ; the prevailing opinions then being
that they came from the clouds. Their appearance
on June 15th, 1S45, has been described at great
length by the Hev. L. Jenkyns, in his " Observa-
tions on Natural History." * They were then
found upon flagstones as well as on the earth, and
were equally abundant upon shrubs and trees as
high as examined— certainly 7 or 8 feet from the
soil. It is not, however, my present purpose to
occupy any more time either in following up these
inquiries, or in entering into any speculations to
account for the apparently anomalous circumstance
of Entozoa being found in large quantities upon
apple-trees and gooseberry-bushes ; but it will,
perhaps, be worth while, before going into any de-
tailed description of what the microscope reveals of
their structure, to state in as few words as possible
what Natural History teaches us concerning them.
They were first recognized as a distinct genus by
Dujardin, who, in a memoir published in 1842, f
minutely described them, and gave an account of
what he considered to be their origin and habits.
He was of opinion that they were chiefly parasites
of the larva? of the cockchafer, which, he says, are
many years coming to their full growth, and that
they leave the bodies of their hosts only when

* Pp. 303, et seq. t Annates des Sciences Naturelles, 1842.

arrived at maturity, and merely to lay their eggs,
after which they speedily die. He accounts for
their appearance after heavy rain by supposing that
at such times the moisture stimulates the already
sick larvse to expel their parasites by contraction.
But although this theory might in part explain
their being found upon the ground, it does not so
well account for their abundant presence on the
tree-tops. These worms belong to the family Gor-
diacea, in the order Sterelmintha, of the class
Entozoa. Formerly they were placed amongst the
Nematoidea, in the order Ccelelmintha ; but from
the fact that they do not possess the distinctive
characteristics of the last-named order, and do
agree with those of the first-named, it is rather
surprising that they should have been so long
allowed to occupy a false position. In the family
Gordiacea, the two British genera, Gordius aquaticus
and Mermis nigrescens, bear so close a resemblance
to each other that it is hardly to be wondered at
that mistakes should often be made in identification;
and it may be noted in passing that, with the excep-
tion of the descriptions already quoted from, the
amount of written information concerning them is
very meagre, owing, no doubt, to their very retired
habits, and to the fact that they have not been dis-
covered to be injurious, either directly or indirectly,
to man or to his property. According to the various
descriptions, the chief differences between the two
may be stated as follows: — Gordius attains the
length of 7 to 10 inches, Mermis from 4 to 6 inches.
Gordius inhabits water or mud ; Mermis is found in
damp earth. In Gordius the oviduct is situated
nearer to the posterior than to the anterior end of
the body ; in Mermis it is nearer to the anterior
thau to the posterior. In Gordius the head is
much more abruptly rounded than is the case with
Mermis ; and, by error, in Science-Gossip, vol. i.,
p. 197, the tail of the female Gordius is stated to be
bifid, whereas male is intended, as I am since in-
formed, whilst that of the female Mermis is certainly
simple, terminating in a rounded angle, as shown in
the diagram. What sort of caudal appendage may
be possessed by the male Mermis I am unable
to state, since the whole of the fifty or sixty speci-
mens in my possession belong to the female sex.
Gordius is also of a much darker colour than
Mermis ; but both are developed in the intestines
of insects, who find the ova and swallow them —
doubtless afterwards wishing they had not. On the
evening of June 3rd I received by post a small box
full of these worms from a friend at Bognor, the
letter which accompanied them stating that they
had been found in great numbers that morning in
the garden after the thunderstorm, chiefly depending
in the manner already alluded to, from the leaves of
the apple-trees. Specimens were also found upon
asparagus, and on bushes and shrubs. On turning
them out of the box, I found them to be quite dry

Oct. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SC1E NCE-G OS SIT

223

and shrivelled, and entwined together into one mass
so intricately that it appeared at first sight impos-
sible to separate them by any other means than
that adopted by Alexander with the knot of the
Phrygian's famous harness ; but although they re-
sisted all attempts to flatten or uncoil them, they
proved to be sufficiently elastic to bear the amount

Fig. 221. Tail, x 99.

Fig. 222. Head.

of force required to tear them from each other's
folds. In colour some were a pale yellow; but the
majority were more or less longitudinally streaked
with brown, in some cases approaching to black.
On placing one of them in water, it speedily
began to untwist itself, and to •writhe about
in a manner strongly suggestive of returning
animation ; but although it is said that Gordius
aquaticus will come to life again and swim away,
after having been dried up for weeks, I am quite
sure that these movements on the part of the
many specimens of Mermis examined were merely
the result of the relaxation of their stiffened bodies,
consequent upon the absorption of the fluid in
which they were immersed, the motion entirely
ceasing as soon as the last trace of shrivelling had
disappeared. The absorption of the water appeared
to take place almost entirely through the substance
of the skin ; and it is stated that in their natural
condition they obtain their nutriment in a similar
manner. When thoroughly moistened, their bodies
became naturally distended, cylindrical, transparent,
and pliable in a remarkable degree, and so elastic
that they bore stretching to much beyond their
natural length without breaking asunder. On
placing them under the microscope, upon moistened
slides, I found that the dark colour of most of the
specimens was due to the presence of large numbers
of clear brown ova, which, in many instances, filled

the body from within i inch of the head to i inch
from the tail, no fewer than 7,200 of them having
been counted in the first one taken under examina-
tion. In length the worms varied from 3* to 5i
inches, and in breadth or diameter from ^ to $fc
inch, excepting at the extremities. The tail ended
in a somewhat curved and rounded point, and there
was no posterior aperture to the intestinal canal.
From a distance of about | inch from the head the
body gradually tapers down, until it terminates in a
slight rounded enlargement, just behind which there
is a small, ill-defined, red spot ; the diameter of the
head in most cases does not exceed -j^ inch.
Whether this worm has any mouth or not appears
to have been hitherto a matter of some uncertainty,
for in works where its characteristics are given I
find it frequently stated, " Mouth none, or very in-
distinct ; " and from the examination of nine out of
ten mounted specimens, it was impossible to decide
the question with any certainty ; but in the tenth I
was delighted to find that the structure of the
mouth was shown in a remarkably clear and beau-
tiful manner ; for although this slide, as a specimen
of mounting, is anything but what it ought to be,
the head is more perfectly shown than in any former
instance. Erom the examination of this, I think it
may be determined that the creature is furnished
with at least two very minute circular mouths or
suckers, one on each side of the head, about 90°
apart, or 45° on either side of the terminal extre-
mity, from each of which a cone-shaped tube ex-
tends towards, and at its base joins, the alimentary
canal. There is also some reason for suspecting the
existence of one or more additional mouths. The
body is filiform and cylindrical, its integument being
perfectly transparent, homogeneous, very elastic and
tough, and seemingly of a gelatinous nature. It
absorbs water with great facility, undergoes no
perceptible change from the action of sulphuric
acid, but is instantly dyed brown by a solution of
iodine. Its effect upon polarized light is very
slight, unless iu a state of tension, when it becomes
brilliant, and exhibits beautiful graduating colours
with selenite. The most noteworthy appearance
connected with it is that it is delicately marked
with an immense number of striee, which run
spirally round it from end to end, preserving their
parallelism throughout, their distance apart scarcely
exceeding -

j- inch. These markings are best seen
when the worm is freely floating in fluid, and has
not been subjected to pressure. (The specimen
exhibited under the microscope in the room was
placed in a glass cell containing water only, and in
which it had been for more than two months with-
out undergoing any perceptible change.) Whatever
may be the nature of these markings, they seem to
indicate the secret of the creature's climbing
powers, and to confirm the opinion that it ascends
the stems of shrubs by a winding spiral motion.

224

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Oct. 1, 1S67.

Next within the integument, and between it and
the alimentary canal and ovary, are what appear to
be two tubes or cords, which may possibly constitute
the nervous system. These are well seen in polarized
light. Whether there are two ovaries, or only one
extending nearly the length of the body, I have not
been able clearly to determine; but from the exa-
mination of the parts immediately adjacent to the
oviduct, and from the fact that an incision made
through the integument on one side of the vulva
only caused ova to float out from that half of the
body, I am inclined to believe that there are two
distinct ovaries, as in the case of the common
Ascaris. The ovaries appear to consist of fibrous
tissue, very different in appearance and structure
from that of the outer integument— a difference
which becomes strikingly visible by the action of
re-agents. Schultze's test, which produces no effect
whatever upon the integument, changes this tissue
immediately from its natural pale yellow colour to a
deep crimson. When a worm has been immersed
in water sufficiently long for its body to have become
naturally distended and pliant, it should be cut in
two with the scissors, and on pressure being applied
to the extremity, and steadily continued along to-
wards the cut end, the whole of the contents of the
body will be forced out from the integument with-
out any apparent injury to either. Treatment with
acetic acid will render it easy to separate the fibres,
or a drop of syrup and a drop of sulphuric acid
added to it will change them to the deep red colour
already referred to. But perhaps the greatest
amount of interest may be said to attach to the ova
themselves, which, from their great number and
conspicuous colour, must immediately attract the
attention of the most casual observer. The number
in the different worms which I have had under the
microscope I found to range from a few score to
upwards of 10,000 ; in colour they are a clear trans-
parent brown, and in shape slightly oval, having a
major diameter of ^o inch, and a miuor of eio
inch. They may readily be obtained for examina-
tion, either by pressing out the contents of the
body in the manner above described, or by placing
the body of the worm in water, bending it nearly
double, and then cutting it half-way through with
a sharp-pointed dissecting knife ; the ova will then
be found slowly but freely to float out through the
incision. A small quantity of acetic acid added to
the water will be found to hasten the process, and
will also be of further service in clearing the ova
from certain granules of matter by which they are
frequently surrounded. On carefully examining
them for the first time, I found that each one was
enclosed in a delicate, colourless, membraneous sac,
the opposite ends of which were slightly elongated,
and furnished with two fine filamentous appendages,
fringed or ciliated at their free ends. It is however
rather remarkable that nearly all the ova of the

various worms which I have examined since the
first appear to possess only one filament at each end
instead of two ; but as to the fact there can be no
doubt, since, as the observation was new to me, I
made a drawing of what I saw at the time, and
called in another person to verify its correctness.

Fig. 223.
a, b, perfect ova. c, ruptured sac. d, ovum escaped, x 280.

The sacs containing the ova were filled up with
a fluid, the nature of which I have been unable
to determine. What may be the purpose of the
filaments appears to be a question of some interest ;
and it has been suggested that, inasmuch as the
ova are found and devoured by various insects,
within whose bodies they undergo development,
possibly the filaments may have a use as a means of
attachment, by which the ova are prevented from
passing out of their hosts before coming to maturity.
But be this as it may, I have observed that by a
comparatively slight amount of pressure, the sac is
ruptured and the ovum escapes. It is also further
to be noted that in every instance of this kind the
sac has broken asuuder in the same direction and
manner, namely, in the circumference of its minor
diameter, thus separating it into two equal parts,
each of which in shape bears a curious resemblance
to a round-topped smoking-cap with its tassel. The
rupture of the sacs was in all probability due to the
compression of the contained fluid, so that it would
be unfair to infer from this only that an insect
would swallow the ovum alone without its enve-
lope ; yet I cannot but regret that my endeavours
to clear up this point have not been attended with
better success. With this end in view, I have for
some days past kept an earwig in a closed glass
trough in which I had placed some of the perfect
ova; but up to the time I left home this evening
they remained untouched, although the insect has
had nothing to eat for nearly a week ; and having
been caught in a London scullery, it is scarcely
probable that its aversion arises from any previous
experiences of the effects of swallowing the ova of
Mermis nigrescens* Surrounding the ovaries,
apparently in contact with the ova, and occupying
the spaces between them, is what appears— when
seen through the integument by transmitted light-
to be a quantity of milk-white flocculent material,

* To save it from death by starvation, the earwig was set
at liberty a few days after, the ova remaining untouched.

Oct. 1, 1367.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

225

which I take to be alimentary matter; it freely
floats out with the ova when an incision is made, or
it may be obtained directly from a cut portion by

Fig. 224. Bi-caudate Ovum, x 575.

pressure. Examined under a 1-inch objective,' it
is seen to consist of semi-transparent granules or
corpuscles ; and it appeared of some importance to
endeavour to ascertain what they consisted of — not
merely from curiosity as to the worm's diet, but as
tending to show whether or not they might be
regarded as injurious to the vegetable produce of
those gardens where they exist in sucb numbers.
The result of sundry experiments seems, however,
clearly to show that this granulated matter is
neither of animal nor vegetable composition, inas-
much as it remained unchanged by the action of
Schultze's test and of iodine. By adding sulphuric
acid to a portion already treated with iodine, very
minute isolated patches only gave a purple re-
action, seeming to indicate the presence of cellu-
lose; but strong sulphuric acid acted powerfully
upon it, disengaging small bubbles of gas. Finding
this to be the case, I allowed it to stand aside for a
couple of days ; and at the end of that time I found
floating in the liquid numerous bundles of the well-
known acicular crystals of sulphate of lime. Eor
preservation as microscopic objects, entire speci-
mens of Mermis may be readily mounted, freely
floating in cells filled with water or glycerine.
When intended to be viewed as transparent objects,
they should be thoroughly saturated with water,
then placed in the required position between two
glass slides, and allowed to dry under pressure,
after which they can be mounted in the usual
manner in glycerine jelly or pure glycerine, under a
glass cover only. With the ova alone greater care
is necessary ; and to avoid the results of pressure
they should be protected by a very shallow cell, in
which glycerine is undoubtedly the best medium for
their preservation. All my attempts with balsam
have turned out badly ; for though free from
bubbles, the sacs have in every case been broken,
and the escape of the contained fluid has caused a
blurred appearance round all those of the ova which
were not completely isolated.

THE DRAGON-FLY.
By A. S. Packard, Jr., M.D.

WERE we to select from among the insects a
type of all that is savage, relentless, and
bloodthirsty, the Dragon-fly would be our choice.
From the moment of its birth until its death,
usually a twelvemonth, it riots in bloodshed and
carnage. Living beneath the waters perhaps eleven
months of its life, in the larva and pupa states, it
is literally a walking pitfall for luckless aquatic
insects ; but when transformed into a fly, ever on
the wing in pursuit of its prey, it throws off all
concealment, and reveals the more unblushingly its
rapacious character.

Not only does its horrid visage and ferocious
bearing frighten children, who call it the " Devil's
Darning-needle," but it even distresses older per-
sons, so that its name has become a byword. Could
we understand the language of insects, what tales
of horror would be revealed ! What traditions,
sagas, fables, and myths must adorn the annals of
animal life regarding this Dragon among insects !

To man, however, aside from its bad name and
its repulsive aspect, which its gay trappings do
not conceal, its whole life is beneficent. It is a
scavenger, being like that class ugly and repulsive,
and holding literally, among insects, the lowest rank
in society. In the water, it preys upon young mos-
quitoes and the larvse of other noxious insects. It
thus aids in maintaining the balance of life, and
cleanses the swamps of miasmata, thus purifying
the air we breathe. During its existence of three
or four weeks above the waters, its whole life is a
continued good to man. It hawks over pools and
fields and through gardens, decimating swarms of
mosquitoes, flies, gnats, and other baneful insects.
It is a true Malthas5 delight, and, following that
sanguinary philosopher, we may believe that our
Dragon-fly is an entomological Tamerlane or Napo-
leon sent into the world by a kind Providence to
prevent too close a jostling among the myriads of
insect life.

We will, then, conquer our repugnance to its
ugly looks and savage mien, and contemplate the
hideous monstrosity, — as it is useless to deny that
it combines the graces of the Hunchback of Notre
Dame and Dickens's Quilp with certain features of
its own, — for the good it does in Nature.

Even among insects, a class replete with forms
the very incarnation of ugliness and the perfection
of all that is hideous in nature, our Dragon-fly is
most conspicuous. Look at its enormous head,
with its beetling brows, retreating face, and heavy
under jaws, — all eyes and teeth, — and hung so loosely
on its short, weak neck, sunk beneath its enormous
hunchback, — for it is wofully round-shouldered, —
while its long thin legs, shrunken as if from disease,

226

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP.

[Oct. 1, 1867.

are drawn up beneath its breast, since our fiend of
the air is a poor pedestrian.

Its gleaming wings are, however, beautiful objects.
They form a broad expanse of delicate parchment-
like membrane drawn over an intricate network of
veins. Though the body is bulky, it is jet light,
and [easily sustained by the wings. The long tail
undoubtedly acts as a rudder to steady its flight.

These insects are almost universally dressed in
the gayest colours. The body is variously banded
with rich shades of blue, green, and yellow, and the
wings give off the most beautiful iridescent and
metallic reflections.

During August, the various species of Libellula
and its allies most abound. The eggs are attached
loosely in bunches to the stems of rushes and other
water-plants. In laying them, the Dragon-fly,
according to Mr. P. E. Uhler's observations,
"alights upon water-plants, and, pushing the end
of her body below the surface of the water, glues
a bunch of eggs to the submerged stem or leaf.
Libellula auripennis I have often seen laying eggs,
and I think I was not deceived in my observation
that -she dropped a bunch of eggs into the open
ditch while balancing herself just a little way above
the surface of the water. I have, also, seen her
settled upon the reeds in brackish water with her
abdomen submerged in part, and there attaching a
cluster of eggs. I feel pretty sure that Libellula
auripennis does not always deposit the whole of
her eggs at one time, as I have seen her attach a
cluster of not more than a dozen small yellow eggs.
There must be more than one hundred eggs in one
of the large bunches. The eggs of some of the
Agrions are bright apple-green, but I cannot be
sure that I have ever seen them in the very act of
oviposition. They have curious habits of settling
upon leaves and grass growing in the water, and
often allow their abdomens to fall below the surface
of the water ; sometimes they fly against the sur-
face, but I never saw what I could assert to be the
projecting of the eggs from the body upon plants or
into the water. The English entomologists assert
that the female Agrion goes below the surface to a
depth of several inches to deposit eggs upon the
submerged stems of plants." The Agrions, how-
ever, according to Lucaze Duthiers, a French ana-
tomist, make, with the ovipositor, a little notch in
the plant upon which they lay their eggs.

These eggs soon hatch, probably during the heat
of summer. The larva is very active in its habits,
being provided with six legs, attached to the thorax,
on the back of which are the little wing-pads, or
rudimentary wings. The large head is provided
with enormous eyes, while a pair of simple, minute
eyelets (ocelli) are placed near the origin of the
small bristle-like feelers, or antennas. Seen from
beneath, instead of the formidable array of jaws and
accessory organs commonly observed in most carni-

vorous larvae, we see nothing but a broad, smooth
mask covering the lower part of the face, as if from
sheer modesty our young Dragon-fly was endeavour-
ing to conceal a gape. But wait a moment. Some
unwary insect comes within striking distance. The
battery of jaws is unmasked, and opens upon the
victim. This mask is peculiar to the young, or
larva and pupa of the Dragon-fly. It is the labium,
or under lip greatly enlarged, and armed at the
broad spoon-shaped extremity with two sharp hooks,
adapted for seizing and retaining its prey. At rest,
the terminal half is so bent up as to conceal the face,
and thus the creature crawls about, to all appear-
ance, the most innocent and lamb-like of insects.

Not only does the immature Dragon-fly walk over
the bottom of the pool or stream it inhabits, but it
can also leap for a considerable distance, and by a
most curious contrivance. By a syringe-like appar-
atus lodged in the end of the body, it discharges a
stream of water for a distance of two or three inches
behind it, thus propelling the insect forwards. This
apparatus combines the functions of locomotion and
respiration. There are, as usual, two breathing
pores (stigmata) on each side of the thorax. But
the process of breathing seems to be mostly carried
on in the tail. The tracheae are here collected hi a
large mass, sending their branches into folds of mem-
brane lining the end of the alimentary canal, and
which act like a piston to force out the water. The
entrance to the canal is protected by three or five
triangular horny valves, which open and shut at will.
When open, the water flows in, bathing the internal
gill-like organs/which extract the air from the water.
This is then suddenly expelled by a strong muscular
effort.

In the smaller genera, Agrion, Lestes, and Calop-
teryx, the respiratory leaves, called the tracheary,
or false-gills, are not inclosed within the body, but
form three broad leaves, permeated by tracheae, or
air-vessels. They are not true gills, however, as the
blood is not aerated in them. They only absorb air
to supply the tracheae, which aerate the blood only
within the general cavity of the body. These false-gills
also act as a rudder to aid the insect in swimming.

It is easy to watch the Dragon-flies through their
transformations, as they can easily be kept in
aquaria. Little, almost nothing, is known regarding
their habits, and any one who can spend the neces-
sary time and patience in rearing them, so as to
trace up the different stages from the larva to the
adult fly, and describe and figure them accurately,
will do good service to science.

Mr. Uhler states that at present we know but
little of the young stages of our species, but " the
larva and pupa of the Libellulidae may be always
known from the iEschnidae by the shorter, deeper,
and more robust form, and generally by their thick
clothing of hair."

The pupa scarcely differs from the larva, except

Oct. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

227

in having larger wing-pads. It is still active, and
as much of a gourmand as ever. When the insect
is about to assume the pupa state, it moults its skin.
The body having outgrown the larva skin, by a
strong muscular elFort a rent opens along the back
of the thorax, and the insect, having fastened its
claws into some object at the bottom of the pool,
the pupa gradually works its way out of the larva-
skin. It is now considerably larger than before.
Immediately after this tedious operation, its body
is soft, but the crust soon hardens. This change,
with most species, probably occurs early in summer.
When about to change into the adult fly, the
pupa climbs up some plant near the surface of the
water. Again its back yawns wide open, and from
the rent our Dragon-fly slowly emerges. Eor an
hour or more, it remains torpid and listless, with
its flabby, soft wings remaining motionless. The
fluids leave the surface, the crust hardens and dries,
rich and varied tints appear, and our Dragon-fly
rises into its new world of light and sunshine a
gorgeous but repulsive being. Tennyson thus
describes these changes in "The Two Voices": —

To-day I saw the Dragon-fly
Come from the wells where hs did lie.
An inner impulse rent the veil
Of his old husk : from head to tail
Came out clear plates of sapphire mail.
He dried his wings ; like gauze they grew;
Through crofts and pastures wet with dew
A living flash of light he flew.

The largest of our Dragon-flies are the " Devil's
Darning-needles," iEscima heros and grandis, seen
hawking about our gardens till dusk. They fre-
quently enter houses, carrying dismay and terror
among the children. The hind-body is long and
cylindrical, and gaily coloured with bright green
and bluish bauds and spots.

One of our most common Dragon-flies is Diplax
rubicundula, the ruby Dragon-fly, which is yellowish
red. It is seen everywhere flying over pools, and
also frequents dry sunny woods and glades. Another
common form is Diplax berenice of Drury. It is
black, the head blue in front, spotted with yellow,
while the thorax and abdomen is striped with
yellow. There are fewer stripes on the body of the
male, which has only four large yellow spots on each
side of the abdomen. Still another pretty species is
Diplax elisa of Dr. Hagen. It is black, with the
head yellowish and with greenish yellow spots on
the sides of the thorax aud base of the abdomen.
There are three dusky spots on the front edge of
each wing and a large cloud at the base of the hind
pair towards the hind angles of the wing.

Rather a rare form, and of much smaller stature
is the Nannophya bella of Uhler. It was first
detected in Baltimore, and we afterwards found it
not unfrequently by a pond in Maine. Its abdomen
is unusually short, and the reticulations of the
wings are large and simple. The female is black,

while the male is frosted over with a whitish
powder. Many more species of this family are
found in this country, and for descriptions of them
we would refer the reader to Dr. Hagen's Synopsis
of the Neuroptera of North America.

The Libellulidrc, or family of Dragon-flies, and
the Epheinerida), or May-flies, are the most charac-
teristic of the Neuroptera, or veiny-winged insects.
This group is a most interesting one to the system-
atise as it is composed of so many heterogeneous
forms which it is almost impossible to classify in
our rigid and at present necessarily artificial
systems. We divide them into families and sub-
families, genera and sub-genera, species and varie-
ties, but there is an endless shifting of characters
in these groups. The different groups would seem
well limited after studying certain forms, when to
the systematist's sorrow here comes a creature,
perhaps mimicking an ant, or aphis, or other sort of
bug, or even a butterfly, and for which they would be
readily mistaken by the uninitiated. Bibliographers
have gone mad over books that could not be classified.
Imagine the despair of an insect-hunter and ento-
mophile, as he sits down to his box of dried neu-
roptera. He seeks for a true neuropter in the
white ant before him, but its very form and habits
summons up a swarm of true ants ; and then the
little wingless book-louse (Atropos), scampering
irreverently over the musty pages of his Systema
JValu/ve, reminds him of that closest friend of man
— Pediculus vestimenti. Again, his studies lead
him to that gorgeous inhabitant of the Mediter-
ranean shores, the butterfly-like Ascalaphus, with
its gorgeous wings and slender knobbed antennae, so
much like those of butterflies, and visions of these
beautiful insects fill his mind's eye ; or sundry dun-
coloured caddis flies, modest, delicate neuroptera,
with finely fringed wings and slender feelers, create
doubts as to whether they are not really allies of
the clothes moth, so close is the resemblance.

Thus the student is constantly led astray by the
wanton freaks Nature plays, and becomes sceptical
as regards the truth of a natural system, though
there is one to be discovered ; and at last disgusted
with the stiff and arbitrary systems of our books, —
a disgust we confess most wholesome, if it only lead
him into a closer communion with nature. The
sooner one leaves those maternal apron-strings, —
books, — and learns to identify himself with nature,
and thus goes out of himself to affiliate with the
spirit of the scene or object before him, — or, in
other words, cultivates habits of the closest obser-
vation and most patient reflection, — be he painter or
poet, philosopher or an insect-hunter of low degree,
he will gain an intellectual strength and power of
interpreting nature, that is the gift of true genius.

[Although originally written for the American
Naturalist, there is much in this chapter which is
of interest also to the British student.]

22S

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Oct. 1, 1S67.

SPONGE WASHINGS.

HE who possesses a microscope, and knows how
to use it, need not go far in search of objects.
Even within the four walls of his own house it is
exceedingly probable that one who is in earnest will
find enough to astonish his less enthusiastic friends.
It is not always necessary to visit the sea-coast to
obtain good marine Diatomaceee. Erom a very
simple and common source the student may often
secure a plentiful store to employ his- leisure and
his microscope. Such home resources and simple
expedients are amongst the charms of domestic
microscopy ; and the excuses sometimes urged of
want of leisure, claims of business, town location,
and inability to travel, are overturned when the
Diatoms travel to one's own door. It is a reversion
of the old saying, that if the mountain will not
come to Mahomet, Mahomet must go to the moun-
tain.

Some twelve years ago, being in want of a sponge
for use in the stable, I purchased one from a hawker
of such commodities for the small sum of half-a-
crown. It was one of the coarsest and commonest
kind, full of large holes, and with little of external
favour to recommend it. This was a home lesson,
read by a sponge, on the folly of rash conclusions
from mere appearances. After repeated washings
in water, this sponge yielded me a large quantity of
sand from its interior. After allowing the larger
particles to subside, I boiled the lighter portion iu
strong nitric acid ; and having carefully washed it
several times in water, obtained some very interest-
ing slides for my cabinet. Lists are never very
readable or acceptable communications, and a dry
list of Latin names is least of all attractive to the
general reader ; but the following enumeration will
give some idea of the hidden treasures of a
sponge : —

The genus Campylodiscus is represented in my
"washings " by no less than three species. One of
these is the Campylodiscus notatus of Greville,
which is distinguished by the central markings,

Fig. 226, X 500.

Fig. 22", X 250.

which Mr. Norman has aptly compared to the
figure of a dumb-bell. My specimen measures
•0020 of an inch (fig. 22G).
The second representative of this genus resembles

Campylodiscus ralfsii, but it is larger, measuring
•0035 of an inch (fig. 227).

The third species is un-
doubtedly Campylodiscus
parvulus of Smith, though
larger than is usual in Bri-
tish specimens; it measured
•0022 of an inch (fig. 228).
By some this species is re-
garded as a variety of Cam-
pylodiscus fastuosa (Ehr.).

The form called Auliscus sculptus by Smith, or,
as it is sometimes named, Eupodiscus sculptus, is
abundant in my washings, and varies greatly in
size. The specimen figured (fig. 229) measured '0017
of an inch.

Fig. 228, x 500.

Fig. 229, x 500.

Fig. 230, x 250.

There is also a fine Triceratium, which appears
to be the Triceratium Thwaitesianum of Greville,
described by him in the second volume of the
" Transactions of the Microscopical Society of
London" (new series). Dr. Greville's specimens
were from the Cape of Good Hope. The size of
the specimen figured is '0040 of an inch (fig. 230).

Another species of Triceratium of a singular form
is the Triceratium pentacrinus of Wallich, which
was also found in my " washings." This form is

Fig. 231, x 500.

regarded by some authorities as a five-sided variety
of the Amphitetras ornata of Shadbolt (fig. 231).
My specimen measured '0033 of an inch.

Amongst the better known species found on my
slides are the Surirella fastuosa of Ehrenberg, a
common marine form, diffused almost all over the
world, since it has been recorded in Europe, Asia,
Africa, and America. The specimen figured (fig.

Oct. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

229

232) measured '0027 of an inch, Navicula palpebrals
of Brebisson, which is found ou our own coasts and
those of France. My measurement is "0020 of an
inch (fig. 233).

Fig. 232, X 5'0.

Fig. 23.'), X 50«.

Two species of Grammatophora are also to be
found in my washings. One of these is Grammato-
phora marina of Lyngbye, which is also common
everywhere, and has been honoured with a variety
of names. The measurement of the specimen
figured (fig. 234) is '0024. The other species is
Grammatophora serpentina of Ehrcnberg (fig. 235),

Fig. 234, X 500.

Fig. 235, X 500.

which is not uncommon in sheltered bays. Length
'0015 of an inch.

The finest form in my series is undoubtedly the
"Biddulphia pulchella (fig. 236) of Gray, which may

It? Sail*

-- - -. ~%k\

Fig. 236, X 500.

be regarded as the " king of the sponge." Albeit it
is a British species, and not one of the most rare.
My specimen measured '0034 of an inch.

Less attractive, but interesting, is the variety (3
of Navicula Lyra (Ehr.), a species very much given
to variation (fig. 237). The length of my specimen
is '0053 of an inch. The same genus is also repre-
sented by the Navicula uitida of Gregory (fig. 23S),

Fig. 237, X 375.

Fig. 233, X 500.

a form which was found by bim in the Glcnshira
sand. (See his communication in Trans. Mia:
Soc, vol. iv.)

Of the genus Cocconeis, the only representative
which I have recognized is the Cocconeis major of
Gregory (fig. 239). Length '0024 in.

...-%

Uncertain forms also occur in my slides, of which
one is the species of Navicula (fig. 240), which

Fig. 240, x 230.

Fig. 241, X 500.

measured "0020 of an inch, and what appears to be
the side view of Denticula nana (fig. 241) which
measured '0012 in.

Hence it will be observed that I have detected
sixteen forms of marine diatoms in the washings of

230

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Oct. 1, 1867.

a single sponge; and probably if others were to
follow my example, they would be rewarded by
richer treasures and rarer forms, though scarcely in
variety. In addition to these, however,

greater

Fig. 242.

Fig. 243.

Fig. 244.

XI]

Fig. 245.

there were present various forms of sponge spicules,
of which I have given figures, but which hitherto I
have had no opportunity to identify (figs. 242 to
248).

f|

i >
if

Fig. 246.

> f

\\

Fig. 247.

Fig. 248.

Spicules of Halichondria.

Strange localities are sometimes quite prolific in
Diatomacese. The stomachs of molluscs contain
them in abundance, and I once obtained a fine series
of slides by boiling in acid, the legs of a spider-crab
(Stenorhynchus phalangium) which was dredged in
Southampton Water. The long, straggling, though
useful members of this crustacean, were a perfect
forest of vegetation. There was Biddulphia pul-
chella, figured above, and Amphitetras antediluviana
(figured in Science- Gossip, for 1SG6, p. 1S2,
figs. 170, 171), both of which in profusion; and more
sparingly, two other forms of Biddulphia, and at
least nine other good species belonging to eight other
genera, which altogether amply rewarded me for
my trouble.

I have also a specimen of Colletonema sub-
cohserens, which I obtained from the top of a stone
wall amongst moss.

Let no one hereafter deplore that their lot is cast
among men who dwell in cities, where no objects
for their leisure occupation are to be found, since I
have shown that more interesting diatoms may be
purchased in a common sponge in the next street,
than they will collect by spending a week at Hastings
or Brighton, with probably far less of mortification
and inconvenience.

Shere. E. Caprox, M.D.

BUXBAUMIA INDUSIATA IN ABERDEEN-
SHIRE.

IN July, 1S17, two specimens of a Buxbaumia
were found in a wood near the village of Bal-
later, in Aberdeenshire. Mr. Alexander Oruick-
shank, who gathered them,- gave me one, which was
placed in my herbarium as B. aphylla. Some
months ago, at a meeting of the Edinburgh Bota-
nical Society, it was reported that an immature
specimen of B. indusiata, Brid., had been found in
Ross-shire. This report led me to re-examine Mr.
Cruickshank's plant, which differed in general ap-
pearance from the true B. aphylla.* I had now no
doubt that Mr. Cruickshank was the discoverer of
B. indusiata in this district.

On 21th May last I visited the place, but failed
to trace any of the plant. A few weeks later Mr.
Cruickshank and Mr. Roy were equally unsuc-
cessful. The original station was in an old wood of
Scotch fir, which was cut down a few years ago,
and the surface thus very much altered. It then
occurred to me that near the village of Aboyne,
where decayed stumps and prostrate stems of fir
are plentiful, the Buxbaumia might probably be
found. Accordingly, in company with Mr. John
Roy, a very diligent muscologist, I went to the
place. We had searched but a short time when
Mr. Roy found a few specimens on a prostrate
stem. Further search yielded in all eleven speci-
mens, some of which were imperfect. On the 29th
of July I revisited the locality, and found on one
decaying stem of fir eleven seta?, some wifh and
some without fragments of capsules, and one per-
fect specimen, the largest of all as yet gathered
here.

This very fine and rare species will doubtless be
met with in other places. At Aboyne it occurs on
rotten steins of fir, in moist spots shaded by the
common Brake Fern. G. Dickie, M.D.

* It may be necessary to mention that Vol. II. of Hooker's
"British Florre " was the only authority accessible at the
time; in that work B. indusiata is given as a synonyme of
B. aphylla.— G. D.

Oct. 1, 1SG7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

231

"ECHOES FROM THE CLUB."

TJI7*HAT CLUB ?— That depends very much
* * upon circumstances. In our own case, and
many of our readers', " the club " is represented by
the association of fellow-workers at the microscope,
which has now for upwards of two years borne the
name of the Quekett Microscopical Club. So
quickly does Time " move on," that we can scarcely
believe it to be twelve months since the issue of
the first report of this Association imposed upon us
the pleasing duty of placing its claims before our
readers. Documentary evidence is strong against
us in the issue of the Second Annual Report, which
now lies beside us, and we at once proceed to give
it welcome. In 1S65 its first announcements ap-
peared in our columns, in 1SG6 (page 193) we bade
it God-speed, and in 1S67 we renew the strain.

We have already briefly indicated the origin and
progress of this Association up to the period at
which we wrote ; we have given an outline of its
objects and constitution ; and we have chronicled
its unprecedented success. Although it needs no
advocacy from us, we esteem it an honour when-
ever a suitable occasion presents itself to become
the medium of communication between the Club
and our readers. It is easy to speak well of a
thriving business, to eulogize a successful enter-
prize ; and that the present is thriving and success-
ful, a few lines from the late report will afford
evidence. "Experienced microscopists and students
of kindred tastes nave now regular and frequent
opportunities of meeting to discuss those special
subjects in which they are mutually interested, and
frequent Field Excursions, under experienced guides,
to well-known localities around the metropolis,
afford to the members generally' valuable facilities
for becoming more intimately acquainted with the
haunts and habits of those living organisms which
form the subjects of their study, or serve to
recreate their leisure hours." At the usual monthly
meetings during the past year no less than nineteen
papers have been read on topics interesting to the
microscopical student. We need not enumerate
them, since the majority have already been named
in our pages at the time of their perusal, and some
have been published either in copious extract or
in full.

The Excursions announced for the year have been
eleven, and " the attendances at those whicb the
weather has permitted to take place indicated no
abatement in the interest hitherto exhibited." The
Library has been augmented both by presentations
and purchases, and it is to be hoped that so valuable
an adjunct to an Association of this character will
continue to interest publishers and authors, and all
liberally disposed persons, and lead to a far greater
augmentation in the year which has just commenced.
The hint which the Committee has given that "a

commodious oaken bookcase has been secured to
the Club, for the safe keeping and proper working
of its growing Library," is exceedingly apropos,
and we trust will produce the desired eil'ect. The
cabinet of objects includes more than double the
number of slides which it held in 1866, having now
reached a total of 2G3, some of which have been
contributed by persons who are not members, and
have no personal interest in the Club. This augurs
well for the good feeling and kindly disposition of
microscopical students, and deserves commendation.

A new feature has recently been introduced at
the ordinary meetings ; " a question-box has been
placed on the table for the reception of questions
relating to microscopical science ; such questions
wdien read to the meetings on convenient occasions
having generally elicited satisfactory replies."

The Committee also announce, with gratification,
that " the exchange of specimens has now become a
recognized feature, and scarcely a meeting takes
place without many interesting specimens being
freely distributed amongst the members. In fur-
therance of this object, and to afford still greater
facilities for the exchange of slides, a sub-committee
has been formed," and a code of rules adopted to
regulate exchanges.

One of the most positive evidences, however,
which this report gives of the success of the Club
lies in the declaration that " since the last annual
meeting 130 gentlemen have enrolled themselves as
members, and during the same period only 12
names have been removed from the list in conse-
quence of death or other causes, leaving the present
number at 273." Having assumed the position of
prophet at the commencement of the year, it was
matter of some anxiety to us to compare the
prophecy with this report at the close of the year.
The result of this comparison proves us to have
been no " false prophet," for our prediction has
been fulfilled. We declared (p. 191), "it would
cause in us but little surprise if the number of
its members should be nearly doubled during the
ensuing year." The first year enrolled 155 members
and the second 130, so that the numbers being
nearly doubled, we claim the right to be regarded
as a true prophet. We cannot hope for a similar
increase in the third year, but there is good reason
to believe that steady increase will be maintained ;
although the number of new members, if we may
prophesy again, may not exceed half the number
enrolled in the first year, the ratio promises more
than one hundred.

Finally, a balance in hand of thirty five pounds,
proves that the finances, notwithstanding the low
rate of subscription, are in a healthy condition.
Nothing remains for us but to urge all metropolitan
microscopists who are not yet members, to lose no
time in making themselves acquainted with the
details, and if these prove satisfactory, in which

232

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Oct. 1, 1,867.

they can scarcely fail, to act thereupon in accord-
ance with the dictates of their own consciences.
To the microscopists of our cities and large towns,
we present the example of the Quekett Club, and
beg of them to take courage and establish for them-
selves similar local associations which shall bind
hand and heart in a noble enterprise all good men
and true, who are fellow explorers in the new
world of little things, and who would discover more
of the hidden mysteries of life.

ZOOLOGY.

Varieties of Butterflies. — On a recent visit
to the Isle of Wight I captured a male specimen of
Colias edusa, the hind legs of which, on the upper
side, present in certain lights a most beautiful
display of colour, " shot " (as we may call it) in the
same way as the wings of Apatura iris, only in Edusa
the colour is rich plum. I should like to know
whether this play of colour has been observed
before. I may mention, for the information of
Lepidopterists, that on a visit to the New Eorest in
July, I took the variety of the female A. paphia
figured in plate xii., fig. 3, of Westwood and Hum-
phries' "Book of British Butterflies," and described
therein as being then " unique." I should much
like to know whether it has been taken since the
publication of that work. My specimen has rather
lighter patches on the upper portion of the wing
than in the figure, but is in ground colour and in
other respects identical. To those who have not
yet tried the American moth trap (procurable at
Cooke's, naturalist, New Oxford Street), I would
say try it. C. cytherea and Leucania pygmiua are
among my captures by its means. — Windsor Ham-
trough.

Bees at Large.— On the 19th of August a
strange scene was witnessed in the shop of a well-
known fruiterer and dairyman of Bath. On the
previous Saturday evening two hives of honey were
conveyed to his premises, which were duly secured
after business hours, and remained unopened till the
following Monday morning, when to the amazement
and discomfort of the proprietor and his family, it
was found that the supposed suffocated bees had
become resuscitated, and were as busy as bees can
be, although confined within a fruiterer's window.
Tiie latter was a very unusual and attractive spec-
tacle to many of the public throughout the day ;
and although it is to be regretted that the worthy
inmates experienced a loss of trade, and had several
practical illustrations that bees possess stings, it is
satisfactory to know that, as evening approached,
the bees returned to their hives, and long ere this,
we fear, have met with a fate too cruel for insects
so industrious and provident as the English honey-
bees— R. H. M.

The Kingfisher.— In the reedy, grassy banks of
the Brathay a pair of kingfishers had a nest, and it
was beautiful to see them dart like a flash of emerald
light into the stream, catch the fish they had marked,
dexterously kill their prey by knocking its head
against a stone, and then retreat with it into the
hole, which I supposed was a deserted rat-hole, of
which there were many in the bank. About a foot
within the hole was a layer of fish bones, no doubt
the skeletons of the eaten prey, and on these were
laid the eggs, seldom, I think, more than two in
number, of a very pale bluish colour. My son has
repeatedly noticed the same circumstances in his
fishing expeditions along the banks of the York-
shire Derwent. — P. S. B.

The Mole Cricket. — In the reprint of Knight's
" English Cyclopaedia," in the article " Gryl-
lida?," it is stated, " As yet it is doubtful whether
these insects (Mole Crickets) prey upon worms
or other insects, or whether they feed upon roots."
I kept one in a box of earth some time ago, and
fed it entirely .upon worms, of which it ate on an
average about three a day. It used to take the
worms between its spades or diggers, and suck out
the flesh, leaving the skin entire. A large Indian
Centipede which I also possessed fed in a similar
manner, steadying the worm between its pincers. —
W . B. Tate, Grove House, Hackney.

Chaffinch Nest.— In May, 1S65, I found a
nest of the chaffinch (Fringilla ccelebs) ; it was
placed in the cleft of a hawthorn bush, and con-
tained two eggs ; but was constructed of a novel
material. It was of the usual chaffinch, with its
neatly rounded edges, but instead of the lichens
with which they are generally adorned, it was
entirely covered with pieces of paper of a pearly
whiteness, procured, no doubt, from a heap of
refuse lying near it, and which, upon examination,
I found to be house paper, with the colour bleached
out of it. Altogether, it presented quite a unique
appearance, and suggested the idea of a shower of
snow having caught it. — Thos. H. Hedworth.

A Mediaeval Anecdote of a Dog. — When
Duke Robert and Richard duke of Capua besieged
Palermo, which the ferocious Prince Gisolfe de-
fended, the sufferings of the inhabitants through
hunger and misery are described by the monk of
Monte Cassino, as resembling those experienced
during the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans. The
interests of humanity required that an end should
be put to the horrible despotism of Gisolfe, by
winning the town, so that these sufferings were
unavoidable ; but the Norman Princes nevertheless
found occasion to evince mercy to vast numbers,
while persevering in their laudable enterprise.
Two young men on this occasion, followed by a dog,
contrived to escape from the city, and came to

Oct. 1, 1S67.]

HABDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GO SSI P.

233

where the duke was, and begged bread for God's
sake, which was given to them, and the boys gave a
third part of it to their dog; and the dog that
evening ran back to the city, carrying the bread to
their father's house, and placed it at his feet, and
then returned to the lads ; and the next day they
had bread enough, and gave more to the dog,
though they knew not what he had done' with it
before ; and the next evening again the dog carried
it to their father, and the third day likewise ; and
the father believing that some Christian sent him
bread for the love of God, tied a card round the
dog's neck, on which he wrote, " I thank God for
him who has given me these alms, and I cease not
to pray to God for him." With this the dog
returned, and when the boys had read the card, they
carried the dog, having it still hanging from his
neck, to the duchess ; but she would not believe
their report. However, she caused a little sack of
bread to be fastened to the dog; and the dog
seemed to be afraid of the people, as if he expected
to be accused before the prince ; but after sunset,
as usual, he set off, and carried the bread to the
city : and on his return, another card was found, on
which was written, " Greater thanks I render thee
for these greater alms." At length the prince
heard of this circumstance ; by his orders the dog
was slain, and his master cast into prison and put
to a cruel death.— (Mores CatJiolici, vol. ii., pp. 357,
35S.)-£. S. A.

Sparrows and Martens. — We had a good
opportunity this month (May), of observing the
strong and amusing contest carried on between the
common sparrows and the house martens ; the
latter began their nests in the angle of our gable
quite independent of, but in close proximity to, a
colony of sparrows already established beneath the
slates. | However, before the martens had made
much progress with their plastering work the
sparrows seemed to think it would suit them very
well, so usurped the martens' yet unfinished nest,
and fought hard to retain possession, actually
throwing down portions of the plaster and using it
as weapons of defence against the martens, while
the latter attempted to recover their legal rights.
This was carried on for some time, but eventually,
to our no small delight, the martens gained complete
victory. — IF. P.

Anecdote of a Horse. — Last year, during a
tour for toadstools, I made a temporary stay at a
small house in Bedfordshire, when a horse in the
back-yard grasped with his mouth the handle of the
door of the room in which I was sitting, and by a
twist of his head turned the spindle and entered
the room. The mistress of the house knowing his
habit, put a piece of loaf-sugar into his mouth,
when he immediately backed out and again grasping
the handle closed the door after him. The woman

told me that when the horse was disengaged in the
yard he often came inside for a piece of sugar in
that way.— W. G. S.

Anecdote of a Monkey. — Last week I was
watching the antics of an organ-grinder's monkey
at Stoke Newington. I noticed the monkey care-
fully searching under the coping of an old brick
wall, and on closely observing him, I saw him, with
his fore-finger and thumb, fetch out three or four
large full-grown spiders, and eat them, apparently
with the highest relish. — W. G. S.

Barn Bat eating Worms. — I have never seen
the barn rats eat the " Marsh worm," though it is
very likely they will do so. Last summer the
meadows seemed to be invested with the barn rat,
and before the grass was mown, their beaten tracks
could be seen almost everywhere from one hedge to
another. After the grass had been cut, I frequently
used to go into the meadows entomologizing in the
evenings, and was often much interested to see the
manner in which the rats secured and devoured the
common earth-worm out of the grass, sitting
upon their haunches squirrel like, as " H. Smith "
describes iu the March number of Science-Gossip.
It was often amusing to see them when they had
to pull the worm out of its burrow. The rat would
seize the worm and try to pull it out of its sub-
terranean retreat, but finding the worm of such a
length, the rat would stretch up his neck to a con-
siderable extent, or stand on his hind legs and pull,
never leaving his hold till the worm was fairly out
of its tunnel, as if he well knew that letting it once
go would be losing it altogether. Doubtless every
reader of Science-Gossip has observed how a
thrush stretches up his neck and pulls when
extracting an earth-worm from its retreat, and the
rat acts in somewhat the same manner. Having
completely dislodged the worm, the rat takes it in
his paws and proceeds to devour it as a squirrel
would a nut or acorn. During the past cold
weather I think a large number of those rats
perished from hunger. I shot a number of them,
and they were apparently in a starving condition. —
G. B. C, Ringwood.

Disguises of Insects.— The little Hunting-
Spider (Salticus scenicus), of which I have a large
number on a sunny wall in my garden, so exactly
resembles a grain of mortar as to be quite indistin-
guishable, except when the creature is in motion
(indeed its movements are sometimes so slow as to
be imperceptible). This disguise is of immense
advantage to the spider in securing its prey, as flies
frequently walk into close proximity to it without
detecting its presence. Although common, it is
extremely difficult to find, except on very sunny
days, when the little shadow which it casts helps
to betray its whereabouts. — IF. G. S.

23±

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

fOcT. 1, 1S67.

Toads and Erogs. — I have a collection of these
in my garden. The toads invariably select the
sunniest, hottest, and driest places, and there bask
or crawl about in the sun. I never see them in
damp shady corners. The frogs appear to object to
moisture ; when it rains, they leave the beds and
get under shelter. This is always the case. I have
seen them climbing up the walls; they get over one
ten feet high. They frequently get three or four
feet up the stem of a. medlar tree, and there rest, or
creep about the branches of an American creeper
nailed to a wall. In one part of the garden there
are five stone steps; the frogs know them quite
well, and go up and down, springing one step at a
time in the most methodical and laughable manner.
Should the garden door be open in wet weather,
they come in and sit round the kitchen fire. They
are lively at night, squeaking and hopping about in
a sprightly manner. I saw a frog sitting on the
top of an agaric a few days ago, in the manner of
the sketch I made for Science-Gossip last year. —
W. G. S.

Erog in Gooseberry Bush. — I have, like
most others, frequently seen frogs take refuge in
holes, ditches, ponds, or banks, also underneath
grass, heather, stones, or roots, but never until
yesterday morning (August 20th) up a gooseberry
bush. I believe the occurrence to be worthy of
remark. The frog iu question had been frequently
worried by a terrier, whose especial delight con-
sisted in hunting the wretched thing out of its
hiding-place and carrying it about the garden for
short distances in its mouth, so that there was a
good reason for its choosing so unusual a position.
The gooseberry bush is of a fair size, and the branch
on which our friend was seated very slender, and
overhanging the ground about a foot and a half
above the soil. He was partially hidden from view,
though hardly out of reach of the dog's mouth,
which had frequently been brought very near him.
It would have been impossible for the frog to have
hopped to this seat, as the branch was too slight to
have borne the shock caused by his weight, its
occupant being very fat and heavy, so that he must
have climbed up the stem, and thence gradually have
proceeded along the branch. Anyhow, there he
was, and there he remained for upwards of an hour.
— J. G. T.

[In answer to our correspondent we append a
similar occurrence recorded by a well-known author
some years ago.]

Climbing Erogs and Toads.— Have any of
your readers experience of the climbing propensities
of the British Batrachians ? Some few years since
I was summoned by my children into my drawing-
room "to see a frog climbing up the glass of the
window." This seemed a fool's errand, but it was

a fact ; a halfgrown frog was adhering by its
stomach to the outside of the damp glass, and
slowly making its way upwards. More recently, a
pet frog, which I had kept in my greenhouse to
destroy insects, elected to take up his residence
among the branches of a very fine tree-mignonette
which I had trained up to be a shrub five-and-a-half
feet high. Only a few days since I was called away
by a young friend to see a toad which had found a
retreat and shelter from the broiling sun in an old
blackbird's nest, constructed in a dense thorn hedge,
some three or four feet from the ground. All these
incidents I can satisfactorily verify if required. Do

j any books on Natural History record similar facts ?

i — ft A. Johns,

Tortoises. — Last autumn I obtained several tor-
toises from the river Douro; being recently captured,
they would eat nothing until the spring, when they
became familiar, receiving food from the hand, as
flesh of any kind, cooked or raw, snails, bread, &c.
In feeding, they much remind one of a dog in the
way they snap, and continue the snapping until the
whole piece is in the mouth; but if too large for one
mouthful, they tear it asunder by placing the fore-
feet firmly against it, whilst with outstretched neck
they hold the piece in the beak, and retracting the
head, swallow the morsel so detached, renewing the
attack with surprising dexterity, showing the won-
derful fitness of these clumsy looking creatures for
the place in nature assigned to them by God. — G.S.,
Oporto.

Eield Mouse. — My children found a very young
field mouse, apparently dying; it however took food,
recovered, and became a favourite. I made a small
revolving cage for it, similar to those sometimes
used for squirrels. He grew fast, and became very
fat. At dusk he habitually left the dormitory,
where he slept during the greater part of the day,
and worked away at the cylinder for hours, not
attempting to escape, but as far as we could judge
being pleased with the exercise, whether in a
lighted room or in the dark. He ate most kinds
of grain, and fruits, biscuits, cakes, &c, but his
standing dish was bread and milk. After being kept
for eight or ten months, he became morose, biting
when handled, and was liberated. — G. S., Oporto.

Disguises of Insects. — Will you allow me to
supply an omission made by Mr. A. R. Wallace on
page 19S of your last month's issue ? I refer to the
larva? of the Swallow-tail Butterfly, with regard to
which it should have been stated that the boxes
containing them were opened and exposed to the
fullest light as soon as the larva? had attached
themselves permanently to the insides for the purpose
of changing into pupa?. This is of importance, as I
have no doubt that light has a strong influence in
producing the effect mentioned. — T. W. Wood.

Oct. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

BOTANY.

(Enanthe pimpinelloides.— There seems to be
some confusion in the names given to this plant by
different British botanists ; at least, the plant so
named by Smith, Withering, and Macgillivray is
not the same as that called by the same name by
Babington and Sowerby. The (Enanthe pimpinel-
loides of the former is the (Enanthe lachenalii of the
latter. I am now speaking of the (Enanthe pimpi-
nelloides of Sowerby's "British Botany." In that
work, now in course of publication, this plant is
stated to be rare; only one habitat, Eifehead Neville,
is given for Dorset. A short time ago I found it
very abundant in a field about six miles from Sher-
borne in that county. The locality is in the parish
of Bishop's Caundle, adjoining the footpath from
Holwell Rectory to Bishop's Caundle : there were
scores of plants. As it is expected that a new Elora
of Dorsetshire is about to be published, perhaps it
may interest the compilers thereof to know also
that the somewhat uncommon plant, Monotropa
hypopitys, var. glabra (Bernh-), grows in the beech-
woods surrounding the beautiful park at Milton
abbey in the same county. — B. W.

Blue Pimpernel. — This is not so uncommon as
" G." supposes ; in limestone districts I have often
found it in profusion. On Lincoln Heath it occurs
in almost every field, and not sparingly. In addition
to the blue variety, I have often found pink, buff,
and cream-coloured flowers. — L.

The Blue Pimpernel {Anagallis car idea) p. 209.
— This very pretty little plant, although by no means
common, is scarcely as rare as your correspondent
" G." implies. The comital estimate, as given in
the " Cybele Britannica," is thirty. Mr. Borrer in-
clined to the belief that A. cccrulea was a true
species, although A. arvensis occasionally varies
with blue flowers. I fancy it is hardly necessary to
record every locality for the Blue Pimpernel, but I
have observed it for two or three years in succession
iu two localities near High Wycombe. — B.

Double Bitterceess. — Some years ago I found
a large plot of ground at Dalhousie covered with
double Cardamine prateusis, which had the singular
characters noticed by " C. B." There were many
scores of the double blossomed plants.— L.

The Marsh Sowthistle (p. 210). — May I, as
one who takes considerable interest in the distri-
bution of our British plants, request your corre-
spondent " Jas. W. White " to publish at least the
name of the county in which he made his fortunate
discovery? The Sonchus still, I believe, grows
in the neighbourhood of the Plumstead Marshes ;
but I would not ask for the definite locality of
Mr. White's discovery, having as great a horror
of " depredators " as he has. — B.

Primroses and Oxlips. — We must again call
the attention of our contributors ("A. C. E.,"
"A. C. P.," "G. E.," "R. S.," and others) to the fact
that at least two different plants bear the popular
name of " Oxlip." One of these is only a variety
of the primrose, with the flowers in umbels ; or
rather it is a hybrid between the cowslip and the
primrose, and often found in company with them.
It is Primula oflicinali vulgaris (pi. 1132, 1133 of
"English Botany," 3rd edition). Most of our cor-
respondents evidently allude to this as the " oxlip."
The other plant (see " Phytologist," vol. i., pp. 232,
1001), is Jacquin's oxlip ("English Botany," 3rd
edition, pi. 1131), the Primula elatior. Mr. H. C.
Watson writes of it thus : " In the cowslip and
primrose, and all their varieties, a circle of scale-
like glands surrounds the orifice of the tube of the
corolla. These glands are absent from the Primula
elatior. It is difficult to specify any other sufficient
character." We hope that in any future communi-
cations greater care will be taken in noticing this
distinction.

Boletus impolitus, Fr. — This fungus may not
unfrequently be observed in this neighbourhood,
growing under oaks, in the vicinity of the upland
woods. It often attains a large size, looking in
colour and form not unlike a huge underdone batch-
cake. In Berkeley's "Outlines of British Eungo-
logy " it is aptly described as having the taste of
sprouted walnuts, and moreover that it is esculent.
Being one of the species which turns blue when
broken asunder, and which are generally held in bad
repute, I have been induced to make a trial of its
edible qualities. Having selected a promising
specimen, I had it nicely cooked ; and on tasting
it found that the peculiar bitter flavour, instead of
being dissipated, had become more developed; in-
deed, to my palate it was altogether unsatisfactory;
and I do not hesitate to say that if this fungus is
esculent, it is certainly not excellent, or worthy of
commendation. Now that many persons are turn-
ing their attention to a number of our native fungi
which have been recommended as really both palat-
able and wholesome, it is desirable that none should
be enumerated as such of which there may be any
doubt, otherwise a prejudice is easily raised, leading
to an undeserved condemnation of all. — ff. B.,
Cheltenham.

The Yew proved fatal to three of our kings.
Harold was killed by an arrow at the battle of
Hastings, in Sussex ; William II. was slain by an
arrow in the New Eorest, Hampshire —

Lo ! Rufus, tugging at the deadly dart,

Bleeds in the forest like a wounded hart— (Pope) ;

and Richard Cceur de Lion received his deatli wound
from the same weapon, at the siege of Chains, near
Limoges, in the department of Upper Vienne, in
Erance . — Sylva Fl or if era.

236

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GO S SIP.

[Oct 1, 1S67.

MICROSCOPY.

Apparatus tor Drawing Objects. — I have read
several suggestions in Science-Gossip upon micro-
scopical drawings, but have not seen mentioned a
very simple method I have tried, and which any
person with a little ingenuity could manage easily.
Having myself done'a deal of microscopical drawing,
I can answer for the plan I describe below. Get a

Polarizing Object.— One of the most beautiful
objects under the polariscope with which I am
acquainted is the fresh-water shrimp, which may be
found in any stream. — Samuel Morris.

Phyllactidium.— In an interesting article on
Phyllactidium in the August number of your perio-
dical, there is an intimation to the effect that you
will be glad to record any additional localities where
that beautiful water-weed has been found. I have

™^

>N^

"""*■-

Fig. 249. Apparatus for Drawing.

common deal muscatelle box at any grocer's shop,
cut a hole in one end large enough to fit the body
of the microscope ; the wood from the opposite end
of the box should be taken entirely away, and in its
place fitted a sheet of common window glass. Then
place the microscope in a horizontal position, insert-
ing the eye-piece end of the body into the hole made
for it in the box (the eye-piece is not used), then
with a bull's-eye condenser concentrate direct rays
of light from a lamp through the object, which can
now be focussed, in the same way as the magic-
lantern, on to a sheet of paper which is placed over
the glass for drawing. With a 1 or 2-inch object-
glass, very excellent outline drawings can be made.
The above figure (fig. 249) will immediately ex-
plain its simplicity. — John Robins, Bartholomew
Close.

The Chalk. — Searching the chalk for forami-
nifera, a diatom is occasionally found, and by dissolv-
ing the chalk in dilute nitric acid, and afterwards
boiling the residuum in strong acid, as with other
infusorial earths, a variety of spongispicules and
diatoms may be obtained. These are, indeed, few
and far between as compared with those of the rich
Toome Bridge earth, and yet the same forms are
found in both, with one or two exceptions. The beau-
tiful little circular discs with fine markings are con-
spicious iu both. Chalk being a marine deposit, it
would appear that the Toome Bridge earth is so
likewise, and that the country bordering the river
Bann, where it is found, has been covered with salt
water since the formation of the peat mentioned in
Mr. Gray's interesting paper. I find no diatoms in
the lower chalk from Folkestone ; in the upper
chalk here they are frequent, though not abundant.
— S. S., Brighton.

noticed the plant in question adhering in great
numbers to the sides of an aquarium which I esta-
blished iu 1S62, the material of which I got from
ponds in the neighbourhood. Last year I had an
accident with it in the shape of a breakage. I set up
another soon after, but hitherto I have not seen a
single specimen of Phyllactidium ; it seems to have
given place to that beautiful polyp the Hydra viridis.
■ — Samuel Morris, Casterton, Kirkby Lonsdale, West-
moreland.

Foraminifera. — (Reply to J. H. G.) — The
object of washing the pounded chalk is entirely to
remove all traces of it from the fossils ; the washing
must therefore be continued until this result be ob-
tained ; whether in one washing or several must of
course depend upon the length of time allowed, the
nature of the chalk used, and the expertness of the
operator. Some chalk, particularly the lower, con-
tains no fossils whatever, whilst other samples, as the
Kentish, say from Gravesend, Charlton, &c, abound
with them — as a rule, that containing many large
fossils will be found rich in foraminifera. It is better,
before operating on a piece, to wash the surface with
a brush under a stream of water; if upon viewing it
with a magnifying glass, no minute shells are visible,
it will probably yield few when prepared, and vice
versa. The milky fluid should not be thrown away,
but carefully washed, as it contains the most minute
fossils. J. II. G. perhaps washes his chalk too little,
instead of too much, and should try another piece ;
unless well washed, the particles of chalk adhere so
tenaciously to the fossils that their form is not easily
discerned. The masses alluded toare probably pieces
of the tests of echini, &c, and the pencil species
of spatangi. The fossils must either be viewed
as opaque objects — dry, or mounted in balsam, if
as transparent objects. — Edward H. Robertson.)

Oct. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIEN CE- GOS SI P.

237

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Is the Poison of the Viper Eatal? — Your
correspondent who signs " Henry II. Ullyett " asks if
there is any known instance of the viper's poison
having- proved directly fatal, and I will tell him of
one which I heard of from an eye-witness a few days
since. Two summers ago a poor woman was found
dead on Poundberry, near Dorchester (Poundberry
is a wild kind of spot, a sort of waste) ; the body
was swollen and much discoloured, — there were
evident marks of the bite, and the viper was dis-
covered curled up in her flannel petticoat. Some
respectable persons came forward to state that they
had met the woman seemingly in perfect health
early that morning, on her way to the town. It
was late in the evening when the body was found,
and the general opinion was that, fatigued by the
heat, she had sat down on] the heath to rest, that
the reptile had made its way up her dress, and on
her moving had bitten her on her side just where
the small mark was visible, that the poison took
effect almost immediately, that she became too
weak to continue her journey and died in a few
hours. The youth (a young relative of mine),
who saw the dead body, and the living viper,
will, I am sure, be glad to give Mr. Henry
Ullyett any further information in his power. I
remember when I lived in Carmarthenshire, South
Wales, hearing of a woman having died at Pembry,
a village distant about five miles from my home,
of the bite of a viper : she had gone to Cwm-
Cethiu, a wood in the neighbourhood, to gather
sticks for firewood, and was bitten in the hand.
She went to an old herb " doctress " who applied a
poultice of charms, and proper restoratives not
being administered the poor creature died. But
there was a legend about these Cwm-Cethin snakes,
as the country folks called them. They were said
to be red in colour, aud to have the power of flying ;
one having, the tale stated, escaped from a vessel
which had been wrecked on the sands about fifty
years ago, consequently they were not true
Welch vipers, but a highly poisonous importation,
according to "Rural Natural History."— Helen E.
Watney.

Atomechanics. — A novel chemical hypothesis is
now being taught by Professor Gustavus Heinrichs,
of the Iowa State University, U.S. He assumes
that the atoms of the different chemical elements
only differ with regard to quantity — the number and
relative position of the atoms of some one primary
matter; and since everything would thus be com-
posed of this one primary matter, he calls it " pan-
togen," and its atoms " panatoms." Professor
Heinrichs demonstrates that this hypothesis ex-
plains the numerical relation of the atomic weights,
and that the chemical, physical, and morphological
properties of the elements, and then* combinations,
may be calculated just as the orbit of a planet is
calculated. Iu answer to any doubt that may be
raised as to the existence of " pantogen," Professor
Heinrichs asks, Can you mention one single pro-
perty which is not in some degree common to all
elements ? the difference being simply quantitative.
The theory has at least the advantages of plausi-
bility, and its development certainly opens a large
field for useful research, owing to the enormous
benefit which would result from the application of
the theory, should it prove to be a sound one. —
Mining Journal.

A Child Bitten by a Vipek. — The distressing
narrative which follows has been communicated to
us. " Two little children, aged respectively nine
aud eleven, were looking for blackberries in Hands-
worth Wood, yesterday (Thursday), when the
younger (a little girl) was suddenly bitten in the
leg by a snake (supposed to be a viper). The elder
(a boy) screamed for assistance, but, being frigh-
tened at the reptile, ran to his home, in a lane
adjoining the wood. His mother was at home, and
came to the assistance of the girl (her niece). But
the poor [thing was in her last agony. It looked
piteously in her aunt's face, and died without saying
a word." — Birmingham Daily Post, Friday, Sept. 13,
1867.

[The above account was sent to us by five or six
correspondents, one of whom furnishes the following
comment: "In reference to the paragraph from
yesterday's Birmingham Daily Post which I sent you,
I find by to-day's Post that Mr. Downes contradicts
the report, and says that there is no truth whatever
in any part of it. No death has occurred ; no
inquest is to be held ; consequently the report is a
wicked hoax."]

Eangs of Spideks. — At the risk of seeming very
hard of belief, 1 venture again to refer to the
subject of spiders poisoning their prey. In vol. ii.,
p. 229, Mr. Mills gives an account of the supposed
poison gland of a spider. Now I don't quite under-
stand it. The fang ends in a point, but Mr. Mills
says the gland is a sac, and that it is attached to
the base of the fang by its narrow end. How could
the wide end reach up to the point, and how is it
attached to the aperture, aud how can the poison
get out as it is a " closed sac " ? I have tried, but
however I cannot find anything more than the
muscular fibre, and, not succeeding, I left this, and
tried for the aperture. Eirst, as a transparent
object. As the late Mr. Beck said, I could not see
it, trying all kinds of ways. Most fangs are lined,
and of course, if there were an aperture, there would
be a break in the lines ; but I cannot make out that
it is so. Then I tried as an opaque object, and in
one or two fangs I thought I had found a most
evident opening ; but discovered it was only a
bubble of air, though it gives a capital representa-
tion of an opening. , Next I enclosed a bubble of
air in a fang Under water. This I could work back-
ward and forward ; but never a bit could I force it
through the opening, if there be one, not even when
pressing the fang hard enough to break it. I have
now and then seen what had something of the
appearance of an aperture, but it turned out only a
deception. It is quite certain that if there be an
aperture, pressure should drive either air or water
out of it. Then, again, it don't seem to me to agree
with the action of a spider. In killing an insect by
stabbiug it, you must do so in one particular part,
and it will die very quickly — nearly as soon as when
a spider kills it. I think it will be found that a
spider always grips a fly in the same spot. It does
not always die at once, for I have seen a fly retain
life for a minute or more. Then the spicier some-
how sucks the contents of the fly, keeping hold of
it all the while with its fangs, and turning it round
and round till a shapeless mass of skin is left, which
he at last throws away. Very different is its action
to that of a snake, which bites its prey, injecting the
poison into the wound, and leaving it to produce its
effect. I think this should be examined rather more
before deciding that the spider kills its prey by
driving two fangs into the poor fly, and injecting

23S

HABDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Oct. 1, 1867.

poison, as it must do, from both, and then holding
the fly by the same fangs while it consumes its con-
tents.—!?. T. S.

Hedgehog Eccentricities. — Whilst one corre-
spondent writes sceptically on the subject of the
communication in our last number, two others send
us similar narratives. In the face of four inde-
pendent assertions of the fact, we think that the
assumption is strongly in its favour, and that all
who are still disposed to be sceptical must for a
while suspend their judgment.

Eossil Coleopteea. — In a freestone quarry near
Eifeness, the workmen recently came upon a
stratum of de-bituminized peat thirty yards in
length, fourteen inches thick, and about the same
in breadth ; at the top it had somewhat the
appearance of cubic coal, but gradually changing,
till at the bottom it resembled a dirty sand. The
greater part of it had been carted away as rubbish
before it attracted attention ; but in what remained
there were a few inches in the middle thickly
studded with the remains of coleopteran insects in
a very perfect state of preservation. ' There were
wing cases, mandibles, and legs of a dark but bright
green colour ; four species have been detected, but
whether or not the same as any at present in ex-
istence, I am unable to say. Along with them there
was a small piece of unfossilized wood, apparently
allied to the bamboo, a fruit with a corrugated
shining pericarp, and a hazel nut was also stated to
have been found in the same deposit. The rock
containing that stratum is a gritty sandstone, about
fifty feet in thickness, and has always been con-
sidered as belonging to the lower carboniferous
series, and does not appear to be unconformable to
the rocks on the beach in the immediate neighbour-
hood, which undoubtedly belong to that system ;
indeed, what seems to be a part of it is overlaid by
them. But the fact of these remains being so
different from those which are said to have existed
during the deposition of the carboniferous strata,
makes it a matter of almost positive certainty that
they are the product of a more recent era, although,
on the other hand, that is almost incompatible with
the lie of the rocks ; but on account of the over-
lying soil, and of the way in which the quarry is
wrought, it is very difficult_ to obtain a complete
section. The upper part of the deposit was about
ten feet from the surface, and, according to the
report of the workmen, above it was solid rock.
Another brownish deposit was found, but void of
organic remains. — S., Fifeshire.

Poisoned by Mushrooms. — A year or two ago,
a man in the north of England cooked a large
batch of what he called mushrooms for supper, and
succeeded in poisoning his wife and family to death,
and himself nearly so. Part of the things he cooked
were sent to me for identification, and lo ! he had

fathered everything he could lay his hands upon ;
arge and small, sweet and foul— off horsedung
rotten palings, or wherever he could And anything
with a stalk, and a top to it after the manner of an
umbrella. When he had buried his family, and
recovered his own health, he carelessly walked into
a well, and either killed or much damaged himself,
I forget which. I mention this to show the sort of
men they are who poison themselves with mush-
rooms. They would poison themselves with any-
thing else if they had the opportunity, would get
under a cart-wheel, or do any absurd thing. — W. G.
Smith's " Mushrooms and Toadstools."

Ealse Champignon {Marasmius urens). — I think
I was once poisoned by it in Bedfordshire. I well
remember on my way home, late one evening,
gathering a quantity of champignons for supper ; as
it was dark, I imagine I gathered both species. I
did not cook them myself, neither did 1 examine
them after they were taken from the basket ; but I
noticed at supper-time they were unusually hot, and
I thought the old woman who cooked them had put
too much pepper in the stew. I never suspected
the fungi. In about half an hour after partaking
of them, my head began to ache, my brain to swim,
and my throat and stomach to burn as if in contact
with fire. After being ill for some hours, a terrible
fit of purging and vomiting set in, which appeared
soon to set me to rights, for after a day or so I
was . no worse for it.— -Smith's " Mushrooms and
Toadstools."

Worms in Cockroaches. — In reply to your
correspondent W. Hanwell, the worms (?) found in
cockroaches are doubtless Gregarinidse. They are
inhabitants, for the most part, of the bodies of in-
vertebrates, but are also found invetebrate animals,
and are very common indeed in the intestines of
the cockroach and earthworm. They may be said
to consist of a sac, enclosed by an almost structure-
less membrane containing a somewhat fluid sub-
stance, in which lies a delicate vesicle within wdiich
is a more solid particle. In this group there is no
distinction of the body into separate layers, &c._
As they live entirely by absorbing the juices of
their " host " through their membraneous coat, they
are devoid of mouth and alimentary canal. The
most striking signs of life shown by them are
certain expansions and contractions of their bodies.
Some have a constricted body, some are stalked
with homy heads, but generally gelatinous, and not
distinguishable. — Archibald Liversedge.

Cleaning Aquaria. — I have seen various modes
of cleaning aquaria suggested, but know of none so
efficient as the following: — Take a small piece of
coarse brown paper, and apply it to the side of the
aquarium, and rub it freely over the surface. If the
aquarium is large, roll up a mass of the paper into
a ball, and scrub with this. This method entirely-
removes all confervoid growth, and has the merit of
not scratching the glass. — L.

Ophiocytium. — The species figured in the June
number of Science-Gossip, p. 127, as 0. majus,
seems to be rather the 0. apiculatum (Nag.) Figures
of both forms may be seen on Tab. iv. of Nageli's
" Gattungen Einze'lliger Algen," from which it would
appear that majus, in addition to being much larger,
affects a sigmoid rather than a spiral mode of
growth. 0. apiculatum I found in March, IS53,
amongst other algae, chiefly Tetraspora gelatinosa,
in a small boggy pool on Cannock Chase, Stafford-
shire.— Robert C. Douglas.

Ckara. — I fancy that there is something par-
ticularly favourable to the growth of conferva in
the sulphuretted hydrogen-like smell which all the
characeae emit. If water-snails won't keep the
aquarium free, I know not what to suggest— the
March shell and the Trumpet snail are the best
scavengers. The singular crust of carbonate of
lime with which the stems of some of the genus
are covered, renders them pretty objects in an
aquarium. Sir David Brewster made an interesting
discovery relative to these minute particles of lime.
— Helen E. Watney.\

Oct. 1, 1SG7.J

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

239

Double Honeysuckle {Lonicera Periclyme-
nium)—(G. R. R.)— The double-flowered honey-
suckle is not of very frequent occurrence, nor is it,
so far as we know, in cultivation. In your specimen
the blossoms are more than ordinarily numerous,
and very closely packed. Each flower is " doubled "
by the formation of two or even three additional
corollas within the first ; the stamens and ovary are
wholly wanting, but the calyx is present in the
form of five small leafy teeth. It would be very
desirable to introduce this variety into gardens, for
which purpose cuttings should be at once taken.
There is a similar variety occasionally met with hi
hedges, which is equally curious, but decidedly less
generally attractive, inasmuch as its blossoms,
though double, are all green and scentless. —
M. T. M.

Plantain — (J. G.) — Your specimens belong to
the panicled variety of Plantago major, P. major
var. pauiculata. Our common plantains seem very
liable to changes of this kind in their flower-spikes,
but what is curious is that to a great extent each
species has its own special form of variation ; thus
in Plantago major we have the inflorescence (as in
your specimen) forming a much-branched pyramidal
panicle, covered with small bracts, but rarely pro-
ducing perfect flowers. A corresponding variation,
so far as we have observed, does not occur in the_
other species. In other cases the lower bracts of
P. major become large and leaf-like, the flower-spike
remaining simple, or sometimes dividing irregularly
into two or three divisions. The " Rose" plantain,
sometimes found in old-fashioned gardens, is a form
of P. media in which the bracts form flat leafy tufts
at the top of the flower-spike, the flowers themselves
being generally deficient, though when they are
produced the tuft gradually lengthens out so as to
assume more or less of its normal spike-like aspect.
This modification does not occur in the other
species. P. lanceolata and P. niaritima are some-
times found with much-branched or compound
spikes, with perfect flowers. P. lanceolata, too,
may be sometimes met with a rosette or tuft on
the top of the flower-stalk, the rosette being com-
posed of leaves and secondary flower-stalks, so that
the whole looks like a miniature plant raised on the
top of the flower-stalk. As there are numerous
intermediate forms, the above must be taken as a
general statement only. — 31. T. M.

The Elk. — Your correspondent F. A. Allen, in
Science-Gossip for September, page 199, states
that " the bones and antlers of the elk are found in
the peat-bogs of Ireland and the Isle of Man, in
excellent preservation ; but we have no records of
their existence in our land, even in the time of the
Romans." Allow me to inform him and your
readers generally that the bones and antlers of the
elk have been found here in Kent's Cavern, in the
Brischam Bone Cavern, and I believe they have also
been dredged up from Torbay. Those found in
Kent's Cavern are supposed to belong to a period
greatly anterior to the time of the Romans. —
A.J.I)., Torquay.

The Ash. — Lightfoot says that in many parts of
the Highlands of Scotland, at the birth of a child,
the nurse or midwife puts one end of a great stick
of this tree into the fire, and while it is burning
receives into a spoon the sap or juice which oozes
out at the other end, and administers this as the
first spoonful of liquor to the new-born babe. — Sylva
Fhrifera.

Novel Situation fob. a Chrysalis. — A few days
since I was scrambling over the rocks at the back of
the north fortifications, in search of anemones and
other marine treasures, when my thoughts were
turned from zoology to geology by seeing a large
piece of rock — which had been thrown by the
sappers from the works above — lying at my feet,
and which contained three or four tolerably perfect
specimens of Cerithium portlandicum and an Ostrea.
AVishing to obtain at least one of the fossils, and
having no tools, I resorted to the primitive method
of dashing the stone against a rock, in order to split
it into pieces small enough to carry home. After
several trials, it broke into three pieces; but as a
matter of course the finest Cerithium was shattered
by the concussion. As I was mournfully gazing_ af-
file fragments, my eye was attracted by something
in the last whorl of another shell. I looked closer,
and there, snugly laid, was a little chrysalis. What
renders this remarkable is the fact that this portion
of the shell is quite an inch from the surface, and
that the aperture in the centre of the volutions
seems far too small for the larva to have crawled
through. I cannot, neither can those friends to
whom I have shown the stone, detect a crack which
might have served for a passage-way. Can any one
elucidate the mystery, or must it, like the presence
of a toad in au almost similar predicament, remain
a questionable point ?— questionable only as to how
it got there, not to the fact of its being there, for
I have it now lying as first found within the whorl ;
indeed I could not remove it without destroying it.
Should it ever cast off its pupa dress, I will send a
description of the perfect insect ; but I much fear
the severe concussions it has received have quite
destroyed its dormant life. — M. Pope, Weymouth. $

Yellow Violets. — A few years since, whilst
travelling in Norway, I spent a day or two on the
Eille Ejeld, and, searching for microscopic objects
in a small copse a few hundred yards from the
station at Maristuen, I was surprised to discover,
amongst other wild flowers, a large number of
yellow violets, the sweet odour of violets being as
powerful in them as in the English violet. Upon
mentioning the fact to several botanical friends,
upon my return to England, they expressed some
doubts about the flowers being violets at all, hinting
that I had probably mistaken the wild pausy for a
violet. However, although no botanist in the
scientific sense of the term, I am sufficiently well
acquainted with the external characters of the
commoner plants not to be so easily deceived by a
mere general resemblance ; and, in addition, the
wild heartsease, which is so wonderfully abundant
in some parts of Norway, was ready to my hand for
comparison. Will some botanical correspondent
kindly inform me if yellow violets are known to
botanists, or whether those observed by me were au
accidental departure from the normal colour of the
flower ? — Ed/card H. Robertson.

Hint about Labels.— During a recent visit to
Neufchatel, I noticed in the Natural History
Museum there a plan of labelling specimens which
may be worth recording. Different parts of the
world, Europe, Asia, Africa, America, North aud
South Australasia, &c, are distinguished by different
colours, and the labels surrounded by a border of
the colour or colours indicating the district to which
the specimen belongs. Iu the case of insects, the
pin is stuck into a small paper disc of the proper
colour. The geographical distribution of animals is
thus brought very plainly before the eye.— -2?. IF. S.

240

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP.

[Oct. 1, 1S67.

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, contri-
butions should not be received later than the 15th of each
month. No notice whatever can be taken of communi-
cations which do not contain the name and address of the
writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be with-
held. 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.

J. R. W.— No. 6, Bartramia fontana; 7, Myrica gale.—
R. B.

T. H., .Tun.— No. 6, Hypnum striatum; 8, 9, 11, Hypnum
cuspidatum.— R. B.

R. B. — Bryum atropurpureum.

F. W.— No. 1, Barbula fallax ; 2, Dicranella varia.— R. B.
W. E. H. — The scaly (metamorphosed bud) gall 011 oak is

called the " artichoke gall," and is very common.

M. C. T. S — Archaeology is beyond our province.

W. D. N. — British Neuroptera. A list of British species is
included in Morris's " Catalogue of British Insects." There
is no special work on British Neuroptera. Curtis's British
Entomology, republished by Reeve & Co. ; the section
" Neuroptera" may be had in parts separately. A catalogue
of British Neuroptera is published by the trustees of the
British Museum.

J. P., Bridgewater.— Consult fig. I67atp. 181 of our volume
for 1866. Is it not the same?

J. D. R. — If you send us in a quill specimens of the para-
site, we will inform you.

J. C. D.— The Colias Edusa is common enough on the
Sussex coast this autumn.

A. W.— The eleventh number of Newman's British Moths,
with each species figured, is advertised to appear in the
middle of October.

G. O. may obtain Nitella or Vallisneria (growing plants) of
Mr. Kennedy, Covent Garden Market, W.C.

H. C. is a careless reader of Science-Gossip, or he would
have noticed what he calls " Fungi on oak leaves" figured
and described as " Galls," in vol. ii., 1866, p. 228, fig. 217.

W. T. H.— Place the animal in an ant's nest, and they will
anatomize it for you.

A. J. — No. 1, Bryum pseudotriquetruni; 2, Hypnum stel-
latum ; 3, Hypnum exannulatum. — R. B.
E. C— Bryum capillare.— R. B.

S. H. — Did not enclose name and address, nor stamped
envelope for name and address, which was requested, and we
have no authority to publish it here.
T. H., Jun. — Not a Veronica at all, but Alchemilla arvensis.
H. W. is thanked, but a long extract from Middleton's
Geography is scarcely tlie answer required to the query about
the Maelstrom.

Diptera. — The only work on British Diptera which we
know of, that approaches completeness, is F. Walker's
Diptera, 3 vols., 8vo., published by Reeve at 25s. per volume.
Blue Pimpernel. — Several correspondents send us
notices of the occurrence of the Blue Pimpernel, which is by
no means rare.

M. S. B. H. — The fly is Tabanus bovinus, and commonly
called the " Horse Fly."-F. W.

S. C— Cases of caddis worms ■. nothingnovel.
J. S. — No insects, only a crushed leaf, in your letter. We
suppose it was the common aphis found on beans.

W. W. S.— The species called Chaitophorus uceris, Koch.,
in Walker's list, is the same as Aphis uceris of Science-
Gossip, p. 204.— F. W.

R. V. T. — The grass is Gustridiam lendigerum, rather an
uncommon species. — J. G. B.

J. B. — Your variety of caterpillar of Death's-Head Moth is
well figured in pi. 3 of Fuessly's Archives.

J. G. — Hints on the Formation of Local Museums. London.
Hardwicke. One Shilling.

C. E. D. — Too much of a list to insert, and queries without
conscience to answer for one individual. We may do a little
for you.

B. T.— No. 5 is Notania loriculata; 6, Membraniporapilosa.
— E. C.

X. — A common complaint. We fear that we cannot help
you.

W. J. B.— The prevailing formon the Raby slide appears to
be Surirella biseriata.— J. B.

Ignoramus is quite worthy of the signature adopted. We
neither attempt to name objects from description, nor to
answer anonymous querists.

H. M. H. — No 1, Hogweed, Heracleum spondylium.

G.Jl.— Very probably of Mr. Kennedy, Covent Garden.

M. A. L. — We are not partial to guesses or guessing.

Harvest Moon, Maelstrom, and answers to several other
queries, are unavoidably postponed for want of space.

EXCHANGES.

Vicia sylvatica for Gonepteryx rhamni, or Arge
Galathea.— W. D. Robinson, 2, Shandwick-place, Edinburgh.

Lepidoptera of South Coast in exchange for others. —
J. D. R., Conservatory Cottage, Charlton, Dover.

Greensand Fossils (Cambridge) in exchange for Silurian
fossils.— Rev. J. S. Tute, Markington, Ripley, Yorks.

Pl'jmatklla repens in exchange for any other fresh-
water Polyzoa (except Cristatella mucedo) in a living state. —
C. J. Richardson, Old Change, E.C.

Alpine Plants in exchange for rare British or others. —
T. Howse, Jun., Garrybank, West Hill, Upper Sydenham.

Coleoptera and Lepidoptera, well set, and in good con-
dition, for other Coleoptera.— J. Barlow, 1, Thompson-street,
Stantonbury, Wolverton, Bucks.

Recent Shells. — Vertigo edentula for other British Shells.
— J. Beaulah, Bracken Hill, Brigg.

Fossil Fish Teeth and Bones (mounted) for slides of
Photographs. — John Sim, West Cramlington.

Richmond Earth, for good mounted objects. — W. Free-
man, 2, Ravensbourne Hill, Lewisham-road, Greenwich, S.E.

Fossils from Chalk, London Clay, and Woolwich;Beds,
for fossils from other formations. — F. Stanley, 3, Dane-
terrace, The Dane, Margate.

Planorbis albus and P. lineatus. — I have a few to dis-
tribute, on receipt of stamp and small box. — W. H. G., Vernon
Cottage, Thornhill-road, N.

British Bird's Eggs in exchange for British Lepidoptera
(Nocturna?).— Send lists to F. Jonas, 13, Canterbury- villas,
Maida Vale, London.

Amphora minutissima parasitic upon Nitzschia sigmoidea
for other rare Diatoms. — E. \V., 21, West-street, Banbury.

Gorse Web-Spinning Mite (see Science-Gossip for
June), in exchange for mounted objects.— J. C. White,
Montpellier House, Budleigh Salterton, Devon.

British Ferns. — Rare plants for other varieties. Iron-
sand and Kawri Gum from New Zealand, for other objects of
interest. — J. E. M., Woodfield, Moseley, Birmingnam.

Elpkria pulvago, Dianfhwcia capsincula and Larentia
ca>siuta, for other Macro-lepidoptera. — A. Ford, 38, Mowbray •
street, Sheffield.

British Molluscs.— Prepared tongues of Cyclostoma
and other species, for the Animals of Valvata, Assiminia,
Testacella, Clausilia or Ancylus. — W. R. May, 20, Tiinidad-
place, Islington.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

" Mushrooms and Toadstools : How to distinguish easily the
differences between Edible and Poisonous Fungi," with two
large sheets containing figures of 29 Edible, and 31 Poisonous
Species (coloured). By Worthington G. Smith. London :
Hardwicke.

" Letter to His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch on the Quad-
rature and Rectification of the Circle." By James Smith.
Liverpool: E. Howell.

" The American Naturalist." No. 6, August, I867. Salem,
U.S., Essex Institute.

" The Naturalist's Circular, August and September, 1 867.
London : H. Hall.

"Country Life." Nos. 1 to 6. London. Aug. and Sept.

Communications Received.— J. B. W.— A. C. (is right).
— S. D. L A. — B.— J. K.-C W.— F. G B.— M. P.— W. M. C.
-W. G. S— W. F. H— F. A. A.— M. C. T. S— W. D. R.—
C. S. S.— W. H.— A. C. P.— C. H. G.— F. B. W\— C. L. J.—
W. E. H.— R. K. M.— R. B. S.— A. J.-R. H. M.— R. T. L.—
W. W.— W. B.— C. R. B.— F. R. A. S.— J. D. K.— R. V. T.—
H. W.— J. P.- W. F. F. — L.— E. T. S— R. C. D.— H. E. W\—
J. S. T.-E. S.— J. C. D— H. H. O'F.-W. R. T.— W. T. H.—
J. A., Jun.— H. C— T. B. H.— B. W. S.— C. J. R.— T. H., Jun.
— H. W.— E. II. R — H. A.— A. D. M.-S. H.— A. W.-M. B.
—J. B.— A. J. D.-G. G.-J. B. B.— S. C— R. G.— F. C—
C. T.— A. R. M.— H. A. A.— J. S.— W. F. — F. S.— A. B— J. G.
— C. E. D.-R. V. T.— P. J.— W. F. H.— H. C. L.— H. U.—
W. H. G.— J. G. B.— E. W.— G. D.— .J. G.— G. B.— C. G.—
A. M— T. A. H.— H. B.-H. J. H.— J B. W.— J. L. M.— A. F.
j. c. W.— X.— J. H. M. —J. E. M.— C. J. T.— J. W. S.— G. G.
— T. J. S.-J. B. B.-G. A.— W. R. M.— M. A. L.— J. Y. H.

Nov. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

211

IS LICHEN-GROWTH DETRIMENTAL TO TREES?

By DR. LAUDER LINDSAY, F.L.S.*

HERE is, it would
appear, a radical
difference of opinion
between lichenolo-
gists on the one
hand, and arboricul-
turists on the other,
as to the effect on
the value of the tim-
ber and bark of the
which it occurs, of
Lichen-growth. Lichenologists
have been in the habit of de-
scribing Lichens as deriving
their nourishment wholly from
the air — as non-parasitic — and
as making use of trees simply
as bases of support.^ Some, es-
pecially of the earlier writers,
not only deny any possible
harm, but demonstrate a con-
siderable amount of actual
good, in so far as Lichens at-
tract moisture to the trees on
which they occur, and thus assist in theirnourishment
and growth. J All " practical men," on the other
hand, all those who are concerned with the cultivation
of timber, bark, or fruit trees, without theorising on
the subject, are unanimous in describing Lichens as
detrimental to growth, and as depreciative of value.
My friend Mr. Anderson, of the Kinnoull Nurseries,
Perth, tells me that trees or shrubs coated with

* The substance of a paper read before Section D of the
British Association at Dundee.

+ Nylander, in his " Synopsis " (Introduction, p. 1), says that
the majority are exclusively nourished by the atmosphere.

Berkeley in the " Treasury of Botany " (p. 6;a), says Lichens
are " distinguished from Fungi by their not deriving nourish-
ment in general from the substances on which they grow, but
from the surrounding medium."

% Vide " Tentamen Historise Lichenum." By J. A. Luyken,
M.D. GSttingen, 1S09, p. 32 and seq.

No. 35.

Lichens, are " immediately discarded as unsaleable ,-"
while Mr. Bell, factor on the Kinfauns estates, gives
me a similar assurance as to the diminished value of
oak-bark when infested by Lichens.* Mr. Gorrie,
Horticultural Editor of the Farmer, and one of the
most experienced and discriminating arboriculturists
in Scotland, Mr. Moore, of the Sydney Botanic
Garden, . New South Wales, and other practical
authorities, whose opinions carry great weight in
such a question, have borne similar testimony. My
inference from their testimony is that they regard
Lichens as true parasites, living, in great measure
at least, at the expense of the bark on which they
occur; interfering with its healthy action and
growth. While regarding Lichen-growth, however,
as in a certain sense, or in some measure, a cause of
unhealthiness or disease in the trees which it affects,
they also admit that, in a certain other sense, it is a
result of unhealthiness or disease. The evidence
appears uniform that Lichen-growth should never
occur in forests or nurseries, which are the subject
of proper care, where the trees or shrubs are properly
thinned,t where the conditions of healthy growth
are sedulously provided. Not only so, but I am
assured that the disease of Lichen-growth, when it
occurs, can be removed or dissipated by removal of

* He writes to me (March, I807), " It is much against the
growth of the trees as well as the bark. You wiU scarcely
find it in a good thriving plantation."

f My own observations are here somewhat at variance
with the statements of Arboriculturists. In the Kinfauns
Plantations I find some trees bare : others copiously covered :
but the latter are as frequently in vigorous life, with a
plentiful foliage, as dead. It is impossible in such instances to
infer that Lichens are necessarily either a cause or result of
disease. Moreover, all my experience in different parts of the
world goes to prove that Lichen-growth is most abundant
and vigorous in those situations, which are most freely exposed
to light and air : of which familiar illustrations are to be found
in maritime rocks and Druidical stones, that are frequently
"shaggy" with a plentiful mantle of Ramalina scopulorum
and other Lichens.

M

242

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Nov. 1, 1S67.

the tree which it affects to more favourable con-
ditions of development. Mr. Moore, of Sydney,
tells me he has seen Lichen-growth disappear from
a tree simply by transferring the latter to a richer
soil or more favourable locality, or by supplying it
with proper manure.

It is inconceivable that there should be such
unanimity of opinion among arboriculturists, totally
devoid of bias or theory, and expressing only the
results "of repeated observations in very different
quarters of the world, without the existence of some
good ground for their assertions. My impression is
that arboriculturists are right to a greater extent
than are the lichenologists, and that Lichens must
be regarded as, in some measure at least, parasitic,
drawing the constituents of their thallus from the
objects on which they groio. I pointed out in 1856,
in my preliminary work on "British Lichens"
(p. 50), that the filamentous Lichens, belonging to
such genera as Usnea, Ramalina, Evernia, and
Parmelia, which coat, with shaggy flowing masses,
oak, firs, and other trees, and whose growth is the
main subject of dispute between lichenologists and
arboriculturists, contain such bases as Silica and
Alumina, Lime, Potash, Soda, Magnesia, Manganese,
and Iron, in combination, or not, with Carbonic,
Sulphuric, Hydrochloric, Phosphoric, or other acids.
The most of these could not have been derived from
the atmosphere ; and indeed we are shut up to the
conclusion that, as in the case of higher plants,
they are derived from the surfaces or substances on
which the Lichens containing them grow.* This
conclusion is further supported by the recorded
facts that chemists have detected iron in greatest
amount in species affecting ferruginous soils, and
silica in those growing "on quartzose rocks, or their
debris. I am not, however, prepared to contribute
any new facts towards the settlement of the in-
teresting question which forms the heading or title
of this communication, or of the other equally inte-
resting,.but less practicaljand economically important
questions, which naturally suggest themselves for
consideration in connexion therewith. My purpose
is rather to call attention to the paucity and unsatis-
factory character of the facts or opinions that have
hitherto been recorded, and to invite the record of
facts as contradistinguished from mere opinions,
bearing upon the following points more especially :
I. What is the precise ground on which the
assertion is founded that Lichen-growth is detri-
mental to timber and other trees ?

* In a paper by the late Dr. Dundas Thomson, of Glasgow
and London, on" The Inorganic Food of Lichens" (Edinburgh
New Philosophical Journal, vol. xxxvii., 1845, p. 18/), he says,
"Contrary to the usually received opinion Lichens re-
quire inorganic matter as part of their food, which they must
derive from the localities upon which they are fixed." He
points out that the Lichen thallus contains from 5 to 7 per
cent, of ash : and that the same inorganic constituents are
found in corticolous as in saxicolous species.

II. In what way does such growth injuriously
affect the timber, bark, fruit, or foliage of such
trees ?

III. How far is Lichen-growth a cause of un-
healthy or diseased development in the trees on which
it ocQurs ?

IV. How far is it a result of such development ?

V. To what extent do Lichens draw their con-
stituents (A. organic, B. inorganic) from the atmo-
sphere ?

VI. To what extent from their bases of support,
—the bodies on which they grow ?

A BOUQUET EROM HELVELLYN.

rpHE top of Helvellyn when fairly reached is
-■- chiefly occupied by a sort of mossy plain or
table-land, probably once formed of sphagnum,
which is now dried up and overrun by smaller and
more arid mosses, intermixed with very dwarf
specimens of thyme grass and other plants, and
here and there stiff close bunches of coralline-like
Lycopodium alpinum, and netted with the ropes,
often yards in length, of the tough, creeping stems
of the Tod's-tails, or Stag-horn (Lycopodium cla-
vatum), which might easily catch the feet and trip
up the unwary pedestrian. These two Lyco-
podiums, and perhaps also" the coarser Lycopodium
selago, are as fond of exposed barren situations as
are some of their congeners, such as Lycopodium
undatum and Lycopodium selaginoides of wet
sheltered nooks.

But while enjoying a repose on this beautiful
mossy height, we must not forget that Helvellyn,
in common with most if not all the lake mountains,
is really encumbered with quantities of loose stones,
apparently disintegrations constantly going on from
the effects of weather on the slaty cleavage of the
fundamental rocks, starting up in places completely
denuded, far above the surface of the mountain, and
adding so much to the savage grandeur of the
scenery, as, for instance, " Striding edge," ending
in the fine precipices round the Bed Tarn. These
detached pieces of rock, by whatever ancient or
modern agency they may have been shivered off
from the general mass, roll or slide down the sides
of the mountain, helped on by the winter snows
and torrents and the summer thunderstorms, their
course, however, generally guided by some in-
equality or furrow-like depression of surface ; and
here gliding down, they collect from the dews and
rains imperceptible rills of moisture underneath
them, which serve as nurseries for many of our
choicest and loveliest sub-alpine plants. I do not
mean to restrict my bouquet solely to Helvellyn,
because on Fairfield, Loughrigg, Oxenfell, Dunmail
Baise, and other adjacent and similar localities, I
have found the very same plants, and manymorc
than I can venture to load the pages of the Gossip

Nov. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

143

with the mere names of ; but I may be allowed to
specify a few, whose intrinsic beauty and their
rarity, except in favoured mountain districts, must
attract the interest of observant ramblers. The
feathery tufts of the Parsley-fern (Allosorus crispus)
seem to delight in sporting themselves on the
highest and driest stones, as if they disdained to
seek their nourishment from aught but the atmo-
sphere ; yet round the lower edges of the stones on
which they grow, and below the barren Parsley-cut
fronds that surround the more upright fertile ones,
there may frequently be found beautiful mosses,
sometimes even the glowing golden Apple-moss
(Bartramia Halleriaua), and other of the Bartra-
mias, with their conspicuous globular fruits, whose
presence sufficiently indicate the presence of mois-
ture. Lower down, and in damp soil, are rosettes
of thick unctuous leaves, curled round their edges,
and sending up three or four slender stalks, each
bearing a nodding-flower something like a violet ;
this is the Pinguicula or Butterwort, so called from
the greasy feel of its leaves— and hence its Erench
name of Grassette. On somewhat drier ground
grows the little Eairy Auricula, with its lilac flowers
and powdered leaves and stem (Primula farinosa),
and little Polygalas, both blue and white and pink ;
and the twining fumitory (Eumeria capreolata)
throws its elegant garlands round two or three
pieces of loose rock, as if it would bind them
together with its fragile links. Sparkling in a bed
of moist moss, we see a cluster of gem-like leaves,
each set round with a number of brilliant rubies,
and each ruby set on a slender trembling hair : this
is the exquisite Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia, or
longifolia). Their small upright spikes of white
flowers are not very conspicuous — but see, growing
near, a kindred plant with large shining white
flowers, each on its slender stalk raised some inches
above the crown of dark, heart-shaped, green leaves
round the root: this is the Grass of Parnassus
(Parnassia palustris), and it is difficult to convey in
words an idea of its beauty, the milky opal of its
petals being daintily traversed by veins of the most
delicate chrysophrase green ; and at the bottom of
each petal is a fleshy scale, fringed at the edge into
fine rays, and each ray tipped at the point with a
pellucid greenish gland. The rubies of the Drosera
are similarly constituted glands, which are confined
to her trembling leaves, and disappear in hex-
flowers, whereas in Parnassia they are placed only
in the flowers, the leaves and stalks being devoid of
glands. Dr. Lindley placed both Parnassia and
Drosera in the Saxifrage tribe ; and if we pluck any
of the numerous Saxifrages which grow scattered
among the rocks, and examine the flower, we may
see a great similarity in their formation. The con-
stant dripping from the wet mossy bed of these two
sister beauties has formed a little pool, almost a
miniature Tarn, in the bank ; and growing in it is a

small green weed, looking at first sight like some
Alga or Nitella, with its finely-cut verticillated
leaves ; but among them arc curious little bottles,
which give the name to the plant (Utricularia).
These bottles or bladders are filled with air ; and,
during the growth of the long slender stalks whicli
bear the upper leaves and the flowers, they buoy
these up on the surface of the water, so as to keep
them dry, until the pollen has been scattered on the
ovary and the seeds formed in the Pericarp ; then
the bladders burst, the plant sinks to the bottom,
there to perfect and preserve the seed-vessels till
the next season calls forth the new young embryo
plants into growth.

Schleiden speaks of the affinity of structure of
these little bladders to the magnificent pitchers of
the Nepenthes ; but our good little bottles remain
closed while they are wanted as floats, thus seeming
to fulfil the same office as the tender spiral foot-
stalks which uncoil to raise the female flowers of
Valisneria above water: the economy of both is
identical. The male flowers of Yalisneria become
detached from their stalks, and rise spontaneously
to the surface, thus reminding one of the pretty
fable of the powerful Water-Nixei Prince, who
floated about so merrily in the sunshine while
wooing the fair nymph Valisneria ; but the moment
she consented to be his bride, he carried her off into
the darkness of his oozy palace at the bottom of the
lake.

However, we must not diverge so far from the
" stones on Helvellyn " as to add to our bouquet the
very numerous and curious aquatic and half-aquatic
treasures of bogs, marshes, and tarns ; but if any
readers of this slight sketch should feel sufficient
interest in the subject, I would say to them, go and
search, not heeding wet feet, torn dresses, or a few
scratches and tumbles ; for the botany, as well as
the geology, of the lake district, is a subject of in-
exhaustible interest, and the locality teems with
pleasant memories, in association with first-rate
characters, though so many of them are now, alas,
passed away. I am thankful to have enjoyed the
great privilege and advantage of acquaintance with
some of them.

"It was," says Professor Sedgwick, "near the
summit of Helvellyn that I first met Dalton, a
truth-loving man of a rare simplicity of manners, who,
with humble instruments and very humble means,
ministered without flinching in the service of high
philosophy, and won for himself a name greatly
honoured among all the civilized nations of the-
earth." The Athenmim remarks, in recording the
recent honour paid to his memory in Carlisle,
"Cumberland may well be proud of the poor
weaver's son, who sent his name forth to the ends
of the world as the propounder of the 'Atomic
Theory "

It was also during the late geologist's rambles

ii 2

344

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Nov. 1, 18G7.

in Cumberland that lie became acquainted with
Southey, sometimes shared in the simple intellec-
tual pleasures of his household, and profited by his
boundless stores of knowledge. "Here also," he
says, "I held invaluable communication with Words-
worth, . . who joined me in many an excursion,
and delighted me among the dry details of my own
study with the outpourings of his manly sense, and
with the beauteous and healthy images which were
ever starting up within his mind during his com-
munion with Nature."

There have been men who, after a long poetical
communion with the outer world, and imaginative
intercourse with the outer glories of Nature, have
learnt at length to be idolaters of Nature in a pan-
theistic sense, bordering on Atheism '.—and there
have not been wanting men who, calling themselves
of the "Wordsworth school," have adopted this
perverted and idolatrous dream. But Wordsworth
was a man of firm religious convictions, " and many
a time," says Professor Sedgwick, " when it was
my great happiness to roam with him over his native
mountains, have I heard him pour out his thanks,
that while he had been permitted to slake his inner-
most thirst at Nature's spring, he had been led to
think of the God of Nature, and never to forget His
redeeming love ! "

Safe under this belief, surely not only the poetical
but most reflective minds, while endeavouring to
study somewhat of Nature's wonders, and the course
of secondary causes which are ever working out the
original fiat of the all-powerful Creator, may delight
to trace the constant creative and sustaining influ-
ence of that Divine essence which permeates and
acts on and in all things, with a "continuity" (to
borrow Mr. President Grove's word), which controls
and harmonises all, from the "strength of the
mountains," built up of the dislocated, torn, twisted,
riven, and molten materials of some former condition
of the earth ! even down to our little friends that
spring on its sides, or —

The meanest herb and flower
That drinks the morning dew !

P. S. Bury.

HELPS TO DISTRIBUTION.

IN the course of a walk lately through a shady lane
near Bath, I came suddenly upon three or four
harvest spiders (Pbalangium opilio). As they scam-
pered away, I observed that one of them had a dark
object on its right fore leg, which evidently formed
no part of its normal structure. On securing my
long-legged friend, and examining the object with a
lens, I found, to my great surprise, that it was a
specimen of Chelifer caneroides, which had fixed
itself to the leg, and was holding on " like grim
death." Indeed, so tightly was the little creature

attached, that I had some difficulty in making it let
go, in order to transfer it to a bottle.

The question at once arose in my mind : What
business had Chelifer in such a strange position ?
It could not be with a view to a dinner ; one would
as soon expect to see a weasel attack a lion, as a
Chelifer seize on a Phalangium. Besides, it had
attached itself, not to the part usually infested by
parasites, the soft juicy abdomen, but to the middle
of the hard dry tibia. As far as I know, the
Pseudoscorpions feed exclusively on insects, smaller
than themselves, such as Atropos, the Acarina, &c,
hence their occasional occurrence among books and
papers, where they are of great service to the
student.

I am inclined to think that in this little incident
is involved a circumstance connected with the life
history of the lower animals, which deserves to be
more thoroughly investigated. I mean, the method
taken by them (or rather provided for them) of
transporting themselves from one spot to another.

With regard to the vegetable world, we know
that special precautions are taken by the dispersion
of seeds, to insure the wide dissemination of plants,
and to prevent them from overcrowding and thereby
starving each other. A stroll on a fine day during
summer will generally show us the pappus of the
thistle or dandelion floating high above the ground.
Later in the year, we may see the winged samara of
the sycamore twisting and twirling through the air,
or hear the cracking of the furze-pods, as they
expel their contents with a force sufficient to carry
the seed a considerable distance. And the chances
are, that on returning from our walk, we find our
trowser legs bristling with the hooked fruit of the
bed-straw and burdock. These, and a thousand
similar phenomena are so easy of observation, and
the methods employed are so patent, that the
veriest tyro in botauy must often have had bis
attention drawn to them. Moreover, the purpose
for which these curious contrivances are brought
into play, are in all cases the same — viz., 1st, to
found new colonies, far away from the parent plant ;
2nd, to prevent the exhaustion of the soil by the
too close proximity of plants of the same species, a
calamity which would inevitably take place, if the
seed were always dropped straight to the ground,
as we may see in the familiar instance of the fairy-
ring.

Now why should not laws of a like nature be
applicable to the humbler members of the animal
world ?

The Scorpion tribe generally (and, I suppose
Chelifer among them) are blest with "long"
families, possessed of huge appetites, but with
restricted powers of locomotion. Hungry mouths
have to be filled as surely among crustaceans as
Christians ; and doubtless a healthy brood of
Pseudoscorpions, moving, as they can, forwards,

Nov. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

backwards, or sideways, /with equal case, will
quickly clear a neighbourhood of the minute
organisms that go to form their food; this being
accomplished, the family, or at least some of its
members, must either starve or emigrate. Nature,
no doubt, has pointed out to them that the latter is
the preferable proceeding, and that the best method
of carrying it out is by riding on the back or limbs
of some more gigantic relative. Hence the finding
of a Chelifer on the anterior leg of Phalangium
opilio ; for there (had he not been interrupted) he
might have passed over in ten minutes, a space of
ground, which it would have taken him a week to
traverse on his own feeble limbs ; and thus, with
little inconvenience to his bearer, or trouble to
himself, he might be carried to fresh scenes, teeming
with the food best suited to sustain him.

Xo doubt, too, the same mode of locomotion aids
in disseminating insects, with a view to the founda-
tion of new colonies. Female ants are supplied tem-
porarily with wings for this purpose. A week or two
ago the air in this neighbourhood was filled with
female ants, careering across the country in search
of suitable spots in which to lay their eggs, and es-
tablish new kingdoms. The case of gossamer spiders
is familiar to every dweller in the country ; the tiny
threads on which these animals float from one point
to another being constantly seen in the air, often in
great abundance.

However, it is to transportation by the aid of
other animals that I wish to direct the attention of
all who may have witnessed instances of the tinier
creatures (not parasites) being carried about by the
larger and more quickly moving members of the
Animal Kingdom. If such would record their ex-
perience, they would materially aid in elucidating an
obscure chapter in Natural History.

W. W. Spicer.

THE UNITY OF MANKIND.

IHAYE read with some interest the articles
in Science-Gossip on the Unity of Mankind ;
and to me it seems "F. A. A.," in his reply to
Mr. Milton, not only fails to answer his opponent's
objections, but departs from several of his former
theories and propositions. In his first article he
proposes to establish, in place of the complex classi-
fications formerly in use, a simple one founded on
colour, and so divides man into three groups, —
white, brown, and black ; brown he afterwards
states to be a mere transition-state between white
and black, so that in . reality we only have two
groups or classes — white aud black. Simple enough
division certainly, but is it satisfactory ? A classifi-
cation, to be scientific, must be based upon some
peculiarity or peculiarities which are well marked,
and which occur invariably in all the individuals of
each different class ; but "F. A. A." himself says that

races are always changing their colour, that whites
become browns, and browns black when exposed to
certain climatic influences ; and that, by his own
showing, his classification wants the element of
stability. Besides, as Mr. Milton has proved, in-
stead of "F. A. A.'s" simple black, brown, and white,
we have human beings of many different colours, —
yellow, green of various tints, chocolate colour, and
brown of every conceivable depth of hue, so that I
am afraid, if we took colour as the distinguishing
mark, we should have fifty instead of five races of
mankind, and this certainly would not be advancing
in simplicity from Prichard. Besides "F. A. A."
shows so little confidence in his own system that,
in the same article in which he proposes it, he used
another which surpasses the colour one in simplicity
and correctness when he speaks of Circassians,
Moguls, &c, and then he states that the brown
Hindu is the only coloured representative of the
Circassian race. The fact which he quotes as to
children, &c, of the Hindus being white, if true,
would only prove, I think, that the Hindus were not
a brown race at all, but a white one ; for surely
he would not attach any scientific importance to
tanning from exposure occuring in individuals.

Which is the primeval race ? he asks, but does
not attempt to answer. From the general tenor of
the articles one would think that he considered
white the primeval colour, but in the August
number, abandoning the charming simplicity of
white, brown, and black, he introduces another
colour, red, which he thinks may have some claim
to be the original one : if so, to what influences are
due the extinction of the red, or its conversion into
white ? If all mankind is descended from one fore-
father, what was his colour ? and will climatic
influences sufficiently account for the production of
the varied hues of mankind now ? May he not
have been black ? and instead of the negro being a
degenerated white man, may we not be improved
negroes ? If climate can degenerate, can it not re-
generate ? It may be answered that the Mosaic
account teaches differently, but I would say with
all reverence that the history in the Bible was
written for a peculiar people and time, and should
not be imported into scientific discussions at the
present day.

In his last article "F. A. A." modifies his argu-
ment as to the influence of heat ; he says, " I do not
believe that heat alone produces a dark skin, but
heat, an unhealthy climate, and prolonged isolation
will, I think it is impossible to doubt, produce and
perpetuate the most marked and extraordinary
peculiarities." Would he kindly inform us what
nation or body of men have been subjected to these
three influences simultaneously, and the peculiarities
produced thereby ? Certainly colour is not one of
these peculiarities, .for if we take them separately,
heat, "F. A. A." allows, alone would not make a

246

HABDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP.

[Nov. 1, 1867.

white man black"; an unhealthy climate, and by this
I suppose is meant a climate unhealthy to white
men, for unhealthy is a comparative term, would
certainly produce disease, but the result of disease
would more likely be death than a dark skin. As
for isolation, it would help to perpetuate any
peculiarities which might arise amongst them, but
if neither heat nor an unhealthy climate produced
duskiness, of course it could not be perpetuated.
The influences and effects of the three combined
might be expressed shortly in a proposition. Given
a community of white men, and subject them to
great solar heat, an unhealthy climate, and complete
isolation. What would be the effect produced ?
Answer : Disease, Death, and 'Extermination.

This is only one of the many arguments which
convinces me that man differs in species, and not
in variety only. Is it not more in accordance with
the idea of Divine justice to believe that several
races of men have been created admirably adapted
for the character and circumstance of their places
of abode, and calculated to fill their appropriate and
necessary place in the grand circle of creation, than
that, having created the world for the habitation of
mankind, He has so ordered it that a large share of
the globe could not be occupied by them till they
were reduced to a state of degradation so great as
in some cases to make them more resemble the
beasts of the fields than their fellow men ? I can
look upon a Negro not as a blackened and distorted
caricature of myself, but as a being created like me
to serve a given purpose upon earth, deficient, it
may be, in certain qualities, but equalling me in
others, and superior, at all events, in this — that he
is fitted to inhabit and bring under the sway of man
regions where it would be death to me to follow.
And 1 do not believe that any amount of education
and training will ever give the negro the intellect of
the European any more than it will deprive him of
the capability he possesses of withstanding the
malarious influences of his native climate.

B. G.

SKELETON LEAVES.

IN a former number of Science-Gossip I en-
countered a paragraph relative to a question
asked by "I. S. S.," who was wishing to know
how skeleton leaves are prevented from sticking
to the paper by which they are lifted out of the
water after bleaching. To this question I can
answer with a few words. Skeleton leaves will not
stick to paper if they are washed thoroughly in
water after removing them from the bleaching
liquid ; or if oil-paper is used, it is impossible for
the leaves to stick to that. Perhaps a few remarks
on my simple scheme may be useful, or at least
interesting to " I. S. S.," as well as a few more
readers of Science-Gossip. Just before the leaves

begin to fall is the season I take advantage of for
skeletonizing leaves, simply because at that time the
fibrous substance is become tougher and firmer,
consequently less liable to break during the process
of this tedious and delicate work. I do not use any
leaves for this purpose, such ones for instance as
the walnut, chestnut, oak, elm, and sycamore, as
they contain so much resin, and so would not decay
themselves. They also prevent other leaves that
are mixed with them from decaying, because the
resinous quality in them would effect the water.
Herewith I subjoin a list of my choice of leaves
and seed-vessels which I gather for skeletonizing.
The seed-vessels must be collected just before the
seed is ripe. The leaves are those of the orange,
lemon, lime, poplar, tulip-tree, magnolia, holly,
ivy, box, passion-flower, and moss, and all of the
figs. Then I add the calyxes of several plants,
as the Nicandra, poppy, Dictamnus, mallow, Cam-
panula, and several others, also a few stalks of flax,
hemp, cabbage, and stinging-nettles. I like to
procure a good quantity of each, as that helps the
decay. They are all then put into a pan, in which
I pour boiling soft water over them. The advan-
tage in using boiling water is that it destroys the
vitality and hastens the decay. The pan is then
placed in a situation exposed to the sun for about
six weeks, frequently stirring it and adding fresh
rain water as the other evaporates. By this time
the leaves will show some of their fibrous formation ;
the laxer tissues may be seen partly falling away
into the water. I then carefully take them indi-
vidually out of the water by their stalks, and hold
them under the tap of a butt. The stream of water
quickly washes away all the remaining fleshy de-
cayed green part, and leaves the leaf a skeleton.
They are then placed carefully in some clean water,
while the whole bulk is undergoing the same" pro-
cess. Now and then one gives more trouble, being
so tender, the force of the jtvater will burst the
fibrous substance and make them unsightly ; but in
the case of a more delicate leaf I generally employ
a little piece of board, and holding the two together
between my finger and thumb, the stream of water
then passes over and through the leaf without
breaking it. If there are any that will not yield to
this operation without much difficulty, I after care-
fully rubbing them with the fingers return them to
the pan to be soaked a few more days. Eor bleach-
ing them I procure a hat-box, and across the top I
fasten the skeleton leaves by means of strings. A
cup containing sulphur is placed at the bottom,
which is set on fire. The lid being then shut down,
I leave it closed for the sulphur to bleach the leaves,
which it will do gradually. I have tried various
ways, such as using chloride of lime, and also
chloride of soda, which I poured into separate
shallow vessels, and immersed the leaves in each for
a few minutes. In this way the skeleton leaves may

Nov. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

247

be seen graudally losing their dirty appearance. I
once saw another way of managing skeleton leaves
that interested me greatly. The leaves were boiled
for two minutes, and then transferred to a strong
solution of permanganate of potash and gently
heated. In an hour or two the laxcr tissues were
easily removed by means of a brush. Sulphurous
acid was used for bleaching them, and this liquid
also employed with much facility for the removing
of the stains on the fingers caused by the perman-
ganate of potash. George Newlyn.
Dangstein, Petersfelrf.

FRESH-WATER SPONGE.

[Spongilla Jiuoiatilis.)

T HAD often heard and read of fresh-water
-*- sponges, and, in consequence, endeavoured to
find them, but was never successful till May of this
year. Previous to that time, I had often found the
spicules in boilings of diatoms, and therefore sus-
pected the sponge's existence in the canal which
runs from Leamington to Oxford; but while col-
lecting fresh-water mussels for an aquarium, I
found a fine specimen attached to a stone. This I
carefully removed, and on reaching home made a
microscopic examination of a small portion, which
shewed the spicules supporting the amseba like
particles, forming the living part of the sponge.

Afterwards, I found other specimens, in which I
was able to view the system of currents, so charac-
teristic of the class Spongidae. The sponge is a
variously shaped mass, rough and firm to the touch,
of a greenish colom-, attached to stones, in crevices,
and other dark spots, at a depth in the water of
from two to three feet.

Running throughout its substance are a number
of small channels, opening at the top into larger
openings, called oscula, or exhalent orifices. Be-
tween these are smaller openings, called the pores,
or inhalent orifices. By watching carefully, there
may be observed a current from the oscula, setting
outwards, fed by the inward current of the pores.
If the sponge is cut open, the channels are observed
to be dilated at intervals, and in the chambers thus
formed, are placed the means for producing the
currents. Each of the sponge particles lining these
cavities is provided with a vibratile cilium, and by
the constant waving of these cilia in one direction,
the exhalent current is produced. This current
can only be seen at times, as its action is not con-
tinuous, only taking place when required.

The main object of these currents is doubtless
the supply of the sponge with food ; as the current
moves along, laden with nutritive particles, each
inhabitant of the sponge appropriates what he
requires. It also serves purposes of respiration,
and removes foetal products.

The propagation of the sponge during the
summer is of a sexual character. Certain sponge
particles become ova, and others fill with granules,
which become converted into spermatozoa. The
impregnation effected, the ovum develops into a
perfect sponge. This can be observed only during
the summer.

Having left my sponges for four weeks, on going
to them afterwards, in August, I found the bottom
layer full of seedlike bodies, the " winter germs," in
fact. Each of these bodies consisted of a hard coat,
inclosing the germs inside. This coat was com-
posed of spicules, each of which resembled two
toothed wheels, joined by an axis, with a small
opening at one part. In November, the sponge
dies down, and the germs remain till spring, when
they develop into sponges like their parent.

Besides the common form, there is also a branched
species. This must be looked for attached to
timber, and is the favourite food of swans.

The spicules of the Spongilla are straight, and
pointed at both ends. The germ case spicules are
much smaller than the others. Great care is
necessary, after boiling in nitric acid, to remove
extraneous matter. G. T.

NEST OF WOOD WASP.

(Vespa holsatlca.)

T^ARLY in the month of May this rather un-
-*-^ common wasp commenced building its nest
in the south-east porch of my rectory ; and as it is
a somewhat rare insect about here, and as Mr.
Smith, the great authority on the wasps and bees,
tells me he never knew the Holsatiea build above

Fig. 250. Male and Female of Vespa holsatiea (nat. size).

ground, although he says it may do so occasion-
ally, I send you a short account of it. Early in
May I observed a queen commencing her curious

us

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Nov. l, 1867.

domicile. She began by gnawing up slight irregu-
larities on the surface of the wooden roof of the
porch ; on this she built a kind of peduncle or short
footstalk, the keystone of the house springing from
this; and around it she then built a kind of inverted
cup of about the size of an old china teacup. This
occupied two days. She then contracted the mouth
of the cup until she reduced it to an orifice no
larger than sufficient to admit a pea •, she then built
another envelope on this, and again another. The
building now seemed to cease for about ten days or
a fortnight ; but she could be seen going in and out,
apparently busy with .her first brood. At the expi-
ration of about a month other wasps appeared upon
the scene — a few only ; but they now began to work
with a will upon'their future home, and it increased
prodigiously, until it reached the very unusual size
of 8 inches in width, 7 inches across, and 74 inches
deep. It is now full of wasps, who are busy enough
with their late brood, and has the appearance of a
monstrous dead rose, or cabbage, fixed to the rafters
of the roof. Last week they were busy doing what
is, to my mind, so singular an illustration of their
sagacity — I mean killing and carrying out of the
nest the late grubs, who they know, being hatched
so late in the year, will not come to perfection. I
enclose you a sketch of the nest in the inside of the
roof of the porch.

Fig. 251. Nest attached, reduced.

Ultimately I carried the wasp's nest by assault,
and reduced the citadel. It is now under a glass
case in my study, safe and sound, and is a most
curious structure. It was attached to its support iu
the roof by the'peduncle or stalk above mentioned;
to this is appended the first cup-shaped foundation.
Immediately below this, and overshadowed by it, is a
kind of circular gallery free from cells, under which
hangs, as you may say, the first tier of cells ; this is
circular in form, three-quarters of an inch deep,
five inches in diameter, and closely packed with
cells. Under that, again, comes another tier or laver

of cells, of the same depth, but about six inches
in diameter, also, like the last-mentioned, closely
packed with cells. Under this, again, comes another
tier, less in diameter, but equally well filled with
cells. In the larger central tier alone there are
576 cells ; in'. the three tiers of cells there are about
1,250 cells. The material of the structure is [of a
fine vegetable papier-mache-like substance, which

Fig. 252. Section of Nest.

under the microscope seems evidently to be com-
minuted pieces of woody fibre. The cells are not
very neatly made, and although intended to be
hexagonal, more commonly degenerate into an irre-
gular cylinder. The cells are surrounded by an en-
velope of twenty-four folded leaves, giving the nest
the appearance of a huge Provence rose of a leaden-
grey colour. The figure shows the nest with one side
carefully removed to show the interior, and it gives
a very fair idea of its structure. On one side are a
group of larger cells, five in number, more carefully
made, doubtless the apartments of the future
queens. The garrison had supplied itself with
honey of a sweet sickening taste, and light colour.
There is but one aperture or door, but this imme-
diately breaks off into several passages, all commu-
nicating with the different galleries.

Latreille describes the nest of V. hohatica as
being of a very slender papyraceous texture, scarcely
two inches long, and almost globular in form, with
one end, where is the aperture, truncated ; its
envelope composed of three pieces, of which the
basal one resembles the cup of the acorn. One of
these nests was found in a beehive, another in an
empty room. Reaumur figures a nest nearly agree-
ing with this description attached to a branch, and
Kirby and Spence describe another (vol. i., p. 510).
A correspondent of the Magazine of Natural History
has figured another, which was found attached to a
reed inside the roof of a barn (Jan., 1830). A similar
nest is represented by Knapp ("Journal of a Natu-
ralist," p. 333), which he gives as a distinct species
under the name of Vespa caaipanaria. Shaw also
(Misc., vol. xv., pi. 603) has figured the nest of the
Campanular wasp ; and Prof. Westwood has figured
one of these nests in a still more immature state

Nov. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

249

("Entomological Text-Book," p. 3S9), in which the
saucer-like cup and hall' of the envelope only had been
completed, leaving the cells exposed (see Westwood,
Introd., vol. ii., p. 250). This wasp is included in
Saussure's "Guepes Sociales" (p. 122) under the
name of Vespa sylvestris, hut the nest is not figured.

Charles II. Griffith.

THE ORGANIZATION OF MOSSES*

By R. Braithwaite, M.D., F.L.S.

FN former times many of the smaller cryptogamic
-■- plants were termed mosses, and although no
order of plants is better defined or more readily
recognized, the name is still vulgarly applied to
lichens, as Iceland Moss, Cup Moss, and the
shaggy forms growing on old trees ; to Algse as
Irish Moss ; and even to some fungi. But the
plants we have to consider are the mosses par
excellence, Musci veri, or frondosi, as they have
been termed, to distinguish them from the Musci
hepatici, or Liverworts.

By the ancients this group was but little regarded,
for then plants were sought after on account of their
real or supposed medicinal virtues ; yet they had a
Muscus cranii humani, or moss of a dead man's
skull, which no doubt in the days of signature medi-
cine was found of great service in head complaints.
The first special work on the subject is the Historia
Muscorum of Dillenius, published in 17-11, remark-
able for the excellence of its engravings, and con-
taining also lichens and algse.

Linnaeus enumerates many mosses in his Species
Plantarum, but he seems to have paid little attention
to cryptogamic plants, and hence often confounded
them. His erroneous notion that the Capsule was
an anther, and the spores pollen, led his followers
astray, though we may chiefly attribute it to the
want of sufficient optical assistance.

John Hedwig, however, now gave to the world
those great works which have rendered his name
immortal, and fully entitle him to rank as the founder
of Bryology. He was undoubtedly the first to dis-
cover the sexual organs in these plants, and his clear
diagnosis of species is indicated by the great number
which still bear the names he imposed.

These wrere followed by the valuable Bryologia
Universa, and other works of the learned Bridel,
whose critical eye greatly augmented the number of
species ; and in our day Wilson, aud Mitten, and
lastly Professor Schimper have immensely extended
our knowledge of them, the Bryologia Europsea of
the last named author being the grandest contri-
bution ever made to a single department of botanical
study.

* Read before the Quekett Microscopical Club, June 28th.

Bridel heads the first chapter of his Muscologia
Recentiorum with the query, "Quid sit muscus?"
(What may a moss be ?), and this I hope you will
be able to auswer, after becoming acquainted with
the details of their structure.

The mosses, to a cursory observer, may appear
uninviting from their minuteness and apparent simi-
larity, yet when we call the microscope to our aid,
the exquisite beauty of their structure is at once
apparent. They are entirely cellular, and is it not
surely a subject for admiration, that by mere diver-
sity in form, arrangement, and construction of cells,
we are able to characterize near 9,000 species in this
one class of plants ?

The Seed or Spore. — This is very minute, yet vary-
ing in diameter between i and T£o of a millimetre ; in
some minute mosses it is of large size, the capsule
containing only ten or twenty spores;1 in others
it is very minute, and innumerable. The spore
is globose, of a yellow, rufous, or brown colour ;
its surface smooth or covered with rough points,
and it consists of a mother cell, or primordial
utricle, enveloped hi an outer coat, or exospore, the
contents being chlorophyl, starch, and oil globules,
with mucus.

The first result of germination is the rupture of
the outer coat, and protrusion of the primordial
utricle or cell, which immediately commences divi-
sion, the new cells repeating the process, until a

Fig 253. Spore of Funaria
hygrometrica.

Fig. 254. Spore of Funaria
hygrometrica germinating.

Fig. 255. Prothallium and young plant.

dense felt of branched confervoid threads results,
which we term the prothallium, and forming the
green film we may often notice in/spring coating
damp walls and banks, and long mistaken for species
of algae (figs. 253, 254, 255).- From various cells of
this young plants are developed, whose fine radicles
penetrate the soil ; their leaves shoot up, and they
become like the parent from which the spore ema-
nated ; and being now capable of maintaining an
independent existence, the prothallium, no longer
needed, dies away, except in a few minute annual

250

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE -GOSS IP.

[Nov. 1, 1867.

mosses of delicate texture, where it is persistent
during their whole life. But some mosses rarely
produce fruit ; yet it is necessary that their repro-
duction should be ensured, and we find prothallium
also developed from tubercles on the roots, from
gemmae or buds occurring on the leaves, or even from
the cell-tissue of leaves themselves ; while iu some
mosses a portion of the leaves become altered into
gemmae, and clustered in a head on the top of a
naked stalk called a pseudopodium, as in Tetraphis
pellucida and Aulacomnium (fig. 256).

Fig. 236. Pseudopodium of Aulacomnium androgynum,
with one of the gemma?.

The Roots. — These are slender fibrils, by which
the plants are attached to their place of growth—
the soil, crevices in the bark of trees, or rocks — and
consisting of a single series of cells, the septa be-
tween which are always oblique to the axis of the
filament. Adventitious radicles or rhiziuae of a
brown or purple colour also frequently occur on the
stein, uniting the plants into a dense matted
tuft, and like a sponge conveying water to every
portion.

The Stem. — Often simple, and sometimes so short
as to appear wanting, it is in the terminal fruited
mosses repeatedly forked, for on the cessation of
each annual growth, a lateral bud is thrown off at
the apex, producing an innovation or secondary
stem ; in the lateral fruited mosses, however, the
stem is truly and repeatedly branched. It is of the
same thickness throughout, for it grows only at the
apex, or is acrogenic, and is composed of dense
elongated cells, which thus render it firm and
tough, those of the outer layer being often richly
coloured.

The Leaves. — These are always sessile and simple,
their form usually ovate or lanceolate, but varying
in every degree between orbicular and awl-shaped.
They are inserted spirally on the stem, though
sometimes appearing to be distichous, or in two
opposite rows ; they may be erect, or spreading, or
refiexed, or curled, and again' they may be secund,
or all turned to one side. The margin may be
simple, or have a thickened border, entire or
toothed, plane or wavy, involute or revolute.

The leaves may also be nerveless, but usually
there is a central nerve, which may be short, or
reach the apex, or be excurrent in a point, or long

hair, and some mosses have two nerves. In the
Polytrichia, the nerve consists of a number of erect
lamellae, on its upper surface. The leaves consist
of a single, sometimes of a double, or triple stratum
of cells, the form and arrangement of which con-
stitute the areolation, and afford characters of the
greatest importance in the diagnosis of species,
indeed used by some recent Bryologists, as Carl
Midler and Hampe, for the chief divisions in classi-
fication.

In form, the cells are hexagonal, but varying to
quadrate, rhomboidal, or linear, according to the
density of their arrangement, and their surface may
be smooth, or covered with minute papilla?. They
contain granules of chlorophyl, which is often beau-
tifully distinct, and the cause of the fine green
colour, well seen in Bryum capillare, while in others
it is expended on the growth of the cell, or the
thickening of its walls, and thus in many mosses,
while the cells in the upper part of the leaf retain
their chlorophyl, those at the base are empty,
hyaline, and elongated ; in a few mosses the
chlorophyl is wanting, and hence they have a white
aspect, as in the family Leucobryaceae.

Occasionally the basal wing of the leaf is occupied
by cells, which differ from the rest, being enlarged
or deeply coloured, and the presence or absence
of these alar cells has been conveniently used by
Prof. Schimper to divide the great genus Dicraiium
into two (fig. 170). When the cell ends join by hori-
zontal walls, they are termed Parenchymatous, and
in one form of these, the cell walls are thickened,
and the cell proper reduced to a mere point, producing
the dotted areolations of Grimmiaceoe and others
(figs. 257, 25S). When the cell ends are pointed,

> » -

Fig. 25". Areolation of Pottia
tnmcata.

Fig. 253. Areolation of
Grimmia apocarpa.

we have rhombic areolae, and these are termed
Prosenchymatous, as in Bryum (figs. 259, 260). I
must add that occasionally stipuliform organs occur
intermixed with the stem leaves, as in Hypnum
molluscum ; these are named Paraphyllia.

An anomalous form of leaf occurs in the genus
Bissideus, in which it appears to be vertical, and
split into two laminae for a part of its length. This
split portion is, however, the true leaf, but the
nerve and one wing have taken upon themselves

Nov. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GO SSI P.

251

extraordinary development, and there is also a
lamina formed alor.g the back of the nerve, these

Fig. 259. Areolation of Bryum Fig. 260. Areolation of
ctespiticium. Hypnum rutabulum.

additional parts being named the apical and dorsal
laminae (fig. 261).

Fig-. 261. Leaf of Fissidens taxifolius.

The Reproductive Organs. — It is now satisfactorily
determined that these are of two kinds, male and
female, and unless they occur near each other, the
fruit is not produced ; as an instance, I may refer
to Eissidens grandifrons, of which male plants only
have been found in Europe, female only in America,
hence the fruit is uuknown.

Hedwig was the first who pointed out the nature
of these minute organs, but his views were long
opposed, for Roth and Meese asserted that when
sown, they produced young plants, and hence were
gemmae or buds.

As in flowering plants, we find the sexual organs
present three modes of arrangement, and the species
may be —

Synoicous — when male and female organs are
combined.

IMonoicous— when they are separate, but on the
same plant.

Dioicous — when separate, and on different plants.

The male or barren flowers are either terminal
or lateral, and consist of an involucre of minute
leaves termed the perigonium; these perigonial
leaves vary in number, and in form and texture
differ considerably from those of the stem, becoming
gradually thinner and more delicate toward the
centre. Some mosses have no perigone, but the
male organs nestle in the axils of the stem leaves ;
in others the flower terminates the stem as a
beautiful disc or rosette, well seen in the coloured

heads of Polytrichum ; and again it may be gem-
miform, or like a minute bud composed of a few
imbricated leaves, as in Hypnum.

Enclosed by the perigone are the antheridia,
organs analogous to the stamens of flowering plants;
these vary in number, are somewhat sausage-shaped,
and usually intermixed with them are numerous
jointed threads termed paraphyses, whose use no
doubt, by the mucus they contain, is to keep moist
and preserve the vitality of the antheridia, for in the
open discoid flower they are most numerous, but in
the closed gemmiform flower few or none (fig. 262).
The antheridial sac contains the Spermatozoids,
minute clavato-filiform bodies with two cilia, and
coiled spirally, which on the rupture of the antheri-
dium move about with great activity; they are
most readily seen in the Polytricha (fig. 263).

Fig. 262. Two Antheridia and Paraphyses of Polytrichum.

The female or fertile flower, in a similar way,
consists of leaves forming a perigynium, which
enclose the archegonia, corresponding to the pistils
of flowering plants ; and so the oval base of an
archegonium is named the germen, enclosing in its
centre the germinal cell, and the tapering upper
part the stylidium (fig. 261).

M

Fig. 26a.
Spermatozoids.

Fig. 264. Three Archegonia and
Paraphyses of Bryum.

The inner leaves of the peryginium, as the fruit
forms, become enlarged into a sheath round the
base of the fruit stalk, forming what is called the
perichaetium, which is very distinct in Hypnaceae.

Of the archegonia in each flower, seldom more
than one is fertilized ; sometimes, however, four or
five may be, and we have as] many fruits enclosed
in one perichaetium in Mnium uudulatum and
Dicranum majus.

252

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Nov. 1, 1S67.

Having made you acquainted with ^the repro-
ductive organs, we shall be prepared to follow out
their functions. As stated, the antheridium at
maturity bursts at the apex, and out pass the sper-
matozoids as a cloud of active particles ; the arche-
gonium equally prepares for their reception, the
apex of the stylidium ruptures, the edges of the
aperture roll back forming a trumpet-shaped orifice,
from which we can trace a fine duct passing down
to the germinal cell, and more evident now because
it has acquired a reddish tinge. Both Hofmeister
and Schimper have seen the spermatozoids within
this canal.

The germinal cell, now fertilized, immediately
commences its own proper development, first
downward; perforating the base of the archegonium,
it fixes itself in the receptacle or apex of the stem,
just as a stake is driven into the earth ; then upward
to form the seta or fruit stalk, and the contents of
the archegonium being thus consumed, its delicate
walls are ruptured, the lower part remaining attached
to a process of the receptacle, as a little sheath —
the vaginula (fig. 265) ; the upper, carried aloft,

Fig 265. Young fruit of Ortho-
trichum crispum, showing
Vaginula and hairy Calyptra.

Fig. 266. Mitriform calyptra
of Encalypta.

becomes the calyptra, or veil, and the seta, having
attained its full length, begins to enlarge at the
apex to form the capsule.

The Calyptra or Veil envelops the young fruit,
and is thin and membranous ; it is sometimes torn
irregularly, or it remains even at the base, when it
is termed mitriform, or it is slit up on one side,
when we call it cucullate or dimidiate ; it is usually
smooth, but sometimes densely hairy (figs. 266, 267,
268).

The Theca or Capsule. — This presents an infinite
variety of forms, but all of the greatest elegance ;
it may be globose, ovate, pear-shaped, or cylindric,
straight or arched, erect or pendulous, smooth or

furrowed. In some it is swollen all round at the
base, and this part is usually of a different colour,

Fig. 267. Cucullate inflated
Calyptra of Funaria.

Fig-. 268. Cucullate conic
Calyptra of Fissidens.

and is named the apophysis (fig. 269) ; in others it
bulges out on one side of the base, and is then said
to be strumose (fig. 270).

Fig. 269. Fruit of Splachnum
ampullaceum with small
conic lid, cylindric capsule,
and obovate apophysis.

Fig. 2/0. Strumose capsule
of Dicranum Stark ii, with
rostrate lid and annulus.

Closing the mouth of the capsule, wc see a little
cap — the operculum or lid, in shape flat, conical, or
beaked ; this, at maturity, is thrown off, either by
the swelling of the contents or by the shrinking of
a contractile ring of cells interposed between the
lid and mouth of the capsule, which is named the
annulus ; well seen in the common Funaria. In
the genus Andresea there is no lid, aud the capsule
opens by splitting into four valves (fig. 271) ; and in
another section there is also no lid, the capsule

Fig. 2"1. Schistocarpous
fruit of Andreaea.

Fig. 272. Cleistocarpous fruit
of Pieuridium subulatum.

giving exit to the spores by breaking up from decay
(fig. 272). These characters enable us conveniently
to arrange mosses in three divisions : —

Schistocarpi— the Split-fruited Mosses.

Cleistocarpi— the Closed-fruited Mosses.

Stegocarpi — the Lid-fruited Mosses.
The wall of the capsule consists of several layers

Nov. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

253

of cells, the outer of which becomes indurated at
maturity, and often richly coloured.

Enclosed within the capsule is the Sporangium,
or Spore sac, consisting of two strata of cells, the
outer of which is contiguous to the lining membrane
of the capsule, or is suspended from it by delicate
threads ; the inner is united to a pillar, occupying the
central axis of the capsule, and named the Columella,
the apex of which joins the lid, and sometimes falls

Fig. 2;3,

Section of Fruit of Funaria, showing Sporangium
suspended by threads.

Fig. 274. Section of upper part of fruit of Mnium hornum,
a. wall of capsule, b. annulus, a. lid, d. tooth of outer peri-
stome, e. tooth of inner peristome,/, cavity of sporangium
and spores, g. Columella.

away, the mouth of the capsule is seen, sometimes
naked, when it is termed gymnostomous, but
usually adorned by the beautiful appendage named

away with it, though occasionally we see the
columella projecting from the mouth of the capsule
like a style (figs. 273, 274). The lid having fallen

the Peristome, consisting of curious hygroscopic
tooth-bke processes in a single or double series.

The simple peristome, or the outer one when
double, originates from the lining membrane of the
capsule ; its teeth are always constant in number, 4,
8, 1G, 32, or 64, and present an infinite variety of

Fig. 275. Part of inner and outer peristomes of same.

forms (figs. 277, 278, 279). They consist of two
strata of cells, the outer in two rows, transversely
jointed (trabeculate), richly-
coloured, aud often separated
for a part of their length, in
the central or divisural line ;
the inner in one row, thin
and hygroscopic, and projecting
inward as transverse lamellae
(figs. 275, 276, 2S0). In the Polytrichace*, how-
ever, they are quite different, and consist of a mass
of agglutinated filaments, and Mr. Mitten uses this

Fig. 276. Transverse
section of tooth of
outer peristome.

Fig. 277. Fruit of Tetraphis
pellucida. peristome of
lour teeth.

Fig. 278. Splachnum sphsericum,
with eight bigeminate teeth,
and exserted columella.

distinction to separate all mosses into two sec-
tions, Arthrodonti, those with jointed teeth, and
Nematodonti, those with filamentous teeth. Iu the
Polytricha, also, the top of the columella is dilated
into a membrane, closing the mouth of the capsule,
and joined to the points of the teeth ; this expan-
sion has been named the epiphragm or tympanum
(fig. 280).
The inner peristome takes its origin from the

254

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Nov. 1, 18G7.

outer wall of the spore sac, and is a thin plicate, or
keeled membrane, divided into processes or cilia,
whichfusually stand opposite the interspaces of the
outer teeth, and occasionally 1 to 3 still finer ciliola,
occur between the cilia (fig-. 275).

Fig-. 279. Bifid tooth from
peristome of Fissidens.

Fig-. 280. Peristome and tympa-
num of Pog-onatum alo'ides.

The spores are formed from the cells, filling the
spore sac, and are always free from the spiral threads
found in the Hepaticae.

In the above account I have not included the
Sphagnina or Bog-mosses, as the views of recent
writers tend to separate them as a distinct class,
parallel with Mosses and Hepaticse.

ANTHRENUS.

Fig-. 281. a. Anthrenus museorum, L. ; I. Anthrenus
varius, F. ; both magnified.

rpHE above figures, illustrative of the paper on
" Hairs of Dermestes," page 206, represent
the two species of Anthrenus therein alluded to.
They have been drawn from well-authenticated
specimens, by an excellent authority on these insects,
who remarks, " The antennae in the three common
species of Anthrenus have a different number of
joints (a curious circumstance in the same genus).
Thus in varius, the antenna; seem to be eleven-
jointed (the normal scheme in Coleoptera), and the
club consists of three joints. In museorum they arc
eight-jointed, with a two-jointed club ; and in the
very common little claviger (smaller than museonmi)
the club is only apparently one-jointed. Anthrenus
museorum is very indistinctly marked, and a much
duller insect than varius, of which some of the bands
of lighter colour are spotted with white. The
scheme of pattern seems alike in both. The edges

of the pattern not clearly defined, as the insects are
covered with broad scales that form the bands,
giving an irregular outline." Woodcuts can scarcely
give satisfactory representations of the insects.

WASPS.
rTUIE following communication on British Wasps
-*- appeared in the Gardeners' Chronicle for
October 19 th :—

You published, some little time ago, a letter re-
questing some of your readers to assist me in pro-
curing a specimen of the nest of Vespa arborea
That letter has brought me some kind communica-
tions on the subject, but not the nest, which I am
still in search of. As the subject has attracted the
attention of some of your readers, perhaps you will
allow me a little space to explain more clearly what
I, with every other naturalist who studies wasps,
really do want.

There are seven species of British social wasps,
including the hornet. Three of these are tree
wasps, distinguished by having the scape of the
antennse yellow in front in both the sexes. Three
are ground wasps, in which the scape of the an-
tennae is yellow in front in the male only. The
species are readily distinguished by the forms of the
markings on the face, and on the dorsal aspect of
the first two rings of the abdomen, as shown in the
following diagram :—

ft

foroj V. Britannica.

Tree Wasps . . <j •

UKm V. sylvestris.

l>

^■jgBs V. arborea.

i

K'W^ V. Germanica

I

Ground Wasps 1 Jfr

£9$^ V. vulgaris.

\

I A

frit) ▼•«*■

As to their nests : —

1. V. Germanica, the large common wasp, builds
in the ground ; the case of her nest is made in shelly
patches, and is of a grey and white colour.

2. V. vulgaris, the small common wasp, also
builds in the ground ; her nest being formed like-
wise in shelly patches, but of a pretty fawn colour,
and of a very brittle nature.

3. V. rufa is an earlier wasp than the others. Her
nest is of a dull grey, and is built in rings, not in
patches. The name of "anchor-faced wasp" has
been unfortunately applied to this as well as to the
preceding species..

Of the tree wasps :—

1. V. sylvestris builds in the ground, or under

Nov. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

255

eaves, or anywhere ; her nest is formed in layers.
Every bee-keeper has a word for or against her.
She is the owner of the very pretty bell-nests, which
have gained for her the name of Vespa campanaria.

2. V. Britannica, Noncegica, or borecdis, builds
also in layers, which are less regular than those
of the preceding species, and generally prefers low
bushes.

3. V. arborea is the blank I wish to fill up.
This wasp is found in Gloucestershire and in Savoy.
It was first discovered by Mr. E. Smith, of the
British Museum, among some firs, on a ridge about
four miles north of "Wakefield, in Yorkshire. The
promise of a reward for a nest of this species, cir-
culated in that neighbourhood, has as yet failed to
procure me a specimen to engrave for a work on
wasps which I hope shortly to have the pleasure of
publishing. If this note shall prove the means of
enabling me to complete my series of drawings, I
shall feel thankful.

Brighton. Edward L. Ormerod, M.D.

ZOOLOGY.

Colias Edusa ix Ireland. — Having taken a
specimen of the Clouded Yellow Butterfly {Colias
Edusa) on the 31st of August last at Ivilkee, on
the coast of the county Clare, I wish to know if it
is an uncommon insect in Ireland. Neither my
friends nor any of the books I have consulted can
inform me if it has ever occurred in Ireland before.
— W. B., Ireland.

[It is recorded in " Stainton's Manual" as having
occurred in Ireland. — Ed.]

Wood-boring Beetles. — One of the principal
oak rafters of the roof over the north-east corner of
the Triforium of Norwich Cathedral being in a
dangerous state, it was examined in order to dis-
cover where the rain came through. Some holes
were found pierced through the lead, immediately
above the decayed rafter, and, on turning up the
sheet of metal, the holes were found to correspond
exactly with the worm-eaten holes in the oak clad-
ding. Several dead insects were found in the lead,
some of which appear to have wings ; those enclosed
were found in the cladding, and are, I suppose, a
species of weavil. — E. A., Norwich.

The insect is Anobmm pulsator, Schall (the A.
tessellatuni of most authors), one \ of our largest
species of the so-called Death-watch Beetles. The
late Mr. Spence ("Ent. Trans.," vol. ii., p. 11) has
given an account of the great injury produced by its
larvae in the timbers of houses at Brussels ; and we
nave known it to occur in profusion in houses in
Northamptonshire, the oak beams being riddled by
it. It has been also reared from whitethorn, and
appears to remain more than three years before
arriving at the perfect state. The larvae seem to

have the instinct of continuing their burrows until
nearly reaching the surface, so that there is 'only left
a slight barrier, through which the perfect insects
escape. Westwood (" Mag. Nat. Hist.," Sept.
1831) is inclined to believe that the ticking noise
made by the perfect insect is also produced by
the larva, whilst gnawing the wood on which it
feeds. The larva is figured by Ratzeburg (" Die
Eorst Insecten," pi. 2, fig. 19, B) and Westwood
(Introd., vol. i., p. 269, 11). It is also described by
the latter author and by Bouche ("Naturg. der
Ins.," p. 1S7). The larva much resembles that of a
small Lamellicorn Beetle, and constructs a cocoon
of silky matter, mixed with debris of its food. The
wings mentioned in Mr. Athow's letter would ap-
pear to be those of a species of Tachina, a dipterous
insect much resembling the common house-fly, and
which is evidently parasitic on the beetle ; at least
I judge so from a cocoon found in the wood sent,
and from my own experience in rearing other larvae.
The larva of Callidium Bajulus, one of the Longi-
corn Beetles, has long been recorded as boring
through the lead covering of houses, making circular
holes. See Westwood {loc. cit. p. 366), and Audouhi
(" Annates de la Soc. Ent. de France," ii., 76) . The
larvae of some Hymenopterous insects have been re-
corded by a French entomologist as penetrating
leaden bullets \—E. C.B.

The Otter {Lutra vulgaris). — The breeding
season in Scandinavia certainly takes place in
February or early in March, and the female brings
forth in May from three to four blind young ones.
As I have been told from very reliable authority
that the otter in England breeds in the winter, I
have made very'particular inquiries here of men who
well know the habits of the otter, and all corrobo-
rate the above statement. — Ten Years in Sweden.

Weasel (Mustela vulgaris, Erx). It has been
doubted whether the weasel, like the stoat, becomes
white in the winter. I can prove that this is the
case from pure white specimeus killedln Wermland
in the winter. I can also prove by specimens kept
in confinement that the change of colour from the
red summer dress to the white of winter takes
place by an actual change or shedding of the old
coat, and not by the old hair changing colour. — Ten
Years in Sweden.

A Neighbourly Spider ! — A friend writes me :
" I was witness this morning of a curious incident.
A large ' bluebottle ' having got entangled in the
web of a spider, was immediately secured and killed
in the usual manner. In this condition— dead and
wound round with thread — the fly was deliberately
lowered into the web of a smaller spider, who at
once seized and carried it off." I never knew, and
did not imagine that spiders were sufficiently sociable
to feed each other. — Gilbert Green.

256

ARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Nov. 1, 1867.

Lasiccampa Quercus.— I think the following
deserving of notice. Last September, a friend of
mine found tbree larva: of the above, full grown,
and which spun up about the middle of the month.
According to the general routine of this insect's
changes, the moths should have appeared early this
summer. But no ; the first one, a female, came out
last week, and there are two others waiting their
change. Whether they intend to make their ap-
pearance this year, or whether they will wait till
the more genial summer days, time will show. I
do not perceive any difference between this late
specimen and those of the usual time. — Richard
Tyrer.

Hawk and Weasel.— I am indebted to a friend
of mine (a keen observer of nature) for the follow-
ing. Whilst out walking, a kestrel hawk rose at
his feet, which attracted his attention by the
strangeness of its flight. Instead of its usual
hovering, it darted upwards till almost lost to view,
when it suddenly descended powerless to the earth.
Upon his hastening to the spot he was surprised to
see a weasel retreat from the hawk, which was
dead, the throat being fearfully torn. — C. Benny,
Kekedon.

Quail. — I received a single specimen of this bird
some short time since which was shot in this neigh-
bourhood. With us they are extremely rare. — C.
Denny, Kelvedon.

Lizard Tails. — I think it is not generally known
that the common lizard has the power to cast off its
tail when suddenly alarmed. I saw a striking
instance of this a few days since when collecting
insects upon some chalk hills near Beckworth. 1
have frequently seen these little fellows run without
taking their tails with them, when I have attempted
their capture, and have mentioned the subject to
friends who have expressed their unbelief, stating
that it was impossible for a reptile with a tail con-
taining so much substance to have the power to
become detached without receiving a severe blow
from some hard substance. But in this instance I
was in the company of two well-known naturalists
when we discovered a lizard. I suddenly placed
my hand over it, when up sprang its tail from
between my fingers, and, to our astonishment, not
only continued to leap about the ground for two or
three minutes but crept along with a snake-like
motion, and concealed itself in some grass. The
tail was divided a short distance from the legs, so
that the thickest part was of nearly the same cir-
cumference as its body. This appears to be a pro-
vision of nature to spare the animal's life, in the
event of being surprised by birds or other enemies,
the tail being left to satisfy their appetite, whilst
the creature takes its departure.—/. B. Waters.

"Animal Grafting, and on the Regeneration
of the Spleen in Mammals, and of the Limbs
in Aquatic Salamanders," by M. Philipeaux, from
" Annales des Sciences Naturelles," Jan., 1S67.

Since the numerous experiments made in 1856 on
the extirpation of the supra-renal capsules, the
spleen, and the thyroid body, and communicated to
the Academie des Sciences, M. Philipeaux has
several times observed, in animals which had been
operated on some months previously, a new supra-
renal capsule, or a new spleen, more or less com-
pletely reproduced. He has also, during his inves-
tigations, made some interesting observations on
animal grafting, and on the reproduction of the
limbs of the newt. The following is a resume of
the facts which he has recorded : —

1. On Grafting the Spleen in Mammals. — After
completely removing the spleen from field-mice
(surmulots) thirty days old, the organ was returned
into the abdominal cavity, and after a period vary-
ing from five to ten months, it was found to have
grown to the peritoneum at some point, most com-
monly to the stomach, or on the left side : in one
instance only to the right side. The point of at-
tachment was always by the hilum of the spleen,
and new vessels were seen to be formed which could
be traced to the mesentery. The spleen retained
its normal form in some cases ; in others became
folded on itself, and occasionally was rounded or
triangular in form. The structure was found to be
always normal; sometimes the spleen had completely
disappeared, and not a trace of it could be found,
or else a small cyst remained, containing purulent
matter. In some] cases the spleen was pale and
ensanguined, in others very black, and filled with
pigment. The animals operated on attained their
full development, but were not so large as those
which had not been thus treated.

2. On the Regeneration of the Spleen in Mammals.
— The first experiments on this subject led ]\1.
Philipeaux to believe that the spleen was reproduced
after complete extirpation, but this opinion was
proved to be incorrect by M. Peyrani, who repeated
M. Philipeaux's experiments. The latter instituted
a new inquiry, aud found that Peyrani's statement
was correct — that the spleen when completely
extirpated is never reproduced ; but that when not
completely removed, reproduction always occurs.
The same remarks hold good with regard to the
infra-renal capsules.

3. On the Regeneration of the Limbs of the Sala-
mander.—-M. Philipeaux found that when the limbs
and eyes were completely removed, no reproduction
took place : if the anterior limb, with the scapula,
for instance, were amputated, other entire eyeball
removed ; but if a portion of the eye were left, then
regeneration occurred, or if the scapula were left
complete, reproduction of all the bones ensued. — L.

Nov. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

257

Ch^erocampa celerio. — A fine specimen was
captured here ou Wednesday (August 2S) by Mr.
Horroeks, a collector in this town. It is a very fine
insect, and, judging from its condition, I should
think it was fresh from the pupa state. Having no
net with him at the time, he was obliged to take it
in an old matchbox. This is the second specimen
taken in Ipswich, one having been caught some
time since by Mr. Eaton, and now in the possession
of Mr. Ransome. — //'. M. Cole, Ipswich.

Chameleon. — Several weeks ago a friend from
Cadiz presented me with a fine chameleon, about
a foot long. I have known persons fail to remark,
until their attention was called to it, the very
curious motion of the eyes, which can be worked
quite independently of each other, or in conjunction ;
for instance, one eye may be stationary, whilst the
other revolves freely, or both may be moved in
different or even contrary directions; but when about
to strike at a fly, both eyes are brought to bear on
the object. I have seen it protrude its tongue and
catch a fly at about seven inches distance, but its
favourite range seems to be three or four inches, and
if the prey be nearer than one inch, it generally
retreats when practicable to increase the distance.
The chameleon sleeps soundly, lying longitudinally
on a perch, or clinging to any object on which night
overtakes him, and will bear a little gentle handling
without awaking. Asleep and in the dark, the general
colour is straw below, and light pea-green above,
delicately shaded off. The passions appear to in-
fluence the colour, as it often changes when the
animal is approached. Still I can observe no fixed
rule by which the colours are governed, though
generally the brightest light produces the darkest
colour, and vice versa. Sometimes the side exposed to
the sun becomes dark brown, approaching to black,
more or less spotted; sometimes dark chocolate; and
I have seen it in direct sunlight deep yellow and
light green, in spots, bars, &c, with some darker
markings, and in some parts the green approached
very much to blue. When light coloured, two rows
of dark marks generally appear along each side.
The intensity of colour on one side may often be,
and generally is, different from that on the other side.
The tongue is slightly protruded from the mouth
preparatory to striking a fly, which is effected with
great celerity and much precision, although it is
often obliged so to contort its body as to seem very
unfavourably placed for attacking its prey. On
retracting, the tongue is considerably deflected, de-
pending much on the distance ; and the free end,
which is considerably the thicker, may be seen to be
concave, and in this cavity is the fly ; but it is by no
means easy at all times to observe the concavity,
owing to the rapidity of the act. The motion of the
limbs, though slow, is very free, and the grasp of the
feet very firm. These are shaped much like those

of a parrot. The tail is prehensile. I have never
succeeded in keeping a chameleon alive for more
than two months, and should feel obliged if any of
the readers of Science-Gossip could give me any
hints about such treatment as may conduce to their
longevity. — G. S., Oporto.

BOTANY.

Tea-tree {Lycium barbartm). — I have at this
time one of these plants covered with the beautiful
bright red berries, so that it is a perfect spectacle.
Although the plant is common enough in gardens,
I think that it is not so common to observe it so full
of fruit.— W. C. C.

Sonchus palustris. — Would you be kind
enough to state for the information of " B." that it
was in the county of Essex that I became acquainted
with Sonchtts palustris, L., as described in'JSciEXCE-
Gossip for September. Having considerable
acquaintance with the flora of Dorsetshire, I am
able to supplement the remarks of "R. W." re-
specting the occurrence of (Enanthe pimpinelloides,
L., in that county. I have found it growing
luxuriantly in several places in the vicinity of Wey-
mouth ; a bank to the south-west of Lodmoor ad-
joining the Preston road, and the east shore of the
Backwater near Radipole, are two of the habitats,
but not the only ones in that neighbourhood. —
/. W. White.

Jumping Seeds. — I have read occasionally in
Natural History journals of what are termed
"jumping seeds ;" but it was only this summer that
something similar came under my own observation,
the particulars of which may possibly interest some
of your readers. A friend sent me a small excres-
cence taken off a hawthorn; it was about a sixth of
an inch in length, pear-shaped, and in size and form
much resembled one of the small stones of a grape
or raisin ; it appeared to have been attached by the
apex. Its curious jumping movements having
attracted attention, it was brought to me to ascer-
tain the cause of its activity, which was naturally
attributed to some living creature concealed within.
When it came into my hands it was perfectly quiet,
and as it remained so in spite of all attempts to rouse
it, I imagined the inmate was defunct. However,
in the course of the evening it was heard going
through its performances in the pill-box, and on
removing the lid it was seen oscillating and leaping
with a smart jerk, which carried it a quarter of an
inch or more from its starting-point. I was told
that it had jumped nearly an inch in length and a
fourth of an inch high, but I did not see it do so
much after it came into my possession, by which
time possibly it might have lost some of its vigour.
The movements were sharp and sudden, but usually

258'

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[[[Nov. 1, 1867.

stopped awhile after it had been disturbed. These
actions continued all that evening, but the next day
not observing any movement, I concluded it was
dead (though I afterwards learnt that it had been
seen to move on that day), and the evening of the
day following, still finding no signs of life, I opened
it, and, as anticipated, found it was tenanted by a
larva, which, contrary to expectation, was alive. It
was a whitish maggot, with a small yellowish scaly
head, the body bent into a semicircle, and the tail
end slightly flattened. It had no legs, but the shining
skin was deeply corrugated, or thrown into folds,
which appeared to serve in some degree as limbs ; a
very few hairs could be detected on the body. The
movements when extracted from the case, though
pretty vigorous, had nothing of a leaping character,
and consisted in twisting about in a helpless
manner. As the walls of the case were thin and
shewed little material left for food, it would appear
that the larva was near its change. That any living
thing entirely enclosed in a rigid box or envelope as
this appeared to be, should be able to "jump " the
said box from one spot to another as easily as a
boy jumps in a sack, is not a little marvellous. The
oscillating or rolling motion is more easily explained,
as the mere shifting of the centre of gravity in a
body with a round or cylindrical (in this case rather
conical) exterior would be likely to cause the whole
to change place. Possibly the envelope being thin,
might be somewhat elastic, and capable of trans-
mitting the force of the blows given from within,
otherwise it would remind one of the accounts
sometimes related of coffins being found upright,
supposed to be so placed by the struggles of the
wretched inmate buried alive — a feat of strength
that would defy the efforts of the greatest athlete
the world ever saw. — G. Guyon, Ventnor, Isle of
Wight.

Boletus cyanescens. — On the 17th September
this extremely rare and beautiful species of Boletus
was growing in comparative abundance on the
grassy banks near the north gate of Richmond Park.
It grew in batches of all sizes, under oaks. In the
immediate neighbourhood, also under oaks, I came
upon a considerable colony of B. piperatus, a lovely
fungus, but possessing fearful pungency. B.felleus
also occurred under the same trees. — IF. G. Smith.

Boletus impolitus, Fn. — Surely your corre-
spondent "H. B. " is in error regarding this ex-
cellent Boletus. I know it well ; it is pleasant and
mild when raw, and nutty, crisp, aud most delicious
when cooked ; in fact I consider it preferable to
Boletus edulis. Its comparative rarity was the only
cause of its omission in the sheets published by
Mr. Hardwicke. Has " II. B." mistaken the bitter
and disagreeable Boletus felleus, for Boletus im-
politus? They resemble each other to a certain

degree, the former" (as' far as my" experience goes) is
much the commoner of the two. Boletus impolitus
is one of the best of all our fungi. — W. G, S.

Pkimary Colours.— Having noticed in this
month's number of Science-Gossip a record of the
blue pimpernel having been found near llfracombe,
I would remark that (in this spot at least) it seems
to be more than usually common this season, oc-
curring almost as plentifully as the red variety. I
was led to notice this from a conversation I had
with a friend a short time since, on the limited
number of plants which produce flowers of the three
primary colours. The pimpernel is certainly one
of the few that does so. The anemone is another ;
the red and blue being well known, and the yellow
I have found growing in the Pyrenees. If any of
the readers of Science-Gossip would kindly mention
any other class of plants possessing the same
properties, I think the subject might prove of
interest. — /. W. 31., Cawston Rectory, Norwich.

Yellow Violets.— Pliny mentions yellow violets,
so they were known in the time of the author of the
" Historia Naturalis ;" and there are several
members of the order Violacese bearing yellow
flowers found in America. I imagine the par-
ticular plant mentioned by Mr. " Edward H.
Robertson " in Science-Gossip must be the Viola
biflora of the Swiss Alps. I am a great admirer
of the American violets ; but they must be grown
in peat mould, and some of them would, I should
say, require greenhouse culture in this country.
Muhlenberg's violet, with its large, pale-blue violets
on long peduncles, is very lovely. — Helen G.
Watney.

Hampshire Lycopod (see p. 209). — The
Gardeners' Chronicle of September 2S again
alludes to this plant, and states, on the authority
of Mr. Lloyd, that it is certainly Lycopodium
alpinum. Mr. Lloyd maintains that Lycopoilir,
alpinum has not been correctly described as to its
habit of growth, a repent above-ground stem being
attributed to it ; and this opinion he supports by
specimens of the Welsh plant still growing in the
sod of earth, in which a subterranean rhizome is
distinctly evident. It is therefore clear that, in
addition to a stem threading its way on the surface,
amongst the surrounding herbage this Alpine
Lycopod does also produce a true underground
stem, in which it agrees with the Hampshire
plant.

Linn.ea borealis in YORKSHIRE. — The Scar-
borough Mercury of August 24 states that Linneea
borealis " has been discovered in a wood on the
moors in the neighbourhood of Scarborough," where
it was found by Mr. John Tissiman of that town.
-B.

Nov. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

259

MICROSCOPY.

Origin or Rocks revealed by the Micro-
scope.—When sedimentary rocks are of subaqueous
origin, as is by far the most common case, subaerial
or subaqueous outbursts may force into the sea
eruptive rocks, which, being- at once broken up into
a state of division, more or less fine, in proportion
to the greater or lesser cooling power of the water,
mass in immediate contact, may be spread out into
beds by the action of the waves : the texture of
these rocks may vary from that of the coarsest
breccia down to the finest mud, and, as is usually
the case, such deposits may present themselves as
alternating beds of coarse and fine character.
Upon the consolidation of such formations, rocks
are formed, identical in chemical and mineralogical
composition with the original eruptive rock from
which they were derived, and which, particularly
when close-graiued, often present an external
appearance so like the original rocks as to be fre-
quently undistinguishable from them by the naked
eye ; in such deposits it is often easy to pick out
specimens having all gradations in appearance from
the above described down to such as would be
attributed to the consolidation of mere detrital
mud. No wonder, therefore, if the field geologist
finds himself bewildered under such circumstances,
and inebned to settle down in the comfortable
belief of the transmutation or transition of sedi-
mentary rocks into eruptive, &c, and even the
chemist feels puzzled, when lie finds that a rock
taken out of apparently normal stratified deposits
has the same chemical composition' with one of
undoubtedly intrusive nature. The microscopic
examination, however, soon shows that, however
similar the external appearance of two such rocks
might be, their internal structure is totally different;
showing in the'primaiy rock the crystallised struc-
ture and arrangement previously described, whilst
the secondary rock is resolved into a mere agglo-
meration of more or less broken fragments of the
same minerals constituting the former. In beds
formed from the consolidation of volcanic ashes,
the microscopic examination occasionally affords
evidence as to whether such ashes had been
deposited on land, or had fallen into water. —
Dr. Forbes, F.B.S., in " Popular Science Review.' '

Noctiluca Miliaris. — I have for some years
endeavoured to obtain a supply of Noctiluca
miliaris from acquaintances and friends who travel
by sea to various parts of the globe, but up to the
present time all my efforts to obtain them have
been unsuccessful. Will you permit me to recom-
mend any of the readers of Science-Gossip who
reside near the sea-coast to make a gathering of
Noctilucse on any night when they present them-
selves in abundance ? Their presence is indicated

by extensive phosphoresence on the surface of the
ocean, each splash of an oar or] ripple of a wave
exhibits a phosphorescent luminous appearance — the
cause being the presence of myriads of Noctiluca;.
If a cambric net be run over the surface of the
ocean when the phosphoric light referred to is
visible,' it will be found on examination to contain a
mass of jelly-like matter, which will consist of in-
numerable specimens of Noctilucse. The reason
why I desire specially to possess a gathering is,
because they" generally contain splendid specimens
of diatomaceas in a beautiful condition of purity. I
shall esteem it a great favour if any of your
sea-side readers would take an opportunity of
making a; gathering and send me a portion of the
jelly-like mass. It is of course of no importance
whether the Noctilucae be living or dead, the
object of chief importance is that they be clearly
gathered and be placed in a clean bottle.— T. P.
Barkas, Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Elastic Glue. — As there exists some little diffi-
culty in manipulating, not to say obtaining, marine
glue, allow me to bring under notice a cement used
by bootmakers, which answers admirably for aquaria,
troughs, and also cells. I send you a stick herewith,
the cost of which is only 2d. It is obtainable at
any of the leather-grindery warehouses, and will, I
think, be found a desideratum to microscopists, and
is known as " elastic glue." — John Bockett.

Campanularia geniculata. — Prom the egg of
this Campanularia there springs a ciliated larva,
which attaches itself to a solid body, becomes flat-
tened, and then resembles a little cake, which has a
cavity hollowed in its substance. In the centre of
this, granulations make their appearance, and
gradually increase in size, elongate, and are con-
verted into a straight hollow stem, which is soon
covered by a transparent horny sheath. The current
which traverses the internal canal of the stem accu-
mulates the granules at the extremity of this latter,
aud develops a true,bud, which becomes organized,
and assumes the form of an inverted bell, closed at
its orifice by a horny membrane. The organized
material is soon detached from the inner surface of
this structure, and converted into a sort of couical
button, from which tentacles are pushed out.
Finally, in the centre of this mass there appears an
orifice, which eventually constitutes a mouth like
that of Hydra. The first polyp is then complete,
and, bursting through the membrane, it grows out
like a flower which has unfolded its floral envelopes.
— Qua fref ayes' Metam or piloses.

Quekett Microscopical Club.— In answer to
those who complain that we did not insert any
address in our late article, letters may be sent to
" The Secretary," at No. 192, Piccadilly, London,
W.

260

HARDWICKE'S SC 1EN CE - GO SS IP.

[.Nov. ], 1S67.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Enemy to Bugs. — The Reduvias personates is a
valued friend to man, as in Europe it destroys the
bed-bug. Its specific name is derived from its habit,
while immature, of concealing itself in a case of
dust, the better to approach its prey. Besides the
Reduvius, the cockroach is the natural enemy of the
bed-bug, and destroys large numbers. Houses have
been cleared of them after being thoroughly fumi-
gated with brimstone.— American Naturalist'.

Eish Increase.— A rough calculation shows that
were one per cent, of the eggs of the salmon to
result in full-grown fish, and were they and their
p rogeny to continue to increase in the same ratio,
they would, in about sixty years amount in bulk
to many times the size of the earth. Nor is the
salmon among the most prolific species. I have
counted in a perch {Percafavescens), weighing three
ounces and a half, 9,943 eggs; and in a smelt
(Qsmerus viridescens), ten inches in length, 25,141.
Some of the larger fishes produce millions at each
spawning. An interesting experiment was made
m Sweden, in 1761, by Charles Frederick Lund. He
obtained from fifty female breams 3,100,000 young ;
from one hundred female perch 3,215,000 young ;
and from one hundred female mullets 4,000,000
young. These are certainly wonderful results. —
C. G. Atkins, in American Naturalist.

The Blind Worm.— I have kept many of these
at different times, and fed them on the small grey
slug, as mentioned in the August number. I should
think they would prove a valuable assistance to
gardeners whose premises were infested with these
little pests. I once told a gardener this, but he
evidently had the usual horror of the blind worm,
for he said he would sooner have the slugs. Some-
times when I fed them the slugs had mould attached
to their bodies, and then the blind worm, seizing its
prey by the middle, would take it to a stone, and by
gently moving its head from side to side, gradually
detach all unnecessary particles. This showed no
inconsiderable amount of reasoning power, for it did
not treat all its food so. " F. T.," in his article,
did not refer to the faculty it possesses of parting
with its tail, and reproducing it, perhaps because
the fact is now pretty well known to naturalists.
One that I picked up by the caudal member left
about two inches of it in my hand, and this com-
menced a series of twistings and jumpings such as
those Mr. Wood has somewhere described; mean-
while the animal glided away. I took the tail home
with me, and it would twitch about when I touched
it a couple of hours after. The part where the
separation takes place is red, but no blood flows.
I have found several specimens of Anguis fragilis
without a tail, but it has grown again in a short
time. I have never seen the creature climb, but
there is no doubt it can, for a friend of mine kept
some m his garden, whence one escaped to the
premises of his neighbour. The garden was sur-
rounded by a high wall, and there was no wav of
escape except through the house into the street —
Henry Ullyett, Folkestone.

Fishhooks cut out of Shells.— These curious
fishhooks are employed in New Zealand, especially
for taking a fish called Kawai ; they are cut so that
the pearly part has the shape of a small fish, and
simulates a bait. Would any one have the kindness
to tell me the scientific name of the Kawai ?— B. M.

Rat -tail Venom. — In the Notes and Queries in
the June number I find a statement by one R, J. J."
that Norfolk people possess a notion that rats' tails
are venomous. Now it is possible that this absurd
. notion may be entertained by some poor ignorant
rustics in a particular locality ; but although I have
lived in Norfolk sinee my infancy, I have never
I heard of such a thing before. It can hardly be
|. expected that visitors are able to arrive at correct
conclusions respecting the popular notions of a
whole county after a short stay in it, further than
: with regard to a few of the ideas of the rural po-
! pulation in some very small place. Even in the
latter case, their observations must of necessity be
extremely desultory in their nature, and cannot con-
sequently be relied upon.—/. H. F.

Odd Fishes. — The Sudas gigas. — The scales and
the bony palate of the Sudas gigas, or Pirarucu, of
the Amazonas, are employed in Brazil for grating
the Guarana, a paste made of the seeds of Paullinia
sorbilis ; — a few grains of the powder are added to
water, and drunk as a substitute for tea. Scales of
Pirarucu, and palates or tongues, as they were called,
were exhibited in the Brazilian Court at the Great
Exhibition.— B. M.

Larv.e in Mushrooms. — These must be re-
markably quick growing creatures, and I should say
are evidently bred in the mushroom, as you may
trace them from the largest size down to such
small ones, that they almost require a magnifying
glass to see them. I should suppose the eggs must
be laid in the stem of the mushroom ere it rises
much above the surface of the ground, to give them
a little longer time to grow. I should be glad to
know wjiat the perfect insect is. Butterfly ?—E. T.
Scott.

Planaria.— The paper by Mr. Ray Lankester in
the Popular Science Review, leads me to send to
Science-Gossip a few observations I have at one
time or other made, on what I suppose to be some
species of planaria. I have particularly noticed two
species. One has apparently two eyes placed thus
•• the other four \\ The body of the two-eyed
one is not above half an inch long. It is opaque,
and of a black colour. The other is, when young,
quite transparent, and almost colourless, though as
it grows older it has a greenish hue. The largest I
have seen of these was rather more than an inch
long when stretched out. When touched they
contract themselves into a hard lump, as a healthy
leech does ; and they fix themselves and move some-
thing in the same way. They produce their young
alive. They are contained in the lower part of their
bodies, and are quite lively in the body of their
parent ; and may often be seen stretching out their
heads on each side, which gives the animal a very
curious look. I have not particularly noticed how
many they produce at a time, but I have counted
between two and three dozen in one animal. They
feed on other animalcules, but seem barely to suck
them. I have seen them feeding on the round
Lynceus.— E. T. Scott.

Gnat Bites.— On my return from Switzerland a
few weeks ago, I read in Science- Gossip some
inquiries for a good remedy for gnat bites. I
suffered very much from gnat bites this summer,
until told to apply salad oil to them. This relieved
them in a few hours when at the worst, or if applied
at once, prevented all inflammation. — H. Richardson.

Nov. 1, 1867.]

II A R D W ICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP.

261

The Rattlesnake. — It is rather surprising that
any person should, after the comments which have
been published upon the late sensational adventure
with the rattlesnake, be still inclined to bring for-
ward the subject as worthy of scientific discussion.
It is only necessary, I am sure, to refer your cor-
respondent " C. M." to the article "A Rattlesnake at
large," published in Land and Water for August 10,
1867, to convince him that the whole is a wretched
canard. In case, however, the periodical in
question should not be procurable, I beg leave to
add the following extracts, which more especially
bear reference to his query about the habits of the
reptile. The article commences, " To the Editor, —
Sir — A rare bit of penny-a-lining, copied from the
Liverpool Daily Mercury, has been going the round
of some of the newspapers under the above heading,
which must, indeed, excite the consternation of our
American cousins who dwell in the land of the
rattlesnake. Such nonsense is not worth repeating
in our columns, but people are in general so very
ignorant about snakes that they will believe, anything
said of them, no matter how absurd the exaggera-
tion. Re it understood that the rattlesnake is a
sluggish reptile, by no means rapid in its gait, and
most easily disabled by a blow on the spine. It
does not spring its rattle when in the act of pro-
gression, and one that had really got loose would
immediately make for the nearest retreat, aud be

somewhat difficult to dislodge therefrom

' On arriving opposite the caravan containing the
bonassus — an immense animal, weighing upwards of
two tons [the weight of a fine bull of its kiud, i.e.,
the American bison, being about 14 cwt. !], the
rattlesnake made a spring, fastened (!) on the
bonassus, and hit it in the left nostril. The reptile
then let go its grip [grip!] and shaking its rattles(!)
glided through an opening between two of the
caravans, where some of Mr. Mander's grooms were
filling a cart with straw. To this cart was attached
a fine horse. The rattlesnake fastened (!) on the
off-fetlock of the horse, which immediately plunged
and reared to such an extent as to shake the reptile
off (!), and before it could move away it was crushed
to pieces beneath the hoofs of the horse.' Of
course the two large quadrupeds died in the course
of a few minutes, in frightful agonies, ' and were
buried in a field just outside Tuubridge Wells in the
latter part of the same day.' .... So many
parts of the story are palpably false, that we incline
to disbelieve the whole of it. It is not true that
any snake holds ou with a ' grip ' like a bull-dog.
The stroke aud the withdrawal of the fangs are
instantaneous ; and that a rattlesnake with its fangs
extracted would kill a mature bull bison and a fine
horse in succession, may do very well for people who
have not the necessary knowledge to criticise, but
it is quite incredible to the naturalist." A few parts
have been omitted in the above extract, but the pith
is there, and emanating as it does from the pen of
one of the first zoologists of the day, I offer no
apology for so long an extract, as it may serve to
dispel doubts in the minds of other inquirers besides
"C. M.," who are credulous enough to believe all they
read, and do not, as in your correspondent's case,
notice facts when at variance with their own expe-
rience or what they have read. — B. B. Sharpe,
Zoological .Society of London, Hanover Square, W.
N.R. — The bison is still alive, at Mr. Rice's, being
in perfect health last week (September 3).

Worms— to Quit. — Can you inform me how to
get rid of worms which are ruining the grassplots
of my garden ?— /. W. W.

The Chameleon.—" H. S." inquires whether the
chameleon is oviparous or viviparous. The follow-
ing quotation from "Clermont's Reptiles of Europe "
will furnish the reply. "The female lays about
thirty eggs in a hollow in the ground, and covers
them over with loose earth." Apropos of the

J geographical range of this reptile, the same author
remarks, "Its geographical range extends along
the entire of the African shores of the Mediterranean,
but is confined to the northern portion of that

I continent." Hence it is not a native of the Cape
of Good Hope, as " H. S." believes.

Rotation of Embryo in Gastropods. — Will
you kindly inform me whether or not any researches
have been published concerning the development
and rotation of the ova of the Limnsea stagnalis
(fresh-water snail), or of the Planorbis ? If the
interesting changes which occur during the egg
state of these animals have been described, perhaps
you will kindly inform me in your Notices to Corre-
spondents where I may fiud such a description, and
by whom this subject has been treated. — M. A. P.

Answer to "M. A. P." — Few points in the
development of molluscs have received more atten-
tion than those relating to the rotation of the
embryo of the lung-bearing Gastropods, and the
genera Lymnseus and Planorbis have beeu especially
studied in this particular. Carpenter in his
"Microscopy" refers to the rotation, and most
English writers on Comparative Anatomy have
described the phenomenon. I cannot call to mind
which of our English zoologists has gone minutely
into the question, but if my memory serves me, there
have been papers on it in the earlier numbers of the
Microscopical Journal. Abroad, it has formed the
subject of several valuable memoirs, of which the
following may be referred to by " M. A. P." with
advantage : —

On Lymnmus, by Prevost, in the Annales des
Sciences Naturelles, xxx., 1833, p. 40.

On Lymnceus and Planorbis, by Dr. Quatrefages,
in the Annales des Sciences Naturelles, ii., 1834,
p. 107.

On Planorbis, by Jacquemin, in the Annales des
Sciences Naturelles, v., 1836, p. 117.

On Lymnceus, bv Pouchet, Annales des Sciences
Naturelles, x., 183S, p. 63.

Ou Lymnceus, Planorbis, and Helix, bv Rathke, in
Erorieps Neue Notizen, xxiv., 1842, p. 161.— H. L.

Incarcerated Frogs. — Does not the paragraph
thus headed (p. 207) refute itself by its own in-
consistencies ? Bones are solid, muscles not trans-
parent, but man exaggerates much, and believes
much. Such correspondents act wisely in with-
holding their names. As a satire, the paragraph
might pass. Can it be aught else ? — C. M.

Disguises of Insects. — The perusal of the article
thus entitled in Science-Gossip led me to institute
a very simple experimeut. I enclosed some cater-
pillars of the small white butterfly Pontia Rapse in
two boxes, one black and the other white in the
inside ; the consequence was that the colour of the
chrysalis was modified to suit the colour of the box.
I am aware that the chrysalis in question does not
invariably assume the hue of the surface to which it
is attached — as, for instance, I have seen nearly a
white chrysalis on a black wall, yet generally the
darker the surface, the darker the chrysalis. It
would be interesting to learn how far this is true of
other butterflies. — Harry C. Leslie.

262

HARDWICKE'S SCIEN CE- GO S S IP.

Cleaning Diatoms. — I skall_ be very greatly
obliged if you will favour me witb a word of in-
structiou as to the cleansing of diatoms. In com-
mon with several friends beginning the study, I
have been attempting the preparation of diatoms,
both fossil and otherwise. We are all in the same
difficulty, and it still remains, after using all the
processes described in Mr. Davis's book of instruc-
tions. After boilings in sulphuric, hydrochloric,
and nitric acids, and following every direction given,
our diatoms are still mixed with a kind of ftocculeut
matter of which we cannot get rid. Water washings
and separations of every kind we can devise are all
of no avail. — W. Winsford.

Death's-Head Moth. — I have several times had
the larvse of the Death's-Head Moth brought to
me. Last year, as I had previously done, I put a
larva of the above in the garden, under a glass
cover, with some potato-leaves. In two or three
days it buried itself. After waiting about a fort-
night, I took the pupa out of the ground ; and as I
held it in my hand, between my forefinger and
thumb, it made the same shrill, squeaking noise as
I have heard the perfect insect make. The sound it
made was similar, but much fainter. — W, F. Foottit,
Newark, Notts.

Death's-Head Larvae.— I expected to see in
your last month's issue of Science-Gossip an
answer from some of our leading entomologists to
the remarks of your correspondent as to the power
which the pupse of A. atropos have to produce noise.
The only authority which he mentions for this fact
is Newman, but it has been recorded by many
others, amongst which are De Geer, Euessly,
Reaumur, Kirby, Spence, &e., some of whom your
correspondent will do well to consult before express-
ing his doubts on the subject. Having myself
heard this noise, I trust a short account of my own
observations may not be uninteresting to your
readers. Last season I had a large number of the
above species dug up, amongst which was a very
large and fine _ specimen, which, however, was
unfortunately injured, having a small crack in the
cephalotheca or head-case, although so small that
but little matter exuded from it. Thinking that I
might save it, I tied some lint carefully over the
crack, and in a day or two the injured part was
quite healed. The other pupae were removed to the
breeding-cage, and being buried 1 had of course no
chance of hearing whether they made a noise or
not, but the one that had been injured I kept in a
little damp moss, for the purpose of seeing if it
would recover. In this position it was kept for
about two months, during which time I repeatedly
heard the noise which your correspondent doubted.
On being touched it would emit a noise resembling
the chirrup of a grasshopper. After remaining in
this state for the time before mentioned, it gave
up the ghost, much to my disappointment. The
means by which this noise is made is simply by the
pupae ebngating and contracting their cases, the
noise being produced by the sudden snap of the
rings resuming their original position after the
contraction. — A. Mercer.

The Death's -Head Moth {Acherontia atropos).
— I have during my entomological experience had
dozens of larvse— of all sizes— of this interesting and
peculiar species. I quite agree with Mr. Newman
and other authors that in three stages of its
metamorphosis it has the power of producing a noise.

The larva turns its head from side to side with great
quickness, as if by a spring, when disturbed, and
during this contortion I have frequently heard a sort
of snapping noise ; however I have observed that
some larvse never make the noise, and others only
occasionally, though all have the twisting motion of
the head ; so the sound must be a voluntary pecu-
liarity of the larva. I have once or twice heard the
pupa squeak, but in each case a moth was pro-
duced from the squeaking pupa in a few hours
after. Before the moth emerges, the pupa will often
appear upon the surface of the ground, caused I
suppose by the movements of the enclosed imago. —
G. B. C, Ringwood.

Pupa op Deatk's-Head Moth producing
Sound— I see in your pages a discussion as to the
ability of the pupa of Acherontia atropos (Death's-
Head Moth) to produce sound. One season I had
a very large quantity of these pupse ; they were laid
on the surface of soil in a box, and covered witb
damp moss; they were kept in the corner of a warm
room to facilitate the exit of the imago. Many a
time did the pupse " squeak," although more faintly
than does the perfect insect, and it was noticeable
that this usually occurred shortly prior to the ap-
pearance of a moth. On first hearing these sounds
we concluded that an imago had emerged; not, how-
ever, finding any on the sides of the box, we sought
among the moss, but without success. After a few
such occurrences, we became aware that the sound
preceded an exit of a perfect insect. It was a usual
remark, when the sound was heard by those in the
room, that "another moth will soon be out." Of
course no one now doubts the ability of the imago
to produce sound ; we could at any time elicit the
" squeak " by giving the moth a poke, or by other-
wise annoying it. — George Gascoyne, Newark.

Death's-Head Moth. — Some correspondents in
your last number expressed a doubt as to whether
the larva and pupa make any noise. I cannot
answer for the latter, but I have frequently heard a
sound from the caterpillar. It was generally short
and abrupt, like the tick of a watch, but sometimes
more prolonged. I could always induce the creature
to make the noise by touching it rather smartly
with my finger about the middle. It nearly always
turned its head round at the moment the souud
escaped. The noise made by the imago is much
longer and shriller, and might really sometimes be
called a " shriek." — Henry Ullyett, Folkestone.

Preserving Objects.— Can any of your readers
give me a recipe for preserving insects ? I want to
keep them from summer until winter in some way
that will keep them moist (and not injure them), so
that they may be dissected and mounted for the
microscope as if fresh killed. I have tried spirit,
spirit and water, and also turpentine, but without
much success. The spirit seems to do best, but it in-
jures some insects very much. If the object is dried, I
cannot succeed in softening it, so as to make it like
a fresh-killed one. I should not trouble you, but I
cannot get this information, and I am sure many of
your readers must have felt the want of some ready
way of disposing of newly-caught insects when time
will not allow of their being dissected at once. —
C. L. J.

Preserving Spiders. — Can you or any of your
correspondents tell me the best way of preserving
spiders, so as to keep them from shrivelling up,
and retain their markings ? — B. IV. S.

Nov. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

263

As Dead as a Herring.— The following extract
from "Anderson on the State of the Hebrides,"
is quoted in "Selections from the Portfolio of the late
John Brady, Esq." (London, Whitakcr, 1826).
" The herring is a delicate fish, which is killed by a
very small degree of violence. Whenever it is taken
out of the water, even though it seems to have
received no hurt, it gives a squeak, and immediately
expires; and though it be thrown back instantly
into the water, it never recovers. Hence arises the
proverb 'as dead as a herring.' "— R. A.

Coloured Labels.— I am glad of an opportunity
to endorse the remarks made by " B. W. S.," p. 239,
respecting the desirability of attaching coloured
labels to specimens in Museums, the colours being
intended to designate different portions of the
earth's surface. The plan is, I believe, in general
use in France, if not everywhere on the Continent,
and I have before now been struck by its great
utility. Each of the main divisions of the globe is
marked by a special colour ; say, yellow for Asia,
black for Africa, and so on. The principal countries
are made prominent by bars or squares, or some
analogous markings of a different colour; for ex-
ample, a red bar on a black ground might designate
Egypt. Tables of the colours, and of the lands
which they symbolise, are suspended in conspicuous
parts of the room. It is astonishing how much the
sight aids the memory in fixing the locality of any
given object ; for of course the eye, and through it
the brain, is much more quickly and deeply im-
pressed by a piece of bold colouring, than by a
single name printed or written in one corner of a
card. It frequently happens that students, either
for the sake of comparison, or some similar pur-
pose, wish to investigate the Eauna of a single
country or district only. To such the plan is in-
valuable, as the eye catches almost at a glance
the reds or blues, or whatever it is in search of,
passing by without an effort the colours in which
it is not interested. I think that curators of
museums would do well to turn their attention to
this simple, but very efficacious, aid to knowledge.
— W. W. S.

The Harvest Moon. — The following considera-
tions may help your querist C. T. Richardson to
comprehend the phenomenon of the harvest moon.
The moon rises later and later every night, as is
perfectly well known, on account of her own proper
eastward motion among the stars. It is also familiar
to most people that in our latitudes objects on the
same hour circle rise sooner as their declination is
further north. Let us now, for simplicity of expla-
nation, suppose that the moon moves in the plane
of the ecliptic. If your correspondent will trace this
circle on a globe, he will find that the arc of it com-
prehended between the vernal and autumnal equi-
noxes is all to the north of the equator ; so that,
starting from the vernal equinox, our satellite is
acquiring more and more north declination on each
succeeding night. The sun, then, being in the
autumnal equinox, of course the full moon will be
directly opposite to it, or in the vernal equinox. As
she travels eastward from this, such motion must
evidently retard her rising ; but it will be seen that
she is also travelling northward, which accelerates
it, and it happens that these two effects almost
neutralize each other for two or three days, when the
moon is about the vernal equinox. She then of
course rises for these two or three nights at very
nearly the same hour. Now, the moon can only be
full in the vernal equinox — as I have said,, when

the sun is in the autumnal equinox ; and this can
obviously only happen in our harvest month, Sep-
tember. Hence the term " harvest moon." Of course
this rising of the moon at nearly the same time for
two or three consecutive nights occurs at every
lunation, but as she is not at such other times nearly
full, it attracts no observation. In the foregoing
description I have assumed that the full moon occurs
at the instant of the equinox, which it very rarely
does ; and that the moon's path coincides with the
ecliptic, while she really moves in a curve inclined
some 5° to it ; but these suppositions, as will be
easily seen, in no way affect the principle on which
the phenomenon is explicable. — F. R. A. S.

The Maelstrom. — In reply to your correspond-
ent's inquiry on the above head, so very various
are the accounts given by different travellers of the
Maelstrom (or grinding stream) that it is difficult
to arrive at any positive conclusion as to its real
magnitude. There is, however, no doubt of the
existence of this strange whirlpool, the dangers of
which have been perhaps much exaggerated. It
is probable that the many traditions of Norway
have lent their aid to throw a halo of mystery over
its dark waters. The Maelstrom is situated be-
tween two of the South Lofoden Islands, lat. 67° 68'
long. 16°. Lord Dufferin, in his "Letters from
High Latitudes," mentions his anxiety to visit this
far-famed phenomenon. He appears to have ap-
proached the Maelstrom, but owing to the fearful
height and raging of the waves, his little vessel had
to stand out to sea to prevent its being swallowed
up in the vortex. Bayard Taylor, in his " Northern
Travels," referring to the Maelstrom, says that " it
is the general opinion that some of the rocks, which
formerly made it so terrible, have been broken
away, or that some submarine convulsion has taken
place which has changed the action of the waters."
Weighing the various grains of information which
we can gather together, we may conclude that the
Maelstrom is a whirlpool of extraordinary violence
(produced by cross tidal currents and sunken rocks),
which in an agitated state is most dangerous to
small craft venturing in too close proximity ; but
the stories of ships not being able to venture nearer
than seven miles may be regarded as quite fabulous.
— H. Allingham.

Crickets. — I have crickets in my house ; they
must leave it or I must. Can any of your readers
tell me how to get rid of them ? Two months ago
I had not one — now they are killed by the dozen,
and still their numbers increase. In the early
numbers of Science-Gossip, several of your cor-
respondents told us what they eat, and very interest-
ing was their information, particularly to those who
" hang them up in cages to sing " (page 84) ; but
they can imagine how much more interesting to me
would be the information I ask. — Geo. B.

Eoraminifera from Shells. — A few days ago,
while looking at a Conch shell purchased from a
stall in Brighton market at least three years ago,
a few grains of a white substance dropped on my
hand from a small cavity in the shell, containing
about half a teaspoonful of what appeared to be
sand, which, on examination under the microscope,
proved to be nearly all various fo'rms of Forami-
nifera. An examination of the foreign shells in the
possession of the readers of Science-Gossip will
probably furnish them with similar treasures. —
J. Wheatley, Lewes. ;

264

HARDWICKE'S SCIE NCE-QOSSIP.

[Nov. ], 1867.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Am, communications relative to advertisements, post-office
orders, and orders for the supply of this Journal should he
addressed to the Publisher. All contributions, books,
and pamphlets for the Editor should be sent to 192,
Piccadilly, London, W. To avoid disappointment, contri-
butions should not be received later than the 15th of each
month. No notice whatever can be taken of communi-
cations which do not contain the name and address of the
writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be with-
held. 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 manu-
script 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 : x 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 inad-
missible under any circumstances. Those of the popular
names of British plants and animals are retained and regis-
tered for publication when sufficiently complete for that
purpose, in' whatever form may then be decided upon.
Address No. 192, Piccadii.lv, London, W.

J. G. — We are of opinion that if tobacco possesses any dis-
infecting properties at all, they are exceedingly minute.
Many believe that camphor and tobacco smoke are either of
them disinfectants. It is undoubtedly a popular error in both
cases. If the only defence which a smoker can advance in
favour of his pipe is its disinfectant power, we fear that
logically he must give it up.

W. M. C— Impossible to tell, from its crushed condition,
what the insect is.

W. R. F. — The moss was undoubtedly Fnnaria hygrometrica,
which is very common.

E. C. J. — We have no knowledge of the name.

J. B. L.— The American Moth Trap was fully described and
figured in Entomologists' Monthly Magazine, vol. ii., p. 199.

C. H. G. — The Domestic Barometer you describe is much
more general than you suppose. We saw it in use in Norfolk
many months ago.

M. A. — We do not know the Coccus on ferns as a species
peculiarly attached to those plants, it is very like the species
found on the rose, and may have strayed by accident to the
ferns from some other infested plant. — I. 0. W.

A. M. E.— We are not aware that any are published.

C. A. J.— Two or three species of Serpula have the tufts
banded with blue. Animals in aquaria require little or no
feeding. Lean raw meat in small fragments is recommended.

E. B. — Don't trouble about feeding them, especially if the
tank is large, and not overstocked.

J. G. A.— It is a gall, but what insect produces it we cannot
inform you ; probably a species of Cecidomyia.

H. T.— Consult " Bechstein's Cage Birds," or " Beeton's
Home Pets."

M. C. T. S.— The Maidenhair Spleenwort is a troublesome
fern under cultivation ; at least around London.

C. L. — Common as swallows in summer.

B. L. W. — The subject was so extensively commented upon
in all the Natural History journals, a year or two since, that
we cannot afford space to repeat it.

T. L. D. — We cannot afford to guess.

B. G.-We had received a copy of the "List of British
Insects " from the author when we made the announcement.
The publisher's name was erased, but the author afterwards
replied to a querist that it was published by Longmans.
Beyond this our own knowledge does not extend.

F. C. W.— Nos. l'and 2, Diatoma elongatum. 3 and 4,
Diatoma vulgare, front and side views.

Sea-horse (Hippocampus). — We are informed that Mr.
King, of Great Portland-street, has some of these singular
fish, "all alive," which those who are interested therein
should take an early opportunity of seeing.

W. D. R.— The Beetle is Phrutoru vitellines.— h.

J. G. — We are afraid that the address is mislaid.

J. W. I. — The species of Aregma on Rose, raspberry, and
wild strawberry often approximate very closely to each other.
Too much reliance must not be placed on the figure of a
single spore. Some authors unite the rose and raspberry
brands under one species. Yours is Aregma gracile if they
are really distinct.

H. G. L. D.— 1, Achillea. 2, Five shillings.

EXCHANGES.

-Send

Goon British Lepidoptera for good exotic shells.-
lists to W. Cash, 14, Clarence- street, Halifax. t

Forkign Land Shells for good British marine.— E. C. J.,
Eldon Villa, Redland, Bristol.

Silurian Corals and Fossils in exchangefor Ammonites
or fossils of other formations. — H. M. Gwyther, Whittington,
Oswestry.

Todea pellucida (seedlings) for any other Todea, except
barbara and Africana, or any Hymenopliyllum except Tun-
bridgense. — H. J. Charlton, 2, Richmond- grove, Everton,
Liverpool.

British Plants. — Ajuga chamaepitys, Spiranthes antum-
nalis, Phy. orbiculare, and others, for local species, especially
Scotch and Alpine. — W. R. Hayward, Heath Villas, Penge.

Microscopical Journal. — Earlynumbers for microscopic
objects neatly mounted. — M. Webb, bookbinder, Ventnor,
Isle of Wight.

Pup.b of F. conspicuata for good British Lepidoptera, or
pupae of the same. — W. M. Cole, 93, St. Helen-street,
Ipswich.

Taranaki Steel Sand for other objects. — E. M., 6, Hol-
ford-square, Pentonville, W.C.

Wrkntham Deposit.— Good slides in exchange for other
good objects. — W. Freeman, 2, Ravensbourne-hill, Lewisham-
road, Greenwich.

Macroglossa stellatarum, A. bucephala, or Arge
galathea, for Thecla quercus or Leucophasia sinapis. — James
Glass, Chipping Norton, Oxon.

Cast Skins of larvae of Day fly (mounted) for othermounted
objects of interest.— W. Blackburn, 1, Portman- street, Whalley
Range, Manchester.

Lada ovum and Kynchonella tetrahedra from the
lias, and spines of Cidaris from great oolite, for small fossils
from other formations. — E. W., 21, West-street, Banbury.

Good British Land Shells for Limncea glutinosa, Unio
margartiferus, &c— Thos. Ball, Brigg, Lincolnshire.

Movstera deliciosa.— Pollen. Stamped envelopes, ad-
dressed to Charles T. Parsons, Portland road, Edgbaston.

%* Announcements of Exchange will not be inserted in
future unless written in full (with the scientific names distinct) .
and in the form in which it is desired that they should appeal',
Only objects of Natural History are eligible, and the
paragraphs should not exceed three lines of printed matter.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

The Quarterly Magazine of the High Wycombe Natural
History Society, No. VI., October, I867. Wycombe :
W. Butler.

Hooper & Co.'s General Autumn Catologue. Covent Garden
Market, London.

"The Naturalist's Circular," No. XVII., October, 186;.
London : Henry Hall.

" Country Life," Nos. VII. to X., October, I867. London :
Bolt-court.

" Everybody's Year-book," a Popular Annual for 1868.
London : Wyman & Sons.

Communications Received. — G. M.-
W. M. C— T. H. H.— W. R. F.— M. J. P.
C. W.— W. R. H.— W. B. (Limerick).— C.

— H. R.— A. M. E.— H. J. C— E. T. S.-
J. T. Y.— R. A.— L. L— F. K.-E. C. J.
J. B. L.— C. D.— M. A. L.— R. T.— T. J
C. J. T.— T. H. M— J. B. W.— H. M. G.-
J. W. W.— G. Green— H. E. W.— C. H.
R. B.— E. S— F. S.-H. W— W. T. H.-
L. L.— T. L. D.-S. B. M.— J. H.— T. B.
C. A.— H. G.— A. C— E. B.— E. W.— E.
W. B.— K— C. L— S. M.— T. R.— M. C.
B. G.— J. B. B.— H. T— J. G. A— J. G
K. Teignmouth (not eligible)— J. R.— H
W. H.— E. G. M.— C. N.— J. F. O.— W. J

— H. G. L. D— H. G— C. T. P.

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Dec. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

205

IDES BEUMALI^.

HE last rose of
Summer, with
all its perfume
and pleasant as-
sociations, has
shed its fra-
grant petals on
the damp", cold
the fading leaves,

That with their rich variety of
shades

Made yonder forest in the slant-
ing sun

So beautiful, —

whirling in a " dance of
death " over the bare fallows.
The air is crisp, the breeze is
keen, and

There is a fragrance in its breath
Which is not of the flowers, but
death.

The sights that attract the eye, the sounds that
greet the ear, and the odours that invade the nose,
all declare

That there hath passed away
A glory from the earth.

Myriads of insect forms which lately thronged
the ah' have retired from active life. A solitary
Dragon-fly flits now and then, ghost-like and grim,
through the fitful gleams of pallid sunshine. The
Thrush and the Blackbird are mute, and the Skylark
trills an intermitting lay. The Hooded Crow and
the Coddy-moddy Gull stalk in stately silence over
the gossamer-webbed fields. Spring, with its smiles
and tears, its toils and hopes; Summer, with its
glowing vigour and glorious promises; Autumn,
with its anxious cares and rich enjoyments, are all
gone, all passed away ; and Winter, boisterous in
his exultation, rushes over the hills, down into the
valleys, and away through the woods, wild with
glee at the prospect of a coming time when he shall
be monarch of all he surveys. Have we not already
seen him on the hill-tops, shaking the folds out of
his ermine mantle, and heard him crashing through

No. 3G.

the dank woods, shaking down the brown nuts,
snapping the dead branches, and tossing the red
rustling leaves from his path ? Have we not felt his
cold hand on our shoulder, and, shuddering, said,
" Yes, the Winter is here ? " Did we not love the
blooming Spring, with its bursting buds, fragrant
Violets, and yellow Primroses ? Did we not rejoice
when we first saw the Spotted Arum, and caught a
playful young zephyr tolling the purple clapper

That hangs in its clear green bell ?

And did we not laugh outright when the Haw-
thorn donned his mantle of odorous blossom ? And
did we not love, too, "the thousand charms be-
longing to the Summer's day"— the sweet birds
carolling the morn, the fresh breeze laden with the
odour of new-mown hay, the glowing noon with its
glittering swarms, the beauteous flowers, the rich
green leaves, " the voices of the forest range, and
the music of the rill " ? And when Autumn came,
did we not love it, too, with its broad rich fields
of yellow grain, its rich ripe fruits and gorgeous
foliage ? Did we not stay to hear the soothing
hum of "the yellow Bee in the Ivy bloom" ? Did
we not revel in its crisp cool air and yellow light,
its glorious days and just less glorious nights ?
But now

The warm sun is failing, the bleak wind is wailing,

The bare boughs are sighing, the pale fl owers are dying.

And the year
On the earth, her death bier, in a shroud of leaves, dead

Is lying,

slain by the ruthless hand of pitiless Winter, and
her garments, once so beautiful, are torn from her
corpse, and scattered in tatters, stained by the san-
guinary fingers of her destroyer ! How can we
welcome him, or how can we rejoice at his coming,
for does he not drive away joy and gladness from
the earth, and bring desolation and death ?

Behold, fond man,
See here, thy pictured life ; pass some few years
Thy flowering Spring, thy Summer's ardent strength,
And pale concluding Winter comes at last,
Thy sober Autumn fading into age,
Andshuts the scene.

266

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE - GOSSIP.

[Dec. 1, 1867.

And though at all times in the midst of life we
are in death. Winter is still the time of death, as
death is the winter of our lives ; and as in propor-
tion to our love of Summer must be our sorrow at
its departure, so in proportion to our love of life
must we look forward to its termination with
regret. The fear of death is but the complement
to that desire for self-preservation which He who
made the beating heart implanted there, and,

Whatever crazy sorrow saith,

No life that breathes with human breath

Has ever truly longed for death.

Midst racking pains and overwhelming griefs,
death may, and often does, appear the lesser evil,
but

'Tis life — whereof our nerves are scant,
Oh life— not death, for which we pant :
More life, and fuller, that we want.

But death will come, as came the Winter, surely,
inevitably ; and as we

Seethe leaves around us falling,
Dry and withered, to the ground,

the salutary waruing is refreshed in our minds,
"Work while it is called to-day, for the night
cometh in which no man can work." W. C.

LICHEN-DYES*

I DESIRE particularly to avail myself of the
present opportunity of directing the attention
of this section of the Association to what I am
compelled to regard as the present unsatisfactory
state of the chemistry of Lichens — more especially of
the Lichen-dyes. I have studied the literature of
this subject for nearly twenty years, and my in-
quiries have led to the conclusion that —

I. The results obtained by analysts are — fre-
quently at least — not stated with due perspicuity.

II. The nomenclature of the various colorific or
other principles is most confused.

III. What are apparently the same principles
are described under different names by different
authors.

IV. Error and confusion have arisen in some
measure from the inaccurate determination of the
botanical species operated on.

V. There is a want of concentration and clas-
sification of the results obtained in Britain and the
Continent up to this date, with the desirability of a
uniform and simple nomenclature.

VI. There is room for a new series of researches
to be undertaken conjointly by competent chemists

* Being the concluding paragraphs of a paper " On the
Present Uses of Lichens as Dye-stuffs," read before Section
B (Chemical Science) of the British Association at Dundee, in
September last, by Dr. Lauder Lindsay, of Perth.

and lichenologists, so that the one may assist or
correct (as the case may be) the other.

There is every reason for believing that orchill
will not be superseded by the coal-tar or other dyes ;
and that the Lichen-dyes are of sufficient importance
to commerce to merit an exhaustive examination by
modern methods of research. I am persuaded the
result would be to raise still higher the comparative
place or value of the Lichen colouring-matters
among accredited commercial dyes, and to develop
and utilise some beautiful colours which have been
hitherto ignored (such as the brilliant reds produced
from parietinic acid by the action of potash).

It is not irrelevant, I think, here to express the
opinion that our two International Exhibitions were
most useful in indicating distinctly the past and
present — and, to a certain extent also, the future —
applications of Lichens to the purposes of the dyer or
colorist ; and the same is probably true of the similar
Expositions at Paris. But I regret I cannot speak
in the same terms of commendation of the illus-
trations of Lichen-products contained in our
principal public museums. The Museums of
Economic Botany at Kew and Edinburgh, the
Technological Museum of the Crystal Palace, the
Museum of Science and Art, Edinburgh, and the
Museum of Irish Industry, Dublin, as well as minor
museums in various provincial towns, contain suites
of specimens illustrative of the pictorial appli-
cations of Lichens. Of these, the best I have seen
is that of Kew. But in none of the museums which
I have visited have I found the illustrations in
question properly cared for or arranged : in
none is there what I consider as anything ap-
proaching a fair display of the colorific value of
Lichens. In the majority of instances the fluid
dyes are destroyed from want of due aeration or
oxygenation, apparently; many colours are faded
from undue exposure to light ; many articles are
«;mamed, while others are wrongly named. In a
word, thereis a necessity in all cases for rearrange-
ment by a lichenologist possessed of competent
chemical knowledge. Moreover, marvellously few
are the standard works of reference, whether tech-
nological, chemical, or botanical, which contain
correct accounts of Lichens, their products and ap-
plications. Even the recently issued " Treasury of
Botany " perpetuates obsolete terms and exploded
errors which only serve to confuse and mislead the
student.

The Study of Nature. — From the schoolboy to
the philosopher, all grades find in it something
admirably suited to their minds. It brings us into
closer presence of the great mysteries of life ; and
while quickening our sense of the infinite marvels
which surround the simplest object, teaches us
many and pregnant lessons which may help us
through our daily needs. — Lewes' Seaside Studies.

Dec. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S S C1ENCE-G0 S S IP.

267

THE "UNITY/' CONTROVERSY.

YOUR correspondent, " R. G.," 'complains,' in
the November number of Science Gossip,
that I have not been successful in answering Mr.
Milton's objections to the theory propounded in the
May number. I will now, with your permission,
attempt to satisfy his cravings, and likewise pass
a few criticisms upon the theory which he would
substitute for mine. I should like to state, how-
ever, before coinmencing, that I in no way lay claim
to originality in the few remarks which have excited
so much animadversion ; my desire was simply to
put old truths in a new light.

In support of the time-honoured idea that the
different races of mankind sprang from one pair,
as stated in the Book of Genesis, and that the
subsequent differences in colour and physique arose
from the combined influence of solar heat and other
external agencies, exerted during a long series of
years, I adduced the cases of the Arabic, Jewish,
aud Indo-Circassian nations, all of which have a
small.minority of dark, and a large majority of white,
tribes amongst them.

I attempted to deduce from this undeniable fact
that it was the minority which had changed colour,
solely on account of the circumstances in which it
had been placed ;'for intermarriage with other races
has been, in every one of these instances, strictly
forbidden. To this very plain and intelligible argu-
ment, Mr. Milton gave the following answer : —
" It (history) does not tell us whether the Jews of
Cochin were or were not black when,' at the man-
date of Nebuchadnezzar, they went forth from the
land of the Euphrates to settle in Malabar." Now,
this is scarcely an ingenuous reply, for Mr. Milton
must know that the colour of all the Shemitic races,
as represented on the wails of the Nineveh palaces
and on the Egyptian obelisks and temples, was not
black, but a warm red-brown ; and, just before, he
had himself quoted these very monuments as un-
deniable authorities concerning the colour of the
negro 2,400 years ago !

Again, to show how quickly changes in the
colour of entire races might be effected, I cited the
fact that all along the west coast of Africa, the
tribes on the coast were becoming extinct, and fresh
tribes pouring in from the interior, and changing in
colour from brown to black on deserting their
native highlands — a result particularly noticeable
according to Mr. Winwood Reade, a well-known
African traveller, amongst the Camma and Eoulah
tribes. Mr. Milton could not disprove this, but
only replied by a sneer — intended, I presume, to
depreciate the value of Mr. Reade's evidence.
Now, as Du Chaillu, Burton, and, indeed, almost
all who have visited this coast, mention this fact,
it requires something more than mere flippancy
to explain it away.

Since writing the above, I have met with the
following confirmatory evidence in Mr. Charles
Brooke's work, entitled, " Ten Years in Sarawak."
That gentleman says, on page 71, in reference to the
Dyaks : " The colour of their skin varies consider-
ably, not so much between one tribe and another, as in
various localities ; and whether it be attributable to
different kinds of water, or food, or increase of
shade from old jungle, is a question. But there is
no doubt that all who reside in the interior are much
fairer than those who have moved towards the
mouths of the rivers, and a very few years is able to
effect the change of appearance."

A third consideration which I brought forward,
i.e., that my theory was the only one which ac-
counted for the presence of brown adults amongst
black races, the brown individuals being generally
found in the highlands, was completely unnoticed.
May I beg Mr. Milton and " R. G." to devote their
best attention to this point ?

Mr. Milton cites the case of the "gipsies" to
prove that races do not change colour by changing
climate, saying that "their residence here extends
beyond historic times ; yet climate has as little assi-
milated them in complexion as in temper." Mr.
Milton is very unfortunate in this venture, for it
happens that the gipsies, according to the best
authorities, did not enter England, or, indeed,
western Europe, till about a.d. 1427, when they
pretended to have letters commendatory from the
King of Huugary. Then, as to the last part of
the assertion, may I not fairly retaliate in the
style adopted by Mr. Milton, when treating of the
Malabar Jews? How do you know what their
colour was when they arrived ? and how can you
prove that their complexion has not been modified
by residence in our climate ?

But while Mr. Milton is satisfied with demolish-
ing, or attempting to demolish, my humble theories,
" R. G." boldly endeavours to raise his own upon
their ruins. Certainly, he is candid enough to con-
fess his do not agree very well with Revealed Truth ;
but then they combine the amiable characteristics
of consoling the black (inferior) races, and flattering
the amour propre of the white (superior) nations.

Let me give them ha " R. G.'s " own words :
" This is only one of the many arguments which
convinces me that man differs in species, and not in
variety only. Is it not more in accordance with the
idea of Divine justice to believe that several races
of men have been created admirably adapted for the
character and circumstance of their places of abode,
&c ? " And again : " I do not believe that any
amount of education and training will ever give the
negro the intellect of the European, any more than
it will deprive him of the capability he possesses of
withstanding the malarious influences of his native
climate."

In these extracts, "R. G." evidently declares

n 2

268

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Dec. 1,1867.

himself a believer in different centres of creation
for mankind, as well as for animals and plants.
That is, he thinks that every distinct race had its
own Adam and Eve. But then the following diffi-
culties suggest themselves. Did every race have
separate progenitors ? What are the limits of this
theory? If the black and white were separately
created, why not also the fifty different coloured
tribes to which " R. G." so touchingly referred in
enumerating the difficulties of my hypothesis ? And
if " R. G." concedes this, how can he account for
the universal diffusion of legends recording "the
descent of mankind from one pair," " the deluge,"
"the confusion of tongues," &c. ? But if he
repudiates the design of carrying out his theory to
such extremes, and allows that climate has power to
modify races, then he adopts the principle for which
I contend, and our difference becomes no longer
one of essentials, but only of degree.

" R. G." says, as I have shown, that you can no
more educate the negro up to the European
standard, than you can deprive him of the power of
resisting his own unhealthy climate. But is this
true? On the contrary, as has been shown in
several letters to the Times, the black troops
brought from the West Indies, to join in the
Ashantee war, had so completely lost the power,
which their ancestors possessed, of resisting African
fever, that there were actually more black than
white soldiers disabled by disease ! It is well
known that the average duration of the negro's life
in America is far longer than that enjoyed by his
relative at home, and that his physique is much
more strongly developed. These facts, then, seem
to prove that "R. G.'s" theory is not correct;
they seem to show that the negro will bear removal
from the place of his birth as well as any other
human being ; and that, therefore, there is no
ground for believing he was created only to inhabit
his native land. Again, " R. G." denies that great
solar heat, an unhealthy climate, and complete
isolation would produce a race marked by strong
physical peculiarities. On the contrary, he avers
that a race subjected to such conditions would die
out; and further says that "unhealthy climate" is
merely a comparative term, meaning "a climate
uncongenial to white men." In order to show
"R. G." that I am by no means peculiar in the
opinion he so flatly challenges, I subjoin the views
of Professor Huxley, extracted from a lecture
delivered by him at the Birmingham and Midland
Institute, October 11, 1867. He said, — " Now and
then a group of men were shut off for thousands
and thousands of years in a limited area, under
peculiar physical conditions. Within the epoch
immediately preceding our own — when the fauna
and flora were what they are now — the whole of
the southern part of Africa was a vast island, like
Australia. It was perfectly certain that for untold

ages the great sandy desert of the Sahara was th e
bottom of the sea continuous with the Mediterra-
nean. Imagine, in the course of these changes, a
stock of men shut off, and mixing with themselves
only for untold ages, and at length hardening down
into something like what were called races among
animals. Imagine another lot shut off in a different
part of the world— in Australia ; another in South
America ; others in Hindustan ; and the result
would be distinct breeds originating even from one
homogeneous kind of men. These breeds were, he
believed, what were now known as persistent modi -
fications of mankind. They were persistent because
they had persisted so long. They had become what
they were in virtue of the selective influences of
the different localities in which they were shut up."
"R. G." will see in this a repetition, almost
verbatim, of the assertions made, and illustrations
used,1) in the August number of Science-Gossip.
I, myself, cannot see how " R. G." can call unhealthi-
ness a comparative term, since malaria and other
air-poisons can suit no human constitution living,
and certainly nowhere is human life shorter, and
tribe-extinction more common, than on the malarious
coast of western Africa.

" R. G." makes merry over my supposed doubt as
to whether white or red was the original colour of
man. I am inclined to think that the fact of the
great primitive nations of antiquity being red or
copper-coloured, proves that the original colour was
white or yellow; that, as the more tropical and
arid regions of the earth's surface were reached, it
turned into red, and in isolated and low countries
into a dark brown, very nearly approaching black.
"R. G." says, why "may he (our progenitor) not
have been black ? and instead of the negro being a
degenerated white man, may we not be improved
negroes? If climate can degenerate, can it not
regenerate ?" I believe it can, and that the superior
robustness and longevity of the negro in theNew Con-
tinent to his own compatriot in Africa, is due to this.
As to his preceding questions, perhaps the opinion of
M. Quatrefuges, the celebrated French savan, may
have some weight. He says, " All travellers who
have lived in countries where only the negro race
dwelt, have remarked that sometimes children were
born of paler colour, less distant from the white
type. This is to be explained by the influence of
white ancestors, whose type reappears exceptionally
amongst their negro descendants. This reappear-
ance of the ancestral type is what is called atavism ;
and as black children are never found amongst
the white races, it must be inferred that if the
negroes descend from the whites, the whites do
not descend from the negroes." * I think I have
now answered most of the queries of "R. G." and
Mr. Milton. I may add, in conclusion,— What is

British Medical Journal.

Dec. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

2G&

the supposed use of this new theory of different
centres of creation? It is opposed to the biblical
account of the creation " 11. G." acknowledges, and
seems unnecessary to account for the universal
diffusion of man. When we find the same races
often speaking nearly the same tongues, inhabiting
places so far removed from each other as Easter
Island (near South America) and Madagascar (off
Eastern Africa), the northern extremities of Europe
and America, the Andaman Islands (in the Bay of
Bengal), and the islands of Australia and Tasmania,
the frozen regions of Rupert's Land, and antarctic
Tierra del Fuego, we must see that no such theory
as the one proposed is needed to account for the
diffusion of mankind over the earth's surface. The
wonderful similarity of customs and traditions,
whether preserved and practised at the Arctic circle
or in the torrid zone, the capabilities for locomotion
and change of habitat possessed by all races in
common, the identity of the physical conformation
of mankind in all essential points, prove that man is
homogeneous, and possesses, even in his lowest
degradation, an intellect which is capable of high
cultivation, and a power of deducing conclusions
from experiences which the wisest brute does not
share. These and other considerations amply prove
to my mind, if not to that of " R. G.," not only the
probability of, but the necessity for, a theory which
insists upon the acknowledgment of " The Unity of
Mankind." E. A. A.

BUGS.

{Aeanthia lectularia.)

VERY little appears to be known regarding the
history and habits of our bed-bug ; and as I
was recently quartered in a room where there was
an unusually large allowance of these creatures, and
as the very thought of sleep was out of the ques-
tion, I thought I would notice some of the habits of
these appalling creatures, and send the notes on to
Science-Gossip, in the hope of some other corre-
spondents adding thereto. The wall of the sleeping -
(?) room was papered with a white paper ornamented
with spotty flowers. The first thing I noticed was
that when the lamp was placed near the wall, to
facilitate observation, the bugs, with one accord,
scampered to the dark spots, and, there resting,
became immediately invisible — in fact, they pre-
tended to be spots, and not bugs at all ; they
evidently loathed tJiemselves. Bugs, if hotly pursued
on a perpendicular surface, let go their legs and
drop to the floor. After taking a few steps, they
either dip into crevices, or pretend to be heads of
tin-tacks, or stains on the wood. They fall by a
movement of the legs, and a slight upheaving of
head and tail. The movement is instinctive ; for
when they are on a flat surface, I observed them
make the same motions, evidently trying to fall out

of sight. The velocity with which bugs can run is
something incredible. When on a smooth surface,
they are able to go at a terrible rate; but if they
get in a blauket it is all over with them— the wool'
of the blanket gets entangled round their legs, and
they make a poor hobble of it indeed. In the
corners where the bugs most congregated I saw a
good many corpses (bugs' corpses) and transparent
skins. This leads me strongly to suspect, that bugs
are cannibals, and "do each other eat;" but as L
saw none enjoying ihe pleasures of the table, I can-
not say for certain. I noticed two or three invalids,
fat indeed, but suffering from a disease that imme-
diately reminded me of the autumnal fungus which
attacks and kills flies (Sporendonema muscse).
Whether this was the case or not, certain it is the
bugs were marked with similar white powdery
rings (I have recently read of a spider being simi-
larly attacked). As I had a box of oil-colours with
me, I thought I would give one or two a touch of
spirits of turpentine ; and I found they lived a long
time (half an hour or more) when completely satu-
rated in this elixir. I remembered hearing that salt
and water was very fatal to bugs ; I tried it, and
found it produced almost instantaneous death.
There are two sorts of bugs, vai-ying in shape — one
almost circular, the other very much longer. Can
you tell me, Mr. Editor, whether these two forms
represent the sexes? There is a certain odour
attached to bugs, disagreeable (probably from its
associations) to some people, but in reality aromatic,
and far from unpleasant — indeed I know people
who affirm the odour to be very agreeable. Many
persons cannot detect it at all, so delicate is it -y
whilst others can discover the presence of bugs in a.
room by the scent alone. A few days ago I found
the curious bug-scented Agaric (Lactarius quietus}'
in Epping Forest. The odour of the specimens
found was very strong, and represented the con-
centrated " otto of bugs." In neighbourhoods
where bugs abound, what becomes of the defunct
creatures ? I have been told, but I do not know it
for truth, that sometimes when the flooring boards,
of dirty old houses are taken up, the spaces between,
the joists are completely filled with dead bugs,
which the labourers have ere now removed in solid
masses with spades, and carted away. Notwith-
standing that every precaution is taken, bugs will
now and then put in an appearance in houses where
the utmost cleanliness is observed, and if not soon?
routed, they speedily establish a colony. A day of
two ago I saw one in a freshly-opened newspaper,
They are not uncommon, associated with lice, in and
upon 'busses and cabs; on the seats in the parks
the latter are common enough. In some ware-
houses in the city bugs are abundant ; some shops
are positively swarmed with them. They are very
liable to be imported into new and clean dwelling-
houses unless a strict watch be kept.— W, G.HdiitL.

270

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Dec. 1, 186'

/.

FANGS OE SPIDERS.

"The point envenom'd too!
Then, We.vham, to thy work ! "

Hamlet, Act v., Sc. ii.

"TVTO character so bad but an apologist may be
-'-* found for it : those wily murderers the
spiders Lave an advocate in " E. T. S.," who is
retained to prove them innocent of all poisonous
intention or ability. But the case is a bad one ; for
the criminating evidence— both direct and circum-
stantial—is overwhelming.

As a modest witness for the prosecution, permit
me to state briefly what I have done aud seen, aided
by that able detective, Wenham's Binocular. I took
a female garden spider (Epeira diadema), soaked it
in weak spirit and water for a fortnight ; drew the
mandibles from their half-rotten attachment, and
found, protruding from each basal joint, broken
filaments of muscle, and the rounded end of a large
gland. I then broke up a portion of the horny
integument of one mandible, and easily detached
most of the muscle, leaving the glandular sac
attached by a thread or duct to the fang, in the
interior of which it could be traced for some
distance. "From information I had received
(Mic. Die., art. ' Arachnida'), I expected to find
the poison-bag encircled by muscular bands, and,
indeed, so found it ; the fibres coiling spirally and
very regularly round it. The other inaudible was
immersed in a solution of caustic potash, which

Fig. C82. Fang and poison-baa: of Spider
a. point x SOU.

50 ;

destroyed all the soft parts, but cleared the fang
sufficiently to allow an evident orifice to be detected
near the point, and an internal channel therefrom
to be faintly indicated.

I next bought a very large spider (species
unknown to me) at Gardner's, in Holborn, and in
its enormous fang saw the expected hole so plainly
and of such a size that I immediately thought of
"E. T. S./' aud how completely he had "put his
foot in it ! "

The aperture is not merely an oval slit, as it is
generally figured, but the side towards the point is
deeply bevelled, thus facilitatiug the emission and
direction of the venom.

"E.T. S." does not mention on what species he has
made experiment, which is an important omission,
as it is quite possible that all spiders may not be
venomous. Now, if your correspondent still remain
incredulous, as is very likely, pray let him call on
me, and he shall have proof the most certain, — proof
ocular and proof binocular.

24, Cor /dill. Henry Davis.

The same subject has brought us the following
remarks by another correspondent : —

"E. T. S." reopens a question which I thought
had been settled, in its main features, by the com-
munications that have already appeared in your
columns. He objects that he cannot find the
poison-bag of the spicier nor see the orifice in the
fang ; and he cannot understand how the poison
could be expressed from the end of a " closed sac."
I can assure your correspondent that the unsatis-
factory results of his experiments are due to defective
manipulation. The spider to be operated upou
should be soaked in water for forty-eight hours.
The secoud joint of one of the mandibles may then
be seized laterally with the forceps, and pulled from
the head. The jaws will come away together, and
the two poison-bags will be exposed, the broad
ends being free, and the narrow ends still attached
within the fangs. If it be desired to get the entire
bag with the extreme point of its neck, the spider
must be left in soak for a longer time. The poison
gland I have not seen ; indeed, I have not looked
for it ; but there is little doubt that it lies imme-
diately behind, and is attached to the broad end of
the bag. I think I can see the mark of the attach
ment. These bags vary in size ; a mounted one
which I have just measured is about one-twelfth of
an inch in length, exclusive of the neck or duct.
They are clearly membranous, and are covered with
bands of striated muscle obliquely disposed. There
is therefore no difficulty in understanding how the
poison is expressed from the bag, which it will be
seen is not quite accurately described as a " closed
sac." Wc are told that in the case of the poisonous
snakes the immediate cause of the emission of the
venom is purely mechanical, the erection of the
fang creating a pressure upon the reservoir ; but I
do not think there is any similar arrangement in the
spider. And this, taken in connexion with the dis-
position of the striated muscle, suggests an iute-

Dec. 1, 1867.J

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

m

resting question, whether the spider may not have
the power of ejecting or withholding the poison at
will, in which case your correspondent's opinion
that flies killed for food are not poisoned may be
correct. The examination of the orifice near the
end of the fang (or first joint of the mandible) is a
less easy matter, but it is a mistake to say that it
cannot be seen by transmitted light. If it were a
simple perforation, of course there would be no
difficulty, but beiug only an opening into the channel
of which it is the termination, it is necessarily rather
obscure. Still, I have traced it in a specimen
mounted in the ordinary way in balsam, and if
glycerine jelly be used, it can generally be seen
readily enough with an inch object-glass. 1 shall be
most happy, if your correspondent lives in London,
and will drop me a line, to show him both bag and
orifice. John T. Young.

32, Mount Street, New Road, Whitechapel.

angles much produced ; frequently mixed with the
typical form.

Var. y, with five incurved sides, and only differs
from the preceding variety by the greater number
of sides. This variety appears to be rare, as I know

THE GENUS AMPHITETRAS.

fTlHE genus Amphitetras was constituted by
-*- Ehrenberg for the reception of those species
of Diatomacese whose frustules assume a cubical
form. This geueric distinction has, however, been
rendered valueless by the discovery of four-sided
varieties of Triceratium. Professor Smith says that
"the projection of the connecting membrane beyond
the suture of the valve is a circumstance that first
meets us in this genus." This characteristic is not,
however, peculiar to the genus Amphitetras, as it
occurs in Biddulphia.

The mode of growth (in zigzag filaments) was at
one time considered of sufficient importance to re-
move it far apart from its near relation, Triceratium ;
but the discovery of a species of Triceratium grow-
ing in zigzag chains has destroyed that distinction.
A valued correspondent of mine states it as his
belief that all recent species of Triceratium will
ultimately be found growing in that manner ; but
whether the genus Amphitetras should be merged
in that of Triceratium, or the two genera formed
into a new genus with somewhat enlarged generic
character, is a question which will require a more
perfect knowledge of the two genera than we at
present possess. The species and varieties I am
about to describe I think belong to the genus Am-
phitetras as at present constituted.

Amphitetras autediluviana. — The so-called typical
form of this species has cubical frustules, cohering
at the angles, forming a zigzag filament ; valve
square, with straight sides, and the angles more or
less rounded; the surface has coarsely cellular
markings. This species is variable in size and
widely distributed.

Var. /3 has the sides deeply incurved and the

Fig. 283. Amphitetras antediluviaua, var. y. *^ J^ £ & ,

of only one locality in which it has been found, viz.,
Hayling Island, Hants, in which it was rare, a and

(3 were more plentiful in it. (Fig. 283, x 400diam.)
Dr. Greville describes and figures, in the "Tran-
sactions of the Royal Micr. Soc.," vol. xiii., pi. ix.,
fig. 27, a form which he calls Amphitetras nobilis,
and which seems to differ from var. y in the pro-
duced tubular apices. His species was detected iu
dredgings from the Red Sea.

QS-i j:.:..;.ii:»..r

Fig. 284. Amphitetras autedi-
luviana, var. S x 400.

Fig. 285. Amphitetras
crucifera, x 800.

Var. o, with three straight or slightly convex sides,
angles widely rounded ; in other respects like the
typical form. Rare; in a small gathering from
Joppa. (Pig. 284, x 400 diam.)

Amphitetras crucifera. — Valve minute, with pro-
duced mammiform apices ; surface of valve minutely
punctate, with a cruciform blank space extending
from the centre to the angles. Cleanings from West
Indian shells. (Fig. 285, x 800 diam.)

Amphitetras ornata (?) var. (i. — Valve with sides
slightly incurved; angles produced, mammiform.
Central portion of valve reticulate and punctate ;
the broad portions of the angles apparently girt
with a punctate and costate band. This variety

272

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE -GOSS IP.1

[Dec. 1, 1867.

differs from the typical forms described by Shadbolt,
both in its large size, more conspicuous venation,
and the curious band apparently girding and con-
stricting the angles ; but as it has, I believe, been

Fig. 286. Amphitetras ornata (?), var. /3 x

400.

only found in AlgoaBay guano, 'it would be rash to

make it a new species. It may possibly be the

sporangial state of Amphitetras ornata. (Fig. 284 >

x 400diam.)

Norwich. Fred. Kitton.

TEMPERATURE OF LAKES.

AMONG the communications lately made to the
Academy of Munich are some observations
by Herr v. Schlagintweit on the temperature in the
deeper parts of the Starnberger See and the Chiem
See. A few observations on these measurements
will not be out of place, as they prove, in an un-
expected manner, that the Starnberger See, not-
withstanding its having an influx and outflow of
water, is sufficiently deep and large to be perfectly
cold at the bottom.

In the salt lakes of Thibet (which first gave rise
to investigations being made in the above-named
Alpine lakes, for the sake of comparison) there is
this peculiarity, that except on days when the fall
of snow is at a minimum, there is no influx of water.
Moreover, while the appearance of the surrounding
country makes it evident that these lakes had once
an in- and out-let, as well as a much higher level,
now the surface lies lower than the ancient outlet :
the gradual drying up, too, is plain enough, as is
also the relative increase of the saline constituents
— a circumstance of course dependent on the les-
sening of the amount of water, for the continual
evaporation is much too great to be replaced by
the rainfall.

In the large Atlas of his travels, the author has
given five illustrations of the scenery surrounding
these salt lakes— a perfect waste, but not without a

certain grandeur. The illustrations are accompanied
by the necessary topographical explanations.

His account demonstrates that the maximum oi
density (differing with the amount of salt contained
in them) is reached in lakes which are situated at
great heights above the sea, but which are sunk in
depressions, in which there is so little difference in
the warmth of the ground strata, that the balance
of the temperature remains undisturbed. It is well
known that water (unlike other fluid bodies) con-
tracts during the process of cooling, until it reaches
the freezing-point (distilled water, however, ceases
to contract at 4° Cent.), and that it again expands
as it gets colder : if it contains salt, this greatest
contraction, or maximum of density, commences at
a somewhat lower temperature.

Now, what relation has this to the distribution of
temperature in the Alpine fresh-water lakes, which,
besides, experience a considerable variation in the
amount of water, owing to their having both an
inlet and a means of escape ?

According to Professor Jolly (whose careful
observations, made much earlier than those of our
author, were confined to the small very deep lakes
of the Eastern Bavarian Alps) the temperature at
the bottom of the Konigs See (742 feet), and of the
Walchen See (852 feet), registers 5'3° and 5-2° Cent.
Herr v. Schlagintweit chose larger lakes for his
experiments. He found that in the Starnberger
See, in which the inflow of water is relatively small,
the temperature of the bottom (though only 406 feet
from the surface) betrayed "the maximum of
density," or, in other words, the water is as cold as
it can be. The conduction of heat from the ground
strata, or in some instances by springs, may in the
course of the year tend to modify this force of
greatest density (3'5° Cent.), but it could never, it
would seem, annul it altogether.

In the Chiem See the result was different, partly
on account of the greater change of water, and
partly because the depth is very much less — 273 feet
only, as determined by Von Schlagintweit, more
than 130 feet less than that of the Starnberger See.
It may be mentioned, en passant, that in RiedelPs
lake map, the depth is given at 504 feet, which is
also the amount in the later map of Statzner, — a
difference which can scarcely be accounted for by
any change of bottom in the lake basin itself,
though Riedell's measurements were made more
than half a century ago, in 1810. The temperature
of the water in the Chiem See was 7'1° Cent., a
trifle colder than that registered at an equal depth
in the Starnberger See, but far from reaching the
temperature of maximum density.

These determinations of the temperature at great
depths, are not without significance in regard to the
conditions under which the fish of fresh-water lakes
live. Similar observations made in other still larger
lakes would be exceedingly interesting, because the

Dec. 1, 1SG7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIEN CE- GOSSIP.

273

amount of water introduced into them by the Rhine
or Rhone— as, for instance, in Lake Constance or the
Lake of Geneva — must make a striking difference.
Experiments, however, at these great depths cannot
be carried out so easily as many might suppose. A
minimum thermometer, for instance, owiug to the
pressure of the water, will stand too high. Ordinary
thermometers must be protected not] only against
compression, but also against the variations which
occur while being raised through the water, changes
due to the great difference of temperature at the
bottom and at the surface of the lake.
r Both in Jolly's and Von Schlagintweit's experi-
ments precautious are taken, though on totally
different principles, against these sources of error.
The instruments employed by the latter savant are
the same which had already done him good service
in the salt lakes of Tibet.

NEW BRITISH MOSS.
(Aidblystegium confervoides. )

THIS addition to our moss Elora, we owe to Dr.
Eraser, of Wolverhampton, who discovered it
on damp stones in Dovedale, in November, 18G6,
and having kindly favoured me with specimens, I
am enabled to give the accompanying illustrations.

Fig. 287. Amblysreguim confervoides, 1. Plant, natural size;

2. Branch, with male flowers and fru t, magnified ;

3. Capsule, with lid; 4. Perichsetical leaf; 5. Stem leaf.

The genus Amblystcgium is one of the groups
into which Professor Schimper has broken up the
heterogeneous collection of species hitherto referred
to Hypnum, two other species of which (filicinum
and commutatum) might, I think, with propriety
be added, and riparium be removed to the aduncum.
group.

We should thus have three sections in the genus..

1, Serpentia; 2, Leptodictya; 3, Eilicina.

The first section would number as European,
species.

A. Sprucci, subtile, tenuissimum, confervoides^
cnerve, serpens, densum, radicale, varium, serru-
latum, pinnatum, irriguum, fluviatile.

Amblystegium confervoides, Schpr. (Hypnum
confervoides, Bridel). Monoicous, in dense creeping
tufts of a dull green colour, brownish when old, very
slender, vaguely branched. Leaves minute distant,,
ovato-lanceolate, nerveless, perichsetial lanceolate.
Capsule oblong, cernuous. Lid convex with an.
oblique point.

Amblystegium subtile is closely allied, but has a
more erect pale capsule, and shorter faintly nerved
leaves.

As it occurs on beech -trees throughout Europe,
we may also expect to find it in this country.

R. Bkaithwaite, M.D., E.L.S.

SNAKES.

SCIENCE GOSSIP for November has reiievea
^ me from great embarrassment regarding the
account copied into the papers some time since,
from the " Liverpool Daily Mercury," entitled " A
Rattlesnake at large." I can assure the reader that
I almost trembled in my shoes as I thought of the
imminent danger I had so often unconsciously in-
curred from such peculiarly vicious reptiles ! I have
taken great pains in watching and studying the
habits of Snakes, the country in which my observa-
tions occurred being as prolific in reptiles if not
more so than any other on the globe.

In the tropical forests of Brazil, fostered in the
swamps by the hot sun, they spring into life and live
for many years. They are also infinitely more active
in their movements than those in cooler climates,,
and their venom is more powerful ; consequently
they have greater powers of offence. But taking
all their fatal capabilities into consideration, after
a short time resident amongst them, I not only lost
all the fear which I originally had of Snakes— and
which such tales as that mentioned above served to
cultivate in the minds of Londoners and others,
who never having seen venomous Serpents in their
native state, only know what is related about them —
but would spend many an hour wandering in their
favourite haunts to capture and preserve them.

This, you may imagine, brought me into con-
tact with not only dangerously strong, but also
venomous Serpents. Amongst the latter were in-
cluded numerous Rattlesnakes. One, a fine specimen,
was seven years old. This I came upon more
suddenly than was at all pleasant, as it lay across
the footpath asleep ; but fortunately for me t he
noise of my approach awoke it, and the rattling

271

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Dec. 1, 1S67.

warning of the vicinity of death in its worst
form, brought me to a sense of my situation only
just in time, as four more steps must have brought
me into contact with the dangerous reptile. My
surprise was complete on discovering the glowing
coil writhing at my feet, now contracting, now
distending, as though about to burst.

What a chaos of fear and passion one might
imagine pent up within that tight skin ! Its glisten-
ing eyes, the nervous vibration of its forked tongue,
and above all, the knowledge that it was possessed
of a pair of fangs, the slightest scratch of which
would be sufficient to cause death, alarmed me not
a little, as I was entirely unprotected, having no
slick or other weapon wherewith to despatch it.

In 'this awkward predicament I stood for some
seconds, my eyes fixed upon those of the horrid
creature before me.

From my feelings at that time I can understand
the fear which some of the smaller animals have of
Serpents. I felt for the moment rooted to the spot,
and, as if suffering from night-mare, could not take
the backward step which my reason told me should
be made ; however it was made at last, and another
followed, and another, and yet another; when find-
ing that my enemy did not follow, the blood seemed
to flow freely in my veins again, and on placing
several yards between myself and the reptile, I had
the felicity of seeing it gradually unfold itself and
slowly skulk into the adjoining underwood.

Now to return to my argument : — had these ani-
mals the natural love of destruction so vividly set
forth in the newspapers, it is evident that my life
at that auspicious time would not have been worth
a year's purchase, for never had snake a better
opportunity of making a human victim. You may
therefore imagine how I thanked my lucky stars
on reading the above-mentioned account that on
that adventure with the rattle-snake and other
similar occasions, I met not with the same un-
happy fate as did the poor horse and Bonassus. I
could hardly, however, reconcile the account with
my own knowledge of facts founded entirely upon
experience, and I am now happy to find the only
case in point which could be brought forward
against their accuracy removed.

I believe that snakes are, without an exception,
most timid and cowardly creatures, infinitely more
so than their wonderful power of subduing life and
quickness in striking then- victim would warrant or
lead one to imagine.

In most snakes which it has been my fortune to
come across, I have discovered their natural timi-
dity and propensity for skedadling — as the Ameri-
cans would say — on the slightest approach of
danger, always provided that they can do so with-
out fear of their tails. Not only are they venomous
and swift in flight when it suits them to be so, but,
in my opinion, they are not only traditionally cun-

ning, but absolutely so ; and the reader may laugh
if he will, but I believe that when suddenly in-
truded upon they take all the chances of escape
into consideration, and if they feel, that they can
get off without receiving a crack on the tail in the
attempt, they will endeavour to do so ; if, on the
contrary, the chances of escape appear too slight
— like a rat enclosed in a room without means of
escape from its enemy, or even a cowardly man
with a grain of sense in his head— they will chance
the possible but improbable, and endeavour to
escape, by first subduing their opponent. Eurther,
I believe that all snakes, as a rule, attack man only
in fancied defence of themselves or young, unless it
should happen to be a big one — a python, for in-
stance—then I allow that they act strictly on the
offensive, but only so when hungry. There is none
of that tiger-like pleasure of causing pain and death
about them which 1 imagined was the case when I
first left England ; this I have proved in tempting a
newly-caught boa-constrictor by placing live lizards
and other small animals in its cage, but unless it
was ready for a meal it took no notice of them.

As I am on the subject I may mention, in relation
to Brazilian snakes, that many of them are exceed-
ingly beautiful; the Coral Snake (Coluber corallinus,
Lin. ?) surpassing in loveliness any animal — birds in-
cluded—that I have ever seen. Its bodyis beautifully
banded with successive belts of brilliant jet black,
pure white and coral red, bright and glowing in its
beautiful colours almost beyond description. When
iflive and in motion they are really magnificent,
moving in such an elegant curvilineal manner as to
appear more like lovely toys than dangerous rep-
tiles ; in fact, the little naked children often come
to premature graves through playing with them as
such. I have one before me now, as I write, pre-
served in white rum and water, which I found to be
the best mixture for their preservation ; and al-
though the brilliancy has much deteriorated, it s
still a beautiful object.

Its capture was made under rather peculiar cir-
cumstances. I was talking and laughing with a
company of Mulatto girls, who were sitting on the
ground, when one of them suddenly sprang to her
feet screaming, as she flung her hands on high, as
though terribly alarmed — her companions, in accord-
ance with woman's general character, followed her
example, and the uproar was intense. I was quite
at a loss to discover the cause of their fright,
and this I did on perceiving about a foot of the
creature's body hanging from beneath the girl's
petticoat, where it had in some way got fixed. As
she ran away, however, it fell, and I then put an
end to its existence. The creature proved to be a
beautiful specimen of its kind, measuring about
four feet. Like most other snakes in Brazil, it is
poisonous ; in fact, the only ones I found to be non-
venomous were a small green variety and a black

Dec. ], 1SG7.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

275

amphibian. The latter would sometimes enter the
room whilst we were at dinner, creating a fine dis-
turbance with the cat and dog, who — although at
all other times antagonistic to eacli other — on such
an occasion would act in unison, one on each side
of the reptile, barking and swearing, and the abject
fear of the poor snake was laughable to behold ; it
would wriggle about, tie itself into all sorts of
loose knots, and hiss and dart about as if on a plate
of hot iron. The natives believe that all snakes are
venomous, and fear the black as much as any
other.

I have often been checked in my snake-hunting
expeditions, by coming across the cast-off skins ;
and once a skeleton of a boa constrictor that when
alive must have been too large in circumference for
me to span with both hands— a sight which checked
my researches in ophiology a little, for 1 naturally
thought that somewhere in the vicinity it was not
improbable that I might come across some of its
living relatives, which was anything but desirable ;
and such an effect had it upon my nerves, that I
returned home without having caught a single
specimen for my collection — but with the con-
solatory thought that no snake had caught me.

On killing a snake I generally found it difficult to
tell when the creature was really dead, as the vital
power remains so long after deat h, and the body —
still retaining its muscular action — would wriggle
about when placed in the bottle of rum as though
endowed with fresh life. I also noticed a peculiar
fact in the case of a very large snake which, having
killed, I left in the garden until not the slightest
movement occurred in the body, neither did it show
any sign of sensibility in being touched or pushed
about with a piece of stick ; but, to my surprise,
on touching it with my finger, a strong convulsive
motion passed through the whole body. This I
tried several times, and always with the same result.

Many of the snakes I found to be swift in their

movements — one, the whip snake, exceedingly so ; one

moment it would be before me, perhaps not more

than two yards off, and the next I knew not where;

all that I could see of the movement was a sort of

wave and like a flash of lightning the snake had

disappeared. The rattlesnakes, however, from my

experience of them, are rather sluggish than

otherwise, and, fortunately for man, have not the

love of slaughter which the correspondent of the

Liverpool Daily Mercury would lead people unac-

cpiainted with the habits of snakes to believe.

Alfred Ikin.
Upper Kennington Lane.

Metallic Markings of Beetles. — The metallic
markings on the Cassidse, which vanish when dry,
may be preserved for years by immersing the beetles
in spirits whilst fresh, and keeping them moist. —
W. H. Walcott, in " The Zoologist," p. 5,929.

ZOOLOGY.

Rats. — The black rat becomes every year more
scarce in Scandinavia wherever the large brown
rat gains a footing. Was once common through-
out the whole country. In the days of Linne, the
brown rat was unknown in Sweden ; about ninety
years since the first was seen in Scania. It has
now, however, become gradually spread over the
land, and is met with in every part to the North
Cape. Although at deadly enmity with its smaller
brother, it does not interfere with the little mouse.
Strange to say, much as this country is overrun
with rats, I never saw either a ferret or a rat trap
till I got some over from England. I know no
country where a good ratcatcher could make a better
living than in this. I once saw the rats drummed
out of a house here which was full of them. It was
a large wooden building. Two regimental drummers
were sent for, who began at the very top of the
house, and drummed in every room. The rats
bolted very fast, and I had some capital shooting
outside. It was bng before any came back. — Ten
Years in Sweden.

The "Whale (Batena mysticetus) . — Nilsson re-
marks that the weight of the common whale is
100 tons, or 220,000 lb., is equal to 88 elephants,
or 440 bears. The whalebone in such a whale may
be taken at 3,360 lbs., and the blubber at 140 to 170
tuns. The remains of the fossil whale (Balena
prisca) which have been found on the coast of
Ystad, in the Baltic, and even far inland in Wanga-
panse, Westergothland, betoken a whale which,
although not more than between 50 and 60 feet
long, must at least have had a body 27 times larger
and heavier than the common whale. — Ten Years in
Sweden.

Curious Nest of Hedge Sparrow. — The
notice in Science-Gossip of a Chaffinch's nest calls
to mind a similar instance which I witnessed a few
years since. While searching a hedge row for the
larva of the Black-veined butterfly, I discovered
a beautifully made nest which had somewhat the
appearance of a Linnet's, but as it was composed of
such unusual materials, and contained four newly-
hatched young, which I could see were not finches
(and that was all I could decide upon) I took two,
leaving the others in the nest ; these I reared, and
they turned out to be the Hedge Sparrow. The
nest was made in the usual manner, but in the place
of moss, &c, it was composed of woollen fibre of
various colours, 'red being the most prominent,
evidently a portion of an old carpet ; it was lined
with a mixture of moss and ends of cotton with a
few feathers ; all this gave it quite an artificial ap-
pearance, but containing the young as it did proved
it genuine. — /. B. Waters.

270

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Dec. 1, 1867.

Cat and Kestrel. — A. cat belonging to a neigh-
bour was lying concealed in a drain in a meadow
(November, 1865), watching her opportunity to
seize a field-mouse, when a kestrel swooped upon a
mouse so close to her, that with a sudden spring
she caught the bird, and eventually killed it ; a ter-
mination to her hunt as unlooked for by her, as it
was unexpected by the kestrel, \i ho had probably
been so intent upon the moving mouse, as to over-
look the motionless cat. This was related to me by
the- owner of the cat, who took the bird from her a
few minutes after the event.— Hurting' s Birds of
Middlesex.

Black Redstart.— A male specimen of the
Redstart {Sylvia tithys) was taken at Gedney,
Drove-End, Lincolnshire, on October 25th. A
Greenshank (JFotanus glottis) was taken in a flight-
net on the sea-marsh at the same place on October
:3rd— C. E. R.

Clouded Yellow in Ireland. — In your number
for November, a correspondent mentions having
taken a specimen of the Clouded Yellow (Colias
e&usd) at Kilkee, and asks if it is an uncommon in-
sect in Ireland. " I may inform you that it has been
taken in considerable numbers during the past
summer at Tramore, a bathing place in Co. Water-
ford, and at other localities in the neighbourhood
of Waterford City. Two years ago it was very
common, and many were captured. During the
same season the Painted Lady {Cynthia cardui)
was very abundant, continuing from June till the
end of November. One insect I had emerged from
the chrysalis on the 11th of December. This year
they were again frequently seen, but were not nearly
so plentiful, and last year very few were met with.
— E. Garnett, Newtown^ Waterford.

Fangs of Spideks. — After reading the sceptical
•remarks of your correspondent, " E. T. S. "
(page 237, Science-Gossip,) on the structure of the
Spiders' Fangs, I determined to examine them
carefully for myself. This I have ample opportunity
to do, as my cabinet contains no fewer than four
specimens of different species, three of which are
whole, prepared by myself. The other slide contains
the fangs only I had from Mr. Groves Tollington,
London. Of these four specimens three show dis-
tinctly an aperture opening into the interior of the
fang. The sketch by R. Beck, page 201, Vol. II. of
Scjence-Gossip, accurately represents its form
and position. There can be no mistake of its actual
existence in my specimens. What relation these
apertures may sustain to other parts of the insect's
structure, or what special or general functional
purpose they may have, I know not ; nor can I
boast of less ignorance respecting the "modus
operandi " observed by the constitutional murder in
■seizing or holding its hapless victim. — B. Taylor.

Bugs.— In a rare and curious old book on insects,
written in Latin, and published at London, in 1634,
the title of which is " Insectorum sive Minimorum
Animalium Theatrum,'T find, amongst other things,
a curious account of the common Bug. It states
that this insect first occurred in this country at
Mortlake, on the Thames, in the year 1563, and
that those unhappy people who were first bitten by
it, imagined that they had been attacked by a
plague, but the writer says, "Tandem re cognita,
ac bestiolis captis, risu timorem omnem excussit."
He then gives a list of preparations which are cal-
culated to destroy these insects, about which he
writes, " Contra istos nocturnse quietis hostes,
Deus noster misericors, remedia nobis suggessit."
The writer does not seem to have had much opinion
about the cleanliness of foreigners, for he says,
" Galli, Germani, et Itali qui munditiem minus
curant, pariunt magis banc pestem; Angli autem
munditei et cultus studiosissimi rarius iis laborant."
The accounts of the insects in this book are mos
curious, and the figures mostly veryroughlyexecuted
those of some of the Lepidoptera being scarcely
recognisable ; a great number of our rarer and
reputed British insects are figured, doubtless, as
British. There is no attempt at arrangement into
genera, as neither generic nor specific names were
then in use. — Henry C. Lang.

Submergence and Emergence.— In 1772 the
greater part of one of the largest volcanic mountain
in Java was swallowed up. A luminous cloud
enveloped the mountain on the 11th of August, and
soon after, the huge mass disappeared with a great
noise, carrying with it about 90 square miles of the
surrounding country, 40 villages, and 2,957 inha-
bitants. In 1819 a large tract of country, not far
from the eastern mouth of the river Indus in India,
underwent considerable change. A tract of probably
not less than 750 square miles was raised 10 feet
above its former level, and south of this another tract
of perhaps 600 square miles became submerged, and
occupied by the Lake of Sindree. In 1628, 1720,
and 1811, islands have appeared and disappeared in
the sea near the Azores. On the last occasion an
island rose to the height of 600 feet, and was named
" Sabrina." In the following year it disappeared.
In 1831 an island appeared to the south west of
Sicily, reached an elevation of nearly 200 feet and a
diameter of 3 miles. After three months it gradually
sank again, uutil nothing remains but its name of
" Graham Island." Had the reported submergence
of the island of Tortola taken place, it would have
surpassed in terrible interest all previous and
similar events, and impressed itself on the memory
of all men living as the great catastrophe of 1S67-
Fortunately, however, the "sensation telegram"
lacked bein<? true.

Dec. 1, 1SG7-]

H A 11 D \V I C K E* S SCIENCE- GOSSIP.

277

MICROSCOPY.

Preparation of Snails' Tongues.— I present
a plan devised many years ago, for such small forms
as Littorinu and the like, whose lingual ribbons are
extremely tender, and difficult to see as well as
handle. I use a rather strong solution of caustic
potassa, the strength of which I cannot exactly
specify, as it must vary with the species under
manipulation, some having ribbons of such strength
that they will bear the very strongest solution,
while others will be injured by immersion in a
comparatively weak liquid. Into this solution in a
test tube or other convenient vessel, plunge the
whole animal ; in the case of the smaller creatures,
shell and all. The specimen may be fresh, or
preserved in alcohol, but on the former the potassa
will act most vigorously. I have found that one
good way is to let the animal stand in the shell
until it dies and begins to decompose, when it can
readily be removed, and falls in pieces. The lingual
ribbon, as a general thing, is not easily decomposed.
Now either set the potassa solution, with the animal
in it, aside for some days, or boil it at once. You
will then find that almost everything dissolves and
becomes " soap," except the shell and operculum, a
few shreds of muscular fibre, and the prized lingual
ribbon. Erequent washing with fresh water now
removes all the alkali, and leaves the teeth clean
and in perfect order. It can then lie mounted in
any preservative fluid which is miscible with water,
and is best removed to alcohol to be kept until it is
mounted. To mount it, remove it from the spirit-
and without drying plunge it in pure spirits of
turpentine, in which it should be boiled for a short
time to drive off some of the alcohol. It can now
be mounted in Canada balsam, when it shows all its
beauties in a remarkable manner, and, at the same
time, shows its effects on polarized light. I would
say, that the potassa cleans the shell and operculum
beautifully. — A. 31. Edwards, New York. ,

Chelifers formed the subject of a paper by
Mr. S. J. Mclntire at the meeting of the Quekett
Microscopical Club on the 25th of October. During
the discussion which ensued it was elicited that at
least oi species were known and described, of which
39 were European, 7 African, 7 American, and 1
Asiatic. Of the European only nine had at present
been found in Great Britain, and of these it, is be-
lieved that these species are peculiarly British.
Only two species appear to have been known to
Linnaeus under the specific names of eancroides and
acaroides, the former name being still applied to
one of the commonest of European forms. Mr.
Mclntire exhibited living specimens as types of the
two genera — of Chelifer, with two eyes, and Obisium,
with four eyes. The subject excited considerable
interest.

BOTANY.

Flora of Bucks.— May I again direct the at-
tention of your readers to this subject ? Since my
first notice appeared in Science-Gossip, in March,
1S65, I have been actively engaged in collecting
materials for a Buckinghamshire Flora, with but
partial success ; indeed, I am almost as ignorant as
I then was regarding the botany of the entire north
of the county. My knowledge of South Bucks has,
however, considerably increased, although it is by
no means perfect at present ; the district with which
I am best acquainted being comprised within a
radius of five miles from my residence at High
Wycombe. The number of flowering plants and
ferns at present recorded for the entire county is but
771 : of these I hope soon to publish a list, which I
shall be glad to send to any one who may desire it.
I trust that this second appeal for help may not be
made in vain; the smallest contributions will be
thankfully received. — James Britten, High Wycombe.

Cucumbers.— It is related by Pliny that Tiberius
the Emperor was so fond of cucumbers that there
was not a day throughout the year but he had them
served up at his table. The beds and gardens
wherein they grew were made upon frames, so as to
be removed every way with wheels ; and in winter,
during the cold and frosty days, they could be drawn
back into certain high covered buildings, exposed to
the sun, and there housed under roof. These appear
to be the earliest accounts of the forcing of plants
of which we read. It is probable, also, that artifi-
cial heat was used ; as we find, by the remains of
their villas in this country, how perfectly the Romans
were acquainted with the method of warming their
rooms with flues. — Phillips's " Fruits of Great
Britain.'"

Ivy at Ciiadkihk.— There is a very curious
ivy- tree at Chadkirk, a small village about four
miles from Stockport. This ivy grows upon, and
almost covers, the walls of (I believe) the clergy-
man's house. It is an old tree, the main stem being
four or five inches in diameter. About ten years ago
a door was made at one end of the house, and to
give room for it, many of the largest branches of
the ivy were cut through, the lower parts being
taken away, the upper parts being left on the wall.
Thus, at least one-third of this fine plant was severed
from the main tree, and all supplies of nourishment
from the soil cut off. Strange to say, the severed
limbs have not died, as is usual in such cases, but
the aerial roots by which the ivy fixes itself the wall,
and of which the sole use is usually to enable it to
cling, appear to have accommodated themselves to
circumstances, and to have acted like true roots,
drawing enough moisture from the stone walls to
enable the ivy to live, and it is at the present

2?S

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Dec. 1, 18*37-

moment as green as any other part of the tree. The
leaves are, however, a little smaller than the rest,
looking more like the common wild ivy ; so that the
severed part is evidently short of food, and will,
probably, sooner or later die. — Robert Holland.

The Rue (Ruta graveolens). — In botanical books
the common garden rue is described as a tetramerous
flower, having four petals and eight stamens ; but
it is not, I think, generally known that, like the
Adoxa, it hath both tetramerous and pentamerous
flowers. The uppermost flower of each bunch always
opens first, and is, so far as I have seen, always
pentamerous, having the parts in fives, with ten
stamens, while all the other flowers of the bunch
have'four petals and eight stamens, as described in
the books. The rue is interesting, as being one of
those plants in which, like the saxifrages, nature
seems to have made special provision for self-
impregnation, by giving spontaneous motion to the
stamens, which advance and stand over the pistil
when they shed their pollen. The stamens are
rather curiously arranged. One half of them are
opposite to, and lie within, the hollow petals ; the
others are alternate, and have no petals behind
them, but their filaments are bent sideways, so that
their anthers may lie alongside of the others in the
petals. The alternate stamens first rise up perpen-
dicularly to shed their pollen upon the short pistil ;
shen the opposite stamens do the same, and finally
all fall back and lie, extended straightly, upon or
between the petals. — Robert Holland.

Boletus impolitus again. — The remarks of
" W. G. S." in our last have resulted in another
communication from " H. B.," and from his expla-
nation, description, and drawings, there can be no
doubt whatever that the Boletus alluded to in his
communication at p. 235, was the true Boletus
impolitus, Fr., and not Boletus felleus as suggested
by " W. G. S." We must therefore conclude that
difference of taste has led to a different appreciation
of the edible qualities of this fungus. — Ed. S. G.

Art versus Nature. — That the laws of Nature
are all-powerful, and that the force they exercise
over animate and inanimate beings is stronger than
the force of art, is well illustrated in the following
circumstance : — A small spruce fir-tree, transplanted
into a pot, was used at a children's party as a
Christmas-tree. When it was done with, it was
planted on the lawn as a memorial ; but owing to
some injury the top shoot died, and the tree was
without a leader. I cut off the dead shoot, and,
choosing what I thought to be the strongest of the
five radiating sideshoots, I bent it upwards, fixing
it in a perpendicular direction by means of wires
and a stick, in the hope that it would make a new
leader. At the end of six or eight months I took
away the wires, and found that my new leader

remained perfectly upright as I had wished it to do ;
but I observed at the same time that another of the
side-shoots appeared to be bending upwards of its
own accord, which it continued to do until, at the
end of last year, it had far outstripped my artificial
leader, quite ignoring the fact that I had already
repaired the injury. During the present year it has
gone on growing upwards, and it is now a fine
healthy leading shoot more than a foot long, almost
in a perfectly continuous line with the main stem,
and with lateral shoots radiating from it, whilst
my leader, owning itself vanquished, has bent down
again into its old place, and become once more a
lateral shoot. — Robert Holland.

Pink Primroses.— Wild primroses are sometimes
found with the flowers of a dingy pink colour. This
year I have seen two examples of apparently the
same variety produced from seed saved from good
garden polyanthuses ; and I should, therefore, think
that the wild pink ones are not varieties, but hybrids
produced by impregnation with polyanthus pollen
through the agency of insects, and that the plants
in the garden had resulted from a similar cross with
primrose pollen. — Robert Holland.

Eilago Gallica (L.) in Surrey. — Perhaps some
of the readers of Science-Gossip, and more par-
ticularly those who make Surrey the scene of their
labours, will be glad to learn of the above mentioned
addition to their Elora. It has been credited
already from Herts, Kent, and one or two counties,
as well as the old locality of Bcrechurch, Essex : —
The Surrey locality is in a cornfield between the
Chilworth Woods and St. Martha's Hill, near Guild-
ford, through which the footpath to the chapel
passes. I did not observe it in great profusion.—

/. a m.

Rat -tailed Radish. — Last spring a professedy
new vegetable, and one said to be hitherto unknown
in England, was offered to the public, and some of
my friends caught the bait, expecting to grow some
marvellous esculent as a table dainty. The Raphanus
caudatus has I suspect disappointed the hopes of
those who invested their sixpence for one of the
precious seeds, and some were rather surprised
when I told them that more than fifteen years ago
some of the seed of this plant had been sent me by
a relative from India. It grew like a weed in the
gardens of friends in Cornwall and Hertfordshire, to
whom I sent some, was soon voted a nuisance, and
Raphanus was eradicated. The pendant pod, like
the seed-pod of the common radish, is slightly pun-
gent, but rather insipid than otherwise.— /. Reynolds
Gwathin. ,

Areca SrATHE.— Many of the common drinking
and baling utensils in the Malay boats are made
from the spathe of the Areca palm.— Bennett.

De« . 1, 18(17.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

279

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Dead Starlings. — A few days ago, rowing
upon a largo piece of water, the edges of which
were fringed with tall reeds, I noticed from fifteen
to twenty dead starlings lying upon the surface, in
a parallel line with the reeds and a,bout thirty yards
distant. All lay downwards in exactly the same
position, — wings slightly extended, legs stretched
as if perching, and head and bill pointing straight
down. I examined several : the wings and legs
were unbroken, nor was any wound or blood to be
seen. The plumage of all was unruffled, and on the
backs was quite dry. Where the birds lay there
was weed just reaching to the surface, which pre-
vented them from drifting with the wind, and, no
doubt, detained each bird in the exact spot where
it fell. Multitudes of starlings roost every night
in the weeds. The question is, How came these
birds in the water? During the previous night
there had been some extremely violent gusts of
wind, and my only surmise is that they might have
been blown off while in a state of sound sleep, and
were drowned, or that their wings became too much
wetted for use before sufficiently recovering from
their stupor, the night being also pitch dark. We
all know how ridiculously stupid a common fowl is
when taken off its perch during the night, and how
unable for many minutes to shake off its drowsi-
ness.— Delia.

Asterina gibbosa.— On the Sth June last a
friend, returning from Torquay, brought me a'
couple of starfishes, one Asterina gibbosa, the
other Urasterrubens. The latter lived about seven
weeks, but the former is now alive and well. About
the first week in August I noticed a number of
small pentagonal dots on different parts of the
rockwork in my aquarium. I had not time to ex-
amine them microscopically, but suspected them to
be young Urasters. On October 1st I noticed
several young starfishes, presenting in a most
marked manner the characters of Asterina gibbosa.
The tips of the tentacles were of a beautiful orange
colour, and one specimen measured then about one-
eighth of an inch across. It is now (October 14th)
about a quarter of an inch in diameter. They
appear to be growing somewhat rapidly. Is it a
common occurrence for starfishes to breed in
aquaria? — Charles Adcock, M.R.C.S., Birmingham.

Disguises of Insects (p. 261).— I have had
five caterpillars of the Emperor Moth this summer.
One of them spun its cocoon attached to some white
net ; one in a box liued with white paper. These
two cocoons are made of white silk. The other
three caterpillars spun on the surface of the soil
amongst dead, brown, grass, and these three are of a
dark brown colour. — Bobert Hull end.

Corals. — Can any of your correspondents give
a receipt for cleaning corals which have become
very dirty from age and long exposure to dust ? —
Bobert Holla ml.

Crickets. — Although one should not cry till
fairly out of the wood, I have hopes that these mis-
chievous intruders have received their final conp-de-
graee in my kitchen, not having heard the faintest
sound of one for about six weeks; and I would
recommend a similar remedy to your inquirer,
" Geo. B." My method of extermination was the re-

peated syringing their haunts with boiling water.
The cricket can endure almost any amount of dry
heat, but is quickly killed with moisture, let alone
its being in a boiling state. The stream should be
strong, sudden, and in considerable quantity. The
instrument employed in my case was an ordinary
' brass hand greenhouse syringe, with a flat finely-
punctured nose. If this plan be adopted whenever
the insect's noise directs to its place of retreat, in a
very short time there will not remain even the ghosf
of a "cricket on the hearth" to furnish material
for a Christmas tale. — T. S.

Worms— to Quit.— "J. W. W." asks in the last
number of Sciexce-Gossip how to get rid of worms
which are ruining his grassplots. Somebody asked
the very same question, a good many years ago, at
a committee meeting of the Liverpool and Man-
chester Agricultural Society, when an old farmer
answered very characteristically, " Why, make the
ground so poor that it winuot keep 'em, to be sure.'-
Worms are always most plentiful in the richest soil,
aud if " J. W. W." can manage to impoverish his
land he will get rid of the worms. But this would be
difficult, as his lawn will only become poorer in the
course of years, by dint of constant mowing and
never manuring; and it may be •worth while to try
other remedies. Salt, put on in just sufficient
quantity as not to kill the grass, would greatly tend
to the destruction of the worms ; but if too great a

Quantity were put on, and the grass were acci-
entally killed in patches, no great harm would be
done, for it would grow again next year, especially
if some trefoil seed were raked into the bare places
in the spring. It is a curious fact that when grass
is thus killed with salt, a fine crop of mushrooms
sometimes springs up on the land. I should, how-
ever, prefer giving the grass a good dressing with
lime, which the worms would strongly object to,
and which would make the herbage thick and very
green. But whatever method " J. W. W." adopts to
get rid of the worms, he will be greatly assisted by
encouraging as many birds as possible. Thrushes,
blackbirds, and robins all eat worms, and a few-
crumbs thrown out regularly in frosty weather will
entice numbers of birds, which in return for his
kindness will seize upon every worm that makes
its appearance. I think that the lime and the birds
together would soon effect what "J. W. W." de-
sires.— Bobert Holland.

An awkward Mistake.— We have alluded more
than once to the stuffed lion and tiger of the Paris
Exhibition. When we left Paris in May one of the
jury informed us that a silver medal had been
awarded to Mr. Ward for this group, but that the
exhibition of other and inferior preserved animals
by him was much to his prejudice. It now appears
that the other animals were exhibited by another
Mr. Ward, and that by some blunder the medal has
been sent to him, and Mr. Ward of the lion and
tiger group— that is, Mr. Edwin Ward— has lost
what was undoubtedly intended for him, through
having a competitor of the same surname. Some
clerk or reporter to the jury has taken the wrong-
name from the catalogue, and Mr. Edwin Ward has
not only been cheated of his medal, but its pos-
sessor adds insult to injury, and declares by public
advertisement, that no mistake whatever has been
committed. Let us hope that the public will
endorse the award which the jury in reality made ;
and though another Mr. Ward may have got ths
medal, the honour beloncrs to Mr. Edwin Ward.

2S0

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Dec. 1, 1867.

' Hedgehogs. — As in the August and September
numbers, you have published an account of' hedge-
hogs apparently carrying away pears and crabs
sticking on their spines, you may thiuk the following
statement worth insertion as a further corroboration.
1 have received this account in a letter dated
August 5, 1867, from Mr. Swinhoe at Amoy :—
" Mr. Gisbert, the Spanish Consul at Amoy, informs
me that when he was an engineer on the roads
in Spain some years ago, he was fond of shooting
and roaming about the country. He states that in
the Sierra Morena, a strawberry-tree (Arbutus
imedo ?) was very abundant, and bore large quan-
tities of red, fruit-like, fine, large, red strawberries.
These gave quite a glow to the woods. The district
in the mountain chain he refers to, is on the divisional
line between the provinces of Seville and Badajos.
Under these trees hedgehogs occurred innumerable,
and fed on the fruit, which the Spaniards call
Madrone. Mr. Gisbert has often seen an Erizo
(hedgehog) trotting along with at_ least a dozen of
these strawberries sticking on its spines. He
supposes that the hedgehogs were carrying the
fruit to their holes to eat in quiet and security,
and that to procure tbem they must have rolled
themselves on the fruit which was scattered in
great abundance all over the ground beneath the
trees." — Charles Darwin.

The Viper. — I found a viper out on an open
niece of ground the other day, and as his home was
evidently at some distance, 1 detained him a short
time for the purpose of " making observations." He
did not move about much faster than I walked, and
when I put my stick on him to hold him back he
never darted at it, but hissed violently and tried to
escape. Finding his efforts fruitless, he lay still, and
even when 1 removed the stick, he only coiled himself
round and drew back his head, following the point
of the stick, but never aimed a blow at it. He then
climbed to the top of a thistle about two feet high,
and lying amongst its prickly leaves, treated me to
another hissing performance. The climbing was
done in a way that showed it to be perfectly natural
to him, and frequently performed ; he did not coil
round the stems at all, but lay across the leaves and
branches, lifting himself from one to another. I
teased him from this post, and lie hurried into a
thick tuft of herbage, where I left him. Anent
the reptile's bite, your correspondents evidently
believe it sometimes deadly, but fail to cite a case ;
the one given at length by Mr. Hall proves my
own views to have some truth in them. He says
if the victim had been a child instead of a man,
death would have been certain, but how can he
tell that the constitution of a child would have
been similarly affected ? I still adhere to my
former statement, that we are as yet without
any well-authenticated case of a viper's bite
proving fatal from its own simple nature. If any
instance can be brought forward, I hope to see
it in the pages of Science-Gossip.— Henry Ulhjett,
Folkestone*

Failure of Egg-hatching.— Many settings of
fowl, turkey, and duck eggs have failed with me
this summer. Some were valuable sorts. From
settings of thirteen eggs, rarely more than five
chickens have been hatched. Similar failure has
been common with my neighbours, creating surprise
as to the cause, such ill-success not having been
observed before.— S. B. M.

Snails. — Can any of your readers recommend an
effectual remedy for snails in a garden ; I mean one
that they have tested and found successful? The
employment of gulls or ducks has been suggested ;
but they are objected to by some on the ground that
they tread down the flowers, and devour straw-
berries and other fruit. The ivy affords them con-
cealment in dry weather, but on damp mornings
they swarm, and of course can be destroyed in
numbers, though with little appreciable effect.
Forty have been taken in a few minutes out of three
or four yards of hedge, and young plants are rapidly
stripped of their leaves and killed. A row of holly-
hocks are their last victims, and ferns are terribly
riddled. No doubt they are ably assisted by their
shell-less cousins, the slugs, and also by the wood-
lice which are likewise more numerous than wel-
come. The garden being surrounded by stone walls,
it is somewhat protected from outsiders, if the
enemy within could be destroyed. — G. Guyon,
Ventnor, Isle of Wight.

Is the Poison of the Yiper Fatal? — It is a
difficult thing to prove a negative ; and, unques-
tionably, such a circumstance as is related by your
correspondent, may have occurred at Poundbury,
near Dorchester, within the last two or three years
without my being acquainted with it. But, as one
fond of Natural History, and being all my life in the
immediate neighbourhood, I think I may say that
it is passing strange if such should have been the
case. I should be very glad if "the young relative"
mentioned in the note, could afford any information
whereby the matter may be elucidated. Poundbury
is hardly to be called a wild kind of spot, a sort of
waste. It is a bright open down, within half a
mile of the county-town, with hardly a shrub or a
stone, and certainly without any heath, which could
have furnished a viper's lair, and constantly exposed
to public observation. Assuredly no very extraor-
dinary death could have happened there, without
its being universally known throughout the county.
— C. W. Bingham.

My Blackbird.— Two or three years ago I reared
a blackbird from the nest, and he proved a first-rate
songster, having beside his own natural song many
variations which I had taught him ; and his round,
flute-like notes were the admiration of all who heard
them. This season he has been quite unable to
sing, though always attempting to do so, the cause
of his silence being, I believe, some disease in his
throat, which is sometimes very much swollen. A
kind of blister rises, and breaks at the root of his
beak frequently, and he often seems to have some-
thing in his throat which he tries to dislodge. His
plumage has not that neat appearance it used to
have, although the bird itself seems to be as lively
and cheerful as ever. Can any reader of Science-
Gossip kindly inform me how to treat my bird? —
G. B. C, Ringrcood.

Cockroaches beware. — I should recommend
" J. G." to try the following remedy agaiust cock-
roaches. Put two teaspoons of treacle in a soup-
plate, and then fill it up with hot water. Then
place several pieces of fire-wood up against the plate,
to serve as ladders for the cockroaches to climb up.
Some time ago our kitchen was swarming with these
creatures, but we set three or four of these traps at
a time (placing them by the holes from where the
cockroaches came out), and in a week or two we
were almo.st entirely free of them. — B. F. B.

Dec. 1, 1867.1

HARDWICKE'S SCIENC K-OOSS I P.

28]

Sonchus talustris. — Allow me to thank " J. W.
Wliite," Tor his kind answer to my inquiry. If he
does not possess Gibson's " Flora of Essex," he may
be interested to learn that this handsome Sonchus is
there stated not to have been lately noticed in that
county : its last observer being Mr. E. Forster,
who saw it in the locality given by Ray. Mr.
Eorster died in 1849, so that it is probably upwards
of twenty years since Sonchus palustris was seen in
Essex. Its rediscovery must be interesting to every
British botanist. — B.

Nasturtium Siifolium.— Is this very remarkable
form of the Watercress {N. officinale) generally dis-
tributed ? I have but recently made acquaintance
with it, and consider it well worthy of notice. The
stem is quite erect, except at the base, and very
thick ; the leaves are said by Professor Babington
to resemble those of a Siurn; hence the name : but
those which 1 have examined are exactly similar to
those of the Marshwort (Helosciadiuui nodiflorum).
The flowers are small, and have a pinkish tinge ;
the whole plant is of a much lighter green than the
common watercress. Not the least remarkable fact
connected with it is that,!tat Buckingham, where it
grows in profusion, it is known by the name of
" Brooklime," and is considered quite distinct from
the true watercress. — B.

How to get rid of Crickets. — These creatures
may be effectually exterminated by sprinkling
powdered arsenic, at night, over the crevices and
places they frequent. Two or three applications
generally prove sufficient. It is scarcely necessary
to add that all domestic animals should, during the
time, be excluded from the apartment.— .S. P.

Noctiluca miliaris. — With reference to "Mr.
T. P. Barkas's " request for a sample of Noctiluca:.
I very much doubt if that gentleman would find any
of those peculiar forms, amongst them, named
Diatomaceae ? I have gathered the former in
myriads, without detecting, in their company, any
strange foreign acquaintances : in the day, the
presence of these innumerable insects is indicated
by a red filmy scum, which floats on the surface of
the sea in calm weather in irregular streaks and
patches of colour, that would induce a person to
suppose some one had emptied a tub of ruddle over-
board, that had not time to sink out of sight. So
far as my observation goes, the Noctiluca is
identical with the well-known food of the pilchard,
herring, and mackerel ; warm days bring the
insects to the surface, and cold makes them retreat
into the unseen deeps. I once dipped up half a
gallon of them, and the first night I was the pos-
sessor of a bowl of liquid silver ; but on the next,
this magical glory had vanished like so much moon-
shine !— W. B., Fowey.

Crickets.— Your correspondent, "Geo. B.," is
evidently not of the same opinion as Vincent
Bourne with respect to the

Little inmate full of mirth,

since he asks in Science-Gossip how he is to
destroy crickets. I cannot sympathize with him,
for I like their merry chirping, and half believe in
the old Welsh superstition, that it is unlucky to
dislodge, or kill them, but since he is free from any
weakness of this kind, I will tell him that a few
pinches of strong Scotch snuff will effectually drive
them away. It should be sprinkled in their haunts,
though they dislike snuff, they are partial to beer,

and some people entice, and entrap them, by halt'
filling wide-mouthed vials with sweetened ale, and
placing them in their runs. — Helen E. Watney.

The Salamander {Salamandra maculosa). —
" C. S. G." inquires what is the ordinary food of this
creature. It feeds on insect s, slugs, and earthworms.
In fact, the kind of dietary which would satisfy the
common newt would doubtless gratify the taste of
the salamander. All reptiles and batrachians can
fast for long periods without serious inconvenience.

Who are you ? — Reader, did you ever, for one
moment, say to your own soul, "Who are you ? "
You know that you are a something, but what
thing? You know that there is some living power,
some knack within you, that helps you through life ;
that enables you to make a bargain with an eye to
a good pennyworth ; that even urges you to pick a
wife from a few millions ; that walks with you in
your business walks, that broods with you at home
over your ledger. But what is it ? Did you ever
try to bring it face to face with yourself ? Did you
ever manfully endeavour to pluck, for a moment,
this mystery from your blood, and look at it eye to
eye — this you ? It may be a terrible meeting ; but
sit in the magic circle of your own thoughts, and
conjure the thing. It may be devil — it may be
angel. No ; you will take the chance : you arc
not curious ; you are content to jog on ; you know-
that you are you ; but for the ivhat you, whether
perfect as the angels, or scabbed like Lazarus, whj
should you seek to know ? Rather, dwell in the
hopeful sweetness of your no-knowing. — Jerrold's
" Chronicles of Clover/took."

A Word for Hastings.— The writer of the in-
teresting article entitled "Left by the Tide," in the
October number of Science-Gossip, page 217,
evidently does not regard Hastings as a very favour-
able spot for the naturalist or botanist to obtain
rarities, but during a stay of some duration there
last year I was lucky enough to obtain the ex-
ceedingly rare zoophyte Beania mirabilis, parasitical
on Salicornariafarciminoides. Hastings is renowned
for its zoophytes ; among others 1 may mention
Flustra chartacea (the Paper Horn Wrack) and
Actinia coriacea (the Feathery Sea Anemone) which
I believe are both very local. As far as seaweeds
are concerned, I have obtained there two species of
Cystoreina 0. fibrosa (Ag.) and C. granulata (A.)
The Horned Wrack, Fucus cerano'ides (L.) the
Feathery Sphacelaria S. plumosa (D.) Dasya ar-
buscula (A.) and many other rare and interesting
Algse, many of which, too, I had not observed at
Torquay (the well-known head quarters for marine
treasures), where I had been • for some time previ-
ously staying. — /. C. 31.

"Worms— to Quit." — Water the ground with
lime-water twice a week, and it will banish the
intruders from your " grassplots." Clear lime-
water is easily made by throwing a good shovelful
of quicklime into a hogshead of water, stirring it
well, and then allowing it to stand from twelve to
twenty-four hours, before using it. Nothing else is
so safe, though other things are equally destructive
to worms. — George Newly n, The Gardens, Dangstein .

Selenite.— What is the best method of obtaining
films of Selenite of even thickness throughout, and
giving only one tint so as to be suitable for polar-
ising purposes ?— F. 31.

282

IIARDVVICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

[Dec. 1, 1867.

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, contri-
butions should not be received later than the 15th of each
month. No notice whatever eon be token of communi-
cations which do not contain t/te name and address of the
writer, not necessarily tor publication, if desired to be with-
held. 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
10 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 manu-
script 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 : x 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 inad-
missible under any circumstances. Those of the popular
names of British plants and animals are retained and regis-
tered for publication when sufficiently complete for that
purpose, in whatever form may then be decided upon.
Address No. 192, Piccadii.lt, London, W.

R. A. B., T. C— We have had the paper with dendritic spots
from several correspondents, and tad them to consi>t of
amorphous particles, and not of mucedinous threads. They
were first noticed by Lynghye, and are the Byssocludium
dendriticum of Agardh.— M. J. B.

Upper Test Valley. — We would commend to J. B., and
all others interested in Hampshire fossils and implements, a
very useful and complete pamphlet on the subject, by Dr.
Joseph Stevens, just published by Mr. James Tennant,
Mineralogist, 149, Strand.

Bugs.— There is no other work on Hemiptera, containing
all the British species, than Douglas and Scott's Hemiptera
Heteroptera, which A. S. P. and J. G. should procure. It is
an excellent example of a good book spoilt for the want of an
index. Moreover, while German authors and German figures
are quoted, the reader may look in vain to find English authors,
synonyms, or figures. What a pity it is that scientific writers
assume that everybody knows so much.

J. A. K. — Hygrophorus coccineus. — Fr.

C. P. C. — Clavaria pistillaris and Clavariafastigiuta.

S. S.— We believe that the " Beimuda earth " alluded to is
from the Bermuda Hundred, in the valley of the Potomac
Virginia, U.S.

J. S. — The work you name is such a recognized compilation
that it would be unjust to quote it, and not quote the au-
thority from which the information was first derived.

W. T. I. — The Torrubiu militaris, which you call by its old
name of Sphoeria militaris, is figured 011 a chrj salis in Science-
Gossip, 1866, pp. 128, fig. 120.

* E. B. of W. — We do not recognize anything like your very
rough sketch ; should any probability occur to us, we will
insert it.

W. D. N. — We know no English work on Swiss or general
European Butterflies.

J. B. B.-We know no elementary work en the Entomology
and Conchology of New Zealand.

S. A. S. — We hoped that after publishing such character-
istic figures in Science-Gossip, 1866, p. 228, fig. 217, that
we should not have had again to name the very common
galls or oak spangles on the under surface of cak leaves. We
aie sorry that S. A. S. does not read his " Gossip " regularly.

J. C. M.— No. 1, Madotheca platyphylla.

Mosses (J. M.) No. 2, Eypnvtn rvtabulum. 3, Tortula
unguit nluta. 4, Bypnum hitescens. 5, Pottia cavifolia var.
incana. Should be glad of specimens of the latter when the
fruit is perfect in February. — R. B.

F. C. B. — Your communication is such that we could not
reply to here, and you only sent initials, and no full address,
>o that you are alone to blame in not having it answered.

T. G. P.— Ineligible for the "Exchanges."

Clifton. — The following are the dates of publication :
Roth., "Tentamen," 1788-1800; Cavanilles, "Dissertationes,"
1/9"; "Icones," 1791-I8OI ; Rinz and Pavon, " Flora Peruv,"
1798-1802; Humboldt and Bonpland, 1808-9; Kunth, " Flora
Berol," 1813.

T. R., jun.— " Rust, Smut, Mildew and Mould." Price six
shillings. Published by R. Hardwicke, 192, Piccadilly.

EXCHANGES.

Hair of Australian [Bat, and sections of Peccary,
Elephant, and other hairs, mounted, for other objects. —
George Potter, 7, Montpellier-road, Upper Holloway, N.

Aregma Bulbosum. — (Brand on Bramble leaf), for
stamped envelop.— W. Spicer, 17, Brighton Park, Clifton.

Convolvulus Hawk for other rare moths. — Send list to
H. H. O. Farrell, 10, Douro Place, Kensington.

Foraminiferous Sand in exchange for other unmounted
objects. — Aildress, T. B. N., Cornbrook Abbey, Chester-road,
Manchester.

Helix Pisana, from St. Clement's Bay, Jersey, in ex-
change for raie British or Foreign shells.— C. Adcock, 78,
Stafford-street, Birmingham.

Eggs of British Birds for British Butterflies.— Send
lists to Thomas H. Hedworth, Dnnston, Gateshead.

Small Green Forester (Ino Geryon) and December
moth (P. Populi) in exchange for other rare species.— C. R.
Doward, 41, Copenhagen-street, Worcester.

Scales of the Gilt-head Fish {Chrysophris auratus) . —
Send stamped envelope. Address to J. P., Abbotsbury,
Dorchester.

British Plants in exchange for others. — Apply, for list,
to S. Payne, 5, Victoria Terrace, Weymouth.

Unmounted Objects for exchange (Hairs, &c. &c), 60
varieties.— Send lists to G. W. Webb, 108, White Rock-street,
Liverpool.

Acherontia atropos, and other Insects, for Foreign
Shells. — John Taylor, 119, Garnett- street, Leeds-road,
Bradford.

Orbitolites and Foraminifera (unmounted), in ex-
change for other unmounted objects of interest.— J. H.,
6, Brewer-street, Pimlico.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

" New Facts and Old Records," a Plea for Genesis, by S. R .
Pattison, F.G.S. 8vo. London : Jackson, Walford, & HocWer.

" The American Naturalist." a popular magazine of Natural
History for September and October, IS67. Essex Institute,
Salem, Mass., U.S.

"The Cabinet of the Earth Unlocked," by Edward Steam'
Jackson, M.A., F.G.S. London : Jackson, Walford, & Hoddei .

" The Fourteenth Annual Report of the Brighton and
Sussex Natural History Society." Brighton, I867.

" Organic Philosophy." Vol. II. Outlines of Ontology.
Eternal Forces, Laws, and Principles, by HughDoherty, M.D.
8vo., cloth, pp. 455. London : Tiiibner & Co.

" A Descriptive List of Flint Implements found at St. Mar)'
Bourne, &c," by Joseph Stevens, M.D. 8vo. London :
Tennant, I867.

" A Catalogue of the British Plants, Known or Reported to
have been found in the County of Buckingham," by James
Britten, Hon. Sec, High Wycombe Natural History Society.
Wycombe.

"Young England's Almanack and Naturalist's Calendar
for 1868 " (a broadsheet). London: Tweedie.

" A Preliminary Notice of the Akazga Ordeal of West
Africa." By Thomas R. Fraser, M.D., F.R.S.E. London:
J. E. Adlard.

" The Physiological Action of the Calabar Bean (Physox-
tigma venenosum)," by Thomas R. Fraser, M.D. From the
Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Edinburgh :
Neill & Co.

Communications Received.— M. W.— E. M.— W. C—
H E w— F. T. M.— S. S.— E. H. R.— H. H. O. F— J. S. M.
J. B. B.-S. A. S.-J. C. M.-R. A. S.— W. W.— W. D. N.—
B.— G. N.-L. S.— J. S. M.— W. T. H.— B. T.— T. H., junr.—
J B. W.-R. O. D.-E. B. of W.— E. H. R.-H. B.-J. B. B.—
J. S.-F. B. F.-W.T. I.— R. F. G.— A.— R. A. B.— R. P.—
A. I— L. C. M. G. (perfectly illegible).— R. W.—C. E. R —
J. A. K— M. A. W.-J. G.— A. J.— J. W.— E. G.— J. C. M.—
E.T. S.-F. A. A.-J. G.-C. P. C.-W. B. F.-J. D. H.-
C. R. D.— J. P.— J. R. G.-T. R.-A. M. D.-S. P.-H. W\—
M D— F. G. S.-W. W.— J. J.— T. S. S.-R. A.— W. P. P.—
N. E— Wr. P. R.-James.-F. C. B.-G. N.-A. H. T.—
A. M. E.-H. C.-J. G.-H. B.— F. B.-G. R.— A. S.— K.—
S. W. U.— J. H- W. R. T.-J. B.-E. S. H.

. 1.1S67.]

11 A 11 D \ V I C K E * S SCIENCE-GOSSIT.

283

INDEX TO VOL. III.

Acanthia lectularia, 269.

Acari, 43, 207, 124.

Acarus of tbe Fly, 207.

A Century ago, 127.

Acherontia atropos, 190, 208, 213,214, 2G2.

Actinophrys, 104.

JEcidium Orobi, 137.

Age of Niagara, 139.

Ague, Cure (?) for, 1 17-

Alasl poor Atropos, 41.

Algeria, Swallows in, 64.

Almond tree, the, 42.

Amblystegium confervoides, 272.

American Diatomaceous Deposits, 210.

American Naturalist, 143.

American Spider, great, 213.

Amidst the Ruins. 31.

Among Wasps, "0.

Amphitetras, the Genus, 2/1.

Anacharis atsinastrum, is.

Analogy of Smell, 59.

. inanussa sativa, 1 1 .

An awkward mistake, 279.

Anchovy, the, 41.

Ancient names of plants, 90.

Ancient Nuts, 92.

Ancient Rose-tree, 163.

Ancient Sea-marks, 92.

An Eagle in Hylands Park, 40.

Anecdote of a Horse, 23:'.

Anecdote of a Monkey, 233.

Anemone, an amputated, 134.

Anemone, a prolific, 39.

Anemone, baseless Sea-, 13fi.

Anemone, curious Sea-, 134.

Anemones: are they oviparous? 190.

Anemone, tenacious, 23.

Animal grafting, 256.

Animal of medium size, 164.

An interesting event, 3.

Anobium, 38, 255.

Anobium, slough of, 211.

Anthracite Coal as Fuel, 67.

Anthrenus, 254.

Antipathy of a Canary, 135, 215.

Antipodes, small Birds for the, 113.

Aphis of the Maple, 2u 1.

Apparatus for Drawing Objects, 236.

Apple, the, 45.

Apple, the Queen, 68.

Aquaria, 141.

Aquaria, bottom of, 211.

Aquaria, cleaning, 238.

Aquaria, dust on, 69, 11/, 113,141, 112.

Aquaria, great, 143.

Aquaria, Tadpoles in, 167.

Aquarium pest, "0, 95, 1 18.

A Ramble in South Africa, 15 J.

Army of Snails, 215.

Art versus Nature, 27S.

Ash, the, 239.

Asphalte Cement, 23, 43.

Asplenium rhizophyUum, 1 87-

Asterina gibbosa, 279.

Athela of Babylon, 20.

At Home in the Wilderness, 122.

Atomechanics, 23/.

Atropos, 51.

Atropos pulsatoriu, 29. 41, 51,

Australia, Plants in, 65.

A Voice from Paris, 97.

Babeer, 90, 119.
Babylon, Athela of, 20.
Baillie's Salmon-roe, the 113.
Baillou's Crake, 143.

Bulena mystieetus. 2/5.

Balls, Henry, of Reedham, 24, 4", 71.

Balsam and Chloroform, Mounting in, 8.

Balsam, Mounting, 21, 23, 91.

Bangor? Which, 143, 213.

Barn Owl, the, 17.

Barometer and Colliery Explosions, 116.

Berleguar of the Rose, 71 , 94.

Beeches, 215.

Bee* at Large, 232.

Beetles, Metallic Markings, 275.

Beetles, Wood-boring, 255.

Beetle, the Diamond, 61.

Bereaved Dog, 39.

Bidmusk, 21.

Binoculars, Erector for, 115.

Binoculars, rack of, 115.

Birch, the, 90.

Birds and Insects of Malaya, 161.

Birds Breeding in Confinement, 70, 117,

118.
Birds' Eggs, Mice Destroyers of, 41.
Birds eye Primrose, 167.
Birds, Hybernation of, 214.
Bird-slaughter, 93, 94.
Birds'-ncst, Edible, 39.
Birds of Norfolk, 149.
Birds Preening, 191, 215.
Bites of Gnats, 142, 165, 260.
Bitten by a Viper, 175, 199, 213.
Bittercress, Double Variety of, 2P9, 235,
Bittern in Norfolk, 17.
Bitter-vetch Cluster-Cups, 137.
Blackbird, my, 2SJ.
Blackbirds, 46.
Black, dead, 142, 166.
Black or White ? 63.
Black Redstart, 276.
Black Spider of Jamaica, 88.
Hlindworm, the, 179, 260.
Blood Beetle, the, 27, 62, 71, 91.
Blue Birds of Galilee, 21.
Blue Pimpernel. 209, 235, 233.
Boatman, the Water, 89, 117.
Boletus, an Enormous, 65.
Boletus cyanescens, 258.
Boletus impolitus, 235, 258, 278.
Bonnets at fault, 160.
Book Wanted, 14 2.
Bot of the Reindeer, 41.
Bottom of Aquaria, 214.
Bouquet from Helvellyn, 242.
Boy Charmed by Serpents, 70, 93, 190.
Bricks of Dashour, 43.
Brimstone Butterfly, the, 119.
Britain, Primeval, 198.
British Columbia, Diatoms of, 211.
British Insects, List of, 264
British Moss, a New, 158.
Bugs. 269, 276, 282.
Bug-*, Enemy to, 260.
Bulb d of the East, 71.
Bustard, the Little, 88.
Butterflies, Varieties of, 232.
Butterflies, Winter, 89.
Butterfly, the Brimstone, 1 19.
Buxbaumia indusiata in Aberdeen, 230.

Cabinfts, Insects in, 45.
Caddis- worms, 167.
Cairo, Rocks of Aqueous Deposit, 138.
Camera, Microscopic, 69.
Cumpanularia getiiculatu, 259.
Canada Balsam, to harden, 43.
Canary, Antipathy of a, 135, 21 J.
Cantharide3, 35.

Caoutchouc, solvent for, 66.

Cardamine pratensis, 167.

Cardinal Spiders, 64, 88.

Car ex Buxbaumii, 163.

Carmine for Injections, 20.

Case, circulating, 22.

Cat and Kestrel, 276.

Cat and Kittens with Hen, 63.

Cat and Squirrels, 208.

Catching a Diver, 136.

Cat-fleas, 47, 214.

Cats and Cockroaches, 46.

Cats and Rain, 46, 190.

Cats at the fire, 190.

Cats' Hair and Electric Sparks, 212.

Cats, self-denial of, 20.

Cedrus deodara, 114.

Cement for Cells and Aquaria, 259.

Cement wanted, 191.

Cement, India-rubber, 23, 43.

Cements for Slides, 21, 259.

Centering Objects, 139, 211.

Centipede, phosphorescent, 95.

Century ago, 127.

Chcerocampa celerio, 257-

Chaffinch, a confiding, 94.

Chaffinch, Nest of the, 232.

Chalk, Diatoms in, 236.

Chalk, Foraminifera in, 36.

Chameleon, the, 257, 261.

Champignon, false, 238.

Chara in Aquaria, 214, 238.

Cheating a Spider, 135, 162, 189-

Chelifers, 277.

Chignon-fungus, the, 107.

Child bitten by a Viper, 237.

Chloroform and Balsam, mounting in, i.

Cholera and Swallows, 17.

Cholera-fungus, the, 206.

Chrysalis, novel situation for a, 239.

Ciliary muscle of the Eye, 1 SS.

Circulating case, 22.

C/at/irus cuncellutus, 187.

Clays, derivation of, 20.

Cleaning Aquaria, 238.

Cleaning Diatoms, 262.

Climbing Frogs and Toads, 234.

Clip for Zoophyte trough, 105, 168.

Closterium, movements in, 22.

Clouded Yellow Butterfly in Ireland, 255,

278.
Club, Echoes from the, 231.
Cluster Cups, the Bitter-vetch, 137-
Coal, Anthracite, 67.
Cocconeis, 81.
Cockroaches beware, 2S0.
Cockroaches, Mice and, 119, 141, 143.
Cockroaches, to Kill, 166, 212, 280.
Cockroaches, Worms in, 238.
Cockroaches, Yankee receipt for, 113.
Cockroach, Male, 71.
Cocoa-nut Milk, 42.
Coffee, introduction into England, 134.
Coleoptera, fossil, 238.
Coliits edusa in Ireland, 255, 276.
Colliery Explosions, and the Barometer,

116.
Coloured Labels, 239, 263.
Common Tern, 17.
Confervoid growth in slides, 22.
Confurvoideis : Spirogyra, 60.
Conochilus vulvox, 69.
Contrary to Nature, 205.
Corals, 279.
Cordon-bleu, 46.
Cornish Colloquies, 18.'.
Crake, Baillon's, 143.

2S4

H A K D VV 1 C K E ' S SCIENCE- GOSSIP.

[Dec. 1, 1S6;

Crane at Sandhurst, 161.

Crickets, 279, 281.

Crickets, Origin of, 89.

Crickets, how to get rid of, 263, 279, 281 .

Crocodile in England, 7, 41.

Crystal Palace, Fire at the, 31.

Cuckoo, the, 112.

Cucumbers, 2/7.

Cure (?) for Ague, 117.

Curious Flower, 18.

Curious Nest of Hedge Sparrow, 275.

Curious Sea-anemone, 134.

Cuticles of Leaves, &c, 43, 115.

Cyclops, Vorticella, &c, 81.

Dashour, Bricks of, 43.

Daisy and Buttercup, 16b.

Daisy Anemone, 46.

Dead as a Herring, 263.

Dead Black, 142, 166.

Dead Starlings, 279.

Death-Adder of New South Wales, 161.

Death's-head Moth, igo, 213, 214, 262.

Death's-head Moth, Larva? of, 208, 262.

Death Watch, the, 2g.

Deodara, the, 114, 144.

Deposit, Monmouth, 133, 156, 180.

Dermestes? what is, 28, 206.

Desmids, Mounting, 188.

Destruction of Rare Birds, 69, 93, 94, 160.

Diamond Beetle, the, 64.

Diatomaceous Deposits of America, 210.

Diatoms, 9, 35, 81, 91, H3, 115, 133, 156,

180, 188, 228.
Diatoms, Cleaning. 262.
Diatoms, Genera and Species or, 91.
Diatoms of Shell-fish, 115.
Diatoms in the Chalk, 236.
Diatoms, Mounting, 140, 166, 167.
Diatoms, Movements in and o(, 46, 140,

164.
Diatoms of British Columbia, 211.
Diatoms, Processes and Inflations in, It 3 .
Dicranum arcticum, 158.
Died of a Shrew, 186.
Diptera, Work on, 24U.
Disease caused by use of False Hair, 9?.
Disguises of Insects, 193, 233, 234, 261,

279.
Dissection, Preservation of Objects for,

262.
Distribution, Helps to, 244.
Distribution of Plants, 114.
Diver, Catching a, 1 36.
Divination by Rib-grass, 60.
Dodo, the White, 5, 52.
Dog in Trouble, 63, 190.
Dog-life, 155.

Dog, Mediaeval Anecdote of, 232.
Dogs, House, 136.
Dog, the Bereaved, 39.
Dombeya ungulata. 65.
Domestic Spiders, 64.
Dormouse, Fossil, 139.
Double Bittercress, 209, 235.
Double Cardamine, 167.
Double Egg shells, 22, 46, 47.
Double Honeysuckle, 239.
Double Oranges, 118, 142.
Double Pear, 119.
Dove-plant, the, 42.
Dragon-fly, the, 225.
Drake, Feathers of the, 139.
Drawing Microscopic Objects, 236.
Drilling Glass, 93, 212.
Dust on Aquaria, 69, 117, 118, 142.
Dyeing Grasses and Mosses, 23.

Eagle in Hylands Paek, 40.

Early Wasp, 94, 117.

Eccentricities of Hedgehogs, 213, 238.

Echinus lividus, 82.

Echoes from the Club, 231 .

Economic Uses of Pith, 90.

Edible Bird's Nest, 39.

Edible Larvae, 30.

Eels, Wheat, 19, 66.

Egg-hatching, Failure of, 280.

Eggs, Double, 22, 46, 47.

Eggs of the Lackey Moth, 119, 141.

Eggs of the Whelk, 91.

Eggs of Woodpecker, 68.

Egg within an Egg, 94, 1 19.

Elastic Glue, 259.

Electric Sparks, Cats' Hair and, 212.

Elk, the, 239.

Elm Galls, 17.

Emergence and Submergence, 276.

Encampment of Fleas, 134.

Enemy to Bugs, 260.

England, the Crocodile in, 7, 41.

Enormous Boletus, 65.

Erector for Binoculars, 115.

Europe, the Papyrus in, 65.

Evening Primrose, 65.

Event, an Interesting, 3.

Examination of Melicerta with High

Power.'', 33
Examining Soundings, 164.
Exchange Rules, Quekett Club, 142.
Exogens, 114.

Exposition Universale. 121.
Eye, Ciliary Muscle of the, 188.

Failure of Egg-hatching, 280.

False Champignons, 238.

False Hair a Cause of Disease, 95.

Fangs of Spiders, 237, 270, 276.

Faro Apophyllite. 117, 142.

Fatty Acids as Microscopic Objects, 140.

Feast of Roses, 145.

Feathers for Mounting, 139.

Ferns Buried with the Dead, 60.

Ferns, Hardy Foreign, 83.

Ferns, Varieties of, 187.

Fern, the Walking, 187.

Fertilization by Insects, 209.

Field Mouse, the, 234..

Filiigu Gallica in Surrey, 278.

Fine Tench, 17.

Fire, an Ocean of, 161.

Fish-beds, 67.

Fisheries, Pearl, 185.

Fishes, Odd, 26d.

Fishes, Preserved, 161.

Fish-hooks cut out of Shells, 26J.

Fish Increase, 260.

Fish Scales, to Mount, 19.

Fish-tanks, 191, 213.

Flomes, the Rhythm of, 49, 95.

Flea of the Cat, 47, 214.

Fleas, an Encampment of, 134.

Flea, Tenacity of life in, 21.

Fleas, Wintry, 113.

Flies, Poisonous, 167.

Flies, Saws of, 22.

Flint Flakes, 138.

Flora of Bucks, 277.

Floscularia, &c, 19.

Flower of the Holy Ghost, 18, 42.

Fly Acarus, 207.

Flying-fish. 161, 181.

Folk-lore, Rural, 177.

Foot, F. J., Obituary of, 7"

Foraminifera, 129, 215, 236.

Foraminifera from Shells, 263.

Foraminifera in Chalk. 35.

Forest, the Petrified, 138, 1S9.

Fossil Coleoptera, 238.

Fossil Dormouse, 139.

Fossils of the Lias, 44.

Fossils, Preservation of, 22, 23, 43.

Fossils, Use of, 92.

Foster-pup, Pussy's, 186.

Freak of a Nightingale, I76.

Freshwater, Sea-fish in, 113.

Freshwater Sponge, 247.

Freshwater Sticklebacks in Seawater, 38.

Frog in Gooseberry Bush, 234.

Frog in Oolite, 45, 69.

Frogs and Toads, 234.

Frogs and Toads climbing, 234.

Frog Season, the, 213.

Frogs, Incarcerated, 207, 261.

Frog, Spawning of the, 63, 89. 117, 1 19-

Fruit, Original Mode of Gathering, 184.

Fungi, 18.

Fungus, the Chignon, 106.

Fungus, the Cholera, 206.

Galilee, Blue Birds of, 31.

Gall-flies, 64.

Galls on the Elm, 17.

Gannet and Diver, 162.

Gasteroiteus galtatmx, 20.

Gasteropnds, Rotation of Embryo in, 26 1.

Germination of the Toad rush, 150.

" Giants in those Days,'' 92.

Glass- cells, 66.

Glass, to Drill, 93, 212.

Glaucous Gull, 88.

Glenshira Sand, 72, 14n.

Gnat-bites, 14?, 16s, 261).

Gold-fish. 165, 190, 191, 213.

Grurula religiosa, 112.

Grand Lory, the, 20.

Grasses and Mosses, to Dye, 23.

Grasshoppers in America, 213.

Grasshopper Warbler, the, 186.

Great Aquaria, 143.

Great Ribbon-fish, 208.

Great Spotted Woodpecker, 41.

Gregarinidre in Cockroaches, 238.

Guaco, 167, 189.

Gut, Silkworm, 143.

Hairs of Dermestes Larva, 28.

Hair-worms, 162, 190, 221.

Halo of a Shadow, 23, 46, 95.

Hamburgh, Zoological Society of, 166.

Hampshire Lycopod, 2f9, 251.

Hardy Foreign Ferns, 83.

Hare-rabbits, 23.

Hart's Tongue, Proliferous, 42.

Harvest Moon, the, 215, 263.

" Hats Off," 184.

Hawk and Weasel, 256.

Hawk-moth, the Striped, 136, 162.

Hedgehogs, 280.

Heogehog Eccentricities, 213, 23S.

Hedge Sparrow's Nest, 275.

Helps to Distribution, 244.

Helvellyn, Bouquet Tom, 242.

Hen with Cat and Kittens, 63.

Herring, Dead as a, 263.

Hint, a, 113.

Hint about Labels, 239, 263.

Hints to Object Mounters, 91, 133.

Holly in Flower, 42.

Holy Ghost, Flower of the, 18, 42.

Honey Ants of Texas, 118.

Honey, Pollen in, 68.

Honeysuckle, Double, 239.

Honey, What's in the ? 30.

Horse, Anecdote of a, 233.

Horse, a " New River," 135.

House-dogs, 136.

How did they get there ? 1 1 7.

Human Remains, 67.

Huxley on the Study or Natural Historv.

73.
llynliidiscus, 95, 119.
Hyulunemn, 47.

Hybernation of Swallows, 185, 214.
H\drophilus, Larva of, 189, 212.
Hydrophilus, Nest of the, l6ri.
Hjlands Park, an Eagle in, 40.

Ides Bkumaltje, 265.

Impressions of Leaves, 141. 191.

Incarcerated Frogs, 207, 261.

India-rubber Cement, 23, 43.

India, Rust and Smut in, 137.

Injections, Carmine for, 20.

Insect Pests, 64.

Insect, the Leaf, 192, 204.

Insects and Birds of Malaya, 161.

Insects, Fertilization by, 209.

Insects in Cabinets, 45.

Insect Sounds, 214.

Insects, Scarcity of, 23.

Insects, the Disguises of, 193, 233, 234.

261.
Interesting Event, an, 3.
Invading Army ot Snails, 215.
Is it Podura? 45.

Is the Poison of the Viper fatal? 280.
Is Lichen-growth detrimental to Trees ?

241.
Ivy at Chadkirk, 277.

Jamaica, the Black Spider ok, 88.
Jordan Almond-tree, 42.
J umping Seeds, 257.
Juvenile Museums, 106.

Kawai, the, 260.

Killing Cockroaches, 166, 212.

Kingfisher, the, 232.

Dec. 1, 1S67.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

2s;

Labels, Hint about, 239, 263.

Lackey Moth, Eggs of the, 119, 141.

Lakes, Temperature of, 2/3.

Lasiocampa Quercus, 256.

Lateness of Martins, &c, 17.

Lattice-stinkhorn, the, 197.

Larch-tree, the, 90.

Lark, Sons: of the, 191.

Larvae, Edible, 30.

Larvae, Leaf-mining-, 169, 212.

Larva? in Mushrooms, 214, 260.

Larvae of Death's-head Moth, 208, 262.

Larva of Hydrophilus, 189, 212.

Leaf- Insect, the, 192, 204.

Leaf-mining Larvae, 169, 212.

Leap for Life, 103.

Leaves, Impressions of, 141, 191.

Leaves, Skeleton, 22, 117, 141, 246.

Left by the Tide, 2 17.

Left no Address, 47, 71.

Leg Legends, 141, 189.

Lepidoptera wanted, 135.

Lias, Fossils of the, 44.

Lichen Dyes, 266.

Lichen-growth : is it detrimental to Trees ?

241.
Lightning, Struck by, 165.
Linnea Bortalis in York, 258.
List of British Insects, 264.
Little Bustard, the, 88.
Live Box, a New, 66.
Lizards casting their Tails, 256.
Locust, Tail of, 165, 189, 190.
Lopping Trees, 46.
Lory, the Grand, 20.
Lutra vulgaris, 255.
Lycium Barbarum, 257.
Lycopod, Hampshire, 209, 258.

Maelstrom, the, 215, 263.

Magpie, 191.

Malayan Birds and Insects, 161.

Male Gall-flies, 64.

Mankind, Unity of, 110, 152, 173, 245, 267.

Maple, Aphis of the, 204.

Marine Glue Varnish, 23.

Markings in Sandstone, 20.

Marks, 59.

Marmalade, 68.

Marsh Sow-thistle, 210, 235, 257.

Marsh-worms, Rat and, 69.

Martens and Sparrows, 233.

Marten and Swallows, Lateness of, 17.

May Mushrooms, 112, 136.

Mediaeval Anecdote of a Dog, 232.

Medium size, Animal of, 164.

Medium wanted, 214.

Meerschaum, 143, 165.

Melicerta, 19, 33.

Melicerta, N. E. Green on, 33.

Mermis nigrescens, 221 .

Metallic Markings of Beetles, 275.

Mezereon, the, 114.

Mice and Cockroaches, 119, 141, 143.

Mice, destroyers of Birds' Eggs, 41.

Mice, eaters of Pupae, 47.

Microscopic Camera, 69.

Microscopic Fungi, the Study of, 1SS.

Microscopic Measurement, 18S.

Microscopic Object, 69.

Mildew, Wheat, 16.

Milky appearance in Slides, 23.

Milton and Reade, 191.

Mirage, 191.

Mite, Eggs of the Stone-, 210.

Mites, Sociable, 124.

Mole- cricket, the, 232.

Money, Shells as, 70

Monkey, Anecdote of a, 233.

Monkey, My little Green, 179.

Monmouth Deposit, 133, 156, ISO.

Moon, the Harvest, 215, 263.

Mortality among Beech Trees, 215.

Mosquitoes, 78.

Moss, new British, 158, 272.

Mosses and Grasses, to Dye, 23.

Mosses, Organization of, 249.

Mosses, the Study of, 138.

Moss-rose, the, 42.

Metacilla alba, 17.

Moth, the Striped Hawk, 136.

Mounting Desmids, 188.

Mounting Diatoms, 140, 166, 167.

Mounting Fish Scales, 19.

Mounting, Hints on, 91, 139.

Mounting in Balsam, 21, 23.

Mounting in Balsam and Chloroform, 8.

Mounting Whalebone, 1'J.

Mouse and Snake, 18b.

Movements in and of Diatoms, 46, 140.

164.
Movements in Vlosterium, 22.
Mud of the Nile, 159.
Mushrooms, Larva; in, 214, 260.
Mushrooms, Poisoned by, 2:-is.
Mushroom, the May, 112, 136.
Musttla Vulgaris, 255.
My Blackbird, 280,
My little Green Monkey, 179.
Myrtle, the, 42.

Napoleon's Willow, 71 •

Napthalin and Santonin, 110.

Nasturtium Sii/ulium, 280.

Natural History, 163.

Natural History, How to Study, 73.

Natural History, Rural, 8ti, 117, lis.

Naturalist, Perils of a, 15.

Naturalist, the American, 143.

Nature, a Curiosity of, 47.

Nature, Contrary to, 205.

Neighbourly Spider, 255.

Nesting or the Grey Wagtail, 64.

Nesting of the Pied Wagtail, 17.

Nest ot Chaffinch, 232.

Nest of Hedge Sparrow, Curious, 275.

Nest of Spider, 37.

Nest of Wood Wasp, 247.

Nest, the Edible Bird's, 39.

Nest of the Hydrophilus, 165.

Nest of the Tiap-door Spider, 40.

Neuroptera, Work on, 240.

New British Moss, 158, 273.

New Legs, 189.

" New-river " Horse, 135.

Newt, the Palmate, 161.

Niagara, Age of, 139.

Nightingale, Freak of a, 176.

Nightingale, the, 112, 144.

Nile Mud, 159.

Noctiluca miliaria, 259, 2S1.

Norfolk, Bittern in, 17.

Norfolk, the Birds of, 149.

Novel situation for a Chrysalis, 239.

November Star Showers, 45.

Nut-borers, 189, 191.

Nuts, Ancient, 92.

Nuts, Perforated, 167.

Obituary op F. J. Foot, 70.
Object, an Unknown, 68.
Object lor the Microscope, 69.
Object, New Polarising, 236.
Objects, Centering, 139, 21 1.
Objects for Polariscope, 43.
Objects for Dissection, to Preserve, 262.
Object, Varnish as an, 19.
Ocean of Fire, 161.
Odd Fishes, 260.
(Enanthe pimpinelloides, 235.
Oolite, Frog in, 45, 69.
Ophiocytiuin, 127, 238.
Oranges, double, 118, 142.
Orcht-sella, 45.
Orchil-weed, 71.
Organization of Mosses, 249.
Original mode of Gathering Fruit, 184.
Origin of Crickets, 89.
Origin of Petroleum, 116.
Origin of Rocks revealed by the Micro-
scope, 259.
Orobranc/ie PieridU, the, 187.
Otolites, 151, 188.
Otter, the, 255.
Owl, the Barn, 17.
Oxlip, the, 137, 163, 165, 18/, 235.

Pagoda Thrush, 20.
Palmate Newt, 161.
Palm, the Talipat, 18.
Papuans, the, 68.
Papyrus in Europe, 65.
Papyrus, the True, 42.
Parasite of the Harvestrran, 211.
Paris, a Voice from, 97.

Parr or Salmon ? 62.

Patthur-ke-phul, 90.

Pear, Double, 119.

Pearl Fisheries, 185.

Pear-tree in bloom, 209.

Pear, Triple, 62.

Pea, the Sweet, 42.

Perforated Nuts, 167.

Perforating Squirrels, 141, 165, I89.

Perils of a Naturalist, 15.

Pest of the Aquarium, 70, 95, 118, 141.

Petrified Forest, the, 138, I89.

Petroleum, 44.

Petroleum, Origin of, 116.

Phosphorescent Centipede, 95.

Phyllactidium, 178, 210, 236.

Physalia, l6l.

Picris Broom Rape, I87.

Pied Wagtail, Nesting of, 17.

Pimpernel, Blue, 209, 235, 258.

Pineapples, 11.

Pink Primroses, 278.

Pith, Economic Uses of, 90.

Planaria, 260.

Plane Tree, the, 35.

Plantain, 239.

Plants, Ancient Names of. 90.

Plants, Distribution of, 114.

Plants in Australia, 65.

Plants, Sensitive, 94.

Podurae, 45,53.

Plesiosaurus, II 6.

Poison and Antidote, 90.

Poison Gland of Wasp, 60.

Poison of Spider, 16, 237.

Poison of the Viper: is it Fatal? 237,

280.
Poisonous Flies, 167.
Poisonous Mushrooms, 238.
Poisonous Spider of Russia, 40.
Polar Bear, Young, 3.
Polariscopic Objects, 43, 236.
Polarising, 93.
Polarising a Rainbow, 118.
Pollen in Honey, 68.
Pork Measles, 93.
Portuguese Man of Wrar, 161.
Preparation of Snails'-tongues, 277.
Preservation of Fossils, 22, 23, 44.
Preservation of Objects for Dissection,

262.
Preservation of Spiders, 262,
Preserved Eishes, 161.
Primary Colours, 258.
Primeval Britain, 198.
Primroses, 42, 114, 136, 141, 167, 235.
Primroses, Pink, 278.
Primrose, the Birdseye, 167.
Primrose, the Evening, 65.
Proliferous Hart's-tongue, 42.
Prolific Anemone, 39.
Psittacus grandis, 20.
Puccinia graminis, 16.
Puff anas multiformis, 118.
Punishment, a Robin's, 160.
Pussy's Foster-pup, 186.
Pyranga rubra, 20.

Quail, the, 256.

Queen Apple, 68.

Quekett Club, 231, 259.

Quekett Club, Exchange Rules, 142.

Quekett Club Soiree, 43.

Query about Volvox, 215.

Rabbits, HYBRin, 23.

Rack of Binoculars, 115.

Rainbow, Polarising a, 118.

Ramble in South Africa, 154.

Rare Birds, Shooting, 69, 93, 94, 160.

Rat and Marsh-worms, 69.

Rat eating Worms, 233.

Rats, 275.

Rat-tail Radish, 278.

Rat-tail Venom, 260.

Rattlesnake, the, 212, 261.

Redstart, the, 88.

Reduvius personatus, 260.

Reflectors, Cleaning, 93.

Reindeer Bot, 41.

Relations at Sea, 45.

Revolving Stereoscopes, 118.

Rhizosulenia, 35.

Rhythm of Flames, 49, 95.

2S6

HAHDIVICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP.

Dec. 1, 1SG7.

Ribbon-fish, Great, 208.
Rib-grass, Divination by, 65.
Robin's Punishment, 160.
Rocks of the Aqueous Deposit, Cairo, 138.
Rose, Bedeguar of the, 71, 94.
Rose-chafers, 88.
Roses, Feast of, 145.
Rose, the Moss-, 42.
Rose-tree, Ancient, 163.
Rose, Under the, 152.
Rotation of Embryo in Gastropods, 261 .
Rue, 278.

Ruins, Amidst the, 31.
Rural "Fclk-lore," 17/.
Rural Natural History, 86, 117, 118.
Rush, Germination of the Toad-, 150.
Russia, the Poisonous Spider of, 40.
Rust and Smut in India, 137.
Hutu graveolens, 2/8.

Sugartia lellis, 46.
Salamander, 281.
Salamandrine, 104.
Salicuria locustella, 186.
Salix JEgyptiaea, 2 1 .
Salmon or Parr? 62.
Sandstone, Markings in, 20.
Sanguinaria Root as an Object, 22.
Santonin, 94, 119.
Saw-flies, 22.

Scales of Fish, to Mount, 19.
Scarcity of Insects, 23.
Scientific Knowledge, value of, 142.
Sea-anemone, a Baseless, 136.
Sea-anemone, a Curious, 134.
Sea-fish in fresh water, 1 13.
Sea-horse, £64.
Sea-marks, Ancient, 92.
Sea, Relations at, 45.
Seeds, Jumping, 257.
Seeds, Winged, 137-
Selenite, 281.
Self-denial of Cats, 20.
Sensitive Plants, 94, 114, 119-
Separation of Vegetable Cuticles, &c, 43,

115.
Serpents, Boy Charmed by, 70, 93.
Shadow, Halo of a, 23, 46, 95.
Shell-fish, Diatoms in, 115.
Shell Money, 70.
Shells, Foraminifera from, 263.
Shipworm, the, 88.
Shooting Rare Biids, 69, S3, 94, 160.
Shrew, Died of a, 186.
Shrike, the, 64, 212.
Silk, 64.

Silkworm Gut, 143.
Skeleton Leaves, 22, 117, 141,246.
Skeleton of Purple Urchin, 82.
Skipjack, the (fish), 20.
Skylark, the, 167.
Slides, Cement for, 21 .
Slides, Confervoid Growth in, 22.
Slough of Anobiuni, 211.
Slow-worm, Climbing, 112, 161.
Slow-worm or Blind-worm, 179, 260.
Small Birds for the Antipodes, 113.
Smell, Analogy of, 59.
Snails, 280.

Snails, Invading Army of, 215.
Snails' Tongues, Preservation of, 277.
Snail, Torpidity of the, 40.
Snake and Mouse, 186.
Snake-charming, 190.
Snakes, 273.
Sociable Mites, 124.
Soiree of the Quekett Club, 43.
Solvent lor Caoutchouc, 66.
Something to do, 99.
Sonchus palustris, 210, 235, 257, 281.
Song of the Lark, 191.
Soundings, Examining, 161.
South Alrica, a Ramble in, 154.
Sparrows and Martens, 233.
Spawning of the Frog, 63, 8 9, 1 17, 119-
Spermaceti as an Object, 1)5.
Spider, a Neighbourly, 255.
Spider, Cheating a, 135, 162, 189.
Spider, Great American, 213.
Spider, Nest of the Trap-door, 40.
Spider Poison, 16, 237, 270.
Spiders, Fangs of, 270, 276.

Spider, the Cardinal, 64. 88.

Spider, the Jamaica black, 88.

Spider, the Poisonous Russian, 40.

Spiders, Domestic, 64.

Spiders' Nests, 37, 40.

Spiders, Preserving, 262.

Spirogyra, 60.

Spoiige, Freshwater, 247.

Sponge-spicula in Chalk, 236.

Sponge-washings, 228.

Spongilla fluviatilis, 247.

Squirrels, 69.

Squirrels, Perforating, 141, 165.

Stag-Beetle, 89-

Starling, Value of the, 88.

Starling, Voracity of the, 26.

Star Showers, 45.

Stephanops, &c, 19-

Stereoscopes, Revolving, 118.

Sterna Himndo, 17.

Stickleback, Fifteen-spined, 68.

Sticklebacks in Seawater, 38, 87-

Sticklebacks out of water, 1 19.

Stick without an end, 187, 210.

Sting and Poison Gland of Wasp, 60.

Stinkhorn, the Lattice, 187.

Stone-mite, Eggs of the, 210.

Stone Standard, a, 67.

Striped Hawk-moth, 136, 162.

Struck by Lightning, 165.

Study of Mosses and Microscopic Fungi,

188.
Study of Nature, 266.
Study of Natural History, 73.
Submergence and Emergence, 276.
Swallows, 50, 101.

Swallows and Martens, lateness of, 17.
Swallows and the Cholera, 17.
Swallows, Hyhernating, 183, 214.
Swallows in Algeria, 64.
Swallow, the First, 11 7.
Sweet Pea, the, 42.
Submarine Action, 67.
Suspended Judgment, 132.
Sylvia titfiys, 276.

Tadpoles in Aquaria, 167.

Tail of Locust, 165, 189, 190.

Tales of Travellers, 25.

Talipat Palm, 18.

Tamarix Oriental's, 80.

Tea-tree, the, 257.

Temperature of Lakes, 272.

Tenacious Anemone, 23.

Tenacity of Life in Flea, 21 .

Tench, Fine, 17.

Teredo navalis, 88.

Terns, Inland, 47.

Tern, the Common, 17.

Testacella Mangei, 89.

Texan Honey Ant, 118.

Than-hmo, 136.

The Genus Amphitetras, 271.

The Rhythm of Flames, 49.

The Viper, 280.

Thrush, the Pagoda, 20.

Ticks, West Indian, 71.

Tide, Left by the, 217.

Timarcha Icevigata, 27.

Timber-borers, 212.

Toad-flaxes, 201.

Toad-rush, Germination of the, 150.

Toads and Frogs, 234.

Toads and Frogs, Climbing, 234.

Toome-bridge Earth, &c, 138.

Torpidity of the Snail, 40.

Tortoises, 234.

Tourmaline, 65.

Travellers' Tales, 25.

Trees, Lopping, 46.

Triple Pear, 62.

Trombidivm phalangii, 211.

Trout, Twin, 70.

Trout, Voracity of the, 186.

True Papyrus, 42.

Tulip, the, 18.

Turdus pugodarum, 20

Turntable, a cheap, 115.

Twin Trout, 70.

Under the Rose, 152.
Unity Controversy, 267.

Unity of Mankind, 110, 152, 173,245, 269.
Unknown Object, 68.
Up-hill Work, 13.
Upper Test Valley, 282.
Use of Fossils, 92.

Value of Scientific Knowledge, 142.

Value of the Starling, 88.

Varieties of Butterflies, 232.

Varieties of Ferns, 187.

Varnish as an Object, 19.

Varnish from Marine-glue, 23.

Vegetable Cuticles, separation of, 43.

Venom of the Rat's tail, 260.

Vespa holsatica, 247-

Vibrio Tritiri, 19, 66.

Violets, Yellow, 239, 258.

Viper, Bitten by a, 175, 199, 213.

Viper, Child bitten by a, 237.

Viper, the, 22, 175, 199, 280.

Viper's Poison : is it fatal? 237, 280.

Volcanoes in the Cameroons Mountains,

215.
Volvox query, 215.
Voracity of the Starling, 26.
Voracity of the Trout, 186.
Vorticella and Cyclops, 81.

Wagtail, Nesting of tub Grf.y, 64.

Wagtail, Nesting of the Pied, 17.

Walking-fern, the, 1 87.

Wanted: a Book, 142.

Wanted: a Cement, 191.

Wanted : a Medium, 214.

Wanted : Lepidoptera, 135.

War-bird, the, 20.

Washings from Sponges, 228.

Wasp, Early, 94, 117.

Wasps, 70, 254.

Wasp, Sting and Poison Gland of, 60.

Water Boatman, the, 89, 117-

Water Filters, 192.

Waterton's Process, 68, 95, 96.

Weasel, Hawk and, 256.

Weasel, the, 255.

Weather-wise, 166.

West-Indian Ticks, 71.

Whalebone, to Mount, 19.

Whale, the, 275.

What is Dermestes ? 28, 206.

What's in the Honey? 30, 68.

What's the Bird doing? 191,215.

What to do, and How to do it, 164.

Wheat Eels, 19, 66.

Wheat Mildew, 16.

Whelks' Eggs as an Object, 91 .

Which Bangor ? 143,213.

White Dodo, the, 5, 52.

Who are you? 281.

Wilderness, at Home in the, 122.

Willow, Napoleon's, 71.

Wind Courses, 93.

Winged Seeds, 137.

Wings of the Male Cockroach, 71.

Winter Butterflies, 89.

Winter greens, 18.

Winter Work, I.

Winter, W., of Mulbarton, 47, 71 .

Wintry Fleas, 113.

Wood-boring Beetles, 255.

Woodlice, 213.

Woodpeckers' Eggs, 68.

Woodpecker, the Great Spotted, 4 1 .

Wood Wasp, Nest of the, 247.

Word for Hastings, 281.

Work, 53.

Work, Up-hill, 13.

Work, Winter, 1 .

Worms, Hair-, 162, 190, 221.

Worms in Cockroaches, 238.

Worms, to get rid of, 261, 279, 281 .

Wrentham and Bangor, 213.

Yankee Receipt for Cockroaches,

113.

Yellow Violets, 239, 258.
Yew-Tree, the, 235.

Zoological Society of Hamburg, 166.
Zoophyte, a Fight about a, 47.
Zoophyte Trough, a Clip for, 105, 168.

Dec. 1, 1867.]

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

287

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Acarus of Fly, 208.
JEolis coronata, 221.
Actinella punctata, 158.
Actinophrys, 104.
Alcyonidium, 219.
Alpine climbing-, 1 3.
Ambulacral disc of Urchin, 82.
Amblystegium confermiides, 272.
American Shield Fern, 85.
Amphitetrus antediluviana. var, y, 271.

antediluviana var. 0, 2/1.

crucifera, 271.

ornata var p, 272.

Ananassa satira, 12
Andrecea, fruit of, 251.
Anobium scales, 211.
Antheridia of Polytrichum, 250.
Anthrenus larva, Tail of, 29.

museorum, 254.

varius, 254.

Aphis aceris, 204.
Apparatus for drawing, 236.
Archegonia of Bryum, 250.
Areolation of mosses, 250.
Aulacomnium androgyyium, 250.
Auliscus (Eupodiscus) sculptus, 228.

Bacon Bketle Larva, 28.
Biddulphia pulchella, 229-
Bilocu/ina simplex, 131
Black Podura, 55.

Podura (front), 55.

Blood Beetle, 28.
Bryum, Archegonia, 250.

coespiticium, areolation, 250.

Buff tip moth, 194.
Bulimina pupuides, 131.

Calyptra of Mosses, 251.
Camera for drawing, 236.
Campylodiscus notatus, 228.

parvulus, 228.

■ — Ralfsii, 229.
Capsule of Dicranum, 159.
Carrageen, 218.
Cell for Melicerta, 35.
Cells, glass, 66.
Chalk of Cattolica, 37.

of Denmark, 37.

of Mendon, 36.

Chignon fungus, 107 — 109.
Chondrus crispus, 218.
Chrysalidina gradata, 131.
Cleistocarpous fruit, 251.
Cucconeis major, 81, 229.

nitida, 81.

Coleophora nigricella, 173.
Corullina officinalis, 218.
Coriscium Brongniardellum, 172,
Com mildew, 16.
Crocodile, 7.
Cuneolina pavonia, 131.
Cuttle-fish eggs, 218.
Cyclolina cretacea, 131.
Cymbellacuspidata, 181.

Ehrenbergii, 181.

Cyrtomium falcatum, 85.

Dentalina semieostata, 130.
Denticula nana, 229.
Dermestes larva, 28.

Descending a geroll, 13.
Descending a mountain, 14.
Diamond Tree Pass, 123.
Dicranum arcticum, 158.

Starliii, capsule, 251.

Disc of Melicerta, 34.
Donax politus, 220.
Drawing apparatus, 236.

E. Indian Mosquito, 79.
Echinus lividus, 82.
Egg cases of Whelk, 218.
Eggs of Cuttle, 218.
Encalypta, calyptra, 251.
Eunotia bactriana, 158.

camelus, 158.

hemicyctus, 133.

incisu, 158.

septena, 1 58.

triodon, 133.

Fang of Spider, 270.
Feet of Crocodile, 7.
Ferns, foreign, 84, 85.
Fissidens, calyptra, 251.

taxif alius, leaf, 250.

teeth of peristome, 254.

Five fingers, 219.
Fly acarus, 208.
Foraminifera, 129.

in Chalk, 38.

Frondicularia annularis, 131.
Funaria, calyptra, 251.

hygrometrica, spore, 249.

section of fruit, 252.

Fungus of hair, 107, 109.
Fusilma cylindrica, 130.

Glass Ce^ls, 66.
Globigerina bulloides, 130.

hirsuta, 131

Gomphonema acuminatum, 181.

capitatum, 181.

Grammatopliora marina, 22g.

serpentina, 229.

Gtavesend chalk, 36.

Grimmia apucurpu, areolation, 250.

Hair of Anthrenus, 206.

of Tiresias, 206.

Himantidium undulatum, 158.

Honey, pollen in, 30.

Horn of Melicerta, 33.

Hypnum rutubulum, areolation, 250.

Indian Butteeflies at rest, 196.

Juncus bufunius, 151.

Lagena caudata, 129.

globosa, 129.

Iwvis, 130.

male, 129.

■ semistriata, 130.

squamosa, 130.

sulcata, 129.

Lappet Moth, 194.
Larva of Anthrenus, 29.

of Dermestes, 28.

of Tiresias, 28.

Lastrea podophylla, 85.
Leaf-cells of Dicranum, 159.

mining Larvae, 170 — 172.

Lepticula subbimaculella, 172.
Limpet, 220.
Lingalina carinata, 130.
Lithocolletis, 172.

Mactra stultorum, 221.
Maple Aphis, 204.
Marginulina Webbiana, 130.
Melicerta ringens disc, 34.

ringens, front, 33.

ringens, profile, 34.

Mermis nigrescens, 223.
Micropteryx subpurpurella, 170.
Mined Bramble leaf, 171.

Hawthorn leaf, 173.

Oak leaf, 170, 172.

Mnium hornum, peristome, 253.

hornum, section of fruit, 252.

Mosquito, E. I., "9.
Mountain Climbing, 13, 15.
Pass, 123.

Navicula bacillum, 156.

firma, p, 156.

firma, y, 156.

firma, C} 156.

lyra, 229.

nitida, 229.

palpebralis, 229.

rhomboides, 157.

rhomboides, p, 157.

serians, 156.

serians, p, 156.

sp., 229.

Nepticula aurella, l7l.
Nepticula subbimaculella, 172.
Nest of Vespa holstatica, 248.
New British Moss, 272.
Nodosaria hispida, 130.

longisulcata, 130.

rugosa, 130.

spinicosta, 130.

striaticoltis, 130.

Odontidium tubellaria, 181.
Onnclea sensibilis, 84.
Ophiocoma neglecta, 219.
Ophiocytium, 127.
Orange-tip Butterfly, 195.
Orbulinu universa, 129.
Orthotrichum crispum, fruit, 251.
Ostrich Fern, 83.
Ovum of Mermis, 224.

Patella vulgata, 220.
Pear, triple, 62.
Pecten varius, 220.
Pedicellaria, 83.
Peristomes of Mosses, 253.
Phyllactidium pulchellum, 178.
Pine Apple plant, 12.
Pinnularia ucrosphtBria, 133.

divergens, 133.

gigas, 133, 181.

stauronei/ormis, 133.

Pleuridium subulatum, fruit, 251.
Podura scales, 56, 58.

without scales, 53.

Pogonatum uloides, peristome, 254.

288

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP.

[Dec. 1, 1867.

Pollen grains, 30.

Polystichum acrostichoides, 85.

Polytriehum, Antheridia, 25 '.

Postage packet, 142.

Pottia truncata, areolation, 250.

Precipice climbing, 14.

Profile of Melicerta, 34.

Prothallium and Young Plant, 249.

Pseudopodium of Aulacomnium, 250.

Puccinia graminis, 16.

Purple Urchin, 83.

Rhizosolenia imbricata, 35.

styliformis, 35.

Rhodymenia palmata, 218.
Robulina ariminensis, 130.

canariensis, 130.

echinata, 130.

Rotalina canariensis, 130.

Scale of Black Podura, 56.

Scale of Podura, 59.

Scale of Speckled Podura, 58.

Scale of White Podura, 57.

Scales of Anobium larva, 211.

Scallop Shell, 220.

Schistocarpous Fruit of Andrecea, 251 .

Section of Spine of Urchin, 82.

Shell of Urchin, 82.

Siebold's Fern, 85.

Sociable Mites, 124-7.

Speckled Podura, 56.

Speckled Podura Scale, 57.

Spermatozoids of Mosses, 250.

Spicules of Halichondria, 230.

Spider's Fang and Gland, 270.
Spirogyra, 6l.

Spiroloculina canaliculata, 131.
Splachnum ampullaceum, fruit, 251.

splia>ricum, fruit, 253.

Sponge spicules, 230.
Stauroneis Bailey i, 157.

gracilis, 134.

legumen, 157.

phanicenteron, 134.

Stick Insect, 197.
Strvthiopteris Germanica, 83.
Surirella anceps, 180.

fastuosa, 229.

linearis, 180.

Tail of Podura, 54.
Terebella, 22) .
Test Podura Scale, 58.
Tetracyclics sp., 181.
Tetranychus glabius, 127.

lapidus, 126.

major, 126,

populi, 127.

salicis, 126.

■ socius, 126.

telarius, 125.

tiliarius, 125.

■ ulmi, 126.

Urticoe, 12/.

Viburni, 126.

Tetruphis pellucida, fruit, 253.
Timarcha Icevigata, 28.
Tiresias serra, 206.
serra, larva, 28.

Tischeria marginea, 171.
Toadflax, flower, 201.
Toadflax, peloria, 201.
Toad-rush, 151.
Toad-rush seedlings, 150.
Tooth of Peristome, 253.
Tooth of Urchin, 83.
Triceratium pentacrinus, 228.

Thwaitesianum, 228.

Triloculina Austriaca, 131.

nitida, 131.

Triple Pear, 62.
Truntulina variabilis, 131.
Turntable, 116.

Uraster rubens, 219.
Uvigerina pygmaa, 131 .

Vespa, Face Markings, 254.
Vespa holsatica, 247.
Virginian fern, 84.
Vulvulina oblonga, 1 30.

Wasp Nest, interior, 248.
Wasps, faces of, 254.
Wheat Mildew, 16.
Whelk Egg Cases, 218.
White Podura, 57.
White Podura Scale, 57.
Woodwardia Virginica, 84.
Wood Wasp, 247.

Zoophyte Clip, 105.

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