HARDWICK  E'S 


Science-Gossip 


1878. 


a 


WORKS  BY  THE  EDITOR  OF  "  SCIENCE  GOSSIP, 


HALF-HOURS    IN    THE    GREEN    LANES:    a   Booh  for   a    Country    Stroll 

Illustrated  with  300  Woodcuts.     Fourth  Edition.     Crown  8vo.,  cloth,  4s. 

HALF-HOURS  AT    THE   SEA-SIDE;  or,    Recreations  with    Marine   Objects. 

Illustrated  with  150  Woodcuts.     Third  Edition.     Crown  8vo.,  cloth,  4s. 

GEOLOGICAL  STORIES :  a  Series  of  Autobiographies  in  Chronological  Order. 

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THE  AQUARIUM ;  its  Inhabitants,  Structure,  and  Management.     Illustrated 

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FLOWERS;  their  Origin,  Shapes,   Perfumes,  and  Colours.     Illustrated  with 

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NOTES   ON   COLLECTING  AND   PRESERVING   NATURAL  HISTORY  OBJECTS. 

Edited  by  J.  E.  TAYLOR,  F.L.S.,  F.G.S.  Contents:  Geological  Specimens  by  the  Editor; 
Bones,  by  E.  F.  Elwin  ;  Birds'  Eggs,  by  T.  Southwell,  F.Z.S.  ;  Butterflies  and  Moths,  by  Dr. 
Knaggs  ;  Beetles,  By  E.  C.  Rye,  F.Z.S.  ;  Hymenoptera,  byj.  B.  Bridgman  ;  Fresh-water  Shells,  by 
Professor  Ralph  Tate,  F.G.S.  ;  Flowering  Plants,  by  James  Britten,  F.L.S.  ;  Mosses,  by  Dr.  Braith- 
waite,  F.L.S.  ;  Grasses,  by  Professor  Buckm an  ;  Fungi,  by  Worthington  G.  Smith,  F.L.S.  ;  Lichens, 
by  Rev.  James  Crombie,  F.L.S.  ;  Seaweeds,  by  W.  H.  Grattan.  Illustrated  with  numerous  Wood- 
cuts.    Crown  8vo.,  cloth,  3s.  6d. 


HARDWICKE    &     BOGUE,    192,    PICCADILLY. 


I 


yU 


HARDWICKE'S 


AN    ILLUSTRATED    MEDIUM    OF    INTERCHANGE    AND    GOSSIP 


FOR    STUDENTS    AND 


LOVERS   OF    NATURE. 


EDITED     BY 


J.    E.    TAYLOR,    Ph.D.,    F.L.S,    F.G.S.,    F.R.G.S.I,    &c. 


VOLUME     XIV. 


LONDON: 
HARDWICKE    &    BOGUE,     192,    PICCADILLY. 

1878. 


WYMAN  AND   SONS, 

ORIENTAL,   CLASSICAL,   AND  GENERAL  PRINTERS, 

GREAT  QUEEN   STREET,   LONDON,  W.C. 


10  if?  f 


PREFACE. 


-o-0«^jt£oo- 


O  write  a  Preface  year  after  year  for  a  volume 
like  Science-Gossip,  to  mean  the  same  thing, 
and  yet  to  say  something  new,  would  be  a  tax 
upon  the  ingenuity  of  the  most  skilful  writer. 
Nevertheless,  the  Editor  feels  it  both  a  duty 
and  a  pleasure  to  take  such  an  opportunity  of 
expressing  his  gratitude  towards  so  many 
cheerful  helpers,  his  sympathies  with  diligent  students 
and  inquirers  with  whom  he  has  been  in  silent  monthly 
communication,  and  his  hopeful  anticipations  that  the  time  to 
come  may  find  him  surrounded  by  as  many  friends  as  at  the  close 
of  the  eventful  year  1878. 

The  last  four  years  have  been  fruitful  beyond  measure  in  Scientific 
discoveries.  In  Physical  Science,  the  numerous  revelations  have 
been  almost  startling  in  their  novelty,  and  these  have  culminated 
in  that  simple  and  yet  wonderful  instrument,  the  Microphone.  To 
listen  to  the  tramping  of  insects  is  like  hearing  the  "  footfalls  on  the 
boundary  of  another  world."  Is  it  possible  that  the  Microphone  will 
be  to  organic  sound  what  the  Microscope  has  been  to  vision  ?  Shall 
we  listen  to  the  love-narratives  of  insects  as  we  do  unaided  to  those 
of  birds,  or  be  possible  hearers  of  their  domestic  squabbles  ? 

Unhappily,  it  would  seem  as  if  Science,  like  some  land  of 
Goshen,  were  the  only  arena  where  Peace  may  find  a  perpetual 
home!  For,  although  scientific  men,  as  inheritors  of  a  long  ancestry 
of  the  spirit  of  partisanship,  cannot  avoid  taking  sides  in  debating 
the  great  questions  which  are  continually  raised  in  their  unfettered 
investigations   of    natural    phenomena;    they   do   not    condemn  each 


PREFACE, 


other  to  pains  and  penalties  for  daring  to  disagree.  No  sword  is 
here  wielded,  nor  artillery  thundered,  to  determine  by  force  what 
calm  reason  finds  herself  unable  to  settle.  Rather,  a  greater  incentive 
to  further  inquiry  is  produced,  to  redoubled  observation  and  verifica- 
tion of  facts,  and  to  renewed  diligence  in  the  search  after  truth,  if 
haply  they  may  find  it !  Will  the  time  ever  come  when  Politicians 
will  condescend  to  follow  the  example  of  savans  ? 

It  is  cheering:  to  observe  the  wider  love  of  Nature  and  the 
spread  of  scientific  culture  among  all  classes ;  to  note  how  the 
pursuit  of  Science  is  a  bright  spot  in  the  lives  of  toilers  at  the  desk, 
the  loom,  the  anvil,  and  in  the  field.  Our  position  fortunately  makes 
us  acquainted  with  diligent  and  capable  students,  low  in  the  scale 
of  worldly  wealth  and  position,  whose  lives  are  sweetened  by  the 
new  interest  in  common  things  which  popular  Science  has  created 
for  them.  Long  may  it  continue  to  be  so,  and  may  the  day  soon 
come  when  men  and  women  will  be  rescued  from  their  lower  natures 
by  the  calm  dignity  which  Wisdom  bestows  on  those  who  seek  her ! 

As  hitherto,  our  purpose  is  to  keep  pace  with  modern  discovery 
and  investigation,  and  to  throw  open  our  columns  to  the  recording 
of  new  facts.  Not  less  desirous  are  we  of  helping  the  young  inquirer, 
and  of  putting  him  in  a  way  to  gain  higher  and  sounder  knowledge. 
Whilst  endeavouring  to  keep  clear  of  mere  gossip,  we  do  not  wish 
to  write  above  the  heads  of  our  large  circle  of  readers  by  essays  on 
abstruse  subjects.  Our  aim  is  to  spread  and  popularize  Science, 
and  to  encourage  a  love  of  it. 

In  conclusion,  we  heartily  thank  all  who  have  helped  us,  and 
who  have  promised  to  continue  their  aid.  At  the  same  time,  we 
implore  the  sympathies  of  those  who  are  unaware  of  the  burden  of 
correspondence  and  work  entailed  in  editing  a  journal  like  SciENCE- 
GOSSIP,  and  who  may  feel  aggrieved  at  imagined  slights.  To  each 
and  all  of  those  with  whom  we  have  been  in  cheerful  literary 
and  scientific  companionship  for  the  last  year,  we  wish  a  "  Merry 
Christmas  and  a  Happy  New  Year !" 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Arenicolites    sparsus,     tracks    and 

burrows  of,  181 
Arenicolites  didymus,  181 


Taking  Cast  of,  109 
Blow-fly,  Teeth  of  the,  148,  149 
Bottle-nosed  Dolphin  (Delphinus  tursio), 

8S 
Brambles  about  London,  204,  205,  206,  220 
Brill,   the,   Prepared  for  Taking  Cast  of, 

108 

Bronze  Celt  (Bronze  Age),  Chesterfield, 
109 

Butterflies  in  the  Neighbourhood  of  Dork- 
ing, 196,  197 

Butterfly,  Blenny,  Prepared  for  Taking 
Cast  of,  109 

Cabbage  Leaf,  Malformation  of,  201 
Catocala  sponsa(Dark  Crimson  Underwing 

Moth),  32 
Chair  in  Great  Yarmouth  Church  formed 

from  Skull  of  Sperm  Whale,  28 
Collecting-box,  a  New,  269 
Common  Daisy,    Median  Prolification  in 

the,  160 
Common  Dolphin  (Delphinus  delphis),  85 

"Dero,"  a  Fresh-water  Annelid, 
Structure  of,  n 

Diatom,  Sections  of  a,  104,  105 

Drosera  rotundifolia  (Round-leaved  Sun- 
dew), 4 

Drosera  anglica,  Leaf  of,  160 

Drosera  obovata,  Leaf  of,  160 

Dublin,  Geological  Map  of  the  Neigh- 
bourhood of,  180 

Epping  Forest,  Fungi,  &c.  of,  249,  252, 

253.  273 
Equisetaceae  (Horse-tails),  224 

Flint  Axe  (Neolithic),  Denmark,  100 
Flint  Dagger  (Neolithic),  Denmark,  100 
Flint  Implement  from  Brandon,  76 
Flint  Implement  from  Langey,  76 
Flint  Implement  from  Le  Moustier,  77 


Flounder,  the,  Prepared  for  Taking  Cast 

of,  108 
Flowers,  adaptive  appliances  in,  156 
Foraminifera  of  the  Shetland  Isles,  52,  53 
Fossil  Polyzoa,  248 
Frog's  Spawn,  Modifications  of,  Changes, 

and  Structure  of,  53 

Glass-eating        Lichen,       Cellular 
Structure  of,  129 
I  Glyciphagus  plumiger,  132 
;  Gnat,  Larva  of  the,  269 
Grampus  griseus  (Rissot's  Dolphin),  61 
Grampus  (Orca  gladiator),  the,  60 
Graphiola  phcenicis  (Date  Palm),  Leaves 
of,  124 

Hafted       Implement       (Neolithic), 

Schaffes,  Switzerland,  100 
Harvestman  Spider,  the,  80 
Histioderma  Hibernicum,  181,  182 
Hylisinus  fra.xini,  125 

Kestrel,  the  (Falco  tinnunculus), 
ioi 

Lama,  the,  245 

Lavatera  arborea  (Tree  Mallow),  13 

Linnet,  Parasite  of  the,  233 

Lophius  piscatorius  (Angler-fish),  153 

Lucernaria  auricula,  132 

Lythrum  Salicaria  (Purple  Loose-strife),  5 

Machine  for  Mounting  Slides,  87 

Mercurialis  annua  (Annual  Dog's  Mer- 
cury), 12 

Micrometer  Measurements,  Diagrams  to 
Illustrate,  176 

Miniature  Microscopic  Lamp,  232 

nvmphon  gracilis,  133 

Oldhamia  radiata,  181 
Orobanche  rapum  (Broom-rape),  13 

Parasite  of  a  Cod,  34 
Parasite  of  a  Gurnard,  34 


Parasite  of  a  Ling,  34 

Parietaria     officinalis    (Pellitory     of    the 

Wall),  12 
Parnassia  palustris  (Grass  of  Parnassus),  4 
Perisporiacege,  172,  173 
Physeter  macrocephalus  (Sperm  Whale),  8 
Pilot  Whale  (Globicephalus  melas),  85 
Pinnularia,  Diagrams  Illustrating,  28 
Piper  Gurnard,  Prepared  for  Taking  Cast 

of,  109 
Pisa  tetraodon,  132 
Pollack  Whiting,  the,  Prepared  for  Taking 

Cast  of,  109 
Pseudorca  crassidens,  61 


Quartzite  Implement  from  Creswell, 
77 

ROCKLING,    THE,   109 

Rotifer,  Diagram   Illustrating  Birth  of  a, 
200 

SCHIZANTHUS     PAPILIONACEUS,     RACEME 
OF,   157 

Section  of  Sand-dune,  Lancashire,  29 
Section  of  Sandstone  Cliff,  Suffolk  (after 

Lyell),  29 
Skull  of  Sperm  Whale,  28 
Sphinga,  or  Sphinx  Ape,  225 
Spiranthes  autumnalis  (Ladies'  Tresses),  14 

Tamarisk  (Tamarix  gallica),  14 

"Tangle"  Dredge,  a,  221 

Terraced  Hills  of  the  Bun  en,  as  seen  from 

North  of  Galway  Bay,  229 
Terraced  Limestone  Hills,  Glen  Colomb- 

kill,  228 
Thornback,  the,  Prepared  for  Taking  Cast 

of,  10S 
Thunbergia  alata,  56 

White  Mites,  35 

White-beaked  Dolphin  (Delphinus  albiros- 
tris),  86 

Ziphius  Mesoplodon,  Head  of,  84 


mm 


THE    POTATO     BEETLE. 

A    LITTLE    OIL    ON    THE    WATERS. 

By  W.  V.  ANDREWS. 

Corresponding  Secretary  of  Long  Island  Entomologists'  Society,   U.S.A. 


PHE  occasion  of  the  ap- 
pearance of  this  little 
article  is  a  paper  which 
appeared  in  the  Sep- 
tember number  of 
Science-Gossip,  writ- 
ten by  Mr.  E.  C.  Rye. 
No  one  will  dispute 
the  assertion  that  any- 
thing from  the  pen  of 
that  gentleman,  particu- 
larly on  entomology,  is  worthy  of  our  serious  atten- 
tion, and  therefore  it  is  that  I  regret  to  see  him  in 
the  ranks  of  the  alarmists, — already,  as  I  should 
judge,  too  well  recruited. 

I  will  assure  your  readers  that  to  us,  who  have  now 
for  some  years  been  familiar  with  D.  decemlineata, 
the  alarm  seriously  felt  in  the  Old  World  lest  this 
insect  should  visit  your  shores  seems  verging  on  the 
ridiculous.  I  do  not,  of  course,  mean  that  reasonable 
precautions  should  not  be  taken  ;  but  the  idea  of 
stopping  the  transmission  of  dead  specimens  through 
the  mails,  as  I  know  has  been  done,  and  thus  pre- 
venting your  people  from  making  a  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  the  insect,  appears  to  me  to  have  a  ten- 
dency to  defeat  the  object  in  view. 

Certainly  I  should  adv.se  no  Englishman  to  import 
Jive  specimens,  and  I  shjuld  advise  all  farmers  and 
gardeners  to  rid  themselves  of  the  presence  of  the 
beetle,  as  I  should  advise  them  to  rid  themselves  of 
a  crop  of  thistles.  But  if  they  imagine  that  its 
existence  in  their  fields  is  likely  seriously  to  injure 
■their  crops,  then  I  assure  them  that  they  are  very 
much  mistaken.  We  have  had  this  beetle  on  Long 
Island  in  immense  numbers  for  some  years,  and  I 
do  not  believe  that  any  one  has  suffered  any 
appreciable  loss  through  its  depredations.  Farmers 
.all  say  this. 
No.    157. 


If  any  loss  have  been  sustained,  it  has  rather  been 
through  the  i-emedy  used  than  through  the  disease. 
And  here  let  me  earnestly  advise  my  countrymen — for 
I  am  an  Englishman — if  the  'ieetle  should  make  its 
appearance  in  the  tight  little  island,  to  use  no  Paris 
green,  or  other  poisons,  with  a  view  to  its  extermi- 
nation. There  are  two  or  three  sufficient  reasons  why 
such  remedies  should  not  be  used  : — 

1.  Its  application,  in  any  form,  is  not  without 
danger.  If  it  be  dangerous  to  wear  green  silks  or  to 
use  green  paper  for  walls,  it  surely  must  be  injurious 
to  apply  this  poison  in  any  way  by  which  its  entrance 
into  the  human  system  is  rendered  possible,  and 
probable. 

2.  The  first  shower  of  rain  or  gale  of  wind  will 
remove  every  particle  of  the  powder  from  the  foliage 
of  the  potato,  and  either  disseminate  it  through  the 
atmosphere  or  imbed  it  in  the  soil,  to  be  stirred  up 
by  the  hoers  or  diggers. 

3.  Its  use  is  entirely  unnecessary.  For  small  plots 
of  land  hand-picking  by  boys  or  girls  is  efficacious 
and  without  danger  (for  I  do  hope  that  your  readers 
are  not  believers  in  the  foolish  stories  told  of  the 
beetle  being  poisonous).  For  larger  lots  an  ordinary 
butterfly  bag-net,  swept  gently  along  the  potato- 
tops,  will  capture  more  beetles  in  an  hour  than  Paris 
green  will  kill  in  a  week  ;  and,  by  the  way,  recollect 
that  Paris  green  will  kill  other  things  besides  potato 
beetles.  An  American  farmer  applied  a  pretty  good 
dose  of  this  poison  to  the  potatoes  in  his  garden  "  one 
dewy  eve,"  and  on  the  next  morning  found  four  dead 
milch-cows  in  his  pasture.  The  cows  had  broken 
into  the  garden,  and — increased  the  quantity  of  beef 
in  that  vicinity. 

Mi".  Rye  tells  you  that  Paris  green  is  a  favourite 
remedy  here,  but  he  does  not  understand  the  American 
mode  of  doing  things.  Some  State  entomologist  or 
other  probably  had  ~  friend  in   the  oil  and  colour 

B 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSI  P. 


business,  and  gave  a  friendly  puff  to  Paris  green. 
Then  the  oil-and-colourman  advertises  in  some 
agricultural  papers  that  he  has  the  "  never-failing 
exterminator  "  of  potato-bugs — Paris  green,  and  the 
editor  of  that  journal  at  once  strongly  recommends 
it.  You  do  not  do  things  in  that  way  in  honest  old 
England,  but  we  do  here. 

One  word  of  advice.  When  your  potatoes  are 
four  or  five  inches  high,  just  occasionally  turn  up 
the  leaves  and  examine  the  under  side.  If  you  find  a 
bunch  of  orange-coloured  eggs,  nip  them  off.  They 
probably  were  deposited  by  D.  decemlineata.  In  a 
week  or  so  look  again.  If  you  find  that  the  foliage 
has  been  eaten  from  a  plant  pretty  thoroughly,  and 
should  find  a  dirty  brick-red  animal,  like  that  figured 
by  Mr.  Rye,  on  that  plant,  remove  the  animal  the 
way  I  have  advised.  It  is  the  beetle  in  its  larval 
state ;  and,  recollect,  that  in  that  state  it  does  most 
of  its  eating.  But  it  is  a  poor  traveller,  and  does 
not  wander  about  unnecessarily.  So,  when  you 
have  found  one  from  a  batch  of  eggs,  you  may  be 
sure  the  others  are  near  at  hand.  One  stroke  from 
the  net  will  capture  most  of  them.  Work  atten- 
tively, now  and  again,  and  your  potato  crop  will 
not  suffer.  Recollect,  however,  that  other  things 
besides  D.  decemlineata  eat  potato  vines.  Here  we 
frequently  suffer  from  the  attacks  of  the  Lyttas,  or 
blister-beetles,  which  devour  lots  of  potato  foliage. 

Caution !  Mind,  that  all  striped  beetles  found 
on  potatoes  are  not  Colorado  potato  beetles,  but 
may  be  useful  little  fellows,  whose  larva;  devour 
other  larv;£  injurious  to  us. 


THE  PRONUNCIATION  OF  SCIENTIFIC 
NAMES. 

IN  regard  to  the  pronunciation  of  Latin  and  Greek, 
perhaps  the  confusion  of  theory  and  practice  is 
greater  at  the  present  time  than  it  has  ever  been. 
The  attempt  to  give  c  and  g  the  hard  (guttural)  sounds 
in  all  such  words  is  really  only  a  part  of  a  much 
wider  scheme,  which  aims  at  restoring,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  actual  pronunciation  of  the  ancients 
themselves.  If  these  actual  sounds  can  be  recovered 
with  any  certainty,  there  is  a  possibility  that  some 
time  Latin  and  Greek  will  be  pronounced  in  a  similar 
way  by  all  who  learn  them,  to  whatever  nation  they 
belong.  This  is  only  what  is  done,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  in  the  case  of  all  other  tongues,  and  no  reason 
could  be  assigned  for  adopting  a  different  practice  in 
this  instance.  Prejudice  stands  in  the  way,  but  we 
need  not  despair  of  overcoming  it.  When  I  began  to 
learn  Latin,  I  was  told  that  when  I  travelled  in  a 
foreign  country,  the  language  of  which  was  unknown 
to  me,  I  should  be  able  to  communicate  my  wants  to 
any  well-educated  man  by  expressing  them  in  Latin. 
In  writing,  of  course,  this  could  always  be  done,  as, 
in  fact,  it  is  in  the  correspondence  of  many  scientific 


men  of  the  present  day,  especially  those  who  belong 
to  the  Russian,  Swedish,  and  other  nations,  whose 
languages  are  not  generally  known.  But  if  two  of 
these  savans  met,  they  would  be  as  entirely  unable  to 
communicate  orally  with  one  another  as  if  they  knew 
no  Latin  at  all — a  result  which  I  have  no  hesitation 
in  calling  ridiculous. 

But  is  there  any  possibility  of  recovering  the  actual 
sounds  used  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans  at  the  time 
of  their  greatest  literary  prosperity? — the  last  clause 
being  necessary,  because  their  pronunciation  changed 
with  time,  as  ours  has  done.  This  is  not  the  place  to 
discuss  the  question,  but  the  attempt  has  been  made, 
and,  I  believe,  with  success ;  not  with  absolute 
certainty,  perhaps,  but  sufficient  to  remove,  at  any 
rate,  most  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  adoption 
of  a  universal  standard.  It  is  no  objection  to  this 
proposal  to  say  that  the  people  of  each  nation  are  in- 
capable of  pronouncing  certain  sounds.  This  is  not 
true,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  languages  with  which  we 
have  practically  to  do.  No  Englishman,  for  instance, 
if  properly  instructed,  can  fail  to  learn  the  sound  of 
the  German  ch,  or  the  French  u  or  eu  in  a  short  time, 
and  practice  will  then  make  it  easy.  Moreover,  the 
number  of  sounds  peculiar  to  each  nation  is  much 
exaggerated.  The  French,  it  is  said,  have  a  dislike 
to  the  sound  of  w.  It  would  not  be  difficult,  were 
this  the  place  for  doing  so,  to  make  out  a  long  list  of 
words  which  every  Frenchman  uses,  in  which  this 
sound  occurs,  though  not  the  letter.  Conversely,  the 
so-called  peculiar  vowel-sound  of  the  word  cueillir 
has  its  exact  counterpart  in  English  words. 

Although  the  time  is  not  ripe  for  the  adoption  of 
the  above-mentioned  scheme  in  its  entirety,  there  is 
one  feature  of  it  which  will  form  a  good  step  in  ad- 
vance, and  which  may  be  at  once  accepted.  This  is 
the  absolutely  certain  fact  that  c  and  g  should  invari- 
ably have  a  guttural  sound.  I  am  not  speaking  of  the 
attempt  to  make  this  rule  apply  to  English  words 
derived  from  classical  roots.  That  is  quite  a  distinct 
subject,  though  it  is  not  always  kept  distinct.  Scien- 
tific names  are  Latin  words,  and  should  be  so  pro- 
nounced. The  case  of  Geranium  and  the  like  will  be 
no  obstacle,  for  it  is  easy  to  pronounce  the  g  hard 
when  we  speak  of  Geranium  molle  to  a  fellow-botanist, 
and  soft  when  we  speak  to  a  lady-friend  of  the 
geraniums  in  her  conservatory.  This  is  no  more  than 
is  done  every  day  by  people  who  can  speak  more  than 
one  language.  They  do  not,  for  instance,  give  the 
same  sound  to  ball  in  English,  and  ball  in  German, 
because  they  are  spelled  the  same,  and  are  names  of 
the  same  object  :  and  similarly  with  the  French  and 
English  point. 

With  reference  to  the  pronunciation  of  words 
derived  from  names  of  persons  and  places,  it  will  be 
only  consistent  to  insist  that  they  shall  be  sounded 
according  to  the  rules  of  the  language  from  which 
they  are  taken.  In  so  far  as  they  are  neither  classical 
words  nor  derived  directly  from  classical    sources, 


HARD WICKE }S    S CIENCE- G O SSIP. 


there  can  be  no  reason  for  pronouncing  them  as  such, 
even  if  it  were  not  sometimes  impossible  to  do  so.  I  feel 
sure  every  botanist,  meeting  with  one  of  these  strange- 
looking  words,  would  rather  give  it  the  proper  sound 
than  attempt  to  pronounce  it  according  to  English 
rules,  with  a  result  which,  he  is  painfully  conscious, 
is  absurd.  What  is  wanted,  is  a  compendious  and 
handy  guide  to  the  sound  of  the  letters  in  the  chief 
foreign  tongues,  such  as  French,  German,  Italian, 
Swedish,  etc.,  and  even  Russian.  It  will  be  found 
that  the  sounds  which  do  not  exist  in  English  are 
very  few,  and  plain  directions  can  be  given  for  the 
attainment  of  most  of  those.  Were  such  information 
commonly  disseminated  among  scientific  men  (and 
perhaps  Science-Gossip  would  be  a  good  place  for 
it  to  appear  in),  we  should  cease  to  hear  such 
barbarisms  as  Hypniun  Swartzii,  with  the  w  pro- 
nounced as  in  English,  and  Veronica  Buxbaiimii,  with 
the  ait  as  in  the  English  haul.  It  would  be  found, 
too,  that  the  trouble  required  would  not  be  great. 
Merely  to  learn  how  certain  consonants  and  vowels 
are  sounded  in  a  language,  is  a  very  different  thing 
from  learning  the  language  itself. 

W.  B.  Grove,  B.A. 


A  DOMINIE'S   BOTANICAL   HOLIDAY. 

WHAT  a  grand  thing  it  is  to  have  a  holiday, 
and  how  refreshing  to  live  almost  out  of  doors 
for  a  whole  month  ;  to  wander  hither  and  thither  fancy 
free,  by  the  brookside,  or  amid  the  tangled  mazes  of 
the  wood,  to  ascend  to  the  top  of  yonder  hill,  or  to 
find  out  a  path  for  ourselves  through  the  glen — to 
climb  the  rock  by  the  sea-side,  or  to  lie  on  one's  back 
on  the  thyme-covered  bank  above  !  With  some 
such  thoughts  did  I  awake  one  morning  in  the 
summer-time  of  last  year.  My  holiday  I  intended 
this  year  to  spend  in  the  west  of  Scotland,  and  once 
on  board  the  Marmion,  with  the  "guid  braid" 
Scotch  tongue  all  around  me,  I  fancied  myself  there 
at  once.  The  weather  was  beautiful,  and  the  good 
ship  Marmion  steamed  away  right  merrily  for  the 
North.  As  we  reached  Flamborough  Head  we  had 
a  good  view  of  the  land,  and  all  the  way  from  this 
point  the  objects  of  interest  were  noted  by  tourist 
passengers. 

All  this  time  I  am  on  the  sea,  and  as  I  cannot  do 
much  in  a  botanical  way  on  board  of  a  steamer,  I 
live  in  a  sort  of  poetical  dream,  in  which  the  cha- 
racters in  "Marmion"  are  all  chasing  each  other 
through  my  brain.  At  length  we  arrive  at  our 
destination,  and  saying  good-bye  to  the  steamer, 
I  pay  a  short  visit  to  "  Auld  Reekie,"  my  Alma 
Mater,  and  in  a  short  time  find  myself  en  route  for 
the  west. 

On  arriving  at  A ,  my  botanical  rambles  at 

length  begin,  and  I  am  soon  in  the  full  enjoyment  of 
the  pleasures  I  had  looked  forward  to.     Over  most 


of  the  ground  I  had  already  made  excursions  as  a 
boy.  Then  my  pursuit  savoured  somewhat  of  orni- 
thology, now  in  manhood's  day  I  was  a  humble 
student  of  the  beauties  of  Flora's  domain. 

Several  of  my  rambles  on  this  occasion  I  shall 
always  remember  with  pleasure,  and  one  of  those  in 
the  foremost  rank  would  be  that  visit  to  the  Carrick 
country.  Who  does  not  admire  the  purple  heather 
of  our  Scottish  hills  ?  Now  I  was  able  to  make  a 
distinction  between  the  commonest  kind  of  all — 
Ling  or  Calluna  vulgaris,  and  the  different  kinds  o 
Erica  which  grow  together  on  the  hill-side,  and  a 
new  pleasure  seemed  to  be  mixed  with  my  boyish 
love  for  the  "dark  purple  heather."  The  Blue-bell 
{Campanula  rotundifolia)  is  to  be  found  gracefully 
nodding  its  head  to  every  little  breeze,  and  seeming 
to  bring  up  memories  of  "auld  lang  syne,"  and, 
although  I  can  remember  it  as  one  of  the  most 
delightfully  common  of  little  flowers  of  my  boyhood, 
I  can  also  remember  the  words  of  Ellen,  the  "  Lady 
of  the  Lake,"  that— 

"  It  drinks  heaven's  dew  as  blithe  as  rose 
That  in  the  king's  own  garden  grows." 

A  wealth  of  hillside  flowers  is  to  be  found  around 
me,  such  as  the  pretty  little  Eyebright  and  the 
Creeping  Cinquefoil,  with  its  relative  the  common 
Tormentil.  Moving  on  a  little  on  one  side  I  come 
across  two  of  Our  Lady's  flowers — the  Lady's  Mantle 
(Alchemilla  vulgaris),  and  the  Galium  verum,  or 
Lady's  Bedstraw,  or  Beadstraw.  Getting  into  a 
part  where  the  ground  is  somewhat  moist  and  boggy, 
the  lovely  Parnassia  palustris  soon  rivets  attention. 
What  a  splendid  view  from  the  top'of  the  hill  !  Right 
away  to  the  Irish  coast  almost,  on  one  side,  and 
around  me  I  can  survey  the  whole  extent  of  country 
where 

"  Bruce  he  shook  his  Carrick  spear." 

Another  very  enjoyable  ramble  was  the  one  paid  to 
Loch  Doon,  the  birth-place  of  the  "  bonnie  Doon." 
This  was  accomplished  by  going  by  rail  to  Dal- 
mellington  and  walking  to  the  loch.  The  walk  by 
the  side  of  the  Doon  is  a  magnificent  one,  and  as  the 
glen  gets  narrower  and  the  rocks  higher  I  am  fairly 
enraptured  with  nature's  works.  At  length  I  emerge 
from  the  glen  with  pleasant  thoughts  of  the  beauty  of 
the  ferns  and  mosses  which  I  have  seen  peeping  out 
from  the  crevices  of  the  rocks  and  adorning  every 
spot  of  vantage.  Keeping  company  with  the  Crypto- 
gamia  I  had  also  observed  quantities  of  that  pretty 
saxifrage  the  London  Pride,  or  "  None-so-pretty,'" 
and  the  Crow  Garlic,  with  its  beautiful  star-like 
blossoms,  and  its  leaves  somewhat  resembling  those 
of  the  Lily  of  the  Valley.  Having  got  safely  through 
the  glen,  I  find  myself  on  the  borders  of  a  wild  high- 
land lake,  studded  here  and  there  with  islets.  Being 
desirous  to  change  the  walk,  I  reach  Dalmellington 
by  a  different  route,  and  as  I  have  to  pass  through 

many  acres  of  bog-land,  my  old  friend  the  Parnassia, 

B  2 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S C1ENCE •  G O SSIP. 


fialnstris  is  found  in  great  plenty.  The  Ericas  also 
look  well,  and  I  am  constrained  to  gather  some  of 
them.  I  also  find  the  Milkwort,  or  Rogation 
flower,  in  great  plenty  and  very  various  in  its  hues. 
Dalmellington  is  at  length  reached  after  a  long 
ramble,  and  I  am  glad  of  a  little  rest  after  my 
labours. 

The  flowers  on  the  Ayrshire  coast  are  very 
numerous,  and  an  excursion  for  the  purpose  may  be 
made    with   advantage   by   any   one   who    may  be 


Fig.  i.     Grass  of  Parnassus  {Pamassia  jial/ts/r/s). 

interested  in  wild  flowers.  The  Sea  Convolvulus 
and  the  Rest  Harrow,  with  the  Scurvy  Grass  and  the 
Eryngo  Maritimum,  may  be  found  here  in  great 
plenty,  besides  hundreds  of  other  well-known  plants. 
A  great  many  varieties  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
Alga:  may  be  gathered  on  the  sea-shore  after  a 
storm. 

After  spending  about  a  fortnight  on  the  mainland 
I  determine  to  make  the  Isle  of  Arran,  in  the  Firth  of 


Clyde,  the  scene  of  my  operations  for  the  remaining 
part  of  the  time.  Crossing  one  morning  from 
Ardrossan  in  a  little  steamer,  I  arrive  at  Brodick, 
and  at  once  start  for  a  walk  across  the  island. 
Having  got  right  to  the  other  side  I  proceed  to 
arrange  about  a  lodging,  and  as  I  am  out  of  the  way 
of  all  bustle  I  make  up  my  mind  to  enjoy  myself. 
I  could  soon  see  that  1  was  looked  at,  as  I  thought, 
with  some  degree  of  patronage  by  the  natives.  In  order 
to   encourage   me   several   hoary   islanders   used    to 


iifc^ 


Fig.  2.     Round-leaved  Sundew  {Droscra  rotund  if  olio). 

appear  with  immense  bundles  of  weeds  round  the 
cottage  where  I  lodged,  about  eventide.  As  the 
evenings  were  fine  I  used  to  take  a  chair  out  uf 
doors  and  hold  a  sort  of  reception.  It  was  to  me 
very  amusing  to  observe  the  specious  pretexts  by 
which  these  "ancient  mariners"  used  to  lure  one 
to  talk  when  they  found  that  I  could  tell  them 
about  London ;  and  how  desirous  they  were  to 
know  all  about  it.     Almost  every  evening  I  might 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


5 


expect  one  or  more  of  my  friends  coming  to  visit 
me,  and  to  hear  something  more  about  the  "big 
ceety."  In  the  daytime  I  enjoyed  my  rambles 
exceedingly,  and  I  came  across  many  specimens 
here  that  I  had  not  seen  for  some  time.  The 
lovely  Alpine  Lady's  Mantle  repaid  a  climb  up  one 
of  the  hills,  and  in  the  boglands  below  I  found  the 
Drosera  rotundifolia,  and  its  usual  companion  the 
longifolia.  Another  carnivorous  little  plant  which 
is  often  a  near  neighbour,  one  of  the  Butterworts, 


Fig.  3.     Purple  Loosestrife  (Lythrum  Salkaria). 


I    also    found    in 
part    of   the    bog 


the  same  neighbourhood.  One 
I  found  quite  covered  with  the 
Cotton  Grass,  and  close  by  a  great  deal  of  the 
Marsh  Cinquefoil,  which,  although  it  has  done 
flowering,  I  am  able  to  make  out  by  its  strawberry- 
looking  seeds.  Another  part  of  the  bog  I  find 
covered  for  a  great  distance  by  the  Horsetail 
(Equisetitm),  and  in  the  running  stream  by  the  side, 
its  representative  the  Hippunis.      The  Bog  Bean  is 


also  present  with  its  tripartite  leaf,  but  it  is  now 
destitute  of  flowers,  and  in  close  proximity  is  the 
Marsh  Valerian.  Before  leaving  the  moist  ground 
I  feel  called  upon  t  o  admire  the  beauty  of  a  large  patch 
of  the  Purple  Loosestrife,  which  has  a  grand  effect. 

It  was  after  one  of  my  excursions,  and  whilst  I  was 
holding  my  usual  evening  "  confab  "  with  my  friends, 
that  one  of  them  confided  to  me  that  ' '  a  wee  drap 
o'  Luckie  Findlay's  whusky  wad  be  a  guid  thing 
to  carry  wi'  ane  oot  on  tha  hills."  I  told  him  that 
it  might  or  it  might  not,  but  as  I  did  not  want  it 
for  the  purpose  of  quenching  thirst  it  would  be  a 
useless  encumbrance.  I  saw  that  Donald  looked 
quite  astonished  at  my  te  merity  to  venture  to  speak 
slightingly  of  what  was  to  him,  no  doubt,  a  sove- 
reign remedy  for  everything  whatever. 

It  was  only  a  day  or  two  after  this  that  I  took 
my  farewell  ramble  in  Arran.  It  was  not  the  best 
of  days,  and  the  weather  seemed  to  be  breaking  up. 
As  my  holidays  were  now  drawing  to  a  close,  I  was 
not  so  much  concerned  on  the  subject.  In  this, 
my  last  excursion,  I  came  upon  the  Osmunda  regalis 
in  a  boggy  piece  of  ground.  It  was  growing  up  in 
several  clumps,  and  looked  very  well  indeed.  After 
this  I  also  came  across  the  Sweet  Gale,  or  Bog 
Myrtle.  It  was  about  here  in  great  profusion,  and 
smelt  very  strongly  of  the  myrtle-scent  belonging 
to  it.  A  little  farther  on  amongst  the  Sheep's-bit 
Scations  and  the  heather,  both  purple  and  white, 
I  found  for  the  first  time  the  pretty  Bog,  or  Lan- 
cashire, Asphodel.  Another  plant  which  I  found 
for  the  first  time  was  the  pretty  White  Sedum, 
down  on  the  rocks  by  the  beach.  Though  I  have 
often  gathered  these  two  plants  since,  this  was  my 
first  introduction  to  them,  and  I  shall  always  re- 
member them  in  connection  with  the  "  Misty  Isle  of 
Arran."  J.  Mills  Higgins. 


TAME  BEARS  IN  SWEDEN. 
By  John  Wager. 

IT  is  well  known  that  the  Bear,  by  a  course  ot 
severe  discipline,  can  be  taught  to  carry  a  long 
pole  in  his  paws  or  a  pert  monkey  upon  his  back,  to 
dance  to  the  music  of  pipe  and  drum,  and  to  perform 
tricks  which  the  solemn  gravity  of  his  demeanour, 
his  clumsy  motions,  and  shaggy  hide,  render  the  more 
amusingly  grotesque.  He  may  also  be  seen,  in  the 
den  of  a  'menagerie,  to  leap  through  a  comparatively 
small  ring  encircled  with  flame,  associated,  during 
the  performance  only,  with  leopards  and  a  hyaena  ; 
though  the  uncouthness  and  reluctance  with  which  he 
accomplishes  the  feat,  contrasted  with  the  graceful 
and  ready  spring  of  the  leopards,  is  enough  to  make 
the  hyaena  laugh  ;  while,  of  all  the  performers,  he  has 
evidently  the  most  intractable  temper,  and  is  least 
trusted  by  the  spangled  damsel  who  presides  with 
the  whip. 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


Yet,  when  young,  the  Bear  is  not  altogether  devoid 
of  amiable  qualities,  as  the  following  narrative  will 
prove.  The  account  was  communicated  to  the  present 
writer  in  1867  by  a  Swedish  acquaintance  residing  at 
Mora,  in  Dalecarlia,  the  bear  being  then  living,  and 
the  property  of  a  gentleman  at  Siknas,  in  Venjan,  an 
adjoining  parish,  having  been  taken  when  about  three 
weeks  old  from  the  adjacent  forest  in  February,  1865. 
Being  fed  with  warm  milk,  young  Bruin  throve 
satisfactorily,  and  when  large  enough  to  enjoy  liberty 
he  usually  sojourned  in  the  yard  with  the  bear-dog 
"  Jeppe,"  playing  and  springing  about  his  companion 
like  a  cat.  He  was  also  much  attached  to  his  master, 
delighting  to  accompany  him  not  only  to  the  forest, 
where  he  often  clambered  up  trees,  but  also  into  the 
house,  where  removing  chairs  and  tables  from  one 
room  into  another  appeared  to  be  his  favourite  oc- 
cupation. Strangers  who  visited  Siknas  always 
received  his  attentions ;  but  as  these  were  somewhat 
brusque,  and  expressed  in  a  surly  tone,  they  tended 
rather  to  repel  than  attract. 

To  Swedish  punch  (a  luscious  compound  of  arrack 
and  sugar)  he  was  extremely  partial,  and  partook  of 
it,  whenever  invited,  out  of  a  glass,  like  a  well-bred 
gentleman,  but  afterwards  showing  his  loutish  and 
lumpish  nature  in  a  drunken  fit,  concluding  with 
heavy  sleep  and  loud  snores. 

One  day,  while  Bruin  was  yet  of  tender  years,  a 
kitten  came  into  the  yard  and  immediately  drew  his 
surprised  attention  upon  herself;  but  young  Puss,  not 
admiring  his  looks,  first  cast  upon  him  an  angry  glance, 
and  then  sprang  up  and  fixed  her  claws  in  his  head, 
exciting  such  alarm  that  he  trotted  off  in  a  nervous 
perspiration,  and  ensconced  himself  in  an  outhouse. 
Subsequently  he  always  fled  at  the  sight  of  this  cat, 
though  she  was  the  only  one  of  which  he  showed  fear. 

Bruin  took  a  daily  bath  in  the  river,  which  flows 
within  a  stone-throw  of  the  house  ;  swimming  across 
and  back  again.  He  then  trotted  to  an  ice-cellar,  the 
roof  of  which  was  easily  accessible  and  covered  with 
deal  boards,  one  of  which  projected  considerably 
beyond  the  rest ;  towards  the  end  of  this  he  used  to 
ci"eep  warily,  to  enjoy  the  swinging  motion  that 
resulted.  It  was  a  mode  of  recreation  of  which  he 
frequently  availed  himself. 

Whenever  he  could  intrude  into  the  kitchen  he 
bemeaned  himself  like  an  officious  and  meddlesome 
husband,  disordering  affairs,  greatly  to  the  vexation 
of  the  domestics,  to  whose  castigations  with  a  stout 
knob  stick  he  payed  little  regard.  One  day  he  laid 
hold  of  a  coffee-pan  that  stood  on  the  hearth,  and  was 
conveying  it  in  his  paws  to  the  yard,  when  the  hot 
contents,  overflowing  on  his  bosom,  provoked  him  to 
cast  it  on  the  ground  and  flatten  it  with  a  stroke  of 
his  paw.  He  would  also,  when  opportunity  occurred, 
smuggle  himself  into  the  larder  (a  detached  building), 
looking  round  first  to  see  that  he  was  not  observed, 
then  bring  out  some  article,  especially  a  cheese,  which 
he  found  convenient  to  carry  ;  but  on  one  occasion  he 


made  free  with  a  tub  of  clouted  milk  and  cream, 
handling  it,  however,  so  awkwardly  that  the  ropy 
tenacious  contents  streamed  down  the  front  of  his 
erected  corpus,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  coffee-pan, 
brought  vengeance  on  the  tub.  After  fruitless  en- 
deavours, with  tongue  and  claws,  to  clear  the  viscous 
mass  from  his  best  fur  coat,  he  betook  himself  to  the 
river,  and  then  solaced  himself  with  a  swing. 

This  partiality  for  swinging  or  rocking  rendered 
him  an  undesirable  companion  in  a  boat ;  yet  he 
constantly  followed  his  owner  to  the  river-side,  and  if 
not  admitted  as  a  passenger,  would  swim  after  the 
boat,  grunting  like  a  hog.  During  one  river  excur- 
sion which  he  had  been  allowed  to  share  he  enjoyed 
as  usual  his  rocking,  till  the  boat,  gliding  down  the 
river,  entered  a  stormy  rapid,  when  he  became  quite 
agitated  with  fear,  trembling  in  every  limb  and  hold- 
ing on  each  side  of  the  boat  so  long  as  it  remained  in 
the  weltering  force.  When  indulged  with  a  ride  by 
land,  he  would  sometimes  leap  on  the  shafts  of  the. 
vehicle,  and  placing  a  hind  leg  on  each,  rest  his  fore 
paws  on  the  horse's  back. 

As  he  grew  older  it  was  found  necessary  to  impose 
some  check  upon  his  movements,  and  for  this  purpose 
a  chain,  with  a  log  at  the  end  of  it,  was  attached  to  a 
collar  round  his  neck.  Such  badge  of  servitude  and 
interference  with  the  liberty  of  a  free-born  bear  was- 
not  to  be  borne.  At  first  he  tried  to  strike  off  the 
log  with  his  paws  ;  then  he  dragged  it  to  the  river, 
but  was  vastly  irritated  to  find  that  after  every  attempt 
to  sink  it,  the  audacious  log  came  to  the  surface  again. 
Finally  he  dug  a  hole,  put  the  log  into  it,  and  re- 
placed the  earth,  stamping  or  pressing  it  down  ;  then 
apparently  satisfied  with  his  work  he  attempted  to 
move  off,  but  found  himself  in  a  worse  fix  than  before; 
however,  after  sundry  curvets  and  angry  jerks  the 
chain  broke  and  he  regained  his  freedom,  leaving  his 
encumbrance  in  the  grave. 

In  concluding  his  ursine  anecdotes  my  Swedish 
friend  remarked  :  ' '  These  are  but  a  few  of  Bruin's 
traits  and  droll  tricks,  which  must  be  seen  to  be  fully 
enjoyed.  At  present  he  lies  quietly  in  his  winter  lair, 
but  imagine  his  humour  when  he  leaves  it  in  spring  ; 
he  is  then  no  agreeable  companion,  especially  for  the 
kitchen-maids,  towards  whom,  and  the  fair  sex  in 
general,  he  shows  the  greatest  disregard." 

Poor  Bruin  !  he  must  indeed  have  got  up  on  the 
wrong  side  of  the  bed,  for  he  became  so  unbearably 
troublesome  and  subject  to  such  angry  moods,  that, 
as  I  afterwards  learned,  at  the  early  age  of  about 
three  years  he  was  doomed  to  death,  and  executed 
accordingly. 

Another  young  bear,  captured  in  the  winter  of 
1869,  was  kept  for  about  two  years  at  Eksharad,  in 
Wermland ;  but  as  it  grew  older  it  became  danger- 
ously ferocious,  and,  consequently,  was  also  shot.  A 
tame  bear,  kept  at  Sno-an,  had  accidentally  one 
Saturday  evening  got  locked  up  in  the  smithy,  and 
not  liking  to  remain  in  a  workshop  on  a  Sunday, 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE  -G0SS1 P. 


attempted  to  escape  through  an  opening  in  the  roof. 
But  to  reach  this  Bruin  had  to  clamber  upon  a  lever, 
which,  under  the  pressure  of  his  weight,  opened  the 
sluice-gate,  and,  turning  the  water  upon  the  wheel, 
set  the  great  hammer  to  work.  Evidently  annoyed 
by  its  persistent  motion  and  noise,  he  appears  to  have 
grasped  the  hammer  in  his  paws  with  intent  to  stop 
it;  but  the  contest  proved  beyond  his  strength,  for 
the  neighbours,  hearing  loud  roars,  hastened  to  the 
smithy  and  found  him  lying  upon  the  anvil,  having 
received  a  death-blow  before  their  arrival. 


THE    SEALS   AND    WHALES    OF   THE 
BRITISH  SEAS. 

Part  VI. 

By  Thomas  Southwell,  F.Z.S.,  &c. 

WE  now  come  to  the  second  sub- order  into 
which  the  Cetacea  are  divided,  namely,  the 
Odontoceti,  or  Toothed  Whales.  In  this  section,  baleen 
is  never  present,  but  well-developed  teeth  are  found 
in  one  or  both  jaws  of  the  adult ;  in  some  species 
they  are  very  numerous  ;  sometimes,  though  rarely, 
deciduous.  The  blow-hole  is  single,  and  the  skull 
generally  asymmetrical,  or  not  precisely  alike  on  both 
sides  of  the  medial  line.  Professor  Flower  divides 
the  Odontoceti  into  three  families,  one  of  which,  the 
Blatunistidm,  as  already  said,  is  found  only  in 
India  and  South  America  ;  the  other  two,  Physe- 
terids  and  Delphinidce,  are  represented  in  our  Fauna 
by  about  fifteen  species. 

Of  the  Physeteridcc,  four  genera  are  represented 
in  the  British  Fauna  by  five  species ;  namely,  one 
Physcter,  the  Sperm  Whale  ;  two  Hypcroodons,  the 
common  Beaked  Whale,  and  a  very  rare  species 
called  the  Broad-fronted  Beaked  Whale ;  one  Ziphius, 
Cuvier's  Whale ;  and  one  Mesoplodou,  Sowerby's 
Whale. 

By  far  the  most  interesting  species  is  the  Sperm 
Whale,  Physcter  viacrocephalus  (Linnaeus),  which 
rivals  the  Right-whale  in  commercial  importance  and 
in  the  value  of  its  products.  This  species  has  a  very 
wide  geographical  range,  having  been  found  in  almost 
every  sea  between  lat.  60°  north  and  60°  south.  The 
attempt  has  been  made,  I  think  unsuccessfully,  to 
show  that  the  Sperm  Whale  of  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere is  distinct  from  that  of  the  northern  ;  there 
seems,  however,  no  reason  to  doubt  at  present,  al- 
though, of  course,  it  may  eventually  be  found  other- 
wise, that  the  same  species  of  Sperm  Whale  ranges 
•  over  the  whole  of  this  vast  tract  of  ocean.  North  of 
about  400  it  appears  to  be  only  a  straggler,  and 
although  the  Arctic  seas  are  almost  always  stated  by 
-authors  to  be  its  head-quarters,  no  well-authenticated 
instance  of  its  occurrence  farther  north  than  Scotland 
is  on  record,  and  Lilljeborg  excludes  it  from  his 
-account  of  the  Scandinavian  cetacea.     Of  its  occur- 


rence on  the  British  coast  there  are  numerous  in- 
stances; in  all  cases,  however,  they  are  believed  by 
Andrew  Murray  to  have  been  stragglers,  "  which 
have  rounded  Cape  Horn  (they  have  never  been 
known  to  double  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope)  or  un- 
promising colonies,  for  they  are  becoming  scarcer  and 
scarcer  in  more  than  their  due  proportion."*  Of  the 
numerous  occurrences  on  the  coast  of  the  British 
isles  I  shall  confine  myself  to  a  few  early  records. 

In  the  church  of  St.  Nicholas,  at  Great  Yarmouth, 
is  the  basal  portion  of  a  skull  of  this  animal,  which 
has  been  converted  into  a  chair  :  it  formerly  stood 
outside  the  church,  and  of  course,  as  it  was  an  object 
of  wonder,  it  was  relegated  to  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness, and  christened  (?)  the  "Devil's  Seat";  it 
has,  however,  now  been  admitted  into  mother  church, 
and  stands  beside  the  north-west  door  under  the 
clock.  Mr.  C.  J.  Palmer  tells  me  that  in  the  church- 
wardens' accounts  for  1606  there  is  a  charge  of  8s. 
for  painting  this  chair,  which  clearly  proves  its  an- 
tiquity. Sir  Hamon  L'Estrange,  in  a  letter  to  Sir 
Thomas  Browne  (Wilkins's  edit.,  1852,  editor's  pre- 
face to  "  Pseudodoxia,"  vol.  i.  p.  lxxxi.),  says  that 
in  June,  1626,  a  whale,  afterwards  referred  to  by 
Sir  T.  Browne  as  a  sperm  whale  (vol.  iii.  p.  324), 
was  cast  upon  his  shore  or  sea-liberty,  "  sometyme 
parcel  of  the  possessions  of  the  Abbey  of  Ramsey, 
&c."  The  same  author,  in  his  account  of  the  "  Fishes 
found  in  Norfolk  and  on  the  Coast,"  says,  "A  Sper- 
maceti whale  of  62  feet  long  [came  on  shore]  near 
Wells,  another  of  the  same  kind  twenty  years  before 
at  Hunstanton  [the  one  referred  to  by  Sir  H.  L'Es- 
trange] ;  and  not  far  off,  eight  or  nine  came  ashore, 
and  two  had  young  ones  after  they  were  forsaken 
by  the  water."  The  whale  mentioned  by  Sir  H. 
L'Estrange  came  on  shore  in  1626  :  twenty  years 
after  would  give  1646  as  the  date  of  the  Wells 
specimen  ;  and  in  December  of  that  year,  according 
to  Booth's  "  History  of  Norfolk,"  published  in  178 1 
(vol.  ix.  p.  33),  "A  great  whale  was  cast  on  the 
shore  here  [at  Holme-next-the-Sea],  the  wind  blow- 
ing strongly  at  the  north-west,  57  feet  long,  the 
breadth  of  the  nose-end  eight  feet,  from  nose-end  to 
the  eye  154  feet ;  the  eyes  about  the  same  bigness  as 
those  of  an  ox,  the  lower  chap  closed  and  shut  about 
four  feet  short  of  the  upper  ;  this  lower  chap  narrow 
towards  the  end,  and  therein  were  46  teeth  like 
the  tusks  of  an  elephant ;  the  upper  one  had  no 
teeth,  but  sockets  of  bones  to  receive  the  teeth  :  two 
small  fins  only,  one  on  each  side,  and  a  short  small 
fin  on  the  back  ;  it  was  a  male  .  .  .  .  ;  the  breadth 
of  the  tail,  from  one  outward  tip  to  the  other,  was 
13!  feet.  The  profit  made  of  it  was  £2.1'].  6s.  7d., 
and  the  charge  in  cutting  it  up  and  managing  it  came 
to  ;£ioo  or  more."  It  seems  probable  that  a 
"school"  got  bewildered  in  the  shallow  waters  of 
the  Wash,  and   that  the  individual  of  which  Booth 

*  "Geographical   Distribution  of  Mammalia."     By  Andrew 
Murray,   1866,  p.  211. 


8 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


gives  such  an  excellent  description,  formed  one  of 
the  same  party  as  the  eight  or  nine  mentioned  by  Sir 
T.  Browne.  In  May,  1652,  Mr.  Arthur  Bacon 
writes  to  Sir  T.  Browne  about  the  sperm  whale  cast 
on  shore  at  Yarmouth,  but  the  actual  date  of  the 
occurrence  is  not  given.  This  is  the  last  record  of 
this  species  being  found  on  the  Norfolk  coast,  with 
which  I  am  acquainted  :  it  has,  however,  occurred 
many  times  since,  singly  or  in  small  parties,  on  other 
parts  of  the  coast ;  the  last  instance,  I  believe,  being 
in  July,  1871,  when  one  was  stranded  on  the  shore 
of  the  Isle  of  Skye.  Of  the  osteology  of  the  Sperm 
Whale,  Professor  Flower  has  given  an  exhaustive 
account  in  a  paper  published  in  the  "  Transactions 


very  remarkable  appearance,  the  truncated  form  of 
the  snout  looking  as  though  it  were  cut  off  at  right- 
angles  to  the  body  :  at  the  upper  angle  is  situated  the 
single  blow-hole.  The  juncture  of  the  head  with  the 
body  is  the  thickest  portion,  and  the  body  decreases 
little  in  size  till  the  "hump,"  which  is  situated  in  the 
place  of  the  dorsal  fin,  is  reached  ;  from  this  point 
it  rapidly  diminishes  to  the  tail.  The  flukes  of  the 
tail  are  from  twelve  to  fourteen  feet  in  breadth,  and 
the  two  flippers  each  about  six  feet  long.  The  under 
jaw  is  pointed,  and  about  two  feet  shorter  than  the 
upper ;  it  is  furnished  with  about  twenty-five  large 
conical  teeth  on  each  side  ;  but  the  number  is  not 
constant,  nor  is  it  always  the  same  on  each  side.     In 


Fig.  4.     Sperm  Whale  (Physeter  macrocephaltis,    Linn.)- 


of  the  Zoological  Society,"  vol.  vi.,  and  of  its  habits 
a  very  interesting  account  is  given  by  Thomas  Beals, 
who,  in  the  capacity  of  surgeon  on  board  ships 
employed  in  the  South  Sea  fishery,  had  unusual 
opportunities  of  observing  this  remarkable  animal. 
He  published  a  book  entitled  "  The  Natural  History 
of  the  Sperm  Whale,"  to  which  I  am  largely  indebted 
for  what  I  shall  have  to  say  about  this  species. 

The  colour  of  the  Sperm  Whale  is  black  above  and 
grey  beneath,  the  colours  gradually  shading  into  each 
other.  The  full-grown  male  is  about  sixty  feet 
long  ;  the  females  are  much  smaller  and  more  slender 
than  the  males.  The  head,  which  constitutes  more 
than  one-third  of  the  whole  of  the  animal,  presents  a 


the  upper  jaw  are  no  visible  teeth,  but  those  of  the 
lower  jaw  shut  into  corresponding  depressions  in  the 
upper.  The  tongue  is  small,  and,  like  the  lining  of 
the  mouth,  of  a  white  colour.  The  upper  part  of  the 
head,  called  the  "case,"  contains  the  "spermaceti," 
which  upon  the  death  of  the  animal  granulates  into 
a  yellowish  substance.  Beals  says  that  a  large  whale 
not  unfrequently  contains  a  ton  of  spermaceti.  Be- 
neath the  "case"  is  situated  the  "junk,"  which 
consists  of  a  dense  cellular  mass,  containing  oil  and 
spermaceti.  The  blubber  is  about  fourteen  inches 
thick  on  the  breast,  and  in  most  other  parts  of  the 
body  from  eight  to  eleven  inches.  By  the  whalers 
this  covering  is  called  the  "  blanket."     With  regard 


HARDWI CKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


to  the  apparently  ungainly  head  of  the  Sperm  Whale, 
Beals  remarks  as  follows  : — "  One  of  the  peculiarities 
of  the  Sperm  Whale,  which  strikes  at  first  sight  every 
beholder,  is  the  apparently  disproportionate  and  un- 
wieldy bulk  of  the  head  ;  but  this  peculiarity,  instead 
of  being,  as  might  be  supposed,  an  impediment  to  the 
freedom  of  the  animal's  motion  in  its  native  element, 
is,  in  fact,  on  the  contrary,  in  some  respects,  very 
conducive  to  its  lightness  and  agility,  if  such  a  term 
can  with  propriety  be  applied  to  such  an  enormous 
creature  ;  for  a  great  part  of  the  bulk  of  the  head  is 
made  up  of  a  thin  membranous  case,  containing, 
during  life,  a  thin  oil,  of  much  less  specific  gravity 
than  water,  below  which  is  again  the  junk,  which, 
although  heavier  than  the  spermaceti,  is  still  lighter 
than  the  element  in  which  the  whale  moves ;  conse- 
quently the  head,  taken  as  a  whole,  is  lighter  specifi- 
cally than  any  other  part  of  the  body,  and  will  always 
have  a  tendency  to  rise  at  least  so  far  above  the  sur- 
face as  to  elevate  the  nostril  or  '  blow-hole '  suffi- 
ciently for  all  purposes  of  respiration  ;  and  more  than 
this,  a  very  slight  effort  on  the  part  of  the  fish  would 
only  be  necessary  to  raise  the  whole  of  the  anterior 
flat  surface  of  the  nose  out  of  the  water.  In  case  the 
animal  should  wish  to  increase  his  speed  to  the  ut- 
most, the  narrow  inferior  surface,  which  has  been 
before  stated  to  bear  some  resemblance  to  the  cut- 
water of  a  ship,  and  which  would,  in  fact,  answer  the 
same  purpose  to  the  whale,  would  be  the  only  part 
exposed  to  the  pressure  of  the  water  in  front,  enabling 
him  thus  to  pass  with  the  greatest  celerity  and  ease 
through  the  boundless  track  of  his  wide  domain  " 
(p.  28).  When  swimming  at  ease,  the  Sperm  Whale 
keeps  just  below  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  goes 
at  about  three  or  four  miles  an  hour ;  but  on  an 
emergency  it  is  able  to  attain  a  speed  of  ten  or 
twelve  miles  an  hour  :  it  then  progresses  by  means 
of  powerful  lateral  strokes  of  its  tail,  and  alter- 
nately rises  and  sinks  at  each  stroke.  In  progress- 
ing in  this  manner,  the  blunt  anterior  surface  of 
the  head  never  presents  itself  directly  to  the  water  ; 
the  animal's  body  being  in  an  oblique  position,  it  is 
only  the  angle  formed  by  the  inferior  surface  which 
first  presents  itself,  and  this,  which  Beals  likens  to  the 
"  cutwater  "  of  a  ship,  offers  the  least  possible  amount 
of  resistance.  When  undisturbed,  the  Sperm  Whale 
rises  to  the  surface  to  breathe  about  once  every  hour. 
Beals  says  the  regularity  with  which  every  action 
connected  with  its  breathing  is  performed  is  remark- 
able ;  the  time  occupied  differs  slightly  in  each  indi- 
vidual, but  each  one  is  minutely  regular  in  the  per- 
formance of  every  action  connected  with  respiration, 
so  that  the  whalers  know  how  long  it  will  remain 
beneath  the  surface  before  reappearing  to  renew  its 
supply  of  air.  A  full-grown  ' '  bull, "  he  says,  remains 
at  the  surface  ten  or  eleven  minutes,  during  which  he 
makes  sixty  or  seventy  expirations  ;  after  which  he 
disappears,  to  return  again  to  the  surface  in  one  hour 
and  ten  minutes.     The  blowing  is  not  accompanied 


by  any  sound,  and  notwithstanding  the  wonderful 
accounts  of  its  roarings  and  bellowings,  the  Sperm 
Whale  may  be  said  to  be  an  absolutely  silent  animal. 
The  females  and  young  males  are  gregarious,  but  are 
found  in  separate  herds  or  "schools,"  as  they  are 
called.  A  "  school "  will  sometimes  consist  of  five  or 
six  hundred  individuals.  The  herds  of  females  are 
always  accompanied  by  from  one  to  three  large 
"bulls";  but  the  full-grown  males  are  said  to  be 
generally  solitary  in  their  habits,  except  on  certain 
occasions,  when  it  is  supposed  they  are  migrating 
from  one  feeding-place  to  another.  The  majority  of 
those  which  occur  on  our  coast  are  these  solitary 
males  ;  when  they  visit  us  in  herds,  as  mentioned  by 
Sir  Thomas  Browne,  they  are  all  probably  females 
or  young  males.  The  "bulls"  are  veiy  fierce  and 
jealous,  and  fight  fiercely.  The  females  show  great 
attachment  to  each  other  and  to  their  young,  so  much 
so  that,  one  being  wounded,  the  others  of  the  herd 
remain  and  fall  a  comparatively  easy  prey.  The 
young  males,  on  the  other  hand,  are  very  wary  and 
difficult  of  approach,  and  should  one  be  attacked,  the 
others  immediately  take  the  alarm  and  retreat .  The 
female  produces  one  young  one,  rarely  two,  at  a  time, 
and  breeds  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  Their  senses 
of  sight  and  hearing  are  very  acute,  and  after  being 
once  unsuccessfully  attacked,  they  are  very  difficult 
and  dangerous  to  approach. 

The  food  of  the  Sperm  Whale  consists  almost  en- 
tirely of  Cephalopode  Mollnsks  (cuttle-fish),  although 
at  times,  when  feeding  near  the  shore,  it  has  been 
known  to  take  fish  as  large  as  salmon.  It  is,  how- 
ever, essentially  a  deep-water  species,  but  how  it  con- 
trives to  capture  such  active  prey  as  fish  seems  difficult 
to  conceive.  Beals  is,  however,  of  opinion  that  the 
Whale  sinks  to  a  proper  depth  in  the  sea,  where  re- 
maining as  quiet  as  possible,  and  opening  wide  its 
mouth,  the  prey  are  attracted  by  the  glistening  white 
colour  of  its  lining  membrane,  curiosity  leading  them 
to  destruction  ;  for  no  sooner  have  a  sufficient  number 
entered  his  mouth  than  the  Whale,  rapidly  closing  his 
under  jaw,  they  are  made  prisoners  and  swallowed. 
{To  be  continued.") 


THE  HISTORY  OF  SALAD  PLANTS. 

By  H.  G.  Glasspoole. 

CRESSES. 

CRESS  is  a  general  name  of  a  number  of  plants, 
mostly,  if  not  all,  belonging  to  the  Cntciferce, 
and  possessing,  in  common  with  the  plants  of  the  same 
order,  pungent  and  aromatic  qualities.  The  ancients, 
we  are  told,  ate  cresses  with  their  salads  to  counter- 
act the  cold  nature  of  lettuces  and  other  herbs. 

The  garden  cress,  Lepidinm  sativum,  appears  to 
have  been  known  to  Theophrastus  (see  article  in 
Rees's  "Encyclopaedia"),  but  the  tribe  of  Nasturtium, 
to  which  the   Water-cress  belongs,  was,  no  doubt, 


IO 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  0  SSIP. 


most  common  in  use.     The  Greeks  thought  that  the 
warm  and  stimulating  qualities  of  these  plants  put 
life  and  energy  into  persons  with  a  sluggish  tempera- 
ment, and  also  brightened  the  understanding  of  those 
who  partook  of  them  :  this  circumstance  gave  rise  to 
the  Greek  proverb,   "  Eat  cress  and  learn  more  wit." 
Xenophon  recommended  the  Persians  to  feed  their 
children  with  cresses,   which  he  said  would    make 
them  grow  tall,  and  be  of  more  active  habits.     Pliny 
dwells  much  on  the  medicinal  virtues  of  these  plants, 
and  recommends  them  to  be  eaten  with  vinegar  as  a 
remedy  for  those  minds  that  were  deranged.      The 
garden  cress  is  said  to  have  been  introduced  into  this 
country  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Gerard  mentions    having    received  the  seed  of  the 
curled  cress,  which  is  a  variety,  from  his  loving  friend 
John    Robins,    of   Paris.       Thomas   Cogan,    in    his 
"Haven  of  Health,"  tells  us  "that  the  often  eating 
of  this  herb  in   salettes   doth  give    sharpnesse  and 
readinesse  to  wit."     The  native  country  of  this  plant 
was    unknown  until   Dr.  Sibthorp    discovered  it  in 
Greece. 

No   British  plant  is  in  such   popular   request   for 
salad  as  the  Water-cress,  Nasturtium  officinale,  the 
young  leaves  of  which  are  supposed,  like  those  of  the 
Scurvy-grass    {Cochlearia    officinalis),    to    purify    the 
blood,    and    therefore    largely    partaken  of    in    the 
spring.     Our  old  friend  Gerard  recommends  young 
ladies  to   eat   them  as   a  restorative    to   the   natural 
bloom  of  their  faded    cheeks.      A  decoction  of  its 
juice  with  that  of  Scurvy-grass  and  Seville  oranges 
used  to  be  given  to  children  as  a  medicinal  drink  in 
the  spring  in  days  gone  by.     In  Europe  the  water- 
cress appears  to  have  been  first  cultivated  at  Erfurth, 
about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  but  it  was 
not  until  180S  that  it  became  an  object  of  cultivation 
in  England.  About  that  period  a  Mr.  Bradbery  began 
to  grow  them  for  the  London  markets  in  the  pretty 
valley    called    Springhead,    Northfleet,    Kent,   with 
great  success.     In  1820  he  removed  to  West  Hyde, 
near  Rickmansworth,  where  he  had  no  less  than  five 
acres  under  water-cress  cultivation.     It  is  now  ex- 
tensively grown  in  the  northern  and  eastern  suburbs  of 
the  metropolis,  and  also  at  Cookham,  Farringdon,  and 
other  places  on  the  Great  Western  Railway,  which  line 
brings  no  less  than  a  ton  a  week  of  this  wholesome 
breakfast  salad  to  London.     Many  hundred  bunches 
are  sold  every  morning  in  Covent  Garden,  but  the 
largest  share  goes  to  Farringdon  Market.     The  en- 
tire   supply    to    the   various    Metropolitan    markets 
cannot  be  less  than  from  three  to  four  tons  per  week 
(see  Wynter's  "Curiosities  of  Civilization").     The 
sale  of  this  plant  forms  an  important  though  humble 
branch    of    domestic    commerce    in  our    towns  and 
cities.    "  Fine  fresh  Water-cresses  ! "  is  the  first  coster 
cry  heard  in  a  morning  in  the  streets  of  London. 

Water-cress  contains  chloride  of  potassium  and 
sulphur  in  considerable  quantities,  and  iodine  occa- 
sionally. 


The  botanical  name  of  the  garden-cress,  Lepidium, 

is  derived  from  lepis,   a  scale,  from  the  form  of  the 

seed-pouches ;  that  of  Nasturtium,  from  nasus,  nose, 

tortus,  torment,  from  the  effects  most  of  this  genera 

have  upon  the  muscles  of  the  nose,— a  name  given  to 

it  by  Pliny.     In  some  counties  these  plants  used  to  be 

called  ' '  Nose-smart "  for  the  same  reason.     The  word 

"  cress,"  perhaps,  may  be  derived  from  cresco,  being  a 

quick  grower.     In  the  last  edition  of  the  "  English 

Botany  "  we  are  told  that  the  word  "cress"  is  found  in 

various  forms  in  all  Teutonic  languages.     Some  have 

derived    it    from    the    cross    form    of  the   flowers. 

Chaucer  employs  the  Saxon  form  of  the  word  Kers, 

to  signify  anything  worthless  : — 

"  Of  paramours  ne  raught  he  not  a  Kers  ;  " 
from  which,   perhaps,  is  derived  the  phrase  of  not 
caring  a  curse  for  anything. 


THE     ANNELID     "DERO." 

By  R.  Garner,  F.L.S.,  &c. 

'"pHE  two  little  fresh- water  Annelids,  portions  of 
J.  which  are  figured  at  a,  b,  c,  are  very  dis- 
tinct from  their  allies,  the  Naids.  of  which,  however, 
several  species  are  often  found  with  them ;  Nais 
proboscidea,  for  instance.  Dero  is  the  generic  name 
appropriated  to  the  present  annelids.  Though  hardy, 
they  seem  to  require  a  warm  temperature,  and  those 
here  described  inhabit  the  slimy  mud  of  a  pool,  into 
which  hot  water  is  constantly  pouring  from  an  engine. 
A  dark  green  Oscillatoria  also  grows  in  the  same 
mud,  and  thrives  in  a  higher  temperature  than  either 
the  annelid  or  the  hand  can  endure. 

The  peculiarity  of  Dero,  and  one  which  makes  it  a 
pretty  object  for  the  microscopist,  is  the  expanded 
membrane  or  respiratory  disk,  situated  at  the  posterior 
part    of   the    body,    having   projections  or  processes 
upon  it,  and  the  whole  strongly  ciliated,  thus  pre- 
senting some  resemblance  to  the  corona  of  a  Bryozoon, 
though  the  ciliated  processes  are  fewer.     This  part, 
the  undoubted  respiratory  organ,  it  is  the  habit  of  the 
little  animal  to  protrude  out  of  the  mud  in  which  it 
lives,  and  when  the  disk  is  expanded,  the  processes 
fairly  extended,  and  the  cilia  in  strong  action,  few 
objects   are   more    striking.     There   is   a   difference 
between  a  and  b  and  c,  the  former  having  a  pair  of 
antenna-like  processes,  which  are  not  retractile. 

Another  interesting  point,  and  one  which  from  the 
transparency  of  the  animal  and  the  bright-red  colour 
of  the  blood,  is  not  difficult  to  investigate,  is  the 
circulation.  Of  this,  investigation  has  already  been 
made,*  and  all  that  we  give  here  is  solely  what  we 
have  ourselves  noticed.  An  abdominal  vein  running 
from  the  head,  /,  to  the  respiratory  disk  at  the 
opposite  extremity,  a,  receives  the  blood  from  the 


*  M.  E.  Perrier,  "  Comptes  Rendus,"  1870,  an  extract  being 
given  in  Ann.  and  Mag.  of  Nat.  Hist.,  fourth  sec,  vol.  6. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


ii 


head,  and  from  what  may  be  termed  a  vascular  rete 
mirabile  enveloping  the  stomach  and  intestine,  and  is 
divided  behind,  g,  and  distributed  to  the  branchial 
processes.  From  these,  vessels  again  converge  into 
a  dorsal  artery,  following  the  undulations  of  the 
alimentary  canal,  and  conspicuous  from  an  intrinsic 


portions,  two  as  above  and  a  third  behind,  and 
the  somites  in  the  last  portion  have  evidently  been 
most  recently  formed. 

A  double  abdominal  nervous  cord  is  plain  enough 
all  along  below  the  longitudinal  vein  ;  the  brain  is 
less  definitely  seen  ;  there  are  also  two  minute  bodies 


I 


Fig.  s.     Structure  of  Dero- 


-a  freshwater  Annelid,     a,  b,  c,  posterior  extremity;  d,  head  ;  e,  seta;  ;/,  g,  vessels  of 
the  head  and  branchia?. 


metility  which  the  vein  has  not.  The  course  of  the 
dorsal  vessel  is  somewhat  the  same  as  the  ventral. 
When  it  lies  above  the  middle  part  of  the  alimentary 
canal  it  forms  the  beautiful  network  already  men- 
tioned, and  is,  besides,  connected  in  each  somite  or 
section  of  the  body  with  large  contractile  loops, 
apparently  distributing  the  blood  to  the  viscera  and 
parietes  of  the  body,  but,  according  to  Perrier,  not 
immediately  connecting  the  two  vessels.  The  little 
worm  is  well  supplied  with  abdominal  tufts  of  sigma- 
shaped  hooks  for  crawling,  and  also  with  lateral  or 
dorsal  seta?  for  swimming,  the  former  are  bifid  at  their 
extremes,  e. 

The  mouth,  d  and  f,  is  furnished  with  a  bulbous 
tongue,  which  can  be  protruded  a  little  in  feeding  ; 
both  here  and  behind  the  alimentary  canal  is  ciliated  ; 
there  is  some  appearance  of  a  stomach  at  about  the 
seventh  and  eighth  somite  of  the  body,  and  here  is 
the  liver  incorporated  with  the  canal,  and  also 
in  the  same  region  the  ovaries,  &c.  ;  the  intestine  is 
dilated  in  each  division  of  the  body,  and  connected 
by  bands  with  its  parietes. 

We  have  no  sufficiently  matured  observations  to 
offer  as  to  the  development  of  the  ova  in  the  Dero. 
Perrier  describes  its  fissiparous  mode  of  increase,  but 
the  following  account  differs  somewhat  from  him. 
Sometimes  a  long  Dero,  say  of  fifty  joints,  very 
evidently  divides  into  two,  a  respiratory  disk  for  the 
anterior  secondary  worm,  and  a  head  for  the  posterior 
one  being  formed  at  the  place  of  disjunction  ;  here 
the  anterior  portion,  containing  the  ovaries,  probably 
becomes  the  germ-mother,  and  perhaps  winter-nurse. 
In  other  cases   the   individual   Dero  presents  three 


at  the  sides  of  the  brain,  probably  acoustic,  a  few 
darker  coloured  spots  more  forward,  and  apparently 
lateral  oral  ganglia.  The  animal  is  sensitive  to  a 
very  slight  concussion  of  the  vessel  in  which  it  lives. 

PLANT-HUNTING  AT  BARMOUTH. 
By  J.  Percival. 

HAVING  read  with  great  pleasure  the  interest- 
ing notes  of  your  correspondent  Horace 
Pearce,  F.L.S.,  of  the  flora  of  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Cader  Idris,  I  wish  to  add,  by  way  of 
supplement,  a  few  of  the  plants  that  came  under  my 
observation  during  the  summer  of  1876,  for  I  find 
that  he  has  omitted  a  great  portion  of  the  rarer 
species.  Walking  along  the  road  in  the  direction  of 
Llanaber  may  be  seen  Parietaria  officinalis,  Eckium 
vidgare,  Clinopodium  vidgare,  Origanum  vidgare, 
Eaonymus  Europazts,  and  Aspleninm  lanceolatum. 
This  latter  plant  may  be  found  for  a  mile  on  old  walls 
and  rocks,  and  in  far  greater  abundance  than  its  near 
ally,  Aspleninm  Adianlum-nigrum.  It  may  also  be 
found  on  walls  overlooking  Barmouth,  and  also  for 
two  miles  on  the  Dolgelly  road  from  Barmouth; 
turning  into  the  harbour,  a  little  short  of  a  mile  from 
Barmouth,  it  may  be  seen  there  very  fine  and  abun- 
dant. A  little  further,  on  rocks  facing  the  sea,  may 
be  gathered  Rubia  peregrina,  or  the  common  Mad- 
der ;  growing  also  with  it  is  Inula  conyza,  or  the 
"  Ploughman's  Spikenard  "  ;  another  mile  further  on 
brings  you  to  Carex  extensa  and  Tamarix  Gallica  ; 
and  also  Spircca  salicifolia  :  both  the  latter  have,  no 
doubt,  been  planted,  but  probably  they  are  as  wild 


12 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-  G  OS  SIP. 


there  as  elsewhere  in  Britain.  Half  a  mile  further 
on,  until  coming  to  a  large  stream,  going  up  the  hill 
side,  may  be  found  Carex  binervis,  C.  laevigata,  and  C. 
fulva,  the  latter  in  the  greatest  plenty.  Gnaphaiium 
dioicum,  Scutellaria  minor,  almost  in  all  swampy  places, 
along  with  Drostra  rotundifolia.  Up  this  valley,  t 
picked  up  of  the  Drosera  an  immense  number  of 
sports,  varying  from  one  to  six  and  seven  stems  from 
the  same  root ;  others  branched  into  several  divisions 
at  the  top  of  the  stem  :  I  picked  up  about  twenty  of 
them,   and  scarcely  two   alike.      Crossing  over  the 


it  also  grows  on  the  railway  banks,  both  near  Bar- 
mouth and  at  Friog.  Along  the  coast  may  be 
gathered  Crithmum  maritimum ;  amongst  loose 
stones  in  several  places,  and  also  very  fine,  two  feet 
in  height,  on  rocks  exactly  behind  the  pay-house.  In 
crossing  the  bridge,  Polygonum  Raii,  Sclerochloa  loliacea 
and  rigida.  On  the  railway  banks,  about  400  yards 
from  the  station,  grows  Mentha  rotundifolia ,  and  in 
grassy  flats,  running  parallel  with  the  railway  at  this 
place,  there  are  large  quantities  of  Juncus  acutus  and 
maritiimis.     On  Sept.  5th,  1 876,  I  saw  hundreds  of 


Pellitory  of  the  Wall  [Parietaria  officinalis) 


hill  from  this  point  (say  a  mile  up  the  valley)  in  the 
direction  of  Barmouth,  my  friend  Mr.  Roger, 
gathered  a  plant  of  Onobrychis  saliva.  On  the  hill- 
side overlooking  Barmouth  may  be  found  Geranium 
sanguineum,  Dianthus  delloides,  and  Orobanche 
major  ;  and  on  an  old  wall  nearly  opposite  the  Corsy- 
geddol  Hotel  may  be  gathered  Orobanche  Heditue  ; 
whilst  on  the  rocks  in  the  direction  of  Llanabers 
near  the  toll-gate,  may  be  found  Veronica  hybrida. 
Proceeding  along  the  high  road  for  a  mile  may  be 
found,  in  the  greatest  abundance,  Lathy rus  sylvestris  ; 


Fig.  7.     Annual  Dog's  Mercury  [Mercurialis  annua). 


Spirant hus  autumnalis  growing  in  the  same  flat 
with  Spergida  nodosa  and  a  white-flowered  variety 
of  Erythnea  Centaurium.  Eiythma  latifolia  I  have 
seen  growing  at  Pensarn  along  with  Juncus  acutus 
and  maritimus.  Convolvulus  Soldanclla  grows  amongst 
the  sand-hills  near  Barmouth,  and  in  several  places 
may  be  found  Mercurialis  annua,  Koniga  maritima 
abundant  (probably  an  escape).  Malva  sylvestris  and 
rotundifolia  are  both  common  plants.  Lavatera  arborea 
growing  in  several  places  on  the  coast ;  likewise 
may  be  seen  Sinapis  nigra  and  Hordeum  muriuum. 


HA  R  D  WICKE'S   S  CIENCE-  G  O  SSI  P. 


13 


Crossing  over  the  estuary,  and  getting  on  to  the 
bog  at  Barmouth  Junction,  may  be  found  Phragmites 
communis,  varying  in  height  from  18  inches  to  more 
than  six  feet.  I  have  a  specimen  not  20  inches  high, 
with  roots  and  four  perfect  panicles  ;  growing  along 
with  it  is  CEuant/ie  erocata,  Scirpus  maritimus,  and 
Typha  latifolia.  The  last-mentioned  plants  grow  in 
the  sluice  by  the  railway-side,  until  one  gets  beyond 
Penman  Pool  Station  from  Barmouth.  At  the  Bar- 
mouth side  of  the  estuary,  on  the  bog  may  also  be 


Fig.  8.     Tree  Mallow  {Lavatcra.  arborea). 

found  Radiola  millegrana,  Osmunda  regalis,  Carex 
distans,  C.  Jlava,  var.  lepidocarpa,  Drosera  rotundifolia 
and  intermedia.  Going  on  to  Arthog  Station,  amongst 
the  salt  marshes,  may  be  found  Statice  Limotiium  and 
S.  rariflora,  also  Sueda  mariiima  and  Saticornia  in 
the  greatest  abundance.  CEnanthe  Lachenalii  and 
Apium  gravelens  both  grow  near  Penman  Pool  Sta- 
tion, and,  retracing  my  steps  to  the  rocks,  near 
Friog,  growing  in  inaccessible  situations,  may  be 
seen    Asplaiium     marinum ;     and    following     the 


coast  to  the  next  village,  Llangrwyen,  near  the 
station,  I  have  found  Mentha  viridis,  M.  piperata, 
and  M.  gentilis,  and  also  Tanacetum  vulgare. 
By  the  road,  in  woods,  are  large  quantities  of  Hyperi- 
cum androscemum  and  Orobanche  major.  In  woods, 
at  or  near  Barmouth  Junction,  at  Arthog  Falls,  Tor- 
rent Walk,  and  several  other  places,  I  have  seen 
Hymenophyllum  Wilsoni  in  the  greatest  abundance. 
At  the  margin  of  the  lakes,  on  the  ascent  to  Cader 
Idris,  from  the  Arthog  side,  I  have  seen  Hypericum 


Fig.  9.     Broom-rape  (O rolanclit  rapuni). 

elodes.  I  have  also  seen  it  in  swampy  ground  near 
Barmouth.  I  have  seen  L.  selaginoides  in  several 
places  near  small  rills  near  Barmouth ;  and  Aspletiium 
Ruta-miiraria  grows  very  fine  on  an  old  wall  leading 
from  Dolgelly  to  Penman  Pool ;  but  out  of  reach, 
except  by  a  ladder.  Amongst  mosses,  the  rarer 
species  I  have  observed  are  Entosthodon  Templetom 
and  E.  ericetorum,  Bartramia  rigida,  Bryum  alpwum 
and  B.  eloiigatnm,  Hedwigidinm  imberbe,  Zygodon 
viridissimus  and  Z.  conidens,  Campy/opus  longipilus 


14 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


Fig.  10.     Tamarisk  (Tamarix gallica). 

C.  densus  and  C.  paradoxus,  Rhabdoweissa  Jugax,  &c. 
Asplenium  viridc  is  found  in  ascending  Cader,   and 


MICROSCOPY, 

An  easily-made  Cell. — The  "  American  Journal 
ol  Microscopy "  gives  the  following  excellent  recipe 
for  constructing  cells: — "A  cell  which  we  have 
found  very  durable,  easily  and  quickly  made,  and 
very  neat,  is  constructed  as  follows  :  Having  pro- 
cured some  good  gold  size  and  pure  litharge,  grind 
the  latter  to  a  very  fine  powder.  Mix  the  litharge 
and  gold  size  to  the  thickness  of  cream,  and  colour 
either  black  or  dark  olive  by  adding  lamp-black. 
With  this  paint,  as  it  may  be  called,  make  as  many 
cells  as  are  wanted,  and  when  made,  dust  finely- 
powdered  litharge  over  them  until  they  are  covered 
a  sixteenth  of  an  inch  deep  ;  allow  them  to  stand  a 
few  minutes,  and  then  shake  off  all  the  loose  litharge 
by  means  of  a  few  smart  taps.     The  surface  of  the 


Fig.  ii.     Ladies'  Tresses  Orchid  {Spirant  'ies  aiitumnalis). 

Lastrca  amithtm  grows  in  woods  near  Penman  Pool. 
— J.  Percraal. 


cell  will  now  be  quite  rough.  Allow  it  to  stand  a 
few  hours,  and  then  press  it  against  a  plate  of  glass. 
If  this  be  done  carefully,  a  smooth,  solid  ring  will 
be  left  on  the  slide.  If  the  edges  should  not  be  as 
smooth  as  they  ought  to  be,  it  is  easy  to  trim  them 
off  on  the  turntable  by  means  of  a  small  chisel. 
Such  cells,  after  a  few  weeks,  become  very  hard,  and 
may  be  finished  so  as  to  be  very  neat.  For  dry 
objects  they  leave  nothing  to  be  desired,  and  as  we 
have  had  them  in  use  for  over  five  years,  we  can 
speak  as  to  their  durability.  For  objects  mounted 
in  liquids  it  will  be  necessary  to  coat  them  with 
suitable  varnish.  Thus,  for  saline  liquids,  a  coating 
of  gold  size  renders  them  perfectly  impervious.  For 
glycerine  use  Bell's  cement,  or  a  solution  of  shellac  in 
alcohol." 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSS  IP. 


15 


The  Monthly  Microscopical  Journal.— We 
have  received  a  copy  of  the  November  and  December 
number  of  this  well-known  journal,  containing  a 
very  brief  account  of  the  death  of  the  late  Editor 
(Dr.  Lawson),  and  a  notice  that  the  present  number 
is  the  last  of  the  series,  and  that  henceforth  the 
Royal  Microscopical  Society  intend  to  publish  their 
own  Transactions,  after  the  manner  of  the  other 
learned  societies. 

The  "  Spontaneous  Generation  "  Contro- 
versy.— At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Royal  Society, 
Professor  Tyndall  referred  to  some  hermetically- 
sealed  flasks  opened  on  the  Alps,  which,  he  thought, 
set  this  controversy  at  rest.  Professor  Tyndall 
stated  that  he  took  with  him  last  summer  to  the 
Alps  sixty  hermetically-sealed  flasks,  containing 
infusions  of  beef,  mutton,  turnip,  and  cucumber, 
which  had  been  boiled  for  five  minutes,  and  her- 
metically sealed  whilst  boiling  was  going  on.  The 
flasks  were  kept  for  six  weeks  and  were  then 
opened,  some  in  haylofts  and  others  near  precipices. 
The  two  groups  of  flasks  were  then  placed  in  a 
kitchen,  where  the  temperature  was  from  650  to 
90°  Fahr.  The  result  was  that  twenty-one  out  of 
the  twenty-three  flasks  opened  in  the  hayloft  were 
filled  with  organisms,  whilst  all  the  flasks  opened 
near  the  edges  of  precipices  remained  as  clear  as 
distilled  water  ! 

Sph/ERAPHIDES.  —  I  have  found  the  following 
a  very  simple  and  efficient  method  for  procuring 
sphceraphides  from  rhubarb  when  not  required  to  be 
viewed  in  situ: — I  take  a  piece  of  rhubarb  and 
separate  the  fibres  into  several  small  pieces,  length- 
wise, then  allow  them  to  remain  for  a  few  days  until 
moderately  dry.  If  rubbed  together  over  a  sheet  of 
note-paper,  the  matter  thus  obtained  may  be  collected 
on  a  slide  :  it  will  be  found  to  consist  principally  of 
detached  spharaphides.  The  few  particles  of  fibre 
may  be  easily  removed  with  a  camel-hair  pencil. 
They  can  then  be  mounted,  when  dry,  as  opaque 
objects  or  in  Canada  balsam,  as  required. —  W.  H. 
Harris. 

Birth  of  Vinegar  Eels. — While  occupied,  a 
few  evenings  since,  with  the  microscope,  examining 
an  eel  from  some  vinegar,  I  was  the  fortunate  witness 
of  an  interesting  event.  I  had,  by  the  cap  of  the 
live  box,  caused  a  sufficient  amount  of  pressure  to 
keep  the  worm  still,  when  a  segment,  about  the 
centre  one,  ruptured  and  allowed  the  egress  of  a 
twin.  The  pair  were,  in  all  respects  but  size,  pre- 
cisely similar  to  their  parent.  I  do  not  find  any  men- 
tion of  the  like  occurrence  in  Dr.  Carpenter's  very 
excellent  and  interesting  work,  "The  Microscope," 
very  little  being  written  about  Anguillulce  aceti  in  the 
chapter  devoted  to  Ar.mdosa. —  IV.  H.  S. 

The  late  Dr.  Beatty. — We  are  sorry  to  notice 
the  death  of  Dr.  Beatty,  of  Baltimore,  at  the  early 


age  of  40  years.  Dr.  Beatty  was  a  valued  contributor 
to  our  pages,  and  microscopists  are  under  a  debt  of 
gratitude  to  him  for  the  elaborate  articles  he  pub- 
lished in  these  columns  on  "  Decolouring  and  Stain- 
ing Vegetable  Tissues." 

Cleaning  Slides. — I  have  seen  very  frequently 
in  different  books,  plans,  troublesome  and  awkward, 
for  cleaning  the  balsam  off  slides.  Why  do  not  people 
just  wash  them  with  rectified  naphtha?  The  balsam 
is  removed  instantly.  The  hardest  and  oldest,  when 
thick,  only  requires  the  naphtha  to  be  warm ;  but  all 
that  can  be  should  be  scraped  off  first.  In  this  way 
it  is  the  easiest  thing  possible.  I  have  used  it  for 
slides  and  lenses  for  many  years. — Edward  Thos. 
Scott. 

To  Clean  Old  Slides. — The  following  has  been 
my  plan  for  years,  and  is  simple,  easy,  and  effica- 
cious : — Warm  the  slide  over  a  spirit-lamp  to  remove 
the  covering  glass  which,  place  in  a  water-glass  with 
benzole.  Scrape  off  as  much  as  you  can  of  the  bal- 
sam, or  whatever  it  may  be,  from  the  slide,  and 
wash  zvith  benzole,  and  use  an  old  silk  pocket  handker- 
chief, which  I  dip  into  the  benzole,  a  very  little 
of  which  is  sufficient. — John  Bramhall. 

To  Preserve  Glass  Slips  ready  for  Use 
after  Cleaning. — As  it  is  most  inconvenient  to 
make  each  slip  chemically  clean  at  the  time  it  may  be 
wanted  for  mounting  a  specimen,  doubtless  most  of 
your  readers  clean  a  quantity  (say  half  a  gross)  at  a 
time  ;  but  then  probably  they  have  often,  in  common 
with  myself,  experienced  the  inconvenience  of  their 
again  getting  dirty  before  they  are  used,  through  their 
lying  about  in  a  drawer  or  on  the  table  of  the  laboratory. 
To  obviate  this  difficulty,  I  have  recently  adopted  a 
method  which  is  simple,  and,  at  the  same  time,  so 
effectual,  that  the  slips  may  remain  for  months 
covered  with  dust  and  dirt,  and  yet  be  clean  and 
ready  for  use  whenever  they  are  required.  It  is 
this  : — After  cleaning,  the  slips  are  arranged  side  by 
side,  with  their  flat  surfaces  in  approximation,  when  a 
ready-gummed  piece  of  silver  or  tissue  paper,*  10 
inches  long  by  a  width  which  varies  according  to  the 
number  of  slips,  is  affixed  to  their  edges  in  the  same 
fashion  as  the  sheets  of  paper  in  a  drawing-block  are 
joined  together,  so  that,  although  they  are  firmly 
attached  to  each  other  by  their  edges,  their  surfaces 
are  left  uncovered.  The  block  thus  bound  is  left  to 
dry,  when  each  slip  may  be  detached  by  running  the 
thumb-nail  round  its  edges.  The  surface  next  the 
adjoining  slip  should  be  used  for  the  preparation  to 
be  mounted  as  it  is,  of  course,  quite  clean,  although 
the  other  (or  exposed  one)  may  have  become  dirty ; 
the  fragments  of  tissue-paper  being  removed  after  the 
mount  is  completed. — J.  W.  Groves,  London. 


*  Any  other  paper  is  so  thick  that  it  is  difficult  to  separate 
the  slips  without  the  use  of  a  knife. 


i6 


HA  RD  Wl  CKE  'S   S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SI  P. 


How  to  Clean  Thin  Covers. — The  difficulty 
of  cleaning  very  thin  covers  without  breaking  them 
is  very  great.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  handle  them 
in  the  fingers,  and  when  they  are  rubbed  between 
two  plain  blocks  covered  with  chamois  leather,  it  is 
difficult  to  clean  more  than  one  side,  since  one  par- 
ticular side  will  always  stick  to  the  leather  next  it, 
and  the  other  side  only  will  be  subjected  to  friction. 
Mr.  Jones  has  devised  a  very  simple  method  of  over- 
coming this  difficulty.  Into  a  brass  cylinder  he  fits 
a  heavy  plug,  the  lower  end  of  which  is  covered 
with  chamois  leather.  When  a  thin  cover  is  placed 
on  a  piece  of  stretched  chamois,  and  the  tube  placed 
over  it,  the  under  side  only  of  the  cover  is  subjected 
to  friction,  and  consequently  a  few  rubs  suffice  to 
clean  it  thoroughly.  The  tube  is  then  raised,  the 
cover  turned  over  by  means  of  a  delicate  pair  of 
forceps,  and  the  other  side  is  cleaned.  The  pressure 
of  the  plug  is  so  even  that  there  is  no  risk  of  fracture, 
even  with  the  most  delicate  covers. 


ZOOLOGY. 

Dublin  University  Biological  Association. 
— We  have  received  three  parts  of  the  first  volume  of 
the  "  Proceedings  "  of  this  well-known  society,  con- 
taining some  very  valuable  and  well-written  papers, 
among  which  are  the  following  : — "The  Leaf  Struc- 
ture of  Begonia"  and  "  Irish  Fungi,"  by  Greenwood 
Pirn,  F.L.S.  ;  "Some  Curious  Marine  Forms,"  by 
Prof.  Macalister ;  and  "  Papers  on  Anatomical 
Irregularities,"  by  Mr.  Malet  and  F.  O.  Ross,  &c. 

Arctic  Birds. — At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Zoo- 
logical Society,  Mr.  Henry  Seebohm,  F.Z.S., 
exhibited  and  made  remarks  upon  some  of  the  rarer 
Eggs  and  Birds  which  he  had  obtained  during  his 
recent  visit  to  the  Arctic  regions  of  the  Yen-e-sey,  in 
Eastern  Siberia,  and  gave  a  rapid  sketch  of  his 
journey.  Some  of  the  skins  were  interesting  from  the 
fact  that  they  extended  our  knowledge  of  geographical 
distribution';  such  as,  Phylloscopus  trochilns  and 
Acrocephahis  schccnobanns,  from  long.  88°  E., 
Anthns  Custavi  of  Swinhoe  (A.  Seedo/wii  of  Dresser, 
A.  batchianesis  of  Gray)  from  the  same  longitude,  and 
young  in  first  plumage  of  this  species. 

The  Leeds  Naturalists'  Society. — We  have 
received  a  copy  of  the  Report  of  this  Society,  and 
are  delighted  to  find  it  in  vigorous  health,  and  with  a 
good  programme  of  work  before  it  for  the  forth- 
coming year.  May  we  suggest  to  the  secretaries  of 
Provincial  Natural  History,  Microscopical,  and 
other  societies,  that  they  should  send  us  the  names  of 
officers,  &c,  of  their  societies,  so  that  our  volume  for 
1878  may  be  a  kind  of  "Science  Directory,"  for 
provincial  scientific  societies  ? 

Rose-coloured  Pastor  or  Thrush  {Turdus 
rosens). — A  specimen  of  this  rare  bird  was  obtained 


[  this  year  in  the  north-west  of  county  Donegal, 
Ireland,  where  it  was  captured  alive  in  the  garden  of 
the  Gweedore  Hotel,  which  is  situated  about  four 
miles  from  the  coast  of  the  Atlantic.  It  unfortunately 
died  a  few  hours  after  its  capture,  whilst  being 
conveyed  in  a  basket  to  the  residence  of  Lord  George 
Hill,  the  owner  of  the  hotel.  This  is  not  the  first 
instance  of  this  beautiful  bird  being  found  on  our 
shores.  Thompson,  in  his  "  Birds  of  Ireland,"  informs 
us  of  one  or  two  specimens  being  shot  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Hillsborough,  county  Down,  some 
thirty  or  forty  years  ago.  Perhaps  some  reader  of 
Science-Gossip  could  furnish  us  with  other  instances 
of  its  appearance,  either  in  Ireland  or  England,  which 
may  have  come  under  his  notice,  and  which  would  be 
interesting  to  all  lovers  of  birds.  — Shelah. 

Sagartia  sphyrodeta. — A  specimen  of  the 
beautiful  golden-disked  variety  of  this  anemone  in 
one  of  my  tanks  has  twice  undergone  spontaneous 
fission  within  about  seven  weeks.  The  original 
specimen  had  been  in  my  possession  nearly  twelve 
months,  and  by  care  and  regular  feeding  had  in- 
creased from  about  the  size  of  a  fourpenny-piece, 
when  fully  expanded,  to  nearly  that  of  a  florin. 
Previously  to  its  first  division,  I  had  noticed  for  several 
days  that  the  base  had  been  growing  more  oval  in 
outline,  and,  to  my  surprise,  on  the  morning  of 
September  10th,  I  found  it  divided  into  two,  right 
across  the  centre.  The  severance  was  not  quite 
complete  when  I  first  discovered  it,  but  became  so  in 
course  of  a  couple  of  hours  ;  the  two  portions  dragging 
themselves  away  from  each  other,  until  they  were 
about  half  an  inch  apart.  The  severed  edges  of  each 
gradually  closed  together,  a  suture  was  formed,  and 
in  course  of  a  few  days  I  had  two  perfect  anemones. 
These  have  thriven  well,  fresh  tentacles  have  been 
produced,  and  both  have  increased  in  size,  till  last 
week  I  noticed  that  the  larger  of  the  two,  which  I 
suppose  must  be  considered  the  parent  anemone,  was 
again  elongating  its  base,  as  if  contemplating  fission. 
About  noon  of  the  31st  ult.,  I  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  that  the  process  had  begun,  and  watched  it  at 
intervals  till  completed.  The  base  appeared  to 
separate  into  two  lobes,  which  gradually  dragged  away 
from  each  other,  making  a  rent  which  extended 
upwards,  till  only  the  mouth  formed  a  connection 
between  the  two.  This  eventually  gave  way,  and  the 
fission  was  complete,  the  whole  performance  occupying 
about  five  or  six  hours.  A  few  acontia  were  thrown 
out,  but  these  were  soon  withdrawn,  and  the  healing 
process  commenced.  Two  days  later  I  was  feeding 
my  stock,  and  offered  food  to  the  two  halves,  both 
of  which  seized  it  greedily,  but  soon  expelled  it 
through  the  partially  healed  rents  in  their  columns. 
I  shall  watch  the  further  increase  of  my  specimens 
with  great  interest,  as  the  species  is  one  of  the  hardiest 
and  most  beautiful  tenants  of  the  aquarium  with 
which  I  am  acquainted.  It  feeds  well,  is  almost 
always  expanded,  thrives  in  a  comparatively  small 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


i7 


body  of  water,  and  the  contrast  between  the  brilliant 
yellow  disk  and  the  pure  white  tentacles  is  very 
pleasing.  Like  most  other  anemones,  it  opens  best 
at  night,  and  should  not  be  exposed  to  too  strong  a 
light ;  mine  are  kept  in  a  north  aspect,  and  the  colour 
of  the  disk  is  as  brilliant  as  when  I  first  had  them. 
The  same  remark  applies  to  the  highly-coloured 
varieties  of  S.  troglodytes,  which  are  very  apt  to  fade. 
— Edward  Horsnaill,  Dover. 

A  Five-winged  Butterfly. — At  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  Entomological  Society  Mr.  Meldola 
exhibited  a  five-winged  specimen  of  the  Sulphur 
Butterfly  {Gonopteryz  rhamni),  which  had  been  taken 
in  Norfolk  by  Mr.  John  Woodgate.  At  the  same 
meeting  Mr.  H.  Goss,  F.L.  S.,  showed  a  specimen 
of  the  Sulphur  Butterfly,  in  which  the  left  wings  were 
those  of  a  male,  and  the  right  those  of  a  female. 

Destroying  Mites. — In  reply  to  A.  F.'s  query 
as  to  destroying  mites  in  a  cabinet  of  Lepidoptera, 
I  find  the  best  and  simplest  method  is  to  saturate  a 
piece  of  blotting-paper  in  chloroform  (methylated  is 
cheapest) ;  place  it  in  the  drawer  infected,  and  close 
securely,  repeating  the  operation  two  or  three  times, 
at  intervals  of  a  few  hours.  If  the  drawer  be  tolerably 
air-tight,  this  will  effectually  destroy  the  mites,  but  it 
should  be  carefully  watched  for  some  time  afterwards, 
in  case  of  fresh  mites  coming  into  existence  from 
eggs>  upon  which  the  chloroform  would  not  take 
effect.  Camphor  should  be  kept  in  the  drawers  of  a 
cabinet,  and  renewed  as  fast  as  it  evaporates — it  will 
keep  mites  away  ;  but  if  they  are  introduced  with,  new 
specimens,  or  otherwise,  they  will  exist  in  spite  of  the 
camphor.  All  fresh  acquisitions  should  therefore  be 
put  in  quarantine  before  being  placed  in  the  cabinet. 
Instead  of  camphor,  a  very  good  recipe  is,  equal 
parts  of  "oil  of  thyme,  oil  of  anise,  and  spirit  of 
wine,"  applied  as  I  have  described  for  chloroform 
and  renewed  as  often  as  the  scent  goes  off :  it  must 
not  be  allowed  to  touch  the  lining  of  the  drawer,  as 
it  will  stain  the  paper. — H.  Miller,  Ipswich. 

The  Berlin  Gorilla. — Poor  "Pongo,"  who 
returned  to  Berlin  to  die,  after  holding  his  levees  at 
the  Westminster  Aquarium,  has  been  post-mortemed 
and  dissected  by  Professor  Virchow.  His  death  was 
ascertained  to  be  due  to  acute  inflammation  of  the 
bowels, — the  same  disease  which  carries  off  young 
children  so  rapidly.  Even  in  his  very  diseases 
therefore,  the  Gorilla  claims  an  affinity  with  man  ! 

Chameleon-like  Changes  in  the  Frog. — 
The  changes  of  colour  noticed  by  "J.  J.  M."  in  the 
frog  are  truly  chameleon-like,  and,  together  with 
similar  changes  seen  in  fish,  are  brought  about  by 
the  same  mechanism.  The  skin  of  these  animals 
contains  branched  and  ramified  cells  pervaded  with 
fine  granules  of  a  dark-coloured  pigment.  Similar 
cells  are  found  in  certain  parts  of  the  human  eye,  and 
without  the  pigment  in  all  parts  of  the  body,  in  the 


so-called  "connective  tissues."  They  can  nowhere 
be  better  seen  than  in  the  preparation  of  frog's  web 
used  to  show  the  circulation.  In  such  an  object 
many  cells  may  be  seen  as  mere  black  spherical 
patches,  whilst  others  cover  a  larger  surface  and  show 
the  branches,  joining  similar  ones  from  other  cells. 
Now  under  various  stimuli,  applied  either  to  the 
cutaneous  surface  or  through  the  eye,  the  branched 
patches  of  pigment  may  be  made  to  contract  with  the 
spherical  form,  whilst  other  stimuli  have  the  reverse 
effect.  Inasmuch  as  the  cell-branches  join  one 
another,  they  obviously  cannot  contract ;  it  is  the 
contained  pigment-bearing  protoplasm  that  shrinks 
out  of  the  branches  and  forms  the  globular  mass. 
Obviously,  when  such  a  change  occurs  in  the  greater 
number  of  the  cells  present,  a  change  in  the  colour  of 
the  animal  must  result.  It  has,  moreover,  been 
proved  that  this  change  can  only  be  brought  about 
so  long  as  the  animal's  power  of  sight  remains. 
Destruction  of  the  eyes  renders  the  pigment  masses 
immovable.  Section  of  certain  nerves  has  a  like 
effect.  When  any  of  these  animals  are  pursued  by 
their  enemies,  they  are  thus  enabled,  by  rendering 
themselves  pale  and  therefore  less  easily  seen,  to 
elude  their  would-be  captors.  Emotions  other  than 
fear  may  also,  perhaps,  be  expressed  by  this  means, 
and  not  only  can  some  creatures  render  themselves 
pale,  but  actually  approximate  their  colour  to  that  of 
their  surroundings.  Such  is  the  permanent  state  of 
very  many  animals ;  this  condition  being  brought 
about  by  natural  selection,  e.g.  lions,  sand-colour ; 
muddy  water  fish,  mud-colour  ;  green,  sloths,  &c.  &c. 
Pallor,  as  an  expression  of  human  terror,  brought 
about  by  a  contraction  of  small  blood-vessels,  may 
have  had  a  similar  cause,  it  at  least  seems  analogous. 
— D.  A.  K. 

Holes  in  the  Head  of  Pike. — The  apertures . 
on  the  head  of  the  common  pike  (Esox  lucius)  are 
the  openings  of  follicles,  or  mucus-secreting  glands. 
Similar  but  smaller  openings  may  be  found  along  the 
lateral  line  that  separates  the  dorsal  from  the  ventral 
half  of  any  fish.  These  openings  form  an  uninterrupted 
series,  from  head  to  tail,  and  constitute  the  opening  of 
muciparous  ducts  that  may  be  seen  as  white  threads 
by  the  naked  eye  on  dissection.  The  function  of 
these  glands  is  obvious ;  they  secrete  the  mucus 
by  which  the  integument  of  the  animal  is  lubri- 
cated, and  probably  act  also  as  sweat-glands  to 
excrete  waste  products  from  the  system. — R. 

New  Habit  of  Red  Grouse. — It  does  not  matter 
whether  Mr.  Dixon  or  Mr.  Dealey  claim  the  honour 
of  calling  the  attention  of  naturalists  to  the  habit  of 
Red  Grouse  perching  on  trees.  It  is  a  habit  that  all 
persons  who  reside  near  the  moors  (who  take  any 
notice  of  the  habits  of  birds)  are  familiar  with.  I 
saw  them  perching  on  trees  and  hedges  years  before 
the  time  they  say  they  first  observed  them. — Jatnes. 
Ingleby. 


i8 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


BOTANY. 

ASPLENIUM   SEPTENTRIONALE  AT   DOLGELLY. — 
It  has  been  known  for  some   years  amongst  a  few- 
lovers  of  nature  that  not  only  Asplenium  septcntrioiiale 
but  also  A.  gcrmanicum,  Weiss,  grew  in  the  Dolgelly 
district,  and  it  has  only  been  from  a  desire  to  preserve 
the  plants  from  extirpation  that  the  habitat  has  not 
been  made  public.     Now  that  it  is  known,  it  may  be 
well   to   place   the   discoverers'    names    on    record. 
Asplenium   septcntrioualc  was    discovered    in    1867 
growing  on  an  old  wall  not  far  from  the  river  Maw- 
dach,  by  Mrs.  Chamberlain  Barlow,  of  Edgbaston. 
The  plants  of  it  (two  only  I  think)  were  of  course 
spared,    and  for    some    months   I    saw  them   every 
time  I  passed  the  locality,  peering  stealthily  at  them, 
for  fear  they  should  be  discovered  by  some  ruthless 
collector,  and  believing  at  that  time  they  were  the 
only  plants   in  the  country.     After   a   considerable 
interval,  when  I  revisited  the  spot,  the  wall  had  been 
altered  or   repaired,   and   the   little    ferns   had   dis- 
appeared.   Some  time  afterwards  the  Rev.  W.  Foley 
Vernon,  of  Shrawley,  searched  the  crags  on  a  hill 
that  rose  up  behind  the  old  wall,  and  had  the  plea- 
sure of  finding  both  A.   scptcntrionale  and  A.  ger- 
manicum  in  tolerable  abundance,  and  I  have  a  fine- 
grown  plant  of  each  which  I  owe  to  his  kindness. 
I  enclose  a  few  fronds.     May  I  ask  your  botanical 
contributors    if    they   know   of   any  locality  where 
one  only  of  these  two  species  is  indigenous  without 
the   other    occurring   somewhere    in    the    immediate 
neighbourhood?     An    acute   observer  has  informed 
me  that  they  are  always   found   together,    and  sus- 
pects a  more  intimate  relationship  than  is  generally 
supposed  to  exist  between  them.  —  T.  Belt. 

Gentiana  acaulis  (L). — Without   in    the  least 
wishing  to  impeach  the  veracity  of  Mr.  Colebrook, 
especially  as  he  is   "as  certain  as  he  is  of  his  own 
existence,"  that  this  plant  was  growing  upon  Cader 
Idris  in  August,   1862,  I  would    inform    him  firstly 
that,  so  far  as  my  experience  goes,  the  G.  acaulis  of 
the  Swiss  Alps  is  in  its  full  bloom  towards  the  middle 
of  June,  and  completely  and  entirely  over  by  July, 
ripening  its  seed  in  that  month.     Its  place  is  then 
taken  by  G.  bavarica,  and  others  of  that  section,  as 
well    as    G.   campcstris,    Germanica,   and    Amarella, 
which  are  essentially  August  flowerers.     With  regard 
to  the  remarks,    "the  present   plant   has   no  stalk, 
whence  its  name  acaulis,  but  cultivated  in  gardens  it 
becomes   [sic]  one," — does  Mr.    Colebrook  here  in- 
tend to  make  a  playful  allusion  to   its  peregrinatory 
powers,  as  well  as  origin,  the  word  stalk   being  a 
double-entendre  in  the  sense  of  a  stalker.     I  believe 
G.  acaulis  was  found  at  Stafi'a  in  the  month  of  June, 
1834-5 ;  but  doubtless  it  had  escaped  from  cultiva- 
tion, as  the  plant  has  never  been  seen  there  since  that 
time.      Concerning  the  subject   of  Mr.    Colebrook's 
other  query — Cotoueastcr — I  obtained  it  in  the  month 


of  June,  1874,  from  the  one  situation  on  the  Great 
Ormeshead,  where  it  is  still  to  be  found  ;  and  I  must 
say  that  had  I  not  been  guided  to  the  spot  by  one 
who  knew  it  well,  I  might  be  still  searching,  but  in 
vain,  for  it.  Associated  with  it,  in  the  clefts  of  the 
limestone  rock,  was  abundance  of  the  local  Potcntilla 
vcrna.—J.  C.  M. 

Gentiana  acaulis. — I  have  been  interested  in 
reading  the  remarks  on  this  plant  that  have  appeared 
lately  in  the  pages  of  Science-Gossip.  Many  years 
ago  I  came  across  what  I  had  no  doubt  was  Gentiana 
acaulis,  growing  in  tolerable  profusion,  and,  as  might 
be  supposed,  truly  wild  on  the  downs  between  the 
Needles  and  Freshwater,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  It 
was  a  small  plant,  without  stalk,  about  i^  inch 
high,  half  of  which  comprised  the  large  bright  blue 
flower.  At  that  time  I  was  not  aware  that  Gentiana 
acaulis  was  "not  a  native,"  so  I  made  sure  of  my 
prize,  and  gathered  as  much  of  it  as  the  strong  wind 
blowing  at  the  time  would  suffer  me  to  do.  On 
subsequent  examination  and  reference  to  Sowerby's 
"English  Botany  "and  other  authorities,  I  came  to 
the  conclusion,  and  I  believe  rightly,  that  it  was  the 
veritable  Gentiana  acaulis.  A  little  further  down  the 
slopes  of  the  hill,  upon  the  same  occasion,  I  came 
upon  Gentiana  Aviarclla,  so  I  had  an  immediate 
opportunity  of  comparing  the  two  flowers  and 
observing  the  wide  difference  between  them.  Some 
time  after  this  I  became  aware  that  the  lovely  little 
Gentiana  acaulis  had  been  excluded  by  botanists  from 
its  former  place  in  the  British  Flora,  and  I  have  often 
wondered  since  how  it  came  to  pass  that  its  beautiful 
blue  flowers  had  found  that  accidental  lodging  far 
away  from  houses  and  gardens,  up  on  the  wind-blown 
heights  of  the  Freshwater  Downs.  I  have  never 
visited  the  spot  since,  and  I  should  be  glad  to  know 
whether  any  of  the  readers  of  Science-Gossip  have, 
like  myself,  ever  met  with  it  in  their  wanderings  in 
that  locality. — Isabella  H.  Knox. 

Plant  Chemistry. — Professor  Church  has  ex- 
amined the  colouring  matter  of  the  well-known 
bordering  plant  with  variegated  leaves,  Coleus  Ver- 
shajjeltii,  and  thinks  that  it  is  identical  with  a-nobin, 
the  colouring  matter  of  red  wines,  as  well  as  with 
other  substances  extracted  from  blue  and  purple 
flowers. 

Solanum  Dulcamara. — Can  any  of  your  readers 
give  me  any  information  as  to  the  properties  of  the 
berries  of  this  plant  ?  "  Chambers's  Encyclopaedia" 
says,  "red  berries  of  tempting  appearance,  which, 
being  poisonous,  are  not  unfrequently  the  cause  of 
serious  accidents,  particularly  to  children."  Garrod, 
in  his  "  Materia  Medica,"  says  he  has  administered 
half  a  pound  of  the  ripe  fruit  as  a  conserve,  and 
without  any  definite  effect.  Buffon  says  "  the  scarlet 
berries  are  not  poisonous,  five  pounds  weight  given 
in  the  course  of  ten  days  did  not  produce  poisonous 


HARD  WICKE '  S    S  CIEN  CE-GO  SSI  P. 


*9 


effects " ;  but  neither  of  these  authors  says  if  the 
berries  were  swallowed  by  man  or  beast.  I  think 
I  should  have  a  difficulty  in  finding  any  one 
who  would  eat  even  two  or  three  berries,  as  they 
are  almost  universally  considered  poisonous. — Dr. 
Morton,  New.  Brompton,  Kent. 

Hybrid  Primula. — The  frequent  tendency  of  the 
Primrose  family  to  hybridize  often  causes  a  difficulty 
in  determining  a  plant  and  its  varieties.  The  Primula 
clatior  is  by  some  supposed  to  be  a  hybrid  between 
the  P.  veris  and  the  common  primrose  ;  and  Sir 
William  Hooker  "  was  not  satisfied  that  the  Primula 
clatior  of  Jocquin  was  really  distinct  from  the  nu- 
merous hybrids  between  P.  vulgaris  and  P.  veris." 
In  one  locality  near  Geneva  I  found  both  growing 
together  in  abundance,  producing  different  forms  of 
hybrids,  some  approaching  one  parent  plant  and  some 
the  other.  Many  Swiss  botanists  call  the  P.  vulgaris 
acaulis,  as  it  appears  to  be  stemless,  with  a  variety  /3, 
which,  as  having  an  evident,  though  very  short,  stem 
or  scape,  they  place  the  Primulas  in  two  divisions, 
as  "especes  legitimes  capsule  fertile,"  and  "especes 
hybrides  capsule  avortee  "  :  under  the  former  they 
include  P.  veris,  P.  vulgaris,  and  P.  elatior ;  under 
the  latter,  Primula  acatdi-officinalis,  P.  acanli-clatior, 
and  P.  elatiori-qfficinalis. — T.  B.  W. 

Anomalous  Parts  of  Plants. — I  gathered 
some  Trifotium  repens  this  last  summer  at  Esholt, 
near  Bradford,  the  calyx  segments  of  which  were 
transformed  into  leaflets ;  in  some  of  the  heads  all 
gradations  betwixt  leaflets  and  calyx  segments  could 
be  observed.  I  afterwards  gathered  some  in  Chee 
Dale  (Derbyshire),  in  which  all  the  calyx  segments 
were  converted  into  leaflets,  some  of  the  latter  being 
on  petioles  several  times  the  length  of  themselves. 
Two  friends  of  mine  have  noticed  this  also,  but  I 
have  not  seen  it  recorded.  I  gathered  some  speci- 
mens of  Ctaytonia  perfoliata  at  Bakewell,  in  all  of 
which  the  leaves  that  are  usually  perfoliate  were  not 
so  at  all.  The  several  text-books  I  have  been  able  to 
consult  (including  Symes)  do  not  give  any  habitat 
for  this  plant  :  the  specimens  I  gathered  were  grow- 
ing amidst  Chrysosplenium  oppositifolium  in  the 
middle  of  a  wood,  which  appeared  a  very  unlikely 
place  for  its  introduction  as  a  weed  of  cultivation. 
I  collected  also  in  the  same  wood  a  Myosotis,  having 
the  corolla  nine-partite.  Near  Bradford  I  gathered 
Sitene  inflata  with  two  complete  flowers  (except  the 
calyx)  in  one  calyx ;  also  in  this  neighbourhood, 
Lotium  pe?-enne,  in  which  the  spikelets  were  trans- 
formed into  spikes.  Near  Leeds  I  collected  y uncus 
bufonius  in  a  viviparous  state,  like  that  which  J  uncus 
supinus  often  assumes  ;  but  I  have  not  seen  this  state 
recorded.  I  gathered  a  specimen  of  Lychnis  diurna 
near  Miller's  Dale,  in  which  the  stamens  were  trans- 
formed into  petals.  At  Eldwick,  near  Bradford,  I 
got  a  specimen  of  Orchis  maaelata,  which  agreed 
with  the  description  of  that  plant  in  every  particular 


save  the  lip,  which  was  about  twice  as  long  as  usual 
and  strap-shaped,  with  parallel  sides,  tridentate,  the 
central  lobe  being  less  than  the  others.  I  have  re- 
ceived from  Scotland  a  specimen  of  the  common 
Dandelion,  the  peduncle  of  which  is  furcated,  bear- 
ing two  capitula. —  Win.  West,  Bradford. 

Inflorescence  of  Gourds  and  Pumpkins. — 
In  Science-Gossip  for  November  was  an  interesting 
note  on  the  above  topic  by  John  Gibbs.  He  notices 
that  the  fruit  on  fertile  blossoms  appear  first — before 
the  sterile  blossoms  on  the  same  plant.  In  this 
country  (Michigan,  U.S.A.)  I  have  often  noticed 
many  staminate  or  sterile  flowers  open  before  a  single 
pistillate  flower  had  opened.  This  I  have  repeatedly 
seen  in  case  of  Hubbard  squashes,  summer  squashes  > 
and  several  varieties  of  cucumbers.  I  do  not  make 
this  assertion  as  doubting  what  Mr.  Gibbs  has  said, 
but  as  a  curious  difference.  If  he  is  correct,  perhaps 
our  warmer  and  drier  summers  may  have  something 
to  do  with  it.— W.  J.  Bcal. 

Gourds  and  Pumpkins. — The  fact  to  which  Mr. 
Gibbs  calls  attention  is  one  of  considerable  interest. 
The  separation  of  the  sexes  is  common  enough  in 
flowering  plants,  and  in  the  Gourd  tribe  is  of  two 
degrees  :  on  distinct  flowers  (moncecism),  or  on  dis- 
tinct plants  (dicecism).  It  has  also  been  noticed  in 
these  delicious  flowers,  as  well  as  in  those  structurally 
"hermaphrodite"  or  "monoclinous,"  that  the  sexes 
are  sometimes  developed  simultaneously  (synacmic), 
sometimes  successively  (dichogamous);  but  of  the  two 
possible  cases  of  the  latter — at  least  in  "monoclinous" 
flowers — the  precedence  of  the  male  (protandry)  is 
far  more  frequent  than  examples  similar  to  the  one 
Mr.  Gibbs  describes  (protogyny).  This  might  be  ex- 
pected in  single  flowers,  since  the  stamens  occupy  an 
older  whorl  than  the  carpels ;  at  least,  are  generally 
believed  so  to  do.  But  when  we  come  to  diclinous 
plants,  new  interests  arise.  A  most  careful  and  as- 
siduous American  observer,  Mr.  Thomas  Meehan,  of 
Philadelphia,  has  shown  that  there  is  a  close  relation 
between  sex  and  energy,  and  that  female  flowers  are 
more  characteristic  of  strong  shoots  than  male. 
Might  we  not,  therefore,  expect  a  plant  to  produce 
male  flowers  only  after  its  energy  has  been  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  exhausted  in  producing  female  ones  ? 
Numerous  cases  are  on  record,  especially  of  figs  and 
oranges,  of  the  swelling  of  the  "fruit"  without  the 
fertilization  of  the  ovule  :  it  would  be  interesting  to 
learn  if  this  ever  is  so  with  gourds.  Of  course,  how- 
ever the  "fruit-blossoms"  may  "make  haste,"  they 
cannot  set  seed  without  pollination.  In  this  case, 
the  pollen  must  be  derived  from  another  plant  pro- 
bably, perhaps  from  another  situation  where  different 
conditions  make  gourds  flower  earlier ;  so  we  may 
have  here  an  illustration  of  Mr.  Darwin's  rules  that, 
while  pollen  from  another  flower  of  the  same  plant  is 
little,  if  at  all,  better  than  that  of  the  same  flower, 
pollen  from  another   plant  is  an   advantage,   and  if 


20 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


from  one  grown  under  different  conditions,  even  still 
more  so.  I  hope  Mr.  Gibbs  will  continue  his  obser- 
vations. He  could  not  have  a  more  interesting  or 
practical  subject. — G.  S.  Boulger. 

Fertilization  of  Flowers. — Dr.  M  idler  has 
called  attention  to  the  occurrence,  in  some  of  the 
Labiates,  of  two  distinct  forms,  one  with  larger 
hermaphrodite  protandrous  flowers,  and  the  other 
with  smaller  female  flowers.  He  shows  that  the 
latter  can  only  be  fertilized  by  the  former,  and  that 
they  disappear  when  the  former  are  not  present. 
We  would  suggest  that  otr  botanical  readers  should 
devote  their  attention  during  the  coming  summer 
to  the  analytical  structures  of  well-known  and 
abundantly-represented  orders  of  plants  ;  and,  further, 
that  they  should  also  note  the  kind  of  insects  which 
frequent  them,  and  whether  these  insects  affect  any 
-special  colours  of  flowers. 


GEOLOGY, 

Prehistoric  Man  in  Japan. — Mr.  E.  S.  Morse 
sends  a  note  to  Nature,  in  which  he  gives  an  account 
of  the  Kitchen  Middensat  Omori,  in  Japan,  which  con- 
tained arrow-heads,  bone  implements,  but  no  flint  or 
■stone  weapons.  Mr.  Morse  believes  these  large 
shell  mounds  were  accumulated  by  a  prehistoric  race 
of  men  in  Japan. 

The  Insect  Fauna  of  the  Paleozoic  Period. 
—Mr.  Herbert  Goss,  F.L.S.,  has  read  a  paper  on 
the  above  subject  before  the  Brighton  and  Sussex 
Natural  History  Society.  This  makes  the  third 
•of  Mr.  Goss's  papers  on  fossil  insects,  and  it  is  equal 
in  character  to  its  predecessors.  In  these  three 
papers  the  geological  student  is  possessed  of  a  most 
valuable  generalization  of  all  that  is  known  on  fossil 
entomology. 

Jointed  Limbs  in  Trilobites.  —  Mr.  C.  D. 
Walcott  has  just  figured  and  described  jointed  limbs 
in  the  genera  Calymenc  and  Ceraurus,  from  the  Tren- 
ton limestone.  Calymene  senaria  showed  axial  ap- 
pendages with  three  joints.  In  Ceraurus  pleurex- 
anthemus  the  limb  was  five-jointed.  The  legs  ended 
in  a  single  blunt  end,  and  Mr.  Walcott  thinks  these 
•trilobites  will  be  found  to  have  five  or  six  joints  with 
a  terminal  claw.  He  further  thinks  that  the  dis- 
covery of  these  limbs  more  closely  than  ever  as- 
sociates the  Trilobites  with  the  King-crabs  and 
Eurypterids. 

The  Cumberland  Association  of  Litera- 
ture and  Science. — A  copy  of  the  Transactions  of 
•this  vigorous  natural  history  and  literary  society  has 
been  sent  us,  and  it  is  a  pleasure  to  find  so  high  a 
degree  of  culture  so  far  removed  from  the  centres 
where  culture  is  supposed  to  be  especially  confined. 
But  the  development  of  local  science  is  nearly  always 
•dependent  upon  the  personal  interest  taken  in  it  by  a 


few  men,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
great  success  of  the  Cumberland  Association  during 
the  last  two  or  three  years  is  mainly  due  to  their 
possessing  such  an  indefatigable  secretary  as  Mr.  J. 
Clifton  Ward,  F.G.S.,  of  her  Majesty's  Geological 
Survey,  the  author  of  a  number  of  remarkably  sug- 
gestive papers  on  Geology  and  Physical  Geography. 

Artificial  Precious  Stones.  —  MM.  Fremy 
and  Freil  have  recently  been  experimenting  on  artificial 
productions  of  corundum,  ruby,  and  other  crystal- 
lized silicates.  They  showed  that  in  a  crucible  of 
refractory  earth  they  put  a  mixture  of  equal  weights 
of  alumina  and  minium  and  calcined  them  for  some 
time  at  a  red  heat.  After  cooling,  they  found  two 
layers,  one  vitreous  (formed  chiefly  of  silicate  of 
lead)  and  the  other  crystalline,  and  often  presenting 
geodes  full  of  beautiful  crystals  of  alumina.  To  obtain 
the  red  colour  of  ruby,  about  two  or  three  per  cent, 
of  bichromate  of  potash  was  added  to  the  mixture  of 
aluminia  and  minium.  A  silicate  of  aluminia  was 
produced  by  heating  for  some  time  a  mixture  of  equal 
weights  of  silicon  and  fluoride  of  aluminia. 

Precambrian  (Dimetian  and  Pebidian)  Rocks 
in  Caernarvonshire. — At  a  recent  meeting  of  the 
Geological  Society,  a  paper  on  this  subject  was  read 
by  Dr.  Hicks,  F.G.S.     The  author  gave  an  account 
of  the  special  examination  of  the  great  ribs  of  so-called 
intrusive  felspathic  and  quartz  porphyries  which  are 
found  associated  with  the  Cambrian  rocks  in  Caernar- 
vonshire, made  by  him  in  company  with  Professor 
Hughes,    Mr.    Hudleston,    and    Mr.    Homfray   last 
summer.     He  described  sections  at  and  near  Moel 
Tryfan   and   across   the  mass  from    Pen-y-groes   to 
Talysarn,  in  which  he  showed  that  instead  of  being 
of    an   intrusive   nature,    as  hitherto   supposed,  the 
whole,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  dykes  at  those 
parts,  is  made  up  of  bedded  volcanic  rocks,  lavas, 
breccias,  &c,  similar  to  those  found  in  the  Pedibian 
series  at  St.  David's,  and  that  the  Cambrian  rocks, 
instead  of  being  intruded  by  this  mass,  rest  every- 
where upon  it  unconformably,  and   the  pebbles  in 
the  conglomerate  of  the  Cambrian  at  the  base  are, 
as  at  St.  David's,  identical  with,  and  must  have  been 
derived  from,  the  rocks  below.     Similar  results  were 
obtained  in  the  examination  to  the  north  and  south  of 
Llyn  Padarn,  and  the  conclusion,  therefore,  at  which 
the  author  has  arrived  with  regard  to  the  great  mass 
which   extends   from   Llanellyfine   in   the   south   to 
St.  Ann's  chapel  in  the  north,  is  that   it  is  entirely 
Precambrian,  and  that  it  belongs  to  the  series  de- 
scribed  by  him   under   the   name    Pebidian   at   St. 
David's.     The   other    mass,    extending   from   Caer- 
narvon   to    Bangor,     he    considered    also     entirely 
Precambrian  ;    and  from  the  mineral  characters  ex- 
hibited   by  a  portion  of  this   mass  directly  behind 
Caernarvon,  he  thought  it  would   prove  to  be,   at 
least  at  this  part,  of  Dimetian  age.    The  altered  beds 
near  Bangor  and  their  associated  quartz  felsites  he 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


21     * 


considered  entirely  of  Tebidian  age,  as  there  is  no 
evidence  that  the  Dimetian  rocks  are  exposed  there. 
Afterwards,  Professor  Hughes  read  a  paper  on  the 
Precambrian  rocks  of  Bangor,  which  consist  of  slates, 
agglomerates,  and  porphyritic  rocks ;  and  these,  he 
thinks,  are  equivalent  to  Dr.  Hicks's  "  Pebidian." 

Palmam  qui  meruit. — The  Royal  Society  of 
England  have  just  awarded  Professor  James  D. 
Dana,  the  distinguished  American  mineralogist  and 
geologist,  their  highest  honour,  the  "  Copley  Medal." 
The  "Royal  Medal"  went  to  Professor  Heer,  the 
equally  distinguished  fossil  botanist,  of  Zurich. 

A  Fossil  Fungus. — A  very  interesting  article  in 
your  last  number,  which  is  headed  "  A  Fossil 
Fungus,"  refers  to  the  discovery  of  a  fossil  fungus 
in  Lepidodendron,  by  Mr.  Carruthers,  and  its  subse- 
quent study  and  classification  by  Mr.  Worthington 
Smith.  It  is  there  stated:  "This  is,  perhaps,  the 
oldest  fungus  on  record. "  As  this  is  not  quite  correct, 
I  beg  to  inform  you  that  in  1858,  C.  Wedl  found 
something  very  much  like  Saprolegnia  ferox  in  a 
Leptiena  from  the  Devonian.  In  May,  1876,  I  read 
a  paper  before  the  Geological  Society,  in  which 
unicellular  algoe  were  described  parasitic  within  a 
foraminifer  from  the  Lower  Silurian,  a  coral  from 
the  Upper  Silurian,  in  brachiopods,  and  corals  from 
the  Devonian,  and  from  a  coral  in  the  Miocene. 
I  named  and  figured  this  penetrator  Palceachlya 
pcrforans.  In  the  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society, 
No.  174,  1876;  I  explained  the  physiology  and 
morphology  of  AcJilya  penetrans,  now  found  in 
recent  corals  and  shells,  and  explained  the  life 
cycle  of  this  saprolegnions  plant,  so  that,  from  its 
almost  complete  resemblance  with  the  ancient  form, 
it  could  be  considered  its  descendant.  The  septa, 
which  are  said  not  to  occur  in  the  mycelium  of 
Saprolognia  are  really  seen  very  rarely,  but  still  they 
do  exist. — P.  Martin  Duncan. 

Erratum. — In  my  last  paper  on  the  Carboniferous 
Polyzoa,  December  1S77,  the  reader  will  oblige  by 
correcting  the  following  :  page  272,  8th  line  in  list, 
G.  flesicajinala  read  G.  flexiearinata.  Page  273, 
1st  col.,  nth  line  from  top,  for  "genus"  read 
"  familv.  "—C.  R.   V. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES, 

The  Pairing  of  Birds. — Is  it  sufficient  proof  of 
birds  pairing  for  life,  that  we  find  the  old  nests 
tenanted  year  by  year  ?  Some  birds  are  known  to 
use  the  old  nests  of  other  species  ;  e.g. ,  the  House 
Sparrow,  which  is  one  of  the  species  which,  upon  this 
evidence,  Mr.  Dixon  quotes  as  pairing  for  life, 
frequently  uses  the  old  nests  of  the  House  Martin  ; 
and  if  of  other  species,  why  not  of  the  same  species  ? 
I  fail  to  see  why  Mr.  Dixon  supposes  that  polygamy 
tends  to  prolificness  :  it  can  only  do  so  if  the  number 
of  females  born,  or  arriving  at  maturity,  be  in  excess 
of  the  males.     Among  mankind,  as  men  and  women 


arrive  at  adult  age  in  about  equal  numbers,  if  one 
man  have  two  wives,  another  must  go  without  one, 
and  it  is  obvious  that  both  the  procreative  power,  and 
what  is  probably  of  more  importance,  the  power  to 
maintain  offspring  of  two  males,  will  be  greater  than 
that  of  one  male.  Polygamy  can  only  tend  to  a 
more  rapid  increase  of  population  where  the  number 
of  females  is  much  in  excess  of  that  of  males,  either 
through  female  immigration,  as  in  the  Mormon  settle- 
ments, or,  as  more  usually  happens,  through  the 
greater  mortality  of  males.  It  is  hard  to  believe  that 
nature  has  been  so  considerate  to  mankind  as  to  make 
fowls  polygamous  in  order  that  the  superfluous  males 
may  afford  us  food.  It  seems  more  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  the  habit  of  polygamy  is  in  some  way 
advantageous  to  the  polygamous  species  itself. 
Polygamous  animals  are  usually  provided  with  special 
weapons  of  offence,  like  the  cock's  spur,  and  are  in 
the  habit  of  fighting  for  the  females  :  the  strongest 
and  best-armed  male  wins  the  largest  number  of  fair 
prizes,  and  the  progeny  of  such  a  male  are  likely  to 
have  the  advantage  over  their  competitors  in  the 
struggle  for  existence.  It  does  not  seem  difficult  to 
explain  why  species  which  are  monogamous  in  the 
wild  state  should  be  polygamous  in  captivity.  Given 
an  excess  of  females  over  males,  and  in  the  absence 
of  social  and  moral  restraints,  polygamy  follows  as  a 
matter  of  course. — H.  F.  Parsons,  M.D. 

Pairing  Instincts  of  Birds. — If  birds  returning 
to  their  old  nests  is  a  sign  that  they  pair  for  life, 
I  may  add  to  Mr.  Dixon's  list  the  Blackbird  ( Tnniits 
mcrula),  for  a  nest  has  been  occupied  successively  for 
the  last  three  years  by  a  pair  of  these  birds.  Now  as 
there  are  two  or  three  other  nests  in  the  same  hedge, 
I  think  it  must  be  the  same  pair  that  has  successfully 
reared  three  broods  in  the  one  nest.  Perhaps 
Mr.  Dixon— since  he  has  been  observing  particularly 
the  pairing  instincts  of  birds — could  kindly  give  me 
some  information  as  to  one  species  of  bird  pairing  with 
anather  (see  Science-Gossip,  p.  263).  I  have  known 
instances  of  hybrid  grouse,  but  never  of  a  hybrid 
between  a  blackbird  and  a  thrush. — G.  F.  B. 

Mites  in  a  Collection  of  Lepidoptera. — In 
reply  to  the  query  in  the  December  number  of 
Science-Gossip  I  beg  to  say  that,  having  had  the 
misfortune  to  find  mites  in  my  collection  of  Lepido- 
ptera, I  was  recommended  to  try  naphthaline,  and  so 
far  as  I  am  at  present  able  to  perceive,  no  further  de- 
struction has  taken  place  since  I  used  the  same.  I  put 
the  naphthaline  in  a  small  pill-box  with  a  perforated 
lid,  which  is  glued  into  the  corner  of  the  drawer,  and 
does  not  attract  attention.  Any  insect  specially 
affected  should  be  removed  from  the  cabinet  or  store- 
box  and  carefully  painted  on  the  thorax  with  corro- 
sive sublimate. — A.  J.  R. 

Destroying  Mites  on  Lepidoptera.  —  In 
answer  to  "A.  F.'s  "  query  on  this  point,  let  me  draw 
his  attention  to  the  following  extract  from  Mr. 
Newman's  preface  to  his  splendid  work  on  British 
Butterflies  and  Moths  : — "  Directly  you  observe  any 
dust,  however  little,  underneath  an  insect,  .... 
take  out  the  infected  individual  ;  as  soon  as  he  is 
removed  from  the  drawer,  drop  benzole  on  his  back, 
drop  after  drop,  until  he  is  thoroughly  saturated,  and 
all  his  wings  are  rendered  perfectly  transparent.  In 
this  state  remove  him  to  the  drying-cage,  and  there 
let  him  remain  until  all  the  benzole  has  evaporated, 
and  his  colours  have  returned,  bright  and  beautiful  as 
ever."  I  have  not  tried  this  method  myself,  but  I 
have  friends  who  have,  and  they  find  it  to  answer 
perfectly.  — W.  J.  B. 


22 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  GOSSIP. 


The  "Furniture"  Beetle. — Having  just  been 
put  to  much  expense  by  repairs  to  furniture  and 
skirting-boards,  &c,  which  have  been  injured  more 
or  less  by  the  furniture  beetle,  I  should  be  glad  to 
elicit  any  remarks  upon  its  probable  cure  or  pre- 
vention. I  have  generally  found  it  in  the  sappy  part 
of  the  wcod,  and  have  found  it  in  every  kind  of  wood 
used  in  house-building  and  furniture,  except  in  ma- 
hogany ;  and  I  cannot  hear  of  its  being  ever  found  in 
pitch  pine.  I  am  not  sure  of  the  correctness  of  my 
supposition,  but  I  think  that  the  beetle  (it  is  not  larger 
than  a  middle-sized  pin's  head)  bores  and  lays  its  egg 
or  eggs,  and  the  grub  eats  till  its  changing  period, 
the  beetle  from  which  then  eats  its  way  out ;  the 
holes  not  being  larger  in  bore  than  a  middle-sized  pin. 
I  have  just  been  taking  out  several  pieces  of  wood  in 
my  house,  but  could  not  detect  the  insect  itself  in  any 
stage  of  existence.  I  have  only  twice  seen  the  beetle, 
and  can  recollect  the  time  was  summer  or  autumn. 
On  my  own  premises  I  have  also  found  it  out  of 
doors,  in  old  wood  laid  aside  two  or  three  years  for 
burning.  I  hope  to  have  some  remedy  discovered 
that  may  protect  the  new  wood  now  replacing  my 
damaged  furniture  and  shelves. — y.  Hashes. 

Mistletoe. — In  reading  the  short  notes  on  this 
species  in  the  December  Science-Gossip,  I  remem- 
bered seeing  many  large  specimens  some  few  years 
ago  when  engaged  as  a  botanical  collector  in  Nor- 
mandy, that  would  with  ease  have  been  sufficiently 
long  in  the  stem  to  have  made  a  "small  javelin." 
At  the  time,  I  took  particular  notice,  but  I  do  not 
believe  I  saw  a  single  example  on  the  Oak  ;  the 
finest  specimens  were  observed  on  the  Lombardy 
Poplar.  It  is  very  abundant  in  the  north  of  France. 
— R. 

Mistletoe  on  Lime-trees. — I  do  not  think  that 
this  is  an  unusual  phenomenon.  Next  to  the  Apple, 
the  Hawthorn,  and  the  Black  Poplar,  I  should  say 
that  the  Lime  was  the  most  frequent  host  of  the 
Mistletoe.  I  have  never  seen  the  mistletoe  growing 
in  greater  luxuriance  than  on  two  fine  avenues  of  limes 
at  Cutteridge  House,  near  Westbury,  Wilts.  Near 
Malvern,  where  the  mistletoe  is  abundant,  I  have 
seen  it  growing  on  a  variety  of  other  trees,  as  the  Oak, 
the  Maple,  the  Willow,  and  Robinia  Pseudacacia. — 
H.  F.  Parsons. 

Seeds  of  Mistletoe. — Some  twenty-two  years 
ago  I  put  two  seeds  of  Mistletoe  in  a  cavity  formed 
on  the  stem  of  a  young  apple-tree,  caused  by  the 
partial  healing  over  of  the  part  where  a  small  branch 
had  been  cut  off  the  previous  season,  tying  a  string  of 
bass  over  to  prevent  birds,  &c.  from  picking  out  and 
devouring  them.  They  both  took,  and  in  three 
years  had  grown  to  about  three  inches  in  length  ; 
since  then  they  have  grown  to  about  two  and  half 
feet  through,  but  during  the  time  have  only  produced 
three  berries  :  that  was  two  years  ago.  Since  then 
one  of  the  plants  has  died.  It  first  showed  symptoms  of 
decay  by  the  leaves  becoming  yellow  and  dropping 
off;  since  then  it  has  fallen  away  piecemeal  by 
breakage  at  the  joints,  the  larger  portions  still  remain- 
ing attached.  The  other  plant,  although  so  close, 
remains  in  perfect  health  and  looks  as  usual,  except 
that  it  is  much  thinner  from  the  loss  of  the  inter- 
mixed branches  of  the  former  plant.  I  cannot  say 
which  of  the  plants  is  dead, — either  that  which  bore 
the  berries  or  otherwise,  but  the  remaining  plant  has 
no  berries  this  season.  Until  the  berries  were  pro- 
duced, I  had  a  notion  that  the  plants  were  of  one  sex, 
consequently  barren,  but  had  always  neglected  ex- 
amining them  to  ascertain  the  fact,  which  I  now  re- 
gret, as  I  fancy  the  berries  produced  were  barren  ; — at 


least,  none  of  them  grew  when  inserted  in  the  usual 
way.  My  plants,  at  first,  were  of  very  slow  growth  : 
the  first  season  only  produced  two  small  stumpy 
leaves  from  each  seed  ;  the  second,  four  on  each,  and 
so  on  ;  and  I  rather  think  only  one  joint  in  length  has 
been  produced  of  a  season,  but  as  the  plant  got 
stronger,  frequently  four  shoots  were  produced  instead 
of  two,  increasing  thereby  much  faster,  as  well  as 
forming  a  handsomer  and  much  stronger-looking 
plant.  Some  years  ago,  I  was  much  pleased  and 
interested  by  observing,  about  an  inch  above  the 
plant,  several  young  plants  which  had  pushed  their 
way  through  the  bark,  which  they  have  since  con- 
tinued to  do,  always  ascending,  and  about  an  inch 
from  each  other,  some  of  which  are  now  dead  and 
some  living  ;  from  which  I  draw  the  conclusion  that 
those  produced  from  the  former  plant  are  dead  also. 
These  off-sets  were  of  equally  slow  growth  as  the 
young  seedlings,  only  a  pair  of  leaves  of  a  season, 
although  more  elongate,  and  I  cannot  understand  H. 
E.  Wilkinson's  statement  when  he  says  he  observed  a 
protuberance  and  very  soon  a  leaf, — mine  always 
came  in  twos — and  presently  a  good-sized  plant  of 
Mistletoe.  Mine  always  take  four  or  five  years  to 
come  to  anything  like  a  good-sized  plant,  and  I  have 
grown  many  since  the  first,  both  on  apple  and  pear- 
trees.  The  "  Dumelow  Seedling"  is  the  apple  on 
which  my  large  plant  is  now.  It  was  removed  once 
when  the  Mistletoe  was  about  five  years  old  :  it  made 
not  the  slightest  difference  to  its  growth  ;  but  I  have 
lost  plants  by  removing  the  tree  when  only  of  the  first 
year's  growth.  I  also  lost  a  fine  young  plant  of  four 
years'  growth  by  the  dying  off  of  the  tree  itself  by  can- 
ker of  the  root,  the  Mistletoe  living  some  months  after 
the  tree  died,  but  losing  colour  and  becoming  rigid, 
and  finally  perishing  also.  My  trees  do  not  suffer  in 
the  least  from  the  growth  of  the  parasite  on  it,  either 
in  growth  or  bearing,  although  established  on  the 
main  stem  about  three  feet  from  the  ground.  —  Wm. 
Curnow. 

How  to  Preserve  Animalcul.e. — I  have  several 
works  on  the  microscope,  but  I  have  never  read  of 
any  way  to  preserve  animalculce ;  that  is,  the  best 
medium  to  use.  I  have  tried  several,  but  none  have 
acted  satisfactorily;  viz.,  spirits,  glycerine,  glycerine 
and  camphor  :  the  last  was  the  best.  I  mounted 
some  Canthocamptus  minatus  and  some  ChyJorns 
sp/uzricus  in  it,  and  found  the  objects  looked  better 
than  when  preserved  in  the  other  mediums,  but  still 
they  were  not  to  my  satisfaction.  Could  you,  or 
some  of  your  correspondents,  tell  me  of  some  better 
medium,  I  should  be  greatly  obliged.  —  II,  Foley- 
streei,  Portland-place. 

Root- Propagation  of  the  Ipecacuanha. — 
In  a  paper  on  i-oot-propagation  read  by  Mr.  Lindsay, 
of  the  Edinburgh  Botanic  Garden,  before  the  Scottish 
Horticultural  Association,  that  gentleman  stated  a 
curious  fact  in  connection  with  the  propagation  of  the 
Ipecacuanha  by  that  operation — viz.,  from  a  piece  of 
the  root  about  a  foot  long  or  only  one  of  the  rings  of 
the  annulated  root,  one  plant  would  be  the  conse- 
quence. Have  any  of  the  readers  of  Science-Gossip 
had  any  experience  of  the  multiplication  of  that 
highly  serviceable  plant  in  that  way  ? — M.  King. 

Badly-blown  Eggs. — If  any  of  the  able  corre- 
spondents to  your  journal  could  tell  me  of  some  fluid 
that  would  dissolve  the  hard  albumen  in  badly-blown 
eggs  without  affecting  the  shell,  I  should  be  much 
obliged.  I  have  had  some  rare  eggs  given  to  me 
that  I  wish  to  preserve,  many  of  which  are  so  badly 
blown  that  they  have  broken  with  very  careful 
handling.  —  G.  T.  B. 


HARD  Wl CKE 'S     S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


23 


Preserving  Animals. — I  have  just  seen  an 
article  mentioning  a  method  of  preparing  insects, 
fish,  &c,  for  the  cabinet,  said  to  have  been  practised 
many  years  by  Mr.  Waterton,  of  Walton  Hall.  It  is 
stated  that  the  specimens  are  perfectly  life-like,  and 
not  liable  to  damage  by  moth,  mite,  mould,  or  grease. 
I  should  be  much  obliged  to  any  reader  of  SciENCE- 
Gossip  who  would  give  me  a  few  details  of  the  pro- 
cess, or  refer  me  to  some  work  containing  the  neces- 
sary information. —  IV.  G. 

Stormy  Petrel. — Dr.  Keegan,  in  his  article  in 
the  September  number  of  Scence-Gossip,  states 
that  this  bird  is  only  found  in  the  wake  of  vessels 
during  stormy  weather.  He  then  goes  on  to  give  a 
very  ingenious  theory  to  account  for  this,  or  rather  to 
account  for  their  following  ships  at  all.  In  the  North 
and  South  Atlantic,  where  the  trade  winds  prevail 
and  storms  seldom  or  never  occur,  Mother  Cary's 
chickens  are  constantly  seen,  and  frequently  near  the 
equator,  where  possibly  there  is  not  a  ripple  on  the 
water  at  the  time.  I  think  it  is  hardly  necessary, 
when  accounting  for  these  or  other  birds  following 
vessels,  to  bring  forward  a  theory  of  their  supposed 
love  of  the  beautiful.  The  fact  is,  they  know  by  ex- 
perience that  substances— to  them  very  great  delica- 
cies— are  continually  thrown  overboard,  and  they  will 
as  readily  follow  a  hideous  collier  as  a  magnificent 
full-rigged  ship.  On  the  Thames,  the  Herring  Gulls 
have  the  good  sense  to  prefer  fishing-boats,  however 
old  and  dirt)',  to  the  smartest  yacht  on  the  river,  well 
aware  that  from  the  former  they  will  obtain  the  larger 
amount  of  food. — y.  S.  G. 

The  Veteran  Eel. — I  think  that  this  subject  will 
be  one  of  interest,  not  only  to  "  E.  L.,"  but  also  to 
many  aquarium-keepers,  particularly  so  when  we  read 
of  the  death  of  an  eel  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years. 
I  for  one  should  be  glad  to  know  from  Mr.  Plant  its 
size  when  he  first  had  it,  and  at  its  death.  Two  years 
ago  I  had  an  eel  which  has  grown  three  quarters  of 
an  inch  in  my  keeping,  and  is  now  nearly  four  inches 
long.  If  this  be  the  proportional  rate  of  growth,  we 
shall  easily  see  to  what  length  it  will  have  attained  in 
twenty-two  years.  I  find  that  the  best  material  to 
feed  eels  upon  is  the  common  blood-worm,  which 
ought  to  be  well  washed  before  being  put  into  the 
aquarium  ;  otherwise  some  of  the  mud  in  which  they 
live  will  be  thrown  into  the  tank. — J.  J.  Newton. 

Cement  for  Marine  Aquaria. — I  can  fully 
endorse  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Worster  as  to  the  value 
of  pitch  as  an  aquarium  cement,  especially  when  used 
in  the  manner  which  I  shall  presently  describe.  A 
year  and  a  half  ago  I  rendered  perfectly  water-tight 
an  eight-gallon  tank  which  had  been  for  years  thrown 
aside  as  useless,  and  it  has  not  leaked  a  drop  since. 
This  last  spring  I  built  another,  holding  about  eighteen 
gallons,  with  an  inch  slate  bottom,  to  which  are 
screwed  through  holes  drilled  in  the  slate,  the  two 
ends  of  Spanish  mahogany,  well  clamped  to  prevent 
warping,  and  lined  with  stout  roofing  slates  cut  to 
exact  size.  Into  the  mahogany  ends  the  front  and 
back  of  plate  glass  are  grooved,  and  the  whole 
finished  with  a  strong  mahogany  capping  rail  all 
round,  which  also  serves  the  purpose  of  tying  die 
two  ends  well  together.  The  glass  is  of  course  set  in 
red-lead  putty,  and  after  giving  the  latter  time  to 
harden,  I  coated  all  the  joints,  the  inner  faces  of  two 
wooden  rails  into  which  the  bottom  of  the  plate  glass 
was  set,  and  in  fact,  every  part  which  was  likely  to 
leak,  with  a  mixture  of  pitch  and  gutta-percha 
(about  quarter  part  of  the  latter).  This  mixture  was 
laid  on  pretty  thick  with  a  putty-knife  when  just  hot 
enough  to  stick.     I  then  cut  strips  of  sheet  glass  of 


suitable  widths,  and  from  two  to  four  inches  long, 
heated  them  over  a  small  gas  stove,  and  pressed  them 
while  hot  into  the  pitch  :  of  course,  a  pair  of  hot  pliers 
must  be  used  to  handle  the  glass  with,  or  it  will  fly. 
This  plan  I  have  found  to  answer  admirably  ;  it 
prevents  the  pitch  from  chipping  or  flaking  off,  and 
the  best  of  it  is,  a  tank  so  treated  is  ready  for  use  im- 
mediately, as  there  is  no  effluvia  of  red-lead  to  be 
got  rid  of,  eveiy  particle  of  poisonous  cement  being 
covered  up  with  pitch  and  glass.  This  tank  has  now 
been  stocked  about  four  months,  and  is  in  eveiy 
respect  satisfactory.  I  may  mention  that  one  or  two 
of  my  friends  and  myself  have  long  been  in  the  habit 
of  using  for  rock- work  a  calcareous  tufa  found  in  this 
neighbourhood.  It  can  be  obtained  in  good-sized 
pieces,  forms  a  good  nidus  for  conferva,  and  is  easily 
worked  out  into  caves  and  hollows  suitable  for 
aquarium  animals  to  shelter  in,  whilst  at  same"  time 
hard  enough  for  the  purpose.  It  also  has  the  advan- 
tage from  its  porous  nature,  of  holding  a  good  deal 
of  water,  so  that  the  space  it  occupies  is  not  all  lost. 
— Edward  Horsnaill,  Dover. 

Aquariums. — Why  should  sticklebacks  fight  so 
in  aquariums,  as  "S"  says,  unless  they  cannot  get 
food  properly ;  for  they  live  in  shoals  :  at  least,  we 
find  numbers  together,  though  at  times  they  seem 
very  jealous  of  one  another,  and  do  not  like  intruders 
into  their  peculiar  domain  ? — Edward  Thomas  Scott. 

Slugs  and  Foxgloves. — With  reference  to 
Mr.  J.  W.  Slater's  observations  respecting  slugs  and 
snails  feasting  heartily  on  the  leaves  of  the  Foxglove, 
I  can  testify  to  my  fowls  doing  the  same  thing  with 
impunity — without  any  bad  result  to  those  who  sub- 
sequently eat  their  eggs. — G.  F.  Cooke. 

Unusual  Appearance  of  the  Martin. — This 
week  (December  4)  this  bird  is  busily  flying  about 
the  summit  of  Overton  Hill,  Cheshire  :  it  selects  a 
sheltered  wooden  shed  every  evening  for  its  roosting- 
place.  It  must  have  been  a  late-hatched  bird,  and 
thus  left  behind  when  its  friends  migrated.  My 
little  boy,  who  takes  a  deep  interest  in  ornithology, 
states  he  believes  it  has  been  injured,  and,  therefore, 
not  able  to  undertake  the  wearisome  journey  to  a 
warmer  climate.  Mr.  G.  White  would  probably 
have  made  much  of  this  fact  in  his  day. — R. 

White  Hairbells. — On  October  31st,  I  gathered 
several  beautiful  albino  specimens  of  the  common 
hairbell  ( Campanula  rotundifolid),  by  the  side  of  the 
Upper  Shaftesbury  road,  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  this  town.  I  gathered  several  on  the  same  spot 
in  October  last  year.  It  is  noticeable  that  although 
not  the  slightest  trace  of  colour  was  discernible  in  the 
flowers,  yet,  upon  being  dried,  they  assumed  a  bluish 
tinge.  The  ordinary  pigment  was  therefore  not  quite 
absent,  but  was  only  precipitated  in  the  process  of 
pressing.  Is  not  //a/rbell,  as  above,  the  correct  name 
for  this  graceful  little  flower,  on  account  of  its  fine 
hair-like  stem,  and  not  harebell,  which  is  quite  un- 
meaning ? —  W.  R.  Tate,  Blandford. 

Bournemouth  Insects. — With  reference  to 
Mr.  Groser's  remarks  (p.  256,  November  number) 
upon  the  larvae  of  E.jacobea,  I  may  mention  that  I 
have  seen  them  here  regularly  year  after  year  on  the 
Ragwort,  but  have  often  observed  that  they  occur  in 
patches  ;  i.e.  one  patch  of  ragwort  will  swarm  with 
them,  while  the  next  will  have  none.  I  infer  that  this. 
is  due  to  the  sluggish  flight  of  the  insect.  Bourne- 
mouth possesses  an  excellent  list  of  local  lepidoptera  :: 
I  may  instance,  N.  viridata,  E.  cribrnm,  H. 
dipsaceas,  B.  trifolii,  L.  littoralis,  and  others. — 
E.   B.   Kemp-Welch. 


24 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


NOTICES    TO    CORRESPONDENTS, 


To  Correspondents  and  Exchangers.  —  As  we  now 
publish  Science-Gossip  at  least  a  week  earlier  than  hereto- 
fore, we  cannot  possibly  insert  in  the  following  number  any 
communications  which  reach  us  later  than  the  9th  of  the 
previous  month. 


Science  Gossip  Botanical  Exchange  Club. — In  our 
last  number  we  prematurely  stated  that  all  the  parcels  had  been 
made  up  and  sent  out  in  connection  with  the  above  club.  The 
majority  of  them  have  been  delivered,  but  there  still  remain 
others,  which  will  be  forwarded  as  soon  as  possible.  The  work 
of  arrangement  and  exchange  has  been  enormous,  and  we  must 
beg  those  members  who  have  not  yet  received  parcels  to  enter- 
tain a  little  patience.  We  feel  certain  that  the  result  will 
satisfy  all  parties. 

J.  Bramhall. — It  is  not  at  all  meditated  to  bring  out  a 
second  edition  of  Blackwall's  "  Spiders  "  at  present.  We  are 
not  aware  whether  Messrs.  Douglas  &  Scott  have  yet  pub- 
lished their  monograph  on  British  Homoptera. 

S.  T.—  Get  the  "Collector's  Handy  Book,"  price  2s.  6d., 
published  by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly.  You  will 
there  find  full  instructions  as  to  mounting  microscopic  objects. 
The  best  way  of  preserving  animal  bones  is  to  steep  them  in 
gelatine,  or  boil  them  in  a  solution  of  glue. 

F.  H.  L.  —The  "coral-like  substance"  you  sent  us  from 
Falmouth  beach  is  not  a  coral  but  a  lime-secreting  sea-weed, 
called  by  Harvey  Melobesia  fasciculata.  It  is  allied  to  the 
common  Corallina  officinalis. 

E.  Edwards. — Many  thanks  for  your  good  wishes.  You 
had  best  procure  Robson's  book  of  "  Botanical  Labels"  from 
Messrs.  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  and  paste  each  label  on  the 
species. 

W.  K.  (Leeds). — We  know  of  no  better  way  of  hermetically 
sealing  specimens  in  bottles  containing  spirits  than  the  old- 
fashioned  one  of  covering  the  outside  of  the  cork  with  a  layer 
of  melted  sealing-wax. 

K.  A.  Deakin. — The  Palaeontographical  Society  have 
published  the  fossils  of  nearly  every  British  formation,  and 
these  are  contained  in  about  thirty  large  volumes.  By  applying 
to  the  secretary,  Rev.  T.  Wiltshire,  Lewisham,  we  have  no 
doubt  you  could  obtain  a  list  of  all  the  society's  publications. 
You  can  get  the  implements  you  speak  of  at  any  large  natural- 
history  dealer's. 

J.  H.  Morton. — There  is  no  possible  danger  of  being 
bitten  by  the  slowworm  (A  nguis  fragilis). 

S.  T.  —  For  stocking  small  aquaria  see  instructions  con- 
tained in  "The  Aquarium,  its  Structure  and  Management," 
published  by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly. 

J.  D.  O.— Get  S.  Wood's  shilling  book  on  "The  British 
Bird  Preserver,"  published  by  Warne  &  Co. 

A.  Michael. — Your  desmid  is  Closterinm  setaceum  (in  con- 
jugation). 

J.  R.  James. — Many  thanks  for  your  kindly  suggestions, 
they  will  not  be  unheeded. 


EXCHANGES. 

Dr.  Morton,  New  Brompton,  Kent,  would  like  to  have  a 
botanical  correspondent  in  Southampton  or  neighbourhood. 

For  well-mounted  slides  or  good  material  the  following 
objects,  unmounted  : — Barbadoes  Polycystina,  sponge  sand, 
nfusorial  earth,  cleaned  guano,  leaves  of  Deutzia  scabra 
mounted  and  unmounted  ;  mounted  slides  of  Polycystina, 
Foraminifera,  flies'  tongues  (good),  diatoms  from  Varra  Yana, 
New  Nottingham,  Mediterranean,  &c,  Arachnoidiscus,  Isth- 
tnia,  Salicine,  double  sulphate  magnesia  and  copper,  selenite 
films,  eel's  skin,  parasites  various,  polyzoa,  and  others. — 
William  J.  Fuller,  Broad  Plain  Soap-works,  Bristol. 

Herbert  Wheldon,  South  Parade,  Northallerton,  Yorks, 
will  send  post-free  fifty  foreign  stamps,  all  different,  on 
receipt  of  eggs  of  Sparrow  or  Kestrel  Hawk,  or  any  of  the 
Raptores. 

Sections  of  Thyroid  Gland  and  Scirrhous  Cancer,  stained, 
ready  for  mounting,  in  exchange  for  Slides  (Diatoms  pre- 
ferred).— T.  V.  D.,  33,  Sloane-street,  London. 

Slides  of  fresh-water  Alga?  and  Fungi  for  others  of  same 
class  or  Physiological.    Send  lists  to  Dr.  Parsons,  Goole. 

Fifteen  bottles,  each  containing,  from  twelve  to  sixty 
sections  of  British  and  Foreign  Woods,  in  exchange  for  deep 
sea  soundings  (cleaned)or  other  good  objects. — H.  L.,  6,  Upper 
Phillimore-gardens,  Kensington,  London,  W. 

Wanted,  British  and  American  Fossil  Diatomacese,  Earth 
of  Dolgelly,  South  Mourne,  Loch  Boa,  Bermuda,  Richmond, 
Nottingham,  Guano  Ichaboe,  &c,  for  good  slides,  fossils, 
Swiss  Diatoms,  Oran,  Santa  Fiora,  Franzcusbad,  &c,  or  cash. 
— Eug.  Mauler,  Travero,  Switzerland. 

For  river  mud  from  Lagos  send  some  object  of  interest  or 
good  material  for  microscope. — A.  Smith,  198,  Essex-road, 
Islington. 


Wanted,  living  specimens  of  Hydra  fusca  ;  will  exchange 
for  unmounted  Sertularia  abietina.  —  Henry  Leipner,  47, 
Hampton  Park,  Cotham,  Bristol. 

Good  specimens  of  Moths  in  exchange  for  good  microscopic 
objects  :  Populi,  Ligustri,  Elpenor,  Bidentaia,  Roborardi, 
Papilionaria,  Taminata,  Flarago,  Persicaria?,  Pembica, 
Croceago,  Pyramidea,  and  many  oiher  specimens. — J.  Mighall, 
2,  High-street,  Lindfield,  Sussex. 

Lardner's  "  Museum  of  Science  and  Art,"  12  vols.,  in 
good  condition,  in  exchange  for  any  good  works  on  the  micro- 
scope.— W.Wilson,  4,  Caledonian-place,  Edinburgh,  N.B. 

A  Number  of  Dragon-flies,  &c,  from  the  North  of  Ireland 
and  Diptera,  Lancashire,  may  be  had  by  sending  box  and 
return  postage  to  F.  Curtis,  32,  Woodfield-terrace,  Fernhill, 
Bury,  Lancashire. 

For  piece  of  Cuticle  of  Aloe  send  stamped  envelope  to 
E.  B.  L.  Brayley,  2,  Burlington-buildings,  Bristol. 

For  Birds'  Eggs  or  Lepidoptera  can  offer  Sponges  from  the 
White  Chalk,  and  other  fossils  from  the  Red  Chalk,  small  size, 
suitable  for  a  cabinet. — M.  Lawson,  High-street,  Bridlington. 

Wanted,  mounted  or  unmounted  Diatoms  of  every  variety 
in  exchange  for  mounted  micro  objects. — Atkins,  Chemist,  200, 
Essex-road,  Islington,  N. 

Wanted,  microscopical  slides  in  exchange  for  British 
flowering  plants  and  ferns  (many  rare). — T.  Watson,  'Bank 
Parade,  Burnley. 

For  Foraminifera  and  Red  Spicules  from  West  Indian 
Sponge  please  send  slides  or  unmounted  material  (good)  to 
E.  W.  Burgess,  35,  Langham-street,  London,  W. 

Wanted  in  quantity,  good  typical  Gneiss,  Amygdaloid  and 
Porphyries.  Good  exchange  given  in  Fossils,  Shells,  or 
Minerals. — Thos.  D.  Russell,  48,  Essex-street,  Strand,  W.C. 

Would  the  gentleman  who  sent  me  three  slides  for  sounding 
please  to  let  me  know  his  address,  as  I  lost  his  letter? — 
A.  Alletsee,  n,  Foley-street,  London,  W. 

For  specimen  of  Sertuiaria  abietina  send  stamped  envelope 
and  object  of  interest  to  Chas.  Williams,  Kingmeade,  Woolcott 
Park,  Redland,  Bristol. 

Foreign  or  British  shells  offered  for  living  specimens  of  the 
Diving  Spider  A  rgyroneta  aquatica. — Tom  Workman,  Belfast. 

Duplicates. — Edusa,  Cardui,  Galathea,  Cassiope,  Tanira, 
Pamphilus,  Ages/is,  Adonis,  Chrysorrhosa,  Sambucaia, 
Petraria,  Piniaria,  Gilvaria,  Impura,  Chi,  &c.  Desiderata: 
Lepidoptera. — A,  H.  Shepherd,  48,  Roden-street,  Holloway,  N. 

Offers  in  birds'  eggs  for  a  stamp  album  containing  332 
stamps  of  various  countries,  including  Egypt,  America,  Spain, 
Russia,  Greece,  &c. — J.  Wheldon,  care  of  Miss  Appleton, 
Market-place,  Darlington. 

Wanted,  Science-Gossip  for  1870,  '71,  '72,  '73,  and  '74, 
either  bound  or  unbound  ;  microscopic  slides,  &c,  given  in 
exchange. — W.  A.  Hyslop,  22,  Palmerston-place,  Edinburgh. 


By 
By 


BOOKS,  &c,  RECEIVED. 

"Physiography."     By  Prof.  Huxley.     London:  Macmillan. 

"A  Lecture  on  Winds,  Ocean-Currents,  and  Tides."  By 
W.  Leighton  Jordan.     London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 

"Geological  and  Geographical  Survey  of   Colorado.' 
Prof.  Hayden. 

"Ethnography  and  Philology  of  the  Hidassa  Indians.1 
Washington  Matthews. 

"  Fur-bearing  Animals,  a  Monograph  of  the  North  American 
Mustelidae."  By  Dr.  Elliott  Coues.  Government  Printing 
Office,  Washington,  U.S.A. 

"  Industrial  Art."     December. 

"Journal  of  Applied  Sciences."     December. 

"  Botanische  Zeitung."     November. 

"  Land  and  Water."     December. 

"  American  Naturalist."     November. 

"Time's  Footsteps:  A  Birthday  Book  of  Bitter-sweet." 
London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 

Last  No.  of  "  Monthly  Microscopical  Journal." 

"  The  Naturalist."      December. 
&c.  &c.  &c. 


Communications  have  been  received  up  to  the  iotii 
ult.,  from:— T.  S.— W.  W.  S.— D.  B.-W.  J.  S.— K.  A.  D. 
—  H.  W.  S.— T,  B.— J.  H.  M.— J.  M.  H.— Dr.  M.— T.  B. 
— W.  H.  S.— R.  G.  — H.G.— S.  T.— W.  H.  S.— V.  C—  T.  L.— 
W.  P.— H.  W.— G.  C— F.  C.  K.— W.  M.  G.  W.— R.  J.  W.— 
j.  w.  G.—  W.  H.  M.—  J.  J.  W.  S.— W.,G.— T.  V.  D.— F.  H.  L. 
— G.  C.  D.— H.  L.— E.  M.— Dr.  H.  F.  P.— J.  S.  G.— A.  S.— 
W.  H.  W.—  T.  R.  M.— H.  A.  B.  L.— J.  B.— M.  J.  W.— H.  M. 
J.  M.— E.  T.S.-J.  H.  R.— W.  W.— E.  E.— G.  C.  M.— J.  B.— 
S.  S.  B.— M.  L.-W.  K.-J.  C.  J.— F.  C.-J.  C.-G.  C.  D.- 
E.  B.  L.  B.— Prof.  G.  S.  B.— W.  E.  G.— W.  C.-W.  A.  H.- 
A.  J.  R  —  L.  W.  G.-T.  T.  R.— J.  D.  O.— G.  P.— J.  D.— 
j  T._W.  H.  S.— M.  S.— W.  H.  L.— A.  A.— C.  F.  W.  T.  W. 
—J.  H.— T.  W.— A.  H.  S.— E.  F.  C— J.  W.— W.  J.  B.  - 
W  J.  B  — E.  W.  B.— W.  W.— T.  W.— A.  M.— A.  S.— D.  S. 
— W.  S.  W.— J.  A.,  Jun.— J.  H.  K— J.  C.  M.-A.  R.— 
1    T.  R.  J.— P.  M.  D.— D.  D.— 8k.  &c. 


HA  RD  Wl  CKE  'S    S  CTEN  CE  -  G  OSS  IP. 


25 


THE   PRONUNCIATION   OF   SCIENTIFIC  NAMES, 


By  RANDAL  II.  ALCOCK,  F.L.S. 


BSfiffi^0^^? 

K 

|I§H 

wm\ 

P9 

pH^jl 

S/gBr'  <**  J! 

^■3^3 

Ml 

^j^nt.t^ 

Wj^jmn^rylm 

T  is  a  source  of  satisfac- 
tion, I  should  imagine, 
to    all    authors,    when 
they     find     that     their 
works    are    read ;    and 
I  feel  flattered  that  Mr. 
Newlyn    should    quote 
from   my  work,    "Bo- 
tanical Names  for  Eng- 
lish Readers, "  especially 
as,    in    the   half-dozen 
pages  I  wrote    on    the    pronunciation    of   scientific 
names,  I  aimed  only  at  giving  a  few  plain,  though  to 
the   best   of  my  knowledge   correct,    hints    on    the 
subject  to  those  who  might  wish  for  them  ;    but  by 
no  means  at  assuming  the  position  of  a  teacher  of 
this  matter    to    those  who,  by  their  knowledge  of 
Greek  and  Latin,  are  competent  to  form  a  judgment 
of  their  own.     But  Mr.  Newlyn,  in  his  article  on  the 
pronunciation  of  scientific  names  (No.  153,  p.  193),  has 
misunderstood     my     meaning.        He    says :    "  Mr. 
Randal  Alcock  points  out,  in  a  rule,  that  in  words 
direct  from    the   Greek,    especially    modern    scientific 
terms,  the  g  is   pronounced   hard  " ;    and  remarks, 
"  Really,  this  is  implying  that  the  older  terms  may 
go  their  own  way  as  regards  our   dealing   with  this 
letter  in   any  of  them,  and   the    young   student  in 
botany  must   be    utterly  puzzled  in  his  attempts  at 
utterance   of  scientific    language."       Perhaps   these 
words  of  mine,    thus   separated  from  their  context, 
may  seem  to  imply  what  is  stated,    but   not   other- 
wise.    The  sentence  immediately  preceding  the  one 
quoted  is  :    "  Those   Greek   words  that  come  to  us 
through  the  Latin,  and  have  been  long  in  use  with 
us,  generally  follow    English   usage,    and    are    pro- 
nounced soft,  though  not  always ;  for  instance,    both 
gymnastic  and  jymnastic  may  be    heard."      In  an 
earlier  part  of  the  same  chapter,  I  endeavoured  to 
show  how  much  pronunciation  must    depend  upon 
usage,  and  how  futile  it  is  to  lay  down  hard-and-fast 
rules  to  meet  every  case.     I  have,  therefore,  not  left 
it  to  be  inferred  that  any  class  of  terms   "  may  go 
No.   15S. 


their  own  way,"  but  I  have  said  the  rules  must  be 
modified  by  usage. 

Mr.  Newlyn  disagrees  with  my  view  that  the  g  in 
scientific  names  from  the  Greek  should  be  pronounced 
uniformly  hard,  as  in  Geum  and  Potamogeton  ;  in- 
deed, he  asserts  that  it  should  not  be  in  these  cases, 
though  he  allows  that  authorities  differ.  I  entirely 
agree  with  Mr.  Boulger  (No.  152,  p.  191),  when  he  says 
that  "  a  scientific  name  is  a  Latin  and  not  an  English 
word,  and  must  be  pronounced,  if  not  spelt,  accord- 
ingly." This  being  so,  the  only  question  is  how  to 
pronounce  Latin,  a  question  which  cannot  at  present 
be  answered  decidedly,  as  both  the  traditional  English 
pronunciation  and  the  new  pronunciation  are  being 
taught.  Which  will  ultimately  prevail  remains  to  be 
seen  ;  but  if  the  new  pronunciation  become  universal, 
there  will  no  longer  be  any  difficulty,  or  ambiguity, 
regarding  such  names  as  have  been  written  about  in 
your  journal.  Mr.  T.  D.  Hall,  M.A.,  in  "A  Child's 
First  Latin  Book,"  which  aims  at  leading  "step  by 
step  to  the  acquirement  of  the  pronunciation  of  Latin, 
as  set  forth  by  the  professors  of  Latin  at  Cambridge 
and  Oxford,"  says,  "c  has  always  the  sound  of  k  : 
as  Cicero,  pronounced  Kikero ;  Cresar,  Kaysar ; 
clvis,  keevis  ;  scilicet,  skeeliket ;  scio,  skio.  g  is 
always  sounded  hard,  as  in  go,  gun:  as  genus,  gigno, 
regina."  We  do  not  meet  here  with  the  pronun- 
ciation of  ch,  but  in  Dr.  Smith's  "Principia  Latina, 
Part  I.,"  we  find,  ' '  Latin  c,  ch  =  English  &."  This 
would  give  us,  or  the  "utterly  puzzled"  young 
student,  without  any  doubt,  Rikardsonia  as  the  pro- 
nunciation of  Richardsonia  ;  Rikardia  of  Richardia, 
Lakenalia  of  Lachenalia ;  Fuksia  of  Fuchsia  ;  Gera- 
nium, Totamogeton,  Geum,  with  g  like  g  in  gun. 

I  am  very  much  in  favour  of  the  new  pronunciation 
myself  for  many  reasons,  which  it  is  not  necessary  to 
enter  upon.  I  merely  say  that  it  has  been  arrived  at 
by  competent  authorities,  and  is  now  very  extensively 
taught.  "  The  usage  of  our  universities  "  is  rather  a 
vague  expression,  as  they  do  not  all  agree  ;  and  so  long 
as  we  have  English  teachers  who  have  studied 
abroad,  and  distinguished  foreign  savans  visiting  us 

c 


26 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


here,  there  must  always  be  a  certain  amount  of  lati- 
tude allowed,   if  we  retain   the   English  method  of 
pronouncing    Latin.      We    may   say    Fewschia    or    , 
Jeranium  to  an  Englishman,  but  who  would  do  so  to    ' 
a  German  ? 

I  cannot  see,  then,  that  the  pronunciation  of  many 
of  the  names  can  at  present  be  reduced  to  strict  rules, 
which  any  one  would  feel  bound  by  ;  scirpus  is  pro- 
nounced sirpus,  according  to  the  old  style  ;  skirpus 
according  to  the  new,  &c.  ;  but  in  the  case  of 
quantities,  I  think  absolute  uniformity  might  be 
arrived  at,  which  is  not  the  case  at  present.  If  I  were 
to  ask,  what  are  the  correct  accentuations  of  Conium, 
Cyperus,  Populus,  for  instance,  I  should  not  expect 
to  receive  uniform  replies. 

As  to  the  euphony  of  the  names,  those  who  have 
to  apply  them  are  responsible,  and  they  are  supposed 
to  have  sufficient  knowledge  of  plants,  and  the 
system  of  nomenclature,  to  give  correct  names  :  much 
of  what  remains  depends  upon  taste.  "  It  is  certain 
no  one  ought  to  name  a  plant,  if  he  is  not  a  botanist ; 
nor  is  any  one  at  liberty  to  impose  a  generic  name 
who  does  not  understand  genera  ;  on  the  other  hand, 
we  have  no  doubt  that  any  one  who  knows  that  a 
plant  is  perfectly  distinct  generically  from  all  others, 
also  knows  how  to  apply  a  distinct  name  "  (Linn. 
"Crit.  Bot.,"  §  218).  It  is  true  that  names  are  not 
always  everything  that  might  be  desired,  nor  have 
they  always  been  correct ;  but  if  correct,  they  should 
not  afterwards  be  altered.  Euphony  does  not  en- 
tirely depend  upon  the  taste  of  the  plant-namer,  for 
often  he  has  little  choice.  Thus,  as  Jacquin  wished 
to  do  honour  to  Patrick  Browne,  and  named  Brownea 
after  him  ;  Smith,  when  he  wished  to  honour  Robert 
Brown  in  the  same  way,  had  to  invent  a  fresh  form, 
and  therefore  named  his  genus  Brunonia ;  Linne 
having  already  used  Brunia  in  honour  of  Lebrun. 

Mr.  Newlyn  is  scarcely  correct  in  saying  that 
Brownea  and  Brunonia  are  "etymologically  identi- 
cal," for,  not  only  are  they  derived  from  the  names  of 
different  people,  but  also,  in  the  first  case,  the  name 
was  spelt  Browne  and  in  the  second  Brown.  Hence 
Brownea — Theis  has  it  Brownaea — notBrowma,  which 
it  would  have  been  but  for  the  final  e.  It  is  well 
these  minutice  should  be  noticed,  else  "both  the 
complimentary  importance  and  the  etymological  form 
might  be  sacrificed." 

I  have  not  hitherto  felt  inclined  to  take  any  part  in 
this  controversy,  because,  if  common  usage  be  taken 
into  account,  no  decisive  answers  can  be  given  to  the 
questions  asked.  Thus  "E.  C."  (No.  151, p.  i64)argues 
that  the  ch  in  Lachenalia  should  have  the  sound  sh, 
because  it  was  "named  after  M.  de  la  Chenal." 
De  Theis  says  it  was  named  after  Werner  Lachenal, 
professor  of  botany  at  Bale.  Whether  he  was  a  pure 
Frenchman,  or  a  pure  German,  or  a  German  of 
French  extraction,  I  do  not  know  ;  but  if  he  were  the 
latter,  as  his  Christian  name,  and  changed  surname, 
would  seem  to  indicate,  there  is  still  no  certainty  how 


he  pronounced  his  own  name,  for  the  Germans  them- 
selves  do  not   pronounce  ch   in  a  uniform  manner  ; 
some  would  pronounce  it  k,  some  ch,  as  in  the  Scotch 
loch,  some  sh  ;  and  there  are  also  intermediate  sounds 
between  these  to  be  met  with.     According  then  to 
"E.  C.'s"  idea,  he  may  call  Lachenalia  what  he  chooses 
without  being  incorrect ;  but  certainly  Mr.  Boulger's 
view  that  it  should  be  pronounced  as  though  it  were 
spelt   with  a  h,  because   it  is  a   Latin  word,  seems 
more  reasonable.     We  cannot  follow  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  all  languages  in  commemorative  names,  but 
must   take    them   as    Latin,   and    pronounce    them 
accordingly.      Magnol  pronounced  in   French,   does 
not  correspond  with  Mag-no-lia  pronounced  in  Latin. 
I  repeat,  in  conclusion,  my  opinion  that  when  we 
have  a  uniform  pronunciation  of  Latin,  we  may  have 
a  uniform  pronunciation  of  botanical  names,  but  not 
until  then.     In  the  mean  time,  as  Mr.  Newlyn  says, 
"the   pronunciation   of  botanical   names    is   but  of 
secondary  importance,"  and  I  have  taken  my  pen  up 
now,  only  because  Mr.    Newlyn  has  misunderstood 
what  I  have  previously  published  on   this  subject, 
and,    unintentionally  no   doubt,   misrepresented  my 
meaning.     This  is  the  general  teaching  of  my  book, 
with  regard  to  the  pronunciation  of  the  letter  g,  in 
botanical  names.     In  names  direct  from  the  Greek, 
it    should    be    pronounced    hard;    e.g.,    Geophlia, 
Georchis,    Geropogon.      But  if  the  student  always 
hears   the  g,   in  such  words  as  Genista,   Gentiana, 
Geranium,  in  the  British  Flora  pronounced  soft,  let 
him  pronounce  it  soft,  though  Geranium  is  a  Greek 
name   of  Dioscorides  ;    or,   if  he   sees,  judging  by 
analogy,  that  according  to  English  usage,  such  names 
as  Gerardia,  Geoffroya,  Gilia,  would  be  pronounced 
soft ;  let  him  follow  that  usage.     I  would  add,  that 
if  he  should   be   in   doubt    about    such    names   as 
Gireondia,  Gesnera,   Genipa,    Giukgo,  let  him  pro- 
nounce the  g  hard.     I  hope  it  may  be  pronounced  so 
before  long  in  every  case. 


THE    SEALS    AND    WHALES    OF    THE 
BRITISH  SEAS. 

By  Thomas  Southwell,  F.Z.S.,  &c. 

The  Sterm  Whale  {continued). 

No.  VII. 

THE  pursuit  of  the  Sperm  Whale  is  attended  with 
much  greater  clanger  than  that  of  the  Greenland 
Whale,  and  Beale  gives  many  instances  in  which,  in 
his  own  experience,  boats  were  stove  in  and  men  lost ; 
stories  of  fighting  whales,  he  says,  are  numerous,  and 
probably  much  exaggerated  ;  one,  known  as  "  Timor 
Jack,"  is  said  to  have  destroyed  every  boat  sent 
against  him,  till  at  last  he  was  killed  by  being 
attacked  from  several  directions  at  the  same  time, 
thus  diverting  his  attention  from  the  boat  which  made 
the  successful  attack.  Another  fish,  known  as  "  New 
Zealand    Tom,"   destroyed   nine   boats   successively 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


before  breakfast,  and  when  eventually  captured,  after 
destroying  many  other  boats,  many  harpoons  from 
the  various  ships  which  had  attacked  him  were  found 
sticking  in  his  body.  There  is  one  well-authenticated 
instance  of  a  vessel  being  attacked  and  destroyed  by 
a  sperm  whale  :  the  American  whale-ship  Essex  was 
attacked  by  one,  which,  first  passing  under  the  vessel, 
probably  by  accident,  came  in  contact  with  her  keel 
and  carried  it  away ;  then  turning  and  rushing 
furiously  upon  the  ship,  the  whale  stove  in  her  bow  ; 
so  serious  was  the  breach  that  the  vessel  speedily 
filled  and  went  down.  Most  of  the  crew  were  away 
in  their  boats  at  the  time,  but  those  on  board  had 
just  time  to  launch  their  one  remaining  boat  before  the 
vessel  sank.  The  boats  made  for  the  coast  of  Peru, 
the  nearest  land,  many  hundreds  of  miles  distant ;  one 
of  them  was  picked  up  drifting  at  sea,  and  three  of 
the  crew,  who  were  found  in  it  in  a  state  of  insensi- 
bility, were  the  only  survivors  of  the  ill-fated  vessel. 

In  addition  to  the  sperm  and  oil,  this  species  yields 
another  product  which  is,  or  was,  very  valuable, 
although  it  is  the  result  of  disease,  and  one  would 
imagine  a  very  uninviting  substance — I  refer  to 
Ambergris,  the  origin  and  composition  of  which  was 
so  long  a  puzzle  to  the  learned.  This  substance  is 
now  well  known  to  be  a  concretion  of  the  indigesti- 
ble portions  of  the  Cuttle-fish,  which  form  the  food 
of  the  Sperm  Whale.  The  nucleus  of  the  mass  is 
generally  the  horny  beaks  of  these  creatures,  and 
the  substance  itself  is  found  in  the  intestines  of  the 
Sperm  Whale,  or  on  the  shores  of  the  seas  frequented 
by  this  species :  no  other  whale  is  known  to  be 
subject  to  these  bezoars.  It  was  formerly  believed 
that  the  origin  of  ambergris  was  in  some  way  con- 
nected with  the  sea,  and  when  it  was  afterwards 
found  in  whales,  the  fact  was  simply  attributed  to 
their  having  swallowed  it.  Sir  Thomas  Browne 
writes  of  the  Sperm  Whale  which  came  on  shore  at 
Wells,  in  1646  : — "  In  vain  was  it  to  rake  for 
ambergriese  in  the  paunch  of  this  leviathan,  as 
Greenland  discoverers  and  attests  of  experience 
dictate  that  they  sometimes  swallow  great  lumps 
thereof  in  the  sea ;  insufferable  foetor  denying  that 
inquiry ;  and  yet  if,  as  Paracelsus  encourageth, 
ordure  makes  the  best  musk,  and  from  the  most 
foetid  substances  may  be  drawn  the  most  odoriferous 
essences  ;  all  that  had  not  Vespasian's  nose  (Cuiodor 
lucri  ex  re  qualibet)  might  boldly  swear  here  was  a 
subject  fit  for  such  extractions"  (p.  356,  vol.  i.). 
It  was  not  until  1783,  in  a  paper  read  before 
the  Royal  Society  by  Dr.  Swediaur,  that  a  scienti- 
fic account  of  'the  origin  of  ambergris  was  made 
known.  At  the  present  time  its  medical  virtues, 
which  were  formerly  considered  very  great,  are 
altogether  at  a  discount,  and  the  only  use  to  which 
it  is  applied  is  in  the  preparation  of  perfumery. 

I  have  said  veiy  little  about  the  method  of  pur- 
suit and  capture  of  this  species  and  of  the  Right-whale, 
because  it  is  a  subject  in  which  I  take  no  pleasure ; 


those  who  wish   to   know  how  these   peaceful   and 
highly-organi/.ed    giants    are  approached,    and    how 
they  behave  when  terrified  and  smarting  under  the 
harpoon    and    whale-lance,   can    pursue    the    subject 
ad  nauseam  in  the  pages    of   Scoresby,   Bcale,   and 
others;    the    sickening    process    of    "flensing"  and 
disposing    of    the    blubber   is    described  with  equal 
minuteness.     I    for  one  cannot   appreciate  the  halo- 
of  romance  with  which    some    authors  seek  to  sur- 
round the  whale-fishery.     Doubtless  the  occupation 
is  one  of  hardship  and  danger,   but   the   remunera- 
tion when    successful    is    in    proportion,  and  I  can 
hardly  conceive  of  men  inflicting  the  fearful  amount 
of  suffering  which   every  "full"    whaleship,  or   in 
a  still    greater   degree    every  "full"    sealer,  repre- 
sents,— under  any  circumstances.     Science    is    con- 
stantly  adding  to  our  resources,  and  it  is  sincerely 
to  be  hoped  that  ere  long  substitutes  may  be  found 
for  animal  oil  and  whalebone  which  will  supersede 
their    use    in    the    few  processes  in  which  they  are 
still  requisite  :  should  this  be  long  delayed,  it  is  to 
be  feared  that  the  seals  and  whales,   at  least  of  the 
northern  seas,  will  soon  cease  to  exist. 

Although  so  widely  spread  over  the  waters  of  the 
globe,  possessing,  I  believe,  a  range  greater  than 
any  other  known  species  of  animal,  it  is  only  open 
and  deep  waters  which  can  be  said  to  be  the  home  of 
the  Sperm  Whale ;  and  when  found  in  shallow  seas,  its 
generally  emaciated  condition  indicates  the  absence 
of  its  proper  nourishment ;  and  the  readiness  with 
which  whole  herds  precipitate  themselves  stupidly 
upon  the  sands,  shows  how  little  they  are  acquainted 
with  such  objects.  Mr.  Andrew  Murray  makes  some 
observations  upon  this  subject,  which  are  so  interesting 
and  so  suggestive  that  I  must  ask  you  to  excuse  my 
making  a  long  quotation. 

Speaking  of  those  specimens  which  have  now  and 
then  been  cast  ashore  in  the  North  Atlantic  or  in  the 
English  seas,  he  says  :  "They  seem  to  be  un- 
prepared for,  or  not  adapted  for,  shallow  seas. 
Accustomed  (perhaps  not  individually  but  by  here- 
ditary practice  or  instinct)  to  swim  along  the  coral 
islands  of  the  Pacific  within  a  stone's  throw  from  the 
shore,  they  cannot  understand,  their  instinct  is  not 
prepared  to  meet,  shallow  coasts  and  projecting  head- 
lands. If  they  were  habitual  residents  in  our  seas, 
they  must  either  be  speedily  extirpated,  learn  more 
caution,  or  be  developed  into  a  new  species."  .... 
Mr.  Murray  further  says:  "I  observe  that  almost 
every  place  that  has  been  above  mentioned  as  a 
favourite  resort  of  the  Sperm  Whales,  although  not 
out  of  soundings,  has  claims  to  be  considered  the  site 
of  submerged  land.  The  islands  of  the  Polynesia, 
which  are  its  special  feeding-ground,  are  the  beacons 
left  by  the  submerged  Pacific  continent.  In  pure 
deep  seas  animal  life  is  usually  scarce,  and  the 
absence  of  breeding-ground  is  probably  the  chief 
cause  of  it ;  but  this  only  applies  to  a  certain  kind  of 

animals,  those  which  require  a  bottom  on  which  to 

c  2 


28 


HA  R£>  WI CKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OSS  IP. 


deposit  their  spawn  ;  but  there  are  many  which  do 
not  require  this.  The  spawn  of  some  floats  about 
unattached  ;  for  others  a  frond  of  weed  is  sufficient 
attachment  ;  and  it  has  occurred  to  me  that  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  Sperm  Whale  may  in  some  way  be 
connected  with  the  geological  antecedents  of  the 
ocean  it  inhabits.     I  think  it  not  improbable  that  the 


Fig.  12.  Chair  in  Great  Yarmouth  Church  formed  of  the 
basal  portion  of  the  skull  of  a  Sperm  Whale  (from  Palmer's 
"  Perlustration  of  Great  Yarmouth"). 

site  of  a  submerged  land  may  swarm  with  life,  which 
originally  proceeded,  or  was  dependent  on  it,  long 
after  it  had  been  in  the  deep  bosom  of 
the  ocean  buried.  The  Sargasso  seas, 
which  swarm  with  Eolidcr.  and  Crustacea, 
are  examples  of  this  life  :  it  is  not  invaria- 
bly either  present  or  absent  in  deep  water, 
and  it  is  its  presence  or  its  absence  which 
is  instructive.  Those  animals  which  re- 
quired a  bottom  to  spawn  upon  may  have 
died  out  or  been  developed  into  others 
which  do  not ;  and  those  which  do  not 
require  such  a  support  may  have  multi- 
plied correspondingly.  In  one  of  the  maps 
in  Lieutenant  Maury's  book,  already  cited,  there 
is  a  space  of  sea  opposite  the  western  coast  of  South 


in  some  way  to  it — might  continue  to  linger  over  it 
long  after  it  had  passed  beyond  the  depth  at  which  it 
could  practically  have  any  effect  upon  the  animal  life 
above  it ;  but  if  a  part  of  the  circumference  of  the 
globe  has  always  been  under  water,  before  and  ever 
since  the  creation  of  life,  no  life  is  likely  to  be  found 
on  that  spot,  because  it  has  never  had  a  starting-point 
of  life  from  which  to  begin  ;  and,  as  already  said,  a 
slender  barrier  stops  the  spread  of  species,  and 
species  would  certainly  not  spread  to  a  spot  where 
there  was  nothing  for  them  to  feed  upon.  Again, 
animal  life  could  not  begin  to  feed  upon  animal  life 
till  vegetable  life  had  previously  prepared  the  way  by 
providing  food  for  the  animals  which  were  to  furnish 
food  for  others ;  and  vegetable  life  could  not  begin  to 
grow  without  a  foundation  of  land,  accessible  either 
above  or  below  water.  The  total  and  constant 
absence  of  all  life  at  any  particular  spot  appears  to 
me,  therefore,  to  furnish  a  presumption  that  there  has 
never  been  dry  land  or  shallow  water  there.  Whether 
the  continuance  of  deep  water  in  one  spot  for  some 


Fig.  13.     Under  surface  of  the  Chair  (from  same  work). 

America,  and  lying  between  Patagonia  and  New  Zea- 
land, marked  '  Desolate  region,  distinguished  by  the 
absence  of  animal  or  vegetable  life ' ; — no  sperm 
whales  here—  nothing  for  them  to  feed  upon — and  no 
symptoms,  either  by  banks  of  Sargasso  or  coral  islets, 
of  any  land  ever  having  existed  there.  There  is  no  ap- 
parent reason  why  this  place,  except  from  some  special 
cause  peculiar  to  itself,  should  be  more  desolate  than 
any  other  in  the  same  latitude — than  the  deep  sea  on 
the  east  side  of  Patagonia,  for  example.  I  can 
imagine  that,  if  the  bottom  of  the  sea  should  subside 
gradually,  where  animal  life  had  once  abounded, 
animal  life — not  that  animal  life,  but  animal  life  due 


Fig.  14.     Skull  of  Sperm  Whale. 

interminably  long  time  might  not  have  the  same 
effect  is  another  question,  which,  whatever  way  it 
may  be  answered,  would  not  affect  my  explanation  of 
the  cause  of  the  absence  of  the  Sperm  Whale  from 
such  spots."*  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of 
Chas.  J.  Palmer,  Esq.,  of  Great  Yarmouth,  for  the 
woodcuts  (figs.  12  and  13)  representing  the  chair  in 
Yarmouth  Church  which  is  formed  of  part  of  the 
skull  of  an  individual  of  this  species. 

The  sub-family  Ziphiina,  which  follows  next,  is, 
perhaps,  the  most  remarkable  of  the  whole  of 
this  interesting  order.  The  Zipkieid  Whales,  as 
they  are  designated,  are,  with  one  exception, 
very  rare,  and  until  the  commencement  of  the 
present  century,  with  that  one  exception,  were 
known  to  science  only  from  their  numerous  re- 
mains, found  chiefly  in  the  Crag  deposits.  "Since 
that  time,  however,"  says  Prof.  Flower,  in  his 
memoirs  of  this  group  (Trans.  Zool.  Soc,  vol.  viii. 
p.  203),  "at  irregular  intervals,  in  various  and  most 
distant  parts  of  the  world,  solitary  individuals  have 
been  caught  or  stranded,  now  amounting  to  about 
thirty,  which  by  some  naturalists  are  referred  to 
upwards  of  a    dozen  distinct  species,   and    to    very 


"Geographical  Distribution  of  Mammalia,"  pp.  211-213. 


HARD  WICKE'S    S CIENCE -  G O SSJP. 


29 


nearly  as  many  genera.  No  case  is  recorded  of 
more  than  one  of  these  animals  having  been  observed 
in  one  place  at  a  time,  and  their  habits  are  almost 
absolutely  unknown.  .  .  .  This  comparative  rarity 
at  the  present  epoch,"  he  farther  says,  "contrasts 
greatly  with  what  once  obtained  on  the  earth, 
especially  in  the  period  of  the  deposition  of  the  Crag 
formations,  and  leads  to  the  belief  that  the  existing 
Ziphioidsare  the  survivors  of  an  ancient  family  which 
once  played  a  far  more  important  part  than  now 
among  the  cetacean  inhabitants  of  the  ocean,  but 
which  have  been  gradually  replaced  by  other  forms, 
and  are  themselves  probably  destined  ere  long  to 
share  the  fate  of  their  once  numerous  allies  or  pro- 
genitors." 

The  members  of  the  group  may  be  distinguished 
at  once  by  the  absence  of  functional  teeth  in  the 
upper  jaw  :  those  in  the  lower  jaw  are  always 
quite  rudimentary,  with  the  exception  of  one,  or 
occasionally,  two  pairs.  These  may  be  largely  de- 
veloped, especially  in  the  male  sex,  and  are  placed, 
generally,  well  forward.  The  blow-hole  is  sub- 
crescentic,  and  a  pair  of  remarkable  furrows  occur 
in  the  skin  of  the  throat,  almost  in  the  form  of  the 
letter  V,  the  point  directed  forward.  The  skull 
presents  a  remarkable  appearance  in  the  genus 
Hyperoodoti)  caused  by  the  enormous  maxillary 
crests  which  produce  the  peculiar  conformation  of  the 
head  in  the  living  animal,  originating  the  trivial  name 
"Bottle-head."  The  common  Beaked  Whale,  or 
Bottle-head  (Hyperoodon  rostratus,  Chemnitz),  is 
of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  North  Atlantic,  and 
generally  visits  our  shores  in  autumn,  sometimes 
ascending  the  estuaries  of  rivers  :  it  has  been  taken 
several  times  at  the  entrance  to  the  river  Ouse.  It  is 
solitary  in  its  habits,  more  than  two  are  never  met 
with  in  the  same  place,  and  in  that  case  it  is  often  the 
old  female  and  heryoung  one  :  the  old  male  is  said  to 
be  very  shy  and  rarely  secured.  In  September,  1877, 
an  adult  female,  24  ft.  long,  was  taken  in  the  Menai 
Straits  ;  it  was  accompanied  by  another,  probably 
its  young  one.  The  colour  is  black  above,  the 
under  parts  being  lighter  :  the  two  teeth  in  the 
lower  jaw  are  generally  hidden  in  the  gum.  Its 
food  consists  of  cuttle-fish,  the  remains  of  great 
numbers  of  which  have  been  found  in  its  stomach. 
Another  species  of  Hypcroodon,  H.  latifrons,  has 
occurred  three  or  four  times  on  the  British  coast  ; 
it  has  also  been  taken  in  Greenland.  Very  little 
is  known  about  it  as  a  species,  and  that  only  from  its 
bones  :  it  is  supposed  to  attain  a  greater  size  than 
II.  rostratus,  probably  upwards  of  30  ft. 

Cuvier's  Whale  {Ziphius  cavirostHs,  Cuv.), 
another  of  this  remarkable  group,  has  been  met  with 
once  on  the  coast  of  Shetland,  and  it,  or  its  remains, 
have  been  found  about  five  or  six  times  in  other  parts  of 
Europe,  and  also,  it  is  believed,  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  and  the  east  coast  of  South  America.  It  has 
two  teeth,  one  on  each  side  the  lower  jaw,  close  to 


the  extremity.  Cuvier  established  the  genus  Ziphius 
in  1825,  from  a  fossil  skull  found  on  the  coast  of 
Provence,  in  1S04,  which  he  believed  at  the  time  to 
belong  to  an  extinct  animal. 

( To  be  continued.') 


STRUCTURE  OF  SAND-HILLS. 
By  W.  B.  Grove,  B.A. 

LAST  summer  I  had  a  very  good  opportunity  of 
examining  the  structure  of  the  dunes  on  the 
Lancashire  coast.  A  copy  (fig.  15)  of  a  sketch,  made 
on  the  spot,  may  be  interesting,  as  I  can  find  none 
in  our  common  text-books  which  give  an  accurate 
idea  of  it.  It  was  taken  from  a  natural  section  of  a 
hill  about  14  feet  high,  half  of  which  had  been  neatly 
blown  away  by  the  wind.  The  irregularity  of  the 
bedding,  represented  by  the  darker  lines,  is  due  to 


Fig 


Section  of  Sand-dune,  Lancashire. 


changes  in  the  direction   of  the  wind,  which,  after 
depositing  a  stratum,  often  sweeps  away  a  part  of 
it ;  and   then,    after   another  change,  deposits  fresh 
material  on    the   new   surface.      As    the    successive 
laminae  conform  accurately  to  the  varying  outline  of 


Fig.  16.     Sandstone  Cliff,  Suffolk  (after  Lyell). 

the  surface  on  which  they  are  deposited,  a  series  of 
irregular  beds  is  thus  produced.  This  is  often  called 
false-bedding.  The  same  name  is  also  applied  to 
diagonal  stratification,  in  which  the  planes  of  the 
lamina  of  sandstone  are  oblique  to  the  plane  of  strati- 
cation,  as  seen  in  fig.  16.  But  this  latter  structure 
can  only  be  formed,  I  believe,  when  a  current  of 
water,  carrying  coarse  sediment,  meets  with  a  sudden 


3° 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE-  G  O  SSI  P. 


check  to  its  velocity,  and  lets  its  burden  fall ;  the 
particles  then  arrange  themselves  at  the  proper 
"slope  of  repose,"  which  depends  upon  their  size 
and  form.  This  can  seldom  or  never  happen  to  a 
current  of  air  on  a  large  scale,  and  consequently 
diagonal  stratification  will  rarely  occur  in  sand- 
dunes. 

My  reason  for  repeating  these  well-known  facts  is 
that,  in  J.  Geikie's  small  "Geology,"  I  find  the 
following  passage: — "Sometimes  the  layers  of  de- 
position in  a  single  stratum  are  inclined  at  various 
angles  to  themselves.  This  structure  is  called  false- 
bedding  ;  the  laminae  not  coinciding  with  the  planes 
of  stratification Hillocks  of  drifting  sand  fre- 
quently show  a  similar  structure,  but  their  false- 
bedding  is,  as  a  rule,  much  more  pronounced."  The 
first  two  sentences  of  this  passage  contain  slightly 
different  ideas,  and  must  confuse  the  student's  mind. 
According  to  my  observation,  moreover,  the  state- 
ment in  the  last  sentence  is  not  true,  if  he  takes  the 
latter  of  the  two  definitions  apparently  given  of  false- 
bedding,  as  he  would  naturally  do.  It  is  best  not  to 
use  the  term  false-bedding  at  all,  but  discard  it,  as  is 
done  by  Lyell  and  Jukes,  in  favour  of  the  two,  irre- 
gular  bedding  and  diagonal  stratification.  The  latter 
of  these  cannot  be  called  by  the  rejected  name,  as  it 
is  not  the  bedding  but  the  lamination  that  is  ab- 
normal ;  we  may,  indeed,  apply  the  name  to  the 
former,  but  we  shall  have  to  explain  that  false  means 
irregular  in  this  case,  and  we  do  not  gain  much, 
except  the  opportunity  of  writing  a  second  sentence 
to  explain  the  meaning  of  the  previous  one. 


THE   CLASSIFICATION   OF   THE 
FORAMINIFERA. 

By  W.  K.  Marriott. 

THIS  was  the  subject  of  a  paper  recently  read 
before  the  Metropolitan  Scientific  Association. 
The  author  referred  to  the  Eozoon    Canadense,  and 
while  giving  a  brief  recapitulation  of  the   arguments 
in  favour  of  its  organic  origin,  he  held  it  up  as  not 
only  the  fust  of  all  foraminiferous  life,  but  also,  in  its 
special  capacity  as  a  rock  builder,  as  typical  as  the 
very   Globigerina  itself.      He  considered  as  inimical 
to  the  claims  of  the  Eozoon  that  Messrs.  King  and 
Rowney,   the  leaders  of  the  opposition,  had  lately 
received  a  grant  from  the  Endowment  of  Research 
Fund,  for  "Researches  to  determine  the  Structural, 
Chemical,  and  Mineralogical  Character  of  a  certain 
Group  of  Crystallic  Rocks."     If  this  were  aimed  at 
the  Eozoon,  he  was  content   to  leave  the  matter  in 
their  hands,  feeling  confident  that  its  position  in  the 
animal  world  was  assured.     After  referring  to  the 
utility  of  classification  in  general,  he  showed  how 
the   classification    of    the    Foraminifera    had    been 
alternately  neglected  and  over-indulged  in  ;  how  in 
the  one  case  it  was  left  to  itself,  and  in  others  had 


been  filled  with  synonymes,  and  how  M.  D'Orbigny 
had   rescued    it,    and  how  he  again  had  spoiled   it. 
He  then  showed  the  system  of  the  classification  of  the 
whole    Protozoic    group,    and    how   its    two    great 
branches,  the  Rhizopoda  and  Ciliata,  develope  on  the 
one  hand,    through  many   stages,    up  to  the  many- 
chambered   Foraminifera,   and  on  the  other  to  the 
Actinophrys  and  Vorticella.     He  regretted  he  could 
at  present  do  no  more  than  indicate  the  great  question 
that  lay  open  at  this  point,  namely,  how  these  two 
developments   of   Protozoic   life  are   related  to  the 
supplementary  groups  of  Polycystina,  Thallassacollida, 
and  Spongiada,  and  to  the  Ichthydina  and  Noctilu- 
cida.     As  the  classification  of  the  Foraminifera  rests, 
by  reason  of  the  simplicity  of  its  animal  matter,  upon 
no  physiological  basis,  it  remains  very  clearly  that  it 
can  only  be   upon   the   structural   difference  of  its 
shell ;  this,  again,  being  due  to  the  hardening,  with 
only  very  slight  modifications,  of  the  outside  of  the 
creature— the  calcifying  of  its  epidermis,   as  it  has 
been  somewhat  curiously  called  ;  this   classification 
rests  on  very  reasonable  and  simple  grounds.     The 
necessity  of  the  first  great  divisions  into  Monothalamia 
and  Polythalamia  immediately  suggests  itself.     The 
Monothalamia,  or  one-chambered  Foraminifera,  con- 
sists of  three  families.    The  first,  and  largest,  in  point 
of  genera,  is  the  Lagynida,  so  called  from  the  flask- 
like shape  of  its  members.     Specimens  were  shown 
under  the  microscopes  in  the  table,  and  were  found  to 
exhibit  every  variety  of  form  of  flask  that  ever  left  the 
hand  of  the  potter.     This  distinctive  feature  was  also 
shown  upon  the  black-board  ;  indeed,  Mr.  Marriott 
materially  assisted  his  audience  in  understanding  the 
principles  of  the  classification  by  sketching  thereon 
typical  genera  of  all  the  families,  giving  the  salient 
points  in   the   structure  of  the  shell  by  which  the 
creature  earned  its  name  and  position.     The  second 
family,  Orbulinida,  has  but  one  member,  but  this  is 
the  interesting  Orbulina  that  the  Challenger  Expedi- 
tion has  brought  prominently  to  the  front ;  its  points 
of  resemblance  to  the  Globigerina  were  dwelt  upon, 
and   also   its  curious   divergences   from  that  genus. 
The  third  family,  Comusfii  ida,  was  then  shown,  and 
its   great   apparent  resemblance  to  our   fresh-water 
mollusk,  the  planorbis,  at  once  fixed  it  on  the  mind  ; 
this  concluding  the   Monothalamia.     The  grouping 
of  the  Polythalamia  was   next   shown,   but   here  a 
greater  number   of  families  are  found,   and   conse- 
quently intricacies  of  various  kinds  to  be  encountered. 
The  first  group,  the  Helicoidea,  contained  every  spiral- 
shaped  Foraminifera  there  was,  and  some,  like  some 
of  the  members  of  the  first  family,  that  were  not  spiral 
at  all,   but  simply  possessing  more  chambers  than 
one.     These  were  the  Miliolida,  from  their  resem- 
blance to  millet  seed.     The  second  family,    Turbi- 
nida,  possessed,   with  many  variations,  a  shell   like 
the  well-known    mollusk    Turbo,   and    specimens   of 
this    family    are    found    in    all    collections.     A  sub- 
family of  this,  called,  from  its  clustering  and  grape- 


HA RD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


like  form,  the  Uvellida,  contains  the  world- famed 
Globigerina.  And  another  well-known  sub-family, 
the  Textilaria,  shows  a  curious  conformation  of  a 
spiral  that  produces  the  appearance  of  being  woven. 
Then  comes  the  second  great  family  of  the  Poly- 
thalamians,  the  Natitiloidea,  that  led  M.  D'Orbigny 
into  the  error  of  classing  them  with  the  Nautilus 
and  Ammonite.  A  reference  to  specimens  showed 
how  far  he  was  justified  in  this.  The  first  sub- 
family, the  Cristellarida,  the  second  Nonionida, 
third  Peneroplida,  and  fourth  Orbientina,  contain 
well-known  genera  that,  either  in  outward  form  or 
inward  structure  of  cell  and  segment  closely  mimic 
the  form  of  that  great  class  from  which  more  recent 
investigation  has  banished  them.  The  remaining 
two  families  were  then  enumerated,  and  the  Orbitn- 
lita,  as  being  the  most  interesting  belonging  to  them, 
was  detailed,  after  which  the  Rhaboidea,  the  second 
great  group,  or  rod-shaped  Foraminifera,  was  ex- 
plained. This  possesses  but  one  family,  the  Nodosa- 
rida,  whose  knot-shaped  chambers,  arranged  one  on 
another,  enables  everybody  at  once  to  identify 
them.  This  brought  the  classification  to  an  end. 
Mr.  Marriott,  in  conclusion,  passed  on  to  the  life 
history  of  one  of  the  Foraminifera  as  typical  of  the 
whole  of  the  class.  He  chose  the  Globigerina,  because 
round  it  has  centered  the  most  popular  and  scientific 
interest  and  research,  and  gave  the  most  recent 
investigations  and  speculations  on  the  subject. 


A  VISIT    TO    SPONSA'S   HEADQUARTERS. 
By  H.  C.  Dent. 

AFTER' reading  the  two  papers  on  "  Lepidoptera 
of  the  New  Forest"  and  "Sport  in  the  New 
Forest,"  our  hopes  were  roused,  and  we  arranged  to 
go]  to  that  Elysium  in  the  long  vacation.  As  my 
brother  was  not  free  till  the  first  week  in  August,  I 
filled  up  some  of  the  spare  time  in  visiting  Darenth 
Wood,  Box  Hill,  and  Epping,  in  successful  quest  of 
the  spring  species  ;  and  at  the  end  of  June  went  for 
three  weeks  to  Switzerland,  and  visited  its  glaciers, 
snow-peaks,  and  insect  hunting-grounds.  Here  I 
must  wander,  and  give  a  few  localities  for  those  who 
propose  a  trip  to  that  glorious  country  next  season. 
The  upper  end  of  the  Lauterbrunnen  valley,  near 
Trachsellauenen  (very  good  little  inn)  is  a  splendid 
place.  Here,  while  revelling  in  the  sight  of  the 
Jungfrau,  Monch,  and  many  other  superb  peaks,  you 
may  take  Machaon,  Arion,  Hyale,  Cratcegi,  Globu- 
larics,  Trifolii,  Lonicenc,  Grammica,  two  kinds  of 
large  copper,  and  many  foreign  species  of  blues  and 
fritillaries  ;  on  the  Chaumont  near  Neuchatel,  Apollo 
and  Podalirius  abound  (also  the  most  atrocious  and 
pertinacious  Diptera) ;  at  Grinclelwald  I  captured 
four  superb  Machaons  at  one  fell  swoop  ;  the  Nicolai 
Thai — and  in  fact  the  Zermatt  district  generally — 
with  the  vineyards  above  Saxon  (Rhone  Valley)  well 


repay  a  visit  ;  while  at  Gryon,  near  Bex,  Dia  and 
other  rare  fritillaries  abound  ;  besides  Sinapis,  Hero, 
the  Zygenida:,  Szc. 

To  return.  We  arrived  at  Brockenhurst  on  August 
8th,  and  put  up  at  the  "Rose  and  Crown"  (pro- 
prietor, James  Ings),  where  we  had,  a  week  previously, 
ordered  beds.  Nothing  could  be  more  cheerful  than 
our  rooms,  and  during  our  whole  stay  we  were  most 
comfortable,  while  the  charges  were  reasonable.  Affer 
a  good  lunch,  we  sallied  forth  for  a  couple  of  hours, 
and — considering  that  the  weather  was  bad — obtained 
a  very  fair  "bag."  In  the  evening,  however,  we 
were  not  so  fortunate,  as  we  only  took  one  Promissa 
and  a  few  Pyramided ;  although  the  weather  was 
suitable,  rarities  would  not  appear. 

The  next  morning  we  went  through  the  Forest  to 
Lyndhurst,  on  the  right  side  of  the  road  for  about 
halfway,  and  then  on  the  left.  We  saw  innumerable . 
Paphia — all  more  or  less  rubbed — two  Sibylla,  and 
' '  buttered  "  a  female  Iris  !  This  splendid  lady  was 
sipping  the  nectar  from  a  bramble  blossom,  when 
down  came  the  net  over  her,  but,  alas  !  her  imperial 
majesty  quietly  glided  downwards  through  the  thorns, 
evading  the  death-dealing  gauze,  and  soared  triumph- 
antly to  the  top  of  a  neighbouring  oak.  This 
damped  our  spirits,  but  they  soon  rose  when  we 
captured  two  Argiolus  and  a  pair  of  Qiiercus.  The 
latter  we  found  very  abundant  at  the  tops  of  young 
oaks ;  so  at  length  we  devised  a  plan  for  their 
capture,  and  having  cut  down  a  straight  birch 
"  stick"  of  about  15  ft.  long,  and  fixed  a  net  at  the 
top  ;  after  two  days'  practice  we  succeeded  in  taking 
eighty  specimens  in  less  than  a  couple  of  hours  ;  the 
abominable  Forest  flies  tormenting  us  all  the  time 
above  measure.  We  saw  daily  a  few  Iris  besporting 
themselves  above  and  around  the  high  oaks,  but  they 
were  inaccessible. 

From  August  8th  to  10th,  the  weather  was  unpro- 
pitious ;  as  clouds,  wind,  and  rain  are  not  compatible 
with  fly-catching.  However,  as  we  liked  the  sylvan 
beauties  of  the  places  we  had  visited,  and  as  we  feared 
"to  go  farther  and  fare  worse,"  our  daily  plan  was 
to  start  from  the  "Rose  and  Crown"  about  nine,  go 
through  the  Forest  to  Lyndhurst  (about  three  miles 
direct),  where  we  arrived  about  one.  Then  after 
lunching  at  the  "Crown  and  Stirrup  "  (three  minutes 
from  forest,  proprietor  Charles  Pack,  who  lets  apart- 
ments), we  returned  through  the  Forest,  arranged  our 
captures,  dined,  and  set  off  for  sugaring. 

At  length  we  were  told  of  a  place  where  Sponsa 
was  said  to  abound.  "Some  gentlemen  'uv  took 
fourty  a  noight  this  season,"  said  our  informant. 
Thither  we  determined  to  go,  and  the  following 
evening  (August  13th)  we  started,  equipped  with 
bags  full  of  empty  pill-boxes,  chloroform  and  cyanide 
bottles,  and  corked  boxes  well  stocked  with  No.  6  pins. 
We  arranged  to  sugar  150  trees,  and  keep  on  visiting 
them  till  we  were  tired.  We  had  sugared  over  100 
when  an  individual  approached  armed  with  a  net,  a 


HA  RD  IV  1 CKE  'S   S  CIENCE  -  G  0 SSIP. 


cyanide-bottle  and  a  corked  box.  We  tackled  him. 
"Any  Sponsa  about?  Wy  bless  yer,  'eaps  on  'em. 
Thur's  one  on  that  thur  tree  now."  Our  blood  was 
up,  we  longed  to  dart  at  it,  but  it  was  that  man's  tree, 
and  we  refrained.  He  told  us  he  had  taken  1 20  in 
three  nights,  and  that  his  usual  nightly  haul  was  from 
twelve  to  twenty.  We  asked  him  how  many  trees 
he  "  painted."  "Wall,"  he  said,  "I  begun  doin' 
about  thirty,  but  w'en  they're  plentiful  I  doaint 
have  no  time  to  look  at  more'n  about  six  trees  ;  there's 
ten  on  a  tree  sometimes."  We  were  roused  to  mad 
excitement ;  in  half  an  hour  we  had  taken  a  dozen  on 
as  many  trees.  Many  flew  off,  and  that  night  we 
had  no  nets.  It  was  now  8.30,  and  we  met  our 
friend  going  home.  "  They're  ovur  for  to-noight," 
said  he.  We  stayed  another  half-hour,  but  took  only 
a  couple  on  his  trees. 


Fig.  17.     Dark-crimson  Underwing  Moth  (Catocala  s/>ousa), 

The  next  night,  having  found  that  Sponsa  flew 
early,  we  sugared  earlier,  and  before  dark  had  taken 
another  dozen  Sponsa,  and  two  or  three  Promissa, 
besides  the  rare  Subseaua.  We  had  intended  going 
to  the  Isle  of  Wight  on  the  15th  for  Hyale  and 
Helice ;  but  another  Sponsa  hunt  was  not  to  be 
winked  at.  That  night  we  captured  twenty-one 
Sponsa  and  two  Promissa,  while  the  multitudes  of 
Pyramidal  were  as  usual  a  perfect  pest. 

To  see  whether  any  Sponsa  are  settled  on  sugar 
needs  some  practice,  when  their  wings  are  folded  over 
their  backs — especially  in  the  dusk — as  the  upper 
wings  resemble  closely  the  bark  of  the  trees  ;  when, 
however,  the  wings  are  partly  expanded — showing  the 
splendid  crimson  bands — I  can  hardly  imagine  a 
more  exciting  sight ;  the  very  thought  of  it  makes  me 
thrill  even  now.   Our  mode  of  proceeding  was  to  pill- 


box the  moths,  pour  in  a  drop  of  chloroform,  and 
when  they  were  quiet,  pin  and  remove  them  to  the 
corked  box.  When  we  got  home  they  were  stabbed 
with  oxalic  acid.  If  they  were  too  wary  for  the  pill- 
box or  cyanide-bottle,  we  netted  them,  and  then 
pill-boxed.  We  thus  found  half  a  dozen  pill-boxes 
ample. 

At  length,  on  the  16th,  we  left  Brockenhurst  with 
sad  hearts,  took  the  train  to  Lymington,  and  steamed 
across  the  Solent,  at  the  rate  of  four  miles  an  hour, 
under  a  hot  sun,  to  Yarmouth,  in  company  witli  a 
flock  of  sheep  and  a  fat  farmer,  who  was  much 
wrapped  up  and  enduring  all  the  agonies  of  sea-sick- 
ness. We  were  greeted  by  numerous  Rdusa,  Cardui, 
and  Polychloros,  besides  innumerable  Atalanta. 
Having  "humped"  our  knapsack,  we  .marched  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Yar  to  Freshwater.  Wishing  to 
be  near  the  sea,  we  scorned  the  respectable  Red 
Lion  Inn,  and  put  up  at  the  Albion,  Freshwater 
Bay,  where  we  were  duly  charged  next  morning. 
That  afternoon  we  walked  towards  Alum  Bay, 
but  a  strong  gusty  wind  prevented  anything 
more  than  a  grand  view  from  the  beacon  above 
the  Nodes,  and  the  capture  of  a  few  Corydon 
and  Edusa.  As  the  weather  continued  un- 
favourable the  next  morning,  and  it  was  incum- 
bent upon  us  to  be  in  London  by  Saturday,  we 
threw  over  our  plan  of  walking  to  Shanklin, 
Ventnor,and  Cowes,  and  determined  to  have 
another  evening  at  Sponsa 's  headquarters.  We 
therefore  went  back  to  Yarmouth,  where  we 
netted  many  Edusa,  Galathea,  Cardui,  and  a 
hybernated  Helice,  and  then  returned  to  Brocken- 
hurst. We  were  rewarded  :  over  two  dozen 
Sponsa  requited  our  endeavours  before  7.45, 
when  the  moon  shone  brilliantly,  and  the 
underwings  retreated  to  the  tops  of  the  oaks. 

This  brought  our  Hampshire  expedition  to  a 
close,  and  the  next  lepidoptera  I  saw — three 
days  after  —  were  some  Edusa,  Io,  Cardui, 
&c,  in  the  picture-galleries  of  The  Hague, 
Haarlem,  and  Amsterdam,  calmly  flitting 
round  and  settling  on  bouquets  which,  though 
painted  a  couple  of  centuries  ago  by  Mignou, 
Ruysch,  and  others,  still  retain  much  of  their  original 
freshness. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  thirty-one  diurni 
we  saw  in  the  New  Forest  : — Rhamm,  Edusa, 
Brassicie,  Papa,  Napi,  Galathea,  sEgeria,  Ilyper- 
antlius,  Megara,  Semele,  Tithonns,  Janira, 
Pamphilus,  Sibylla,  Atalanta,  Io,  Polvehloros, 
Urtiae,  Cardui,  Iris,  Quercus,  Betuhe,  Adippc, 
Aglaia,  Paphia,  Phleas,  Argiolus,  Alexis,  Artaxerxes, 
Sylvanus,  and  JJuea.  We  were  informed  that 
this  year  had  been  bad  for  Valezina,  and  especially 
for  Sibylla.  Of  the  latter  we  only  saw  half 
a  dozen,  while  ten  days  before  they  were  abun- 
dant in  Fssex.  Orion  and  Balis  had  been 
plentiful. 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSS  I  P. 


33 


A   PLEA   FOR   THE   MICROSCOPE   AS 
A  TOY. 

IT  7E  are  °ften  reminded  that  the  microscope  is 
V  V  no  longer  a  toy,  but  a  scientific  instrument, 
and  those  who  use  it  for  recreation  only  are  not  un- 
frequently  hard  hit,  as  mere  wasters  of  time  and 
desecrators  of  a  noble  power. 

Now,  while  fully  appreciating  the  scientific  use  of 
the  microscope,  I  would  suggest  a  slight  alteration  in 
the  above  dictum,  and  say,  it  is  not  only  a  toy,  but 
a  scientific  instrument.     I  would  plead   for   it  as  a 
source  of  amusement.     The  President  of  the  Quekett 
Club,  in  his  recent  address,  reminds  us  of  a  remark 
in  the  first  page  of  the    "Microscopic  Journal"  of 
1841,  where  it  is  said  of  microscopic  research  in  those 
days,  that  it   "is  for  the  most  part  an  amusement 
rather   than   a   profession" — it    is   an    "intellectual 
pastime,    which   is   sure   to   terminate  in   beneficial 
results.     General   knowledge  may   be   acquired    by 
observation,"  and  this  "  by  industry  and  perseverance 
imperceptibly  produces  recondite  science."     This  is 
just  the  view  I  would  take  of  microscopical  employ- 
ment.   It  is  first  an  "  intellectual  pastime."    Wearied 
in  body  and  mind  the  man  of  business  or  of  litera- 
ture seeks  rest.     Some  find  it  in  mere  lounging  in  an 
easy-chair,  and  joining  in  the  family  chit-chat ;  others 
in  listening  to  the  music  which  a  wife  or  daughter 
elicits  from  the  pianoforte.     There  is  no  objection  to 
this ;    but  if  the   taste  leads  to  the  observation  of 
nature  in  the  sky,  the  earth,  the  sea,  then  a  special 
interest  is  felt  in  whatever  tends  to  reveal  the  secrets 
of  that  existence  by  which  we  are  surrounded.     Some 
turn  to  the  telescope,  others  to  the  microscope,  not 
as  a  means  of  scientific  research,  but  as  "an  intel- 
lectual  pastime."     Investigation    requires    powerful 
effort,  both  of  mind  and  body.     Few  have  this  to 
expend  now-a-days  on  what  does  not  bring  grist  to 
the  mill.    The  mind  wants  recreation,  as  the  appetite 
longs  sometimes  for  change  of  diet  and  enjoys  the 
dainty  bit.     The    holiday  keeper   rushes   into    the 
country,  not  to  study,  but  to  enjoy,  its  beauties.     He 
visits  the  picture  gallery,  not  to  become  an  artist,  but 
to  satisfy  a  taste.     He  goes  to  the  British  Museum  or 
the  Zoological  Gardens  not  to  become  a  naturalist, 
but  to  enlarge  his  ideas.     He  cultivates  a  variety  of 
sweet  and  pretty  flowers  in  his  garden,  not  with  the 
remotest  intention  of  becoming  acquainted  with  their 
orders  and  relationships,  but  purely  for  the  enjoy- 
ment to  be  derived  from  them.     And  why  may  a 
man  not  use  his  microscope  in  the  same  way  ?    What 
wonders — what  beauties — does  it  reveal  !     Well  has 
it  been  said  that  the  microscope  is  a  door  into  another 
world.     It  is  so,  and  the  man  who  uses  it  merely  as 
such  is  amply  rewarded.     The  door  is  opened  and  he 
is  almost  bewildered  with  the  variety  and  beauty  of 
what  he  sees.     His  mind  is  enlarged,  his  views  are 
corrected ;  his  taste  is  charmed,  his  wonder  excited. 
The  whole  man  is  elevated,  refreshed,  and  invigo- 


rated.    It  is  not  only  a  pastime,  but  "an  intellectual 
pastime." 

But,  further,  we  are  told  it  is  "sure  to  terminate 
in  beneficial  results."  This  "  intellectual  pastime," 
then,  does  not  as  a  rule  stop  there.  It  is  not  a  lovely 
vision  which  vanishes  away,  but  is  an  avenue  to  a 
brighter  and  broader  view.  It  induces  the  habit  of 
observation,  and  surrounds  even  the  least  things  with 
a  halo  of  interest  which  they  could  never  otherwise 
have  possessed.  The  smut  on  the  ear  of  corn — the 
disease  of  the  leaf  of  the  potato — the  mould  on  the 
cheese — all  are  now  full  of  interest.  The  most  un- 
promising object  often  exhibits  a  most  unexpected 
character,  or  reveals  a  long-looked-for  secret.  And 
thus  the  mind  is  not  only  refreshed  but  stored  with  a 
new  fact,  which  in  its  turn  proves  to  be  only  the 
cradle  of  another  :  so,  step  by  step,  the  "  beneficial 
results  "  are  evolved.  And  great  as  these  are  in  an 
educational  and  abstract  point  of  view,  they  are  by 
no  means  wanting  in  a  practical,  as  the  application 
of  the  microscope  to  physiological,  histological,  and 
commercial  subjects,  abundantly  proves. 

Let  us  begin,  then,  by  play.  If  it  ends  here  it  is 
at  least  as  innocent  and  pleasing  as  any  other — let 
some  of  us  begin  by  using  our  microscopes  as  toys, 
let  others  use  them  so  sometimes,  for  the  amusement 
of  the  uninitiated— it  is  "an  intellectual  pastime 
which  is  sure  to  terminate  in  beneficial  results." 

This  toy,  moreover,  is  not  an  expensive  one,  either 
to  begin  with,  or  to  keep  going.  If  you  buy  a  gun 
there  is  the  annual  licence,  and  the  constant  supply 
of  ammunition.  If  you  buy  a  horse,  the  first  outlay 
is  nothing  compared  with  the  keeping  of  it.  But 
when  once  you  are  provided  with  a  microscope,  there 
is  no  tax  to  pay,  no  food  required.  Let  this  be  a 
plea  for  getting  a  fairly  good  instrument  at  first, 
capable  of  being  added  to  as  required.  Even  the 
magic-lantern  soon  tires  unless  new  slides,  which  aye 
very  costly,  be  continually  added.  Having,  then, 
this  toy,  we  learn  to  find  objects  which  cost  us 
nothing,  but,  on  the  contrary,  contribute  largely  to 
our  pleasure  and  profit.  It  has,  too,  a  great 
advantage  over  the  telescope.  You  have  not  to  wait 
for  cloudless  nights,  nor  to  run  the  risk  of  colds  and 
neuralgia.  Every  night  is  a  microscopical  night,  and 
the  long  dark  evenings  of  winter  may  be  not  only 
■beguiled  but  improved. — T.  R.  J.,  Codicote  Vicarage. 


PARASITES  ON  FISH. 
By  John  Davis. 

THE  subject  of  the  various  parasites  found  en 
fish  has  not  hitherto  received  much  popular 
attention,  except  in  Van  Beneden's  "  Animal  Mess- 
mates." It  is  hoped,  therefore,  that  the  following 
description  of  three  of  such  parasites  may  induce 
other  naturalists  to  contribute  further  information  on 
this  subject  to  the  pages  of  Science-Gossip: 


34 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  ■  G  OSSIP. 


Parasite  of  COD  (Gadus  morrhua)  taken  from  the 
outside  of  the  gill  (there  is  another  parasite  which 
infests  its  back). — The  tail  is  composed  of  two  tubes, 
finely  marked,  which  commence  at  the  end  of  the 
animal  at  each  side,  and  gradually  narrow  until  they 
meet.     These  tubes  are  nearly  as  long  as  the  body. 


The  Gurnard  [Trigla  hirundo)  has  parasites  : 
this  one  was  taken  from  the  eye,  to  which  it  fastens 
itself  by  the  large  wheel-like  sucker  ;  it  then  bends 
its  body  until  it  brings  the  small  rings  at  the  end  of 
the  animal  on  the  fish,  and  so  jerks  itself  along.  I 
have  drawn  one  end  of  the  large  sucker,  as  seen  undei 


Fig.  iS.     Parasite  of  a  Ling;  3-inch  object ;  size,  -A-  x  T*T ;  pale  yellow  and  pink  spots,  with 

a  dark  brownish-pink  eye. 


The  size  of  the  specimen  is  -fa  of  an  inch,  and  the 
objective  used  in  this  instance  was  i^-inch,  with  C 
eyepiece. 


Fig.  19.  Parasite  of  Gurnard. — This 
parasite  infests  the  eye  of  the  fish  :  it  is 
a  milky-white  in  colour  and  \  inch  long  ; 
it  moves  about  like  a  caterpillar  ;  i^-inch 
A  eyepiece. 


End  of  sucker 
through  a  J-inch. 


Parasite  of  Ling  {Molva  lota). — The  integument 
of  this  parasite  is  covered  with  small  spots  and 
lines,  and  the  body  is  of  a  dense  opal-white.  An 
indistinct  oesophagus  (on  account  of  the  thickness 
of  the  animal)  can  be  traced  from  the  eyespots  to  the 
stomach.  The  latter  is  composed  of  a  spiral  arrange- 
ment of  tubes,  and  marked  with  cross-lines,  the  same 
as  the  antenna  of  the  Lobster.  It  is  a  pretty  sight 
to  watch  the  circulation  in  these  vessels.  At  the 
dorsal  end  is  a  rather  large  cavity,  which  I  take  to 
be  the  ovary.  The  size  of  this  parasite  is  -f'$  x  -fa, 
and  examined  through  a  3-inch  objective.  It  was 
taken  from  the  back  of  the  fish. 


Fig.  20.  Parasite  of  a 
Cod  ;  ii-inch  ;  size,  fg  '•' 
opal-white,  with  a  pink 
eye-spot  and  dots. 


a  i-inch  objective.     The  length  of  this  parasite  is 
about  -]-  inch,  and  perfectly  white. 


WHITE  MITES. 

DURING  the  month  of  June,  1877,  whilst  driv- 
ing in  the  countiy,  I  observed  a  black  poplar 
tree  evidently  suffering  from  the  ravages  of  insects  ; 
I  therefore  stopped  the  vehicle,  and  got  out  to  ex- 
amine. I  found  the  tree  bored  in  many  places  by  the 
larva;  of  the  Goat-moth  (Cossus  ligniperdd),  three  of 
which  I  secured.  A  considerable  portion  of  the  bark 
was  loose,  and  the  sap  kept  this  quite  wet,  the 
peculiar  smell  produced  by  the  larva?  being  very 
evident.  On  removing  a  portion  of  the  bark  where 
it  was  moist  with  sap,  I  found  it  covered  with  a 
moving  mass,  consisting  of  myriads  of  very  peculiar 
White  Mites.  On  examining  them  under  the  micro- 
scope, I  found  them  to  differ  from  any  Mites  I  had 
ever  seen,  nor  could  I  find  any  notice  of  similar  ones 
in  any  work  to  which  I  could  refer.  The  females, 
which  were  in  the  greatest  abundance,  were  egg- 
shaped,  the  larger  end  being  in  front,  and  the  sides 
towards  the  posterior,  somewhat  bent  in.  On  slightly 
compressing  them,  they  were  seen  to  contain  eggs. 
The  abdomen  was  of  a  milk- white  colour,  and  the  legs 
reddish-brown.  On  crushing  one  of  the  Mites  con- 
taining eggs,  one  or  two  young  ones  escaped  from  the 
almost  mature  ova  ;  these  had  only  six  legs,  one  of 
the  hind  pair  being  missing.  The  males,  which  were 
few  in  number  compared  with  the  females,  were  very 
peculiar  in  appearance ;  their  bodies  were  less  in  size, 
flatter,  and  the  legs  longer  and  stouter  in  proportion 
than  those  of  the  females  ;  the  posterior  pair  not  used 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


35 


for  walking,  but  stretched  out  backwards,  their  ex- 
treme ends  bent  inwards,  and,  as  far  as  I  could  make 
out,  not  furnished  with  claws.  Their  gait  was  ex- 
tremely awkward.  In  certain  Dermaleichi,  found  on 
small  birds,  the  males  have  one  of  the  hind  pairs  of 
legs  very  largely  and  peculiarly  developed,  but  in 
their  case  it  is  the  third,  the  fourth  pair  being  very 
small,  and  used  in  walking. 


Fig.  21.     Male  of  White  Mite. 


Fig.  22.     Female  of  White  Mite. 

About  the  middle  of  August  I  again  visited  this 
tree,  and  found  upon  and  with  the  White  Mites  a 
number  of  Hypopi,  but  whether  these  were  parasitic 
on  the  White  Mites,  or  merely  residing  with  them, 
I  was  not  able  to  determine.  I  passed  this  tree 
on  several  occasions  during  the  summer,  and  fre- 
quently saw  Wasps  and  Red  Admiral  Butterflies 
enjoying  the  sap,  which  kept  some  parts  of  the 
tree  continually  moist.  The  figures  are  all  drawn 
from  mounted   specimens  under  a  §°   object-glass, 


Fig.  23.     Young  of 
"White  Mite. 


Fig.  24.     Hyjiopus  found 
with  White  Mites. 


with    A    eyepiece,     and    are    magnified    about    72 
diameters. 

Kirton  Lindscy.  C.  F.  GEORGE. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  OUR  SALAD  HERBS. 
Part  III. — Mustard. 

MUSTARD  was,  according  to  the  belief  of  the 
ancients,  first  introduced  from  Egypt,  that 
country  which  claims  the  honour  of  being  the  birth- 
place of  Ceres,  the  goddess  of  seeds,  and  ^Esculapius, 
the  god  of  medicine,  through  whose  means  this  plant 
was  made  known  to  mankind  as  an  agreeable  and 
wholesome  herb  in  its  green  state  ;  while  the  seed 
was  used  as  a  medicine,  and  occupied  the  first  rank 
among  alimentary  substances  which  exercised  a 
prompt  influence  on  the  brain.  Mustard  is  mentioned 
by  Pythagoras,  and  was  employed  in  medicine  by 
Hippocrates,  B.C.  480.  Pliny  states  that  there  were 
three  kinds  of  mustard  cultivated  in  his  day  ;  the  first 
of  a  thin  and  slender  form,  the  second  with  a  leaf 
like  that  of  the  rape,  and  the  third  with  that  like  the 
rocket.  The  best  seed,  he  says,  was  imported  from 
Egypt,  but  that  this  plant  grew  in  Italy  without 
sowing.  The  Romans  made  great  use  of  the  seed  in 
medicine ;  the  oil  extracted  from  it,  mixed  with  olive 
oil,  was  used  by  those  who  suffered  with  stiffness  of 
their  limbs  after  a  cold  bath.  Pounded  with  vinegar 
it  was  employed  as  a  liniment  for  the  sting  of  serpents 
and  scorpions,  and  a  dose  of  it  effectually  neutralized 
the  poisonous  properties  of  fungi.  The  Romans,  and 
other  nations  after  them,  used  to  ferment  mustard- 
seed  in  new  wine,  which  converted  it  into  a  kind  of 
inferior  brandy,  and  was  known  by  the  name  of 
Must  urn  aniens,  burning  wine. 

The  mustard-seed  mentioned  in  the  Scripture  has 
of  late  years  been  a  matter  of  considerable  controversy, 
some  authors  supposing  it  to  be  quite  a  different 
plant  from  the  one  we  are  now  treating  of ;  but  it  is 
generally  believed  by  the  best  authorities  in  the 
present  day  that  the  plant  referred  to  was  Sinapis 
nigra,  the  common  mustard,  which  is  indigenous  to 
Palestine,  as  it  is  to  Britain.  Dr.  Thompson,  in  his 
"  Land  and  the  Book,"  records  that  he  has  seen 
this  plant  as  tall  as  the  horse  and  his  rider  in  the  rich 
plains  of  Acre. 


36 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSS  I  P. 


"  As  small  as  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,"  appears  to 
have  been  a  proverbial  expression  for  any  small  object 
among  the  Jews  ;  and  this  seed,  which  was  the 
smallest  the  husbandman  was  accustomed  to  sow, 
produced  the  largest  results  by  becoming  the  greatest 
of  the  husl  landman's  herbs. 

We  have  no  record  when  mustard  was  first  used  in 

this  country,  but  in  the  household  accounts  of  the 

thirteenth   and    fourteenth    centuries    we   find   that 

mustard  was   known  to   our  forefathers  under   the 

name  of  "  Senapum,"  and  appears  to  have  been  used 

in  large  quantities,  for  in  that   interesting  Household 

Book  of  the  Earl  of  Northumberland,   in  the   reign 

of  Henry    VII.,    it   is   stated    that    160  gallons   of 

mustard-seed  was  the  allowance  per  annum  to  his 

servants  and  retainers.     In  those  days  the  seed  was 

not  manufactured,  but  brought  to  table  whole,  when 

it  was  bruised  and  mixed  with  vinegar,  according  to 

the  taste   of  the  eater.     It  was  not  only  used  as  a 

condiment,  but  also,  no  doubt,  for  medicinal  purposes. 

Tusser,   who  wrote   his   "Five    Hundred    Points  of 

Good  Husbandry  "  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary,  says, 

in  the  direction  for  February, — ■ 

"Where  banks  be  amended  or  newly  upcast, 
Sow  mustard-seed  after  a  shower  be  past." 

From  this  it  appears  that  mustard  was  cultivated  as 
a  field  crop  ;  we  also  find  it  mentioned  as  an  agricul- 
tural produce  in  Rogers's  "  History  of  Agriculture  and 
Prices  in  England,"  as  far  back  as  1285.  It  must 
then  have  been  S.  nigra,  black  mustard,  or  S.  arvensis, 
the  charlock,  for  Gerard  tells  us  that  the  garden 
mustard,  which  produces  the  whitest  of  seeds,  had  not 
become  common  in  the  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  but 
that  he  had  distributed  the  seed  into  different  parts 
of  England  to  make  it  known.  He  says,  "Mustard 
makes  an  excellent  sauce,  good  to  be  eaten  with  gross 
meats,  either  fish  or  flesh,  because  it  promotes  diges- 
tion and  sharpens  the  appetite."  Thomas  Cogan, 
M.D.,  of  Manchester,  who  published  his  "Haven  of 
Health  "  in  1605,  says,  "The  force  of  the  seed  is  well 
perceived  by  eating  mustard,  for  if  it  is  good  in 
making  to  weep  we  are  straightway  taken  by  the  nose 
and  provoked  to  sneeze,  which  plainly  declareth  that 
it  soon  pierceth  the  brain.  Wherefore  as  it  is  a  good 
sauce  and  procureth  appetite,  so  it  is  profitable  for 
the  pulse,  and  for  such  students  as  be  heavy-headed 
and  drowsy,  as  if  they  would  fall  asleep  with  meat  in 
their  mouths.  And  if  any  be  given  to  music,  and 
would  fain  have  clear  voices,  let  them  take  mustard- 
seed  in  powder,  work  the  same  with  honey  into  little 
balls,  of  which  they  must  swallow  one  or  two  down 
every  morning  fasting,  and  in  a  short  time  they  shall 
have  very  clear  voices."  Shakspeare  mentions  mustard 
as  a  condiment  in  his  play,  "Taming  the  Shrew,"  act 
vi. ,  scene  iii. ,  where  Gi  itmio  says  to  Katliarina,  ' '  What 
say  you  to  a  piece  of  beef  and  mustard?"  It  is  also 
mentioned  in  his  play  "  As  you  like  it,"  in  connection 
with  pancakes  (see  scene  iii.).  In  Evelyn's  time, 
Tewkesbury  was  famous  for  its  mustard.     The  seed, 


Coles  tells  us,  in  1657,  used  to  be  ground  there  and 
made  up  into  balls,  which  were  brought  to  London 
and  other  remote  places  as  being  the  best  the  world 
affords.  Mustard  used  formerly  to  be  largely  culti- 
vated and  manufactured  in  the  county  of  Durham  ; 
but  until  the  year  1720  the  seed  used  to  be  pounded 
in  a  mortar  and  coarsely  separated  from  the  black 
integuments  of  the  seeds,  and  in  that  rough  state 
prepared  for  use.  About  the  year  mentioned  an  old 
woman  of  the  name  of  Clements,  resident  at  Durham, 
conceived  the  idea  of  grinding  the  seed  in  a  mill,  and 
to  pass  the  meal  through  the  several  processes  which 
are  resorted  to  in  making  flour  from  wheat.  The 
secret  she  kept  for  many  years  to  herself,  and  in  the 
period  of  her  exclusive  possession  of  it  supplied  the 
principal  parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  in  particular  the 
metropolis  with  this  article ;  and  George  I.  stamped 
it  with  fashion  by  his  approval.  Mrs.  Clements  used 
to  travel  twice  a  year  to  London  for  orders,  and  was 
able  to  pick  up  a  small  fortune.  From  this  woman's 
residence  at  Durham,  it  acquired  the  name  of ' '  Durham 
mustard"  (Mechanic's  Magazine,  vol.  iv.,  p.  87). 
The  seeds  of  Sinapis  arvensis,  charlock,  and  Kaphanus 
raphanistrum,  the  wild  radish  common  in  our  corn- 
fields, are  often  sold  and  used  as  a  substitute  for 
mustard-seed.  The  seed  of  the  black  mustard,  like 
that  of  the  wild  sort,  and  also  of  the  wild  radish,  if 
sown  below  the  depth  of  three  or  four  inches,  will 
remain  in  the  ground  for  ages  without  germinating  : 
hence  when  once  introduced  it  is  difficult  to  extirpate. 
Whenever  they  throw  the  earth  out  of  their  ditches 
in  the  Isle  of  Ely,  the  banks  come  up  thick  with 
mustard,  and  the  seeds  falling  into  the  water  and 
sinking  to  the  bottom  will  remain  embalmed  in  the 
mud  for  ages  without  vegetation  (Loudon's  "Ency- 
clopaedia of  Agriculture  "). 

Sinapis  alba  appears  to  be  a  native  of  the  more 
southern  countries  of  Europe  and  Western  Asia.  It 
is  now  cultivated  not  only  as  a  garden  herb,  but  is 
grown  very  largely  as  an  agricultural  crop,  chiefly  as 
food  for  sheep  or  to  be  ploughed  in  for  manure  in  its 
green  state.  Mustard  is  extensively  cultivated  in  the 
Fen  lands  of  Lincolnshire  and  Cambridge,  also  in 
Essex  and  Kent.  Its  medicinal  properties  are  well 
known  ;  in  its  action  it  is  an  irritant,  stimulant,  emetic, 
and  stomachic. 

Some  authors  think  Sinapis  is  derived  from  sino  to 
hurt,  and  opts  the  eyes,  from  the  pungency  of  the 
plant  causing  the  eyes  to  water  ;  others  from  the  Celtic 
nup  (modern  Gaelic  neup)  a  turnip  which  belongs 
to  this  tribe.  Our  word  "mustard"  is  derived  from  the 
French  moutarde,  but  in  early  times  it  was,  both  here 
and  on  the  Continent,  sauve  or  senevi.  Some 
authors  assert  that  the  etymology  of  this  plant  was 
changed  from  the  following  circumstance.  In  13S2 
Philip  the  Bold,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  was  marching 
against  his  rebellious  subjects  of  Ghent,  and  the  city 
of  Dijon,  which  traded  largely  in  senevc,  supplied 
him  with  a  thousand  men-at-arms,  for  whicli  service 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


37 


the  Duke  granted  that  city  many  privileges,  amongst 
others  that  of  bearing  his  arms,  with  his  motto  ' l Moult 
me  tarde"  in  old  French  (I  long  or  wish  ardently), 
which  was  carved  on  the  principal  gate  of  Dijon. 
By  some  accident  the  middle  word  was  destroyed  ;  the 
other  two,  moult  tarde,  caused  many  a  smile  at  the 
expense  of  the  citizens,  and  in  derision  the  seneve 
in  which  they  traded  was  called  mourtarde,  a  name 
it  has  preserved  ever  since. 


MICROSCOPY, 

ACTINO-CYCLUS  BERKLEY!. — I  have  some  speci- 
mens of  this  diatom,  with  reference  to  which  I  shall 
be  glad  if  one  of  your  correspondents  will  give  me  a 
little  information.  I  should  like  to  know,  in  the 
first  place,  whose  nomenclature  A.  Berkley  is;  and, 
secondly,  whether  it  is  synonymous  with  any  of  the 
species  described  in  the  fourth  edition  of  Pritchard's 
"Infusoria";  if  not.  where  are  the  specific  cha- 
racters to  be  found  ? — C.  V.  S. 

Researches  among  the  Sponges. — In  the  last 
number  of  the  "Annals  and  Magazine  of  Natural 
History  "  there  appear  several  important  articles  on 
the  structure  of  various  kinds  of  sponges.  W.  Saville 
Kent  commences  with  one  on  "  Professor  Ernest 
Haeckel's  group  of  the  Physemaria,  and  on  the 
affinity  of  the  Sponges."  W.  J.  Sollas  describes 
two  new  and  remarkable  species  of  Cliona.  There 
is  also  a  paper  by  C.  Mereschkowsky,  on  Wagnerella* 
a  new  genus  of  sponge  allied  to  the  Physemaria  of 
Ilaeckel. 

Mounting  Marine  Alg.e. — Mr.  H.  F.  Atwood, 
of  Chicago,  gives  the  following  account  of  his 
method  of  mounting  alga?,  in  the  November  number 
of  the  "  American  Journal  of  Microscopy."  Mr.  At- 
wood advocates  the  use  of  salicylic  acid,  and 
says — "My  process  is  as  follows:  by  using  sea-salt 
(which  can  be  bought  for  a  trifle  at  any  first-class 
druggist's)  and  distilled  or  rain  water,  a  good  sub- 
stitute for  sea-water  is  obtained ;  into  this  I  im- 
merse the  rough-dried  specimens  of  alga?,  and  in  an 
hour  or  two  they  have  resumed  their  natural  shape. 
Now,  picking  out  and  clipping  off  such  pieces  as 
are  best  adapted  for  mounting,  I  transfer  them  to  a 
bowl  of  distilled  water,  and  wash  them  clean,  and 
from  thence  transfer  them  to  a  small  saucer  con- 
taining a  saturated  solution  of  salicylic  acid.  The 
shallow  cell  into  which  they  now  go  is  built  up  of 
shellac  cement,  made  by  dissolving  bleached  shellac 
in  Cologne  spirits.  Cells  made  of  this  substance  are 
ready  for  use  twelve  hours  after  being  laid  on  to  the 
slide.  I  pick  up  the  specimen  with  forceps,  put  it  on 
the  slide,  and  fill  up  the  cell  with  the  salicylic  acid. 
I  now  breathe  on  the  covering  glass,  and  put  it  in 
its  place,  and  by  the  use  of  blotting-paper  absorb  the 
superfluous  fluid.     A  thin  coating  of  gold  size  com- 


pletes the  work  for  the  time  being  ;  in  a  day  or  two 
I  lay  on  more  gold  size,  and  afterwards  white  zinc 
cement  or  Brunswick  black  ;  the  finish,  of  course, 
being  a  mere  matter  of  fancy.  In  mounting  a  piece 
of  alga;  having  Isthmia  parasitic  on  it,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  fill  these  diatoms  if  balsam  is  used, 
whereas  by  the  use  of  salicylic  acid  every  valve  will 
be  filled.  In  some  cases  the  medium  I  have  used 
has  robbed  the  alga:  of  its  colour,  but  this  occurs 
but  rarely.  I  have  a  slide  of  Ptilota  hypnoides  in 
full  fruit,  the  beauty  of  which  could  never  be  brought 
out  except  by  first  immersing  the  specimen  in  the 
sea-water  I  have  referred  to.  For  the  study  of 
alga:,  direct  light  should  be  used,  but  using  dark 
field  illumination  is  the  best  way." 

The  Quekett  Microscopical  Club. — The  last 
number  of  the  Journal  of  this  well-known  and  useful 
club  contains  an  address  by  the  President,  Mr.  Henry 
Lee,  F.L.S.,  and  a  paper  by  Mr.  W.  K.  Bridgman, 
on  "The  Ordinary  Condenser  Improved,  or  'Cir- 
cular '  Illumination  Superseded." 

Coloured  Oysters. — The  oysters  of  the  cele- 
brated Arcachon  beds  having  last  summer  acquired  a 
peculiar  violet  colour,  the  cause  has  been  inquired 
into  by  M.  Desconst,  who  finds  it  was  due  to  the 
exceeding  abundance  of  the  highly-coloured  spores  of 
a  sea-weed  {Rhytiphhva  tinctoria).  The  colouring 
matter  of  these  spores  had  been  assimilated  by  the 
oysters,  and  retained  by  them,  the  extreme  drought 
of  the  summer  months  having  favoured  the  operation 
by  reducing  the  water  until  it  was  not  sufficient  to 
dissolve  the  colouring  matter. 

The  Spore-producing  Power  of  Fungi. — 
At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Linnean  Society,  Mr. 
Worthington  Smith  exhibited  drawings  of  Boletus 
subtome>itosus,  and  stated  that  in  a  specimen  five 
inches  in  diameter,  there  are  17,000  pores,  or  tubes. 
Each  pore  when  cut  across  shows  2,000  cells  on  the 
surface.  The  number  of  surface-cells  on  the  under 
side  of  a  specimen  is  36,000,000.  The  cells  in  ar. 
entire  plant  are  calculated  at  615,000,000,000  ;  and 
the  number  of  spores  produced  by  the  same  specimen 
are  5,000,000,000. 

Parasitic  Alg.l. — Professor  Percival  Wright  has 
described  a  new  species  of  Chytridiacea'  under  the 
name  of  Rhizophydium  Dicksonii.  It  was  found 
parasitic  in  the  cells  of  a  sea-weed  [Eetocarpus  granu- 
losus), and  it  is  believed  that  the  so-called  "  utricular  " 
fruits  of  Harvey,  and  the  "spores"  of  Kiitzing,  are, 
in  the  Eetocarpus  at  least,  in  reality  parasitic 
Chrytridia. 


Carnivorous  Slug. — No  doubt  the  slug  which 
your  correspondent  in  the  November  number  (p.  260) 
saw  feeding  on  a  worm  was  Testacella  Mangel,  of 
which  a  full  and  interesting  description  is  given  on 
page  S9  of  Science-Gossip  for  April,  1S67.  —  JV.  R. 
Tate. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


ZOOLOGY. 

The  Popular  Science  Review  commences  the 
new  year  well.  Besides  a  capital  summary  of  scien- 
tific progress,  and  many  well-written  and  very  fair 
reviews,  there  are  articles  as  follow: — "On  some 
Armour-plated  Fishes,"  by  II.  Woodward,  F.R.S.  ; 
"The  Old  and  the  New  Chemistry,"  by  M.  M. 
Pattison  Muir,  F.R.S.E.  ;  "The  Geological  An- 
tiquity of  Flowers,"  by  J.  E.  Taylor,  F.G.S.  ; 
"Cloud  Outlines,"  by  Rev.  S.  Barber,  F.M.S.  ; 
"The  Extinct  British  Wolf,"  by  J.  E.  Harting, 
F.L.S.,  &c. 

New  Australian  Marsupial. — Professor  Owen 
has  recently  described  a  new  marsupial  animal  from 
Australia,  under  the  name  of  Plcopus  nudicaudatus. 
It  is  a  small  creature,  allied  to  the  Kangaroo-rats, 
but  distinguished  by  having  the  type  number  of 
mammalian  toes  (five)  on  each  of  the  hind  feet. 

The  Furniture  Beetle. — F.  Hughes  cannot 
do  better  than  rub  the  furniture  affected  by  this  pest 
with  carbolic  acid,  and  let  the  latter  soak  into  the 
wood.  He  will  see  no  more  of  the  beetles  after 
this  treatment. — A.  Smith. 

Glyciphagus  palmifer. — I  was  staying  for  a  few 
days  at  Christinas  in  a  country  house  at  Austrey,  in 
Warwickshire,  and  one  wet  morning  it  struck  me  that 
I  would  brush  the  wall  of  the  beer-cellar,  and  have  a 
microscopical  examination  of  the  result.  I  was 
rewarded  by  finding  a  considerable  number  of  the 
extraordinary  mite  Glyciphagus  palmifer. — At  the 
time  of  the  publication  of  Mr.  Murray's  late  work  on 
theAptera  (where  this  insect  is  figured)  this  remarkable 
species  does  not  appear  to  have  been  known  as  an 
inhabitant  of  this  country,  although  Mr.  Murray 
anticipates  that  it  may  be  one.  Possibly,  therefore, 
this  may  be  the  first  instance  of  its  capture  here. — 
Albert  D.  Michael. 

The  Beaked  Whale. — In  the  last  number  of 
the  Zoologist  there  is  a  capital  description  by  Mr. 
Henry  Lee,  F.L.S.,  of  the  Beaked  Whale,  Hyperoodon 
rostratus,  killed  last  September  in  the  Menai 
Straits,  and  afterwards  publicly  exhibited  at  Bangor. 
This  species  is  one  of  the  Ziphioid  Whales,  an  inter- 
mediate group  between  theCachelotsand  the  Porpoises 
and  Dolphins  ;  and  it  is  characterised  by  having  its 
teeth  reduced  to  a  single  rudimentary  pair  at  the  tip 
of  the  lower  jaw. 

Mimicry  in  Insects. — At  a  recent  meeting  of 
the  Entomological  Society  of  London,  Prof. 
Westwood  gave  an  account  of  a  remarkable  Mantis 
(Gongylus  gonegyloides)  which  mimics  a  flower,  the 
deception  being  supposed  to  attract  the  insects  upon 
which  the  Mantis  feeds,  to  their  destruction. 

Notes  on  rare  Lf.pidoptera,  &c.  —  Referring 
to  Mr.  Molony's  note  in  October   Science-Gossip, 


on  the  occurrence  of  C.  Celerio  on  Aug.  29,  Mr. 
Stainton,  in  the  "Manual,"  gives  October  as  the 
month  for  the  perfect  insect  to  appear,  and  Mr. 
Molony  is,  therefore,  right  in  his  statement  of  its 
being  early  in  its  appearance.  It  is  a  curious  fact 
that  though  Colias  Edusa  has  positively  swarmed  on 
the  S.E.  coast  this  summer,  very  few  rare  Helice  have 
been  taken,  and  its  congener  Hyale  has  not  been  seen 
there,  but  has  occurred  quite  inland.  Mr.  S.  Machin 
took  (last  August)  a  very  fine  specimen  of  C.  Hyale'vsx  a 
wood  near  Henley,  Oxfordshire.  Last yearl find  among 
my  specimens  of  Heterocera  a  fine  one  of  Acronycta 
tridens,  taken  in  Hillgrove-road,  Avenue-road,  N.W. 
The  occurrence  of  this  species  near  London,  I  believe, 
is  unusual.  September  13th,  two  specimens  of  Edusa 
seen  in  a  street  leading  to  the  Hampstead-road  (viz., 
Frederick-street),  and  I  last  saw  it  in  Regent's  Park, 
on  September  15th.  Since  then  it  seems  to  have 
disappeared.  It  will  be  interesting  to  note  if  it  ap- 
pears again  this  year  on  any  fine,  mild  day. — R.  T. 
Gibbons. 

Plants  for  Reptile  Vivaria. — Probably  the 
only  plants  which  would  succeed  in  a  Reptile  case 
are  succulents,  such  as  Sedums  and  small  Semper- 
virjums.  These,  I  know,  will  flourish  ;  but  my  slight 
experience  tells  me  that  it  is  better  to  consider  plants 
as  entirely  secondary  objects  in  a  vivarium  of  any 
kind,  and  in  Reptile  cases  to  do  without  them  alto- 
gether. I  experience  but  little  difficulty  in  the  winter 
with  respect  to  food.  Mealworms  can  be  obtained 
from  the  miller's,  and  kept  in  barley-meal  as  long  as 
one  pleases  ;  common  earth-worms  are  also  useful ; 
while,  in  order  to  secure  flies  during  the  winter 
months,  I  place  fly-blown  meat  in  a  tightly-closed 
box,  having  bran  at  the  bottom  two  or  three  inches 
deep.  I  place  the  box  in  an  outhouse,  and  supply 
fresh  meat  twice  a  week,  till  the  worms  become 
chrysalides  or  gentles.  Then  I  remove  the  box  to 
the  coldest  part  of  the  house,  till  flies  are  required, 
which  I  can  obtain  by  taking  a  few  of  the  gentles  to 
a  warm  room  for  a  day  or  two,  so  as  to  hasten  the 
hatching  process.  Sometimes,  however,  the  flies  will 
hatch  out,  in  spite  of  all  precautions,  in  which  case 
I  keep  the  flies  in  the  same  box,  and  feed  them  with 
fruit  and  sugar  and  water.  —  IV.  T.  H.  C.  Trome. 

Badly-blown  Eggs  and  Preserving  Animals. 
— I  should  recommend  "  G.  T.  B."  to  try  a  solution 
of  carbonate  of  soda  for  dissolving  out  the  hardened 
contents  of  his  egg-shells.  He  must  take  care  to 
wash  the  inside  of  the  egg  well  with  clean  water 
after  using  the  carbonate  of  soda,  and  to  prevent  its 
coming  in  contact  with  the  outside  of  the  shell. 
"W.  G."  will  find  a  chapter  by  Mr.  Waterton  on 
preserving  insects  for  the  cabinet,  in  the  1839  edition 
of  his  "Essays  on  Natural  History,"  p.  72.  Mr. 
Waterton  also  gives  instructions  for  preserving  birds' 
eggs,  p.  65,  but  I  should  not  recommend  their  adop- 
tion.     In    a    chapter    at  the  end  of  his  celebrated 


HARD  WICKE  'S     SCIENCE-  G  OSS  IP. 


39 


"Wanderings  in  South  America"  (1S25  edition), 
Mr.  Waterton  fully  explains  his  mode  of  preserving 
birds  ;  the  process  is  very  tedious,  but  the  result,  as  I 
can  testify,  is  very  beautiful.  Both  this  process  and 
that  of  preparing  insects  would  be  too  long  to  give  an 
account  of  here. — T.  S. 

Preserving  Animals.— The  basis  of  Waterton's 
proceedings  was  the  preservation  of  his  specimens  by 
the  use  of  bichloride  of  mercury  dissolved  in  alcohol. 
This  hardens  the  skins  and  causes  them  to  retain  the 
shape  in  which  they  are  placed  when  wet  for  any 
length  of  time  :  thus  no  wires  are  necessary. 
"  W.  G."  will  find  the  whole  process  most  minutely 
described  in  "Waterton's  Essays  on  Natural  History," 
new  edition,  F.  Warne&  Co.,  price  7s.  6d. — W.  B.  R. 

Preserving  Animals.— The  late  Mr.  Waterton 
had  a  peculiar  mode  of  his  own  of  preserving  animals, 
an  account  of  which  will  be  found  in  his  life  by  Mr. 
Hobson.  It  is  not,  however,  by  any  means, 
equal  to  the  present  mode  by  a  skilful  artist  of  setting 
up  birds.  If  "  W.  G."  wants  a  ready  way,  let  him 
eviscerate  a  bird,  place  it  in  the  position  he  wants,  and 
then  fill  it  with  cotton  soaked  in  carbolic  acid 
dilute  ;  and  the  bird  will  be  preserved  for  ages.  This 
does  not  do,  however,  and  is  given  up  for  the 
skinning  process.  —  C.  R.  Bree,  M.D. 

Later  Appearance  of  the  Hirundinid/E. — 
"R."  will  be  interested  to  hear  that  I  have  in  my 
possession  the  nest  and  one  egg  of  Hirundo  rustice 
{Chimney  swallow),  which  was  taken  while  the  bird 
was  sitting ;  she  having  been  duly  watched  when 
building  in  a  cart-shed  at  Walton-on-the-Naze,  in 
December,  1S66.  See  Field,  January  12th,  1867. — 
C.  R.  Bree.  M.  D. 

Badly-blown  Eggs.— Let  "  G.  T.  B."  get  Prof. 
Newton's  little  Essay  upon  blowing  and  preserving 
birds'  eggs,  which  he  can  buy  for  a  shilling  or  so,  and  he 
will  get  all  the  information  he  wants. — C.  R.  Bree, 
M.D. 


The  "  Midland  Naturalist." — It  is  with  much 
pleasure  we  welcome  this  new  literary  labourer  into 
the  field  of  popular  science.  Like  the  Scottish  Natu- 
ralist (which  relates  chiefly  to  the  Natural  History 
of  Scotland)  and  The  Naturalist  (the  organ  of  the 
West  Riding  Natural  History  Societies),  the  Midland 
Naturalist  purposes  to  give  preference  to  local 
scientific  information,  and  to  chronicle  the  doings 
of  the  numerous  energetic  clubs  and  societies  which 
are  springing  up  in  central  England.  Among  these 
are  the  following  : — Various  societies  in  Birmingham, 
Burton,  Caradoc,  Dudley,  Derbyshire,  Leicester, 
Northampton,  Nottingham,  Rugby,  Oswestry, 
Severn  Valley,  Shropshire,  Stroud,  Tamworth,  &c. 
The  first  number  of  the  Midland  Naturalist  appeared 
on  January  1st,  and  appears  with  an  attractively 
got-up  cover  designed  by  Worthington  Smith.  It  con- 
tains well-written  articles  on  Ferns,  Meteorology, 
Zoology,  and  Geology. 


BOTANY, 

Further  Notes  on  the  Flora  near  Cader 
Idris. — Seeing  from  the  "Botanical  Notes  in  the 
Neighbourhood  of  Cader  Idris,"  and  also  from 
another  correspondent  in  the  September  number,  that 
there  are  some  of  your  readers  interested  in  the  plants 
of  that  neighbourhood,  I  should  like  to  mention  a 
few  more  to  be  found  there,  in  addition  to  those 
already  specified  : — Saxifraga  stellaris  ;  Melittis  Me- 
lissophylhtm  (bastard  balm)  ;  Impatiens  noli-me- 
tangere  (yellow  balsam) ;  Ranunculus  Lingtta  (great 
spearwort) ;  Sedum  telephium  ;  Euonymus  europaus 
(spindle  tree)  ;  Asperula  odorata  (woodruff)  ;  Ruscus 
aculeatus  (butcher's  broom)  ;  Narthecium  ossifragum 
(bog  asphodel)  ;  Myrica  Gale  (bog  myrtle) ;  Lobelia 
Dort/nanna,  found  in  Llynn  Creigenau,  and  also  in 
Llynn  Cyri,  another  lovely  little  tarn  not  far  off, 
nestling  close  in  under  the  mountain.  Nearer  to  the 
sea  I  found  Eryngium  maritimum  (sea  holly) ;  Aster 
Tripolium  (Michaelmas  daisy)';  Statice  Limonium  (sea 
lavender)  ;  Crithum  maritimum  (samphire)  ;  Silenc 
maritima  (sea  campion)  ;  Rosa  spinosissima  (burnet- 
leaved  rose)  ;  Tanacetum  vulgare  (tansy),  found  at 
Llangrwyll,  a  village  four  miles  south  of  Arthog. 
Aspleuiuni  maritimum  grows  on  the  cliffs  between 
these  two  places  ;  and  to  the  list  of  Ferns  I  can  also 
add,  having  | found  Asplenium  viride  and  Hymcno- 
phyllum  tunbridgense  on  the  Llynn  y  Gader  side  of 
Cader  Idris.  These  plants  were  found  in  the  month 
of  August,  during  a  week's  stay  at  Arthog,  a  village 
on  the  Dolgelly  side  of  the  estuaiy,  nearly  opposite 
to  Barmouth  ;  and  the  district  through  which  they 
range  is  included  in  walks  the  farthest  point  of  which 
reaches  Llynn  Gader  in  one  direction,  and  in  another 
stretching  along  the  coast  three  or  four  miles  south  of 
Arthog. — A.  Warner. 

The  Watford  Natural  History  Society. — 
The  eighth  part  of  the  "  Transactions "  of  this 
vigorous  society  contains  a  capital  paper  by  the 
Rev.  George  Henslow,  F. L. S.,  on  "The  Fertiliza- 
tion of  Plants,"  and  another  on  "Instructions  for 
taking  Meteorological  Observations,"  by  William 
Marriott,iF.M.S. 

The  Influence  of  Trees  on  Rainfall. — 
From  observations  by  M.  Fautrat,  relative  to  the 
comparative  influence  of  leafy  woods  and  resinous 
woods  on  rain  and  the  hygrometric  state  of  the  air, 
recently  communicated  to  the  Paris  Academy,  it 
appears  that  pine  forests  have  a  much  greater  influ- 
ence on  the  hygrometric  state  than  others ;  so  that  if 
the  vapours  dissolved  in  the  air  were  apparent,  like 
fogs,  we  should  see  forests  shrouded  in  a  large  screen 
of  moisture,  and  in  the  case  of  resinous  woods  the 
vapoury  envelope  would  be  more  distinct  than  in  that 
of  leafy  woods.  M.  Fautrat  also  shows  that  pines 
retain  in  their  branches  more  than  half  of  the  water 
which  is  poured  upon  them,  whereas  leafy  trees  allow 


4° 


RARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


fifty-eight  per  cent,  of  the  precipitated  water  to  reach 
the  surface  of  the  ground.  He  suggests,  therefore, 
that  in  planting  with  a  view  to  oppose  inundations,  it 
would  be  advisable  to  choose  by  preference  resinous 
trees,  as  offering  a  better  covert. 

Gentiana  acaulis  in  Wales. — As  one  of  the 

correspondents  who  felt  doubtful  as  to  the  occurrence 
of  Gentiana  acaulis  on  the  Cader,  may  I  be  allowed 
to  say  the  doubt  has  not  been  removed  ?  My  personal 
authority  about  the  Cader  is  of  little  use,  since  when, 
as  a  boy,  I  ascended  it  I  was  more  fond  of  Lepidoptera 
than  flowers,  but  I  have  a  distinct  impression  of 
seeing  a  Gentiana  there,  but  neither  acaulis  nor 
amarella,  but  campestris.  I  see  this  latter  is  included 
for  Merioneth  in  "Topographical  Botany,"  though 
Mr.  Ley  does  not  mention  it  in  his  list ;  but  as  this  list 
is  principally  of  such  plants  as  are  not  mentioned  in 
"  Topographical  Botany,"  it  does  not  follow  that  he 
failed  to  observe  it.  The  habitat  of  campestris,  as 
given  in  Hooker's  "Student's  Flora,"  is  moist, 
especially  hilly  pastures,  ascending  to  2,400  feet  in 
the  Highlands.  I  have  gathered  it  on  Ben  Lawers 
at  i,Soo  feet,  where  it  is  not  at  all  uncommon  on 
sub-Alpine  slopes,  and  though  campestris  is  very 
unlike  acaulis,  yet  I  would  respectfully  suggest  if  this 
might  not  be  the  gentian  that  was  noticed  ;*  anyhow 
the  discussion  will  probably  lead  to  a  more  thorough 
search  of  the  Cader  shortly  by  some  of  your  readers. 
—  G.  C.  Druce. 

Worms  in  Flower-pots. — These  can  always  be 
got  rid  of  by  watering  the  plants  with  a  solution  to 
which  a  tenth  part  of  grated  horse-chestnut  has  been 
added. 

Wild  Cherry-tree  {Primus  avium). — As  some 
notice  has  lately  been  taken  of  the  size  of  this  tree, 
I  beg  to  report  one  as  at  present  existing  within  a 
field  of  my  farm,  which  presents  the  following 
proportions  : — 

2  feet  from  the  ground,  21  feet  circumference. 

3  IJ  5)  15  )) 

6  >,  ,,  21  „ 

10  „  „  I9'6 

12  feet  up  to  the  bifurcation  of  the  branches. 
This  grand  tree  was  first  shown  me  by  my  friend 
Mr.  E.  Lees,  when  it  was  in  fruit.  Since  then  the 
hurricane  of  the  14th  October  has  swept  away  its 
principal  arm.  I  figured  it  or.  the  5th  of  November 
of  the  present  year. — J.B.,  Bradford  Abbas. 

British  Marine  Ai.o.l. — A  correspondent  of 
mine,  resident  in  St.  Helier's,  Channel  Islands, 
writes  me  that  a  short  time  since,  a  considerable 
number  of  the  singular  sea-weed  Gigartina  Teeaii, 
had  there  been  washed  ashore,  some  of  the  specimens 
very  fine,  and  a  few  of  them  fertile  ;  this  plant  has 
not  been  discovered  on  any  of  the  British  shores  for 

*  I  see  the  authority  upon  which  acautis  figured  in  Smith's 
Botany  is  that  of  Moris,  de  St.  Amans,  who  found  it  near 
Haverford-w  est,  where,  without  doubt,  it  was  a  garden  escape. 


upwards  of  fifty  years.  I  have  received  a  few  of 
these  specimens  also  from  the  French  coast,  and 
believe  it  to  be  tolerably  abundant  on  the  coast  of 
Normandy,  and  southwards  along  the  west  shores. 
I  last  year  visited  Weymouth,  and  there  on  the  sands 
picked  up  a  few  very  interesting  specimens  of  Gigar- 
tina pistillata  in  fruit,  and  also  found  two  or  three 
fronds  in  very  bold  form  of  Graceolaria  compressa. 
From  that  town  I  proceeded  to  Bournemouth,  and 
was  there  fortunate  in  discovering  two  specimens  of 
Dasya  pumicea,  which  appears  to  have  been  absent 
from  our  waters  for  some  years.  The  shore  of 
Torpoint,  Plymouth,  is  very  celebrated  for  receiving 
from  its  adjacent  waters  many  very  beautiful  sea- 
weeds ;  amongst  its  number  I  last  year  found  in  some 
abundance  the  very  pretty  weed  Niliphyllum  Tliy- 
sanorhizans,  some  of  the  specimens  in  fruit.  I  also 
found  it  in  the  same  locality  in  the  year  1S73,  and  in 
fruit,  and  the  somewhat  scarce  plant  Dudrisina  dudri- 
snagra  also  came  before  me  on  the  same  shore. — 
//.  G. 

AsrLENiUM  Sei'TENTrioxale. — I  can  confirm 
what  your  correspondent,  Mr.  Belt,  says  as  to  Aspic- 
niton  Septenttionale  being  found  near  Uolgelly  ;  my 
friend  Mr.  Rose,  of  Gorton,  and  I  saw  it  growing 
there  in  the  summer  of  1874  (but  sparingly),  and 
we  did  not  even  bring  a  frond  away. — T.  Brittain. 

Solanum  Dulcamara. — My  impression,  after 
reading  a  great  many  articles  about  this  plant,  is 
that  the  bulk  of  evidence  points  to  the  berries  as 
being  innocuous,  or  nearly  so.  In  Pereira  "Materia 
Medica "  (edited  by  Bentley  and  Redwood),  the 
following  account  of  the  properties  of  this  plant  is 
given: — -"Physiological  Effects,  not  very  obvious. 
It  is  reputed  to  operate  as  a  diaphoretic,  diuretic, 
and  demulcent,  and  in  overdoses  as  an  acro-nar- 
cotic  ;  but  many  have  given  the  fruit  and  prepara- 
tions of  the  young  branches  in  very  large  doses, 
without  any  obvious  effects."  The  dried  young 
branches  are  used  in  medicine,  and  used  very 
seldom  in  comparison  with  other  medicines.  I  can 
practically  say  that  it  is  very  rarely  prescribed  in 
this  neighbourhood,  and  why  ?  Because  of  its  un- 
observed effects.  The  following  is  an  extract  from 
Bentley's  "Botany": — "A  fatal  case  of  poisoning 
by  the  berries  has  occurred  at  Toulouse."  Why  do 
we  not  hear  more  of  their  toxicological  effects,  when 
so  many  of  our  damp  hedges  are  so  profusely 
adorned  with  their  tempting  berries? — William  West, 
Bradford. 


GEOLOGY, 

Geology  of   Colorado    and   the  Adjacent 

Territories. — We  have  received   a   copy    of    the 

I   ninth  annual  report  of  the  United  States  Geological 

I   and  Geographical  Survey  of  the  above  country,   in 


HARD  JVICKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  OSS  I  P. 


4i 


which  is  contained  a  copious  report  of  the  progress 
of  the  exploration  for  the  year  1875,  written  by 
Dr.  F.  V.  Ilayden.  The  volume  is  attractive, 
although  bulky,  and  is  copiously  illustrated  by  maps 
and  sections.  A  zoological  appendix  furnishes  us  with 
the  new  discoveries  concerning  the  wild  animals  and 
insects  of  the  districts  surveyed  ;  and  this  part  is  also 
abundantly  illustrated  with  plates.  The  generosity 
of  the  United  States  Government  in  supplying  foreign 
men  of  science  with  numerous  copies  of  their  scientific 
books  is  in  strong  contrast  with  the  niggardliness  with 
which  our  own  Geological  Survey  publications  are 
dribbled  out. 

The  Solitaire. — In  the  Annals  and  Magazine 
vf  Natural  History,  Prof.  Owen  gives  a  lengthy  de- 
scription of  this  extinct  bird,  based  on  the  remains 
brought  home  from  the  island  of  Rodriguez  during 
the  Venus  Transit  expedition.  The  Solitaire 
{Pezophaps  solitaria,  Strkl.)  was  a  huge  ground-dove, 
about  three  feet  long,  whose  wings  gradually  became 
aborted  until  it  could  no  longer  fly.  The  absence  of 
any  extirpating  enemies  (until  man  appeared),  and 
the  presence  of  abundant  food,  enabled  the  Solitaire 
to  acquire  its  great  size. 

The  Geologists'  Association. — Besides  some 
well-written  and  profitable  descriptions  of  several 
visits  made  by  the  members  of  this  association  to 
the  Crag  districts  of  Suffolk  ;  Grays,  Essex  ;  Leices- 
tershire ;  to  Caterham,  Godstone,  Tilburstow, 
Nutfield,  Hampstead,  Guildford,  and  Derbyshire, 
the  last  two  parts  of  their  "  Proceedings  "  contain 
papers  by  the  Rev.  J.  F.  Blake,  on  "The  Restora- 
tion of  Extinct  Animals";  "On  the  Geology  of 
Leicestershire,"  by  W.  J.  Harrison,  F.G. S.  ;  "On 
the  Flints  of  the  Chalk  of  Yorkshire,"  by  J.  H. 
Mortimer,  F.G.S.  ;  on  "  The  Forms  of  the  Genus 
jlficraster,"  by  C.  Evans,  F.G.S.  ;  the  "  Geology  of 
the  Eastern  portion  of  the  Banbury  and  Cheltenham 
Direct  Railway,"  by  T.  Beesley,  F.C.S.,  &c. 

"  Fur-bearing  Animals  "  is  the  title  of  a  mono- 
graph by  Dr.  Elliott  Coues  on  the  North  American 
MnstelidiE,  and  is  published  as  one  of  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey  works.  It  gives  a  detailed  account 
of  the  Wolverine,  theMartens  or  Sables,  Ermine,  Minx, 
and  various  other  kinds  of  Weasels ;  of  several  species 
of  Skunks,  of  the  Badger,  Sea-otter,  Land-otter, 
and  allies  of  these  animals.  This  compact  and  handy 
volume  is  illustrated  with  sixty  figures  on  twenty 
plates.  It  is  published  by  the  Government  Printing 
Office,  Washington,  U.S. 

The  Huge  Fossil  Bird  from  Sheppey. — At  a 
recent  meeting  of  the  Geological  Society  of  London, 
Prof.  Owen  described  some  remains  of  a  large  bird 
obtained  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Shrubsole  from  the  London 
Clay  of  Sheppey,  consisting  of  parts  of  fractured 
humeri  belonging  to  the  right  and  left  sides  of  the 
same  species,  or  perhaps  individual,  and  including  the 


head  of  the  bone,  with  portions  of  the  upper  and 
lower  parts  of  the  shaft.  The  texture  of  the  shaft. 
the  thinness  of  its  bony  wall,  and  the  large  size  of  the 
cavity,  recall  the  characters  of  the  wing-bones  of  the 
large  Cretaceous  Pterodactyles.  The  author  indicated 
the  characters  which  led  him  to  regard  the  remains 
under  consideration  as  those  of  a  volant  bird,  most 
nearly  approaching  the  genera  Pelecanus  and  Dio- 
inedca  ;  and  as  the  evidence  derived  from  the  cranium 
of  Dasornis  would  indicate  a  bird  too  large  to  be  up- 
borne by  wings  to  which  these  bones  might  have  be- 
longed, whilst  the  skull  of  Odontopteryx  is  far  too  small 
to  have  formed  part  of  a  bird  with  wings  as  large  as 
those  of  the  Albatross,— and  Lit/iomisand  Pelargornis 
are  excluded  by  the  characters  of  their  remains,  the 
author  concluded  that  the  bones  obtained  by  Mr. 
Shrubsole  furnished  indications  of  a  new  genus  and 
species  of  flying  birds,  for  which  he  proposed  the 
name  of  Argillornis  longipennis.  He  regarded  it  as 
probably  a  long-winged  natatorial  bird,  most  nearly 
related  to  Diomedea,  but  considerably  exceeding  the 
Albatross  {D.  exulans)  in  size. 

Geological  History  of  the  Deer  Family. — 
At  the  same  meeting  Prof.  Boyd  Dawkins  gave  an 
outline  of  the  history  of  Deer  during  the  Miocene 
and  Pliocene  periods.  He  said  the  majority  of  known 
antlers  could  be  referred  to  two  types, — an  earlier  or 
capreoline,  and  a  later  or  axidine.  In  the  Middle 
Miocene  period  the  cervine  antler  consisted  of  a 
simply  forked  crown.  In  the  Upper  Miocene  it  had 
become  more  complex.  In  the  Pliocene  it  had  become 
still  more  complex  and  complicated  ;  and  in  this  respect 
the  development  of  antlers  in  time  represented  that 
in  age  of  the  same  individual.  The  nearest  living 
analogue  of  the  Miocene  Deer  is,  according  to  the 
antler,  the  Muntjak  [Styloceros),  now  found  only  in 
the  oriental  region  of  Asia,  along  with  the  Tapir,  which 
also  coexisted  with  Ccrvits  dicranoceros  in  the  Miocene 
forests  of  Germany.  The  Pliocene  Deer,  again,  are 
generally  most  nearly  allied  to  the  oriental  Axis  and 
Rusa  Deer,  the  only  exception  being  Ccn'us  aisanus, 
the  antlers  of  which  resemble  those  of  the  Roe,  an 
animal  widely  spread  over  Europe  and  Northern  and 
Central  Asia.  The  alliance  of  these  Pliocene  Deer 
with  those  now  living  in  the  Indian  region  is  regarded 
by  the  author  as  a  further  proof  of  the  warm  climate 
of  Europe  in  Miocene  times,  confirmatory  of  the 
conclusions  arrived  at  by  Saporta  from  the  study  of 
the  vegetation. 

The  Fossil  Fungus. — In  the  December  number 
of  the  Science-Gossip  is  a  reprint  of  a  paper  on 
a  fossil  fungus,  in  which  Mr.  G.  W.  Smith  is  repre- 
sented as  the  discoverer.  My  knowledge  of  this 
particular  fungus  induces  me  to  dispute  his  claim  to 
its  discovery.  In  the  first  place,  the  section  from 
which  he  has  sketched  the  figures  to  illustrate  his 
paper  came  from  my  own  cabinet.  In  the  second 
place,    I    read    a  short    paper    before  the  Scientific 


42 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSI  P. 


Students'  Association,  Manchester,  during  the  session 
of  1874-5,  on  tms  furiSus)  which  was  identified  by  one 
of  the  members  of  that  society  as  Peronosporites.  No 
record  of  this  discovery  was  made  at  the  time, 
except  in  the  minutes  of  the  Society.  After  reading 
the  above  paper,  I  put  a  section  of  this  fungus 
(among  other  sections),  in  the  hands  of  my  friend, 
Mr.  Young,  for  his  own  cabinet,  and  he  casually 
showed  it  to  Mr.  Carruthers  and  Mr.  Smith,  which 
resulted  in  Mr.  Smith's  paper.  This  is  one  instance 
among  many  of  the  necessity  of  more  permanent 
record  being  made  in  some  leading  journal  of  the 
work  of  our  country  societies. — John  Butterworth, 
'Goats  Shaw,  Oldham. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES, 

British  Snakes. — Is  there  any  evidence  of  our 
English  snake  feeding  upon  birds  or  field-mice,  or, 
indeed,  anything  but  frogs  and  toads  ?  I  have  kept 
many  snakes  (Natrix  torquata),  and  have  only  twice 
seen  them  consent  to  swallow  toads,  and  that  was 
during  very  hot  weather,  when  their  appetite  was 
excited  by  the  high  temperature  of  a  melon-frame,  in 
which  they  were  kept.  Most  snakes  (I  am  now 
referring  only  to  our  native  species)  will  prefer 
starving  to  death,  according  to  my  observation  and 
that  of  many  of  my  friends,  to  partaking  of  any  other 
food  than  frogs,  though  it  is  said  in  many  books  that 
they  will  eat  mice  and  birds.- — A.  R. 

Venomous  Reptiles  of  Ireland.— Can  any 
reader  of  Science-Gossip  give  me  information  re- 
specting the  venomous  reptiles  of  Ireland?  Having 
explored  the  counties  of  Dublin  and  Wicklow,  I  was 
much  struck  at  never  coming  across  any  such  reptile, 
although  in  so  many  spots  where  one  would  expect 
to  find  them — ruins,  river-banks  covered  with  thick 
undergrowth,  and  deeply-secluded  dells.  Can  any 
reader  inform  me  if  this  is  the  case  throughout  the 
isle,  or  how  to  account  for  the  lack  in  these  parts  ? 
Has  climate  or  soil  anything  to  do  with  it  (casting 
aside,  of  course,  the  popular  legend  of  St.  Kevin 
having  banished  them  to  Glendalough)  ?  —  S.  E. 
Bennett,  St.  Hildred's. 

Pertinacity  of  the  Hawk. — On  the'soth  of 
September   last    I    was    staying   with    the  family  of 
Colonel   C,    and,    while   they   were    at    church,    a 
hawk  flew  into  Mrs.  C.'s  bedroom,  attracted  by  her 
bulfinch    and   her   linnet,    each    sunning   itself  in  a 
separate  cage.     How  long  the    intruder  kept   these 
poor  birds  in  agonizing  terror  no  one  can  precisely 
state ;  the  maid,  who  first  entered  the  room,  chased 
the  enemy  away,  and  informed  her  lady  of  the  un- 
welcome visitor.      Mrs.    C.    rushed    up-stairs  to  the 
cages  of  her  pets,  and  found  them  both  greatly  dis- 
turbed :  they  approached  her,  and  with  eloquent  eyes 
and   various    expressive    gestures,    made    her  under- 
stand how  terribly  they  had  been  frightened  by  the 
appearance  of  a  bird  of  prey.     Nothing  could  prove 
this    to    a   greater   certainty    than    the   loss  of  their 
feathers,    which  lay   scattered  in  their   cages.     The 
bulfinch  dropped  nine  feathers  from  his  tail,  and  the 
linnet  seven.     These  feathers  were  carefully  wrapped 
up  in  silver  paper  and  put  into  a  box,  as  a  memento  of 
that  Sunday.     The  wretched  culprit  flew  to  an  op- 
posite tree,  where  he  was  watched  by  the  stablemen, 
till  they  saw  him  fly  again  into  the  tempting  room, 
evidently  determined  to  make  a  good  Sunday's  meal 


of  the  plump  little  birds,  but  there  the  villain  met 
with  his  due.  Somebody  disturbed  him,  out  he  flew, 
and,  clumsily,  like  a  burglar  who  is  caught  in  the 
fact,  knocked  himself  against  the  window,  blooded  it 
all  over,  and  disappeared,  to  be  seen  no  more.  The 
hawk  could  not  have  got  to  these  birds,  the  wires  were 
so  close. — E.  A.  I  J'. 

Query  as  to  Watercress. — The  plant  referred 
to  by  Chateaubriand  is  the  great  water-radish  (Nas- 
turtium amphibiwn),  a  plant  which  increases  rapidly 
by  stolons.     Sir  James  E.  Smith  ("English  Flora," 
vol.   iii.   p.   195)  writes  :   "This  plant  is  noticed  by 
the  celebrated   M.   Chateaubriand  in  his  account  of 
England,  for  its  wonderful  powers  of  increase  by  the 
root.      He  observed  it  in  the  river  near  Beccles,  where 
he  long  resided  as  an  emigrant,  and  his  rather  florid 
description  has  excited  wonder  and  curiosity  in  many 
who  daily,  perhaps,  pass  over,  without  regard,  several 
no  less  interesting  works  of  their  Creator."     I  should 
doubt  whether  the  peculiar  method    of  progression 
described  by  M.    Chateaubriand  is  the   usual  habit 
either  of  this  or  any  other  plant,   and   I   have   cer- 
tainly never  observed  it  myself,  though  I  have  long 
been  familiar  with  this  species  of  cress  ;  nevertheless 
I  have  no  doubt  that  M.  Chateaubriand  accurately 
related  what    he  himself  saw,  as  it  is  exactly  what 
mio-ht  very  easily  occur  if  the  bottom  were  disturbed 
by  an  oar  or  punt-pole. — F.   V.  P. 

Caves  in  Somersetshire. — Can  any  readers  of 
Science-Gossip  give  me  any  information  as  to  the 
caves  of  Somersetshire,  especially  those  of  the 
Mendip  range,  in  Barrington  Combe  ?  On  an 
elevated  spot,  known  as  Dolbury  Camp,  there  is 
a  curious  inclosure  of  fallen  stones  and  earthworks, 
in  the  centre  of  which  is  a'  deep  pit,  of  such  a 
depth  that  one  cannot  from  the  mouth  see  the 
bottom.  Can  this  have  been  a  well  for  the  garrison, 
or  an  artificial  shaft  for  mining,  or  even  a  natural 
cave?  Any  information  on  this  subject  will  be 
gratefully  received,  as  I  have  ineffectually  tried  to 
gather  explanation  for  some  time  past. — Somersu.'a. 

A  Feline  Nurse.— Calling  at  a  farm-house  the 
other  day,  I  was  told  I  was  just  a  day  too  late  to 
see  a  very  wonderful  sight — a  cat  nursing  some 
little  chicks.  It  appears  the  cat  had  a  family  of 
dead  kittens  a  few  days  before,  and  the  same 
morning  some  five  or  six  chicks  were  hatched  ;  as 
there  were  others  to  come  out,  the  lady  of  the 
house  took  the  just  hatched  chicks  into  the  house  till 
all  were  hatched,  and  placed  them  before  the  fire 
in  the  sitting-room,  or,  as  we  say  here,  the  "keeping 
room."  Pussy,  greatly  to  the  horror  of  the  good 
lady  of  the  house,  took  a  great  fancy  to  them,  and 
could  not  be  kept  away  from  them.  Wishing  to 
see  what  would  take  place,  the  owner  allowed  her 
to  come  near,  when  she  began  to  stroke  them  down 
with  her  paw  in  the  most  affectionate  and  tender 
manner,  and,  after  a  while,  lying  down,  gathered 
them  well  under  her.  There  she  lay  all  the  day  ; 
in  the  evening  they  were  taken  from  her,  but  next 
day  she  did  the  same ;  but  the  third  day,  fearful  of 
accidents,  they  were  taken  away  from  her  and  put 
under  their  proper  mother,  who  had  now  hatched 
out  her  whole  brood.  I  wonder  what  pussy  would 
have  done  with  them. — Gobbs. 

Entomological  and  Botanical  Localities. — 
Can  any  of  your  correspondents  tell  me  exactly 
where  the  following  places  in  Berks  and  Oxon 
are  :_Shotover  Hill,  Winchwood  Forest,  Cowley, 
Combury  Quarry,  Sunninghill  Wells,  and  Bagley 
Wood  ?      I    have    seen    it    mentioned   that    various 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


43 


insects  and  plants  are  to  be  found  in  these  localities, 
and  shall  be  obliged  to  any  one  who  will  give  me  the 
required  information. — H.  Morton. 

Nesting  of  Missel  Thrush. — Can  any  reader 
of  Science-Gossip  tell  me  whether  it  is  rare  or 
not  for  the  Missel  Thrush  ( Tardus  viscivorits)  to 
build  its  nest  on  the  tops  of  walls  ?  I  found  a  nest 
in  May,  1S72,  on  the  top  of  a  wall, — it  had  four  eggs 
in  it,  and  the  female  was  sitting  on  it ;  and  another 
in  May,  1876. — Jas.  Iugleby. 

Blackbird  and  Thrush. — About  the  middle  of 
April,  hunting  round  the  garden,  I  found  a  nest 
nearly  finished,  which  I  thought  belonged  to  a  black- 
bird, though  I  could  not  catch  sight  of  the  female 
bird.  Two  days  after,  looking  into  the  nest,  I  found 
four  eggs,  all  just  like  a  blackbird's,  except  that  one 
egg  had  the  deep  claret  markings  of  a  thrush  :  the 
female  being  still  very  wary,  had  flown  away  before 
I  could  see  her.  Two  or  three  days  after  I  again 
visited  the  nest,  and  found  that  the  bird  sitting  was  a 
thrush ;  she  was  then  very  tame,  and,  showing  no 
signs  of  fear,  let  me  watch  her,  standing  within  a 
few  feet  of  her  nest.  The  last  week  in  April  the 
eggs  were  hatched.  I  was  unable  to  watch  her  again 
for  about  ten  days,  when,  to  my  regret,  I  found 
that  only  one  young  bird  remained  ;  the  old  bird  was 
then  very  restless,  flying  round  and  round  her  nest, 
but  never  going  more  than  ten  yards  from  it,  and 
uttering  incessantly  a  single  low  plaintive  note.  I 
had  then  ample  opportunity  of  watching  her,  aud  can 
state  with  certainty  that  it  was  a  song-thrush  ( Tardus 
mitsicus).  As  soon  as  the  young  bird  could  fly  at 
all,  both  the  mother  and  her  offspring  disappeared. 
The  blackbird  was  not  nearly  so  assiduous  in  the 
welfare  of  the  young  one  as  its  mate,  and  I  cannot 
see  why  it  should  mate  with  a  thrush  when  there 
are  plenty  of  blackbirds  all  round  us. — G.  T.  B. 

Blackbird  or  Thrush. — In  the  November  num- 
ber of  Science-Gossip  I  saw  a  notice,  by  "G.  T.  B.," 
of  Blackbird  and  Thrush.  I  have  taken,  at  several 
places,  nests  built  like  a  blackbird's,  but  at  the  top  of 
a  high  fir  generally  (while  blackbirds  build  near  the 
ground),  containing  eggs  like  a  thrush's,  but  instead  of 
black  spots,  a  few  pale  reddish  ones.  The  nests  were 
lined  with  hay,  not  mud,  as  a  thrush's,  surrounded 
outside  with  coarse  pieces  of  stick  and  bits  of  fir  or 
grass.  I  have  never  seen  the  old  birds,  but  I  have 
named  them  in  my  cabinet  as  produced  by  the  mat- 
ing of  a  blackbird  and  thrush. — S.  S.  B.,  Bradford 
Abbas. 

Birds'  Eggs. — In  your  number  for  September  last 
a  correspondent  gives  a  few  reasons  for  "  birdnesting," 
which  I  think  are  open  to  the  following  objections. 
To  take  them  in  order  : — 1.  Is  it  necessary  that,  to 
obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  situation  and  materials  of 
a  bird's  nest,  the  eggs  need  be  taken  ?  Would  not  a 
note,  made  on  the  spot,  of  the  nest,  its  contents, 
position,  &c,  without  disturbing  the  eggs,  be  more 
to  the  point  ?  2.  With  respect  to  the  many  people 
who  take  their  only  knowledge  of  ornithology  from 
the  robbing  of  nests,  I  may  venture  to  assert  that,  as 
far  as  my  knowledge  goes,  three  out  of  four  such 
collectors  take  little  or  no  interest  in  the  birds  them- 
selves ;  in  some  cases  not  even  in  the  nest,  the  eggs 
being  all  they  look  or  care  for.  And  of  how  much 
value  to  science  is  the  knowledge  they  thus  acquire  ? 
3.  There  is  certainly  a  great  difference  between  taking 
the  eggs  of  domestic  poultry  and  those  of  wild  birds, 
for  in  the  former,  domestication  seems  to  have  almost 
eradicated  their  natural  feelings  (though  even  in  them 
there  is  some  trace  left,  as  is  shown  by  their  some- 


times concealing  their  eggs  as  much  as  possible, 
laying  in  out-of-the-way  holes  and  comers),  but  thai 
pain  is  thus  given  to  wild  birds,  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  after  one  has  heard  the  painful  twitter  of  the 
parent-bird  whose  nest  is  disturbed.  4.  That  the 
taking  of  their  eggs  is  necessary  to  keep  the  com- 
moner species  within  bounds,  I  fail  to  see.  In  the 
first  place,  if  there  were  any  fear  of  their  becoming  too 
numerous,  why  should  an  Act  of  Parliament  have 
been  passed  to  check  this  "practice"?  On  the 
other  hand,  is  there  not  a  fear  of  causing  the  rarer 
species  to  become  extinct,  for  it  is  on  them  that  the 
brunt  of  this  "practice  "  falls  ?  How  many  are  there, 
even  of  those  who  call  themselves  collectors,  or 
oologists,  who  only  take  what  rare  eggs  they  really 
require  for  their  own  cabinets?  How  many  resist  the 
temptation  to  take  all  the  very  rare  ones  they  find, 
when  they  are  so  easily  exchanged,  or  when  a  friend 
would  ■  be  so  pleased  to  accept  them  ?  Of  course 
there  are  some  who  do,  but  I  am  afraid  they  are 
sadly  outnumbered  by  those  who  do  not,  as  reference 
to  your  Exchange  column  any  month  will  show.  But 
those  of  the  commoner  kinds  are  neither  saleable  nor 
exchangeable,  and  therefore  remain  comparatively 
unmolested,  except  by  the  veritable  nest-robber  ;  and 
the  rarer  a  bird  becomes,  the  more  are  its  eggs  sought 
after.  Another  of  your  correspondents  reminds  Mr. 
Van  Dyck  that  there  is  a  law  which  prevents  the 
shooting  of  many  birds  during  the  time  of  their  stay 
with  us.  May  I  be  allowed  to  remind  him  that  there 
is  also  another,  to  prevent  the  robbing  of  their  nests  ? 
As  to  the  "fond  remembrances  of  bygone  days"  on 
which  he  lays  such  stress,  could  not  they  be  brought 
to  the  mind  just  as  vividly  by  looking  through  the 
note-book,  the  companion  of  such  rambles  (he 
accuses  Mr.  Van  Dyck  of  a  crib  :  may  I  ask  him  if  he 
has  not  read  the  paper  on  "  Birds'  Egg>  "  in  "  Notes 
On  Collecting  and  Preserving  Natural  History 
Objects"?),  and  would  not  the  pleasure  of  searching 
out  the  nest  be  rather  heightened  than  otherwise  by 
leaving  the  eggs ;  for  he  is  hard-hearted  indeed  in 
whom  the  plaintive  notes  of  the  mother-bird  raise  no 
touch  of  feeling  akin  to  remorse  ?  Then  we  are  told 
that  alter  a  "few  years'  "  earnest  collecting  (it  would 
be  interesting  to  know  how  many  eggs  are  usually 
destroyed  in  a  few  such  years)  most  "collectors" 
are  able  to  give  "not  only  the  name  of  the  bird," 
but  an  account  of  its  habits,  &c,  with  a  "number 
of  interesting  facts  " ;  but,  as  before  mentioned,  I 
fail  to  see  that  it  is  at  all  necessary  to  rob  the  nest 
of  its  eggs  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  these  "interesting 
facts, "  and  if  it  were,  to  use  a  French  expression,  is 
"  the  game  worth  the  candle"  ?  In  short,  I  do  not 
see  that  in  ninety  cases  out  of  a  hundred  any  object 
is  gained  by  breaking  the  laws  of  the  land  in  this 
particular,  and  cordially  agree  with  the  Editor  in 
wishing  that  all  Natural  History  societies  would 
follow  the  good  example  set  by  the  Woolhope  Club. 
— L.  W.  G. 

Singular  Affection  of  a  Hen. — We  had  a 
hen,  of  the  barndoor  or  common  fowl  breed,  say 
about  two  years  old,  which  we  purchased,  with 
another  from  the  same  brood,  from  a  farmer  in  this 
neighbourhood  some  months  ago.  It  was  observed 
that  the  hen's  eyesight  was  dim  when  we  first  had 
her,  but  after  a  few  weeks  the  sight  seemed  to  leave 
her  altogether,  and  of  course  total  blindness  followed. 
The  fowl  was  fed  by  placing  her  food  immediately 
under  or  close  to  her,  and  she  picked  up  sufficient  to 
sustain  life.  The  other  fowls  seemed  to  take  excep- 
tion at  the  blind  hen's  company,  and  each  one,  with 
one  exception,  constantly  attacked  her.  The  curious 
part   of  the   thing  was,    that  the  sister  of  the  blind 


44 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


hen  (previously  mentioned)  had  chickens,  and  as  soon 
as  she  returned  at  night  with  her  young  brood  (four),  the 
blind  hen  was  called  by  the  sister,  and  shared  the  pro- 
tection with  the  little  chicks,  i.e.  under  the  wing  of 
their  mother.  This  continued  for  two  or  three  weeks, 
or  until  some  ten  days  ago,  when  a  carrion  crow, 
while  making  a  predatory  visit  to  the  precincts  of  the 
farm,  observed  the  helpless  condition  of  our  blind 
pet,  and  made  an  attack  upon  her,  and  before  any 
assistance  could  be  rendered,  killed  and  devoured 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  body.  We,  as  you  may 
imagine,  were  full  of  sorrow  for  our  loss. — P. 
Donaldson,  Goytrey,  Monmouthshire. 

"Fairy-flax." — In  the  September  number  of 
Science-Gossip,  No.  153,  p.  194,  Mr.  Robert  Hol- 
land speaks  of  the  amazing  undergrowth  of  fairy-flax. 
What  plant  is  known  under  this  name  ? — E.  L.  R. 

Predatory  Slug.— This  may  have  been  Testacella 
haliotoidea,  a  species  known  to  live  on  earthworms  ; 
but  usually  subterranean  in  its  habits.  It  may  easily 
be  distinguished  from  the  common  slugs  by  the 
following  characters  :  the  body  increases  in  size  like 
that  of  a  leech,  from  the  head  to  the  posterior  end, 
which  terminates  abruptly  ;  and  bears  a  small  external 
shell ;  it  is  very  tough,  and  of  a  yellow-grey  colour, 
with  grooved  lines  along  the  side  of  the  body.  The 
common  slugs,  Limax  and  Avion,  are,  however,  not 
only  carnivorous,  but  cannibals.  After  slaughtering 
one  of  these  garden  pests,  I  have  often  found  in  the 
evening  two  or  three  more  feasting  on  the  body  of 
their  late  comrade.  Slugs  and  snails,  as  Mr.  Slater 
remarks,  seem  to  be  unaffected  by  vegetable  poisons  ; 
indeed,  the  poisonous  Solanacece,  as  Atropa  Bella- 
donna, seem  specially  attractive  to  them.  This, 
however,  is  less  remarkable  when  we  remember  that 
the  rabbit,  an  animal  much  higher  in  the  scale  of  life 
than  the  snail,  can  eat  any  quantity  of  Belladonna 
with  impunity. — H.  F.  Parsons. 

Is  THE  LEMMING  rOUNI)  IN  ENGLAND  ? — Is  it  not 

very  likely  that  the  holes  referred  to,  under  this 
heading  in  Science-Gossip,  No.  152,  p.  189,  were 
made  by  the  common  Shrew  (Sorex  araneus,  Bell), 
which  it  is  well  known  makes  large  superficial 
burrows  in  the  earth  ?  The  fact  of  its  being  on  such 
high  ground  is  probably  accounted  for  by  the  increase 
of  its  great  enemy,  man,  in  the  valleys  below.  The 
size  of  their  burrows  would  be  about  an  inch  in 
diameter. — S.  T. 

Fructification  of  Sycamore  (No.  155,  p.  257). 
— Mr.  W.  E.  Green  has,  I  think,  scarcely  appreciated 
my  difficulty  in  accounting  for  the  increased  number 
of  winged  seeds  in  so  many  sycamore  fruits.  With  us 
in  the  north,  although  sycamores,  hollies,  nuts,  and 
some  few  other  trees  and  shrubs  have  produced  large 
quantities  of  fruit,  it  has  decidedly  been  an  unfruitful 
year.  We  have  had  no  apples,  pears,  or  plums,  and 
very  few  cherries  ;  no  acorns,  very  few  ash-keys,  and 
scarcely  any  haws  ;  therefore,  I  do  not  think  the 
phenomenon  can  be  accounted  for  by  supposing  that 
the  season  has  been  a  particularly  fruitful  one,  which 
really  means  that  the  weather  was  suitable,  or  the 
insects  numerous  enough  during  flower-time  for  the 
fertilization  of  existing  germs,  or  sunny  enough  for 
the  full  and  perfect  development  of  fertilized  germs. 
If  sycamore  flowers  usually  contained  several  pistils, 
one  only,  as  in  the  Nut,  coming  to  maturity,  or  even 
the  rudiments  of  several  pistils,  one  could  readily 
understand  that  congenial  weather  might  cause  those 
already  existing,  though  rudimentary  organs,  to  be 
developed  and  to  reach  maturity  ;  but  this  is  not  the 
case.     The  flower  of  the  sycamore  does  not  contain, 


under  ordinary  circumstances,  even  the  rudiments  of 
several  pistils.  No  doubt,  as  Mr.  Green  suggests,  an 
unusually  mild  winter  might  cause  great  changes  in 
the  growth  of  plants,  but  the  tendency  of  a  mild  win- 
ter is  to  produce  rather  a  scanty  crop,  partly  by  the 
blossom  opening  too  soon,  and  partly  by  the  time  of 
rest  for  the  tree  not  being  sufficiently  prolonged  ;  and 
I  suspect  the  cause  is  more  remote.  The  weather  of 
the  present  year  could  hardly  have  caused  the  forma- 
tion of  new  organs  ;  the  mildness  of  last  winter  may 
have  had  some  peculiar  effect,  but  it  is  perhaps  more 
probable,  if  weather  has  had  anything  to  do  with  it, 
that  there  was  some  specially  congenial  weather  dur- 

i  ing  the  summer  or  autumn  of  1876  which  induced 
such  a  complete  ripening  of  the  wood  that  it  caused 
the  sycamore-trees  to  start  with  unusual  vigour  in  the 
spring  of  this  year,  and  that  organs  were  thereby  pro- 

I  duced  which,  had  the  trees  been  somewhat  less 
vigorous,  would  have  been  entirely  suppressed. — 
Robert  Holland,  Norton  Hill,  Runcorn. 

The  Tyrian  Dye. — Your  correspondent  "  B." 
(see  No.  155,  p.  260)  is  evidently  unaware  that  this 
celebrated  dye  was  of  a  crimson  hue,  or  he  would  not 

1  have  imagined  that  it  might  have  been  extracted  from 
Leptoclinium  punctatum,     "because  when  put  into 

I  water,  it  (Z.  pnncta/itm)  stained  the  water  of  a  blue 
colour."  The  word  purpureas,  whence  the  English 
purple,  signifies   "bright  red,"  as  Digitalis  purpurea, 

j    the  Foxglove.    The  present  corrupt  use  of  the  word 

;  purple  to  signify  a  shade  of  blue  is  quite  recent.  Has 
"  B."  never  read  Izaak  Walton's  lines  on  fishing,  in 

.  which  he  mentions  the  common  perch,  with  its  "  fins 
of  Tyrian  dye"?—  W.  R.  Tate,  Blandford,  Dorset. 

A  Curiosity  .—I  have  in  my  possession  a  Hindoo 
or  Burmese  sword-handle  made  from  an  elephant's 
tusk,  on  which,  after  the  Eastern  fashion,  many  quaint 
and  curious  figures  are  carved:  men  with  grotesque 
and  hideous  faces  disfigured  with  elephants'  trunks, 
crocodiles'  mouths,  monkeys'  heads,  and  the  like. 
Among  these  forms,  but  separated  from  the  rest,  is 
carved  a  tiger  or  bear,  I  am  not  sure  which,  but 
think  the  latter  :  in  its  mouth  it  holds  a  fish.  Now, 
I  should  very  much  like  to  ascertain  if  this  has  been 
carved  among  its  fellow-anomalies  as  a  prodigy  that 
has  been  said  to  have  existed,  but  which  the  executor, 
desiring  to  ridicule,  placed  among  his  monstrosities. 
South  American  travellers  of  good  repute  tell  tales 
of  the  common  jaguar  (Leopardus  Onca)  hanging  over 
the  banks  of  streams,  and  catching  the  unwary  fish 
that  chance  to  pass  by.  Is  it  on  record  that  any 
member  of  the  Felidre  or  Isabella;  of  the  old  world 
ever  performed  the  same  feat  ? — Daccart  Aikone. 

Sudden  Change  in  Colour  of  the  Human 
Hair.  — "  Is  it  possible  for  a  person's  hair  to  turn 
white  in  a  short  time  ?  "  There  are  so  many  instances 
now  on  record,  that  there  ought  to  be  no  longer  any 
doubt  upon  the  subject.  In  the  late  Arctic  expedition 
nearly  every  man's  hair  became  greyer,  and  in  some 
cases  white,  but  assumed  its  natural  colour  when  the 
men  returned  to  lower  latitudes.  In  many  cases  the 
human  hair  is  said  to  have  turned  grey  from  grief, 
extreme  care,  or  sudden  fright.  My  experience  is 
very  small,  but  nevertheless  may  be  interesting  to 
some  of  the  readers  of  Science-Gossip.  During  an 
outward  passage  to  Australia,  the  ship  I  was  in 
suffered  greatly  in  the  British  Channel ;  twice  we 
were  nearly  wrecked,  having  lost  three  anchors  and 
two  cables.  The  pilot  who  had  charge  was  con- 
stantly on  watch,  only  snatching  a  few  minutes'  sleep 
here  and  there,  as  opportunity  afforded.  On  the 
whole,  he  had  a  very  anxious  time  indeed,  and  when 
he  eventually  left  the  ship  off  the  Isle  of  Wight  he 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  ■  G  OS  SI  P. 


45 


certainly  looked  twenty  years  older.  I  thought  his 
hair  had  decidedly  turned  greyer  :  this  may,  however, 
have  been  only  imagination,  and  therefore  ought  rather 
to  be  considered  as  an  impression  than  actual  fact. 
Within  the  last  few  months  a  fresh  case  of  the  possi- 
bility of  the  colour  of  hair  changing  has  come  under 
my  notice.  An  old  gentleman,  aged  eighty-nine, 
residing  in  my  immediate  neighbourhood,  lately  died. 
For  many  years  his  hair  had  been  perfectly  white, 
but  a  few  days  before  his  death  some  of  his  hair 
became  black,  giving  the  appearance  of  his  having 
dark  brown  or  black  hair.  Here  it  is  interesting  to 
note  that  in  his  younger  days  his  hair  was  light. 
After  the  death  of  this  gentleman  the  tips  of  the  hair 
for  about  an  inch  assumed  the  original  colour, 
becoming  white  again.  Has  a  similar  case  fallen 
under  the  notice  of  any  of  your  readers  ?  I  have  heard 
of  another  instance,  where  after  death  the  hair  turned 
from  white  to  black.  Dogs  seem  to  be  affected  with 
regard  to  their  hair  in  like  manner  as  human  beings. 
I  lately  read  of  a  case  where  a  black  Newfoundland 
dog  became  grey  in  a  few  weeks  ;  and  the  writer 
declares  that  the  only  cause  for  this  sudden  change 
was  grief. — C.  P.  Ogilvic. 

Mistletoe,  Apple,  and  Pear. — Does  not  the 
fact  mentioned  by  Mr.  C.  H.  Westley,  that  mistletoe 
does  not  grow  commonly,  if  at  all,  on  the  pear,  open 
up  some  interesting  questions  ?  I  believe  I  am  correct 
in  saying  that,  though  the  apple  and  the  pear  can 
each  of  them  be  grafted  on  a  variety  of  stocks, 
amongst  others  on  some  but  remotely  related  to  them, 
neither  can  be  grafted  on  the  other.  The  growth  of 
the  mistletoe  is  a  kind  of  natural  grafting,  and  occurs 
on  trees  belonging  to  several  widely  different  orders  ; 
yet  it  seems  to  be  confined  to  one  of  these  two  allied 
species.  May  there  not  be  some  underlying  physio- 
logical identity  between  the  various  possible  stocks, 
some  physiological  difference  between  apple  and 
pear  ?  Has  any  one  ever  attempted  to  graft  apple  or 
soecies  ther  on  mistletoe?  Will  mistletoe  grow  on 
all  stocks  used  for  apples,  or  on  any  used  for  pears  ? 
— G.  S.  Bo  i  tiger. 

Mistletoe. — Bentley  mentions  Viscum  album  as 
parasitic  on  thorns  and  willows  ?  Can  your  readers 
tell  me  whether  it  is  commonly  found  on  these  ?  also 
whether  Primus  spinosa  is  the  plant  meant  by 
thorns  ?— J.  J.  W.  S. 

Watercresses. — The  following  extract  may  per- 
haps be  of  interest  to  some  of  your  readers.  At  the 
meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  on 
Tuesday,  Mr.  Shirley  Hibberd,  of  Stoke  Newington, 
presented  a  dozen  pans  of  watercresses,  grown  in  the 
manner  he  has  practised  for  some  years  past.  One 
of  the  advantages  of  this  system  is,  that  the  plants 
are  under  complete  control  to  be  placed  in  the  sun  or 
the  shade,  or  during  winter  in  heated  plant-houses, 
and  can  at  all  times  be  supplied  with  pure  water,  and 
thus  be  preserved  from  contamination  by  the  pollu- 
tions common  to  rivers,  and  even  to  watercress-beds. 
The  pans  in  which  they  are  grown  measure  from 
1 5  inches  to  20  inches  across,  and  from  6  inches  to 
9  inches  deep.  They  are  filled  with  rich  loamy 
soil,  intermixed  with  lumps  of  chalk  or  old  mortar, 
and  then  very  small  cuttings  are  inserted.  These 
soon  become  strong  plants,  and  in  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  days  may  be  gathered  from,  the  cresses  being 
tender  and  delicate  in  flavour,  and  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful appearance.  The  twelve  plants  shown  have 
been  regularlvcut  for  the  table  for  a  period  of  six  weeks, 
and  their  fresh  and  robust  appearance  indicated  that 
gatherings  might  be  had  from  them  for  another  six 
weeks  without  their  being  exhausted.    The  sorts  shown 


were  die  Erfurt  sweet  green  cress,  the  Springhead 
brown  cress,  and  the  Stoke  Newington  purple  cress. 
The  adjudicators  signified  their  approval  of  this  mode 
of  cultivation  by  the  award  of  a  medal  to  Mr.  Hibberd. 
— H.  Budge. 

Query  respecting  Sea  Anemones. — Will  a 
correspondent  kindly  give  a  little  information  respect- 
ing Sea  Anemones  :  should  they  be  fed,  and  if  so, 
how  often,  and  about  in  what  quantity  ? —  W.  T.  H.  C. 
Trome. 

Swans  and  Rats. — Some  time  since  I  noticed 
some  rats  had  taken  possession  of  a  hollow  tree  grow- 
ing by  the  side  of  my  mill  dam,  and  not  wishing  to 
retain  them  there  as  tenants,  I  suggested  to  one  of 
my  servants  the  propriety  of  serving  them  with 
"notice  to  quit,"  and  to  this  end  I  enlisted  the  ser- 
vices of  a  ferret.  Very  soon  two  or  three  of  the  family 
leaped  into  the  water.  A  pair  of  swans  were  close 
by  watching  our  movements,  and  no  sooner  did  the 
rats  attempt  to  swim  across  the  dam,  than  the  swans 
at  once  gave  chase  to  the  enemy  ;  more  than  once  they 
seized  the  rats  and  threw  them  above  the  water,  and  as 
often  as  they  raised  their  heads,  the  swans,  regardless 
of  the  presence  of  spectators,  pursued  their  enemy  to 
their  bitter  end,  and  by  frequently  pecking  at  them 
eventually  succeeded  in  drowning  them,  as  was  proved 
by  the  dead  bodies  floating  down  to  the  mill  ruck  a 
few  minutes  after  the  battle. — R.  Cooke,  G  Ian  ford- 
Mill,  Norfolk. 

Spectral  Phenomena. — Two  curious  phenomena 
have  lately  come  to  my  knowledge  in  conversation 
with  friends  who  were  eye-witnesses  of  them. 
Perhaps  some  of  your  readers  may  be  interested 
enough  to  endeavour  to  throw  some  light  upon  them. 
A  gentleman  was  parting  with  a  friend  on  Hampstead 
Heath,  one  night  about  eight  years  ago,  the  moon 
and  stars  shining,  when  they  both  observed  what 
appeared  like  three  bright  bars  stretching  across  the 
sky  about  midway  between  the  zenith  and  horizon 
towards  the  west,  and  apparently  also  twenty  or  thirty 
yards  in  length,  and  remaining  so  for  over  half  an 
hour.  A  lady  walking  along  the  Euston  road  when 
the  sun  was  shining  brightly,  saw  in  the  air  before  her 
a  gigantic  semaphore.  Upon  reaching  one  of  the 
stations  of  the  Metropolitan  Railway,  a  real  sema- 
phore was  noticed  to  correspond  in  position  with  the 
spectre. — A'.  II.  A.  B. 

The  Lunar  Bow. — I  observed  this  remarkable 
phenomenon  on  November  22nd  under  very  favour- 
able circumstances.  At  about  8.25  p.m.  the  moon 
was  shining  very  brightly,  and  on  looking  towards 
the  western  sky,  I  perceived  a  faintly-coloured  bow 
spanning  the  heavens  and  extending  some  distance 
across  the  distant  landscape.  The  colours  were  pale 
and  indistinct,  but  the  general  form  of  the  bow  was 
very  definitely  marked.  —  George  Clinch,  West  Wick- 
ham,  Kent. 

Lapwing  and  Sparrow-hawk. — I  am  not  much 
surprised  at  the  communication  of  J.  C.  Stephens, 
No.  155,  p.  262,  in  which  he  states  that  he  "  observed 
a  lapwing  or  peewit  pursuing  a  sparrow-hawk." 
I  believe  that,  under  certain  circumstances,  that  bird 
will  attack,  or  at  least  chase  and  attempt  to  frighten, 
any  bird  whatever  that  approaches  the  ground  where 
it  has  taken  up  its  abode.  As  a  proof  of  this  I  will 
mention  what  came  under  my  own  observation  during 
the  past  spring.  In  a  field  of  about  twelve  acres 
in  extent  adjoining  my  residence,  two  lapwings  took 
up  their  abode.  There  are  some  rookeries  at  a  short 
distance  from  this,  and  on  several  occasions  the 
colonies  came  into  this  and  the  adjoining  fields  to 


46 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE - G O SSIP. 


forage.  For  some  time  the  lapwings  paid  little 
attention  to  the  crows,  but  ultimately  the  female 
commenced  to  hatch  her  eggs,  and  then  a  real  warfare 
began  with  the  male.  No  sooner  did  the  crows, 
generally  two  or  three  hundred,  alight  in  the  field 
where  the  female  was  sitting,  than  the  male  com- 
menced a  most  determined  attack  on  them.  It  darted 
towards  them  with  the  rapidity  and  vigour  of  a  hawk, 
but  evidently  with  the  sole  intention  of  banishing 
th cm  from  the  field,  as  I  could  never  notice  that  it 
came  actually  in  contact  with  them,  but  always  so 
near  as  to  render  them  uncomfortable.  Those  who 
have  observed  a  lapwing  under  these  conditions 
will  be  aware  of  the  peculiarly  loud  noise  that  it  has 
the  power  of  producing  with  its  wings,  and  this,  no 
doubt,  has  its  effect  upon  the  birds  that  approach  its 
domain.  This  was  the  case  in  the  present  instance. 
Not  a  moment's  quietude  was  allowed  the  crows  until 
the  whole  colony  was  banished  from  the  field,  and  they 
were  obliged  to  betake  themselves  to  the  neighbouring 
grounds,  where  they  could  follow  their  occupation  in 
peace.  Not  more  than  a  few  minutes  elapsed  until 
the  lapwing  had  cleared  the  field  of  the  intruders. 
T  witnessed  cases  of  this  kind  repeatedly,  and  always 
with  the  same  effect.  This  faithful  sentinel  of  its 
mate  would  allow  no  bird  whatever  to  enter  this  field 
without  attempting  to  banish  it.  These  attacks  of 
the  lapwing  were  not  confined  to  birds  alone,  but  also 
to  human  beings.  If  any  person  happened  to  pass 
through  this  field,  and  more  especially  when  near  the 
nest  of  the  female,  the  male  immediately  darted  past 
him  on  all  sides,  and  so  contiguous  that  it  might 
almost  be  touched,  making  the  peculiarly  loud  noise 
with  its  wings.  Thus  it  continued  without  inter- 
mission until  the  intruder  had  left  the  field.  On  one 
occasion  I  was  greatly  amused  with  a  crow  that  it 
took  prisoner.  The  crow  alighted  in  the  field  near  a 
tree,  but  the  moment  it  did  so  the  lapwing  commenced 
its  usual  attack  by  darting  close  past  it  (on  no  occa- 
sion did  I  see  it  come  fairly  in  contact  with  the 
intruder),  and  the  crow  to  avoid  it  took  refuge  in  the 
tree.  The  lapwing  then  soared  away  for  a  short 
distance,  but  never  out  of  sight  of  the  crow,  and  the 
latter,  no  doubt  thinking  that  its  enemy  had  dis- 
appeared, left  the  tree  and  again  began  to  forage  in 
the  field.  But  this  was  only  momentary.  The  lap- 
wing was  quite  aware  of  the  fact,  and  down  again  it 
pounced  on  the  crow,  which,  as  before,  took  shelter 
in  the  tree.  This  state  of  things  continued  more  than 
a  dozen  times,  until  at  last  the  crow,  finding  that 
neither  peace  nor  profit  could  be  obtained  there,  con- 
trived to  steal  from  the  tree,  and  took  its  departure  to 
some  other  locality,  where  it  might  forage  in  peace 
and  quietness.  The  courageous  and  faithful  guardian, 
however,  at  last  came  to  an  untimely  end.  I  did  not 
witness  this  myself,  but  was  told  by  a  game-watcher 
who  did,  and  therefore  cannot  say  whether  the  hawk 
which  killed  it  did  so  without  provocation,  or  that  the 
latter  had  been  annoyed  by  the  usual  attack  of  the 
lapwing  to  banish  it  from  the  field.  However,  the 
lapwing  was  struck  to  the  ground  by  the  hawk,  and 
the  game- watcher,  thinking  that  he  might  be  able  to 
save  its  life,  went  to  its  rescue  with  all  speed,  but  on 
reaching  it  found  that  the  hawk  had  torn  its  head  off. 
Since  that  time  I  have  never  seen  the  female,  nor  any 
ofitsyoung — if  it  succeeded  in  hatching  them, — and  the 
crows  may  now  be  seen  daily  foraging  in  the  field 
without  interruption. — Dipton  Burn. 

The  Betularia  and  its  Varieties. — In  the 
month  of  June,  1874,  I  was  proceeding  on  the  out- 
side of  an  omnibus  from  Middleton  to  Manchester 
in  company  with  a  brother  entomologist,  when  I 
thought  I  observed  a  large  specimen  of  the  Betularia 


in  a  plantation  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Heaton 
Park,  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  high  road.  The 
driver  of  the  'bus,  noting  my  anxiety  to  capture  the 
specimen,  very  kindly  promised  to  proceed  slowly  for 
a  short  distance,  so  as  to  give  me  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  whether  my  impressions  were  right  or  not  with 
regard  to  what  I  had  seen.  I  soon  reached  the  plan- 
tation, near  the  entrance  to  which,  to  my  great  joy  and 
surprise,  I  found  a  large  female  Betularia  of  the  buff 
variety  on  a  tree,  in  conjunction  with  a  black  male. 
I  picked  them  off  the  tree  and  returned  to  the  'bus, 
several  of  the  passengers  being  astonished  when  I 
told  them  the  value  of  my  prize.  Not  being  prepared 
with  a  box  at  the  time,  I  allowed  my  captures  to 
creep  on  my  clothes,  but  after  we  had  gone  some 
distance  I  set  the  black  one  free,  to  the  evident  sur- 
prise of  the  passengers,  who  seemed  to  think  that  the 
more  valuable  of  the  two.  However,  on  arriving  at 
Cheetham  Hill,  my  entomological  friend  procured  a 
large-sized  pill-box,  and  into  this  I  placed  the  buft 
specimen.  We  proceeded  to  Belle-Vue  Gardens,  to 
spend  the  afternoon,  though  I  will  confess  that  the 
pleasure  I  experienced  there  received  additional  zest 
from  the  discovery  and  capture  I  had  made  during 
the  afternoon.  On  arriving  home  I  was  sorry  to  find 
the  specimen  in  a  somewhat  sorry  condition,  the  box 
in  which  I  had  confined  it  having  been  rather  too 
small.  Fortunately  I  succeeded  in  restoring  it,  and 
I  afterwards  reared  about  120  specimens,  but, 
singular  to  say,  and  to  my  great  disappointment, 
the  buff  variety  did  not  make  its  appearance.  At 
this  time  a  friend  of  mine  had  some  of  the  black 
variety,  and  he  was  kind  enough  to  give  me  a  few  ;  so 
I  crossed  them,  but  with  the  same  result.  Still  I 
had  faith  that  they  must  have  some  of  their  parent's 
buff  qualities  in  them,  and  I  made  another  attempt 
to  breed  them.  The  result,  I  am  glad  to  say,  was 
very  gratifying  indeed.  On  the  4th  of  December  last 
I  placed  about  fifty  of  the  pupa?  in  a  box  ;  for,  being 
very  eager  to  see  the  buff  variety  come  forth,  I 
resolved  to  try  what  artificial  means  would  do. 
Impelled  by  curiosity,  I,  on  the  4th  of  January  this 
year,  took  a  peep  into  the  box,  when,  to  my  great 
delight,  I  found  that  one  of  the  buff  variety  had 
emerged  from  the  pupa.  I  followed  up  my  success, 
and  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  about  one  buff  one 
out  of  twenty  of  the  whole  brood,  some  of  them  being 
all  buff,  and  others  very  variable,  both  in  their  colour 
and  markings.  The  foregoing  information,  therefore, 
makes  me  feel  confident  of  having  established  two 
distinct  varieties  of  Betularia  from  a  domestic  point 
of  view,  and  possibly  what  I  have  stated  may  be  of 
value  to  entomology,  and  to  those  who  love  the 
science. — Thomas  Lomas. 

A  Fight  with  an   Eagle. — The   Dagbladet,    a 

Danish  newspaper,  for  July  10th,  1S76,  gives  the 
following  account  of  a  rare  incident  which  occurred 
on  the  previous  Wednesday  evening  upon  Rovling 
Heath,  in  the  district  of  Aalborg,  Jutland.  Two 
girls,  eight  and  twelve  years  of  age,  having  been  sent 
by  their  parents  to  fetch  home  the  cows  from  the 
heath,  were  attacked,  while  returning,  by  a  very 
large  eagle,  which  made  several  attempts  to  swoop 
down,  but  was  deterred  by  the  elder  girl  swinging  a 
tethering  mallet  over  her  bead  till  she  could  procure 
some  stones  ;  these  she  hurled  against  her  powerful 
antagonist,  and  was  at  last  so  fortunate  as  to  strike  it 
with  such  effect  that  it  fell  dead.  It  measured  from 
tip  to  tip  of  its  extended  wings,  six  feet  eight  inches 
(3}  alen),  and  weighed  about  ten  pounds  (9  pund). 
Its  largest  claws  were  from  an  inch  and  a  half  to  two 
inches  long  ;  its  colour  was  intermingled  grey  and 
white. — J.  Wager. 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE-  G  OS  SIP. 


47 


Colias  Edusa  and  its  Varieties. — At  the  time 
my  few  notes  on  this  interesting  butterfly  were 
written,  which  appeared  in  Science-Gossip,  No. 
156,  p.  280,  I  considered  myself  fortunate  in  secur- 
ing two  of  the  white  varieties,  having  collected 
thirteen  or  fourteen  years,  and  being  obliged  till  this 
year  to  put  up  with  one  tattered  English  and  a  foreign 
representative.  Since  then,  however,  my  brother 
and  I  have  captured  forty-five  Helice,  forty  of  which 
were  taken  in  one  field  close  to  this  town.  The 
specimens  exhibit  much  variety  in  colour,  some  being 
a  rich  cream  and  primrose,  others  a  greenish  white  ; 
in  the  size  of  the  marginal  spots  there  is  also  great 
difference  ;  in  some  they  are  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
— Joseph  Anderson,  Junior,  Chichester. 

Destroying  Mites.  —  Your  correspondent, 
"A.  F."  will,  I  think,  find  no  difficulty  in  ridding 
his  collection  of  mites,  if  he  will  adopt  the  following 
plan,  which  I  have  never  known  to  fail.  It  is  simply 
to  dip  a  camel-hair  brush  into  benzine,  and  let  the 
fluid  fall  upon  the  insect  drop  by  drop  until  it  is 
completely  saturated  ;  the  little  heaps  of  dust  which 
usually  betokens  the  presence  of  mites  underneath 
the  specimens  can  be  wiped  up  with  the  brush.  On 
account  of  the  extremely  volatile  nature  of  benzine,  it 
is  not  of  much  use  as  a  preventive  for  this  purpose  ; 
it  is  better  to  employ  plenty  of  camphor,  or  cotton 
wool  soaked  with  a  solution  of  carbolic  acid.  With 
even  ordinary  care  mites  need  never  be  permitted  to 
do  any  serious  mischief,  and  no  better  piece  of  advice 
for  their  prevention  can  be  given  than  that  by 
Dr.  Knaggs,  to  put  into  quarantine  every  insect  we 
receive. — Joseph  Anderson,  Junior,  Chichester. 

Destroying  Mites. — Many  years  since  I  left  two 
cabinets  of  lepidoptera  in  the  country  for  some  twelve 
months,  and  on  bringing  them  home  found  the  bodies 
■of  many  of  the  specimens  eaten,  and  the  mites  travel- 
ling over  the  drawers  in  large  numbers.  I  made  a 
saturated  solution  of  camphor  in  rectified  spirit  of 
wine,  poured  about  a  teaspoonful  in  one  corner  of 
each  drawer,  and  by  tilting,  caused  the  liquid  to  flow 
round  the  angles  ;  I  then  closed  the  cabinets,  and  on 
opening  them  a  few  days  after  found  all  life  extinct. 
If  "A.  F."  has  not  a  compartment  in  each  drawer  for 
camphor,  he  should  procure  some  muslin  bags  about  two 
inches  by  one  inch  and  a  quarter,  put  a  lump  of  cam- 
phor in  each,  and  fix  one  in  a  corner  of  every  drawer  by 
a  pin  at  both  ends,  renewing  the  camphor  as  often  as 
it  evaporates.  By  this  means  he  may  preserve  his 
collection  from  injury  by  mites  for  any  period. — 
D.  S. 

The  Sun  and  the  Earth. — I  have  the  following 
figures  before  me  of  the  distance  between  us  and  the 
sun.     Taking  Guyot's  mean  diameter  of  the  earth, 
giving  a  radius  of  3,938  miles — 
Laplace    gives    a    distance    of    miles  =  92, 636,990 
The  Quarterly  Review,  July,  1875, 

note,  p.  209    =91,000,000 

The  Academy,  20th  October,  1877, 

P-  389 =93,000,000 

The  Mail,   19th  December,   1877, 
in   a  letter  from  Mr.   Proctor 

{  Tupman  =93,321,000 

(  Newcomb  =92,393,000 
Mr.  Proctor  suggests  that  this  measure  is  un- 
trustworthy, as  long  as  we  get  warmth  and  light,  the 
actual  distance  of  the  sun  is  of  little  consequence  ; 
but  what  are  the  precise  sciences  to  do  ?  Newcomb 
and  Laplace  are  as  near  the  mark  as  we  can  hope  for ; 
but  how  is  it  that  the  precise  sciences  reach  their 
conclusion  as  to  the  size  of  this  world  from  the 
Nebular  hypothesis  of  Laplace,  without  adopting  his 


measure  of  distance  between  the  earth  and  the  sun  ? 
I  find  the  figures  for  Laplace  in  his  translation  by 
J.  Pond,  p.  24,  1809.  Will  some  one  kindly  tell  us 
which  distance  is  right  ? — //.  P.  M. 

Reasoning  Power  of  Dogs. — Having  witnessed 
the  following  occurrence  some  years  ago,  I  could  not 
help  being  struck  with  the  great  reasoning  powers 

displayed   by  a  dog.     I  lived  in  the  town  of  N , 

and  the  back  of  our  terrace  had  small  gardens,  sepa- 
rated from  each  other  by  a  short  fence.  One  windy 
morning  the  clothes  were  drying  on  the  line,  and  the 
dog  (a  fine  retriever)  was  sporting  itself  on  the  grass, 
when  a  sudden  gust  blew  the  "things"  on  the 
ground  ;  the  dog  at  once  ran  into  the  house,  and  by 
sundry  barks  and  pulls  at  her  dress,  induced  the  girl 
to  go  into  the  garden,  where  she  discovered  the  cause 
of  the  dog's  uneasiness.  The  next  day  being  the 
"week's  wash"  of  our  neighbour,  the  clothes  were 
airing  in  the  garden,  when  our  dog  rushed  into 
the  house,  and  presently  brought  out  the  servant, 
who  found  that  the  prop  had  given  way,  and  the 
"  wash  "  was  all  on  the  ground. — J.  D. 

Superstitious  Dislike  to  the  Wren  {Troglo- 
dytes Europa-us). — This  little  bird,  though  generally 
a  favourite,  is  in  some  rural  districts  regarded  by  the 
uneducated  with  the  bitterest  aversion,  while  its  rela- 
tive, the  Redbreast,  is  considered  sacred  from  all 
molestation.  So  deeply  seated  is  this  hatred  to  the 
Wren,  that  its  nest  is  often  ruthlessly  torn  away, 
and  both  nest  and  its  contents  trampled  under  foot. 
The  only  explanation  which  these  good  folks  will 
vouchsafe,  is  that  the  " wran"  is  the  devil's  bird, 
and  should  therefore  get  no  quarter.  This  strange 
superstition  has,  I  believe,  had  its  origin  in  one  of 
the  many  myths  which  have  been  handed  down  from 
generation  to  generation,  and  received  as  truth  be- 
yond question.  The  legendary  account  of  how  the 
Robin  got  her  red-breast  is  widely  spread,  both  in 
Ireland  and  England,  and  no  one  in  this  country  will 
molest  the  "poor  robin,"  because  his  name  is  asso- 
ciated with  our  Lord  ;  but  the  Wren  has  the  mis- 
fortune of  being  associated  with  the  sacred  history  in 
an  unfavourable  light  :  hence  the  odium  which  hangs 
around  him.  In  the  south  of  Ireland  it  appears  this 
unkindly  feeling  does  not  exist,  which  is  shown  by  a 
curious  practice  which  existed  at  no  veiy  distant  date 
in  Cork.  On  St.  Stephen's  day  a  number  of  young 
men,  in  holiday  dress,  paraded  the  city,  carrying  a 
furze-bush,  in  which  a  wren  was  secured.  As  they 
stopped  before  the  house,  one  of  their  number  recited 
the  following  lines — 

"  The  wren,  the  wren,  the  king  of  all  birds, 
Was  caught  St.  Stephen's  day  in  the  furze  ; 
Although  he's  little,  his  family's  great, 
Then  pray,  kind  gentle  folks,  give  him  a  trate." 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  cruel  and  unmeaning 
dislike  to  a  little  bird  of  which  poets  have  so  sweetly 
sung,  and  naturalists  so  interestingly  written,  may 

;   ere  long  be  swept  away  by  advancing  education. — 

'   H.  Allingham,  Ballyshannon. 

Harebell  ( Campanula rotundifolia). — The  English 
^  name,  we  are  told,  was  bestowed  upon  it  because  it 
'  grows  in  the  dry  and  hilly  pastures  frequented  by  the 
hare,  but  we  would  suggest,  at  least,  an  alternative 
derivation — or  rather  the  plant  itself  suggests  it — as 
to  whether  it  may  not  have  originally  been  named 
hair  bell  from  the  extremely  light  and  delicate  stems 
from  which  the  blossoms  hang.  Another  plant, 
equally  light  and  delicate,  is  named  the  maiden-hair. 
I  have  extracted  the  above  from  p.  78,  part  10,  of 
"  Familiar  Wild  Flowers,"  to  which  I  refer  Mr.  Tate 
for  an  interesting  article  on  the  plant. — T. 


48 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  ■  G  0  SSI  P. 


NOTICES   TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 


To  Correspondents  and  Exchangers.  —  As  we  now 
publish  Science-Gossip  at  least  a  week  earlier  than  hereto- 
fore, we  cannot  possibly  insert  in  the  following  number  any 
communications  which  reach  us  later  than  the  9th  of  the 
previous  month. 


Fresh  Chara. — A  correspondent  asks  our  good  offices  to 
obtain  for  him  "a  little  fresh  Chara."  Will  our  botanical 
friends,  who  can  obtain  it,  send  us  a  small  supply  ? 

W.  Patrick. — You  can  purchase  Anodotis  of  R.  Damon, 
F.G.S.,  Weymouth. 

A.  F.  Fischer. — You  cannot  do  better  than  preserve  the 
chrysalis  in  the  earth  of  a  flower-pot.  Put  the  latter  out  of 
doors.  It  will  soon  cease  "  wriggling."  Out  of  doors  is  their 
natural  condition  of  hybernation. 

W.  H.  Legge.— The  caterpillar  of  which  you  sent  us  a 
coloured  drawing,  is  that  of  the  well-known  Pale  Tussock-moth. 
The  caterpillar  goes  by  the  name  of  the  "  Hop-dog"  (prgyia 
jntdibvnda). 

Y..  M.  (baddleworth).- — The  specimens  sent  us  from  the  turf- 
pits  are  flint  chips,  and  seem  to  us  to  be  the  result  of  human 
handiwork.  This  appears  all  the  more  probable  from  the  fact 
that  flint  is  a  very  rare  mineral,  even  in  the  drift  beds,  in 
your  district.  Can  you  send  us  some  larger  specimens  for 
inspection  ? 

W.  H.  S.  (Colchester). — We  shall  feel  obliged  if  you  will 
send  us  some  of  the  insects  which  demolish  the  "  black  beetles," 
as  we  cannot  identify  them  from  your  description. 

W.  S.  Wakefield. — The  plant  sent  us  is  Veronica  Hen- 
dersonii. 

F.  Coleman. — We  have  heard  of  no  other  instance  of  non- 
fulfilment  except  your  own. 

J.  A.  Sandkokd  (Ohio). — Accept  our  thanks  for  specimens  of 
AJ>ocy>ium  androsamiifolnim, 

C.  W.  H. — There  is  no  fear  whatever  of  the  ants  doing  your 
Deodaras  any  harm. 

Colonel  M. — You  had  best  have  Science-Gossip  sent  to 
you  direct  from  the  publishers.  The  small  crystals  are  car- 
bonate of  lime, 

F.  R.  B. — We  cannot,  of  course,  tell  you  the  name  of  the 
species  of  mussel  without  seeing  specimens.  But  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  deposit  in  question  is  a  post-glacial  one,  of  the 
same  age  as  our  raised  beeches. 

F.  Q. — You  had  best  consult  Whitaker's  "Geology  of  the 
London  Basin,"  published  by  Her  Majesty's  Stationery  Office, 
for  details  of  and  references  to  the  various  sections  of  the 
Woolwich  beds  exhibited  in  the  neighbourhood  of  London. 

S.  C.  M. — Sach's  "  Botany,"  translated  and  edited  by  A.  W. 
Bennett  and  Professor  Dyer,  and  published  by  the  Clarendon 
Press,  gives  the  best  account  of  the  laws  of  vegetable  growth 
and  development. 

A.  M.  (Wandsworth). — The  crustacean,  of  which  you  sent  us 
a  drawing  is  Idotca  tricuspidata. 

J.  Ransom.— We  have  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Bartlett,  the 
Superintendent  of  the  Zoological  Gardens,  would  give  you  all 
the  necessary  information  respecting  the  management  of 
Marmosets. 

T.  C.  M.— -We  have  referred  to  the  MS.  of  your  "  Exchange  " 
in  the  January  number,  and  find  that  we  printed  it  exactly  as 
you  wrote  it  ! 

R.  T.  Andrews. — The  "glass-like  substance"  you  sent  us 
is  Selenite,  or  crystallized  sulphate  of  lime  ;  very  likely  from 
the  London  Clay  formation. 

J.  Cunnack. — Your  written  description  of  the  Hawk  answers 
best  to  that  of  the  common  Buzzard  (Puteo  vulgaris). 

W.  K.  and  Others. — Your  specimens  have  been  forwarded 
to  competent  authorities  to  be  named,  and  their  names  will 
appear  in  these  columns  as  soon  as  we  have  received  them. 

E.  R.  F. — Potton,  in  Bedfordshire,  is  situated  on  the  Lower 
Greensand  formation,  and  the  fossils  you  mention  are,  no 
doubt,  from  that  deposit. 

W.  B.  wishes  for  the  address  of  the  South  London  Ento- 
mological Society,  as  it  has  removed  from  its  old  quarters.  We 
shall  always  be  glad  to  chronicle  such  changes  of  removal. 

C.  Harris. — Many  thanks  for  the  specimens,  which  are  very 
interesting.  But  we  cannot  undertake  to  name  zoophytes  from 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  or  any  other  place  where  the  fauna  has 
not  been  scientifically  worked  and  described. 


EXCHANGES. 

Wanted,  British  examples  of  I'ertigo  angustior,  V.  alpes- 
tris,  and  Acme  lineata.  Will  give  a  liberal  exchange  in 
American  land  and  freshwater  shells. —  G.  Sherriff  Tye, 
62,  Villa-road,  Handsworth,  Staffordshire. 

Wanted,  Microscopical  Dictionary  (old  or  new  edition),  in 
exchange  for  foreign  insects,  chiefly  parasites,  mounted  or 
unmounted.  —  Address,  M.,  Anglesea  Lodge,  Godalming, 
Surrey. 


I  would  like  to  exchange  U.S.  Coleoptera  for  British  or 
Foreign.  Eggs  in  exchange  for  Coleoptera,  if  desired. — Address, 
Geo.  J.  Angell,  64,  Elliott-place,  Brooklyn,  New  York,  U.S. 

Wanted,  Fresh  specimens  of  any  Cuttlefish  or  Squids. 
Offered  in  exchange,  shells,  insects,  microscopic  slides,  scien- 
tific books,  or  money. — W.  Cash,  38,  Elmficld-terrace,  Halifax. 

A  Few  well-mounted  micro  slides  to  exchange — Lists  to 
T.  Shripton,  The  Terrace,  Chesterfield. 

Many  species  of  British  marine,  land,  and  freshwater 
shells — offered  in  exchange  for  land  shells  from  New  Zealand, 
South  America,  Madagascar,  and  South  Australia. — F.  M. 
Hele,  Fairlight,  Elmgrove-road,  Cotham,  Bristol. 

For  unmounted  or  mounted  diatoms  will  be  sent  some 
cleaned  diatom  Coccones  Placentula,  or  Foraminifera  from 
Spain  :  also,  river  mud  from  Lagos,  for  any  object  of  interest 
for  microscope.— A.  Smith,  198,  Essex-road,  London. 

For  Tripoli,  composed  of  diatoms,  send  well-mounted  slide 
in  exchange. 

In  exchange  for  any  other  mounted  objects:  Proboscis  of 
Blow-fly,  Plenrosigma  angulatum,  Atnphipleura pellucida. 

To  French  Marine  Botanists.  Wanted,  in  exchange  for  British 
sea-weeds,  those  of  French  growth. — H.  G.,  15,  Mulgrave- 
street,  Plymouth. 

Exchange  microscopical  slides  of  different  stages  of  the 
Pentacrinite  larva  of  Comatula,  various  species  of  Marine 
Polyzoa,  with  their  tentacles  exerted,  Australian  seaweeds,  &c. 
(list  forwarded  on  application),  for  other  thoroughly  well- 
mounted  slides.  Illustrations  of  animal  and  vegetable  struc- 
tures preferred. — Adolph  Leipner,  47,  Hampton  Park,  Cotham, 
Bristol. 

Several  sets  of  six-opaque  sections  of  coal  plants  and  tissues  ; 
wanted,  recent  and  fossil  polyzoa,  graptolites  from  Silurian 
strata,  or  vegetable  preparations.  Several  sets  of  six  recent 
and  fossil  foraminifera  ;  wanted  foraminiferous  material, 
soundings,  dredgings,  or  unwashed  Lias  clay. — G.  R.  Vine, 
Atterclifte,  Sheffield. 

Duplicates.  —  Rhamni,  Edrisa,  Cardamiues,  sEgeria, 
Semrle,  Atalanta,  Cardni,  Io,  Pa/hia,  Galathea,  Quercus. 
Xauchographa,  Desiderata,  IV.  Album,  Betuhe,  Pruni, 
Paniscus,  Attopos,  the  Sesiidw ;  many  Noctua¥  and  Geometrie. 
— A.  Dent,  20,  Thurloe  Square,  London,  S.W. 

A  large  number  of  leaves  with  stellate  hairs  in  situ  from  all 
parts  of  the  world,  in  exchange  for  other  good  microscopic 
objects. — H.  L.,  6,  Upper  Phillimore  Gardens,  Kensington,  W. 

Wanted,  Erythra-a  lati/olia,  other  plants  in  exchange. — 
Rev.  F.  H.  Arnold,  Fishbourne,  Chichester. 

Send  2  good  slides  for  1  dozen  patent  mounting  clips,  brass, 
new  kind,  and  capital  to  work  with. — W.  Tylar,  165,  Well-street, 
Hockley,  Birmingham. 

Exchange  or  otherwise. — A  Ross's  ~s  in.  object-glass — wet 
and  dry — a  useful  glass.  —  Apply  to  Rev.  S.  Bramhall, 
St.  John's  Vicarage,  Lynn. 

Lyell's  "  Principles  of  Geology,"  4  vols.,  boards,  1834, 
Figuier's  "Primitive  Man"  (quite  new),  will  exchange  for 
British  Birds'  Eggs,  or  well-mounted  British  wild  plants  or 
mosses. — J.  R.  Murdoch,  Horsforth,  near  Leeds. 


BOOKS,  &c,  RECEIVED. 

"  Elementary  Botany,"  Part   II.     By  W.  Bland.     London 
Bemrose  &  Sons. 

"  Industrial  Art."     January. 
"  Popular  Science  Review."     Januarj'. 
"The  Midland  Naturalist."     January. 
"  Land  and  Water."     January. 
"The  Naturalist."     January. 
"  American  Journal  of  Microscopy."     December. 
"  Canadian  Journal  of  Entomology."     December. 
"  Potter's  American  Monthly."     December. 
"  Boston  Journal  of  Chemistry."     December. 
"Journal  of  Applied  Sciences."     January. 
"  lien.  Brierley's  Journal."     January. 
"  Chambers's  Journal."     January. 
&c.  &c.         &c. 


Communications  have  been  received  up  to  the  7TH 
ui.t.,  from:— T.  S.— T.  B.  W.— T.  L.— G.  C— Dr.  R.  C.  R. 
— G.  S.  T— C.  F.  G.— W.  B.— H.  P.  M.— A.  M.— D.  A. 
— W.  H.  P.— W.  H.  S.— G.  S.  B.— Mrs.  B.— D.  S.— J.  A.  jun. 
— C.  V.  S.— G.  C.  D.— G.  P.— A.  R.— J.  D.— C.  P.  O.— 
W.  B.  G.— G.  A.  H.— W.  W.— S.  E.  B.— H.  C.  D.— R.  C  — 
P.  D.— H.  A.— W.  C— G.  J.  A.— T.  S.—  J.  S.  L.— W.  J.  F.— 
T.  B.— M.  K.— J.  G.-A.  C.  C— A.  S.— C.  C.  H.— A.  D.  M. 
— W.  J.  S.— T.  C.  M.— J.  C— A.  S.— R.  T.  A.— F.  N.  H.— 
j.  H.— W.  R.  T.— Dr.  B.— W.  S.  B.-J.  B.— W.  B.— 
C.  E.  B.  H.— M.  L.-J.  B.— J.  W— W.  T.— W.  W.—  G.  L.— 
G.  C.— G.  E.  B.— H.  L.— H.  P.— A.  L  — G.  R.  V.— A.  D.— 
C.  H.— J.  R.  M.-H.  E.  W.— W.  M.  -J.  B.— C.  B.  M.— 
T.  B.— A.  W.— K.  S.— T.  F.  U.— H.  A.  A.— R.  G.  C— 
Dr.  F.  C.  C.-W.  K.-E.  R.  F— J.  B.— W.  B.— H.  G.— 
C.  D.— &c.  &C. 


HARD  WI CKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  0  SSI  P. 


49 


THE    FLORA    OF    NATAL 


By   J.    M.    WOOD. 


S  possibly  some  of  your 
readers  may  feel  inte- 
rested in  a   few  notes 
on    the    flora    of    this 
part  of  the   world,    I 
will,    with    your   per- 
mission,   enumerate   a 
few     of     the     native 
plants  at  present  grow- 
ing in  my  garden.     I 
reside     about    twelve 
miles    from    the    sea,     and    though    my    garden    is 
neither    extensive    nor    particularly  well    kept,   still 
I    have    taken    pleasure    in   adding    to   it   some   of 
our    beautiful    native    plants,    a   number   of  which 
were  already  growing   in  it  when  I  came  to  reside 
here,  having   been  planted  by    a  former  occupant. 
The  first  plant  which  attracts  the  eye  at  this  season 
is   Gieya    Suthcrlandi,   a   shrub   or  small   tree,   now 
covered   with   its   beautiful   scarlet    flowers,    though 
the  leaves  have  hardly  yet  made  their  appearance; 
it  is  a  sapindaceous  plant,  though  its  true  position 
appears  to  be  doubtful,  and  is  a  native  of  the  higher 
districts  of  the  colony,  in  the  Drakensberg,  a  range 
of  mountains  on  the  border  of  the  colony.     I  am  told 
that  its  spikes  of  flowers  are  sometimes  a  foot  or  more 
in  length.     Here  it  is  usually  called  the  "Natal  Bottle 
Brush,"  but  it  is  rarely  seen  in  cultivation,  as,  on  the 
coast,  at  least,  it  does  not  succeed  well.     Close  beside 
it  is  Crinum  Capense,  usually  called  in  the  colony  the 
"Natal  Lily,"  and  everywhere  found  in  profusion,  from 
the  coast  to  far  inland  ;  and  in  the  ,spring  and  early 
summer  producing  its  corymb  of  pink  and  white  bell- 
shaped  flowers.     Near  this  plant  is  an  Arum,  of  the 
genus  Richardia  (known  here  as  the   "Lily  of  the 
Nile  ") ;  it  is  now  out  of  flower,    but  in  the  season 
flowering  freely  without  the  slightest  care  or  attention. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  walk  is  another  Arum  of 
the  same  genus,  whose  leaves  are  spotted  with  white, 
like  a  Caladium,  and  which  has  a  primrose  or  yellow 
spathe,  and  which  is  in  this  district  quite  plentiful. 
Beyond  this  plant,  and  scrambling  about  amongst  the 
No.   159. 


adjacent  shrubs,  is  a  species  of  Mesembryanthtmum, 
with  small  but  richly-coloured  deep  magenta  flowers  ; 
and  near  it  another  species  with  larger  white  flowers, 
and  which  is  in  some  places  near  here  quite  common. 
In  the  middle  of  a  small  grass-plot  in  front  of  the 
house  are  two  plants  of  Encephalartus,  a  cycadaccous 
plant,  which  sometimes  has  a  caudex  10  feet  or  more 
high ;  one  of  these  plants,  though  its  stem  is  only 
about  iS  inches  high,  has  produced  three  large  cones 
in  the  centre  of  the  crown  of  leaves  or  fronds,  some- 
thing like  overgrown  pine-apples.     It  is,  I  think,  a 
male  plant,  though  the  scales  are  not  yet  sufficiently 
separated  to  decide  with  certainty  ;  during  the  five 
years  that  I  have  observed  the  growth  of  these  plants, 
they  do  not  seem  to  have  increased  much  in  height, 
but  as  they  only  put  forth  one  crown  of  leaves  in  each 
season,  this  is  not  to  be  wondered  at.     The  largest 
plant  has  upon  it  at  the  present  time  four  sets  of 
leaves,  the  lowest  whorl  of  which  are  now  nearly  five 
years  old,  and  rapidly  decaying  ;  but  when  the  spring 
has   fairly    set    in    it    will    unfold    another   complete 
crown  of  leaves,  and  thus  the  trunk  gradually  increases 
in  height  year  by  year.     These  plants  were  brought 
from  Noodsberg,  twenty  miles  from  here,  where  they 
grow  on  the  sides  of  precipitous  rocks  and   under 
slight  shade,  at  an  elevation  of  3,000  feet  or  more 
above  the  sea-level.     We  have  a  species  of  cycad 
growing  in  similar  situations  near  here,   but  which 
does  not,  even  in  old  age,  develop  a  trunk  ;  its  root 
is  napiform,  and,  when  dug  out,  as  much  as  a  man 
can   carry   with    comfort  ;    it    bears    pinnate   leaves 
6  feet  or  more  long.     Near  this  latter  plant  is  Stan- 
geria  paradoxa,   also  a  cycadaceous  plant,   found,   I 
believe,  only  in  Natal,  and  named  in  honour  of  the 
late  Dr.    Stanger,   Surveyor-General.     It  is   a  very 
common  plant  in  this  neighbourhood,   both  in  the 
open  grass  and  in  bush,  and  has  the  fruit  of  a  conifer 
with  the  venation  of  a  fern.     On  one  side  of  the 
grass-plot  is  a  fence  formed  of  an  apocynaceous  plant 
of  the  genus  Carissa,  called  here  the  ' '  Amatungulu, " 
and  which  bears  a  fruit  which  is  much  esteemed.     It 
has  pretty  white  star-like  flowers,  and  plum-shaped 


5° 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OS  SIP. 


scarlet  fruit,  but  its  double  or  forked  thorns  make  it  a 
rather  unpleasant  plant  to  come  violently  into  contact 
with.  The  fruit,  when  unripe,  is  rather  astringent, 
and  full  of  a  white  milky  juice  ;  and  it  is  a  standing 
joke  here,  that  J.  C.  Byrne,  the  emigration-agent  in 
the  earlier  days  of  the  colony,  when  speaking  in 
England  of  the  natural  products  of  the  place  to  which 
he  wished  to  attract  the  emigrants,  said  that  in  Natal 
the  strawberries  and  the  cream  grew  upon  the  same 
plant.  The  fruit  is  extensively  used  for  making  jams 
and  jellies,  a  large  quantity  of  which  is,  I  believe, 
exported.  At  each  end  of  this  fence,  and  also  around 
and  near  the  house,  are  trees  of  Eucalyptus  globulus, 
a  native  of  Australia,  some  of  them  70  feet  high, 
though  I  believe  only  twelve  years  old  ;  and  twining 
round  one  of  these  gum-trees  is  the  stem  of  a  native 
plant,  Testutidinaria  elephantipes,  the  Tortoise-plant, 
or  Elephant's  foot,  a  singular-looking  plant,  belonging 
to  the  family  Dioscorea,  or  Yams.  Its  rhizome,  which 
is  above  ground,  is  hard  and  tesselated  ;  and  in  my 
specimen  the  resemblance  to  a  tortoise  is  sufficiently 
startling.  It  is  perennial,  and  sends  up  a  slender 
twining  stem  to  the  branches  of  the  trees  amongst 
which  it  grows,  while  the  rhizeme  sends  down  tough 
wiiy  rootlets,  with  which  it  takes  firm  hold  of  the 
ground.  The  specimen  under  notice  was  the  first 
which  I  had  seen,  and  in  climbing  up  some  rocky 
ground  I  placed  my  hand  upon  it,  but  quickly  with- 
drew it  under  the  impression  that  it  was  the  shell  of 
a  tortoise.  There  are,  I  believe,  two  species  of  this 
plant  in  the  colony,  but  I  have  only  met  with  one  as 
yet.  We  have  also  two  species  of  Gardenia,  G.  glo- 
bosa,  now  completely  covered  with  its  creamy  bell- 
tnaped  flowers,  and  G.  grandiflora,  with  larger, 
salver-shaped  flowers,  which  fill  the  garden  with  a 
delightful  perfume.  Then  there  is  that  rare  plant, 
Mackaya  bella,  with  its  pale  lilac  pendulous  flowers 
and  curiously-veined  corolla.  I  have  been  informed 
that  this  plant  is  only  found  wild  in  the  valley  of  the 
Tongaat,  but  whether  this  is  correct  or  not  I  do  not 
know  ;  at  any  rate,  it  is  not  by  any  means  common. 
Then  we  have  a  croquet-lawn,  formed  of  a  running 
grass  which  is  commonly  used  for  that  purpose  here  ; 
and  at  one  end  of  it  stands  a  row  of  trees  which  have 
originally  been  stakes  in  a  post  and  rail  fence,  but 
which  have  now  grown  into  trees,  some  of  them  fine 
ones  ;  two  belong  to  a  species  of  Aralia,  common 
here,  and  much  used  for  fencing,  as  the  post  will  gene- 
rally take  root.  Two  others  are  fig:trees,  of  a  species 
plentiful  about  here,  and  which  have  now  grown  into 
fine  spreading  trees,  20  to  30  feet  high,  with  leaves 
which  arc  thickly  covered  underneath  with  small 
peltate  scales  or  glands,  the  use  of  which  I  have  not 
been  able  to  discover.  While  the  leaf  is  fresh,  they 
appear,  under  the  microscope,  to  be  closely  adpressed 
to  the  leaf;  but  as  the  leaf  dries,  they  curl  up  at  the 
edges,  and  are  then  easily  detached,  leaving  a  small 
pit  or  hollow.  Three  more  of  these  trees  belong  to 
the  genus  Erythrina,  or,  as  it  is  called  here,  "  Kafir 


j  Boom,"  and  are  now  covered  with  beautiful  scarlet 
!  blossoms,  but  without  a  single  leaf.  This  tree  is 
common  in  the  colony,  and  during  the  winter  months 
its  magnificently-coloured  flowers  make  it  a  very 
conspicuous  object.  We  have  several  species  in  the 
colony,  two  of  which  are  growing  here  ;  one  is  usually 
called  the  ' '  Cork-tree, "  as  its  bark  has  much  the  appear- 
ance of  rough  cork  ;  its  leaves  are  large  and  coarse, 
and  the  wood  of  both  species  is  so  light,  that  I  believe 
it  is  sometimes  used  for  floats  in  fishing.  I  have  used 
it  for  setting  butterflies,  for  which  purpose  it  answers 
almost  as  well  as  cork,  which  is  not  procurable  here. 
And  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  may  yet  be  put  to  many 
other  uses,  though  at  present  it  is  not  used,  as  far  as 
I  know,  for  anything  but  fencing.  I  have  also  a 
small  fernery,  of  which  I  may  have  something  to  say 
on  another  occasion,  should  it  be  acceptable  to  your 
readers,  and  also  about  the  numerous  wild  flowers 
growing  so  profusely  in  this  neighbourhood. 


THE  LATE  ANDREW  MURRAY,  F.L.S. 

BY  the  death  of  Mr.  Andrew  Murray,  which 
occurred  on  the  10th  ult.  at  his  residence  in 
Bedford  Gardens,  Kensington,  entomology  and 
botany  loses  an  assiduous  and  careful  worker.  Born 
in  Edinburgh  in  1812,  he  paid  some  attention  in  his 
youthful  clays  to  the  study  of  medicine.  He  was, 
however,  educated  with  a  view  to  following  the  law 
as  a  profession,  and  for  a  short  time  practised  as  a 
Writer  to  the  Signet.  Subsequently  he  assisted  his 
relative,  John  Murray  (Lord  High  Advocate),  in  his 
desire  to  provide  some  practically  useful  reading  for 
village  schools  by  writing  a  little  pamphlet  entitled 
"The  Skip-jack;  or,  Wire- worm  and  the  Slug," 
which,  though  published  without  his  knowledge,  may 
be  considered  as  his  first  contribution  to  economic 
entomology.  The  year  preceding  his  removal  to 
London,  he  contributed  to  the  "  Transactions  of  the 
Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh  "  a  paper  relating  to  a 
subject  then  under  discussion,  as  to  what  extent  the 
unity  of  species  in  the  parasite  showed  unity  of 
species  in  the  animal  preyed  upon;  "the  pediculi 
infesting  the  various  races  of  man,"  giving  minute 
descriptions  and  considerations  as  to  how  far  the 
variations  might  be  considered  to  amount  to  specific 
differences. 

After  his  removal  to  London  in  1S60,  Mr.  Murray 
devoted  himself  specially  to  the  sciences  of  ento- 
mology and  botany.  About  this  time  he  became 
officially  connected  with  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society,  being  appointed  assistant-secretary.  After 
relinquishing  this  post,  he  continued,  almost  to  the 
moment  of  his  death,  to  show  a  great  interest  in  the 
society,  being  one  of  the  strongest  supporters  of,  and 
most  frequent  attendants  at,  the  meetings  of  the 
scientific  committee. 

In  1869  he  formed  one  of  a  party,  including  Sir 


HARD  WICKE'S     SCIENCE-  G  OS  SIP. 


5i 


Joseph  (then  Dr.)  Hooker,  of  representatives  of 
English  science  at  the  Botanical  Congress  at  St. 
Petersburg.  In  acknowledgment  of  the  service 
rendered  on  this  occasion,  he  was  presented  by  the 
Emperor  Alexander  with  a  splendid  malachite  table. 
During  his  absence  from  England  at  this  time,  he 
paid  considerable  attention  to  the  subject  of  Conti- 
nental forestry,  and  every  facility  was  given  him  in 
his  inquiries  in  Belgium  by  the  Belgian  Government. 
In  1 87 1  he  undertook  the  laborious  task  of  superin- 
tending much  of  the  selection  or  arrangement  of  the 
English  exhibits  at  the  Polytechnic  Exhibition  at 
Moscow  in  the  following  year.  In  botanical  science, 
Mr.  Murray's  work  lay  principally  among  the 
Conifene,  having  written  a  small  book  on  the  "  Pines 
and  Firs  of  Japan,"  and  contributed  numerous  papers 
on  the  same  group  of  plants  to  different  scientific  and 
horticultural  journals.  He  was  secretary  to  the 
Oregon  Committee,  who  sent  out  a  collector  to  Oregon 
and  California  to  collect  Coniferse,  and  in  1873  he 
undertook  an  expedition  to  Salt  Lake  and  California, 
partly  with  a  scientific  object,  and  partly  with  a  view 
to  investigate  the  working  of  the  silver-mines.  In 
the  course  of  his  mining  investigations  he  was  ex- 
posed to  considerable  danger,  minute  inquiries  mak- 
ing him  obnoxious  to  some  of  the  parties  concerned. 

In  his  entomological  career,  the  great  point  was 
the  devotion  of  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life  to  the 
subject  in  its  practical  bearings.  As  a  monument  of 
his  skill  and  profound  knowledge  on  this  point,  the 
results  stand  in  the  Government  collection  of  econo- 
mic entomology  at  Bethnal  Green.  The  charge  of 
receiving  and  arranging  the  contributions  to  this 
collection  was  placed  in  his  hands  officially  in  1868, 
and  from  thenceforward  he  may  be  said  to  have 
given  himself  up  to  the  task  unceasingly,  down  to  his 
latest  hours  ;  for,  during  his  American  expedition, 
he  left  behind  him  the  threads  by  which  the  collec- 
tion might  be  proceeded  with  in  his  absence. 

Of  the  patient  labour  and  scientific  research  he  dis- 
played in  this  collection  it  is  impossible  to  speak  too 
highly.  Under  his  guidance  the  life-histories  of  the 
insects  (of  which  knowledge  was  required  to  ascertain 
their  remedies)  were,  in  some  cases,  worked  out, 
in  others  verified  and  amplified ;  remedies  were 
ascertained  and  experiments  initiated  ;  and  the  whole 
life-history  was  shown  at  once  correctly,  scientifically, 
and  as  clearly  as  possible  to  the  popular  eye  by 
illustrations  of  the  insect  in  its  various  stages,  and  the 
object  injured,  accompanied  by  drawings  and,  when 
possible,  facsimile  models.  Mr.  Murray  was  an 
accomplished  draughtsman,  and  a  large  number  of 
the  insect  drawings  are  his  own  work,  in  all  cases 
clearly  executed,  and  many,  especially  those  of  the 
Coleopterre,  really  works  of  art.  On  this  collection 
he  was  working  up  to  his  latest  days,  having,  we 
believe,  a  quantity  of  material  in  progress  of  arrange- 
ment. It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  his  descriptive 
catalogue  of  the  collection  should  not  have  progressed 


beyond  the  first  volume  devoted  to  the  Aptera, 
which  was  to  have  been  followed,  as  we  learn  from 
an  introductory  note,  by  a  complete  series.  The 
compilation  of  such  handbooks  is  a  work  requiring 
great  knowledge  of  the  subject,  as  well  as  familiarity 
with  writings  of  previous  observers,  and  the  head  and 
hand  which  formed  the  collection  could  best  give  us 
the  description  which  utilizes  it  for  general  reference. 

Mr.  Murray  contributed  valuable  papers  of  original 
observation  both  to  home  and  foreign  scientific 
societies  and  serials,  and  amongst  his  larger  works,  his 
volume  on  the  "  Distribution  of  Mammals  "  is  one  of 
very  great  value,  with  regard  to  the  representation  of 
families,  both  prehistoric  and  present,  and  also  for 
its  synonymic  lists  and  tables. 

It  is  said  that  Mr.  Murray's  health  suffered  much 
during  his  American  tour,  but  that  the  immediate 
cause  of  the  unfavourable  change  was  due  to  the 
amount  of  chloroform  inhaled  whilst  rearranging  a 
portion  of  the  Doubleday  collection  infested  with 
Mites.  He  was  not  in  strong  health  at  the  time,  but 
continued  at  his  post  from  day  to  day,  trusting  that 
after  effects  might  wear  away  ;  his  general  health, 
however,  sank  from  that  time,  and  all  who  had  the 
privilege  of  knowing  him  will  feel  that  by  the  death 
of  Andrew  Murray  they  lost  a  true-hearted  and  loyal 
friend,  as  well  as  a  gifted  naturalist.  J.  R.  J. 


ON  SOME  RECENT  FORAMINIFERA  FROM 
THE  SHETLAND  ISLES. 


S 


By  George  Robert  Vine,  Jun. 

OME  time  ago  my  father  gave  me  a  small 
packet  of  dredgings  that  he  had  received  from 
Mr.  Lovett,  Holly  Mount,  Croydon.  The  dredgings 
consisted  of  minute  particles  of  broken  shells, 
quartz,  &c,  but  especially  of  Foraminifera.  These  I 
worked  out,  and  the  following  is  a  list  of  the  species 
obtained. 

Globigerina  bulloides,  D'Orb.,  both  in  the  young  and 
mature  state,  were  very  plentiful ;  Rotalia  Beccarii, 
Linne,  Very  small,  but  showing  the  character  of  the 
genus  well;  Rotalia  oi'bicularis ,  D'Orb.,  and  varieties, 
small,  transparent,  and  perfect,  common  ;  Planorbu- 
lina  [Truncatulina)  lobatula,  Walker  and  Jacob,  very 
common  in  Dog's  Bay,  &c,  but  only  8  or  9  speci- 
mens here  represented  the  genus,  and  all  these  were 
not  very  distinct  in  the  septa  and  foramen,  but  distinct 
enough  to  identify  the  species  ;  Operculina  ammono- 
ides,  Gronovius.  This  is  a  species  hat  can  hardly  te 
mistaken  for  another,  being  ammonite-like  (as  the 
name  implies),  with  the  septa  distinct  and  double 
(see  fig.  31);  small  and  middle  size,  rare;  Pulvimdina 
Micheliniana,  D'Orb.  (see  fig.  28).  This  is  a  peculiar 
species :  it  has  three  different  views ;  the  front  is  raised 
very  much,  with  the  septa  rather  wide  apart ;  the 
bottom  is  flat,  with  two  convolutions  showing  the 

primordial,  and  the  side  view  is  bell-shaped;  middle 

D   2 


52 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-G  OSSIP. 


size,  rare.  One  species,  resembling  a  Nonionina,  is 
rather  common:  it  is  middle  size,  and  has  all  the  septa, 
foramen,  &c,  very  much  obliterated.  Another  most 
beautiful  form  is  very  common  :  it  is  small,  semi- 
transparent,  and  veiy  distinct ;  the  segments  overlap 
one  another,  and  in  the  3  or  4  segments  the  septa 
form  a  fork-like  arrangement  ;  the  foramina  are 
clearly  seen  with  a  low  magnifying  power.  This 
one,  with  figs.  33  and  34,  I  cannot  name,  and  I  should 
feel  obliged  if  anybody  could  help  me  to  name  it. 


Fig.  26.  L .  globosa  ; 
nat.  size,  ^V  in- 


Fig.  27.  L.  sulcata; 
nat.  size,  ~g  in. 


Fig.  25.  Lagena 
distoma  ;  nat. 
size,  -„ \  in. 

Of  the  genus  Textularia,  small,  transparent,  and 
perfect  specimens  were  very  common,  but  the  larger 
end  opaque  ones  rare.  Five  species  of  Textularia 
were  found,  but  there  is  only  one  of  them  that  I  can 
name,  and  that  is  Textularia  abbreviata,  D'Orb.  :  it 
is  small,  transparent,  and  rare.     Two  other  species 


Fig.  28.     Pulvinulina 

M  icheliniana  ;    nat. 
size,  3V  >n- 


Fig.  29.     Side- 
view  of  ditto. 


Fig. 


30.     Front  view 
of  ditto. 


were  small  and  transparent.  One  of  these  I  have 
figured  to  show  the  points  protruding  from  the  side 
of  the  shell.  One  of  the  opaque  forms  is  about  the 
5*T  of  an  inch  in  length.  The  chambers  go  down 
to  a  fine  point,  are  rather  wide  at  the  top,  and  a  slight 
bit  wider  in  the  middle.  It  is  very  difficult  to  recog- 
nize the  species  on  account  of  the  middle  portion 
being  covered  over  by  some  arenaceous  matter,  there- 
by hiding  the  characters  that  in  some  respects 
determines  the  species. 


Of  the  Lagenida,  some  very  good  species  here 
represented  this  family.  The  first  of  these  is  the 
neckless  variety  of  Lagena  sulcata,  Walker  and  Jacob. 
It  is  a  small  form,  and  rather  rare  :  only  one  of  the 
three  specimens  obtained  show  the  lines  that  traverse 
the  shell  distinctly.  Lagena  globosa,  Montagu  (see 
fig.  26).  This  form  is  very  small  and  rare.  It  is  a 
globular  shell  without  any  strire  or  foramina  visible. 
Lagena  disto?na  politia,  Parker  and  Jones.  This 
is  an  elongated  species,  having  the  neck  about  half 
the  size  of  the  body.  All  three  of  these  species  of 
Lagena  have  been  figured  by  Messrs.  Parker  and 
Jones  in  their  paper  on  the  Arctic  Foraminifera,  in  the 
Philosophical  Transactions  for  1865,  Part  I.  Cris- 
tellaria  rotulata  (fig.  36),  Lamarck  ;  small  and  middle 


Fig.  31.     Operculum  amiuo- 
noides  ;  nat.  size,  ^  in. 


Fig.  32.     Nohionina  (?); 
nat.  size,  5y  in. 


Fig.  33.      Textularia,  sp. 


Fig.  34.     Uvigerina />yg] 
vicea  ;  nat.  size,  3\  in. 


Fig.  35.     Rotalia 
orbicularis. 


Fig.  36.     Cristetlaria  rotulata , 
nat.  size,  ^5  in. 


size,  rather  rare.  A  good  specimen,  showing  the 
septa  well.  Another  peculiar  species  is  an  elongated 
form  traversed  by  rather  deep  furrows,  as  in 
Lagena  sulcata,  with  the  septa  placed  in  rather 
irregular  positions.  Four  good  examples  were  ob- 
tained, all  showing  different  characters  (see  fig.  34). 
The  Miliolida  family  was  here  represented  by  three 
very  characteristic  species.     The  first  was  Triloculina 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


53 


oblonga  (?).  These  were  very  minute  and  indistinct ; 
rather  rare.  Biloadina  ringens:  this  is  a  most 
beautiful  and  perfect  specimen  ;  it  is  of  a  white 
colour  and  middle  size.  Rare.  Spiroloculina  canalicu- 
lata,  D'Orb.  (fig.  37).  Two  perfect  examples  of 
this  species  were  found,  showing  the  character  of  the 
genus  well.     Small  and  rare. 

In  this  short  paper  I  have  endeavoured  to  give  an 
idea  of  the  character  of  the  Foraminifera  found  at 
Shetland.  I  have  not  given  all  the  species  found 
there,  and  only  those  that  I  possess  myself.  I  have 
drawn  the  figures  myself,  without  the  aid  of  the 
camera  lucida.  In  my  research  among  this  bit  of 
sand  I  find  that  nearly  all  of  the  Foraminifera  are  of 


Fig.  37.     Spiroloc2iliua  canalicidata ;  nat.  size,  J3  in. 


Fig.  38.    Biloculina  ringens;  nat.  size,  J3  in. 


Fig.  39.     Truncatulina  loba- 
tula  ;  nat.  size,  ^  in. 


Fig.  40.     Ditto,  other  side. 


NOTES  ON  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF 
FROG'S  SPAWN. 

By  A.  M.  M'Aldowie,  M.B., 

Member  of  the  North  Staffordshire  Naturalists'  Field  Club. 

PROBABLY  no  animal  is  better  known,  from  an 
anatomical  and  physiological  point  of  view, 
than  the  Common  Frog.  Developmentally  the  frog 
has  been  specially  studied,  on  account  of  the  inte- 
resting metamorphoses  through  which  it  passes  before 
it  arrives  at  maturity,  and  also  on  account  of  the 
advantages  which  its  egg  offers  for  the  examination 
of  the  ovum,  the  transparent  albuminous  covering 
affording  unrivalled  facilities  for  observations  on,  and 
experimental  investigation  into,  the  subject  of  deve- 
lopment.    The   microscopic   structure  and  changes 


a  brownish  colour,  showing  that  the  water  is  impreg- 
nated with  oxide  of  iron ;  also  that  the  Globigerina 
are  dwarfed  and  thin,  owing  to  the  shallowness  of  the 
water,  120  fathoms,  whilst  the  same  species  from 
the  Atlantic,  at  a  depth  of  1,450  fathoms,  are  larger 
and  more  bulky.  And  this  gives  the  fact  that  the 
Globigerina  grow  larger  and  more  bulky  in  deep  water, 
whilst  they  are  dwarfed  and  thin  in  shallow  water. 
Attercliffe,  Sheffield.    . 


Fig.  41.     Frog's  Spawn  ; 
nat.  size,  March. 


Fig.  42.     Ditto, 
April  4th. 


Fig.   43.     Ditto,  April  Sth  ; 

dorsal  aspect ;  lateral 

aspect. 


44.     Ditto,   April   nth; 
dorsal  aspect ;  lateral 
aspect. 


which  are  observed  during  the   development  of  the 
embryo   of  the   frog,   are  described  and  figured   in 
most  text-books  of  comparative  physiology  and  his- 
tology, but  the  ordinary  naked  eye  appearances  and 
modifications  which  it  exhibits  are  not  to  be  found  in 
these  works.     Nearly  all  zoological  manuals  give  a 
series  of  illustrations  representing  the  various  stages 
in  the  development  of  the  tadpole  after  its  escape 
from  the  egg,  but  they  do  not  figure  the  alterations 
which  take  place  previously,  without  which  the  series 
cannot  be  considered  complete.     St.  George  Mivart, 
although  he  details  the  process  of  yolk  subdivision 
and   cleavage,   and   the   other    microscopic   changes 
through  which  the  embryo  passes,  yet  with  regard  to 
the  naked  eye  appearances  he  merely  states,*  "Gra- 
dually the  embiyo  assumes  the  form  of  a  young  tad- 
pole, and  is  provided  with  a  pair  of  little  '  holders ' 
(or  organs  for  adhesion),  just  behind  the  mouth,  with 
six  openings  on  each  side  of  the  neck,  and  with  a 
pair  of  rudimentaiy  external  gills. "     Huxley,  in  what 
is  undoubtedly  the  best  work  on  the  frog  extant,  in 
reference  to  this  subject  says,f  "While  still  within 
the  egg  the  embryo  assumes  the  form  of  a  minute 
fish,  devoid  of  limbs  and  with  only  rudiments  of  gills, 
but  provided  with  two  adhesive  discs  on  the  ventral 


*  The  Common  Frog  (Nature  Series),  1874,  p.  15. 
t  Elementary  Biology,  1875,  p.  155. 


54 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE-  G  OS  SIP. 


side  of  the  head  behind  the  mouth."  The  following 
notes,  although  very  crude  and  imperfect,  may  serve 
to  draw  the  attention  of  some  of  the  readers  of 
Scie>."CE-Gossip  to  this  interesting  subject  during 
the  season  which  is  now  approaching.  I  intended  to 
supplement  them  the  following  year,  but  had  no 
opportunity  of  doing  so. 

About  the  end  of  March,  1874  (exact  date  uncer- 
tain), I  exposed  a  mass  of  frog's  spawn  to  the  light  in 
a  glass  tank,  placing  it  in  a  window  having  a  westerly 
aspect.  There  was  no  fire  in  the  room.  The  small 
round  ovum  (fig.  41)  gradually  became  elongated, 
assuming  at  first  an  ovoid  form,  but  afterwards  one 
end  became  attenuated,  while  a  small  groove  formed 
near  the  other  extremity,  and  on  the  4th  of  April 
most  of  them  presented  the  appearance  shown  in 
fig.  42.  As  the  embryo  enlarged,  these  characters 
became  more  marked,  until,  on  the  Sth,  the  form  of 
the  head   and  the  body  could   plainly  be   detected 

(fig-  43)- 

April  Sth.  Most  of  the  embryos  show  signs  of 
animation.  The  movements  consist  of  alternate 
flexion  and  extension  of  the  body,  the  animal  folding 
itself  up  laterally  and  then  straightening  itself  at 
intervals  of  about  half  a  minute.  Movements  first 
observed  in  the  afternoon,  and  continued  till  sunset. 

April  9th.  Movements  more  active  than  yester- 
day, but  still  as  restricted  as  before. 

April  10th.  Movements  not  quite  so  quick  as 
yesterday,  but  more  extensive  and  fish-like. 

April  nth.  Most  of  the  tadpoles  appear  to  be 
trying  to  free  themselves  from  the  albuminous  mass 
by  quick  wriggling  movements.  External  gills  very 
plainly  seen  on  all  (fig.  44).  They  first  appeared  as 
two  small  protuberances,  situated  one  on  each  side  of 
the  hinder  part  of  the  head.  These  gradually  elon- 
gated, divided  and  subdivided,  until  they  presented 
the  appearance  of  small  branched  filaments. 

April  1 2th.  Tadpoles  all  out  this  morning.  Ar- 
range themselves  in  clusters  with  their  heads  all  in 
one  direction.  Most  of  them  remain  quite  motion- 
less, but  a  few  swim  actively  about  the  tank. 

Stoke-on-Trent. 


A  GOSSIP  ABOUT  NEW  BOOKS. 

THE  present  winter  has  not  been  remarkable  for 
the  number  of  scientific  books  issued.  When 
wars  and  the  rumours  of  wars  prevail,  and  the  reading 
world  has  its  taste  demoralized  by  the  vivid  descrip- 
tions of  such  rapidly-succeeding  events  as  those  which 
have  marked  the  history  of  the  last  six  months,  it  is 
hardly  to  be  wondered  at  that  scientific  literature 
should  retreat  almost  to  the  vanishing-point.  But 
there  is  a  break  in  the  clouds,  and  thoughtful  people 
are  hoping  that  the  storm  will  clear  away  as  fast  as 
it  gathered  ;  then  we  shall  return  to  soberer  literature 
than  war  and  anti-war  newspaper  leaders,  with  a  sense 


of  relief  and  a  fervent  thankfulness  for  our  narrow 
escape. 

Notwithstanding  the  paucity  in  the  issue  of  first- 
class  scientific  books,  the  appearance  of  a  new  volume 
from  the  pen  of  Darwin  is  always  sufficient  to  create 
interest.  And  perhaps  of  the  works  which  that  in- 
dustrious author  has  recently  published,  none  is  more 
important  than  the  present  work,  entitled,  "The 
Different  Forms  of  Flowers  on  Plants  of  the  same 
Species  "  (London,  John  Murray).  Herein  Dr.  Dar- 
win has  entered  into  the  minutest  and  fullest  investi- 
gation of  the  inner  structures  of  flowers.  We  now 
find  how  abundant  are  the  phenomena  of  trimor- 
phism  and  dimorphism  (only  a  few  years  ago  deemed 
so  peculiar  and  exceptional),  and  that  the  number  of 
species  bearing  cleistogamic  flowers  is  also  being  added 
to  every  day  ;  that  the  latter  structure  of  flowers, 
produced  by  exceptional  circumstances,  varies  from 
one  extreme  to  the  other,  and  that  these  extremes 
are  connected  by  an  inosculating  series.  Thus  the 
Grass  Pea  (Lathy?-us  nissolia),  bears  cleistogamic 
flowers,  which  can  hardly  be  told  from  the  ordinary 
flowers  just  before  the  latter  finally  expand.  At  the 
other  extreme  we  find  cleistogamic  flowers  which  are 
actually  fertilized  beneath  the  soil,  and  so  are  little 
above  the  condition  of  subterranean  buds.  Dr.  Darwin 
further  enters  into  the  sizes  and  shapes  of  the  pollen- 
grain  produced  by  different-sized  stamens  in  dimor- 
phic and  trimorphic  plants.  The  absolute  necessity 
for  crossing  to  be  produced,  by  the  pollen  from  the 
flower  of  one  plant  being  carried  to  the  pistil  of 
another  plant,  comes  out  strikingly  in  Dr.  Darwin's 
experiments  ;  for  it  is  proved  that  very  little  is  gained 
by  the  pistil  of  a  flower  being  fertilized  by  the  pollen 
of  another  flower  borne  by  the  same  plant.  The 
origin  of  monoecious  and  dicecious  flowers,  of  nectaries 
in  flowers,  and  many  other  singular  and  striking 
botanical  peculiarities,  are  here  discussed  in  the  easy 
but  philosophical  style  for  which  all  the  author's 
books  are  celebrated.  It  is  truly  a  rich  treat  to  the 
botanist  to  peruse  such  a  book  as  this,  and  one  to 
which  all  our  readers  who  have  not  yet  read  it  will 
thank  us  for  attracting  their  immediate  attention. 

"The  Antelope  and  Deer  of  America,"  by  John 
Dean  Caton,  LL.D.  (London,  Triibner  &  Co.),  is  a 
handsome  treatise  upon  the  natural  history,  including 
the  characteristics,  habits,  affinities,  and  capacity  for 
domestication,  of  the  Antilocapra  and  Cervidce  of 
North  America.  This  is  a  question  of  the  deepest 
importance  in  practical  natural  history,  and  one  which 
has  been  too  much  neglected.  Books  on  wild  animals 
usually  tell  us  more  about  their  destruction  under  the 
name  of  "sport "  than  of  possibilities  of  their  domes- 
tication and  utilization.  Dr.  Caton  tells  us  he  has 
for  many  years  kept  in  domestication  the  American 
antelope,  and  all  of  the  American  deer  of  which  his 
book  treats,  except  the  moose  and  the  two  species  of 
reindeer.  1'his  book  deals  with  the  important  and 
difficult  subject  selected  by  the  author  with  a  fulness 


HARDWICKE'S    SCTENCE-GOSSIP. 


55 


■which  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.  The  structural 
affinities  and  habits  of  the  various  kinds  of  deer,  and 
their  comparison  with  each  other,  are  most  clearly  set 
forth.  To  a  zoological  student  this  book  has  a  pecu- 
liar and  special  value.  The  woodcuts  are  numerous, 
original,  and  well  done. 

"Proteus;  or,  Unity  in  Nature,"  byC.B.Radcliffe, 
M.D.  (London,  Macmillan  &  Co.),  is  the  second 
edition,  revised  and  brought  up  to  the  newer  views  of 
science,  of  a  book  which  created  some  attention  when 
it  first  appeared  some  years  ago.  Practically  it  is 
quite  a  different  volume  to  what  it  was  then,  when 
the  disturbing  theory  of  evolution  was  either  unknown 
or  ignored.  Dr.  Radcliffe  is  an  opponent  of  evolu- 
tion, and  although  not  a  prejudiced  one,  we  cannot 
help  feeling  he  has  not  taken  sufficient  pains  to  fully 
understand  it.  Apart  from  this  we  have  read  his 
book  with  sincere  pleasure  and  profit.  It  most 
thoughtfully  and  reverently  discusses  the  many- 
changing  varieties  of  Nature,  physical,  animal,  and 
vegetable  ;  and  dry  facts  and  their  relations  light  up 
with  the  glow  of  the  author's  genius.  The  literary 
style  is  of  the  most  attractive  character,  not  demonstra- 
tively fervid,  but  chaste  and  yet  enthusiastic. 

"Physiography,"  by  Professor  Huxley,  F.R.S. 
(London,  Macmillan  &  Co.),  will  be  hailed  with 
pleasure  by  science  students.  Although  we  do  not 
like  the  new  name  with  which  the  South  Kensington 
authorities  have  replaced  the  older  one  of  Physical 
Geography,  Professor  Huxley  shows  us  in  this  hand- 
some and  well  got-up  volume  how  natural  pheno- 
mena may  be  studied  in  the  concrete,  even  in  their 
relation  to  our  earth,  in  a  wider  and  deeper  sense, 
perhaps,  than  was  undertaken  in  the  science  of 
physical  geography.  The  author  eschews  the  old 
system  of  treatment  in  works  on  physical  geography, 
wherein  the  readers  were  first  taught  about  the  shape 
and  motions  of  the  earth,  &c,  and  begins  just  at  the 
other  end,  leaving  such  astronomical  facts  to  be  dis- 
cussed last.  The  river  Thames,  in  fact,  is  employed 
as  a  sort  of  scientific  text,  and  Professor  Huxley 
makes  its  relations  and  associations  the  groundwork 
of  a  general  description  which  will  answer  almost 
equally  well  for  any  other  river  and  river-valley  in 
the  world.  The  plan  is  admirably  worked  out,  as 
we  might  reasonably  expect  it  would  be  at  the  hands 
of  such  a  master. 

"The Origin  of  the  World,"  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Dawson 
(London,  Hodder  &  Stoughton).  Dr.  Dawson  is 
well-known  as  an  ardent  field  geologist,  and  one  who 
has  largely  and  successfully  contributed  to  the  vast 
storehouse  of  geological  knowledge.  Unfortunately 
he  appears  to  us  to  be  an  equally  ardent  theologian  ; 
and  so,  when  he  writes  books  on  geology  in  general 
(and  he  always  writes  them  well  and  attractively),  he 
cannot  forget  the  theological  bayonets  against  which 
the  stony  science  has  been  repeatedly  impelled.  The 
consequence  is  a  melange  of  geology  and  theology, 
which  we  are  afraid  is  not  of  special  advantage  to 


either.  Especially  is  Dr.  Dawson  angeied  with  the 
theory  of  evolution,  and  he  loses  not  an  opportunity 
to  tilt  against  it,  frequently  with  as  much  success  as 
Don  Quixote's  similar  attempt  to  overthrow  the 
windmills.  The  present  volume  is  especially  satu- 
rated with  what  Professor  Huxley  calls  "Mosaism"; 
one  almost  feels  as  if  we  had  gone  back  to  the  time  of 
Hugh  Miller.  But  there  are  many  readers  who  are 
fond  of  discussing  the  many  points  of  contact  which 
still  exist  between  Genesis  and  geology  ;  and  to  such 
we  can  confidently  recommend  Dr.  Dawson's  book 
as  likely  to  please  them  in  no  ordinary  degree. 

"Accidents  in  Mines:  their  Causes  and  Preven- 
tion," by  Alan  Bagot,  Mining  Engineer  (London, 
C.  Kegan,  Paul,  &  Co. ).  In  this  small  but  attrac- 
tive volume  the  author  has  collected  all  the  informa- 
tion possible,  as  seen  by  those  who  are  engaged  pro- 
fessionally as  mining  engineers,  in  order  to  its  being 
brought  before  the  public.  He  discusses  whether  the 
principles  of  Davey's  Safety-Lamp  hold  good  when 
the  atmospheric  pressure  is  as  great  as  we  find  it  in 
deep  coal-mines.  Also,  what  effect  the  vibrating 
waves  of  sound  may  have  on  the  flame  within  the 
lamp  when  the  latter  is  surrounded  by  an  explosive 
mixture  of  gas.  Mr.  Bagot  thinks  that  in  the  solution 
of  these  two  problems  lies  the  secret  of  explosion 
after  shot-firing  in  mines.  In  the  eighteen  chapters 
which  compose  this  book,  the  author  enters  most 
fully  into  the  economy  of  coal-mines,  and  all  that 
concerns  their  safe  and  effective  working.  The  work 
is  therefore  a  most  valuable  one,  and  ought  to  be  in 
the  hands  of  all  those  whom  the  subject  directly  or 
indirectly  concerns. 


A  REMARKABLE  GARDEN  PLANT. 
( Thunbergia  alata. ) 

THIS  very  pretty  tropical  climber,  belonging  to 
the  natural  order  Acanthacecc,  a  native  of  India 
and  Madagascar,  was  introduced  to  our  gardens  some 
fifty  years  ago.  It  presents  in  the  structure  of  its  flowers 
numerous  points  of  interest.  The  plant  is  a  slender 
twiner,  with  hastate  leaves,  whose  petioles,  as  the 
specific  name  alata,  implies,  are  broadly  winged. 
The  calyx  is  very  minute,  consisting  of  twelve  hair- 
like sepals,  its  place  being  occupied  by  two  large 
membranous,  almost  transparent,  bracts.  These  are 
strongly  keeled,  and  overlap  each  other,  completely 
enveloping  the  calyx,  and  about  one-half  of  the  corolla 
tube.  Besides  the  keel,  there  are  about  six  well- 
marked  longitudinal  veins,  connected  by  numerous 
smaller  ones  almost  at  right  angles,  forming  a  rect- 
angular network  somewhat  resembling  that  of  Ouvi- 
randra  fenesiralis.  The  whole  surface  is  beset  with 
scattered  hairs,  which  are  either  simple,  or  with  one 
or  two  septa,  and  bent  where  the  septum  occurs. 
They  are  hollow,  except  at  the  nodes  and  near  the 
points,  the  hollow  portion  terminating  in  a  bulbous 


56 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSS  IP. 


expansion  similar  to  a  nettle-sting.  There  is  but  little 
chlorophyl,  a  large  portion  of  the  bract  being  occu- 
pied by  air-spaces,  into  which  numerous  long,  narrow 
stomata  open.  The  corolla  is  salver-shaped,  slightly 
oblique,  and  of  a  clear  Nankeen  yellow,  the  colour 
being  somewhat  brighter  round  the  throat.  In  some 
forms  the  throat  is  a  dark  chocolate-brown,  almost 
black,  while  in  one  variety  the  limb  is  pure  white 
with  a  dark  throat.  The  stamens  are  four  in  number, 
and  are  situated  far  down  in  the  tube  of  the  corolla, 
the  interior  pair  being  considerably  shorter  than  the 
exterior  pair.  The  filament  is  inserted  into  the  dorsal 
portion  of  the  connective,  a  short  distance  from  the 
base  of  the  anther,  thus  giving  the  ventral  face  of  the 
anther  a  slight  inclination  forwards  and   upwards. 


Fig.   45.     Diagram  of  flower  of  Thunbergia   alata  (vertical 
section). 

The  anthers  adhere  by  the  ventral  suture,  the  pro- 
jecting margins  of  the  lobes  being  densely  bearded 
with  hairs  of  a  peculiar  and  interesting  form.     They 
are  slender  and  clavate,  consisting  of  numerous  joints. 
The  lower  are  oblong,  three  or  four  times  as  long  as 
broad.    Proceeding  from  the  base  upwards,  the  joints 
become  shorter,  thicker,  and  more  rounded,  and  with 
deeper  constrictions,  giving  a  beaded  appearance,  the 
uppermost  one  being  frequently  divided  by  vertical 
septa  into  two  or  three.     These  topmost  cells  are 
some  twice  or  thrice  the  diameter  of  what  I  may  term 
the  stem  of  the  hair,  the  whole  of  which,  from  base  to 
summit,  is  finely  tuberculated,  the  tubercles  increasing 
in  number  and  size  from  below  upwards.     A  trace  of 
this  tuberculation  occurs  also  on  the  hairs  of  the  bract, 
but  to  a  very  much  smaller  degree.      The  pollen, 
which,  like  the  anthers  and  the  anther  hairs,  is  almost 
white,  is  spherical,  and  has  several  broad,  flat,  spiral 
grooves  winding  round  it  in  opposite  directions,  pro- 
ducing a  very  curious  appearance.    The  pistil  is  long 
and   slender,   passes   up   between  the   interior   and 
shorter  pair  of  stamens,  and,  like  them,  is  closely 


!  adpressed  to  the  back  of  the  corolla  tube.  The 
stigma,  which  is  situated  a  short  distance  above  the 
upper  stamens,  appears  to  consist  of  two  parts.  The 
upper  portion  is  the  style  slightly  flattened  and  curved 
round  into  a  kind  of  a  narrow  funnel,  at  the  base  of 
which,  and  on  the  front  of  the  style,  is  a  semicircular 
cup-shaped  body,  which  seems  to  be  a  further  develop- 
ment of  the  stigma,  as  I  have  observed  numerous 
pollen-grains  adhering  to  its  viscid  edges.  The  con- 
cave surface  of  this  cup  is  upwards,  the  convex  down- 
wards. Thus  it  appears  that  every  precaution  is  taken 
to  avoid  self-fertilization.    The  corolla  is  almost  erect, 


Fig.  46.     Anther-hair  and  pollen-grains  of  Thunbergia  x  200. 


Fig.  47.     Hairs  of  bract  of  Thunbergia  X  50. 

the  stamens  densely  bearded  on  the  ventral  or  front 
side,  with  hairs  pointing  downwards,  which  hairs,  still 
further  to  retain  the  pollen  from  any  accidental  dis- 
turbance from  wind,  Sec,  are  club-shaped,  thickened 
at  the  apex,  and  closely  tuberculated,  while  the 
pollen-grains  themselves  have  spiral  grooves  to 
increase  their  tenacity  to  the  hairs.  Again,  the  stig- 
matic  surface  is  turned  directly  away  from  the  pollen, 
so  that  it  is  scarcely  conceivable  that  self-fertilization 
could  take  place.  Suppose  an  insect  with  a  long  pro- 
boscis visits  the  flower,  its  proboscis  passes  down- 
wards freely  to  the  base  of  the  corolla  ;  on  with- 
drawing it,  the  trunk  cannot  fail  to  brush  upwards  or 
backwards  some  of  the  anther  hairs,  and  in  so  doing 
set  free  some  of  the  pollen  which  adheres.  The 
horizontal  and  non-stigmatic  portion  of  the  pistil 
being  downwards,  receives  none  of  the  pollen.  The 
insect  visits  another  flower,  and  thrusts  its  proboscis, 
laden  with  pollen,  into  the  corolla.  In  so  doing,  the 
stigma  being  in  a  narrow  portion  of  the  tube,  is 
nearly  certain  to  intercept  some  of  the  grains,  and 
thus  ensure  fertilization.  Even  should  this  fail, 
touching  the  base  of  the  style  causes  it  to  bend  for- 
ward, and  thus  be  ready  for  the  next  comer.     The 


HARD  WICKE 'S    SCIENCE  -  GOSSIP. 


57 


truth  of  this  is  readily  proved,  for  flowers  which  are 
"set"  artificially  freely  produce  seed,  while  those 
left  to  themselves,  being  grown  under  glass,  and  thus 
out  of  the  reach  of  most  insects,  never  come  to  matu- 
rity. The  seed-vessel  is  somewhat  curious,  as  well  as 
other  parts  of  the  plant,  being  in  shape  a  flattened 
sphere  with  a  long  beak,  and  contains  two  to  four 
hemispherical  rough  blackish  seeds.  Altogether, 
whether  as  botanical  curiosity,  or  a  garden  ornament, 
this  Thunbergia  is  well  worth  growing. 

Greenwood  Pim,  M.A.,  F.L.S. 


THE  POTATO-BEETLE. 

IN  thanking  Mr.  W.  V.  Andrews,  the  Correspond- 
ing Secretary  of  the  Long  Island  Entomologists' 
Society,  U.S.A.,  for  his  kind  and  complimentary 
allusions  to  myself  on  page  I  of  the  present  volume, 
I  am  reluctantly  compelled,  as  he  classes  me  "  in  the 
ranks  of  the  alarmists,"  to  conclude  either  (i)  that  I 
have,  in  my  article  on  the  Beetle  in  question,  in 
Science-Gossip  of  1st  September  last,  acted  un- 
wittingly upon  the  principle  that  language  is  given  us 
to  conceal  our  thoughts  ;  or,  (2)  that  Mr.  Andrews 
does  not  thoroughly  understand  the  English  tongue. 
There  is  some  slight  excuse  for  the  first  hypothesis  in 
my  remarks  upon  South  Kensington  on  p.  202  ;  and 
it  is  humiliating  to  have  to  point  out,  even  to  an  out- 
sider, that  these  were  "written  sarkastic,"  as  the 
great  Artemus  says.  For  the  second  one,  I  must 
refer  to  my  express  statement,  on  p.  203,  that  "  to 
the  writer  it  seems  that  our  much  damper  and  colder 
climate,  not  affording  opportunities  for  the  rapid  suc- 
cession of  broods  which  the  insect  develops  in 
America,  must  materially  militate  against  its  obtaining 
a  permanent  hold  ;  and  the  collateral  arguments,  that 
no  American  beetle  has  ever  established  itself  in  Eng- 
land, and  that  we  possess  no  near  ally  of  this  parti- 
cular one,  cannot  fail  to  have  some  weight  in  the 
matter."  The  fact  is,  that  to  every  Coleopterist  of 
my  acquaintance,  and  to  every  one  (the  name  is 
legion)  with  whom  I  have  had  conversation  on  the 
subject,  it  is  well  known  that  I  have  from  the  first 
steadily  and  strenuously  been  opposed  to  any  belief 
in  the  idea  that  the  potato-beetle  could  be  of  any 
harm  in  this  country  ;  and  this  view  I  have  always 
upheld  in  everything  I  have  written.  Indeed,  I  have 
a  firm  conviction  that,  if  circumstances  had  not  pre- 
vented the  present  Editor  of  Science-Gossip  (long 
may  he  reign  !)  from  attending  the  Plymouth  meeting 
of  the  British  Association,  where  there  was  much 
talk,  post-prandial  and  otherwise,  upon  this  subject, 
the  false  conclusion  as  to  my  being  among  the  alarmists 
would  never  have  appeared — at  all  events,  without 
simultaneous  correction. 

Mr.  Andrews  says  : — •"  Mr.  Rye  tells  you  that  Paris 
green  is  a  favourite  remedy  here,  but  he  does  not 
understand    the    American    mode    of  doing    things. 


Some  State  entomologist  or  other  probably  had  a 
friend  in  the  oil  or  colour  business,"  &c,  and,  "  You 
do  not  do  things  in  that  way  in  honest  old  England, 
but  we  do  here."  Without  going  so  far  as  to  quote  a 
homely  Saxon  proverb,  concerning  a  certain  ill  bird 
and  its  nest,  I  must,  remembering  Riley,  Le  Baron, 
Packard,  Cyrus  Thomas,  and  other  "good  men  and 
true,"  of  whose  scientific  help  the  U.S.  Government 
has  wisely  availed  itself,  energetically  disclaim  the 
acceptance  of  such  remarks  as  these  as  a  sample  of  the 
"  Science-Gossip  "  of  the  States.  It  is  to  the  first- 
named  of  these  authorities  that  we  owe  most  of  our 
knowledge  of  Transatlantic  economic  entomology  ; 
and  his  reputation  is  far  too  securely  established  to  be 
shaken  by  the  insinuations  of  even  the  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  Long  Island  Entomologists'  Society. 
That  gentleman's  concluding  caution  to  English 
readers,  that  all  striped  beetles  found  on  potatoes  are 
not  Colorado  beetles,  but  may  be  useful  little  fellows, 
&c,  shows  an  ignorance  of  our  Insect  Fauna,  re- 
markable in  one  who  proposes  to  allay  our  (hypo- 
thetical) fears.  E.  C.  Rye. 


NOTES  FROM  WEST  KERRY. 

ONLY  a  few  species  of  Cetacea  are  known  to 
frequent  the  Irish  coast ;  the  common  por- 
poise is  of  every-day  occurrence ;  the  pilot-whale 
{Globioceplialus  Svineval)  is  often  met  with  in  large 
numbers,  and  an  immense  B alalia  is  occasionally 
cast  on  shore.  All  the  smaller  species  of  Cetacea  are 
termed  "  Porpoises  "  by  the  Irish  peasantry,  who 
value  them,  not  only  as  excellent  food,  but  attribute 
to  their  flesh  and  oil  hygienic  and  medicinal  proper- 
ties. Consequently,  whenever  one  or  more  happen 
to  be  stranded,  they  rush  in  crowds  with  scythes  and 
sickles,  hatchets,  pitchforks,  spades,  knives,  and  all 
manner  of  deadly  weapons,  to  the  scene  of  the  occur- 
rence, hew,  hack,  decapitate,  and  cut  into  fragments 
the  unwieldy  stranger,  and  long  before  rumour  of  the 
capture  has  reached  any  educated  person,  the  coveted 
flesh  is  stored  away  in  tubs,  or  piled  in  a  corner  of 
some  sooty  cabin  ;  the  entrails  and  useless  viscera 
thrown  into  the  receding  tide  or  torn  by  hogs  (the 
dear  and  cherished  associates  in  Irish  cabins  of  scro- 
fulous children  and  of  their  filthy  parents),  and  so 
far  as  science  is  concerned  the  unfortunate  fish,  seal, 
or  cetacean,  might  as  well  have  remained  in  his 
marine  abode.  On  a  March  morning  in  1S64,  on 
the  shelving  sandy  beach  of  Fermoyle,  skirting  the 
waters  of  Brandon  Bay,  on  the  west  coast  of  Kerry, 
I  observed  two  men  moving  a  heavy  object,  which 
on  closer  inspection  proved  to  be  part  of  the  head  of 
a  cetacean  such  as  I  had  never  before  seen.  The 
head  had  been  much  larger,  and  divided  vertically 
behind  the  eyes  ;  the  front  portion  only  remained  ; 
the  eyes,  however,  were  left  untouched,  as  also  the 
lunated  spiracle,  with  the  concavity  looking  forward. 


53 


HA  RD  WICKE  >S    S  CIE  NCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


The  measurements  in  the  recent  state  of  the  animal 
were — 

From  centre  of  fold  of  spiracle  to  each  eye,  10  in. 

From  same  point  to  extremity  of  upper  jaw,  22  in. 

From  commissure  of  lips  to  extremity  of  upper  jaw, 

13J  in- 
From  same  to  extremity  of  lower  jaw,  14  in. 

On  the  lower  surface  of  the  integuments  corre- 
sponding to  the  space  between  the  rami  of  the  lower 
jaw,  was  a  well-defined  angle,  formed  by  two  de- 
pressed lines,  or  furrows,  each  ten  inches  long. 
These  lines  converged  to  an  apex  in  front,  while 
their  extremities  behind  were  seven  inches  apart. 
The  acute  angle  thus  defined  corresponded,  I  say, 
externally  with  an  almost  equal  internal  angle,  formed 
by  the  convergence  of  the  lower  jawbones,  and  giving 
accommodation  to  the  deep  pouch  of  the  pharynx,  as 
shown  in  my  illustration  With  the  kind  assistance  of 
my  friend,  Mr.  R.  Conway  Hickson,  whose  finely- 
placed  residence  at  Fermoyle  is  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  scene  of  capture,  the  remains  of  the 
head  were  rescued  from  the  destroyers  and  conveyed 
to  Carthgregory,  a  neighbouring  village,  where  scien- 
tific appliances  are  scarcely  more  numerous  than 
"strawberries  grown  in  the  sea."  However,  under 
unfavourable  circumstances  four  or  five  photographic 
illustrations  were  obtained  from  it — riot  artistic,  cer- 
tainly, but  affording  correct  ideas,  for  the  first  time, 
I  believe,  of  the  physiognomy  of  the  curious  creature. 
Eagerly,  as  you  may  suppose,  and  at  once,  I  con- 
sulted the  few  authorities  within  my  reach,  and  found 
that  this  remarkable  cetacean  had  not  been  pre- 
viously recognised  as  a  visitant  of  the  Irish  coast, 
nor  of  Great  Britain,  save  once  before,  in  1 790.  In 
Jardine's  "Naturalists'  Library"  it  is  described  and 
figured  as  Diodon  Sowerbii,  but  the  Plate  there 
given  has  little  resemblance  to  the  animal,  and  none 
as  regards  the  beak,  its  most  conspicuous  peculiarity. 
It  is  described,  though  not  figured,  in  the  "  English 
Cyclopaedia,  as  "Ziphius  Sowerbii,"  and  that  is 
now  its  recognised  appellation. 

The  genus  "Ziphius"  is  remarkable  chiefly  for 
its  elongated  jaws,  which  extend  to,  at  least,  a  length 
of  fourteen  inches  from  the  commissure  of  the  lips, 
and  form  a  beak  or  snout  of  great  solidity  and 
strength.  The  upper  fits  into  the  lower  as  a  cylinder 
into  a  semi-cylinder.  Before  the  lower  jaws  con- 
verge to  form  this  semi-cylinder,  and  posterior  to  the 
point  where  the  front  of  the  pharyngeal  pouch  is 
attached  to  the  bone,  one  stout  pyramidal  tooth  is 
inserted  in  a  deep  socket  on  each  side  of  the  lower 
jaw  ;  thus  the  tooth  is  nine  or  ten  inches  from  the 
extremity  of  the  beak.  The  soft  parts  on  the  upper 
jaw  are  notched  on  each  side  for  the  reception  of  the 
high  projecting  tooth  ;  these  teeth  are  believed  to  be 
characteristic  of  the  male.  Though  found  in  the  Scotch 
and  Irish  animals,  there  are  a  few  specimens  in  Con- 
tinental museums  from  which  they  are  absent ;  this 
absence  was  supposed  by  some  to  indicate  difference 


of  species,  by  others  to  be  merely  a  sexual  distinction. 
The  genus  Ziphius  is  comparatively  new  to  Natural 
History.  Nothing  was  known  of  it  till  some  fossil 
remains  were  sent  from  Holland  and  from  the  south 
of  France  to  Cuvier,  who,  not  being  then  aware  of 
any  existing  cetacean  with  similar  beak,  supposed 
the  remains  to  belong  to  an  extinct  genus.  The  dis- 
covery in  Scotland,  in  1 790,  proved  that  this  supposi- 
tion was  erroneous,  and  a  very  few  living  specimens 
met  with  since  have  shown  that  Ziphius  does  exist  in 
modern  seas.  Still  they  are  extremely  rare,  and  an 
unmutilated  specimen  would  be  of  great  anatomical 
interest,  and  its  skeleton  a  desideratum  in  any  museum. 

In  1870,  after  a  lapse  of  six  years,  it  was  my  fortune, 
alone  of  all  men,  I  believe,  to  meet  with  a  second 
Ziphius,  about  five  or  six  miles  from  the  site  of  the 
first  capture.  This  time  the  animal  came  in  near 
Brandon  Pier,  a  very  interesting  and  well-known 
fishing-station,  worthy  of  more  remark  than  would 
be  relevant  here. 

Before  I  saw  it,  it  had  been  treated  like  its  prede- 
cessor ;  its  flesh  had  been  cut  into  a  thousand  pieces 
by  the  greedy  peasantry,  and  its  bones  unscientific- 
ally sawn  and  broken.  I  snatched  a  portion  of  its  jaw 
from  a  dog's  mouth,  and  disinterred  parts  of  the  split 
skull  from  a  dungheap  ;  and  I  dragged  some  portion 
of  the  skeleton,  as  well  as  part  of  the  stomach  which 
pigs  had  not  torn,  from  the  ebbing  tide.  The  intes- 
tines generally  were  so  mangled  as  to  be  useless  for 
anatomical  purposes  ;  nor  could  any  part  of  the  solid 
viscera  be  obtained.  An  irregular  hole,  whose  largest 
diameter  may  have  been  an  inch,  had  been  made  in 
one  compartment  of  the  stomach,  which  I  had  taken 
from  the  tide-covered  sand,  and  this  compartment 
was  completely  filled  with  sand.  I  do  not  think  it 
probable,  or  even  possible,  that  the  sand  could  have 
entered  through  the  accidental  aperture  while  for  a 
short  time  under  water.  I  cannot  offer  any  explana- 
tion of  hozv  or  why  it  was  there  ;  but  who  will  affirm, 
in  our  total  ignorance  of  the  habits  of  the  animal, 
that  he  did  not  swallow  it  during  life,  impelled  by 
some  unaccountable  physiological  necessity,  or  per- 
haps from  -depraved  appetite,  the  result  of  disease  ? 
I  opened  what  seemed  to  be  a  second  compartment 
of  the  stomach,  when  more  than  a  pint  of  bile  rushed 
out.  Anatomists  have  denied  a  gall-bladder  to  zoo- 
phagous  cetaceans,  but  what  was  this  ? — or  is  ziphius 
not  zoophagous  ?  Nothing  but  sand  and  bile  existed 
in  these  viscera  ;  I  was  much  pressed  for  time,  and 
could  not  examine  more  closely  into  the  matter,  but 
sent  both  stomach  and  bile  to  Dublin  to  competent 
investigators. 

Ziphius  No.  2  was  about  seventeen  or  eighteen  feet 
long,  and  was  first  observed  on  the  beach  at  high 
water,  in  great  uneasiness,  floundering,  and,  of  course, 
working  a  cavity  in  the  sand,  in  which  it  remained 
when  the  tide  had  ebbed.  When  first  approached 
by  its  butchers  it  was  seen  to  open  its  cylindrical 
jaws  in  a  portentous  way,  and  to  close  them  with  an 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  O  SSI  P. 


59 


angry  snap,  while  from  each  tooth  stood  out  laterally 
two  or  three  large  barnacles,  giving  it  a  wild  and 
extraordinary  appearance.  Of  these  cirripedes  only 
parts  of  the  peduncles  remained  when  I  got  posses- 
sion, but,  as  the  captors  said,  they  were  not  common 
barnacles  (Lepas  Anatifera),  so  well  known  to  all 
dwellers  on  the  sea-coast ;  I  am  inclined  to  believe 
they  were  another  well-known  species  {Conchoderma 
Aurita).  The  presence  of  these  barnacles  seems  to 
discountenance  an  opinion  which  some  might  rashly 
entertain,  that  the  sharp  strong  teeth,  if  not  confined 
to  the  male,  were  used  to  impale  the  animals'  prey, 
while  being  crushed  by  the  powerful  beak ;  but  if 
such  were  the  case,  the  impudent  and  daring  guests 
would  be  rubbed  off  before  they  could  become  firmly 
fixed  to  their  strange  abode,  so  close  to  the  maw  of 
their  monstrous  host.  On  the  other  hand,  the  ex- 
tremely sharp  point  of  the  tooth  would  seem  to 
indicate  constant  use.  As  to  the  colour  of  the 
animal,  the  skin  on  the  head  of  the  Fermoyle  speci- 
men was  of  a  glossy  satiny  black,  badly  represented 
in  the  photograph,  owing  to  the  reflection  of  light, 
but  I  cannot  now  speak  with  certainty  of  the  mouths 
proper  and  the  tongue.  In  the  Brandon  Pier  speci- 
men I  cannot  speak  of  the  head,  but  the  deep  pha- 
ryngeal pouch  was  of  the  usual  reddish  colour  of 
mucous  membrane.  I  obtained  a  few  square  pieces 
with  the  natural  skin,  not  torn  or  gnawed,  black  and 
glossy,  but  vermicularly  marked  with  white  streaks, 
up  and  down  and  across,  in  irregular  network.  Many 
of  the  "streaks  bore  a  singular  resemblance  to  old 
cicatrices — scars  from  greedymarine  warriors,  inflicted, 
perhaps,  by  grampuses  or  sharks.  Though  I  will 
vouch  for  it  that  Ziphius  himself,  if  angry  or  jealous, 
could  give  a  sharp  nip  to  an  enemy  or  rival,  yet  I  do 
not  believe  that  these  teeth  were  given  for  attack  or 
defence  ;  if  fixed  at  the  point  of  the  beak,  they  would 
be  powerful  instruments  for  either  species  of  warfare. 
One  of  the  spectators  asserts,  that  when  first  stranded, 
the  unhappy  animal  "roared  like  a  bull."  Another 
insists  that  he  was  perfectly  silent.  In  this,  as  in 
almost  every  case,  I  would  be  inclined  to  believe  the 
less  sensational  witness. 

A  recital  of  the  synonyms  applied  to  our  long- 
beaked  friend — ungallantly  assuming  that  the  tooth- 
less specimens  are  the  females — would  fail  to  interest 
your  readers.  Diodon,  Physeter,  Delphinorynchus, 
Mesodiodon,  Dioplodon,  Mesoplodon,  are  a  few  of 
the  jaw-breaking  epithets,  dangerous  to  any  jaw  less 
mighty  than  its  own!  "Ziphius  Sowerbii,"  like 
Aaron's  Rod,  has  swallowed  the  others. 

My  friend,  Mr.  William  Andrews,  the  zealous  and 
learned  naturalist  who  has  done  so  much  for  Irish 
Natural  History,  and  especially  for  that  of  West 
Kerry,  has  given  them  all,  and  much  information 
besides,  in  an  excellent  paper  read  to  the  "  Royal 
Irish  Academy,"  descriptive  of  Brandon  Ziphius  No.  I, 
to  which  I  may  refer  all  readers  for  information  be- 
yond the  scope  of  my  "  gossip." 


I  placed  the  few  fragments  of  skeleton  No.  i  at  the 
disposal  of  Lord  Ventry,  and  of  No.  2  at  the  disposal 
of  Mr.  Andrews,  and  I  believe  they  are  now  in  the 
museum  of  the  "  Royal  Dublin  Society." 

J.  W.  Busteed. 


THE    SEALS   AND    WHALES    OF    THE 
BRITISH  SEAS. 

No.  VIII. 

By  Thomas  Southwell,  F.Z.S.,  &c 

ONE  more  British  Ziphioid  is  known,  Sowerby's 
Whale  {Mesoplodon  Sowerbiensis,  De  Blain- 
ville)  ;  it  was  first  described  from  a  specimen  which 
came  ashore  at  Brodie,  Elginshire,  in  1800,  and  has 
since  been  found  three  times  in  Ireland  ;  there  is  also 
a  skull  in  the  Museum  of  Science  and  Art  at  Edin- 
burgh which  belonged  to  a  specimen  believed  to  have 
been  captured  somewhere  on  the  Scotch  coast ;  the 
remains  of  five  others  are  preserved  in  various 
Continental  museums. 

Of  the  individual  which  came  on  shore  on  the 
coast  of  Kerry,  in  March,  1864,  Mr.  Andrews  has 
given  a  description  in  the  "  Transactions  of  the  Royal 
Irish  Academy,"  for  April,  1867.  Fortunately  it 
came  under  the  notice  of  Dr.  Busteed,  of  Castle 
Gregory,  who  being  interested  in  zoology,  and  aware  of 
the  great  importance  of  the  occurrence,  photographed 
the  head  in  several  positions  while  it  was  yet  fresh  : 
Dr.  Busteed's  photographs  were  reproduced  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy.  The  head 
had  unfortunately  been  removed  immediately  behind 
the  frontal  portion  of  the  skull,  the  base  of  which  is 
lost,  as  also  the  other  parts  of  the  skeleton.  The  total 
length  of  the  animal  was  about  fifteen  feet,  the  two 
teeth  largely  developed  and  projecting  like  the  tusks 
of  a  boar  ;  these  teeth  are  believed  to  be  developed 
only  in  the  males.  On  the  under  part  of  the  throat 
the  V-shaped  furrow  was  very  conspicuous.  Sowerby's 
specimen  was  coloured  black  above,  and  nearly  white 
below.  The  skin  smooth  like  satin.  ' '  Immediately 
under  the  cuticle  the  sides  were  completely  covered 
with  white  vermicular  streaks  in  every  direction, 
which  at  a  little  distance  appeared  like  irregular  cuts 
with  a  sharp  instrument." 

The  remaining  family,  Delphinida,  as  has  been 
said,  is  a  very  numerous  one,  it  has  ten  representatives 
in  the  British  fauna,  contained  in  seven  genera, 
the  first  of  which,  according  to  the  arrangement  I 
have  adopted,  is  that  of  Monodon.  The  Narwhal 
{Afonodon  monoceros,  Linn. )  is  a  native  of  the  Polar 
seas,  seldom  leaving  the  ice ;  stragglers  have  occurred 
three  times  on  the  British  coast,  one  in  1648  in  the 
Firth  of  Forth,  another  came  ashore  alive  at  Boston, 
in  1800  ;  the  third  was  taken  in  Shetland  in  1S08. 
This  species  is  very  numerous  in  the  frozen  seas 
to    the    north    of  latitude   650,    and  is  remarkable 


6o 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE - G OSSIP. 


for  the  enormous  development  of  the  left  canine  tooth, 
which  is  projected  forward  in  the  form  of  a  tusk  or 
a  spear,  reaching  to  the  length  of  six  or  eight  feet. 
The  spear  is  of  fine  compact  ivory,  hollow  for  the 
greater  part  of  its  length,  grooved  spirally  along  its 
outer  surface,  but  smooth  at  the  end,  and  bluntly 
pointed.  The  right  canine  is  rarely  developed,  but 
a  few  examples  have  occurred  in  which  both  tusks 
were  present  (see  Proc.  Zool.  Soc,  1S71) ;  the  female 
is  rarely  furnished  with  this  appendage.  Not  long 
since  I  saw  preserved  in  a  country  mansion,  the  tusk 
of  a  Narwhal  measuring  7  ft.  5  in.  long  ;  it  was  care- 
fully kept  in  a  long  case  resembling  a  barber's  pole, 


tusk,  which  is  frequently  found  in  a  broken  condition, 
is  used  for  purposes  of  attack  and  defence.  The 
Narwhal  is  very  social  in  its  habits,  great  numbers 
being  often  met  with  together  ;  its  food  consists  of 
cuttle-fish  and  crustaceans.  The  length  of  the  full- 
grown  animal  is  about  16  feet,  the  upper  parts  gray, 
the  sides  and  belly  white,  and  the  whole  animal 
spotted  with  black  and  gray.  The  only  authentic 
figure  of  the  Narwhal  with  which  I  am  acquainted  is 
that  given  by  Scoresby  ;  this  is  so  well  known  from 
frequent  reproduction  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  give 
it  here. 
The  White  Whale,  or  Beluga  {Delphinapterus 


Fig.  48.  The  Grampus  (Orca  gladiator,  Lacep.). 


and  bore  a  ticket  attached,  which  stated  that  it  was 

"  Bequeathed  in  1561  by  the  Countess  of  ■ ,  to 

her  daughter ."     The  use  of  this  remarkable 

appendage  appears  very  doubtful ;  it  has  been  con- 
jectured that  it  serves  to  stir  up  food  from  the  bottom 
of  the  sea,  in  which  case  the  female  would  be  badly 
off  without  it ;  or  that  it  is  employed  to  keep  breathing- 
holes  open  in  the  ice,  and  an  instance  is  related  in 
support  of  this  view,  in  which  hundreds  were  seen  at 
an  ice-hole  protruding  their  heads  to  breathe,  but  it 
is  not  clear  whether  they  made  the  hole  for  them- 
selves, or  whether  they  were  attracted  by  it, 
particularly  as  there  were  numbers  of  White  Whales 
with  them.      It  seems    certain,    however,    that    the 


lucas,  Pallas),  like  the  preceding  species  is  a  native 
of  the  Polar  seas,  where  it  is  common;  it  is  abundant 
in  the  White  and  Kara  Seas  and  in  the  Gulf 
of  Obi  ;  on  the  coast  of  Norway  it  is  occasionally 
met  with ;  and  in  our  own  seas  has  occurred 
several  times,  but  must  be  regarded  only  as  an 
accidental  straggler.  On  the  east  coast  of  America 
it  is  found  as  far  south  as  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence, 
where,  as  in  the  White  Sea,  it  delights  in  ascending 
the  mouths  of  large  rivers.  In  the  British  Associa- 
tion Report  on  the  Fauna  of  Devonshire  (1S69,  pp.  84 
and  85),  occurs  the  following  passage.  "  Mr.  P.  H. 
Gosse  writes  :— 'On  August  5th,  1832,  I  was  return- 
ing from  Newfoundland  to  England,  and  was  sailing 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


61 


up  the  British  Channel  close  to  the  land,  when  just 
off  Berry  Head,  I  saw  under  the  ship's  bows  a  large 
cetacean  of  a  milky-white  hue,  but  appearing  slightly 
tinged  with  green  from  the  intervening  stratum  of 
clear  water.  It  was  about  16  ft.  long,  with  a  round, 
bluff  head.  It  continued  to  swim  along  before  the 
vessel's  head,  a  few  yards  beneath  the  surface,  for 
about  ten  minutes,  maintaining  our  rate  of  speed, 
which  was  five  knots  an  hour,  all  which  time  I 
enjoyed  from  the  bowsprit  a  very  good  view  of  it.  It 
could  have  been  no  other  than  the  White  Whale,  the 
B.  borealis  of  Lesson.'  "  The  whale  lately  exhibited 
at  the  Westminster  Aquarium  belonged  to  this 
species;  unfortunately  it  did  not  live  to  equal  in 
docility    and   intelligence    a   specimen  exhibited    in 


kill  great  numbers,  extracting  the  oil  and  drying  the 
flesh  for  winter  use  ;  in  Russia,  the  prepared  skin 
is  much  used  for  reins  or  other  parts  of  harness 
requiring  great  strength  and  lightness.  The  length 
of  the  full-grown  animal  is  about  1 6  ft.,  and  its  food 
consists  of  fishes,  Crustacea,  and  Cephalapods. 

The  common  Grampus  or  Killer  {Orca  gladiator, 
Lacepede),  (fig.  48)  is  a  well-known  and  widely  dis- 
persed species,  being  found  in  both  the  North  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  Seas.  Andrew  Murray  says  "the  common 
Grampus  tumbles  through  the  heavy  waves  all  the  way 
from  Britain  to  Japan,  viA  the  North-west  Passage." 
In  the  British  seas  it  is  frequently  met  with,  and  has 
occurred  in  several  instances  on  the  coast  of  Norfolk. 
This  species  is  very  fierce,  its  appetite  insatiable,  and 


Fig.  49.  Pscudoiva  crassidciis  (Reinhardt). 


Fig.  50.   Risso's  Dolphin  {Grampus  griseiis,  G.  Cuv.). 


America,  which  "learned  to  recognise  his  keeper 
and  would  allow  himself  to  be  handled  by  him,  and  at 
the  proper  time  would  come  and  put  his  head  out  of 
the  water  to  receive  the  harness  "  by  which  he  was 
attached  to  a  car  in  which  he  drew  a  young  lady 
round  the  tank, — or  to  take  his  food.  A  specimen  of 
DelphiiiKS  tursio  which  was  for  a  time  with  him  in 
the  same  tank,  is  said  to  have  been  even  more  docile 
than  this  remarkable  animal.*  The  adult  Beluga  is 
pure  white,  and  a  "school  "of  these  animals  "leaping 
and  playing  in  the  calm,  dark  sea,"  is  said  to  be  a 
very  beautiful  sight.     In  summer  the  Greenlanders 

*  Ann.  and  Mag.  Nat.  Hist.,  3rd  series,  vol.  17,  p.  312. 


carnivorous  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  word ;  to  the 
Greenland  and  White  Whale,  as  well  as  to  porpoises 
and  seals,  it  is  an  implacable  enemy,  and  follows 
them  ruthlessly.  Dr.  Brown  says,  ' '  the  White  Whale 
and  seals  often  run  ashore,  in  terror  of  this  cetacean, 
and  I  have  seen  seals  spring  out  of  the  water  when 
pursued  by  it.  The  whalers  hate  to  see  it,  for  its 
arrival  is  the  signal  for  every  whale  to  leave  that 
portion  of  the  ice."  Eshricht  took  out  of  the 
stomach  of  a  Killer,  21  ft.  long,  which  came  ashore 
in  Jutland,  no  less  than  thirteen  common  porpoises 
and  fourteen  seals. 

The  rounded,  compact  form  of  this  species  gives  the 
idea  of  great  strength  and  swiftness,  and  the  beautifully 


62 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


polished  glossy  black  skin  of  the  back  contrasting  | 
with  the  equally  pure  and  well  defined  white  of  the 
lower  parts  has  a  very  striking  effect ;  altogether  it  is 
a  very  handsome  species,  but  there  is  something  in 
its  appearance  which  seems  to  indicate  its  cruel 
nature.  The  adult  Killer  measures  about  21  ft.  in 
length,  the  back  is  pure  black,  the  under  parts  white^ 
and  over  the  eye  is  a  well-defined  white  spot ;  there 
are  thirteen  or  fourteen  strong,  slightly  curved  teeth 
on  either  side  of  both  jaws  ;  the  flippers  are  broad 
and  oval  shaped,  the  dorsal  fin  high,  particularly  in 
the  male. 

As  these  papers  are  intended  for  the  purpose  of 
assisting  in  the  identification  of  casual  visitants  to  our 
shores  rather  than  of  giving  anything  like  a  history  of 
the  known    British   species    of   Cetacea,   it    may  be 
desirable  to  mention  here  a  very  remarkable  form, 
which  although  it  has  never  been  known  to  occur  in 
the  flesh  on  our  shores,  was  first   made    known  to 
science  from  an  imperfect  skeleton  found  in  a  semi- 
fossil  condition  beneath  the  peat  in  a  Lincolnshire 
Fen.     To  this  Dolphin  "  come  back  as  it  were,  from 
the  dead,"  and  which  forms  a  connecting  link  between 
the  genus  Orca  and  the  genera  Grampus  and  Globi- 
cephalus    (and    which    Owen    had    named    Phocana 
crassidens),   Reinhardt  gives  the  name  of  Pseudorca 
crassidens.     On  the  24th  November,   1861,   a  large 
shoal  of  these  dolphins  made  their  appearance  in  the 
Bay  of  Kiel,  about  thirty  of  which  the  sailors  suc- 
ceeded in  separating  from  the  remainder,  but  all,  with 
one  exception,  escaped.  This  was  a  female  i6feet  long, 
which  after  being  exhibited  at  Kiel  and  other  places, 
was  bought  for  the  collection  of   the  University  of 
Kiel.     In  the  summer  of  1862,  three  other  individuals, 
presumably  from  the  same  shoal,  were  thrown  ashore 
on  the  north-western  coast  of  Zealand.    Of  the  general 
appearance     of    this     creature    the     accompanying 
figure  (49),   copied,   by  kind  permission,  from  Pro- 
fessor   Flower's    translation    of    Reinhardt's    paper 
read  before   the  Royal  Danish  Society  of  Sciences 
in     1S62,    and    published    by    the     Ray     Society, 
will    give    an    idea ;    the    figure    is    from    a   photo- 
graph   of   the    Kiel    specimen,     and   is   not    in    the 
original  paper.     The  length  is  from  16  to  19  feet ; 
of  the  colour  no  account  is  given,  but  judging  from 
the  woodcut  of  the  Kiel  specimen  it  appears  to  be 
uniformly  shiny  black.     The  number  of  teeth  differs 
in  individuals,  but  in  this  one  it  was  from  9  to  10  on 
either  side  of  the  lower  jaw,  and  8  to  10  in  the  upper. 
From  the  observations  made  by  Reinhardt,  he  suggests 
the  possibility  that  there  may  be  "  a  difference  in  the 
sizes  of  the  different  sexes,  and  whether   the  females 
are  not  larger,  but  at  the  same  time,  perhaps,  provided 
with  a  head  comparatively  smaller  than  that  of  the 
males."     It  is  very  suggestive  of  how  little  we  know 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  sea,  that   at   least  one  vast 
shoal  of  a   species  known  only    from    its  sub-fossil 
remains  should  be  roaming  the  seas  only  to  be  accident- 
ally discovered  when  its  members  became  entangled 


in  shoals  from  which  probably  many  never  lived  to 
extricate  themselves. 

Risso's  Dolphin  {Grampus  griseus,  G.  Cuvier)  is 
a  rare  and  little  known  species,  which  has  been  met 
with  four  times  on  the  south   coast  of  England  and 
about  eight  times  in  France.     In  the   "Transactions 
of  the  Zoological  Society,"  for   187 1,  Prof.  Flower 
gives  an  account  of  an  adult  female  which  was  taken 
in  a  mackarel-net,  near  the  Eddystone  Lighthouse, 
on  28th  February,  1S70,  and  which  eventually  was 
sent  up  to  London,  when  it  was   seen  and  described 
by  that  gentleman.     About  a  month  later,  a  second 
specimen  was  received  in  London,  the  precise  locality 
of  which  was  not  known,  but  it  was   probably  from 
somewhere  in  the  Channel.     This  was  also  a  female, 
but  a  very  young  animal,  and  as  the  adult  female  first 
taken  had  recently  given  birth  to  a  young  one,  it  is 
quite  possible  that  it  may  have  belonged  to  her.     On 
the  26th  July,  a  male  of  the  same  species  was  captured 
alive  at  Sidlesham,   near  Chichester,  and  sent  to  the 
Brighton  Aquarium,  where  it  lived  only  a  few  hours. 
Risso's    Dolphin  varies    very  considerably  in    its 
colouration.      The    Sidlesham  specimen  was  bluish- 
black  above,  and  dirty  white  beneath  ;  in  the  adult 
female  described  by  Professor  Flower  (from  whose 
illustration    our    figure     is,     with     his    permission, 
copied),    "the   head   and    the   whole   of    the   body 
anterior  to    the    dorsal   fin  was   of  a   lightish   grey, 
variegated  with  patches  of  both  darker  and  whiter 
hue.  .   .  .   Behind   the  anterior  edge  of  the   dorsal 
fin  the  general  colour  of  the  surface,  including  the 
dorsal  and   caudal   fins,   was   nearly  black,    though 
with  a  large  light  patch  on  the  upper  part  of  the  side 
directly  above  the  pudendal  orifice.     The  middle  of 
the  belly  as  far  back  as  the  pudendal  orifice,  was 
greyish  white.  "*     The  most  remarkable  characteristic 
however,  was  the  presence,  scattered  over  the  body, 
of  irregular  light  streaks  and  spots,  these  markings 
extended  from  the  head  to  within  about  two  feet  from 
the  tail  and  presented  a  most  singular  appearance. 
In  the  young  one  the  upper  parts  and  sides  of  the 
body  were  almost  black,  the  lower  parts  nearly  white, 
the  junction    between    the  two    colours  being  very 
abrupt  and  sharp.      "  On  either  side  the  body  were 
six  vertical  whitish  stripes  nearly  symmetrically  ar- 
ranged, and  almost  equidistant,  being  about  six  inches 
apart.     They  did  not  extend  quite  to  the  middle  line 
of  the  body  above,  and  were  lost  below  in  the  light 
colour  of  the  abdomen. ™f     The  length  of  the  Sidle- 
sham male  was  8  feet,  that  of  the  adult  female  10  ft. 
6  in.  ;  in  the  former  there  were  present  four  teeth  on 
each  side  the  lower  jaw,  in  the  latter  three  only  on 
each  side,  and  in  the  immature  specimen  there  were 
present  seven  teeth,  four  on  the  right,  and  three  on 
the  left  side,  the  teeth  are  always  placed  in  the  front 
part    of  the  mandible,   and  in  every  specimen  exa- 


Trans.  Zool.  Soc,  vol.  viii.,  p.  3. 
t  1.  c.  p.  13- 


HARD  WICKE'S    S CIENCE- G O SSIP. 


63 


mined  there  has  been  an  entire  absence  of  teeth  in  the 
upper  jaw.  In  general  appearance,  Risso's  Dolphin, 
more  particularly  the  dark-coloured  specimens,  is  said 
very  much  to  resemble  the  next  species  {Globicephalus 
melas).  Of  its  habits  and  distribution  nothing  positive 
is  known,  but  from  its  visiting  France  or  England  in 
the  spring  or  summer.  M.  Fischer  "  concludes  that 
this  species  is  migratory,  visiting  the  shores  of  Europe 
in  the  summer,  and  passing  the  winter  either  to  the 
south  towards  the  coast  of  Africa,  or  to  the  west 
towards  the  American  Continent."  * 


MICROSCOPY, 

Volvox  Globator. — It  may  be  interesting  to 
Microscopists  to  know  that  Volvox  Globator  can  be 
found  in  considerable  numbers — although  so  early  in 
the  year — in  the  large  pond  near  Wandsworth  Com- 
mon Station.  On  Wednesday,  Jan.  23rd,  the  Super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday  School  here  gave  a  treat  to 
the  children,  and  we  arranged  to  make  it  both  in- 
teresting and  instructive.  Having  undertaken  the 
Microscopic  department,  I  was  examining  a  bottle  of 
fishings  from  the  pond,  and  was  surprised  to  find  it 
contained  Volvox  in  great  plenty.  To  find  it  so  early 
being  quite  new  to  me,  I  have  inquired  of  several 
friends,  but  none  of  them  had  met  with  it  at  this  time. 
Most  of  them  seem  to  have  imagined  that  it  was  use- 
less to  expect  to  find  it  till  about  the  end  of  March. 
It  may  be  that  many  others  have  not  found  it  for  the 
same  reason  ;  and  a  knowledge  of  the  fact  of  its  being 
obtainable  now  may  be  an  addition  to  the  Micro- 
scopist's  pleasures.  While  examining  a  portion  of 
the  gathering,  we  were  particularly  struck  with  a  fine 
specimen,  containing  no  less  than  ten  small  ones  en- 
closed. It  rolled  round  with  a  motion  so  grand,  that 
all  who  saw  it  were  delighted.  Suddenly,  while 
watching  it,  it  stopped  for  a  moment,  and  then  burst. 
Five  of  the  little  ones  escaped  from  the  parental  en- 
velope. There  was  a  distinct  pause  between  their 
liberation,  and  each  came  out  with  a  sort  of  dizzy 
staggering  movement,  and  then,  after  a  momentary 
rest,  would  start  off  and  commence  to  roll  as  if  quite 
an  old  hand  at  doing  it.  The  other  five  seemed  to 
die,  and  make  no  sign.  —  IV.  Winsford,  Upper 
Tooting. 

Cleansing  Old  Slides. — In  my  paragraph  on 
this  subject,  which  appeared  in  the  January  number 
ofSciENCE-GossiP,  p.  15, at  line  4,  instead  of  "water- 
glass,"  read  "  watch-glass."  In  line  7  put  a  full  stop 
at  "Benzole,"  and  instead  of  "and  use,"  read 
"  /use." — John  Bramhall. 

Improvement  in  Microscope-Stands.  —  Mr. 
George  E.  Fell,  of  Buffalo,  has  recently  suggested  a 
new  addition  to  the  microscope-stand.     It  consists 


1.  c  p. 


of  a  finely-engraved  scale  on  that  part  of  the  body  of 
the  stand  which  sides  the  limb.  The  latter  can  be 
furnished  with  a  vernier,  giving  readings  as  close  as 
may  be  desired. 

Plant-crystals. — At  the  last  meeting  of  the 
East  Kent  Natural  History  Society,  numerous  draw- 
ings were  exhibited  of  Raphides,  and  other  microscopic 
plant-crystals,  intended  to  be  engraved  on  two  plates 
of  more  than  forty  figures.     They  were  the  work  of 
Prof.   Gulliver,   F.R.S.,  who  gave  explanatory  ob- 
servations thereon.     Among  these  was  the  curious 
and  novel  description,    that   some  trees  and  other 
plants,   from  stem  to  branches  and  leaves,   are  in- 
vested   by  a  most    delicate  network,    or    tesselated 
pavement  like  mosaic  work,  of  cells  all  studded  with 
splicer -aphides,   so   that  eacli  cell  is  set  and  adorned 
with  a  gem  of  one  of  these  beautiful  crystals.    Aralia 
spinosa  was  said   to  form  an   example,  beneath  its 
bark  or  epidermis,  of  this  external  skeleton  of  crys- 
talline tissue.     And  an  internal  crystalline  skeleton 
was  shown   in  other  plants,    including  some    Legu- 
minosce,  as  may  be  well  seen  in  the  common  white 
clover ;  the  crystals  being  arranged  in  chains  along 
the  vascular  bundles.     Mr.  Gulliver  remarked  that 
boiling  a  portion  of  the  plant,  before  its  examination, 
in  the  solution  of  caustic  potass  which  is  kept  by 
druggists,    exposes    the   crystals   very   clearly.      He 
added  that  he  had  learned  that  Mr.  Hammond,  of 
Milton  Chapel,  had  found  the  long  crystal  prisms  of 
Iridacece,  Sec. ,  admirably  suited  for  experiments  on 
the  polarization  of  light ;  and  that  the  whole  subject 
of  plant-crystals  belongs  to  the  vast  domain  of  the 
cell-biography  of  plants,  hitherto  sadly  neglected,  but 
which  must  be  diligently  cultivated  before  we  can 
hope    for   the  most   complete    system   of  botanical 
classification,    and    knowledge    of  the   laws  which 
govern  the  vegetable  kingdom. 

Habirshaw's  Catalogue  of  the  Diato- 
mace.e. — Mr.  Frederick  Habirshaw,  of  6,  West  Forty- 
eighth  Street,  New  York,  to  whom  I  am  personally 
unknown,  has  kindly  sent  me  a  copy  of  the  above 
work,  which  supplies  a  want  long  felt  by  diatomists. 
To  explain  its  plan  and  intention  I  cannot  do  better 
than  quote  the  short  preface.  "The following  Cata- 
logue, made  for  private  use,  contains '  the  references 
to  the  literature  of  the  Diatoniacece,  published  prior 
to  May,  1877.  At  the  suggestion  of  Prof.  Hamil- 
ton L.  Smith,  of  Hobart  College,  fifty  copies  have 
been  reproduced  by  the  Edison  electrical  pen  pro- 
cess, for  gratuitous  distribution  among  those  specially 
interested  in  this  branch  of  natural  history,  and  I 
trust  the  errors  or  omissions  will  not  be  found  suffi- 
cient to  impair  the  value  of  the  Catalogue."  The 
volume  is  a  convenient  quarto,  11  in.  x  6  in.,  of 
some  270  pages,  the  first  six  containing  a  list  of 
the  principal  writings  relating  to  the  diato?nacea:, 
the  rest  being  devoted  to  the  general  catalogue.  The 
genera  and  species  are  arranged  alphabetically,  and 


64 


HA  RD  Wl  CKE  'S   S  CIE  NCE  -GOSSIP. 


there  must  be  considerably  over  7,000  species  enu- 
merated, to  each  of  which  short  but  copious  refer- 
ences are  attached,  as  to  where  it  may  be  found 
figured  or  described,  the  synonyms  being  also  given. 
As  far  as  I  have  been  able  as  yet  to  verify  these,  they 
seem  quite  correct.  Those  who  have  been  fortunate 
enough  to  receive  a  copy  will,  of  course,  show  it  to 
their  friends,  who  will  wish  to  obtain  one  also,  and  I 
fancy  Mr.  Habirshaw  will  be  induced  to  print  off  a 
much  larger  edition,  though,  of  course,  not  gratui- 
tously, to  supply  the  demand.  —  Fred.  II.  Lang, 
Torquay. 

Microscopic  Life  of  the  Carboniferous 
Limestone. — At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Chester 
Society  of  Natural  History,  Mr.  G.  W.  Shrubsole, 
F.G.  S.,  read  a  lengthy  and  interesting  paper  on 
"  The  Microscopic  Life  of  the  Mountain  Limestone 
(foramenifera,  radiolaria,  entomostraca,  poiyzoa, 
&c.)."  The  various  objects  described  had  been 
chiefly  obtained  from  the  mountain  limestone  of 
North  Wales  and  the  neighbourhood. 


ZOOLOGY. 

Turning  an  Enemy  to  Use. — The  United 
States  Entomological  Commission,  which  was  organ- 
ized for  the  purpose  of  investigating  and  reporting 
on  the  entire  subject  of  insect  ravages  throughout  the 
western  regions  of  the  United  States,  have  discovered, 
by  means  of  chemical  analysis,  that  dead  locusts  will 
furnish  a  new  oil,  which  will  be  christened  caloptine, 
and  a  very  large  percentage  of  pure  formic  acid. 
Though  this  acid  exists  in  the  ant  and  some  other 
insects,  it  is  with  difficulty  obtained  in  large  quanti- 
ties ;  whereas,  by  the  action  of  sulphuric  acid  upon 
the  locust  juices,  it  passes  off  with  great  readiness  and 
in  remarkable  quantity  and  gravity.  The  uses  of  this 
acid,  as  a  therapeutic,  are  capable  of  great  and  valu- 
able extension,  where  it  can  be  obtained  so  readily  and 
in  such  quantity. 

The  Red-throated  Diver. — When  visiting  in 
Shetland  two  years  ago,  I  had  a  capital  opportunity 
of  witnessing  the  nesting  of  the  Red-throated  Diver 
(Colymbus  septentrionalis).  Having  been  informed  by 
a  Shetlander  that  the  aforesaid  bird  had  frequented  a 
certain  loch  the  previous  year,  I  was  determined  to 
walk  over  thither,  a  distance  of  about  six  miles. 
Accordingly  I  set  out,  but,  in  crossing  the  mountains, 
encountered  a  very  heavy  shower  of  rain,  which  con- 
tinued for  the  space  of  about  an  hour  ;  nevertheless 
I  succeeded  in  seeing  the  object  of  my  expedition. 
When  on  the  summit  of  a  mountain  near  my  journey's 
end,  I  descried  the  loch,  and  also  the  Diver  swim- 
ming leisurely  about.  This,  however,  proved  to  be 
the  male,  for,  on  walking  round  the  margin  of  the 
loch,  I  saw  the  female  sitting  on  her  nest  with  out- 


stretched neck.  She  permitted  me  to  approach  within 
about  four  yards  of  her.  When  I  had  stood  for  five 
or  six  minutes  to  admire  her  beauty,  she  suddenly 
dived  from  the  nest,  and  all  my  efforts  to  see  her 
afterwards  were  unavailing.  The  nest  was  nothing 
more  than  a  slightly  hollow  depression  on  the  very 
edge  of  the  loch,  and  contained  but  one  egg,  of  a 
more  elongated  form  than  usual,  of  a  dark  brown 
colour,  sparingly  spotted  with  black.  —  C.  D.  Wolsten- 
holme. 

Rare  Birds  Shot.  —  Lately  there  have  been 
the  following  rare  birds  shot  : — A  Merlin  (Falco 
sEsalon),  shot  near  Wetherby  on  the  16th  Decem- 
ber, 1877;  a  Bittern  (Botaurus  stellaris),  shot  at 
Castle  Howard,  on  the  26th  of  the  same  month  ; 
and  a  Pied  Water  Rail  (Rallus  aquaticus),  shot  in 
Ireland  in  January,  1878.  The  latter  has  a  great: 
quantity  of  white  on  the  back ;  the  top  of  the  head  and 
neck  have  also  a  little  white  about  them.  There  is  a 
little  white  on  the  tail,  and  the  tertials  are  nearly  pure 
white. — P.  Thompson. 

St.  Mary,  Lambeth,  Field  Club. — This  most 
useful  and  unostentatious  Natural  History  Society 
was  originated  about  six  years  ago  by  the  Sunday 
School  teachers  of  the  parish,  who  have  been  very 
successful  in  diffusing  and  popularising  a  love  of  natural 
history.  It  includes  about  thirty  members,  of  whom 
Arthur  Eve,  Esq.,  is  president,  and  Mr.  G.  Masters 
secretary. 

The  Birds  of  Costa  Rica. — At  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  Zoological  Society  of  London,  Mr.  A. 
Boucard,  C.  M.Z.S.,  read  a  paper,  in  which  he  gave  a 
list  of  the  birds  he  had  collected  during  a  recent  ex- 
pedition to  Costa  Rica.  The  number  of  birds  col- 
lected during  his  five  months'  stay  was  about  one 
thousand  in  number,  representing  two  hundred  and 
fifty  species,  amongst  which  were  two  new  to  science 
{Zonotriehia  boucardi  and  Sapphironia  boucardi  of 
Mulsant)  and  many  others  of  great  rarity. 

"  Sponsa's  Headquarters." — I  find  I  made  two 
mistakes  in  my  article.  They  both  occur  in  the  list 
of  Diurni  at  the  end  of  the  article  -.—Aglaja  should 
be  omitted  ;  and,  for  Artaxerxes,  of  course  Agestis 
should  be  put.  At  the  time  I  wrote  the  paper  I  was 
much  occupied  with  Artaxerxes,  and  suspect  that  was 
the  reason  of  the  mistake. — Hastings  C.  Dent. 


BOTANY, 

The  Inflorescence  of  Gourds. — The  gratifica- 
tion which  I  feel  at  the  interest  excited  by  my  note  on 
the  inflorescence  of  gourds  and  pumpkins  is  tempered 
with  regret  at  finding  that  I  did  not  express  myself 
with  sufficient  clearness  to  be  understood  by  your 
correspondents,  who  seem  to  think  that  I  had  said 
that  fertile  blossoms  were  expanded  before  any 
staminate  flowers  had  appeared  on  the  same  plant ; 


HARD  WICKE'S    S CIENCE -  GOSSIP. 


65 


■  which  indeed  was  not  my  meaning.  My  observations 
do  not  at  all  contradict  those  of  Mr.  Beal.  What  I 
notice  as  remarkable  is  this: — In  regular  indefinite 
inflorescence,  when  a  flower  appears  in  the  axil  of  every 
leaf,  the  flower  in  the  axil  of  the  lowest  leaf  is  the 
oldest,  and  therefore  opens  first  ;  then,  that  in  the  axil 
of  the  leaf  next  above  it ;  and  so  on,  as  in  the  pimpernel. 
In  gourds  and  pumpkins,  this  order  of  expansion  is 
observed  only  among  flowers  of  the  same  sex.  Sup- 
pose, then,  that  a  plant  bear  ten  flowers,  the  first 
nine  of  them  may  be  staminate  flowers,  the  tenth, 
pistillate.  If  a  flower  open  every  day,  as  is  usual  in 
our  climate,  the  fertile  flower  would  not  open  in  the 
ordinary  course  till  the  tenth  day.  Instead  of  that, 
however,  it  will  be  found  expanded  on  the  fifth  and 
sixth  ;  it  may  be  simultaneously  with  one  of  the 
staminate  flowers  or  not,  but  always  before  the 
staminate  flower  immediately  below  it.  Flowers  of 
the  two  sexes,  though  indiscriminately  mixed  as  to 
position  on  the  stem,  thus  form  two  series  as  to  the 
order  of  their  expansion.  I  think  that  there  are 
usually  more  staminate  flowers  produced  early  in  the 
season,  and  a  tendency  afterwards  to  the  production 
of  pistillate  flowers  which  are  abortive  for  want  of 
vigour  in  the  plant  to  perfect  them.  I  only  remember 
one  instance  of  a  gourd  producing  a  fruit  blossom  too 
early  in  the  season  to  be  fertilized  :  it  was  a  miniature 
gourd,  which  produced  a  fruit,  as  the  result  of  that 
blossom,  with  no  seed. — John  Gibbs,  Chelmsford. 

ASPLENIUM  SEPTENTRIONALE  AND  GERMANI- 
CUM. — About  ten  years  ago  I  found  Asplenium  septen- 
trionale  in  the  Beddgelert  district.  There  were  a  great 
many  plants  growing  within  a  limited  area,  but  the 
spot  was  very  difficult  of  access,  and  it  was,  perhaps, 
owing  to  this  that  they  had  escaped  observation.  I 
brought  away  four  or  five  specimens,  and  took  fronds 
from  some  other  plants,  but  they  were  all  septen- 
trionale.  I  did  not  look  specially  for  Germanicum, 
certainly,  but,  as  far  as  my  observation  went,  there  was 
not  a  plant  of  it  there.  At  the  same  time  I  quite 
agree  with  the  observer  whose  opinion  Mr.  T.  Belt 
quotes,  that  a  very  close  relationship  exists  between 
these  two  species. — Edward  Hart  Vinen,  M.D. 

Gentiana  ACAULis. — In  the  Autumn  of  1875,  I 
was  staying,  after  illness,  at  the  Freshwater  Hotel, 
Isle  of  Wight,  and,  during  my  first  ramble  over  the 
Downs,  I  gathered  two  species  of  Gentiana,  which  I 
sent  to  my  friend  Mr.  Varenne,  of  Kelvedon,  who  has 
a  fine  collection  of  British  plants,  and  is  a  first-rate 
botanist.  After  reading  the  communication  in  your 
last,  about  the  appearance  of  Gentiana  aeaulis  in  that 
locality,  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Varenne  to  let  me  know 
what  species  I  sent  him,  and  I  enclose  his  answer  : — 
"Dear  Dr.  Bree,  I  am  much  afraid  the  lady  who  wrote 
in  Science -Gossip  made  a  mistake  about  the 
Gentiana  aeaulis  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  You  collected 
two  specimens  of  gentian  there,  in  September,    1S75, 


as  forwarded  to  me.  One  was  a  stunted  state  of 
Gentiana  Amarella,  and  the  other,  equally  dwarf,  was 
a  specimen  of  Gentiana  campestris,  probably.  Both 
are  many-flowered,  and  by  that  character  very 
different  from  Gentiana  aeaulis. — E.  G.  Varenne.'" — 
Dr.  Bree. 

Gentiana  acaulis.— I  would  beg  to  remind  your 
correspondent,  "J.  C.  M.,"  with  reference  to  some 
remarks  inserted  in  your  recent  issue,  that  the  flower- 
ing of  plants  vastly  depends  upon  elimatal  influences. 
There  is  no  reason  because  G.  acaulis  blossoms  on  the 
Swiss  Alps  towards  the  middle  of  June  till  July,  that 
therefore  it  should  flower  here  at  that  time  ;  the  con- 
ditions are  totally  dissimilar.  Many  years  ago  I 
noticed  several  blossoms  of  this  lovely  plant,  in  a 
friend's  garden  in  East  Sussex,  during  the  month  of 
September.  It  has  been  stated  that  "  Alpine  flowers 
are  signalized  by  the  intensity  of  their  colours,  this 
increase  of  brilliancy  in  tints  being  attributed  to  the 
pure  snow-water  nourishing  the  roots,  to  the  greater 
excitement  of  the  light,  and  refined  purity  of  the  air." 
Not  only  so,  there  are  other  forces  at  work  which 
should  cause  an  earlier  floral  development.  They  get 
a  longer  and  more  persistent  rest  in  winter,  and  pro- 
tection from  the  carpet  or  blanket  of  snow.  During 
my  travels  in  Italy,  in  February  and  March  of  1865, 
vegetation  appeared  to  be  most  backward ;  but  on 
my  return  home  by  Florence,  in  early  April,  the  vege- 
table world  was  in  full  luxuriance  of  leaf  and  beauty. 
Whilst  journeying  over  the  Mont  Cenis  pass, 
numerous  flowers  were  in  full  bloom,  some  peeping 
through  patches  of  snow,  others  in  places  where  it 
had  melted.  Nothing  of  the  kind  existed  out  of  doors 
in  England.  If  indeed  G.  acaulis  blossoms  with  us 
in  June  and  July,  as  it  is  said  to  do  on  the  Alps 
during  those  months,  the  remarks  by  Treviranus, 
quoted  by  Dr.  Lindley  in  his  "Theory  and  Practice 
of  Horticulture,"  might  hold  good: — "It  is  well 
known  that  plants  from  the  northern  half  of  the 
world,  when  they  have  become  naturalized  in  the 
south,  have  changed  almost  entirely  the  time  of  their 
vegetating,  blooming,  and  fruit-bearing,  so  as  entirely 
to  accord  with  the  habits  of  the  indigenous  plants  of 
the  country.  Thus  we  find  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  oaks,  alders,  almond,  peach,  and  apricot  are 
in  full  bloom  in  August."  Our  best  botanists,  such 
as  Mr.  Bentham,  I  believe,  maintain  that  G.  acaulis  is 
not  indigenous  here  ;  so  it  might  obey  the  dictum  as 
laid  down  by  Treviranus. — John  Colebrook. 

Gentiana  acaulis  (S.  G.  1878,  p.  18). — I  hope 
your  fair  correspondent,  Isabella  H.  Knox,  will  not 
be  offended  if  I  tell  her  in  your  pages  that  Gentiana 
acaulis  is  not  found  wild  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and. 
that  the  plants  she  found  between  the  Needles  and 
Freshwater  were  not  Gentians  at  all,  but  dwarfed 
specimens  of  Campanula  glomerata.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  about  it.     Bromfield,  in  his  "Flora  Vic- 


66 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


tensis,"  says  of  the  plant,  "on  Freshwater  Downs  in 
various  places,  as  near  the  Needles  Plotel  and  Light- 
house, but  scarcely  an  inch  high,  being  browsed 
down  by  sheep  " ;  and  he  further  adds  in  a  note  at 
p.  291,  "On  the  bleak  and  lofty  Downs,  at  the 
western  extremity  of  the  island,  this  species  scarcely 
attains  an  inch  in  height,  and  specimens  from  thence 
were  actually  described  and  figured  by  Withering 
("Arrangement  of  British  Plants,"  3rd  ed.  ii  p.  282, 
and  pi.  xi.,  fig.  5)  as  a  new  species  of  Gentian,  and 
named  by  him  G.  collina."  I.  H.  K.  may  therefore 
■console  herself  that  others  before  her  have  been 
deceived  by  the  same  plant  at  the  same  place.  —  Win. 
Marshall,  Ely. 

Side  Lights  on  the  Composite.  —  A  most 
suggestive  paper  on  this  subject  appears  in  the  last 
number  of  the  Journal  of  Botany  by  Dr.  Masters. 
It  is  based  on  a  specimen  of  Helenenium  autumnale, 
in  which  all  the  florets  appeared  stalked  and  bearing 
opposite  leaves  on  the  stalks,  the  whole  forming  a 
corymb  of  flowers  instead  of  the  ordinary  capitulum 
of  a  composite. 

British  Marine  Alg/e — Mr.  H.  Goole  (Ply- 
mouth) desires  us  to  correct  a  few  mistakes  which 
appeared  in  his  communication  on  the  above  subject 
in  our  last  issue,  p.  40.  For  instance,  instead  of  Dasya 
puviicea  it  should  be  D.  punkca  ;  for  Dudrisinia 
dudrisnagra  there  should  have  been  Dudresnaia 
dudresnao-ia. 


GEOLOGY, 

Important  Paper  on  the  Geology  of  West- 
ern Scotland. — At  a  recent  meeting  of  the 
Geological  Society  of  London,  Prof.  Judd,  F.  R.S., 
read  a  most  important  and  highly  interesting  paper 
on  Scottish  geology.  During  the  seven  years  in  which 
he  has  been  engaged  in  the  study  of  these  interesting 
deposits,  the  author  has  been  able  to  prove  that  not 
only  is  the  Jurassic  system  very  completely  repre- 
sented in  the  Western  Highlands,  but  that  associated 
with  it  are  other  deposits  representing  the 
Carboniferous,  Poikilitic  (Permian  and  Trias)  and 
Cretaceous  deposits,  the  existence  of  which  in  this 
area  had  not  hitherto  been  suspected  ;  and  by  piecing 
together  all  the  fragments  of  evidence,  he  is  enabled 
to  show  that  they  belong  to  a  great  series  of  forma- 
tions, of  which  the  total  maximum  thickness  could 
have  been  little,  if  anything,  short  of  a  mile.  The 
relations  of  the  scattered  patches  of  Mesozoic  strata 
to  the  older  and  newer  formations  respectively,  are 
of  the  most  interesting  and  often  startling  character. 
Sometimes  the  secondary  rocks  are  found  to  have  been 
let  down  by  faults,  which  have  placed  them,  thousands 
of  feet  below  their  original  situations,  in  the  midst  of 
more  ancient  masses  of  much  harder  character. 
More  usually  they  are  found  to  be  buried  under  many 


hundreds,  or  even  thousands,  of  feet  of  Tertiary  lavas, 
or  are  seen  to  have  been  caught  up  and   enclosed 
between  great  intrusive  rock-masses  belonging  to  the 
same  period  as  the  superincumbent  volcanic  rocks. 
Occasionally  the  only  evidence  which  can  be  obtained 
concerning  them  is  derived  from  fragments  originally 
torn  from  the  sides   of  Tertiary  volcanic  vents,  and 
now  found  buried  in  the  ruined  cinder-cones  which 
mark  the  sites  of  those  vents.     In  some  cases  the 
mineral  characters  of  the  strata  have   been  greatly 
altered,   while  their  fossils   have   been    occasionally 
wholly  obliterated  by  the  action  of  these  same  igneous 
forces  during    Tertiary  times.     In    every   case,   the 
survival  to  the  present  day  of  the  patches  of  Secondary 
rocks  can  be  shown  to  be  due  to  a  combination  of 
most  remarkable  accidents  ;  and  a  study  of  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  fragments  shows  that  the  formations 
to  which  they  belong  originally  covered  an  area  having 
a  length  of  120  miles  from  N.  to  S.,  and  a  breadth 
of  50  miles  from  E.  to  W.     But  it  is  impossible  to 
doubt    the    former    continuity    of   these    secondary 
deposits  of  the  Hebrides  with  those  of  Sutherland  to 
the  north-east,  with  those  of  Antrim  to  the  south, 
and  with  those  of  England  to  the  south-east.     From 
the  present  positions  of  the  isolated  fragments  of  the 
Mesozoic    rocks,  and    after   a  careful  study   of  the 
causes  to  which   they  have  owed  their  escape  from 
total  removal  by  denudation,  the  author  concludes 
that  the  greater  portion  of  the  British  Islands  must 
have  once  been  covered  with    thousands  of  feet  of 
secondary    deposits.      Hence    it    appears    that     an 
enormous  amount  of  denudation  has  gone  on  in  the 
Highlands    during    Tertiary    times,    and    that    the 
present  features  of  the  area  must  have  been,  speaking 
geologically,   of  comparatively  recent   production- 
most  of  them,  indeed,  appearing  to  be  referable  to 
the  Pliocene  epoch.      The   alternation    of  estuarine 
with  marine  conditions,  which   had,   on    a    former 
occasion,   been   proved   to   constitute    so  marked   a 
feature    in    the  Jurassic    deposits    of   the    Eastern 
Highlands,  is  now  shown  to  be  almost  equally  striking 
in  the  Western  area  ;  and  it  is  moreover  pointed  out 
that  the  same  evidence  of  the  proximity  of  an  old 
shore-line  is  exhibited  by  the  series  of   Cretaceous 
strata  in  the  West.     Although  the  comparison  and 
correlation  of  the  Secondary  strata  of  the  Highlands 
with  those  of  other  areas,  and  the  discussion  of  the 
questions   of    ancient    Physical    Geography  thereby 
suggested,  are  reserved  for  the  fourth  and  concluding 
part  of  his  memoir,  Prof.  Judd  took  the  opportunity 
of  making  reference  to  several  problems  on  which 
the  phenomena  now  described  appear  to  throw  im- 
portant light.     In  opposition  to  a  recent  speculation, 
which  would  bring  into  actual  continuity  the  present 
bed  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  old  Chalk  strata  of  our 
island,  he  points  to  the  estuarine  strata  of  the  Hebrides, 
as  demonstrating  the  presence  of  land  in  that  area 
during  the  Cretaceous  epoch.     He  also  remarks  on 
the  singular  agreement  of  the  conditions  of  deposition 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SI  P. 


67 


of  both  the  Silurian  and  Cretaceous  strata  of  the 
Scottish  Highlands  and  those  of  the  North  American 
Continent.  But  he  more  especially  insists  on  the 
proofs,  which  we  now  have,  that  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland,  as  well  as  the  greater  part  of  the  remainder 
of  the  British  Islands,  were  once  covered  by  great 
deposits  of  Secondary  strata,  and  that  the  area  has 
been  subjected  to  enormous  and  oft-repeated  denu- 
dation. He  dwells  on  the  evidence  of  the  vast 
quantities  of  material  which  have  been  removed 
subsequently  to  the  Mesozoic  and  even  to  the  Miocene 
period,  and  he  maintains  the  conclusion  that  many,  if 
not  all,  of  the  great  surface-features  of  the  Highlands 
must  have  been  produced  during  the  very  latest 
division  of  the  Tertiary  epoch,  namely  the  Pliocene. 

The  Fossil  Fungus. — I  have  frequently  observed 
that,  in  being  called  upon  to  answer  criticisms  of  my 
work,  I  have  more  commonly  to  reply  to  statements 
I  have  never  made  (or  even  thought  of)  than  to  defend 
the  position  I  have  really  taken.     In  your  January 
number  (p.  21)  P.  Martin  Duncan  combats  the  idea 
that  Peronosporites  "is  perhaps  the  oldest  fungus  on 
record. "     I  have  never  made  any  such  statement,  so 
I  need  not  reply.     Your  correspondent  then  quotes 
instances  of  Algae  being  found  in  older  rocks  than  the 
Palaeozoic,  but  as  my  description  refers  to  a  fungus, 
and  not  to  an  alga,  the  instances  brought  forward  by 
P.  M.  Duncan,  though  of  the  greatest  value  and  in- 
terest, refer  rather  to  true  algce  than  fungi,  i.e.,  if  the 
distinguishing  characters  between  the  two,  and  now 
generally  received,  are  to  hold  good.     The  letter  in 
your  February  number  (p.  41),  signed  "John  Butter- 
worth,  Goats  Shaw,  Oldham,"  is  of  a  very  different 
character,   and   hardly  demands   an   answer.      This 
gentleman  writes  to  "dispute  "  my  "  claim  to  its  dis- 
covery," because  he  "  discovered  "  it  {i.e.,  the  Pero- 
nosporites), and  read  a  paper  upon  it  (at  Manchester) 
which  was  not  published.     Now,  I  have  never  set 
myself  up  as  the  "discoverer  "  of  the  fossil  fungus  ;  I 
claim  to  be  nothing  more  than  the  humble  drudge  who 
pored  over  the  fungus  preparation  for  some  weeks, 
made  out  the  structure  of  the  mycelium  and  fruit,  its 
affinity  with  living  plants,  and  then  attempted  a  de- 
scription and  illustration.     If  J.  Butterworth  did  all 
this  in   1874-5,   I   regret,  with  him,  that  some  per- 
manent record  was  not  made  of  his  work  "  in  some 
leading  journal."     In  my  paper  I  distinctly  stated 
that  Mr.  W.  Carruthers,  F.R.S.,  the  Keeper  of  the 
Botanical  Department  of  the  British  Museum,  was 
the  "discoverer"  of  the  plant,  as  he  certainly  was — 
and  something  more.     The  parasite  has  been  known 
by  this  gentleman  for  many  years.     J.  Butterworth 
states   that  a  member  of  his    Society  identified  his 
fungus  "as  Peronosporites"  in  1874-5.     How  this 
learned  "member"  did  so,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know, 
as  no  such  genus  as  Peronosporites  existed  before  last 
year,  when  the  name  was  given  by  me  to  the  parasite 
in  question.     I  have  certainly  had  something  more 


than  a  "  casual "  view  of  the  slide,  as  I  have  had  it  in 
my  own  house  for  six  months,  and  have  it  now. — 
Worthington  G.  Smith. 

The  Fossil  Fishes  of  Sussex. — At  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  Eastbourne  Natural  History  Society, 
Dr.  Ward  read  a  paper  on  ' '  The  Fossil  Fishes  of  the 
District."  They  are  met  with  chiefly  in  the  Upper 
and  Lower  Chalk  strata  of  the  Downs  at  Holiwell ; 
others  in  the  Greensand  and  Gault  ;  and  a  few  in  the 
Wealden  beds.  Dr.  Ward's  paper  was  illustrated  by 
specimens. 

NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

The  Importation  of  Humble  Bees  into  New 
Zealand. — Perhaps  some  of  your  correspondents 
could  give  some  valuable  hints  as  to  the  best  method 
of  importing  humble  bees  into  New  Zealand.  The 
farmers  there  are  anxious  to  introduce  them,  as  they 
are  said  to  be  necessary  for  the  successful  cultivation 
of  clover,  which  they  aid  by  carrying  about  the 
pollen.  An  attempt  was  made,  I  understand,  to 
bring  over  a  number  of  the  insects,  but  they  all  died 
an  the  way,  and  it  has  now  been  proposed  to  bring 
over  the  eggs.  But  if,  as  I  believe,  the  larvce  are 
hatched  in  cells,  and  fed  by  the  parent  bees  until 
entering  the  pupa-state,  this  idea  would  not  seem  to 
promise  better  success  than  the  former.  Could  the 
perfect  insects  be  transported  in  a  torpid  state  ?  Or 
would  it  be  possible  to  naturalize  them  by  introducing 
the  pupa;?  I  hope  some  practical  solution  of  the 
auestion  maybe  given  by  some  contributor. — Charles 
B.  Moffat. 

Crayfish  in  Cumberland. — Some  of  the  small 
runners  into  Croglin  Water,  a  tributary  of  the  Eden, 
abound  with  crayfish.  I  had  many  opportunities  of 
seeing  them  last  spring.  The  inhabitants  of  the  dis- 
trict have  a  legend  that  the  "crabfish"  were  intro- 
!  duced  by  some  member  of  the  Featherstonhaugh 
j  family,  but  so  long  ago  that  I  could  gather  no  precise 
information  as  to  the  date.  I  think  it  improbable 
that  they  are  indigenous,  but  not  knowing  anything 
of  their  geographical  distribution,  I  shall  be  glad  of 
any  information  on  the  subject. —  W.  Duckivorth, 
Grey-street,  Carlisle. 

Natterjack  Toad  on  the  Shores  of  the 
Solway  Firth. — -While  staying  at  Bowness  on 
Sol  way  in  August  last,  I  found  quite  "a  colony  of  the 
Natterjack.  On  one  part  of  the  shore,  where  the 
ground  was  damp,  nearly  every  stone  of  moderate 
size  I  turned  up  had  a  natterjack  below,  sometimes 
two.  There  was  no  mistaking  it,  the  yellow  line 
down  the  back  being  ample  means  of  identification. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  know  if  ever  it  has  occurred 
thus  far  north  before,  as  I  was  under  the  impression 
that  it  belonged  only  to  the  east  and  south  of  Eng- 
land.—  IV.  Duckworth,  Grey-street,  Carlisle. 

The  Pigeon  a  Polygamist. — In  Mr.  Dixon's 
interesting  account  of  the  pairing  instinct  of  birds, 
;  he  says,  ' '  I  have  once  observed  the  rook  practising 
polygamous  propensities.  We  have  a  pigeon  of  the 
'  horseman '  variety  which  is  a  confirmed  polygamist. 
I  observed  this  during  the  course  of  last  summer 
repeatedly."  Is  this  peculiarity  in  the  pigeon  known 
to  ornithologists  as  a  common  or  uncommon  occur- 
rence ?  Does  this  present  to  view  an  inherited  energy, 
or  only  applicable  to  the  surrounding  circumstances  ? 
— ill.  King. 


68 


HARD  JVI CKE '  S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSI  P. 


Query    respecting    Sea-Anemones.   —  Sea- 
Anemones,    like    other    animals,    require   to    "  be 
fed."     But,    unlike   most    other    domestic   animals, 
this  need  not   be   done   daily.     Once   a  week  will 
do   in   most   cases,    though  some   like    it    oftener ; 
but  if  it  fouls  the  water  more  harm  than  good  will 
accrue  to  the   animals   by  over-feeding.     No  doubt 
they  derive  some  nourishment  from  organisms  in  the 
water,  but  these  should  be  microscopical,  and  not 
perceptible,  i.  e.,  the  water  should  even  be  sparMingly 
clear  and  colourless  ;  if  not,  there  is  something  wrong. 
Find  out  the  cause  of  this,  and  set  it  right  without 
changing    it  :    time  and    patience   alone  will   often 
effect  this.     Or  it  may  be  aerated  or  circulated  with- 
out changing.     In  no  case  change  it,  unless  it  has 
become    chemically  poisonous.     Organic    impurities 
can  always  be  got  rid  of  by  oxygenation,  or  a  process 
known  as  cremacausis,  or  burning  up.      Thus,  living 
animals  give  out  carbonic  acid  gas,  and  certain  effects 
of  food,  which,  if  allowed  to  accumulate,  generate 
carburetted   or  sulphuretted    hydrogen.     But   living 
plants  take  up  these  poisonous  gases  (assimilate  the 
carbon  to  build  up  their  tissues),   thereby  rendering 
them  harmless,  and  liberate  the  free  oxygen  again  for 
the  animals  to  breathe.     This   goes  on  ceaselessly 
under  the  action  of  light,  and  this  balance  of  animal 
and  vegetable  life  is  the  grand  governing  principle  of 
all  aquaria,  great  or  small.     If  W.  T.  If.  C.  Trome 
wishes  to  keep  a  scientific  aquarium,  he  will  remember 
this,  and  never  change  the  -water.     He  will  thus  be 
able  to  keep  his  animals  more  happily,  healthily,  and 
easily.     But  the  anemones  must  be  fed.     Mussel  or 
oyster  flesh  is  best,  handed  to  each  individual  by  a 
pair  of  wooden  forceps,  in  pieces  varying  in  size  from 
a  pin's  head  upwards,  say,  to  a  quarter  of  a  mussel, 
according  to  the  size    of  the   anemone  ;    experience 
will  soon  show  how  much.     Under  proper  conditions 
this  is  nearly  all  assimilated.     If  it  is  rejected,  perhaps 
the  pieces  are  too  large,  or  the  water  too  hot  or  too 
cold,   or  the  animals  too  crowded, — most    probably 
the  latter  with  beginners.     The  thing  is  to  find  out 
how  many  animals  will  live  and  flourish  in  a  given 
space  :  keep  these  and  no  more.    If  oysters  or  mussels 
or  fish  cannot  be  easily  procured  for  food,  butcher's 
meat  will  do,  but  not  so  well.     Much  depends  upon 
the   distribution    of    the    water.      The    smaller    the 
depth   in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  animals  the 
better;    because    the    greater    the    surface    aeration, 
and,  as  oxygen  is  perpetually  wanted  for  the  animals 
to  breathe,  and  to  purify  the  water,  the  more  regular 
the  supply  the  better.     This  may  be  accelerated  by 
stirring   in   air,    say,    with   the    stick   of  a   camel's 
hair  pencil,   this  may  be  done  daily,   especially   so 
the   day  after  feeding,    to    prevent  or  dissipate  any 
cloudiness  in  the  water.     The  brush  at  the  other  end 
will  be  useful  to  pick  up  any  refuse  bits,  and  skim  off 
the  mucus  which  otherwise  collects  round  the  base  of 
most  anemones,  and  would  in  a  state  of  nature  be 
washed    away   and    dissipated    by    the   waves.     We 
collect   them  into  a  cup  of  water,   and   throw  them 
away,  and  thus  prevent  the  accumulation  of  untidi- 
ness,  in  small  domestic  aquaria  of  still  water.     In 
large  aquaria,  as  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  impurities  are 
dissipated  by  a  ceaseless  flow  of  water  from  tank  to 
tank,    down    to    the    underground    reservoir,    to    be 
pumped  up  again  fresh  and   clear  for  ever  ;    and   I 
know  of  no  cheaper  or  better  guide  than  the  sixpenny 
and  twopenny  handbook  to  this  successful  institution  ; 
but  if  \V.  T.  H.  C.  Trome  will  state  his  aquarium 
dimensions    and  difficulties,   we  may  be  able  to  tell 
him   more   in    Science  Gossip.     Hardy  anemones 
are  about  the  easiest  animals  to  begin  with.     Ours 
live  and  flourish,  year  after  year,  in  shallow  tanks,  or 
glasses,   commercially  known  as   "anemone  pans," 


or  pastry  pans.  In  all  cases  growing  plants  cannot 
be  dispensed  with,  and  spontaneous  vegetation  is  found 
best,  because  best  suited  to  each  separate  situation. 
To  prevent  this  growing  to  excess,  and  causing  the 
water  to  become  green,  avoid  too  much  direct  day- 
light, by  using  blinds  or  screens.  Blue  paper  will 
sometimes  serve  sufficiently.  —  G.  S. 

Botanical  Localities. — The  following  is  a  fairly 
accurate  description  of  the  localities  inquired  for  by 
Mr.  H.  Morton,  in  the  January  number  of  Science 
Gossip  : — Shotover  Hill  is  z\  miles  E.  of  Oxford  ; 
Cowley  is  a  village  not  far  from  the  latter  place, 
2  miles  S.E.  of  Oxford  ;  Bagley  Wood  lies  2.\  miles 
to  the  S.  of  Oxford  and  3  N.  of  Abingdon;  Wych- 
wood  Forest  (Winch wood  being  apparently  a  mis- 
print) lies  14  or  15  miles  to  the  N.W.  of  Oxford 
(nearest  station,  Charlbury,  on  the  Oxford  and 
Worcester  line) ;  Cornbury  Park  is  situated  at  the 
N.E.  corner  of  Wychwood  Forest,  and  half  a  mile  S. 
of  Charlbury  station.  I  have  been  unable  to  discover 
the  exact  situation  of  Cornbury  Quarry,  but  presume 
it  must  be  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the 
Park.  Sunninghill  Wells  is  in  the  extreme  S.E. 
corner  of  Berks.,  6  miles  S.S.W.  of  Windsor,  6W.  of 
Egham,  *j\  E.  of  Wokingham,  and  nearly  a  mile  from 
Ascot  station.  Most  of  these  places  are,  as  Mr. 
Morton  says,  good  localities  for  plants  (I  knownothing 
about  insects),  and  he  may  perhaps  be  interested  to 
know  what  plants  may  be  found  there.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  names  of  a  few,  which  I  give  partly 
from  my  own  observation,  partly  from  "  Walker's 
Oxfordshire  Flora."  Shotover  Hill,  Polcmonium 
cceruleum,  Droscra  rotundifolia,  Gentiana  Amarella, 
G.  campestris,  Trifolium  subterraneu?n,  Haboiaria 
bi folia,  H.  viridis,  Epipactis  palustris,  Cephalanthera 
grandijlora ;  Cowley,  Geranium  rotundifolia,  Pin- 
guicula  vulgaris,  Anagallis  cczrulca,  A.  tenella,  Fri- 
tillaria  mcleagris,  Orchis  conopsea  ;  Cowley  Bog  is 
also  very  rich  in  Scirpi,  Carices,  &c.  ;  Bagley  Wood, 
Irisfastidissima,  Convallaria  viajalis,  Luzula  congesta, 
Neottia  nidus-avis  ;  Wychwood  Forest,  Asperula  cy- 
nanchica,  Atropa  Belladonna,  Orchis  pyramidalis. 
If  Mr.  Morton  wishes  to  learn  more  about  the  good 
botanical  localities  in  this  neighbourhood,  I  shall  be 
very  happy  to  correspond  with  him. — H.  IV.  Trott, 
24,   Walton-street,  Oxford. 

Entomological  and  Botanical  Localities. 
— (Reply  to  H.  Morton.)  (Winchwood  should  be 
Wychwood ;  Sunninghill  Wells  should  be  Sunning- 
well  Hill. )  Four  of  the  places  inquired  for  are  within 
a  short  distance  of  Oxford — say  two  to  four  miles 
Shotover  and  Cowley  are  on  the  Oxfordshire  side  of 
the  Thames  valley  ;  Sunningwell  and  Bagley  Wood 
on  the  Berkshire  side.  Shotover  may  be  reached  by 
rail  to  Wheatley,  whence  a  pleasant  walk  of  five 
miles  over  the  hill  to  Oxford.  Sunningwell  and 
Bagley  form  part  of  an  ironsand  range  of  hills  bound- 
ing the  Thames  valley,  between  Abingdon  and 
Oxford,  and  are  easily  accessible  from  Radley  sta- 
tion. Cornbury  Park  and  Wychwood  Forest  adjoin 
Charlbury  station  on  the  West  Midland  line,  about 
twenty  minutes'  ride  per  rail  from  Oxford. — E.  C. 
Davey,  JVantage. 

FAIRY  Flax  (No.  15S,  p.  44),  and  Fairy  Lint, 
are  names  which,  according  to  Johnston,  in  his 
"  Botany  of  the  Eastern  Borders,"  are  given  in  the 
border-land  to  Linum  ca/harticum,  L.  The  district 
comprehends  "Berwickshire,  the  Liberties  of  Ber- 
wick, N.  Durham,  and  the  immediately  adjacent 
parts  of  Northumberland  and  Roxburghshire."  I 
should  think  the  name,  "  Fairy  Flax,"  is  given  to  this 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


69 


pretty  little  plant  merely  from  its  delicate  appear- 
ance, being,  in  fact,  a  miniature  or  fairy  imitation  of 
the  common  flax  in  everything  but  the  colour  of  the 
flowers.  Still  there  may  be  some  legend  connecting 
it  with  the  fairies,  and,  if  so,  I  shall  be  much  obliged 
to  any  correspondent  who  can  furnish  me  with  any 
folklore  of  Fairy  Flax  illustrative  of  its  name  or  other- 
wise. "  E.  L.  S.  "may  be  interested  to  know  its  other 
English  names,  though,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  it  has 
fewer  than  most  British  plants.  Gerard  calls  it 
Mill  Mountains,  which  Prior,  in  his  "  Popular  Names 
of  British  Plants,"  derives  from  the  Lat.  Cha-moel- 
inum  montanum,  Gr. ,  xcrjuat-Xtvov,  Ground-Flax. 
In  Cumberland,  Shropshire,  and  Cheshire  it  is  called 
Mountain  Flax,  being  frequent  in  hilly  and  moun- 
tainous districts  :  and  in  the  latter  county  it  is  also 
known  as  Purging  Flax,  a  translation  of  its  scien- 
tific name,  or  vice  versa,  and  it  is  so  called  from  its 
reputed  cathartic  properties.  In  Cheshire,  however, 
I  have  found  that  herb-doctors  are  not  very  particular 
what  the  effects  of  a  herb  may  be,  so  long  as  it  is  a 
herb,  and  they  generally  administer  it  as  a  stomachic 
on  account  of  its  bitter  taste. — Robert  Holland. 

The  Nebular  Theory. — It  has  been  discovered 
by  M.  Cailletet,  and  M.  Raoul  Pictet  that  our  air  can 
produce  water;  they  have  also  converted  oxygen  and 
nitrogen  into  liquids,  and  have  produced  a  vapoury 
cloud  from  hydrogen,   under  great  pressure  and  ex- 
cessive cold.     Under  the  nebularh  ypothesis  of  La- 
place,   the   origin  of  water  is  nowhere  satisfactorily 
accounted  for.     Mr.  Proctor  has  told  us  that  it  is  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  demonstrated  that  the  nucleus 
of  this  earth  was  formed  from  a  nebulous  condition. 
The  German  astronomer,  Gruithuisen,  adopting  the 
same  primary  condition,  formed  this  earth  by  the  slow 
aggregation  of  cold  matter,  leaving  the  water  origin 
unaccounted  for.      By  this  new  discovery,  it  seems 
that  all  the  conditions  for  producing  the  water  were 
present  under  the  latter  system.     The  light  and  heat 
had  not  penetrated  the  nebula ;  there  was  therefore 
intense  cold,  as  there  is  now  in  the  air  above  us  and 
at  the  sea-bottom.  As  the  solids  of  the  nebula  slowly 
condensed,  they  caused  great  pressure.     As  the  gases 
are  expressed  now  in  water  from  the  earth,  so  we  may 
infer  that  they  were  at  the  beginning.     In   The  Mail 
of  January  9th,  1878,  I  find,  "It  is  only  a  question  of 
carrying  these  experiments  further  in  order  to  reduce 
these  liquid  gases  to  the  solid  form."    We  have  then 
a  nebulous  mass  filling  the  whole  space  now  occupied 
by  the  atmosphere,  the  water,  and  the  solid  earth. 
Under  the  universal  law  of  gravitation,  the  heaviest 
molecules  of  the  mass  subsided  towards  their  centre — 
as  these  molecules  condensed,  they  produced  pressure. 
Hence  we  have  the  result  in  our  quasi-solid  earth,  the 
water  resting  on  it,  and  the  air  enveloping  the  whole, 
the  entire  system  resulting  naturally  from  the  nebu- 
lous mass,   the  sunlight  and  heat  reducing  or  refining 
the  atmosphere  to  its  present  condition  by  causes  well 
known. — H.  P.  Malet,  8,  Via  Venezia,  Florence. 

Harebell  (No.  158,  p.  47). — There  are  two  good 
reasons  why  this  name  should  not  be  derived  from  the 
hairlike  stalks  upon  which  the  flowers  hang.  The 
first  is  that  the  spelling  "  Hairbell "  is  of  compara- 
tively modern  introduction,  inasmuch  as  the  older 
writers,  such  as  Gerard  and  Parkinson,  spelled  it 
"  Harebell,"  though  it  must  be  confessed  that  the 
spelling  of  the  older  herbalists  does  not  go  for  very 
much.  The  second  reason  is  that  when  those  old 
writers  do  make  use  of  the  name,  they  are  not  speak- 
ing of  Campanula  rotundifolia,  but  of  Scilla  nutans. 
When  the  name  was  transferred  in  books  from  Scilla 
to  Campanula  I  am  not  aware.    Some  choose  to  spell 


the  word  "Airbell,"  from  the  supposition  that  it 
refers  to  the  colour  of  the  flowers  being  similar  to  the 
air  or  sky  ;  but  the  same  objections  apply  to  this  also 
— the  first  does,  at  any  rate.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
however,  the  name  Harebell  or  Hairbell  is  not  the 
name  in  most  general  use,  except  in  books,  for  either 
plant.  In  fourteen  different  stations  in  England  and 
Scotland  I  only  have  Hare — or  Hairbell  recorded  for 
Campanula  in  three,  viz  ,  Yorkshire,  Cheshire,  and 
the  West  of  England  ;  and  in  twenty-five  counties  I 
have  the  name  applied  to  Scilla  in  but  one,  Devon- 
shire. Lyte  is,  I  think,  the  oldest  writer  who  gives 
an  English  name  to  C.  rotundifolia,  and  he  calls  it 
"Blewbelles,"  which  is  still  one  of  its  commoner 
names,  but  which  is  also  as  often  given  to  Scilla.  It 
would  seem,  then,  that  Scilla  nutans  is  the  original 
"Harebell";  that  it  was  "hare,"  not  "hair";  that 
the  name  has  been  transferred  to  Campanula  rotundi- 
folia, and  the  spelling  altered  in  some  cases  in  order 
to  account  for  the  name,  because  its  stalks  are  delicate 
and  hairlike.  I  do  not  possess  a  copy  of  Gerard  to 
refer  to,  but  it  is  possible  he  may  say  why  Scilla  is 
called  "  Harebell."— Robert  Holland. 

Pairing  Instinct  of  Birds. — As  to  the  question 
of  birds  using  the  nests  of  other  species,  and  why  not 
of  the  same  species?    It  will  invariably  be  found  that 
the  selected  nests  are  old  ones,  and  belong  to  birds 
who  only  once  use  them  for  their  purpose.     In  the 
case  of  the  House    Sparrow   using  the  nest  of  the 
Martin,  the  bird  has  utilized  it  for  its  purpose,  in  the 
absence  of  the  Martins,  and,  upon  their  return,  keeps 
possession  of  the  nest  by  "force  of  arms,"  and  'con- 
sequently compels  the  rightful  owners  to  build  else- 
where.    I  may  also  mention  that  sparrows  may  be 
found  breeding  the  year  throughout,  and  retain  their 
old  nests  in  many,  if  not  all  cases.    There  is  a  stately 
fir-tree     in    my    neighbourhood    containing    several 
sparrows'  nests.     They  have  been  there  for  several 
years,  and  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  but  they  have 
been  tenanted  by  the  same  pairs  of  birds,  as  the  nests 
are  always  equal  in  numbers,  and  should  one  of  the 
nests  be  destroyed,  it  will  again  be  built  in  a  more 
inaccessible  situation.     Now,  if  birds  used  the  nests 
of  their   own   species    indiscriminately,    their  ranks 
would  be  fraught  with  strife  and  discord,   which  I 
have,  as  yet,  failed  to  observe.    All  birds  would  con- 
sequently strive  to  obtain  an  old  nest,  rather  than  be 
at  the   trouble  of  constructing  one  for  themselves  ; 
fierce  combats  would  prevail,   and  then,   no  doubt, 
the  "  survival  of  the  fittest  "  would   in  one  sense  be 
correct.     Again,  all  birds  work  as  influenced  by  their 
respective  instincts.     The  Martin,  having  once  con- 
structed its  abode,   remains,    through  the  agency  of 
instinct,  at  rest,  as  far  as  nest-building  is  concerned, 
until  that  structure  is  damaged,  or  forcibly  taken  from 
it,  as  in  the  case  of  the  sparrow,  when  it  must  repair 
its  handiwork,   or  make  new  quarters  elsewhere,  if 
not  able  to  repel  the  aggressor.  How  can  we  explain, 
except  through    this    peculiar    instinct,     the    annual 
return  of  the  same  number  of  birds,   and  the  little 
wanderers    alighting    upon   their    temporary    homes 
shortly  after  their  arrival;  or,  if  their  nests  have  been 
destroyed,  clinging  to  the  old  sites,  and,  as  the  breed- 
ing season  arrives,  constructing  new  nests  on  the  ruins 
of  the  old  ones?   A  word   as  to  the   circumstance 
mentioned  by  your  correspondent,  "G.  T.  B."   Ihave 
no  doubt  that  he  is  quite  correct  in  believing  that 
the  pair    of   blackbirds    laying    in    the    same    nest 
three   successive   years  is    one   and   the  same  pair. 
But    did   not   the   nest    undergo   repairs?     I    have 
never   known   a   nest   of   this  bird,    however    com- 
pactly built,  be  fit   for  its  purpose  again,  even  the 
next   season,    let    alone    three    successive    seasons. 


7° 


HA  R  D  J  VI CKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSI  P. 


However,  as  no  such  instance  has  come  under  my 
own  observation,  I  decline  making  further  remarks 
■on  such  instance.  The  blackbird  pairing  with  the 
song-thrush,  if  correct,  is  no  doubt  a  very  exceptional 
occurrence,  and  can  only  be  explained  as  a  mon- 
strosity, which  this,  and  all  similar  instances,  un- 
doubtedly are,  and  which,  however  unexplainable, 
are  repeatedly  found  in  various  birds  and  animals. 
I  will  also  mention  the  fact,  that  the  pairing  of 
annual  birds  is  not  so  closely  linked  with  the  vernal 
year  as  is  currently  supposed.  The  hedge-sparrow, 
through  what  I  have  observed,  invariably  pairs  late 
in  December.  A  few  weeks  prior  to  that  date  the 
birds  are  solitary;  they  gradually  become  more  social, 
and  very  garrulous  ;  and  now,  at  the  time  of  writing 
this,  all  specimens  seen  are  invariably  in  pairs.  I 
think  Mr.  Parsons  somewhat  mistakes  my  object  in 
saying,  "the  only  way  is  by  polygamy."  I  do  not 
for  a  moment  entertain  the  idea  that  all  birds  could 
multiply  quickly  by  practising  it,  but  only  those 
which  I  have  stated  (first  section  of  gallinaceous 
birds),  and  for  what  that  gentleman  brought  forward 
the  human  race  as  examples,  bearing  on  the  present 
subject,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  imagine.  As  to  polygamy 
occurring  ill  species  under  domestication,  I  ask  why 
the  domestic  swan  (C.  olor)  remains  in  a  strictly 
monogamous  state  for  life,  although,  in  mafiy  cases, 
the  males  must  be  in  the  minority.  I  have  known 
a  case  where  three  of  these  birds  were  kept  (two 
females  and  one  male).  Now,  the  male  bird  paired 
with  one  of  the  females  and  remained  united  to  her, 
and  never  bestowed  any  of  his  affections  upon  the 
more  unfortunate  female.  Ducks  always  show  a 
polygamous  instinct  when  in  confinement,  if  the 
females  do  not  exceed  the  males.  Again,  the  do- 
mestic pigeon,  though  the  females  may  far  exceed 
the  males,  a  polygamous  instinct  will  never  be 
manifested,  the  male  birds  pairing  in  due  season, 
and  assisting  to  rear  their  offspring  with  as  much 
care  as  the  female  birds.  It  must  also  be  remem- 
bered that  the  males  of  polygamous  birds  are  in- 
variably of  bright,  if  not  conspicuous  colours,  while 
the  females  closely  resemble  the  colours  of  surround- 
ing objects.  The  males,  too,  are  the  best  eating, 
invariably  the  largest,  and  consequently  the  most 
liable  to  capture,  and  the  most  prized  as  articles  of 
food  ;  while  the  females  are  more  often  rejected,  or 
never  discovered  in  their  haunts.  It  will  thus  be 
seen  that  the  females  would  exceed  the  males,  and, 
did  no  such  polygamous  instinct  exist  within  them, 
circumstances  the  most  disastrous  would  arise  with 
deadly  certainty  to  their  race.  Thus,  I  again  say, 
that  through  one  of  the  wisest  provisions  of  nature, 
these  birds  are  able  to  afford  us  sustenance,  and  at 
the  same  time  maintain  their  position  amongst  their 
•congeners  in  the  struggle  for  existence. — Charles 
Dixon,  Hecley,  near  Sheffield. 

The  Pairing  Instincts  of  Birds. — Seeing 
something  in  January  part  of  Science-Gossip,  about 
the  pairing  instinct  of  birds,  I  thought  the  following 
might  be  interesting.  About  April  of  last  year  I  had 
a  brood  of  chickens,  and  amongst  them  I  reared  one 
duck.  When  they  grew  old  enough  I  killed  all  the 
cocks  except  one,  for  which  one  the  duck  has  shown 
a  strange  attachment,  following  it  all  about.  The 
cock  has  reciprocated  and  continued  this  sexual 
attachment,  showing  a  decided  preference  for  the 
duck  over  the  hens.  I  have,  unfortunately,  lost  the 
duck,  but  the  night  before,  the  cock,  instead  of  going 
up  to  roost  beside  the  hens,  as  it  generally  did,  slept 
on  the  ground  beside  the  duck.  It  is  impossible  now 
to  say  what  would  have  been  the  result  of  their 
attachment ;  but  perhaps  some  of  your  readers  would 


say  whether    they  have    observed   the   like. — John 
Baillie,  Sunderland. 

Herrings. — Can  any  of  your  numerous  readers 
inform  me,  what  are  the  signs  by  which  some  fisher- 
men know  where  large  bodies  of  herrings  are 
swimming,  even  when  their  boats  are  sailing  rapidly 
through  the  water  ? — J.  W. 

Dredging. — Would  some  of  your  correspondents 
be  so  kind  as  to  give  me  some  information  on  dredging 
not  far  from  the  shore,  also  as  to  what  books  would 
be  useful  in  determining  the  objects  I  am  likely  to 
find?— R.G.C. 

Curious  Modes  of  Blossoming. — I  have  in  my 
garden  here  a  Rhododendron  which  grows  near  the 
house,  and  is  sheltered  by  it  from  the  south  and 
west,  but  has  no  shelter  from  the  north  or  east.  For 
the  last  three  years  it  has  blossomed  about  this  time 
of  the  year  (January).  There  have  been  several  flowers 
this  year,  but  all  on  the  same  side  of  the  tree,  and 
near  together.  Last  year  they  were  on  the  other  side, 
towards  the  house,  and  were  a  little  earlier  (at  Christ- 
mas), and  less  numerous,  but  this  year  there  is  no 
shelter  whatever  from  the  north  and  east.  The 
flowers  are  a  beautiful  pink,  like  the  flowers  on  the 
same  tree  in  the  summer.  There  is  also  a  yellow 
jasmine,  which  grows  in  the  drawing-room  balcony, 
now  in  blossom,  and  neither  of  these  plants  has  any 
sun  during  the  winter,  and  not  much  in  the  summer, 
owing  to  their  position. — L.  T. 

Caves  in  Somersetshire. — Nearly  all  that  is 
known  of  these  caves  is  summarised  in  Mr.  H.  B. 
Woodward's  "Memoir  on  the  Geology  of  East  Somer- 
set, and  the  Bristol  Coalfield,"  published  in  1S76 
by  the  Geological  Survey  ;  but  as  ' '  Somersaeta  "  and 
other  readers  of  Science-Gossip  may  not  have  ac- 
cess to  such  expensive  luxuries  as  Survey  Memoirs,  I 
venture  to  offer  a  brief  epitome  of  the  subject.  The 
Lamb  Cavern  near  East  Harptree  is  now  closed.  It 
seems  to  have  been  artificial,  but  was  fully  described 
in  Collinson's  "History  of  Somerset"  (1711).  In 
Burrington  Combe  are  several  caverns,  four  of  which, 
viz.,  Aveline's  Hole,  Plumley's  Den,  Whitcombe's 
Hole,  and  the  Great  Goatchurch  Cavern  in  Lower 
Twinbrook  Ravine,  were  explored  by  Professor  Boyd 
Dawkins  and  Mr.  W.  A.  Sandford.  (Geol.  Mag. 
vol.  ii.  p.  43  ;  Rep.  Brit.  Assoc,  1864  ;  Proc  Somer- 
set Arch,  and  Nat.  Hist.  Soc,  partii.,  vol.  xii.  p.  161.) 
They  obtained  remains  of  sheep,  ox,  reindeer,  roe- 
deer,  ibex,  goat,  mammoth,  bear,  water-vole,  wolf, 
fox,  badger,  rabbit,  hare,  pig,  mole,  birds,  and,  in 
Aveline's  and  Whitcombe's  Holes,  of  man.  The 
human  bones  encrusted  with  stalagmite  were  evidently 
buried.  There  are,  or  were,  also  caves  in  the  Carboni- 
ferous Limestone  at  Weston-super-Mare,  Loxton,  the 
western  end  of  Banwell  Hill,  and  near  Hutton.  At 
Uphill  there  are  caves  in  the  same  formation,  in  which 
remains  of  mammoth,  deer,  rhinoceros,  wolf,  ox, 
horse,  bear,  otter,  pig,  hycena,  fox,  polecat,  water- 
vole,  mouse,  birds,  and  man,  have  been  found. 
(Pooley,  Geologist,  vol.  vi.  p.  331  ;  E.  C.  H.  Day, 
Geol.  Mag.,  vol.  iii.  p.  118  ;  W.  W.  Stoddart,  Proc. 
Bristol  Nat.  Soc,  vol.  v.  p.  37.)  There  are  several 
caverns  at  Cheddar,  but  Cox's  is,  though  not  large, 
perhaps  the  most  beautiful  in  England  from  its  stalac- 
tites. Bones  of  bear,  deer,  ox,  horse,  and  man, 
were  recorded  from  a  cave  on  the  summit  of  the 
Mendips  here,  by  Mr.  Long,  in  1838.  (Brit.  Assoc. 
Rep.  1838,  p.  85.)  Wookey  Hole,  near  Wells,  more 
correctly  spelt  Okey  (from  British  ago,  a  cave),  is  only 
second  to  the  Peak  Cavern  in  Derbyshire  in  point  of 
size,  being  nearly  six  hundred  feet  long,  and,  in  one 


HARD  WICKE  'S     SCIENCE-  G  OSS  IP. 


7* 


part,  eighty  feet  high.  It  is  in  the  Dolomitic  Con- 
glomerate of  the  Trias.  Messrs.  Dawkins  and  Sand- 
ford  found  here  bones  of  hyaena,  lion,  bear,  wolf, 
fox,  mammoth,  two  species  of  rhinoceros,  horse, 
Irish  deer,  red  deer  and  reindeer,  and  human  im- 
plements of  flint,  chert,  and  bone,  of  contemporary 
date.  (Dawkins,  Q.  J.  G.  S.,  vol.  xviii.  p.  115; 
vol.  xix.  p.  260 ,  Proc.  Somerset  Arch,  and  Nat. 
Hist.  Soc,  vol.  xi.,  part  ii.,  pp.  197-219;  and  Geol. 
Mag.,  vol.  ii.  p.  44.) — G.  S.  Bonlger. 

The  Furniture  Beetle. — I  can  mention  another 
instance  of  destruction  to  furniture  by  the  "  furniture- 
beetle."  Two  years  ago  I  found  them  working  and 
living  in  the  frame  of  a  sofa  that  has  been  about  thirty 
years  in  my  possession.  The  sofa  was  taken  out  of 
the  house,  and  during  three  days  was  frequently 
brushed  with  very  strong  carbolic  acid.  Last  week  I 
examined  it,  and  found  fresh  borings  of  this  pest. 
The  sofa  has  a  beechwood  frame,  1  in.  thick  and  faced 
with  mahogany  half-inch  thick.  The  insects  have  not 
touched  the  mahogany,  but  in  many  places  have  bored 
close  up  to  it.  I  am  now  having  the  beechwood  re- 
moved, and  mahogany  substituted.  Can  anything  be 
devised  (short  of  destroying  the  wood)  that  would  kill 
these  destructive  insects  ?  I  fear  that  their  habits 
render  liquid  applications  unable  to  touch  them  or 
their  eggs. — T.  Hughes. 

The  Freshwater  Aquarium. — Scarcely  a 
number  of  Science-Gossip  appears  but  contains 
queries  or  notes  on  the  above  subject ;  and,  judging 
from  some  of  these  queries  and  the  replies  to  them, 
aquarium-keeping  on  a  small  scale  would  appear  to 
the  tyro  an  extremely  difficult  task.  We  are  told 
("  Ben  Plant,"  July,  1877)  to  limit  the  plants  to  three 
species,  molluscs  to  two,  and  reptiles  to  exclude  en- 
tirely. Others  have  complained  of  sticklebacks  eating 
all  their  snails,  and  of  killing  each  other.  My  own 
opinion  is  that  there  is  nothing  in  connection  with 
practical  natural  history  involving  less  trouble  than 
aquarium-keeping.  In  giving  this  opinion,  it  is  true 
that  it  is  not  the  result  of  so  many  years'  experience 
as  some  of  your  correspondents  can  boast,  but  it  is 
based  upon  seven  or  eight  years'  successful  work. 
With  regard  to  the  vessel  which  is  to  constitute  the 
aquarium,  I  believe  this  to  be  of  minor  importance, 
and  that,  so  far  as  the  inhabitants  are  concerned,  a 
washing-tub  will  serve  as  well  as  an  elaborately  con- 
structed plate-glass  tank,  though,  of  course,  the  latter 
is  the  best  adapted  for  observation.  I  think  the  chief 
charm  (and  use  also)  of  an  aquarium  lies  in  the  fact 
that  we  see  various  creatures  living  under  natural 
conditions.  To  make  the  conditions  as  natural  as 
possible,  I  would  introduce  most  of  the  inhabitants  of 
an  ordinary  pond  ;  the  exceptions  would  be  only  such 
species  as  prey  inordinately  upon  the  others.  Such, 
as  the  aquatic  coleoptera  and  hemiptera,  and  the 
larvae  of  dragon-flies.  I  would  admit  all  the  pond 
gasteropods  ;  the  two  species  of  newts  {cristalus  and 
punctatus),  and  I  certainly  have  not  found  it  necessary 
to  limit  the  species  of  plants.  The  larvae  of  the 
caddis-flies  are  interesting  and  amusing,  and  I  cer- 
tainly cannot  agree  with  "  S. "  as  to  the  difficulty  of 
rearing  them  to  their  final  stage.  The  aquarium  must 
have  walls,  and  as  the  caddis-worms  have  legs,  they 
can  therefore  have  no  difficulty  in  reaching  the  surface. 
It  is  no  uncommon  thing,  at  the  proper  season,  to  see 
several  escaped  caddis-flies  hovering  about  my  aqua- 
rium. "P.  E.  C."  is  troubled  because  the  stickle- 
backs eat  his  snails.  His  best  plan  would  be  to  feed 
the  fish  with  small  worms,  until  the  snails  have  had 
time  to  increase  in  number  ;  this  they  will  soon  do  at 
such  a  rate  as  will  defy  the  most  voracious  stickleback. 


Difficulties  of  this  kind  only  occur  at  starting  ;  things 
soon  right  themselves,  and  the  ' '  balance  of  power  " 
is  maintained.  "  S."  thinks  sticklebacks  are  the  most 
troublesome  inmates  of  an  aquarium.  I  would  sub- 
stitute "  interesting  "  in  place  of  "troublesome,"  and 
I  think  Mr.  Scott  (Jan.,  1878)  has  given  "  S."  the 
correct  reason  of  his  failure  in  keeping  them.  I  believe 
that  all  these  difficulties  are  caused  by  having  the  in- 
mates unnaturally  select.  With  a  plentiful  and  varied 
supply  of  vegetation,  a  host  of  Entomostraca  and  In- 
fusoria will  be  introduced,  which  will  form  an  inex- 
haustible food  supply  to  the  fish.  The  decaying  plants 
and  animal  exuviae  will  form  a  fine  mud  at  the  bottom, 
in  which  the  pretty  little  bivalve,  Cyclas  cornea, 
annelids,  &c,  will  find  a  congenial  home.  The  water 
should  not  be  changed  or  disturbed.  In  spite  of  the 
mud  the  water  will  neither  be  turbid  nor  odorous,  and 
the  student  can  observe  the  habits  of  the  inmates  under 
natural  conditions.  An  aquarium,  so  conducted,  may 
not  look  so  ornamental  as  an  elegant  glass  vase  with 
a  floor  of  scrupulously  clean  gravel,  above  which  two 
or  three  lazy  gold-fish  are  slowly  swimming  round  a 
solitary  plant  ;  but  it  will  afford  the  microscopist  or 
biologist  excellent  opportunities  of  study. — Edward 
Step. 

NOTICES   TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 


To  Correspondents  and  Exchangers.  —  As  we  now 
publish  Science-Gossip  at  least  a  week  earlier  than  hereto- 
fore, we  cannot  possibly  insert  in  the  following  number  any 
communications  which  reach  us  later  than  the  9th  of  the 
previous  month. 

W.  Wakefield.  — ■  Your  mosses  are  : — 1.  Hypnum  nndii- 
laticm  ;  2.  Neckera  crispa  ;  3  and  4.  Hypnum  sericeum. 

W.  A.  C. — Your  specimens  are  :  —  1.  Physcia  parietina.  ; 
2.  Evemia  prunastri  (both  lichens)  ;  and  4.  Hypnum  squar- 
rosum  (a  moss). 

F.  T.  M. — Your  moss  is  Hypnum  confertum. 

M.  Skilton.— Your  specimens  are  : — 1.  Hypnum  riparium  ; 
2.  Bryum  capillare  ;  3.   Hypnum  rutabidum. 

J.  C.  Johnstone. — Your  specimens  are: — 1.  Dicranella 
heteromalla ;  2.  Rhacomitrium  heterostichum ;  3.  R. 
elliptic um  ;  4.  Orthothecium  rufescens  ;  5.  Bryum  criidum  ; 
6.  B.  bimutn  ;  7.  Rhacotnitrium  lanuginosum . 

G.  S. — Apply  to  the  London  Stereoscopic  Company,  Regent- 
street,  London  ;  or  to  James  How  &  Co.,  5,  Bride-street, 
London;  or  C.  Baker,  244  and  245,  High  Holborn,  London; 
or  J.  H.  Steward,  406,  Strand,  London,  and  inform  them  of 
the  kind  of  lantern  slides  you  require. 

C.  Swatman. — The  article  you  refer  to  has  not  yet  appeared. 

C.  Harris. — The  following  are  the  names  of  the  zoophytes 
sent:— 1.  Flusta  ?  2  and  3.  Sertularia polyzonia  ;  4.  Sertu- 
laria  operculata  ;  5.   Antennularia  antennina. 

A.  W.  P. — We  do  not  think  your  chrysalides  will  harm  under 
the  circumstances. 

A  Constant  Subscriber. — A  facsimile  reprint  of  Walton's 
"  Compleat  Angler"  has  been  issued  by  Messrs.  Eliot  Stock. 
Frank  Buckland's  "  Popular  History  of  British  Fishes "  is 
cheap  and  good.  Couch's  "British  Fishes"  is  our  best  and 
largest  book  on  the  subject. 

T.  Q.  C. — The  fungus  is  called  Peziza  autaiitium. 

J.  K. — Your  sponge  specimen  is  Halic/iondria  (or  Chalitia) 
oculata. 

The  Botanical  Exchange  Club. — Those  members  who 
may  be  still  waiting  for  return  parcels  are  requested  to  bear 
the  delay,  which  has  been  owing  to  the  severe  illness  of  the 
Secretary.  No  time  will  be  lost  in  distributing  the  parcels  as 
soon  as  possible. 

W.  B. — The  present  address  of  the  South  London  Entomo- 
logical Society  is  the  South  Metropolitan  Temperance  Hall, 
Blackfriars-road,  S.E. 

K.  D.  (Almondsbury).  —  Your  shells  are  :  1.  Clausilia 
Zaminata  ;  2.  Balia  perversa ;  3.  Cochlicopa  lubrica ;  4. 
Bulimus  ;  5.  Pupa  marginata  ;  and  6.  Siiccinea  putris.    _    . 

J.  Sims. — The  "coloured  matter"  sent  was  doubtless  iron 
oxide,  produced  perhaps  by  the  decomposition  of  the  argillaceous 
carbonate  of  iron  nodules  often  so  abundant  in  the  coal  mea- 
sures. The  piece  of  limestone  shale  is  of  carboniferous  age, 
and  is  impressed  with  Pt-oducta,  Ortkis,  and  Rhynconella. 

R.  M.  Christy. — We  have  no  doubt  that  a  published  list  of 
British  marine  shells  for  labelling  cabinet  specimens,  &c,  may 
be  had  of  Van  Voorst,  publisher.  A  cheap  book  on  bird  and 
animal  stuffing  is  that  published  by  F.  Warne  &  Co.,  price 
one  shilling. 


72 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


H.  Haines.— Your  shells  are  all  correctly  named,  and  many 
of  them  are  most  excellent  examples  of  their  kind. 

G.  A.  Holt.— The  object  on  Briza  media  was  not  a  fungus, 
but  looks  like  one  of  the  pollen  masses  of  an  orchid,  transferred 
by  some  insect. 

J.  Tempeke.  —  The  micro-fungus  on  leaf  of  Lavatera 
sylvestris  is  Puccinia  malvacearunt,  Corda. 

F.  C.  Kelland.  —  Your  micro-fungus  is  Phragmidium 
mucronntum,  Fr.,  see  Dr.  Cook's  "  Rust,   Smut,  Mildew,  and 

Mould."  , 

Geo  Clinch.— The  fragment  of  fossil  wood  sent  appears  to 
be  from  the  Portland  beds,  but  it  is  impossible  to  tell  from  such 
a  small  piece.  The  fossil  from  the  chalk  is  not  a  tooth,  but 
part  of  an  encrinite. 

T.  W.  B.—  The  drawings  sent  us  for  identification  are  :— 
No  I.  Pleurosigma  ;  2.  Stephanodiscus  ;  3.  Amphora  avails; 
4.  is  not  a  diatom  ;  5.  Globigerina  is  an  interloper.  It  certainly 
did  not  live  with  the  diatoms,  which  are  all  fresh-water  forms. 

J.  Cunnack.— Masters's  "  Vegetable  Teratology  '  was  pub- 
lished by  the  Rav  Society. 

A.  B.  C.—Marchantia  should  be  pronounced  Markantia. 


EXCHANGES. 

Send  mounted  or  unmounted   material   (good)   for  various 
Diatomaceous  Earths,  to  W.  Wood,  25,  Gower-street,  W.C. 
Monotropa  /ivpopitys  offered  for  3,  13,  14*,   15.  33.  38>  9°, 

IO4,     III,     Il6,     117,     151,     l62,     187,     195,    209,    2l6,   220j_222,    227, 

251^,  275,  287,  343,  351,  379,  452.  466,  and  474;  and  Cnthmum 
maritimum  for  411,  413.  4M»  4I5,  421,.  422,  43°.  and  4°9-  — 
E.  W.  Andrews,  University  School,  Hastings. 

Several  duplicate  slides,  well  mounted,  Diatoms  in  situ, 
fruited  Marine  Alga,  Holothuria  plates,  and  other  interesting 
marine  objects  ;  some  choice  unmounted  material  in  Diatoms, 
Foraminifera,  Zoophytes,  Holothuria,  Alga:,  &c.  &c.  Wanted, 
Magic  Lantern,  first-class  Slides,  or  Cash.  Will  send  mine  on 
approval— T.  McGann,  Burrin,  Ireland. 

For  exchange  :  690  foreign  stamps  (in  book),  all  difierent,  ot 
95  countries,  and  all  genuine.  Wanted,  Lepidoptera  or  Eggs.— 
R.  McAldowie,  82,  Bonaccord-street,  Aberdeen.  _   _ 

Will  exchange  washings  from  the  London  Clay  containing 
Foraminifera,  Entomostraca,  &c,  or  select  specimens  of  larger 
Fossils  for  Bell's  "  Monograph  on  the  Malacostracous  Crus- 
tacia,"  Part  I.  London  Clay.— W.  H.  Shrubsole,  Sheerness-on- 

Dr.  Partridge,  of  Stroud,  will  exchange  Science-Gossip 
for  1877  for  well-mounted  micro  slides  of  parasites,— fish  es- 
pecially wanted.  .  „ 

Duplicates.— Missel  Thrush,  common  Snipe,  Water  rlen, 
Bald-headed  Cock  Peewit,  Pheasant,  Blackbird,  Song  Thrush, 
and  Greenfinch  in  exchange  for  other  eggs  ;  side-blown  eggs 
only  accepted.— John  Thorpe,  2,  Spring-gardens,  Middleton, 
Manchester.  , 

For  seeds  of  Blue  Gum  {Eucalyptus  globulus)  send  stamped 
envelope  to  C.  P.  Ogilvie,  Sizewell  House,  Leiston,  Suffolk. 

Eight  years'  Science-Gossip,  newly  half-bound  in  leather, 
for  good  slides  or  micro  apparatus.— R.  Bridger,  23,  Oxton-road, 
Birkenhead.  .  ., 

Di  vtoms  twenty-one  fossil  and  sub-fossil  earths  (material; 
from  various  parts  of  the  world.  Good  recent  Diatoms  wanted 
(material),  marine  species  preferred.  Send  list  to  \\ .  M. 
Paterson,  Westfield-terrace,  Loftus. 

Wanted,  a  half-inch  objective  o  40  degrees,  with  or  with- 
out adjustment,  made  for  binocular,  in  exchange  for  one  of 
about  80  degrees,  with  adjustment.— W.  H.  P.,  255,  Milkwood- 
road,  Heme  Hill,  S.E. 

Orthosira  arenaria,  Foraminifera,  Post  Pliocene,  and  Irom 
Turkish  coast,  Froghopper,  section  of  Pith  of  Arabia,  Nipnobdus 
lingua,  spores  of  Platycerium  alcicoma,  and  section  oi  Cane. 
Wanted,  objects  mounted  or  unmounted  in  exchange  for  above. 
— T.  Watson,  Bank  Parade,  Burnley. 

For  Aregma  bulbosum  send  stamped  directed  envelope  and 
object  of  interest  (Fungi  preferred)  to  Chas.  Williams,  King- 
meade,  Woolcott  Park,  Redland,  Bristol. 

Malayan  and  Himalayan  Ferns  offered  in  exchange  tor 
other  kinds  from  Africa  or  other  parts.— J.  N.,  14,  \  ork-road, 
Brighton.  ,  .  ,       . 

Wanted,  Lepidodendrons  and  other  stems  from  the  carboni- 
ferous system  in  exchange  for  geological,  physiological,  and 
other  well-mounted  slides.  —  M.  Fowler,  20,  burn-row, 
Slamannan,  N.B. 

7th  London  Catalogue  :  Nos.  171,  812,  1071,  1074,  1403, 
1492,  1600,  and  1605,  and  others,  for  Nos.  y,  4*.  6*f-2,3'  *' 
lists  exchanged.  -  C.  A.  O.,  75,  Mildmay-road,  Highbury 
London,  N.  .._.., 

Will  forward  Packet  of  Sand  containing  Foraminifera  on 
receipt  of  two  penny  stamps.— Geo.  Clinch,  West  Wickham, 

London  Catalogue,  7th  edition:  121,  122,  130,  163,  201, 
217,  238,  328,  330,  346,  363,  533,  539,  542,  and  others.  Send 
list  to  Edwin  Hepworth,  17,  Spring-lane,  Lees. 

Teeth  of  Saurichthys  acuminatum,  and  other  small  teeth 
(named),  from  the  Rhcetic  bone-bed  at  Aust  Cliff,  to_  exchange 
for  tertiary  fossils,  Barton  series  preferred.— Rev.  K.  Deakin, 
Almondsbury,  Gloucestershire. 


Send  good  slides  or  material  for  Siliceous  Foraminifera, 
fossil  (rare),  or  Sucker-foot  of  Acilius  sulcatus  (beetle).— Wm- 
J.  Fuller,  Broad  Plain  Soap  Works,  Bristol. 

J.  W.  Bulmer,  South  Parade,  Northallerton,  Yorks,  will 
send,  post  free,  50  varieties  of  rare  Foreign  Stamps  for  British 
Birds'  Eggs. 

Exchange.— British  and  Foreign  Shells,  Fossils,  Minerals, 
and  polished  specimens  of  Madrepones,  for  Dudley  and  other 
Trilobites.— A.  J.  R.  Sclater,  4,  Bank-street,  Teignmouth. 

Exchange. — Can  occasionally  send  Octopus,  Squid,  Cuttle- 
fish, and  a  great  variety  of  marine  animals  to  parties  who  will 
exchange  for  the  same. — A.  J.  R.  Sclater,  4,  Bank-street, 
Teignmouth. 

Zonites purus,  Z.  fulvus,  and  a  few  Rotundata  (var.  Alba), 
also  a  few  Birds'  Eggs,  for  British  Marine  Species  or  Foreign 
Helices.—  Thos.  Hedworth,  Dunston,  Gateshead. 

Good  Slides  offered  for  unmounted  material ;  specially 
wanted,  Parasites  and  Eggs  of  Parasites,  Eggs  of  Lepidoptera, 
&c,  also  British  Polyzoa,  Biccellaria,  Cillata.— J.  D.  Pepper, 
15,  Talbot-street,  Moss  Side,  Manchester. 

For  a  Slide  of  Crystals  for  Polar  send  two  good  Prepared 
but  Unmounted  Entomological  Objects  to  Wm.  Sargant,  Jun., 
Caverswall,  Stoke-on-Trent. 

For  sound  pieces  of  Wood  8  by  6  by  4,  showing  bark  on  one 
side,  of  No.  46,  295,  297,  299,  382,  480,  482,  516,  616,  621,  830, 
848,  1 125,  1201,  and  1203,  I  will  give  in  exchange  rare  British 
plants  or  micro  slides.— J.  Tempere,  23,  Croucy-street,  Col- 
chester. 

Will  send  specimen  of  Ptychogasier  albus  (microscopical 
fungus)  for  good  plant,  moss,  or  microscopical  material. — 
F.  Crosbie,  The  Chestnuts,  Barnet. 

Wanted,  recent  Diatoms  from  Monterey  Bay  and  Cuxhayen 
Mud,  Diatomaceous  Earth  from  Stoneyford,  County  Antrim, 
and  well-mounted  slides  offered  in  exchange.— William  A.  Firth, 
Whiterock,  Belfast. 

Will  exchange  Book  on  Diatoms  by  Prof.  A.  Mead  Edwards, 
cost  3s.  6d.,  for  some  back  numbers  of  Science-Gossip  or 
unmounted  micro  objects. — E.  V.,  41,  Peckham  Grove,  S.E. 

The  beautiful  Green  Lizard,  L.  Viridis  (living),  in  any 
number.     Open  to  offers.— J.  Sinel,  Bagot,  Jersey. 

In  exchange  for  any  other  Mounted  Objects,  Proboscis  of 
Blow  Fly,  Pleurosigma  angulation,  Amphiplcura pellucida. 
—Address,  T.  C.  Maggs,  Yeovil. 

Wanted,  Gosse's  Works  on  "  Marine  Natural  History,  in 
exchange  for  Botanical  Works.— C.  A.  Gwines,  8,  Crafford- 
street,  Dover. 

Wanted,  Cuticles,  Insects,  &c,  prepared  for  mounting,  for 
other  material.  200  oz.  covers,  glass,  cheap. — Tylar,  165,  Well- 
street,  Birmingham. 

Send  well-mounted  3  by  1  Slide  for  a  sample  of  Diatomaceous 
Tripoli. — T.  Brown,  7,  Spencer-street,  E.C. 

British  Coleoptera.  Exchange  correspondents  wanted. — 
James  Walkden,  183,  Broad-street,  Pendleton,  Manchester. 

Melicerta  ringens,  exchange  for  living  Sea  Anemones 
(actinia)  or  madrepores,  or  good  mounted  micro  object.— H.  E. 
Forrest,  Lloyd's  Bank,  Aston-road,  Birmingham. 

Living  or  mounted  specimens  of  I  'olvcx globatorm  exchange 
for  good  mounted  or  unmounted  objects. — John  Levick,  Lime- 
tree  Villas,  Albert-road,  Aston,  Birmingham. 


BOOKS,  &c,  RECEIVED. 

By  Alan  Bagot.      Losdon  :  C.   K. 


"Accidents  in  Mines. 
Paul  &  Co. 

"  Industrial  Art."     February. 
"  Land  and  Water."     February. 
"Journal  of  Applied  Sciences."     February. 
"  Chambers's  Journal."      February. 
"  Science  pour  Tous."     January. 
"  Botanische  Zeitung."     January. 
&c.  &c.         &c. 


Communications  have  been  received  up  to  the  12TH 
ult.,  from:-W.  H.  G.-T.  S.-T.  B.  W.-F.  W.  E ,  S.- 
H  V  — P  T  —J.  D.— J.  M.  M.— E.  W.  A.— C.  P.  O.— Dr.  B. 
— W'D— S.  A.  B.— A.  S.-A.  M.  Mc.A.—  Dr.  E.  H.  V.— 
R.  Mc.A.-J.  W.  B.-Dr.  C.  R.  B.-E.  C.  R.-J.  R.  J.- 
M  K  -T  G.-C.  B.  M.-C.  D.  W.-T.  Mc.G.-G.  R.  V. 
jun  -J.  B  -C.  D.-R.  G.  C.-R.  B.-G.  S.-L.  T.-T.  W.  D. 
J_!!r  m  c  -T.  H.-C.  S.-H.  L.-W.  T.  V.  D.-W.  M.  P. 
-H  P  M  -J.  R  T.-W.  L.  B.-H.  E.  W.-W.  W.-G.  G. 
-W.  M  -V.C.-W.  A.  C.-C.  H.  H.-J.  W.-W.  G.  S 
-C.  A.  O.-W.  H.  P.-E.  C.  J.-T.  W.-J.A.M.-M  F. 
-  T  B  — C  F  W.  T.  W.— W.  W.— A.  F.  G— R.  H.  K.— 
H  G.-Dr.'  P.-G.  O.  H.-A.  W.  S.-E.  T.  M.-W  H.  S  - 
Major  L.-H.  G.-C.  A.  G.-E  C  D -R.  E.-A.  S.-Dr. 
de  C  — A  K.— A.  W.  P.-W.  E.  G— E.  W.  W.— J.  C— V.  G. 
_F  C  M-G  S._c.  W.  C.-D.  S.-F.  C. -H.  W.  T— 
K  r  D-E  V-W  T-C.  A.  G.-J.  W.-W.  A.  F.— 
H  F  F-A  B  C.-H.  A.  M.-W.  S.  jun.-W.  C.-J.  Y.- 
A  IRS.-W  B  G.-H.  K.-W.  J.  F.-C.  P.-H.  F.  B.- 
J  H  H  -G.  N.-K.  D.-J.  D.  P.-W.  W.-J.  W.  B.- 
J   H.  J.-A.  J.  R.-T.  Q.  C.-J.  M.  M.-J.  K.-&C.  &c 


HARD  Wl  CKE  'S    S  CTENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


73 


>  JVCsy  ^^pTJ^J  ^JVOvV  ^yViM  ^^vCs. 


vj?^; 


REPORT    OF    SCIENCE-GOSSIP    BOTANICAL 
EXCHANGE    CLUB, 


N  approaching  this  sub- 
ject it  is  pleasant  to  say 
we  have  in  a  measure 
succeeded  beyond  our 
expectations,  but  we 
should  have  been  still 
more  successful  and 
have  been  able  to  send 
more  of  the  marked 
desiderata,  had  we  been 
supported  in  our  efforts 
by  more  of  our  working  or  rather  collecting  botanists. 
Evidently  it  was  regarded  solely  as  an  Amateur  Club, 
so  that  one  of  the  rules  seemed  to  be  totally  over- 
looked in  so  far  that  a  lot  of  specimens  were  sent 
such  as  Bellis,  Leontodon  ;  in  fact,  some  few  parcels 
contained  only  such  as  could  be  gathered  in  a  field  a 
few  yards  from  our  door.  Another  year,  we  are 
satisfied,  all  this  will  be  changed  for  the  better. 

A  few  contributors  have  kindly  sent  short  notes 
upon  any  specimens  thought 'to  be  unusually  rare  : 
these  we  give  below.  We  also  name  a  few  good 
things  which  we  have  had  great  pleasure  in  distri- 
buting : — Ranunculus  floribundus,  Bab.,  common 
in  the  Tweed  district.  Some  of  our  plants  ap- 
proach elongaius,  others  triphyllus,  and  confusus. — 
A.  B.  Ranunculus  salsuginosus.  This  form  is 
frequent  in  the  river  Tweed. — -A.  B.  Ranunculus 
fluitans,  Newb.,  river  Lathkill,  Derbyshire. — C.  B. 
Draba  niuralis,  plentiful  in  cultivated  ground 
(nurseries),  to  which  it  has  been  introduced  about 
Kelso  and  Melrose,  Roxburgh. — A.  B.  Raphanus 
maritimus,  Lizard  Point,  Cornwall.  We  supplied 
about  one  half  of  the  parcels  with  this  rare  species. 
Dentaria  bulbifera,  High  Wycombe. — T.  E.  D. 
Viola  Curtisii,  Lytham. — J.  C.  M.  V.  amcena, 
Bishop  Auckland. — J.  P.  S.  V.  lactea,  Helston, 
Cornwall. — J.  C.  V.  Curtisii,  Land's  End. — J.  C. 
Silene  quinquevulnera.  Introduced  to  the  Tweed 
district. — A.  B.  Cirava  alpina,  /3.  intermedia, 
Gaitheugh,  Berwickshire,  where  it  is  abundant :  along 
with  it  I  observed  a  few  patches  of  C.  luletiana, 
No.    1 60. 


possibly  true  "  or  typical."  Alpina  grows  there  also, 
but  I  did  not  detect  it. — A.  B.  Rubus  ccesius,  var. 
pscudo-idtcus,  Springwood  Park,  Roxburgh.  Various 
forms  of  Rubus  ccesius  are  plentiful  in  the  district,  but 
I  have  seen  this  only  from  the  above  locality. — A.  B. 
Rosa  pomifera.  On  the  roadside  at  the  highest  part, 
above  Sweethope,  Roxburgh  :  one  of  the  bushes  is  a 
fine  old  plant  about  7  feet  high,  and  as  much  through . 
They  are  as  far  as  possible,  under  the  circumstances, 
from  any  house  or  garden,  being  about  halfway 
between  two  farm- places.  I  have  never  seen  it  in  a 
garden  in  the  district. — A.  B.  Rosa  Watsoni,  also 
common  in  the  Tweed  district,  and,  like  Rosa  subcris- 
tata,  very  variable. — A.  B.  Rosa  subcristata.  This 
variety  is  common  in  the  Borders. — A.  B.  The 
fruit  of  Watsoni  can  scarcely  be  confounded  with  any 
other  species,  when  once  recognized.  Alchemilla 
conjuncta,  Buttermere  Fells,  Cumberland. — R.  W. 
Upon  writing  to  Mr.  W.  respecting  this  locality, 
which  is  open  to  doubt,  he  informed  us  the  specimen 
sent  was  cultivated  in  his  garden,  but  was  originally 
brought  from  Buttermere  by  a  friend  of  his  in  the 
North  of  England.  Not  the  least  doubt,  however, 
exists  as  to  its  being  the  true  conjuncta,  and  if  the 
locality  is  also  a  genuine  one,  it  is  one  of  the  most 
important  discoveries  our  contributors  have  brought  to 
light  this  season.  We  may  also  add,  the  leaves  are  at 
least  one-third  larger  than  the  plants  we  have  inspected 
at  Kew  and  Benthall  Hall.  Mcdicago  lappacea.  I 
have  found  a  few  specimens  of  this  species  on  Tweed  - 
side  every  year,  for  the  past  five  seasons.  It  grow^ 
in  company  with  the  other  Medics  (M.  denliculala, 
M.  maculata,  and  M.  minima),  along  with  which  it 
has  been  introduced  to  the  district  with-wool. — A.  B. 
Trifolium  Molinierii,  Lizard  Point. — J.  C.  T.  stric- 
tu?n,  Lizard  Point. — J.  C.  The  above  clovers  are 
old  friends.  It  is  pleasing  to  know  they  still  retain 
possession  of  the  old  station,  from  which  they  were 
recorded  many  years  ago.  Sarothamnus  prostratits, 
Lizard  Point. — J.  C.  Helianthemum  caniun,  Great 
Orme's  Head. — C.  B.  Ribes  alpinum,  Rokeby, 
Teesdale. — J.  P.  S.    Spergularia  marginata,  Arnside. 

E 


74 


HA  R  D  WI CKE  'S    S  CIE  NCE-GO  SSI  P. 


— C.   B.      Callitriche  autumnalis,   abundant  in  Yet- 
holm  Lock,    Roxburgh.     Although   it   has  not  been 
recorded,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,   from  the  Till    or  the 
Tweed,    judging     from    the   large  quantity    that  is 
annually,  after  every  high  wind,  carried  into  the  Bow- 
mont,    and  thence  to  the  Till  and  the  lower  reaches 
of    the    Tweed,     it    will    very   probably   be    found 
there  also. — A.   B.     We  believe   this  was  recorded 
by   Dr.    Johnstone    several  years    since.      Lamium 
intermedium,  a  rare  weed  in  cultivated  ground  about 
Kelso. — A.   B.      Scrophularia  Scorodonia,  Penzance. 
— J.    C.      Pulmonaria    officinalis,    some  very    large 
patches    in    Makerstown   Woods,    Roxburgh.       Pro- 
bably a    remnant  of    monkish    cultivation.— A.     B. 
Veronica  peregrina,  a  garden  weed,  at  New  Louden, 
Berwickshire. — A.  B.      This  plant  is  rapidly  spread- 
ing :   it  seems  but  a  few  years  since  it  was  named 
by  Prof.   Babington,  from  specimens  then  discovered 
near    Perth.      Rumex     rupestris,    Helston. — J.     C. 
Polygonum  littorale,  Link,  P.  Rail,  both  gathered  at 
St.     Bees    Head. — C.     B.      P.    arenastrum,     Bor., 
St.  Bees  Head. — C.  B.   Orobanche  azrulea,  St.  Owen's 
Bay,  Jersey. — G.  C.   D.      O.    rubra,    Gunwalloe. — 
J.  C.    Allium  triquetrum,  Helston. — J.  C.     Goodyera 
repens,      Bowmont      Forest,      Roxburgh.  —  A.     B. 
Plentiful     in     many    Scotch    Fir    woods    in    both 
Roxburgh   and  Berwickshire.      Most    likely    it  will 
also  be  found  in  similar  situations   in  Northumber- 
land ;  indeed,   I  have  found  it  within  three  miles  of 
the  borders  of  that  county.     Owing  to  the  increase  of 
plantations,  this  plant  has  increased  rapidly  of  late  in 
this  district.     The  Goodyera   appears  to  have  been 
one  of  the  original  natives  of  the  Borders  when  this 
part  of  the  country  was  covered  with  forest.     When 
the  land  was  cleared,  it,  and  others  of  a  like  nature, 
would  disappear  and  remain  in  a  dormant  state,  until 
circumstances   rendered   the  soil  again  suitable  for 
their   existence.       Cephalanthera  gra?idiflora,    High 
Wycombe. — Mrs.   T.   E.  D.     Erica  tetralici-ciliaris 
Penryn,    Cornwall.  —J.     C.       Cuscuta    epithynuun, 
Kingswood-heath,  Surrey. — J.  L.    Crocus  nudiflorus, 
Derby. — W.  H.  P.     Impatiens parviflora,  Ockbrook, 
Derby. — W.     H.     P.       Potamogeton    nitens,     Web. 
Abundant  in  the  Tweed  and  Teviot,  in  the  counties 
of  Roxburgh,   Berwick,   and  Northumberland  (Che- 
viotland).      Like  others  of  the  genus,   it  is  variable. 
The  description  of  P.  nitens  in  "  Student's  Flora  " 
says  the  leaves  are  recurved, — surely  a  misprint  for 
incurved. — A.   B.     Potamogeto?i  zoster  a: folms,   Spon- 
don,  Derbyshire. — W.    H.   P.     P.  lanceolatus,  River 
Lligway,  Anglesea. — C.  B.     This  is  another  record 
for   a   very    old    station,   originally  made    public    in 
Davie's    "Welsh  Botanology. "     Plantago  Timbalii, 
Mullion,    Cornwall. — J.    C.      We   believe  this   has 
not   hitherto   been    noticed    in    the    above    county. 
Veronica    triphylla,    York. — H.     R.    M.       Mellittis 
mellissophyllum,  Beeralston,  Devon. — W.  H.     Carex 
humilis,  Leigh  Woods.  —  W.  G.      C.  filiformis,  abun- 
dant in  Lurgie  Loch,  Berwick  ;  Prins-de-bog,  Rox- 


burgh ;  and  Campfield  Bog,  Northumberland. — - 
A.  B.  Wherever  this  species  is  met  with,  it  is 
generally  abundant  ;  such  is  our  limited  experience. 
C.  digitata,  near  Tintern  Abbey,  Monmouthshire. — 
C.  B. — C.  ornithopoda,  Cresbrook  Dale,  Derbyshire. 
— C.  B.  Three  of  our  contributors  send  a  limited 
supply  of  the  above  novelty.  It  will  doubtless  be 
new  to  most  of  the  members.  Carex  punctata,  Gau- 
din.  Ledges  of  perpendicular  rocks  in  the  Water- 
winch,  Tenby. — C.  B.  We  hope  again  shortly  to 
refer  to  this  species  ;  the  fruits  have  been  submitted 
to  Dr.  Syme.  Cyperus  longus,  Rennoch  Valley. — 
J.  C.  y uncus pygmceus,  Lizard  Down. — J.  C.  We 
are  glad  to  be  able  to  supply  the  whole  of  the  mem- 
bers with  this  species,  which  is,  comparatively 
speaking,  a  recent  addition  to  the  British  Flora. 
Scirpus parvulus,  mouth  of  Ovoca,  Arklow. — C.  B. 
Kobresia  caricina,  Widdy  Bank,  Teesdale. — J.  P.  S. 
Leersia  oryzoides,  Woking,  Surrey. — H.  E.  W.  It  is 
but  seldom  good  specimens  of  the  Leersia  can  be 
secured  ;  nearly  all  we  have  seen  have  been  im- 
perfect :  the  few  we  have  on  this  occasion  distributed 
are  excellent  examples.  Bromus  Lloydianus,  near 
Lizard  Point. — J.  C.  Ophioglossum  ambiguum,  St. 
Martin's,  Scilly  Isles. — J.  C. 

A  total  of  forty-four  parcels  of  plants  were  sent 
out.  In  each  case  we  made  as  good  selection  as  was 
within  our  power. 


DOES  DESICCATION  KILL  DIATOMS? 

A  COMMUNICATION  on  the  above  subject,  by 
M.  P.  Petit,  was  made  to  the  Societe  de 
Botanique,  Paris,  and  as  the  subject  is  of  considerable 
interest  to  the  diatomist,  we  have  much  pleasure  in 
reproducing  it. 

"  As  the  heat  of  summer  dries  up  the  ditches,  pools, 
and  puddles,  one  sees  that  when  the  last  trace  of 
humidity  vanishes,  the  diatoms  with  which  they 
were  stocked  also  disappear.  But  when  the  rains  of 
autumn  and  winter  refill  the  places  we  have  indicated, 
the  diatoms  revive  and  soon  reappear  in  great 
numbers. 

For  some  years  I  have  gathered  with  care  the 
dried  surfaces  of  the  ditches  in  which  I  knew  that 
great  quantities  of  diatoms  existed,  in  the  hope  of 
finding  traces  of  spores  or  zygospores.  I,  however, 
never  found  anything  but  empty  frustules  mixed 
with  the  soil  that  had  served  as  a  substratum.  Never 
being  able  to  find  traces  of  spores,  the  idea  occurred 
to  me  to  make  experiments  on  the  diatoms  when 
placed  under  the  same  conditions  as  occur  in  nature. 
I  therefore  collected,  at  divers  periods  of  the  year, 
the  diatoms,  with  their  substratum  of  mud  or  clay, 
and  submitted  them  to  desiccation  in  the  sun,  placing 
the  material  in  glass  vessels  covered,  to  keep  them 
from  dust,  some  for  six,  and  others  for  eight  months. 

The  desiccation  was  such  that  the  deposits  at  the 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  0  SSIP. 


75 


bottom  of  the  vessels  were  cracked  in  eveiy  direction. 
In  the  month  of  September  last  (1877)  I  examined 
some  fragments  of  these  deposits.  I  saw  that  the 
frustules  were  there,  and  also  that  they  were  trans- 
parent and  apparently  empty.  But  on  making  a 
more  careful  examination,  I  saw  in  the  interior  of 
one  of  the  extremities,  in  a  majority  of  frustules,  some 
brown  granules,  which  I  considered  were  the  remains 
of  the  dried  endochrome. 

The  vessels  were  then  filled  with  distilled  water 
sufficiently  aerated  by  prolonged  agitation  ;  after  this 
they  were  exposed  to  the  direct  heat  and  light  of  the 
sun. 

During  the  first  two  or  three  days  there  appeared 
but  little  change  in  the  frustules,  but  on  the  fourth 
day  the  large  brown  granules  had  augmented  in  size, 
and  had  taken  the  yellow  tint  characteristic  of  the 
diatomaceous  endochrome.  In  following  from  day  to 
day  the  augmentation  of  the  plasma,  I  remarked 
that  on  or  about  the  fifth  day  this  nearly  filled  the 
middle  of  the  frustule,  and  on  the  eighth  day  it  had 
assumed  the  normal  form  peculiar  to  the  genus  to 
which  the  species  belonged.  The  naviculas  had  re- 
sumed their  curious  movements,  and  some  days  later 
it  became  evident  that  a  number  of  the  frustules  had 
commenced  to  multiply  by  self-division. 

In  the  presence  of  these  observations,  we  are  able 
to  conclude  that  the  diatoms,  like  many  other  of  the 
lower  organisms,  preserve  the  vegetative  force  in 
spite  of  desiccation.  At  the  same  time  I  observed  a 
circumstance  which  deserves  mention.  In  one  of  the 
vessels  a  large  number  of  diatoms  were  attached  to 
the  sides  of  the  glass  :  in  these  the  endochrome  never 
returned  to  its  normal  condition.  It  is  probable  that 
the  plasma  had  been  killed  by  too  rapid  a  desiccation, 
while  the  diatoms  on  the  surface  ■  dried  less  rapidly 
as  the  substratum  slowly  lost  its  humidity :  the 
plasma  was,  therefore,  able  to  contract  slowly  ;  thus 
preserving  the  power  of  returning  to  life  under  the 
influence  of  favourable  conditions.  It  seems,  there- 
fore, necessary,  in  order  that  the  diatoms  should 
preserve  their  vegetative  force,  that  the  desiccation 
should  proceed  slowly  ;  and  that  is  exactly  what  takes 
place  in  ditches  and  pools.  After  these  facts,  it  is 
easy  to  comprehend  why,  during  the  wet  season,  we 
are  able  to  find,  almost  directly,  the  diatoms  for  which 
we  have  searched  in  vain  during  the  drought." 

{ATote  by  Translator. — These  experiments  will,  I 
think,  not  only  account  for  the  rapid  reappearance  of 
the  diatomacese  in  dried-up  pools  when  these  were 
again  refilled,  but  will  also  explain  their  presence  in 
such  habitats  as  the  moss  on  the  trunks  of  trees, 
roofs  of  cottages,  or  the  damp  places  near  leaky 
water-butts  or  tanks.  The  debris  from  the  dried-up 
ditches  is  raised  by  the  wind  as  fine  dust,  and  carried, 
perhaps,  miles  away,  and  after  a  time  deposited  in 
the  localities  just  alluded  to  ;  the  presence  of  moisture 
not  only  soon  restoring  their  vegetative  power,  but 
enabling  them  to  reproduce  by  self-division. 


Those  who  have  examined  gatherings  from  the 
previously-named  sources  have,  no  doubt,  been 
struck  with  the  absence  of  the  larger  forms  :  these 
have,  probably,  been  eliminated  by  their  rapid  sub- 
sidence, owing  to  their  much  greater  weight.) 

Norwich.  F.  Kitton. 


PRIMITIVE  MAN  : 
HIS  TIMES  AND  HIS  COMPANIONS. 

By  the   Rev.  J.  Magens  Mello,  M.A.,  F.G.S. 

IN  the  history  of  almost  all  nations  there  is  a  point 
at  which  that  history  loses  itself  in  tradition  and 
myth,  a  point  at  which  we  should  be  left  in  im- 
penetrable darkness  were  it  not  for  the  new  light  that 
has  been  shed,  at  any  rate,  upon  the  past  history  of 
man  in  Europe  by  the  discoveries  of  the  still  young 
science  of  Geology.  When  we  attempt  to  trace  back 
the  history  of  the  human  race  in  England,  which  we 
may  take  by  way  of  example,  the  earliest  historical 
records  carry  us  back  to  the  period  of  the  Roman 
Conquest ;  the  writings  of  the  Roman  Tacitus,  and  of 
some  other  authors  of  that  epoch,  show  us  more  or 
less  distinctly  what  kind  of  a  countiy  this  was,  and  of 
what  sort  the  inhabitants  were  which  they  found  in 
possession  ;  and  there  history  leaves  us.  We  must 
look  elsewhere  for  any  further  information.  That 
information  lay  buried  for  long  centuries  beneath  the 
earth  :  in  mounds,  in  caves,  in  gravel-pits  the  foot- 
prints of  primitive  man  were  left  for  the  explorers  of 
the  19th  century  to  track  and  to  interpret. 

During  the  last  fifty  years  evidence  has  been  fast 
accumulating,  showing  us  that  long  ages  must  have 
elapsed,  ages  marked  by  many  changes,  since  man 
made  his  first  appearance  here ;  evidence  slowly 
received  indeed  at  first,  but  which  has  yet  surely 
made  its  way,  forcing  upon  us  the  belief  that  long 
before  the  Romans  visited  our  shores,  generations  after 
generations  of  men  had  come  and  gone,  men  to  whose 
eyes  was  presented  a  very  different  England  to  that 
with  which  we  are  acquainted,  men  who  had  as  their 
companions  animals  very  different  to  those  with 
which  we  are  now  familiar.  What  that  England  was 
probably  like,  what  those  animals  were,  and  what 
little  we  know  about  those  men  is  the  subject  of  this 
present  sketch. 

Many  ages  before  the  Romans  came  there  was  a 
time  when  England,  instead  of  being  an  island, 
together  with  Scotland  and  Ireland,  formed  part  of 
the  continent  of  Europe ;  there  was  then  no  Bristol 
Channel,  no  Irish  Sea,  no  Straits  of  Dover,  no 
German  Ocean  such  as  we  now  have  them  ;  we  must 
picture  to  ourselves  a  northern  and  western  extension 
of  the  Continent  with  a  great  river,  an  enlargement 
probably  of  the  present  Rhine,  flowing  northwards 
through  a  wide  valley  or  plain,  where  is  now  the  sea. 
Into  this  river  flowed,  as  tributaries,  the  Thames  and 

E  2 


76 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIE NCE -  G O SSIP. 


Humber  and  other  streams;  dense  forests,  wild  moor- 
lands and  heaths,  great  swamps  and  morasses, 
diversified  doubtless  in  places  by  green  pastures, 
stretched  far  away  inland  from  this  great  valley,  as 
well  as  from  others  on  the  south  and  west  of  Eng- 
land. In  those  early  ages,  no  mild  winters  were 
known,  though  probably  the  summers  were  far  hotter 
than  any  which  we  now  experience.  We  may  even 
imagine,  if  we  will,  snow-covered  mountains,  with 
their  glaciers  creeping  down  into  the  valleys,  in  which 
the  snow  would  lie  thick  as  winter  drew  on,  whilst 
the  rivers  would  be  sealed  up  by  ice.  We  may 
picture  to  ourselves  the  animal  life  of  that  period.  It 
is  winter ;  from  the  northern  hills  and  forests  come 
travelling  southward,  driven  by  the  excess  of  cold, 
animals  now  called  Arctic ;  and  in  the  valleys  and  amid 


Fig.  si.   Flint  Implement  from  Brandon  ;  3  nat.  size. 

the  woods  of  middle  and  southern  England  might 
have  been  seen  the  herds  of  rein-deer,  the  gigantic 
shaggy-maned  mammoths  with  their  huge  recurved 
tusks,  smooth-skinned  but  woolly  rhinoceroses,  great 
bears,  wolves,  and  foxes,  crafty  gluttons,  troops  of  wild 
boars  and  other  animals.  Spring  and  summer  draw 
on,  and  as  these  animals  begin  to  move  once  again  to 
m  ire  northern  pasture-grounds,  we  find  with  the 
increasing  warmth  an  influx  of  other  visitors,  strange, 
indeed,  to  England  now, — lions  and  tigers,  and 
leopards,  hyaenas,  hippopotami,  elephants,  and  other 
species  of  rhinoceroses;  and  thus,  in  the  strange  climate 
ef  those  days,  might  have  been  witnessed  a  continual 
swinging  to  and  fro,  and  an  intermingling  for  a  time, 
of  Arctic  and  southern  animals,  who  made  this 
c  iuntry  their  home,  and  many  of  which  were  even 
bo  1  here,  and  here  lived  and  died.  Do  any  ask, 
!  lo  you  know  all  this?  is  not  all  this  a  mere  idle 

die  mi?  Let  us,  then,  record  some  of  the  evidence. 
'J  1  :se  animals  have  left  us  their  remains  to  this  day  ; 
-1  iiny  a  brick-field  and  gravel-pit,  in  the  soil  of 
1  iinis  caverns,  their  bones,  nay,  occasionally  even 
tl  ir  complete  skeletons,  have  been  found,  and  no 
1  tee  accumulation  this,  no  stray  bones  are  these, 
v  1  ;hed  in  by  some  great  flood  or  floods  from  distant 
:  jions.  The  evidence  shows  that  many  of  these 
1  les  were  deposited  in  the  very  spots  near  to  which 
t  se  animals  died.  Sealed  up  in  the  floor  of  many  a 
cave  are  these  relics  of  the  past,  not  water-worn  and 


rubbed,  but  fresh  and  sharp  as  to  all  their  angles,  some- 
times also  bone  lying  close  beside  its  bone,  as  though 
quietly  dropped  and  covered  up  where  found,  as 
must,  indeed,  have  been  the  case,  almost  immediately 
after  death.  Our  cave  floors  give  us  proof  also  that 
many  of  these  animals,  the  rein-deer,  hyaenas,  mam- 
moths, and  others,  must  have  been  born  in  this 
country.  In  the  same  bed,  lying  side  by  side,  we 
have  found  the  young  and  the  old,  the  rein-deer  and 
its  fawn,  the  hyaena  and  its  cub,  the  young  as  well  as 
the  old  elephant  or  rhinoceros,  and  a  very  brief 
examination  of  the  contents  of  some  of  our  caverns  will 
demonstrate  these  facts  ;  we  may  not  only  see  the 
jaws,  for  instance,  of  the  old  hyaena  with  the  teeth 
worn  by  hard  work  almost  to  the  gums,  but  also 
those  of  the  young  animal,  in  which  the  permanent 


Fig.  52.   Flint  Implement  from  Langey,  Fr.  ;  f  nat.  size. 

teeth  are  only  just  sprouting  and  pushing  their  way 
beneath  the  deciduous  ones.  Most  of  the  teeth  of  the 
mammoths  found  in  caves  are  those  of  young  animals, 
and  when  we  come  to  look  closely  at  all  the  bones 
and  teeth,  we  are  at  once  struck  with  the  fresh-look- 
ing conditions  of  the  majority,  and  are  convinced  that 
they  can  have  had  no  long  journey  to  perform  between 
the  death  and  burial  of  their  owners.  Another  thing 
which  we  may  observe  in  the  case  of  bones  found  in 
caves  is  that  many  of  them  are  seen  to  be  scored  and 
gnawed  into  their  present  shape  by  the  teeth  of  some 
animal,  and  analogy  has  led  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  great  devourer  of  the  bulk  of  the  animals  whose 
remains  are  found  in  caves  was  the  hyaena.  This 
savage  beast  in  those  early  days,  as  now,  was 
in  the  habit  of  dragging  its  victims  wholesale  or 
piecemeal  into  its  den,  where  it  devoured  not  the 
flesh  only,  but  also  the  bones,  rejecting  only  the 
very  hardest  portions  ;  and  the  teeth,  then,  left  lying 
about  on  the  floor,  would  soon  be  covered  up  by  the 
mud  brought  in,  partly  by  the  frequenters  of  the 
caves,  partly  by  floods,  and  also  by  the  slow  deposits 
from  the  moisture  which  found  its  way  through  cracks 
and  fissures.  It  seems  a  strange  thing  that  such 
animals  as  those  spoken  of  should  ever  have  been 
found  side  by  side  in  our  country, — the  northern  rein- 
deer and  the  southern  hyaena,  for  instance.  Some 
geologists  have  not  been  able  to  realize  that  they 
could  thus  have  lived  during  the  same  season,  and 


HARD  WICKE'S     SCIENCE-  G  OSS  I  P. 


77 


have  suggested  that  during  those  early  times  there 
may  have  been  warm  and  cold  periods,  each  lasting 
perhaps  ten  or  twelve  thousand  years,  and  that  ' '  the 
southern  animals  lived  in  our  island  during  the  warm 
periods  of  the  glacial  epoch,  while  the  northern  ani- 
mals lived  during  the  cold  periods."  That  there  were 
such  interglacial  periods  of  warmth  appears  to  be  not 
improbable,  but,  allowing  this,  I  do  not  see  how  we 
can,  with  the  testimony  of  cave  deposits  before  us, 
fail  to  be  convinced  that  northern  and  southern  forms 
did  not  make  their  appearance  separately,  each  living 
here  for  awhile  and  then  disappearing,  but  that  they 
lived  during  long  periods  actually  side  by  side.  The 
condition  of  the  various  bones  found  is  such  that  they 
undoubtedly  convey  the  impression  of  perfect  con- 
temporaneity ;  any  way,  they  are  found  lying  side  by 
side,  without  a  vestige  of  rolling  or  wear  and  tear, 


I 


\  L      .11,1       \         V  •*.        ^  ■) 


u 


m> 


Fig.  53,  Quartzite  Implement,  Creswell ;  J  nat.  size. 

in  deposits  from  a  few  inches  to  only  a  foot  or  two  in 
thickness  ;  a  rein-deer  bone,  for  instance,  almost,  if 
not  quite,  in  contact  with  the  jaw  of  a  hyaena,  and 
bearing  upon  it  what  we  can  hardly  help  believing  to 
be  the  marks  of  the  hysena's  teeth  upon  its  surface. 
The  remains  of  Arctic  and  southern  forms  are  so 
intimately  blended  together,  and  present  such  simi- 
larity of  aspect  in  such  caves,  for  instance,  as  those 
of  Creswell,  and  the  gnawed  bones  of  rein-deer, 
rhinoceroses,  and  other  animals  are  so  exactly  like 
the  bones  gnawed  by  hyaenas  of  to-day,  that  the 
evidence  appears  overwhelming  that  they  all  must 
have  lived  side  by  side ;  and  the  easiest  way  of 
accounting  for  such  a  condition  of  things  is  to  sup- 
pose, as  has  been  suggested,  a  seasonal  immigration 
and  intermingling  of  the  animals  in  a  climate  subject 
to  an  extreme  range  of  summer  and  winter  tempera- 
ture, unless  we  accept  as  an  alternative  that  the 
intermingling  may  have  taken  place  at  the  com- 
mencement or  close  of  an  interglacial  period,  but  that 
there  was  such  an  intermingling  of  forms  appears  to 
be  beyond  question. 

Now,  when  these  animals  lived  in  England,  man 
was  their  companion ;  there  is  now  not  the  slightest 
doubt  of  that.  The  evidence,  fifty  years  ago  so 
scanty,  so  incredulously  received,  has  become  over- 
whelming. To  take  the  evidence  of  caves  alone  : 
in  numerous  caves  in  this  country,  in  those  of  France, 
Belgium,  and  Switzerland,  traces  of  man's  presence 
have  been  found  in  vast  quantity  intimately  mixed  up 


in  the  same  beds  in  which  the  bones  of  the  animals 
are  found,  and  showing  most  clearly  that  they  must 
have  been  deposited  at  the  same  time.  And  is  it 
asked,  what  are  those  traces?  Have  you  any 
human  bones  ?  The  answer  is,  not  many.  A  few 
have  been  found  in  some  caverns,  and  these  have  been 
found  to  be  in  exactly  the  same  condition  as  those  of 
the  extinct  animals  ;  but  I  do  not  think  that  we  have 
any  right  to  expect  to  find  many  bones,  and  one 
reason  is  that  although  man  was  then  present,  his 
numbers  were  few  indeed,  compared  with  the  vast 
multitude  of  wild  animals.  Why,  even  as  recently 
as  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth  I  believe  that  the 
population  of  all  England  did  not  exceed  that  of 
London  to-day.  Man  would  then  be  in  the  propor- 
tion of  one  to  many  thousands  of  wild  animals,  with 
whom   he  would  have   to  wasre   a   hard   and   often 


Fig.  54.   Flint  Implement,  Le  Moustier,  Fr.  ;  f  nat.  size. 

precarious  struggle  for  existence.  And  again,  if  the 
men  of  those  primitive  times  neglected  their  dead,  as 
do  some  tribes  of  men  now,  the  hycenas,  wolves,  and 
other  animals  would  not  leave  many  bones  to  tell  the 
story  of  man's  existence.  What  we  do  find  to  prove 
that  man  then  lived  are  his  weapons  and  his  tools, — 
rude,  indeed,  at  first,  and  ill  formed,  but  yet  showing 
a  certain  amount  of  design  and  intention  in  their 
shape  never  to  be  found  in  mere  naturally-broken 
stones.  Man's  first  tools  and  weapons  were  the 
pebbles  picked  up  around  him,  rudely  fashioned  for 
such  simple  work  as  he  required  them  to  perform  by 
a  few  pieces  chipped  off  here  and  there,  to  enable 
them  to  be  more  readily  held  in  the  hand,  or  fastened 
into  holders  of  bone  or  wood ;  such  rude  tools  would 
serve  as  hammers  to  break  bones  for  the  sake  of  their 
marrow,  to  scrape  the  skins  of  animals  killed  in  the 
chase  with  the  primitive  stone-headed  lance  or  arrow. 
Implements  of  this  primitive  character  have  been 
found  in  abundance  in  the  lower  beds  of  some  of  the 
caves  of  this  and  other  countries,  as  well  as  in  the 
ancient  river-beds.  In  England,  the  caves  of  Creswell 
and  that  of  Kent's  Hole  have  furnished  many  highly 
characteristic  specimens  of  these  earliest  efforts  of 
human  skill,  whilst  the  gravels  of  the  Thames  Valley, 
of  the  Ouse  and  other  rivers  in  this  country,  and 
those  of  Amiens  and  Abbeville,  amongst  others  in 
France,  have  also  furnished  numerous  examples,  some 
made  of  quartzite  and  other  pebbles,  others  of  flint.  In 
the  case  of  the  rude  hammer-stones,  little  has  been 


78 


HARD  WICKE  >S    S  CIE  NCE  -  G  OS  SI  P. 


done  to  the  original  pebble  beyond  giving  it  a  suf- 
ficiently convenient  form  to  enable  the  user  to  grasp  it, 
but  the  bruised  and  battered  face  of  the  implement 
clearly  shows  to  what  use  it  was  put.  In  the  scrapers  we 
see  that  a  sharp  edge  has  been  placed  by  skilful  blows 
on  one  side  of  the  stone,  whilst  the  other  has  been 
probably  fastened  into  some  kind  of  holder.  Primi- 
tive man  would  very  soon  have  discovered  that  few  of 
the  stones  commonly  met  with  more  readily  adapted 
themselves  to  his  wants  than  the  flints  so  common 
wherever  there  was  chalk,  or,  indeed,  often  found 
scattered  here  and  there  in  gravel-beds  and  other 
spots  at  some  distance  from  their  original  source. 
The  sharp  edge  of  a  broken  flint,  the  comparative 
ease  with  which  it  could  be  variously  shaped,  soon 
led  man  to  prefer  it  to  other  materials. 

The  razor-like  edge  of  a  flint-flake  would  be  found 
to  make  an  excellent  knife,  and  such  long  thin  flakes 
are  amongst  the  implements  most  commonly  met 
with.  They  are  usually  flat  on  one  side,  with  a  well- 
defined  bulb  of  percussion  at  one  end, — a  proof  of 
their  having  been  struck  by  a  deliberate  blow  from 
the  original  block  ;  a  mere  splinter  broken  accident- 
ally by  the  crushing  of  a  mass  of  flint  never  has  this 
well-marked  protuberance.  The  upper  surface  of  these 
flakes  has  also  two  or  more  faces,  giving  to  the  specimen 
in  section  a  more  or  less  triangular  aspect.  Broader 
flakes,  with  a  sharpened  edge  at  one  end,  would 
adapt  themselves  as  scrapers.  We  also  often  find 
flints  with  very  carefully-worked  points,  which  may 
well  have  been  used  for  boring  holes  in  fragments  of 
bone,  to  form  needles,  and  they  might  be  used,  too, 
for  piercing  the  skins,  that  the  bone  needle  might 
more  readily  pass  through.  Some  of  the  most 
primitive  implements  were  large,  somewhat  oval- 
shaped,  ones,  made  of  flint  or  some  other  hard  stone  ; 
these,  which  are  frequently  found  in  the  old  river 
gravels,  and  some  of  which  are  made  of  quartzite 
pebbles,  have  been  discovered  in  the  earliest  beds  of 
the  Creswell  caves  in  England  would,  if  bound  firmly 
into  a  handle,  serve  as  formidable  axes  or  tomahawks, 
and  were  probably  used  as  such. 

( To  be  continued. ) 

THE  REAPPEARANCE  OF  AN  OLD 
FRIEND.* 

BRITISH  natural  history  has  produced  few  works 
which  have  become  national  classics.  But 
White's  "  Natural  History  of  Selborne"  undoubtedly 
takes  rank  as  such,  and  finds  its  place  on  our  library 
shelves  side  by  side  with  Goldsmith  and  Addison. 
The  unaffected  and  graceful  simplicity  of  the  style, 
the  cheerful  and  yet  reverential  tone  of  thought,  the 
quiet  love  for  all  that  lives,  the  keen  power  of 
observation,   and  the  readiness    to  draw  correct  in- 

*  "  The  Natural  History  and  Antiquities  of  Selborne."  By 
the  late  Rev.  Gilbert  White.  Edited  by  Thomas  Bell,  F.R.S., 
F.L.S.,  and  Professor  of  Zoology,  King's  College,  London. 
2  vols.     London  :  John  Van  Voorst. 


ferences  from  complex  facts,  have  rendered  this  work 
the  most  popular  of  its  kind  that  was  ever  written. 
There  is  a  freshness  and  a  charm  about  every  page, 
which  seems  imbued  with  the  breath  of  the   green 
fields,  and  the  spirit  of  the  silent  woods.    One  returns 
to  its  occasional  perusal  with  delight.     It  appeals  as 
successfully  to  youth  as  to  age,  and  commands  its  large 
circle  of  readers  by  reason  of  its  broad  sympathies. 
Naturalists  and    non-naturalists   alike    confess  to  its 
charm.     Perhaps  no  other  English  work  on  natural 
history   could    have    borne  half    the   editing  which 
White's   "Selborne"  has  had   to   experience.     We 
have   editions   of  all  kinds,    voluminous  and    com- 
pendious, editions  de  luxe,  and  "cheap  editions  for 
the  people"  ;  and  still  the  work  has  lived  throughout. 
In  our  opinion  the  present  edition  of  White's  cele- 
brated book  is   the   best   which    could    possibly  be 
produced.     There  are  many  reasons  why  this  should 
be  the  case.     First  of  all  the  editor,  Professor  Bell, 
is  himself  one    of  our  best  naturalists  and  natural- 
history  writers.     No  man  more  fully  recognizes  the 
scope  of  his  work — no   living   naturalist   has   more 
pleasant  memories  of  by-gone  workers.     Moreover, 
Professor  Bell  has  lived  in  White's  house  at  Selborne 
for  the  past  thirty  years,  and  so  must  have  become 
imbued  in  no  small  degree  with  the  spirit  and  charm 
of  the   place.     This   edition  of  White's   work   has, 
therefore,  been  edited  in  the  house  where  it  was  ori- 
ginally written.     The  style  in  which  this  edition  has 
been  published  demands  a  few  words  of  remark.  The 
binding  of  both  volumes   is  after  the  modest  style 
which  White  would  have  undoubtedly  preferred.  The 
engravings  and  woodcuts   (not  numerous)  are  of  the 
best  kind  of  artistic  work ;  the  paper  is  excellent ; 
the  type  large  and  cheerful ;  and  there  is  an  absence 
of  those  abounding  foot-notes  in  small  print  on  every 
page,  which,  in  some  editions  of  White's  "Selborne," 
have  made  its  perusal  almost  a  torture. 

After  saying  thus  much  for  the  manner  in  which 
this  edition  has  been  brought  out,  we  have  next  to 
draw  attention  to  several  matters  in  which  it  differs 
from  all  previous  editions.  A  few  years  ago  a  series 
of  twenty  letters,  constituting  a  correspondence  be- 
tween Gilbert  White  to  Robert  Marsham,  of  Stratton, 
Norfolk,  were  discovered,  and  published,  we  believe, 
in  the  "Transactions  of  the  Norfolk  and  Norwich 
Naturalists'  Society,"  accompanied  by  a  notice  of 
Mr.  Marsham's  life,  by  Mr.  Thomas  Southwell,  hon. 
sec.  These  letters  are  included  in  the  second  volume 
of  the  present  edition.  In  addition  to  them  are  other 
letters  and  correspondence  of  Gilbert  White's,  which 
now  appear  in  print  for  the  first  time.  Such  is  the 
correspondence  between  himself  and  his  brother  John, 
who  was  English  chaplain  at  Gibraltar,  and  after- 
wards vicar  of  Blackburn,  in  Lancashire.  In  these 
letters  we  gain  a  loveable  knowledge  of  Gilbert 
White  otherwise  than  as  a  naturalist.  His  brother 
seems  to  have  been  as  simple-minded  and  guileless  as 
himself,  and  this  correspondence  has  a  quaint,  affec- 


HA  R  D  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  OSS  IP. 


79 


tionate,  brotherly,  but  unfortunately  old-world  charm 
about  it  that  almost  makes  one  sad.  The  Rev.  John 
White  was  a  correspondent  of  Linnaeus,  six  of  whose 
letters  also  appear  in  these  pages.  Another  corre- 
spondence consists  of  a  series  of  letters,  also  now  first 
published,  between  White  and  his  brother-in-law,  Mr. 
Thomas  Barker,  of  Lyndon  Hall,  Rutland,  and  the 
latter  gentleman's  son.  Natural  history  and  archae- 
ology are  the  chief  subjects  herein  pleasantly  dis- 
cussed. The  correspondence  between  the  well-known 
naturalist  Pennant  and  Gilbert  White  form  the  bulk 
of  the  first  portion  of  the  work.  In  addition  to  the 
above  new  additions  to  White's  "  Selborne,"  ren- 
dering it  richer  and  fuller  than  any  previous  edition, 
Professor  Bell  has  had  the  sympathetic  aid  of  several 
modern  naturalists,  among  whom  the  suggestions  of 
Professor  Alfred  Newton  on  that  part  of  the  work 
relating  to  Birds,  have  unquestionably  raised  its 
authoritative  value.  All  lovers  of  natural  history  and 
English  classics  who  can  afford  it,  will  have  this  best 
edition  of  White  on  their  library  shelves  ;  and  all  our 
provincial  scientific  societies  and  clubs  ought  to 
include  it  in  their  circulating  list. 


THE  HARVESTMAN  "SPIDER." 

THE  animal  which  from  the  enormous  length  of 
its  legs  has  attracted  the  notice  of  most  per- 
sons from  childhood  upwards,  seems  from  its  very 
slight  resemblance  in  external  appearance  to  the  form 
of  a  spider  to  have  received  a  name  to  which  it  is 
not  at  all  entitled  ;  some  of  the  peculiarities  of  spiders 
are  so  exceptional  to  the  general  characteristics  of  all 
other  living  beings,  that  no  creature  in  which  they 
are  absent  ought  to  be  called  a  spider.  I  am  there- 
fore induced  to  compare  the  harvestman  with  an 
ordinary  spider,  in  the  hope  that  some  one  will  suggest 
its  appropriate  name. 

The  first  difference  that  strikes  the  most  superficial 
observer  is,  that  the  bodies  of  spiders  are  divided  into 
two  distinct  portions  by  a  very  slender  waist  which 
connects  the  abdomen  with  the  chest  and  head  ;  in 
the  harvestman  the  head,  chest,  and  abdomen  are  all 
under  one  shell  or  horny  covering,  without  any  waist 
or  division.  The  most  remarkable  feature  in  spiders 
is  the  position  and  character  of  the  reproductive 
organs.  In  the  female  spiders  they  are  on  that  por- 
tion of  the  abdomen  next  the  waist,  and  in  the  male 
spiders  in  a  much  more  extraordinary  position,  being 
connected  with  the  head  of  the  animal  by  the  palpi ; 
a  further  exception  to  the  prevailing  order  of  nature, 
and  equally  remarkable,  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  each 
male  spider  has  two  distinct  and  complete  organs, 
one  in  each  palpus,  and  both  exactly  alike,  one  not 
being  the  complement,  but  the  exact  counterpart  of 
the  other.  In  the  different  species  of  spiders  these 
organs  vary  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  so  that  by 
these  differences  species  might  be  determined  ;  some 


of  them  are  extremely  complex  and  beautiful,  as  in 
Lyniphia  marginata,  others,  though  more  simple,  are 
still  worth  studying.  May  not  the  absence  of  this  re- 
markable apparatus  in  the  harvestman  be  considered 
a  conclusive  answer  in  the  negative  to  the  question, 
Is  it  a  spider  ? 

Those  who  have  not  the  opportunity  of  examining 
these  organs  microscopically  I  would  refer  to  Black- 
wall's  celebrated  treatise  on  spiders,  where  they  will 
be  found  beautifully  illustrated.  This  authority  says, 
spiders  moult  or  change  their  skin  from  five  to  nine 
times,  according  to  species  ;  that  the  male  sexual 
organs  are  not  commenced  in  their  development  till 
the  penultimate  moult,  and  are  not  completed  till  the 
final  moulting  :  now  in  the  harvestman  the  sexual 
organs  are  found  in  the  smallest  individuals.  In  the 
harvestman  there  is  one  slight  approach  to  the  resem- 
blance of  spiders,  the  position  of  the  reproductive 
organs  being  similar  to  that  in  the  female  spider,  viz., 
nearly  close  to  the  chest ;  in  the  harvestman  the 
position  is  the  same  in  both  sexes,  there  is,  however, 
no  difficulty  in  distinguishing  one  sex  from  the  other  ; 
in  both  sexes  the  organ  is  situated  within  a  flexible 
tube  by  means  of  which  it  is  drawn  within  the  abdo- 
men, or  projected  externally,  both  organs  are  repre- 
sented in  the  following  sketches  (figs.  55  and  58). 

In  the  male  organ  the  parallel  lines  represent  the 
membraneous  tube,  the  shaded  portion  the  horny 
instrument  which  slides  within  it  by  introversion,  or 
something  like  the  tube  of  a  telescope ;  it  may  be  seen 
in  its  normal  position  (after  the  body  has  been 
rendered  transparent)  seated  within  the  abdomen 
with  the  hooked  point  near  the  external  orifice,  this 
hook  is  attached  to  the  shaft  by  a  movable  joint,  and 
the  hairlike  termination  of  the  hook  is  also  jointed, 
so  that  it  is  possible  to  place  the  hook  in  a  line  with 
the  shaft,  though  it  is  always  found  at  a  right  angle 
as  represented  ;  the  length  of  the  organ  with  its 
elastic  tube  extended  is  about  as  long  as  the  diameter 
of  the  body,  the  horny  portion  being  a  little  shorter 
than  the  membranous.  The  female  organ,  from  the 
great  length  of  its  elastic  tube,  which  is  about  twice 
as  long  as  the  body  of  the  animal,  is  probably  used  as 
an  ovipositor,  the  horny  portion  is  not  more  than  one 
third  the  length  of  the  elastic  tube  ;  the  latter,  how- 
ever, when  drawn  within  the  body  is  shortened  by 
contraction  to  the  length  of  the  horny  part  then  con- 
tained within  it.  This  part  appears  to  be  formed  of 
a  series  of  bands  or  rings  connected  together  and 
terminating  in  lobes,  to  which  are  attached  strong 
tufts  of  hair,  or  spines,  the  bands  are  covered  with 
stout  hairs  about  as  long  as  the  width  of  each  band, 
and  the  membranous  tube  is  so  thickly  studded  with 
minute  hairs,  that  when  contracted  within  the  body 
the  organ  appears  black,  the  surface  resembling  that 
of  a  steel  rasp.  It  might  be  supposed  that  a  tube 
that  has  to  slide  within  itself  by  introversion  would 
be  greatly  impeded  by  the  friction  arising  from  its 
surfaces  being  prickly  instead  of  smooth.     If  we  ask 


So 


HARD  WICKE *S    SCIENCE -G  OSSIP. 


what  purpose  do  these  hairs  serve,  or  why  is  it  that 
all  other  internal  organs  being  so  perfectly  adapted 
by  their  smooth  and  lubricated  surfaces  for  moving 
together  without  friction,  these  should  present  a 
roughened  surface,  we  might  learn  a  lesson  of 
humility  by  reflecting  that  as  we  proceed  step  by  step 
in  our  investigations  of  the  mysteries  of  nature,  we 
are  continually  finding  how  inadequate  is  the  capacity 
of  the  human  mind  to  comprehend  the  designs  of  an 
omniscient  Creator.  I  now  proceed  to  the  considera- 
tion of  the  breathing  organs.  Spiders  breathe  by 
branchia,  organs  somewhat  resembling  the  gills  of 
fishes,  being  a  series  of  thin  membranous  plates 
placed  together  like  the  leaves  of  a  book  in  two 
clusters  within  the  abdomen,  one  on  either  side  the 


spiders  says,  "  the  foot  (or  portion  corresponding  to 
the  tarsus  of  insects),  is  divided  into  two  parts,  the 
tarsus  and  metatarsus,  and  in  some  species  into  three 
joints."  The  tarsus  of  the  harvestman  has  in  some 
cases  as  many  as  ninety  joints,  the  lowest  number  I 
have  met  with  being  twenty-five.  The  feet  of  spiders 
are  terminated  by  two  or  more  claws,  generally  pec- 
tinated ;  those  of  the  harvestman  have  only  one  claw, 
curved,  but  quite  smooth.  The  palpi  of  the  harvest- 
man  closely  resemble  those  of  the  female  spider, 
excepting  that  the  claw  at  their  termination  is 
generally,  if  not  always,  pectinated  in  the  spider  and 
smooth  in  the  harvestman,  though  I  have  found  two 
instances  in  which  the  claws  of  the  palpi  were  pecti- 
nated,   although    those    of    the    feet    of    the    same 


Fig.  56.   Fal.\  of 
Ditto. 


Fig.  57.   Bipennis  of 
Ditto, 


Fig.  55.  Oviposito   of  Harvestman  "  Spider."     (The  lines  show  actual  size  of  full-grown  organs.) 

A  A  A  A  A  A  A 

AA  AAAAA 

Fig.  59.   Part  of  a  (Fig.  55)  highly  magnified. 

individuals  were  not  so.     The  absence  of  spinnerets 
distinguishes  the  harvestman  from  the  generality  of 
spiders,  but  as  some  few  species  of  spiders  are  also 
without  them,  this  is  not  a  difference  of  so  positive 
a  character  as  the  other  points  I  have  noticed.     The 
last  organs  to  which  I  would  draw  attention  are  the 
fakes :  in  spiders  these  are  terminated  by  a  curved 
claw  sometimes  deeply  serrated  on  its  inner  side  ;  in 
the  harvestman  the  termination  is  a  pair  of  forceps  or 
nippers  like  those  of  a  lobster  or  crab.    These  fakes  in 
most   of  the   harvestmen  are  rather  smaller 
than  we  find  them  in  spiders,   but  in  some 
cases  they  are  fully  three  times  larger  than 
we  find    them  in    any   of   the   spiders,    and 
assuming  quite    a   different    form ;     in    fact, 
they    no    longer   resemble    reaphooks,    from 
which  they  derive  their  name  of  fakes,  but 
are  much  more   like  pickaxes  :  therefore,    following 
the  same  kind  of  nomenclature,   I  propose  bipenni 
as    an    appropriate    name    for    them  ;    the    fig.    57 
shows  an  outline   of  their   peculiar    form    and    the 
comparative  size  that  the  bipenni  and  the  fakes  bear 
to   each    other.      All   the  specimens    I   have  found 
possessing   bipenni  were  males  ;    I  think,   however, 
these    organs    do    not    distinguish    the  sexes,    but    a 
difference    of   species,    as    both    males    and    females 
are  found  bearing  the  fakes ;  as  the  upper  spur  or 
arm    of    the    bipenni   is    not    present    in    those    in- 
dividuals that  are  less  than  half  grown,   I  think  it  is 
not  fully  developed  till   the  last  moult,   as  in  some 
that  are  about  three-quarters  grown   it  is  very  short 


Fig.  58.   Intromittent  Organ  of  Ditto. 

sexual  orifice  in  the  female.  The  air  is  admitted 
to  these  branchia  through  stigmata,  or  horny  plates 
having  fine  irregular  openings,  presenting  the  appear- 
ance of  a  grating,  corresponding  in  some  measure  to 
the  spiracles  of  insects.  The  harvestmen  breathe  by 
trachea,  the  same  as  insects  ;  there  are  two  spiracles, 
one  on  either  side  of  the  abdomen  ;  the  principal 
tracheal  tube  proceeds  a  short  distance  from  each 
spiracle,  and  then  divides  and  subdivides,  permeating 
every  part  of  the  body.  The  eyes  present  a  difference 
in  number  only  to  those  of  spiders  ;  Blackwall  says, 
"  the  number  of  the  ocelli  in  spiders  is  always  two, 
six,  or  eight  ; "  in  the  harvestman  the  number  is 
four.     The  same  authority  in   describing  the  legs  of 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  ■  G  O  SSI  P. 


Si 


and  round  at  the  top,  instead  of  terminating  in  a  sharp 
point,  as  when  the  animal  is  full  grown. 

Having  now  shown  (as  I  think  conclusively)  that 
the  harvestman  is  not  a  spider,  will  some  one  tell  me 
what  it  is  ? 

Xorwich.  J.  H .  Gary. 


THE  MIGHTY  DEEP. 

IN  a  general  way  persons  have  a  better  appre- 
ciation of  the  vastness  of  the  land  than  of  that 
of  the  sea  ;  mainly  because  the  former  is  more  fre- 
quently forced  on  their  attention.  The  area  of  the 
ocean  is  nearly  thrice  that  of  the  land  ;  the  one 
being  estimated  at  about  52  million  square  miles, 
and  the  other  at  145  million  square  miles.  On  the 
land,  as  well  as  in  the  ocean,  there  are  vast  tracts  on 
which  life  is  absent  or  scanty ;  but  whereas,  on  the 
land  the  inhabitable  portion  is  to  a  great  extent 
superficial,  in  the  ocean  life  occurs  more  or  less  I 
abundantly  at  all  depths.  The  ocean  forms  one 
continuous  mass  of  water  broken  up  into  irregularly- 
shaped  portions  by  the  land.  When  portions  of 
the  sea  are  inclosed  by  the  land,  the  water  under- 
goes so  marked  a  change  in  character  that  such 
inclosed  portions  (forming  lakes  and  lagoons)  can 
no  longer  be  considered  as  forming  part  of  the 
ocean.  The  sjreat  bulk  of  the  sea  is  concentrated  in 
the  South  hemisphere,  and  the  pole  of  the  sea  (that 
is,  the  centre  of  the  hemisphere  in  which  it  is  most 
extensive)  is  in  520  S.  6°  E.  In  this  hemisphere 
the  land  is  to  sea  as  1  to  8,  while  in  the  opposite 
hemisphere  there  is  nearly  as  much  land  as  sea. 

The  mean  depth  of  the  sea  has  been  variously 
estimated,  but  as  yet  there  are  scarcely  sufficient  data 
for  accurate  estimates.  Buffon  suggested  it  might 
be  200  fathoms  or  1,200  feet  ;  Lacaille,  163  to  273 
fathoms;  Laplace,  656  fathoms ;  Lyell,  2,600 
fathoms  ;  and  Herschel,  3,520  fathoms.  The  most 
probable  mean  is  about  2,600  fathoms.  Assuming 
this  as  correct,  the  average  volume  per  square  mile 
would  be  418, 176  million  cubic  feet,  and  the  total 
volume  60,635,520,000,000  million  cubic  feet.  The 
mean  height  of  the  land  is  1, 000  feet  above  the  sea-level, 
which  would  give  a  volume  of  1,449,676,800,000 
million  cubic  feet  for  the  supramarine  portion. 
Hence  the  ocean's  bulk  is  41  times  greater  than  that 
of  the  land  above  its  upper  surface. 

One  of  the  causes  now  in  operation  which  tend  to 
make  the  ocean  encroach  upon  the  land  is  the  intro- 
duction of  detrital  matter  into  the  sea.  Every  grain 
displaces  its  own  bulk  of  water,  and  so  far  causes  it 
to  encroach  upon  the  land.  Denudation  is  always 
going  on  at  a  probable  mean  rate  of  one  foot  in 
3,600  years,  at  which  rate  all  the  land  would  be 
removed  in  about  ten  million  years.  The  sea,  in 
that  case,  would  gain  on  the  land  at  the  mean  rate  of 
about  five  square  miles  per  year.     If  all  the  land 


were  transferred  to  the  sea,  the  mean  depth  of  the 
latter  would  be  reduced  to  1,500  or  1,600  fathoms. 
Other  causes,  however,  may  influence  the  extent  of 
the  ocean.  One  is  the  subsidence  of  land  below  the 
sea-level  and  elevation  or  subsidence  of  the  sea 
bottom.  The  subsidence  of  the  whole  of  the  land 
would  involve  a  depression  of  about  30,000  feet ; 
and  the  elevation  of  the  whole  of  the  sea  bottom 
would  require  an  uplift  of  about  35,000  feet.  In  all 
probability  elevation  and  subsidence  proceed  simul- 
taneously in  different  parts  of  the  earth,  and  may  or 
may  not  counterbalance  each  other.  The  bearing  of 
this  conjecture  is  that  extensive  subsidence  or  eleva- 
tion of  the  sea  bottom  is  calculated  to  be  more  in- 
fluential than  the  introduction  of  sediment  in  causing 
the  sea  to  advance  upon  or  withdraw  back  from  the 
land.  The  introduction  of  a  mass  of  matter  equal  in 
bulk  to  all  the  supramarine  land  would  be  sufficient 
to  cause  the  ocean  to  overflow  the  land  up  to  about 
the  level  of  6,000  feet  above  the  present  level ;  while 
alterations  of  level  less  than  those  of  which  the 
geologist  is  cognizant,  as  local  phenomena  at  least, 
would,  if  extended  over  large, areas  account  for  the 
displacement  of  entire  continents  and  oceanic  basins. 
It  has  been  assumed  that  the  bulk  of  the  ocean  has 
been  approximately  unaltered;  but  surmises  might  be 
made  upon  the  variations  in  the  amount  of  water 
which,  in  its  aeriform  and  liquid  states,  is  temporarily 
withdrawn  from  the  sea.  A  rough  calculation  indi- 
cates that  the  average  amount  of  vapour  constantly 
in  the  air  corresponds  to  about  13,412,704  million 
cubic  feet  of  water,  and  that  the  amount  of  fluid  re- 
quired to  keep  all  lakes,  rivers,  &c,  supplied  for  six 
months  is  about  2,364,072,004  million  cubic  feet,  or 
about  sufficient  to  form  5,894  square  miles  of  sea  of 
average  depth.  The  entire  absence  of  all  flowing 
fresh  waters,  or  a  doubling  of  their  present  volume 
(extreme  conditions  which  are  not  likely  to  have  hap- 
pened), would  have  no  appreciable  influence  geolo- 
gically in  altering  the  relative  areas  of  land  and  sea. 
The  accumulation  of  snow  and  ice  would  perhaps  be 
more  influential.  For,  supposing  it  possible  that  at 
one  time  there  were  no  ice,  and  that  at  another  some 
10  million  square  miles  were  covered  therewith  to  a 
depth  of  500  feet,  this  would  give  a  volume  of 
139,392,002,000  million  cubic  feet,  which  cor- 
responds to  309,071  square  miles  of  sea  of  average 
depth.  If  we  assume  that  the  sea  has  retained  its 
mean  depth  unaltered,  the  utmost  probable  irregu- 
larity in  the  amount  of  "rainfall  and  in  the  accumula- 
tion of  ice  upon  the  land  would  not  cause  its  area  to 
vary  by  so  much  as  one  million  square  miles.  Hence, 
from  a  geological  point  of  view,  the  possible  influence 
of  such  irregularities  may  be  disregarded.  There  is 
yet  another  influence  to  be  noticed.  It  is  exceed- 
ingly probable — nay,  we  may  say  certain  —  that  the  sea 
bed  consists  of  material  which  is  in  places  permeable, 
and  in  others  impermeable,  to  sea  water.  At  what 
rate  the  water  percolates  into  the  rocks,  and  what 


82 


HARD  WICKE 'S    SCIENCE .  G  OSSIP. 


quantities  are  retained  in  them  temporarily,  we  are 
not  prepared  to  state ;  but  it  does  not  seem  likely 
that  the  rates  of  absorption  and  evaporation  have 
varied  much.  A  certain  portion  of  the  water,  how- 
ever, remains  in  the  rocks  for  prolonged  geological 
periods,  and  it  is  believed  the  amount  is  constantly 
increasing.  It  is  not  known  what  the  amount  may 
be,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
it  has  affected  the  volume  of  the  ocean  to  any  large 
extent.  The  conclusion  at  which  we  arrive  is  that  at 
every  geological  period  there  has  probably  been  water 
somewhere  on  the  earth's  surface,  having  a  mean  depth 
of  over  9,000  feet.  It  has  been  suggested  that  comets' 
tails  may  have  condensed  on  the  earth,  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, given  rise  to  floods  ;  but  such  speculations  may 
be  dismissed  as  purely  imaginative.  The  attractive  in- 
fluence of  the  land  draws  the  ocean  above  the  level  it 
would  otherwise  have,  and  thus  causes  the  water  to 
encroach  upon  the  land ;  but  such  elevation  of  the 
water  is  a  local  phenomenon  only,  the  mean  level  of 
the  ocean  being  in  no  way  affected. 

The  existence  and,  to  a  large  extent,  the  conditions 
of  the  present  sea  are  indicated  by  direct  evidence  ; . 
but  the  position,  depth,  and  conditions  of  the  seas  of 
former  periods  can  only  be  ascertained  by  indirect 
means  ;  and  mainly  from  the  fossil  remains  found  in 
strata.     The  occurrence  of  a  species  belonging  to  a 
group  of  organisms  which,  so  far  as  known,  is  exclu- 
sively marine,  is  a  fair  proof  of  the  co-existence  of 
marine  conditions,  provided,  of  course,  such  remains 
have  not  been  introduced  by  accident  or  by  derivation 
from  older  marine  beds.     In  most  cases  collateral 
evidence  sufficiently  indicates  whether  the  stratum  is 
or  is  not  marine.     The   distribution   of  marine  or- 
ganisms is  dependent  upon  circumstances,  so  that  a 
study  of  these  in  the  case  of  living  species  enables  us 
to  infer,  more  or  less  correctly,  some  of  the  condi- 
tions of  the  sea  in  which  they  lived ;  and  amongst 
others  that  of  the  contour  or  depth.     The  matter  is, 
however,   somewhat  complicated,  for  it  would  seem 
that  depth  alone  has  little  influence  on  the  distribu- 
tion of  animals  and  plants,  and  that  the  influencing 
conditions  are  temperature,  light,  food,  currents,  &c. 
The  evidence  then  which  fossils  afford  as  to  depth  is 
probably  wholly  circumstantial.      In  the  present  seas 
the  greater  depths  are  associated  with  a  low  tem- 
perature, slow  currents  or  movements  of  water,  sedi- 
ments of  extreme  fineness,  and  absence  of  solar  lumi- 
nous rays  ;  the  probabilities  are  that  such  has  always 
been  the  case  in  the  older  oceans  ;  but  the  only  con- 
stant condition  associated  with  great  depth  is  absence 
of  the  sun's  light.     In  closed  seas  the  temperature 
may  be  high  at  great  depths,  and  under  certain  con- 
ditions moderate  currents  may  exist  in  the  deepest 
oceans.     In  a  general  way  shallow  waters  are  asso- 
ciated with  the  stronger  currents,  the  coarser  deposits, 
varied  conditions  of  temperature  and  accessibility  to 
solar  light.     Deposits  of  extreme  fineness  may  occur 
in  shallow  and  cold  seas,  which  conditions  would  be 


nearly  the  same  as  those  of  the  deepest  seas ;  for, 
irrespective  of  depth,  the  principal  difference  is  pre- 
sence of  light  in  the  shallow  water.      This  would 
allow  of  the  existence  of  species  to  which  ordinary 
light  is  directly  or  indirectly  essential,  along  with  such 
of  the  deep-sea  forms  as  could  live  in  association  with 
them.    In  the  shallowest  waters  along  the  sea  margin 
we  find  a  certain  relation   between  the  depth  and 
particular  groups  of  species  of  organisms ;  but  ex- 
amination   shows   that    this    relation   holds   because 
certain  conditions  of  temperature,   exposure  to  air, 
food,   &c,  concur  with  such  depths.     These  condi- 
tions may  correspond  with  a  certain  depth  in  one 
area  and  with  a  different  depth  in  another  area  ;  so 
that  it  becomes  necessary  to  take  many  circumstances 
into  account  before  drawing  conclusions  as  to  depth 
from  the  association  of  certain  species.     When  the 
conditions   regulating   the  co-existence  of  particular 
species  are  known,  we  can  readily  infer  somewhat  as 
to  the  depth  of  the  water.    These  considerations  have 
an  important  bearing  upon  the  geographical  distri- 
bution of  species  and  the  inferences  deducible  from 
such  distribution  in  space  and  in  time,    and,  conse- 
quently, upon  the  continuity  of  oceans  in  space  and 
in  time,  or,  rather,  on  the  continuity  of  certain  oceanic 
conditions.  A.  Ramsay. 

( To  be  continued. ) 

BOTANICAL  WORK  FOR  APRIL. 

THE  early  part  of  the  present  month  will  be  the 
season  to  work  at  several  species  :  thus,  the 
common  Pilewort  [Ranunculus  Ficaria,  L.)  is  now 
in  full  bloom  in  some  parts  of  Britain.  We  have 
been  recently  taught  to  regard  it  as  comprehending 
two  distinct  species ;  for  example,  it  is  divided 
into  two  varieties,  viz.,  a.  diverge/is,  F.  Sch.  ; 
b.  inatmbens,  F.  Sch.  The  first  variety,  a,  has  lobes 
of  lowest  leaves  not  oz'crlapping  at  the  base,  lowest 
sheaths  narrow  :  variety  b,  incumbens,  has  lobes  of 
lowest  leaves  overlapping  at  the  base,  or  parallel  with 
petiole  and  lowest  sheaths,  very  broad,  amplexicaul. 

Which  of  these  varieties  occurs  in  your  district  ? 
It  will  make  many  a  walk  pleasant  and  delightful  to 
know  one  is  helping  to  clear  up  a  question  not  yet 
satisfactorily  answered. 

In  the  south  of  Europe  another  form  is  found  ;  in 
fact,  a  distinct  species,  named  by  most  botanists 
Ranunculus  Ficariaformis.  Have  we  not  overlooked 
it  in  England?  It  is  very  similar  to  our  plant,  and 
may  quite  possibly  have  been  passed  over.  Let  it  lie 
cleared  up  this  spring. 

Viola  sylvatka,  Fries. — This  is  another  species 
which  can  be  worked  up  in  April.  Most  of  our 
readers  are  aware  that  from  the  days  of  Linnceus 
until  a  very  few  years  ago,  this  plant  passed  current 
under  the  old  name  of  V.  canina;  nay,  not  a  few  still 
persist  in  knowing  it  under  the  old  name,  and  refuse 
to    listen   to   the  '"new  species."      Linnceus's  name 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


{canina)  was  applied  by  him  to  the  present  and 
another  species,  V.  canina  of  Babington's  "Manual." 
When  it  was  found  needful  to  separate  the  two,  this 
name  was  restricted  by  Fries  to  the  one  now  recog- 
nized as  the  true  canina,  and  he  proposed  sylvatica 
as  the  present  species.  Most  European  botanists  at 
once  adopted  his  views,  but  it  was  some  time  before 
we  recognized  the  new  species.  But  we  wish  to  call 
the  attention  of  our  readers  to  another  fact,  which 
may  be  advantageously  worked  at  in  every  district, 
for  V.  sylvatica  comprehends  two  well-marked 
varieties,  viz.,  a.  Riviniana,  b.  Rcichcnbachiana. 
We  have  many  book  species,  with  not  near  the 
distinctive  characters  possessed  by  the  above. 
V.  Riviniana,  Rich.,  has  the  leaves  broadly  cordate, 
acute  ;  calycine  appendages  persistent,  broad  ;  petals 
blue,  remarkably  broad,  lower  one  with  many 
branched  veins  at  its  base  ;  spur  thick,  cream-coloured, 
or  very  light  blue.  V.  Reichenbachiana,  Bor. ,  leaves  cor- 
data,  prolonged;  calycine  appendages  small,  narrow ; 
petals  bright  lilac,  lower  one  with  parallel,  few,  nearly 
simple  veins  at  its  base;  spur  flattened,  light  lilac.  If 
the  above  varieties  are  once  recognized,  they  will 
never  again  be  mistaken.  The  common  form,  that 
often  called  V.  canina,  Linn.,  is  seen  as  a  roadside 
plant  on  every  sunny  bank  or  sandy  lane  in 
the  northern  counties,  but  V.  Reichenbachiana  is 
generally  found,  and  then  very  sparingly,  in  deep, 
damp  ravines  and  glens,  where  the  sun  seldom 
penetrates,  although  sometimes  seen  on  the  same 
bank  with  the  common  form.  It  may  be  identified 
at  a  glance,  the  peculiar  lilac  petals  exceedingly 
narrow  when  compared  with  any  other  species  ;  also 
the  narrow,  often  sharp-pointed  spur,  just  tinted  with 
pale  lilac  :  the  leaves  are,  when  young,  pale  green, 
not  thick,  fleshy,  and  dark  green,  like  Riviniana, 
and  it  is  altogether  the  prettiest  violet  known  in  the 
British  islands. 

Draba  vema,  L.  —  Continental  authors  make  six 
species  out  of  our  earliest  spring  gem,  the  "  Whitlow 
Grass  "  {Draba  vema).  We  have  often  wondered 
how  many  of  these  could  be  found  on  our  old  walls 
or  sandy  pastures.  After  fifteen  years'  experience  in 
the  northern  counties  and  Wales  chiefly,  we  can  only 
detect  three  varieties,  for  we  do  not  think  they  can 
fairly  take  rank  as  species.  From  Boreau,  "Flore 
■die  Centre  de  la  France,"  we  take  the  following;  so  that 
our  friends,  who  may  have  the  opportunity,  may  work 
them  out : — I.  Erophila  (Draba)  brachycarpa,  Jord. 
Leaves  oval,  lanceolate,  narrowed  at  both  extremities, 
entire,  clothed  with  simple  and  bifurcate  hairs ;  flower- 
stalks  slender  ;  sepals  oval,  hispid ;  petals  oboval, 
oblong  ;  pedicels  flexuose,  2-4  times  longer  than  the 
silicules  ;  silicule  very  obtuse  at  summit ;  seeds 
elliptical,  few  in  number.  Loc.  old  walls  and 
rocks;  "  the  first  to  flower."  2.  E.  glabrescens,  Jord. 
Leavesdark-green,  lanceolate,  narrow,  gradually  taper- 
ing into  a  long  petiole,  often  smooth ;  sepals  oval,  a 
little   hairy ;    petals    oboval,    oblong,    with    slightly 


spreading  lobes  ;  pedicels  hardly  three  times  as  long 
as  the  silicules ;  silicules  nearly  evenly  oblon<r, 
elliptical  ;  style  very  short  ;  seeds  20-24  in  each 
hemicarp.  Loc.  dry  open  places.  3.  E.  viedioxima, 
Jord.  Characters  same  as  in  E.  glabrescens, 
only  the  pedicels  are  longer,  4-5  times  the  length 
of  the  silicule.  4.  E.  hirtella,  Jord.  Leaves  linear 
lanceolate,  pointed,  narrowed  into  a  broad  petiole, 
often  furnished  on  each  side  with  one  or  two  very 
sharp  teeth,  covered  on  both  sides  with  long,  spread- 
ing, often  bifurcate  hairs ;  flower-stalks  flexuose, 
hispid  at  their  base ;  sepals  oval  oblong,  a  little 
unequal  at  the  base,  clothed  above  with  long  recurved 
hairs ;  petals  oblong ;  seeds  oval,  brown,  covered 
with  minute  points,  30-35  in  each  cell.  Loc.  sandy 
places.  5.  E.  stenocarpa,  Jord.  Leaves  linear,  pointed, 
narrowed  into  a  footstalk  of  nearly  their  own 
width,  covered  with  numerous  bifurcate  hairs  ;  flower- 
stalks  flexuose,  numerous,  in  crowded  tufts  ;  sepals 
oblong,  hispid ;  petals  oblong  ;  seeds  oval,  pale  brown, 
a  little  rough,  about  40  in  each  cell.  Loc.  dry 
open  places.  6.  E.  majuscida,  Jord.  Leaves  ashy- 
green,  oblong  oboval,  a  little  pointed,  wedge-shaped 
at  the  base,  with  a  petiole  slightly  narrower  than 
their  own  breadth,  entire,  or  more  usually  bordered 
with  strong  teeth,  clothed  with  short,  thickly-set 
bi-  or  tri-furcate  hairs  ;  flower-stalks  often  hispid  in 
their  lower  half;  sepals  rounded  oval,  slightly  hispid 
near  the  summit ;  petals  large,  nearly  three  times  size 
of  calyx,  oboval,  veined,  with  wide  obtuse  lobes ; 
seeds  oval,  pale  brown,  finely  covered  with  raised 
tubercles,  40  in  each  cell.  Loc.  dry  sandy  pas- 
tures. They  are  thus  divided  dichotomously : — 
I.  Lobes  of  petals,  more  or  less  apart,  spreading,  3  ; 
lobes  of  petals  nearly  contiguous,  2. — 2.  Silicules 
rounded,  very  obtuse  at  the  top,  1  ;  silicules  oblong, 
much  narrowed  below,  4.-3.  Leaves  linear  or  lan- 
ceolate, narrow,  4;  leaves  oblong  oboval,  6. — 4. 
Sepals  oval  silicules  oblong,  elliptical,  5 ;  sepals  ob- 
long ;  silicules  linear  oblong,  5. — 5.  Pedicels  hardly 
three  times  the  length  of  silicule,  2 ;  pedicels  4-5  times 
as  long  as  the  silicule,  3.     We  have  met  with  No.  1, 

D.  brachycarpa,  Jord..  frequently  in  sheltered  nooks  ; 
also  D.  glabrescens,  Jord. :  the  latter  comes  into  flower 
a  week^or  two  later,  and  is  what  we  have  recognized 
as  our  "common  "  plant.  Then  occasionally  we  have 
come  across  what  we  should  most  unmistakably  name 

E.  majuscida,  Jord.  :  however,  as  it  is  an  open  ques- 
tion, we  hope  it  may  soon  be  settled,  as  to  whether 
we  have  two,  or  three,  or  even  six  varieties  amongst 
us.  F, 


Glow-worms.  — Returning  from  Barnstaple  on 
Friday  evening,  the  22nd  of  February,  I  was  surprised 
to  observe  a  glow-worm  shining  as  brilliantly  as  in 
summer.  To  be  certain  I  was  not  deceived,  I  caught 
and  brought  it  safely  home  in  a  vesta  box.  Is  it  not 
very  rare  to  see  them  at  this  time  of  the  year? — Art hit/ 
Smyth,  Parracombe,  North  Dcz<on. 


34 


HARD  WJCKE'S    SCIENCE-  G OSSIP. 


THE    SEALS    AND    WHALES    OF    THE 
BRITISH  SEAS. 

By  Thomas  Southwell,  F.Z.S. 
No.  IX. 

THE  Pilot  Whale  {Globicephahis  melas,  Trail), 
known  in  Shetland  as  the  Ca'ing  or  Driving 
Whale,  is  a  frequent,  although  a  very  uncertain, 
visitor  in  British  waters.  It  is  met  with,  according 
to  Lilljeborg,  in  the  North  Sea  and  northern  part  of 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  occasionally  as  far  north  as 
( Greenland  ;  off  the  Orkney  and  Shetland  Islands  it 
frequently  makes  its  appearance,  and  has  been  found 
on  the  British  coast  as  far  south  as  Cornwall.     In 


following.  Bell  gives  many  instances  of  large  num- 
bers of  these  animals  being  taken,  the  last  of  which, 
quoted  from  the  "  Zoologist "  for  1846,  is,  perhaps, 
the  most  extraordinary.  It  is  there  stated,  "on 
newspaper  authority,"  that  2,080  were  taken  in 
Faroe  in  the  previous  year  within  six  weeks,  and  that 
1,540  were  killed  'within  two  //ours  in  Quendall  Bay, 
Shetland,  on  the  22nd  September,  1845.  This 
species  (fig.  61)  is  remarkable  for  its  peculiarly 
rounded  head, — hence  its  generic  name  ;  the  flippers 
are  long  and  pointed,  the  dorsal  fin  long  and  low  ; 
the  teeth  about  an  inch  in  length,  seldom  all  present 
in  the  adults,  and  the  normal  number,  according  to 
Bell,  about  twenty-four  on  either  side  each  jaw  ;  ten 
to  twelve  is,  however,  the  more  usual  number  present. 


Fig.  do.   Head  of  Ziphius  or  McsoplodoH  (mentioned  in  Dr.  Busteed's  and  Mr.  Southwell's  papers  of  last  month  ; 

from  Trans.  Roy.  Irish  Acad.,  vol.  xxiv.). 


Bell's  "British  Quadrupeds"  it  is  said  that  it  also 
appears  to  enter  the  Mediterranean.  This  species  is 
pre-eminently  gregarious,  and  generally  occurs  in 
large  herds,,  often  numbering  several  hundreds.  So 
strong  is  their  habit  of  association  that  they  follow 
the  leading  whale  like  a  flock  of  sheep,  a  habit  of  which 
the  Orkney  and  Shetland  Islanders  are  fully  aware,  and 
avail  themselves  to  the  full.  When  a  herd  appears 
in  one  of  the  bays,  boats  immediately  set  off,  and,  if 
possible,  get  to  seaward  of  them,  then  gradually 
approaching,  with  shouts  and  splashes,  they  urge  the 
whole  herd  shoreward,  and  are  generally  successful 
in  driving  a  large  portion  of  the  whales  into  shallow 
water  ;  but  should  the  leader  break  through  the  line 
of  boats,  the  probability  is  that  no  efforts  the  boat's 
crews   can   make   will    prevent    all    its   companions 


The  length  of  the  adult  is  about  nineteen  or  twenty 
feet,  its  colour  glossy  black,  with  the  exception  of  a 
white  stripe  along  the  belly,  which  has  a  heart-shaped 
termination  under  the  throat.  Its  favourite  food  is 
said  to  be  cuttlefish.  The  figure  is  from  the  "  Trans- 
actions of  the  Zoological  Society,"  vol.  viii.,  pi.  30. 

The  Common  Porpoise  (Phocana  communis,  F. 
Cuv.)  is  the  best  known  of  the  Cetacea  inhabiting 
the  North  Sea,  being  met  with  in  abundance  all 
round  the  British  Isles,  seldom  occurring  far  from 
land,  and  often  ascending  large  rivers  for  a  consider- 
able distance  :  it  has  been  seen  in  the  Thames  as  high 
as  London  Bridge,  and  in  the  harbour  at  Lynn  I  have 
often  seen  it.  Nothing  can  be  more  interesting  than 
to  watch  a  shoal  of  these  animals  at  sea,  sometimes 
tumbling  and  gambling  under  the  bows  of  the  vessel 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE -GOSSIP. 


35 


which  is  passing  rapidly  through  the  water,  with  as 
much  ease  as  if  she  were  motionless,  or  chasing  each 
other  playfully  round  and  round  the  ship  as  she  lies 
becalmed,  their  white  bellies  glistening  in  the  clear 
sea,  and  frequently,  apparently  out  of  pure  mad 
delight,  leaping  completely  out  of  the  water,  return- 


they  just  bring  the  blow-hole  to  the  surface,  breathe 
without  stopping,  and  continue  the  curve,  till  in  due 
course  they  reach  the  surface  again.  This  is  repeated 
for  the  whole  length  of  their  spacious  tank,  or  is 
vajied  by  unexpected  eccentricities,  all  indescribably 
graceful.     Under  these  favourable  circumstances  for 


Fig.  61.  The  Pilot  Whale  (GlobkepJiahts  melas). 


Fig.  62.  Common  Dolphin  (Dclp/ihuis  delphis). 


Fig.  63.   Bottle-nosed  Dolphin  (Delfhinus  tursid). 


ing  to  their  native  element  with  a  most  determined 
header.  But  it  was  not  till  I  saw  these  animals  in 
the  Brighton  Aquarium  that  I  fully  appreciated  the 
beauty,  and  I  may  even  say  the  poetry,  of  their 
motion  ;  swimming  along  in  a  series  of  gentle  curves, 


observation  it  is  also  clearly  seen  that  the  horizontal 
tail  is  the  propeller  which  gives  the  motion ;  the 
alternate  upward  and  downward  pressure  of  this 
organ  against  the  water  evidently  producing  the 
graceful  mode  of  progression   which  is   so   difficult 


86 


HA  RD  IV I CKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


to  describe,  but  so  easily  understood  when  witnessed. 
All  this  I  understood  in  theory  before,  but  it  was  a 
new  and  beautiful  sight  to  view  the  practice  from  a 
stand-point,  on  a  level  with  the  animal  itself,  and 
as  it  were  in  its  own  element. 

The  food  of  the  Porpoise  consists  of  fish,  and  it 
follows  the  shoals  of  herrings,  &c,  amongst  which 
it  commits  great  depreciations ;  it  has  a  taste  for 
salmon,  and  is  sometimes  taken  in  the  salmon-nets. 
The  period  of  gestation  is  said  to  be  six  months,  and 
it  brings  forth  one  young  one  at  a  birth  ;  its  colour  is 
black  on  the  back,  shaded  off  to  silver-grey  on  the 
belly,  the  whole  skin  beautifully  smooth  and  polished. 
The  teeth  number  about  twenty- five  on  each  side  of 
either  jaw,  and  are  spatulate,  with  a  contracted  neck, 
unlike  the  usually  conical  teeth  of  the  Dtlfihinidee. 
The  length  is  four  or  five  feet.  The  flesh  of  the 
Porpoise  seems  formerly  to  have  been  esteemed  as  an 
article  of  food,  and  is  mentioned  several  times  in  the 
L'Estrange  Household  Book  (15 19  to  1578)  and 
other  similar  records  ;  it  is  said  by  one  who  has  eaten 


ancients  could  raise  the  most  gorgeous  structures  of 
poetry  and  religion  upon  the  most  slender  basis  .  .  . 
it  requires  some  stretch  of  the  imagination  to 
identify  the  round-headed  creature  which  is  repre- 
sented in  ancient  coins  and  statues,  with  the  straight 
sharped-beaked  animal  "  which  is  here  figured.  It  is 
said  to  destroy  at  one  fell  swoop  all  the  romance 
which  once  surrounded  this  species  ;  but  Dr.  Gray 
tells  us  that  "the  dying  Dolphin's  changing  hues" 
are  not  observed  in  a  cetacean  at  all,  but  in  a  fish  of 
the  genus  Coryphmna,  which,  although  normally 
black,  is  stated  by  Mr.  Couch  (as  quoted  by  Mr. 
Yarrell)  to  have  changed  to  a  fine  blue  whilst  he  was 
making  a  drawing  of  it.  The  food  of  the  Dolphin 
consists  of  fish,  cuttlefish,  and  crustaceans,  and  on 
the  Cornish  coast  it  makes  its  appearance  in  con- 
siderable numbers,  according  to  Mr.  Couch,  in  the 
month  of  September  during  the  pilchard  season.  It 
is  very  social  in  its  habits,  and  even  more  sportive  in 
the  water  than  its  relative,  the  Porpoise.  The  upper 
surface  is  black,  shaded  off  to  white  below,  the  length 


Fig.  64.  White-beaked  Dolphin  {Delphimts  albirostris). 


it  to  be  "  excellent  meat,  dark  in  colour,  and  large  in 
fibre,  but  of  excellent  flavour,  very  tender,  and  full 
of  gravy." 

The  Common  Dolphin  (Defykinus delphis,  Linn.), 
fig.  62,  is  not  unfrequently  met  with  in  the  seas 
surrounding  the  British  Isles,  but  it  doubtless  often 
passes  unrecognized.  It  may,  however,  be  at  once 
distinguished  from  the  Porpoise  by  its  attenuated 
beak,  the  head  of  the  Porpoise  being  obtuse,  and  the 
beak  altogether  absent.  It  is  a  native  of  the  temper- 
ate seas,  and  becomes  scarcer  as  the  north  is  ap- 
proached. Lilljeborg  says  it  is  seldom  obtained  on 
the  coasts  of  Scandinavia;  in  Greenland  it  is  rarely 
met  with.  Professor  Bell,  in  his  "British  Quadru- 
peds," says:  "The  mythological  and  poetical  associa- 
tions which  belong  to  the  Dolphin,  its  reputed 
attachment  to  mankind,  its  benevolent  aid  in  cases  of 
shipwreck,  its  dedication  to  the  gods,  and  many 
other  attributes  expressive  of  the  high  estimation  in 
which  it  was  held  in  olden  times,  afford  a  striking 
example  of  how  the  unrestrained  imagination  of  the 


about  six  to  eight  feet.  The  illustration  s  copied 
from  Reinhardt's  figure. 

The  Bottle-nosed  Dolphin  (D.  titrsio,  Fab.), 
fig.  63,  appears  to  be  found  occasionally  from  the 
Mediterranean  to  the  North  Sea ;  it  is  by  no  means, 
however,  a  common  species. 

Of  the  habits  of  this  species  very  little  is  known  :  its 
colour  is  black  above,  shaded  to  dirty  white  below, 
and  its  length  from  8  to  12  feet.  The  figure  is  from 
a  drawing  of  a  nearly  adult  male  taken  at  Holyhead, 
in  October,  1868,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  the 
kindness  of  Prof.  Flower. 

The  White-sided  Dolphin  (D.  aatlns,  J.  E. 
Gray)  is  a  rare  species,  which  has  occurred  in  a  few 
instances  on  the  British  coast :  its  colour  is  black  above 
and  white  below,  between  which  runs  a  broad  band  of 
yellowish  brown,  about  the  centre  of  which,  and 
surrounded  by  it,  is  a  large  oblong  patch  of  pure 
white.  A  figure  and  description  taken  from  one  of  a 
herd  of  twenty  landed  at  Kirkwall,  on  the  21st  August, 
1858,  will  be  found    in   the    "Ann.    and   Mag.    of 


IIARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


87 


Nat.  Hist."  (3rd  series)  for  August,    1864,  vol.  xiv. 

P-  133. 

The  last  species  on  the  British  list,  the  White- 
beaked  Dolphin  {D.  albirostris,  J.  E.  Gray),  fig.  64, 
is  also  of  rare  occurrence  :  it  is  a  native  of  the  North 
Atlantic,  but  little  is  known  of  its  habits.  A  dolphin 
of  this  species  was  killed  at  Hartlepool  in  1S34,  but 
not  recognized  at  the  time  :  the  skull  is  now  in  the 
Cambridge  Museum.  It  was,  I  believe,  first  de- 
scribed as  British  by  Mr.  Brightwell,  under  the  name 
of  D.  tursio,  from  a  specimen  taken  off  Yarmouth  in 
1846.  His  paper,  with  a  figure  from  a  drawing 
made  by  Miss  Brightwell,  will  be  found  in  the  "Ann. 
and  Mag.  of  Nat.  Hist.,"  first  series,  January,  1846, 
vol.  xvii.  p.  21.  Another  specimen  was  shot  by 
Mr.  H.  M.  Upcher,  near  Cromer,  and  will  be  found 
recorded  by  Dr.  Gray  in  the  same  Magazine,  for  April, 
1866,  vol.  xvii.  p.  312.  A  fourth  was  taken  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Dee,  in  December,  1862 ;  and  a  fifth 
on  the  south  coast  in  1S71.  A  few  Continental 
specimens  are  also  recorded. 

In  September,  1875,  a  young  female  was  taken  off 
Grimsby,  and  in  March,  1876,  a  young  male  was 
captured  off  Lowestoft.  The  first-named  of  these 
latter  formed  the  subject  of  a  communication  to  the 
Zoological  Society  of  London,  by  Dr.  Cunningham, 
of  Edinburgh,  and  the  latter  of  a  subsequent  notice 
Mr.  J.  W.  Clark,  of  Cambridge.  Both  papers  will  be 
found  printed  in  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  Zoological 
Society  "  for  1876,  p.  679,  et  seq.,  and  figures  of  the 
two  specimens  are  given  on  the  same  plate.  Through 
the  kindness  of  Mr.  Clark  I  am  enabled  to  give  a 
figure  of  the  Lowestoft  specimen  (fig.  64).  Mr.  Clark's 
figure  differs  considerably  from  Dr.  Cunningham's 
both  in  outline  and  in  the  disposal  of  colour,  being 
much  more  slender,  and  showing  considerably  less 
white ;  both,  however,  differ  still  more  from  Mr. 
Brightwell's  figure  than  they  do  from  each  other.  Mr. 
Clark's  specimen  was  glossy  black  on  the  upper  part, 
and  creamy  white  on  the  under  ;  the  upper  lip  white, 
with  a  black  spot  at  the  tip,  and  a  few  irregular  pale 
grey  cloudings  on  its  surface  ;  the  coloration  exceed- 
ingly beautiful,  and  such  as  no  drawing  could  give 
an  adequate  idea  of.  Mr.  Brightwell's  specimen  had 
the  whole  upper  part  and  sides  rich  purple-black, 
the  lips,  throat,  and  belly  cream-colour,  varied  by 
chalky  white.  This  specimen,  an  adult,  measured 
8  ft.  2  in.  in  length,  Mr.  Clark's  5  ft.  $\  in.,  and  Dr. 
Cunningham's  4  ft.  2  in.  The  teeth  vary  in  number, 
but  are  about  twenty-six  on  either  side  each  jaw. 

This  species  concludes  the  short  list  of  the  twenty- 
two  British  Cetacea,  of  which  I  have  endeavoured  to 
give  a  popular,  but  I  hope  at  the  same  time,  so  far  as 
it  is  at  present  known,  a  reliable  account,  my  principal 
object,  as  I  stated  in  my  introductory  remarks,  being 
to  induce  those  residing  in  suitable  localities  to  take 
up  the  study  of  this  interesting  family,  and  to  assist 
in  the  identification  of  those  specimens  which  from 
time  to  time  are  cast  upon  our  shores. 


MICROSCOPY. 

The  American  Microscopical  Journal. — We 
have  just  received  parts  1  and  2  of  vol.  iii.  of  the 
A  merican  Journal  of  Microscopy  and  Popular  Science, 
and  we  have  much  pleasure  in  calling  attention  to 
this  unpretending  periodical.  It  is  not  like  our 
own  quarterly  Journal  of  Microscopical  Science,  in- 
tended for  specialists  only,  but  addresses  itself  to  all 
who  are  anxious  to  know  what  is  being  done  in  those 
branches  of  natural  history  requiring  the  aid  of  the 
microscope.  This  periodical  started  into  existence 
in  1876,  the  annual  subscription  being  50  cents.  : 
with  the  commencement  of  the  present  year  that  has 
been  increased  to  1  dollar,  and  the  work  enlarged 
from  16  pp.  to  24  pp.  Amongst  its  contributors  are 
Professor  H.  Smith,  of  Hobart  College,  N.  Y.  (the 
celebrated  diatomist),  Professor Hitchcok,  J.Edwards 
Smith,  Zeus  Zundlach,  and  others.  A  subscription 
of  5s.,  which  may  be  sent  in  English  stamps,  entitles 
the  subscriber  to  a  copy  every  month,  post-free. 
Mr.  Charles  Stodder,  131,  Devonshire  Street,  Boston, 
has  consented  to  receive  subscriptions. 

Machine  for  Mounting. — I  send  you  a  sketch 
of  a  little  mounting  machine,  which  I  have  found 
very   useful.     A  is  a  zinc  vessel  to  hold  hot  water  ; 


Fig.  65.  Machine  for  Mounting  Slides. 

B  are  brass  rods,  topped  with  screws  ;  C  are  nuts  ; 
and  D  are  brass  springs.  By  turning  up  or  down 
the  nuts  C,  any  degree  of  pressure  can  be  obtained 
upon  the  thin  glass. — Albert  Smith. 

A  new  Posting-box  for  Slides. — A  new 
style  of  posting,  or  as  our  American  brethren  call  it, 
"mailing"  box  contrived  by  Dr.  R.  H.  Ward,  has 
proved  successful  beyond  anything  tried  before.  An 
account  of  it  is  therefore  published  in  the  hope  that 
it  may  be  made  more  generally  useful.  In  the  boxes 
hitherto  used  for  posting  slides,  the  slides  are  occa- 
sionally found  shattered  to  pieces,  while  the  box  con- 
taining them  is  quite  uninjured  or  only  a  little 
strained.  In  some  boxes  containing  six  or  twelve 
slides,  half  or  more  of  the  slides  have  been  found 
broken  in  a  perfectly  sound  box.  This  seemed  to  in- 
dicate not  the  effect  of  a  crushing  blow  but  the  result 
of  the  inertia  of  the  slide  itself,  which  was  only  sup- 
ported by  the  wooden  racks  at  the  ends  and  more  or 
less  perfectly  by  the  cotton  stuffed  around  it.     An 


ss 


HARD  WI CKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


adequate  occasion  for  such  an  accident  might  be  fur- 
nished by  throwing  the  mail-bag  from  a  waggon  to 
the  pavement,  or  transferring  it  to  or  from  a  rapidly- 
moving  train.  It  was  therefore  decided  to  reject  the 
wooden  rack  altogether,  and  instead  to  support  the 
slide  by  the  whole  of  its  edges  and  much  of  its  sides 
by  cloth,  leather,  indiarubber,  or  other  soft  and 
evenly-yielding  material.  This  may  be  attained  with 
the  common  boxes  by  removing  the  racks,  lining  the 
top,  bottom,  and  ends  with  thick,  soft  cloth,  and 
arranging  folds  of  the  cloth,  glued  or  stitched  in  place, 
like  a  rack  at  each  end  of  the  box  so  that  a  double 
thickness  of  the  cloth  shall  extend  between  the  slides 
from  each  end  one  inch  towards  the  centre.  It  is 
better,  however,  to  have  the  boxes  made  for  this  use 
somewhat  larger  than  the  customary  size,  so  that  very 
thick  beaver  cloth  can  be  used  for  the  packing.  For 
six  slides  a  box  may  be  made  of  hard  wood  3-l6ths 
of  an  inch  thick,  3§  inches  long,  \\  wide  and  \\  deep 
inside  measurement.  The  folds  of  cloth  should  be  so 
arranged  that  not  more  than  an  inch  in  the  centre  of 
the  slide  is  unsupported,  except  when  large  cover- 
glasses  are  to  be  used,  when  more  space  should  be 
left  to  avoid  pressing  on  the  cover.  The  outside  of 
the  box  is  covered  with  strong  thin  cloth.  The  com- 
parative safety  of  this  method  is  indicated  by  the  expe- 
rience of  the  American  Postal  Club.  During  a  trial 
of  several  months  in  many  of  the  circuits,  not  one 
slide  is  known  to  have  been  broken  while  packed  in 
this  manner,  while  to  slides  in  the  ordinary  boxes 
with  wooden  racks,  accidents  are  unfortunately  fre- 
quent. For  sending  by  express,  these  boxes  should  be 
made  of  thicker  wood,  or  enclosed  in  larger  cases,  to 
prevent  crushing  by  the  weight  of  heavy  packages 
among  which  they  may  be  carried. 

Actinocyclus  Barklyi. — I  believe  this  form 
has  not  been  published,  at  least  in  a  scientific  sense. 
Some  dozen  or  more  years  ago  a  diatomaceous 
deposit  was  discovered  in  or  near  the  Yarra  Yarra, 
Melbourne,  Australia,  and  was  distributed  under  the 
name  of  the  "  Yarra  deposit."  The  form  about  which 
"  C.  V.  S."  inquires  received  the  MS.  name  of 
Coscinodiscus  Barklyi,  in  honour,  I  believe,  of  one 
of  the  governors.  It  was  originally  referred  to  the 
Coscinodisci  from  the  supposed  absence  of  the  mar- 
ginal nodule.  It  is,  however,  to  be  detected  by  careful 
examination,  although  very  minute;  it  is  situated  on  the 
extreme  edge  of  the  disc,  and  when  the  inner  surface 
of  the  valve  is  uppermost,  it  is  often  invisible.  Cos- 
cinodiscus  fuscus,  Norman,  is  supposed  to  be  identical 
with  the  above  species. — F.  Kitton. 

Sap  Crystals.— The  sap  of  the  Scotch  fir  contains 
very  beautiful  crystals  ;  they  may  be  obtained  at  this 
season  of  the  year  by  cutting  a  slice  through  the  bark, 
from  the  under  side  of  the  branch  ;  in  a  few  days  the 
sap  will  flow  containing  the  crystals. — S.  C.  Hincks. 

Cleaning  Diatomace.e. — I  have  followed  "Da- 
vis" in  his  manner  of  cleaning  diatoms,   but  cannot 


get  rid  of  the  flocculent  matter  and  the  sand, — in  fact, 
my  slides  are  sand  interspersed  with  diatoms,  &c. 
I  have  washed,  and  washed,  and  washed,  till  there  is 
very  little  left  out  of  a  rich  gathering  ;  can  you  give 
me  any  help  ? — //.  G.   IV. 

The  Resolution  of  Diatom  Tests. — At  a 
recent  meeting  of  the  Royal  Microscopical  Society, 
Mr.  Adolf  Schulze,  of  Glasgow,  read  a  paper  on  "A 
new  and  simple  Method  of  Resolving  the  finest  Bal- 
sam-mounted Diatom  Tests."  The  author  described 
the  success  which  had  attended  the  examination  of 
this  dass  of  objects  by  means  of  the  reflex  illuminator, 
and  the  immersion  paraboloid  moistened  with  Castor 
oil  instead  of  water.  The  lines  on  Amphipleura  pel- 
hicida  were  in  this  manner  shown  in  order  to  illus- 
trate Mr.  Schulze's  method. 


ZOOLOGY, 

The  Golden  Oriole  {Oriolus  ga!bula).—Cz.n 
any  of  your  readers  supply  information  respecting  the 
notes  of  this  bird  ?  It  is  asserted  by  those  who  have 
heard  it  in  Austria,  that  it  has  three  definite  notes, 
and  that  those  notes  follow  each  other  in  the  follow- 
ing musical  order  : 


^g^a 


If  this  can  be  verified,  it  will  elucidate  a  remarkable 
statement  made  by  Nieremberg  in  his  Natures 
Historia,  1635,  in  which  he  speaks  of  a  bird  called 
the  Tritono  Ave,  and  to  which  the  late  Canon  Kings- 
ley  refers  in  his  Life  (vol.  ii.  p.  332).  It  is  worthy 
of  remark  that  Bechstein  states  that  the  male  bird's 
notes  resemble  "a  flourish  of  trumpets,"  and  very 
curiously  the  above  notes  are  a  common  bugle-call. 
It  will  also  be  noticed  that  the  last  two  notes  are 
those  of  the  Cuckoo.  If  there  be  any  truth  in  the 
statement  advanced,  a  very  singular  musical  question 
is  solved,  that  a  bird  possesses  the  power  of  uttering 
a  "  common  chord  "  !  This  was  observed  by  Shield 
in  his  treatise  on  Harmony  (1S00),  and  which  first 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  writer  of  this  notice. — 
IV.  II.  C. 

Parasitic  Worms  in  Leg  ok  Grebe. — When 
skinning  a  Little  Grebe  (Podkeps  minor,  Pen.),  on 
November  25th,  1874,  I  came  upon  a  cluster  of 
nematoid  worms  amongst  the  muscles  and  tendons  of 
both  legs— exactly  in  the  same  place  in  each — near 
the  lower  part  of  the  tibia.  From  their  larger  size 
they  appeared  to  have  been  longer  in  the  left  leg  than 
in  the  right.  They  were  rather  hard  and  stiff — not 
soft  and  flabby— of  a  regular  spiral  form,  of  about 
six  turns,  tapering  to  each  end,  the  largest  about 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  length — not  following  the 
turns  of  the  spiral  :  if  straight,  they  would  be  about 
an   inch  long.     They   seemed  unable  to   straighten 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


89 


themselves  ;  when  found,  they  were  twined  together 
like  the*  strands  of  a  rope,  and  I  observed  that  one, 
after  being  separated  from  the  others,  bent  slowly 
round  until  it  was  twisted  on  itself.  The  bird  was 
very  much  emaciated,  and  no  wonder,  as,  in  addition 
to  the  worms  in  the  legs,  it  had  a  large  fibrous 
tumour  in  the  back."  The  above  extract  is  from 
some  "zoological  notes"  contributed  by  me  to  the 
"  Proc."  of  the  Berwickshire  Naturalists'  Club, 
vol.  viii.  p.  288.  Lately — February  27th,  1878 — I 
had  a  similar  case,  but  in  a  different  species  of  bird, — 
an  immature  female  of  the  Water-hen  {Gallinula 
chloropus).  When  skinning  the  legs  near  where  the 
muscles  end  and  the  tendons  begin,  there  was  a  quantity 
of  gelatinous  matter  which,  as  the  bird  was  ap- 
parently healthy  and  in  good  condition — not  like  the 
Grebe  in  that  respect, — induced  me  to  examine  it 
carefully,  when  I  found  in  both  legs  a  number  of  the 
same  worms,  or  a  nearly  allied  species,  to  that  found 
in  the  Grebe.  The  chief  difference  was  in  their  not 
being  so  regularly  spiral,  various  sizes  intermixed, 
and  not  in  such  compact  clusters.  Although  some  of 
them  were  entwined  and  interlaced  together,  others, 
when  the  lower  part  of  the  tibia  was  pressed  from 
below  upwards,  came  out  singly  amongst  the  ten- 
dons, with  a  spiral  motion  like  that  of  a  corkscrew. 
Perhaps  some  of  the  readers  of  Science-Gossip  may, 
from  the  above  imperfect  description,  be  ahle  to 
identify  the  species  to  which  they  belong. — Andrew 
Brotherston,  Kelso. 

The  Solitaire. — Prof.  Newton  recently  drew 
the  attention  of  the  Zoological  Society  to  the  state- 
ment of  Leguat  that  every  Solitaire  {Pezophaps  soli- 
laria)  carried  a  stone  in  its  gizzard,  and  exhibited 
one  of  three  stones  found  by  Mr.  Caldwell  associated 
with  the  remains  of  as  many  birds  of  that  species  in 
the  caves  of  Rodriguez. 

The  National  Entomological  Exhibition 
at  the  Westminster  Aquarium  well  deserves  a  visit 
from  every  entomologist  who  has  the  opportunity. 
The  committee  who  have  arranged  it  are  well  known 
entomologists,  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
there  never  was  a  series  of  collections  of  insects  like 
this  got  together  before.  The  insect  fauna  of  Great 
Britain  and  other  countries  are  shown  ;  insects  bene- 
ficial and  injurious  to  man  ;  insect  productions  useful 
in  commerce,  &c.  Nearly  all  the  collections  are 
sent  by  persons  living  in  and  near  the  Metropolis. 
The  few  exceptions  to  this  rule  are  Mr.  Prest,  of  the 
York  Natural  History  Society ;  Sir  Thomas  Mon- 
creiffe,  who  sends  a  fine  collection  of  Scotch  insects  ; 
and  Lord  Walsingham,  of  Merton  Hall,  Thetford, 
whose  collection  of  preserved  larvae,  with  their  food- 
plants,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  beautiful 
objects  in  the  exhibition  :  the  specimens  were  all  pre- 
pared by  his  lordship's  own  hands,  and  they  repre- 
sent a  great  amount  of  labour  and  study.     Nearly 


every  class  in  the  exhibition  is  well  represented  ;  the 
Lepidoptera  naturally  predominating  on  account  of 
their  greater  beauty.  The  collections  of  Mr.  Well- 
man,  Mr.  Stevens,  and  Mr.  Farn  are  especially  good, 
while  among  the  micro-lepidoptera,  Mr.  Machin's 
and  Dr.  Harper's  collections  are  remarkably  good  : 
one  case  of  the  latter  gentleman's  contains  upwards 
of  3,000  specimens.  Coleoptera  and  Hymenoptera 
are  also  well  represented,  the  latter  by  Mr.  F.  Smith, 
of  the  British  Museum,  whose  collection  is  the  result 
of  forty  years'  labour.  The  life  histories  of  insects, 
illustrated  by  Messrs.  Adams,  of  Enfield,  the  cases 
showing  the  habits  of  insects,  prepared  by  Messrs. 
Eedle  &  Son,  and  the  foreign  lepidoptera  of  Messrs. 
Cook  &  Son  are  highly  meritorious. 

The  Odontophore  in  Moi.lusca. — At  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  Zoological  Society,  Mr.  P.  Geddes 
read  a  memoir  on  the  mechanism  of  the  odontophore 
in  certain  mollusca.  In  this  paper  the  view  of  Cuvier 
— that  the  movements  of  the  radula  depend  upon  those 
of  the  underlyingcartilages — was  substantially  revived, 
arguments  being  adduced  against  the  more  recent 
theory  of  Professor  Huxley,  that  it  runs  like  a  chain- 
saw,  the  cartilages  merely  forming  a  pulley-block. 
The  use  of  bacteria  as  food  by  Lymnccus  was  also 
described  by  the  author  in  this  paper. 

"The  Fins  of  Elasmobranchs,  with  Con- 
siderations on  the  Nature  and  Homologies 
ok  Vertebrate  Limbs." — This  is  the  title  of  a 
paper  by  Prof.  Mivart,  read  before  the  Zoological 
Society,  wherein  the  author  detailed  his  dissections 
of  the  fins  of  Elasmobranchs,  which  dissections  had 
convinced  him  that  the  paired  and  azygous  fins  are  of 
similar  nature.  He  represented  them  all  to  have 
resulted  from  the  centripetal  growth  and  evalescence 
of  a  primitively  distinct  series  of  cartilaginous  rays 
developed  in  longitudinal  folds,  of  which  one  was 
dorsal,  one  ventral,  and  two  were  lateral.  He  also 
advocated  the  view  that  the  limb-girdles  result  from 
the  further  centripetal  growth  of  the  evalescing  limb- 
cartilages,  which  growth  seeks  a  point  d'tippni,  the 
pectoral  limb-girdles  in  fishes  shooting  upwards  and 
downwards  as  well  as  inwards  to  obtain  a  firm  support, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  avoid  the  visceral  cavity. 
He  contended  that  the  Archipterygium  was  not  to  be 
sought  for  in  Ceratodus,  which  he  by  no  means 
regarded  as  a  primitive  type  of  structure,  but  rather 
in  Rata  and  especially  in  the  ventrals  of  Polyodon. 
He  objected  to  Gegenbauer's  view  that  the  meta- 
pterygium  formed  the  limb-axis  of  the  cheiropterygium, 
advocating  instead  the  propterygium,  or,  if  not  that, 
then  the  mesopterygium.  He  cited  the  varying  con- 
ditions described  as  evidences  of  the  presence  of  an 
innate  intra-organic  polar  force  as  the  main  agent  in 
morphological  modifications. 

The  Importation  of  Humble  Bees  into  New 
Zealand. — There    would    probably    be    no    great 


9° 


HARD  J VI CKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSI  P. 


difficulty  in  taking  out  dormant  fertile  female  humble 
bees  to  New  Zealand,  if  they  were  dug  up  in  the 
early  spring,  and  packed  in  moss,  and  put  into  an 
ice-chest  and  kept  cool  until  their  arrival  at  their 
destination.  If,  however,  the  common  species,  Bomlnts 
terrestris,  were  sent  out,  it  might  do  a  great  deal  of 
harm,  and  very  little  good.  It  obtains  the  nectar 
from  the  red  clover  and  other  flowers  with  narrow 
corolla-tubes,  or  otherwise  difficult  of  access,  by  boring 
holes  from  the  outside,  as  has  been  shown  by  Darwin. 
The  red-tailed  humble  bee,  Bombus  lapidarias,  on  the 
contrary,  always,  so  far  as  my  experience  serves, 
goes  to  the  natural  opening  of  the  flowers,  and  is  the 
great  agent  in  fertilizing  the  narrow-tubed  ones.  I 
once  watched  a  small  patch  of  red  clover  for  upwards 
of  an  hour.  Both  of  the  above  species  came  to  it  ; 
Bombus  tcrrestris,  without  exception,  buried  its  head 
amongst  the  flowers,  and  made  holes  at  their  base,  or 
sucked  the  nectar  from  those  already  made.  Bombus 
lapidarius  just  as  invariably  went  to  the  opening  of 
the  flowers,  although  the  most  of  them  had  holes 
made  by  the  other  species.  Bombus  lapidarius  has 
a  longer  proboscis  than  B.  tcrrestris,  and  this  is  pro- 
bably the  reason  for  the  different  way  in  which  they 
go  to  work.  Early  in  the  summer  I  have  seen  young 
individuals  of  B.  tcrrestris  sucking  the  nectar  from 
the  flowers  of  the  scarlet  runners  in  a  legitimate 
manner,  but  they  soon  learn  to  make  by  preference 
the  holes  at  the  base.  The  successive  steps  in  their 
education  may  be  watched  from  their  first  hesitation, 
awkwaixl  attempts  to  do  this  to  the  instinctive-like 
facility  they  attain  later  on  in  the  season.  I  know 
nothing  more  interesting  to  a  naturalist  when  he 
wishes  to  rest  from  more  serious  study  than  to  devote 
a  few  hours  on  a  summer's  day  to  watching  the  hum- 
ble bees  at  work  amongst  the  flowers.  They  have 
been  favourites  of  mine  from  early  childhood,  one  of 
my  first  experiments  being  the  determination  of  the 
stinging  powers  of  the  three  species,  and  the  time 
they  might  be  kept  between  the  hollow  of  the  two 
hands  before  they  got  sufficiently  angry  to  sting. 
Aly  recollection  is  that  Bombus  lapidarius,  although 
it  has  the  longest  proboscis,  has  also  the  shortest 
temper  and  most  virulent  venom,  and  if  it  be  not  set 
free  as  soon  as  its  first  angry  note  is  heard,  it  will 
not  fail  to  punish  severely.  Notwithstanding  this 
trait  in  its  character,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  recom- 
mending that  it  is  the  one  that  should  be  sent  out  to 
New  Zealand,  and  that  Bombus  tcrrestris  should  not 
be.  —  Thomas  Belt,  the  Cedars,  Ealing. 

Development  of  Frogs'  Spawn. — For  the  last 
two  years  I  have  carefully  watched  the  development 
of  frogs'  spawn,  and  my  observations  give  much 
quicker  results  than  those  noted  by  Mr.  McAldowie. 
In  1876  frogs  spawned  on  April  4th,  and  my  note  of 
April  8th  says,  "Observed  tadpoles  associated 
together  in  twos  and  threes,  gills  visible  with  Cod- 
dington  lens."     Thus  in  four  days  my  tadpoles  were 


as  far  advanced  as  those  of  your  correspondent  in 
twelve.  In  1877  frogs  spawned  in  the  afternoon  of 
March  30th  ;  at  9  a.m.  on  the  5th  April  one  tadpole 
was  free,  and  at  5  p.m.  several  were  clear  of  the 
albumen.  If  possible  I  will  again  collect  and  watch 
the  spawn  this  year.  If  others  do  the  same,  and  we  all 
send  our  notes  to  the  editor  of  Science-Gossip, 
perhaps  he  may  make  some  use  of  them.  While  ex- 
amining tadpoles  under  the  microscope  in  1876,  I 
fancied  that  the  whole  of  the  exterior  cuticle  was 
covered  with  very  minute  vibratile  cilia.  I  could  find 
no  mention  of  such  a  fact  in  any  work,  and  concluded 
I  must  have  been  mistaken ;  last  year,  however, 
rather  confirmed  my  idea,  and  as  many  readers  of 
this  journal  will  doubtless  keep  and  examine  tadpoles 
this  year,  may,  I  ask  them  whether  my  suspicion  is 
correct  or  not. — J?.  B.  C,  Fauhams  Hall,   Ware. 

The  Human  Eye. — A  well-written  and  attract- 
ively got-up  book  on  this  subject  has  just  been 
published  by  Messrs.  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  from  the 
pen  of  Dr.  R.  E.  Dudgeon.  It  deals  with  the  optical 
construction  of  the  human  eye,  and  has  some  novel 
views  concerning  subaqueous  vision,  air  lenses,  &c. 
The  optics  of  human  vision  are  clearly  and  scientifi- 
cally discussed,  and  yet  with  a  popular  and  even 
attractive  style  of  description.  The  book  is  well 
illustrated. 

Practical  Taxidermy. — We  have  been  fre- 
quently applied  to  to  recommend  a  good  book  on 
Taxidermy,  and  are  now  glad  to  be  able  to  do  so. 
Mr.  Montague  Brown  has  just  completed  a  work  en- 
titled "  Practical  Taxidermy  :  a  Manual  of  Instruc- 
tion to  the  Amateur,  &c."  It  is  the  completest 
little  hand-book  of  the  subject  we  have,  giving 
figures  of  tools,  modes  of  stuffing  and  setting  up 
bads  and  animals  of  all  kinds,  preparing  skins,  &c. 
It  is  published  at  the  Bazaar  office,  32,  Wellington- 
street. 

The  Freedom  of  Modern  Science. — Mr. 
John  Murray,  of  Albemarle-street,  has  issued,  in  a 
cheap  and  well-got-up  form,  the  address  on  this 
subject  by  Dr.  Rudolf  Virchow,  given  before  the 
Conference  of  German  Naturalists  at  Munich  last 
September.  The  high  authority  of  the  speaker  and 
the  fact  that  he  has  not  often  expressed  his  opinions 
on  the  evolution  theory,  although  he  may  be  said  to 
be  the  founder  of  embryological  research,  gave  his 
remarks  much  prominence.  The  address  is  a  search- 
ing criticism  into  the  views  of  Darwin,  Haeckel, 
Naegeli,  and  others,  and  a  protest  against  modern 
science  being  led  captive  by  any  theory,  no  matter 
how  fascinating. 

New  Species  of  British  Insects. — In  the  last 
number  of  the  Entomologists''  Monthly  Magazine  Mr. 
P.  Cameron  describes  two  new  species  of  lYcmatus 
under  the  names  of  Ar.  hibcrnieus  and  X.  plaeidus. 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


9* 


The  former  was  taken  near  Dublin,  and  the  latter  in 
England. 

The  Barbastelle  (Synolus  Barbastellus). — This 
evening  (March  7th),  whilst  driving  near  Colchester, 
I  fancied  I  saw  three  bats  that  were  new  to  me.  I 
struck  at  one  with  my  whip  and  killed  it.  On  picking 
up  my  game,  I  was  pleased  to  find  the  above  bat  was 
my  unknown  friend.  This  district  therefore  can  be 
added  to  those  in  which  this  rare  British  mammal 
occurs. — Henry  Laver,  F.L.S. 


BOTANY, 

Carex  punctata,  Gaud.— This  species  was  sent 
to  tbe  Botanical  Exchange  Club,  labelled  as  follows  : 
— "Ledges  of  perpendicular  rocks  in  theWatenvinch, 
Tenby.  —  C.  Bailey.''''  This  exceedingly  rare  sedge 
has  hitherto  been  reported  from  several  places  in 
Ireland,  the  Channel  Islands,  and  Cornwall  :  we 
believe  the  above  locality  is  new  to  science.  It  is 
very  closely  allied  to  Carex  fulva,  Good.,  but  differs 
from  that  species  by  its  smooth  humid  fruit,  which  is 
obscurely  veined,  but  not  ribbed.  The  fruit  is  also 
pale  green,  but  in  C.  distans,  L.,  it  is  yellowish- 
brown.  The  beak  is  slightly  longer  than  in  our 
herbarium  specimens,  but  the  rough  nut,  tumid  punc- 
tate fruit,  and  tall  slender  stem,  at  once  distinguish 
this  from  its  near  allies. 

Vegetable  Teratology. — I  recently  found  a 
singular  monstrosity  in  Harleston  Firs,  Anagallis 
arvensis,  which  had  the  petals  transformed  into  leaves, 
and  the  calyx  also  leaf-like.  The  plant  was  fertile. 
On  the  Barnack  quarries  Trifolium  procumbens,  was 
so  called  viviparous.  —  G.  C.  Druce. 

The  "Rain  Tree." — At  a  recent  meeting  of  the 
Linnean  Society,  Professor  Thistleton  Dyer  described 
the  "Rain  Tree"  of  Mogobamba,  South  America, 
under  the  name  of  Pithecolobium  saman.  The  so- 
called  "rain"  is  the  fluid  excreta  of  cicadas  which 
feed  on  the  juices  of  the  foliage,  and  its  dropping  is 
therefore  analogous  to  the  "honey-dew  "  which  some- 
times drops  from  the  leaves  of  lime-trees  by  the 
agency  of  aphides. 

Polygala  calcarea. — In  the  February  number 
of  Trimen's  yournal  of  Botany,  Mr.  James  Britten 
notes  the  occurrence  of  a  specimen  of  Polygala  cal- 
carea in  a  collection  of  British  plants  presented  to  the 
British  Museum  herbarium.  It  is  associated  on  the 
same  sheet  as  Polygala  vidgaris,  and  was  collected  at 
Hughenden,  Bucks,  in  June,  1865.  It  had  not  pre- 
viously been  recorded  as  occurring  in  that  county. 

Monstrosity  in  R.  bulbosus.— In  a  field  near 
Leicester,  in  June,  1877,  I  found  a  specimen  of  Ra- 
nunculus  bulbosus,  having  three  completely  deve- 
loped  whorls   of  petals,   and   nearly   fifty   stamens. 


Neither  myself  nor  any  of  my  botanical  friends  have 
ever  found  similar  specimens.  If  the  petals  were 
developed  from  the  stamens,  the  original  number  of 
the  latter  must  have  been  much  greater  than  usual. — 
Arthur  Wheatley. 

Volvox  globator. — In  the  neighbourhood  of 
Ashton-under-Lyne  Volvox  globator  has  been  found, 
by  myself  and  others,  in  great  abundance,  from  the 
24th  of  last  November  (on  which  date  it  was  first 
detected  in  our  locality)  up  to  March.  The  pits 
have  been  visited  two  or  three  times  each  month 
since  November,  and  several  times  we  have  got  volvox 
from  under  the  ice.  I  myself  gathered  it  from 
under  half  an  inch  of  ice  on  January  28th,  some  of 
which  were  exhibited  at  the  meeting  of  the  Man- 
chester Field  Naturalists'  Society  on  February  3rd. — 
Thomas  Whitelegg. 


GEOLOGY, 

The  Influence  of  the  Advent  of  a  Higher 
Form  of  Life  in  modifying  the  Structure 
of  an  older  and  lower  Form. — This  was  the 
title  of  an  important  paper,  by  Professor  Owen, 
C.B.,  F.R.S.,  recently  read  before  the  Geological 
Society.  The  author,  after  referring  to  the  general 
question  of  the  modification  of  the  structure  of 
organic  forms  produced  by  the  action  of  external 
influences,  indicated  that,  in  connexion  with  this, 
changes  in  the  nature  of  the  prey  of  carnivorous 
animals  ought  to  be  taken  into  consideration.  He 
inferred  that  cold-blooded  aquatic  animals  formed  a 
much  greater  proportion  of  the  food  of  Mesozoic  than 
than  of  Neozoic  Crocodiles,  and  pointed  out  as  con- 
nected therewith  the  well-marked  distinction  between 
the  amphiccelian  and  proccelian  type  of  vertebne  re- 
spectively characteristic  of  the  two  groups.  The 
proccelian  character  of  the  trunk-vertebrae  better 
adapts  that  part  of  the  body  to  be  sustained  and 
moved  in  air,  and  may  be  connected  with  the  in- 
coming in  Tertiary  times  of  mammalian  prey  inducing 
the  Crocodiles  to  rush  on  shore.  The  Mesozoic 
Crocodiles  were  encased  in  a  much  stronger  and 
more  complete  dermal  armour  than  their  successors, 
doubtless  for  their  protection  from  the  great  Ich- 
thyosaurs,  Pliosaurs,  &c,  which  coexisted  with  them  ; 
but  as  these  passed  away  at  the  close  of  the  Secondary 
epoch,  the  armour  of  the  proccelian  Crocodiles  has 
become  more  scanty,  and  the  diminution  of  weight 
and  rigidity  thus  caused  would  favour  progression  in 
the  air,  and  the  rapidity  of  movement  required  for 
capturing  mammalian  prey  on  land.  The  difference 
in  the  position  of  the  palato-nares,  and  in  other  related 
gular  and  palatal  structures,  between  the  Mesozoic 
and  Neozoic  Crocodiles  is  apparently  connected  with 
the  power  possessed  by  the  latter  of  holding  sub- 
merged a  powerful  mammal  without  permitting  the 


02 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


access  of  water  to  the  posterior  nostrils  and  windpipe 
of  the  Crocodile  :  and  hence  the  author  is  inclined  to 
ascribe  a  fish-diet  even  to  those  massive-jawed  Croco- 
diles from  the  Purbeck  (such  as  Goniopholis  crassidens 
and  simus),  which  in  some  respects  might  seem  fitted 
to  grapple  with  large  and  active  mammals.  The 
small  size  of  the  upper  temporal  apertures  in  Tertiary 
and  existing  Crocodiles  is  regarded  by  the  author  as 
a  further  proof  in  the  same  direction  ;  these  apertures 
are  reduced  by  the  progressive  increase  of  the  osseous 
roof  of  the  temporal  vacuities,  which  again  is  corre- 
lated with  increase  in  the  bulk  and  power  of  the  tem- 
poral muscles,  the  main  agents  in  biting  and  holding. 
The  differences  in  the  length  and  strength  of  the  jaw, 
as  a  rule,  testify  in  the  same  direction.  Further,  the 
fore  limbs  in  Mesozoic  Crocodiles  are  shorter  than  in 
Neozoic  species,  indicating  that  the  former  were  more 
strictly  aquatic  in  their  habits  ;  the  fore-limbs  in  all 
Crocodiles  being  closely  applied  to  the  body  during 
rapid  swimming,  and  small  limbs  being  less  ob- 
structive than  larger  ones.  On  the  other  hand,  they 
would  be  less  efficient  as  a  means  of  progression  on 
land,  and  hence  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  advent  in 
Tertiary  times  of  mammals  frequenting  the  water-side, 
tempting  the  Crocodiles  to  make  a  rush  upon  the  land 
to  seize  such  passing  prey,  would  lead  to  such 
strenuous  action  of  the  fore-limbs  as  would  account 
for  the  increased  size  and  power  of  those  organs  in 
the  Neozoic  species.  The  author  concluded  with 
some  remarks  upon  the  influence  of  the  above  con- 
siderations upon  our  views  as  to  the  generic  divisions 
of  Crocodiles. 

The  Glacial  Period.  —  Dr.  Ricketts,  F.G.S., 
has  reprinted  his  valuable  paper,  read  before  the  Liver- 
pool Geological  Society,  on  the  "The  Conditions 
existing  during  the  Glacial  Period."  It  also  contains 
an  account  of  the  Glacial  deposits  in  the  valley  between 
Tranmere  and  Oxton,  near  Birkenhead. 

Marine  Fossils  in  the  Gannister  Beds. — 
Prof.  G.  A.  Lebour  has  announced  the  discovery  of 
marine  fossils  in  the  lower  coal  measures,  or  "  gan- 
nister"  beds  of  Northumberland,  between  Stocksfield 
station  and  Whittonstall.  Hitherto  no  marine  fossils 
have  been  met  with  in  these  rocks. 

The  Geology  of  Colorado.  —  The  Atlas  of 
Colorado,  soon  to  be  issued  by  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey  of  the  Territories,  under  Prof. 
F.  V.  Hayden,  embodies  the  results  of  the  geological 
and  geographical  work  of  the  survey  during  the  years 
from  1873  to  1S76  inclusive.  This  Atlas  will  contain 
the  following  maps  :  — 1st,  A  general  drainage  map  of 
Colorado,  on  a  scale  of  twelve  miles  to  the  inch. 
2nd,  An  economic  map  of  the  same  region,  having  at 
its  basis  the  above-mentioned  drainage  map.  This 
map  will  indicate  the  areas  of  arable,  pasture,  timber, 
coal,  mineral,  and  desert  land  in  as  great  detail  as 


possible  on  the  scale.  3rd,  A  general  geological  map 
on  which  the  areas  covered  by  the  principal  forma- 
tions will  be  shown.  The  drainage  map  will  form 
the  basis  for  this  also.  4th,  A  map  showing  the 
scheme  of  the  primary  triangulation  in  the  State. 
Scale,  twelve  miles  to  the  inch.  5th,  Six  topogra- 
phical sheets,  showing  the  same  area  as  that  covered 
by  the  general  drainage  map,  but  in  much  more  detail. 
The  scale  of  these  sheets  is  four  miles  to  an  inch. 
The  relief  of  the  country  is  indicated  by  contour  lines, 
at  vertical  intervals  of  200  feet.  The  area  covered 
by  each  of  these  sheets  is  11,500  square  miles.  6th, 
Six  geological  sheets,  of  which  the  basis  is  the  six 
topographical  sheets  just  mentioned.  On  these  the 
detailed  geology  is  expressed  by  colours.  With  the 
appearance  of  this  map,  Colorado  will  be  better 
known,  topographically  and  geologically,  than  any 
other  State. 

Winds,  Ocean-Currents,  and  Tides. — Mr. 
W.  L.  Leighton,  F.  R.  G.  S.,  has  published  a  second 
edition  of  his  lecture  on  the  above  subject,  together 
with  the  discussion  which  arose  when  the  discourse 
was  delivered.  Mr.  Leighton  is  a  formidable  antago- 
nist, and  is  not  likely  to  surrender  his  own  views 
because  some  scientific  authorities  think  lightly  of 
them.  Even  the  latter  must  confess  that  he  makes 
out  a  good  case. 

Fossil  Fungus. — Prof.  Lesquereux  has  recently 
described  a  fossil  fungus  (RhizomorpAw  sigillaritz) 
discovered  under  the  baric  of  a  Sigillaria  from  the 
Carmelton  Coal  of  Beaver  County,  Pennsylvania. 


NOTES    AND    QUERIES. 

A  Singular  Place  for  a  Bird's-nest.  — 
Whilst  waiting  on  the  platform  of  the  railway-station 
at  Coventry,  one  day  last  week,  I  observed  an  old 
sparrow's  nest  built  inside  a  signal-bell.  This  bell  is 
of  a  saucer  shape,  some  10  inches  in  diameter,  and 
placed  with  its  concave  face  within  about  ii  inch 
of  the  side  of  the  "crossover"  bridge,  and  directly 
over  the  centre  of  the  railway.  The  hammer-head 
of  this  bell  is  attached  to  a  long  lever,  in  connection 
with  a  wire,  leading  to  a  distant  operating  spot. 
There  is  also  a  heavy  counterweight  and  lever, 
forming  part  of  the  apparatus  of  the  signal  ;  so  that 
when  the  bell  is  struck,  there  is,  besides  the  loud 
ringing,  a  great  rattle  and  noise  of  levers,  and  a 
heavy  thump  caused  by  the  falling  counterweight. 
This  bell  is  used  many  times  every  hour  of  the  day, 
and  frequently  during  the  night,  three  or  four  blows 
being  struck  each  time.  The  officials  of  the  station 
informed  me  that  inside  the  bell  was  a  favourite 
building  place  of  the  sparrows,  and  that  the  nests  had 
frequently  to  be  removed,  but  that  young  ones  had 
been  hatched  and  reared  there.  — '  G.  A.  Biddell, 
Ipswich. 

Carnivorous  Slug. — Whilst  perusing  the 
columns  of  your  journal,  the  accounts  of  the  predatory 
slug  recalled  to  my  memory  a  circumstance  which 
occurred  to  me  some  years  ago.    While  out  walking 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


93 


one  day  in  the  country,  across  my  path  I  observed 
a  slug  and  a  butterfly  very  close  together.  On 
stooping  down  I  noticed  that  the  half  of  the  body  of 
the  butterfly  had  disappeared,  and  the  slug  (the  com- 
mon white  variety)  was  busily  devouring  the  remain- 
der. In  a  short  time  it  all  disappeared.  Now,  the 
curious  part  of  this  is,  how  could  the  butterfly  have 
been  so  unwary  as  t<5  allow  the  slug  to  approach  so 
near  ?  Perhaps  some  of  your  numerous  correspon- 
dents could  relate  some  similar  circumstances. — 
J.   D.   O.,   Carrickfergus. 

Asplenium  septentrionale. — In  the  January 
number  of  Science-Gossip  there  is  a  paragraph 
which  states  that  Asplenium  septentrionale  was  dis- 
covered near  Dolgelly,  by  Mrs.  Chamberlain  Barlow, 
of  Edgbaston,  in  1867.  Allow  me  to  inform  the 
writer  that  it  had  been  previously  discovered  in  the 
district  by  the  Rev.  T.  Salway,  vicar  of  Oswestry, 
and  in  a  "  List  of  certain  Plants  found  in  the  Neigh- 
bourhood of  Barmouth,"  published  by  him  in  1863, 
this  passage  occurs  :  "Asplenium  septentrionale,  a 
single  plant  gathered  by  me  on  the  wall  of  the  turn- 
pike-road between  Hendwet  and  Dolgelly,  in  1842," 
and  this  note,  "I  could  never  find  this  in  subsequent 
years,  though  I  gathered  only  a  few  fronds,  and  left 
the  root." — F.  C.  Raiulings,  Barmouth. 

Venomous  Reptiles  of  Ireland. — In  reply  to 
S.  E.  Bennett,  page  42,  for  February,  I  beg  to  say  we 
have  none  such  ;  our  reptiles  are  frogs,  green  lizard, 
one  newt,  and  Natter  Jack,  in  Co.  Kerry.  It  was  not 
St.  Kevin,  but  a  bigger  saint — St.  Patrick — who  sent 
them  adrift  from  Croagh  Patrick,  in  Co.  Mayo.  "  He 
gave  the  snakes  and  toads  a  twist,  and  banished  all 
the  vermin, "  as  the  song  goes.  — F.   H. 

Solanum  Dulcamara. — In  reply  to  Mr.  W. 
West,  Bradford,  as  to  above,  I  regret  to  say  I  have 
known  two  fatal  cases  in  this  neighbourhood  (Athy) 
from  children  eating  the  berries  of|this  plant.  One  fact 
is  worth  one  hundred  doctors. — F.   H. 

The  Mildness  of  the  Season. — On  the  21st 
of  February,  whilst  taking  my  accustomed  walk 
through  the  beautiful  beech- woods  of  Nettlebed,  I 
was  surprised  by  an  adder  attempting  to  cross  my 
path,  and  having  destroyed  many  of  these  venomous 
reptiles,  particularly  in  the  county  of  Devonshire,  I 
found,  on  killing  it,  that  it  was  the  largest  I  had  ever 
seen, — its  length  being  not  less  than  twenty-eight 
inches.  The  occurrence  of  this  reptile  so  early,  with 
the  primrose  and  other  wild  flowers  in  bloom,  on  this 
elevated,  picturesque,  healthy  range  of  the  Chiltern 
Hills,  is  a  proof  of  the  extreme  mildness  of  the  sea- 
son.—  Thomas  Shipway. 

Small  Mites. — Some  newly-married  friends  of 
ours,  gone  to  reside  in  a  farmhouse  in  a  pretty,  undu- 
lating country  district  in  Gloucestershire,  have  been 
sadlv  annoyed  for  some  time  past  by  the  presence  of 
numbers  of  very  small  mites ;  they  come  on  their 
books,  clothes,  and  furniture, — even  on  the  piano 
specks  of  dust-like  particles  are  often  seen,  and  an 
inexperienced  eye  would  think  them  to  be  only  dust  ; 
but,  on  close  inspection,  they  are  seen  to  move. 
Benzoline  and  sanitas  have  been  tried  in  vain.  Can 
any  of  your  readers  throw  any  light  on  the  matter  ? 
— whence  they  come,  or  in  what  way  they  may  be 
exterminated?—^/.  R.  D. 

Age  of  Sea-Gulls.  —  It  may  not  be  generally 
known  to  what  age  sea-gulls  live.  There  is  a  gull 
living  at  Freshwater,  Isle  of  Wight,  at  the  present 


time,  which  has  reached  its  thirtieth  year,  and  is  appa- 
rently as  well  as  ever.  It  was  taken  when  young  from 
the  nest,  and  was  supposed  to  be  a  male  bird,  but 
when  nearly  twenty  years  old,  to  the  surprise  of 
every  one  an  egg  appeared,  and  since  that  time  it  has 
laid  many  more.  All  this  time  it  was  called  by  the 
name  of  Willie,  but  the  name  was  then  changed 
to  Rittie,  which  it  still  bears.  The  bird  is  perfectly 
tame,  and  comes  at  once  when  called.  It  lives  in  a 
garden,  and  is  fed  principally  on  meat  and  fish  ;  it 
has  also  a  great  liking  for  cheese.  The  bird  has  been 
in  the  possession  of  the  same  person  all  its  life  ;  I 
believe  it  is  the  common  gull  (Larus  canus). — Frank 
Morey. 

Midnight  Songsters.— On  Feb.  15th  and  three 
following  evenings,  blackbirds,  thrushes,  and  many 
of  the  smaller  birds  have  been  singing  merrily  at  mid- 
night. The  gentleman  at  whose  house  I  am  staying, 
a  doctor,  driving  late  through  the  park,  and  several 
others,  have  heard  the  above,  but  no  one  seems  ever 
to  have  known  of  such  an  occurrence  before.  A 
blackbird  was  seen  while  singing,  perched  on  a  tree, 
close  to  the  house-windows.  The  nightingale  has 
not  yet  been  heard  in  this  part. — M.  B.  Gordon, 
Little  Chart,  Kent. 

Birds  Singing  at  Midnight.— On  the  night 
of  Saturday,  the  15th  of  February,  I  was  returning 
home  from  the  house  of  a  friend,  between  the  hours 
of  eleven  and  twelve  o'clock,  when  I  was  consider- 
ably surprised  to  hear  a  thrush  singing  away  merrily. 
Presently,  the  songster  was  joined  by  others,  and  in  a 
short  time  a  regular  concert  began,  taken  part  in  by 
at  least  a  dozen  thrushes  and  blackbirds,  whilst  the 
robin,  wren,  and  other  small  birds  were  singing  and 
chirruping  in  the  hedgerows,  just  as  you  hear  them  in 
the  early  morning  in  summer.  On  arriving  home,  I 
called  the  attention  of  my  friends  to  this  singular" 
circumstance,  and  we  stood  at  the  door  for  some 
time  listening  with  wonder  to  this — at  such  an  hour 
— unusual  melody.  On  the  following  night,  about 
the  same  hour,  the  concert  again  commenced,  and 
was  even  more  lively  than  on  the  preceding  night, 
and  continued  until  morning.  On  both  nights  the 
weather  was  very  calm  and  mild,  and  the  moon  shone 
with  great  splendour,  making  it  almost  as  light  as 
day.  I  should  be  glad  to  learn  whether  any  of  the 
readers  of  Science-Gossip  residing  in  other  parts  of 
the  country  have  noticed  this — to  me— remarkable 
incident  in  the  history  of  our  singing  birds,  which 
most  certainly  has  never  come  under  my  observation 
before. — R.  Standen,  Goosnargh,  Lancashire. 

Herring  Fishery. — A  correspondent  in  your 
March  No.  inquires  how  fishermen  tell  when  herrings 
are  in  their  vicinity.  On  this  coast  most  of  our 
cobbles  cast  their  nets  by  night,  and  if  any  herrings 
are  near,  they  can  readily  see  the  phosphorescence 
caused  by  this  fish,  which  is  generally  very  brilliant, 
especially  if,  the  night  be  dark  and  the  herrings  plen- 
tiful. Nine  out  of  ten  of  our  cobbles  do  not  shoot 
their  nets  unless  this  "  flame,"  as  the  fishermen  call 
it,  be  visible.  They  can  also  tell  the  difference 
between  "full  "and  "spawn"  fish,  a  shoal  of  the 
former  swimming  like  a  single  one,  the  whole  body 
oscillating  gently  from  side  to  side  as  they  proceed, 
whereas,  in  a  shoal  of  the  latter,  each  fish  is  constantly 
on  the  move,  darting  restlessly  about.  This  is  by 
far  the  most  useful  sign  of  the  approach  of  herrings, 
as  the  following  can  only  be  observed  during  the  day, 
and  are  even  then  not  very  reliable  ;  viz.,  that  if  the 
weather  be  warm  and  the  sea  smooth,  a  whole  shoal 
will  frequently  disport  on  the  surface  of  the  water, 


94 


HARD  IVICKE'S    SCIENCE- G OSSIP. 


their  shining  bellies  gleaming  by  thousands  in  the 
sun,  and  the  innumerable  splashes  looking  at  a  dis- 
tance as  though  a  heavy  shower,  or  a  sudden  gust  of 
wind,  were  ruffling  the  water.  Seabirds  too,  usually 
follow  the  shoals,  and  if  many  are  seen  "  working  " 
together,  it  is  a  pretty  sure  sign  that  small  fish  are  at 
hand,  though  they  need  not,  of  necessity,  be  herrings. 
— G.  IV.  L.,  Bridlington  Quay. 

"  Fairy-flax." — I  see  in  the  January  number  of 
Science-Gossip,  "  E.  L.  R."  asks,  What  plant  is 
known  under  the  name  of  Fairy-flax.  I  believe  it  is 
Limtm  catharticnm,  so-called  from  its  great  delicacy. 
— A.  F.  Gissing. 

Hare-bell. — The  following  is  an  extract  from 
Dr.  Prior's  "  Origin  and  Meaning  of  the  Names  of 
British  Plants,"  on  the  derivation  of  Hare-bell  : — 
Hare-bell,  a  name  to  which  there  is  no  corresponding 
one  in  any  other  language,  is  in  all  probability  a 
corruption  of  some  other  word,  perhaps  "  Heather- 
bell."  Thomson,  in  his  "  Etymons,"  gives  A.  S. 
hceur,  blue,  as  its  origin ;  but  there  is  no  such  word 
to  be  found.  Prior  also  traces  the  derivation  of  Hai-e, 
A.  S."hara."  Da.  "hare."  Ger.  "hase."  Skr. 
s'as'a,  from  s'as',  spring. — A.  F.  Gissing,   Wakefield. 

Harebell. — In  No.  159,  p.  69,  Mr.  Holland 
seems  wishful  to  know  if  Gerard,  in  his  Herbal, 
gives  any  reason  why  Scilla  nutans  is  called  Harebell. 
I  beg  to  say  that  he  does  not,  at  least  in  Johnston's 
edition  of  1536.  He  calls  the  plant  Hyacinthus 
anglicus,  and  in  his  index  names  it  Haresbell ;  thus 
clearly  showing  that  the  animal  is  meant,  and  no 
allusion  to  the  stem.  Campanula  rotnndifolia  he 
calls  the  small  Bellflower.  This  latter  in  Cumber- 
land is  almost  invariably,  except  in  books,  called 
Bluebells,  and  often  Bluebells  of  Scotland — some 
allusion,  I  suppose,  to  Blue-bonnets.  Hairbell  is, 
no  doubt,  an  appropriate  name  for  Campanula,  and 
so  is  Harebell ;  for  as  its  slender  peduncles  are  moved 
and  shaken  by  every  passing  breeze,  so  is  the  fearful 
hare  (Lepus  timidus)  agitated  and  stirred  by  every 
noise  and  movement  around  her.  I  may  also  men- 
tion to  Mr.  Ho'land  that  the  Mountain  Flax  is  in 
Cumberland  often  called  Mountain  Flocks.  This 
shows  how  strange  names  are  often  introduced  by 
substituting  for  the  right  term  some  better-known 
word  similar  in  sound.  The  word  flax  is  seldom 
used  here  :  Line  is  the  common  name. — R.  W. 

White  Hairbell. — With  reference  to  Mr.  Tate's 
remark  on  White  Hairbells,  I  may  mention  that  my 
experience  of  albino  flowers  has  been  almost  invaria- 
bly the  same  as  his.  I  have  in  my  herbarium  albino 
specimens  of  Campanula  rotnndifolia,  Callnna  vul- 
garis, Stachys  betonica,  Geianium  robertiamon,  and 
others,  all  of  which  have  indications  of  colour,  which 
they  did  not  have  when  living. — Albert  C.  Coxhead. 

White  Harebell,  &c.  —  On  September  5,  I 
gathered  white  flowers  of  Campanula  rotnndifolia, 
between  Largrave  and  Malham,  and  they  are  per- 
fectly white  now  when  dry.  I  also  found  white 
flowers  of  Lychius  Flos-cuculi,  at  Hawksworth,  near 
Bradford,  in  July.  White  flowers  of  'Scilla  nutans 
occur  regularly  about  here ;  also  white £?ica  cinerea ; 
but  I  believe  this  latter  occurrence  is  not  very  fre- 
quent. —  William  West,  Bradford. 

White  Flowers. — A  young  friend  found  at  Rhyl, 
in  the  late  summer  ol  last  year,  a  flower  of  the  Scabiosa 
urbensis,  perfectly  white.  We  have  also  met  with  a 
root  of  Ononis  aivensis,  the  flowers  of  which  were 
entirely  album.     The  lovely  little  harebell,   or  blue- 


bell, Campanula  rotnndifolia,  I  have  often  met  with 
white,  as  well  as  blue  ;  indeed,  we  had  large  tufts  of 
both  colours,  growing  in  our  garden.  The  Seilla 
nutans  is  also  often  to  be  met  with  white  and  even 
pink.  We  have  from  childhood  been  taught  to  call 
the  Seilla  nutans  the  wild  hyacinth,  and  the  Cam- 
panula rotnndifolia  the  bluebell ;  this  latter  name  is 
in  Staffordshire  mostly  applied  by  the  country  people 
to  both  plants,  without  any  discrimination. — F.  Fd- 
wards. 

Longevity  in  the  Slow-worm. — A  very  fine 
specimen  was  captured  by  me,  near  Beacontree 
Heath,  in  the  year  1850,  and  was  killed  by  an 
unfortunate  mischance  a  few  days  ago.  It  had  con- 
sequently been  in  my  possession  twenty-eight  years. 
It  was  several  years  old  when  caught,  and  was  in 
sound  health  up  to  the  time  of  the  misadventure 
which  caused  its  death. — C.  Spring/mm. 

Toad  and  Gold  Fish. — In  my  garden  is  a  tank 
let  into  the  ground,  where  it  receives  a  regular  supply 
of  fresh  water,  and  affords  room  for  several  fish,  in- 
cluding some  of  the  carp  family,  known  as  ' '  gold 
fish."  On  15th  February  last  I  saw  one  of  the  latter 
lying  on  its  side,  apparently  ill  or  dead,  and  a  toad 
just  by  its  head.  Reaching  a  stick,  I  touched  the 
fish,  and  to  my  surprise  found  it  was  alive,  but 
grasped  firmly  by  the  head  in  the  front  legs  of  the 
toad,  which  I  endeavoured  to  dislodge.  But  although 
the  fish  struggled  violently,  the  toad  held  fast,  and  at 
length  carried  the  fish  down  among  decayed  leaves 
and  vegetation  in  the  bottom  of  the  tank.  To  free 
the  fish,  I  had  to  get  my  gardener  to  empty  and 
clean  out  the  tank. — Horace  Pearse,  F.L.S.,  The 
Limes,  Stourb;  idge. 

Dredging.— "  R.  G.  C."  will  find  that  if  he 
dredges  near  shore  from,  say  a  small  boat,  the  hempen 
tangles,  invented  by  Captain  Calver,  are  a  good  and 
simple  substitute  for  the  costly  and  often  unsatis- 
factory dredge,  such  specimens  as  crustaeea  and 
echinoderms  becoming  easily  caught,  and  frequently 
fishes  and  mollusea;  but  care  is  required  to  extract 
them  from  the  hemp,  into  which  they  are  often  too 
much  entangled,  and  thereby  spoilt.  Gosse's  "Marine 
Zoology  "  is  a  useful  accompaniment  to  a  dredging 
expedition,  where  the  above-named  orders  are  being 
fished  for. — F.  Lovett,  Croydon. 

Snakes  and  Birds. — May  I  venture  to  say,  in 
answer  to  the  question  in  your  Science-Gossip, 
whether  the  English  snake  eats  birds  or  not,  that  I 
have  known  two  instances  in  which  a  snake  has  been 
killed  with  a  bird  in  its  mouth.  The  one  case  was 
in  Cornwall,  when,  with  some  gentlemen  friends,  I 
going  towards  Penzance,  when  a  large  snake  met  us 
with  a  bird  in  its  mouih,  evidently  taking  it  home  for 
its  dinner.  One  of  the  gentlemen  gave  the  snake  a 
fatal  blow  with  his  stick ;  so  we  did  not  see  the 
actual  eating  of  the  bird  (but  I  think  we  should  have 
hanged  a  man  on  less  presumptive  evidence  that  it  was 
eaten).  The  second  case  was  in  our  own  garden, 
where  the  gardener  despatched  a  snake  on  the 
manure-heap  with  a  bird  in  its  mouth. — B.  H.  A". 

Intelligence  of  the  Fox. — One  of  the  Cum- 
berland newspapers  last  October  contained  an 
account  of  a  fox  being  chased  for  two  hours  by  the 
Blencathra foxhounds  on  Skiddawand  the  neighbour- 
hood. The  fox  was  raised  from  his  lair  at  Lonscale 
Crag,  and  made  towards  Littleton,  "thence  over 
Lonscale  Fell  to  the  Skiddaw  Little  Man,"  the 
hounds  being  in  full  cry  after  him.  Thence  he  ran 
at  a  terrific  pace  to  the  top  of  Skiddaw  on  to  Rannel 


HARD  WICKE '5     S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


95 


Crag-,  through  Southwaite  Dale,  over  Ling  Howe's 
Nook,  to  the  Sandbeds  at  Bassenthwaite.  About 
two  hours  had  now  elapsed,  and  the  pace  was  begin- 
ning to  tell  on  the  poor  fox  when  his  intelligence 
began  to  be  displayed  in  a  remarkable  manner. 
After  crossing  and  recrossing  a  road  he  made  towards 
a  stackyard,  but,  failing  to  find  there  the  shelter  he 
sought,  he  took  another  direction  for  some  distance  ; 
but  again  returned  by  almost  the  same  route,  until  he 
reached  a  road  on  which  a  flock  of  sheep  was  being 
driven.  Knowing  that  he  had  nothing  to  fear  from 
these  animals,  and  placing  confidence  in  the  driver, 
he  deliberately  took  his  place  in  the  middle  of  the 
flock  ;  and,  measuring  his  pace  with  the  sheep,  in 
this  manner  he  travelled  with  them  for  some  dis- 
tance. The  means  he  had  adopted  to  save  his  life 
might  well  have  excited  a  feeling  of  pity  and  admira- 
tion at  this  remarkable  act  of  intelligence,  but  the 
gratification  of  witnessing  the  poor  animal  mangled 
to  death  by  a  pack  of  ravenous  dogs  possessed  greater 
attraction,  and  he  was  ruthlessly  driven  from  the 
midst  of  the  sheep,  and  compelled  to  devise  other 
means  for  the  preservation  of  his  life.  He  made  to 
a  cottage  hard  by,  and  attempted  to  enter  it,  but  was 
driven  from  the  door  by  one  of  the  female  inmates. 
He  then  passed  to  the  rear  of  the  cottage,  and  threw 
his  wearied  and  exhausted  frame  down  on  the  sward 
instead.  But  his  rest  was  brief;  he  was  again 
aroused  by  his  relentless  pursuers,  and,  making  a 
final  effort  for  his  life,  he  was  shortly  caught  and 
worried  to  death.  Has  the  Society  for  the  Preven- 
tion of  Cruelty  to  Animals  no  power  to  take  cog- 
nizance of  such  inhuman  acts  as  this  ?  Here  is  an 
animal  endowed  with  little  short  of  human  intelli- 
gence for  the  protection  of  his  life,  tortured  for  up- 
wards of  two  hours,  and  then  torn  in  pieces  for  the 
gratification  of  his  persecutors.  Cases  twenty  times 
less  revolting  than  this  are  almost  daily  brought  up 
by  the  Humane  Society  and  punished.  Burns,  when 
he  had  turned  up  the  nest  of  a  mouse  with  his  plough, 
and  saw  one  of  his  labourers  chasing  it,  indignantly 
exclaimed,  in  that  beautiful  poem  to  a  mouse, — 

"  I'm  truly  sorry  man's  dominion, 
Has  broken  Nature's  social  union." 

It  is  no  argument,  that  because  the  fox,  to  sustain 
his  life  may  make  free  with  pheasants,  rabbits,  and 
even  barn-door  fowl,  he  should  be  tortured  for 
hours,  and  ultimately  torn  to  pieces.  It  is  his  nature, 
and  his  life  is  as  sweet  to  him  as  to  us.  There  are 
other  means  for  his  destruction  with  comparatively 
little  pain  without  this  prolonged  torture. — Dipt  on 
Burn. 

Aquaria. — I  have  kept  a  great  number  of  Aquaria, 
both  salt  and  fresh- water  ones.  I  have  often  watched 
the  sticklebacks,  both  salt  and  fresh-water,  and  both 
sorts  are  very  fond  of  attacking  other  fish,  particu- 
larly the  fresh-water  species.  The  latter  attacked 
goldfish,  roach,  sace,  minnows,  and  other  kinds  of 
fish,  as  well  as  newts  and  tritons.  They  nibble  the 
tails  and  fins  off  the  fish,  particularly  the  goldfish, 
and  the  fish  get  diseased  through  it  and  pine  away 
and  die.  I  have  lost  a  great  many  goldfish  by  their 
depredations.  They  nibble  or  bite  the  toes  and  tail 
off  the  newts  :  I  have  seen  their  tails  bitten  so  fre- 
quently by  them  that  there  has  been  very  little  left  of 
them.  I  should  never  advise  any  one  to  place  them 
in  a  nice-stocked  aquarium,  and  they  should  be  kept 
out  of  small  ornamental'  ponds  where  there  are  gold- 
fish. If  you  wish  to  see  how  destructive  they  are, 
place  some  of  those  fish  or  animals  in  an  aquarium 
that  I  have  mentioned  by  themselves  ;  you  will  then 
see   that   the   sticklebacks  will  not  let   them  rest  a 


minute  ;  they  will  worry  the  poor  fish  to  death. — A. 
J.  R.  Si  later,  Teignmouth. 

Black  Beetles. — On  looking  over  my  old  Sci- 
ence-Gossips, I  find  cucumber  peelings  are  recom- 
mended as  a  bait  for  black  beetles.  It  is  the  custom 
in  these  parts  to  throw  the  peelings  near  their  haunts, 
under  the  impression  that  it  kills  them  ;  but  this 
paragraph  leads  me  to  believe  the  cucumber  merely 
allures  but  does  not  destroy  the  beetles.  Can  any  of 
your  readers  inform  me  whether  it  destroys  as  well  as 
allures  them  ? — Arthur  Smyth,  Parracombe. 

Early  Birds. — Our  local  papers  contain  notices 
of  a  robin's  nest  containing  five  eggs,  on  which  the 
hen  bird  was  sitting  on  the  last  day  of  the  year. 
This  was  between  Watchet  and  Williton,  Somerset. 
It  is  also  stated  that  a  thrush's  nest  with  four  eggs 
might  be  seen  in  a  droveway  at  Ilminster,  in  the 
same  county,  the  first  week  in  the  year.  —  IV.  Mac- 
milla.1t,  Castle  Cary,  Somerset. 

What  is  the  Whipultre  ? — Can  any  of  your 
readers  say  what  tree  Chaucer  meant  by  the 
"  Whipultre  ?"  The  word  occurs  in  an  enumeration 
of  trees.  All  those  otherwise  mentioned  are  there- 
fore precluded.  Vide  2,925  of  the  "  Knighte's 
Tale."—  G.  L. 


NOTICES   TO    CORRESPONDENTS, 


To  Correspondents  and  Exchangers.  —  As  we  now 
publish  Science-Gossip  a  week  earlier  than  heretofore,  we 
cannot  possibly  insert  in  the  following  number  any  communi- 
cations which  reach  us  later  than  the  gth  of  the  previous 
month. 


A.  L.  (Nottingham). — It  is  a  variety  of  common  water-mint 
{Mentha  aquatica). 

W.  K.  (Leeds). — The  light,  or  whitish  seeds,  are  the  product 
of  Ccrsalpiiiia  cariaria,  often  named  "  Libi-dibi,"  probably 
now  corrupted  commercially  into  Divi-divi.  We  could  only 
detect  about  two  of  the  darker  seeds  :  they  must  have  trickled 
from  the  envelope. 

D.  S.  (Ealing). — The  brown  spots  on  the  under  side  of  leaf  of 
oak  are  generally  called  by  village  children  "Oak-stars"  and 
"Oak-spangles."  They  are  not  fungi,  but  galls  produced  by 
Diplolepis  lenticularis.  On  the  long  (lanceolate)  leaves  you 
enclose,  evidently  a  sallow,  is  a  perfect  fungus,  now  named 
Melampsora  salicina.  Early  in  the  season  it  assumes  a  straw 
colour  at  this  stage  ;  it  was  formerly  named  Lecytliea  sp., 
because  it  was  supposed  to  be  a  distinct  species.  It  is  very 
common  on  poplars  and  willows  the  year  through.  The  best 
work  on  British  Botany  is  Hooker's  "  Student's  Flora."  You 
should  get  Davies  on  "  Microscopic  Mounting." 

E.  Clark. — We  are  sorry  you  are  not  pleased  with  the 
return  parcel  of  plants.  With  the  exception  of  another  botanical 
exchanger  (a  lady),  all  have  expressed  their  high  sense  of  satis- 
faction with  their  parcels,  the  labour  and  expense  cf  arranging 
which  have  been  very  great. 

A.  H.  H. — You  will  find  full  directions  "how  to  preserve 
spiders,''  in  an  article  by  Dr.  Dyce,  under  the  above  heading, 
in  Science-Gossip,  for  January,  1868.  In  Science-Gossip 
volume  for  1875  there  is  an  article  by  our  best  spider  authority, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Cambridge,  on  the  same  subject,  together  with 
several  notes  and  queries  relating  to  collecting  and  preserving 
spiders. 

E.  C.  J.— There  is  no  work  as  yet  published  on  Australian 
Tertiary  Polyzoa  that  we  are  aware  of.  Inquire  of  Mr.  Robert 
Etheridge,  jun.,  Geological  Survey  Office,  India-buildings, 
Yictoria-street,  Edinburgh,  who  has  worked  on  the  subject. 
Your  best  plan  would  be  to  offer  to  exchange  Polyzoa  with 
C.  Harris. 

T.  Shipton. — We  should  think  you  would  be  able  to  obtain 
the  collapsible  nozzled  tubes  by  ordering  them  through  any 
first-class  chemist. 

J.  S.,  Jun.  (Warrington). — Your  sea-weeds  are — 1.  a  faded 
red  plant,  probably  Rhodymenia  falmata  ;  2.  Fragment  of 
some  dried  plant,  species  undistinguishable,  covered  with  tufts 
of  Calothrix  confe-rvicoia  and  faded  masses  of  jfauia  rubensi 
3.  Portion  of  Hatidrys  sitiguosa,  with  tufts  of  Sphacclaria 
cirrhosa;  4.  Probably  Gracilaria  confervoides  ;  5.  Faded  and 
stunted  specimens  of  Ceramium  ru'rum. 


96 


HARD  WI CKE'S    S CIEN CE- G O SSIP. 


X.  Y.  Z. — There  is  no  examination  for  the  degree  of  F.G.S. 
It  is  purely  honorary.  You  had  best  apply  to  the  Secretary, 
Burlington  House,  for  further  and  fuller  information. 

J.  H.  Jones. — Communicate  with  the  Naturalists'  Agency, 
Salem,  Mass.,  U.S.A.,  respecting  exchanges  of  American 
lepidoptera.  If  you  look  over  the  Exchange  column  of  some 
back  numbers  of  Science-Gossip,  you  will  find  American 
lepidoptera  offered  for  English. 

E.  S.  M. — See  article  in  present  number  as  to  the  Antiquity 
of  Man.  You  had  best  write  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Society 
for  list  of  names,  and  inclose  stamps. 

A.  S.  K. — Get  Landsborough's  "British  Seaweeds,"  pub- 
lished by  Lovell  Reeve.  It  has  coloured  plates,  and  the  price 
is  ics.  6d.  One  of  the  cheapest  and  best  is  Grattann's  "  British 
Marine  Algae."  It  contains  205  capital  engravings,  and  is 
written  by  one  of  our  best  algologists.  The  price  is  5s.  6d.  It  is 
published  at  the  Bazaar  Office,  32,  Wellington-street,  Strand. 

W.  W.  Walters.  — You  will  find  full  instructions  how  to 
use  the  cyanide  bottle  in  Dr.  Knaggs's  article  on  "  Collecting 
and  Preserving  Natural  History  Objects,"  published  by  Hard- 
wicke  &  Bogue,  at  3s.  6d. 

John  Astley. — Your  small  insects  (which  came  to  hand 
alive)  are  springtails  or  Podurip,  and  the  species  sent  is 
Achomtes  puipurescens.  They  belong  to  a  distinct  group  of 
insects  called  Thysantirada'.  See  articles  (with  illustrations  of 
chief  species)  in  Science-Gossip  for  December,  1872,  and 
January,  1873. 

M.  G. — Woodward's  "  Manual  of  the  Mollusca"  is  the  best 
book  of  its  kind  yet  issued.  The  price  is  7s.  6d.,  published  by 
Lockwood  &  Co.  Any  of  the  kinds  of  food  mentioned  would 
serve  as  "treats  "  to  the  pigeons. 

T.  W.  (York). — You  may  obtain  every  article  required  for 
natural  history  purposes  from  J.  Gardner,  246,  Oxford-street, 
London. 

F.  H.  A. — Thanks  for  note  respecting  Gentiaua  acaulis  ;  we 
fear  it  will  never  occur  as  a  genuine  native.  The  Sedum  resem- 
bled scxangulare  very  closely.  It  is  difficult  to  tell  the  dif- 
ference betwixt  this  species  and  reflexum,  except  by  seeing  the 
barren  shoot, — then  it  is  known  at  a  glance. 

G.  C.  D.  (Northampton). — Thanks  for  Carex,  which  we  hope 
to  make  use  of.  The  rust  on  leaf  of  Trifolium  Molinieri  is  a 
not  uncommon  fungus.  It  also  affects  several  species  of  dock. 
It  is  the  Uromyces  apiculata.  Lev. 

J.  C. — You  will  find  in  Sach's  "  Botany,"  translated  and 
edited  by  Professor  Thistleton  Dyer  and  A.  W.  Bennett,  and 
published  by  the  Clarendon  Press,  the  best  treatise  on  Vegetable 
Morphology. 

F.  W.  Morriss. — It  is  a  common  occurrence  for  the  tortoise- 
shell  butterfly  to  come  out  on  warm  sunny  days  early  in  the 
year.  Such  specimens  have  been  hybernating,  and  the  light 
and  heat  have  revived  them. 

H.  L.  Graham. — Your  moss  is  Hypnum  denticulatum. 

W.  Thomson. — Your  specimens  of  mosses  are  : — Pottia  trun- 
cattila ;  2.  Hypnum  denticulatum ;  3.  Homalia  trichoma- 
noides ;  4.  Anomodon  vitiailosus ;  5.  Hypnum  undulatum. — 
R.  B. 

V.  G. — Your  micro  fungus  is  Ceuthospora  pkacidioid.es,  Grev. 

S.  A.  B. — The  fungus  on  leaves  of  box  is  Puccinia  Buxi, 
D.  C. 


EXCHANGES. 

Mounted  slides  of  Crateriiim  pyriforme  in  exchange  for 
well-mounted  Slides  of  interest. — S.  C.  Hincks,  Farnham, 
Surrey. 

A  quantity  of  Balsam  Mounts,  of  common  but  interesting 
micro  objects,  for  Coleoptera,  Birds'  Eggs,  or  anything  in- 
teresting.— C.  W.  Lawton,  Essex-road,  London. 

Isoetes  hystrix,  Helianth.  guttatum,  Orobanche  cterulea, 
and  Gymnogramma  Icutrp/iylla,  &c,  for  Lathyrus  palustris, 
Galium  Anglicum,  Artioseris  pusilla,  Carcx  tomentosa,  &c. 

— G.  C.  Druce. Also  G.  C.   Druce,  Northampton,  will  be 

pleased  to  hear  from  the  contributor  to  Exchange  Club  who 
sent  specimens  collected  by  Mr.  Notcutt. 

Asterina  gibbosa  (small)  for  foreign  Echinus  Spines. — 
J.  Keogh,  25,  Camperdown-place,  Yarmouth. 

First  two  vols.  Cassell's  Birds,  in  red  leather,  12s.  6d.  Also 
wanted,  first  12  parts,  Morris's  Birds,  2nd  edition,  exchange  for 
Morris's  Butterflies,  1st  edition,  12  parts. — E.  Evans,  Brins- 
combe,  Gloucestershire. 

WELL-mounted  slides  of  Polycystina  and  rare  Foraminifera 
in  exchange  for  others,  or  Lepidoptera. — Phonographer,  78, 
Lozell's-road,  Birmingham. 

Living  Ferns  and  Alpine  Plants,  interesting  microscopic 
Slides  and  material,  &c,  in  exchange  for  Section-cutter,  really 
good  Slides,  or  material.  Please  see  my  offer  in  March  number. 
List  free.— T.  McGann,  Burren,  Ireland. 

Birds'  Eggs. — Wanted,  oological  correspondence,  and  ex- 
change with  some  of  the  numerous  American,  Colonial,  and 
Foreign  readers  of  Science-Gossip.  All  letters  answered. 
William  H.  Armitage,  Etruria  Villa,  Crookes-road,  Sheffield. 

Wanted,  Mounted  Microscopic  Objects  of  every  description 
for  mounting  materials.  Send  specimen  and  state  wants. — 
E.  Atkins,  200,  Essex-road,  Islington,  London. 


Foreign  Shells. — Duplicates,  mostly  of  Japanese,  Chinese, 
Burmese,  Java  and  Philippines,  Australian.  Desiderata :  princi- 
pally North  and  South  American,  West  Indian,  Mediterranean, 
Spanish,  French,  Algerian,  and  Egyptian  ;  also  Duplicates  of 
about  fifty  sorts  of  British  Land  and  Fresh-water  Shells  for 
the  above  desiderata.  Exchanges  invited. — W.  Sutton,  Upper 
Claremont,  Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 

H.  lamellata,  H.  aculeata,  H.  pygm&a,  Z.  radiatulus, 
and  H.  fusca  for  any  good  Anodonts,  Unio  tumidus,  or 
Pictorum,  from  any  place  where  I  have  not  got  them,  in 
England. — J.  Whitwham,  Cross-lane,  Marsh,  Huddersfield. 

Many  species  of  British  Shells,  Sea,  Land,  and  Fresh-water, 
offered  in  exchange  for  foreign  Clausilias. — Address  :  F.  M. 
Hele,  Fairlight,  Elmgrove-road,  Cotham,  Bristol. 

A  pair  of  Telephones  in  exchange  for  Microscopic  Slides, 
well  mounted. — L.  Hawkins,  7,  Castle-Down-terrace,  Hastings. 

Small  collection  of  Coleoptera,  in  good  order,  or  well- 
mounted  objects,  for  cabinet,  specimens  of  Flint  Sponges  from 
the  Chalk. — Address  :  R.  H.  E.,  Mr.  Morton's,  165,  Lewisham 
High-road,  S.  E. 

For  slide,  with  scales,  of  a  rare  and  supposed  new  species  of 
Lepisma,  send  well-mounted  slide  to  James  Simpson,  15, 
Prospect -place,  Dumbiedykes-road,  Edinburgh. 

Forty  species  of  Hcpaticce  (named),  F.  tamariudifolius, 
G.  squarrosum,  T.  abietinum,  H.  liians,  offered  for  foreign 
Marine  Algae. — E.  C.  J.,  12,  Church-road,  St.  Leonards-on-Sea. 

A  few  rare  British  Birds'  Eggs  to  exchange  for  rare  British 
Birds'  Skins  or  Eggs,  not  in  collection.  All  letters  answered. — 
R.  Standen,  Goosnargh,  Preston,  Lancashire. 

Send  Botanical  or  prepared  Entomological  material  in  ex- 
change for  a  healthy  plant  of  Valisneria  and  Capsules  of 
Whelk  Egg  for  Polariscope.  Other  material  for  exchange. — 
Tylar,  165,  Well-street,  Birmingham. 

Send  really  good  unmounted  Material  of  any  kind  (except 
diatomaceous  earths),  when  well-mounted  Slides  or  Material 
(as  preferred)  will  be  forwarded  in  exchange. — J.  Sherlock,  32, 
Exchange-street,  St.  Helens. 

Rare  Mosses,  including  Tortula  H ornschuchiana ,  Hypnum 
triquetnan,  &c.  (all  in  fruit),  for  well-mounted  Micro  Slides. — 
T.  Watson,  Bank  Parade,  Burnley. 

Wanted,  Lepidoptera  (perfect  or  imperfect  insects)  for 
Polyzoa  from  the  Coraline  Crag;  Eggs,  mostly  sea-birds',  and 
other  objects  of  interest. — F.  M.  Ogilvie,  Sizewell  House, 
Leiston,  Suffolk. 

London  Catalogue,  7th  edition,  Nos.  135,  209,  239,  556, 
577,  704,  709,  769,  810,  838,  975,  1031,  1284,  1297,  and  others, 
in  exchange  for  Nos.  1265,  1267,  1270,  1279,  1286,  1292,  1293, 
1298,  1299,  1300,  1302.  List  exchanged.  J.  Tempere,  23, 
Crouch-street,  Colchester. 

In  exchange  for  well-mounted  slides,  send  Fossils  or  objects 
relating  to  Marine  Zoology. — C.  P.  Ogilvie,  Sizewell  House, 
Leiston,  Suffolk. 

Wanted,  good  gathering  of  Pleurosigma  angulation,  for 
Diatoms,  Slides,  Material,  or  Cash. — Eug.  Mauler,  Travers, 
Switzerland. 

A  bottle  of  Preliminary  Varnish,  and  one  ditto  of  white  or 
coloured  Enamel  Cement,  for  good  unmounted  material.  Micro. 
Fungi,  Diatoms,  Marine  Algae,  &c,  preferred. — Henry  Vial, 
Crediton. 


BOOKS,  &c,  RECEIVED. 

White's   "  Natural    History   of  Selborne,"  edited  by  Prof. 
Thomas  Bell,  F.  R.S.,  in  2  vols.     London  :  Van  Voorst.  _ 

"  Proceedings  of  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of 
Liverpool,"  vol.  xxxi.  1876-77. 

"  The   System  of  the  World,"  by  W.  L.  Jordan.     London  : 
Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 

"The  Freedom  of  Science  in  the  Modern  State,"  by  Rudolf 
Virchow,  M.D.     London  :  John  Murray. 

"  Land  and  Water."     March. 

"  Chambers's  Journal."      March. 

"  Botanische  Zeitung. "     February. 

"American  Naturalist."     February. 

"The  Naturalist."     March. 

"  Midland  Naturalist."     March. 
&c.  &c.         &c. 


Communications  have  been  received  up 
ult.,  from:— F.  K.— J.  F.  R.— M.  G.— M.  H. 
H.  B.  W.— J.  E.  J.— F.  C.  R.— T.  E.  D.— F. 
E.  D.  M.—  J.  H.  R.— D.  D.— G.  C— J.  D.  O. 
Dr.  R.  H.  W.— G.  C.  D.— H.  L.  G— T.  McG. 
A.  S.— G.  N.— C.  P.  O.— F.  M.  O.— G.  C.  D. 
H.  L.— G.  P.— W.  T— F.  W.  M.— T.  S.— Prof. 
— W.  W.  W.— J.  H.  K.— J.  P.  S.— R.  S.— J.  A. 
E.  H.— E.  C.  J.— M.    R.   D.--J.    S.— E.  S.  M. 

A.  S.  K.— E.  E.— J.   R.   S.-F.   M.— R.    H.   E. 

B.  H.— H.  P.  — H.  G.  W.— S.  A.  B.— L.  H.— C. 
H.  W.  T.— F.  M.  H.— T.  B.— W.  H.  A.— E.  C- 
— T.  W.  D.  — F.  A.  A.— A.  L  R.  S.— A.  S.— H.  A. 
—A.  H.  H.— R.  W.— Dr.  C.  C.  A.— W.  S.— M. 
H.  B.-A.  B.— &c.  &c.  &c. 


to  the  ioth 

C— T.  W.— 

H.— E.  W.— 

-C.  W.  L.— 

-S.  C.  H.- 

— H.  G.  G- 

J.  T.— T.  W. 

— G.  W.  L.— 

-J.  L.  H.— 

-R.  B.  C— 

W.— J.  W.— 

J.  K.— A.  B. 

F.— X.  V.  X. 

K.— E.  A.— 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE -GOSSIP. 


97 


THE     MIGHTY     DEEP. 


By    A.    RAMSAY. 


CCORDING     to     E. 

Forbes  and  others,    it 
is    a    convenient    hy- 
pothesis to  assume  that 
each  species  has  arisen 
from  a    single    centre, 
so   that   each   species, 
each  genus,  and  each 
fauna  occupies  an  area 
which  is   complete  in 
itself.     Thus,  a  species 
may  spread  from  a  particular  centre  as  far  as  it  can  find 
suitable  conditions.  If  such  conditions  were  universal, 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  species  should  not  spread 
into  eveiy  sea  and  exclude  all  other  forms.     There 
are,  however,  always  restrictions,  so  that  each  species 
has  a  limited  distribution,  and  if  it  spreads  over  most 
of  the  space  occupied  by  the  ocean,  it  generally  occurs 
more  or  less   sporadically,    owing  to  alterations  of 
condition  having  driven  it  from  certain  parts.     The 
distribution  of  each  species  is,  in  most  cases,    a  clue 
to  the  distribution  of  the  particular  set  of  conditions 
under  which  it  lives.     Hence  species  which  find  the 
conditions  for  living  on  the  sea  bottom  in  deep  water 
will  spread  over  that  area  of  deep  water  so  far  as  the 
suitable  conditions    are   sufficiently   continuous.     If 
there  is  a  break  in  the  distribution  of  such  conditions, 
whether  caused  by  the  shallowing  of  the  water  or  in 
any  other  way,   the  further  extension  of  the  species 
will   be   arrested.      Most    marine    organisms    have 
powers  of  locomotion  during  some  portion  of  their 
lives,  a  circumstance  which,  combined  with  the  trans- 
porting power  of  currents,   must  not  be  overlooked. 
The  continuation  of  the  species  in  time  implies  the 
continuance  of  the  conditions  suitable  to  it,  a  circum- 
stance which  should  always  be  present  to  the  minds  of 
both  paleontologists  and  geologists  when  endeavouring 
to  synchronize  old  sea  bottoms.     In  all  oceans  of  the 
present  period,  and,  as  may  be  assumed,  in  all  oceans 
of  past  periods,  there  is  and  has  been  a  similar  con- 
currence of  physical  conditions.    The  main  difference 
in  time  have  been  variations  in  the  distribution  of  each 
No.    161. 


set  of  conditions  relatively  to  one  another,  while  both 
in  time  and  in  space  these  have  been  accompanied  by 
variations  in  the  facilities  afforded  to  each  species  in 
passing  from  one  area  to  another.      This  has  caused 
local  groupings  of  species  into  faunas  and  floras,  and 
the  preoccupation  of  the  ground  frequently  prevents 
a  species  from  localizing  itself  where  the  physical 
conditions  are  favourable  for  it.      This  preoccupation 
is  often  a  barrier  to  the  spread  of  a  species.   Generally 
the  persistence  of  a  fauna  associated  with  a  particular 
set  of  conditions,  whether  in  space  or  in  time,  indicates 
the  persistence  of  these  conditions.      For  instance, 
during  the  post-pliocene  period,   a  particular  assem- 
blage of  mollusks  frequented  the  shallow  waters  of 
the  British  isles.     All  these,  or  at  any  rate  nearly  all, 
now  occur  on  the  east  shore  of  N.  America  ;  while 
a  much  smaller  proportion  exist  on  the  present  shores 
of  Britain.     Currents  will  not  account  for  this  altera- 
tion in  the  distribution  ;  but  the  existence  of  a  line 
of  shallow  water  on  a   coast    extending    from    the 
British  isles  to  America  would.     The  destruction  of 
this  coast-line  and  modifications  of  the  conditions  on 
the  British  shores  with  the  continuance  of  such  con- 
ditions on  the  shores  of  America  would  explain  the 
remaining  phenomena.     This  illustration   (which  is 
only  one  of  many  that  could  be  cited)  shows  that 
the  occurrence  of  the  same  fossils  in  the  strata  of  two 
distant   areas    indicates    the   occurrence   of    similar 
conditions  in  both  areas,    but  not  that  the  faunas 
are    synchronous  :   the  question  of  contemporaneity 
should  be  based  on  other  evidence.     So,  again,  the 
relative  ages  of  strata  cannot  be  deduced  solely  from 
the   similarity   or    dissimilarity  of  their   fossils.      It 
is  essential  that  the  conditions  connected  with  each  be 
taken  into  account,  in  order  to  determine  this  point. 
If  all    the   species   now    living   were    regarded    as 
fossils,  and  if  local  lists  were  made  of  them  with  a 
view  to    comparing  them  with  older  faunas,  some 
would  have  a  more  ancient  facies  than  others  ;  and  a 
geologist  would,  we  suspect,  assign  them  to  different 
periods.      Facts  indicate  that   geological    provinces 
existed  in  past  periods    analogous  to  those  of  the 


98 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE -GOSSIP. 


present ;  but  the  knowledge  we  have  of  the  old  sea 
bottoms  is  partial,  so  that  it  sometimes  happens  that 
while  the  known  strata  representing  one  great  period 
indicate  the  prevalence  of  one  set  of  conditions,  those 
representing  the  succeeding  one  indicate  the  preva- 
lence of  a  widely  different  set.     The  difference  in 
these  faunas  is  frequently  considered  to  be  that  of  the 
entire  fauna  of  the  two  periods,  whereas  it  may  really 
be  that  of  the  faunas  belonging  to  different  conditions 
of  the  ocean  of  different    periods,   not    the  faunas 
belonging  to  the  similar  conditions  of  those  seas. 
For  instance,  we  know  that  the  fauna  of  the  deepest 
parts  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  of  the  present  period  is 
markedly  different  from  that  of  its  shores ;  but  pro- 
bably if  those  species  had  represented  a  past  period 
in  geology  they  would  have  been  assigned  to  different 
ages,    if  there  were  no   stratigraphical   evidence  to 
prove  their  contemporaneity.     The  distribution  of  a 
species  in  time  is  also  assumed  to  be  continuous,  so 
that  when  it  dies  out  it  never  recurs  again,  but  its 
place    is  often    taken    by  a    representative   species. 
Those  species  which  can  endure  under  many  condi- 
tions generally  have  an  extensive  range  both  in  space 
and  in  time,  and  are  by  themselves  of  comparatively 
little  use  in  synchronizing  marine  strata.     Zones  and 
horizons  are  best  marked  by  the  maximum  develop- 
ment of  one  or  a  few  species  in  association  with  the 
same  fauna.        Such    zones    are  generally   of  local 
importance,  and  do  not  apply  to  the  whole  ocean  of 
the    period ;    and   the    synchronizing    the    fauna    of 
different  areas  is  the  most  important  work  which  the 
student  of  the  ocean  has. yet  to  perform.     The  sea  is 
a  barrier  to  the  dispersion  of  many  land  animals  and 
plants ;    and   hence  facts    as    to    the  distribution  of 
these  afford  a  clue  as  to  the  position  and  persistence 
of  oceanic  basins.     The  geological  provinces  of  the 
land  are  usually  separated  by  wide  and  deep  oceans. 
Marine    and    non-marine    forms    are    sometimes 
mingled  in  the  same  stratum.      This  may  be  naturally 
effected  in  many  ways.      In  deep  inlets  of  the  sea, 
into  which  rivers  discharge  themselves,   it  frequently 
happens  that  the  surface  water  is  fresh  enough  for 
the  existence  of  fresh- water  species,  while  the  deeper 
water  is  tenanted   solely  by  marine  forms.     When 
the  individuals  die,  the  fresh-water  and  marine  forms 
are  mingled  in  the  same  deposit,  and  marine  fishes 
may  have  the  remains  of  fresh-water  species  in  their 
stomachs.     Land  shells  are  sometimes  blown  on  to 
the  shore  between  tide-marks,  and  may  thus  be  asso- 
ciated as  fossils  with  the  littoral  marine  fauna.     The 
sea-water  flows   up  estuaries    below  the   river  water 
for  long  distances  ;  and   in   many  cases  the  alluvial 
deposits  about  the  mouths  of  large  rivers  are  largely 
composed  of  marine  microscopical  organic  remains. 
On   the   other   hand,    similar    remains   of    terrestrial 
forms  of  life  are  deposited  on  the  sea  bottom  as  a 
consequence  of  dust-storms  and  dust-deposit   gene- 
rally on   the   surface   of  the   sea.       In  many  places 
springs  of  fresh  water  well  up  on  the  sea  bottom  both 


near  to  and  far  from  the  shores  ;  and  as  these  persist 
for  lengthened  periods,  it  is  not  impossible  that  they 
may  be  the  means  of  distributing  fresh-water  remains 
over  a  marine  area.  However,  there  appears  to  be 
no  case  on  record  of  any  species  of  organisms  having 
been  found  having  such  areas  for  their  special 
habitat ;  but  this  may  arise  from  no  one  having 
undertaken  any  search  for  the  express  purpose  of 
obtaining  such  forms,  should  they  exist.  As  occur- 
rences of  this  kind  (excluding  the  surmise  relative  to 
submarine  springs)  are  known  to  happen  now,  we 
should  not  overlook  the  possibility  of  their  having 
occurred  in  past  periods. 

The  contour  and  age  of  old  seas  may  then  be  in- 
ferred from  three  kinds  of  evidence:  (i)  Lithological, 
or  the  superposition,  nature  and  origin  of  sediments  ; 

(2)  Physico-geographical,  or  phenomena  relating  to 
elevation  and  subsidence  of  the  earth's  surface,  vol- 
canic eruptions,  position  of  land,  denudation,  and 
others  which  need  not  be  specially  mentioned  ;  and 

(3)  Biological.  The  inferred  age  of  any  particular 
sea-bed  ought  to  be  based  on  facts  belonging  to  all 
three  kinds  of  evidence,  and  an  adequate  knowledge 
of  old  sea-beds  is  not  attained  until  we  have  ac- 
quired evidence  as  to  the  fauna  of  the  various  zones 
and  provinces  of  each  period.  Our  knowledge  of 
the  seas  of  past  periods  is  but  fragmentary  ;  but  by 
attending  to  the  considerations  suggested,  we  shall  be 
enabled  to  see  more  clearly  where  the  deficiencies  are. 
Facts  as  to  deficiencies  or  breaks,  whether  strati- 
graphical  or  biological,  are  of  great  importance  ; 
such  breaks  are  generally  associated  with  lapse  of 
time,  because  changes  require  time  for  their  develop- 
ment ;  and  generally  the  greater  the  change  the 
longer  is  the  time  necessary  to  develop  it.  But  such 
changes  are  primarily  associated  with  change  of  con- 
ditions, and  different  conditions  may  abruptly  suc- 
ceed each  other  ;  while  similar  conditions  may  recur 
on  the  same  area  after  a  long  interval  of  time  without 
any  intervening  strata.  Hence  stratigraphical  breaks 
do  not  always  coincide  with  nor  are  proportional  to 
biological  breaks.  The  cause  of  such  breaks  is  a 
matter  for  inquiry  in  each  particular  case,  and  it  is 
only  from  data  thus  acquired  that  one  can  judge  of 
the  probable  lapse  of  time  indicated. 

PRIMITIVE  MAN  : 
HIS  TIMES  AND  HIS  COMPANIONS. 

By  the  Rev.  J.  Magens  Mello,  M.A.,  F.G.S. 
No.  II. 

AS  man  advanced  in  civilization,  or,  as  amongst 
ruder  tribes  more  cultivated  ones  made  their 
appearance,  the  forms  of  his  implements  became 
more  and  more  perfect,  and  better  adapted  to  their 
purposes.  Bone  would  be  at  the  same  time  more  fre- 
quently used  ;  and  we  have  proofs  that  this  was  the 
case  in  the  fact  that  in  the  floors  of  some  of  our 
caves,  notably  in  those  of  Creswell  and  in  the  French 


HARD  WICKE 'S     S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


99 


caves  of  St.  Martin  d'Excideuil,  whilst  in  the 
lower  beds  we  get  the  rudest  tools  made  of  pebbles  or 
flints  fashioned  in  the  roughest  way,  overlying  these 
in  the  higher  deposits  are  found  more  elaborate  ones, 
accompanied  by  bone  needles,  harpoons,  arrow- 
heads, and  other  implements.  Another  point  worthy 
of  notice  in  connection  with  these  primitive  men  is 
that  they  were  not  all  of  them  such  utter  savages  as 
we  might  have  supposed.  Evidence  has  been 
gathered,  showing  that  even  the  higher  forms  of  art 
had  followers  in  those  early  ages  of  the  world's 
history ;  bones  skilfully  engraved  have  been  found  in 
some  caverns,  especially  in  those  of  the  Dordogne  in 
France,  and  in  this  country  the  Robin  Hood  Cave  at 
.Creswell  has  yielded  one  solitary  British  example. 
On  these  bones,  fragments  of  rein-deer  antlers,  or 
ribs,  are  seen  roughly,  yet  very  beautifully,  drawn  ; 
figures  of  rein-deer,  Arctic  foxes,  horses,  and  even  of 
the  great  woolly  mammoth,  all  perfectly  recognizable, 
and  showing  beyond  all  doubt  that  the  engravers 
must  have  been  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  forms  of 
the  animals  they  drew  so  well,  and  that  therefore 
man  and  these  animals  must  have  lived  side  by  side 
in  these  countries.  These  men  were  essentially 
hunters  and  fishermen,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that 
they  lived  very  similarly,  in  most  respects,  to  the 
Esquimaux  of  to-day ;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  it 
has  even  been  suggested  that  these  latter  may  be 
their  remote  descendants.  These  men,  then,  who 
chased  the  rein-deer  and  the  horse,  the  bison, 
and  the  urus  in  the  forests  and  plains  of  Northern 
Europe,  and  harpooned  the  fish  in  its  rivers,  were 
the  first  men  of  whom  we  have  any  positive  traces ; 
and  because  they  used  as  their  chief  implements  those 
made  of  stone,  they  are  called  the  Palaeolithic  or 
Old  Stone  Men,  and  the  age  in  which  they  lived  is 
known  to  geologists  as  the  Palaeolithic  age.  After 
their  age,  and  when  they  lived  it  appears  impossible 
to  guess  at,  great  changes,  involving  a  long  lapse  of 
time,  must  have  taken  place.  The  climate  became 
milder,  England  sank  lower,  and  the  sea  again  made 
ts  way  between  us  and  the  Continent,  and  these 
islands  became,  in  some  respects,  what  they  are  now. 
The  animals  of  the  Pleistocene  age  gradually 
disappeared  ;  some  died  out  altogether,  others,  such 
as  the  lions  and  the  hyaenas,  retreated  to  more 
southern  climes,  and  some  others  lingered  on  for 
awhile  to  be  extinguished  in  time  by  the  repeated 
attacks  of  man. 

A  new  race  of  men  have  now  made  their  appear- 
ance ;  different  in  their  physical  conformation,  as 
shown  by  the  shape  of  their  skulls,  &c.  ;  different  also 
in  their  degree  of  civilization  and  in  their  companion- 
ships. These  were  the  men  of  the  Neolithic  or  New 
Stone  age.  Stone  was  still  used  for  tools  and  for 
weapons ;  but  the  flint  or  other  material  was  far  more 
skilfully  wrought,  and  it  was  not  only  chipped  into 
shape  with  the  utmost  perfection,  but  was  also 
frequently  ground  to  an  edge  more  or  less  polished.    ' 


These  Neolithic  men  introduced  into  Europe  many 
of  (he  animals  which  are  now  familiar  to  us  ;  the 
domestic  hog,  the  small  ox,  called  the  Celtic  short- 
horn ;  the  sheep,  goat,  and  others.  They  also  brought 
with  them  the  cereals,  wheat,  &c. ;  and  so  man,  from 
having  been  merely  a  hunter  and  fisherman,  at  last 
settled  down  into  a  dweller  of  more  fixed  habits,  and 
was,  in  his  way,  an  agriculturist  and  shepherd  ;  he 
was  also  a  bit  of  a  potter,  rude  fragments  of  earthen- 
ware vessels  having  been  found  not  unfrequently  with 
remains  of  this  period.  Neolithic  man,  although  not 
so  essentially  a  hunter  as  his  predecessors,  yet  neces- 
sarily depended  in  a  great  measure  on  the  chase  for 
his  sustenance.  Hares,  horses,  stags,  oxen,  goats, 
and  other  animals  would  supply  him  with  abundant 
food. 

It  has  been  thought,  with  considerable  probability, 
that  traces  of  these  Neolithic  men  still  exist  amongst 
the  populations  of  Europe  ;  the  Basques  of  Spain, 
and  an  allied  race  in  the  South  of  France,  as  well 
as  in  Brittany,  and  the  small  swarthy  Welshman  of 
Denbighshire,  and  others  of  a  similar  type  in  Ireland, 
are  possibly  the  remote  descendants  of  these  primitive 
men. 

When  the  next  tide  of  human  immigration  swept 
over  Europe,  it  brought  with  it  an  art  destined  ere 
long  to  sweep  the  old  stone  implements  away.  The 
incoming  men  were  those  of  what  has  been  termed 
the  Bronze  age.  Their  tools,  and  weapons,  and 
ornaments  were  largely  made  of  that  alloy  of  copper 
and  tin  we  call  bronze.  Poorer  people  would  doubt- 
less continue  for  awhile  to  make  use  of  stone  imple- 
ments ;  but  the  metal  was  the  characteristic  feature 
of  the  period.  A  small  race  of  men  were  these  users 
of  bronze,  as  is  witnessed  to  by  the  smallness  of  the 
sword-handles,  bracelets,  and  other  objects ;  and 
judging  by  this  and  by  symbolical  ornamentations 
sometimes  seen  in  their  works,  they  would  seem  to 
have  entered  Europe  from  the  East,  and  to  have  been 
either  an  Asiatic  or  Egyptian  race.  It  may  be  ob- 
served that  the  Bronze  men  were  in  the  regular  habit 
of  either  burning  or  burying  their  dead,  whose  remains 
are  frequently  met  with  in  tumuli. 

Magnificent  weapons  were  many  of  these  bronze 
ones.  Finely-shaped  axes,  called  celts,  swords  and 
daggers  of  very  peculiar  and  perfect  forms,  spear- 
heads, and  knives,  bracelets,  pins,  and  other  orna- 
ments have  been  found  in  large  numbers  in  Denmark, 
in  Germany,  Switzerland,  and  Ireland,  and  in  a 
somewhat  lesser  quantity  in  this  country.  Man  by 
this  time  had,  at  any  rate,  for  the  most  part,  forsaken 
the  cave-dwelling  for  the  hut  ;  he  had  even  learnt  to 
build  himself  villages ;  these  were  often,  for  pro- 
tection, skilfully  constructed  on  piles,  in  lakes,  or 
were  walled  round  ;  the  remains  of  lake  dwellings, 
some  of  them  even  belonging  to  the  earlier  Stone 
■  age,  have  been  found  in  considerable  numbers  in  the 
Swiss  lakes,   and  also  in  Ireland.     The  man  of  the 

Bronze  age  had  become  a  weaver  as  well  as  a  potter ; 

F   2 


IOO 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


rude  fabrics  of  flax  or  even  of  straw  have  been  dis- 
covered amongst  the  relics  of  his  times  ;  and  his 
pottery  shows  a  considerable  advance  upon  that  of 
Neolithic  man. 


m 


Fig.  67.  Hafted  Implement 
(Neolithic),  Schaffes,  Switzer- 
land, \  size. 


Fig.  66.   Flint   Dagger  (Neo- 
lithic), Denmark,  J-  size. 


T  A  / 

Fig.  68.    Flint  Axe  (Neo-      Fig.  69.   Bronze  Celt  (Bronze  age) 
lithic),  Denmark,  \  size.  Chesterfield,  \  size. 

When  the  Bronze  age  passed  away,  which  it 
gradually  did,  a  new  metal  gave  its  name  to  the 
succeeding  period  ;  that  metal  was  iron,  known  in 
Europe,  and  used  before  the  Roman  invasions  outside 
Italy,  yet  doubtless  the  Roman  armies  helped  to  make 
its  use  more  common,  even  if  they  did  not  actually 


introduce  it  into  some  countries.  The  men  of  the 
Iron  age  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  immediate  fore- 
runners of  the  men  of  to-day,  who  are  most  un- 
doubtedly users  of  iron,  the  metal  of  our  modern 
civilization. 

Thus,  then,  age  after  age  of  man  has  passed  away  ; 
who  shall  say  how  many  generations  have  lived  and 
died  since  the  days  when  men,  clothed  in  skins, 
roamed  from  cave  to  cave,  as  they  followed  the  chase, 
and  contended  with  the  mammoth  and  the  hysena,  and 
the  cave  bear,  and  their  congeners  ? 

What  a  tale  of  progress  has  to  be  recorded  since 
then,  what  a  wondrous  history  of  change !     Where 
the  forest  and    the   morass  once    stretched,    waving 
cornfields  now  meet  our  eye  ;  where  the  savage  beasts 
of  prey  fought  over  their  victims,   the  flocks  and  the 
herds  of  our  domestic  animals  peaceably  feed ;   and 
man  has  ever  advanced,    step  by  step    fighting  his 
arduous  battle,  and  he  has  won  victory  after  victory, 
over  nature,    over   circumstances,   over  himself,  ful- 
filling his  lofty  mission  of  Lord  of  Creation.     And 
as  man  has  advanced  in  civilization,    ever-increasing 
powers  seem  to  have  been  made  his  own,  as  it  has 
been   well   shown,    new   sources   of  strength,    new 
means  of  overcoming  the  difficulties  of  his  position  ; 
nay,  even  new  senses  may  be  said  to  have  been  put 
within   his   reach.     The   telescope    and    the  micro- 
scope have  given  him  new  eyes  ;  the  printing-press 
has  given  him  new  ears  with  which  to  hear  the  voices 
of  all  ages ;  machinery  has  given  him  new  hands. 
Thus  shall  man  press  forward,   we  may  surely  hope, 
out  of  all  the  darkness  of  the  past  ;  and  at  length 
emerge  through    the  struggles  and   imperfections  of 
time  into  the  perfection  of  eternity. 


ORNITHOLOGICAL  ESSAYS. 

No.  1. — The  Kestrel. 

( Falco    Tin  n  unculus. ) 

By  T.  W.  Dealy. 

GENERAL   INTRODUCTION,    HABITS,    ETC. 

THIS  well-known  and  widely-distributed  little 
falcon  is  often  confounded  with  the  Sparrow- 
hawk  {Accipiter  nisits),  and  has  often  to  pay  the 
penalty  of  death  for  the  pillaging  attacks  of  that 
noted  farm-yard  devastator.  It  is  counted  by  the 
gamekeeper  and  agriculturist  as  "vermin,"  and  a  great 
destroyer  of  game  and  bird  life  generally,  while,  in 
reality,  it  is  one  of  their  stanchest  friends,  as  it  rids 
them  of  the  numerous  mice,  beetles,  reptiles,  &c, 
which  otherwise  would  injure  the  crops.  Although 
the  Kestrel  is  such  a  great  destroyer  of  mice  (thus 
benefiting  the  farmer),  it  is  a  hawk,  and  for  this 
reason  the  land  must  be  rid  of  it.  We  have  often 
heard    of  the  land    being   overrun  by  multitudes   of 


HAR  D  WI CKES    S  CIENCE  •  G  O  SSIP. 


101 


mice,  beetles,  and  such  like,  when  this  or  other 
equally  useful  birds  have  been  so  ruthlessly  exter- 
minated ;  but  I  have  just  read  of  a  recent  instance 
which  ought  to  act  as  a  warning  to  all  farmers.  It 
has  been  stated  that  the  borderlands  of  Scotland  are 
being  overrun  by  immense  numbers  of  mice,  the 
smaller  mammalia,  beetles,  and  such  like  destructive 
creatures,  and  that  the  farmers  there  are  encouraging 
these  hawks  to  stay,  being  now  fully  convinced  of  the 
folly  of  destroying  them. 

The  Kestrel  has  a  great  number  of  provincial 
names,  but  the  one  by  which  it  is  commonly  known 
is  that  of  "Windhover."  It  acquires  this  suitable 
appellation  on  account  of  its  hovering  or  poising 
itself  on  outstretched  wings  in  mid-air.  In  Sweden, 
"  Old  Bushman  "  says  it  is  named  the  "  Torn  falk." 

It  may  easily  be  seen  that  the  Kestrel  is  not  the 
bird's  enemy  whenever  one  appears  in  the  vicinity  of 
a  flock  of  birds,  for,  instead  of  the  hurry  and  pre- 
cipitation so  apparent  on  the  approach  of  that  dreaded 
little  tyrant,  the  Sparrowhawk,  the  birds  quietly 
pursue  their  peaceful  duties,  as  if  there  were  nothing 
extraordinary  or  to  be  feared  in  the  Kestrel's  presence. 
At  times,  Swallows  {Hirundidce),  actuated  by  play- 
fulness or  a  desire  to  tease  and  torment  the  "Wind- 
hover," will  mob  it  in  the  same  manner  that  they 
do  the  Sparrowhawk,  and,  like  the  latter,  it  will 
sometimes  retaliate,  and,  from  being  pursued,  will 
itself  become  the  pursuer. 

Keepers  place  traps  in  likely  situations,  near  the 
nest  and  elsewhere,  in  which  to  entrap  this  bird.  A 
keeper  in  the  habit  of  doing  this,  on  going  his 
daily  rounds  to  visit  his  traps,  perceived  a  Kestrel  in 
one  of  them,  which,  on  seeing  him  (not  liking  the 
prospect  of  having  its  neck  twisted),  made  strenuous 
exertions  to  retrain  its  former  freedom,  and  was  so 
far  successful  that  it  escaped,  leaving,  however,  about 
half  of  one  of  its  legs  attached  to  the  trap. 

The  "Windhover"  may  easily  be  distinguished 
from  the  Sparrowhawk  :  (a)  by  its  hovering  in  the 
air,  which  the  latter  does  not  practise  to  such 
perfection  as  the  former;  (/>)  in  straightforward 
flight  it  has  neither  the  dash  nor  the  rapidity  so  no- 
ticeable in  the  Sparrowhawk.  It  flies  along  gently, 
while  the  Sparrowhawk  sweeps  rapidly  on,  now 
swooping  at  this,  then  at  that,  {c)  When  seen  off 
the  wing,  the  "  Windhover"  is  also  easily  known  by 
its  inclined  and  rather  stooping  posture,  while  the 
Sparrowhawk  stands  "as  straight  as  an  arrow,"  bid- 
ding defiance  to  everything  by  all  its  movements  and 
actions.  Even  the  uncouth  country-lad  can  perceive 
the  difference  between  these  two,  for,  on  asking  a 
little  rough-headed  boy  on  the  outskirts  of  Sheffield 
if  there  were  "  any  hawks  about  there,"  he  replied, 
"  Which  hawk  do  you  mean  ;  the  one  which  catches 
pigeons,  or  the  one  which  stands  still  in  the  air?" 
— by  the  former,  meaning  the  Sparrowhawk,  and  the 
latter,  the  Kestrel.  The  Kestrel  takes  great  delight 
in    tormenting    other    birds, — above    all,    the    Owl 


(Strigid(c),  which  appears  to  be  the  "laughing- 
stock "  (if  I  may  so  use  the  expression)  for  all  birds. 
The  cry  of  the  Kestrel  is  a  strong,  wild,  ringing  note, 
which  becomes  harsh  and  loud  on  the  threatened 
approach  of  any  danger  to  either  its  young  or  its 
eggs. 

Flight. — The  flight  of  this  bird  is  very  light  and 
airy.  Generally,  it  flies  at  a  moderate  distance  from 
the  earth,  but  during,  or  rather  on,  the  choice  of  a 
building  site  it  soars  high  up  in  the  air,  when  its 
actions  are  most  elegant.  The  question  then  arises, 
"  What  is  the  Kestrel's  object  in  soaring  so  high?5' 


Fig.  70.  The  Kestrel  {Falco  tinnuncuhis). 

"Is  it  seeking  to  discover  food  from  so  great  an  alti- 
tude?" No.  It  is  the  joyousness  of  the  bird  which 
prompts  its  lofty  flight  and  graceful  evolutions  so 
high  up  in  the  heavens.  When  on  the  ' '  look-out ' '  for 
sustenance  it  flies  at  a  moderate  elevation,  that  it 
may  drop  down  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  on  its 
prey  and  secure  it  before  it  has  sufficient  time 
to  escape.  If  the  "Windhover"  attempted  to 
descend  (even  were  it  possible  for  it  to  discern  ils 
prey  from  the  great  height  to  which  the  Kestrel  often 
ascends)  its  intended  victim,  startled  by  the  rushing 
noise  which  the  bird's  velocity  causes  in  descending, 
would  have  time  to  escape  the  talons  of  its  would- 


102 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


be  captor.  .Kestrels  are  very  early  risers,  and  are 
busily  employed  procuring  food  almost  as  soon  as 
night  rolls  back  her  gloomy  mantle  and  the  wide 
east  is  tinged  with  the  rosy  hues  of  the  rising  sun, 
and  pursue  their  vocations  until  it  becomes  dusk  ; 
and  even  then,  long  after  the  brilliant  orb  of 
daylight  has  disappeai-ed  in  the  far-away  ruddy 
west,  and  the  soft  twilight  of  a  summer's  even- 
ing has  overspread  the  country,  they  may  be  seen 
lightly  skimming  over  the  surface  of  the  earth  in 
search  of  food.  As  the  compact  body,  great  extent 
of  wing,  and  fan-like  tail  of  the  Kestrel  indicate,  it 
has  great  command  of  itself  in  the  air,  making  long 
sweeps  and  elegant  curves  in  the  ethereal  regions. 
It  is,  indeed,  a  beautiful  performance,  and  one  we 
all  delight  in  witnessing  on  a  fine,  clear  summer's 
day,  the  Kestrel,  quite  at  its  ease,  with  nothing  in 
the  blue  sky  above  but  itself;  its  movements  so 
unconstrained,  and  withal  so  replete  with  joyous- 
ness,  as  it  revels  in  the  celestial  atmosphere  in  perfect 
harmony  with  the  surrounding  landscape.  The 
wings  and  tail  are  expanded,  and  seem  scarcely  to 
move  as  their  owner  ascends  and  descends  in  grace- 
ful curvets.  Now  it  takes  a  longer  and  a  higher 
sweep  than  usual,  and  then,  coming  low,  keeps  on 
circling,  now  here,  now  there.  Suddenly  it  stops  ! 
Probably  it  caught  a  momentary  glance  of  some 
small  animal  !  No  !  It  again  resumes  its  flight, 
again  it  is  wheeling  majestically  aloft  !  It  hovers 
again  !  What  a  beautiful  object !  How  pleasing  are 
its  actions,  as  it  "stands  anchored,"  as  if  sus- 
pended by  some  invisible  cord  from  on  high  !  Its 
head  is  turned  a  little  on  one  side,  its  tail  spread 
out  like  a  lady's  fan  ;  it  is  watching  with  its  keen 
eye  some  small  animal  it  intends  to  catch,  probably 
a  field-mouse  little  aware  of  the  fatal  danger  which 
menaces  it.  In  what  fine  style  it  comes  down  on 
that  unfortunate  mouse,  which  it  soon  bears  away  in 
its  talons,  to  its  craggy  fastness  in  yon  distant  wood, 
there  to  be  torn  to  shreds  by  four  or  five  hungry 
young  "  Standgales."  When  the  Kestrel  is  hovering, 
its  wings,  although  to  the  naked  eye  they  do  not 
appear  to  move,  are  in  a  perpetual  quiver.  Suppose 
the  Kestrel  be  unsuccessful  in  one  attempt,  it  repeats 
its  efforts,  and  so  on,  until  it  reaches  "home." 
But  there  is  not  a  field,  valley,  pasture,  or  any  place 
at  all  likely  to  furnish  it  with  food,  which  it  passes 
without  a  strict  search.  The  beauty,  smoothness, 
and  facility  with  which  all  these  evolutions  are 
executed  are  beyond  the  power  of  the  pen  to 
adequately  describe.  No  !  You  must  go  and  search 
for  it  amidst  its  haunts,  and  watch  it  in  its  re- 
treats, before  you  can  fully  appreciate  the  character 
of  this  bird.  Sometimes  we  can  just  discern  it  like 
a  mere  speck  on  the  horizon  winging  his  way  slowly 
under  the  clear,  blue  canopy  of  heaven.  At  other 
times  it  moves  along  at  an  immense  height  until  it 
disappears  beyond  the  verge  of  the  distant  horizon. 
In  fact,  on  the  wing,  this  bird  appears  indefatigable. 


What  would  be  the  value  of  scenery  were  it  not 
enhanced  by  the  presence  of  birds  ?  How  dreary  and 
desolate,  how  desert-like  would  be  the  vast  expanse 
of  heather-covered  moors  without  the  hoarse  cackle 
of  the  Red  Grouse  (Tetrao  Scotictis  vel  Britannicus) 
or  the  Curlew's  {Numenius  arquata)  solitary  cry  ! 
What  would  be  the  aspect  of  our  woods  were  we  not 
in  Spring-time,  and,  indeed,  throughout  the  Summer 
months,  to  see  the  Kestrel  hovering  over  its  leafy 
bowers  ;  or  what  of  such  diversified  scenery  as  is  to  be 

J  met  with  in  and  about  the  "  Peak  district,"  were 
we  not  to  meet  with  the  "Standgale"  amidst  its 
fastnesses ;  or  of  the  lakes,  were  not  the  still  solitudes 
to  be  awakened  by  the  plash  of  the  water  as  the  Coot 
{Fulica  atra)  or  Moorhen,  startled  by  the  intruder's 
presence,  dashes   away  to   gain   shelter   among   the 

j   many  islets  which  dot  its  surface  ;  or  the  shrill  piping 

1    whistle  of  the  Sandpiper  (Totaiius  hypoleiichos)  as  it 

■   hastily  wings  its  way  across  the  watery  expanse,  to 

some  other  part  ?     Were  the  world  to  be  deprived  of 

birds,  it  would  lose  one  of  its  most  powerful  charms. 

Migration. — We  have  now  arrived  at  the  most 

interesting,  but,  at  the  same  time,  vexing  portion  of 

'■   the  history  of  this  bird,   viz.,    its  migration.     Does 

•  the  Kestrel  migrate  wholly  or  partially  from  Britain  ? 
or  does   it   merely  move  to   other  localities  in  our 

j  island  more  congenial  to  its  habits?  I  have  been 
much  interested  in  this  question,  and  have  studied  it 

I  deeply, — at  least,  as  regards  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  Sheffield.  It  has  proved  a  most  interesting  study. 
We  all  know  what  a  distinctive  feature  are  the  elegant 
aerial  evolutions  of  this  bird  in  our  summer  scenery, 
and  how  blank  seems  the  wood  which  is  not  in- 
habited, or,  at  the  least,  its  neighbourhood  frequented, 
by  a  pair,  or  more,  of  these  beautiful  little  falcons. 

i  After  the  breeding  season,  when  the  young  have  been 
reared  and  are  able  to  fly,  we  see  them  very  often 
hovering  over  the  waving  golden  corn-fields,  or  other- 
wise engaged  in  search  for  food.  Then,  after  a  brief 
interval,  they  suddenly  disappear  without  any  warn- 

\  ing,  and  we  do  not  again  see  them  until  their  appear- 
ance in  early  spring.  The  period  of  departure,  of 
migration,  varies,  according  as  the  weather  regulates. 
If  winter  sets  in  early,  they  "go  away"  about  the 
latter  end  of  September,  but  if  the  season  be  fine  and 
open,  they  may  prolong  their  stay  until  the  earlier 
portion  of  October,  and  by  the  end  of  that  month  not 
one  is  to  be  seen.  Whither  are  they  gone  ?  Happily 
the  days  have  gone  by  when  people  were  deluded  by 
the  supposed  fact  of  birds  hiding  in  holes,  and  there 
remaining  in  a  dormant  condition  until  spring's 
verdant  call  awoke  them.  There  is  but  one  con- 
clusion. It  was  Charles  Waterton's  opinion  that  the 
majority  of  these  birds  migrate  to  other  more 
southern  countries,  leaving  here,  according  to  his 
observations,  about  October.  He  had  excellent 
opportunities  for  the  observance  of  their  habits,  and 
yet  lie  never  saw  them  in  winter  after  their  final 
departure.     Certain  it  is  that  we  see  but  very,  very 


HARD  WICKE'S    S CIENCE -  G O SSIP. 


103 


few  of  these  birds  from  October  to  the  middle 
of  February.  In  my  opinion,  they  do  migrate 
wholly  to  other  countries.  Coming  from  the  North 
and  joining  those  in  the  south  of  Britain,  they 
assemble,  cross  the  Dover  Straits,  and,  although 
numbers  may  stay  in  the  provinces  of  central  France 
and  northern  Spain,  I  have  reason  to  believe  that 
the  immense  majority  cross  the  Mediterranean  along 
with  the  numberless  birds  that  periodically  do 
so,  to  the  northern  shores  of  Africa,  whence  they 
commence  their  return  during  the  month  of  January, 
arriving  in  Britain  in  the  course  of  the  succeeding 
month.  The  few  (and  they  are  but  few)  exceptions 
met  with  during  the  winter  months  only  tend  to  prove 
this,  and  we  must  treat  their  appearances  as  those  of 
the  casual  swallows  which  often  appear  at  unseasonable 
periods. 

Food. — As  I  have  before  said,  this  bird  is  not  so 
destructive  to  poultry  or  game  as  is  the  sparrow- 
hawk.  It  is  also  a  much  more  sociable  bird,  and  is 
more  frequently  seen  near  the  habitations  of  man  than 
the  former.  Its  food  consists  of  the  smaller  mam- 
malia, such  as  rats  and  mice,  also  beetles  and  other 
destructive  insects.  Charles  Waterton  says  that  it 
consists  "almost  entirely  of  mice."  For  the  vermin 
this  bird  destroys,  its  life  should  not  be  sacrificed  as 
it  is  by  gamekeepers,  who,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, seem  to  have  the  most  ungovernable  aversion 
to  all  kinds  of  hawks.  A  great  observer  of  the 
economy  of  birds,  Mr.  Booth,  says,  "The  rats 
alone  which  these  birds  destroy  while  procuring  food 
for  their  young  would  commit  more,  ten  times  more, 
damage  in  one  year  than  a  pair  of  Kestrels  could  in 
their  joint  lives."  The  Windhover  does,  indeed, 
occasionally  have  a  change  in  its  diet  in  the  shape  of 
a  small  or  unfledged  bird,  and,  as  sure  as  it  does  so, 
it  is  either  caught  or  seen  "red-handed"  by  the 
keeper,  who,  having  seen  its  partiality  to  birds, 
firmly  believes  that  all  its  food  consists  of  such,  and, 
acting  on  this  illusory  belief,  he  exterminates  this 
really  useful  little  hawk  and  points  out  with  evident 
satisfaction  the  ominous  row  of  Kestrels  suspended  in 
a  conspicuous  position  in  his  "museum."  * 

Mice  are  swallowed  whole,  the  indigestible  parts 
being  afterwards  cast  up  in  the  form  of  pellets. 
Insects  are  dexterously  caught  while  on  the  wing, 
being  clutched  with  either  foot  and  adroitly  conveyed 
to  the  mouth  without  at  all  impeding  the  flight. 

Representation  in  other  Countries. — 
Though  not  found  in  Australia,  the  Kestrel's  place 
is  well  supplied  by  the  Nankeen  Kestrel  ( Tinnwicu- 
lits  ccnchroides,  Gould).  As  before  mentioned,  the 
Kestrel's  flight  is  very  buoyant,  but  what  must  that  of 


*  I  notice  in  the  Zoologist  for  April  a  remarkable  instance 
of  this.  On  p.  120  of  that  periodical  Mr.  W.  A.  Durnford, 
writing  from  the  Lake  district,  says  :  "  A  kestrel  rose  from 
the  embankment  within  a  few  yards  of  me,  with  a  large  object 
in  its  claws.  ...  It  dropped  its  prey,  which  on  examination 
proved  to  be  a  full-fledged  young  cuckoo,  dead,  though  still 
warm." 


its  Antipodean  representative  be,  of  which  Gould  says, 
"The  flight  of  the  Nankeen  Kestrel  differs  from  that  of 
its  European  ally  in  being  more  buoyant  and  easy  "  ? 
In  North  America  this  bird  is  partially  represented 
by  the  American  Sparrowhawk,  which  partakes  of  the 
character  of  both  the  Kestrel  and  the  Sparrowhawk. 

Distribution. — It  is  the  commonest  of  the 
Falconida?  which  frequent  our  isles.  Charles  Water- 
ton  had  numerous  Kestrels  in  his  park ;  he,  himself, 
visited  in  1835  no  less  than  twenty-four  nests,  all 
having  Kestrels'  eggs  in  them.  I  have  never  since 
heard  or  read  of  so  many  being  found  in  so  small  a 
space,  but,  of  course,  he  had  them  strictly  preserved. 
Around  Sheffield  its  nest  is  not  found  as  frequently  as 
that  of  the  Sparrowhawk,  although  I  have  seen  the 
bird  oftener.  In  many  parts  of  Lincolnshire  it  is 
also  very  common.  It  is  very  frequent  in  Scotland, 
breeding  mostly  on  the  precipitous  and  craggy  rocks 
which  fringe  its  shores.  In  Ireland,  Mr.  Thompson 
says,  "It  is  common  and  indigenous  to  suitable 
localities  throughout  the  island."  It  is  found  in  most 
European  countries,  even  as  far  north  as  Lapland, 
where  "Old  Bushman,"  in  his  trip  up  there  in  1862, 
procured  specimens  of  both  skins  and  eggs  of  this 
bird.  Specimens  of  it  have  also  been  sent  from  all 
portions  of  Asia  and  Africa. 

Nidification.  —One  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  by 
the  facility  with  which  the  "  Standgale  "  adapts  itself 
to  places  of  nidification.  In  sylvan  localities  it 
constructs  its  nest  mostly  on  a  tree,  but  if  the  spot 
chosen  be  a  wild,  mountainous,  but  picturesque 
district,  either  on  the  coast  or  in  the  interior,  it  will 
be  placed  in  some  crevice  in  the  rock.  Sometimes 
the  nest  is  placed  in  the  interstices  of  a  dilapidated 
old  barn,  or,  perhaps,  it  is  situated  in  a  church  tower. 
The  rough  and  hastily-composed  structure  which 
serves  for  a  nest  is  quite  adapted  to  the  contiguous 
wildness.  The  "Stannelhawk  "  is  but  too  glad  to 
avail  itself  of  the  deserted  nest  of  any  of  the  Cor- 
vid<z  family  ;  that  of  the  Magpie  (C.  pica)  or  the  Car- 
rion Crow  (C.  corrone)  being  generally  chosen.  If 
the  country  be  favourable,  the  nest  is  placed  on  some 
precipitous  "scar,"  from  which  the  Kestrel  may  have 
a  view  of  both  his  enemies  (should  any  ever  assail 
him)  and  his  prey. 

Dovedale,  in  Derbyshire,  is  noted  for  the  number 
of  Kestrels  which  frequent  and  nidificate  on  the  rock 
surrounding.  The  bird  does  sometimes  build  itself  a 
nest  :  it  is  composed  of  sticks  outwardly,  the  inner 
portion  of  twigs  lined  with,  perhaps,  a  little  moss,  a 
few  dead  leaves,  or,  maybe,  a  little  wool,  often  no 
lining  at  all  beyond  the  twigs,  and  is  erected  at  the 
commencement  of  April. 

The  eggs,  which  are  laid  from  the  middle  of  April 
to  the  end  of  May,  are  four  or  five  in  number ;  very 
beautiful  in  appearance.  They  are  of  a  pale  reddish- 
brown  ground  colour,  marbled  and  mottled  all  over 
with  a  darker  red.  In  some  varieties,  the  ground- 
colour is  of  a  white,  delicately  suffused  with  a  faint 


104 


HARD  WICKE  }S    S  CIE  NCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


blush  red,  the  spots  being  distributed  so  scantily  as 
to  give  it  a  slight  resemblance  to  a  Sparrowhawk's 
egg.  Other  varieties  have  a  zone  of  a  darker  hue 
encircling  either  ends.  I  have  at  times  seen  eggs  of 
this  bird  of  a  light  yellowish-brown,  with  spots  so  few 
and  minute  as  to  resemble  a  strongly-marked  speci- 
men of  the  Red-legged  Partridge  (Perdrix  rubra). 
1 1  is  a  well-established  fact  that  there  is  generally  one 
egg  in  the  "clutch"  much  smaller  than  the  others. 
This,  however,  may  be  explained  by  its  being  the  last 
egg,  and  the  producing  organs  in  the  female  having 
been  weakened  by  previous  exertions.  In  due  time 
the  eggs  are  hatched,  and  on  the  appearance  of  the 
young,  the  energy  and  watchfulness  displayed  by  the 
parent  birds  are  extreme.  Generally  they  are  both  to 
be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  their  young,  and  are  never 
absent  together,  one  (probably  the  female)  being 
continually  with  the  young,  attending  to  their  re- 
quirements, and  rigorously  guarding  them  from  all 
intruders  ;  while  the  other  parent  is  occupied  in  pro- 
curing food,  of  which  there  is  always  an  abundant 
supply.  Their  only  real  enemy,  and  of  whom  they 
have  most  fear,  is  man.  Should  a  person  invade  the 
precincts  of  their  territory,  and  threaten  their  precious 
"citadel,"  the  vigilant  guards  always  give  the  invader 
due  warning  by  uttering  a  shrill,  piercing  cry.  Should 
the  hard-hearted  fellow  take  no  heed  of  this,  but  be 
intent  on  robbing  the  nest  of  its  young  occupants,  the 
parents,  on  the  too  near  approach  of  the  robber,  fly 
up  from  their  resting-place  and.  sail  around,  out  of 
immediate  reach  of  danger,  uttering  the  while  a 
shrill,  plaintive  note.  Sometimes  either  of  them  will 
make  a  swift  descent  at  the  intruder's  head,  it  would 
seem,  but,  checking  its  course,  will  sweep  rapidly  past 
at  a  short  distance  overhead,  making  a  loud  rushing 
noise. 

The  eggs  of  this  neat-looking  hawk  stand  at  the  head 
of  the  schoolboy's  collection.  When  he  is  in  possession 
of  one,  he  is  satisfied,  and  congratulates  himself  on  his 
"  luck,"  and  on  hearing  of  any  one  of  his  schoolmates 
having  a  rival  collection  he  immediately  sets  out  to 
view  it.  The  first  question  asked  by  him  is,  "  Have 
you  a  Kestrel's  egg?"  If  the  answer  be  in  the 
negative,  he  thinks  absolutely  nothing  of  the  col- 
lection,— in  fact,  treats  it  with  contempt,  tells  the 
owner  of  it  about  his  Kestrel,  how  and  where  the 
egg  was  procured,  and  finally  departs,  thinking  he 
has  made  an  impression  on  his  brother  collector. 

The  Kestrels,  both  male  and  female,  are  very 
assiduous  in  their  attention  towards  their  offspring, 
keeping  them  sufficiently  supplied  with  nourishment. 
Space  will  not  allow  of  me  to  describe  the  birds,  but 
they  are  so  well  known  that  it  is  almost  unnecessary. 


The  "Veteran  Eel."— Replying  to  J.  J.  New- 
ton ;  the  veteran  eel,  when  I  bought  him  in  London, 
was  not  quite  three  inches  long,  and  at  his  death  he 
was  eighteen  inches  long,  so  that  he  grew  fifteen 
inches  in  twenty-two  years. — Ben  Plant. 


WHAT   A   DIATOM   IS.* 
By  Mons.  Julien  Deby, 

Vice-Vresident  of  the  Belgian  Microscopical  Society. 

(Translated  by  F.  Kitton,  Hon.  F.R.M.S.,  Corresponding 
Member  de  la  Socie'te  Beige  de  Microscopic) 

BY  the  kind  permission  of  M.  Deby  I  am  enabled 
to  place  before  the  readers  of  SCIENCE-GOSSIP 
a  translation  of  a  very  interesting  paper  on  the  above 
subject,  read  by  M.  Deby  before  the  Microscopical 
Society  of  Belgium.  The  attention  of  foreign  dia- 
tomists  has  lately  been  directed  to  the  elucidation 
of  the  life  history  of  these  remarkable  organisms,  in 
some  instances  with  the  hope  of  constructing  a 
natural  system  of  classification.  Herr  Pfitzer,  of 
Bonn,  and  Mons.  Petit,  of  Paris,  have  both  published 
treatises  on  this  subject. f 


Fig.  71.  Ideal  section  of  a  navicula  :  A,  nucleus  and  nucleolus  ; 
B  B,  protoplasm  ;  b'  b',  primordial  utricle  ;  c  c,  endochrome  ; 
E  E,  oil  globules  ;  F  f',  valves  ;  g  G  g'  g',  connectives  ;  D  D, 
central  cavities. 


c 

Fig.  72.  Section  of  a  diatom  commencing  deduplication:  a, 
nucleus  commencing  to  divide,  with  two  distinct  nucleoli  ;  B, 
protoplasm  ;  b',  primordial  utricle  ;  c,  endochrome  ;  D,  cen- 
tral cavities  ;  F  f',  valves  ;  G  c/,  connectives. 

Mons.  Deby's  little  treatise  is  devoted  to  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  living  diatom  and  its  mode  of  growth. 
Of  all  the  forms  of  unicellular  plants,  the  diatom  is 
probably  the  most  remarkable,  not  only  on  account 
of  its  siliceous  shell,  but  also  for  its  mode  of  repro- 
duction.— F.  K. 


*  "Ceque  c'est  qu'un  Diatome'e?"  par  Julien  Deby,  Vice- 
Prc-ident  de  la  Societe  Beige  de  Microscopic  Extrait  dcs 
Bulletins  de  la  Societe  Beige  des  Microscopie  pour  1877. 

t  "  Untersuchungen  uber  Bau  und  Entwicklungen  der  Bacil- 
lariaceen,"  von  Dr.  E.  Pfitzer. 

"  Un  Essai  de  Classification  des  Diatome'es,"  par  Paul  Petit. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


!°5 


What  a  Diatom  is. 

The  little  microscopic  organism  of  which  we  here 
propose  to  say  a  few  words  is  distinguished  from 
the  unicellular  algae,  properly  so  called,  as  well  as 
from  the  animals  of  the  class  Infusoria  and  the 
Rhizopods,  by  very  distinct  characteristics.  They 
constitute  one  of  those  numerous  links  between  that 
which  one  is  apt  to  consider  (very  empirically)  as 
forming  two  distinct  series  in  nature,  known  as  the 
Animal  and  Vegetable  kingdoms;  grand  divisions  that 
are  only  separated  one  from  the  other  by  the  traditions 
of  the  first  fathers  of  biological  science.  In  their  time 
the  studies  of  anatomy,  biology,  physiology,  and 
morphology,  did  not  exist,  and  the  philosophical 
idea,  relating  to  life,  was  presented  to  us  under  a 
very  dim  veil,  of  which  the  microscope  has  only  very 
recently  succeeded  in  raising  the  corners. 

An  isolated  diatom  reduced  to  its  simplest  form  is 
composed,  according  to  our  view  : — 


Fig.  73.     Section  of  a  diatom  undergoing  deduplication  :  A  A, 
new  nucleus   and  nucleoli ;    B  B,  protoplasm  ;   b'  b',  double 
primordial  utricles ;  c  c,  divided  endochrome  ;   D  D,  central    j 
cavities  ;  f',  external  mother-valve  ;    F,  internal  ditto  ;  f  /' , 
new  young  valves  ;  G  G,  connectives. 

1st.  A  central  nodule,  or  nucleus,  more  or  less 
apparent,  colourless,  formed  of  living  matter  of  dense 
protoplasm  in  the  interior  of  which  a  nucleolus  may 
generally  be  detected  (fig.  71,  A). 

2nd .  A  mass  of  the  protoplasm  less  dense  ( fig.  7 1 ,  B  B), 
surrounding  the  nucleus,  very  finely  granulated,  which 
form  a  certain  number  of  prolongations,  which  extend 
up  to  the  limits  of  the  internal  cavity  of  the  diatom, 
sometimes  under  the  form  of  two  large  bands,  some- 
times under  that  of  radiating  filaments,  which  some- 
times anastomose  and  are  of  various  diameters. 

Under  favourable  circumstances  an  amoeboid  cir- 
culation, analogous  to  that  seen  in  the  cells  of  Spiro- 
gyra  and  in  the  hairs  of  the  Urticaceae. 

3rd.  A  closed  vesicle,  more  or  less  dense,  transpa- 
rent, and  of  the  same  composition  and  texture  as  that 
of  the  mass  surrounding  the  nucleus,  and  that  may  be 
considered  as  an  effusion  of  the  branchings  above 
mentioned.  It  is  the  primordial  utricle  (fig.  71,  B'B'). 
Its  thickness  is  considerable  at  the  two  ends  of  those 
diatoms  whose  axes  are  lengthened. 

4th.  A  material  of  a  golden-yellow  or  brown  colour, 


known  under  the  name  of  diatomine,  or  a  mixture  of 
chlorophyl  and  phycoxanthine,  and  which  constitutes 
the  endochrome  (fig.  71,  CC).  This  material  is  placed 
in  the  substance  of  the  primordial  utricle,  which 
entirely  surrounds  it.  It  often  forms  (according  to 
the  species)  one  or  more  bands,  continuous  or  inter- 
rupted, sometimes  the  granules  are  more  or  less 
rounded  and  scattered,  or  radiating. 

The  endochrome  is  subject  to  periodic  changes  of 
position,  at  certain  epochs  in  the  life  of  the  diatom, 
dragged  by  the  movements  of  the  entire  substance 
of  the  primordial  utricle.  The  diatomine  is  evidently 
analogous  to  the  chlorophyl  of  ordinary  plants,  of 
which  it  possesses  many  of  the  chemical  and  most  of 
the  spectroscopic  characteristics. 

5th.  A  central  cavity  (fig.  71,  DD),  surrounding  the 
nucleus,  and  limited  exteriorly  by  the  primordial 
utricle,  and  which  contains — 

(a)  A  limpid,  colourless  fluid. 


Fig.  75.     The  same  with  two 
valves  and  one  connective. 


Fig.    74.    Diatom   (Isthmia) 
formed  of  four  valves  and 


two  connectives. 


(b)  Drops  of  an  oily  nature,  coloured  or  colourless, 
and  highly  refractive  (fig.  71,  EE). 

(<)  Granules  of  a  nature  not  determined. 

6th.  An  external  protecting  envelope  formed  of 
cellulose  strongly  impregnated  with  silica,  secreted 
by  the  primordial  utricle  (which  it  invests)  in  a  pecu- 
liar manner  during  the  life  of  the  diatom. 

This  envelope  is  never  simple,  as  in  ordinary  cells, 
but  is  composed  of  two  distinct  opposed  valves  (fig.  71, 
FF),  representing  the  lids  of  a  little  pill-box,  and  of 
one  or  two  rims  which  adapt  themselves  to  these 
valves,  without,  however,  forming  an  intrinsic  part  of 
them,  in  a  similar  manner  to  the  sides  of  the  pill-box. 
These  rims  have  received  the  name  of  connectives'" 
(fig.  71,  GG).  The  valves  and  connectives  form  what 
is  called  the  frushde. 

The  living  diatom  must  be  considered  as  an  or- 
ganism in  which  the  interior  is  in  conformity  with 
many  other  unicellular  organisms,  but  in  which  the 
protecting  envelope  is  siliceous  and  formed  of  several 


*  This  is  the  connecting  zone,  cingulum,  or  Gurtelband  of 
various  observers  :  we  shall  here  use  M.  Deby's  term. 


io6 


HARD  I VI  C  ICE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSI  P. 


parts,  and  which  we  meet  with  nowhere  else  in  nature, 
and  which  distinctly  defines  these  forms. 

The  only  communication  between  the  surrounding 
fluid  and  the  interior  of  the  diatom  exists  at  the 
margins  of  the  connectives,  and  probably  in  certain 
cases  at  their  line  of  junction  with  the  corresponding 
valves;  and  always  in  the  form  of  linear  sutures, 
visible  only  under  the  most  powerful  of  our  modem 
microscopes.  We  shall  probably  never  be  able  to 
find  pores  or  openings,  properly  so  called,  in  the 
diatomaceous  frustule,  in  spite  of  the  assertions  of 
certain  microscopists  :  this  is  an  illusion. 

Solid  matter  never  penetrates  into  the  interior  of 
the  living  diatom  :  they  drink,  but  eat  not. 

(Since  the  above  was  printed,  M.  Deby  tells  me 
he  is  not  quite  certain  that  the  communication  be- 
tween the  external  fluid  and  the  interior  of  the  diatom 
is  at  the  margins,  it  may  possibly  exist,  particularly 
in  those  forms  possessing  a  median  line  at  the  ter- 
minal nodules :  this  will  be  referred  to  further  on. 
— F.  K.) 

The  movement,  so  curious,  active,  and  conspicuous 
in  certain  diatoms  (the  principle  upon  which  it  de- 
pends is  nevertheless  obscure),  manifests  itself  along 
the  sutures,  as  before  noticed.  It  is  also  true,  that  if 
by  some  cause  the  movement  of  a  frustule  is  arrested 
by  some  immovable  obstacle,  the  movement  is  re- 
versed. 

It  is  generally  admitted,  that  when  once  a  diatom 
becomes  free,  the  valves  increase  neither  in  length 
nor  breadth.  The  connectives,  however,  continue 
to  increase  by  means  of  fresh  accessions  of  silica 
around  their  free  margins,  secreted  by  the  primordial 
utricle  :  this  growth  is  necessary  for  deduplication 
(self-division),  as  we  shall  see  further  on. 

The  valves  of  diatoms  are  very  often  composed  of 
several  siliceous  layers,  closely  superimposed,  and 
presenting  various  forms,  according  to  the  genera  and 
species,  and  bearing  on  their  surface  the  sculpturing 
that  ornaments  them,  and  of  which  the  varieties  are 
very  numerous,  and  the  design  generally  very  elegant. 
The  connectives  are  also  often  furnished  with  similar 
designs,  but  more  simple. 

We  will  not  now  enter  into  the  question  as  to  the 
intimate  structure  of  the  markings  on  the  surface  of 
the  valves  of  the  diatoms,  some  of  which  defy  our 
most  powerful  objectives.  The  simplest  form  of 
diatom  frustule  is  composed  of — 
1st.  A  superior  valve  (fig.  71,  F'). 
2nd.  An  inferior  valve,  sometimes  differing  from 
the  superior  (fig.  71,  F). 

3rd.   A  connective  adapted    to    the  superior  valve 
(fig.  71,  G'G'). 

4th.  Generally  a  connective  adapted  to  the  inferior 
valve  (fig.  71,  GG). 

One  of  these  connectives  slides  within  the  other, 
like  the  draws  of  a  telescope,  and  can  be  separated. 

We  must  consider  all  diatoms  as  organisms,  formed 
of  two  distinct  materials,  one  of  which  is  living,  viz. 


the  protoplasm,  the  other  non-living.  The  first  alone 
is  able  to  produce  the  second  ;  that  is  to  say,  the 
endochrome  and  the  oily  corpuscles  in  the  interior ; 
and  exteriorly,  the  cellulo-siliceous  frustule,  with  the 
various  supplementary  appendages  which  we  meet 
with  under  the  form  of  stipes,  tubes,  mucous  cushions, 
gelatinous  envelopes,  &c.  The  endochrome  of 
diatoms,  like  the  pigment  found  in  animals,  or 
the  chlorophyl  in  plants,  has  not  the  power  of 
secreting  the  secondary  products ;  being  themselves 
formed  materials,  their  role  is  in  connection  with  the 
functions  of  respiration. 

Deduplication    (self-division). — If  a  diatom   is   ex- 
amined when  the  connective  is  turned  towards  the 
observer,  we  perceive  that  it  increases  longitudinally 
by  accretions  at  the  margins  of  the  connectives ;  at 
the  same  time,  at  the  extremities  of  the  frustule,  a 
fold  may  be  seen  in  the  primordial  utricle.    (This  fold 
is  not  at  the  extremity  of  the  frustule,  but  at  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  connective  of  the  inferior  valve. — F.K. ) 
This  fold  gradually  approaches  the  central  cavity,  and 
is  prolonged  by  degrees  until  it  reaches  the  nucleus, 
which  it  divides  in  two,  if  it  has  not  done  so  before. 
The  opposing  edges  of  the  fold  continue  to  approach 
each  other,    and     at    last  unite,    and  the    point    of 
contact  is  obliterated  at  the  place  where  we  originally 
saw  the  nucleus,  and  which  is  completely  separated 
(fig.  72).     At  this  time  there  exist  in  the  interior  of 
the  diatom  two  contiguous  primordial  utricles,  each 
possessing  a  nucleus,  which  quickly  becomes  central. 
In  each  nucleus  may  be  seen  a  nucleolus.     As  soon 
as  this  phenomenon  is  accomplished,  both  external 
surfaces  of  the  new  utricles  commence  secreting  a 
siliceous    covering,   which    quickly    thickens,    and  is 
covered  with  the  design  proper  to  the  species,  and 
speedily  assumes  the  form  and    aspect   of  the   old 
valves    (fig.    73).     The  new  interior  valves  occupy  a 
central    position    in   the    frustule,    and    are    face    to 
face. 

We  have  seen  a  diatom  formed  of  four  valves,  when 
the  two  old  external  valves  and  the  two  new  internal 
ones  were  close  together  ;  the  new  valves  were  sup- 
ported all  round  the  circumference  by  the  connectives 
of  the  original  valves. 

Soon  after — sometimes  even  before — the  parting  of 
the  primordial  utricle,  we  perceive  that  the  connec- 
tives are  considerably  enlarged,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  interior  slides  in  the  interior,  and  by  this  means 
separating  the  two  valves  to  a  considerable  extent  ; 
thus  augmenting  the  dimensions  of  the  internal 
cavity  of  the  frustule.  The  connectives  of  the  young 
valves  are  not  developed  until  later  on, — sometimes 
before  their  liberation,  and  sometimes  after,  according 
to  the  genera  and  species  of  the  diatom. 

Later  on,  the  sliding  of  the  connectives  in  the 
species  whose  frustules  live  isolated,  attains  its 
maximum  ;  the  narrowest  liberating  itself  entirely 
from  that  which  had  served  it  as  a  sheath. 

From   what   we  have  just  said,  we  may  meet  with 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


107 


the  same  species  of  diatom,  according  to  its  state  of 
development, — individuals  possessing 

(1)  Two  valves,  a  connective,  and  a  nucleus") 

(fig.  75).  _  t  Simple 

(2)  Two   valves,    two    connectives,    and    a  C    state. 

nucleus  (fig.  71).  ) 

(3)  Two  valves,  two  connectives,  and ") 

two  nuclei  (fig.  71).  States  of 

(4)  Four  valves,  two  connectives,  and  (deduplication 

two  nuclei  (figs.  73  and  74).       |   more  or  less 

(5)  Four  valves,  four  connectives,  and  |     advanced. 

two  nuclei.  J 

Sometimes  the  external  connective  is  fragile,  and  is 
detached  spontaneously.  This  is  a  fact  that  must  be 
taken  into  account. 

It  is  also  well  to  note  that  the  protoplasm  of  the 
primordial  utricle  generally  moves  to  the  interior  of 
the  siliceous  envelope,  first  at  the  commencement  of 
the  deduplication,  and  again  after  the  termination  of 
that  phenomenon,  dragging  with  it  the  endochrome, 
and  that  these  movements  of  the  colouring  matter 
vary  in  character  according  to  the  families  and  genera 
of  the  diatoms. 

When  a  diatom  is  divided  into  two  parts  by  dedu- 
plication, the  endochrome  is  also  separated  into  two, 
in  order  that  it  may  be  equally  divided  between  the 
two  utricles. 

Every  frustulc,  as  we  have  seen,  consists  of  an  old 
valve  (fig.  71,  F',  fig.  72,  F')  originating  from  the  primi- 
tive frustule,  and  a  new  valve  of  later  formation,  and 
whose  connective  when  developed  will  slide  in  the 
connective  of  the  old  valve.  It  follows  from  this,  that 
in  the  great  majority  of  the  genera  of  diatoms,  when 
the  connective  is  of  the  exact  breadth  of  the  valves, 
or  even  inferior  to  them  in  diameter,  all  deduplica- 
tion must  lead  to  a  diminution  of  the  dimension  of 
the  new  frustule  equivalent  to  double  the  thickness  of 
a  connective.  The  thickness  of  the  latter  being 
known,  we  are  able  d  priori  to  determine  the  size 
any  descendant  of  a  frustule  will  have  after  a  deter- 
minate number  of  deduplications.  The  act  of  dedu- 
plication, considered  only  in  connection  with  the  pri- 
mordial utricle,  is  analogous  to  that  which  takes  place 
in  the  majority  of  vegetable  cells,  and  we  may  there- 
fore consider  every  series  of  diatoms  proceeding  from 
a  primitive  mother-cell  as  forming  in  reality  only  a 
single  whole — a  single  plant,  if  you  will. 

In  those  species  which  form  permanent  series 
(filaments)  where  the  frustules  produced  by  dedupli- 
cation never  separate  one  from  another,  this  is  very 
obvious,  but  those  species  in  which  they  become  new 
frustules  become  detached,  and  live  free  or  isolated  ; 
only  the  eye  of  the  philosopher  can  recognize  the 
analogy. 

(  To  be  continued. ) 


The  Natterjack  Toad.— The  Natterjack  Toad 
may  be  found  on  the  west  coast,  near  New  Brighton, 
Cheshire,  amongst  the  sand-hills  between  Midston 
and  Liscard.  The  eggs  of  this  interesting  and  un- 
common toad  appear,  in  their  early  stage,  like  a 
string  of  beautiful  pearls. 


HOW  TO  MAKE  AND  COLOUR  CASTS  OF 

FISHES. 

By  J.  E.  Taylor,  F.L.S.,  F.G.S.,  etc. 

OF  all  the  natural  history  objects  intended  to  be 
preserved,  perhaps  none  have  been  hitherto 
more  difficult  than  fishes.  Either  they  were  pre- 
served in  spirits  in  glass  bottles,  in  which  case  they 
were  scarcely  visible  in  the  sherry-coloured  liquid, 
or  they  have  appeared  in  the  stuffed  state  as  the  most 
grotesque  of  caricatures.  Nothing  can  be  more 
strongly  contrasted  than  the  supple  and  graceful 
forms  of  fishes  in  their  native  element,  and  the  stiff 
and  angular  specimens  in  our  museums  which  have 
been  "stuffed."  Of  all  skins,  those  of  fishes  are  least 
amenable  to  the  animal  preserver.  They  stiffen  and 
set  sooner  than  any  other,  and  he  is  obliged  often 
to  turn  them  out,  not  as  he  would  like,  but  as  well 
as  he  can. 

Some  years  ago,  the  really  fine  specimens  of 
coloured  casts  of  fishes  placed  in  the  South  Ken- 
sington Museum,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  F. 
Buckland,  drew  the  attention  of  all  lovers  of  fishes  to 
the  new  method  of  preparing  specimens.  Those  ex- 
hibited by  Mr.  Buckland  are  still  so  like  life,  both  in 
colour,  marking,  and  the  graceful  supple  outlines 
characteristic  of  fishes,  that  the  observer  is  some  time 
before  he  is  assured  they  are  not  real  fishes  he  is 
looking  at.  Every  scale,  fin,  and  ray  is  in  its  place  ; 
and  a  brighter  and  more  attractive  set  of  natural 
history  objects  it  would  be  impossible  to  arrange.  It 
should  be  understood,  however,  that  these  are  merely 
casts,  for  which  the  fishes  themselves  have  supplied 
the  moulds.  We  are  not  aware  that  Mr.  Buckland, 
or  any  one  else,  has  ever  published  a  description  of 
how  these  casts  are  prepared.  Some  time  ago,  when 
desirous  of  learning  the  secret,  we  made  all  the 
search  we  could,  but  failed  to  find  anything  beyond 
an  allusion.  Since  then  we  have  experimented  and 
blundered  until  we  have  attained  some  degree  of 
success,  and  now  have  the  pleasure  of  laying  before 
our  readers  the  benefit  of  our  experience. 

Let  us  observe  that  the  student  will  find  fish- 
casting  both  a  pleasant  and  profitable  recreation 
from  sterner  studies.  It  is  artistic  enough  to  require 
the  good  taste  of  the  most  educated,  and  being  as 
cleanly  as  any  cooking  operation,  there  is  no  reason 
why  ladies  should  not  engage  in  the  work  as  well  as 
men.  Moreover,  it  is  cheap,  and  a  little  practice  and 
skill  will  soon  enable  any  one.  to  take  natural  casts  of 
fishes,  and  to  colour  them  well  enough  to  be  far 
better  natural  history  ornaments  for  halls  and  rooms 
than  the  cases  of  stuffed  birds  we  often  see  hung  in 
such  places. 

The  first  thing  is  to  get  some  well-ground  plaster- 
of- Paris.  We  have  found  that  the  second  quality  is 
better  for  fish-casting  than  the  first,  as  the  latter  sets 
too  quickly.  The  fish  whose  cast  is  intended  to  be 
taken  should  be  as  fresh  as  possible.     Fish  stiffen 


io8 


HA  RD  IV  1 CKE  'S    S  CIENCE  ■  G  0  SSI  P. 


after  being  taken  out  of  the  water,  and  become 
too  limp  afterwards.  If  it  is  not  convenient  to 
take  a  cast  of  fishes  immediately,  then,  if  fresh- 
water fish,  they  should  be  packed  in  plenty  of 
damp  moss,  and  if  sea  fish,  in  soft  seaweed,  and 
kept  in  the  dark.  Before  casting,  fish  should  be 
washed  by  letting  the  water  from  the  tap  flow  over 
them  a  few  moments.  They  must  not  be  rubbed 
with  a  cloth  or  otherwise,  as  the  scales  are  apt  to 
come  off.     The  fish  should  then  be  laid  on  a  smooth 


bevel  away  the  plaster  which  has  so  run  under  and 
about  it  as  to  prevent  its  easy  extraction.  But  a  little 
patience  and  experience  will  suggest  to  the  student 
how  to  proceed  in  such  cases. 

The  fish  having  been  taken  out,  there  remains 
its  perfect  mould,  showing  every  scale  and  fin.  The 
mould  should  now  be  put  away  in  a  dry  and  warm 
place  for  several  days ;  indeed,  until  it  gets  perfectly 
dry.  It  may  then  be  brought  out  on  the  working- 
table,  and  propped  up  with  paper  or  anything  else, 


dM'halm 


HilMlMMWi 


Fig.  76.   Brill,  laid  on  table  and  enclosed  in  thin  wooden  bars  ready  for 
plaster  of  Paris  being  poured  over. 


table  or  planed  board,   perhaps  on  a  newspaper  is 
best,  as  the  lime  will  not  then  adhere  to  the  wood. 
It  must  be  laid  out  according  as  the  taste  of  the 
operator  may  suggest,  so  that  the  cast  of  it  may  look 
as  like  life  as  possible.     Four  ,bars  of  wood  should 
then  be  arranged,  as  in  fig.  76,  so  as  to  include  the 
fish  as  in  a  frame.    When  the  plaster-of-Paris  is  poured 
over  the  fish  this  loose  framework  will  prevent  the 
lime  from  running  about.    The  plaster-of-Paris  should 
then  be  mixed,  the  operator  judging  of  the  quantity 
required.     At  first  he  will  undoubtedly  mix  too  much 
or  too  little,  but  a  very  short  experience  corrects  this. 
It  is  best  to  mix  the  powdered  plaster  under  a  water- 
tap,  and  to  have  the  water  gently  trickling  whilst  the 
lime  is  being  stirred  with  a  wooden  spoon.     When  it 
has  attained  the  consistency  of  thick  cream,  shut  off 
the  water,  and  with  all  possible  despatch  pour  the 
mixture  over  the  fish,  and  the  space  within  the  frame 
as  well.     The  fish  need  not  be  covered  to  a  thickness 
of  more  than  half  an  inch.     The  fish,  embedded  in 
its  plaster  covering,  should  then  be  left  where  it  is  for 
a  few  hours.     By  this  time  the  lime  will  have  tho- 
roughly set,  and  the  entire  mass  can  be  easily  turned 
over,  for  the  newspaper  has  prevented  the  lime  ad- 
hering to  the  boards.     The  paper  is  then  torn  off, 
and  the  fish  carefully  extracted.     This  requires  much 
care  ;  and  perhaps  the  operator  will  have  to  cut  or 


11  '^mmi 


Fig.  77.  Thorn 
back,  laid  in  posi- 


back,  laid  in  posi- 
tion for  casting. 


Fig.  78.  The  Flounder,  laid  in  easiest  position  for  casting. 

with  the  concavity  left  by  the  fish  uppermost.  This 
hollow  should  then  be  well  anointed  with  a  strong 
and  tolerably  thick  solution  of  soft  soap.  We  have 
found  that  it  answered  better  than  anything  else.  The 
soap  should  be  gently  and  delicately  rubbed  over  the 
interior  of  the  mould  with  a  large  and  dense  camel's- 
hair  brush,  so  as  not  to  rub  off  any  of  the  sharpness 
of  the  impressions  left  by  the  scales,  &c.  The  flat 
surface  of  the  outside  of  the  mould,  where  the  liquid 
plaster  flowed  within  the  space  of  the  frame  of  wooden 
bars,  should  also  be  equally  well  anointed  with  the 
interior. 


HARD WICKE 'S    S CIENCE- G OSSIP. 


109 


The  mould  having  been  made  as  firm  and  steady 
as  possible,  the  operator  now  mixes  another  batch  of 
plaster-of- Paris.  At  first  it  is  best  to  mix  too  much 
rather  than  too  little,  for  if  there  is  too  much  it  need 
not  be  all  used,  but  if  there  is  too  little  the  cast  will 
set  whilst  more  is  being  mixed,  and  the  entire  labour 
may  thus  be  lost.  The  plaster  should  be  of  about 
the  same  consistency  as  when  it  was  used  for  making 
the  mould.  It  is  poured  into  the  latter  gently  and 
evenly,  until  it  is  completely  filled,  and  the  process 
is  continued  over  the  square-bar  space,  until  it  covers 
the  latter,  say  an  inch  in  thickness.  By  means  of  a 
trowel,  or  any  other  tool,  the  plaster  is  smoothed 
down  to  an  equal  level.  With  a  knife,  the  over- 
flowing plaster  should  then  be  pared  off  before  it 
sets  hard,  so  as  to  be  flush  with  the  square  sides  of 


When  the  mould  has  at  length  been  stripped  off,  the 
operator  has  the  perfect  cast  of  the  fish  as  first  laid 
down.  Every  scale  and  fin  is  present,  whilst  the 
space  between  the  movable  wooden  bars  (which  we 
recommended  should  be  covered  over  on  the  mould) 
is  now  a  square  background,  from  which  the  cast  of 
the  fish  stands  forth  in  high  relief.  A  littile  trimming 
and  truncating  of  the  edges  makes  it  perfect.  Any 
cavities  left  either  in  the  cast  or  the  base  to  which  it 
is  attached,  may  now  be  filled  up  and  smoothed  down. 
Sometimes  the  tips  of  the  fins  break  off  when  peeling 
away  the  mould.  In  that  case  the  student  must  re- 
pair them  as  best  he  can,  by  adding  a  little  plaster,  and 
carving  it  down  when  dry.  The  feelers  or  barbules 
of  such  fish  as  Cod,  Whiting,  &c,  may  best  be  imitated 
by  fixing  a  little  copper  wire  into  the  under  jaw  of 


Fig.  79.     Position  of  Pollack  Whiting  for  casting. 


Fig.  So.    Ballan  Wrasse,  with  fins  spread  out,  ready  for  casting.     ' 

the  mould.     Both  mould  and  cast  must  be  put  away    j 
for  a  day  or  two,  after  which  the  task   of  taking  off 
the  mould  may  be  commenced. 

Perhaps,  in  setting,  the  heat  of  the  larger  quantity 
of  plaster  which  has  been  employed  in  making  the 
cast  will  have  cracked  the  mould.  If  so,  it  is  ad- 
vantageous, for  each  mould  can  only  be  used  once  ;  if 
the  fish  operated  on  be  a  rare  one,  it  is  best,  there- 
fore, to  take  several  moulds  of  it.  Of  course,  a  good 
deal  depends  on  the  shape  of  the  fish  as  to  how  it 
shall  be  extracted  from  the  mould.  In  the  flat-fishes, 
as  the  sole,  turbot,  brill,  halibut,  flounder,  and 
skates,  there  is  little  difficulty.  By  inserting  the 
edge  of  a  knife  between  the  mould  and  the  cast,  the 
former  will  come  off.  Most  fishes  are  laid  on  their 
sides  when  the  mould  is  being  made,  as,  for  instance, 
perch,  bream,  roach,  pike,  cod,  mackerel,  salmon, 
&c.  ;  but  such  triangular-bodied  fish  as  the  gurnard, 
coitus,  &c,  had  best  be  placed  with  the  belly  side 
downwards,  and  their  large  pectoral  fins  spread  out. 
Sometimes  it  will  be  necessary  to  break  off  the  mould 
in  pieces,  and  much  care  and  patience  will  then  be 
required.  But  experience  in  manipulation  comes  after 
a  few  trials,  and  it  is  astonishing  how  soon  we  learn 
to  proceed  under  all  circumstances. 


Fig.  Si.     Butterfly  Blenny,  showing  expanded  dorsal  fin. 


Fig.  82.     The  Piper  Gurnard  (Trigla  lyrii),  showing  separate 
rays  of  pectoral  fins. 


Fig.  S3. 


Three-bearded  Rockling,  showing  barbels  on  mouth, 
which  have  to  be  imitated  with  wire. 


the  cast,  and  then  covering  it  with  a  mixture  of  gum- 
water  and  plaster  of  Paris,  laid  on  with  a  small  camel- 
hair  brush.  The  loose,  leg-like  rays  of  the  pectoral 
fins  of  the  Gurnard  may  easily  be  imitated  in  a 
similar  way.  We  always  like  to  see  the  dorsal, 
caudal,  pectoral,  and  other  fins  laid  out,  so  that  the 


no 


HA  RD  WICKE'S    S  CI  EN  CE-  G  OS  SIP. 


cast  shows  them  as  when  the  fisfe  is  swimming  (see 
fig.  8 1). 

By  means  of  a  knife  it  will  be  easy  to  undercut  the 
back  of  the  expanded  fins,  or  to  loosen  and  cause  to 
stand  out  any  part  of  the  cast  that  may  require  it. 
The  entire  cast  of  plaster,  say  to  take  the  case  of  a 
five-pound  Codfish  or  Salmon,  will  not  cost  more 
than  sixpence.  What  is  to  be  noted  is,  that  fish  are 
as  fit  for  the  table,  after  having  had  their  likenesses 
taken  as  they  were  before  ! 

And  now  comes  the  cplouring  of  the  cast — a  more 
difficult,  because  a  more  artistic  operation,  but  not  half 
so  difficult  as  would  be  at  first  supposed.  Although 
the  natural  colours  of  our  native  fishes  are  given  in 
such  works  as  those  of  Yarrell,  yet  it  is  best  for  the 
student  to  note  the  distribution  and  tone  of  the  colours 
before  he  commences  to  take  a  mould  of  his  fish. 
This  he  can  readily  do  by  drawing  a  rough  pencil 
outline  of  the  fish,  and  then  marking  on  it  the  colour, 
and  what  depth  and  tone.  We  have  found  these 
outline  sketches  quite  enough,  with  the  help  of 
Yarrell  and  a  good  memory,  to  colour  a  cast  twelve 
months  after  making  it.  Moreover,  it  forces  the 
student  to  be  particular  and  careful,  and  he  is  the 
gainer  therefrom.  The  colours  of  fishes  are  apt 
to  be  taken  from  their  appearance  on  fish-stalls.  No 
mistake  could  be  greater.  If  we  are  obliged  to  eat 
fishes,  there  is  no  reason  why  we  should  libel  them 
as  well  !  The  black-leaded  tints  and  shades  of  a 
herring  which  has  been  lying  a  couple  of  days  on  a 
stall,  are  quite  different  from  the  prismatic  colours  it 
had  when  first  taken  out  of  the  water.  We  prefer 
colouring  them  according  to  nature,  rather  than  after 
the  dictation  of  the  fishmonger  ;  and  as  the  colours 
are  brighter,  the  effect  is  more  artistic. 

The  proper  colours  of  the  eyes,  fins,  &c,  should  be 
first  attended  to.  We  always  use  water-colours,  and 
prefer  them  to  oils.  The  water-colours  should  be 
mixed  with  a  little  ox-gall  to  make  them  flow  better. 
A  wetted  flannel  by  one's  side  enables  us  at  once  to 
rub  out  an  error.  Sufficient  colour  to  spread  over  the 
fish  must  be  mixed  at  first,  and  a  bushy  camel-hair 
pencil  employed  to  distribute  the  colour.  Such  spots 
as  those  on  the  Homelyn  Ray  are  easily  made  by 
rubbing  the  ground  colour  lighter,  and  then  sur- 
rounding each  spot  with  a  ring  of  darker  pigment. 
You  lay  on  the  colours  and  shades  of  the  back  of 
the  fish  in  successive  tones,  until  you  get  them  deep 
enough.  If  possible  have  a  fresh  fish  before  you 
when  colouring  the  cast,  so  as  to  get  the  tints,  shades, 
spots,  and  other  markings  quite  correctly.  Notice 
the  difference  (often  the  only  external  means  of 
identifying  them)  between  the  colours  of  the  male 
and  female  fishes,  as  in  the  Mackerel  for  instance. 
The  delicate  prismatic  tints  of  the  silvery-white  belly 
are  the  most  difficult  to  imitate  ;  and  the  student 
gives  up  in  despair  the  attempt  to  reproduce  the 
more  than  silvery  glint  of  the  lower  parts  of  the  body. 
Still,  a  few  endeavours  to  rub  in  alternately  streaks 


of  lake,  blue,  and  yellow  succeed  in  forming  a  not 
bad  imitation.  We  have  found  that  a  few  drops  of 
common  writing-ink,  diffused  in  a  quantity  of  water, 
enabled  us  to  reproduce  the  silvery  and  steely 
glint  of  the  belly  better  than  anything  else.  The 
student  should  always  have  plenty  of  the  fragments 
of  the  broken  mould  by  him,  to  try  his  colours  upon 
before  transferring  them  to  his  cast. 

At  last  the  cast  is  coloured  satisfactorily.  It  must 
now  be  laid  by  for  a  day  or  two,  until  the  water  from 
the  colours  has  been  given  out.  Then  it  should  be 
sized  with  a  thickish  solution  of  the  best  and  clearest 
glue,  and  put  away  again  for  some  time.  At  length 
it  is  brought  out  for  the  last  time,  and  painted  with  a 
thickish  coat  of  transparent  copal  or  coach-varnish. 
This  gives  to  the  coloured  cast  a  wonderfully  moist 
and  fish-like  look,  and  no  mould  or  other  fungus  ever 
attacks  this  varnish,  as  it  does  glue.  The  background 
may  now  be  painted  a  deep  Wedgwood  blue,  so  as 
to  represent  water,  and  at  the  same  time  throw  forth 
the  coloured  fish  into  strong  and  prominent  relief. 

If  the  coloured  cast  is  intended  to  ornament  a 
room,  the  background  must  be  set  in  a  wooden  frame- 
work, with  glass  sides,  top,  bottom,  and  front  (as  in 
ordinary  stuffed  -  animal  cases)  :  these  protect  the 
specimens  from  dust,  and  the  operator  may  thus 
adorn  his  hall  or  study  with  exact  and  artistic  models. 
It  will  have  been  seen  that  there  is  nothing  whatever, 
either  of  dirt  or  labour,  to  prevent  ladies  from  en- 
gaging in  what  we  guarantee  will  prove  to  them  a 
most  pleasant  and  profitable  recreation. 

For  such  small  fishes  as  sprats,  minnows,  whitebait, 
&c,  it  will  be  advisable  to  make  the  moulds  of  the 
same  materials  as  those  composing  printers'  rollers  ; 
that  is,  half  in  weight  of  common  glue  and  common 
treacle.  These  are  boiled  together  until  a  uniform 
liquid  is  produced,  which  may  then  be  kept  fluid  by 
placing  the  pot  containing  it  in  a  pan  of  boiling  water, 
just  as  carpenters  keep  their  glue-kettles.  This  hot 
mixture  is  then  poured  over  such  a  picturesque  little 
heap  of  whitebait  or  sprats  as  would  make,  say,  a 
decent  handful.  Of  course  it  takes  the  impression  of 
the  mass,  and  of  every  individual  fish  it  covers.  The 
mould  is  then  to  be  turned  the  other  side  up,  and  the 
fishes  carefully  picked  out  one  by  one.  At  length  the 
last  is  picked  out,  and  a  perfect  mould  of  the  heap 
remains.  This  must  be  cast  in  plaster  of  Paris,  where 
no  difficulty  remains  in  undercutting  (as  would  be  if 
the  mould  had  been  made  of  plaster),  for  the  soft 
gelatinous  mould  can  be  picked  out  with  a  penknife, 
and  the  small  fishes  thus  form  a  loose,  pretty  heap. 
They  must  then  be  coloured  when  ready,  and  the 
background  tinted  blue,  as  above  suggested. 

For  casting  large  fish  more  than  one  pair  of  hands 
may  be  required,  as  the  plaster  soon  sets  when  mixed. 
Only  two  qualities  are  required  to  be  successful  in 
fish-casting,  — patience  and  perseverance.  If  those 
who  attempt  to  carry  out  the  experiment  possess  them, 
they  will  succeed  ;  if  they  have  them  not,  they  may, 


HARDWICKE'S  science-gossip. 


Ill 


but  we  will  not  answer  for  it.  It  would  be  possible, 
we  should  imagine,  for  students  to  take  several  moulds 
of  a  rare  fish,  and  to  exchange  these  with  one  an- 
other, so  as  to  get  together  a  good  collection  of 
British  fishes. 


A  WET  METHOD  OF  PREPARING  OBJECTS 
FOR  MICROSCOPICAL  MOUNTING. 

IN  the  preparation  of  objects  for  permanent  mount- 
ing, the  bite  noir  of  the  microscopist  is  the  too 
well-known  and  ever-recurring  air-bubble.  Books 
on  microscopy  seem  to  recommend  but  one  way  of 
mounting  vegetable  or  animal  tissues  in  the  usual 
preservatives,  Canada  balsam  or  dammar.  And  this 
method  is  certainly,  on  the  face  of  it,  rather  a  peculiar 
one.  It  is  that  of  drying  the  object  and  then  steep- 
ing it  for  some  time  in  turpentine.  In  fact,  in  order 
to  get  rid  of  the  small  quantity  of  air  contained  in 
some  of  the  vessels,  the  whole  of  the  object  is  filled 
with  air,  and  then  this  extra  quantity  of  air  (unne- 
cessarily put  in)  has  to  be  quietly  soaked  out  again, 
or  is  forcibly  dragged  out  by  the  air-pump.  This 
process  of  filling  up  with  air  and  then  extracting  it 
again  occupies  no  small  amount  of  time,  but,  in  some 
cases,  no  such  expenditure  of  misapplied  patience, 
even  combined  with  the  persuasions  of  the  air-pump, 
will  entirely  extract  the  air. 

Now,  objects  such  as  insects,  sections  of  plants 
and  animals,  may  be  prepared  for  mounting  entirely 
by  a  wet  process,  and  that  with  speed  and  certainty. 

This  wet  method  I  have  used  for  several  years, 
and  I  believed  at  one  time  that  most  of  those  inte- 
rested in  microscopical  work  must  have  known  of  it. 
But  of  late,  conversation  with  microscopical  friends 
has  led  me  to  imagine  that  it  is  little,  if  at  all,  known 
to  the  mass  of  workers  with  the  microscope.  I 
cannot  suppose  that  the  plan  is  original,  though  I 
have  not  yet  met  with  any  one  else  that  has  worked 
at  it. 

The  only  piece  of  apparatus  required  is  a  single 
test-tube.  Into  this  the  sections  or  parts  of  plants  or 
animals  are  placed,  and  the  tube  about  half-filled 
with  distilled  water  that  has  been  made  acid  with  a 
few  drops  of  nitric  acid.  The  liquid  is  now  heated 
almost  to  the  boiling  point  for  from  five  to  fifteen 
minutes.  The  acidulated  water  is  then  poured  off, 
and  the  tube  filled  with  hot  distilled  water  and  gently 
shaken  once  or  twice.  The  water  is  now  completely 
poured  off  and  replaced  by  methylated  spirit ;  this  is 
heated  almost  to  its  boiling  point  for  about  five 
minutes.  It  is  then  poured  off,  and  the  tube  about  a 
quarter  filled  with  ether,  and  the  contents  heated 
gently  by  immersing  the  end  of  the  tube  in  a  cup  of 
hot  water  for  half  a  minute.  Ether,  being  highly 
inflammable,  should  not  be  heated  by,  nor  brought  near 
to,  a  light.     Now  pour  off  the  ether  and  quickly  drop 


in  a  quantity  of  turpentine  that  will  a  little  more  than 
cover  the  objects.  The  whole  operation  is  now 
finished,  and  every  particle  of  air  and  water  originally 
in  the  object  has  been  replaced  by  turpentine.  The 
objects  are  now  ready  for  mounting  in  Canada  balsam 
or  dammar. 

There  need  be  no  waste  of  materials,  since  the 
methylated  spirit  and  the  ether  may  each  be  poured 
into  separate  residue  bottles,  and,  after  a  quantity  has 
been  collected,  be  re-distilled  without  any  loss  worth 
mentioning. 

In  this  method  we  first  fill  the  object  with  its 
natural  permeator,  water,  and  then  replace  this  with 
methylated  spirit.  This  latter,  being  of  greater 
tenuity,  enters  into  some  of  the  minuter  vessels  which 
the  water  has  still  left  only  filled  with  air. 

Ether  is  next  made  to  take  the  place  of  the  spirit, 
and  this,  from  its  marvellous  tenuity,  rapidly  fills  any 
vessels  that  the  spirit  even  had  perchance  failed  to 
fill.  Thus  a  road,  as  it  were,  having  been  made 
for  fluids,  turpentine  easily  and  rapidly  spreads 
throughout  the  object.  I  know  that  there  is  a 
process  somewhat  similar  in  which  oil  of  cloves  is 
used.  But  oil  of  cloves  has  not  the  same  extreme 
tenuity  as  ether,  and  so  does  not  permeate  tissues 
anything  like  so  thoroughly  as  ether  does.  It  is  also- 
rather  expensive,  and  does  not  readily  admit  of  being 
used  over  and  over  again. 

The  advantages  of  the  wet  process  are  its  economy 
of  materials,  its  leaving  the  object  almost  unaltered 
in  appearance,  its  cleanliness,  and,  above  all,  its 
extreme  rapidity  and  certainty. 

Only  a  single  test-tube  is  required  in  which  a  dozen 
or  two  of  objects  may  be  placed  at  one  time. 

The  re-agents,  with  the  exception  of  the  water  and 
acid,  which  are  not  worth  saving,  may  be  used  again 
and  again. 

In  drying  an  object,  since  all  the  water  which  made 
up  so  much  of  its  bulk  is  driven  off,  its  shape  is  often 
greatly  altered,  its  original  form  being  only  partially 
restored  by  the  after  processes.  By  the  wet  method, 
the  cells  are  never  empty  of  liquid  ;  of  course,  both 
spirits  and  ether  shrink  objects  to  some  extent,  but 
the  turpentine  and  balsam  usually  all  but  entirely 
restore  the  original  form.  As  to  the  time  taken,  the 
drying  method  often  requires  weeks  ;  the  wet  method 
seldom  needs  an  hour.  There  are  some  objects 
which  I  have  never  seen  entirely  freed  from  air  by  the 
drying  process,  followed  by  prolonged  soaking  in 
turpentine  and  the  use  of  the  air-pump  ;  but  I  have 
not  yet  seen  an  object  that  the  wet  process  would  not 
rapidly  free  from  air.  It  is  possible  by  this  method 
to  cut  three  or  four  fresh  sections  from  a  tree,  per- 
manently mount  them  in  Canada  balsam  or  dammar 
without  a  single  bubble  of  air,  ring  them  with  coloured 
cement,  and  label  them  within  the  hour. 

The  use  of  nitric  acid  is  not  a  necessity,  but  it 
quickens  the  process.  Sometimes  it  is  better  to  use 
in  its   stead   a  little  potash,   only  then  the  objects 


112 


HARD  IV I CKE 'S    S CIENCE - G O SSIP. 


should  be  afterwards  'well  washed  with  distilled  water 
before  adding  spirit.  Objects,  such  as  some  parts  of 
insects,  which  are  not  transparent,  need,  as  usual 
previous  maceration  in  potash  solution.  Benzole 
would,  doubtless,  do  equally  well  as  ether,  but  I 
have  hitherto  only  used  the  latter. 

This  method  is  not  applicable  to  all  objects  ; 
those  containing,  like  the  water-lily,  an  excessive 
amount  of  water  shrink  too  much,  and  must  be 
mounted  in  fluids.  If  it  be  desired  to  stain  the 
specimens,  this  is  best  done  by  adding  the  dye  to  the 
methylated  spirit. 

I  do  not  claim  this  as  a  new  method,  but,  as  I 
know  many  workers  who  have  not  heard  of  it,  I 
thought  that  such  might  care  to  try  so  expeditious, 
easy,  and  certain  a  method.  A.  W.  Stokes. 

Laboratory,  Guys  Hospital,  S.E. 


MICROSCOPY, 

A  New  Immersion  Object-glass. — At  the  last 
Meeting  of  the  Royal  Microscopical  Society,  Mr. 
J.  H.  Stephenson  read  a  paper  on  this  subject,  in 
which  he  described  a  new  immersion  object-glass 
which  he  had  designed  to  obviate  the  difficulty  often 
experienced  in  the  accurate  arrangement  of  the  ad- 
justing collars  of  high-angled  objectives.  This  glass 
had  a  focal  distance  of  1-9,  and  a  balsam  angle  of 
1130.  It  was  stated  to  bear  very  deep  eye-pieces, 
and  to  have  a  very  flat  field.  The  great  difficulty  of 
obtaining  an  "immersion"  fluid  having  the  same 
refracting  index  as  crown  glass  has  at  length  been 
overcome  by  the  adoption  of  oil  of  cedar-wood, 
diluted  with  1*5  parts  of  oil  of  fennel-seed. 

Marine  Amceba. — Dr.  Entz  states  that  species  of 
Amoeba  have  been  found  in  sea  as  well  as  fresh  water. 
At  Cuxhaven  he  found  two  species,  A.  Umax  and 
A.  radiosa,  very  abundantly.  He  regards  A.  marina 
as  probably  identical  with  A.  radiosa,  and  possibly 
also  Ilaeckel's  Protamtzba  polypodia. 

"A  New  Field  for  tjie  Microscope." — Under 
this  title,  Mr.  W.  Saville  Kent,  F.L.S.,  has  a  pro- 
fusely illustrated  article  in  the  April  number  of  the 
Popular  Science  Review.  It  describes  the  life-history 
of  a  new  group  of  flagellate  monads,  which  require 
a  very  high  power  to  determine  ;  and  the  writer  very 
properly  remarks  that  the  new  and  high  class  magni- 
fying powers,  often  only  used  to  resolve  dots  or  striae 
on  a  diatom,  or  to  solve  a  question  of  angular  aper- 
ture, might  very  usefully  be  employed  in  following 
out  the  details  of  the  life-histories  of  these  most 
interesting  organisms.  The  article  is  of  a  most  inter- 
esting character  throughout. 

Fossil  Diatomace.e,  &c—  Some  months  ago  I 
received  a  piece  of  cement-stone  from  the  island  of 
Fur,  coast  of  Denmark.  It  is  a  poor  variety  of  lime- 
stone, and  if  a  portion  be  dissolved  in  acid,  the  residue, 


when  examined,  is  seen  to  consist  of  interesting  marine 
forms  of  diatomacere,  chiefly  species  of  Triceratiu/n, 
I  believe,  possibly  Amphitetras,  also  a  few  Cosciuo- 
disci,  and  a  great  many  small  Polycystinoj,  and  Acti- 
niscea.  Is  this  stone  generally  known  to  microscopists  ? 
I  have  not  been  able  co  get  any  information  concerning 
it.  Dr.  Carpenter  mentions  Triceratium  occurring 
in  a  fossil  state  only  in  the  Bermuda  and  Richmond 
earth.  —  Will.  Paterson. 

Diatomaceous  Deposits  near  Richmond. — 
I  send  herewith  specimens  of  prepared  diatoms,  from 
parts  of  the  Richmond  and  Petersburg  fields,  lately 
discovered  by  me.  The  Petersburg  slide  shows  several 
varieties  of  Coscinodiscus,  Actinocyclus,  Actinoptycluts, 
Plcurosigma,  and  Euphodiscus.  There  are  many 
specimens  of  Triceratium  on  it,  the  most  character- 
istic being  perhaps  T.  spinosum;  B.  rhombus  is  also 
plentiful.  The  transparent  character  of  most  of  these 
diatoms,  and  the  fact  of  finding  many  forms  in  this 
deposit,  common  in  fresh  water,  would  indicate  that 
this  part  of  our  diatomaceous  stratum  may  have  been 
laid  down  near  the  mouth  of  some  great  river  of 
later  tertiary  times.  The  Richmond  slide  shows  most 
of  the  rare  forms  of  that  deposit  in  greater  abundance 
than  I  have  ever  seen  before,  while  it  contains  com- 
paratively few  of  the  Orthosira  marina,  which  makes 
the  larger  portion  of  the  deposit  from  other  parts  of 
the  Richmond  field.  A  Navicula  with  curious 
beading  on  the  connecting  zone,  and  very  fine  stria- 
tion,  is  shown  in  tolerable  abundance,  from  four  to  six 
or  more  on  each  slide.  This  particular  form,  Prof. 
H.  L.  Smith  thinks  new,  and  it  is  a  very  good  test 
for  a  I -8th  or  i-ioth  objective,  which  should  resolve 
it  into  squares  with  oblique  light.  The  areolations 
on  the  larger  Coscinodisci  can  be  seen  with  a  good 
simple  triplet,  while  to  show  the  markings  on  some 
of  the  Rhizosolenia  is  a  test  for  the  very  best  high 
powers.  The  two  Richmond  Plcurosigmas  Virginica 
and  angulatum,  are  also  plentiful,  and  as  the  striation 
on  these  is  uniform,  so  far  as  my  observation  goes, 
this  slide  makes  one  of  the  best  general  tests  to  be 
had,  furnishing  an  accurate  measure  for  the  com- 
parison of  objectives,  of  nature's  own  ruling,  perhaps 
superior  to  any  artificial  lines  made.  —  C.'L.  Peticolas, 
Richd.,  Fa. 

Living  Microscopic  Organisms. — It  is  with 
great  pleasure  that  we  draw  the  attention  of  our 
microscopical  readers  to  the  agency  started  by  Mr. 
Thomas  Bolton,  whose  advertisement  has  several 
times  appeared  in  our  columns.  For  a  trifling  sum, 
Mr.  Bolton  sends  forth  living  organisms  of  Spougi/la, 
Hydra,  Actino-sp/icerium,  &c.  It  is  some  time  since 
we  had  more  sincere  pleasure  in  recommending  what 
our  microscopical  readers  will  agree  with  us  in  affirm- 
ing is  a  genuine  and  praiseworthy  undertaking. 

An  Apology  for  Diatomaniacs. —  Professor 
J.  E.    Smith,    in    an    address   delivered   before   the 


HARD  WICKE 'S    SCIENCE  -  GOSSIP. 


"3 


Dunkirk  U.S.  Microscopical  Society  (published  in 
the  Anwrica n  Journal  of  Microscopy  for  March), 
makes  the  following  remarks  : — "  We  often  hear  the 
diatomists  spoken  of  in  terms  of  contempt.  They 
are  now  regarded  by  the  histologist  as  a  class  of 
observers  who  use  the  microscope  as  a  mere  play- 
thing, and  the  fact  that  diatomists  are  not  altogether 
agreed  as  to  the  structure  of  these  favourite  shells  is 
often  used  as  an  argument  to  show  the  folly  of 
studying  diatomaceoe  at  all.  All  this,  my  friends, 
is  sheer  sophistry.  The  study  of  the  diatomaceas  is 
as  legitimate  as  that  of  any  other  branch  of  the 
science  of  Biology,  and  the  labours  of  the  diatomists 
have  not  been  for  nought  :  it  is  to  them,  and  to 
their  constant  demands  on  the  optician,  that  we 
are  indebted  for  the  wonderful  improvements  which 
have  been  made  in  object-glasses  ;  and  I  am  bold 
enough  to  tell  you  that  skilful  diatomists  can  tell 
you  as  much  about  the  structure  of  a  diatom  as 
can  the  pathologist  equally  skilled  inform  you  as 
to  the  structure  of  a  blood-corpuscle.  But  to  the 
student,  to  those  who  desire  to  prepare  themselves 
for  advanced  work,  the  study  of  the  diatomacece 
cannot  be  neglected.  No  line  of  practice  has  yet 
been  discovered  that  will  teach  the  student  the  use 
and  management  of  his  tools  that  can  at  all  com- 
pete with  the  superior  claims  of  these  minute 
organisms.  It  is  said  that  '  adversity  tries  us,  and 
shows  up  our  best  qualities.'  The  little  shells,  too, 
will  try  the  would-be  manipulator,  and,  like  the 
country  judge,  show  up  his  worst  qualities." 


ZOOLOGY. 

The  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society 
of  Liverpool. — The  "Proceedings"  of  this  well- 
known  society  always  contain  welcome  matter.  The 
thirty-first  volume  is  now  to  hand,  containing  a  mas- 
terly address  by  Mr.  A.  J.  Mott  on  Haeckel's  "  His- 
tory of  Creation,"  in  which  the  writer  opposes  the 
evolutionistic  view.  Mr.  J.  A.  Picton,  a  well-known 
antiquary,  and  president,  publishes  his  presidential 
addresson  "The  Present  State  of  Linguistic  Science"; 
Mr.  Edward  Davies  has  an  essay  concerning  "  Popu- 
lar Errors  about  Poisons  ";  Mr.  George  Morton  one 
on  "The  Introduction  of  Geological  Maps";  Mr. 
Alfred  Morgan  another  on  "  The  Origin  and  Progress 
of  the  United  States  Geological  and  Geographical 
Survey  of  the  Territories";  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Higgins 
one  on  "  The  Liverpool  Museum  Reports,"  &c. 
Besides  the  above  there  are  numerous  papers  on 
purely  scholastic  and  literary  matters.  A  handsome 
and  bulky  volume  is  thus  compiled. 

Natural  History  Societies. — We  have  received 
the  eighth  annual  report  of  the  Wellington  College 
Natural  History  Society,  and  are  pleased  to  find  indi- 
cations of  increased  vigour  on  the  part  of  the  members. 
It  is  an  excellent  thing  to  find  natural  science  culti- 


vated for  its  own  sake  by  the  students  of  our  public 
schools,  and  still  more  so  to  find,  as  this  and  other 
reports  give  evidence  of,  that  the  students  are  doing 
actual  field  work,  and  thus  contributing  to  the  solid 
stores  of  scientific  information.  The  present  report 
shows  that  in  addition  to  various  papers  read  and 
excursions  made,  the  botany  and  ornithology,  &c,  of 
the  district  has  been  worked,  collections  and  observa- 
tions made,  and  lists  published  of  the  results.  We 
wish  the  Society  continued  success  in  its  ardent  and 
praiseworthy  labours.  The  Huddersfield  Naturalists' 
Society,  established  in  1847,  for  the  promotion  of 
knowledge  in  various  branches  of  Natural  History, 
have  issued  their  list  of  members,  &c.  ;  each  member 
has  the  special  study  to  which  he  is  attached  placed 
after  his  name.  Curators  are  appointed  for  the 
departments  of  conchology,  botany,  entomology, 
zoology.  The  report  of  the  Chichester  and  West  Sus- 
sex Natural  History  and  Microscopical  Society,  just 
issued,  shows  that  the  Society  is  in  a  healthy  con- 
dition. At  no  previous  period  has  the  number  of 
working  members  been  so  great  as  at  present. 
Eighteen  papers  on  various  natural-history  subjects 
were  read  during  the  session  just  terminated. 

Toad  and  Goldfish. — -The  incident  which  Mr. 
Horace  Pearse  relates  (p.  94)  of  his  Goldfish  being  so 
tenaciously  embraced  by  a  toad,  is  easily  explained 
by  a  knowledge  of  the  habits  of  toads  and  frogs.  At 
this  season  of  the  year,  or  a  little  earlier,  when  their 
generative  instinct  is  intensely  strong,  the  male  clasps 
the  body  of  the  female  with  his  fore-legs  in  order  to 
fecundate  the  ova  as  they  are  emitted.  To  enable 
him  to  do  this  the  more  firmly,  a  small  digit  or  warty 
protuberance  is  temporarily  developed  in  the  thumbs, 
and  the  hold  is  thus  rendered  so  secure  that  it  requires 
considerable  force  to  effect  a  separation.  It  was  in 
obedience  to  this  strong  instinctive  impulse  that  the 
toad  in  question  grasped  the  goldfish  "firmly  by 
the  head  in  his  front  legs."  That  male  frogs  should 
attach  themselves  to  the  surface  even  of  large  fishes 
is  not  an  unfrequent  occurrence,  and  old  Izaak  Walton 
referring  to  a  fact  of  this  kind,  attributes  it  (erro- 
neously of  course)  to  a  "great  antipathy  betwixt  the 
pike  and  some  frogs." — Ed.  Hart  Vinen,  M.D. 

The  "Harvestmen." — Mr.  J,  H.  Cary,  in  his 
interesting  observations  on  the  Harvestmen  or  Pha- 
langiida?,  desires  to  have  further  information  on  the 
subject.  The  monograph  on  the  British  species  by 
Mr.  R.  H.  Meade,  F.R.C.S.,  in  the  Annals  and 
Magazine  of  Natural  History  for  June,  1855,  is 
excellent,  and  I  think  the  only  one  in  the  English 
language.  For  the  anatomy  of  Phalangium  Opilio 
there  is  a  paper  by  Mr.  A.  Tulk  in  the  same  magazine 
for  October,  1843.  Mr.  Cary  has  fallen  into  some 
errors  regarding  the  true  spiders.  He  seems  to  imply 
that  the  palpi  are  the  reproductive  organs  of  the  male 
spider ;  which  is  hardly  the  fact,  for  the  male  has  a 
complete  generative  system  in  the  abdomen,  and  the 


iM 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


palpi  are  only  conveyers  of  the  seminal  fluid.     Also, 
he  says,  there  are  spiders  without  spinnerets,  which 
is  very  doubtful  :  there  is  but  one  species,  Liphistius 
desultor  (Schrodte),  found  at  Penang,   of  which  the 
typical    specimen    had   no   spinners ;   but  the    Rev. 
O.    P.    Cambridge,    M.A.,    has   since    described    a 
specimen  in  the   British    Museum,    which    is    in    all 
respects   L.    desultor    except    having    the    spinners. 
The   "Ilarvesimen"  that  Mr.  Cary  describes,  are,  I 
think,  from  his  description  of  the  falces,  Phalangium 
cor  nut  urn  (Linn.).       He  has  probably  mistaken  the 
stigmata  on  the  fore  part  of  the  cephalothorax  (as 
Mr.  Tulk  did)  for  another  pair  of  eyes,  as  our  British 
species  have  but  two,   placed  on   the  apex  of   the 
cephalothorax.     The  male  and  female  of  P.  cornu- 
tum  are  often  mistaken  for  different  species,  because 
of  the  great  difference  between  the  falces.     Regarding 
the  moulting  of  the  Phalangites,  I  have  never  heard 
that  they  cast  their  skin  as  spiders  do,   but  maybe 
Mr.   Cary  has   made  some  observations  that  would 
prove  that  that  is  the  case.     The  abdomen  of  true 
spiders  is  not  segmented  as  in  the   Phalangiidre. — 
Tom    Workman,  Belfast. 

Practical  Darwinism. — Dr.  E.  Coues,  of  the 
United  States  Geographical  Survey,  states  that  a 
breed  of  solid-hoofed  pigs  has  apparently  been  estab- 
lished in  Texas.  The  terminal  phalanges  of  the  toes 
are  united  to  form  a  single  broad  phalanx.  Above 
this,  however,  the  other  two  phalanges  of  each  of 
the  two  principal  digits  remain  perfectly  distinct. 
The  hoof  is  perfectly  solid,  and  on  its  sole  there  is  a 
broad  angular  elevation  of  horny  substance,  very  like 
the  "frog"  of  the  horse's  hoof.  The  breed  is  so 
firmly  established  that  no  tendency  to  revert  to  the 
original  form  is  noticeable.  It  is  also  stated  that  in 
the  cross  of  a  solid-hoofed  boar  with  a  sow  of  the 
ordinary  type,  a  majority  of  the  litter  have  the  pecu- 
liarity of  the  male  as  regards  their  feet. 

The  Colours  of  Caterpillars. — At  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  Entomological  Society  of  London,  Sir 
John  Lubbock,  in  accepting  the  opinion  laid  down 
by  Darwin,  that  dull-coloured,  green,  and  smooth- 
skinned  caterpillars  are  eaten  by  birds,  whilst  spiny, 
hairy,  and  brightly-coloured  species  are  rejected, 
slated,  that  by  the  statistical  method  it  was  proved 
that  no  hairy  caterpillars  are  ever  green  ;  whilst,  on 
the  other  hand,  a  large  majority  of  black  and  brightly 
coloured  species  are  hairy  or  otherwise  protected. 

The  Ceratodus. — Mr.  E.  P.  Ramsay  has  re- 
cently written  to  Nature,  to  say  that  a  fine  series 
of  eleven  Ceratodus  have  been  kept  alive  at  Mary- 
borough, Queensland.  This  rare  and  geologically 
ancient  fish  can  only  be  obtained  at  certain  seasons, 
and  in  certain  parts  of  the  rivers  Mary  and  Burnet. 
The  Oslcoglossum  is  frequently  and  erroneously  con- 
founded with  it. 


BOTANY, 

The  Loxdox  Flora. — The   doubts   as   to    the 
actual  occurrence  near  London  of  Crepis  paludosa, 
expressed    by  the  author  of  a  review    on    the  new 
London  Flora,  in  the  Journal  of  Botany,    are  well 
founded.      It  is  not  that  species,  but  Crepis  setosa, 
which  occurs  in  the  locality  indicated.     The  entry  in 
my  note-book  with  regard  to  it  was  corrected  in  one 
place  and  not  in  the  other  ;  hence  the  mistake.    Carex 
curta,  hedge    at  Totteridge,   is  right  in  the  Index  ; 
while  the  entry  in  the  Localities  should  have  been 
Carex    divulsa    (lane),    curta    (hedge,    &c).       Botli 
species  are  not  unfrequent  in  hollow  lanes  both  of 
Middlesex     and    Herts.      Bromus    racemosus :     the 
habitat,  &c,  given  of  this  plant  refers  to  B.  giga  ulcus. 
The  entry  should  have  been  "  meadows  and  pastures: 
fiats    by    the    Thames    in    Kent."      Many    English 
authorities  consider  this  species  a  variety  of  commu- 
tatus ;   smoother  and  with  panicles  more  compact. 
But  the  distinguishing  characteristics  ascribed  to  them 
by  the  French  botanists  are,  outer  glumellas  entire, 
B.     praleusis     (i.e.     commutatus),    outer    glumellas 
notched  (echanchees),  B.  racemosus.     Through  inad- 
vertence, interlineations  in  the  MSS.,  and  inexperi- 
ence in  the  correction  of  proofs  of  the  kind   in   ques- 
tion, errors  and  misprints  were  extremely  probable, 
and   "these  are  of  them."    Others,  the   omission   of 
"  Bromus  mollis,  common,  everywhere,"  for  example, 
I  leave  to  the  critics  to  find  out  and  dilate    upon, 
wishing  them  every  gratification  in  the  task.  — Eyre  de 
Crespigny,   M.D.     P.S. — Nasturtium  sylvestre  in  the 
Index  should  have  been  N.  terrestre,  and  vice  versa, 
as  may  be  guessed  from  the  context. 

RAriD  Growth  of  Vallisneria.— Mr.  A.  W. 
Bennett  says:  "  The  first  flower-bud  of  Vallisneria 
spiralis  made  its  appearance  in  my  aquarium  last 
year  on  July  1st,  the  pedicel  being  at  three  p.m.  about 
1-5  inch  long.  On  the  3rd,  at  four  p.m.,  the  base  of 
the  bud  just  touched  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  the 
pedicel  was  about  7  inches  long.  At  one  p.m.,  on 
the  7th  (an  interval  of  about  ninety-three  hours),  it 
had  reached  the  astonishing  length  of  43  inches." 

Early  Flowering  of  Borage.— It  may  be 
interesting  to  your  readers  to  know  that  the  common 
Borage  (Borrago  officinalis)  is  in  full  flower  as  early 
in  the  year  as  this.  I  do  not  know  of  any  instance 
of  this  plant  being  seen  so  early  in  flower,  June  being 
usually  its  earliest  time  for  appearing.  The  specimens 
in  question  were  gathered  by  my  brother,  Mr.  F.  H. 
Worsley  Benison,  of  Chepstow,  at  Beechley,  near  that 
town,  on  March  27th,  and  sent  to  me.  It  was  found 
in  abundance  on  a  bank  immediately  overhanging  the 
Severn.—//.   IV.  S.  Worsley  Benison. 

The  Ferns  of  North  America.  —  Messrs. 
Hardwicke  &  Bogue  announce  their  intention  to  issue 
in  parts  (by  arrangement  with  the  American  pub- 
lishers), Professor  Eaton's  "Ferns  of  North  America." 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE- G OSSIP. 


1J5 


"  Flowers:  Their  Origin,  Shapes,  Perfumes, 
and  Colours."  By  J.  E.  Taylor,  F.L.S.,  &c.  Lon- 
don :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue. — The  position  we  hold  in 
relation  to  this  book  prevents  our  doing  otherwise  than 
drawing  attention  to  its  publication,  although  this  op- 
portunity affords  us  the  means  of  thanking  both  Printer 
and  Publisher  alike  for  turning  out  so  handsome  and 
attractive  a  volume.  The  arrangement  of  the  con- 
tents is  as  follows: — Chapter  I,  "The  Old  and  the 
New  Philosophy  of  Flowers  ;"  2,  "The  Geological 
Antiquity  of  Flowers  and  Insects;"  3,  "The  Geogra- 
phical Distribution  of  Flowers;"  4,  Ditto  {continued); 
5,  "  The  Structure  of  Flowering  Plants;"  6,  "Rela- 
tions between  Flowers  and  their  Physical  Surround- 
ings;" 7,  "  Relations  between  Flowers  and  the 
Wind;"  8,  "The  Colours  of  Flowers;"  9,  "The 
External  Shapes  of  Flowers;"  10,  "The  Internal 
Shapes  of  Flowers;"  II,  "The  Perfumes  of  Flowers;" 
12,  "Social  Flowers;"  13,  "Birds  and  Flowers;" 
14,  "The  Natural  Defences  of  Flowering  Plants." 
The  work  is  embellished  with  thirty-two  coloured 
figures,  and  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  woodcuts. 

Botanical  Curiosities. — Most  of  these  facts 
were  communicated  by  me  to  the  Natural  History 
Journal  (W.  Sessions,  York),  a  monthly  magazine, 
intended  to  encourage  young  people  in  the  prosecution 
of  scientific  pleasures.  'By  one  path  in  one  field  at 
Woodhouse,  near  Sheffield,  three  forms  otPlantago 
major  have  been  gathered: — (1)  spike  bifid;  (2)  the 
very  small  bracts  developed  into  little  foliage-leaves, 
over  an  inch  long  below,  and  lessening  towards  the 
top,  so  as  to  form  an  elongated  cone,  in  which  the 
flowers  themselves  were  still  present;  (3)  flowers  on 
branches  from  the  main  stem,  i.e.,  in  a  raceme  instead 
of  a  spike.  The  last  form,  being  very  handsome,  we 
have  tried  to  keep  in  our  garden;  vainly,  however,  for 
it  bears  no  seed,  and  after  two  or  three  years,  it  dies. 
Near  Sheffield,  also,  we  picked  two  specimens  of 
Scabiosa  arvensis  ;  one  with  its  involucrum  bracts  so 
large  as  to  extend  far  out  from  under  the  head  of 
florets;  the  other,  long  since  transplanted  into  our 
gardens,  where  it  receives  the  admiration  of  all  its 
beholders,  with  globe-shaped  heads  of  flowers,  the 
peculiar  outer  ones  being  absent.  In  Sherwood 
Forest,  between  Edwinstowe  and  Mansfield  Wood- 
house,  in  a  sandy  lane,  in  company  with  Plantago 
coronopus,  was  a  fasciated  specimen  of  Crepis  vircns, 
several  stalks  appearing  as  a  single  flat  one,  iT^ 
inch  broad  all  the  way  up,  and  clustered  at  its 
summit  with  flowers.  By  Wharncliffe  Crags,  in  the 
Don  Valley,  a  birch,  9  inches  at  least  in  diameter, 
appears  at  a  height  of  about  12  feet,  from  out  the 
trunk  of  an  old  oak.  In  a  valley  through  which  runs 
a  stream,  dividing  Yorkshire  from  Derbyshire,  a  little 
tributary  of  the  Rother,  once  crystal-clear  and  trout 
inhabited,  now  anon  black  from  "sleek  washing," 
and  again  ochre-yellow  from  the  pumpings  out  of  a 
colliery,  we  gathered  a  dandelion  with  leaves  2  feet 


long,  and  proportionately  broad;  also  another  with 
twin  heads  on  one  scape.  In  a  valley  by  Coal-Aston, 
near  Dronfield,  Orchis  maeulala  appeared  in  various 
shades  of  hue  till  nearly  pure  white.  White  Columbine 
occurred  in  Hell  Wood — a  splendid  locality  by  Roche 
Abbey,  near  Rotherham.  White  Hair-bells  (Campa- 
nula 7-otundifolia)  occurred  in  Monsall  Dale,  near  Bake- 
well.  My  experience  is  identical  with  that  of  a  recent 
writer  in  Science-Gossip,  in  the  process  of  drying, 
White  Hair-bells  turn  blue ;  Blue  Hair-bells,  white. 
Linnxus  named  the  Red  and  White  Campions, Lychnis 
diurna  and  L.  vespertina,  as  one  species — L.  dioica. 
In  Cliff  Wheel  Wood  (Rother  Valley),  a  bed  of  Red 
Campion  contained  several  with  white  blossoms;  nor 
is  it  rare  to  see  White  Campion,  in  fields  or  waysides, 
assuming  a  rosy  tint.  In  Hail-Mary  Hill  Wood 
(named,  as  some  suppose,  from  signalling  made  to  the 
unfortunate  "Queen  of  Scots,"  then  imprisoned  in 
the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury's  Sheffield  Manor,  which  is 
visible  from  the  wood)  we  collected  a  Lychnis  diurna, 
with  leaves  all  triple-pointed.  Near  York,  we  saw 
all  these  with  white  blooms: — Trifolium  pratense, 
Geranium  pusillum,  Scabiosa  succisa,  Calluna  vul- 
garis, Erica  tetralix.  In  the  extreme  north  of 
Derbyshire,  Raphauits  raphanistrtcm,  the  Wild 
Radish,  was  both  white  and  brimstone-yellow.  On 
September  20,  at  Castle  Howard,  near  Malton,  a 
Dog-Violet  ( Viola  sylvatica  ?),  had  three  unjoined 
carpels,  holding  seed,  and  accompanied  by  a  few  small 
calyciform  bracts;  Water-cress  (Nasturtium  officinale) 
was  also  in  flower,  and  a  tangled  mass  of  it  rose 
5  feet,  at  least,  out  of  the  water.  Rumex  alpinus  is  a 
I  species,  doubtfully  indigenous  ;  it  still  grows  by  One- 
ash  Farm,  near  Monyash,  N.  Derbyshire  ;  but  this 
homestead,  long  tenanted  by  the  Quaker  family  of 
Bowmans,  was  once  a  place  of  exile  and  "  durance 
vile "  for  the  refractory  brethren  of  a  Yorkshire 
Abbey ;  it  is  well-known  that  monks  esteemed  it 
virtuous  as  a  healer,  and  grew  it  in  their  herb-gardens. 
My  friend,  Alfred  Montague  Grimsley,  of  Leicesfer, 
found  bifid  and  trifid  catkins  of  Salix  fragilis  by  the 
river  Foss,  near  York.  My  brother,  F.  T.  Le 
Tall,  observed  albids  of  Orchis  pyramidalis  and  Ceu- 
taurea  nigra,  near  Scarborough  ;  he  also  plucked  a 
Rose  (Rosa  villosa  ?),  fully  .double,  many  yards  from 
any  house,  some  miles  from  any  village,  in  one  of  the 
deep,  narrow,  well-wooded,  and  well-watered  gullies 
lying  amid  the  moorland  which  extends  from  Levi- 
sham,  near  Pickering,  to  Scarborough. —  B.  B.  Le 
Tall,   York. 

"The  Hi-story  of  Bible  Plants." — Under  this 
title,  Messrs.  Hardwicke  &  Bogue  have  just  pub- 
lished an  attractive  little  book,  written  by  Mr.  J. 
Smith,  A.L.  S.,  of  Kew,  the  well-known  botanist.  It 
is  abundantly  illustrated  with  lithographic  plates  by 
Mr.  W.  H.  Fitch,  F.L.S.,  perhaps  the  best  botanical 
draughtsman  of  the  day.  Mr.  Smith's  name  as  author 
is  enousdi  to  ensure  fulness  and  correctness  of  detail. 


n6 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OSS  I  P. 


Perhaps  we  have  never  before  had  so  trustworthy — 
certainly  we  have  never  had  one  so  cheap  and  well 
got  up — a  book  on  Bible  Flants.  It  will  make  an 
excellent  gift-book  for  young  and  old  alike. 

Report  of  Science-Gossip  Botanical  Ex- 
change Club. — Your  remark  (p.  74)  on  my  note 
regarding  CallitricJic  autumnalis — that  it  will  very 
probably  be  found  in  the  Till  and  the  lower  reaches 
of  the  Tweed — in  which  you  say,  "We  believed  this 
was  recorded  by  Dr.  Johnston  several  years  since,"  is 
founded  on  a  mistake  in  the  "Flora  of  Berwick-upon- 
Tweed"  (1829).  C.  autumnalis  is  there  recorded  from 
"Pools  of  Water  in  the  Vale  below  Langleyford  " 
(Fl.  Ber.,  i.  p.  3).  In  the  "  Botany  of  the  Eastern 
Borders  "  (1853),  by  the  same  author,  C.  autumnalis 
is  left  out,  which  shows  that  Dr.  Johnston  had  dis- 
covered the  mistake,  although  he  makes  no  remark 
concerning  its  record  in  his  earlier  work,  or  what 
species  was  there  mistaken  for  it.  From  seeing  a 
specimen  of  C.  pcdunculata,  which  was  gathered  in 
the  above  locality,  and  labelled  by  Dr.  Johnston 
C.  autumnalis,  and  also  its  frequency  in  the  district, 
I  have  no  doubt  that  it  was  that  variety.  I  enclose 
an  example  of  a  similar  form  of  C.  Jiamulata, 
with  all  the  leaves  linear,  which  is  apt  to  be  mis- 
taken, when  not  in  fruit,  for  C.  autumnalis,  by  those 
unacquainted  with  that  species ;  but  when  once 
known,  they  are  easily  distinguished. — A.  B.,  Kelso. 


GEOLOGY, 

The  Fossil  Fungus. — In  answer  to  that  part  of 
W.  G.  Smith's  letter  on  p.  67  of  March  number, 
referring  to  mine  on  p.  41  of  February  number,  he 
states  that  "such  a  genus  as  Pcronosporitcs  was  not 
known  till  last  year,"  and  yet  he  tells  us  just  previously 
that  it  had  been  known  to  Mr.  Carruthers  for  many 
years ;  and  Mr.  Carruthers  stated  in  a  late  presiden- 
tial address  delivered  in  London,  that  he  only  knew 
of  the  existence  of  two  Palaeozoic  fungi,  one  of  which 
he  had  himself  described.  My  friend  Mr.  Young 
being  present,  at  once  rose  and  said  that  he  had  a 
very  fine  section,  showing  fungoid  growth,  in  his  own 
cabinet.  This  is  the  section  that  Mr.  Smith  has  in 
his  possession  now,  and  it  is  the  same  section  that  I 
cut  from  a  specimen  of  Lepidodendron  I  found  on  my 
first  visit  to  Halifax  in  1869.  The  fungus  Mr.  Car- 
ruthers alluded  to  in  his  address  above  mentioned, 
was  found  in  an  Eocene  fern-stem  from  Heme  Bay, 
and  is  described  as  probably  belonging  to  the  genus 
Peronospora.  The  Manchester  gentleman  alluded  to 
by  Mr.  Smith  instantly  recognized  my  fungus  as 
Peronospora  in  a  fossil  state,  but  it  required  more 
learning  to  give  it  the  name  of  Pcronosporitcs,  a  dis- 
tinction without  a  difference.  If  Mr.  Carruthers  is 
the  discoverer  of  this  fungus  (as  Mr.  Smith  says  he  is), 
how  comes  it  that  my  friend  Mr.  Young  should  write 


to  me  as  soon  as  Mr.  Smith's  paper  appeared,  and 
say  that  my  name  was  to  have  been  mentioned  in 
connection  with  the  discovery,  but  by  some  mistake 
it  had  been  "forgotten"?  Mr.  Smith  tells  us  what 
drudgery  he  has  been  put  to  while  labouring  to  find  a 
new  name  for  this  fungus,  I  may  tell  him  that  I  have 
also  been  a  ' '  slave ' '  to  the  study  of  fossil  botany 
for  very  nearly  twenty  years,  and  that  I  have  pored 
over  my  sections  too  many  hours  to  let  either  fungus, 
or  any  other,  new  or  old,  object  escape  my  notice. 
— JOHN  Butterworth,  Goats  Shaw,  Oldham. 

Government  Research  Fund. — Among  the 
names  of  those  who  have  received  grants  from  the 
Government  fund  of  ^4,000  recommended  by  the 
Royal  Society,  we  find  the  names  of  the  following  : — 
Prof.  H.  A.  Nicholson  and  R.  Etheridge,  jun.,  "For 
aid  in  examining  the  fauna  of  the  Silurian  deposits  of 
the  Girvan  district,  Ayrshire,  and  in  publishing  a 
descriptive  list  of  the  same,"  ,£73  :  Mr.  C.  Callaway, 
Wellington,  Shropshire,  "  For  aid  in  working  out  the 
so-called  Eruptive  Rocks  of  Shropshire,  and  in  verifying 
certain  points  in  local  geology,"  ^25  :  to  Dr.  J.  W. 
Dawson,  Montreal,  "For  aid  in  excavating  erect  trees 
in  the  Coral  Formation  of  Nova  Scotia,  in  beds  where 
they  are  known  to  contain  reptilian  and  other  re- 
mains," ^50  :  to  Dr.  R.  A.  Traquair,  Edinburgh, 
"  For  aid  in  preparing  and  publishing  a  monograph 
on  the  Carboniferous  ganoid  fishes  of  Great  Britain," 
£"]$  :  to  Dr.  Henry  Woodward,  "  For  continuation 
of  work  on  the  Fossil  Crustacea,  especially  with  re- 
ference to  the  trilobites  and  other  extinct  forms,  and 
their  publication  in  the  volumes  of  the  Palaeonto- 
graphical  Society,"  ^75  :  to  Prof.  H.  G.Seeley,  "For 
an  examination  of  the  structure,  affinities,  and  classi- 
fication of  the  Extinct  Reptilia  and  allied  forms,"^75  : 
to  Rev.  J.  F.  Blake,  "  For  aid  in  continuing  the  pub- 
lication of  a  Synopsis  of  British  fossil  Cephalopoda," 
.£100.  Besides  the  above,  we  find  the  names  of 
W.  Saville  Kent,  Jersey,  "  To  pay  for  microscopical 
apparatus  for  the  further  prosecution  of  investigations 
into  the  structure  and  life-history  of  certain  lower 
Protozoa," ,£50  :  to  R.  M'Lachlan,  "  For  aid  towards 
the  publication  of  a  revision  and  synopsis  of  European 
Trichoptcra,  £$0  :  to  Frof.  A.  H.  Garrod,  "For  aid 
towards  publication  of  the  second  fasciculus  of  an 
exhaustive  Treatise  on  the  Anatomy  of  Birds,"  .£100 : 
to  Frof.  W.  K.  Parker, "  For  assistance  in  continuation 
of  researches  on  the  Morphology  of  the  Vertebrate 
Skeleton  ;  and  the  relations  of  the  Nerves  to  the  ske- 
leton structures,  chiefly  hi  the  head,"  ,£300. 

Fossil  Walruses. — The  Ipswich  Museum  now 
contains  a  splendid  series  of  tusks  of  the  fossil  walrus 
(  Trichccodon  Huxlcyi)  found  in  the  Red  Crag.  These 
were  recently  sent  up  to  the  Linnnean  Society  by 
J.  E.  Taylor,  and  described  by  Prof.  Ray  Lankester. 
It  was  discovered  that  the  two  supposed  species  were 
in  reality  tusks  of  male  and  female  animals. 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  O  SSIP. 


117 


The  Triassic  Strata  of  the  South-western 
Counties. — At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Geological 
Society  of  London,  a  paper  was  read  by  Mr.  W.  A.  E. 
Ussher,  F.G.S.  The  author  maintained  that  the 
general  thinning-out  of  the  Trias  in  the  South-Devon 
and  West-Somerset  area  as  it  is  traced  northward,  of 
which  he  adduced  evidence,  proves  that  this  area  was 
not  connected  with  that  of  Gloucestershire  and  the 
Midland  counties  until  the  later  stages  of  the  Keuper ; 
and  endeavoured  to  show  by  a  comparison  of  sections 
that  the  area  east  of  Taunton  and  south  of  the  Men- 
dips  was  not  submerged  before  the  deposition  of  the 
Lower  Keuper  Sandstone,  and  probably  not  until  the 
later  stages  of  its  formation,  the  Quantocks  acting  as 
a  barrier  dividing  the  Bridgewater  area  from  the 
Watchet  valley.  He  thought  that  a  subsidence  pro- 
gressing from  south  to  north  led  to  earlier  deposition 
in  South  Devon,  and  to  a  consequent  attenuation  of 
the  lower  beds  towards  Watchet  and  Porlock.  Hence 
the  lowermost  beds  of  the  Trias  of  the  south  coast  are 
much  thicker  than  their  more  northerly  equivalents, 
and  probably  were  still  thicker  where  the  English 
Channel  now  flows,  some  beds  perhaps  dating  as  far 
back  as  Permian  times.  The  presence  of  numerous 
fragments  of  igneous  rocks  (quartz-porphyries)  in  the 
basement-beds  of  the  South  Devon  Trias,  and  the 
absence  of  known  corresponding  rocks  in  the  county, 
led  the  author  to  infer  that  the  cliffs  and  beds  of  the 
early  Triassic  sea  were  composed  of  such  rocks,  any 
undestroyed  portions  of  which  would  probably  occur 
either  under  the  Triassic  beds  near  Dartmoor  and 
between  Newton  and  Seaton,  or  in  the  area  now 
occupied  by  the  English  Channel.  As  continuity  is 
evident  only  in  the  upper  division  of  the  Trias,  be- 
tween the  area  of  Devon  and  Somerset  and  that  of 
the  Midland  counties,  and  there  is  no  conformity  in 
the  former,  the  author  maintained  that  the  upper 
marls,  upper  sandstones,  and  probably  the  conglome- 
rate and  pebble-bed  subdivision  of  Devon  and 
Somerset,  are  equivalent  in  time  to  the  Keuper  series 
of  the  Midland  counties,  and  that  deposition  took 
place  in  Devon  and  Somerset  between  Keuper  and 
Bunter  times,  bridging  over  the  hiatus  marked  by 
unconformity  in  the  Midland  counties. 

The  Newly-discovered  Dinosaurs. — Prof. 
Marsh  has  named  the  new  family  of  gigantic  fossil 
Saurians,  recently  discovered  in  the  Oolitic  rocks  of 
America,  Atlanlo-sanridce.  One  species  (A.  immanis) 
had  a  femur  over  eight  feet  long,  and,  taking  a  croco- 
dile as  a  comparison,  Prof.  Marsh  thinks  that  A. 
immanis  may  have  been  more  than  one  hundred  feet 
in  length  ! 

An  American  Fossil  Ceratodus. — Prof.  Marsh 
has  recently  described  the  dental  plate  of  a  fossil  fish 
belonging  to  the  curious  existing  Australian  genus 
Ceratodus,  under  the  name  of  C.  Giintheri.  It  was 
found  in  the  upper  Oolitic  deposits  of  Colorado,  and 


is  the  first  specimen  of  Ceratodus  which   has  been 
found  in  America. 

Fossil  Insects. — At  a  recent  meeting  of  the 
Entomological  Society  of  London,  Mr.  H.  Goss 
exhibited  a  collection  of  fossil  insects  from  the  Leaf- 
ceds  at  Bournemouth.  They  had  been  obtained  by 
M.  J.  S.  Gardner,  F.G.S.  Among  them  were 
numerous  Coleoptera  and  Hymcnoptera,  including  a 
finely-preserved  anterior  wing  of  CEschua. 

Artificial  Albite  and  Orthose. — In  addition 
to  the  artificial  Corundum,  Ruby,  &c,  which  have 
been  made  by  Messrs.  Fremy  &  Feil,  M.  Hautefeuille 
now  announces  similar  artificial  reproductions  of 
Albite  and  Orthose,  which  have  both  been  discovered 
in  the  copper  furnaces,  both  at  Mansfeld  and  in  the 
Hartz.  It  is  supposed  they  have  been  formed  by 
sublimation,  with  the  aid  of  the  calcium  chloride 
employed  as  flux. 

The  Geology  of  Ireland. — A  want  long  felt 
by  all  students  of  Irish  geology  has  been  a  good  text- 
book. We  understand  that  before  the  meeting  of 
the  British  Association  in  Dublin  in  August  next,  a 
"Manual  of  Irish  Geology,"  by  Mr.  G.  H.  Kinahan, 
will  be  published.  With  the  exception  perhaps  of 
Sir  Richard  Griffith,  there  is  no  one  more  competent 
to  write  such  a  book  than  Mr.  Kinahan.  The  work 
will  have  a  description  of  the  sedimentary  rocks,  and 
also  of  the  igneous,  or,  as  the  author  calls  them, 
"  Eruptive  "  rocks,  chronologically  arranged,  together 
with  short  descriptions  of  the  superficial  deposits, 
minerals,  mines,  soils,  and  prehistoric  remains,  in- 
cluding the  Crannoges,  Kitchen-middens,  &c. 


NOTES    AND    QUERIES. 

Birds'  Eggs.  —  "  L.  W.  G."  (p.  43)  is  mistaken  in 
stating  that  an  Act  of  Parliament  has  been  passed  to 
prohibit  the  taking  of  birds'  eggs.  The  taking  of  the 
birds  only,  during  the  close  time,  is  prohibited  by  the 
"Sea-birds'  Preservation  Act,"  1869;  the  "Wild- 
birds'  Protection  Act,"  1872;  and  the  "Wild-fowl 
Preservation  Act,"  1876.  Therefore,  no  person  can 
"break  the  laws  of  the  land  in  this  particular,"  except 
in  the  case  of  eggs  protected  by  the  Game  Laws. — 
R.  Egerton. 

The  Marten  {Maries  foina). — Modern  invasion  ot 
its  haunts  with  axe  and  gun  has  rendered  this  a  very 
rare  animal  in  Cornwall.  The  capture  of  a  female  is 
thus  noticed  in  the  Western  Morning  News  of  March 
15th  : — "  The  marten  cat,  which  is  now  almost  an  ex- 
tinct quadruped  in  England,  has  occurred  at  or  near 
Delabole  within  the  last  ten  days.  It  was  caught  in 
a  gin,  and  proved  to  be  a  female.  It  is  the  finest  and 
the  most  elegant  of  all  the  weasel  tribe,  and  it  more 
frequently  is  observed  in  trees,  along  the  branches  of 
which  it  may  be  seen  creeping  or  jumping  after  its 
prey,  which  consists  of  birds,  squirrels,  &c.  Its 
actions  are  most  graceful  and  elegant,  and  it  is  to  be 
regretted  that  so  beautiful  a  wild  animal,  which  used 
to  be  more  or  less  seen  in  our  woodlands,  should  be 
extirpated  and  lost.  There  are  two  varieties,  not  now 
supposed  to  be  specifically  distinct,  viz.,  the  common, 


Tl8 


HARD  WI CKE 'S    S CIE NCE-GOS SIP. 


or  beech  marten,  with  a  white  breast,  and  the  yellow- 
breasted,  or  pine  marten.  It  is  now  supposed  that 
the  yellow-breasted  sort  is  a  younger  animal  than 
those  which  have  a  white  breast  ;  at  all  events,  speci- 
mens have  been  obtained  from  the  same  covert,  hav- 
ing an  intermediate  tone  of  colour.  Foxhounds  hunt 
this  animal  with  great  eagerness,  and  seem  to  like 
their  scent.  It  has  been  remarked  that  the  viscid 
effluvia  belonging  to  the  other  members  of  the  Mus- 
telidce  does  not  exist  in  the  Marten,  which  has  the 
usual  glands  for  the  secretion  of  humour  ;  but,  instead 
of  a  fetid  smell,  it  emits  a  musky  and  rather  agreeable 
odour." 

Worms  in  Sticklebacks.— I  have  been  waiting 
patiently  for  some  answer  in  the  pages  of  Science- 
Gossip  to  a  letter  of  mine  asking  the  nature  and 
reason  of  the  occurrence  of  large  flat  worms  in  every 
stickleback  taken  from  a  certain  pond.  These  worms, 
in  number  as  many  sometimes  as  six,  seemed  almost 
to  fill  the  fish,  and  to  cause  their  death  in  our 
aquarium.  The  matter  seems  to  me  both  curious 
and  interesting,  and  I  should  be  glad  if  some  corre- 
spondent would  give  an  account  of  them.  —  IV.  E. 
Thompson. 

Tree-creeper.  —  Leaning  against  a  tree  in 
Hyde  Park,  London,  I  saw  a  Tree-creeper,  Certhia 
familiaris,  alight  on  a  tree  close  to  me  and  begin 
searching  for  insects.  I  watched  it  for  some  time, 
till  it  flew  away  to  another  tree,  whither  I  followed 
and  again  watched  it.  Are  they  often  seen  in  Lon- 
don ?— Arthur  S.  Blachett. 


The  Botany  of  the  Channel  Islands. — Can 
any  of  your  readers  give  me  any  information  as  to  the 
best  method  of  conducting  a  botanical  tour  in  the 
Channel  Islands  ?  Is  the  living  there  expensive  or 
not  ?  Is  it  best  to  put  up  at  hotels,  or  at  farm- 
houses ?  Any  such  information  will  be  most  accept- 
able.— J.  Comber. 

Frog-spawn. — I  send  a  few  notes  on  some  frog- 
spawn  collected  on  March  14th  of  the  present  year, 
and  exposed  only  to  the  natural  atmosphere.  March 
15th,  at  7  p.m., — a  few  tadpoles  free  from  the  albu- 
men. March  20th,  all  out  of  the  embryo  state,  and, 
by  the  22nd,  the  gills  clearly  visible.  During  the 
cold  weather  at  the  latter  end  of  the  month,  the  tad- 
poles lay  at  the  top  of  the  water,  apparently  stupefied. 
— R.  E.  S.,  Richmond. 

Midnight  Songsters.  —  In  reference  to  the 
thrushes  and  blackbirds,  together  with  other  of  our 
sweet  songsters,  singing  at  midnight  during  the  early 
spring  and  summer  months  (Science-Gossip,  page 
93)>  we  have  often  noticed  this  fact  with  surprise, 
especially  on  a  fine  bright  night,  when  the  chorus  of 
song  seemed  to  be  carried  on  through  the  night,  with 
very  little  cessation,  increasing  in  liveliness  as  the 
early  morning  dawned,  causing  one  to  remark  that 
the  birds  sang  all  night  as  well  as  all  day  long. 
Some  four  years  since,  about  the  months  of  May  or 
June,  many  people  visited  our  neighbourhood  (New- 
castle, Staffordshire),  to  listen  to  the  sweet  music  of 
the  various  birds  singing  far  on  in  the  night ;  among 
which  was  one  of  the  warblers,  whose  note  was  so 
sweet  that  it  was  mistaken  for  a  nightingale.  The 
latter  bird  has  rarely  been  known  to  come  so  far 
north. — E.  Edwards. 

Cucumber  and  Black  Beetles. — In  reply  to 
Mr.  Smyth's  question,  as  to  whether  the  peel  of  the 
cucumber  destroys  as  well  as  alluies  the  beetle,  I 
venture  to  remark  that  it  does  both.  Some  members 
of  my  own  household  have  tried  the  experiment ;  the 


smell  of  the  cucumber  peel  allures  the  beetles,  and 
after  eating  it  they  die  almost  directly,  some  close  to 
the  peel,  others  as  they  are  moving  away  from  it,  to 
retire  in  their  holes.—  E.  Edwards. 

What  is  the  Whipultre  (Science-Gossip, 
No.  160,  p.  95). — I  do  not  think  Chaucer's  "Whip- 
ultre "  has  ever  been  satisfactorily  identified,  and  I 
can  only  make  a  very  diffident  suggestion  as  to  the 
species  meant.  In  some  dialects  the  cross-bar  from 
which  horses  pull  a  plough  is  called  a  "  whippletree," 
and  these  are  generally,  if  not  always,  made  of  ash. 
It  is  possible,  therefore,  that  the  whipultre  is  the  ash ; 
and  it  might  be  so  called  because  whipple-trees  were 
made  from  the  wood,  or  the  instruments  might  be 
named  from  the  tree  of  which  they  were  made.  This 
view  receives  confirmation — very  slight,  it  is  true — 
from  the  fact  that  whilst  most  of  the  more  common 
trees  are  mentioned  by  Chaucer  in  the  passage  indi- 
cated, the  ash  is  omitted  from  the  list.  The  Cornel- 
tree  (Cornus  sangninea)  has  been  suggested,  but  I  do 
not  know  on  what  grounds. — Robert  Holland,  Norton 
Hall,  Runcorn. 

Fluid  for  Strengthening  Bones,  <S:c. — Will 
some  of  your  readers  inform  me  whether  dilute  sili- 
cate of  potash,  recommended  some  time  back  by  one 
of  your  correspondents  for  strengthening  fragile  shells, 
is  suitable  for  fragile  small  bones  and  teeth,  say,  of 
Arvicola,  &c.  ? — Jolin  Fuller. 

Preserving  Skins. — Sir,  I  should  feel  greatly 
obliged  if  any  one  could  tell  me  of  any  means  of  pre- 
serving the  skins  of  birds  and  other  animals  without 
the  use  of  arsenic  and  corrosive  sublimate,  or  any 
other  poison.  If  you  will  be  good  enough  to  answer 
this  query  in  the  pages  of  Science-Gossip,  kindly 
do  so  under  the  initials  "J.  Y." — y.   Young. 

The  Colorado  Potato-beetle. — Without  affect- 
ing to  undervalue  Mr.  Rye  as  an  antagonist,  I  certainly 
should  not  have  asked  you  for  any  portion  of  your 
space  to  reply  to  him  had  he  not  chosen  to  indulge 
in  insinuations,  as  I  think,  totally  uncalled  for. 
Notwithstanding  Mr.  Rye's  strictures,  I  adhere 
unflinchingly  to  the  positions  taken  in  my  first  paper. 
1st.  That  the  potato-beetle  is  not  of  such  great  import 
as  to  justify  Mr.  Rye  in  dubbing  him  an  "oppressor," 
nor  in  saying  that  "earnest  and  energetic  steps  should 
be  taken  at  the  present  unprecedented  juncture"  to 
prevent  the  access  of  the  foe  to  the  shore  of  Great 
Britain.  2nd.  That  although  it  is  well  to  exercise 
vigilance  in  this  matter,  I  do  condemn  the  use  of 
Paris  gieen  as  a  curative  agent,  because  dangerous 
and  totally  unnecessary  ;  and  I  say  again,  without 
intending  any  reflection  against  anybody  in  particular, 
that  the  notoriety  given  to  Paris  green  in  America 
is  very  probably  due  to  the  cause  mentioned  in  my 
first  paper.  As  to  the  "fouling  of  the  nest,"  then, 
the  charge  would  appear  to  be  groundless ;  but 
whether  or  not,  I  contend  that  this  is  one  of  the  cases 
in  which  truth  should  prevail.  Mr.  Rye  appears  to 
think  that  1  have  unjustly  classed  him  among  the 
alarmists.  I  never  so  classed  him,  except  by  impli- 
cation. Will  any  one  read  over  the  first  part  of  Mr. 
Rye's  article  in  your  September  number,  and  say 
whether  such  a  c'assification  would  not  have  been 
correct  ?  To  be  sure  he  does,  in  your  March  number, 
inform  us  that  the  article  "was  written  sarkastic," 
and  as  I  did  not  appear  to  see  the  "  sarkasm,"  he 
impeaches  my  knowledge  of  the  English  language. 
I  fear  that  I  shall  have  to  plead  guilty  ;  but  the 
language  used  by  Mr.  Rye  is  in  general  anything 
but  funny.     Still  he  ought  best  to  know  whether  or 


HA  RD  WICKE 'S    SCIENCE  -  GOSSIP. 


119 


not  he  was  "  funning,"  and  if  he  insists  upon  it  that 
"it  is  all  a  joke,"  there  is  an  end  of  the  matter. 
In  conclusion,  I  object  to  Mr.  Rye's  dragging  into 
this  matter  the  names  of  gentlemen  not  even  alluded 
to  by  me  ;  thus  implying  that  my  remarks  had  refer- 
ence to  some  or  all  of  them.  There  is  nothing  in  my 
paper  justifying  such  implication.  Mr.  Rye  thinks 
that  my  concluding  "caution"  betrays  an  ignorance 
of  the  British  insect  fauna,  "remarkable  in  one  who 
proposed  to  allay  our  fears,"  ccc.  &c.  I  confess  to  a 
respectable  amount  of  ignorance  of  British  insect 
fauna,  although  I  have  Rye's  "British  Beetles,"  and 
one  or  two  other  things  of  the  kind  ;  and  why  igno- 
rance on  such  a  point  should  be  remarkable  in  a  per- 
son professing  some  knowledge  of  potato-beetles, 
I  cannot  imagine.  My  notion  was  that,  in  case  the 
potato-beetle  did  arrive,  it  was  just  possible  that 
some  of  its  parasites  might  arrive  with  it ;  and  further, 
that  striped  beetles  might  appear  in  potato-fields, 
which,  if  mistaken  forZ>.  10-lineaia,  might  have  their 
existence  shortened  without  cause. —  JV.  Andrezvs. 

The  Song  Thrush  and  Missel  Thrush.— 
Mr.  Ingleby  asks  if  it  is  not  an  unusual  occurrence  to 
find  the  Missel  Thrush  {Tardus  viscivorus)  nesting 
on  the  top  of  a  wall.  It  is  certainly  an  unusual  oc- 
currence ;  but  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  birds 
frequently  build  in  strange  places,  and  mostly  from 
necessity.  The  Missel  Thrush  loves  to  build  in  gar- 
dens, shrubberies,  and  orchards,  though  at  other 
times  it  is  a  wild  and  shy  bird.  Possibly  the  owners 
of  the  nests  referred  to  by  Mr.  Ingleby  could  not  find 
suitable  nesting-places  in  trees  or  bushes,  or  their 
previous  nests  may  have  been  plundered  by  prowling 
-cats,  who  destroy  many  nests  of  young  song  thrushes, 
blackbirds,  and  missal  thrushes  in  gardens.  The 
birds,  no  doubt,  finding  they  could  not  keep  their 
young  from  cats  or  vermin  in  their  ordinary  nesting- 
places,  finally  built  their  nests  on  the  top  of  a  high 
wall,  where,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  the  parent  birds 
succeeded  in  safely  rearing  their  broods.  In  my 
district,  where  there  is  little  shelter  fpr  the  early 
breeding  birds,  blackbirds  and  song  thrushes  some- 
times build  their  nests  in  stone  walls,  and  in  the  roofs 
ofopenhaysheds.  "G.  S.B."  has  fallen  into  a  singular 
mistake.  He  intimates — though  his  statement  is  not 
over  clear — that  he  has  discovered  a  Song  Thrush  and 
Blackbird  mating  together,  and  rearing,  we  must  sup- 
pose, a  hybrid  brood.  Had  he  described  how  the 
nest  was  constructed,  the  question  might  easily  have 
been  settled.  The  eggs  with  "claret  markings  "  were 
undoubtedly  those  of  the  Missel  Thrush,  and  the 
female  which  he  saw  hatching,  and  which  he  states 
was  a  Song  Thrush,  was,  no  doubt,  a  female  Missel 
Thrush.  If  "G.  S.  B."  cannot  distinguish  between  the 
eggs  of  the  Song  and  Missel  Thrush,  he  would  easily 
jump  to  the  conclusion  that  the  female  Missel  was,  as 
he  states,  the  Song  Thrush.  The  nest,  which  he  has 
not  described,  would  be  lined  with  dry  grass  or  hay, 
if  the  eggs  found  therein  had  "claret  markings." 
The  eggs  of  the  Song  Thrush  are  blue  with  black 
blotches,  densest  at  the  thickest  end  ;  though  I  have 
several  Song-Thrush  eggs  in  my  collection  which  have 
not  a  single  speck  of  black  upon  the  blue.  The  nest 
of  the  Song  Thrush  has  always  an  inner  lining  of 
hardened  clay  or  cattle-droppings,  while  the  nest  of 
the  Missel  is  invariably  lined  with  dry  grass.  This 
latter  bird  is  a  very  early  breeder.  His  favourite 
nesting  site  is  in  the  fork  of  a  tree,  not  often  very 
high  up.  I  have  seen  the  nest  of  a  Missel  Thrush  on 
the  bare  branch  of  a  tree  projecting  over  a  public  foot- 
path, and  the  nest  was  so  conspicuous  that  it  was 
plainly  vi-ible  at  least  twenty  yards  off.  The  Missel 
is  our  largest  song-bird,   and  though  in  colour  and 


markings  it  is  not  unlike  the  Song  Thrush,  yet  it  is 
much  larger.  The  cock  bird  commences  to  sing  very 
early  in  the  year.  In  stormy  weather  it  sings  best, 
and  on  this  account  the  Missel  Thrush  is  called  the 
"storm  cock"  in  many  parts  of  the  country.  The 
nest  and  eggs  described  by  "  G.  S.  B."  are  those  of 
the  Missel  Thrush.  This  correspondent  also  seems  to 
believe  that  the  Blackbird  and  Song  Thrush  breed 
together.  Such  an  unusual  occurrence,  so  far  as  I 
know,  has  never  been  recorded  by  any  naturalist ; 
and  "  G.  S.  B. "  cannot  be  wrong  if  he  describes  the 
eggs  in  his  cabinet  as  those  of  the  TitrJits  viscivorus — 
viz.  the  Missel  Thrush.  If  he  is  still  in  doubt  as  to 
the  identity  of  his  eggs,  if  he  will  send  me  one  in  a 
small  box,  I  will  name  it  correctly  and  return  it.  At 
the  same  time  I  have  no  hesitation  in  asserting,  from 
his  description  of  the  nest  and  eggs,  that  they  are 
those  of  the  Missel  Thrush. — H.  Kerr,  Bacup,  Lanca- 
shire. 

Aquarium  for  Microscopic  Work.  — As  two 
or  three  of  my  friends,  with  myself,  are  anxious  to 
construct  a  small  domestic  aquarium  (say  about  thirty 
inches  in  length),  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  in  stock 
objects  for  the  microscope,  will  you  or  any  of  your 
contributors  to  Science  Gossip  kindly  supply  us 
with  information  how  to  make  one — size,  shape,  and 
material,  &c.  ?  I  feel  certain  our  thanks,  with  those 
also  of  many  of  your  readers,  would  repay  you  or 
them  for  your  kindness.  —  W.  D.  B. 

"  Gooseberry. — Dutch,  Kruis  berry,  Cross-berry, 
from  its  triple  spines  forming  a  cross." 


NOTICES   TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 


To  Correspondents  and  Exchangers.  —  As  we  now 
publish  Science  Gossip  a  week  earlier  than  heretofore,  we 
cannot  possibly  insert  in  the  following  number  any  communi- 
cations which  reach  us  later  than  the  9th  of  the  previous 
month. 


M.  R.  D. — Your  species  are  as  follows  : — No.  1.  Filago 
minima.  No.  2.  Filago  germanica.  No.  3.  Filago  spatludata  ; 
the  last  species  is  much  more  unfrequent  than  the  first  two. 
No.  4.  We  should  not  like  to  name  anything  from  single  leaves. 
No.  5.  Mgopodium  Podagraria;  L.  No.  6.  Angelica  syl- 
vestris;  in  future  dry  them  a  little  before  packing  them  for 
post,  they  are  then  much  more  easy  to  determine,  because  they 
travel  in  a  better  state. 

J.  C.  (Hels  ton). —Thanks  for  inquiry.  Your  parcel,  No.  2, 
has  been  sent. 

A.  W.  Rosling.—  The  only  Flora  of  the  Isle  of  Wight  we 
can  advise  you  to  purchase  is  Bromfield's  "  Flora  Vectensis." 
This  is  both  a  valuable  and  reliable  work. 

F.  H.  A.  (Fishbourne). — We  have  several  letters  expressing 
the  interest  felt  in  "  Botanical  Work  for  April."  You  are  quite 
correct.  No.  1.  Viola  Reichenbac  liana;  a  very  characteristic 
specimen.  No.  2.  Draba  brachycarpa.  Look  out  for  Ranun- 
culus ficaria,  and  its  varieties ;  yours  is  a  good  locality 
for  it. 

B  M.  W.  (Hentland,  Ross).— The  specimens  are,  as  you 
judge,  Micro-fungi.  No.  1.  Trickobasis  Geranii,  or  Geranium 
Rust.  We  are  unable  to  detect  any  perfect  fungi  on  No.  2. 
perhaps  you  would  send  another  example  when  more  mature. 

Science-Gossip  Botanical  Exchange  Club.—  Amateur 
Botanical  Collectors  wishing  to  join  the  Club  this  year,  should 
as  early  as  possible  state  their  wishes.  To  save  the  promoters 
from  any  loss,  a  small  charge  of  say  five  shillings  will  be  made  ; 
this  may  be  remitted  when  the  parcels  are  sent  in  October. 
Rules  to  guide  our  members  will  be  sent  in  May  to  those  only 
who  announce  their  names.  The  Rules  this  season  will  con- 
tain the  numbers  of  species  particularly  wanted  :  these  numbers 
will  correspond  with  the  London  Catalogue,  7th  Edition,  pub- 
lished by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  post  free,  sevenpence. 

M.  R.  D.— The  Poison  Ivy  is  the  Rhus  Toxicodendron.  \  ou 
must  not,  however,  confound  it  with  our  "rare  old  plant,-'  the 
English  Ivy,  which  is  Hedera  Helix.  The  Rhus  is  used  as  a 
remedy  for  paralvsis,  but  we  do  not  know  the  results. 

S.  A.  B.  (Allan,  Dungannan).— The  specimen  enclosed  was 
Disandra  prostrata. 


120 


HARDWICKE'S     SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 


D.  S. — The  leaf-like  excrescences  are  not  a  fungus,  but  a 
gall. 

X. — We  are  not  aware  that  any  book  has  been  published  on 
sea-side  pebbles  except  that  of  J.  G.  Francis,  called  "  Beach 
Rambles,"  which  is  as  full  of  geological  errors  as  it  could  pos- 
sibly be. 

B.  Hooker. — Your  larva  of  the  goat-moth  should  be  kept  in 
a  tin  or  wire-gauze  box,  and  a  large  piece  of  half  rotten  ash- 
wood  placed  with  it.  It  will  appear  as  a  moth  the  third  year 
from  its  commencing  its  life  as  a  caterpillar. 

D.  Cooper. — There  is  no  doubt  your  specimen  is  Clausilia 
laminiata,  in  which  the  mouth  is  almost  entirely  deflected  to 
the  side  opposite  to  that  on  which  it  is  usually  found. 

R.  Ramsay. — You  will  be  able  in  your  subsequent  geological 
reading  to  answer  your  own  difficulty  better  than  we  can  in  the 
short  space  at  our  command.  But  we  may  say  that  the  reason 
why  it  would  be  futile  to  bore  for  coal  through  the  Oolite  or 
Wealden  would  be  on  account  of  the  known  thickness  of  the 
overlying  formations.  2nd.  Your  highest  Scotch  mountains 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  thickness  of  our  old  red  sandstone. 
The  thickness  of  the  latter  is  known  from  observing  the  angle 
of  the  dip  of  the  strata,  and  the  area  covered  by  the  outcrop.  If 
you  study  Page's  "  Geology,"  you  will  soon  get  over  your 
present  difficulties.     Persevere  ! 

A.  Sells. — Your  Zoophytes  are  :  No.  1,  Flustra  foliacea. 
No.  2,  Sertularia  operculata.  No.  3,  Dasya  coccinea,  a  sea- 
weed. No.  4,  Sertularia  argentea.  Nos.  5  &  7,  Sertularia 
filicula.  No.  6,  Plnmnlaria  falcata.  No.  8,  Antennularia 
antennina. 

A.  Wheldon. — You  will  find  full  instructions  for  "  sugaring" 
for  moths,  &c,  in  "  Collecting  and  Preserving  Natural  History 
Specimens,"  published  by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192,  Picca- 
dilly, at  3s.  6d. 

A.  G.  N. — Your  specimen  is  an  English  plant,  usually  found 
growing  in  such  localities  as  that  you  name.  It  is  the  curious 
Butcher's  Broom  (Rnsciis  acnleattis). 

J.  W.  N.  and  Others. — It  is  intended  to  revise  the  rules,  &c, 
of  the  Botanical  Exchange  Club.  Due  and  full  notice  of  revi- 
sion, &c.,  will  be  given  in  our  columns.  Application  for  mem- 
bership can  then  be  made. 

W.  Hobbs. — Very  likely  your  chrysalides  will  develop  early 
during  the  coming  summer. 

J.  P.  Thompson. — We  understood  that  a  new  edition  of 
Pritchard's  "  Infusoria"  was  postponed.  Lownde's  'Anatomy 
of  the  Blow-fly  "  can  be  had  of  Messrs.  Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 

R.  B.  N. — The  fossils  are  corals,  belonging  to  the  Silurian 
formation.  No.  1  is  the  "Chain-coral"  (Halysites catenipora), 
and  No.  2  is  Favosites  Gothlandica.  The  small  shells  which 
you  think  look  like  "cockles"  are  in  reality  not  bivalves,  but 
specimens  of  Melluscoidea.  They  are  fossils  belonging  to  a 
group  (Brachiopoda')  once  as  abundant  as  they  are  now  rare. 
The  name  of  those  enclosed  is  Rhyconella  IVilsoni. 

T.  McGann. — Your  entomostracans  are  the  male  and  female 
of  Canthocamptus  minutns.  Your  slides  are  very  well  got  up 
indeed. 

A.  S.  A. — Get  "  Collecting  and  Preserving,"  published  by 
Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly,  price  3s.  6d.,  and  read 
the  article  on  collecting  butterflies  and  moths,  by  Dr.  Knaggs, 
and  beetles,  by  Mr.  E.  C.  Rye. 


EXCHANGES. 

Duplicates. — A  number  of  Lepidoptera  in  good  condition, 
and  well  set.  Desiderata  :  Birds'  Eggs,  side-blown,  not  in  my 
collection. — R.  Kay,  2,  Spring-street,  Bury. 

Wanted,  Newman's  or  Stainton's  "  Lepidoptera."  Offered 
5  vols,  bound,  and  3  unbound,  Science-Gossip,  and  other 
books. — W.  E.  Green,  24,  Triangle,  Bristol. 

J.  W.  Bulmer,  near  the  church,  Northallerton,  Yorks.,  will 
exchange  Jackdaw's,  Lapwing's,  Song  Thrush's,  Moorhen's, 
Stock-dove's,  Starling's,  &c,  birds'  eggs,  for  other  varieties  of 

eggs- 

Wanted,  British  or  foreign  Stone  Implements  and  Weapons 
of  any  kind  ;  Stone  Hammers,  Chisels,  Wedges,  &c.  ;  also 
Tools  and  Weapons  wholly  or  partly  composed  of  stone,  relating 
to  any  uncivilized  race  of  men. — W.  M.  Cole,  93,  St.  Helen's- 
street,  Ipswich. 

Bird's  Eggs,  250 varieties,  valuable  duplicates,  side-blown,  in- 
cluding many  unprocurable  species.  Desiderata  :  Species  new 
to  collection.  Exchange  lists  supplied.  All  letters  answered. 
Sissons,  11,  Priory-road.  Sharrow,  Sheffield. 

Well-mounted  Slides  of  injected  human  Kidney,  Palate  of 
Whelk,  and  transverse  Section  of  Porcupine  Quill,  in  exchange 
for  others  mounted  in  balsam. — J.  A.  Kay,  Mansion  House, 
Brompton,  Chatham. 

Wanted,  some  good  Polariscope  Objects,  for  others  or  cash. 
— T.  Brown,  7,  Spencer-street,  London,  E.C. 

For  Elytron  of  Diamond  Beetle,  or  Skin  of  Tench  or  Sole, 
Polar-mounted,  send  well-mounted  objects  or  material  to 
Thomas  Shipton,  Chesterfield. 

Slide,  as  announced  in  last  month's  Science-Gi'skip, 
offered  in  exchange  for  first-class  prepared  material  (unmounted1. 
Box  must  accompany  material  to  be  returned  with  slide. — James 
Simpson,  15,  Prospect-place,  Dumbiedykes-road,  Edinburgh. 


London  Catalogue,  Seventh  Edition,  Nos.  19,  121,  122,  130, 
133,  201,  265,  267,  349,  394,  396,  497,  533,  542,  534,  841  b,  860, 
888,  912,  923,  1014,  1040,  1109,  1142,  1310,  offered  for  any 
of  Nos.  775  to  807  inclusive. — W.  Jones,  Manchester-street, 
Oldham. 

For  BatracJwspcrmum  moniliforme  and  Tahellaria  ventri- 
cosa,  both  just  as  collected,  send  objects  of  interest. — W.  West, 
Chemist,  Bradford. 

Wanted,  Westwood's  "  Introduction  to  the  Classification  of 
Insects,"  for  foreign  insects  (chiefly  parasites),  mounted  or  un- 
mounted.— M.,  Anglesea  Lodge,  Godalming,  Surrey. 

Wanted,  a  few  Eggs  of  Lepidoptera,  and  Micro-Lepido- 
ptera,  whole  for  mounting,  in  exchange  for  really  good  slides. — 
T.  H.  Buffham,  Clarendon-road,  Walthamstow. 

Wanted,  a  Coddington  Half-inch  Lens,  Matthews  or  other 
Turntable,  and  a  Section-cutting  Machine.  Can  offer  good 
Micro  Slides,  &c.— Wright,  8,  Grosvenor-road,  Headingley,. 
Leeds. 

Will  exchange  "  Live  Stock,"  Journal,  cost  8s.,  and  other 
books,  for  back  numbers  of  Science-Gossip,  or  scientific  works. 
E.  Velge,  41,  Peckham  Grove,  London. 

Wanted,  every  description  of  Mounted  Objects  and  Micro- 
scopic Apparatus,  in  exchange  for  Mounting  Materials.  A  list 
sent  to  all  applicants.  Foreign  correspondence  solicited.  All 
letters  answered.— E.  Atkins,  200,  Essex-road,  Islington, 
London. 

Wanted,  Volumes  of  Science-Gossip,  Coleoptera,  or  Books 
on  them,  in  exchange  for  very  large  Latin  Book  on  Insects, 
date  1634.  "  Insectorum  sive  minimorum  animalium  Theatrum." 
Calf,  full  of  woodcuts  of  all  insects,  exchange  value  15s. — J.  N. 
Minnitt,  5,  Regent-street,  Nottingham. 

Wanted,  Wood  Sections,  Fish  Scales.  Hair  Sections,  and 
every  variety  of  Unmounted  Objects,  for  Mounted  Objects 
(good).— C.  W.  Lawton,  200,  Essex-road,  Islington,  London. 

Wanted,  unmounted,  Ripe  Capsules  of  Mosses,  Sori  of 
Ferns,  cleaned  Polycystina  and  Foraminifera.  Well  mounted 
Slides  in  exchange.  —  Send  postal  slide-box  for  return  to 
T.  Sherlock,  32,  Exchange-street,  St.  Helens. 

Foreign  Shells. — Duplicates,  mostly  of  Japanese,  Chinese, 
Burmese,  Java,  and  Philippines,  Australian.  —  Desiderata  : 
principally  North  and  South  American,  West  Indian,  Medi- 
terranean, Spanish,  French,  Algerian,  and  Egyptian  ;  also 
duplicates  of  about  fifty  sorts  of  British  Land  and  Freshwater 
Shells  for  the  above  desiderata.  Exchanges  invited.  — W. 
Sutton,  Upper  Claremont,  Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

London  Catalogue,  7th  edition,  wanted,  1479,  1495  b, 
1496  b,  1505,  1511,  1513,  1520  b,  1523  b,  1531  b,  1535  b, 
1548,  1572  b,  for  1447,  1449,  1448,  1136,  1145,  &c. — B.  M. 
Watkins,  Treaddow,  Hentland,  Ross,  Herefordshire. 

A  firm,  substantial,  Equatorial  Stand  for  Telescope  for 
exchange.  Wanted,  a  Foot-lathe,  good  Magic  Lantern,  or 
Scientific  Apparatus.  —  Address,  H.  Morland,  Cranford, 
Middlesex. 

Mosses. — Wanted,  a  Northern  Correspondent  to  exchange 
Species  from  the  West  of  England  District. — Address,  £. 
Wheeler,  31,  Triangle,  Tullen-road,  Bristol. 

Rare  British  and  Foreign  Eggs  to  exchange  for  others  not 
in  collection.  All  letters  answered. — J.  T.  T.  Reed,  Ryhope, 
Sunderland. 

Will  exchange  any  class  of  neatly-mounted  Micro  Slides 
or  Material,  Diatoms  in  situ  ;  Parasites  or  their  Eggs  particu- 
larly wanted.  Prefer  to  send  stained  vegetable  preparations, 
unless  otherwise  requested. — W.  Teasdale,  Headingley,  Leeds. 


BOOKS,  &c,  RECEIVED. 

"  Popular  Science  Review."     April. 
"  Land  and  Water."     April. 
"  Midland  Naturalist."     April. 
"  Scottish  Naturalist."     April. 
"American  Naturalist."     March. 
"  Science  pour  Tous."     March. 

"  Bulletin  de  la  Societe  Beige  de  Microscopic"     February. 
"  Feuille    des    Jeunes    Naturalistes."     January,    February, 
March,  and  April. 

&c.  &c.  &c. 


Communications  have  been  received  up  to  the  ioth 
ult.,  from:— B.  H.— D.  C— C.  W.  L.— A.  J.-H.  B.— 
J.  W.  D.  K—  A.  W.— H.  A.  M.— B.  B.  T.— J.  F.— Col.  B.— 

B.  P.— P.  T.— H.  K.— T.  Q.  C—  Dr.  E.  De  C— W.  B.  G.— 
H.  F.  B.— W.  R.  M.— F.  A.  P.— A.  P.— G.  N.  M.  — R.  N.— 

C.  L.  P.-J.  N.-R.  E.  S.- W.  T.-W.  H.  B.-W.  J.— J.  P.  S. 
— R.    R.— J.   C— Col.    M.— VV.  V.  A.— W.  W.— H.  L.  G.— 

B.  M.  O.-R.  H.-W.  H.  H.-J.  C.-E.  W.-J.  T.  T.  R. 
—A.    S.  B.— T.  W.— T.  H.    B.— J.  D.— E.  A.— W.   E.  G.— 

C.  F.  W.— W.  M.  P.  -J.  W.  B.— J.  A.  K.— Dr.  E.  H.  V.— 
A.  G.  N.-J.  W.  N—  R.  K.— W.  H.  W.— F.  H.  A.— W.  W.— 
T.  S.-T.  B.-E.  V.-J.  C.-J.  K.-H.  W.  S.  W.  B.-J.  W.  C. 
_j.  s.— J.  T.  P.— J.  P.  T.— H.  P.  M.  -T.  S.— H.  N.  B.— 
J.  W.  S.-W.  S.— J.  McG.-W.  E.  J.-H.  M.— B.  M.  W.— 
W.  D.  B.-J.  P.-W.  H.  B.-G.  L.  H.-T.  W.  D.-A.  B.— 
E.  W.  M.—  A.  S.— H.  B.— A.  S.  A.-G.  A.— &c.  &c.  &c. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


121 


•^3gi» 


Mimmmmwmwimms 


THE   HABITS,  FOOD,  AND   USES    OF  THE   EARTH-WORM. 

{Lumbricus  terrestris. ) 
BY     PROFESSOR     PA  LEY,     M.A. 


F   there  is  a  creature   of 
tolerably      large       size 
which    one    would    be 
disposed    at    first    sight 
to     place     lower    than 
most  others  in  the  scale 
of    creation,    it    is    the 
common       lob  -  worm. 
To  an  unobserving  eye 
a  very  simple  organism 
without   any    particular 
head  or  tail,  and  possessing  only  a  slightly  rough  and 
bristly  body  of  tubular  form,  composed  of  contractile 
rings — from  which  the  class  it  belongs  to  is  called 
arinelidae— it  is  regarded  by  most  people  as  a  rather 
ugl>'j  but  harmless,  wriggling  thing,  slimy  and  disagree- 
able to   touch,    unsightly   to  look  at,    and   about  as 
destitute  of  interest  as  anything  that  lives  and  moves 
and  has  an  independent  existence.     But  all  this  is 
founded  on  a  false  estimate,   and  the  false  estimate 
is,   as  usual,   founded  on  ignorance.     The  lob-worm 
may  almost  be  called  a  clever  and  intelligent  creature ; 
very  shy  indeed  of  letting  its  mode  of  action  be  seen, 
but  showing  by  certain  results,  which  readily  come 
under  our  observation,  that  it  has  instincts  which  fall 
very  little  short  of  reasoning  and  design.     And   yet 
this  creature  has    "no  eyes,  nor  any  other  organs  of 
special  sense  that  are  known."* 

There  are  difficulties  in  ascertaining  the  habits  of 
the  lob-worm,  first,  from  its  timidity  and  watchful- 
ness, next,  from  its  rarely  appearing  on  the  surface 
except  at  night,  thirdly,  from  its  operations  being 
conducted  almost  entirely  under  ground.  It  is  im- 
mediately conscious  of  the  tread  of  an  approaching 
foot,  or  of  the  least  tremor  of  the  earth,  such  as  is 
caused  by  digging  or  any  garden-work.  In  these 
cases  it  acts  in  two  apparently  opposite  ways.  If  a 
stick  or  a  spade  be  thrust  deep  into  rich  garden-soil, 
in  which  large  lob-worms  generally  abound,  and 
moved  to  and  fro,  several  of  them  will  crawl  out  of 
their  holes,  even  at  the  distance  of  a  yard,  and  wriggle 


No.  162. 


Huxley. 


about  on  the  surface.     In  this  way  the  extraordinary 

elasticity  of  the  creature  may  be  seen.  It  can  stretch, 
itself  out  to  more  than  twice  its  natural  length,  and  its 
power  of  locomotion  consists  in  its  turnings  and 
twistings,  its  grasp  of  the  earth  by  its  short  stiff 
bristles,  and  by  forming  its  head  into  a  kind  of  hook 
or  anchor,  and  then  dragging  its  body  towards  it. 
But  if,  walking  gently,  and  towards  evening,  you 
chance  to  see  a  worm  partly  out  of  its  hole,  it  will 
immediately  retire  into  it.  Blackbirds  and  thrushes 
may  be  watched  pulling  long  writhing  worms  out  of  a 
grass-plot,  and  devouring  them;  but  if  you  walk 
across  the  same  grass  you  will  not  find  a  single  one. 
The  reason  is,  that  the  light  hop  of  the  bird  does  not 
warn  the  worm  of  its  approach;  the  bird  sees  just  the 
head  protruding,  and  by  a  dexterous  clip  and  jerk  he 
extracts  the  delicate  morsel,  and  bolts  it  whole — alive 
and  kicking. 

The  lob-worm  has  a  singular  habit  of  filling  up  the 
entrance  of  its  hole  with  fallen  leaves,  bits  of  stick  or 
straw,  feathers,  or  any  small  and  light  objects — it  is 
rather  fond  of  bits  of  string — that  it  finds  near.  If  it 
cannot  get  these,  it  piles  up  a  little  hillock  of  pebbles 
or  small  bits  of  lime,  cinder,  &c.  Why  it  does  this 
it  is  not  easy  to  make  out.  Possibly  it  is  to  allow  the 
passage  of  air  into  the  hole,  and  yet  to  prevent  the  in- 
trusion of  insects,  such  as  beetles,  or  ants,  which 
would  give  it  as  much  trouble  and  annoyance*  as  a 
ferret  gives  to  a  rabbit  in  its  burrow.  For  if  it  were 
solely  for  purposes  of  food,  which  fallen  leaves  or  seeds 
of  trees  might  be,  and  apparently  are,  the  worm 
would  not  draw  in  such  indigestible  delicacies  as 
string  or  feathers.  Perhaps  they  pull  in  anything  that 
they  find  soft  and  yielding,  and  make  trial  of  its 
edible  qualities  at  their  leisure.  Whatever  be 
the  reason,  the  holes  are  carefully  stopped  up  in  the 
way  I  have  described.  This  seems,  indeed,  rather 
stupid;  because  a  knowing  bird  may  regard  the  tufts 
upon  worm-holes  as  so  many  points  for  attack;  but 


*  In  Mr.  Taylor's  "  Half-hours  in  the  Green  Lanes,"  a  slug 
{Tcstacelia  haliotideci)  is  described  as  "  the  terror  of  the  com- 
mon earth-worm"  (p.  211). 

G 


122 


HARD  1VICKE'  S    SCIENCE-  G  OSS  IP. 


this  is  the  habit  of  the  creature,  and  as  I  once,  and 
once  only,  caught  a  lob-worm  actually  at  work,  I  shall 
describe  what  I  saw,  which  I  thought  extremely 
curious. 

My  attention  was  directed  to  the  fact  that  if  the 
small  heaps  of  pebbles  were  cleared  away  from  a 
worm-hole,  they  were  sure  to  be  replaced  next 
morning.  Suspecting  they  worked  only  at  night,  I 
went  late  one  summer  evening,  after  a  shower  of 
rain,  to  a  bed  in  the  garden  which  was  very  full  of 
earth-worms.  Walking  up  to  it  on  tip-toe,  and  with 
extreme  care  (for  I  was  well  aware  that  if  it  felt  the 
footstep  two  or  three  yards  off,  it  would  retire  into 
the  hole),  I  was  lucky  enough  to  see  one  very  big 
worm  with  its  body  about  half  out  of  the  hole.  I 
then  stood  for  some  time  perfectly  still,  and  watched 
it  as  it  reached  out  its  elastic  head  to  a  small  pebble, 
and  by  a  clever  jerk,  or  possibly,  by  its  slimy  mois- 
ture adhering  to  it,  it  drew  the  pebble  to  its  hole 
and  left  it  close  to  the  edge.  Thus  it  took  another 
and  another,  and  now  I  was  able  to  explain  what  I 
had  often  noticed,  that  every  pebble  within  a  circle 
of  about  six  inches  was  moved  away  and  piled  up 
over  the  hole.  The  worm  took  the  circle,  elongating 
Hs  body,  and  moving  east  or  west  and  to  every  point 
of  the  compass,  so  to  say,  till  not  a  pebble  was  left 
within  its  reach.  This  I  sate,  and  the  reader  may 
believe  that  it  is  a  strictly  accurate  account,  though  it 
may  seem  to  credit  the  creature  with  more  intelligence 
than  it  has  any  right  to  possess. 

I  believe  the  same  may  be  seen  by  anyone  who 
will  take  a  lantern  into  the  garden  late  on  a  summer's 
night,  for  they  can  hardly  be  conscious  of  light ;  even 
■of  this,  indeed,  I  have  sometimes  entertained  a  doubt, 
though  I  cannot  explain  it  in  an  eyeless  creature. 
Certain  it  is  that  on  gently  uncovering  a  pot  of  earth 
containing  a  lob-worm,  and  bringing  a  candle  to 
examine  it,  when  it  happens  to  be  above  ground,  the 
creature  will  almost  always  immediately  disappear. 

But  the  feat  which  I  saw  performed  is  nothing  to 
what  I  am  going  to  describe.  I  found  on  a  gravel 
path  in  my  garden,  and  on  the  grass-plot  adjoining, 
a  number  of  worm-holes,  all  stopped  up  with  the  long 
narrow  leaves  of  the  weeping  willow,  which  had 
fallen  in  the  late  autumn,  and  had  been  placed  erect 
in  small  bunches.  On  examining  separately  a  num- 
ber of  these  leaves  (of  which  each  hole  contained  on 
the  average  about  twenty,  though  many  of  them  had 
more),  I  found,  to  my  surprise,  that  every  leaf  had 
the  stalk-end  uppermost,  and  the  other  end  rolled 
together  into  a  kind  of  plug  so  as  to  fill  up  the  hole. 
Aery  rarely  indeed,  perhaps  in  one  or  two  out  of 
a  hundred  leaves,  the  creature  had  made  a  mistake, 
and  put  the  stalk-end  downwards.  But  in  these  few 
leaves  the  end  was  quite  entire,  whereas  the  leaf- 
plugs  in  general  seemed  to  have  been  nibbled  or 
partly  eaten  at  the  ends  within  the  holes.  Evidently 
the  stalk-ends  were  too  tough,  and  the  worm  had 
the  extraordinary  intelligence,  blind  as  of  course  it 


is,  to  find  out  by  the  touch  the  right  and  the  wrong 
end,  and  to  make  use  of  each  leaf  accordingly. 

The  mouth-end  (so  to  call  it)  of  a  lob-worm  has 
many  analogies  to  an  elephant's  trunk.  It  can  curl 
it  and  twist  it,  make  it  blunt  or  sharp,  curved  or 
hooked,  as  it  pleases ;  and  it  is  evident  that  an  acute 
sense  of  feeling  resides  in  it.  Therefore,  recklessly 
to  chop  worms  in  half  with  a  spade,  on  the  plea  that 
they  do  not  feel,  or  to  impale  them  on  fish-hooks,  is 
cruel,  even  though  we  take  old  Walton's  advice  and 
perform  the  operation  "tenderly." 

Worms  feed  by  a  kind  of  suction,  as  well  as  by 
digesting  vegetable  fibre;  they  pass  earth  through 
their  long  tubular  stomachs,  and  eject  it  on  the  sur- 
face in  those  little  hillocks  which  we  call  worm-casts, 
and  which  so  much  disfigure  our  closely-mown  lawns, 
till  we  flatten  them  down  with  the  garden  roller. 
But  these  worm-casts  perform  more  than  one  very 
important  function. 

( To  be  continued. ) 


BOTANICAL   WORK    FOR   JUNE. 

IN  taking  our  usual  daily  walk  in  the  spring  months, 
we  have  often  seen  the  Chickweed,  Marsh  Mari- 
gold, and  Water-blinks.  We  select  these  species 
because  they  are  so  common  as  to  be  generally  passed 
over  with  the  remark,  "Oh,  it  is  only  the  Chick- 
weed,"  and  so  on. 

Stay,  however  ;  not  quite  so  fast.  The  poor  Chick- 
weed,  despised  because  it  is  so  common,  covers,  with- 
out doubt,  three  distinct  species.  As  the  result  of  a 
careful  examination,  extending  over  twelve  years,  we 
now  regard  this  despised  plant  with  deep  interest, 
and,  at  a  glance,  can  detect  the  three  species  we  now 
lay  before  our  readers  : — 

First. — The  Stcllaria  media,  Linn.,  may  be  recog- 
nized by  the  line  of  hairs  on  the  stem  and  branches. 

1.  The  true  S.  media,  Linn.,  has  five  stamens; 
petals  invariably  present. 

2.  S.  Borceana,  Jord.,  is  devoid  of  petals  ;  stamens 
three. 

3.  S.  neglecta,  Weihe.  Sepals  with  long  hairs, 
often  as  long  as  the  petals  ;  stamens  ten.  Note. — 
We  are  unable  to  detect  any  good  specific  distinction 
betwixt  S.  umbrosa  and  6".  neglecta. 

Further. — No.  1  has  showy  flowers,  with  few 
branches,  about  four  inches  long.  No.  2  is  a  small 
tufted  plant ;  branches  very  short ;  flowers  inconspi- 
cuous. No.  3  is  not  unlike  dwarf  specimens  of  Stel- 
laria  nemorum,  L. ;  branches  sometimes  eighteen 
inches  high  ;  leaves  large  ;  flowers  large. 

Our  next  species  is  the  Marsh  Marigold  (Caltha 
pahtstris).  For  many  years  we  overlooked  this 
species,  but  now  it  seems  like  an  old  friend  altered 
by  long  absence.  It  is  split  up  into  three  varieties  ; 
but  we  now  only  notice  those  which  are  common,  or 


HA  R  D  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  O  SSIP. 


123 


Stems  short  and 
tubercles  on  seed 
a  striking  resem- 

S  terns  long,   soli- 


of  frequent  occurrence,  so  as  to  throw  a  new  charm 
to  our  spring  rambles  : — 
Caltha  pahistris,  L. 

1.  C.  vulgaris,  Schott.  Flowers  large,  one  and 
a  half  to  two  inches  across ;  sepals  meeting  at  the 
margins ;  follicles  (seed-vessel)  with  a  short  beak ; 
branches  stout,  very  few. 

2.  C.  Gtterangerii,  Boreau.  Flowers  numerous, 
very  small ;  sepals  spreading ;  follicles  with  a  long 
beak. 

No.  I  is  generally  found  in  swampy  situations ; 
No.  2  in  brooks,  &c. 

Another  plant  is  often  overlooked,  the  lowly 
Blinks. 

Montia  fontanel,  L.  In  this  instance  new  names 
have  been  introduced  to  distinguish  each  separate 
plant. 

No.    1. — ill.    minor,    Gmelin. 
tufted  ;     flowers   inconspicuous  ; 
with  a  raised  point.     This  bears 
blance  to  Stellaria  Boraana,  Jord. 

No.  2. — M.  rivnlaris,  Gmelin. 
tary,  thick  and  flaccid ;  tubercles  on  seed  with  flat- 
tened point. 

We  regard  No.  1  as  a  very  distinct  species ;  it  alters 
not  in  a  state  of  cultivation,  but  is  rather  rare  in  the 
northern  counties. 

"Who  does  not  recognize  with  feelings  of  delight 
and  joy  the  pretty  Milkwort?  {Poly gala  vulgaris, 
Linn.)  Probably  no  British  species  has  been  split  up 
more  frequently,  if  we  except  the  Rubi.  After  years 
of  toil  in  looking  up  these  sub-species,  and  after 
examining,  may  be,  thousands  of  specimens,  we 
have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  so-called  P. 
z'ulgaris,  as  originally  described  by  Linnaeus,  includes 
two  well-marked  forms,  as  follows  : — 

No.  1.  P.  vulgaris,  L.  Racemes,  many-flowered; 
leaves  scattered,  lanceolate  ;  branches  numerous,  as- 
cending. 

No.  2.  P.  depressa,  Wend.  Racemes  few 
flowered ;  flowers  small,  white  or  pink ;  leaves  often 
tufted  below,  or  crowded  thickly  on  the  stem  just 
beneath  the  flowers,  becoming  opposite,  all  linear. 
This  is  a  pretty  species. 

There  are  other  varieties,  such  as  oxyptera,  gran- 
diflora,  Sec,  but  the  characters  are  so  liable  to  varia- 
tion, even  on  the  same  plant,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
distinguish  them  without  close  inspection,  but  the 
above  have  generally  constant  characters.  F. 

THE  DATE-PALM. 

PHGENIX  DACTYLIFERA  is  the  name  given 
by  Linnaeus  to  this  very  important  member  of 
the  vegetable  kingdom.  PJicenix  is  the  Greek  name 
of  the  date,  and  is  probably  derived  from  Phoenicia, 
whence  the  best  dates  were  brought.  Its  origin,  like 
that  of  so  many  of  our  cultivated  fruits  and  vege- 
tables, is  unknown,  but  it  may  reasonably  be  sup- 


posed to  be  a  native  of  Arabia  and  Persia.  In  very 
ancient  times  it  was  cultivated  in  Egypt  (in  the 
Museums  of  Economic  Botany,  Royal  Gardens,  Kew, 
is  a  specimen  of  "mummy  bread"  which  is  appa- 
rently made  of  dates,  such  bread  being  frequently  found 
in  jars  in  the  tombs  at  Thebes)  and  in  North  Africa, 
from  which  countries  it  was  introduced  very  long  after- 
wards, probably  by  the  Arabs,  into  South  Europe. 
It  is  a  noble  tree,  attaining  under  favourable  condi  - 
tions  a  height  of  from  60  to  100  feet.  The  stout 
stem,  which  is  very  rugged,  owing  to  the  persistent 
bases  of  the  decayed  leaves,  is  surmounted  by  a  large 
head  of  feathery  leaves,  12  to  20  feet  long.  The 
flowers  are  produced  on  large  branches,  which  spring 
from  the  axils  of  the  leaves.  Each  inflorescence  is 
at  first  enclosed  in  what  is  called  a  spathe,  which 
afterwards  falls  away.  As  many  as  10,000  flowers 
have  been  counted  in  one  spathe,  and,  as  one  tree 
will  produce  many  spathes  at  a  time,  some  idea  of 
the  total  number  of  flowers  may  be  obtained.  Each 
tree  bears  flowers  of  one  sex  only ;  therefore  cross 
fertilization  is  necessary.  It  is  said  that  in  times  of 
war  the  Arabs  cut  down  the  male  dates  belonging  to 
their  enemies,  the  result  being  of  course  a  total 
failure  of  the  date  crop.  In  "  Hortus  Collinsonia- 
nus,"  occurs  the  following  memorandum: — "At 
Berlin  was  a  large  date-palm,  at  Leipsic  was  another, 
which  was  the  male ;  both  made  attempts  to  produce 
fruit,  but  imperfect,  as  these  trees  are  of  different 
sexes,  the  Berlin  tree  being  the  female;  anno  1749, 
they  married  the  two  trees  by  carrying  a  branch  of 
male  flowers  and  impregnating  the  Berlin  tree  ;  and 
then  it  produced  good  fruit,  from  which  young  trees 
have  been  raised,  but  this  espousal  must  be  done 
annually." 

To  the  inhabitants  of  many  countries  the  import- 
ance of  the  date-palm  cannot  be  over-rated.  The 
pulp  of  the  fruit  serves  them  and  their  various  do- 
mestic animals  for  food  ;  and  even  the  extremely  hard 
and  apparently  useless  stones  are  ground  and  given 
to  their  camels.  The  young  undeveloped  leaves  are 
eaten  as  a  vegetable  ;  in  a  mature  stage  they  are  made 
into  bags,  and  are  the  sole  material  used  in  con- 
structing the  huts  of  the  common  people.  The  stalks 
of  the  leaves,  when  softened  by  boiling,  serve  as  food 
for  camels ;  and  numbers  are  imported  into  this 
country  for  the  manufacture  of  walking-sticks.  From 
the  stalks  also,  excellent  baskets  and  crates  are  made. 
Timber  for  the  houses  of  the  better  class  is  obtained 
from  the  stems,  which  also  furnish  an  inferior  kind  of 
sago.  The  fibre,  called  "  lif,"  from  the  bases  of  the 
old  leaves,  is  converted  into  ropes  and  a  sort  of 
coarse  cloth.  The  heads  of  trees  not  bearing  freely 
are  cut  off,  and  the  trunks  scooped  out.  Into  the 
hollows  thus  formed,  the  sap  rises  at  the  rate  of 
from  three  to  four  quarts  a  day  ;  this  quantity  is  kept 
up  for  one  or  two  weeks,  after  which  it  gradually 
diminishes  :  in  six  or  eight  weeks  the  trees  become 
quite  dry,  and  are  used  either  as  timber  or  firewood. 

G   2 


124 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSS  IP. 


The  syrup-like  juice  obtained  as  above  described  is 
turned  into  an  intoxicating  beverage  by  fermentation  ; 
end  sugar  is  procured  from  this  juice  by  mere  boiling. 


Fig.  84.     Lenves  of  Date-Palm,  covered  with  fungus 
{Crapliiola  pkucnicis). 

It  is  very  probable  that  the  palm-branches  carried 
before  Christ  on  His    triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem 


were  the  leaves  of  this  tree.  Various  branches  of  the 
Christian  Church,  by  their  use  of  date-palm  leaves  in 
decorating  their  churches  on  the  anniversary  of  this 
event,  and  the  Jews,  by  their  use  of  them  during  the 
Passover,  uphold  this  idea.  For  these  purposes  vast 
numbers  of  trees  are  cultivated,  especially  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Bordighiera,  on  the  Sardinian 
coast.  Collinson  says,  "  Mr.  Bowles  writes  me  .  .  . 
the  upper  branches  they  tie  up  to  turn  yellow,  and 
then  sell  them  to  adorn  churches  and  houses  to 
keep  away  the  devil ;  they  have  the  art  of  managing 
them." 

Without  the  date  the  Sahara  would  be  uninhabitable. 
In  every  spot  where  there  is  any  water  this  tree 
flourishes,  furnishing  shelter  to  the  traveller  from  the 
fierce  tropical  sun,  and  food  for  himself  and  camels. 
Very  many  varieties,  differing  much  from  each  other 
in  colour,  size,  and  shape,  are  cultivated,  each  known 
by  its  own  particular  name.  Some  travellers  mention 
as  many  as  forty-six  ;  and  twenty-six  distinct  varie- 
ties are  exhibited  in  the  Kew  Museum.  The  date 
is  fast  disappearing  from  the  Holy  Land,  where  at 
one  time  it  seems  to  have  been  very  abundant.  Moses 
refers  to  Jericho  as  the  "  City  of  Palms,"  and  we 
have  the  testimony  of  Pliny  in  his  Natural  History 
that  palms  abounded  in  Judea  and  the  surrounding 
regions.  On  several  of  the  coins  of  Titus,  Domitian, 
and  Trajan  the  country  is  represented  by  the  symbol 
of  a  palm-tree. 

Formerly  dates  were  credited  with  many  medicinal 
virtues.  In  some  old  herbals  a  decoction  in  red  wine 
is  recommended  for  the  piles.  The  date's  prevailing 
qualities  are  nutritious  and  saccharine.  One  pound 
of  dates  might  produce  about  one  ounce  of  the  dry 
nitrogenous  substance  of  muscle  or  flesh. 

In  conclusion,  we  may  observe  that  the  date-palm 
may  be  seen  growing  in  many  collections  in  this 
country,  notably  a  very  fine  specimen  in  the  large 
conservatory  at  Sion  House,  the  residence  of  the 
Duke  of  Northumberland.  In  the  Palm  House  at 
Kew  there  is  a  much  smaller  one  with  an  abundance 
of  a  parasitical  fungus  on  its  leaves.  This  fungus, 
which  bears  the  name  of  Graphiola  phanicis,  and 
seems  partial  to  P/ianix  dactylifera,  attacks  several 
other  species  of  the  genus.  Geo.  Nicholson. 


A   LESSON   FROM   A   FAGGOT-STICK. 

THE  object  of  this  short  paper  is  to  show  what 
pleasure  may  be  derived  by  the  observer  of 
nature,  from  the  contemplation  of  the  most  unlikely 
and  commonplace  objects,  and  how  numerous  are 
the  sources  from  which  instruction  may  be  gathered 
to  serve  as  a  lesson  in  entomology. 

Those  who  are  happily  acquainted  with  this  part 
of  Kent,  to  whatever  county  they  may  belong,  and 
to  whatever  part  of  the  world  they  have  travelled, 
or  may  hereafter  travel,    will  gladly  confess  that  it 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


125 


possesses  points  of  beauty  and  interest  which  are  not 
easily  surpassed  by  those  of  any  other  county,  and 
which  entitle  it  to  a  place  in  the  memory  as  a  county 
of  singular  beauty,  well  deserving  the  appellation 
it  has  gained,  "The  Garden  of  England."  Its 
graceful  swelling  hills  are  everywhere  mantled  with 
woods,  sepia-tinted  in  winter,  emerald -green  in 
spring  ;  fuller,  deeper,  and  richer-hued  in  summer, 
and  splashed  with  purple,  gold,  and  bronze  in 
autumn.  It  would,  indeed,  be  difficult  to  say  at 
what  season  of  the  year  they  are  most  attractive. 


* 


m 


Fig.  86.   Imago  of 

Hylisimis  fraxini, 

natural  size. 


KN 


Fig.  87.    ditto 
magnified. 


Fig.  83.     Larva 
of  ditto. 


Fig.  85.  Tracks  of  Hylisin  ws 
fraxini. 


Fig.  89.  General  form  of 
main  track  or  channel. 


Many  of  these  woods  are  devoted  to  the  growth 
of  a  kind  of  underwood  for  the  sake  of  hop-poles, 
faggots,  &c.  They  are  allowed  to  grow  for  a  period 
of  about  seven  years,  and  are  then  cut  down  ;  the 
trees  are  lopped  to  within  a  foot  or  two  from  the 
ground.  This  frequently-repeated  act  of  cutting  down 
causes  the  stumps  to  assume  the  most  fantastic  and 
picturesque  appearances.  They  are  often  decorated 
with  an  elegant  drapery  of  clematis,  ivy,  black 
briony,  briony,  and  other  climbing  plants,  and  the 
graceful  polypody  hangs  its  waving  tufts  from  their 
wrinkled  sides.  Among  the  trees  so  grown  may  be 
enumerated  the  horn-bram,  hazel,  chestnut,  ash, 
white-bram,    oak,    cherry,  maple,  &c,  so   that  the 


woods  present  considerable  variety  to  the  wanderer. 
Beneath  their  shade  grows  a  great  selection  of  wild 
plants,  decorating  the  earth  as  with  a  coloured 
carpet.  During  April  these  woods  are  gay  with 
anemone,  primrose,  cardamine,  two  or  three  species 
of  viola,  and  the  golden  pilewort ;  while  a  little 
searching  discovers  beautiful  cushion-like  masses  of 
Adoxa  vioschatcllina,  the  tropical-looking  spurge- 
laurel,  with  its  hanging  clusters  of  yellow-green 
sweetly-scented  bells.  The  curious,  unhealthy-looking 
Lathrcza  squamaria,  growing  from  the  roots  of  the 
hazel,  and  other  trees,  upon  which  it  is  parasitic, 
trailing  branches  of  ground-ivy,  and  the  sweetly 
pretty  Oxalis  acetosella. 

The  faggots  brought  to  our  doors  for  lighting  fires 
contain  specimens  of  all  the  trees  above  mentioned, 
and  many  an  interesting  botanical  lesson  may  be 
gathered  from  their  examination.  The  nature  of  the 
bark,  the  formation  and  arrangement  of  the  buds, 
the  peculiar  scars  left  by  the  falling  leaves,  and  other 
points,  may  be  well  studied  from  these.  When  winter 
winds  are  howling  round,  and  torrential  rains  are 
drenching  the  earth,  we  may  well  fly  to  the  study  of 
such  objects  as  these  for  recreation  and  instruction. 

About  the  end  of  the  month  of  June  I  had  occasion 
to  hunt  through  one  of  these  faggots  in  search  of  a 
stick  for  the  amusement  of  one  of  my  children.  I 
picked  up  a  straight  branch  of  ash,  which  appeared 
just  to  suit  my  purpose,  and  commenced  to  cut  and 
trim  it.  To  my  surprise,  although  looking  perfectly 
fresh  and  sound,  I  found  the  bark  almost  completely 
separated  from  the  wood  below,  and  the  space  between 
the  two  filled  with  a  fine  sawdust-like  powder. 
Fixing  my  attention  a  little  more  closely  upon  the 
twig,  I  now  noticed  that  the  bark  appeared  as  if 
riddled  with  small  shot,  as  shown  in  the  upper  part 
of  fig.  85.  On  stripping  the  bark,  and  blowing  away 
the  dust  alluded  to,  I  detected  a  groove,  originating 
below  a  leaf-scar,  which,  after  passing  under  the  scar, 
branched  off  in  opposite  directions,  as  seen  in  fig.  85. 
Springing  from  these  grooves  were  now  clearly 
discernible  a  great  number  of  shallow  channels,  sepa- 
rated from  each  other  by  the  merest  film  of  wood  ; 
each  channel  widening  out  in  proportion  to  its  dis- 
tance from  the  main  groove.  At  the  end  of  each  of 
these  branching  channels  I  found  a  small,  fat,  active 
little  grub  busily  engaged  extending  its  passage,  the 
wood  forming  its  food.  I  now,  of  course,  saw  at  a 
glance  the  meaning  of  all  this  loose  dust  and  apparent 
rottenness,  and  the  origin  of  these  main  and  lateral 
canals.  It  appeared  quite  clear  that  the  main  ducts 
were  made  by  some  insect,  that  eggs  were  deposited 
at  minute  intervals,  on  both  sides  of  these  tracts,  that 
these  eggs  were  finally  hatched  out,  that  the  grubs 
so  resulting  immediately  commenced  feeding,  tra- 
velling continually  away  from  the  centre,  and  that  as 
they  waxed  in  stature  they  necessarily  enlarged  their 
tracts. 

Having  proceeded  thus  far  in  my  discoveries,  and 


126 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


my  interest  being  thoroughly  aroused,  I  determined 
to  prosecute  my  search.  For  this  purpose  a  number 
of  ash-branches  were  selected,  and  carefully  laid  on 
one  side.  A  cursory  glance  at  these  showed  nothing 
at  all  abnormal  or  noticeable,  but  a  more  careful 
examination  disclosed  a  number  of  small  ridges  of 
discoloured  skin  traversing  the  branches  in  various 
directions.  Taking  off  the  bark  at  these  points,  the 
main  passage  before-mentioned  was  exposed  to  view. 
On  tracing  this  up  or  down  the  stem  it  was  always 
found  to  terminate  below  an  old  leaf-scar.  Finding 
this,  I  now  examined  the  leaf-scars,  and  in  a  majority 
of  cases  found  a  small  hole  filled  below  with  fine 
dust.  Detaching  the  skin  at  this  point  a  small  run 
was  visible,  passing  just  below  the  scar  to  the  right 
or  left  ;  and  when  clear  of  it  branching  off  in  two 
opposite  directions  up  and  down  the  branch  (fig.  89), 
but  usually  more  or  less  spirally  arranged.  At  the 
entrance  to  this  passage  was  generally  found  a  small 
beetle,  and  another  some  distance  along.  There 
were  mostly  two,  but  whether  they  were  male  and 
female,  or  whether  they  were  both  females  acting  in 
concert  I  was  not  able  to  determine.  The  diameter 
of  the  principal  passage  is  about  i-i6th  in.  The 
beetle  I  found  to  be  Hylisinus  fraxini. 

It  appears  to  be  very  prolific,  and  must  be  very 
destructive  to  the  trees  it  attacks.  In  the  cases  I 
examined  there  were  usually  from  60  to  80  diverging 
passages,  and  at  the  end  of  each,  as  before-stated, 
was  a  fat  larval  beetle,  busily  engaged  excavating  for 
its  daily  rations.  In  many  branches,  almost  every 
node  was  the  starting-point  for  these  channels,  and 
the  amount  of  mischief  done  to  the  tree  may  well  be 
imagined  when  we  bear  in  mind  the  numbers  found 
in  each  run,  and  their  method  of  working  side  by 
side  so  closely  as  to  all  but  completely  sever  the  bark 
from  the  wood.  After  examining  a  great  number,  a 
few  specimens  were  put  on  one  side  for  the  purpose 
of  watching  their  progress  towards  maturity. 

On  the  28th  August  the  now-transformed  larvae 
began  to  emerge  in  the  imago  form,  i.e.,  as  perfect 
winged  beetles.  They  were  pretty  little  insects, 
varying  considerably  in  colour,  some  being  much 
lighter  than  others,  and  most  distinctly  clouded. 
On  raising  the  bark  I  found  a  great  number  still 
occupying  their  snug  quarters,  where  they  had  fared  so 
comfortably  during  their  early  days,  and  where  they 
had  undergone  their  final  change  preparatory  to 
entering  upon  a  more  active  and  greatly  extended 
sphere  of  action.  I  now  found  that,  prior  to  under- 
going their  first  metamorphosis,  i.e.,  assuming  the 
pupa  form,  they  sink  for  themselves,  at  the  end  of 
their  respective  galleries,  a  comparatively  deep  pit,  in 
which  the  change  takes  place.  In  these  pits  they 
may  be  found  in  August  ready  to  make  their  way  out 
previous  to  setting  up  housekeeping  on  their  own 
account. 

Noel  Humphreys  gave  an  interesting  account  of 
these  beetles  in  the  pages  of  the  "Intellectual  Ob- 


server," in  1862.  He  there  states  that  they  attack 
the  elm  as  well  as  the  ash,  and  that  their  ravages  are 
often  terrible.  The  ash,  however,  is  their  favourite 
tree,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the  specific  name 
{Fraxini)  of  the  insect. 

Having  thus  learnt  how  numerous  and  destructive 
these  insects  are,  and  remembering  that  in  a  row  of 
ash-trees  that  I  passed  daily  some  were  flourishing 
grandly  while  others  were  dead  or  dying,  I  determined 
to  ascertain  whether  these  beetles  had  anything  to  do 
with  the  matter.  On  examining  the  dead  and  dying 
trees,  I  found  them  literally  riddled  with  minute 
shot-like  holes — the  significance  of  which  was  now 
only  too  plain  to  me.  I  had  often  noticed  the  dif- 
ference between  these  trees,  whose  conditions,  as  to 
soil,  climate,  &c,  appeared  to  be  identical,  and 
wondered  what  could  be  the  cause  of  the  death  of 
these,  while  those  by  their  side  grew  vigorously. 
Had  I  noticed  these  holes  a  few  weeks  earlier,  their 
meaning  would  have  been  hidden  from  me,  but  now, 
from  the  study  of  a  few  faggot-sticks  I  was  able  to 
understand  most  clearly  what  had  been  going  on 
beneath  the  bark  of  these  unfortunate  trees,  and  why. 
they  had  gradually,  without  any  apparent  cause, 
drooped  and  died,  branch  by  branch  and  limb  by 
limb,  until  a  giant  mass  of  mere  dry  sticks  remained, 
rearing  its  weird  and  awe-inspiring  form  against  the 
sky. 

Thus,  from  the  careful  examination  of  a  "  faggot  - 
stick  "  I  gathered  the  life-history — or  at  all  events  the 
leading  facts  in  the  life-history — of  a  pretty  little 
British  beetle,  which  undoubtedly  plays  an  important 
part  in  the  "struggle  for  existence,"  which  ultimately 
results  in  the  "survival  of  the  fittest,"  that  has  to 
compete  in  common  with  every  other  member  of 
the  organic  world. 

Rochester.  John  Hepworth. 


WHAT  A  DIATOM  IS. 
( Continued  from  page  107. ) 

IT  is  the  act  of  generation  that  brings  back  the 
normal  size  of  the  frustule,  already  reduced  in 
dimensions  by  repeated  deduplications  ;  if  this  did  not 
take  place,  the  diatom  would  (theoretically)  at  last 
become  a  mere  atom — a  circumstance  which  never 
takes  place. 

The  act  of  generation,  properly  so  called,  may  be 
said  to  consist  in  all  organisms  of  a  simple  amalgama- 
tion of  two  more  or  less  distinct  particles  of  proto- 
plasm. The  diatoms  are  no  exception  to  this  rule, 
and  with  them  this  union  comprises  either  the  contents 
of  two  distinct  frus  titles,  or  of  differentiated  protoplasm 
contained  in  a  single  frustule.  This  phenomenon  is 
called  the  conjugation  of  the  Diatomaceaa.  The 
study  of  the  phenomena  of  conjugation  in  some  forty 
species  of  diatoms,  by  various  distinguished  microscopic 
observers,  has  not  furnished  us  with  such  complete 


HARD  WICKE  >S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


127 


results  as  we  might  desire,  and  the  greatest  circum- 
spection is  necessary  in  the  interpretation  of  the  facts 
observed.  That  which  we  appear  to  know  for  certain 
is  that  conjugation  takes  place  in  diatoms,  and  that 
the  material  result  of  this  is  the  formation  of  what  is 
called  a  sporangium.  This  proceeds  either  from  the 
condensation  of  the  protoplasm  and  endochrome  con- 
tained in  the  interior  of  a  single  frustule,  of  which  the 
valves  are  separated  in  such  a  manner  as  to  enlarge 
the  internal  capacity  of  the  frustule,  the  matter  thus 
amassed  giving  place,  according  to  the  species,  to  the 
formation  of  one  or  two  bodies,  more  or  less  round  or 
oval  ;  these  very  soon  secrete  on  their  surfaces  a  hard 
shell  (test-resistant).  These  are  the  Sporangia,  or 
the  intimate  union  and  fusion  of  the  protoplasm  of 
two  contiguous  frustules  that  have  partially  opened 
along  the  sections  of  the  connectives  for  its  liberation. 
Here  also  is  formed,  according  to  circumstances,  one 
or  two  sporangia.  When  the  sporangium  [is  pro- 
duced by  a  single  primitive  frustule,  it  is  probable  that 
the  original  primordial  utricle,  which  was  already  pre- 
viously divided  into  two  for  the  purpose  of  deduplica- 
tion  before  the  secretion  of  the  new  siliceous  valves, 
and  that  the  sporangium,  formed  of  the  differentiated 
protoplasm,  produces  that  of  the  two  young  utricles. 
This,  however,  requires  to  be  verified  by  direct  obser- 
vation. In  both  cases  there  is  promptly  developed  in 
the  interior  of  the  sporangium  a  special  body,  which 
varies  in  form  according  to  the  genus,  which  grows 
rapidly,  and  which  possesses  an  envelope  rich  in 
silica,  and  is  able  to  resist  calcination  and  the 
action  of  concentrated  acids ;  it  is  often  wrinkled 
across  the  external  surface  ;  this  is  the  Aitxospore. 
This  last  is  the  analogue  of  the  zygospore  of  Zygne- 
maceae.  Its  growth  at  last  bursts  the  sporangium, 
and  carries  with  it  to  its  apices,  the  two  halves  of  the 
sporangium-like  little  caps. 

"When  the  auxospore  has  attained  a  size  generally 
double,  or  even  more,  of  the  frustule  that  has  origi- 
nally produced  it,  we  discover  in  its  interior,  lying 
across  the  envelope,  the  valves  forming  the  new  frus- 
tule. These  last  are  apparently  the  product  of  a  true 
generative  act,  and  which  we  are  justified  in  consider- 
ing for  the  moment  as  sexual,  although  our  means  of 
observation  up  to  the  present  are  much  too  imperfect 
to  permit  of  our  being  able  to  distinguish  the  male 
from  the  female  element  in  the  products  of  conjuga- 
tion. The  first  frustule  is  called  the  sporangia!  frus- 
tule. With  this  is  destined  to  commence  a  new  cycle 
of  vegetative  generations  by  deduplication,  which 
continues  up  to  the  moment  that  a  new  conjugation 
takes  place.  It  restores  also  the  normal  size  of  the 
frustules  degenerated  by  the  repeated  deduplications, 
and  we  see  here  the  singular  phenomenon  of  the  child 
being  at  its  birth  much  larger  than  its  parents.  The 
sporangial  frustule  is  always  enormously  large  in  com- 
parison with  its  parents,  the  empty  valves  and  con- 
nectives of  which  are  generally  retained  by  a  mass  of 
gelatinous  matter  secreted  previous  to  the  act  of  con- 


jugation. We  believe  that  other  modes  of  reproduc- 
tion exist  in  the  diatomacea?  beside  that  of  conjuga- 
tion, but  the  biology  of  these  little  beings  is  much  too 
imperfect  to  enable  us  to  hazard  any  profound  hypo- 
thesis on  this  subject.  It  is  evident  that  all  the 
frustules  do  not  finish  by  conjugating  ;  this  is  highly 
improbable,  when  we  consider  the  rarity  of  that 
phenomenon.  Some  other  explanation  is  necessary 
to  account  for  the  variations  in  the  dimensions  we 
meet  with  in  the  different  individuals  of  the  same 
series  other  than  that  of  deduplication,  as  without  it 
those  frustules  that  escape  conjugation  would  go  on 
diminishing  in  size  indefinitely,  and  we  know  from 
observation  that  every  species  of  diatom  possesses  a 
maximum  and  minimum  of  dimension  which  it  never 
passes.* 

The  rapid  appearance  of  species  where  they  did  not 
previously  exist — their  periodic  succession  at  deter- 
mined seasons,  and  which  we  had  never  been  able  to 
find  in  the  intervals  in  the  same  locality — this  presents 
the  possibility  of  a  mode  of  generation  which  is  only 
yet  suspected,  by  germs,  by  micro  or  macro-zoospores, 
possibly  even  in  the  first  case  with  the  formation  of 
zygozoospores,  as  it  takes  place  among  many  of  the 
inferior  algae  who  live  under  the  same  conditions  as 
the  diatoms. 

We  enter  here  a  field  of  study  of  the  greatest  interest 
and  novelty  to  every  naturalist  furnished  with  a  good 
microscope,  and  possessing  time  and  patience  neces- 
sary for  such  researches,  and  we  dare  affirm  that  any 
member  of  a  microscopical  society  who  shall  follow 
with  care  the  entire  life  cycle  of  a  single  species  of 
diatom,  even  the  commonest,  will  probably  render  a 
greater  service  to  science  than  if  he  had  described  and 
figured  hundreds  of  frustules  from  the  four  quarters  of 
the  globe. 

Note. — In  a  communicationf  to  M.  Deby,  Professor 
H.  L.  Smith  makes  the  following  remarks  : — 

' '  I  have  received  your  brochure,  entitled,  '  Ce  que 
c'est  qu'une  Diatomee,'  for  which  I  thank  you.  What 
you  say  is  generally  correct.  I  have  myself  published 
a  part  in  the  'Lens'  in  1873,  but  I  entirely  differ 
from  you  on  certain  points.  The  communication 
which  you  say  exists  between  the  internal  protoplasmic 
substance  and  the  external  medium  does  not  take 
place,  as  you  say,  along  the  sutures  of  the  connective, 
but  in  the  naviculus,  properly  so  called  ;  it  exists  along 
the  raphe  or  median  line,  and  in  the  Nitzschias  and 
Surirellas  along  the  ala?  and  carina?.  (This  is  an  in- 
teresting confirmation  of  Ehrenberg's  observations, 
who  had  also  studied  this  phenomenon  many  years 
before  J.  D. )     I  possess  drawings  showing  the  injec- 


*  The  process  of  self-division,  no  doubt,  gradually  exhausts 
the  vigour  of  the  sporangial  frustule,  but  this  power  is  possibly 
retained  longer  by  some  individuals  than  others  (thus  bearing 
a  striking  resemblance  to  parthenogenesis  in  the  Aphides,  &c), 
but  there  is  probably  no  fixed  limit.  I  have  seen  much  smaller 
valves  of  A  ulacodiscus  Kittoni  in  a  New  Zealand  gathering 
than  in  a  copious  and  pure  gathering  from  Vera  Cruz. — F.  K. 

t  A  translation  into  the  French  appears  in  the  Bulletin  de  la 
Socicte  Beige  de  microscopie  for  Dec,  1S77. 


128 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE -GOSSIP. 


tion  of  indigo  along  the  median  line,  and  its  penetra- 
tion into  the  interior  of  the  diatom,  particularly  in 
Stauroneis  kept  for  some  days  in  indigo  water. 
Beside  this  demonstration,  I  was  able,  by  the  em- 
ployment of  the  pigment,  to  obtain  a  glimpse  of  the 
mode  of  progression  in  the  large  Pinnularias.  I  am 
half  tempted  to  send  you  my  drawings.  Many  cases 
of  conjugation  are  not  always  so  simple  as  is  generally 
supposed. 

"  When  a  large  Pinnularia  is  observed  in  the  field 
quite  blue  with  indigo,  we  see  in  side-view  (fig.  90) 
little  particles  of  indigo  running  along  the  (X)  raphe 
as  far  as  the  end  of  the  median  line  ;  here  they  accu- 
mulate into  a  little  ball,  at  C.  In  fig.  90,  (7  b, 
a  little  ball  is  seen  on  each  side,  but  that  which  is 
most  surprising  is,  these  balls  revolve  on  their  axes. 
When  the  ball  acquires  a  little  size  it  suddenly  breaks, 
and  the  particles  sail  off  in  the  direction  a  e  (fig.  91), 
and  a  new  ball  is  again  formed  ;  this  is  on  supposition 


d  < — 


a 

•  -- 


^""V 


Fig.  90.  Side  view  of  Pinnularia,  showing  balls  of  Indigo 
running  alongside. 


-O  •^>*SMS^a3BB83!D)  |f i|      d 


Fig.  91.  Diatom,  showing  mode  in  which  ball  of  Indigo  breaks. 


Fig.  92.  Diatom  in  act  of  Deduplication  at  a  and  b. 

that  the  frustule  is  moving  in  the  direction  of  the 
arrow  d.  Moving  the  other  way,  the  particles  slip 
down  the  other  half  of  the  median  line  or  raphe,  and 
form  a  little  ball,  as  before,  at  its  end.  I  have 
watched  this  for  hours,  and  I  can  assure  you  that  it  is 
a  glorious  sight.  I  had  some  magnificent  large  Pin- 
nularias,  and  these  effects  were  best  seen  when  the 
motion  forward  of  the  frustule  was  prevented  by  its 
coming  in  contact  with  some  particle  of  sand  or  dust. 
The  colour  in  the  field  was  the  ordinary  indigo-blue 
water  colour,  pretty  thick.  Furthermore,  there 
always  appeared  a  gelatinous  envelope  which  pre- 
vented the  actual  contact  of  the  indigo  particles  with 
the  frustule,  which,  as  it  moved  forward,  pushed  them 
in  advance,  as  at  d  (fig.  90).  The  slightest  applica- 
tion   of   aniline    red    (Fuchsine)    demonstrates    the 


external  gelatinous  covering  by  the  absorption  of  the 
colour,  even  before  the  colour  is  seen  elsewhere  in  the 
field,  but  this  aniline  instantly  arrests  all  motion  of 
the  diatom. 

"  The  act  of  deduplication  of  the  primordial  utricle 
is  effected  with  great  rapidity;  it  manifestly  commences 
at  the  two  ends  of  the  frustule  at  the  points  a  and  b 
(fig.  92)  ;  the  membrane  there  forms  a  fold,  which  is 
gradually  prolonged  until  it  reaches  the  central 
nucleolar  mass  ;  this  occupies  about  six  minutes  from 
the  commencement  of  the  phenomenon. 

"  I  have  never  been  able  to  perceive  a  true  circular 
nucleus  in  Pinnularia  major  (Ehr. ),  but  it  is  very 
visible  in  divers  species  of  navicula,  such  as  N.  firma, 
and  in  the  Stauroneis.  It  is  very  manifest  in  the 
Surirellas.  The  frustules  only  separate  from  each 
other  in  seven  days,  rarely  before.  The  conjugation 
in  the  Pinnularias  continues  for  four  days  before  the 
act  is  entirely  completed.  I  have  followed  it  step  by 
step,  and  measured  with  a  micrometer  the  sporangial 
development.     ...     I  remain,  &c, 

"H.  L.  Smith." 
(The  above  experiments  are  of  great  interest,  and 
will,  I  hope,  be  repeated  by  other  diatomists. 
The  study  of  the  living  frustule  has,  I  fear,  been  too 
much  neglected  for  that  of  the  dead  valve,  the 
diatomist  having  been  seduced  by  the  elegance  of  its 
contour  and  the  beauty  of  its  ornamentation.  If,  as 
Professor  Smith  describes,  the  communication  with 
the  interior  of  the  frustule  is  through  minute  apertures 
at  the  termination  of  the  raphe  or  median  line,  it  is 
evident  that  those  forms  which  do  not  possess  this  line, 
and  are  neither  alate  nor  carinate,  must  possess  some 
other  means  of  communication  ;  in  the  Aulacodisci 
this  may  be  by  means  of  the  processes  which  are 
apparently  perforate,  but  in  the  Triceratia,  Coscino- 
disci,  &c,  I  think  M.  Deby's  suggestion,  that  it  takes 
place  at  the  margins  of  the  connectives,  is  probably 
correct. — F.  K.) 

Those  interested  in  the  structure  of  the  diatom  frus- 
tule will  find  much  valuable  information  in  the  papers 
of  Dr.  Wallich,  particularly  that  published  in  the 
Monthly  Mic.  Jour.,  Feb.  I,  1877.  A  paper  by  the 
same  author,  entitled  "  Are  the  Desmids  and  Dia- 
toms simple  Cells?"  will  be  found  in  the  April  part 
of  Popular  Science  Rci'ieiv,  1877. 


A  GLASS-EATING  LICHEN. 

ON  visiting  an  antiquarian  friend,  to  whom  I  am 
indebted  for  the  loan  of  specimens,  &c,  some 
old  stained  glass  of  about  the  fifteenth  century  was 
submitted  to  me,  and  an  opinion  asked  as  to  the  cause 
of  certain  irregular  worm-eaten-looking  holes  of  some 
depth,  occurring  generally  only  over  one  surface  of  the 
plates.  My  friend  informed  me  that  it  was  publicly 
discussed  some  twenty  years  ago  as  to  its  cause,  for  it 
had  often  been  observed  in  old  glass  windows.     At 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


129 


first,  on  carelessly  looking  at  it,  it  appeared  to  be 
explained  by  that  disintegration  which  gives  rise  to 
those  beautiful  iridescent  scales  on  old  glass,  and 
especially  in  the  old  black  glass  Dutch  bottles,  whose 
surface,  on  removing  the  scales,  presented  somewhat 
the  appearance  described.  My  friend  informed  me  it 
was  considered  by  some  to  have  been  made  by  the 


95  is  a  portion  seen  by  reflected  light  of  the  surface  of 
some  dark  green  glass  twice  its  natural  size,  which 
shows  the  general  arrangement.  On  submitting 
them  to  microscopical  examination,  to  my  delight, 
all  the  edges  of  these  masses  appeared  to  be  spiked, 
and,  although  they  had  been  in  my  friend's  possession 
for  thirty  years,  showed  the  cellular  structure  deline- 
ated in  fig.  A  (Hartnack,  ob.  7,  oc.  2,  tube  drawn 
out),  being  the  portion  C  of  fig.  B  (Hartnack,  ob.  4, 
oc.  4,  tube  in).  I  have  shown  them  to  two  botanists, 
who  are  quite  satisfied  as  to  their  nature ;  but  they 
asked  the  question  as  to  whether  they  might  not  be 
lichens  which  had  occupied  already  existing  holes; 
this,  however,  was  capable  of  denial  on  the  following 
grounds.  It  will  be  observed  in  fig.  D  that  the  bodies 
commenced  to  grow  at  certain  points,  but  as  they 
became  larger  they  also  became  confluent,  forming 
irregular  masses  with  a  serpiginous  margin,  to  which  the 
depression  in  the  glass  always  corresponds ;  the  central 
portion  of  each  depression  is  level,  and  however  large 
it  may  be,  it  is  of  the  same  depth,  the  steep  edges 


Fig.  93.  Cellular  Structure,  of  Glass-eating  Lichen  (mag.). 
See  fig.  94,  at  c. 


Fig.  95.  Lichen  as 
seen  by  reflected 
light  on  green  glass. 


Fig.  96.   Erosions  running  in  nearly 
straight  lines. 


Fig.  94.   Glass-eating  Lichen  (mag.). 

workmen,  to  give  a  better  effect  to  the  light ;  but  the 
irregularity  sets  that  question  at  rest  directly,  though 
it  stimulated  me  to  look  into  the  matter  more  care- 
fully, and  on  a  careful  examination  I  was  fully  satis- 
fied that  each  depression  was  occupied  by  a  small 
lichen,  such  as  we  see  covering  grave-stones ;  at  figure 


being  occupied  by  the  growing  processes  which  seem 
alone  to  have  the  absorbing  power ;  and  lastly,  on 
removing  the  growth  by  various  re-agents,  the  exact 
figure  of  the  points  and  even  in  some  instances  of 
the  individual  cells,  are  seen  beautifully  cut  and  em- 
bossed upon  the  glass.  It  occurs  on  the  side  opposite, 
and  not  on  the  painted  side,  which,  in  glazing,  is 
placed  on  the  inside  of  the  window,  and  therefore 
would  be  unfavourable  to  the  growth  of  these  plants  ; 
neither  does  it  occur  round  the  edges,  which  are  over- 
lapped by  the  lead.  One  point  was  at  first  puzzling ; 
these  erosions  sometimes  appearing  to  run  in  straight 
lines,  as  seen  in  fig.  E  ;  it  could,  however,  be  de- 
monstrated by  a  magnifying  glass  that  it  occurred 
along  old  scratches,  the  rough  surface  of  which  had 
afforded  the  most  easy  attachment  for  the  spores  and 
young  plant.  It  is  to  my  friend,  Mr.  T.  Coates 
Archer,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  specimens, 
and  also  for  a  few  notes  as  to  their  history.  They 
are  from  the  Church  of  Little  Dunmow,  in  Essex 
(celebrated  for  the  annual  distribution  of  a  flitch  of 
bacon),  from  which  it  was  removed  by  some  glazier 
of  Felsted,  from  whom  my  friend  bought  it,  and  has 
now  had  it  over  thirty  years. 


i3o 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE -G OSSIP. 


The  remarks  may  at  first  appear  to  be  of  little 
interest,  but  in  putting  them  forward  it  is  with  the 
hope  that  they  will  teach  us  to  at  least  take  pre- 
cautions to  protect  or  remove  such  an  unpleasant 
enemy  from  some  of  the  most  beautiful  works  of 
art.  H.  T.  Johnston-Lavis, 


ON  PREPARING  AND  MOUNTING  LEAVES 
AND    OTHER   PARTS    OF   PLANTS    TO 
SHOW  THE  CRYSTALS  IN  SITU. 
By  W.  H.  Hammond. 

EVER  since  I  first  began  to  use  the  microscope 
Plant  Crystals  have  been  objects  of  interest 
to  me,  not  only  on  account  of  their  great  beauty  as 
"objects,"  especially  with  the  polariscope,  but  also 
because  they  open  a  new  and  comparatively  unex- 
plored region  of  phytotomy  ;  in  fact,  except  in  Pro- 
fessor Gulliver's  writings,  they  are  hardly  mentioned, 
or  very  summarily  dealt  with  by  other  botanical 
writers.  At  first  I  used  to  be  content  with  a  sight  of 
them  after  boiling  and  mashing  parts  of  plants,  but  I 
soon  became  dissatisfied  with  this  method,  and  began 
to  look  about  for  some  means  of  examining  the 
crystals  just  as  they  grew  in  the  different  plants ;  for- 
tunately I  happened  to  look  at  a  back  number  of 
Science-Gossip  (January,  1875),  and  came  across  a 
paper  by  the  late  Dr.  Beatty,  "  On  Decolouring  and 
Staining  Vegetable  Tissues  for  Microscopic  Ex- 
amination "  ;  other  papers,  by  Dr.  Beatty,  came  out 
afterwards,  and  I  gathered  many  valuable  hints  from 
them  oh  the  subject. 

I  am  often  asked  how  my  preparations  are  made, 
so  I  will  describe  my  process  of  preparing  and 
mounting,  for  the  benefit  of  other  workers  with  the 
microscope  who  are  interested  in  these  beautiful, 
but  much  neglected,  marvels. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  get  the  bleaching 
solution,  and  this  may  be  very  easily  prepared  as 
follows  : — Equal  weights  (say  four  ounces)  of  chlori- 
nated lime  and  common  washing  soda,  both  in  fine 
powder,  are  put  into  a  half-gallon  bottle  of  cold 
water,  and  well  shaken  together,  then  left  to  stand 
till  the  fluid  is  quite  clear,  this  is  poured  off  gently 
into  another  bottle,  and  a  strong  solution  of  washing 
soda  added  as  long  as  a  white  powder  is  thrown 
down.  The  mixture  is  again  left  till  clear,  and  then 
poured  off;  this  is  the  bleaching  fluid.  The  original 
substances  in  the  first  bottle  may  be  again  treated  with 
cold  water.  Leaves  and  other  tissues  are  kept  in  this 
fluid  till  bleached  and  semi-transparent,  large  or  thick 
leaves  should  be  cut  up  into  small  pieces.  I  find  the 
small,  round  night-light  glasses,  which  may  be  bought 
for  a  penny  each,  are  very  convenient  for  bleaching 
the  tissues  in,  and  also  for  the  dyeing  and  subsequent 
soakings,  covering  them  over  with  pieces  of  glass  to 
keep  out  the  dust.     It  is  not  always  convenient  to 


prepare  and  mount  leaves  directly  they  are  gathered, 
so  I  always  carry  with  me  a  small  account-book, 
interleaved  with  blotting  paper,  and  with  an  elastic 
band  round  it ;  leaves  are  put  into  this  when  gathered, 
and  by  carrying  it  in  the  breast-pocket  of  the  coat, 
they  are  soon  dried  by  the  warmth  of  the  body  ;  in 
the  summer  time  several  books  full  of  leaves  are  col- 
lected, ready  for  the  long  winter  evenings.  Dried 
leaves  will  bleach  sooner  than  fresh-gathered  ones. 

Having  bleached  some  leaves  (the  time  it  takes  to 
do  this  varying  very  much),  they  must  be  well  washed 
in  warm  water  in  basins  or  pie-dishes,  changing  the 
water  often  for  about  two  days,  and  brushing  the 
tissues  with  soft  camel-hair  brushes.  I  often  find  it 
of  use  to  put  the  plant  tissues  into  acetic  acid  and 
water  for  about  a  minute  before  the  final  washing, 
but  acids  must  be  very  cautiously  used,  or  the  crystals 
may  be  dissolved. 

The  leaves  or  tissues  are  then  ready  to  go  into 
either  of  the  following  dyes  : — 

The  carmine  dye  is  prepared  partly  according  to 
Dr.  Beales's  formula,  viz.  : — 

Carmine  20  grains. 

Strong  liquor  ammonite     ...     \  dram. 
Pure  water  4  ounces. 

The  carmine  is  heated  in  a  test  tube  with  the  am- 
monia till  dissolved,  and  then  added  to  the  water  in 
a  bottle  and  well  shaken,  and  left  to  settle  or  be 
filtered.  The  dye  should  smell  strongly  ammoniacal. 
Sections  are  soon  dyed  in  the  above,  but  leaves  take 
several  days,  or  a  week  or  more.  Sections  of  the 
India-rubber  plant  leaf,  or  of  the  common  fig,  dyed 
in  carmine,  will  show  the  stalked  crystals,  called 
cystoliths,  very  nicely  ;  pieces  of  the  leaves  of  the  fig, 
hop,  nettle,  wall-pellitory,  or  wych  elm,  dyed,  will 
show  the  cystoliths  when  viewed  from  above  or 
below.  I  generally  mount  two  leaves  or  pieces  on 
the  same  slide,  one  with  the  superior  and  one  with 
the  inferior  surface  uppermost. 

The  logwood  dye  is  prepared  according  to  the 
prescription  in  Rutherford's  "  Histology." 

A.  Make  a  saturated  solution  of  calcium  chloride 
in  70  per  cent,  alcohol,  and  then  add  alum  to 
saturation. 

B.  A  saturated  solution  of  alum  in  70  per  cent, 
alcohol. 

C.  Add  A  to  B  in  the  proportion  of  one  to  eight. 

D.  A  barely  alkaline  saturated  solution  of  logwood 
in  water. 

Add  D  to  C  till  a  deep  violet-coloured  dye  is 
obtained. 

I  make  D  by  boiling  logwood  chips  with  water 
and  a  very  little  potash,  then  filtering. 

I  generally  use  methylated  spirit  where  alcohol  i< 
recommended. 

The  leaves  and  tissues  may  be  immersed  in  either 
of  the  above  dyes,  straight  from  the  last  wash-water, 
and  will  be  dyed  in  either  in  about  the  same  time. 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CTENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


131 


Tissues  when  dyed  must  be  put  into  clean  water,  then, 
if  dyed  with  carmine,  into  acetic  acid  and  water  for 
a  minute  ;  if  dyed  with  logwood  they  must  be  put 
into  alum  and  water,  they  must  then  be  put  into 
two  changes  of  clean  water  and  brushed  with 
soft  brushes.  The  remaining  operations  will  be 
described  further  on. 

I  also  use  a  blue  dye  made  by  pouring  six  or  eight 
drops  of  Judson's  aniline  blue  into  an  ounce  of 
methylated  spirit,  shaking  and  filtering.  Leaves  and 
sections  to  be  dyed  in  this  must  be  soaked  in  methy- 
lated spirit  for  about  a  day  after  being  taken  out  of 
the  last  wash-water.  After  dyeing  they  must  be 
washed  and  brushed  in  methylated  spirit.  Leaves 
generally  require  to  be  kept  in  this  dye  for  about 
a  week.  Leaves  and  sections  after  undergoing  these 
operations  may  either  be  mounted  in  Deane's  gelatine 
medium  or  in  dammar  or  balsam  dissolved  in  ben- 
zole. I  like  to  have  specimens  of  the  same  kind 
of  leaves  dyed  in  all  three  colours  and  mounted  both 
ways,  or  only  the  blue-dyed  ones  mounted  in  balsam 
or  dammar. 

Leaves  or  sections,  which  are  to  be  mounted  in 
Deane's  medium,  should  after  the  final  washing,  after 
dyeing,  be  put  into  the  following  solution  as  recom- 
mended by  Mr.  Deane,  for  two  days  :  — 

Rectified  spirit  \\  ounces. 

Pure  water 1^  ounces. 

Pure  glycerine  5     drams. 

Take  the  tissues  out  of  the  above  fluid,  drain  off  as 
much  as  possible  and  mount  in  the  medium.  I  prefer 
this  way  of  mounting  for  most  leaves  and  other 
tissues,  for  this  reason,  it  does  not  make  them  so  very 
transparent  as  dammar  or  balsam  does,  and  generally 
every  cell-wall  is  distinctly  seen,  the  crystals  in  the 
cells,  the  hairs,  and  every  other  part  of  the  leaf. 

Leaves  to  be  mounted  in  dammar  or  balsam  should 
be  thoroughly  dried  from  the  last  washing,  after 
dyeing,  this  is  best  done  by  putting  them  into  one  of 
the  before-mentioned  interleaved  books,  and  carrying 
in  the  pocket  for  a  day  or  two.  When  thoroughly 
dry  take  them  out  and  put  them  into  a  small  wide- 
mouthed  bottle,  pour  over  them  benzine  enough  to 
cover  them,  and  cork  up  tightly  till  perfectly  trans- 
parent. When  ready  to  mount,  take  the  leaves  out 
of  the  benzine,  drain,  but  do  not  dry  them,  and 
mount  quickly  in  balsam  or  dammar  dissolved  in 
benzine  (benzine  collas  is  the  best  benzine  to  use). 
Leaves  mounted  in  this  way  are  beautiful  objects 
for  the  micro-polariscope,  if  they  contain  crystals  or 
have  hairs  upon  them,  but  they  are  nearly  always 
so  transparent  that  the  cell-walls  are  quite  ob- 
literated. 

Good  leaves  to  experiment  upon,  for  sphreraphides, 
are  Chickweed,  Mercury,  Wild  Strawberry,  and 
many  of  the  Rosaces. 

For  long  crystal  prisms — the  outer  skin  of  the 
Gladiolus  Bulb,   Onion,  Shalot,  and  Garlic. 


For  short  prismatic  crystals— Clover,  Sanfoin, 
Beech,  and  Trefoil. 

For  true  raphides— Squill  Bulb,  Hyacinth,  Blue 
Bell,  Lemna  Trisulca,  Balsams,  Willow  Herbs, 
Fuchsias,  and  Arums. 

Cystoliths. — Leaves  containing  these  should  not 
be  mounted  in  balsam  or  dammar,  as  they  do  not 
polarize,  and  are  generally  rendered  quite  invisible 
by  this  way  of  mounting. 

No  one  need  be  afraid  of  not  being  able  to  procure 
specimens,  for  I  believe  the  greater  part  of  our  plants 
contain  crystals  of  one  kind  or  other ;  they  may  be 
well  and  easily  studied  by  mounting  in  Deane's 
medium  after  preparing  and  dyeing,  they  may  also 
often  be  very  well  seen  by  simply  bleaching,  washing, 
and  examining  in  water.  And  I  may  add  that  the 
crystals  afford  an  abundance  of  beautiful  materials 
for  the  microscope,  and  that  the  more  they  are  studied 
the  more  they  will  be  admired.  Their  taxonomic 
and  physiological  significance  too,  is  an  important 
subject  for  further  research,  concerning  which,  Pro- 
fessor Gulliver  has  given  the  results  of  extensive 
observations.  He  recommends  boiling  the  plant 
tissues  in  a  solution  of  caustic  potash ;  this  is  an  easy 
way  of  exposing  some  crystals  and  their  cells,  though 
by  no  means  so  effectual  in  the  preparation  of  beau- 
tiful and  instructive  slides,  as  the  methods  which  I 
have  attempted  to  describe. 


NOTES  ON  A  DREDGING  EXPEDITION. 

BEFORE  entering  upon  the  subject  of  actual 
dredging,  it  would,  perhaps,  be  as  well  to  give 
a  brief  description  of  the  little  fishing-village  which 
formed  my  head-quarters.  Rossbeigh  is  a  small 
watering-place  on  the  east  shore  of  Dingle  Bay,  in 
Kerry,  Ireland.  It  is  the  property  of  the  Hon.  Row- 
land Winn,  and  consists  of  a  few  lodges,  one  of 
which,  in  the  month  of  September  last,  I  rented. 
About  a  mile  away  from  these  lodges  are  a  few  scat- 
tered fishermen's  huts ;  and  when  the  reader  is 
informed  that  Rossbeigh  is  eight  miles  from  the 
nearest  town,  and  twenty  from  any  railway  station, 
he  will  understand  that  I  had  greatly  to  depend  upon 
my  own  resources. 

On  looking  at  the  map  of  this  district,  it  will  be 
noticed  that  there  is  a  long  spit  of  land  running  out 
towards  a  place  called  "Inch":  this  spit  is  over 
three  miles  in  length,  and  is  entirely  composed  of 
sand.  From  the  signal-towers  at  the  termination  of 
this  peninsula  to  a  point  called  Feaklecally,  an  ima- 
ginary line  may  be  drawn,  and  within  this  no  great 
depth  of  water  can,  I  believe,  be  found,  for  the  fol- 
lowing reason  :  Rossbeigh  is  situated  on  a  mountain- 
side, a  mountain  whose  base  terminates  upon  the 
seashore  ;  the  soil  at  its  foot  is  largely  composed  of 
a  conglomerate,  containing  a  great  quantity  of  rounded 


r32 


HA  RDW1 CKE  'S    S  CIE  NCE .  G  0  SSIP. 


stones,  and  formed,  in  all  likelihood,  by  the  conti- 
nual detrition  of  the  mountain-streams.  This  soil, 
being  so  friable,  falls  an  easy  prey  to  the  eroding 
influence  of  water,  the  sea  having  made  considerable 
inroads  into  the  land  ;  so  much  so,  that  a  lodge  which 
about  thirty  years  ago  was  occupied  by  Lord  Headley, 
is  now  entirely  washed  away ;  its  site  being  utterly 
unrecognizable.  Now  the  headland  of  Feaklecally 
checks  any  currents  running  up  from  the  Atlantic, 
while  the  sandhills  at  Rossbeigh  are  another  break- 
water. Thus  the  bottom  of  the  bay  at  this  portion  is 
shallow,  and  largely  consists  of  the  rounded  boulders 
of  the  conglomerate.  I  have  given  this  description 
in  order  to  explain  the  kind  of  sea-bed  I  had  to  work 
pon.  We  will  now  proceed  to  the  actual  dredging. 
The  first  requisite  is  of  course  the  dredge  and  rope. 
The  former  of  the  two  consists  of  a  strong  iron  frame- 


Fig.  97.    Lucertiaria  auricula. 

work  (if  galvanized  the  better)  ;  the  scrapers  are  two 
in  number,  so  that,  no  matter  on  which  side  the 
dredge  may  fall,  it  can  work.  The  rope  is  made  of 
good  stout  material,  and  ought  to  be  "barked," 
which  can  be  done  in  any  tan-yard  for  a  trifle.  The 
rope  is  attached  to  the  dredge  in  a  somewhat  peculiar 
manner ;  the  end  is  tied  securely  to  only  one  of  the 
attachment  rings,  and  with  a  piece  of  spun  yarn  the 
other  ring  is  whipped  to  its  fellow  ;  so  that,  supposing 
the  dredge  to  have  anchored  on  a  stone,  and  that  it 
cannot  be  liberated  by  retracing  ground,  and  thereby 
reversing  the  strain  on  the  dredge,  the  boat  is  pulled 
rapidly  until  the  spun  yarn  breaks  ;  then  the  dredge, 
being  capsized,  is  freed  easily.  The  next  item  is  the 
boat  :  the  heavier  this  is,  within  reason,  the  better. 

In  this  I  was,  at  the  outset,  unfortunate,  as  at  first 
I  could  only  obtain  one  of  the  Irish  native  canvas 


canoes,  which,  drawing  but  little  water  and  keelless, 
would,  on  the  smallest  provocation,  perform  a 
rotatory  motion,  which  would  result  in  heading  in  a 
totally  opposite  direction  to  the  one  started  from  ; 
however,  Mr.  Winn  very  kindly  had  a  small  whale- 
boat  belonging  to  him  repaired  for  me,  which  served 
my  purpose  excellently.  Across  the  boat,  resting  on 
each  gunwale,  I  had  a  board  fixed,  as  a  support  for 
the  tray  which  received  the  contents  of  the  dredge. 
This  little  detail  is  a  very  useful  one,  as  it  not  only 
saves  the  trouble  of  stooping  to  examine  the  spoil, 
but  also  prevents  the  giddiness  which  often  attends 
that  position,  and  which  is  very  frequently  the  herald 
of  sea-sickness.  Three  sieves,  of  varying  meshes, 
are  also  very  useful ;  one,  a  coarse  mesh,  of  about 
half-inch  diameter ;  the  second  moderate,  about 
one  eighth-inch  ;  and  the  third  of  perforated  zinc. 
Their  use  will  be  afterwards  explained.  Also  a  shal- 
low box  as  a  receptacle  for  the  contents  of  the 
dredge,    plenty   of  bottles,    in    which    to    store   the 


Fig.  98.  Pisa  tetraodon. 

treasures,  a  gallon  can  of  fresh  water,  a  good  strong 
pocket-knife,  a  brass  forceps  and  a  pocket-lens  com- 
plete the  equipment.  The  last  I  would  recommend  to 
be  slung  round  the  neck,  so  that  it  may  be  free,  as  it 
is  neither  an  easy  nor  a  clean  task  to  be  searching  for 
it  in  the  pocket  with  wet  and  often  slimy  hands. 
Now  all  being  completed,  dressed  in  your  oldest 
clothes,  and  legs  encased  in  mackintosh  leggings,  the 
boat  is  pulled  out  to  the  dredging-ground,  and  there 
the  dredge  is  thrown  overboard,  near  the  stern,  on 
the  windward  side,  taking  care  that  the  rope  runs 
freely.  When  it  touches  the  bottom,  the  boat  should 
be  rapidly  pulled  until  enough  rope  has  been  let  out : 
roughly  speaking,  there  should  be  twice  as  much  rope 
out  as  the  depth  of  the  water  dredged.  When  enough 
is  paid  out,  a  turn  or  two  should  be  taken  round  a 
belaying-pin,  and  the  inner  end  retained  in  one  hand, 
while  the  other  should  clasp  the  part  outside  the 
boat,  by  which  aid,  the  rope  serving  by  its  vibration 
as  a  kind  of  telephone,  the  working  of  the  dredge 


HARD  WICKE 'S     S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


i33 


may  be  detected.  If  the  dredge  is  jerking  and 
bounding,  the  boat  is  being  pulled  too  fast,  whereas, 
on  the  other  hand,  too  slow  a  progress  causes  the 
irons  to  sink  too  deeply  ;  but  when  all  is  as  it  should 
be,  the  hand  feels  a  gentle  quivering,  which  proves 
the  machine  is  working  steadily.  Do  not,  how- 
ever, hold  the  rope  too  tightly,  else,  in  the  event 
of  the  dredge  being  suddenly  anchored  by  a  stone, 
you,  in  all  probability,  will  collide  rather  unpleasantly 
with  the  side  of  the  boat.  Should  the  dredge  get 
entangled,  the  best  way  to  free  it  is  to  retrace 
ground,  and,  in  most  cases,  it  will  free  itself  on  being 


place  in  the  tray.     The  process  of  sifting  is  greatly 
facilitated  by  washing  the  top  mass. 

My  first  day's  dredging  off  Rossbeigh  was  about  a 
mile  from  shore.  This  attempt  was  made  from  a. 
native  canoe,  and  from  the  little  hold  the  craft  had 
upon  the  water,  the  dredge  could  scarcely  be  got  to 
work.  The  only  benefit  that  accrued  to  me  from 
that  day's  work  was  a  rough  knowledge  of  the  depth 
of  the  water  and  the  nature  of  sea-bottom,  which, 
unfortunately,  largely  consisted  of  heavy,  rounded 
stones.  The  next  day's  work  was  undertaken  at  low 
tide.     The  course  chosen  was  further  out  to  sea  ;  but 


Fi:j.  99.     NymJ>ho)i  gracilis. 


towed  in  an  opposite  direction ;  if  that  means  fails, 
the  rope  must  be  strained  until  the  spun  yarn,  already 
alluded  to,  breaks,  when  the  dredge,  being  capsized, 
will  easily  free  itself. 

Supposing  all  to  have  gone  on  well,  after  half  an 
hour  the  dredge  may  be  lifted  rapidly,  but  steadily, 
to  the  surface,  taking  care  to  lift  it  clear  of  the  side  of 
the  boat,  else  you  run  the  danger  of  crushing  the 
Crustacea  and  shells  it  may  contain,  and  the  contents 
emptied  into  sieve  No.  I  (the  coarsest).  Large 
shells,  stones,  &c,  are  here  retained,  the  smaller 
specimens  successively  passing  into  sieves  Nos.  2  and 
3,  and  finally  the  very  minute  forms  find  a  resting- 


even  at  this  distance  from  land  (about  1  h  mile  from 
shore),  where  comparatively  deep  water  might  have 
been  expected,  the  depth  did  not,  I  should  judge, 
exceed  5  to  7  fathoms,  the  dredge  coming  up  choked 
with  Rhodosferms  and  other  sea-weeds,  mostly 
Polysiphonia  and  Ptilota.  However,  on  emptying 
the  dredge,  a  variety  of  marine  animals  were  dis- 
covered, which,  although  not  rare,  were  none  the 
less  curious.  Two  specimens  of  Pisa  tctraodon 
rather  obtrusively  first  made  their  appearance,  and, 
were  followed  soon  by  what  very  easily  might  have 
been  mistaken  for  a  lump  of  sea-weed,  Stenorhyiichits 
phalangium ;  several  specimens  of  the  Hermit  Crab- 


*34 


HARD  J VI CKE  >S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSI  P. 


( Pagurus  Bernhardii )  were  also  inclosed.  On  more 
closely  examining  some  of  the  sea-weed,  I  found 
several  specimens  of  Caprella  linearis,  a  most 
grotesque-looking  animal,  its  movements  very  much 
resembling  the  walk  of  the  looper  caterpiller  (Brim- 
stone Moth),  also  a  specimen  of  Nympkon  gracilis, 
very  few  shells,  and  those  very  common  ones. 

On  looking  over  the  result  the  next  day,  I  found  a 
great  quantity  of  foraminifera.  I  also  found  a  few 
sponges  and  zoophytes :  of  the  latter,  Laomedea 
genicidata  was  the  most  common  ;  also  two  specimens 
of  Luccrnaria,  and,  of  course,  any  quantity  of 
Membranipora  pilosa. 

The  next  day's  work  was  undertaken  in  company 
with  Dr.  Battersby,  who  kindly  gave  me  the  benefit 
of  his  knowledge  of  this  coast,  of  which  he  is  a 
resident,  and  we  judged  it  wiser  to  commence  lower 
down  the  coast,  off  a  small  coast-guard  station,  called 
Kells ;  but  although  the  water  was  considerably 
deeper  and  more  sheltered,  we  found  very  little  more 
to  reward  the  trouble  :  a  few  shells,  all  dead  and 
containing  Pagurus,  a  dead  specimen  of  the  "shoul- 
der of  mutton "  shell  {Aporrhais  pes-pelicani),  and 
one  living  ATatica.  In  the  cavities  of  some  of  the 
roots  of  the  Tangle  {Lai/iinaria  bulbosa)  brought  up, 
-a  few  specimens  of  Patella  pellucida  were  found.  We 
also  obtained  a  few  specimens  of  Ophiocoma  ncglecta 
and  one  of  O.  rosida ;  but  on  the  whole,  probably 
because  of  the  sharp  currents  running  along  the 
•coast,  the  conditions  conducing  to  animal  life  were 
not  very  favourable. 

Before  concluding,  perhaps  a  few  words  respecting 
the  method  of  preserving  specimens  collected  would 
not  be  out  of  place.     The  best  methylated  spirits  of 
wine  and  ordinary  sea-water  mixed  in  the  proportion 
of  one  part  spirit  to  five  water,  is  as  good  as  any  for 
the  majority  of  forms.     In    first  mixing,  the  spirit, 
owing  to  the  resin  in  it,  is  apt  to  throw  down  a  cloudy 
precipitate.     This  may  be  got  rid  of  by  adding  to  the 
mixture  about  an  ounce  of  bicarbonate  of  soda  to  each 
quart,  and  filtering  the  whole  through  paper.     Sea- 
weeds may  be  simply  spread  out  and  dried.     If  it  be 
wished  to  get  the  shells  of  foraminifera  from  sand 
dredged    up,     a    good    plan    is    to    dry    the     sand 
thoroughly  in  a  moderately  warm  oven,   and  when 
perfectly  free  from  moisture,  allow  them  to  cool,  and 
gently  place  the  whole  in  a  vessel  of  water,  when  the 
sand  will  sink  to  the  bottom,  whilst  the  foraminifera, 
containing  air  in  their  chambers,  will  float.    The  now 
separated  foraminifera  may  be  easily  selected  under 
a  lens   by  simply  picking  them  out  with  a  camel-hair 
brush,   to  which   they  will  adhere,    if  it    be   drawn 
through  the  lips  :  they  may  be  afterwards  mounted 
dry  or  in  balsam.    Before  throwing  any  of  the  dredge 
contents  overboard,  it  is  a  wise  plan  to  place  the  sea- 
weed, or  at  least  the  feathery  forms,  in  fresh  water, 
as  unexpected  discoveries  are  revealed  by  this  means — 
minute  forms,  whose  very  existence  was  unsuspected, 
are  compelled  to  declare  themselves. 


To  briefly  sum  up,  the  dredger  must  have  plenty  of 
patience,  must  not  mind  wetting,  evil  smells,  although 
on  a  sandy  coast  this  is  not  very  bad,  and  must  trust 
as  little  as  he  possibly  can  to  a  boatman's  assistance 
in  soiling  over  his  spoil,  else  half  his  treasures  will 
be  lost.  A  few  good  books  for  identifying  his  results 
are,  I  need  not  say,  invaluable.  The  ones  I  have 
found  very  useful  are  Gosse's  "Marine  Zoology:" 
this  will  give  the  genera  of  the  animal  spoil,  while 
"British  Sea-weeds,"  by  W.  H.  Harvey,  will  supply 
the  botanical  want.  If,  however,  the  latter  is  too 
expensive,  there  is  a  small  shilling  book  by  Mrs.  Lane 
Clarke  that  is  veiy  useful.  One,  however,  of  the  best 
general  books,  embracing  a  good  deal,  in  fact,  of  nearly 
every  class  of  sea  plunder  that  the  beginner  is  likely 
to  come  across,  is  "Half-hours  at  the  Sea-side,"  by 
J.  E.  Taylor. 

In  conclusion,  I  can  assure  my  readers  that  if  any 
one  of  them  care  to  devote  his  holiday  to  dredging, 
he  will  not  only  make  a  great  acquisition  to  his 
marine  knowledge,  but  also  to  his  health ;  and  I  only 
wish  that  he  may  have  as  lovely  surroundings  in 
scenery  as  I  had.  H.  A.  Francis. 


HOW    TO    MAKE    AN    HERBARIUM. 

A  CHAPTER  FOR  YOUNG  COLLECTORS. 

By  John  W.  Buck,  B.  Sc 

AS  the  summer  advances  doubtless  many  young 
lovers    of  nature  will    begin  again  gathering 
wild-flowers,  and  bringing  them  home  in  nosegays,  as 
they  have  often  done  before,  to  be  looked  at  for  an 
hour  or  two  and  then,  when  withered,  thrown  away. 
Some  may  have  tried  ere  this  to  dry  them,  and  so 
to  keep  a  record  of  their  industry  and  their  love  for 
flowers,    but  may  not   have  succeeded  to  their  own 
satisfaction  for  want  of  a  little  help  or  instruction  to 
begin  with.     It  is  for  such  that  I  intend  this  paper. 
To  make  an  herbarium  may  sound  a  very  imposing 
task,  but  such  it  need  not  be,  for  it  can  be  done 
slowly  and  gradually — a  plant  at  a  time,  if  need  be — 
and  the  flowers,  when  thoroughly  dried  and  mounted, 
if  taken  care  of  will  keep  an  indefinite  time  and  be  a 
lasting  source  of  enjoyment.     Nothing  is  so  condu- 
cive to  a  knowledge  of  our  British  wild-flowers  as  to 
make  as  complete  a  collection  as  possible  of  them ; 
although  those  who  take  my  advice  and  make    the 
attempt  will  probably  be  surprised  to  find  how  few 
flowers  they  already  know,  and  how  many  there  are 
hidden  away  under  the  hedges  or  in  the  woods  which 
they  never  saw  before.     An  object  such  as  this  gives 
a  new  zest  to  our  country  walks,  besides  making  us 
find   out   new   ones ;  gives   us  pleasant  associations 
with  particular  spots  as  being  the  places  where  we 
first  found  such  and  such  a  new  flower,  fern,  or  moss  ; 
and  above  all  gives  us  new  and  brightened  views  of 
nature  and  of  nature's  God. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


i35 


To  collect  flowers  for  an  herbarium,  all  that  is  neces- 
sary is  a  tin  box  and  a  trowel,  though  some  collectors 
prefer  to  carry  a  portfolio  containing  porous  paper 
and  to  put  the  plant  under  pressure  on  the  spot.  This 
has  the  advantage  of  securing  that  the  flower  shall 
lose  none  of  its  freshness  while  being  carried  home  ; 
but  it  is  a  cumbrous  and  troublesome  plan,  and  it 
will  probably  be  found,  in  the  case  of  most  flowers, 
that  if  they  are  brought  home  in  a  biscuit-tin,  and 
the  roots  perhaps  placed  in  water  to  freshen  them  up 
if  necessary  before  pressing,  that  they  will  appear  as 
good  as  need  be.  It  will  nevertheless  be  found  very 
convenient  to  carry  a  small  pocket-book  with  some 
porous-paper  leaves,  in  which  to  preserve  at  once 
some  blossoms  which  will  require  it.  For  instance, 
it  will  be  found  impossible  to  bring  home  an  entire 
Dandelion  or  Bindweed  without  the  blossom  closing 
up  ;  and  the  corolla  of  the  Germander  Speedwell,  the 
bright  little  blue  flower  often  called  Bird's-eye  or  Cat's- 
eye,  that  looks  so  pretty  and  lasts  so  long  in  the 
summer  hedgerows,  will  almost  certainly  be  knocked 
off  before  the  plant  can  be  pressed  at  home.  In  such 
cases  these  parts  must  be  put  under  pressure  separately 
from  the  rest  of  the  plant,  and  at  once.  Indeed, 
such  a  sleepy  plant  as  the  Tragopogon,  or  John-go-to- 
bed-at-noon,  almost  requires  to  be  caught  with  guile. 
Go  in  the  morning  when  it  is  open  and  press  the 
blossom  in  the  porous-paper  book  before  detaching  it 
from  the  stalk.  Some  entire  plants,  from  their  delicate 
and  brittle  nature,  had  better  be  pressed  on  the  spot ; 
as,  for  instance,  the  pale-green  Moschatel,  the  stalks  of 
which  are  almost  sure  to  snap  with  the  slightest  rough 
usage.  Of  course,  when  the  roots  have  to  be  cleared 
from  much  earth,  especially  if  the  earth  is  of  a  clayey 
nature,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  bring  the  plant 
home  before  doing  anything  with  it.  On  the  whole, 
the  tin  box  will  be  found  preferable  to  the  portfolio, 
and  the  occasions  on  which  the  latter  must  be  used 
will  soon  be  learnt  by  experience.  Better  than  either, 
because  more  convenient,  is  the  regulation  vasculum, 
of  japanned  tin. 

For  digging  up  the  plants,  since  in  most  cases  the 
roots  must  be  preserved,  a  trowel  is  generally  recom- 
mended. After  a  few  of  these  have  been  broken  by 
rough  usage  in  stiff  soils,  or  spoilt  by  friends  who 
have  borrowed  them  "just  for  once,"  they  will  pro- 
bably be  replaced  by  a  small  three-pronged  fork,  about 
the  same  size  as  the  trowel,  but  much  more  durable. 
Even  this,  however,  has  its  disadvantage,  which  will 
be  found  out  on  trial.  In  selecting  the  specimens  for 
preservation,  a  little  discrimination  should  be  exer- 
cised. It  is  best,  perhaps,  to  take  two  plants  of  the 
same  kind  and  dry  both,  and  afterwards  choose  the 
best  of  the  two  for  mounting.  It  is  not  advisable  to 
take  more,  unless  they  are  somewhat  inaccessible,  or 
unless,  for  other  reasons,  it  should  be  difficult  after- 
wards to  obtain  more  if  required,  as  a  large  number 
only  fills  up  the  box,  takes  up  a  great  deal  of  room  in 
the    press,  and   gives    much  unnecessary  trouble  in 


many  ways.  Choose,  therefore,  two  plants  which  are 
fairly  developed,  and  which  show,  if  possible,  speci- 
mens of  all  the  kinds  of  leaves  the  plant  may  possess, 
which  have  some  blossoms  fully  open  and  others  in 
bud,  and,  in  short,  which  are  in  all  respects  good 
specimens  of  their  kind.  In  some  cases  the  leaves 
are  not  up  when  the  flower  is  open,  as  with  the 
Yellow  Coltsfoot,  which  flowers  in  the  early  spring, 
but  whose  leaves  are  not  to  be  found  until  much  later. 
It  is  a  mistake  to  choose  too  large  a  plant,  under  the 
impression  that  it  will  look  well ;  a  medium  should 
be  aimed  at  in  this  matter,  as  in  everything  else. 
Perhaps  it  is  not  unnecessary  to  say  that  rare  plants 
ought  not  to  be  exterminated.  Persons  who  go  about 
hunting  for  rarities,  and  who  take  all  they  can  lay 
their  hands  on,  are  collectors  only,  not  botanists. 
Many  of  our  uncommon  ferns  are  daily  becoming 
rarer,  and  harder  to  be  found  by  those  who  really 
want  to  study  them,  because  they  are  so  diligently 
sought  after  and  dug  up  by  collectors  who  only  want 
them  to  sell.  My  advice  is,  if  you  find  a  rarity,  take 
of  it  in  moderation,  and  then,  in  the  interests  of 
science,  keep  your  own  counsel  as  to  its  where- 
abouts. 

In  removing  a  plant,  care  must  be  taken  not  to 
spoil  the  root,  nor  to  injure  the  deaves  that  spring 
from  near  the  ground.  It  is  often  of  great  importance 
that  these  latter  should  be  kept  intact,  as  they  fre- 
quently differ  from  the  leaves  which  grow  higher  up 
the  stem,  and  are  very  useful  in  assisting  to  determine 
the  name  of  the  species.  With  many  plants,  as  is  the 
case  with  the  Coltsfoot,  the  root  will  be  almost  sure 
to  break  off  sooner  or  later.  Again,  a  complete  Blue- 
bell, bulb  and  all  entire,  will  be  a  very  good  certificate 
of  perseverance  for  its  possessor.  The  adhering  earth 
should  be  shaken  off  as  far  as  possible  without  doing, 
injury  to  the  roots,  and  the  rest  carefully  pulled  off  at 
home,  or  removed  by  holding  the  root  (only)  under 
a  stream  of  water. 

The  next  thing  ought  to  be  to  name  the  specimen  ; 
and  if  I  could  take  for  granted  a  little  knowledge  of 
botany  on  the  part  of  my  readers,  it  would  not  be 
very  difficult  to  show  in  brief  the  easiest  method  of 
arriving  at  the  correct  botanical  and  popular  names 
of  most  of  our  common  wild-flowers.  For  those,  how- 
ever, who  know  nothing  of  botany,  the  best  way  is  to 
compare  the  flowers  brought  home  with  the  illustra- 
tions in  some  such  work  as  Ann  Pratt's  "  Wild- 
Flowers,"  or  John's  "Flowers  of  the  Field,"  or 
Sowerby's  "English  Botany,"  or  to  obtain  the  help 
of  some  botanical  friend.  At  all  events,  you  need 
not  despair  of  making  good  progress  with  your  her- 
barium, even  if  you  do  not  know  the  names  of  all  the 
plants  it  contains,  as  these  can  generally  be  added 
afterwards. 

In  any  case,  proceed  to  dry  your  plants  before 
they  lose  their  freshness.  This  is  accomplished  by 
pressing  them  between  porous  paper.  The  best 
paper  for  the  purpose  is,  or  used  to  be,  made  by 


136 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 


Messrs.  Spicer,  of  New  Bridge-street,  Blackfriars 
(who  also  supply  white  paper  for  mounting,  in  sheets 
nbout  17  in.  by  11  in.),  but  in  default  of  this,  thick 
blotting-paper  is  said  to  answer,  though  I  have  not 
tried  it.  The  plants  must  not  be  damp  when  they 
are  put  in  the  press,  and  if  the  roots  have  been 
washed  to  clean  them,  they  should  be  wiped  as  dry 
as  possible.  If  for  any  reason  the  plants  are  at  all 
damp,  the  papers  should  be  changed  very  frequently 
at  first,  even  twice  a  day,  until  the  excess  of  moisture 
has  been  removed.  I  am  frequently  asked,  "How 
is  it  you  manage  to  keep  the  colours  of  your  flowers 
so  well  ?  "  Mainly  by  attention  to  this  point — by 
not  allowing  the  flowers  to  remain  damp.  Otherwise 
they  are  very  apt  to  change  their  colour  ;  as,  for 
example,  the  Wood  Anemone,  or  Windflower,  which 
.generally  turns  brown,  but  which  may  be  kept  white 
with  proper  care.  Heaths  and  firs  are  said  to  require 
a  dip  in  boiling  water  before  drying,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent the  foliage  from  falling  off.  The  same  process 
prevents  succulents,  such  as  the  curious  flesh-coloured 
parasitic  Toothwort,  from  growing  during  or  after 
pressure,  by  killing  them  at  once.  Here,  also,  the 
superfluous  moisture  should  be  removed  by  a  hand- 
kerchief before  pressing.  Do  not  mix  fresh  speci- 
mens with  dry  ones,  but  separate  them  with  several 
sheets  of  brown  paper.  Laying -the  plants  out  will 
often  be  found  a  troublesome  process,  and  one  which, 
in  order  to  do  it  well,  will  in  some  cases  require  time 
and  patience,  but  it  is  not  of  much  use  to  give  advice 
on  this  head,  except  to  say  that  the  various  parts  of 
the  flower  should  be  as  well  exhibited  as  possible. 
For  instance,  where  the  flower  has  a  coloured  calyx 
and  no  corolla,  as  in  Marsh  Marigold,  Clematis,  and 
Wood  Anemone,  one  blossom  should  be  folded  up  so 
-as  to  show  the  absence  of  the  customary  row  of  green 
leaves  below  the  coloured  ones.  Or  the  same  subject 
may  be  effected  by  completely  reversing  one  blossom, 
so  that  its  face  is  towards  the  paper.  Where  bracts, 
or  small  leaflets  at  the  base  of  the  flower-stalks  occur, 
as  in  orchids,  they  should  be  shown.  The  specimens 
should  be  distributed  among  the  sheets  of  porous 
paper  in  such  a  way  that  the  pressure  may  be  some- 
what equal  in  all  places ;  but  those  plants,  however, 
are  likely  to  dry  more  quickly  which  are  nearer  the 
margin  of  the  sheets.  Thick  stems  had  better  be 
sliced  in  half  longitudinally,  as  it  prevents  their 
taking  up  too  much  room,  and  also  enables  them  to 
dry  veiy  much  faster.  The  same  course  may  be  taken 
with  thick  roots  or  root-stocks,  as  in  Primrose  and 
Coltsfoot  ;  but  in  such  cases  care  must  be  taken  to 
leave  enough  root-fibres  adhering  to  the  main  axis. 
Bulbs  and  corms,  and  the  fleshy  tuberous  roots  of 
orchids  may  also  be  sliced  ;  some  recommend  scooping 
out  the  inside,  but  this  is  apt  to  make  them  break  and 
spoil  under  pressure.  Berries  and  stems  that  are  not 
thick  enough  to  slice  may  be  repeatedly  pricked  on 
their  under  surface,  or  slashed  with  the  point  of  a 
penknife,  to  let  out  the  moisture.     A  very  good  plan 


with  fleshy  berries,  and  thick  stems  and  roots,  is  to 
dry  them,  apart  from  the  rest  of  the  plant,  by  pressing 
them  between  several  folds  of  porous  paper,  and 
baking  the  whole  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour  in  an 
oven.  But  this  does  not  always  answer,  and  should 
not  be  tried  with  green  leaves,  as  it  is  apt  to  turn 
them  brown.  In  short,  the  more  rapid  the  drying 
process  the  better ;  and  hence  the  necessity  of  having 
recourse  to  these  contrivances  in  order  that  the  colours 
of  the  blossoms  may  not  be  injured  through  being 
kept  damp  by  the  slow  drying  of  the  thicker  parts. 

(  To  be  continued. ) 

MICROSCOPY, 

"  Cutting  it  fine." — At  the  usual  conversazione 
which  followed  the  ordinary  meeting  of  the  Quekett 
Microscopical  Club  on  April  26th,  Mr.  E.  T.  Newton 
exhibited  thirty-three  sections  of  the  head  of  one  cock- 
roach ! — Blatla  Orientalis. 

Fossil  Diatomace^e. — The  Diatomaceze  in  the 
Cementstein  are  described  and  figured  (very  beauti- 
fully) by  Dr.  Heiberg,  in  his  "  Kritisoversigt  over 
de  Danske  Diatomeer."  The  richest  in  diatoms  is 
the  Cementstein  from  the  island  of  Mors,  situated  in 
the  Liimfjord,  lat.  560  50'  N.,  long.  8°  40'  W.  This 
fjord  is  the  largest  in  Jutland,  and  runs  from  east  to 
west,  connecting  the  North  Sea  with  the  Kattegat. 
The  material  is  also  known  as  "Jutland  slate."  A 
similar  deposit  occurs  in  Fuur ;  it  is  less  affected  by 
acid,  and  bears  considerable  resemblance  to  the  de- 
posit known  as  "Brown  coal."  Another  deposit  is 
found  at  Nykjobing,  a  village  on  the  western  side  of 
the  island  of  Mors.  This  is  much  more  difficult  to 
prepare,  neither  acid  nor  alkali  making  much  im- 
pression upon  it.  The  following  forms  have  been 
described  and  figured  by  Dr.  Heiberg  in  his  treatise, 
and  by  myself  in  the  "Journal  of  the  Quekett  Micro- 
scopical Club,"  in  the  Parts  for  1870  and  1871. 
The  following  are  the  most  abundant  forms  in  the 
Mors  deposit : — Trinacria  regina,  Heiberg;  T.  cx- 
cavata=.Triccratium  solenoceros,  Ehr=  T.  A'ittou- 
ianum,  Greville  ;  Trinacria  Hcibcrgia,  Kitton ;  Do. 
var.,  Kitton;  Triceratium  maculatum,  Kitton; 
Solium  exsculptum,  Heiberg ;  Corinna  elegans, 
Heiberg  ;  Stictodiscus  angulatus,  Grunow  ;  Stcpha- 
nogonia  Danka,  Grunow;  Trochoscira  mirabilis, 
Kitton ;  T.  spinosa,  Kitton ;  Hemiaulus  protcus, 
I  leiberg ;  II.  host  His,  Heiberg ;  //".  februatus, 
Heiberg;  Do.  (q.  sp. ),  Kitton;  Coscinodiscus  sicl- 
latus,  Roper ;  C.  radiatus,  Ehr ;  C.  octdus  Iridis, 
Ehr ;  Stephanopyxis  (qu.  sp.)  ;  Aidacodiscus  yut- 
landkus,  Kitton.  Triceratia  occur  in  the  Barba- 
does,  Californian,  and  Morsa  deposits,  as  well  as  in 
the  Virginian  "earths." — F.  Kitton,  Norwich. 

Aquaria  for  MicROSConc  Work. — In  answer  to 
W.  D.  B.,  I  would  suggest  that  I  find  several  small 
aquaria    (none  of  them  holding  more  than  a  quart) 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  ■  GOSSIP. 


i37 


much  better  for  microscopic  work  than  a  large  one, 
for  we  can  hold  one  vip  to  the  light  with  one  hand 
and  use  the  dipping-tube  with  the  other.  We  are 
able  to  keep  a  better  and  more  varied  assortment, 
and  the  depth  is  better  for  dipping.  Anatomical 
specimen-jars  and  beakers  I  find  to  be  most  con- 
venient, but  wide-mouthed  bottles  maybe  substituted 
on  account  of  cheapness.  I  have  usually  about  thirty 
in  use,  some  of  them  being  very  small,  and  I  never 
find  it  necessary  to  change  the  water.  Covers  of 
muslin,  cardboard,  paper,  or  glass  can  be  used. 
Among  the  plants  I  find  to  be  useful  are  Elodca 
canadensia,  species  of  Chara,  Callitriehe  verna,  Sca- 
pania  undulata,  Pilularia  globidifera,  Moniiafontana, 
and  species  of  bog  and  water  Hypna. —  Wm.  West, 
Bradford. 

Small  Aquarium  for  Microscopic  Objects. — 
It  is  likely  that  W.  D.  B.  may  have  some  difficulty 
in  finding  his  animalculce,  &c,  if  he  should  put  them 
into  a  tank  of  thirty  inches  length  and  proportionate 
depth  and  breadth.  I  recommend  him  to  make 
much  smaller  ones  upon  the  following  plan  : — buy  at 
the  grocers  some  of  the  empty  tin  boxes  which  have 
held  between  two  and  three  pounds  of  Huntley  & 
Palmer's  Water  Biscuits  (mind,  Water),  cut  out  the 
ends  and  sides,  leaving  a  framework  sufficient  to  sup- 
port the  glass,  and  you  have  at  once  the  skeleton  of  a 
handy  and  well-proportioned  tank.  Cement  the 
glass  with  a  mixture  of  red  and  white  lead,  let  it  set 
for  two  or  three  days,  then  fill  the  tank  with  water 
and  let  it  remain  for  a  week,  so  that  the  taint  of  the 
lead  may  be  removed  ;  empty  out,  put  a  layer  of  well- 
washed  Calais  sand  at  the  bottom,  and  the  tank  is  ready. 
Mount  it  upon  a  slab  of  wood,  and  put  four  slips  of 
thin  wood  to  retain  it  in  position.  The  tin  frame 
should  have  two  coats  of  paint  or  Brunswick  black. 
I  prefer  the  latter.—^.  P.  W. 

Canada  Balsam  in  India. — Will  slides  mounted 
in  balsam  stand  the  heat  of  India  ?  Would  it  be  suffi- 
cient to  surround  the  cover  with  some  heat-resisting 
cement  ?  If  balsam  will  not  do,  what  other  medium 
Mill  ?—//.  F.  Blaekttt. 

The  Hackney  Microscopical  Society. — This 
society,  which  specially  devotes  itself  to  the  study  of 
microscopy  and  natural  history,  has  just  issued  its  first 
annual  report.  We  are  glad  to  see  abundant  signs  of 
vigorous  health,  although  the  society  is  only  a  year 
old.  The  president  is  Mr.  H.  Ramsden,  M.A., 
F.L.S.  ;  and  the  hon.  secretary,  Mr.  Collis  Willmott. 
The  list  of  members  is  numerous,  and  includes  many 
names  well  known  in  science.  Papers  on  various 
natural  history  subjects,  chiefly  entomological,  have 
been  read,  and  five  field  excursions  made  during  the 
summer.  The  foundation  of  a  good  natural  history 
library  has  also  been  laid,  and  with  such  a  start  we 
shall  look  forward  with  interest  to  the  progress  of 
ihe  society  during  its  second  year. 


ZOOLOGY. 

The  Uraniid.-e. — At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Zoo- 
logical Society,  Professor  Westwood  communicated 
a  memoir  on  the  Uraniida:,  a  family  of  Lepidopterous 
insects,  with  a  synopsis  of  the  family,  and  a  mono- 
graph of  one  of  the  genera,  Coronidia.  These  insects 
were  remarkable  for  their  extreme  beauty,  and  the 
difficulty  which  had  attended  their  systematic  classifi- 
cation. Their  relations  with  other  groups  of  Lepido- 
pterous insects  were  discussed  at  considerable  length, 
and  their  numerous  affinities  were  shown  to  be  with 
certain  other  moths  belonging  to  the  great  division  of 
the  Bombyces,  whilst  their  connection  with  the  Hes- 
perian butterflies,  the  Pseudo-sphinges,  Erebideous 
Noctre  and  Ourapterygeous  Geometra2  was  disproved 
by  their  general  structure,  the  venation  of  their  wings, 
and  their  transformations.  A  synopsis  of  the  species 
of  all  the  genera  was  given,  and  a  complete  mono- 
graph with  figures  of  the  genus  Coronidia. 

The  Brachiopoda  of  the  Atlantic. — At  the 
same  meeting  Mr.  Gwyn  Jeffreys,  F.R.S.,  F.Z.S., 
read  a  paper  on  the  above  subject.  The  areas  from 
which  the  Brachiopoda  were  obtained  were  restricted 
to  portions  of  the  North  Atlantic,  including  the 
Mediterranean.  A  table  of  all  the  Brachiopods  known 
to  inhabit  the  European  seas  was  given,  comprising 
ten  genera  and  twenty-two  species,  of  which  latter 
four  were  for  the  first  time  described,  and  six  figured. 
The  table  also  particularized  the  geological  and  ba- 
thymetrical  range  of  all  the  species.  Two  plates 
accompanied  the  paper,  and  were  furnished  by 
Mr.  Davidson. 

Mimicry  in  Birds. —  Mr.  J.  Young  writes  to 
Nature  to  say  that  in  a  tract  of  land  on  the  coast  of 
Kent  called  Reculver  Marsh,  the  place  is  much  fre- 
quented by  skylarks  and  plovers,  and  that  almost  all 
the  larks  have  incorporated  the  well-known  alarm- 
note  of  the  plover  into  their  song.  Professor  Newton 
remarks  that  this  fact  has  already  attracted  notice  ; 
for  at  Thetford,  in  Norfolk,  where  the  ringed  plover 
is  common,  skylarks  often  mimic  its  peculiar  cry. 
Starlings  are  said  to  have  acquired  the  cries  of  various 
kinds  of  birds,  notably  those  of  the  plover  and 
swallow.  Jays  are  also  stated  to  imitate  the  note  of 
the  carrion-crow. 

The  Nightingale  in  Derbyshire.  —  Pray  let 
me  note  to  you,  and  through  Science-Gossip  to 
others,  the  pleasing  fact  that  a  nightingale  has  made 
its  appearance  here,  and  has  been  nightly  for  the 
past  week  (and  is  still)  singing  its  sweet  song  close  to 
this  village.  It  is  but  seldom  that  the  nightingale 
visits  Derbyshire  at  all,  and  this  is  the  first  time,  so 
far  as  my  knowledge  goes,  of  its  ever  having  come  so 
far  north  in  our  county  as  Winster,  which,  as  you  are 
aware,  is  in  the  Peak  district.  It  will  be  well,  with 
your  permission,  to  make  known  this  visit  through 
Science-Gossip. — Llewellynn  Jewitt,  F.S.A.,  &c. 


HARD  WICKE'S   SCIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


Development  of  Proteus  Anguinus. — Pro- 
fessor Schulze  has  recently  discovered  the  mode  of 
development  of  this  blind  amphibian.  He  found  a 
specimen  in  the  Adelsberg  cave  which  had  laid 
fifty-six  eggs.  The  Proteus  is  proved,  by  researches 
on  the  ovary  of  a  female  from  which  the  eggs  were 
taken,  to  be  oviparous. 

The  Cumberland  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Literature  and  Science.  —  A 
capital  plan  is  in  successful  action  in  Cumberland, 
whereby  scientific  societies  in  six  of  the  chief  towns 
are  affiliated  into  the  above  association.  The  annual 
gathering  was  held  in  Cockermouth  in  Easter  week ; 
when  Mr.  Isaac  Fletcher,  M.P.,  gave  the  presidential 
address.  Afterwards,  Sir  George  Airy,  the  Astro- 
nomer-Royal, delivered  what  he  said  would  most 
probably  be  his  last  lecture,  on  "  The  Interior  of  the 
Earth."  Mr.  J.  Clifton  Ward,  F.G.S.,  the  hon. 
secretary,  read  a  valuable  paper  on  ' '  Quartz  in  the 
Lake  District."     Various  other  papers  were  read. 

The  Northampton  Natural  History  So- 
ciety have  issued  their  second  report,  which  shows  a 
numerical  increase  in  members,  and  a  uniform  success 
in  all  their  efforts.  The  meetings  have  been  held 
monthly,  at  all  of  which  papers  have  been  read.  A 
list  of  the  Lepidoptera  of  the  county  is  being  pre- 
pared by  the  President  of  the  Entomological  Section, 
Mr.  A.  Perry.  The  President  of  the  Socie  ty  is  the 
Right  Hon.  Lord  Lilford,  and  the  Hon.  Sec.  Mr. 
G.  C.  Druce. 

Early  Appearance  of  Colias  Edusa. — Mr. 
W.  H.  Liversedge  saw  three  specimens  of  Colias 
edusa,  on  Monday,  April  22,  while  driving  near 
Ryde,  Isle  of  Wight.  They  were  strong  on  the 
wing,  as  if  freshly  emerged,  or  they  may  have  hyber- 
nated  in  the  imago. 

New  British  Crustacea. — Mr.  Spence  Bate  has 
described  two  new  species  of  small  Crustacea,  found 
by  Mr.  .Sims  of  Aberdeen.  One  species  belongs  to 
the  DiastyluJa,  and  the  other  to  the  Amphipoda. 
The  former  has  been  named  Diastylis  bimarginalus, 
and  the  latter  Lestrigomis  spinidorsalis. 

Salmon  Disease. — Mr.  Worthington  Smith  de- 
scribes and  figures  the  disease  which  this  spring  has 
destroyed  such  numbers  of  salmon  in  the  Eden  and 
other  rivers.  It  is  the  result  of  the  growth  of  a 
fungus,  Saprolegnia  ferox,  in  enormous  quantities  ; 
and  Mr.  Smith  thinks  the  unusually  vigorous  growth 
may  be  due  to  the  mildness  of  the  past  winter. 


BOTANY, 

Summer  Lady's  Tresses  (Spiranthes astivalis). — 
I  am  quite  sure  all  botanists  will  deeply  regret  to 
learn  that  this  rare  plant— which,  like  Gladiolus 
illyricits  and  Pulmonaria  angustifclia,  is  to  be  seen 


nowhere  in  England  but  in  the  New  Forest — is  being 
rapidly  cleared  out  of  its  station  near  the  Lynd- 
hurst  and  Christ  church  Road.  I  have  reason  to 
fear  that  in  two  years  not  a  single  specimen  will 
be  found  in  the  famous  Spiranthes  bog.  This  is 
deplorable — and  I  must  explain  how  this  much- 
to-be-deprecated  eradication  is  being  effected.  The 
year  before  last  a  second  edition  of  the  "New 
Forest  Handbook "  was  brought  out,  comprising, 
among  other  additions,  a  short  paper  on  the  botany 
of  the  district,  and  in  this  the  author  thought  fit  to 
describe,  with  almost  painful  minuteness,  the  exact 
locality  of  the  bog.  This,  no  doubt,  was  kindly 
meant,  but  the  consequences  are  lamentable,  as  I 
shall  presently  show.  In  the  vicinity  of  Lyndhurst, 
and  in  many  other  parts  of  the  Forest,  there  are  resi- 
dent "collectors,"  who  collect  insects  (chiefly  Lepi- 
doptera), birds'  eggs,  rare  ferns,  and  anything  else 
which  is  marketable,  and  dispose  of  them  either  to 
London  dealers  or  to  visitors.  Now,  when  the  hand- 
book appeared  containing  the  notice  of  Spiranthes 
cvstivalis,  and  referring  to  it  as  "a  plant  quite  peculiar 
to  the  New  Forest,  and  to  be  found  in  no  other  spot 
in  England,"  they  saw  at  once  a  rare  opportunity  for 
increasing  their  returns ;  since,  by  carefully  pulling  up 
every  plant  they  could  find,  they  would  hold  the 
monopoly,  -and  always  be  sure  of  a  ready  and  certain 
sale.  This  was  made  more  apparent  when  large 
numbers  of  visitors  flocked  to  the  bog  last  year,  even 
as  early  as  May,  and  when  orders  for  specimens  came 
in  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  Their  anxiety  to 
discover  the  plant  as  early  as  possible  was  very  great, 
and  on  more  than  one  occasion  I  have  been  asked 
what  it  looked  like,  and  how  they  might  know  it,  for 
a  plant  a  few  inches  high,  with  a  lax  spike  of  small 
white  flowers,  growing  in  a  very  wet  sphagnum 
bog,  is  not  very  likely  to  attract  much  attention. 
In  the  month  of  August  I  called  at  one  of  the 
cottages  close  by  and  inquired  about  the  Spiranthes. 
I  was  told  that  the  day  previously  it  had  been  found 
by  a  visitor.  "  So,"  continued  my  informant,  "as  we 
have  so  many  people  asking  about  them,  and  so  many 
orders,  we  went  out  last  night  and  this  morning  and 
brought  in  every  plant  that  was  in  blossom.  I'll  show 
you  them,"  and— shall  I  say  it? — to  my  intense  dis- 
gust a  large  earthenware  pan,  about  two  feet  in 
diameter,  was  brought  out  completely  filled  with, 
Spiranthes  astivalis — roots,  flowers,  and  all !  Besides 
this  there  was  on  the  table  a  good  handful  of  cut 
blossoms.  I  said  I  would  walk  over  the  bog  and  see 
if  there  were  any  more,  which  called  forth  the  remark  : 
"I  don't  think  it's  of  any  use,  Sir;  I  don't  think 
there's  one  left."  However,  I  searched,  and  after 
wading  half-knee-deep  in  water  for  an  hour  or  so, 
succeeded  in  finding  three  specimens,  two  of  which  I 
took,  and  afterwards  reproached  myself  for  leaving 
the  third  ;  for  I  felt  sure  it  would  be  gone  next  day. 
I  have  not  visited  the  cottage  since,  but  I  have  no 
doubt   that   every   visible    specimen   was    ruthlessly 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


r39 


pulled  up.  The  only  chance  was  for  young  plants 
which  did  not  blossom — these  of  course  are  bound  to 
go  this  year ;  next  year  the  last  lingering  vestiges  will 
be  swept  away,  and  Spiranthes  astivalis  shall  never 
again  flourish  at  its  celebrated  station  in  the  New 
Forest  of  Hampshire.  Nothing  can  save  it.  Other 
bogs  will,  when  this  one  is  exhausted,  be  searched, 
and  if,  as  is  said,  the  Spiranthes  occurs  elsewhere  in 
the  neighbourhood,  it  will  soon  be  a  thing  of  the  past, 
and  one  of  the  very  rarest  plants  in  the  United  King- 
dom will  be  extinct,  unless  specimens  are  procured 
from  the  Channel  Islands  and  planted.  Can  anything 
be  done  to  prevent  its  complete  extirpation?  I  do 
not  for  a  moment  blame  the  cottagers  ;  if  a  wild  plant 
will  fetch  a  given  number  of  shillings  in  the  market, 
these  people  have,  undoubtedly,  as  great  a  right  to 
sell  them  as  have  more  wealthy  collectors  to  travel  a 
long  distance  in  order  to  gather  them  for  themselves. 
The  plants  do  not  belong  to  anybody  in  particular, 
and  the  cottagers  may  as  well  make  money  out  of 
them  as  by  the  sale  of  a  Vanessa  antiopa,  a  Montagu's 
Harrier,  or  a  nest  of  raven's  or  honey-buzzard's  eggs. 
The  error  lies  in  making  the  habitat  of  a  rare  plant 
publicly  known.  When  will  kind-hearltd  uotanists 
learn  that  it  is  a  grand  mistake  to  publish  the  exact 
habitat  of  a  rare  or  local  species  ?  It  is  disheartening 
enough  to  know  that  a  plant  is  gradually  becoming 
more  and  more  scarce  in  a  district,  yet  it  is  some  con- 
solation to  know  that  it  grows  in  other  parts;  but 
what  must  be  the  feeling  of  all  right-minded  botanists 
on  learning  that  the  only  spot  in  the  kingdom  in 
which  a  species  flourishes  is  being  rapidly  and  surely 
shorn  of  its  glory?  Spiranthes  cestivalis,  compared 
with  other  orchids,  has  but  small  pretensions  to 
beauty,  and  is  far  from  being  a  conspicuous  plant; 
and  growing  in  the  very  wettest  part  of  a  peat  bog, 
might  have  escaped  destruction,  and  continued  to 
flourish  for  many  long  years  to  come.  The  (per- 
haps) well-intentioned,  but  most  injudicious,  publi- 
cation of  half-a-dozen  lines  will,  in  all  probability,  be 
the  means  of  extirpating  it,  and  robbing  the  British 
flora  of  one  of  its  brightest  gems. — E.  D.  Marquand, 
Brockenhurst. 

Orobanche  on  Begonia.  —  We  have  in  our 
greenhouse  an  Orobanche  that  has  arisen  from  the 
roots  of  a  Begonia.  In  the  field  close  to  the  house 
every  year  we  have  many  Orobanche  minor,  arising, 
we  presume,  from  the  roots  of  clover.  We  therefore 
thought  that  it  might  be  this  plant,  but  from  the  descrip- 
tion, which  I  send  you,  you  will  see  it  is  not.  Sepal 
with  no  vein,  or  if  with  one  vein,  very  indistinct ; 
ovate  below,  narrowed  into  one  subulate  point  shorter 
than  the  tube  of  the  corolla  ;  corolla  tubular  arcuate  ; 
lips  denticulate,  wavy ;  lobes  of  the  lower  lip  nearly 
equal,  middle  one  largest ;  upper  lip  emarginate, 
sides  patent.  Stamens  inserted  near  to  the  base  of 
the  corolla  tube,  slightly  pilose,  anthers  dark  brown. 
Stigma  approximately  two-lobed,   pale  red.      Bract 


one.     Leaves  none.     Stem  purplish,  four  inches  high. 
—  T.  y.  Edwards. 

Look  at  the  Hedgerows  during  June. — 
Mr.  Hobkirk  some  few  years  since,  in  the  pages  of 
the  "Naturalist,"  gave  us  an  admirable  article- on  the 
sub-species  of  the  Hawthorn ;  until  then  they  ap- 
peared to  be  overlooked  by  British  botanists,  or  they 
merely  regarded  them  as  a  single  species.  For  several 
years  they  have  furnished  to  us  matter  for  thought 
and  study,  so  that  now  we  can  generally  when  riding 
rapidly  along  the  lanes  point  out  any  of  the  species, 
or  varieties,  when  in  flower.  What  we  particularly 
wish,  in  fact  our  object  in  drawing  the  attention  of 
our  readers  to  them,  is  to  ascertain  their  distribution. 
For  the  present,  and  as  the  space  at  our  command 
must  be  limited,  we  describe  only  two  of  the  species, 
probably  both  will  be  discovered  in  many  counties : — 
i.  CraLegus  oxyacanthoides,  Thnil,  may  be  recognised 
with  ease,  by  having  from  two  to  three  carpels,  and 
the  peduncles  and  calyx  tube  being  glabrous  or 
smooth. — 2.  Cratcegus  monogyna,  J  acq.  Carpel 
solitary,  peduncles  and  calyx  pubescent  (clothed 
with  fine  down).  The  leaves  are  large,  and  deeply 
lobed.  No.  2  is  our  common  species  in  the  North 
of  England,  No.  I  more  rare.  — F. 

Fertilization  of  Mergenia  Erecta. — At  a 
recent  meeting  of  the  Linna;an  Society,  Mr.  R.  I. 
Lynch  read  a  paper  on  the  mechanism  for  the  fer- 
tilization of  the  above  plant.  It  is  a  West  African 
Acanthaceous  shrub,  bearing  funnel-shaped  corollas, 
with  hairy  anthers  midway  in  the  tube,  their  backs 
pressed  against  the  wall.  The  lower  slender  flexible 
style  has  its  double-lipped  stigma  so  formed  and 
placed,  that  insects  alighting  and  entering  towards  the 
nectar  at  the  bottom  of  the  flower,  on  their  return  so 
move  the  lever-lip  of  the  stigma  as  to  produce  pol- 
lenization. 

Position  of  the  Pasque  Flower. — I  have 
noticed  that  whenever  I  have  found  the  Anemone 
Pulsatilla  it  has  always  grown  in  belts  of  a  certain 
altitude,  as  for  instance  :  last  year  on  the  Blewberry 
Downs  I  found  the  above  specimen ;  it  was  growing 
in  a  belt  at  about  40  feet  elevation,  and  the  belt  only 
being  about  25  or  30  feet  broad.  I  was  rather  sur- 
prised at  this,  and  determined  to  take  notice  this  year  ; 
I  have  done  so,  and  again  noticed  the  same  pecu- 
liarity. I  have  never  found  one  out  of  the  belt.  I 
have  consulted  many  Botanies,  but  have  seen  no 
record  of  so  marked  a  peculiarity  in  this  specimen. 
The  question  is  whether  this  is  a  universal  fact  or 
only  a  partial  one,  occurring  only  in  the  localities  in 
which  I  have  found  the  Pasque  Flower. — Albert 
Henry  Barrett. 

Experiment  with  Mistletoe  Berries. — 
Having  just  been  making  an  experiment  with  the 
above,    I    thought    it   probable    that    some    of    the 


14° 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIE NCE - G O SSIP. 


readers  of  Science-Gossip  might  be  interested  there- 
with. About  a  fortnight  after  Christmas  I  took  some 
mistletoe  berries,  which  had  already  done  duty  as 
decorations  during  the  festive  season,  and  squeezing 
each  one  separately,  applied  it  to  a  branch  or  twig 
of  a  little  hawthorn  hedge.  This  hedge  is  now  about 
three  years  old  and  is  in  vigorous  growth.  I  applied, 
altogether,  about  two  dozen  seeds,  without  opening 
any  of  the  bark  at  all,  and  left  them  to  maintain  their 
position  by  means  of  the  viscous  matter  surrounding 
them.  For  a  long  time  I  could  observe  no  outward 
difference  on  them,  with  the  exception  that  they 
seemed  to  be  swelling,  so  I  had  hope  that  life  was 
present.  About  this  period  I  one  day  observed  that 
two  or  three  of  them  had  been  pecked  out  by  the 
birds.  However,  as  I  did  not  notice  any  more 
marauding  behaviour  of  this  kind,  I  am  hopeful  that 
a  considerable  percentage  of  the  seed  thus  sown  may 
grow.  The  next  step  in  the  way  of  progress — the 
seeds  in  addition  to  having  become  considerably 
swollen  became  of  a  bright  green  colour,  and  on 
several  of  the  finest  I  could  distinctly  make  out  the 
lobed  character  which  the  cotyledons  still  wrapped 
together  are  beginning  to  assume.  Last  week,  as  I 
was  making  one  of  my  daily  inspections,  I  became 
aware  of  several  of  the  little  seeds  having  effected 
a  junction  with  the  branches  they  are  attached  to. 
Since  then  I  have  observed  more  of  them,  and  I  am 
congratulating  myself  that  my  venture  will  succeed. 
As  the  hedge  is  now  fast  becoming  green  it  daily 
becomes  a  more  difficult  matter  to  find  out  the  where- 
abouts of  my  friends.  I  must  now  wait  to  the  end  of 
the  year,  when  the  Hawthorn  puts  on  its  winter  garb, 
before  I  shall  be  able  to  count  how  many  have 
"taken."  As  Devonshire  is  famous  for  producing 
very  little  of  the  mystic  parasite,  I  have  had  the  more 
pleasure  in  my  pursuit,  and  hope  that  the  "  Mistletoe 
Bough  "  may  become  a  permanent  denizen  of  my 
hedge. — J.  Mills  Higgitis,  Silverton,  Devon. 


GEOLOGY. 

Gold  in  New  Guinea. — The  discovery  of  gold  i 
in  this  hitherto  unknown  country  promises,  ere  long, 
to  make  us  better  acquainted  with  its  natural  history 
and  mineral  productions.  Expeditions  are  being 
fitted  out,  both  in  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  for 
the  exploration  of  the  interior,  and  the  collection  of 
general  trustworthy  information. 

Ancient  Vegetation. — Professor  Claypole  has 
found  the  remains  of  Lepidodendron-like  plants  in 
the  Clinton  limestones  of  Ohio,  belonging  to  the 
Upper  Silurian  period.  The  provisional  name  of 
Glyptodcndron  has  been  given  to  this,  the  oldest 
known  American  plant.  As  representing  arborescent 
vegetation,  it  may  be  regarded  as  the  oldest  known 
specimen  in  the  world. 


Fossil  Insects. — Mr.  Scudder  is  preparing  a 
work  on  the  fossil  insects  of  America.  He  has 
recently  spent  a  couple  of  months  in  the  Western 
Territories,  collecting  fossil  insects.  Six  to  seven 
thousand  specimens  were  obtained  from  Florissant  ; 
all  being  remarkable  for  their  beautiful  preservation. 
There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  tertiary 
strata  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  are  richer  in  the 
remains  of  fossil  insects  than  any  other  part  of  the 
world.  Mr.  Scudder  possesses  more  than  twelve 
thousand  specimens. 

Fossil  Fresh-Water  Sponges.  —  Mr.  J.  T. 
Young,  F.G.  S.,  announces  the  discovery  of  spicules 
of  fresh- water  sponges  in  the  so-called  "  flints  "  found 
in  the  Purbeck  limestones.  The  spicules  are  like 
those  of  Spotigilla  Jluviatilis,  only  larger.  This  is 
the  first  discovery  of  fossil  fresh-water  sponges  in 
Great  Britain.  Mr.  Young  has  called  his  specimen 
Spongilla  Pio  beckensis. 


NOTES    AND    QUERIES, 

Irish  Wolf-dogs. — Will  any  one  kindly  inform 
me  if  the' above  dogs  are  extinct;  if  not,  to  whom 
they  belong  ? — L.  M. 

How  to  Make  Plaster  Casts  of  Fish,  &c. — 
I  have  read  with  much  interest  your  article  in  SciENCE- 
Gossip  on  the  making  of  "  Plaster  Casts  of  Fishes." 
Being  a  user  of  plaster  in  my  occupation  as  a  dentist, 
I  venture  to  give  you  a  better  plan  of  managing  that 
material.  The  process  of  mixing  water  with  plaster 
should  be  as  follows  : — Put  water  first  into  the  mixing 
vessel,  and  then  add  the  plaster  to  it  by  shaking  it 
from  a  scoop  as  evenly  as  you  can  into  all  parts  of  the 
water  (in  large  quantities  through  a  sieve),  until  the 
dry  plaster  floats  on  the  surface  ;  stir  it  slowly  a  little ; 
then  you  have  the  proper  quantity  to  make  it  of  the 
consistence  of  cream,  which  is  also  the  proper  consist- 
ence to  use  for  casting  ;  then  shake  or  jar  the  vessel 
a  little,  and  let  it  stand  for  a  few  seconds  to  get  rid  of 
air-bubbles.  The  plaster,  in  this  state,  will  give 
plenty  of  time  to  mix  more  and  add  if  necessary. 
You  may  use  any  quality ;  but  I  should  prefer  "super- 
fine," 9s.  per  cwt.  Trusting  this  will  facilitate  your 
interesting  work. — E.  R.  Pearce. 

A  Plague  of  Flies. — A  small  district,  lying  in 
the  counties  of  Antrim  and  Derry,  has  this  spring 
been  afflicted  with  a  plague  of  flies,  entailing  both 
inconvenience  and  loss  to  the  inhabitants.  The  area 
affected  was  the  river  Bann,  for  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  of  its  course,  near  Kilrea,  and  the  pastures 
adjoining.  The  stones  and  plants  in  the  river  were 
completely  encrusted  with  the  pupa-cases  of  the 
insects,  from  which  they  issued  in  millions  and 
attacked  both  men  and  cattle.  The  latter  had  to  be 
removed  from  the  vicinity,  and  many  of  the  people 
had  their  heads  and  necks  much  swollen,  owing  to- 
the  venomous  nature  of  the  sting  with  which  the 
insect  was  armed.  The  flies  lived  only  for  a  few 
days,  and  left  their  dead  carcases  heaped  up  on  the 
river  banks,  in  some  places  three  inches  deep  ;  they 
have  now  (1st  May)  almost  disappeared.  Some  of 
those  supposed  to  be  wise  in  such  matters  think  that 
these  flies  have  had  their  origin  in  the  battle-fields  of 
Turkey ;  others  that  their  advent  is  a  portent  of  omin- 


HA  R  D  WICKE '  S    S  CI E  NCR-  G  OSS  IP. 


141 


ous  coming  disasters.  I  enclose  specimens  of  the  flies, 
and  also  of  the  pupa-cases  :  I  presume  they  belong 
to  the  Tabanidas,  or  horse-flies  ;  but  why  have  they 
appeared  in  such  force,  and  taken  possession  of  the 
limited  area  referred  to,  where  they  had  not  attracted 
attention  previously? — S.  A.  Stewart,  North-street, 
Belfast. 

Removing  Surplus  Balsam. — Allow  me  to  call 
the  attention  of  those  microscopists  who  mount  their 
own  objects,  to  a  most  useful  and  effective  implement 
for  removing  surplus  balsam.  It  is  the  invention  of 
Mr.  Carey,  of  Norwood,  and  can  be  seen,  by  his 
permission,  at  Mr.  Baker's,  244,  High  Holborn.  I 
call  it  "The  Carey  Scraper."  In  using  it,  heat  accord- 
ing to  the  hardness  of  the  balsam,  and  run  the  scraper 
round  the  edge  of  the  covering-glass,  wiping  off  the 
removed  balsam  on  a  piece  of  paper.  It  comes  off 
freely,  and  leaves  but  very  little  on  the  slide  to  be  fin- 
ished off  by  benzole  or  other  spirit.- — John  Bramhall. 

Natterjack  Toad  on  the  Shores  of  the 
Solway  Firth  (p.  67).— Sir  William  Jardine 
mentions  the  Natterjack  as  occurring  "in  a  marsh 
on  the  coast  of  the  Solway  Firth,  almost  brackish, 
and  within  a  hundred  yards  of  spring-tide  high-water 
mark.  It  lies  between  the  village  of  Carse  and 
S  otherness  Point,  where  I  have  found  them  for  six 
or  seven  miles  along  the  coast.  They  are  very 
abundant."  The  late  Mr.  Edward  Newman  also,  in 
an  article  on  the  Natterjack  published  in  the  "  Zoolo- 
gist "  for  June,  1869,  writes  :• — "In  Scotland  it  has 
been  found  abundant  on  the  coasts  of  the  Solway 
Firth."—  W.  R.  Tate,  Blandford. 

The  Natterjack  Toad  in  Cumberland.— I 
have  for  several  years  known  of  the  existence  of  this 
toad  on  the  shores  of  the  Solway,  at  Silloth,  a  few 
miles  from  the  locality  noticed  by  your  correspondent, 
Mr.  Duckworth.  I  have  from  time  to  time  obtained 
specimens  by  digging  them  out  of  the  sand,  where 
they  hide  during  the  day.  They  are  found  in 
burrows,  sometimes  a  foot  or  more  deep,  opening 
usually  at  the  top  of  a  "scree"  of  sand,  just  beneath 
the  overhanging  turf.  I  have  found  from  one  to 
three  toads  in  each  hole.  Last  June  I  found  that 
they  frequented  a  pond  near  the  railway  station  by 
hundreds.  Their  croaking,  which  was  intermittent, 
beginning  suddenly  and  ceasing  as  abruptly  after  two 
or  three  minutes,  could  be  heard  on  a  still  evening 
more  than  500  yards  away.  This  toad,  like  the 
common  one,  has  the  chameleon-like  property  of 
being  able  to  adapt  its  colour  to  surrounding  circum- 
stances. Those  found  in  the  sand  were  of  a  beautiful 
light  grey,  almost  without  any  spots.  Those  found 
amid  the  moss  and  slime  of  the  pond  had  large 
blotches  of  greenish  yellow,  not  at  all  improving  to 
their  appearance. —  T.  Lattimer. 

Wood-Pigeons'  Nests. — I  was  much  interested 
a  few  days  ago,  in  seeing  a  pair  of  wood-pigeons  that 
are  building  a  nest  in  a  tree,  in  a  garden  a  few  feet 
from  the  backs  of  houses  and  a  public  road,  and  not 
many  hundred  yards  from  a  large  railway  station  and 
a  busy  thoroughfare,  with  tram-cars  and  omnibuses  to 
the  City  and  West  End.  Is  it  not  curious  that  birds, 
so  associated  in  our  minds  with  peaceful  country 
scenes,  should  choose  a  spot  so  very  near  the  great 
desert  of  bricks  and  mortar?  If  the  poor  birds  are 
unmolested  and  hatch  their  young,  what  long 
distances  they  must  travel  to  procure  food  enough  for 
them.—//.  Budge. 

The  Whitethroat  a  Mimic— A  curious  inci- 
dent   occurred    to    my    observation     on     Saturday 


afternoon,  4th  May.  While  walking  across  a  mea- 
dow I  heard,  proceeding  from  the  hedge  on  the  far 
side,  a  variety  of  guttural  sounds,  in  which  I  recog- 
nised the  song  of  the  whitethroat  ( Curruca  eiiierea),  but 
it  was  strangely  interrupted  by  the  alarm  notes  of  the 
common  swallow,  sparrow,  green  and  grey  linnets, 
greater  and  lesser  tits,  and  possibly  a  few  others 
which  I  did  not  recognise.  At  first  I  was  convinced 
that  the  several  species  were  present.  I  drove  the 
whitethroat  out  of  the  hedge,  upon  which  he  pro- 
ceeded to  a  neighbouring  one,  and  there  resumed  his 
imitations.  Being  anxious  to  make  sure  of  this,  I 
lay  down  near  the  hedge  where  I  formerly  heard  him. 
In  a  short  time  he  returned  to  it,  and  I  had  a  favour- 
able opportunity  of  seeing  him.  I  watched  him 
long  enough  to  convince  myself  that  every  note 
proceeded  from  the  same  species.  This  peculiar 
characteristic  of  this  bird  I  do  not  find  mentioned  in 
any  books  on  ornithology  which  I  have  read. — John 
D.  Osborne,  Caniehfergus,  Co.  An  trim. 

The  Botany  of  the  Channel  Islands. — In 
reply  to  your  correspondent'syf;-^  query  under  above 
heading. — Living  in  the  Islands  is  not  expensive.  To 
his  second  : — At  a  farmhouse,  or  private  lodgings,  by 
all  means.  If  J.  Camber  will  send  me  his  address  I 
shall  no  doubt  be  able  to  give  him  all  the  information 
he  requires. — J.  Si  net,  Bagot,  Jersey. 

Aquarium  for  Microscopic  Work. — I  use 
leech  vases  about  eight  inches  in  diameter,  which  I 
get  from  the  chemist  for  three  and  sixpence  each.  I 
think  W.  D.  B.  would  find  two  or  three  such  vases 
better  than  a  larger  aquarium.  Among  several  other 
advantages  specimens  can  be  kept  separate,  and  the 
bottom  of  the  vase  reached  with  the  dipping  tube. — 
Richard  B.  Croft. 

R.  FiCARi/EFORMis. — If  some  correspondent 
would  kindly  give  the  specific  characteristics  of  this 
plant  in  Science-Gossip,  it  would  facilitate  search 
for  it  in  the  South  of  England.  —  /".  H.  A. 

Pairing  of  Birds. — I  deny  altogether  that  we 
have  any  proof  that  fowls  have  the  slightest  regard 
for  the  best  fighting  cock,  or  for  the  superior  beauty 
of  one  male  over  another.  Such  ideas  are  totally 
opposed  to  science  and  to  truth. — C.  R.  Bree,  M.D. 

Colias  Edusa  and  its  Varieties. — The  great 
abundance  of  this  graceful  butterfly  during  the  past 
season  has  offered  to  entomologists  more  opportunities 
of  studying  its  nature  and  habits  than  they  have  had 
for  several  years.  The  question  naturally  arises  : — to 
what  cause  are  we  to  impute  the  strange  appearance 
in  such  numbers  of  this  once-prized  insect  ?  Many 
are  the  theories  that  have  been  brought  forward  to 
account  for  it,  but  the  solution  of  this  entomological 
problem  seems  as  far  off  as  ever.  Although  the 
investigation  of  it  has  been  carried  on  for  many  years, 
we  have  no  explanation  of  this  phenomenon  that  we 
can  receive  with  any  particular  amount  of  credit. 
The  suggestion  that  the  insect  we  find  here  has 
crossed  the  Channel,  tempted  by  the  fineness  and 
heat  of  an  English  summer,  certainly  cannot  be  put 
forward  as  an  argument  in  the  case  of  last  year.  But 
to  dilate  upon,  or  even  to  mention,  the  numerous 
theories  that  have  been  brought  forward  to  account 
for  this  would  occupy  more  time  and  space  than  I 
have  at  my  disposal.  Another  fact  may  be  men- 
tioned, namely,  that  the  number  of  males  taken  was 
very  nearly  double  that  of  the  females.  The  differ- 
ence in  the  appearance  of  these  is  much  greater  than 
one  at  first  sight  would  suppose.     The  most  striking 


142 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


distinction  is  that  the  male  has  each  of  its  wings 
edged  with  a  black  border,  unbroken  except  by  very 
fine  yellow  lines  that  are  a  continuation  of  the  veins. 
In  the  female  this  border  is  broken  by  greenish- 
yellow  patches,  varying  in  size  in  different  speci- 
mens. Besides  this  there  is  another  less  striking 
difference,  namely,  that  at  the  root  of  each  hind  wing 
in  the  male  there  is  a  light  yellow  spot,  of  which 
there  is  no  trace  in  the  female.  In  the  Science- 
Gossip  for  last  December  one  of  your  correspondents 
remarks  that  he  noticed  in  a  specimen  of  this  butter- 
fly that  the  hind  wings  were  suffused  with  a  rosy 
purple  lustre.  If  he  will  carefully  examine  his  speci- 
mens, he  will  find  this  apparent  peculiarity  is  common 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree  to  every  specimen  of  the 
male  insect.  Those  male  butterflies  that  had  very 
lately  emerged  from  the  chrysalis  would  display  it 
most  vividly,  while  in  the  female  there  is  not  the 
least  trace  of  it.  —  C.  E.  B.  Hewitt,  Birmingham. 

Preserving  Skins. — Skins  of  small  birds  may 
be  preserved  by  clipping  wool  in  carbolic  acid,  and 
stuffing  the  birds  with  the  same. — J.  Y. 

The  Mighty  Deep. — In  your  issue  for  April,  I 
find  a  very  interesting  paper  on  this  subject  from 
Mr.  A.  Ramsay.  Will  you  permit  me  to  offer  to 
him,  and  to  your  readers,  a  brief  remark  upon  it  ? 
Mr.  Ramsay  says — "The  great  bulk  of  the  sea  is 
cencentrated  in  the  Southern  hemisphere " — and  on 
the  authority  of  several  authors  he  gives  the  most 
probable  mean  depth  at  about  2,600  fathoms.  In 
the  reports  from  the  Challenger,  as  published  by  the 
Admiralty,  Nos.  1, 2,  3, 6,  and  7,  the  mean  depth  of  446 
soundings  is  about  1,716  fathoms  4  feet  1  inch.  I  have, 
put  down  in  the  Geographical  Magazine  for  March, 
page  66,  the  mean  depth  of  the  Northern  hemisphere 
at  about  1,907,  and  of  the  Southern  at  1,642 
fathoms  ;  giving  a  mean  depth  all  round  the  world 
of  1,774  fathoms  3  feet.  The  two  means  do  not 
coincide,  because  I  omitted  certain  coast  soundings 
in  the  latter  calculations.  It  follows,  that  the 
volume,  as  given  by  Mr.  Ramsay,  must  be  wrong; 
and  though  the  surface-water  area  is  more  extensive 
in  the  South,  the  bulk  of  water  is  about  the  same  in 
both  hemispheres.  The  deepest  water  in  the  North 
is  4,575,  in  the  South  2,900  fathoms  ;  in  the  Arctic 
regions  1,860,  in  the  Antarctic  i,Soo.  There  is  water 
round  the  North  Pole,  and  land  round  the  South. 
The  equilibrium  of  the  globe  seems  perfect.  The 
mean  depth  of  the  ocean,  beyond  coast  soundings, 
may  be  put  down  at  1,750  fathoms;  very  nearly  two 
miles.  If  Mr.  A.  Ramsay  can  turn  his  attention  to 
the  Geological  Survey  report  of  the  Winter  Moun- 
tains, as  published  at  Washington,  U.S.,  he  will  find 
some  curious  facts  as  to  the  depth  of  water  in  those 
regions  in  times  long  past. — H.  P.  Maid. 

The  Natterjack  Toad. — Can  you  tell  me  if  it 
is  true  that  the  Natterjack  toad  (Bnfo  calamita)  gives 
forth  a  most  intolerable  odour  when  handled  or 
frightened  ?  I  should  be  much  obliged,  too,  if  you 
could  inform  me  of  any  place  near  London  where  this 
reptile  may  be  met  with. — y.  Perrycap. 

Our  British  Snakes. — In  answer  to  a  ques- 
tion put  in  the  February  number  of  the  SciENCE- 
Gossip  as  to  whether  our  British  snakes  eat  birds  or 
mice,  I  can  state  positively  that  the  viper  eats  both. 
In  1876  I  killed  a  viper,  which  I  fcund  to  contain 
six  young  willow  wrens,  feathered,  and  within  a  few 
days  of  flying.  Past  year  I  killed  a  young  one,  which 
contained  a  large  long-tailed  field  mouse.  Can  any 
of  your  readers  give  me  any  information  as  to  how 


or  why  the  blind -worm  carries  its  young  in  a  case, 
in  its  back,  and  how  long  this  continues  ?  and  do  either 
the  viper  or  ringed  snake  do  the  same  ? 

Remarkable  Nests. — This  year  we  have  noticed 
three  curious  instances  of  a  departure  from  the  usual 
habits  of  birds  in  building  their  nests,  which  seem 
worth  recording.  The  song-thrush  lines  her  nest  with 
cow-dung  and  clay ;  and  it  is  usually  considered  by 
ornithologists  that,  as  she  builds  very  early  in  the 
spring  and  frequently  in  exposed  situations,  the  mud 
lining  protects  the  eggs  and  the  young  brood  from  the 
fierce  March  winds.  Early  in  March  we  found  a 
thrush's  nest  in  our  garden,  containing  four  eggs  ;  but 
the  nest  had  not  a  vestige  of  the  usual  mud  lining. 
Unfortunately  we  found  the  nest  destroyed  one  morn- 
ing before  the  bird  had  time  to  hatch,  so  it  was 
impossible  to  note  whether  the  inclement  weather 
had  any  effect  on  the  eggs.  We  have  at  this  moment 
a  blackbird  sitting  upon  six  eggs,  four  of  which  are 
her  own  and  the  other  two  those  of  the  song-thrush. 
When  first  the  nest  was  found  it  contained  two  of 
each  kind,  a  thrush  having  laid  in  the  blackbird's 
nest.  Although  sparrows  will  sometimes  appropriate 
swallow's  nests  to  build  in,  and  though  several  birds 
will  build  a  new  nest  on  an  old  foundation,  it  is,  I 
think,  very  unusual  for  one  species — the  cuckoo,  of 
course,  excepted — to  make  use  of  a  nest  built  by 
another  species.  The  third  curiosity  in  nest-building 
is  the  nest  of  a  chaffinch,  placed  in  the  fork  of  an 
elder-bush  near  our  house.  Usually  the  chaffinch 
assimilates  the  colour  of  her  nest  to  the  situation  in 
which  she  places  it ;  if  she  builds  in  a  hedge  she 
generally  covers  it  with  green  moss  ;  but  if  she  builds, 
as  she  often  does,  on  the  bare  branch  of  an  old  apple- 
tree,  she  uses  the  grey  lichens,  which  are  usually  near 
at  hand,  and  covers  her  nest  with  them  so  skilfully 
that  though  quite  open  and  exposed  it  becomes  hidden 
by  its  resemblance  to  a  knob  or  excrescence  of  the 
tree  itself.  In  this  case,  however,  though  the  bird 
has  recognised  the  necessity  of  covering  her  nest  with 
something,  she  has  rendered  it  most  conspicuous  by 
sticking  little  bits  of  white  decayed  wood  all  over  it. 
The  wood  is  so  white  that  the  nest  looks  almost  like 
a  snowball  in  the  branches.  Possibly  this  bird  may 
be  colour-blind,  or  she  maybe  just  a  little  bit  "  want- 
ing" in  her  instinctive  faculties,  as  human  beings  are 
occasionally  in  their  reasoning  powers.  Why  not  ? — 
Robert  Holland,  Norton  Hill,  Runcorn. 

How  long  can  a  Fish  live  out  of  Water  ? — 
A  friend  of  mine  some  days  since  removed  a  gold-fish 
from  a  glass  globe,  on  account  of  its  having  mildew 
(probably  a  parasitic  growth  of  Epistylis).  It  was 
placed  in  a  basin  of  water  at  night  on  the  kitchen 
dresser.  In  the  morning,  at  six  o'clock,  my  friend 
discovered  the  fish  was  missing  from  the  basin,  and 
could  be  nowhere  found.  At  past  twelve  o'clock  at 
noon  the  fish  was  discovered  behind  some  plates 
under  the  dresser ;  as  it  moved  when  handled  it  was 
placed  in  water,  when  it  gradually  revived,  and  is 
now  as  lively  as  ever.  This  unfortunate  fish  was 
certainly  above  six  hours,  possibly  much  more,  out 
of  its  proper  element,  and  in  my  experience  I  have 
never  known  one  to  survive  one  quarter  that  time. — 
Henry  Taylor,  Peckham. 

Sparrow-Hawks  and  Windows.— On  hearing 
a  dash  against  a  plate-glass  window  in  an  adjoining 
room,  I  found  a  sparrow-hawk  lying  on  its  back, 
stunned,  with  its  wings  extended  ;  taking  it  carefully 
up,  after  holding  it  in  my  hands  for  a  minute  I 
placed  it  on  its  legs  close  by  a  plate  of  water ;  it 
gradually  recovered,  tried  its  legs,  and  in  about    ten 


HARD  WI CKES     S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


m: 


minutes    flew    away, 
cruelty  to  other  birds. - 


Kindness   to 
-A  Subscriber. 


it,    was  I  fear, 


Early  Appearance  of  the  Swift. — I  was 
agreeably  surprised  this  morning  (May  ist)  by  the 
premature  spectacle  of  a  swift  (Cypselus  apus)  hawk- 
ing over  this  town.  This  is  the  more  singular,  from 
the  fact  that  the  other  summer  migrants  have  been 
unusually  late  in  their  arrival  in  this  neighbourhood. 
The  swallows  appeared  first  on  April  19th.  I  heard 
the  cuckoo  for  the  first  time  on  April  26th,  and  the 
nightingale  on  the  28th.' — IV.  R.  Tate,  Blandford. 

What  is  the  best  Mixture  for  "Sugar- 
ing "  ?— I  have  generally  used  coarse  sugar,  beer, 
and  rum.  Can  any  of  your  readers  suggest  anything 
more  attractive  for  moths  ?  Is  it  ever  successful 
except  in  autumn  ? — Walter  IV.  Walter,  The  Gables, 
Stoke-  under- Ha  in . 

How  to  Destroy  Ants.— Can  any  of  your 
readers  inform  me  of  the  most  successful  mode  of 
destroying  ants,  so  great  a  nuisance  to  many  house- 
holders?— George  Pearce. 

"Dittany,"  &c. — Will  some  botanical  expert 
assist  me  to  the  exact  name  of  the  species  of  ' '  Dit- 
tany" or  "  Dittander,"  and  "  Dictamiuni '?  The 
words  frequently  occur  in  the  Elizabethan  writers ; 
but  as  their  learned  modern  editors  hold  all  natural 
history  in  contempt,  they  merely  copy  from  the  old 
dictionaries  one  after  the  other.  The  synonyms  are 
all  confused  ;  as  Floris  says  dittany  is  garden  rue, 
while  Cotgrave  gives  garden  ginger,  peppermint, 
■&c.  ;  then  Halliwell  says,  the  first  is  cayenne 
pepper,  and  another  authority  that  there  is  no  such 
thing;  and  Bentham  (Handbook)  adds  that  Dittany 
is  "  the  Fraxinella  of  Gardens,"  and  not  a  British  spe- 
cies, while  Dictamiuni  is  always  got  over  as  a  bastard 
sort  of  Dittany.  Also,  what  species  is  the  Man- 
drake, so  common  of  mention  by  our  early  poets  ? 
Bentham  has  merely,  "  Mandragora,  an  exotic  "  ; 
and  your  notice  of  the  "  Rolls  MS."  says  "White 
Bryony,"  a  name  not  found  in  Bentham  or  Sowerby's 
"  Wild-Flowers."  The  glossaries,  of  course,  afford 
no  help  as  to  species.  The  English  Dialect  Society 
have  long  promised  us  a  book  of  "Plant  names," 
under  the  most  competent  editorship,  but  the  long 
■delay  makes  us  despair  of  it  in  any  reasonable 
time. — Henry  F.  Bailey. 

Aquarium  Matters. — Your  correspondent  Ed- 
ward Step  seems  to  have  been  lucky  in  hitting  upon 
a  mode  of  keeping  aquaria  without  difficulty,  and  I 
am  glad  his  system  gives  him  satisfaction ;  but  I 
think,  if  his  washing-tub  arrangement  is  correct, 
most  of  the  readers  of  his  letter,  with  any  knowledge 
•of  the  subject,  will  think  that  he  is  deluding  himself 
with  the  idea  that  he  is  keeping  aquaria,  whereas  he 
is  only  keeping  a  small  ditch  ;  for,  that  water  can  be 
kept  clear  and  inodorous  for  any  length  of  time  in 
.a  tub  in  which  there  are  all  sorts  of  aquatic  plants, 
.animals,  insects,  &c,  I  much  question  ;  and  that  such 
fish  as  dace,  roach,  perch,  trout,  &c.  will  live  many 
days  in  such  water,  my  experience  makes  me  deny. 
The  tub,  mud,  and  water  arrangement  may  do  very 
well  for  Edward  Step  if  he  only  wants  to  keep  objects 
for  the  microscope,  but  to  fill  a  vessel  with  mud  and 
water,  and  to  place  in  it  animals,  fish,  snails,  insects, 
and  plants,  irrespective  of  quantity  or  selection,  and 
let  them  fight  and  devour  each  other  until  they  have 
•established  what  he  calls  the  balance  of  power,  is 
about  the  queerest  way  of  keeping  aquaria  I  know  of. 
It  is  r.cting  upon  such  injudicious  advice  that  has 
made   aquaria-keeping    so   rare   in    private    houses. 


People  have  been  told  that  they  have  only  to  get 
a  vase  or  glass  tank,  fill  it  with  water,  put 
some  mud  or  sand  at  the  bottom,  place  water,  plants, 
snails,  fish,  caddis-worms,  reptiles,  beetles,  or  any- 
thing they  find  in  a  river,  ditch,  or  pond  in  it,  and 
they  will  at  once  have  a  thing  of  beauty  and  a  joy 
for  ever  :  they  do  so,  and,  after  weeks  of  patient 
waiting,  they  find  they  are  keeping  a  mass  of  slimy 
decaying  plants,  dead  fish,  &c,  in  water  which  the 
wife  or  housekeeper  declares  is  not  only  very  odorous 
but  very  dangerous.  If  fresh- water  aquaria  are  to 
be  kept  to  be  of  any  use  or  pleasure,  they  must 
be  so  upon  a  judicious  selection  of  situation,  plants, 
and  live  stock,  which  live  stock  are  most  accustomed 
to  still  waters,  and  if  your  correspondent  had  had 
a  little  more  field  and  river  experience  before  setting 
up  his  tub,  he  would,  perhaps,  have  discovered  that 
there  are  plants  of  the  river,  pond,  ditch,  and  stream; 
and  fish,  mollusks,  &c,  of  the  same,  each  having  its 
own  habitat  in  which  it  will  flourish. — Ben  Plant, 
The  Crescent,  Leicester. 

V.  Antiopa. — I  always  thought  that  the  dif- 
ference between  a  foreign  and  a  British  specimen  of 
the  above-named  insect  was,  that  the  former  had  a 
<rra?,w-coloured  margin,  and  the  latter  had  a  white 
one ;  but  during  the  last  few  months  I  have  been 
often  told  that  there  is  no  difference.  I  should  be 
much  obliged  if  some  of  your  entomological  readers 
would  give  me  an  answer. — W.  R.  Morse,  Norwich. 


NOTICES    TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 


To  Correspondents  and  Exchangers.  —  As  we  now 
publish  Science-Gossip  a  week  earlier  than  heretofore,  we 
cannot  possibly  insert  in  the  following  number  any  communi- 
cations which  reach  us  later  than  the  9th  of  the  previous 
month. 


Science-Gossip  Botanical  Exchange  Club. — We  shall  be 
glad  to  receive  the  names  of  all  intending  members.  The  sub- 
scription (5s.)  is  intended  to  cover  expenses  of  carriage  of  speci- 
mens to  and  from  those  botanists  who  are  engaged  in  naming 
them,  postage,  printing,  &c.  The  scientific  labour  is  in  every 
instance  gratuitously  given.  It  has  been  thought,  however, 
that  even  this  sum  might  be  too  great  for  some  members,  and 
it  is  therefore  decided  that  in  the  cases  of  bona  Jide  working 
men,  who  may  desire  to  become  members,  the  fee  shall  be 
reduced  to  2s.  6d.  We  feel  certain  that  all  members  will  at 
least  desire  that  the  Club  shall  be  self-supporting. 

W.  H.  L.  (Bristol). — Your  letter  contained  nothing  but  some 
granular  red  powder. 

C.  Gould. — The  "Trumpet,"  or  "cup-moss"  as  it  is  also 
called,  is  not  a  moss  but  a  lichen,  called  Cceuomyce  pixidata. 

X. — The  spider's  threads  used  for  astronomical  purposes  are 
those  of  the  Common  Garden  Spider. 

J.  W. — The  specimen  is  that  of  the  Common  Primrose.  Your 
other  flower  is  that  of  the  Wood  Sorrel  (Oxalis  acetoseila) ; 
and  your  fern  the  Maiden-hair  Spleenwort  (Aspleuium  tricho- 
7nanes).  Get  Mrs.  Lankester's  "  Familiar  Wild-Flowers," 
with  coloured  plates,  published  by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192, 
Piccadilly. 

W.  A.  Pearce  (London). — The  enclosed  water-plant  is  a 
pond-weed  [Potamogettti  crispus). 

T.  H.  Buffham. — The  better  plan  would  be  to  sow  the 
seeds.  You  would  then  with  ease  determine  the  species ;  it 
will  probably  prove  to  be  a  Galium. 

A.  B.  (Kelso,  N.B.).— Thanks  for  your  kind  suggestions  ;  in 
a  few  days  we  hope  to  send  out  the  Rules  of  our  S.-G.  Bot. 
Ex.  Club  ;  we  beg  to  acknowledge  Callitriche  hamulata. 

R.  F.  Z.  (Salisbury).  — It  is  difficult  to  state  why  the  leaf  is 
discoloured,  however  we  find  the  cells  in  the  parenchyma  are 
devoid  of  chlorophyll,  excepting  on  one  side,  then  only  in  very 
small  quantity  ;  you  will  be  able  to  prepare  a  good  microscopic 
object  from  the  white  part. 

E.  H.  (Stepney). — Procure  "The  Flora  of  Faversham,  Kent"  ; 
it  is  a  most  interesting  and  readable  volume. 

D.  McD.  (Edinburgh). — We  have  a  very  old  proverb,  well 
known  in  many  parts  of  England,  "When  the  gorse  is  out 
of  bloom,  kissing  is  out  of  favour."  The  latter  part  is  varied, 
as  "  kissing  is  not  in  fashion." 


144 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


S.  B.  (Oxford). — A  few  slugs  and  small  worms  for  the 
common  snake  and  blindworm  will  serve  admirably  as  food. 
The  same  kind  of  food,  with  such  dead  flies  as  may  be  picked 
up  from  the  windows  during  the  summer,  will  supply  the 
lizards.  Keep  both  dry  moss  and  sand  at  the  bottom  of 
your  box. 

"Arinas." — We  cannot  undertake  to  say  what  the  object 
you  mention  is  without  seeing  it.  It  m3y  be  a  fungus,  but 
could  only  decide  upon  seeing  it. 

F.  L.  St.  A. — The  FritiUary  is  a  variety  of  F.  meleagris. 
The  fungus  is  Polyporus  bctulinns. 

J.  G.  J. — Your  beetles  to  hand.  The  larger  one  is  Dytiscus 
jnarginalis  (male)  ;  and  the  smaller  is  Acilius  sulcatus. 

B.  M.  O. — Your  mosses  are  as  follows  : — A.  Hypnum  sylva- 
ticum;  B.  Tortula  muralis;  C.  &  D.  Hypnum  palustre ; 
E.  IVeissia  controversa  ;  F.  Hypnum  serpens ;  G.  Fissidens 
■viridulus;  H.  Brynm  atropnrpnreuin  ;  I.  Polytrichum 
commune. 

W.  E.  Green. — Your  mosses  are: — i.  Tortula  nitida;  2. 
Brynm  pseudotriquetritm ;  3.  Hypnwn  albicans  ;  4.  Hypnum 
prielongmn ;  5.  Hypnum  KnciJjUi ;  6  &  7.  Hypnnm  cnpres- 
siforme  ;  8.  Hypnum  Swartzu,  B. 


EXCHANGES. 

Wanted  sections  of  common  woods,  bone  teeth,  &c. ,  fora- 
minifera,  feet  and  parts  of  insects,  diatomaceous  earths,  &c, 
in  exchange  for  well-mounted  slides. — C.  W.  Lawton,  200, 
Essex-road,  Islington,  London. 

One-holed  eggs  of  Dipper,  Wheatear,  Creeper,  Long-tailed 
Til,  Pied,  Yellow,  and  Grey  Wagtails,  Red-winged  Starling, 
Rook,  Jackdaw,  Magpie,  Golden-winged  Woodpecker,  King- 
fisher, Stock  Dove,  Turtle  Dove,  &c,  &c,  to  exchange  for 
Nightingales,  Reed  Wren,  Owls,  Wrynecks,  or  other  eggs. — J. 
F.  Pratt,  Westgate,  Ripon. 

Colorado  Potato  Beetles.  Unset  specimens  to  exchange 
for  examples  illustrating  Economic  Entomology. — R.  S.  Hul- 
bert,  40,  Catherine-street,  Strand,  W. C. 

Material  for  slide  of  crystals  for  Polariscope  in  exchange 
for  good  unmounted  Entomological  object  (not  wing). — Win. 
Sargant,  junr.,  Caverswall,  Stoke-on-Trent. 

Birds'  Eggs,  side-blown.  Well-marked  specimens,  labelled, 
300  varieties.  Exchange  for  others  new  to  collection.  Send 
at  once  for  my  list.  All  letters  answered. —  H.  Sissons,  West- 
bourne-road,  Sheffield. 

J.  W.  Bulmer,  near  the  Church,  Northallerton,  Yorks,  will 
exchange  small  screw  printing-press,  type,  &c,  also  bird 
eggs,  for  gold  fish  and  other  small  fish  for  aquarium  or  fish- 
globe. 

For  Gomphonema  geminatum,  as  collected,  send  stamped 
envelope  with  micro-object  of  interest,  or  a  well-mounted  slide 
in  exchange. — James  Simpson,  48,  Arthur-street,  Dumbiedykes- 
road,  Edinburgh. 

Poa  bulbosa  and  CorynepJtorus canescens for  1479,  1483,  14S4- 
1487  and  other  rare  grasses,  London  Catalogue,  7th  Edition. — 
J.  Keogh,  25,  Camperdown-place,  Great  Yarmouth. 

For  well-mounted  palate  of  land-snail  or  slug  send  good 
slide,  not  diatoms  or  polariscope  object. — Henry  Insley,  1, 
Back  Chester-place,  Gerrard-street,  Birmingham. 

Larvae  of  Qucrcns,  Salicis,  Dispar,  Monacha,  Castrcnsis, 
Trcpida,  Cecruleocephala ,  &c,  for  Lepidoptera  in  any  stage  ; 
or  good  Bird  Eggs. — Roland  Green. 

Wanted  diatoms  mounted  or  unmounted,  or  any  thing  of 
interest,  for  crystals  mounted,  diatoms  mounted  in  situ,  zoo- 
phytes' palates  mounted  or  unmounted,  starches  to  show  the 
adulterations  of  food,  &c. — Arthur  Smith,  198,  Essex-road, 
Islington. 

For  insects  mounted  whole  send  mounted  slides,  clean,  of 
diatoms,  eyes  of  insects,  diatom  mounted  in  situ,  &c.  Only  a 
limited  mimber  to  exchange.  Apply  early. — Albert  Smith, 
198,  Essex-road,  London. 

I  have  Science-Gossip  1877,  bound,  photo  of  Darwin,  two 
dippers  (skins),  and  green  woodpecker  and  Ray's  wagtail 
(wired).  Wanted  British  Coleoptera,  Lepidoptera,  side-blown 
birds'  egg.-.,  or  mounted  diatoms. — W.  Barrett  Roue,  165,  White 
Ladies-road,  Bristol. 

Wanted  in  exchange  for  SciENCE-Gossirs,  Grattan's 
"  British  Marine  Alga?,"  either  bound  or  unbound. — John 
D.  Duthie,  Stonehaven,  N.B. 

Wanted  side-blown  eggs  in  large  quantities,  every  variety 
almost.  Exchange  as  may  be  arranged.  Correspondence 
answered  from  all  parts,  especially  foreign. — John  Wm.  Sissons, 
Sharron,  Sheffield. 

Rare  and  local  Suffolk  plants  during  the  season  for  exchange. 
Now  ready  Nos.  1039,  J337-  Shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  former 
correspondents. — W.  Jordan,  Cockfield,  Sudbury,  Suffolk. 

Science-Gossit  for  1S76  and  1877  offered  in  exchange  for 
fossils  or  shells.  — A.  Hnrker,  Spring  Bank,  Hull. 

Rare  Zoophytes  and  cleaned  Foraminifera  wanted.  Will 
give  in  exchange  good  wood  sections,  soundings,  and  other 
material. — H.  L.,  6,  Upper  Phillimore -gardens,  Kensington,  W. 

For  slide  of  parasite  of  horse  {Triclwdcctes  i-q it i)  send  a 
well-mounted  parasite  to  W.  A.  Hyslop,  22,  Palmerston-place, 
Edinburgh. 


London  Catalogue,  Nos.  (7th  Edition)  20,  27,  35  with 
bulbils,  93,  g6,  203,  206,  299,  301,  398,  352,  516,  532,  550,  608, 
645.  671,  726,  932,  993,  1015,  1169,  1387,  1405,  1442,  1452,  1501, 
1586,  1623,  1652,  offered  for  10,  11,  46,  47,  48,  56,  66,  68,  92, 
104,  116,  131,  251,  264,  270,  358,  360,  365,  369,  374,  396,  474, 
495,  502,  566,  574,  590,  600,  620. — Wm.  West,  15,  Horton-lane, 
Bradford. 

Asarum  Europepum  or  Asarabacca.  Specimens  of  this  rare 
British  plant  in  exchange  for  others  of  equal  rarity,  ferns  pre- 
ferred.— James  W.  Lloyd,  Kington,  Herefordshire. 

Seventh  Edition  London  Catalogue,  jfuncus  pygmcus, 
Carex  capillaris,  and  others. — L.  Tellow,  10,  Radclyffe-street, 
Oldham. 

For  a  slide  of  C.  and  Anchorate  spicules  send  some  object 
of  interest,  Foraminifera  preferred. — A.  Alletsee,  11,  Foley- 
street,  London,  W. 

Either  living  or  mounted  specimens  of  Zonites  cellarius, 
Zonites  e.vcavatus,  for  either ptipie,  laii'te,  or  imagos  of  moths 
or  butterflies,  British  or  Foreign,  or  other  offers. — T,  26,  Parker- 
street,  Warrington. 

Noel  Humphreys'  "British  Moths,"  Macro  and  Micro,. 
splendidly  coloured.  Wanted  eye-piece  or  object  glass  for 
microscope. — W.  Harper,  Norfolk-park,  Maidenhead. 

Wanted  parts  of  Foreign  Beetles  and  Butterflies,  Forami- 
nifera, Zoophytes.  Stained  anatomical  preparations  and  all 
kinds  of  unmounted  material  in  exchange  for  good  specimens. — 
Alpha,  16,  Brunswick-street,  Poplar,  London,  E. 

Eggs  of  sparrowhawk,  bullfinch,  common  bunting,  red 
wagtail,  chiffchaff,  &c,  in  exchange  for  others. — G.  B.  Wood, 
Lindow  Grove,  Alderley  Edge,  near  Manchester. 

Wanted  Bulimus  R cevei  and  Bulimus  Portei  and  other 
Philippine  land  shells.  Many  rare  species  offered  in  exchange, 
British  and  Foreign. — Address,  F.  M.  Hele,  Fairlight,  Elm- 
grove-road,  Cotham,  Bristol. 

A  naturalist,  who  is  going  on  a  dredging  cruise  round 
the  South  and  West  coast  of  England,  would  be  glad  to  hear 
from  a  gentleman  having  similar  tastes  who  would  be  willing 
to  join  him  and  pay  a  small  part  of  the  expense.  For  further 
particulars  address  C.  P.  Ogilvie,  F.L.S.,  Sizewell  House, 
Leiston,  Suffolk. 

Sali.tr  alba,  var.  ctrrnlea,  offered  for  other  good  plants  ; 
rare  species  of  Rubus,  Rosa,  Pyrns,  Carduus,  Hieracum, 
Salix,  Scirpus,'a.nd  Carer  especially  desired. — E.  W.  Andrews, 
University  School,  Hastings. 

Wanted,  Science-Gossip  for  1874-5-6,  except  Oct.,  Nov., 
and  Dec.  1876.  Offered,  double  the  number  of  weekly  parts 
of  "Nature"  and  a  quantity  of  consecutive  numbers  of  the 
"  Garden,"  or  offers. 

For  disposal,  at  a  very  cheap  rats,  a  beautiful  series  of 
polished  sections  of  Carboniferous  corals  from  Clifton,  Bristol. 
— Apply  to  S.  G.  Perceval,  Henbury,  Bristol. 

L.  C,  Nos.  135,  209,  235,  253,  555,  556,  577,  581,  605,  653, 
683,  and  many  others,  for  other  rare  plants.  List  exchanged. — 
J.  Tempere,  10,  Heald-place,  Rusholme,  Manchester. 


BOOKS,  &c,  RECEIVED. 

"  Flowers  :  their  Origin,  Shapes,  Perfumes,  and  Colours." 
By  J.  E.  Taylor,  Ph.  D.,  F.L.S.,  &c.  London  :  Hardwicke  & 
Bogue.      Price  7s.  6d. 

"Tropical  Nature."  By  A.  R.  Wallace.  London:  Mac- 
millan  &  Co.     Price  12s. 

"  Nutrition  in  Health  and  Disease."  By  Dr.  J.  H.  Bennet. 
Third  Edition.     London:  J.  &  A.  Churchill. 

"  The  Planisphere,  and  How  to  Use  It."  London  :  J.  E. 
Catty. 

"Transactions  Watford  Natural  History  Society." 

"  Industrial  Art."     May. 

"  Land  and  Water." 

"American  Naturalist."    April. 

"  Potter's  American   Monthly."     April. 

"  Familiar  Science  and  Fancier's  Journal." 

"  Science  pour  Tous." 

"  Chambers' Journal."     May. 
&c.         &c.         &c. 


Communications  received  up  to  9TH  ult.,  from: — 
F.  K.— T.  McG.— W.  B.  R.— J.  S.— N.  B.  C— G.  T.  B.— 
R.  G.-R.  L.  H.— L.  J.— J.  P.  G.— W.  H.— G.  B.  W.— 
E.  H.— W.  W.— A.  A.— D.  J.  P.— J.  D.  O.— A.  H.— J.  W.  W. 
-W.  H.  L.— J.  H.  A.  J.— L.  T.— J.  S.— J.  W.  R— H.  L.— 
W.  R.  T.—  W.  B.—  T.  P.— G.  C.  D.— H.  L.  S.— J.  II.— 
W.  A.  P.— H.  R.  P.— H.  I.— W.  B.  B.— W.  B.  G.-J.  W.  S. 
— W.  J.— T.  H.  B.— H.  T.  S.— J.  V.— Z.  L.  E.— F.  R.  M.— 
A.  S.— A.  C— F.  M.  H.-S.  A.  S.— L.  S.  E.— H.  C.  C  — 
J.  D.— R.  H.— Dr.  de  C— E.  D.  M.— H.  P.  M.-W.  A.  H.— 
J.  W.  L.— H.  E.  W.— J.  A.  K.— H.  L.— J.  M.  H.— T.  L— 
H.  B.— C.  G.— J.  D.  D.— J.  K.-J.  H.— A.  H.  B.  -H.  T  — 
W.  H.  B.— J.  K.— Dr.  B.— J.  F.  R. -R.  B.  C— C.  W.  L. 
—  F.  H.  A.— J.  F.  P.— S.  B.  A.— H.  S.— H.  J.  J.  L  — F.  A. 
St.  A.— A.  P.  W.— E.  R.  P.— J.  G.  J.— E.  E.  E.— W.  S.  jun. 
— W.  S.  F.— J.  W.  B.— W.  S.— H.  F.  B.— J.  B.  G.— R.  S.  H. 
—Dr.  L.  G.  M.— R.  M.— &c.  &c.  &c. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


M5 


THE    PRONUNCIATION    OF    SCIENTIFIC    NAMES, 


HE  question  as  to  "  the  pro- 
nunciation of  scientific 
names  "  which  has  been 
raised  and  discussed  in 
some  of  your  recent 
numbers,  is  one  in  which 
I  take  a  considerable 
interest.  The  subject  is 
only  one  branch  of  the 
much  larger  question  now 
being  freely  discussed 
amongst  scholars— the  proper  pronunciation  of 
Greek  and  Latin  words  generally — whilst,  under 
another  aspect,  it  is  only  one  branch  of  that 
well-named  "Opprobrium  Botanicorum  "  —  the 
subject  of  botanical  nomenclature,  a  subject  upon 
which  I  have  a  few  crotchets,  which  I  should  be 
glad,  on  some  future  occasion,  to  have  the  oppor- 
tunity of  airing  in  your  journal. 

Your  correspondent  Mr.  Newlyn  makes  two  assump- 
tions, from  both  of  which  I  beg  leave  to  differ.  First, 
he  assumes  that  we  have  no  means,  except  accentuation 
(by  which,  from  his  reference  to  "the  poets,"  he 
plainly  means  quantity),  to  guide  us  to  a  knowledge 
of  the  mode  of  pronunciation  which  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  themselves  adopted  :  and,  secondly,  he  as- 
sumes that  "university  men"  at  the  present  day 
acquiesce  in  the  barbarous  practice  of  English 
scholars  during  the  two  or  three  last  centuries 
only,  of  pronouncing  Greek  and  Latin  words  as  if 
they  were  English  ;  whereas  those  who  know  the 
Universities  know  well  that  both  there,  and  in  our 
large  public  schools,  a  sturdy  effort  is  being  made  to 
bring  back  the  pronunciation  of  Greek  and  Latin 
words  to  what  we  have  good  reasons  for  knowing,  or 
believing,  was  the  actual  pronunciation  in  a  Greek 
or  Roman  mouth  of  classical  times.  And  to  those 
who  give  themselves  to  the  study  of  the  subject, 
indications  of  the  old  method  of  pronunciation  are 
not  [wanting  ;  although  the  difficulty  of  arriving  at 
a  satisfactory  solution  is  greatly  increased  by  the  fact 
that  then,  as  now,  the  pronunciation  in  different 
NO.  163. 


provinces  at  the  same  time,  and  in  the  same  province 
at  different  times,  varied  considerably. 

However,  means  for  recovering  the  old  pronuncia- 
tion are  not  wanting  to  those  who  are  on  the  look- 
out for  them.  One  principal  source  of  information 
is  the  mode  in  which  the  ancients  represent  natural 
sounds,  which  certainly  have  never  changed,  and  for 
the  vowel  sounds  this  alone  is  almost  sufficient.  Thus, 
Aristophanes,  in  the  " Acharnians,"  introduces  a 
countryman  with  a  pig  under  his  arm.  And  the 
part  assigned  to  the  pig  is  written  (I  write  in  Roman, 
not  in  Greek  letters)  km — Aoi — km:  now  let  any  one 
repeat  ko-ee,  ko-ee,  ko-ee,  several  times,  rapidly, 
and  he  will  find  that  it  gives  perfectly  the  sound  of  a 
pig's  squeak,  and  leaves  no  room  for  doubt  that  by 
Aristophanes  and  his  contemporaries  the  letter  i  was 
pronounced  ee.  Again,  the  Latin  word  for  a  breast 
is  mamma.  And  there  can  be  no  question  that  a 
Roman  infant  called  for  the  breast  in  exactly  the 
same  sounds  as  an  Anglo-Saxon  infant  calls  for  the 
mother  who  presents  it  to  him,  pronouncing  the  a  as 
ah.  So — cuculus  (the  cuckoo),  ulula  (the  owl), 
mugire  (to  low  like  a  moo-cow),  supply  plenty  of 
proof  that  u  was  sounded  like  double  0 ;  not  as 
we  sound  it,  as  if  it  was  written  yoo  (which  is  really 
a  diphthong — cc-oo). 

Then  as  to  consonants.  That  c  was  always  pro- 
nounced hard  before  e  and  i,  as  well  as  before  a,  0, 
and  u,  is  manifest  from  many  indications.  Thus,  it 
always  represents  the  Greek  kappa,  in  words  derived 
from  the  Greek ;  e.  g.  Kentauros  is  represented  by 
Centaurus.  Kimmerioi  becomes  Cimmerii,  and  (by 
transposition)  in  English  Crim-Tartary  and  the 
Crimea,  which  shows  that  the  c  was  pronounced 
hard  when  the  transposition  was  made.  A  very 
clear  indication  of  the  hardness  of  the  c  is  afforded 
by  those  very  numerous  places  in  Ireland  which 
begin  or  end  with  kit,  such  as  Kilkenny,  Clonkill, 
&c,  all  of  which  were  formerly  the  seat  of  a  monas- 
tery, known  as  Cclla  (alluding  to  the  solitary  cham-  . 
bers  of  the  monks),  and  proving  most  convincingly 
that  the  c  in  cclla,   in    the    early  centuries   of  the 

H 


146 


HARD  WICKE  :S    SCIENCE  -  G  OS  SI  P. 


C  hristian  era,  was  pronounced  as  /•.  Again,  a  joke 
preserved  by  Quintilian  serves  to  show  that  qu  was 
also  pronounced  like  k,  not,  as  in  English  and 
modern  Italian,  as  coo.  Quintilian  mentions  that"  a 
man  who  had  formerly  been  a  cook,  but  had  risen  in 
life  till  he  had  become  a  great  swell,  having  on  some 
occasion  said  something  insulting  to  a  man  who  knew 
his  origin,  the  latter  replied,  "  Et  tu  quoque," 
where  the  whole  force  of  the  joke  lies  in  the  pro- 
nunciation of  quoque  and  cogue  being  identical. 

But  I  must  not  continue  these  illustrations  at  a 
length  which  would  suit  a  philological  rather  than  a 
natural  history  journal.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  there 
is  plenty  of  proof  of  the  sound  of  all  the  vowels,  and 
of  most,  if  not  all.  of  the  consonants.  And  I  live  in 
hopes  that,  if  not  the  present,  the  next,  or  perhaps 
the  paulo-post-futurum  generation  will  not  only,  by 
careful  research,  have  recovered  the  genuine  old 
pronunciation,  but  will  make  use  of  it  in  reading  or 
speaking  Greek  and  Latin. 

But  when  we  have  arrived  at  the  conclusion  of  its 
1  ieing  both  desirable  and  possible  to  pronounce  Greek 
and  Latin  literature  as  Greeks  and  Romans  would 
have  pronounced  it,  it  still  remains  to  consider  how 
far  it  is  either  desirable  or  possible  to  pronounce 
botanical,  or  other  scientific  terms,  according  to  the 
rules  of  genuine  Greek  or  Latin  pronunciation.  As  re- 
gards genuine  Greek  or  Latin  words,  such  as  Geranium, 
Hieracium,  Cineraria,  I  know  no  reason,  except 
persistence  in  a  vicious  custom,  why  they  should  not 
be  pronounced  in  proper  Greek  or  Latin  fashion, 
with  the  c  or  the  g  hard.  But  what  are  you  to  do 
with  the  atrocious  barbarisms,  the  disgrace  of  all 
sciences  alike,  with  which  the  bad  taste  of  modern 
times  has  encumbered  our  nomenclature  ?  Take  such 
words  as  Brozonii,  Smithii,  Lecocquii,  Hoekeria, 
Scheuchzeria,  and  (worst  and  most  frightful  of  all) 
IVarsieioiezii.  No  rules  for  the  pronunciation  of 
Greek  or  Latin  words  will  ever  enable  any  one  to 
make  any  of  these  sound  in  the  least  degree  like  a 
I  .atirl  word.  And  for  this  very  good  reason  ;  namely, 
that  they  are  not  Latin  words,  but  only  English, 
French,  or  German,  slightly  disguised  by  having  a 
Latin  tail  tacked  on  to  them  ;  and  reminding  one 
very  much  of  the  statues  of  old  George  III.,  with  his 
stiff  pig-tail  protruding,  clad  in  a  Roman  toga,  or  a 
Greek  chlamys.  With  such  words,  as  I  fear  it  is 
quite  hopeless  to  get  rid  of  them,  the  only  thing  to 
be  done  is  to  mark  their  bastard  and  mongrel  origin, 
by  pronouncing  them,  the  head  according  to  its 
nationality,  and  the  tail  only  in  Latin  fashion. 

How  the  Romans  themselves  would  have  dealt 
with  these  uncouth  sounds  we  are  not  left  to  con- 
jecture merely.  A  characteristic  instance  presents 
itself  in  the  place  at  which  I  am  now  writing,  Church 
Stratton,  in  Shropshire.  Close  by  is  a  hill,  on  which 
the  British  chieftain  Caradoc  maintained  his  last 
fight  against  the  Roman  power.  The  hill  still  bears 
his  name,   arid  is  called  Caer  Caradoc,  the  Seat  of 


Caradoc.  This  name  (with  the  accent  on  the  penul- 
timate syllable,  according  to  the  general  rule  in 
Celtic  words)  is  obviously  the  original  of  the,  not 
uncommon,  surname  of  Cradock,  or  Craddock.  Now, 
suppose  the  discoverer  of  a  new  plant,  wishing  to 
honour  a  botanist  of  the  name  of  Cradock,  in 
all  probability  he  would  designate  his  discovery  by 
the  hideous  title  of  "  herba  CradockiV  But  what 
did  the  Romans  themselves  do  with  such  an  unac- 
commodating word  ?  Now  it  so  happens  that  one  of 
the  most  classical  of  Roman  writers,  viz.  Tacitus, 
had  a  good  deal  to  say  about  Caradoc,  but  he  has 
adapted  his  name  to  Latin  ears,  and  speaks  of  him 
always  as  Caraciacus.  Plentiful  instances  of  this 
adaptation  of  names  occur  even  in  Scripture,  to 
which  I  need  not  more  particularly  refer.  The  New 
Testament  version  of  Old  Testament  names,  such  as 
yesus  for  Joshua,  Eliseus  for  Elisha,  Sec. ,  shows  the 
principle  upon  which  the  writers  of  that  age  pro- 
ceeded. In  the  time  of  the  Renaissance  they  adopted 
a,  perhaps  better,  plan,  wherever  it  could  be  resorted 
to ;  that,  namely,  of  translating  those  names  which 
(as  is  the  case  with  most)  have  a  distinct  meaning. 
Thus,  Hausschein  becomes  CEcolampadius  ;  Schwarzerd 
is  rendered  Melancthon  ;  Hahn  is  known  as  Gall  us  : 
and  so  on.  Now,  if  these  writers  had  been  botanists, 
instead  of  theologians  and  musicians,  and  it  had  been 
desired  to  commemorate  them  by  giving  their  names 
to  plants,  we  should  have  been  tortured  by  the  bar- 
baric words — HausscJieinii,  ScJnvarzerdia,  Ilahnii, 
Sec.  Sec,  instead  of  the  equally  commemorative,  but 
far  more  euphonious  designations  of  CEcolampadii, 
Melancthonia,  Galli,  Sec.  And  why  cannot  we  now 
adopt  the  same  plan,  and  instead  of  Brown  take 
Fuscus,  for  Smith  write  Faber,  for  Hooker,  Hamator, 
Sec.  &c.  &c.  Linnaeus  himself  is,  no  doubt,  re- 
sponsible for  many  of  the  uncouth  names  with  which 
botanical  nomenclature  abounds.  But  even  he  on 
occasion  could  make  a  concession  to  euphony,  as 
witness  his  turning  such  a  harsh-sounding  word  as 
the  German  for  a  sore-throat,  Breune  (pronounced 
Broina),  into  the  pleasant-sounding  Prunella. 

But  the  great  difficulty  in  the  way  of  a  correct  pro- 
nunciation of  classical  and  pseudo-classical  words  used 
in  botany  is  undoubtedly  the  question  of  quantity  ;  and 
it  is  perfectly  astonishing,  in  turning  over  botanical 
works,  written,  too,  by  persons  who  are  supposed  to 
have  some  scholarship,  to  see  the  flagrant  blunders  and 
erroneous  marking  of  quantities  which  they  exhibit. 
Many  of  these  are  simply  the  result  of  carelessness, 
and  arise  from  the  author  not  giving  himself  the 
trouble  to  think  for  a  moment  of  the  real  origin  of  a 
word.  Thus  the  very  common  pronunciation  of 
(Enothera,  with  the  e  short,  arises  only  from  the 
carelessness  of  not  remembering  that  the  plant  origi- 
nally so  called  (by  Dioscorides  I  think,  but  I  have 
not  got  him  at  hand  to  refer  to)  was  used  by  the 
Greeks  as  we  use  olives,  to  give  an  appetite  for 
wine,  and  thence  derived  its  name  from  Oinos  and 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE  -GO  SSI P. 


147 


Therao.    The  latter  word  spelt  with  an  eta,  and  there- 
fore as  long  as  daylight  on  the  arst  of  June. 

But  the  real  difficulty,  especially  in  Greek  words, 
or  words  derived   from  the  Greek,   arises  from  the 
conflict  between  accent  and  quantity,  the  true  prin- 
ciples of  reconciling  which  are  as  yet  but  very  imper- 
fectly understood.     Thus,  I  can  even  find  an  excuse 
for  some  persons  who  will  pronounce  the  i  in  Veronica 
short,  although  they  know  its  origin  (from  Vera  cikon), 
and  that  the  i  represents  the  diphthong  ei.     But  then 
the  Italians  throw  back  the  accent  and  call  the  Saint 
Santa  Veronica  (with  the  accent  on  the  o),  which  has 
the  effect,  to  careless  ears,  of  making  the  i  seem  short. 
But  no  such  excuse  can  be  offered  for  making  the  i  in 
Hypericum  (from  kuper  cikon)  short,  or  the  e  long.     In 
words  like  Conium,  Geranium,   Hieracium,  &c,  in- 
deed accent  has  beaten  quantity  out  of  the  field  ;  and 
despite  the  fact  that  the  i  in  these  words  represents 
the  necessarily  long  diphthong  ei,   we  always   pro- 
nounce according  to  accent,  which  is  thrown  back  on 
the  ante-penultimate,  just  as  we  do  in  speaking  of 
Alius,  or  Alexandria,  although  in  the  original  Greek 
the  words  are  Areios,  Alexandria.    But  what  are  we 
to  do  in  such  a  case  as  Sisymbrium  Sophia  ?     Are  we 
to  pronounce  the  /,  according  to  accent,  long,  as  we 
do  in  the  common  female  Christian  name,   or  short, 
according  to  its  quantity,  as  we  do  in  pronouncing 
Philosophia.    And  the  worst  of  it  is,  that  even  in  this 
matter  of  accent  we  are  so  abominably  capricious. 
Thus   the    tendency  in    English  to  throw  back  the 
accent  will  perhaps  account  for  our  making  the  o  in 
anemone  short.     But  why,  in  the  world,  in  defiance 
of  this  tendency,  and  against  every  rule  of  quantity, 
do  we  make  the  a  in  Clematis,  and  the  o  in  Gladiolus^ 
long? 

After  all,  however,  as  the  great  majority  of  com- 
munications  upon   botanical    subjects   are    made   in 
writing,  it  matters  only  to  a  few  professors,  who  are 
called  on  to  deliver  lectures  orally,  and  their  pupils, 
how  the  words  are  pronounced.     But  as  they  are  re- 
garded as  authorities,  and  their  practice  gradually  rules 
that  of  the  ordinary  run  of  students  and  amateurs,  it 
is  a  great  pity  that  the  leading  men  amongst  them' do 
not  establish  some  agreement  between  themselves  as 
to  the  principles  which  should  for  the  future  prevail 
in  the  pronunciation  (and,  I  would  add,  the  forma- 
tion) of  classical  and  pseudo-classical  words,  adopted, 
or  to  be  adopted,  into  the  botanical  vocabulary.— 
Ciias.  Browne. 


Aquilegia.—  This  word  is  generally  believed  to 
be  derived  from  the  Latin  root  Aqnila,  an  eagle  Is 
this  correct?  Is  it  not  rather  obtained  from  an  old 
word,  Aqmlegium,  signifying  a  gathering  of  water. 
1  he  spurs  of  the  petals  are  often  partly  filled  with 
water,  or  some  honied  secretion  ;  in  early  times  they 
may  have  been  thought  to  be  to  collect  rain  or  dew 
hence  its  subsequent  generic  name ;  but  the  resem- 
blance in  any  way  to  an  eagle  must  be  very  far- 
fetched ;  besides,  look  at  the  long  terminology  if  it  is 
really  derived  from  Aquila. 


THE  TEETH  OF  THE  BLOW-FLY. 
By  the  Rev.  L.  G.  Mills,  LL.D.,  F.R.M.S.,  &c. 
~\URING   the   summer   of  last  year  I  made  a 
!     J^     careful  examination  of  the  proboscis  of   the 
Blow-fly,  with  a  view  to  determine  the  particulars  of 
its  structure,  and  to  discover  the  causes  of  the   diffi- 
culties*   which    have    been  felt   by   some,    in  their 
endeavours  to  get  a  clear  and  distinct  view  of  the 
teeth,  and  their  failure  to  trace  them  in  the  position 
which  they  are  now  well  known  to  occupy. 

I  was  the  more  anxious  to  make  this  examination, 
because,  long  before  Mr.  Suffock  or  Dr.  Lowne  had 
given  any  account  of  these  teeth,  I  had  been  very 
successful  in  mounting  many  specimens  of  the  entire 
proboscis,    upon    Mr.   Topping's    plan,    and,    quite 
satisfied  with  my  performance,  and  the  beautiful  view 
of  the  general  structure,  I  did  not  observe  anything 
to  lead  me  to  suspect  even  the  existence  of  teeth  in 
these  preparations.       However,    when    I  read  Mr. 
Suffock's  paper,  as  given  in  vol.  i.  of  the   "  Monthly 
Microscopical  Journal,"  and  having  studied  the  illus- 
trations there  given,  I  re-examined  my  preparations, 
and,   on  a  few  of  them,    I  was  able    to   verify  the 
account,  and  clearly  to  see  the  teeth  as  figured  in  the 
'  'Microscopical  Journal."  The  causes  of  my  failure  to 
discover  the  teeth  until  my  attention  was  directed  to 
the  fact  of  their  existence,  may  have  some  relation  to 
the  difficulties  that  are  still  felt  by  some  to  see  them, 
and  their  vain  endeavours  to  trace  them,  even  with 
the  knowledge  of  their  position,  and  on    slides    of 
especially  prepared  dissections. 

I  desire  therefore  to  give  the  reasons  for  these  diffi- 
culties as  they  appear  to  me ;  to  give  a  clear  figure 
and  explanation  of  the  structure  of  the  teeth  ;  and  to 
give  a  method  of  preparation  whereby  even  the  un- 
skilled operators  may  succeed  in  mounting  simple 
dissections  that  will  give  very  distinct  and  unmistak- 
able views  of  them  in  their  position,  and  show  their 
particular  structure. 

In  whatever  way  the  proboscis  may  be  mounted, 
it  is  important  to  observe  that  the  pseudo-trachea;  be 
upwards,— that  is,  next  to  the  thin  covering  glass.  A 
mistake  on  this  point  would,  of  itself,  be  sufficient  to 
prevent  any  clear  view  of  at  least  two  of  the  three 
rows  of  teeth.  The  object  is  usually  examined  with 
a  quarter-inch  object-glass,  and  by  the  aid  of  trans- 
mitted light. 

Now,  it  is  plain  from  the  nature  of  the  proboscis, 
that  the  light  from  the  mirror  must  pass  through  the 
two  membranes  of  lips  before  it  can  fall  upon  the 
teeth.  One  of  these  membranes,  the  lower,  appears 
to  be  thickly  dotted  with  dark  spots,  clue  to  a  num- 
ber of  hairs  that  are  closely  set  on  that  membrane, 
and  two  of  the  rows  of  teeth,  at  their  free  ends,  are 
very    transparent,    and    pale    in   colour,    and    they 


*  Science-Gossip,  Vol.  XII.  page  69. 
H  2 


148 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


terminate  a  little  above  and  near  to  the  strongly- 
marked  ends  of  the  pseudo-trachea;. 

These  trachea;  and  the  dotted  membrane  obscure 
the  view  of  the  teeth,  and,  in  many  cases,  it  is  only 
by  a  particular  and  careful  management  of  the  mirror 
that  it  becomes  at  all  possible  to  discern  the  thin 
lines  of  light  or  shade  that  mark  the  outlines  of  their 
bifurcate  extremities. 

Further,  in  mounting  the  object  upon  Topping's 
plan,  pressure  is  used  on  the  head  of  the  fly  with  the 
design  of  throwing  the  proboscis  into  position  of  ex- 
pansion before  being  fixed  on  the  slide,  and  in  doing 


As  may  be  seen  in  the  foregoing  figure,  there  are 
three  rows  of  teeth.  These  lie  one  above  another, 
and  their  free  ends  crop  out  between  the  lines  of  the 
pseudo-trachea;.  The  teeth  of  the  first  or  upper- 
most row  are  simple  and  strap-shaped  chitinous  bands, 
and  for  a  considerable  portion  of  the  length  of  each 
tooth  the  band  is  turned  in  on  each  margin,  and  then 
for  the  remainder  is  flattened  out  and  widened  before 
it  is  terminated  in  the  thin  and  knife-edged  bifurcate 
extremity. 

The  teeth  of  the  second  row  differ  somewhat  in 
form  from  those  of  the   first.     Each  tooth  is  not  a 


Fig.  100.  Teeth  of  the  Blow-fly  (mag.). 


so  a  dark  reddish  fluid  generally  passes  into  the 
proboscis  between  the  membranes  and  under  the 
teeth,  thus  giving  an  additional  hinderance  to  the 
view  required.  I  had  found  that  prolonged  steeping 
in  turpentine  will  bleach  the  teeth  rather  than  remove 
the  stain,  and  only  increase  the  difficulty  of  examina- 
tion. Sometimes,  however,  a  case  will  occur  in 
which  this  latter  difficulty,  even  without  especial 
caution,  will  not  arise  ;  then  the  teeth  and  pseudo- 
tracheae  will  be  fairly  seen,  as  in  the  following  figure 
of  a.  small  portion  of  one  of  the  lips  of  the  proboscis. 


simple  and  single  strap,  but,  for  about  two-thirds 
of  its  length,  is  a  divided  one,  and  springs  from  two 
different  points  of  attachment,  as  in  the  following 
figure. 

The  two  bands  of  chitine  join,  and  are  then 
flattened  out  and  terminated  as  in  the  tooth  of  the 
first  row,  but  much  fainter  in  colour,  and  by  [no 
means  so  easily  distinguished  and  observed. 

The  teeth  of  the  third  row  are  similar  in  structure 
to  those  of  the  second,  but  only  of  half  their  length, 
and  they  spring  from  quite  different  positions  in  the 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


149 


lips, — namely,  from  the  points  in  which  the  bands 
separate  which  go  to  form  the  teeth  of  the  second 
row.  This  will  be  clear  by  reference  to  fig.  1 01,  where 
the  points//'  are  those  from  which  one  of  the  teeth 
of  the  third  row  has  its  divided  origin,  it,  where  the 
bands  unite  and  become  flattened  out ;  after  which 
the  tooth  is  soon  terminated  as  in  the  teeth  of  the 
other  rows,  but  still  thinner,  sharper,  paler  in  colour, 
and  more  delicate  in  outline,  so  as  frequently,  with 
every  care  and  the  best  appliances,  to  be  difficult  to 
observe. 

The  explanations  I  have  given  are  I  think  sufficient, 


trachea;  become  gradually  changed  as  they  approach 
toward  the  teeth  ;  that  each  tooth  of  the  third  row  is 
but  a  simple  development  of  the  nearest  rings  of  the 
adjacent  pseudo-trachea; ;  the  teeth  of  the  second  row 
but  a  further  development  of  those  of  the  third  ;  and 
finally,  the  strongly-marked  simple  strap-shaped  teeth 
of  the  first  row  are  but  further  and  final  develop- 
ments of  those  of  the  second. 

It  now  only  remains  that  I  should  suggest  a  plan 
by  which  any  ordinary  operator  with  but  little  skill 
may  prepare  slides  that  will  afford  distinct  views  of 
the  teeth  as  well  as  of  the  pseudo-tracheae. 


Fig.  101.  Teeth  of  the  Blow-fly  (mag.),  showing  teeth  springing  to  different  positions. 


and  it  will  appear  that  the  arrangement  of  the  three 
rows  of  teeth  is  such  as  to  permit  their  superposition 
with  the  flattest  possible  surface,  and  consistent  with 
the  greatest  steadiness  of  position. 

By  contrasting  the  structure  of  the  broken  rings 
of  the  pseudo-tracheae  at  about  the  centre  of  one  of 
the  lines  with  those  at  the  termination  of  the  line, 
and  near  to  the  teeth,  and  comparing  these  latter 
with  the  teeth  themselves,  I  think  it  will  appear  that, 
after  all,  the  teeth  are  but  developments  of  the 
pseudo-tracheae,  and  that  the  transition  from  the  one 
form  of  structure  to  the  other  is  by  no  means  abrupt, 
but  that,  on  the  contrary,  the  rings  of  the  pseudo- 


Press  the  head  of  a  blow-fly  gently  between  the 
finger  and  thumb  so  as  to  cause  the  proboscis  to  shoot 
out  and  the  lips  to  expand,  and  then,  with  a  fine  pair 
of  scissors,  cut  off  the  lips  when  expanded  close  to 
the  mentum,  and  place  them  in  a  watch-glass  contain- 
ing three  or  four  drops  of  water.  To  insure  success, 
proceed  thus  in  three  or  four  instances,  until  there  are 
several  examples  of  the  lips  in  the  watch  -  glass. 
Place  the  watch-glass  with  its  contents  in  a  good 
light  and  upon  a  slip  of  white  paper.  Add  to  the 
water  about  two  large  drops  of  spirits  of  wine  and 
two  or  three  drops  of  strong  liquor  ammonise ;  mix 
with  a  camel-hair  pencil,  and  watch  the  action   of 


iS° 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSS  IP. 


the  ammonia  until  it  has  caused  a  complete  diffusion 
of  the  red  stains  within  the  objects  :  this  it  will  do  in 
a  few  seconds.  Now  transfer  the  objects  to  another 
small  vessel  or  watch-glass  containing  pure  water 
alone,  and  wash  and  press  them  with  the  camel-hair 
pencil.  It  will  be  well  to  change  the  water  a  few 
times  during  the  washing.  The  ammonia  will  now 
be  partially  cleaned  off,  but  yet  the  diffused  red  stains 
will  remain  within  the  objects,  and  must  be  removed. 
To  do  so,  place  the  objects  in  a  drop  of  water  on  a 
glass  slide,  cover  with  a  thin  glass,  and  use  a  tapping 
pressure  with  a  needle.  The  reddish  fluid  will  pass  out 
of  the  objects,  and  they  will  become  quite  clear.  Retain 
a  steady  and  easy  pressure  with  a  wire  spring  clip,  and 
put  the  slide  into  a  cup  of  water,  and  move  it  fre- 
quently with  an  alternate  dipping  and  draining  action, 
to  wash  away  the  expressed  fluid  and  every  trace  of 
ammonia.  The  objects  may  then,  whilst  still  under 
pressure,  be  allowed  to  become  dry,  gradually,  in  the 
usual  way,  to  prevent  any  too  sudden  or  too  great 
contraction,  and,  if  subsequently  treated  with  turpen- 
tine, they  may  be  finally  mounted  in  balsam. 

I  have  now  in  view,  under  a  good  quarter-inch 
object-glass,  a  slide  containing  seven  such  lips, 
prepared  a  year  ago,  and  on  most  of  them  the  teeth 
can  be  seen  with  a  clearness  of  definition  and  a 
precision  of  outline  that  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired ; 
and  I  feel  no  inclination  whatever  to  attempt  any 
further  experiments  at  improvement  by  mounting  in 
either  gum  damar  or  glycerine  :  I  am  quite  satisfied 
with  the  old-fashioned  Canada  balsam,  and  the 
beauty  of  the  results  of  the  process  I  have  described. 


HOW  TO  MAKE  AN  HERBARIUM. 

( Continued. ) 

By  John  W.  Buck,  B.Sc. 

IN  speaking  of  laying  out  the  specimens,  I  omitted 
to  give  one  hint  which  may  be  of  service  :  I  refer 
to  the  judicious  use  of  the  scissors.     It  will  sometimes 
be   found   advantageous    to    cut    away   leaves    and 
blossoms,  from   what  we  may  call   the  back  of  the 
plant,  when  there  are  too  many  of  them,  and  when 
they  would    conceal   one   another's   shape   by   their 
number.     It   has   the   effect   also  in  many  cases  of 
making  the  specimen  look  more  natural,  since,  when 
growing,  the  branches  of  a  bushy  plant  do  not  in- 
commode one  another,  but  spread  out  equally  on  all 
sides.    A  bunch  of  berries — those  of  the  spurge  laurel, 
for  example— must   generally  be   partly   cut   away. 
Sometimes  it  is  well  to  postpone  the  operation  until 
the  specimen  is  dry  and  ready  for  mounting.     But 
be  very  cautious  that  in  cutting  you  do  not  disfigure 
the  plant,  or  deprive  it  of  some  important  feature. 
Every  plant  has  its  characteristic  kind  of  inflorescence, 
or  flower-arrangement,  and  also  of  leaf-arrangement, 
and  if  you  snip  away  recklessly  you  will  produce 


effects  that  will  sadly  puzzle  any  botanist  who  may 
afterwards  look  over  your  collection. 

The  pressure  necessary  for  the  thorough  preserva- 
tion of  the  plants  may  be  caused  by  large  books  laid 
over  the  papers,  with  a  few  bricks  on  the  top,  or  by 
strapping  the  papers  together  between  two  strong 
boards.  The  latter  plan  I  prefer,  and  almost  always 
make  use  of,  because  the  whole  affair  can  be  carried 
about  from  place  to  place  if  required,  or  set  before,  a 
fire  to  diy  quicker,  which  is  often  a  great  convenience. 
I  need  hardly  say  that,  however  the  plants  are  pressed, 
they  should  always  be  in  as  diy  a  place  as  possible. 
As  regards  the  amount  of  pressure  to  be  applied,  it 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  object  is  not  to 
squash  the  plants  but  to  keep  them  flat  and  dry  them  ; 
and  hence,  especially  with  succulents,  a  too  excessive 
pressure  should  be  avoided.  If,  however,  enough 
paper  be  interposed  and  the  specimens  well  distri- 
buted among  the  sheets,  ordinary  plants  will  take  no 
harm  under  any  reasonable  pressure. 

In  transferring  the  plants,  when  changing  the  sheets 
of  porous  paper,  it  will  be  found  advantageous  not  to 
lift  up  each  plant  by  itself  and  place  it  on  another 
sheet,  but  to  adopt  the  following  plan.     After  having 
lifted  away  the  damp  sheets  above  the  plant — which 
must  be  done  with  great  care,  by  turning  them  slowly 
back  with  the  right  hand  while  guiding  and  modera- 
ting the  operation  with  the  left,  which  should  be  held 
down   on   the   upper  surface  of  the   paper  you  are 
removing, — place  a  diy  sheet  over  the  plant.     Then 
take  up  the  two  uppermost  sheets,   with  the  plant 
between  them,  carefully  invert  them,  lay  them  on  the 
pile  of  dry  sheets,  and  lastly  skin  off  the  clamp  sheet 
in  the  same  way  as  before.     Even  by  this  method  it 
will  not  be  found  easy  to  keep  the  blossoms  and 
leaves  of  some  plants  smooth,  as  they  are  so  apt  to 
stick  to  the  papers.     All  blossoms  that  are  at  all 
troublesome  had  better  be  dried  separately  ;  and  in 
the  case  of  such  as  poppies,  they  should  be  protected 
by  a  couple  of  pieces  of  tissue-paper,  which  should 
not  be  removed  until  the  drying  process  is  quite  over. 
The  chief  difficulty  in  transference  will  be  found  only 
while  the  plants  are  damp,  and  will  disappear  entirely 
as  they  get  drier.     The  damp  sheets  should  be  com- 
pletely dried  before  using  them  again,   by  exposing 
them  to  warm,  dry  air. 

There  are  several  ways  of  judging  when  the  plants 
are  dry.  In  the  first  place,  a  thoroughly  dry  plant  is 
generally  rigid,  unless  it  be  very  long  and  weak. 
Feeling  of  the  plant  by  the  lips,  or  placing  the  hand 
on  the  sheet  of  paper  from  which  it  has  just  been 
taken,  are  other  tests,  but  in  these  cases  you  must 
distinguish  between  coldness  and  dampness.  Gene- 
rally speaking,  you  may  rest  satisfied  that  if  the 
specimen  has  been  under  pressure,  with  dry  and 
frequently-changed  papers,  for  eighteen  or  twenty 
days,  it  is  likely  to  be  quite  dry,  unless  its  nature  is 
such  as  to  make  the  matter  doubtful. 

Now  comes  the  mounting,   which   should  not  be 


HARD  IVICKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  0  SSI  P. 


I51 


deferred  ;  as  postponing  it  probably  means  spoiling 
the  specimens  and  losing  the  labels,  and  certainly 
means  an  accumulation  of  work  at  some  future  time. 
For  fixing  the  plants,  some  recommend  the  application 
of  hot  glue  ;  but  this  is  very  troublesome  to  manage, 
and  as  the  operation  of  carefully  gluing  a  large 
specimen  is  rather  a  long  one,  the  glue  is  not  likely 
to  be  very  hot  when  the  time  comes  for  fastening  it 
down.  Strong  gum  answers  quite  as  well  and  is 
more  convenient.  To  make  the  gum,  take  one  ounce 
of  picked  gum .  arabic,  as  colourless  as  possible, 
powder  it,  and  stir  it  with  a  clean  stick  or  a  glass 
rod  in  an  ounce  and  a  half  of  cold  water  until  it  is 
dissolved ;  add  a  quarter  of  an  ounce  of  powdered 
gum  tragacanth  ("gum  dragon");  and  lastly,  add 
two  grains  of  corrosive  sublimate  previously  dissolved, 
along  with  two  grains  of  sal-ammoniac,  in  one  drachm 
of  water.  A  metal  stirring-rod  should  not  be  used, 
as  it  is  apt  to  discolour  the  liquid.  The  latter,  if 
carefully  made,  is  quite  colourless,  and  does  not  show 
much,  if  any  be  accidentally  smeared.  (N.B. — Corro- 
sive sublimate  is  very  poisonous,  and  the  bottle  of 
gum  containing  it  should  be  labelled  "  Poison.") 

To  mount  the  specimens,  lay  them  on  a  sheet  of 
brown  paper  or  newspaper,  gum  them  carefully  all 
over  the  back,  and  then  lay  them  gently  on  the  white 
sheet  in  the  best  position,  which  you  should  have 
previously  decided  on,  and  press  them  down  with  a 
clean  handkerchief.  Use  no  more  gum  than  is  abso- 
lutely necessary,  and  wipe  away  any  excess  at  once. 
A  good  plan  with  a  very  large  or  weak  plant  is  to 
gum  the  back  of  the  stem,  fix  it  by  a  gentle  pressure, 
and  then  turn  up  the  leaves  and  flowers  one  by  one, 
gum  them,  and  then  lay  them  back  again  in  position. 
Another  method,  which  I  remember  trying  once  with 
a  long  trailing  pimpernel,  and  which  succeeded  well, 
was  to  gum  it  on  the  back  as  before  ;  shift  it,  still 
face  downwards,  to  a  sheet  of  brown  paper  the  same 
size  as  that  on  which  I  was  going  to  mount  it,  arrange 
it  as  I  desired,  and  lastly  turn  the  white  sheet  down 
over  it.  On  lifting  it  up,  it  of  course  brought  the 
specimen  away  with  it.  The  delicate  blossoms  which 
have  been  separately  dried  should  next  be  placed  in 
their  natural  position,  care  being  taken  to  hide  any 
awkward  appearance  of  a  join  in  the  stem.  Long 
plants,  too  long  to  lie  on  one  sheet,  should  be  cut  in 
two  pieces  and  these  laid  side  by  side ;  and  if  the 
stem  be  very  long  and  a  piece  of  it  be  permanently 
removed,  the  cut  ends  should  not  be  brought  close 
together,  but  it  should  plainly  appear  that  a  piece  of 
the  stem  is  absent.  All  parts  of  the  plant  should  be 
shown  as  far  as  they  can,  and  on  the  same  sheet.  For 
instance,  somewhere  on  the  dandelion  sheet  should  be 
shown  the  globular  downy  seed-head,  and  with  the 
strawberry  plant  the  strawberry  fruit  itself,  which 
latter,  notwithstanding  its  succulent  nature,  may  be 
easily  dried,  if  not  too  ripe  to  begin  with.  These 
should  not  be  made  to  appear  as  if  growing  from  the 
same   plant  as  in  flower  unless  they  were  actually 


found  so  growing.  In  fact,  in  mounting  such  parts, 
nature  must  be  imitated,  not  contradicted.  A  few 
slips  of  well-gummed  paper  of  the  same  kind  as  that 
you  are  mounting  upon  should  be  kept  at  hand,  with 
which  to  fix  down  stiff  stems,  which  often  have  a 
tendency  to  part  company  with  their  sheets. 

Labelling  should  be  done  immediately  after  mount- 
ing. To  keep  the  names,  localities,  and  dates  of  the 
plants  while  pressing,  the  particulars  may  be  written 
on  small  scraps  of  paper,  which  must  be  transferred 
each  time  with  the  respective  specimens  whenever  the 
sheets  are  changed.  I  have  found  this  plan  answer 
best  in  practice,  as  if  the  entries  are  made  in  a  note- 
book there  is  a  danger  of  afterwards  mistaking  one 
plant  for  another.  But  however  these  facts  are  pre- 
served, as  soon  as  a  specimen  is  fairly  mounted  they 
should  be  transferred  to  the  right-hand  bottom  corner 
of  the  permanent  sheet.     They  may  be  written  thus  : 

Rhinanthus  Crista-galli, 

(Yellow-rattle), 

Hayfields,  near  Freshford, 

10.  6.  78. 

(Collector's  name. ) 
Or  printed  labels  may  be  obtained  with  spaces  to  be 
filled  up.     After  mounting  and  labelling,   the  sheets 
should  be  again  pressed  flat  for  a  day  or  two. 

But  the  young  botanist  who  does  not  wish  to  have 
a  good  deal  of  trouble  thrown  away,  and  to  see  his 
well-dried  specimens  devoured  by  insects,  has  more 
work  before  him  yet.  Mould  is  not  likely  to  trouble 
him  with  plants  which  have  once  been  made  com- 
pletely dry.  A  botanical  friend,  to  whom  I  am 
indebted  for  several  of  these  hints,  writes  :  "At  one 
time,  in  the  very  wet  summer  of  1875,  and  when  I 
had  my  press  so  full  that  scarcely  more  than  two 
sheets  were  between  plant  and  plant,  I  found,  to  my 
disgust,  many  of  them  moulding.  But  I  took  heart 
and  brushed  off  the  mould  with  a  moderately  stiff 
brush  continually  till  they  were  thoroughly  dry,  and 
then  stacked  them  away  between  thin  dry  sheets, 
and  did  not  look  at  them  again  till  nine  months 
afterwards,  when  I  found  them  without  a  particle 
of  mould.  Later  on,  I  cured  some  of  the  mould  by 
brushing  it  off  and  washing  the  plants  with  corrosive 
sublimate,  while  they  were  still  in  the  press.  But, 
by  pressing  few  at  a  time,  or  by  using  more  paper, 
I  might,  of  course,  have  escaped  that ;  and  it  does 
not  do  to  trust  to  being  able  to  get  rid  of  the  mould 
so,  for  it  discolours  the  specimens."  But  all  plants 
are  more  or  less  liable  to  the  attacks  of  insects,  and 
some,  as  the  Hanunculacea,  Critcifenr,  and  Umbcllifenr, 
especially  so.  The  best  preventive  is  corrosive  sub- 
limate. The  Rev.  Gerard  Smith  recommends  dipping 
Raiiiuiculaccic  (Buttercups)  and  Cruciftra:  (Shepherd's 
Purse,  Cuckoo-flower,  &c.)  before  pressing,  into  a 
saturated  solution  of  corrosive  sublimate  in  equal 
parts  of  rain-water  and  methylated  spirits.  A  more 
convenient  plan  is  to  paint  the  specimens  with  the 
liquid   after   they  are   mounted.     For  this   purpose 


152 


HARD  Wl  CKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSIP. 


a  solution  should  be  made  of  one  quarter  of  an  ounce 
of  the  sublimate  in]  half  a  pint  of  methylated  spirit 
(not  "methylated  finish  "),  which  is  to  be  applied  to 
the  specimens  with  a  pretty  stiff  brush,  taking  care 
that  it  penetrates  all  corners  and  crevices.  Every 
plant  should  be  treated  in  this  way,  as  it  not  only 
prevents  the  attacks  of  insects  in  the  future,  but 
entirely  destroys  any  animal  life  that  may  be  already 
there.  The  sheets  are  then  to  be  again  subjected  to 
pressure  for  twelve  hours,  after  which  they  will  be 
ready  for  the  herbarium. 

It  only  remains  now  to  arrange  the  specimens  in 
proper  order,  but  as  it  is  unnecessary  to  do  this  until 
a  large  number  have  been  collected,  we  will  leave  the 
consideration  of  it  at  present.  Meantime  the  sheets 
should  be  laid  flat  in  a  box,  secured  from  dust,  kept 
in  a  dry  place,  and  not  exposed  to  the  light  more 
than  necessary. 


I 


A  RARE  ACARUS. 
( Glyciphagits  plumiger. ) 

N  the  February   number   of  Science-Gossip  I 
announced  the  capture,  for  the  first  time  in  this 


Fig.  102.  Glyciphagits  plumiger  (mag.). 

country,  of  that  singular  and  beautiful  acarus 
Glyciphagits  palmifir,  which  since  that  time  I  have 
bred  pretty  freely  in  confinement.  Whenever  I 
have  visited  the  same  locality  subsequently,  I  have 
not  failed  to  search  in  the  hopes  of  finding  what 
may  be  called  the  companion  mite,  Glyciphagits 
plumiger,  but  up  to  a  late  period  unsuccessfully. 
On  my  last  visit,  a  few  weeks  ago,  my  search  was 
unexpectedly  rewarded  by  finding  a  single  specimen 
of  this  species,  which  is  scarcely  less  beautiful  than 
Palmifer  itself.  I  say  unexpectedly,  because  I  found 
it   where  I  did  not  anticipate   doing  so.      Messrs. 


Robin  and  Fumose,  the  highest  living  authorities, 
who  have  treated  of  these  two  species  in  a  most 
exhaustive  manner  in  the  "Journal  de  1'Anatomie  et 
de  la  ^hysiologie  "  for  186S,  say  that  it  is  found 
chiefly  in  the  dust  and  walls  of  damp  cellars  along 
with  Palmifer,  and  there  I  looked  for  it  without 
finding  it.  I  eventually  found  it  in  fodder  in  a  stable, 
where  I  was  looking  for  other  mites,  and  I  find  that 
this  is  the  place  given  for  it  by  Koch,  in  his 
"  Deutschlands  Crustaceen,  &c,"  published  in  1834  ; 
and  Robin  does  not  omit  its  being  found  there. 

I  am  not  aware  that  there  is  any  record  of  the 
capture  of  this  species  in  this  country  hitherto,  and 
the  late  Andrew  Murray,  in  his  ' '  Economic  Entomo- 
logy," treats  it  as  not  having  been  yet  found  here  ; 
but  Mr.  George,  of  Kirton-Lindsay,  informs  me  that 
he  has  in  his  possession  a  single  specimen  which  some 
gentleman  in  that  neighbourhood  found,  also  in  hay. 
As  therefore  it  has  been  found  in  two  remote  parts 
of  the  country,  between  which  there  would  not  be 
likely  to  be  communication,  and  which  are  both 
agricultural,  we  may,  I  think,  fairly  claim  this  as  a 
British  species,  although  only  a  single  individual  has 
been  detected  in  each  instance. 

The  genus  Glyciphagits  was  founded  by 
Hering  upon  the  type  of  a  mite  which  he 
found  in  dried  prunes ;  and  taking  only  the 
conspicuous  characteristics,  it  may  easily  be 
known  by  the  following  ; — viz.,  1.  legs  of  five 
joints,  terminated  by  a  small  sucker  and  very 
minute  single  claw ;  2.  the  skin  of  the  back 
being  closely  and  irregularly  plicated,  so  as  to 
have  a  soft  look  ;  3.  the  hairs  on  the  body 
being  either  plumose  or  developed  into 
transparent  leaf-like  expansions  ;  4.  the  fe- 
males having  a  small  conical  projection  or 
button  on  the  anus,  the  use  of  which  is  not  at 
present  known.  The  last  two  characters  are 
practically  almost  sufficient  for  identifica- 
tion. 

The  leaf-like  membranous  hairs  are  peculiar 
to  Palmifer ;  the  plumose  hairs  attain  their 
highest  development  in  the  present  species, 
no  other  known  sort  approaching  it  in  this 
respect,  and  it  is  to  this  fact  that  it  owes 
its  peculiar  beauty  ;  the  hairs,  indeed,  remind 
one  of  miniature  ostrich-plumes,  as  will  be 
seen  by  the  drawing,  which  I  think  may 
possibly  be  of  interest,  because  it  is  carefully 
drawn  from  the  female,  and  I  am  not  aware  that 
the  female  has  hitherto  been  figured.  Robin's 
beautiful  illustration  is  of  the  male  only,  and  Koch's, 
which  does  not  state  sex,  is,  contrary  to  his  usual 
habit,  so  poorly  drawn  that  it  might  be  either, 
but  I  think  it  is  the  male.  The  sexes  both  in  this 
and  Palmifer  are  very  different  and  easy  to  distinguish. 
The  average  length  is  about  35  mm.,  and  the  width 
about  25  mm. 

A.  Michael. 


best 


IIARDWICKE  S     SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


i53 


NOTES   AT   THE   BRIGHTON   AQUARIUM. 

'"fllE  cunning  exhibited  by  the  Angler  {Lopluus 
JL  piscatorius)  in  the  capture  of  its  living  prey 
is  a  matter  of  ancient  history,  and  naturalists,  from 
the  time  of  Aristotle  to  the  present  day,  have  variously 
commented  on  its  extraordinary  manoeuvres.  The 
researches  carried  on  during  the  cruise  of  the  Chal- 
lenger have  recently  revealed  further  interesting  de- 
tails respecting  the  genus,  for  closely-allied  species 
were  dredged  in  the  Atlantic,  at  a  depth  of  over 
2,000  fathoms,  with  peculiar  modifications  of  struc- 
ture fitting  them  for  life  in  the  comparative  darkness 
of  their  habitat  in  the  oceanic  abysses. 

A  fine  specimen  of  the  British  species  has  now 
been  on  view  in  a  living  state  in  the  Brighton 
Aquarium  for  many  months,  affording  an  opportunity 
of  studying  its  habits  to  unusual  advantage,  and 
illustrating  the  general  accuracy  of  the  descriptions 


Fig.  103.  Angler-Fish  {Lophius piscatoritts),  from  Taylor's  "Aquarium 


given  by  Messrs.  Yarrell  and  Couch  in  their  admirable 
works  on  the  history  of  British  fishes.  The  absence 
of  the  Angler  from  aquaria  hitherto,  has  certainly 
not  been  owing  to  any  unusual  delicacy  of  structure, 
for  it  is  a  hardy  fish  and  very  tenacious  of  life, 
but  has  resulted  rather  from  the  difficulty  of  procuring 
it  a  supply  of  the  living  prey  necessary  for  its  support, 
and  also  from  the  obstinate  sulkiness  of  the  creature, 
which  caused  it  to  refuse  food  when  such  was  forth- 
coming ;  matters  which  have  now,  however,  been 
successfully  overcome.  In  common  with  many  other 
fishes,  the  Angler  possesses  the  power  of  assimilating 
its  colour  to  the  nature  of  its  surroundings.  Placed 
on  shingle,  it  retained  a  darkly  spotted  appearance, 
which  disappeared  on  its  removal  to  a  more  spacious 
tank  thickly  strewn  with  sand  ;  it  then  quickly  buried 
itself  in   the  sand,  assumed  a  pale  colour,  and  was 


hardly  distinguishable  from  it.  A  third  change,  to  a 
dark  bluish  tint,  is  perceptible  when  it  lies  near  the 
mussels  placed  in  the  tank  to  clear  the  water.  About 
a  week  after  its  capture  it  was  induced  to  feed, 
and  for  some  time  partook  freely  of  small  plaice, 
bass,  and  gurnards.  A  little  while  back  it  refused 
food  for  some  weeks,  until  a  fortunate  catch  of  live 
herrings  furnished  a  change  of  diet  tempting  to  its 
dainty  palate.  They  were  at  once  placed  in  the  tank, 
and  the  Angler  almost  immediately  commenced  to 
ply  his  rod  and  line  vigorously,  was  soon  rewarded 
with  a  "bite,"  and  the  unwary  herrings  disappeared 
in  rapid  succession.  A  supply  of  whiting,  plaice, 
gurnards,  grey  mullet,  and  herring,  is  now  regularly 
placed  at  its  disposal. 

The  Angler,  or  fishing  frog,  is  also  called  wide- 
gab,  frog-fish,  and  sea-devil.  It  is  a  sluggish,  slow- 
breathing  fish,  generally  lying  almost  motionless  at 
the  bottom,  and  rising  but  rarely  to  the  surface.  The 
breadth  of  the  body  is  disproportioned 
to  its  length,  and  the  head  is  large, 
the  mouth  exceedingly  capacious,  and 
thickly  set  with  minute  finely-serrated 
conical  teeth,  in  addition  to  the  palatal 
ones ;  the  eyes  are  large,  beautifully 
bright,  and  capable  of  separate  move- 
ment.  The  Angler  is  obviously  un- 
fitted, from  the  unwieldy  nature  of  its 
body,  for  the  swift  pursuit  of  its  living 
prey,  and  is,  therefore,  compelled  to 
resort  to  artifice.  Among  the  most 
noticeable  of  its  many  peculiarities,  the 
two  long,  thin  filaments  affixed  to  the 
top  of  the  head  are  very  remarkable. 
These  generally  lie  out  of  sight,  but, 
controlled  by  special  muscles,  are 
susceptible  of  pliant  movement,  pos- 
sessing great  freedom  of  action.  When 
desirous  of  ensnaring  the  fishes  on 
N\'hich  it  feeds,  the  Angler  elevates 
these  filaments  and  waves  them  to  and 
fro  in  a  very  energetic  fashion.  The 
victims,  attracted  by  the  flag,  or  bait,  affixed  to  the 
end  of  the  fishing-rod,  come  within  reach  of  the 
monstrous  wide-gaping  jaws,  and  are  speedily  seized 
with  one  quick  upward  movement.  The  head  is 
peculiar,  and  so  jointed  to  the  vertebra?  that  it  is 
capable  of  independent  action,  whilst  the  body  of  the 
fish  lies  almost  motionless.  Mr.  Farrell  states  that 
"they  stir  up  the  mud  and  sand  with  the  pectoral 
and  ventral  fins,"  but  this  movement  has  not  been 
observed  in  the  specimen  under  notice,  which  appears 
to  conceal  its  presence  as  much  as  possible,  lying 
perfectly  still  in  the  same  position  for  many  hours, 
and  endeavouring  to  attract  the  fishes  solely  by  the 
action  of  the  fishing-rod.  In  the  deep-sea  forms  "the 
fly  "  was  luminous  and  phosphorescent,  and  was  thus 
rendered  visible  to  the  neighbouring  fishes  in  the  dim 
obscurity  of  the  abyssal  ocean  depths.     Many  of  the 


154 


HA  RE>1  VIC  RE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


deep-sea  fishes  and  crustaceans  also  emit  a  pale 
phosphorescent  light,  and,  illumined  in  the  darkness, 
are  enabled  to  prey  on  each  other,  a  marvellous  in- 
stance of  adaptation  to  natural  surroundings. 

The  John  Dorey  [Zeus  faber),  like  the  Angler,  is 
also  somewhat  of  a  rarity  in  captivity,  hut  the  speci- 
mens exhibited  in  this  Aquarium  continue  to  thrive 
admirably,  feeding  on  the  shoals  of  live  sprats  and 
sand  smelts  sharing  their  abode.     All  the  tanks,  well 
stocked  with  healthy  inmates,  are  in  excellent  order, 
testifying  conclusively  to  the  efficient  care  and  atten- 
tion of  Mr.  Lawler,  resident  curator  and  naturalist. 
The  sea-lions  {Otaria  Stelleri)  are  again  on  view,  the 
lioness  having  completely  recovered   from   her  late 
serious  indisposition.    Two  young  female  seals  {Plwca 
vitulina)  now  share  the  new  seal-pond  in  the  con- 
servatory with  the  two  males  of  the  same  species,  old 
inhabitants  of  the  Aquarium.     A  fine  specimen  of 
the  curious  Japanese  Salamander  {Triton  Sieboldi), 
measuring  nearly  3  feet,    has  recently  been   added 
to  the  collections.      It  is   thoroughly  acclimatized, 
existing  in  fresh  water  at  a  normal  temperature,  and 
feeding  principally  on  raw  beef  and  liver,  which  it 
seems  to  prefer  to  the  species  of  fresh-water  fishes 
offered  alike  for  its  acceptance.     It   is   a  sluggish, 
weak-limbed  reptile,  covered  with  a  dark-brown  skin, 
the  head  and   throat  being  thickly  dotted  with  the 
glands  so  characteristic  of  the  "warty  newts,"  and 
the  large  pores  serving  to  distribute  the  viscous  matter 
shed  over  its  exterior  are   distinctly   visible.      The 
mouth   is   remarkably  capacious,    and    the   eyes   so 
minute  and  dull  as  to  be  hardly  perceptible.     Repre- 
sentatives of  the  genus  were  first  brought  to  Europe 
by  Dr.  Von  Siebold,  who  discovered  them  inhabiting 
a  lake  on  the  top  of  a  basaltic  mountain  in  Japan. 
It  is  the  Sieboldtia  gigantea,   Bonap.,  and  the  Sala- 
mandra  maxima,  Schelegel,  but  is  now  classed  with 
the   Tritons,  and  bears  a  close  resemblance  to  the 
gigantic  American  newt  (Mcnopoma)  of  the  Alleghany 
mountains,  the  generic  difference  consisting  chiefly 
in  the  permanence  of  the  gill-slits  in  the  one  form, 
and  their  disappearance  in  the  adult  Japanese  species. 
It  is  also  interesting  as  being  nearly  allied  to  the  huge 
fossil   salamander   (Andrias  Scheuchzeri),    from   the 
fresh-water  Miocene  beds  of  CEningen,  in  Switzer- 
land,  so   famous   as  the   "Homo   diluvii  testis"  of 
Scheuchzer,  who  long  maintained  it  to  be  a  fossil 
man,    and    therefore   an   indisputable    relic    of   the 
Noachian  deluge.     His  views  were  put  forth  with 
such  persistence  as  to  be  accepted  by  many  naturalists, 
until  the  illustrious  Clavier  finally  settled  the  contro- 
versy.   He  obtained  permission  to  remove  the  matrix, 
and  having  previously  made  a  rough  sketch  of  the 
animal  he  expected  to  find,  proceeded  to  lay  bare 
some  hidden  portions  of  the  specimen,  and  thus  irre- 
futably proved,  in  the  presence  of  a  group  of  asto- 
nished spectators,  that  the  much-vaunted  fossil-man 
was  merely  a  gigantic  salamander. 

A.  Crane. 


THE  HABITS,  FOOD,  AND  USES    OF  THE 

EARTHWORM.— No.  II. 

By    Professor    Paley,    M.A. 

1.  TN  the  first  place,  they  bring  up  fresh  under- 
-L  earth  to  the  roots  of  the  grass  :  this  useful  office 
is  done  on  a  much  larger  scale  by  moles,  which  live 
on  worms,  and  throw  up  those  heaps  of  well-crumbled 
mould  which  are  intended  to  relieve  at  intervals  their 
tunnels,  made  a  few  inches  below  the  sod.  We 
know  that  farmers,  who  generally  dislike  what  they 
regard  as  superfluous  trouble,  and  rarely  possess  much 
scientific  information,  will  pay  a  mole-catcher  con- 
siderable sums  for  the  destruction  of  this  harmless 
and  even  useful  creature,  which  they  seem  to  regard 
as  a  kind  of  rat !  If  they  would  pay  a  tenth  part  of 
the  money  to  send  into  a  meadow  a  small  boy  with  a 
small  rake,  and  get  the  mole-heaps  spread  over  the 
grass,  they  would  get  a  third  more  in  their  crop  of 
hay. 

2.  All  grazing  animals  eat  a  great  quantity  of 
earth.  They  cannot  avoid  swallowing  the  worm- 
casts,  and  they  like  to  do  so.  Earth  seems  comfortable 
to  their  insides,  and  it  is  certain  that  they  enjoy  it. 
I  used  to  ride  a  horse  which,  being  regularly  fed  on 
hay  and  corn,  and  not  turned  out  to  grass,  pined  for 
a  little  dirt.  Finding  out  this,  I  sometimes  let  him 
go  to  a  hedge-bank,  slackened  the  rein,  and  watched 
him  scoop  out  with  his  tongue  earth  enough  to  fill  a 
pint-pot.  This,  I  think,  is  the  reason  why  a  horse  so 
often  stirs  up  the  mud  in  a  pond  with  his  hoof  be- 
fore drinking.  Many  horses  will  paw  the  water  even 
when  passing  a  clear  stream,  giving  their  riders  the 
fear  that  they  want  to  lie  down  in  it.  Some  races  of 
American  Red  Indians  eat  earth.  The  fact  is  attested 
by  Humboldt  and  others.  It  is  said  that  the  Jamaica 
negroes  will  do  this  when  other  food  is  deficient  or 
not  procurable.* 

3.  Seeds  of  trees  are  dragged  by  worms  into  their 
holes,  and  there  germinate.  This  is  most  commonly 
the  case  with  the  seeds  of  the  ash  and  the  sycamore, 
both  of  which  have  their  winged  appendages  set 
slightly  on  one  side,  like  the  sails  of  a  windmill,  or 
the  screw-propeller  of  a  ship,  so  that  they  are  carried 
by  the  wind  and  fall  aslant  at  some  distance  from  the 
trees.  I  have  repeatedly  drawn  both  of  these  seeds 
out  of  worm-holes,  after  they  had  begun  to  germinate. 
The  fact  is  established  by  the  carrying  down  of  seeds, 
strewed  on  the  surface,  by  worms  kept  in  a  pot. 
There  can  be  no  doubt,  therefore,  that  it  is  one  of 
the  provisions  of  nature  for  the  propagation  of 
vegetable  life. 

If  you  examine  a  worm-cast,  you  will  find  that  it  is 
composed  partly  of  the  earth  ejected  from  the  hole, 
in  small  clods,  slightly  coherent  (probably  from  some 
admixture  of  the  slime),  and  partly  of  excrementitious 
matter.      The  latter   is   easily   distinguished    by  its 

•  See  '•  Races  of  Mankind,"  by  Robert  Brown,  vol.  i.  p.  290. 


HARD  WI  CKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OS  SIP. 


i55 


granular  and  mammillated  appearance,  somewhat  re- 
sembling mouse-dirt.     It  does  not  seem  to  be  thrown 
out  of  the  hole  mixed  with  the  rest  of  the  earth,  but 
it    is    deposited    separately,    often    in    considerable 
quantity.     If  you  crumble  it  when  dry,  you  will  find 
it  full  of  vegetable  fibre,  which  has  the  appearance  of 
undigested   moss,    or  small    blades   of  dried  grass, 
curiously  rolled  up  in  rather  hard  little  pellets,  which 
do  not  easily  crumble  with  the  rest  of  the  earthy 
excreta.     It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  the  dirt  of  the 
lob -worm  is  part  vegetable,  though  the  greater  part 
of  it  is  simply  earth.     If  the  excreta  are  dissolved  in 
water,  the  vegetable  debris  is  still  more  easily  col- 
lected on  the  top  of  the  muddy  sediment.     It  is  not 
surprising,   from  the  nature  of  their  food,   that  the 
richest  earth  is  generally  most  full  of  worms.     They 
are  scarcely  ever  found  in  digging  in  sand  or  gravel, 
and  this  is  the  reason  why  you  so  rarely  meet  with 
mole-hills  in  sandy  or  pebbly  soil ;  viz.,  because  these 
clever  little  creatures  find  out  that  worms  are  not  lo 
be  had  there  for  their  trouble  in  boring.     How  the 
worm  ejects  these  little  pellets  on  the  outside  it  is 
perhaps  impossible  to  say.     The  head  is  always  pro- 
truded first  from  the  hole  ;  can  it  be  that  the  pellets, 
after  being  discharged,  are  conveyed  to  the  surface 
by  some  special  process  ?     Or  does  the  worm  emerge 
entirely  from  its  hole  during  the  night  ?  The  excreta, 
however,  are  never  found  apart  from  the  worm-cast 
covering  the  hole. 

I  enclosed  three  large  worms  in  a  flower-pot  of 
moist  earth,  covering  it  so  as  to  prevent  their  escape, 
and  occasionally  sprinkling  a  little  water  on  the  surface. 
I  found,  as  I  had  expected,  the  next  morning  that  a 
hole  had  been  bored,  opening  to  the  surface,  and  the 
bits  of  earth  were  thrown  out,  but  not  a  particle 
of  the  excreta.  I  then  placed  some  leaves,  with 
bits  of  stick  and  string,  on  the  surface  of  the  pot, 
in  order  to  see  if  they  would  be  used  as  a  plug  for 
the  hole. 

I  was  desirous  also  to  ascertain  if  the  worm  came 
to  the  surface  to  feed,  or  if  it  in  any  way  disturbed  or 
fed  on  the  leaves,  the  positions  of  which  and  their 
condition  I  took  note  of.  I  found  that  the  bits  of 
string  and  the  leaves  had  been  all  moved,  and  some 
of  them  drawn  into  the  aperture  of  holes  they  had 
opened  against  the  sides  of  the  pot ;  also  that  the 
leaves  were  in  part  nibbled  away,  if  one  may  use 
such  a  term  of  a  creature  which  has  only  some  power 
of  sucking  up  or  sucking  off.  It  seems  certain  then 
that  worms  swallow  both  earth  (rich  earth  in  pre- 
ference to  poor  or  sandy  earth)  and  also  fibrous 
vegetable  matter. 

Every  effect  that  the  worm  leaves  visible  on  the 
surface  seems  done  at  a  time  when  its  enemies,  the 
birds,  are  not  abroad.  How  a  blind  creature  can  tell 
night  from  day  seems  surprising  ;  possibly  the  warmth 
of  the  sun,  or  the  dew  at  night  may  serve  it  for  this 
end.  By  keeping  one  or  two  worms  in  a  flower-pot, 
I  once  or  twice  found  one  partly  exposed.     It  was 


!  passing,  by  peculiar  jerks  made,  with  intervals  of  rest , 
from  one  hole  into  another.  From  this  I  suspected 
that,  as  in  a  rabbit-warren,  the  same  creature  has 
several  holes  communicating  with  each  other  under 
ground. 

To    ascertain    this,  after   keeping    the  worms  fo 
some  time  in  a  flower-pot,  I  let  them  escape,  and  by 
drying    the  earth    I   was  able  to  dissect  it  so  as  to 
expose  all  the  galleries  and  passages.     I  found  these 
very  numerous,  and  towards  the  bottom  of  the  pot 
containing  portions  of  leaves  which  had  been  drawn 
down  for  food.     Grains  of  wheat  and  other  seeds  had 
been  carried  down  to  the  bottom,  and  it  seemed  to 
me  that  the  worms  had  fed  on  the  tangled  roots  which 
these  seeds  had  sent  out  through  the  whole  thickness 
of  the  earth.   The  excreta  in  some  cases  were  adhering 
to  the  sides  of  the  pot.     I  think  they  must  have  some 
way  of  conveying  it  or  pushing  it  out  of  their  holes, 
as  birds  are  said  to  eject  the  dirt  of  the  young  nest- 
lings.    I  think,  also,  that  it  is    got    rid    of  as  soon 
as  deposited.      For,   though  worms  are  very  shy  of 
making  themselves  visible  by  day,  it  is  common  to 
find  worm-casts  so  moist  and  fresh  that   they  have 
evidently  just  been  thrown  up.     This  is  the  case  with 
mole-heaps  ;  but  I  never  saw,  and  I  never  met  with 
any  one  who  could  say  that  he  had  seen,  the  earth 
actually  being  thrown  up.    The  mole,  like  the  worm, 
is    evidently   very  sensitive    to  the  tread  of  a  foot. 
Both  remain  quiet  when  they  feel  the  vibration  of 
the  ground. 

Worms  by  no  means  invariably  draw  into  then- 
holes  leaves  or  bits  of  sticks,  or  cover  them  over  with 
pebbles.  The  reason  of  their  doing  so  at  all  is  there- 
fore the  more  obscure,  since  it  is  not  a  necessity.  Very 
often  the  hole  is  marked  only  by  the  little  heaps  of 
earthy  excreta,  and  however  carefully  you  remove 
these,  you  will  find  the  hole  itself  is  completely 
stopped.  They  nibble  off  the  ends  first,  and  then 
pull  the  remainder  down  lower,  till  little  more  than 
the  stalk  and  mid-rib  is  left.  And  a  little  observa- 
tion will  show  that  the  leaves  have  really  been 
devoured,  and  have  not  rotted  away  in  the  moist 
earth.  This  fact  I  ascertained  to  a  positive  certainty 
by  repeated  supplies  of  diy  leaves  put  into  the  flower- 
pot, the  whole  being  clean  eaten  up  except  short  por- 
tions of  the  stalks.  It  seems  then  that  a  very  large 
part  of  the  decaying  vegetable  matter  in  gardens  is 
consumed  by  the  numerous  lob-worms,  for  they  are 
greedy  eaters,  though  they  seem  to  do  no  harm  to 
growing  plants,  even  if  they  do  eat  some  of  the  fibrous 
roots.  In  this  respect  the  worm  resembles  the  mole 
and  the  dung-beetle,  which  never  leave  the  hole  to  the 
upper  surface  open  to  the  air,  as  most  of  the  burrow- 
ing animals  do. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  certain  that  worms  do  feed  on 
leaves  or  bits  of  stick  drawn  into  their  holes.  My 
grass-plot  in  late  autumn  quite  bristled  with  the  tufts 
of  fallen  willow-leaves  (the  weeping  willow),  but  in  a 
few  weeks  they  had  vanished,  entirely  consumed  by 


i56 


HA RD  Wl  CKE  'S   S CIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


the  worms,  which  had  drawn  them  there  for  food.  I 
laid  about  a  dozen  of  these  dead  willow-leaves  on  the 
top  of  my  flower-pot,  and  in  a  day  or  two  they  were 
all  drawn  in  (always  with  the  stalk  uppermost),  and 
so  gradually  devoured.  I  put  in  a  fresh  supply,  and 
one  evening,  on  gently  removing  the  cover,  I  detected 
a  worm  with  its  head  affixed,  or  stuck  by  the  slime, 
to  one  of  the  leaves.  It  did  not  stir  in  the  least,  and 
seemed  perplexed  by  the  stalk  of  the  leaf  resting 
against  the  side  of  the  pot.  But  in  the  morning  the 
clever  creature  had  turned  it  round,  and  there  was  the 
stalk-end  sticking  up  in  the  worm  hole  !  It  had 
turned  it  completely  round,  and  whereas  it  had  lain 
like  a  bar  across  the  hole,  it  had  contrived  to  pull  in 
the  narrow  end.  All  this  is  evidently  done  by  the 
creature  feeling  the  position  of  the  leaf.  But  to  turn 
it  when  it  is  the  wrong  way  is  a  process  that  resem- 
bles a  kind  of  low  reasoning  rather  than  mere  instinct 
— if,  indeed,  we  have  any  right  to  regard  the  two 
motives  of  action  as  essentially  distinct.* 

Not  only  leaves  were  thus  drawn  in  and  devoured, 
but  grains  of  wheat,  canary,  and  rape-seed,  sprinkled 
on  the  top  of  the  earth  in  the  flower-pot,  were  gra- 
dually carried  down,  and  soon  entirely  disappeared, 
so  that  after  a  few  days  not  a  single  seed  was  to  be 
seen.  I  tried  bits  of  stick,  bread-crumbs,  scraps  of 
ginger-bread,  and  biscuit,  but  they  were  not  much 
noticed,  though  the  sticks  were  generally  moved. 
After  a  few  days,  the  seeds  came  up,  thus  affording  a 
pretty  conclusive  proof  that  one  province  or  function 
of  the  earth-worm  is  to  promote  the  growth  of  plants 
by  burying  seed  which  might  otherwise  perish,  or  be 
picked  up  by  birds. 

In  the  above  purely  popular  account  of  the  earth- 
worm, no  attempt  has  been  made  at  a  scientific  descrip- 
tion. 

The  anatomy  of  the  earth-worm,  and  the  organs 
and  process  of  reproduction,  which  are  extremely 
curious,  are  very  fully  explained  in  an  elaborate 
paper  by  Sir  Everard  Home,  Bart.,  in  the  "  Philoso- 
phical Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society"  for  1S23, 
part  1,  pp.  140 — 151,  illustrated  by  four  plates, 
xvi. — xix.,  containing  magnifieddiagramsof  the  various 
internal  parts. f  These  are,  to  enumerate  them  briefly, 
a  head  with  a  distinct  mouth,  having  some  serrated 
apparatus,  not  very  unlike  teeth,  a  brain  (cerebral 
ganglia),  spinal  cord,  artery,  with  six  lateral  lobes  or 
cells  on  each  side,  containing  red  blood,  perhaps 
equivalent  to  a  series  of  hearts,  an  oesophagus,  crop, 
gizzard,  intestinal  canal,  and  anal  aperture.  The 
creature  is  divided  through  its  entire  length  into  com- 
partments, containing  eggs  enclosed  in  membranous 


*  Sir  Emerson  Tennent,  in  his  "Natural  History  of 
Ceylon,"  p.  90,  relates,  as  a  singular  instance  of  the  sagacity  of 
an  elephant,  his  turning  sideways  a  log,  which  he  was  carrying 
balanced  across  his  tusks,  so  as  more  easily  to  make  his  way 
through  the  trees. 

t  See  also  Dr.  Nicholson's  "  Manual  of  Zoology,"  p.  2oo> 
ed.  3,  and  especially  Prof.  Huxley's  "  Manual  of  the  Anatomy 
of  Invertebrated  Animals,"  pp.  219 — 226. 


bags.  Near  the  middle  is  a  thick  swollen  ring  *  of 
rather  darker  colour.  This  is  connected  with  the 
generative  process,  and  appears  to  have  given  rise  to 
the  popular  opinion  that  a  worm  cut  in  two  will  '  'mend 
itself,"  or  grow  into  two  worms.  The  roughness 
which  is  felt  on  handling  a  worm  arises  from  minute 
bristles  which  grow  out  of  the  rings,  and  doubtless 
assist  the  creature  in  its  movements.  The  slime 
exuded  is  not  nearly  so  tenacious  as  that  of  the  snail 
or  the  slug,  but  it  probably  facilitates  the  progress  of 
the  worm  through  its  labyrinthine  home,  and  it  ap- 
pears to  impart  some  solidity  both  to  the  walls  of  the 
passages  and  to  the  substance  of  the  excreta. 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF    SPECIALLY 
ADAPTIVE    APPLIANCES    IN    PLANTS. 

THERE  is  perhaps  no  branch  of  scientific  know- 
ledge which  has  received  greater  stimulus  of 
late  years  than  that  part  of  physiological  botany  which 


Fig.  104.  Flower  showing 
stamens  in  juxtaposition 
with  style  in  keeled  lip 
a  (nat.  size). 


Fig.  105.   Flower  showing  the 
deeply-cut  petals  (nat.  size). 


Fig.  106.   Flower  showing  the  dropped  keel  a  (nat.  size). 

refers  to  the  colours  of  flowers  and  the  origin  of  their 
forms.  The  observations  of  Drs.  Darwin  and  Miiller, 
of  Sir  John  Lubbock,  and  others,  have  supplied 
material  for  modern  scientific  thought  to  explain  the 
whole  scheme  of  vegetable  creation,  and  attempt  is 
now  even  being  made  by  some  to  connect  with  the 
development  of  vegetable  life  the  colour  sense  of  the 
animal  world,  including  that  of  man  himself. 

A  writer  in  Cornhill  Magazine  for  May  has 
striven  to  show  that  all  irregular-shaped  flowers, 
especially  those  which  combine  with  colour  attractive- 


*  In  a  full-grown  worm,  a  part  of  the  body  into  which  more 
or  fewer  of  the  segments  between  the  twenty-fourth  and  thirty- 
sixth  inclusively  enter,  is  swollen,  of  a  different  colour  from  the 
rest,  provided  with  abundant  cutaneous  glands,  and  receives  the 
name  of  cingulum  or  clitellum. — Huxley,  p.  221. 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


*57 


ness,  sweet-scentedness,  such  as  the  Labiate?,  are  the 
most  recently  evolved,  and  that  with  this  development 
have  been  correlated  the  colours  of  insects.  Also 
similarly  is  it  so  in  the  case  of  coloured  fleshy  fruits 
and  the  development  of  the  colour  sense  in  the  higher 
vertebrates  to  suit  their  frugivorous  tastes.  And  it  is 
interesting  to  remark  that  these  higher  stages  have 
been  observed  to  be  intensified  even  in  historic 
times,  as  in  the  case  of  the  human  race  ;  for  the  mere 
mention  of  colour  itself — that  is  to  say,  in  any  sense 
of  appreciation — is  entirely  absent  from  the  most 
ancient  literary  works  which  we  possess. 


and  also  of  both  colour  and  the  colour  sense  in  the 
vegetable  and  the  animal  world.* 

A  recent  observation  of  my  own  upon  a  member  of 
\h&Scrophularine<z\z.<$.  me  to  the  idea  of  communicating 
the  foregoing  remarks  as  introductory  to  those  I  am 
about  to  make  in  reference  to  the  development  of 
floral  adaptations  in  relation  to  fertilization. 

Unquestionably  the  prime  important  function  of 
life,  both  vegetable  and  animal,  is  the  securing  of 
means  for  perpetuating  its  existence,  but  in  an 
improved  direction.  Therefore,  if  in  the  former 
division  of  the  organic  world  any  usual  acquisition  be 


Fig.  107.     Raceme  of  Schizauthits  tapilionaceus  (nat.  size). 


These  views  may  be  looked  upon  as  more  or  less 
fanciful,  but  nevertheless  it  is  difficult  to  say  they  are 
vain  speculations,  and  they  combine,  moreover,  to 
harmonize  with  other  great  principles  of  evolution 
already  propounded.  But  I  will  not  dwell  upon  this 
theme  here,  pregnant  as  it  is  with  fascination  and 
interest.  Readers  of  Science-Gossip  will  find  else- 
where matter  which  sets  forth  the  views  affecting  the 
development  of  flowers,  constituting  the  Phanerogams, 


occasionally  wanting  pertaining  to  these  means  for 
reproduction,  it  often  happens  that  some  organ  or 
organs  is  or  are  so  modified  as  to  supersede  that  incon- 
venience. For  instance,  the  plant  Ajuga  ophrydis, 
of  South  Africa,  has  flowers  much  resembling  those 

*  Vide"  The  Colours  of  Animals  and  Plants,"  by  Alfred  R. 
Wallace,  in  Macmillaiis  Magazine  for  September  and  October, 
1877  ;  "  The  Origin  of  Flowers,"  in  the  Corn/till  Magazine  for 
May,  1S78  ;  and  J.  E.  Taylor's  recently-published  "  Flowers  : 
their  Shapes,  Perfumes,  and  Colours." 


i58 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


of  an  orchid,  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  this 
acquirement  may  have  been  a  necessary  modifica- 
tion, in  order  to  assist,  by  its  assumed  attractive  power, 
in  the  means  for  fertilization,  in  the  absence  of  some 
other  alluring  property,  such  as  nectar  ;  and,  as 
Mr.  Wallace  adds,  the  supposition  is  rendered  all  the 
more  probable  considering  that  this  is  the  only  species 
of  the  genus  in  South  Africa. 

I  may  now  be  permitted  to  call  attention,  for  the 
first  time,  I  believe,  to  the  special  adaptations  for 
cross-fertilization  in  another  irregular-flowered  species, 
viz.,  Sckizanthns  papilionaceus,  alluded  to  above. 
This  plant  belongs  to  the  sub-order  Salpiglossidea  of 
Scrop/mlarinece  (according  to  Bentham),  forming  an 
intermediate  section  towards  which  the  Figworts  and 
Nightshades  approach  each  other.  The  inflorescence 
of  Salpigloss-id&r  differs  from  the  other  two  sub-orders 
of  the  order  in  being  entirely  definite  or  centrifugal. 
The  plant  here  mentioned  formed  one  of  the  two 
subjects  selected  by  the  Science  and  Art  Department 
for  diagnosis  in  the  "  Honours  "  grade  in  Botany  this 
year  ;  and  there  cannot  be  two  opinions  that  the 
corolla,  which  makes  the  flower  so  conspicuous  and 
handsome,  is  particularly  easy  to  describe.  The 
inflorescence  is  a  large  loose  panicle,  or,  as  it  is 
definite,  it  may  perhaps  be  more  properly  defined  as 
consisting  of  true  racemes,  arranged  upon  a  loosely- 
branched  floral  axis  :  the  individual  flowers  are  some- 
what papilionaceous,  as  its  specific  name  indicates,  or 
rather  more  correctly  termed,  perhaps,  papilionaceo- 
labrate,  the  upper  or  posterior  portion  of  the  limb 
being  perfectly  erect,  whilst  the  lower  anterior,  which 
is  three-lobed,  forms  a  horizontal  "keel,"  in  which  are 
the  two  long  perfect  stamens  (fig.  104).  The  petals 
of  the  combined  whorl  are  more  or  less  deeply  cut 
(fig.  105) ;  hence  the  signification  in  the  prefix  to  the 
generic  name.  Similarly  we  have  it  in  corolla  and 
name  in  Schizopetalon  belonging  to  the  cruciferous 
order.  The  lovely  flowers  of  Schizaiithits  papi- 
lionaceus strike  one  for  the  first  moment  as  those  of 
an  orchidaceous  plant,  and  doubtless  the  cause  of  such 
a  development  has  a  similar  purpose  to  fulfil  as  that 
of  Ajuga  ophrydis  and  other  peculiarly  abnormal 
corolline  forms. 

Now  it  will  be  seen  that  the  position  of  the  two 
perfect  stamens  in  the  keeled  lip  are  in  juxtaposition 
with  the  style  (fig.  104).  But  the  extreme  condition 
of  proterandrism  appears  to  prevent  self-fertilization, 
whilst  another  attendant  condition  in  the  way  of 
insect  adaptability  must  evidently  favour  cross-fertili- 
zation. This  lower  keeled  portion  of  the  limb  is,  as 
I  pointed  out  before,  horizontal.  When  the  plant 
was  first  brought  under  my  notice,  I  observed  that 
whilst  the  two  developed  stamens  in  some  cases  had 
closely  approached  the  style,  the  "keel"  of  those  par- 
ticular flowers  had  dropped  down  (fig.  106).  I  also 
observed  that  the  anthers  in  those  instances  had  dis- 
charged their  pollen  ;  in  other  words,  they  had 
finished  their  work.     Not  dreaming  of  such  a  thing 


as  inherent  irritability,  I  merely  shook  the  flower- 
stalk,  with  its  numerous  flowers,  violently  in  my  hand, 
to  notice  if  motion  had  anything  to  do  with  the 
bringing  about  this  changed  position  of  keel  and 
stamens.  All  remained  the  same,  and  so  at  present 
did  the  mystery.  My  books  at  home  afforded  me  no 
help,  neither  did  persons  of  whom  I  sought  informa- 
tion, until  I  reached  a  professional  gardener,  and 
seedsman,"  an  old  acquaintance,  of  some  half  a 
dozen  miles  distant,  who,  to  my  utter  astonishment, 
was  cultivating  Schizanthus  papilionaceus  in  pots  for 
the  conservatory  in  abundance  !  It  was  an  exquisite 
floral  sight.  Having  this  further  opportunity,  I 
examined  the  flowers  again.  The  "keel"  of  one  of 
them  was  slightly  touched  when  we  perceived  that 
the  two  stamens  instantly  jerked  upwards  out  of  it, 
and  closely  approached  the  style ;  at  the  same  time 
the  anther-cells  burst,  expelling  the  profuse  pollen 
with  great  elastic  force  ;  simultaneously  also  the 
"keel  "  dropped  down  as  if  upon  a  hinge. 

The  problem  was  now  fully  solved,  and  there 
remains  but  little  for  me  to  add.  The  points  of 
consideration  in  the  flowers  of  this  plant  as  affecting 
a  condition  opposed  to  self-fertilization  may  be  sum- 
marized as  follows  : — (1.)  By  the  unequal  develop- 
ment of  the  stamens  and  pistil  (proterandrism).  (2.) 
By  the  existence  of  a  large  area  of  attractiveness 
provided  by  the  combined  numerously  flowered  in- 
florescence, and  peculiar  structure  of  the  individual 
flowers.  (3.)  By  the  need  of  mechanical  stimulus  to 
disturb  the  concealed  perfect  stamens. 

The  "keel"  forms  an  alighting  stage  for  the 
insect,  which  swings  down  under  the  weight  of  its 
body,  and,  especially  its  underside,  becomes  at  the 
same  time  dusted  over  by  the  discharged  pollen.  As 
the  position  of  the  style  is  parallel  with  and  close  to 
the  upper  side  of  the  "  keel,"  the  insect's  body  would 
naturally  come  first  in  contact  with  the  stigma  of  any 
foreign  flower  the  insect  may  visit,  and  if  the  stigma 
be  in  a  state  far  enough  advanced,  fertilization  would 
be  effected.  Probably  no  plant,  orchids  excepted, 
affords  a  more  interesting  subject  for  study  and  such 
combined  appliances,  emphatically  promoting  the  end 
which  incontestably  supports  the  Darwinian  view 
that  "  Nature  abhors  perpetual  self-fertilization." 

Slough.  Gf.orge  Newlyn. 

P. S.— Since  the  above  has  been  in  type,  the  Rev. 
G.  Henslow  has  kindly  communicated  to  me  some 
interesting  details  of  similar  observations  he  has  made 
in  the  floral  structure  of  a  few  leguminous  plants. — 

G.  N. 

How  to  Destroy  Ants. — If  Mr.  George  Pearce 
uses  a  mixture  in  equal  parts  of  calomel  and  powdered 
white  sugar,  he  will  speedily  rid  himself  of  the  ant 
nuisance. — Samuel  Woods. 


*  Mr.  Elliott,  of  Bray  Wick,  Maidenhead,  who  informed  me 
that  .S'.  pinnatus  was  very  similar  toS.  f>aJ>ilio>iaccits,  both  in 
the  structure  of  the  flower  and  habit  of  growth. — G.N. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


x59 


BOTANICAL  WORK  FOR  JULY. 

SUPPOSE  any  one  absent  from  England  for 
many  years,  were  to  be  landed,  or  placed  on 
our  shores  about  the  early  part  of  summer,  but  to  be 
totally  ignorant  as  to  the  month  of  the  year,  rambling 
along  the  lanes  and  fields,  and  seeing  a  profusion  of 
the  various  though  elegant  species  of  Veroniac,  he 
would  naturally  say,  "This  must  be  the  month  of 
May  !  "  So,  in  like  manner,  a  little  later  in  the  season, 
finding  the  willow-herbs  scattered  here  and  there 
with  a  lavish  hand— would  he  not  exclaim:  "This 
is  July!"? 

Our  subject  this  month  then  must  be  to  work  up 
the  willow-herbs.  We  trust  we  shall  make  them  so 
simple  and  plain,  that  our  meaning  or  descriptions 
cannot  be  misunderstood,  but  make  a  large  addition 
of  new  forms  to  our  herbaria  of  curious  and  distinct 
varieties,  which  have  hitherto  been  passed  over  : — 

Section  i.   Corolla  irregular,  "wheel-shaped  {rotate). 
In  this  section  we  have  only  one  British  species, 
the   handsome    Rose-bay,  Epilobium  august/folium, 
Linn.,   with   its   garden  variety,   E.    brachycarpum, 
Leight. 

Section  2.  Elowers  regular,  campanulate,  or 

fun  n el-shaped. 

Note. — By   carefully   observing    the   characters  of 

the  following  divisions,  it  will  be  easy  afterwards  to 

recognize  the  different  species  and  varieties,  without 

having  the  least  doubt  as  to  thier  identity. 

Division  i.  Stems  terete,  stigma  \-cleft. 

1.  Epilobium  hirsutum,  Linn.  Whole  plant  very- 
hairy.  L.  opposite,  oblong-lanceolate ;  flowers  large, 
showy,  rose-purple,  often  \  in.  diameter  ;  the  four 
lobes  of  the  stigma  curled  backwards  (revolute) ;  buds 
erect. 

2.  E.  paivifiorum,  Schreb.  (E.  molle,  Lam.,  in 
Fl.  des  Environs  de  Paris).  A  much  smaller  plant 
than  No.  1.  Stigma  lobes  short,  not  bent  back;  L. 
alternate ;  flowers  i  in.  diameter,  rose-purple,  more 
or  less  pubescent. 

Var.  a.  E.  rivulare,  Wahl.  Often  quite  glabrous 
or  smooth  ;  not  unfrequent  on  the  borders  of  shallow 
brooks. 

Var.  b.  E.  intermedium,  Merat.  Covered  with 
fine  silky  hairs.  L.  all  alternate.  Frequent  by 
stagnant  ponds,  &c. 

Yar.  c.  E.  molle,  pubescent.  L.  in  threes,  verticil- 
late  (whoiied)  ;  more  rare  than  the  above.  By  the 
river  at  Kew. 

3.  E.  vwntanum,  Linn.  L.  quite  smooth,  except 
veins,  ohXow^-ovate ;  buds  drooping ;  flowers  pale 
purple. 

Var.  a.  E.  gracile  (Fl.  des  Environs  de  Paris).  A 
smaller  plant,  and  much  branched.  L.  oblong,  on 
short  stalks  ;  flowers  all  drooping  gracefully. 

Var.  b.  E.  verticillatum,  Thuret.  L.  small,  whorled 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  stem. 


Another  variety,  though  probably  not  a  permanent 
one,  with  white  flowers,  is  occasionally  found  in 
plantations. 

4.  E.  lanceolatitm,  Sebast.  -Very  rare.  L.  stalked, 
lanceolate,  narrowed  to  an  entire  base ;  buds  droop- 
ing, ovate. 

Division  2.  Stem  with  raised  lines,  or  2  to  4 
angles,  stigma  entire,  club-shaped. 

5.  E.  tdragonitm,  Linn.  Stem  with  4  unequal 
angles ;  L.  strap-shaped,  smooth,  stalkless  ;  buds 
erect.     A  much-branched  species. 

Var.  a.  E.  obscurum,  Schreb.  L.  tapering  from 
a  rounded  base,  lanceolate,  not  shining  above.  We 
regard  this  as  a  true  species,  as  do  most  continental 
authorities.     (  Vide  Gren  and  Godron.) 

6.  E.  paluslre,  Linn.  Stem  1  foot,  simple,  with  2 
lines  of  hairs,  seldom  branched.  L.  mostly  opposite, 
downy  on  upper  surface,  smooth  beneath,  except 
midrib,  lanceolate,  with  -wedge-shaped  base.  Flowers 
small,  in  leafy  clusters. 

Var.  a.  E.  pubescens,  Cuss.  Whole  plant  covered 
with  downy  hairs,  and  densely  branched. 

Var.  b.  E.  ligulatum,  Baker.  L.  toothed ;  style 
simple  ;  partakes  much  of  the  characters  of  palustre. 

In  this  month  we  must  also  keep  a  look-out  for  the 
Loosestrife,  Lythrum  Salicaria,  Linn.  Being  so  well 
known,  it  is  not  needful  to  describe  it  particularly ; 
first ,  let  us  observe,  Hooker,  in '  'S  tudent's  Flora,  "notices 
two  varieties  growing  by  the  Thames,  at  Kew, — a  long- 
styled  and  short-styled  plant.  These  have  recently 
attracted  considerable  attention,  by  observers  of  the 
modes  of  fertilization,  and  justly  so,  for,  even  viewed 
in  this  light,  they  are  full  of  instruction. 

In  the  Floras  of  France,  three  varieties  are  enume- 
rated. Having  occasionally  detected  these,  we  mention 
them  with  confidence, — it  may  throw  a  new  charm 
upon  an  old  face  to  many  of  our  readers. 

1.  L.  alter nifolium.  Floral  leaves  alternate  (rare- 
ment  toutes  les  feuilles  alternes — Fl.  des  Environs  de 
Paris).  We  have  not  seen  the  whole  of  the  leaves 
alternate;  as  here  described.     Flowers  pink. 

2.  L.  verticillatum.  L.  in  threes,  verticillate, 
styles  long.  A  smooth  plant,  slender,  with  narrow 
leaves.      Flowers  bright  or  pale  pink. 

3.  L.  pubescens.  Style  short,  a  large  coarse  plant. 
Flowers  dark  dull-purple,  very  hairy  (Plante  tres- 
pubescente,  or  plant  very  pubescent).  Fl.  des  Environs 
de  Paris. 

The  Sundews  (Drosera)  are  becoming  just  now  so 
conspicuous  that  we  may  be  pardoned  by  a  passing 
though  brief  reference  to  one  of  the  species.  Probably 
Drosera  oboz>ata  (Mert.  et  Koch)  has  hitherto  attracted 
very  little  attention,  from  the  fact,  it  is  supposed  to 
be  a  hybrid  betwixt  D.  anglica  and  D.  rotundifolia, 
but  any  one  knowing  the  true  plant,  and  observing 
its  habit,  style,  and  capsule  carefully,  will  never  so 
regard  it. 

D.  obovata,  Mert.  and  Koch.     L.    truly  oboz'ate, 


i6o 


HA RD  WI CKE'S    S C1ENCE- G  OSSIP. 


broader  at  the  summit  than  the  type, 
capsule  half  as  long  as  the  sepals. 


Style  notched, 


\ 


Fig.  10S.  Leaf  of  Dro'sera        Fig.  109.   Leaf  of  Drosera 
anglica.  obovata. 

We  give  an  engraving  of  the  leaves,  natural  size,  of 

both  the  type  and  variety ;    this    may  help    in   its 

identification. 

F. 


MICROSCOPY, 

Diatomaceous  Material. — Mr.  Clark,  the  Se- 
cretary of  the  San  Francisco  Microscopical  Society, 
announces  to  diatomists  that  the  Society  is  now 
enabled,  by  the  kindness  of  the  State  Geological 
Survey,  to  offer  return  exchanges  of  the  Pacific  Coast 
diatomaceous  deposits  on  receipt  of  any  valuable 
microscopical  material. 

The  Quekett  Microscopical  Club. — We  have 
received  the  latest  issue  of  the  Journal  of  this  vigorous 
society,  containing  a  description  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Waller, 
of  a  new  British  sponge,  of  the  genus  Microcionia  ; 
a  paper  on  "The  New  Autographic  Process,"  by 
Mr.  A.  Cottam  ;  an  abstract  contribution  by  M.  M. 
Hartog,  B.Sc,  on  "The  Investigation  of  Floral 
Development";  and  a  "  Record  of  the  Proceedings 
of  the  Meetings  of  the  Club." 

A  Wet  Process  of  Mounting  in  balsam  is  well 
described  by  Mr.  Stokes,  in  the  May  number.  I  have 
for  some  years  used  a  similar  method,  and  which  for 
large  and  whole  insect  preparations  I  prefer.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  set  out  all  parts  of  an  insect,  and  at  once  apply 
balsam  without  again  disarranging  your  work.  I  there- 
fore proceed  thus  : — The  object  having  been  sufficiently 
soaked  in  potass  to  soften  it,  and  washed  well  in 
distilled  water  and  freed  from  dirt,  &c,  I  place  it  for 
a  minute  or  two  in  alcohol,  then  lay  it  out  on  a  piece 
of  glass  in  a  little  alcohol,  cover  with  another  piece, 
press  and  tie  with  cotton,  and  throw  into  a  bottle  of 
alcohol — the  longer  it  stays  here  the  less  likely  to 
alter  form,  —  take  it  out  after  a  day  or  two,  put  into 


turpentine  and  again  brush  ;  it  may  be  then  mounted 
after  a  few  minutes'  soaking  in  the  turpentine,  but  I 
generally  prefer  to  tie  it  up  again  and  throw  it  into 
turpentine  for  a  few  days.  To  mount,  lay  object  on 
slide  on  some  balsam  (liberally),  and  cover  with  thin 
glass,  which  hold  down  lightly  with  clip  of  some  kind; 
boil,  until  a  portion  of  the  balsam  around  the  cover, 
taken  on  the  end  of  a  needle,  is  tolerably  stiff. 
There  may  be  very  many  bubbles,  but  if  they  only 
arise  from  vapour  of  turpentine,  and  the  balsam  is 
not  too  hard,  they  will  all  go  out  in  a  few  days. 
The  boiling  need  be  for  a  very  short  time,  and  a  little 
practice  will  make  perfect  work.  It  is  the  simplest 
method  of  balsaming  I  know  of,  much  more  easily 
managed  than  damar. — An  Old  Mounter. 

Canada  Balsam  in  India.— An  experience  of 
twenty  years  enables  me  to  give  a  satisfactory  answer 
to  the  inquiry  of  Ff.  F.  Blackett  as  to  the  heat- 
resisting  power  of  Canada  balsam  in  India.  I  have 
brought  back  with  me  many  specimens,  mounted  in 
that  medium,  which  I  took  out  with  me  twenty-five 
years  ago,  and  they  are  as  perfect  as  ever  they  were. 
My  experience  of  mounted  slides  is  as  follows, 
though  it  may  possibly  not  accord  with  that  of  others. 
Canada  balsam  stands  well,  and  so  (and  I  was 
much  surprised  at  the  fact)  does  sealing-wax  varnish 
as  a  surrounding  cement ;  though  much,  no  doubt, 
depends  upon  the  quality  of  the  sealing-wax.  The 
black  asphalt  cement  is  apt  to  run  in  under  the  thin 
glass.  I  have  some  specimens  surrounded  with  this 
material  entirely  spoilt,  while  a  few  have  stood  well. 
All  chemical  preparations  are  spoiled  by  the  climate. 
—  C.  S.  P.  Parish. 

Plant-Crystals. — Mr.  Hammond's  paper,  in 
the  June  number  of  Science-Gossip  is  likely  to 
lead  to  valuable  microscopical  work.  Now,  micro- 
scopists  need  no  longer  be  advertising  for  good 
materials  for  the  preparation  of  interesting  slides,  for 
they  everywhere  surround  us,  in  our  walks  through 
the  green  lanes  and  excursions  to  the  conservatory, 
and  to  the  shops  of  the  druggists.  In  the  latter  may 
always  be  had  guaiacum  bark  and  quillaja,  in  both  of 
which  the  long  crystal  prisms  exist  in  great  abundance 
and  beauty  ;  while  the  short  prismatic  crystals  are 
very  plentiful  in  most  of  such  common  plants  as  the 
Leguminosce,  and  in  the  testa  or  seed-skin  in  the  Elm, 
Black  Bryony,  and  Scarlet  Pimpernel.  All  these 
crystals  are  admirably  fitted  for  experiments  on  the 
polarization  of  light.  The  sarsaparilla  of  the  drug- 
gists affords  true  raphides ;  but  these  do  not  polarize 
light  well,  nor  do  the  cystoliths  or  other  sphrera- 
phiclcs.  All  of  them  are  figured  either  in  Science- 
Gossir,  May,  1875,  or  in  the  Monthly  Microscopical 
Journal,  December,  1873 ;  anc^  **  1S  understood 
that  Professor  Lionel  Beale  will  devote  two  plates  to 
all  these  interesting  crystals  in  the  forthcoming  new 
edition  of  his  great  work,  entitled  "How  to  Work 
with  the  Microscope." — G.  R. 


HARD  WICKE'S  SCIENCE-  GOSSIP. 


161 


ZOOLOGY. 

The  Hemipterous  Fauna  of  St.  Helena.— 
At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Zoological  Society  of 
London,  a  communication  was  read  from  Dr.  F.  Bucha- 
nan White,  entitled  "  Contributions  to  a  Knowledge 
of  the  Hemipterous  Fauna  of  St.  Helena,  and  specu- 
lations on  its  origin."  In  the  first  part  of  his  paper 
the  author,  after  briefly  noticing  what  was  known 
with  regard  to  the  Fauna  and  Flora  of  that  remote 
and  interesting  oceanic  island,  and  mentioning  the 
various  theories  that  had  been  brought  forward  to 
account  for  their  origin,  discussed  the  difficulties  of 
the  animals,  and  argued  that  they  had  evidently  been 
derived  at  a  remote  period  from  the  Patearctic  Region 
by  way  of  Madeira,  the  Canaries,  and  the  Cape  de 
Verde  Archipelago.  In  the  second  part  of  his  com- 
munication Dr.  White  described  the  Hemiptera 
collected  in  St.  Helena  by  the  late  Mr.  T.  V.  Wollas- 
ton,  during  the  recent  visit  of  that  naturalist  to  the 
island.  The  collection  included  thirty  species,  of 
which  five  were  probably  introduced ;  one  appeared 
to  be  indigenous,  but  seemed  identical  with 
European  species  ;  and  the  remaining  twenty-four 
were  regarded  by  the  author  as  new  and  peculiar  to 
the  island.  Seven  new  genera  and  one  new  sub-genus 
were  created  for  the  reception  of  ten  of  the  species, 
the  rest,  with  one  exception,  being  referred  to 
European  genera. 

Testacella  haliotoidea  in  Jersey. — This 
slug,  though  recorded  as  occurring  in  the  sister  isle 
of  Guernsey,  seems  not  to  have  been  reported  from 
this  island.  On  the  21st  of  April  last,  about  9  a.m., 
I  observed  a  specimen  crawling  at  the  foot  of  a  dry 
bank,  after  rain.  It  carried  a  prominent  oval  lami- 
nated shell,  of  an  ashy- white  colour,  about  \  an  inch 
in  length  by  \  of  an  inch  in  breadth,  just  in  front  of 
the  hinder  extremity.  But  it  appears  that  an  intel- 
ligent observer,  R.  Macdonnell,  Esq.,  by  whose 
kindness  I  have  since  seen  a  second  specimen,  has 
noticed  it  occasionally,  for  several  years,  in  his 
garden,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  other  locality. 
Whether  it  is  indigenous  in  Jersey,  or  imported  from 
France  with  soil,  I  must  leave  to  those  who,  unlike 
myself,  are  learned  in  the  history  of  mollusca. — 
Martin  M.  Bull,  Jersey. 

The  Cuckoo  at  Night. — On  the  24th  of  May 
I  heard  the  note  of  the  cuckoo  at  2T5  a.m.  The 
night  was  very  dark,  and  it  was  raining  heavily,  yet 
the  cuckoo  was  singing  as  loud  and  as  cheerfully  as 
it  would  in  the  daytime.  Is  it  usual  for  the  cuckoo 
to  sing  during  the  night? — A.  M.  McA.,  Stoke-on- 
Trent. 


Irish  Wolf-Dog. — Lord  Talbot  of  Malahide 
formerly  had  a  clog  said  to  be  the  Irish  Wolf-dog ; 
he  probably  can  give  "L.  M."  the  information  he 
requires. 


BOTANY. 

Meyenia  erecta. — It  must  have  been  obvious  to 
Science-Gossip  readers  that  the  name  "Mergenia 
erecta,"  which  headed  a  paragraph  in  the  June  num- 
ber, page  139,  and  which  had  reference  to  fertiliza- 
tion adaptability,  was  a  misprint  for  the  above. 
Acanthacece,  to  which  natural  order  this  plant  be- 
longs, approach  Labiate  and  Verbenacere,  Scro- 
phularineae  and  Bignoniacece  in  the  irregular  anisos- 
temenous  corolla  :  they  differ  from  the  latter  two 
orders  in  the  aestivation  of  this  whorl,  and  by  the 
absence  of  albumen.  All  these  groups  of  irregular- 
shaped  flowers  are  specially  adapted  for  insect  fer- 
tilization, and,  as  regards  the  favoured  theory  of  the 
origin  of  species,  they  doubtless  constitute  the  last 
link  in  the  developed  series  of  flowering  plants.  I 
am  inclined  to  suggest  that  there  is  a  field  open  in 
connection  with  the  investigation  and  study  of  the 
floral  structure  of  these  groups,  and  that  special 
attention  devoted  in  this  direction  will  be  attended 
with  fresh  interesting  discoveries. — George  Newlyn. 

Epilobium  ANGUSTIFOLIUM  (Rose-bay  Willow- 
herb).  In  "  Flora  Lapponica,"  Linnasus  describes  the 
hut  of  the  Laplander  encircled  with  the  tall  stem-, 
and  elegant  blossoms  of  this  species ;  he  goes  on  to 
state  they  in  state  emulate  the  palaces  of  the  gods. 
The  Swedes  call  it  Himmelgnvs,  or  "  herb  of 
heaven."  The  only  true  wild  form  found  in  England 
is  the  E.  macrocarpum,  Steph.,  whilst  the  one  often 
found  in  cottage-gardens  is  the  E.  bracliycarpum  of 
Leighton's  "  Fl.  Shropshire  "  ;  they  are  quite  distinct. 
— R. 

Destruction  of  Rare  Plants. — As  this  sad 
work  is  still  going  on,  Mr.  E.  D.  Marquand  deserves 
the  thanks  of  all  botanists  for  his  judicious  remon- 
strances, in  the  June  number  of  Science-Gossip, 
against  the  rooting  out  of  the  New  Forest  such 
interesting  species  as  Spiranthes  ccstivalis  and  Pul- 
monaria  angustifolia.  It  would  be  a  libel  to  attribute 
such  wanton  destruction  to  botanists,  since  it  is  done 
by  mean  dealers.  But  it  unfortunately  happens  that 
the  destruction  is  too  often  encouraged  under  the 
pretence  of  science,  especially  by  sorae  of  our  pro- 
vincial societies  offering  rewards  for  the  best  col- 
lections, as  if  mere  collectors  had  any  pretence  to  be 
regarded  as  botanists  or  zoologists.  If  the  rulers  of 
such  societies  had  any  intention  of  encouraging,  by 
rewards  of  money  or  otherwise,  the  promotion  of 
botanical  or  zoological  science,  that  might  be  more 
easily  and  effectually  done  by  proposing  investigations 
of  the  species  and  intimate  structure  of  common 
plants  and  animals.  For  example,  the  species  of  the 
Wild  Roses,  Brambles,  Willows,  Sedges,  Grasses, 
&c. ,  would  afford  excellent  exercises  ;  and  so  would 
the  examination  of  the  intimate  structure  of  the 
glands,  hairs,  pollen,  and  distribution  and  significance 
of  raphides  and  other  plant-crystals,  &c.     It  is  really- 


162 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE - G O SSIP. 


aggravating  that  Mr.  Marquand  should  have  been 
called  on  to  protest  now  against  a  crying  evil ; 
especially  as  it  has  long  since  been  denounced  by 
Professor  Gulliver  and  others  in  Nature,  May  22, 
1873,  and  in  the  Nineteenth  Report  of  the  East  Kent 
Natural  Histoiy  Society  ;  and  all  this  about  the  same 
time  that  Professor  Babington  and  other  eminent 
botanists  were  protesting  strongly  but  ineffectually  in 
the  same  cause. — Q.  F. 

A  Glass-eating  Lichen. — My  friend  Mr.  John- 
ston-Lavis's  lichen  seems  probably  of  more  interest 
than  the  unpainted  surface  of  much  old  glass.  If 
this  lichen — for  lichen  it  very  probably  is — really  has 
the  power  of  dissolving  glass,  it  is  certainly  of  the 
very  deepest  interest.  I  quite  agree  with  the  disco- 
verer in  setting  aside  the  "workman"  theory  ;  but  I 
much  regret  that  the  extent  to  which  the  figures  are 
magnified  is  not  given,  the  method  of  drawing  not 
stated,  and  the  "various  re-agents"  used  to  remove 
the  growth  not  named ;  for  in  Mr.  Johnston-Lavis's 
paper  I  see  no  evidence  that  would  make  me  attribute 
a  solvent  power  equal  to  that  of  hydrofluoric  acid,  to 
thislichen,  ratherthan  believeinthe  simpler  hypothesis 
that  it  is  filling  up  by  its  growth  previously  existing 
holes.  I  hope  my  friend  will  prosecute  this  inquiry, 
and  produce  some  more  decisive  evidence  one  way  or 
the  other. — G.  S.  Boulger. 

Old  Plant-Names.— In  answer  to  Mr.  Henry  F. 
Bailey,   I  may  say  that  Dittany  does  not  occur  in 
Turner's  "  Libellus  de  re  Herbaria  "  (1538).     In  Ge- 
rard's "  Catalogus  "  (1596),  Dictamnum  crceticum  and 
fraxindla  are  mentioned,  and  in  the  second  (1599) 
edition,  the  former  is  called  ' '  Dittanie  of  Candie,"  and 
both  "Fraxinella  Bastard  Dittanie"  and  "Fraxinella 
altera,  Great  Bastard  Dittanie,"  are  recorded.     The 
Dictamnum  crceticum  is  described  on  p.  651  of  Ge- 
rard's "  Herbal"  (1597),  and  is  identified  by  my  friend 
Mr.  Benjamin  Daydon  Jackson,  editor  of  the  "Cata- 
logus" and  "Libellus,"  with  Origanum  dictamnus 
of  Linnaeus.     Fraxinella  is  described  on  p.  1065  of 
the   "Herbal,"  and  is,  according  to  the  same  high 
authority,  Dictamnus  albus,  L.,  whilst  F.  altera  is  on 
the  same  page  of  the  "Herbal,"  and  is  Dictamnus 
fraxinella  of  Persoon.     Dictamnus  belongs    to  the 
Rue  tribe.     It  is  remarkably  inflammable,  owing  to 
its  oil-secreting  glands.     D.  albus  is  now  commonly 
known  as  Dittany.      Origanum  belongs  to  the  Labi- 
ates, and  our  Marjoram  is  a  species  of  this  genus. 
On  p.  61  of  the  "  Herbal,"  and  in  both  editions  of 
the  "Catalogus,"  Gerard  also  mentions    "  Pseudo- 
dictamnum,   Bastard  Dittanie,"  which  Mr.  Jackson 
makes  Ballota  pseudo-dictamnus  of  Bentham.   Garden 
Rue  is,   and  was   in  Gerard's  time,  Rula  graveolens, 
though  then  known  as  Ruta  saliva.     I  am  not  at  all 
sure  about  the  Mandrake,  but  the  probabilities  seem 
in    favour  of  a   solanaceous  plant,  rather  than  the 
White  Bryony,  which  is  the  popular  name  by  which 


Bryonia  dioica  is  distinguished  from  Tamus  communis, 
the  Black  Bryony.     Tournefort  named  the  genus  of 
Solanacea?,  now  known  as  Mandragora,  of  which  the 
species  officinalis  is  commonly  known  as  the  Man- 
drake,    "The   insane  root  which  takes   the  reason 
prisoner,"  is  often  said  to  be  the  Dwale,  or  Deadly 
Nightshade     ( Atropa    Belladonna).     I     may     refer 
Mr.  Bailey  to  the  Rev.  H.  N.  Ellacombe's  "  Plant- 
lore    of  Shakespere,"  an  excellent  work,    which   I 
have  not  by  me  at  present,  and  I  may  perhaps  also 
take  this  opportunity  of  calling  attention  to  the  exist- 
ence of  a    "Turner    Printing-Club,"  for  reprinting 
early  works  on   British  botany,  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Mr.   B.  D.  Jackson,  of  30,   Stockwell- 
road,    S.W.     In    Gerard's    "Catalogus,"    and    the 
"Herbal,"  p.  274,   the  Brinjal,  Aubergine,  or  Egg- 
plant of  Asia,  Solarium  Melongena,  L.,  is  mentioned 
as  Mala  insana,   Mad   or  Raging  Apples.     I  take 
this  opportunity  of  publishing,  for  the  justification  of 
our  early  authors,  their  meaning  in  the  various  Maiden- 
hairs.    The   true  Maidenhair  is  Adiantum  capillus- 
veneris.     Possibly  the  foliage  of  Thalictrum  minus, 
the  Lesser  Meadow  Rue,   was  sometimes  mistaken 
for  it.     The  common  or  English  Maidenhair  is  As- 
plenium  Trichomanes  ;  the  Black  Maidenhair  is  A spl<- 
nium  Adiantum-nigrum ;  the  White  Maidenhair  is 
Asplenium  Rula-muraria,   the  Wall-rue  Fern  ;  and 
the  Golden  Maidenhair  is  the  moss  Mnium  kygrome- 
tricum,  also  called  Little  Goldilocks.    The  Goldilocks 
is  Ranunculus  aurlcomus.  —  G.  S.  Boulger. 

Bible  Plants. — An  interesting  little  volume  with 
this  title,    by  John  Smith,  ex-curator  of  the  Royal 
Botanic  Gardens,  Kew,  has  just  been  published  by 
Hardwicke  &  Bogue.     One  plant,  however  {Lycium 
EuropcBiim),  appears  to  me  calculated  to  mislead  ;  it 
is  described  (page  207)  as  "a  rambling,  prickly  shrub, 
well  "known  in  this  country  as  Boxthorn  or  Tea-tree, 
and   often   used  for  covering  garden-seats,  arbours, 
and  the  like,  and   is   a  hedge-plant   in    Palestine." 
At  plate  9  is  a  figure  of  the  plant,  marked  C,  which 
is  no  doubt  correct  as  it  is  found  in  Palestine,  but 
bears  no  resemblance  to  the  tea-plant  so  well  known 
in    England.      Mr.     Baker,    curator   of  the    Royal 
Herbarium  at  Kew,  says,    "it  is  Lycium   Barbarum 
not  Europttum  that  is  commonly  cultivated,  but  they 
are  very  near  to  one  another,  and  the  genus  is  in  a 
great   muddle   and   wants   re-monographing."      He 
says,    "The  Lycium  of  Syria  is  L.  vidgare  of  Lin- 
nceus,    L.  Mediterraneum   of  Dunal,  and  copiously 
spiny  when  wild,  but  loses  its  thorns  when  under 
cultivation."       The  Lycium  Mediterraneum,   Dunal, 
D.C.  Prod. ;  Lycium  Furopeum,  Linnaeus,  Mant.  47  ; 
Desf.  Atl-kock  syn.,  is  described  in  the  "Flore  de 
France,"  by  Grenier  et  Godron,  as  with  leaves  a  little 
fleshy,  oblongues-obovees,  insensibly  attenuate  in  a 
short  petiole,  common  on  the  whole  littoral   of  the 
Mediterranean.     No   one   looking   at   the    figure  at 
plate  9  could  suppose  it  represented  the  tea-shrub,  so 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE  -  GOSSIP. 


16 


well  known  in  England.  The  plant  is  stated  in  the 
"  Treasury  of  Botany  "  as  being  known  as  "  the  Duke 
of  Argyle's  tea-tree,"  the  leaves  being  recommended 
for  use  in  the  place  of  tea,  a  piece  of  advice  not 
generally  acted  upon  it  would  seem.  The  leaves 
appear  in  the  figure  so  extremely  diminutive  that  they 
never  could  have  been  used  as  a  substitute  for  tea. 
There  appears,  therefore,  to  be  some  confusion  ;  the 
plant  in  the  figure  should  have  been  referred  to  as 
the  Lycium  Europceum  of  Palestine,  but  altogether 
unlike  the  tea-tree,  sometimes  found  in  a  semi-wild 
state  in  England,  where  it  is  so  well  known  as  the 
tea-tree.  Mr.  Baker  says  he  has  not  seen  the  Bible 
plant,  and  of  course  he  can  give  no  opinion  as  to  the 
figure  in  plate  9.  —  T.B.  IF.,  Brighton. 

Definite  and  Indefinite  Inflorescence. — 
Sir  J.  E.  Smith  thought  the  distinction  of  not  much 
importance,  on  account  of  the  difference  found  among 
the  species  of  Allium  in  the  order  of  expansion  of 
their  flowers.  Nor  did  Professor  Lindley  seem  to 
recognize  the  distinction  as  of  primary  importance, 
for  in  this  little  work  on  Descriptive  Botany,  the 
spike,  the  raceme,  and  the  corymb  are  represented 
by  figures  each  terminated  by  a  central  flower.  Such 
a  central  flower  may  indeed  be  found  in  the  spike 
of  Agrimony,  the  corymb  of  the  Pear,  the  umbel  of 
the  Apple,  and  the  panicle  of  London  Pride.  After 
noticing  such  facts,  one  may  be  pardoned  for  enter- 
taining a  doubt  as  to  the  existence  of  any  form  of 
inflorescence  strictly  indefinite,  i.e.,  incapable  of  pro- 
ducing a  terminal  flower  on  the  axis  of  inflorescence, 
or  a  lateral  bud  below  the  flower  upon  its  pedicle. 
Such  a  mode  of  inflorescence  does,  however,  seem  to 
be  in  the  orders  Crucijine  and  Primnlacea,  and  it 
may  be  in  other  natural  orders,  only  subject  to  such 
exceptions  as  belong  to  the  province  of  teratology. 
For  nearly  twenty  years  I  watched  the  inflorescence 
of  cruciferous  plants  before  finding  an  indisputable 
case  of  a  flower-stalk  with  a  flower  on  the  summit 
and  another  below  it  on  the  side.  This  was  on  one 
of  the  ramifications  of  a  much-branched  stem  of  a 
perennial  stock  which  flowered  last  year,  and  of 
which  a  note  appeared  in  Science-Gossip  of  July, 
1877.  This  year  a  similar  phenomenon  has  appeared 
on  another  plant  of  the  same  kind.  Foliar  prolifi- 
cation  of  the  inflorescence  is,  however,  much  more 
common,  though  I  have  observed  it  only  in  perennial 
plants,  not  in  annuals  or  biennials.  The  stem  of  the 
watercress  will  sometimes  grow  beyond  the  series  of 
flowers  on  its  sides,  producing  leaves  above  the  raceme 
as  freely  as  below  it.  Cardamine  pratense  may  be 
occasionally  found  with  a  tuft  of  leaves  on  the  top  of  a 
flowering  stem,  and  I  have  now  in  bloom  in  my  garden 
a  stem  of  a  wallflower  which  bore  flowers,  produced 
pods,  and  ripened  seeds  last  year.  Between  the  two 
series  of  flowers  came  a  tuft  of  leaves,  and  this  year 
there  is  a  branch  above  the  mortal  remains  of  last 
year's   pods,    which,    as  well    as  the  main  stem,  has 


blooming  flowers.  If  the  stem  be  not  exhausted  too 
much  to  ripen  seed,  I  will  allow  it  to  do  so,  that  I 
may  see  if  such  a  variation  is  hereditary.  It  thus 
appears  that  in  cruciferous  plants  median  prolifica- 
lion  of  the  inflorescence  is  always  foliar,  median 
prolification  of  the  flowers  floral. — John  Gibbs. 

Orchis-hunting  in  Surrey.— Surrey  is  to 
me  associated  with  many  delightful  rambles,  and 
none  of  them  more  so  than  those  I  have  deno- 
minated "Orchis-hunting."  Living  at  that  time 
close  upon  the  North  Downs,  I  was  able  to  make 
acquaintance  with  some  of  the  chalk-loving  species 
of  theJDrchidacere  seldom  met  with  now,  especially 
as  I  am  at  present  located  amongst  the  Red  Sandstone 
of  Devonshire.  My  "happy  hunting-grounds"  at 
that  time  consisted  of  the  parish  of  Ockham  as  a 
centre,  from  which  I  made  pedestrian  excursions  into 
the  surrounding  neighbourhood.  Most  of  the  species 
I  find  referred  to  in  my  notes  were  found  within  some 
five  or  six  miles  of  what  was  then  Ockham  Middle- 
Class  Schools.  In  the  moist  meadows  around,  and  up 
what  everybody  knew  as  the  "Rides,"  were  found 
very  plentifully,  0.  masatla,  O.  maculata,  O.  latifolia, 
ATeoltia  Nidus-avis,  and  the  Listera  ovata.  (The 
Adder  s  Tongue  Fern  was  very  plentiful  in  a  meadow 
by  the  side  of  the  Rides.)  In  a  meadow  near  a  pond 
called  the  "  Sheepwash,"  I  came  upon  the  Habenaria 
bifolia,  and  on  several  occasions  0.  niorio.  It  was, 
however,  by  walking  some  few  miles  and  getting  upon 
some  of  the  chalk  ridges  that  I  made  acquaintance 
with  some  of  the  more  strange-looking  species.  In 
the  adjoining  parish  of  East  Horsley  was  a  hilly  piece 
of  ground  known  as  the  "Sheep  Leas,"  as  far  as  I 
can  remember  the  name.  I  am  not  sure  of  the  ortho- 
graphy of  the  word, — I  give  the  name  as  it  sounded  to 
me.  This  was  a  favourite  place  for  a  holiday  of  the 
pic-nic  order,  and  our  people  often  resorted  to  it  in 
clays  of  yore.  Many  a  pleasant  day's  botanizing  I 
have  done  there.  It  was  there  I  made  aqcuaintance 
with  the  Aceras  anthropophora  and  the  Ophrys 
nntcifera.  The  Ophrys  apifera  I  found  here  most  plenti- 
fully distributed,  in  fact,  almost  carpeting  the  ground. 
This  odd-looking  Orchis  I  also  found  in  great  abun- 
dance in  a  "  rough  field  "  near  the  Fox,  on  Ranmoor 
Common.  I  also  remember  a  few  being  found  in 
Ockham  Park  one  season.  As  to  the  0.  mucifera  I 
think  it  was  under  the  beech-trees  on  the  Sheep  Lea> 
that  I  found  it.  In  the  same  neighbourhood  I  found 
the  Ophrys  aranifera,  and  the  Orchis  hircina.  I 
think  it  was  in  the  Sheepwash  meadow  already  men- 
tioned that  I  also  found  the  Orchis' conopsca. — y.  Mills 
Higgins. 

Colias  Edusa.  —  Can  any  of  your  readers  of 
Science-Gossip  give  me  a  reason  for  calling  the 
clouded  yellow  butterfly  "  Colias  Edusa  "?  "  Colias  " 
meaning  a  kind  of  tunny-fish,  and  "Edusa"  the 
goddess  who  presides  over  the  nourishment  of  child- 
ren. — Ha  z  'ila  nd. 


164 


HARDWICKE'S  SCIENCE -GOSSIP. 


GEOLOGY, 

The    Glacial    Phenomena     of    the    Long 
Island,  or  Outer  Hebrides. — A  paper  on  this 
subject  has  recently  been  read  before  the  Geological 
Society  by  James  Geikie,  LL.D.    The  author  gave  a 
detailed  account  of  the  glacial  phenomena  of  Harris 
•and  the  other  islands  that  form  the  southern  portion 
of  the  Outer  Hebrides.     Evidence   was  adduced  to 
show  that  Lewis   has   been   glaciated  from  S.E.  to 
N.W.,  and  the  shelly  boulder-clays  and  interglacial 
shell-beds  of  that  part  of  the  Long  Island  were  de- 
scribed in  detail.     Harris,  North    Uist,   Benbecula, 
South  Uist,  Barra,  and  the  other  islands  that  go  to 
form  the  chain  of  the  Long  Island  were  successively 
described  under  the  headings  of  Physical  Features, 
Geological  Structure,  Glaciation,  Till  or  Boulder-clay, 
Erratics  and  perched  blocks,    Morainic   debris  and 
Moraines,  Freshwater  Lakes  and  Sea-lochs.  Numerous 
bearings  of  stride,    which  abound,   were  given,  and 
these   were  held   to   prove    that    the   whole    Outer 
Hebrides  have  been  glaciated  by  ice  that  flowed  out- 
wards from  the  mainland  of  Scotland.     The  position 
of  abundant  ?-oc/ies  moutonnees  points  to  the  same  con- 
clusion, and   this   is   still   further  supported  by  the 
"travel"   of  the   Till.     That   deposit    is   generally 
absent  or  very  sparingly  present    on   the  rock-faces 
that  look  towards  the  mainland,  but  it  is  heaped  up 
in  their  rear,  and  spreads  over  the  lower  tracts  that 
slope  gently  towards  the  Atlantic.     On  the  west  side 
of  the  islands  not  a  few  boulders  occur  in  the  Till, 
which  have  been  derived  from  the  east  ;  and  the  same 
is  true  of  certain  erratics  lying  loose  at  the  surface  of 
the  ground.     The  islands  are  well  glaciated  up  to  a 
height  of  1,600  feet  above  the  sea ;  and  the  line  of 
demarcation  between  the  glaciated  and  non-glaciated 
areas  is  extremely  pronounced.    Above  1,600  feet  the 
hills  show  rugged,  splintered,  jagged,  and  sometimes 
serrated   tops.       The   author   regarded    the   Till   or 
boulder-clay  as  the  morainic  material  that  gathered 
underneath  the  ice,  and  proof  of  this  is  given.    Erratics 
and  perched  blocks  are  very  numerous,  and  most  of 
these,  as  well  as  much  of  the  morainic  debris,  are 
believed  to  have  been  dropped  where   we  now    find 
them  during  the  final  melting  of  the  ice-sheet.    It  was 
shown,   however,   that  certain  erratics  and  perched 
blocks  and  some  well-marked  moraines  are  due  to 
local  glaciers,  as  are  also  some  of  the  striations  in  a 
few  of  the  mountain  valleys.     The  origin  of  the  rock- 
basins,    which    are    now    lakes,    was    discussed,   and 
attributed  to  the  erosive  action  of  ice.     To  the  same 
cause  were  assigned  the  rock-basins  which  occur  in 
certain  of  the  sea-lochs.     In  concluding,  the  author 
pointed  out  that  we  may  now  arrive  at  a  true  estimate 
of  the  thickness  attained  by  the  ice-sheet  in  the  north- 
west of  Scotland.     If  a  line  be  drawn  from  the  upper 
limits  of  the  glaciations  in  Ross-shire  (3,000  feet)  to  a 
height  of  i,6co  feet  in  the  Long  Island,  we  have  an 
incline  of  only  1  in  210  for  the  upper  surface  of  the 


ice-sheet ;  and  of  course  we  are  able  to  say  what 
thickness  the  ice  reached  in  the  Minch.  Between 
the  mainland  and  the  Outer  Hebrides  it  was  as  much 
as  3,800  feet.  No  boulders  derived  from  Skye  or  the 
mainland  occur  in  the  Till  of  the  Outer  Hebrides, 
and  this  was  explained  by  the  deflection  of  the  lower 
portion  of  the  ice-sheet  against  the  steep  wall  of  rock 
that  faces  the  Minch.  The  underpart  of  the  ice  that 
flowed  across  the  Minch  would  be  deflected  to  right 
and  left  against  the  inner  margin  of  the  Long  Island  ; 
and  the  deep  rock-basins  that  exist  all  along  that 
margin  are  believed  to  have  been  scooped  out  by  the 
grinding  action  of  the  deflected  ice.  Towards  the 
north  of  Lewis,  where  the  land  shelves  off  gently  into 
the  sea,  the  under  strata  of  the  ice-sheet  were  enabled 
to  creep  up  and  over  the  district  of  Ness,  and  thus 
gave  rise  to  the  lower  shelly  boulder-clay  of  that 
neighbourhood,  which  contains  boulders  derived  from 
the  mainland.  The  presence  of  the  overlying  inter- 
glacial shell-beds  proves  a  subsequent  melting  of  the 
ice-sheet,  and  a  depression  of  the  land  for  at  least 
200  feet.  The  overlying  shelly  boulder-clay  shows 
that  the  ice-sheet  returned  and  overflowed  Lewis, 
scooping  out  the  older  drift-beds  and  commingling 
them  with  its  bottom  moraine.  The  absence  of 
kames  was  commented  upon,  and  shown  to  be  in- 
explicable on  the  assumption  that  such  deposits  are 
of  marine  origin  ;  whilst  if  they  be  of  torrential  origin 
their  absence  is  only  what  might  be  expected  from 
the  physical  features  of  the  islands.  The  only  traces 
of  post-glacial  submergence  are  met  with  at  merely  a 
few  feet  above  present  high-water  mark. 

The  Fossil  Fungus. — Too  much  credit  cannot 
be  given  to  Mr.  Butterworth  for  his  labours  on  fossil 
plants,  carried  on  for  so  many  years  under  great  diffi- 
culties but  with  great  perseverance,  and  with  most 
important  results.  Prof.  Williamson  has  again  and 
again  expressed  his  obligations  to  Mr.  Butterworth ; 
and  the  collections  of  the  British  Museum  have  several 
valuable  specimens  prepared  by  Mr.  Butterworth's 
own  hands,  the  importance  of  which  I  have  testified 
to  on  several  occasions.  No  doubt  Mr.  Butterworth 
observed  the  fossil  fungus  in  his  specimens  before 
they  were  sent  to  London,  although  Mr.  Smith  and 
myself  were  ignorant  of  it.  But  the  fungus  had  al- 
ready been  observed  by  myself,  and  shortly  described 
from  specimens  in  the  British  Museum  prepared  by 
Mr.  Norman,  and  the  interest  of  Mr.  Butterworth's 
specimens  to  me,  when  they  were  shown  me  by 
Mr.  Young,  was  that  they  confirmed  the  specimens 
I  already  possessed,  and  added  to  my  knowledge  of 
the  fungus.  The  two  Pahrozoic  fungi  which  Mr. 
Butterworth  refers  to  could  not  include  the  Neozoic 
parasite  in  the  fern-stem  from  Heme  Bay,  as  he  sup- 
poses. These  two  Palaeozoic  fungi  were — 1.  The 
curious  mycelium  masses  found  at  Newcastle  by  Mr. 
Atthey,  and  described  and  figured  in  his  "Annals 
and  Magazine  of   Natural    History";    and    2.   The 


HARD  WICKE >S     S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


165 


parasite  fungus  in  the  stem  of  a  Lepidodendron  de- 
scribed by  myself  without  a  name,  and  afterwards, 
by  the  help  of  Mr.  Butterworth's  specimens,  de- 
scribed at  greater  length  by  Mr.  Smith. —  William 
Carruthcrs. 

The  Tkrtiary  Flora  of  America. — Thanks 
to  Dr.  Hayden,  we  have  received  the  seventh  volume 
of  the  Report  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey, 
containing  Prof.  Lesquereux's  "Contributions  to  the 
Fossil  Flora  of  the  Western  Territories,"  Part  II. 
"The  Tertiary  Flora."  It  is  a  large  and  handsome 
quarto  volume  of  nearly  400  pages,  and  contains 
65  magnificently-lithographed  plates.  In  every- 
thing, type,  lithography,  quality  of  paper,  and  even 
binding,  these  publications  shoot  far  ahead  of  our 
own  "  Memoirs  of  the  Geological  Survey,"  whose 
small  type  seems  intended  to  deter  people  from 
reading  them — a  plan  which  is  considerably  aided 
by  the  extravagantly  high  prices  charged  for  them  I 
Our  geologists  are  not  particularly  fortunate  in  the 
possession  of  large  salaries,  and  the  high  price 
charged  for  their  memoirs  almost  places  them  be- 
yond the  reach  of  ordinary  readers,  and  thus  con- 
demns the  labours  of  some  of  our  ablest  scientific 
men  to  an  undeserved  obscurity.  Moreover,  the 
niggardly  way  in  which  the  publications  of  our  own 
survey  are  doled  out  to  the  authors,  and  the  plan 
adopted  of  sending  none  out  for  review,  must  be  a 
mode  of  treatment  keenly  felt  by  the  authors,  who  at 
least  ought  to  be  publicly  credited  with  the  scientific 
value  that  would  be  attached  by  all  geologists  to 
their  work.  In  this  respect  the  United  States  Go- 
vernment is  the  very  opposite  of  our  own.  Their 
splendidly  got-up  volumes  are  sent  over  to  the  scien- 
tific journals  of  Europe  without  stint,  and  so  the 
American  States  geologists  obtain  a  recognition 
which  the  unaccountable  stinginess  of  the  British 
Government  denies  to  ours.  Prof.  Lesquereux's 
volume  is  the  best  we  have  seen  of  the  series,  and  it 
will  surely  take  its  place  as  a  most  valuable  contri- 
bution to  Fossil  Botany. 

Ancient  Vegetation. — The  notice  on  this  sub- 
ject in  last  month's  "  Gossip  "  on  American  Silurian 
plants  is  not  quite  correct,  as  plants  have  been  known 
long  since  in  the  "  Glengariff  "  or  "  Dingle  beds  "  of 
Ireland.  These  rocks  were  taken  by  Jukes  out  of  the 
Silurians,  and  put  provisionally  in  the  "Old  Red 
Sandstone,"  on  account  of  the  plants  found  in  them. 
The  "Dingle  beds,"  however,  pass  downward  into 
typical  Silurians,  while  they  are  capped  uncon- 
formably  by  the  "  Old  Red  Sandstone."—  G.  H.  K. 

NOTES    AND    QUERIES, 

Starlings  and  Sparrows'  Eggs.  —  Having 
occasion  to  enter  the  roof  of  our  house,  I  came  across 
the  nest  of  a  house-sparrow,  and  on  looking  into  it 
found  that  it  contained  three  young  ones  just  hatched, 
one  egg  that  was  rotten,  and   to  my  great  surprise  a 


starling's  egg.  This  making  me  rather  curious,  I  pro- 
longed my  search,  and  about  three  yards  from  the 
nest  occupied  by  the  sparrows  I  discovered  a  starling's 
nest  containing  five  or  six  fully-fledged  young  ones. 
I  must  not  forget  to  state  that  the  starling's  egg 
found  in  the  sparrow's  nest  had  apparently  only  been 
sat  upon  but  a  few  days.  Will  any  of  your  readers 
kindly  state  if  such  an  occurrence  is  rare  ? — C.  If. 
Sharp. 

The  Grey  "Lag." — Can  anyone  give  the  mean- 
ing of  the  word  "Lag,"  as  applied  to  the  goose? 
The  proper  grey  wild-goose,  as  recognized  by  natu- 
ralists, is  popularly  called  the  "grey  lag,"  and  the 
universal  summons  to  a  flock  of  geese,  in  part  of 
Gloucestershire,  is — "Come  lag,  Come  lag,  Come 
lag."    Now,  whence  "Lag"?—  G.  L. 

Visits  of  the  Cuckoo. — Does  the  Cuckoo,  like 
the  Swallow,  revisit  the  same  place  yearly?  I  feel 
interested  to  know,  for  this  reason.  Last  year  I  noticed 
many  times  one  of  the  same  colour  as  the  Kestrel, 
quite  red  ;  unfortunately  I  was  not  able  to  secure  it 
for  my  collection  of  birds.  This  year  again  I  have 
also  seen  the  same  bird  or  one  very  much  like  it,  and 
from  this  circumstance  I  am  inclined  to  think  that 
the  bird  does  return  to  the  same  place  ;  but  whether 
I  am  right  or  not  I  cannot  say.  At  the  same  time, 
will  you  be  good  enough  to  describe  for  me  the 
Cuckoo's  egg.  I  have  the  Rev.  F.  O.  Morris's 
"  British  Birds,"  but  the  Cuckoo's  egg  is  not  described 
there,  I  mean  the  colour  of  it.  I  procured  a  little 
while  back  a  very  peculiar  skylark,  of  a  fine  cinna- 
mon colour.  I  have  it  stuffed  in  my  collection. — 
\Vm.  Bennett. 

The  Swift's  Appearance. — The  fact  of  the 
Swift  appearing  on  May  1st  is  not  a  very  unusual 
occurrence.  I  live  to  the  north  of  your  correspondent, 
I  should  therefore  see  it  a  little  later  ;  yet  I  find,  on 
referring  to  my  notes,  that  I  saw  numbers  on  April  30. 
Stragglers  put  in  an  appearance  about  the  28th, 
which  is  about  the  average  date  for  this  city. — 
J.  B.  P.,  Herefoid. 

Varieties  of  Camberwell  Beauty. — In  reply 
to  Mr.  Morse's  inquiry,  I  can  most  certainly  say  that 
he  is  misinformed.  I  have  seen  numbers  of  specimens 
of  European  V.  Anliofa,  and  several  British  ones  ; 
there  is  a  distinct  difference  in  the  shade  of  the  border : 
in  the  former  it  is  pale  yellow,  in  the  latter  a  pearly 
white  or  pale  cream-colour.  American  examples 
vary  again  ;  the  ground  is  the  same  or  a  little  deeper, 
but  more  dappled  with  black  specks  than  the  Euro- 
pean specimens  ;  they  are  also  much  larger.  I  have 
one  that  measures  rather  more  that  3§  inches. — 
7-  B.  P. 

How  to  Destroy  Ants. — In  reply  to  Mr.  George 
Pearce's  question,  as  regards  the  most  successful 
mode  of  destroying  ants,  he  will  find  Keating's 
insect  powder  good,  as  it  will  at  once  kill  them,  and 
if  scattered  about  the  rooms  and  furniture  infested 
by  them,  will  effectually  drive  the  ants  away. — E. 
Edwards. 

Colours  of  Dried  Primroses.— Can  any  of 
your  readers  kindly  inform  me  how  it  is  that  the 
beautiful  colour  of  the  Primula  vulgaris  and  clatior 
should,  when  destroyed,  change  to  a  bright  green, 
leaving  only  the  centre  of  the  corolla  (and  that  a 
small  portion),  together  with  the  stamens,  the  original 
primrose-colour?  The  leaves  turn  brown.  Is  theie 
any  method  of  preserving  this  lovely  flower,  so  as 
to  retain  the  primrose  colour  of  the  petals  ? — E. 
Edwards. 


66 


HARD  Wl  CKE'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OS  SI  P. 


Dittany. — There  is  a  foreign  species  of  Marjoram 
called  "  the  Dittany  of  Crete,"  much  used  in  medi- 
cine, and  known  as  Origanum  Dictamtius,  genus 
Labiate?,  and  the  "Bastard  Dittany,"  Dicta  minis 
Fraxinella,  one  of  a  small  order  of  Rutacea  found  in 
Southern  Europe  and  Asia  Minor,  and  also  the  Cunila 
mariana,  called  Dittany,  likewise  belonging  to  the 
genus  of  Labiates.  This  is  all  I  am  able  to  find  in 
my  botanical  books  concerning  Dittany,  and  I  have 
much  pleasure  in  forwarding  it. — Helen  Watney. 

Mandrake. — Mandragora  is  the  name  applied  to 
a  genus  of  Solanacece  or  Atropaceee,  natives  of  South- 
ern Europe  and  the  East.  Mandrakes  have  poison- 
ous properties,  and  are  somewhat  like  in  their  effects 
to  belladonna.  The  roots  of  the  Bryony  are  often 
trained  round  a  mould,  and  then  sold  as  Mandrakes. 
Linnaeus  considered  the  red-berried  Bryony  a  variety 
of  the  Bryonia  alba,  or  White  Bryony,  which  is  a 
Central  European  species  possessing  like  properties 
to  the  English  species.  --Helen  Watney. 

Robins'  Eggs. — I  found  myself  some  years  ago  a 
robin's  nest,  containing  five  white  eggs,  of  a  larger 
size  than  any  eggs  of  a  robin  that  I  have  ever  seen, 
more  the  size  of  a  cuckoo's  egg.  The  other  day  I  was 
asked  to  name  an  egg,  which  from  the  nest  I  had  no 
hesitation  in  setting  down  as  a  robin's,  too  ;  this  nest 
also  had  contained  five  eggs.  As  both  these  nests 
contained  the  full  complement  of  eggs,  all  of  the 
same  size  and  colour,  they  must  have  been  an  abnor- 
mal production  from  the  birds.  If  there  had  been  a 
single  egg,  I  should  have  concluded  it  to  be  a  while 
cuckoo's.  Is  this  an  unusual  variety  ?  I  have,  you  see, 
come  across  two  such  instances  myself;  others  may 
have  done  the  same. — C.  A.  Haden. 

The  House-Martin  and  House-Sparrow.— 
At  the  commencement  of  the  past  week  two  martins 
began  to  build  under  the  eaves  of  my  house.  Being 
a  great  admirer  of  them  I  was  pleased,  and  hoped 
nothing  would  hinder  the  completion  of  the  nest. 
It  was  not  long,  however,  before  I  noticed  two 
sparrows  taking  more  interest  than  I  liked,  and  after 
five  or  six  days,  when  the  nest  wanted  but  little  to 
finish  it,  they  drove  away  the  rightful  owners,  and 
took  possession.  I  could  not  remain  neutral ;  so 
with  small  pebbles  I  tried  at  intervals  for  two  hours  to 
drive  away  the  sparrows.  This  proved  effective  only 
for  the  moment ;  so  I  thought  of  another  expedient. 
Taking  my  trout-rod,  I  tied  a  piece  of  string  to  the 
end  and  placed  it  within  a  foot  of  the  nest.  I  never 
saw  more  of  the  sparrows,  but  in  less  than  an  hour 
the  martins  recognized  the  altered  state  of  things,  and 
soon  completed  the  nest. — H.  G.,  Horbling  Lodge. 

Birds  Singing  at  Midnight. — In  Science- 
Gossip  for  April  i  of  this  year  there  is  an  account  of 
"Birds  Singing  at  Midnight,"  by  Mr.  R.  Standen. 
Goosnargh,  "Lancashire,  in  which  he  states  that  he 
heard  the  various  songsters  on  the  night  of  Saturday, 
15th  February.  As  I  am  rather  anxious  to  fix  the 
exact  date  of  the  occurrence,  I  should  be  greatly 
obliged  by  your  informing  me  whether  Friday,  the 
15th  February,  or  Saturday,  the  16th,  is  meant  ; 
either  the  day  or  date  being  evidently  a  misprint.—  X. 

Position  of  the  Basque  Flower. — Mr.  Barrett 
asks  in  the  June  number  of  SCIENCE-GOSSIP  whether 
the  finding  of  Anemone  Pulsatilla  at  a  certain  eleva- 
tion "is  a  universal  fact,  or  only  a  partial  one"? 
from  my  own  experience  I  should  say  the  latter. 
I  have  found  it  in  both  situations  ;  but  if  I  remember 
rightly,  in  greater  abundance  in  some  of  the  chalk 
ridges  of  the  North  Downs  than  in  the  lower-lying 
country  around.      I  have   found    it  growing    in    the 


corner  of  a  hay  meadow,  the  land  being  quite  flat,  in 
the  parish  of  Ockham,  .Surrey,  in  close  proximity  to 
some  woodlands.  I  have  also  found  it  growing  some 
two  or  three  miles  off,  in  the  adjoining  parish  of  East 
Horsley,  on  a  piece  of  rising  ground,  or  hilly  pasture, 
and  called  the  "Sheep  Leas." — J.  Mills  Higgins. 

Soi.anum  Dulcamara.  —  In  reference  to  the 
notes  lately  given  about  this  plant,  I  forward  the  fol- 
lowing facts.  In  1869  one  of  my  pupils  partook 
rather  freely  of  the  berries  while  he  was  searching 
one  evening  for  "haws."  On  reaching  home  he 
became  sick,  and  for  several  hours  he  was  in  a  wild 
and  violent  delirium,  requiring  to  be  forcibly  held 
down.  This  happened,  too,  after  the  stomach  had 
been  emptied  of  its  contents,  the  poison  having  had 
time  to  extend  itself  into  the  system.  The  physician 
who  attended  him  at  his  house  told  me  that  the  pupils 
of  the  eyes  were  much  dilated,  and  the  symptoms 
closely  resembled  those  resulting  from  taking  the 
berries  of  Atropa  Belladoima  ;  in  fact,  he  concluded 
that  these  were  the  berries  the  boy  had  eaten.  Ice 
in  large  quantities  was  applied  to  the  head,  and  the 
patient  soon  recovered.  I  copy  this  from  notes  which 
I  made  at  the  time.  It  could  not  be  ascertained  how 
man)*  berries  had  been  eaten. — Henry  Ulyett,  Folke~ 
stone. 

Queries  as  to  Flowers. — To  what  flowers  do 
the  following  lines  allude  ? 

"  One  blossom,  'mid  its  leafy  shade, 
The  virgin's  purity  portrayed  ; 
And  one,  with  cup  all  crimson  dyed, 
Spoke  of  a  Saviour  crucified." 

Holy  Flowers,  M.  Howitt. 

"  So  have  I  seen  some  tender  flower, 
Priz'd  above  all  the  vernal  bower, 
Shelter'd  beneath  the  coolest  shade, 
Embosom'd  in  the  greenest  glade, 
So  frail  a  gem,  it  scarce  may  bear 
The  playful  touch  of  evening  air  ; 
When  hardier  giown,  we  love  it  less, 
And  trust  it  from  our  sight,  not  needing  our  caress." 

Kedle. 

C.  F.  IV. 

Hop-gardens. — I  am  living  in  the  midst  of  hop- 
gardens. Can  any  of  your  readers  kindly  tell  me  if 
there  are  any  curiosities  of  vegetable  or  insect  life  to 
be  gathered  during  the  season  ? — A.  C.  Smith, 
Crowbo7'o\ 

Lob-worms. — In  reference  to  this  subject  by 
Professor  Paley,  in  Science-gossip  for  last  month, 
permit  me  to  say  that  the  materials  found  at  the 
entrance  of  their  holes  had  adhered  accidentally  to 
their  slime,  and  were  rubbed  off  on  entering.  Leaves 
with  stalks  forward  they  do  not  carry,  with  the  thin 
end  forward  they  do,  and  frequently  pass  into  the  hole. 
Lob-worms  clear  away  the  things  they  have  brought 
home,  because  it  is  not  convenient  for  them  to  adhere 
again  when  they  go  out  on  visits  of  ceremony.  In 
clean-swept  lawns  these  encumbrances  are  not  met 
with,  and  the  entrance  to  the  holes  is  not  obstructed. 
Crass  and  leaves  may  be  eaten  by  these  worms,  but  I 
do  not  think  they  are  taken  to  the  hole,  and  then  left 
at  the  entrance  for  breakfast.  Fifty  years  ago  and 
more  I  used  to  handle  these  creatures  as  Isaac  Walton 
did— tenderly.— //.  P.  M. 

Blackbirds'  Nest. — A  pair  of  blackbirds  have 
built  a  nest  just  six"  feet  from  the  ground  in  a  honey- 
suckle climbing  up  a  verandah  outside  our  drawing- 
room  window,  and  close  to  a  door  which  is  in  constant 
use  for  going  in  and  out  of  the  garden.  They  have 
now  hatched  their  young  ones  in  spite  of  all  the  dis- 
turbance arising  from  curious  eyes  watching  them, 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


167 


and  from  three  little  terriers  constantly  playing  and 
barking  immediately  under  the  nest. — M.  T.  Palmer. 

Batrachospermum,  &c. —  I  cannot  say  whether 
I  shall  be  giving  any  or  new  interesting  information 
when  I  inform  your  readers  that  recently  the  Misses 
Willis  brought  some  fine  examples  of  the  lovely  fresh- 
water alga,  Batrochospermum  monilifornu  from  the 
stream  at  Ewell.  And  that  Mr.  Morse,  of  the  original 
Epsom  nurseries,  discovered  in  the  same  parish,  a 
habitat  for  Cystopterts  fragilis. — John  E.  Daniels, 
Epsom. 

Malformation  in  a  Sheep. — I  saw  lately  in 
London  a  handsome  well-grown  wether  sheep  two 
years  old,  with  five  legs,  the  extra  one  being  apparently 
anchylozed  to  the  right  scapula.  The  shank-bone 
was  full-sized,  but  instead  of  one  set  of  the  other  feet 
bones  there  were  two,  the  four  hoofs  being  prolonged 
into  claws.  I  have  often  met  with  monstrosities,  but 
not  often  so  full-grown. — A.  Bell. 

Double  Lilac— In  a  garden  at  Southend  I  have 
observed  a  lilac-tree  covered  with  double  flowers. 
The  owner  told  me  that  five  or  six  years  ago  this 
peculiarity  was  first  remarked  on  one  or  two  branches 
only.  The  quantity  gradually  increased,  and  now 
the  whole  tree  is  nearly  covered  with  double  blossoms. 
There  are  other  lilac-trees  in  the  garden  which  have 
never  shown  any  disposition  to  become  double.  Is 
this  an  uncommon  circumstance  ?  I  have  never  met 
with  it  before. — E.  Fisher. 

Superstitious  Dislike  to  the  Wren. — In 
February's  Science-Gossip,  Mr.  H.  Allingham,  in 
an  interesting  note,  speaks  of  the  bitter  dislike  which 
the  country  folk  in  some  districts  entertain  to  the 
Wren.  I  have  occasionally  met  with  instances  of  this 
superstition  myself,  but  have  always  been  unable  to 
trace  the  reason  for  such  an  aversion.  Mr.  Allingham 
says  the  Wren  has  been  designated  the  "devil's  bird." 
Has  he  heard  the  old  couplet  which  says — 

"The  robin  and  the  wren 
Are  God's  cock  and  hen  ?  " 

Apropos  of  this  bird,  I  may  mention  that  on  Satur- 
day, the  1 2th  January,  a  newly-built  wren's  nest, 
containing  five  eggs,  was  discovered  at  Galley  Hill, 
near  Gravesend. — G.  O.  Howell,  Shooter's  Hill. 

Double-blossomed  Horse-chestnut. — In  the 
New  London-road,  Chelmsford,  during  May,  a  horse- 
chestnut  tree  in  the  garden  belonging  to  Weston  Villa 
was  in  full  bloom.  The  flowers  were  apparently  all 
the  subjects  of  multiplication,  for  in  a  panicle,  which 
I  took  the  liberty  to  pluck,  I  found  twenty-four  petals, 
and  twenty  stamens  in  one  flower,  and  from  the 
general  appearance  of  the  flowers  on  the  tree  they 
seemed  more  or  less  like  it.  The  tree  is  well-grown 
and  vigorous,  equalling  in  height  the  villa  near  which 
it  stands  ;  but  is  by  no  means  old,  so  that  it  may  be  a 
study  for  botanists  during  many  years  to  come. — 
John  Gibbs. 

Ranunculus  repens. — In  Cheshire  the  curious 
or  strange  name  of  DeviPs-claw  is  applied  to  this 
species,  but  in  "Flora  Vectensis"  it  is  stated  the 
term  is  used  to  an  allied  species,  the  R.  arvensis. 

The  Natterjack  Toad  (p.  142).— This  reptile 
emits  a  rather  strong  sulphurous  scent  when 
frightened  ;  but  only  extremely  fastidious  persons 
could  consider  it  "a  most  intolerable  odour."  The 
locality  nearest  to  London  in  which  I  have  found  the 
animal  is  Barnes  Common,  where  it  was  very  abundant 
seven  or  eight  years  ago.  It  is  also  to  be. found  on 
Coombe  Warren,  between  Wimbledon  Common  and 
Kingston.—  IV.  R.   Tale,  Blandford,  Dorset. 


Cheap  Aquaria.—  For  the  benefit  of  "W.  D.  B.," 
who  asks  for  a  way  of  constructing  a  cheap  aquarium, 
I  will  describe  the  primitive  one  I  have  in  use.  It  is 
simply  a  "carboy,"  such  as  can  be  procured  at  any 
chemical  works  for  a  small  amount  of  money.  To 
convert   it    into  an  aquarium  lay  a  ring  about  ten 

]  inches  in  diameter  on  top  of  it  for  a  guide,  and  run  a 
glazier's  diamond  around,  then  use  a  hot  wire,  and  you 
have  a  clean  cut  edge,  which  you  can  set  off  a  little 
by  binding  with  tinfoil  or  something  of   a  similar 

■  nature.  _  I  don't  know  the  exact  capacity  of  mine, 
but  believe  it  approximates  something  near  fifteen 
gallons.  For  keeping  in  stock  objects  for  the  micro- 
scope, such  as  entomostraca,  infusoria,  &c,  I  prefer 
a  small  globe  holding  not  more  than  two  or  three 
pints.—  H.  F.  Atwood,  Chieago,  U.S. 


NOTICES   TO    CORRESPONDENTS, 


To  Correspondents  and  Exchangers.  —  As  we  now 
publish  Science-Gossip  a  week  earlier  than  heretofore,  we 
cannot  possibly  insert  in  the  following  number  any  communi- 
cations which  reach  us  later  than  the  oth  of  the  previous 
month. 


V.  G.— The  insect,  of  which  you  sent  us  a  sketch,  is  Lioellula 
deprcssa. 

E.  E.  Evans  (Brimscombe).— Hewitson,  in  his  "  Eggs  of 
British  Birds,"  gives  no  markings  on  the  eggs  of  the  Martin 
(Hirundo  urbica).  They  are  nearly  white,  with  a  slight  plum- 
coloured  tint  at  the  smaller  end. 

T.  Spencer  Smithson.—  Your  letter  inquiring  the  name  of 
a  diatom  did  not  contain  any  specimens  when  it  reached  us. 

R.  J.  S.— The  plants  are  not  "Rushes,"  but  " Cotton- 
sedges "  or  "Cotton-grasses"  {Eriophorum  potystachynnr) 
common  in  all  marshes.  Its  economical  employment  has  been 
frequently  attempted,  but  hitherto,  we  believe,  without  suc- 
cess. 

W.  C.  Penny  (Frome). — The  figure  of  Nynrphon  gracile,  m 
the  last  number  of  Science-Gossip,  is  ten  times  the  size  of  the 
animal.  You  will  find  an  account  of  it  in  Taylor's  "Half- 
Hours  at  the  Sea-side,"  from  which  the  above-mentioned  illus- 
tration was  taken. 

Warrawarra  (St.  Vincents,  W.I.). — The  specimen  en- 
closed was  a  species  of  Mistletoe  {Viscum).  Could  you  send  a 
larger  specimen  ? 

C.  T.  M.  (Plymouth).—  The  ferns  were  respectively,  Uliairtnm 
trapcziforme  and  Pteris  tremula. 

S.  K.  A.  (Stafford). — Your  specimens  are — No.  i.  Weasel- 
snout  {Galeobdolon  Interim,  L.).  No.  2.  Wood  Sanicle  (Sani- 
crtla  curopczd). 

C.  S.  (Sevenoaks).— Many  thanks  for  the  specimens  of 
orchids. 

R.  R.  (Earlstown,  N.B.).— The  fern  No.  1,  is  very  rare 
(Asplenium  lanceolatum).  No.  2,  the  Common  Male-fern  {Las- 
trea  Filix-mas).     No.  3,  Lastrea  dilatata. 

G.  Clinch.— Many  thanks  for  your  excellently-mounted 
specimen  of  fossil  wood. 

L.  L. — Get  the  "  Collector's  Handy-book  of  Algse.  Diatoms, 
Desmids,  Fungi,  Lichens,  and  Mosses,"  translated  and  edited 
by  the  Rev.  W.  XV.  Spicer,  and  published  by  Messrs.  Hardwicke 
&  Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly,  at  2s.  6d. 

Prof.  Tempere. — The  plant  you  enclosed  was  Brassier 
monensis.  It  is  confined  in  its  distribution  to  the  western  and 
south-eastern  coasts. 

E.  W.  Andrews. — Your  specimen  is  Ranunculus  divergens, 
Schulz,  though  a  much  smaller  one  than  we  have  seen  before. 

G.  S.  Mitchell.— Yes ;  the  place  of  birth  does  not  affect 
the  children. 

R.  Bolton. — The  following  are  well  known  elementary  books 
on  geology: — Taylor's  "  Geological  Stories"  ;  "Geology,"  by 
J.  Clifton  Ward,  F.G.S.  ;  Jukes'  "Geology,"  new  edition,  by 
Jukes-Brown  :  Skertchley's  "  Geology,"  and  Tate's  "  Geology," 
published  by  Lockwood  &  Co. 

N.  O.  (Brompton). — Your  insects  are — No.  1,  R.  crattrgata  ; 
2,  Y.  ruberaiit ;  3,  M.  hastata  ;  4,  T.  balis ;  and  5,  X, 
camelin  7. 


EXCHANGES. 

Aceras  anthropophora,  Gagea  Irrtea,  Silene  coniccr,  Scirpus 
pungens,  &c. ,  for  Orchis  incamata,  Scirpus  triqrteter,  Pynts 
communis,  Potentilla  rnpestris.  Carcx  tomortosa,  Lychnis 
alpina,  dr*c. — G.  C.  Druce,  Northampton. 


i68 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 


Having  about  two  dozen  duplicates,  well  mounted,  I  shall 
be  glad  to  exchange  them.  For  list,  &c,  write  to  F.  M. 
Swallow,  Charing  Cross  Hospital,  London. 

Wanted,  good  gathering  of  Plcurosigma  angulation,  for 
Diatoms,  slides,  material,  or  cash. — Eug.  Mauler,  Travers, 
Switzerland. 

Diatoms. — Material  from  Santa  Monica,  containing,  among 
other  good  forms,  Aulacodiscus  pulchcr,  Actiuoptychus  Griin- 
dlii,  &c.  &c.  Also  material  from  islands  of  Fur,  Trinacria,  &c, 
very  fine.  Guanos  and  recent  material  required.  Send  list. — 
W.  M.  Paterson,  Westfield-terrace,  Loftus. 

Can  offer  sets  of  many  rare  and  valuable  British  Eggs,  side- 
blown,  for  others  equally  rare  and  valuable. — All  letters 
answered. — T.  \V.  Dealy,  140,  Clarence-street,  Sheffield. 

Fossils  from  the  Red  Crag,  to  exchange  for  those  of  the 
Barton  Series,  or  from  the  Gault. — Rev.  H.  B.  Capel,  Great 
Easton  Rectory,  Dunmow,  Essex. 

"  Cultivated  Vegetables,"  by  Philips,  handsomely  bound 
in  calf,  2  vols.,  1822,  ten  inches  by  six.  Also  "  Pomarium 
Brittanicum,"  by  same  author,  in  1  vol.,  same  binding,  &c,  in 
exchange  for  back  vols,  of  Science-Gossip,  Monthly  Ento- 
mologist, or  Ray  Society's  publications  ;  value  20s. — G.  N. 
Minnitt,  5,  Regent-street,  Nottingham. 

Nitella  translucens,  showing  circulation,  in  exchange  for 
well-mounted  Slide. — J.  B.,  36,  Windsor-terrace,  Glasgow. 

Send  well-mounted  Slide  in  exchange  for  an  Anatomical 
specimen  (mounted).  — E.  Atkins,  200,  Essex-road,  Islington, 
London. 

Wanted  (about  one  dozen  each)  Fresh  Specimens  of  513 
and  875  (7th  edition);  also  Ecbolium.  Exchange  rare  plants, 
&c. —  Higginson,  Newferry,  Birkenhead. 

A  few  well-mounted  Slides  to  exchange.  Lists  to  Tho. 
Shipton,  Chesterfield. 

An  Album  of  eighty  Micro-photographs  of  nearly  200  of  the 
Diatomaces,  magnified  250  to  4000  diameters,  in  exchange  for 
first-class  J-inch  Objective,  or  first-class  Micro  Slides  (ap- 
proval).—Address,  Dr.  Redmayne,  Bolton,  Lancashire. 

Wanted,  foreign  Land  and  Fresh-water  or  Marine  Shells, 
also  British  Birds'  Eggs,  in  exchange  for  British  Land  and 
Fresh-water  Shells,  and  foreign  Land  and  Marine.  Dupli- 
cates of  about  100  varieties  of  each. — W.  Sutton,  Upper  Clare- 
mont,  Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

Well-mounted  Physiological  specimens  in  exchange  for 
unmounted  material  of  interest. — George  Baker,  37,  Cross- 
street,  N. 

For  sEcidium  tussilaginis  send  stamped  directed  envelope, 
and  object  of  interest,  to  Charles  F.  W.  T.  Williams,  King- 
meade,  Woolcott  Park,  Redland,  Bristol. 

Orchis  Simia,  Lam.,  for  either  37,  106,  459,  511,  546,  949, 
955,  1222,  1223,  1279,  1286,  1329,  1410,  1669,  or  1678,  7th 
edition  Lon.  Cat. — A.  B.,  107,  High-street,  Croydon. 

Parasite  of  Crow,  or  other  insect  preparations,  mounted  in 
balsam,  in  exchange  for  Eggs  of  insects,  Diatoms  or  soundings, 
mounted  opaque.  — J.  Horn.  5,  Belle-vue-square,  Scarboro'. 

For  unmounted  Hair  of  Vampire  Bat  and  Seal,  send  stamped 
envelope  and  object  of  interest. — E.  J.  Wilson,  14,  Albion-road, 
Dalston,  E. 

I  should  be  glad  to  exchange  Lepidoptera  with  collectors 
on  the  Continent  or  elsewhere.  —  Roland  Green,  Rainham, 
Kent. 

C.  cdusa,  M.  cinxia,  V.  polycliloros,  L.  adonis,  L.  cory- 
don,  A.  ulmata,  and  others,  offered  for  Lepidoptera  in  any 
stage.— W.  Jordan,  Cockfield,  Sudbury,  Suffolk. 

Sea  Birds'  Eggs  (such  as  Guillemots,  Razorbills  Kitta- 
wakes,  Puffins),  to  exchange  for  other  Eggs,  side-blown,  or 
Butterflies.  —  Geo.  W.  Coultas,  High -street,  Bridlington, 
Yorks. 

Polariscope  Object. — On  receipt  of  stamped  and  addressed 
envelope,  will  be  happy  to  forward  a  small  portion  of  "'  Arra- 
gonite  "  from  coal  measures.  Described  in  Science-Gossip, 
1877,  page  192,  in  reply  to  J.  J.  M.— Address,  J.  J.  Morgan, 
5,  Prospect-place,  Tredegar. 

Beautiful  opaque  object  (mounted),  Orbulina,  from  Ber- 
muda, for  other  good  Foraminifera  or  Diatoms. — J.  Ford, 
Wood  View,  Newbridge  Crescent,  Wolverhampton. 

Nos.  171,  625,  1071,  for  477,  500,  517.  Lists  exchanged.  A 
very  extensive  list  of  duplicates  can  be  supplied  by  C.  A.  O., 
76,  Trafalgar-road,  Old  Kent-road. 

Plants  of  Asarunt  curopa-um,  or  Asarabacca,  in  exchange 
for  rare  British  Ferns  or  flowering  plants. — James  W.  Lloyd, 
Kington    Herefordshire. 

Well-mounted  Slide  of  part  of  Caterpillar,  showing  spira- 
cles. &c,  offered  for  good  clean  material,  unmounted. — 
J.   Neville,  Wellington-road    Handsworth,  Staffordshire. 

I  have  fine  specimens  (collected  last  month)  of  Fritillaria 
meleagris,  which  I  should  be  glad  to  exchange  for  an  example 
of  Utricularia  vulgaris,  if  collected  this  season,  or  Hiero- 
chloc  borealis.  —  G.  Garrett,  Harland  House,  Tyler-street, 
Ipswich. 

Hcematopinus  spinulosus  from  rat,  and  H.  vituli  from 
calf,  offered  for  other  animal  paraMtes.  Send  list  to  H.  E. 
Freeman,  1,  Templeton-road,  Finsbury-park,  N. 

Scientific  Books  and  Microscopic  Slides,  offered  for  Marine 
Animals  in  spirits,  especially  Cephalopods  and  Echinoderms. — 
Wm.  Cash,  38,  Elmfield-terrace,  Halifax.  | 


Side-blown  Eggs,  300  varieties,  including  Golden  and  other 
Eagles,  Ospreys,  Falcons,  Owls,  Greenshanks,  Buzzards,  Cup- 
bills,  Stints,  Chough,  Bartram's  Sandpipers,  Cranes,  Storks, 
Aquatic  Warblers,  Bohemian  Waxwings,  Pine  Grosbeaks, 
Great-spotted  and  Yellow-billed  Cuckoos,  Belted  Kingfishers, 
Bustards,  Buff-backed  and  great  White  Herons,  Green  Sand- 
pipers, little  and  glaucous  and  other  Gulls,  and  many  other 
varieties.  Write  for  list.  Exchange  wanted. — J.  W.  Sissons, 
11,  Priory-road,  Sheffield. 

Pathological  Specimens  wanted,  either  hardened  or  recent. 
Choice  Slides  of  very  superior  finish,  or  select  unmounted 
materials  (of  which  lists  will  be  forwarded)  are  offered  in 
exchange. — Dr.  Marsh,  Duke-street,  St.  Helen's. 

Wanted,  one  or  two  good  specimens  of  Calymene  Blumcn- 
bachii.  I  will  give  a  good  exchange  in  Cambridge  Greensand 
fossils. — J.  W.  Carr,  Union-terrace,  Cambridge. 

Several  thousand  specimens  of  British  Shells,  Fossils, 
Minerals,  Slabs  of  Polished  Coral,  Madrepores,  also  specimens 
from  Deep-Sea  Dredgings,  for  Foreign  Shells,  Fossils  from 
the  Gault  (if  good  specimens),  and  all  other  kinds  of  Fossils, 
particularly  Trilobites,  or  Fossil  Crustacea  of  any  kind. — 
A.  J.  R.  Sclater,  4,  Bank-street,  Teignmouth. 

Wanted,  Avicula  Tarentina,  Anomia  striata,  A.  patelli- 
formis.  Area  tetragona,  Pandora  rostrata,,  P.  obtusa, 
Tliracia  couvc.xa,  Thracia  pubescetis,  Psammobia  vespcrtina, 
P.  costnlata,  P.  tellinelta,  Venus  casina,  V.  verrucosa, 
V.  fasciata,  Astarte \elliptica,  A.  sulcata,  A.  crcbricostata, 
Pecton  Audouinii,  Pcctcu  danicus,  P.  tigrinus,  P.  similis, 
P.  striatus,  P.  furtivus,  for  British  Shells,  if  in  stock. — 
A.  J.  R.  Sclater,  4,  Bank-street,  Teignmouth. 

"The  Zoologist,"  2nd  Series,  complete,  in  parts,  January, 
1866,  to  December,  1876,  and  vol.  i.  of  the  3rd  Series,  1877. 
12  volumes  ;  also  Gmelin's  (S.  G.)  Historia  Fucoruni,  33 
plates,  4to.,  old  calf,  1768  ;  also  a  Mahogany  Box  (16"  x  8") 
containing  specimens  exemplary  of  the  manufacture  of  Alum, 
from  its  raw  state  up  to  the  perfect  crystal  (a  large  crystal  of 
Alum,  14  inches  long), for  works  on  Fungi, &c.  Greville's  Crypto- 
gamic  Flora,  or  Sowerby's  Fungi  wanted. — C.  Perceval, 
Hanbury,  Bristol. 

For  specimen  of  Anemone  Pulsatilla,  send  address  to  John 
W.  Carr,  Union-terrace,  Cambridge. 

For  parasites  from  Horse  or  Mole,  send  well-mounted  Slide 
to  George  Turvill,  East  Worldham,  Alton,  Hants. 

Birds'  Eggs,  side-blown,  labelled  ;  well  marked  and^selected 
specimens ;  all  ready  for  placing  in  cabinet  ;  300  varieties. 
Exchange  arranged  by  letter.  Send  at  once  for  full  list,  post- 
free,  Henry  Sissons,  Westbourne-road,  Sheffield. 

A  naturalist,  who  is  going  on  a  dredging  cruise  round  the 
South  and  West  coast  of  England,  would  be  glad  to  hear  from 
a  gentleman  having  similar  tastes  who  would  be  willing  to  join 
him  and  pay  a  small  part  of  the  expense.  For  further  particu- 
lars address  C.  P.  Ogilvie,  F.L.S.,  Sizewell  House,  Leiston, 
Suffolk. 


BOOKS,  &c,  RECEIVED. 

"  Contributions  to  the  Fossil  Flora  of  the  Western  Terri- 
tories." Part  II.  The  Tertiary  Flora.  By  Prof.  Lesquereux. 
Washington  :    Government  Printing  Office.     1878. 

"  The  Insect  Fauna  of  the  Recent  and  Tertiary  Periods." 
By  H.  Goss,  F.L.S.,  F.G.S. 

"  Industrial  Art."  June. 

"  Midland  Naturalist."         ,, 

"  Land  and  Water."  ,, 

"  Chambers' Journal."  ,, 

"American  Naturalist."       ,, 

"  Botanische  Zeitung."     May. 

"  Der  Zoologische  Garten."     No.  4. 

"  Comptes  Rendus."     No.  20. 

"  Feuille  des  Jeunes  Naturalistes."     June. 

"Journal  de  5licrographie."     May. 

"  Boston  Journal  of  Chemistry." 

"Ben.  Brierley's  Journal." 

&c.         &c.         &c. 


Communications   received  up  to   June  8th, 
J.  M.  M.— S.  G.  P.— A.   B.— L.  L.— R.  W.— A.  A 
W.  H.  P.— E.  W.  A.— J.  T.— J.  F.  R.— G.  H.  K.— 
_W.  B.— W.  H.  S.—  A.  C.  S.— G.  N.— E.  de  B.  M.- 
_S.  W.— W.  E.  R.— T.   B.  W.— Col.  G.   E.  B.— J. 
J.  M.  H.— G.  N.  M.— W.  P.— H.  G.-H.  U.— G.  P. 
— E.    M.— T.    W.    D.-C.    S.— W.    W.— M.    J.    P 
H.  B.  C— A.  R.—  A.   B.-W.  C—  J.  W.  C— V.  G. 
G.   C.   D.  —  J.    H.   M.  — H.    E.    W.  —  H.    S.  — J. 
W.  C.  P.— C.  A.  S.-E.  L— W.  F.  A.- A.  M.  McA. 
— Q.  C— Prof.  B.-R.  J.  S.  -J.    P.  G.— G.  S.-G. 
J.    B.    P.— J.   W.    L.— Dr.    R.    B.— J.    F.— B.    M. 
J.  J.   M.— M.   M.   B.-J.   W.   N.-H.   E.   F.-H. 
E.     S.-G.     W.     C.-J.    H.— M.   V.— W.    J.— W. 
W.   C.  P.— G.   C— E.   E.   E.— R.   G.-E.   J.  W.- 
A.   B.— F.  W.   E.  S— J.  B.-C.   F.  W.  T.  W.— J. 
J.  W.  S.— Dr.  M.— J.  W.  B.— H.  N.  B.— G.   G.— 
G.  B.— W.  S.— W.  A.   H.— C.  F.  W.-J.  T.  G.-C. 
E.  E.— I.  C—  E.  D.  B.— T.  S.  S.— F.   M.— T.  S.- 
Dr.  R.— J.  T.  G.— C.  S.  P.  P.— &c.  &c.  &c. 


from : — 

.-].  B.- 

W.  H.  P. 

-F.  M.  S. 

M.  W.— 

-J.  E.  D. 

-J.   C- 

— E.  E.— 

K.   A.— 

—Prof.  G. 

M.  D.~ 

O.    L.— 

P.    M.— 

R.    T.— 

-J.    H.- 

M.    C- 

W.  D.— 

W.  B.— 

H.  H.— 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE-G  OS  SIP. 


169 


ANOTHER   WAY   OF    MAKING    PLASTER    CASTS 

OF    FISHES,    &.C 

By  J.  H.  LAMPREY,  Editor  of  "Industrial  Art." 


M 

1! 

illi§il 

I 

^vSftfi^+r 

AVING  made  many  hun- 
dreds of  casts  of  sea  and 
fresh-water  fishes,  and 
having  tested  every  method 
I  have  seen  employed,  I 
have  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  simplest 
and  most  effectual  plan 
is  the  following  : — Place 
the  fish  on  a  board,  pin 
out  its  fins  and  tail  neatly 
with  ordinary  pins,  pass  some  brown  paper  or 
tow  inside  the  mouth,  in  order  to  raise  the 
eye  if  sunken  from  any  cause,  or  to  force  asunder 
the  lines  of  the  mouth  and  operculum,  which 
become  contracted  after  death ;  place  some  putty 
under  the  dorsal  fin,  and  then  trim  away  all  that 
extends  beyond  its  outline.  The  fish  is  now  ready  to 
mould  from.  Next,  take  a  long  strip  of  thin  sheet  zinc, 
about  two  or  three  inches  deep,  and  place  it  in  the 
form  of  a  wall  all  round  the  fish,  and  about  one  inch 
from  it,  at  every  point  ;  partly  split  asunder  a  fire- 
wood stick,  and  with  it  clip  the  free  ends  of  the  zinc 
wall,  drive  in  a  twelvepenny  nail  at  each  end  to  keep 
this  wall  steady.  Bear  in  mind  that  both  the  pin 
points  and  the  nails  need  only  sticking  in  the  wood 
in  the  most  temporary  way.  Now  take  some  plaster 
of  Paris  in  a  cup,  and,  after  mixing  it  as  thin  as  cream, 
smear  the  inside  of  the  zinc  along  its  edge  where  it 
comes  in  contact  with  the  board,  and  pour  some  down 
the  place  of  junction  near  the  clip.  In  a  few  minutes 
this  extemporized  dish  is  water-tight ;  now  nearly  fill 
it  with  the  cleanest  water  procurable,  and  sprinkle 
rapidly  from  a  ladle  some  common  or  second-rate 
plaster  of  Paris,  coloured  with  a  little  washing-blue, 
over  the  fish  until  it  is  just  covered  with  plaster  ;  now 
lay  four  pieces  of  strong  cord  across  the  fish,  leaving 
the  .ends  over  the  sides  of  the  zinc  receptacle  ;  having 
arranged  these  cords  so  that  they  just  touch  the 
plaster,  without  any  loss  of  time  continue  to  pour  in 
the  dry  plaster  until  the  vessel  is  full,  or  there  is  at 
No.  164. 


least  one  inch  of  plaster  over  the  highest  part  of  the 
fish,  then  remove  the  cords  by  lifting  each  end  at 
once  ;  as  soon  as  the  plaster  is  set,  break  away  the 
zinc  band,  and  strike  the  board  sharply  with  a  hammer 
until  the  plaster  becomes  detached  ;  if  it  sticks 
closely,  pour  a  pail  of  water  over  the  plaster,  and  it 
will  at  once  give  way.  Turning  over  the  mould  we 
have  the  fish  buried  in  the  case,  or  mould  of  plaster, 
with  only  a  very  small  portion  of  the  underside  of  the 
fish  exposed  where  it  rested  on  the  board.  Proceed 
to  break  away  the  thin  coat  of  plaster  which  has 
settled  along  the  margin  until  only  an  inch  of  plaster, 
or  even  less,  remains  from  the  fish  outline  ;  remove 
the  putty  from  the  under  portion  of  the  back  fin,  pull 
out  the  padding  from  the  mouth,  and  then  lift  up  the 
tail,  draw  the  thin  end  of  the  fish  slightly  backwards 
and  upwards;  be  careful  not  to  injure  the  surface,  but 
get  out  the  jaws  and  raise  out  the  back.  Use  no  force 
that  would  break  the  fine  surface  of  the  mould.  If 
need  be,  open  the  fish,  and  remove  the  intestines, 
and  so  give  more  space  for  getting  out  the  fish  ;  this 
being  successfully  accomplished,  dip  the  whole  mould 
in  water,  and  then  pour  in  a  spoonful  of  naphtha, 
which  will  cover  the  cast  with  its  oily  adhesion ;  wash 
it  again  with  water,  and  place  the  mould  in  a  vessel 
of  water  ;  pour  in  the  plaster  so  that  it  will  fill  the 
interior  of  the  mould,  but  have  ready  some  copper 
bell-wire  bent  to  fit  the  tail,  back  fin,  and  pectoral 
fin,  if  raised  at  all.  No  care  need  be  bestowed  upon 
the  shapes  of  these  wire  supports  so  long  as  they  are 
flat  and  just  roughly  define  the  form  of  the  tail  and 
back  fin  ;  the  plaster  must  be  poured  over  the  mould 
in  sufficient  quantity  to  represent  the  board  on  which 
the  fish  was  resting.  By  casting  under  water  there 
are  no  air-bubbles,  and  the  plaster  is  homogeneous. 
After  a  few  hours,  which  may  be  profitably  spent  in 
cleaning  up  the  work-table  of  all  the  filthy  plaster, 
the  plaster-mould  must  be  plunged  into  cold  water, 
and  the  table  on  which  it  i-ests  must  be  struck  with  a 
mallet.  To  cause  the  mould  to  separate  from  the  cast, 
take  a  chisel,  and  where  the  line  is  defined  by  the 

1 


170 


HARD W1CKE 'S   SCIENCE ■  G OSSIP. 


plaster  of  the  mould  tinted  with  washing-blue  and 
the  perfectly  white  plaster  of  a  better  description 
used  in  the  casting,  insert  the  edge  of  a  broad  chisel, 
and  tap  it  gently  with  the  mallet ;  make  several  very 
cautious  attempts  along  the  edge  of  the  two  plasters, 
until  there  is  an  evident  sign  of  a  parting  having  taken 
place ;  now  plunge  the  whole  under  water,  or  pour 
some  over  the  edge,  and  the  shrinkage  will  give  the 
desired  cleavage.  If,  in  endeavouring  to  break  open 
the  plaster,  a  portion  of  the  cast  is  knocked  away,  it 
can  be  replaced,  the  cords  drawn  up  through  the  half 
set  plaster  have  served  to  cut  it  up,  but  if  the  fish  is 
round,  and  the  plaster  has  much  "under-cutting,"  it 
will  require  much  skill  to  break  away  the  mould 
without  injury  to  the  cast  beneath.  It  will  be  well, 
therefore,  to  commence  operations  with  a  flat  fish, 
whose  head,  mouth,  and  eyes  are  the  only  highly 
developed  portions  ;  the  fins  can  be  pinned  out,  after 
the  skin  has  been  washed  with  great  care,  to  remove 
all  the  slime  with  which  most  fish  are  covered.  The 
body  of  the  mould  taken  from  a  flat  fish  of  course 
will  come  away  like  a  seal,  the  impression  beneath 
being  devoid  of  undercutting,  but  the  head  of  the  fish 
cast  requires  great  care,  as  about  it  are  portions  of 
great  delicacy  of  structure  which  may  break  away, 
Casts  of  fishes  in  plaster  are  only  of  value  to  the 
student ;  they  are  heavy,  and  liable  to  injury  ;  to  be 
worth  having,  fish-casts  should  be  made  in  paper. 
From  the  plaster  moulds  we  have  described  these 
paper  casts  are  made  by  successive  layers  of  clean 
white  paper,  and  paste  made  from  rice  flour,  backed  by 
coarse  paper,  chips,  and  thick  wood  shavings,  inter- 
spersed in  the  work,  or  a  bit  of  common  wire  netting 
cut  to  fit  the  mould,  if  the  fish  to  be  represented  is 
large  in  size,  as  a  salmon  or  pollack.  The  first  layers 
of  white  paper  need  being  spread  with  extreme  care, 
and  if  edges  do  occur  in  these  first  layers,  the  paper 
must  be  torn  and  not  cut,  as  the  joining  cannot  other- 
wise be  concealed.  The  plaster  cast  cannot  be  painted, 
all  the  attempts  to  make  plaster  and  colour  agree  having 
hitherto  failed,  andwhere gilding  is  resorted  to,  the  sharp- 
ness of  the  cast  is  utterly  ruined.  The  paper  cast  can 
be  painted  in  fine  washes  of  water-colour,  or  gold  and 
silver.  The  varnish  over  water-colour  does  not.injure 
the  sharpness  of  the  mould,  and  it  is  possible  so  to 
imitate  a  fish,  in  this  way,  that  the  veiy  keenest 
angler  may  be  deceived  as  to  the  material.  l  There 
are  some  fishes  which  can  be  cast  showing  both  sides, 
as  a  gurnard,  or  a  cat-fish.  Suspended  by  a  fine 
line,  these  casts  are  capable  of  accurately  representing 
the  originals,  but  there  is  one  difficulty  about  plaster 
casting, — it  is,  without  exception,  the  dirtiest  occupa- 
tion upon  which  an  amateur  can  engage  himself. 
The  plaster  (if  not  properly  dealt  with)  will  follow 
the  operator  over  the  house,  adhering  to  his  boots 
and  clothes,  and  hands,  to  the  great  discontent  of 
servants  and  others,  who  object  to  the  filthy  traces 
which  are  so  difficult  to  remove  from  floors  and 
carpets. 


IS     THE     BLACKNESS      ON     ST.     PAUL'S 

MERELY    THE    EFFECT    OF    SMOKE  ? 

By    Professor    Paley,    M.A. 

MANY  years  ago  I  took  a  great  deal  of  pains 
to  investigate  a  question  which  to  many, 
perhaps,  will  appear  both  trifling  and  useless,  but 
Avhich  really  has  an  important  bearing  on  the  aspect 
of  our  great  public  buildings.  It  is  often  said,  that 
Paris  is  not  such  a  smoky  city  as  London,  because 
the  stone  buildings  are  much  whiter.  The  north  side 
of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  must,  from  its  extreme  black- 
ness (curiously  relieved  as  it  is  by  lines  and  patches 
of  light),  have  attracted  the  attention  and  excited 
the  regret  of  most  observers.  There  are  other 
buildings,  of  course,  built  with  the  same  kind  of  stone, 
which  are  equally  black  ;  there  are  even  towns,  such 
as  Bath,  built  entirely  of  a  similar  (oolite)  stone, 
where  all  the  new  houses  are  of  a  rich  creamy  colour, 
but  most  of  those  built  a  hundred  years  ago  are  as 
black  as  a  piece  of  black  cloth. 

From  investigations  I  made,  and  which  I  think 
worth  being  recorded,  in  order  that  further  inquiries 
may  be  conducted  with  patient  and  scientific  care,  I 
was  led  to  believe  that  this  blackness  is  due  to  a 
hitherto  unknown  and  undescribed  species  of  lichen. 

Two  of  its  peculiarities  are,  that  it  only  grows 
upon  some  kinds  of  limestone,  and  it  will  not  grow 
where  the  rays  of  the  sun  fall  directly  upon  the  sur- 
face. 

I  first  noticed  the  latter  fact  in  a  wall  of  rusticated 
Italian  work  at  Cambridge.  It  faced  due  west,  and 
it  overlooked  the  country  for  many  miles,  so  that 
smoke  was  not  likely  to  have  caused  the  blackness. 
The  whole  wall  in  this  part  reminded  me  somewhat 
of  the  lights  and  shades  of  a  photograph.  Those 
surfaces  were  quite  black  on  which  the  sun  could  not 
fall,  and  those  remained  quite  white  on  which  the 
rays  were  directly  incident.  I  concluded  that,  at 
least,  sun-light  was  in  some  way  concerned  in  the 
appearance  produced.  But  what  reason  can  possibly 
be  alleged  why  a  stone  should  contract  less  soot  in 
the  light  than  in  the  dark  ? 

I  proceeded  to  scrape  off  some  of  the  black  sur- 
face, which  I  collected,  in  the  form  of  black  dust, 
exactly  like  gunpowder.  If,  I  argued,  the  blackness 
is  really  soot,  surely  a  washing  in  hot  water  with 
soap  or  soda  will  bring  me  white  lime-dust,  or  lime- 
sediment.  But  no  !  I  might  as  well  have  tried  to 
"wash  a  blackamoor  white."  The  gunpowder  was 
gunpowder  still,  as  far  as  the  look  of  it  went. 

Then  I  tried  the  microscope.  The  washed  granules 
were  intensely  black,  somewhat  amorphous  in  aj)- 
pearance,  and  more  or  less  angular.  My  power  was 
not  very  high,  and  my  knowledge  of  such  very 
minute  cellular  structure  was  too  small :  I  could  not 
say  whether  the  object  was  organic  or  inorganic.  I 
was  afterwards  told  that  under  a  good  microscope  it 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


171 


had  been  conclusively  proved  to  be  vegetable,  i.e. 
-a  lichen. 

I  found  by  extended  inquiry  that  the  Portland, 
the  Bath,  and  the  Barnacle  (also  lower  oolite)  stone 
were  all  liable  to  the  blackening  in  the  course  of 
time.  But  the  churches  and  buildings  of  sandstone, 
in  that  most  smoky  of  towns,  Wolverhampton,  were 
not  blackened  at  all.  Evidently  it  was  an  effect 
peculiar  to  limestone. 

I  observed  further,  that  in  fluted  columns,  window- 
jambs,  arches,  &c,  the  blackness  was  always  in  pro- 
portion to  the  absence  of  sun-rays,  and  that  the  stone 
remained  quite  white  where  the  sun  shone  full  upon 
it.  If  any  one  will  walk  round  St.  Paul's,  and  com- 
pare the  south  with  the  north  side,  he  will  see  the 
difference.  Let  him  also  notice  the  lines  left  white 
by  the  oblique  rays  of  the  summer  sun  on  parts  of 
the  north  wall. 

In  Bath,  you  may  see  whole  ranges  of  buildings, 
like  the  Circus,  so  black  on  the  sunless  side,  that  in 
many  cases  the  walls  have  been  painted  with  black 
paint,  as  giving  at  least  a  more  shiny  and  respectable 
black  than  my  mischievous  little  lichen,  which  has  a 
dingy,  sooty,  uncanny  appearance. 

In  other  parts  you  may  see  a  wall  on  the  north  side 
perfectly  black,  while  the  east  wall  of  the  same 
building  is  perfectly  white. 

On  the  smoke-theory,  this  is  inexplicable  ;  on 
the  light-theory,  it  is  precisely  what  we  might 
expect. 

For  if  this  blackness  is  really,  as  I  now  fully 
believe,  due  to  the  gradual  growth  of  a  lichen,  we 
may  conclude  that  it  dislikes  surfaces  warmed  and 
dried  by  the  sun  ;  and  it  is  also  to  be  inferred  that 
the  lime  is  a  necessary  part  of  its  food.  I  examined  a 
curious  lichen,  that  grew  in  circular  patches  on  the 
Barnack  stone  in  Peterborough  Cathedral,  and  I  found 
that  it  had  the  property  of  extracting  quantities  of 
lime  from  the  texture  of  the  stone. 

But  its  extremely  slow  growth,  requiring  a  long 
series  of  years  before  complete  blackness  results,  its 
very  hard  and  stony  texture,  its  amorphous  form,  and 
its  extremely  low  organization, — the  lowest,  perhaps, 
that  vegetable  life  can  possibly  possess, — render  its 
history  a  very  interesting  one. 

The  practical  result  of  the  inquiry  would  be,  to 
ascertain  if  Portland  and  Bath  stone  can  be  treated  with 
some  chemical  solution,  such  as  sulphate  of  copper, 
which  would  prevent  the  growth  of  the  lichen,  sup- 
posing it  really  to  be  such.  It  would  be  a  valuable 
scientific  discovery  that  a  brush  and  a  pail  would 
restore  surfaces  that  no  water-washing  will  keep 
dean,  and  not  only  restore,  but  prevent  from 
future  discoloration. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  beautiful  Caen  stone  used  in 
Paris  does  not  become  thus  black,  it  must  be  due  to 
causes  well  deserving  of  investigation.  One  cannot 
help  hoping  that  some  process  of  "pickling"  build- 
ing-stone may   be  discovered,   which  will    tend    to 


make  churches  and  mansions  less  like  an  undertaker's 
hearse. 

I  have  not  given,  in  this  brief  paper,  the  substance 
of  nearly  all  the  observations,  experiments,  and 
reasonings,  which  led  me  to  the  result  I  have  de- 
scribed. But  I  think  some  grounds  of  probability 
have  been  shown,  enough  to  encourage  those  who  are 
competent  to  prosecute  the  inquiry. 

It  is  still  open  to  conjecture,  that  some  chemical 
change  in  the  texture  of  the  stone, — some  oxidizing 
process  gradually  effected  by  the  air,— may  be  the 
cause  of  the  blackness.  But  the  singular  effect  of 
sun-light  in  preventing  it  is  a  fact  beyond  all  question, 
and  one  that  must  be  borne  in  mind  in  forming  any 
conclusion  on  the  subject. 


A  CHAPTER  ON  MICROSCOPIC  FUNGI. 

(Perisporicurei. ) 

By  Greenwood  Pim,  M.A.,  F.L.S. 

THIS  is  a  small  but  very  interesting  group  of  leaf 
parasitic  fungi,  and  includes  most  of  the  forms 
popularly  known  as  Mildews.  In  their  immature 
condition  three  species  of  this  order  form  the  mildew 
of  the  rose,  vine,  and  hop,  respectively.  That  the 
vine  mildew  is  a  member  of  this  group  is  to  a  certain 
extent  an  assumption,  as  its  perfect  fruit  has  never 
yet  been  discovered  ;  and  it  is  only  by  its  analogy 
to,  almost  its  identity  with,  the  rose,  pea,  and  hop 
mildews  that  it  is  believed  to  be  the  conidiophorous 
condition  of  an  allied  species. 

All  Perisporiacei  consist  at  first  of  a  woolly  growth, 
consisting  of  delicate  threads  of  concatenate  cells, 
arising  from  a  mycelium,  which  makes  its  way  through 
the  parenchyma  of  the  stems  and  leaves  of  the  plant 
on  which  it  occurs.  Under  a  low  power  of  the  micro- 
scope a  mildewed  rose-leaf  looks  like  a  delicate  forest 
of  crystalline  vegetation.  The  threads  break  up  very 
easily  into  their  component  cells,  each  of  which,  on 
meeting  with  a  suitable  nidus,  immediately  com- 
mences a  separate  existence,  and,  as  is  well  known  to 
rose-growers  and  others,  spreads  with  a  rapidity 
almost  marvellous.  In  this  condition  the  various 
species  obtained  the  name  of  Oidium,  and  it  is  only 
comparatively  recently  that  the  identity  of  the  Oidium 
with  the  fully-developed  conceptacles  of  the  mature 
form  has  been  demonstrated. 

In  the  case  of  the  vine  mildew,  only  the  oidium 
or  conidiophorous  condition  is  known ;  the  cells  of 
these  threads  being  known  as  conidia.  In  the  other 
species,  towards  autumn  a  kind  of  spherical  capsules 
are  formed,  each  containing  one  or  more  sacs  or  asci, 
which  include  2,  4,  8  or  more  spores.  These  concept- 
acles are  usually  furnished  with  curiously-formed  ap- 
pendages, threadlike,  curved,  hooked,  horned,  needle- 
shaped,  forked,  &c.  By  these  characters,  as  well  as 
he  number  of  asci  and  spores,  the  species  which  were 

I  2 


172 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S CIE NCE  -  G  0 SSIP. 


formerly  almost  all  included  in  the  genus  Erysiphe, 
have  been  divided  into  the  following  genera  : — Peri- 
sporium,  Lasiobotrys,  Spharotheca,  Phyllactinia,  Unci- 
nitla,  Podosphcera,  Microsphezria,  Erysiphe,  Chcrto- 
mium,  Ascotricha,  Eurotium. 

I  will  endeavour  to  describe  the  forms  most  usually 
met  with,  and  would  refer  any  one  who  wishes  for 
fuller  and  more  detailed  information  to  Dr.  Cooke's 
"  Rust,  Smut,  Mildew,  and  Mould,"  and  to  his 
"Handbook  of  British  Fungi,"  to  the  latter  of  which  I 
am  indebted  for  the  generic  and  specific  descriptions. 

PERlsrORlUM,  Kunze.  Perithecia  (conceptacles) 
subglobose,  without  manifest  mycelium  or  append- 
ages ;  spores  numerous.  The  three  species  described 
are  far  from  common,  and  appear  to  approach  in 
character  the  neighbouring  order  Sphariacei. 

Lasiobotrys,  Kunze.  Erumpent,  central  peri- 
thecia between  fleshy  and  horny,  proliferous,  collaps- 


Fig.  no.  Phyllactinia  guttata. 

ing  above,  attached  to  radiating  fibres  ;  secondary 
perithecia  ascigerous  ;  asci  cylindrical.  There  is  only 
one  species,  which  is  parasitic  on  living  leaves  of 
Lonicera — L.  lonicercc,  Kze.,  which,  though  not  com- 
mon, appears  widely  distributed.  It  differs  from  the 
rest  of  the  order  in  being  subepidermal. 

Spplerotheca,  Lev.  Perithecia  globose,  spring- 
ing from  an  arachnoid  mycelium,  containing  one 
many-spored  ascus.  Sphrerotheca  is  distinguished 
from  Erysiphe  by  having  a  single  many-spored  ascus, 
while  the  latter  has  several  asci,  each  containing  but 
few  spores.     Appendages  numerous,  floccose. 

S.  pannosa,  Lev.,  the  Rose  Mildew,  occurs  on 
leaves,  petioles,  &c.  of  roses.  The  conidiophorous 
condition  is  extremely  common,  while  the  perithecia, 
which  are  very  minute,  occur  but  very  rarely. 

S.  castagnei,  Lev.,  which  differs  but  little  from 
S.  pannosa,  is  found  on  Hops,  Meadow-sweet,  &c. 


Phyllactinia,  Lev.  Perithecia  hemispherical, 
depressed  ;  appendages  needle-shaped,  stiff,  and 
brittle. 

P.  guttata,  Lev.  Conceptacles  large,  easily  distin- 
guished by  their  straight  acicular  appendages.  Occa- 
sionally very  abundant  on  Hazel,  also  on  Ash,  Elm, 
Alder,  Birch,  Oak,  Hornbeam,  &c.  (fig    no). 

Uncinula,  Lev.  Perithecia  globose  ;  appendages 
numerous,  simple,  or  dichotomous,  always  hooked. 

U.  adunca,  Lev.  Perithecia  scattered,  small  ; 
appendages  simple,  hooked  ;  asci  8-12,  containing 
4  spores.  On  leaves  of  Willows,  Poplars,  Birch,  &c. 
Rather  common  (fig.  in). 

U.  bicornis,  Lev.  Mycelium  effuse  ;  perithecia 
rather  large  ;   appendages  bifid,    hooked  ;   asci   8, 


Fig.  in.   Uncinula  adunca. 


Fig.  112.   Uncinula  bicornis. 

containing  8   spores.      Sycamore-leaves, — common, 
(fig.  112). 

U.  Wallrothii,  Lev.  Perithecia  minute;  asci  12-16, 
6  spores  ;  appendages  very  long,  hooked,  simple. 
Distinguished  from  U.  adunca  by  the  greater  length  of 
the  appendages  (fulcra). 

Podosph^ra,  Kunze.  Mycelium  arachnoid ; 
perithecia  globose,  containing  a  single  8-spored 
ascus ;  appendages  few,  repeatedly  dichotomous, 
thickened  at  the  extremity,  hyaline. 

P.  Kunzci,  Lev.  Perithecia  minute,  scattered, 
globose  ;  appendages  3  times  the  diameter  of  the 
perithecium.     On  plum-leaves. 

P.  clandestina,  Lev.  Similar  to  P.  Kunzei,  but 
appendages  much  shorter  and  more  numerous.     On 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


173 


leaves  of  hawthorn,  common  ;  the  conidia  stage  very   1 
abundant  in  spring. 

Microsph^ria,  Let'.  Perithecia  globose,  with 
many  asci  ;  appendages  dichotomous. 

M.  Hedzuigii,  Lev.  Hypophyllous  ;  conceptacles 
minute ;  appendages  few,  scarcely  longer  than  the 
perithecia  ;  asci  4,  containing  4  spores.  On  mealy 
Guelder  Rose  (fig.  113). 

M.  penicillata,  Lev.  Appendages  8-12,  equal  to 
diameter  of  perithecium  ;  asci  4,  containing  8  spores. 
On  Guilder  Rose  and  Alder. 

M.  mougeotii,  Lev.  Appendages  loosely  dichoto- 
mous ;  asci  12-16,  2-spored.  On  leaves  of  Lycium 
barbarum. 

M.  berberidis,  Lev.  Mycelium  web-like,  persistent; 
appendages  5-10,  long,  divaricate,  obtuse;  asci  6  ; 
spores  6-8.    On  Berberry, — abundant. 

M.  grossularitz,  Lev.  Mycelium  web-like ;  perithecia 
scattered  ;  appendages  10-15,  vaguely  dichotomus  ; 
asci  4-8,  spores  4-5.  On  gooseberry-leaves, — very 
common. 

M.  comala,  Lev.  Perithecia  scattered,  minute ; 
asci  8,  ovate  beaked,  containing  4  spores.  On 
Euonymus. 


Fig.  113.  Microsphteria.        Fig.  114.  Erysiphe  Montagtui. 

Erysiphe,  Hedw.  Mycelium  arachnoid ;  appen- 
dages floccose,  simple  or  irregularly  branched. 

*  Asci  2-spored. 

E.  Liukii,  Lev.  Perithecia  minute,  scattered  ;  asci 
8-20,  pyriform ;  appendages  interwoven  with  the 
mycelium. 

E.  laiHprocarpa,  Lev.  Perithecia  minute,  globose, 
scattered  or  gregarious;  appendages  coloured;  asci 
8-16,  shortly  pedicellate.      On  Salsafy,  Plantain,  &c. 

**  Asci  3-8  spored. 

E.  graminis,  D.C.  Mycelium  effuse,  floccose;  peri- 
thecia large,  hemispherical,  at  length  depressed  and 
semi-immersed  ;  appendages  simple  ;  asci  20-24.  On 
various  grasses — autumn. 

E.  Martii,  Lk.  Mycelium  web-like,  often  evanes- 
cent ;  perithecia  globose,  varying  from  yellow  to 
black  ;  appendages  short ;  asci  4-8,  globose,  with 
4-8  spores.  On  Peas  and  Umbelliferse, — very  common. 

E.  Montagnei,  Lev.  Perithecia  minute,  globose; 
appendages  distinct  from  mycelium  ;  asci  8,  spores 
2-3  (fig.  114). 

E.  tortilis,  Lk.  Perithecia  minute,  globose  ;  ap- 
pendages veiy  long,  10  times  diameter  of  perithecium  ; 
asci  4,  with  4  spores  (fig.  115). 


E.  communis,  Schl.  Mycelium  effuse,  evanescent 
or  persistent ;  perithecia  small ;  appendages  short  ; 
asci  4-8,  ovate-rostrate,  4-8  spores.  On  various  Legu- 
minosre,   Ranunculus,  &c. 

E.  horridula,  Lev.  Mycelium  web-like  ;  perithecia 
clustered  ;  asci  20-  24,  oblong,  attenuated,  with  3-4 
spores.     On  Bugloss. 

Ch^tomium,  Kunze.  Perithecia  thin,  brittle, 
mouthless  ;  asci  linear  ;  spores  lemon-shaped. 

C.  datum,  Kze.  Perithecium  sub-ovate,  hairs  on 
vertex  very  long,  interwoven,  branched ;  base  of 
perithecium  fibrose  ;  sporidia  broadly  apiculate.  On 
straw. 

C.  chartarum,  Ehb.  Perithecium  subglobose, 
black,  surrounded  by  a  bright  yellow  spot ;  spores 
subglobose  (fig.  116).     On  paper. 

C.  glabrum,  B.  Recorded  by  Berkeley,  not  de- 
scribed ;  cf.  "  Grevillea,"  ii.  p.  165. 

C.  murorum,  Corda.  Gregarious,  glaucous  blackish ; 
perithecium     sub-globose,    brown,    hairs    circinate, 


Fig.  115.  Erysiphe  tortilis.      Fig.  116.  Cluttomiitm  chartarum. 

pulverulent,  erect,  septate ;  spores  oblong.  On 
plaster. 

C.  griseum,  Cooke.  Subgregarious  or  scattered, 
grey  or  cinereous  ;  perithecium  globose,  brown,  sub- 
membranaceous;  hairs  long,  elastic,  circinate,  pellucid; 
asci  clavate,  fasciculate  ;  spores  lemon-shaped,  colour- 
less,  endochrome  granular.  On  old  sacking.  (Cooke 
in  "  Grevillea,"  i.  p.  175.) 

C.  funiculum,  Cooke.  Perithecia  scattered,  sub- 
ovate,  black  ;  hair  on  vertex  veiy  long,  dichotomous 
or  simple,  erect,  slender,  acute,  black ;  sporidia 
lemon-shaped,  dingy  brown.  On  twine.  British 
Museum.     (Cooke  in  "Grevillea,"  i.  p.  176.) 

Ascotricha,  Berk.  Perithecium  thin,  free, 
mouthless;  threads  loose,  branched,  conidiophorous; 
asci  linear ;  spores,  dark  elliptic. 

A.  chartarum,  B.  Perithecia  olive-brown.  On 
paper. 

Eurotium,  Link. — Perithecia  reticulated,  ves- 
cicular,  coloured,  attached  to  mucedinous  threads. 

E.  hcrbariorutn,    Link.  —  Perithecium   spherical, 


174 


HARD  WI CKE '  6"    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSIP. 


flattened,  yellow,  seated  on  radiating,  branched,  intri- 
cate flocci. 

On  various  decaying  substances,  tan,  &c.      This  is 
the  fully-developed  form  of  Aspergillus  glaucus. 

A  word  in  conclusion  as  to  mounting  these  fungi 
for  the  cabinet.      They  seem  to  be  best  put  up  in 
shallow  varnish  cells,  filled  with  glycerine  and  water. 
Deane's  gelatine,  so  invaluable  a  medium  for  most 
other  vegetable  preparations,  is  too  viscid,  the  appen- 
dages enclosing  a  myriad  of  air-bubbles,  which  in 
gelatine  are  almost  impossible  to  get  rid  of.      More- 
over, without  a  cell  the  covering-glass   presses  too 
closely  and  is  apt  to  cause  the  perithecium  to  rupture 
from  pressure.     The  modus  operandi  is  a  simple  one. 
When  the  cell  is  ready,  filled  with  dilute  glycerine, 
scrape  the  leaf  on  which  the  parasite  grows  with  a 
sharp  knife,  which  will  remove  a  good  number  of 
perithecia  ;  push  gently  into  the  mounting  fluid,  and 
finish  as  in  any  other  wet  mounting. 


ON    TANKS    FOR    THE    BREEDING    AND 

MAINTENANCE   OF   MICROSCOPIC 

ORGANISMS. 

IN  the  May  number  of  Science-Gossip  a  corre- 
spondent seeks  information  on  the  subject  of  the 
establishing  and  management  of  tanks  or  receptacles 
for  the  preservation  and  development  of  microscopic 
organisms.    To  the  microscopist  it  is  a  matter  of  some 
importance,  and  one  of  which  there  seems  to  be  no 
record  of  any  valuable,  reliable,  or  actual  experience. 
The  subject  is  of  deep  interest,  and  possibly  your  corre- 
spondent and  readers  generally  may  consider  the  few 
following  notes,  founded  on  many  years'  experience, 
worth  attention,  more  especially  as  the  mode  of  esta- 
blishing a  permanent  tank,  containing  microscopic 
plants  and  animals  only,  is  not  generally  studied  or 
even  understood,  the  popular  idea  being  that  a  collec- 
tion of  organisms  found  in  the  water  of  a  rich  pond 
turned  into  a  glass  vase  will  at  once  afford  and  possibly 
maintain  and  develop  objects  of  interest  and  curiosity 
for  immediate  examination,  when  in  fact  a  keeping 
or  breeding  tank  requires  many  months,  sometimes 
years,  for  the  perfect  development  of  its  contents. 
No  one   could   hope   to   raise   the   most  interesting 
features  (to  a  microscopist)  of  a  garden  in  a  few  days. 
Time  and  the  seasons  are  required  to  develop  the 
mosses,  lichens,  fungi,  and   obscure  growths  to  be 
found  on  good  rockwork  :  the  same  prolonged  causes 
developing  life,  apply  (perhaps  in  a  lesser  degree) 
to  the  microscopist's  breeding-tank  ;  it  is  a  question  of 
patience.    As  a  notable  instance,  the  statoblasts  of  the 
most  beautiful  of  fresh-water  polyzoa  (Lophopus)  are 
frequently  found  in  early  autumn  in  the  muddy  sedi- 
ments  of  ponds,    rich   in  microscopic    life.      This 
sediment,    transferred   to    a   well-ordered   perfectly- 
balanced  tank,  will  produce  the  young  polyps  freely  in 


the  spring,  and  there  are  numerous  instances  of  a 
similar  character  where  time  is  a  factor  in  the  appear* 
ance  of  microscopic  life  in  captivity. 

In  the  practical  management  of  these  tanks  two 
points  are  of  essential  importance  :  first,  size,  and,  as 
regards  light,  position  ;  secondly,  the  internal  arrange- 
ments, and  the  character,  requirements,  selection,  and 
management  of  the  occupants,  both  vegetable  and 
animal,  so  as  to  ensure  development  and  repro- 
duction. 

The  shape  and  place  of  occupation  of  the  receptacle 
claim  the  first  attention,  and  are  of  great  importance. 
It  is  true  that  ordinary  glass  jars  or  vases  of  various 
sizes  ai-e  continually  used  with  more  or  less  success  in 
preserving  living  objects,  but  they  utterly  fail  as 
breeding  or  developing  places  :  their  circular  forms 
impede  observation ;  again,  their  portability  causes 
them  to  be  frequently  shifted  into  different  aspects, 
which  is  fatal  to  steady  development.  They  are  too 
often  placed  in  positions  overwhelmed  with  light, 
when  they  rapidly  become  choked  with  filamentous 
algae,  destructive  to  the  preservation  of  the  higher 
microscopic  forms.  The  proper  adjustment  of  light 
seems  to  be  the  touchstone  of  success  in  the  cultivation 
of  organisms,  both  animal  and  vegetable.  The 
vitality  of  some  water-plants,  under  what  would  seem 
the  most  unfavourable,  but,  as  it  turns  out,  the  most 
favourable  circumstances,  is  very  singular  ;  the  merest 
fragment  of  Nitella  will  live  for  months  in  a  wine- 
glass  of  water,  or  even  in  a  small  test-tube,  if  kept  in 
a  cool  and  rather  dark  place,  but  abnormally  excited 
by  exposure  to  sun,  light,  and  heat,  it  soon  fades  and 
collapses.  This  is  a  lesson  of  importance,  as  un- 
doubtedly the  same  influences  affect  minute  animals. 

The  tanks  for  the  purpose  in  question  should  not 
be  too  large  ;  a  convenient  proportion,  and  meeting 
all  contingencies,  is  a  vessel  made  of  narrow  iron 
frame-work,  glass  sides  and  ends,  with  slate  bottom, 
measuring  fourteen  inches  wide,  fourteen  deep,  and 
twenty-eight  inches  in  length.  Two  or  more  of  these 
tanks  are  necessaiy  :  two  are  indispensable,  as  there 
is  a  marked  difference  in  the  character  of  the  occu- 
pants of  a  tank  facing  a  wall  with  only  side  light  (and 
no  sun)  and  another  facing  a  window  (north  aspect) 
with  occasional  rays  of  setting  sun.  Besides  these 
permanent  and  larger  receptacles,  sauare  glass  vases 
or  vessels,  such  as  are  sometimes  used  for  galvanic 
batter}-  cells,  of  the  capacity  of  three  pints,  are  very 
valuable  to  contain  objects  dipped  from  the  larger 
tanks  for  special  observation  on  the  study  table. 

The  permanent  tanks  should  be  placed  in  position 
and  never  again  moved.  A  good  aspect  is  north- 
east, fronting  a  window  catching  an  hour's  early 
morning  sunlight,  but  a  better  is  against  the  wall  of 
a  room  or  hall  with  a  full  side-light,  and  no  sun; 
the  difference  between  the  life  contained  in  tanks 
placed  in  such  positions  is  strikingly  apparent.  Of 
the  internal  arrangements  anything  approaching  the 
idea    to    make   it    "pretty"    should   be  studiously 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE -  G O SSIP. 


i75 


avoided  :  nothing  should  be  included  but  with  the 
object  of  use — the  more  useful  the  more  beautiful  it 
will  be  ;  two  pieces  of  goodly-sized  stone  or  irregu- 
larly shaped  brick  should  be  placed  nearly  touching 
the  front  glass  ;  these  stones  soon  become  covered 
with  organisms,  and  may  be  so  adjusted  as  to  be 
within  range  of  an  ordinary  magnifying  lens.  Two 
or  three  plants  (not  more)  of  vallisneria,  or  chara, 
are  to  be  planted  in  one  corner  in  well- washed  gravel, 
banked  up  with  one  of  the  pieces  of  stone ;  the  other 
part  of  the  floor  of  the  tank  should  be  left  bare,  to 
facilitate  the  picking  up,  free  of  sand  or  gravel,  of 
anything  that  may  appear.  If  a  pond  be  accessible, 
three  parts  of  the  tank  are  filled  with  water  from  it ;  if 
it  be  cloudy  or  even  muddy  the  result  may  be  more 
favourable.  After  being  left  in  repose  for  at  least  a 
week,  the  character  of  the  contents  (if  the  pond  be 
fairly  productive)  will  be  seen ;  the  water  will  be 
clear  and  probably  reveal  a  variety  of  common  objects, 
such  as  larva;  of  insects,  entomostraca,  planaria,  and 
hydra; ;  in  a  week  or  more  vegetable  growth  will 
appear,  covering  every  portion  of  the  interior.  The 
tank  is  now  in  a  condition  to  be  inoculated  with 
whatever  choice  objects  can  be  obtained,  the  result 
of  special  and  favourable  gatherings,  and  this  should 
be  repeated  frequently  ;  the  front  glass  must  be  occa- 
sionally cleaned  with  a  sponge  tied  to  the  end  of  a 
cane,  but  on  no  account  be  tempted  to  touch  the 
sides  or  back  :  the  water  will  soon  become  as  clear  as 
crystal,  however  muddy  it  may  have  been  when  first 
introduced.  The  pieces  of  stone  will  show  signs  of 
vegetable  growths,  with  patches  of  such  forms  of  in- 
fusoria as  vorticella;  and  stentors.  The  waste  from 
evaporation  must  be  supplied  by  additions  of  pond 
water  (the  richer  the  better),  and  such  a  tank  will  be, 
in  a  month  or  two  (not  before),  a  marvel  of  micro- 
scopic beauty  and  interest.  The  untouched  back 
glass  will  be  covered  with  a  dense  mantle  of  dark- 
green  velvety  vegetation,  in  the  midst  of  which  will 
be  discovered  groups  and  patches  of  the  fixed 
infusoria,  and  it  is  essentially  the  habitat  of  the 
polyzoa;  hydra?,  and  the  rarer  rotifera  philodina, 
even  melicerta  and^stephanoceros,  may  be  found  under 
such  circumstances,  to  say  nothing  of  the  countless 
tribes  of  free  infusoria,  ever  ready  for  observation  in 
all  their  various  phases  of  existence,  and  such  con- 
ditions will  preserve  and  increase  them  indefinitely. 
Enemies  to  eliminate  are  larva;  of  insects  (but  these 
soon  disappear  naturally),  the  fluviatile  arachiada;, 
and  the  larger  molluscs;  the  latter  in  browsing  through 
the  vegetation  on  the  glass  are  apt  to  destroy  perhaps 
a  favourite  group  of  stentors.  Other  enemies  are  the 
floating  filamentous  alga; ;  they  should  be  removed, 
but  if  the  tank  be  well  watched  as  regards  light  no 
trouble  in  this  respect  may  ensue.  Nothing  ought 
to  he  planted  in  the  middle,  as  it  is  of  importance  the 
back  glass  should  be  clearly  seen,  and  much  may  be 
lost  if  anything  impedes  this  view.  It  needs  hardly 
be  said  that    the  water   must    never   be   changed. 


Tanks  so  established  will  greatly  improve  by  time, 
even  when  it  extends  to  years.  It  is  worthy  of  note, 
as  a  matter  of  practical  observation,  that  a  great 
excess  of  animal  life  (of  a  certain  character)  much 
conduces  to  the  development  and  well-being  of 
microscopic  life.  In  a  tank  measuring  fourteen 
inches  deep  by  fourteen  wide  and  twenty-eight  inches 
long,  five  full-grown  Mexican  axolotls  (nearly  as 
large  as  water-rats)  have  existed  and  thriven  for 
more  than  four  years.  In  every  part  of  this  tank  there 
are  swarms  of  Crustacea,  infusoria,  and  rotifera,  and 
the  back  glass  facing  a  wall  is  covered  with  the  velvet- 
like growth,  shading  off  into  patches  of  pale  browns 
and  purples,  imbedded  in  which  are  considerable 
masses  of  living  animal  objects.  It  would  seem  as 
if  the  rejectamenta  of  these  axolotls  (they  are  fed 
once  a  week  with  strips  of  raw  beef)  is  conducive 
to  the  development  of  life.  In  large  ordinary  tanks 
with  growing  plants  of  vallisneria,  and  not  devoted 
to  the  special  object  of  these  notes,  it  is  desirable  to 
have  a  piece  of  floating  wood  ;  it  will  in  a  few  weeks 
or  months  form  the  nidus  or  habitat  of  many  strange 
organisms.  Vegetable  forms  requiring  running  or 
moving  water,  as  desmids,  vol  vox,  &c,  cannot  be 
reared  or  even  kept  in  captivity.  Much  might  be 
said  of  collecting  to  supply  tanks  with  objects  did 
space  admit,  but  hydra;  and  countless  forms  may  be 
procured  in  abundance  by  the  very  simple  process  of 
bringing  in  a  handkerchief-full  of  duckweed,  washing 
it  thoroughly  in  a  pan,  rejecting  the  weed,  and 
pouring  the  resulting  water  into  the  tanks. 

Crouch  End.  E.  D. 


HOW  TO  USE  THE  MICROMETER. 
By  F.  Kitton,  Hon.  F.R.M.S. 

ALL  interested  in  microscopic  studies  have  been 
more  or  less  inconvenienced  by  the  frequent 
absence  of  a  scale  of  measurement  attached  to  the 
figures  ;  this  is  a  great  blemish  in  that  otherwise 
valuable  work,  "  The  Microscope,"  by  Dr.  Carpenter. 
This  in  many  cases  was  no  doubt  unavoidable,  no 
scale  having  been  given  with  the  original  figures.  As 
the  measurement  of  microscopic  objects  is  by  no  means 
difficult,  eveiy  one  using  the  microscope  should  make 
it  a  rule  to  ascertain  the  dimensions  of  the  objects 
he  is  examining.  The  only  additional  apparatus 
required  is  some  form  of  camera  lucida  :  personally  I 
prefer  Wollaston's ;  others  give  the  preference  to 
Beale's  neutral-tint  camera  lucida  (the  former 
costs  21s.,  the  latter  7s.  6d.),  and  a  micrometer  ruled 
in  txits  a"d  r^ls.  The  chief  difficulty  in  using  the 
camera  of  Wollaston  is  bisecting  the  pupil  of  the 
eye  with  the  edge  of  the  prism  ;  if  this  is  not  care- 
fully attended  to  either  the  paper  or  the  object  be- 
comes invisible  :  practice  soon  overcomes  the  diffi- 
culty. In  using  either  form  of  camera  it  is  necessary 
that  the  body  of  the  microscope  should  be  horizontal. 


176 


HARD  Wl  CKE  'S    S  C1ENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


In  using  the  camera  lucida  two  things  have  to  be 
considered  :  the  dista  nee  of  the  prism  or  the  reflector 
from  the  object,  and  its  distance  from  the  paper. 
(In  my  own  instrument  the  edge  of  the  prism  with  B 
ocular,  and  i-in.  Ross  objective,  is  exactly  12  inches 
from  the  object  ;  this  distance  with  the  paper  10 
inches  from  the  edge  of  the  prism  gives  a  magnifica- 
tion of  369  diameters.)  As  the  length  of  the  body 
and  the  magnifying  power  of  the  objectives  and 
ocular  are  variable,  it  is  best  to  construct  a  scale  for 
the  purpo  se  of  ascertaining  in  the  first  instance 
the  amplification  employed  ;  the  most  convenient 
is  the  following :  Rule  a  line  10  inches  in  length,  a, 
(fig.   117),  and  from  the  centre  of  this  rule  another 


from  300  to  500  diameters  by  using  the  A  B  and  C 
oculars,  and  adjusting  the  amplification  by  means 
of  the  draw  tube  or  the  elevation  of  the  microscope. 
A  memorandum  may  be  kept  of  the  ocular  used,  the 
length  of  tube,  &c,  but  I  always  measure  off  a  "Ol 
with  micrometer,  which  should  of  course  represent 
I,  2,  3,  4,  or  5  inches,  according  to  the  amplification 
employed. 

The  eye-piece  micrometer,  in  its  simplest  form,  con- 
sists of  a  disc  of  glass  upon  which  a  series  of  equi- 
distant lines  are  engraved;  this  is  placed  on  the 
diaphragm  in  the  ocular,  the  lines  being  magnified 
by  the  eye-lens.  The  distance  of  these  lines  is  not 
important,  but,  whatever  their  distance,  they  must  be 


Fig.  117.    Diagram  to 

illustrate  Micrometer 

Measurements. 


C3 
PL. 

o 
■t 

H 


Bj 


Ten  Centimetres. 

One  Decimetre. 

Ten  Millimet 

res. 

Illlllll 

line,  b,  of  the  same  length  at  right  angles  to  it ;  care- 
fully divide  these  lines  into  inches  and  tenths,  then 
rule  lines  commencing  at  a  to  the  point  c  parallel  to 
the  vertical  line  a  ;  rule  nine  other  lines  1  inch 
apart  :  each  of  these  divisions  represents  one  hundred 
diameters.  The  inner  margins  of  the  lines  b  c  should 
be  divided  into  tenths,  and  we  shall  then  have  a 
series  of  diameters  increasing  by  tenths  100,  1 10, 
120,  &c.  This  space  between  the  lines  a  and  e 
should  be  ruled  as  accurately  as  possible  with  lines 
"i'o  of  an  inch  apart ;  this  will  give  measurement  to 
the  •0001  of  an  inch.  I  always  prefer  using  such 
diameters  as  are  easily  divided,  viz.,  100,  200,  300, 
400,  &c.     With  my  i  objective  I  obtain  a  range  of 


made  to  coincide  with  the  divisions  on  the  stage 
micrometer ;  when  this  has  been  done  the  object  is 
placed  on  the  stage,  the  number  of  divisions  occupied 
by  it  gives  the  diameter  in  parts  of  an  inch  or  milli- 
metre, according  to  the  divisions  of  the  stage  microme- 
ter. This  method,  although  somewhat  less  trouble- 
some than  that  just  described,  is  not  so  accurate,  and 
if  the  object  is  somewhat  opaque  (e.g.,  Aidacodiscus 
formosus),  the  divisions  on  the  eye-piece  micrometer 
are  very  indistinct. 

For  very  delicate  measurements  eye-piece  microme- 
ters with  fine  screw  adjustments  are  used,  but  for 
ordinary  measurements  the  camera  lucida  and  stage 
micrometer  will  be  found  sufficiently  accurate. 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SI  P. 


177 


Microscopic  dimensions  in  England  and  America 
are  usually  given  in  parts  of  an  inch  ;  Continental 
observers  now  generally  employ  some  division  of 
the  millimetre,  such  as  'I,  'OI,  "ooi ;  the  latter  is 
sometimes  written  thus  :  1  /*  (/*  =  1  millieme)  -ooi 
of  an  English  inch  =  25 /*  -399.  An  English  inch 
contains  25  mm.  "3995-  A  millimetre  may  be 
roughly  estimated  as  being  equal  to  ^  of  an  inch. 

Ehrenberg,  Kiitzing,  and  the  earlier  microscopic 
observers  used  fractions  of  the  Paris  line,  or  the  ■£? 
of  a  Paris  inch  ;  the  latter  equals  27  mm.  "12  ;  the 
Paris  line  equals  2  mm.  '255.  Rees  gives  the  Paris 
line  -088815  of  an  English  inch  ;  the  nearest  vulgar 
fraction  to  this  is  2-23rds  =  087 12 1,  differing  by  less 
than  I  -500th  of  an  inch.  Practically  the  French 
inch  is  equal  to  iT'ff  English  inch. 

The  scale  used  by  Ehrenberg  was  i-25th  of  a  Paris 
line,  magnified  300  diameters  equalling  two  Paris 
inches  in  length. 


NOTES  ON  THE  RHODODENDRON. 

(~\N  Saturday,  the  1st  of  June,  on  our  visit  to  the 
^~*f  Rhododendrons,  at  Cobham  Park,  my  atten- 
tion was  drawn  to  the  form  of  the  flower  by  a  query 
from  one  of  the  party  as  to  how  fertilization  was 
brought  about,  seeing  that  the  stamens  and  style  all 
pointed  upwards,  and  the  style  was  greatly  exserted 
beyond  stamens.  I  was  thus  led  to  pay  particular 
attention  to  the  point ;  and,  I  think,  was  enabled  to 
arrive  at  a  just  solution. 

A  very  small  amount  of  attention  demonstrated 
quite  clearly  that  the  plant  is  proterandrous,  i.e.,  that 
the  stamens  arrive  at  maturity  before  the  stigma  is 
in  a  receptive  condition ;  and  that,  therefore,  although 
the  flowers  are  bisexual,  they  are  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  unisexual,  as  the  stamens  of  a  given  flower 
cannot  fertilize  the  ovary  of  the  same  flower.  This 
might  be  inferred  from  the  size  and  showiness  of  the 
flower,  as  such  plants,  it  has  been  clearly  shown,  are 
usually  entomophilous,  i.e.,  are  fertilized  through  the 
agency  of  insects.  We  were  soon  enlightened  as  to 
the  peculiar  fitness  of  the  upturned  style  and  stamens 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  cross  fertilization  by  the 
agency  of  large  honey-loving  insects,  such  as  the  bee. 
While  examining  a  cluster  of  flowers  a  large  bee  or 
bee-like  insect  was  seen  to  enter  a  flower ;  and, 
alighting  upon  the  stamens,  to  apply  its  long  pro- 
boscis to  the  upper  part  of  corolla  at  a  point  about 
half-way  down  the  tube.  An  examination  of  other 
flowers  showed  in  every  case  at  this  part  a  large  drop 
of  fluid  matter  resembling  dew  or  rain,  but  which 
proved,  on  tasting,  to  be  honey. 

The  modus  operandi  of  fertilization  was  now  patent 
enough.  Large  insects,  such  as  the  bee,  are  attracted 
by  the  honey ;  and,  from  its  position  within  the  tube 


of  the  corolla  on  the  upper  side,  and  from  the  form 
and  position  of  the  7tp-curved  stamens,  are  unable  to 
reach  it  without,  in  the  male  condition  of  the  flower, 
literally  dusting  the  under-side  of  the  thorax  and 
abdomen  with  pollen,  and  without,  in  the  female 
condition,  where  the  style  protrudes  beyond  the  now 
pollenless  stamens,  depositing  a  portion  of  their  trea- 
sure upon  the  expanded  glutinous  stigma.  Thus,  as 
they  flit  from  flower  to  flower,  in  search  of  honey 
for  their  own  benefit  alone,  do  these  insects  unwit- 
tingly carry  on  a  work  that  is  absolutely  essential  to 
the  continuance  of  the  specific  life  of  the  Rhodo- 
dendron. 

We  may  thus  in  a  general  way  see  and  admire  the 
mutual  adaptation  of  insect  and  flower  for  each  other's 
good,  but  a  closer  examination  of  the  flower  will 
reveal  to  us  many  small  modifications  in  the  form  of 
corolla,  stamens,  ovary,  &c,  which  cannot  fail  to 
increase  our  admiration. 


ULftlNUS 


CALYX 


oVARr 
I  IMPERFECTLY  1 0  CELLED 

Fig.*  119.    Ovary 
of  Rhododendron. 


Fig.  118.  Pistil  of  Rhododendron. 


INTERIOR 


Fig.  120.  Stamen 
of  Rhododendron. 


HONEY  CANAL  -1 
DORSAL  RIDGEv^^*  A 

Fisr.  122.  Cross  section  of  tube  of  Corolla. 


First,  with  regard  to  the  colour  of 
the  corolla.     This  is  of  an  almost  uni- 
form tint,  varying  in  different  plants, 
from  deep  rose-colour  to  pale  pink,  or 
even  white.     Within   the  tube,   how- 
ever, on  the  upper  side  a  number  of 
yellow  oblong  splashes  will  be  found 
forming   more   or    less   distinct  lines, 
clearly  converging  upon  the  drop  of  d£i^"a?W 
honey  already  alluded  to.     Sir  J.  Lub-    of  Stamen  (mag.), 
bock  has  shown  by  direct  experiment 
that  insects  profit  by  experience,  and  having  once  learnt 
that  certain  lines  or  striae  lead  to  their  food,  use  them 
as  guides  in  their  future  excursions.   Hence,  doubtless, 


s78 


HARDW1CK&S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


the  raison  d'etre  of  these  lines   or  splashes  in  the 
Rhododendron. 

Secondly,  with  regard  to  the  form  of  the  corolla. 
This,  as  in  all  Ericaca?,  is  monopetalous.  When 
pulled  off  and  examined,  it  is  found  to  be  curiously 
folded  and  plaited,  especially  near  the  base  of  the 
tube  on  the  upper  side.  A  cross  section  taken  near 
the  base  is  fairly  represented  by  fig.  122  (magnified). 
It  will  be  seen  from  the  figure  that  the  dorsal  fold  is 
so  deep  and  perfect  as  to  form  a  tube  or  canal.  This 
channel  gradually  shallows  out  at  the  point  where  the 
honey  is  always  found.  What  is  its  use  ?  At  first 
sight  it  appears  as  though  the  honey  were  secreted  by 
the  corolla  itself  at  the  point  where  found,  but  such  is 
not  the  case.  On  pulling  off  the  corolla,  the  honey  will 
be  seen  oozing  from  the  upper  side  of  the  base  of  the 
ovary.  The  use,  then,  of  this  fold  appears  to  be  to 
act  as  a  tube  for  the  passage  of  honey  from  the  base 
of  the  corolla  to  a  point  nearer  its  mouth  where  it  is 
more  readily  accessible  to  insects  of  a  large  size. 
The  honey,  doubtless,  passes  up  this  tube  by  means 
of  capillary  attraction. 

The  stamens  are  very  peculiar,  as  will  be  seen  from 
fig.  120.  The  lower  half  is  thickly  covered  with  stiff 
glandular  hairs  of  very  various  forms  and  lengths. 
Some  of  these  forms  are  represented  in  fig.  121.  One 
use  of  these  hairs  is,  perhaps,  by  firmly  interlocking, 
to  strengthen  the  stamens,  and  enable  them  the  better 
to  resist  the  pressure  of  insects  alighting  upon  them ; 
but  the  principal  one,  I  should  think,  is  by  means  of 
their  crowding  and  intertwining,  to  prevent  smaller 
insects,  that  would  be  incapable  of  carrying  on  the 
work  of  fertilization,  from  penetrating  to  and  carry- 
ing off  the  honey,  which  is  the  incentive  to  the  visit 
of  those  larger  insects  that  are  capable  of  performing 
the  task.  The  bottom  of  the  stamens,  as  shown  in 
fig.  120,  is  free  from  hairs,  and  rests  in  a  groove  in  the 
hypogynous  disc  that  surrounds  the  base  of  the  ovary. 
This  insertion  in  a  groove  and  close  application  to 
the  ovary  cannot  fail  to  give  additional  stability  and 
strength  to  the  stamens  as  a  whole,  while  it  most 
effectually  prevents  any  insect  from  arriving  at  the 
source  of  the  honey. 

The  imperfectly  ten-celled  ovary,  with  its  surround- 
ing secreting  disc,  is  represented  by  fig.  119.  The 
upper  two  lobes  only  of  this  disc,  which  are  larger 
than  the  rest,  appear  to  be  concerned  in  secreting, 
or,  at  all  events,  in  pouring  out  the  honey. 

This  paper  is  written,  not  as  an  exhaustive  account 
of  the  flower  of  the  Rhododendron,  but  as  an  incen- 
tive to  further  examination  by  others.  As  my  oppor- 
tunities of  observation  are  small,  I  feel  sure  that 
those  more  favourably  situated  may,  by  a  little  atten- 
tion, show  us  many  curious  and  highly-interesting 
points  that  I  have  altogether  overlooked  ;  and  I,  for 
one,  should  be  very  glad  to  get  a  fuller  and  more 
perfect  account  of  this  plant. 

Rochester.  J.  HF.rwoRTH. 


ACCLIMATIZATION    OF     PALMS. 
By  Staff-Surgeon  R.  Nelson,  R.N. 

PLANTS  differ  greatly  from  animals  in  the  close- 
ness of  their  adaptation  to  meteorological  and 
other  conditions  ;  hence,  on  the  one  hand,  while  in 
England,  we  can  have  parrots,  monkeys,  lions,  tigers, 
and  other  tropical  and  sub-tropical  animals,  live  with 
us  during  winter,  and  even  the  polar  bear  look  as 
pleased  as  a  bear  can  look  during  our  hot  summer 
months ;  we  lose,  on  the  other  hand,  the  enjoyment 
of  many  beautiful  wild  flowers  and  magnificent  forest 
trees  which  enliven  the  scenery  and  greatly  enhance 
the  pleasure  of  the  traveller  abroad. 

Who  that  has  travelled  much  does  not  remember 
the  pleasure,  nay,  the  rapture  which  he  felt  as  he 
neared  his  first  foreign  port — say  Madeira,  for  in- 
stance— in  beholding  the  luxuriant  "feathery  palm- 
trees  rise,"  as  Heber  sung  when  he  linked  them 
together  with  other  of  our  earthly  conceptions  of 
"the  better  land."  They  are  undoubtedly  the  first 
objects  which  forcibly  strike  the  wanderer,  and  enable 
him  to  realize  that  his  dear  old  home  is  far  behind, 
and  that  he  is,  indeed,  in  a  distant  land.  There  is 
nothing  so  thoroughly  foreign  to  the  eye,  and  few 
objects  in  nature  more  attractive.  The  long-tailed 
Celestial,  the  almond-eyed  "Jap,"  and  the  black- 
skinned  negro,  have  been  long  familiar  in  our  streets, 
but  the  palm  stands  out  in  broad  relief  as  the  first 
novelty  which  attracts  attention  abroad. 

Having  lately  spent  some  months  in  Shanghai,  I 
have  been  led  to  these  remarks  by  observing,  during 
the  present  severe  winter,  how  well  the  few  palm- 
trees  planted  there  have  withstood  the  rigour  of  the 
climate,  and  was  first  forcibly  struck  with  the  subject 
when,  one  bitterly  cold  morning,  a  friend  called  my 
attention  to  the  almost  anomalous  condition  of  nature, 
that  the  palm-trees  were  covered  with  snow ;  and 
very  pretty  objects  they  were. 

What  genus  or  species  of  Palmacese  they  belong  to 
I  cannot  at  present  discover,  but  doubtless  many 
readers  of  Science-Gossip  know  which  are  the 
hardiest  of  the  order.  That  the  specimens  planted 
along  the  Bund  of  Shanghai  are  as  graceful  as  the 
lofty  cocoa-nut  trees  of  Ceylon,  or  the  Sago-palm  of 
Borneo  I  do  not  maintain  ;  but  they  are  well  worthy 
of  the  attention  of  those  interested  in  the  acclimati- 
zation of  plants,  for  few  things  would  add  more  to 
the  beauty  of  our  parks,  or  better  set  off  a  landscape 
than  endogenous  trees,  of  which  our  climate  has,  or 
is  supposed  to  have,  deprived  us. 

Shanghai  is  situated  on  the  Woosung  river,  about 
twelve  miles  above  its  junction  with  the  mighty 
Yang-tze-Kiang ;  the  country  around  is  perfectly  flat, 
and  the  soil  alluvial.  Although  so  far  south  as  31° 
N.  lat.,  200  below  the  south  of  England,  the  winter 
is  rigorous,  and  altogether  the  climate  bears  a  most 
remarkable  contrast  to  places  in  the  western  hemi- 


HARD  Wl  CKES    S CIENCE -  G  O SSIP. 


179 


sphere  situated  in  nearly  the  same  parallel  of  latitude 
e.g.,  Malta  and  Bermuda. 

The    following    table    shows    the  average   mean 
monthly  temperature  of  several  years  past  : — 


January 
February 
March 
April  ... 
May    . . . 
June    ... 


400  Fah. 
42°  ,, 
5o°  „ 
58°  „ 
69°  „ 
76°     „ 


July    ...     . 
August 
September 
October 
November  . 
December  . 


°3 
83' 

67 

55 
47 


Fah. 


>) 


During  the  recent  winter  there  has  been  at  least 
ten  days  continuous  skating,  and  the  thermometer 
during  the  month  of  January  was  frequently  below 
200  Fah.  or  120  below  the  freezing-point.  During  the 
last  six  months  there  has  been  an  extreme  range  of 
820,  i.e.  from  990  to  17°. 

This  subject  is  well  worthy  of  enlargement  and 
development,  but  meantime  this  is  perhaps  enough 
for  Gossip. 


SKETCH  OF  THE  GEOLOGY  OF  DUBLIN 
AND  WICKLOW. 

By  Wm,  Hellier  Baily,  F.L.S.,  F.G.S., 
M.R.I. A.,  &c. 

THE  metropolis  of  Ireland  is  most  favourably 
situated  with  regard  to  its  position,  its  eastern 
extremity  being  bounded  by  the  sea,  to  the  north- 
east the  peninsula  of  Howth  forms  the  limit  of 
Dublin  Bay  in  that  direction,  to  the  south  that  of 
Kingstown  and  Dalkey ;  south  of  Dublin  the  granite 
range  of  mountains  are  a  conspicuous  feature  in  the 
landscape. 

Of  the  igneous  rocks,  granite,  the  most  important, 
is  well  displayed  near  Dublin,  commencing  about 
three  miles  south,  extending  in  a  south-westerly 
direction  for  a  distance  of  twenty-nine  miles  to  near 
New  Ross,  in  the  county  of  Wexford,  with  an  average 
width  of  eight  or  ten  miles,  and  a  maximum,  at  one 
part,  of  eighteen  miles.  It  forms  the  Dublin  moun- 
tains, rising  to  an  elevation  of  1,763  feet  from  the 
sea-level,  above  the  Three  Rock  Mountain  at  Fairy 
Castle.  The  lower  hills,  near  the  sea-coast,  such  as 
that  of  Killiney,  are  480  feet,  and  Dalkey  472  feet, 
in  height.  The  outline  of  this  range  shows  a  suc- 
cession of  gently-undulating  and  rounded  eminences, 
descending  more  rapidly  towards  the  sea. 

In  the  adjoining  county  of  Wicklow  the  mountains 
rise  to  a  greater  height ;  Lugnaquillia,  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  county,  being  the  highest,  is  3,040  feet 
elevation,  consisting  of  a  mass  of  mica  schist  resting 
on  the  granite ;  all  the  loftiest  parts  of  the  adjacent 
mountains  are  also  composed  of  mica  schist. 

The  granite  may  be  seen  along  the  coast  from 
Blackrock,  south  of  Dublin,  to  Kingstown  and 
Dalkey ;  from  the  latter  place  it  has  a  superficial 


breadth  of  about  eight  miles.     From  the  quarries  at 
Dalkey  Hill  was  obtained  the  stone  used  in  the  con- 
struction  of    the  harbour  and  piers  at  Kingstown, 
about  6,000,000  tons  being  used   in   the    formation 
of  the  two  breakwaters.     A  large  quarry  in  the  town 
of  Kingstown  was  also  extensively  worked  for  mate- 
rial used    in  the    construction   of   the   harbour  and 
piers    at    Kingstown  ;     other    quarries    have    been 
opened    on   the    eastern   side    of    the  Three    Rock 
Mountain  for  supplying  stone  for  building  purposes 
and  for  flagging. 

The  Killiney  and  Dalkey  granite  is  coarsely 
crystalline,  varying  somewhat,  however,  in  different 
places.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Haughton,  F.R.S.,  &c,  has 
fully  described  the  Dublin  and  Wicklow  granites  in  a 
memoir  of  the  Lower  Palaeozoic  and  associated  Igneous 
rocks  of  the  south-east  of  Ireland.  ("Trans. 
Royal  Irish  Acad.,"  vol.  xxiii.,  1859,  pp.  564,  &c.) 
Veins  of  a  closer  and  whiter  texture,  in  which  the 
mica  is  scarcely  or  not  at  all  perceptible,  are  fre- 
quently found  to  traverse  the  granite  of  this  district ; 
it  is  called  Enrite,  and  is  evidently  intrusive  ;  occa- 
sionally it  assumes  larger  dimensions  than  that  of 
mere  veins.  Black  mica  (Lepidomelane)  is  not 
uncommon  in  this  granite  ;  a  remarkable  plumose 
variety  of  white  mica  (Margarodite)  has  been  found 
at  Ballybrack.  In  the  Dalkey  quarries  it  is  not 
unusual  to  find  perfectly-formed  crystals  of  black 
quartz  in  the  joints ;  fine  crystals  of  Tourmaline 
are  also  occasionally  met  with  in  the  granite  of 
Dalkey,  and  the  mineral  called  Killinite,  from  its 
having  been  found  in  the  granite  of  Killiney  and  also 
at  Dalkey. 

Metamorphic  Rocks. — Mica  schist,  or  altered 
Lower  Silurian  slates,  these  again  blending  into 
unaltered  Lower  Silurians,  flank  the  granite  from  a 
point  near  Killiney  to  near  New  Ross,  in  the  county 
of  Wexford,  spreading  out,  as  shown  on  the  southern 
boundary  of  sheet  121  of  the  Geological  Survey  maps 
to  a  breadth  of  over  four  miles.  The  junction  of  the 
Granite  and  Metamorphosed  Slates  is  clearly  observ- 
able along  the  sea-shore  under  Killiney  Hill,  at 
Roche's  Hill,  and  to  the  west  of  Killiney  Park  ;  in 
the  road  and  railway  cuttings  of  the  neighbourhood  ; 
as  well  as  their  metamorphism  into  mica  schist,  which 
often  contains  crystals  of  chiastolite. 

The  manner  in  which  the  granite  has  been  forced 
into  the  slates,  penetrating  them  in  wedge-shaped 
masses  and  veins,  may  be  observed  on  the  shore  at 
this  place.  From  the  Killiney  Hills  a  fine  view  of 
the  Bay  of  Dublin,  with  Howth  to  the  north  and 
Bray  Head  south,  may  be  seen. 

The  Scalp,  about  two  miles  north  of  Enniskerry, 
and  about  three  miles  south  of  Carrickmines  station, 
on  the  Dublin,  Wicklow,  and  Wexford  Railway,  is  a 
picturesque  pass,  the  granitic  rocks  showing  great 
erosion ;  its  junction  with  the  mica  schist  may  be 
readily  observed. 

In  the  glen  of  the  river  Dargle,  near  Enniskerry 


i8o 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


Fig.    123. 


Navan. 


Alhhcn 


'alhriggccn 

Skerries 


Lambay 
1st.  J 


o   000 

>    c    o    o 
0000 

a   <i  0  < 


Coal  Measures 
Cambrian 


+  +  + 


Cxrbom/ervas 
Limestone 

URca  Schist 


T7\  Old  Red 
•"•".■  Sandstone 


r±   a^  /°* 


y*\     /V     ^ 

a  a-  /\  /»  TrapJiock 


X  X  X  X 
X  X  x  x  * 
X   X    X  X 


Lower  Sxhxruxn. 
Grardle. 


GEOLOGICAL   MAP  of  the  NEIGHBOURHOOD  of  DUBLIN. 


the  prominences  which  are  called  "  the  Burnt  Rock," 
"the  Lover's  Leap,"  and  "the  View  Rock,"  are  of 
quartz  rock,  associated  with  the  Cambrian  formation. 
The  well-known  Powerscourt  Waterfall,  nearly  300 
feet  high,  in  the  same  river,  is  about  four  miles  south- 
west of  Enniskerry,  in  the  Powerscourt  demesne, 
where  the  metamorphic  rocks  are  prevalent. 

Of  the  stratified  or  sedimentary  rocks  the  lowest 
Palaeozoic  formation  is  the  Cambrian,  which  is  com- 
posed  of  green  and   purple  grits  and  slates,   often 


interstratified  with  masses  of  dull  yellow  or  brown 
quartz  rock,  and  having  a  total  thickness  of  several 
thousand  feet. 

Strata  of  this  character  form  the  bold  and  rugged 
headland  a  little  south  of  Bray,  rising  to  a  height  of 
793  feet.  The  outline  of  these  hills  when  viewed  from 
the  north  is  very  picturesque,  with  the  prominent 
peaks  of  the  Great  and  Little  Sugarloaf  Mountains 
(formed  of  quartz  rock),  in  the  background.  The 
Great  Sugarloaf,  four  miles  south-west  of  Bray,  rising 


HARD  WICKE'S     SCIENCE-  G  OSS  I  P. 


1S1 


to  a  height  of  1,659  feet,  and  the  Little  Sugarloaf, 
about  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Bray,  to  1, 120  feet. 
This  Cambrian  district  of  North  Wicklow,  com- 
mencing somewhat  north  of  Bray,  and  including  part 
of  the  river  Dargle,  extends  to  near  Wicklow,  a  length 


of  seventeen  miles,  spreading  out  to  seven  or  eight 
miles. 

At  certain  places  in  the  district  this  formation 
contains  a  very  distinct,  though  specifically  small, 
assemblage    of   fossils.      Two   species   of  Oldhamia 


Fig.  124.  Oldhamia  radiata 


Fig.  125.  Tracks  and  burrows  of  Arenicolites  sparstts,  copied  from 
Baily's  "  British  Fossils." 


Fig.  126.  Burrows  of  Arenicolites  didymus. 


Fig.  128.  Extremity   of  tube   of  Histiodcrma 
Hibernicum. 

(named  after  Professor  Oldham),  0.  antiqua 
and  0.  radiata,  have  been  described  and 
named  by  the  late  Professor  E.  Forbes  ;  they 
are  confined  to  Irish  strata,  and  occur  in 
considerable  abundance  at  several  places  in 
the  rocks  of  Bray  Head;  at  Graystones,  on 
the  coast  three  miles  further  south ;  and  at 
Carrick  Mountain  (1,260  feet  high),  north  of 
Rathdrum.  These  fossils  were  believed,  by 
Professor  Forbes  and  the  late  Professor  J.  R. 
Kinahan,  M.D.,  to  be  allied  to  Sertularian  zoophytes; 
other  scientific  observers  consider  them  to  have  been 
plants,  probably  marine  algre,  allied  to  lime-secreting 
nullipores. 

Accompanying  the  Oldhamia  are  evident  remains 
of  marine  annelids,  which  burrowed  in  the  sand  of 
that  period,  producing  tracks  penetrating  the  beds 
in  a  vertical  and  horizontal  direction ;  they  correspond 
with  those  described  by  the  late  Mr.  Salter  from 
the  Longmynds  as  Arenicolites  didymus,  and  A. 
sparsus  (probably  identical  species) ;  some  of  them 
occur    in    pairs    of   double    openings,    which    pass 


182 


HARD  WI CKE  'S  S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSI  P. 


vertically  through  the  beds ;  others  as  tracks 
running  along  the  surface.  Larger  tubular  casts 
passing  vertically  through  the  beds  have  been  de- 
scribed by  the  late  Dr.  Kinahan  as  Histioderma 
Hibemicum. 

At  the  top  of  the  hill  in  Kilruddery  demesne,  be- 
longing to  the  Earl  of  Meath,  the  surfaces  of  the 
quartz  rock,  associated  with  the  Cambrian  formation, 
are  distinctly  rounded  and  scored  by  glacial  action. 

The  Dublin,  Wicklow, 
and  Wexford  Railway  is  con- 
structed through  this  mass 
of  rocks  at  Bray  Head  by  a 
series  of  short  tunnels  and 
cuttings,  and  by  bridges  or 
viaducts,  exposing  sections 
of  strata  and  exhibiting 
various  geological  pheno- 
mena. 

The  Lower  Silurian  rocks, 
south  of  Dublin,  are  only 
fossiliferous  at  a  few  locali- 
ties ;  near  Rathdrum,  in  the 
county  of  Wicklow,  at  Slie- 
veroe,  are  strata  of  Caradoc 
Bala  age,  from  which  have 
been  obtained  the  following 
characteristic  fossils  :  —  Fa- 
vosites  fibrosus,  Orthis  testn- 
dinaria,  0.  actonite,  Leptizna 
sericea,  and  Euomfhalus  per- 
turbatus  ;  the  Trilobites 
Calymene  Blumenbachii,  Ho- 
molonotns  bisulcatus,  Trinn- 
dens  concentrkus,  and  Bey- 
richia  complanata. 

Cambrian  strata  are  also 
the  prevalent  rocks  on  the 
peninsula  of  Howth,  county 
of  Dublin ;  they  are  asso- 
ciated with  quartz  rock,  as  at 
Bray.  The  'rocks  here  are 
more  slaty  in  composition, 
and  the  presence  of  Old- 
hamia  is  rare  ;  the  late 
Professor  Kinahan  believed 
he  had  discovered  it  in 
what  are  called  the  "  Puckrocks,"  on  the  shore 
east  of  Howth,  accompanied  by  tracks,  resembling 
those  observed  at  Bray;  the  highest  point,  Ben 
Howth,  is  560  feet  high.  In  the  demesne  of  the 
Earl  of  Howth  these  rocks  are  well  seen,  and  a 
picturesque  view  may  be  obtained  of  the  island  of 
Ireland's  Eye,  which  is  composed  of  similar  strata, 
Cambrian  and  quartz  rock.  In  the  further  distance 
may  be  seen  the  island  of  Lambay.  The  drift  at 
Howth,  in  the  cliffs  over  Balscadden  Bay,  is  of  consi- 
derable thickness,  containing  fragments  of  marine 
shells.     On  the  Dublin  mountains,  at  an  elevation  of 


»w 


Fig.  129.  Large  Tubular 
cast  of  Histioderma 
Hibemicum. 


more  than  a  thousand  feel,  marine  shells  have  been 
collected  and  described  by  the  Rev.  Maxwell  Close 
from  two  places  ("On  the  Elevated  Shell-bearing 
Gravels  near  Dublin,"  Jonni.  Gcol.  Soc.  of  Dublin, 
vol.  iv.,  New  Series,  p.  36).  At  Bohernabreena,  near 
the  river  Dodder,  beyond  Fort  Bridge,  about  six  miles 
S.W.  of  Dublin,  marine  fossils  were  also  obtained 
from  the  drift-gravel  and  sand  by  the  late  Dr.  Kina- 
han [Journ.  Gcol.  Soc.  of  Dublin,  vol.  viii.  p.  87). 

The  formation  upon  which  Dublin  is  built,  and  its 
immediate  neighbourhood,  is  Upper  Limestone  ;  this 
formation,  however,  being  for  the  most  part  covered 
by  drift,  composed  of  sand  and  gravel. 

Sections  in  railway  cuttings,  rivers,  and  canals, 
and  various  quarries,  show  the  character  of  the  rock 
to  be  a,  dark  earthy  limestone,  technically  termed 
calp ;  fossils  in  this  rock  are  comparatively  rare. 
The  Lower  Carboniferous  Limestone  appears  at 
Raheny,  continuing  to  Howth,  where  it  is  more 
fossiliferous.  At  Balscadden  Bay,  north-east  of 
Howth,  Lower  Limestone  shale,  similar  to  the  rocks 
forming  the  low  cliffs  on  shore  a  little  south  of  Mala- 
hide,  may  be  seen.  It  rests  unconformably  on  Cam- 
brian strata,  containing  numerous  corals,  crinoids, 
brachiopods,  Sec. 

The  Limestone  at  Howth  is  compact  and  thick- 
bedded,  frequently  magnesian,  and  occasionally  as- 
suming a  perfect  dolomite. 

The  picturesque  scenery  of  Howth  (reached  by  a 
branch  of  the  Great  Northern  Railway  from  Amiens- 
street  terminus),  is  of  considerable  interest,  especially 
where  seen  from  the  road  round  the  east  cliff,  and 
through  the  Earl  of  Howth's  demesne,  the  more 
elevated  parts  (towards  the  Baily  Lighthouse)  being 
nearly  as  wild  in  character  as  some  parts  of  Connemara. 

The  rocks  forming  the  low  cliffs  on  the  shore 
south  of  Malahide,  Lower  Limestone  shale,  contain 
an  abundance  of  fossils,  corals,  crinoids,  and  mol- 
lusca,  especially  brachiopoda.  On  the  surface  of 
some  of  the  beds,  where  weathered  by  sea  and  atmo- 
spheric action,  the  characteristic  coral,  Lithodcndroii 
junceum,  may  be  seen  in  bunches  attached  to  a  large 
bivalve  shell,  which  was  named  by  Professor  McCoy 
Pleurorhynchus  fusifonnis.  The  quarries  of  Lower 
Limestone  near  Malahide,  at  Feltrim,  a  little  to  the 
south-west,  and  Sea  Mount,  south-east,  has  supplied 
a  large  number  of  species. 

Still  farther  north,  at  Portraine,  reached  by  the 
same  railway  from  Donabate  station,  eleven  and  a 
quarter  miles  from  Dublin,  the  prominent  rocks  are 
Lower  Silurian,  of  Caradoc  Bala  age,  similar  strata 
also  occurring  at  the  Island  of  Lambay,  two  and  a 
half  miles  east. 

The  beautiful  ro'ck  called  Lambay  Porphyry,  which 
forms  a  large  proportion  of  the  Island,  composed  of 
pale  green  crystals  of  orthose  felspar,  in  a  base  of 
a  dark  green  colour,  also  occurs  on  the  opposite  Por- 
traine coast. 

The  Lower  Silurian  Limestone  on  this  coast,  as  at 


HARDWICKE'S  SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


183 


Lambay,  is  a  very  dark  and  compact  grey  rock,  very 
fossiliferous  in  certain  places.  Corals  are  abundant, 
projecting  in  relief,  where  weathered.  Still  farther 
north  on  the  coast,  at  Loughshinny,  reached  from  the 
Rush  and  Lusk  station  of  the  same  railway,  the 
Lower  Coal  Measure  shales  appear  with  characteristic 
fossils,  Posidonoviya  Becheri  and  Goniatites  sphczricas, 
the  first-named  shell  defining  the  horizon  of  the  junc- 
tion beds  between  the  Lower  Coal  Measure  shales 
and  Upper  Carboniferous  Limestone. 

North  of  this,  on  the  shore  at  Balbriggan,  may  be 
seen  black  slates,  with  numerous  Graptolites  ;  these 
are  principally  single-celled  species  referred  to  G. 
Hisingeri.  At  the  Cardy  rocks,  a  little  more  north, 
fossils  indicative  of  Caradoc  age,  are  found  in 
brown  shales,  of  which  several  species  have  been 
enumerated. 

The  great  Irish  Deer  (Cervits  megaceros)  has  been 
found  near  Dublin,  associated  with  the  Reindeer 
{Cervtts  tarandus) ;  it  existed  formerly  in  considerable 
numbers  in  this  neighbourhood,  as  in  other  parts  of 
Ireland.  The  Bog  of  Ballybetagh,  near  Kiltiernan, 
on  the  boundaries  of  the  counties  of  Dublin  and 
Wicklow,  has  supplied  a  great  many  examples  of  this 
stupendous  animal.  Professor  Oldham,  in  a  paper 
read  before  the  Geological  Society  of  Dublin,  in 
1847*  records  the  discovery  of  the  remains  of  at 
least  thirty  individuals,  accompanied  by  the  head 
and  antlers,  with  other  bones  of  a  Reindeer  (Cervits 
tarandus),  in  the  cutting  for  a  drain  in  this  bog.  Dr. 
A.  Carte,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  same  society,  f 
gives  an  account  of  a  skull  and  antlers  of  a  Reindeer 
from  the  Curragha  Bog,  near  Ashbourne,  county 
Dublin  (Sheet  101,  Geol.  Survey  Maps).  This 
fine  example,  in  the  Royal  Dublin  Society's  Museum 
was  found  in  a  very  similar  deposit  to  that  previously 
mentioned,  imbedded  in  marl  and  clay,  under  four  or 
five  feet  of  peat.  From  the  peculiar  shape  of  the 
brow  antler,  these  specimens  are  proved  to  belong  to 
the  Caribou,  or  "Barren  ground"  variety,  which  now 
inhabits  America  between  the  sixty-third  and  sixty- 
sixth  degrees  of  north  latitude,  in  the  winter  ;  migra- 
ting to  the  coasts  of  the  Arctic  Sea  in  summer.  It  is, 
therefore,  very  interesting  to  meet  with  evidence  of 
the  former  existence  of  this  variety  of  the  Reindeer 
in  Ireland. 

Glacial  action  is  evidenced  by  scorings  of  the  rocks, 
which  are  observable  at  Kilruddery,  Bray,  and  at 
Portraine  ;  by  the  transport  of  large  masses,  such  as 
that  of  granite,  on  the  top  of  Bray  Head,  and  the 
distribution  of  boulders  of  various  formations,  in  the 
drift  along  the  railway,  near  Killiney. 

The  Eskers  of  Ireland  are  frequent  over  all  the 
low  central  plain ;  they  are  continuous  banks  of  drift, 
composed  of  sand  and  gravel,  sometimes  fifteen  or 
twenty  miles  in  length,  with  steep  sides,  varying  from 


*  your.  Geol.  Soc.  of  Dublin,  vol.  iii.  p.  280(1848). 
t  Ibid.,  vol.  x.  p.  103  (1863-64). 


twenty  feet  to  seventy  feet  above  the  general  level. 
One  is  to  be  seen  three  or  four  miles  to  the 
west  of  Dublin,  running  from  the  banks  of  the 
Dodder,  past  the  old  castle  of  Tymon,  by  the  Green 
Hills,  to  the  valley  of  the  Liffey. 

Should  any  member  of  the  British  Association 
visiting  Ireland  wish  to  travel  further,  there  are  the 
collieries  near  Castlecomer,  county  Kilkenny,  and 
Killenaule,  county  Tipperary,  with  anthracite  coal  and 
numerous  fossil  plants,  &c,  in  the  shales,  especially  in 
the  collieries  near  Tipperary ;  the  celebrated  old  red 
sandstone  quarry  at  Kiltorcan,  near  Thomastown, 
county  Waterford,  with  its  well-preserved  plant 
and  fish  remains;  the  promontory  of  Hook  Head, 
county  Wexford,  where  the  lower  shales  of  the  car- 
boniferous limestone  are  covered  with  a  profusion  of 
beautiful  fossils,  and  at  Sand  Eel  Bay,  close  adjoin- 
ing, the  junction  between  the  Old  Red  Sandstone  and 
carboniferous  strata  may  be  seen  ;  the  carboniferous 
limestone  between  Limerick  and  Foynes,  full  of 
good  fossils  ;  the  Upper  Silurian  rocks  of  the  Dingle 
promontory,  county  Kerry,  more  difficult  of  access, 
but  containing  numerous  fine  fossils  ;  the  cliffs  of 
Moher,  county  Clare,  of  Coal  Measure  strata,  up- 
wards of  nine  hundred  feet  high,  looking  out  upon 
the  broad  Atlantic,  and  the  Llandovery  strata  of  Con- 
nemara  ;  the  Silurian  limestone  of  the  Chair  of  Kil- 
dare,  with  its  profusion  of  fossils  and  intrusive 
porphyry,  like  that  of  Lambay ;  the  hard  chalk 
"white  limestone"  of  Antrim,  capped  by  basalt, 
with  lias  and  Rhcetic  beds,  near  Belfast  and  Larne  ; 
and  the  Miocene  plant  beds,  associated  with  the  iron 
ores  in  the  basalt,  near  Carrickfergus,  and  extending 
over  a  considerable  portion  of  the  north  of  Ireland. 


MICROSCOPY, 

A  Good  Mounting  Medium. — For  some  time  I 
was  at  a  loss  to  find  a  good  medium  that  would  fix 
a  metallic  or  other  ring  to  the  glass  slide,  and  at  the 
same  time  resist  the  action  of  thin  balsam,  that  is, 
balsam  rendered  thin  by  the  addition  of  chloroform, 
benzine,  or  turpentine.  I  tried  gold  size,  and  allowed 
the  slip  to  remain  for  some  months  to  get  perfectly 
hard  before  attempting  to  use  it.  This  was  mode- 
rately successful  as  far  as  the  turpentine-balsam  went, 
but  with  the  chloroform  and  benzine  it  was  a  com- 
plete failure.  Marine  glue  is,  of  course,  entirely  out 
of  the  question,  it  being  so  rapidly  and  easily  dis- 
solved by  the  two  last-named  fluids.  The  only 
medium  I  have  found,  that  is  thoroughly  to  be  relied 
upon,  is  a  cement  known  as  "  Thompson's  Cement," 
which  is  made  by  Messrs.  Thompson  &  Capper,  of 
4,  Lord  Street,  Liverpool.  I  give  the  name  and 
address,  as  it  is  important  to  know  where  it  can  be 
obtained.  I  have  used  it  now  for  some  time  with 
the  most  satisfactory  results.     The  balsam,  no  matter 


184 


HARD  W1CKE 'S    SCIENCE-  G OSSIP. 


with  what  it  is  diluted,  remains  clear  and  transpar  ent. 
The  ring  can  be  put  on  the  glass  slip,  the  cell 
cleaned,  and  be  ready  for  use  in  a  few  minutes.  I 
strongly  recommend  it  to  the  working  micro  scopist. 
—John  S.  Hicks,  F.R.C.S. 

VoLVOX  Glo BATOR. — We  strongly  recommend 
our  readers  to  study  an  article  in  the  Popular  Science 
Review  for  July,  on  "Volvox  Globator,"  written  by 
Mr.  A.  W.  Bennett,  M.A.,  F.L.S.  The  same 
journal  also  contains  a  capital  paper  by  Dr.  Wallich, 
"  On  the  Radiolaria  as  an  order  of  the  Protozoa." 

Microscopy  in  America. — It  is  proposed  to  hold 
a  Microscopical  Congress  in  August  next  at  Indian- 
apolis, at  which  it  is  expected  that  all  the  leading 
microscopical  societies  in  the  United  States  and 
elsewhere  will  be  represented.  Perhaps  this  may  be 
the  means  of  settling  many  of  the  vexed  questions 
with  which  journals  devoted  to  microscopical  re- 
search are  often  too  full.  There  is  every  expectation 
of  the  meeting  being  successful,  both  in  point  of 
numbers,  and  in  the  character  of  the  papers  to  be 
read. 

The  Examination  of  Minute  Living  Organ- 
isms.— Mr.  Dudgeon  suggests  that  living  microsco- 
pical objects  might  always  be  seen,  if  the  objective 
were  enclosed  in  a  brass  or  other  metallic  tube, 
having  its  lower  end  closed  by  a  piece  of  thin  micro- 
scopic glass  coming  close  up  but  not  touching  the 
object-glass.  With  this  protection,  he  says,  the  end 
of  the  microscope  may  be  plunged  into  a  small  tank 
filled  with  water,  containing  living  organisms,  and 
thus  the  latter  may  be  examined  at  leisure. 


ZOOLOGY, 

The  Colouring  Matter  of  Birds'  Egg- 
shells.— Mr.  Liebermann  has  recently  proved  that 
the  blue  or  green  colour  of  birds'  eggs  is  due  to  a 
bile  pigment  which  resembles  biliverdin  in  certain 
respects.  The  shells  frequently  contain  a  second 
colouring  matter — not  a  bile  pigment — which  ex- 
hibits a  characteristic  absorption  spectrum. 

The  Manatee  at  the  Westminster  Aqua- 
rium.— Those  who  have  the  opportunity  should 
lose  no  time  in  seeing  the  Manatee  (Mauatus  Ameri- 
canus)  now  on  exhibition  at  the  Westminster  Aqua- 
rium. This  very  individual  might  have  been  the  one 
which  sat  for  its  portrait  in  Science-Gossip  for 
March,  1876,  so  true  is  the  illustration.  Mr.  South- 
well's paper  of  the  above  date  will  be  now  read 
with  greater  interest  by  those  who  visit  the  living 
example.  The  latter  was  taken  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Essequibo,  off  the  island  of  Leguan,  British  Guiana. 
It  was  brought  on  the  deck  of  the  Blenheim  to 
Glasgow,  where  Mr.  Carrington,  the  able  naturalist  of 
the  Westminster  Aquarium,  purchased  it,  on  the  1st 


of  July  last,  and  brought  it  thence  to  London,  in  a 
special  truck.  The  greatest  difficulty  experienced  in 
its  transit  by  railway  was  in  keeping  up  the  right 
temperature,  which  is  between  70"  and  750.  When 
the  temperature  was  lower  than  700,  the  Manatee 
would  resent  the  reduction  by  raising  itself  bodily 
upright  out  of  its  tank.  The  powerful  muscles  of 
its  enormous  tail,  and  the  extreme  buoyancy  of  its 
body,  would  easily  enable  the  animal  to  do  this.  It  is 
healthy,  eats  about  two  stone  weight  of  lettuces, 
cabbages  watercress,  zostera,  ulva,  &e.,  every  day ; 
and  sleeps  in  what  seems  a  most  uncomfortable 
posture,  arched  like  a  half-bent  bow,  but  still  resting 
on  its  tail.  The  last  of  its  tribe  as  a  denizen  of 
English  waters  was  the  Halitherinm  of  the  Suffolk 
Crags. 

Planorbis  Nautileus  (Crista). — I  have  been 
fortunate  enough  to  find  the  above  minute  shell  upon 
the  Potamogeton  in  two  ponds,  not  far  from  the  Via- 
duct, Folkestone.  In  one  the  specimens  were  more 
numerous  and  finer  than  the  other.  It  is  the  first 
time  this  Planorbis  has  been  found  in  this  locality 

(July).-;*  y.  r. 

Habits  of  Raptorial  Flies.  —  My  attention 
being  attracted  by  a  sharp  buzzing  on  the  window,  I 
looked,  and  saw  two  flies  struggling  together  and 
rolling  over.  After  a  very  few  moments  one  of  them , 
an  Empis  I  think,  flew  away,  leaving  the  other,  a 
common  house-fly,  alive,  and  apparently  little  the 
worse.  It  walked  about,  and  took  a  short  flight,  but 
in  less  than  half  a  minute  it  rolled  over,  became 
convulsed,  and  died  almost  instantly  after.  Whether 
its  death  was  due  to  the  abstraction  of  the  blood,  or 
to  the  injection  of  a  poison,  I  cannot  say,  but  the 
brief  attack  of  the  rapacious  fly  seemed  certainly 
more  rapidly  fatal  than  that  of  a  moderate-sized 
spider. — J.  W.  Slater. 

The  Microphone  in  Natural  History. — 
Mr.  S.  D.  Bairstow  suggests  the  use  of  the  micro- 
phone for  the  investigation  of  the  phenomenon  of 
stridulation  in  insects. 

Mimicry  in  Insects. — At  a  recent  meeting  of 
the  Entomological  Society  the  photographs  of  two 
species  of  Orthoptera,  allied  to  Ptcrochroza  illus- 
Irata  and  P.  ocellata  were  exhibited,  in  illustration 
of  the  doctrine  of  "mimicry."  The  above  insects 
are  remarkable  for  their  perfect  imitation  of  dead 
leaves,  which  is  carried  out  in  the  neuration  of  the 
wings  even  to  microscopic  details,  as  compared  with 
the  ribs  and  veining  of  leaves. 

Moles  at  Work. — Professor  Paley,  in  a  late 
number  of  your  periodical,  says  that  he  never  met  a 
person  who  could  aver  having  seen  a  molehill  cast 
up.  I  beg  to  state  that  moles  have  been  at  work 
under  my  eyes  on  two  occasions.  So  many  years 
have  since  passed,  that  I  can  only  say,  as  to  time, 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


'85 


that  the  process  took  place  in  broad  day ;  whereas 
the  mole  usually  works,  I  believe,  at  three  or  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  On  one  of  the  above  occa- 
sions I  was  walking  through  a  wood,  and  seeing  a 
disturbance  in  the  ground  close  to  me,  I  watched  it. 
A  mole,  in  working  through  the  ground,  had  come 
upon  the  root  of  a  tree  running  horizontally  near  the 
surface  :  it  did  not  suit  the  animal's  convenience  to 
burrow  under,  and  so  up  he  came  into  daylight.  In 
another  minute,  however,  he  was  into  the  earth  again 
on  the  other  side  of  the  root. —  IV.  H.  B.  P. 

Science  in  the  Provinces. — One  noteworthy 
feature  of  modern  scientific  research  is  the  spirited 
manner  with  which  it  is  pursued  in  nearly  every  city 
and  town  of  importance  in  the  United  Kingdom. 
Under  some  name  or  another  denoting  the  nature  of 
the  particular  sciences  affected,  societies,  associations) 
and  clubs,  are  distributed  far  and  near.  In  most  of 
them  we  find  men  whose  names  are  widely  known  for 
scientific  research,  and  who  frequently  act  as  nuclei 
around  which  those  gather  who  love  science  in  some 
form  or  another.  Many  of  these  provincial  societies 
publish  their  transactions,  in  which  we  often  find 
papers  that  would  do  honour  to  any  learned  society 
in  London.  In  natural  science  prominence  is  usually 
and  very  properly  given  to  papers  dealing  with  the 
fauna  and  flora,  geology  and  meteorology  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood. The  number  of  societies  publishing  some 
abstract  or  another  of  their  work  is  increasing,  inso- 
much that  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  establish 
such  periodicals  as  the  "  Naturalist,"  to  record  the 
doings  of  the  various  Yorkshire  societies  and  clubs  ; 
the  "  Midland  Naturalist "  doing  the  same  useful 
work  for  all  societies  in  the  Midland  counties. 
Among  other  publications  of  this  kind  we  have 
lately  received,  we  are  glad  to  note  the  establishment 
of  another  society  in  Manchester  under  the  name  of 
"  The  Science  Association,"  the  president  of  which 
is  Mr.  Thomas  Harrison,  F.C.S.,  and  the  secretary, 
Mr.  A.  Hutton.  This  association  has  been  founded 
chiefly  to  enable  working  men  to  meet  together  for 
scientific  purposes.  We  wish  it  every  success  !  The 
Liverpool  Naturalists'  Field  Club  have  just  issued 
their  "Proceedings"  for  1877-78,  containing  their 
president's  address,  and  well-written  accounts  of  the 
excursions  and  evening  meetings.  This  is  one  of  the 
oldest  of  our  field  clubs,  having  been  in  existence 
eighteen  years.  It  is  fortunate  in  having  for  its 
president  such  a  well-known  and  enthusiastic  natural- 
ist as  the  Rev,  H.  H.  Higgins,  M.A.  The  Goole 
Scientific  Society  have  also  issued  their  Annual  Re- 
port, in  which  we  find  short,  but  interesting,  and  often 
valuable  accounts  of  the  summer  excursions  ;  whilst 
some  valuable  papers,  such  as  the  list  of  birds  ob- 
served in  the  neighbourhood  (by  Mr.  T.  Bunker), 
and  another,  the  flora  of  the  district  (by  Mr.  Birks), 
have   been  printed  in  full.     The  Hastings  and  St. 


Leonard's  Philosophical  and  Historical  Society  have 
published  a  cheap  but  full  and  clear  guide  to  the 
natural  history  of  the  vicinity,  in  which  we  find  a 
catalogue  of  all  the  mammals,  birds,  reptiles,  amphi- 
bians, fishes,  mollusca,  insecta,  Crustacea,  &c,  to- 
gether with  an  equally  accurate  list  of  plants,  phanero- 
gamic, and  cryptogamic.  The  Birmingham  Philoso- 
phical Society  have  also  issued  their  "  Proceedings  " 
for  1876-77,  in  which  we  find  more  abstruse  papeis 
"On  the  Kinetic  Theory  of  Gases,"  by  the  Rev.  H.  W. 
Watson;  "On  Science  as  an  Instrument  of  Higher 
Education,"  by  Mr.  Hookham ;  "On  the  Place  of 
Archaeology  in  Science,"  by  Mr.  J.  Kenward,  &c. 
We  shall  at  all  times  be  glad  to  receive  copies  of  the 
papers  or  abstracts  of  meetings  of  any  or  all  of  our 
provincial  societies. 

The  British  Association  Meeting  at  Dub- 
lin.— This  annual  congress  of  science  commences 
its  meetings  at  Dublin  on  August  14th,  under  the 
presidency  of  William  Spottiswoode,  LL.D.,  F.R.S. 
&c.  The  following  are  appointed  Presidents  of 
Sections  : — Mathematical  and  Physical,  the  Rev. 
Professor  Salmon,  F.R.S.  ;  Chemical,  Professor 
Maxwell  Simpson,  F.R.S.  ;  Geology,  John  Evans, 
D.C.L.,  F.R.S.;  Biology,  Professor  W.  H.  Flower, 
F.R.S.  ;  Department  of  Zoology  and  Botany,  Profes- 
sor Flower  ;  Department  of  Anthropology,  Professor 
Huxley  ;  Department  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology 
Dr.  R.  Mc  Donnell ;  Geography,  Professor  Sir 
Wyville  Thomson ;  Economics  and  Statistics,  Profes- 
sor J.  K.  Ingram  ;  Mechanical,  E.  Easton,  C.  E.  In 
addition  to  the  inaugural  address  there  will  be  lectures 
by  Mr.  G.J.  Romanes,  F.L.S.  on  "Animal  Intelli- 
gence," and  by  Professor  Dewar,  on  "  Modern  Ideas 
of  Chemical  Action."  An  excursion  committee  has 
prepared  a  guide  book  to  all  the  places  appointed 
to  be  visited,  so  that  every  object  of  scientific  interest 
may  be  brought  before  the  notice  of  the  visitors. 
We  anticipate  a  great  success  for  the  Dublin  meeting. 


BOTANY, 

Fertilization  of  Ophrys  muscifera.  —  H. 
Midler  has  communicated  to  Nature  some  new  facts 
in  connection  with  the  hitherto  mysterious  fertilization 
of  this  plant.  In  sunny  weather,  and  under  normal 
conditions,  the  labellum  secretes  fluid,  and  a  broad, 
central,  longitudinal  stripe  of  its  surface  is  covered 
with  small  drops.  Of  50  fresh  flowers,  Mr.  Miiller 
found  the  labellum  in  13  covered  with  such  drops  ; 
in  25,  shining  adhering  moisture;  and  in  12  without 
any  conspicuous  trace  of  fluid.  The  two  small 
shining  projections  on  each  side  of  the  base  of  the 
labellum  were  quite  dry  in  all  the  flowers.  In  one 
flower  he  saw  a  fly  (Sarcophaga)  sitting  on  the 
labellum,  and  licking  the  drops.  Its  head  was  directed 
towards  the  base  of  the  labellum.     On  Mr.  Midler's 


iS6 


HARD  IVICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OS  SIP. 


approaching,  it  flew  away  before  having  reached  the 
sham-nectaries,  and  the  flower  visited  by  it  was  found 
without  pollen  on  the  stigmas,  and  with  both  pollinia 
in  their  cells.  Mr.  Midler  thinks  it  probable  that 
this  fly,  if  it  had  not  been  disturbed  by  his  approach, 
would  have  stepped  forward  on  the  labellum,  and, 
trying  one  of  the  sham  nectaries,  would  have  removed 
one  of  the  pollinia,  and  perhaps  have  transferred  it  to 
the  stigma  of  another  plant. 

Botanical  Notes  from  the  Isle  of  Wight. 
— Some  of  your  readers  may  be  interested  in  the  fol- 
lowing botanical  notes  on  specimens  obtained  in  the 
Isle  of  Wight  early  in  June.  Taking  Ventnor  as  a 
starting-point,  there  are  a  great  number  of  plants  to 
be  found,  either  by  rambling  through  the  beautiful 
landslip  between  Bonchurch  and  Luccombe  Chine 
to  the  Shanklin  Copse,  or  by  ascending  the  steep 
sides  of  St.  Boniface  Down  through  the  Rew  Wood, 
and  returning  to  Ventnor  by  St.  Lawrence  and  the 
cliff.  In  either  case,  by  walking  about  five  miles, 
the  diligent  collector  will  be  rewarded  with  a  great 
variety  of  flowers — some  necessarily  common,  others 
of  rare  occurrence.  In  the  more  shaded  parts  of  the 
landslip  I  obtained  specimens  of  Epipaclis  latifolia, 
or  broad-leaved  Helleborine ;  Listera  ovata  (Tway- 
blade) ;  Ophrys  apifera  (Bee  Orchis) ;  Orchis  metadata 
(Spotted  Orchis);  Orchis  latifolia  (Marsh  Orchis); 
also,  half-withered  masatla  (early  Purple  Orchis) ;  the 
Iris  fcetidissima,  or  Purple  Iris  ;  Chlora  perfoliata 
(Perfoliate  yellow-wort) ;  Hypericum  perforatum  (St. 
John's  Wort);  Anthyllis  vulneraria ;  Lathy  rus 
pratensis  ;  Hippocrepis  comosa  ;  Lotus  comiculatus  ; 
Lychnis  Flos-cuculi ;  L.  diurna ;  L.  vespertina ; 
Silcne  inflata  ;  Geum  itrbanum  ;  Anagallis  arvensis, 
Lysimachia  nemorum ;  Ononis  arvensis ;  Tamus 
communis ;  Galium  cruciatum ;  Scrophularia 
nodosa  ;  Geraniums  (3),  Veronicas  (2),  Myosotis  (2) ; 
Epilobium  palustre.  These  were  the  plants  actually 
in  flower,  but  I  observed  many  just  in  bud,  or,  on 
the  other  hand,  already  faded  ;  among  the  latter  the 
Garlic  had  evidently  been  out  in  profusion  near 
Luccombe.  On  the  Ivy  the  parasitical  Orobanche 
major  (Greater  Broom  Rape)  is  found  in  great  quanti- 
ties ;  and  altogether,  during  a  hurried  search,  I  col- 
lected thirty-two  different  species  between  Ventnor 
and  Luccombe  Chine.  From  Luccombe  Chine  a 
footpath  leads  over  a  couple  of  fields  across  the 
.Shanklin  road  to  the  copses  beyond,  here  I  found 
Aspcrida  odorata  (Sweet  Woodruff) ;  Tragopogon 
pratensis  (Goat's-beard) ;  Cornus  sanguinca  (Dog- 
wood) ;  Salvia  verbeuaca  (Wild  Sage) ;  Reseda 
Lutcola  (Dyer's  Rocket) ;  Tormentilla  officinalis 
(Tormentil) ;  Fragaria  vesca  (Strawberry) ;  Linum 
perenne  (Flax),  growing  in  the  fields ;  Euphorbia 
amygdaloides  (Spurge)  ;  Cynoglossum  officinale 
(Hound's-tongue) ;  Rhinanthus  Crista-galli  (Yellow 
Rattle);  Pedicularis  palustris  (Dwarf  Red  Rattle); 
Lonicera     Peridymcnum     (Woodbine);     Ligustrum 


vulgan  (Privet),  and  other  common  plants.  Re- 
turning to  Ventnor  over  the  downs,  I  found  Gentiana 
campestris  in  abundance ;  Polygala  vulgaris,  or  Milk- 
wort, red,  blue,  and  white  ;  Gymnadenia  conopsea, 
or  Sweet-scented  Orchis ;  P.  spinosissima,  and  the 
Sweet-briar;  Helianthemum  vulgaris,  or  Rock  Rose; 
Onobrychis  saliva  (Saintfoin) ;  Thymus  Scrpyllum 
(Thyme)  ;  also  masses  of  handsome  Foxglove. 
Starting  in  the  opposite  direction,  walking  through 
the  Rew  Wood,  I  obtained  Ophrys  muscifera  after 
careful  search,  but  almost  faded ;  possibly  three 
weeks  earlier  it  might  be  found  more  easily.  The 
Habeuaria  bifolia  (Butterfly  Orchis)  is  plentiful  in 
this  wood ;  Melampyrum  pratense  is  common  enough ; 
also  further  on  towards  St.  Lawrence  the  peculiar 
Melampyrum  arvense,  or  purple  Cow-wheat,  which 
is  almost  confined  to  the  Isle  of  Wight ;  Hypericum 
pulchrum  also  I  found  here.  At  St.  Lawrence  grows 
Cotyledon  umbilicus ;  the  rare  Matthiola  incana  (or 
Wild  Stock) ;  Armeria  maritima  (Thrift) ;  the  rare 
Silcne  noctiflora  (Night-flowering  Catchfly) ;  Jasione 
montana  ;  Humulus  Lupulus.  Other  flowers  I  have 
not  given  the  names  of;  but,  altogether,  in  two 
mornings'  ramblings  I  collected  over  eighty  different 
species.  Going  somewhat  further  from  Ventnor  the 
Sundew,  Asphodel,  Bog  Myrtle,  Bog  Bean,  and  other 
interesting  plants  are  to  be  found. — C.  Parkinson. 

Chemical  Imitations  of  Vegetable  Dyes. — 
In  1868  the  manufacture  of  alizarine  from  coal-tar 
refuse  was  discovered,  and  thus  the  madder-dye  was 
artificially  imitated,  and  quite  a  new  industry  sprung 
up.  No  other  vegetable  dyes  have  been  chemically 
imitated,  until  a  few  weeks  ago,  when  synthetic 
chemistry  obtained  another  great  triumph,  in  the 
production  of  dyes  identical  with  those  of  the  Indigo 
plant  (Lsatis  tinctoria).  The  discovery  is  due  to  Pro- 
fessor A.  Baeyer,  the  successor  at  Munich  to  Baron 
Liebig.  The  name  of  Indigotine  has  been  given  to 
this  new  dye. 

Arum  itAlicum. — This  plant  has  only  been 
recorded  from  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  most  of  the 
specimens  distributed  have  been  cultivated  ones.  My 
attention  was  drawn  to  an  arum  growing  near  Pen- 
zance, by  Dr.  Ralfs,  which  he  believed  was  A. 
italicum.  It  was  the  first  living  specimen  I  had  seen, 
and  I  found  it  was  the  same  form  I  had  noticed  near 
Helston,  in  Penrose  Wood,  where  it  grows  in  con- 
siderable quantity.  I  had  put  it  down  as  a  variety 
of  the  common  form.  I  have  tried  to  dry  a  few 
specimens  but  they  are  most  troublesome. — James 
Curnoch,  Helston. 

New  Cheshire  Localities  for  Rare  British 
Plants. — Ophrys  apifera,  Sandiway,  Mid  Cheshire. 
Geranium  pyrenaicum,  by  the  roadside,  Hartford. 
Corydalis  solida,  Sutton-by-Aston.  Vinca  minor, 
Roadside,  Over.  Viola  Reichenbachiana,  Crowton. 
Scrophularia  vernalis,   Weaver   Valley.     Cystoptcris 


HARD  WICKE : S     S CIENCE- G O SSIP. 


187 


fragiHs,  near  Over.  Enonymiis  europecus,  Weaver 
Valley.  Rkamnus  cathartiais,  Newton-by-Frodsham. 
— James  F.  Robinson,  Frodsham. 

A  Glass-eating  Lichen.— In  reply  to  Mr. 
G.  S.  Boulger,  if  he  carefully  looks  at  my  paper  he 
will  see  that  I  have  mentioned  the  conditions  under 
which  the  objects  were  seen  by  a  Hartnach  micro- 
scope. If  he  will  refer  to  Sanderson,  Klein,  Foster, 
and  Brunton's  "Handbook  to  the  Physiological  La- 
boratory," and  many  other  works,  he  will  see  the 
magnifying  power  is  thus  expressed  : — Fig.  A  is,  I 
believe,  about  450,  fig.  B  about  200,  and  fig.  D 
about  2  diameters,  fig.  E  being  natural  size.  They 
were  drawn  from  the  growth  as  it  was  placed,  glass 
and  all,  under  the  microscope  without  re-agents.  The 
drawings  were  by  the  camera  lucida  and  in  pencil. 
The  reasons  why  I  concluded  that  these  growths  de- 
stroyed the  glass  were  these  :— 1.  When  they  occupy 
a  hole,  it  is  entirely  filled  by  it,  no  more,  no  less. 
2.  The  growing  processes  always  fill  the  radiating 
furrows.  3.  The  cellular  structure  is  embossed  on 
the  glass.  4.  No  other  explanation  is  admissible  of 
the  formation  of  the  holes.  5.  The  impressions 
become  confluent,  as  all  areas  do  where  growth  com- 
mences at  different  points  and  continues  from  the 
margins.  6.  It  is  known  that  calcareous,  and  even 
silicious  rocks,  are  eroded  by  the  larger  varieties  of 
lichens  growing  on  them,  as  he  may  observe  for  him- 
self.— H.  J.  JoJinston-Lavis. 

Carex  Buxbaumii  (Wahl.) — This    rare  plant, 
which  is  confined,  according  to  the  "  Cybele  Hiber- 
nica,"   to   a  very  limited  station  in  Lough  Neagh, 
near  Toombridge,  Co.  Deny,  had  not  been  seen  for 
many  years  up  to  the  present  one.      The  last  record  of 
its  existence  occurs  in  Science-Gossip  for  July  1st, 
1867,  in  a  note  communicated  by  my  friend   Mr.  S. 
A.  Stewart,  of  Belfast,  where  we  are  informed  that 
"  two  flowering  stems  were  taken  away."     Although 
diligently  looked  for  several  years  subsequently,  no 
trace  could  be  seen  of  the  plant ;  and  in  the  "Guide 
to   Belfast,"   published  by  the  Belfast   Naturalists' 
Field  Club,  on  the  occasion  of  the  British  Association 
meeting  in  1S74,  we  find  a  fear  expressed  that  it  had 
become  extinct.     The  winter  of  this  year  proved  a 
very  wet  one,  and  the  waters  of  Lough  Neagh  con- 
sequently rose  far  above   their  usual  level.     This 
circumstance  decided   me  to  go  and  search  for  the 
Carex,  and  endeavour  to  ascertain  whether  it  still 
existed,  or  had  become  one  of  the  "lost  plants"  of 
the  British  Flora.     Several  hours  careful  search,  in 
which   I   went  over   the  ground  almost  by  inches, 
resulted,  however,  to   my  extreme  delight,    in   the 
discovery  of  a  fine  tuft  of  the  Carex  adorned  with 
a  number  of  flowering  stems.     Of  these  I  removed  a 
few,  but  I  left  untouched  the  tuft  of  perennial  roots 
which  appeared  in  a  very  healthy  condition.     This 
is  the  fourth  occasion  on  which  the  plant  has  been 


gathered,  since  its  discovery  in  1835  by  Dr.  David 
Moore,  of  Glasnevin,  and  its  scarcity  appears  to  be 
accounted  for  by  the  fact,  that  in  dry  seasons  the 
plant  may  not  flower,  and  as  it  is  only  in  very  small 
quantity  would  consequently  escape  observation. — 
Thos.  II.  Cony,  Belfast. 

Drying  Plants. — Mr.  Buck's  excellent  article, 
"How  to  make  an  Herbarium,"  has  touched  on  a 
subject  of  great  importance  to  the  "  Science-Gossip 
Exchange  Club,"  that  of  mould  in  plants  which  have 
not  been  made  completely  dry.  How  many  sighs 
would  be  saved  to  those  who,  having  mounted 
apparently  lovely  specimens,  find  them,  a  few  months 
after,  enshrined  in  microscopic  fungi  ?  If  a  little 
longer  pressing  had  been  given  them  this  would  not 
have  been  the  case.  May  I  be  excused  for  this 
appeal  to  collectors. — F.H.A. 


GEOLOGY. 

The  Geology  of  Well  Sections. — At  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  Geological  Society,  Prof.  Prestwich 
read  a  paper  "on  the  Section  of  Messrs.  Meux  &  Co.'s 
Artesian  Well  in  the  Tottenham  Court-road,  with 
notices  of  the  well  at  Crossness,  and  another  at 
Shoreham,  Kent ;  and  on  the  probable  range  of  the 
Lower  Greensand  and  Palaeozoic  Rocks  under 
London."  The  well-known  boring  at  Kentish  Town 
in  1856  showed  the  absence  at  that  point  of  Lower 
Greensand,  the  Gault  being  immediately  succeeded 
by  hard  red  and  variegated  sandstones  and  clays,  the 
age  of  which  was  at  first  doubtful,  but  which  were 
finally  considered  by  the  author  to  approach  most 
nearly  to  the  Old  Red  Sandstone  near  Frome,  and  to 
the  Devonian  sandstones  and  marls  near  Mons,  in 
Belgium.  The  existence  of  some  doubt  as  to  this 
identification  rendered  the  boring  lately  made  at 
Messrs.  Meux's  brewery  particularly  interesting,  and 
the  method  of  working  adopted  by  the  Diamond- 
boring  Company,  by  bringing  up  sharply  cut  cores 
from  known  depths,  gave  special  certainty  to  the 
results  obtained.  The  boring  passed  through  652^ 
feet  of  Chalk,  28  feet  of  Upper  Greensand,  and  160 
feet  of  Gault,  at  the  base  of  which  was  a  seam,  3  or 
4  feet  thick,  of  phosphatic  nodules  and  quartzite 
pebbles.  Beneath  this  was  a  sandy  calcareous  stratum 
of  a  light  ash-colour,  passing  into  a  pale  or  white 
limestone,  and  this  into  a  rock  of  oolitic  aspect. 
Casts  and  impressions  of  shells  found  in  this  bed 
showed  it  to  be  the  Lower  Greensand,  whose  place 
it  occupied.  The  boring  was  carried  further  in  the 
hope  of  reaching  the  loose  water-bearing  sands  of 
this  formation,  but  the  rock  became  veiy  argillaceous, 
and,  when  62  feet  of  it  had  been  passed  through,  the 
boring  entered  into  mottled  red,  purple,  and  greenish 
shales,  dipping  at  350  in  an  unascertained  direction. 
These  beds  continued  through  a  depth  of  80  feet, 


i88 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


when,   their   nature    being    clearly  ascertained,   the 
boring  was  stopped.     The  fossils  of  these  coloured 
beds,  which  included  Spirifera  disjuncta,  Rhynchondla 
cuboides,   and    species    of    Edmondia,  Chonetes,  and 
Ortliis,  show  them  to  be  of  Devonian   age.     Thus, 
the  existence  of  Paleozoic  rocks   at    an    accessible 
depth  under  London,  and  the  absence  of  the  Jurassic 
series,  as  maintained  long  since  by  Mr.   Goodwin- 
Austen,  is  experimentally  demonstrated.    These  facts 
are  of  interest  in  connexion  with  the  question  of  the 
possible  extension  of  the  coal-measures    under    the 
Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  strata  of  the  south-east  of 
England.     The  beds  found  at  the  bottom  of  Messrs. 
Meux's  boring  are    of  the    same    character    as    the 
Devonian  strata  which  everywhere  accompany    the 
coal-measures  in  Belgium  and  the  north  of  France, 
being  brought  into  juxtaposition  with  them  by  great 
faults  and  flexures.     The  author  refers  especially  to 
a  remarkable  section  at  Auchy-au-Bois,  in  the  western 
extremity  of  the   Valenciennes  coal-field,   which    is 
particularly  interesting  from  its  furnishing  evidence 
that  the  Hardinghen  coal-field,  between  Calais  and 
Boulogne,  is  a  prolongation  of  that  of  Valenciennes, 
and  because  the  same  strike  and  a  prolongation  of 
the  same  great  fault  observed  at  Auchy-au-Bois  through 
Hardinghen  would  carry  the  southern  boundary  of 
any  coal-field  in  the  south-east  of  England  just  south 
of  Maidstone,  thence  passing  a  little  north  of  London. 
Hence  it  is  in  the  district  north  of  London  that  there 
is  most  probability  of  the  discovery  of  the  Carboni- 
ferous strata.     The  extent  of  country  in  which  shafts 
could  be  sunk  to  the  Paleozoic  strata  will,  however, 
be    limited    by  the    presence  of  the    water-bearing 
Lower  Greensand,  which  probably  reaches  close  to 
London  in  the  south,  reappears  in  Buckinghamshire 
and  Bedfordshire,  30  or  40  miles  north  of  London, 
and  probably  extends  some  distance  towards  the  city 
under  the  chalk  hills  of  those  counties  and  Hertford- 
shire.    The  nature  of  the  representative  of  the  Lower 
Greensand  in  the  boring,  and  the  character   of  the 
fossils  contained  in  it,  lead  the  author  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  in  it  we  have  a  deposit  produced   near  the 
shore  of  the  Neocomian  sea,  here  probably  consisting 
of  cliffs  of  Devonian  (or  Carboniferous)  rock.     From 
these  cliffs  the  calcareous  material  which  here  replaces 
the  usual  loose  sands  of  the  Lower  Greensand  was 
perhaps  derived  by  the  agency  of  springs ;  and  the 
shore-line  itself  must  be  situated  between  the  south 
end  of  Tottenham  Court-road  and  the  Kentish  Town 
boring.     The  sandy  beds  of  the  Lower  Greensand 
will  probably  be  found  to  set  in  at  no  great  distance 
to  the  southward,  presenting  the  conditions  neces- 
sary for  storing  and  transmitting  underground  waters. 
A  test  boring  made  by  Mr.  H.  Bingham  Mildmay  at 
Shoreham-place,  about  5  miles  from  Sevenoaks,  and 
in  which  the  Lower  Greensand  was  met  with  at  about 
the  estimated  depth  (450  feet)  and  furnished  a  supply 
of  water,  seems  to  confirm  these  views.     At  the  close 
of  Prof.  Prestwich's paper,  Mr.  CharlesMoore,  F.G.S., 


remarked  that  the  various  deep  well-borings  around 
London  have  abundantly  proved  the  correctness  of 
Mr.  Godwin-Austen's  inference  that  the  Palceozoic 
axis  of  the  Mendips  is  continued  beneath  the  Secon- 
dary rocks  of  the  south-eastern  counties.  Mr.  Moore 
has  himself  shown  that  where  these  Palaeozoic  rocks 
finally  disappear  under  the  Secondary  strata,  there 
are  found  at  the  unconformable  junction  of  the  two 
formations  a  set  of  deposits  indicating  the  existence 
of  very  peculiar  physical  conditions,  and  containing 
an  admixture  of  fossils  from  very  different  geological 
horizons.  Hence  he  was  led  to  inquire  whether  any 
trace  of  similar  abnormal  deposits  might  be  found  in 
the  deep  well-borings  of  London.  With  this  view  he 
set  to  work  at  washing  some  of  the  materials  supplied 
to  him  from  Meux's  well,  and  studying  the  minute 
and  often  microscopic  organisms  thus  obtained.  The 
Chalk  was  not  particularly  examined  ;  but  from  a 
single  small  sample  of  Upper  Greensand  he  obtained 
numerous  Foraminifera  and  Entomostraca,  including 
one  Cyprid  new  to  science.  The  Gault  yielded  16 
genera  and  over  30  species  of  Foraminifera,  and  20 
species  of  Entomostraca,  4  of  which  are  new,  together 
with  many  young  forms  of  Gasteropods  and  Cephalo- 
pods.  But  the  chief  interest  of  Mr.  Moore's  investi- 
gations centres  in  the  67  feet  of  strata  intervening 
between  the  Gault  and  Devonian.  In  this  marly 
and  oolitic-looking  deposit  he  found  no  less  than  85 
different  kinds  of  organisms,  exhibiting  a  singular 
admixture  of  marine  and  lacustrine  forms  of  life. 
Foraminifera  are  rare,  but  Entomostraca  and  Polyzoa 
are  very  abundant.  Some  genera  are  found,  such  as 
Carpentaria,  Saccamniina,  Thecidium,  and  Ztflania, 
of  which  the  range  in  time  is  greatly  extended  by 
these  investigations.  The  author  fully  confirms 
Mr.  Etheridge's  reference  of  the  beds  in  question  to 
the  Neocomian  period,  widely  as  they  differ  in 
physical  characters  from  the  Lower  Greensand  strata 
of  the  south-east  of  England.  From  a  careful  study 
of  the  nature  and  condition  of  preservation  of  the 
minute  organisms,  he  concludes  that  the  deposits 
which  contain  them  were  formed  at  first  in  shallow 
lacustrine  hollows  on  the  surface  of  the  Devonian 
rocks  now  lying  buried  at  a  depth  of  1,000  feet  below 
London,  and  that  these  lakes  were  invaded  by  the 
waters  of  the  Neocomian  sea,  with  the  deposits  of 
which  their  sediments  were  in  part  mingled,  and 
under  which  they  were  finally  buried.  Prof.  Ramsay 
said  that  as  the  South  Wales  coal-field,  the  Bristol 
coal-field,  and  the  Forest  of  Dean  coal-field  were 
basins  originally  continuous,  and  only  separated  by 
denudation,  Mr.  Prestwich  and  himself  had  agreed 
before  the  Royal  Coal  Commission  that  coal-fields 
might  exist  below  the  Secondary  strata  to  the  east- 
ward. The  correctness  of  this  opinion  was  proved 
by  the  boring  put  down  by  Mr.  Fox  at  Burford,  in 
Oxfordshire,  which  reached  undoubted  Coal-measures. 
Prof.  Ramsay  thought  that  one  of  these  coal-fields 
might  yet  be  found  near  London  by  penetrating  the 


HARD  Wl  CKE'  S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


189 


overlying  Secondary  rocks.  Mr.  W.Whitaker,  F.G.S., 
remarked  on  the  difference  between  the  Lower  Green- 
sand  at  the  outcrops  north  and  south  of  London,  and 
the  peculiar  oolitic  limestone  found  in  Meux's  well. 
He  regarded  the  beds  at  the  bottom  of  the  Crossness 
boring  as  by  no  means  proved  to  be  Devonian  ;  but 
thought  some  of  the  specimens  more  closely  resembled 
New  Red  Marl.  He  referred  to  the  Loughton  section, 
in  which  water  was  got  at  the  base  of  the  Gault, 
probably  indicating  the  existence  of  Lower  Greensand. 
He  thought  that,  considering  the  inverted  condition 
of  corresponding  strata  in  France  and  Belgium,  the 
determination  of  the  direction  of  the  dip  of  the  beds 
in  Meux's  well  was  by  no  means  of  great  importance. 
He  did  not  think  that  the  depth  of  Gault  at  Shore- 
ham  was  exceptional,  as  at  Caterham  and  other 
points  along  the  outcrop  an  even  greater  thickness  of 
Gault  had  been  found.  He  stated  that  the  Cambridge 
phosphate-becl,  a  few  inches  thick,  was  found  imme- 
diately above  the  Upper  Greensand  in  Meux's  well, 
and  pointed  out  that  some  doubt  existed  as  to  the 
thickness  of  the  several  beds  passed  through  in  the 
boring. 

A  Fossil  Bird.— Mr.  J.  A.  Allen  has  just  obtained 
a  new  genus  and  species  of  fossil  Passerine  bird  from 
the  insect-bearing  shales  of  Florissant,  Colorado, 
which  shows  the  greater  part  of  the  skeleton,  and 
the  impressions  of  the  feathers,  The  general  features 
indicate  arboreal  habits,  and  well  developed  power 
of  flight.  The  name  of  Palaospiza  bella  has  been 
given  to  this  interesting  Tertiary  fossil. 

A  new  Fossil  Mammal  from  the  Oolitic 
Formation  of  America. — The  right  lower  jaw  of 
a  small  mammal  has  just  been  found  in  the  Rocky 
Mountain  regions.  Its  position  was  in  the  Upper 
Oolitic  or  Jurassic  rocks,  where  it  was  found  asso- 
ciated with  the  remains  of  Dinosmiria.  The  name 
of  Dryolestes  priscus  has  been  given  to  this  newly- 
discovered  mammal,  which  bears  out  the  evidence  of 
early  mammalian  life  elsewhere  by  its  being  mar- 
supial, "and  allied  to  the  existing  opossums.  The 
size  of  this  primitive  animal  was  about  that  of  a 
weasel.  No  fossil  mammals  have  previously  been 
discovered  in  the  Oolitic  rocks  of  America. 


NOTES    AND    QUERIES. 

Remarkable  Nests. — Having  noticed  two  short 
articles  on  "Remarkable  Nests  "  in  the  Notes  and 
Queries,  I  thought  it  might  not  be  out  of  place  to 
add  one  other  which  came  under  my  notice  this  year. 
While  out  for  a  walk  late  in  March,  I  saw  two  black- 
birds and  one  thrush  fly  out  of  a  hawthorn-bush.  On 
looking  into  it,  I  found  a  true  blackbird's  nest,  built 
of  old  hay,  with  a  lining  of  mud,  and  then  relined 
with  hay,  &c,  again;  but,  curious  to  say,  it  con- 
tained three  eggs  of  the  thrush  ;  there  were  no  signs 
of  their  being  crossed.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  have 
not  since   had  the  opportunity  of  visiting  the  nest, 


else  I  might  have  been  able  to  account  for  it  in  some 
way  or  other. — Joseph  T.  Gnmersall. 

HOW    DID    THEY   GET   THERE?— On    the    17th    of 

June,  1877,  I  put  a  few  bits  of  straw  into  a  bottle 
of  water,  placed  it  in  the  sun,  left  it  there  for 
some  time,  and  had  a  large  quantity  of  the  infusoria. 
After  I  had  finished  with  the  infusion,  I  put  it  into  a 
dark  cupboard ;  it  was  left  there  for  about  seven 
months,  when,  wanting  some  wide-mouthed  bottles, 
I  filled  this  up  with  water,  and  left  it  for  a  day  or 
two,  and  when  I  came  I  found  it  swarming  with  the 
water-flea.  If  any  of  your  readers  can  give  me  any 
light  on  the  subject,  I  should  be  much  obliged. — 
E.  W.  Wilton. 

Ornithological  Nomenclature.  —  My  little 
boy  is  beginning  to  study  ornithology,  and  I  have 
warned  him  to  be  very  careful  that,  in  his  scientific 
terms,  to  make  his  adjectives  agree  with  nouns,  &c. 
In  the  first  week  of  his  study  he  brings  me  Morris 
with  Erylhaca  rubecula,  and  Wood  with  Erythacus 
rubecula,  and  asks  me  to  explain.  I  cannot.  Will 
some  correspondent  kindly  do  this  for  my  little  boy  ? 
— Robin  Goodfellcna. 

Strange  Suicide.  —  The  following  account 
appears  in  a  Bedford  paper  as  occurring  at  Wootton  : 
— A  cat  belonging  to  the  Vicar  of  this  parish  had 
given  birth  to  four  kittens.  As  she  did  not  seem 
strong  enough  to  suckle  so  many  it  was  judged  best 
to  drown  them.  After  this  she  moped  and  went 
about  in  quite  a  desponding  manner.  On  Thursday, 
June  20,  she  seemed  worse,  in  fact  half  frantic,  con- 
tinually rushing  about  the  house.  On  a  sudden  she 
dashed  out  of  the  house,  ran  across  the  lawn  and 
plunged  into  the  ornamental  pond  in  front  of  the 
house.  She  was  quickly  rescued,  and  a  little  brandy 
given  her.  As  she  then  seemed  a  little  better  she 
was  let  loose.  Later  in  the  afternoon,  however,  she 
spied  an  opportunity  to  get  out  of  the  house,  ran 
again  to  the  pond,  and  plunging  in  was  drowned 
before  she  could  again  be  recovered. 

Moles  at  Work.  —In  Professor  Paley's  paper  on 
Earthworms  in  last  month's  Science-Gossip  this 
passage  occurs  :  "  This  is  the  case  with  mole-heaps  ; 
but  I  never  saw  and  I  never  met  with  any  one  who 
could  say  he  had  seen  the  earth  actually  being  thrown 
up."  If  the  professor  is  here  speaking  of  moles, 
surely  he  knows  but  little  about  them,  almost  every 
professional  mole-catcher  carries  a  spud  with  which 
to  pounce  on  any  luckless  mole  seen  throwing  up  the 
earth.  I  myself,  one  day  last  month,  observing  a 
perfectly  fresh  mole-run,  followed  it  up,  and  soon  had 
the  satisfaction  of'  seeing  the  earth  being  thrown  up, 
evidently  by  a  mole  ;  after  watching  this  proceeding 
for  some  seconds,  I  put  my  heel  hard  down  behind 
the  mole,  thereby  cutting  off  his  retreat,  and  dug  him 
out  with  my  walking-stick.  Within  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  in  the  same  field  I  served  another  mole  the 
same.  A  third,  which  I  saw  actively  employed  in 
digging,  heard  me  coming  and  had  time  to  retreat 
before  my  foot  barred  his  tunnel.  I  may  mention  that 
the  field  had  been  that  day  sown  with  turnips  and 
rolled  down,  so  that  the  moles,  as  is  their  custom, 
were  not  throwing  up  what  are  commonly  known  as 
mole-casts,  but  simply  burrowing  about  3  inches 
under  ground  and  forcing  up  the  soil  as  they  pro- 
ceeded. From  this  and  other  evidence  I  am  strongly 
of  opinion  that  the  intelligence  of  the  mole  is  by 
many  naturalists  over-rated  ;  it  is  by  far  the  easiest 
animal  I  know  anything  about  to  trap,  and  although 
if   it   does  hear    you  coming    it    undoubtedly  runs 


190 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


away,  yet  I  think  you  may  very  often  of  a  mild 
summer's  evening  catch  live  moles  in  the  way  I  got 
mine  as  narrated  above. — James  Crouch. 

Cheap  Aquaria. — I  am  glad  to  hear  of  your 
Chicago  correspondent's  "Carboy  ;"  because  it  must 
form  an  excellent,  cheap,  serviceable,  dark,  non-cor- 
rosive aquarium,  for  workshop,  schoolroom,  or  places 
where  appearance  is  not  essential  ;  and  must  serve 
well  as  a  supplementary  reserve  tank  or  hospital  ; 
but  is  not  a  carboy  unsightly  for  drawing  or  sitting- 
rooms  ?  For  small,  simple,  movable  aquaria,  I  know 
nothing  better  than  shallow  glasses,  commercially 
known  as  "  pastry  pans,"  or  "anemone  pans."  They 
are  made  from  6  in.  to  24  in.  in  diameter,  varying 
in  depth  from  4  in.  to  12  in.,  costing  about 
6s.  6d.  for  one  22  in.  by  10  in.  I  must  take  exception 
to  "  H.  G.  Atwood's  "  "  tinfoil  binding  "  (Science- 
GOSSIP,  p.  167,  July,  1878),  because  metals  of  all 
sorts,  or  any  corrosive  material  are  bad  for  aquaria. 
Therefore  slate  tanks  are  preferable  to  iron  ones,  and 
vulcanite  pipes  are  found  best  for  circulating  pipes, 
stop-cocks,  &c,  because  rust  is  thus  avoided,  and 
the  material  strong  and  durable.  "  Obedience  to 
the  laws  of  service  "  is  of  primary  importance  in 
aquaria. — G.  S. 

Ranunculus  arvensis. — The  carpels  of  Ranun- 
culus ai-i'ensis,  which  are  covered  on  both  sides  with 
conical,  straight,  or  hooked  prickles,  probably  gave 
rise  to  the  appellation  "  Devil's  claws,"  one  of  the 
common  names  of  this  species  of  Ranunculus. — 
Ada  P. 

Robins'  Eggs. — It  may  interest  your  correspon- 
dent, Mr.  C.  A.  Haden,  to  know  that  I  have  taken, 
or  noticed,  many  clutches  of  white  eggs  of  robin. 
This  season,  I  had  brought  to  me  six  eggs,  white, 
and  considerably  larger  than  the  ordinary  robin's 
egg,  with  a  query  as  to  what  they  were,  and  at  once 
pronounced  them  to  be  robins'.  I  have  often  had 
them  brought  to  me  by  lads  as  cuckoo's  eggs. — R. 
Stan  den,  Goosnargh,  Lancashire. 

Birds  Singing  at  Midnight. — The  date  given 
in  the  April  number  of  Science-Gossip  is  a  mis- 
print. I  heard  the  vocal  concert  on  the  night  of 
Saturday,  the  1 6th  of  February,  and  two  following 
evenings.  I  had  not  observed  the  error  until  it  was 
pointed  out  to  me  by  a  friend,  and  purposed  correct- 
ing it  in  the  next  issue. — R.  Standen,  Goosnargh, 
Lancashire. 

The  Cuckoo  At  Night. — Early  last  June,  I 
often  heard  the  cuckoo  singing  between  eleven  p.m. 
and  midnight,  once  as  late  as  eleven  fifty,  but  I  never 
heard  his  voice  in  the  "small  hours,"  as  Mr.  A.  M. 
McA.  appears  to  have  done. — J.  W.  Slater. 

Varieties  of  the  Camberwell  Beauty. — In 
Central  to  Eastern  Europe,  this  butterfly,  which  is 
amazingly  common,  and  always  turns  up  when  you 
want  something  better,  has  a  decidedly  yellow  border. 
In  old-flown  specimens,  the  margin  is  sometimes 
faded  down  to  a  white. — J.   IV.  Slater. 

Fasting  Parasites. — A  friend  gave  me  some 
living  parasites  of  Capercailzie  (  Tetrao  iirogallus), 
about  seven  months  ago.  I  put  some  in  a  box,  and 
left  them  undisturbed  till  last  week,  when  upon  open- 
ing the  box,  I  was  much  surprised  to  find  two  were 
still  alive  !  What  can  they  have  lived  upon  ? — 
A.  A.  G.  A. 

Origin  of  "  Colias."— In  answer  to  your  corre- 
spondent's (Haviland)  query,  respecting  Colias  edusa, 
I  transcribe  from  the  "accentuated  list  of  the  British 


Lepidoptera,"  published  some  years  back  by  Van 
Voorst,  the  following  at  p.  2.  "  Colias,  a  surname 
of  Venus,  from  a  promontory  of  Attica,  where  she 
was  worshipped."  "Edusa,  a  Roman  divinity  wor- 
shipped as  the  protectress  of  children,  and  supposed 
to  bless  their  food  [edere,  to  eat.)"  I  think  the  above 
derivation  of  Colias,  a  more  satisfactory,  and,  at 
least,  a  more  pleasing  one  than  the  one  he  gives. — 
W.  LLambrough. 

"Green  Hastings"! — A  day  or  two  since  I 
heard  the  cry,  "  Green  Hastings"  !  which  I  do  not 
remember  having  heard  for  some  years.  When  a 
boy,  fifty  years  ago,  it  was  the  usual  cry  for  green  peas. 
Perhaps  some  readers  of  Science-Gossip  can  give 
the  origin  of  the  cry,  "  Green  Hastings  "  ! —  IV.  S.  S. 

Fleas  in  Country  Quarters.  —  I  wish  to 
mention  what  seems  to  me  to  be  a  somewhat  unusual 
occurrence.  Two  members  of  my  family  and  myself 
were  walking  out  in  the  country  on  the  10th  inst., 
and  after  having  travelled  some  miles,  feeling  tired, 
we  seated  ourselves  upon  some  trees,  in  a  meadow, 
which  had  evidently  been  cut  down  some  time,  as 
they  presented  a  very  bleached  appearance.  Shortly 
after  we  had  reached  home  we  made  the  unpleasant 
discovery  that  we  had  become  victims  to  the  attacks 
of  the  common  flea  (Pulex  irrilans),  and  it  was  with 
much  difficulty  that  we  were  able  to  rid  ourselves  of 
such  troublesome  and  unwelcome  pests.  There  is  no 
doubt  in  my  mind  that  the  insects  were  occupants  of 
the  trees  upon  which  we  rested  ;  but  the  question 
arises,  how  they  came  there.  Probably  some  of  the 
contributors  of  Science-Gossip  could  throw  some 
light  upon  the  circumstance,  which,  to  say  the  least, 
is  a  rather  peculiar  one. —  IV.  IV.  Ingatt. 

Development  of  Frog's  Spawn. — One  of  your 
contributors  on  this  subject  finds  a  difference  of  results 
with  regard  to  the  same  period  of  time  to  those  of 
another  observer.  I  think  that  temperature  has  a 
great  influence  on  the  speed  of  development ;  for  I 
gave  some  frog's  spawn  to  a  friend  in  order  that  we 
might  observe  together;  it  was  from  one  agglomera- 
tion of  ova  that  both  the  observed  batches  were  taken. 
He  placed  his  in  a  warm  room,  exposed  in  a  window 
facing  south,  while  I  placed  mine  in  a  large  cold 
room,  facing  north-west.  His  had  developed  into 
active  tadpoles  before  mine  had  altered  much,  and 
after  this  stage  his  still  progressed  far  quicker  than 
mine,  so  much  quicker,  in  fact,  that  I  concluded  that 
the  rate  of  development  could  be  very  materially 
altered  by  temperature. 

Mustard. — In  the  article  on  mustard  (p.  36)  it  is 
stated  that  some  authors  derive  sinapis  from  sino,  to 
hurt,  and  opis,  the  eyes.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find 
an  idea  more  absurd  than  this,  even  amongst  the 
wildest  vagaries  in  which  etymologists  have  run 
rampant.  In  the  first  place  the  i  in  sinapis  is  short, 
and  the  i  in  sino  (or  rather  sinomai)  is  long  ;  then 
there  is  no  such  word  as  opis  meaning  eyes  (in  Greek), 
and  though  there  is  one  something  like  it,  which  might 
by  a  stretch  bear  that  meaning,  the  s  is  an  essential 
part  of  that  word,  and  not,  like  the  j  at  the  end  of 
sinapis,  a  mere  accident.  For  older  forms  of  the 
word  are  sinapi,  sinapu,  and  napu.  We  may  not  be 
able  to  say  how  the  si  came  to  be  prefixed,  but  it  is 
certain  that  the  origin  of  all  these  words  must  be 
sought  in  connection  with  the  Celtic  and  Gaelic  root, 
which  the  author  mentions  in  the  next  sentence. 
For  those  on  the  look-out  for  prima  facie  derivations, 
there  is  one  suggested  by  Mr.  Glasspoole's  paper, 
so  obvious  that  it  is  strange  he  did  not  hit  upon  it, 
as  others  have  done.     Why  should  not  the  name  of 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


191 


mustard  be  derived  from  mustum  aniens,  in  the 
preparation  of  which  it  was  used?  Suspicious  as  it 
may  seem  at  first  sight,  on  deeper  examination  more 
will  be  found  in  favour  of  this  source  than  of  any 
other  that  has  been  proposed.  At  any  rate,  as  the 
slightest  acquaintance  with  etymological  principles 
will  show,  that  furnished  by  Mr.  Glasspoole's  pretty 
anecdote  may  be  despatched  to  the  limbo  of  all  mere 
prettiness  in  science — oblivion.  For  it  is  subject  to 
two  cardinal  objections:  first,  it  does  not  account 
for  the  s  which  originally  formed  part  of  the  word 
(compare  Old  Fr.  moustarde,  It.  mostarda,  Sp.  mos- 
taza) ;  secondly,  it  commits  the  serious  error  of 
attempting  to  account  for  the  French  name  merely 
as  a  French  word,  without  reference  to  the  cognate 
forms  in  other  languages,  all  of  which  must  have  had 
a  common  origin.  These  remarks,  though  rather 
different  from  the  ordinary  contents  of  this  journal, 
are  not  out  of  place.  For  there  is  a  science  of 
language.  The  days  are  past,  when  it  could  be  said 
that  in  etymology  "  the  vowels  meant  nothing,  and 
the  consonants  very  little,"  and,  if  the  subject  is  to  be 
entered  into  at  all  here,  something  more  is  wanted 
than  merely  to  copy  derivations  out  of  old  books. — 
W.  B.  Grozv,  B.A. 

Destruction  of  Insects,  &c. — In  the  February 
number  of  Science-Gossip,  your  correspondent 
"  L.  W.  G."  protests  against  the  robbing  of  birds' 
nests  ;  in  which  protest  I  certainly  join.  May  I  be 
allowed,  in  your  columns,  to  protest  also  against  the 
wholesale  massacre  of  insects  ?  In  the  same  number 
I  read  an  account  of  a  visit  to  Sponsa's  head-quarters, 
and  there  I  find  that  the  writer  pleads  guilty  to 
destroying  no  less  than  70  of  those  moths,  while 
he  succeeds  in  taking  80  specimens  of  Quercus.  More- 
over, he  meets  with  a  brother  collector  who  has 
taken  120  of  the  former  insect  in  three  nights,  and 
usually  takes  from  12  to  20  per  night.  "Some 
gentlemen  'uv  took  fourty  a  noight  this  season,"  he 
is  informed  by  another.  May  I  ask  such  collectors 
where  this  is  to  end ;  for  surely  Sponsa  is  no  Colorado 
beetle  to  be  stamped  out !  Is  science  promoted  in 
any  way  by  wholesale  destruction  ?  The  system  of 
exchange  is  pleaded  as  a  reason,  or  rather  an  excuse, 
for  obtaining  duplicate  specimens  ;  but  the  zealous 
entomologist  should  aim  at  something  higher  than 
becoming  a  mere  collector,  I  had  almost  said  de- 
stroyer, of  insects.  In  the  life  of  the  Scotch  naturalist, 
Thomas  Edward,  by  Smiles,  at  page  93,  I  read, 
"  He  sometimes  lost  for  a  time  the  object  of 
which  he  was  in  search,  because  he  wished  to  ob- 
serve its  traits  and  habits.  For  this  purpose  he  would 
observe  long  and  carefully  before  obtaining  posses- 
sion of  it.  By  this  means  he  was  enabled  to  secure 
an  amount  of  information  in  natural  history,  such  as 
no  book,  except  the  book  of  Nature,  could  have  sup- 
plied him  with."— H.  L.  G. 

Sea  Anemones. — I  have  kept  sea  anemones  for 
the  last  four  years  with  a  tolerable  amount  of  success, 
and  have  tried  various  sorts  of  food  for  them  ;  such  as 
raw  meat,  fish,  cockles  {Cardnm  edule),  and  mus- 
sels (Mytilus  edidis)  ;  but  find  the  last-mentioned 
agree  best  with  them,  as  they  seldom  reject  any 
portion  after  feeding,  which  I  have  found  they  con- 
stantly do  after  they  have  partaken  of  meat,  &c.  I 
give  them  pieces  varying  from  the  size  of  a  sparrow- 
shot  to  a  pea,  according  to  the  size  of  the  anemone, 
every  fifth  or  sixth  day.  Care  must  be  taken  to 
remove  any  rejecta  or  pieces  they  do  not  happen  to 
eat,  or  they  will  soon  decompose,  and  render  the 
water  foetid  and  thick.  I  may  mention  that  by 
attending  to  this  rule,  the  water  in  my  tank,  holding 


about  fourteen  gallons,  is  as  clear  as  crystal,  although 
it  has  been  over  a  year  in  use.  Referring  to  my 
friend  Mr.  Edward  HorsnailPs  note  on  Sagartia 
sphyrodeta  (page  16  of  the  current  volume),  it  may 
interest  some  of  your  readers  to  know  that  I  have  had 
three  specimens  of  Corynactis,  variety  Corallina, 
undergo  spontaneous  fission  in  manner  described  by 
Mr.  H.,  and  both  the  parent  and  offspring  are  alive 
and  doing  well  (I  had  the  original  specimens  from 
Torquay  early  last  year,  since  which  they  have  grown 
considerably).  I  think  this  will  assist  in  confirming 
the  opinion  expressed  by  Mr.  P.  H.  Gosse,  in  his 
"  British  Sea  Anemones,"  page  291,  as  to  the  in- 
crease of  this  species.  I  may  also  observe  that  I  have 
succeeded  in  rearing  several  anemones  born  in  the 
tank,  principally  Bunodes  gemmacea,  and  they  are 
now,  when  distended,  nearly  an  inch  high,  and  the 
disc  more  than  an  inch  in  diameter. — C.  A.  Crimes. 

"Buttercup. — Baits,  cow  ;  twos,  curd  (Greek). 
Butter  is  therefore  'cow-curd';  in  early  times  curd 
was  also  obtained  from  goats  and  other  animals." 

"Tulip,  from  the  Persian  tidipan,  a  turban." 


NOTICES   TO    CORRESPONDENTS, 


To  Correspondents  and  Exchangers.  —  As  we  now 
publish  Science-Gossip  a  week  earlier  than  heretofore,  we 
cannot  possibly  insert  in  the  following  number  any  communi- 
cations which  reach  us  later  than  the  gth  of  the  previous 
month. 


C.  W.  Burgess. — Your  sea-weeds  are  too  minute  and  ob- 
scure to  tell  with  any  degree  of  certainty. 

J.  W.  J.— The  plants  you  sent  us  from  Shanklin  contain 
fossil  sponges.  That  polished  is  a  Scyphonia  ;  the  other  (No. 
8)  contains  a  Ventriculite.  See  Taylor's  "  Geological  Stories," 
page  180,  et  seq.  Price  4s.  Published  by  Hardwicke  & 
Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly. 

Dr.  R.  B.  —  It  is  a  Puccinia,  very  much  like  Puccinia  Thesii. 

Is  it  quite  certain  that  the  foster-plant  is  Lythrum  ?—  M.  M.  C. 

J.  K.  (London).— It  is  the  Cerastium  tetrandrum,  although 

scarcely  distinguishable  from  some  specimens  of  C.  semicicccm- 

drum. 

Meta  V.— Your  plants  are  as  follows  :  1.  Cerastium  tri- 
viale.  2.  Doubtful.  3.  Chrysanthemum  leucanthemum. 
4.  Equisetum  arvense.  5.  Lotus  corniculatus.  6.  Geranium 
molle.  7.  Erica  cinerea.  8.  Lunula  congesta.  9.  Geranium 
pusillum.  10.  Malva  rotundifolia.  11.  Polygala  vulgaris. 
The  one  marked  2.  is  too  imperfect  for  identification. 

Meta.  V.  — We  should  advise  you  to  procure  a  small  book 
published  by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  "Notes  on  Collecting 
Natural  History  Objects,  &c."  Price  3s.  6d.  This  would  give 
you  the  information  desired. 

"An  Amateur"  (Bristol).— You  would  find  Backhouse  &  Son, 
York,  the  best  nurserymen.  No  doubt  you  could  purchase  a 
living  plant  of  Diomea  (Venus's  Fly-trap). 

S.  E.  L.  (Penrith).— An  excellent  specimen  of  Nephrodiuni 
Famisecii— or  Lastrca  Fcenisecii.  Lowe.  It  is  very  uncommon. 
J.  H.  M.  (London).— You  might  have  been  much  wider  from 
the  mark.     It  is  Sagina  procumbens,~L. 

A.  B.  M.— The  plants  enclosed  are  as  follows  :— No.  1. 
Goosegrass  (Galium  Aparine,  L.) ;  No.  2,  Herb-Robert 
(Gera?iium  Robertianum.  L.) ;  No.  3.  a  Moss  (Polytnchum 
commune);  No.  4,  also  a  Moss  (Hypnnm  rutabu/um)  ;  SSo.  5, 
Creeping  Cinquefoil  'Potentilla  reptans);  No.  6,  Galium 
saxatile.  .        .   , 

Mr.  Buck  sends  us  a  plant  gathered  on  the  banks  of  the 
Orwell  last  August,  and  thinks  it  is  Loliitm  temulentum.  It 
is  a  much  commoner  species,  namely,  Triticum  ?-epeus,  yar. 
littoreum,  Schum.,  or  the  T.  littorale,  Host,  a  species  according 
to  continental  authorities. 

A  Subscriber.— Cow's  horn  may  be  easily  softened  and 
even  dissolved  in  a  strong  alkaline  solution,  such  as  strong 
soda-lye.  ,     ...        „ 

W.   Hamborough.— "  The   strange    little    stalked   things 
are  the  eggs  of  the  Lace-wing  Fly  (Chrysopa  vulgaris),  be- 
longing to  the  Neuroptera. 

W.  C.  C.  —  Botanical  drying-paper  may  be  obtained  at 
Messrs.  Spicer's,  New  Bridge-street,  Blackfriars,  London. 

T.  S.  S.  (Rochdale).— Your  plants  are  :  No.  1,  Thyme-leaved 
Speedwell  <lrcronica  serpyllifolia).  No.  2,  Heath  Bedstraw 
{G.ilittm  saxatile)  _j 


IQ2 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE  GOSSIP. 


C.  H.  G.  (Clifton,  Bristol).— Thanks  for  the  specimen  of 
Geranium  ;  it  is  very  interesting,  and  we  trust  you  will  again 
send  anything  of  the  kind. 

\V.  HAMBOROUGH.--\Ve  are  thankful  for  the  Japan  honey- 
suckle, having  never  before  observed  it  in  flower  ;  your  locality 
must  suit  it  well. 

G.  S.  (Knison,  Wimborne).—  It  is  without  doubt  the  variable 
Veronica  agrestis :  your  description  at  once  shows  it  is  not 
polita.     It  differs  very  much  in  habit,  &c. 

J.  C.  (Helston). — Thanks  for  your  interesting  notes  on  Scilly 
Isles  ;  we  are  unable  to  state  the  condition  of  the  bean-leaf. 
The  leaf  of  elder  has  been  noticed  very  similarly  affected  this 
season.     We  will  try  to  trace  reason,  then  will  write  to  you. 

M.  S.  (Brentford  End). — Although  we  speak  with  some  un- 
certainty, yet  we  should  name  it  Medicago  scutellata.  Could 
you  allow  us  to  look  at  the  pod?  This  would  settle  the  diffi- 
culty. 

R.  W.  (Westward). — It  is  Thalictrum  montanum,  Wall, 
and  R.  Bachii.  The  latter  is  very  imperfect,  and  thus  difficult 
to  determine  ;  but  it  is  evidently  a  good  variety  of  Jluitans — 
possibly  a  new  form. 

M.  J.  Wilde. — The  stone  you  enclosed  was  a  fragment  of 
Basalt.  One  of  the  best  books  on  Conchology  is  Woodward's 
"  Recent  and  Fossil  Shells,"  published  by  Lockwood  &  Co. 

J.  P.  G. — See  an  account  of  the  Origin  and  Spread  of  the 
Potato  Disease,  in  the  vol.  of  Science-Gossip  for  1873.  It 
begins  with  the  leaf. 

B.  K. — You  had  best  obtain  "  Botanical  Labels,"  by  J. 
Robson,  arranged  according  to  the  London  Catalogue,  and 
printed  (on  one  side  only,  for  labels)  by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue, 
192,  Piccadilly,  at  4s.  6d. 

John  Hazard. — Your  cardboard-box  reached  us  in  an  utterly 
smashed  condition,  and  it  is  a  matter  for  curious  speculation  as 
to  where  the  caterpillars  are  ! 

T.  W.  B. — No.  1  is  not  like  any  diatom  we  have  seen,  and  we 
should  say  it  does  not  belong  to  that  order.  No.  2  is  Eitnotia 
diadeina,  a  form  not  uncommon  in  the  American  subpeat 
deposits  and  subalpine  gatherings  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
The  species  are,  according  to  Ehrenberg,  distinguished  by  the 
number  of  crenations,  thus  :  diodou,  triodon,  tetraodon, 
diadema,  &c.  The  largest  number  of  teeth  we  have  seen  is  24. 
Pritchard  (Kalfs)  unites  them  all,  and  names  them  E.  robusta. 
No.  2  is  perhaps  Goiiiphonema  coronation  ;  4,  5,  6,  7,  are 
either  sponge  spicula  or  fragments  of  Radiolarians. 


EXCHANGES. 

Wanted,  in  exchange  for  5-in.  bevelled  Insect-board, 
bevelled  boards  under  t\  in. — W.  H.  Cheesman,  Coolinge, 
Folkestone. 

For  either  Nitclla  translucens,  showing  rotation  of  sap, 
Batrachospermuin  ,iuouilifo>me  or  Chara  aspera,  send  well- 
mounted  Slide,  or  any  of  the  following  : — Cristatella  inucedo, 
Plutnatella  repeus,  Hydra  fusca,  Ophrydium  versatile,  to 
M.  H.  Robson,  7,  Clayton-street  East,  Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 

Side-blown  Eggs  for  exchange, — Golden  Plover,  Ring 
Plover,  Sandpiper,  Curlew,  Dunlin,  Red-shank,  Oyster- 
catcher,  Tern,  Grey  Wagtail,  and  others.  —  J.  Lancaster, 
24,  Prince's-street,  Carlisle. 

An  Injection  Syringe  and  twelve  parts  of  Science-Gossip 
for  1874,  for  well-mounted  Slides,  or  offers. — A.  Alletsee,  11, 
Foley-street,  London,  W. 

Will  exchange  Fossils  (including  sponge  from  the  chalk) 
for  British  Birds'  Eggs  or  Lepidoptera. — J.  Wrangham,  93, 
Tyrvvhitt-road,  London,  S.  E. 

Will  give  Parasite  of  Crow,  or  other  insect  preparations, 
mounted  in  balsam,  in  exchange  for  Diatoms,  or  Insect  Eggs, 
mounted  opaque. —J.  Horn,  5,  Belle-Vue-square,  Scarboro'. 

London  Catalogue,  7th  edition.  Nos.  41  and  1620  given  in 
exchange  for  44,  280,  346,  455,  392,  395,  495,  496,  484,  557,  615, 
613,  626,  627,  676,  682,  683,  692,  706,  709,  749,  767,  768,  772, 
826,  844,  851,  855.  895,  933,  1649,  1659,  id64j  1665.— A. 
Wheldon,  8,  Albion-street,  Darlington. 

Wanted,  autographs  of  celebrated  English  or  Continental 
scientists,  or  letters.  No  signatures  only,  but  letters,  essays, 
treatises,  or  writings  of  interest.  Particularly  wanted,  letters, 
&C,  of  J.  J.  Audubon  the  ornithologist.  In  exchange  small 
specimens  of  our  beautiful  Emys picta,  a  turtle  very  suitable  for 
Aquaria,  or  some  of  our  native  moths,  or  anything  procurable 
by  a  collector  here.  For  anatomists  could  procure  Necturiis 
lateralis,  our  representative  of  the  Mexican  A.xolotl. — Address, 
Chas.  Mann,  44,  Lake-street,  Chicago,  111. 

Send  object  of  interest,  with  stamped  addressed  envelope,  for 
packet  of  Eoraminfera  from  sponge  sand,  to  E.  W.  Wilton,  1, 
Northfield-villas,  Leeds. 

A  few  Silkworms  (will  soon  spin)  for  other  objects  of  interest, 
shells,  fossils,  &c.  Please  state  how  many  required. — Mrs. 
Skilton,  Brentford-end,  Middlesex. 

Viola  sepincola  offered  for  101,  156,  159,  467,  535,  544,  598, 
855.  9°7t  95°.  9S4>  985,  1029,1059  c,  1115,  1133,  1194,  1212, 
1286,  1295,  1319,  1453,  1655,  1672,  L.  Cat.,  Ed.  7.— \V.  H. 
Beeby,  2,  Outram-road,  Addiscombe,  Croydon. 

Orbiculina,  from  Bermuda,  a  beautiful  object,  well  mounted, 
in  exchange  for  other  good  slides.— J.  Ford,  Wood-view, 
Newbridge-crescent,  Wolverhampton. 


sEcidium  Urticie,  sEc.  Rauiatculacearum,  and  Pnccinia 
Malvacearum  to  exchange  for  other  unmounted  micro-fungi. — 
List  to  H.  J.  Roper,  5,  Lausanne-road,  Peckham   S.E. 

For  Snake's-head  Coralline  {Auguinaria  spatulata),  un- 
mounted, send  stamped  envelope  and  object  of  interest  to  W. 
H.  Skan,  15,  Brownlow-street,  W.C. 

Wanted  Slides  or  Material  (Triceratium  Diatoms)  and 
Polyzoa  tentacles  extended,  for  well-mounted  slides  of  Alyssum 
or  HippopAae  r/ia/uuoides. — E.  W.  Burgess,  35,  Langham- 
street,  London,  W. 

First-class  Micro-slides  offered  in  exchange  for  live  Water 
Beetles — Dyticus  marginalh,  Hydrous  piceus,  and  Acilius 
sidcatus.—  H.  Vial,  Crediton,  Devon. 

A  quantity  of  Cambridge  Greensand  Fossils  in  exchange 
for  others,  especially  Crustaceans  and  Echinoderms. — John 
W.  Carr,  Union-terrace,  Cambridge. 

Orchis  incarnata  and  Liuuiu  perennc  for  other  rare  plants. 
— John  W.  Carr,  Union-terrace,  Cambridge. 

I  have  a  4-joint  Telescope,  draws  to  17  in.,  to  exchange  for 
Lepidoptera. — G.  F.  B.,  23,  Rosemary-street,  Islington,  N. 

1  have  eight  numbers  of  Science  for  A 11  (from  commence- 
ment up  to  present  month),  a  capital  stuffed  squirrel,  and  good 
nests  of  Butcher-bird,  Yellow-hammer,  and  Bullfinch. — Wanted, 
British  birds'  eggs,  in  sets,  side-blown,  Lepidoptera  or  store- 
box  ;  Natural  History  books;  or  offers. — W.  Barrett  Roue,  165, 
White-Ladies'-road,  Bristol. 

Lond.  Cat.,  Nos.  31,  102,  162,  183,  273,  277,  295,  296,  464, 
°34>  5i5.  560,  609,  865,  1013,  1053,1123,  1213,1276  1318,  1342  b, 
1378,  1383.  1411.  1418,  1428,  1462,  1472,  1476,  1527,  1535,  1537, 
I538,  1556,  1641,  1657,  1661,  and  1666,  for  623.  626,  631,  637, 
640,  647,  649,  657,  658,  663,  676,  691,  693,  698,  725,  733,  746, 
747.  759.  772>  802,  826,  864,  870,  905,  938,  965,  975,  and  1007.— 
Win.  West,  Chemist,  Bradford. 

Well-mounted  physiological  specimens  in  return  for  any 
unmounted  material  of  interest. — George  Baker,  37,  Cross- 
street,  Islington,  N. 

Send  well-mounted  slides  of  Foraminifera  or  Polariscopic 
objects  for  others,  or  mounting  materials.  List  sent.  —  E. 
Atkins,  200,  Essex-road,  Islington,  London. 

Wanted,  Blackwall's  "  British  Spiders,"  vol.  ii.,  in  exchange 
for  Science-Gossip  from  the  commencement,  12  vols.,  bound 
in  cloth  ;  or  cash. — Address,  James  Grant,  care  of  Editor  of 
Science-Gossip. 

Wanted,  a  pure  and  clean  gathering  of  Volvox  globator, 
(communicate  before  collecting).  First-class  slides  in  exchange. 
— E.  Wheeler,  48,  Tollington-road,  Holloway,  N. 


BOOKS,  &c,  RECEIVED. 

"  West  Yorkshire  :  An  Account  of  its  Geology,  Botany,  Sic." 
By  J.  W.  Davies,  F. L.S.,  and  F.  A.  Lees,  F.L.S.  London: 
L.  Reeve  &  Co. 

"The  Physical  System  of  the  Universe."  ByS.  B.  Skertchley, 
F.G.S.     London  :  Dalby,  Isbister,  &  Co. 

"  The  Creation  of  Moses  and  Science  in  Harmony."  By  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Stewart.     London  :  Eliot  Stock. 

"  The  House  of  Life."  By  Mrs.  Miller.  London  :  Chatto  & 
Windus. 

"  A  Science  Primer."  By  Dr.  McVicar.  London  :  W. 
Blackwood  it  Sons. 

"  Phosphates  in  Nutrition."  By  M.  F.  Anderson.  London  : 
Bailliere  &  Co. 

"  Science  Made  Easy."  By  Thos.  Twining.  London  :  Hard- 
wicke &  Bogue. 

"A  First  Catechism  of  Botany."  By  John  Gibbs.  Chelms- 
ford :   E.  Durrant  &  Co. 

"  Popular  Science  Review."     July. 

"  Land  and  Water."  ,, 

"  Chambers' Journal."  ,, 

"  The  Country  "  (New  York).     June. 

"  Familiar  Science."  ,, 

"  Potter's  American  Monthly."       ,, 

"Journal  of  Applied  Science."     July. 
&c.         &c.         &c. 


Communications   received  up  to   July  Stii,    from: — 
A.  J.  R.  S.-T.  H.  C— J.  W.  C—  J.  C.  A.-H.  S.-C   P.— 

F.  W.  S.— G.  T.—  J.  S.— M.  R.  W.— C.  L.  B  —  T.  W.  D.— 
J.  H.  L.— J.  C— J.  A.  K.-J.  P.  S.-A.  B.  M.— A.  J.  R.  S.— 
J.  F.  R.— J.  H.  M.— E.  E.  E.— E.  W.  H.— Dr.  R.  B— C.  P. 
-J.  A.  W.  — E.  W.  W.-E.  W.  A.— J.  B.  B.— B.  M.  \V.— 
R.  L.  P.— C.  M.-J.  W.  J.— J.  T.  G.— T.  H.  C  — F.  H.  A.— 
Dr.  J.  S.  H.-M.  S.— W.  H.  L— W.  H.— G.  P.— G.  S.— 
Prof.  P.— A.  J.  R.-D.  D.-F.  A.— C.  M.  B.— B.  K.— H.  W. 
-S.  C.  S.— J.  H.— W.  W.  I.— M.  S.— J.  W.  S.— R.  A.  D.— 
W.  E.  R.— H.  G.  R.— W.  B.  R.— F.  J.  B.— G.  S.— H.  V.— 
W.  H.  S.— E.  W.  B.— J.  C—  W.  S.  S.-C.  H.  G.— W.  C.  C— 
A.  P.— J.  W.  C— A.  A.— G.  F.  B.-J.  L.— J.  W.  -W.  M.  P. 
J.  F.  -T.  W.  B.— W.  H.  B.— R.  S.— A.  C— T.  S.  S.— 
H.  J.  I.  L.-W.  U.  B.  P.— T.  H.  C.-W.  H.  C.-M.  H.  R.— 

G.  F.  B  — D.  W.— J.  C— R.  W.— M.  J.  W.—J.  P.  G.-W.  W. 
—J.  I.— H.  J.  T.— E.  A.-H.  B.— G.  B.— H.  T.  S.-Dr.  E. 
de  C— E.  B.  G.— &c.  &C. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


i93 


NOTES    ON    CELERY    AND    OTHER    SMALL    SALADS, 


By  H.  G.  GLASSPOOLE. 


ELERY  {Apium  graveo- 
Icns)  belongs  to  the 
Umbellifene  order  of 
plants,  and  in  its  wild 
form  is  found  growing 
in  ditches  and  marshes 
near  the  sea,  in  Europe 
and  in  Britain,  where  it 
is  known  under  the 
name  of  Smallage  ;  but 
in  this  state  it  is  wholly 
unfit  for  food,  having  a  peculiar  coarse  rank  taste  and 
smell,  being  considered  poisonous  to  man,  and  is  not 
even  relished  by  animals.  Cultivation,  however,  has 
transformed  this  suspicious  plant  into  one  of  the  most 
agreeable  and  wholesome  of  all  our  esculents.  This 
species  of  Apium  appears  to  have  been  known  to  the 
•ancients,  for  it  was  reckoned  by  them  as  one  of  the 
greater  aperient  roots,  and  Pliny  states  that  it  hath 
a  peculiar  virtue  against  the  biting  of  venomous 
spiders.  There  is  no  account  from  which  we  can 
gather  that  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  were 
-acquainted  with  the  method  of  bleaching  this  plant, 
and  thus  rendering  it  fit  for  food.  By  most  of  our 
old  herbalists,  it  is  mentioned  under  the  name  of 
Smallage,  and  only  used  by  them  as  a  medicinal 
plant.  Gerard  tells  us  that  the  leaves  of  it  boiled  in 
hog's-grease  and  made  into  the  form  of  a  poultice, 
taketh  away  the  pain  of  whitlows  on  the  fingers,  and 
healeth  them.  Culpeper  recommends  that  the  juice 
■of  this  plant,  mixed  with  honey  of  roses  and  barley- 
water,  be  used  as  a  gargle  by  those  who  suffer  with 
sores  and  ulcers  in  the  throat  and  mouth.  Bartho- 
lomseus  Lorn,  in  his  "  Botanologia,"  (published  in 
1 7 14),  mentions  that  the  roots  and  seeds  of  Apium 
were  used  medicinally  in  his  day.  This  esculent 
appears  to  have  been  cultivated  for  the  table  at  the 
early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  for  John  Ray, 
the  celebrated  botanist  of  that  period,  says  that,  if 
this  plant  is  neglected,  it  will  degenerate  into  its  first 
unpalatable  state.  We  are  indebted  to  the  Italians 
No.  165. 


for  the  method  of  its  cultivation,  and  also  for  its 
name.  Evelyn,  in  his  "  Acetaria  "  (published  1699), 
says  "  Sellery  was  formerly  a  stranger  with  us, 
and  not  very  long  since,  in  Italy  itself."  He  tells 
us  that  it  is  not  a  distinct  species  of  Smallage, 
or  Macedonian  parsley,  though,  by  its  frequent 
transplanting,  somewhat  more  hot  and  generous,  and 
sweeter-scented.  We  have,  he  says,  "  the  best  seeds 
from  Italy,  whose  tender  leaves  and  blanched  stalks 
do  well  in  our  sallets,  as  likewise  the  slices  of  the 
whitened  stems,  which  being  crisp  and  short,  first 
peeled  and  slit  longwise,  are  eaten  with  vinegar,  oil, 
salt,  and  pepper.  And  for  its  high  and  grateful  taste 
is  ever  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  grand  sallet,  at 
our  great  men's  tables  and  Pnetors'  feasts,  as  the  grace 
of  the  whole  board."  In  our  oldest  seed-lists  we  find 
that  two  varieties  of  celery  were  introduced  from 
Italy  under  the  name  of  Red  and  White  upright 
Italian  celery.  It  is  stated  in  the  "  Monthly  Maga- 
zine and  British  Register,"  for  July,  1797,  that  the 
seed  of  a  new  sort  of  celery,  from  the  island  of 
Samos,  had  been  introduced  into  the  county  of  Nor- 
folk, which  grew  to  the  height  of  three  feet,  and 
possessed  other  superior  properties.  Celery  may  be 
grown  to  a  very  large  size,  for  Loudon  states  that,  in 
1815,  a  plant  was  taken  up  at  Longford,  near  Man- 
chester, which  weighed  9  lb.  when  washed,  with 
the  root  and  leaves  still  attached  to  it,  and  measured 
4  feet  6  inches  in  height.  It  was  of  the  red  sort, 
perfectly  solid,  crisp,  and  firm,  and  remarkably  well- 
flavoured.  There  is  a  variety  of  this  plant  called 
Celerica,  or  Turnip-rooted  celery  {Apium  graveole  its 
napazeum) ;  it  is  more  hardy  than  the  upright  varieties : 
of  this  the  root  is  the  only  part  used.  It  attains  to  a 
considerable  size,  especially  in  Germany,  where  it  is  . 
much  esteemed,  both  prepared  by  itself  and  in  con- 
junction with  other  herbs  as  a  salad.  It  rarely  forms 
an  object  of  cultivation  in  English  gardens.  Sir 
Joseph  Banks  and  Dr.  Solander  found  in  considerable 
quantities,  on  the  coast  of  Terra  del  Fuego,  wild 
celery,  which  appears  to  be  possessed  of  wholesome 

K 


194 


HARD  WI CKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSIP. 


qualities,  as  it  was  found  a  very  useful  ingredient  in 
the  soups  for  seamen,  because  of  its  antiscorbutic 
properties.  Celery  contains  sugar,  mucilage,  starch, 
and  a  substance  resembling  manna  sugar,  which  acts 
as  a  stimulant.  A  decoction  made  from  the  seed  and 
drunk  as  tea  is  often  recommended  in  some  diseases 
by  village  herbalists.  Celery  is  regarded  as  a  lucky 
plant  by  the  modern  Greeks,  and  is  hung  up  in  rooms, 
placed  on  silkworm-frames,  and  given  to  children. 

The  common  name  appears  to  have  been  derived 
from  Italy, — sellari,  under  which  it  was  introduced  in 
the  old  seed-lists  into  this  countiy,  but  it  is  found  in 
old  works,  spelt  in  various  ways ;  thus,  Sellery, 
Celeri,  and  Celery. 

The  etymology  of  the  botanical  name,  Apium, 
appears  uncertain.  Some  authors  think  it  is  derived 
from  the  Celtic  Apon,  water,  from  the  place  where 
the  plant  grows  ;  others  state  it  is  from  Apis,  a  bee, 
because  these  insects  are  fond  of  it.  Celery  has 
quite  supplanted  our  native  Alexander's  (Smyrnium 
Olusatrum),  which  our  forefathers  used  to  eat  as  a 
common  salad. 

Among  other  herbs  which  are  sometimes  to  be 
found  in  the  salad-bowl,  are  the  various  Valerianella, 
or  Lamb's  lettuce.  The  French  call  them  Salade  de 
pretre,  from  their  being  eaten  in  Lent.  Evelyn  says 
they  certainly  deserve  a  place  among  the  penitential 
herbs,  for  the  stomach  that  has  admitted  them  is  apt 
to  cry  peccavi.  The  leaves  of  Burnet  (Poterium 
sanguisorba),  when  bruised,  have  the  smell  of  cucum- 
ber :  in  former  time  this  plant  was  in  great  repute.  A 
small  low  thistle  {Picridium  vulgare),  is  often  used  in 
France  and  Italy,  both  as  a  salad  and  greens.  Bon 
Jardinier  says  it  tastes  a  little  like  mutton.  The 
flower  of  the  Judas-tree  (Cercis  siliquastrum)  and 
leaves  of  the  Wood-sorrel  {Oxalis  acelosella),  when 
mixed  with  other  herbs,  give  an  agreeable  acid  flavour 
to  the  salad. 

Dr.  Thomas  K.  Chambers,  in  the  "Manual  of  Diet 
in  Health  and  Disease,"  says,  "  Salads  ought  to  form 
an  important  article  of  diet  in  every  family.  The 
salad  ought  to  be  dressed  by  one  of  the  daughters  of 
the  house  after  she  has  dressed  herself  for  dinner, 
singing,  with  her  clean  cool  fingers,  sharp  silver 
knife,  and  wooden  spoon — 

"  Weaving  spiders,  come  not  here  : 

Hence,  you  long-legged  spinners,  hence  ; 
Beetles  black,  approach  not  near  ; 
Worms  nor  snails,  do  no  offence.  " 

The  purity  of  the  salad-bowl  is  also  of  great  im- 
portance. In  the  days  of  the  Tudors  the  cooks  were 
accustomed  to  mix  their  salads  in  a  silver  saladier,  or 
some  other  vessel  of  metal  which  was  affected  by  the 
chemical  action  of  the  acids  so  composing  the  mix- 
ture, and  must  have  proved  deleterious  to  those  who 
partook  of  it.  Evelyn,  the  great  reformer  in  the  art 
of  salad-making  in  those  days,  says,  the  proper 
material  for  the  salad-bowl  should  be  porcelain,  or  of 
Holland  delf-ware.     We  find  in  the  writings  of  our 


old  poets  and  dramatists  allusions  to  salads,  as  is 
shown  in  the  following  conversation  between  Lafeu 
and  the  Clown  in  "  All's  Well  that  Ends  Well  ":— 

"Lafeu.  'Twas  a  good  lady,  'twas  a  good  lady; 
we  may  pick  a  thousand  salads,  ere  we  light  on  such 
another  herb. 

Clown.  Indeed,  sir,  she  was  the  sweet  marjoram 
of  the  salad,   or  rather  herb  of  grace. 

Lafeu.  They  are  not  salad  herbs,  you  know,  they 
are  nose  herbs. 

Clown.  I  am  no  great  Nebuchadnezzar,  sir  ;  I 
have  not  much  skill  in  grass." 

The  author  of  the  "  Book  about  the  Table  "  states 
that  Poetry  seized  the  dish  to  use  it  as  an  emblem  of 
vernal  freshness  and  greenness. 

Shakespeare's  Cleopatra  says — 

"  My  salad  days, 
When  I  was  green  in  judgment." 

Our  forefathers  were  accustomed  to  introduce  the 
salad  into  some  of  their  wise  and  pithy  sayings,  for 
among  our  English  proverbs  we  find  the  following  : — 

"A  fool  can  pick  a  sallet  as  well  as  a  wise  man." 
"He  would  live  for  aye,  must  eat  sallet  in  May." 

The  following  is  a  translation  of  a  Spanish  proverb  r 
"  Four  persons  are  wanted  to  make  a  good  salad. 
A  spendthrift  for  oil,  a  miser  for  vinegar,  a  coun- 
selor for  salt,  and  a  madman  to  stir  all  up." 

Dr.  Doran,  in  his  "Table  Traits,"  tells  us  of  a 
certain  Frenchman  who  made  his  fortune  by  making 
salads  for  the  aristocracy  of  England.  Chevalier 
d'Albignac,  one  of  the  refugees  which  the  great 
Revolution  had  cast  on  our  hospitable  shores, 
where  he,  like  many  of  his  unfortunate  countrymen, 
contrived  to  subsist  on  a  small  pittance  allowed  him 
by  the  English  Government,  was  one  day  dining  with 
an  affluent  friend  in  the  coffee-room  of  a  fashionable 
hotel ;  he  took  upon  himself  to  make  a  salad,  and 
the  way  he  handled  and  mixed  the  preparation  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  a  young  nobleman  who  was- 
dining  with  another  party  in  the  same  room.  The 
nobleman  approached  the  foreigner,  and  politely 
entreated  him  to  mix  a  salad,  French  fashion,  for 
his  table.  M.  d'Albignac  consented,  and  made  such 
a  one  that  put  the  four  gentlemen  into  a  state  of  un- 
controllable ecstasy.  His  complaisance  and  com- 
municativeness to  the  young  nobleman  and  his 
friends  had  agreeable  results,  as  they  did  not  let  the 
poor  Frenchman  depart  without  slipping  into  his 
hand  a  golden  fee.  A  few  days  after  M.  d'Albignac 
received  a  letter  from  a  certain  lord,  politely  request- 
ing him  to  repair  to  his  house  in  Grosvenor-square 
for  the  purpose  of  mixing  a  salad  for  a  dinner-party 
he  was  about  to  give.  The  Chevalier  obeyed  the 
summons,  and  after  performing  his  mission  returned 
home,  richer  by  ^"5  than  when  he  went  out.  His 
marvellous  salads  were  soon  the  talk  of  the  town. 
The  "gentleman  salad-maker"  was  the  hero  of  the 
hour,  and  ladies  of  the  highest  fashion,  we  are  told, 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE  ■  G  O  SSI  P. 


*95 


were  heard  rapturously  commending  his  "  works  "  in 
gilded  salons,  or  avowing  they  could  not  live  another 
week  without  devouring  one  of  them.  The  lucky 
Frenchman  was  soon  enabled  to  start  his  carriage, 
and  might  be  seen  driving  from  house  to  house 
during  the  dining  hours  of  the  aristocracy,  attended 
by  a  servant,  who  carried  a  mahogany  case,  which 
contained  the  various  ingredients  for  concocting  his 
salads,  according  to  the  taste  of  his  employers.  He 
opened  a  shop,  where  he  drove  a  lucrative  trade  in 
sauces  and  other  culinary  dainties.  Being  a  prudent 
and  saving  man,  he  managed  to  realize  some  80,000 
francs,  60,000  of  which  he  invested  in  government 
securities,  which  stood  just  then  at  5°  per  cent.,  and 
with  the  other  20,000  he  purchased  a  little  estate  at 
Limousin,  where  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  days  en- 
joying his  well-earned  fortune. 
I  conclude  by  introducing  a 

Receipt  for  a  Winter  Salad,  written  many  years  ago,    j 
at  Castle  Howard,  by  the  Rev.  Sydney  Smith  : — 

"  Two  large  potatoes,  passed  through  kitchen  sieve, 
Unwonted  softness  to  the  salad  give  ; 
Of  mordent  mustard  add  a  single  spoon — 
Distrust  the  condiment  which  bites  so  soon  ; 
But  deem  it  not,  thou  man  of  herbs,  a  fault 
To  add  a  double  quantity  of  salt. 
Three  times  the  spoon  with  oil  of  Lucca  crown, 
And  once  with  vinegar  procured  from  town. 
True  flavour  needs  it,  and  your  poet  begs 
The  powdered  yellow  of  two  well-boiled  eggs. 
Let  onion  atoms  lurk  within  the  bowl, 
And,  scarce  suspected,  animate  the  whole. 
And  lastly,  on  the  flavoured  compound  toss 
A  magic  tea-spoon  of  anchovy  sauce. 
Then  though  green  turtle  fails,  though  venison  is  tough, 
And  ham  and  turkey  are  not  boiled  enough, 
Serenely  full,  the  epicure  may  say, 
'  Fate  cannot  harm  me — I  have  dined  to-day.'  " 


A   HOLIDAY   ROUND   DORKING. 

LIKE  most  of  those  who  are  engaged  during  the 
day  with  the  bustle  of  City  life,  we  were 
anxiously  looking  forward  to  rest  and  quietude  in  the 
country,  where  we  could  throw  off  for  a  while  the 
routine  and  formality  of  business,  and  enjoy  that 
sense  of  freedom  which  only  the  lover  of  nature  can 
appreciate. 

The  longed-for  time  came  at  last,  and  after  the 
usual  amount  of  preparation  we  arrived  at  Cannon- 
street  station,  and  were  soon  spinning  away  from 
dusty  London  into  the  more  picturesque  country. 
The  sun  was  shining  brightly  into  the  carriage,  and 
the  atmosphere  was  anything  but  cool ;  but  we 
were  in  excellent  spirits,  and  such  weather  led  us  to 
hope  that  we  should  spend  a  very  happy  holiday, 
being  particularly  suitable  for  our  chief  pastime, 
entomology.  At  length  we  arrived  at  Dorking  sta- 
tion, and  everything  around  looked  bright  and 
promising,  as  we  got  into  the  conveyance  which  was 
to  take  ourselves  and  luggage  to  the  town.  We  con- 
tented ourselves  for  the  remainder  of  the  day  with  a 
general  survey  of  the  town,  which  presents  the 
appearance  of  a  thriving  but  quiet  country  place. 


We  were  greatly  delighted  on  waking  next  morning 
to  find  that  the  weather  promised  to  be  a  repetition 
of  the  day  before.  The  first  thing  for  us  to  do,  after 
having  enjoyed  a  good  breakfast,  was  to  settle  in 
what  direction  we  should  go,  as  we  were  very  anxious 
for  the  chase,  and  our  nets  and  boxes  were  all  in 
readiness.  Leaving  Dorking  at  ten,  and  not  for- 
getting to  fill  our  flasks  with  lime-juice,  we  took  a 
friend's  recommendation,  and  started  off  in  the 
direction  of  Ranmer  Common,  distant  about  two 
miles.  Just  past  the  railway-station,  South-Eastern 
Railway,  we  found  a  chalk-pit,  and  were  not  long 
in  discovering  that  some  sport  was  to  be  obtained 
therein.  Getting  over  the  railings  a  very  bright-blue 
butterfly  was  seen  ;  the  gauze  soon  enveloped  him, 
and  he  turned  out  to  be  the  Adonis,  Clifden  Blue. 
He  was  sadly  battered,  as  it  was  quite  a  month  late 
for  him,  so  we  gave  him  his  freedom,  and  away  he 
went,  no  doubt  happy  to  be  released  from  our 
clutches.  No  sooner  had  we  done  this  than  we 
noticed  a  dull-looking  little  insect  tripping  sharply 
along,  and  settling  for  a  moment  on  the  blue  flowers 
that  grew  in  the  chalk.  This  we  soon  found  to  be 
Alsns,  the  Bedford  Blue,  and  we  were  very  pleased 
to  find  them  in  great  plenty  and  very  nice  condition. 
After  another  parting  look  round  the  chalk-pit,  and 
having  beaten  a  few  blackthorn  bushes  unsuccessfully, 
with  the  exception  of  taking  one  Jacoba,  we  went  on 
our  way  to  the  road  which  leads  to  Ranmer  Common. 
We  had  been  told  that  parallel  with  the  road  was  a 
grassy  path,  adjoining  a  very  pretty  estate  called  the 
Denbighs,  and  that  we  should  very  likely  have  some 
sport  if  we  went  that  way,  and,  moreover,  avoid  the 
dust  of  the  chalky  road.  Immediately  we  got  into 
this  path  we  noticed  the  intense  contrast  which  the 
fresh  foliage  of  the  trees  afforded  from  the  dry  chalk. 
On  our  left  was  a  thick  plantation  of  pine  and  fir- 
trees,  and  on  our  right  a  hawthorn  hedge,  separating 
us  from  the  road,  whilst  peeping  out  from  the  grassy 
bank  was  an  occasional  patch  of  wild  strawberry- 
plants,  some  in  bloom,  and  others  loaded  with  the 
pretty  rosy-coloured  fruit.  This  path  soon  widened  into 
almost  a  glade,  with  a  wonderful  variety  of  herbage  : 
blackthorn,  whitethorn,  juniper,  clematis,  privet, 
honeysuckle,  and  almost  every  imaginable  kind  of 
vegetation.  The  sun  was  now  blazing  forth,  and  we 
were  out  of  the  shade  which  the  pines  afforded ; 
moreover,  insect  life  was  swarming  all  around  us. 
The  two  common  skippers,  Lima  and  Sylva7ins,  were 
buzzing  about  in  the  utmost  profusion  ;  the  Meadow 
Brown,  Mctgeria,  was  lazily  flitting  from  one  flower 
to  the  other,  sometimes  with  that  sombre  quiet-looking 
butterfly,  Hypcranthus,  the  Wood  Ringlet ;  every- 
thing seemed  so  quiet  and  happy,  affording  such  a 
contrast  to  the  noisy  city  which  we  had  only  the  day 
before  quitted.  Soon  we  came  to  another  plantation, 
and  then  sport  began  in  real  earnest.  What  is  that 
flying  round   the  top  of  the  pines,  and  occasionally 

descending  to  within  reach  of  the  net?     We  strained 

K  2 


196 


HARDW1 CKE 'S   S CIENCE ■  G 0 SSIP. 


our  necks  trying  to  capture  one,  and  soon  found  it 
such  hot  work  that  our  coats  were  off  and  satchels 
laid  down,  whilst  F.,  who  was  not  an  entomologist, 
was  not  sorry  to  take  a  rest  by  seating  himself  on 
the  stump  of  an  old  tree.  Our  nets  had  only  got 
short  walking-stick  handles,  so  our  chance  of  success 
seemed  very  small  at  first,  more  especially  as  there 
was  a  hollow  between  the  path  on  which  we  stood, 
and  the  ground  on  which  the  plantation  was  situated ; 
if  we  made  an  extra  effort    in    our    excitement  to 


Fig.  130.  Underside  Fig.  131.  Clifden  Blue  (Lyarna 

Small  Blue  {Lyccena  alsits).]        adonis)  upper  side  of  male. 


Fig.  132.   Small  Skipper,  female        Fig.  133.  Upper  side  of 
(Hesperia  linea).  Small  Blue  \L.  alsus). 


Fig.  134.  Large  Skipper,         Fig.  135.  Small  Skipper,  male 
male  (Hesperia  sylvanus),  {Hesperia  linea.) 


Fig.  136.  Large  Skipper,  female  (Hysperia  sylvanus  . 

secure  our  prize,  we  were  thrown  from  the  path 
amongst  the  bushes  below.  But  we  were  not  thus  to 
be  disheartened,  so  taking  a  pull  at  our  flasks,  and 
wiping  our  perspiring  faces,  we  again  set  to  work. 
This  sort  of  thing  continued  for  nearly  an  hour,  in 
which  time  we  obtained  about  a  dozen  each  of 
Pittiaria,  and  discovered  that  it  was  nearly  time  to 
return  home,  without  reaching  Ranmer  after  all. 

On  looking  around  from  the  elevated  position 
which  we  now  occupied  we  were  all  struck  with  the 
marvellous  view  which  presented  itself.  The  railway 
lay  in  a  valley,  and  on  rising  groun  beyond  stretched 
the  well-wooded  district  around  Leith  Hill  and  Cold 
Harbour,  and  the  contrast  between  the  various  kinds 


of  vegetation  was  wonderful ;  towering  above  all  was 
Leith  Hill  itself,  standing  out  boldly  from  the  clear 
blue  sky,  while  on  the  right  of  the  railway  could  be 
seen  the  long  ridge  of  hills  in  the  direction  of  Guild- 
ford.    Streams  meandered  here  and  there,  and  the 


Fig.  137.  Upper  side  of  Ringlet  (Epinep/iik  hyperaitthus). 


Fig.  138.  Underside  of  Ringlet  (Epinep/iik  hyperantkus). 


Fig.  139.  Under  side  of  White  Admiral  (Limenitis  sibylla  ) 


Fig.  140.  Upper  side  of  White  Admiral  [Limenitis  sibylla.) 

sun  shining  on  them  made  them  sparkle  like  dia- 
monds. We  were  indeed  glad  that  we  had  come  to 
Dorking,  for  we  had  never  seen  a  finer  piece  of 
landscape  before.  Moreover,  the  intense  heat,  the 
cloudless  sky,  and  the  buzzing  of  the  bees,  gave  a 
lazy  look  to  everything  around ;   the   cows   in    the 


HARD  WICKE'S  S  CIENCE-  G  O  SSI  P. 


197 


adjacent  meadow  were  swishing  their  tails  and 
stamping  their  feet  to  release  themselves  from  their 
summer  pests,  the  flies,  and  we,  too,  found  them  by 
no  means  pleasing  companions. 


Common,  and  accordingly  made  arrangements  to 
have  a  late  dinner.  This  time  we  took  the  road,  on 
the  right  hand  side  of  which  was  a  stone  wall,  with 
a  plantation  above.     Flying  up  and  down  this  was 


Fig.  141.   Bordered  White,  male  {Fidonia 
fihiiaria). 


Fig.  142.   Clay  Triple-lines  [sEphyra 
trilinearid). 


Fig.  143.   Small  Emerald 
{loin's  vernarza). 


Fig.  145.  Lace  Border 
{Acidalia  ornata). 


Fig.  144.   Humming-Bird  Hawk  Moth 
{Macroglossa  stcllataruiii). 


Fig.  146.  Buff  Arches  {Gonophora  derasd) 


Fig.  147.  Fox-Moth  {Bombyx  Rubi). 


Fig.  148.  Gold  Swift  [Hepialits 
fwctus). 


149.  Chalk  Carpet  {Eubolia 
bipunctatd). 


Fig.  150.  Chalk  Carpet  {Melanippe 
procellatd). 


Fig.  151.  B\ood-Ve'in{T/i/ia;idrai7mahzriii). 


Fig.  152.   Bird's  Wing  {Dipterygia 
pinastri). 


*"~?^/.firi  ft 


Fig.  153.  The  Gold  Spot  {Plusia 
fiducte). 


In  the  afternoon  we  went  for  a  drive  to  Shiere,  a 
village  about  half-way  between  Dorking  and  Guild- 
ford, which  we  enjoyed  very  much,  after  having  had 
a  good  tea,  and  partaken  very  freely  of  strawberries, 
which  the  landlord  had  just  gathered  from  his  garden. 

The   next   day  we  determined   to  reach  Ranmer 


Stellatarum,  the  Humming-bird  Hawk-moth.  It 
j   gave  us  a  rare  chase,  with  no  success,  so  we  made  up 

our  minds  we  would  hurry  on  towards  the  Common. 

On  arriving  at  the  end  of  the  road,  and  unfastening 
1  the  gate,  we  found  ourselves  on  a  large  tract  of  wood- 
'   land  and  common,  which  seemed  to  invite  us  to  more 


i98 


HARD  Wl  CAGE'S    S  CIENCE .  G  OSS  IE. 


closely  examine  it,  which  we  accordingly  did,  and 
set  off  down  a  long  glade,  which  made  us  think  it 
should  be  called  a  wood  rather  than  a  common. 
The  trees  were  chiefly  oak,  with  an  undergrowth  of 
bramble,  honeysuckle,  and  blackthorn,  and  on  going 
a  little  farther  in,  we  came  upon  a  magnificent  group 
of  wild  foxgloves,  all  in  full  bloom,  and  some  of 
them  as  much  as  seven  feet  high.  What  was  that 
large  golden  butterfly  which  just  flew  over  our  heads? 
exclaimed  J,  It  must  be  Papkia,  and  sure  enough  it 
was,  for  no  sooner  had  we  spoken  than  back  he 
came,  and  settled  on  a  bramble,  right  in  front  of  us, 
flapping  his  wings  in  the  sunshine  as  if  making  fun 
at  us.  For  a  moment  we  were  speechless  with  plea- 
sure and  admiration,  for  this  was  the  first  time  we  had 
seen  any  of  the  large  Fritillaries  on  the  wing.  Then 
quickly  raising  his  net  without  letting  the  shadow 
intervene,  J.  gave  a  swift  stroke  over,  and  the  silver- 
washed  Fritillary  was  safely  in  his  net.  We  did  not 
have  to  wait  long  before  seeing  several  others  as  we 
went  farther  down  the  glade  ;  they  all  flew  very 
swiftly,  and  appeared  very  fresh  on  the  wing,  it  being 
only  the  second  week  in  July.  After  we  had  obtained 
about  half-a-dozen  each,  and  having  captured  a  few 
Tliec.  quercus  flying  round  the  oaks,  together  with 
some  Trilinearia,  which  we  beat  out  of  some  beeches, 
we  resolved  to  try  the  old  wall  again,  and  return  to 
the  Common  next  day.  On  our  way  back  we  man- 
aged to  capture  three  Stellatarum,  and  then  we  turned 
into  the  grassy  path  before  mentioned.  In  one  of 
the  fields  the  grass  was  particularly  high,  and  we 
thought  it  not  unlikely  something  might  turn  up  in 
it.  We  soon  found  that  we  were  to  be  rewarded  for 
our  trouble,  for  we  obtained  about  twenty  of  that 
delicate  little  geometer,  A.  oruata,  and  also  dis- 
covered^. Galathea  in  the  neighbourhood.  We  espied 
the  first  one,  seated  on  a  thistle-head,  evidently 
only  just  emerged  from  the  chrysalis.  This  was  a 
very  agreeable  surprise,  as  we  had  neither  of  us  taken 
Galathea  before.  We  took  as  many  as  we  wanted, 
and  then  lay  down  under  the  shade  of  a  yew-tree, 
and  watched  them  bobbing  up  and  down  in  the  long 
grass.  Whilst  dreamily  passing  the  time  in  this  way, 
suddenly  something  whizzed  by  like  a  great  bee,  and 
then  back  again,  circling  round  the  meadow  in  a  very 
giddy  way  ;  then  it  seemed  as  if  making  straight  for 
me,  so  getting  my  net  in  readiness,  with  a  swift 
sweep,  I  secured  it.  What  could  it  be  ?  It  buzzed  up 
and  down  the  net  with  great  vehemence,  and  I  was 
very  anxious  to  see  it  safely  bottled  in  the  cyanide. 
When  this  was  done  we  found  that  we  had  captured 
B.  rubi,  the  Fox-moth,  and  a  very  hot  chase  we  had 
for  the  other  two  we  secured.  We  also  took  a  few 
specimens  of  Cory  don,  but  it  was  rather  early  for 
them,  and  we  knew  that  each  day  would  make  them 
more  plentiful. 

In  the  evening,  by  beating  the  neighbouring  bushes, 
we  obtained  A.  ornata,  emarginata,  amataria 
vemaria,  and  procellata.     The   whole  of  the  week 


was  just  as  fine  as  our  first  day,  and  on  looking  over 
our  diaries,  we  had  captured  one  Sybilla,  one  Syriu- 
ga?-ia,  seven  Albieillata,  about  twenty  Imitaria,  and 
nine  Adippe,  and  we  could  have  taken  as  many 
Galathea,  Paphia,  Corydon,  and  Alsits  as  we  cared 
for,  not  to  mention  the  swarms  of  Burnet  moths  and 
commoner  butterflies  which  frequented  every  meadow. 
We  tried  sugar,  but  with  no  success,  but  by  dusking 
and  beating,  we  had  obtained  Chrysitis,  Urticce, 
Derasa,  Pinastri,  Fidvata,  Pyraliata,  Didymata, 
Albitlata,  Rubidata,  Trilinearia,  and  several  other 
geometers,  whilst,  settled  on  thistle-heads  in  the  day- 
time, we  took  a  few  specimens  of  Conigera. 

We  had  during  the  week  paid  a  visit  to  Box  Hill, 
and  very  much  we  enjoyed  the  cool  shade  afforded 
by  the  copious  foliage.  On  arriving  at  the  top  a  very 
extensive  view  is  presented,  stretching  right  away  to 
the  downs  of  Sussex,  the  marvellous  variety  of  woods, 
rivers,  and  villages,  forming  a  panorama  beyond 
description.      Height  800  feet. 

So  far  we  had  had  wonderful  weather,  not  a  drop 
of  rain  had  fallen,  and  the  same  bright  prospect  was- 
before  us  when  Monday  morning  came,  and  we 
decided  to  go  for  a  walk  in  Betchworth  Park,  about 
a  mile  distant  from  Dorking  on  the  Reigate  Road, 
in  which  is  a  magnificent  avenue  of  lime-trees,  and 
we  were  told  that  had  we  come  a  month  earlier  we 
should  have  found  the  scent  of  the  bloom  almost 
overpowering. 

The  river  Mole  runs  through  the  park.  It  is  a 
dull-looking  stream,  moderately  wide  here  and  narrow 
there,  deep  here  and  very  shallow  there.  I  think 
most  of  the  fish  to  be  obtained  in  it  are  tench,  carp, 
eels,  &c,  those  kinds  which  frequent  muddy  still 
streams.  But  although  the  water  itself  is  not  very 
inviting,  the  scenery  along  its  banks  is  very  pic- 
turesque, especially  at  this  particular  spot,  where  the 
foliage  of  the  park  sometimes  forms  quite  a  bower 
over  the  water.  After  walking  through  the  park  we 
came  out  again  into  the  road,  and  then  across  some 
corn-fields  in  the  direction  of  Box  Hill,  on  climbing 
the  sides  of  which  we  were  greatly  delighted  to  again 
find  our  friends  the  wild  strawberries  in  plenty,  with 
which  we  regaled  ourselves  for  some  little  time,  thus 
we  worked  round  to  Burford  Bridge,  and  then  home 
along  the  road  to  Dorking. 

In  the  afternoon  we  went  for  a  drive  to  the  Holm- 
wood,  a  large  tract  of  common  and  forest  land,  south 
of  Dorking,  on  the  Horsham  Road,  where  a  camp 
was  being  held,  the  white  canvas  of  the  tents  stand- 
ing out  boldly  against  the  green  of  the  forest,  whilst 
about  every  hundred  yards  we  went  we  came  upon 
a  fresh  batch  of  geese,  which  always  greeted  us 
with  a  quack  !  quack  !  or  hizz  !  hizz  !  In  all  our 
rambles  on  the  commons  we  met  with  these  con- 
sequential creatures,  who  seemed  as  if  they  were 
enjoying  themselves  while  they  had  the  chance.  On 
we  went  until  we  arrived  at  Ockley,  and  then  back 
along  quiet   country  lanes  by  Abinger  and  Wotton- 


HARD  WICKE  >S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


199 


The  nut-bushes  seemed  loaded  with  the  young  nuts, 
and  the  banks  covered  with  a  profusion  of  ferns  ; 
moreover  the  woods  and  meadows  adjoining  Leith 
Hill  seemed  to  present  an  unusually  fresh  appearance 
for  the  time  of  year.  In  the  evening  we  tried 
sugaring  in  the  Glory,  a  wood  almost  in  Dorking, 
leading  on  to  the  Holmwood ;  it  was,  however, 
no  good,  but  on  our  way  back,  flying  over  the 
corn,  we  could  have  taken  as  many  as  we 
wanted  of  Palleus,  besides  the  following  insects  by 
dusking,  Hectits,  Ocellata,  Sambncata,  Thymiaria, 
Albicillata,  and  Adustata,  and  flying  round  an  old  wall 
we  discovered  Perla  in  plenty. 

The  next  day  we  again  went  to  Ranmer,  on  our 
way  turning  out  swarms  of  Bipunctata  from  every 
bank.  We  went  down  our  old  glade  until  we  came 
to  a  spot  where  the  wood  had  only  latterly  been 
cleared,  and  which  abounded  in  thistles,  teasles, 
nettles,  &c.  We  sat  down  for  a  minute  or  two  to 
rest,  and  found  that  we  had  discovered  a  regular 
stronghold  for  Paphia.  They  came  sailing  over  our 
heads  and  settled  on  the  tallest  thistles,  and  then 
off  again  to  exercise  their  wings.  This  sort  of 
amusement  we  very  much  enjoyed ;  we  also  took 
several  specimens  of  G.  rhamni,  and  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  take  a  battered  specimen  of  Sibylla.  We 
then  went  through  a  gate  into  a  sort  of  plantation, 
with  waste  ground  on  the  right ;  every  fresh  step  we  took 
turning  out  a  lot  of  wild  rabbits,  which  were  on  the 
path  enjoying  themselves  in  the  sunshine.  On  this 
waste  land  was  a  great  deal  of  ragwort,  and  on 
inspecting  the  same  we  found  several  larva;  of  yacoba, 
in  fact  on  going  a  little  further  the  ragwort  heads 
were  quite  tinted  with  their  orange-coloured  bodies. 
Here  we  also  saw  a  specimen  of  Aglaia,  but  we  were 
not  able  to  get  near  him,  a  few  T.  querciis  only 
rewarding  us.  During  the  week  we  came  several 
times  to  the  common,  and  always  found  some  new 
employment  in  walking  along  the  glades,  sometimes 
under  the  shade  of  the  oaks,  sometimes  penetrating 
into  the  thick,  and  getting  ourselves  nicely  pricked 
with  the  brambles,  listening  to  the  song  of  the  thrush 
or  blackbird,  sometimes  hearing  the  melancholy  Coo  ! 
Coo !  of  the  ringdoves,  or  pausing  to  catch  the  distant 
sound  of  Cuckoo !  Cuckoo !  All  these  delights  are 
only  to  be  realized,  they  cannot  be  recorded. 

Our  next  visit  was  to  Leith  Hill,  five  miles  distant 
from  Dorking,  which  was  particularly  enjoyable. 
We  walked  to  Cold  Harbour  through  wooded  lanes, 
in  which  the  trees  sometimes  met,  forming  a  beau- 
tifully-shaded walk,  and  being  exceedingly  pic- 
turesque and  romantic.  Here  we  had  some  lunch, 
and  then  commenced  to  ascend  the  hill.  The  path 
is  very  rough,  especially  for  a  pony,  which  we  saw 
pluckily  struggling  up.  The  sides  of  the  hill  are 
covered  with  a  growth  of  bracken  and  furze,  with  an 
occasional  plantation  of  young  fir-trees.  On  arriving 
at  the  top  and  going  up  into  the  tower,  a  magnificent 
view  presents  itself ;    and  it  is  said  that  on  a  clear 


day  twelve  counties  are  visible.  We  could  distinctly 
see  without  the  aid  of  a  glass  the  clump  of  trees  at 
Chanctonbury  Ring,  near  Worthing.  A  few  children 
were  scattered  here  and  there  gathering  the  whortle- 
berries which  grow  on  the  hill,  and  from  which  they 
say  a  very  delicious  jelly  is  made.  Leith  Hill  is 
993  ft.  above  the  sea-level,  and  is  the  highest  eleva- 
tion in  this  part  of  the  country.  Like  everything 
else,  this  sort  of  thing  was  not  to  last  for  ever,  as  the 
time  was  quickly  passing  on,  and  rapidly  bringing 
our  holiday  to  a  close  ;  so  we  resolved  to  have  a 
good  turn  at  collecting  for  the  two  or  three  remaining 
days.  During  this  time  Colias  Edusa  had  been 
coming  out  in  plenty,  and  we  captured  as  many  as 
we  wanted,  flying  over  the  lucerne  fields  near  the 
railway-station,  and  amongst  them  were  fortunate 
enough  to  come  across  two  Helice.  I  also  took  one 
Ochroleicca  settled  on  a  thistle-head.  We  obtained 
moreover  Cardui  and  Rhamni  in  fair  abundance, 
besides  turning  out  Semele  on  the  dry  hill-sides.  If 
we  had  only  had  good  sugaring  we  should  have  had 
a  very  successful  holiday  in  an  entomological  point  of 
view,  for  novices  like  ourselves  ;  but  we  were  far 
from  discontented,  as  the  lovely  weather  and  variety 
of  the  country  would  require  a  very  peculiar  indi- 
vidual not  to  appreciate.  Our  only  regret  was 
that  we  had  got  through  the  time  allotted  to  us  ; 
and  it  was  with  somewhat  of  chagrin  that  we  said 
adieu  to  the  shady  woods  and  open  meadows,  and 
returned  once  more  to  our  usual  vocation,  a  great 
deal  the  better  both  in  mind  and  body  for  our  fort- 
night's holiday.  A.  J.  R. 

LIVE  TOADS  IN  LIMESTONE  ROCKS. 

I  HAVE  lately  been  working  geologically  among 
the  culm-measure  limestones  of  North  Devon,  and 
there  I  heard  the  oft-repeated  story  of  a  live  toad 
having  been  disinterred  from  the  solid  rock.  Un- 
fortunately it  was  an  event  of  the  past,  and  I  did  not 
see  either  the  toad  or  the  rock  from  which  he  came. 
But  I  can  testify  to  the  good  faith  and  general  in- 
telligence of  my  informant,  who  assures  me  that  he 
saw  the  toad,  which  had  just  been  wantonly  crushed 
by  the  quarrymen,  and  that  he  also  saw  the  mass 
of  rock  which  had  been  cleft,  and  the  cavity  in  which 
the  toad  had  been.  He  further  assures  me  that  the 
rock  was  perfectly  solid,  without  flaw,  joint,  or  per- 
foration of  any  kind  leading  to  the  cavity.  He  has 
no  reason  to  think  that  the  quarrymen  intended  to 
deceive  him,  and  he  himself  evidently  intends  faith- 
fully to  describe  what  occurred. 

At  about  the  same  time  that  this  information  was 
given  me,  a  similar  case  was  reported  to  me  from  the 
limestone  near  Totnes,  in  South  Devon.  In  this 
instance  the  quarryman  who  saw  the  toad  taken  from 
the  rock  has  been  well-known  to  me  for  years  as  a 
steady  honest  man  of  superior  intelligence.  But  here 
again  I  was  not  an  eye-witness,  and  can  only  repeat 


200 


HARD  W1CKE 'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSSIP. 


what  I  am  told.     I  am,  however,  firmly  convinced 
that  the  man  himself  fully  believes  what  he  reports. 

Concurrent  testimony,  if  sought,  would  be  obtained 
from  many  independent  sources,  and  yet  I  find  that 
scientific  men  are  generally  disposed  to  treat  such 
stories  with  simple  incredulity.  But  surely  the 
phenomenon  is  worth  investigation.  No  British  jury 
would  believe  that  the  quarrymen  in  all  parts  of  Eng- 
land were  leagued  together  to  impose  upon  the  public  ; 
nor  would  any  man  of  science  believe  that  the  toads 
were  really  imbedded  in  homogeneous  rock.  Until 
a  better  solution  can  be  offered,  I  may  venture  to 
suggest  the  following  : — 

It  is  well-known  that  all  limestone  rocks  abound  in 
fissures  and  joints,  which  may  be  and  often  are  filled 
up  with  angular  debris.  At  Westleigh,  in  North 
Devon,  there  are  many  thick  beds  of  breccia  alter- 
nating with  highly  inclined  and  vertical  strata,  the 
breccia  being  just  as  hard  and  serviceable  as  the 
stratified  rock.  In  some  cases  where  the  cementing 
carbonate  of  lime  has  not  been  coloured,*  the  two 
varieties  of  rock  might  not  be  distinguished  at  first 
sight,  even  by  a  geologist,  still  less  by  an  ordinary 
observer.  These  breccias  may  be  of  any  post-car- 
boniferous age,  and  may  be  still  in  the  process  of 
formation. 

We  have  then  only  to  imagine  our  toad  to  have 
accidentally  or  purposely  got  into  a  fissure,  and  to 
have  there  found  himself  in  what  (from  a  batrachian 
point  of  view),  we  may  call  comfortable  quarters. 
There,  being  of  a  phlegmatic  temperament  and  of 
sedentary  habits,  he  stood  (or  rather  squatted)  his 
ground,  indifferent  to  the  angular  fragments  which, 
from  time  to  time,  fell  around  him.  Like  Horace's 
"  Vir  Justus  ac  tenax  propositi,"  of  whom  it  is  further 
said,  "  Si  fractus  illabitur  orbis  Impavidum  ferient 
ruinre,"  so  he  also  was  not  shaken  in  his  sense  of 
tenant's  right  by  the  "wreck  of  matter"  which,  in 
the  form  of  rock-debris,  threatened  his  cranium. 
Dripping  water  bearing  carbonate  of  lime  by  degrees 
would  change  his  home  into  a  prison,  cementing  the 
congeries  into  the  semblance  of  homogeneous  rock. 

How  long  a  toad  might  live  under  such  conditions, 
I  do  not  venture  to  conjecture,  but  the  many  instances 
of  modern  conglomerates,  and  the  stalactites  which 
rapidly  collect  under  newly-built  bridges,  would  argue 
that  the  process  of  forming  such  a  breccia  as  I  have 
described  need  not  necessarily  have  occupied  many 
years.  I  submit,  at  least,  that  the  independent  testi- 
mony of  quarrymen  from  many  places  remote  from 
each  other  ought  not  to  be  set  down  as  mere  inven- 
tion or  exaggeration,  but  should  be  accounted  for  as 
above,  or  upon  some  better  hypothesis,  if  such  can 
be  suggested.  W.  Downes. 

Kentispcaic,  near  Colhtmpton. 


*  It  is  generally  coloured  red,  owing  to  the  proximity  of 
Triassic  rocks. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  A  ROTIFER. 

THE  water  from  which  my  Rotifer  was  taken  had 
been  standing  for  some  months  in  one  of  the 
marine  tanks  at  the  Brighton  Aquarium,  and  was 
filled  with  dead  mussels.  The  body,  which  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  single  row  of  filaments,  resembled  a 
Paramecium,  but  was  longer  and  not  so  broad. 

The  head  was  blunt,  and  was  beset  with  strong 
cilia,  amongst  which  were  three  or  four  long  fila- 
ments. This  part  of  the  animalcule  was  sack -like, 
and  a  broad  sinus  formed  the  mouth,  which  was 
fringed  with  cilia  smaller  than  those  at  the  margin  of 
the  head.  A  row  of  globules,  about  thirteen  in 
number,  commencing  from  near  the  mouth,  extended 
the  whole  length  of  the  body,  within  which  could  be 
traced  three  distinct  bulbous  sacks,  connected  by 
alimentary  canals  ;  near  the  posterior  extremity  a 
single  dark  spot  was  observed. 


Fig.  154.   First  appearance  of  Rotifer. 


Fig.  155.  Rotifer  in  act  of  emitting  young. 

The  integument  was  marked  with  a  fine  series  of 
horizontal  lines.  The  animalcule  had  a  peculiar 
mode  of  feeding.  It  first  rubbed  its  gelatinous  body 
against  a  mass  of  vegetable  matter  with  which  it 
happened  to  come  in  contact,  to  disintegrate  it,  as  it 
were,  and  then  pushed  its  head  amongst  the  debris, 
grovelling  like  a  pig,  and  using  its  cilia  to  draw  the 
particles  into  its  mouth.  On  moving  the  stage, 
another  of  the  species  was  brought  into  the  field. 
The  upper  part  of  the  head  was  shrunken  and  dead, 
and  was  almost  separated  from  the  body  ;  but  round 
the  lower  part  of  the  gullet  the  cilia  were  in  rapid 
motion.  The  other  part  of  the  body  was  perfectly 
quiescent,  even  to  the  filaments,  and  was  compressed 
and  colourless.  About  midway  down  the  Rotifer,  a 
slight  swelling  commenced,  which  gradually  increased. 
It  then  burst,  and  a  violent  disruption  took  place, 
which  resembled  a  mimic  Vesuvius.  A  jet  of  water 
issued  from  the  orifice,  followed  by  six  minute,  pellu- 
cid, oval  creatures.  Their  motion  was  at  first  very 
sluggish,  but  they  soon  gained  sufficient  vital  energy 
to  prove  beyond  all  doubt  that  they  were  endowed 
with  life. 

The  young  lingered  over  the  body  of  the  mother 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


20I 


for  some  time,  and  then,  joining  a  community  of 
atoms  no  larger  than  themselves,  were  lost  beyond 
all  identification.  The  vortex  round  the  head  of  the 
parent  ceased.  The  animal  slowly  dissolved  through- 
out its  entire  length  ;  and,  in  a  few  seconds,  became 
one  indistinguishable  mass  of  inanimate  matter. 
Having  fulfilled  its  mission,  it  ceased  to  exist,  leaving 
nothing  but  the  integument,  which  retained  its  pristine 
outline.  John  Davis. 

TERATOLOGY  OF  A  CABBAGE-LEAF. 

A  CORRESPONDENT  has  kindly  forwarded  to 
us  a  specimen  of  cabbage-leaf,   showing  one 
of  the  most  peculiar  malformations  we  have  seen. 


Fig.  156.  Malformation  of  Cabbage-leaf:  two-thirds  nat.  size. 

The  midrib  of  the  leaf  has  become  detached  about 
an  inch  from  the  base,  and  exists  as  a  separate 
stalk,  exactly  simulating  an  ordinary  flower-stalk. 
Meantime  the  true  leaf  only  just  shows  in  its  vena- 
tion the  place  where  the  midrib  ought  to  be,  whilst 
the  laminae  of  the  leaf  are  abbreviated  so  that  the 
stalk  extends  nearly  a  couple  of  inches  beyond  the 


apex.  At  the  summit  of  the  stalk  (or  detached  mid- 
rib) the  lamince  have  again  grown,  but  the  two 
external  edges  have  been  fused  together  in  growth, 
so  as  to  present  the  appearance  of  a  gamosepalous 
calyx.  We  have  shown  the  specimen  to  several 
botanists,  who  had  not  the  slightest  idea  of  its  being 
a  malformed  cabbage-leaf.  The  accompanying  sketch 
by  Mr.  J.  W.  Buck,  B.Sc,  is  two-thirds  the  natural 
size  of  the  specimen.  On  page  113  of  "Vegetable 
Teratology,"  Dr.  Masters  figures  and  describes  a 
similar  malformation  in  a  lettuce-leaf,  and  mentions 
the  cabbage-leaf  as  occasionally  liable  to  malforma- 
tions of  this  kind.  The  fruit  of  the  rose,  he  remarks, 
is  only  the  dilated  end  of  the  flower-stalk,  in  which 
the  true  carpels  become  imbedded.  "Between  such 
a  case  and  that  of  a  peltate  leaf  with  a  depressed 
centre,  such  as  often  occurs  to  some  extent  in  ATehan- 
bium,  there  is  but  little  difference."  These  mal- 
formations thus  throw  interesting  sidelights,  not  only 
on  the  origin  of  such  pseudo-syncarpous  fruits  as  the 
rose,  but  also  on  the  peculiar  leaves  of  Sarracenia, 
Cephalolns,  Aristolochia,  and  others. 


HOW  TO  START  A  NATURAL  HISTORY 
SOCIETY. 

WE  have  repeatedly  been  applied  to  for  in- 
formation how  one  or  two  individuals  fond 
of  natural  science  should  proceed  in  starting  or 
founding  a  society  for  the  furtherance  of  its  study. 

We  have  had  some  experience  in  this  matter,  and 
can  honestly  say  we  know  of  few  organizations  which 
may  be  made  so  mutually  helpful  or  so  socially  plea- 
sant for  such  a  small  outlay  of  money.  What  Mrs. 
Glass  said  of  the  hare  is  true  of  societies  of  this  kind. 
You  must  first  catch  one  or  two  people  interested  in 
some  department  of  natural  science.  There  are  few 
towns  or  districts  in  Great  Britain  now  where  there 
does  not  reside  some  one  who  is  a  Fellow  of  one  of 
the  learned  societies,  and  who  has  so  far  won  his 
spurs.  Such  an  one  is  generally  willing  to  act  as 
president,  and  to  throw  the  weight  of  his  influence 
into  the  scheme.  The  secretary  should  always  be 
selected  on  account  of  the  greater  interest  he  takes  in 
science,  for  we  regard  a  good  secretary  as  really 
more  useful  to  a  society  than  a  president.  The 
meetings  of  a  young  society  should  not  be  held  too 
often,  or  there  will  soon  be  a  dearth  of  papers. 
Once  a  month,  in  the  winter,  is  quite  often  enough  ; 
and  one  paper  only  each  night,  the  rest  of  the 
evening  being  taken  up  with  discussion.  It  is  a  good 
practice  to  encourage  members  to  bring  something 
at  every  meeting  for  exhibition  —  something  which 
strikes  them  as  singular,  and  which  they  do  not  under- 
stand. This  practice  causes  members  to  look  out  for 
objects,  and  develops  the  observing  faculties.  It 
is  also  useful  in  raising  discussions  and  oral  descrip- 
tions at  meetings,  and  perhaps,  eventually,  in  origi- 
nating papers. 


>02 


HARD  Wl  CKE  *S    S  C1ENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


New  societies  should  not  aim  too  high.  Let  them 
accept  papers  on  any  subject  connected  with  natural 
history,  and  endeavour  to  raise  good  discussions  on 
them.  The  subscription  fee  should  not  be  too  much — 
never  more  than  half-a-crown  or  five  shillings  a-year, 
or  the  pocket  will  affect  the  members.  We  have  in- 
variably found  the  most  prosperous  societies  and  clubs 
those  which  charged  the  smallest  subscriptions.  In 
almost  every  village,  to  say  nothing  of  towns,  there 
would  be  little  difficulty  in  hiring,  or  even  in  obtain- 
ing free,  some  school-room,  either  in  connection  with 
church  or  chapel.  Indeed,  numerously  attended 
churches  and  chapels  have  started  scientific  clubs  of 
their  own,  so  beneficial  has  it  been  found  to  found  a 
society  that  will  find  intellectual  work  for  young 
men.  The  rules  of  a  young  club  should  be  as  few 
and  simple  as  possible,  and  as  free  from  penal 
clauses.  At  first,  it  would  be  as  well  to  think  of 
nothing  but  mutual  instruction  in  scientific  matters. 
Afterwards,  the  careful  study  and  cataloguing  of  the 
plants,  insects,  birds,  fossils,  &c,  of  the  neighbour- 
hood might  be  considered. 

Some  very  young  societies  are  ambitious  early  to 
appear  in  print,  and  to  publish  their  own  "Trans- 
actions" or  "Proceedings."  This  is  well  enough 
when  there  is  anything  really  worth  publishing,  but 
even  then  there  are  plenty  of  magazines  willing  to 
publish  such  papers,  and  able  to  give  them  a  wider 
publicity  than  they  could  have  obtained  locally. 
Young  societies  soon  find  printing  and  publishing 
very  expensive,  and  it  is  frequently  a  source  of  vexa- 
tion to  the  members.  This  matter,  therefore,  should 
be  left  out  of  consideration  when  it  is  intended  to 
start  a  new  society.  If  there  be  any  surplus  money, 
let  it  be  spent  in  purchasing  such  high-priced  stan- 
dard books  or  magazines  as  would  perhaps  be  beyond 
the  pockets  of  many  members,  and  these  could  be 
circulated  in  the  usual  manner.  We  have  known 
successful  instances  of  members  specially  combining 
to  circulate  such  books  among  themselves,  in  addi- 
tion to  any  which  might  be  obtainable  from  the 
society's  library.  The  summer  excursions  should 
not  be  numerous  —not  more  than  two  or  three  during 
the  season.  Half  a  day  will  be  often  found  long 
enough  to  do  a  great  deal  of  real  good  work  in.  If 
the  society  limits  its  members  to  the  male  sex,  there 
is  no  reason  why  they  should  not  enjoy  the  pleasure 
of  ladies  during  the  summer  excursions.  To  con- 
clude, the  chief  things  to  be  considered  are,  (i) 
earnest  study  (no  matter  by  how  few,  for  the 
numbers  will  increase  if  the  original  members  can 
only  "learn  to  labour  and  to  wait") ;  (2)  an  absence 
of  any  pretension  to  intellectual  superiority ;  (3) 
an  endeavour  to  make  the  membership  as  cheap 
and  inexclusive  as  possible,  so  as  to  throw  the 
society  open  to  all  classes — the  only  specification 
being  a  love  for  scientific  subjects,  even  if  there 
be  not  always  the  means  or  the  opportunity  to 
cherish  it. 


"BRUCE,"   THE   MANCHESTER   FIRE 
HORSE. 

AT  the  latter  part  of  the  spring  of  1864  "  Our 
Bruce "  was  born ;  he  soon  began  to  show 
signs  of  a  very  promising  hunter,  of  over  sixteen 
hands,  and  in  due  course  commenced  his  training  for 
the  chase.  At  five  years  old  he  had  grown  to  a 
beautiful  animal,  very  docile  and  tractive — his  mottled 
grey  coat  the  pride  of  the  groom  and  the  admiration 
of  his  master.  "Our  Bruce,"  in  the  hunting-field, 
once  stumbled,  and,  in  consequence,  lost  the  con- 
fidence of  his  master,  who  disposed  of  him  to  the 
Manchester  Carriage  Company.  In  the  early  part 
of  the  year  1870,  he  was  sold  by  the  Carriage  Com- 
pany to  the  Manchester  Corporation  for  the  fire- 
engine  department,  and  commenced  his  duties  on 
the  24th  March.  His  general  appearance,  and  kind, 
tractable,  willing  ways  were  soon  noticed  by  the 
firemen,  and  in  less  than  a  month  after  he  joined 
the  brigade  he  was  the  favourite  of  the  whole  estab- 
lishment, having  pretty  well  the  free  run  of  the  yard, 
in  which  he  caused  much  diversion  by  his  singular 
and  funny  ways.  He  was  always  full  of  innocent 
mischief,  and  one  of  his  greatest  delights  was  to 
chase  the  men  about  the  yard.  It  sometimes  hap- 
pened that  he  was  let  out  for  a  gambol  when  the 
children  were  playing.  On  such  occasions  it  was 
most  interesting  to  notice  how  careful  he  was  in  not 
going  too  near  them.  At  other  times,  when  the 
engines  were  in  the  yard,  he  seemed  not  to  forget 
his  early  training  as  a  hunter,  and  would  amuse  him- 
self by  jumping  over  the  poles.  When  tired,  lie 
would  lift  the  latch  of  the  door  and  go  into  his 
stable,  and  just  as  easily,  after  a  rest,  when  the  stable- 
door  was  closed,  he  would  let  himself  out  again,  or 
knock  loudly  at  the  door  to  attract  attention.  Near 
the  stable-door  there  is  a  water-tap  with  a  revolving 
handle.  "Our  Brace  "  would  turn  the  handle  with 
ease  and  help  himself  to  a  drink.  It  sometimes 
happened  that  a  hose-pipe  would  be  attached  to  the 
tap  ;  this  would  not  cause  him  the  least  inconvenience ; 
in  such  a  case,  after  turning  on  the  tap,  he  would  lift 
up  the  end  of  the  hose-pipe  with 'his  teeth  and  hold 
the  end  in  his  mouth  until  he  had  satisfied  his  thirst. 
Many  curious  anecdotes  could  be  told  about  our  pet : 
how  on  one  occasion  he  picked  up  the  end  of  the 
hose  and  wetted  one  of  the  firemen  who  had  offended 
him ;  how,  at  a  fire,  he  would  stand  amidst  the  greatest 
noise  and  excitement,  with  showers  of  sparks  falling 
around  him,  and  on  his  beautiful  coat,  only  to  be 
shook  off ;  and  at  other  times  completely  enveloped 
in  smoke ;  but  there  was  no  shying  or  fretting  under 
fire  or  smoke  with  "Our  Brace."  He  seemed  to 
know  that  he  had  brought  those  who  would  fight 
that  ruthless  tyrant  fire,  and  he  stood  proud  and 
confident  that  before  long  he  would  return  home 
with  the  victors,  when,  after  being  refreshed  and 
groomed,  he  would  again  be  ready,  always  first,  for 
the  next  "  turn  out." 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE-  G  OS  SIP. 


203 


For  nearly  six  years  "Our  Bruce"  never  missed 
going  with  the  first  machine,   at  the  end  of  which 
time  he  was,  in  consequence  of  his  fine  appearance, 
and  our  desire  to  give  him  a  less  active  duty  in  his 
old  age,   transferred   from  the  fire-engine  to  police- 
patrol  duty;     We  did  not  altogether  lose  our  faith- 
ful animal's    services,  for  one  of  his    duties  was  to 
attend  fires  with  the  mounted  police-sergeant  (whose 
name  was  also  Bruce)  to  keep  back  the  onlookers, 
which  he  most  effectually  did  for  nearly  two  years, 
during  which  time  he  was  as  great  a  favourite  with 
the  policemen,  rarely  leaving  a  police-station  without 
an  apple,  a  piece  of  bread,  or  some  mark  of  affection. 
On  the  7th  of  June   "  Our  Bruce  "  fell  sick  ;   the 
veterinary  surgeon  was  sent  for,  who  pronounced  him 
suffering  from  inflammation  of  the  bowels.    The  usual 
remedies  were  applied,  and  everything  was  done  to 
relieve  his  pain  and  make  him  comfortable,  but  to  no 
avail.     For  three  days  afterwards  he  was  never  left 
for  a  moment,  night  nor  day,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
third  day  he  drew  his  last  breath,    surrounded   by 
those  who  loved  him  well,  and  who  had  been  taken 
by  him  to  the  scene  of  many  a  hard  fight.     A  post- 
mortem examination  was  held  the  following  morning 
to  ascertain  the  cause  of  death.     A  stone  (calculus) 
six  inches  in  diameter,  weighing  five  pounds  eleven 
ounces,  was  taken  from  his  bowels.     This  was,   no 
doubt,  the  principal  cause  of  the  disease  which  led  to 
the  death  of  the  fire  horse,  "  Our  Bruce." 

Chief  Fire  Station,  Manchester.  A.  Tozer. 


BRAMBLES  ABOUT  LONDON. 

By  Dr.  E.  De  Crespigny,  Author  of  "A  London 
Flora." 

"In  the  days  when  we  went  blackberrying, 
A  long  time  ago," 

WE  knew  that  blackberries  were  distinct  from 
dewberries,  and  no  more  :  happier  in  our 
ignorance  then,  than  we  now  are  in  our  knowledge, 
that  there  are  blackberries  and  blackberries  ;  and 
that  Rulnis  pmticosus  represents  an  aggregate  of  forty 
species,  regarded  by  collectors  as  distinct,  besides 
varieties.  Of  these,  twenty-eight  species  are  classed 
as  occurring  in  the  home  counties,  province  III.  of 
the  "  Cybele  Brit.  "  (see  Compendium)  ;  but  to  what 
extent  they  severally  prevail  there  are  at  present  no 
records  to  show.  Something,  therefore,  might  be 
attempted  towards  ascertaining  the  range,  compar- 
ative frequency,  and  particular  habitats  of  the  more 
uncommon  kinds,  assuming  that  the  ordinary  forms 
are  generally  distributed.  The  difficulty  is  not  so 
much  in  being  able  to  find  them,  as  in  the  ability  to 
appreciate  the  small  and  inconstant  shades  of  difference 
by  which  many  of  them  are  to  be  distinguished,  not 
only  from  each  other,  but  also  from  intermediate 
forms  or  variations  ;  because,  placed  as  all  are  now 
on  the  common  footing  of  separate  species,  we  are  no 


longer  at  liberty  to  assign  any  values  to  the  difference 
between  what  were  formerly  considered  species  and 
what  sub-species;  added  to  which  there  is,  com- 
paring the  London  Catalogue  with  the  books,  no 
little  confusion  with  regard  to  nomenclature.  The 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  correct  diagnosis  is  only 
lessened  to  a  certain  extent  by  arranging  the  species 
into  groups  or  sections  ;  for  unfortunately  the  lines  of 
demarkation  are  by  no  means  distinctly  defined,  and 
in  doubtful  cases  we  are  at  a  loss  for  fixed  rules  by 
which  we  may  be  guided  in  determining  to  which  of 
the  sections  our  specimen  should  be  referred. 

Brambles  are  arranged  in  sections  as  follows  : — 
i.  Suberecti ;  ii.  Ccesii ;  iii.  Glandulosi ;  iv.  Villi- 
caules ;  v.  Nitidi. 

I.  Suberecti  :  type,  R.  suberectus.  This,  found  in 
boggy  woods,  is  a  northern  plant,  and  is  nearest  the 
raspberry,  R.  IJaus,  in  habit ;  it  is  not  found  near 
London,  but  R.  plicatus  occurs  in  Tilgate  Forest, 
near  Tunbridge  Wells,  and  R.  affinis  has  been  re- 
ported from  Epping  Forest.  We  have  not  met  with 
either  species  ;  they  may  be  known  by  their  suberect, 
slender,  terete  stems,  furnished  with  a  few  weak 
uniform  prickles,  and  glabrous  leaflets,  which  are 
often  arranged  in  a  sub-pinnate  manner  ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  terminal  leaflets  are  either  ternate  with  two 
pair  of  basal  leaflets,  or  they  arequinate  with  a  single 
pairs  of  basal  leaflets,  but  there  is  no  continuity 
between  the  sets.  Another  characteristic  of  the 
group  is  a  distinct  white  border  to  the  margins  of  the 
sepals. 

II.   C.esii.     Subsection  a :    type,  R.  ccesius.     We 
venture  to  suggest  that  the  proper  position  of  this 
group  is  next  in  order  to  the  preceding  one ;  with 
which  subsection  a  has  very  much  in  common.      R. 
arsiits  may  be  regarded  as  a  trailing  form  of  suberectus. 
They  are  much  alike  in  flowers  and  fruit,  besides 
other  points.     R.  ccFsius  is  readily  diagnosed,   but 
when  met  with  in  its  more  robust  form  it  may  some- 
times be  mistaken  for  corylifolius.     There  are  several 
varieties  :    tenuis,    ulmifolius,    &c.     The  stems    are 
usually  very  slender,  terete,  and  glaucous,  furnished 
with  many  slender  unequal  prickles  ;  leaves  ternate, 
terminal  one  often  lobed  ;  sepals  setose,  and  clasping 
the   glaucous   few-grained   fruit.      Plentiful   by   the 
banks  of  the  Thames  about  Kingston,   and  in  one 
form  or  another  not  unfrequent  on  damp,  shady  ditch - 
banks,  which  are  seldom  cleared   or  trimmed,   at  a 
little  distance  from  the  environs.     It  grows  also  by 
the  Bave  stream  in  the  hollow  W.   of  Wimbledon 
Common.    Subsection^:  type,  R.  corylifolius.    This 
is  a  very  common  and  also  a  very  variable  plant. 
Its  characteristics,  however,  are  so  well  marked  that 
it  can  seldom  be  mistaken  for  a  bramble  of  any  other 
section.      The   stems   are   terete,    although    strong 
young    shoots     are    sometimes    obscurely    angled ; 
smooth,   of  a  greenish  subglaucous  hue,   somewhat 
rufous   when    old,    furnished    with    uniform    weak 
prickles   and    a    few   subsessile    glands ;    generally 


204 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSS  IP. 


prostrate  when  unsupported  ;  the  leaflets  are  broad, 
doubly  dentate,  serrate,  or  biserrated,  and  remark- 
ably imbricated,  owing  to  the  lateral  pair  being  sub- 
sessile,  and  the  basal  ones  entirely  so  ;  rugose  above, 
pubescent  below;*  sepals  ovate  and  tomentose ; 
petals  rotund  white,  sometimes  pale  blush  (in  pur- 
pureas they  are  pinkish) ;  the  panicle  always  corym- 
bose ;  its  flowering  is  both  early  and  prolonged.     It 


are  somewhat  elliptical.  They  may  be  found  on  damp 
shady  places  and  ditch-banks.  We  have  gathered 
them  in  a  lane  between  the  "Spaniards"  (Hamp- 
stead  Heath)  and  Hendon. 

III.  Glandulosi.  This  section  will  also  admit 
of  subdivision,  a.  Transition  of  the  prickles  into 
aciculce,  seta,  and  hairs,  abrupt ;  that  is  to  say,  the 
prickles  are  clearly  distinct  from  the  other  appen- 


Fig.  157.  Portion  of  stem  and  trans- 
verse section  of  Rubus  ccesiits. 


Fig.  158.  Ditto  of  R.  cerylifolius. 


Fig.  159.  Ditto  of  R.  glandulosus. 


m. 


Fig.  160.  Ditto  of  ./v.  rudis. 


Fig.  161.  Ditto  of  R.  umbrosus.         Fig.  162.  Ditto  of  R.  kochleri. 


Fig.  163.  Ditto  of 
R.  discolor. 


is  a  common  hedge  bramble  about  London.  On  the 
Finchley-road,  near  the  station,  for  instance,  and  in 
the  lanes  leading  to  Willesden,  it  is  plentiful.  The 
leaves  are  often  ternate  by  abortion  ;  that  is  to  say, 
the  lateral  pair  are  two-lobed,  a  peculiarity  by  no 
means  confined  to  this  species.  R.  Balfourianus  and 
R.  althaifolius  are  straggling  forms  belonging  to  this 
section,  with  large  flat  leaves,  usually  ternate,  and 
large  arsius-like  flowers.     In  althaifolius,  the  leaves 


*  The  pubescence  of  the  under  surface  of  the  leaflets  is 
seated  on  the  veins  ;  even  when  glabrous  below  th;  principal 
veins  are  never  quite  free  from  hairs.  In  brambles  with  strong 
arching  stems,  such  as  the  nitidi  and  larger  species  of  glandulosi 
and  villicaules,  the  veins  and  pedicels  are  also  furnished  with 
small  hooked  prickles. 


dages  ;  type,  R.  glandulosus.  Stems  subterete, 
trailing  when  unsupported  ;  of  a  dingy  dark-greenish 
or  dark-red  hue ;  prickles  small,  straight,  weak ; 
aciculre,  seta?,  and  hairs  copious  ;  leaves  dull  and 
green,  slightly  pubescent  below ;  leaflets  ternate, 
rarely  quinate  ;  of  a  rhomboidal  or  ovate  form,  with 
biserrated  margins ;  sepals  very  glandular  and  fur- 
nished with  a  long  acumen  ;  petals  narrow,  white  or 
pale  blush  ;  the  panicle  broad-topped  ;  pedicels  very 
slender,  prickly,  and  glandular.  Frequent  in  hedges, 
in  the  lanes  and  roadsides  about  London.  R.  Gun- 
tha-i  is  a  form  of  it  with  large,  flat,  thin,  dark  green 
leaves ;  leaflets  ternate ;  straggling,  decumbent,  less 
prickly  stem,  and  a  long,  open,  leafy,  few-flowered 


HARD  WICKES    SCIENCE-  G  OSSIP. 


205 


panicle ;  petals  similar,  but  sepals  without  the  long  '  beneath,  with  coarsely  serrated  jagged  margins  ; 
acumen  of  glandulosus.  It  grows  in  shady  places  ;  shorter  panicle  ;  pink  petals  and  sepals  furnished 
abundantly  by  the  palings,  northern  border  of  Bentley  with  rather  broad,  leafy  points  ;  the  prickles  are 
Priory,  Harrow  Weald.  A'.  radula :  not  frequent 
in  hedgerows ;  more  generally  on  the  borders  of 
copses  in  upland  situations  :  on  the  outskirts  of 
Harrow  Weald  Common  and  Pinner  Woods,  for  in. 


Fig.  164.  Portion  of  stem  and  transverse  section  of 
R.  rhamnifolius. 


Fig.  165.  Leaflet  of  R.  coryli/olius. 

stance.  Stems  arching,  angular,  of  a  dark,  purplish 
hue  ;  prickles  strong  (or  rather,  slender,  from  a  strong 
broad  base),  nearly  equal,  patent ;  setae  and  aciculte 
short,  numerous ;  hairs  few ;  leaflets  dull  green, 
paler  beneath  ;  obovate,  acuminate,  narrow  below, 
sharply  and  moderately  dentate ;  sepals  ovate,  re- 
flexed  ;  petals  white,  obovate ;  the  panicle  is  rather 
long,  with  lanceolate  leaves  and  short  corymbose 
branches  ;  the  prickles  of  the  rachis  are  remarkably 
deflexed.  R.  rudis  differs  from  the  above  in  having 
much  narrower  leaflets,   of  an  elliptical  form,  felted 


Fig,  166.   Leaflet  of  R.  glandulosus. 


Fig.  167.  Ditto  of  R.  umbrosits. 

conical  and  slightly  deflected.  It  is  of  less  frequent 
occurrence  than  R.  radnla.  We  have  gathered  it 
on  Harrow  Weald  Common.  It  is  probably 
not    very   rare.       R.    hystrix  :     this    is    a    trailing 


206 


HARDWICKE'S  SCIENCE -GOSSIP. 


bramble,  with  angular  prickly  stems  of  a  light  red 
colour,  abundantly  furnished  with  aciculae,  &c,  all 
shorter  than  the  prickles ;  the  leaflets  are  of  a  light 
grass-green  colour,  finely  serrated  and  of  an  oval 
form ;  panicle  in  shape,  like  that  of  radula  ;  rachis 
wavy  ;  petals  obovate,  pinkish ;  sepals  lanceolate, 
with  a  long,  leafy  point.     Rare  :  outskirts  of  Worm- 


169.  Ditto  of 
if.  discolor. 


.  170.  Leaf  of  R.  ccvsius. 


ley  Wood,  Broxbourne.  Allied  to  this  is  R.  pallidas 
(or  rosaceus),  also  a  trailing  but  more  prostrate 
bramble  than  hystrix ;  with  bright  red  stems,  and 
leaves  of  a  lighter  green  and  of  a  different  shape  ; 
leaflets  obovate  acuminate,  the  terminal  one  some- 
what cordate  ;  the  panicle  simple  and  racemose  ; 
petals  white  ;  sepals  ovate,  not  leaf-pointed.  Harrow 
Weald  Common.  On  Hampstead  Heath  and  on  the 
sandy  heaths  adjoining  the  Basingstoke  Canal  there 
is  a  trailing  bramble,  with  an  open  panicle  of  pink 
flowers,  remarkably  leafy,  pointed  sepals,  and  leaflets 
green  on  both  sides,  which  would  seem  to  be  R. 
blffxami*  The  stems  are  much  less  setose  than  in 
any  other  species  of  this  section. 

/'.     T/ansilion   of  prickles   into  aciczdce,  seta,  and 


hairs,  gradual.  Type,  R.  Kahtevi. — Stems  trailing, 
terete  ;  abundantly  furnished  with  prickles  aciculae, 
setae,  and  hairs  of  unequal  lengths  :  this  bramble  is 
not  very  common  ;  at  any  rate,  we  have  only  gathered 
it  in  Broxbourne  woods  :  the  prickles  are  slender  and 
patent  ;  the  leaflets  obovate,  coarsely  dentate,  and 
scarcely  acuminate ;  somewhat  cuneate  ;  pale  green 
beneath  and  hairy  on  the  veins  ;  panicle,  with  short 
leafy  corymbose  branches  ;  sepals  ovate,  attenuated, 
and  reflexed  from  the  fruit ;  petals  white,  obovate. 
R.  fusco-ater  differs  considerably  from  the  preceding 
plant  :  it  occurs  sparingly  on  Harrow  Weald  Com- 
mon, and  is  equally  unfrequent.  The  stems  are  dark 
purple,  bluntly  angular,  and  prickles  declining  ;  the 
leaves  ovate  acuminate,  the  basal  ones  oval ;  the 
toothing  of  the  margins  subpatent  on  the  stem  leaves, 
finely  serrate  on  those  of  the  flowering  branches  ; 
leaflets  coriaceous,  rugose,  dull  green  above,  paler 
below ;  the  panicle  long,  leafy,  narrow,  with  very 
short  few-flowered  branches ;  rachis  wavy ;  petals 
pinkish,  obovate  ;  sepals  ovate  acuminate,  reflexed ; 
thickly  beset  with  dark  purple  setae.  R.  nemorosus, 
or  dumetorum  [dvuersifolius  of  the  London  Catalogue), 
is  a  form  of  corylifolius  intermediate  with  this  section 
and  the  cccsii.  The  leaves  are  variable,  of  the  same 
character  as  regards  imbrication,  but  the  stems,  and 
especially  the  rachis  pedicels  and  sepals,  are  abun- 
dantly furnished  with  setae ;  the  petals, 
however,  are  obovate  and  not  contiguous  ; 
not  narrow,  as  in  R.  glandulostis ;  and  the 
sepals  not  furnished  with  a  long  acumen, 
as  in  that  species.  It  is  also  of  frequent 
occurrence  in  hedges. 

[To  be  continued.) 

THE    LAND    AND    FRESHWATER 
SHELLS    OF    TASMANIA. 

By  W.  F.  Petterd. 

ALTHOUGH  the  descriptions  of  many 
species  of  the  Conchological  Fauna 
of  Tasmania  have  appeared  scattered 
through  various  scientific  publications,  I 
do  not  think  a  brief  and  condensed  sketch 
of  what  is  up  to  the  present  known  concerning  the 
land  and  freshwater  shells  of  this  island  will  be 
altogether  an  unacceptable  contribution  to  the 
columns  of  Science-Gossip,  for  I  feel  assured  it 
must  number  many  among  its  readers  that  take  an 
interest  in  Conchology.  My  design  in  writing  the 
present  paper  is  not  to  enter  into  elaborate  and  ex- 
haustive details  of  the  description  and  distribution  of 
the  various  species,  but  to  give  a  general  idea  of  the 
land  and  freshwater  shells  of  this  far-off  land.  Tas- 
mania is  situated  about  120  miles  south  of  the  south- 
eastern corner  of  the  Australian  continent ;  it  is  165 
miles  average  length  and  155  average  breadth,  and, 
exclusive  of  adjacent  small  and  numerous  islands 
and  indentations,  has  about  700  miles  of  a  coast-line 


HARD  WICKES    SCIENCE-  G  OS  SIP. 


207 


of  diversified  aspect,  often  rugged  in  the  extreme, 
their  beautiful  snow-white  sands  stretching  for  miles. 
It  is  watered  by  numerous  streams,  which  meander 
through  its  wild  mountain-ranges  and  undulating 
hills  that  intersect  the  island,  mostly  covered  with 
dense  vegetation  of  gigantic  trees  and  almost  im- 
penetrable undergrowth.  These  natural  barriers  and 
the  physical  character  of  the  island,  by  dividing  it  into 
districts,  may  to  some  extent  account  for  the  extremely 
restricted  localization  of  many  of  the  species  of  land 
and  freshwater  shells,  which  is  very  marked  and 
noticeable  to  the  conchologist,  although  the  disper- 
sion of  animal  life  in  the  other  departments  of  zoology 
is  not  so  generally  restricted.  The  marine  species 
have  received  much  attention,  and  the  richness  of  the 
Tasmanian  coasts  is  well  known  among  the  lovers  of 
nature,  comprising,  among  its  numerous  members, 
some  of  the  most  gorgeous  and  attractive  of  the 
collector's  cabinet.  Among  the  number  may  be 
mentioned  Cyprceaovida  umbilkata,  Valuta  fusi- 
formis,  V.  manulla,  V.  papulosa,  V.  Sclateri,  and 
V.Augasi,  with  the  beautiful  Venus  lamellata,  Tryonia 
viargaritifera,  Phasianella  Australis,  and  many  others 
of  equally  attractive  appearance. 

Recently  many  new  species  have  been  described  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Tasmania,  mostly 
from  dredging  operations  on  the  coast,  comprising 
species  of  genera  hitherto  unrecorded  from  this  island, 
and  some  even  from  Australia.  They  include  new  species 
of  Murex,  Trophon,  Ranella,  Siphonalia,  Dentalium, 
Gibbula,  Cyclostretna,  Scissurella,  Margmella,  Comes, 
Pleurotoma,  Columbella,  Conionella,  Styloptygma, 
Stylifer,  Rissoa,  Mytilus,  Gouldia,  Kellia,  Macro- 
schisma,  Turbonilla,  Clanculus,  Diloma,  Daphnella, 
Fustts,  T'riforis,  Nalica,  Crossea,  Liolia,  Acmcca, 
Callista,  Myadora,  Gasterochana,  and  a  new  Aslele, 
a  genus  of  Swainson's,  described  by  that  talented 
naturalist  when  in  Tasmania,  in  the  Proc.  Royal 
Society  of  Tasmania  for  1854. 

The  land  shells  of  Tasmania  have  received  a  fair 
share  of  attention  from  Australian  scientists,  ^and 
numerous  species  have  been  described  by  Dr.  Cox 
and  Mr.  Brazier.  The  former,  in  his  monograph  of 
Australian  land  shells,  enumerates  twenty-two  species 
as  from  Tasmania  ;  the  latter  gentleman  has 
many  descriptions  in  Proc.  Zoological  Soc.  of  London 
(vide  Proc.  for  June,  1870,  &c),  and  a  general  cata- 
logue was  published  by  Mr.  Legrand,  in  187 1,  of 
all  the  sorts  known  up  to  that  year.  Since  then 
several  additional  have  been  described  in  the  Proc. 
Linnean  Society  of  New  South  Wales,  and  Proc. 
Royal  Society  of  Tasmania.  The  number  of  de- 
scribed species  now  known  is  eighty-seven,  dis- 
tributed in  the  following  genera  :  Bulimics  2  ;  Vitrina 
2 ;  Succinea  2  ;  Truncaiella  I  ;  and  Helix  80  ;  and 
during  my  last  collecting  tour  in  the  northern  portion 
of  the  island  I  obtained  twenty-two  additional 
species,  seven  Helices,  which  are  as  yet  undescribed. 
The  Helices  are  strikingly  different  from  those  of  the 


mainland  of  Australia,  although  I  have  collected 
several  undescribed  species  in  Victoria  with  a  some- 
what general  resemblance  to  some  of  the  Tasmanian 
species ;  nevertheless,  the  general  characteristic 
difference  is  very  distinct  and  noticeable.  The  number 
of  species,  more  especially  of  the  smaller  forms,  is 
surprising,  particularly  when  it  is  taken  into  con- 
sideration that  but  a  very  small  portion  of  the 
island  has  been  searched  for  land-shells,  for  the 
workers  in  natural  history  are  extremely  few  in 
number.  I  have  never,  to  my  recollection,  collected 
in  a  fresh  locality  without  finding  one  or  more  new 
species,  which  is  certainly  a  great  stimulus  for  further 
investigation  in  this  attractive  department  of  science, 
so  that  we  may  reasonably  anticipate  a  great  augmen- 
tation in  their  number  as  the  unsearched  localities 
are  worked  up. 

Among  the  most  remai-kable  sorts  may  be  men- 
tioned Helix  Launcestouensis,  Reese,  a  fine  large 
and  unique  form,  of  a  black  colour,  with  a  broad 
yellow  band  on  the  under  surface.  It  is  confined  to 
the  dense  myrtle  forests  in  the  north-eastern  portion 
of  the  island,  where  it  is  comparatively  plentiful 
about  decaying  vegetable  debris.  Helix  lampra, 
Pfr.,  a  pretty  glossy  wild  chestnut  shell,  found 
generally  distributed  along  the  northern  coast-line. 
Helix  lamproides,  Cox,  which  reaches  occasionally 
the  size  of  //.  Launcestouensis,  and  is  possibly  the 
H.  bisulcata  of  Pfeiffer. 

Helix  dispar,  Brazier,  is  the  only  species  recorded 
with  a  tooth  in  the  interior  of  the  aperture,  either 
from  this  island  or  Australia. 

Helix  vitrinaformis,  Cox,  a  curious  form  dis- 
covered by  myself  on  Mount  Wellington,  with  a 
peculiar  Vitrina-like  appearance,  and  Helix  Weldii, 
Tenison  Woods  (Proc.  Royal  Soc.  of  Tasmania, 
1877),  a'very  interesting  minute  shell  from  Circular 
Head,  as  it  is  the  only  reversed  Helix  recorded  from 
Australasia.  The  majority  of  the  remainder  com- 
prise a  group  of  small  Helices  very  different  from 
those  of  any  other  part  of  the  world,  of  which  only 
three  species  have  been  ascertained  with  any  cer- 
tainty to  be  common  both  to  the  mainland  and 
Tasmania;  viz.,  H.  Sydneyensis,  Cox,  which  is 
abundant  in  cellars  and  such-like  places  in  Sydney, 
New  South  Wales  ;  Auckland,  New  Zealand  ;  and 
similar  localities  in  Launceston  and  Hobart  Town. 
It  may  possibly  be  the  European  H.  cellaria,  intro- 
duced by  some  means.  H.  Alexandra;  Cox,  which 
is  abundant  in  gardens  about  Sydney,  New  South 
Wales,  and  like  localities  around  Hobart  Town. 
This  I  consider  the  acclimatized  H.  costala  of 
Europe.  The  other  is  H.  Norti,  Cox,  which  is 
generally  distributed  through  Southern  Australia, 
and  may  have  been  brought  over  by  accident  with 
plants,  or  by  some  such  means.  The  identification 
of  this  species  is  somewhat  doubtful,  for  I  think, 
upon  careful  examination,  the  Tasmanian  specimens 
will  prove  to  be  a  distinct  species. 


208 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


Of  the  Bulimi,  B.  Dufresnii,  Leach,  is  an  unique 
form,  distantly  represented  by  B.  Angasianus,  Pfr., 
in  Australia.  It  is  widely  distributed,  and  varies 
much  in  general  coloration  and  size.  The  larger 
specimens  are  found  in  the  dense  jungle,  and  the 
smaller  dwarf  varieties  in  the  more  open  and  dry 
parts. 

B.  Tasmantcus,  Pfr.,  is  allied  to  B.  Kingi,  Gray, 
of  King  George's  Sound.  It  is  distributed  around  the 
northern  and  eastern  coasts,  always  near  the  sea, 
clustering  on  trees  and  rocks,  almost  invariably  in 
considerable  abundance. 

Vitritia  Milligani,  Pfr.,  is  one  of  the  finest  species 
of  the  genus ;  it  is  of  a  beautiful  shiny  black  colour, 
and  is  truly  the  gem  of  the  land  shells  of  the  island, 
for  its  remarkable  colour  and  size  render  it  very 
attractive.  It  represents  in  Tasmania  H.  attramen- 
tasia  of  Victoria,  Australia,  and  H.  Busbyi  of  New 
Zealand.  The  animal  is  of  a  bright  and  showy  red 
colour.  It  is  confined  to  the  western  portion  of  the 
island,  where  it  is  tolerably  plentiful  in  the  dense  fern 
scrubs,  particularly  about  the  Duck  River. 

V.  Verreanxi,  Pfr.,  the  only  other  species,  is  gene- 
rally distributed,  aud  reaches  a  somewhat  large  size 
in  favourable  localities.  I  obtained  a  species  in  Gibb's- 
land,  Victoria,  bearing  a  close  resemblance  to  this 
shell. 

Like  the  land  species,  the  fresh-water  are  very 
local  in  their  distribution,  almost  every  creek  and 
mountain-stream  affording  a  distinct  species.  The 
Rev.  J.  T.  Woods,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Royal 
Society  of  Tasmania,  enumerated  32  species  ;  that  is 
to  say,  28  univalves  and  4  bivalves,  belonging  to  the 
following  genera:  —  Physa,  12;  Limnea,  4;  By- 
thinea,  7  ;  Ancyhts,  2 ;  Pomiatopsis,  I  ;  Planorbis,  I ; 
Assiminm,  1  ;  Unio,  1  ;  Pisidium,  2  ;  Cyclas,  1. 
More  recently  he  has  described  a  species  each  of  the 
genera  Valvata  and  Ampitllaria.  Mr.  Brazier,  in 
the  Pro.  Linnean  Society  of  New  South  Wales  for 
1876,  describes  two  species,  which  he  places  in  the 
genus  Amnicola, — A.Petterdiana  and  ,4.  Simsoniana, 
and  he  has  also  described,  in  the  Pro.  Zoological 
Society  of  Londonz  two  species  which  he  assigns  to 
the  genus  Pahtdestrina. 

The  Physa  and  Limnea  are  of  the  ordinary  forms, 
having  mostly  close  representatives  in  the  mainland 
of  Australia  ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  re- 
mainder, with  the  exception  of  two,  viz.,  the  Ancylus, 
A.Cumingianus,  Bourgingnat,  a  remarkably  fine  and 
pretty  species, — in  fact,  the  finest  of  the  genus  known 
up  to  the  present  time.  It  is  peculiar  to  the  Upper 
Derwent  River,  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  island, 
and  is  without  doubt  the  most  remarkable  and  inte- 
resting of  the  fresh-water  shells  of  Tasmania.  The 
other  is  a  small  shell,  which  the  Rev.  J.  T.  Woods 
has  placed  in  the  genus  Ampullaria,  to  which  genus 
it  very  doubtfully  belongs,  for,  in  all  probability, 
upon  close  examination  of  the  animal,  it  will  be 
found  to  require  a  sub-genus,  if  not  an  entirely  new 


genus,  for  its  reception.  The  specimens  were  col- 
lected in  a  creek  on  the  northern  coast  of  the  island. 
Several  species  still  remain  undescribed,  and  no 
doubt,  as  further  investigation  proceeds,  many  more 
novelties  will  be  brought  to  light  in  this  highly  inte- 
resting portion  of  natural  science  ;  as  it  is,  the  number 
of  species  now  known  is  great  for  its  comparative 
small  size.  Still,  much  remains  to  be  done  before  we 
shall  have  a  complete  and  exhaustive  knowledge  of 
the  land  and  fresh-water  shells  of  Tasmania.  Should 
this  short  and  rough  sketch  prove  of  interest  to  the 
readers  of  Science-Gossip,  I  shall  be  only  too 
happy  to  contribute  something  more  concerning  the 
conchology  of  Australasia. 


MICROSCOPY, 

An  Improved  Wax  Cell. — The  following  plan 
of  mounting  in  wax  is  a  modification  of  that  sug- 
gested by  Professor  H.  L.  Smith,  of  New  York 
(Science-Gossip,  December,  1876).  To  my  mind 
it  possesses  two  great  advantages  over  that  of  the 
professor,  being  cheaper  and  more  easily  accom- 
plished. Into  the  centre  of  a  clean  glass  slip  place 
one  of  Pumphrey's  vulcanite  rings,  and  into  this  put 
a  few  chips  of  white  wax ;  then  hold  the  slip  over 
the  flame  of  a  spirit-lamp  until  the  wax  is  melted, 
and  set  aside  to  cool,  taking  care  that  the  ring  does 
not  slide  out  of  position.  When  well  set  the  wax  will 
be  found  to  have  formed  a  capital  cell  on  the  inside  of 
the  ring,  and  to  have  filled  up  the  angle  formed  by 
the  outside  of  the  ring  and  the  glass  slip.  This  form 
is  meant  essentially  for  opaque  objects,  but  it  can 
be  easily  made  available  for  transparent  mounts  by 
placing  the  slide  upon  the  turntable,  and  with  a 
broad-pointed  scalpel  turning  out  the  centre  of  the 
wax  cell.  An  exceedingly  neat  opaque  mount  is 
made  by  filling  up  this  central  space  with  asphalte 
or  other  black  varnish  whilst  it  rests  on  the  turn- 
table. To  fix  the  cover-glass,  rub  the  end  of  a  piece 
of  warm  wax  round  the  upper  surface  of  the  vulcanite 
ring,  when  sufficient  will  be  found  to  adhere  for  the 
purpose;  place  the  cover  in  position,  and  pass  a 
heated  iron  round  the  edge,  and  the  whole  process  is 
complete.  In  this  way  a  great  many  objects  may  be 
mounted,  ready  for  the  cabinet,  at  a  single 
sitting,  which  for  neatness,  durability,  and  sim- 
plicity of  construction  are  unrivalled. — H.  C.  Crew, 
Net  her  ton. 

Quekett  Microscopical  Club.  —  The  13th 
annual  meeting  of  this  flourishing  society  was  held 
at  University  College  on  July  26th,  Hemy  Lee,. 
Esq.,  F.L.S.,  President,  in  the  chair.  The  report  of 
the  committee  briefly  reviewed  the  work  of  the  past 
year,  and  congratulated  the  members  upon  the  con- 
tinued prosperity  of  the  club  in  every  department  of 
its  work.  A  large  number  of  books  had  been  added  to 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSSIP. 


209 


the  library,    185  slides  had    been  presented  to   the 
cabinet,  the  meetings  had  been  well  attended,   and 
many  valuable  and  interesting  papers  had  been  read. 
49  new  members  had  been  added  to  the  list  during 
the   year,  making  the    present    number    562.     The 
treasurer's  statement  of  account  was  also  presented  to 
the  meeting,  and  showed  the  satisfactory  balance  in 
hand  of  £106.1 3s.  5th     The  president  then  delivered 
the  customary  annual  address,  taking  for  his  subject 
"The  commercial  application  of  the  microscope," 
in  the   course  of  which  many  interesting  instances 
were  cited  to  show  how  the  skilful  application  of  the 
microscope  had  proved  of  great  value  in  the  settle- 
ment of  important  questions  of  social  and  commercial 
interest.     Much  good  counsel  was  also  given   to  the 
members  as  to  the  future  usefulness  of  the  club,  and  a 
well-merited  tribute  was  paid  to  the  honorary  secre- 
tary, members  of  the  committee,  and  officers,  to  whose 
efficient  discharge  of  their  various  duties  so  much 
of   their  success  was  due.     Votes  of  thanks    were 
unanimously  passed  to  the  president  and  officers  of 
the  society  for  their  services  during  the  past  year,  also 
to  the  council  of  University  College  for  continued  per- 
mission to  meet  in  that  building ;  and  an  announcement 
that  a  donation  from  the  funds  of  the  club  of  twenty 
pounds  had  been  voted  towards  the  building  fund  now 
being  raised  for  enlarging  the  college,  was  received 
with  cheers.    Some  further  interest  was  also  excited  by 
the  presentation  of  a  valuable  gold  watch  to  Mr.  R. 
T.  Lewis,  as  a  mark  of  appreciation  of  his  services  as 
honorary  reporter  since  1866.     Dr.  Harkness,  of  San 
Francisco,  having  been  introduced  to  the  meeting  as 
a  distinguished  foreign  visitor,  was  requested  to  con- 
vey the  greeting  of  the  club  to  the  microscopical 
society  of  San  Francisco,  and  briefly  acknowledged 
the  compliment  on  behalf  of  himself  and  his  colleagues. 
The  result  of  the  ballot  for  officers  and  council  for 
the  ensuing  year  was  as  follows  :— President,  Professor 
Huxley  ;    Vice-Presidents,    Dr.    Matthews,    Messrs. 
Henry  Lee,   C.    Stewart,  and  T.   C.    White ;  Trea- 
surer,  Mr.   Gay ;  Secretary,    Mr.    Ingpen  ;    Foreign 
Secretary,  Dr.  M.  C.  Cooke  ;  and  to  fill  four  vacancies 
on  the  committee,  Messrs.  F.  Crisp,  A.  D.  Michael, 
E.  T.  Newton,  and  F.  Oxley. 

A  Theoretical  Limit  to  the  Apertures  of 
Microscopical  Objectives.— At  a  recent  meeting 
of  the  Royal  Microscopical  Society,  Professor  Stokes 
read  a  paper  on  the  above  subject,  in  which  he 
showed  that  theoretically  a  pencil  of  rays  from  a 
radiant  in  glass  (or  under  equivalent  conditions)  of 
1800  could  be  refracted  by  a  single  refraction  at  a 
spherical  surface  so  as  to  present  to  the  second  lens 
a  pencil  of  about  8l°  free  from  spherical  aberration  ; 
and,  while  not  asserting  the  possibility  of  utilising  the 
whole  of  the  pencil  of  1800  in  glass,  he  thought  a 
very  large  part  of  it  might  be  available  in  a  practical 
construction,— a  far  larger  part  than  can  be  used  in 
dry  lenses. 


ZOOLOGY. 

Birds'    Eggs  in   Wrong  Nests.— The  circum- 
stance mentioned  by  Mr.  Sharpe  in  the  number  for 
July  must  be  veiy  unusual.     Last  year,  on  May  9th, 
I  found  a  blackbird's  nest  with  three  blackbird's  eggs 
and  a  thrush's ;  the  blackbird  was  sitting,  but  I  do 
not  know  if  they  were  hatched  off.     In  April,  1873, 
I  found  a  coot's  nest  near  St.    Albans  with  seven 
coot's  eggs  and  one  moorhen's.     On  going  again  a 
few  days  afterwards  I  found  an  eighth  coot's  egg  and  a 
second  moorhen's,    with  the    coot  sitting   on   them. 
These  are  the  only  instances  I  can  recollect  to  have 
met  with  of  one   species  of  bird  laying  in   another 
nest,  besides  the  ordinary  custom  of  the  cuckoo,  during 
several  years'  experience  of  birds'-nesting.     Single 
eggs  of  various  birds,  partridges,  thrushes,  and  black- 
birds, more  especially,  are  frequently  found  dropped 
on  the  ground,  probably  either  because  the  bird  has 
not  finished  its  nest  in  time,  or  else  because  its  nest 
has  been  torn  out.     In  pulling  out  an  old  partridge's 
nest  some  years  ago,  from  which  all  the  young  birds 
had  run  (by  the  way  it  was,  as   I  should  say  they 
usually   are,    rather   elaborately   concocted    of  dead 
leaves,  grass,  &c.)  ;  in  the  materials  I  found  an  egg 
which  had  evidently  been  laid  while  the  nest  was  in 
making,  and  had  been  covered  up  so  effectually  by 
the  lining  that  it  was  addled.     I  have  also  a  red- 
start's egg  which  my  brother  found  in  a  corner  of  an 
old  tree,  between  the  trunk  and  a  branch,  where  it  had 
evidently  been   dropped  for  lack   of  a  nest.     Very 
probably  the  starlings  not  having  a  nest  of  their  own 
ready,  made  use  of  their  neighbour's  from  the  same 
cause.—  A.  F.  Griffith,  Cambridge. 

Appearance  of  Papilio  Machaon.— On  the 
25th  of  June,  1876,  the  weather  was  warm  and  fine. 
At  noon  on  that  day  P.  Machaon  made  its  appearance 
out  of  the  pupa  ;  the  wings  were  developing  at  the 
time.  Another  machaon  emerged  from  the  pupa  just 
before  8  a.m.  on  the  25th  June  1878;  its  wings 
were  fully  developed ;  the  weather  was  warm  and  fine. 
Both  imagos  emerged  on  the  same  day  of  the  same- 
month  in  different  years.  This  may  be  of  interest  to 
those  who  notice  the  influence  of  insects.  The  usual 
month  for  its  appearance  is  May.—  R.  A.  Dent. 

Testacella  Haliotoidea  I  have  lately  found 
in  considerable  abundance  in  my  garden  ;  they  are 
generally  found  whilst  turning  up  the  ground.  The 
nearest  recorded  locality  I  believe  to  be  Taunton,  in 
Somerset.  I  have  some  in  confinement,  and  have 
been  watching  their  habits,  which  are  very  interesting. 
— H.  T.  Johnston-Lavis,  Stalbridge,  Dorset. 


BOTANY. 

The  Pronunciation  of  Scientific  Names.— 
Cordially  agreeing  with  the  principles  laid  down  by 
Mr.  Charles  Browne,  I  only  write  once  more  on  this 
subject  with  reference  to  three  names  mentioned  by  him. 


2IO 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSS  I  P. 


—  Veronica,  Clematis,  and  Gladiolus.  Not  presuming 
to  give  an  opinion  as  to  the  origin  of  the  legend  and 
name,  or  name  and  legend,  of  the  saint  who  bears  a 
name  derived  from  the  Latin  vera  and  the  Greek 
eikon,  I  venture  to  think  it  highly  probable  that,  as 
a  plant-name,  Veronica  is  simply  a  corruption  of 
Betonica,  and  is  therefore  rightly  accentuated  on_the 
second  syllable.  Clematis  is  now  rapidly  giving 
place  to  the  more  natural,  as  well  as  the  more  accu- 
rate, Clematis.  Gladiolus  is  no  worse  than  Gladiolus. 
The  probably  classical  alternative,  Gladjolus,  does 
not  seem  to  occur  to  the  ordinary  gardener's  ear. — 
G.  S.  Boulger. 

Notes  on  Silene   inflata. — Is  it  commonly 
known   that    this   widely-distributed   plant  is   di-,   if 
not  tri-,  morphous  ?      On  Wednesday  evening,  the 
1 2th  June,  I  was  forced  to  seek  shelter  beneath  a  tall 
hedge  from  one  of  those  not  very  seasonable  storms 
that  were  this  year  so  disagreeably  characterising  this 
month.   Amusing  myself  by  examining  various  flowers 
within  my  reach,  I  was  struck  with  the  apparent  fact 
that  there  were  two  well-marked  forms  of  the  common 
Catchfly.     In  one  form  the  three  styles  (sometimes 
4,  sometimes  5)  projected  fully  \  from  the  tube  of 
corolla,  no  stamens  being  visible.     A  closer  exami- 
nation showed  that  the  stamens  were  present,   but 
that  their   filaments  were    extremely  short,   seldom 
much  exceeding  the  average   in  length ;  and,   more 
remarkable  still,  that  the  anthers  were  contabescent, 
i.e.,   dry  and  shrivelled,   containing  no   pollen.     In 
the  other  form  the  stamens  projected  \,  while  the 
styles  were  rarely  visible.     On  pulling  to  pieces  these 
flowers,  however,  the  styles  were  found  more  or  less 
closely    oppressed,    and    evidently    quite  immature. 
Further   examination    showed   that    this    form   was 
decidedly  proterandrous ;  for,  though  the  stamens  suc- 
cessively arrive  at  maturity,  commencing  with  those 
on  the  under  side,   all  the  anthers  have  shed  their 
pollen  before  the  styles  are  fully  grown.    At  this  time 
they  are  largely  exserted,  and  have  their  receptive 
stigmas  widely  spreading.     I  have  since  passed  many 
hundreds  of  plants  in  review,   and    find    these  two 
forms  about  equally  distributed  in  this  district,  and 
wonderfully  persistent  in  the   characters  mentioned. 
There  does  not  appear  to  be  any  other  striking  points 
of  difference  between  them,  so  far  as  I  can  at  present 
determine.     The  first  form  is  evidently  to  all  intents 
and  purposes  always  female  ;  the  second,  first  male 
and  then  female.     I  found  a  very  few  plants  in  which 
the  presence  of  a  few  dry  anthers  (the  rest  being  per- 
fect) seemed  to  indicate  a  transition  stage  between 
the  two.     Fertilization   must,   I    think,   be  brought 
about  by  a  small  dipterous  fly,  but  how  is  not  very 
clear.    Its  common  name  of  Catchfly  is  fully  justified, 
as  any  one  may  see  who  will  take  the  trouble  to 
examine  a  number  of  plants  in  the  earlier  part  of  the 
day.     Almost  every  flower  will  then  have  a  tenant. 
I  applied  to  Dr.  Morton,  who  informs  me  that  Sir 
John  Lubbock  quotes  Axell,  to  the  effect  that  there 


are  three  forms,  one  with  stamens  only,  another  with 
pistils  only,  and  yet  a  third  with   both  stamens  and 
pistil.     This  scarcely  agrees  with  my  observations  on 
British  specimens.    If  it  be  correct  with  regard  to  con- 
tinental species,  it  is  highly  interesting  as  showing 
that  the  modification  in  them  has  proceeded  much 
further  than  in  ours,  and  along  a  somewhat  different 
line,  as  I  can  find  no  tendency  to  the  production  of 
purely  male  plants  in  ours. — J.  Hepworth,  Rochester. 
Variability  of  Colour  in  Hollyhocks. — In 
the  autumn  of  1873  I  picked  up  a  spike,  or  rather 
stem,  of  a  hollyhock,  with  ripe  seeds,  which  had  been 
thrown  on  a  heap  of  rubbish  where  it  was  customary 
to  dispose  of  the  refuse  of  neighbouring  gardens.     It 
was  kept  through  the  winter,  and  then  the  seeds  on 
it  were  sown  in  a  row  in  which  the  seeds  from  the 
lower  part  of  the  spike  were  sown  at  one  end,  those 
at  the  upper  part  at  the  other  end,  and  the  others 
between  them  in  positions  corresponding  with  those 
they  occupied  on  the  plant.     When  they  had  come 
up  I  took  one,  as  from  the  lower  part  of  the  spike,  and 
planted  by  itself,  and  another  from  the  uppermost 
part  and  planted  by  itself,  in  perhaps  a  better  situa- 
tion.    These  two  plants  flowered  in  1875.     The  one 
which  grew  from  a  seed  produced  on  the  upper  part 
of  the  parent  stem  was  rather  stronger  in  growth  and 
earlier  in  flowering  than  the  other,  which  I  attributed 
to  its  more  favourable  situation  ;  for  I  find  that  holly- 
hocks   are    very    much    affected    by    circumstances. 
This  earliest  flowering  plant  had  blossoms  of  a  crim- 
son red,  those  of  the  other  were  of  a  much  darker 
colour.     The  plant  with  crimson  blossoms  was  the 
one  from  which  I  took  the  seed  which  I  sowed  in 
1876,    putting  in    the  ground  the  seeds  from  each 
flower  separately  as  well  as  I  could, — though  I  cannot 
be  perfectly  sure  there  was  no  error,  as  a  few  seeds 
fell  out  of  their  places  on  the  ground.     The  plants, 
however,  which  came  up  in  irregular  places  I  de- 
stroyed, that  I  might  ensure  as  much  accuracy  as 
possible.     I  had  expected  a  difference  in  habit  among 
plants  raised  from  seeds  proceeding  from  different 
parts  of  the  inflorescence,  but  did  not  think  of  colour. 
Of  two  plants  from  seeds  at  the  bottom  of  the  spike, 
one  was  left  on  the  seed-bed,  where  it  is  now  alive, 
having  made  no  attempt  to  flower.     This  seems  to 
show  the  necessity  for  planting  out  seedling  hollyhocks 
in  order  to  their  becoming  vigorous.    The  other  which 
I  planted  out  in  1S77,  flowered,  as  did  also  four  plants 
from  seeds  taken   from  a  lateral  spike  which  sprung 
from  the.  same  stem.     The  seedling  plant  from  the 
spike  of  the  main  stem  produced  crimson  flowers,  like 
those  of  its  parent ;   the  plants  from  seeds  on  the 
lateral  spike  were  white,   with  only  so  much  of  a 
reddish    tint    as    to    indicate    their   parentage.     Not 
having  much  ground  at  my  disposal,  I  did  not  take 
heed  of  the  seedlings  from  the  middle  of  the  spike, 
but  planted  out  nine  grown  from  the  seeds  yielded  by 
one  of  the  uppermost  flowers.     Seeds  from  the  upper- 
most flowers  of  all,  which  were  hardly  ripened,  ger- 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


211 


minated,  but  the  plants  had  not  vital  force  enough 
to  live  through  the  summer.  The  nine  which  I 
transplanted  did  not  flower  till  this  year,  and  they 
have  not  all  flowered  now.  Three  of  them  are  like 
the  one  from  the  lower  part  of  the  spike  one  is  much 
darker,  and  with  many  a  blossom,  having  six  petals. 
The  plants  from  the  lateral  spike  having  all  white 
flowers,  that  those  from  the  main  spike  should  pre- 
sent this  richer  colour,  is  what  I  did  not  expect. 
I  suppose  the  variability  displayed  in  this  instance 
may  be  dependent  on  the  fact  that  the  parent  plant 
from  which  the  seeds  were  gathered  was  itself  derived 
from  a  seed  on  the  upper  part  of  a  stem.  But  there 
is  one  plant  whose  flowers  are  yet  unopened  ;  and 
from  what  I  can  make  out  by  examining  the  bud,  it 
seems  as  if  its  flowers  would  be  white.  This  is  so 
inexplicable  as  to  make  me  examine  my  memory  as 
to  the  possibility  of  errors,  but  I  trust  you  will  believe 
me  that  I  cannot  imagine  any  source  of  error  as  to 
the  seeds  being  those  of  the  same  plant,  and  so  far  as 
I  have  reason  to  believe,  four  plants  with  crimson 
flowers,  one  with  rather  lighter,  two  with  deeper, 
richer  colour,  and  one  whose  blossoms  will  also  spring 
from  seeds  proceeding  from  the  same  flower.  I 
enclose  flowers,  the  two  white  being  of  plants  from 
seeds  on  the  lateral  spike,  the  others  from  the  main 
spike,  the  most  diverse  from  one  of  the  upper  flowers  ; 
the  one  from  the  lowest  flower  undistinguishable 
from  three  others. — John  Gibbs. 

How  to  grow  Filmy  Ferns. — A  writer  in  The 
Garden  gives  the  following  interesting  instructions. 
Any  one  interested  in  these  most  beautiful  of  ferns 
may  grow  them  successfully  without  covering  them 
with  bell-glasses  or  keeping  them  in  warm  houses. 
In  confirmation  of  this  we  may  refer  to  a  houseful  of 
them  in  the  Boxhill  Nursery.  It  is  of  small  dimen- 
sions and  sunk  in  the  ground,  so  that  the  eaves  of  the 
roof,  which  is  of  octagon  shape,  are  only  just  above 
the  surface.  It  is  entered  by  means  of  rustic  steps 
through  a  narrow  span-roofed  house,  in  which  hardy 
British  ferns  are  growing  amongst  virgin  cork.  The 
inside  of  the  Filmy  Fern-house  is  lined  in  the  first 
place  with  old  railway  sleepers,  placed  in  an  upright 
position,  and  which  support  the  roof.  These  are 
covered  with  virgin  cork,  on  which  are  growing 
various  kinds  of  ferns.  The  Filmy  varieties  consist 
of  fine  specimens  of  Trichomanes.  Radicans,  Todca 
Superba,  T.  Pdlucida,  and  others  are  growing  in 
pots  or  pans  placed  on  a  bank  raised  three  feet  or  so 
above  the  ground-floor,  and  extending  all  round  the 
house,  excepting  at  the  doorway.  The  side  walls 
are  built  with  rough  stones,  among  which  grow  club- 
mosses  and  small  ferns.  A  canvas  shading  under  the 
roof  is  left  there  summer  and  winter,  but  no  means 
are  provided  for  heating  the  house  artificially. 
Inside  it  is  easily  kept  damp  and  close,  and  under 
such  conditions  Filmy  Ferns  grow  remarkably  well, 
both  in  summer  and  winter. 


Dimorphism  in  the  Rubiace^e. — Mr.  C.  B. 
Clarke,  in  a  paper  on  this  subject  read  before  the 
Linnoean  Society,  shows  that  there  are  two  kinds  of 
dimorphism  in  the  RubiaceiE.  The  group  is  known 
to  be  largely  dimorphic,  the  variations  consisting 
chiefly  in  the  lengths  of  the  style  and  stamens.  Mr. 
Clarke's  two  forms  of  dimorphism  are  as  follows  : — 
I.  Where  the  point  of  insertion  of  the  stamens  is 
altered,  being  situate  in  one  form  high  above  the 
middle  of  the  corolla  tube,  and  in  another  form  at 
the  base  of  the  corolla  tube.  2.  Where  there  are  two 
kinds  of  fruit,  one  corresponding  to  a  sessile  flower, 
and  another  to  a  peduncled  flower. 

"Flowers,  their  Origin,  Shapes,  Per- 
fumes, and  Colours."  By  J.  E.  Taylor,F.L.S., 
&c.  A  second  edition  of  this  work  has  already 
been  called  for,  and  has  just  been  published.  The 
author  has  corrected  various  errors  which  almost  un- 
avoidably creep  into  a  work  of  this  kind,  touching  as 
it  does  on  such  a  multiplicity  of  subjects.  An 
American  edition  has  also  been  prepai-ed  and  sent 
over.  The  rapidity  with  which  this  book  has  gone 
off,  whilst  gratifying  to  the  author,  is  a  sure  token  of 
the  widespread  interest  taken  by  the  public  in  the 
leading  scientific  questions  of  the  day. 

Botanical  Notes. — Arum  italiatm. — This  plant 
as  many  of  your  readers  are  aware,  is  much  more 
abundant  than  Macidatum  in  Jersey,  and,  I  believe, 
Guernsey.  Orobanche  major  and  Linum  perenne. — 
Can  your  correspondent,  C.  Parkinson,  inform  me  if 
the  specimens  of  O.  major,  "  parasitical  on  ivy,"  and 
Linum  perenne,"  in  field,"  noticed  in  Isle  of  Wight, 
have  been  verified,  as  the  undoubted  occurrence  of 
these  plants  would  be  interesting? — G.  C.  Druce. 

GEOLOGY, 

The  Physical  History  of  the  English  Lake- 
district. — This  was  the  subject  of  a  paper  read  by 
Mr.  J.  Clifton  Ward,  F.G.S.,  in  which  the  authortraces 
the  physical  history  of  the  Lake-district  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  period  when  the  Skiddaw  slate 
was  deposited.  To  this  succeeded  the  volcanic 
Borrowdale  series,  which  is  followed,  after  a  physical 
break,  by  the  Coniston  Limestone.  Between  this 
and  the  succeeding  Silurian  deposits  there  is  little,  if 
any,  break.  Thus,  in  the  Lake-district,  the  break 
between  Upper  and  Lower  Silurian  is  physically 
below  the  Coniston  Limestone,  though  palseontologi- 
cally  it  is  above  it.  The  Old  Red  Sandstone  period 
was  one  of  denudation,  which  was  continued  into 
the  Carboniferous  period  ;  and  perhaps  the  whole 
district  was  actually  covered  by  the  sea  during  the 
maximum  depression  of  the  Lower  Carboniferous 
epoch.  Since  then  it  has  probably  never  been  sub- 
merged, but  exposed  to  continuous  subaerial  denu- 
dation. The  physical  significance  of  the  Mell  Fell 
(Lower  Carboniferous)  conglomerates  received  special 


212 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


attention.  The  author  then,  from  consideration  of 
the  amount  of  deposition  and  rate  of  denudation, 
attempts  to  estimate  the  period  which  has  elapsed 
since  the  commencement  of  the  record,  and  sets  it 
down  as  62,000,000  of  years.  The  author  then 
considers  the  age  of  the  Skiddaw  slates.  From  litho- 
logical  resemblances  he  is  led  to  correlate  the  Skiddaw 
grit  with  the  basement  grit  in  the  Welsh  Arenig 
series,  and  thus  to  regard  the  beds  below  the  grit  as 
the  equivalent  of  the  Tremadoc,  and  perhaps  of  part 
of  the  Lingula  Flags.  The  palasontological  evidence 
for  the  correspondence  of  the  Arenig  series  with  the 
whole  of  the  Skiddaw  slates  rests  chiefly  on  Grapto- 
lites  and  Trilobites.  The  author  holds  that  the 
evidence  from  the  former  is  inconclusive,  and  that 
from  the  latter  to  some  extent  contradictory,  so  that 
the  physical  evidence  can  in  no  way  be  overridden 
by  it. 

StromATOPORA  and  Loftusia.  —  Principal 
Dawson  has  contributed  a  statement  of  his  views  as 
to  the  nature  of  these  problematical  fossils  from  the 
palreozoic  rocks,  which  are  commonly  known  as 
Stromatopora.  They  are  massive  fossils,  often  showing 
concentric  structures  when  weathered,  and  have  been 
referred  by  different  writers  to  the  corals,  to  the 
Hydroida  as  allied  to  Hydractinia,  and  to  the 
Foraminifera.  Principal  Dawson  says  that  Strotna- 
topora  is  "  a  calcareous,  non-spicular  body,  composed 
of  continuous  concentric  porous  lamina;,  thickened 
with  supplemental  deposit,  and  connected  by  vertical 
pillars,  most  of  which  are  solid  "  ;  and  he  maintains 
his  old  opinion,  that  "  Stromatopora  is  a  foraminiferal 
organism  and  the  paleozoic  representative  of  the 
Laurentian  Eozoon." 

Norwich  Geological  Society. — We  have  re- 
ceived Part  I.  of  the  "  Proceedings "  of  this  old- 
established  society,  containing  a  list  of  all  the  papers 
read  before  the  society  since  its  foundation  in  1864, 
and  abstract  of  papers  read  during  the  recent  session. 

Ancient  Man.— Mr.  Thomas  Belt,  F.G.S.,  the 
well-known  naturalist,  has  made  the  interesting  dis- 
covery of  a  human  skull  in  the  section  of  a  railway 
cutting  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Denver,  Colorado. 
The  skull  was  imbedded  in  perfectly  undisturbed 
ground,  at  about  three  feet  and  a  half  from  the  sur- 
face. Neither  the  lower  jaw  nor  any  other  bones  were 
found  with  the  skull. 

Fossil  Saurians  from  the  Cape. — Mr.  Thomas 
Bain,  F.G.S.,  the  well-known  African  traveller  and 
geologist,  has  just  sent  home  a  splendid  collection  of 
fossil  Saurians,  many  of  which  are  new  to  science, 
tind  which  have  been  found  in  the  carboniferous  and 
triassic  formations  of  Cape  Colony.  They  include 
skulls  and  other  remains  of  DicynoJon,  Galcosaunts, 
Cynodracon,  Oudcnodon,  &c. 

The  Coralline  Crag.— Dr.  Gwyn  Jeffreys,  in  a 
communication   to   the   Linnrean   Society,   on  some 


shells  dredged  in  the  Korean  straits,  said  that  of 
fourteen  species  enumerated,  six  are  now,  for  the 
first  time,  found  living  in  the  North  Pacific  as  well 
as  the  Atlantic.  Micinella  ovalis  and  Kcllia  pumila, 
which  had  been  supposed  to  be  extinct,  are  shown  to 
be  living  in  the  Korean  region.  No  fewer  than  nine 
of  the  above  fourteen  species  are  Coralline  crag  fossils. 
Dr.  Jeffreys  holds  that  these  facts  support  his  view, 
that  Mollusca  common  to  the  North  Atlantic  and 
North  Pacific  Oceans  may  have  originated  in  high 
northern  latitudes  and  have  found  their  way  to  Japan 
on  the  one  side  and  Europe  on  the  other,  by  means 
of  the  bifurcation  of  the  great  Arctic  current. 

Our  Water  Supplies.— Mr.  De  Ranee  has  re- 
cently read  a  paper,  "  On  the  Palaeozoic  and  Secondary 
Rocks  of  England  as  a  Source  of  Water  Supply  for 
Towns  andDistricts, "  before  the  Manchester  Geological 
Society.  The  paper  contains  much  useful  informa- 
tion on  a  subject  growing  every  year  more  important, 
inasmuch  as  the  demand  for  water  increases,  while 
springs  and  rivers  do  not  increase.  Instances  are 
given  which  show  how  vast  are  the  underground 
stores  of  water  within  the  region  occupied  by  the 
rocks  above-named.  A  spring  at  Barrow-in-Furness 
yields,  from  a  depth  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
thirteen  thousand  five  hundred  gallons  of  water  daily. 
Nearly  three  million  gallons  a  day  are  pumped  from 
a  single  well  at  Liverpool.  Three- fourths  of  the 
seven  million  five  hundred  thousand  gallons  supplied 
daily  to  Birmingham  is  got  from  wells  in  the  New 
Red  Sandstone,  and  the  water  is  described  as  of  a 
uniformly  excellent  quality,  and  the  Perry  Well  as 
one  of  the  best  waters  for  dietetic  and  domestic  pur- 
poses ever  inspected.  Kidderminster  has  deep  wells, 
one  of  which  gives  one  hundred  thousand  gallons  a 
day,  and  yet  the  present  domestic  supply  is  entirely 
derived  from  dangerously  polluted  shallow  wells  and 
streams. 

NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

Double  Egg. — Last  year  a  friend  brought  me  two 
hen's-eggs  which  were  joined  together  in  a  very 
curious  manner.  The  shell  was  continued  at  the 
apices  in  the  form  of  a  tube  connecting  the  two  eggs, 
about  i  in.  long  and  \  in.  thick.  It  formed  ap- 
parently a  perfect  communication,  being  filled  with 
albumen.  The  eggs  had  the  appearance  of  leaning 
one  against  the  other,  one  being  quite  depressed 
where  the  other  came  in  contact  with  it,  which  was 
about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  below  the  points  of  junc- 
tion. I  may  mention  that  the  shells  of  the  eggs  were 
very  imperfect,  be;ng  almost  soft  in  some  places.  —  G. 
M.  Doc,  Torrington. 

Fungus  on  Flies. — I  have  seen  a  somewhat 
similar  instance  to  that  mentioned  by  Mr.  E.  Wheeler, 
but  with  this  difference,  that  the  flies  so  affected 
seemed  to  be  confined  to  one  particular  plant.  The 
plant  was  withered  and  dried,  and  the  flies  (several 
dozens)  were  stuck  about  it  in  all  directions,  and  in 
very  natural  attitudes.  I  was  not  at  that  time  botanist 
or  dipterist  enough  to  identify  either  the  plant  or  the 
I   insects,  but  the  latter  were  very  similar  in  appearance 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


213 


to    the  Yellow   Dung-fly    (S.   stercorarius).      They 
appeared  to  be  all  of  one  species. —  IF.  H.  Warner^ 

Standlake. 

Book  on  Dragon-flies,  &c— Can  any  reader 
of  Science-Gossip  inform  me  of  a  work  on  the 
British  LibelluLv  (or  Dragon-flies)  giving  plain  and 
satisfactory  descriptions  of  each  species  ?  The  price 
must  be  moderate.  Also  of  a  similar  work  on  the 
British  Ants.—  W.  H.  Warner. 

Bees    and    Paint.— In   answer  to  Mr.   Smith's 

query  on  this  point  I  must  confess  my  utter  inability 

to  assign  any  probable  cause  for  his  bees'  apparent 

fondness  for  paint— my  sole  reason  for  replying  to  his 

question  being  to  draw  attention  to   another  curious 

penchant  of  bees,  viz.,  their  partiality  for  smoke.     In 

early  spring,  when  engaged  in  gardening  operations,  I 

have  often  noticed  the  few    bees  out  at    that  time 

hovering  about  the  weed   fires,   and  endeavouring  to 

penetrate  into  them,  even  when  the  thick  dense  smoke 

has  been  issuing  in  volumes  from   the  fires.     This 

proceeding  has  often  puzzled  me  exceedingly.     The 

genial  warmth  given  out  by  the  fires  is  doubtless  the 

attraction.—  ^F.  H.   Warner,  Standlake. 

Cuckoo  (Cttculus  canorus. )— Towards  the  middle 
of  July  I  caught  in  the  garden  (within  two  miles  of 
the  centre  of  Birmingham)  a  young  cuckoo.      It  flew    i 
into  the  greenhouse,  and  was  there  caught.      I  sup-    : 
pose  that  the  bird  was  enticed  by  the  great  quantity 
of    magpie   moths   with   which    the    kitchen-garden 
swarmed,  so  much  so  that  (much  as  I  disapprove  of 
killing  creatures  uselessly)  I  destroyed  over  fifty  cater- 
pillars in  twenty  minutes,  and  have  caught  in  a  net 
almost  as  many  perfect  insects  in  the  same  time.     As 
I  have  never  seen  a  cuckoo  similar  to  this  one  before 
I  give  below  measurements  and  general  description  :— 
Extreme  length  from  tip  of  bill  to  end  of  tail,  \i\ 
inches;   length  of  wing,  9A  inches;  spread,  20  inches; 
third  primary,  74  inches  ;  tarsus,  f  inch  ;  and  tibia,  i± 
inches.     The  plumage    was    dark    iron-grey,    except 
primaries  and  secondaries,  which  were  of  usual  colour 
barred  with  "  rufus."      The  barrings  of  throat  as  in 
the  adult  bird,  but  with  a  great  tendency  to  very  dark 
brownish-grey,  so  as  to  appear  at  a  little  distance  to 
be  almost  black.     Tail,  greyish-black,  with  "rufus" 
markings  on   inner  webs.      Iris,  dark   hazel-brown  ; 
cere,  very  light  lemon-yellow.  Upper  mandible  of  bill, 
hair-brown  ;   lower  mandible,  lighter  brown  at   tip  ; 
suffused  with  light-yellow  gape  ;  and  inside  of  mouth 
as  usual,  orange  ;  legs  and  toes,  light  lemon-yellow, 
suffused  with  pink.  —  G.  T.  B. 

Dittany.— Your  June  issue  contains  a  request 
preferred  by  Henry  F.  Bailey,  for  information  re- 
specting "the  name  of  the  species  of  Dittany."  It 
is  an  American  plant,  and  is  described  in  Professor 
Asa  Gray's  "  Manual  of  Botany."  It  belongs  to  the 
Mint  Family  (Labiat.e).  The  Common  Dittany  is 
Cumla  Mariana.  It  blooms,  with  us,  from  fitly  to 
September.  Gray  affirms  that  the  Latin  name  is  of 
"unknown  origin."  The  Mandrake  is  also  an 
American  plant  {Podophyllum  peltatum).  It  is  a 
member  of  the  Barberry  family  (Berberidacea),  and 
is  the  well-known  Podophyllum  of  the  Pharmacopoeia, 
so  valuable  a  specific  in  complaints  of  the  liver.  We 
read,  Genesis  xxx.  14,  that  "  Reuben  went  in  the 
days  of  wheat  harvest,  and  found  mandrakes  in  the 
field."  This,  I  need  scarcely  add,  is  an  older  quota- 
tion than  any  that  can  be  culled  from  the  works 
of  "our  early  poets,"  referred  to  by  Mr.  Bailey.— 
V.  dementi. 

Vanessa  Antiopa.— \Y.  R.  Morse  inserts  a  query 
respecting  the  Vanessa  Antiopa.     This  is  one  of  our 


commonest  Butterflies.  There  is  no  doubt  that  our 
specimens  have  a  yellow  margin  to  their  wings.  At 
the  same  time  West  wood,  to  whose  beautiful  work 
I  refer  your  correspondent,  says  that  the  margin  of 
the  English  specimens  is  "of  a  white  or  -whitish 
colour";  also  that  "the  pale  margin  of  the  wings 
varies  to  deepish yellow."  I  was  under  the  impres- 
sion that  this  handsome  butterfly  had  become  extinct 
in  England. —  V.  Clementi. 

COLIAS. — The  Colzas  mentioned  by  C.  E.  B. 
Hewitt  is  a  very  common  butterfly  in  Canada,  and 
may  be  frequently  seen,  in  larg-  numbers,  fluttering 
over  ram-puddles  on  our  roads,  or  settling  on  their 
margin.  This  pretty  butterfly  is  thus  described  by 
the  American  entomologist,  T.  W.  Harris  :  "Their 
wings  are  yellow,'  with  a  black  hind  border,  which 
in  the  females  is  quite  broad  on  the  fore  wings,  and 
spotted  with  yellow  ;  the  fringes  of  the  wings,  the 
antenna:,  and  the  shanks  are  red  ;  the  fore  wings 
have  a  small  narrow  black  spot  on  both  sides  near 
the  middle  ;  the  hind  wings  have  a  round  orange- 
coloured  spot  in  the  middle  of  the  upper  side,  which 
on  the  under  side  is  replaced  by  a  large  and  a  small 
silvery  spot  close  together,  and  surrounded  by  a  rust- 
coloured  ring."—  V.  dementi,  Ontario,  Canada. 

Lapwings  (  Vanellus  cristatus). — During  the  snow- 
,  storm  in  the  end  of  March  and  beginning  of  April, 
the  Lapwings,  who  had  returned  to  their  breeding- 
grounds,  were  so  pressed  with  hunger,  that  some 
entered  the  very  houses  in  search  of  food.  After  the 
snow  had  disappeared,  the  remains  of  hundreds  who 
had  perished  were  to  be  seen.  It  appears  they  will 
rather  die  of  starvation  than  leave  their  favourite 
haunts  in  the  breeding  season.  —  W.  S.  Fyvie. 

Intelligence  of  a  Magpie. — Some  years  ago, 
when  residing  at  Stowmarket,  I  was  much  struck 
with  the  intelligence  of  a  Magpie  belonging  to  my 
next-door  neighbour.  In  a  very  short  time,  and 
without  any  effort  to  teach  it  on  the  part  of  any  one, 
it  learnt  the  names  of  several  members  of  my  family, 
and  never  misapplied  them.  This  proves  that  birds, 
in  acquiring  human  language,  connect  the  object  and 
the  word,  and  do  not  use  the  latter  at  random.  The 
Magpie  in  question  was  evil-disposed,  and  loved  to 
annoy  girls  by  pecking  their  feet;  but  on  the  approach 
of  a  man  or  a  boy  it  scuffled  away,  uttering  most 
unparliamentary  phrases.  Its  leg  having  been  acci- 
dentally broken,  it  repudiated  all  surgical  aid.  It 
used  to  sit  on  the  sound  foot  and  hold  up  the  maimed 
limb,  looking  at  it  disconsolately,  and  pecking  at  the 

bandages  with  continual  ejaculations  of  "D it !" 

and  died  at  last  worn  to  a  skeleton. — J.   W.  Slater. 

Gigantic   Mullein. — When  botanizing  on  the 
15th  of  August  last  in   Spittlesea   Wood,  near  the 
place   I  was    gratified    by  finding   an    extraordinary 
specimen  of  the  Great  Mullein  ( Verbaseum  thapsus)K 
It  towered  up  to  the  height  of  eight  feet  and  a  half, 
lifting  its  spike   of  yellow  blossoms   above  the  sur- 
rounding undergrowth,   which  had    been   cut   down 
about   three    years    ago.       The    total  length    of  the 
raceme  was  three  feet  six  inches,  and  at  the  base  of 
it  were  two  small  lateral  flower  spikes,  the  one  about 
six  and  the  other  about  eight  inches  in  length.      Not 
far   from    the   spot  other    specimens  were  growing, 
the  height  of  which   was  five  and   a  half  feet,    but 
this  appeared   quite    diminutive    by  the  side   of  its 
gigantic    fellow.      This   excessive    growth    may    be 
accounted  for  by  the  humidity  of  the  season  and  the 
sheltered   position  in   which    it  grew.      The  soil   is 
light  gravel,   over   chalk,  with  flint.—  J.  Sau7iders,_ 
Luton. 


214 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


Natural  History  Notes  from  Ireland. —  J 
A  hen  was  found  in  a  loft,  the  flesh  eaten  and  picked 
off,  leaving  as  perfect  a  skeleton  as  could  be  desired. 
The  feathers  were  lying  about.  Rats  or  mice  would  ! 
have  broken  the  bones.  What  animal  could  have 
done  it  ? A  young  black  rat  was  killed  at  Port- 
more,   Antrim,   October,    1877. The  gamekeeper    j 

of  Mr.  Lowry,  Pomeroy  House,  told  me,  within  the 
last  two  years  he  has  caught,  in  traps  set  for  rabbits, 
two  wild  cats.  I  questioned  him  respecting  them, 
in  case  he  might  have  mistaken  them  for  the  domestic 
cat  gone  wild,  but  he  stated  they  were  perfectly  dis- 
tinct, having  bushy  tails  like  a  fox,  and  dark  grey  in 
colour.  He  could  hardly  be  mistaken,  as  he  is  con- 
stantly trapping  the  domestic  cat. The  water-vole 

is  found  near  Pomeroy ;  the  squirrel  is  also  to  be 
found  in  the  neighbouring  woods  ;  the  water- 
ousel  frequents  the  streams. — Sam.  Arthur  Breiian, 
clerk. 

Rare  Birds. — It  is  with  great  regret  that  I  read 
of  the  slaughter  of  rare  birds,  recorded  from  time  to 
time  in  Science  Gossip  and  other  papers.  I  am 
sure  no  real  lover  of  birds,  or  true  naturalist,  would 
so  ruthlessly  destroy  birds,  as  they  are  destroyed,  for 
the  sake  of  their  skins,  whenever  they  come  to  our 
island.  Hardly  a  season  passes  but  that  beautiful 
bird  the  Hoopo  appears  in  Berkshire,  and  I  believe 
it  would  breed,  if  it  were  not  so  eagerly  sought  after, 
and  shot.—  J.  L.  H. 

The  Cuckoo  and  Water- Wagtail.  —  Last 
August,  before  9  a.m.,  a  young  cuckoo  was  observed 
perched  on  a  croquet-hoop  on  the  lawn,  in  front  of 
our  house,  full  in  view  of  spectators  from  the  win- 
dows. A  water- wagtail  was  busily  engaged  in  feeding 
it,  flying  on  the  hoop  each  time  it  fed  its  strange 
foster-child.  The  cuckoo  remained  for  half  an  hour 
on  the  hoop,  then  flew  on  to  a  small  rockery  near, 
and  from  thence  to  an  adjacent  railing,  the  wagtail 
following  it  to  both  places,  and  continuing  to  feed  it. 
Both  birds  afterwards  disappeared  from  sight  in  a 
large  sycamore-tree.  The  feeding-time  lasted  nearly 
an  hour,  the  wagtail  often  going  some  distance  in 
search  of  food  for  the  cuckoo.  Our  gardener  told  us 
he  had  noticed  before  the  same  birds  thus  occupied 
in  the  early  morning,  and  had  also  seen  a  young 
cuckoo  being  fed  by  robins  in  a  similar  manner. — ■ 
C.  M.  Baynes. 

A  Mysterious  Gift. — I  remember  reading  in  an 
old  book  (which  also  gave  an  account  of  the  first 
ascent  of  the  Peter  Bolte  Mountain,  near  Port  Louis) 
an  account  of  a  French  Creole  in  Mauritius,  who 
possessed  the  marvellous  faculty  of  discerning  objects 
far  out  at  sea  long  before  they  were  visible  to  the  ordi- 
nary human  eye.  His  powers  were  repeatedly  tested, 
and  he  was  officially  employed  by  the  governor  or  mer- 
chants there  to  announce  coming  ships.  He  foretold 
the  arrival  of  the  British  fleet,  which  came  to  take 
possession  of  the  island,  several  days  before  it  hove 
in  sight.  He  stated  that  he  saw  these  objects  upside 
down  (refracted?)  on  the  horizon,  and  professed  to  teach 
his  art ;  but  the  attempt  only  proved  that  he  was 
possessed  of  some  exceptional  natural  gift,  perhaps 
akin  to  what  the  Scotch  call  "second  sight."  I 
was  under  the  impression  that  the  foregoing  account 
was  to  be  found  in  one  of  the  volumes  of  Charles 
Knight's  "Useful  Knowledge  Society's  Series"; 
but  as  I  have  failed  to  discover  it  there,  perhaps  some 
of  your  older  readers  can  help  me.  My  present  pur- 
pose is  to  point  out  a  striking  confirmation  of  the 
above  narrative,  which  I  have  recently  met  with  on 
p.  185  of  Boddain-Wheltham's  "Pearl  of  the 
Pacific."     In  narrating  a  visit  to  the  Samoan  Archi- 


pelago, or  Navigators'  Islands,  he  alludes  to  "a  man 
now  living  iu  Tutuila,  I  believe,"  he  says,  "  but  who 
formerly  resided  near  Apia,  who  possessed  the  extra- 
ordinary power  of  seeing  in  the  clouds,  or  in  the  sky, 
vessels  that  were  bound  for  the  island.  Credible  wit- 
nesses told  me,"  he  continues,  "that  he  had  fre- 
quently foretold  the  approach  of  ships  days  and  days 
before  their  arrival,  and  had  accurately  described 
them,  their  rigging,  their  build,  and  the  weather  they 
were  having— sometimes  storm  and  sometimes  calm  ; 
reference  to  the  ships'  logs  on  their  arrival  in  port 
confirming  the  truth  of  his  statements.  He  himself 
attributed  his  remarkable  visions  to  the  state  of  the 
atmosphere — a  sort  of  mirage — at  a  certain  point 
where  he  took  his  observations,  but  I  never  heard  of 
'anybody  else  witnessing  similar  phenomena."  I 
thought  the  concurrence  of  these  totally  distinct  and 
independent  accounts  worthy  of  your  attention,  as 
they  may  tend  to  establish  the  general  fact  of  the 
existence  of  a  sort  of  "double  sight  "  in  certain  gifted 
individuals,  and  thus  refer  the  mysterious  power  of 
the  ' '  seer "  to  a  physical  rather  than  a  spiritual 
source. — F.  A.  Allen. 

A  Spider's  Instinct. — Dr.  J.  Lawrence-Hamil- 
ton writes  from  34,  Gloucester-terrace,  Hyde-park  : — 
"The  following  incident,  which  I  witnessed,  may 
possibly  interest  some  of  your  readers  : — A  boy  re- 
moved a  small  spider  to  place  it  in  the  centre  of  a  big 
spider's  web  which  was  hung  among  foliage,  and 
distant  some  four  feet  from  the  ground.  The  larger 
animal  soon  rushed  from  its  hiding-place,  under  a 
leaf,  to  attack  the  intruder,  who  ran  up  one  of  the 
ascending  lines  by  which  the  web  was  secured.  The 
big  insect  gained  rapidly  upon  its  desired  prey,  the 
smaller  creature  (spiders  are  cannibals,  notably  the 
larger  females,  who  are  given  to  devour  their  smaller 
male  lovers).  When  the  little  spider  was  barely  an 
inch  in  advance  of  its  pursuer,  the  small  spider  cut 
with  one  of  its  posterior  legs  the  line  behind  itself,  so 
that  the  stronger  insect  fell  to  the  ground,  thus 
affording  time  and  opportunity  for  the  diminutive 
spider  to  escape  along  the  ascending  rope  of  the  web. 
This  is  not  the  only  fact  which  seems  to  indicate  that 
a  spider's  instinct  may  almost  equal  reason." 

How  to  exterminate  Mites. — In  answer  to 
"M.  R.  D.,"  in  the  April  number  of  Science- 
Gossip,  as  to  how  to  exterminate  small  mites,  I 
have  myself  found  Keating's  Insect  Powder  quite 
successful,  after  having  tried  other  remedies  in  vain. 
■ — Alfred  Patersoii. 

Reasoning  Power  of  Dogs. — I  should  like  to 
call  attention  to  what  I  think  to  be  a  remarkable 
instance  of  reasoning  power  in  a  dog  (a  setter,  if  I  re- 
member rightly).  The  yard  in  which  this  dog  is  kept 
at  large  is  separated  from  a  very  narrow  lane  by  a 
wall  about  five  feet  in  height,  from  the  top  of  which 
our  four-footed  friend  is  wont  to  study  humanity.  On 
an  interesting  occasion  he  loves  to  leap  into  the  lane  ; 
but,  when  once  down,  he  is  unable  to  jump  up  again 
without  a  long  run,  and  this  is  apparently  rendered 
impossible  by  the  narrowness  of  the  roadway.  The 
dog,  on  wishing  to  re-ascend,  begins  to  trot  round 
and  round  in  the  centre  of  the  path,  gradually  increas- 
ing his  pace  and  the  diameter  of  the  circle  in  which 
he  moves,  until  he  is  galloping  round  at  full  speed, 
taking  a  good  "kick  off"  from  the  stone  at  each 
revolution  as  soon  as  his  orbit  extends  from  wall  to 
wall.  When  he  feels  that  he  has  acquired  sufficient 
momentum,  he  bounds  on  the  top  of  the  wall  with 
ease.  I  hold  that  the  above  performance  involves  a 
process  of  reasoning.  Instances  of  dogs  pulling  bell- 
ropes  and  turning  door-handles  may  result  from  mere 


HARD  WICKE ' S     S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


2I5 


imitation,  but  the  case  in  point  cannot  be  thus  ex- 
plained. This  dog,  having  discovered  that  a  recti- 
lineal career  was  impossible,  must  have,  somehow, 
hit  upon  the  idea  that  he  could  run  round  the  circum- 
ference of  a  circle  to  any  desired  distance,  and  this 
principle  he  has  applied  to  the  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culty in  a  truly  ingenious  way. — C.   W.  Carringlon. 

Clams. — I  have  noticed  for  two  seasons  past 
"  Preserved  Clams  "  in  tins,  on  a  Liverpool  Trade 
Circular.  I  think  they  are  new  candidates  to  gastro- 
nomic favour  in  this  country.  I  take  them  to  be  the 
"  Otter"  shell  {Lutraria  maxima),  found  so  plentifully 
on  the  coasts  of  Vancouver's  Island  and  British 
Colombia.  Tridacna  gigas  is  also  known  as  the 
"clam,"  and  is,  I  believe,  eaten,  but  its  habits 
render  it  difficult  to  procure  in  large  quantities.  The 
"  Otter"  shell  on  the  other  hand  is  known  to  be  one 
of  the  staple  foods  of  the  Indians  of  the  North-West 
Coast,  and  J.  K.  Lord  tells  us  that  it  is,  in  fact,  a 
"molluscous  cereal,"  which  the  squaws  dig  in 
summer  from  the  sand  and  mud-banks  of  the  coast, 
and  dry  and  smoke  in  the  interior  of  their  dusky 
wigwams  for  winter  use.  I  have  not  tasted  the 
"preserved"  clam,  and  cannot  therefore  speak  of 
their  edible  qualities,  but  Mr.  Lord's  experience  of 
"smoked"  clam  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a 
pleasant  one,  as  he  compares  it  to  chewing  "  good 
old  tarry  rope  yarn."  Are  any  of  your  readers  able 
to  speak  of  its  worth  as  an  addition  to  our  food 
stuffs? — IV.  A.  Cairns,  Leominster. 

Preserving  Animals. — I,  like  "W.  G.,"  have 
met  with  an  article  mentioning  the  method  of  pre- 
serving animals,  practised  by  Mr.  Waterton.  This 
article  occurs  in  the  Cornhill Magazine,  January,  1863. 
It  tells  what  has  to  be  done,  but  not  how  to  do  it. 
"  The  tools  required  hardly  deserve  the  name,  for  all 
these  wonderful  effects  are  produced  with  a  penknife, 
a  lump  of  wax,  half-a-dozen  needles,  and  three  or  four 
wooden  skewers.  In  simple  fact,  the  modus  agendi 
is  pure  modelling,  the  skin  being  used  as  the  material, 
and  reduced  by  art  to  the  plastic  state  of  sculptor's 
clay,  a  temporary  stuffing  being  placed  within  it 
to  keep  the  skin  moderately  distended  during  the  pro- 
gress of  its  drying."  I  should  be  very  glad  if  some 
one  among  the  many  readers  of  Science-Gossip 
would  give  better  the  directions,  or  name  some  work 
where  they  may  be  found. —  JV.  L.  Beaumont. 

Rose-coloured  Pastor  is  not  the  shelah,  a 
thrush,  nor  ever  will  be.  It  is  a  starling,  and  closely 
allied  to  our  well-known  birds.  It  is  a  visitor  to  all 
parts  of  the  United  Kingdom.  There  is  a  most 
interesting  account  of  its  visiting  and  breeding  in  Italy, 
in  the  "Zoologist"  for  last  January.  See  also 
Harting's  "Handbook  of  British  Birds."— C.  H. 
Bree,  M.D. 

The  Opercula  of  Shells. — Among  those  who 
take  an  interest  in  the  science  of  Conchology  there 
are  many  who  almost  leave  out  of  sight  the  opercula 
or  lids  by  which  the  mouths  of  many  shells  are 
closed.  They  ought,  however,  to  be  noticed, 
because,  according  to  Gray,  the  typical  form  of  a 
shell-fish  is  the  bivalve ;  and  he  considers  the  oper- 
culum but  as  a  variation  of  the  other  valve.  There 
seems  to  be  some  reason  for  this,  because,  as  we  all 
know,  in  many  bivalves,  as  in  the  Oyster,  the  smaller 
valve  takes  very  much  the  place  of  it ;  and  in  that 
curious  shell,  the  Anomia,  it  seems  hardly  needed, 
and — one  step  further — in  the  Limpet  it  is  altogether 
wanting.  There  is  a  curious  provision  of  nature  in 
those  cases  of  Univalves  in  which  this  lid  is  wanting  ; 
they  secrete  in  very  dry  weather,  and  in  the  winter, 


what  is  called  an  epiphragm,  or  thin  membrane,  which 
covers  the  opening  as  a  substitute  for  the  operculum. 
An  example  of  this  is  to  be  seen  in  the  common 
garden  snail  {Helix  aspersa).  The  variety  of  form 
among  the  opercula  is  very  remarkable.  In  the  case 
of  Cyclostoma  elegans,  our  only  land-shell  having  this 
lid,  it  is  nearly  circular ;  that  of  Turbo  Sarmatictis 
has  a  coralline  appearance  on  the  upper  side,  or,  as 
Woodward  calls  it,  like  some  of  the  tufaceous 
deposits  of  petrifying  wells.  Some  again  are  very 
thin  and  brittle,  as  in  the  Whelk  {Buecinum  undatum), 
and  not  at  all  the  same  shape  as  the  former,  but 
brown  and  horny,  and  in  shape  an  ellipse. — S. 

Cream  -  coloured  Blackbird.  —  A  cream- 
coloured  Blackbird  was  shot  in  Easingwold  church- 
yard some  time  in  March.  It  is  a  very  fine  specimen, 
and  in  very  good  condition.  I  may  also  mention 
that  a  cream-coloured  mouse  was  trapped  in  a  house  in 
this  city  on  the  7th.  They  are  both  in  the  possession 
of  Mr.  Ripley,  Bird-skiffer,  Feasegate,  York. — Percy 
Thompson,  York. 

Poisonous  Properties  of  the  Fluid  of  the 
"Solanum  Dulcamara." — To  my  certain  know- 
ledge, the  berries  of  this  plant  are  injurious  to  chil- 
dren. I  have  seen  more  than  one  instance  of  very 
serious  effects  having  followed  the  eating  of  "dead 
men's  cherries,"  as  the  fruit  of  the  bitter-sweet  or 
woody  nightshade  is  often  called, — effects  which 
would  probably  have  ended  sadly  had  not  prompt 
measures  been  taken.  The  children  had  fortunately 
in  each  case  eaten  sufficient  to  produce  sickness,  and 
this  was  aided  by  emetics  until  all  the  berries  were 
dislodged.  One  little  fellow  had  slight  convulsions 
for  days,  therefore,  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  on 
the  subject,  though  Majendie  and  others  state  that 
they  would  not  hesitate  to  take  them,  because  they 
are  innocuous  to  animals.  "Seeing  is  believing." 
The  twigs  and  leaves  of  the  Solanum  Dulcamara 
possess  medicinal  properties. — H.  G.  Watney. 

"  Sorrel,  from  the  Low  German   snur,  sour." 


NOTICES   TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 


To  Correspondents  and  Exchangers.  —  As  we  now 
publish  Science-Gossip  a  week  earlier  than  heretofore,  wo 
cannot  possibly  insert  in  the  following  number  any  communi- 
cations which  reach  us  later  than  the  gth  of  the  previous 
month. 


R.  G. — Thanks  for  the  slide.  The  mounted  arachniae  taken 
from  the  legs  of  the  House-fly  appears  to  be  a  species  of 
Ganiasns,  allied  to  the  Beetle-mite  (G.  Coleopti-atorum,  L.), 
but  another  species. 

W.  H.  N. — Your  bald-headed  sparrow  had,  perhaps,  been 
in  the  "  wars,"  a  not  uncommon  occurrence  ;  or  it  had  been 
affected  too  considerably  by  mites. 

M.  H.  Robson  (Newcastle-on-Tyne). — The  box  containing 
glass  tube  in  which  you  enclosed  a  variety  of  Hydra,  reached 
us  with  the  glass  smashed  to  pieces.  It  should  have  been 
posted  with  a  luggage-label  attached,  on  which  the  address  and 
stamp  should  have  been  placed.  The  blow  given  when  stamps 
ing  had  shattered  the  glass. 

M.  J.  Wilde. — Your  specimens  are  : — (1)  a  piece  of  Trap, 
with  calcite  crystals  on  joint-face  ;  (2)  fragment  of  Copper  ore 
(Cupric  sulphite)  ;  (3)  piece  of  Milk-quartz  ;  and  (4)  portion  of 
water-worn  nodule  of  Flint. 

F.  Norris. — The  plant  you  sent  us  is  a  fine  specimen  of  the 
Blue  Fleabane  (Etigervn  acris). 

Anonymous. — We  are  obliged  to  call  attention  to  an  old 
rule  of  ours,  which  declares  that  anonymous  communications 
cannot  be  attended  to. 

R.  G.  C. — The  insect  found  on  the  dog  is  a  well-developed 
specimen  of  the  Dog-tick  {Ixodes  ricinus).  We  cannot  under- 
take to  answer  your  latter  question  without  fuller  information. 

Newquay. — The  grass  you  inclose  is  the  Annual  Meadow 
Grass  (Poa  annua),  and  the  other  species  intermingled  with  It 
is  the  common  Spurrey  (Spergula  arvensis,  L.J. 


2l6 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


F.  L.  St.  A.  (Hants).— The  shrub  labelled  No.  i  is  a  Buck- 
thorn {Rhamnus  Frangula,  L.),  and  the  other  specimen  is  very 
imperfect,  and  too  small  to  judge  correctly  ;  but  we  believe  it 
to  be  Calamintha  Nepeta.  Many  thanks  for  your  kind  note 
respecting  orchids. 

B.  M.  W.  (Treaddow). — We  detected  only  one  rust,  or  clus- 
ter, at  the  margin  of  one  of  the  leaves,  which  is  undoubtedly 
Trichobasis  Geranii,  B.,  but  we  believe  it  is  attacked  by  an- 
other fungus  unknown  to  us  ;  but  it  is  immature,  therefore 
difficult  to  decide  in  its  present  state. 

G.  A.  H.  (Manchester). — It  is  what  we  have  recognised  as 
Chara  hispida;  however,  we  confess  they  are  too  little  studied, 
and  very  little  seems  to  be  known  about  this  class  of  plants. 

C.  H.  Bould. — Your  plant  is  the  Soap-wort  (Saponaria 
officinalis). 

W.  H.  Legge. — We  have  forwarded  your  account  of  "a 
strange  bird  "  to  several  first-rate  ornithologists  for  identification, 
but  all,  without  exception,  state  they  cannot  make  anything  out 
of  it. 

G.  S.  Barnes. — See  an  account  of  your  peculiar  malfor- 
mation of  cabbage-leaf  in  present  number. 

E.  E.  Evans. — Your  eggs  were  completely  smashed  when 
they  reached  us,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  name  any  of  them. 

W.  E.  Richardson. — We  have  received  the  Trilobite,  which 
is  a  fine  specimen  of  Calymene  Blumenbachii.  What  you  took 
to  be  a  "fin"  is  merely  the  rim  of  the  cephalic  shield.  The 
Trilobites  being  Crustaceans  (allied  to  King-crabs)  did  not 
possess  "  fins." 

R.  H.  N.  Browne. — The  eggs  grouped  on  the  backs  of  oak- 
leaves  are  not  those  of  Coccus,  but  of  a  species  at  Aphis.  Two 
of  them  hatched  whilst  the  leaf  was  under  the  microscope,  so 
that  the  aphides  were  visible. 

A.  Lury  (Southampton). — The  white  substance  you  sent  us 
from  the  bark  of  a  young  Scotch  fir  is  not  a  fungus,  although 
it  was  formerly  considered,  and  even  described,  as  such,  under 
the  name  of  Psilonia  nivea.  It  is  of  animal  origin,  however, 
like  the  "Apple-blight,"  and  formed  by  an  insect,  a  species  of 
Cynips. 

E.  C. — From  your  specimens  we  can  only  make  out  the 
male  and  female  of  the  common  gnat  (Culex  pipiens) ;  except 
that  they  are  smaller  specimens  than  usual  under  the  micro- 
scope, they  exhibit  all  the  characters  of  the  common  gnat. 

S.— -It  is  Mr.  Lankester's  "Wild  Flowers  worth  Notice  "  to 
which  we  referred. 

F.  R.  S. — Prof.  Hull  has  already  published  a  work  on  the 
Geology  of  Ireland,  and  another  and  a  fuller  work  on  the 
same  subject  by  Mr.  G.  H.  Kinahan  is  about  to  be  published. 
See  papers  called  "  Sketches  in  the  West  of  Ireland,"  by  Mr. 
Kinahan,  in  Science-Gossip  for  1873,  1874.  and  1876,  giving 
archaeology,  botany,  and  geology  of  the  district. 

J.  Cass. — A  potato  tuber  is  only  an  underground  bud  ;  and 
the  monstrosity  you  sent  us  is  not  an  unfrequent  one,  as  it  con- 
sists of  pseudo-tubers,  or  buds,  forming  at  the  base  of  the  leaf- 
stalks.    We  have  seen  several  examples  this  summer. 

J.  A.  Floyd. — The  specimens  sent  us  from  Cambridgeshire 
are  of  Lower  Cretaceous  age,  but,  perhaps,  not  sueh  excellent 
phosphates  as  the  so-called  "  coprolite  "  stones,  on  account  of 
their  containing  a  large  percentage  of  iron  oxide.  No.  1  are 
the  teeth  of  Spherodus.  2.  Tooth  of  Saurian,  probably  Cam- 
py/osaurus.  3.  Ammonites  lautus.  4.  Tooth  of  Saurian. 
The  others  are  fragments  of  fossil  wood,  impressions  of  A  mmo- 
nites,  casts  of  chambers  of  A  mmonites,  &c. 


EXCHANGES. 

To  dispose  OF. — Eleven  volumes  of  the  Pateontological 
Society's  publications,  viz.,  for  the  years  1848  (2),  1849  (2), 
1850,  1851,  1852,  1862,  1863,  1864,  and  1865  ;  also  a  Ten  Guinea 
Smith  &  Beck  microscope. — S.  J.  B.,  Rectory,  Beaconsfield, 
Bucks. 

WELL-rooted  plants  of  good  varieties  of  Ferns,  blooming 
Greenhouse  Plants  (not  bedding),  and  Cacti,  in  exchange  for 
rare  British  and  foreign  Shells,  polished  Stones,  and  Fossils. — 
Address,  F.  R.  E.,  82,  Abbey-street,  Faversham,  Kent. 

Wanted  in  exchange  for  Lepidoptera,  or  a  small  hand 
Printing-press,  British  Birds'  Eggs,  side-blown.—  R.  Cross- 
key,  Castlegate,  Lewes. 

WELi.-mounted  Slides  of  Foraminifera  (Lagiua),  or  Diatom 
(Campy  lodiscus  cyp.),  in  exchange  for  good  Mounts,  not 
Polariscope. — A.  Alletsee,  n,  Foley-street,  London,  W. 

Wanted,  unmounted,  scales  of  fish,  palates  of  mollusca, 
spines  of  star-fish,  parts  or  entire  foreign  beetles  and  butterflies, 
stained  anatomical  and  vegetable  preparations,  zoophytes,  wood 
sections,  sori,  mosses,  marine  alga;,  fungi,  and  micro-geoiogical 
specimens.  Good  exchange  offered. — Alpha,  16,  Brunswick- 
street,  Blackwall,  London,  E. 

Botanical  exchanges  desired. —Send  lists  to  F.  W.  E.  S., 
Hadlow,  Tunbridge. 

Birds'  eggs,  side-blown.  Having  collected  during  late  tour, 
can  offer  collectors  many  extreme  rarities  in  exchange. — 
•Sissons,  Sharrow,  Sheffield. 

To  American  Entomologists. — East  Indian,  African,  and  other 
■exotic  Butterflies  sent  in  papers  in  the  finest  condition  and 
good  species  for  Cocoons  of  Cecropia,  Luna,  To,  Polyphemus, 
and  Cynthia. — William  Watkins,  36,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


Offers.— "  Lond.  Cat.,"  7th  ed.,  Nos.  81,  82,  97,  100,  133, 
141,  145,  280,  296,  301,  316,  319,  326,  354,  369,  373,  376,  491, 
531.  564,  612,  622,  627,  753,  761,  917,  984,  1147,  1 160,  1241, 
1317,  1447,  1448,  1502,  1577,  and  many  others,  in  exchange  for 
British  Mosses  or  Flowering  Plants.  Lists  exchanged. — W.  E. 
Green,  24,  Triangle,  Bristol. 

Cerastium  holosteoides,  Listera  cordata,  y uncus  triglumis, 
Herniaria  subciliata,  &c,  for  101,  103,  153,  202,  309,  358,  374, 
404,  477,  481,  526,  767,  1046,  1082,  1438,  1484,  1507,  1521,  &c— 
G.  C.  Druce,  Northampton. 

For  unmounted  Scales  of  Carp,  Sole,  Perch,  Roach,  Pike, 
and  Haddock,  send  unmounted  Object  to  J.  Moore,  12,  Por- 
chester-street,  Birmingham. 

Micro-Fungi. — Wanted,  unmounted  Specimens  of  the  order 
yEcidiacei,  first-class  slides  or  material  for  good  specimens 
only. — Dr.  Marsh,  Duke-street,  St.  Helens. 

For  mounted  Chelifer  muscorum  send  a  well-mounted  Slide 
(named  diatoms  particularly  wanted),  to  George  Turvill,  East 
Worldham,  Alton,  Hants. 

Wanted. — Set  of  the  Human  Eye :  Optic  nerve,  cross  and 
per.  sect.  ;  sclerotic  coat,  sect.  ;  cornea,  sect.  ;  retina,  sect.  ; 
chrysaline  capsule  ;  iris  ;  ciliary  process  ;  choroid  coat,  long,  and 
trans,  sects.  ;  eyelid,  with  hair  on  eyelash.  Will  give  Geo- 
logical Transparent  Slides  in  exchange. — Address,  M.  Fowler, 
45,  Burn-row,  Slamannan,  N.B. 

Mammalian  Fossils  from  the  gravel  and  caves,  in  exchange 
for  others. — W.  G,  10,  Newcastle-street,  Tuxford,  Newark, 
Notts. 

All  or  part  of  Design  and  Work,  cost  4s.  iod.  ;  English 
Mechanic,  5s.  ;  Fancier's  Gazette,  6s.  9d. ,  for  back  numbers  of 
Science-Gossip,  or  offers. — E.  V.,  41,  Peckham-grove,  S.E. 

Spines  of  Amphidotus  cordatus  and  Algae,  with  Diatoms  in 
situ,  in  exchange  for  other  objects  of  interest. —J.  Wooller,  io, 
Farm-road,  Hove,  Brighton. 

Anatomical  sections,  mostly  human  ;  lung,  heart,  liver,  &c. 
Will  send  some  in  exchange  for  any  well-mounted  objects. — 
C.  P.  White,  the  Priory,  Lewisham. 

F.  atomaria,  piniaria,  P.  rota,  and  others,  in  exchange 
for  Moths,  Plants,  Mosses,  or  Shells.  —  R.  Renton,  Fans, 
Earlston,  N.B. 

A  large  case,  containing  two  well-stuffed  Squirrels  ;  also  a 
preserved  stuffed  Snake  (Python),  to  exchange.  Wanted,  side- 
blown  British  Birds'  Eggs,  Natural  History  Books,  or  offers. 
Correspondence  invited,  all  letters  answered.  —  W.  Barrett, 
Roue,  165,  White  Ladies'-road,  Bristol. 

NEATLY-finished  Slide  of  Scorpion  Fly,  mounted  whole, 
offered  for  good  Slide  of  picked  Diatoms,  or  Diatoms  in  situ. 
— J.  Neville,  Wellington-road,  Handsworth,  Staffordshire. 

To  Conchologists  resident  at  home,  abroad,  or  in  the  colo- 
nies.—  Having  Duplicates  of  nearly  a  hundred  species  of  the 
British  Land  and  Fresh-water  Shells,  including  many  of  the 
rarer  Vertigos,  such  as  subslriata,  antivcrtigo,  alpestris, 
pusilla,  and  augustior.  Will  be  glad  to  exchange  these  for 
Foreign  or  Colonial  Shells,  equally  good,  either  land,  fresh- 
water, or  marine,  or  would  exchange  foreign  duplicates  only  for 
the  same. — W.  Sutton,  Upper  Claremont,  Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

Good  side-blown  Specimens  of  the  following  Eggs  for  ex- 
change : — Cormorant,  Puffin,  Sandwich,  Arctic  and  Common 
Terns,  Dunlin,  and  Eider  Duck,  Desiderata  :  other  good  Eggs 
or  Lepidoptera.  Send  offers. — John  D.  Walker,  21,  Holly- 
avenue,  Jesmond,  Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 


BOOKS,  &c,  RECEIVED. 

"  Science  pour  Tous." 

"  Land  and  Water."     July. 

"Journal  of  Applied  Science."     July. 

"The  Natural  History  Journal." 

"  Potter's  American  Monthly."     June. 

"American  Naturalist."  ,, 

"Chambers' Journal."     July. 

"Ben  Brierley's  Journal."     July. 

"  Botanische  Zeitung." 

"  Collecting  Butterflies  and   Moths."     By  Montagu  Brown. 
London  :  Bazaar  Office. 

Appendix    to    "  Contributions    to    Natural   History."      By 
James  Simson. 

&c.  &c.  &c. 


Communications   received  up   to   8th    ult..    from: — 
S.  A.  B.— H.  T.   G— Prof.  B.  A.  T.— H.  W.  S.  W.  B.-G.  T. 

—  H.  C.  C—  T.  B.— E.  C— E.  W.— V.  C— J.  G— T.  G.  B.— 
G.  H.— R.  H.— C.  H.  B.— G.  T.  B.— G.  S.  B.— W.  G.  P.— 
Dr.  E.  de  C— G.  C.  D.— E.  B.  S.— A.   F.  G.— R.  H.  N.  B.— 

-  F.   K.  —  C.   P.   O. -F.    B.    N.— F.   R.   M.  —  J.   W.    S. — 

F.  W.  E.  S.— A.  J.  R.— J.  M.— W.  E.  G— W.  W.— H.  C.  C. 
— R.  G.  C— J.  C.  C— R.  G— Dr.  M.— M.  S.— W.  H.  N. - 
A.  A.— G.  C.-C.  E.  R.— H.  E.  W.— M.  J.  W.— R.  C— 
E.  R.  F.— S.  J.  B.— Dr.  M.— M.  H.  R.— J.  S.— P.  T.— 
J.  D.  W.— W.  S.—  J.  N.— F.  R.  S.— H.  L.— J.  G.  G  — 
W.  L.  B.— W.  M.  C.  C.  S.— W.  B.  R.— H.  M.-F.  H.  A.— 
R.   R.  —  C.   P.  W.  —  H.  W.  T.  —J.  W.  —  R.  S.  —  J.  W.  S.  — 

G.  R.  -E.  V.— J.  C— J.  A.  F.— G.  H.  H.— W.  G.  -M.  F.— 
C.  C— &c.  &c. 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


217 


QUARTZ^   AS    IT   OCCURS   IN  THE  LAKE   DISTRICT; 
ITS   STRUCTURE  AND   ITS   HISTORY, 

By  J.    CLIFTON   WARD,   F.G.S.,    F.R.M.S.,    &c. 

{Read  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Cumberland  Association  for  the  Advancement  0/  Literature  and  Science.) 


INTRODUCTION. 

HERE    are    few  minerals 
more  widely  spread  than 
Quartz,  a  chemical  com- 
pound of   the    two  ele- 
ments, Silicon  and  Oxy- 
gen.     Common    though 
this  mineral  is,  however, 
its     study      opens      out 
questions  of  deep   inte- 
rest,   and   may  lead    us 
from   the   contemplation 
of  a  pretty  piece  of  rock-crystal  to  the  consideration 
of  subtle  and  hidden  processes  in  the  formation  of  the 
crust  of  our  globe. 

1.  Geological  Distribution. — Quartz  occurs  among 
cur  lake-country  mountains  in  several  forms,  but 
never  as  a  rock  by  itself,  in  thick-bedded  masses,  as  is 
occasionally  the  case  in  other  mountain  tracts. 
Vein  Quartz  exists  under  four  conditions. 
(1.)  Constituting  the  whole  thickness  of  a  lode  or 
vein,  in  which  case  the  latter  may  be  said  to  be  a 
quartz  vein,  unless  the  quartz  contains  much  valu- 
able ore,  such  as  lead  or  copper,  for  then  it  will 
more  frequently  be  called  a  lead  or  copper  vein 
with  a  quartz  veinstone.  Some  of  these  quartz 
veins  are  of  considerable  width — many  yards, — and 
run  in  straight  lines,  sometimes  for  several  miles, 
though  often  broken  by  faults.  That  they  contain 
gold  in  small  quantities  is  certain,  and  I  have  in  my 
possession  some  small  grains  of  this  precious  metal 
extracted  from  a  vein  of  quartz  in  Borrowdale.  It  is 
well  known  that  gold  has  been  mined  in  Wales  for  a 
great  many  centuries,  but  it  seems  not  to  exist  in  any 
of  our  Cumberland  quartz  veins  in  workable  quanti- 
ties, so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  judge. 

(2. )  Instead  of  being  itself  a  lode  or  vein,  quartz 
frequently  forms   strings   or   courses   running   in  or 
through  a  lode  formed  of  various  mineral  substances . 
No.  166. 


Supposing  the  lode  to  be  lead-bearing,  it  often  be- 
comes an  important  question  how  much  of  the  vein- 
stone may  be  quartz,  and  how  much  calc-spar,  barytes, 
or  other  minerals  ;  for  the  quartz  is  very  much  harder 
than  most  other  constituents  of  veins,  and  if  the  ore 
has  to  be  extracted  entirely  from  such  a  matrix,  the 
labour  is  much  increased.  Nevertheless,  sometime1-, 
even  quartzose  vein-stuff  is  quite  crumbling,  and, 
when  so,  the  working  is  comparatively  easy.  This 
is  the  case  with  several  lead-veins  occurring  in  the 
Vale  of  Newlands. 

(3.)  Quartz,  when  occurring  either  as  a  massive 
lode  or  a  slender  string,  is  opaque,  and  generally  of  a 
pure  white  colour  ;  but  it  occurs,  thirdly,  in  the  form 
of  clear  transparent  crystals,  lining  the  sides  of  cracks 
and  fissures  either  in  massive  quartz  or  in  some  other 
mineral  substance.  These  crystals  have  the  general 
form  of  a  six-sided  prism,  terminated  by  a  six-sided 
pyramid,  but  owing  to  variations  in  the  relative  size 
of  the  several  faces,  the  appearance  of  the  crystals 
may  vary.  Sometimes  also  they  are  coloured  in 
various  tints,  clue  to  oxides  of  iron,  manganese,  &c, 
mingled  with  the  oxide  of  silicon,  or  silica,  as  it  is 
more  usually  called.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the 
pointed  ends  of  the  crystals  project  away  from  the 
sides  of  the  crack  or  fissure  which  they  line. 

(4.)  Lastly,  vein  quartz  occurs  in  indefinite 
lenticular  masses  and  strings  among  the  strata  of  many 
geological  formations.  Thus,  occasionally  it  may  be 
seen  to  occur  between  the  planes  of  bedding  of  strati- 
fied rocks,  more  frequently,  however,  traversing  those 
planes  in  an  irregular  and  stringy  manner,  and  some- 
times much  developed  along  the  cleavage  planes,  as 
may  be  seen  in  the  Skiddaw  Slate  between  the  sum- 
mit of  Hindscarth  and  Scope  End. 

Quartz  as  a  Rock-constituent  : — 
[a.)  Of  Stratified  Rocks. 
(b.)  Of  Unstratified  Rocks  and  Volcanic  Rocks. 

[a.)   Of  Stratified  Rocks. 

In    the    Skiddaw    Slates   there   are    many  parts, 

L 


2l8 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


especially  the  lower,  seen  on  Whiteside  and  Gras-  ' 
moor,  which  have  been  produced  by  sandy  or  gritty 
■deposits,  and  the  grains  of  quartz  may  frequently  be 
distinguished  clearly  with  the  naked  eye.  Again,  in 
a  well-marked  bed  of  grit,  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
Skiddaw  series,  to  be  well  studied  in  Great  Cockup, 
north  of  Skiddaw,  in  the  sides  of  the  southern  breast 
of  Skiddaw,  and  notably  at  Lank  Rigg  and  Latter- 
barrow,  in  the  south-west  of  the  Lake  District,  the 
grains  of  quartz  frequently  approach  the  size  of  small 
pebbles.  In  all  these  cases  the  quartz  fragments  are 
more  or  less  rounded,  showing  that  they  have  been 
rolled  in  the  water,  and  are  formed  of  white  quartz, 
such  as  occurs  in  veins,  or  such  as  may  be  won  from 
the  disintegration  of  granite.  Even  in  the  clay-slate 
proper,  the  microscope  reveals  the  presence  of  small  j 
grains  of  quartz  amongst  the  aluminous  matter. 

In  some  of  the   beds  of  Carboniferous  Limestone 
that  wrap  round  the  mountainous  tract,  quartz  occurs 
both  in  the  form  of  small  pebbles  and  of  curious 
amorphous  masses,  very  similar  to  the  flint  in  chalk, 
but  known  as  chert.    In  the  sandstones,  interstratified 
with  the  limestone,   quartz,  in  more  or  less   rounded 
grains,  is  the  chief  constituent.      In  the  Penrith  sand- 
stone,  of  younger  age  than   the  Carboniferous,  the 
small    grains    of   quartz    are    specially   interesting, 
because,  in  some  parts  of  the  sandstone,  at  any  rate, 
each  grain   shows  the  form  of  a  doubly-pyramidal 
crystal,  the  crystals  being  of  very  uniform  size,  and 
their  form  often  not  a  great  deal  affected  by  rolling. 
Whence  these  little  crystalline  particles  could  have 
been  derived,  to  form  the  sandstone,  is  somewhat  of 
a  puzzle.     Among  the  Blue  Mountains  of  New  South 
Wales,  Darwin  observed  a  similar  case,  and  remarks : 
"  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  how  these  crystals  can  have 
been  formed  ;   one  can  hardly  believe  that  they  were 
separately  precipitated  in  their  present  crystallized  state. 
Is  it  possible  that  rounded  grains  of  quartz  may  have 
been  acted  on  by  a  fluid  corroding  their  surfaces  and 
depositing  on  them  fresh  silica  ?  "     The  silica  in  old 
glass  sometimes  regains  its  crystalline  structure,  as 
shown  by  Sir  David  Brewster  in  1840. 

Quartz  as  a    Constituent  of  Unstratified  and 
Volcanic  Rocks. 

( 1 . )  Among  Granitic  and  Granitoid  Rocks.  —  Gene- 
rally speaking,  in  true  granites,  quartz  occurs  uncrys- 
tallized,  being  the  last  of  the  constituent  minerals  to 
solidify  ;  it  then  appears  to  fill  up  all  the  interstices 
of  the  other  minerals,  the  felspar  and  the  mica.  This 
is  the  case  with  the  Skiddaw,  Eskdale,  and  Shap 
granites  in  the  mass  ;  though  sometimes  very  locally, 
or  in  the  form  of  dykes  proceeding  from  the  main 
mass,  the  disposition  of  the  quartz  is  not  interstitial, 
but  crystalline.  This  latter  mode  of  occurrence  may 
be  well  studied  in  the  quartz  felsite  of  St.  John,  and 
notably  in  the  Armboth  Dyke.  In  these  cases  the 
quartz  and  some  of  the  felspar  have  crystallized  out 
in  a  felsitic  base,  and  the  cross  sections  of  the  quartz 


crystals  often  look  nearly  square  from  the  unequal 
development  of  all  the  six  sides.  In  the  Armboth 
Quartz  Felsite  Dyke,  the  embedded  crystals  are  most 
clearly  seen,  and  the  pyramidal  termination  of  both 
ends  may  be  well  observed. 

(2.)  Among  intrusive  Diorites,  Dolerites,  cj-y. 
(  Greenstones).  — I  know  of  no  cases  of  quartz  occurring 
in  a  crystalline  condition  in  the  rocks  of  the  Green- 
stone class.  Nor  is  quartz  generally  a  conspicuous 
constituent  in  any  form  among  such  rocks.  Micro- 
scopic study  of  the  class,  however,  reveals  the  very 
frequent  existence  of  this  mineral  in  small  portions 
among  the  other  constituent  minerals.  In  some  cases 
its  presence  may  be  due  to  deposition  subsequent  to 
the  first  formation  of  the  rock,  and  such  belong  to 
our  next  group. 

(3.)  Quartz  as  an  Accidental  Constituent. — -By  an 
accidental  constituent  is  meant  one  that  forms  no 
essential  part  of  the  rock,  but  has  been  introduced, 
perhaps,  long  after  that  rock  was  formed  or  solidified. 
Its  manner  of  occurrence  in  these  cases  clearly  shows 
that  the  quartz  has  been  deposited  from  solution, — 
water  containing  silica  infiltrating  through  the  rock- 
mass.  It  thus  fills  up  cavities,  and  sometimes  replaces 
other  minerals  dissolved  away. 

Among  the  volcanic  rocks  of  the  district,  quartz  is 
very  common  in  this  form.  In  beds  of  lava,  and 
sometimes  in  those  of  volcanic  ash,  vesicles  or  long 
almond-shaped  cavities  are  generally  produced  by  the 
escape  of  vapour  and  gases  from  the  molten  or  heated 
matter,  on  its  first  eruption  from  the  volcano.  Subse- 
quently, when  such  lava-beds  have  been  covered  up 
by  great  thicknesses  of  overlying  strata,  the  water, 
which  is  for  ever  percolating  the  crust  of  our  earth, 
and  contains  very  various  mineral  substances  dissolved 
in  it,  deposits  these  in  the  cavities  and  vesicles,  and 
amongst  other  minerals  thus  left  to  fill  the  vacant 
spaces  quartz  is  very  common,  and  may  often  be 
found  filling  the  same  vesicle  with  the  minerals 
calcite  (carbonate  of  lime)  and  chlorite.  When  a 
large  vesicle  has  been  thus  filled  with  quartz,  vari- 
ously coloured  and  under  different  physical  forms,  it 
sometimes  happens  that  the  surrounding  rock  is 
subsequently  broken  up  and  destroyed,  and  then  the 
hard  kernels  of  quartz  are  isolated  in  the  form  of 
agates.       Such   are   the    agates    of    Wallow    Crag, 

Keswick. 

{To  be  continued.) 


BRAMBLES  ABOUT  LONDON.— II. 

By  Dr.  E.  De  Crespigny,  Author  of  "  A  London 
Flora." 


iv.  VI: 


LLICAULES.— In  this  section  the 
aciculce  and  setae  disappear  :  the  stems 
are  angular,  strong,  prickly,  and  furnished  with  hairs, 
which  are  usually  duplicate  or  fascicled,  and  spread- 
ing; orstellately  downy  and  adpressedj    a  difference 


HA  RD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  0  SSIP. 


2ig 


sufficiently  well  marked  to  admit  of  the  species  of 
this  section  being  also  subdivided. 

a.  Villicaides  proper;  type,  R.  Umbrosus  (Macro- 
phyllus,  var.,  of  some  authors). — The  stems  of 
this  bramble  when  old,  are  frequently  apparently 
glabrous,  from  the  hairs  being  deciduous ;  the  young 
shoots  and  flowering  branches  are,  however,  always 
shaggy  with  spreading  pubescence ;  the  leaflets 
round  with  a  short  acumen,  moderately  thick, 
smooth,  and  dull  green  above,  pale  and  furnished 
with  short  hairs  beneath  ;  prickles  strong,  conical, 
patent ;  panicle  pyramidal,  with  ascending  branches  ; 
not  unfrequent  in  copses  and  shady  places  :  Pinner 
woods,  Putney  Heath,  Broxbourne  woods.  R. 
villicaulis. — Stems  and  general  habit  similar  to  the 
preceding  ;  leaflets  thick,  obovate,  or  broadly  oval, 
often  cuneiform  below ;  obtuse  or  mucronate ;  patently 
dentated,  green  above,  whitish  and  velvety  beneath 
veins  of  the  upper  leaflets  often  reddish ;  panicle 
compact  above,  more  open  below,  with  ascending 
branches  ;  petals  white,  obovate,  not  contiguous ; 
sepals  ovate,  with  a  mucronate  point,  setose  and 
aciculate  ;  prickles  moderately  strong  and  straight  ; 
rachis  and  pedicels  frequently  remarkably  velvety  : 
Broxbourne  and  Wormley  woods.  R.  macrophylhts. — 
The  leaves  in  this  species  are  large,  broadly  obovate, 
thin ;  panicle  elongated,  with  ascending  branches. 
It  is  a  variable  plant,  and  occurs  in  the  woods  about 
Broxbourne,  or  intermediate,  with  the  following 
species  : — R.  leucostachys  may  be  easily  recognized 
by  its  close-set  panicles  of  pink  flowers,  with  fila- 
ments of  a  still  pinker  hue ;  the  petals  are  large, 
obovate,  and  contiguous ;  the  stems  angular  and 
hairy;  leaves  soft,  dull  green,  hairy  above,  and  more 
so  beneath,  of  a  roundish  or  obovate  form  ;  those  of 
the  upper  part  of  the  young  stem  and  of  the  flowering 
branches  whitish  beneath,  the  rachis  is  whitish,  with 
a  soft  tomentum,  as  are  also  the  pedicels  ;  the  calyx 
is  rather  dark,  hairy,  setose,  and  aciculated. — N.  B. 
In  common  with  all  brambles  of  this  subsection,  a 
few  seta;  are  sparsely  scattered  on  the  rachis,  &c. 

b.  Tomentosi. — In  this  group  the  spreading  hairs 
of  the  stem,  and  especially  of  the  rachis,  appear  in 
the  altered  form  of  adpressed  stellate  down  ;  type 
R.  discolor.  This  is  the  bramble  of  general  occur- 
rence in  wayside  hedges  ;  it  is  so  well  known  that, 
except  to  indicate  the  chief  points  in  which  it  differs 
from  others,  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  refer  to  it. 
The  stem  is  angular  and  armed  with  strong,  usually 
recurved  prickles  ;  hoary  when  young  from  the  stel- 
late down ;  leaflets  quinate  below,  ternate  above  ; 
narrowly  obovate,  small  (usually)  coriaceous,  slightly 
convex,  dull  green  above,  white  or  grey  below,  with 
a  close-set  felt  or  tomentum  ;  rachis,  pedicels,  and 
calyx  felted  in  the  same  manner ;  panicle  narrow, 
with  short  branches ;  petals  contiguous,  obovate, 
pink  ;  styles  more  or  less  deeply  tinged  with  purple, 
as  are  also,  not  unfrequently,  entirely  or  in  part,  the 
filaments.     R,  tkyrsoideus :  less  common,  but  by  no 


means  rare.  The  stems  are  as  stout  and  strongly 
angled  as  are  those  of  R.  discolor,  but  the  stellate 
down  is  less  closely  adpressed  ;  the  leaflets  are 
broader  and  more  acuminate  upwards,  larger,  and 
not  convex  ;  the  under-side  similarly  felted  ;  rachis 
and  calyx  both  hairy  and  felted ;  panicle  long,  nar- 
row ;  lower  branches  many,  axillary ;  petals  white. 
R.  rubeolas  (Sallcri) .—  This  bramble  is  the  connecting 
link  between  the  Villicaules  and  the  Nitidi.  The 
stems  in  this  species  are  nearly  terete,  reddish  ;  hairs 
scattered  and  deciduous ;  prickles  rather  strong, 
declining,  straight,  not  curved  ;  leaflets  obovate,  or 
lanceolately  acuminate,  grey  and  slightly  pubescent 
below ;  rachis  loosely  pubescent ;  panicle  narrowly 
thyrsoid  and  prickly ;  petals  pale  rose,  obovate  ;. 
contiguous  sepals,  hairy,  aciculate,  obovate.  It 
flowers  early  :  gravelly  commons, — Barnes,  Putney 
Heath. 

V.  Nitidi. — Stems  thorny,  strongly  angled,  en- 
tirely free  from  hairs,  acicula;,  and  setae  ;  but  the 
rachis  of  the  panicle  is  hairy  more  or  less  :  type,  R. 
rhamnifolius  {cordifolius  ?).  Arched  stems  of  a  lively 
red  colour,  angled,  and  furnished  with  strong  prickles, 
straight  and  deflected,  sometimes  patent ;  leaves 
quinate,  of  a  bright  green  colour,  lighter  below, 
ovate,  the  terminal  one  cordate,  acuminate,  or  sub- 
cuspidate  ;  the  basal  ones  narrowly  ovate  and 
strongly  directed  backwards,  finely  serrated  ;  petals- 
white  or  faintly  tinged  with  pink,  obovate  ;  styles 
green.  Copses  and  on  the  borders  of  woods,  not 
often  in  hedges  :  Hampstead  Heath,  Putney  Heath, 
Harrow  Weald  Common.  On  Barnes  Common  and 
elsewhere  there  is  a  variety  with  smaller  and  more 
coriaceous  leaves  ;  terminal  leaflet  not  cordate ;  a 
smaller  and  more  compact  panicle  and  smaller  flowers 
of  a  pale  blush  colour.  This  is  certainly  R.  rhamni- 
folius proper ;  R.  Lindleyanus  (/iMrfus)  differs  from 
both  in  the  form  of  its  inflorescence,  which  is  corym- 
bose somewhat,  with  short  patent  branches  below,  and 
not  pyramidal.  It  has  shining  bright  red  stems  ;  shin- 
ing light-green  leaves,  whitish  underneath,  narrower 
than  those  of  R.  rhamnifolius,  and  coarsely  and 
doubly  toothed  ;  petals  pure  white  ;  filaments  turning 
crimson  as  the  flowers  fade.  It  occurs  on  Harrow 
Weald  Common  and  Stanmore  Heath.  R.  incurvatus* 
— This  bramble,  uncommon  elsewhere,  is  plentiful 
on  Putney  Heath  and  on  Barnes  Common  ;  there  are 
also  a  few  bushes  on  the  lower  part  of  Hampstead 
Heath.  The  stems  are  green,  reddish  when  old,, 
smooth,  angled,  and  furnished  like  its  congeners  with 
rather  strong  prickles,  which  are  patent  on  the 
stems,  but  decurved  on  the  rachis  ;  the  leaflets  dark- 
green  and  glabrous  above  and  below,  deeply  and 
sharply  toothed,  concave,  the  margins  incurved  and 
wavy ;  the  panicle  is  narrow,  branches  short  and 
patent ;  petals  white,  obovate  ;  sepals  ovate,  hairy, 
greenish.  (The  peculiarity  of  the  leaves  is  not  seen 
when  they  are  pressed  and  dried. ) 

The  foregoing  is  by  no  means  an  exhaustive  notice 
L  2 


220 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  GOSSIP. 


of  the  London  Rubi.  Probably  other  species  and 
varieties  are  known  to  observers ;  we  have  several 
doubtful  specimens  ourselves,  which  would,  if  really 
out  of  the  common,  warrant  the  inference  that  much 
may  be  done  in  this  field  of  research.  Altogether, 
the  subject  is  not  a  very  satisfactory  one  ;  but  some 
practical  gain  would  result  from  a  determination  of 
the  extent  to  which  certain  deviations  from  the  cha- 
racteristics of  a  definite  number  of  typical  forms 
occur  under  certain  conditions  of  locality,  and 
whether  they  are  constant  in  such  conditions.     The 


Fig.  171.  Prickles,  aciculae, 
setae,  and  hairs  of  stem  of 
R.  koehleri. 


Fig.  172.   Setae  and  hairs 
(magnified). 


the  nitidi ;  and  that  which  is  narrowly  obovate  to 
the  tomentosi  ;  but  we  could  do  so  only  in  a  general 
sense,  because  the  exception;  in  every  case  would  be 
too  frequent.  Specific  nomenclature,  therefore,  de- 
rived from  the  form  of  the  leaflets,  should  be  dis- 
carded.""" The  down  and  pubescence  of  the  stems, 
on  the  other  hand,  are  often  deciduous  :  true,  these 
characteristics  are  frequently  apparently  wanting, 
but  the  lens  applied  to  that  portion  of  a  stem  which 
has  not  been  exposed  too  directly  to  the  sun  or  vicis- 
situdes of  temperature  will  often  reveal  its  presence 


Fig.  177.  Adpressed  stellate 
down  (mag.). 


Fig.  178.   Spreading 
fasciculed  hairs. 


Fig.    173. 
aciculae,  and 
R.  nemorosus 


es, 
of 


Fig.  174.  Gland  and 
tomentum  of  sepal  of 
R.  discolor  (mag.). 


181.     Glandular 
sepals  of  R.  glandu- 
losus. 


Fig.  180.  Flower-bud 
of  R .  neiuorostis, 
with  few-grained 
fruit,  and  sepals 
ascending,  often 
reflexed. 


Fig.    182.      Glandular 
sepals  of  R.  hystri.x. 


Fig.  179. 
Hair  (mag.). 


Fig.  175.   Sepals  of/?,  cusius, 
clasping  the  fruit. 


-3? 


Fig.  176.   Flower-bud  of 
R./nsco-ater. 


Fig.  1  S3.   Flower-bud 
oiR.  umbrosus. 


Fig.  184.  Flower-bud 
of  R .  discolor. 


characteristic  distinctions  of  the  sections  above  de- 
tailed are  deduced  entirely  from  the  stems  ;  no  reli- 
ance can  be  placed  upon  those  derived  entirely  from 
the  leaves,  still  less  from  the  form  of  the  panicle. 
This  may  be  racemose,  corymbose,  pyramidal,  or 
what  not ;  and  we  may  assign  the  corylose  leaf  to 
one  section,  the  oval  or  elliptical  form  to  the  glandu- 
losi ;  the  rotund  or  broadly  obovate  shape  to  the 
villicaules  ;*  the  ovate  or  obovate  acuminate  one  to 

*  No  definite  idea  seems  to  be  attached  nowadays  to  the 
term  "  carpinifolius  "  ;  formerly  it  was  the  general  expression 
for  a  villicaittis,  or  hairy-stemmed  bramble.  Specimens  so 
labelled  in  herbaria  seen  by  us  had  no  resemblance  to  the 
typical  form  of  the  section  whatever,  nor  to  any  of  the  others 
composing  it. 


in  the  form  of  withered  shreds  interspersed  with  small 
black  specks,  the  points  of  its  former  attachment. 

In  September  the  blackberries  are  ripe,  the  right 
time  for  gathering  specimens  as  well  as  fruit  ;  the 
panicle,  the  new  leaves,  and  the  young  or  barren 
stems  are  then  full  grown  and  formed  ;  not  that 
flowering  specimens  should  be  dispensed  with.  The 
localities  from  which  the  fruiting  ones  and  cuttings  of 
the  stems  have  been   obtained  should   be   carefully 

*  The  terminal  leaflet  is  always  more  or  less  different  to  the 
others.  It  may  be  cordate  acuminate  while  the  lateral  ones_ 
are  ovate,  and  basal  oval  or  elliptical.  As  for  the  situation  of 
the  prickles,  these  are  on  the  angles  of  the  stems  when  these 
are  angled,  and  rarely  elsewhere  ;  their  bases  are  often  glan- 
dular or  hairy  as  well  as  the  stem  itself. 


HARD  WI CKES    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


221 


noted  and  remembered,  in  order,  when  July  comes 
round  again,  to  obtain  the  flowers.  Sometimes  in  a 
brake  three  or  four  species  of  bramble  will  be  found 
growing  together,  their  branches  intertangled  :  care 
must  be  taken  in  such  cases,  when  making  cuttings, 
to  avoid  mistakes  ;  flowering  branches  should  always 
be  taken  with  sections  of  the  old  stem  attached,  and 
in  making  sections  of  the  new  stem  it  should  always 
be  so  done  as  to  include  a  leaf.  Notes  also 
should  be  entered  in  a  memorandum-book  relative 
to  soil  and  locality  ;  habit  of  growth  ;  colour  of 
the  leaves,  on  the  upper  as  well  as  under-surface  ; 
shape  and  colour  of  the  petals ;  colour  of  the  styles, 
filaments,  stems,  &c, — points  which  cannot  be  de- 
termined from  dried  specimens.  Good  localities  for 
research  arc  the  borders  of  copses  in  open  upland 
situations,  bushy  places  in  old  chalk  and  gravel  pits, 
shady  unfrequented  lanes,  swampy  woods,  gravelly 
commons,  and  the  bushy  borders  of  sandy  and  peaty 
heaths. 

ON  A  "TANGLE"  DREDGE. 
By  H.  C.  C.  M. 

HAVING  spent  my  holidays  for    several  years 
past  in  shore-collecting  on  the  North  Welsh 
coast   with   considerable  success,   T  determined  this 


further  communications  on  the  subject  before  having 
a  dredge  made.  In  the  following  number  of  Science  • 
Gossip  Mr.  E.  Lovett,  of  Croydon,  recommends  a 
dredge  of  hemp  "tangles  "  as  being  superior  in  some 
respects  to  the  ordinary  form.  Not  clearly  under- 
standing how  Mr.  Lovett  would  construct  his  dredge, 
I  wrote  to  him  for  further  particulars,  and  the  con- 
struction of  the  dredge,  which  I  will  now  attempt  to 
describe,  is  the  result  of  several  suggestions  made  in 
his  courteous  reply.  My  thanks  are  also  due  to 
David  Keid,  Esq.,  of  Oldham-street,  Manchester,  for 
one  or  two  valuable  hints.  A,  fig.  185,  is  a  piece  of 
brass  wire,  about  the  thickness  of  a  lead  pencil,  and 
16  inches  long,  each  end  of  which  is  firmly  soldered 
into  a  boat-shaped  piece  of  lead,  BB,  4  inches  in 
length.  Lengthwise  through  each  piece  of  lead  a 
piece  of  brass  wire,  CC,  about  half  the  thickness  of 
A,  and  10  inches  long,  is  fastened,  with  the  ends 
bent  round  in  the  form  of  a  ring.  D  is  a  V-shaped 
piece  of  brass  wire  of  the  same  thickness  as  CC,  the 
two  arms  of  which  are  each  15  inches  long,  and  the 
ends  are  firmly  hooked  to  the  rings  of  CC.  To  this 
the  towing  line  is  tied.  EE  are  bundles  of  rope 
4  feet  long,  the  strands  of  which  are  untwisted,  and 
the  fibres  pulled  out,  until  they  resemble  bundles  of 
coarse,  rough  string.  These  are  firmly  tied  to  the 
bar  A.  Fig.  186  shows  the  bar  A  and  the  boat-shaped 


186.  Diagram  showing  the  Tangle-dredge  at  work,  supported  by  runners. 

"runners"  in  section,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
bar  is  bent  upwards,  to  allow  of  its  passage  over  large 
specimens  without  injuring  them  by  its  weight.  Fig. 
187  shows  the  complete  dredge  as  it  appears  when 
travelling  over  the  ground.  I  found  that,  in  order  to 
make  the  machine  fall  to  the  bottom  with  the  keels 
of  the  runners  on  the  ground,  it  was  necessary  to  have 


Fig.  185.  A  New  Tangle-dredge. 

year  to  attempt  dredging  in  the  Menai  Straits^ 
Happening  to  notice  a  query  in  Science-Gossip  for 
March   about  dredging,  I  thought  I  would  wait  for 


Fig.  187.  Section  of  Tangle-dredge  as  it  appears  when 
travelling  over  the  ground . 

the  boat  rowed  against  the  current,  and  to  put  it  into 
the  water  in  the  proper  position,  allowing  it  to  fall 
to  the  bottom  very  gradually.  Although  I  did  not 
get  a  large  number  of  specimens,  my  captures  included 
sponges,  sertularians,  echinoderms  (including  some 
very  fine  specimens  of  O.  rosula  and    0.   neglccta), 


222 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSS  IP. 


polyzoons,  mollusca,  and  Crustacea,  not  one  of  which 
was  injured  by  the  tangles.  A  pair  of  scissors 
were,  I  found,  very  useful  in  removing  the  specimens. 
I  am  afraid  that  with  one  exception  (the  channel 
between  Penmon  and  Puffin  Island)  my  choice  of 
localities  for  dredging  was  unfortunate.  One  place, 
about  half  a  mile  from  Beaumaris  pier,  in  the  direction 
of  Puffin  Island,  was  recommended  to  me  by  several 
fishermen  as  being  likely  to  repay  the  trouble  of  dredg- 
ing, but  I  was  much  disappointed  with  the  results  of  my 
efforts.  However,  I  feel  quite  certain  that  the  tangle- 
dredge  will  prove  to  be  a  useful  implement  in  the 
hands  of  marine  zoologists,  and  I  shall  be  glad  if 
some  of  the  readers  of  Science-Gossip  will  try  it, 
and  record  their  experience.  Manchester. 


CANADIAN  NATURAL  HISTORY  NOTES. 

I  SAW  in  last  October  number  of  Science- 
Gossip,  an  advertisement  offering  specimens  of 
the  notorious  Doryphora  decem-lineata  for  sale  at 
one  shilling  each.  We  pay  for  specimens  also,  but 
we  pay  a  few  cents  a  pint,  or  so  much  a  hundred, 
for  them. 

I  also  read,  in  a  recent  English  newspaper,  a  re- 
port of  the  mulcting  of  a  labouring  man,  the  fine 
being  likewise,  if  I  remember  aright,  a  shilling,  for 
having  a  living  specimen  of  that  beetle  of  evil 
reputation  in  his  possession.  If  such  a  law  as  that 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  unhappy  rustic  were  in 
existence  here,  it  would  superadd  a  large  amount  to 
our  revenue,  inasmuch  as  few  of  us  are  able  to  dis- 
possess ourselves  of  such  specimens. 

It  is  not,  however,  my  intention,  in  troubling  you 
with  this  communication,  to  treat,  at  any  length,  on 
the  Colorado  Potato-beetle,  for  your  September 
number  (1877)  contains  an  interesting  article  on  the 
natural  history  of  that  garden  pest  from  Mr.  Rye, 
amply  sufficient  for  your  purpose  at  the  present  time. 
I  say  at  the  present  time,  for  if  the  insect  reaches 
your  shores  in  any  numbers,  and  if  it  breeds  thereon, 
you  may  be  glad  of  hints  from  those  of  us  who  have 
been  overrun  by  this  unconquerable  enemy,  and  who 
have  spent  nights  in  an  attempt  to  devise  some  plan 
for  its  extermination,  and  days  in  an  endeavour  to 
carry  out  such  plan  if  regarded  as  at  all  feasible. 

The  beetle  is  commonly  called  the  Potato-beetle, 
but  it  by  no  means  follows  that  that  all-important 
esculent  is  alone  subject  to  its  attacks.  I  think  it 
will  be  found  that,  under  certain  circumstances,  it  is 
omnivorous,  and  that,  at  all  events,  it  will  not  succumb 
to  starvation  even  where  potatoes  are  not  grown, 
provided  other  vegetables  are  at  hand. 

For  instance,  where  the  egg-plant,  Solatium  melon- 
gena,  is  cultivated,  my  experience  induces  the  belief 
that  the  beetle  prefers  this  plant  even  to  the  Solatium 
tuberosum.     It  also  attacks,  although  less  ravenously, 


tomato  and  pepper  plants,  and,  somewhat  singularly, 
the  latter  in  preference  to  the  former.  Inasmuch 
however,  as  these  three  plants  are  grown  only  on  a 
small  scale,  hand-picking,  the  most  effectual  method 
of  removing  all  insect-pests,  can  be  resorted  to  ;  and 
therefore  the  beetles  do  not,  as  in  the  case  of  potatoes, 
at  the  period  of  hybernation,  burrow  in  their  neigh- 
bourhood, and,  as  a  further  necessary  consequence, 
do  not  emerge  therefrom  in  the  spring. 

Where  hand-picking,  from  the  large  space  to  be 
traversed,  is  impracticable,  Paris  green  is  the  only 
panacea ;  the  powder  being  mixed  with  water  in  a 
pail  and  sprinkled  over  the  plants  by  means  of  a 
whisk. 

There  is,  however,  a  principle  of  compensation 
pervading  nature,  which  has  a  tendency  to  check 
the  ravages  of  noxious  insects.  Thus,  with  the 
advent  of  the  Potato-beetles  into  Canada,  there 
appeared,  attendant  upon  their  flight,  large  quantities 
of  lady-birds,  the  Coccinella  novemnotata,  and  others, 
with  the  object  of  preying  on  their  eggs.  And  it 
should  be  noted,  lest  friends  and  foes  be  involved  in 
simultaneous  destruction,  that  the  eggs  of  these  two 
insects  are  very  similar  in  appearance,  being  much 
the  same  in  size  and  shape,  of  the  same  colour 
(deep  orange),  and  deposited  alike  on  the  under-sides 
of  the  leaves  of  the  plants  on  which  the  insects  feed. 
And  now  we  are  told  of  another  enemy  of  the  dreaded 
beetle, — the  Lydella  doryphora,  —  to  which  allusion 
was  recently  made  at  a  meeting  of  the  Toronto 
Entomological  Society,  by  its  president,  Mr.  Brodie, 
in  the  following  terms: — "It  is  by  far  the  most 
reliable  and  valuable  of  all  the  enemies  of  D.  decem- 
lineata ." 

When  the  Colorado  Beetles  make  their  unwelcome 
appearance  in  England — far  distant  be  the  day  ! — I 
would  recommend  the  enactment  of  a  law  for  the 
preservation  of  rooks  ;  for,  if  I  mistake  not,  those 
Corvi  will  be  found  most  useful  coadjutors  to  children 
in  a  potato-patch.  These  beetles  are  seen  more 
frequently  on  the  wing  in  the  day-time  than  any  other 
Coleoptera  I  am  acquainted  with,  and  present  a  some- 
what brilliant  appearance  in  their  flight. 

It  may  hap  that  the  English  climate  will  prove  too 
damp,  and  the  soil,  in  winter,  too  moist  for  their 
comfortable  hybernation,  but  these  conditions  should 
not  altogether  be  relied  on  :  they  will  be  upon  you  in 
time,  just  as  the  Scotch  thistles  have  become  an 
"institution"  in  the  United  States,  and  the  English 
Cabbage  Butterfly,  Pieris  rapiv,  has  become  accli- 
matized in  Canada. 

By  the  way,  par  parenthlse,  while  alluding  to  mi- 
grations, I  noticed  a  communication  from  A.  Wyles, 
p.  188,  respecting  some  eggs  he  "obtained  in  the 
village  of  Roundhay,  near  Leeds,"  and  which  he 
supposes  to  be  those  of  the  Red-winged  Starling. 
He  describes  the  eggs  as  being  of  "a  greenish  grey, 
streaked  with  deep  yellowish  brown."  I  have  none 
of  these  eggs  by  me  at  present,   but  Wilson  informs 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE-  G  OS  SIP. 


us  that  they  are  "  of  a  very  pale  light  blue,  marked 
with  faint  tinges  of  light  purple,  and  long  straggling 
lines  and  dashes  of  black."  The  Stitrnus  predatorius 
is  very  common  with  us,  and  up  our  lakes  hundreds 
of  them  may  be  seen  of  an  evening  on  the  rush- 
beds,  just  as  I  have  seen  the  common  starlings  in 
England,  where  I  have  killed  a  dozen  or  more  at  a 
shot. 

While  submitting  my  notes  on  the  parasites  of  the 
Colorado  Beetle,  it  occurs  to  me  that  perhaps  a  few 
more  instances  of  the  principle  of  compensation  may 
not  prove  uninteresting. 

We  have  in  Canada  a  great  variety  of  Ichneumon- 
flies,  from  the  large  Pimpla  lanator,  with  its  four- 
inch  borer,  to  the  Ichneumon  minntiis,  each  in  its 
own  peculiar  way,  whether  by  piercing  the  living 
insect,  or  its  egg,  doing  its  providential  work  in  the 
destruction  of  hurtful  life. 

Some  time  ago  my  eye  was  attracted  by  the  eccen- 
tric motions  of  one  of  the  larger  steel-blue  Ichneumons 
that  was  flying  round  and  round  a  currant-bush  in 
my  garden,  ever  and  anon  darting  at  an  object  which, 
on  approaching  it,  I  found  to  be  a  spider  in  her  web. 
The  contest,  for  such  it  was,  was  a  long  one,  and 
put  me  in  mind  of  the  description  of  an  arena-fight 
between  a  retiarins  and  a  sccutor.  The  latter,  on 
this  occasion,  was  victorious  :  the  rete  proved  an  in- 
sufficient protection,  and  the  fuscina,  or  ovipositor, 
was  thrust  into  the  victim's  body,  with  what  result  is 
well  known  to  naturalists. 

On  another  occasion  I  saw  one  of  our  larger  grass- 
hoppers, Locusta  Carolina,  struggling  in  apparent 
agony  and  certain  helplessness  on  the  ground.  On 
examination  I  discovered  a  small  ichneumon,  not 
much  larger  than  a  winged  ant,  upon  its  body,  intent 
on  the  insertion  of  its  ovipositor,  and  although  the 
fly  was  so  much  smaller  and  so  much  weaker  than 
the  unhappy  grasshopper,  the  latter  was  unable  to 
make  use  of  its  powerful  legs  or  its  wide  expanse  of 
wings  as  a  means  of  escape. 

Another  singular  parasite,  if  parasite  it  may  be 
called,  is  the  Hair  Worm,  Gonlins.  I  once  obtained 
two  of  these  Abranchiata  from  the  body  of  a  large 
spider — a  somewhat  uncommon  habitat.  These 
worms  were  tightly  rolled  up  into  small  balls  of  the 
Gordian-knot  type,  and  were,  when  unfolded,  only 
about  two  inches  each  in  length. 

At  another  time  I  found  one  of  our  common 
crickets,  the  Acheta  abbreviata,  with  a  Hair  Worm 
curled  around  it.  Whenever  the  miserable  insect 
made  an  effort  to  release  itself  from  the  coils  of  its 
tormentor  the  latter  lashed  itself  into  apparent  fury, 
and  seemed  to  paralyze  its  victim  until  at  length  it 
accomplished  its  horrible  design. 

Are  these  egg-depositing  operations  painful  to  the 
subject  ?  It  would  be  interesting  if  observers  would 
state  their  opinions,  and  give  us  the  results  of  their 
observations,  on  this  interesting  subject. 

Ontario.  V.   Clementi,   B.A. 


223 


SOME  REMARKS  ON  HORSE-TAILS. 

THE  Horse-Tails  compose  the  order  Equisetaccce, 
and  this  order  of  Cryptogams  is  a  very  inte- 
resting one,  both  as  regards  the  structure  of  the  plants 
contained  in  it,  and  the  curious  hygrometric  move- 
ments of  their  spores. 

The  stem  is  underground,  and  in  the  spring  sends 
up  branches,  some  of  which  are  barren,  while  others 
bear  the  spores.  The  branches  are  hollow,  except  at 
the  joints,  which  are  numerous ;  at  these  points  the 
different  segments  of  the  stem  are  separated  by  a 
sort  of  cellular  membrane.  Each  joint  likewise 
terminates  in  a  sheath,  which  is  membraneous,  and 
embraces  the  base  of  the  succeeding  joint.  The 
branches  are  fluted,  and  the  sheath  at  its  upper 
extremity  is  cut  into  teeth,  the  number  of  which 
corresponds,  or  bears  some  simple  proportion,  to  the 
flutings  on  the  stem. 

These  plants  are  devoid  of  true  leaves  ;  but  the 
latter  are  represented  by  branchlets,  which  are  of  a 
green  colour,  and  often  assume  a  verticillate  arrange- 
ment. A  very  interesting  microscopical  object  is 
furnished  by  the  cuticle  of  the  Horse-Tail — the  sto- 
mata  being  seen  with  great  clearness  under  a  mode- 
rate power.  The  epidermis  is  likewise  peculiar,  on 
account  of  the  large  quantity  of  silex  which  it  con- 
tains ;  this  is  so  abundant  in  many  species  that  they 
have  been  used  by  the  Dutch  housewives  for  polishing 
brass. 

The  most  interesting  points,  however,  about  these 
plants  is  their  fructification.  All  the  branches  are 
not  fertile,  but  those  that  are  bear  at  the  terminal 
extremity  a  cone-like  body,  which,  on  examination, 
is  found  to  consist  of  a  great  number  of  disks,  more 
or  less  polygonal  in  outline,  borne  in  a  peltate 
manner  upon  a  central  stalk,  by  which  they  are 
attached  to  the  central  axis.  On  the  under  surface 
of  these  disks  the  spore-cases  are  arranged,  and  these 
discharge  their  contents  (the  spores)  by  a  lateral  slit, 
which  looks  towards  the  axis  of  the  plant.  The 
spores  themselves  are  more  or  less  rounded  bodies, 
each  provided  with  two  filaments  called  elaters,  and 
to  the  contraction  and  expansion  of  these  the  move- 
ments of  the  spores  are  due.  The  elaters  end  in 
club-shaped  extremities.  If  the  end  of  a  branch  of 
Equisetum  bearing  fructification  be  shaken  gently  on 
to  a  glass  slide,  and  the  latter  be  then  breathed  upon, 
and  placed  upon  the  stage  of  a  microscope  of  low 
power,  the  spores  will  be  seen  to  be  undergoing  the 
most  curious  movements.  Some  will  be  quite  closed 
up,  the  elaters  being  so  closely  applied  to  the  spores 
as  to  be  scarcely  distinguishable ;  others,  again,  will 
be  seen  gradually  unfolding  the  filaments,  and  a  few 
may  be  observed  to  move  with  a  sudden  start,  as  it 
were,  from  the  contracted  state  of  the  elaters  to  that 
of  full  expansion.  The  ultimate  cause  of  this  move- 
ment is  quite  unknown.     That  it  depends  upon  the 


224 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SI  P. 


amount  of  moisture  with  which  the  spores  are  sur- 
rounded there  can  be  no  doubt.  Most  probably  it 
takes  place  by  the  contraction  and  expansion  of  the 
cells  of  which  the  elaters  are  composed,  under  the 
varying  influence  of  the  moisture  contained  in  the  air. 
The  phenomenon  is  a  very  curious  one,  and  should 
by  all  means  be  seen  by  every  one  who  possesses  a 
microscope. 


Fig.  188.   Sporangium  of  Equisetum 
arvense. 


Fig.  189.  Transverse  section  of  Fruit- 
spike  of  ditto  (twice  nat.  size), 
snowing  how  sporangia  are  attached 
to  the  axis. 


Fig.  190.  Fruit 
spike  of  ditto, 
twice  nat.  size. 


Fig    iqi.  Fragment  of  the  branched 
stem  of  Equisetum  fialustre. 

Doubtless  the  spores  are  endowed  with  this  suscep- 
tibility to  hygrometric  changes  in  order  to  ensure 
their  distribution,  and  thus  the  species  is  continued 
in  distant  places.  The  spore  on  germination  gives 
origin  to  a  cellular  structure  called  a  prothallus,  upon 
which  the  antheridia  and  archegonia  are  borne — 
much  as  in  Ferns.  In  former  periods  of  the  world's 
history  the  Equisetacese  occupied  a  much  more  pro- 
minent situation  in  the  vegetable  kingdom  than  they 
do  at  present.  If  we  turn  to  the  Palaeozoic  strata  we 
shall    find   in   the  Carboniferous   formation    of  that 


period  abundant  evidence  of  this.  The  reed-like 
fossil  Calamites  most  likely  belonged  to  this  order, 
and  the  vegetation  of  the  Carboniferous  period  is 
made  up  of  the  genera  Lepidodendron,  Stigmaria, 
Sigillaria,  &c,  belonging  to  the  Lycopodiacea?,  Equi- 
setacere,  and  allied  orders. 

This  order  also  affords  an  instance  of  what  has 
been  called  homoplasmy,  or  likeness  between  plants 
belonging  to  totally  different  orders,  and  even  different 
divisions  of  the  vegetable  kingdom.     Thus  the  Equi- 


Fig.  192.  Spore  of 
E.  arvense,  showing 
elaters  clasped  round 
(mag.). 


Fig.  193.  Spore  with 
four  elaters  un- 
coiled (mag.). 


Fig.  194.  Fertile  stem  of  Equisetum 
arveuse,  springing  from  rhi- 
zome (natural  size). 

setacerc  of  the  acrogenous  sub-kingdom  has  its  coun- 
terpart in  the  Hippurus,  or  Mare's  -  Tail,  which 
belongs  to  the  division  of  flowering  plants. 

It  is  often  the  case  that  botanical  collectors  give 
a  great  deal  of  attention  to  the  Ferns  and  Mosses, 
and  treat  with  comparative  neglect  the  humble  Cryp- 
togams, including  the  Equisetacea;.  This  neglect 
seems  to  be  unmerited ;  for,  although  the  flowering 
plants,  doubtless,  at  first  sight,  form  a  more  attractive 
field  for  the  display  of  the  energies  of  the  popular 
botanist,  yet  any  one  who  will  take  the  trouble  to 
work  at  the  Equisetacea;  and  allied  orders,  with  lens 
and  microscope,  will  find,  in  the  adaptation  of  means 


HA  RDWI CKE  'S    S  CIE  NCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


225 


to  ends  and  delicacy  of  structure,  quite  as  beautiful 
a  series  of  phenomena  as  is  presented  by  the  structure 
and  economy  of  the  flowering  plants.         H.  W.  S. 


NATURAL     HISTORY     IN     THE 
SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY. 

F.  Kitton,  Hon.  F.R.McS. 

IN  the  eighth  volume  of  Science-Gossip  we  called 
the  attention  of  our  readers  to  the  Bestiary  of 
Philip  de  Thaun,  written  in  the  twelfth  century,  during 
the  long  period  that  had  elapsed  between  the  publication 
of  that  treatise  and  the  work  I  now  propose  to  give 
some  extracts  from,  we  might  expect  to  find  a  consi- 
derable advance  in  Zoological  knowledge.  Such, 
however,  is  not  the  fact,  not  the  slightest  attempt 
seems  to  have  been  made  to  verify  the  descriptions  of 
the  early  writers,  and  their  accounts  of  monsters  are 
implicitly  believed  in. 

This  book  is  much  more  pretentious  than  the 
Bestiary,  as  the  following  verbatim  copy  of  the  title- 
page  will  show : — 

"  The 
HISTORY 

OF 

fovre-footed 
Beastes, 
Describing  the  true  and  lively  figure  of  every  Beast 
with  a  discourse  of  their  several  Names,  Conditions, 
Kindes,  Vertnes  (both  naturall  and  medicinall), 
Countries  of  their  breed,  their  love  and  hate  to  man- 
kinde,  and  the  wonderfull  work  of  God  in  their 
Creation,  Preservation,  and  Destruction. 

Necessary  for  all  Divines  and  Students,  because 
the  story  of  every  Beast  is  amplified  with  Narrations 
out  of  Scriptures,  Phylosophers,  Physicians,  and 
Poets  :  wherein  are  declared  divers  Hyerogliphicks, 
Emblems,  Epigrams,  and  other  good  Histories,  collected 
out  of  all  the  Volumes  of  Conradvs,  Gesner,  and 
all  other  Writers  to  this  present  day.  By  Edward 
Topsell. 

London  : 
Printed  by  William  G.  laggard. 
1607." 
The  book  is  a  small  folio,  and  contains  about  900 
pages    (including    the    "Epistle   Dedicatory"    and 
index.)     It  is  dedicated 

"To 

THE     REVEREND     AND     RIGHT 

Worsiiipfull  Richard  Neile,  D.  of  Divinity, 

Dean  of   Westminster,    Master  of  the    Savoy,  and 

clearke  of  the  A'iug  his  most  excellent  Majesties  closet 

all  felicity,  Temporall,  Spirituall,  and  Eternall. 

The  library  of  English  Bookes  and  Catalogues  of 
writers  (Right  Worthy  and  Learned  Dean,  my  most 
respected  Patron)  have  growne  to  the  height  not 
only  of  a  iust-number,  but  also  innumerable  :  and  no 


maruell,  for  God  himself  hath  in  all  ages  presented 
lerning  in  the  next  place  to  life,  for  as  life  is  the 
Ministereall  Governor,  and  moouer  in  this  world, 
so  is  learning  the  Ministeriall  Governor,  and  moouer 
in  life  ....  As  life  is  different,  and  diuers 
according  to  the  spirit  wherein  it  is  seated,  and  by 
which  it  is  norished,  as  with  a  current,  as  also  is 
Learning  according  to  the  last  vse  and  practise  of 
rules,  Canons,  and  authors  from  whan  as  from  a 
fountaine  it  taketh  both  beginning  and  encrease  euen 
as  the  spirit  of  a  Serpent  is  much  quicker  than  the 
spirit  of  an  Oxe,  and  the  learning  of  Aristotle  and 
Pliny  more  lively  and  lightsome  then  the  knowledge 
of  other  obscure  Philosophers  vnworthy  to  be  named, 
which  either  through  enuie  or  Non  proficiencye  dursl- 
neuer  write." 

The  dedication  then  proceeds  to  dilate  upon  the 


Fig.  105.   Sphinga,  or  Sphinx  Ape. 

desirability  of  a  knowledge  of  the  history  of  animals 
which  the  writer  thinks  will  tend  to  make  mankind 
better.  "Were  not  this  a  good  perswasion  against 
murder,  to  see  all  beasts  so  to  maintaine  their 
natures  that  they  kill  not  their  owne  kind.  Who  so 
vnnaturale  and  vnthankfull  to  his  parents,  but  by 
reading  how  the  young  Storkes  and  Wood-peckers 
do  in  their  olde  age  feed  and  nourish  them,  will  not 
repent  and  amend  his  folly  and  bee  more  naturale '? 
What  man  is  so  void  of  compassion  that  hearing  of 
the  bounty  of  the  Bone  breaker  Birde  to  the  young 
Eagles,  will  not  become  more  liberale  ?  Where  is 
there  such  a  sluggard  and  drone  that  considereth  the 
labours,  paines,  and  travels  of  the  Emmet,  Little 
bee,  Field  mouse,  Squirell,  and  such  others  that  will 
not  learne  for  shame  to  be  more  industrious  and  set 
his  fingers  to  worke  !  Why  should  any  man  living 
fall  to  do  euill  against  his  conscience,  or  at  the 
temptation  of  the  Deuill  seeing  a  Lyon  will  never 
yeeld.     Mori  scit  unici  nescit — and  seeing  the  little 


2  26 


HARD  J  VI CKE  'S   S  CIE  NCE  ■  G  0  SSI  P. 


Wren  doth  fight  with  an  Eagle  contending  for 
soueraignty  ?  Would  it  not  make  men  to  reverence  a 
good  king  set  over  them  by  God  ?  Seeing  the  bees 
seek  out  their  king  if  he  loose  himself,  and  by  a  most 
sagacious  smelling  sence  never  cease  untill  he  be 
found  out,  and  then  beare  him  upon  their  bodies  if  he 
be  not  able  to  fly,  but  if  he  die  all  forsake  him.  And 
what  king  is  not  united  to  clemency  and  dehorted 
from  tyranny,  seeing  the  king  of  the  bees  hath  a  sting 
but  never  useth  the  same  ?  .  .  .  .  I  have  followed 
D.  Gesner  as  neer  as  I  could,  I  do  professe  him  my 
author  in  most  of  my  stories,  yet  I  have  gathered  vp 
that  which  he  let  fal,  and  added  many  pictures  and 
stories  as  may  apeare  by  conference  of  both  together. 
In  the  names  of  the  beasts  I  have  not  swarved  from 
him  at  all.  He  was  a  Protestant  Physitian  (a  rare 
thing  to  find  any  Religion  in  a  Physitian)  although 
Saint    Luke    a    Physitian    were    a    writer    of    the 

Gospell — Your  Chaplaine  in  the  Church  of 

Saint  Buttolphe,  Aldergate,  Edward  Topsell." 

In  the  "Epistle  to  the  Learned  ReaJas''  he 
gives  "the  Catalogue  of  the  Authors  which  have 
wrote  of  Beasts,"  viz.,  Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  Ger- 
man, Italian,  French,  and  the  following  English 
writers,  Edward  Wooton,  William  Turner,  M.D., 
John  Estwyck,  John  Falconer,  M.D.,  Thomas 
Bonham,  M.D.  Thomas  Gybson,  M.  D. 

The  Rev.  E.  Topsell  adopts  a  very  simple  arrange- 
ment, viz.,  an  alphabetical  one,  thus  avoiding  all  the 
troubles  of  orders,  families,  and  genera.  The  first 
animal  he  describes  is  the  Antelope.  "The  Antalope 
called  in  Latin  Calopus,  and  of  the  Grecians 
Analopos  or  Aptolos.  Of  this  beast  there  is  no 
mention  made  among  the  auncient  writers  except 
Suidas  and  the  Epistle  of  Alexander  to  Aristotle, 
interpreted  by  Cornelius  Nepolius.  The  vertues  of 
this  beast  are  vnknowne,  and  therefore  Suidas  saith 
an  Antalope  is  but  good  in  part." 

The  woodcut  represents  the  animal  with  slightly 
curved  horns  conspicuously  serrated  on  the  upper 
margins  and  a  long  tooth  in  the  lower  jaw. 

The  next  beast  described,  according  to  the  author's 
arrangement,  is  the  Ape,  of  which  he  remarks  that  it 
"is  held  for  subtell,  ironical,  rediculous,  and  un- 
profitable beast,  whose  flesh  is  not  good  for  meate 
as  a  sheep,  neither  his  backe  for  burthern  as  an  asses, 
nor  yet  commodious  to  keep  house  like  a  dog,  but 
of  the  Graecians  termed  Gelotopioon,  made  for 
laughter. 

And  as  the  body  of  an  Ape  is  ridiculous  by  reason 
of  an  indecent  likeness  and  imitation  of  man,  so  is  his 
soul  or  spirit ;  for  they  are  kept  only  in  riche  men's 
houses  to  sport  withall,  being  for  that  cause  easily 
tamed,  following  every  action  he  seeth  done,  even  to 
his  owne  harm,  without  discretion." 

The  female,  the  writer  tells  us,  "mostly  has  twins, 
whereof  they  loue  the  one  and  hate  the  other ;  that 
which  they  loue  they  beare  in  their  armes,  the  other 
hangs  at  the  dam's  back,  and  for  the  most  part  she 


killeth  that  which  she  loueth  by  pressing  it  to  hard  r 
afterwards  she  setteth  her  whole  delight  upon  the 
other. 

The  male  and  female  abide  with  the  young  one, 
and  if  it  want  anything,  the  male,  with  fist  and  irefull 
aspect,  punisheth  the  female.  When  the  moone  is  in 
the  waine  they  are  heauy  and  sorrowful,  but  they 
leap  and  rejoice  at  the  change,  for,  as  other  beasts, 
so  do  these  feare  the  defect  of  the  starres  and  planets. 
They  are  full  of  desimmulations  and  imitation  of 
man  ;  they  readiler  folow  the  euile  then  the  good 
they  see. 

They  loue  conies  very  tenderly,  for  in  England  an 
old  ape  (scarse  able  to  goe)  did  defend  conies  from 
the  weasell,  as  Sir  Thomas  Moore  reported.  They 
feare  a  shel-fish  and  a  snaile  very  greatly,  as  appear- 
eth  by  this  history. 

In  Rome,  a  certaine  boy  put  a  snaile  in  his  hat  and 
came  to  an  Ape,  who,  as  he  was  accustomed,  leaps 
upon  his  shoulder  and  took  off  his  hat  to  kil  lise  in 
his  head,  but,  espying  the  snaile,  it  was  a  wonder  to 
see  with  what  hast  the  Ape  leaped  from  the  boyes' 
shoulder  and  in  a  trembling  manner  looked  backe  to 
see  if  the  snaile  followed  him. 

A  Lyon  ruleth  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  and  a 
Dolphin  the  beasts  of  the  sea.  When  the  Dolphin  is 
in  age  and  sicknes,  she  recovers  by  eating  a  sea-ape  j 
and  so  the  Lyon  by  eating  an  ape  of  the  earth,  and 
therefore,  the  Egyptians  paint  a  Lyon  eating  an  Ape 
to  signify  a  sicke  man  curing  himself.  The  hart  of 
an  ape,  sod  and  dried,  whereof  the  weight  of  a  groat 
drunk  in  a  draught  of  stale  Hunny  sod  in  water, 
called  Mellicraion,  strengthened  the  heart,  embolden- 
eth  and  driveth  away  the  pulse  and  pusillanimity 
thereof,  sharpeneth  ones  understanding,  and  is 
soueraigne  against  the  falling  euill." 

The  following  is  a  list  of  Apes  described  by 
Topsell  : — Vulgar  ape,  monkey  ape,  marline  ape, 
callitriche  ape,  Persian  ape,  baboun  ape,  Tartarine  ape, 
satyre  ape,  monster  ape,  Norwegian  ape,  pan  ape, 
sphinx  ape,  Sagon  ape,  ape  called  beare  ape,  ape 
called  foxe  ape.  Figures  are  given  of  these  forms. 
We  need  scarcely  say  that  they  were  in  the  majority 
of  cases  evolved  from  the  artist's  inner  conscious- 
ness. As  a  specimen,  we  give  a  copy  of  the  head  of 
the  Sphingu  or  Sphinx  ape.  Of  this  species  the  writer 
gives  the  following  description: — "The  Sphinx,  or 
Sphiiiga,  is  of  the  kind  of  Apes  hauing  his  body 
rough  like  Apes,  but  his  breast,  up  to  his  necke,  pilde 
(bald)  and  smooth  without  hayre  :  the  face  very 
round,  yet  sharp  and  picked,  hauing  the  breasts  of  a 
woman,  and  their  fauor  or  visage  much  like  them." 

To  the  utter  confusion  of  the  anti-Darwinites,  we 
quote  the  following  from  the  history  of  a  Satyre  ape, 
clearly  showing  the  existence  of  an  intermediate  form. 
Topsell's  authority  for  this  is  unimpeachable,  for  he 
says: — "  S.  Ierom,  in  the  life  of  Paul  the  Eremite, 
reporteth  there  appeared  to  S.  Antony  an  Hippo- 
centaurc,  such  as  the  poets  describe,  and  presently  he 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


227 


saw  in  a  rocky  valley,  adjoining,  a  litle  man  hauing 
croked  nostrils,  homes  growing  out  of  his  forhed, 
and  the  neather  part  of  his  body  had  goat's  feet :  the 
holy  man,  not  dismayed,  taking  the  shield  of  faith 
and  the  breast-plate  of  righteousnesse,  like  a  good 
souldior  of  Christ,  preased  toward  him,  which 
brought  him  some  fruites  of  palmes  as  pledges  of  his 
peace,  upon  which  he  fed  in  the  iourney,  which  same 
Antony  perceiving,  he  asked  him  who  he  was,  and 
received  this  answer  :  I  am  a  mortall  creature,  one  of 
the  inhabitants  of  this  desart,  whome  the  Gentiles 
(deceued  with  error)  doe  worship  and  call  Fauni, 
Satyres,  and  Incubi.  I  am  come  in  ambassage  from 
our  flock,  intreating  that  thou  wouldst  pray  for  vs 
unto  the  common  God  who  came  to  saue  the  world  : 
the  which  words  were  no  sooner  ended  but  he  ran 
away  as  fast  as  any  foule  could  fly.  And  least  this 
should  seame  false,  vnder  Conslantine,  at  Alexandria, 
there  was  such  a  man  to  be  seene  aliue,  and  was  a 
publike  spectacle  to  all  the  world,  the  carcase 
whereof,  after  his  death,  was  kept  from  corruption  by 
heat  through  salt,  and  was  carried  to  Antiochia  that 
the  Emperor  himself  might  see  it." 

"  Satyres  are  very  seldome  seene,  and  taken  with 
great  difficulty,  as  is  before  saide,  for  there  were  two 
founde  in  the  woods  of  Saxony,  towards  Dacra,  in  a 
desart,  the  female  whereof  was  killed  by  the  darts  of 
the  hunters  and  the  biting  of  dogs  ;  but  the  male  was 
taken  alive,  being  in  the  vpper  parts  like  a  man,  and 
in  the  neather  parts  like  a  goat,  but  all  hairy  through- 
out :  he  was  brought  to  be  tame,  and  learned  to  go 
vpright,  and  also  to  speak  some  wordes,  but  with  a 
voice  like  a  goat,  and  of  this  kind  there  are  store  in 
Ethiopia." 

"  Of  the  Asse. — Asses  are  of  very  foolish  condicions 
and  slender  capacity,  but  yet  very  tame,  not  refusing 
any  manner  of  burthen  although  it  break  his  back. 
Ammonianum  was  in  such  love  with  an  asse,  and 
holding  him  of  so  great  capacity,  that  he  had  one 
continually  to  heare  his  lectures  in  Phylosophie. 
Callen  affermeth  that  an  ass  understandeth,  genus 
species  et  individuum  ;  because,  if  you  shew  him  a 
camell  that  never  saw  one  before,  he  is  terrified  and 
cannot  endure  his  sight ;  but  if  he  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  such  a  sight,  if  you  shew  him  never  so 
many  he  is  not  moved  at  them.  In  like  sort  hee 
knoweth  men  in  general,  being  not  affraid  of  them  ; 
but  if  he  see  or  heare  his  keeper  he  knoweth  him  for 
his  keeper  or  maister. 

The  asse  being  overcome  with  melancholy  humour 
naturally  looketh  for  the  hearbe  Citterach,  or  Finger- 
feme,  to  cure  him.  The  asse  is  neuer  at  peace  with 
the  cro,  because  he  longeth  for  the  asse'seyes ;  likewise 
the  bird  Salem,  for  when  the  asse  commeth  to  the 
thornes  to  rub  himselfe  where  the  same  bird  buildeth 
her  nest,  the  asse  spoyleth  it,  wherefore  the  said  bird 
maketh  continual  assault  vppon  him.  In  like  sort 
the  Colota,  or  Stellio,  for  it  sleepeth  in  the  mangers, 
and  creepeth  up  unto  the  asse's  nose  to  hinder  him 


from  eating.  The  woolfe  is  also  an  enemy  to  the 
asse,  for  he  loveth  his  flesh,  and  with  small  force 
doeth  he  compasse  the  destruction  of  an  asse  ;  for 
the  blockish  asse  when  he  seeth  a  woolfe  layeth  his 
head  on  his  side  that  so  he  might  not  see,  thinking 
that  because  he  seeth  not  the  woolfe  the  woolfe  can- 
not see  him  ;  but  the  woolfe  vpon  this  advantage 
setteth  vppon  the  beast  on  the  blind  side  and  easily 
destroyeth  the  courageless  asse. 

Another  argument  of  an  asse's  stupidity  is  that  he 
careth  not  for  his  own  life,  but  will  with  quietnesse 
starve  if  meal  be  not  laid  before  him.  Wherefore  it 
is  apparent  that  when  a  dull  scholler  not  apt  to 
learne  is  bid  to  sell  an  asse  to  signifie  his  blockishnes, 
is  no  vaine  sentence  ;  therefore  they  which  resemble 
asses  in  their  head,  round  forehead,  or  great  face, 
are  said  to  be  blockish  ;  in  their  fleshy  face,  fear- 
full  ;  in  broad  or  great  eies,  simple,  and  like  to  be 
mad  ;  in  thick  lips  and  the  vpper  hanging  over  the 
nether,  fooles  ;  and  in  their  voyce  contumelius  and 
disdainfull.  .  .  .  The  Ieiaish  people,  who  like  asses, 
could  not  understand  the  evident  truth  of  Christ  in 
the  plaine  text  of  Scripture,  wherefore  our  Saviour 
secretly  vpbraided  their  dulnes  when  he  rode  upon 
an  asse. 

Touching  such  medicinall  vermes  as  have  been 
tried  and  found  to  be  in  the  several  parts  of  asses  in 
learned  and  approved  writers,  now  in  this  history 
they  shall  be  briefly  remembred,  and  so  this  narration 
finished." 

These  remedies  would  occupy  more  space  than  the 
editor  would  grant  me,  an  example  must  therefore 
suffice.  "If  any  be  hurt  by  the  starres  wash  them  in 
asses  stale  mingled  with  Spiknard,  the  same  force  has 
it  against  comes  and  all  hardness  or  thicknesse  of 
skinne." 

"  Of  the  Indian  Asses. — It  is  questionable  whether 
the  Monoceros,  commonly  called  a  Vnicorne,  the 
Rhinoceros,  the  Oryx,  and  the  Indian  asse  be  one 
beast,  or  diuers  ;  for  the  Vnicorne  and  Rhinoceros 
haue  the  same  things  attribvted  to  them  in  stories, 
and  differ  in  verie  few  reports,  both  Aristotle,  Pliny, 
and  ^Ehanus  coyntly  agree  that  they  differ  from 
all  other  whole-footed  beasts,  because  they  haue  one 
home  in  the  forehead,  and  so  have  also  the  Rhinoceros, 
Monoceros,  and  Orix,  but  the  Indians  cal  a  Vnicorne 
Cartagono  ;  and  the  home  so  highly  prized  at  this  day 
is  thought  to  be  of  the  Rhinoceros,  but  ^Ehanus  and 
Philes  acknowledge  no  other  Vnicorne,  but  the  Indian 
Asse,  who  in  bignes  equalleth  a  horse  among  the 
Indians,  being  all  white  on  the  body,  but  purple- 
headed  or  red  (as  some  say),  black  eyes,  but  Volatter- 
ranus  saith  blew,  hauing  one  home  in  the  forehead, 
a  cubit-and-a-halfe  long,  whose  upper  part  is  red  or 
bay,  the  middle  black,  and  the  neather  part  white, 
wherein  the  kings  and  mighty  men  of  India  vse  to 
drink,  adorning  it  for  that  purpose  with  sundry 
bracelets,  precious  stones,  and  works  of  gold  holding 
for  truth  that  all  those  which  drinken  in  those  homes 


228 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


shall  be  freed  from  annoyance  of  incurable  diseases, 
as  conuulsions,  the  falling  euile  and  deadly  poi- 
sions." 

We  find  two  other  species  of  asses  described  in  this 
veracious  history,  viz. ,  the  Alborach  and  Axis ;  the 
former  is,  the  author  says,  "the  animal  whereupon  the 
Turkish  priestes  and  blasphemous  idolaters  perswade 
the  silly  pilgrims  of  Media  that  Mahomet  was 
carried  up  to  heaven." 

Of  the  Badger,  otherwise  called  a  Brocke,  a  Gray, 
or  a  Bauson. — The  Rev.  E.  Topsell  most  unkindly 
exposes  the  ignorance  of  this  animal ;  he  commences 
his  description  by  saying,  "  The  Badger  could  neuer 
find  aGreeke  name.  The  Italians  call  a  Badger  Tasso ; 
the  Rhetians,  Tasch ;  the  French,  Tausson,  Taixen, 
Tasso//,  Tesson,  and  sometimes  Grisart (for  her  colour), 
sometimes  Blareau  (now  Bla/rea/i),  and  at  Parris 
Bedo/io ;  the  Spaniardes,  Tasugo,  Texon;  the  Ger- 
mans, Tachs,  orDaxs;  the  Illyrians,  Gezweez.  Badgers 
are  plentiful  in  Naples,  Sicilly,  Lucano,  and  in  the 
Alpine  and  Heluitian  coasts  ;  so  are  they  also  in 
England.  In  Italy  and  Germany  they  eate  grayes 
flesh,  and  boil  it  with  peares,  which  maketh  the  flesh 
tast  like  the  flesh  of  a  Porcupine.  The  flesh  is  best 
in  September,  if  it  be  fat." 

(To  be  co/Uii/ued.) 


AN  EDITOR'S    HOLIDAY  IN  THE  WEST 
OF  IRELAND. 

ONE  of  the  most  bewilderingly  lovely  drives  or 
walks  in  the  West  of  Ireland  is  that  from 
Westport  to  Cliefden.  The  distance  is  something  over 
forty  miles,  and  the  road  is  tolerably  good,  although  in 
many  places  chequered  by  acclivities  and  declivities. 
If  walking,  we  should  recommend  the  pedestrian  to  do 
the  first  eighteen  miles  to  Leenane,  which  is,  in  our 
opinion,  the  most  beautiful  spot  we  visited.  The  road 
thereto  lies  over  the  mountains,  and,  after  gradually  as- 
cending three  or  four  miles  from  Westport,  we  traverse 
the  surface  of  a  table-land,  everywhere  boggy  and  wet, 
and  with  pretty  loughs  or  lakes  studding  its  surface. 
Some  of  these  loughs  are  very  paradises  of  water- 
plants,  and  their  margins  are  covered  with  the  cool 
green  leaves  and  exquisite  white  blossoms  of  the 
common  water-lily.  All  round  this  table-land  there 
rises  a  panorama  of  hills.  Some  of  them  may  be 
called  mountains,  for  they  are  three  thousand  feet  in 
height,  and  their  tops  stretch  upwards  into  the  sky, 
so  that  the  cloud  scenery  is  mapped  and  patterned  by 
their  presence,  and  presents  quite  a  different  appear- 
ance to  cloud-land  in  our  own  parts  of  the  country. 
They  have  a  riven  and  a  weird  look,  these  ancient 
hills,  for  they  are  composed  of  the  very  hardest  rocks 
known  to  geologists— namely,  the  metamorphic  rocks. 
The  Silurian  sandstones  and  slates  and  limestones,  most 
of  which  once  contained  fossil  remains,  have  been  so 


completely  altered  by  heat  that  scarcely  a  trace  now 
remains  of  a  fossil,  and  yet  their  geological  map 
— for  this  country  has  been  geologically  surveyed 
by  some  of  our  ablest  men — shows  the  whole  region 
in  a  variously  coloured  pattern  which  indicates  how 
different  is  the  variety  of  rocks.  The  white  lines  on 
the  map,  which  represent  faults  or  vertical  crackings 
and  slippings  of  the  solid  rock,  are  exceedingly 
numerous.  Along  the  line  of  some  of  these  faults 
the  valleys  now  extend,  for  they  have  proved  the 
weak  places  where  weathering  action  could  be  best 
exerted.  The  outlines  of  these  grand  old  hills 
have  been  sculptured  by  Father  Time.  They  are 
amongst  the  oldest  of  our  British  mountains,  and  no 
country  in  the  world  has  such  ancient  mountains  as 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  !  For  millions  of  years 
the  storms  of  different  climates  have  gathered  around 
these  ancient  peaks,  and  have  spent  their  fury  upon 
them  not  in  vain,  for  it  is  chiefly  to  the  combined 
and  continued  action  of  the  weather  that  their  very 
shapes  are  now  due. 


Fig.  196.  Terraced  Limestone  Hills,  Glen  Colombkill. 

From  the  table-land  we  have  mentioned,  a  peaty 
stream  called  the  Erive  makes  its  appearance,  at 
first  so  small  that  a  boy  could  jump  across  it  easily. 
As  we  pass  along  the  uneven  road,  the  stream 
gathers  strength  from  its  numerous  tributaries,  all  of 
them  after  a  rainy  night  seaming  the  sides  of  hills 
like  silver  threads  ;  and  anon  it  gains  in  violence  and 
volume  and  brawls  over  its  rocky  bed,  which  latter 
widens  as  well  as  deepens  as  the  stream  descends  to- 
wards the  sea.  Here  and  there  it  throws  its  volume 
of  seething  water  over  some  rocky  terrace  as  a  water- 
fall or  cataract,  and  occasionally  its  restlessness  seems 
to  be  checked  by  some  deep  pool  which  the  brown, 
peaty-coloured  water  causes  to  appear  of  unfathom- 
able depth.  Everywhere,  however,  along  the  route 
of  the  stream,  even  in  these  elevated  regions,  there  was 
growing  such  a  wild  luxuriance  of  that  most  magni- 
ficent of  all  British  and  even  exotic  ferns— the  Royal 
Flowering  fern  (Osmunda  regalis) — as  we  have- 
never  before   seen,   except   perhaps  once   along  the 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G OSSIP. 


229 


southern  side  of  Barton  Broad,  in  Norfolk.  The 
tall  fronds  rise  to  a  height  of  five  and  six  feet,  with 
their  brown  spore-bearing  branches  rustling  to  and 
fro  in  the  mountain  wind.  As  we  passed  along  the 
road  we  saw  numbers  of  ordinary  marsh  plants,  but 
we  were  on  the  outlook  for  one  particular  flower 
which  occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  British  Islands, 
except  these  western  coasts  of  Ireland.  It  is 
one  of  the  heaths,  known  as  St.  Dabeoc's  (named 
after  an  Irish  saint),  and  formerly  christened  by 
botanists  Dabeocia  polifolia,  although  now,  in  honour 
of  a  Scotchman,  its  generic  name  has  been  unmu- 
sically changed  to  that  of  Mcuzicsia.  By  and  by  we 
came  in  view  of  this  lovely  heath.  Great  was  our 
joy,  for  we  had  never  seen  it  before  except  in  the 
pages  of  Sowerby.  The  reader  may  well  pardon  the 
delight  of  an  ardent  botanist  at  the  first  sight  of  this 
plant,  growing  in  luxuriance  in  its  wild  abodes,  for 
its  beauty  is  not  exceeded  even  by  the  magnificent 
heaths  which  have  been  imported  into  our  green- 


the  primitive  village  and  capital  inn  of  Leenane  is 
situated.  No  better  spot  for  the  tourist  to  rest  a  few 
days  could  be  selected  than  this.  Along  one  moun- 
tain pass  he  can  proceed  to  Kylemore  Lough,  which 
is,  perhaps,  the  loveliest  in  Ireland,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  one  of  the  lakes  of  Killarney,  for  Kylemore 
Lough  has  not  only  rugged  and  bare  mountains  rising 
around  it  on  every  hand,  but  these  are  softened  down 
near  the  margin  of  the  lake  by  rounded  bosses, 
festooned  with  honeysuckle,  and  bramble,  and  wild 
rose,  the  haunt  of  a  thousand  plants  dear  to  the 
botanist,  and  now  bright  with  three  or  four  species  of 
heath,  including  an  abundance  of  our  prized  Dabeocia. 
Shrubberies  of  hazel  bush,  willows,  alder,  and  larch 
come  down  to  the  very  edge  of  the  water,  while 
above  them  stand  stately  groups  of  Scotch  fir,  whose 
rough  stems  gather  'all  the  light  that  is  in  the  sky 
and  reflect  it  in  the  very  warmest  of  colours.  Rarely 
have  we  been  more  pleased  with  a  situation  than  that 
of  Kylemore.     At   one   end   stands  the  magnificent 


Fig.  197.  Distant  View  of  the  Terraced  Hills  of  the  Burren,  as  seen  from  North  of  Galway  Bay. 


houses  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  Australia. 
Its  rose-coloured,  bell-like  flowers  are  about  three 
times  the  size  of  those  of  our  English  heaths,  which 
latter  grow  side  by  side  with  it,  as  if  for  the  sake  of 
comparison. 

After  some  miles  of  tramping,  the  pedestrian  will 
discover  that  he  has  passed  the  highest  point  of  the 
water-shed,  for  the  streams  are  now  flowing  in  a 
different  direction.  The  mountain  scenery  becomes 
grander  as  he  proceeds,  the  mountains  appearing  to 
present  themselves  one  after  another  like  the  billows 
of  a  stormy  sea.  At  length  a  glimmer  of  light 
appears  between  the  hills  where  the  valley  ought  to 
be,  and  we  gradually  approach  Killery  Bay.  This 
is  a  fiord  like  Clew  Bay,  extending  from  the  sea 
sinuously  into  this  mountain  land  for  a  distance  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles,  the  mountains  rising  in  some 
places  quite  steeply  from  the  water.  Various  moun- 
tain streams  pour  themselves  into  it  at  the  head  where 


seat  of  Mr.  Mitchell-Henry,  M.P.  for  Galway,  who 
has  done  good  work  in  the  neighbourhood  by  in- 
ducing the  peasantry  on  his  estate  to  drain  the  bog 
lands,  so  that  they  are  being  rapidly^converted  into 
fertile  fields. 

From  Leenane  there  are  beautiful  roads  to  Delphi, 
through  Glen  Fee,  and  to  the  Pass  of  Saal  Ruck,  a 
walk  of  about  six  or  seven  miles  after  having  crossed 
Killery  Bay.  The  bay  is  full  of  fish,  especially 
mackerel  and  whiting,  and  this  delicate  food  can  be 
obtained  in  almost  unlimited  quantity.  From  Leenane 
to  Cliefden  is  about  twenty-four  miles,  and  Kylemore 
Lough  may  be  taken  on  the  road.  Towards  Letter- 
frack  we  were  particularly  struck  by  the  signs  the 
landscape  presents  of  the  influence  which  moving 
ice  has  exerted  in  this  region.  During  all  our 
journeyings  we  had  been  beset  by  the  strongest  evi- 
dence of  this  kind,  but  nowhere  is  it  more  plainly 
seen  than  at  Letterfrack.     Husre  hillocks  of  refuse 


230 


HARD  WICKE'S     SCIENCE-  G  OS  SIP. 


are  composed  of  fragments  of  rocks  of  almost  eveiy 
size  of  bigness  and  smallness,  each  fragment  polished 
and  scratched  by  the  ancient  ice-sheet  which  long  ago 
disappeared.  Low  rounded  bosses  of  rock,  called 
roches  moutonnk,  had  been  seen  on  each  side  of  the 
road  all  the  way  from  Westport,  many  of  the  latter 
covered  with  scorings  and  strice,  all  of  them  con- 
verging in  the  direction  of  the  valleys.  There  can 
be  little  question  that,  before  these  bays  or  fiords  were 
filled  with  salt  water,  they  had  been  filled  with  ice, 
and  had  very  probably  been  deepened  by  the  mechani- 
cal erosion  of  the  moving  ice-sheets  towards  those 
deeper  and  lower  parts  now  covered  by  the  waters  of 
the  Atlantic. 

Near  Letterfrack  we  came  upon  some  limestones 
which  had  been  altered  by  heat  until  they  assumed 
the  appearance  of  loaf-sugar.  Some  of  the  lime- 
stones have  been  coloured  green,  and  the  well-known 
"green  marbles"  of  Connemaraare  obtained  from  this 
deposit.  Of  them  many  exquisite  ornaments  are 
manufactured  and  sold  at  Clifden,  the  deposit  crop- 
ping out  along  the  hillsides.  A  grander  country  for 
the  geologist,  and  especially  for  the  physical  geologist, 
could  hardly  be  selected  than  this,  for  there  are  so 
many  varieties  of  rock  formations,  particularly  of  the 
older  and  more  primitive  rocks,  that  at  every  few 
hundred  yards  the  student  comes  upon  a  new  stratum 
on  which  he  feels  forced  to  exercise  his  hammering 
abilities.  Perhaps  none  of  them  struck  us  more  than 
the  outcrop  of  what  had  once  been  a  Lower  Silurian 
conglomerate,  that  is  to  say,  a  shingle  or  gravel  bed, 
which  had  accumulated  as  such  in  one  of  the  earliest 
geological  periods.  The  pebbles  of  this  bed  were 
formed  of  various  kinds  of  granite,  and  they  had  been 
cemented  together  in  a  sandy  and  clayeykind  of  matrix, 
until  the  entire  stratum  had  become  solid.  Then  this 
bed  had  been  exposed  to  the  influence  of  heat  and  the 
enormous  pressure  of  overlying  masses,  so  that  both 
the  pebbles  and  the  material  in  which  they  had  been 
imbedded  had  been  metamorphosed  together.  No 
more  instructive  illustration  of  the  great  changes 
effected  upon  the  configuration  of  the  earth's  surface 
by  the  agency  of  heat  could  have  been  afforded.  The 
only  drawback  to  the  geologist  whilst  studying  these 
rocks  is  the  absence  of  a  donkey-cart  and  a  good 
strong  donkey,  for  his  knapsack  soon  gets  full  and  his 
pockets  weighed  down,  and,  worst  of  all,  he  is 
obliged  to  leave  specimens  behind  him  that  he  would 
otherwise  gladly  carry  away  to  gloat  over  and  study 
during  the  winter  months. 

We  reached  Cliefden  late  in  the  evening,  when  the 
dusk  was  falling  around  us,  and  the  neighbouring 
hills  were  gradually  shading  off  into  immaterial 
obscurity.  We  rose  early  next  morning  in  order 
to  catch  the  eight  o'clock  mail-car  for  Galway. 
Punctually  to  the  moment,  a  lumbering  old  car,  with 
two  Irish  horses  harnessed  thereto,  made  its  appear- 
ance at  the  hotel  door,  an  Irishman  perched  as 
if  lie  were  on  the  top  of  a  chimney-pot  in  front  of  the 


machine.  The  first  part  of  our  way  led  us  by  the 
side  of  the  well-known  and  much-talked-of  Twelve 
Pins  or  Bens,  both  the  word  "Pin"  and  "Ben" 
(which  is  common  in  Scotland)  meaning  head  or  peak 
in  the  Celtic  language.  The  names,  in  this  instance, 
have  reference  to  a  group  of  twelve  tall  mountains 
which  stand  clustered  together  in  the  wildest  part  of 
Connemara.  The  road  to  Galway  winds  in  and  out 
of  the  valleys  formed  by  and  along  the  base  of  the 
mountains,  so  that  we  had  magnificent  mountain 
scenery  on  the  left-hand  side,  whilst,  on  the  right, 
there  extend,  for  miles,  a  series  of  lakes  like  "pearls 
on  a  string. "  Some  of  these  lakes,  as,  for  instance, 
Lough  Inagh  and  Glenda  Lough,  are  of  considerable 
size,  and  have  islands  in  their  midst  upon  which  are 
the  ruins  of  many  an  old  castle  or  keep.  At  Ballyna- 
hinch,  in  one  of  the  largest  of  these  islands,  we 
behold  one  of  the  finest  of  these  castles,  that  of 
the  Martins,  an  Irish  family  which  once  possessed 
almost  regal  power  in  this  part  of  the  country,  and 
owned  no  fewer  than  200,000  acres  of  land.  At 
Recess  there  is  a  capital  hotel,  much  frequented  by 
salmon  and  trout  fishers,  their  prey  being  abundant 
in  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  the  neighbourhood.  Here, 
too,  the  scenery  becomes  more  wooded ;  but  the  drive 
from  Recess  to  a  village  called  Oughterard  is  one  of 
the  wildest  and  most  dismal  that  it  is  possible  to 
imagine.  We  saw  it  under  characteristic  conditions. 
There  was  a  drizzling  rain  descending  from  the 
mountain  clouds  all  the  way,  and  it  seemed  to  bring 
out  the  misery  and  the  sloppiness  and  the  bogginess 
of  the  low  grounds  in  all  their  intensity. 

As  we  approach  Galway  the  country  becomes  more 
cultivated.  The  roadsides  and  walls  are  perfect  para- 
dises of  ferns,  among  which  Scolopendrium  vidgare, 
Asplenium  trichomanes,  and  Ceierach  officinarum, 
are  most  abundant.  There  are  signs  of  greater 
wealth,  and  here  and  there  mansions  make  their 
appearance  with  rich  woods  around  them.  Lake 
Corrib  stretches  away  to  the  very  heart  of  the  Twelve 
Pins,  some  forty  miles  away,  and  a  steamer  plies 
up  and  down  the  water  during  the  summer  months. 
At  Galway  bridge  we  could  see  from  the  parapets 
the  salmon  in  scores,  three  or  four  thick,  lying  at  the 
bottom  of  the  stream,  waiting  for  the  freshets,  so  that 
they  could  pass  up  the  salmon  leap  and  through  the 
loughs  into  the  mountain  streams  above.  A  day  or 
two  may  be  agreeably  spent  in  Galway,  especially  in 
exploring  that  outlying  suburb  called  the  "  Claddagh," 
where  the  Spanish  settlers  of  300  years  ago  still  live 
apart  from  their  Irish  brethren,  with  a  mayor  of 
their  own,  elected  every  seven  years,  and  governed 
by  their  own  unwritten  laws  (which  are  obeyed 
much  more  strictly  than  the  written  laws  of  the  Saxon 
in  Galway  town). 

We  left  Galway  by  the  steamer  which  crosses  the 
bay  to  Ballyvaughan.  The  day  was  intensely  hot, 
and  the  atmosphere  seemed  full  of  light.  Hence  the 
white  limestone-terraced  hills  of  the  Burren  would 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


231 


have  been  unbearable  for  one's  eye  to  gaze  upon  had 
it  not  been  for  the  oases  of  greenery  here  and  there. 
We  think  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  these  rock- 
terraces  are  due  to  weathering,  and  that  they  do  not 
represent  successive  sea-beaches,  as  some  imagine. 
The  terraces  appear  to  coincide  with  the  outcrop  of 
the  limestone  beds,  and  the  terraces  are  most  pro- 
nounced towards  the  tops  of  the  hills,  the  debris 
lying  along  the  bases  having  greatly  protected  the 
lower  strata  from  meteorological  erosion.  The  rain- 
fall hereabout  is  54  inches  in  a  year,  and  as  it  mostly 
descends  in  a  fine  drizzle,  nearly  every  drop  must  tell 
upon  the  limestone,  and  its  weathering  action  must 
therefore  be  almost  complete. 

We  stayed  a  few  clays  at  Lisdoonvarna,  a  pleasant 
green  country,  richly  undulated,  where  the 
Yoredale  shales  abut  against  the  Carboniferous 
limestones,  and  the  water  percolating  through  the 
former  dissolves  away  its  iron  pyrites,  so  as  thus  to 
form  "Spas"  of  notable  benefit.  Dr.  Westropp,  the 
kind  and  genial  physician  of  the  place,  has  made  a 
remarkable  living  collection  of  all  the  varieties  of  the 
Hart's-tongue  ferns  found  growing  in  the  fissures  and 
joints  of  the  Carboniferous  limestone  near  Black- 
head. These  joints  are  very  numerous,  and  in  each  of 
them  we  saw  growing  a  wonderful  luxuriance  of 
Maiden-hair  (A.  capittus-veneris}  and  other  ferns ; 
while  on  the  cliffs  the  surface  was  matted  with  Dryas 
octopetala  (still  in  flower)  ;  and  patches  of  Statice 
spathitlata  grew  here  and  there,  close  by  denser  tufts  of 
Aspleniiini  marinum.  Near  Mohr  Cliffs  we  found 
Lastrea  recurva  completely  covering  a  bank  for  a 
short  distance.  These  Cliffs  are  a  magnificent 
spectacle,  rising  quite  perpendicularly  for  nearly  600 
feet  out  of  the  sea.  They  are  formed  of  Lower 
Carboniferous  rocks,  the  thin  flagstones  of  which 
are  completely  covered  with  worm  or  molluscan 
tracks.  We  should  be  delighted  to  convey  to  our 
readers  even  a  faint  idea  of  the  pleasure  we  enjoyed 
from  the  detailed  exploration  of  the  limestone  rock- 
gardens,  surely  unknown  the  whole  world  else- 
where, and  of  the  loveliness  of  the  green  western 
Irish  land,  and  of  its  balmy  atmosphere,  which  one 
can  almost  taste  ! 

The  Carboniferous  limestone  underlies  the  whole 
country  hereabout — a  land  bare,  almost  as  a  wooden 
table,  of  grass,  and  yet  richly  feeding  numbers  of 
sheep.  The  real  reason  why  sheep  are  able  to  feed 
over  the  limestone  tract  of  the  Burren  hills,  is  that 
the  rocks  are  so  much  fissured  with  the  vertical 
cracks,  in  which  grow  the  loveliest  of  wild  plants, 
many  of  them  rare  to  the  botanist,  and  a  profusion 
of  such  ferns  as  the  Hart's-tongue,  the  Maiden-hair 
{Adiantum  capilhis-veneris),  the  Ceterach,  and  many 
others.  Various  species  of  grass  also  grow  in  these 
chinks,  and  it  is  upon  the  latter  that  the  sheep 
browse,  and  so  the  spectator  is  presented  with  the 
peculiar  appearance  of  sheep  grazing  on  what  appears 
to  be  a  region  of  the  poorest  and  the  baldest  rock. 


MICROSCOPY, 

"  New  Forms  of  Animal  Life  !  !  "  [vide  Times 
report  of  Sir  W.  C.  Thompson's  paper  on  the  official 
report  of  the  Challejiger  Expedition,  August  21, 
1878).—"  Sir  W.  Thompson  says  that  Mr.  Holdich  is 
illustrating  most  of  the  pelagic  genera,  these  plates  re- 
presenting several  remarkable  forms  of  'shizopods/ 
to  which  they  have  given  the  name  of  Challengerida, 
as  they  seem  to  have  hitherto  escaped  observation. 
Professor  Hatchel  is  about  to  publish  a  splendid 
memoir  of  the  Radiolari.  Any  one  acquainted  with 
Hatchel's  classical  work,  '  Die  Radiolariem,'  would 
have  some  idea  of  what  may  be  expected  of  that 
memoir.  Mr.  Moseby  is  at  work  on  a  most  remark- 
able little  series  of  coralloid  forms  of  the  Hydrogor, 
which  he  has  named  Hydrocorotmal,  and  on  their 
strictures  and  relations  Mr.  Moseby's  careful  work, 
during  the  voyage  and  since  their  return  [query,  of 
the  Hydrocorotmal  '],  had  thrown  quite  an  un- 
expected light.  Professor  Hatchel  would  describe 
the  medusce.  The  Peliatozo  would  be  described  by 
himself  (Sir  W.  Thompson).  About  twenty  plates 
were  cut  stone  (these  will  make  a  heavy  book) 
illustrating  the  stalked  crinoids.  Professor  Alexan- 
drac  Ligussis  was  going  on  rapidly/with  the  Echiniden. 
Mr.  Lyman  was  working  at  the  Opherxides,  and  he 
expected  Mr.  Phere,  of  Upsala,  to  come  over  to  ex- 
amine the  Holtheridea,  which  he  was  going  to  describe 
under  the  general  superintendence  of  Professor 
Lowe."  A  friend  says  I  am  mistaken,  these  are  not  new 
names,  and  if  the  following  corrections  are  made  it 
will  be  all  right.  For  shizopod  read  rhizopod,  Radio- 
lariem read  Radiolarien,  for  Hydrogor  read  Hydrozoa 
(I  still  adhere  to  it  that  Hydrocorotmal  is  new), 
Opherxides  is  the  same  as  OpIiiitridcF,  and  HoltJuridce 
is  identical  with  Holoihuridce,  and  Professor  Hatchel 
is  vulgarly  known  as  Haeckel. — F.  K. 

Highbury  Microscopical  Society. — We  are 
pleased  to  state  that  a  Highbury  Microscopical  So- 
ciety has  just  been  formed  under  the  presidency  of 
Dr.  Alabone.  Applications  for  membership  should 
be  addressed  to  the  hon.  secretary,  Mr.  R.  B.  Brind- 
ley,  37,  Highbury  Park,  N.  The  opening  meeting 
of  the  society  will  take  place  on  Thursday,  October 
10th,  at  Harecourt  Hall,  St.  Paul's  Road,  High- 
bury, with  an  exhibition  of  objects  of  a  scientific 
nature,  principally  shown  by  the  microscope. 
Tickets  free  on  application. 

Measuring  with  the  Microscope. — A  very 
simple  arrangement  for  measuring  microscopic  ob- 
jects has  been  invented  by  Mr.  G.  J.  Burch,  and 
fully  described  in  the  "Transactions  of  the  Quekett 
Club,"  for  July,  1878.  It  is  as  follows  :— The  body 
of  the  microscope  is  placed  in  a  vertical  position, 
and  one  of  the  forms  of  "  Beales's  "  Neutral  Tint 
Camera  Lucida,  placed  as  usual  over  the  eyepiece, 
attached   to   the  tube  of  the  Camera,  and  at  right 


23" 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE - G O SSIP. 


angles  to  it  is  a  light  rod,  'of  any  convenient 
length,  upon  which  a  graduated  scale  slides  opposite 
to  the  thin  glass  in  the  Camera.  On  looking  through 
the  latter  the  object  will  appear  to  have  the  scale 
laid  upon  it,  and  its  size  can  be  easily  determined. 
The  rod  upon  which  the  scale  is  clamped  should  be 
graduated  in  order  that  the  magnifying  power  of  the 
objective  may  be  ascertained  and  registered  :  this  is 
ascertained  in  the  following  manner  : — the  divisions 
on  the  scale  are  adjusted  to  those  seen  on  the  stage 
micrometer,  and  its  position  noted  for  future  reference. 
It  is  necessary  the  figures  on  the  scale  should  be 
reversed.  A  goniometer  scale  for  the  measurement  of 
angles  can  be  easily  substituted  for  the  ordinary  scale. 

The  Miniature  Microscope  Lamp. -We  have 
recently  tried  the  above-mentioned  lamp,  just  intro- 
duced   by    Messrs.     How  &  Co.,    St.    Bride-street, 
Ludgate  Circus,  London,  and  find  that,  although  very 
much  smaller  than  those  hitherto 
in  use,   it  affords  a  pure  white 
light    sufficient    for    all     micro- 
scopic  purposes.      One   of  the 
advantages  of  its  small  size  is 
the  much  less  heat  given  off,  a 
somewhat     important      matter, 
when  a  dozen   or    more  lamps 
are  burning  simultaneously.      It 
is    fitted    with    the    Improved 
"Hailes"   shade;    this    in    its 
original    form,    as  most   of  our 
readers  are  aware,   was  that  of 
a   porcelain    cylinder,    with    an 
aperture  at  the  lower  part,  the 
rest  of  the  light  being  obscured  ; 
it  was  supported  by  a  brass  ring 
sliding   on    the    upright   rod   of 
the   lamp.     One    fault    in   this 
form  of  shade  was  that  a  great 
amount    of    light    was    visible 
above  it,    and    generally   on    a 
level  with  the  eye  of  the  ob- 
server.    In  the  new  shade  this 
has  been  obviated  by  the  upper 
part  being  made  dome-shaped,  the  eyes  being   thus 
effectually  protected  from  glare.     The  shade  is  sup- 
ported by  a  "gallery"  just    below    the  burner;    it 
is    therefore  always  in    position.      The  lamp,    when 
not  in  use,  is  packed  in  a  japanned  tin  case,  about 
3   inches   in   diameter,   and  9  inches  in   height,   and 
weighs  under  two  pounds. 


The  Painted  Lady. — Have  you  ever  observed 
a  kind  of  metallic  sound  when  this  insect  is  on  the 
wing?  I  also  fancy  it  has  a  partiality  for  sandy 
patches  on  hedge-banks,  especially  under  the  shade 
of  trees.  It  flies  later  in  the  evening  than  some  other 
species,  and  is  a  bold  insect — returning  to  the  spot 
where  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  capture  it. 
—  IF.  M.  C.  C.  S. 


Fig.  198.  The  Miniature 
Microscopic  Lamp. 


ZOOLOGY. 

The  Black-Throated  Stonechat  in  Lanca- 
shire (Saxicola  stapazina). — It  is  a  pleasing  duty 
to  me  to  record  the  taking  of  a  very  beautiful 
specimen  of  what  I  consider  an  exceedingly  rare  bird 
in  our  neighbourhood  {Saxicola  stapazina).  The 
specimen  was  shot  by  a  friend  of  mine  about  the 
middle  of  May  this  year  on  the  margin  of  the  Bury 
and  Radcliffe  Reservoir  ;  and,  though  very  mangled 
with  shot,  having  a  goodly  number  of  6's,  it  has  been 
very  well  mounted  indeed  by  my  friend  Johnson,  of 
Prestwich.  Considering  the  condition  it  was  in  from 
being  killed  with  such  large  shot,  I  really  doubted  at 
one  time  whether  it  could  be  mounted  ;  however,  it 
has  been,  and  a  valuable  addition  to  our  list  of  birds 
it  is.  We  naturally  ask  ourselves  now,  if  this  bird 
is  no  native  what  is  it  doing  here,  and  how  came 
it  to  visit  us?  The  most  probable  solution  to  this  is, 
the  Stonechat  family  are  migratory,  leaving  us  for 
more  southern  and  western  countries  about  the  begin- 
ning or  middle  of  September,  returning  to  us  in  large 
flocks  about  the  end  of  April  or  beginning  of  May ;  and 
likely  enough  this  specimen,  being  of  the  same  habits 
as  our  Wheatear,  has  travelled  along  with  a  flock 
and  reached  our  shores,  whence  he  would  drive 
inland  in  search  of  a  mate.  I  have  sought  many  works 
on  British  birds,  but  failed  to  find  its  mention  ;  and 
the  only  description  I  can  find  is  in  Cassell's  "Book 
of  Birds,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  199.  The  bird  I  have  is 
a  male  bird,  in  fine  mature  plumage,  and  in  very 
good  condition  when  shot.  Its  habits  when  alive, 
as  noticed  by  several  parties  for  a  few  days  prior 
to  its  being  captured,  were  very  active,  vigilant,  and 
shy.  It  seemed  to  hoid  itself  aloof  from  any  of 
the  same  order  (Saxicola  cenanthe).  Cassell's  de- 
scription of  these  birds  in  their  native  home  is  very 
interesting,  and  I  here  give  an  extract  : — "Though 
they  by  no  means  avoid  fruitful  tracts  or  cultivated 
districts,  these  birds  very  decidedly  prefer  to  take  up 
their  abode  in  mountainous  or  stony  regions  ;  and 
are  for  this  reason  particularly  numerous  in  Sweden, 
Southern  Germany,  and  Switzerland  ;  in  the  latter 
country  they  are  popularly  known  as  Mountain  Night- 
ingales, from  the  height  to  which  they  often  ascend. 
Even  the  icy  and  rugged  tracts  of  Scandinavia  and 
Lapland  seem  to  suit  their  requirements,  and  we  have 
often  seen  them  hopping  nimbly  over  the  glaciers  in 
situations  where  no  other  living  objects  were  dis- 
cernible. Individuals  inhabiting  more  southern  lati- 
tudes display  the  same  liking  for  barren  grounds,  and 
are  usually  seen  in  localities  so  sterile  and  arid  as  to 
appear  totally  incapable  of  affording  them  a  sufficient 
supply  of  the  insects  upon  which  they  subsist ;  their 
disposition  is  lively,  restless,  and  very  unsocial ;  only 
during  their  winter  migrations  do  they  seem  to  com- 
mingle with  others  of  their  species,  even  when  cir- 
cumstances compel  a  certain  amount  of  neighbourship  ; 
each  bird  lives  for  itself,  without  appearing  to  have 


HARD  WICKE'S     SCIENCE-  G  OSS  IP. 


233 


the  slightest  interest  in  the  proceedings  of  others  in  the 
vicinity."  In  order  to  more  clearly  identify  this  spe- 
cimen from  our  Wheatear  {Saxicola  cenantke),  I  have 
had  a  male  specimen  of  the  latter  mounted  along  with 
it,  from  which  it  will  be  seen  there  is  a  very  wide 
difference  ;  the  colours  of  S.  stapazina  are,  on  the 
head,  nape,  and  back,  white,  slightly  tinged  with 
rust  yellow  ;  on  the  belly  and  breast  dulled  white  ;  the 
throat  and  cheeks,  from  above  the  eyelids,  including 
the  ear-coverts,  are  jet  black,  quite  as  much  or  more 
than  the  Pied  Wagtail  (Motacilla  Yarellii) ;  the  upper 
and  under  tail-coverts  are  white  ;  the  two  outer  tail 
feathers  on  each  side  are  white,  slightly  edged  and 
tipped  with  black  ;  while  the  three  next  on  each  side 
are  white,  slightly  edged  (but  not  tipped)  with  black, 
the  middle  tail  feathers  are  entirely  black,  the  wings 
are  a  beautiful  glossy  black,  as  are  also  the  legs  and 
toes.  I  did  not  take  the  dimensions  of  the  bird  when 
dead,  but  it  is  a  trifle  smaller  than  S.  iinanthe,  as 
will  be  seen  on  comparison.  I  have  shown  the 
specimen  to  several  very  able  naturalists,  and  not 
one  remembers  having  seen  the  species  before. — 
R.  Davenport,  Bury,  Lane. 

Animal  Stupidity.  — In  studying  the  intellects 
of  the  lower  animals  it  is  no  less  important  to  note 
their  mental  shortcomings  than  the  cases  in  which 
they  reason  correctly.  Early  this  year  I  observed 
a  singular  piece  of  irrationality  on  the  part  of  a  large 
black  retriever.  The  animal  lived  in  the  last  house 
of  a  "terrace,"  in  one  of  the  northern  suburbs  of 
London,  separated  from  the  next  terrace  by  a  walled 
alley.  Finding  itself  one  day  locked  out,  and  being 
unable  to  effect  an  entrance  either  by  the  front  door 
or  by  a  side  door  leading  into  the  alley,  it  made  its 
way  into  the  front  garden  of  the  end  house  of  the 
next  terrace,  and  made  most  persevering  but  fruitless 
attempts  to  leap  over  the  wall.  Had  it  succeeded  it 
would,  of  course,  only  have  landed  in  the  alley 
which  it  could  enter  from  the  street.  After  a  short 
time  it  left  the  garden,  and  ran  round  into  the  street 
and  the  alley,  but  still  returned  again  and  again  to  its 
endeavours  to  jump  the  wall  until  its  master  came 
home.—  J.  IV.  Slater. 

Cannibalism  among  Caterpillars. — Receiving 
two  half-grown  larvae  of  the  Goat  Moth,  I  put  them 
into  a  tin  box  and  left  them  for  a  short  time.  On  re- 
opening the  box  I  found  that  one  caterpillar  had  en- 
tirely devoured  the  other  except  the  hard  case  of  the 
head  and  a  portion  of  the  skin  and  prolegs.  At  first 
sight  I  thought  that  the  larva;  had  assumed  the  chrysalis 
state,  or  had  thrown  off  its  skin,  but  a  careful  exami- 
nation failed  to  discover  the  chrysalis,  and  the  box  was 
too  securely  fastened  to  allow  of  the  caterpillar's 
escape  ;  so  the  conclusion  that  one  larva  had  devoured 
the  other  was  the  only  one  I  could  satisfactorily  come 
at.—  C.  C. 

Parasite  of  the  Linnet.— I  am  induced  to 
write  the  few  following  remarks  to  Science-Gossip 


under  the  belief  that  this  parasite  is  not  well  known. 
I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  if  any  subscriber  has  a  similar 
specimen.  Figure  199  shows  this  parasite  magnified 
50  diameters,  and  figure  200  shows  one  foot  magnified 
280  diameters.  It  is  evidently  a  P/iysostomnm  and 
not  unlike  Physostomum  mystax,  said  by  Mr.  Denny 


.mm. 


'  ' 


Fig.  199.    Parasite  of 
Linnet    x  50. 


Fig.  200.  Foot  of  Parasite 
of  Linnet   x  280. 


to  infest  the  chaffinch.  The  head  is  large  and 
devoid  of  antennce  and  trabecular  The  legs  are  long, 
the  femora  thick,  the  first  joint  of  the  tarsus  has  a 
pulvellus.  The  mesothorax  is  wanting  and  the 
metathorax  is  continuous  with  the  abdomen,  which 
consists  of  9  segments.  The  colour  of  this  parasite 
is  brownish  yellow  with  a  dark  band  down  each 
side.  It  can  move  with  great  rapidity  among  the 
feathers  of  its  host.  —  IV.  A.  Hyslop. 

The  Colorado  Potato-Beetle. — The  appear- 
ance of  the  Colorado  Beetle  at  Jaratschervo,  in  the 
district  of  Schrimm,  in  the  Prussian  province  of 
Posen,  has  been  officially  reported. 

The  Habits  of  the  Field  Vole. — At  the 
British  Association  Meeting,  Sir  Walter  Elliott 
made  a  few  observations  on  the  annual  increase 
of  the  common  vole  {Arz'ieola  agrestis)  of  late  years. 
In  the  spring  of  1876  they  appeared  in  such  numbers 
in  the  hill  pasture  farms  of  the  Border  districts 
between  England  and  Scotland,  and  parts  of  York- 
shire and  Wensleydale,  as  to  destroy  the  grazing 
ground  on  which  the  sheep  depended  in  spring, 
causing  serious  loss  to  the  fanners  by  impoverishment 
and  death  of  stock.  The  shepherds  destroyed  as  many 
as  they  could  without  sensibly  diminishing  their 
numbers,  although  assisted  by  birds  and  beasts  of 
prey — hawks,  buzzards,  owls,  weasels,  foxes,  &c.  At 
the  same  time  that  the  vole  was  doing  such  mischief, 
another   species    {Arvieola    arvah's),    not   known    in 


234 


HARD  Wl  CKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSIP. 


England,  made  its  appearance  in  Hungary,  and 
attacked  the  corn-fields,  which  it  had  done  to  a  less 
degree  in  two  or  three  previous  years,  and  this  year 
they  had  attacked  the  wheat-fields  of  Moldavia,  as 
appears  by  a  late  paragraph  in  the  Times  newspaper. 
Many  instances  are  recorded  of  great  damage  being 
done  by  them,  both  in  England  and  Scotland,  by 
destroying  plantations,  of  which  Mr.  Jesse  described 
a  notable  instance  in  New  Forest  and  Dean  Forest 
some  time  ago.  These  examples  prove  that  they  do 
not  confine  their  attacks  to  pastures  and  woods,  and 
it  is  possible  that  they  might,  under  favourable  circum- 
stances, betake  themselves  to  our  corn-fields.  It  is 
therefore  worth  consideration  whether  our  game- 
preservers  should  not  be  more  forbearing  towards  the 
hawks,  owls,  and  weasels,  which  are  nearly  extermi- 
nated in  many  places,  although  they  live  almost  entirely 
on  these  and  other  small  creatures.  Sir  Walter 
inquired  whether  anything  similar  had  been  seen  in 
Ireland  ;  also  whether,  as  moles  and  hedgehogs  were 
the  natural  enemies  of  the  vole,  they  should  not  be 
spared  ;  and  with  reference  to  a  statement  in  "  Bell's 
Histoiy  of  British  Quadrupeds  "  (last  edition)  that  the 
hedgehog  was  not  found  in  Ireland,  whether  this  was 
really  the  case  ?  Several  speakers  said  that  the  hedge- 
hog was  very  plentiful  in  all  parts  of  Ireland. 

Dr.  Scl.vter  on  Specific  Names. — In  answer 
to  Robin  Goodfellow,  in  Science-Gossip,  p.  189,  I 
would  observe,  that  it  is  a  great  error  to  suppose  that 
specific  names  must  necessarily  be  adjectives.  In 
many  cases  they  are  substantives,  and  may  then  be  of 
a  different  gender  from  the  generic  name,  e.g.  Turdiis 
merula,  and  Cervus  damn.  This  is  the  case  with 
the  now  scientific  name  of  the  common  robin, 
which  has  puzzled  R.  G.'s  little  boy,  and  which  is 
correctly  written  Erithacus  rubecula,  rubecula  being 
a  substantive  like  Erithacus,  and  standing  in  appo- 
sition with  it.  In  the  same  way  Linnceus  called  the 
Kestrel  Falco  Tiniutnculus,  the  Bell  Falcon,  from 
its  bell-like  cry.  But  a  recent  systematist,  under  the 
same  misapprehension  as  R.  G.,  has  proposed  to 
alter  Tinnunculus  into  Tiununada  ( !)  because  the 
genus  to  which  he  referred  it,  Cerchneis,  is  feminine. 
— P.  L.  Sdater. 

The  Earth-worm. — Professor  Paley  has  added  a 
great  many  interesting  facts  to  the  little-known  habits 
of  the  earth-worm,  but  he  has  not  exhausted  the 
subject,  and  I  shall  only  be  too  glad  if  I  can  add 
an  item  to  what  has  been  recorded.  After  some 
very  wet  days  in  the  month  of  last  June,  I  spent 
several  hours  in  the  dusk  of  evening  carefully 
noting  their  actions,  my  great  object  being  to  discover 
by  what  means  earth-worms  dragged  leaves,  string, 
twigs,  &c,  along  the  ground  into  their  holes.  I 
knew,  for  I  had  often  seen  them  clasp  objects  by 
their  prehensile  heads,  twining  their  finely-pointed 
heads  firmly  round  the  object,  and  so  draw  it  towards 
their  hole,  but  I  had  reason  to  suspect  that  this,  No.  1, 


was  their  ordinary  but  not  their  only  method.  Very 
carefully  and  quietly  placing  a  candle  on  the  earth 
where  a  number  of  large  worms  were  foraging  round 
their  holes,  I  look  care  to  place  decayed  leaves,  Sic, 
within  the  radius  of  the  circle  swept  by  their  opera- 
tions. The  objects  placed  within  their  reach  were, 
however,  too  much  the  colour  of  the  soil  accurately 
and  distinctly  to  be  sure  of  the  modus  operandi,  the 
thought  suddenly  occurred  to  me  to  try  white  paper. 
Tearing  up  little  strips  about  three  inches  long,  I 
gave  them  a  single  fold,  and  placed  one  within  the 
reach  of  a  foraging  worm.  Very  soon  its  elongated 
head  came  in  contact  with  the  paper,  and  instead  of 
twining  its  head  round  the  paper  I  saw  it  put  its  head 
underneath.  Carefully  watching,  I  saw  a  lip  on  each 
side  of  the  paper,  which  being  compressed  between 
the  two,  the  paper  was  held  firmly  as  in  a  vice,  and 
so  dragged  to  its  hole.  Continuing  the  experiments 
with  my  paper  bait,  I  saw  distinctly  that  the  worm 
can  compress  and  almost  flatten  its  head  as  easily  as 
it  can  elongate  it.  When  the  head  is  rendered  obtuse, 
it  can  extend  it  on  each  side  of  the  mouth  so  as  to 
form  two  large  distinct  lips,  between  which  it  took 
hold  of  the  papers  and  dragged  them  to  the  hole ;  but 
this  is  only  method  No.  2.  There  is  yet  another, 
which  at  first  I  could  scarcely  understand.  Observing 
a  worm  place  its  head  under  the  white  paper,  so  that 
its  operation  was  invisible,  I  saw  the  paper,  without 
any  apparent  means  of  motion,  slowly,  ghost-like 
moving  along  the  dark  ground  to  the  hole  of  the 
worm.  Its  head  was  not  round  it,  nor  did  its  lips 
enclose  any  part  of  the  paper,  and  yet  it  moved. 
Quietly  and  carefully,  by  candle-light,  continuing  for 
hours  my  observations,  I  saw  that  when  it  suited  the 
creature's  purpose  best,  it  had  yet  a  third  method  of 
attaching  itself  to  its  baits.  The  worm  having  retracted 
its  head  in  the  same  way  as  when  forming  its  lips, 
firmly  pressed  it  for  a  moment  on  to  the  paper,  and 
then  apparently  forming  a  sucker  of  its  mouth,  the 
paper  was  firmly  attached  to  it,  and  so  without  being 
held,  except  as  the  leathern  toy  attaches  itself  by 
exhaustion  of  air  to  the  stone,  the  paper  followed  the 
retreating  worm  and  was  dragged  to  its  hole.  I  am 
perfectly  satisfied  as  the  result  of  my  patient  and 
tiring  watching  therefore,  that  the  earth-worm  can 
secure  its  object  just  according  to  which  method  best 
suits  the  thing  it  desires  to  obtain,  either  by  encircling 
a  part  of  it  with  its  prehensile  head,  by  pressing  it 
between  two  expansions  of  the  head-like  lips,  or  by 
attaching  its  head  and  mouth  in  the  way  of  a  sucker. 
—  W.  Budden,  Ipswich. 


Notes  of  Great  Tit. — Gilbert  White,  in  his 
"  Selborne,"  says  the  curious  notes,  resembling  the 
whetting  of  a  saw,  are  the  early  spring  song  of  the 
Marsh  Tit.  I  have  always  taken  it  to  be  the  Great 
Tit's  note.  Can  any  reader  of  Science-Gossip 
inform  me  to  which  of  these  birds  the  song  belongs  ? 
— C.  C. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


235 


BOTANY, 

Arum  italicum.  —  This  plant  is  mentioned  in 
Hooker's  "Flora"  as  occurring  in  the  Isle  of 
Wight ;  but  Bentham  says  the  white-veined  variety 
of  A.  maculatum  from  the  Isle  of  Wight  is  some- 
times mistaken  for  A.  italicum.  I  have  a  quantity  of 
tubers  of  what  I  believe  to  be  the  true  variety  at  the 
disposal  of  those  readers  of  Science-Gossip  who 
would  like  to  naturalize  them,  by  planting  some  in 
any  situation  where  A.  maculatum  is  established,  in 
any  shady  lane  or  hedge-row,  or  in  their  own  garden. 
I  will  forward  one  or  more  on  receipt  of  stamped 
envelope.  Larger  tubers  or  extra  number  will  re- 
quire two  stamps  for  postage. — Dr.  Morton,  New 
Brompton,  Kent. 

Mould  in  Herbaria. — May  I  suggest  a  plan 
that  I  have  found  to  answer  when  a  plant  that  has 
been  insufficiently  dried  is  attacked  by  mould.  Let 
the  sheet  be  taken  out  of  herbarium  and  placed  be- 
tween  two  thick  pieces  of  blotting-paper.  Then  iron 
well  with  hot  iron,  changing  paper  until  quite  dry. 
By  that  time  mould  will  have  entirely  disappeared. — 
Fred.  W.  E.  S. 

How  to  Preserve  Colours  of  Dried  Plants. 
— In  the  July  part  (p.  165)  a  correspondent  inquired 
for  a  method  of  preserving  the  colour  of  Primula 
vulgaris  and  Primula  elatior  for  the  herbarium.  If 
the  dried  plant  is  painted  all  over  with  a  mixture  of 
■one  part  of  nitric  acid  to  about  twenty  parts  of  spirits 
of  wine  it  will  retain  its  colour.  I  have  a  specimen 
of  each  treated  in  this  manner,  and  though  they  have 
been  mounted  a  long  time,  both  petals  and  leaves  are 
of  the  freshest  colour. — Fred.  W.E.$. 

Flowers  of  Hollyhock.— On  reading  what  I 
wrote  about  the  hollyhock,  I  perceive  an  ambiguity, 
arising  probably  from  an  error  on  my  part  in  writing. 
From  seeds  proceeding  from  the  same  flower,  in  fact, 
I  have  nine  plants,  four  whose  flowers  have  been 
crimson,  one  light  red,  one  of  darker,  richer  colour, 
and  one  white,  which  has  opened  its  flowers  since  I 
wrote  to  you  last,  besides  two  plants  which  have  not 
flowered  yet  at  all.  Of  the  plants  with  white  flowers, 
which  came  from  seeds  borne  on  a  branch  of  the  same 
parent  plant  and  flowered  last  year,  two  have  blos- 
somed again  this  year  with  white  flowers  as  before ; 
another,  a  smaller  plant,  growing  between  those  two, 
had  not  flowered  this  year  till  a  few  days  ago,  when  I 
was  startled  by  the  sight  of  a  crimson  flower  on  a  plant 
whose  flowers  last  year  had  been  white.  Here  is 
variability  indeed. — yohn  Gibbs. 

Verbascum  blattaria. — I  have  found  the 
Moth  Mullein  (  Verbascum  blattaria)  in  a  waste  place, 
near  Luton,  Beds.  It  was  discovered  on  a  hill-side, 
above  chalk,  with  flints,  by  Mr.  F.  Wiseman,  who 
brought  it  to  me  for  identification.  That  you  may  be 
assured    of  its   authenticity  I    enclose  one   blossom. 


I  would  send  you  more,  but  after  the  most  careful  re- 
examination of  the  locality  we  can  find  no  other 
specimens  of  it. — y.  Saunders. 

Botany  of  Derbyshire. — The  Rev.  W.  H. 
Painter  desires  us  to  say  that  he  is  engaged  in  editing 
a  Plant-list  for  Derbyshire,  and  would  be  glad  to 
receive  communications  from  any  botanist  concern- 
ing it. 

Sugar  in  the  Nectar  of  Flowers.— This  was 
the  subject  of  a  most  interesting  paper  read  before 
the  recent  meeting  of  the  British  Association,  by  Mr. 
A.  S.  Wilson,  M.A.,  of  Glasgow.  Nectar,  he  said, 
is  the  sweet-tasted  fluid  secreted  within  the  cups  of 
flowers,  and  is  intended  to  provide  an  inducement  to 
cause  insects  to  visit  the  flowers.  These  insects 
confer  great  benefit  on  the  flowers  by  assuring  their 
cross  fertilization,  bringing  pollen  from  other  plants 
and  depositing  it  on  their  stigmas.  The  result  of 
this  is  that  the  plant  is  enabled  to  produce  seeds  of 
much  greater  vigour  than  it  otherwise  would.  The 
saccharine  fluid  is  usually  contained  in  the  most 
secluded  part  of  the  flower,  in  order  that  it  may  be 
protected  from  rain,  for,  owing  to  the  solubility  and 
the  diffusibility  of  sugar,  were  it  not  so  protected  it 
would  speedily  be  transferred  to  parts  of  the  plant 
where  it  could  be  obtained  by  the  insects  without 
their  serving  the  plant  in  the  way  of  cross  fertiliza- 
tion. The  colour,  odour,  and  marking  of  flowers 
enable  insects  to  find  the  nectar  more  easily.  The 
importance  of  these  insects  will  be  apparent  from  the 
smallness  of  the  amounts  of  sugar  found  in  the  flowers 
experimented  on  by  Mr.  Wilson.  Flowers  of  fuchsia 
yielded  a  total  of  7*59  m.m.g.  of  sugar  ;  1*69  of  this 
was  fruit  sugar,  and  5*9  apparently  cane  sugar.  Of 
red  clover  each  head  gave  a  total  of  7*93  m.m.g., 
fruit  5 '95'  apparent  cane  sugar  1  "98.  On  each  head 
of  clover  there  are  nearly  60  distinct  florets.  Calcu- 
lating from  these  results  there  was  the  astonishing 
industry  of  the  bee  brought  out  in  an  extraordinary 
manner,  for  in  order  to  obtain  the  kilo  of  sugar 
7,500,000  distinct  flowers  must  be  sucked.  As 
honey  contained  roughly  about  75  per  cent,  of  sugar, 
a  bee  has  then  to  make  two  and  a  half  millions  of 
visits  in  order  to  collect  a  pound  of  honey.  It  was 
rather  a  curious  fact  that  nectar  should  contain  cane 
sugar,  seeing  that  honey  never  did  ;  indeed,  were  a 
vendor  to  sell  honey  containing  cane  sugar  he  would 
probably  be  prosecuted  under  the  Adulteration  Act. 
A  change  must  therefore  take  place  while  the  sugar 
is  in  the  bee's  possession — possibly  through  the  action 
of  the  juices  with  which  it  comes  in  contact  while  in 
the  honey-bag.  As  nectar  is  acid  in  its  reaction  it  is, 
however,  possible  that  the  process  of  inversion  may 
take  place  spontaneously. 

Proposed  Experimental  Garden. — Mr.  Lax- 
ton,  Fellow  and  late  Member  of  the  Scientific 
Committee    of    the     Royal    Horticultural    Society, 


236 


HARDWICKE'S  SCIENCE -GOSSIP. 


proposes  to  establish  in  a  central  locality  and  within 
easy  access  of  London,  an  Experimental  Garden,  for 
the  purpose  of  hybridising,  cross-breeding,  and 
selecting  fruits,  vegetables,  flowers,  ornamental  and 
economic  plants  (chiefly  hardy  and  half-hardy),  for 
the  raising  and  propagating  of  useful  and  choice 
novelties,  scarce  and  little  known  plants  of  beauty 
and  utility,  and  for  the  trial  of  new  fruits,  vegetables, 
flowers,  &c.  It  is  intended  that  all  experiments  shall 
as  far  as  practicable  be  thoroughly  and  crucially 
conducted,  and  that  each  experiment  with  its  results, 
whether  apparently  successes  or  failures  shall  be 
carefully  and  systematically  recorded.  The  ad- 
vancement of  Horticulture  will  be  the  chief  desider- 
atum, but  scientific  and  botanical  considerations  will 
be  kept  in  view,  and  should  available  means  and 
space  be  obtained,  the  improvement  of  cereals, 
forage,  and  other  agricultural  plants  will  also  be 
sought.  Amongst  incidental  objects  will  be  that  of 
testing  the  adaptability  of  introduced  plants,  &c,  to 
the  climate  and  soil  of  the  district. 


GEOLOGY, 

The  Extinction  of  the  Mammoth. — Mr. 
H.  H.  Howorth  read  a  paper  on  this  subject,  in 
which  he  examined  the  mode  in  which  the  Mammoth 
had  become  extinct  in  Siberia.  His  conclusion  was 
that  there  had  been  a  sudden  and  violent  change 
of  climate  in  that  country,  which  had  frozen  the 
previously  soft  ground,  and  had  also  preserved  the 
Mammoths  as  in  a  huge  meat  safe. 

The  Pikermi  and  Sewalik  Deposits.— Mr. 
W.  T.  Blandford,  F.R.S.,  has  recently  published 
his  reasons  for  concluding  that  the  above  deposits 
are  of  Pliocene,  and  not  of  Miocene  age,  as  they  have 
hitherto  been  held  to  be  by  most  geologists.  The 
nature  of  the  marine  shells  at  the  base  of  the 
Pikermi  bone-beds  attests  a  Pliocene  age.  One 
mammal  (Bos  palieimiiais)  found  in  the  Upper 
Sewalik  ^deposits  occurs  also  in  the  Nerbudda 
alluvium,  where  it  is  associated  with  paleolithic 
implements.  ♦ 

Carboniferous  Amphibia  and  Fishes. — Mr. 
W.  H.  Baily,  F.G.S.,  Paleontologist  to  the  Irish 
Geological  Survey,  read  a  paper  before  the  Geolo- 
gical Section  of  the  British  Association  on  the 
above  subject,  in  which  he  showed  that  the  remains 
of  amphibians  and  fishes  were  impressed  on  the  true 
coal,  in  a  coal-seam,  3  feet  thick,  at  Jarrow  colliery, 
near  Castleconner,  county  Kilkenny.  All  the 
remains  were  turned  into  carbon,  one  of  the  fishes 
{Megalichthys  Hibberti)  being  over  3  feet  in  length. 

New  Species  of  Star-fish.— Mr.  W.  PI.  Baily 
has  described  a  new  species  of  Star-fish  from  the 
Lower  Silurian  Caradoc  beds  of  county  Wexford, 
Ireland,  under  the  name  of  Palasterina  Kinahani. 


A  Permian  Fauna  in  North  America. — At 
the  British  Association  meeting  Prof.  Cope  described 
the  remains  of  a  fauna  characteristic  of  the  period 
which  in  North  America  succeeded  the  Carboniferous. 
It  occurs  in  Illinois,  and  the  remains  were  referred 
to  Reptilia  and  Batrachia.  In  one  genus,  Clepsydrops, 
almost  the  entire  skeleton  was  discovered.  This 
was  a  clawed  Lizard,  with  large  canine  teeth,  and 
several  incisors. 

NOTES    AND    QUERIES. 

Toads  in  Stone. — The  stories  concerning  live 
toads  which  have  been  found  inside  limestone  rocks 
are  so  well  known  and  often  well  authenticated,  that 
the  fact  can  hardly  be  doubted.  The  article  by  Mr. 
Downes  in  your  last  number  would  seem  to  offer  a 
good  explanation  of  the  phenomena.  Any  one  who 
has  observed  the  way  in  which  the  so-called  "  petri- 
"  fying  wells  "  at  Matlock  and  other  places  deposit 
thick  crusts  on  any  articles  placed  in  them,  will  easily 
perceive  how  the  working  up  of  a  toad  in  a  rock  may 
be  a  question  not  of  years  but  of  months.  We  must 
remember,  too,  that  though  the  independent  testimony 
of  quarrymen  from  many  places  remote  from  each 
other  ought  not  to  be  set  down  as  mere  invention,  yet 
exaggeration  with  regard  to  the  thickness  or  solidity 
of  the  rock  is  very  likely  to  take  place.  A  short  while 
ago,  however,  a  curious  story  was  told  me  about  a 
toad  having  been  found  in  the  heart  of  an  oak-tree. 
The  toad  was  an  enormously  large  one,  and  the 
impression  of  its  body  was  plainly  to  be  seen.  When 
I  saw  the  article  in  your  last  number,  I  wrote  for 
further  particulars,  and  have  to-day  received  a  reply- 
to  the  following  effect, — that  the  time  was  thirty  or 
forty  years  ago,  that  the  tree  was  a  large  oak  in 
Pignell  Wood  in  the  New  Forest,  that  it  was  cut  in 
the  spring  of  the  year.  The  three  men  who  cut  the 
tree  are  dead,  but  my  informant,  who  is  getting  an 
old  man,  well  remembered  the  circumstances,  and,  I 
believe,  was  on  the  spot  a  short  time  after  the  tree 
was  cut  and  saw  the  impression  ;  at  any  rate,  the 
circumstance  seems  to  be  well  remembered  by  him. 
I  give  the  fact  on  its  own  merits,  hoping  that  it  may 
call  forth  an  answer  in  explanation  or  otherwise. — 
IV.   IV.  Fowler,  Repton,  Burton-on-Trent. 

Toads  in  Rocks. — To  those  interested  in  the 
subject  of  the  frog  and  toad  living  without  food, 
the  following  may  be  interesting  : — In  the  Spring  of 
1876  I  had  occasion  to  go  down  a  well,  at  Lewisham, 
to  examine  some  pumps.  Looking  round  for  a  place 
to  put  a  few  tools,  I  took  out  a  loose  brick  from' the 
side  of  the  well,  and,  while  putting  my  tools  into  the 
hole,  felt  something  soft  and  cold,  which  turned  out 
to  be  a  frog  :  it  was  very  thin  and  weak.  I  took  it 
to  the  surface  and  carefully  put  it  in  a  suitable  place. 
The  next  day  it  had  breathed  its  last  ;  it  was  nothing 
but  skin  and  bone.  On  making  inquiries,  I  ascer- 
tained that  during  the  Spring  of  1875,  while  the 
pumps  were  being  repaired,  the  frog  had  fallen  down 
the  well,  and  had  been  picked  up  and  imprisoned, 
thus  having  been  buried  forty  feet  from  the  surface 
about  twelve  months.  Its  death,  no  doubt,  was 
accelerated  by  the  exertions  it  made  to  procure  food. 
Shortly  after  this  I  was  at  Crayford  Water-works, 
and  mentioning  the  above  circumstance  to  one  of  the 
turncocks,  he  told  me  that  about  twenty  years 
previously  he  had  put  a  toad  into  the  hollow  column 
of  a  drilling-machine  he  was  helping  to  put  up  at  a 
works  at  New  Cross.     I  obtained  permission  to  look 


HARD  WJ  CKE'  S    S  CTENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


237 


into  the  column  of  this  drill-machine,  and  there,  sure 
enough,  was  the  remains  of  the  toad,  nothing  now 
but  a  few  bones  and  dirt.  By  its  side  was  the  wick 
of  a  tallow  candle,  but  no  trace  of  the  tallow  was  left ; 
possibly  the  toad  had  eaten  the  tallow,  or,  perhaps, 
the  tallow  had  decomposed.  I  should  state  that  the 
column  was  perfectly  air-tight,  and,  as  far  as  I  could 
learn,  had  never  been  opened.  It  was  about  four 
feet  high  and  seven  or  eight  inches  in  diameter  in- 
side. The  air  inside  was  foul,  as  a  light  would  not 
burn.  Without  comment,  I  leave  these  two  instances 
to  speak  for  themselves. — ill.  O.  Hay  don. 

The  Longevity  of  Toads. — I  have  read  in 
the  last  number  of  Science-Gossip,  the  account, 
by  Mr.  W.  Downes,  of  a  live  toad  having  been 
found  in  limestone  rock.  I  believe  there  are 
several  well-authenticated  instances  of  that  nature, 
one  of  which  I  now  send  you.  My  informant  is  a 
personal  friend,  and  a  well-known  mining-engineer  of 
great  celebrity.  About  two  years  ago,  in  a  Yorkshire 
coal-seam  600  yards  below  the  surface,  a  live  toad 
was  found  in  the  middle  of  a  block  of  coal.  My  in- 
formant was  not  present  at  the  moment,  but  within 
half  an  hour  he  saw  the  toad,  then  dead,  and  the  hole 
out  of  which  it  came.  He  had  no  doubt  whatever  as 
to  the  truth  of  the  collier's  statement  that  the  toad 
was  in  the  hole  alive  at  the  time  he  broke  the  lump 
with  his  pick,  and  came  out  apparently  unhurt,  but 
lived  only  about  twenty  minutes.  I  believe  my 
friend  has  the  toad  in  his  possession. — y.  D. 
S 'hake spear. 

Teratology  of  Leaves,  &c. — I  think  the  en- 
closed leaves  as  curious  as  the  Cabbage-leaf  of  your 
last  number  of  Science-Gossip.  We  received  from 
South  Africa  some  seeds  of  Cobicr.  Capensis  and  some 
of  Mimosa.  We  conclude,  from  the  result,  that  a 
seed  of  each  was  set  in  one  pot,  as  two  distinct  plants, 
yet  united  at  the  bottom  of"  the  stem,  came  up,  and, 
as  you  see,  there  is  a  second  freak  in  the  union  of  the 
two  plants.  Can  you  tell  me  if  this  is  only  a  freak  of 
nature,  or  is  there  a  plant  that  is  always  so  ? — B.  H. 
Kirby. 

Goat  Caterpillars.  —  Can  any  of  the  readers  of 
Science-Gossip  say  whether  there  are  any  means  of 
saving  trees  which  have  become  infested  by  these 
caterpillars,  and  of  preventing  their  spread  to  others  in 
the  same  garden,  other  than  cutting  down  and  de- 
stroying the  tree?  If  any  know  of  a  remedy,  and 
would  state  it,  it  would  greatly  oblige,  and  save  some 
valuable  trees  in  this  neighbourhood. — A.  Warner, 
Hoddesdon. 

Behaviour  of  Lightning  during  Thunder- 
storms.— A  friend  and  myself  were  talking  of 
thunderstorms,  apropos  of  the  late  ones,  when  he 
spoke  of  the  lightning  as  having  been  observed  by  him 
leaving  the  earth  and  shooting  up  towards  the  sky. 
This,  I  replied,  was  owing  to  the  position  of  the 
clouds,  as  electric  fluid  never  left  the  earth  in  that 
manner  during  a  storm,  but  might  be  seen  darting 
from  cloud  to  cloud.  He,  however,  affirmed  that  it 
did  so,  and  referred  me  to  a  work  by  Captain  Snow 
Harris  for  confirmation  of  what  he  had  seen.  He 
also  said  that  when  trees  or  buildings  were  struck  the 
injury  was  often  done  by  the  electric  fluid  leaving  the 
earth,  not,  as  I  always  supposed,  attracted  to  it,  and 
that  the  nature  of  its  track  displayed  the  fact.  As  I 
still  doubt  whether  it  be  so  or  no,  will  you  kindly 
settle  the  dispute  ?— y.  H.  G. 

Roots  of  the  Palm-Tree. — Two  sermons  have 
been  preached  lately  in  our  neighbourhood  on  Psalm 


xcii.  12,  "  The  righteous  shall  flourish  like  the  palm- 
tree."  In  the  first  sermon  special  mention  was  made 
of,  and  a  lesson  was  drawn  from,  the  tap-root  which 
we  were  told  a  palm-tree  possessed.  The  second 
preacher,  ignorant  of  the  previous  sermon,  told  us 
that  a  palm-tree  had  no  tap-root  like  most  other  trees, 
and  drew  a  lesson  from  its  absence.  "  Where  doctors 
differ  disciples  disagree."  We  should  be  greatly 
obliged  if  any  correspondent  of  Science-Gossip 
could  tell  us  whether  palm-trees  have  tap-roots  or 
not— A.  B. 

Preserving  Animals. — The  whole  of  the 
"modus  operandi"  of  Waterton's  method,  most 
exactly  described,  may  be  found  in  the  end  of  his 
"  Wanderings  in  America."  The  early  editions  of 
this  work  are  scarce,  but  I  am  happy  to  say  a  new 
one  has  lately  been  issued,  price  3/6,  and  may  be 
obtained  of  any  bookseller,  from  the  London  houses. 
W.  Bairett-Rowe,  Bristol. 

Preserving  Slugs. — In  "Rambles  in  Search  of 
Shells,"  and  also  in  the  article  on  "  Land  and  Fresh- 
water Shells"  in  the  "Notes  on  Collecting  and 
Preserving  Natural  History  Objects,"  the  following 
receipt  is  given  for  preserving  slugs.  "  Make  a  cold 
saturated  solution  of  corrosive  sublimate  ;  put  it  in  a 
deep  wide-mouthed  jar  or  bottle,  then  take  a  slug  you 
wish  to  preserve  and  let  it  crawl  on  a  long  slip  of  card. 
When  the  tentacles  are  fully  expanded,  plunge  it 
suddenly  into  the  solution  ;  in  a  few  minutes  it  will 
die  with  the  tentacles  extended  in  the  most  lifelike 
manner,  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  if  taken  out  of  the 
fluid  it  would  be  difficult  to  say  whether  it  were  alive 
or  dead."  I  have  tried  this  repeatedly,  and  have 
never  yet  succeeded  in  obtaining  one  specimen  with 
the  tentacles  extended.  In  most  cases  the  head  of 
the  slug,  when  it  is  dead,  protrudes  a  little  outside 
the  mantle,  but  there  is  no  sign  of  a  tentacle  in  any  of 
them.  I  should  be  glad  if  any  of  the  readers  of 
Science-Gossip  would  give  me  information  about 
the  preservation  of  slugs,  as  I  am  anxious  to  obtain 
them  for  my  collection  of  land  and  fresh-water  shells. 
In  the  same  books  it  is  also  stated  that  the  best 
mounting  fluid  is  glycerine  and  water  in  the  propor- 
tions of  one  to  one  and  one-half.  But  I  find  that  the 
fluid  becomes  coloured  a  deep  yellowish  brown  soon 
after  the  slug  is  put  into  it. — B.  E.  Smith. 

Grey  Lag. — In  answer  to  "G.  L. 's"  inquiry  con- 
cerning "  Grey  Lag,"  as  applied  to  the  goose,  I  beg 
to  draw  attention  to  the  Cumbrian  word  laghter,  brood 
of  chickens,  setting  of  eggs,  which  is  from  the  A.  S. 
I  leegan  to  lay  (eggs).  The  Grey  Lag  may  therefore  be 
the  Grey  Egg- Amy-. — y.  C.  Clongh. 

Green  Hastings. — This  cry  undoubtedly  is  a 
corruption  of  Green  "  Hasties,"  for  Coghan,  in  "The 
Hauen  of  Health,"  black  letter  edition  of  1584,  says, 
"  There  be  three  sortes  of  Pease  common  among  us 
in  Englande, — the  first  garden  pease  or  hastie  pease. 
The  seconde  sorte  is  called  graie  pease.  The  thirde 
greene  pease,  both  growing  in  the  fieldes."  He  then 
gives  the  cooking  of  them  at  that  time,  and  states 
that  "  The  two  first  sortes  are  used  to  bee  eaten  greene 
before  they  be  full  ripe.  First  they  are  sodden,  then 
buttered,  salted,  and  peppered.  But  if  any  student 
list  to  eate  greene  Beanes  or  greene  pease,  let  him 
spare  no  pepper  upon  them,  for  this  is  a  generall  rule 
in  Galen  for  meates  that  be  windie."  Also  it  appears 
at  that  day  bread  was  made  from  peas,  as  further  on 
he  says,  "If  pease  be  unwholesome,  then  the  bread 
which  is  made  of  them  is  unwholesome  ;  yet  it  is  much 
used  in  Lecestershire.     But  I  leave  it  to   Rustickes, 


238 


HARD  Wl  CKE'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


who  have  stomachs  like  Ostriges,  that  can  digest  hard 
yron."—  W.  H. 

Strange  Friends. — In  my  parish,  Lordington 
(Sussex),  dwells  a  pretty  little  chestnut  pony,  of  ad- 
vanced years,  who  has  been  turned  out  to  end  his  days 
exempt  from  toil;  and  in  the  same  park  is  a  white 
goose  who  has  gone  round  the  world  with  the  British 
fleet.  Between  these  dissimilar  animals  a  friendship 
has  sprung  up.  When  any  stranger  approaches  the 
goose,  it  waddles  off  cackling  towards  the  pony, 
apparently  for  protection.  The  goose  was,  doubtless, 
a  great  pet  with  the  sailors.  Has  any  one  observed 
a  like  anserine  attachment  ?-    F.  IV.  Arnold. 

Migrating  Birds. — On  dark  nights  from  August 
all  through  the  autumn  I  often  hear  birds  passing 
over  here.  They  make  a  constant  whistling  or  piping 
noise,  and  begin  to  come  over  as  soon  as  it  is  dark. 
They  appear  to  fly  in  a  westerly  or  south-westerly 
direction.  I  have  never  seen  any  of  them,  because  it 
is  only  on  dark  nights  that  we  hear  these  birds.  Some- 
times they  seem  quite  close,  just  above  the  house-tops. 
At  the  end  of  August  in  1875,  several  letters  appeared 
in  the  Times  about  this  migration.  One  correspondent 
said,  "Soon  after  eight  o'clock  on  the  evening  of 
Saturday,  the  28th  instant,  my  attention  was  drawn 
to  a  strange  noise  over  my  house.  It  was  raining  in 
torrents  at  the  time,  but  I  could  distinctly  hear,  above 
the  .pelting  of  the  storm,  shrill  cries,  somewhat 
resembling  the  note  of  the  Sandpiper,  and  the  flapping 
of  innumerable  wings.  This  continued  with  scarcely 
any  intermission  for  hours,  at  any  rate  until  after 
twelve  o'clock."  This  was  eighteen  or  twenty  miles 
from  Maidstone.  Another  correspondent  said,  "These 
birds  are  frequently  heard  at  Dover,  and  generally  on 
'  dirty  nights.'"  I  heard  them  here,  for  the  first  time 
this  year,  on  Friday,  the  2nd  of  August,  and  again 
on  the  following  Sunday  night,  about  ten  o'clock. 
Are  they  Curlews  and  Sandpipers,  and  how  far  does 
their  migration  extend  ?  Perhaps  some  of  your 
readers  could  inform  me. — Henry  Lamb,  Maidstone. 

Colours  of  Dried  Primroses. — A  lady  friend 
has  been  very  successful  in  preserving  the  colour  of 
the  petals  of  Primula  vulgaris  by  adopting  the 
following  simple  method.  As  soon  as  possible  after 
being  gathered,  the  plant  must  be  killed  by  washing 
the  roots  for  two  or  three  minutes  in  boiling  water, 
then  dried  with  a  soft  cloth,  and  immediately  trans- 
ferred to  the  drying  papers,  which  should  be  well 
warmed  at  the  fire,  and  changed  frequently,  until 
the  plant  is  perfectly  dry.  The  corollas  of  a  number 
of  specimens  she  has  treated  in  this  way  have  preserved 
all  their  original  beauty  of  colour,  and  the  leaves  have 
also  retained  their  natural  appearance.  Some  I  my- 
self dried,  without  first  subjecting  them  to  the  hot 
water  treatment,  lost  their  natural  colour,  and  changed 
to  the  bright  green,  which  has  annoyed  so  many 
collectors.  I  have  been  very  successful  in  drying 
Orchids,  by  following  the  instructions  given  on  page 
88  of  Science-Gossip  for  1873,  where  it  is  recommen- 
ded to  clip  the  root  and  leaves  in  boiling  water  for  a 
few  minutes  previously  to  putting  the  specimens  in  the 
press. — R.  Standen,  Goosnargh,  Lancashire. 

Geology  of  North  Devon. — If  "  W.  Downes  " 
would  kindly  give  a  few  particulars  as  to  his  "  finds  " 
in  this  district,  and  a  few  hints  as  to  localities,  he 
would  greatly  oblige  a  native,  who  is  now  an  occasional 
visitor,  and  would  be  glad  to  make  the  most  of  his 
time  at  his  next  visit. —  IV.  G. 

Sea  Anemones. — I  should  be  obliged  if  "C.  A. 
Crimes"  would  kindly  state  in  the  next  number  of 


Science-Gossip  how  he  feeds  the  baby  sea  anemones, 
as  I  find  it  an  utter  impossibility  to  make  them  take 
the  food.  After  their  birth  does  he  leave  them  where 
they  are  or  move  them  ?  I  should  also  like  to  know 
whether  he  has  any  peculiar  treatment  for  his  B anodes 
gemmacea,  as  I  have  been  most  unfortunate  with  mine. 
Within  a  few  days  of  placing  them  in  the  tank  they 
have  a  decomposed  appearance,  the  colour  fades,  and 
they  are  covered  with  a  sort  of  slime.  Sagartia  venusta 
I  have  succeeded  very  well  with,  and  also  Sagartia 
bellis,  but  the  "  gem  "  invariably  dies  directly.  We 
once  kept  a  Tealia  crassicornis  for  three  years,  but 
this  also  seems  a  very  difficult  one  to  manage. 
—  C.  E.  R. 

Protection  from  Forest  Flies. — Having 
received  personal  benefit  from  the  remarks  in  Science- 
Gossip  on  the  Harvest  Bug,  I  send  a  perfectly  trust- 
worthy recipe  for  the  protection  of  horses  from  the 
Forest  Fly.  Smear  the  face  and  flanks  well  with 
parafin  oil.  I  have  been  here  nearly  three  weeks  with 
my  two  young  ponies  ;  they  are  not  foresters,  and  one 
cannot  stand  the  fly  at  all  without  the  oil. — Catherine 
Middleton,  Z  yndh  nrst. 

Birds'  Eggs  in  Wrong  Nests. — The  communi- 
cations of  Messrs.  C.  H.  Sharp  and  A.  F.  Griffith  on 
the  above  subject  brings  to  my  recollection  an  incident 
which  happened  in  the  north  of  Aberdeenshire,  in 
1865.  When  walking  along  the  banks  of  a  stream 
which  ran  through  a  wood,  my  cousin  disturbed  a  wild 
cluck  sitting  on,  and  attempting  to  cover,  eleven  wild, 
ducks  and  thirteen  pheasant's  eggs,  which  were  all 
crowded  together  in  the  same  nest. — A.  M.,  M'c  A., 
Stoke-on-Trent. 

Wild  and  Tame  Ducks. — A  pair  of  wild  ducks 
located  themselves  on  a  moat  surrounding  the  house 
of  a  friend  of  mine  last  October.  During  the  severe 
weather  they  came  to  the  feeding-place  of  the  domes- 
tic ones,  but  otherwise  kept  themselves  separate.  In 
the  spring,  a  tame  duck  hatched  a  brood  of  young 
ones  near  the  haunt  of  the  wild  ducks,  which  now  it 
is  supposed  were  destroyed  by  them.  Soon  after- 
wards, the  tame  duck,  whose  brood  was  lost,  was 
caught  in  the  act  of  drowning  the  progeny  of  the 
wild  duck,  and  succeeded  in  killing  five  of  them  before 
being  discovered.  She  was  at  once  sent  off  to  another 
farm.  In  the  same  moat,  several  moor  hens  have 
reared  their  young  for  years,  taking  their  departure 
regularly  every  winter. — J.  Wiggin. 

Barbots. — I  enclose  the  following  cutting  from  a 
newspaper,  and  shall  be  glad  if  any  of  the  readers  of 
Science-Gossip  can  tell  me  more  of  these  insects  (?). 
The  name  is  quite  new  to  me.  Are  they  only  to  be 
found  there  ?  Galignani  states  that  a  terrible  accident 
has  just  taken  place  at  Biarritz.  Miss  Gordon,  who 
had  passed  the  winter  in  Paris,  was  drowned  while 
out  on  an  excursion.  She  attempted,  without  a  guide, 
to  go  along  the  cliffs  far  beyond  the  point  marked  by 
the  authorities  as  the  limit  for  the  public  to  go  safely. 
She  reached  a  place  known  as  the  Falaise  de  la  Mort, 
and  in  stooping  to  pick  a  flower,  her  foot  slipped, 
and  she  was  precipitated  into  a  hole  known  as  the 
Barbots,  a  spot  said  to  have  this  peculiarity,  that  at 
the  end  of  forty-eight  hours  nothing  more  than  the 
skeleton  remains  of  any  beings  which  fall  into  it.  It 
contains  millions  of  small  insects  which  devour  the 
body,  and  which  are  called  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
district  barbots,  and  are  by  them  held  in  especial 
horror.  The  Duke  de  Frias  met  his  death  under- 
similar  circumstances  a  few  years  ago. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE  -GO  SSI P. 


'■39 


Egg  Drills.— Where  are  Egg  Drills,  described 
and  figured  at  pp.  30  and  31  of  "  Notes  on  Collecting 
and  Preserving  Natural  History  Objects,"  to  be  ob- 
tained ?  As  far  as  I  know,  they  are  not  to  be  had  at 
any  of  the  naturalists'  shops  in  London,  where  only 
very  inferior  implements  for  this  purpose  are  sold. — 
Beta. 

Birds  Singing  at  Midnight. — Extract  from  the 
Standard,  Feb.  22,  1878.— "W.  F.  E.,"  writing  on 
the  above  subject,  mentions  something  much  more 
remarkable  in  the  history  of  our  singing-birds  which 
has  occurred  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of 
Little  Chart  Rectory,  Charing,  Kent,  within  the  last 
few  days.  Between  the  hours  of  eleven  and  twelve 
•o'clock  on  the  night  of  Friday  last,  the  15th  inst.,  on 
Saturday  night,  and  again  on  Sunday  night,  at  the 
same  hour,  the  blackbirds  and  thrushes  were  singing, 
whilst  the  smaller  birds  in  the  hedgerows  were 
chirruping  and  twittering  just  as  you  hear  them  in 
the  early  morning  in  summer.  He  himself  listened 
to  them  with  open  door  and  window,  and  he  has 
been  told  by  several  who  were  out  on  those  nights— 
the  neighbouring  doctor  amongst  the  number — that 
they  heard  with  wonder  this,  at  such  an  hour,  unusual 
melody." 

Birds  Singing  at  Midnight. — The  singing  of 
thrushes,  robins,  and  other  birds  for  several  nights  in 
succession,  during  February  last — although,  doubtless, 
accounted  for  by  the  singular  beauty  of  the  weather 
about  that  time — is  such  an  unusual  occurrence,  that 
I  should  be  very  glad  to  hear  of  it  prevailing  generally 
in  the  country. — X. 

Brotherly  Love  in  a  Guinea-pig.  —  Some 
years  ago  I  possessed  a  guinea-pig  which  had  never 
shown  any  more  wisdom  than  the  rest  of  its  species. 
One  day  a  friend  gave  me  a  young  rabbit  which  he 
had  caught  in  a  neighbouring  warren,  and  I  put  it 
into  the  guinea-pig's  cage.  I  was  somewhat  aston- 
ished to  see  the  guinea-pig  feed  the  rabbit  "with 
clover  and  other  vegetables  provided  for  its  own 
nourishment.  It  also  gave  up  to  it  the  snuggest  part 
of  the  cage.  The  guinea-pig  continued  these  atten- 
tions till  the  rabbit  was  sent  back  to  its  native  warren, 
when  the  unfortunate  guinea-pig  expressed  its 
anguish  in  most  pitiful  cries. — Anna  Ward,  Belfast. 

Phosphorus  in  Salt  Water. — I  have  observed 
that  when  thunder  is  prevalent,  the  flashes  of  light 
in  sea  water,  occasioned  by  phosphorus,  are  much 
more  numerous  and  distinct. — A.   Ward,  Belfast. 

Ranunculus  repens. — J  have  never  heard  the 
name  "  Devil's-claw  "  applied  to  this  plant.  In  this 
part  of  Somerset  it  goes  by  the  name  of  "  Ram's- 
claws,"  as  its  long  trailing  stems  are  a  great  annoyance 
to  the  rakers  in  the  hay-field.  —  W.  Herridge,  Cack- 
lington. 

NOTICES    TO    CORRESPONDENTS, 


To  -Correspondents  and  Exchangers.  —  As  we  now 
publish  Science-Gossip  a  week  earlier  than  heretofore,  we 
cannot  possibly  insert  in  the  following  number  any  communi- 
cations which  reach  us  later  than  the  9th  of  the  previous 
month. 


G.  A.  H.  (Manchester). — No.  1.  Viola  Curtisii,  a  very 
characteristic  specimen  ;  No.  2.  Some  form  of  Viola  tricolor, 
probably  V.  Mackaii ;  No.  3.  Statice  auricul&folia,  Vahl  ; 
No.  4.  Sagina  apetala. 

E.  H.  (London). — No.  1.  Everlasting  Pea  [Lathyrus  sylves- 
tris,  L.)  ;  No.  2.  Erigeron,  sp.  ;  No.  3.  It  is  difficult  to  name 
a  species  from  leaves  only,  but  we  believe  your  example  to  be 
Oxalis  acetosella,  L. 


J.  A.  W.  (Darlington). — No.  1.  Cerastium  triviale ;  No.  2. 
Mountain  Willow-herb  {Epilobium  montanum) ;  No.  3. 
Meadow  Pea  {Lathyrus  pratensis,  L.)  ;  No.  4.  Common 
Valerian  {Valeriana  officinalis);  No.  5.  Restharrow  {Ononis 
spinosa) ;  No.  6.  Bedstraw  {Galium  verutn)  ;  No.  7.  Anagallis 
tenella. 

CujAS  (Beauly,  -Glasgow,  N.B.). — Your  specimens  are  as 
follow:  No.  1.  Bog  Asphodel  {Narthecium  ossifragmii);  No. 
2.  Bur  Marigold  {Bidcus  tripartita)  ;  No.  3.  Rough  Chervil 
{Chisrophyllu»i  temulum);  No.  4.  Winter  Green  {'frientalis 
europora) ;  No.  5.  H'ogweed  {Heracleum  sphondylium)  ;  No.  6. 
Field  Gentian  {Gentiana  campestris,  L.) ;  No.  7.  Stitchwort 
{Stellar ia  graminea)  ;  No.  8.  Earth-nut  {Bunium  Jtcxuosuiii)  ; 
No.  9.  Red  Dead  Nettle  [Lamium  purpureum) ;  No.  10.  A 
very  curious  and  remarkable  monstrosity  of  No.  5  ;  we  hope  to 
figure  it  in  our  columns  shortly  ;  No.  11.  Dead  Nettle  (Lamium 
amplcxicaule)  ;  No.  12.  Lesser  Spearwort  {Ranunculus  Jtam- 
muta). 

Q.  Q.  (Elie  Fife). — Unfortunately  your  example  came  to 
hand  in  a  poor  state  to  determine  ;  it  was  partly  decayed ;  it 
may  prove  to  be  Lycium  barbarum  ;  have  you  another  speci- 
men ? 

B.  D.  (Newport). — It  is  Cirsium  oleraceuni.  We  cannot  tell 
why  it  is  so  named.     Some   of  our  thistles  are  edible. 

E.  W.  (Bristol). — The  Carex  you  send  is  Carex paludosa  ;  it 
is  nearly  allied  to  C.  riparia. 

J.  C.  W.  (Salterton,  Devon). — No.  1  and  No.  2  are  both 
Lotus  tenuis,  Kit.  According  to  Hooker  a  sub-species  of  L.  cor- 
niculatus,  L.  ;  but  it  is  readily  distinguished  from  that  species 
by  its  filiform  and  often  shrubby  stems. 

G.  W.  Bell. — See  article  in  Science-Gossip  for  July,  1877, 
by  Mr.  J.  Young,  F.G.S.,  on  "  How  to  Clean  Fossil  Polyzoa." 

A  Subscriber. — The  best  book  on  British  Butterflies  and 
Moths  is  unquestionably  that  of  E.  Newman.  There  you  will 
find  illustrations  of  every  species  except  the  Micro-lepidoptera. 
Morris's  "British  Moths"  contains  coloured  plates,  but  they 
are  not  so  faithful  as  Newman's  woodcuts. 

W.  G.  Piper.  —  The  lias,  both  at  Lyme  Regis  and  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Whitby,  is  full  of  fossils.  A  capital  hunting- 
ground  may  be  found  at  Aust  Cliff,  on  the  Severn,  near  New 
Passage,  where  there  is  an  abundance  of  Rhoetic  fossils.  The 
carboniferous  limestone  at  Castleton,  Derbyshire,  is  a  splendid 
fossil  locality.  The  tertiary  beds  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  are  also 
exceedingly  fossiliferous. 

C.  E.  R. — You  can  purchase  Sea-Anemones  of  Mr.  King, 
Seahorse  House,  Portland-road,  London. 

F.  W.  E.  S. — Your  article  will  appear  shortly  in  our  pages. 

J.  W.  S.  (Sheffield). — Your  exchange  exceeds  the  three  lines 
allowed  gratis,  and  would  have  to  be  charged  as  an  advertise- 
ment. 

Essex. — The  insect  you  trod  upon  which  gave  forth  a  phos- 
phorescent light  was  most  probably  Geophilus  ellctricus,  one  of 
the  Millipedes. 

J.  R.  Murdoch. — Your  Mosses  are  : — No.  1.  Hypnum 
Sendtueri ;  2,  Hypnum purum  ;  3.  Hypnum  tamariscinum  ; 
4.  Hypnum  loreum ;  5.  Hypnum  piliferum ;  6.  Hypnum 
Kneiffii ;  7.  Dicranella  squarrosa ;  8.  Hypnum  lutescens ; 
10.  Hypnum  splendens ;  n.  Neckera  complanata ;  12.  Hyp- 
7111m  myosuroides  ;  13.  Bartramia  fontana  ;  14,  Homalia  tri- 
chomanoides.  Hepaticae  :  9.  Madotheca  platyphylla  ;  i$.PZa- 
giochila  asplenioides  ;   16.  Scapauia  nemorosa. 

A.  Cole.  — Your  Mosses  are  : — No.  1.  Sphagnum  Jimbria- 
tum ;  2.  Sphagnum  acutifolium  :  3.  Sphagnum  subsecundum 
(var.  contortum) ;  4.  Sphagnum  cymblfolium  (var.  squarrosu- 
lum)  ;  11.  Sphagnum  cuspidatum  ;  5.  Hypnum  Jlagellare ;  6. 
Dicranum  scoparium  (young);  7.  Hypnum  rivulare  ;  8.  Ce- 
ratodon purpureas  ;  9.  B>yum  caspiticium  ;  10.  Hypnum  ser- 
pens ;  12.  Hypnum  sericeum. 

A  Beginner. — The  insect  you  describe  was  most  probably 
one  of  the  Hornet  Clear-wings,  a  moth  which  simulates  the 
appearance  of  the  true  Hornet  in  a  remarkable  degree.  See 
Newman's  "  British  Moths." 

A.  W.  A. — 1  here  is  a  capital  old-established  Naturalists'  Field 
Club  in  Liverpool,  whose  subscription  is  low,  that  would  suit  you 
and  such  as  you,  and  we  feel  certain  it  would  welcome  artisan- 
naturalists.     The  president  is  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Higgins. 

C.  H.  G. — The  caterpillar  of  your  moth  had  been  attacked 
during  life  by  an  ichneumon  (a  not  uncommon  thing),  and  the 
ichneumon  had  deposited  its  eggs  in  the  tissues  of  the  caterpillar. 
These  subsequently  hatched  into  the  condition  you  found  them 
in,  at  the  expense  of  their  host. 

X.— Your  packet  contained  some  of  the  purifying  lime  used 
in  gas-works. 

J.  Kirkham. — The  six  ivory  slides  are  very  heterogeneous 
as  to  objects,  and  old-fashioned.  No.  1  contains  a  piece  of  Red 
Seaweed  {Plocamium)  and  of  a  Sea-fir  {Sertularia  argentea)  ; 
No.  2  shows  wings,  legs,  &c.  of  some  orthopterous  insects  ;  No. 
3,  Fish-skin.  Feather-barbule,  &c.  ;  No.  4,  pieces  of  Snake- 
skin  and  part  of  a  Beetle  ;  No.  5,  Coral-sand,  portion  of 
Diamond  Beetle,  of  Sea-mat  (Flustra),  &c.  ;  No.  6,  piece  of 
Cora  Una  officinalis  (a  Sea-weed),  of  Flustra,  and  a  group  of 
Foraminifera  (Gtobigerina).  Please  send  us  your  address,  as 
we  have  mislaid  it. 


240 


HARDWICKE"  S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


Undergraduate. — The  "  rough"  sketches  will  only  permit 
of  a  rough  guess  at  the  names  of  the  objects  delineated  : — 
No.  1  are  possibly  the  fragments  of  species  of  some  Echinoderm 
(Spatangus  or  Opkiocoma  ;  2.  Polyotomella  ;  3.  Rotalina  ;  4. 
Heliopelta  Metii (diatom)  ;  5.  Cingulum  or  connecting  zone  of 
some  discoid  diatom  ;  6.  Actinoptychus  (diatom)  ;  7.  Cosciuo- 
discus  Uneatus  (diatom)  ;  8.  Actiniscus  Sirius  (diatom)  ;  9  and 
10.  Upper  and  lower  apices  of  Sccptroucis  caduccus  (diatom). 


EXCHANGES. 

Wanted,  in  exchange  or  for  purchase,  "  Natural  History 
Review"  for  years  1854  and  1855  (bound  or  in  parts,  latter  pre- 
ferred) and  following  numbers  : — April,  1856  ;  April,  1858  ; 
April  and  October,  i860.  I  have  some  odd  numbers  of  same 
work,  if  required.  —  Alpha,  18,  Upper  Fitzwilliam-street, 
Dublin. 

A  Student  in  pathology,  having  constant  opportunities  of 
procuring  specimens  in  bulk  (physiological  and  pathological), 
would  be  happy  to  send  his  duplicates,  hardened  in  spirit  and 
ready  for  making  sections,  to  any  gentleman,  in  exchange  for 
Natural  History  specimens.  Further  particulars  by  letter.— 
W.  Barrett  Rone',  165,  White  Ladies'-road,  Bristol. 

Several  Natural  History  curiosities  to  exchange,  including 
Bat  (stuffed),  Python  (stuffed),  and  a  fine  specimen  of  the 
Goliath  Beetle;  also  a  new  copy  of  Rye's  "British  Beetles" 
(10s.  6,d.).  Wanted,  Wood's  "  Insects  at  Home  "  or  "  Abroad," 
Lewes'  "  Sea-side  Studies,"  British  or  Foreign  Lepidoptera  and 
side-blown  Birds'  Eggs. — W.  Barrett  Rone,  165,  White  Ladies'- 
road,  Bristol. 

OAK-feeding  Silkworm  Moth  (Yama  Mali)  for  poition  of  a 
wing.  Send  a  stamped  directed  envelope  to  W.  H.  Gomm, 
Sandwich,  Kent. 

WELL-mounted  sections  of  Sponges  in  balsam,  showing 
spicula  in  situ :  Grantia  compressa,  Hymeniacidon  suberea, 
H.  caruncula,  Halichondria  panicea,  offered  for  unmounted 
pieces  of  Pachymatisma,  Spongilla,  &c. — T.  H.  Buffham, 
Clarendon-road.  Walthamstow. 

Several  hundred  Silkworms'  Eggs  for  exchange,  for  Micro, 
or  other  objects  of  interest.  — Mrs.  Skilton,  London-road, 
Brentford. 

Offered,  Unio  margaritiferus  from  river  Tay.  Wanted, 
Anodonta,  or  other  good  freshwater  or  land-shells. — Address, 
Henry  Coates,  Bridgend  House,  Perth,  N.B. 

Wanted,  Slides  or  Material,  Triceratium,  Diatoms,  and 
Foraminifera,  for  well-mounted  Slides,  Alyssam,  Eleagnus, 
Onosma.  Material  of  same  or  other  slides  in  exchange. — E. 
W.  Burgess,  35,  Langham-street,  London,  W. 

Wanted,  Harvest  Bugs,  Trombidium  autitmnale.  First- 
class  slides  in  exchange. — E.  W. ,  48,  Tcllington-road,  Hollo- 
way,  N. 

Good  Microscopic  Slides  in  exchange  for  any  of  Hugh 
Miller's  works,  or  a  good  turn-table. — E.  Edwards,  8,  St. 
John's  Cottages,  Penge,  S.  E. 

Offered,  Nos.  42,  133,  164,  1^5,  185,  206,  242,  273,  386, 
389,  390,  451,  452,  520,  550,  634,  729,  753,  761,  773,  831,  841  b, 
1015,  1517,  1040,  1131,  1259,  1406,  1501,  1571,  1572,  in  ex- 
change for  rare  British  plants.  — W.  J.  Hannan,  6,  Tatton- 
street,  Ashton-under-Lyne. 

London  Catalogue,  7th  ed.  wanted,  5,  7,  19,  23,  25,  61, 
and  others,  for  241,  120,  171,  804,  1136,  1379,  and  many  others. 
— Miss  H.,  75,  Todmorden  road,  Burnley. 

For  a  few  scales  of  any  six  of  the  following  send  well-mounted 
object  :—  Greater  Weever,  Black  Bream,  Atherine  Smelt,  Blue 
and  Ballan  Wrass,  Grey  Mullet.  Sapphirine,  Red  and  Streaked 
Gurnards,  Bass,  Tench,  Rudd,  Roach,  Dace ;  also,  skin  of 
Spotted  Dogfish  and  Picked  Dogfish.— E.  M.,  20,  Cropley- 
street,  New  North-road,  London. 

For  exchange,  upwards  of  five  dozen  microscope  slides, 
chiefly  parasites,  wanted  in  exchange,  parasites,  either  mounted 
or  unmounted. — W.  A.  Hyslop,  22,  Palmerston-place,  Edin- 
burgh. 

Palates  of  Helix  aspersa  and  Patella  vulgaris,  neatly 
mounted,  in  exchange  for  good  slides  or  material. — J.  Black- 
sham,  78,  Lozell's-road,  Birmingham. 

Rosa  tomentilla,  dumetoi-um,  Reuteri,  &c,  for  C alt  ha 
Guerangerii,  Digitaria  hiiDiifusa,  and  other  Rosas  and  Rubi. 
— G.  C.  Druce,  Northampton. 

Wanted,  Rubbings  of  Monumental  Brasses  from  all  parts  of 
England  :  exchange  natural  objects,  Rubbings  from  Kentish 
churches,  or  Curiosities.  Have  Science-Gossip  from  com- 
mencement.—  F.  Stanley,  6,  Clifton  Gardens,  Margate- 

British  Land,  Freshwater,  and  Marine  Shells,  and  British 
T-epidoptera,  offered  for  British  Marine  Shells  or  foreign 
Helices. — Thomas  H.  Hedworth,  Dunston,  Gateshead. 

Birds'  Eggs,  side-blown,  labelled,  picked,  well-marked 
specimens.  Wanted,  side-blown  specimens  of  many  varieties. 
—  Henry   Sissons,   Westbourne-road,  Sheffield. 

F.  S.  Collins,  26,  Tremont-street,  Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.A., 
would  like  to  exchange  American  Algae  for  English  or  others. 

Wanted,  Rev.  J.  G.  Wood's  "  Insects  at  Home "  and 
"  Insects  Abroad,"  or  any  similar  works,  for  foreign  insects, 
mounted  orunmounted,  chiefly  parasites. — M.,  Anglesey  Lodge, 
Godalming,  Surrey. 


To  Conchologists,  resident  at  home,  abroad,  or  in  the  Colo- 
nies.— Having  duplicates  of  nearly  100  species  of  the  British 
Land  and  Freshwater  Shells,  including  many  of  the  rarer 
British  Vertigos,  such  as  Substriata  minutissima,  Alpestris, 
Pusilla,  and  Angustior,  would  be  glad  to  exchange  these  for 
foreign  or  colonial  shells  equally  good.  Also  in  duplicate, 
Limncea  invohttits  and  Succiuea  oblonga,  for  other  English, 
Land,  and  Freshwater  Shells,  in  quantities  suitable  for  foreign 
exchanges  ;  many  common  species  required. —  W.  Sutton, 
Upper  Claremont,  Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

Side-blown  Eggs. — Many  very  rare  specimens  for  exchange, 
mostly  marked  with  collectors'  own  marks  for  authentication 
Wanted,  Woodcocks,  Ruffs,  Puffins,  Nightjars,  Shags,  Wag- 
tails, Hobies  ;  also,  American  and  other  foreign  species. — 
Sissons,  Sharrow,  Sheffield. 

For  injected  human  Kidney,  stained  section  of  human  Inte> 
tine,  and  Japanese  Grass,  all  in  balsam,  send  pure  gatherings 
of  diatoms,  or  any  well-mounted  balsam  slide,  to  J.  A.  Kay, 
Mansion  House,  Brompton,  Chatham,  Kent. 

"  HALF-Hours  in  the  Green  Lanes,"  new  and  clean,  offered 
for  Lepidoptera,  or  books  on  Entomology. — A.  Wheldon,  8, 
Albion-street,  Darlington. 

Number  of  first  class  Anatomical  Slides  wanted,  for  first 
slides  or  material  ;  send  sample  and  list  for  sample  and  list  to 
James  Green,  the  Cross,  March. 

Cretaceous  Fossils  to  exchange  for  others.  Also,  wanted, 
good  books  on  Palaeontology.  State  price,  &c. — J.  A.  Floyd, 
Alcester,  Warwickshire. 

Wanted,  in  exchange  for  well-mounted  microscopic  slides, 
SciENCE-Gossir  for  1870,  unbound  ;  also,  1865-66-67.  List  sent 
to  choose. — W.  Wise,  Broad-street,  Launceston. 

Offered  Nos.  68,  70,  140,  233,  284c,  625,  682,  1071,  1074, 
1341  and  b,  1577,  1600,  1634c, — for  \b,  6bc,  15/;,  i8<r,  23,  28/',  32, 
37,  48b,  50,  $ob,  52b,  57^,  and  Malva  Borealis.  Lists  exchanged. 
— C.  A.  O.,  30,  Queen's-road,  Hastings. 

L.  C,  7th  edition,  Nos.  135,  146,  176,  23s,  237,  246,  369,  527, 
556,  611,  702,  730,  767,  769,  858,  864,  882,  913,  929,  988,  999, 
1130,  1140,  1262,  1332,  1485,  1519,  1615,  and  many  others,  in 
exchange  for  other  rare  species.  Send  list  to  J.  Tempere,  10, 
Heald-place,  Rusholme,  Manchester. 

Withering  on  British  Plants,  4  vols,  cloth,  1830,  Que- 
kett's  Lectures  on  Histology,  2  vols,  cloth,  1852,  in  exchange 
for  unmounted  British  Mosses,  British  Birds'  Eggs  or  offers. — 
J.  R.  Murdoch,  Horsforth,  near  Leeds. 

Green  Woodpecker,  Red  Grouse,  Sparrow-hawk,  Long- 
eared  Owl,  Pochard,  and  pair  of  Water-hens,  in  separate  cases, 
in  exchange  for  Microscope  or  offers. — J.  R.  Murdoch,  Hors 
forth,  near  Leeds. 


BOOKS,  &c,  RECEIVED. 

"  Flowers  :  their  Origin,  Shapes.  Perfumes,  and  Colour,  " 
By  J.  E.  Taylor,  Ph.D.,  F.L.S.,  &c.  Second  edition.  London; 
Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 

"  Alphabetical  Handbook  to  England  and  Wales."  London  ; 
John  Murray. 

"The  Sight,  and  how  to  Preserve  it.''  By  H.  C.  Angell, 
M.D.     London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 

"The  Speaking  Telephone,  Talking  Phonograph,  and  other 
Novelties."  By  George  B.  Prescott.  New  v"ork  :  Appleton 
&  Co. 

"  Boston  Journal  of  Chemistry."     September. 

"American  Journal  of  Microscopy."       ,, 

"  Land  and  Water. "  ,, 

"  Midland  Naturalist."  ,, 

"  Chambers's  Journal."  ,, 

"  Ben.  Brierley's  Journal."  ,, 

"  Botanische  Zeitung."     August. 

"  Science  pour  Tous." 

Various  Pamphlets. 

&c.  &c.  &c. 


Communications  received  up  to  ioth  ult.,  from:— 
F.  K.  — C.  H.  G.— G.  C— J.  W.— E.  D.  R.— E.  E.—  T.  S.— 
E.  H.—  C.  M.— D.  D.  -T.  L.— W.  J.  H.— A.  B.— G.  C.  B.— 
E.  W.— X.  C— J.  W.— A.  W.— E.  W.  B.-W.  H.— R.  D.— 
A.  H.  B.— A.  J.  J.  B.— J.  M.— G.  D.— H.  E  W.— Dr.  G.  A.  S. 
— W.  H.  N.— C.  H.  B.-J.  R.  M.— E.  T.  C.  W.— K.  D.— 
J.  C.  W.— P.  L.  S.— W.  W.  S.— M.  G.— H.  C.  C.  M.— W.  B.  R. 
—J.  A.  W.—  G.  R.  R.--J.  K.— Col.  B.— W.  F.— W.  W.  F.— 
J.  L.— H.  C— J.  H.  M.— A.  T.— M.  P.  H.-Mrs.  S.— I.  C  — 
W.  H.  G.-B.  H.  K.-J.  D.  S.— G.  D.  S.— W.  C.-A.  W.  A. 
— T.  H.  B.— G.  S.  H.— Dr.  J.  H.  G.  — J.  G.-  Dr.  B  — 
Col.  M.— J.  W.  N.-C.  E.  R.— T.  S.-J.  C.  C. -Dr.  M.— 
W.  M.  C.  C.  S.— F.  W.  E.  S.— A.  W.— C.  C— W.  W.— 
W,  H.  W.— H.  L.— F.  S.— W.  C— J.  W.  S.-R.  S.—  F.  H.  A. 
—J.  F.  S.— J.  R.  M.— H.  J.  B—  W.  G.— G.  C.  D.— T.  H.  H. 
— H.  S.— J.  C— S.  M.—  R.  T.  G.— F.  S.  C  — W.  H.  P.- 
W.  W.  F.— E.  C— W.  H.— W.  H.  B.— R.  A.  B.— H.  C.  C  — 
J.  B.— A.  B.— W.  A.  H.— J.  G.— J.C.  C— M.  J.  W.— C.  A.  O. 
— B.  S.— B.  E.  S.— J.  A.  K.— Prof.  J.  T.— W.  W.  F.—  J.  A.  F. 
_W.  W.— A  W.— H.  T.S.— G.  P.— W.  B.— O.  P.  C— E.  M. 
— W.  G.  P.— S.  F.—  W.  G.— G.  W.  B.— &c.  &c. 


HARD  WICKE'S    S CIENCE -  G 0 SSIP. 


241 


QUARTZ,   AS   IT   OCCURS   IN  THE  LAKE  DISTRICT: 
ITS  STRUCTURE  AND   ITS   HISTORY. 

PART    II. 
By  J.    CLIFTON   WARD,   F.G.S.,    F.R.M.S.,   &c. 


UARTZ  as  a    Micro- 
scopic Study : — 

Having  enumerated 
the  various  forms  and 
conditions  under  which 
quartz  is  found  in  the 
Lake  District  rocks,  I 
wish  to  say  something 
about  its  internal 
structure  as  revealed 
by  the  microscope. 
The  method  of  study  is  this  : — The  fragments  of 
quartz,  or  the  rocks  containing  quartz,  are  sliced  very 
thin  and  mounted,  the  slice  being  reduced  to  such  a 
degree  of  thinness  as  to  allow  of  its  ready  examination 
by  transmitted  light. 

At  the  outset  let  us  find  out  what  can  be  the 
difference  between  a  piece  of  opaque  white  quartz 
and  clear  transparent  rock  crystal.  The  difference  is 
somewhat  similar  to  that  between  a  piece  of  opaque 
ice  and  a  piece  of  glassy  transparent  ice  ;  for  if  water 
be  frozen  very  quickly,  a  large  number  of  air-bubbles 
will  be  entrapped,  while  slow  freezing  enables  the 
air  to  escape.  Or,  again,  take  a  handful  of  snow, — 
it  is  white,  but  decidedly  opaque.  Though  formed  of 
clear  crystals  of  ice,  air  is  so  mixed  up  with  them 
that  the  rays  of  light,  constantly  suffering  reflection 
from  the  limiting  surfaces  of  the  two,  are  unable  to 
pass  through  the  mass.  Subject  such  a  mass  of  snow 
crystals,  however,  to  powerful  pressure,  the  air  will 
be  squeezed  out  and  the  formerly  opaque  snow  may 
be  converted  into  a  block  of  transparent  ice. 
Reverse  the  experiment ;  pound  up  your  block  of 
clear  ice,  and  once  more  you  have  an  opaque  white 
powder,  the  minute  icy  particles  being  separated  from 
one  another  by  air.  The  same  may  be  done  with  a 
transparent  quartz  crystal  :  grind  it  to  powder,  and 
the  powder  is  found  to  be  opaque  and  white. 

Hence,  may  we  not  conclude  that  the  difference 

between  clear  rock-crystal  and  opaque  white  vein- 
No.  167. 


quartz  is  that,  while  in  the  case  of  the  transparent 
quartz  there  is  nothing  or  but  little  to  reflect  the  rays 
of  light  or  to  prevent  their  passing  uninterruptedly 
through  the  mass,  in  the  case  of  the  opaque  white 
quartz  there  must  be  something  included  which  acts 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  air-bubbles  in  opaque  or 
cat's  ice,  as  it  is  called  ?  The  microscope  reveals 
what  this  something  is. 

Take  a  piece  of  ordinary  vein-quartz,  and  examine 
a  thin  slice  of  the  same  ;  every  part  of  the  field  of 
view  is  seen  to  be  full  of  little  cells  of  very  various 
form,  some  round,  some  long  drawn  out,  some 
branched,  and  some  even  having  a  regular  and 
what  appears  like  a  crystalline  outline.  Examine 
them  more  closely,  and  each  little  cell  is  seen  to  con- 
tain a  bubble,  sometimes  large,  and  more  or  less 
flattened  by  the  sides  of  the  cavity,  and  immovable  ; 
sometimes  like  the  bubble  in  a  spirit-level,  moving 
sluggishly  from  end  to  end  of  a  tube-like  cell ;  and 
sometimes  very  small,  and  moving  about  freely  in  the 
cell,  like  a  thing  of  life,  perhaps  visiting  all  parts  of 
the  cell  in  turn,  occasionally  becoming  hazy  and  in- 
distinct, because,  passing  to  a  deeper  part  of  the  cell, 
the  bubble  has  gone  slightly  out  of  focus.  If  the 
cell,  too,  be  very  small,  the  bubble,  owing  to  its 
extreme  minuteness,  may  seem  like  a  mere  black 
speck  ;  and  in  these  cases  the  motion  is  exceedingly 
active,  and  reminds  one  still  more  of  a  living  organism. 
What  can  these  things  mean  ?  For  a  bubble  to  move 
thus  freely  about,  all  analogy  would  lead  us  to  sup- 
pose that  the  cell  must  be  full  of  liquid,  except  the 
bubble-spot,  otherwise  this  free  motion  would  be 
impossible.  What,  then,  is  the  liquid  ?  and  what  does 
the  bubble  contain  ?  Mr.  Sorby  has  paid  great  atten- 
tion to  these  interesting  facts,  and  has  clearly  proved  : 
1st,  that  the  liquid  in  most  cases  is  water  ;  2nd, 
that  the  bubble  is  a  vacuum,  or  empty  spot,  when 
the  movement  in  the  cell  is  very  free  ;  and  3rd,  that 
the  water  is  frequently  saline,  and  sometimes  the 
cells  contain  small  cubical  crystals  of  salt.     Thus  we 

M 


242 


HARDWICK&S   SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


have  the  astounding  fact  revealed  to  us,  that  in  every 
small  fragment  of  opaque  quartz  there  are  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  these  minute  liquid  parcels  shut 
up  within  it,  and  each  containing  a  vacuous  bubble. 
Again,  we  ask,  what  can  this  mean  ?  Can  it  be  that 
water  has  had  so  large  a  part  to  play  in  the  formation 
of  this  hard  mineral  quartz,  that  granite,  which  we 
used  to  look  upon  as  a  molten  rock  formed  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  can  yet  have  been  formed  largely 
in  connection  with  water  ?  for  the  quartz  combining 
with  felspar  and  mica  to  form  granite  is  literally  full 
of  these  minute  water-cavities.  Let  us  see  how  this 
can  be  in  the  case  of  granite,  and  then  other  quartz 
occurrences  may  prove  easier  to  understand.  Mr. 
Sorby  has  made  many  and  delicate  researches  into 
this  subject,  and  he  has  found  that  on  subjecting  the 
liquid  cavities  to  heat,  first,  any  minute  crystals  of 
salt  contained  in  them  are  slowly  dissolved  ;  and 
second,  that  when  the  heat  is  made  sufficiently  ex- 
treme the  minute  bubble  becomes  smaller  and  smaller 
until  finally  the  liquid  fills  the  whole  cavity,  the 
bubble  completely  disappearing.  Now  it  is  evident 
that  these  little  parcels  of  water  must  have  been 
enclosed  within  the  quartz  on  its  solidification,  when 
the  granite  was  being  formed  deep  beneath  the  surface, 
for  all  geological  evidence  goes  to  show  that  granite 
is  deep-seated  in  its  formation  ;  although  of  various 
ages,  yet  no  other  rock  is  ever  found  beneath  it. 
Therefore,  it  is  further  evident  that  when  first  en- 
closed the  water  must  have  been  in  a  highly  heated 
condition,  and  unable  to  attain  the  state  of  vapour 
by  reason  of  the  great  pressure  to  which  it  was  sub- 
ject, so  that  we  may  regard  the  liquid  now  contained 
in  the  quartz  as  part  of  the  original  mother-liquor,  if 
I  may  use  the  term,  which,  together  with  a  heated 
condition  of  other  minerals,  and  great  pressure,  made 
up  the  conditions  under  which  the  granite  was  formed- 
In  the  formation  of  the  granite  the  two  minerals 
mica  and  felspar  were  the  first  to  crystallize,  impress- 
ing their  form  upon  the  semi-molten  or  semi-fluid 
quartz,  which  solidifying  last,  wrapt  up  within  itsel^ 
large  quantities  of  the  highly-heated  water  in  the 
form  of  minute  liquid  parcels  or  cavities.  Subse- 
quently, on  cooling  of  the  mass,  removal  of  pressure, 
or  both,  the  water  would  cool,  but  being  closely 
sealed  up  in  glassy  (quartzy)  cavities  or  minute  bottles, 
it  could  not  escape  in  the  state  of  vapour  any  more 
than  at  the  first,  but  in  its  cooled  condition  would 
occupy  a  slightly  less  space,  in  other  words,  the  con- 
traction would  leave  a  minute  bubble  or  empty  space 
(called  for  convenience'  sake,  a  vacuity),  which 
vacuity  you  will  see  must  have  a  size  proportionate, 
first,  to  the  size  of  the  liquid  parcel  ;  second,  to  the 
heat  and  pressure  under  which  the  fluid  was  origin- 
ally confined.  Hence,  if  it  is  found  that  in  a  number 
of  cases  the  relative  size  of  vacuities  and  liquid- 
cavities  is  the  same,  these  relative  dimensions  give  us 
clue  to  the  amount  of  combined  heat  and  pressure 
under  which  the  granite  (or,  to  speak  more  accurately, 


the  quartz  of  the  granite)  was  formed.  Here,  then,  is 
an  interesting  problem  ;  but  at  the  outset  it  appears 
that  to  find  out  the  exact  amount  of  either  the  heat 
or  the  pressure,  it  is  necessary  to  know  that  of  one  of 
these  elements  ;  thus,  if  we  knew  the  pressure  and 
observed  the  relative  size  of  vacuity  (or  bubble)  to 
liquid-cavity,  we  should  have  the  two  elements  from 
which  to  calculate  the  heat ;  or,  if  we  could  form  a 
tolerably  accurate  estimate  of  the  heat,  and  made 
observations  on  the  relative  size  of  vacuity  and  liquid- 
cavity,  these  elements'would  allow  us  to  form  some 
fairly  correct  idea  of  the  pressure  under  which  the 
rock  was  formed. 

Now,  by  an  elaborate  series  of  investigations,  Mr. 
Sorby  has  shown  it  to  be  very  probable  that  the  heat 
was  not  much  greater  than  360°  C.  (680°  Fah.),  or 
not  more  than  a  dull  red  heat  visible  in  the  dark. 
We  have  already  seen  how  the  water  in  many  cases 
contained,  when  hot,  more  mineral  salts  dissolved  in 
it  than  could  be  so  contained  when  cold  ;  hence  the 
small  crystals  of  salt  sometimes  found  in  the  liquid- 
cavities  ;  but  Sorby  has  also  called  attention  to  the 
fact,  that  crystals  of  the  mineral  called  Schorl  (a 
variety  of  hornblende)  are  frequently  enclosed  in  the 
liquid-cavities,  and  that  these  would  be  fused  at  any 
temperature  greater  than  a  dull  red  heat ;  and  from 
this  and  other  facts  he  has  fixed  on  the  temperature 
of  3600  C.  (6So°  F.)  as  the  probable  extreme  at  which 
the  quartz  of  granites  was  formed.  Calculating  on 
the  basis  of  these  elements,  and  having  made  a  large 
number  of  observations  upon  the  relative  size  of  the 
vacuities  and  liquid-cavities  in  the  quartz  of  the 
Cornish  granites,  Mr.  Sorby  arrived  at  the  conclusion 
that  the  mean  of  the  pressure  expressed  in  feet  of 
rock  under  which  the  Cornish  granites  were  con- 
solidated was  50,000  ft.  (this  not  necessarily  the 
actual  depth  at  which  formed). 

( To  be  continued. ) 

THE  CRITICAL  BOTANIST. 

n^HE  educational  value  of  "natural"  or  biological 
J-  science,  as  distinguished  from  "physical"  or 
"experimental"  study,  depends  on  the  stress  laid, 
not  only  on  mere  observation,  but  on  observation  at 
once  careful  and  minute.  Experiment  is  being  intro- 
duced with  much  good  result  into  the  biological 
sciences.  It  teaches  handiness  or  skilful  manipula- 
tion, and  exactitude  in  recording  results.  The 
use  of  quantitative  analyses  and  statistics  has 
also  a  great  value,  not  only  to  science,  but  also 
to  education.  Still,  critical  observation  is  the  chief 
educational  raison  d'etre  of  biology,  and  especially 
of  botany,  to  the  tyro.  In  proportion  as  it  is  care- 
ful and  minute,  will  this  observation  be  valuable 
to  the  observer.  Its  value  to  science  is  really  a 
secondary  matter,  and  will  come  unexpectedly,  being 
dependent,  not  only  on  care  and  minuteness,  but  also 
on  what  may  be  termed    "rationality."     By  this,  I 


HA  RD  IV I  CKE'S    S  CTENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


243 


mean  a  direction  of  observation  into  channels  of  im- 
portance, channels  not  filled  by  work  already  done. 
This  "  rationality"  will  come  to  the  tyro  who  both 
studies  and  observes. 

As  I  know  that  the  unbotanical  and  junior  students 
are  entirely  ignorant  of  what  "critical  botany"  means, 
and  as  science  sadly  needs  more  critical  observers,  I 
thought  Science-Gossip  would  be  the  best  medium 
for  a  few  notes  on  the  subject. 

Criticalness  is  necessary  in  all  branches  of  the 
science.  In  the  chemistry  of  plant-life,  it  is  not 
enough  to  know  that  certain  elements  occur  in  certain 
plants.  We  want  to  know  in  what  proportions  they 
occur,  in  what  manner  of  composition,  at  what  periods 
of  the  life  of  a  plant,  and  in  what  organs  or  tissues. 
We  want  to  know  where  the  plant  gets  them,  how  it 
assimilates  them,  what  changes  they  undergo  in  the 
plant,  and  whether  they  are  essential  to  its  life.  This 
amounts  to  a  want — very  partially  supplied  at  present 
— of  detailed  chemical  analysis  of  various  tissues  and 
organs  of  many  different  species  at  various  stages  of 
growth  and  decay,  and  an  extended  practice  of  the 
valuable  experiments  in  "water-culture,"  the  growth 
of  various  plants  in  definite  solutions. 

In  general  Morphology  or  Minute  Anatomy,  we 
must  not  rest  content  with  knowing  that  such  and  such 
a  member  is  built  up  of  such  and  such  tissues,  or  that 
these  latter  are  composed  of  various  lamina;  of  cells 
or  vessels  of  different  shape  or  structure.  We  want 
also  to  see  the  mode  of  development  of  each  cell, 
how  they  make  up  the  vessels  and  tissues,  and  how 
the  complex  member  arrives  at  its  complexity.  Not 
only  is  there  room  for  additional  research  on  the 
functions  and  behaviour  of  the  nucleus  of  cells  and  for 
further  elucidation  of  the  histoiy  of  starch,  but  the 
subject  of  the  crystalloid  granules,  the  aleurone 
particles,  and  the  "raphides,"  or  true  crystals,  con- 
tained in  the  cells  of  many  plants,  is  a  mine  but 
slightly  worked.  Systems  of  branching  and  phyllo- 
taxis  are  also  lines— among  many  I  might  mention 
— in  which  there  is  yet  much  to  be  done  by  accurate 
observation,  especially  that  of  development. 

In  elementary  Physiology,  science  stands  in  need  of 
help,  rather  from  experiment  and  statistics  than  from 
pure  observation ;  such  as  the  experiments  of  Pro- 
fessor McNab  on  the  movement  of  water  in  plants 
{Trans.  Hoy.  Irish  Acad.,  vol.  xxv.),  those  of  Sachs 
on  the  corroding  power  of  roots,  and  of  Mr.  Darwin 
on  twining  plants. 

In  special  Morphology  and  Physiology,  however, 
there  is  an  inexhaustible  field  for  new  and  valuable 
observation.  The  life-history  of  the  lowest  plants,  as 
studied  by  Messrs.  Dallinger  and  Drysdale ;  the 
hybridization  of  ferns  and  flowering  plants,  both  in 
cultivation  and  in  a  wild  state;  the  homology  of 
certain  special  organs,  in  various  groups,  worked  out, 
as  Mr.  S.  H.  Vines  has  done  that  of  the  suspensor 
(Quart.  Journ.  Micros.  Set.,  Jan.,  187S)  •  the 
minute  anatomy  of  the  leaf  as  a  classificatory  cha- 


racter, as  Professor  McNab  is  proving  it  among  the 
Conifers ;  the  floral  development  and  teratology,  or 
abnormal  forms,  of  various  groups,  studied  on  the 
method  inaugurated  in  Payer's  Organogenic  de  la 
Flair,  excellent  examples  of  which  may  be  seen  in 
Dr.  Masters's  paper  on  Primula,  just  issued,  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Linmxan  Society,  in  his  note  on 
the  Composite,  in  the  Journal  of  Botany  for  Feb- 
ruary, and  in  Mr.  Hartog's  paper  on  the  Sapotacese, 
in  the  same  journal  for  March  :  these  are  a  few  of  the 
wider  subjects  for  critical  study.  Here  it  will  be  seen 
that  it  is  often  necessary  that  observations  should  be 
both  numerous  and  even  continuous,  and  that  they 
should  be  compared  one  with  another. 

But  even  in  the  simpler  and  isolated  observations 
of  the  collector  and  tyro,  the  critical  faculty  comes 
equally  into  play.  I  call  it  a  faculty,  for,  like  the 
imagination  of  the  poet,  some  people  seem  to  be 
utterly  destitute  of  it ;  but  I  have  little  doubt  that 
this  arises,  mainly,  from  its  never  having  been  culti- 
vated, educed,  educated.  If  you  have  a  garden,  and 
are  likely  to  remain  in  one  locality  for  years,  you  may 
render  much  service  to  botanical  science  by  observing 
the  exact  date  of  the  opening  of  leaf-buds  and  Sower- 
buds  in  various  species  in  each  year,  noticing  also  the 
altitude  above  sea-level,  latitude  and  soil  of  your 
garden;  and,  if  possible,  other  meteorological  details, 
such  as  rainfall,  thermometric  and  barometric  obser- 
vations, wind,  &c.  If  you  can  name,  or  capture  and 
get  named,  the  various  insects  which  feed  upon  your 
plants,  or  which  visit  their  flowers,  distinguishing 
those  that  suck  the  honey,  those  that  eat  and  those 
that  cany  away  the  pollen,  you  will  also  be  doing 
good  scientific  work. 

If  you  collect  wild  plants,  it  is  important  to  notice 
the  altitude  at  which  a  species  occurs,  the  nature  of 
the  soil  it  grows  in,  and  its  exact  topographical  posi- 
tion, so  that  it  can  be  seen,  not  only  in  what  county 
and  parish  it  occurs,  but  also  in  what  river- basin ; 
since  the  vast  importance  of  river-basins  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  plants  is  now  generally  acknowledged. 

Lastly,  it  is  important  to  note  exactly  what  your 
find  is.  This  is  what  English  botanists  generally 
speak  of  as  critical  knowledge.  You  must  make 
yourself  sure,  not  only  of  genus  and  species,  but  in 
many  cases  of  sub-species,  variety,  or  variation.  To 
do  this  is  time  well  spent.  It  makes  you  examine 
a  plant  more  closely  than  if  you  already  knew  it  well, 
were  told  its  name  or  identified  it,  as  some  tyros  do, 
from  its  general  resemblance  to  a  picture. 

By  this  close  examination  you  unconsciously  gain  a 
far  deeper  and  more  permanent  knowledge  of  a  plant 
than  by  being  told  its  name  ;  and,  moreover,  your 
accurately  determined  locality  for  one  of  these 
"segregates,"  as  they  are  termed,  may  be  of  great 
use  in  the  generalizations  of  botanical  geography. 
Independently,  therefore,  of  any  theory  as  to  the 
origin  of  species,  it  is  far  better,  from  the  pewst  of 
view    of    self-education    and    instruction,    to    be    a 

st  2. 


24. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIF. 


"splitter"  than  a  "lumper."  For  books,  then,  the 
student  cannot  have  a  better  general  manual  of 
British  Botany  than  Professor  Babington's.  For 
many  groups,  however,  he  will  do  well  to  use  special 
monographs ;  and  it  must  also  be  clearly  understood 
that  varieties  are  hardly  to  be  recognized  by  mere 
"book-characters,"  but  must  be  studied  in  the  living 
state. 

In  conclusion  let  me  take  as  an  example  the  first 
group  which  requires  critical  study  in  the  first  of  the 
natural  orders,  viz.,  the  genus  Thalictrum  (Meadow- 
rue),    among  the  Ranunculaces.     Whilst  the  order 
Ranunculacere,   which  contains   some   thirty  genera 
and  some  five  hundred  species,  is  almost  universally 
distributed,  but  is  especially  abundant  in  temperate 
and  cold  regions,  the  genus  Thalictrum  is  confined  to 
the  northern  hemisphere.    Like  the  order  to  which  it 
belongs,  this  genus  is  essentially  European,  occurring 
comparatively  rarely  in  North  America,  North  Africa, 
and  Asia,  in  which  continent  it  is  only  known  in  the 
north  and  west,  to  the  Himalayas.     The   order   is 
what  is  termed  a  very  "natural"  one,  being,  in  spite 
of  many  anomalous  genera,  clearly  defined  and  sepa- 
rated   from  its   nearest  allies.      It    is    also    readily 
and  naturally  divisible  into  the  five  tribes,  originally 
framed  by  De  Candolle;  viz.,Clematidere,  Anemones, 
Ranuncules,   Hellebores,  and  Psonies.     The  last 
two  of  these  agree  in  having  the  fruit  "dehiscent," 
i.e.  splitting  when  ripe,    and  all  except  Clematides 
have  the  sepals  overlapping,  or  "imbricate."     Ane- 
mones and  Ranuncules  differ  in  having  the  single 
ovule   in   each    "achene,"  or  indehiscent  carpel  or 
fruitlet,  pendulous  in  the  former,   ascending  in  the 
latter.     The  genus  Thalictrum,  along  with  Anemone, 
Knowltonia,  Adonis,  Callianthemum,  and  Myosurus, 
constitute  the  tribe  Anemones.      Knowltonia  curi- 
ously  occurs    in    South   Africa,     and   Myosurus   in 
Europe,  Asia,   Africa,  Australia,  and  New  Zealand. 
Thalictrum  and  Anemone  differ  from  the  other  genera 
of  the  tribe  in  having  no  petals,  and  Thalictrum  is 
distinguished  from  Anemone  by  the  absence  of  the 
involucre   of  three  leaf-like  bracts    characteristic  of 
the  flower-stalk  of  the  latter.     The  Meadow-rues  are 
herbs  with    a  perennial    rootstock   and  erect  habit  ; 
leaves  bi-  or  tri-pinnatisect  and  stipulate  ;    inflores- 
cence panicled  or  in  a  raceme,  without  any  involucre, 
often   polygamous  ;    sepals   four   or  five,    imbricate, 
petaloid,  and  dull  green,   yellow,   purple,   or  whitish 
in   colour,    usually   small ;    petals   absent ;    stamens 
numerous ;    carpels    on    a    narrow    receptacle,    with 
short  styles,  which  are  persistent  or  deciduous,  and 
with  one  pendulous  ovule  in  each,  afterwards  forming 
a  fruit  of  achenes,  which  are  often  stalked,  and  are 
variously   ribbed,    nerved,    or    winged.     There    are 
about    fifty  species,     some    three    to    six    of   which 
only,  accordingly  as   one  "lumps"  with  Hooker  or 
"splits"  with  Babington,  are  British. 

G.   S.   Boulger. 
(  To  be  continued. ) 


NATURAL     HISTORY     IN     THE 
SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY. 
By  F.  Kitton,  Hon.  F.R.M.S.,  &c. 
Part  II. 

'  |  "HE  ignorance  of  natural  history  displayed  in  the 
J-  description  of  animals  living  in  distant  lands, 
may  be  excused  on  the  ground  of  the  difficulty  of 
obtaining  any  accurate  knowledge  of  their  habits,  or 
even  form,  from  those  who  had  seen  them  in  their 
native  wilds.  The  principal  authorities  were  sailors, 
who,  with  that  love  of  the  marvellous  usually  ac- 
companying ignorance,  allowed  their  imaginations  to 
run  riot  in  describing  the  animals  or  plants  of  foreign 
countries. 

This  excuse  will  not,  however,  apply  to  the 
author's  descriptions  of  our  domestic  animals,  as  the 
following  extracts  from  the  chapter  on  dogs  will 
show  : — 

"OF  THE  DOGGE 

IN    GENERALL. 

"  A  Dogge  is  called  in  hebrew  Keleb,  and  Lamas 
according  to  Munster,  in  Caldee  Kalba,  in  Arabique 
Kalbe,  in  Persia  Sag;  the  Saracens  Kep  or  Kolph  ; 
the  Grecians  Kuon,  because  of  his  love  to  man,  and 
vulgarly  at  this  day  Skilos  and  Skirle ;  the  Medians 
Spaco,  the  Germans  Hitnd,  the  Italians  Cane,  the 
French  C/iien,  the  Spaniards  Perro  or  cavendo,  be- 
cause his  barking  is  as  loud  as  an  Artificiall  song ; 
also  Catellus;  the  Illyrians  Pes  or  Pas,  and  the 
Lsrtins  Cam's. 

'There  is  no  region  or  countrey  in  the  world 
where  these  are  not  bred  in  some  store,  as  shall  be 
declared  afterwarde,  in  the  particular  discourse  of 
every  kind  of  Dogges.  For  as  shall  be  manifested 
more  at  large,  there  are  Dogges  very  great,  some  for 
hunting,  some  for  Warre  and  defence,  some  for  the 
Bull  or  Bear,  some  for  the  Hare,  Cony,  or  Hedge- 
hog ;  againe,  some  are  smaller,  which  are  called 
Hounds,  Braches,*  Beagles,  Shepheardes  Dogges, 
House-curres,  Spagnels,  both  for  Water  and  Land ; 
and  some  foysting  Dogges,  f  for  the  pleasure  of  the 
rich. 

"In  the  first-place  there  are  to  be  handled  the 
nature  of  Dogges  in  generall,  wherein  they  agree, 
and  their  common  properties  of  nature,  such  as  are 
not  destroyed  in  the  destinction  of  kindes,  but  re- 
maine  like  infallible  and  invariable  truths  in  every 
kinde  and  country  in  the  world.  .  .  .  The  outward 
proportion  of  the  head  altereth  as  the  kind  altereth, 
being  sometime  like  a  Lyon,  sometime  like  a  Hedge- 
hog ;  some  long  with  a  broad  snout,  and  some  with 

*  These  dogs  are  supposed  to  be  dogs  of  scent.  No  very 
definite  meaning  seems  to  have  been  attached  to  the  name  by 
early  English  writers.  The  word  is  apparently  synonymous 
with  the  old  French  word  lirache  (German  Brack),  translated 
ckien.  Shakespeare  seems  to  have  considered  them  as  pet 
dogs.  "Truth's  a  dog  that  must  to  kennel  when  Lady  the  brach. 
may  stand  by  the  fire  and  stink." — Lear. 

t  Lapdogs  ;  see  fysting,  in  Nares'  Glossary. 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 


245 


a  piked  snout ;  but  the  braine  decreaseth  and  in- 
creaseth  with  the  moon.  There  is  no  commissure 
or  seame  in  his  scull  (like  as  in  a  mans),  but  it  is  a 
continued  bone  without  separation  inward  or  out- 
ward.* 

"  The  louder  and  shriller  voice  of  a  Dogge  is  called 
barking,  the  lower  and  stiller  is  called  whining  or 
fawning.  It  was  a  monstrous  thing  that  a  Dogge 
should  speake  and  a  serpent  barke,  as  it  is  beleeved 
in  antiquity  both  came  to  passe,  when  Tarquinius 
was  driuen  out  of  his   kingdom.      It   is  not  cause- 

lesse  that  the  barking  of  Dogges  hath  attributed  unto 

I 


holy  actions,  and  so  ought  the  eies  and  ears  of  a 
Prophet  be  attendant  upon  heavenly  things.  The 
spleene  because  a  Dog  hath  little  or  no  spleene. 
and  therof  commeth  his  madnes  and  death  whereof 
also  it  commeth  that  the  seruants  which  have  charge 
of  Dogges  being  with  them  in  their  sickness  and 
latter  end  for  the  most  part  prove  splenaticke. 
Smelling,  neezing,  and  Laughing,  because  the 
spleenatike  can  do  more  of  all  these,  but  of  this 
more  afterward." 

The  Rev.  Topsell   concludes    his    account  of  the 
Village  Dogge  or  Housekeeper  by  relating  the  fol- 


Fig.  201.  The  Lama. 


it  divers  qualities,  as  for  a  man  to  dreame  of  the 
same  presageth  some  treasonable  harme  by  enemies, 
so  likewise  if  they  fawne  and  claw  vpon  a  man. 
.  "The  Egyptians  signifie  three  thinges  by  a  Dog, 
a  Scribe,  a  Prophet,  a  spleene,  smelling,  laughing; 
neezing.  A  Scribe  because  a  Dog  is  silent  more  than 
he  barketh,  so  must  a  perfect  scribe  meditate  more 
than  he  speaketh,  for  to  barke  at  euery  one  were  to 
pleasure  none,  and  to  speake  continually  were  a  signe 
of  madnes.  Again,  a  Prophet  because  a  Dogge 
doth  most  eagerly  behold  and  admire  constantly  all 

*  If  the  writer  had  taken  the  trouble  to  examine  a  skull,  he 
would  have  found  that  cranial  sutures  were  present. 


lowing  anecdote,  the  truth  of  which  is  vouched  for 
by  A ntonius  Sc/inebergerns,  an  authority  with  whom 
I  regret  to  say  I  am  unacquainted. 

"In  a  Church  in  Cracouia,  dedicated  to  the 
Virgin  Mary,  wherein  euery  night  are  an  assembly  of 
dogs  which  unto  this  day  (saith  the  Author)  meete 
voluntarily  at  an  appointed  houre  for  the  custody  of 
the  Temple  and  those  ornaments  which  are  preserved 
therein  against  theifes  and  robbers,  and  if  it  fortune 
any  of  the  dog  Dogges  be  negligent  and  slacke  at  the 
houre  aforesaide,  then  will  he  bark  about  the  Church 
until  he  be  let  in,  but  his  fellows  take  punishment 
of  him   [and   fall  on   him,   biting  and   rending  his 


246 


HARD Wl CKE 'S   S CIE NCE -GOSSIP. 


skinne,  yea  sometimes  killing  him  ;  and  these  Dogs 
haue  a  set  dyet  or  allowance  of  dinner  from  the 
Canons  and  Preachers  of  the  Church,  which  they 
duely  observe  without  breach  of  oi'der,  for  to  day  two 
of  them  will  goe  to  one  Cannons  house  and  two 
to  anothers,  and  so  likewise  al  the  residue  in  turnes 
successively  visit  the  severall  houses  within  the  cloyster 
yard,  neuer  going  twice  together  to  one  house  nor 
preuenting  the  refection  of  their  fellowes ;  and  the 
story  is  reported  by  Antonhis  Schnebergerus  for  cer- 
tain truth  upon  hia  own  knowledge." 

He  concludes  his  own  history  of  dogs  with  a 
description  and  anecdotes  of  the  little  Melitsean  Dog, 
of  whose  intelligence  he  relates  some  remarkable 
instances  of  instinct,  far  surpassing  anything  in 
"Jesse."  One  kept  by  a  certain  Italian,  about 
1403,  called  Andrew,  is  perhaps  the  most  remarkable. 
The  dog,  although  blind,  "  would  find,  even  when 
buried  in  the  earth,  Rings,  Iewels,  bracelets,  pieces 
of  gold  and  silver,  lent  to  his  master  by  the  standers 
by,  and  when  he  was  commanded,  give  to  every  one 
his  own  Ring,  Iewell,  Bracelet,  or  money,  which  the 
blind  dog  did  without  stay  or  doubt.  Afterward  the 
standers  by  gave  vnto  him  divers  peeces  of  coine 
stamped  with  the  images  of  sundry  princes,  and  then 
one  called  for  a  piece  of  English  money,  and  the 
Dog  deliuered  him  a  peece  ;  another  for  the  Em- 
perors coine,  and  the  Dog  deliuered  him  a  piece 
thereof :  and  so  consequently  every  princes  coine  by 
name  till  all  was  restored,  and  this  story  was 
recorded  by  Abbas  Vrspergensis,  whereupon  the 
common  people  said  the  dog  was  a  diuell,  or  else 
possessed  with  some  pythonicall  spirit  :  and  so  much 
for  this  dog. 

"  Now  a  daies  they  have  found  another  breede  of 
little  dofrs  in  all  nations  beside  the  Melitrean  Docs, 
either  made  so  by  art,  as  enclosing  their  bodies  in  the 
earth  when  they  are  whelpes,  so  as  they  cannot  grow 
great,  by  reason  of  the  place  or  els  impayring  their 
growth  by  some  kind  of  meat  or  nourishment. 

"  The  Dogges  of  Casamania  can  neuer  be  tamed,  for 
their  men  also  are  wilde,  and  Hue  without  al  law  and 
ciuility,  and  thus  much  of  Dogs  in  special. 

"  In  the  next  place  I  thoght  good  to  insert  into  this 
story  the  treatise  of  English  Dogs,  first  of  all  written 
in  Latine  by  that  famous  Doctour  in  Phisicke,  Iohn 
Cay,  and  once  translated  by  A.  F.,  and  directed  to 
that  noble  Gesner.'' 

This  treatise  is  written  in  the  form  of  a  letter,  which 
he  commences  thus.  "I  wrote  vnto  you  (well  beloued 
friend  Gesner),  not  many  years  past,  a  manifolde  his- 
tory containing  the  divers  forms  of  Beast,  Birds,  and 
Fishes,  the  sundry  shapes  of  plants,  and  the  fashions 
of  Hearbes,  &c. 

"I  wrote  moreouer  vnto  you  seuerally  a  certain 
abridgement  of  dogs  which  in  your  discourse  uppon 
the  formes  of  Beasts  in  the  second  order  of  wilde  and 
tamable  beasts  wher  you  make  mention  of  Scottish 
Dogs,  and  in  the  winding  up  of  your  letter  written  and 


directed  to  Doctour  Turner  comprehending  a  Cata- 
logue or  rehersall  of  your  books  not  yet  extant,  you 
promised  to  set  forth  in  print,  and  openly  to  publish 
in  the  face  of  the  world  among  such  your  workes  as 
are  not  yet  come  abroad  to  light  and  sight.  But 
because  certain  circumstances  were  wanting  in  my 
breuiary  of  English  Dogs  (as  seemed  vnto  me),  I 
staied  the  publication  of  the  same  making  promise  to 
send  another  abroad  which  might  be  committed  to  the 
hands,  the  eies,  the  minds,  and  the  iudgements  of  the 
Readers." 

[To  be  continued.) 


A  FEW  AUTUMN  FLOWERS,  WITH  HINTS 

UPON  THEIR  CULTURE. 

By  Mrs.  Battersby. 

A  GROUP  of  autumn  flowers — not  geraniums, 
or  heliotropes,  or  calceolarias,  though  they 
are  very  brilliant  and  lovely  for  those  who  can  afford 
greenhouses  and  forcing-pits,  and  the  amount  of 
care,  time,  and  trouble  which  will  tide  these  deli- 
cate favourites  safely  over  a  winter's  frost  and  snow — 
but  a  bouquet  of  out-of-door  plants  which  may  be 
left  in  the  garden  season  after  season,  gathering 
strength  and  beauty,  and  lighting  up  our  autumnal 
parterre  with  their  vivid  tints. 

One  of  our  chief  favourites  is  the  Fuchsia.  It  is 
quite  wonderful  to  find  what  numberless  varieties  of 
these  beautiful  shrubs  will  survive  our  winters.  As 
a  proof,  I  must  tell  you  I  once  struck  three  cuttings 
of  the  then  rare  double  white  fuchsia ;  upon  the 
approach  of  frost  two  were  safely  housed — the  other, 
much  to  my  annoyance,  could  not  be  found.  Next 
summer  my  housed  plants  were  healthy,  but  rather 
stunted  both  in  leaf  and  flower;  while  the  missing  one, 
which  had  died  down  to  the  ground  in  winter,  threw 
up  long  luxuriant  shoots,  and  blossoms  which  looked 
like  small  white  roses  enclosed  in  rich  crimson 
sepals.  The  sole  protection  which  the  young  plants 
had  enjoyed  was  a  light  surface-dressing  of  turf- 
mould  ; — and  cocoa-nut  fibre,  coal-ashes,  or  moss 
would  probably  have  answered  quite  as  well. 
Fuchsias  are  very  easily  managed  ;  the  chief  secrets 
are  a  rich,  light  soil,  and  a  sheltered,  yet  sunny 
aspect.  They  enjoy  the  protection  of  a  wall,  and 
blossom  particularly  well  when  planted  against  one  ; 
and  the  sole  drawback  to  the  out-of-door  culture  of 
fuchsias  is,  that  in  late  seasons  their  best  flowers  are 
generally  "  caught "  some  frosty  night,  and  present  a 
melancholy  spectacle  on  the  following  day. 

Next  to  my  fuchsias  I  would  place  a  real  autumn 
gem,  the  tall,  white  anemone  {Japonica),  which,  rising 
from  a  cluster  of  rather  coarse  but  handsomely-shaped 
leaves,  on  a  stem  of  more  than  three  feet  in  height, 
bears  a  number  of  snowy  blossoms  singularly  alike, 
both  in  shape  and  size,  to  the  white  wild-rose  of  our 
hedges;  but  though  we  miss  the  fragrance  of  the  way- 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE -GOSSIP. 


247 


side  flower,  our  anemone  has  the  charm  of  pre- 
serving its  beauty  in  a  vase  for  nearly  double  the 
time  of  the  much-prized  rose  ;  indeed,  with  the 
exception  of  china-asters,  pyrefheums,  and  chrysan- 
themums, anemones  might  claim  a  prize  for  this 
property.  Anemone  Japonica  is  perfectly  hardy, 
and  easily  cultivated,  as  the  roots  can  be  separated 
in  early  spring  without  injury  to  the  plant ;  but  a 
row  of  white  anemones  left  undisturbed  in  front  of  a 
garden-hedge  becomes  one  of  the  prettiest  sights  in 
an  autumn  garden — the  masses  of  snowy  petals  are 
brought  into  such  bold  relief  by  their  green  back- 
ground. For  scarlet  to  place  against  our  white 
blossoms  perhaps  Lobelia  cardinalis  can  hardly  be 
surpassed ;  except  perhaps  by  some  late  blossom  of 
gladiolus.  But  the  lobelia  is  rather  a  capricious 
plant  ;  it  requires  a  large  amount  of  moisture  in  a 
thoroughly  well-drained  situation.  The  most  suc- 
cessful bed  I  have  ever  seen  was  made  by  removing 
about  two  feet  of  the  upper  soil,  and  placing  a 
quantity  (about  half  a  foot)  of  broken  bricks  in  the 
pit.  The  soil  was  then  replaced,  and  the  lobelias 
grew  and  flourished  for  years.  Unfortunately  they 
were  removed  to  an  adjacent  bed  without  drainage 
precautions  being  taken,  and  they  "  damped  off,"  or 
sent  up  sickly  stunted  shoots  as  long  as  they  sur- 
vived. A  clergyman,  for  many  years  resident  in 
America,  told  me  the  beauty  and  brilliancy  of  a 
swamp  of  lobelias  in  their  native  habitats  is  almost 
dazzling. 

There  is  a  rather  pretty  violet-coloured  and  also  a 
lilac  lobelia,  both  of  which  blossom  in  autumn  ;  but 
even  the  scarlet  of  the  lobelia  pales  beside  the  blos- 
soms of  the  ' '  velvet "  Salvia,  and  its  sister,  the  blue 
salvia,  is  not  surpassed  by  any  autumnal  flower.  The 
length  of  time  this  plant  remains  in  blossom,  if  not 
destroyed  by  rains  or  high  winds,  is  marvellous. 
First  the  "king  spike,"  and  then  the  side  spikelets, 
seem  never  weary  of  showing  their  brilliant  colouring 
to  grace  our  autumn  bouquet ;  and  after  a  trial  of  six 
seasons  out  of  doors,  merely  protected  by  a  covering 
of  turf  mould,  my  noble  plant  is  the  admiration  of 
all  visitors.  Sometimes  in  spring  the  early  shoots  of 
both  salvias  are  cut  off  by  frosts,  but  the  hardy  plant, 
like  the  field  potato,  only  waits  for  a  few  congenial 
days  to  send  up  a  succession  of  fresh  sprouts  from  its 
uninjured  tuberous  roots.  Blue  salvias  are  easily 
reared  from  seed  (if  these  are  defended  from  robins, 
which  seem  particularly  fond  of  them)  ;  they  will  also 
root  from  small  side-shoots,  or  slips,  in  summer ;  but 
until  the  tubers  form  they  should  not  be  left  out  in 
winter  time ;  and  when  the  plants  are  meant  to  re- 
main out  of  doors  they  should  be  planted  in  spring 
and  left  undisturbed  during  the  summer,  so  that  they 
can  "settle  themselves,"  as  our  old  gardener  used  to 
call  it,  before  winter. 

And  now  for  yellow  to  set  off  my  scarlet,  white, 
and  blue  favourites.  I  shall  either  take  a  few  blos- 
soms of  Viola  Intea,  or  twigs  of   Spanish  broom  ; 


both  are  perfectly  hardy.  Though  I  shall  not  place 
purple  beside  blue,  I  may  remark,  en  passant,  that 
a  bed  of  Viola  cornnta  of  that  lovely  shade  is  at 
present  one  of  the  most  brilliant  spots  in  the  garden, 
whilst  its  yellow  sisters  form  glowing  borders  to 
several  other  beds,  and  they  have  now  (October) 
been  in  blossom  for  the  last  three  months.  A  box  oi 
slips  taken  from  young  shoots  of  violas  (close  to 
the  ground),  and  stuck  between  the  old  cut-down 
plants  in  spring  each  season,  will  give  a  beautiful 
succession  of  flowers  all  through  the  summer  months  ; 
and  entomologists  may  care  to  know  that  the  Viola 
cornnta  and  all  its  purple  varieties  are  veritable  moth- 
traps  on  summer  evenings.  The  Spanish  broom  is  a 
beautiful  shrub  in  autumn,  with  one  defect, — that  it 
blossoms  so  late  in  the  season  that  it  is  difficult  to 
procure  ripened  seed. 

And  now  I  must  look  for  some  pretty  leaves 
wherewith  to  form  a  background  for  my  bouquet, 
and  I  shall  find  them  in  the  delicate  fern-like  green 
of  a  bed  of  young  carrots ;  they  are  so  light  as  to 
prove  invaluable  at  this  time  of  year  for  arranging 
vases,  and  we  may  often  find  a  leaf  almost  as  scarlet 
as  the  lobelia  beside  it.  One  shade  more  and  our 
group  will  be  complete, — something  dark, — and  our 
children  supply  it.  They  have  been  out  boating,  and 
have  brought  home  a  bunch  of  "giant  black-tufted 
grass,"  as  they  call  it,  a  plume  of  which  will  make 
our  autumnal  vase  of  flowers  quite  artistic  in  effect. 


FOSSIL   BOLYZOA. 

The  Genus  Fenestella:  its  History,  Develop- 
ment, and  Range  in  Space  and  Time. 

By  George  Robert  Vine. 
I. — History  of  the  Genus. 

SOME  of  the  most  prolific  forms  of  animal  life 
found  in  the  palaeozoic  series  of  rocks  are  a 
group  of  Polyzoa,  which  has  passed  under  several 
names.  By  the  earliest  investigators,  some  of  these 
Polyzoa  were  classified  with  the  corals,  and  were 
consequently  placed  by  Goldfuss  with  the  genus 
Gorgonia*  Other  forms  were  restricted  by  the  same 
author,  and  placed  with  Lamarck's  genus  Retepora. 
This  was  the  status  of  classificatory  knowledge  when 
Phillips  wrote  his  work  on  the  "Geology  of  York- 
shire." Turning  to  one  of  the  later  editions  of 
Brown's  "Zoologist's  Text-book,"  published  by 
Fullarton,  in  1833,  I  find  the  class  Polypi  placed 
among  the  Radiata,  in  the  fourth  division  of  the 
Animal  Kingdom.  The  animals  of  this  class  were 
gelatinous,  with  elongated  contractile  bodies  ;  and 
provided  with  an  alimentary  sac,  which  had  one 
opening  ;  mouth  terminal,  surrounded  by  radiated 
tentacula  ;  the  greater  number  of  the  species  con- 


*  Linn»v» 


248 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


gregated,  adherent,  and  forming  compound  animals.* 
The  class  was  divided  into  five  orders  ;  but  under 
one  order,  those  of  Polypi  vaginati,  Spongta,  Coral- 
Una,  Gorgon/a,  and  Retepora  found  a  home.  With 
these  were  associated  many  of  the  corals,  polyzoa, 
and  anthozoa,  which  have  been  separated  by  later 
investigators,  and  placed  under  classifications  alto- 
gether different  from  either  that  of  Brown  or 
Cuvier. 

The  generic  character  of  Lamarck's  Retepora  is  as 
follows  :  Stony,  and  interiorly  porous,  with  thin, 
depressed,  branched  expansions,  sometimes  free,  at 
others  formed  like  net-work  ;  the  polypiferous  cells 
on  one  side  only,  at  the  upper  or  internal  surface  of 


Fig.  io2.  Fenestella  flebcia  (McCoy),  Hairmyres  (Scot). 
Showing  the  growth  of  the  dissepiments  (a)  from  the 
Zooecia  ;  sometimes  from  the  base,  at  other  times  from  just 
below  the  orifice  of  the  cell.  Natural  size:  about  $ih  of 
an  inch  to  two  fenestrules.  Diastopora  megastotna  was 
parasitic  upon  this.     (Transparent.) 


the  mass ;  and  Brown  gives  as  a  type  of  the  genus — 
Retepora  eellnlosa,  with  this  restricted  specific  cha- 
racter : — Flattened,  thin,  greatly  undulated,  with 
elliptical  cells  ;  inhabits  the  Indian  Ocean.  With  this 
before  them,  I  can  easily  understand  howdifficultwould 
be  the  labours  of  the  earlier  paleontologists.  Both 
Goldfuss's   and  Phillips's  Carboniferous,   Devonian, 

*  Brown's  "  Zoologist's  Text-book." 


and  Silurian  Polyzoa  had  to  be  classified  as  they  were, 
or  remain  unclassified,  and  consequently  undescribed. 
The  few  fossils  at  their  disposal  forced  them  to  be 
particular  with  the  minute  specimens  in  their  posses- 
sion, and  the  diagnosis  of  their  species  suffered  in 
consequence  of  their  poverty. 

From  the  time  when  Phillips  wrote  his  ' '  Geology 
of  Yorkshire,"  till  the  time  of  William  Lonsdale,  the 
founder  of  the  "Devonian  System"  in  geology, 
very  little  labour  was  bestowed  upon  the  Palaeozoic 
Polyzoa.  Like  the  rest  of  the  investigators,  he  was 
inclined  to  place  the  Fenestella  with  the  Retepora  ;  but 
previous  to  the  publication  of  Phillips's  "  Palceozoic 
Fossils  of  Cornwall,  Devon,  and  West  Somersetshire," 
Mr.  Miller,  of  Bristol,  in  correspondence  with 
Phillips  on  Fossil  Zoophyta,  suggested  that  a  new 
genus  should  be  constituted  for  some  of  the  reticu- 
lated corals  allied  to  Retepora  in  the  Carboniferous 


Fig.   203.     Branch   of  Fenestella   with  "organisms "  like 
Palieocoryiie  "  parasitically  "  attached. 


'■■ftp?--  "-<7**^,V-^.*>'C   N 


Fig.  204.  This  sketch  of  the  fig  of  F.  banyana  was  in  all 
probability  a  recumbent  form.  The  figure  represents  a 
cavity  in  the  limestone,  and  shows  the  processes  extending 
from  the  frond. — Mr.  John  Young,  F.G.S.  Fig.  4, 
plate  18,  "Transactions  of  the  Acad.  Sci.  St.  Louis," 
vol.  i.  p.  450. 


limestone.  On  mentioning  this  to  Mr.  Lonsdale,  he 
at  once  adopted  the  suggestion,  and  named  a  species 
of  the  Silurian  strata  Fenestella  Milleri  (Lonsd.).*  In 
1 841  Phillips  himself  adopted  this  term. 

This  more  expressive  generic  term  has  since  been 
adopted  by  nearly  all  writers  on  Palceozoic  Polyzoa  ; 
and  Lonsdale  gave  as  a  description  of  the  genus, 
characters  altogether  different  from  Retepora,  and 
more  in  accordance  with  known  facts.  It  is  impos- 
sible for  me  to  give  the  exact  description  as  given  by 

*  Phillips's  "  Palaeozoic  Fossils  of  Cornwall,  &C."  Through 
the  kindness  of  Mr.  Plant,  curator  and  librarian  of  the  Peel 
Park  Museum,  Manchester,  I  have  been  allowed  to  extract 
whatever  I  required,  and  trace  the  original  figures  of  specimens 
from  this  rare  volume. 


HARD  WICKE 'S    SCIENCE-  G OSSIP. 


249 


Lonsdale — not  having  his  works  at  hand  to  refer  to — 
but  the  following  is  taken  from  M  'Coy's  "  Palaeozoic 
Fossils  "  : — "  Polypidom  calcareous,  cellular,  forming 
a  conical  or  fan-shape  expansion  of  radiating  branches, 
interstices  connected  by  transverse  dissepiments ; 
exterior  surface  of  branches  rounded,  covered  by 
tlense  minutely  porous  layers ;  inner  surface  with  a 
keel  along  the  middle,  separating  two  rows  of  mouths 
of  short  tubular  cells,  which  extend  a  variable  length 
obliquely  downwards  and  inwards  into  the  interior  of 
the  branch  :  dissepiments  usually  without  cells, 
occasionally  a  row  of  small  cells  on  the  mesial  keel. 
Non-celluliferous  side  formed  internally  of  a  layer  of 
vertical  capillary  tubes."  This  genus  was  placed  by 
M'Coy  among  his  Family,  Group  Myriaporid.'E,  a 


Fig.  205.  Fenestella  with  lateral  ralicocoryue.  a.  Bases  of  cells  partially 
exposed,  b.  Immature  development  of  Fenestrule  with  PaUeocoryue 
(b)  on  reverse.  The  wider  openings  are  the  fenestrules,  very  irregular 
in  shape  and  size.  The  specimen  is  upside  down,  to  show  the  connec- 
tion on  the  branches.     (Natural  size,  slightly  over  \  of  an  inch. 


group  which  embraced  the  genus  Retcpora  of 
Lamarck  ;  the  Elasmopora  of  King ;  the  Glanconome 
of  Goldfuss  restricted  by  Lonsdale  ;  the  Penniretopora 
of  Prodomas  ;  the  Acanthocladia  of  King ;  together 
with  the  sub-genera  Fcncstdlina  and  Reteporifia  of 
D'Orbigny. 

The  first  recorded  appearance  of  this  genus  is  in 
the  Bala  beds  of  the  Lower  Silurian  series.  In  Morris's 
Catalogue,  and  also  in  Jukes's  "  Student's  Manual," 
1857,  it  is  recorded  as  appearing  in  the  Upper 
Silurian,  in  company  with  many  other  forms  of 
Polyzoa.     In  the  later  edition  of  the    Manual   this 


may  have  been  corrected,  but  I  have  not  seen  it. 
But  in  Morris's  earlier  Catalogue,  which  he  began  in 
the  1st  volume  of  the  Geologist,  Fencstella  snbantiqna, 
D'Orb.,  and  F.  Milleri,  Lonsdale,  are  given  with  the 
Lingula,  Llandello,  and  Caradoc  or  Bala  Bed  fossils. 
From  either  the  figures  or  even  the  specimens,  it  is 
very  difficult  to  make  out  the  true  character  of 
F.  Milleri.  The  habit  of  the  species  as  impressed 
upon  the  Bala  shale  is  peculiar  and  characteristic. 
It  is  partially  flabelliform,  but  not  universally  so,  as 
some  of  the  branches  cross  and  recross  the  under  ones ; 
thus  obliterating  the  true  character.  The  interstices 
are  thin,  and  according  to  the  description,  the  dissepi- 
ments are  narrow  and  slender,  and  two  lines  apart. 
The  fenestrules  are  five  or  six  times  longer  than  wide, 
with  about  twelve  pores  to  the  fenestrules. 
If  this  be  a  true  description  of  the  species, 
F.  Milleri  is  a  marvellous  specimen  of  the 
earlier  Fenestella  group.  Fenestella  Lons- 
dalei,  D'Orb.,  is  figured  in  Sihtria,  and  is 
given  by  Morris  in  the  earliest,  as  in  the 
latter  catalogue.  It  is  found  in  the  Dudley 
limestone  as  well  as  in  the  lower  beds, 
and  if  the  synonyms  be  true,  the  species 
had  a  very  wide  range,  as  it  is  figured  as 
an  American  species  as  F.  prisca,  and 
Morris,  in  his  catalogue,  gives  F.  prisca 
as  a  synonym  of  the  species.  The  figure 
before  me  is  cup-shape,  attached  by  a 
broad  base  to  some  foreign  object.  The 
outline  of  the  margin  of  the  cup-like  form 
is  entire,  and  the  poriferous  face  will  be 
on  the  inside,  like  modern  species  of 
Retepora  and  Hornera.  It  seems  to  be  a 
good  species,  and  habit  alone  would  be  a 
sufficient  character.  F.snb-antiqna,  D'Orb., 
is  another  Silurian  Fenestella  ;  but  among 
synonyms  of  this  are  given  F.  antiqna, 
Lonsdale,  Retepora  antiqna,  Goldfuss,  and 
R.  membranacca,  Phillips  :  it  may  be  a  frag- 
ment of  some  larger  specimen  of  F.  prisca. 
D'Orbigny's  species,  as  recorded  and  de- 
scribed in  his  Palaeozoic  Fossils,  has  a 
corallum  very  slender,  with  straight  inter- 
stices, seven  or  eight  of  these  measuring 
only  two  lines  ;  the  dissepiments  are  thick, 
and  the  fenestrules  are  rectangular  or 
oblong,  about  three  lines  longer  than  wide.  The 
pores  are  small,  thick,  with  prominent  edges,  their 
own  diameter  apart,  and  six  or  seven  to  the  length  of 
the  fenestrules.  F.  reticulata,  Lonsdale,  is  a  species 
that  has  been  often  confounded  with  Hisinger's 
Retepora,  so  much  so,  that  M'Coy  draws  attention  to 
the  fact,  acknowledging  that  it  is  scarcely  possible  to 
determine  the  specific  character,  as  no  information  is 
given  relative  to  the  pores.  Yet,  as  his  species  of 
Retepora  Ilisingeri  ?  agrees  in  some  particulars  with 
the  original,  he  would  even  add  confusion  to  the  con- 
fusion, and  name  it  R.  retifonnis,  even  though  Mr. 


250 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE- G OSSIP. 


Lonsdale  had  applied  the  term  to  "a  very  similar 
corallum,  which  he,  however,  places  with  the  genus 
Fenestella,  and  figures  with  only  the  two  rows  of 
pores  usual  in  that  genus." 

F.  pat ida,  M'Coy,  and  F.  rigidula,  M'Coy,  are 
good  forms  and  very  well  described.  The  corallum 
of  F.  patula  is  small  and  semicircular,  about  half  an 
inch  in  diameter.  The  interstices  are  broad,  strongly 
carinate,  slightly  flexuous ;  the  dissepiments  are 
strong,  and  the  fenestrules  are  a  little  wider  than  the 
interstices  ;  the  pores  are  large  and  prominent,  about 
3  or  4  to  length  of  fenestrule.  Its  general  features 
and  character  are  very  much  like  some  of  the  smaller 
species  of  the  Carboniferous  limestone.  The  figure 
of  F.  rigidula  is  peculiar  and  striking,  and  it  much 
resembles  some  of  the  Devonian  species  of  Nicholson. 
The  following,  however,  is  M 'Coy's  note  on  the 
synonyms  of  the  several  species  :— 

"Fenestella   antiqua,   Lonsdale  =  F.   subantiqua, 

D'Orb. 

F.  antiqua,  Goldfuss,  is  a  distinct  Devonian  form. 

F.prisca,  Goldfuss,  Silurian  =  F.  rigidula,  M'Coy. 

F.  elegans,  Hall,  Silurian  =  F.  rigidula,  M'Coy. 

F.  assimilis,  Lonsdale,  Silurian." 

My  list  contains  the  names  of  three  other  forms. 
Dawson  describes  one  by  the  name  F.  Lyelli,  and 
Hall  figures  and  describes  two  other  species  from  the 
Clinton  series  of  America,—^,  aibosa  and  F.  tenui- 
ceps.  There  are  figures  of  these  species,  I  believe,  in 
Dana's  Manual. 

I  could  not  pretend  to  give  anything'like  exactness 
to  my  review  of  the  Silurian  species  of  Fenestella. 
To  say  that  the  whole  of  the  descriptions  are  very 
foggy,  would  be  perhaps  vulgar  denunciation,  but  it 
would  be  nevertheless  a  fact.  And  before  altering 
my  formerly  written  paragraph,  which  was  less 
sweeping  than  this,  I  have  gone  over  again  the  whole 
of  M 'Coy's  figures  and  descriptions.  These  are 
good  so  far  as  they  go,  but  they  do  not  come  up  to  a 
proper  analysis  of  the  specific  characters  of  the  genus 
which  modern  biological,  or  even  palreontological 
studies  demand.  Too  much  dependence  has  been 
placed  upon  the  isolated  fragments,  which  give  only 
a  partial  view  of  the  true  ideal  of  specific  type.  In 
reviewing  the  Carboniferous  Fenestella  I  shall  be  able 
to  make  this  more  clear. 
Attercliffe,  Sheffield. 

{To  be  continued.) 

[I  should  be  glad  to  correspond  with  any  student 
who  has  described  or  undescribed  species  of  Fenes- 
tella in  his  cabinet,  for  the  purpose  of  more  accurate 
identification.] 


Cotoneaster  VULGARIS. — Could  I  ascertain 
whether  this  plant  still  exists  on  Great  Orme's  Head  ? 
The  habitat  I  have  down  for  it  is,  on  rocks  above 
the  copper-mines.  Along  with  two  friends  I  worked 
the  locality  well,  without  avail,  last  month  :  probably 
it  has  "ot  exterminated. — II.  T.  G. 


HOLIDAY  RAMBLES  IN  ST.  OUEN'S  BAY' 

"  Q  HALL  it  be  Scotland  or  Jersey?  "  was  the  ques- 
O     tion  put  when  arranging  for  a  botanical  tour; 
and  though  the  flora  of  Clova,  Glen  Isla,  Braemar, 
and  the  Grampians  is  sufficient  in  itself  to  make  a 
holiday  enjoyable,  but  when  the  additional  advantages 
of  lovely  scenery  and  health-giving  mountain  breezes 
are  added,  it  must  indeed  be  a  rich  and  peculiar  flora 
to   outweigh   them  ;   but   possibly  it  was   the   long 
monotonous  spring,   with  its   absence   of  sun,    that 
caused  the  Channel  Islands  to  exert  a  spell  so  mag- 
netic that  not   even   the  presence   of  the    "silvery 
streak  "  was  sufficient  to  break  or  neutralize  its  in- 
fluence.    So,  having  prepared  for  work  by  spending 
a  day  among  the  oaks  of  Whittlebury  Forest,  whose 
natural  history  has  yet  to  be  written,  and  glorying  in 
another    at  Kew,   we   proceeded  with   considerable 
misgivings  to  cross  from  Southampton  by  a  passage 
whose  horrors  had  been  sufficiently    dwelt  upon  by 
candid  friends  ;  but,  thanks  to  the  soporific  effect  of 
the  daily  literature  we  had  assimilated,  we  slept  a 
dreamless  sleep  as  we  passed  through  the  Solent  and 
the  chops  of  the  Channel.     Arriving  at  St.  Helier's, 
in  Jersey,  we  noticed  the  slopes  of  Fort  Regent  were 
brilliant   with   Medicago   maculata,    Silene   Angli:a, 
Linum  angustifolium,  Tragopogon  porrifolius,  Sedum 
Anglicum,  and  two  or  three  specimens  of  Gladiolus, 
which  had  established  themselves  there.     But  it  would 
be  wearisome  to  give  in  detail  the  various  plants  seen 
on  the  different  days  spent  in  Jersey  ;  sufficient  to 
say,    that,  having  beautiful  weather    we  visited  the 
rocky  Corbieres,  home  of  the  seabirds,  enjoyed  the 
delightful  breezes  on  the  samphire-covered  cliffs  of 
Pleinmont,  the  only  Jersey  locality  for  A.    ca  pill  us 
veneris,    admired    the   ivy-covered    castle    of    Mont 
Orgueil,  the  shady  lanes  of  St.  Saviour's,  home  of 
Arum  Italicum  and  Sibthorpia,  and  had  taken  the 
rather  noisy  coach-rides  by  Beauly  Bay,  with  its  view 
of  sunny  France,  and  the  romantic  gardens  of  Rozel, 
not  to  speak  of  the  sea-bathing,  which  the  firm  sands 
and  clear  water  render  so  pleasant,  and  the  entomolo- 
gical hunts  after  Thecla  rubi,  Cinxia,  Edusa,  Cardui, 
and  Daplidice,  on  the  hot  slopes  of  Noirmont  Point 
and  Greve  de  Lecq  ;  while  the  enormous  cow-cab- 
bages, the  fig-trees,  and  extensive  vineries  had  been 
properly  inspected.     So,  in  order  to  give  some  idea 
of  the  peculiarly  rich  and  extensive  flora  of  Jersey, 
one  day  shall  be  used  as  a  sample,  comprising,  as  it 
did,  some  of  the  best  and  most  typical  plants.    Its 
route  may  be  shortly  given  as  follows  :  from  St.  He- 
lier's to  Beaumont,  thence  to  St.  Ouen's  on  to  L'Etac, 
returning  by  St.  Ouen's  Bay  to  La  Moye  and  St.  Bre- 
lade's.     The  distance  walked  would  be  from  24  to  26 
miles.     The  success  of  the  day  was  owing  to  the 
company  of  Mr.  Piquet,  who  is  compiling  a  new  flora 
of  Jersey,  and  the  previous  reading  up  of  Babington's 
"Flora  Samicrc."      Shortly  after  leaving   the  nau- 
tical-looking station  of  St.  Helier's,  the  rail,  which 


HARD  WICKE'S     SCIENCE-  G  OSS  IP. 


251 


runs   round   St.   Aubyn's   Bay,   was   bordered   with 
Borago  and  Anchusa  sempervirens,  common  viatical 
plants   in  Jersey,    followed   by  great   quantities   of 
CEnotJiera  odorata.     Dismounting  at  Beaumont,  and 
walking  to  Bel  Royal  we  found  Alyssum  maritimum, 
and  then  visited  St.  Peter's  Marsh,  where  Ranunculus 
cphioglossifolius,  Cyperus  fuscus,  and  Isnardia  palus- 
tris,   formerly  grew,   but  with  the  drainage  of  the 
marsh  and  its   subsequent  cultivation   these  rarities 
have  disappeared.     Mr.    Piquet,    however,    pointed 
out  the  exact  spot  where  he  had  last  gathered  the 
Ranunculus.     At  Bel  Royal,  in  Professor  Babington's 
locality,  we  gathered  Hemiaria  snbciliata,  growing 
in  straggling  dark  green  patches,  not  unlike  Thymus 
Serpyllum.     Near  it  we   also  found  Allium  sphero- 
cephalum  and  vineale,  Silene  conica,  whose  prettiness 
is   lost  by  drying,   and    CEnolhera   in  great   plenty. 
Passing  through  one  of  the  shady  lanes  we  gathered 
Scrophitlaria  Scarodonia,  which  takes  the  place  of  our 
nodosa  and  aquatica,  the   two   latter  being   rare  in 
Jersey.     On  emerging  into  the  bright  sunlight  we 
noticed  the  pretty  Lotus  hispidus  and  Sednm   An- 
glicum,   while  the  gardens  of  the   nice  little  villas 
were  blazing  with  Jlfesembryanthemum  and  Gazonia. 
Nearing  St.  Peter's,  on  a  shady  wall  we  came  upon 
the  Jersey  Fern,  Gymnogramma  lentophylla,  in  abun- 
dant fruit,  but  losing  its  colour,  May  being  the  month 
for  it  in  perfection.     On  the  way  to  St.  Ouen's  Manor, 
about  Vinchelez,  where  we  had  previously  caught  a 
fine  specimen  of  the  Jersey  Lizard,  Lacerta  viridis, 
before  it  threw  off  its  tail,  as  did  another  we  caught 
near  St.  Brelade's.     In  these  oak-shaded  lanes  ento- 
mologists possibly  would  have  been  pleased  by  the 
strong  odour   emitted   from   hundreds   of  the  goat 
caterpillars  which  infect  and  destroy  many  of  the 
trees  about  here  ;  but  to  us  the  smell  of  Allium  trique- 
trum  that  haunted  our  vasculi  was  deemed  preferable. 
Gratefully  accepting  the  invitation  to  visit  the  Manor 
H  ouse,  we  went  over  one  of  the  ancient  homes  of 
Jersey, — the  ancestral  seat  of  the  Carterets  ;  and  had 
we  been  archaeologists,  we  might  have  reported  upon 
the  quaint  oak  carvings  and  mullioned  gables  ;  but 
being  only  botanists,  we  most  enjoyed  the  view  over 
the  island,  down  the  well-wooded  valley  to  the  coast 
of  St.  Ouen's   wide-stretching  bay,  and   the  pond, 
dear  to  botanists,  the  ultima  Thule  of  our  journey  : 
while,  above  us,  the  grand  old  chimneys,  covered  with 
white  and  pink  snapdragons,  and  the  thatch-roofed 
outhouses,  covered  with  such  profusion  of  Cotyledon, 
surpassing   any  previously   noticed, — not   excepting 
Pandy  Mill,  delight  of  artists,  the  rocky  lanes  of  Car- 
marthen,  or  the  peat-topped  walls  of  county  Mayo. 
Leaving  St.  Ouen's  we  came  upon  a  marshy  piece  of 
ground,  where  Lythrum  hyssopifolium  was  plentifully 
growing,  though,  of  course,  not  in  flower.     Ranun- 
culus hirsutus,  Orchis  latifolia,  Bartsia  viscosa,  and 
Hypericum   elodes,   also  occurred.     Nearing  L'Etac, 
the  roadsides  were  bordered  with  Siuapis  incana,  and 
a.  wet  meadow  was  adorned  with   the  rich  purple 


Orchis  laxifiora.  Chenopodium  muralc  occurred  in 
the  village,  Atriplex  Halitnus  being  used  as  a 
hedge-plant. 

St.  Ouen's  Bay  is  about  six  miles  long,  and  is  bor- 
dered with  sandy  tracts  cultivated  wherever  possible, 
in  some  cases  potatoes  being  planted  in  the  actual 
sand,  where  Carex  arenaria  and  Festuca  rubra  are 
agrarian  weeds  ;  but  the  uncultivated  portions  shone 
as  a  field  of  gold  with  Raphanus,  Brassica,  Cheiran- 
thus,  Sinapis  incana,  and  other  Crucifene.  The  road- 
sides yielded  Lotus  diffusus,  Allium  vineale,  Silene 
conica  anglica,  Trifolium  striatum  and  subterraneum, 
with  stems  iS  in.  high  ;  while,  growing  among  the 
silvery  abundance  of  the  long-awned  Bromus  maximus 
and  Festuca  unigiumis,  appeared  Medicago  minima 
and  Armeria  plautaginea,  with  other  sand-loving 
plants. 

On  the  hot  toilsome  walk  across  fields   of  small 
dimensions  enclosed  by  stone  walls  of  rickety  struc- 
ture, specimens  of  Orchis  laxifiora,  Bartsia  viscosa, 
Cyperus  longus,    and  CEnanthe  crocata  were  noticed. 
An  exploration  [of  the  shingle  was  next  attempted, 
when  a  solitary  specimen  of  Crambe,   a  very   rare 
Sarnian  plant,  was  seen.      Euphorbia  Paralias  was 
frequent,  and  is  occasionally  frequented  by  the  larvae 
of   Sphinx  Eicphorbii.      Diotis  maritima    was   not 
plentiful,   but  Atriplex  arenaria,   Salsola    kali,   and 
cakile  were  very  common.     Standing  by  the  shingle, 
and  looking  over  to  the  sand  dunes,  a  beautiful  sight 
was  presented  by  the  great  quantities  of  Matthiola 
sinuata   in    magnificent    bloom,    growing  with   the 
glaucous  Eryngium   and    glaring   golden   Brassica. 
By  the  second  Martello  tower  a  nice  patch  of  Lagurus 
cvalus  occurred,  and  plenty  of  Orobanche  amelhystea, 
while  here  and  there  might  be  seen  bleached  skeletons 
of  Mibora  minima.     Between  the  sea  and  the  hills 
appeared  great  patches  of  Ceutaurea  aspera,  the  lower 
flowers  of  which  were  only  in  bloom.     On  i-eaching 
the  hill  slopes,  a  complete  mass  of  beauties  presented 
themselves,  so  that  the  exclamations  of  admiration, 
which  had  been  popping  off  at  no  distant  intervals 
all   day,  now  came  by  volleys  ;    and  down  we  lay 
among  thousands  of  Dianthus  prolifer,  Linum  angus- 
tifolium,  Orobanche  ccerulea,    Centaurea  aspera,  Cen- 
taurea  paniculata,  and  Scabiosa  maritima.  Next  came 
a  descent  to  St.  Ouen's  Pond,  where,  having  seen 
Cladium  Mariscus,  we  came  upon  Scirpus  Tabernce- 
montana,  followed  by  its  rarer  relative  pungens,  and 
eventually  maritimus  and  pa uciflorus  ;  then  came  the 
prettily-veined    leaves    of  Potamogeton  plantaginens 
and  the  fugacious   flowered   Alisma   ranunculoides ; 
after  which  a  long  search  was  made  for  the  leaves, — 
it  was  too  early  for  the  flowers, — of  Spiranthes  a>sti- 
valis  and  Epipactis  palustris.     On  the  road  to  the 
Corbieres,   Kaleria  cristata,  near  albescens,    Coryne- 
phonts     canescens,    Radiola    milligrana,     Trifolium 
arvense,    Lepturus  filiforme,  Convolvulus  Soldanella, 
Bromus  Lloydianus,  and   Schlerochloa  loliacea   were 
found,  but  Solatium  mittialum  searched  for  without 


252 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


success.     On  the  hill-slope  below  La  Moye  came  a 
tract  of  ground  covered  with  Sarothamnus prostratus, 
on  which  grew  some  fine  Orobanchc  major.     About 
here  Mr.  Piquet  had  a  week  previously  found  Linaria 
Pdisseriana  in  plenty,  but  as  we  had  searched  with- 
out success  a  few  days  after,  were  not  very  sanguine 
about  adding  it  to  our  store  ;  but,  however,  we  care- 
fully searched  among  the  Cusitela-covered  Ulex  and 
prickly  Ritscus,   and  then,  as  these  became  less  fre- 
quent where   the   hill-side  was  purple  with  Echium 
violaceum,  and  then  higher  still  among  myriads  of 
Sedum  Anglicum,  yuncus  capitatus,    Trichonema 
columnce   in    fruit,   Radiola    milligrana,    Helian- 
t/iemum  guttatum    surrounded    with  its  quickly- 
falling  petals,  Sikne  conica,  Lotus  angustissimus, 
Aira  pnvcox,  and  Euphorbia  Portlandica,  but  no 
Linaria.      Some    Jersey    cows    were    browsing 
eagerly    about    the  gorse   clumps  ;    and   as  Mr. 
Piquet  said  they  are  very  fond  of  the  Linaria,  its 
disappearance  was  at  once  laid  to  their  charge. 
As  no  ready  means  of  revenge  presented  itself, 
another  search  was  made,  this  time  rewarded  with 
Asparagus  prostratus  and  Aspknium  lanceolatum, 
and  at  last,  with  the  real  Simon   pure  in  fruit. 
Having  mercy  upon  it,  we  selected  only  a  scrap 
or  two,  and,  elated,  set  off  at  a  fast  rate  for  St. 
Brelade's,  where  suddenly  we  had  to  halt  to  avoid 
the  desecration  of  trampling  upon  a  few  hundreds 
of  Trifolium  strictum  growing  some  10  in.  high.     De- 
scending to  St.  Brelade's, Silene  nutans,  Silene  quinque- 
vulnera,  Scdum  dasyphyllum,  and  Delphinium  Ajacis 
were  picked.    The  road  to  St.  Aubyn's  was  bordered 
with   Silene    nutans   and  Scrophularia    Scarodonia ; 
while,  with  vasculi,  hats,    books,  and  hands  full  of 
specimens,  we  trudged   along   up    the    sandy   road, 
scarcely  deigning  to  notice  Polycarpon  tetraphyllum, 
Oxalis    stricta,    Epilobium    lanceolatum,    and    Hie- 
racim  pilosis  si  mum,  reaching  St.   Aubyn's  in  time  for 
the  train  to  bear   us  round  the  beautiful  bay  to  St. 
Helier's,  where  something   more   solidly    sustaining 
than  cocoa  had  to  be  discussed  previously  to  putting 
in  press  our  numerous  and  rich  collection. 

G.  C.  Druce. 


AN    AUTUMN     RAMBLE    IN 
EPPING    FOREST. 

Part  I. 

By  Dr.  De  Cresitgny. 

TO  procure  specimens  of  a  late-flowering  and 
uncommon  Chenopod  (C.  nrbicum)  from  a 
locality  on  the  borders  of  Epping  Forest,  we  had 
lately  occasion  to  make  an  excursion  in  that  direction, 
when  the  opportunity  was  taken  advantage  of  for  a 
ramble  through  the  shaded  dells  and  broken  uplands 
of  the  forest  in  search  of  fungi,  which  are  always  to 
be  found  there  on  the  setting  in  of  the  autumnal 


rains,  in  great  variety  and  abundance.  Many  clearances 
have  been  made  of  late  years  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Walthamstow  and  Wanstead  ;  consequently, 
although  there  are  still  many  unenclosed  patches  of 
woodland  thereabouts,  of  which  the  most  consider- 
able extends  southwards  of  Wanstead,  we  can  hardly 
consider  ourselves  fairly  within  the  precincts  of  the 
forest  proper  until  we  have  left  Woodford  behind  us. 
Traversing,  then,  one  of  these  detached  woods — that 
which  lies  between  this  place  and  Walthamstow, — we 


Fig.  206. 


a.  Vertical  section  of  an  Agaric  ( Trichohma  nudits). 

b.  Ditto  of  lamella;  of  ditto  showing  the  trama  continuous 

with  the  pileus. 


Fig.  207.  Filamentous  Trama 
of  an  Agaricus  (Amanita 
nibcsccns. ) 


Fig.  208.  Persistent  Scales  of 
the  Cuticle  of  A.  {Lepiota} 
rachodes. 


Fig.  209.  Section  of  A  (rtcurctus)     Fig.  210.    Decurrent  lines 
ulmaritts.  and  ring  on  the  stem  of 

Amanita  rubescens. 


turndown  the  Chingford  road  into  the  hollow  below, 
where  a  lane,  right,  leads  into  a  copse  bordered  by 
a  rill  and  a  narrow  strip  of  pasturage  ;  beyond,  left, 
is  the  warren  and  farmhouse,  well  known  to  ex- 
cursionists as  Queen  Elizabeth's  Lodge  ;  onwards,  a 
footpath  to  High  Beech  Hill.  Forcing  our  way  in 
this  direction,  at  one  time  with  difficulty  through 
tangled  and  almost  impenetrable  thickets,  at  another 
crossing    some    open    grassy    glade,    or    stretch    of 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


253 


pollard  oak  and  hornbeam,  where  bramble  and 
blackthorn  scrub  gave  place  to  an  undergrowth  of 
bracken,  and  where  progress  was  easier  and  less 
irksome,  we  gathered  as  we  went  anything  and  every- 
thing in  the  shape  of  fungus  we  could  see,  retaining, 
however,  only  two  or  three  specimens  of  each  kind. 
From  the  "King's  Oak,"  near  High  Beech,  the  high 
road  to  Epping  traverses  the  very  heart  of  the  forest : 


hence  it  is  not  far  from  an  ancient  intrenchment, 
called  "  Amesbury  Banks,"  and  whence  we  retraced 
our  steps  through  dense  thickets  and  interminable 
groves  of  lopped  beech  and  other  trees,  until  we 
reached  the  picturesque  slope  which  rises  behind 
Loughton. 

As  anticipated,   the  heavy  rains   of  August  had 
i  produced  a  more  than  usual  abundant  crop  of  fungi ; 


"m 


lift 


Fig.  213.  Bulbous  Stem  and 
waned  Cuticle  of  .-J.  [Ama- 
nita) Ccciliie. 


Fi 


Fig.  211.  Ring,  Bulbous 
Stem,  and  Volva  of  A . 
[Amanita)  fihalloides. 


Fig.  212.  Cuticle  of 
A.  {Amanita)  ru- 

\  bescens,  showing 
the  scattered  mealy 
warts  of  the  cuticle. 


Fig.    215.      Floc- 

cose  Trama    of 

a  I    Cortinarius 

r.     ..  c  (Trichloma) 

y.  214.     Section  of  '•-/___  „ 

*c  .   f        c.  e  viotaceus. 

nstulose   Stems  ot 

A.       (Hypholoma) 

fascicularis. 


Umbonate  and    Fibrillose 
Pileus  of  an  Hebeloma. 


Subumbonate  Fibrillose 
Pileus  of  a  species  of 
Hebeloma, 


Fig.  219.  Pileus  clothed  with  innate 
hairy  scales  of  Pholiota  aureus 
(magnified). 


trudging  onwards,  first  on  one  side  and  then  on  the 
other  of  this  road,  another  central  station  is  reached 
— "The  Wake  Arms,"  and  where  it  is  crossed  by 
the   road  from   Waltham  Cross  to   Theydon   Bois  ; 


Fig.     2 1 6.        Mealy 
subsquamulose 
Pileus  of  Clitocybe 
laccatus. 


Fig.  217.      Clitocybe  laccatus. 

and  on  sitting  down  next  day  to  examine  and  sort 
the  contents  of  our  pockets,  hat,  and  vasculum,  we 
felt  fairly  bewildered  at  the  sight  of  the  spoils,  and 
hurried  multitudinous  entries  in  our  note-book. 

To  take  them  scientifically,  and  in  proper  order  of 
sequence,  let  us  commence  with  the  Agaricini  ; 
those  with  a  gilled  or  plated  hymenium  :  these,  of 
course,  were  the  most  numerous,  and  were  easy  to 
separate  from  the  rest.  Referring  to  "  Berkeley's 
British  Fungology,"  we  find  that  they  are  all  included 
in  fifteen  genera,  of  which  some  three  or  four  are 
rare,  or  have  but  few  representatives  in  England  ;  on 
the  other  hand,  the  Agarics  proper  are  so  numerous 
as  to  comprise  twenty-seven  sub-genera,  arranged  in 
five  sections,  according  as  the  colour  of  the  spores 
is  white,  salmon-coloured,  tawny  or  ferruginous, 
purplish  or  brown,  and  black.     The  characteristics 


254 


HARD  WICKE  >S    S CIE NCE  -  G  O SSIE. 


of  the  genus  are  persistent  membranous  gills  and  a 
filamentous  trama  continuous  with  the  pileus  ;  but 
those  of  the  sub-genera  are  very  miscellaneous  and 
confused  :  differences  in  the  character  of  the  velum 
or  veil,  whether  present  or  present  only  in  the  form  of 
an  annulus,  or  wanting  entirely  in  any  shape  ;  con- 
fluence or  otherwise  of  the  hymenophorum  with  the 
stem  ;  decurrence  or  other  peculiarity  of  the  lamella; ; 
peculiarities  of  the  stem,  of  the  pileus,  of  its  margin  ; 
presence  of  a  volva  or  absence  thereof.  In  one  sub- 
genus there  is  no  stem  — Pleitrotus.  Of  this  we  gathered 
a  specimen  from  the  dead  trunk  of  a  tree  :  the  gills 
•are  narrow,  and  margin  of  the  pileus  remarkably  in- 
curved. Illustrative  of  the  scaly-cuticled  sub-genus 
Lepiota  we  found  a  few  specimens  of  L.  rachoides 
growing  singly  in  a  hedge  ;  besides  this  peculiarity,  it 
has  a  stem  furnished  with  an  annulus,  and  is  alto- 
gether a  pretty  little  plant.  Not  unfrequently  A. 
{Amanita)  riibescens  was  met  with,  rather  a  hand- 
some fungus  with  a  brownish  warty  cuticle  and  white 
gills,  bulbous  and  ringed  stem  :  the  rubescent  cha- 
racter is  not  very  decided,  sufficiently  so,  perhaps,  to 
warrant  the  use  of  the  term ;  the  bulb  and  stem  when 
broken  exhibited  this  characteristic  more  clearly  than 
the  pileus  :  edible. 

Less  frequent  was  another, — not  edible  as  this,  but 
very  poisonous  species,  A.  {Amanita)  plialloides,  with 
stem  strongly  ringed,  and  a  bulb  furnished  with  a 
volva  free  above  ;  white,  except  the  upper  part  of  the 
pileus,  which  has  a  yellowish  tinge.     A  ringless  but 
bulbous  fistulose-stemmed  Amanita  we  found  in  A. 
Cecilia,  also  furnished  with  a  volva,  and  with  a  pileus 
more  persistently  waited  than  that  of  A.  rubescens. 
It  is  a  much  smaller  species,  and  the  brownish  colour 
of  the  pileus  is  of  a  colder  shade,  greyish  or  mouse- 
coloured.     A.  {Tricholoma)  nudus  we  observed  only 
in  one  place,   a  handsome,   but  probably  very  dan- 
gerous mushroom  :  there  was  one  small  patch  of  it, 
three   or  four    growing   closely   together  (fig.  206). 
Pileus  obtuse,  moist,  pale  violet  shaded  with  brown  ; 
gills  and  short,  thick  bulbous  stem   of  a  beautiful 
violet  throughout.     The  warted  scarlet  pileus  oi  A. 
muscarius  we  looked  for  in  vain, — one  of  the  hand- 
somest, at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most  poisonous  of 
its  tribe.   ( Tricholoma)  A.  ptrsonatus  is  more  frequent, 
but    grows   singly,  here    and    there,   in   open  grassy 
places  :  the   pileus  is  convex,  obtuse  even,  moist  and 
of  a  pale  ochre-colour;  gills  dirty  white,  stem  ring- 
less,  firm,  and   covered  with  a  stain  of  pale  violet. 
On  the  stumps  of  decayed  or  felled  trees  was  the 
well-known  A.    (ITyplioloma)  fascicularis,    with    its 
dull  rufous-coloured  pileus,  passing  into  yellow  at  the 
borders,  yellow   fistulous  stems,  and   greenish-grey 
gills  :  and  in  many  parts  of  the  forest  growing  in 
patches,  often  of  a  circular-  form,     H.  sublaterilius, 
much  like  the  preceding  species. 

Examples  of  a  section  of  Agarics  (among  our 
specimens),  characterized  as  having  pilei  clothed  with 
fibrillose    scales,    usually    umbonate    (a),    or    sub- 


umbonate  [b),  and  fibrillose  stems,  we  have  in  two 
kinds  of  Hebeloma  ;  the  colour  of  the  cuticle  in  a  is 
golden  brown  :  and  in  A.  (Clitocybe)  laccatus  we  have 
a  pileus  the  very  reverse  of  umbonate,  viz.,  the  umbi- 
licate  form  :  it  grows  on  dead  leaves  abundantly  in 
the  forest ;  colour  variable,  from  flesh-coloured  to 
cinereous  grey  and  pale  cobalt.  Clitocybe  candicans 
is  also  plentiful.  On  the  margin  of  a  pond,  not  far 
from  the  "Wake  Arms,"  we  obtained  several  fine 
specimens  of  A.  (Pholiota)  aitreus,  a  mushroom  re- 
markable for  its  pileus  brilliantly  coloured  of  a  golden 
tawny  hue,  and,  examined  with  a  lens,  sprinkled  with 
closely  adpressed  or  innate  hairy  scales  of  an  orange 
colour,  which  impart  no  doubt  a  brilliancy  to  the 
plant  in  its  living  state,  but  which  fades  away  when 
no  longer  fresh. 

Last,  and  not  by  any  means  least  of  the  Agarics, 
is  a  tall  species  of  Collybia  (C.  radicatus),  plentiful  in 
the  wood  behind  Loughton.  It  is  furnished  with  a 
long  tap-root,  the  stems  at  least  six  inches  long, 
slender,  and  tapering  upwards ;  pileus  of  a  greyish 
brown,  smooth,  moist,  plane,  and  umbonate. 
(To  be  continued.) 

A  GOSSIP  ABOUT  NEW  BOOKS. 

ON  nothing  does  a  "war  fever"  leave  its  mark 
more  impressively  than  scientific  literature. 
The  tide  of  true  progress  is  then  stemmed,  if  not 
rolled  back.  The  literary  history  of  the  last  two 
years  proves  how  few  important  works  of  science 
have  issued  from  the  press.  And  yet  that  period  has 
been  marked  by  scientific  discoveries  of  the  most 
important  and  even  sensational  character.  It  is  the 
epoch  of  the  Telephone,  the  Microphone,  and  Phono- 
graph ;  of  the  Radiometer,  Otheoscope,  and  other 
instruments,  which  revealed  to  us  the  molecular  mys- 
teries of  matter. 

It  is  with  much  pleasure  that  we  turn  to  a  short 
notice  of  a  few  books  which  have  for  the  last  month 
or  two  been  accumulating  on  our  library  table.  The 
short  space  at  our  disposal  does  not  enable  us  to  do 
that  justice  to  some  of  them  which  they  require. 
"Tropical  Nature,"  by  Alfred  R.  Wallace  (London  : 
McMillan  &  Co.),  deserves  a  leading  place  in  any 
notice  of  new  books.  The  volume  consists  of  a  series 
of  essays,  chiefly  relating  to  animal  and  plant  life  in 
equatorial  regions,  speculations  as  to  the  colours  of 
birds  and  animals,  flowers  and  fruits,  and  how  they 
have  arisen  through  the  process  of  natural  selection. 
All  are  written  in  that  delightsome  manner  which 
characterizes  Mr.  Wallace's  other  books.  The  chapter 
on  humming-birds  is  one  of  the  most  charming  ever 
penned  by  its  original  writer.  That  on  the  distribution 
of  animals  as  indicating  geographical  changes  is  a  re- 
markably clear  piece  of  philosophical  generalization. 
By  this  time  most  readers  of  natural  history  will  have 
read  "  Tropical  Nature,"  and  our  advice  to  those  who 
have  not  yet  had  the  opportunity  is  that  they  should 


HA  RD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  0  SSIP. 


255 


read  it  as  soon  as  possible. "  West  Yorkshire  ;  an 

Account  of  its  Geology,  Physical  Geography,  Clima- 
tology, and  Botany,"  by  Messrs.  James  W.  Davies 
and  F.  Arnold  Lees  (London :  L.  Reeve  &  Co. ).  This 
book  contains  much  valuable  work.  Few  counties 
are  more  interesting  geologically  than  Yorkshire,  and 
many  books  and  papers  have  been  written  upon  it. 
All  of  these  have  here  been  duly  arranged  chrono- 
logically, and  the  authors  always  refer  to  such  of  their 
literary  predecessors  as  have  furnished  them  with 
material.  The  geological  portion  is  written  by  Mr. 
James  W.  Davies,  the  hon.  sec.  of,  the  Yorkshire 
Geological  Society,  and  all  geologists  will  acknow- 
ledge that  he  has  done  his  work  conscientiously  and 
well.  The  second  part,  devoted  to  physical  geo- 
graphy and  botanical  topography,  is  the  joint  work 
of  Messrs.  Davies  and  Lees.  The  arrangement  of 
the  material  is  most  excellent,  and  so  clear  and  sug- 
gestive that  the  reader  is  enlightened  instead  of  being 
perplexed  by  its  abundance.  Numerous  maps  and 
engraved  sections  assist  the  text,  and  these  are  of 
excellent  execution.  The  geological  structure  of  York- 
shire is  treated  of  in  detail,  from  the  Lower  Silurian 
beds  to  the  Glacial  series.  The  physical  geography 
and  topographical  botany  then  follow  in  order,  and 
one  sees  almost  at  a  glance  the  relation  between  plant 
distribution  and  the  physical  geography  of  the  valleys 
in  which  they  occur,  or  the  geological  structure  of  the 
underlying  rocks.  A  handsomely  got-up  volume  of 
upwards  of  400  pages  thus  represents  a  most  creditable 
scientific  industry  on  the  part  of  the  authors. 

The  new  term  of  Physiography  (as  Physical  Geo- 
graphy is  now  called)  has  called  forth  a  series  of 
"manuals"  devoted  to  its  exposition.  How  import- 
ant is  even  an  outline  knowledge  of  nature  has  been 
shown  by  the  success  of  Huxley's  little  book  on  this 
subject.  There  is  always  the  danger  of  causing 
shallow-minded  students  to  imagine  they  have  nothing 
more  to  learn  when  they  have  acquired  a  well-defined 
idea  of  natural  phenomena  as  a  whole  ;  and  on  that 
account  we  object  to  ' '  physiography."  But  if  books 
have  to  be  written  on  this  subject,  they  may  as  well 
be  in  good  hands  ;  and  we  are  therefore  pleased  to 
notice  "  The  Physical  System  of  the  Universe,"  by 
S.J.  Skertchley,  F.G.S.  (London:  Daldy,  Isbister, 
&  Co.),  which  is  intended  as  a  manual  of  physio- 
graphy. It  is  a  book,  however,  which  will  delight 
those  who  do  not  intend  "going  in  for  examination" 
more  than  those  who  do,  for  it  is  a  well-written  and 
very  clear  outline  of  the  universe  as  a  whole,  and  of 
the  unity  of  natural  forces.  We  know  of  few  recent 
books  which  comprehend  so  much  in  so  limited  a 
space.  All  the  recent  discoveries  in  physical,  natural, 
and  geological  science  are  included  in  Mr.  Skertchley's 
book.  It  is  a  work  which  we  hope  will  be  read  with  the 
same  pleasure  that  we  have  ourselves  derived  from  it. 

"A  Science  Primer,"  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Macvicar 
(London :  W.  Blackwood  &  Sons),  although  a 
small  book  in  comparison  with   those   above   men- 


tioned, is  a  remarkable  one  in  many  respects.  It 
professes  to  deal  with  "the  nature  of  things."  Its 
author  is  a  man  possessed  of  great  ability,  extensive 
reading,  and  a  brilliant  power  of  speculating.  There 
are  many  subjects  briefly  discussed,  especially  those 
relating  to  molecular  physics,  which  strongly  impress 
us  by  the  undoubted  ability  and  originality  of  view 
with  which  they  have  been  treated.  Our  readers  will 
not  always  agree  with  the  author,  but  few  will  come 
away  from  this  suggestive  little  book  unimpressed 
with  new  ideas. 

"  The  History  of  Glanville's  Wootton,"  by  C.  W. 
Dale  (London  :  Hatchard,  Piccadilly),  is  a  detailed 
account  of  the  archaeology,  zoology,  and  botany 
of  a  district  in  Dorset,  after  the  manner  of  White's 
"  Selborne,"  only  arranged  in  chapters,  instead  of 
being  given  to  the  world  in  the  form  of  letters.  The 
book  is  very  well  got  up,  with  capital  paper  and  in 
clear  type,  and  the  few  photographs  which  illustrate 
it  are  excellent.  As  for  the  rest,  the  work  consists  of 
lists  of  animals,  vertebrate  and  invertebrate,  and  of 
plants,  phanerogamous  and  cryptogamous,  which  have 
been  found  in  the  district  of  Glanville's  Wootton. 
Mr.  Dale  has  devoted  much  time  and  careful  labour 
to  his  task,  and  as  a  consequence  has  given  a  very 
valuable  little  monograph  to  the  world. 

"  A  Handbook  for  England  and  Wales  "  (London  : 
John  Murray),  which  should  give,  alphabetically  ar- 
ranged, a  short  and  trustworthy  account  of  every  town, 
village,  and  place  of  importance,  with  all  relating 
to  them  of  archaeological,  geological,  botanical,  or 
geographical  interest,  was  a  happy  idea.  A  handier 
book  of  reference  could  hardly  have  been  prepared 
than  has  been  now  compiled.  All  depended,  how- 
ever, upon  the  author  and  his  ability  to  select  just 
such  material  as  would  be  valuable  to  the  traveller, 
tourist,  or  student.  We  are  happy  to  say  that  this 
has  been  done  in  the  present  work,  and  that,  having 
tested,  from  personal  knowledge  of  numerous  places 
referred  to,  the  pains  taken  by  the  author  to  insure 
accuracy,  we  believe  it  to  be  one  of  the  best  books  of 
its  kind  which  the  well-known  publishers  have  issued. 

"Holmes's  Botanical  Note  Book,"  by  E.  M. 
Holmes,  F.L.S.  (London  :  Christy  &  Co.),  may  be 
utilized  by  the  student  as  a  means  of  acquiring  a 
practical  knowledge  of  botany.  It  contains  diagrams 
showing  the  parts  of  flowering  plants,  directions  for 
examining  plants,  the  microscopical  examination  of 
plants,  directions  for  describing  plants  in  schedules, 
and  a  glossary.  The  schedules,  however,  form  the 
principal  part  of  the  work,  and  these  may  be  obtained 
separately  of  the  publishers.  The  printed  head-lines 
oblige  the  student  to  note  down  every  feature  of  a 
plant,  and  in  this  way  he  will  soon  learn  to  look  out 
for  particulars  which  are  too  frequently  shunned, 
because  deemed  troublesome  to  detail.  We  are 
much  pleased  with  Mr.  Holmes's  note-book,  and 
heartily  recommend  it  to  students. 

"A  First    Catechism  of  Botany,"  by  John  Gibbs 


256 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G OSSIP. 


(London:  Simpkin,  Marshall,  &  Co.).  This  is 
a  new  and  enlarged  edition  of  a  very  noteworthy 
little  book,  written  by  a  botanist  who  is  a  fre- 
quent contributor  to  our  pages.  We  have  before 
expressed  our  liking  for  the  book,  and  are  glad  to 
see  it  revised  and  enlarged.      All    young  botanists 

would  do  well  to  get  it. "  The  Creation  of  Moses 

and  Science  in  Harmony,"  by  Dr.  Alex.  Stewart 
(London  :  Elliot  Stock),  is  another  of  those  laboured 
productions  in  which  so  much  intellectual  force  is 
thrown  away  in  attempting  to  harmonize  what  have 
never  been  disturbed,  except  by  men  themselves. 
They  frequently  consist  of  bad  geology  and  weakened 
theology,  and  are  usually  unsatisfactory.  Correct 
science  needs  no  harmonizing  :  incorrect  science  soon 
gets  corrected.  Meantime  the  great  truths  which 
theology  has  in  its  keeping  have  a  sphere  entirely 
apart  from  scientific  investigation.  As  might  be 
expected,  the  greater  part  of  the  book  under  notice 
is  devoted  to  demolishing  the  theory  of  evolution. 
Would  that  such  writers  were  wise  in  time  !  No 
"  reconciliations  "  would  then  be  needed. 

To  turn  from  these  unsatisfactory  subjects  to  note 
the  appearance  of  the  ninth  edition  of  Proctor's 
"Half-Hours  with  the  Stars  "  (London  :  Hardwicke 
&  Bogue),  is  a  pleasant  change.  The  twelve  plates 
of  the  maps  are  new,  and  in  bolder  execution,  so 
that  the  astronomical  student  is  considerably  aided 
thereby.  It  augurs  well  for  the  spread  of  astro- 
nomical science  when  books  of  this  class  are  so  well 
received  and  largely  circulated. 

A  capital  little  book  on  human  physiology,  simply 
but  attractively  written,  is  Mrs.  F.  Fenwick  Miller's 
"House  of  Life"  (London:  Chatto  &  Windus). 
It  is  a  work  which  should  be  in  every  family  library, 
not  to  lie  idly  on  the  shelves  but  to  be  read  by  every 

member. "The  Sight,  and  how  to  Preserve  it,"  by 

Dr.  H.  C.  Angell  (London  :  Hardwicke  ik  Bogue), 
is  another  work  of  a  similar  kind,  bringing  within 
intelligent  knowledge  those  parts  of  our  own  frames 
about  which  we  have  hitherto  been  in  such  culpable 
ignorance.  Perhaps  no  sense  is  so  much  valued  by 
us  as  that  of  sight,  and  there  is  scarcely  any  other  so 
abused.  Take  one  hundred  people  whom  nobody 
would  call  other  than  educated,  and  let  them  answer  a 
few  questions  as  to  the  structure  of  the  eye  and  the 
nature  of  vision,  and  perhaps  not  five  would  pass  the 
examination  entitled  to  an  elementary  certificate ! 
This  ought  not  to  be  ;  and  it  is  pleasant  to  see  the 
leading  medical  specialists  devoting  what  little  spare 
time  they  have  to  popularly  instructing  the  masses  in 
the  subjects  to  which  the  former  have  devoted  long  and 
useful  lives.  Nothing  could  be  more  understandable, 
more  practical,  or  more  useful,  than  Dr.  Angell's  re- 
marks on  "  The  Sight  and  how  to  Preserve  it,"  and 
everybody  with  eyes  ought  to  read  them. 

"Nutrition  in  Health  and  Disease,"  by  J.  H. 
Bennet,  M.D.  (London,  J.  &  A.  Churchill). 
This    is    the   third    edition    of     a    valuable     work, 


chiefly  written  for  public  rather  than  special 
readers,  but  which  the  latter  cannot  fail  to  estimate 
very  highly.  The  title  is  a  very  happy  one,  and 
rightly  expresses  the  character  of  the  work.  Its 
aim  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  two  little  works  just 
mentioned, — the  endeavour  to  make  people  acquainted 
with  their  own  bodies,  and  what  is  taking  place  in 
them   every   hour   of    the   day  under   the   name   of 

"nutrition." "  Phosphates  in  Nutrition."  by  M. 

F.  Anderson  (London  :  Bailliere,  Tindall,  &  Cox),  is  a 
work  of  a  similar  important  nature.  Its  endeavour  is 
to  show  the  importance  of  certain  inorganic  materials 
in  the  food,  and  their  functions  in  the  tissues.  In 
this  way  the  author's  views  lead  him  to  some  novel 
explanations  of  the  causes  of  certain  diseases  hitherto 
but  little  understood.  The  chapter  on  the  "Mineral 
Theory  of  Wasting  Diseases  "  is  especially  noteworthy. 
"English  Folk-Lore,"  by  the  Rev.  T.  T.  Dyer, 
M. A.  (London:  Hardwicke  &  Bogue),  cannot 
fail  to  be  a  popular  and  widely-read  book.  "  Folk- 
Lore,"  or  the  wisdom  of  the  common  people,  as 
expressed  in  their  proverbial  and  other  sayings,  has 
of  late  years  been  a  fruitful  study.  All  of  us  are 
acquainted  with  some  of  these  sayings,  and  their 
quaint  utterance  frequently  carries  us  back  to  the  days 
of  our  childhood.  There  are  scarcely  any  natural 
phenomena  which  have  not  been  thus  noticed  ;  whilst 
the  pages  of  our  best  poets  frequently  sparkle  with  the 
richest  and  quaintest  of  these  gems  of  folk-lore. 
Mr.  Dyer's  book  is  a  very  attractive-looking  volume, 
both  outside  and  inside,  for  it  has  been  given  to  the 
world  in  a  handsome  cover  and  good  paper  and 
print,— the  very  auxiliaries  to  make  such  a  work 
successful.  The  author  is  very  happy  in  his  style, 
for  it  is  light  and  airy  without  being  flippant.  Evi- 
dently he  is  interested  to  his  subject,  as  he  sometimes 
rises  almost  to  enthusiasm.  We  have  chapters  on 
the  folk-lore  of  plants,  birds,  animals,  insects,  and 
reptiles  ;  the  moon  (a  fruitful  source  of  old-world 
sayings) ;  besides  half  a  volume  relating  to  birth, 
death,  marriage,  &c. 

MICROSCOPY. 

The  Congress  of  Microscopists,  held  at 
Indianapolis,  Ind.,  August  14th,  15th,  16th,  and 
17th,  was  a  great  success  as  regards  numbers  pre- 
sent and  results  arrived  at.  Delegates  were  in 
attendance  from  all  parts  of  the  Union,  sixteen 
societies  being  represented  by  delegates.  Many 
papers  of  value  to  the  working  microscopist  were 
read.  Amateurs  had  ample  opportunity  to  profit  by 
the  work  of  older  workers.  Results  were  compared, 
and  many  delightful  acquaintances  formed.  Dr.  R.  H. 
Ward,  of  Troy,  N.Y.,  was  elected  President,  and  Mr. 
II.  F.  Atwood,  of  Chicago,  Secretary.  One  evening 
was  devoted  to  a  "conversazione,"  at  which  the 
public  attended,  and  were  duly  pleased  with  the 
popular  slides  which  were  chosen  for  their  entertain- 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


■57 


ment.  Perhaps  the  most  enjoyable  part  of  the  meet- 
ing were  the  "seances,"  held  each  evening  in  the 
various  rooms  in  the  hotel.  No  such  gathering  of 
microscopists  could  come  together  and  not  bring 
about  a  discussion  on  "Angular  Aperture";  high 
and  low  angles  were  both  well  represented,  the  former 
by  such  well-known  authorities  as  Prof.  J.  Edwards 
Smith  and  Dr.  Geo.  E.  Blackham,  while  Prof. 
Romyn  Hitchcock,  of  New  York,  supported  the 
latter.  While  the  question  will  remain  an  open  one 
for  long  time  yet  to  come,  it  is  but  fair  to  say  that 
many  gentlemen  who  had  always  used  low-angled 
lenses  prior  to  the  meeting,  went  away  essentially 
high-angled  men.  Several  of  the  American  dealers 
made  fine  displays  of  microscopes  and  objectives. 
Of  the  English  manufacturers,  Beck  &  Crouch  were 
fully  represented  through  their  respective  American 
agents.  Before  the  congress  adjourned,  the  "  Ame- 
rican Society  of  Microscopists  "  was  formed,  Pres., 
Dr.  R.  H.  Ward,  Troy,  N.Y.  ;  Sec,  Henry 
Jameson,  Indianapolis,  Ind. ;  Treas.,  H.  F.  Atwood, 
Chicago,  111.  The  next  meeting  of  the  new  society 
is  to  be  held  in  August,  1879,  at  Buffalo,  N.Y.,  and 
from  its  auspicious  beginning,  and  the  enthusiasm 
manifested  by  its  members,  it  is  fair  to  predict  that 
the  future  meetings  will  be  of  more  than  ordinary 
interest. 

Microscopical  Society  of  Liverpool.  —  The 
seventh  ordinary  meeting  of  this  society  was  held  at 
the  Royal  Institution,  on  Friday,  the  I Ith  October. 
After  the  ordinary  preliminary  business,  a  paper  was 
lead  on  "The  Life  History  of  a  hitherto  Unrecorded 
Septic  Organism";  with  drawings  from  life;  illus- 
trated by  means  of  the  Oxy-hydrogen  Lantern,  by 
Rev.  W.  II.  Dallinger,  F.I?. M.S.  At  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  meeting  a  conversazione  was  held,  when 
the  following  subjects  were  illustrated  : — "Alga?, 
Marine,"  T.  C.  Ryley ;  "Carchesium  Polypinum," 
natural  state,  mounted,  Isaac  C.  Thompson;  "Dia- 
toms," Charles  Symes,  Ph.  D.  ;  "  Durio  Zibetha- 
rinus,  —  decolorized  leaf  of  from  Borneo,"  polari- 
scope,  the  President;  "  Oscillatoria,"  mounted  slides 
and  alive,  the  President;  "Polyxenes  lagurus,"  Rev. 
W.  H.  Dallinger,  F.R.M.S. ;  "Pond  Life,"  George 
Thomas;  "  Section  of  Wigan  Coal,"  John  H.  Day  ; 
"  Spores  of  Fungi,"  Rev.  W.  Bannister. 

A  Remarkable  Photograph. — The  "American 
Journal  of  Microscopy"  for  August,  1878,  describes 
a  marvel  of  photographic  manipulation  in  the  form 
of  a  micro-photo  of  the  Lord's  Prayer.  Our  readers 
are  well  acquainted  with  the  ordinary  micro-photo- 
graphs of  engravings,  &c,  and  for  which  a  power  of 
30  diameters  is  usually  the  extreme  limit  of  amplifi- 
cation which  can  be  used  effectively,  the  higher 
powers  destroying  the  sharpness  of  the  outline.  The 
above-mentioned  photo  is  only  y^  of  an  inch  square, 
01"  tttuotx  °f  a  square  inch  (one  of  the  squares  in 
Maltwood's  finder  would  contain  it  four  times),  and 


will  bear  inspection  with  \  objective  and  B  ocular- 
These  slides  are  the  production  of  Mr.  Langenhcim 
(of  New  York  ?). 


ZOOLOGY. 

Marine  Dredging. —I  have  collected  for  years 
on  the  Lancashire  and  North  Welch  coasts,  and  I 
thought  I  should  like  to  try  a  fresh  locality.     Know- 
ing the  ruggedness  of  the  coast  scenery  of  the  Isle  of 
Man,  I  proposed  making  that  place  the  theatre  of 
my  operations,  and  I  can  certainly  say  I  never  saw 
happier  hunting-grounds   for   the  naturalist.      Ane- 
mones by  thousands,  Algce,  Red,  Brown,  and  Green, 
in  wonderful  profusion  ;  in  fact,  almost  every  depart- 
ment of  Marine  Zoology  is  well  represented.     I  was 
enchanted,  and  determined  that  next  year,  if  spared, 
I  should  devote  a  week  or  so  to  collecting.     A  friend 
of  mine  who  brought  some  anemones  back  with  him, 
sent  for  me  to  name  them  for  him.     Among  a  lot  of 
Actinia     mesembryanthemum,      Tcalia     crassicornis, 
Aiilhea  cercus,  &c.,  I  found  one  I  had  not  previously 
seen,  but  which  I  had  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  as 
Bnnodes  gonmacea  (the  Gem  Pimplet  of  Gosse).     It 
is  a  charming  animal,  well  worthy  of  its  name.     It  is 
still   alive  and   healthy,   having   had   two    feeds    of 
mussel.     The   only   locality    Gosse    gives    for    this 
anemone  is  "the  south-western  and  southern  shores 
of  England  and  Ireland,  on  exposed  rocks  and  shallow 
pools  between  tide-marks."     If  this  locality  is  new,  I 
gladly  record  it  for  the  benefit  of  brother  naturalists. 
It  is  not  uncommon  even  in  Douglas  Bay.    In  answer 
to  "  C.  E.  R.,"  I  may  say  this  anemone  requires  no 
peculiar  treatment.     It  is   easy  to  keep  alive  if  the 
aquarium  is  in  good  condition  ;  also,  the  best  method 
of  feeding  baby  anemones  is  to  let  them  feed  them- 
selves, and  they'll  not  starve.     In  fact,  none    of  the 
animals  in  a  large  tank  I  had  were  fed  for  twelve 
months,  and  I  can  aver  that  there  were  no  deaths, 
and  the  whole  affair  required  less  looking  after.    I  am 
much  obliged  to  "  H.  C.  C.  M."  for  description  and 
figure  of  Tangle-dredge.     I  have  no  doubt  it  will  be 
a  very  useful  instrument  to  the  marine  zoologist.     I 
was  very  sorry  to  hear  of  his  want  of  success,  but  can 
readily  divine  the  cause.     Since  the  establishment  of 
public  aquaria  there  has  sprung  up  at  various  parts  of 
the  coast  quite  an  army  of  collectors.     The  locality 
he  mentions  is  very  familiar  to  me,  having  collected 
on   its  shores  and  dredged  in  its  deep  waters  many 
times.     The  channel  in  the  straits  (north  entrance)  is 
very  narrow,  and  runs  close  to  the  Anglesea  shore, 
but  my  boatman  took  me  to  dredge  on  the  low  banks 
of  mud,  which  I  knew  were  exposed  every  tide,  and 
it  was  only  on  showing  him  I  knew  better  that  I  got 
my  dredge  down  on  prolific  ground.     I  have  tried 
many  times  to  procure  a  "Ball's  Naturalists'  Dredge," 
but    have    as  yet   been    unsuccessful ;    none  of  the 
London  fishing-tackle-makers  know  anything  about 


253 


HARD  WI CKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSSIP. 


it.     Could  you  or  any  of  your  numerous  readers  tell 
me  where  I  could  get  it  ? — J.  E.  Lord,  Rawtenstall. 

A  Seal  in  a  Trap. — A  seal  has  recently  been 
engaged  in  exploring  the  interior  of  Suffolk.  It 
ventured  up  a  dyke  near  Leistbn,  in  Suffolk,  and  was 
shot  whilst  lying  there.  As  one  might  have  expected, 
it  was  a  young  animal,  weighing  just  thirty  pounds, 
and  measuring  forty-one  inches  in  absolute  length. 

Living  Beetles  as  Female  Ornaments. — 
We  hope  the  attempts  to  introduce  living  exotic  beetles 
as  female  ornaments  will  fail,  if  only  in  the  interest  of 
the  animals  themselves.  We  read  in  a  fashionable 
newspaper  of  one  which  has  been  adorning  a  lady's 
shoulders  for  six  weeks,  and  subsisting  for  that  period 
without  food  !  The  lady  did  not  know  (and  probably 
did  not  care)  how  long  it  had  been  without  food 
before  she  had  it ;  and  as  it  came  from  central  America, 
it  may  have  been  some  time.  Are  we  so  hard  up  for 
ornaments  that  we  must  resort  to  these  aboriginal 
customs  ?  They  are  understandable  in  the  case  of 
those  African  beauties  who  are  obliged  to  dispense 
with  any  other  dress,  but  we  have  not  quite  retro- 
graded to  that  condition. 

"  Science  Made  Easy." — Under  this  title  Mr. 
Thomas  Twining  has  issued  a  series  of  six  familiar  lec- 
tures on  all  kinds  of  scientific  subjects,  but  chiefly  those 
bearing  on  economic  industries.  They  are  issued 
in  shilling  parts  by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192,  Picca- 
dilly. The  type  is  large,  and  pleasant  to  the  reader's 
eyes  ;  the  illustrations  of  the  very  best  and  most 
effective  kind.  Science  teachers  and  others  interested 
in  the  spread  of  scientific  education  will  find  these 
"Lectures  "  invaluable.  We  should  like  to  see  them 
used  in  every  Board  School  in  the  kingdom,  and  we 
would  strongly  advise  such  of  our  readers  as  are  con- 
nected with  those  institutions,  either  as  managers  or 
committee,  at  once  to  obtain  copies  of  these  lectures, 
and  endeavour  by  their  means  to  lay  that  foundation 
of  scientific  instruction  which  to  England,  more  than 
any  other  country,  is  absolutely  indispensable. 

Popular  Science. — The  Popular  Science  Revieio 
for  October  contains  articles  on  "The  Sand  and 
Brittle  Stars,"  by  Professor  Martin  Duncan  ;  "  Coal 
and  Colliery  Accidents,"  by  Mr.  C.  De  Ranee, 
F.  G.  S.  ;  "  The  Radiolaria  as  an  order  of  Protozoans," 
by  Dr.  Wallich  ;  "The  Eucalyptus  globulus,"  by 
M.  Betham  Edwards  ;  and  on  "The  Extinct  British 
Wolf,"  by  J.  E.  Harting,  F.Z.S. 

Rare  Birds. — From  various  paragraphs  in  last 
month's  Zoologist  we  gather  that  the  Hoopoe  has  been 
unusually  abundant  this  year  on  the  south  and  south- 
western coasts.  Observers  mention  it  as  being  seen 
at  Chichester,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  near  the 
Land's  End.  It  has  also  been  seen  near  Gloucester. 
As  one  might  expect,  in  most  places  the  beautiful 
stranger  was  shot!  Perhaps  in  time  natural  selection 
will  endow  rare  birds  with  more  sense  than  to  approach 
the  English  coasts. 


Provincial  Natural  History. — We  have  re- 
ceived a  copy  of  Part  4,  vol.  ii.,  of  the  "  Transactions 
of  the  Norfolk  and  Norwich  Naturalists'  Society," 
containing  a  most  able  address  by  the  President,  Mr. 
F.  W.  Harmer,  F.G. S.,  which  deals  chiefly  with  the 
difficulties  of  the  Darwinian  theory,  and  is  a  capital 
defence  of  it  against  some  recent  attacks.  It  also 
contains  papers  on  the  Norwich  crag,  by  Mr.  Harmer ; 
a  list  of  plants  found  near  Cromer,  by  Professor 
Babington  ;  letters  relating  to  the  Natural  History  of 
Norfolk,  by  Mrs.  R.  Lubbock  and  Professor  A. 
Newton ;  on  William  Arderon,  an  old  Norwich 
Naturalist,  by  F.  Kitton  ;  notes  on  Norfolk  Mam- 
malia, by  F.  Norgate  ;  Meteorological  Notes,  by 
John  Quinton,  jun. ;  Ornithological  Notes,  by  H. 
Stevenson  ;  and  Heteroptera  and  Homoptera  of 
Norfolk,  by  J.  Edwards.  The  "Report  of  Proceed- 
ings" of  the  Norwich  "  Science  Gossip  Club  "  has 
also  been  forwarded  to  us,  containing  an  abstract  of 
all  the  papers  read  last  winter,  embracing  a  variety 
of  scientific  subjects,  all  ably  and  intelligently 
treated,  together  with  the  Address  of  the  President, 
Mr.  S.  C.  Sothern.  This  is  a  very  popular  society; 
and  one  which  those  young  naturalists  would  do  well 
to  correspond  with  who  wish  to  found  an  unpretending 
science  club.  Part  10  of  vol.  i.  of  the  "  Transactions 
of  the  Watford  Natural  History  Society  "  is  also  to 
hand,  containing  index,  list  of  members,  Sec. 

The  Kingfisher  in  London. — On  Monday, 
30th  September,  when  crossing  Westminster  Bridge, 
I  was  surprised  to  see  a  kingfisher  fly  across  the 
Thames  from  the  Houses  of  Parliament  towards  St. 
Thomas's  Hospital,  and  then  cross  the  bridge  and 
fly  down  the  river.  It  seemed  at  a  loss  to  know 
where  to  settle.  I  see  by  the  Standard  it  has  been 
noticed  lately  in  the  Serpentine. — J.  L.  Hawkins. 

The  Bottle-head  Whale. — On  the  31st  August 
I  wrote  a  letter  to  the  editor  of  Chambers's  Journal 
respecting  the  capture  of  a  cetacean.     It  happened 
on  the  22nd  ult.  near  Nice.     He  advised  me  to  for- 
ward  to  you  the    drawing  and    description   of    the 
same.     As  to  external  appearance,  this  cetacean  had 
a  great  likeness  to  the  Bottle-head,  of  which  a  de- 
scription is   given  in  Chambers's  "  Encyclopcedia," 
except   that   the   surface   of  the  body  was   all  over 
covered  with  narrow    irregular  white   stripes ;    but 
when  I  went  on  the  spot  (three  days  after  the  capture) 
they  had  almost  disappeared.     A  more  remarkable 
difference  between  the  two  specimens  lies  in  the  skull,. 
as  you  can  judge  from  the  adjoining  drawing.   Would 
not  this  induce  us  to  establish  a  new  species  ot  Hyper- 
obdon,    contrary   to   the   general  opinion  that   there 
exists   one  species    only  ?     The  total  length  of  this 
cetacean   was    570   metres.     It   was   driven   ashore 
alive,  and  was  condemned  to  total  destruction  had  I 
not  interfered.     The  skeleton  has  been  so  preserved 
and   brought   to   Nice.      A   similar,    but   not    quite 
identical  specimen,  was  caught  many  years  ago  on 


HARD  W I CKE '  S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSI  P. 


259 


our  coast,  and  described  by  our  naturalist  Risso. 
There  were  stripes  on  the  body,  as  in  the  present  one, 
but  the  forehead  was  even  more  flat,  and  the  dorsal 
fin  trapezoidal  instead  of  triangular  ;  so,  at  any  rate, 
it  was  represented  by  a  drawing.  No  description 
was  given  of  the  skeleton. — Hippolyte  de  Pierlas,  Nice. 


BOTANY, 

Alpine  Flowers. — Hermann  Midler  writes  to 
Nature  to  say  that  in  the  Alps  he  has  found  some 
instances  of  different  forms  of  flowers  in  plants  of 
the  same  species,  which,  as  far  as  he  knows,  have 
been  hitherto  undescribed  ;  of  which  he  gives  a  short 
notice  as  follows  : — Geranium  sylvaticum  is  in  one 
locality  near  the  Albula  Pass  gynodioecious,  with 
large-flowered  hermaphrodite,  and  small-flowered 
female  stems.  Veratmm  album,  Dryas  oetopetala, 
and  Geum  reptans  are  in  all  the  localities  where  he 
has  examined  them  androdicecious.  Astrantia  minor 
offers  a  quite  peculiar  sort  of  androdioecium,  some 
stems  bearing,  as  in  other  Umbelliferce,  in  the  same 
umbel  hermaphrodite  flowers  and  male  ones,  other 
stems  producing  solely  male  flowers.  Dianthus 
superbus  seems  at  first  sight  to  exist  in  three  forms  : 
(1)  Stems  with  hermaphrodite  flowers,  being  per- 
fectly proterandrous  and  producing  a  moderate  quan- 
tity of  whitish  pollen  ;  (2)  stems  with  female  flowers 
containing  very  conspicuous  rudiments  of  stamens, 
but  pollenless  anthers  ;  (3)  stems  with  pistils  remain- 
ing imperfectly  developed,  and  with  anthers  con- 
taining abundance  of  a  brown  powder.  At  first 
sight  H.  Midler  thought  their  flowers  to  be  male,  and 
the  brown  powder  to  be  pollen- grains  ;  but  under 
the  microscope  the  latter  proved  to  consist  of  grains, 
the  diameter  of  which  is  only  about  one-eighth  of 
that  of  the  pollen-grains  of  the  hermaphrodite  flowers. 
He  supposes,  therefore,  these  grains  to  be  the  spores 
of  some  species  of  fungus,  and  Dianthus  superbus 
to  be  gynodioecious. 

Vegetable  Teratology. — The  state  of  Plantago 
.lanceolata  in  which  the  spike  is  replaced,  surrounded 
■or  surmounted  by  a  tuft  of  leaves,  appears  to  be  very 
plentiful  this  season,  as  I  gathered  no  less  than 
thirteen  such  specimens,  all  growing  in  different 
places,  when  taking  a  walk  on  August  16th.  In 
several  of  these  the  spike  is  surmounted  by  from  two 
to  five  leaves,  while  in  others  a  second  spike  springs 
from  the  centre  of  the  leafy  tuft.  In  one  specimen 
the  rosette  of  leaves  surmounting  the  stem  is  pretty 
large,  and  ten  spikes  spring  from  its  base,  their  stems 
varying  from  half  an  inch  to  four  inches  in  length, 
and  the  whole  forming  a  sort  of  irregular  umbel. 
The  dry  summer,  succeeded  by  showers  at  the  end  of 
July  and  beginning  of  August,  has  probably  some- 
thing to  do  with  the  unusual  abundance  of  these 
■curious  aberrations. — D.  Douglas,  Leith. 


Beeches  and  Hollies  ;  Oaks  and  Haw- 
thorns.— A  friend  of  mine  tells  me  that  about  the 
middle  of  September  he  was  in  the  New  Forest, 
where  he  noticed  that  beneath  the  large  beech-trees 
there  was  an  abundant  under-growth  of  hollies,  but 
no  hawthorns,  whereas  under  the  oaks  there  was  an 
abundant  growth  of  hawthorns,  but  no  hollies.  I 
should  be  glad  to  have  an  explanation  of  this. — R.  H. 
Alcock. 

"  Flowerless  Plants." — Under  this  title  Dr. 
Franklin  Parsons  has  contributed  two  most  readable 
articles  in  the  recent  numbers  of  The  Naturalist, 
which,  as  our  readers  are  aware,  is  the  journal  of  the 
Yorkshire  Naturalists'  Union,  and  their  general  field 
club  record.  Some  time  ago  we  heard  a  whisper 
that  The  Naturalist  would  have  to  be  discontinued 
for  lack  of  support.  We  sincerely  hope  our  York- 
shire friends  will  not  allow  such  a  stigma  to  fall  on 
their  hearty  and  generous  county. 

Vegetable  Moth-trap. — Mr.  W.  Simpson,  of 
Dartmouth,  has  described  a  large  plant  of  Physianthus 
albicans,  belonging  to  the  Asclepiadce,  which  flowers 
there  in  the  autumn  very  profusely.  He  says  it  is 
one  of  the  most  deadly  moth-traps  he  knows.  Many 
days  running  he  found  from  two  to  eight  Humming- 
bird Hawk-moths  caught  by  their  probosces  in  the 
flowers,  where  they  died  in  about  two  minutes. 
Other  insects  were  also  found  dead  in  the  flowers. 
The  plant  is  of  trailing  habits,  and  easily  trained 
over  porches.  Have  any  of  our  correspondents 
noticed  its  insecticide  habits  ? 

European  Fungi. — All  botanists  will  be  rejoiced 
to  hear  that  Dr.  M.  C.  Cooke,  A.L.S.,  and  Mons. 
L.  Quelet,  M.D.,  have  written  conjointly  a  work, 
entitled  "  Clavis  Synoptica  Hymenomycetum  Euro- 
preum,"  which  has  been  just  published  as  a  handsome 
little  volume  by  Messrs.  Hardwicke  &  Bogue  at  7s.  6d. 
In  this  book  every  species  of  fungus  heretofore  found 
in  Europe  is  described  in  brief  but  excellent  and 
easily  understandable  Latin ;  so  that  it  is  a  work 
which  thus  requests  a  world-wide  circulation.  The 
high  reputation  of  its  authors  as  fungologists  must 
make  the  present  work  a  hand-book  to  all  botanists. 

Double  Flowers. — A  few  days  ago  we  examined 
the  flowers  of  the  common  Petunia,  and  found  the 
stamens  had  developed  into  petals.  Each,  so-formed 
petal  was  distinct,  so  that  the  internal  structure  was 
thus  polypetalous.  We  have  noticed  that  whenever 
the  stamens  are  thus  modified  in  gamopetalous  flowers, 
the  newly-formed  petals  do  not  cohere.  Does  not 
this  indicate  that  polypetalous  corollas  must  have 
preceded  the  gamopetalous  in  the  order  of  floral 
evolution  ? 

"The  Herefordshire  Pomona." — Under  this 
title  the  first  part,  price  15s.,  has  just  been  issued  by 
Messrs.  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  of  a  most  magnificent 
work,  containing  coloured  figures  and  descriptions  of 
the  most  esteemed  kinds  of  apples  and  pears. 


260 


HARDWICKE'S  SCIENCE -GOSSIP. 


coloured  plates  are  of  the  very  highest  degree  of 
excellence,  and  it  is  long  since  we  have  seen  illustra- 
tions of  natural-history  books  so  artistically  executed. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  artistic  superiority 
will  of  itself  give  this  much-needed  work  an  extensive 
circulation.  It  is  edited  by  Dr.  Robert  Hogg,  F.L.S., 
and  is  chaperoned,  we  believe,  by  the  well-known 
and  energetic  Woolhope  Naturalists'  Field  Club. 
The  letter-press  contains  outline  woodcuts  of  every 
variety  of  apple  aud  pear  in  cultivation,  besides  other 
engravings  of  high  merit. 


ksu 


mm 


Fig.  220.   Median  prolification  in  Common  Daisy. 

Monstrosity  in  the  Daisy. — The  above  is  an 
illustration  of  median  prolification  occurring  in  a 
specimen  of  the  common  Daisy  [Bellis perennis)  found 
at  Cobham.  It  occurs  frequently  in  gamosepalous 
and  gamopetalous  flowers,  when  it  is  known  under 
the  term  of  "hose  in  hose,"  but  we  have  never  seen 
it  before  in  a  composite  flower. 


GEOLOGY. 

The  late  Mr.  Thomas  Celt,  F.G.S. — It  is 
with  much  regret  that  we  have  to  announce  the  death 
of  Mr.  Thomas  Belt,  F.G.S.,  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  the  younger  school  of  naturalists,  who 
died  after  a  short  illness,  of  rheumatic  fever,  at 
Denver,  United  States,  in  the  46th  year  of  his  age. 
He  was  a  frequent  and  valued  contributor  to  our 
columns,  and  only  a  few  weeks  ago  sent  us  the 
account  of  his  discovery  of  a  human  skull  at  Denver, 
under  circumstances  indicating  high  antiquity.  He 
was  the  author  of  several  works  on  natural  history, 
the  best  known  of  which  is  the  "Naturalist  in 
Nicaragua." 

What  are  Conodonts? — At  a  recent  meeting 
of  the  Natural  History  Society  of  Glasgow,  Mr.  John 
Young,  F.G.S.,  read  some  notes  on  a  group  of  fossil 
organisms  termed  Conodonts,  which  have  recently 
been  discovered  in  the  Carboniferous  limestones  of  the 


Ayrshire  coal-field  by  Mr.  John  Smith,  of  the  Eglintoia 
Ironworks,  Kilwinning.   These  organisms  are  minute, 
slender,  conical,  tooth-like  bodies  of  varying  forms, 
of  a  brownish   colour,   and  having  a  glistening  or 
enamelled  appearance ;  few  of  them  exceed  an  eighth 
of  an  inch  in  length,   many  of  them   being  much 
smaller  ;  they  are  mostly  of  a  comb-like  form,  being 
serrated  along  one  of  the  sides  with  a  row  of  teeth, 
often  of  unequal  length  and  stoutness.     Conodonts 
were  first  brought  under  the  notice  of  geologists  by 
Dr.   Pander  in   1856,   in  a  work  descriptive  of  the 
fossil  fishes  of  the  Silurian  formation  in  Russia,  in 
which  country  they  are  found  ranging  in  strata  from 
the  Upper  Cambrian  to  the  Carboniferous  deposits. 
In  America  they  have  also  been  discovered  in  the 
Devonian  and  Carboniferous   formations ;    Professor 
Newberry  having  figured  and  described  a  number  of 
Carboniferous  forms  in  his  work  on  the  palaeontology 
of  Ohio.    But  until  this  discovery  of  Mr.  Smith's,  no 
remains  of  Conodonts  seem  to  have  been  noticed  in  the 
strata  of  the  several  formations  in  Britain.    Mr.  Young 
stated  that  he  had  recently  the  opportunity  of  sub- 
mitting Mr.  Smith's  specimens  to  a  Canadian  palae- 
ontologist, Mr.  Jennings  Hinde,  while  on  a  visit  to 
this  country,   and  he  stated  that  they  were  closely 
related  to  the  American  forms,  especially  to   those 
described  by  Prof.  Newberry.     Although  Conodonts 
have  now  been  known  to  palaeontologists  for  more 
than  twenty  years,  great  doubts  still  exist  as  to  what 
group  of  animals  these  curious  teeth-like  organisms 
belong.     Dr.  Pander,  their  first  discoverer,   thought 
they  were  the  teeth  of  a  group  of  cyclostomatous 
fishes  allied  to  the  present  lampreys.     Professor  Owen 
doubts  their  fish  affinities  very  much,  and  says  some 
of  them  may  be  the  dentated  claws  of  small  Crustacea ; 
others  may  be  the  teeth  booklets  or  denticle;  of  naked 
mollusca   or  annelides.     Professor  Newberry  thinks 
Dr.  Pander  is  right  in  referring  them  to  fishes  ;  if  so, 
fish-life  will  have  to  be  carried  forward  to  a  much 
earlier  period  in  the  history  of  our  globe  (namely,  the 
Cambrian),  no  undoubted  fish-remains  being  at  present 
recorded  from  strata  older  than  the  Upper  Silurian. 
These  Conodonts  are  found  in  both  the  upper  and 
lower  limestones  of  the  Ayrshire  coalfields;  upwards 
of  thirty  forms  have  already  been  discovered,  and  it 
is  probable  the  number  may  be  increased  by  further 
researches  in  the  deposits.     Along  with  the  Cono- 
donts, Mr.  Smith  has  also  found  a  new  group  of  fossil 
sponges,  different  from  those  of  Hyalonema,  which 
he  discovered  last  year  in  the  Lower  Limestone  series 
at  Cunningham  Pedland,  near  Dairy.     The  silicious 
spicules  of  this  new  group  of  sponges  from  the  Upper 
Limestone  are  of  various  types,  and  Mr.  Young  stated 
that  at  present  the  forms  were  being  examined  by 
Professor    Voting   and    himself,    and   they   intended 
bringing   them  up  fit   a   future  meeting.     The  same 
deposit  also  contains  an  interesting  group  of  small 
forms  of  mollusca,  in  a  fine  state  of  preservation,  many 
of  the  univalve  or  spiral  shells,  having  their  mouths 


HARD  WICKES    SCIENCE-  G  OSS  IP. 


261 


quite  entire,  and  several  of  them  being  of  species  not 
formerly  recorded  from  the  Carboniferous  strata  of 
the  West  of  Scotland. 

Perpendicular  Holes  in  Rocks. —  In  a  sec- 
tion of  what  is,  I  believe,  inferior  oolite,  underlying 
sand  at  Manton  Warren,  near  Kirton-in-Lindsey, 
Lincolnshire,  there  are  exposed  to  view  perpendicular 
holes  of  some  ten  inches  in  diameter,  passing  through 
the  successive  layers  of  stones,  and  through  the  stones 
themselves,  as  if  bored.  A  depth  of  5  ft.  is  exposed 
to  view,  but  how  much  deeper  they  go  I  do  not  know. 
I  observed  three  within  a  few  feet  of  each  other. 
The  diameter  does  not  appear  to  decrease  with  the 
depth.  Will  any  one  state  the  probable  origin  ? 
Are  they  "pot-holes"?  The  stone  obtained  has  been 
broken  up  for  roads.  The  warren  is  elevated  above 
the  surrounding  country. — J.  Ar.  £>.,  Tuxford. 

A  New  Eocene  Mammal.  —  A  new  genus  of 
pachydermatous  mammals,  nearly  allied  in  its  denti- 
tion to  Pakeotherinm,  has  been  recently  found  in  the 
Lower  Eocene  beds  of  Transylvania.  The  fearful 
generic  name  of  Brachydiastematherium  has  been 
given  to  this  extinct  creature. 

A  New  Oolitic  Pterodactyle.  —  Hitherto 
no  Pterodactyle  remains  have  been  found  in  America 
of  older  date  than  the  Cretaceous  period.  News 
comes  to  us,  however,  of  a  species  of  Pterodactyle 
which  has  just  been  found  in  the  Oolitic  rocks  of 
Wyoming,  whose  outspread  wings  must  have  been 
five  feet  from  tip  to  tip.  It  has  been  named  P.  mon- 
tanns. 

Geology  of  the  American  Lake  Region.— 
Mr.  George  Maw,  F.G.S.,  writes  as  follows  on  this 
subject  : — "  We  must  set  aside  the  view  that  the 
chain  of  large  lochs  is  due  to  glacial  excavation ;  for 
Ontario,  the  deepest  of  the  lakes,  running  east  and 
west,  is  in  lower  latitude  than  Huron,  the  bottom  of 
which  is  510  feet  above  that  of  Ontario  ;  and  there  is 
no  high  ground  about  Ontario  from  which  ice  could 
have  originated  as  a  preponderating  mass,  capable  of 
excavating  Ontario  600  feet  deep ;  nor  is  there  any  mass 
of  debris  anywhere  to  be  seen  about  the  lake  as  would 
represent  such  an  excavation." 


NOTES    AND    QUERIES, 

Water-Boatman. — Your  readers,  who  are  no 
doubt  familiar  with  the  very  savage  instinct  of  this 
insect,  may  be  interested  to  learn  my  experience  of 
him.  He  really  appears  to  be  quite  shark-like  in  his 
nature.  A  few  weeks  since,  whilst  staying  with  some 
friends  in  Cambridgeshire,  to  amuse  the  children  I 
collected  from  several  ditches  various  Sticklebacks, 
Whirligigs,  Newts,  a  Frog,  &c,  and  three  Water- 
Boatmen.  These  I  thought  might  possibly  make  a 
nice  little  "happy  family";  but  my  hopes  were 
doomed,  as  the  boatmen  soon  proved  themselves  to 
be   most   formidable.     Theyj  attacked   each   of  the 


animals  before-mentioned  except  the  Whirligigs,  whose 
movements  were  too  quick  for  them.  After  killing 
the  insects  and  Sticklebacks,  one  fastened  himself  to 
the  frog's  leg.—//.  Hall. 

Laburnum  Flowers.— Laburnum  trees  are  in 
blossom  here  now  (September).  Is  not  this  an  unu- 
sual phenomenon? — R.  II.  Nisbet  Browne,  Folkestone. 

Palm  Roots. — With  reference  to  the  question 
propounded  in  your  issue  for  October,  as  to  whether 
palm-trees  have  tap-roots  or  not,  1  find,  on  consulting 
the  highest  authorities  in  the  library  of  the  Linna:an 
Society,  that  the  roots  are  fibrous  masses.  Stephen 
Endlicher,  in  his  "Genera  Plantarum,"  published  in 
1836-40,  writes  thus  : — "  Palm  re  Plantre  liques- 
centes,  acrobryje  habitu  peculiari.  Radix  palaris, 
mox  evanida ;  radicular  plurima;,  cylindrical,  sim- 
plices  et  ramose,  fibrillosre,  in  inolem  conicam  saape 
ex  parte  hypogream  dense  compactce."  Loudon,  in 
his  " Encyclopaedia  of  Plants,"  writes: — "The  lofty 
stems  of  palms  are  supported  by  a  mass  of  fibrous 
roots,  which  frequently  cross  along  the  surface  of  the 
ground."  In  the  "  Horuis  Indicus  Malabaricus,"  by 
Henry  Van  Rheede,  published  in  1628,  the  author 
states  that  the  Palm  diffuses  its  root-fibres  widely  in  a 
transverse  direction.  With  regard  to  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  verse  of  Psalm  xcii.,  where  the  righteous 
are  compared  to  the  vigour  of  the  Palm-tree,  it  would 
be  presumptuous  in  me,  as  a  layman,  to  offer  an 
opinion  or  discuss  it  in  a  theological  point  of  view. 
Canon  Tristram,  in  his  "Natural  History  of  the 
Bible,"  alludes  to  the  12th  verse  of  the  above  Psalm  : 
' '  Here  the  life  of  the  righteous  may  be  compared  to 
the  Palm-tree  for  many  reasons.  It  flourishes  in  a 
barren  soil  ;  it  requires  constant  moisture  ;  it  is  a 
lofty  tree,  a  straight  tree  ;  it  is  always  growing  so 
long  as  it  lives,  and  it  is  always  green,  and  always 
bears  fruit  as  far  as  possible  from  earth,  and  as  near 
as  possible  to  heaven.  We  may  add,  too,  the  elas- 
ticity and  upward  growth  of  its  fibre,  even  when 
loaded  with  weight."  The  following  is  extracted 
from  Mr.  Hooker's  translation  of  Le  Maout  et 
Decaisne: — "  Palms,  perennial  woody  plants,  elegant 
or  majestic  in  habit.  Primary  root  decaying  early 
and  replaced  by  numerous  adventitious  roots,  which 
are  developed  at  the  base  of  the  trunk,  and  form  a 
compact  conical  mass,  often  very  voluminous  and 
rising  more  or  less  above  the  soil,  and  in  certain 
cases  raising  the  trunk  and  supporting  it  like  the 
shrouds  of  a  ship."  The  Palm-trees  with  which  I  was 
most  familiar  in  India  were  the  Cocoa-nut  and  Date. 
Neither  had  tap-roots.  Professor  Bentley,  in  his 
"Manual  of  Botany,"  writes:  "The  true  or  pri- 
mary root,  from  its  being  formed  by  a  direct  elongation 
of  the  radicle,  generally  continues  to  grow  downwards 
for  some  time  at  least,  and  hence  forms  a  main  trunk 
or  axis  from  which  the  branches  are  given  off.  Such 
a  root  is  termed  a  tap-root,  and  may  be  commonly 
observed  in  dicotyledonous  plants.  On  the  contrary, 
the  roots  of  monocotyledonous  and  acotyledonous 
plants,  wbich  are  adventitious,  are  usually  of  nearly 
equal  size,  and  given  off  in  variable  numbers  from 
the  radicle."  The  above  remarks  will,  I  think,  show 
that  the  palms  do  not  possess  tap-roots.  —  John 
Colebrook. 

Roots  of  Palm-tree. — There  are  several  kinds 
of  trees  called  Palm,  and  the  first  question  to  be 
settled  should  be,  Which  is  the  Palm-tree  of  the 
Bible  ?  Many  are  of  opinion  that  it  is  the  Phcvnix 
doxtylifera,  or  Date-palm,  which  affords  food  to 
both  man  and  animals  ;  and  I  will,  therefore,  give 
you  a  short  description  of  the  Palm  met  with  by 
Bonar  in  the  desert  of  Sinai.    He  says  :  "  The  roots 


262 


HARD  JVI  CKE'S    S  C1ENCE-  G  O  SSI  P. 


are  unlike  any  other  tree-roots  we  had  seen,  and 
peculiarly  fitted  to  absorb  every  drop  of  moisture 
that  the  sand  contains.  In  general  form  and  structure 
they  put  us  in  mind  of  the  Dahlia  and  Ranunculus, 
consisting  of  long  fleshy  strings  or  ropes,  shooting 
straight  down  into  the  soil  in  numbers  quite  beyond 
our  reckoning,  and  extending  over  a  large  circle, 
whose  width  we  could  not  ascertain."  Again,  the 
same  writer  observes:  "What  an  apparatus  for 
drawing  up  the  moisture  of  the  desert."  The  roots 
of  all  the  Palmacea  are  described  as  fibrous  :  no 
matter  what  the  form  may  be,  or  the  size  of  the 
stem,  it  is  invariably  woody,  and  the  roots  fibrous. 
This  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  all  I  have  been  able 
to  call  to  mind  as  having  read  of  the  Palm-tree  ;  but 
many  who  are  better  versed  in  the  matter  will  reply 
to  "A.  B.'s"  question. — Helen  E.  Watney. 

Cat  and  Rabbits. — A  curious  case  of  the  adop- 
tion by  a  cat  of  some  rabbits  has  come  under  my 
notice.  The  mother  of  the  rabbits  died,  and  the 
kittens  having  been  destroyed,  the  cat  suckled  the 
rabbits  and  brought  them  up.  This  occurred  in  a 
small  village  in  Surrey.  May  not  this  throw  some 
light  on  the  story  of  Romulus  and  Remus  being 
suckled  by  a  wolf,  supposed  by  historical  research 
to  be  fabulous  ? — H.  P.  Barclay. 

Egg  Drills. — Beta  will  be  able  to  obtain  the 
instruments  described  in  my  article  on  collecting 
birds'  eggs,  of  Mr.  J.  Everard,  surgical  instrument 
maker,  34,  Berners-street,  W. —  T.  Southwell. 

Marsh  Tit. — In  answer  to  "  C.  C.'s"  question 
(Science-Gossip,  page  234)  "as  to  whether  the 
curious  note,  resembling  the  whetting  of  a  saw, 
belongs  to  the  Marsh  Tit,"  it  is  certainly  not  the 
Marsh  Tit,  Parus  palnstris,  because  that  peculiar 
note  is  heard  in  situations  where  the  Marsh  Tit  is 
not  found.  We  believe  the  note  to  belong  to  the 
Great  Tit,  Parus  major.  The  song  is  heard  as 
early  as  January,  often  from  the  top  of  a  high  tree. 
The  bird  is  very  remarkable  from  the  similarity  of 
the  simple  note  to  the  sound  made  in  filing  a  saw. 
Hence,  in  Staffordshire,  the  bird  is  commonly  called 
"  Saw-whetter. " — Elizabeth  Edwards. 

Migrating  Birds. — Last  Sunday  I  heard,  about 
eight  o'clock  p.m.  the  whistling  of  innumerable 
birds,  passing  over  Northallerton  in  a  south-westerly 
direction.  I  presume  them  to  have  been  a  flock  of 
plovers.  They  continued  to  pass  over  until  eleven 
o'clock.  Are  these  birds  regular  migrators,  or  does  the 
present  case  betoken  the  approach  of  a  severe  winter  ? 
—J.  A.  Wheldon. 

Sea  Anemones.— "  C.  E.  R."  will  be  glad  to 
learn  that  I  kept  two  of  Bitnodes  gemmacea  for  the 
greater  part  of  a  year,  and  might  have  done  so  for  a 
longer  period,  as  they  were  still  in  first-rate  condition 
when  the  accident  occurred  which  caused  their  death. 
I  kept  them  in  a  glass  bottle  of  about  six  inches 
diameter,  with  a  loosely-fitting  stopper  always  on, 
and  they  were  fed  twice  a  week  with  bits  of  shrimp, 
such  as  one  buys  at  the  fishmonger's.  I  find  that  small 
and  delicate  sorts  do  well  in  these  bottles  ;  the  glass 
stopper  prevents  evaporation.  Small  plants  appear 
quickly  all  over  the  sides,  and  altogether  they  are 
the  most  self-compensating  aquaria  which  I  know. 
I  have  kept  them  for  long  periods  without  diminution 
of  the  contents,  and  consequently  without  having  the 
water  more  dense  than  at  first.  Will  "  C.  E.  R."  be 
good  enough  to  describe  his  treatment  of  Tealia  crassi- 
cornis  ?  I  have  read,  and  have  been  told  on  good 
authority,  that  it  is  impossible  to  keep  it.  My 
attempts  have  always  failed  ;  but,  owing  to  circum- 


stances, I  have  been  unable  to  obtain  one  of  which  I 
could  say  with  certainty  that  the  base  had  not  been 
injured. —  IV.  G.  H.  C,  Frome. 

Zoological  Notes. — There  was  shot  on  theTees^ 
on  the  30th  September  a  female  Great  Northern 
Diver  {Co/ymbits  artiais),  also  a  Stormy  Petrel  (P/ocel- 
laria  pelaqica).  Two  swans  were  also  shot,  and  are 
now  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Richardson,  of  this  town, 
for  preservation.  During  the  last  fortnight  large 
flocks  of  Wild  Duck,  Teal,  Widgeon,  &c,  have  been 
passing  on  their  autumnal  migration;  several  large  flocks- 
of  geese  have  been  seen  passing  over  the  Cleveland 
Hills.  A  Death's-head  Moth  was  also  captured  at 
the  end  of  September. — George  Simpson,  Middlesbro', 
October  6th. 

The  Song  Thrush  and  Blackbird  Pairing. 
— In  confirmation  of  Mr.  Robert  Holland's  article  in 
Science-Gossip  of  June,  on  "Remarkable  Nests," 
it  might  be  well  to  insert  the  following  well-authen- 
ticated instance.  In  the  island  of  Howth  my 
daughter  saw  a  cock  blackbird  sitting  on  a  nest  where 
previously  a  hen  thrush  had  been  sitting.  There 
were  young  ones  in  the  nest,  which  was  not  lined. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  identity,  as  it  was  re- 
marked by  others. — S.  A.  Brenan,  Clk.,  Allan  Rock, 
Co.  Tyrone. 

Songs  of  Birds,  &c. — A  work  on  the  songs  of 
birds  and  other  animals  as  related  to  human  music, 
and  as  furnishing  a  basis  for  a  theory  of  melody,  has 
occupied  me  two  years.  The  chief  impediment  is  the 
lack  of  received  observations.  I  should  be  most 
grateful  if  you  kindly  assist  me  in  any  of  these  ways, 
viz. : — I.  Reference  to  books,  &c,  containing  songs  of 
birds  or  other  animals  in  musical  notation.  (Cqpies 
of  these  would  be  still  more  valuable.)  2.  Results  of 
your  observations  on  bird  or  other  songs.  3.  Is 
there  noticed  with  any  frequency  in  these  songs  the 
occurrence  of  any  fundamental  intervals  of  human 
music, — as  the  octave,  fifth,  fourth,  and  third  ?  ' 
4.  (A  question  only  seemingly  irrelevant) — If  sing- 
ing in  the  ears  has  ever  happened  to  you,  have 
any  of  the  fundamental  intervals  above  mentioned 
been  observed  between  the  minute  tones  ?  5.  Any 
information  that  may  occur  to  you  as  bearing  on  these 
subjects.  All  contributions  will  be  acknowledged, 
and  the  results  sent  to  you  on  publication. — 916, 
Washington  Street,  San  Erancisco,  Cal. 

Parasites  on  Birds. — Are  there  any  means  of 
destroying  the  parasites  on  fantail  pigeons  ?  The  fan- 
tails  are  kept  in  a  large  open  room  at  the  top  of  the 
house,  with  the  window  constantly  open,  so  that  they 
fly  in  and  out  at  pleasure.  The  parasite  which  most 
infests  them  is  about  the  eighth  of  an  inch  long,  dark 
in  colour,  very  slender  in  proportion  to  its  length,  so 
that  to  an  ordinary  observer  it  hardly  appears  to  be 
an  insect ;  there  is  also  another,  round  in  shape, 
perhaps  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and 
pinky  in  colour.  The  birds  have  fresh  water  every 
day  for  bathing.  Is  there  any  danger  of  the  creatures- 
forsaking  the  bird  for  the  human  habitants  of  the 
house,  as  the  pigeons  are  very  tame,  and  perch  on 
head  or  shoulder  ?  And  will  the  Editor  kindly  tell 
Mrs.  Geveke  if  there  is  any  sensible  reason  why 
pigeon  feathers  should  not  be  used  for  stuffing  pillows, 
&C.—AI.  G. 

Palms  at  Shanghai  (page  178). — Your  corre- 
spondent, Mr.  Nelson,  calls  attention  to  the  fact  ot 
Palms  enduring  frost  and  snow  at  Shanghai  with  im- 
punity. Judging  from  the  short  and  negative  descrip- 
tion which   he   gives,   viz.,    that  they  are   not   "as 


HA  R  D  WI  CA'E'  S    S  CTENCE  -  G  0  SSIP. 


263 


graceful  as  the  lofty  Cocoa-nut  trees  of  Ceylon,  or 
the  Sago-palm  of  Borneo,"  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  the  species  to  which  he  alludes  is  Fortune's 
Chamrerops,  which  is  an  inhabitant  of  the  cooler 
portions  of  China,  and  one  or  two  specimens  of 
which  might  be  seen,  a  few  years  ago,  growing  in  the 
open  air  at  Kew.  But  the  general  question  of 
acclimatization  is  one  well  deserving  the  attention  of 
botanists  and  florists.  If  all  plants  that  are  uninjured 
by  frost  or  snow  in  their  own  country  could  be 
guaranteed  to  be  equally  hardy  in  England,  the 
matter  of  acclimatization  would  be  very  simple.  Our 
shrubberies,  and  heaths,  and  hedgerows  would  be 
enlivened  with  many  a  bright  gem  from  Canada, 
Switzerland,  and  the  mountainous  portions  of  hotter 
lands.  I  have  lately  returned  from  a  sojourn  in 
Tasmania,  and  there,  every  winter,  the  lovely  Fern- 
trees,  which  abound  in  the  mountain  gullies,  are 
weighed  down  with  snow ;  and  quaint  Gums 
{Eucalypti)  and  feathery  Wattles  {Acacia)  nourish  in 
a  temperature  rivalling  in  coolness  that  found  in  many 
parts  of  England.  But  nothing  is  more  certain  than 
that  neither  Fern-tree,  Gum,  nor  Wattle  will  exist  in 
Great  Britain,  except  in  one  or  two  favoured  situa- 
tions. The  reason  of  this  apparent  paradox  is  not 
far  to  seek.  The  incapability  of  these  foreigners 
to  bear  the  severity  of  an  English  winter  is  simply 
due  to  the  difference  between  their  respective  sum- 
mers. In  the  countries  named,  during  the  summer 
months,  there  is  an  almost  continuous  outpouring  of 
the  sun's  actinic  rays,  thoroughly  ripening  the  wood, 
and  giving  life  and  vigour  to  the  contained  fluids, 
while,  at  the  same  time,  the  atmosphere  is  com- 
paratively dry,  and  the  air  is  not  eternally  loaded 
with  superabundant  moisture.  We  all  know  how 
different  from  this  is  the  normal  condition  of  the 
English  summer.  We  certainly  get  the  advantage  in 
the  greenness  of  our  meadows  and  the  fresh  appear- 
ance of  our  vegetation,  aspects  for  the  most  part 
unknown  in  the  countries  alluded  to ;  but  the  in- 
cessant humidity,  and  the  general  absence  of  sunlight, 
are  fatal  to  the  well-being  of  plants  which  in  other 
lands,  thanks  to  the  summer  solar  ray,  can  defy  the 
frost  and  snow  of  winter.  A  very  careful  selection 
might  add  a  few  foreign  names  to  our  native  species  ; 
but  before  Palms  and  Fern-trees  grace  our  land- 
scapes, the  theory  of  "heredity"  must  be  worked 
out  patiently  and  slowly,  and  then  possibly  the 
"survival  of  the  fittest"  may  take  place. —  IV.  W. 
Spicer. 

Clams. — I  have  tasted  clam  soup  in  America. 
It  is  somewhat  like  oyster  soup,  but  I  believe  it  is 
made,  not  from  the  giant-clam,  Claina  gigas,  but 
from  the  soft  clam  of  the  northern  shores,  the  Mya 
arenaria,  which  is  very  much  used  in  America  as  an 
article  of  food.  It  is  found  in  great  abundance  on 
the  coast  of  New  England,  and  makes  good  bait  in 
cod  and  haddock  fishing.  The  shells  are  dug  up 
from  thin  beds  at  low  water.  They  are  found  a  foot  or 
so  deep  below  the  surface,  their  siphon-tube  projecting 
upward  in  the  hole  by  which  they  communicate  with 
the  water  at  high  tide.  They  are  "  shucked,"  that  is 
taken  out  of  their  shells,  and  salted  for  the  fisheries. 
As  many  as  five  thousand  barrels  a  season  are  thus 
consigned.  Clams  are  often  mentioned  in  the  early 
history  of  the  Plymouth  colony;  and  judging  from 
scalloped  clams,  roasted  clams,  and  clam  soup,  I 
have  no  doubt  but  what  Mr.  W.  A.  Cairns  will  find 
preserved  clams  very  fair  eating  for  persons  who 
rejoice  in  a  good  digestion. — H.  E.   Watney. 

A  Mysterious  Gift. — An  account  of  the  first 
ascent  of  the  Peter  Botte  Mountain  is  given  in  the 


Penny  I\ fa gazine  for  1833,  which  is  probably  the  one 


referred  to  by  your 
-Charles  Madeley, 


correspondent,   Alfred   Paterson. 


NOTICES   TO    CORRESPONDENTS, 


To  Correspondents  and  Exchangers.  —  As  we  now 
publish  Science-Gossip  a  week  earlier  than  heretofore,  we 
cannot  possibly  insert  in  the  following  number  any  communi- 
cations which  reach  us  later  than  the  gth  of  the  previous 
month. 


M.  (Bradford). — You  will  find  instructions  as  to  preparing 
such  skeletons  as  you  require  in  the  chapter  on  "  Bones,"  in 
"  Collecting  and  Preserving  Natural  History  Objects,"  pub- 
lished by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  price  3s.  6d. 

C.  A.  Cowley. — Your  specimen  is  the  beautiful  and  rare 
Astrantia  major,  found  in  Shropshire.  See  articles  on  it  at 
page  8  of  Science-Gossip,  vol.  for  1873. 

M.  J.  Wilde. — -No  rock  specimens,  such  as  described  in 
your  letter,  have  yet  reached  us. 

O.  P.,  Cambridge.— '1  he  Agaric  is  evidently  a  very  young 
state  of  Agaricus  'Mycena)  polygra?n>nus.     Fr.  M.  C.  C. 

David  Scott. — Your  plants  are:  1.  Anthemis  nobilii  ; 
2.  Cardamine  amara ;  3.  Parnassia  palustris ;  and  4.  Saxi- 
fraga  stellaris. 

Young  Muscologist.—  Get  Hobkirk's  "  Synopsis  of  British 
Mosses,"  price  10s.  6d.,  published  by  Lovell  Reeve. 

A.  Bernard. — The  curious  monstrosity  of  the  stems  of  the 
Malva  moschata  (which  we  are  much  obliged  to  you  for 
sending  us)  is  described  by  Dr.  Masters  in  his  "  Vegetable 
Teratology"  by  the  name  oi  fasciculation.  It  is  caused  by 
the  abnormal  growing  together  of  branches,  just  as  the  normal 
substance  we  call  "horn"  is  due  to  the  agglutination  of  hairs. 

J.  Sims. — Of  course  we  are  obliged  to  trust  to  the  honour 
of  those  who  use  our  exchange  column,  and  we  cannot  be 
expected  to  guarantee  good  faith.  We  shall  always  feel 
obliged  if  "  exchangers  "  will  notify  to  us  any  breach  of  faith. 
We  shall  then  take  good  care  to  exclude  the  offenders  for  the 
future. 

A  Young  Geologist. — Your  fossils  are  : — 1.  Pcctunculus 
glycimeris  (young  specimen) ;  2.  Fragment  of  Natica ;  3. 
Purpura  lapillus.  The  crystals  are  selenite,  or  sulphate  of 
lime,  derived  from  the  London  clay.  See  chapter  in  Taylor's 
"  Geological  Stories,"  entitled  "  Story  of  the  Crags." 

J.  K.  (Yarmouth).  —  Trimmer's  "Flora  of  Norfolk"  is  a 
well-known  and  highly  esteemed  work.  (2)  We  have  not  heard 
of  any  recent  numbers  of  Donkin's  "  British  Diatomacese " 
being  issued  ;  nor  can  we  guess  the  cause  of  the  delay,  unless 
it  be  the  author's  professional  engagements.  Your  plants  are 
named  correctly  in  the  parcel  sent  us. 

J.  Kirdy. — You  may  get  the  materials  mentioned  in  Dr. 
Woodward's  process  for  staining  muscular  tissues  from  any 
first-rate  chemist. 

W.  J.  R. — Write  to  Mr.  Van  Voorst,  publisher,  who  has  (we 
believe)  published  lists  for  labelling,  such  as  you  require. 

J.  Anderson,  jun. — The  Fuchsia  with  the  calyx  segment 
transformed  into  a  green  veined  leaf  is  very  curious,  and  very 
instructive  as  an  illustration  of  reversion. 

J.  W.  N. — The  slide  contains  elytra,  &c.  of  the  female  of 
the  common  water-beetle  {Dyticus  margi?ialis).  The  female 
is  so  unlike  the  male  in  appearance  that  it  was  formerly  re- 
garded as  a  different  species. 

A.  Wheldon. —Thanks  for  your  monstrosity  of  Plantago 
lanceolatum,  showing  three  heads  on  one  stalk. 

K.  D. — Will  you  kindly  send  us  your  query  again,  as  we 
have  mislaid  it. 

G.  R.  Redgrave. — The  malformed  rose  with  mass  of 
petals  arranged  around  the  stem  beneath  the  main  mass  is  a 
case  of  what  Dr.  Masters  terms  "  mediate  prolification."  See 
his  masterlv  work  on  "  Vegetable  Teratology." 

Gregori'us  and  A.  G.  Wright. —  See  article  on  "Pre- 
serving Fungi,"  by  Mr.  Worthington  Smith,  the  eminent 
fungologist,  in  "  Collecting  and  Preserving  Natural  History 
Objects." 

T.  Watson  (Burnley).— Your  best  plan  would  be  to  offer 
the  instrument  for  exchange  in  our  "  exchange  "  column.  Or 
advertise  it  for  sale  in  the  magazines  you  name.  There  are 
none  better. 

A  Subscriber. — Your  grapes  are  attacked  by  the  usual  vine 
disease,  which  is  a  fungus.  For  its  treatment  consult  any 
work  on  grape-culture. 

H.  W.  S.-We  like  the  paper,  and  shall  insert  it  at  our 
earliest  opportunity. 

F.  VV.  Hytch. — There  is  a  "  Postal  Microscopical  Club" 
established,  of  whose  rules,  &c.  you  will  find  a  full  account  in 
Science-Gossip,  vol.  for  1873. 

W.  Gaist. — From  the  description  of  your  larva  we  conclude 
it  is  that  of  the  goat-moth  (Cossus  ligniperda),  but  we  cannot 
judge  definitely  without  seeing  it.     Leave  it  where  it  is. 


264 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  GOSSIP. 


F.  Alexander. — Your  larvae  of  Jacofora  will  hybernate. 
Benzine  may  be  used  in  stuffing  moths  ;  and  a  little  tine  chalk 
or  fullers'  earth  mixed  with  the  wool,  to  absorb  the  natural 
grease.  You  will  find  a  good  description  of  FiliAenchila  in 
Hooker's  "  Student's  Flora  of  the  British  Islands." 

Lymnea  involuta. — We  should  feel  obliged  if  some  of 
our  correspondents  in  the  Killarney  or  other  districts  would 
supply  us  with  a  few  living  specimens  of  this  mollusk.  The 
sooner  the  better. 

J.  Sinel. — The  parasitic  insect  of  which  you  sent  us  a 
sketch  is  named  Gamasus  coleoptratormn. 

A.  C. — Your  moth  was  a  specimen  of  Ar.  rhomboidea,  whose 
wings  had  been  aborted.  It  reached  us  alive,  but  the  wings 
never  fully  developed. 

L.  S. — The  objects  on  surface  of  the  leaf  are  not  due  to  any 
parasitical  disease,  but  are  caused  by  an  insect,  a  species  of 
Cyuips,  which  punctures  the  skin. 

"Constant  Subscribers." — We  wish  our  correspondents 
would  adopt  some  other  nam  de  plume.  We  have  several  this 
month,  and  are  in  a  complete  quandary  as  to  which  is  which. 
To  one  who  writes  under  this  name  we  beg  to  say  that  no  plant 
was  enclosed. 


EXCHANGES. 

Microscopical  cabinet  for  exchange,  capable  of  holding 
1,920  slides  lying  flat ;  mahogany  and  deal,  value  £\  ;  for 
further  particulars  write  to  Wm.  J.  Fuller,  Corve  Lodge, 
Greenway-road,  Redland,  Bristol. 

Wanted,  vol.  ii.  of  "  Coloured  Illustrations  of  British  Birds 
and  their  Eggs,"  by  H.  L.  Meyer  (1842). — Jos.  Sinel,  Bagot, 
Jersey. 

For  unmounted  pieces  of  skin  showing  scales  from  the  back 
and  belly  of  Lizard,  send  object  of  interest  to  G.  Moore,  ic, 
Porchester-street,  near  Clifford-street,  Birmingham. 

Offered,  Turton's  "  British  Shells,  Land  and  Freshwater." 
in  exchange  for  any  other  Book  of  equal  value,  Fossils,  or  any 
Natural  History  Objects. — Address,  T.  C.  Maggs,  Yeovil. 

Offered,  84  numbers  "  Nature,"  2  vols.  "  Popular  Science 
Review,"  Hogg  "On  the  Microscope,"  Latourneau's 
"  Biology,"  and  Withering's"  Botany."  Wanted,  vols.  3,  4, 
and  5  of  Jeffrey's  "  British  Conchology,"  or  back  numbers 
of  "Zoologist  and  Naturalist"  prior  to  1878. — J.  D.  Butterell, 
26,  Coltman-street,  Hull. 

For  cleaned  Forannnifera  from  Ireland  send  good  Slide  or 
Material,  not  polariscope,  to  A.  Alletsee,  11,  Foley-street, 
London,  W. 

Several  pairs  of  Cowries  (C.  caput  scrpentis)  for  exchange 
for  Shells,  &c.  —  Mrs.  Skilton,  London-road,  Brentford, 
Middlesex. 

For  Cuticle  of  Indian  Corn  (Zea  Mais)  send  a  stamped 
directed  envelope  to  W.  H.  Gomm,  Sandwich,  Kent. 

Rare  British  Plants  dried,  for  Lepidoptera,  Birds'  Eggs,  or 
Shells. — L.  R.  H.,4,  Ellesmere-villas,  Devonshire-road,  Forest- 
hill. 

Offered,  Nos.  246,  1280,  1381,  1403,  1479,  1505,  and  many 
others,  for  Nos.  187,  325,  500,  518,  615,  626,  676,  728,  762,  823, 
985,  997,  1299,  1300,  1471,  1622.  — E.  D.  C,  25,  Oxford-road. 
Kilburn,  London. 

For  leaf  of  Deutzia  scabra  unmounted,  send  stamped 
envelope  or  other  microscopic  object  to  M.,  3,  Belmont  Villas, 
New  Brompton,  Kent. 

For  injected  Human  Kidney,  injected  Human  Intestine, 
stained  Human  Intestine,  and  Japanese  Grass,  all  in  balsam, 
send  pure  gatherings  of  diatoms  or  any  well-mounted  balsam 
slides  to  J.  A.  Kay,  Mansion-house,  Brompton,  Chatham. 

I  have  Cassell's  History  of  the  Franco-Prussian  War  (com- 
plete, weekly  numbers,  unbound).  Required  micro  slides. — 
W.  H.  Skan,  15,  Brownlow-street,  London,  W.C. 

I  have  five  numbers  (one  more  completes  the  work)  of 
Twining's  "  Science  Made  Easy,"  illustrated,  Hardwicke  &Co., 
quite  new  and  cost  5s.  Should  be  glad  to  exchange  them  for 
British  Lepidoptera,  side-blown  eggs,  or  tolerably  recent 
numbers  of  "The  Entomologist,"  "Science-Gossip,"  or 
"Zoologist,"  bound  or  unbound. — W.  Barrett  Roue,  165,  White- 
Ladies-road,  Bristol. 

A  few  Adders,  preserved  in  spirits  of  wine,  in  exchange  for 
rare  Plants,  Mosses,  Lepidoptera,  Shells,  Fossils,  or  offers. — 
R.  Renton,  Fans.  Earlston,  N.B. 

L.  C,  7th  edition,  Nos.  84,  104,  133,  146,  176,  184,  237,  253, 
363.  527>  6"»  682>  683.  7°4,  767>  769>  831,  838,  856,  858,  864, 
882,  913,  929,  971,  979,  988,  1000,  1001,  1 130,  1334,  14S5, 
1519,  1539,  and  many  others,  in  exchange  for  other  rare 
British  Plants.  Send  full  list  of  duplicates  to  J.  Tempere,  12, 
Cecil-street,  Moss-side,  Rusholme,  Manchester. 

Beautifully  mounted  Slides  (crystals)  for  the  polariscope  in 
exchange  for  objects  of  interest,  mounted  or  unmounted. — 
A.  Smith,  Essex-road,  Islington. 

London  Catalogue,  7th  ed.  offered,  2,  39,  47,  79,  267, 
277>  394>  S91)  83I>  858.  974.  1014,  1036,  1284,  1310,  1504,  and 
1650,  in  exchange  for  other  rare  British  plants. — W.  Jones,  32, 
Manchester-street,  Oldham. 

Sphirrotheca  castagnei  on  Hop  offered  for  foreign  Marine 
Alga;. — E.  C.  J.,  Monson  Nursery,  Red  Hill,  Surrey. 


First-class  Slides  given  for  good  material,  Foraminiferous, 
&c,  in  quantity,  either  prepared  or  in  the  rough. — James 
Green,  March. 

L.  C.,  7th  edition,  Nos.  38,  273^,  534,  809,  and  others,  in- 
cluding many  from  the  Lake  District,  for  183,  553,  588,  590, 
and  others.  Lists  exchanged. — A.  W.  Preston,  49,  Cheltenham- 
street,   Barrow-in-Furness. 

Rare  British  Vertigos.  Correct  and  well-authenticated 
(duplicate)  specimens  of  Vertigos  nntivertigo,  pnsilla,  minutis- 
sima,  alpestris,  substriata,  and  angustior,  offered  in  exchange 
for  really  good  and  choice  Foreign  Shells — land  preferred  to 
marine.  Also  offered,  Limncra  invohlta,  Succinea  oblonga. 
Wanted,  Limncea  Burnetti,  Acme  lineata.. —  W.  Sutton, 
Upper  Claremont,  Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

For  exchange,  an  Herbarium  of  British  Phanerogamous 
Plants,  containing  over  600  species,  many  rare,  in  good  condi- 
tion. Offers  requested,  list  will  be  forwarded. — A.  Macindoe, 
Maryhill,  Glasgow. 

Offered,  Helix  revclata,  Clausilia  biplicata,  Planorbis 
lineatus,  &c.  &c,  and  many  British  marine.  Wanted, 
British  Vertigos  and  Northern  marine  species.— A.  H.  Cooke, 
King's  College,  Cambridge. 

For  piece  of  Chinese  Rice-paper  (pith  of  tree)  mounted 
send  well-mounted  object  to  Thos.  Shipton,  Chesterfield.  Lists 
exchanged. 

Birds'  Eggs,  side-blown,  well-marked,  labelled,  picked 
specimens  ;  also  beautiful  specimens  of  British  Butterflies  and 
Moths,  well  set  ;  also  British  Coleoptera,  splendidly  set,  ne%v 
style.  Lists  free.  Exchange  side-blown  eggs  new  to  collec- 
tion. Foreign  correspondence  solicited. — Henry  Sissons,  West- 
bourne-road,  Sheffield. 

Several  packets  of  Diatomaceous  Earth  for  exchange  for 
mounted  sections  of  Coniferous  wood  (three  packets)  for  good 
slide.  Wanted  also  the  Cub  Mosses  and  Selaginelli.  Fossil 
Polyzoa  in  exchange. — G.  R.  Vine,  Attercliffe,  Sheffield. 

For  piece  of  Sea-mat  (Flustra  truncata)  send  stamped 
directed  envelope.  Also  for  portion  of  lung  of  White  Whale 
(Beluga  leucos)  or  two  or  three  embryo  cuttlefish  (Sepia 
officinalis)  send  well-mounted  object  to  E.  M.,  20,  Crossley- 
street,  New  North-road,  London. 

Several  immense  living  Chrysalides  of  Acherontia  Atropos 
offered  in  exchange  for  good  Natural  History  Slides  or  micro- 
scopical accessories. — W.  Lane  Sear,  Margate,  Kent. 

Side-blown  Birds'  Eggs  and  Skins.  Will  exchange  about 
200  varieties,  guaranteed  true  typical  specimens,  richly 
marked  ;  dates  and  localities  supplied.  Lists  exchanged. — 
John  William  Sissens,  11,  Priory-road,  Sheffield. 

Wanted  to  exchange,  Mounted  Objects,  principally  photo- 
graphs, for  good  mounted  objects. — E.  Atkins,  Chemist,  200, 
Essex-road. 

To  exchange,  a  quantity  of  Diatomaceous  Earth  for  mounted 
objects  or  anything  of  interest.  Stamp  for  reply. — A.  Smith, 
198,  Essex-road. 

Wanted,  varieties  of  Succinea  (especially  .9.  putris,  var. 
vitrea)  and  other  species.  Good  exchange  given. — Mr. 
Marshall,  1,  Portland-cottages,  Portland-place  North,  Clap- 
ham,  London. 


BOOKS,  &c,  RECEIVED. 

"  English  Folk-Lore."  By  the  Rev.  T.  F.  Thistleton  Dyer, 
M.A.     London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 

"  Pleasant  Days  in  Pleasant  Places."  By  Edward  Walford,. 
M.A.      London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 

"  Annual  Report  of  the  U.S.  Entomological  Commission  on, 
the   Rocky   Mountain  Locust,  1877."     Washington  :  Govern- 


ment Printing  Office 

"Section   Cutting."      By  D. 
J.  &  A.  Churchill. 

"  Popular  Science  Review." 

"  Land  and  Water." 

"Journal  of  Applied  Science." 

"  Chambers's  Journal." 

"  Feuille  des  Jeunes  Naturalistes.' 

"Midland  Naturalist." 

"The  Scottish  Naturalist." 

Various  Pamphlets. 

&c.  &c.  &c. 


Sylvester  Marsh.       London 
October. 


Communications  received  up  to  9TH  ult.,  from: — 
F.  K.— T.  S.— M.  S.— J.  C—  J.  H.— C  A.  C— H.  C  C— 
A.  A.— W.  J.   F.-J.   M.— F.  E.  M.—  W.  H.  G. -J.  D.  B.— 

F.  I.  B.—  J.   L.   H.-E.   E.— J.  A.— J.    M.   H.— J.  W.  J.— 

G.  T.  B.— H.  E.  W.— H.  L.  B.— E.  F.  C—  T.  W.  D.— D.  S. 
—Prof.  B.— S.  T.— C.  A.  6.— W.  J.— E.  C  J.— A.  B.— 
J.  N.  D.— W.  G.  H.  C— R.  H.  A.— Dr.  P.  Q.  K.— J.  E.  L. 
—A.  S.— W.  E.  F— J.  T.— A.  G.  W.— G.  S.— J.  P.  G.— 
G.  A.  G.— W.  H.  S.— J.  S.-W.  B.  R.— J.  K.— R.  R.— 
J.  A.  K.— Dr.  M.-U.  W.  M.— J.  A.  W.— R.  D.-H.  J.  R.— 
W.  C— W.  S.— A.  W.  P.— A.  M.— A.  H.   C.-J.  G.— T.  S.— 

E.  M.— K.  D.  — H.  S.— W.  L.  S.— H.  I.  T.— E.  S.— R.  M.— 
I.  T.— W.  E.   G.— G.   R.  V.— W.    S.— J.   K.— H.   W.   S.  - 

F.  W.  H.— J.  T.  M.— A.  S.— E.  A.— &c.  &c.   „ 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  0  SSI  P. 


265 


QUARTZ,   AS   IT   OCCURS   IN  THE  LAKE   DISTRICT: 
ITS   STRUCTURE  AND   ITS   HISTORY, 

PART    III. 


By  J.    CLIFTON   WARD,   F.G.S.,    F.R.M.S.,    &c. 


-Z3J5 

ill 

lS3n 

im^llll 

mzftk 

oJ^^jy 

^cH^j  Jrf^1^ 

W^WliA    vPpj 

iXs^* 

FEW  years  ago,  being 
anxious  to  apply  Mr. 
Sorby's  method  to  the 
granites  and  granitoid 
rocks  of  the  lake- 
country,  I  examined  a 
number  of  slices  of  the 
granite  rocks,  and  mea- 
sured nearly  fivehundred 
cases  of  liquid-cavities, 
ascertaining  the  relative 
size  of  the  vacuity  (or  bubble)  to  the  liquid-cavity.  My 
method  of  proceeding  I  will  describe  directly,  but  I 
will  at  once  state  that  the  result  arrived  at  in  the 
case  of  the  Skiddaw  granite,  for  example,  was,  that 
its  consolidation  took  place  under  a  pressure  of  rather 
more  than  an  equivalent  of  51,000  ft.  of  rock,  and 
that  the  mean  pressure  under  which  all  the  principal 
granitic  and  granitoid  rocks  were  consolidated  was 
equivalent  to  that  of  44,000  ft.  of  rock. 

My  experiences  in  the  course  of  this  investigation 
may  be  of  interest  to  some  who  wish  to  undertake 
original  work  of  a  similar  kind.  (For  the  Memoir 
containing  the  investigation  as  a  whole  see  Quar- 
terly Journal  of  the  Geological  Society,  vol.  xxxi., 
p.  568.) 

The  object-glass  generally  used  was  a  i-in.  (of 
Collins),  with  a  C  eye-piece,  the  combination  magni- 
fying 665  times.  When  I  first  began  my  measure- 
ments I  used  a  neutral-tint  glass  reflector,  and  traced 
on  paper  all  the  best-defined  fluid-cavities,  making  a 
note  by  the  side  of  those  in  which  the  vacuities 
showed  a  constant  spontaneous  movement.  I  soon 
found,  however,  that  on  a  comparison  of  a  consider- 
able number  of  drawings,  the  fixed  bubbles  were 
almost  invariably  relatively  larger  than  those  which 
showed  this  free  movement.  Hence  I  was  led  al- 
together to  reject  from  my  measurements  all  cases  in 
which  the  bubble  was  fixed,  and  in  which  it  would 
seem  either  that  gas  had  been  primarily  entrapped, 
No.  1 68. 


or  that  in  the  making  of  the  thin  slice  leakage  had 
occurred  in  the  cavity.  This  last  case  must  neces- 
sarily often  occur  in  the  making  of  thin  slices,  espe- 
cially as  the  liquid-bearing  cavities  are  frequently  so 
irregular  in  shape  and  prolonged  into  horns  and 
fine  points.  I  then  gave  up  tracing  the  outlines  of 
cavities  on  paper,  and  measured  the  relative  size 
of  bubble  and  liquid-cavity  directly  by  means  of  a 
Jackson's  micrometer,  with  divisions  equal  to  Too00th 
of  an  inch.  This  micrometer  being  placed  in  the 
eye-piece,  the  fine  divisions  could  be  brought  over 
the  bubble  and  liquid-cavity,  and  their  relative  size 
at  once  estimated  with  tolerable  accuracy.  But  a 
little  consideration  will  make  it  evident  that  measure- 
ment of  a  liquid-cavity  in  one  plane  would  be  of 
little  use  unless  the  cavity  be  exceedingly  shallow 
and  lie  along  that  plane.  Hence  it  became  neces- 
sary to  take  this  further  precaution,  viz.,  to  rely  only 
upon  the  measurements  of  those  cases  in  which  the 
tiny  bubble  (or  vacuity)  moved  freely  into  all  parts  ot 
the  liquid-cavity  without  going  out  of  focus  ;  this 
would  imply  that  the  cavity  was  of  tolerably  uniform 
depth,  but  little  more  than  the  depth  of  the  diameter 
of  the  bubble.  And  it  was  found  that,  when  I 
restricted  my  measurements  to  these  cases,  there  was 
a  fairly-marked  uniformity  in  the  ratio  between 
vacuities  and  liquid-cavities  occurring  in  the  quartz  of 
the  same  rock. 

Thus,  take  as  an  example  two  different  rock-slices 


of  the  same  granite 


•154 
•154 
•154 
•160 
•180 
•180 
•154 
'154 


No.  1. 


•162. 


No.  2. 


V 


/ 


/•166 
•125 
•166 
•180 
•200 
•166 
•166 
•166 

■154 

•166 
•142 

V142 


•164. 


266 


HARD  WICKE 'S    SCTENCE-G OSSIP. 


In  No.  I  there  are  five  cases  in  which  the  whole 
liquid-cavity  is  6J  times  the  size  of  the  vacuity,  one 
case  in  which  it  is  six  times  the  size,  and  two  cases  in 
which  it  is  only  5J  times.  The  mean  '162  is  pro- 
bably not  far  from  the  truth. 

It  maybe  difficult  to  realize  the  size  of  these  liquid- 
cavities  and  their  contained  bubbles.  Those  reliable 
for  measurement  are  extremely  small,  sometimes  less 
^th  of  an  inch  in  diameter.     Much  larger 


than  T 

cavities  generally  occur  in  plenty ;  but  these  seldom 
exceed  the  -j-oWth  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  in  them 
the  bubbles  either  have  no  movement,  or  but  a  very 
slight  or  sluggish  one.  In  fact,  such  is  the  minuteness 
of  these  cavities  and  their  number,  in  many  cases, 
that  more  than  a  thousand  million  might  be  contained 
easily  within  a  cubic  inch  of  quartz,  and  sometimes 
the  contained  water  must  make  up  at  least  5  per  cent, 
of  the  volume  of  the  containing  quartz.  In  some 
cases  the  liquid-cavities  are  much  arranged  along 
lines,  as  in  the  quartz  crystals  occurring  in  the 
ArmbothDyke.  Occasionally,  however,  liquid-cavi- 
ties are  met  with  in  quartz  crystals  of  veiy  considerable 
size,  such  that  the  movement  of  the  bubble  can  even 
be  recognized  by  the  naked  eye.  Having  accumu- 
lated a  sufficient  number  of  reliable  measurements, 
and  struck  the  mean  for  any  one  rock,  such  as  the 
Skiddaw  granite,  the  calculation  of  the  pressure 
under  which  the  granite  was  formed  is  proceeded  upon 
by  mathematical  formulae  furnished  by  Mr.  Sorby's 
investigations,  the  temperature  of  a  dull  red  heat 
visible  in  the  dark  (68o°  F.)  being  assumed  as  the 
probable  temperature  of  consolidation.  The  result, 
in  the  case  of  the  Skiddaw  granite,  is  that  a  pressure 
equivalent  to  52,000  ft.  of  rock  must  have  been 
necessary  to  compress  the  liquid  so  that  it  would  fill 
the  cavities  at  a  temperature  of  dull  red  heat. 

The  next  question  bearing  upon  this  result  is  one 
for  the  field-geologist  alone  to  determine.  What  is 
the  greatest  thickness  of  rock  which  can  have  been 
removed  from  over  the  mass  of  the  Skiddaw  granite 
as  we  now  see  it  exposed  ?  Geological  investigation 
cf  the  whole  district  leads  me  to  infer  that  at  one 
time  the  granite  must  have  been  covered  by  some 
30,000  feet  of  rock — including  Skiddaw  slates,  vol- 
canic series,  and  Upper  Silurians.  But  we  have  seen 
that  the  calculated  pressure  is  equivalent  to  52,000  ft., 
hence  the  pressure  to  which  the  consolidating  granite 
(and  therefore  quartz)  was  subject  was  greater  than 
what  could  be  due  to  the  mere  weight  of  overlying 
rocks.  How,  then,  was  this  pressure  applied  ?  We 
have  seen  that  the  condensed  liquid  confined  within 
the  quartz  has  remained  as  a  registering  thermometer, 
to  show  the  existence  and  amount  of  the  pressure, 
and  geological  examination  of  the  district  further 
informs  us  that  the  overlying  30,000  ft.  of  rock  was 
in  some  way  elevated  and  contorted, — being  also 
slowly  removed  by  denudation.  Thus  we  have 
physical  evidence,  from  two  different  sources,  of  the 
existence  of  great  pressure  exerted  upon  the  granite- 


forming  mass ;  evidence  derived  from  the  liquid- 
cavities  and  their  contained  bubbles,  and  evidence  in 
the  rocks  overlying  the  granite  of  such  pressure  having 
produced  elevation,  contortion,  cleavage,  and  general 
metamorphism.  It  is  further  interesting  to  notice 
what  would  be  the  probable  heat  at  a  depth  of 
30,000  ft.  according  to  our  estimates  of  known 
increase  on  descending  through  the  crust  of  our  globe. 
If  we  take  that  increase  as  1°  F.  for  every  49  ft. 
(Mr.  R.  W.  Fox,  Brit.  Assoc.  Report,  1857,  p.  91), 
we  find  that  at  a  depth  of  30,900  ft.  the  temperature 
would  be  3600  C.  (6800  F.),  or  that  of  a  dull  red  heat 
visible  in  the  dark,  and  just  the  temperature  at  which 
we  were  supposing  the  granite  was  formed.  Thus, 
to  sum  up  our  results  in  the  case  of  the  Skiddaw 
granite  : — 

1st.  It  is  probable  from  geological  evidence  that 
this  granite  was  consolidated  at  a  depth  of  about 
30,000  ft. 

2nd.  An  increase  of  i°  for  every  49  ft.  on  descend- 
ing gives  a  temperature  of  3600  C.  (6800  F.)  at  a 
depth  of  30,900  ft. 

3rd.  Microscopic  evidence,  deduced  from  examina- 
tion of  the  liquid- cavities  in  the  quartz,  gives  a 
calculated  pressure  under  which  the  quartz  was  con- 
solidated at  a  temperature  of  3600  C.  (6800  F.), 
equivalent  to  52,000  ft.  of  rock. 

4th.  As  the  calculated  pressure  thus  far  exceeds 
(by  22,000  ft.)  that  due  to  the  estimated  thickness  of 
overlying  beds,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  to  the 
estimated  depth  at  which  the  granite  formation  took 
place,  it  follows  that  there  must  have  been  a  great 
amount  of  available  pressure  to  be  exerted  upon  the 
rocky  crust  around,  and  hence  we  find  evidences  of 
folding  and  contortion  of  the  rocks,  and  of  their  up- 
heaval and  general  metamorphism  around  the  granitic 
area. 

The  case  of  the  Skiddaw  granite  will  suffice  as  an 
example  of  this  mode  of  treatment.  I  have  elsewhere 
{Quart.  Joum.  Geol.  Soc,  vol.  xxxi.,  p.  568)  treated 
all  the  other  granitoid  rocks  of  the  Lake  District  in 
the  same  way,  and  with  very  similar  general  results. 
There  are  yet,  however,  one  or  two  points  I  should 
like  to  call  attention  to. 

The  first  of  these~is  the  general  absence  among  the 
liquid-cavities  in  the  quartz  of  Lake  District  rocks  of 
crystals  of  various  salts,  such  as  have  been  found  in 
plenty  in  some  other  districts.  Are  we  to  infer  from 
this  that  the  liquid  enclosed  at  the  period  of  the  for- 
mation of  the  granites  was  less  saline  than  in  some 
other  cases  ?  Or  is  impossible  that  a  more  extended 
investigation  would  make  it  appear  otherwise  ? 
Another  thing  worth  noting  is  the  general  absence, 
as  far  as  I  have  been  able'to  judge,  of  cavities  in  the 
quartz  containing,  not  water,  but  liquid  carbonic 
acid,  which  in  some  other  rocks  and  other  districts 
are  not  infrequent. 

While  thus  calling  attention  to  various  points  con- 
nected with  the  formation  of  quartz-be  aring  rocks  of 


HARD  Wl CKE 'S    S CIENCE -  G OSSIP. 


267 


the  district,  I  am  far  from  claiming  to  have  examined 
into  the  question  exhaustively,  and  would  gladly  see 
other  workers  take  up  the  subjectmore  completely,and 
either  prove  or  disprove  the  results  already  obtained. 
It  is  evident  that  microscopic  examination  throws 
light  not  only  upon  the  origin  of  such  quartz-bearing 
rocks  as  granite,  but  also  upon  that  of  quartz  as  an 
accidental  and   accessory  mineral  among  rocks,  and 
upon  the  mode   of  formation  of  quartz  veins.      We 
are,  in  fact,  led  to  see  that  heated  water  containing 
silica  in  solution  has  played  a  most  important  part  in 
geological  history,    that  such  water  has    sometimes 
been  diffused  through  a  rocky  magma  at  a  dull  red 
heat,   under  enormous  pressure,  and  finally  become 
entrapped  in  millions  of  minute  cavities  in  the  solidi- 
fied rock  ;  sometimes  it  has  worked  its  way  up  along 
cracks  and  fissures,    and    deposited  quartz  in  those 
fissures,      forming     veins ;      sometimes     circulating 
throughout  the  mass  of  a  rock,  it  has  deposited  the 
quartz  in  all  irregular  cavities  or  vesicles,  at  a  less 
degree  of  temperature  ;  and  finally  we  recognise  the 
same  heated  water  fully  charged  with  silica  rising  to 
the  surface  in  the  form  of  the  geysers  of  Iceland,  and 
playing  a  large  part  in  all  volcanic  outbursts.    Surely 
there  can  be  few  thoughts  more  surprising  than  this, 
that  every  piece  of  granite  we  pick  up  contains  in  its 
quartz  particles  thousands  of  minute  liquid-cavities, 
and,    moreover,   that    every  such    liquid-cavity    in- 
cludes a  tiny  vacuous  bubble  in  constant  tremor  or 
active  motion,  such  motion,  it  would  seem,  having 
been  kept  up  for  the  countless  ages  since  the  granite 
was  first  solidified  deep  down  in  the  bowels  of  the 
earth.     Truly,  we  learn  great  things  from  study  of 
the  most  minute. 

NATURAL     HISTORY     IN      THE 
SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY. 

By  F.  Kitton,  Hon.  F.R.1VLS.,  &c. 
Part  III. 

THE  first  part  of  the  treatise  is  devoted  to  hunting- 
dogs — CanesVenatici.  "But  because  we  English 
men  make  a  difference  between  hunting  and  fowling, 
for  they  are  called  by  these  seuerall  words  Venati  and 
Aucnpium,  so  they  term  the  dog  who  they  vse  in  these 
sundry  games  by  divers  names,  as  those  which  serue 
for  the  beast  are  called  Venatici,  the  other  which  are 
vsed  for  the  fowl  are  called  Anciipat&rij.  The  first 
called  Venatici  I  deuide  into  fiue  sorts,  the  first  in 
perfect  smelling,  the  second  in  quicke  spying,  the 
third  in  swiftnes  and  quicknes,  the  fourth  in  smelling 
and  nimblenes,  the  fift  in  subtility  and  deceitfulnes, 
herein  these  fiue  sorts  excelleth." 

The  description  of  each  kind  of  dog  is  preceded  by 
the  derivation  of  its  name,  of  which  we  give  some 
examples. 

"Of  the  Dogge  called  a  Terrar,  in 
Latine  Terrarius. 
"  Those  whom  we  call  Terrars,  because  they  (after 


the  maner  and  custom  of  Ferrets  in  searching  for 
Connies)  creep  into  the"  ground,  and  by  that  meanes 
make  afraid,  nippe,  and  bite  the  Foxe  and  the  Badger 
in  such  sort  that  they  either  teare  them  in  peeces  with 
their  teeth,  being  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth  ....  or  at 
least  through  conceived  feare  drive  them  out  of  their 
hollowe  harbours,  in  so  much  that  they  are  compelled 
to  prepare  speedy  flight,  and  being  desirous  of  the 
next  (albeit  not  the  safest  refuge),  are  at  leisvre  taken 
and  intrapped  with  snares  and  nets  laide  ouer  holes 
to  the  same  purpose. 

"  Of  gentle  Dogges  semitig  the  hauke  and  first 
of  the  Spaniell  called  in  Latine  Hispaniolus. 

' '  The  common  sort  of  people  call  them  by  one  gene- 
ral word,  namely  Spaniels,  as  though  these  kind  of 
dogs  came  originally  and  first  out  of  Spaine. 

"  There  is  also  at  this  day  among  vs  a  new  kinde  of 
Dog  brought  out  of  France  (for  we  Englishmen  are 
marueilous  greedy  gaping  gluttons  after  noueltiesand 
couetous  cormarants  of  thinges  that  be  seldome,  rare, 
strange,  and  hard  to  get.)  And  they  be  speckled 
al  ouer  with  white  and  black,  which  mingled 
coulores  incline  to  a  marble  bleu,  which  beautifieth 
their  skins  and  affordeth  a  seemely  show  of  comlinesse. 
These  are  French  dogs,  as  is  aboue  declared  already." 

The  treatise  concludes  with  remarks  on  the  diseases 
of  dogs  and  their  remedies,  of  which  one  specimen 
will  suffice. 

"  If  a  dog  grow  lean,  and  not  through  want  of  meat, 
it  is  good  to  fill  him,  twice  or  thrice  with  Butter  ;. 
and  if  that  does  not  recouer  him,  then  it  is  a  signe 
that  the  wonne  vnder  his  tongue  annoieth  him 
(which  must  be  presently  pulled  out  by  some  Naule 
or  Needle),  &  if  that  satisfie  not,  he  cannot  liue, 
but  will  in  a  short  time  perish.  .  .  .  Dogs  are  also 
many  times  bewitched  by  the  onely  sight  of  inchanters> 
euen  as  infants,  Lambes,  and  other  creatures,  accord- 
ing to  Virgils  verse — 

Nescio  quis  teneros  oculns  mihi  fascinat  agnos. 

For  the  bewitching  spirit  entereth  by  the  eie  into 
the  hart  of  the  party  bewitched  :  for  remedy  whereof 
they  hang  about  the  neck  a  chain  of  corall,  as  for 
holy  hearbs  I  hold  them  vnprofitable. " 

Scepticism  is  said  to  be  the  great  fault  of  scientific 
men  of  the  present  day.  This  sin  cannot  be  laid  to 
the  charge  of  the  writers  on  natural  history  in  former 
times,  and  least  of  all  to  the  Rev.  E.  Topsell ;  in 
proof  of  which  we  gave  a  copy  of  ' '  the  true  picture 
of  the  Lamia." 

"  This  word  Lamia  hath  many  significations,  being 
taken  some-times  for  a  beast  of  Lybia,  sometimes  for 
a  fish,  and  sometimes  for  a  Spectre  or  apparition  of 
women  called  Phairies.  And  from  hence  some  haue 
ignorantly  affirmed  that  either  there  were  no  such 
beastes  at  all,  or  else  that  it  was  a  compounded 
monster  of  a  beast  and  a  fish. " 

Our  author  quotes  a  whole  host  of  Greek  and 
Latin  writers  who  had  heard  of  some  such  monster  ; 

N  2 


268 


HARD  Wl  CKE  'S    S  CIE  NCE  -  G  0  SSI  P. 


but  as  their  descriptions  are  very  vague,  he  thinks 
they  have  mixed  up  a  good  deal  of  fable  with  them. 
To  leave,  therefore,  these  fables,  and  come  to  the 
true  description  of  the  Lamia,  we  have  in  hand  : — 

"In  the  foure  and  thirty  chapter  of  Esay  [Isaiah] 
we  do  find  this  beast  called  Lilith  in  the  Haebrew, 
and  translated  by  the  auncients  Lamia,  which  is  there 
threatned  to  possesse  Babell.    Likewise  in  the  fourth 
chapter  of  the  Lamentations,  where  it  is  said  in  our 
English  translation  that  the  Dragons  lay  forth  their 
brests.     In  Hrebrew  they  are  called  Eihannm,  which 
by  the  confession  of  the   best  interpreters  cannot  sig. 
nify  Dragons,  but  sea  calues  being  a  general  word  for 
strange  wild  beasts.    How  be  it,  the  matter  being  wel 
examined,  it  shall  appeare  that  it  must  needes  be  this 
Lamia,  because  of  her  great  breastes,  which  are  not 
competible  either  to  the  Dragon  or  Sea  calues,  so 
then  we  will  take  it  for  graunted  by  the  testimony  of 
holy  Scripture  that    there  is   such  a  beast  as  this. 
Crisostimus  Dion  also  writeth   that  there  are  such 
beasts  in  some  part  of  Libia,  having  a  womans  face 
and  very  beautifull,  also  very  large  and  comely  shapes 
on  their  breasts,  such  as  cannot  be  counterfeited  by 
the  art  of  any  painter,  hauing  a  very  excellent  colour 
in  their  fore  parts,  without  wings,  and  no  other  voice 
but  hissing  like  dragons.  .  .  .    The  hinder  parts  of 
this  beaste  are  like  unto  a  Goate,  his  fore  legs  like  a 
Beares,  his  vpper  parte  to  a  woman,  the  body  scaled 
all  ouer  like  a  Dragon,*  as  some  have  affirmed  by 
the   obseruation   of  their   bodies,   when  Probits  the 
Emperor  brought  them  forth  in  publike  spectacle." 

Gesenius  in  his  Commentary"  on  Isaiah,  says  : 
"  Lilith  is,  in  the  popular  belief  of  the  Hebrews,  a 
female  spectre  in  the  shape  of  a  finely  dressed  woman, 
which  in  particular  lies  in  wait  for  and  kills  children, 
like  the  Lamise  and  Striges  of  the  Romans." 

In  his  "Anatomy  of  Melancholy  "  Burton  remarks 
that  "The  Talmudists  say  that  Adam  had  a  wife 
called  Lilis  before  he  married  Eve,  and  of  her  he 
begat  nothing  but  demons. " 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  animals  figured  in  this 
veracious  history  is  the  Mantichora.  ' '  A  beast,  or 
rather  monster  (as  Ctesias  writeth),  is  bred  among 
the  Indians,  hauing  a  treble  row  of  teeth  below  and 
aboue,  whose  grealnesse,  roughnesse,  and  feete  are 
like  a  Lyons,  his  face  and  eares  like  vnto  a  mans, 
his  eies  gray  and  collour  red,  hiss  taile  like  the  taile 
of  a  Scorpion  of  the  earth,  armed  with  a  sting,  casting 
forth  sharp  pointed  quils,  his  voice  like  the  voice  of 
a  small  trumpet  or  pipe." 

A  long  chapter  is  devoted  to  the  Unicorn,  in 
which  he  discusses  the  probabilities  of  the  existence 
of  such  a  beast,  "  whereof  diuers  people  in  every  age 
of  the  worlde  haue  made  great  question." 

The  Rev.  E.  Topsell,  however,  is  quite  satisfied  of 
its  existence,  and  he  silences  his  opponents  with  the 
following  unanswerable  arguments  : — 

*  It  is  from  this  description  that  the  artist  has  evolved  the 
drawing,  of  which  we  gave  a  copy  last  month,  omitting  the 
well  developed  avopuov  aiColoy. 


"  David,  in  the  92  Psalm,  says,   '  My  horn  shall 
bee  lifted  vp  like  the  horn  of  a  Vnicorne,'  whereupon 
all  Divines  that  ever  wrote  have  not  only  collected 
that  there  is  a  Vnicorne,  but  also  affirme  the  similitude 
to  be  betwixt  the  kingdome  of  Dauid  and  the  home 
of  the  Unicorne,  that  as  the  home  of  the  Unicorne 
is  wholesome  to  all  beasts  and  creatures,  so  should 
the  kingdom  of  Dauid  be  in  the  generation  of  Christ. 
And  do  we  think  that  Dauid  would  compare  the 
vertue  of  his  kingdom  and  the  redemption   of  the 
world  unto  a  thing  that  is  not,  or  is  vncertain  and 
fantastical.      The  Lord  speaketh  in  this  manner  to 
lob,  Will  the  Vnicorne  rest  and  serue,  or  tarry  beside 
thy  cratches  (Mangers,  from  this  word  is  derived  the 
name  of  the  childs  game  of  scratch  cradle,  properly 
cratch  cradle  or  manger-cradle,    in  allusion  to  the 
manger  at  Bethlehem),  canst  thou  bind  the  Vnicorne 
with  a  halter  to  thy  plough  to  make  furrows,  or  will 
he  make  plaine  the  clots  of  the  vallies  ?     Likewise 
the  prophecy  of  Esay,  the  34  chap.,   and  in  many 
other  places    of  Scripture,   whereby    God   himselfe 
must  needs  be  traduced  if  there  be  no  Vnicorne  in 
the  world." 

Among  the  varieties  of  sheep  described,  he  includes 
one  of  somewhat  doubtful  existence,  viz.  the  Musmon 
or  Musimon  of  Latin  authors,  and  which  was  sup- 
posed to    be  a  cross    between   a   ram   and  a  goat. 
"Pliny  makes  mention  of  a  beast  called  Ophion,* 
and  he  saith  hee  found  the  remembrance  of  in  the 
Grecian  books,  but  he  thinketh  that    in   his  time 
there  was  none  of  them  to  be  found  in  the  worlde  ; 
heerein  he  speaketh  like  a  man  that  did  not  knowe 
God,   for  it  is  not  to    be  thought   that  hee  which 
created  so  many  kindes  of  beasts  at  the  beginning, 
and  consented  of  every  kind  two,  male  and  female, 
at  the  generall  deluge,  would  not  afterward  permit 
them  to  be  destroyed  till  the  worldes  end,  nor  then 
neither,  for  seeing  it  is  apparent  by  holy  scriptures 
that  after  the  world  ended  al  Creatures  and  beastes 
shall  remain  vpon  earth  as  the  monuments  of  the 
first  six  daies  worke  of  Almighty  God  for  the  further 
manifestation  of  his  glory,  wisedome,  and  goodnes, 
it  is  unreasonable  to  imagine  that  any  of  them  shall 
perish  in   general  in  this  world."     If  this  theory  be 
true,   naturalists  may  reasonably   hope   to   find  the 
Dodo  and  great  Auk  still  existing. 

Many  of  our  readers  will,  we  fear,  be  inclined  to 
ask  the  use  of  rescuing  from  oblivion  the  errors  and 
fallacies  published  centuries  ago.  From  a  scientific 
stand-point  the  answer  must,  perhaps,  be  in  the 
negative  ;  but  may  it  not  be  worth  our  while  occa- 
sionally to  take  a  retrospective  glance,  if  only  to 
ascertain  the  progress" that  has  been  made  ?  And  it 
ought  also  to  teach  us  to  avoid  dogmatizing — one  of 
the  greatest  faults  a  scientific  mind  can  be  guilty  of, 
Apart  from  its  scientific  merits  or  demerits,  this  book 
is  of  considerable  interest  to  the  student  of  English, 


*  This,  Topsell  says,  is  identical  with  the  Musmon. 


HARDWI CKE '  S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSI  P. 


269 


particularly  with  regard  to  its  orthography.  Many 
peculiarities  will  be  noticed  in  the  extracts  we  have 
given  ;  for  example,  the  indifferent  use  of  v  and  u ; 
the  occasional  reduplication  of  the  final  consonants  in 
nouns,  to  which  an  e  is  sometimes  added  ;  the  termi- 
nation ness,  with  only  one  s ;  and  the  omission  of 
the  '  in  the  possessive  case.  Some  of  the  woodcuts 
are  fairly  well  executed,  and  occupy  a  whole  page. 

The  book  concludes  with  an  epilogue  to  the  reader, 
in  which  he  says :  "  I  do  require  al  men  of  consieence 
that  shall  euer  read  or  see  these  Histories,  or  wish 
for  a  sight  of  the  residue,  to  help  vs  with  knowledge, 
and  to  cei  tifie  their  particular  experiences  in  any  kinde 
or  any  one  of  the  liuing  Beastes,  and  with  all  to  con- 
sider how  great  a  task  we  do  vndertake,  trauelling 
for  the  content  and  benefit  of  other  men,  and  there- 
fore how  acceptable  it  would  be  vnto  vs,  and  procure 
euerlasting  memorie  to  themselues,  to  be  helpers, 
encouragers,  ayders,  procurers,  maintainers,  and 
abettours  to  such  labor  and  needfull  endeuour  as  was 

never  before  enterprized  in  England 

Farewell. " 

A  NEW  COLLECTING  BOX. 

SOME  time  ago  you  did  me  the  honour  of  admit- 
ting to  your  pages  illustrations  of  the  "  Sear  " 
collecting  bottle,  which  I  have  reason  to  know  has 
been  useful  to  many  naturalists.  I  now  beg  to 
introduce  to  them  a  little  contrivance  which  I  have 


Fig.  221. — New  Collecting  Box, 
i  full-size,  closed. 


boxes,  all  of  which  are  like  the  top  A,  made  of  fine 
wire  gauze,  and  thus  the  specimens  are  kept  separate 
while  air  passes  freely  to  all.  The  collector  can 
open  his  case  hours  or  even  days  after  his  excursion 


Fig.  222. — Ditto,  §  full-size, 
open. 


tested,  and  found  good  for  practical  work,  in  the  form 
of  a  light  tin  collecting  box.  The  annexed  sketches 
are  almost  self-explanatory.  The  notches  at  a  a  a 
allow  the  introduction  of  "small  deer"  without 
imperilling  the  escape  of  previous  captures.  The 
dotted  circles  show  the  position  of  the  bottoms  of  the 


Fig.  223. — Annular  Top  of  ditto,  with  wire  lattice,  full  size. 

without  the  certainty  which  exists  in  pill-box  captures 
of  finding  half  his  subjects  smothered,  and  the  other 
half  destroyed  by  ferocious  companions. 

The  box  is  very  strong,  very  light,  and  inexpensive, 
and  may  be  obtained  of  Messrs.  Thomas  Bentley  & 
Co.,  of  Margate,  to  whom  I  have  given  the  pattern. 

W.  Lane  Sear. 


A  FEW  WORDS   ABOUT  A  LITTLE  GNAT. 

ON  the  1st  July  a  friend  gave  me  two  ounces  of 
Thames  water,  which  had  been  drawn  from  the 
cistern  supplying  his  house  ;  and  this  small  quantity 
contained  more  than  thirty  worm-shaped  creatures, 
which,  upon  examination,  I  found  to  be  the  larvae  of 
some  kind  of  gnat  :  the  largest  were  about  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  long. 

V- 


Fig.  224. —  Larva  of  Gnat,  natural  size  j-inch. 
The  larva  of  this  species  has  a  brown  head,  with 
the  eyes,  mandibles,  and  a  fine  line  round  the  neck, 
dark  brown;  the  thorax  and  the  abdomen  pale  greer. 
Two  prolegs  project  from  the  under  side  of  the 
prothorax,  and  two  from  the  last  segment  of  the 
abdomen,    which  has  also,  at   its   extremity,   three 


270 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


appendages,  and  on  the  top  two  pencils  of  hair,  each 
pencil  being  supported  on  a  short  stalk. 

I  put  my  specimens  into  a  small  glass  vessel. 
After  some  hours  I  found  several  tubes  of  cobweb- 
like texture,  open  at  both  ends,  and  slightly  tapering, 
attached  to  the  sides  of  it,  and  in  each  tube  a  larva, 
which,  holding  on  by  the  anal  prolegs,  gave  to  its 
body  a  vertical  serpentine  motion,  which  made  a 
current  of  water  to  flow  through  the  tube.  About 
once  a  minute  it  would  contract  itself,  and  then, 
pressing  its  head  against  the  sides  of  the  tube,  collect 
with  its  conspicuous  mandibles  and  devour  such  of 
those  solid  particles  which  had  been  drawn  in  by  the 
current  and  were  entangled  in  the  tube,  as  suited  its 
taste,  and  occasionally  it  would  turn  about  and  collect 
at  the  narrow  end,  but  it  always  brought  its  head 
back  to  its  old  position  at  the  larger  end  before  it 
commenced  pumping  again. 

This  larva  does  not  come  to  the  surface  of  the 
water  to  breathe,  neither  does  the  pupa,  which  also 
lives  in  a  tube,  and  makes  the  water  flow  through  it 
by  the  undulations  of  its  body,  just  as  the  larva  did,  in 
order,  I  presume,  to  bring  the  air  contained  in  the 
water  into  contact  with  the  hairy  fringes  which  border 
the  segments  of  its  abdomen  ;  certainly  not  to  obtain 
food,  for  it  does  not  eat.  It  has  no  hairs  on  the 
thorax  like  those  represented  in  the  figures  of  Chiro- 
nonius  fliimosus. 

I  was  amused  to  see  that  each  of  my  pupae  kept  its 
old  head  under  its  body,  where  it  rocked  to  and  fro 
with  each  wave  of  its  abdomen ;  there  it  was,  with 
its  dark  jaws,  its  little  eyes,  and  neat  brown  collar, 
and  with  the  same  comical,  Japanese  kind  of  expres- 
sion that  it  had  when  it  was  in  its  old  place.  When 
the  pupae  were  about  three  days  old  they  left  their 
tubes,  and  after  swimming,  or  rather  throwing  them- 
selves about  with  the  most  violent  contortions  for 
three  hours  or  so,  and  now  frequently  coming  to  the 
surface,  they  remained  there  for  a  little  while,  and 
then  the  transformation  took  place. 

Although  I  watched  my  captives  pretty  closely, 
many  of  them  changed  their  state  unobserved.  Once, 
when  I  went  away  for  two  minutes  only,  I  found 
on  my  return  the  gnat  creeping  up  the  side  of  the 
vessel.  At  last  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  see  one 
come  out.  It  did  not  free  itself  in  a  careful,  delibe- 
rate manner,  like  the  common  gnat,  which,  sailing 
about  in  its  pupa  skin,  gently  extracts  its  anterior 
legs,  and,  after  carefully  placing  these  on  the  water, 
proceeds  to  liberate  the  next  pair,  and  so  on ;  but  it 
came  forth  as  though  it  were  being  steadily  squeezed 
out,  and  then  immediately  flew  away,  the  whole 
operation  occupying  just  fifteen  seconds  ! 

I  had  previously  placed  a  pupa  on  the  stage  of  my 
microscope  in  order  to  examine  it ;  but  before  I  had 
time  to  do  so,  the  skin  parted,  the  head  appeared,  and 
in  about  eighteen  seconds  the  whole  imago  was  out. 
My  specimens  lived  a  month  as  larvae,  and  from 
three  to  four  days  as  pupa;.     I  am  sorry  that  I  have 


been  unable  to  obtain  the  name  of  this  insect.  I 
think  it  is  allied,  if  it  does  not  belong,  to  the  genus 
Chironomus.  The  imago  is  1^  line  long.  The  two 
anterior  legs  are  distant  from  the  others,  and  the  rost. 
rum  is  short. 

The  female  is  yellow,  and  has  short  antennae,  of 
few  joints,  the  terminal  one  being  the  largest ;  the 
male  is  darker,  with  the  abdomen  greenish-brown  ; 
the  tibiae  and  tarsi  dusky  ;  the  antennae  plumose,  of 
many  moniliform  joints,  with  the  terminal  one  cylin- 
drical, and  very  long. — Edzvard  Cox,  Brixton. 

A  TOUR  IN  SEARCH  OF  FOSSILS. 

THE  experiences  of  a  collector  during  a  run  from 
Edinburgh  to  Bristol,  and  a  stay  of  twelve 
days  at  the  latter  place,  may,  perhaps,  be  interesting 
to  the  readers  of  Science-Gossip. 

The  first  halting-place  was  Settle,  in  Yorkshire, 
classic  ground  to  the  brachiopodist,  mainly  through 
the  labours  of  Mr.  John  Burrow.     Mr.  Burrow  was 
the  son  of  a  doctor  of  independent  means,  and  spent 
his  life  in  working  out  the  palaeontology  of  his  dis- 
trict.    He  was  known  to  all  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town  to  whom  I  spoke,  and  an  intelligent  shoemaker, 
who   occasionally  accompanied  him  on  his  rounds, 
gave  me  what  information  he  could,  as  to  his  habits 
and  excursions.     He  described  him  as  "rather  dull- 
looking  "  as  a  lad,  and  as  one  from  whose  after-life 
no  great  things  were  to  be  expected.     From  what  I 
had  known  of  his  work  I  was  curious  to  find  out  as 
much  as  I  could  about  him,  wondering,  as  so  much 
has  recently  been  said  of  men  in  a  humble  grade  of  life 
who  have  worked  in  pretty  much  the  same  groove, 
what  could  be  said  of  a  man  who  was  above  them  in 
the  social  scale  ;  but  I  had  not  time  to  pursue  such 
inquiries  very  far  ;  the  sum  of  what  I  learnt  was  that 
he  was  a  man  who  spent  nearly  the  whole  of  his  time 
on  the  moors,   that   he  worked  hard,   and,  uniting 
quickness  of  eye  and  intelligence  with  zeal,  was  able 
to  accomplish  what  he  did.     Mr.  Davidson's  mono- 
graph of  the  British  Carboniferous  Brachiopoda  bears 
frequent  testimony  to  his  merits.     His  collection  went 
to  the  Woodwardian  Museum,  at  Cambridge,  fetch- 
ing a  sum  which,  as  he  himself  said,  paid  him  scarcely 
at  the   rate   of  a  halfpenny  per  hour  for  the  time 
during  which   he   had  been   making   it.     He   died 
comparatively  young. 

A  collector's  first  experience  of  Settle  would  pro- 
bably be  disappointing.  It  requires,  above  all  things, 
time  to  know  what  a  locality  can  produce,  and  a  very 
considerable  amount  of  patience  and  muscular  activity 
to  successfully  work  a  locality  that  is  known.  Al- 
most in  accordance  with  my  expectation,  I  found 
Settle  exceedingly  barren  during  the  single  day  I  was 
able  to  spend  there.  A  few  common  Brachiopods 
only  rewarded  my  labour,  but  these,  with  the  beauti- 
ful mineralisation  characteristic  of  the  limestone  of 
the  district,  were  thought  worthy  of  preservation.     A 


HA  RD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  0  SSIP. 


271 


few  good  Productus  striaius  occasionally  occurred  on 
window-sills  and  over  porches.  Many  good  things 
were  got  when  the  new  line  between  Settle  and 
Carlisle  was  being  constructed.  The  quarries  scarcely 
repay  a  visit  to  the  chance  collector.  The  richer 
beds  are  not  always  worked,  and  the  quarrymen  do 
not  seem  to  have  much  to  offer.  Fish  remains,  I 
was  told,  occur  in  the  Dent  marbles,  a  few  miles 
further  up  the  line,  but  I  am  not  aware  of  any  verte- 
brate remains  having  been  found  in  the  carboniferous 
limestones  of  the  immediate  vicinity. 

The  next  halting-place  was  Dudley.  The  fossils, 
with  which  every  paleontologist  is  familiar,  are  got 
at  two  places,  the  Wren's  Nest  and  the  Castle ; 
neither  place  is  far  from  the  town.  I  spent  a  day  at 
the  Wren's  Nest,  but  hadn't  time  to  visit  the  Castle. 
The  beds  I  saw  were  tilted  at  a  sharp  angle,  and 
good  weathered  fossils  are  to  be  found  in  the  debris 
at  their  base.  The  beds  themselves  are  so  crowded 
with  organic  remains  that  they  offer  the  finest  study 
possible  of  an  important  part  of  the  world's  ancient 
life.  These  remains,  however,  are  not  easy  to 
transfer  to  the  collecting-bag,  and  the  geologist  must 
betake  himself  to  the  various  places  where  the  softer 
shales  have  become  disintegrated,  and  have  yielded 
up  a  part  of  their  fossil  contents.  His  first  feeling 
will  be  one  of  disappointment,  even  here,  where  he 
is  aware  of  an  enormous  profusion  of  organisms,  and, 
indeed,  if  his  object  be  merely  to  secure  fine  cabinet- 
specimens,  his  disappointment  will  be  keen  ;  good 
trilobites  and  shells  are  not  easily  to  be  picked  up, 
but  if  his  object  be  of  a  more  purely  scientific  kind, 
especially  if  he  has  learnt  to  feel  much  interest  in  the 
lower  forms  of  animal  life,  he  will  not  be  dissatisfied 
with  his  gatherings.  Novelties  are,  of  course,  not 
easy  to  find  in  a  locality  so  long  and  often  wrought 
as  Dudley ;  but  it  appeared  to  me  very  probable, 
from  the  almost  inexhaustible  abundance  of  material 
to  work  upon,  that  something  might  even  yet  be 
obtained,  especially  in  groups  that  have  not  yet 
received  their  full  share  of  attention,  as  corals,  poly- 
zoa,  sponges,  &c.  A  week's  good  work  would 
probably  yield  some  interesting  results.  Atrypa 
reticularis  seems  to  be  the  commonest  fossil,  and  I 
mention  it  because  I  found  the  mineralisation  ex- 
ceedingly favourable  to  the  preservation  of  the  spires. 
Out  of  a  handful  thrown  into  acid,  a  large  percentage 
yielded  the  desired  result.  If  one  is  at  all  anxious 
to  know  whence  all  the  good  museum  specimens  have 
come,  and  makes  inquiry,  he  finds  that  there  is 
a  band  of  men  who  make  a  business  of  collecting. 
They  get  good  fossils  still,  and  an  old  man,  in 
particular,  had  quite  recently  made  several  valuable 
finds.  It  is  hopeless  to  attempt  to  compete  with 
such  men,  and  the  visitor  who  has  thought  of  getting 
them  for  himself  had  better  give  up  the  idea,  and 
make  for  the  nearest  dealer's  shop.  There  are  two 
semi-professional  dealers  at  Dudley,  a  druggist,  Mr. 
Hollier,  and  a  herbalist,  Mr.   Fletcher.     I  only  saw 


a  few  of  Mr.  Hollier's  things,  but  Mr.  Fletcher 
obligingly  showed  me  what  he  had.  He  has  some 
good  trilobites,  but  seemed  unwilling  to  part  with 
them.  I  was  told  that  there  was  a  museum  at  the 
Mechanics'  Institute,  but  it  was  too  late  to  see  it. 
The  museum  which  was  before  it  in  date  has  become 
defunct,  and  its  collection  is  scattered. 

The  neighbourhood  of  Bristol  is  perhaps  as  good  a 
one  for  the  paleontologist  as  any  in  the  kingdom. 
Several  horizons  are  well  represented,  and  many  of 
the  best  localities  are  easily  accessible.  I  began  work 
upon  the  inferior  Oolite  at  Dundry.  To  give  an  idea 
of  the  richness  of  this  locality,  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  the  quarry  is  exceedingly  small,  being  used 
simply  to  obtain  road-metal  from,  but  that  out  of  it 
have  come  an  enormous  number  of  genera  and  species, 
of  which  specimens  occur  in  almost  every  museum  and 
private  cabinet  in  the  country.  At  the  Bristol  Museum 
I  counted  from  this  locality  226  species  distributed 
amongst  67  genera,  but  a  complete  list  of  what  it  has 
yielded  would  give  a  much  higher  figure.  This  great 
abundance  of  organic  remains  was  a  treat  to  one 
coming  from  the  comparatively  sterile  horizons  of 
Mid-Lothian. 

The  chief  excavation  is  near  the  top  and  on  the 
north  side  of  Dundry-hill,  close  to  the  main  road 
leading  from  Bristol  to  Dundry,  and  is  two  or  three 
miles  distant  from  the  city.  A  little  way  down  on 
the  south  side  is  another  and  smaller  quarry,  which  I 
found  rich  in  corals  and  large  Rhynchoncllas,  It  is  of 
no  use  visiting  the  north  quarry  unless  the  workmen 
have  been  getting  out  some  road-material ;  this  they 
get  in  rather  large  fragments,  and  for  a  small  fee  will 
allow  the  visitor  to  set  to  work  upon  them,  and 
gather  for  himself  what  he  can.  In  breaking  up  the 
blocks  for  their  own  purposes,  they  put  aside  the 
better  specimens  themselves,  and  generally  have  some 
for  sale.  The  sellers  of  minerals  on  the  Clifton 
Downs  usually  have  a  few  Dundry  fossils  on  their 
stalls,  in  addition  to  a  great  many  very  beautiful 
polished  carboniferous  corals  and  sponges,  which 
can  be  bought  at  a  very  cheap  rate. 

The  well-known  Rhcetic  beds  of  Aust  gave  me 
occupation  for  a  day.  The  fish  remains  occur  on  the 
surface  of  the  Avicida  contorta  shales,  and  in  bluish- 
grey  seams  which  run  irregularly  through  a  coarse, 
pebbly-looking  kind  of  rock.  The  beds  are  exhibited 
well  up  on  the  face  of  the  cliffs,  and  the  collector  is 
dependent  upon  the  crumbling  away  of  the  marl 
beneath  for  material  to  work  upon.  After  a  high  tide 
with  a  strong  westerly  wind  is  the  best  time  to  visit 
the  locality.  A  good  deal  of  material  was  strewn 
about  at  the  time  when  I  was  there,  and  a  star-fish 
and  Ilybodus  remains  rewarded  my  search.  To 
extract  good  reptilian  or  fish  remains  the  collector 
must  prepare  himself  for  hard  work,  as  the  matrix  is 
very  intractable,  but  with  patience,  and  a  heavy 
hammer  and  sharp  chisel,  he  will  assuredly  meet  with 
good   success.       Ichthyologists   have  lamented   that 


272 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSSIP. 


so  few  Ceratodus  teeth  have  been  obtained  in  recent 
years.  A  partial  explanation  may  be  found  in  the  fact 
of  the  hard  work  required  to  extract  them.  That  the 
locality  is  rich  in  such  remains  is  well  known.  The 
Higgins  Collection  recently  acquired  by  the  Bristol 
Museum  is  a  striking  proof  of  it.  Many  of  the  Ceratodus 
teeth  of  this  collection  are  figured  in  Mr.  Miall's 
monograph  just  published.  If  the  visitor  at  Aust 
wishes  to  spare  himself  trouble,  he  may  sometimes 
find  a  few  things  at  one  of  the  cottages  in  the  village. 
There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  well-sustained  effort  in 
any  quarter  at  present  at  extracting  the  riches  of  the 
locality. 

At  first  view  the  limestones  at  Clifton  seem  barren, 
but  a  little  careful  reseaixh  soon  opens  up  a  better 
prospect.     Mr.  Emery,  a  gatekeeper  at  the  Suspen- 
sion  Bridge,    obligingly  rendered   me  very  material 
assistance.    His  knowledge  of  the  carboniferous  lime- 
stone of  his  district  is  both  accurate  and  extensive, 
and  he  has  made  vthe  aluable  discoveiy  of  seams  of 
Rhcetic  in  the  limestone  of  the  Durdham  Downs.  The 
upper  shales  I  found  exceedingly  fossiliferous,  and  at  no 
greater  distance  than  the  new  buildings  on  the  Leigh 
side  there  were  beds  exposed  in  which  fine  Brachio- 
pods  were  abundant.       The   "Black-rock"  quarry, 
which  has  yielded  such  good  fish  remains,  is  unfortu- 
nately closed.    Wishing  to  examine  the  carboniferous 
limestone  of  the  Mendip  Hills  in  Somerset,  I  found 
myself,  almost  by  accident,  in  Burrington  Combe,  a 
glen  produced  apparently  by  the  same  causes  as  those 
which  have  hollowed  out  the  gorge  of  the   Cheddar 
Cliffs,  with  which  it  is  in  line,  but  on  the  opposite 
slope   of  the  hills.     This  combe  is  of  considerable 
interest  both  to  the  physical  geologist  and  palaeonto- 
logist. The  section  exposed  is  one  of  very  considerable 
thickness,  and  the  fossil-bearing  beds  are  accessible. 
Brachiopods,  lamellibranchs,  gasteropods,  and  corals 
were   abundant.       Good    Psammodus    teeth   would 
reward  the  diligent  collector.      A  fine  one  fell  to  my 
share.     High  up  on  the  right-hand  side,  almost  half- 
way up  the  combe,  I  came  upon  some  shales  from 
which  the  earth  had  fallen,  and  was  delighted  at  the 
display  of  organic  remains.     The  clip  of  the  beds  was 
about  the  same  as  that  of  Dudley,  which   I  had  just 
seen,  and  the  profusion  of  extinct  life  nearly  as  great. 
The  fossils  I  observed  were  chiefly  referable  to  the 
genera  Chonetes   and   Spirifei'a,  S.    atspidata   being 
quite  common.     I  am  not  aware  that  this  locality  has 
been   much   wrought,  but   it  would  unquestionably 
repay  any  good  work  spent  upon  it. 

Two  days  upon  the  inferior  Oolite  of  Bradford, 
Wilts,  and  Minchinhampton,  Gloucestershire,  con- 
cluded the  field  work  of  the  excursion,  and  the  short 
time  that  remained  was  spent  at  the  Bristol  Museum. 
There  is  evidence  of  good  work  in  this  museum, 
especially  on  the  part  of  the  geologists  and  malaco- 
logists.  It  possesses  several  very  valuable  type  speci- 
mens, and  is,  on  the  whole,  well  arranged  for  the 
display  of  its  collections.     It  has  no  funds  for  pur- 


chases, and  when  the  Higgins  Collection  was  in  the 
market  had  to  resort  to  the  expedient  of  a  public 
subscription  to  secure  it,  but  in  spite  of  this  draw- 
back it  has  done  exceedingly  well,  and  has  received 
many  valuable  donations.  The  late  Mr.  Sanders 
took  great  interest  in  it,  Mr.  Etheridge,  palaeon- 
tologist to  the  English  Geological  Survey,  and  many 
others,  have  contributed  largely  to  increase  the  number 
and  value  of  its  specimens,  and  the  zeal  of  the  gentle- 
man, recently  its  curator,  and  now  of  the  Wood- 
wardian  Museum  at  Cambridge,  has  done  much  to 
bring  it  to  its  present  satisfactory  state.  It  occupies 
beautiful  premises  on  a  good  site.  The  upper  hall  is 
devoted  to  Mineralogy,  Palaeontology,  and  recent 
shells.  The  fossils  are  arranged  in  table-cases,  in 
stratigraphical  order,  and  the  light  is  all  that  could 
be  wished.  A  striking  feature  is  the  Ichthyosaurus, 
completely  extracted  from  the  matrix,  and  suspended 
from  an  iron  support.  This  way  of  mounting,  as 
novel  as  instructive,  arose  out  of  a  mistake.  The 
wrong  faces  of  the  blocks  were,  in  some  instances, 
developed,  rendering  it  necessary  for  the  remains  to 
be  entirely  extracted,  if  the  specimen  was  not  to  be 
spoiled. 

The  lower  hall  is  devoted  to  Ethnography  and 
recent  Zoology.  I  was  sorry  and  rather  surprised  to 
hear  that  more  use  was  not  made  of  this  part  of  the 
Natural  History  collections.  The  attendance  of 
students  is  almost  nil.  No  attempt  seems  to  have 
been  yet  made  by  those  who  have  the  direction  of 
what  biological  teaching  exists  at  Bristol,  to  take 
advantage  of  the  facilities  which  the  museum  offers. 

Edinburgh.  T.   Stock. 

AN   AUTUMN    RAMBLE   IN    EPPING 
FOREST. 

By  Dr.  De  Crespigny. 
Part  II. 
*  I  'HE  genus  Coprinus  has  membranous  gills,  which 
become  black  (with  the  black  spores)*  when  fully 
developed,  and  finally  deliquescent.  Coprinus  contains 
we  gathered  in  a  pasturage  below  the  warren.  It  is  a 
singular-looking  fungus,  edible,  and  remarkable  for 
its  scaly  cuticle  :  the  scales  are  seen  in  the  figure  as 
tufted  and  revolute  at  their  ends.  In  the  same  pas- 
ture grew  another  and  pretty  little  species  called 
C.  plicatilis,  with  plicato-sulcate  pileus  and  small 
umbone.  As  it  is  a  good  example  of  this  kind  of 
pileus,  a  figure  in  illustration  is  subjoined.  A  good 
specimen  of  the  genus  Cortinarius  we  gathered  in 
Inoloma  (C.)violaceus,  said  by  Mr.  Worthington  Smith 
to  be  one  of  the  very  best  for  esculent  purposes. 
Cortinarius  has  been  subdivided  into  six  sections  ; 
they  have  all  persistent  membranous  gills  and  a 
floccose  trama  ;  a  veil  of  arachnoid  threads  and  rust- 


*  Specimens  of  the  black  spore  section  of  Agaricns  may  be 
found  on  dung-hills  everywhere  in  A.  (Copriiiarius  or  Pan- 
ixolui)  separatus. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE  -GO  SSI P. 


273 


coloured  spores.  When  torn  or  otherwise  dissipated, 
the  remains  of  the  veil  may  be  usually  discerned  as 
stains  upon  the  bulbous  stipe  ;  but  the  violet  tinge 
upon  the  stipe  is  not  constant,  nor  is  the  pileus 
violet  except  when  quite  young.  It  is  by  no  means 
common. 

Most  of  the  smaller  specimens  of  fungi,  which 
grew  upon  leaves  or  on  the  ground,  were  damaged. 
We  made  out,  however,  that  the  subgenus  Myxanim 
is  well  represented. 


Fig.   226.— Pileus    of   Cop- 
rinus  plicatilis. 


•Fig.  225. — -Vertical  section  of 
Coprinus  comatus,  showing 
the  narrow  pileus  and  scaly 
cuticle,  crowded  gills  and 
cavity  of  the  stem  filled  with 
filmy  reticular  tissue,  sup- 
ported by  a  central  columella . 


Fig.  227. — Stem  of  Afaras- 
tnius  arcades  covered  with 
a  woven  villous  coat  (mag. ) 


^.•-.ovr;.  '0.0. 

Fig.  228. — Vesicular  trama  of 
Lactarius  and  Russula. 


Fig.  229. — Vertical  section  of  Hygrophorus  psittacinus  showing 
the  hollow  splitting  stipe,  &c. 

Hygrophorus  is  characterized  by  its  waxy  hyme- 
nium,  hymenophorum  continuous  with  the  stem  and 
descending  unchanged  into  the  sharp-edged  gills. 
Specimens  of  H.  psittacinus  we  obtained  from  a  wet 
pasturage  :  the  colour  of  pileus,  gills,  and  stem  is  of 
a  crocus  yellow,  tinged  here  and  there,  on  the  gills 
especially,  with  grass-green  in  the  young  plants,  the 
stipes  hollow  and  splitting ;  the  hymenium,  too,  has 
■3.  tendency  to  separate  from  the  trama  when  dry. 


Lactarius  is  well  represented.  L.  subdulcis  is  ex- 
tremely plentiful.  The  gills  and  flesh  are  milky  in 
this  genus,  the  trama  vesiculose,  hymenophorum 
confluent  with  the  stem  ;  two  or  three  of  this  species 
which  are  of  a  rufous  or  cinnamon-brown  colour  are 
much  alike  ;  the  milk  of  L.  seriffutis,  however,  is 
watery,  and  that  of  L.  fuliginosus  turns  yellowish. 
A  specimen  of  Z.  blcnnius,  pileus  greenish-grey, 
gills  white,  was  also  gathered. 


22p. — Vertical  section  of  a  Lactarius. 


Fig.  231.— Vertical  section  of  Russula  nigricatts. 


Fig.  232. — Hymenophyllum  of  a  Russula  confluent  with  the 
vesicular  trama  {R.  hcteropliylla). 

Equally  abundant  with  Lactarius  were  species  ot 
Russula.  The  structural  characteristics  of  this  genus 
are  precisely  the  same  as  those  of  the  preceding, 
except  that  the  flesh  is  not  milky.  Very  common 
was  Russula  heterophylla,  pileus  of  all  shades  of  dull 
yellow,   greenish,   purplish,   and  dull  red  ;   frequent 


274 


HARD  Wl  CKE  'S    S  CIE  NCE  -  G  0  SSI  P. 


R.  fragilis,  red  when  young,  but  white  and  polished 
afterwards,  viscid.  Another  common  species  is  Rus- 
stila  nigricans,  dark  greyish  green  or  dingy  olive, 
becoming  charred  as  well  as  the  stem,  when  old  ; 
umbilicate,  as  are  the  Russulas  generally,  and  with 
the  margins  of  the  elevated  borders  inflected  ;  the 
gills  are  white  with  a  black  border. 

Cantharellits  cibarius  is  sometimes  plentiful  in 
Epping  Forest.  It  may  be  known  by  its  golden- 
yellow  colour,  infundibuliform  pileus,  and  gills  re- 
duced to  mere  folds  or  swollen  veins.  We  could 
obtain  no  specimen  to  illustrate  this  curious  structure 
of  hymenium.  The  genus  has  a  floccose  trama  ; 
gills  in  other  species  thick,  swollen,  and  obtuse. 

Marasmins  is  another  genus  in  which  the  trama  is 
floccose;  the  hymenophorum  confluent  with  the 
stem,  although  of  different  structure;  not  confined 
to  the  lamellae,  but  spread  over  all  the  interstices. 
M.  Oreades  is  said  to  be  good  eating,  grows  on  dry 
pastures,  generally  in  rings  (the  circle  is  rarely  com- 
plete) of  from  six  to  eight  feet  broad.  The  whole 
plant  is  of  a  dirty  cream-colour,  pileus  more  or  less 
slightly  stained  with  brown,  and  seldom  more  than  an 
inch  or  two  in  diameter.  We  found  them  on  a  com- 
mon near  Woodford. 

Intermediate  between  the  gillbearing  Hymenomy- 
cetes,  and  those  with  a  porous  hymenium,  are  the  two 
curious  genera,  Zeuzilesand  D&dalea,  both  of  common 
occurrence  in  forests,  and  of  which  the  former  is 
retained  in  the  first-mentioned  family,  and  Dadalea 
in  the  latter  ;  but  the  fact  is,  when  fully  developed,  it 
is  very  difficult,  out  of  a  number  of  specimens,  to 
decide  which  is  which.  Nature  is  very  unaccommo- 
dating, and  refuses  to  be  tied  hard  and  fast  by  laws 
and  rules,  as  laid  down  in  the  books  which  treat  of  her 
phenomena.  The  lamellae  of  Dcedalea  are  indeed 
sometimes  so  much  broken  up,  in  old  plants,  as  to 
resemble  the  toothed  processes  characteristic  of  the 
hymenium  of  a  Hydmim. 


FOSSIL   FOLYZOA. 

The  Genus  Fenestella:  its  History,  Develop- 
ment, and  Range  in  Space  and  Time. 

By  George  Robert  Vine. 

History  of  the  Genus. 

IN  these  papers  I  do  not  wish  to  discuss  questions 
that  are  purely  geological.  I  wish  to  deal  only  with 
one  type  of  a  class,  out  of  many  of  the  classes  which 
fall  naturally  into  the  divisional  roll  of  the  palaeon- 
tologist. But  while  keeping  this  before  me  as  a 
guide,  I  cannot  ignore  the  fact  that  in  speaking  of 
formations  it  will  be  necessary  to  either  enlarge  or 
restrict  my  meaning  when  I  use  certain  terms.  In 
speaking  of  the  Silurian  System,  this  was  not  so 
much  needed,  but  in  speaking  of  the  Fenestella  of  the 


Devonian  system  it  will  be  necessaiy  to  limit  my 
meaning,  as  my  remarks  on  the  species  will  apply 
more  particularly  to  the  typical  Devonian  rocks  of 
Devon  and  Cornwall. 

In  1 84 1,  Mr.  John  Phillips  published  his  elaborate 
work  on  the  Geology  of  Cornwall,  Devon,  and  West 
Somersetshire.  In  this  work  there  are  numerous 
plates  of  Fossils,  with  letterpress  descriptions  of  the 
same.  Figures  and  descriptions  are  given  of  these 
species  of  Fenestella,  for  in  this  work  Phillips  discards 
the  word  Retepora,  and  uses  Miller's  more  expressive 
term.  The  specific  character  of  F.  laxa  is  similar  to- 
that  given  in  his  Geology  of  Yorkshire.  ' '  The  net- 
work is  extremely  large  and  irregular,  the  obverse 
bearing  two  rows  of  tubular  pores,  reverse  granulously 
striated,"  and  the  localities  are  S.  Petherwin  and 
Croyde.  Of  the  F.  antiqua  Goldfuss,  Phillips  gives 
several  very  good  figures,  and  his  description  is  little 
more  precise.  He  says  of  one  of  his  figures  (35«), 
F.  antiqua  var.  that  the  specimen  was  sub-conical,  and 
that  the  celluliferous  face  was  external.  This  is  clearly 
a  mistake,  for  even  from  the  figure  it  seems  to  give  an 
idea  that  the  polyzoon  was  parasitic  on  some  object. 
The  corallum  was  irregular,  with  thick,  slightly 
flexuous  interstices,  very  obtusely  carinated  ;  the 
dissepiments  were  thick  and  short,  and  placed  at 
regular  intervals ;  the  fenestrules  were  oblong,  and 
the  pores  were  small,  with  slight  prominent  margins 
about  their  own  diameter  apart,  and  usually 
about  three  to  the  fenestrule.  The  species  and 
varieties  are  common  in  the  Devonian  Limestone  of 
Plymouth.  This  description  applies  to  Goldfuss' 
figure  of  Retepora  antiqua,  and  not  to  Lonsdale's 
F.  antiqua  of  the  Silurian  System.  F.  anthritica  is 
another  of  the  Devonian  species,  but  it  is  not  very 
well  described.  The  figures  are  very  good,  but  I 
cannot  make  much  out  of  them.  The  Hemitrypa 
oculata  of  South  Devon  seems  to  me  to  be  clearly 
a  Fenestella.  It  is  a  thin  laminar  expansion  in 
a  cup-formed  mass.  The  external  surface  is  wholly 
covered  with  numerous  round  pores  or  cells  radiating 
from  a  centre,  and  associated  in  double  rows,  which 
near  the  centre  undergo  frequent  divisions,  so  as  to 
form  two  such  rows.  The  figures  seem  to  bear,  in 
some  respect,  the  character  of  Hemitrypa  Hibernica, 
and  also  to  the  Fenestella  {?)  Sykesii  of  De  Koninck. 
One  of  Phillips's  drawings,  fig.  38  E.,  is  decidedly 
characteristic  of  the  Fenestella  type,  and  one  would 
have  no  hesitation  in  placing  it  with  that  group.  I 
have  been  rather  more  particular  with  Phillips's 
Devonian  Fenestella  than  I  should  have  been  had  the 
work  been  less  scarce.  As  it  is,  I  have  done  my  best 
to  furnish  the  student  with  his  specific  characters  in 
this  history  of  the  Genus. 

Several  American  Devonian  species  of  Fenestella 
have  been  figured  and  described  by  H.  A.  Nicholson, 
Professor  of  Biology,  in  his  work  on  ' '  Ontario,"  and  in 
the  Geological  Magazine  for  1874-5.  Some  of  these  new 
forms  are  very  characteristic,  and  although  they  bear 


HA  RD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSSIP. 


275 


different  specific  names,  there  is  a  tendency  of  some 
to  ally  with  Silurian,  while  others  approach  Carboni- 
ferous species  in  character.  But  every  fragment  given 
by  Nicholson  is  well  described — a  property  that  adds 
much  to  the  value  of  his  specimens.  One  of  these, 
Fenestella  magnified,  bears  a  close  resemblance  in  its 
non-poriferous  aspect  to  F.  laxa  of  Phillips.  To  this 
particular  point  Nicholson  himself  draws  the  attention 
of  the  reader.  I  do  not,  however,  set  a  very  high 
value  upon  Phillips'  F.  laxa  from  the  Carboniferous 
or  Devonian  series.  It  is  very  loosely  described,  and 
very  loosely  figured,  both  in  his  Palceozoic  Fossils, 
and  in  his  Geology  of  Yorkshire.  Nicholson's  species, 
then,  has  this  advantage  over  the  older  description ; 
it  is  well  figured  and  well  described.  The  poriferous 
aspect  is  unknown.  He  says  :  "  I  have  only  seen  a 
single  specimen  of  F.  magnifiea,  and  that  only  exhibits 
the  reverse  side  of  the  ccenecium,  but  the  general 
character  of  the  frond  so  distinctive,  that  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  founding  a  distinct  species  for  its  recep- 
tion. It  is  from  the  Carboniferous  Limestone  of  Port 
Colborne,  Canada."* 

F.  marginalis  (Nich.)  is  a  very  peculiar  species. 
It  is  described  from  a  mere  fragment,  but  the  charac- 
ter is  distinct.     The   polyzoary  was  fan-shaped,  but 
of  unknown  dimensions.!     In  his  critical  remarks, 
Nicholson  says  :  "The  specimen  does  not  enable  me 
to  affirm  with  certainty  that  the  two  marginal  rows 
of  cells  were  separated  by  a  medium  keel,    but  it 
appears  highly  probable  that  this  was  the  case.     In 
the  genus,  or  sub-genus,  Fenestrellina   (D'Orbigny), 
the  mesial  keel,   separating  the  two  rows  of  large 
lateral  cells,  carries  a  central  row  of  minute  cells.    In 
F.  marginalis,  however,  the  space  between  the  lateral 
rows  of  cells  carries  a  series  of  minute  crowded  cells, 
which  are  arranged  in  two,  or  sometimes  in  three, 
alternating  rows  ;  so  that  the  central  keel,  if  present, 
must  have  exhibited  the  openings  of  two  or  three 
rows   of  cells.      This    character,   so   far   as    I    am 
aware,  has  not  hitherto  been  noticed  in  any  species 
of  Fenestella,    except    F.    rigidnla    (M'Coy),  and  it 
may,  perhaps,  afford  a  ground   of  sub-generic   dis- 
tinction. "J 

Fenestella  filiformis  (Nicholson)  is  the  most 
beautiful  and  delicate  Fenestella  that  I  have  ever 
seen.  It  is  finer  in  the  branches  than  the  finest  and 
most  delicate  of  any  of  my  Carboniferous  species. 
The  specimens  are  only  in  fragments,  and  the  celluli- 
ferous  aspect  is  unknown.  Of  the  branches,  Nicholson 
says,  fifteen  or  sixteen  of  these  occupy  the  space  of 
a  quarter  of  an  inch. 

Another  species  from  the  Hamilton  group  of  the 
Devonians   of  America  is  figured  and  described  by 


Nicholson,  which  he  dedicates  to  his  friend  David- 
son. It  is  the  Fenestella  Davidsoni.  From  the 
peculiar  growth  of  the  frond,  it  approaches  nearest  in 
character  to  the  F.  Milkri,  of  Lonsdale,  but  both  the 
branches,  fenestrules,  and  number  and  character  of 
cells  are  altogether  different  from  that  species.  "  In 
the  general  aspect  of  the  celluliferous  surface  and  the 
sinuous  course  of  the  branches,  the  species  makes  a 
close  approach  to  some  of  the  species  of  the  genus 
Retepora  ;  but  the  presence  of  non-poriferous  dissepi- 
ments, and  the  existence  of  a  keel  separating  two 
rows  of  cells,  seem  to  justify  its  reference  to  the  genus 
Fenestella."*  In  his  "Ontario,"  Nicholson  gives 
another  species,  F.  nervata,  but  having  no  access  to 
his  work,  I  am  unable  to  describe  it. 

There  is  a  striking  peculiarity,  however,  about  the 
Silurian   and    the   Devonian    Fenestella   when   com- 
pared with  the  Carboniferous  species,  which  marks 
them   as  distinct.     But  there  are  no  arbitrary  lines 
about  any  of  the  Palaeozoic  group,  except  in  the  F. 
rigidnla    and    F.     marginalis.      If    the     poriferous 
character  of  the  keel,  or  the  place  the  keel  should 
occupy,  has  not  been  exaggerated,  this  is  peculiar ; 
but,  as  I  have  been  myself  very  much  deceived  in  the 
apparently   poriferous    keel,f    I   merely   record   my 
doubt,  with  all  due  respect  to  the  describers  of  these 
species.     Some  specimens,  too,  show  this  poriferous 
keel  ozitwardly,  but  when  reduced  to  sections,   the 
real  cells  are  contiguous,  and  all  the  keel  that  exists  is 
the  thin,  wavy  line  which  separates  the  two  rows  of 
cells,  and  even  this  apparent  line  is  nothing  more 
than  the  impingement  of  the  walls  of  the  separate 
cells  one  upon  the  other. 

The  Fenestella  group  seems  to  have  reached  its 
climax  in  the   Carboniferous  seas.     No  fewer  than 
twenty-two  species  have  been  described  by  Phillips, 
M'Coy,  and  others,  to  which  Mr.  Robert  Etheridge, 
jun.,  has  added  two  others  from  the  Scottish  series 
of  Carboniferous  shales.     Many  of  these  species  are 
fictitious  ;  the  characters  of  some  of  them  have  been 
described  from  fragments  of  other  species.     As,  how- 
ever, my  friend  G.  W.  Shrubsole,  F.G.S.,  is  engaged 
on  a  complete  revision  of  the  Carboniferous  Fenestella, 
I  will  just  here  indicate   the  specific  character  of  a 
few  only  of  the  list.   F.  membranace,  Phillips,  is  a  well- 
marked  and  characteristic  species.   It  is  elongate  and 
conical,  bearing— generally — three  small  pores  on  each 
side  of  the  fenestrule  ;  it  has,  moreover,  long,  solid 
non -poriferous  roots.    F.  antiqua,  Lonsdale,  Retepora 
antiqua,     Goldfuss,     and  F.    snb-antiqzia,    D'Orb., 
are     included    with     this     species    as     synonyms. 
F.  flabellata,    Phillips,   vary  very  much  in  different 


*  Geo.  Mag.,  May,  1874,  p.  197. 

t  As  the  descriptions  of  these  species  are  easily  accessible  to 
the  geological  student,  I  do  no  more  than  draw  his  attention 
to  a  few  of  the  minute  details  of  Nicholson— reference  to  the 
larger  description  will  well  repay  him  for  the  trouble. 

%  Prof.  H.  H.  Nicholson.  New  Devonian  Fossils,  Gso. 
Mag.,  May,  1874. 


*  Geo.  Mag.,  1875. 

t  "  I  believe  that  all  that  has  been  written  about  poriferous 
keels  on  the  Fenestella  is  wrong,  and  that  these  so-called  pores 
are  only  worn-down  rows  of  tubercules.  Like  you,  I  have 
sectioned  specimens  showing  these  worn  tubercules,  and  find 
they  lead  to  nothing,  and  have  no  connection  with  the  cells.  — 
Mr.  John  Young,  F.G.S. 


276 


HARDWICKE'S   SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


localities.     It  is   fan-shape   in    character;    but    the 
branches  of  specimens  from  Richmond,  in  Yorkshire, 
differ  materially  from  those  found  in  North  Wales. 
It  often   presents   two   different   characters  in  well- 
developed  fronds— so  much  so  that  if  a  good  frond  was 
broken  and  distributed  to   several   Paleontologists, 
asking    them    to  identify  the  species,    two    sets  of 
opinions  would  be  the  result.  F.  frutex,  M  'Coy,  seems 
to  be  a  good  species,  so  also  are  the  F.  polyporata, 
and  the   F.    wididata,    of    the    same    author;    but 
F.  nodulosa,  and  F.  temdfila,  are  somewhat  doubtful. 
The  F.  formosa,   of  M'Coy,   is  also  doubtful  in  the 
character  of   the    poriferous   dissepiment;    but  the 
F.  plebeia,  F.  quadradecemalis,  and  the  F.  carinata, 
of  the  same  author,  have  pretty  constant  characters. 
The  F.  crassa,  and  F.  ejuncida,  are  doubtful.     The 
F.  hemispherica  is  a  beautiful  specimen,  but  may  it 
not  be  the  young  form  of  some  of  the  larger  specimens 
described  as  species  ?    Besides  these  forms  there  are 
several  others  in  my  list,  but   after  having  examined 
many  of  the  fine  species  gathered  by  Mr.  Shrubsole 
from  the  Halkyn  Mountains   of  North  Wales,  I  am 
rather  in  favour  of  a  reduction  than  of  an  extension 
of  species.     My  belief  is  that  many  of  the  so-called 
species  are  the  result  of  indiscriminate  grouping.  The 
fault  of  the  confusion,  is  not  so  much  pressed  home 
upon  the  describer  as  upon  the  collector.     It  may  be 
that  no  Fenestella  bands  have  been  so  well  preserved  as 
are  those  of  the  Halkyn  Mountain  group  ;  and  it  may 
be  that  collectors  have  been  more  careful  for  general, 
than  for  particular  fossils.     Be  that  as  it  may,  the 
group  well  deserves  revision,  and  having  a  sufficient 
knowledge  of  the  material  at  his  disposal,  I  believe 
the  work  will  be  well  and  honestly  done  by  Mr. 
Shrubsole. 

The  Fenestella  of  the  Permian  rocks  are  few  in 
number— both  as  regards  species  and  individuals. 
The  form  generally  met  with  in  collections  is 
F.  reticularis,  of  Schlol.  In  Morris'  Catalogue  this 
is  given  as  F.  retiformis,  with  the  synonyms  Kerato- 
phytcs,  Gorgonia  infundibuliformis,  Goldfuss,  and 
Rctcporajlustracea,  Phillips,  but  as  my  own  specimens 
show  only  the  non-poriferous  side,  I  am  unable  to 
give  any  minute  details  respecting  the  species.  The 
non-poriferous  aspect  bears  a  close  resemblance  to 
some  of  the  Carboniferous,  and  also  of  the  Silurian 
Fenestella  ;  dependence,  however,  upon  this  is  unsafe 
as  a  palseontological  guide. 

In  space  this  genus  had  a  remarkably  wide  range  ; 
it  being  tolerably  abundant  in  the  Paleozoic  series  of 
America.  In  this  country  the  foregoing  remarks  will 
justify  my  assertion  that  it  was  also  abundant  with 
us.  De  Koninck  and  others  have  shown  how  preva- 
lent certain  species  are  in  the  Bohemian  and  Belgian 
series,  some  of  the  species  belonging  to  the  latter 
extending  as  far  east  as  India.  In  time  the  genus 
ranged  throughout  the  whole  of  the  Paleozoic  rocks, 
becoming  extinct,  so  far  as  is  yet  known,  at  the  close 
of  the  Permian  era. 


MICROSCOPY, 

Varnish  for  Glycerine  Mounts.— Some  time 
since  I  asked  in  Science-Gossip  for  some  varnish 
which  would  not  be  affected  by  glycerine  jelly.     No 
satisfactory  answer  being  given,  I  had  to  fall  back  on 
my  own  experiments,  and  am  glad  to  say  I  have  at 
last  found   a  varnish,  which,  worked   with   others, 
answers  in  the  best  possible  manner.     The  varnish  I 
allude  to  is  gold  size,  and  I  find  the  following  method 
of  applying  it  answer  best.     Having  mounted  your 
slide,  and  allowed  time  for  the  glycerine  to  set,  go 
carefully  round  the  thin  glass  circle  with  a  warm  pen- 
knife, then  with  a  fine  camel's-hair  brush  run  a  ring 
of  gold  size  round,  by  means  of  the  turn-table  ;  allow 
this  to  dry,  then  apply  another  layer,  and  when  this 
is  dry  a  third  ;  lastly,  run  a  ring  of  white  lead  varnish 
over  the  gold  size,  and  finish  with  a  ring  of  green 
varnish  in  the  centre  of  the  white  if  your  object  be 
a  vegetable  preparation,  or  red,  if  it  be  animal.     I 
have  mounted  some  dozens  of  slides  in  this  way,  and 
in  no  case  have  I  so  far  found  the  varnish  to  fail. 
Let  me  recommend  readers  of  Science- Gossip,  who 
like  myself  have  had  a  difficulty  in  finding  a  stable 
varnish,  to  give  this  method  a  fair  trial.     Dr.  Car- 
penter in  his  work,  "The  Microscope,"  it  will  be  re- 
membered, speaks  highly  of  gold  size  as  a  varnish. 
I  consider,  however,  that  without  some  varnish  over 
it,  gold  size  does  not  make  a  very  neat   or  a  very 
elegant  appearance.— Charles  F.    W.    T.    Williams, 
the  Vicarage,  Tinslade,  Bucks. 

New    Diatoms. — Melosira   Barren   (Grev.)  var. 
Hispida  Castracane.     This   variety   is   distinguished 
from  the  type  form  by  the  presence  of  short  teeth  or 
spines  scattered  over  the  surface  of  the  valves,  but 
especially  on   the   lower   convexity   of  the  frustule. 
Canal     de     Trau,      Dalmatia,      Cyclophora,     n.g. 
Castracana,  frustules  tabular,  rectangular,  sometimes 
in  series,  sometimes  free,  sometimes  connected  by  a 
gelatinous   isthmus   forming   a  zigzag  chain  in  f.v. 
linear-oblong,    sometimes     slightly    inflated,    valves 
unequal,  one  of  them  with  a  central  loculus,  living  in 
sea-water.   Cyclophora  tenuis,  Castracane  ;  frustules  in 
f.v.  oblong,  rectangular,  slightly  inflated,  valves  linear, 
inflated,  rounded  at  the  ends,  dissimilar,  one  of  which 
has   a   central   ring   or   loculus.     Length    of   valve, 
441"  5,  55/*.  2>  breadth  4/1  8,   ii/t  3.      On  rocks  at 
Ancona ;  Naples,    in     aquarium.     (Extracted    from 
Brebissonia,  a  new  monthly  serialde  voted  to  Algeology 
and  Micrographic  Botany,  edited  byM.  G.  Huberson. .). 

Diatoms  in  Coal.— It  is,  perhaps,  in  the  recol- 
lection of  our  readers,  that  about  two  years  ago,. 
Count  Castracane  announced  the  discovery  of  marine 
and  fresh-water  diatoms  in  coal  ashes.  Professor 
W.  C.  Williamson,  at  the  Dublin  meeting  of  the 
British  Association,  doubted  the  accuracy  of  this,  and 
stated  that   Professor  Roscoe  had  permitted  one  of 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


277 


his  ablest  assistants  to  make  analyses  of  various  kinds 
of  coal,  in  accordance  with  Count  Castracane's  direc- 
tions, and  these  ashes  he  (Professor  Williamson) 
had  carefully  examined,  but  had  been  unable  to 
detect  any  traces  of  diatomacese.  I  can  confirm  this, 
having  myself  made  many  observations  on  the  ashes 
of  various  kinds  of  coal  and  coal  shales  ;  many  of  the 
latter  were  rich  in  the  remains  of  equisetums  and 
ferns,  and  ought  to  have  contained  diatoms,  if  any 
existed  at  that  period.  So  acute  an  observer  as 
Count  Castracane  could  not  be  mistaken  as  to  the 
presence  of  diatoms  in  the  ashes  he  examined,  and 
we  must,  therefore,  come  to  the  conclusion  that  their 
presence  was  accidental.  I  have  examined  very  many 
samples  of  chalk,  not  only  from  this  country,  but  also 
from  various  other  localities,  but  have  never  seen  any 
valves  of  diatomacece.  I  should  be  glad  to  learn  if 
any  other  observer  has  been  more  successful. — F. 
Kit  ton,  Norwich. 

A  Collecting  Stick. — The  following  is  a  de- 
scription of  a  collecting  stick  I  have  made,  and  found 
very  useful  in  collecting  diatoms  from  the  bottom  of 
streams,  as  it  does  not  disturb  the  mud  and  sand,  like 
the  ordinary  collecting  bottle.     A  is  a  bamboo-cane, 


B 


3© 


Fig.  233. — Collecting  Stick. 

with  a  piece  of  Indian-rubber  tubing  running  down 
the  centre,  such  as  is  used  for  feeding-bottles  ;  B  is  a 
glass-tube  fastened  to  rubber-tube ;  C  is  an  Indian- 
rubber  ball,  by  squeezing  which  you  force  air  out  of 
the  glass-tube,  and  then  by  placing  it  near  the  object 
you  wish  to  get,  and  letting  the  ball  expand,  the 
object  is  drawn  up  into  the  tube.  On  squeezing  the 
ball  it  is  then  forced  out  into  the  bottle.  The  stick 
can  be  also  used  as  an  ordinary  walking  stick. — 
Albert  Smith. 


ZOOLOGY. 

How  to  Preserve  Skins,  &c. — I  can  give  your 
correspondent  J.  Y.  a  really  good  non-poisonous 
receipt.  It  has  stood  the  test  of  fifteen  years,  and  can 
be  well  relied  on,  viz.  : — 1.  Whiting  or  chalk,  ii  lb.  ; 
2.  Soft-soap,  lib.;  3.  Chloride  of  lime,  2oz. 
Boil  Nos.  1  and  2  with  about  a  pint  of  water,  and  add 
No.  3  while  hot.  Before  adiling  the  lime  see  that  it 
is  finely  powdered,  or  else  it  will  not  work  smoothly. 
Another  good  one  is  as  follows  : — Burnt  alum,  1  lb.  ; 
saltpetre,  5  lb.  ;  pound  and  thoroughly  mix.  This  is 
especially  for  animals,  as  when  well  rubbed  in  it  will 
fix  the  fur  and  hair  admirably,  and  penetrate  the 
thickest  skin.- — Edward  E.  Evans. 

Mimicry  among  Vertebrata. — Mr.  Wallace, 
in  his  work  on  "Natural  Selection,"  by  way  of  en- 
forcing his  arguments,   quotes  instances  of  mimicry 


among  snakes  only.  In  the  beginning  of  1877,  when 
I  was  stationed  at  Shwaegyeng,  in  British  Burmah,  a 
wild  dog  was  brought  to  me,  and  on  the  first  glance 
I  thought  it  was  a  young  deer  !  The  resemblance 
was  striking  in  many  ways  ;  colour,  form,  and  mo- 
tions of  small  deer  were  imitated  in  a  wonderfully 
deceptive  manner.  The  head  especially  was  remark- 
able for  its  resemblance  to  the  head  of  a  doe,  the 
ears  were  long  and  very  mobile,  and  could  be  thrown 
back  on  to  the  neck  in  a  way  habitual  to  the  female 
of  the  common  hog  deer.  These  wild  dogs  are  rare, 
but  they  are  to  be  found  on  the  plains  of  Burmah,  and, 
as  may  be  readily  inferred,  they  prey  upon  the  small 
deer  which  abound  in  the  grassy  plains  of  that 
country.  I  kept  the  animal  for  several  days  ;  it  was 
a  young  one,  and  was  very  fierce.  I  sent  it  down  to 
Rangoon  as  an  exhibit  for  the  Phayre  Museum  and 
Menagerie  there,  but  the  creature  died  on  the  way, 
and  the  person  in  charge  unfortunately  threw  away 
the  carcase,  instead  of  preserving  it.  I  hope  shortly 
to  be  able  to  get  another  of  these  animals,  and  shall 
do  my  best  to  send  it  alive  to  England. — Arthur 
Hough. 

Pronunciation  of  Scientific  Names.  — 
Mr.  Browne  (see  July  No.)  is  no  doubt  right  in  his 
suggestion  that  the  Latin  qu  was  originally  pro- 
nounced like  k.  In  the  memoir  prefixed  to  the  "  De 
Natitris  Rerum  "  of  Alex.  Necham  (born  1 157)  the 
following  anecdote  is  related.  "Necham  abandoned 
his  :;chool  at  Dunstable,  and  became  desirous  of 
entering  one  of  the  monasteries,  and  he  first  turned 
his  eyes  to  the  great  Benedictine  monastery  in  his 
native  town  of  St.  Alban's.  He  accordingly  addressed 
an  application  to  the  Abbot  in  these  terms,  Si  vis 
veniam  sin  autem,  &c,  to  which  the  Abbot,  who 
appears  to  have  been  somewhat  of  a  wag,  replied,  Si 
bonus  es  venias,  si  nequam  nequaquam  "  (If  you  are 
good,  come  ;  if  bad,  by  no  means  come).  Nequam 
of  course  being  pronounced  necham,  this  pun  on  his 
name  offended  him,  and  he  did  not  join  the  St. 
Alban's  monastery. — F.  Kit  ton. 

The  Alternate  Generation  of  theEchino- 
dermata.— Professor  Haeckel  has  recently  sent  the 
following  to  the  San  Francisco  Microscopical  Society : 
— "  The  palingenetic  development  of  the  Echinoder- 
mata,  ordinarily  known  as  metamorphosis,  which 
leads  to  important  inferences  as  to  their  race  history, 
is  to  be  considered  as  a  genuine  alternation  of 
generations,  and  especially  for  this  reason,  that  the 
two  succeeding  generations  are  destroyed  in  order  to 
make  possible  the  change  into  one  another  by  a 
single  transformation.  The  first  generation,  the 
'Nurse,'  or  so-called  larva,  is  a  solitary,  bilateral, 
limbless  individual  or  'person,'  which  consists  of  only 
one  piece  or  antimera,  and  possesses  the  greatest 
resemblance  to  true  worm  larvce.  On  the  contrary, 
the  second  generation,  the  perfected  echinoderm,  has 
the  ground-plan  of  a  symmetrical,  five-sided  pyramid, 


278 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CI  EN  CE-  G  O  SSI  P. 


and  consists  of  five  antimera  or  parts  ;  it  forms  a  true 
stock  or  cormus,  which  is  composed  of  five  articu- 
lated, worm-like,  bilateral  persons.  When  this 
cormus  originates  within  the  nurse  by  budding,  a 
multiplication  of  antimera  occurs,  whereby  from  one 
antimera  five  arise.  This  origin  can  be  interpreted 
only  as  a  non-sexual  reproduction,  not  as  a  mere 
transformation.  The  true  nature  of  these  genuine 
alternate  generations  is  clearly  shown  by  those  sea- 
stars,  in  which  the  body  remains  free  from  the  five 
(or  more)  independent  arms,  and  the  central  disk, 
which  barely  unites  the  latter  in  the  middle,  exists 
almost  as  an  independent  body.  These  are  Ophidi- 
aster,  ChtTtaster,  Brisinga,  &c.  Particularly  inte- 
resting in  this  relation  are  most  species  of  the  genus 
OpJiidiaster,  or  Linckia,  from  which  several  specimens 
are  exhibited  (0.  diplax,  O.  ornithopus,  O.  multi- 
formis, and  0.  Ehrenbergii).  Here  the  single  arm, 
which  possesses  the  morphological  value  of  an 
articulate  worm,  is  freely  detached  from  the  disk,  and 
every  arm  forms  by  regeneration  both  the  central 
disk  and  the  four  remaining  arms.  With  numerous 
specimens  of  the  four  species  of  Ophidiaster  selected, 
all  the  various  stages  of  this  reproduction  process 
were  shown,  and  he  discussed  the  significance  which 
these  so-called  comet  forms  of  sea-stars  possess  for 
the  morphological  interpretation  of  the  same.  There- 
fore we  should  take  as  the  oldest  stem  form  of  the 
Echinodermata  the  Asteroidea,  from  which  as  di- 
verging branches  have  developed  Ophipridea,  Crinoi- 
dea,  and  Echiuoidea.  In  the  last,  the  centralization 
of  the  whole  cormus  is  carried  farthest,  and  from 
them  the  Holothuroidea  have  arisen.  Thus  the  Holo- 
thuroidea  stand  most  distant  from  the  original  form 
of  the  Echinodermata — the  Asteroidea." 


BOTANY, 

Cotoneaster  vulgaris.— This  plant  still  exists 
in  small  quantities  on  the  Orme's  Head.  I  saw  it 
there  in  July  last. — James  Brittot. 

Polypogon  Littoralis.— This  rare  plant,  which 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  recorded  for  Glouces- 
tershire, occurred  this  year  in  considerable  quantity, 
on  marshy  ground,  near  the  north  bank  of  the  Avon 
river  at  Bristol.  On  inquiry  it  seems  that  the  soil 
here  has  been  taken  from  the  river  bank  and  bed 
at  places  much  nearer  Clifton,  when  the  river  was 
widened  and  the  new  dock-gates  constructed,  and 
brought  to  this  marsh  to  fill  hollows  from  which  the 
clay  had  been  dug  for  manufacturing  purposes.  Its 
appearance  is  of  interest,  as  furnishing  another  instance 
of  the  occurrence  of  new  plants  when  soil  that  has 
been  long  buried  is  brought  to  the  surface. 

Lizard  Orchis  [Orchis  kircina).—!  had  sent 
to  me  last  June  a  very  fine  specimen  of  the  Lizard 
Orchis  {Orchis  hircind).     It  was   found   in   a  chalk- 


pit at  Greenhithe.  As  I  see  from  Hooker  and 
Arnott's  "British  Flora,"  published  1850,  that  the 
plant  "  is  very  rare  (perhaps  now  extinct),"  it  maybe 
interesting  to  your  readers  to  know  it  has  been  found 
so  recently.  I  enclose  one  dried  blossom  that  you 
may  be  sure  of  its  authenticity.  The  plant  was  nearly 
3  ft.  high,  the  spike  of  blossom  over  21  in.  Per- 
haps if  it  has  been  found  by  any  other  of  your 
readers  they  will  let  you  know,  as  it  must  be  a  plea- 
sure to  know  so  handsome  a  plant  is  not  yet  extinct. 


GEOLOGY, 

A  New  Genus  of  Fossil  Corals. — Mr.  James 
Thomson,  F.G.S.,  who  is  well  and  widely  known  as 
an  enthusiastic  student  of  carboniferous  corals,  has 
just  published  a  monogram  on  a  new  genus,  which  he 
has  named  Albertia.  He  also  gives  us,  in  the  same 
elaborate  paper,  a  short  sketch  by  which  it  has  been 
attempted  to  delineate  the  internal  structure  of  fossil 
carboniferous  corals  during  the  last  twenty  years. 
Most  palaeontologists  are  aware  that  Mr.  Thomson 
has  succeeded  in  causing  thin  sections  of  coral  to 
photograph  themselves  on  sensitised  copper-plates, 
so  that  every  line  is  truthfully  portrayed.  Mr. 
Thomson,  after  a  long  account  of  failures  that  would 
have  damped  the  ardour  of  a  less  enthusiastic  geolo- 
gist, relates  his  triumph  as  follows  : —  "It  would  be 
tedious  to  enumerate  the  various  other  unsuccessful 
attempts  I  made  in  the  way  of  obtaining  casts  fitted 
for  the  accurate  reproduction  of  structural  details  ; 
but  I  may  say,  generally,  that  these  attempts  were 
veiy  numerous,  that  they  occupied  a  large  portion  of 
my  leisure  time  for  several  years,  and  that  they  in- 
volved a  very  considerable  amount  of  expense.  Out 
of  these  laborious  attempts,  however,  there  finally 
emerged  the  process  which  I  now  employ,  and  for 
which  I  claim  the  merit  of  being  applicable  to  the 
accurate  delineation  of  the  minutest  details  of  coral- 
line structure,  and  of  being  comparatively  inexpen- 
sive. This  process  I  have  now  used  for  two  years  for 
the  production  of  lithographic  plates,  and  quite  re- 
cently I  have  succeeded  in  modifying  it  so  as  to  pro- 
duce electrotypes  for  use  in  the  ordinary  printing- 
press.  Of  the  first  form  of  this  process,  I  may  say 
that  it  consists  in  taking  an  impression  of  the  struc- 
ture upon  a  sensitised  copper-plate,  that  this  impres- 
sion is  then  engraved  upon  the  plate,  and  that  a 
transfer  is  thence  taken  and  put  upon  a  lithographic 
stone.  Of  the  second  form  of  it,  I  may  say  that  an 
impression  is  taken  upon  a  plate  of  sensitised  copper, 
that  the  plate  is  next  engraved  and  etched  very 
slowly,  but  somewhat  more  deeply  than  in  the  first 
case,  that  a  cast  in  wax  is  taken  from  the  plate,  and 
that  from  this  again  is  produced  an  electrotype  in  the 
ordinary  way.  The  fact  that  the  process  which  I 
have  now  so  far  described  is  applicable  not  merely  to 
the  delineation  of  structures  presented   in  my  own 


HARD  WICKES    SCIENCE-  G  OSS  IF. 


279 


favourite  pursuits,  but  also  to  the  delineation  of  the 
minute  structures  which  present  themselves  to  the 
anatomist,  the  physiologist,  the  pathologist,  the 
botanist,  and  many  others,  is,  I  conceive,  one  of  its 
chief  merits." 

Liverpool  Geological  Society. — The  Pro- 
ceedings for  1876-77  of  this  well-known  and  vigorous 
society  contain  the  annual  address  of  the  President, 
Mr.  T.  M.  Reade,  F.G.S.,  and  papers  on  local 
geology  as  follows:  "Glacial  Striatums  at  Little 
Crosby,"  by  T.  M.  Reade  ;  "The  Conditions  existing 
during  the  Glacial  Period,  with  an  Account  of  the 
Glacial  Deposits  in  the  Valley  between  Tranmere  and 
Oxton,"  by  Dr.  Ricketts,  F.G.S.  ;  "The  Glacial 
Striae  of  the  County  around  Liverpool,"  by  G.  H. 
Morton,  F.G.S.  (Hon.  Sec);  "  The  Carboniferous 
Limestone  and  Millstone  Grit  of  Llangollen,"  by 
G.  H.  Morton  (continued)  ;  and  other  papers  of 
general  geological  interest. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

Animal  Ventriloquism. — Two  very  interesting 
notices  of  Brazilian  fauna  occur  in  Mr.  Rigg-Wither's 
account  of  his  work  and  wanderings  in  the  forests  and 
prairies  of  Parana,  the  one  of  a  frog,  and  the  other 
of  a  bird.  The  author  does  not  give  a  description  of 
either  sufficient  for  determining  their  species,  but  he 
refers  to  both  of  them  as  possessing  in  high  develop- 
ment the  special  power  of  ventriloquism.  This  is 
not  only  of  much  interest  in  itself,  but  as  it  is  the 
first  instance  I  have  met  with  of  any  animal  lower 
than  man  being  gifted  with  this  abnormal  faculty,  I 
venture  to  ask  room  for  the  following  condensed 
abstracts  from  the  "Pioneering  in  South  Brazil,"  with 
a  few  observations  which  the  narration  suggests.  At 
page  145  of  vol.  1,  Mr.  Rigg- Wither,  whilst  camping 
out  near  Porta  Grossa,  notes  that  ' '  a  cry,  like  the 
moaning  of  a  sick  child,  came  wailing  on  the  ear, 
apparently  from  only  a  few  yards  off ;  the  tone,  how- 
ever, was  too  musical  for  a  child's  cry.  The  vocalist 
was  a  frog,  and  soon  another  from  a  more  distant 
spot  took  up  the  strain,  and  the  two  sang  together, 
now  in  solos,  now  in  chorus. "  The  author  "  took  a  torch 
and  proceded  to  the  spot  from  whence  the  sound 
was  (or  seemed  to  be)  proceeding."  He  "  stooped  to 
search  in  the  grass,  when  the  music  seemed  to  float  away 
to  another  place  some  yards  distant,  and  on  following 
it,  the  sound  still  moved,  but  nowhere  could  he  dis- 
cover whence  it  came.  The  fact  is,  this  frog  is  recog- 
nised to  be  a  ventriloquist  of  no  common  order  " — a 
property  the  author  reasonably  concludes  to  be  "given 
him  as  a  protection  against  the  numerous  cranes  and 
other  frog-enemies  that  would  otherwise  be  guided  by 
the  sound,  and  soon  render  the  species  extinct." 
Again,  in  vol.  2,  page  193,  a  bird,  notable  for  its 
shrieking  voice,  and  known  as  the  Bell-bird,  is  thus 
referred  to  :  "  It  is  seldom  seen  in  its  wild  state, 
being,  like  the  musical  frog,  a  ventriloquist  of  very 
high  powers,  and  as  a  sun-loving  bird,  a  frequenter 
of  the  highest  tree-tops,  where  its  snow-white  plumage 
and  transparent  wings  render  it  almost  invisible,  even 
when  in  motion.  In  size  it  is  but  slightly  bigger  than 
a  starling,  with  a  voice  powerful  as  a  peacock's."  From 
a  description  of  this  bird's  performances  in  a  cage,  at 
Antonia,  its  notes  were  heard  in  every  quarter  of  the 
town  as  well  as  beyond  the  outskirts,  and  seemed  at 


times  "  to  come  from  the  mountains  at  the  back  of 
the  town  fully  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant  from  where 
the  bird  was  actually  encaged."  Calling  to  mind  the 
peculiar  cry  of  the  Corn-crake  (Crex  pratensis),  and 
one's  similar  inability  to  trace  the  varying  points  from 
which  the  sounds  appear  to  proceed,  I  beg  to  add  a 
parallel  extract  from  an  account  of  the  habits  of  this 
eccentric  vocalist  of  our  own  meadows.  ' '  The  crake, 
crake,  crake  of  the  landrail  may  be  heard  during 
May  and  June,  resounding  on  every  side,  now  close  at 
hand,  as  if  the  bird  were  not  a  yard  distant,  now  far 
off;  while  the  voices  of  others  in  different  parts  are 
unremittingly  exerted.  The  note  is  the  call  of  the 
male  to  his  mate.  So  shy  and  cunning  is  the  bird 
that  it  is  seldom  to  be  seen,  and  unless  by  means  of  a 
dog  accustomed  to  such  work,  it  is  almost  impracti- 
cable to  force  it  to  take  wing.  It  seems  to  elude 
pursuit  as  if  by  magic,  and  is  here  and  there  threading 
its  way  through  the  long  grass  before  its  pursuer  can 
imagine  it  has  even  left  the  spot  from  which  its  call 
had  first  resounded.  Its  swiftness  and  dexterity  are 
indeed  almost  incredible."  (Knight's  Museum  of 
Animated  Nature.)  It  will  be  observed  that  no 
attempt  is  here  made  to  account  for  the  sudden 
changes  of  the  cries  heard,  now  near,  and  now  far  off. 
It  is  taken  for  granted  that  the  crake,  by  some  sort 
of  superhuman  speed  of  foot,  can  elude  its  pursuer  as. 
"  if  by  magic,"  before  it  can  be  imagined  to  have  left 
the  place  from  which  its  call  first  resounded.  The 
performances  of  a  human  ventriloquist  afford  the 
aptest  illustration,  if  not  a  credible  and  rational  theory, 
for  all  the  conditions  of  the  hypothesis  accepted  by 
Mr.  Rigg- Wither  being  fulfilled  by  the  incidents  he 
records,  and  which  are  remarkably  enforced  by  the  man- 
oeuvres described  in  the  last  extract,  of  "  the  sly  and 
cunning  "  Corn-crake.  I  am  desirous  to  learn  if  any 
naturalist  has  noticed  similar  phenomena  in  any  other 
bird  or  beast,  and  if  so,  whether  the  solution  above 
indicated  has  been  referred  to,  if  not  recognised. 
This  marvellous  faculty  may  possibly  be  a  vestige 
of  a  once  more  extended  power  conferred  on  the 
animal  creation,  as  a  means  of  defence,  by  deluding 
and  so  evading  their  enemies.  Can  any  of  your  read- 
ers assist  me  in  these  inquiries  ? — A.  H.B. 

Preserving  Animals. — I  think  Mr.  Beaumont 
will  find  the  most  complete  information  in  Waterton's 
"Wanderings  in  South  America,"  published  by  B. 
Fellowes,  Ludgate-slreet,  1852.  Further  useful  par- 
ticulars are  given  in  his  first  series  of  Essays  on  Natural 
History,  Longman,  Brown,  &  Co.,  Paternoster-row, 
price  8/-.  An  abridged  account  appears  in  a  small 
work  on  Taxidermy,  by  J.  Gardner,  426,  Oxford- 
street,  price  1/6.  Another  account  is  shown  in 
"Taxidermy,"  by  M.  Brown,  Bazaar-office.  If  any 
further  information  is  required  respecting  the  details 
of  the  system  I  shall  be  glad  to  quote  them  from  any 
of  the  works  named. — J.  C.  Carritt,  King's  Lynn. 

Preserving  Animals. — In  answer  to  W.  L. 
Beaumont,  I  beg  to  furnish  an  outline  of  Waterton's 
method  of  preserving  animals  : — "Wash  the  animal 
well  in  soap  and  water  with  a  hard  brush.  Then 
skin  the  animal,  taking  out  every  bone  to  the  last 
joint  of  the  toe  next  the  claw,  and  proceed  to  pare 
down  from  within  the  nose,  the  lips,  and  the  soles  of  the 
feet,  and  sew  up  the  mouth  from  the  inside,  beginning 
exactly  in  the  front,  and  continuing  the  operation 
each  way  to  the  end  of  the  gape.  Now  immerse  the 
skin  in  a  solution  of  corrosive  sublimate  in  alcohol  ; 
take  it  out  and  fill  it  quite  full  of  chaff,  and  proceed 
to  support  it  on  the  table  by  introducing  into  the 
abdomen  a  machine  made  by  joining  two  pieces  of 
wood  in  the  shape  of  a  carpenter's  gimlet,  and  of 


280 


HARD  JVI  CKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


size  corresponding  to  the  size  of  the  animal.  Let  the 
shank  of  this  machine  hang  down  outside  the  skin, 
just  as  though  it  were  a  fifth  leg  in  the  centre  of  the 
body,  and  let  it  pass  through  a  hole  in  the  table,  and 
then  be  fastened  at  sufficient  height  by  a  couple  of 
wedges.  Now  touch  the  nose,  lips,  and  orbits  of  the 
skin  with  a  mixture  of  one  part  of  salad  oil  and  three 
parts  spirits  of  turpentine,  and  repeat  this  touching 
every  day  till  the  finish.  Then  with  a  penknife  cut 
small  holes  on  the  top  of  the  head,  behind  the  root 
of  each  ear,  under  the  jaws,  others  on  the  back,  and 
one  under  each  foot.  Now  working  through  these 
holes  with  a  piece  of  iron,  from  the  size  of  a  large  darning 
needle  to  that  of  a  ramrod,  and  shaped  at  one  end 
like  a  carpenter's  pricker,  push  out  every  part  of  the 
skin  which  ought  to  be  pushed  out,  and  reduce  with 
the  end  of  the  finger  any  part  that  may  be  too  pro- 
minent consistently  with  the  expression  and  form 
which  the  animal  exhibited  during  life.  The  lips 
must  be  reformed  by  means  of  two  irons,  one  held  in 
either  hand,  and  working  in  opposite  directions 
outside  and  inside.  In  due  course  of  time,  as  the 
skin  stiffens,  the  artist  will  see  (as  the  sculptor  does) 
the  features  gradually  appear ;  and  at  last  the  skin 
will  retain  the  slightest  impression  communicated  to 
it  by  the  touch  of  the  working  iron.  A  slit  must  be 
made  in  the  crown  of  the  head,  or  under  the  jaws, 
to  allow  of  the  artificial  eyes  to  be  fixed  with  a  little 
putty  or  wax.  Two  or  three  weeks'  practice  is  required 
in  order  to  become  an  adept  at  this  mode  of  pre- 
serving animals  ;  but  of  course  there  must  also  exist 
a  considerable  native  talent  and  taste  for  sculpture. 
The  foregoing  account  is  condensed  (perhaps  too 
much  so)  from  an  article  on  Museums  in  the  first 
edition  (1838)  of  Waterton's  "Essays  on  Natural 
History."  It  will  be  observed  that  this  process  is 
simply  one  of  modelling  :  the  softened  skins  of 
animals  being  operated  upon  instead  of  the  clay  of 
the  modeller  or  sculptor.  Various  other  methods  of 
preserving  animals  (especially  birds)  have  been 
described  in  the  "Philosophical  Transactions"  for 
1770,  in  "The  Naturalist's  and  Traveller's  Com- 
panion," in  the  "Natural  History  of  Guiana,"  in  the 
Amiens  Acad.,  vol.  ii.,  in  the  "Boy's  Own  Maga- 
zine" for  1859,  in  the  "  Boy's  Journal "  for  March, 
"The     Art    of   Taxidermy,"    published    by 


1863, 


F.  Warne  cS:  Co.—  P.  Q. 


Keegan, 


LL.D. 


Bark  Bread. — In  a  note  to  page  528  of  the  Flora 
Vectensis  is  the  following  :  "  Panis  hie  albus  est  due/is 
et  gratissimus,  prsesertim  recens.  Usus  hujus  fa  nit 
primarius  et  receptissimus  apud,"  &c. ,  &c.  Linnaeus 
says  the  bread  is  sweet  and  grateful,  but  he  does  not 
say  that  it  is  composed  solely  of  the  roots  of  the 
Calla  ;  but  he  does  say,  "  hasc  farina  miscetur  cum 
farina"  (he  does  not  tell  us  in  what  proportion) 
"  Cerealium  vel  Pini,  et  exinde  conficitur  panis  secun- 
dum artem."  The  above  quotation  must  have  been 
printed  incorrectly,  it  should  be,  "Panis  hie  est  albus, 
et  dulcis,  et  gratissimus  "  (this  bread  is  white,  sweet, 
and  very  palatable).  "  Usus  hujus  panis  primaris,  et 
receptissimus  apud,"  &c.  (This  is  the  bread  chiefly 
used  by  Norwegians  and  Swedes,  and  they  like  it  very 
much. )  But  the  flour  from  the  roots  of  Calla  is  first 
mixed  with  rye  or  barley  meal,  and  often  with 
powdered  pine  bark ;  and  of  these  the  bread  is  made 
in  the  ordinary  manner.  We  may  add,  the  mixed 
bark  of  the  pine  is,  even  now,  thus  used. — J.  F. 
Robinson. 

Wild  Animals  and  Man. — An  interesting  lec- 
ture was  recently  delivered  at  the  Society  of  Arts, 
by  Sir  J.  Taylor,  on  the  destruction  of  life  by  wild 
animals  in  India.     An  extract  or  two  may,  perhaps, 


be  of  interest.  In  1876,  18,273  persons  were  killed 
by  wild  animals  ;  out  of  these,  15,946  lost  their  lives 
by  snakes,  917  by  tigers,  887  by  wolves  ;  the  remain- 
der being  by  leopards,  bears,  hyamas,  &c.  In  the 
same  year  54,430  cattle  were  destroyed.  The  num- 
ber of  wild  animals  killed  during  that  time  were 
234,830,  out  of  which  snakes  were  212,371.  There 
are  several  ways  of  compassing  the  tiger's  death. 
They  are  snared  in  pitfalls  and  traps,  shot  by  spring 
guns,  poisoned  by  strychnine,  and  killed  by  sports- 
men. The  natives  of  India,  especially  the  Hindoos, 
hold  the  tiger,  as  they  do  the  cobra,  in  superstitious 
reverence;  many  would  not  kill  him  even  if  they 
could,  for  they  fear  that  he  would  haunt  or  do  them 
mischief  after  death.  In  one  instance  in  the  Central 
Provinces  a  single  tigress  caused  the  desertion  of 
thirteen  villages,  and  250  square  miles  of  country  were 
thrown  out  of  cultivation.  In  1869  one  tigress  killed 
127  people  and  stopped  a  public  road  for  many  weeks, 
until  finally  killed.  The  shark  is  a  fierce  and  bold 
creature  ;  he  dashes  in  amongst  the  crowds  bathing  at 
the  ghats,  and  though  he  seldom,  if  ever,  under  these 
circumstances,  succeeds  in  carrying  off  his  prey,  yet 
he  inflicts  a  dangerous,  often  a  mortal,  wound.  These 
accidents  appear  to  have  become  more  common  of 
late  years,  since  the  practice  of  throwing  bodies  into 
the  river  has  been  discontinued. — H.  Budge. 

"Sugaring." — In  reply  to  your  correspondent, 
"  W.  W.  Walter,"  I  used  to  do  a  little  in  the  gentle 
art  of  sugaring,  and  as  I  was  pretty  successful,  a  few 
hints  of  mine  may  be  of  use.  The  best  mixture  to 
my  knowledge  is  Jamaica  foots  sugar  gently  boiled 
in  stout  or  porter,  care  being  taken  not  to  bum  it. 
As  most  of  the  sugar  known  as  "moist  sugar"  is 
actually  refined  sugar,  and  not  the  raw  material  at  all, 
it  is  not  good  for  the  purpose.  When  made,  a  little 
rum  may  be  added  just  before  using.  Several  sugges- 
tions have  been  offered  at  times  as  to  the  advantage 
of  adding  oil  of  anise  seed,  and  other  oils  of  a  similar 
nature,  as  powerful  moth  attractors,  but  I  do  not 
think  they  are  so  potent  as  supposed,  a  great  deal 
depending  on  the  weather  chosen  for  a  sugaring 
expedition,  which  should  be  a  moonless  night  with  a 
light  south  or  south-west  wind,  a  moonlight  night  or 
east  or  north  wind  being  quite  enough  to  ensure  an 
empty  bag.  Although  the  autumn  for  numerous 
reasons  is  the  best  time  for  sugaring,  still,  there  are 
other  times  of  the  year  when  lepidoptera  are  captured 
at  natural  or  artificial  sugar.  In  the  spring  the 
catkins  of  die  willow  or  sallow  are  most  killing  traps 
for  the  Tamiocampa?,  and  a  sheet  spread  under  a 
willow  in  bloom  will  be  almost  sure  to  catch  such 
specimens  as  Stabilis,  Munda,  Cruda,  Gothica,  &c., 
on  the  branches  being  shaken.  Reverting  again  to 
sugaring,  the  mixture  should  be  laid  on  with  a  brush 
on  the  lee-side  of  trees,  about  5  feet  from  the  ground, 
and  I  have  found  that  exposed  trees  are  the  best,  I 
presume  from  the  fact  of  the  wind  carrying  the  scent 
better ;  where  there  are  no  trees  I  have  succeeded 
with  pieces  of  rag  or  fragments  of  bark  or  board, 
either  fastened  on  a  bush,  or  in  want  of  that,  a  post, 
gate,  or  rock. — Edward  Lovett,  Croydon. 

A  Strange  Place  for  Marsh  Plants.  —  For 
a  considerable  time  operations  have  been  in  progress 
for  the  construction  of  a  new  wet  dock  at  Leith,  and 
for  this  purpose  upwards  of  eighty  acres  of  a  low 
sand-flat,  known  as  Leith  Sands,  has  been  reclaimed 
from  the  sea.  The  greater  part  of  this  being  within 
tidemark,  was  consequently  covered  and  left  dry 
alternately  with  every  tide,  and  no  vegetation,  ter- 
restrial or  marine,  was  apparent.  But  since  the 
reclamation  wall  was  finished,    and    the   salt   water 


HARD  WICKE'S    S CIENCE-  GOSSIP. 


281 


excluded,  alone;  a  muddy  place  on  the  sands  a  number 
of  marsh  plants  have  sprung  up,  and  some  of  the 
species  are  growing  in  great  abundance,  many  of 
them  being  at  this  date  (July  1st)  in  full  flower.  I 
have  observed  the  following : — Ranunculus  sceleratus, 
Nasturtium  officinale,  Stellaria  uliginosa,  Epilobium 
hirsutum,  Callitrichc  verna,  Veronica  Anagaffis, 
V.  Beccabunga,  Alisma  Plant  ago,  J  uncus  glaucus, 
y.  lampocarpus,  y.  bufonius,  Scirpus  setaceiis, 
Alopccurus  gcniculatus,  and  Calabrosa  aquatica.  The 
first  and  last-named  species  are  both  common  on  the 
coast  between  Leith  and  Portobello,  but  the  others 
appear  to  be  new.  Now  the  question  naturally 
occurs,  how  do  they  happen  to  be  springing  up 
there  ?  I  am  not  aware  of  any  satisfactory  explana- 
tion that  can  be  given,  and  supposition  will  throw  no 
light  on  the  subject.  But  as  all  who  take  an  interest 
in  the  matter  will  have  their  own  opinions,  the  fol- 
lowing is  given  as  a  possible,  if  not  a  very  feasible, 
one.  We  may  suppose  that  a  stream  once  entered 
the  frith  at  this  place,  that  aquatic  and  marsh  plants 
grew  in  and  around  its  margin,  that  its  mouth  was 
gradually  encroached  upon  and  covered  by  the  sea, 
and  the  marsh  plants  disappeared.  But  their  seeds 
remained  in  the  sand  in  a  state  of  dormant  vitality, 
and  withstood  the  action  of  salt-water  and  other 
adverse  influences,  perhaps  for  many  years,  till  now, 
surrounded  by  conditions  favourable  to  their  develop- 
ment, they  are  again  springing  up  into  life  and 
luxuriance. — D.  Douglas,  Leith. 

A  Day  at  Cliveden. — By  the  kind  permission 
of  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Westminster,  I  was  en- 
abled, on  Saturday,  July  6th  last,  to  take  my  class  at 
Westminster  Hospital  for  a  field-excursion  through 
the  above  grounds.  The  day  was,  in  every  sense, 
favourable  for  such  an  excursion,  and  the  result  was 
well  worth  the  journey  to  Taplow.  We  were  for- 
tunate enough  in  the  space  of  three  hours  to  collect 
some  119  different  species,  representing  thirty-nine 
natural  orders.  The  walk  from  Taplow  station  to 
Cliveden  is  one  of  the  best  to  be  found  round  London 
for  its  abundance  of  flowers  of  all  kinds,  and  the 
gravel-pits  en  route  are  a  storehouse  of  treasures  to 
the  enthusiastic  botanist,  who  will  find  himself  amply 
rewarded  for  any  trouble  taken  by  studies  of  many 
of  our  most  beautiful  wild-flowers,  from  Verbascum 
Thapsus,  which  grows  in  rare  luxuriance,  down  to  the 
humble  Fedia  olitoria.  The  Hypericacese  are  well 
represented,  no  fewer  than  eight  species  being  seen, 
and  Boraginaceae,  Dipsacea:,  Solanacece  (including 
Atropa  belladonna)  and  Onagracere  form  prominent 
features  in  the  neighbourhood.  A  longer  search 
would  doubtless  have  only  considerably  raised  the 
number  of  orders  represented,  seeing  that  our  in- 
vestigations, hurried  as  they  were,  produced  the  above 
number. — H.   IV.  S.   Worsley-Benison. 

Curious  Places  for  Nests. — I  dare  say  your 
readers  will  be  able  to  recall  curious  instances  of  the 
choice  birds  have  made  in  selecting  a  place  for  a  nest, 
but  perhaps  none  more  eccentric  than  the  follow- 
ing. A  short  time  back  a  tomtit  took  possession  of 
a  beehive,  deserted  by  its  proper  inmates,  and,  having 
cleared  out  the  comb,  filled  the  circumference  of  the 
hive  with  wool  and  moss,  in  the  centre  of  which  it 
built  its  nest  and  reared  its  young.  And  a  friend 
now  sends  me  another  curious  instance.  In  his  garden 
were  four  inverted  12-inch  pots.  The  titmouse 
must  have  had  curious  stairs  down  to  his  nest,  which 
was  budt  on  the  ground  in  the  last  pot.  —  George 
Dowker. 

Hawks  in  Ireland. — Can  you  give  me  any  infor- 
mation  about   the   various  species  of  hawks   to  be 


found  in  this  locality,  as  we  have  observed  four  distinct 
varieties,  and  have  captured  and  trained  two?  The 
one  we  have  at  present  is  ruddy-brown  on  back  and 
head,  with  black  bars,  tail  also  barred,  eye  black,  full, 
and  encircled  with  yellow  band  of  skin,  beak  with 
tooth  or  notch  in  upper  mandible,  emarginated  wing, 
with  notch  or  sinuosity  situated  near  the  end  of  the 
quills,  breast  fawn-colour,  with  black  markings 
perpendicularly  ;  he  has  a  moustache  of  black  hairs  on 
the  cheeks,  head  round  and  full.  The  first  hawk  we 
had  was  quite  different :  he  had  a  flattened  head,  with 
projecting  ledge  over  the  eye,  which  gave  him  quite 
a  sinister  expression  ;  back  very  dark  brown,  breast 
white,  with  horizontal  black  bars,  very  long  toes,  and 
curved  claws.  Both  these  birds  were  taken  from  the 
nest  and  tamed.  As  I  see  natural  monstrosities  some- 
times mentioned  in  your  journal,  I  mention  a  deformed 
chicken  which  was  hatched  here  and  preserved  by  me. 
It  has  four  legs,  three  of  the  legs  being  at  one  side, 
and  of  these  three  legs  two  have  the  elbow-joints 
reversed  (and  also  the  thigh-joint)  ;  there  is  but  one 
thigh-joint  for  the  two  superfluous  legs,  the  third  leg 
at  that  side  has  a  thigh-joint  in  the  natural  position  ; 
all  the  legs  are  perfect  as  to  feet,  claws,  &c.  This 
bird  chipped  the  shell,  but  died  in  coming  out.  It  is 
a  Bramah. 

Izaak  Walton. — Perhaps  some  of  the  readers 
of  Science-Gossip  may  be  interested  to  hear  that  a 
marble  bust  has  just  been  placed  in  St.  Mary's 
Church,  Stafford,  of  Izaak  Walton.  The  ceremony  of 
unveiling  was  performed  by  the  Earl  of  Lichfield. 
The  bust  has  inscribed  upon  it,  "Izaak  Walton, 
Piscator;  born  in  the  parish  of  Stafford,  August  9th, 
1593  ;  baptized  in  St.  Mary's  Church,  September 
2 1st,  1593  ;  buried  in  Winchester  Cathedral,  Decem- 
ber 19th,  1683.  Erected  by  public  subscription, 
1878."  The  bust  was  decorated  by  a  Stafford  lady 
with  various  water  and  other  plants,  such  as  the 
gentle  old  fisherman  loved  so  well,  and  which  still 
grow  luxuriantly  among  the  bright  streams,  so  plenti- 
ful about  his  native  town,  where  the  author  of  the 
"Complete  Angler"  first  imbibed  his  love  for  angling, 
and  still  greater  love  of  nature.  The  poor  of  Stafford 
receive  still  an  annual  benefit  from  the  friend  whose 
bust  they  can  now  look  at,  and  which  will,  in  a 
measure,  enable  them  to  realize  their  kind  benefactor. 
The  "Complete  Angler"  has  had  its  adverse  critics, 
but  Charles  Lamb,  in  a  letter  to  Coleridge,  the  poet, 
dated  October,  1796,  speaks  of  it  in  these  words  :  "It 
would  sweeten  a  man's  temper  at  any  time  to  read  it ; 
it  would  Christianize  every  discordant  angry  passion  : 
pray  make  yourself  master  of  it."  The  "  Complete 
Angler  "  has  gone  through  well-nigh  sixty  editions  in 
this  country  alone. — E.  Edwards. 

Spider  Instincts. — Seeing  a  paragraph  in  your 
September  number  illustrating  the  possession  of  an 
acute  instinct  in  spiders  encourages  me  to  trouble  you 
with  one  or  two  observations  of  a  like  nature  that  have 
come  across  myattention  in  watching  spiders'  motions. 
I  was  watching  recently  the  completion  of  a  web,  and 
observing  the  apparent  self-satisfaction  with  which 
the  spider  at  the  finish  settled  down,  after  some 
tightening  and  fortifying  processes,  in  the  centre. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  the  spider  in  question  settled 
down  as  if  in  the  full  happiness  of  a  domestic 
establishment — say,  house,  pictures,  and  so  on,  and 
the  only  remaining  need  would  be  the  daily  bread 
that  he  would  require.  Reflecting  thus,  I  wondered 
how  far  he  would  resent  any  infringement  or  slight 
disturbance  upon  his  "castle;"  to  ascertain  which, 
I  put  a  small  curled-up  leaf  through,  or  partly  so,  one 
of  the  interstices  at  the  lower  part  of  the  web.     I  w.is 


282 


HARD  WICKE  'S     SCIENCE  -  G  OSS  I  P. 


astonished  at  the  promptitude  of  Mr.  Spider's  observa- 
tion :  he  was  at  once  militant,  and  sallied  forth,  and 
gradually  one   by  one  appeared  to  unhook  the  web 
wherever  it  had  hold  of  the  upper  part  of  the  leaf,  so 
that  being  thus  loosed  the  leaf  rolled  over  until  again 
suspended  at  a  lower  level  (i.e.  just  the  breadth  of  the 
curl  of  the  leaf)  by  the  film  which  had  fastened  to  the 
lower    part  originally,   and    which,   of   course,   now 
became  the  top  part.      Quicker  than  the  time  taken 
to  read  this,  the  spider  seemed  in  like  manner  to 
unfasten  the  newly-placed  upper  part,  and  of  course 
the   leaf   rolled    over    again,    and    this    method    of 
proceeding  was  continued  until  at  last  the  leaf  was 
rolled  beyond  the  limits  of  the  web.    Thus  freed  from 
such  an  intrusion,  the  spider  seemed  to  squat  down 
again   comfortably  enough  in    the    centre.       Surely, 
thought  I,  another  attempt  will  not  be  cruel,  and  so  I 
placed  an  angular  bit  of  a  leaf  (about  half  an  inch 
square)  in  the  upper  part  of  the  web.   Immediately  my 
friend  started  forthagain.   Takingstock  of  theinvading 
leaf,  he  seemed  to  decide  that  a  new  method  of  attack 
was    necessary   in    this     case,   and    so    he    speedily 
unbuckled  each  entangled    corner  of   the  leaf,   and 
grasping  the  latter  with  the  full  expanse  of  all  his 
limbs,  he  seemed  to  take  it  out  of  the  mesh,  and  by 
a  herculean  feat  to  expel  and  throw  it  away  outwardly 
from  all  contiguity  with  the  web,  so  that  it  at  once 
fell  to  the  ground.     After  this,   he  returned  to  the 
domestic  hearth  in  the    centre.       I    was    singularly 
struck  by  the   apparent  method  pursued  in  face  of 
these  difficulties,  and  did  not  again  impose  upon  his 
good  nature  for  any  further  edification.     On  another 
occasion,  a  very  large  spider  had  spun  a  web  across 
the  frontage  of  some  Virginian  creeper  leaves.    I  had 
no  experimental  intention  in  disturbing  the  "animal," 
and  so,    I  forget  whether    I  destroyed  the  web    or 
merely  commenced  by  teasing  the  spider.      Which- 
ever it  was  I  however  remember  that  he  presently 
beat  a  quick  retreat  beneath   some  of    the    curved 
leaves,  and  from  one  place  of  refuge  to  another  I 
continued  to  fidget  him.     At  last — perhaps  he  was 
exhausted — he  seemed  to  say,  "  I  shall  go  no  further," 
and  the  little  twig  (about  a  foot  long)   in  my  hand 
with  which  I  had  teased  him,  failed  to  dislodge  him 
from  his  chosen  refuge.     He  kicked  out  in  reprisal 
to  my  annoying  him,    and   seemed  to  wince,    so  I 
imagined,   with   great  indignation.     While  this  was 
going  on,   I  happened  to  pull  my  twig   of   branch 
nearer  to  myself,  and  observed  that  the  spider  had 
attached  a  line  to  the  end  of  it,  and  that  it  was  con- 
tinuous and  unbroken.      It  immediately  struck  me  to 
test  the  length  to  which,   in    the  spider's  wrath,   I 
might  extend  the    film.      Steadily  and    carefully   I 
carried  my  twig  across  a  distance  of  about  9  or  10 
paces  of  ground  (about  22  feet)  and  fixed  the  free  end 
of  the  twig  branch  into  the  trunk  of  an  adjacent  tree. 
I  had  therefore  stretched  a   fine   filamentous  thread 
across  a  distance  I   never  expected,  and  although  it 
was  so  exceedingly  fine  and  attenuated  that  it  was  only 
by  difficulty  that  I  could  trace  its  course,  yet  it  was 
apparently  as   continuous  and  intact   as  a  telegraph 
wire.     To  prove  this,  I   picked  up  some  blades  of 
grass,   and  by  bending  them   into  an  angle    I    was 
enabled  to  hang  them  ztpon  the    spider    line.       At 
varying  distances  I  placed  a  blade  here    and  then  a 
blade  there — only,  by-the-by,   in  single  blades,  for  I 
was  afraid  of  overtaxing  the  "  line."     If  I  remember 
aright,     I   had   hung  up    five    of  these  blades ;   but 
the    weight    of   the  sixth    proved    to    lie   the  straw 
which  broke  the  camel's  back — my  line  broke.    This 
seemed  an  extraordinary  case,  for  the  spider  seemed  to 
throw  out  an  unlimited  length  of  "  wire,''  and  seeing  I 
was  enabled  to  put  thereon  five  or  six  blades  of  grass — 
each   blade  being  probably   of  greater  weight   than 


the  whole  length  of  film — he  might  perhaps  have 
allowed  me  to  "runout"  30  feet  or  more  of  his 
gossamer  thread  had  I  carried  my  twig  that  length 
in  the  first  place.  My  last  observation  of  spider 
instinct  has  been  in  the  construction  of  the  web  itself, 
but  I  fear  to  trespass  further  on  your  space  just  now, 
however  interesting  and  wonderful  these  phenomena 
of  nature  and  life  may  be. — J.  F.  S. 

Engineering  Skill  of  a  Spider.— The  follow- 
ing specimen  of  the  engineering  skill  possessed  by  a 
spider  may  possibly  interest  your  readers.  It  was 
discovered  in  an  office  in  this  town  (Omagh),  and  was 
kindly  shown  to  me  by  a  gentleman  connected  with 
the  concern.  A  spider,  desirous  of  making  a  web, 
being  either  hard-up  or  taking  a  thoughtful  view  of 
matters,  appropriated  a  string  for  an  outside  border, 
and  that  in  a  very  curious  manner.  The  string  was 
a  stout  one,  and  hung  perpendicularly  from  a  beam. 
Moreover,  it  had  a  copper-wire  hook  attached  to  its 
end.  The  spider  must  have  crept  clown  the  string, 
and  fixed  the  end  of  one  of  its  own  lines  to  the  eye 
of  the  copper  hook,  then  ascended  the  string,  carrying 
its  own  line  with  it,  walked  along  the  beam  as  far  as 
nine  inches,  and  then  fixed  the  other  end  of  its  line. 
It  must  then  have  pulled  bit  by  bit  at  the  line,  till  it 
had  drawn  up  the  copper  hook,  and  made  the  string 
describe  a  curve;  and  considering  the  size  of  the 
string  and  the  size  of  the  spider,  it  must  have  been  a 
rather  arduous  task,  requiring  plenty  of  patience  and 
perseverance.  It  then,  by  a  few  more  lines  cleverly 
placed,  managed  to  relieve  the  strain  on  the  main 
line,  and  complete  the  foundation.  The  web  was 
never  completed,  but  was  left  in  its  present  unfinished 
condition. — Isaac  Crawford. 

Cat  and  Rabbit. — When  living  in  Essex  a  few 
years  back  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  splendid 
cat,  of  a  glossy  black  from  the  tips  of  his  whiskers  to 
the  end  of  his  tail.  In  temper  and  disposition  he 
differed  from  most  pussies,  for  he  was  a  morose  old 
fellow,  and  seemed  to  have  very  little  affection  for 
anything  but  cat's-meat.  The  cry  of  "meat  "  seemed 
to  electrify  him,  but  after  his  "  haporth  "  had  been 
duly  disposed  of  he  would  retire  within  himself,  and 
take  no  further  heed  of  temporal  things.  A  more 
unsociable  old  Turk  could  not  well  be  imagined. 
And  yet — would  you  believe  it?— this  reserved  old 
character  had  a  soul  (or  its  equivalent)  tucked  away 
somewhere  under  that  black  exterior,  and  this  is  what 
brought  it  out.  Another  member  was  added  to  the 
family  in  the  shape  of  a  glossy  black  and  white  rabbit, 
which  in  a  short  time  was  leading  a  very  ' '  free  and 
easy"  life  on  the  premises.  Well,  between  this 
pretty  creature  and  the  morose  old  "blacky"  an 
acquaintance  sprang  up  which  by  degrees  ripened 
into  a  downright  fancy  for  each  other's  society.  Then 
they  took  to  romping  and  playing  together,  and 
after  a  time  the  two  oddly-matched  animals  might 
be  seen  lying  on  the  hearthrug  together,  pussy's  sable 
paws  lovingly  clasped  round  bunny's  snowy  neck. — 
W.  H.   Warner. 

A  Mysterious  Gift. — I  beg  to  draw  P.  A. 
Allan's  attention  to  the  following  paragraph,  relating 
to  the  wonderful  power  of  sight  possessed  by  M. 
Fillifay.  It  is  taken  from  awork  entitled  "Mauritius 
or  the  Isle  of  France,"  by  the  Rev.  F.  P.  Flemyng, 
M.A.,  F.R.G.S.  "It  was  from  this  station  (viz.  the 
long  Mountain)  that  the  notable  M.  Fillifay,  some 
years  ago,  used  to  astonish  the  colonists,  and  indeed 
the  world,  by  the  singular  power  of  sight  which  he 
possessed.  His  time  for  observation  was  usually  at 
dawn,  and  by  directing  his  vision  to  the  clear  unclou- 
ded sky  (and  not  to  the  horizon),  he  could  behold, 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


283 


inverted  (with  the  naked  eye),  any  object  within  the 
singular  circuit  of  his  sight.  The  accuracy  of  his 
observations  was  verified  when  the  British  squadron 
was  assembling  at  Rodrigues  (an  island  300  miles 
eastward  of  Mauritius),  in  the  year  18 10,  for  the 
attack  upon  the  island.  M.  Fillifay  stated  so  to  the 
French  governor,  and  was,  it  is  said,  imprisoned  for 
raising  false  alarms.  At  another  time  he  discerned 
what  he  described  as  two  ships  joined  together,  or,  if 
there  were  such  a  thing,  a  four-masted  vessel  ;  within 
a  few  days  a  four-masted  American  schooner  arrived 
in  Port  Louis  harbour.  He  also  described  a  large 
Indiaman  dismasted  when  nearly  400  miles  from  the 
island,  and  afterwards  announced  that  he  could  see  that 
she  was  erecting  jury-masts,  and  was  steering  for  that 
port.  This  proved  to  be  the  case.  He  was  a  pen- 
sionnaire  on  the  Treasury,  and  for  years  used  to  render 
*  his  report '  at  the  Port-captain's  office,  which  was 
always  written  down  by  the  officer  as  he  laconically 
announced  it:  A  ship,  N.E.  200  miles,  nearly 
becalmed  ;  a  schooner,  W.,  will  make  the  land  to- 
morrow ;  two  brigs  standing  to  the  southward,  &c. 
It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that,  although  this  old  man 
visited  Bourbon,  Europe,  and  several  other  places,  he 
was  unable  to  exercise  this  singular  faculty  of  vision 
anywhere  but  at  Mauritius.  This,  most  probably, 
arose  from  the  singular  rarity  of  the  atmosphere  on 
this  island,  which  is  certainly  most  remarkable.  He 
is  since  dead.  He  professed,  at  one  period  of  his 
life,  to  be  able  to  teach  this  mode  of  vision,  and  even 
obtained  a  fair  and  ambitious  pupil,  but  he  found 
that  a  Power  beyond  his  could  alone  impart  this 
wonderful  gift." — J.  Henry  Maughan. 

Have  Palms  Tap-roots  ? — As  a  rule  the  radicle 
of  monocotyledonous  seeds  is  little,  if  at  all,  developed ; 
so  that  tap-roots  are  generally  said  not  to  occur  in  the  , 
class.  A  true  tap-root  must  be  the  direct  prolongation 
of  the  radicle.  Palms  seem,  however,  to  be  some- 
what exceptional,  to  judge  from  the  most  readily 
accessible  account  of  their  germination,  viz.,  that  in 
Mr.  W.  B.  Hemsley's  papers  on  Garden  Botany  in 
the  Garden,  vol.  xiii.  (187S),  p.  288  (March  30), 
from  which  I  take  the  substance  of  what  follows. 
The  radicle  or  primary  root  is  very  often  vigorous  in 
seedlings,  but  it  is  stated  that  it  is  soon  replaced  by 
succeeding  roots  which  appear  above  its  apex,  i.e.  are 
lateral  adventitious  roots  like  those  of  bulbs.  Whether 
this  is  invariably  the  case  is  uncertain  ;  but  the  genus 
Borassus  is  a  good  example  of  this  replacement. 
The  stout  tap-root  of  the  young  seedling  in  this  genus 
is  soon  surrounded  by  adventitious  roots,  to  which  it 
surrenders  its  work,  itself  dying  off.  In  another 
genus,  Sabal,  however,  the  primary  root  seems  to 
be  a  lateral  outgrowth  of  the  embryo,  the  radicle 
apparently  not  being  at  all  developed.  On  the  whole, 
the  preacher  who  said  that  palnW>ft?j  had  not  tap- 
roots was  decidedly  nearer  the  truth  of  the  two. — 
G.  S.  Bonlger. 

Hackney  Microscopical  and  Natural  His- 
tory Society  (194,  Mare-street). — The  members  of 
this  society  made  another  excursion  on  Saturday 
afternoon,  the  19th  October,  under  the  presidency  of 
one  of  the  honorary  members,  Worthington  Smith, 
Esq.,  F.L.S.,  F.R.M.S.  The  place  of  assignation 
was  Chingford,  from  thence  through  the  old  forest  to 
High  Beech,  returning  by  way  of  Lough  ton.  The 
special  objects  of  research  were  "fungi,"  which  are 
found  in  this  part  of  the  forest  in  quantity  and  variety 
sufficient  to  repay  the  labours  of  the  numerous  com- 
pany assembled,  though  comprising  entomologists, 
microscopists,  and  students  devoted  to  other  branches 
of  natural  history.     The  weather  was  fine,  perhaps 


rather  too  dry  for  the  specific  object  in  view  ;  the 
forest  was  clothed  in  the  varied  tints  of  its  autumnal 
foliage.  The  way  being  led  by  such  an  authority  on 
"  fungi  "  as  the  president  for  the  occasion,  gave  to 
the  excursion  an  interest  and  charm  peculiarly  enjoy- 
able ;  and  the  instruction  thus  gained  by  an  afternoon 
spent  in  the  investigation  of  this  page  of  nature's 
history  will  long  be  remembered  by  those  who  were 
so  fortunate  as  to  be  present.  No  fewer  than  thirty- 
six  species  of  fungi  were  collected  and  identified. 

What  was  the  "Fagus"  of  the  Latins? — 
Was  the  Rev.  J.  Mitford  (formerly  editor  of  the 
Gentleman 's  Magazine)  right  when  he  asserted  that 
"fagus"  must  mean  the  sweet  chestnut?  because 
Caesar  says  the  Britons  had  not  the  fagus.  Landing 
in  Kent  or  Sussex,  Cassar  must  have  seen  the  beeches, 
which  love  a  chalky  subsoil.  The  "Spanish  c/iestmd," 
as  it  is  often  called,  is  no  doubt  an  importation  from 
abroad. —  W.  H.  Freeman,  Reepham,  Norwich. 

Lapwing  and  Hawk. — Some  five  years  ago 
Mr.  G.  R.  Bull,  of  Stafford  (who  related  to  me  the 
incident),  was  driving  out  one  morning,  a  few  miles 
from  Stafford,  with,  I  believe,  Dr.  Day,  when  they 
suddenly  heard  a  confused  rustling  noise  overhead, 
and  something  then  plumped  down  into  the  ditch  by 
the  roadside.  On  alighting  they  found  a  hawk  and 
lapwing  in  deadly  embrace,  the  hawk's  talons  em- 
bedded in  the  lapwing's  breast,  the  bird  just  expiring  ; 
the  hawk  already  dead,  from  the  beak  of  the  lapwing 
being  fixed  in  the  eye  and  brain  of  his  enemy.  As 
the  latter  had  made  his  fatal  pounce,  the  intended 
victim  had  made  one  supreme  effort,  and  by  a  lucky 
peck  in  the  one  vulnerable  spot,  avenged  his  own 
death.—  Alf.  Freer. 

Ornithological  Instruments. — Where  can 
scissors  for  cutting  the  bones  of  the  embryo  in  birds' 
eggs,  described  in  Prof.  Newton's  "  Suggestions  for 
forming  Collections  of  Birds'  Eggs,"  be  procured?  also 
German-silver  blowpipes  ? — Beta. 

Arge  Galatea. — Could  any  of  your  correspon- 
dents inform  me  as  to  whether  Arge  Galatea  has  ever 
been  noticed  near  Bedford  before  ?  I  took  a  rather  fine 
specimen  at  the  close  of  August  this  year. —  W.  E. 
Fairbridge,  Bedford. 

"  Bob-OWLERS." — It  may  interest  those  of  your 
readers  who  care  to  note  the  local  names  of  plants, 
insects,  &c,  to  know  that  in  Staffordshire  the  thick- 
bodied   moths   are    called    "  Bob-owlers." — K.   D., 

Almondsbury. 


NOTICES   TO    CORRESPONDENTS, 


To  Correspondents  and  Exchangers.  —  As  we  now- 
publish  Science-Gossip  a  week  earlier  than  heretofore,  we 
cannot  possibly  insert  in  the  following  number  any  communi- 
cations which  reach  us  later  than  the  9th  of  the  previous 
month. 


W.  T.  Horn.— Thanks  for  the  specimen  of  Helichrysiott,. 
which,  unfortunately,  was  jumbled  into  an  indistinguishable 
mass  when  it  reached  us.  Get  Burbidge's  "  Cool  Orchids  and 
How  to  Grow  Them,"  with  plates,  published  by  Hardwicke  & 
Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly,  price  6s.  It  is  the  best  work  of  the 
kind  we  know. 

A  Young  Beginner.— Mr.  Collins  has  recently  issued  what 
he  calls  a  "  Histological  Microscope,"  at  ^5.  10s.,  which 
would  answer  all  your  requirements.  It  is  a  marvel  of  me- 
chanical skill,  and  can  be  easily  stowed  away.  It  is  sufficient 
for  all  the  requirements  of  a  natural  history  student. 

W.  H.  Jones.-  The  spikes  of  Plantago  are  the  largest  we 
have  seen. 


2S4 


HARDWICKE' S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


E.  E.  Evans. — For  details  concerning  the  construction  of  an 
Egg  Cabinet  see  "  Notes  on  Collecting  and  Preserving  Natural 
History  Objects,"  price  3s.  6d.,  published  by  Hardwicke  & 
Bogue. 

K.  D.  (Almondsbury).  —  Orbitoliiia.  is  a  genus  of  fora- 
7/iiui/crir. 

G.  O.  Howell. — The  calyx  segment  of  the  Bud  of  Fuchsia 
you  enclosed  has  reverted  to  the  condition  of  a  true  leaf. 

H.  F.  Rasell.— Get  "Half-Hours  with  the  Microscope," 
bv  Dr.  Lankester,  with  chapter  on  the  "  Polarisation  of  Light," 
by  F.  Kitton,  published  at  4s.  by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192, 
Piccadilly,  London. 

A.  Smith. — Get  Cooke's  "  Microscopic  Fungi,"  (illustrated) 
price  6s.     London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly. 

K.  D. — Bentham's  "  Handbook  of  the  British  Flora,"  pub- 
lished by  L  Reeve  &  Co.  ;  and  the  Second  Edition  of 
"  Hooker's  Student's  Flora  of  Great  Britain,"  just  out,  pub- 
lished  by  Macmillan. 

R.  Rattray. — Many  thanks  for  your  excellently  mounted 
slide  of  Licmophora  flabellata. 

M.  Shaw. — Accept  our  thanks  for  seedlings  of  the  Date 
Palm. 

W.  H.  Shrubsole.  —  "Banded-flints"  were  originally 
formed  by  the  filling-up  of  cavities  in  nodules,  layer  by  layer. 
Subsequently  the  nodules  have  been  broken  up,  and  the  harder 
banded  parts  liberated,  and  rolled  into  the  shapes  and  appear- 
ance in  which  you  see  them.  (2).  The  boring  appears  to  have 
been  made  by  some  other  mollusc  than  Teredo.  (3).  No  doubt 
the  concretionary  nodules,  and  the  appearances  you  describe, 
are  due  to  the  soft,  decomposing,  organic  matter  of  the  animals 
whose  hard  parts  usually  form  the  nuclei,  having  caused 
chemical  segregation. 

To  Querists. — We  are  obliged  to  postpone  the  publication 
of  several  answers  until  our  next,  on  account  of  want  of  space. 


n    exchange  for 
D.    Russell,  48, 


EXCHANGES. 

In  exchange  for  a  few  Microscopical  Slides,  a  Flying  Fish 
8J4  inches  in  length,  from  Pacific  Ocean. — W.  E.  Barker,  Jesus 
College,  Cambridge. 

In  exchange,  a  Centipede  (in  spirits)  from  Honolulu. — W.  E. 
Barker,  Jesus  College,  Cambridge,  for  Microscopical  Slides. 

Wanted,  Perfect  Specimens  of  sEcidiacei,  unmounted. 
Several  species  of  Puccinia,  Uromyces,  &c.  offered. — E.  W. 
Halway,  Decora,  Iowa,  U.S.A. 

A  naturalist  having  a  large  collection  of  British  and 
Foreign  Birds'  Skins  at  his  disposal  would  be  glad  to  hear  from 
any  gentleman  requiring  the  same,  either  in  lots  or  singly,  in 
exchange  for  other  Skins.— W.  Barrett  Roue,  165,  White 
Ladies'-road,  Bristol. 

Several  splendid  Slides  of  Algae  for  well-mounted  Parasites, 
also  British  Butterflies,  and  some  Birds'  Eggs,  including  gold 
crest,  black-cap,  great  tit,  redstart,  and  several  others,  about 
twenty-five  in  all.  Desiderata,  Birds'  Skins,  particularly  hawk, 
owl,  or  woodpecker  tribe,  or  swallows  and  British  Lepidoptera, 
not  in  collection. — W.  Barrett  Roue,  165,  White  Ladies'-road, 
Bristol. 

Wanted,  Devonian  Rocks  and  Fossils, 
specimens  from  other  formations. — Thomas 
Essex-street,  Strand,  W.C. 

Wanted,  P.  machaou,  G.  rhamni,  C.  Hyale,  C.  edusa, 
A.  cratccgi,  A.  Galathea,  in  exchange  for  British  Birds'  Eggs, 
blown  with  one  hole. — T.  V.  Devey,  Woodland,  Cockfield, 
Darlington. 

Cornish  Rocks  and  Minerals,  Diallage,  Serpentine,  Steatite, 
Mica  Schist,  Luxubganite,  Schorlite,  Schorl,  &c. ,  in  exchange 
for  Scientific  Books,  Fossils,  Rock  specimens,  and  Minerals. — 
J.  S.  Ilsley,  6,  Trevethen-terrace,  Falmouth,  Cornwall. 

Erytknen  latifolia  (vera)  and  460^  for  the  following,  ex- 
clusively, io\b,  153  var.  ?,  158^,  202c,  215,  461^,  536,  544  to 
546,  691^,  708,  721,  86ii,  874/',  934,  970/;,  1212,  1219c,  1223, 
1228,  1238,  1262,  1266,  1267,  1282c,  1298,  1453,  1457,  1476?', 
1554,  1624. — J.  Harbord  Lewis,  145,  Windsor-street,  Liverpool. 

i, 000  polished  specimens  of  Madrepores,  Minerals,  Fossils, 
British  Shells,  in  exchange  for  foreign  Shells,  good  Ferns 
from  coal  measures,  or  good  Silurian  Fossils.  Will  also  send 
good  polish  slabs  of  Madrepore  for  slabs  of  the  Bristol  or 
Clifton  Landscape  Stone,  or  a  box  of  rough  Madrepores  for  a 
box  of  good  and  well-marked  rough  Landscape  Stone. — A.  J.  R. 
Sclater,  Naturalist,  9,  Bank-street,  Teignmouth,  Devonshire. 

For  a  pair  of  Fedonia  Conspicuata  (frosted  yellow),  send  a 
good  slide  of  clean  Diatoms  or  Anatomic  human,  for  half  an 
ounce  of  foreign  sand,  containing  foraminifera,  specular  talc, 
&c. — Send  slides  as  above. — E.  Eaton,  48,  Currier's-lane,  Ips- 
wich. 

I  am  collecting  various  Specimens  of  Pond  Life,  and  shall  be 
glad  to  exchange  for  unmounted  or  mounted  microscopic 
objects  or  accessories.  Wanted  particularly,  unmounted 
anatomical  sections,  either  stained  or  injected. — C.  W.  Lawton, 
5,  Montpelier  Vale,  Blackheath,  S.E. 

Wanted,  Diatoms  and  Desmids,  good  slides  of  material, 
in  exchange  for  other  slides  or  rare  British  Plants,  L.  C.  Nos. 
104,  146,  184,  176,  253,  368,  527,  556,  611,  704,  767,  769,  831, 
858>   9J3>   929,   975.   999>   1001,     1130,     1218,     1293,   1519,   and 


1  many  other  lists  exchanged. — J.  Tempere,  12,  Cecil-street. 
Moss-side,  Manchester. 

Licmophora  JJabcllata,  growing  on  algaa,  stained  and 
I  mounted  in  balsam,  for  good  samples  of  Marine  Diatomaceous 
Earths. — R.  Rattray,  30,  Balfour-street,  Dundee. 

Specimens  of  the  new  mineral  Hullite,  described  at  last 
meeting  of  British  Association,  also  Trachyte,  Chalcedony, 
&c,  from  the  basalt  of  county  Antrim,  in  exchange  for  Lias, 
or  Cretaceous  Fossils,  or  recent  British  Shells. — William  Gault, 
68,  Christopher-street,  Belfast. 

Oi-'fered  Nos.  hi,  140,  155^,  169,  184,  203,  315,  326,  354, 
355.  363>.  587,  622,  812,  813,  1128,  1264,  1281,  1290,  1297,  1584, 
1586,  Trifolium  stellatum,  and  many  others,  for  rare  or  local 
British  plants. — J.  H.  A.  Jenner,  4,  East-street,  Lewes. 

Volume  of  "  Palaeontographical  Society  "  for  1878.  What 
offers?  Wanted,  sixth  edition,  "Chaffers  on  China." — James 
Griffin,  3,  South  Bar,  Banbury. 

Wanted,  to  purchase  Smith's  "British  Diatomacea;"  and 
Pritchard's  "  Infusoria."  A  good  price  will  be  given. — Apply 
to  J.  F.,  n,  Truro  Vean-terrace,  Truro. 

Wanted,  -j8a.b.c,  106,  108,  119,  175,  202,  367^,  467,  477,  637, 
7OI>  737.  747'''.  8l9..  828>  839,  945,  1020,  1082,  1095/',  1255,  1484, 
1507,  163 1,  &c,  in  exchange  for  rare  plants.— G.  C.  Druce, 
Northampton. 

Wanted,  all  kinds  of  unmounted  Microscopical  Material,  in 
exchange  for  other  specimens. — Alpha,  16,  Brunswick-street, 
Poplar,  E. 

For  exchange,  a  quantity  of  well-mounted  histological 
specimens  (duplicates). — C.  James,  19,  Vincent-terrace,  Isling- 
ton, N. 

For  injected  Human  Kidney,  stained  Human  Intestine, 
Gomphoncma gemiiiatum ',  wing  of  Brazilian  Butterfly,  scale  of 
Pollack,  and  Japanese  grass  (polariscope).  Send  any  well- 
mounted  Balsam  Slide  to  J.  A.  Kay,  Mansion-house,  Brompton, 
Chatham. 

Offered:— A  small  collection  of  American  Birds'  Skins. 
Wanted  : — Fossil  fish  remains  or  offers. — T.  Stock,  16,  Colville- 
place,  Edinburgh. 

American,  Bermudas,  European,  British  Eggs,  side  blown  ; 
many  rarities,  Eleonora  falcon,  Rufus  swallow,  Wall  creeper, 
Phaeton  flavirostus  (tropic  bird\  Rock  thrush,  Turdus  cyaneus 
(Eastern  thrush),  Alpine  chough,  &c,  in  exchange  for  others. 
— Sissons,  Shanon,  Sheffield. 

Rare  British  Vertigos. — Correct  and  well  authenticated 
specimens  of  Vertigos,  Autivertigo  pusilla,  miiiutissima, 
Aipcstris,  substriata,  and  augustior,  offered  in  exchange  for 
really  good  and  choice  Foreign  Shells,  land  preferred  to  marine  ; 
also  offered,  Lim.  involuta,  Succinea  oblonga,  Unio  margariti- 
Jera,  valvata,  cristata,  Baliea  fragilis,  Clausilia  rugosa, 
var.,  Schlecktii.  Wanted,  Pupa  ringens,  Achatina  acicula, 
Conoviilus  bidentatus,  var.,  alius,  Tcstacella  haliotoidea,  Lim. 
Burnetii,  and  Acme  lineata. — W.  Sutton,  Upper  Claremont, 
Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

Wanted,  Microscopic  Fungi,  mounted  ;  will  exchange 
Crystals  or  other  objects  for  the  same. — A.  Smith,  Essex-road, 
London. 

Wanted,  Microscopic  Fungi,  unmounted  ;  other  Fungi  will 
be  sent  in  exchange. — A.  Smith,  Essex-road,  London. 

Shells,  Carycliiiim  minimum,  &c,  for  other  good  land, 
fresh  water,  or  marine  Shells,  or  offers. — Mrs.  Skilton,  London- 
road,  Brentford,  Middlesex. 


BOOKS,  &c,  RECEIVED. 

"The  Geology  of  Ireland."     By  G.  H.  Kinahan.     London 
C.  Kegan  Paul. 

"  The  Beginning."  By  H.  P.  Malet.  London  :  Triibner 
&  Co.  "Abstracts  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Liverpool  Geo- 
logical Society"  (from  the  commencement  in  1859). 

"American  Naturalist." 

"American  Journal  of  Microscopy." 

Potter's  "American   Monthly." 

"  Boston  Journal  of  Chemistry." 

"  Botanische  Zeitung." 

"  Chambers's  Journal." 

"  Ben  Bratley's  Journal." 

"  Land  and  Water." 

&c.  &c.  &c. 


Communications    received    up   to    8th    ult.    from: — 

E.  W.   H.  — F.  W.  B.— C.  C— J.  M.   S.— W.  H.  J.— C.  P.— 

F.  K.— W.  L.  B.— W.  C.  T.— W.  E.  F.— E.  E.  E.— W. 
L.  S.— K.  A.  D.-W.  J.  H.— J.  O.  B.— C.  W.— C.  F.— 
W.  S.  W.— W.  E.  G.— S.  M.-C.  W.  C— A.  J.  R.  S.—  W.  L. 
— J.  W.  S.— J.  M.  W.-A.  H.— H.  J.—  W.  H.  F.—  T.  M. 
R._A.  F.— T.  V.  D.— W.  B.  R.— R.  A.  R.— H.  B.— J.  H. 
L— M.  H.  R.— J.  D.  R.  — T.  E.  L.— M.  K.— A.  T.— W.  G. 
—A.  H.  H.— J.  H.  A.  J.— J.  D.— C.  W.  L.— A.  W.— H.  M. 
-R.  R.-M.  V.— W.  W.—  J.  T.-T.  W.— F.  J.  F  — W.  M. 
B.— H.  P.  M.— T.  L.— C.  T.  B.— J.  N.  D.— A.  W.— J.  G.— 
J.  B. -W.  J.  M.— M.  S.— C.  A.  J.— R.  H.  M.— J.  M.  M.— 
J.  F.  -A.  S.— J.  D.  O.-G.  C.  D.— W.  S.— M.  E.  M.  H.— 
W.  B.— J.  W.  S.— T.  S.— J.  A.  K.-&C  &c. 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSS  I  P. 


285 


INDEX    TO     VOL.     XIV, 


-*o*- 


Acarus,  A  ~R\-RE.(Glyciphagus  plumiger), 

152- 

Actinocyclus  Barklyi,  88 

Albertia,  278 

Albite  and  Orthose,  Artificial,  117 

Algae,  British  Marine,  40,  66 

Algse,  British  Marine,  Mounting  of,  37 

Algae,  Parasitic,  37 

America,  Microscopy  in,  184 

America,  Tertiary  Flora  of,  165 

American  Lake  Region,  Geology  of,  261 

Amoeba,  Marine,  112 

Ancient  Vegetation,  140,  165 

Animal  Bones,  Preservation  of,  24 

Animal  Life,  New  Forms  of,  231 

Animal  Ventriloquism,  279 

Animalculse,  How  to  Preserve,  22 

Animals,  Fur-bearing,  41 

Animals,  How  to  Preserve,  22,  38,  39,  215, 

237,  279 
<\nimals,  Wild,  Destruction  of  Human  Life 

by,  280 
Annelid,  "  Dero,"  the,  10 
Ants,  How  to  Destroy,  143,  158,  165 
Apium  gravcolcus,  193 
Aquaria,  Cheap,  167,  190 
Aquaria,  Marine,  Cement  for,  23 
Aquaria  for  Microscopic  Work,  119,  136, 

137.  Hi 

Aquaria,  Sticklebacks  in,  23,  95 

Aquarium,  Brighton,  Notes  at,  153 

Aquarium,  Freshwater,  Hints  as  to  form- 
ing a,  71 

Aquarium,  Matters  Relating  to,  143 

Aquilegia,  147 

Arge,  Galatea,  283 

Argillornis  longipennis,  41 

Artificial  Precious  Stones,  20 

Arum  Italicum,  186,  211,  235 

Arum  maculatum,  211 

Asplenium  septentrionale  and  Germaui- 
cum,  18,  40,  65,  93 

Aust,  Rhcetic  Beds  of  Fossils  in,  271 

Balsam,  Removal  of  Surplus,  141 

"  Banded  Flints,  284 

Barbastelle,  the,  91 

Barbots,  238 

Bark  Bread,  280 

Batrachospermum,  167 

Bears,  Tame,  in  Sweden,  5 

Beatty,  the  late  Dr.,  15 

Bees,  Fondness  of  for  Paint,  213 

Bees,  Humble,  in  New  Zealand,  67,  89 

Beetles,  as  Female  Ornaments,  258 

Beetles,  Black,  Bait  for,  95 

Beetle,  Potato,  1 

Beetle,  the  Furniture,  22,  38,  71 

Belt,  Mr.  Thomas,  Death  of,  260 

Betularia,  the,  46 

Biological     Association     of    the     Dublin 

University,   16 
Birds,  Arctic,  16 
Birds'  Eggs  of,  43 
Birds'  Eggs,  Acts  Relating  to,  117 
Birds,  Migration  of,  238,  262 
Birds,  Mimicry  in,  137 
Birds,  Pairing  of,  21,  6g,  141,  262 
Birds,  Parasites  on,  262 


Birds,  Rare,  Slaughter  of,  64,  214,  258 

Birds,  Songs  of,  262 

Blackbird,  Nest  of  a,  166 

Blackbird,  a  Cream-coloured,  215 

Blind-worms,  Food  for,  144 

Blossoming,  Curious  Modes  of,  70 

Blowfly,  Teeth  of,  147 

Bob-owlers,  283 

Bombus  lapidarius,  90 

Bombus  terrestris,  90 

Bones,  Fluid  for  Strengthening,  118 

Borrago      officinalis     (Borage),       Early 

Flowering  of,  114 
Bos  palaindicus,  236 
Botanical  Curiosities,  its 
Botanical   Exchange   Club,   the   Science 

Gossip  Report  of,  73 
Botanical  Holiday,  a  Dominie's,  3 
Botanical  Localities,  68 
Botanical  Work  for  April,  82 
Botanical  Work  for  June,  122 
Botanical  Work  for  July,  159 
Botanist,  the  Critical,  242 
Botany,  18,  39,  64,  91,  114,  138,  161,  185, 

209,  235,  259,  278 
Botany  of  the  Channel  Islands,  118,  141 
Botaurus  stellaris  (the  Bittern),  64 
Bow,  the  Lunar,  45 
Box,  Collecting,  a  New,  269 
Brachiopoda  of  the  Atlantic,  137 
Brachydiastematherium,  261 
Bramble,  the,  near  London,  203,  218 
Bristol,  Fossils  in   the  Neighbourhood  of, 

271 
British  Association,  Meeting  of,  at  Dublin, 

185 
"  Bruce,"  the  Manchester  Fire-horse,  202 
Burrington  Combe,  Fossils  at,  172 
Buttercup,  Derivation  of  Name,  191 
Butterfly,     a     Five-winged     (Gouopteryx 

rhamni),  17 

Cabbage  Leaf,  Teratology  of,  201 

Cader  Idris,  Flora  on,  39 

Calloptine,  a  New  Oil  from  Dead  Locusts, 

64 
Calluna  vulgaris,  3 

Camberwell  Beauty,  Varieties  of,  165,  190 
Campanula  rotundifolia  (the  Hairbell),  3, 

Canada  Balsam  in  India,  137,  160 
Canada,  Natural  History  Notes  on,  222 
Carboniferous  Amphibia,  236 
Carboniferous      Limestone,      Microscopic 

Life  in,  64 
Carex  Buxbaumii,  187 
Carex  punctata,  91 
Castracana,  276 
Cat,  Anecdotes  of  a,  42 
Cat  and  Rabbits,  262,  282 
Cat,  Suicide  of  a,  189 
Catch-fly,  two  Fotms  of,  210 
Caterpillars,  Cannibalism  among,  233 
Caterpillars,  Colours  of,  114 
Caterpillars,  Goat,  How  to  Destroy,  237 
Caves  in  Somersetshire,  70 
Ceil,  an  easily  made,  14 
Cement  for  Marine  Aquaria,  23 
Ceratodus,  114 


Ceratodus  (an  American  Fossil),  117 

Certhia/amiliaris  (Tree-creeper),  118 

Cetacea  of  Kerry,  57 

"Challenger"  Expedition,  Results  of,  231 

Channel  Islands,  Botany  of,  141 

Chickweed,  Species  of,  xs2 

Clams,  263 

Clams,  preserved  {Tridacna  gigas),  215 

Clepsy  Drops,  236 

Clifton,  Fossils  at,  272 

Cliveden,  Day  at,  281 

Coal,  Diatoms  in,  276 

Cochlearia  officinalis  (Scurvy-grass),  10 

Cockroach,   Sections  of  Head    exhibited, 

136 
Colias  Edusa,  47,  138,  141,  163,  190,  213 
Collecting-box,  a  New,  269 
Collecting-stick,  a,  276 
Colorado  Beetle,  222,  223 
Colorado,  Geology  of,  40,  92 
Colymbus    septentrionalis    (Red-breasted 

Diver),  64 
Compositae,  Side  Lights  on  the,  66 
Conodonts,  260 
Coralline  Crag,  212 
Corals,  Fossil,  a  New  Genus  of,  278 
Costa  Rica,  Birds  of,  64 
Cotoneaster  vulgaris,  250,  278 
Covers,  Thin,  How  to  Clean,  16 
Cratcegus  monogeua,  139 
Crata>gus  oxyacanthoidcs,  139 
Crayfish  in  Cumberland,  67 
Creole,    a  French,  Double  Sight  of,    214, 

263,  282 
Crocodiles,  Mesozoic,  gi 
Crocodiles,  Neozoic,  91 
Cruciferae,  9 

Crustacea,  New  British,  138 
Cuckoo,  the,  161,  165,  213 
Cuckoo,  the,  eaten  by  Kestrel,  103  (note) 
Cuckoo,  Fed  by  Waterwagtail,  214 
Cucumber,  Influence  of  on  Black  Beetles, 

118 
Cumberland  Association  of  Literature  and 

Science,  20 
Currents  and  Tides,  Mr.  Leighton  on,  92 
Cyclophora  tenuis  (Castracane),  276 

Daisy,  Monstrosity  in,  260 
Dana,  Professor,  Medal  awarded  to,  21 
Darwinism, Practical,  114 
Date  Palm,  the  'Phienix  dactyliferd),  123 
Deer  Family,  Geological  History,  41 
Dclpliinaptcrus  lucas  (Beluga),  60 
Derbyshire,  Botany  of,  235 
"  Dero,"  the  Annelid,  10 
Diatom,  What  is  a  ?  105,  126 
Diatoms,  Does  Dessication  Kill  ?  74 
Diatoms,  New,  276 
Diatoms  in  Coal,  276 
Diaitomaceae,  Fossil,  112,  136 
Diatomaceae,  Habirshaw's  Catalogue,  63 
Diatomaceae,  Method  of  Cleaning,  88 
Diatomaceous    Deposits  near  Richmond, 

112 
Diatomaceous  Material,  160 
Diatomaniacs,  an  Apology  for,  112 
Dinosaurus,  a  newly-discovered,  117 
Dittany,  143,  166,  213 


286 


HA  R  D  WICKE  'S    S  CIE  NCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


Diver,  Great  Northern  [Colymbus  Arcti- 

cus),  262 
Dogs,  Reasoning  Power  in,  47,  214 
Dogs,  Stupidity  on  the  part  of,  233 
Dolphin,  the  Common,  86 
Dolphin,  the  White-beaked,  87 
Dorking,  a  Holiday  round,  195 
Dragon-flies,  Works  on,  213 
Dredge,  a  "Tangle,"  221 
Dredging  Expedition,  Notes  on  a,  131 
Dredging,  Marine,  257 
Dredging,  a  Simple  Method  of,  94 
Dredging,  Works  on,  70 
Dryolcstes  pviscus,  189 
Ducks,  Wild  and  Tame,  238 
Dublin,  Geology  of,  179 
Dublin   University  Biological  Association, 

16 
Dudley,  Fossils  at,  271 
Dundry,  Fossils  at,  271 
Dyes,  Vegetable,  Chemical  Imitation  of, 

186 

Eagle,  Attack  of,  on  Two  Girls,  46 
Earthworm,  Habits,  &c,  of,  121,  154,  234 
Earthworm,  Slug  the  Terror  of  the,   121 

(note) 
Echinodermata,  Alternate  Generation  of, 

277 
Eel,  a  Veteran,  23,  104 
Eels,  Birth  of  Vinegar,  15 
Egg,  a  Double,  212 
Egg  Drills,  239,  262 
Egg-shells  of  Birds,  Colouring  of,  184 
Eggs  of  Birds  in  Wrong  Nests,  209,  238 
Eggs  of  Birds,  How  to  Blow,  22,  38,  39 
Elasmobranchs,  the  Fins  of,  89 
Entomological  Exhibition  at  Westminster 

Aquarium,  89 
Epilobium       angustifolium       (Rose-bay 

Willow-herb),  161 
Epping   Forest,    an  Autumn    Ramble  in, 

252,  272 
Eye,  the  Human,  Dr.  Dudgeon  on,  90 

Fagot-stick,  a  Lesson  from,  124 

"  Fagus  "  of  the  Latins, What  was  the  ?  283 

Fairy-flax,  the,  44,  68,  94 

Falco  sEsalon  (Merlin),  64 

Fauna  Insect  in  Palaeozoic  Period,  20 

Eenestel/a,   History  of   the   Genus,    247, 

Ferns,  Filmy,  How  to  Grow,  211 

Ferns  of  North  America,  the.     By  Prof. 

Eaton,  114 
Fish,  Parasites  on,  33. 
Fish,  Survival  of  out  of  Water,  142 
Fishes,  Plaster  Casts  of,  107,  140J  169 
Fleas  in  Country  Quarters,  190 
Flies,  Forest,  Protection  of  Horses  from, 

238 
Flies,  Fungus  on,  212 
Flies,  Plague  of,  140 
Flies,  Raptorial  Habits  of,  184 
Flora  near  Cader  Idris,  Notes  on,  39 
Flora,  the  London,  114 
Flora  of  Natal,  49 
Flowers,  Alpine,  259 
Flowers,  Autumn,  Hints  on  Culture,  246 
Flowers,  Double,  259 
Flowers,  Fertilization  of,  20 
Flowers,  Sugar  in  Nectar  of,  235 
Foraminiferae,  Classification  of,  30 
Foraminiferae,  Recent,  from  the  Shetland 

Isles,  51 
Fossil  Bird,  a,  189 
Fossil  Bird  at  Sheppey,  41 
Fossil  Corals,  a  New  Genus  of,  278 
Fossil  Diatomacese,  112 
Fossil  Fishes  of  Sussex,  67 
Fossil  Fresh-water  Sponges,  140 
Fossil  Fungus,  a,  21,  41,  67,  92,  116,  164 
Fossil  Insects,  140 
Fossil  Polyzoa,  247,  274 
Fossils,  a  Tour  in  Search  of,  271 
Fox,  Intelligence  of  a,  94 
Foxgloves,  Slugs  on,  23 
Frog,  Chameleon-like  Changes  in  the,  17 
Frog,  Development  of  Spawn,  53,  90,  118, 

190 
Fungi,  Microscopic,  171 
Fungi,  Spore-producing  Power  of,  37 
Fungus,  the  Fossil  (see  Fossil  Fungus) 


Gannister  Beds,  Marine  Fossils  in,  92 
Garden,  Experimental,  Proposal  to  Form, 

23S. 

Gentiana  acaulis,  18,  65 

Gentiana  acaulis  in  Wales,  40 

Geology,  20,  40,  66,  116,  140,  164,  187,211, 

236,    260,  278 
Geology  of  Dublin  and  Wicklow,  179 
Geophihis  clectr/cus,  239 
G/gartina  Teeaii,  40 
Glacial  Period,  Dr.  Ricketts  on,  92 
Glacial  Phenomena  of  Outer  Hebrides,  164 
Glass  Slips.  Preservation  of,  15 
Globicephahis  melas  (Pilot  Whale),  84 
Giyciphagtis  palmifer,  38 
Glycip/iagus  plumiger,  152' 
Glyptodendron,  the,  140 
Gnat,  a  Few  Words  about  a  Little,  269 
Gold  in  New  Guinea,  140 
Gold    Size   as    a    Varnish    for    Glycerine 

Mounts,  276 
Gold-fish  and  Toad,  94 
Gongylus  gonegyloides,  38 
Gonopteryx  rhantni,  17 
Goose,  a  Friendship  of,  with  Pony,  238 
Gooseberry,  the,  119 
Gorilla,  the  Berlin  ("Pongo"),  17 
Gossip  about  New  Books,  54,  254 
Gourds  and   Pumpkins,  Inflorescence  of, 

19,  64 
Government  Research  Fund,  116  _ 
Grampus  griseus  (Rissot's  Dolphin),  62 
Gray  Lag,  237 
Great  Tit,  Note  of,  234 
Grebe,  Parasite  Worms  in  Leg  of,  88 
Green  Hastings,  190,  237 
Grouse,  Red,  New  Habits  of.  17 
Guinea-pig,  Brotherly  Love  in,  239 

Hair-bell,  the  White,  23,  94 
Hair-bell      (Campanula       rotundi/olid), 

Spelling  of,  69 
Hair-bell,  Derivation  of  Name,  94 
Halitherium  of  Suffolk  Crags,  184 
Harvestman  Spider,  the,  79,  113 
Hawk,  the,  _and_ Lapwing,  283 
Hawk,  Pertinacity  of,  42 
Hawk,  Species  of  in  Ireland,  281 
Hedgerows  in  June,  139 
Heer.  Professor,  Medal  awarded  to,  21 
Helice,  47 

Hemipterous  Fauna  of  St.  Helena,  161 
Hen,  Singular  Affection  of  a,  43 
Herbaria,  Mould  in,  235 
Herbarium,  How  to  make  an,  134,  150 
Herrings,  70 
Herring  Fishery,  the,  93 
Hirundinidae,  Later  Appearance  of,  39 
Histological  Microscope,  283 
Hollyhock,  Flowers  of  tht,  235 
Hollyhock,  Variability  of  Colour  in,  210 
Hop  Gardens,  166 
Horse,  Anecdote  of  a,  202 
Horse  Chestnut,  Double-blossomed,  167 
Horse-tails,  Remarks  on,  223 
House  Martin,  the,  166 
House  Sparrow,  the,  166 
Howitt,  Mary,  Poetry  on  Flowers,  166 
Human  Hair,  Sudden  Change  in   Colour 

of,  44 
Hy //sinus  fraxini,  126 
Hyperoodon  rostratus,  38 

Inflorescence,     Definite     and     In- 
definite, 163 
Insect  Fauna  in  Palaeozoic  Period,  20 
Insects  at  Bournemouth,  23 
Insects,  Destruction  of,  191 
Insects,  Fossil,  117,  140 
Insects,  Mimicry  in,  38,  184 
Ipecacuanha  Root,  Propagation  of,  22 
Ireland,  Editor's  Holiday  in  West  of,  228 
Ireland,  Hawks  of,.  281 
Ireland,  Natural  History  Notes  from,  214 
Ireland,  Venomous  Reptiles  of,  42,  93 


Japan,  Pre-historic  Man  in,  20 

Keeble,  Poetry  of,  on  Flowers,  166 

Kestrel,  the,  100 

Kingfisher  in  London,  the,  258 


Labiat/e,  20 

Laburnum,  Flowers  of  the,  261 

"  Lag,"  the  Grey,  165 

Lake  District,  the  Physical  History  of,  2r 

Lapwing  (  Vanel/us  cristatus),  213 

Lapwing,  Pugnacity  of  the,  45,  283 

Leaves,  Teratology  of,  237 

Leeds  Natural  History  Society,  16 

Lemming,  the,  in  England,  44 

Lepidium  sativum  (Garden  cress),  9 

Lepidoptera,  Rare,  Notes  on,  38 

Lichen,  a  Glass-eating,  128,  162,  187 

Lightning,  Singular  Appearance  of,  237 

Lilac,  Double,  167 

Linnet,  Parasite  of  the,  233 

Linum  catharticum,  94 

Linum  pe7-enne,  211 

Lizard,  the  Food  for,  144 

Lizard  Orchis,  the,  278 

Lobworms,  166 

Locusts,  How  LJtilized  when  Dead,  64 

London,  Flora  of,  114 

Long    Island,  the,    or     Outer    Hebrides, 

Glacial  Phenomena  of,  164 
L  ophius  piscatorius,  1 53 
Lumbricus  terrestris,  121 


Magpie,  Intelligence  of,  213 
Mammal,  Fossil,  from  Oolitic   Formation 

of  America,  189 
Mammoth,  Extinction  of  the,  236 
Manatee  at  Westminster  Aquarium,  184 
Mandrake,  166 

Marsh  Plants,  a  Strange  Place  for,  280 
Marsupial,  the  New  Australian,  38 
Maries  foina  (the  Marten)  in  Cornwall, 

117 
Martin,  Postponement  of  Departure,  23 
Megalickihys  Hibberti,  236 
Melosira  Barreri,  276 
Mergenia  erecta,  Fertilization  of,  139 
Mesop/odon       Soiverbiensis       (Sowerby's 

Whale),  59 
Meyenia  erecta,  161 
Micrometer,  the,  and  How  to  Use  it,  175 
Microphone,  184 

Microphoto  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  257 
Microscope,   Improvement  in  Stands  for, 

63 
Microscope  Lamp,  Miniature,  232 

Microscope,  Measuring  with  the,  231 

Microscope,  a  New  Field  for  the,  112 

Microscope,  the,  a  Plea  for  as  a  Toy,  33 

Microscopic  Fungi,  171 

Microscopic  Journal,  the  American,  87 

Microscopic  Journal,  the  Monthly,  15 

Microscopic  Mounting,  a  Wet  Method  of 

Preparing  Objects  for,  in 
Microscopic     Objectives,     Apertures    of, 

Theoretical  Limit  to,  209 
Microscopic  Organisms,  112 
Microscopic  Work  for  Aquarium,  119,  13C, 

J37>  141 
Microscopists,  Congress  of  at  Indianopohs, 

256 
Microscopy,  14,   37,   63,  87,  112,  136,  160, 

183,  208,  231,  256,  276 
"  Midland  Naturalist,"  the,  39 
Midnight  Songsters,  93,  118,  161,  166,  190, 

239 
"  Mighty  Deep,"  the,  8r,  97,  142 
Missel  Thrush,  and  Song  Thrush,  119 
Mistletoe,  the,  22 
Mistletoe, Growth  of  on  Apple, Pear.Thorn, 

and  Willow  Trees,  45 
Mistletoe  Berries,  Experiment  with,  139 
Mites,  How  to  Destroy,  17,  21,  47,  93,  214 
Mites,  White,  34 
Moles  at  Work,  184,  189 
Moth-trap,  Vegetable,  259 
Mounting,  Machine  for,  87 
Mounting,  Gold  Size  as  a  Varnish  in,  276 
Mounting,  a  Wet  Process  of,  160 
Mounting  Medium,  a  Good,  183 
Mullein  (VerbascumT kapsus),  a  Gigantic, 

213 
Murray,  Andrew,  Memoir  of  the  Lr  te,  50 
Musical  Notes  of  Birds,  88 
Mustard,  35,  190 

Nais  osci/latoria,  10 
Nais  proboscidea,  10 


HA R D  WICKE ' S     S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


287 


Names,  Scientific,  Pronunciation  of,  2,  25, 

145,  209,  277 
Names,  Specific,  Dr.  Sclater  on,  234 
Narwhal,  the,  59 

Nasturtium  officinale  (Water-cress),  10 
Natal,  Flora  of,  49 

Natterjack  Toad  on  Barnes  Common,  167 
Natterjack  Toad  in  Cheshire,   107 
Natterjack  Toad  on  Shores  of  the  Solway 

Firth,  67,  141,  142 
Natural  History  in  the  17th  Century,  225, 

244,  267 
Natural  History  in  Canada,  Notes  on,  222 
Natural  History  in  Ireland,  Notes  on,  214 
Natural  History  Society,  How  to  Start  a, 

201 
Nebular  Theory,  the,  69 
Nematus,  New  Species  of,  90 
Nests  of  Birds  in  Signal-bell  at  Coventry, 

Nests  of  Birds,  Curious  Places  for,  281 
Nests  of  Birds,  Remarkable,  142,  189 
New  Forest,  Beeches,  Hawthorns, Hollies, 

and  Oaks  in,  259 
Nightingale,  the,  in  Derbyshire,  137 
North  Devon,  Geology  of,  238 
Notes  and  Queries,  21,  42,  67,  92,  117,  140, 

165,  189,  212,  236,  261,  279 
Notes  from  West  Kerry,  57 

Oak  "  Spangles,"  95 

Object-glass,  a  New  Immersion,  112 

Odontophore  in  Mollusca,  the,  89 

Ophrys  muscifera,  185 

Orca  gladiator  (Grampus),  61 

Orchis-hunting  in  Surrey,  163 

Orchis  hircina,  278 

Organisms,  Examination  of  Minute  Living, 

184 
Oreole,  the  Golden,  Musical  Note  of,  88 
Ornithological  Essays,  100 
Ornithological  Instruments,  283 
Ornithological  Nomenclature,  189 
Orobanche,  Growth  of  on  Begonia,  139 
Orobanche  major ,  211 
Orthose  and  Albite,  Artificial,  117 
Owen,  Professor,   on  Influences   affecting 

Organic  Forms,  91 
Oysters,  Coloured,  37 

Painted  Lady,  the,  232 

Palseontographical  Society,  24 

Palceospiza  delta,  189 

Palms,  Acclimatization  of,  178 

Palms  at  Shanghai,  262 

Palm-tree,  Roots  of  the,  237,  261,  283 

Papilio  Machaon,  Appearance  of,  209 

Parasites,  Fasting,  190 

Pastor,  Rose-coloured,  16,  215 

Pasque  Flower,  Position  of  the,  139,  166 

Perisporiacei,  171 

Permian  Fauna  in  North  America,  236 

Petrel,  Stormy,  the,  23 

Pezopliaps  solitaria,  41,  89 

Pigeons,  Polygamy  among,  67 

Pigs,  Solid-hoofed,  114 

Pike,  Holes  in  Head  of,  17 

Pikermi  Sewalik  Deposits,  236 

Pinnularia,  128 

Pithecolobium  saman,  91 

Phalangiidce,  113 

Phoctsna  communis  (Porpoise),  84 

Phosphorus  in  Salt  Water,  239 

Physeter  macrocephalus  (Sperm  Whale),  7 

Physostomum,  the,  233 

Planorbis  navtilieus (C/irista),  184 

Plant  Chemistry,  18 

Plant  Crystals,  63,  160 

Plant  Crystals,  How  to  Mount,  130 

Plant -hunting,  at  Bournemouth,  j  1 

Plants,  Anomalous  Parts  of,  19 

Plants,  Flowerless,  259 

Plants,  How  to  Dry,  187 

Plants,  Dried,  How  to  Preserve  Colours, 
235 

Plants,  Development  of,  Specially  Adapt- 
ive Appliances  in,  156 

Plants,  Old  Names  of,  162 
Plants,  Rare,  Destruction  of,  161 
Plants,    Rare,    New    Localities    for    in 
Cheshire,  186 

Pleopus  nudicaudatus,  38 


Polygala  calcarca,  91 
Polygala  vulgaris  (Milkwort),  123 
Polygamy  among  Pigeons,  67 
Polypogon  lit! 'oralis,  278 
Polyzoa,  Fossil,  247 
"  Pongo  "  the  Berlin  Gorilla,  17 
Pony,  Friendship  of  a,  with  a  Goose,  238 
Posting-box  for  Slides,  87 
Potato  Beetle,  1,  57,  118,  222 
Precambrian  Rocks  in  Caernarvonshire,  20 
Primroses,  Dried,  Colours  of,  165,  238 
Primitive  Man,  His  Times  and   Compan- 
ions, 75,  98 
Primula,  hybrid,  19 

Proteus  anguinus,  Development  of,  138 
Prunus  avium  (Wild  Cherry-tree),  40 
Pterodactyle' montanus.  261 

Quartz  in  Lake  District,  217,  241,  265 

Rabbit,  Friendship  of,  with  a  Cat, 

282 
Rabbits,  Adopted  by  a  Cat,  262 
Rainfall,  Inflnence  of  Trees  on,  39 
Rain-tree,  the,  91 

Rallus  aquaticus  (Pied  Water-rail),  64 
Ranunculus  arvensis,  190 
Ranunculus  bulbosus,  Monstrosity  in,  91 
Ranunculus  Ficaria,  82 
Ranunculus  Ficariceformis,  82,  141 
Ranunculus  repeus,  167,  239 
Rats,  Drowning  of,  by  Swans,  45 
Reptiles,  Venomous,  in  Ireland,  42,  93 
Reviews : 

Darwin  on  Forms  of  Flowers,  54 

The  Antelope  and  Deer  of  America,  by 
Catton,  54 

Proteus,   or   Unity   in    Nature— C.    B. 
Radcliffe,  55 

Physiography,  Prof.  Huxley  on,  55 

Origin  of  the  World — Dr.  Dawson,  55 

Accidents  in  Mines,  55 

Habirshaw's  Catalogue  of  Diatomaceae, 

63 
Flowers :  their  Origin,  Shapes,  Perfumes, 

and  Colours — Taylor,  115,  21 1 
History  of  Bible  Plants — J.  Smith,  115, 

162 
Manual  of  Irish  Geology — Kinahan,  117 
Tropical  Nature — A.  Wallace,  254 
West  Yorkshire — J.  W.  Davies  and  F. 

Lees,  255 
Physical  System  of  the  Universe— S.  J. 

Skertchley,  255 
Science  Primer— Dr.  McVicar,  255 
Glanville's  Wootton— C.  W.  Dale,  255 
Murray's   Handbook  for   England  and 

Wales,  255 
Botanical  Note  Book — E.  M.  Holmes, 

255 
First   Catechism  of  Botany— J.  Gibbs, 

255 
The  Creation  of  Moses  and  Science  in 

Harmony — A.  Stewart,  256 
Half-hours  with  the  Stars — Proctor,  256 
The  House  of  Life— Mrs.  Miller,  256 
The  Sight,  and  how  to  preserve  it,  256 
Nutrition  in  Health  and  Disease— J.  H. 

Bennett,  256 
Phosphates  in  Nutrition— N.  F.  Ander- 
son, 256 
English   Folk-lore  — Rev.  T.  T.   Dyer, 

256 
Science  made  easy— T.  Twining,  258 
Popular  Science  for  October,  258 
Clavis  synoptica  Hymenomycetunt  Euro- 

p<zum—~Dx.  Cooke    and   M.   Quetet, 

259 
The  Herefordshire  Pomona,  259 
Rhododendron,  Notes  on  the,  177 
Rhytiphlcea  tinctoria,  37 
Robin's  Eggs,  166,  190 
Rocks,  Perpendicular  Holes  in,  261 
Rocks,  Precambrian,  in  Caernarvonshire, 

20 
Rotifer,  Birth  of  a,  200   _     • 
Rubiucere,  Dimorphism  in,  211 

Sagartia  sphyrodeta,  16 
St.  Helena,  Hemipterous  Fauna  of,  161 
St.  Ouen's  Bay,  Holiday  Rambles  in,  250 
Salad  Plants,  Notes  on,  9,  35,  193 


Salmon,  Disease  among,  138 

Sand-hills,  Structure  of,  29 

Sap-crystals,  88 

Saprolegniaferox,  138 

Saurians,  Fossil,  from  the  Cape,  212 

Saxicola  (Enanthc,  o.y2. 

"  Science  -  Gossip  "    Botanical     Exchange 

Club,  Report  of,  24,  73 
"  Science-Gossip  "  in  the  Provinces,  185 
Sea  Anemones,  45,  68,  191,  238,  262 
Seagulls,  Age  of,  93 
Seals  and  Whales  of  the  British  Seas,  7, 

26,  59,  84 
Seal  in  a  Trap,  258 
Shanghai,  Palms  at,  262 
Sheep,  Malformation  in,  167 
Shells,  Land  and  Freshwater  of  Tasmania, 

206 
Shells,  Opercula  of,  215 
Sigillaria,      Fossil       Fungus     discovered 

under  Bark  of,  92 
Silene  injlata,  Notes  on,  210 
Skins,  Birds',  How  to  Preserve,  142 
Skins,  Method  of  Preserving,  118,  277 
Skull,  Human,  found  in  Colorado,  212 
Slides,  Cleaning  of,  15,  63 
Slides,  Posting-box  for,  87 
Slips,  Glass,  Preservation  of,  15 
Slow-worm,  Longevity  of,  94 
Slug,  Carnivorous,  37,  92 
Slug,  the  Predatory,  44 
Slugs  in  Foxgloves,  23 
Slugs,  How  to  Preserve,  237 
Smoke  :   Does  it  cause  Blackness  of   St. 

Paul's?  170 
Snakes,  British,  42,  142 
Snakes  :  Do  they  Eat  Birds?  94 
Snakes,  How  to  Feed.  144 
Societies,  Proceedings,  &c.  of : — 

Dublin   University   Biological   Associa- 
tion, 16 

Leeds  Naturalists',  16 

Cumberland   Association   of    Literature 
and  Science,  20,  138 

Palseontographical,  24 

Metropolitan  Scientific  Association,  30 

Quekett  Microscopical,  37,  160,  20S 

Watford  Natural  History,  39,  258 

Geologists'  Association,  41 

East  Kent  Natural  History,  63 

Chester  Society  of  Natural  History,  64 

St.  Mary  Lambeth  Field,  64 

Liverpool   Literary  and    Philosophical, 
113 

Wellington  College  Natural  History,  113 

Huddersfield  Naturalists',  113 

Chichester  and   West   Sussex    Natural 
History  and  Miscroscopical,  113 

"  Science  Gossip  "  Botanical  Exchange, 

24.  73.  Il6>  JI9      . 
Hackney  Microscopical,  137,  283 
Northampton  Natural  History,  138 
St.  Francisco  Miscroscopical,  160 
Manchester  Science  Association,  185 
The  Goole  Scientific,  185 
Liverpool  Naturalists'  Field  Club,  185 
Birmingham  Philosophical,  185 
British  Association,  185 
Norwich  Geological,  212 
Highbury  Microscopical,  231 
Liverpool  Microscopical,  257 
Norfolk  and  Norwich  Naturalists',  258 
Norwich  Science-Gossip,  258 
Liverpool  Geological,  279 

Solatium  Dulcamara,  18,  40,  93,  166,  215 

Solitaire,  the,  41 

Somersetshire,  Caves  in,  42,  70 

Song  Thrush  and  Missel  Thiush,  the,  119 

Sorrel,  Derivation  of  Name,  215 

Sparrow-hawks  and  Windows,  142 

Spectral  Phenomena,  45 

Spheraphides,  15 

Spider,  the  Harvestman,  79 

Spider,  Instinct  in  the,  214,  281,  282 

Spider,  Mode  of  Preserving,  95 

Sponges,  Researches  among,  37 

Sponges,  Freshwater  Fossil,  140 

Sponsa's  Headquarters,  31,  64 

Spontaneous  Generation,  15 

Star-fish,   New    Species   of    (Palasieri/ia 
Kina/tani)  236 

Starlings  and  Sparrows'  Eggs,  165 

Sticklebacks,  Pugnacity  of,  23,  95 


288 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


Sticklebacks,  Worms  in,  118 
Stonechat  {Saxicola  Sta/iazina),  a  Black- 
throated,  in  Lancashire,  232 
Stones,  Precious,  Artificial,  20 
Stromatopora  and  Loftusia,  212 
Structure   of  Organic    For.ns,   Influences 

on  (Professor  Owen),  91 
Sugar  in  Nectar  of  Flowers,  235 
Sugaring,  Best  Mixture  for,  143,  2S0 
Summer,     Ladies',    Tresses    \Spiranthes 

Aestivalis),  138 
Sun  and  Earth,  Distance  between,  47 
Sussex,  Fossil  Fishes  of,  67 
Swift,  Early  Appearance  of  the,  143,  165 
Sword-handle,  Curiously  Carved,  a,  44 
Sycamore,  Fructification  of,  44 
Sy  not  its  Barbastcllus,  91 

Tanks    for     Breeding     Microscopic 

Organisms,  174 
Tasmania,  Land  and  Freshwater  shells  of, 

206 
Taxidermy,  Practical,  90 
Teratology,  Vegetable,  91 
Tcstaccila.  haliotoidea   (Predatory  Slug), 

44,  161,  209 
Tests,  Diatom,  Resolution  of,  88 
T-etrao  Urogallus,  190 
Thrush,  Nest  of  a,  43 
Thunbergia  allata,  55 
Tides,  Mr.  Leighton  on,  92 


Tinmtnculus  cenchroides  (Nankeen  Kes- 
trel), 103 

Tit,  Great,  the,  Notes  of,  234 

Titmarsh  {Partis  palnstris),  262 

Toad  and  Goldfish,  94,  113 

Toads,  Live,  in  Limestone  Rocks,  199 

Toads,  Longevity  of,  236,  237 

TriassicStrata  of  South-west  Counties,  117 

Trichecodon  Huxleyi  (Fossil  Walruses), 
116  _ 

Trilobites,  Jointed  Limbs  in,  20 

Tulip,  Derivation  of  Name,  191 

Tardus  roscits,  16 

Turd  us  7'iscivorns  (Missel  Thrush), 
Nesting  of  the,  43 

Tyrian  Dye,  the,  44 

Uraniid.e,  137 

Vallisneria,  Rapid  Growth  of,  114 
Vanessa  Antiopa,  143,  213 
Vegetable  Teratology,  259 
Ventriloquisim,  Animal,  279 
Verbascum  Blattaria  (Moth  Mullein),  235 
Vertebrata,  Mimicry  among,  277 
Virchow,    Dr.    Rudolph,  on    Freedom    of 

Modern  Science,  90 
Vivaria,  Reptile  Plants  for,  38 
Vol  vox  Globator,  63,  91,  184 
Vole,  Field,  Habits  of,  233 


Walruses,  Fossil,  116 

Walton,  Izaak,  Bust  of,  281 

Water  Boatmen,  261 

Watercress,  42,  43 

Water-fleas  on  Straw.  189 

Water  Supply,  Mr.  De  Ranee  on   21? 

Wax  Cell,  an  Improved,  208 

Well  Sections,  Geology  of,  187 

Western  Scotland,  Geology  of,  66 

Whitethroat,  the,  a  Mimic,  141 

Whales  and  Seals  of  the  British  "Seas,  7„ 

26,  38,  59,  84,  238 
Whipultre,  the,  95,  118 
White  Flowers,  94 
White's  Selborne,  78 
Wicklow,  Geology  of,  179 
Wight,  Isle  of,  Botanical  Notes  on,  i36- 
Winds,  Mr.  Leighton  on,  92 
"Windhover,"  the,  101 
Wolf-dog,  Irish,  140,  161 
Woodpigeons,  Nest  of,  141 
Worms  in  Flowerpots,  40 
Worm  Parasite  in  Leg  of  Grebe,  83,  89 
Wren,  Superstitious  Dislike  to,  47,  167 


Ziphius,  the,  58 
Zoological  Notes,  262 
Zoology,  16,  38,  64,  83,  113,  137,  161,  i34v 
209,  232,  257,  277 


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