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H  ARDWI  CK  E'S 


SCI  ENCE-GOSSI  P: 


1877; 


WORKS  BY  THE  EDITOR  OF  ''SCIENCE  GOSSIP.' 


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

Illustrated  witli  300  Woodcuts.     Third  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. 

Third  Edition.     Illustrated  with  175  Woodcuts.     Crown  8vo.,  cloth,  4s. 

THE  AQUARIUM ;  its  Inhabitants,  Structure,  and  Management     Illustrated 

with  239  Woodcuts.     Crown  Bvo.,  cloth  extra,  6s. 

In  the  Press. 

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

Coloured  Plates  and  numerous  Woodcuts.     Crown  Bvo.  cloth. 


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,  by  J.  B.  Bridgman  ;  Fresh-water  Shells,  by 
Professor  Ralph  Tate,  F.G.S.  ;  Flowering  Plants,  by  James  Britten,  F.L.S.  ;  Mosses,  by  Dr.  Braith- 
v/aite,  F.L.S.  ;  Grasses,  by  Professor  Buckman  ;  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  Bvo.,  cloth,  3s.  6d. 

HARDWICKE    &     BOGUE,    192,    PICCADILLY. 


HARDWICKE'S 


4i4imj=#0j5J5i^: 


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.L,    &c. 


VOLUME     XIIL 


LONDON: 
HARDWICKE    &    BOGUE,    192,    PICCADILLY. 

1877. 


AVYMAX    AND    SONS, 

■OKIENTAL,    CLASSICAL,    AND    GENERAL    PRINTERS, 

GREAT   QIEEN    STREET,    LONDON,    W.C. 


ID  b  ^  d 


PREFACE. 


-oo>8^c 


HE  practice  of  writing  a  few  lines  by  way 
of  Preface   to  the  volume  of  a  magazine 
gives  an  Editor  the  opportunity  of  draw- 
ing  more    familiarly  near   to  his   readers. 
It  feels  to    him  as   if  he  were  giving  an 
account  of  his  stewardship.     The  year  is  at 
an  end,  another  volume  swells  the  list  of  its  predecess- 
ors, and,   even  whilst  he  writes,  the   Editor  is  already 
nursing  the  scarcely-born  infant  which  he  anticipates 
will  outstrip  its  brethren.     It  is  with  some  satisfaction 
he  feels  that  he  has  been  able  to  retrieve  his  promise 
made  in  the  last  Preface  he  wrote  (such  a  short  year 
ago  !)   to   improve  SciENCE-GossiP    by  articles  from 
^\■cll-known  and  able  pens. 

Each  year  makes  scientific  editing  a  more  difficult  task.  Science 
is  so  extending  her  borders,  that  brevity  in  alluding  to  her  discoveries 
has  become  an  art.  The  magnificence  of  the  Organic  world  was 
never  so  prominently  brought  before  mankind  as  in  our  own  time. 
In  writing  the  history  of  the  intellectual  activity  of  the  latter  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  future  historian  (if  he  be  capable  for 
the  task)  will  be  obliged  to  draw  attention  to  the  vigorous  pursuit  of 
Natural  Science,  and  the  sudden  leap  to  a  higher  platform  of 
Philosophical  Speculation  which  was  its  natural  result. 

All  this  we  feel  even  more  than  we  can  express.  To  chronicle 
the  progress  of  science  in  such  a  way  as  we  have  attempted  in 
this  volume  is   not  effected  without  much  anxiety  to  the  chronicler. 


PREFACE. 


Our  desire  is  for  the  Journal  to  be  more  efiectively  entertaining  and 
instructive.  Any  hints,  therefore,  which  our  kind  readers  may  com- 
municate to  us  to  further  this  end  will  always  be  gratefully  accepted. 

We  have  to  return  our  thanks  for  many  "words  of  cheer"  received 
during  the  past  twelve  months.  To  an  Editor,  anxiously  striving 
to  do  his  best  and  to  raise  the  character  of  his  magazine,  such  friendly 
greetings  are  like  gleams  of  sunshine  ! 

Our  correspondence  increases  in  bulk  almost  monthly,  so  that 
it  is  impossible  we  can  always  reply  to  queries.  But  even  those 
who  do  not  receive  direct  replies  will  generally  find  their  queries 
answered  in  some  shape  in  one  or  other  of  the  columns  of  SciENCE- 
Gossir.  If  they  are  not  always  replied  to  directly,  the  fault  is 
not  our  own. 

Lastly,  our  thanks  are  due  to  those  of  our  "  Friends  in  Council " 
who  assist  us  in  naming  specimens  for  querists.  Some  of  the  first 
names  in  modern  science  help  us  in  this  without  fee  or  reward, 
although  their  time  must  be  laboriously  taxed.  In  the  name  of 
our  readers,  as  well  as  for  ourselves,  we  take  this  opportunity  of 
gratefully  acknowledging  their  kindness. 

That  Science-Gossip  for  1878  will  be  fully  equal  to  its  prede- 
cessors, we  have  every  reason  to  believe,  from  the  generalised 
"  Bill  of  Fare "  which  has  already  been  prepared.  Perhaps  no  better 
proof  of  the  success  of  our  endeavours  to  make  this  magazine  a 
popular  and  yet  scientifically  accurate  one  could  be  adduced  than 
that  of  its  increased  circulation  during  the  past  year.  This  is 
partly  due,  we  are  convinced,  to  the  kindness  of  friends,  who  seem 
particularly  pleased  to  introduce  their  acquaintances  to  us  as  sub- 
scribers. Of  this  we  have  received  varied  proof  of  late,  and  it  is 
a  kind  of  proof  dear  to  the  heart  of  Editor  and  Publisher  alike. 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


iEclDU'M    DEPAUPEKANS,   I24 

Agnostius  pisiformis  (Tribolite),  14 
Anguilla  acutirostris,  7 
Arnotta  Plant,  181 
Asaphus  caudatus,  12 


Blvborough  Tick,  104 
Butterflies,  Varieties  of,  in  the  New  Forest, 
28 


Canadian  Phlogopite,  m 

Carboniferous  Limestone,  Cutting  near 
Uphill  (Bristol  and  Exeter  Railway), 
showing  Lias  Fault  against,  32 

Carboniferous  Polyzoa,  108,  109,  220,  221, 

273 
Clematis,  Cohesion  of  Leaflet  in,  268 
Colorado  Beetle,  202 
Common  Seals,  123 
Cowslip,  269 

Coxcomb  Prominent  Moth,  76 
Crucifers,  128 
Crystals  in  Damar,  148 


Daffodils,  56 

Delphinium,  248,  249 

Diagram,  Boxley  Hill,  Weald  of  Kent,  100 

Dudley  Locusts,  12 


Early  Grey  Moth,  76 
Early  Thorn  Moth,  76 


Emerald  Moth,  76 
Encrinites,  132 


Ferns,  Varieties  of,  8,  9 

Flame  Moth,  77 

Flint  Arrow-heads,  86 

Flint  Flake,  86 

Fountain  in  Bell-jar  Aquaria,  Plan  for,  66 

Fossil  Fungi,  270,  271 

Fossil  Hymenoptera,  84 


Goatsucker,  149 

Graj'ling  Butterfly,  Varieties  of,  28 

Greenland  White  Whale,  200 

Grooved  Hammer,  86 

Grooved  Stone  Hammer,  85 


Hebrew-Character  JNIoth,  76 
Herald  INIoth,  76 
Hoplophora  ferruginea,  205 


King  Crab,  12,  13 


Lanvon  Cromlech,  85 
Lemings,  105 

Leschenaultia  formosa,  204 
Lough  Inagh,  180 


1\L\iden's  BLt-SH  Moth,  77 
Moraine  in  Canon's  Platz,  Zurich,  84 


Parasite  of  Shri.mp,  13 
Pelargonium,  269 
Peregrine  Falcon,  52,  53 
Piper  nigrum,  131 

Ring  Ousel,  ioi 

Ringlet  Butterfly,  29 

Roman  Masonry  at  Colchester,  85 

Rorqual,  the,  244,  245 

Scale  of  Diurnal  Lepidoptera,  57 

Scale  of  Gnat,  57 

Seals,  176,  177 

Section  of  Chalk  Pit  at  Whitlingham,  32 

Section  near  Chard,   showing  Chalk,  &c., 

32 
Section,   Geological  of.  Country  between 

Dartmouth  and  Plymouth,  169 
Section  illustrating  Post-Glacial  Structure 

of  Thames  Valley,  224 
Silver-washed  Fi'itillary,  28 
Slingstone,  86 
Steller's  Sea  Lion,  81 
Striped  Hyena,  Head  of,  33 

Tortoishell  Butterfly,  28 
Tribolites,  60,  5i 

Urceola  elastica,  130 

Walrus  or  Morse,  4,  5 
White  Admiral  Butterfly,  28,  29 


FOREST    PATHOLOGY. 


By  EDWARD  JOHN  TILT,  M.D. 


T  is  difficult  to  get  out  of 
a  groove,  and  the  habit 
of  looking  at  mankind 
as  either  healthy  or 
diseased  sticks  fast  to 
me,  when  riding  about 
the  Windsor  woods 
and  forests,  and  I  am 
always  on  the  look-out 
for  patients  among  the 
trees.  Trees  resemble 
human  creatures  :  the  strongest  bear  traces  of  re- 
paired mischief;  many  give  evidence  to  good  con- 
servative surgery,  in  the  shape  of  well-formed  stumps 
•and  the  healing-over  of  extensive  wounds  ;  but  many 
trees  get  wounds  that  cannot  be  healed  by  nature, 
and  constitutional  diseases  that  are  fatal.  Riding 
the  woods  reminded  me  of  my  first  impressions  when 
walking  the  hospitals  as  a  raw  medical  student.  It 
then  seemed  to  me  that  I  could  understand  surgical 
cases,  but  it  was  like  looking  into  a  bottle  of  ink  to 
attempt  to  understand  fevers  and  constitutional  dis- 
eases. In  the  woods  I  am  quite  at  home  with  forest 
surgery,  and  quite  at  sea  with  the  constitutional 
diseases  of  trees. 

I  have  asked, — what  is  dry-rot,  wet-rot,  and  touch- 
wood, and  what  relation  they  bear  to  each  other,  of 
some  who  are  learned  in  trees,  without  getting  very 
satisfactory  answers,  and  I  fall  back  on  the  learned 
correspondents  of  SciENCE-GossiP  to  enlighten  my 
ignorance.  To  make  clear  its  extent,  I  will  note  a 
few  facts,  and  the  inferences  suggested  to  me  by  my 
acquaintance  with  human  pathology. 

Touchwood. — To  grow  fine  timber,  young  oaks 
•are  left  to  grow  sufficiently  near  each  other  to  check 
the  free  access  of  air  to  their  lower  branches.  Their 
scanty  foliage  and  diminished  supply  of  sap  stops 
their  growth,  they  become  brittle,  lose  their  moisture, 
and  turn  to  touchwood.  Windsor  Forest  is  thus 
strewn  with  the  lower  branches  of  oaks  planted  in 
1820.  I  have  picked  out  great  lumps  of  touchwood 
from  the  trunk  of  a  large  and  still  vigorous  columnar 
No.  145. 


beech,  the  longitudinal  half  of  which  had  been  broken 
away  some  years  ago.  The  wood  near  the  bark 
was  quite  sound,  but  the  central  part  of  the  wood, 
deprived  of  sap  and  exposed  to  the  air,  had  become 
touchwood.  Has  a  fungus  anything  to  do  7uith  this 
process  of  disintegration,  or  how  is  it  effected  ? 

Wet-rot. — During  the  great  wet  of   last   Sep- 
tember, and  in  a  very  wet  hollow  of  the  Forest,  I 
one   day  found  that   a  well-grown   oak,  about  400 
years   old,  had  snapped  across   at  about  three  feet 
from  the  ground ;  and  the  freshness  of  the  foliage,  as 
well  as  the    cleanness   of  the  wound,    showed   the 
smash  to  be  very  recent.     It  was  a  fine  case,  with 
bold  splinters  of  sound  wood,   for  the  tree  was  for 
the  most  part  healthy  ;  but  it  was  easy  to  see,  that  as 
the  sound  wood  approached  the  point  of  fracture  it 
was  simply   wet,   then  it  became  soaked  with  wet. 
Nearer  to  the  seat  of  mischief  this  soddened  wood 
could  be   easily   broken   up   with   the   fingers,    and 
showed  that  a  fungus  was  at  work  between  its  rings. 
In  a  hollow,  where  the  tree  had  snapped,  could  be 
seen  how  actively  this  fungus  was  doing  its  work  ;  for 
I  could  tear  out  large  masses  of  a  yellowish-white- 
looking,    sweet-smelling,   spongy,    elastic    substance 
reeking  with  wet,  in  which  the  concentric  rings  could 
still  be  traced,   separated  by  a  white  soft  pith-like 
fungoid  growth.      This  tree  had  some  years  before 
been  seriously  damaged  near  the  point  of  fracture,  for 
there  was  a  dark-coloured  flesh-wound,  and  a  hole  in 
this  wood  was   lined  by  dry-rot,  to   a  very  limited 
extent.     I  believe  that  in  this  case  the  dry-rot  only 
acted  as  a  wood-perforator  to  flood  with  water  the 
central  parts  of  the  tree,  and  I  never  met  with  an- 
other case  in  which  dry-rot  was  associated  with  wet- 
rot.     Mr.  Menzies,  the  highly-accomplished  Deputy 
Surveyor  of  Her  Majesty's  Woods  and  Forests,  looks 
upon  wet-rot  as  a  purely  local  disease,  to  be  cured  by 
scooping  out  of  the  tree  all  its  diseased  wood,  and  by 
preventing  the  access  of  water.     I  showed  a  bit  of 
the   spongy  substance  just   described    to   a   country 
gentleman,  and  he  told  me  it  would  turn  to  touch- 
wood when  dry  ;  but  it  is  now  tough  and  semi-elastic. 

B 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


What  is  the  ultimate  stage  of  the  pathological  process  I 
have  deso'ibed  ?  What  is  the  name  of  this  fungus 
of  wet-rot  ? 

Dry-rot. — In  badly-built   houses  wood  gets  the 
dry-rot,  or,  in  other  words,  damp  develops  a  fungus 
in  dead  wood,  which  soon  crumbles  it  down  to  the 
well-known  russet  powder.    As  this  dry-rot  of  timber 
cannot   be   called   a  disease,  so  in  living  trees  the 
brown  wood  crumbling  into  a  russet  powder  is  not  a 
disease,  but  the  last  stage  of  a  prolonged  process  of 
decay.     Long  before  a  tree  shows  the  characteristic 
signs  of  dry-rot,  the  wood  has  been  deeply  and  exten- 
sively  discoloured ;  it  also  loses  its  tenacity,  and  thus 
shows  how  deeply  its  mode  of  nutrition  has  been 
perverted.     One  of  the  elms  in  the  Long  Walk,  two 
hundred  years   old,    was   lately  cut  down,    and  the 
whole  trunk  was  of  a  deep  brown  colour,  with  the 
exception   of  a   few   external  rings  of  sound  white 
wood.     I  should  suggest    that  the    discoloration  of 
the  wood  is  no  more  the  disease  than  the  cmmbling 
wood  and  dust,  and  that  the  disease  is  some  impair- 
ment of  the  living  force  by  which  the  tree  started 
into  life,   and  has  been  able  to  grow.     The  disease 
calls  to  its  aid  a  fungoid  growth,  to  damage  the  tex- 
ture of  the  wood  and  to  reduce  it  to  powder.     The 
real  cause  of  the  disease  is,  therefore,  some  consti- 
tutional taint,  rendering  it  as  incurable  as  cancer.    In 
examining  that  portion  of  the  elm  that  was  broken 
across,  after  having  been  nearly  sawn  asunder,  it  was 
beautiful  to   see   the   concentric   deep   brown  rino-s, 
separated  by  the  broken  ends  of  a  white  feathery 
fluff.     If  that  was  a  fungus,  then  it  was  already  set 
in  the  changes  that  accompany  the  discoloration  of 
the  wood.     Later  on,  the  reduction  of  the  wood  to  a 
red  dust  is  brought  about  by  the  fungus  of  dry-rot ; 
but  even  if  a  fungoid  growth  were  progressing  from 
top  to  the  bottom  of  the  tree,  as  in  the  elm,  I  should 
no  more  call  that  internal  fungus  the  disease  than  I 
would  say  a  tree  was  dying  of  the  various  fungi  that 
disfigure  its   beauty  and   foretell   its  death.     Is  the 
fzingiis  of  dry-rot  the  same  in  all  trees  ?     Is  it  the 
same  as  the  fungus  of  wet-rot?    Is  the' fungus  of  dry- 
rot  in  a   living  oak  the  same   as    that  of  an  oaken 
beam  ? 

Except  in  the  instance  related,  I  have  never  met 
with  dry-rot  and  wet-rot  in  the  same  tree ;  neither 
have  I  met  with  dry-rot  and  touchwood  side  by  side 
in  the  same  tree  :  but  nothing  is  so  common  as  to 
find  oaks  attacked  by  dry-rot  in  their  trunk  or  in 
some  large  branch,  while  their  small  branches  are 
being  turned  to  touchwood,  and  strew  the  ground. 


Watering  Window  Plants  with  Cold  Tea. 
—It  may  perhaps  interest  your  con-espondents  about 
this  subject  to  learn  that,  in  Germany,  I  have  often 
noticed  that  coffee  was  used  for  the  same  purpose, 
and  certainly  all  the  plants  so  watered  were  remark- 
ably fine.— il/rt//j'. 


A  RAMBLE  UP  SCAUR. 

TO  those  readers  of  Science-Gossip  who  have 
not  had  an  opportunity  of  rambling  up  Scaur 
Water,  a  tributary  of  the  river  Nith,  the  following 
notes  may  prove  interesting. 

Starting  on  a  glorious  day  in  July,  from  the  pic- 
turesque village  of  Thornhill,  with  its  grand  rows  of 
lime-trees  shading  the  "quiet  streets,  we  soon  crossed 
the  beautiful  stream  of  Nith,  and  slowly  winding  our 
way  through  avenues  of  lordly  ash-trees,  entered  the 
quiet  village  of  Penfont,  situate  on  the  banks  of 
Scaur. 

Traversing  the  public  road  for  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  we  found  ourselves  in  a  well-wooded  glade, 
where  the  westerly  breeze  whispered  amid  the  pend- 
ing boughs  of  hoary  oaks. 

The  streamlet,  through  the  lapse  of  ages,  has  worn 
a  narrow  channel  through  a  massive  bed  of  grey- 
wacke  rock,  whirling  and  edding  as  it  rolls  along  its 
moorland  tide  to  join  the  calmer  Nith.  Pausing 
here,  the  visitor  is  struck  with  awe  while  he  looks 
into  the  seething  caldron  below,  made  more  gloomy 
with  the  fitful  shade  of  pending  trees  and  a  multitude 
of  indigenous  shrubs  which  everywhere  clothe  its 
banks. 

Here  the  botanist  may  gather  on  a  solitary  spot, 
and  the  only  locality  in  the  district,  the  beautiful 
Hclianthcmnm  vulgare,  and,  in  the.early  spring,  Draha 
verna  in  abundance,  and  on  the  wet  rocks  Cardainine 
hirsuta,  with  its  near  congener  C.  amara. 

Trollius  Europa:us  is  equally  abundant  in  the  later 
spring  months,  and  is  a  sight  worth  beholding  ■^^•hen 
the  golden  cups  are  opened  to  the  sun.  Various 
species  of  bedstraws  are  to  be  gathered,  and  on  the 
dry  banks  and  rocks  one  of  the  commonest  of  the 
British  species,  Galium  saxatile,  displays  a  profusion 
of  flowers  that  would  make  it  worthy  of  a  place  in 
the  well-cultivated  garden.  Asperula  odorata  we 
gathered  in  the  last  stage  of  decay,  and  nestling 
amid  the  stones  Ga-anium  Robertianum  displayed 
its  pink  corolla.  G.  pratense  and  G.  sylvaticum  were 
abundant  in  the  meadows  and  woods.  Ranunculus 
auricomus,  with  Saxafraga  gramtlata,  are  to  be 
found  in  their  proper  season.  Various  species  of 
labiate  plants  were  picked  up  on  our  way  up  the 
glen,  one  of  the  rarest  being  Stachys  betonica. 

The  woods  were  carpeted  with  a  grand  profusion  of 
Cow-wheat  {Melampyrum  pi-atense),  and  in  the  spongy 
nooks  Pcdicnlaris  palustris,  though  past  flowering, 
was  common.  Splendid  specimens  of  the  Foxglove 
(Digitalis  purpurea),  three  and  four  feet  high,  were 
observed  by  the  roadside. 

Emerging  from  the  brushwood,  we  come  upon  a 
small  knoll,  free  from  the  undergrowth,  where  Ha- 
benaria  viridis  and  H.  albida  reigned  pre-eminent. 
Orchis  morio,  O.  mascula,  O.  latfolia,  and  0.  macu- 
lata  grew  in  the  more  moist  places,  with  some  few 
plants  of  Listera  az'afa.     Wandering  up  a  rocky  glen. 


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


amid  a  profusion  of  wild  flowers,  with  the  blackberry 
overhanging  the  rocky  ledges,  we  gathered  Athy- 
rium  Filix-famma,  Nephrodium  Filix-mas,  JV.  dila- 
tatum,  Aspleniiim  Trichomanes,  Polypodium  vulgare, 
P.  Dryopteris,  P.  Phegoptei'is,\  and  Hymawphylliim 
Wilsonii. 

Gaining  at  last  the  summit  of  the  hill,  we  roused  the 
red  grouse  from  his  bed  of  heather  ;  purple  tracts  of 
the  Ling  (Enca  cinerta)  everywhere  met  the  eye,  and 
in  the  splashy  bogs  we  found  the  curious  Drosera 
rotundifolia  in  full  flower,  with  many  an  xinwary 
insect  firmly  held  within  its  wondrous  leaves. 

Empdriaii  nigrum  we  found  but  sparsely  scattered 
across  the  moorland,  but  abundance  of  Triglochliii 
palustre  in  full  bloom. 

Arriving  at  the  head  of  a  small  burn,  we  followed 
its  course  till  we  got  entangled  in  a  dense  copsewood, 
where  the  stream  precipitates  itself  down  the  face  of 
a  cliff  about  thirty  feet  in  height.  Scrambling  as  best 
we  could,  we  finally  emerged  into  the  open  fields  at 
the  back  of  the  quaint  village  of  Tynron. 

Replenishing  the  inner  man  after  the  fatigues  of  the 
day,  we  next  found  ourselves  on  the  public  road 
which  winds  along  the  base  of  Auchengibbert  and 
Tynron  Doon  hills,  and  then  striking  into  a  more  open 
country  of  wood  and  brake,  of  bog  and  meadow,  we 
left  the  scenes  of  our  wanderings  highly  satisfied  with 
our  ramble  up  Scaur.  J.  Brown. 

Sunderland. 

THE  WALRUS  OR  MORSE. 

{Trichechus  Rosmarus,  Linn.). 
By    Thos.    Southwell,   F.Z.S. 

Hon.  Sec.  Norfolk  and  Norwich  Naturalists'  Society. 

OF  the  many  strange  forms  which  the  Zoological 
Society  of  London  has  been  the  means  of 
introducing  to  the  stay-at-home  naturalists  of  this 
country,  certainly  not  the  least  interesting  is  that  of 
the  Walrus.  It  is  true  that  in  neither  of  the  instances 
in  which  the  young  animal  has  been  brought  alive  to 
the  Gardens,  has  it  long  survived  in  its  new  home;  but, 
short  though  its  residence  amongst  us,  the  opportunity 
has  been  afforded  to  many  of  becoming  acquainted 
with  the  Arctic  stranger  in  prop?-id  persona,  instead 
of  through  the  distorted  medium  of  the  badly-stuffed 
skins,  or  the  equally  bad  representations  of  this  in- 
teresting animal,  which,  until  recently,  we  have 
possessed.  The  first  recorded  appearance  of  the 
Walrus  in  this  country  was,  I  believe,  in  1624,  when, 
according  to  Hakluyt's  "  Pilgrimes,"  a  young  one 
was  brought  to  England  by  Master  Thomas  Welden, 
in  the  God-speed,  and  duly  presented  at  Court. 
In  1853  the  Zoological  Society  became  possessed  of 
a  young  one,  which  lived  only  a  few  days  in  their 
Gardens.  On  the  ist  of  November,  1S67,  another  was 
received,  which  lived  till  the  19th  of  December,  when 
it  unfortunately  died,  notwithstanding  the  care  be- 


stowed upon  it,  both  as  regards  food  and  accommo- 
dation. This  last  was  captured  by''  the  whale-ship 
Arctic,  on  the  28th  of  August,  1867,  in  lat.  69°  N. 
and  long.  64°  W.,  and  brought  to  Dundee,  whence 
it  was  conveyed  by  Mr.  Bartlett  to  the  Society's 
Gardens.  The  captain  of  the  Arctic  saw  two  or 
three  hundred  walruses  basking  upon  the  ice,  and 
sent  out  his  boats  to  the  attack  :  amongst  the  killed 
was  an  old  female  followed  by  her  young  one  ;  the 
latter  was  taken  on  board  and  eventually  brought  to 
England. 

Although  now  confined  to  the  icy  seas  of  the  Arctic 
circle,  the  Walrus  was  probably  not  uncommon  on 
our  shores  in  times  long  past.  The  skull  has  been 
found  in  the  peat  near  Ely,  and  Hector  Boece,  in 
his  *'  Cronikles  of  Scotland,"  mentions  it  as  a  regular 
inhabitant  of  our  shores  in  the  end  of  the  15th  century  ; 
in  the  present  century  it  has  occurred  several  times, 
although  it  must  be  considered  as  a  very  rare  straggler, 
sadly  out  of  its  latitude.  Wallace  says  that  its  fossil 
remains  have  been  found  in  Europe  as  far  south  as 
France,  and  in  America  probably  as  far  south  as 
Virginia,  and  it  was  common  in  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence  so  late  as  1770  (Leith  Adams).  In  recent 
times  it  has  retreated  before  its  great  enemy,  man, 
from  the  northern  coasts  of  Scandinavia  to  the  circum- 
polar  ice  of  Asia,  America,  and  Europe,  sometimes, 
but  rarely,  reaching  as  far  south  as  lat.  60°.  When- 
ever met  with,  it  is  the  object  of  ruthless  persecution, 
and  is  rapidly  and  surely  becoming  exterminated ; 
but  for  its  ice-loving  habits,  which  render  its  present 
strongholds  always  difficult,  and  sometimes  impossible, 
of  access,  it  would  doubtless  long  ere  this  have  be- 
come extinct. 

The  family  Trichechidie,  of  which  the  Walrus 
( Trichechus  Rosmarus)  is  the  only  member,  together 
with  the  true  {Phocidcz)  and  eared  seals  (Otai-iida:) 
constitute  a  sub-order  of  the  Carnivora,  which  from 
the  form  of  their  swimming-paws  have  been  named 
the  Puinipedia,  or  fin-footed.  The  Trichechus  is 
placed  between  the  true  seals  and  the  eared  seals,  to 
both  of  which  families  it  has  affinities  :  it  is  carni- 
vorous, feeding  on  mollusca,  fish,  and  when  it  can 
get  it,  the  flesh  of  whales.  Its  habits  were  so  well 
and  succinctly  described  by  Captain  Cook  a  hundred 
years  ago,  that  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  his  own 
words,  the  accuracy  of  which  has  since  been  amply 
confirmed.  Whilst  in  Behring's  Straits,  in  lat.  70°  6' 
and  long.  196°  42',  on  the  19th  of  August,  1778, 
Cook  first  met  with  the  Walrus  :  "  they  lie,"  he  says, 
"  in  herds  of  many  hundreds  upon  the  ice,  huddling 
one  over  the  other  like  swine,  and  roar  or  bray  very 
loud  ;  so  that  in  the  night,  or  in  foggy  weather,  they 
gave  us  notice  of  the  vicinity  of  the  ice  before  we 
could  see  it.  We  never  found  the  whole  herd  asleep 
some  being  always  on  the  watch.  These,  on  the 
approach  of  the  boat,  would  wake  those  next  to  them, 
and  the  alarm  being   thus  gradually  communicated, 

the  whole  herd  would  awake  presently.     But  they 

B  2 


4 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


were  seldom  in  a  hurry  to  get  away  till  after  they  have 
been  once  fired  at,  then  they  would  tumble  one  over 
the  other  into  the  sea  in  the  utmost  confusion  ;  and  if 
we  did  not  at  the  first  discharge  kill  those  we  fired  at, 
we  generally  lost  them,  though  mortally  wounded. 
They  do  not  appear  to  us  to  be  that  dangerous  animal 
some  authors  have  described ;  not  even  when 
attacked.  They  are  rather  more  so  to  appearance 
than  in  reality.  Vast  numbers  of  them  would  follow 
and  come  close  up  to  the  boats,  but  the  flash  of  a 
musquet  in  the  pan,  or  even  the  bare  pointing  of  one 
at  them,  would  send  them  down  in  an  instant.     The 


The  number  of  walruses  killed  annually  by  the 
Norwegian  and  Russian  hunters  is  very  considerable  ; 
probably  nearly  an  equal  number  are  wounded  and 
lost.  As  the  female  produces  only  a  single  young  one 
at  a  birth,  which  remains  with  the  mother  nearly  two 
years,  "until  its  tusks  are  grown  long  enough  to  be 
used  in  grubbing  up  the  shell  mud  at  the  sea- 
bottom,"  it  will  readily  be  imagined  that  the  destruc- 
tion is  greatly  in  excess  of  the  production,  and  that 
they  are  rapidly  decreasing  in  numbers.  About  the 
month  of  August  they  repair  to  the  shore,  and  congre- 
gating in  vast  herds  on  the  beach  of  some  secluded 


Fig.  I.  The  Morse  or  Walrus  {Trichechus  Rosmarni),  from  Buckland's  "  Log-Book  of  a  Fisherman  and  Zoologist." 


female  will  defend  the  young  one  to  the  very  last  and 
at  the  expense  of  her  own  life,  whether  in  the  water 
or  upon  the  ice.  Nor  will  the  young  one  quit  the 
dam,  though  she  be  dead  ;  so  that  if  you  kill  one  you 
are  sure  of  the  other.  The  dam,  when  in  the  water, 
holds  the  young  one  between  her  fore-fins"  (Cook's 
Last  Voyage,  vol.  ii.  p.  458,  edition  1784).  Since 
Cook's  time  the  Walrus  has  learned  to  fear  man,  its 
only  enemy  except  the  Polar  bear,  and  is  more 
difficult  to  approach.  When  wounded,  or  its  young 
in  danger,  it  has  been  known  fiercely  to  attack  the 
boats  sent  for  its  capture,  striving  to  overturn  them, 
and  piercing  their  sides  with  its  tusks  :  many  serious 
accidents  have  been  the  result. 


bay,  lie  for  weeks  together  in  a  semi-torpid  condition,, 
without  moving  or  feeding.  Should  their  retreat  be 
discovered  whilst  in  this  state,  great  is  the  slaughtei-. 
Mr.  Lament,  in  his  "Seasons  with  the  Sea  Horses," 
says  that  in  1852  on  a  small  island  off  Spitzbergen 
(one  of  the  Thousand  Islands),  two  small  sloops 
discovered  a  herd  of  walruses  consisting  of  three  or 
four  thousand,  nine  hundred  of  which  they  succeeded 
in  killing,  only  a  small  portion  of  the  produce  of 
which,  however,  they  were  able  to  carry  away.  The 
colour  of  the  Walrus  is  brown,  paling  with  age,  and 
the  skin  covered  with  short  hairs ;  the  adult  reaches 
the  length  of  from  10  to  15  feet,  or,  according 
to  some    authorities,   even   more,   and  weighs   froob 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S     S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


two  to  three  thousand  pounds.  Its  rounded  head, 
heavy  muzzle,  thickly  set  with  stout  bristles, 
small,  round  blood-shot  eyes,  and  formidable  tusks, 
give  to  this  animal  a  ferocious  appearance  which  is 


walrus  will  yield  from  five  to  six  hundred  pounds  of 
blubber,  the  oil  from  which,  however,  is  not  so  fine 
as  that  of  the  Seal.  The  ivory  tusks  were  formerly 
much  used  by  dentists  ;  at  present,  I   believe,  owing 


Fig.  2,  The  "Sea-Horse,"  or  Walrus,  from  Cook's  "Voyage  to  the  Pacific,"  1784  ed.,  vol.  ii.,  page  446. 


Fig.  3.   Vacca  marina,  Gesuer  ;  Addenda,  page  369.     1560  (reduced). 


foreign  to  its  nature,  except  when  greatly  excited  or 
at  pairing  time,  when  the  old  bulls  are  said  to  fight 
■with  great  fierceness  and  determination.     A  full-grown 


to  the  introduction  of  vulcanite,  very  little  is  applied 
to  that  purpose.  Mr.  Lament  mentions  24  in.  in 
length  and  4  lb.  each  in  weight,  as  the  size  of  a  good 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


pair  of  bull's  tusks  :  a  pair  in  the  Norwich  Museum 
measure  32  in.  in  length,  and  the  heavier  of  the  two 
weighs  9  lb.  9  oz.  The  immensely  elongated  canine 
teeth  which  form  the  "tusks,"  are  found  in  both 
sexes,  but  are  shorter  and  more  slender  in  the  female 
than  in  the  male.  The  skin  of  the  Walrus  is  valuable 
for  many  purposes. 

Few  animals,  so  long  known  to  man,  have,  when 
figured,  been  represented  so  inaccurately  as  the 
Walrus  :  the  hind  feet  are  almost  invariably  de- 
picted extended  backwards,  like  those  of  the  Seal 
(so  also  in  stuffed  specimens),  whereas  in  the  living 
animal  they  are  directed  to  the  front,  and  serve 
as  supports  to  the  body  in  progression  on  the  land  or 
ice,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  hind  limbs  of  the 
eared  seals.  Dr.  J.  E.  Gray,  in  an  article  "On  the 
Attitudes  and  Figures  of  the  Morse,"  in  the  Proceed- 
ings of  the  Zoological  Society  of  London  for  1853, 
pp.  1 12-16,  reproduces  some  of  the  wonderful  prints 
of  this  animal  from  old  authors,  most  of  which  are 
purely  imaginary  :  fig.  3,  j).  5  is  copied  from  one  of 
these.  By  far  the  best  portrait  known,  till  quite 
recently,  is  one  published  in  Amsterdam  in  1613, 
where  an  old  female  and  her  young  one  are  very 
accurately  depicted :  this  has  been  reproduced  in 
Bell's  "  British  Quadrupeds,"  2nd  edition,  p.  269. 
Fig.  2  is  copied  from  the  "  Sea  Horse,"  in  the  fore- 
ground of  Cook's  illustration  in  "  A  Voyage  to  the 
Pacific,"  &c.,  1784  edit,  vol.  ii.,  p.  446.  Fig.  i 
is  copied,  by  kind  permission  of  Mr.  F.  Buckland, 
from  his  "Log-book  of  a  Fisherman  and  Zoologist," 
and  represents  "Jemmy,"  the  young  Walrus,  whose 
brief  sojourn  in  the  Zoological  Gardens  has  already 
been  referred  to.  One  of  Mr.  Wolfs  "Zoological 
Sketches  "  represents  a  herd  of  walruses  in  almost 
every  conceivable  attitude,  and  of  course  beautifully 
drawn  and  coloured. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  extinction  of 
this  harmless  and  useful  animal  is  merely  a  matter 
of  time,  and  that  perhaps  before  many  years  have 
passed  it  may  have  ceased  to  exist  ;  the  only  hope 
appears  to  be  that  when  it  has  become  too  scarce  to 
render  its  pursuit  remunerative,  a  remnant  may  still 
be  left  to  continue  the  species  around  the  far-off  and 
unapproachable  islands  of  the  Arctic  seas. 


AQUARIUM   NOTES. 

"  T)EN  PLANT'S  "  twenty-years-old  Eel,  men- 
-U  tioned  in  Science -Gossir,  November, 
1876,  page  263,  seems  likely  to  become  of  historical 
interest,  like  Sir  J.  G.  Dalyell's  ancient  Sea  Ane- 
mone, commonly  known  as  "  Granny  "  because  of  her 
advanced  age.  The  latter  was  taken  from  the  sea  in 
182S,  and  must  therefore  be  at  least  forty-eight  years 
old,  if,  as  I  doubt  not,  she  is  alive  and  well  as  when 
I  last  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  of  her.  How  much 
plder  she  may  be  is  an  unknown  problem  :  there  is 


not  sufficient  data  to  go  upon.     The  conservation  of 
aquatic  animals  is  but  of  recent  date.      Mr.    Plant 
raises  a  question  of  great  interest,   ' '  How  long  may 
animals  be   expected   to  live  in   aquaria  "  ?      That 
depends  on  many  things.     Humanitarian  principles 
are  often  left  out  in  the  dark,  and  animals  are  only 
expected  to  live  as  long  as  they  bring  in  money.     If 
an  aquarium  is  well  and  humanely  managed,  and  the 
animals  hardy,  practically   speaking,    they   may  be 
said  to  live  for  ever.     Indeed,  it  has  been  queried  by 
one  authority  whether  many  marine  animals  ever  die 
of  old  age,  but  only  from  accident,  as,  for  instance, 
being  devoured  by  an  enemy.     If  the  conditions  of 
existence  are  exactly  suited,    they  seem  to  flourish 
indefinitely,   as,  e.g.,  in  the  case  of  this  long-lived 
Eel  and  Sir  J.  G.  Dalyell's  aged  Sea  Anemone,  with 
the  venerable  Pike  {Esox  lucius)  in  the  Fish-house 
of  Regent's  Park  (Zoological  Gardens),  who  grows 
so  big  he  can  barely  turn  round  in  his  tank,  and  with 
some  of  my  own  sea-anemones,  that  have  lived  com- 
fortably with  me  more  than  a  dozen  years.     I  must 
confess,  however,  that  some  established  daisies  {Sa- 
gartia   bellis)   have  recently  died   without   apparent 
cause.     Is  this  from  old  age  ?     It  is  veiy  unsatisfac- 
tory not  to  be   able  to  account  for  death.     But  it 
would  seem  as  if  the  second  and  third  generations  of 
daisies  born  in  the  tank  flourished  better  than  those 
imported,  and  gradually  elbowed  them  out.     If  so, 
the  vexation  remains  ;  for  old  friends  are  better  than 
new.     The  longer  an  animal  lives,  the  more  I  prize 
it ;  the  longer  the  water  is  kept,  the  more  valuable  it 
becomes.     Most  certainly,  if  "  Ben  Plant  "  has  kept 
this  sharp-nosed  eel  {Anguilla  aaitirostris)  for  twenty 
years  in  one  house,  let  him  live  another  twenty.    Let 
him  be  fed  regularly  enough  to  be  healthy  and  happy, 
but  seldom  enough  to  prevent  his  growing  unneces- 
sarily.    As  aquarium  science  advances,  it  becomes  a 
serious  question,  what  is  to  be  done  with  overgrown 
specimens  ?     As  we  cannot  all  command  tanks  large 
enough  for  our  desires,   it  might  be  well  for  small 
aquaria  to  supply  the  large,  for  their  mutual  benefit, 
with  home-grown  specimens,  which,   being  already 
acclimatized,  might  be  supposed  to  fare  better  than 
new  comers  in  the  struggle  for  existence.     Let  "Ben 
Plant"   sacrifice   anything  to   keep   his   eel  happily 
with  his  companions.     If  they   are  too  many,  turn 
them  out  to  make  room  for  his  growing  dimensions. 
If,  however,    the  minnows,   carp,  sticklebacks,  and 
roach  are  as  old  as  himself,  the  case  becomes  com- 
plicated.    If  another  tank  cannot  be  provided,  I  see 
no  way  but  to  turn  him  back  from  whence  he  came, 
or  to  make  him  over  to  some  public  institution  worthy 
to  receive  him, — say  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  or  any- 
where under  the  supervision  of  so  zealous   a  care- 
taker as  Mr.  Lloyd.     At  some  public  aquaria  animal 
life  is  not  valued  as  it  should  be.     Mr.  Plant  seems 
the  right  sort  of  man  to  keep  aquaria,  and  I  should 
much  like  to  know  whether  the  water  in  his  tank  is 
as  old  as  his  eel?    I  hope  that  it  is,  for  the  best 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE  -  G OSSIF. 


aquaria  are  those  where  the  water  never  is  changed, 
but  only  circulated  or  aerated  by  some  means,  and 
purified  by  growing  vegetation.  The  same  water 
has  remained  in  one  of  my  tanks  for  fifteen,  in 
another  for  seventeen  years  ;  yet  in  both  it  is  now 
absohitely  clear  and  colourless.  It  would  also  be 
interesting  to  hear  of  authentic  cases  of  aquarium 
animals  dying  of  old  agcy  and  to  elicit  opinions 
whether  death  can  be  traced  to  other  causes  than 
neglect,  starvation,  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  acci- 
dent, casualties,  and  the  like. 

Successful    aquarium  ■  keeping   is   no  easy  thing. 


and  3rd,  I  deprecate  the  waste  and  inefficiency  ac- 
cruing from  a  periodic  change  of  water,  adopted  by 
some  aquarium-keepers.  G.  S. 


A  FEW  WORDS  ABOUT  FERNS,— THEIR 
MANNER  OF  GROWTH,  AND  HOW 
THEY  MAY  BE  RAISED  FROM  SPORES. 

IT  is    generally  known,    I  believe,   that  ferns  do 
not  blossom    like  other  ordinary  wild  flowers, 
but  are  propagated  by  spores  instead  of  seeds.     The 


<-^., 


■^^.^^^^::M^k 


^^^ffmm  -'  I 


Mi  S^^-C 


Fig.  4.   Sharp-nosed  Eel  [Aiignina  ncutiivsiris). 


requiring  more  patience  and  perseverance  than 
always  falls  to  the  lot  of  public  companies  or 
private  individuals.  Many  and  great  are  the  diffi- 
culties and  disappointments  to  be  encountered.  It 
remains  for  each  to  think  out  these  independently, 
separately,  and  profit  by  the  experience  of  others.  I 
am  glad  to  see  our  editor,  Mr.  Taylor,  has  turned 
his  attention  to  this  much-neglected  subject,  as  shown 
by  the  announcement  of  his  book  on  "The  Aquarium." 
I  advocate  the  following  leading  principles  :  ist,  the 
exclusion  of  limg-breathcrs ;  2nd,  the  system  of  uu- 
changed  zvater,  purified  by  aeration  and  circulation ; 


spores  are  usually  borne  on  the  back  or  under-side  o' 
the  frond,  either  in  linear  forms  or  irregular  clusters. 
These  spores  are  simple  microscopic  cells,  furnished, 
like  pollen-grains,  with  a  double  coat,  and  differ 
from  seeds  in  that  they  germinate  from  any  point, 
while  the  latter  are  restricted  in  their  growth  to  two, 
— viz.  the  radicle  and  the  plumule,  which  develop 
about  the  same  time.  From  the  germinating  spore 
first  arises  a  small  bud-like  process,  which,  by  cell- 
division,  soon  produces  a  leaf-like  expansion,  termed 
a  prothallium.  From  the  under  part  of  the  pro- 
thallium  filamentous  rootlets  are  given  off,  and,  mixed 


8 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE  -  G O SSIF. 


with  these,  what  are  called  Antheridia  and  Arche- 
gonia.  The  former  are  scattered  promiscuously  over 
the  lower  surface  of  the  prothailium,  but  the  latter 
are  more  restricted  in  position  and  fewer  in  number, 
being  chiefly  found  in  the  thicker  central  parts  among 
the  rootlets. 


Fig.  5.   Frond  of  Parsley-fem 

{AZ/osorus  cris^itis). 


Fig.  6.  Portion  of  fertile  frond 
(magnified). 


Fig.    7.     Fertile   frond   of 
Osimmda  re  stalls. 


The  Antheridia  are  developed  from  the  lower  free 
surface  of  one  of  the  cells  of  the  prothailium,  and 
are  composed  of  a  single  cell,  or  of  two,  one 
being  superposed  on  the  other.  In  the  interior  of 
these  cells  another  is  afterwards  developed,  which 
becomes  segmented,  and  each  segment  develops  into 
a  minute  vesicle,  containing  a  spirally-coiled  filament 
called  an  Antherozoid,  or  Spermatozoid.  When  ripe, 
the  top  of  the  antheridial  cell  drops  off,  and  the 
vesicles  escape,  each  emitting  its  antherozoid,  which 
differs  in  form  from  those  of  mosses  and  liverworts, 
and  has  numerous  cilia. 

The  Archegonia  are  usually  produced  on  the  same 
prothailium  as  the  Antheridia.  Their  external  struc- 
ture is  that  of  very  minute  nipples,  formed  of  four 
collateral  tiers  of  cells,  with  a  passage  down  the 
centre ;  but  the  mouth  of  this  passage  or  canal  is 
closed,  until  the  archegonium  is  ripe,  and  then  it 
opens.  This  minute  canal  terminates,  at  its  end 
nearest  the  prothailium,  in  an  embryo-sac.  This  sac 
contains  the  germinal  corpuscle,  which  is  fertilized  by 
an  antherozoid  passing  down  the  canal  and  coming  in 
contact  with  it. 


It  seldom  happens  that  more  than  one  arche- 
gonium on  a  prothailium  becomes  fertilized,  the 
abortive  ones  turning  bro\^^^  in  the  canal  and  embryo- 
sac.  After  fertilization,  cell-division  ensues  in  the 
embryo  ;  and  the  result  is  the  formation  of  a  bud 
producing  foliage-leaves,  which  gradually  become  more 
and  more  perfect  till  the  true  characteristics  of  the 
fern  are  fully  developed. 


Fig.   9.  Pinnule  of  IVoodsia 
(magnified). 


Fig.  10.   Scale-fern  {Ccterach 
officinaruiit). 


Fig.  8.   M'oodsia  Ilvensis. 


Fig.  II.  Pinnule  of  Cetcrach 
(magnified). 


These  different  stages  of  growth  or  development 
may  be  observed  by  means  of  a  microscope.  Take  a 
frond  with  ripe  spores  and  place  it  on  a  sheet  of 
white  paper,  with  its  front  surface  uppermost,  and 
leave  it  there  for  a  day  or  two.  After  this  the  paper 
will  be  found  covered  vrith  a  brownish  dust :  this  is 
composed  of  the  spores.  Then  take  a  small  piece  of 
porous  sandstone  ;  moisten  it  with  water,  and  place 
upon  it  some  of  these  spores.  Place  the  sandstone 
with  the  spores  upon  it  in  a  shallow  saucer  of  water, 
and  cover  up  the  whole  with  a  bell-glass.  If  kept  in 
a  warm  place  and  damp,  but  not  too  wet,  some  of 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


the  prothallia  will  soon  be  developed.  Now,  by 
keeping  these  just  damp  for  some  time,  and  then 
suddenly  giving  them  a  larger  supply  of  water,  you 
will  induce  numerous  Antheridia  and  Archegonia  to 
open  themselves  ;  and  in  an  hour  or  so  after  this  the 
surfaces  of  the  larger  prothallia  will  be  covered 
with  moving  antherozoids.  If  some  canals  of  the 
Archegonia  be  now  laid  open,  you  may  occasionally 
see  these  antherozoids  in  motion. 


go 


a 


Fig.   12.    Development   of  spores  &c.,   of  Adiantum,  i  to  6  ; 
7,  spore  of  Oak-fern  ;  8,  ditto  oi  Polystkhiiiii  lobatinn,  &c. 


As  a  plain  practical  method  of  raising  ferns  from 
their  spores  take  the  following. 

First,  get  a  piece  of  turfy  peat  about  three  inches 
square  and  dip  it  into  boiling  water,  in  order  to  kill 
all  animal  or  fungoid  life  that  may  be  in  it.  Then 
break  it  up,  and  mix  it  with  some  fresh  cinders. 
Place  the  compost  in  a  saucer,  and  spread  the  spores 
over  the  surface,  leaving  them  exposed  to  view  on  the 
top  of  the  mould.  Cover  the  whole  with  a  bell- 
glass  to  protect  it.  If  after  this  you  keep  the  soil 
damp  but  not  wet,  and  in  a  warm  place,  you  will  find 
the  spores  germinate  more  quickly  than  if  they  were 
kept  at  a  lower  temperature. 


Peat  may  be  used  by  itself,  but  it  is  apt  to  get 
soppy.  Or  you  may  sow  on  silver-sand,  or  even 
porous  sandstone.  Do  not  attempt  to  transplant  the 
young  ferns  till  they  have  acquired  their  third  or 
fourth  fronds,  and  then  move  them  into  pots  with 
care.  W.  Brewster. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  GOURDS. 
{Ciuiirbitacea:), 

THE  plants  of  this  genus  belong  to  the  natural 
order  of  the  Cucurbitacea?,  and  are  very  nearly 
allied  to  the  Cucumber.  There  are  several  varieties, 
some  of  them  beautiful  in  form  and  colour,  others 
of  an  immense  size.  Those  which  are  commonly 
cultivated  in  England  for  food  are  the  Pumpkin 
(6\  Pepd),  and  the  Vegetable  Marrow  (C.  Snccada). 

The  Gourd  tribe  was  well  known  to  the  ancients, 
and  we  find  them  mentioned  in  several  places  in  the 
Scriptures.  It  furnished  a  model,  according  to  the 
marginal  reading  of  Knops  (i  Kings  vi.  l8),  for 
some  of  the  carved  work  in  cedar  in  the  temple  of 
Solomon. 

The  Greeks  appear  to  have  been  acquainted  with 
several  varieties  of  the  Gourd,  and  they  were  to  be 
seen  at  Athens  with  other  products  of  the  spring  and 
summer,  in  the  cold  season  of  the  year ;  for  Aristo- 
phanes, in  his  "  Seasons,"  speaking  of  the  glories  of 
that  luxurious  city,  says — • 

There  you  shall  at  mid-winter  see 

Cucumbers,  gourds,  grapes,  and  apples. 

And  wreaths  of  fragrant  violets. 

Covered  with  dust  as  if  in  summer. 

»  «  •  •  • 

There  you  may  see  fine  pumpkins  joined 

To  the  round  rape  and  mighty  turnip, 

So  that  a  stranger  well  may  fear 

To  name  the  season  of  the  year. — Athen-BUS,  b.  9,  14. 

Diodes  states  that  the  best  round  gourds  are  those 
grown  near  Magnesia,  a  town  of  Asia  Minor. 
Euthydemus,  the  Athenian,  in  his  book  on  vege- 
tables, states  that  the  seeds  of  the  long  gourd  were 
originally  introduced  from  India.  Pliny,  in  his 
Natural  History,  tells  us  that  gourds  resemble  the 
Cucumber  in  their  manner  of  growing,  and  he 
classifies  them  into  two  primary  kinds :  the  first, 
which,  from  the  rapidity  of  its  growth,  shooting 
upwards  and  creeping  along  the  rough  surfaces  of 
walls  and  covering  the  roofs  of  houses  in  a  very 
short  time,  he  calls  the  "  Roof  Gourd."  This  kind, 
he  says,  bears  a  fruit  of  considerable  weight,  which 
is  quite  immovable  by  the  action  of  the  wind, 
although  the  stalks  are  of  a  remarkable  thinness, 
This  plant  is  considered  by  Fee  to  be  C.  longior 
of  Dodoneeus  and  J.  Bauhim,  the  long  gourd  and 
other  varieties  probably  of  the  calabash  gourd— the 
C.  leiicantha  of  Duchesnes.  The  second  kind  men- 
tioned by  Pliny  are  those  which  creep  upon  the 
ground,  most  probably  the  Pumpkin  and  its  varie- 


lO 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S CIENCE  - G O SSIF. 


ties.  Gourds  were  held  in  higher  estimation  by  the 
Romans  than  either  melons  or  cucumbers,  as  they 
were  employed  for  more  useful  purposes  than  the 
former  fruits.  They  were  considered  a  light,  mild, 
wholesome  food.  The  young  and  tender  stalks  used 
to  be  cooked  and  served  up  to  table  as  a  good  dish. 
The  fhiit  of  the  roof  gourds  were  considered  superior 
to  those  which  crept  on  the  ground.  In  Pliny's 
time  large  gourds  were  used  as  jugs  and  pitchers 
in  the  baths  ;  but  long  before  that  time  he  tells 
us  they  had  been  employed  as  casks  for  keeping 
wine.  Nisander  tells  us  that  the  ancient  Greeks 
used  to  preserve  gourds  by  the  following  methods  : — 
Gutting  them  into  moderate-size  pieces  and  stringing 
them  like  beads  to  dry  in  the  air  ;  then  smoke  them. 
When  wanted  for  use,  each  piece  was  well  washed 
and  put  into  the  stewpan  with  various  herbs,  such 
as  cabbages,  endive,  and  dried  mushrooms.  The 
Romans  also  preserved  gourds  and  cucumbers,  we 
are  told,  for  some  months  by  putting  them  into  brine. 
Pliny  states  that  the  seeds  of  the  Gourd  ought  to 
be  steeped  in  water  before  sowing,  and  the  proper 
time  for  that  operation  should  be  between  the  vernal 
equinox  and  summer  solstice,  about  the  season  of  the 
festival  celebrating  the  anniversary  of  the  foundation 
of  Rome  called  Purilia.  The  Roman  gardeners  used 
to  force  gourds  to  grow  into  various  fantastic  shapes 
by  putting  them  into  moulds  when  quite  young ;  thus 
we  are  told  that  they  were  made  to  resemble  a  dragon, 
a  leg  of  a  man,  &c. 

Pliny  speaks  of  wild  cucumbers  and  gourds  which 
were  possessed  of  certain  medical  properties,  and 
gives  us  a  list  of  eleven  remedies  for  which  they 
were  applied.  The  leaves  of  the  Pumpkin  steeped 
in  wine  were  considered  good  for  the  bite  of  dogs 
and  insects,  called  Sep  by  the  Greeks,  perhaps  one 
of  the  centipede  tribe.  The  seeds  were  used  as  a 
charm  to  cure  the  ague. 

According  to  L'Obel,  the  Pompion  or  Pumpkin 
was  introduced  into  this  country  from  the  Levant 
in  1570,  and  till  about  1815  this  was  the  principal 
plant  of  the  Gourd  kind  cultivated  in  the  British 
gardens. 

Parkinson  mentions,  in  his  *'  Paradisi  "  (1629),  that 
in  his  time  only  one  kind  of  Pompion  was  cultivated, 
but  that  it  would  be  a  waste  of  time  to  recite  all  the 
forms  and  colours  in  which  Nature  listeth  to  show 
herself  in  this  plant.  In  using  it  as  a  culinaiy  vegetable, 
he  tells  us  that  it  was  customary  to  take  out  the  inner 
watery  substance  with  the  seeds,  and  fill  up  the 
place  with  pippins,  and  having  laid  on  the  cover 
which  was  cut  off  from  the  top  to  take  out  the  pulp, 
bake  them  together ;  and  the  poor  of  the  city  as 
well  as  the  country  people  do  eat  thereof  as  a  dainty 
dish. 

Gerard,  in  his  "Herbal"  (1636),  says  there  be 
divers  sorts  of  gourds — some  wild,  others  tame  for  the 
garden  ;  some  bearing  fruit  like  unto  a  bottle,  others 
longer  and  bigger  at  the  end,  keeping  no  certain  form 


or  fashion.  He  tells  us  that  the  juice  of  the  Gourd 
being  popped  into  the  ear  with  oil  of  roses  is  good 
for  the  pain  thereof^  proceeding  from  a  hot  cause.  It 
is  also  affirmed  that  the  long  gourd  or  cucumber, 
being  laid  in  the  cradle  or  bed  by  the  young  infant 
whilst  it  is  asleep  and  sick  of  the  ague,  it  shall  very 
quickly  be  made  whole. 

According  to  Miller,  pompions  v/ere  the  melons  of 
our  early  horticulturists,  which  word  was  corrupted 
into  millions,  a  name  by  which  they  are  still  known 
in  some  parts  of  England  by  the  uneducated  classes. 
It  was  usual  in  Miller's  time,  as  in  the  present  day, 
for  the  English  cottagers  to  plant  pumpkins  on  their 
manure-heaps  in  the  fields  and  gardens,  letting  the 
shoots  train  along  the  grass,  without  taking  much 
trouble  or  care  of  them.  In  the  second  volume  of  the 
"Transactions  of  the  Horticultural  Society,"  there  is  a 
description,  with  an  account  of  the  cultivation  and 
figure  of  the  Gourd  called  Vegetable  Marrow(5'«(:(frta?<z), 
read  in  December,  1816,  by  Mr.  J.  Sabine.  It  had 
not  long  been  then  known  in  this  country.  The  most 
probable  account  of  its  introduction  is  that  the  first 
seeds  were  brought  here  in  one  of  our  East-Indian 
ships,  and  came  most  likely  from  Pei^sia,  where  it  is 
known  and  called  Cicrader.  Phillips  states  that  the 
Vegetable  Marrow  was  not  seen  for  sale  in  our  shops 
or  markets  before  1 819.  It  is  now  extensively  grown, 
and  the  fruit  generally  used  for  culinary  purposes  in 
every  stage  of  its  growth.  This  plant  is  considered  as 
a  variety  of  the  Pumpkin. 

Where  the  climate  is  warm  enough  for  them,  all 
the  varieties  of  Gourd  are  cultivated,  and  form  a 
very  important  article  of  human  food ;  the  super- 
abundant slioots  are  also  used  for  feeding  cattle. 
In  America  and  islands  of  the  West  Indies,  they  are 
extensively  cultivated,  and  some  species  grow  to 
an  enormous  size.  The  Rev.  ■ —  Griffiths,  in  his 
"Natural  History  of  Barbadoes  "  (1750),  mentions 
some  which,  when  cleared  of  their  pith,  are  capable 
of  containing  twenty-two  gallons  ;  but  he  adds,  how- 
ever, such  are  very  uncommon.  Phillips  relates  that, 
in  some  parts  of  America,  the  jugglers  or  quacks 
extract  the  pulp  out  of  the  pumpkins,  and  fill  them 
with  stones,  with  which  they  make  a  great  noise  and 
pretend  to  frighten  away  all  complaints  of  their 
superstitious  patients. 

The  Squash  {C.  Melopepd)  is  another  kind  of 
gourd,  which  is  a  great  favourite  with  the  Ame- 
ricans. Gourds  were  found  growing  by  Captain 
Cook  in  the  Sandwich  Islands  of  an  enormous  size. 
The  inhabitants  applied  them  to  all  manner  of 
domestic  purposes ;  and,  in  order  to  fit  them  better 
to  their  respective  uses,  they  had  the  ingenuity  to 
give  them  different  forms  by  tying  bandages  round 
them  during  their  growth ;  they  also  had  a  method 
of  scorching  them  with  a  heated  instrument,  so  as 
to  give  them  the  appearance  of  being  painted  in  a 
variety  of  neat  and  elegant  forms.  Specimens  of 
these  gourds  are  to  be  seen  in  most  museums  and 


HARD  Wl  CK  E  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  0  SSI  P. 


II 


collections    of   natural    history    in    this   and    other 
countries. 

The  Gourd  and  its  varieties  may  have  sprung  from 
one  original  species,  and,  like  other  plants,  have 
been  greatly  improved  by  cultivation.  De  CandoUe, 
in  discussing  the  history  and  origin  of  cultivated 
plants,  refers  all  the  squashes  and  pumpkins  to  the 
Old  World,  but  not  to  India,  because  they  have  no 
name  for  them  in  Sanscrit.  Some  American  bota- 
nists believe  that  the  Pumpkin  and  its  varieties  are 
indigenous  to  that  continent,  as  the  Indians  declare 
gourds  had  been  a  common  food  among  them  long 
before  the  Europeans  discovered  that  country  ;  and 
Champlain,  who,  in  1604,  made  a  voyage  along  the 
coast  of  what  is  now  the  State  .of  Maine,  found  the 
inhabitants  cultivating  citrouilles  (gourds)  along 
with  maize.  Pickering,  in  his  "Races  of  Men," 
says  that  specimens  of  a  small  variety  of  gourd 
were  exhumed  from  an  ancient  cemetery  in  Peru, 
like  those  which  ai'e  still  seen  in  the  markets  of 
Lima.  M.  Naudin,  an  indefatigable  and  distin- 
guished botanist,  has,  during  many  years,  observed 
and  experimented  upon  all  the  known  forms  of 
gourds,  collected  from  all  parts  of  the  globe  and 
cultivated  at  the  Jardin  des  Plantes.  He  reduces 
them  to  six  species,  only  three  of  which,  with  their 
numerous  varieties,  are  used  as  esculents  (viz., 
Cucurbita  maxima,  the  large  yellow  gourd  ;  C.  Pepo, 
the  Pumpkin,  which  he  considers  as  probably  the 
most  variable  plant  in  the  world ;  and  C.  moschaia, 
the  Water-melon).  An  interesting  paper  on  this 
subject  will  be  found  in  the  American  Joiirnal  of 
Science  and  Art,  2nd  ser.,  vol.  xxiv.,  and  also  in 
Darwin's  "  Variation  of  Animals  and  Plants  under 
Domestication. " 

The  anther-cells,  which  contain  the  pollen  of  this 
tribe,  present  inequalities  and  curves  of  a  remarkable 
appearance  under  the  microscope. 

The  only  plant  among  our  English  wild  flowers 
that  belongs  to  the  Gourd  tribe  is  Bryony  {Biyoriia 
dioica),  which  may  be  seen  climbing  over  our 
hedges  and  thickets  in  the  summer,  with  its  whitish 
flowers  with  green  veins,  and  red  berries  in  the 
autumn.  This  plant  abounds  with  a  fetid  and  acrid 
juice.  Hampden  G.  Glasspoole. 


OUR    COMMON     BRITISH    FOSSILS,    AND 

WPIERE  TO  FIND  THEM. 

No.  IIL 

By  J.  E.  Taylor,  F.L.S.,  F.G.S.,  &c. 

TO  a  young  and  enthusiastic  geologist,  perhaps 
there  is  no  class  of  fossils  to  which  so 
much  interest  is  attached  as  the  THlobites.  They 
are  extremely  elegant  objects,  and  are  easily 
identified.  Their  strict  limit  to  the  primary  rocks 
makes  them  geologically  valuable  as  means  of  iden- 


tifying strata.  Even  non-geologists  remember  their 
glib,  half-scientific,  half-popular  family  name,  and 
will  occasionally  air  it  as  if  it  were  the  complete  key 
to  paleontology.  A  good  collection  of  well-arranged 
trilobites  looks  better  in  the  cabinet  than  perhaps 
any  other  fossils.  There  is  such  a  variation  from  the 
leading  type  that  one  cannot  wonder  the  number  of 
genera  should  be  so  great.  No  two  are  externally 
alike,  and  the  deviation  is  sometimes  so  extreme  that 
the  Trilobites  are  no  longer  trilobed. 

Trilobites  are  among  the  few  fossils  which  possess 
the  associations  of  folk-lore.  Ammonites  and  encri- 
nite  stems,  Gryphea  and  Cycadites,  share  with  them 
the  feeble  notice  which  the  curious  gave  to  them  in 
pre-geological  days.  At  that  time  all  fossils  were 
called  "petrifactions,"  and  all  were  equally  regarded 
as  evidence  of  the  universality  of  the  Noachian 
Deluge.  Perhaps  nowhere  are  Trilobites  more  abun- 
dantly visible  than  in  the  Wenlock  limestones,  near 
Dudley.  The  latter  have  been  upheaved  to  a  very 
high  angle,  and  the  surfaces  of  the  hard  limestone 
slabs  are  so  thickly  bestrewn  with  fossils,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  place  the  tip  of  one's  finger  without  its 
coming  into  contact  with  some  of  them.  These 
limestones  are  not  even  moss-clad,  but  are  constantly 
clean,  from  weathering.  The  fossils  are  slightly 
harder  in  mineral  substance,  and  therefore  stand  out 
in  relief.  They  are  veritably  museums  of  Upper 
Silurian  fossils,  and  although  hard  to  extract  with  the 
hammer,  the  student  may  while  away  many  a  sum- 
mer hour  in  gloating  over  these  lovely  treasures  of 
the  ancient  deep.  Trilobites  are  there  in  uncountable 
thousands,  but  nearly  always  in  disjointed  "heads" 
and  "tails."  We  cannot  wonder,  therefore,  that 
they  should  have  attracted  the  attention  of  those  fond 
of  natural  phenomena,  although  in  the  days  long 
anterior  to  scientific  explanations  of  them.  As 
"Dudley  Locusts,"  one  genus  of  Trilobites  (Calymene) 
was  long  known  ;  even  the  fact  of  their  standing  out 
in  relief  from  the  limestone  was  noticed  as  very 
remarkable,  for  nothing  was  known  in  those  days 
of  sub-aerial  denudation  or  weathering  of  rocks. 
They  were  named  "  Trilobites  "  as  long  ago  as  1 771, 
by  Walch,  in  his  "Natural  Histoiy  of  Petrifactions," 
on  account  of  the  three  lobes  of  joints  which  usually 
run  along  the  body.  Still  their  crustacean  origin  had 
been  guessed  at  by  bold  speculators,  and  even  Lin- 
neus  classed  them  among  the  Entomostraca. 

How  utterly  at  sea  the  majority  of  naturalists  were 
as  to  the  true  nature  of  these  singular  fossils  is  indi- 
cated by  some  of  their  generic  names.  Agnostus, 
Asaphtis,  Calyinette,  &c.,  the  commonest  of  these, 
are  only  Greek  words  signifying  "unknown,"  or 
"  concealed,"  &c.  Still,  since  the  time  of  Brongniart 
they  have  been  imiversally  regarded  as  crustaceans, 
and  the  universal  opinion  is  that  they  are  allied  to  the 
Isopoda,  only  that  they  were  legless.  Mr.  Henry 
Woodward,  F.  R.  S. ,  who  has  taken  up  Mr.  Salter's 
investigations  among  the  Trilobites  with  great  en- 


12 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  0  SSI  P. 


thusiasm,  believed  he  had  detected  evidences  of 
legs  on  the  under  side  of  some  specimens,  but  others 
thought  these  to  be  the  remains  of  "  calcic  arches. " 
It  may  be,  however,  that  the  extinct  Trilobites  really 
represent  a  defunct  order,  and  as  such  we  usually  find 
them  arranged  in  systematic  works  on  Zoology.  In 
that  case  they  would  come  in  as  "missing  links" 
between  the  Isopoda,  of  which  the  common  Wood- 
louse  (Onisciis)  and  the  Shrimp-parasite  (Bopy}-tcs) 
are  familiar  types,  and  the  Merostotuata,  of  which 
the  well-known  "  King-crabs  "  {Li in ii Ins)  are 
examples.     The  larval  state  of  the  higher  classes  in 


Fig.  13.  Asaphus  caiidatus. 


Fig.  14.  "  Dudley  Locust  " 
or  Trilobite  (Calymene 
Bliciiiefibachit). 


the  same  order  frequently  resembles  the  adult  condi- 
tions of  the  lower.  In  the  Crustacea  a  very  large 
number  of  genera  are  alike  in  the  youngest  state. 
From  its  resemblance  to  the  adult  condition  of  one 
of  the  lowest  of  the  crustaceans  called  Nauplius,  this 
state  is  usually  called  the  ' '  Nanpliiis  stage. "  No  other 
group  of  animals  passes  through  so  many  metamor- 
phoses before  reaching  maturity,  and  each  of  these 
is  so  well  marked  off  from  the  rest,  that  it  might 
be  regarded  as  a  generic  type.  Indeed,  in  many 
cases,  genera  have  been  founded  on  these  distinc- 
tions, so  that  the  same  animal,  at  different  periods  of 
its  life,  was  regarded  not  only  as  a  distinct  species, 
but  often  as  belonging  to  another  genus.  The  young  of 
the  common  lobster,  for  instance,  passes  through  at 
least  wastages,  which  are  so  unlike  each  other  that  only 
careful  observation  has  settled  they  are  not  different 
animals.  Even  when  it  has  reached  the  adult  condi- 
tion, a  lobster  is  so  unlike  what  it  will  be  when  full- 
grown,  that  it  might  be  set  down  as  belonging  to 
another  genus.  It  is  as  if  we  knew  nothing  of  the 
metamorphoses  of  the  Butterfly,  and  therefore  had 
mistaken  the  caterpillar  and  chry.salis  for  animals 
belonging  to  groups  widely  separated  from  the 
winged  insect. 

The  young  of  the  Lininbis,  or  King-crab,  greatly 
resembles  the  adult  Trilobites.  As  the  King-crabs 
succeeded  the  latter  in  geological  time,  it  may  be  that 


it  was  due  to  the  Trilobites  having  been  "advanced 
a  stage."  It  will  be  seen  that  a  species  found  in  the 
ironstone  nodules  of  Coalbrookdale,  called  Belinnrus, 
more  nearly  resembles  one  genus  of  the  Trilobites 
[Trinndeits)  than  the  King-crabs  of  our  own  days. 
Again,  the  female  Bopyrus  (fig.  20),  which  parasiti- 
cally  attaches  itself  to  the  inner  surface  of  the  carapace 
of  the  Shrimp,  has  a  rude  resemblance  to  the  seg- 
mented body  of  some  of  the  less  highly-organized 
Trilobites.     The  fact  of  its  being  a  parasite  shows 


Fig.  15.  Under  surface  of  recent  King-crab  (Z./ww/«.f). 

that  it  must  have  undergone  bodily  transforma- 
tion. The  figures  will  show  that  the  Trilobites  find 
their  natural  history  place  between  the  groups  above 
named.  Haeckel,  however,  places  them  among  the 
"gill-footed  crabs"  {Brac/iiopoda),  of  which  the 
water-fleas  are  familiar  examples.  We  do  not  know 
on  what  grounds  this  is  done,  for  no  breathing  or 
locomotive  organs  have  as  yet  certainly  been  found, 
although  thousands  of  specimens  of  all  the  genera 
have  been  carefully  examined  on  their  under  sides. 
Again,  the  compound  eyes  of  the  Trilobites  show  that 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


13 


they  were  in  this  respect  really  very  highly  organized, 
^nd  this  highly-developed  specialization  of  the  sense 
of  sight  certainly  proves  that  they  ought  to  be  placed 
much  higher  among  the  Crustacea  than  we  find  them 
in  Haeckel's  "Systematic  Survey."  In  many  species 
of  Trilobites  the  empty  eye-sockets  can  be  seen  with 
the  naked  eye,  notably  so  in  Phacops  caiidatus,  in 
which  each  eye  contained  four  hundred  facets.  Ac- 
cording to  Owen,  AsapJiHS  tyrannus  possessed  no 
fewer  than  six  thousand  eyes  !  The  number  of  eyes 
among  the  Trilobites  varies  considerably  ;  some  spe- 
cies have  none  at  all. 


Fig.  16.  Fossil  King  crab,  from 
coal  measures  of  Coalbrook- 
dale {^Bclinurus  trilobitioidfs). 


Fig.  17.  Tritutcleus  fiin- 
briatus.  Upper  Llandeilo 
beds,  Builth. 


We  have  already  referred  to  the  fact  that  the  Tri- 
lobites are  peculiar  to  the  primary  rocks.  Although 
they  seem  to  range  as  high  as  the  Permian,  they  are 
chiefly  confined  to  the  strata  below  and  including  the 
Carboniferous  limestone.  No  fewer  than  four  hundred 
species,  grouped  in  fifty  genera,  have  been  described 


Fig.  18.  Compound  eye  of  fossil  Trilobite  {_Asa/>hiis  caudaiits) 

slightly  magnified. 

Fig.  ig.  Ocelli  of  ditto  (magnified). 


from  these  formations,  and  new  forms  are  still  oc- 
casionally met  with.  The  greater  number  of  the 
species  are  of  Silurian  age  ;  those  of  the  Devonian 
rocks  are  of  a  well-defined  character ;  and  those 
from  the  Carboniferous  limestone  even  more  distinct 
still.  It  would  seem  as  if  they  reached  their  maximum 
of  size,  as  well  as  of  variation,  during  the  Silurian 
period.  The  largest  is  the  Asaphtts  gigas,  eighteen 
inches  in  length,  found  at  Llandillo.  On  the  other 
hand,  they  appear  to  have  decreased  in  size  as  well  as 
in  numbers  when  we  reach  the  carboniferous  rocks. 
The  genus  Phillipsia,  there  represented,  rarely  includes 
specimens  more  than  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in 
length.     It  ought  to   be  stated,    however,  that  we 


know  little  about  the  embryology  of  the  Trilobites . 
There  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  many  of  the  so-called 
species,  and  even  genera,  are  larval  stages  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  same  species.  We  have  referred 
to  the  common  Lobster  as  an  illustration  of  the 
clearly-marked  characters  appertaining  to  the  various 
stages  in  the  life-history  of  the  same  individual.  It 
must  be  remembered  also  that  each  of  these  stages  is 
accompanied  by  as  many  "moults";  and  if  we  reason 
from  our  general  experience  of  the  embryology  of  the 
Crustacea,  we  must  allow  that  the  Trilobites  were 


Fig.  20.  Parasite  of  Shrimp  [Bopyrus  crangorimt)  ;  a,  upper 
side  ;  b,  profile  ;  c,  under  side  ;  d,  highly  magnified  and 
aborted  foot  ;  e,  upper  side  of  male  Bopyrus,  much  smaller 
than  female  ;  _/,  lower  side  of  ditto ;  g,  part  of  carapace  of 
shrimp,  swelling  out  to  show  presence  of  parasite  underneath. 


affected  in  the  same  manner.  The  number  of  larval 
stages  they  passed  through  depends  upon  the  position 
they  attained  as  regard?  organization.  We  think  this 
was  much  higher  than  Haeckel  imagines,  and  there- 
fore that  the  stages  may  have  been  numerous.  It  is 
to  be  expected  that  individuals  would  die  and  be 
buried  in  the  muddy  ooze  in  each  of  these  intermediate 
states.  Thus  found,  what  more  natural  than  to  regard 
them  as  different  species,  and  even  different  genera  ? 
Only  a  fuller  knowledge  of  crustacean  embryology 
will  clear  away  a  good  deal  of  the  ignorant  nomen- 
clature which  has  gathered  about  these  interesting 
creatures,  and  it  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  we  shall 
ever  know  their  accurate  life-history.  Barrande,  who 
had  such  splendid  opportunities  for  studying  the  Tri- 
lobites, and  who  made  equally  good  use  of  them, 
satisfied  himself,  in  the  case  of  no  fewer  than  twenty 
different  species  of  Trilobites,  that  they  passed  through 
larval  stages,  each  unlike  the  other.  In  some  in- 
stances he  traced  them  from  when  they  must  only  just 


14 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE  -  G OSSIE . 


have  escaped  from  the  egg  to  the  fully-developed  and 
mature  state.    In  the  first  instance  they  had  no  joints 
to  the  body,  and  therefore  resembled  one  of  the  cara- 
paces of  the  "Water-fleas";  in  the  last  they  pos- 
sessed ring-covered  bodies,  movable  tails,  and  com- 
pound eyes.      This  proves  that,    although   in   their 
young  states   Trilobites  resembled  the  Ostracoda,  in 
their  adult  life  they  had  proceeded  much  further  ;  so 
that   Haeckel's  classification  is  thus  proved  to  be 
incorrect.     We  ought  to  add  that,  parallel  with  the 
instance  of  the  development  of  the  Lobster,  all  the 
above  changes  noted  by  Barrande  in  the  Trilobites, 
occurred  before  the  animal  had  attained  a  tenth  part 
of  its  full  size.     In  Lyell's  "  Manual  of  Geology  "  the 
student  will  find  engravings  of  the  Triimdens  in  three 
stages,  each   of  which   appears  specifically   distinct 
from  the  other.     Another  skilled  observer  of  the  Tri- 
lobites was  Burmeister,  who  was  strongly  of  opinion 
that  all  of  them  underwent   metamorphoses.     This 
fact  ought  to  be  a  warning  against  the  careless  manu-   1 
facture  of  "  species."     In  the  case  of  fossils  less  care 
has  been  taken  in  this  respect  than  with  living  animals, 
and,    in   many  instances,    some   of  those  who  have 
christened  species  were  geologists  rather  than  natural-   j 
ists.      The  slightest  differences  have  been  sufficient   ! 
to  warrant  a  new  specific  name,  and  thus  it  is  more 
than  possible  that  the  various  stages  in  the  life-history  j 
of  one  species  may  be  illustrating  our  manuals  as 
distinct  genera  and   species  !     Even  with  regard  to 
sex  in  adult  individuals,  little  or  nothing  is  known ;   : 
although  among  nearly  all  the  Crustacea  these  differ  i 
so  extremely.     Owen  remarks  that  the  difference  in 
the  head-plate  and  the  terminal   spines  of  the  tail  in 
the  two  so-called  species  named  Asaphus  caiidaius  and  j 
Asaphus  longicaudatiis,  may  only  be  due  to  difference 
of  sex  ;  the  inference,  therefore,   is  that  these  two 
species  represent  the  male  and  female  of  only  one.         j 

The  earliest  Trilobites  (Agnostus,  &^c.)  are  usually 
the  simplest  in  structure,  so  that  these  animals  are 
not  an  exception  to  the  general  palceontological  rule 
that  the  simpler  always  precede  the  more  complex 
species  of  the  same  genus  or  class.  Agnostiis  is  usually 
found  in  large  shoals,  something  after  the  manner  in 
which  the  carapaces  of  the  ancient  water- fleas  are 
met  with  in  some  of  the  coal-measure  shales.  Owen 
suggests  that  this  disposition  of  Agnostiis  is  "as  if  it 
were  the  larval  form  of  some  large  trilobite."  The 
young  of  all  Crustacea  usually  associate  together  in 
shoals,  and  this  suggestion  might  therefore  be  reason- 
ably taken  in  'consideration  with  what  has  already 
been  said  on  the  subject. 

The  compound  eyes  of  Trilobites  are  usually  thickly 
placed  on  raised  halfmoon-shaped  ridges,  and  the  fact 
that  the  sockets  are  so  well  preserved,  speaks  plainly 
of  the  quiet  way  in  which  the  fine  mud  was  deposited 
in  which  tlie  animals  were  buried  and  ultimately 
fossilized.  Dr.  Buckland  spoke  of  these  ridges  as 
being  '  *  like  a  circular  bastion,  ranging  nearly  round 
three-fourths  of  a  circle,  each  commanding  so  much 


of  the  horizon  that  where  the  distinct  vision  of  one 
eye  ceased,  that  of  the  other  began."  He  also  veiy 
sagaciously  referred  to  the  form  of  the  ridges  and 
their  position  on  the  head-shield  as  "  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  uses  of  an  animal  destined  to  live  at 
the  bottom  of  the  water  :  to  look  downwards  was  as 
much  impossible  as  it  was  unnecessary  for  a  creature 
living  at  the  bottom  ;  but  for  horizontal  vision  in  every 
direction  the  contrivance  is  complete."  We  cannot 
refrain  from  further  quoting  a  well-known   passage 


Fig.  21.  Simplest  kind  of  Trilobite  (Agnosites  pisiformis). 

from  the  same  author,  in  which  a  logical  inference  is 
drawn  from  the  structure  of  the  eyes  of  Trilobites. 
' '  The  results  arising  from  these  facts  are  not  confined 
to  animal  physiology  ;  they  give  information  also  re- 
garding the  condition  of  the  ancient  sea  and  the 
ancient  atmosphere,  and  the  relations  of  both  these 
media  to  light,  at  that  remote  period  when  the 
earliest  marine  animals  were  furnished  with  instru- 
ments of  vision  in  which  the  minute  optical  adapta- 
tions were  the  same  that  impart  the  perception  of 
light  to  crustaceans  now  living  at  the  bottom  of  the 

sea With  regard  to  the  atmosphere,  we  infer 

that  had  it  differed  materially  from  its  actual  condi- 
tion, it  might  have  so  far  affected  the  rays  of  light  that 
a  corresponding  difference  from  the  eyes  of  existing 
crustaceans  would  have  been  found  in  the  organs  on 
which  the  impressions  of  such  rays  were  then  received. 
Regarding  light  itself  also,  we  leam  from  the  resem- 
blance of  these  most  ancient  organizations  to  existing 
eyes,  that  the  mutual  relations  of  light  to  the  eye,  and 
of  the  eye  to  light,  were  the  same  at  the  time  when 
crustaceans  endowed  with  the  faculty  of  vision  were 
first  placed  at  the  bottom  of  the  primeval  seas,  as  at 
the  present  moment." 
I        That    the    Trilobites    were    bottom-feeders    and 
■   haunters,  there  can  be  little  doubt.     The   late  Mr. 
'    Salter,  than  whom  no  geologist  was  better  acquainted 
i   with  Trilobites,  was  of  opinion  that   they  not   only 
:   lived  there,  but  fed  on  the  organic  mud,  something 
!   after  the  manner  of  earth-worms.     The  simple  struc- 
(   ture  of  their  mouths,  and  the  absence  of  aM/^««(?  or 
i   feelers,  indicate  such  a  habit.     The  inexorable  limits 
I   of  space,  however,  compel  us  to  postpone  a  further 
'   consideration   of  this  interesting  subject   to  another 

chapter. 
1  {To  l;e  continued.) 


Colour  of  Birds.— In  addition  to  the  white 
specimens  of  birds  specified  by  A.  P.,  I  have  a  hedge- 
sparrow  quite  white,  except  parts  of  the  pnmary 
feathers.—^.  .S".  IVesl ey. 


HA  RDWl  CKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  0  SSIF. 


15 


MICROSCOPY. 

Amphitetras  Antediluviana. — In  the  number 
of  Science-Gossip  for  December,  1867  (vol.  iii. 
p.  271),  Mr.  F.  Kitton  contributed  a  valuable  paper 
on  the  genus  Amphitetras,  and  amongst  others,  de- 
scribed this  species,  together  with  two  varieties  of  it : 
/3.  With  sides  deeply  incurved,  and  angles  much  pro- 
duced ;  and  y,  with  five  incurved  sides.  Of  the 
latter  (which  is  figi.u-ed)  Mr.  Kitton  remarks  :  "  This 
variety  appears  to  be  rare,  as  I  know  of  only  one 
locality  in  which  it  has  been  found,  viz.,  Hayling 
Island,  Hants,  in  which  it  was  rare."  I  have  seen 
no  record  of  the  occurrence  of  this  beautiful  diatom 
elsewhere,  and  therefore  have  much  pleasure  in 
adding  a  second  locality,  also  in  Hampshire,  viz., 
Lymington.  Last  week  I  collected  material  from 
two  places,  the  shore  of  the  Solent  below  South 
Baddesley,  exactly  opposite  Yarmouth  ;  and  the  bank 
of  the  river  'facing  Lymington.  The  first  gathering 
yielded  Ainphi.  antediluviana,  var.  /3,  in  great  abun- 
dance, but  without  the  typical  form  ;  the  second  pro- 
duced var.  /3  in  less  numbers,  sparingly  intermixed 
with  var.  y.  Should  Mr.  Kitton  care  to  see  a  speci- 
men, I  shall  be  happy  to  send  him  a  slide  on  receiv- 
ing a  line  from  him.  I  would  be  glad  to  know 
whether  this  beautiful  pentagonal  form  has  been 
found  in  other  counties.—^.  D.  Marquand,  Brock- 
inhitrst. 

Waterproof  Cement. — I  should  like  to  know 
the  formula  for  a  cement  impervious  to  water,  and 
which  neither  peels  off  nor  cracks.  The  cement  is 
required  for  the  purpose  of  spinning  rings  on  dry  test- 
slides,  so  that  immersion-lenses  may  be  used  without 
the  water  running  in.  The  cements  used  by  English 
mounters  and  MoUer  are  neither  impermeable  nor 
durable.  Perhaps  I  may  get  the  required  informa- 
tion through  the  kindness  of  some  of  your  readers 
who  have  employed  such  a  cement,  and  tested  its 
qualities. — A.  S.  G. 

A  Word  about  the  "Pygidium." — That  old 
well-known  "test,"  the  pygidium  of  the  flea,  is  one 
of  the  first  objects  a  young  microscopist  desires  to 
possess,  and  a  veiy  curious  apparatus  it  is.  I  shall 
be  thankful  to  any  one  learned  in  such  matters  who 
will  tell  me  what  is  supposed  to  be  its  use  to  its  pro- 
prietor. I  cannot  find  it  mentioned  in  any  woi-k  on 
insects  in  my  possession.  But  the  flea  is  not  the 
only  possessor  of  a  pygidium,  though  it  certainly  is 
A  I  in  that  line  ;  nor  is  it  always  single,  or  to  be 
looked  for  in  the  same  position.  Generally  it  is  to 
be  found  in  pairs  at  the  extremity  of  the  abdomen  ; 
but  not  always,  for  in  the  Ixodes  of  the  tiger  and 
Indian  bullock  we  find  two  on  the  underside  of  the 
abdomen,  nearer  the  upper  than  the  lower  end.  The 
Chrysopa  perea  and  vulgaris  have  pygidia  in  the  usual 
locality;  and,  I  believe,  several  other  insects  have 


the  same,  but  I  cannot  recall  their  names.  Perhaps 
the  most  uncommon  pygidia  are  those  of  the  Agrion 
pidchclliun,  a  very  interesting  insect  in  many  points. 
Like  all  dragon-flies,  it  is  a  voracious  feeder,  and  de- 
vours all  it  can  catch  in  the  insect  line  daily.  It 
possesses  a  powerful  set  of  jaws  for  breaking  up  its 
prey,  and  gastric  teeth,  well  suited  for  "grinding  the 
bones  to  make  its  bread,"  like  the  giant  of  our 
nursery  days,  save  that  he  preferred  Englishmen  to 
English  insects.  The  ovipositor  has  a  formidable  set 
of  jaws,  something  like  those  of  the  Sirex,  and  its 
pygidia  are  large  and  mammiform,  quite  at  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  abdomen.  Its  wings  are  also  worth 
studying.  In  short,  I  know  no  insect  possessing 
more  points  of  interest,  and  strongly  recommend  it  to 
the  notice  of  those  who  take  a  pleasure  in  such  things. 
If  asked  where  it  is  to  be  had,  I  may  say  that  it  is  not 
in  any  list  of  objects  that  I  have  seen.  My  specimens 
oi  Agrion  pulchelluni  and  Chrysopa  are  by  Mr.  Enoch, 
of  30,  Russell  Road,  Seven  Sisters'  Road,  N.,  who 
has,  I  believe,  a  good  supply  of  both.  But,  if  the 
want  be  made  known,  others  possibly  may  be  found 
able  to  supply  them. — John  Bramhall. 

The  Viviparous  Blenny.  — This  well-known 
fish,  rejoicing  in  such  other  popular  names  as  the 
"  Greenbone,"  "  Eel-pout,"  &c.  [Zoarces  vivipancs), 
retains  its  ova  until  they  are  hatched  within  the  body 
of  the  female,  and  therefore  come  into  the  world 
alive.  I  obtained  several  females  lately,  full  of 
young.  Although  the  female  had  just  died,  I  cut 
open  the  belly,  and  liberated  some  hundreds  of  young. 
One  of  the  latter,  placed  under  the  microscope,  and 
viewed  with  a  quarter-inch  objective,  showed  the 
circulation  of  blood  in  the  transparent  tail-end  of  the 
body  for  more  than  five  hours  afterwards.  It  is  the 
best  object  I  know  of  for  showing  blood-circulation, 
the  shape  of  the  corpuscles  being  often  clearly  de- 
fined.— y.  E.  Taylor. 

Parasites  on  Midge. — Is  it  generally  known 
that  the  small  midge  Psyehoda  is  infested  with  para- 
sites ?  I  have  often  found  this  midge  with  from  one 
to  four  of  what,  for  a  better  name,  I  must  term  lice, 
small  creatures  somewhat  resembling  cheese-mites, 
but  of  a  yellow  or  light  cinnamon  colour.  They  cling 
to  the  abdomen,  ranged  closely  together,  with  their 
heads  towards  the  heart  of  the  midge.  On  being 
disturbed,  they  run  away  very  quickly.  I  have  suc- 
ceeded in  mounting  on  a  slide  one  good  specimen 
along  with  the  fly.  I  have  also  noticed  in  pressing 
one  of  these  live  midges  under  a  glass  cover  with  a 
view  to  mounting,  on  one  occasion  one,  and  on 
another  occasion  two,  minute  worms  expelled  from 
its  body.  Under  the  microscope  their  appearance  and 
motion  closely  resembled  thread-worms  [Asearides). 
The  vitality  of  these  parasites  was  very  extraordi- 
nary. They  lived  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  on 
a  glass  slide,  kept  moist  with  spirits  of  turpentine  ; 
and  under  dammar  (dissolved  in  benzole)  they  con- 


i6 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  0  SSI  P. 


tinued  to  wriggle  about  for  a  considerable  time,  ap- 
parently not  much  inconvenienced  by  a  dose  of  these 
ardent  spirits. — A.  M. 

How    TO     RESOLVE    TEST     DiATOMS     WITHOUT 

ANY  SrECiAL  Apparatus.  —  Turn  the  instrument 
at  right  angles  to    the  sun  ;    close  the   diaphragm 
so  as  to  cut  o§^  all  light  bdaiv  the  stage;  or,  if  that 
cannot  be  done,  place  a  piece  of  black  paper  behind 
the  slide.     Bring  the  light  on  to  the  object  at  the  angle 
zvhich  suits  it  best.     This  is  easily  done  by  moving  the 
microscope  to  the  right  or  left.   If  necessary,  increase 
the  light  by  the  use  of  the  stage  or  stand  bull's-eye 
condenser.     That  is   all.     A  black  ring  round   the 
covering-glass  is  an  objection  when  the  cover  is  small, 
as  it  interferes  with  the  light.    To  carry  out  this  plan 
successfully,  only  two  things  are  necessaiy — viz. ,  the 
sun  and  an  object-glass,  capable  of  resolving  the  test, 
just  before  it.     It  is  not  intended  to  supersede  the 
use  of  the  apparatus,  for  the  sun  is  far  too  uncertain 
an  illuminator  to  'be  depended  upon,  and  most  men 
work  by  night ;  but  it  may  be  useful  to  those  who 
cannot  afford  to  purchase  any  apparatus— not  even 
an  oblique  illuminator,  the  cheapest  of  all.     I  must 
justify  this  allusion  to  my  pet  child  by  stating  that  I 
have  not,  and  never  have  had,  any  pecuniary  interest 
in  its  sale.   Having  been  asked  questions  as  to  its  capa- 
bilities, I  can  only  repeat  what  I  have  before  stated, 
viz.,  that  by  its  help  I  can  resolve  tests  which  I  never 
could   touch    before,   though   possessing  achromatic 
condensers,    spot   lens,    &c.  —  John   Bramhall,    St. 
yohCs  Vicarage. 

Dammar. — I  have  used  this  as  a  mounting  medium 
during  the  last  four  years,  and  with  the  most  satis- 
factory results.  The  manipulation  is  very  simple, 
and  herein  lies  its  great  value  to  the  microscopist. 
With  all  due  deference  to  Mr.  Williams  (p.  254),  I 
do  not  think  that  3.ny  finishing  varnish  is  required  if 
a  thick  solution  of  dammar  in  benzol  is  used. — 
F.  Coles. 


ZOOLOGY. 

To  Secretaries  of  London  Natural  His- 
tory, ETC.,  Clubs. — We  shall  feel  obliged  by  the 
secretaries  of  the  various  Natural  Histoiy  and  Micro- 
scopical Clubs  in  and  around  London  communicating 
to  us  the  titles  and  addresses  of  their  societies,  with 
a  view  to  publishing  a  list  of  them.  The  date  of  foun- 
dation might  be  added,  as  well  as  the  names  of  presi- 
dents and  secretaries. 

The  Disease  in  Pheasants — "  Gapes."— Some 
years  ago  I  paid  considerable  attention  to  the  malady 
called  "gapes,"  in  consequence  of  its  destroying  a 
large  number  of  valuable  Cochin-China  chickens 
belonging  to  a  friend.  To  begin  with,  I  found  the 
affection    to    be    most    prevalent    during    a    wet, 


miserable  season  ;  the  bird  which  simulated  "gaping" 
by  the  opening  and  shutting  its   beak,    was   really 
gasping  for  breath,  as  a   very   cursory   examination 
made  out  that  the  trachea  was  more  or  less  clogged 
up  with  parasitic  worms,  as   Dr.    Dickson  properly 
described  them,  of  "a  letter  Y  shape."     As  I  had 
paid  no   particular  attention   to    Helminthology,    I 
confess  this  "  Siamese  Twin"  formation  puzzled  me 
extremely,  until  I  had   some   conversation  about  it 
with  Prof.  Siebold,   the  eminent  naturalist,  who  had 
paid  great  attention  to  parasitic  worms ;  he  put  the 
matter  clear,  and   pronounced  my   "double-headed 
worm  "to  be  Syngnathus,"  and  to  be  the  male  and 
female  in  copula,  the  smaller  body  to  be  the  male, 
and  the  union  to  be  ''■permanent."     I  have  not  Cob- 
bold  on  parasitic  worms  to  refer  to,  but  I  daresay  he 
would  enter  into  detail  respecting  a  pest  which  has 
doubtless  destroyed  more  game  and  valuable  poultry 
than  all  the  other  bird-maladies  put  together.     My 
business  was  to  find  a  remedy  for  a  disease  about 
which  the  poultry-fanciers  were  naturally  becoming 
clamorous,  and   I  hit  upon  a  very   simple  and  very 
effectual  method  of  cure,   which  found  its  way  into 
The  Field,  was  received  enthusiastically,  and  was,  I 
believe,   the   means  of  saving  thousands  of  valuable 
lives,  for  the  lives  of  Cochin-China  chickens  in  that  day 
might  well  be  described  as  "valuable."     There  was 
eventually  a  delightful  simplicity  in  treating  the  little 
feathered  patients,  and  all  depending  upon  the  dislike 
all  kinds  of  worms  are  known  to  entertain  for  "  tur- 
pentine."    A  small  feather  or  camel-hair  pencil,  and 
a  bottle  of  this  said  turpentine  formed  the  Materia 
Medica.     The  operation  for  the   relief  of  "gapes" 
was  a  rapid  one,  and  consisted  in  dipping  the  feather 
or  camel-hair  pencil  in  the  turpentine,  and  at  the 
instant  the  chicken,    held  in  the  left  hand,  gaped, 
inserting  the  brush  or  feather  so  charged  as  deep  as 
possible  into  the  trachea,  and  twirling  it   round  to 
insure  a  fair  distribution  to  the  worms  in  possession. 
The   chicken   laid  on  the  ground  naturally  gave  a 
series  of  kicks  and  flourishes,    and,  I  may  say,  in- 
variably coughed  up  a  great  mass  of  the  said  Y-shaped 
worms,  and  then  went  on  liis  way,  I  have  no  doubt 
rejoicing  exceedingly.     I  believe  that  this  simple  pro- 
ceeding was  in  all  cases  effectual  where  it  was  adopted 
before  the  bird  was  actually  moribund,  and  I  could 
not  find  that  the  malady  "  gapes "  recurred  in  the 
same    individual.     Should    it,   however,  do   so,    the 
turpentine  treatment  might  again  be  employed,  as  I 
certainly  never  saw  its  use  followed  by  any  but  the 
happiest  results.     As  I  always  read  Science-Gossip 
with  pleasure,  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  contribute  a 
short  paper,  which,  I  trust,  will  not  be  found  devoid 
of  interest.— >/i«  Anthony,  M.D.,  F.R.M.S. 

The  Rosy  Cribella.— (OV^^//rt  rosea.  MuUer.) 
— When  dredging  during  the  past  autumn  off  the 
entrance  to  Lame  Lough,  I  was  fortunate  enough  to 
secure  a  magnificent  specimen  of  the  above  rare  star- 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSS  IF. 


17 


fish.  Forbes,  in  his  work  on  the  British  starfishes, 
records  it  from  only  two  British  localities, — the  coast 
of  Ayrshire  and  the  Nymph-Bank,  off  Waterford. 
The  only  other  notice  1  can  find  of  its  capture  is  by 
Dr.  J.  R.  Kinahan,  F.L.S.,  who  dredged  several 
specimens  in  Dubhn  Bay  (i860).  The  specimen  in 
my  possession  measures  8J  inches  across,  and  is  of  a 
brilliant  orange  colour.  It  was  brought  up  from  a 
depth  of  47  fathoms,  associated  with  living  Tere- 
bratula,  Crainia,  and  other  deep-sea  mollusca,  «S:c. 
The  bottom  was  rocks  or  stones,  upon  which  our 
dredge  frequently  caught,  and  which,  with  the  strong 
current  that  was  running,  made  dredging  operations 
very  difficult.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  if  the 
species  has  been  observed  in  other  localities,  and 
under  what  conditions. —  William  S^vnnston,  Belfast. 

The  Doubleday  Collection. — The  collection  of 
Lepidoptera  formed  by  the  late  Henry  Doubleday  was 
left  in  charge  of  trustees,  to  be  placed  in  a  museum 
in  Essex,  if  a  suitable  place  could  be  found.  The 
Haggerstone,  East,  West,  and  South  London  Entomo- 
logical Societies  formed  a  committee  of  eight  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  the  collection  for  London 
entomologists.  After  communicating  with  the  trus- 
tees and  the  director  of  the  South  Kensington 
Museum,  the  cabinets  were  received  at  the  Bethnal 
Green  Branch  Museum.  The  question  then  arose 
how  it  was  to  be  inspected.  We  petitioned  the 
director  again  on  the  subject,  and  that  gentleman 
very  courteously  provided  a  private  room  for  the 
collection,  with  an  attendant  to  show  it  to  visitors. 
Still  we  had  not  obtained  all  we  wished  for,  as  the 
hours  for  inspection  were  from  10  a.m.  until  5  p.m. 
I  again  wrote  to  the  director  and  asked  that  arrange- 
ments might  be  made  to  open  it  until  9.30  p.m.  on 
Tuesday  nights,  when  the  director  again  met  our 
wishes.  I  have,  therefore,  on  behalf  of  the  com- 
mittee, to  express  our  thanks  to  the  director  and 
officials  for  these  extended  acts  of  courtesy.  —  D. 
Pratt,  Sec.  East  London  Entomological  Society. 

Spiders  and  their  Webs.  —  C.  L.  W.  in 
Science-Gossip,  No.  143,  pp.  251-254,  speaks  of 
some  Epeini  spiders  being  in  the  habit  of  laying 
up  a  store  of  food  in  the  egg  cocoon  ' '  for  the  sus- 
tenance of  the  young  spiders  from  the  time  they  leave 
the  egg  till  they  leave  the  cocoon  "  ;  the  evidence  in 
support  of  this  is  the  presence  of  "shells  of  the 
larvee  of  the  house-fly,"  in  "one  of  the  cocoons," 
together  with  young  spiders  just  ready  to  leave  it. 
I  would  suggest  that  the  "shells"  observed  were  the 
empty  pupce  cases  of  a  parasitic  fly  who  had  laid  its 
eggs  within  the  cocoon,  probably  soon  after  it  was 
made ;  the  larvee  of  the  fly  had  then  fed  upon  as 
many  of  the  spider's  eggs  as  they  needed,  and  so 
passed  through  their  transformations,  leaving  the 
empty  pupte  cases  behind,  with  the  unconsumed 
remainder  of  the  spider's  eggs.  No  case,  so  far  as  I 
am  aware,  is  on  record  in  which  such  a  habit  as  that 


supposed  to  be  proved  by  these  empty  cases  in  a 
spider's  cocoon  has  been  authenticated.  The  destruc- 
tion of  spiders'  eggs  within  the  cocoon  by  the  larvce 
of  parasitic  insects  is  well  known  ;  and  if  this  be  the 
true  explanation  of  C.  L.  W.'s  case  (as  I  believe  it 
to  be),  the  only  notable  point  in  it  is,  that  the  para- 
sites should  have  left  any  of  the  spider's  eggs  un- 
touched.— O.  P.  Cambridge,  Bloxivorth. 

New  Kind  of  Porcupine. — At  a  recent  meeting 
of  the  Zoological  Society,  Dr.  A.  Gunther,  F.R.S., 
read  a  report  on  some  of  the  recent  additions  to  the 
collection  of  mammalia  in  the  British  Museum, 
amongst  the  more  remarkable  of  which  was  a  new 
form  of  porcupine,  from  Borneo,  proposed  to  be 
called  Trichys  lipitra  ;  and  a  new  marmozet,  obtained 
by  Mr.  T.  K.  Salmon,  near  Medellin,  U.S.  of 
Columbia,  to  which  the  name  Hapale  leucoptis  was 
given. 

An  Intra-oval   Egg. — In  the   Museum  of  the 
College  of  Surgeons  are  six  specimens  of  so-called 
double  eggs,  i.e.,  eggs  contained  in  the  interior  of 
larger  ones.     My  friend  Mr.   C.   J.    Lambe-Eames 
has  submitted  to  me  a  case  of  a  similar  kind,  but,  if 
I  may  venture  to  say  so,  of  even  greater  interest  than 
any  of  the  older  specimens.     Subjoined  is  the  history 
of  this  particular  egg  : — On  September   26   a  game 
bantam  hen  of  rather  large  size,  which  had  only  been 
a  short  time  in  Mr.  Eames's  possession,  and  had  shown 
the  peculiarity  of  never  laying  except  when  separated 
from  the  male  bird,  laid  an  egg  normal  in  colouring, 
but  of  rather  abnormal  size.     When  that  egg  was 
broken,  Mr.  Eames's  attention  was  drawn  to  the  fact 
that  a  smaller  egg  was  floating  in  the  albumen  near 
the  small  end.     The  outer  egg  was  of  the  ordinary 
white  colour,   the   inner   one   of  a  darker  hue,  re- 
sembling those  laid  by  the  Cochin  or  Bramah  breed. 
It  has  been  since  called  to  mind  that  that  particular 
hen  has  not  unfrequently  laid  coloured  eggs  of  the 
normal  size.     Since  producing  the  intra-oval  egg  the 
hen  has  laid  about  two  more,  and  then  ceased  laying 
entirely.     The  last   egg   was  laid  about  the  end  of 
September.     In  Chance's   curious   book   on  Bodily 
Deformities,  at  page  69,  is  a  record  of  a  similar  case 
in  respect  to  a  swan's  egg  ;  and  in  his  appendix,  Lec- 
ture ii.,  another  of  a  hen's  egg  in  many  particulars 
strikingly  similar  to  the  case  we  are  bringing  forward. 
The  swan's  egg  is  said  by  Chance  to  be  in  the  Museum 
of  the  College  of  Surgeons,  but  a  careful  search  there 
has  failed  to  find  it.     From  the  drawing  in  Chance's 
book  it  is  evident  that  our  specimen  diff"ers  from  both 
of  those  recorded  there,  as  it  does  from  all  in  the 
College  Museum,  in  the  very  great  difference  between 
the  sizes  of  the  inner  and  outer  egg.     I  bring  this 
case  forward  with  a  desire  for  enlightenment,   and 
with  the  hope  that  some  reasonable  explanation  of 
this  remarkable  phenomenon   may  be   forthcoming 
from   some   of   the    readers   of  SCIENCE-GOSSIP.— 
Edward  B.  Aveling,  D.  Sc,  Lond. 


i8 


HARD  Wl CKE 'S    S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


BOTANY. 

The  Flora  of  Marion  Island.— At  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  Linnean  Society,  Mr.  H.  N.  Moseley, 
who  was  one  of  the  naturalists  on  board  the  Chal- 
lenger, read  a  paper  on  the  above  subject.  He 
stated  that  Marion  Island  possesses  considerable 
interest,  from  its  isolation  and  being  within  the 
Antarctic  drift.  It  is  about  i,ooo  miles  from  the 
African  continent,  450  from  the  Crozets,  1,200  from 
the  desolate  Kerguelen  Island,  above  2,000  from 
Tristan  d'Acunha,  and  4,500  from  the  Falklands,  to 
which,  nevertheless,  its  flora  appears  related.  It  is 
of  volcanic  origin  and  snowclad.  The  rocks  at  half- 
tide  are  covered  with  Darvilca  ittilis,  above  high  tide 
Tillcca  inoschata  is  found  in  abundance,  and  beyond 
the  beach  a  swampy,  peaty  soil  covers  the  rocks, 
where  there  is  a  thick  growth  of  herbage.  This  is 
principally  composed  of  species  of  Acicna,  Azorella, 
and  Fcstuca,  the  first  of  these  three  being  the  most 
abundant  plant  on  the  island,  though  the  latter  grass  is 
by  no  means  scarce.  The  cabbage-like  plant  Frhigka 
antiscorbutica  is  less  profuse  than  at  Kerguelen's 
Land.  Some  of  the  ranunculus  group  are  met  with 
at  water  pools  near  the  sea.  Four  kinds  of  ferns 
were  obtained,  Loniaria  Alpina  being  the  most 
numerous.  Lichens  are  scarce,  but  mosses  in  plenty 
form  yellow  patches,  which  stand  out  conspicuously 
midst  the  green  vegetation,  which  rises  to  an  altitude 
of  probably  2,000  feet.  From  the  occurrence  of 
Pringlea  on  Marion  Island,  the  Crozets,  and  Ker- 
guelen Island,  and  the  existence  of  fossil  tree-trunks 
on  the  two  latter,  Mr.  Moseley  thinks  there  was  an 
ancient  land  connection  between  them. 

A  New  View  of  the  Absorption  of  Organic 
Matter  by  Plants. — Prof.  Calderon  contests  the 
ordinary  view  that  the  nitrogen  of  the  tissues  of 
plants  is  derived  entirely  from  the  nitrates  and 
ammoniacal  salts  absorbed  through  the  roots.  He 
adopts  the  theory  that  the  source  is  the  nitrogenous 
organic  matter  which  is  always  floating  in  the  air. 
The  nutrition  of  plants  he  divides  into  three  classes  : 
necropIiagoHs,  the  absoq:>tion  of  dead  organic  matter 
in  various  stages  of  decomposition ;  plasmophagous, 
the  assimilation  of  living  organic  matter  without 
elimination,  or  distinction  of  any  kind  between  use- 
ful and  useless  substances,  such  as  the  nutrition  of 
parasites  ;  and  biophagoiis,  the  absorption  of  living 
organisms,  such  as  that  known  in  the  case  of  the 
sundews  and  other  insectivorous  plants.  A  further 
illustration  of  the  latter  kind  of  nutrition  is,  according 
to  Prof.  Calderon,  furnished  by  all  plants  provided 
with  viscid  hairs  or  a  glutinous  excretion,  the  object 
of  which  is  the  detention  and  destruction  of  small 
insects.  To  prove  the  importance  of  the  nitrogenous 
substances  floating  in  the  air  to  the  life  of  plants,  he 
deprived  air  of  all  organic  matter  in  the  mode  de- 


scribed by  Prof.  Tyndall,  and  subjected  lichens  to 
the  access  only  of  this  filtered  air  and  of  distilled 
water,  when  he  found  that  all  their  physiological 
functions  were  suddenly  suspended. 

"Mushrooms  and  Toadstools." — Nobody  has 
now  the  right  to  complain  of  being  unable  to  dis- 
tinguish between  poisonous  and  edible  fungi.  Here 
is  a  book  written  by  one  of  our  best  fungiologists, 
with  two  large  folded  plates,  one  containing  litho- 
graphed figures  of  the  chief  poisonous,  and  the  other 
of  the  principal  edible  fungi,  altogether  of  sixty 
species,  for  the  sum  of  one  shilling  !  It  is  published 
by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly. 

Another  Insectivorous  Plant.— Allow  me 
to  call  the  attention  of  your  readers  to  a  remarkable 
insectivorous  plant  which  has  recently  been  brought 
to  my  notice  by  my  nephew,  F.  Brittain,  of  Sheffield. 
It  is  met  with  over  a  large  portion  of  the  American 
continent,  but  the  specimen  I  refer  to  was  found  in 
France.  The  plant  is  named  Apocyniiin  androsizmi- 
folium.  Its  especial  peculiarity  is  that  the  insects 
are  caught  by  the  petals,  which  close  upon  the 
insect  and  retain  it  a  close  prisoner,  in  the  manner  of 
the  Venus'  Flytrap  {Dionea  miiscipnla).  I  have  not 
had  an  opportunity  of  examining  the  physiology  of 
the  plant,  and  cannot  say  at  present  if  the  action  be 
produced  by  glands  or  hairs,  or  any  other  agency. 
The  dried  specimen  I  have  has  but  one  leaf  and  three 
flowers.  Every  flower  has  a  fly  in  its  deadly  embrace. 
In  two  instances  the  wings  project  outwards  ;  in  one 
only  a  leg  is  seen.  In  the  three  cases  the  entire 
body  of  the  insect  is  quite  covered  by  the  petals.  I 
showed  my  specimen  to  Prof.  Williamson,  of  Owens 
College,  lately,  but  he  could  not  give  me  any  infor- 
mation, as  the  plant  was  new  to  him.  I  have  referred 
to  Darwin's  interesting  work  on  "  Insectivorous 
Plants,"  but  I  don't  see  in  that  book  any  notice  of 
the  plant  I  have  referred  to.  Probably  this  plant 
may  be  known  to  some  of  your  American  readers ; 
if  so,  I  hope  they  will  enlighten  us  as  to  its  habits 
and  natural  history.  The  flowers  of  the  dead  speci- 
men are  of  a  dull  yellow  colour,  but  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  they  are  of  a  reddish  colour  when  living. — 
Thos.  Brittain. 

Erica  vagans. — A  friend  of  mine,  who  attended 
the  recent  meeting  of  the  British  Association  at 
Glasgow,  brought  me,  on  his  return,  a  specimen  of 
this  beautiful  Cornish  heath,  which  he  found  growing, 
apparently  quite  wild,  on  the  hill-sides,  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  inn  at  Stronachlacher,  near  the  head  of 
Loch  Katrine.  My  friend  says  that  he  could  see 
no  signs  of  its  having  been  planted  there,  or  of  its 
having  escaped  from  cultivation.  It  was  growing 
amongst  patches  of  Calluna,  Erica  tetralix,  and 
Polypodium  phegopteris,  and  to  all  appearance  was 
just  as  indigenous  as  these.  Your  botanical  readers, 
however,  will  know  that  Cornwall  is  the  only  recog- 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE  -  G  0 SSIP. 


19 


nized  station  for  this  heath,  and  its  existence  so  far 
north  is  at  least  curious.  Perhaps  some  of  our 
northern  botanists  can  inform  me  whether  it  has  been 
previously  noticed  in  the  locality  I  have  named,  and 
whether  there  is  any  evidence  of  its  having  been 
introduced  there.— y.  JV.  Oliver,  Birmingham. 

Proposed  Amateur  Botanists'  Exchange 
Club. — Most  amateur  collecting  botanists  have  long 
felt  the  need  of  an  exchange  club,  where  they  could 
without  expense  send  all  their  spare  duplicates  at 
the  end  of  each  season,  with  the  certainty  of  having 
a  large  return  parcel  of  dried  and  correctly-labelled 
specimens  from  otlier  parts  of  the  British  Islands, 
which  can  seldom  be  secured  without  this  medium. 
Again,  most  botanists  would  be  glad  to  secure  a  few 
good  critical  species  of  the  Ritbi,  or  Roses,  and  be 
thankful  to  see  the  pile  of  grasses  and  sedges  on 
their  herbaria  shelves  increasing  with  reliable  spe- 
cimens eveiy  year.  It  is  proposed  at  once  to  esta- 
blish an  Exchange  Club  to  further  this  object,  to  be 
composed  of  botanists  from  all  parts  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  who  will  contribute  a  few  specimens  every 
year :  no  membership  fee  required,  each  member 
paying  the  carriage  of  his  own  parcels.  Surely  one 
hundred  can  be  found  willing  to  give  in  their  names, 
who  are  connected  with  our  large  naturalist  field 
clubs,  and  to  these  it  will  prove  a  boon  long  desired. 
Botanists  wishing  to  join  are  requested  to  send  in 
their  names,  not  later  than  the  end  of  January,  1877, 
to  the  Editor  of  Science-Gossip,  when  rules,  best 
method  of  drying,  labelling,  and  packing  specimens, 
with  other  useful  information,  will  be  forwarded  to 
each  appHcant.  The  last  edition  of  the  ' '  London 
Catalogue,"  published  by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192, 
Piccadilly,  will  be  used  by  the  members,  both  in 
labelling  and  marked  for  desiderata.  To  save  ex- 
pense, it  is  proposed  to  publish  the  Yearly  Report  in 
Science-Gossip. 


GEOLOGY. 

Observations  on  the  Geology  of  East 
Anglia,  etc. — This  is  the  title  of  an  important  paper 
recently  read  before  the  Geological  Society  of  London 
by  S.  V.  Wood,  jun.,  F.G.S.,  and  F.  W.  Harmer, 
F.G.S.,  &c.  The  subjects  discussed  in  this  paper 
were  threefold,  viz., — i.  The  unfossiliferous  sands  of 
the  Red  Crag  ;  2.  The  unconformity  between  the 
Lower  and  Middle  Glacial  deposits  ;  3.  The  mode  in 
which  the  Upper  and  Middle  Glacial  were  accumu- 
lated. The  views  of  the  authors  under  the  first  head 
were  similar  to  and  confirmatory  of  those  advanced 
in  the  previous  paper  by  Mr.  Whitaker ;  but  they 
pointed  out  that  the  Red  Crag,  which  these  sands,  in 
an  altered  form,  represent,  could  not  belong  to  the 
Chillesford  division  of  that  formation,  by  reason  of 
the  casts  of  shells  which  had  been  preserved  not  com- 


prising  any   of  the   more   characteristic   Chillesford 
species,    and   of  their  including  among  them  forms 
confined  to  the  older  portions  of  the  Red  Crag.    They 
also  pointed  out  that  the  Chillesford  Clay  had  been 
removed  over  all  the  area  occupied  by  these  sands 
by  denudation  prior  to  the  deposition  of  the  Middle 
Glacial,  which  rests  upon  these  sands  wherever  they 
occur.     The   removal  of  the    Chillesford   Clay,   the 
authors  consider,  was  due  in  part,  if  not  in  all,  to  the 
great   denudation  between   the   Lower  and   Middle 
Glacial,  which  gave  rise  to  the  unconformity  discussed 
under   the  second   head.      This   unconfonnity   they 
illustrate  by  lines  of  section  traversing   most  of  the 
river  valleys  of  Central  and  East  Norfolk  and  Suffolk. 
These  show  that  such  valleys  were  excavated  after 
the.  deposit  of  the  contorted  drift,  and  out  of  that 
formation   and   the   beds   underlying  it.     They  also 
show  that  the  Middle  and  Upper  Glacial  have  been 
bedded   into  these  valleys,    as  well  as   spread  (the 
middle  only  partially,  but  the  upper  moi-e  uniformly) 
over  the  high  grounds  formed  of  contorted  drift  out 
of  which  they  were   excavated,  and  thus  generally 
concealing  that  deposit,  which  manifests  itself  only  in 
the  form  of  occasional  protrusions  through  these  later 
formations,    but    which    they    consider    constitutes, 
though  thus  concealed,   the  main  mass  of  the  two 
counties.     The  authors  also  describe  a  glacial  bed  as 
occurring  at  various  localities  in  the  bottom  of  some 
of  these  valleys,  -and  which  in  one  case  they  have 
traced  under  the  Middle  Glacial.     This  they  regard 
as  having  been  formed  in  the  interval  between  the 
denudation  of  the  valleys  and  their  subsequent  sub- 
mergence beneath  the  Middle  Glacial  sea  ;  and  inas- 
much as  such  valley-bed  invariably  rests  on  the  chalk 
in  a  highly  glaciated  condition,  they  attribute  its  for- 
mation more  probably  than  otherwise  to  the  action 
of  glaciers  occupying   the  valleys   during   an   inter- 
glacial  interval  of  dry  land.     They  also  suggest  that 
if  this  was  so,  it  is  probable  that  the  forest  and  mam- 
maliferous    bed   of    Kessingland,    instead    of   being 
coeval  with  the  preglacial  one  of  the  Cromer  coast, 
may  belong  to  this  interglacial  interval — that  is  to 
say,  to  the  earliest  part  of  it,  before  the  glaciers  ac- 
cumulated in  the  valleys,  and  when  the  climate  was 
more  temperate,  any  similar  deposits  in  these  inter- 
glacial valleys  having  been  for  the  most  part  sub- 
sequently ploughed  out  by  the  action  of  the  glaciers. 
In  discussing  the  subject  under  the  third  head  the 
authors  point  out  the  many  perplexing  features  which 
are  connected  with  the  position  and  distribution  of 
the  Middle  Glacial  formation  ;  and  while  they  admit 
that  as  to  one  or  two  of  these  the  theory  which  they 
'   offer  affords  no  explanation,   they  suggest   that  the 
theory  of  this  formation's  origin  which  best  meets  the 
case  is  as  follows,  viz.,— As  the  country  became  re- 
submerged,  and  as  the  valley  glaciers  retreated  before 
the    advancing    sea,    the    land-ice  of   the   mountain 
districts  of  North  Britain  accumulated  and  descended 
i   into  the  low  grounds,  so  that  by  the  time  East  Anglia 


20 


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


had   become  resubmerged  to  the  extent  of  between 
300  and  400  feet,  one  branch  of  this  ice  had  reached 
the  borders  of  the  counties  of  Norfolk,  Suffolk,  Essex, 
Herts,  and  Bedford,   ploughing  out  and  destroying 
any  Lower  Glacial  beds  that  had  been  deposited  over 
the  intervening  counties  upon  which  it   rested,   and 
over  which  we  ought  otherwise,  having  regard  to  the 
depth  of  the  earlier  submergence  under  which  they 
were  accumulated,  to  find  them,  but  do  not.     The 
Middle    Glacial  formation,   consisting   of  sand   and 
gravel,    they  attribute   principally   to   the  action  of 
currents  washing  out  and  distributing  the  morainic 
material,   which  was  extruded  on   the  sea-bottom  by 
this  land-ice  ;  that  ice  itself  by  keeping  out  the  sea 
over  all  the  country  on  which  it  rested,  which  was 
then  below  the  sea-level,  preventing  the  deposit  of  the 
Middle  Glacial  in  those  parts.     The  termination  of 
this  current  action   was   accompanied   by  increased 
submergence,  and  by  a  gradual  retreat  of  the  land-ice 
northwards  to  the  mountain  districts,  until  Britain 
was  left  in  the  condition  of  a  snow-capped  archipelago, 
from  which  eventually  the  snow  disappeared  and  the 
land  emerged.     To  the  moraine  extruded  from  the 
base  of  this  ice  and  into  deep  water  they  refer  the 
origin  of  the  Upper  Glacial  Clay,  the  moraine  mate- 
rial remaining  partly  in  the  position  in  which  the  ice 
left  it,  and  partly  lifted  by  the  bergs  which  became 
detached  from  the  ice.     Such  part  of  it  as  was  lifted 
was  dropped  over  the  sea-bottom  at  no  great  distance 
from  its  point  of  extrusion,  and  in  that  way  the  marine 
shells  occurring  in  a  seam  of  sand  in  the  midst  of  this 
clay  at  Dimlington  and  Bridlington  on  the  Yorkshire 
coast   became   imbedded,    the   moUusca   which  had 
established  themselves  on  the  surface  of  this  moraine 
material  having  been  thus  smothered  under  a  lifted 
mass  of  the  same,  which  was  dropped  from  a  berg. 
The  authors  point  out  that  precisely  in  the  same  way 
in  which  the  Middle  Glacial  is  found  stretching  out 
southwards  and  eastwards  beyond  the  Upper  Glacial 
Clay  in  Suffolk  and  in  Herts,   and  is  succeeded  by 
such  clay  both  vertically  and  horizontally,   so  does 
the  earlier  formed  part  of  the  Upper  Glacial  Clay,  or 
that  with  chalk  debris,  stretch  southwards  beyond  the 
latter  formed  part,  or  that  destitute  of  such   debris, 
and  is  succeeded  by  it,  both  vertically  and  horizon- 
tally.   This,  they  consider,  shows  that  the  Middle  and 
Upper  Glacial  deposits,  which  constitute  an  unbroken 
succession,   were  due  to  the  gradually  receding  posi- 
tion of  the  land-ice  during  their  accumulation,  the  se- 
quence being  terminated  with  the  Moel  Tryfaen  and 
Macclesfield  gravels,  which  were  accumulated  during 
the  disconnection  and  gradual  disappearance  of  the 
ice,  and  while  the  land  still  continued  deeply  sub- 
merged. 

The  Sivatherium  in  Spain. — At  a  late  meeting 
of  the  Geological  Society  of  London,  Prof.  Calderon 
read  a  paper  on  "  The  Fossil  Vertebrates  of  Spain," 
in  which  he  stated  that  remains  of  the  Sivatherium 


and  Hyanarctos  had  been  found  in  that  country. 
The  President  (Prof.  Duncan)  remarked  that  the 
presence  of  these  animals,  if  confirmed,  would  be 
particularly  interesting  as  showing  a  great  western 
extension  of  the  Miocene  fauna  peculiar  to  the 
Sivalik  hills,  in  India. 

The      Siberian      Mammoths      and      Hairy 
Rhinoceri. — The   long    woolly  hair    with   which 
these     extinct     animals     were     clothed     has    been 
deemed   a   plain   proof  of  their   special   adaptation 
to   an    extremely    cold    climate.     Some    years    ago 
the   teeth  of  a   Mammoth  w-ere  subjected   to   close 
scrutiny,    and   some    dark    vegetable   matter   found 
in  the  hollows  was   microscopically  examined,   and 
found  to  belong  to  coniferous  vegetation,  such  as  is 
to  be  found  in  the  extreme  North,  the  inference  being 
that  the  Mammoth  most  probably  fed  on  the  young 
shoots  of  fir-trees.     Very  recently  M.  Schmalhausen 
has  made   a   communication  to  the  St.    Petersburg 
Academy,   on  the  constituents  of  a   mass  of  dark- 
brown  matter  extracted  from  hollows   in  the  teeth 
of  a  rhinoceros  in  the  Irkutski  Museum.     That  this 
was  truly  the  remains  of  fodder  of  the  animal  seemed 
clear  from  the  appearance  and  the  macerated  charac- 
ter of  the  vegetable  substance,   of  which   only  the 
woody  and  cuticular  parts  showed  a  more   or  less 
distinct  structure.     The  greater  portion  of  the  piece 
consisted  of   leaf-  remains,  with    here  and  there  a 
fragment   of  stem.      For   the   most   part   the   stem 
and  leaf-fragments  were  those  of  monocotyledonous 
plants,  probably  of  Graminese  ;  there  were  also,  in 
less  quantity,  leaf-fragments  of  dicotyledonous  plants. 
Besides  leaf-shreds  of  Coniferae,    there  were  woody 
pieces  which  indicated  the  existence  of  Picea  [Obo- 
vatal),  Abies  {Sibirical),   Larix  [Sibirica?),  Gnctacea:, 
Betitlacecc,  and  SalieineiC.      It  seems  unquestionable 
that  these  remains  must  be  referred  to  northern  plants 
and  to  such  as  are  still  partly  found  in  the  arctic  or 
sub-arctic  regions. 

Geological  Map  of  Scotland.  —  We  have 
received  a  new  geological  map  of  Scotland,  by 
Professor  A.  Geikie,  F.R.S.,  the  Director  of  the 
Geological  Survey  of  Scotland.  It  is  unquestionably 
the  best  which  has  yet  been  issued.  The  specific 
colours  for  the  various  formations  and  outcrops  are 
well-chosen  and  distinct,  so  as  to  catch  the  eye  at 
once.  The  dip  of  the  strata  is  marked,  as  well  as 
the  places  where  they  are  contorted.  Signs  and 
tokens  for  anticlinal  and  synclinal  axes,  and  for 
faults,  point  out  clearly  to  the  student  where  these 
phenomena  most  abound.  The  colours  and  symbols 
chosen  for  the  igneous  rocks  are  excellent.  The 
topography  of  the  map  is  by  Mr.  T.  B.  Johnston, 
F.R.G.S.  The  map  is  published  by  Messrs.  W.  & 
A.  K.  Johnston,  Edinburgh. 


Carrot. — The  wild  carrot  may  always  be  known 
bv  the  red  flowers  in  the  middle. — E.  T.  Scott. 


HA  R  D  WICKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSIP. 


21 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

Locusts  at  Cheddar,  Somerset. — Your  cor- 
respondent's (H.  W.  Livett)  account  of  the  locust 
found  at  Wells,  reminds  me  that  while  staying  at 
Cheddar  last  year  (1S75),  I  was  told  that  the  year 
before  a  large'  numljer  of  locusts  visited  that  village  ; 
and  the  villager  who  was  my  informant  said  that 
they  created  great  havoc  among  the  vegetable  produce 
of  his  garden.  His  description  exactly  tallied  with  the 
appearance  of  Pachytyhis  migratorius,  a  specimen  of 
which  is  in  my  possession,  and  was  sent  to  me  from 
Egypt  by  a  relation. — Charles  IVilliajyis,  Redland. 

Fertilization  of  Flowers. — A  little  work  on 
bees  which  I  read  some  time  ago,  states  that  bees 
collect  pollen  only  on  flowers  of  the  same  species, 
in  order  not  to  mix  the  pollen  of  different  flowers 
together,  and  I  have  several  times  observed  this 
statement  as  perfectly  true  during  the  time  when 
resedas,  roses,  and  geraniums  adorned  a  bed  close 
to  a  bee-hive.  The  same  bee  or  humble-bee  which 
had  been  on  a  reseda  would  only  visit  resedas, 
another  only  geraniums,  &c.  I  quite  agree  with 
A.  B.,  Kelso,  that  this  seems  to  point  out  a  certain 
law  of  nature  which  favours  the  more  perfect  fer- 
tilization of  flowers. — Blanche. 

Feeding  Cuckoos. — In  the  volume  of  Science- 
Gossip  for  1874,  I  sent  an  account  of  a  young 
cuckoo,  but  I  never  saw  anything  in  its  way  of 
feeding  different  from  usual.  We  used  to  feed  it 
two  or  three  times  a-day,  from  the  time  almost  of 
its  birth  till  we  lost  it  ;  and  the  parent  hen  bird 
used  to  come  and  feed  it  within  two  or  three  yards 
of  us.  The  cuckoo  had  a  large  mouth,  and  opened 
it  wide  to  be  fed,  but  certainly  never  put  out  its 
tongue  to  have  the  food  placed  upon.it.  The  parent 
bird  always  put  its  beak  in  its  mouth  like  any  other 
bird  ;  and  the  way  in  which  it  got  on  its  back  to  feed 
it  when  the  cuckoo  was  sitting  on  the  top  of  a  post 
was  very  amusing.  The  male  bird  would  sometimes 
feed  it,  but  it  always  struck  us  as  being  somewhat  afraid 
of  it.— ^.   T.  Scott. 

Death's-head  Moth. — As  none  of  your  readers 
answered  this  question  in  Science-Gossip  for  Octo- 
ber, allow  me  to  state  that  something  of  the  same  kind 
occurred  to  me.  Finding  the  caterpillar  under  a 
potato-plant  on  the  earth,  I  put  it  in  a  box  containing 
some  cotton-wool  which  I  had  in  my  pocket.  On 
coming  home  I  put  the  box  down  on  the  hall-table, 
where  it  was  left  till  next  morning,  when  I  wanted  to 
place  the  caterpillar  in  a  larger  box  ;  but,  to  my 
surprise,  I  found  it  had  used  some  of  the  cotton-wool 
to  make  a  kind  of  cocoon,  glued  firmly  together,  i 
through  which  I  could  see  the  caterpillar  lying  stiff" 
and  motionless.  After  three  more  days  the  skin  was 
thrown  off  and  the  reddish-brown  chrysalis  appeared 
in  the  cocoon.  I  suppose  the  caterpillar  used  the 
cotton-wool  because  it  could  not  bury  itself  in  the 
earth  when  the  change  of  nature  took  place. — Little 
Lambie,  Cannes. 

Hedge-hogs  and  their  Food. — I  think  I  can 
add  some  information  to  the  article  by  Mr.  Charles 
W.  Whistler,  in  the  August  number  of  SciENCE- 
GossiP  on  the  Hedge-hog.  Asking  a  friend  if  he 
could  tell  me  anything  about  this  animal,  he  related 
to  me  the  following  story  : — A  farmer  here  having  an 
order  for  some  apples,  ordered  his  men  to  pick  them, 
put  them  together  in  a  heap,  cover  them  with  some 
sti'aw,  and  leave  them  to  be  packed  the  next  morning. 
Coming  the  next  day  to  pack  them,  they  found  but 
few,   and   could  not  find  the  thief.     About  a  week 


after  they  were  stopping  a  ditch  which  divided  two 
fields.  The  men  found  a  heap  of  straw  ;  removing 
the  straw  they  found  a  quantity  of  apples,  and  further 
on  found  quite  as  many  potatoes  ;  besides  this  they 
caught  several  hedge-hogs.  These  were  supposed  to 
be  the  thieves,  for  they  were  seen  afterwards  rolling 
themselves  over,  and  the  apples  stuck  on  their  skin. 
—y.   W.  Mee. 

Skeletonizing  of  Starfish. — Being  once  de- 
sirous of  obtaining  the  skeletons  of  some  of  these 
creatures,  I  adopted  the  plan  usual  with  vertebrates, 
viz.,  simple  maceration  in  water;  and  both  those  I 
thus  treated  came  out  well,  one  of  them  being  still  in 
my  possession.  The  water  should  not  be  changed 
too  often,  and  the  skeleton  should  be  removed  when 
the  flesh  is  sufficiently  rotten  to  be  washed  away  by 
the  current  of  water  from  a  tap. — David  A.  King. 

Sparrow-hawk  and  Crow.  —Whilst  shooting 
one  day  in  September  last  I  saw  a  crow  chasing  a 
hawk.  The  hawk  settled  once,  but  on  rising  was 
again  pursued  by  the  crow  ;  they  finally  disappeared 
over  a  brow.  My  companion  told  me  this  was  of 
common  occurrence. — David  A.  King. 

Seeds  Digesting.— W.  G.  P.,  in  his  paper  on 
the  Mistletoe,  rather  seems  to  uphold  the  idea  that 
seeds  swallowed  whole  will  digest.  I  thought  it 
was  perfectly  well  known  that  this  is  not  the  case, 
but  that  uncooked  and  unbroken  seeds  always  pass 
unaltered. — E.  T.  Scott. 

An  Unidentified  Bird. — A  short  time  since  I 
purchased  of  a  young  Arab  a  little  bird  of  the  finch 
family,  but  which  I  had  never  before  seen  nor  read  a 
description  of.  I  am  convinced  that  it  is  no  native  of 
these  parts  of  Syria,  nor  yet  a  regular  passing  visitant. 
The  bird  is  about  44  inches  long,  of  a  warm  cin- 
namon-brown, with  black  head  and  neck,  and  some 
black  about  the  vent.  The  bill  is  similar  in  shape  to 
that  of  a  bullfinch,  and  of  a  light  leaden-blue  colour  ; 
the  tail  is  rather  short  in  proportion  to  the  body. 
This  bird  tries  to  sing,  but  does  not  produce  any 
sound  until  near  the  close  of  his  effort,  when  an 
attentive  listener  may  hear  a  few  very  sweet  notes, 
resembling  those  of  a  canary-bird.  Can  any  one 
inform  me  what  this  bird's  name  is,  and  where  a 
description  of  him  may  be  found  ;  also,  whether 
there  is  any  reasonable  hope  that  his  voice  may  yet 
"come  out"? — W.  T.  Van  Dye  A,  Bey  rant,  Syria. 

VoLVOX  Globator.  — I  endeavoured  last  season 
to  renew  my  acquaintance  with  the  above,  but  en- 
tirely without  success,  as  I  have  not  been  able  to 
obtain  one  single  specimen.  I  do  not  think  that  the 
absence  of  the  Volvox  from  the  different  ponds  which 
I  have  explored  in'the  neighbourhoods  of  Finchley, 
Hampstead,  Hornsey,  &c.,  can  be  attributed  to  the 
voracity  of  Rotifera,  unless  the  latter  have  been 
exceptionally  prolific  this  summer  under  the  influence 
of  the  extraordinarily  hot  weather.  I  am  more  inclined 
to  think  it  is  owing  to  the  increase  of  building  ope- 
rations, whereby  the  virgin  ponds  become  either 
disturbed  or  impregnated  with  alkaline  and  other 
matter,  that  we  experience  difficulty  in  finding  the 
favourites  we  could  so  easily  procure  a  few  years  ago. 
I  have  indeed  had  to  give  up  whole  days  recently 
"out  of  town"  in  the  endeavour  to  obtain  a  few 
objects  worthy  of  investigation.  As  regards  the 
caddis  worms  (of  which  I  have  collected  some  extra- 
ordinary specimens  this  year),  I  think  they  are  not 
injurious,  to  any  great  extent,  except  to  the  plants  to 
which  they  attach  themselves  ;  and  as  their  micro- 
scopic value  is  of  itself  microscopic,  I  would  suggest 
the  advisability  of  dispensing  with  their  presence  in 


22 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE  -  G O SSIF. 


any  aquarium  kept  solely  for  the  purpose  of  rearing 
or  preserving  either  Rotifera  or  any  similar  small  but 
edible  objects.  In  answer  to  your  correspondent's 
inquiry,  I  would  observe,  that  the  Volvox  globator  is 
to  be  obtained  in  certain  places  long  after  the  "fort- 
night in  June  "  to  which  he  refers  ;  but  as  he  does 
not  intimate  the  locality  whence  he  writes,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  form  an  opinion  about  the  freak  of  nature 
which  he  alleges  has  taken  place  for  the  last  few 
years.  It  would  afford  me  great  pleasure  to  learn 
where  I  can  again  readily  come  across  the  Volvox 
in  the  vicinity  of  London,  as  it  is  a  tedious  task  to 
have  to  search  for  this  interesting  stranger  in  new  and 
unknown  neighbourhoods.  Ponds  with  sandy  or 
gravel  bottoms  are,  I  believe,  the  best  in  which  to 
search  for  our  now  scarce  friend  ;  and  when  found  he 
should  be  placed  in  a  light-green-coloured  bottle  and 
exposed  to  the  light  (not  the  sun),  when  his  graceful 
evolutions  can  be  easily  observed  without  even  the 
aid  of  the  microscope.  I  need  scarcely  remind  your 
readers  that  the  Volvox  globator  forms  one  of  the 
prettiest  animated  objects  that  can  be  exhibited  at  a 
soiree,  and  is  specially  attractive  to  the  ladies. — 
G.  E.  Ladbury. 

"Science-Gossip  Section  Machine."— Permit 
me  to  add  my  testimony  to  that  of  Greenwood  Pirn 
(whose  paper  in  this  month's  GossiP  on  Section- 
cutting  is  most  interesting),  as  to  the  excellency  of 
the  Science-Gossip  Section  Machine.  All  who  use 
it  will,  I  feel  sure,  agree  that  for  cheapness  and  neat- 
ness of  working  it  cannot  be  equalled.  Until  one  of 
these  section  machines  was  given  me  by  a  relation, 
I  never  could  procure  really  good  specimens  fit  to 
mount  and  show  ;  but  now  I  find  no  difficulty  at  all. 
Let  me  advise  all  readers  of  Science-Gossip  who 
may  be  in  want  of  an  instniment  of  this  kind  to  give 
the  one  which  bears  the  name  of  one  of  the  most 
popular  of  our  present  scientific  journals  a  fair  trial, 
before  laying  out  money  on  a  more  expensive,  and, 
perhaps,  not  so  effective  an  instrument.  —  CJiarlcs 
Williams  Redlaiid. 

Golden  Pheasant  and  Bantam. — A  short  time 
ago  a  gentleman  living  in  the  neighbourhood  of  St. 
John's  Wood  bought  a  golden  pheasant,  and  thinking 
it  would  be  rather  lonely,  he  gave  it  a  bantam  hen  as 
a  companion.  The  birds  bred,  and  in  the  course  of 
time  the  hen  hatched  five  chickens  (three  cocks  and 
two  hens).  When  the  chicks  were  about  eight  months 
old  he  gave  me  a  pair,  which  I  have  had  about  two 
months.  For  about  three  weeks  after  I  got  them  they 
uttered  the  same  peculiar  cry  as  the  pheasant,  but 
now  the  cock  has  left  that  oft",  and  crows  veiy  much 
the  same  as  a  bantam.  The  feathers  of  the  cock  are 
very  similar  to  those  of  the  golden-laced  bantam, 
except  those  on  the  back  and  shoulders,  which  are  of 
a  brick-red  colour.  There  is  no  peculiarity  in  the 
plumage  of  the  hen,  but  the  head  is  rather  more  like 
that  of  a  pheasant  than  that  of  a  domestic  fowl.  Is 
it  a  common  occurrence  for  the  golden  pheasant  to 
breed  with  the  domestic  fowl  ?  If  any  of  your  readers 
can  give  me  any  information  on  the  subject  I  shall  be 
much  obliged. — G.  W.  Landels. 

Cuckoo's  Eggs.— May  I  venture,  without  giving 
offence  to  any  one,  to  express  a  liope  that  such  of  the 
readers  of  Science-Gossip  as  are  interested  in  the 
cuckoo-egg  controversy,  but  have  not  given  much 
attention  to  it,  will  accept  the  true  version  of  that 
theory,  as  it  is  admirably  expressed  by  Mr.  South- 
well in  your  November  number,  page  260  ;  for  really 
the  rubbish  that  has  been  written  about  that  question, 
and  the  ridiculous  dress  in  which  a  very  beautiful 
theory  has   been  vested   by  some,  who  were  com- 


pletely at  sea  as  to  the  real  question  at  issue,  has 
made  more  than  one  ornithologist  shy  of  expressing 
his  views  on  the  matter,  lest  he  too  should  be  mis- 
represented, and  opinions  attributed  to  him  the  very 
reverse  of  those  he  entertained.  As  Mr.  Southwell 
has  referred  to  my  translation  of  Dr.  Baldamus'  paper, 
which  was  printed  in  the  Zoologist  in  April,  1868,  I 
feel  bound  to  thank  him  for  his  timely  rescue  of  the 
learned  doctor  from  the  mud  with  which  he  has  been 
too  liberally  bespattered  by  some.  And  as  Mr.  South- 
well very  fairly  acknowledges  that  his  own  opinion  is  not 
in  favour  of  the  theory  above-mentioned,  I  hail  a  true 
exposition  of  that  theory  from  him,  as  from  an  unpre- 
judiced and  competent  authority.  While,  on  the  other 
hand,  I  should  not  be  honest  if  I  did  not  as  openly 
acknowledge  that  the  more  I  have  studied  Dr.  Bal- 
damus' view,  the  more  convinced  I  am  that  it  contains 
the  nucleus  of  a  great  truth  ;  though  I  do  not  think 
we  have  yet  reached  the  whole  of  it ;  nor  can  we 
speak  otherwise  than  very  reservedly  and  cautiously 
on  a  question  which  has  not  yet  been  settled,  and 
about  which  our  best  ornithologists  are  not  yet  by 
any  means  agreed. — Alfred  Charles  Smith,  Yatesbury 
Rectory,  Calnc,  Wilts. 

Colour  of  Eggs.  —In  reply  to  the  inquiry  of 
"A.  P.,"  in  the  November  number  of  Science- 
GossiP,  page  259,  for  information  in  regard  to  the 
species  of  birds  which  have  been  ascertained  occa- 
sionally to  assume  white  or  parti-coloured  plumage, 
I  beg  to  refer  him  to  a  list  of  fifty-seven  species  which 
I|  published  in  the  Zoologist,  in  1853,  pages  3,969- 
3,980,  at  the  conclusion  of  a  paper  "  On  the  General 
Colour  and  the  Occasional  Variations  in  the  Plumage 
of  Birds  "  ;  but  I  would  add  that  a  great  many  addi- 
tions might  now  be  made  to  that  list  from  subsequent 
observation.  In  short,  so  numerous  are  such  instances, 
and  in  so  great  a  variety  of  species,  that  I  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  in  all  probability  no  species  of 
bird  is  altogether  exempt  from  a  liability  to  this  acci- 
dent, or  deject,  as  I  think  it  should  be  called,  however 
peculiar  and  sometimes  beautiful  such  white  or 
mottled  specimens  may  be,  inasmuch  as  constitutional, 
or  hereditary,  or  other  weakness,  appears  to  be  the 
general  cause  of  the  absence  of  the  pigment  or  colour- 
ing matter  which  forms  the  normal  hue  of  more  healthy 
members  of  the  species.  Therefore  I  would  depre- 
cate the  preservation  of  such  abnormal  and  unnatural 
specimens  as  I  would  of  any  other  deformities. — 
Alfred  Charles  Smith,  Yatesbury  Rectory,  Calne, 
Wilts. 

Rare  Birds.— Does  it  not  seem  a  pity  that  every 
rare  bird  that  visits  us  should  be  shot  ?  Last  No- 
vember a  fine  specimen  of  the  bittern  was  shot  at 
Sutton  Coldfield.  A  hoopoe  was  also  shot  about 
five  miles  from  Birmingham.  Is  it  not  rather  rare 
for  the  hoopoe  to  be  taken  so  far  north  ? — G.  T.  B. 

An  Ancient  Cat.— At  Gundagai,  New  South 
Wales,  there  is  in  existence  a  cat  which  is  said  to  have 
attained  the  extraordinary  age  of  100  years.  It 
\vas  brought  from  England  in  the  Golden  Grove  one 
of  the  three  storeships  that  accompanied  the  first 
fleet  of  convict  ships,  which  cast  anchor  in  Botany 
Bay  on  the  20th  of  January,  1788.  This  vessel  may 
be  characterized  as  the  Noah's  Ark  of  Australia.  She 
conveyed  thither — one  bull,  four  cows,  and  one  calf; 
one  stallion,  three  mares,  and  three  colts ;  one  ram, 
eleven  sheep,  and  eight  lambs ;  one  billy-goat,  four 
nanny-goats,  and  three  kids  ;  one  boar,  five  sows, 
and  a  litter  of  fourteen  young  pigs  ;  nine  different 
sorts  of  dogs  ;  and  seven  cats,  including  that  of  Gun- 
dagai, which  is  supposed  to  be  the  sole  survivor  of 
the    magic    number    of   seventy-seven    quadrupeds 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  ■  G  OS  SI  P. 


23 


brought  by  the  Golden  Grove.  The  cat  passed  into 
the  possession  of  a  pensioner  of  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment, who  settled  in  Gundagai  in  1839,  and  who  was 
drowned  in  the  local  deluge  of  June,  1852, 

The  Cuckoo. — Too  much  has  already  been  said 
about  the  cuckoo,  but  having  many  opportunities  of 
observing  its  habits  I  cannot  resist  adding  to  it.  I 
have  seen  a  good  many  nests  with  cuckoos'  eggs  in 
them,  and  all  were  the  same  size  and  colour,  but  all 
were  in  the  nests  of  the  meadow  pipit  or  the  sky- 
larks. I  never  saw  a  cuckoo's  egg  in  any  other  nest. 
The  cuckoo  does  not  suck  nor  destroy  the  eggs  that 
hers  are  deposited  with,  but  I  have  known  several 
instances  of  the  cuckoo  extracting  one  egg  in  place  of 
that  she  had  left,  and  on  one  occasion  I  was  an  eye- 
witness of  the  fact.  Having  got  the  nest  of  a  meadow 
pipit  one  night  about  eight  o'clock  and  while  examin- 
ing the  three  eggs  (only  three  had  been  laid  at  that 
time)  my  attention  was  directed  to  the  cuckoo  circling 
round  me,  and  thinking  it  had  something  to  do  with 
the  nest  I  concealed  myself,  and  had  the  satisfaction 
of  seeing  the  cuckoo  alight  at  it.  I  waited  about  ten 
minutes,  but  my  curiosity  was  greater  than  my 
patience,  I  therefore  scared  her  away,  and  found 
nothing  but  the  three  eggs  as  before.  But  concealing 
myself  again  the  cuckoo  returned,  and  giving  her  no 
disturbance  this  time  I  was  surprised  when  she  left  to 
find  one  of  the  pipit's  eggs  gone,  and  the  cvickoo's 
substituted  in  its  place.  Now  if  the  cuckoo  carried 
her  egg  in  her  bill  to  the  nest  she  would  have  nothing 
to  do  but  place  it  there  and  leave  it,  but  this  was  not 
the  case,  the  pipit's  nest  was  much  disfigured  with 
the  transaction,  and  the  pipit  screamed  loudly  all  the 
time.  I  have  seen  the  cuckoo  destroy  young  birds  by 
throwing  them  out.  of  the  nest,  and  tearing  them  with 
her  bill ;  but  what  could  be  her  reason  I  could  not 
conceive,  unless  it  was  to  make  them  lay  again  and 
have  a  chance  of  disposing  of  her  egg.  I  saw  two 
young  cuckoos  in  the  nest  this  year,  one  I  took  home 
and  fed  it  on  gooseberry  caterpillars,  but  all  the  cater- 
pillars I  could  get  were  soon  exhausted,  it  had  such 
a  wonderful  appetite.  I  then  gave  it  the  flesh  of 
small  birds,  which  it  took  with  great  relish,  and 
though  it  was  quite  tame  and  healthy,  it  was  discon- 
tented with  confinement,  and  after  keeping  it  a  few 
weeks  I  gave  it  its  liberty.  —  W.  Sim. 

The  Cuckoo. — Once  more  I  intrude  a  few  obser- 
vations, and  I  would  direct  attention  to  that  qitcvstio 
vexata,  the  Cuckoo.  Probably  no  member  of  the 
vertebrate  kingdom  has  provoked  more  discussion 
than  this  bird.  The  recent  numbers  of  the  Science- 
Gossip  have  furnished  the  lovers  of  nature  with 
many  interesting  details  relating  to  this  truly  won- 
derful bird  ;  old  authorities  have  been  searched ;  old 
theories  brought  out  in  a  new  form  ;  and  some  of  the 
most  ingenious  of  Science  -  Gossip  contributors 
have  ventured  to  launch  forth  original  remarks 
founded  upon  facts  or  surmisal.  One  of  your  con- 
tributors in  the  last  number  quotes  a  remarkable 
passage  from  Bishop  Stanley's  "  History  of  Birds," 
which,  if  wholly  reliable,  tends  to  intensify  the 
mystery  in  which  the  habits  of  this  bird  are  in- 
volved. Bishop  Stanley,  I  may  mention,  also  relates 
an  instance  in  which  a  young  cuckoo  was  adopted 
by  a  young  thrush,  and  the  protege,  with  the  base 
spirit  of  ingratitude,  took  one  of  the  thrush's  eyes 
out,  because  it  could  not  resist  the  temptation  of 
swallowing  a  fine  plump  worm,  which  the  cuckoo 
had  expected  to  receive.  The  sporting  naturalist 
Vaillant,  after  having  shot  several  golden  cuckoos 
(Cticiilus  auratus)  with  eggs  of  their  species  in  their 
gullets,  came  to   the   conclusion  "that   the   female 


cuckoo  deposits  her  egg  in  the  nest  of  another  bird, 
conveying  it  thither  in  her  beak."  The  persistent 
mobbing  of  the  cuckoo  by  smaller  birds,  which  one 
sometimes  sees,  is  due,  either  to  its  accipitrine-like 
contour,  or  to  a  knowledge  of  its  habits  and  propen- 
sities. A  bird  which  was  a  source  of  error  to  the 
older  naturalists,  from  Aristotle  to  Pliny,  has  still 
many  points  in  its  biography  which  are  controver- 
tible. If  we  admit  that  it  possesses  the  power  of  dis- 
cerning the  different  colours,  when  it  places  its  eggs 
in  the  nest  of  a  bird  whose  eggs  correspond  to  its 
own  ;  or,  that  it  has  some  regard  to  number  when 
it  cautiously  and  with  great  foresight,  places  its  egg 
in  a  nest  where  the  laying  is  not  completed,  so  as 
to  secure  the  incubation  of  its  egg;  also,  when  it 
breaks  one  of  the  eggs  in  the  nest,  after  introducing 
its  own,  so  as  to  make  the  number  the  same  as 
before  ;  or  that  it  possesses  prudence,  when  it  only 
puts  one  egg  in  each  nest,  thus  providing  effectually 
for  the  welfare  of  its  offspring,  the  foster-parents 
not  being  able  to  meet  a  greater  demand  upon  their 
resources — by  subscribing  unconditionally  to  all  these 
facts,  we  must  admit  that  the  cuckoo  has  perfect 
reasoning  powers,  and,  consequently,  real  intelli- 
gence. In  short,  this  bird  is  a  great  example  of  the 
endless  variety  of  ways  and  means  which  nature 
adopts  for  the  perpetuity  of  species ;  every  prepara- 
tion is  made,  and  all  possible  contingencies  provided 
for. — F.  L.  C.  Richardson. 

Albinism  in  Birds. — In  addition  to  the  list 
"A.  P."  gives  of  the  birds  that  have  been  found 
white  or  ivoiy-coloured,  I  may  mention  the  follow- 
ing : — Kestrel  {Falco  Tinnimcidus)  ;  green  wood- 
pecker [Picits  viridis)  ;  redwing  ( Tiirdus  iliacns)  ; 
fieldfare  { Titrdtts  pilaris)  ;  curlew  {Nmnenitis  ar- 
qiiata) ;  landrail  (Gallimila  crex) ;  snipe  (Scolopax 
g'allinago)  ;  wood-pigeon  {Columba  paliimbns)  ; 
missel-thrush  ( Turdiis  viscivorus) ;  wren  (Sylvia 
trochihis)  ;  house-martin  {Hirundo  nrbica)  ;  crow 
{Co!~ziHS  corone)  ;  partridge  [Perdix  cinered) ;  pheasant 
(Phasiajius  colchicus),  andwoodlark  {Alauda  arbor ea). 
Two  or  three  of  the  above  I  have  in  my  possession, 
and  the  others  have  been  proved  from  various  reliable 
sources. — C.  D.  Wolstenholvie. 

The  Wryneck. — I  once  kept  a  young  wryneck 
for  some  time,  and  always  fed  it  on  house-flies.  It 
did  not  generally  eat  the  legs  and  wings,  but  preferred 
the  fleshy  parts  of  the  insects.  It  ate  very  voraciously. 
I  may  add  that  it  was  anything  but  shy,  and  would 
eat  from  any  one's  hand. — A.  H. 

Woollen  Moths. — I  am  much  pleased  to  see 
that  the  subject  of  destroying  woollen  moths  has 
given  rise  to  so  much  discussion  in  Science-Gossip. 
I  agree  with  Mr.  J.  S.  Wesley  to  a  certain  extent,  but 
I  must  say  I  think  the  most  eft'ectual  way  of  destroying 
the  larva  that  is  in  the  woollen  material  is  to  tie 
them  in  a  bundle,  and  bake  the  material  for  a  short 
time,  thereby  destroying  all  life  eggs,  &c.,  then  well 
brush,  and  place  them  in  the  drawer  if  you  like. — 
]Villia?n  Bean. 


Communications  Received  up  to  8th  ult.  from  :  — 
G.  H.  K.— T.  S.— W.  B.— G.  S.— A.  R.  G.— E.  S.  L.— R.  M.  M. 
— W.  E.  G.— F.  S.— A.  B.— T.  S.  W.— S.  C.  A.— Dr.  H.  P.— 
L.  H.  H.-W.  G.  P.— A.  M.— F.  J.  G.— D.  A.— O.  P.  C— 
J.  B.-J.  W.  M.— J.  W.  S — F.  C— R.  M.  C— Mrs.  G.— 
J.  J.  M.— W.  T.  V.  D.— Dr.  G.-R.  G.— J.  W.  G.-W.  G.  P. 
-C.  W.-F.  C.-H.  A.-E.  T.  S.— M.-B.-A.  C.  S.-T.  B. 
-W.  L.  S.— H.  F.  W.— E.  D.  M.— Dr.  J.  A.- H.  N.  R.— 
W.  S.-A.  S.  G.— W.  B.-D.  B.-J.  B.-C.  D.-F.  C.-W.  S. 
—J.  P.— J.  B.  jun.— J.  W.— V.  M.  A.— G.  P.-C.  A.  G.— 
A.  M.-T.  D.  R.-A.  J.  R.  S.-W.  H.  W.-Dr.  J.  H.- 
T.  C.  M.-L.  P.-C.  W.  S.-H.  L.-T.  H.  P.-Dr.  P.  Q.  K. 
_j.  w.  O.— T.  C.  R.  G.— A.  P.— J.  L.— S.  C.  M.— H.  M.^ 
&c.,  &c. 


24 


HA  R  D  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSIF. 


NOTICES   TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 


To  Subscribers.- — The  compilation  of  the  classified  index 
of  the  last  twelve  volumes  of  Science-Gossip  has  proved  a 
more  difficult  and  painstaking  task  than  we  at  first  imagined. 
It  is  now  in  a  forward  state  of  preparation,  and  we  crave  a 
little  grace  from  our  numerous  correspondents,  who  have 
already  applied  for  it. 

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  8th  of  the 
previous  month. 


A  Subscriber.  —  You  will  find  Jardine's  "  Naturalist's 
Library  "  one  of  the  best  systematic  works  on  Natural  History 
yet  published,  and  all  the  more  advantageous  to  the  student  in 
that  he  can  obtain  any  work  bearing  on  his  own  particular  study. 

S.  C.  Adams. — Obtain  Prof  Harvey's  three  volumes  of 
"  Phycologia  Britannica."  This  has  e.Kcellent  coloured  plates, 
and  gives  the  geographical  distribution  and  varieties  of  the 
chief  species  of  sea-weed.  Mr.  W.  H.  Grattann's  excellent  and 
cheap  little  book  on  British  Sea-weeds  will  also  help  you. 
These  plants  have  a  very  extensive  geographical  distribution, 
as  all  lowly-organized  forms  usually  have. 

F.  J.  Greenfield. — It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  flowers  to 
change  colour  when  plucked.  Many  do  so  after  pollination  ; 
those  of  the  hawthorn,  to  wit,  whose  petals  usually  assume  a 
pinkish  tinge  when  fading.  The  cause  is  due  to  a  chemical 
change  in  the  colouring  matter  of  the  cells  of  the  petals. 

S.  C.  M.— The  pods  are  those  of  Iris  fcctidissima,  with  the 
capsules  open,  showing  the  bright  red  seeds  within. 

John  Roper. — The  fossils  are  :  i.  Ammonites  lautus;  and 
2.  a  coral  (  Trochocyathus^. 

Miss  R.  R.— Dr.  Lankester's  "  Half-hours  with  the  Micro- 
scope," especially  the  new  edition,  which  is  considerably  en- 
larged, would  answer  your  purpose  fully. 

T.  O.  (Sale). — The  plants  are:  i.  Drosera  roticndifolia ; 
2.  Finguicula  vulgaris ;  3.  Habenaria  viridis  ;  and  4. 
Narthcciwn  ossifragtnn. 

J.  Battersby.— Prof.  Nicholson's  "Advanced  Text-Book 
of  Zoology,"  price  6s.,  published  by  Blackwood  &  Sons,  is  the 
best  you  could  get. 

R.  Greenwood. — The  mineral  was  iron,  not  copper,  pyrites 
(iron  sulphite).  It  may  be  told  from  copper  by  its  superior 
hardness.  A  knife  will  scratch  copper  pyrites,  but  will  not 
touch  iron  pyrites. 

J.  J.  (Burton.) — Get  Cooke's  "  Microscopic  Fungi,"  pub- 
lished by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly. 

R.  M.  Christy. — We  are  sorry  to  say  that,  owing  to  the 
loose  way  in  which  it  had  been  packed,  your  slug  came  to  us 
amid  a  mass  of  hardened  silvery  slime,  representing  a  fossil 
stocking-needle.  Next  time  send  one  inclosed  in  oil-silk,  to 
protect  it  from  the  air. 

J.  J.  M.— The  "jelly"  was  a  species  of  Nostoc,  showing  the 
bead-like  connection  of  cells. 

E.  Grove. — The  depredators  are  either  mole-crickets  or  the 
large  species  of  ear-wig. 

A.  R.  C— The  only  book  we  know  is  Page's  "  Handbook  of 
Geology  and  Physical  Geography,"  published  by  Blackwood 
&  Sons. 

Miss  T.— Mrs.  Lankester's  "  British  Wild  Flowers  worth 
Notice  "  has  coloured  plates  of  the  commoner  species,  and  it  is 
the  cheapest  we  know  of. 

W.  Thompson. — You  will  find  all  the  monstrosities  relating 
to  the  different  parts  and  organs  of  plants  fully  treated  of  in 
Dr.  Master's  "  Vegetable  Teratology,"  published  by  the  Ray 
Society,  at,  we  believe,  one  guinea. 

Acolyte.— Consult  Baily's  "Characteristic  British  Fossils," 
for  the  Primary  rocks ;  and  Prof.  Nicholson's  "  Manual  of 
Palaeontology"  for  the  rest. 

Thos.  Palmer.  —Your  shells  are  :  i.  Nasoa  reticulata ; 
2.  Dentalium  entale ;  3.  Cyprea  Eiiropo'a  ;  and  4.  Tellina 
Bait  hie  a. 

W.  Hambrough.-— The  leaves  of  the  water-cress  sent  us  are 
not  unusually  found  in  the  state  you  observed,  especially  when 
the  growth  of  the  plant  has  been  unusually  rapid. 


EXCHANGES. 

Plants  from  United  States  of  America  and  Canada,  to 
exchange  for  British  plants  ;  English  and  other  European 
Ferns  particularly  desired.  Only  well-preserved  specimens 
wanted  and  given  in  the  exchange.— Lyman  H.  Hoysrad, 
Pine  Plains,  Dutchess  Co.,  New  York,  U.S.A. 

First  6  vols,  of  Science-Gossip,  bound  in  two,  for  micro 
slides,  &c.,  &c.— J.  S.  Harrison,  48,  Lowgate,  Hull. 


A  FEW  specimens  of  Synapta  and  Chirodota  violacca,  or 
other  good  micro  material  wanted  in  exchange  for  well- mounted 
objects,  &c.— W.  L.  S.,  6,  Dagnall  Park  Terrace,  Selhurst,  S.E. 

For  Seeds  of  Collomia  (spiral  fibres),  .send  stamped  and 
directed  envelope  to  F.  Coles,  248,  King's-road,  Chelsea,  S.W. 

Wanted,  rubbing  of  IMonumental  Brasses,  for  Seaweeds, 
Ferns,  or  bound  volumes  of  Science-Gossip.— F.  Stanley,  6, 
Clifton  Gardens,  Margate. 

Wants  to  exchange  Limtiea  stagnalis,  Unio  tianidus, 
Uttio  pictonim,  Anodonta  cygnea,  Anatina,  or  Helix  arbus- 
torjim,  or  any  other  common  or  rare  shells  from  Yorkshire,  for 
any  other  as  good  from  any  county  in  England. — J.  Whitenham, 
Cross-lane  Marsh,  Huddersfield. 

"  Berkley's  Cryptogamic  Botany,"  quite  new,  uncut,  cost 
one  guinea,  offered  in  exchange  for  Gosse's  "Anemones," 
"  Devonshire  Coast,"  "Tenby,"  "Marine  Zoology,"  or  other 
good  work  on  Natural  History,  or  a  Kelner  Eye-piece,  large 
Bullseye  Condenser,  or  other  microscopic  apparatus. — C.  A. 
Grimes,  8,  Crafford-street,  Dover. 

For  specimens  of  P/^Wrtr/rt  cristata,  Laoinedia  genicnlata, 
and  Lepralia  hyalina,  send  stamped  envelope  or  object  of 
interest  to  T.  Comlidge,  5,  Norfolk-street,  Brighton. 

Nos.  24,  34,  40,  58,  67,  81,  100,  125,  133,  136,  146,  235,  276, 
273,  282,  2S7,  305,  273,  &c.,  7th  Edition  London  Cat.,  for  other 
flowers,  plants,  or  mosses.  Lists  to  W.  E.  Green,  24,  Triangle, 
Bristol. 

Igneous  Rocks  wanted  in  quantity  from  known  localities  ; 
liberal  exchange  in  Shells,  Fossils,  Crustacea,  Minerals,  or 
Microscopic  Objects,— Thomas  D.  Russell,  48,  Essex-street, 
London,  W.C. 

Slide  of  Fossil  Fibrous  Wood  (from  Shropshire  clay,  iron- 
stone), in  exchange  for  other  good  slide  or  material.  Un- 
mounted Marine  AlgiB  wanted.  —  J.  P.,  63,  Legh-street, 
Warrington. 

Portion  of  wing  of  Morpho,  showing  scales  in  situ,  Opaque 
Slide,  Fijian  Tapa  Cloth,  balsam  mounted  for  polariscope,  in 
exchange  for  first-class  Slides. — J.  W.  S.,  7,  Charlemont- 
terrace,  Cork. 

Five  hundred  Slabs  of  Polished  Madrepores  ;  will  ex- 
change for  Gault  Fossils,  Silurian  Corals  and  Fossils,  one 
good  polished-slab  for  each  Gault,  or  good  Specimen  of  Trilo- 
bite  ;  will  exchange  also  for  good  Foreign  Shells.  Some  few 
British  Shells  also  required.— A.  J.  R.  Sclater,  9,  Bank-street, 
Teignmouth,  Devonshire. 

Artemesia  campestris  (hinn.)  or  OrobancJie  caryopkyllncea 
(Sm.),  for  Nos.  23,  loi,  106,  156,  535,  536,  544,  545,  546,  674, 

851,   913,   950,   971,    1,020,    1,089,    IJI2I,    1,133,    I>220,    1,247,    1.279, 

1,312.   1.329.   1.343.   1,484.    i,6i8,   1,622,  1,624,    1,632,    7th  ed. 
"  Lon.  Cat." — A.  B.,  107,  High-street,  Croydon. 

I  should  be  glad  to  hear  of  some  one  with  whom  to  ex- 
change,a  few  British  Land  and  Fresh-water  Shells. — Robt.  M. 
Christy,  20,  Bootham,  York. 

HALF-an-ounce  of  Upper  Peruvian  Guano,  containing  an 
abundance  of  Aulacodiscus  scaber,  with  a  number  of  other 
good  forms,  A.  Coinbesi,  &c.,  &c.,  in  exchange  for  the  same  of 
Monterey  Stone  or  Earth.  Alss  a  number  of  duplicate  Diatom 
Slides  in  exchange.— Address,  Mr.  Powell,  327,  Camden-rd.,  N. 

Micro  Material,  consisting  of  Sections,  Zoophytes,  Leaves, 
&c.,  in  exchange  for  other  objects. — H.  Livesej',  6,  Upper 
Phillimore-gardens,  Kensington,  London,  W. 

Vol.  I.  of  Cassell's  "Popular  Natural  History,"  unbound, 
for  Pupae  (living)  of  Atropos,  &c. — C.  Swatman,  Mr.  Feld- 
wick's,  London-road,  Sevenoaks. 

In  exchange  for  other  mounted  Natural  History  Objects  : 
Proboscis  of  Blow-fly,  Atnphipleura  pellucida,  Navictim. 
rhomboides,  Pleurosigma  angulatmn,  Pleurosigina  fasciola, 
Podura  Scales.  —Address,  T.  C.  Maggs,  Yeovil. 

Fossils,  from  Somerset  and  Dorset  Oolite,  for  Silurian  from 
Dudley  and  Ludlow. — J.  Purdue  Ridgeway,  Plympton,  Devon. 

Lintncra  glabra,  Ancylus  Jluviatilis  (var.  nlbida),  A. 
lacustris,  Zonites  radiatulus,  nitidus,  and  excavatus.  Helix 
fusca.  Helix  caperata  (var.  alba),  C.  rugosa  (var.  dubia),  &c., 
offered  for  good  British  Marine  or  Foreign  Shells  ;  or  would 
exchange  for  British  Land  and  Fresh-water  Shells  with  collectors 
in  other  countries. — Lister  Pearce,  Hebble-terrace,  Bradford- 
road,  Huddersfield,  Yorks. 

BOOKS,  &c.,  RECEIVED. 

"  The  Geology  of  England  and  Wales."  By  H.  B.  Wood- 
ward, F.G.S.     London  :  Longmans  &  Co. 

"  Cross  and  Self-fertilization  of  Plants."  By  C.  Darwin, 
F.R.S.     London:  John  Murray. 

"  The  Smoker's  Guide."     London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 

"  Transactions  of  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of 
Liverpool."     Vol.  xxx. 

"The  Yorkshire  Naturalist."     December. 

"  The  American  Naturalist."     November. 

"  Botanische  Zeitung."     November. 

"  Les  Mondes,"     November. 

"  Land  and  Water."     December. 

"  Monthly  Microscopical  Journal."     December. 

"  British  Journal  of  Photography." 


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


THE  MISTLETOE  I   ITS  GROWTH,  AGE,  AND  THE  USAGES 

CONNECTED  WITH  IT. 


By     EDWIN     LEES,     F.L.S.,     F.G.S. 


HE  elaborate  paper  on  the 
History   of  the    Mistle- 
toe   that    appeared     in 
Science  -  Gossip    for 
December    last    is     not 
quite    exhaustive,     and 
requires    supplementing 
with   a  few    further    re- 
marks. Thcauthorofthe 
article   rather   strangely 
says     that     the     oldest 
specimen   of   mistletoe   that   he   has   heard   of  was 
no  more   than  fifteen    years  old.      Surely   he   must 
be  a  young  observer,   or  his  own  experience  would 
have  extended   far  beyond  this.     Nearly   forty  years 
ago  I  mentioned,  in  the  Cheltenham  "Looker-on," 
and   afterwards  in  my    "  Botanical    Looker-out    in 
England  and  Wales,"  that  there  was  an  oak  growing 
on    the  Ridgway   in  Eastnor   Park,   Herefordshire, 
with  a  mass  of  mistletoe  upon  it  ;  and  this  tree,  with 
the  mistletoe  upon  it — perhaps  a  little  diminished  by 
the  attacks  of  curious  explorers — still  exists,  and  if 
the  oak  is  allowed  to  stand,  will  continue  to  grow 
there,  I   have   no  doubt,  for  many  years   to   come. 
Indeed,  as  far  as  my  observation  goes,  the  Mistletoe 
veiy  rarely  dies  upon  the  tree  that  sustains  it,  though 
detrimental    to  the  well-being  of  the  tree,   and  so 
justly  called  the  "  baleful  mistletoe"  by  Shakspeare. 
Having  myself  long  ago  gone  into   the  history  of 
the  Mistletoe,  I  have  come  to  the   conclusion  that 
the  domestic  use  of  it  in  England  at   Christmas  time 
is  to  be  traced  to  the  northern  nations,  who  dedicated 
it  to  Freya,  the  Scandinavian  Venus  ;  and   a   great 
deal  of  what  has  been  stated   about  the  Druids  is 
mythical.       At   all   events,    the    Romans   upset  the 
Druidical  superstitions,  and  it  is  hardly  probable  that, 
during  their  sway  in  Britain  for  about  four  hundred 
years,     the    Mistletoe   would  be    permitted    to    be 
held  in  any  honour.     But   the  northern  nations  had 
always  regarded  it  in  a  superstitious  light,  and  their 
inroad  and  settlement  in  our  island  re-introduced  the 
No.  146. 


use  of  the  plant  for  irreverent  or  mirthful  rites  con- 
nected with  sexual  intercourse  ;  and  thus  it  ought 
never  to  appear  in  sacerdotal  ornamentation.  The 
Druids  no  doubt  honoured  the  Mistletoe  religiously, 
*'  with  a  sense  of  mystery  and  awe  ";  but  in  the  present 
day  it  is  only  regarded  mirthfully,  and  in  connection 
with  loving  or  sportive  influences.  The  plant  there- 
fore, I  do  not  think  has  been  with  us  derived  from 
Druidical  lore,  and  it  is  curious  enough  that  in  Wales, 
where  Druidic  influence  was  longest  felt,  the  Mistletoe 
is  almost  unknown,  and  little  regarded  or  sought  after 
by  the  Welsh -speaking  people. 

The   Druids,    it   is   asserted   by   various   authors, 
gathered  the  Mistletoe  at  the  commencement  of  the 
new  year,  but  the  Druidical  new  year  did  not  cor- 
respond with  our  Christmas  time,  but  began  in  March, 
for  Toland,   in  his   "  History  of  the  Druids,"  says 
that  the  Druidical  New  Year's  day  was  the   loth  of 
March,  "  which  was  the  day  of  seeking,  cutting,  and 
consecrating  the  wonder-working  all-heal."     Accord- 
ing to  Pliny,' the  virtue  of  the  Mistletoe  was  to  resist 
all  poisons,  and  make  fruitful  any  that  used  it.     This 
latter  idea  seems  to  connect  it  with  its  present  appro- 
jiriation  as  a  hall  or  kitchen  guest,  and  unfits  it  for 
sacred  uses,  though  why  it  should  be  thought  conducive 
to  fertility  does  not  clearly  appear,  unless  its  numerous 
white    berries    were    considered    indicative.      Peter 
Roberts,  however,  in  his  "  Popular  Cambrian  Anti- 
quities," has  remarked,  that   "the  blossoms  fall  off 
within  a  few  days  of  the   summer  solstice,  and  the 
berries  within  a  few  days  of  the  winter  solstice.    This, 
then,  rather  than  any  medical   virtues  of  the  herb 
itself,  which  are  at  least  dubious,   was  probably  the 
true  cause  of  its  estimation."    The  same  Welsh  author 
says  the  British  Druids  called  the  plant  Gjvdd,  meaning 
the  Herb,  by  way  of  pre-eminence,  but  that  it  was 
commonly  called  Uchel-Wydd,  or  the  high-growing 
herb,  by  the  Celtic  population. 

It  was  only  the  Mistletoe  of  the  Oak  that  was 
esteemed  medicinally,  and  an  observant  friend  of 
mine  has  assured  me  that  he  knew  an  old  oak  that  was 

c 


26 


HARD  WI CKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


entirely  stripped  of  its  mistletoe  by  country  people, 
who  considered  it  a  remedy  against  fits.  This  may 
accomit  in  some  degree  for  the  rarity  of  the  Mistletoe 
upon  the  Oak,  or  its  loss  from  any  tree  where  it  was 
once  known  to  grow.  Ray,  indeed,  mentions  our 
plant  as  a  specific  in  epilepsy,  as  well  as  useful  in 
apoplexy  and  giddiness,  and  some  years  ago  Sir 
John  Colbatch  published  a  "  Dissertation  concerning 
the  Mistletoe,  a  most  wonderful  sj^ecifick  Remedy  for 
the  Cure  of  convulsive  Distempers."  This  seems  to 
have  been  the  last  serious  effort  made  in  behalf  of 
the  medical  virtues  of  this  mystic  plant,  but  it  failed 
to  keep  it  within  the  pale  of  the  "  Materia  Medica"  ; 
for,  as  Sir  James  Smith  rather  sarcastically  intimates 
in  his  "English  Flora," — "a  plant  of  viscum 
gathered  from  an  oak  is  preferred  by  those  who  rely 
on  virtues,  which,  perhaps,  never  existed  in  any 
mistletoe  whatever." 

The  Mistletoe  abounds  far  too  much  in  the  apple 
orchards  of  Worcestershire  and  Herefordshire,  but 
passes  over  pear-trees,  and  long  observation  has  only 
given  me  two  or  three  instances  where  pear-trees 
had  mistletoe  upon  them.  The  apple  was  known  to 
the  Druids,  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  the  wily 
priests  furtively  transplanted  their  mystic  plant  from 
apple-trees,  where  it  was  sure  to  grow,  to  oaks, 
where  othenvise  it  would  be  unlikely  to  be  found. 
This  is  rendered  not  improbable  by  what  Davies 
says  in  his  "Celtic  Researches,"  that  the  apple-tree 
was  considered  by  the  Druids  the  next  sacred  tree  to 
the  oak,  and  that  orchards  of  it  were  planted  by  them 
in  the  vicinity  of  their  groves  of  oak.  This  was  cer- 
tainly an  astute  plan  for  keeping  up  the  growth  of 
the  Mistletoe. 

With  regard  to  the  propagation  of  the  plant  by 
birds,  I  have  no  faith  in  the  nasty  Latin  adage  as  to 
its  spreading  from  their  deposited  ordure.  Black- 
birds, thrushes,  and  fieldfares  are  fond  of  the  mistle- 
toe-berries, and  when  their  bills  get  sticky  from 
eating  them,  they  wipe  their  mandibles  on  the  branches 
of  trees  where  they  rest,  and  from  the  seeds  there 
left  enveloped  in  slime  young  plants  take  their  rise. 
I  have  thus  observed  mistletoe  bushes  extending  in 
long  lines  across  country  where  tall  hawthorns  rise 
from  hedges  bounding  the  pastures  ;  for,  next  to 
apple-trees,  mistletoe  is  most  plentiful  upon  the  Haw- 
thorn. Bat  rather  curiously,  in  modern  times,  the 
parasite  has  shown  a  predilection  for  the  black  Italian 
poplar,  which  has  been  much  planted  of  late  years ; 
and  wherever  in  the  midland  counties  this  poplar  has 
been  planted,  the  Mistletoe  is  sure  to  appear  upon 
the  trees  in  a  short  time.  The  Lime  is  also  very  often 
obliged  to  support  the  plant,  which  disfigures  its 
symmetry,  raising  huge  knots  upon  its  branches;  and 
I  have  observed  limes  that  must  have  nourished  jjro- 
tuberant  bushes  for  thirty  years  or  more.  The  MajDle, 
the  Ash,  and  the  Willow  have  frequently  mistletoe 
bushes  upon  them  ;  but,  common  as  the  Elm  is,  that 
tree  almost  entirely  escapes  an  intrusion  ;  and,  in- 


deed, I  never  but  once  saw  mistletoe  upon  an  Elm. 
On  the  Oak  it  is  veiy  imcommon  in  the  i:)resent  day, 
and  where  apparent  it  is  on  trees  of  no  very  great 
age,  whatever  their  descent  may  be. 

My  friend  Professor  Buckman,  who  has  written 
economically  upon  orchards  in  his  useful  book  on 
"  Farm  Cultivation,"  asserts  that  while  the  Mistletoe 
is  hurtful  to  the  tree  in  hastening  its  decay,  yet  in 
apple-trees  it  has  the  effect  of  pressing  on  their 
maturity  and  fruit-bearing  earlier  than  would  be  the 
case  without  the  parasite,  which  ui'ges  a  quicker 
g:-owth  upon  its  foster-parent.  The  tenant  of  an 
orchard  would  thus  be  benefited  for  a  few  years, 
though  premature  decay  would  be  the  result. 

Authors  may  differ  as  to  the  etymology  of  Mistle- 
toe, but  it  appears  to  me  that  our  common  English 
name  has  no  very  recondite  origin.  Alistion  is  an 
obsolete  old  English  word,  used,  however,  as  late  as 
in  the  writings  of  Boyle ;  and  this  is  defined  in  Dr. 
Johnson's  original  folio  edition  of  his  Dictionary  as 
^^  the  state  of  behig  mingled.''^  Now  this  is  truly  the 
condition  of  our  plant,  which  is  intermingled  with  the 
foliage  of  other  trees,  and  mixes  up  their  juices  with 
its  own  ;  and  is  indeed  in  rural  places  still  simply 
called  the  Mistle.  If  to  this  we  add  the  old  English 
tod  or  toe,  signifying  bush,  we  have  at  once  the  deri- 
vation, meaning  the  mingled  bush,  mixed  up  and 
growing  among  foliage  dissimilar  to  its  own.  Still, 
in  winter  its  stiff  and  leathery  evergreen  leaves  and 
dense  bushy  aspect  give  it  a  visible  position  on  its 
own  account ;  and  thus  the  epithet  of  ^'  frigore 
viscum  "  given  it  by  Virgil,  is  peculiarly  applicable. 
It  is  certainly  remarkable  that  the  hanging  up  of 
mistletoe  in  houses  for  mirthful  purposes  and  emble- 
matical of  Christmas  should  so  long  endure  that  the 
Midland  towns  have  their  markets  filled  with  it  as 
Christmas  approaches,  and  loads  of  it  find  a  ready 
sale  in  the  North  of  England,  where  the  plant  is  a 
rarity,  if  found  at  all. 


SPORT   IN   THE   NEW   FOREST. 

THE  interesting  paper  which  appeared  in  the 
last  volume,  on  the  "  Lepidoptera  of  the  New 
Forest,"  has  induced  me  to  think  that  a  short 
account  of  a  visit  there  last  summer  might  not  prove 
unacceptable  to  some  of  the  readers  of  Science- 
Gossir. 

Although  the  list  of  entomological  captures  be  but 
meagre,  yet  this  does  not  at  all  i-epresent  the  amount 
of  enjoyment  to  be  derived  from  a  holiday  in  this 
locality,  even  by  the  most  enthusiastic  collector  of 
insects ;  and  although  his  collection  may  be  in  no 
way  enriched,  yet  delight  in  the  beauty  of  the  woods 
should  keep  him  from  disappointment.  The  cha- 
racter of  the  scenery  of  the  New  Forest  is  almost 
unique  among  English  woodlands,  and  its  vast  ex- 
tent and  the  size  of  its  timber  render  it  quite  so.     In 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  •  G  O  SSIF. 


27 


the  solitude  of  its  deep  oak  woods,  unaltered  in  many 
places  since  the  time  of  its  planter,  the  various  orders 
of  creation  dwell  and  increase  undisturbed  by  the 
hand  of  man  as  in  perhaps  no  other  place  in  England. 
And  this  the  entomologist  finds  to  be  specially  the 
case  with  his  chosen  objects  of  study,  as  the  numbers 
of  nets  by  day  and  lights  by  night  which  are  to  be 
seen  in  its  precincts  abundantly  testify. 

To  us  dwellers  in  a  northern  county  the  New 
Forest  is  always  a  "  land  of  promise."  The  southern 
entomologist  may  only  care  for  its  gi'eat  rarities  and 
peculiarly  local  species  ;  but  to  those  who  inhabit  a 
locality  where  Rhamni  is  rarest  of  the  rare  ;  where 
the  whole  groups  of  "  Fritillaries,"  "  Hairstreaks," 
and  "Skippers"  are  utterly  unknoAvn  ;  where  even 
jtEgeria  and  Hyperaiithiis  are  not  to  be  missed, — 
where,  in  short,  about  seventeen  species  of  the  sixty- 
five  to  seventy  species  of  British  Diurni  only  are 
obtainable,  the  very  commonest  species  of  the  Forest 
are  worth  having,  while  its  great  rarities  are  prizes 
more  to  be  vaguely  hoped  for  than  definitely  expected. 

Thus  we  set  out  to  visit  the  New  Forest,  bent  quite 
as  much  on  eniiching  our  minds  and  eyes  with  the 
fairest  sylvan  scenery  of  England,  as  our  cabinets  with 
choice  entomological  captures. 

It  was  a  drizzling  rain  when  we  alighted  from  the 
train  at  Lyndhurst  Road  Station,  and  the  long, 
straight  road  to  the  town  looked  anything  but  in- 
viting. However,  with  knapsack  on  back  and 
folding-net  in  pocket,  we  sallied  forth.  The  dreary 
heaths  and  stunted  fir  plantations  near  the  station  do 
not  certainly  impress  one  with  the  idea  of  the  glorious 
lichness  and  fertility  of  the  South  of  England  ;  but 
as  one  gets  further  on  the  trees  get  thicker  and  more 
stately.  After  about  a  mile  the  rain  ceased,  and  the 
sun  shone  forth  with  transient  gleam.  Hardly  had  it 
done  so  when  a  splendid  Paphia  rose  from  the  fern, 
and  sailed  off  on  easy  wing ;  then  the  nets  came  out ; 
the  hurried  run  forward,  dexterous  turn  of  the  arm, 
and  quick  drop,  were  the  work  of  an  instant,  and 
none  but  an  entomologist  could  appreciate  the  delight 
with  which  the  captive  struggling  within  the  gauze 
was  regarded.  Hardly  had  he  been  effectually  boxed 
when  a  Sibylla  was  started,  and  then  a  Sylvaniis; 
and  both  run  down,  and  then  a  T.  Querctts,  all  new 
insects  to  us,  although  by  many  to  be  regarded  with 
contempt.  Then  the  brightness  passed  away,  and 
with  it  all  the  butterflies.  So  we  continued  on  our 
way  till  we  arrived  at  Lyndhurst,  with  its  long  yellow 
street,  its  curious  church  perched  on  a  small  hill,  and 
its  large  and  comfortable  "Crown."  Lyndhurst, 
however,  we  quickly  discovered,  was  a  much  nicer 
place  to  look  at  than  to  stay  in  ;  in  fact,  the  population 
seemed  far  too  large  for  the  houses,  and  we  should 
advise  any  one  who  contemplated  a  visit  to  that 
wood-encircled  town  to  make  sure  beforehand  of  a 
comfortable  lodging.  Although  it  may  be  quite  true 
that  to  the  ordinary  Britisher,  the  greater  part  of 
whose  life  is  passed  in  an  artificial  and  monotonous 


way,  it  is  really  enjoyable  for  a  season  to  throw  oft 
all  conventionalities,  and  take  the  varying  chances  of 
travel  with  all  the  zest  of  novelty,  yet  excess  destroys 
the  charm  in  this  even  more  quickly  than  in  most 
other  things.  However,  our  choice  of  accommoda- 
tion being  limited — in  fact,  restricted  to  the  only 
empty  apartments  in  the  village,  or  to  return  by  the 
way  we  came — we  accepted  the  former,  and  deter- 
mined to  live  as  much  as  possible  out  of  doors,  in 
which  we  were  fortunately  pretty  successful. 

The  next  day  rose  in  unclouded  splendour  ;  so  we 
soon  equipped  ourselves  with  nets  and  boxes,  and 
took  the  road  to  the  woods  of  Denny,  which  are  con- 
sidered as  some  of  the  best  in  the  Forest  for  insects. 
On  the  way,  by  the  side  of  the  oak  plantations,  a  few 
Sibylla  were  captured,  as  also  Paphia,  and  a  few 
other  things;  then  came  a  bare  and  bleak  heath, 
where  Senielc  and  Algeria  were  abundant ;  but  both 
moor  and  insects  seemed  as  old  friends  ;  so  we  con- 
tinued, and  after  crossing  a  marshy  hollow,  came  up 
into  a  splendid  piece  of  rank  vegetation  under  the 
shadow  of  the  mighty  oaks  of  Denny.  Then  the  real 
sport  began.  Adippe  was  numerous,  Paphia  more 
so ;  but  Sibylla  was  nearly  past,  and  all  the  specimens 
we  obtained  were  rubbed,  and  quite  unfit  for  the 
cabinet.  Great  tall  thistles  and  other  flowers  grew 
in  uncultured  profusion  in  this  place,  and  on  their 
petalssat  these  great  butterflies,  "opening  and  shutting 
splendid  wings."  Skippers  buzzed  backwards  and 
forwards  ;  in  fact,  the  place  was  alive  with  insect 
life  of  every  kind.  One  was  quite  bewildered,  fairly 
brought  to  a  standstill  by  cinbarras  de  riches ;  the 
killing-box  would  not  act  quickly  enough,  and  nets 
had  an  unaccountable  propensity  to  catch  in  brambles  ; 
but  this  sport,  though  exciting,  was  tiring — up  and 
down  hill,  net  in  hand,  hat  gone,  coat-tails  flying 
behind,  with  tin  boxes  clinking  in  the  pockets  thereof, 
and  at  the  same  time  attacked  and  bitten  by  the 
hateful  forest  fly.  After  a  short  time  at  this  we  were 
glad  enough  to  sit  down  sub  tegmine  fagi,  and  pin 
out  our  captures,  and  then  up  and  at  them  again. 
Proceeding  a  little  further,  a  grand  Polychloros  was 
netted,  and  just  after  a  beautiful  female  Argiolus,  and 
then  a  male  of  the  same  species —  Qiierats,  Rhamni, 
and  Sinapis — added  to  the  slain,  while  L.  quadra 
and  Trapezina  rewarded  our  beating  among  the 
oaks  ;  and  the  same  operation  in  the  heather  doomed 
Myrtilli  and  a  few  others  to  the  ammonia-box  and 
setting-board.  The  old  entomologist  would  have 
smiled  at  the  rapture  which  gi-eeted  the  boxing  of  a 
good  specimen  of  these  to  him  common  things  ;  but 
profusion  or  the  contraiy  are  only  relative  qualities, 
and  the  position  might  just  be  reversed  in  the  case  of 
Opima  or  Zoiiaria.  For  Ms  we  hoped  in  vain, 
although  we  were  told  that  several  had  been  taken 
that  year.  Among  our  Paphia  were  many  of  the 
dark  variety  of  female  ;  but  none  were  of  veiy  first- 
rate  quahty,  as  they  had  been  on  the  wing  too  long  ; 
in  fact,   we  discovered  that  the  early  part  of  July, 

C  2 


28 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S CIENCE  -  G  O SSIF. 


instead  of  the  end,  would  have  been  the  better  time 
to  visit  the  Forest ;  but  as  it  was  we  had  got  quite  as 
many  as  we  could  easily  set,  and  returned  home  hot 
and  tired,  but  well  contented  with  our  day's  sport. 
In  the  evening  we  tried  sugar ;  but  the  clear  coldness 


Fig.  22.  The  Grayling  {Sntynis  Scmelc).    Upper  Side  of  INIalc 


Fig.  23.  Under  Side  of  Male  Grayling. 


Fig.  24.  Upper  Side  of  Female  Grayling. 


Fig.  25.   Uiider  Side  of  B'emale  Grayling. 

of  the  night,  and  the  undimmcd  brightness  of  the 
moon,  jirevented  our  having  any  more  aristocratic 
visitors  than  one  undaunted  Pronuba,  which  seemed 
to  glare  at  us  with  mocking  eye.  So  we  departed, 
our  hojies  of  Proinissa  and  Spoiisa  seriou.sly  shaken. 


The  next  day  we  devoted  more  to  seeing  the  Forest 
than  to  entomology,  and  took  the  road  to  Boldre- 
wood.  Here  the  Forest  is  appreciable  in  all  its 
grandeur ;  the  great  thick  oak  woods  crown  the 
eminences,  and  mighty  beeches  stand  out  in  solitary 
majesty  into  the  sea  of  fern  which  swells  in  long 
undulations  deep  into  the  hidden  recesses  of  the 
Forest.  The  beeches  of  Mark  Ash  are  perhaps 
some  of  the  finest  trees  in  the  Forest ;   their  tall. 


Fig.  26.   Silver-washed  Fritillary  {Argynnis  Pa/'/iia). 
Upper  Side  of  Male. 


Fig.  27.  Large  Tortoiseshell  JjuUe^v^y  {Vanessa />olychlo>oi}. 


Fig.  28.   White  Admiral  (Z^////tv/;V«  6";7y'//<r).     Upper  Side. 

smooth  stems  rise  \x\)  straight  and  branchless,  like 
pillars  in  a  cathedral  aisle,  while  the  light  coming 
dim  and  green  through  the  far-off  roof  of  leaves  gives 
that  sense  of  solemn  beauty  which  is  so  impressive  in 
these  silent  depths  of  the  woods.  Where  the  sun 
gleams  through  in  an  open  glade,  the  bramble- 
buslies  are  absolutely  swarming  with  Paphia,  Sibylla, 
Rhainni,  and  ^-Egei-ia ;  and  in  such  places  we  se- 
cured a  few  more  Argiohis  and    J'alczina,  and  other 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


29 


things  we  wanted.  After  passing  through  Boldre- 
wood  Hall  Park  we  emerged  on  a  dreary  moor,  which 
description  of  land  seems  to  divide  the  Forest  equally 
with  the  actual  trees.  From  Stoney  Cross,  the  other 
side  this  heath,  the  view  is  most  extensive,  stretching 
far  away  in  every  direction  over  long  sweeps  of  forest 
and  moorland  ;  in  fact,  this  is  the  finest  view  of  the 
Forest  as  a  whole  in  the  district.  Nor  should  the 
visitor  to  this  spot  forget  to  turn  aside  to  the  stone  of 
Rufus,  placed  on  the  spot  where  tradition  says  the 
Nemesis  overtook  the  Red  Kinc  for  the  sins  of  his 


Fig.  29.  White  Ad1nir.1I.     Under  .Side. 


Fig.  30.  The  Ringlet  I^Epinef>hele  hypcranthiis].     Upper  Side. 

/ 


- 1*  ^1 

Fig.  31.  The  Ringlet  (JEpinepJiele  liypo-anthus).     Lower  Side. 

father,    and   now   enclosed  in  an  iron  case  bearing 
appropriate  inscriptions  on  each  side. 

The  way  back  to  Lyndhurst  led  through  Minstead  ; 
but  it  being  late  in  the  afternoon,  no  more  sport 
could  be  expected.  Sugar  that  night  was  little  better 
than  before  ;  three  Fyrainidic  and  a  few  other  com- 
mon Noctua  completed  the  list,  and  the  last  hope  of 
the  red  underwings  vanished  away.  Alas !  the 
golden  days  of  sugaring  for  the  Catocalidir,  as  Mr. 
Anderson  describes,  seem  to  have  departed  for  ever. 
Indeed,  sugar  seemed  quite  to  fail  us  for  the  whole 
time  we  were  out.  The  next  day  being  very  wet, 
finished  our  campaign,  and  we  left  the  Forest  with 
as  much  regret  as  our  lodgings  with   delight,    and 


betook  ourselves  to  a  fresh  locality,  only  envious  of 
those  who  lived  near  enough  to  the  New  Forest  to 
be  able  to  make  its  glades  a  frequent  resort.  For 
those  who  would  really  study  the  entomology  of  this 
forest  a  short  stay  is  nearly  useless,  as  different 
species  come  out  at  different  periods  all  the  year 
round,  and  of  course  any  systematic  beating  or 
sweeping  for  larva?  is  impossible  in  a  hurried  holiday. 
Yet  he  must  be  sadly  lacking  in  perception  of  the 
manifold  riches  of  Nature,  whether  artist,  entomo- 
logist, ornithologist,  botanist,  or  antiquary,  who 
cannot  find  some  new  objects  of  study  or  acquisition 
even  in  the  shortest  stay  in  this  vastest  and  grandest 
of  the  forests  of  England.  W.  E.  S. 


AN    EARLY    SUMMER    RAMBLE    ON    THE 

EAST    COAST    OF    KENT    IN    1876. 

By  Dr.  E.  de  Crespigxy. 

THE  aspect  of  the  deserted  quays  and  promenades 
of  a  gay  place  of  resort  in  early  summer  re- 
minds one  of  the  dreary  desolation  of  a  banqueting- 
hall  on  the  morning  following  a  revel.  The  "high 
jinks  "  for  which  the  watering-places  of  Thanet  are  so 
renowned  "  in  the  season"  are  not  as  yet.  Boatmen 
idle  about  the  doors  of  the  hotels  which  face  the  little 
harbour  ;  shopkeepers  eye  you  as  you  pass  with  sullen 
listless  looks,  and  there  is  hardly  a  lodging-house  but 
is  garnished  with  a  notice  in  the  windows  that  the 
apartments  are  to  let.  Not  a  soul  upon  the  sands  but 
the  shrimper  trudging  homewards  "his  weary  way." 
There  is,  however,  no  lack  of  life  out  at  sea  in  the  off- 
ing ;  steamers,  with  or  without  a  sailing  craft  in  tow, 
pass  up  and  down  the  Channel  between  "  the  Good- 
wins "  and  the  shore  in  scores,  to  and  from  all  parts 
of  the  world  south  of  the  Downs  ;  but  the  naturalist, 
of  whatever  department  of  his  subject  a  student,  is 
nowhere  and  at  no  time  at  a  loss  for  amusement,  and 
a  botanist  visiting  this  part  of  the  Kentish  coast,  even 
in  June,  may  count  upon  adding  many  an  uncommon 
plant  to  his  herbarium. 

The  coast  of  Thanet  fronting  the  Straits  is  remark- 
able for  its  perpendicular  chalk  cliffs,  which  do  not, 
except  at  one  or  two  points,  exceed  two  hundred  feet 
in  altitude.  They  extend  from  near  Margate  to  a 
little  below  Ramsgate.  On  these  cliffs  grow.  Beta 
maritinia,  Cheiranthiis  Chciri,  Centhranthus  ruber, 
Diplotaxis  tentiifoUa,  Parictaria  diffusa,  Statice  spathu- 
lata  (not  in  flower).  The  country  above  is  open  and 
level,  consisting  of  chalky  corn-fields,  almost  treeless. 
The  few  small  copses  en  evidence  are  carefully  walled 
or  fenced  in  :  hedges  there  are  none.  Of  constant 
occurrence,  both  in  'the  cultivated  fields  and  by  the 
roadsides,  is  Lcpidium  Draha,  so  abundant  as  to  form 
a  characteristic  production  :  it  is  known  to  the  country 
people  as  "Thomson's  weed,"  and  looked  upon  by 
the  farmers  as  a  great  pest,  spreading  everywhere 
with   much  rapidity.       Scandix  pecten-  Ve/ieris    and 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S CIENCE -  G  0 SSIP. 


Veronica  Biixbaitwii  were  common,  and  along  the 
margins  of  the  cliffs,  Potetium  Sangiiisorba,  both 
Resedas,  Sclerochloa  rigida,  and  Smyrnium  Olusatrum. 

At  Pegwell  Bay,  two  miles  below  Ramsgate,  the 
chalk  cliffs  disappear,  and  a  low-lying,  somewhat 
marshy-looking  comitry  succeeds,  which  extends  in- 
land and  is  watered  by  the  Stour.  In  the  distance 
towards  Deal  the  country  is  again  hilly.  Along  the 
bay  runs  a  road  vid  Sandwich  to  this  port.  Left  of  it 
is  a  narrow  stretch  of  sand  and  gravel  and  grassy  flats, 
overflown  by  the  sea  at  times  ;  right  of  the  road  are 
marshy  well-drained  pastures,  upon  which  feed  count- 
less herds  of  cattle  and  sheep  innumerable.  The 
undermentioned  plants  grow  here,  in  addition  to  others 
of  ordinary  occurrence.  Cliffs  about  Pegwell  :— 
FiT!iicidiii>i  vidga)r,  Smyi-niiiiii  Ohtsairiivi.  By  the 
shore  : — Artemisia  maritima,  Ar?neria  viaritima 
(flowers  in  bud),  Airaflexuosa,  Beta  maritima,  Carex 
arcnaria,  C.  divisa,  CocJdeaiia  officinalis,  EiyngiiDii 
maritimuui  (not  in  flower),  Mcdicago  minima, 
Phleum  arenarinin,  Psamma  arennria  (not  in 
flower),  Plantago  maritima,  Trifoliiiiii  scahriim, 
Triglochin  maritimiim.  Ditches  in  the  marshes  :  — 
Apiimi  graveolens,  Hydrocharis  morsiis-ranic  (not  in 
flower),  Mcnyanthes  trifoliata,  Phragmites  conimnjiis 
(not  in  flower). 

At  Sandwich,  near  the  Custom-house,  grows  Poly- 
pog07i  monspclliensis,  but  it  was  too  early  in  the  season 
to  look  for  this  with  any  prospect  of  success. 

Ramsgate  is  much  exposed  to  the  north-east  winds, 
from  which  there  is  little  protection  ;  Dover,  on  the 
contrary,  although  on  the  same  line  of  coast,  lies 
snugly  sheltered  from  rude  Boreas  by  chalk  cliffs 
rising  to  treble  the  height  of  those  about  Ramsgate.* 

The  town  lies  at  the  foot  of  these  cliffs  and  in  a 
gorge  extending  westwards.  A  pebbly  beach  and 
perpendicular  cliffs  washed  by  the  sea  at  high 
water,  with  here  and  there  a  small  sandy  bay, 
characterize  the  coast :  inland  are  chalky  downs,  hill 
and  dale,  well  cultivated  for  the  most  part,  and 
varied  in  manyj  places  by  patches  of  wood.  On 
the  cliffs  and  downs  : — Anthyllis  zndncraria,  Arabis 
hirsuta  (by  Biggles's  Tower),  Avena  pubescens,  Bras- 
sica  oleracea.  Beta  maritima,  Cheiranthtis  Chciri, 
Cistus  Helianthemiim,  Carex  glatica,  Chlora  pe?-- 
foliata,  CHthmum  maritimnni  (not  in  flower), 
Crambe  maritima  (below  Abbot's  Cliff),  Carlina  vul- 
garis, Diplotaxis  teniiifolia.  Euphorbia  Cyparissiiis 
(slope  near  Biggles's  Tower),  Glaucium  cornicidatuvi 
(shore  below  Abbot's  Cliff),  Hippocnpis  comosa, 
Hippophae  rhamnoides  (below  Abbot's  Cliff),  Iris fa- 
tidissima  (below  Abbot's  Cliff),  Ka:leiia.  cristata, 
Ophrys  aranifera  (Abbot's  Cliff  and  elsewhere, — fre- 
quent), Orobanche  major  (below  Abbot's  Clift),  Orchis 

*  Life  enough  here,  in  season  or  out  of  season  ;  what  with 
the  coming  and  going  of  steamers,  the  marching  and  counter- 
marching of  troops,  the  military  bands,  the  bustle  and  salute- 
firings  attendant  on  the  arrival  and  departure  of  august  person- 
ages, there  is  always  something  or  other  going  on  ;  but  "  high 
jinks  "  there  are  none  ;  the  place  is,  as  a  worthy  tradesman  of 
our  acquaintance  informed  us,  "so  awful  respectable." 


ustidata  (slope  north  of  the  Castle),  Rubia  pcregrina 
(below  Abbot's  Cliff, — not  in  flower),  Silene  mdans 
(abundant ;  and  other  common  plants  of  the  chalk  for- 
mation), Echinm,  Limim  catharticiim,  Szc.  By  the 
steam  above  river,  Mentha  sylvestris. 

Towards  Folkestone,  at  the  base  of  the  cliffs, 
is  some  wild  broken  ground :  here  Cynoglossiim 
officinale.  Lithospernmvi  officinale,  Hippophae  rham- 
noides, Mentha  rotiindifolia  (by  a  pond),  (ic.  Fields 
and  waysides  about  :  —  Bnnium  Jlexnosnm  (near 
Hougham),  Scaiidix pecten-Venei-is,  Lepidium  Draba 
(scarce),  Lithospernuim  arvense,  Papaver  Argemoiie 
(pasture  St.  Radigund's  Abbey),  Carex  pra:cox. 
Copses  in  that  direction  : — Asperula  odorata,  Habe- 
naria  bifolia.  Iris  fa:tidissima ,  Listera  ovata,  Laviinm 
galeobdolon,  Milium  effitsum,  Neottia  nidus-avis. 
Orchis  milita?-is,  var./usca  (plentiful).  Orchis  mascula, 
macidata,  Sedtctn  Telephtim  (not  in  flower).  Hedges 
in  the  lanes,  &c.  : — N'ephi-odiun  Filix-mas,  Scolopen- 
drium  vtdgare,  Aspidiiim  acideatum.  St.  Margaret's 
Bay  : — Brassica  oleracea,  Arabis  hiisitta,  Crithmum 
maritimtan  (not  in  flower),  Glaucium  corniculatum, 
Ophrys  aranifera  (cliffs  about),  Silene  nutans. 

Within  a  mile  or  so  of  Folkestone  the  high  chalk 
hills  by  the  sea-coast  bend  to  the  right,  and  are  con- 
tinued westwards.  The  low  cliffs  about  the  town 
here  are  composed  of  blue  clay :  their  elevation 
does  not  exceed  two  hundred  feet.  On  and  above 
these,  Armeria  maritima  (in  profusion),  Carex  arc- 
naria (occasionally),  Psamtna  arcnaria  (foot  of  the 
cliffs),  Sinapis  nigra. 

About  Faversham  the  country  is  somewhat  flat, 
and  a  salt-water  creek  comes  up  to  the  town,  where, 
in  addition  to  plants  common  to  similar  localities,  we 
dhsQywcA  Alliicm  oleraceunt,  Armeria  maritima,  Obione 
portulaeoides,  Peucedanum  officinale  (plentiful,  flowers 
budding),  Trifolium  maritimum.  Ditches  in  the  flats 
by  the  creek  : — Hippuris  vulgaris,  Schlerochloa  pro- 
ciuidiens,  &c.* 


A   GOSSIP  ABOUT   NEW  BOOKS. 

IT  is  only  within  the  last  twenty  years  that  it  has 
been  found  jDossible  to  construct  a  philosophy  of 
natural  history.  The  views  of  Mr.  Darwin  and  his 
school  have  undoubtedly  laid  the  foundations,  and  its 
practical  use  is  seen  in  the  suggestive  way  in  which 
new  lines  of  research  are  being  opened  out.  The 
natural  sciences  are  in  such  a  state  that  almost  every 
month  fresh  light  is  thrown  on  old  relationships  by 


*  Spartina  sfricta  grows  about  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  but 
some  distance  from  the  town.  The  archsologist  will  find,  both 
at  Dover  and  in  the  neighbourhood,  several  interesting  archi- 
tectural remains  in  a  good  state  of  preservation  ;  no  part  of  the 
country  is  more  prolific  in  this  respect.  The  church  tower  of 
St.  Mary  the  Virgin,  Sa,\on  ;  the  church  of  St.  Margaret,  one 
of  the  finest  specimens  of  the  early  Norman  style  e.xtant  ;  those 
at  Barfreston  and  Patri.x  bourne,  well  worth  a  visit,  both  of  them, 
for  their  singular  and  beautiful  perches  ;  with  many  others  ;  to 
say  nothing  of  Canterbury  Cathedral,  a  medley  of  ancient 
styles  in  itself  On  an  old  wall  near  St.  Martin's  Church, 
grows  Fcstiica  psciido-myurus. 


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


31 


some  thoughtful  paper ;  or  new  methods  of  viewhig 
structures  hitherto  not  understood,  or  misunderstood, 
are  developed.  Biology  is  fast  becoming  a  demon- 
strable science,  to  which  all  others  are  auxiliary. 

The  new  book  by  Mr.  Charles  Darwin  ("  Cross- 
and  Self-Fertilization  of  Plants."  London :  John 
Murray)  will  be  hailed  with  welcome  by  all  true 
naturalists,  whether  they  assent  to  his  developmental 
views  or  not.  The  relationships  between  the  colour, 
shapes,  and  perfumes  of  flowers,  and  the  visits  of 
insects,  have  delighted  modern  botanists  with  the 
clear  light  they  have  thro^^'n  on  structures  that  before 
were  regarded  as  more  or  less  arbitraiy.  Sir  John 
Lubbock's  little  book  has  put  all  amateur  botanists 
in  possession  of  tlae  outlines  of  the  facts,  and  now 
Mr.  Darwin's  new  book  stamps  the  theory  with  all 
the  emphasis  of  varied  proof.  Tlie  present  work  has 
a  value  not  even  second  to  that  encyclopsedia  of 
Darwinism,  ' '  The  Variation  of  Animals  and  Plants 
under  Domestication."  It  literally  bristles  with 
personal  experiments,  and  tlie  reader  finds  himself 
arriving  at  certain  inevitable  conclusions  long  before 
the  author  himself  draws  them.  Moreover,  the 
conclusions  have  a  practical  bearing,  alike  to  the 
horticulturist  and  the  breeder  of  stock,  which  such 
individuals  would  do  well  to  accept.  We  have  re- 
garded the  brilliant  speculations  as  to  the  direct 
connection  between  colour,  perfume,  and  often  shape 
in  flowers,  and  the  cross-fertilization  induced  by 
insect  visitations,  as  one  of  the  most  notable  scientific 
promulgations  of  the  last  five  or  six  years.  But  here 
we  find  that  Mr.  Darwin  has  been  quietly  experi- 
menting upon  the  theoiy  for  deven  years,  with  a  view 
to  proving  it !  And  the  present  book  gives  a  detailed 
account  of  every  experiment,  both  in  self-  and  cross- 
fertilization  of  well-known  British  and  exotic  plants. 
We  hardly  know  which  most  to  wonder  at — the 
patient  and  never-tiring  industry,  the  minute  accuracy 
and  conscientious  truthfulness  of  the  experiments,  or 
the  important  and  brilliant  conclusions  which  are  to 
be  drawn  from  them  !  No  fewer  than  1,101  crossed 
plants  and  1,076  self-fertilized  plants  have  been  ex- 
perimented upon  by  Mr.  Darwin.  These  belong  to 
fifty-seven  species,  selected  from  fifty-two  genera  and 
thirty  great  natural  families.  The  conclusion  drawn 
is  that  an  extraordinary  advantage  in  height,  weight, 
and  fertility  is  derived  by  plants  from  crossing,  and 
that  in  every  instance  this  gives  them  an  advantage 
over  self-fertilized  flowers.  It  is  very  certain  that 
these  experiments  have  considerably  enlarged  our 
certain  knowledge  of  the  raison  iVetrc  of  the  chief 
attractions  of  flowers  ;  and  at  the  same  time,  by 
showing  how  almost  every  winged  insect  is  actively 
engaged  in  the  all-important  work  of  floral  crossing, 
we  are  led  to  see  more  clearly  than  ever  the  intimate 
union  between,  and  the  absolute  necessity  for  the 
existence  of,  widely-separated  groups  of  organic 
objects. 

"  The  Geology  of  England  and  Wales,"  by  H.  B. 


Woodward,  F.G.S.  (London:  Longmans  &  Co.), 
has  obtained  deserved  and  noticeable  commendation 
from  the  leading,  scientific  journals.  A  more  carefully 
compiled  work  does  not  exist  in  our  language.  The 
student  feels  instinctively  that  Mr.  Woodward  is  a 
field  geologist,  and  is  narrating  the  conclusions  to 
which  he  and  his  confreres  have  arrived.  Our 
geological  literature  owes  a  large  debt  of  gratitude  to 
the  officers  of  the  Geological  Sui-vey  of  Great  Britain. 
They  are  to  the  front  in  every  department  of  the 
"stony  science,"  and  their  work  is  nearly  always 
marked  by  a  conscientious  care  that  other  writers 
would  do  well  to  imitate.  Mr.  Woodward  is  well 
known  as  an  active  member  of  this  useful  corps,  and 
one  who  has  done  good  work  by  his  contributions  to 
special  geological  literature.  The  present  book  is 
more  geological  and  stratigraphical  than  palceontologi- 
cal ;  and  indeed,  to  a  large  extent,  it  takes  the  place 
in  modern  times  that  the  work,  bearing  the  same 
title,  by  Messrs.  Conybeare  and  Phillips,  did  to  the 
geologists  of  fifty  years  ago.  The  maps  and  sections 
are  most  excellent ;  indeed,  the  woodcuts  of  the 
latter  call  for  special  commendation  on  account  of 
their  marvellous  truthfulness.  We  are  enabled,  by 
the  kindness  of  the  publishers,  to  lay  several  of  them 
before  our  readers,  who  will  at  once  see  how  well 
woodcuts  can  represent  actual  geological  features. 
The  author  commences  with  the  Laurentian  forma- 
tion, and  gradually  works  on  to  the  latest  of  the 
Tertiary  series,  describing  the  chief  sections,  the 
characteristic  fossils  of  the  beds,  the  physical  features 
produced  by  the  various  rocks,  and  the  writings  and 
opinions  of  local  and  other  geologists  who  have  made 
them  their  special  study.  In  this  way  every  British 
formation  is  exhaustively  described,  whilst  the  magni- 
tude of  the  work  forbids  both  tautology  and  obscurity 
of  expression.  So  clearly  is  even  every  subdivision 
of  each  geological  formation  described,  that  the  work 
is  a  chart,  as  well  as  a  manual.  The  concluding 
chapters  on  "  Denudation  and  Scenery  "  are  well  and 
clearly  written,  and  there  is  a  copious  glossary  of 
geological  and  other  terms.  There  is  a  reproduced 
article  on  "Darwinism,"  which  perhaps  Mr.  Wood- 
ward would  have  done  well  to  have  left  out,  as, 
although  it  is  ably  written,  it  seems  to  us  out  of  place 
with  the  general  character  of  the  work.  With  this 
hardly-to-be-mentioned  exception,  we  have  nothing 
but  words  of  the  highest  commendation  to  say  of  a 
book  which  we  feel  certain  will  take  an  important 
place  in  all  geological  libraries. 

Unquestionably  there  are  few  men  who  either  have 
better  opportunities  or  can  contribute  more  accurate 
information  concerning  the  habits  of  wild  creatures 
than  sportsmen.  Unfortunately  for  science,  such 
gentlemen  usually  treat  us,  when  they  do  write 
books,  to  nothing  beyond  enthusiastic  descriptions  of 
hairbreadth  escapes  and  adventures,  or  of  successful 
"dodges"  in  overcoming  their  prey.  In  "The 
Large  and  Small  Game  of  Bengal  and  the  North- 


32 


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


Fig.  32.   Sectionof  Chalk-pit  at  Whitlingham,  near  Norwich,  showing  Chalk  overlaid  with 
Crag  and  Lower  Drift.     (From  Woodward's  "  Geology  of  England  and  Wales.") 


Fig.  33.  Section  at  .Snowdown,  Chard,  showing  Upper  Greensand,  Lower  Chalk,  and  Chloritic  Marl. 


Fig.  34.  Cutting  near  Uphill  (Bristol  and  E.xeter  Railway),  .showing  the  Lias  faulted 
against  Carboniferous  Limestone. 


Western      Provinces     of 
India  "  (London  :  H.  S. 
King    &    Co.),    Captain 
Baldwin,  F.Z.S.,  shows 
how  it  is  possible  to  com- 
bine  the   ardour   of  tlie 
sportsman    with    that    of 
a  naturalist.     This  book 
is    written    in    that  fresh 
and    lively    style    -which 
usually  marks    w'orks  of 
the   class.      The   author 
^^•as    long    quartered    in 
one    of    the    best    game 
districts    of  the    Bengal 
Presidency,   such   as  the 
Central  Provinces,  Oude, 
Assam,       and      Central 
India,   where  both  large 
and     small     game     are 
abundant  ;     and,    as   he 
kept    accurate    notes   of 
his  experience  and  obser- 
vations,   and   now  gives 
them  in  the  work  before 
us,  our  readers  will  under- 
stand that  it  is  really  a 
most   valuable   contribu- 
tion to  the   literature  of 
natural     history.        The 
author  also  tells  us  that 
on  five  different  occasions 
he  made  extensive  sport- 
ing expeditions    into  the 
interior  of  the  Himalayas, 
and  twice  visited  parts  of 
the    most     unfrequented 
and  least-known  quarters 
of  that  little-known  range 
of  mountains.       On  one 
occasion  he  made  his  way 
along    the   snow    passes 
into  Thibet.    The  reader 
gets   the   benefit  of  this 
varied  geographical, 

sporting,  and  zoological 
experience  in  a  narrative 
which  most  happily  com- 
bines all  three.  We  have 
no  doubt  whatever  that 
the  author's  hope  that 
some  young  hunter  about 
to  start  for  the  East  will 
find  some  useful  hints 
from  his  experiences, 
will  be  abundantly  real- 
ized. The  chapters  on 
"Tigers"  and  "Tiger- 
hunting  "     are,     as     we 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE - G O SSIP. 


might  expect,  the  longest  and  fullest  of  any  ;  but 
Captain  Baldwin  was  a  noted  Nimrod,  and  here 
narrates  to  us  all  that  it  is  possible  to  say  on  this 
subject.  Among  other  animals  whose  habits  he  ob- 
served minutely  in  his  sporting  adventures,  are  the 
panther,  the  leopard,  the  snow  leopard,  the  red  lynx, 
the  cheetah,  Indian  black  bear,  Himalayan  black 
bear,  hya;na,  Indian  wolf,  wild  dog,  wild  buffalo, 
Indian  elephant,  rhinoceros,  wild  boar,  and  the  nu- 
merous kinds  of  Indian  deer  and  antelopes.  The 
game  birds  of  the  regions  visited  by  the  author  are 
more  numerous  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world, 
— the  pheasants  and  partridges  notably  so.  Captain 
Baldwin  devotes  many  chapters  to  the  most  interest- 
ing of  these  birds,  including  the  pea-fowl,  jungle- 
fowl,  spur-fowl,  the  various  species  of  pheasants  and 
partridges,  the  quails,  sand-grouse,  bustards,  plovers, 
cranes,  woodcock,  wild  geese  and  ducks;  &c.  Each 
species  is  prefaced  with  a  technical  zoological  descrip- 
tion ;  there  is  quite  as  much  science  as  sport  in  the 
subject-matter  of  every  chapter,  and  the  text  sparkles 
with  many  a  well-told  anecdote  and  tale  of  adventure. 
The  sketches  are  by  the  author,  and  are  for  the  most 
part  both  artistic  and  vigorous,  as  will  be  seen  by  the 
example    here   adduced.      It  is    impossible   for   the 


Fig.  35.   Head  of  Striped  Hyena. 

naturalist  not  to  derive  both  pleasure  and  profit  from 
Captain  Baldwin's  ably-written  work. 

Already  two  books  based  on  the  "Challenger" 
Expedition  have  been  given  to  the  public,  and  yet 
the  authoritative  description  of  the  results  from  the 
pen  of  the  chief  of  the  scientific  staff  has  not  ap- 
peared. We  have  received  ' '  Log  Letters  from  the 
Challenger,''''  by  Lord  G.  Campbell  (London  : 
Macmillan  &  Co.).  It  does  not  profess  to  be  a  scien- 
tific description  of  the  work  of  the  voyage,  but  is 
merely  an  historical  account  of  the   famous   cruise. 


As  such  the  book  is  welcome,  for  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  Sir  Wyville  Thomson  will  find  quite 
sufficient  on  his  hands  in  the  shape  of  scientific  dis- 
covery to  leave  this  to  other  writers.  That  the  pre- 
sent volume  is  intended  as  a  sort  of  pendant  to 
Prof.  Thomson's  eagerly-expected  book,  is  evident 
from  its  being  published  by  the  same  firm.  The 
only  chapter  of  a  scientific  nature  in  Lord  George 
Campbell's  book  is  the  last,  in  which  we  have  some 
notes  chiefly  on  the  various  kinds  of  oceanic  ooze. 
This  is  illustrated  by  a  coloured  map,  showing  the 
distribution  of  the  areas,  from  Mr.  Murray's  paper 
read  before  the  Royal  .Society.  But  the  author  comes 
of  too  scientific  a  stock  not  to  take  a  deep  interest 
in  the  actual  work  of  the  voyage,  and  so  we  find 
frequent  references  to  it  in  the  vigorously  and  even 
picturesquely  written,  but  professedly  unscientific 
account  of  the  cruise. 


SCIENCE   IN   THE   PROVINCES. 

NO  fact  better  illustrates  the  spread  of  natural 
science  than  the  increase  in  the  number  of 
societies  founded  for  the  purpose  of  mutually  studying 
the  various  branches  of  natural  history.  A  great 
deal  of  real  good  work  is  thus  effected ;  and 
although  the  larger  number  of  every  society  con- 
sists of  members  who  are  not  active  field  naturalists, 
yet  those  who  are  thus  receive  a  sympathy  and  en- 
couragement they  would  not  have  obtained  a  quarter 
of  a  century  ago.  The  natural  history  features 
of  each  neighbourhood  thus  get  a  better  chance 
of  being  worked  for  the  benefit  of  science  generally, 
whilst  the  "  ornamental  members  "  at  least  come  into 
contact  with  genial  natures,  flowery  meadows,  craggy 
rocks,  purling  streams,  and  sunny  blue  skies,  during 
the  ordinary  summer  rambles.  The  facilities  for 
publication  of  memoirs  enable  each  society  to  issue 
its  "  Transactions,"  and  in  most  of  these  we  find  ex- 
cellent papers,  some  of  which  would  ornament  the 
annual  volumes  of  the  Metropolitan  learned  societies. 
The  North  Staffordshire  Naturalists'  Field  Club  have 
recently  issued  a  handsome  volume  to  their  members, 
containing  addresses  and  papers,  delivered  or  read 
during  the  last  three  or  four  years.  This  plan  is 
better  than  that  of  publishing  a  thin,  paper-covered 
annual  brochure,  whose  insignificance  causes  it  soon 
to  be  lost.  Among  the  papers  in  the  above  volume 
we  have  one  by  a  well-known  anthropologist.  Dr.  J. 
B.  Davies,  F.R.S.  (illustrated),  "  On  the  Interments 
of  Primitive  Man."  Mr.  John  Ward  contributes  a 
short  paper  "  On  the  Fossil  Trees  in  a  Hanley  Marl- 
pit,"  and  a  more  important  and  lengthy  communica- 
tion (illustrated),  "On  the  Organic  Remains  of  the 
Coal-measures  of  North  Staffordshire."  No  man  is 
better  able  to  speak  on  this  subject  than  Mr.  Ward, 
whose  knowledge  of  carboniferous  fishes  is  well 
known  among  palaeontologists.     Mr.  Molyneux  has 


34 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  0  SSI  P. 


an  essay  on  "  The  Trentham  Gravel -beds,"  which 
are  of  Triassic  age ;  and  Mr.  J.  D.  Sainter  one  on 
"The  Geology  of  Mow  Cop,  Congleton  Edge,  and 
the  surrounding  District."  The  veteran  naturalist, 
Mr.  R.  Garner,  F.L.  S.,  has  some  humorous  and 
suggestive  "  Lines  on  a  Fossil  Tree,"  as  well  as 
other  papers.  In  Zoology  the  Rev.  Thomas  W. 
Daltry,  F.L.S.,  besides  contributing  the  "Introduc- 
tion" to  the  volume,  has  a  valuable  paper  "  On  the 
Macro-Lepidoptera  taken  and  observed  in  North 
Wales  by  Members  of  the  Club  " ;  and  in  Botany, 
Mr.  W.  S.  Brough  has  written  a  thoughtful  essay 
on  "The  Literature  of  Botany."  Besides  the  aboye, 
we  have  papers  on  local  Archa;ology  and  general 
questions'  related  to  science.  The  Bedfordshire 
Natural  History  Society  and  Field  Club  have  issued  ' 
their  first  volume  of  "Transactions."  This  society 
originated  through  a  discussion  as  to  whether  Acorits 
calamus  was  indigenous  to  Britain.  It  was  shown 
by  several  local  naturalists  to  be  abundant  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ouse  near  Bedford,  and  this  incident  i 
led  those  concerned  in  the  inquiry  to  form  themselves  ; 
into  a  club.  Several  well-known  names  hail  from  j 
the  Bedfordshire  district,  and  we  are  glad  to  see 
them  in  this  volume.  Thus,  Mr.  James  Wyatt, 
F.G.S.,  has  two  papers,  one  on  the  "  Geology  of 
Sandy,"  and  another  on  "Land  and  Freshwater 
Shells  found  in  Bedford  Gravels."  Mr.  W.  Hill- 
house,  F.L.S.,  has  "A  Contribution  towards  a  New 
Flora  of  Bedfordshire,"  and  an  essay  on  "The  Bo- 
tanical Divisions "  of  the  same  county.  Mr.  T. 
Gwyn  Elger,  F.R.A.S.,  contributes  a  very  capital 
paper  "On  the  Scope  and  Objects  of  Natural  History 
Societies."  Besides  the  above,  we  have  a  paper,  by 
Mr.  W.  B.  Graham,  "On  the  Geology  of  Sharn- 
brook,"  and  others  by  Dr.  Prior,  Captain  De  Vismes, 
Dr.  Adams,  Mr.  Blower,  &c.  We  heartily  con- 
gratulate the  Bedfordshire  society  on  the  interesting 
character  of  their  first  volume.  The  Cardiff  Natu- 
ralists' Field  Club  is  one  of  the  most  successful  in 
point  of  numbers  of  any  in  the  kingdom.  Tire  in- 
defatigable honorary  secretaries  have  managed  to 
interest  most  of  the  educated  people  of  the  neighbour- 
hood in  the  club,  and  we  are  therefore  not  suiprised 
to  find  so  many  summer  excursions  are  arranged  for. 
In  the  winter  months  the  society  introduces  to  the 
members  some  of  the  leading  scientific  men  of  the 
day  as  lecturers  in  the  several  departments  of  science 
in  which  they  are  known  workers,  A  good  deal  of 
general  useful  work  is  thus  effected.  In  the  "Pro- 
ceedings "  of  the  club  recently  issued,  we  find  a 
capitally-written  account  of  the  excursions.  The 
abstracts  of  numerous  papers  are  well  done,  the  most 
important  being  those  by  Mr.  Waldron,  "  On  Roman 
IMining  in  the  Mendip  Hills"  (illustrated)  ;  by  Mr. 
R.  Drane," On  Four  British  Birds," — a  capital  sketch 
of  the  Green  Woodpecker,  Cuckoo,  Kingfisher,  and 
Quail.  Mr.  Cruttwell  contributes  an  essay  on  "The 
Age  of  Reptiles,"  and  Dr.  Taylor  a  most  readable 


one  on  "Animals  living  before  Man."  Mr.  J.  W. 
Lukis,  the  well-knovm  antiquary,  was  then  President 
of  the  club,  and  his  lecture  on  "  Some  of  the 
Primitive  Customs  of  Man  "  is  exceedingly  instruc- 
tive, and  refers  as  much  as  possible  to  local  illustra- 
tions. "Man  and  his  Habitations"  is  the  title  of  a 
paper  by  Mr.  James  Milward.  The  various  Meteoro- 
logical "  Reports,"  by  Mr.  Franklen  G.  Evans,  are 
scientifically  valuable.  The  "Proceedings  of  the 
Liverpool  Field  Naturalists'  Club  for  1875-6  "  opens 
with  a  most  valuable  address  by  the  President,  the 
Rev.  H.  H.  Higgins,  "On  the  Names  of  Plants," 
and  gives  us  brief  but  graphic  n'siunc's  of  field  ex- 
cursions, &c.  ' '  The  Proceedings  of  the  Belfast  Natu- 
ralists' Field  Club  "  for  the  same  year  is  also  before  us, 
and,  as  usual,  contains  some  excellent  papers  on 
"Vegetable  Parasites  on  the  Human  Body,"  by  Dr. 
J.  M.  Scott;  "The  Beginnings  of  Life,"  by  W.  J. 
Browne,  M.A. ;  "Practical  Hints  to  Collectors  of 
Lepidoptera,"  by  Rev.  J.  Bristow,  M.A. ;  and  a 
capital  account  of  dredging  operations  in  Belfast 
Bay  and  the  adjacent  waters.  At  Norwich  we  find 
a  useful  and  social  "Science-Gossip  Club,"  which 
meets  fortnightly  in  the  winter  for  the  reading  and 
discussion  of  papers.  A  Report  of  Proceedings 
from  June,  1875,  to  June,  1876,  has  just  been  pub- 
lished by  the  Committee,  and  in  it  we  find  some  good 
abstracts  of  papers  by  Messrs.  Squirrell,  John  Parker, 
S.  C.  Sothern,  M.  Knights,  T.  E.  Gunn,  J.  B. 
Bridgeman,  John  Gunn,  F.G.S.,  T.  G.  Bayfield, 
F.  Kitton,  and  others.  The  ground  taken  up  is 
perhaps  broader  than  it  is  deep,  but  there  can  only 
be  one  opinion  as  to  the  value  of  associations  like 
these. 


A  CHAPTER    ON  THE   DUCKWEEDS 

{Lemnacecr). 

Bv  J.  T.  Riches. 

DURING  the  later  summer  months,  there  may  be 
seen  upon  the  surface  of  almost  every  stag- 
nant pool  of  water,  minute,  more  or  less  spherical 
plants,  floating  on  the  surface,  and  by  close  ex- 
amination we  find  them  to  consist  of  a  small  leaf 
(frond)  budding  out  from  the  margin,  and  one  or  more 
slender  roots  proceeding  from  the  under  part  of  the 
frond;  and  it  is  extraordinary  good  fortune  if  we 
chance  to  find  them  producing  flowers,  as  one  may 
ask  old  or  young  botanists  whether  they  ever  saw 
them  in  flower,  and  by  far  the  greater  number  never 
have.  We  need  not  say  what  these  tiny  floating 
organisms  are,  as  everybody  knows  a  "duckweed" 
when  he  sees  it ;  but  everybody  does  not,  in  a 
scientific  sense,  know  what  a  duckweed  really  is, — 
its  structure  and  peculiarities.  And  there  are  many 
young  students  of  nature  who  can  distinguish  accurately 
the  different  species  of  duckweeds,  yet  could  not,  if  we 


HA R D  Wl CKE 'S    S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


asked  them,  give  their  structural  characteristics.  It  is 
to  such  readers  of  SciENCE-GossiP  that  we  think  a 
short  account  of  them  will  be  acceptable. 

Of  course,  like  all  other  known  organized  beings, 
the  Duckweeds  are  classified  and  form  a  distinct 
family,  viz.  LemnacecB,  the  genus  Lemna,  of  which 
there  arc  four  species  found  in  Britain,  being  the  type 
of  the  natural  order.  Thus  we  will  briefly  enumerate 
the  general  characteristics  of  the  natural  order 
Lemnacea:.  Plants  consisting  of  solitary  or  clustered 
green  fronds,  cellular,  or  with  rudimentary  trachea 
developed,  rootless,  or  witli  one  or  more  simple 
slender  roots  pi'oceeding  from  the  under  parts  of  the 
frond,  usually  tipped  by  a  membranous .  sheath  ; 
propagated  by  budding  from  marginal  clefts  in  the 
frond,  and  by  autumnal  hybernating  bulbils  ;  very 
rarely  by  seed.  Flowers  most  minute,  1-3,  contained 
in  a  spathe  or  without  a  spathe ;  floral  row  absent. 
Stamens  i  or  2  ;  anther  2 -celled,  dehiscing  cross- 
wise ;  pollen  round,  muricate  or  not  ;  ovary  i -celled  ; 
ovules  varying  from  I  to  7,  ortholropous,  anatropous, 
or  semi-anatropous.  Fruit  bottle-shaped,  not  splitting, 
or  splitting  transversely.  Seeds  i  or  more,  with 
fleshy  albumen,  or  without  albumen. 

The  Duckweeds  are  the  smallest  known  flowering 
plants  :  they  are  more  or  less  in  all  climates,  but 
more  especially  in  temperate  regions.  They  are 
rarer  in  the  tropics,  as  the  great  heat  dries  up  the 
swamps,  and  the  violent  rains  greatly  agitate  the 
water.  They  are  closely  allied  to  the  Aroids  by  the 
genus  Pistia,  which  approaches  them  in  the  form  of  in- 
florescence, and  the  seed-structure  of  the  genus  Grantia 
closely  corresponds  with  that  of  Pistia,  and  the  ovule 
of  Lcm7ia  trisulca  is  very  similar  to  the  ovule  of 
Orontium.  Some  scientists  give  Arum  maculatiim 
the  honour  of  being  the  progenitor  of  the  Duckweeds  ; 
but  let  that  be  as  it  may,  their  affinity  with  the  Aroids 
cannot  be  doubted.  Lindley  united  them  with  the 
Pistias  and  established  the  natural  order  Pistiace?e ; 
but  undoubtedly,  as  classified  by  other  botanists, 
the  Pistias  form  a  good  section  of  the  Aroids,  rather 
than  a  distinct  family. 

The  principal  genera  composing  the  family  are, 
Lemna,TeImatophace,  Spirodela,Wolffia,  and  Grantia. 
It  would  appear  that  Linneus  established  the  genus 
Lemna,  and  included  under  that  category  the  four 
species  known  in  Britain.  But  later  on  Schleiden 
established  two  other  genera ;  viz.  Telmatophace,  in 
which  he  placed  Z.  gihha  of  Linneus,  and  Spirodela, 
in  which  L.  polyrhiza  of  Linneus  was  placed.  Since 
then,  however,  the  two  lattar  genera  have  been  made 
subordinate  to  the  geuus  Lemna,  which  is  certainly 
desirable,  as  the  characters  upon  which  they  are 
founded  are  insufficient  for  generic  rank. 

Perhaps  it  will  be  well  to  glance  at  the  characters 
of  Lemna  proper ;  also  those  of  Telmatophace  and 
Spirodela  of  Schleiden. 

I.  Lemna  proper. — Root  single;  ovule  solitary, 
semi-anatropous ;  seed    horizontal,    with    a    copious 


supply  of  albumen, — including  Z.  ;/««w,  Linn.,    and 
Z.  trisulca,  Linn. 

2.  Telmatophace  (Schleiden). — Root  single;  ovules 
varying  from  2  to  7,  anatropous ;  seeds  erect,  with  a 
scanty  supply  of  albumen,  or  none, — including  Z. 
gibba,  Linn. 

3.  Spirodela  (Schleiden). — Roots  numerous ;  ovules 
2,  erect,  anatropous, — including  Z.  polyrhiza,  Linn. 

It  will  be  easily  seen  that  the  above  characters  may 
all  be  included  in  one  genus,  making  the  two  latter 
genera  only  sub-genera,  as  Dr.  Hooker  has  already 
done. 

The  characters  as  he  gives  them  are,  "  Fronds  with 
one  or  more  simple  roots.  Flowers  in  marginal  clefts 
of  the  fronds.  Stamens  1-2.  Anthers  2-celled  ; 
pollen  muricate.  Ovules  i  to  7."  And  we  think  the 
four  British  species  may  be  easily  disposed  of  in  that 
way.     Those  four  species  we  will  now  briefly  describe. 

1.  Z.  minor,  L.  (fig.  36). — Frond  \-\  inch,  ob- 
ovate  or  oblong,  slightly  convex  below,  green  above, 
paler  beneath.  Young  frond  sessile  upon  the  old, 
soon  disconnected.  Spathe  unequally  2. lipped. 
Stamens  2.  Style  moderately  long.  Distribution 
almost  ubiquitous. 

2.  Z.  trisulca,  L.  (fig.  39). — Frond  \-\  inch,  vary- 
ing in  shape,  usually  obovate-lanceolate  ;  tip  serrate, 
or  very  often  entire,  proliferous  on  one  or  both 
sides ;  young  fronds  hastate,  placed  crosswise  to 
the  old.     Distrib.  Europe,  Siberia. 

3.  Z.  [^Telmatophace,  Schleiden,  fig.  yi^S'^'^^i  L. — 
Frond  \-\  inch,  obovate,  or  nearly  round,  opaque, 
pale  green,  large  air-cells  beneath ;  young  fronds 
sessile.  Stamens  2.  Fruit  bursting  crosswise.  Dis- 
trib. throughout  Europe,  Siberia,  North  Africa , 
America. 

4.  Z.  [Spirodela,  Schleiden,  fig.  ap) polyrhiza,  L. — 
Frond  \-\  inch,  broadly  obovate,  sometimes  nearly 
round,  dark  green  above,  purple  beneath  ;  tracheae 
copious.  Spathe  2-lipped.  Stamens  2.  According 
to  Dr.  Hooker,  the  flower  of  this  species  is  unknown 
in  Britain.  Distrib.  throughout  Europe,  Siberia, 
North  America,  &c. 

Besides  the  genus  Lemna  we  have  another  genus 
represented  in  Britain,— viz.  Wolffia  ;  the  characters 
of  which  are — "Fronds  very  minute,  rootless,  pro- 
liferous. Flowers  bursting  through  the  upper  surface 
of  the  frond,  without  a  spathe.  Anther  sessile, 
i-celled.  Ovary  globose;  style  short ;  ovule  i,  erect, 
orthotropous.  Fruit  indehiscent.  Seed  with  scanty 
fleshy  albumen. 

There  is  only  one  species  of  Wolffia  known  in  Britain, 
viz.  IV.  arrhiza,  L.,  which  is  the  smallest  known 
flowering  plant ;  the  frond  being  only  about  ^V  i"ch 
long,  and  -^  inch  broad,  loosely  cellular  beneath. 
This  is  found  in  ponds  in  Essex,  Middlesex,  Hants, 
Surrey,  &c.  Fig.  38  represents  the  inflorescence  of 
Wolffia  ;  fig.  41  represents  a  section  of  another  plant 
belonging  to  Lemnacea;  not  known  in  Britain,  dis- 
tinguished from  Wolffia  by  the  presence  of  a  root,  a 


?>(> 


HA  Jin  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  ■  G  OSSIP. 


filamentous  stamen,  and  seed  with  a  copious  supply 
of  albumen. 

Having  then  taken  such  a  glance  at  the  Duckweeds, 
we  might  reasonably  ask,  ' '  What  is  their  place  in  the 


Fig.  36.  Lcmiia  iiiiiw,  L.  :  a,  entire  plant ;  /-,  inflorescence  ; 
a',  spathe  ;  b,  pistil ;  c  c,  stamens  (mag.)-. 


Fig.  37.  L.gihha,  L.  :  a,  plant  seen  from  above  ; 
b,  side  view. 


Fig.  38.   Wolffia:  a,  anther  ;  b,  pistil  ;  c,  young  shoot. 


Fig.  39.  L.  trisulca,  L.  (mag.). 


Fig.  40.  L.  polyrhiza,  L.  (mag.). 

economy  of  Nature  ?  "  Several  reasons  have,  and 
might  be,  assigned  for  their  existence,  but  no  doubt 
the  most  feasible  one  is,  as  has  already  been  suggested, 


to  protect  from  the  solar  light  those  inferior  organ- 
isms of  the  animal  kingdom  which  inhabit  swamps, 
and  at  the  same  time  serve  them  for  food.     Whether 


Fig.  41.   Grantia  jnicroscopica  :  section  showing  the 
filamentous  stamen,  n,  and  pistil,  b. 

the  latter  is  true  or  not,  the  function  of  protection 
seems  reasonable  :  for  this  end,  vegetative  reproduc- 
tion would  certainly  be  the  best,  being  much  quicker 
than  reproduction  by  sexual  union. 


MICROSCOPY. 

VOLVOX  GLOBATOR. — In  the  spring  of  last  year  I 
found  many  of  these  beautiful  organisms  with  very 
little  trouble,  and  am  looking  forward  to  the  coming 
season  when  I  may  once  again  see  them.  My  hunting- 
ground  was  confined  to  two  small  ponds  by  the  side 
of  the  road  that  leads  from  Higham  Station  [S.  E.  R.] 
to  the  village  of  Shorne,  near  Gad's  Hill,  and  thence 
along  the  old  Dover  highway  towards  the  other  part 
of  Shorne  and  Gravesend.  Now  these  ponds  were 
certainly  not  "clear  pools  on  open  commons,"  the 
habitat  usually  assigned,  nor  were  they,  however, 
polluted  by  man's  refuse  of  any  kind.  In  the  dippings 
I  brought  home,  besides  the  VolvocinejK,  I  found 
many  of  the  small  crustaceans  (and  these  are  sad  de- 
vourers  of  their  vegetal  companions)  ;  but  no  Rotifer. 
In  another  specimen  of  water  from  the  canal  by  the 
side  of  the  railway,  I  found  numbers  of  rotifers 
(chiefly  Brachiornis  aniphiceros)  together  with  some 
Volvoces.  The  date  of  this  excursion  was  neither  the 
fortnight  in  June,  spoken  of  by  your  correspondents, 
but  quite  new  to  me,  nor  after,  but  was  made  during 
the  first  week  in  May.  Thus  the  active  stage  may  be 
found  at  least  from  May  till  July,  and  of  course  resting- 
spores  can  be  found  (thougli  with  greater  difficulty) 
during  the  rest  of  the  year.  At  the  time  stated  I  met 
with  many  active  and  developing  volvoces,  but  far 
more  abundant  were  the  nearly  allied  Pandoriiiu:. 
These,  with  their  cask-shaped  colony,  their  thirty-two 
gonidia  arranged  in  five  parallel  transverse  bands,  the 
whole  revolving  on  their  long  axis  whilst  they  move 
in  its  direction,  are,  I  think,  even  more  beautiful  than 
their  less  symmetrical,  though  spherical  brethren.  In 
a  pleasant  garden  -  pond   in    Sussex,   I   found,  last 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


37 


autumn,  a  few  resting-spores  of  the  Volvociiiecc,  but 
to  which  species  they  belonged  I  beheve  it  impossible 
to  decide,  save  by  watching  their  development.  I 
have  never  seen  the  orange-coloured  resting-spores— 
the  results  of  conjugation— which  were  described  by 
the  recently  deceased'Ehrenberg  as  distinct  forms 
under  the  names  V.  aitrcns  and  ]\  stdlatits.  Each 
has  a  thick  double  envelope  and  bright  orange- 
coloured  central  mass,  the  latter  being  covered  with 
spines.  I  found  I  could  demonstrate  the  cilia  by 
oblique  illumination  almost  as  well  as  by  iodine 
staining.  I  should  be  very  glad  to  learn  from  some 
of  your  correspondents  how  best  to  preserve  Volvo- 
cinea.  "A  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  for  ever,"  but  the 
joy  in  my  case  is  confined  to  sweet  memory.  Calcic 
chloride  and  glycerine  very  much  alter  the  gonidia, 
though  the  temporary  action  of  these  reagents  renders 
evident  (or  forms  de  novol)  the  double  lines  connect- 
ing the  gonidia.  Though  the  multiple  nature  of 
Volvox  has  been  clearly  proved,  yet  a  correlation — a 
sympathy — of  even  the  proximate  cause  of  which  we 
are  entirely  ignorant — a  sympathy  whose  analogue  we 
see  in  all  Nature — is  observable  in  the  identity  of  the 
direction  in  which  the  pairs  of  cilia  on  the  gonidia 
move,  no  less  than  in  the  carrying  out  of  the  principle 
of  the  division  of  labour,  by  which  some  of  the  gonidia 
take  on  the  sexual  function,  some  producing  sperma- 
tozoa, others  germ-cells,  whilst  the  rest  undergo  no 
change,  but  continue  the  nutritive  process. — David 
A.  King. 

Forms  of  Heliopelta.- — In  looking  over  some 
unprepared  diatomaceous  earth  (Nottingham  deposit) 
I  found  a  complete  double  frustule  of  Heliopelta,  which 
I  singled  out  and  proceeded  to  clean  under  a  micros- 
cope on  a  glass  slide  by  itself.  After  a  little  manipu- 
lation with  a  very  small  camel-hair  brush,  wetted,  I 
succeeded  in  splitting  the  frustule  in  the  middle,  and 
saw  with  suri^rise  what  I  had  not  remarked  previously, 
that  the  five  sides  had  a  different  number  of  rays  and 
septa.  One  had  four  rays  (Maltese  cross)  called  in 
the  Micrographic  Dictionary  H.  Leeiiwenhockii,  and 
the  other  with  five  rays  and  septa.  Have  any  of  your 
readers  come  across  a  similar  abnormal  (?)  form  ?  In 
the  Micro.  Diet.  I  see  there  is  a  query  about  the  fnis- 
tule  being  single.  The  form  I  found  was  undoubtedly 
a  double  frustule.  I  find  that  authorities  differ  as 
regards  the  names  of  the  various  Heliopelta  ;  some  say 
that  H.  Metii  has  four  rays  and  septa,  whereas  the 
Micro.  Diet,  terms  it  //.  Leeiiwenhockii.  Which  is 
correct? — G.  M.  Gowan. 

Fluid  Cavities  in  Crystals. — At  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  Chemical  Society,  Prof.  W.  N.  Hartley 
made  a  communication  entitled  "A  Further  Study  of 
Fluid  Cavities,"  in  which  he  described  the  results  of 
his  examination  of  a  large  number  of  topaz  and  of 
rock  sections,  mostly  granites  and  porphyries.  The 
fluid  contained  in  the  cavities  was  almost  invariably 
water,  but  it  was  very  remarkable  that  the  cavities 


often  took  the  form  of  the  crystals  in  which  they  were 
contained,  and  nearly  always  arranged  themselves 
symmetrically  with  regard  to  the  faces  of  the  crystal. 

Diatoms,  &c. — I  have  some  beautiful  gatherings 
of  Diatomacece  in  situ,  on  marine  algK,  &c.,  and 
shall  be  happy  to  correspond  with  persons  interested 
in  their  study.  I  find  a  very  good  way  for  preserving 
them  is,  to  dry  the  algre  on  the  slide,  and,  when 
ready  for  balsam,  to  drop  on  some  pure  benzole  first, 
which  will  remove  the  endochrome  from  the  valves, 
and  replace  the  air  they  contain.  This  discoloured 
benzole  can  be  soaked  out  by  blotting-paper,  and  the 
balsam  laid  on  as  usual.  I  find  the  best  medium  is 
balsam  diluted  with  benzole,  which  can  be  applied 
without  heat,  as  air-bubbles  give  very  little  annoyance 
with  this  medium,  Walter  White,  of  Litcham,  sells 
tubes  of  "damar"  which  can  be  used  in  the  same 
way  with  very  satisfactoiy  results  ;  and  in  many  cases 
there  is  nothing  gives  such  satisfaction,  and  certainly 
I  know  nothing  so  easily  worked,  and  have  algas, 
now  in  it  for  four  years,  as  perfect  and  beautiful  as 
the  first  day.  There  is  not  the  least  change,  and 
their  natural  colour  is  as  bright  and  lovely  as  when 
in  their  native  element.  I  also  find  "damar"  a 
capital  medium  for  mounting  scale-mosses,  &c.  —  T. 
3IeGan7i,  Burren,  Ireland. 

How  to  filter  Water  to  obtain  Minute 
Organisms. — Dr.  A.  Meade  Edwards  writes  as 
follows  to  the  Ar/ierican  yournal  of  LTicroscopy  : — 
"I  can  tell  you  of  two  good  ways  of  accomplishing  the 
above  object ;  both  of  which  have  their  applications 
under  special  circumstances,  and  both  of  which  I  have 
used  for  several  years  with  great  satisfaction.  First, 
a  modification  of  the  conical  muslin  bag.  Have  a 
conical  muslin  bag,  but  leave  the  point  open,  and  place 
therein  a  one-ounce  wide-mouthed  phial,  which  fasten 
by  means  of  string  tied  around  its  neck,  or,  better 
still,  with  a  rubber  ring.  Now  pour  your  water  into 
it  to  any  extent.  The  water  will  run  through  the 
meshes  of  the  muslin,  and  the  minute  organisms  will 
gradually  collect  in  the  phial  below.  When  you  have 
enough,  remove  the  phial,  turn  the  bag  inside  out  and 
wash  it  thoroughly  in  clear  water,  replace  the  phial 
by  another,  and  you  are  ready  for  another  haul. 
Such  a  bag  having  a  stick  tied  across  its  mouth,  and 
a  large  cork  fixed  to  the  phial,  can  be  towed  after  a 
boat  or  ship,  and  the  '  wonders  of  the  deep ' 
gathered  in  any  quantity.  My  second  device  I  have 
commonly  made  use  of  in  examining  potable  water  ; 
and  I  have  the  sediments  so  collected  from  several  of 
our  large  cities.  Anon  it  is  my  intention  to  publish 
something  with  regard  to  what  I  have  therein.  Take 
a  large  glass  jar  of  a  half  to  one  gallon  capacity — a 
large  beaker  or  'specie  jar'  will  do,  or  even  a  pitcher 
may  be  used  on  a  pinch  ;  fill  it  with  the  water  we 
wish  to  '  concentrate  '  at  night,  and  let  it  stand. 
Next  morning  carefully  pour  off  all  the  water  except 
about  a  pint.     Fill  up  again,  and  let  it  stand  until 


38 


HA ,  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OSSIF. 


night ;  pour  off  again,  and  go  on  so  for  at  least  a 
week.  At  the  end  of  that  time  we  shall  generally 
find  we  have  a  pint  of  pretty  thick  sediment  without 
the  admixture  of  any  fibres  that  might  come  from  a 
muslin  strainer." 


ZOOLOGY. 

Marine  Aquaria.  • —  I  always  read  with  great 
interest  the  occasional  contributions  of  your  corre- 
spondent "G.  S."  on  the  management  of  Marine 
Aquaria  ;  but  there  is  one  point  which  she  strongly 
insists  upon,  respecting  which  I  cannot  entirely  agree 
with  her  ;  I  allude  to  change  of  water.  That  a  system 
of  frequent  and  entire  renewal  of  water  is  bad,  I  will 
freely  admit,  causing  as  it  does  sudden  changes  of 
temperature  and  density,  which  will  often  prove  fatal 
to  delicate  animals.  But  an  occasional  partial  renewal 
— say,  to  the  extent  of  one-fourth  or  fifth  of  the  bulk  of 
water,  if  carefully  and  judiciously  made — I  have  found, 
in  an  experience  of  nearly  twenty  years'  successful 
aquarium-keeping,  to  be  productive  of  the  best  results. 
I  haveforyears  been  in  thehabitofdravvingoff  a  portion 
of  the  contents  of  my  aquaria — say,  once  in  three  or  four 
months,  and  replacing  with  fresh  sea-water  previously 
allowed  to  stand  for  twenty-four  hours  to  settle,  and 
I  see  no  reason  to  be  dissatisfied  with  the  practice. 
On  the  contrary,  I  always  find  that  for  some  days 
afterwards  the  anemones  open  better,  and  the  fish 
and  Crustacea  are  more  lively  and  vigorous.  That 
this  should  be  so  seems  to  be  consistent  with  reason 
and  the  laws  of  nature.  The  animals  we  keep  in 
aquaria  are  mostly  of  shore-haunting  species,  and  are 
accustomed  in  a  state  of  nature  to  the  regular  ebb  and 
flow  of  the  tide  twice  in  something  over  twenty-four 
hours.  This  source  of  health  and  nutriment  they  are 
entirely  deprived  of  in  confinement ;  hence  the  de- 
terioration which  most  of  them  gradually  show  in 
even  well-managed  aquaria.  It  is  indeed  often  a 
matter  of  wonder  to  me  that,  considering  the  immense 
change  of  the  conditions  of  life  which  aquarium 
animals  experience  in  the  transfer  from  the  sea  to  our 
tanks,  we  are  able  to  keep  them  in  as  good  health  as 
we  do.  Anything  like  a  periodic  tidal  flow  is,  of 
course,  impracticable  in  any  but  large  public  aquaria, 
and  in  small  private  tanks  the  trouble  incurred  is 
generally  an  obstacle  to  a  frequent  exchange  even  from 
a  resene  stock  of  water,  however  beneficial  this  might 
be.  It  therefore  seems  to  me  a  pity,  for  the  sake  of  a 
hard-and-fast  rule,  to  debar  our  captives  from  the 
evident  enjoyment  and  increased  vigour  imparted  by 
an  occasional  supply  of  water  fresh  from  their  native 
sea. — Edward  Ilorsnailc,  Dover. 

Embryology  of  Fish. — Dr.  Gunther,  the  well- 
known  ichthyologist,  has  recently  discovered  that  the 
young  of  the  Sword-fishes  and  Chretodons  differ  in 
structure  very  much  from  the  adults.  In  the  young 
of  Chretodon  the  front  of  the  body  is  shielded  with 


large  bony  plates.  In  those  of  the  Sword-fish  the 
scapular  arch  is  prolonged  into  a  horn  at  the  lower 
part,  and  the  ventral  fins  are  absent.  No  "sword" 
is  possessed  by  them,  but  the  jaws  are  long,  and  are 
both  armed  with  teeth.  As  the  Sword-fish  grows, 
the  upper  jaw  gradually  alters,  and  the  "sword"  is 
formed. 

"The  Popular  Science  Review."— Tlie  Janu- 
ary number  of  this  favourite  review  commences  under 
new  editorship,  Mr.  W.  S.  Dallas,  F.L.S.,  having 
replaced  Dr.  H.  Lawson  in  the  editorial  chair.  The 
present  number  is  a  capital  one,  and  includes  papers 
by  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Symonds,  entitled,  ' '  Among  the 
Volcanoes  and  Glaciers  of  Auvergne  "  ;  another  by 
Professor  F.  W.  Rudler,  F.G.S.,  which  will  be 
largely  read,  inasmuch  as  it  exposes  one  of  the 
"dodges"  practised  at  some  watering-places,  on 
"  Agates  and  Agate-working  "  ;  an  article  (we  pre- 
sume by  the  Editor)  on  "  Echinoderms  "  ;  a  paper 
by  Mr.  E.  G.  Ravenstein  on  "The  Arctic  Expe- 
dition," &c.  The  articles  are  well  and  abundantly 
illustrated  ;  and  besides  them  we  have  the  usual 
monthly  summary  of  progress  in  the  various  sciences, 
physical  and  natural,  as  well  as  cleverly-written  and 
telling  reviews  of  new  books. 

Bathybius. — It  will  be  remembered  that  the  re- 
searches of  the  naturalists  on  board  the  Challenger 
threw  great  doubt  on  the  reality  of  Bathybius  as  an 
organism.  Dr.  Bessels,  of  the  Polaris  Expedition, 
however,  states  that  he  discovered  in  Smith's  Sound 
a  form  exactly  like  Bathybius,  only  a  simpler  struc- 
ture (?),  to  which  he  has  given  the  name  oi  Proto- 
bathybius. 

Cribella  rosea,  Muller. — In  a  publication  of 
Cork  Cuvierian  Society,  entitled  "Contributions  to- 
wards a  Fauna  and  Flora  of  the  County  of  Cork,  read 
at  the  Meeting  of  the  British  Association  held  at 
Cork  in  the  Year  1843,"  Youghal  is  given  as  a 
station  for  C.  rosea.  In  1868  I  gathered  specimens 
of  this  echinodenn  at  Church  Bay,  outside  Cork  Har- 
bour, at  the  low  tide-mark,  among  the  rock-jjools, 
along  with  Uraster  glaeialis,  Linn.  ;  U.  violacea. 
Mull.,  and  Palmipes  membranaceus,  Retz.  In  the 
following  year  I  saw  several  specimens  lying  on  the 
shore  after  a  storm  near  the  Old  Head  of  Kinsale. — 
H.  J.  Ryder. 

The  Insects  of  the  Arctic  Expedition. — 
Mr.  M'Lachlan  has  remarked,  in  the  Entomologist'' s 
Alonthly  Magazine,  on  Captain  P'ielden's  collection  of 
the  insects  of  the  Arctic  expedition.  The  greater 
number  of  the  insects  were  collected  near  Discovery 
Bay  in  81°  42'  N.  latitude  ;  some  of  the  Lepidopte)-a 
are  even  from  82''  45'.  The  most  interesting  fact  is  the 
occurrence  of  five  or  six  species  of  butterflies  within 
a  few  hundred  miles  of  the  North  Pole,  especially 
when  taken  into  consideration  with  the  fact  that  Ice- 
land and  the  large  islands  of  the  Spitzbergen  group, 


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


39 


although  in  lower  latitudes,  have  apparently  no 
butterflies.  In  Lcpidoptcm  Mr.  M'Lachlan  observetl 
four  examples  (2  <?,  2  ?  )  of  the  genus  Calais,  pos- 
sibly two  species  (?  Boothii  and  Hcda).  Apparently 
three  species  of  Argynnis  or  MeULca  (or  both).  A 
Chrysophaiius  apparantly  identical  with  phlaas.  In 
the  Noctuidic,  only  one  individual— an  Acronycta. 
In  the  Gt'omdridic,  one  Amphidasis  or  Biston,  and 
several  Cheimatobioid  forms  with  apterous  females. 
Of  the  Cra/nliitc's,  one  Phyds,  perhaps  our  ftcsca. 
The  Hymenoptcra  are  represented  by  a  Bombics,  and 
one  of  the  Ichncumonidic  of  considerable  size.  In 
the  Diptcra  there  is  one  large  fly,  probably  belonging 
to  the  Tachmidce,  and  perhaps  parasitic  on  the  larvae 
of  some  of  the  Lipidoptcra.  One  specie  of  Tipiilidi£  ; 
and  a  considerable  number  of  Ciilicida:,  and  of  what 
looks  like  a  Sinmliiim,  which,  however,  do  not  ap- 
pear to  have  .annoyed  tlie  membei's  of  the  expedition 
in  these  high  latitudes.  Mr.  M'Lachlan  saw  no 
Coleoptera,  Hciiiipfera,  no^c  Ntiiroptcm ;  but  the  bird- 
lice  are  naturally  well  represented. 


BOTANY. 

Fertilization  of  Flowers. — The  fact  of  bees 
visiting  tlae  same  species  referred  to  by  your  corre- 
spondent "  Blanche,"  was,  as  Mr.  Darwin  points 
out  in  his  recent  work  ("Cross- and  Self-fertiliza- 
tion," &c.,  p.  415),  observed  by  Aristotle,  and  Mr. 
Darwin  himself  adds  that  •' '  bees  are  good  botanists, 
for  they  know  that  varieties  may  differ  widely  in  the 
colour  of  their  flowers  and  yet  belong  to  the  same 
species."  Mr.  Darwin  and  another  great  authority. 
Dr.  Hennann  Midler,  arrived  at  almost  exactly  the 
same  conclusion  witli  respect  to  the  reason  of  this, 
viz. ,  that  the  insects,  by  learning  ' '  how  to  stand  in 
the  best  position  on  the  flower,  and  how  far  and  in 
what  direction  to  insert  their  proboscis,  are  thus 
enabled  to  work  quicker."  (Darwin,  op.  cit.,  p.  419, 
Miiller,  "  Bienen  Zeitung,"  July,  1876,  p.  182,  ab- 
stracted in  "Nature,"  December 28th,  1876,  p.  178.) 
I  have  myself  observed,  however,  several  interesting 
exceptions  to  the  rule,  bees  flying  to  several  distinct 
species  of  similarly-coloured  flowers,  others  only 
settling  on  one  species,  but  turning  aside  occasion- 
ally at  the  siglit  of  a  somewhat  similar  one  ;  and  one 
bee  visiting  a  great  variety  of  flowers  of  all  hues  and 
kinds  indiscriminately,  whilst  other  bees  of  the  same 
species  confined  their  attention  to  one  species  of 
flower. — G.  S.  Boulgcr. 

Celtic  Names  for  the  Mistletoe. — Welsh 
has  several  names  for  the  Mistletoe  : — Uchelfar,  high 
branch  (iichel  and  bar);  iichdfa,  high-placed  {iichd 
and  Ilia);  iichdlaivr,  high-placed  {iickd  and  llawr,  a 
floor).  This  last  name  occurs  in  the  old  Welsh 
laws  in  a  passage  quoted  by  Pughe  in  his  Dictionary, 
"a  branch  of   mistletoe  sixty  pence  in  its  value." 


Uchdwydd,  the  high  shrub  [uchd  and  gtvydd,  a  tree 
or  shrub);  awyrbrcn,  the  air-tree  (awyr,  air,  and 
pren,  a  tree);  gwysglys,  perhaps  compounded  of 
givisg,  a  dress,  and  //ys,  a  hall ;  gzvyso  only  means  a 
stream  or  bias.  Hoadlys,  the  joy  of  the  hall  (Jiocn, 
gladness,  and  llys).  Holliadi,  all-healing  {^holl,  all, 
and  iach,  healthy).  This  last  is  the  name  in  the 
Irish  branch  of  Celtic,  as  the  Erse,  tiile-iccadh  (from 
tiilc,  all),  and  the  Gaelic  nW-ioc  (from  nile,  all,  and 
ioc,  cure).  The  Breton  name  is  huelvar,  compounded 
of  kud,  high,  and  bar,  a  branch.  The  French  ^/« 
has  no  connection  with  the  Welsh  gwydd ;  Littre 
and  Brachet  both  follow  Diez  in  deriving  it  from 
viscus  (compare  Ital.  visco,  vischio ;  Spanish,  visco, 
Neoprovengal,  vise).  Gii  may  represent  y  in  French'; 
thus  vagina  becomes  gatnc.  I  do  not  remember  any 
place  in  old  Welsh  poetry  which  refers  to  the  Mistle- 
toe ;  it  is  not  alluded  to  in  Taliessin's  cui'ious  ' '  Bat- 
tle of  the  Trees."  The  lines  from  Taliessin's  "Chair," 
which  your  correspondent  quotes  from  Davies,  have 
probably  no  reference  to  the  Mistletoe.     The  Rev. 

D.  Silvan  Evans  translates  "  the  tree  of  pure  gold" 
as  "wood  the  purifier,"  i.e.,  prcn  puraivr  for  prcn 
piiraur.  (See  Skene's  "Four  Ancient  Books  of 
Wales,"  vol.  i.  p.  535  ;  ii.  153.)  I  may  perhaps 
mention  that,  in  addition  to  the  allusion  in  Virgil, 
there  is  also  a  fragment  of  Sophocles's  "Meleagar," 
where   he  speaks   of    "mistletoe-bearing    oaks." — 

E.  B,  Cowdl,  Cambridge. 

Field  Notes  on  British  Botany. — Hypcriacm 
pidchrnin.  —This  species,  which  is  not  uncommon  in 
sunny  spots,  is  easily  recognzied  from  all  our  St. 
John's  Worts  by  its  scarlet  pollen,  slender  cylindrical 
stems,  and  sessile  cordate  leaves.  In  aestivation 
(when  in  bud)  it  may  be  at  once  known  by  the  buds 
being  tipped  with  deep  red.  In  some  sheltered 
nooks,  where  it  appears  a  little  earlier  in  flower, 
the  petals  are  found  to  be  a  bright  orange-colour. 
Hyperiaun  AnglicnTU. — Is  this  species  really  distinct 
from  Hyperiaun  Androstvmuin  ?  The  only  difference 
in  most  specimens  is  that  the  styles  ai-e  much  longer 
than  the  stamens.  Hyperiaun  perforatum. — Have  any 
of  our  readers  observed  the  petals  of  this  pretty  way- 
side flower  deeply  notched  at  the  sides  ?  Sometimes 
they  appear  as  if  some  child  had  been  playfully 
cutting  out  a  small  piece  with  a  pair  of  scissors. 
Geranium  Robertianuin. — The  cottagers  on  Delamere 
Forest  call  this  "  Rubwort "  and  "  Redweed."  The 
commonly-received  English  name  of  Robert  may 
have  been  a  corruption  of  this  perhaps  older  name  of 
"Rubwort."  Papaver  Khceas. — The  petals  are  a 
rich  crimson,  not,  as  is  often  described,  scarlet. 
When  merely  in  flower,  and  before  the  development 
of  the  capsule,  it  may  be  known  from  all  its  nearly 
allied  sister  species  by  this  character  alone.  Gera- 
nium columbinum. — This  ought  certainly  to  be  named 
the  Dove's-foot  Cranesbill,  if  the  specific  name  is 
followed.      It  has  blue  fallen.      Not  having  closely 


40 


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


examined  all  the  other  species,  I  may,  perhaps,  not 
be  quite  correct  when  I  state  it  ought  to  be  at  once 
known  or  recognized  by  the  blue  pollen-grains. 
Geranium  lucidum.  — When  I  saw  this  plant  growing 
in  large  masses  in  the  Vale  of  Llangollen  I  thought 
it  the  most  handsome  of  the  whole  genus.  The 
shining,  often  pink,  leaves  and  stems  are  very  con- 
spicuous. When  once  seen,  it  can  never  again  be 
mistaken  for  any  other  cranesbill.  Lime  -  trees 
{Tiliaceir). — Most  botanists  agree  in  finding  three 
species  of  lime  in  the  British  islands — Tilia  phrvi- 
folia,  T.  grandifolia,  and  T.  Europaa.  Probably 
there  is  much  confusion  respecting  them,  but  from 
my  limited  observations  I  do  not  believe  any  of  them 
are  indigenous,  excepting  only  T.  parvifolia.  Dr. 
Bromfield  looked  upon  T.  Euyopcra  as  a  native  tree. 
I  never  met  with  it  anywhere,  except  where  I  knew 
or  was  informed  it  was  planted,  generally  as  an  orna- 
mental tree.  Formerly,  by  being  misled  with  others, 
I  simply  regarded  or  looked  upon  them  as  natives ; 
but  during  the  past  three  years  I  have  closely  studied, 
and  with  a  constantly  growing  conviction  that  T. 
painjifolia  is  truly  indigenous,  the  others  are  alien 
and  introduced.  Iheris  amara. — I  find  if  the  Candy- 
tuft is  grown  in  rich  soil  the  flowers  become  double 
by  the  sepals  being  transformed  into  petals,  though 
they  are  not  like  the  ordinary  petals,  having  a  green 
vein  down  the  centre  of  each  sepal.  Cruciferous 
plants  are  usually  a  dread  to  young  botanists,  but  the 
Iberis  is  at  a  glance  detected  by  the  lower  petals 
being  at  least  twice  as  long  as  the  upper  ones* 
Cochlcaria  gnnilaudica. — I  always  find  the  petals 
of  this  plant  with  a  purplish  tint.  However,  I  do 
not  think  this  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  make  it  into  a 
distinct  species.  In  cultivation  I  cannot  tell  the 
difference  betwixt  C.  danica  and  this  plant. — R. 

VoLVOX  GLOBATOR. — There  seems  to  be  a  preva- 
lent idea  that  this  beautiful  object  is  only  to  be  found 
during  the  summer  months,  and  that  at  the  approach 
of  winter  it  dies  out  in  its  ordinai-y  form,  to  be  pro- 
duced from  resting-spores  in  the  following  spring. 
In  opposition  to  this,  I  may  state  that  during  last 
winter  I  could  always  obtain  an  abundant  supply 
from  a  pond  in  the  open  part  of  the  forest  near  Wal- 
thamstow,  on  several  occasions  having  broken  a  con- 
siderable thickness  of  ice  and  taken  them  from 
beneath  ;  the  ice  in  one  instance  being  sufficiently 
thick  to  support  a  number  of  skaters.  —  W.  H. 
Gilbtirl. 

The  Box. — Syme  says  of  the  Box  :  "  Very  rare. 
Kent,  Surrey,  Bucks,  and  Gloucester  are  the  only 
counties  of  which  there  is  any  possibility  of  its  being 
a  genuine  native."  Growing  on  dry,  chalky  hills, 
may  not  the  chalk  downs  of  Sussex  be  included  ?  In 
some  places,  as  at  Lavington,  it  woukl  almost  seem 
to  be  indigenous,  and  flourishes  luxuriantly.  Can  any 
reader  tell  of  other  Sussex  habitats  in  which  it  occurs 
in  abundance  ?     INIrs.  Lankester  has  also  the  follow- 


ing statement :  ' '  The  largest  box-hedge  is  at  Petworth 
(Sussex).  It  is  supposed  to  be  more  than  two  cen- 
turies old,  and  is  more  than  12  feet  at  the  bottom, 
15  feet  high,  and  40  yards  long."  I  should  be  very 
glad  of  the  authority  for  this  and  for  a  precise  descrip- 
tion of  its  locality  at  Petworth. — F.  H.  Ar7iold. 

Discoloration  of  Cooked  Meat. — The  car- 
mine spots  and  surfaces  on  the  meat  mentioned  by 
your  correspondent  "B."  were  no  doubt  due  to  the 
thallophyte  mentioned  in  Rev.  M.  J.  Berkeley's  "  In- 
troduction to  Cryptogamic  Botany"  (p.  264),  and  in 
the  "  Micrographic  Dictionary"  (second  edition,  sub 
voce  "  Blood  on  Bread")  as  Jl/onas  or  Palmella  pro- 
digiosa,  Cryptococats  glutinis,  or  a  form  of  Penicilliitm 
rlaicciim  or  Oidiian. — G.  S.  Boiili;er. 


GEOLOGY. 

A  NEW  Fossil  Crustacean. — At  a  recent  meet- 
i  ng  of  the  Geological  Society,  Mr.  R.  Etheridge, 
jun.,  F.G.S.,  read  a  paper  entitled,  "On  the  Re- 
mains of  a  large  Crustacean,  probably  indicative  of 
a  new  species  of  Eurypierus,  or  allied  genus 
(Emyptcrus  ?  Stcvensoni)  from  the  Lower  Carboni- 
ferous series  (Cement-stone  group)  of  Berwickshire." 
The  fragmentary  crustacean  remains  described  were 
referred  by  the  author  to  a  large  species  of  Eiiry- 
ptertis.  They  are  from  a  rather  lower  horizon  in  the 
Lower  Carboniferous  than  that  from  which  Eiijy- 
pteriis  Scotderi,  Hibbert,  was  obtained.  The  animal 
was  probably  twice  the  size  of  E.  Scoideri.  The 
remains  consist  of  large  scale-like  markings  and 
marginal  spines  which  once  covered  the  surface  and 
bordered  the  head  and  the  hinder  edges  of  the  body- 
segments  of  a  gigantic  crustacean,  agreeing  in  gene- 
ral characters  \\'ith  the  same  parts  in  E.  Scoideri, 
but  diff"ering  in  points  of  detail.  For  the  species, 
supposing  it  to  be  distinct,  the  author  proposed  the 
name  oi  E.  Stcvensoni.  In  the  discussion  which  fol- 
lowed the  paper,  Mr.  H.  Woodward  remarked  that 
the  remains  of  Eurypieri  from  the  Carboniferous 
rocks  are  so  distinct  from  the  Upper  Silurian  Eiiry- 
ptcriol  America,  Shropshire,  Lanarkshire,  and  Russia, 
as  probably  to  entitle  them  to  be  jDlaced  in  a  distinct 
genus  ;  and,  indeed,  at  some  future  day,  when  more 
remains  are  obtained,  they  may  perhaps  have  to  be 
arranged  among  the  Araclmida,  along  with  many 
curious  fragments  which  have  been  called  Arthro- 
pleura,  discovered  in  the  Radstock  coalfield,  in  the 
Saarbriick  coal-basin,  and  in  the  Manchester  coal- 
field. Eiiryptcris  Scoiiloi  occurs  at  Kirton  with 
Sphenopteris  Hibberti,  in  a  remarkable  siliceous  de- 
posit, probably  thrown  down  by  an  old  tliermal 
spring  in  the  Carboniferous  period. 

A  NEW  Tertiary  Mammal. — Prof.  JNIarsli  has 
described  another  early  Tertiary  Mammal  from  the 
Rocky  jlountain  deposits.      It  was  of  carnivorous 


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


41 


habits,  and  about  the  size  of  a  large  wolf.  In  general 
characters  it  resembles  the  Hytruodon,  but  had  only 
four  incisor  teeth,  and  seven  lower  n.olars,  on  each 
side.  The  top  of  the  skull  is  marked  by  a  very 
large  sagittal  crest.  Prof.  Marsh  has  called  it 
Dromocyon  vorax. 

Proceedings  of  the  Geologists' Association. 
— We  have  received  No.  9  of  the  fourth  volume  of 
this  work,  giving  papers  on  the  ' '  Geology  of  Lewis- 
ham,"  by  H.  J.  Johnson  Laris,  F.G.S.  ;  "On  the 
British  Palteozoic  Arcadcc,"  by  J.  Logan  Lobley, 
F.G.S.  ;  on  "The  Bagshot  Sands  of  the  Isle  of 
Sheppey,"  by  Major  F.  Duncan,  F.G.S.;  and  one 
on  "  The  Mill-Hill  Cutting,  Sheppey,"  by  W.  H. 
Shrubsole.  There  are,  also,  four  well-written  de- 
scriptions of  excursions  made  by  the  members  of  the 
association  to  various  places  of  geological  note. 

"The  Intrusive  Character  of  the  Whin 
Sill  of  Northumberland." — This  was  the  sub- 
ject of  an  important  paper  recently  read  before  the 
Geological  Society  by  W.  Topley,  F.G.S.,  and  G. 
A.  Lebour,  F.G.S.  The  authors  stated  that  the 
Carboniferous  Limestone  series  of  the  North  of 
England  contains  a  bed  (or  beds)  of  basalt,  known  as 
the  "  Whin  Sill,"  regarding  the  nature  of  which 
opinion  has  long  been  divided.  Some  writers  regard 
it  as  truly  interbedded  and  contemporaneous ;  others 
look  upon  it  as  intrusive,  and  as  having  been  forced 
laterally  between  the  planes  of  bedding.  The  latter 
opinion  is  that  held  by  the  authors,  who  stated  that 
through  South  and  JNIid-Northumberland  there  can  be 
no  doubt  as  to  the  intrusive  character  of  the  Whin 
Sill.  This  conclusion  can  be  established  by  the  line 
of  outcrop  of  the  trap,  and  also  by  the  evidence  of 
individual  sections.  A  review  of  the  literature  on  the 
subject  was  given  by  the  authors,  showing  that  the 
opinions  of  geologists  are  very  much  divided  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  Whin  Sill.  But  amongst  the  practical 
miners  of  the  North  of  England  there  are  very  few 
who  will  admit  any  doubt  that  the  Whin  lies  evenly, 
and  at  one  constant  horizon,  amongst  the  strata. 
Clear  cases  to  the  contrary  are  looked  upon  as  merely 
local  variations,  possibly  due  to  successive  eruptions 
of  submarine  lava.  The  Whin  Sill  serves  them  as  a 
definite  line,  and  the  limestone  next  above  it  is  always 
called  the  "  Tyne  Bottom  Limestone."  The  question 
is  thus  of  considerable  economic  importance.  It  is 
also  of  interest  in  reference  to  the  volcanic  history  of 
Britain  and  to  classification.  Prof.  Phillips  took  the 
Whin  Sill  'as  the  base  of  the  Yoredale  Series  ;  the 
Gi'eat  Limestone  he  regarded  as  its  top.  But  the 
work  of  the  Geological  Survey  has  shown  that  the 
Whin  Sill  lies  at  different  horizons  in  different  places  ; 
sometimes  it  even  lies  above  the  Great  Limestone 
itself.  In  other  words,  the  Whin  Sill,  zuhich  is  sup- 
posed to  mark  the  base  of  the  Yoredale  Series,  some- 
titnes  lies  above  the  limestone  which  forms  the  top  of 
that  series.     With  the  disappearance  of  the  supposed 


base-line  of  the  Yoredales  goes  also  any  good  reason 
for  drawing  a  line  here  at  all.  The  so-called  "Tyne 
Bottom  Limestone "  cannot  be  traced  definitely 
through  Northumberland,  and  the  beds  above  and 
below  this  horizon  have  the  same  general  character. 
The  authors  traced  the  Whin  Sill  through  North- 
umberland, as  far  north  as  Dunstanborough  Castle, 
showing  the  varying  positions  at  which  it  occurs  in 
the  Limestone  series,  and  noting  points  of  interest  in 
some  of  the  sections.  The  Whin  shifts  its  position 
amongst  the  strata  to  the  extent  of  1,000  feet  or  more. 
It  frequently  comes  up  in  bosses  through  the  bedded 
rocks,  and  bakes  the  beds  above  it  quite  as  much  as 
those  below,  especially  when  those  beds  consist  of 
shale.  As  to  the  age  of  the  Whin  Sill,  nothing 
definite  can  be  said.  It  is  frequently  thrown  by  faults 
and  lodes.  There  is  no  certain  case  of  its  being 
unaffected  by  faults  which  throw  the  neighbouring 
rocks,  although  there  are  a  few  doubtful  cases  which 
seem  to  point  in  this  direction.  As  the  Whin  Sill 
does  not  approach  the  Permian  area  of  Durham,  the 
fact  that  some  of  the  faults  there  are  believed  to  be 
pre-Permian  cannot  be  applied  as  a  test  of  age  in  this 
case.  In  other  districts  in  Britain  in  which  intrusive 
basaltic  sheets  occur  amongst  the  Carboniferous  rocks, 
there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  in  most  cases  they 
are  pre-Pennian,  or  at  least  pre-Triassic.  Whether 
or  not  this  be  the  case  with  the  Whin  Sill  cannot  be 
determined.  No  light  is  thrown  on  this  question  by 
the  composition  of  the  rock.  Mr.  Allport  has  shown 
that  it  resembles,  in  all  essential  characters,  the 
basalts  of  other  Carboniferous  districts,  some  of 
which  are  possibly  contemporaneous,  some  certainly 
intrusive. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES, 

Ants  and  Ant-eaters. — Having  read  the  follow- 
ing account  in  a  book  about  ants  and  ant-eaters,  I 
thought  it  would  interest  the  readers  of  SciENCE- 
GossiP.  A  traveller  in  South  America  says  : — "  We 
rode  over  hills  used  as  pasture-ground,  which  were 
literally  dotted  with  the  upright  and  fallen  columns 
that  had  been  erected  by  the  termites  or  white  ants. 
These  curious  edifices,  and  their  still  more  curious 
architects,  have  always  had  a  great  attraction  for  the 
naturalist.  The  hillocks  are  conical  in  their  shape, 
but  not  with  a  broad  base  and  tapering  point  as  those 
built  by  the  termites  of  Africa.  Exposure  to  the  sun 
has  rendered  them  exceedingly  hard,  and  doubtless 
many  that  are  seen  in  the  uplands  of  St.  Paulo  and 
Minas-Geraes  are  more  than  a  century  old  ;  for  houses 
whose  walls  have  been  built  from  the  same  earth  are 
still  in  existence  which  were  built  by  early  settlers  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  Sometimes  the  termites'  dwell- 
ing is  overturned  by  the  slaves,  the  hollow  scooped  out 
and  made  wider,  and  it  is  then  used  as  a  bake-oven 
to  parch  Indian  corn.  In  my  ride  over  Soldade  I 
saw  a  number  of  very  large  vultures,  who  during  the 
rain  had  taken  refuge  in  the  houses  that  had  been 
vacated  by  the  white  ant.  These  insects  do  not,  how- 
ever, always  dwell  in  columnar  edifices  of  three  and 
six  feet  high .     I  have  seen  in  some  portions  of  Brazil 


42 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


the  ground  ploughed  up  to  the  extent  of  lOO  feet  in 
circumference  by  one  nest  of  white  ants.    Again,  they 
will   climb  trees,   carrying  building   materials   with 
them,  and  erecting  a  small  archway  (resembling  what 
carpenters  call  an  inch  bead)  over  them  for  protec-    , 
lion  against  their  sworn  enemy  the  black  and  brown 
ant,  and  on  the  loftiest  branches  they  will  construct 
their  nest.     My  introduction  to  the  cupim,  or  white 
ant,  was  in  the  house  of  our  former  consul,  ex-Go-    j 
vernor   Kent.      A  box  of  books   sent   out   by  the 
American  Tract  Society  was  placed  in  a  lower  room, 
and  the  next  morning  it  was  announced  to  me  that 
the  cupimjhad  entered  my  property.     I  hastened  to 
the  room,  and,  turning  over  the  box,  beheld  a  little 
black  hole  at  the  bottom,  and  white,  gelatinous-look- 
ing ants  pouring  out  as  though  very  much  disturbed    , 
in^'their  occupation.     I  opened  the  box,   and  found 
that  a  colony  of  cupim  had  eaten  through  the  pine-    ; 
wood,  and  then  had  pierced  through  '  Baxter's  Call,     [ 
'Doddridge's    Rise   and    Progress,'    until   they    had 
reached  the  place  where  Bunyan's  Pilgrim  lay,  when 
they  were  rudely  deranged  in  their  literary  pursuits,    j 
On  another  occasion,  I  saw  a  Brussels  carpet,  under    ^ 
which    cupim    had    insinuated    themselves,    and  had 
eaten  out  nearly  all  the  canvas  before  the  proprietor 
made  the  sad  discovery.     The  writer,  at  Campinas,    j 
witnessed  the  depredations  of  the  white  ants  in  the 
taipa*  houses.     They  insinuate  themselves  into  the    ' 
mud  walls,  and  destroy  the  entire  side  of  a  house  by    j 
perforations.     Anon,  they  commence  working  in  the    | 
soil,  and  extend  their  operations  beneath  the  founda-    ; 
tions  of  houses,  and  undermine  them.   The  people  dig    ': 
large  pits  in  various  places,  with  the  intent  of  exter- 
minating tribes  of  ants  which  have  been  discovered  on 
their  march  of  destruction.       Mr.  Southy  states,  on 
the  authority  of  Manoel  Felix,  that  some  of  these  in- 
sects at  one  time  devoured  the  cloth  of  the  altar  in 
the  convent  of  St.  Antonio,   at  Maranham,  and  also 
brought  up  into  the  church  pieces  of  shrouds  from  the 
graves  beneath  its  floor  ;  whereupon  the  friars  prose- 
cuted them  according  to  due   form  of  ecclesiastical 
law.     What   the  sentence  was  in  this  case  we  are 
unable  to  learn.      The  white  and  other  ants  have, 
however,  enemies  far  more  tangible  than  bulls  of  ex- 
communication in  the  Mynnecophaga,    or  the    great 
ant-eater,  the  Tamajidua,  and  the  little  ant-eater,  of 
which  the  last  two  have  a  prehensile  tail.     The  great 
ant-eater  is  a  most  curious  animal,  but  well  adapted 
to  the  purposes  for  which  it   was  designed   by  the 
Creator.     Its  short  legs  and  long  claws   (the  latter 
doubled  up  when  in  motion)  do  not  hinder  it_ from 
ninningat  a  good  pace  ;  and  when  the  Indians  wish  to 
catch  it,  they  make  a  pattering  noise  upon  the  leaves 
as  if  the  rain  were  falling  ;  upon  which  the  Myrme- 
cophaga  cocks  his  huge  bushy  tail  over  his  body,  and, 
standing  perfectly    still,    soon  falls    a  prey.      In  the 
northern  part  of  Minas-Geraes,  a  naturalist  once  came 
suddenly  upon  the  great  ant-eater,  and,  knowing  the 
harmless  nature   of  its  mouth,  seized  it   by  the  long 
snout,  by  which  he  tried  to  hold  it,  when  it  imme- 
diately rose  upon   its   hind  legs,   and   clasping  him 
around  the  middle  with  its  powerful  forepaws,  would 
not  release  its  hold  till   a  pistol-ball  was  lodged  in  its 
breast.     When  the  great  ant-eater  sleeps,  it  lies  on 
one  side,  rolls  itself  up  so  that  its  snout  rests  on  its 
breast,  places  all  its  feet  together,  and  covers  itself 
with  its  bushy  tail.     In  this  way  it   may  be  easily 
taken  for  a  heap  of  hay.     The  Indians  of  the  Upper 
Amazon    poshively   assert   that   the   great   ant-eater 
sometimes  kills   the  jaguar  by  tightly  embracing  the 
latter,    and   thrusting  its   enonnous   claws   into   the 


Clay  house. 


jaguar's  sides.  The  aborigines  also  declare  that 
these  animals  are  all  females,  and  believe  that  the 
male  is  the  '  curupira  '  or  demon  of  the  forest.  The 
peculiar  organization  of  this  animal  has  probably  led 
to  this  error."— y.   W.  Mce. 

Our   American  Cousin   the   Robin  {Tardus 
mi^mtorius). — The  Englishman  when  he  settles  in 
either    Upper     or     Lower     Canada,    hearing     his 
neighbours    speaking   about    the    robin,    is    apt    to 
imagine  that    none  other   but  the  far-famed    Robin 
Redbreast  of  nursery  folk-lore  is  referred  to  :  he  could 
not,  however,  make  a  greater  mistake,  and  sooner  or 
later,  with  much  sorrow,  he  learns  a  far  different  bird 
is  called  Robin  by  the  backwoodsman  than  he  knew 
in  his  English  home.    Now  for  the  reason  :  doubtless 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  when  they  went  over  the  Atlantic 
in  the  Mavflo-ocr,   to  form  a  settlement  where  they 
could  worship  God  with  a  freedom  denied  to  them  in 
their  native  land,  were  short  of  one  thing.    _  A  great 
number  of  objects  would  crowd  around  their  every- 
day life  of  bustle  and  activity,  to  remind  them  of  home, 
because  in  many  points  similar  ;  but  when  winter  came 
on,  with  its  snow  and  frost,  to  some  extent  compelling 
them  to  a  forced  idleness  for  a  time,  they  would  then 
think    more    of    homely    associations,    especially    in 
walking  abroad  they  would,  methinks,  long  to  see 
the  homely  familiar  birds,  so  welcome  in   the  far- 
off  Fatherland.     They  would  not  have  to  search  far 
before  finding  the  robin,  a  bird,  too,  so  like  in  general 
appearance  the  "  redbreast"  that  it  could  not  be  long 
without  a  name,  and  was  at  once  hailed  as  the  robin  ; 
■    but  mark,  dear  reader,    it  was   not  called,  after  all, 
I    Robin  Redbreast.     As  before  stated,  in  many  points 
it  is  similar  to  our  Redbreast,  but  it  is  much  larger, 
being  about  the  size  of  the  starling  ;  it  has  a  chocolate- 
coloured  dress,  tinged  with  bright  red  over  the  breast. 
\    Its  song  does  not  resemble  our  robin  in  the  slightest, 
being  much  louder  and  more  flute-like  ;  in  one  point, 
as  our  brothers  in  the  New  World  are  very  loud  in  its 
'    praises,  it  is  not  pugnacious.   We  have  been  honoured 
i    by  having  a  little  red-breasted  companion  every  win- 
I    ter  for  several  years  as  a  constant  visitor  at  our  homely 
'   cottage  in  Cheshire,  but  we  do  not  thank  him,  for 
he  will    have    no    rival    near  :  every  sparrow  dreads 
his  approach,  and  as  all  the  family  take  a  pleasure  in 
attending  to  the  wants  of  a  very  large  flock  of  feathered 
friends  in  severe  weather,  we  often  feel  grieved  when 
witnessing  a    contest  betwixt  the    robin    and    some 
other  little  bird.  This  is  not  the  case  with  the  American 
robin— he  becomes    very  familar  and  tame,   and  is 
friendly  with  all  the  neighbouring   songsters.      Miss 
:    Cooper  in  her  book,   so  full  of  interesting  country 
scenes  and  observations,  often  mentions  the  appear- 
ance of  the  friendly  robin  ;  in  fact,  this  alone  adds  a 
;    thorough  charm  to  the  volume.     A  few  years  since 
a  communication  was  read  before  the  Boston  Natural- 
ists' Society,  by  Prof.  Tredwell,  giving  the  results  of 
many  carefully  conducted  experiments  and  observa- 
tions, to  show  how  many  worms  or  other  insects  were 
destroyed  by  the  robin  alone.     He  stated  that  on  one 
day,  the  fourteenth  day  after  birth,  it  ate  sixty-eight 
earthworms,  or  41  per  cent,  more  than  its  own  weight. 
.    The  length  of  these  worms  if  laid  end  to  end  would 
i   be  about    14   feet,  or   ten  times  the  length  of   the 
intestines.     Do  we  not  owe  much  to  the  labours  of 
our  feathered  tribes,  and  does  not  Providence  induce 
us  to  protect,   or  rather  cherish,  such   birds    as  the 
homely  red-breast,  by  throwing  them  a  few  crumbs 
during  wintry  weather,  thus  preserving  life,  to  keep  up 
the  balance  in  nature  ? — Apis. 

Friendly   Spiders.— "  Spiders  are  unamiable, 
quarrelsome,  spiteful  creatures,  even  to  their  own  kin,'' 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


43 


— such  is  the  character  these  Arachnids  bear,  though 
I  do  not  beheve  they  always  deserve  it.  Upon  the 
window  of  an  out-house,  last  summer,  I  noticed  there 
were  spread  the  webs  of  several  spiders,  two  being  in 
close  contiguity.  A  fly  bounced  into  one  of  these  two 
webs,  and  his  size  gave  the  occupant  trouble.  Hearing 
the  buzzing  (or  feeling  the  vibration  of  the  threads, 
for  it  has  been  conjectured  by  several  naturalists  that 
spiders  are  deaf),  the  spider  in  the  adjacent  web 
entered  and  gave  his  aid,  and  the  two  spiders  sucked 
the  juices  of  the  fly  very  amicably.  I  have  seen,  how- 
ever, as  I  must  confess,  under  other  circumstances, 
when  one  spider  has  approached  another's  prey,  that 
the  owner  has  either  fled  or  "  rushed  to  the  charge  " 
and  fought,  or  frightened  away  the  intruder. — 
J.  R.  S.  C. 

Early  History  of  the  Domestic  Cat. — It 
is  certainly  a  singular  circumstance  that  an  animal 
so  noticeable  where  it  occurs  as  is  the  domestic  cat 
is  not  named  in  the  Bible,  nor  even  indii'ectly  referred 
to.  And  yet  the  Jews,  one  would  suppose,  kept  cats 
at  an  early  period  of  their  separate  existence  as  a 
nation  ;  at  their  exodus  from  Egypt  the  people  must 
have  known  well  an  animal  to  which  their  oppressors 
were  partial,  living  and  dead.  Some  have  conjectured, 
liowever,  that  their  Egyptian  memories  of  the  cat  led 
the  Jews  to  regard  this  quadruped  with  superstitious 
dislike.  A  recent  correspondent  of  the  Academy 
maintains  that  the  ancient  Greeks  had  cats,  though 
the  contraiy  has  been  formerly  argued,  and  it  would 
appear  by  his  references  that  the  habits  of  the  cat 
Avere  observed  with  some  accuracy,  if  it  be  the 
animal  intended  by  the  Greek  word  he  quotes,  as 
the  satirist  compares  women  to  cats.  And  if  we  asked 
the  old  Greeks  why  they  are  like  the  feline  race,  the 
uncomplimentary  response  would  be,  that  the  resem- 
blance lies  in  the  quality  of  caprice,  and  in  a  fondness 
for  wandering  abroad. — J.  R.  S.  C. 

VoLVOX  globator. — As  far  as  my  experience 
goes,  I  should  say  tliat  the  end  of  summer  is 
decidedly  the  best  time  for  obtaining  this  beautiful 
organism.  I  have  frequently  sought  it  in  May  and 
June,  both  here  and  round  Canterbuiy — the  latter  a 
neighbourhood,  I  believe,  singularly  favoured  by 
many  of  the  less  common  forms  of  pond  life,  but 
always  without  success.  The  finest  gathering  I  ever 
had  was  obtained  quite  late  in  September,  from  a 
veiy  small  pond  in  a  gravel-pit  near  Brabourne,  in 
this  county.  The  pond  was  only  6  or  7  feet  across, 
and  was  perfectly  green  with  Volvox ;  so  that  the 
contents  of  an  ordinary  stage  cell  would  show  forty 
or  fifty  specimens.  This  was  in  1870,  the  September 
of  which  year  was  remarkably  fine  and  warm  ;  but 
early  in  October  cold  autumnal  rains  set  in,  when 
the  Volvox  suddenly  and  entirely  disappeared.  I 
visited  the  same  pond  in  August,  1871,  but  though 
the  weather  was  hot,  and  the  conditions  apparently 
unchanged,  could  find  none.  Not  having  been  in 
the  neighbourhood  since,  I  cannot  speak  respecting 
subsequent  years  ;  but,  like  many  other  forms  of 
microscopic  life,  I  have  no  doubt  that  its  appearance 
in  any  given  locality  is  somewhat  intermittent. — 
Ediuard  Horsiiailc,  Dover. 

The  Cuckoo,  and  why  she  does  not  Build  a 
Nest. — The  Danish  legend  is  that  every  village  girl 
when  she  first  hears  the  cuckoo  note  in  early  spring 
kisses  her  hand,  and  asks  the  following  question, 
"Cuckoo,  dear  cuckoo,  when  shall  I  marry?" 
Whilst  the  old  women  ciy  out,  "  Cuckoo,  when 
shall  I  be  released  from  this  world's  cares?"     The 


bird,  in  reply,  cries  "  cuckoo"  for  every  year  that 
is  to  elapse  before  their  desires  will  be  granted,  and 
in  so  doing  all  her  time  is  occupied.  The  season  for 
building  a  nest  goes  by,  and  at  last,  in  despair,  she 
lays  her  egg  in  another  bird's  nursery,  generally  in  that 
of  the  hedge-sparrow. — Helen  E.  Watncy. 

Cuckoo's  Eggs  (p.  23). — Whether  the  Cuckoo  is 
possessed  of  the  remarkable  instinct  attributed  to  it 
by  some  writers  (as  to  the  selection  of  a  nest  where 
the  eggs  correspond  in  colour  with  its  own)  is  more 
than  I  can  say ;  but  I  know  that  two  cuckoos'  eggs 
found  by  me  in  the  nests  of  water-wagtails  {M.  Vur- 
rdlii)  almost  exactly  corresponded  with  those  of  the 
rightful  owner  of  the  nest,  and  that  an  egg  of  the 
same  singalar  and  interesting  bird  taken  from  the 
nest  of  the  little  Tree-pipit  (.4.  m-borcus)  bore  a 
striking  resemblance  to  those  of  that  bird.  The  eggs 
found  in  the  wagtails'  nests  were  thinly  speckled, 
while  the  one  taken  from  the  pipit's  was  very  thickly 
streaked.  Each  of  these  varieties  agreed  in  the  most 
perfect  manner  with  those  previously  deposited  by 
the  real  owner,  the  only  difference  noticeable  being 
the  superior  size  of  the  intruded  egg.  The  men  who 
work  in  stone-pits  inform  me  that  the  Cuckoo  may 
be  often  seen  flapping  about  the  heaps  of  stones  in 
its  search  for  the  nests  of  the  dishwashers  (wagtails), 
and  from  the  position  of  these  nests  I  know  perfectly 
well  that  the  Cuckoo  must  use  either  its  bill  or  its 
claws  in  conveying  its  eggs  into  them. —  W.  H. 
Warner,  Standlake,  Oxon. 

The  Mistletoe. — Some  short  time  ago  several 
letters  appeared  in  Science-Gossip  respecting  the 
trees  on  which  the  ]\Iistletoe  has  been  found.  One 
of  your  correspondents  mentioned  the  Pear.  May  I 
ask,  whether  your  correspondent  actually  saw  this 
instance,  or  whether  the  statement  was  made  on  the 
authority  of  others  ?  I  am  induced  to  ask  this  ques- 
tion because  I  have  never  heard  the  Pear  men- 
tioned, though  it  is  one  of  the  first  trees,  after  the 
Apple,  on  which  we  might  expect  to  find  it.  And 
some  years  ago  a  relation  of  mine  was  present  at  a 
large  rent-dinner  in  Herefordshire,  in  the  midst  of 
the  apple  and  pear-growing  district,  and  he  asked 
the  farmers  whether  any  of  them  had  ever  seen  the 
Mistletoe  on  the  Pear.  Only  one  of  them  thought 
he  had  once  seen  it,  but  he  would  not  speak  posi- 
tively. A  Herefordshire  friend  once  showed  me  an 
interesting  collection  of  photographs  of  all  the  oak- 
trees  on  which  the  Mistletoe  was  there  known  to  be 
growing.  There  were,  I  think,  about  nine  or  ten  of 
them,  and  I  was  told  that  another  had  been  found 
since  those  photographs  were  taken.  I  was  told,  by 
a  good  authority,  that  a  fair-sized  plant  of  Mistletoe 
was  once  found  in  that  part  of  Herefordshire  upon  a 
wild  rose,  but  I  did  not  see  it.  It  is  very  curious  to 
see  how  long  the  young  shoots  of  the  mistletoe-seeds 
will  exist  with  no  other  nourishment  than  that  of 
their  own  juice.  If  a  berry  be  made  to  stick  against 
a  pane  of  glass  in  an  ordinary  window,  it  will  soon 
throw  out  two  arm-like  shoots,  which  will  turn  in- 
wards towards  the  dark,  and  not  towards  the  light. 
They  will  last  for  several  months,  but  will  not  in- 
crease after  a  certain  gi-owth. — H.  M.  M. 

The  Mistletoe. — In  reading  the  interesting  ac- 
count of  the  traditional  uses  and  virtues  of  the 
Mistletoe,  by  "W.  G.  P.,"  in  a  late  Science-Gossip, 
I  see  no  mention  made  of  the  reason  why  we  can  take 
the  well-known  liberty  with  the  fair  sex  beneath  its 
shade  ;  can  any  of  your  correspondents  explain  this 
curious  suiDcrstition  ? —  IV.  T.  E. 


44 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


Mistletoe. — I  can  inform  "  W.  G.  P.,"  that  in 
Germany  tins  plant  is  known  by  different  names,  Mis- 
tcl,  however,  being  the  most  common.  Ginstcr  ;  Kin- 
ster  ;  Kenstcr ;  the  first  of  these  names  is  also  given 
to  a  plant  the  flower  of  which  is  used  for  dyeing  pur- 
poses. Hcili^c  Krcitzholz ;  the  German  of  Lignum 
Sancfir  Criicis.  Alahrenzacken ;  the  same  as  the 
Dutch,  Marentakken.  Af holder,  or  Afterbaiim ; 
^/and  after  from  the  old  aftar,  aftir,  not  genuine, 
false  ;  liolder,  elder  ;  haiini,  tree. — H.  Macco. 

Hara'EST  Bcgs. — The  best  remedy  that  I  know 
of  for  the  bites  or  stings  of  harvest  bugs  is  "Liquor 
Ammonice  Fortissimus  "  (spirit  of  ammonia)  which 
should  be  applied  to  the  exact  spot  by  means  of  a 
camel's-hair  brush,  and  will  be  found  to  give  imme- 
diate relief. — Frank  Johns,   JFinlon. 

Harvest  Bugs.  —  Your  correspondent,  G.  H. 
Piper,  complains  of  the  pain  caused  by  the  bite 
or  sting  of  the  harvest  bug  ;  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  altogether  stop  their  intrusion,  but  if  "toilet 
vinegar"  be  applied  to  the  wound,  it  will  speedily 
allay  all  irritation.  It  can  be  bought  of  almost  any 
chemist. — //  F.   JVyatL 

Harvest  Bugs. — In  reply  to  G.  H.  Piper  re- 
specting harvest  bugs,  I  remember  in  the  month  of 
September  passing  through  a  field  of  barley  when  out 
shooting  about  three  years  ago,  and  unfortunately  some 
of  these  unpleasant  little  insects  found  me  out.  They 
will  not  trouble  you  very  long,  and  the  best  antidote 
to  allay  irritation  is  eau-de-Cologne.  —  Williani 
Bean. 

Breeding  of  Hawfinch. — In  the  number  of 
Science-Gossip  for  November,  I  see  that  "  R." 
discredits  the  statement  of  the  hawfinch  having  bred 
in  this  country.  I  have  in  Kent  found  in  the  breed- 
ing season  as  many  as  six  nests  in  as  many  days,  and 
in  one  season  more  than  twenty  nests  were  known  in 
the  neighbourhood.  I  have  seen  the  bird,  not  only 
in  winter  but  in  summer,  in  almost  every  place  I 
looked  for  it,  especially  at  Oxford,  and  near  Henley. 
It  is  very  shy,  which  accounts  for  "  R.'s"  not  having 
often  seen  it.  But  it  is  by  no  means  a  rare  bird. — 
H.  N.  R. 

Hawfinch. — R.  says,  "I  believe  it  must  have 
been  a  mistake  to  record  it  as  having  bred  in  this 
country."  If  he  looks  at  Yarrell,  vol.  i.,  p.  559,  3rd 
edition,  he  will  find  an  account  too  long  for  insertion 
here  of  its  nidification  in  Eppmg  Forest,  from  the 
pen  of  no  less  an  authority  than  the  late  Henry 
Doubleday.  Amongst  other  things,  he  says,  "  I  can 
safely  assert  that  they  are  permanent  residents." 
Further  on,  Yarrell  says,  "in  a  letter  from  Mr.  H.  D., 
the  situations  of  five  nests  are  thus  noticed,"  and 
other  authorities  are  adduced.  What  says  Professor 
Newton?  I  have  not  yet  seen  his  new  edition  of 
Yarrell,  as  far  as  the  Hawfinch. — J.  S.    ',Vesley. 

Bees  and  Flowers. — I  have  noticed  that  the 
Honey-bee  does  not  visit  the  Monk's-hood,  although 
the  Humble-bee  takes  plentiful  supplies  from  it. 
Near  the  Monk's-hood  grew  a  plant  of  the  "  Red- 
hot  Poker"  {Tritomia),  which  the  Honey-bee  made 
the  most  of.  From  this  flower  you  can  shake  showers 
of  nectar,  so  that  it  must  be  a  first-class  bee-plant  for 
bees.  I  suppose  the  Humble-bee  could  not  get  into 
the  long  narrow  bells  of  this  flower.  The  Humble- 
bee  patronized  the  Fuchsia  up  to  September,  then 
seemed  to  hand  over  all  claims  on  it  to  its  active 
little  cousin. — T.  McGann. 


Colours  of  Shadows. — When  getting  dusk  yes- 
terday (Dec.  21)  I  lighted  my  study-gas  early,  and 
noticed,  what  I  have  often  done  before,  that  the 
shadows  of  the  plants  in  the  window  thrown  on  the 
white  blind  were  distinctly  blue  ;  the  shadow  of  my 
hand  or  figure  was  the  same.  The  subject  has  been 
mentioned  in  SciENCE-GossiP  with  regard  to  table- 
lamps,  but  not  with  regard  to  gas.  What  is  the 
cause  of  the  shadow  being  blue,  as  all  blue  disap- 
pears the  moment  daylight  is  gone  ? — //.  0.  Slerland. 

Sparrowhawk  and  Crow  (p.  21). — I  can  as- 
sure Mr.  King  that  it  is  a  common  sight  in  the 
countiy  to  see  crows  (rooks,  I  suppose,  are  meant) 
chasing  hawks.  I  once  saw  a  couple  of  beautiful 
little  hawks  most  shamefully  maltreated  by  a  flock  of 
rooks,  which,  after  a  time,  divided  into  two  parties, 
one  of  which  continued  to  buffet  the  weaker-winged 
hawk,  while  the  other  followed  in  chase  of  its  more 
vigorous  companion,  which,  however,  contrived  to 
make  good  his  escape. —  ]V.  11.  Warner. 

Death's-head  Hawk-moth  (p.  21). — My  ex- 
perience in  rearing  the  "Death's-head"  has  always 
led  me  to  believe  that  the  caterpillar,  under  any  cir- 
cumstances, does  not  build  a  cocoon  ;  why  then  should 
the  one  spoken  of  by  your  correspondent  evince  so 
decided  an  inclination  for  doing  so  ?  I  have  reared 
many  different  kinds  of  caterpillars,  and  always  found 
that  the  earth-burrowers  when  unprovided  with  mould 
made  no  attempt  to  construct  a  cocoon,  but  changed 
into  the  chrysalis  without  further  ado.  —  W.  H.  War- 
ner, Standlake,  Oxon. 

Orchids  in  Surrey. — Can  any  one  tell  me  the 
best  hunting-ground  for  Orchids  in  .Surrey,  not  much 
farther  south  than  Box-hill,  where  the  greatest  number 
of  species  are  likely  to  be  met  with,  time  being 
limited?— y.  R.  JV.,  Kingston. 

Apocynum  androS/EMIFOLium. — The  following 
is  a  copy  from  a  work  by  Mr.  Maxwell  T.  Masters. — 
"The  Fly-trap  of  North  America  is  cultivated  as  an 
object  of  curiosity  in  that  country.  The  S  scales  in 
the  throat  of  the  corolla  secrete  a  sweet  liquid,  which 
attracts  insects  to  settle  on  them.  The  scales  are 
endowed  with  a  peculiar  irritability,  the  cause  of 
which  has  not  been  accurately  determined,  but  which 
causes  them  to  bend  inward  toward  the  centre  of  the 
flower  when  touched,  and  to  retain  the  unlucky  insects 
as  prisoners.  Numbers  of  dead  insects  may  be  seen 
in  the  several  flowers  of  this  plant.  The  movement 
of  the  scales  probably  serves  to  scatter  the  pollen  on 
the  stigma.  They  are  widely  distributed  on  the 
temperate  parts  of  both  hemispheres,  and  as  flowers 
in  cultivation."  The  English  representative  is  Vinca 
minor, — Periwinkle. —  Tlunnas  Hcbden. 

Bleaching  Ferns,  &c. — I  shall  feel  much  obliged 
for  any  information  on  the  preparation  of  ferns  and 
mosses  for  mounting  as  fire-screens,  window-blinds, 
&c.  &c.  I  have  dried  and  pressed  them  in  such  a 
way  as  to  be  very  fit  for  herbarium  purposes,  but  on 
exposure  they  become  brown  and  unsightly  after  a 
while.  I  am  told  the  best  way  is  to  bleach  them  and 
then  dye  in  aniline  colours,  and  shall  be  glad  to  hear 
how  the  bleaching  is  best  done  inexpensively.  Per- 
haps some  kind  reader  could  tell  me  how  they  are 
mounted  with  butterflies,  &c.,  between  sheets  of 
glass  for  window-blinds,  panelling. —  T.  AleGann. 

Northern  Holy-grass. — I  think  Mrs.  Edwards 
and  myself  only  differ  as  to  terms.  I  can  understand  a 
flower  being  called  "  hermaphrodite  "  which  has 
both  stamens  and   pistil,   but  not  the  stamens   and 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


45 


pistil  being  so  termed,  as  they  are  by  Mrs.  Edwards. 
I  consider  that  the  term  ' '  hermaphrodite  "  might 
well  be  confined  to  thoseplants  which  are  normallyself- 
fertilized — i.e.  both  morphologically  and  physiologi- 
cally bi-sexual.  All  "synacmic"  plants  are  not  so. 
Plants  which  have  stamens  and  pistil  in  one  flower, 
but  are  not  self-fertilized,  should  be  called  "mono- 
clinous."  "Perfect"  is  a  technical  term,  and  does 
not  mean  finished  or  complete.  As  applied  to  a 
flower,  it  means  having  all  its  essential  organs  present, 
not  necessarily  at  the  same  time  ;  or  it  may  be  used 
of  a  single  organ  in  opposition  to  "  aborted."  "Ma- 
tured," with  reference  to  the  stamen,  means  on  the 
point  of  discharging  its  pollen  ;  with  reference  to  the 
pistil,  it  means  that  the  stigmatic  surface  is  viscid  with 
its  secretion,  and  in  a  condition  adapted  for  the 
growth  of  pollen-tubes.  As  I  said  in  my  last  letter, 
Hicrochloe  borealis,  though  monoclinous,  or  morpho- 
logically hermaphrodite,  is  not  physiologically  her- 
maphrodite, not  being  synacmic,  but  protogynous. — 
G.  S.  Boulder. 

Capture  of  "Disr-AR.'' — On  asking  just  lately 
a  young  entomological  friend  \\hat  captures  he  had 
made  in  the  present  year,  he  informed  me  that  when 
near  Belfast,  in  the  middle  of  August,  he  had  taken 
Dispar  in  a  garden.  Unfortunately,  he  had  mislaid 
the  box  in  which  he  brought  it  home  ;  but,  from  his 
description,  I  can  have  no  doubt  that  the  insect  he 
took  was  Dispar.  I  thought  the  capture  was  worthy 
•of  mention. —  Windsor  Hambroiigh. 

The  Study  of  American  Antiquities. — I 
beg  to  inform  those  of  your  readers  ■who  are  in- 
terested in  this  subject  that  the  Second  International 
Congress  of  Americanists  will  be  held  at  Luxem- 
bourg on  September  10-13  "^  the  present  year,  when 
it  is  hoped  that  many  English  will  attend.  I  shall 
be  happy  to  supply  tickets  or  any  further  informa- 
tion.—.-/ Delegate  for  England. 

Locusts  (p.  21). — I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the 
Locust  (properly  so  called,  and  not  G.  viridissiimts) 
does  really  occasionally  occur  in  the  British  isles.  I 
am  told  that  a  specimen  of  the  insect  was  captured 
in  this  parish  (Standlake,  Oxon)  a  few  years  ago, 
kept  for  a  long  time  under  a  glass,  fed  on  green  stuff, 
and  finally  taken  to  an  experienced  naturalist  and 
collector  living  in  the  vicinity,  who  was  fully  per- 
suaded of  its  identity.  —  ]V.  II.  Warner. 

Snowdrops. — The  very  evidence  adduced  by 
J.  L.  Vincent  in  favour  of  the  snowdrop  being  indi- 
genous (its  "  flourishing  in  the  greatest  profusion  on 
the  sandy  banks  of  the  rivers  in  Mid-Devon  "),  is  to 
my  mind  direct  evidence  against  its  being  indigenous. 
I,  too,  know  many  such  instances.  The  sandy  sides 
of  rivers,  especially  beneath  the  level  of  floods,  are 
its  usual  habitat,  but  these  instances  are  always  below 
towns,  villages,  or  gardens.  I  have  never  found 
them  above.  There  is,  to  my  mind,  no  more  sus- 
picious locality  for  a  doubtful  plant  than  the  sides  of 
a  river.  One  often  finds  undoubted  garden-flowers 
in  such  places. — J.  S.  Wesley. 

Seeds  Digesting  (p.  21). — Mr.  E.  T.  Scott  is 
perfectly  correct  in  his  assertion  :  witness  the  neigh- 
iDOurhood  of  ivy-bushes  frequented  by  blackbirds ; 
there  any  one  may  have  ocular  demonstration  that 
seeds  swallowed  whole  are  not  digestible. —  W.  H. 
Warner. 

Pronunciation  of  Names. — I  cannot  but  think 
that  Gleichenia,  Sellignea,  and  Lachenalia,  on  being 
coined  as  Latin  derivatives  of  barbarous  words,  must 


acquire  a  Latin  pronunciation,  just  as  the  Hebrew 
words  borrowed  by  the  Greek.  They  are  therefore 
equivalent  to  Glikenin,  Sellignea,  and  Lakenalia.  So 
Fuchsia  should  not  be  pronounced  either  Fewshia, 
as  now,  or  Fooksia  like  the  German  name  whence 
it  is  derived,  but,  as  "ch"  is  equivalent  to  "s"  in 
Latin  {e.g.,  "chinensis"  and  "sinensis"),  Foossia. 
—  G.  S.   Boiilger. 

Cause  of  Coloration. — Though  no  doubt  we 
can  as  yet  be  said  to  have  little,  if  any,  definite  know- 
ledge of  the  cause  of  colour  in  birds,  butterflies,  or 
flowers,  your  correspondent  "H.B.'s"  opinion,  that  all 
flowers  grown  in  a  cellar  would  be  white,  is  at  variance 
with  the  result  of  most  past  experiments,  though  these 
are  certainly  not  altogether  satisfactory.  White 
Persian  lilac  is  produced  at  Paris  by  growing  the 
coloured  species  in  the  dark  ;  but  it  is,  as  yet,  an 
article  of  faith,  that,  whilst  chlorophyll,  the  green 
colouring-matter  of  leaves,  is  dependent  on  light  for 
its  colour,  other  colours  are  independent  of  that 
agency. — G.  .S".  Boiilger. 

Early  Primroses. — February,!  believe,  is  usually 
considered  to  be  the  earliest  month  in  which  we  find 
the  Primrose  {Primula  vnlgaris)  in  bloom.  Some 
of  the  readers  of  this  paper  will,  no  doubt,  l)e  sur- 
prised to  hear  that  the  woods  about  Little  Baddow 
are  already  (Jan.  1st)  becoming  gay  with  these  ordi- 
narily spring  flowers.  This  early  flowering  is  pro- 
bably owing  to  the  unusually  warm,  damp  weather 
there  has  been  for  this  time  of  year.  I  have  looked 
in  vainfor  any  recorded  instances  for  such  early  flower- 
ing ;  any  readers,  therefore,  who  know  of  more 
instances  of  this  unusual  flowering,  would,  by 
recording  them  in  this  paper,  confer  a  favour  on  those 
who  take  interest  in  noticing  the  peculiarities  of 
plants.  — C.  W.  H.,  Chelmsford. 

Density  of  Sea-water. — Your  correspondent  Ch. 
Fred.  White,  in  giving  his  kind  advice  to  J.  F.  James 
and  others  (p.  280,  last  vol.),  seems  to  have  overlooked 
that  with  all  thermometers,  registration  below  zero  is 
the  inverse  of  what  it  is  above  zero,  so  that  of  the 
two,  3°  67'  C.  and  2°  55'  C,  the  former  above  zero,  or 
(  +  ),  would  indicate  the  ivariner  temperature,  iDut 
below  zero,  or  (  — ),  it  indicates  the  colder.  Now,  as 
it  is  a  known  fact  that  all  water,  fresh  or  salt,  when 
agitated,  requires  a  lower  temperature  to  freeze  than 
when  perfectly  still,  and  as,  according  to  quotation 
the  contrary  is  stated,  it  follows  that  J.  F.  James  is 
fully  justified  to  make  his  remark.  Probably  there 
is  a  misprint  or  slip  of  the  pen,  which  it  would  be 
well  to  see  corrected. — H.  Maceo. 

The  Glastonbury  Thorn. — The  enclosed  spe- 
cimen of  the  Glastonbury  thorn  has  just  been  sent 
me  from  Somersetshire  ;  it  has  been  out  for  more 
than  a  fortnight.  It  seems  to  bear  a  resemblance  to 
the  common  hawthorn,  by  possessing  the  same  strong 
smell.  In  case  the  readers  of  Science-Gossip  be 
interested  in  the  subject,  I  take  the  liberty  to  send 
the  following,  copied  from  Miss  Pratt's  "Flowering 
Plants  ": —  "  Culpepper  mentions  a  thorn,  which  grew 
at  Romney  Marsh,  and  another  near  Nantwich,  in 
Cheshire,  where  it  flowered  both  at  May  and  Christ- 
mas ;  though,  he  says,  that  if  the  weather  was  frosty 
it  did  not  flower  for  the  second  time  until  January, 
or  till  the  hard  weather  was  over. " — If.  y.  T. 

VoLVOX  globator.  —  I  found  the  Volvox  glo- 
bator  from  early  in  April  to  the  29th  November 
last  year,  and  was  exhibiting  the  same  a  few  days 
since.  I  did  not  try  the  earlier  months  of  the 
year. — George  Pearce. 


46 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


Teucrium  ChaMjEDRYS. — The  following  extract 
from  Green's  "Universal  Herbal,"  &c.  &c.  (1820), 
may  interest  Science  Gossip.  After  describing  the 
plant  and  its  medicinal  uses,  the  writer  tells  us  that 
it  is  a  "  native  of  many  parts  of  Europe,  the 
islands  of  the  Archipelago,  and  Palestine,  near  Jera- 
salem.  In  England  it  is  scarcely  indigenous,  being 
chiefly  found  on  the  ruins  of  old  buildings." — F.S. 

Parasites  on  Cyclops. — On  some  specimens  of 
the  common  Cyclops,  I  have  often  observed  some 
parasites  consisting  of  a  head  with  cilia  like  Vorti- 
cella,  but  wanting  the  spiral  stalk.  Can  any  one  tell 
me  what  they  are? — A.  //. 

Water-vole. — R.  speaks  of  the  rat,  the  water- 
ra/ and  the  water-vole.  The  water-rat  zV  the  water- 
vole.  See  Bell's  "Quadrupeds,"  p.  316,  2nd  edition. 
— y.  S.  Wesley. 

The  Plague  of  Flies. — We  are  much  annoyed 
each  summer  by  flies,  in  two  rooms  of  our  house. 
They  swarm  every  warm  sunny  day  on  the  windo\\'s 
and  ceiling  ;  killing  and  driving  out  of  the  windows 
seem  to  have  no  effect,  as  they  reappear  the  next  day 
as  strong  as  ever.  We  think  they  must  hide  them- 
selves in  the  woodwork,  which  is  varnished,  not 
painted,  as  the  rest  of  the  house.  Can  you,  or  any 
of  your  correspondents,  tell  us  of  any  way  of  getting 
rid  of  these  plagues  ? — E.  CHI. 

Local  Plant  Names.— /;-w  fxiidissima,  called 
by  the  country  people  "  glading  "  root,  corrupted 
from  "  Gladwin  "  root,  cure  for  dropsy  and  scarletina. 
A  curious  little  incident  occurred  in  this  neighbour- 
hood regarding  the  local  name  of  Hypericum  caly- 
cimtm.  A  lady  driving  through  a  demesne  saw  a 
quantity  of  this  plant  growing,  and  asked  the  gate- 
keeper what  it  was,  and  for  answer  was  told  that  it 
was  called  "The  Rose  of  Sharon,  or  the  Lily  of  the 
Valley."  The  common  "peony  "  is  known  in  these 
parts  as  the  "piano  rose."  Scrophularia  nodosa  is 
known  by  the  name  of  "  rose-noble, "  which  at  first 
strikes  one  as  a  very  strange  name  for  a  plant  with 
such  an  insignificant  flower.  The  name  may  have 
originated  in  its  being  a  cure  for  the  rose,  which  the 
country  people  call  a  rash,  and  the  term  noble  may 
have  come  from  its  being  a  cure  for  the  "king's  evil." 
— Rez'.  T.  A.  Brenan,  Cloghban,  co.  Tyrone. 

Gold-fish.  — ■  An  olive  carp  has  been  in  our 
aquarium  for  three  years  and  a-half.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  that  time  it  was  about  \\  inch  in  length, 
and  is  now  an  inch  longer.  During  the  last  six 
months  it  has  gradually  changed  to  a  bright  golden 
colour,  with  the  exception  of  the  fins,  which  retain 
the  original  dark  hue.  Is  this  change  usual  ? — E.  S., 
Leeds. 

The  Common  Nettle. — I  have  seen  in  books 
of  travels  that  when  the  rook  is  met  with  in  wild  and 
unpopulated  districts  it  is  a  sign  of  a  human  habitation 
being  at  hand.  But  only  lately  have  I  heard  that  the 
nettle  is  also  a  sign  of  the  late  presence  or  actual 
presence  of  man.  A  friend  of  mine  was  one  day 
driving  on  a  coach  through  one  of  the  Scotch  deer- 
forests.  Several  times  during  the  drive  the  whip 
pointed  to  a  bed  of  nettles,  and  said  there  had  been  a 
house  there,  though  long  before  his  time.  On  being 
asked  how  he  found  out,  he  said  that  the  nettles  only 
appeareil  wliere  the  iiand  of  man  has  turned  up  the 
ground,  and  in  the  greatest  profusion  about  the  house- 
door.  He  also  said  that  when  a  hut  is  made  in  a 
place  quite  free  from  them,  they  appear  in  a  few 
months.  This  is  another  case  of  the  sudden  apjjear- 
ance  of  plants  which   cannot   be  accounted   for  by 


Mr.  Edwin  Lees's  hypothesis,  the  deer-forests  having 
no  trees  in  them. — Daccarp  Ackone. 

/Estinomus  yEDiLis. — It  may  be  interesting  to 
some  of  your  correspondents  to  hear  that  I  found 
about  ten  days  ago,  in  the  town  of  St.  Peter's  Port, 
Guernsey,  a  perfect  specimen  of  the  extraordinary 
beetle,  popularly  known  by  the  name  of  Timberman 
{ALsti)W)nus  tedilis).  I  believe  it  is  not  common  to 
find  this  insect  so  far  south. — Adela  M.  Collinso7i. 

Local  Names  of  Birds. — Mr.  J.  G.  Henderson 
is  no  doubt  aware  that  the  Northumbrians  as  a  rule 
cannot  pronounce  the  "r,"  and  hence  yorlin  with 
them  will  sound  very  like  yowlin,  yowley,  or  yoalin. 
It  is  merely  a  corruption  of  the  same  word.  Hogg, 
the  Ettrick  .Shepherd,  who  had  a  good  knowledge  of 
the  local  names  of  the  fauna  and  flora  of  Scotland, 
introduces  it  in  that  beautiful  lyric,  "Kilmeny  in  the 
Queen's  Wake,"— 

"It  was  only  to  hear  the  Yorlin  sing, 
And  pu'  the  cress-flower  round  the  spring, 
The  scarlet  hypp  and  the  hindberrye, 
And  the  nut  that  hang  frae  the  hazel-tree." 

Dipton  Burn. 

The  Venomous   Spider  of  New  Zealand. — 
Mr.  J.  M.  Meek,   of  Waiwera,   sends  the   following 
narrative  of  the  effects  of  the  bite  of  the  kapito,  or 
native  spider  : — "  It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  24th 
ult.,  at  three  o'clock,  my  son  (a  man  of  thirty-one 
years  of  age)  was  awakened  from  his  sleep  by  the  bite 
of  one  of  those  poisonous  insects,  and  came  into  our 
bedroom  about  an  hour  afterwards,  and  exclaimed  to 
his  mother  and  myself,   '  I  am  bitten  by  one  of  those 
spiders  that  the  natives  have  so  often  spoken  to  me 
about,  and  am  full  of  pain.     See,  here  it  is,  in  the 
bottom  of  the  candlestick.'     I  looked  at  the  insect, 
whose  body  was  about  the  size  of  an  ordinary  pea, 
and   in   colour   nearly   appiroaching   to  black.     His 
mother,  on  looking  at  his  back,  saw  the  puncture  the 
spider  had  made,  and  immediately  commenced  suck- 
ing  the   wound.       I   proceeded   to   the    hotel,    and 
obtained  the  services  of  Dr.  Mohnbeer,  when,  on  my 
return  with  him  to  my  house,  my  son  was  suffering 
the   most  excruciating  pain   in  the  groin,    the  virus 
apparently  working  its  way  in  that  direction.     After 
an  application  of  ammonia  by  the  doctor,   the  pain 
shifted  from  the  groin  and  worked   its  way  up  the 
spine,  affecting  the  arms  and  chest  during  the  remain- 
der of  the  day  and  lasting  till  the  following  morning, 
my   son    moaning  with    pain  the    whole    time.      On 
Tuesday  the  pain  became  intense,  the  virus  working 
its  way  into  his  legs,  causing  the  veins  to  swell  very 
much.     We    applied    turnip    poifltice  to  the  wound, 
and  when  taken  off  a  quantity  of  black  fluid  came  from 
the  sore.     During  the  afternoon  the  pain  in  the  legs 
and    big   toes    still    continued.     Dr.    Mohnbeer  pre- 
scribed  a  liniment,    which    after  rubbing    well  into 
the  legs,  caused  a  black,  inky-coloured  fluid  to  emit 
itself  through  the   pores   of  the  skin  in  large  drops, 
from  which  time  my  son  began  to  improve,  and  has 
continued  improving  ever  since,  but  suffers  much  from 
weakness.    From  the  time  he  was  bitten  on  the  Mon- 
day  till  the    Friday  following  he   lost  exactly  12  lb. 
in  flesli.      I   forgot   to  state  that,  when  he   was  first 
bitten,  I  gave  him  small  doses  of  brandy  at  intervals 
during  the  first  two  days,    which  seemed  to  have   the 
effect  of  greatly  relieving  the  pain.    I  am  informed  by 
Te    Hemera,    native  chief  here,    and  also  by  other 
natives,  that  many  fatal  cases  among  their  ranks  have 
taken    place    by  the  bite   of  the   katipo ;    tliey   also 
believe  the  sufferer  is  sure  to  die  if  they   cannot  find 
the  spider  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  if  they  find  it  and 
burn  it  in  the  fire,  the  patient  gets  well  in  three  days. 
If  they  cannot  find  the  insect,  they  set  fire  to  the  house 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE  GOSSIP. 


47 


and  burn  building,  effects,  and  everything  else.  In 
this  case,  the  spider  was  found,  and  Ur.  Mohnbeer 
has  it  preserved  in  spirits  in  his  surgery.  I  write  this 
to  caution  persons  to  look  well  to  their  bedclothes 
before  retiring  to  rest,  as  I  have  witnessed  persons 
suffering  from  the  bite  of  snakes  and  other  reptiles 
in  Australia,  but  never  saw  any  one  in  such  agony 
as  my  son  during  the  time  the  poison  was  taking 
effect." 

Birds. — Could  any  of  the  readers  of  Science- 
Gossip  oblige  me  with  a  list  of  the  birds  to  be 
found  round  the  coast  of  Kent? — Henry  Lamb,  Maid- 
stone. 

Habits  of  Herons  (No.  144,  p.  283). — Mr. 
Arnold  asks  if  heronries  are  ever  built  in  other 
trees  than  oak  or  fir.  The  nests  in  Lord  Portman's 
park  (Bryaastone),  I  may  tell  him,  are  in  Elm  trees. — 
W.  K.  Tate. 

Herons. — I  can  inform  F.  H.  Arnold  that  herons 
do  sometimes  have  their  nests  in  a  rookery  ;  one  had 
its  nest  two  years  in  succession  in  the  Fyvie  rookery, 
no  other  heron's  nest  being  known  of  within  six 
miles.  The  rookery  and  heronry  at  Hatton,  near 
Turriff,  were  at  one  time  connected  :  the  trees  are 
now  cut  down,  they  are  separated  a  little ;  the  herons' 
nests  at  that  place  are  mostly  in  spruce-trees  of  a 
great  height.  —  W.  Sim. 

Herons. — In  answer  to  a  question  asked  by  F. 
H.  Arnold  in  the  December  number  of  Science- 
Gossip  as  to  whether  herons  build  only  in  fir  and  oak 
woods,  I  wish  to  state  that  there  is  a  wood  near  here 
composed  principally  of  beech,  no  oak  nor  fir,  and  in 
which  there  are  two  heronries.  There  are  also 
rookeries  in  the  same  wood,  but  at  some  little  dis- 
tance from  the  heronries. — The  Needle);  Strangford, 
Co.  Down. 

Heronries. — In  answer  to  F.  H.  Arnold's  queries 
respecting  the  habits  of  herons,  I  may  state  that  there 
is  a  large  herony  in  North  Germany,  not  very  far 
from  the  town  of  Bremen,  at  a  place  called  Stiihe, 
where  the  nests  are  built  exclusively  on  fine  beeches. 
The  birds  find  their  food  in  the  marshes  on  the 
western  banks  of  the  Weser,  about  twelve  miles  dis- 
tant from  the  colony. —  V.  M.  (Elsson. 

Tennyson  and  his  "  Sea-blue  Bird  of 
March."— I  think  I  can  set  "J.  R.  S.  C.'s"  mind 
at  rest  on  this  vexed  question.  My  father,  the  late  Mr. 
B.  B.  Woodward,  who  was  a  great  lover  of  nature, 
was  at  first  much  puzzled  concerning  this  passage, 
which  he  knew  must  refer  to  the  Kingfisher ;  but 
what  connection  existed  between  it  and  March  he 
was  unable  to  discover,  until  he  asked  Mr.  Tenny- 
son himself.  Mr.  Tennyson  informed  him  that  the 
Kingfisher  was  the  bird  intended,  and  that  it  abounded 
in  the  Fenland  during  the  month  of  March.  Jn 
Memoriam  was  written  while  he  was  staying  in  that 
district. — B.  B.  Woodivard,  British  Museum. 

Anthropoid  Ape  in  South  America. — It  is 
curious  that  the  idea  of  the  existence  of  an  anthropoid 
ape  in  the  dense  tropical  forests  of  South  America 
is  so  firmly  held  by  the  natives,  who  are,  like  most 
savages,  acute  and  exact  observers.  Warned  by 
our  experience  in  Africa,  where  the  Gorilla  existed 
unknown  (except  a  casual  mention  in  the  Latin 
classics)  to  very  recent  times,  and  by  the  fact  that 
the  forests  of  Brazil  are  comparatively  unexplored, 
we  ought,  I  think,  to  hesitate  before  pronouncing 
decidedly  against  the  idea.  Legends  of  the  existence 
of  such   an   ape  exist  in   Brazil,    and   I  fancy  that 


Captain  Burton  alludes  to  the  subject  in  his  work 
upon  the  "  Highlands  of  Brazil."  At  any  rate, 
Captain  Masters,  in  his  work  entitled  "  At  Home 
with  the  I'atagonians,"  says  (p.  120)  that  he  was  told 
that  the  Chilotes  aver  that  an  animal  called  the  Tranco 
or  Trauco  inhabits  the  western  forests  of  the  Cordillera 
(of  Chili).  An  intelligent  Chilian  officer — Gallegso 
— also  informed  him  "  that  there  was  no  doubt  of  its 
existence,  and  described  it  as  possessing  the  form  of  a 
wild  man,  covered  with  a  fell  of  coarse,  shaggy  hair. 
This  animal  is  said  to  descend  from  the  impenetrable 
forests,  and  attack  the  cattle."  Humboldt  also  men- 
tions the  traditional  existence  of  this  monstrous  ape, 
and  it  has  been  suggested  that  it  is  a  legend  of  the 
former  existence  of  the  fossil  ape,  whose  remains 
are  found  in  South  America.  Reading  Barrington 
Brown's  "  Canoe  and  Camp  Life  in  British  Guiana," 
I  find  the  following  information  about  a  similar 
monster  in  Guiana:  "The  first  night  after  leaving 
Peaimah,  we  heard  a  long,  loud,  and  most  melan- 
choly whistle,  proceeding  from  the  direction  of  the 
depths  of  the  forest,  at  which  some  of  the  men  ex- 
claimed, in  an  awed  tone  of  voice,  'the  Didi.'  The 
'  Didi'  is  said  by  the  Indians  to  be  a  short,  thick-set, 
;  and  powerful  wild  man,  whose  body  is  covered  with 
hair,  and  who  lives  in  the  forest.  A  belief  in  the 
existence  of  this  fabulous  creature  is  universal  over 
the  whole  of  British,  Venezuelan,  and  Brazilian 
I  Guiana.  On  the  Demerara  rivers,  some  years  after 
1  this,  I  met  a  half-bred  woodcutter,  who  related  an 
I  encounter  that  he  had  with  two  Didi — a  male  and 
j  a  female — in  which  he  successfully  resisted  their 
!  attacks  with  his  axe.  In  the  fray,  he  stated  that 
he  was  a  good  deal  scratched,  &c."  All  this 
evidence  seems  singularly  circumstantial,  and  tra- 
vellers might  with  good  results  follow  up  their  in- 
quiries on  the  spot.  When  we  learn  that  the  recent 
inundations  in  Spain  stranded  on  the  fields  unex- 
pected denizens  of  the  river  Guadalquiver — whose 
occupants  ought  by  this  time  to  be  pretty  well 
known, — what  liisus  natiine  may  we  not  expect  to  find 
in  the  fastnesses  of  tropical  America  ? — Francis 
A.  Allen. 

Query  about    Marigold. — In  the  first  act  of 
the  "  Two  Noble  Kinsmen"  these  lines  occur: — 

Oxlips  in  their  cradles  growing, 
Mary-golds  on  death-beds  blowing, 
Larkes-heeles  trymme. 

The  Mary-gold  is  evidently  the  ALarch  marigold, 
which  is  contemporary  with  the  Primrose,  first-born 
child  of  Ver.  Was  it  ever  especially  used  to  strew  a 
corpse  ?  Can  any  of  your  correspondents  tell  me 
whether  the  wild  columbine  {AqiiUegia  vulgaris),  also 
a  spring  flower,  is  called  larks-heel  in  any  part  of  the 
country  ?  The  Delphinium  consolida  (field  larkspur) 
is  somewhat  later,  and  seldom  found  at  the  same 
time  as  the  Primrose. — J.  P.,  Maidenhead. 

Abundance  of  Convolvulus  arvensis.- — The 
dry,  hot  summer  which  so  seriously  diminished  the 
number  of  our  wild  flowers  in  many  districts, 
especially  where  the  soil  is  chalk  or  limestone,  and 
the  land  is  intersected  by  few  streamlets,  served  to 
stimulate  the  growth  of  a  few  species.  Amongst 
these,  I  particularly  noticed,  in  fields  about  North 
Kent,  the  great  profusion  of  C.  arvensis,  which  so 
bespangled,  in  some  cases,  the  rows  of  potatoes, 
that  the  pinkish  white  bells  appeared  to  be  the  most 
conspicuous  object  on  the  surface.  And  yet,  on  ex- 
amination, I  could  not  assert  that  the  "weed,"  as 
the  agriculturist  would  naturally  style  it,  interfered  at 
all  with  the  rightful  growth  of  our  valued  esculent. — 
J.  R.  S.  C. 


48 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIE NCE  -  G OSSIP. 


NOTICES   TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 


To  Subscribers.— The  compilation  of  the  Classified  Index 
of  the  last  twelve  volumes  of  Science-Gossip  has  proved  a 
more  difficult  and  painstaking  task  than  we  at  first  imagined. 
It  is  now  in  a  forward  state  of  preparation,  and  we  crave  a 
little  grace  from  our  numerous  correspondents,  who  have 
already  applied  for  it. 

To  Correspondents  and  Exch.\ngers.  —  As  we  now 
publish  Science-Uossii"  at  least  a  week  earlier  than  hereto- 
fore, we  cannot  possibly  insert  in  the  following  number  any 
communications  which  reach  us  later  than  the  8th  of  the 
previous  month. 

A.  W.  S.— Many  thanks  for  your  valuable  .suggestion.  The 
point  you  note  had  not  occurred  to  us  before  ;  but  it  shall  be 
attended  to  henceforth. 

F.  C.  S.  — We  believe  the  "Science-Gossip  Section-Ma- 
chine "  can  be  obtained  from  Mr.  Walter  White,  Litcham, 
Norfolk. 

H.  J.  Ryder.— The  price  of  the  "London  Catalogue" 
(which  may  be  had  at  192,  Piccadilly)  is  sixpence. 

I..  R.  R. — The  "pinky  stone"  is  a  fragment  of  calcite 
(crj'stallized  carbonate  of  lime),  coloured  with  a  small  quantity 
of  iron  o.\ide. 

T.  Merrvfield.— One  of  the  best  trees  to  grow  in  towns  is 
.undoubtedly  the  Oriental  Plane.  We  are  surprised  that  it  is 
not  more  cultivated,  under  such  conditions,  than  it  is  ;  for  it 
■would  grow,  we  believe,  even  in  our  manufacturing  towns.  If 
that  man  is  a  public  benefactor  who  makes  "two  blades  of 
grass  to  grow  where  only  one  grew  before,"  what  shall  we  say 
of  him  who  makes  a  tree  to  grow  where  none  grew  before  ? 

S.  E.  M.— Your  plants  are  :  i.  the  Viper's  Bugloss  {Echiutn 
-i'nlgarc ;  2.  the  Nodding  Marigold  (Bidens  cermia);  and 
3.  the  celery-leaved  Buttercup  {Rannnculits  sceleratiis). 

Rorert  Tetlow  (Leeds).— Get  Woodward's  "  Geology  of 
England  and  Wales,"  published  by  Longmans  &  Co.,  at,  we 
believe,  14s. 

W.  Bradley.- The  objects  you  mention  as  imbedded  in 
orange  and  apple  pee!  are  doubtless  the  pupa-cases  of  Ccratites 
citripcrda. 

T.  B.— The  "mineral"  you  enclosed  is  a  fragment  of  carboni- 
ferous limestone, land  the  fossils  imbedded  are  corals  [Lithostro- 
tion  sociale),  one  of  the  commonest  and  most  characteristic  of 
the  carboniferous  beds. 

H.M.M.'VPLESON. — Accept  our  thanks  for  your  kindly  courtesy. 

J.  B,  Johnson. — If  your  correspondent  will  send  the  mosses 
you  refer  to,  we  will  do  our  best  to  have  them  named,  if  they 
are  in  a  fit  state  to  be  authoritatively  identified. 

C.  H.  S.— For  dressing  skins  see  Swainson's  treatise  on 
Taxidermy. 

To  Correspondents. — Our  best  thanks  are  due  to  numerous 
corre.spondents  for  hints  and  suggestions  all  intended  for  the 
improvement  of  our  magazine.  As  far  as  possible,  we  shall 
avail  our.selves  of  them. 

R.  Middleton. — We  are  sorry  to  say  the  specimen  of  a  longi- 
corn  beetle  was  much  too  imperfect  to  identify.  Send  us  a  perfect 
.specimen.  We  cannot  undertake  to  give  names  of  any  imper- 
fect specimens  of  natural  history  objects,  and  unfortunately  we 
are  usually  treated  to  these,  on  account  of  people  not  likely 
to  send  their  best  objects. 

S.  E.  H. — Your  coloured  drawing  of  a  fungus  is  evidently 
that  of  Agarictis  lactnarius. 

H.  E.  Forrest. — You  had  better  get  "  Half-Hours  at  the 
Seaside,"  price  4s.,  where  you  will  find  all  your  queries 
answered  much  more  fully  than  we  have  space  for,  as  they  are 
only  very  elementary  questions.  No.  3  is  a  frond  of  a  red  sea- 
weed {Dflesseria),  and  the  "little  cells"  you  speak  of  are  tho.se 
of  a  Polyzoon  called  Mcmbrajiifora. 

A.  K.  L.AST. — We  have  never  heard  it  authoritatively  stated 
who  was  the  author  of  "  Vestiges  of  Creation."  It  was 
generally  laid  to  the  door  of  the  late  George  Combe.  For  the 
second  query  consult  Bell's  "  British  Quadrupeds." 

W.  J.  v..  Junior. — Science-Gossip  is  generally  published 
on  the  25th  of  the  month.  Your  most  expeditious  way  to  get 
it  would  be  to  have  it  .sent  directly  from  the  publishers. 


EXCHANGES. 

Wanted,  for  scientific  research,  small  quantities  of  pollen 
(named,  but  unmounted)  of  any  plants. — G.  S.  Boulger, 
Cressingham,  Reading,  Berks. 

Wanted,  clean  short  specimens  of  .Shore  Birds  (Gulls, 
Plovers,  Sandpipers,  &c.).  British  and  foreign  birds'  eggs, 
and  other  objects  of  natural  history,  given  in  exchange. — Send 
list  of  desiderata  and  particulars  to  C.  Dixon,  60,  Albert-road, 
Hceley,  near  .Sheffield. 


Wanted,  back  volumes  of  Science-Gossip.  Microscope 
slides  given  in  exchange. — W.  A.  Hyslop,  22,  Palmerston- 
place,  Edinburgh. 

Any  one  interested  in  good  diatomaceous  material,  fossil, 
recent,  and  /«  siiu,  &c.,  or  in  Marine  Alga;  for  microscopic 
work,  or  Herbarium,  Sertularians,  Holothuridea,  Echinidea. 
Crustacea,  Foraminifera,  &c.  &c.,  all  unmounted,  are 
requested  to  send  stamped  address. — T.  McGann,  Burren, 
Ireland. 

Gemularia  cuculata. — Having  a  fnv  slides  of  this  rare 
zoophyte  mounted  in  dnmar,  I  shall  be  glad  to  exchange  one  of 
same  for  other  good  slide. — J.  Smith,  Legh-street,  Warrington. 

Wanted  to  exchange  two  dozen  miscellaneous  Micro  Slides 
for  others.     Send  list  to  W.  D.  Bray,  Lurgan,  Ireland. 

Head  of  Botnbyx  Ferny i.  Send  a  stamped  directed  envelope 
to  W.  H.  Gomm,  Somerton,  .Somerset. 

Nos.  143,  45,  107,  124,  366,  618,  875,  906,  991,  1,036,  7th 
Edition  London  Catalogue,  for  other  plants.  Lists  to  H.  R. 
Moiser,  F.G.S.,  2,  South  View,  Heworth,  York. 

Wanted,  to  borrow  or  purcha.se,  Astrue's  "  Histoire  Naturelle 
de  Languedoc,"  "  Flora  of  Shetland,"  Edmonstone's  "Glossary 
of  Shetland  Words."— W.  G.  Piper,  Bank  Plain,  Norwich. 

For  specimens  of  Boracic  acid,  Lycopodium,  Salicine,  and 
Tobacco  seed,  .send  stamped  envelope  to  F.  Coles,  248,  King's- 
road,  Chelsea,  S.W. 

For  Sections  of  Palm  Nut,  Polar,  and  Cotton-seed,  .showing 
oleo-resin  cells,  send  other  good  unmounted  objects  to  R.  H. 
Philip,  28,  Prospect-street,  Hull. 

For  well-mounted  stained  .Section  of  Kidney,  or  Diatom 
Gallionella  in  bal.sam,  send  well-mounted  object  of  interest 
to  W.  H.  Gilburt,  41,  Clarence-road,  Coborn-road,  Bow, 
London. 

A  Grasshopper  Warbler's  nest  in  exchange  for  good  Sea- 
birds'  Eggs. — A.  W.  Martin,  Evesham. 

Irish  and  .Scotch  Alga;,  a  good  series  of  each,  wanted  in 
exchange  for  North  and  .South  Devon  and  Cornish  Sea-weeds,,  or 
of  Australian  and  American  growth. —Address,  H.  G.,  15,  Mul- 
grave-street,  Plymouth. 

For  specimens  oi  AngiiinariaspiitnlaViX\^  Fhistra  Joliacea, 
send  stamped  envelope  or  object  of  interest  to  J.  W.,  7,  Farm- 
1    road.  Hove,  Brighton. 

;        W.-\nted,  Exotic  or  European  specimens  of  Lepidoptera,  in 
I    exchange  for  several  good  British  species. — J.  T.  Willis,  Adwick- 

le-.Street,  Doncaster. 
I        MAiiiNEAlgas  with  Diatoms /"««"/?/,  well  mounted,  in  exchange 
for  other  good  slides.— W.  Nash,  11,  London-road,  Reading. 

Pollen  of  Hollyhock,  Mallow  Stamens,  &c.,  for  other  well- 
mounted  slides. — J.  C.  H.,  13,  Great  Cheetham-street,  Man- 
chester. 
1  S.  &  E.  African  .Shells  offered  for  Foreign  Land  and 
Marine,  or  the  rarer  British  Marine. — Address,  J.  S.  G.,  2, 
Lower  Belmont-terrace,  Portswood,  Sruthampton. 


BOOKS,  &c.,  RECEIVED. 

"Log-Letters    from   the  ChaUe}iger."     By  Lord  G.  Camp- 
bell.    London  ;  Macmillan  &  Co. 

"  Large  and  Small  Game  of  Bengal."     By  Capt.  Baldwin. 
London  :  H.  S.  Kinsr  &  Co. 

"Transactions  of  the  North  Staffordshire  Field  Naturalists' 
Society." 

"Transactions  of  the  Bedfordshire  Nat.  Hist.  Soc." 

"  Les  Mondes."     January. 

"The  Field."     January. 

"  Land  and  Water."     January. 

"Popular  Science  Review."     January. 

"  Monthly  Microscopical  Journal."     January. 

"Ben  Brierley's  Journal."     January. 

"The  Lancet."     January. 

"  Potter's  American  Monthly."     December. 

"American  Naturalist."     December. 

"  Botanische  Zeitung."     December. 

"  Monthly  Journal  of  Education."     January. 

"Journal  of  Applied  Science."     January. 
&c.  &c.  &c. 


Communications  Received  i'p  to  ioth  ult.   from  :  — 

F.  K.   T.   S.— H.  O.  S.— T.  McG.— J.  W.— Dr.   E.  de  C  — 

G.  M.  G.— H.  G.— F.  S.— W.  H.  G.— W.  H.— H.  I.  T.— 
E.  D.  M.— Prof.  C— E.  B.  C— H.  E.  W.— F.  H.  A.— 
C.  W.  H.— H.  S.— W.  D.  B.— J.  R.  S.— A.  A.  P.— W.  L.  N. 
_J.  T.  W.— W.  H.  W.— W.  H.  G.— T.  H.— J.  B.— H.  R.  M. 
— H.  J.  R.— H.  G.  P.— C.  D.  — F.  H.  A.— H.  E.  W.— J.  F.  R. 
— D.  A.  K.— C.  W.  H.— H.  M.— L.  R.  R.— W.  H.  L.— 
C.  J.  D.— J.  C— F.  A.  A.— H.  R.  S.— F.  L.  C.  R.— M.  F.— 
H.  W.  T.— Prof.  B.— S.  B.— W.  A.  H.— J.  R.  N.— J.  C.  H. 
— H.  M.  M.— W.  J.  B.— E.  H.— W.  B.  G.-J.  H.  B.  — F.  C.  S. 
—A.  H.  M.— J.  RL- W.  L.  W.  E.— W.  T.  E.— H.  F.  W.— 
P..  B.  W.— S.  M.— F.  C— W.  H.  W.— W.  H.— W.  C. - 
J.  W.  O.— R.  W.— N.  M.  G.  W.— J.  L.— J.  W.  G.— T.  J.  R. 
—J.  W.  -T.  J.  W.— T.  W.-W.  R.  T.— W.  N.  C— H.  L.— 
Dr.  v.— C.  D.— E.  L.— R.  G.,  &c.  &c. 


HARD  Wl  CKE  'S    S  CIENCE  ■  G  O  SSI  P. 


49 


..-y^Ac^^^^^^:v^^..c^^^^^^.^^..<^^i^:^^g^o^ 


AN   ANGLO-SAXON    HERBAL. 


By    F.     K  ITT  on,     Hon.    F.R.M.S. 


WENTY  years  ago  the 
Master  of  the  Rolls 
suggested  the  desira- 
bility of  publishing  the 
texts  of  various  valuable 
MSS.,  the  property  of 
the  Government ;  and 
that  eveiy  effort  should 
be  made  to  obtain  as  per- 
fect a  text  as  possible. 
Various  MSS.  were  col- 
lated, and  the  deficiencies  of  one  MS.  were  made  good 
by  another.  Among  the  numerous  volumes  pub- 
lished, probably  the  most  interesting  to  the  readers  of 
Science-Gossip  would  be  the  following  :  "  Leech- 
doms,  Wordcunning,  and  Starcraft  of  Early  Eng- 
land," and  from  which  we  now  propose  to  give  some 
specimens. 

The  learned  editor  (Rev.  O.  Cockayne,  M.A., 
Cantab.)  gives  the  probable  date  of  the  MS.  of  the 
Herbarium  as  not  earlier  than  A.D.  looo,  nor  later 
than  A.D.  1066;  of  the  writer  or  compiler  nothing 
is  known  :  it  must  have  been  a  most  expensive  work, 
as  it  has  coloured  illustrations  of  the  plants  described 
therein. 

The  author  (or  more  correctly,  the  translator,  the 
Herbal  being  a  translation  from  the  Herbarium 
of  Apuleius)  does  not  appear  to  have  adopted  any 
arrangement,  not  even  an  alphabetical  one,  neither 
does  he  invariably  give  the  Anglo-Saxon  equivalent 
for  the  Latin  name. 

The  plant  whose  properties  he  first  describes  is 
Betonka  officinalis.  "  The  wort  that  one  names 
betonicam  is  produced  in  meadows  and  on  clean 
downlands,  and  in  shady  places  ;  it  is  good  for  man's 
soul  and  for  his  body ;  it  shields  him  against  mon- 
strous nocturnal  visitors,  and  against  horrible  visions 
and  dreams."  The  medical  qualities  of  this  plant 
seem  to  have  been  numerous  and  diverse ;  it  would 
cure  broken  heads,  sore  eyes  and  ears,  prevent 
drunkenness  (that  is,  if  a  man  were  so  minded),  weari- 
ness from  riding  or  walking,  snake-bites,  and  the 
No.  147. 


bite  of  a  mad  dog.       The  various  methods  of  pre- 
paration occupy  five  royal  8vo.  pages. 

Plantago  major,  Way  bread,  properly  Waybroad. — 
This  herb  had,  or  was  imagined  to  have,  numerous 
virtues,  but  it  did  not  equal  the  preceding  in  the 
number  of  ailments  it  could  cure  ;  its  various  prepara- 
tions were  good  for  fevers,  wounds,  snake-bites, 
stomach  disorders,  for  corpulency  ("if  a  man  would 
that  his  womb  [belly]  dwindle  "),  and  foot-addle 
(fotadle — gout). 

The  herb  Quinquefolium,  that  is,  five-leaf, 
Potentilla  reptans. — This  plant  was  good  for  ten 
disorders  ;  the  most  important  was  the  cure  of  cancer 
("blind  a  cancer");  it  was  to  be  seethed  in  wine 
mixed  with  pig's  grease,  and  worked  into  a  plaster 
and  laid  on  the  wound,  which  would  soon  heal. 

Vcrbenica,  or  Ashthroat. — "This  wort,  which  is 
named  by  some  verbenaca,  and  by  another  name, 
ashthroat,  is  produced  everywhere,  on  smooth  lands 
and  on  wet  ones."  The  i-oots  of  this  herb  wreathed 
about  the  swere  (neck),  were  highly  beneficial  in 
ulcers  and  glandular^  swelhngs  ("kernels");  for 
calculus,  the  roots  were  to  be  boiled  in  hot  wine. 

Hyoscyaimis  iiiger,  Henne  belle,  sometimes  belene 
(now  Henbane). — According  to  the  Glossaiy,  this 
name  was  given  to  it  on  account  of  its  bell-shaped 
capsules  :  it  was  also  called  Henne-wol  {tuol  meaning 
poison). 

Polygonum  Bistort  a,  Ncedre-wyrt  (Adderwort). 
Acorns  Calamus,  Bee-wort. — "  That  bees  may  not  fly 
away,  take  this  plant  and  hang  it  in  the  hive,  and 
they  will  stay." 

Alchemilla  vulgaris,  Lionfoot. 

Ranunculus  scelcratus,  Cluf-thunge  (Cloffing), 
cluf  =  clove,  thunge  =  poison,  in  allusion  to  the 
form  and  poisonous  qualities  of  the  root.  This  plant 
js  described  as  growing  in  damp  and  watery  places. 
"Whatsoever  man  eat  of  this  wort  fasting  leaves  his 
life  laughing." 

Arte?nisia  vulgaris,  A.  dracunculus,  A.  pontica. — 
The  Herbal  recognizes  the  three  forms,  but  they  are 
all    classed    under   the   English  name  of  Mugwort 

D 


so 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSSIF. 


(Midge-wort).  OrcJiis  ?  &c.  Raven's-leek.— It  is 
said  to  grow  on  high  downs  and  in  "  hard  places,  and 
also   in   meadows,    in  cultivated  lands,    and   sandy 

ones. " 

Erythrcea pulchella,  Field-wort.  Cyclamen  hedercE- 
folitim,  Slite  =  Sowbread.  Polygonum  aviculare, 
Unfortrsedde  (Untrodden  to  pieces*),  Knot-grass, 
Anstolochia  clematitis  1  Smear-wort.  Some  doubt 
exists  as  to  what  plant  is  meant  by  Smear-wort ;  the 
Saxon  name  literally  means  Butter-wort.  The  com- 
piler of  the  Herbal  says  it  is  Aristolochia.  "This 
wort,  that  some  call  Aristolochiam,  and  others  name 
Smerowyrt,  grows  on  down  lands  and  solid  places." 

Nasturtium  officinale,  Croese,  Watercress. — -"This 
plant  is  not  sown,  but  is  produced  of  itself  in  springs 
and  brooks."  This  is  an  interesting  fact,  as  evidence 
of  spontaneous  generation  amongst  the  higher  order 
of  plants. 

Colchiaan  autumnale,  Great-wort. — The  roots  of 
this  plant  mixed  with  oil  cure  pimples  on  a  woman's 
■&ce. 

Convallaria  majalis.  Glove-wort,  Lily  of  the  valley_ 
— According  to  the  Herbal,  it  was  also  called  Apol- 
Snaris,  and  was  said  to  have  been  first  found  by 
Apollo,  who  gave  it  to  ^sculapius,  the  leech,  whence 
he  set  on  it  the  name.  Its  healing  properties  seem 
to  be  confined  to  curing  sore  hands.  Apollo's  discovery 
does  not  appear  to  have  much  medical  value. 

Anthemis  nobilis,  May.  Teucriiim  chamcedrys.  Hart- 
clover  (Heort-clcefre).  Dipsacus  sylvcstris,  Wolfs- 
comb,  valuable  as  a  diuretic.  Ajuga  chamc^pitys, 
Henep,  Hemp.  Ranunculus  ficaj'ia,  Raven's-foot. 
Sambucus  ebulus.  Lithe-wort  (according  to  Bosworth 
this  plant  is  Celandine). 

Lactuca  Scariola,  Wood  Lettuce  (Wudu  lectric). — 
It  is  said  when  the  earn  (eagle)  will  fly  up  so  that  he 
may  see  more  clearly,  he  will  touch  his  eyes  with  the 
juice  and  by  that  means  obtain  the  greatest  bright- 
ness. 

Agiimonia  eupatoria,  Garclive  (Garclife). — The 
derivation  of  the  name  is  somewhat  obscure  :  gar 
evidently  means  a  spear,  a  javelin  ;  clife  is  cliff;  the 
Glossary  suggests  that  the  last  syllable  is  derived  from 
hlifian  (to  tower). 

Asfodelus  ramosus,  Woodroffe  (Wudu  rofe). 
Rumex  acctosa,  Wood  dock  (Wudu  docce,  Surdocke, 
Sourdock).  Chlora  perfoliata,  Earthgall  (Curmel). 
Erythrcta  Centaurium,  Feferfuge  (Fever  fue). 
Malva  sylvestris,  Hocleaf.  Cyjioglossum  officitiale, 
Hundes  tunge  (Hound's  tongue).  Panicum  crusgalli, 
Atterlothe  (Alter,  poison,  venom  ;  lotAe,  evil).  Marru- 
dium  vulgare,  Horehound,  Harehune  (Hare's  honey). 
Sparganitwi  simplex,  Foxesfoot.  Scmpervivum  tec- 
iorum,  Houseleek,  Singrene,  Evergreen.  Achillea 
iomentosa,  Solwherf,  Sigelwearfa  [Sigel,  the  sun,  and 
hwearfan,  to  turn). — "This  wort  is  produced  every- 
where in  cultivated  places  ;  it  hath  with  it  some  won- 
derful divine  qualities,  that  is,  that  its  blossoms  turn 

♦  Not  to  be  trodden  out  or  killed. 


themselves  according  to  the  course  of  the  sun,  so  that 
the  blossoms  when  the  sun  is  setting  close  themselves, 
and  again  when  he  upgoeth  they  open  and  spread 
themselves." 

Papaver  somniferum,  Poppy,   Popig.      Campanula 
Trachelium,  Hals- wort  (Throat-wort),  so  named  from 
its  supposed  curative  properties  for  throat  diseases. 
Ceterach  officinalis,  Brune  wyrt.    Brown  wort.     Rtis- 
cus  aculeatus,    Cneowholen,  Knee  holly.    Butcher's 
broom.     Bosworth  translates  holen-rush.     Knee-rush 
would    seem   a   more  appropriate  name  than  knee- 
holly.     Symphytum,  officinale,  yalluc,  Comfrey.     7;7- 
folium    ar-jense,     Haran      hyge.    Hare's-foot.       The 
derivation  of  this   name  is  obscure ;   Haran  is  evi- 
dently hare,  but  hyge  is  not  foot.     The  Glossary  con- 
nects   hyge  with   the   modern    English   verb  to   hie 
(higan).     The  MS.   text  has  "genim  thas  w^yrte  the 
man  leporis  pes  and  otherum  naman  haran  hige  " 
(take  this  plant,  which  by  some  is  called  leporis  pes  and 
by  another  name  hare's-foot).     If  the  compiler  of  the 
Herbal  had  not  so  positively  translated /i-^^^rw/d-i-  into 
haran  hige,   we  should  rather  have  referred  hige  to 
hag  or  hyg,  hay.     Trifolium  pratensc,  Clcefr,  Clover. 
Verbascum  thapsus.  Felt-wort  (Mullein).     A  twig  of 
this  plant  borne  by   any   one  was   a  charm  against 
frights  or  hurts  from  any  wild  beast  or  any  evil  coming 
near.      Senecio  vulgaris,   Grande   swelge,   Groundsel 
(    ?    Ground    swallower).       Rosmarinus    officinalis, 
Bothen,  Rosemary.   Poly  podium  vulgare,  Efor  fearne, 
Ever-fern. 

Antirrhinum  orontium,  Hound'shead.  Rubusfruti- 
cosus,  Bremel,  Bramble.    Achillea  millefolium,  Gearwe, 
Yarrow.    This  plant  seems  to  have  been  in  high  re- 
pute as  a  medicine  ;  no  less  than  sixteen  preparations 
of  it  are  given  for  as  many  different  diseases.    Mentha 
Pulegium,  Dwarf  Dwosle,  Pennyroyal.  "This  plant  is 
named  pulegium,  and  by  another  name,  dwarf  dwosle, 
hath  many  leechdoms,  though  many  men  know  them 
not.    This  plant  is  of  two  kinds  (genders),  wer  (man) 
and  wife  (woman)  ;  the  wer  hath  white  blossoms  and 
the  wife  hath  red  or  brown  ;  either  is  beneficial  and 
wonder-like,  and  they  have  in  them  wondrous  virtue  " 
(fourteen  leechdoms  are  given).  Saxifraga  granulata, 
Sundcorn.  Artemisia  absinthiuvi,   Waremoth,  Worm- 
wood.   Atropa  mandragora,'^l'3.\\^X2kQ.  "This plant, 
which  is  named  Mandragoram,  is  great  and  illustrious 
of  aspect,  and  it  is  beneficial.     Thou  shalt  take   it  in 
this  manner  :    when  thou  comest   to   it,  then   thou 
understandest  it  by  this  that  it  shineth  at   night  like  a 
lamp.     When  first  thou  seest  its  head,  then  inscribe 
thou  it  instantly  with  iron,  lest   it  fly  from  thee.      Its 
virtue  is  so  mickle  and  famous  that  evils  immediately 
flee  fro.Ti  an  unclean  man  when  he  cometh  to  it ;  but 
thou  shalt  not  touch  it  with  iron,  but  delve  about  it 
with  an  ivory  staff,  and  when  thou  seest  its  hands  and 
its  feet,  then  tie  thou  it  up  ;  then  take  the  other  end 
and  tie  it  to  a  dog's  neck,  so  that  the  hound  be  hungry ; 
next,  cast  meat  before  him,  so  that  he  may  not  reach 
It,  except  he  jerk  up  the  wort  with  him." 


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


5i 


Vcratrum  album,  Tunsing  ^yyrt  (Tungilsing  wyrt), 
from  Timgil,  a  star,  and  wyrt,  a  plant. 

Some  of  the  remedies  given  in  the  Herbal  are 
ludicrous  and  harmless,  but  many  of  them  are  dis- 
gusting and  dangerous,  and  I  should  think  it  probable 
that  the  practitioner  of  the  period  must  have  killed 
more  than  the  diseases  he  tried  to  cure.  As  a  specimen 
of  the  first-named,  I  quote  the  following  recipe  : — 
"  Against  a  woman's  chatter,  taste  at  night,  fasting,  a 
root  of  radish ;  that  day  the  chatter  cannot  harm  thee." 

One  of  the  cui'es  for  cancer  was  compounded  of  no 
less  than  forty-two  plants  made  into  a  salve  with 
tar. 

In  many  cases  certain  magical  rites  accompanied 
the  preparation  of  the  medicine,  and  in  others  a 
certain  number  of  Paternosters.  The  following 
remedy  for  lunacy  has  the  merit  of  simplicity.  "  In 
case  a  man  be  a  lunatic  "'  (inonat'i  seoc,  monthly  sick, 
in  allusion  to  the  paroxysms  supposed  to  occur  when 
the  moon  was  at  the  full),  "  take  skin  of  a  mereswine 
[porpoise],  make  into  a  whip,  swinge  the  man  there- 
with ;  soon  he  will  be  well.     Amen." 


THE   PEREGRINE   FALCON 
{Falco  peregrimis). 

THE  Falcon  now  under  notice  is  the  perfection  of 
its  kind,  when  carefully  and  properly  trained. 
The  Gyr  is'  indeed  a  larger  and  stronger  bird,  and 
was  used  for  the  very  best  sport ;  but  it  is  extremely 
difficult  to  procure,  great  expense  and  trouble  have 
to  be  incurred  to  obtain  it.  It  has  a  very  obstinate 
temper,  and  requires  a  great  amount  of  training, 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Peregrine  can  be 
procured  in  our  own  island,  is  more  docile  and 
tractable,  and  does  not  require  such  severe  training 
as  the  Gyr.  For  these  few  reasons,  it  was  much 
more  liked,  and  much  more  used  by  falconers. 

There  was  a  time  when  the  Peregrine  might  be 
found  abundantly  on  the  British  isles  ;  but,  alas  !  that 
time  has  passed  ;  and  now,  instead  of  being  held  in 
high  repute,  and  tended  with  jealousy  and  care, 
this  noble  bird  is  classed  with  the  rest  of  the  "  winged 
vennin,"  which  profusely  deck  the  gable-end  of  the 
keeper's  house. 

In  days  gone  by,  the  Peregrine  was  used  a  great 
deal  in  the  chase.  Falconry  in  those  days  was 
considered  a  fit  pastime  for  persons  of  high  rank  and 
position  in  life ;  but  nowadays  it  is  little  used.  The 
falcons  were  distributed  according  to  the  rank  of  the 
person  ;  thus  the  Gyr  and  the  Peregrine  were  for 
kings  and  princes,  while  the  other  falcons  were 
distributed  according  to  their  relative  strength, 
courage,  and  power  of  wing,  to  persons  of  different 
degrees  of  rank.  Even  the  peasant  had  a  falcon 
allotted  to  him — the  Kestrel  {Falco  Tinmincuhis). 
In  falconry  the  male  is  called  the  "  Jiercel,  and  the 
female  the  Falcon,"      As  in  other  falcons,  there  is 


great  disparity  of  size  between  the  two  sexes  ;  the 
female  being  from  two  to  three  inches  longer  than  the 
male  ;  she  is  heavier  in  proportion  to  her  size  ;  and 
she  is  hkewise  possessed  of  more  courage. 

The   Peregrine   is   a   bird   possessed   of    first-rate 
powers  of  flight.     The  final  rush^  (that  is  flight,  or 
rush  direct  on  to  its  prey)  is  perhaps  not  so  swift   as 
that  of  the  Gyr  ;    but  in  straightforward  flight  it  is 
thought  by  many  to  fly  even  swifter  than  the  Gyr. 
The  rate  at  which  the  Peregrine  flies  is  exceedingly 
great,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  an  hour  being  com- 
puted as  /;///  speed.  The  long  pointed  wings,  together 
with  the  ample  tail  of  the  Peregrine  (which  enables  it 
to  hover,  although  not  to  such  a  degree  of  perfectioa 
as  the  Kestrel),  make  escape  almost  a  matter  of  impos- 
sibility, as  it  can  turn  with  such  ease  and  quickness. 
The   finest  flights,   which  bring  out  the  Peregrine's 
extraordinaiy  power  of  wing,  are  those  with   wood- 
cocks {Scolopax    riisfieola)  and    curlews   {Numeniin 
ai-quata) — not  on  account  of  their  excellent  flight,  but 
because    of  their  numerous  turnings   and  twistings. 
Those  flights  showing  the  dauntless  courage  and  spirit 
of  the  Peregrine,  are  with  the  Heron  {Ardea  ernered). 
Both  the  birds  being  high  and  graceful    fliers,  some 
good  sport  is  seen  ;  and  it  is  only  by  strategy  and  great 
exertion  that  the  Heron  is  at  last  brought  down  a 
victim.     Both  strive  to  fly  highest,  for  whilst  below 
its   victim,    the  Falcon    has    little   or    no    power  5 
although  one  has  been  known  to  strike  from  below 
When  the  Peregrine  does  get  overhead,  the  Heron, 
as  a  last  resource,  throws  back  his  neck  and  protrudes 
his  bayonet-like  bill  in  the  face  of  his  enemy  ;  and  ia 
that   position   awaits    its    dread  onslaught.      If  the 
Falcon  be  rash,  and   make   a  dash  at  its  intended 
victim,  it  will  assuredly  be  transfixed  on  the  spear- 
like bill.      This  seldom  occurs,    for  a  good  falcoa 
would  not  do  this,  but,  awaiting  its  opportunity,  would 
strike   the  wary  Heron  on  the  wing,   and   if  it   be 
successful  in  disabling  its  foe,   whilst  descending  to 
the  earth,  it  would   follow  close  behind,  and  on  the 
Heron  reaching  the  ground,  soon  put  an  end  to  its 
existence. 

The  Peregrine  seldom  or  never  strikes  with  his  beak 
when  in  pursuit  of  his  prey;  always  with  his  for- 
midable feet.  So  powerful  is  the  force  with  which 
the  Peregrine  strikes,  that  it  has  been  known  to  cleave 
birds  open,  to  sever  their  heads  from  their  bodies, 
and  even  to  cut  a  snipe  in  two.  The  Peregrine  has 
been  known  also  to  pursue  and  capture  a  bird  while 
having  another  partially  eaten  in  the  grasp  of  one  of 
its  claws.  The  Peregrine  spends  a  great  portion  of 
its  time  on  some  high  cliff  by  the  seashore.  It  is  a 
sight  worth  seeing,  to  behold  a  Peregrine  on  one  leg 
on  some  crag  which  overhangs  the  sea,  and  notice 
how  it  launches  itself  into  the  air,  and,  after  marking 
out  a  victim  from  a  flock  of  seafowl  disporting 
themselves,  dashing  in  among  them,  and  amidst  loud 
screams  of  terror  bearing  off  some  unlucky  guillemot 

cr  tern  {Steriia  arcika). 

D  2 


52 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  GOSSIP. 


Numerous  are  the  stories  that  we  hear  of  this  bird's 
dauntless  spirit — of  its  following  hunters  on  the 
moors,  and  carrying  off  the  game  from  under  "their 
very  nose  "  ;  of  its  flying  away  with  the  hunted  hare, 
and  thus  putting  the  dogs  off  the  scent ;  and  many 
others,  far  too  numerous  to  mention. 

Swift  as  the  Peregrine  flies,  it  is  seldom  it  comes 


circle,  and  again  awaits  its  chance.  When  once  the 
Peregrine  has  compelled  its  prey  to  take  cover,  it 
does  not  wait  patiently  like  the  Goshawk  {Falco 
pabanbarius),  but  immediately  abandons  it  and  goes 
in  search  of  another  victim.  In  Falconry  the  Falcon 
(female)  was  flown  at  very  large  game  ;  that  is,  at 
birds  often  much   larger  than   itself,    and   endowed 


-"'CJ'"^'*^  1,;. 


Fig.  42.  Peregrine  Falcon  (Falco  peregrinus),  on  the  look-out. 


to  harm  through  it ;  for  if  in  its  flights  any  obstacle 
arise — a  fence,  a  huge  rock,  or  some  natural  rising 
on  the  earth's  surface — it  is  cleared  as  if  with  a 
bound.  In  the  final  nish  at  its  victim,  should  it 
miss  its  aim  (an  occurrence  which  rarely  happens), 
instead  of  dashing  itself  against  the  earth  (as  one  not 
used  to  seeing  this  magnificent  bird  in  his  wild 
nature  would  be  led  to  expect),  it  rises  in  a  beautiful 


with  great  strength  ;  such  as  herons  and  ducks,  and 
sometimes  even  at  geese. 

The  food  of  the  Peregrine  consists  of  the  various 
kinds  of  aquatic  birds,  together  with  grouse,  par- 
tridges, rabbits,  hares,  &c.  Small  birds  are  consumed 
entirely,  the  feathers  and  bones  being  afterwards 
ejected  in  the  form  of  pellets.  Birds  about  the  size 
of  a  partridge  ar«  carried  off  to  some  quiet  nook. 


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


53 


and  there  disposed  of  at  leisure  ;  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, if  the  bird  or  victim  be  too  large  and  weighty 
to  be  carried  off,  it  is  eaten  on  the  spot  on  which  it 
happens  to  be  killed. 

All  birds  alike  are  dreaded  by  this  depredator.  It 
is  even  more  feared  than  man ;  and  should  one 
appear  in  sight  when  a  flock  of  ducks  or  other 
aquatic  birds  are  enjoying  themselves  on  the  surface 
of  some  lake,  instead  of  instantly  taking  flight,  as 
they  certainly  would  if  the  intruder  were  a  man, 
they  all  disappear  as  if  by  magic,  instinctively 
knowing  that  if  they  take  to  flight  some  of  them  are 
sure  to  fall  victims.  As  the  Falcon  cannot  procure 
them  while  they  are  on  the  water,  it  tries  to  compel 


The  Peregrine  is  not  found  in  Australia  ;  but  there 
is  a  species  very  similar,  which  Gould  says  is  quite 
distinct  from  it.  It  is  called  the  Black-cheeked  Falcon 
{Falco  inelanogeiiys).  This  is  quite  as  bold  as  our 
Peregrine,  carrying  off  and  attacking  birds  twice  its 
own  size,  and  it  is  said  to  be  quite  a  favourite  with 
the  aborigines.  In  the  United  States  and  the  whole 
of  North  America  there  is  a  bird  very  similar  to  the 
Peregrine ;  so  much  so  that  many  naturalists  say  they 
are  but  local  varieties.  This  is  the  far-famed  Duck 
Hawk  {Falco  Anatum)  of  the  Prince  of  Canino,  who 
is  one  of  the  few  who  say  this  American  hawk  and 
its  European  representative  are  distinct.  I  think  so 
too,  for  the  following  reasons.     The  American  bird 


Fig.  43.  Peregrine  Falcon  on  the  Wing. 


them  to  take  to  their  wings,  by  performing  gyrations 
immediately  over  their  heads,  whenever  they  appear 
above  water  ;  thus  gaining  the  desired  result  of  so 
terrifying  them  that  at  last  some  of  them  take  flight, 
when  'of  course  the  Falcon  follows  in  hot  pursuit. 
Sometimes,  however,  the  ducks,  instead  of  diving 
and  seeking  safety  on  the  water,  all  rise  in  a  compact 
body,  and  endeavour  to  procure  safety  by  unity  ;  but 
the  Peregrine  is  not  to  be  balked  so  easily,  and  soon 
dashes  at  some  outsider  or  straggler,  and  carries  it  off 
in  triumph.  Birds  pursued  by  the  Peregrine  will 
often  allow  themselves  to  be  taken  by  man  rather 
than  fall  in  the  clutches  of  their  pursuer  ;  so  great  is 
their  terror  of  this  courageous  bird. 


is  an  inch  or  two  the  longest,  besides  being  larger  in 
proportion.  Again,  Wilson  says  "that  it  permits 
the  duck  to  fall  previous  to  securing  it.  The  circum- 
stance of  the  hawk's  never  cairying  off  the  duck  on 
striking  it,  has  given  rise  to  the  belief  of  that  service 
being  performed  by  means  of  the  breast,  which  vulgar 
opinion  has  armed  with  a  projecting  bone,  adapted  to 
the  purpose."  He  says  the  hawk  never  carries  off  the 
duck.  Now  its  European  ally,  the  Peregrine,  is  known 
often  to  cany  off  birds  equally  heavy  as  a  duck,  if 
not  heavier.  He  says  :  "In  the  breeding  season  the 
Duck  Hawk  retires  to  the  recesses  of  the  gloomy  cedar 
swamps,  on  the  tall  trees  of  which  it  constructs  its 
nest,  and  rears  its  young  secure  from  all  molestation." 


54 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE  •  G O SSIF. 


The  Peregrine  never  frequents  swamps  of  any 
description — always  rocky  ground.  In  Thompson's 
"Natural  History  of  Ireland,"  vol.  i.  p.  35,  we  find 
4he  following: — "On  two  occasions  I  had  oppor- 
tunities of  remarking  this  falcon  (Peregrine)  in  haunts 
similar  to  those  which,  according  to  Wilson,  it  frequents 
in  America."  These,  however,  are  not  mentioned  as  a 
general  habit,  but  rather  as  exceptional  cases.  Mr. 
Mudie  says  "the  Peregrine  seldom  nestles  in  low 
countries  and  never  in  marshy  ones. "  Again,  Wilson 
says  it  constructs  its  nest  on  tall  trees.  The  Peregrine 
has  never  been  known  to  construct  its  nest  on  a  tree 
of  any  sort, — always  on  the  rocks. 

Besides,  the  natural  disposition  of  the  Peregrine 
leads  it  to  frequent  the  rocky  parts  of  the  seashore 
or  inland  lakes,  rather  than  the  swampy  parts  of  a 
country.  Not  having  skins  of  the  two  birds  at  hand, 
I  am  not  able  to  point  out  the  difference  which  I  feel 
quite  sure  exists,  for  Mr.  Thompson  says  ' '  that  the 
American  birds  are  larger  than  the  European  and  of 
a  darker  shade  of  colour."  I  think,  however,  I  have 
pointed  out  the  chief  differences  between  the  two 
birds.  How  a  great  naturalist  like  Wilson  could 
liave  pronounced  birds  with  habits  and  haunts  so 
strikingly  at  variance  with  each  other  to  be  the  same, 
I  cannot  say ;  but  such  it  is.  Be  it  as  it  may,  the  Duck 
Hawk  is  not  very  abundant  in  the  United  States, 
because  Mr.  Wilson  experienced  great  difficulty  in 
procuring  a  specimen. 

The  Peregrine,  however,  is  not  the  largest  of  the 
Falconidie ;  the  Gyr  (including  Iceland  and  Green- 
land Falcon)  being  only  superior  to  it  in  size  and 
perhaps  in  spirit,  but  certainly  not  in  the  ease  and 
gracefulness  of  its  flight.  The  Peregrine  is  also  a 
KDUch  more  numerous  species  than  the  Gyr.  Seven 
species  of  falcons  are  to  be  foond  in  the  British  isles  ; 
Tiz.  the  Gyr  {Faico  islandkus),  Greenland  Falcon 
{Falco  candicans) — (these  two  were  long  confounded 
as  one  and  the  same  bird,  until  Mr.  Hancock  took 
the  matter  in  hand,  ably  proving,  by  the  aid  of 
numerous  specimens  of  both  species,  the  distinction. 
Rev.  J.  O.  Morris,  in  his  "  British  Birds,"  says  he 
"cannot  see  it,"and  puts  them  both  under  one  name — 
the  Gyr), — Peregrine  [Fako peregrinus),  Hobby  {Falco 
subbutco),  Red-legged  Falcon  ■  {Fako  rufipcs). 
Merlin  {Fako  czsalon),  and  the  Kestrel  {Fako 
Tinmmcidus). 

The  Peregrine,  like  numerous  other  birds  of  prey, 
appears  to  be  less  abundant  than  it  really  is  ;  yet  in 
no  place  is  it  any  way  numerous.  Over  the  British 
isles  it  is  generally  diffused,  and  is  found  in 
fcivourable  situations  either  on  the  coast  or  in  the 
interior ;  but  chiefly  the  former.  It  has  been  said 
that  every  rocky  headland  around  our  coast  contains 
a  pair  of  "Blue  Hawks."  This  will  show  that  it  is 
laot  rare  ;  but  if  the  persecution  against  all  species  of 
falcons  or  hawks  goes  on  at  the  rate  it  has  done, 
we  shall  have  reason  in  the  course  of  a  few  years 
time  to  regret  the  absence  of  the  Peregrine  from  our 


coast  scenery.  The  Peregrine  is  most  abundant  in 
Scotland,  particularly  on  its  northern  and  western 
shores.  In  Ireland,  Mr.  Thompson  says,  ' '  it  in- 
habits suitable  localities  throughout  the  island,  both 
marine  and  inland."  In  our  country — England — it 
is  least  numerous ;  Flamborough  Head,  on  the  coast 
of  Yorkshire,  is  said  to  breed  at  least  one  pair  every 
year ;  so  does  the  Needles  in  the  Isle  of  Wight ;  the 
Isle  of  Man  ;  and  in  a  few  other  situations  round  the 
English  coast  it  is  known  to  bring  up  its  young. 

The  chief  attraction  which  lures  the  Peregrine  to 
the  seacoast  is  the  numerous  seafowl  there  to  be 
found.  According  to  different  authors,  it  is  found  in- 
habiting the  whole  of  Europe  and  many  parts  of  the 
adjoining  continents  of  Asia  and  Africa. 

The  Peregrine  is   rather  an  early  breeder,   com- 
mencing operations  about  the  end  of  March  or  begin- 
ning of  April.     The  nest,  or  eyrie,  as  it  is  termed,  is 
placed  on  those  rocks,  either  on  the  coast  or  more 
inland,  which  are  most  precipitous  and  inaccessible. 
It  spends  a  deal  of  time  near  its  nest,  occasionally 
taking  a  long  flight.  The  nest  is  a  slovenly  structure, 
with  very  little  or  no  beauty  about  it,  except  in  its 
adaption  to  the  wildness  of  the  surrounding  scenery. 
It  is  built  of  sticks  intennixed  with  sea- weed  and  other 
such-like  coarse  materials.     It  is  lined  with  sea-weed 
or  a  little  hair,  or  perhaps  the  nest  is  entirely  without 
lining  of  any  description.     Sometimes  the  Peregrine 
takes  possession  of  the  nest  of  the  Raven  {Coi-z'ks 
corax).     It  is  situated  on  some  portion  of  the  pre- 
cipice jutting  out  into  the  sea,  or  perhaps  in  a  crevice. 
Wherever  it  is  placed,  it  is  used  by  the  birds  for  a 
succession  of  years.      Sometimes  no    nest  at  all  is 
made,  the  eggs  being  deposited  on  the  bare  rock. 
The  eggs  are  laid  very  early  in  spring  and  are  from 
two  to  four  in  number;   two  and   three  being  the 
general  number ;   and  when  there  are  more,  one  is 
smaller  than  the  remainder  ;  probably  one  of  them  is 
addled,   though  four  young  birds  have  been  taken 
from  one  nest,  all  being  of  equal  size.     This  was  an 
exception  to  the  general  rule.     The  eggs  are  of  an 
extremely  beautiful  and  elegant  colour.    The  ground- 
colour (often  not  perceptible  on  account  of  the  pre- 
dominance of  the  markings  with  which  the  egg  is 
profusely  marbled)  is  of  a  light  reddish-brown,  with 
blotches,  streaks,  and  dots  of  a  still  darker  shade,  ele- 
gantly distributed  over  the  surface  of  the  egg.     The 
older  the  parent    bird,    the    darker,    richer,    more 
abundant  will  be  the  colouring  matter  on  the  egg. 
Indeed  this  rule  applies  to  all  species  of  the  Falconidse. 
It  is  no  easy  matter  to  procure  either  the  young  or 
the  eggs  of  this  falcon,  on  account  of  the  situation 
chosen,  and  one  has  need  of  a  strong  nerve,  a  cool 
head,  and  a  steady  arm  before  he  can  essay  an  attempt. 
The  way  in  which  they  are  generally  taken  is  by  a 
man  being  lowered  from  the  summit  of  the  rocks  by 
means  of  a  rope  ;  sometimes,  however,  the  nest  is  so 
situated  that  an  expert  climber  would  have  no  diffi- 
culty in  procuring  them  without  the  aid  of  ropes. 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  GOSSIP. 


55 


An  account  of  an  eyrie  situated  on  the  Isle  of  Man 
will  perhaps  interest  the  reader  : — This  eyrie  has  been 
situated  on  the  Isle  of  Man  for  many  years.  It  is 
placed  on  the  west  side  of  the  island,  on  the  very 
highest  part,  the  cliffs  here  rising  from  the  water  to  a 
perpendicular  height  of  nearly  400  ft.  ;  this  renders  the 
taking  of  the  nest  rather  difficult.  The  eggs  or  young 
ones  were  eagerly  sought  for  year  after  year  by  a 
gentleman  or  his  gamekeeper,  who  resided  on  the 
mainland.  If  the  eggs  were  taken,  they  were 
generally  placed  under  a  hen  to  be  hatched.  This 
did  not  drive  away  the  falcons,  and  they  continued 
to  use  the  same  nest  every  successive  year,  although 
it  was  repeatedly  robbed.  When  small  game  was 
scarce,  the  Peregrine  used  to  commit  great  havoc 
among  the  rabbits  with  which  the  island  is  overstocked. 
This  rather  pleased  the  keeper  than  otherwise,  as  the 
rabbits  are  only  a  nuisance  and  in  the  way  ;  but  on 
the  falcon  (not  content  with  rabbit)  beginning  to  make 
too  frequent  visits  to  the  poultry-yard,  one  of  them 
was  shot.  This  was  in  the  year  1874.  The  other, 
after  a  day  or  two  spent  in  hovering  round  the  isle, 
as  if  loath  to  leave  its  old  home,  at  last  quitted  the 
place,  and  was  not  seen  again  until  the  spring  of  last 
year  (1876),  when  either  this  or  another  falcon  was 
observed  surveying  the  old  place  of  nidification, 
looking  if  it  had  been  disturbed,  or  perhaps  looking  if 
thei-e  were  a  more  suitable  spot  to  situate  its  nest. 
After  a  few  days  spent  in  this  way,  and  not  seeming 
to  fix  on  any  particular  position,  itdisappeared,  and 
had  not  been  seen  again  in  June,  1876.  The  Pere- 
grine goes  by  the  name  of  "  Falcon  Hawk"  in  the 
Isle  of  Man.  It  is  a  much-liked  bird  by  all  who 
reside  there,  and  ""its  familiar  form,  together  with  its 
courageous  nature,  makes  its  loss  seem  more  ap- 
parent ;  but  of  course  it  was  allowed  to  stay  as  long 
as  it  kept  within  bounds. 

There  is  (or  was  a  few  years  since)  an  eyrie  of 
"  Falcon  Hawks  "  at  Barra  Head,  which  is  much 
easier  of  access  than  the  last-mentioned.  I  am  told 
by  the  keeper  that  he  captured  one  when  it  had  but 
recently  learnt  to  use  its  wings.  It  had  wandered  in 
a  dense  fog,  and  flown  down  into  the  court.  It  was 
a  noble  bird,  and  so  much  did  the  keeper  appreciate 
its  courageous  spirit  that  he  shot  sea-birds  for  it,  and 
with  these  fed  it  for  over  a  fortnight.  Thinking  then 
that  the  falcon  would  best  like  its  liberty,  he  gave  it 
its  freedom.  The  eyrie  on  this  isle  is  situated  on  the 
south-west  side,  among  some  high  cliffs ;  but  as  it  is 
jDlaced  very  near  their  summit,  and  as  the  land  rises 
gradually  to  the  cUffs,  it  is  a  very  difficult  matter  to 
get  at  it.  They  were  seldom  or  never  molested,  but 
allowed  to  bring  up  their  broods  in  peace,  and  have 
bred  there  for  a  great  many  years. 

The  Peregrine  is  as  elegant  in  both  colour  and 
figure  as  he  is  in  flight.  The  head  and  back  part  of 
the  neck,  and  a  patch  below  the  eye,  are  of  a  deep 
blue-black  ;  the  back  and  upper  half  of  the  wings  a 
darkish  blue  or  slate-colour,  while  the  other  half  of 


the  wings  is  brown.  The  long  ample  tail  is  of  a  deep 
dark  blue,  crossed  or  barred  by  still  darker  bands, 
getting  lighter  towards  the  rump.  The  breast  is  of  a 
very  light  yellowish-brown,  and  the  belly  of  a  darker 
yellowish-brown.  The  strong  legs,  large  feet  and 
toes  are  of  a  bright,  rich  yellow,  and  the  claws  are 
black.  The  base  of  the  bill  is  yellow,  but  the  beak 
itself  is  a  blue-black,  getting  deeper  towards  the 
point.  The  tooth  is  very  prominent  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  bill.  Altogether  the  Peregrine  is  a  very 
compact  bird,  and  well  fitted  for  its  occupation. 
The  length  of  the  female  is  from  17  to  iS  inches, 
while  the  male  is  only  from  14^  to  15J  inches,  or 
about  the  length  of  a  large  female  sparrow-hawk. 

T.  W.  Dealy. 


DAFFODILS. 

"  Daffodils 
That  come  before  the  swallow  dares,  and  take 
The  wind  of  March  with  beauty." 

I  VENTURE  to  send  a  few  notes,  which  for  the 
last  two  or  nearly  three  years  I  have  made  upoa 
this  most  beautiful  of  spring  flowering  bulbous 
plants.  The  genus  Narcissus  forms  a  distinct,  and 
very  natural  group  belonging  to  the  order  Amarylli- 
dacea. 

The  common  Daffodil  {Narcissus  Pseudo-Jiarcissus) 
is  distinguished  by  having  the  cylindrical  cup,  longer 
than  the  funnel-shaped  tube ;  the  filaments  are 
adnate  (or  lie)  along  the  lower  part  of  the  tube,  and 
the  style  subulate  {i.e.  not  broader  than  thick,  com- 
pared to  an  awl),  and  three-furrowed.  It  is  charac- 
terized by  a  perianth,  or  floral  envelope  of  six  seg- 
ments, within  which  is  a  more  or  less  campanulate 
or  bell-shaped  corona,  or  crown.  There  are  six 
stamens,  which,  in  the  common  wild  Daffodil,  are  in 
one  set,  and  spring  from  the  base  of  the  corolla-tube ; 
in  most  of  the  other  species  the  stamens  are  divided 
into  two  sets,  and  in  some  cases  they  are  adherent  to 
the  corolla-tube  nearly  its  entire  length,  but  invariably 
become  free  at  its  mouth,  and  never  adhere  to  the 
mouth  of  the  crown,  as  in  other  species  of  this 
order. 

I  had  a  boxful  of  these  elegant  flowers  sent  me 
last  March,  and,  being  invalided  at  the  time,  I  care- 
fully watched  the  development  of  the  flowers  as  they 
stood  by  me  in  water. 

At  first,  the  six  stamens,  with  their  long  anthers, 
entirely  covered  the  pistil  with  its  crown-like  stigma  ; 
but  as  the  latter  ripened,  it  protruded  far  beyond, 
and  out  of  the  way  of  the  stamens ;  therefore  I  con- 
clude, that  in  its  wild  state  it  is  not  fertilized  by  the 
pollen  of  its  own  individual  stamens,  but  from  that  of 
other  flowers,  carried  by  bees  and  other  insects, 
which,  I  presume,  are  for  the  most  part  the  fertilizers 
of  this  lovely  flower.     I  would  here  remark  that  the 


56 


HA RD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-G  OSSIP. 


ovary  is  inferior  or  adherent  to  the  perianth-tube, 
three-celled.  Fruit  a  capsule,  with  several  seeds, 
opening  in  three  valves. 

Though  the  Daffodil  {N.  Pseudo-narcissus)  is  a 
rare  plant  in  Scotland  and  Ireland,  and  in  many  parts 
of  England,  it  is  by  no  means  uncommon  in  Stafford- 
shire, being  found  in  Eaves  Lane,  Stoke  Meadows, 
Bagnall,  Baddeley  Edge,  Stanley  Hill,  Chorlton, 
Madeley,    Lichfield,   &c.     At  Skeet,  a  village  near 


Fig.  44. — A.  Daffodil  {Narcissus  Pseiuio-narcissus). 


Newcastle,  the  seat  of  the  Rev.  W.  Sneyde,  there  is 
a  field  called  the  Daffodil  Meadow.  It  grows  also  at 
Trentham,  the  seat  of  the  Duke  of  Sutherland.  It 
was  in  1873  when,  for  the  first  time,  I  saw  the  wild 
Daffodil  growing  in  a  rich,  lovely  part  of  Staffordshire, 
near  Sandon,  the  seat  of  the  Earl  of  Ilarrowby. 
The  meadows  were  full  of  them,  looking  like  a  cloth 
of  gold.     I  cannot  find  words  better  to  describe  the 


impression  they  made  upon  my  mind  when  I 
saw  them  than  those  of  Wordsworth  : — 

"  I  wander'd  lonely  as  a  cloud 
That  floats  on  high  o'er  vales  and  hills, 

When  all  at  once  I  saw  a  crowd, 
A  host  of  golden  Daffodils 
Besides  the  stream,  beneath  the  trees, 
Fluttering  and  dancing  to  the  breeze 

Continuous  as  the  stars  that  shine 
And  twinkle  on  the  Milky  Way, 
They  stretch'd  a  never-ending  line. 

Across  the  margin  of  a  bay. 
Ten  thousand  saw  I  at  a  glance, 
Tossing  their  heads  in  sprightly  dance." 


first 


Fig.  4S.  Floral  Parts,  &c.,  of  Daffodil. 

I.  Section  of  flower.     2.  Section  of  leaf. 
Leaves  of  Perianth.      4.   Section  o{  JJower-scape. 


It  is  in  moist  woods  and  thickets,  as  well  as  in  rich 
meadow-land,  we  must  chiefly  look  for  the  Daffodils  ; 
though  in  the  orchai'd  belonging  to  the  Hall  where  I 
was  visiting,  they  very  thickly  skirted  the  margin  of 
a  pool ;  indeed,  all  growing  in  this  locality  were  finer 
and  more  abundant  along  the  banks  of  a  brook  or 
stream  forming  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Trent. 

The  popular  names  Daffodil,  Daffodilly,  and 
Daffa-down-dilly,  are  in  all  probability  corruptions 
of  the  word  Asphodel  or  Asphodelus.  The  old  name 
Lent  Lilies  had  reference  to  the  time  when  most  of 
the  Narcissus  family  flower,  while  the  name  Chalice 
Flowers  had  reference  to  the  obconical  form  of  the 


HARD  WTCKE 'S    S CIENCE  - G  O SSIjP. 


57 


corona,  which  nearly  resembles  in  shape  the  cup  or 
chalice  used  for  holding  the  sacramental  wine.  In 
1874  I  again  visited  the  lovely  spot  above  referred 
to,  in  time  to  see  the  pretty  village  church  decorated 
for  Easter-day  with  this  poetic  flower,  in  unison  with 
the  Primrose,  Rose,  and  wild  Ivy,  and  very  artistic 
the  eiTect  was. 

According  to  some  authors,  the  generic  name  is 
derived  from  the  classical  story  of  the  youth  Nar- 
cissus, as  related  by  Ovid  and  other  ancient  authors  ; 
while  Pliny  and  others  derive  the  generic  name  from 
the  Greek  word  iiarcc,  on  account  of  the  narcotic  per- 
fume. This  is  so  great  that  the  smell  in  a  close  room 
is  said  to  often  cause  faintness  and  headache. 

The  perianth  is  of  a  paler  yellow  than  the  corolla- 
tube  or  cup,  which  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  perianth. 

In  Hertfordshire  and  other  counties,  an  old  custom 
still  exists  of  gathering  these  flowers,  and  placing 
them  on  sticks,  and  these  bouquets  are  carried  by 
children  into  towns  while  singing  the  old  ditty, 
"  Daffa-down-dilly  is  coming  to  town."  They  term 
this  custom  "going  a  daffying." 

Few  flowers  except  the  Ivily  and  Rose,  have  re- 
ceived more  fanciful  tributes  from  poets  of  all  ages 
than  this.    Herrick's  is  perhaps  the  most  touching  : — 

"  Fair  Daffodils  !  we  weep  to  see 
You  haste  away  so  soon  : 
As  yet  the  early  rising  sun 
Has  not  attain'd  his  noon. 
Stay,  stay, 
Until  the  hastening  day 
Has  run." 

Virgil  and  numerous  others  have  also  alluded  to 

these  beautiful  flowers. 

E.  Edwards. 


ERRORS  OF  INTERPRETATION;  WITH 
ESPECIAL  REFERENCE  TO  THE  EX- 
AMINATION OF  SCALES  OF  INSECTS. 

By  Jabez  Hogg, 

Surgeon  to  the  Royal  Westminster  Ophthalmic  Hospital,  Hon. 
Member  of  the  Belgian  Microscopical  Society,  &c. 

{Read  before  the  Belgian  Microscopical  Society,  Sept.  29, 1876. ) 

SCALES  of  insects  and  other  minute  objects, 
when  viewed  under  high-power  lenses,  and  by 
certain  methods  of  illumination — as  by  rays  of  light 
transmitted  in  an  oblique  direction — assume  appear- 
ances that  become  sources  of  error  in  the  interpreta- 
tion of  structure.  Even  those  experienced  in  the  use 
of  the  microscope  may  for  a  time  remain  under  some 
misconception  with  regard  to  details  of  objects,  or  the 
differentiation  of  constituent  tissue.  It  has  for  many 
years  past  been  my  aim,  both  by  teaching  and  writing, 
to  put  beginners  on  their  guard  on  matters  of  so 
much  importance.*  Nothing  in  my  opinion  has  more 
tended  towards  the  promotion  and  perpetuation  of 
errors  in  microscopy  than  the  promulgation  of  in- 


flated notions  on  the  value  and  importance  of 
"amplifiers"  and  "aplanatic  searchers"  as  acces- 
sories to  the  microscope.  Indeed,  it  is  contended 
that  the  "aplanatic  searcher  "is  an  absolute  necessity 
for  obtaining  increase  of  magnification,  and  enabling 
the  observer  to  compare  the  known  with  the  unknown  ; 
that  by  its  aid  we  "  improve  the  penetration,  amplify 
magnifying  power,  intensify  definition,  and  raise  the 
objective  somewhat  further  from  its  dangerous  proxi- 
mity to  the  delicate  covering  glass,  indispensable  to 
the  observation  of  objects  under  very  high  powers."* 
A  gentleman  of  some  experience  in  the  use  of  this 
instrument,  and  who  has  apparently  thoroughly  im- 
bibed the  erroneous  views  of  the  author  of  the 
"  aplanatic  searcher,"  believes  that  to  such  an  acces- 
sory we  must  look  for  increase  in  magnification.  He 
writes:    "From   the  great  improvements  in  object- 


*  See  the   several  editions   of  my  book, 
scope,"  from  1854  to  1870,  pp.  63  et  scq. 


'On  the   Micro- 


Fig.  46.  Scale  of  Gnat.         Fig.  47.  Scale   of  Diurnal 

Lepidoptera,  showing  "beading." 

glasses  made  within  the  last  few  years,  it  would  be 
reasonable  to  infer  that  opticians  have  reached  the 
limit  of  perfection  in  that  direction,  and  that  future 
progress  in  the  power  of  the  microscope  must  depend 
mainly  upon  the  eye-piece  or  intermediate  arrange- 
ment of  lenses  between  the  eye-piece  and  object- 
glass. "+  He  thereupon  proceeds  to  construct  an 
"amplifier  "  by  means  of  which  "  the  microscope  can 
be  increased  four  or  eight-fold  without  apparent  loss 
of  definition."     A  close  examination  of  "amplifier' 


*  Dr.  Pigott.     The  Monthly  Microscopical  Journal,  vol.  iv. 
p.  62,  and  vol.  v.  p.  129. 

t  The  Rev.  J.  H.  Wythe,  M.D. 
News,  May,  1876,  p.  237. 


The  Cincinnati  Medical 


58 


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


and  "  aplanatic  searcher  "  will  convince  the  impartial 
observer  that  in  principle  and  in  construction  they  are 
opposed  to  geometrical  and  practical  optics,  and  break 
down  on  being  put  to  experimental  proof. 

Not  many  years  since  similar  attempts  were  made 
to  interpose  an  "amplifier"  between  the  object  and 
field-glass  of  the  telescope  ;  but  it  led  to  no  practical 
results.  Barlow's  lens,  an  elegant  optical  toy,  is  not 
known  to  have  been  the  means  of  making  any  dis- 
covery in  the  hands  of  the  astronomer  ;  on  the  con- 
trary, it  was,  soon  after  ^its  introduction,  discarded 
because  it  produced  spectral  images.  That  any  mere 
amplifying  apparatus  should  have  been  seriously  pro- 
posed for  obtaining  "transcendental  definition"  and 
increasing  the  power  of  observers  with  the  microscope, 
is  very  sm-prising.  It  is  asserted  by  the  inventor  of 
the  "  aplanatic  searcher  "  that  in  principle  the  instiii- 
ment  involves  the  correction  of  the  residuary  chro- 
matic and  spherical  aberrations  in  the  image-pencil 
after  it  leaves  the  objective,  and  is  in  course  of  pro- 
jection to  the  conjugate  focus.  This,  it  will  be 
observed,  is  equivalent  to  asserting  that  every  lens 
made  is,  to  some  extent,  imperfectly  constructed  ;  and 
this  I  suppose  no  practical  optician  will  dispute. 
But  if  this  i-easoning  be  followed  out  to  its  logical 
conclusion,  we  are  brought  to  the  strange  and  almost 
inconceivable  proposition  that  an  objective  constructed 
as  nearly  as  possible  on  the  most  rigid  geometrical 
formula;,  but  with  a  residuum  of  uncorrected  aber- 
rations, all  its  errors  are  made  to  vanish  by  means  of 
the  "aplanatic  searcher."  This  contravening  accessory 
to  the  microscope  has  been  conscientiously  employed 
by  a  number  of  practical  men  ;  among  others,  a  former 
President  of  the  Royal  Microscopical  Society  of 
London.  He  writes  of  it,  ' '  Even  the  name  of  the 
instrument,  a  '  searcher,'  seems  to  imply  that  its 
application  is  wholly  empirical ;  even  in  his  own 
hands  it  has  been  observed  that  while  the  desired 
appearance  is  sometimes  speedily  produced,  at  other 
times  a  considerable  amount  of  manipulation  has 
seemed  to  be  required  for  that  purpose.  Under  these 
circumstances  it  appears  that  the  controversy  that  has 
existed  as  to  the  beaded  appearance  of  podura  scales 
must  still  be  considered  an  open  question.  Reviewing 
this,  however,  under  the  dictates  of  common  sense, 
when  observing  the  familiar  podura  '  notes  of  admi- 
ration,' well  defined  and  free  from  colour,  I  cannot 
resist  the  inference  that  in  the  objective  all  aberrations 
are  nicely  balanced,  and  the  object  truly  represented 
'  in  the  visual  image  ;  on  the  contrary,  when  the  same 
object  is  viewed  as  rows  of  ill-defined  beads  loaded 
with  colours,  it  is  difficult  to  avoid  suspecting  that  the 
appearance  is  a  spectral  illusion,  resulting  from  some 
unexplained  diffraction  or  interference  ;  and  this  sus- 
picion can  hardly  be  dispelled  by  anything  short  of 
rigid  mathematical  demonstration."* 


*  Charles  Brook,   P'.R.S.      President's  Address.      Monthly 
Microscopical  Journal,  February,  1874,  p.  94. 


Admitting  then,  that  the  "  aplanatic  searcher" 
does  "amplify  magnifying  power,"  it  is  mere 
amplification,  that  can  be  obtained  by  various  well- 
known  eye-pieces,  tried,  but  ^not  even  generally 
accepted,  by  microscopists.  That  any  piece  of 
accessory  apparatus  of  the  kind,  ' '  searcher "  or 
"amplifier,"  should  be  vaunted  as  "an  improve- 
ment," or  as  a  valuable  means  of  "increasing  the 
resolving  or  defining  power  "  of  the  instrument,  at 
this  advanced  age  of  its  history,  is  to  me  quite 
remarkable.  That  the  makers  of  such  accessory 
appliances  have  never  ventured  to  exhibit  them  in 
public,  is  also  very  significant ;  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that,  had  they  possessed  any  merit,  they 
would  have  been  the  first  to  bring  them  prominently 
into  notice,  and  advocate  their  employment  with  a 
zeal  quite  equal  to  that  of  their  inventors.  This, 
however,  has  not  been  done ;  and  without  entering 
deeply  into  the  optical  principles  involved  in  the 
construction  of  the  "'  aplanatic  searcher  " — and  which 
would  involve  a  fruitless  discussion  on  empirical 
optics,— it  will  occur  to  every  practical  mind,  that,  ■ 
supposing  such  an  accessoiy  to  effect  some  amount  of 
correction— and  the  omis  of  proof  or  demonstra- 
tion rests  with  its  inventor, — it  can  be  unmistakably 
shown  that  residuary  aberrations  should  be  removed 
by  a  more  rigid  adherence  to  mathematical  formula; 
in  the  construction  of  the  objective,  which  would 
involve  far  less  expenditure  of  optical  means,  and 
loss  of  light,  than  by  any  extraneous  arrangement  of 
lenses  in  the  body  of  the  microscope. 

In  what  way  "  aplanatic  searchers  and  amplifiers  " 
tend  to  increase  errors  of  interpretation  rather  than 
the  elucidation  of  structure,  is  intelligibly  explained 
in  Dr.  Woodward's  valuable  communication  to  the 
Mo7ithly  Microscopical  Journal,  "  On  the  Structure  of 
the  Gnat's  Body-scale."*  "  By  varying  the  illumina- 
tion from  a  strictly  central  to  a  gradually  increased 
oblique  condition,  all  the  more  familiar  phenomena 
of  diffraction  can  be  produced,  even  to  the  beaded 
structure."  Microscopists  are  well  acquainted  with 
the  fact  (and  it  is  almost  unnecessary  to  recall  it  to 
the  minds  of  the  members  of  a  learned  society),  that 
if  we  interpose  minute  diaphragms  between  a  strong 
source  of  light  and  an  objective,  the  phenomena  of 
diffraction  will  be  produced.  Such  objects  as  gnats' 
body-scales,  podura  scales,  or  the  frustules  of  diato- 
macere,  may  be  regarded  as  so  many  minute  forms  of 
diaphragms,  not  necessarily  diaphragms  in  the  com- 
mon acceptation  of  the  term,  that  is,  apertures  cut 
out  of  an  opaque  material ;  but  in  them  we  have 
tissue  or  substance  more  or  less  transparent  and  re- 
fractive in  combination,  in  the  highest  degree  com- 
plex, and  producing  the  phenomena  of  diffraction  in 
almost  infinite  variety  and  complexity.  The  admir- 
able photographs  of  the  gnat's  body-scale,  made  by 
Dr.  Woodward,  conclusively  prove  this,  and  as  effec- 

*  Monthly  Alicroscopicai  yournal,  vol.  xv.  p.  253. 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


59 


tually  demolish  the  ' '  beaded  structure  "  theory  ;  or, 
as  Dr.  Anthony  pertinently  puts  it,  "strike  at  the 
root  of  a  vast  number  of  descriptions  of  (jnasi- 
beaded  tissue,  said  to  have  been  seen  in  many  objects 
when  examined  under  high  power  lenses."* 

By  a  simple  contrivance,  the  arrangement  of  a  few 
thin  glass  rods  placed  at  right  angles  to  each  other, 
and  made  to  revolve  in  contrary  directions,  the  late 
Mr.  Hennah  demonstrated  how  easily  illusory  ap- 
pearances can  be  produced  and  photographically 
depicted.  As  the  light  is  made  to  strike  the  rods 
in  a  more  or  less  oblique  direction,  a  variety  of  very 
curious  spectral  phenomena  will  appear.  These  can 
be  considerably  varied  and  rendered  more  deceptive, 
as  the  foci  of  objects  placed  behind  the  rods  ai'e 
made  to  fall  within  or  upon  their  front  surfaces,  f  I 
have  repeatedly  amused  myself  by  producing 
"  beaded  "  and  other  phantoms  with  a  series  of  rods 
so  arranged.  I  have  also  by  using  a  very  oblique 
pencil  of  light,  observed  "beads"  in  many  of  the 
scales  of  Lepidoptera.  The  drawing  fig.  46  was 
made  whilst  I  was  engaged  on  the  paper  published 
in  the  Monthly  Microscopical  jfoicrnal,  1872,  "On 
Gnats'  Scales";  fig.  47,  a  large  scale  from  the  wing  of 
one  of  the  diurnal  Lepidoptera,  was  drawn  at  the 
same  time  ;  both  of  which  convey  some  idea  of  "rows 
of  beads,"  and  have  since  been  proved  by  Dr.  Wood- 
ward to  be  illusory  or  spectral.  A  thorough  investi- 
gation of  all  the  circumstances  and  facts  at  our  com- 
mand in  connection  with  this  question  can  only  lead 
to  one  conclusion — that  nothing  new  has  either  been 
made  out  or  discovered  with  regard  to  the  structure 
of  i3odura  or  gnats'  scales  by  the  aid  of  the 
"aplanatic  searcher,"  or  "amplifier";  and  further, 
that  rows  of  red,  green,  and  blue  "(^^a^z-beads," 
when  seen  in  them,  are  solely  due  to  diffraction 
phenomena  and  increase  of  chromatic  aberration, 
produced  by  the  introduction  of  a  series  of  lenses  into 
the  body  of  the  microscope.  Moi'eover,  the  charm 
of  novelty  cannot  be  claimed  for  these  beaded  appear- 
ances :  they  were  described  and  figured  in  the  third 
volume  of  the  "Transactions  of  the  Microscopical 
Society  of  London,"  1848,  by  Mr.  Warren  De  la  Rue, 
who  described  cross  strim  on  the  scales  of  Amathusia 
Ho7'sJic'ldii  with  "^beaded  lines  or  protuberances." 
When  these  were  focussed  at  their  summits,  they  ap- 
peared as  "brown  dots. "J  When  these  scales  were 
exhibited,  they  were  pronounced  by  competent  ob- 
servers to  be  "the  overlying  pigment-cells  "  between 
the  two  layers  of  membrane.  The  interference  of 
"overlying  pigment"  in  a  corrugated  tissue  might 
be  expected  to  produce'a  delusive  appearance,  and  it 
scarcely  admits  of  a  doubt  that  the  generally  received 
description  of  the  structure  of  the  podura-scale  is  the 


*    JMonthly  Microscopical  jfournal,  vol.  xv.  p.  256. 

t  BTonthly  Microscopical  Journal,  vol.  v.  p.  195. 

%  Warren  De  la  Rue,  F.  R.  S.  &c.  "On  the  Markings  on 
the  Scales  of  Amathubia  Horsfieldii,"  Micros.  Soc.  Trans., 
December,  1848. 


more  correct  one.  The  bead-like  swellings  or  dots 
observed  in  these  scales,  and  in  those  of  many  of  the 
Lepidoptera,  are  simply  aggregations  of  minute 
particles  retained  between  layers  of  membrane  thrown 
into  wavy  longitudinal  folds,  again  crossed  by  ribs  or 
strics.  These,  when  slightly  out  of  focus,  appear  as 
varicose  dots  or  beads.*  This  is  fully  confirmed  by 
careful  focussing ;  when  first  the  upper  series  of 
varicose  ribs  come  into  view,  then,  by  slightly  depress- 
ing the  objective  a  lower  set  is  seen,  the  upper  set 
almost  disappearing.  By  another  slight  movement 
of  the  fine  adjustment,  the  true  ribs  are  lost  sight  of, 
and  the  "exclamation  dots  "  come  into  view,  or  the 
object  assumes  a  variety  of  colours.  This  train  of 
phenomena  is  frequently  reversed,  in  consequence  of 
the  relative  differences  between  the  upper  and  lower 
series  of  strice.  In  the  darker-coloured  scales  or 
scales  slightly  charred  and  broken,  the  stria  and  pig- 
ment ai-e  best  defined. 

The  footstalk  of  the  scales  of  the  larger  Lepi- 
doptera  is  sometimes  seen  filled  with  colouring  matter, 
of  an  albuminoid  or  fatty  nature.  Scales  examined 
before  the  insect  is  dead,  or  whilst  it  is  under  the 
influence  of  chloroform,  and  still  attached  to  the  wing, 
are  seen  to  terminate,  not  as  a  simple  stalk,  but  as  a 
series  of  diverging  rootlets,  as  represented  in  the 
accompanying  drawing.  I  infer,  then,  that  all  scales 
and  wings  are  nourished  in  a  somewhat  similar 
manner  as  hairs  and  the  epidermal  coverings  of 
animals.  The  colouring  matter  of  the  scales  heightens 
the  iridescent  effects,  and  aids  in  imparting  beauty  and 
variety  to  the  gossamer  wings  of  the  insect  tribe. 
Besides  the  charm  of  colour,  the  scales  of  Lepidoptera 
are  exceedingly  variable  in  form  ;  being  oval,  oblong, 
cordate,  curvate,  filifonn,  or  capillary ;  with  free 
ends,  rounded,  truncate,  toothed,  &c.  These,  and 
other  peculiarities,  have  a  certain  value  for  the  ento- 
mologist in  the  study  of  the  laws  of  evolution,  varia- 
tion, and  distribution  of  species,  while  to  the  micro- 
scopist,  all  modifications  tending  towards  persistency 
materially  assist  in  the  differentiation  of  the  fauna. 
In  the  Lepidoptera  especially,  changes  in  form  and 
colour  eventuate  in  that  interesting  phenomenon,  now 
known  as  "  protective  mimicry."  I  have  no  hope  of 
presenting  an  exhaustive  examination  of  these 
interesting  objects,  and  must  content  myself  on  the 
present  occasion  with  a  few  brief  remarks  on  a  few  of 
the  more  curious  forms  of  scales,  and  which,  I  trust, 
will  induce  other  workers  with  more  time  at  command 
to  follow  up  the  subject.  Among  the  diurnal  Lepi- 
doptera the  scales  of  the  genus  Papilio  terminate  in  a 
double  footstalk,  and  somewhat  resemble  an  ancient 
weapon,  a  "bipennis."  On  the  anterior  wing  of 
Papilio  Polydamzis,  two  curious  scales  are  found; 
one    leaf-shaped,    and   very  pointed,   the   other  not 


*  See  Dr.  Woodward,  "  On  the  Structure  of  the  Podura 
Scale,"  jW.  M.  J.,  vol.  v.  p.  158  ;  also,  Dr.  Maddox,  "  On  the 
Structure  of  the  Scales  of  some  of  the  Lepidoptera,''  M.  M.  jf., 
vol.  V.  p.  247. 


6o 


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


unlike  a  footprint  in  sand.  P.  Agamemno7i  exhibits 
a  singular  variety :  the  footstalk  is  to  one  side  of  a 
filiform  scale,  scarcely  distinguishable,  except  under  a 
high  power,  from  hairs.  These  are  toothed  at  their 
upper  extremity.  Another  scale,  almost  peculiar  to 
the  species,  is  diamond-shaped.  It  bears  a  close 
resemblance  to  the  ace  of  diamonds.  The  scales  on 
the  under  wing  oi Parnassus  Apollo  are  for  the  most 
part  leaf-shaped,  but  more  obtuse  than  those  o^ 
Papilio  Polydamus  ;  whilst  certaiia  scales  of  Pai-nassiis 
Phixhus  veiy  nearly  resemble  those  of  P.  Apollo.  They 
occupy  different  positions, — a  diversity  between  two 
closely-allied  species  worth  noting,  and  of  service  in 
the  determination  of  specific  identity. 

From  the  pretty  little  genus  Thais,  one  of  the 
INIediterranean  fauna,  is  obtained  an  elegant  scale,  in 
form  resembling  a  single  flower  of  the  Lily  of  the 
Valley,  and  may,  in  future,  be  distinguished  as  the 
"Lily-scale."  F.  Cassandra  furnishes,  besides  the 
"Lily-scale,"  another  of  an  irregular  shape,  three- 
pointed,  elongate,  and  not  unlike  an  ancient  partisan 
or  halberd.  Anthocaris  Ettpompi  (Orange-tip),  of 
Sierra  Leone,  furnishes  us  with  a  white  scale,  iiTeguIar 
in  form,  and  with  a  double  footstalk  :  its  orange 
scales  have  triple  footstalks,  and  are  remark- 
ably attractive  objects  under  a  medium  power. 
Seen  in  clusters  on  the  wing,  they  form  a  brilliant 
prismatic  band  of  a  golden  hue.  The  scales  of  Pkris 
Daplidice,  although  leaf-shaped,  are  widely  cleft ; 
while  those  of  P.  Bella  afford  typical  examples  of  the 
"  battledore  scale."  The  scales  oi  P.  Pyrrha  differ  in 
the  two  sexes,  and  are  diversified  in  form  and  other 
characters.  Triangular  scales,  confined  to  the  anterior 
portion  of  the  wings,  are  found  in  all  the  Callidryas, 
and  among  the  genus  Colias  the  lily-shaped  scale 
prevails.  A  somewhat  remarkable  scale  is  found  on 
the  wing  of  the  female  Colias  Ediisa  (it  is  something 
like  a  phial-bottlc),  and  in  an  Indian  species  an  arrow- 
headed  scale.  A  wing  scale  of  Idea  Ilestia  bears  a 
striking  resemblance  to  a  fragment  of  sea-weed 
(Fucus).  It  is  triangular  in  form,  and  deeply  serrated, 
while  scales  taken  from  other  portions  of  the  wing 
are  very  nearly  square.  Among  the  beautiful  species 
ArgynnidcE,  a  very  few  scales  presenting  variety  are 
found.  One  bears  a  resemblance  to  a  palm-branch 
and  for  this  reason  may  be  designated  the  "palm- 
branch  scale." 

From  these  cursory  observations  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  scales  of  Lepidoptera  present  attractive 
variations,  which  furnish  evidence  of  that  beauty  of 
design  tliat  generally  pervades  the  works  of  Nature. 


The  Domestic  Cat  (p.  43). — The  cat  is  men- 
tioned in  Baruch,  ch.  vi.  (tlie  Epistle  of  Jeremy). 
Inver.  21,  the  prophet,  describing  the  helplessness  of 
the  idols  in  the  heathen  temples  at  Babylon,  says  : — 
"Upon  their  bodies  and  heads  sit  bats,  swallows, 
and  birds,  and  the  cals  aho."  —  JV.  R.  Tate,  Bland- 
ford. 


OUR    COMMON    BRITISH    FOSSILS,     AND 
WHERE  TO  FIND  THEM. 

No.  IV. 
By  J.  E.  Taylor,  F.G.S.,  &c. 

IV/T  Y  readers  will  have  seen  from  the  illustrations- 
iVl     accompanying  the  last  article  on  this  subject, 
the  strong  external  resemblances  between  the  earliest 
King-crabs,  such  as  the  Belinurus,  and  one  genus  of 
Silurian  Trilobites  ( Trinucleus).     The  chief  apparent 
difference  is  in  the  ends  of  their  bodies,   that  of  the 
King-crab  being  prolonged   into  the  dart  shape  which 
gives  to  it  its  generic  name,  whilst  in  the  Trinucleus 
H  is  round.     But  we  have  only  to  glance  at  figures  of 
various  kinds  of  Trilobites   to   see   that   they  vary 
among  themselves  in  this  respect.     Thus  in  Asaphus 
caudahts  (fig.  13),  one  of  the  commonest  of  Lower 
Silurian  Trilobites,   we  have  the  pygidium,    or  tail, 
drawn  out  into  a  point. 


Fig.  48.  Paradoxides  Davidis. 

Undoubtedly  the  Trinucleus  (fig.  17)  is  one  of  the 
prettiest  of  Trilobites.  It  has  a  look  which  suggests 
the  mysterious  Egyptian  figures  of  ancient  courtiers  ! 
The  head  or  cephalic  shield  is  much  developed,  and 
on  each  side  is  prolonged  into  two  spines  half  as  long 
again  as  the  body.  Like  the  Agnostus  and  several 
others,  the  Trinucleus  had  no  eyes.  In  this  respect 
we  find  the  various  genera  of  Trilobites  differing  very 
much  from  each  other.  Some  have  a  very  large 
number,  as  Asaphus  tyrannus  ;  and  thence  we  find 
them  decreasing  until  they  are  absent  altogether.  All 
the  genera  of  the  order  Trinucleidte,  however,  are  not 
eyeless ;    and   this   illustrates   the    uncertainty  with 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


6i 


which  the  power  of  vision  seems  to  have  been  distri- 
buted among  these  ancient  crustaceans.  Doubtless, 
this  variation  was  the  result  of  special  conditions  of 
existence,  eyes  being  always  possessed  when  they 
were  required.  Thus  the  living  male  Bopvnis,  or 
shrimp-parasite  (fig.  20),  has  rudimentaiy  eyes,  whilst 


Undoubtedly  many  of  the  fossil  Trilobites  we  meet 
with  in  any  of  the  above  rocks,  are  moults,— \}i\2X  is, 
portions  of  the  carapace  thrown  off  after  the  manner 
of  the  shells  of  lobsters  and  crabs.  This  moult  ino- 
process  appears  to  have  peeled  off  the  external  hard 
shell  in  two  or  three  pieces.    Thus,  the  head-piece  or 


Fig.  49.  Paradoxides  Tessiin. 


Fig.  51.  HomalanotiiS. 


Fig.  52.  Phacops  caudains. 


Fig.  50.  Acidaspis  Dufresiioyi. 

the  female  has  none ;  but  this  is  entirely  due  to  the 
very  different  habits  of  life  of  the  two  sexes.  Trimi- 
cleiis  is  abundant  in  the  Caradoc  shales  of  Shi'opshire. 
Fi'om  the  Cambrian  to  the  Carboniferous  forma- 
tions we  find  certain  Trilobites  peculiar  to  the  various 
geological  systems.  Thus,  Paradoxides  and  Agnostus 
are  peculiarly  Cambrian  ;  TriimclcJts  and  Asaphus 
are  almost  exclusively  Lower  Silurian ;  Phacops  and 
Calymene  are  markedly  Upper  Silurian  ;  Brontes  and 
Harpes  are  among  characteristic  Devonian  fossils  ; 
whilst  Phillipsia  and  Griffithsides  are  genera  of  small 
Trilobites — the  last  of  their  race — which  are  peculiar 
to  the  Carboniferous  limestones. 


cephalic  shield,  is  usually  found  alone  ;  the  thorax,  or 
ringed  part,  is  also  abundantly  found  separate  ;  whilst 
the  pygidium,  or  tail,   is  frequently  met  with  apart 


Fig.  53.   Ogygia  Buchii. 

from  the  others,  although  it  is  usually  adhering  to  the 
thoracic  part.  Of  course,  animals  which  have  died 
and  been  buried  in  the  mud  are  found  with  all  the 
above  parts  adhering  to  each  other.  The  carapace  or 
shell  differed  in  its  character  in  various  species.     In 


62 


HARDWICKE'S     SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


some  it  appears  to  have  been  very  thin,  in  others 
harder.  As  a  nile,  it  was  chitinous,  after  the  manner 
of  tlie  elytra:  of  beetles,  altliough  there  can  be  no 
doubt  this  was  often  strengthened  by  the  presence  of 
hmy  matter.  In  the  carboniferous  Trilobites  {Phil- 
lipsia,  &c. )  the  carapace  seems  to  have  contained 
more  limy  matter  in  its  composition  than  other  species. 
In  this  genus  we  always  find  the  moultings  in 
the  two  parts  of  body  and  tail,  and  head.  In  the 
Calymenes  (fig.  14)  the  thoracic  or  ringed  part  is 
frequently  found  by  itself,  and  not  seldom  the  rings 
are  detached,  as  if  the  whole  mechanism  of  the  coat- 
of-mail-like  armour  had  become  loosened  and  got 
scattered  about.  Undoubtedly  the  chemical  composi- 
tion of  the  carapace  differed  accordingly  as  the  habits 
of  the  Trilobites  varied. 

The  Cambrian  Trilobites,  as  a  rule,  differ  from  their 


Fig.  55.    Trimtclcus 
L  loydii. 


Fig.  54.  Head-shield  and  Caudal 
shield  of  Phillipsia. 


Silurian  descendants  and  representatives  in  having  a 
larger  number  of  rings  or  segments  to  the  thoracic  (or 
middle)  part  of  the  body.  The  tail  part  (caudal 
shield)  is,  however,  less  developed  than  in  the  Silu- 
rian species.  The  side-lobes  of  some  genera,  Pat-a- 
doxidcs  and  Acidaspis,  are  fringed,  and,  in  the  case  of 
the  latter,  further  adorned  with  spines.  Some  of 
these  may  have  been  sexual  distinctions,  although  we 
are  now  forced  to  regard  them  as  specific.  Dean 
Buckland  and  many  other  naturalists  have  regarded 
an  isopod  crustacean  abundant  in  the  seas  around 
Tierra  del  Fuego  and  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  as 
being  nearly  allied  to  this  group  of  Trilobites.  This 
crustacean  is  called  Serolis.  Its  cephalic  shield  has 
compound  sessile  eyes,  arranged  in  halfmoon-shaped 
lobes  exactly  like  those  of  some  Trilobites.  The 
segments  or  joints  of  the  thoracic  portion  of  the  body 
are  fringed,  as  in  Faradoxides,  and  there  is  a  movable 
caudal  or  tail  shield,  as  in  Phacops  catidatus,  an 
abundant  Silurian  Trilobite.  Only  the  antennae  and 
mouth-organs  differentiate  them.  But  these  are  very 
thin  and  weak,  and  after  death  may  soon  be  detached, 
as  various  geologists  believe  was  the  case  with  some 
Trilobites.  The  legs  are  fitted  for  crawling  about, 
but,  as  is  frequent  in  animals  living  in  sea-water,  they 
are  also  weak  and  thin.  The  Serolis  is  a  slow 
crawler  and  swimmer,  and  is  usually  found  on  sea. 
weed.     Some   geologists  have  imagined  that  a  few 


Trilobites  had  genetic  relations  with  the  common 
Apiis  of  our  ditches  and  ponds.  Sufficient  has  been 
said,  however,  to  show  how  large  a  middle  space 
the  numerous  family  of  Trilobites  occupy.  At  the 
one  extreme  they  nearly  touch  the  King-crabs,  and 
at  the  other  the  aborted  shrimp-parasites,  as  in  the 
case  of  Agnostiis.  Perhaps  the  living  Serolis  better 
rejiresents  the  average  forms  of  Trilobites  than  any- 
thing else. 


Fig.  56.  Serolis Falricii.         Fig.  57.  Underside  o'i Scrolls Fahricit. 
a.  Eyes.        b.  Feet.         c.  Organs  of  Mouth. 


Fig.  58.  A/>!is  Jiroduciiis. 

The  Cambrian  strata  have  recently  been  made  to 
extend  upwards  as  high  as  the  "  May  Hill  "group,  so 
as  to  include  rocks  formerly  classed  as  Lower 
Silurian.  They  are  well  represented  in  many  parts 
of  Great  Britain,  notably  in  North  Wales  and  the 
Lake  districts.  Trilobites  of  various  genera  may  be 
met  with  in  many  localities  which  are  usually  visited 
by  tourists  for  the  sake  of  the  scenery  alone.  It  is 
one  of  the  privileges  of  the  geologist,  that  his  calling 
takes  him  tosome  of  the  wildest,  grandest,  or  most  beau- 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


63 


tiful  scenes  in  nature.  Although,  in  not  a  fev/  instances, 
rich  fossiliferous  strata  occur  in  unlovely  places,  amid 
densely-populated  neighbourhoods,  as  at  the  Wren's 
Nest,  near  Dudley ;  yet  as  a  rule  fossils  are  most 
abundant  where  the  rocks  crop  out  along  moun- 
tain or  hill  sides  or  sea-cliffs.  In  searching  for  them  he 
startles  the  grouse  or  the  moor-fowl,  finds  many  a 
lovely  mountain  plant  solitarily  blooming,  and  inhales 
fresh  air  which  seems  to  him  like  draughts  of  old 
wine  1  Scenes  of  unsurpassed  loveliness  are  thus  re- 
vealed to  him,  in  the  grandeur  of  rock-masses,  or  the 
panoramic  stretch  of  the  valleys  below  and  beyond. 
What  wonder  if  men  who  have  had  to  toil  the  year 
round  for  thebread  which  perisheth,  in  dingy  offices  or 
amid  the  noise  and  bustle  of  machinery,  should  so  value 
the  week  or  twoof  summer  holiday,  which  enables  them 
to  devote  themselves  to  those  geological  pursuits 
which  have  all  the  charm  and  excitement  of  hunting 
without  any  of  its  cruelty  !  For,  if  the  geologist  wish 
to  change  the  area  of  his  labours  from  the  mountain- 
side to  the  sea-side,  he  can  do  so  at  leisure,  without 
interfering  with  his  success  in  fossil-hunting.  Some 
of  the  veiy  best  sections  are  those  to  be  seen  in  our 
sea-cliffs — some  of  the  richest  fossiliferous  districts 
are  where  the  student  may  be  taking  in  a  fresh  stock 
of  health  whilst  he  is  following  his  bent,  and  have 
silently  impressed  on  his  memory  scenes  of  beauty 
which  will  last  as  long  as  his  own  individuality  ! 
Perhaps  it  is  this  direct  contact  with  Nature  in  all  her 
varied  moods  which  makes  such  enthusiasts  of  geolo- 
gists. Not  even  botanists  are  more  devoted  to  their 
hobby;  and  it  is  undoubtedly  this  enthusiasm  which 
makes  geological  investigation  not  to  depend  upon 
companionship  for  success. 

The  recent  absorption  of  most,  if  not  all,  the  Lower 
Silurian  rocks  into  the  Cambrian  system  has,  of 
course,  largely  added  to  the  number  of  localities 
where  fossils  are  to  be  obtained.  The  Menevian  beds 
near  St.  David's,  in  South  Wales,  are  exceedingly 
rich  in  Trilobites ;  among  which  Paradoxidcs  Davidis, 
the  largest  of  its  order,  is  abundant.  This  species 
sometimes  attains  a  length  of  two  feet,  and  is,  there- 
fore, strongly  contrastable  in  this  respect  with  the 
little  Agnosttts  {^g.  21)  and  i\\Q  FhiUiJysia  (fig.  54). 
The  South  Welsh  valleys  are  little  explored,  although 
the  geological  student  might  do  so  to  his  double  ad- 
vantage, for  they  are  equally  rich  in  scenery  and  in 
fossils.  Monmouthshire  presents  an  area  of  country 
where  we  have,  perhaps,  a  more  varied  geological 
outcrop  than  anywhere  else  in  Great  Britain.  Near 
Newport  a  patch  of  Silurian  strata  abounds  in  several 
species  of  Trilobites,  notably  Asaphus  and  Ogygia 
(figs.  13  and  53). 

Maentrog  and  Port  Madoc  have  long  been  cele- 
brated for  their  rich  yields  of  Trilobites.  The  student 
may  obtain  them,  in  many  places,  from  the  slates 
which  build  up  the  walls  by  the  roadside,  whilst  in 
the  quarries  there  are  usually  bands  or  seams  espe- 
cially full  of  them.     Few  localities  are  better  worth 


a  visit,  for  we  are  here  within  the  charming  circle  of 
Snowdonia.  The  lower  Lingula  flags  are  well  deve- 
loped at  Maentrog,  and  one  Trilobite  is  so  abun- 
dant in  them  that  it  was  proposed  to  call  them 
^'■Olemis''''  beds.  Two  species  of  the  obscure  little 
Agnostus  are  associated  with  it,  along  with  various 
other  fossils.  At  no  great  distance  up  the  higher 
parts  of  the  valley  is  Festiniog.  A  diminutive  rail- 
way, with  cars  of  the  same  proportion  as  the  narrow 
diameter  of  its  "permanent  way,"  runs  up  one  side 
of  the  valley  to  Festiniog,  and  the  geological  student 
can  take  advantage  of  it  in  his  rambles,  and  thus  pass 
over  the  outcrop  of  beds  rich  in  Trilobites.  Another 
locality  for  Cambrian  Trilobites  is  the  neighbourhood 
of  Dolgelly,  a  district  whose  magnificent  scenery  of 
wild  mountain  and  umbrageous  valley  is  annually 
drawing  to  it  a  larger  number  of  tourists  and  visitors. 
Here  Conocoryphc,  Agnostics,  &c.  may  be  found  in 
certain  places  in  tolerable  abundance.  The  student 
might  advantageously  work  his  way  to  Dolgelly  by 
Tremadoc,  at  which  place  he  will  find  abundant  em- 
ployment for  his  hammer.  At  the  village  of  Pen- 
morfa  the  slates  are  often  crowded  with  remains  of 
Trilobites.  Garth  Hill  is  also  a  capital  collecting- 
ground.  In  many  places  the  Llandeilo  flags  are  so 
full  of  Trilobites  that  Sir  Roderick  Murchison  gave 
them  the  name  of  "  Trilobite  Schists."  Perhaps  the 
neighbourhood  of  Builth  is  the  best  place  for  obtaining 
them.  Several  species  of  Ogygia  occur,  associated 
with  numerous  other  fossils. 

The  Cambi'ian  and  Silurian  rocks  of  the  Lake  dis- 
trict are  not  so  abundant  in  Trilobites  as  those  of 
North  Wales  and  Shropshire,  although  we  have 
found  them  in  the  rich  fossiliferous  shales  of  Apple- 
thwaite  Common,  and  on  the  Lancashire  side  of 
Windermere, — chiefly  Asaphus.  Calymene,  Homalo- 
notits,  and  others  occur  in  the  Dafton  shales,  of 
Upper  Llandeilo  age.  In  the  Coniston  limestone, 
also,  we  have  Illtcmis,  Chciriirus,  Agnostus,  &c.,  all 
of  them  well-marked  genera  of  Trilobites. 

In  the  Silurian  proper  (the  upper  Silurian  of  geolo- 
gists only  a  few  years  ago),  we  find  Trilobites  reach- 
ing their  maximum  of  existence,  both  in  genera, 
species,  and  individuals  ;  and  we  have  tolerably  cer- 
tain evidence  that  after  this  epoch  they  began  to 
decline  until  they  became  extinct.  In  the  loveliest 
parts  of  North  Wales,  as  at  Conway,  the  Devil's 
Bridge  (near  Pentre  Voelas),  Craig  Hir,  and  at 
Mynydd  Fronfrys,  about  four  miles  from  Llangollen, 
among  the  mountains,  we  find  abundance  of  fossils, 
and  among  them  are  various  species  of  Phacops, 
Calymene,  &c.  The  pretty  village  of  Woolhope,  near 
Hereford,  is  another  charming  collecting-ground,  rich 
in  Upper  Silurian  fossils  ;  and  here  we  find  Ilhcniis, 
Honialonotus,  Phacops,  &c.  Trilobites  are  also  abun- 
dant in  the  Wenlock  shales  forming  part  of  the 
Malvern  Hills.  Of  the  Dudley  limestone  and  its 
treasury  of  these  peculiar  ancient  forms  of  life,  we 
have  already  spoken.    The  neighbourhood  of  Ludlow 


64 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  0  SSI  P. 


has   also  long  been   knovm   as   a    rich    storehouse 
of  Trilobites  of  various  species  and  genera. 

In  the  Devonian  beds  it  is  only  here  and  there  we 
can  meet  with  Trilobites  in  any  abundance.  One  of 
the  best  localities  we  know  of  is  Newton  Abbot,  in 
Devonshire,  where  the  limestone  contains  numerous 
Trilobites.  The  Pilton  beds  yield  certain  species  of 
Phacops  in  plenty.  The  Trilobites  are  most  abundant 
in  the  Middle  Devonian  strata  of  England,  owing  to 
the  probable  fresh-water  conditions  under  which  most 
of  the  other  beds  were  deposited.  The  carboniferous 
limestone,  both  of  England  and  Ireland,  is  frequently 
rich  in  Trilobites  of  the  genei^a  Phillipsia  and  Grif- 
fithsides,  named  after  two  distinguished  geologists.  At 
Castleton,  in  the  Peak  of  Derbyshire,  along  the  out- 
crop of  the  strata  forming  Tre-cliff,  is  a  band  especially 
crowded  with  Phillipsia  ;  and  in  the  curious  gorge 
to  the  immediate  south  of  the  cavern  called  "  Cave 
Dale "  (undoubtedly  an  ancient  cavern  with  the 
roof  worn  off ),  we  may  find  this  Trilobite  associated 
with  a  wonderfully  abundant  collection  of  other 
fossils.  At  Salt  Hill,  Clitheroe,  in  Lancashire,  the 
shales  which  part  the  limestone  bands  are  seen 
crowded  with  the  evidently  moulted  remains  of 
Phillipsia. 

The   large  number    of   species,    even   of    British 
Trilobites,  obtained    from   the   various  strata  above 
mentioned,   are   grouped  into  certain  families.     We 
have  first  the  Agnostidcv,  characterized  by  their  small 
size,  by  the  head  and  tail  being  covered  with  two 
nearly  equal  shields,  and  the  jDossession  of  not  more 
than  two  body-rings.    This  family  was  eyeless.     The 
Oletididic    or    Paradoxidiv    had    long    bodies,    with 
numerous  free  segments.     The  caudal  or  tail  shield 
was  small ;  the  side  lobes  were  prolonged  into  curved 
spines.     A  large  number  of  the  more  ancient  genera 
of  Trilobites  belong  to  this  family.     The  Asaphida: 
were  tolerably  large   oval   Trilobites,    with  smooth 
carapaces,    and    possessed    about    eight   body-rings. 
Illccims  and  Ogygia  are  included  in  this  group.    The 
TrimuleidtE  had  a  large  head-shield,  ending  in  two 
long  spines,  one  on  each  side.     The  body-rings  were 
five   or  six   in   number.     The  Cheiriiridct  included 
seven  distinct  genera,  which  had  a  geological  range 
from    the   Cambrian   to  the  Devonian   strata.     The 
facial  sutures  of  the  head-shield  ended  on  the  outer 
margin.      The   number   of  rings   or   segments   ^^'as 
eleven,    and   these   were    free  at  their  ends.     The 
CalymenidtE   had    carapaces    roughened    over    with 
granules  or  tubercles,  and  the  number  of  body-rings 
was  usually  thirteen.     In  Jlonialoiiotiis,   one  of  the 
two  genera  composing   this  family,   the  body-rings 
are  not  so  distinctly  trilobed  as  usual.   Phacopida  was 
a  family  of  Trilobites  with  large  facetted  eyes.     The 
number  of  body-rings  is  eleven.     The  Lichadic  had 
small  head-shields,  and  a   tail   or  pygidium  with  a 
broad  limb.     It  contains  only  the  genus  Lichas.    The 
Proetida  includes  the  carboniferous  genera  Phillipsia 
and  Griffithsidcs.     Their  number  of  body-rings  was 


usually  nine.  The  carapace  of  Phillipsia  is  generally 
roughened  witJi  granules.  Acidaspidcz  had  a  very  orna- 
mental carapace,  with  eight  to  ten  body-rings,  and 
the  segments  of  the  side  lobes  (pleurae)  directed 
backwards.  The  tail  had  also  two  or  three  segments, 
furnished  with  prominent  spines.  The  Bronteida: 
had  a  large  expanded  tail  or  pygidium.  The  Harpeida: 
were  noted  for  the  horseshoe-shaped  head-shield, 
whose  angles  were  greatly  prolonged.  The  body 
was  numerously  jointed,  usually  with  twenty-six 
segments.  Only  one  genus,  Harpes,  belongs  to  it. 
Lastly,  we  have  the  Cyphaspidic,  whose  head-shield 
was  also  prolonged  into  spines,  and  the  carapace 
marked  by  spiiiy  or  pitted  surface  ornamentations. 
The  number  of  body-rings  varied  in  the  different 
genera  from  ten  to  twenty-two.  These  are  among  the 
less  common  of  the  Trilobites.  It  will  give  us  much 
pleasure  to  hear  from  any  correspondents  respecting 
habitats  where  any  genus  of  species  of  Trilobite  is  to 
be  plentifully  found. 


METROPOLITAN   NATURAL   HISTORY 
AND   MICROSCOPICAL   CLUBS. 

THE  following  is  a  list  of  some  of  the  clubs  in 
London  devoted  to   natural  history  pursuits, 
&c.  :— 

Medical  Microscopical  Society  (founded  December, 
1872). — This  society  meets  at  the  Century  Club,  6, 
Pall-mall-place,  \V.,  on  the  third  Friday  of  each 
month  from  October  to  May  inclusive,  at  8  p.m. 
There  is  no  entrance-fee,  and  the  subscription  is  los. 
per  annum.  The  members  are  qualified  members  of 
the  medical  profession  and  students  of  medicine  or 
compai-ative  histology  whose  qualifications  are  accept- 
able to  the  society.  The  objects  of  the  society  are 
the  discussion  of  questions  in  normal  and  pathological 
histology,  medico-legal  and  medico-chemical  micro- 
scopy, mechanical  and  optical  arrangements  requisite 
for  the  proper  examination  of  specimens,  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  same,  &c. ;  the  formation  of  a  cabinet  of 
preparations  for  the  use  of  members,  and  the  ex- 
change of  specimens  and  matei'ial.  The  officers  for 
1877  are — President,  H.  Power,  F.R.C.  S.,  &c.  ; 
Ho)i.  Secretaries,  J.  W.  Groves,  C.  H.  Golding-Bird. 
South  London  Entotnological  Society  (established 
1872). — Meets  at  the  Assembly-rooms,  104,  West- 
minster-bridge-road, S.W.  (side  entrance).  Presi 
dent,  i^TI,  Mr.  J.  Piatt  Barrett,  Radnor-street, 
Peckham.  The  society  has  been  formed  to  promote 
entomological  science  in  South  London.  Meetings 
of  the  members  are  held  every  alternate  Thursday, 
from  8  to  10  p.m.,  in  the  above  Assembly-rooms, 
when  papers  are  i-ead,  exhibitions  of  specimens  made, 
and  discussions  take  place.  A  libraiy  is  being 
formed  as  rapidly  as  funds  will  permit,  all  surplus 
money  being  devoted  to  the  purchase  of  books.  The 
society's  room  is  easy  of  access  from  all  parts  of 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OS  SI  P. 


65 


London,  and  the  committee  cordially  invite  the  co- 
operation of  all  entomologists,  especially  those  who 
are  willing  to  further  the  objects  of  the  society  by 
reading  papers  and  exhibiting  their  captures.  Since 
its  fonnation  the  society  has  rapidly  increased  in 
numbers,  a  large  portion  of  the  members  being  ex- 
perienced collectors.  Subscription,  6s.  per  annum, 
with  an  entrance-fee  of  is.  Hon.  Secretaries — Mr.  G. 
C.  Champion,  Mr.  W.  C.  Chancy. 

Greetihithe  Naturalists'  Society  (founded  1872). — 
President,  Rev.  J.  M.  Gatrill  ;  Secretary,   S.  Martin. 

East  London  Natural  History  and  Microscopical 
Society  (founded  187 1 ).  President,  J.  M.  Knight, 
Esq. — Meetings  held  fortnightly  on  first  and  third 
Thursdays  in  each  month,  at  the  Board  School, 
High-street,  Bromley.  Gentlemen  desirous  of  join- 
ing the  society  can  obtain  further  information  from 
the  Hon.  Secretary,  Mr.  Harry  Smart,  8,  The  Para- 
gon, Hackney,  E. 

Toivei--liill  Microscopical  Club  (established  July, 
1872). — Its  meetings  are  held  on  the  second  Tuesday 
in  each  month,  with  excursions  on  Saturdays  in  the 
summer  months.  The  Soiree  held  in  February. 
President,  Mr.  James  B.  Crosfield;  Hon.  Secretary, 
Mr.  R.  Sedgwick. 

The  Charterhouse  Science  and  Art  Society  (founded 
October,  1875). — It  has  for  its  object  the  reading  and 
publication  of  papers  connected  with  the  numerous 
subjects  embraced  by  science  and  art,  and  the  collec- 
tion of  objects  for  a  museum  which  has  been  esta- 
blished in  the  school.  President,  Rev.  G.  S  Davies, 
M.A.;  Secretary,   S.  D.  Titmas,  B.Sc,  F.C.S. 

Greenwich  Microscopical  and  N'atural  History 
Society.  President,  Prior  Purvis,  M.D.,  London; 
Hon.  Secretary,  Geo.  Dannatt. — Meets  on  the  first 
and  third  Thursdays  in  each  month.  Annual  sub- 
scription, los.  Each  member  supplied  gratis  with  a 
monthly  copy  of  Hardwicke's  Science-Gossip, 
and  entitled  to  two  tickets  to  the  Annual  Soiree. 
The  last  Soiree  was  held  in  the  Lecture  Hall,  Green- 
wich, on  February  14th. 

[We  shall  be  glad  to  hear  further  from  the  honorary 
secretaries  of  other  London  societies,  inasmuch  as 
we  hold  it  to  be  of  importance  that  the  existence  of 
such  clubs  should  be  widely  known.] 


MICROSCOPY. 

Securing  Cover-glasses. — Your  correspondent 
"A.S.G.,"  in  the  January  number  of  Science- 
Gossip,  asks  for  some  plan  of  securing  the  cover- 
glass  over  dry  objects,  so  that  the  water  used  with 
immersion-lenses  will  not  run  in  and  spoil  his  tests. 
Perhaps  a  plan  I  have  for  years  adopted  may  meet 
his  wishes,  and,  therefore,  I  ask  you  to  find  room  for 
this  small  communication.  The  method  I  advocate 
consists  in  filling  in  the  angle  between  the  edges  of 


the  covering-glass  and  the  slide  with  a  compound  of 
wax  and  Canada  balsam,  which  can  be  easily  done 
by  melting  this  mixture,  and  dipping  a  heated  piece 
of  wire  into  it,  and  then  running  it  round  the  edge 
of  the  cover,  and  so  sealing  it  up  that  any  cement 
put  on  afterwards  cannot  run  in  :  the  wax  composi- 
tion sets  directly  it  touches  the  cold  slide.  This  plan 
may  also  be  adopted  in  mounting  any  opaque  object 
in  a  deep  cell,  allowing  the  removal  of  tlie  cover 
should  a  dewiness  at  any  time  become  apparent  on  its 
inner  surface  ;  it  is  also  a  useful  thing  sometimes  to 
employ  this  composition  for  the  rapid  construction  of 
temporary  troughs  for  the  examination  of  microscopic 
life,  and  I  hope  the  knowledge  of  this  may  meet  the 
want  of  "A.  S.  G.,"  as  well  as  the  many  microscopic 
readers  of  your  journal.  — T:  Chatiers  White. 

Heliofelta  Metii.— The  separation  of  the 
frustule  into  two  valves,  with  the  number  of  rays 
differing,  is  not  unusual.  I  have  often  found  this  to 
be  the  case,  not  only  in  this  genus  (if  it  be  really 
distinct),  but  in  Actinoptychus  the  valves  themselves 
often  separate  into  dissimilar  plates  (and  which  I 
designate  secondary  plates,  and  called  by  Schmidt  in 
his  Atlas,  regeneration-valves)  ;  this  secondary  plate 
in  Heliopelta  and  Actinoptychus  is  usually  marked 
with  fine  decussating  punctate,  appearing  under  a  low 
power  like  watered  silk,  or  moire  antique.  The  only 
exception  to  this,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  is  in  A.  undu- 
tatus.  The  secondary  plate  in  this  species  is  faintly 
but  coarsely  punctate,  the  punctje  connected  with 
each  other  by  fine  lines ;  the  surface  is  scarcely 
undulate,  and  not  divided  into  compartments  like  the 
primary  plates.  Frustules  of  Aulacodisca  also  fre- 
quently have  valves  in  which  the  nodules  differ  in 
number.  I  have  separated  frustules  of  A.  viargari- 
taceits,  one  of  the  valves  having  only  four,  whilst  the 
other  had  six  ;  and  some  double  frustules  have  had 
different  numbers  on  all  four  valves  ;  this  is,  however, 
not  peculiar  to  that  species.  I  have  detected  it  in  the 
following  : — A.  Kittoni,  A.  Kittoni,  var.  Africamts, 
A.  Oreganus,  zxidi  A.  pulcher.  The  same  thing  occurs 
in  Eupodisc2is  Argus  and  E.  Rogersii.  As  entire  frus- 
tules do  not  mount  well,  excepting  in  front  view,  the 
following  hint  for  separating  the  valves  may  be  useful. 
Push  the  specimen  away  from  the  other  diatoms,  and 
let  it  dry  (taking  care,  however,  that  it  does  not  skip 
away,  which  it  is  very  apt  to  do  if  the  valve  is  upper- 
most :  I  always  keep  the  trestle  upon  it  until  it  is 
perfectly  dry)  ;  then  transfer  it  to  a  drop  of  water 
on  a  clean  slide.  The  expansion  of  the  air  inside 
frequently  splits  the  frustules  ;  if  it  does  not,  heat  it 
quickly  over  the  lamp,  and  success  is  almost  certain. 
Before  the  drop  dries  up,  add  another,  and  examine  : 
manipulation  with  the  breath  will  thoroughly  detach 
them,  and  also  separate  the  primary  and  secondary 
plates.- — F.  Kitton. 

Crystal    Prisms   of    Allium   Porrum.— The 


66 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


tissues  of  Alliitin  Po)-riim  (the  Leek)  abound  in 
crystal  prisms.  To  obtain  them  with  ease,  take  a 
small  portion  from  the  bulbous  part  of  a  boiled  leek, 
and  press  out  on  a  slide  with  a  little  water ;  examine 
with  a  :}-inch,  and  myriads  of  the  crystals  will  be 
met  with.  The  crystals  being  very  minute,  nothing 
lower  than  a  J-inch  will  be  of  much  use.  To  mount 
the  crystal  prisms  use  glycerine  jelly  or  damar.  Any 
reader  interested  at  the  present  time  in  j^lant  crystals 
should  refer  to  Professor  Gulliver's  admirable  paper 
on  "  Raphides,  Sphaeraphides,  and  Ciystal  Prisms  " 
(Science-Gossip,  1873,  p.  97). — Charles  F.  W,  71 
Williams,  Rcdland. 

Varnishing  Cells. — I  often  see  complaints 
from  some  of  your  correspondents  about  varnishes 
running  in  aud  spoiling  then-  objects.  May  I  be 
allowed  to  suggest  a  plan  which  I  have  tried  myself, 
and  which  I  find  answers  veiy  well  ?  It  is  true  it  can 
only  be  applied  to  a  certain  class  of  objects  ;  but 
where  it  can  be  applied,  I  think  it  will  be  of  some 
use — at  least  to  those  who,  like  myself,  do  a  good 
deal  of  mounting.  The  cell  (for  it  is  only  where  a 
cell  is  required,  and  one  made  with  varnish)  should 
be  held  over  a  spirit-lamp  till  the  varnish  becomes 
quite  sticky  ;  the  object  should  then  be  placed  in  it, 
and  the  cover  gently  pressed  down  till  it  is  hermeti- 
cally sealed.  In  an  hour  or  two  it  will  be  dry  enough 
to  place  on  the  turntable,  when,  if  it  is  properly 
done,  there  will  be  no  fear  of  the  varnish  running  in. 
The  cell  should  not  be  more  than  two  or  three  days 
old,  as  it  gets  too  dry  to  softoi,  otherwise  it  will 
crack  when  dry. — E.  W.,  Lewisham. 

The  Pygidium.— Allow  me  to  correct  an  error.  I 
stated  in  my  paper  on  ihe  Pygidium  (p.  15),  that  I  had 
found  a  pair  on  the  Ixodes  of  the  tiger  and  Indian 
bullock.  Further  examination  with  a  higher  power 
convinces  me  that  these  are  not  Pygidia  but  spiracles. 
— John  Bravihall. 

"How  TO  Choose  a  Microscope."  By  a 
Demonstrator  (London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue). — We 
feel  personally  obliged  to  the  author  of  this  brochure 
for  its  publication.  We  are  constantly  being 
asked  to  recommend  tlie  "best  microscope,''  and 
the  "best  maker."  We  hardly  need  say  how  invi- 
dious this  task  is,  and  our  only  answer  usually  is 
silence.  Now,  any  designing  purchaser  may  learn  all 
about  the  microscope  and  its  adjuncts.  In  this  pam- 
phlet all  the  separate  parts  of  a  good  microscope 
are  explained  so  clearly  that  it  is  impossible  to  mis- 
take them ;  and  if  it  were  possible,  that  would  be 
rendered  difficult  by  the  eighty  illustrations,  simple 
but  vigorous,  which  assist  the  text.  The  writer  is 
evidently  a  man  of  experience,  and  knows  exactly 
how  to  anticipate  a  student's  difficulties  and  wants. 
All  intending  to  buy  a  microscope  should  first  pur- 
chase this  pamphlet,  and  those  who  have  one  will 
here  learn  how  they  can  add  to  it. 


ZOOLOGY. 

A  Fountain  with  Bell-jar  Aquaria.— All 
who  have  read  our  Editor's  "Aquarium"  must,  I  am 
sure,  have  foimd  much  in  it  that  was  new  to  them, 
and  nothing  but  what  was  useful.  Amongst  other 
practical  suggestions,  the  advantage  of  a  circulation 
of  the  contained  water  is  insisted  on.  Leaving  out 
the  cry  of  trouble — a  cry  unworthy  of  consideration 
— a  great  difficulty  at  first  presented  itself  in  arranging 
for  circulation  in  the  inverted  bell-jar  form  of  Aqua- 
rium. What  was  desired  was  a  waste-pipe  that 
would  work  automatically,  always  keeping  the  water- 
line  constant  ;  for  a  siphon,  when  it  had  reduced  an 
excess  of  height,  would  empty  itself  and  would  not, 
unless  sucked,  work  on  a  fresh  accession  of  water. 
A  hole  through  the  bottom  of  the  aquarium  gave  the 
chance  of  leakage,  was  difficult  to  make,  and  weak- 


Fig.  59.  Simple  Hydrostatic 
Arrangement  for  Aquarium. 


Fig.  60.  Horizontal 
Section  of  Ditto. 


ened  the  vessel.  I  was  therefore  led  __to  devise  the 
following  simple  hydrostatic  arrangement.  A  glass 
tube  bent  in  an  ordinary  gas-flame,  after  the  manner 
known  to  all  who  have  dabbled  in  chemistry,  was 
made  to  fonn  four  curves,  as  represented.  The 
curves  A  and  c  are  made  in  planes,  at  right  angles  to 
those  of  B  and  D,  which  are  parallel,  so  that  a  hori- 
zontal section  througli  xy,  which  represents  the 
water-line,  would  show  the  sections  of  five  pipes,  A, 
B,  c,  D,  and  E,  while  MN  is  in  each  case  the  side  of 
the  aquarium.  The  ends  of  the  tube  at  x  and  y  must 
be  cut  off  with  a  file  on  the  same  horizontal  line, 
which  must  be  at  the  distance  from  M,  the  brim  of 
the  bell-jar,  at  which  it  is  desired  to  have  the  water- 
line.  Thus,  with  the  aid  of  the  little  apparatus  de- 
scribed in  the  "Aquarium"  a  fountain  can,  by  the 
means  just  described,  be  adapted  to  an  inverted  bell- 
jar,  and  the  tube-apparatus,  when  once  filled,  can  be 
removed  without  emptying  itself. — D.  A.  K. 

Vanessa  Antiopa  (female)  I  caught  at  Cromer 
November  15th,  1876.  This  butterfly  is  in  splendid 
condition. — A.  Savin. 

A  New  Species  of  Echidna. — The  unexplored 
area  of  New  Guinea  promises  to  yield  many  new  and 
perhaps  strange  species  to  naturalists.  Announce- 
ment has  been  made  of  a  new  species  of  monotre- 
matous  mammal  which  has  been  called  Tachyglossus 
Bruijiiii.  Only  two  species  of  this  animal,  formerly 
called  Echidna,  and  which  is  nearly  related  to  the 
Ornithorhvncus,  had  previously  been  known.     The 


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


67 


chief  difference  in  the  new  species  is  the  greater 
length  of  the  snout.  Tlie  entire  animal  seems  to  be 
much  greater  in  size  than  its  Australian  bretlrren. 

Varieties  of  Medusa. — At  a  recent  meeting  of 
the  Linnean  Society,  Mr.  G.  J.  Romanes  read  a  paper 
on  varieties  and  monstrous  forms  of  ]Medusa.  He 
said  that  among  the  naked-eyed  group  of  jelly-fishes, 
with  their  lowly  organization  and  tendency  to  budding, 
monstrosities  are  comparatively  rare.  In  the  cases  he 
had  met  with,  especially  in  Aurelia  anrita,  the  devia- 
tions from  the  normal  type  always  occurred  in  a  mul- 
tiplication, or  abortion,  or  suppression  of  entire 
segments.  This  affects  the  segments  of  the  disc  in  a 
symmetrical  manner,  whilst  the  ovaries  and  manu- 
brium, to  a  certain  extent,  may  not  be  implicated. 

Entomological  Notes. — July  12th  to  31st,  at 
Pegwell  Bay,  I  took  Galathca,  Alexis,  Argiolus, 
Polychloros,  Atalanta,  yaiiira,  Linea,  and  Sylvaims, 
very  abundant.  L.  Qiierais  and  Satin-moths  com- 
mon. July  15th,  took  a  new  specimen  of  C.  Hyale, 
but,  although  I  frequented  same  locality  till  end  of 
month,  saw  no  more.  Took  Edusa  within  i\  miles  I 
of  Marble  Arch.  August  loth,  in  Warm-lane, 
Cricklewood,  took  a  ?  Edusa.  August  23rd,  in  field 
at  .back  of  Rockhall-terrace,  Cricklewood,  took  $ 
Edusa.  Saw  another,  but  unable  to  catch  it.  Sep- 
tember 6th,  saw  $  Edusa  in  Regent's-park,  but 
unable  to  catch  it,  as  without  net.  On  February  4th, 
1877 — unusually  warm — captured  two  7-spot  lady- 
birds in  St.  John's  Wood-road,  N.W.  Warm-lane, 
Cricklewood,  is  a  very  fair  collecting-ground.  Query? 
What  is  the  proper  generic  name  of  Cardamines? 
Mr.  Morris  szys  Mancipium ;  Mr.  Colti-aTin,  Erichloe, 
and  Mr.  Stainton,  Anthoca^-es. 

The  Classified  Index  to  Science-Gossip. — 
We  apologize  for  the  unexpected  delay  in  the  publi- 
cation of  the  classified  index  to  the  twelve  volumes 
of  Science-Gossip.  The  work  has  been  of  a  more 
laborious  kind  than  we  imagined.  We  hope,  how- 
ever, it  will  be  issued  with  the  present  number,  or, 
at  all  events,  only  a  few  days  afterwards. 

"  The  Uses  of  Animals  to  Man." — We  are 
glad  to  see  a  reprint  of  the  course  of  Lectures 
delivered  at  [the  South  Kensington  Museum,  under 
this  heading,  by  the  late  Dr.  Edwin  Lankester, 
F.R. S.  No  writer  was  better  able  to  treat  this  com- 
prehensive subject  than  he.  The  subjects  are  prac- 
tical in  their  importance,  and  are  treated  in  an  un- 
usually suggestive  manner.  They  include  "  Silk," 
"Wool,"  "Leatlier,"  "Bone,"  "Soap,"  "Waste," 
"Sponges  and  Corals,"  "Shell-fish,"  "Insects," 
"Furs,"  "Feathers,  Horns,  and  Hair,"  and 
"Animal  Perfumes." 

New  Species  of  Deep-Sea  Ascidians.  —  Mr. 
H.  N.  Mosely,  naturalist  on  board  the  Challenger 
during  her  three  years'  cruise,  has  given  an  account  of 
two  new  and  remarkable  species  of  deep-sea  Ascidians. 


One  of  them,  named  Hybythius  calycodes,  was  brought 
up  from  the  North  Pacific  from  a  depth  of  2,900 
fathoms.  It  is  stalked  and  cup-shaped,  and  is  be- 
lieved to  be  allied  to  Boltenia.  It  differs  from  that 
genus,  however,  in  possessing  a  series  of  cartilaginous 
plates,  symmetrically  developed  in  the  soft  test.  The 
second  species  is  called  Octacnemus  bythius :  this  was 
brought  up  from  a  depth  of  1,070  fathoms.  It  is 
star-shaped,  with  eiglit  rays.  The  gill-sac  is  nearly 
absent  in  it,  and  the  usual  gill  network  entirely  so. 
Muscular  prolongations  of  the  tunic  run  into  the 
curious  conical  protuberances  of  the  test.  The 
nucleus  is  contracted  and  small,  like  that  of  Salpa. 
This  singular  species  is  believed  to  be  without  living 
allies. 

Swarm  of  Locusts. — It  appears  "that  a  swarm 
of  locusts  passed  over  Yorkshire  last  autumn.  At  a 
recent  meeting  of  the  Entomological  Society  of  Lon- 
don, Mr.  McLachlan  exhibited  some  of  the  locusts, 
on  behalf  of  Mr.  W.  D.  Roebuck,  of  Leeds.  Mr. 
McLachlan  is  of  opinion  that  the  species  visiting 
us  is  not  Pachytylus  migratoHus,  but  P.  cinerascens, 
which  is  supposed  to  breed  in  the  north  of  Europe. 

Large  Specimen  of  Unio. — On  March  7,  1876, 
near  Repton,  Derbyshire,  I  took  a  specimen  of  Unio 
tumidus,  4f  in.  in  breadth,  2|  in.  in  length,  and 
weighing  42  ounces.  Jeffreys  ("  British  Conchology,' 
vol.  i.  p.  34)  says,  in  his  article  on  this  shell,  "The 
Rev.  A.  M.  Norman  has  recorded,  in  the  '  Zoologist ' 
for  1857,  having  taken  specimens  at  Fleckney  and 
Wistow,  in  Leicestershire,  of  the  extraordinary  (sic) 
dimensions  of  nearly  4^  in.  in  breadth,  and  more 
than  2  in.  in  length,  the  weight  being  over  3  ounces." 
It  would  be  interesting  to  many  conchologists  besides 
myself,  to  know  whether  any  specimens  of  equal  or 
larger  dimensions  and  weight  have  ever  been  taken. 
—  W.  W.  Fowler,  Repton. 


BOTANY. 

"Fertilization  of  Orchids,"  by  Charles  Dar- 
win, F.R.S. — -We  have  received  a  copy  of  the  second 
edition  of  this,  one  of  the  most  striking  of  all 
Darwin's  works.  It  was  the  first  to  call  attention  to 
the  various  contrivances  by  which  Orchids,  both 
native  and  exotic,  are  fertilized  by  insects  ;  and  how 
the  seemingly  strange  and  fantastic  shapes  and  struc- 
tural parts  of  these  singular  plants  could  only  be 
understood  from  this  point  of  view.  A  good  deal  more 
has  been  learned  concerning  Orchids  since  Mr.  Dar- 
win first  drew  attention  to  them,  and  in  this  second 
edition  we  find  all  the  new  discoveries  included.  We 
are  glad  of  a  reprint  of  this  valuable  book,  which  it 
has  been  impossible  to  purchase  for  two  or  three 
years  back,  owing  to  its  being  out  of  print. 

"The  Symmetry  of  Flowers."  By  John 
Gibbs     (Chelmsford  :  John  Dutton,  Tindal-street).-- 


68 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


The  perusal  of  this  charming  little  brochure,  published 
at  fourpence,  has  given  us  much  pleasure.  It  sets 
forth  the  typical  structure  of  symmetrical  and  un- 
symmetrical  flowers  in  a  manner  that  is  as  clear  as  it 
is  deeply  interesting.  The  author  is  an  operative 
botanist,  one  of  those  men  who  follow  science  for 
its  own  sake,  and  not  for  its  emoluments.  Those  of 
our  readers  who  obtain  a  copy  will,  we  are  sure, 
thank  us  for  recommending  it. 

Orobanche  minor. — Vegetable  phenomena  are 
now  things  of  everyday  life.  One  cannot,  with  the 
present  knowledge  of  things,  but  discover  peculiari- 
ties in  every  living  organism.  It  is  generally  looked 
for,  and  generally  asked,  What  is  the  peculiarity  of 
anything  in  question  ?  A  peculiar  phenomenon  came 
under  my  notice  a  short  time  since ;  viz. ,  several 
plants  of  Orobanche  minor  showed  themselves  hap- 
pily growing  with  some  geraniums  in  pots,  also  with 
some  Bouvardias,  and  no  doubt  robbing  them  of  a 
great  portion  of  food.  These  plants  of  Orobanche 
were  taken  up  and  placed  in  other  pots,  since  which 
time  one  of  them  has  grown  about  eight  inches.  The 
question  arises,  How  has  this  growth  been  sustained  ? 
Does  Orobanche  draw  up  moisture  from  the  soil  by 
its  own  roots  ?  Have  the  hairs  (which  are  copious 
enough)  upon  the  stem  and  every  part,  which  are 
always  bedewed  with  moisture,  anything  to  do  with 
the  absorption  of  food  ?  It  would  be  well  to  have 
these  questions  answered.  Perhaps  the  readers  of 
Science-Gossip  can  throw  some  light  upon  the 
matter. — J.  T.  Riches. 

The  Science-Gossip  Botanical  Exchange 
Club. — The  following  are  the  proposed  Regulations 
of  the  above  newly-formed  Club.  i.  The  object  of 
the  S.-G.  Exchange  Club  is  to  facilitate  the  exchange 
of  dried  specimens  of  British  plants.  Any  lover  of 
botany  can  become  a  member,  on  promising  to  send 
a  parcel  of  dried  plants,  carriage-paid,  not  later  than 
7th  October,  to  Messrs.  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  Office 
of  Science-Gossip,  192,  Piccadilly,  London.  2. 
Specimens  sent  for  distribution  must  be  carefully 
dried  ;  must  not  exceed  in  size  half  a  sheet  of  demy 
(16  in.  by  10 in.),  and  must  illustrate  the  species  they 
represent  as  completely  as  possible.  Grasses  and 
sedges  should  on  no  account  be  dried  without  roots. 
3.  Each  specimen  must  have  a  label  bearing  the 
number  and  name  of  the  species,  as  given  in  the  last 
edition  of  the  "  London  Catalogue  "  ;  also  the 
locality  and  county  where,  and  the  date  when,  the 
specimen  was  collected,  and  the  collector's  name. 
To  guide  those  who  have  not  been  accustomed  to 
distribute  specimens,  we  give  an  example  : — - 


No.  233  :  Geranium  rotundifolium,    Linn. 

Loc.  :  Near  Conway. 

County  :  Carnarvonshire. 

Date  :    7th  June,  1877. 
Collector  :    John  P.  Jones. 


The  label  should  be  attached  to  the  specimen.  4. 
Each  parcel  must  be  accompanied  by  a  list  of  the 
plants  the  member  wishes  to  be  sent  in  his  return 
parcel.  This  list  is  to  be  made  by  drawing  a  short 
line  in  red  ink  before  their  names  in  the  London 
Catalogue.  The  name  of  the  member  and  address 
should  be  written  on  the  outer  cover  of  the  Catalogue. 
Note. — The  London  Catalogue  can  be  procured  from 
Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly,  London,  W., 
post  free,  7d. — Manuscript  lists  will  not  be  received. 
5.  From  ten  to  fifty  specimens  of  any  rare  plant  may 
be  sent  for  distribution,  though  no  common  species 
need  be  preserved.  By  looking  over  the  Catalogue 
any  one  may  be  guided  as  to  what  example  would  be 
acceptable,  but  none  with  a  greater  census  than  forty 
should  be  dried  for  the  Exchange  Club.  Our  friends 
need  scarcely  be  reminded  that  neatly  -  dried  and 
carefully-selected  examples  of  any  species  are  at  all 
times  valuable.  Members  sending  the  most  valuable 
parcels  will  have  their  return  parcels  selected  before 
those  who  send  inferior  ones.  6.  Anything  that  the 
collector  may  deem  noteworthy  must  not  be  written 
on  the  label,  but  on  a  separate  paper  :  these  will 
afterwards  be  published  in  the  yearly  Report.  7. 
The  specimens  sent  out  in  the  return  parcels  will 
afterwards  be  of  great  value,  from  the  fact,  that  each 
example  will  pass  under  the  eyes  of  one  of  our  best 
British  botanists,  so  as  to  make  each  label  thoroughly 
trustworthy.  In  the  case  of  critical  species,  or 
sub-species,  all  doubtful  examples  will  be  placed 
before  a  competent  authority.  8.  About  eighty 
botanists  have  already  signified  their  wishes  to  join 
the  Club.  May  we  ask  each  one  of  these  to  secure 
another  name,  and  to  promise  the  coming  season  to 
work  with  a  will  ?  Upon  this  zealous  effort  depends 
our  success  :  let  it  not  be  localizing  in  its  tendency, 
but  a  national  club. 

Apocynum  andros^mifolium. — Mr.  T.  Brit- 
tain,  who  communicated  the  fact  of  this  plant  pro- 
bably being  "carnivorous,"  has  forwarded  to  us  the 
following  copy  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Charles  Darwin 
on  the  subject  : — "  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for 
calling  my  attention  to  the  very  curious  case  of  the 
Apocynum.  I  am  quite  unable  to  understand  the 
meaning  of  this  trap-like  arrangement.  I  do  not 
believe  that  it  is  of  any  benefit  to  the  plant,  and  cer- 
tainly it  is  none  to  the  unfortunate  insects.  I  have  at 
present  a  plant  in  my  hothouse,  and  if  it  flower  I 
shall  attempt  to  solve  the  problem.  I  may  mention 
that  a  well-known  naturalist  in  Brazil,  Fritz  Midler, 
has  been  hitherto  baffled  by  trying  to  understand  this 
plant." 


Water-glass.  • —  Can  any  reader  of  Science- 
Gossip  give  me  directions  for  mounting  micro- 
objects  in  water-glass?  It  is  mentioned  in  the 
Micro  -  grapliic  Dictionaiy,  but  no  directions  are 
given  for  using  it,  and  it  is  said  to  spoil  after  a  time. 
Is  this  -iol—A.  H.  S. 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


69 


GEOLOGY. 

The  Gigantic  Land-tortoises  from  the 
Ossiferous  Caverns  of  Malta. — This  was  the 
subject  of  a  paper  lately  read  before  the  Geological 
Society  by  Prof.  Leith  Adams.  The  author 
described  three  extinct  species  of  tortoises  from  the 
Maltese  rock-cavities,  one  of  which  was  of  gigantic 
proportions,  and  equalled  in  size  any  of  the  living  or 
extinct  land  Chelonians  from  the  Indian  or  Pacific 
islands.  The  characteristic  peculiarity  in  the  two 
larger  species  is  a  greater  robustness  of  the  long 
bones  as  compared  with  the  denizens  of  the  Mascarene 
and  Galapagos  islands  with  which  he  had  been 
eaabled  to  contrast  them.  The  largest,  on  that 
account,  he  had  named  T.  robusta ;  it  rivalled  the 
gigantic  Testiuio  ephippiimi  (Giinther)  in  size,  showing 
affinities  to  it  in  a  few  minor  characters.  A  smaller 
species,  T.  Sprattii,  and  a  small  Lutremys,  not 
distinguishable,  as  far  as  the  few  remains  extend, 
from  the  recent  Z.  etiropcca,  besides  many  fragments 
of  shields  of  tortoises  of  various  dimensions,  had 
been  obtained.  These  Chelonians  were  found  in 
conjunction  with  the  remains  of  the  dwarf  elephants 
and  other  members  of  the  remarkable  fauna,  col- 
lected by  Admiral  Spratt  and  the  author  in  the 
ossiferous  rock-cavities  of  Zebbug,  Mnaidra,  Benghisa, 
&c.  The  paper  contained  a  list  of  the  animal  remains 
hitherto  recorded  from  the  Maltese  fissure-caverns, 
including  three  species  of  dwarf  elephants,  two 
species  of  hippopotamus,  two  gigantic  species  of 
myoxus,  a  gigantic  swan,  and  other  animal  remains. 

"  The  Stone  Age  in  New  Jersey." — This  is  the 
title  of  a  lengthy  paper  in  the  last  Smithsonian  Report, 
by  Dr.  C.  C.  Abbott,  an  old  and  welcome  con- 
tributor to  our  columns.  It  is  numerously  illustrated, 
and  the  author  makes  out  a  clear  history  of  the 
ancient  people  who  were  driven  forth  or  exterminated 
by  the  original  "  Red  Indians."  From  the  evidence 
here  carefully'  accumulated  and  logically  worked 
out.  Dr.  Abbott  shows  how,  in  New  Jersey  alone, 
there  is  abundant  proof  of  the  high  antiquity  of  the 
human  race. 

"The  Royal  School  of  Mines  Magazine." — 
Parts  I  and  2  of  a  new  magazine,  published  by 
Wyman  &  Sons,  have  made  their  appearance  during 
January  and  February.  It  is  conducted  by  students 
of  the  School  of  Mines,  and  present  and  past 
students  /urnish  the  well-written  and  various 
literature  which  fills  its  pages.  There  are  some 
capital  geological  articles  by  Messrs.  F.  Drew,  C.  L. 
Morgan,  and  others,  and  other  contributions  of  a 
high-class  character.  We  congratulate  the  students 
on  having  made  a  most  creditable  literary  debut. 

The  Geology  of  Walton-on-the-Naze  and 
Harwich. — The  Geological  Survey  of  Great  Britain 
have  just  issued  a  short  memoir,  by  W.  Whitaker, 
F.G.S.,  on   this    district.     It    is  a  most  interesting 


neighbourhood  for  its  complicated  geology,  but  Mr, 
Whitaker  has  worked  out  the  details  with  his  usual 
clearness.  The  details  of  well-sections  and  lists  of 
fossils  are  most  valuable. 

How  to  Strengthen  fragile  Fossils.— 
Some  Tertiary  fossils  are  remarkable  for  being  not 
only  wonderfully  perfect  in  the  rock,  but  unfortu- 
nately for  being  also  terribly  fragile  out  of  it.  By 
soaking  such  tender  specimens  in  a  little  dilute 
silicate  of  potash  and  then  warming  them  gently, 
they  are  toughened  almost  instantaneously  and  can 
be  handled  with  impunity.^ — L.A.G. 

Pal^bospalax  MAGNUS. — On  the  l6th  of  January, 
1877,  I  found,  at  the  Runton  Freshwater  deposit 
along  the  Norfolk  coast,  a  perfect  lower  jaw  of  the 
above  extinct  species  of  mole, — A.  Savin,  Cronier. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

Early-flowering  Ivy. — Passing  along  a  stretch 
of  brick  wall  thickly  invested  with  ivy,  on  the  15th 
of  September,  I  was  awakened  to  the  fact,  through 
hearing  a  sonorous  hum  overhead,  that  the  green 
blossom,  so  pleasing  to  a  host  of  insects,  was  yielding 
its  store  of  honey  earlier  than  usual.  This  must  be 
ascribed  to  the  intense  heat  of  August,  which  had 
hastened  the  development  by  two  or  three  weeks. 
This  may  be  agreeable  enough  to  many  of  the 
Hymenoptera,  which  were  put  upon  "short  com- 
mons "  in  consequence  of  the  scarcity  of  wild-flowers 
through  the  lack  of  rain.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
there  are  various  moths  to  which  the  ivy-bloom 
furnishes  food,  and  in  a  season  like  the  present  it 
does  not  follow  that  their  emergence  from  the  pupa 
state  will  be  sooner,  to  correspond  with  the  flowering 
of  the  ivy  ;  for  the  growth  of  spring  and  summer 
caterpillars  is  affected,  not  only  by  the  temperature, 
but  by  the  condition  of  the  food-plants. — J.R.S.C. 

Tea-leaves  as  a  Manure.— The  value  of  tea- 
leaves  as  a  manure  for  window  plants  is  undeniable. 
I  first  became  aware  of  this  from  the  circumstance  of 
a  lady  friend  being  unusually  successful  with  several 
species  of  lilitim  grown  in  a  window.  On  inquiry 
she  told  me  that  they  were  mulched  frequently  with 
tea-leaves.  Acting  on  the  hint,  I  have  found  the 
same  material  excellent  in  the  case  of  cyclamens. — 
Rus  in  Urbe. 

Mica  in  the  Arctic  Regions. — Now  that  so 
much  interest  is  evinced  in  everything  relating  to  the 
Arctic  regions,  it  may  not  be  unteresting  to  recall  to  the 
minds  of  yoMX  geological  readers  an  incidentof  one  of  the 
old  Arctic  expeditions,  which  has,  within  the  last  few 
months,  received  corroboration  from  our  enterprising 
Yankee  brethren.  Those  who  recollect  the  quaint 
records  of  Frobisher's  courageous  expeditions  in 
search  of  a  passage  to  Cathay  round  north-west 
America  may  remember  that  in  his  first  voyage  in 
1576,  one  of  the  seamen  happened  to  pick  up  a  stone 
as  a  memorial  of  his  voyage,  and  that  when  his  wife 
"  cremated"  it  as  a  useless  trifle,  "  it  glistered  with  a 
bright  marquesset  of  gold,"  whereupon  the  gold- 
finers  of  London  became  much  excited ;  and  the 
thrifty  Queen  Elizabeth  advanced  part  of  the  money 
for  a  second  expedition  in  1577.  On  some  of  the 
islands  near  Frobisher's  Strait  or  Cumberland  Land 


7° 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


(opposite  Labrador)  200  tons  of  the  supposed  gold 
ore  were  discovered  and  put  on  board ;  but  on  tlie 
return  the  cargo  proved  a  sadly  disappointing  one. 
From  the  accompanying  extract,  the  Americans  appear 
to  have  rediscovered  this  "  mine,"  which  proves  to  be 
of  viica,  and  not  of  gold,  as  poor  Frobisher  and  the 
London  gold-finers  imagined ;  so  that  Frobisher's 
discovery  is  at  last  turned  to  practical  account._  The 
brilliant  appearance  of  mica  might  well  deceive  the 
somewhat  credulous  Jack  Tars  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, Avho  took  the  Esquimaux  for  "porpoises"  or 
"strange  fish"  when  they  first  saw  them  in  their 
"kajaks"  (or  canoes),  and  let  one  old  woman  go  (to 
her  great  delight  no  doubt)  as  a  "devil  or  witch"  ; 
but  how  the  Cockney  gold-finers  came  to  mistake  mica 
for  gold  is  indeed  a  cnix,  and  shows  the  necessity  for 
a  little  "technical  education"  in  these  matters. — 
Francis  A.  Allen. 

Black  and  White  Crows  (?). — I  fancy  the  bird 
seen  by  your  correspondent,  F.  M.  C.  Whittaker,  and 
described  by  him  as  a  black  and  white  crovy,  is  a 
stray  specimen  of  the   Nutcracker   Crow,  a  bird  of 
rare  appearance  in  the  country,  and  which  answers 
the    description   given,  as   to    plumage ;  though   the 
description    of     its    habits,     as    given     in    Wood's 
Natural  History,  hardly  agrees  with  those  given  by  your 
correspondent.     The  following  is  the  description  of 
the  bird  as  given  by   the   authority  referred   to  : — 
"  The  Nutcracker  Crow,  whose  true  position  in  the 
scale  of  creation  has  so  long  bewildered  naturalists, 
is  about  the  size  of  a  jackdaw,  but  its  form  is  more 
slender,  and  the  tail  is  longer.     It  is  seldom  found  in 
this  country,  but  is  very  common  in  more  northern  dis- 
tricts.    In  its  habits  it  displays  a  singular  mixture  of 
the  Woodpecker  and  the  Nuthatch,  and  exhibits  so 
few  of  the  well-known   habits    of  the    Crows,    that 
observers  might  well  be  perplexed  where  to  place  it. 
It  is  now  supposed  to  be  a   connecting  link  between 
the  Crows  and  the  Woodpeckers.     It  runs  about  the 
branches  of  trees,  using  its  tail  for  a  support,   and 
pecks  away  the  bark,  in  order  to  reach  the  insects 
beneath.     It  also  pecks  open  the  fir  cones,  in  search 
of  the  hidden  seed,  and  breaks   nuts   by   repeated 
strokes  of  its  bill  like  the  Nuthatch.     It  is  usually  seen 
in  flocks,  but  is  not  so  wary  as   the  Crows."     From 
the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  the  habits  of  the  Nut- 
cracker Crow  are  very  dissimilar  to  those  of  the  bird 
seen  ;  but  from  the  engraving  of  the  bird,  given  in 
the  above  work,  I  fancy  they  are  identical,  the  Nut- 
cracker being  speckled  something  after  the  manner  of 
a  starling. — Jos.  Laing. 

The  New  Insectivorous  Plant  {sec  January 
Science-Gossip,  page  18). —Your  correspondent 
Mr.  Brittain  will  find  a  good  figure  and  description 
of  Apocynaiii  androsaemifolium,  and  the  mode  sug- 
gested by  which  the  flower  retains  the  insect  entrapped, 
in  the  8th  vol.  of  Curtis's  Botanical  Magazine,  plate 
280,  published  November,  1791. — F.  B.,  Staines. 

Crocuses  Changing  Colour  in  the  Shade. 
— The  influence  of  light,  heat,  and  soil  on  the  colour- 
ing of  all  plants  being  very  great,  I  have  no  doubt  but 
that  these  three  causes  combined  worked  the  change 
of  hue  A.  E.  Worcester  describes  as  having  taken 
place  in  his  crocuses.  Every  vegetable  that  grows  in 
the  shade  is  pale,  but  the  more  plants  are  exposed  to 
the  light  the  greater  the  amount  of  brilliant  colouring 
they  actiuire.  Colour,  say  sap  green,  in  plants 
is  said  to  arise  from  their  nitrogen,  red  from  their 
oxygen,  and  blue  from  their  hydrogen  character ;  there- 
fore some  chemical  combinations  must,  I  conclude, 
take  place  between  the  fluids  or  gases  of  plants  (I  do 
not  know  the  correct  term)  and  the  colouring  proper- 


ties of  light.  There  are  three  rays  (colours)  in  a 
beam  of  light, — red,  blue,  and  yellow,  and  according 
to  the  ray  or  rays  reflected  by  the  flower,  so  will  be 
its  colour.  Parts  of  the  colours  or  rays  in  a  beam  of 
light  get  absorbed  in  the  body  or  flower  on  which 
the  beam  falls,  and  parts  get  thrown  back  ;  reflected, 
they  enter  the  eye  of  the  gazer,  and  fix  the  colour  of 
the  flower.  The  power  certain  plants  have  of  absorb- 
ing light  depends  on  their  chemical  constitution  ;  so 
when  a  flower  changes  hue,  its  constitution  has  under- 
gone a  chemical  change,  and  this  change  may  be 
effected  by  soil. — //.  E.  Watney. 

"Vestiges  of  the  Natural  History  of 
Creation." — Respecting  the  unknown  authorship 
of  the  above  work,  mentioned  in  your  "Notices  to 
Correspondents,"  the  following  passage  may  not  be 
uninteresting  to  your  readers,  which  appears  in  the 
"History  of  Booksellers,"  showing  that  the  late 
Robert  Chambers,  of  Edinburgh  (whose  earliest 
essays,  published  in  his  Journal,  had  been  upon  geo- 
logy ;  and  to  this  branch  of  science,  it  is  said,  he 
became  more  and  more  addicted),  if  not  the  author, 
must  at  least  have  taken  a  very  prominent  part  in  its 
production: — " //  tvas  known  that  the  proof-sheets 
passed  the  hands  of  Mr.  Robert  Chambers  ;  and  on 
no  better  authority  than  this,  not  only  did  the  public 
believe  the  story,  but  the  '  Vestiges '  was  entered  in 
the  Catalogue  of  the  British  Museum  under  his  name. 
A  writer  in  the  Critic  boldly  stated,  '  on  eminent 
authority,'  that  George  Combe  was  the  author;  and 
though  this  was  contradicted,  and  though  the  author- 
ship is  still  a  mystery,  it  would  appear  that  Combe 
had,  at  all  events,  something  to  do  with  the  work. 
In  1848  Robert  Chambers  was  selected  to  be  Lord 
Provost  of  Edinburgh ;  he  was  requested  to  deny 
the  authorship,  but  his  refusal  to  plead,  and  his  con- 
sequent retirement,  were  probably  due  to  his  contempt 
for  people  who  could  make  the  authorship  of  a  book 
a  barrier  to  civic  honours."  Taking  the  above  state- 
ments as  correct,  I  think  we  may  infer  that  either 
Combe  or  Chambers  was  the  author,  though  it  will 
not  allow  us  to  fix  with  certainty  on  either. — H.  G. 

[The  recently  published  "Life  of  Robert  Cham- 
bers," by  his  brother,  has,  we  believe,  no  mention  of 
the  authorship  of  this  work.— Ed.  S.  G.] 

Early  Primroses  and  other  Flowers.  —  In 
reply  to  C.  W.  H.  Chelmsford's  observations,  I 
write  to  say  that,  at  the  date  he  gives  (the  ist  of 
January),  primroses  were  out  in  full  bloom  all  around 
Hockley,  and  that  tufts  of  buds  had  been  daily  ex- 
panding in  the  hedge  of  this  garden  for  some  time 
previously.  I  gathered,  on  the  shortest  day  in  the 
year,  quite  a  pretty  nosegay,  composed  of  primroses, 
violets,  monthly  roses,  periwinkles,  and  the  exqui- 
sitely perfumed  flowers  of  the  Cliimonanthusfragrans. 
The  Blackthorn  has  been  in  bloom,  in  a  rather 
sheltered  hedge  near  the  village,  for  the  last  three 
weeks ;  and  an  oxlip,  one  solitary  specimen,  has 
likewise  put  in  a  claim  for  our  admiration.  Snow- 
drops and  crocuses  have  also  come  out. — Helen  E. 
WatJiey,  Bei-ry-givve,  Liss,  Hants. 

Early  Primroses. — It  may  interest  some  of  the 

readers    of    Science-Gossit    that    common    prim- 

i    roses  were  in  full  flower  in  Beaumaris,  N.  Wales,  fully 

I   six  weeks  ago,  and  other  plants  are  equally  forward. — 

J.  S.  Riches. 

Early  Primroses,  &c.  (p.  45). — In  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Watford  primroses  have  been  in  flower 
here  and  there  nearly  all  through  the  winter,  and 
from  the  middle  of  January  the  Hawthorn  has  been  in 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE  -  G O SSIP. 


71 


bloom.  At  Ware,  the  Winter  Aconite  has  been  in 
flower  since  the  2nd  of  January,  and  a  cowslip  was 
out  on  the  14th  ;  while  the  Thrush  has  been  in  full 
song  since  the  i8th  of  December. — J.  H.,  Watford. 

Early  Primroses.  —  "C.  W.  H."  will  see  in 
Science-Gossip,  vol.  vi.  jj.  45,  that  primroses  wei-e 
gathered  in  the  woods  near  Hurstpierpoint  on 
Christmas .  eve,  1869.  I  have  had  primroses  in 
flower  on  a  railway  bank  adjoining  my  garden  since 
the  first  week  in  January,  and  a  friend  has  had  them 
blooming  since  November  in  her  garden.  Last  year 
mine  were  in  flower  from  the  end  of  October  until 
the  end  of  April. — Alicia  Bogtie,  Surbiton. 

Strange  Death  of  Fowls. — Last  autumn  I 
noticed  that  some  of  my  chickens  were  troubled  with 
over-distended  crops,  and  were  not  relieved  by  being 
made  to  fast  for  several  hours.  A  day  or  two  after 
this  symptom  first  showed  itself,  the  fowls  were  gene- 
rally seized  with  that  peculiar  spasmodic  upward  con- 
traction of  the  crop,  such  as  most  birds  get  after  eating 
plentifully  without  drinking.  This  was  again  followed 
toy  a  partial  paralysis  of  the  legs,  owing  to  which  the 
birds  became  unable  to  walk  naturally,  lifting  the  feet 
very  high  and  throwing  them  far  forward,  altogether 
presenting  a  very  awkward  appearance  ;  at  this  stage 
the  bird  would  grow  mopy  and  ruffled  in  appearance, 
yet  generally  ate  voraciously  all  through  the  illness, 
the  distention  of  the  crop  increasing  daily,  and  the 
breath  growing  somewhat  offensive  after  the  paralysis 
showed  itself;  and  death  followed  in  all  but  two 
cases  (a  strong  young  cockerel  and  a  fine  good-sized 
hen)  within  three  or  four  days.  On  making  a  post- 
mortem examination,  I  found  all  the  indications  of 
death  by  starvation,  with  this  exception^that  the 
crop  and  gizzard  and  the  duct  connecting  them  were 
as  full  of  grain  and  other  food  as  they  could  be,  but 
all  the  intestines  almosf  absolutely  empty  and  much 
emaciated.  On  opening  the  crop,  I  could  find 
nothing  to  explain  all  this  ;  but  in  the  gizzard  I  dis- 
covered in  one  case  about  twelve,  and  in  another 
forty  shot,  of  various  sizes.  The  mystery  was  solved, 
a  clear  case  of  lead  poisoning.  The  fowls  had 
evidently  mistaken  shot,  carelessly  spilt  in  places  to 
which  they  had  access,  for  some  sort  of  grain,  and 
swallowed  it  accoixlingly.  All  who  died  with  these 
symptoms  (eight  or  ten  in  number)  I  examined,  and 
always  with  the  same  result.  Three  or  four  I  dosed 
with  olive-oil,  and  among  them  were  the  two  that 
recovered, — whether  from  that,  or  their  own  hardy 
constitution  is  more  than  I  can  say  ;  all  that  died 
were  young  birds,  hatched  last  spring ;  of  all  the 
old  fowls,  only  the  hen  above  mentioned  seems  to 
have  suffered.  Have  any  of  the  readers  of  Science- 
Gossip  ever  had  such  an  experience  ?  and  if  so,  have 
they  found  any  good  remedy  ?  I  would  be  much  obliged 
for  information  on  this  subject. —  W.  T.   Van  Dyck. 

The  Siskin  or  Aberdavine.— This  bird  used  to 
make  its  appearance  in  the  vicinity  of  Beyrout,  and 
through  a  large  region  of  Lebanon,  in  the  early  part 
of  the  winter,  and  stayed  till  spring,  being  more 
plentiful  every  other  year  ;  but  now,  for  the  three  or 
four  past  years,  only  a  very  occasional  straggler  has  been 
seen  ;  and  whereas  they  used  to  be  sold  at  the  rate  of 
two  for  a  penny  in  the  streets,  it  is  now  very  difficult 
to  find  one  at  all,  and  then  it  cannot  be  procured  for 
less  than  a  couple  of  shillings  or  thereabouts.  Has 
this  been  the  case  in  other  than  these  localities  ? — - 
W.  T.   Van  Dyck,  Beyrout,  Syria. 

Sparrow-hawk  and  Crow. — I  owe  "J.  W.  D." 
many  thanks  for  pointing  out  the  grOss  blunder  in  my 
note  concerning  the  "Sparrow-hawk  and  Crow"  in 
the  October  number.     The  sparrow-hawk,  in  the  act 


of  clinging  to  the  church  spire,  with  outspread  wings, 
appeared  at  first  sight  to  be  a  large  one.  I  was  not 
undeceived  on  the  point  until  it  flew  away  from  the 
place,  followed  by  the  crow.  In  writing  the  note  to 
our  paper,  describing  what  I  had  seen,  I  gave  my 
first  impression  as  to  its  size,  when  I  first  mentioned 
that  quality,  which  was  a  wrong  one.  The  passage, 
"  I  found  the  cause  of  the  commotion  to  be  a  large 
sparrow-hawk,"  &c.,  should  I'ead,  "I  found  the 
cause  of  the  commotion  to  be  a  sparrow-hawk,"  &c. 
I  have  seen  it  several  times  since  I  wrote,  and  am 
assured  of  its  unusual  smallness.  I  will  also  correct 
a  typographical  error  in  the  same  note.  The  word 
"  stacks  "  in  the  passage,  "  as  he  was  walking  through 
a  field  just  cleared  of  stacks  of  corn,"  should  read 
"stooks."  On  August  26,  while  out  shooting,  my 
brother  killed  a  sparrow-hawk.  Round  the  bird's  left 
leg  was  knotted  a  piece  of  string.  It  must  have  been 
on  for  some  time,  the  string  having  grown  very  dark 
with  exposure.  My  brother  did  not  notice  when  it 
was  on  the  wing,  that  it  was  impeded  by  its  un- 
pleasant appendage. — A.  P. 

The  Heron. — One  of  the  great  advantages  of 
Science-Gossip  is,  that  it  elicits  correspondence 
from  all  parts  of  the  world.  I  cannot  forbear  thank- 
ing those  who  have  favoured  me  with  facts  as  to  the 
habits  of  the  Heron.  One  point  only  I  should  like 
to  know  supplementarily.  Is  the  Heron  a  bird  of  good 
flavour?  In  mediaeval  times  it  was  so  considered  ; 
but  the  prevalent  idea  is  that  it  is  far  otherwise. 
Will  any  one  who  has  recently  tasted  a  heron  kindly 
give  me  his  opinion  ? — F.  H.  Arnold. 

The  Boxtree. — This  tree  grows  in  gi-eat  abun- 
dance in  a  wood  on  the  northern  slope  of  Walson- 
bury  Beacon,  which  is  not  far  from  the  Devil's  Dyke, 
Sussex.  It  has  the  appearance  of  having  been  planted 
there  a  long  time  ago  ;  but  young  trees  are  growing 
up  in  all  directions.  Many  of  them  are  from  eight  to 
twelve  feet  in  height.  When  I  saw  them,  March  13, 
1875,  they  were  flowering  profusely.  —  IV.  B.  G. 

Geology,  &c.,  of  Lyons. — I  should  be  glad  to 
receive  any  information  on  the  Geology,  Botany, 
and  Natural  History  of  Lyons,  and  of  the  departments 
of  Rhone,  Ain,  and  Isere,  or  the  names  of  any  French 
books  on  the  subject. — Letters  to  be  addressed  to 
R.  iV. ,  40,  Rue  des  Missionnaires,  Lyon,  France. 

VOLVOX  GLOBATOR  (p.  2i). — If  this  is  dying  out  in 
the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  London,  it  may  still 
be  found  at  no  great  distance.  On  the  1st  of  July  it 
was  collected  in  abundance  in  the  small  pools  adjoin- 
ing the  Elstree  Reservoir,  by  members  of  the  Quekett 
Microscopical  Club  and  the  Watford  Natural  His- 
tory Society,  who  also  found  it  in  pools  on  Bricket 
Wood  Common,  near  Watford,  on  the  3rd  of  June. — 
J.  H.,   Watford. 


BOOKS,  &c.,  RECEIVED. 

"  Fertilization  of  Orchids."  By  Chas.  Darwin,  F.R.S. 
Second  Edition.     London  :  John  Murray. 

"  Across  Africa."  By  Commander  Cameron,  R.N.  London  : 
Daldy  &  Isbister,  2    vols. 

"  Half-hours  with  English  Antiquities."  By  Llewellyn 
Jewitt.     London  :   Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 

"Text-book  of  Botany."  By  Otto  W.  Thome,  translated  by 
A.  W.  Bennett,  M.A.,  F.L.S.  London:  Longmans,  Green, 
&Co. 

"  Life  of  a  Scotch  Naturalist."  By  S.  Smiles.  London  : 
John  Murray. 

"Monthly  Microscopical  Journal."     February. 

"  Land  and  Water."     February. 

"Yorkshire  Naturalist."     February. 

"  Botanische  Zeitung." 

"  Les  Mondes." 

"  Royal  School  of  Mines  Magazine." 
&c.  &c.  &c. 


72 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


NOTICES   TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 


To  Subscribers. — The  compilation  of  the  Classified  Index 
of  the  last  twelve  volumes  of  Scienxe-Gossip  has  proved  a 
more  difficult  and  painstaking  task  than  we  at  first  imagined. 
It  is  now  in  a  forward  state  of  preparation,  and  we  crave  a 
little  grace  from  our  numerous  correspondents,  who  have 
already  applied  for  it. 

To  Correspondents  and  Exxhangers.  — •  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  8th  of  the 
previous  month. 


M.  M. — The  "  E.xchanges  "  in  our  last  page  are  mainly  con- 
fined to  Natural  History  subjects. 

W.  E.  T. — We  refer  you  to  "The  Aquarium:  its  Inhabi- 
tants, Structure,  and  Management,"  just  published  at  6s.,  by 
Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly,  for  fuller  answers  to  all 
your  aquarium  questions  than  we  have  space  to  give.  The 
book  is  copiously  illustrated,  and  you  need  not  have  any 
difficulty  in  successfully  carrying  out  your  object. 

R.  W. — Many  thanks  for  your  suggestions. 

I.  Crawford. — Swainson's  "Taxidermy"  was  published  by 
Longmans,  at,  we  believe,  6s.  Grattann's  "Seaweeds"  was 
published  at  the  Bazaar  Office,  London,  at  2s.  or  2s.  6d. 

J.  W.  G. — The  specimen  sent  is  Gorgonia  flabelhim. 

T.  Lisle. — Get  Wood's  "Insects  at  Home"  (Longmans), 
the  new  and,  we  believe,  cheaper  edition. 

E.  H. — Our  correction  is  the  right  one. 

Dr.  D. — We  should  advise  ringing  the  slide  with  asphalte. 

R.  N.  V. — The  calculations  based  on  the  observations  made 
during  the  late  "Transit  of  Venus"  Expedition  have  not  yet 
been  published. 

W.  G.  P.  — The  only  work  we  know  is  Stainton's  "Tineina 
of  Southern  Europe,"  i6s.  (Van  Voorst) ;  Rye's  "  British 
Beetles,"  los.  6d.  (Reeves). 

W.  Saunders. — Get  Greene's  "Insect  Hunter's  Com- 
panion," and  Merrin's  "  Lepidopterist's  Calendar," — both  of 
them  cheap  books. 

C.  V.  Green. — We  omitted  to  say  that  the  specimens  of 
fungi  were  in  a  state  of  deliquescence  when  they  reached  us, 
and  utterly  unidentifiable. 

W.  H.  Legge. — We  believe  your  egg  is  a  lighter  specimen 
than  usual  of  the  Blackcap  Warbler — not  the  Garden  Warbler. 

J.  H.  P.  (North  Shields).— We  should  imagine  the  "Micro- 
graphic  Dictionary,"  published  in  half-crown  parts  by  Van 
Voorst,  would  be  the  kind  of  book  you  require. 

W.  J  .  Vandenbergh.  —We  are  afraid  your  fossil  from  the 
Suffolk  Coprolite  pits  has  been  over-estimated  in  value.  Frag- 
ments of  deers'  antlers  are  often  met  with.  You  had  best  send 
it  to  us  for  further  remark. 

H.  J.  McG. — Your  specimen  is  the  Winter  Aconite 
(Eranthis  hyeiualis),  not  a  truly  indigenous  plant. 

A.  W.  RosLiNG. — You  had  better  send  us  a  specimen.  They 
appear  to  be  eggs  of  some  kind,  but  we  cannot  undertake  to 
name  them  from  your  drawing. 

To  Various  Querists. — We  are  not  aware  by  whom,  or  at 
what  price,  the  volume  of  the  North  Staffordshire  Field 
Naturalists'  Club  (noticed  in  our  last  number)  is  published. 
You  had  better  inquire  of  the  President,  Mr.  John  Ward, 
F.G.S.,  Longton,  Stoke-on-Trent. 


EXCHANGES. 

A  large  selection  of  Macro-Lepidoptera  in  exchange  for 
Pupae  of  almost  any  species. — W.  K.  Mann,  14,  Wellington- 
terrace,  Clifton,  Bristol. 

Offered,  Van  Beneden's  "Animal  Parasites"  (5s.); 
Scrivener's  "  Greek  Testament  "  (4s.  6d.)  :  Keble's  "  Christian 
Year"  (3s  6d.)— all  new.  Wanted,  a  good  flora,  Lubbock's 
"Wild  Flowers  and  Insects,"  or  other  books. — A.  R.  R.,  12, 
Great  College-street,  Brighton. 

Photo  Magic  Lantern  Slides  of  Diatoms,  Parasites,  &c.,  in 
exchange  for  other  lantern  slides  ;  comic  or  coloured  preferred. 
Also,  lot  of  other  photo  slides,  for  exchange  or  otherwise. — 
For  particulars,  address  Wm.  Tylar,  165,  Well-street,  Birming- 
ham. 

Well-blown  Eggs  of  Kestrel,  Red-backed  Shrike,  Spotted 
Flycatcher,  Wren,  Lapwing,  Partridge,  Pheasant,  Moorhen, 
and  a  few  others,  to  exchange  for  other  eggs,  side-blown,  one 
hole.     Sea-birds  particularly  wanted. — T.  E.  Doeg,  Evesham. 

Wanted,  a  few  perfect  Specimens  of  the  Colorado  Potato 
Beetle,  in  exchange  for  micro  slides,  or  sections  of  wood, 
Foraminifera,  &c.— Address,  A.  H.  Searle,  20,  Essex-villas, 
Kensington,  London,  W. 


For  exchange  or  otherwise,  an  "Amateur"  Printing-presb 
type,  &c.  Also  a  Binocular  Microscope,  with  apparatus. — 
Address,  E.  J.  Dickson,  Canonbury,  Falkland. 

Last  four  vols,  of  Journal  of  Horticulture,  unbound,  and 
last  vol.  Pop2tlar  Science  Review,  unbound,  for  back  vols. 
Science-Gossip,  unbound.  Wood's  "  Natural  History  of  Man," 
unbound,  or  other  good  literature.— A.  Lockyer,  George-lane, 
Woodford,  Essex. 

For  a  packet  of  Diatomacese,  collected  last  summer  from 
Jersey,  send  a  stamped  directed  envelope  to  W.  H.  Gomm, 
Somerton,  Somerset. 

Pritchard's  "  Infusoria,  Living  and  Fossil,"  coloured  plates, 
1841  edition,  for  good  German  or  French  \  objective,  or  other 
microscopic  apparatus.— T.  Brown,  7,  Spencer-street,  E.G. 

For  slides  of  Pennsylvania  Freshwater  Diatoms,  and  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  or  New  Jersey  fossil  ditto,  send  other  good  slides 
to  E.  Pennock,  805,  Franklin-street,  Philadelphia,  U.S..'^. 

Several  objects  to  exchange  for  other  slides,  or  gathering  of 
Volvox  globator  or  PluDiatella  repens.—  Y..  Howell,  Gas- 
works, Yeovil. 

Four  dozen  well-mounted  slides  will  be  given  for  the  first 
nineteen  numbers  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Quekctt  Club. — 
B.,  69,  St.  Giles-street,  Norwich. 

Fossils  from  Cambridgeshire  Coprolites  in  exchange  for 
others.— A.  Floyd,  5,  James-street,  Cambi-idge. 

Wanted,  Wood's  "Tourist's  Flora"  and  Cost's  "Marine 
Zoology."  Microscopic  slides  given  in  exchange. — Rev.  J.  J. 
Muir,  Waterloo,  Liverpool. 

Good  Diatomaceous  Material  or  Marine  Soundings  wanted 
in  exchange  for  good  slides. — W.  Nash,  11,  London-road, 
Reading. 

For  specimen  of  Puccinea  Bujrei a.nd  Peridertniitin  coUnn- 
nare,  send  stamped  addressed  envelope  to  H.  Murro,  Lyme 
Regis,  Dorset.     Any  named  micro  fungi  acceptable. 

Wanted,  past  Nos.  of  Quarterly  Journal  of  Microscc^ical 
Science,  and  Monthly  Microscopical  Jourtuil. — T.  E.  Blom- 
field,  Launton  Rectory,  Bicester,  Oxon. 

A  French  botanist,  M.  Gautier,  Narbonne,  France,  wshes 
to  correspond  with  some  one  who  will  send  hina  English  plants 
in  exchange  for  Mediterranean  ditto. 

Transparent  Coal  Sections  (E.  Spines  and  others)  foe  good 
diatomaceous  material,  recent  and  fossil.  —  M.  Fowler^  20, 
Burn-row,  Slamannan,  N.B. 

American  Land  and  Freshwater  Shells  offered  in  exchange 
for  other  foreign  or  the  rarer  British  species.  Send  list.  Exten- 
sive exchanges  desired  with  Continental  and  Colonial  col- 
lectors.— Edward  Collier,  7,  Dale-street,  Manchester. 

Wanted,  during  the  season.  Eggs  of  the  larger  kinds  of 
Silkworm  Moths,  especially  Regalis.  Will  exchange  British 
Lepidoptera. — J.  T.  Willis,  Adwick-le-street,  Doncaster. 

Nos.  386,  389,  390,  S58,  865,  1,526,  1,527,  1,537  offered  in 
exchange  for  others,  London  Catalogue,  7th  edition. — W.  J. 
Hannan,  6,  Tatton-street,  Ashton-under-Lyne. 

Wanted  Eggs  of  North  American  Game-birds, — Falconida 
or  Anatidae.  Can  offer  British  Birds'  eggs.  N.  B.  corre- 
spondence invited.  All  letters  answered.  1'.  W.  Dealj*,  142, 
Clarence-street,  Sheffield. 

Utricularia  vulgaris,  U.  minor,  U.  inierntedia,  U.  'teg- 
lecta,  Drosera  anglica,  D.  longifolia,  in  e.\change  for 
Microfungi,  Lichens,  or  other  microscopic  objects. — ■!'. 
Brittain,  S,  York-street,  Manchester. 


Communications  Received  w  to  9TH  ult.  from  :  — 
E.  T.— W.  H.  W.-J.  H.  R.— P.  B.  M.— J.  H.  P.— F.  B.— 
E.  F.— R.  R.— R.  S.— T  W.  D.— J.  H.  N.— N.  F.  H.— 
J.  W.  S.— D.  J.— D.  J.  P.— A.  B.  M.— J.  F.  R.— W.  A.  L.— 
W.  J.  v.— G.  C.  D.— A.  H.  W.— M.  H.  A.— H.  S.— 
G.  H.  G.  C— J.  T.  R.— J.  S.  G.— M.  K.-F.  S.— W.  W.  F. 
— R.  B.— T.  S.— J.  M.  M.— J.  J.  M.— H.  E.  W.— C.  F.  C — 
N.  P.— E.  P.— W.  H.  W.— W.  H.— F.  W.  M.— D.  D.— 
W.  T.  V.  D.— E.  H.— J.  P.  S.— M.  L.-T.  F.  W.— F.  E.  H. 
— H.  T.— I.  H.  K.— W.  K.  B.— J.  F.  R.— T.  B.  W.— 
Dr.  G.  D.  B.— F.  A.  A.— G.  S.— A.  S.— R.  N.— H.  E.  W.— 
W.  H.  G.— H.  G.— E.  C— -M.  F.— F.  H.  A.— W.  B.  G.— 
W.  S.  B.-J.  C.  W.— Prof.  G.  S.  B.— F.  L.— W.  P.  B.— 
H.  P.-S.  R.— A,  B.— T.  J.  S.  — F.  B.  M. -L.  S.- 
J.  B.  S.  M.  I.-J.  W.  P.-  L.  T.-H.  G.— H.  P.  M.-J.  T.  R. 
— W.  W.  F.— J.  J.  M.-J.  E.-G.  M.  D.— T.  W.  D.-A.  J.  R. 
— H.  T.— W.  G.  T.— D.  A.  K.— L.  A.  G.— J.  T.  W.— W.  R.  T. 
— R.  T.  G.— F.  C— F.  T.  M.— Dr.  P.  Q.  K.— Dr.  C.  C.  A.— 
A.  F.— C.  W.  C— E.  H.— M.  M.— A.  F.— A.  J.  A.— W.  R.  C. 
— E.  C— W.  E.  T.— J.  F.  G.— W.  M.— R.  W.— W.  G.  P.— 
H.  W.  T.— I.  C— W.  L.  W.  E.— E.  W.  W.— E.  W.— H.  G.— 
J.  W.  G.— W.  B.  G.— W.  K.  M.— W.  L.  S.— D.  D.— W.  T.— 
H.  E.  W.— E.  R.  B.— T.  L.— T.  W.— G.C.— W.W.— T.W.T. 
— T.  E.  D.— W.  H.  I.— A.  D.  M.— A.  B.— H.  B.— W.  1.  H. 
—A.  H.  S.— P.  W.  B.— C.  F.  W.  T.  W.— C.  F.  W.— 
R.  M.  C— H.  P.  S.— Dr.  D.— T.  W.— A.  L.— T.  P.— A.  M.— 
G.  L.  B.— A.  C.  C— R.  N.  Y.— F.  F.— E.  V.  B.— F.  A.— 
T.  W.  D.— H.  J.  McG.— A.  W.  R.— G.  D.— H.  H.— C.  W.  B. 
-H.  I.  T.— J.  A.  P.,  &c.  &c. 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


73 


^MaS;^v^MC^^®»^^^ 


QUARTZ  I    ITS   VARIETIES   AND    MODES    OF  FORMATION. 

By  the  Rev.  J.  MAGENS  MELLO,  M.A.,  F.G.S. 


UARTZ   is   in   its  many 
forms      probably     the 
most      abundant,      as 
well    as    one    of    the 
most  beautiful,    of    all 
the     various    minerals 
which   enter   into    the 
formation  of  the  earth's 
rocky     surface.         To 
describe     it     and     its 
principal  varieties,  and 
to  give  a  short  sketch  of  the  modes  of  its  occurrence 
and  of  its  formation,  will  be  the  object  of  these  papers. 
Among   the   elements   known   to    chemistry   is  one 
named  Silicon,  sometimes  called  Silicium  ;   the  oxide 
of  this  substance,  which  is  never  found  in  a  free  state 
in  nature,  constitutes    Silica,  the   chemical   name  for 
Quartz   and   all   its  varieties.      Its  pure  crystallized 
form  is  familiar  to  us  as  the  colourless  and  transparent 
Rock  Crystal. 

Rock  Crystal. — As  Rock  Crystal,  the  typical  form 
of  quartz  is  a  hexagonal  prism  terminated  at    each 
end  by  a  rhombohedron,   when   broken   it  will  be 
seen    to   have   a   conchoidal    or   splintery   fracture. 
Rock  Crystal  is  very  widely  distributed,  being  found 
in  rocks  of  all  ages.     The  most  beautiful  and  perfect 
specimens  are  usually  obtained  from  large  cavities  or 
geodes  in  the  older  igneous  rocks,  and  also    from 
veins  in  these  and  other  rocks.     The  size  and  colour 
of  quartz  ciystals  vary  greatly  ;  some   are   so  small 
as  to  be  microscopical,    whilst   others  are  of   very 
considerable  bulk.    In  the  museum  of  Beme  may  be 
seen  specimens  of  both  the  clear  rock  crystal    and 
also  of  black  or  smoky  quartz  upwards  of  a  foot  in 
length ;  there  are  also  some  very  large  ones  in  the 
British   Museum.     Quartz  crystals  are    often  found 
presenting    almost   every  shade  of  colour, — yellow, 
brown,   black,  red,  blue,  violet,  and  green.  Various 
names  have  been  given  to  these  coloured  varieties. 
The  violet,  blue,  and  some  of  the  yellow,  and  even 
of  the  white  crystals,  which,  when  fractured,  are  seen 
to  have  a  peculiar  undulated  structure,  which  Sir  D. 
No.  148. 


Brewster  pointed  out,  have  been  classed  together  as 
Amethysts,  a  name  often   popularly  restricted  to  the 
violet  crystals,  which   owe  their  beautiful  tint  to  the 
presence  of  oxide  of  manganese.     Violet  amethysts 
are   not    uncommon    in    the    geodes    occurring  in 
volcanic  rocks  in  many  localities ;  but  the  finest  are 
obtained  from  Siberia,  Persia,  India,    and   Ceylon  ; 
whilst    Brazil  yields    white    and    yellow   amethysts. 
The  yellow  and  brown  crystals  known  as  Cairngorms 
are  varieties  of  rock  crystal  or  of  crystallized  quartz, 
if   we   restrict   the   term   rock  crystal    to    the  clear 
colourless  specimens.     The  darker  brown  and  black 
ciystals,  as  well  as  those  designated  as  Cairngoi'ms, 
may  be  grouped  under  the  common  name  of  Smoky 
Quartz.     The  dark  green  quartz  is  called  Prase,   and 
is  coloured  by  amphibole ;  there  is  also  a  lighter  gi-een 
species  known  as  Chrysoprase,  tinted,  it  is  said,  by 
oxide    of   nickel ;   whilst    oxide   of   iron    probably 
gives  colour  to   the  numerous   red   varieties.      The 
common  milk-white  quartz,   which  is   the   ordinary 
quartz  of  veins  and  of  quartz  rock,  will  be  found,  on 
microscopical  examination,  to  be  really  transparent 
quartz,  but  so  full  of  minute  cavities  as  to  cause  it    . 
to  assume  its  milky  opacity. 

Quartz  Rock. — Quartz  Rock,  or  massive  quartz,  is 
often  found  in  mountainous  masses,  hundreds  of  feet 
in  thickness.  Many  of  the  quartz  schists  and  mi- 
caceous schists  consist  chiefly  of  quartz  irregularly 
split  up  by  thin  leaflets  of  mica. 

6'(?«r/jA);/i'.— Sandstone  rocks,  often  consisting  of 
little  besides  more  or  less  rolled  grains  of  quartz,  will 
have  been  derived  from  the  breaking  up,  under 
various  denuding  agencies,  of  rocks  in  which  quartz 
has  been  the  prevailing  mineral. 

Quartz  Veins. — Veins  of  quartz  have  already  been 
mentioned.  These  ai^e  very  frequent  in  the  old  slate 
and  schist  rocks,  sometimes  forming  broad  and  irre- 
gular bands  ;  at  others,  mere  threads  traversing  the 
other  materials.  Such;  veins  will  often  present 
open  spaces  in  which  the  quartz  will  be  found  regu- 
larly crystallized. 

Flint,    Chert,     Horn  stone. — Flint   and   Chert   are 


74 


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


forms  of  quartz  usually  occurring  as  concretions  in  ' 
limestone  rocks ;  sometimes,  however,  as  bands 
of  considerable  thickness.  The  black  colour  so 
common  to  the  flints  of  the  chalk  fonnation  and 
to  the  chert  nodules  and  bands  in  the  mountain 
limestone  is  due  to  the  presence  of  carbon.  Horn-  : 
stone  is  merely  a  variety  of  chert.  ; 

Chalcedony,  Agate. — Chalcedony  has  been  described  : 
as  a  mixture  of  crystalline  and  amorphous  quartz ;  j 
its  tendency  is  to  assume  a  botiyoidal  or  stalactitic  j 
form  ;  and  its  numerous  variations  of  colour  and 
modes  of  occurrence  have  led  to  the  adoption  of 
different  distinguishing  names.  Camelians  and  sardes 
are  only  colour  distinctions  of  chalcedony  ;  and  the 
immense  family  of  agates,  including  the  onyx  and 
sardonyx,  is  more  or  less  composed  of  chalcedony, 
disposed  in  layers,  regular  or  irregular,  and  combined 
with  other  forms  of  quartz,  such  as  amethyst,  jasper, 
&c.  This  latter  name  is  applied  to  an  aluminous 
variety  of  quartz :  it  is  opaque,  and  has  a  less 
crystalline  appearance  than  ordinary  quartz.  It  is 
very  varied  in  colour  :  some  beautiful  red.  brown,  and 
green-banded  stones  are  obtained  in  Siberia,  in  Egypt, 
and  elsewhere.  Bloodstone  is  considered  to  be  a 
mixture  of  chalcedony  and  jasper,  coloured  by 
metallic  oxides. 

Opal. — One  of  the  most  beautiful  forms  of  quartz 
is  Opal,  which  is  nothing  more  than  amorphous 
silica  combined  with  water,  which  has  filtered  out 
from  the  rocks,  usually  igneous  ones,  and  is  found  in 
cavities  and  fissures  in  those  rocks.  Bohemia,  Hun- 
gary, Auvergne,  and  Queensland  yield  opals,  some 
of  them  of  great  beauty  and  value. 

Having  thus  briefly  pointed  out  the  principal 
varieties  of  quartz,  and  the  modes  of  their  occur- 
rence, we  will  next  turn  to  the  history  of  their  forma- 
tion. We  shall  find  that  quartz  may  have  been 
formed  by  more  than  one  process  in  the  grand  labora- 
tory of  Nature. 

According  to  Cotta,  there  are  two  modifications  of 
chemical  composition  in  quartz,  which  are  dis- 
tinguished by  their  different  degi^ees  of  solubility. 
"  The  one  is  insoluble  in  water  and  in  every  acid 
except  hydrofluoric,  and  the  other  is  soluble  in 
water  at  high  temperatures,  especially  in  the  presence 
of  other  acids  and  alkalies."  The  insoluble  variety  of 
quartz  may,  it  is  said,  in  process  of  time  become 
"converted  into  the  soluble  by  the  contact-influence 
of  infiltrated  moisture."  It  may,  however,  be  noted 
that  ordinary  quartz,  if  fused  with  carbonate  of  soda, 
becomes  soluble  in  water,  and  from  this  solution 
gelatinous  silica  is  precipitated  by  hydric  chloride. 
Years  ago  it  was  noted  tliat  silica  when  combined 
with  an  alkali  is  sokible  in  water,  and  that  thus  the 
decomposition  of  felspar  might  in  some  instances  be  a 
source  of  silica  in  solution.  The  residKe  of  decom- 
posed felspar,  when  it  has  been  examined,  has  been 
found  to  contain  only  a  portion  of  the  silica  ilue  to 
it,  the  remainder  having  been  dissolved.     In  a  similar 


manner  mica  is  another  mineral  which  may  be  a 
source  of  supply  for  pure  silica.  A  fact  of  some 
importance  in  studying  the  mode  of  the  formation  of 
quartz  is  that,  unlike  felspar  and  other  minerals,  which 
in  crystallizing  pass  at  once  from  the  fluid  to  the 
solid  state,  quartz  passes  through  an  intermediate 
viscous,  or  colloid  condition  before  it  assumes  the 
crystalline  form.  It  is,  comparatively  speaking,  only 
very  recently  that  we  have  had  any  practical  ac- 
quaintance with  this  colloidal  form  of  silica.  The  late 
Mr.  T.  Graham,  by  his  most  valuable  experiments 
in  dialysis,  succeeded  in  obtaining  pure  silica  dissolved 
in  water,  which  rapidly  assumed  a  gelatinous  con- 
dition. 

The  three  principal  agencies  that  have  taken  part 
in  the  formation  of  quartz  are  heat,  water,  and 
organic  life.  When  we  examine,  by  the  aid  of  the 
microscope,  certain  forms  of  quartz,  such  for  instance 
as  the  crystals  occurring  in  some  of  the  quartz  por- 
phyries, and  occasionally  in  the  pitchstones,  as  well 
as  much  of  the  quartz  of  granite  rocks,  we  find  that 
they  contain  minute  cavities  which  inclose  very  fre- 
quently tiny  crystals  of  other  minerals ;  in  the  quartz 
of  granite  these  are  very  often  found  to  be  alkaline 
chlorides,  or  sometimes  the  cavities  are  filled  up  with 
glassy  mineral  matter ;  as,  for  instance,  in  the  quartz 
of  some  of  the  Icelandic  trachytes.  Other  cavities 
are  found,  especially  in  the  granitic  quartz,  filled  with 
gas,  or  sometimes  with  water,  or  liquid  carbonic  acid. 
In  these  latter  cavities  small  bubbles  will  be  found 
which  are  movable  ;  the  smaller  ones,  indeed,  appear 
to  be  endowed  with  a  kind  of  perpetual  motion  of 
their  'own.  The  quartz  in  these  rocks  must  have 
crystallized  at  a  very  high  temperature, — indeed,  where 
glass  cavities  occur,  from  a  state  of  true  igneous  fusion. 
Mr.  Sorby  has  shown,  in  a  recent  paper,*  that  the 
solvent  power  of  liquid  water  at  the  temperature  of 
about  412  deg.  C.  is  very  great  :  its  action  on  glass 
has  been  such  as  to  produce  quartz  ciystals  from  it. 

There  seems  to  be  clear  proof  that  the  quartz  of 
the  granite  rocks  which  contains  partially  filled  fluid 
cavities,  and  cavities  inclosing  crystals  of  common 
salt,  &c.,  has  been  formed  in  a  partially  melted  mass 
of  rock,  and  began  to  crystallize  when  that  mass  was 
exposed  to  the  solvent  action  of  liquid  water,  at  a 
temperature  not  far  below  400  deg.  C,  but  yet  not 
sufficiently  high  to  expand  the  water  into  steam. 
Mr.  Sorby  concludes  that  "by  far  the  larger  part  of 
the  quartz  in  granitic  rocks  was  set  free  and  crystal- 
lized through  the  action  of  liquid  water,  at  a  tem- 
perature of  a  dull  red  heat,  just  visible  in  the  dark. 
Tlie  exact  temperature  may,  however,  have  varied 
considerably,  since  if  the  pressure  were  not  sufficiently 
great,  the  water  might  remain  in  the  form  of  steam 
until  the  rock  had  cooled  somewhat  more."  It  has 
been  noticed  as  somewhat  remarkable  that  the  quartz 
in  granite  should  have  been  usually  the  last  mineral 

•  Miiurral  Ma^asine,  No.  2,  187^. 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE  -  G O SSIP. 


75 


to  crystallize,  although  it  is  that  one  which  is  the 
most  difficult  to  fuse,  and  which  [would  therefore 
naturally  be  expected  to  have  been  solidified  before 
the  felspar  and  the  mica.  But  it  has  been  sliown  that 
when  quartz  is  in  combination  with  other  mineral 
substances,  it  is  often  as  readily  fusible  as  they  are ; 
and  thus  what  must  be  called  accidental  circumstances 
may  have  led,  in  the  case  of  the  rocks  in  question,  to 
its  being  crystallized  after  the  felspar,  which  we  so 
generally  find  to  have  modified  tlie  form  of  the 
quartz  ;  this  latter  appearing  as  a  glassy  paste  in- 
closing the  accompanying  minerals,  instead  of  having 
a  definite  form  of  its  own.  It  has  also  been  ob- 
served that  the  felspar  in  solidifying  would  liberate  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  heat  to  enable  the  quartz  to  re- 
tain its  viscous  state  (Durocher) ;  just  as,  on  the  other 
hand,  in  the  quartz  porphyries  we  see  an  instance  of 
the  analogous  effect  of  the  crystallizing  quartz  upon 
the  felspar.  It  is  asked  how  the  enormous  masses 
of  quartz  which  form  some  of  the  schistose  rocks  can 
have  been  produced  ?  We  must  appeal  to  metamor- 
phism.  The  contact  of  highly-heated  eruptive  matter 
might  thus  alter  a  quartz  or  sandstone  into  an  almost 
pure  quartz  rock.  Heat  and  pressure  combined  are 
mighty  agents,  which  might  also  effect  a  similar 
change  during  the  course  of  long  ages. 

That  water  at  a  high  temperature  can  hold  quartz 
in  solution  is  well  illustrated  by  the  deposits  of  sili- 
cious  sinter,  thrown  down  by  thermal  springs,  as,  for 
instance,  the  Geysers  of  Iceland,  and  by  others  in 
Kamtschatka  and  in  New  Zealand  :  this  silica  often 
encrusts  mosses  and  other  substances  in  the  same  way 
that  we  may  see  calc-tuff  forming  petrifactions  in 
other  localities.  The  delicate  feathery  crystallizations 
of  silicious  sinter  are  extremely  beautiful. 

The  quartz  of  veins  appears  generally  to  have  been 
deposited  from  aqueous  solution,  and  will  be  seen,  as 
has  been  already  remarked,  to  contain  innumerable 
cavities  inclosing  water.  Occasionally  these  watery 
cavities  are  of  large  size,  and  may  be  observed  with- 
out any  instnimental  aid. 

(71;  be  continued.) 


THE   ENTOMOLOGY   OF    EPPING 
FOREST. 

EPPING  FOREST,  being  a  large  tract  of  beauti- 
ful woodland,  affords  ample  scope  for  pleasure 
and  recreation  to  the  lover  of  nature ;  no  matter 
whether  a  collector  of  fungi,  a  botanist,  an  ornitholo- 
gist, or  entomologist,  or  naturalist  in  any  shape  or 
form :  here  is  situated,  as  if  for  the  special  benefit  of  the 
inhabitants  of  this  great  metropolis,  a  beautiful  re- 
creation-ground, in  which  each  can  carry  on  the  par- 
ticular branch  of  Natural  History  in  which  he  takes 
the  greatest  delight. 

To  the  entomologist,  Epping  Forest  seems  to  have 


a  special  charm,  the  glades  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Servardstone  and  High  Beech  being  both  fiill  of  good 
sport  and  sylvan  beauty.  Let  us  commence  our 
rambles  in  the  old  forest  in  the  month  of  April.  The 
scene  of  our  sport  shall  be  Chincford,  and  that  em- 
barrassing little  insect  Pidaria  the  chief  object  of  it. 
It  is  just  getting  dark,  and  as  much  as  we  can  do  to 
keep  our  feet  out  of  the  little  rivulets  or  brooks  which 
are  continually  coming  in  our  way  ;  but,  lighting  our 
lanterns,  which  are  a  great  boon  for  other  than  ento- 
mological purposes,  we  proceed  to  examine  the  blos- 
soms of  the  Sloe.  We  are  fortunate  enough  to  obtain 
a  few  of  this  local  insect,  whilst  flying  about  are 
Geometers,  Badiafa,  Sitffitmata,  and  Ilhaiai-ia,  and 
on  sallows  in  the  neighbourhood,  Noctuas,  Cruda, 
Gothica,  Instabilis,  Rubrkosa,  and  Lithorhiza.  In 
the  month  of  May,  when  every  hedge  is  showing  itself 
off  to  its  best,  and  when  the  air  is  teeming  with  in- 
sect life,  we  may  with  great  pleasure  take  another 
ramble  in  the  same  locality.  At  Fairmeads  Plain, 
High  Beech,  we  shall  be  delighted  to  see  flying  here 
and  there  over  the  bracken  that  pretty  little  fritillary, 
A.  Eiiphrosynic,  and  later  on  in  the  month,  Selene, 
the  small  pearl-bordered  fritillary,  but  not  so  plenti- 
fully as  her  twin  sister.  In  meadows  adjoining,  and 
on  the  outskirts,  we  may  count  on  getting  Carda- 
mines,  Argiolns,  Tages,  and  most  of  the  common 
butterflies  out  this  month  ;  and  we  may  also  come 
across  the  half-noctuas  Mi  and  Glyphica,  together 
with  those  pretty  Geometers  Jacobcca  and  Mac2ilata, 
and  flying  about  in  the  sunshine  two  of  the  Hooktips, 
Hamnla  and  Falcula.  On  a  bright  day  in  this  month 
we  shall  not  return  home  with  empty  boxes,  and 
shall  have  had  quite  enough  to  do  to  set  our 
captures. 

The  beginning  of  June  is  the  best  time  for  larva- 
beating.  In  the  first  week  we  may  expect  to  obtain 
by  beating  the  Oak  the  larva  of  Tliecla  Quereus,  and 
shall  by  this  means  be  able  to  procure  a  far  more 
beautiful  and  perfect  series  for  our  cabinets  than  by 
the  most  careful  selection  from  those  obtained  on  the 
wing.  On  blackthorn,  Cczndeocephala  (very  plenti- 
ful), B.  CratiEgi,  and  Quereus,  together  with  Thecla 
Betiiltc,  will  reward  the  perseverance  of  the  col- 
lector. In  the  evening,  we  may  get  by  dusking, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Walthamstow,  Geometers, 
Petraria,  Obliquaria,  perhaps  Papilionaria,  and 
Russata ;  and  among  the  Cuspidates,  Spinula  and 
Cainelina ;  whilst  on  sugar  Batis  and  Berasa  are 
beginning  to  appear,  together  with  Trilinea,  Psi, 
Plecfa,  and  hybernated  specimens  of  Libatrix.  By 
beating  the  bushes  in  the  daytime,  Temerata,  the 
Clouded  Silver,  will  reward  our  exertions,  and  not 
unlikely  Ptmctaria,  Atomaria,  and  Prunaria  will 
come  across  our  path. 

July  brings  many  fresh  moths  and  butterflies  with 
us.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  oak-trees  we  shall  see 
Thecla  Quereus,  giving  us  a  glimpse  now  and  then  of 
his  rich  purple  colours  ;  but  we  shall  not  obtain  many 

E  2 


76 


HARD  Wl CKE 'S    S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


without  a  long-handled  net  (say  about  fifteen  feet). 
Flitting  about  over  the  blackberry  bushes,  and  often 
settling  on  the  blossoms,  is  Hypcranthus,  and  scud- 
ding here  and  there  over  the  long  grass  in  the  glades, 
basking  in  the  sunshine,  are  the  two  common  skip- 
pers Linea  and  Sylvamts  in  great  profusion.  At  High 
Beech,  on  the  rushes,  we  shall  be  pleased  to  take  in 
plenty  that  local  little  butterfly  L.  ^goii,  and 
among  the  furze-bushes  close  by  Geometer  Paluiii- 
baria,  and  on  the  heath  we  shall  perhaps  meet  Por- 
■i)hyrea.     Sometimes   we   may  be   honoured  \\ith  a 


FIk-  6i-    The  Large  Emerald  Moth  {Gco?nctra  pap'diouarux). 


Fig.  62.   Hebrew-Character  Moth  {Tiem'pcr.aipa  gothtca). 


r^ 


Fig.  63.  'l"he  Coxcomb  Prominent  {Notodouia  caineihia). 

visit  from  A.  Adippe,  or  perhaps  see  the  chaste  under- 
side of  A.  PapJiia,  flapping  his  wings  whilst  settled 
on  the  flowers  of  a  neighbouring  bramble ;  but  they 
are  neither  very  plentiful.  At  dusk  we  may  expect 
Ruhiginata,  Syringaria,  and  perhaps  Poirellus,  whilst 
on  sugar,  Fimbria,  JantJiina,  Pitta,  Oo,  and  Pinastri, 
together  with  many  commoner  noctuas,  occur. 

We  must  now  pass  on  to  August,  the  harvest 
month,  not  only  to  the  farmer,  but  also  to  the  ento- 
mologist. On  a  bright  sunny  day  in  this  month  we 
may  expect  G.  Rlianini  in  nice  condition,  on  the  out- 
skirts and  in  glades  TItcc.  Bciitla:  is  beginning  to  make 
his  appearance.  Sugaring  is  now  in  its  prime  ;  on  a 
favourable  evening  the  trees  are  literally  swarming 
with  such  insects  as  Nictitans,  Trapcziiia,  Pyraniidea, 
Typica,  Maura,  and  A'lipta,  with  an  occasional  sprink- 
ling of  Affinis,  Dijfiiiis,  Libatrix,  and  more  rarely 
X.  Aiirago.  Towards  the  latter  end  of  the  month 
XaiithograpJia  and  C.  nigrum  begin  to   make  their 


appearance,  and  in  the  beginning  of  September 
Liinosa,  Pistacina,  and  Suffusa  are  to  be  met  with 
on  sugar.  By  visiting  the  neighbourhood  of  Wan- 
stead,  we  shall  find  on  the  broom  the  larva  of  Pi  si  in 
plenty,  and  by  beating  in  the  same  locality,  or  at 
dusk,  we  shall  get  Spartiata.    Later  on  in  the  month 


Fig.  64.  The  Herald  Moth  (Couoptera  libatrix). 


Fig;.  65.  Early  Thorn  Moth  \Sclcnia  illmmi-ia). 


Fig.  66.  Early  Grey  Moth  [Xylocaiii/a  lithorliiza'). 


Fig.  67.  The  Oak  Hook-tip  Moth  {Platyptcryx  iiaimda). 
(P'emale  and  Male.) 

OxyacantJia  and  Satdlitia  will  give  us  most  work  at 
sugar,  and  almost  immediately  October  commences 
Vaceinii  and  Spadieea  will  join  them.  O.  niacileiita 
and  Lota  are  also  to  be  taken,  together  with  Exoleta  : 
these  last  may  also  be  taken  feasting  on  blossoms  of 
the  Ivy. 

The  part  of  the  year  most  suited  to  entomology  is 
over,  and  we  must  now  be  thinking  of  arranging  our 
captures  and  looking  forward  to  as  pleasant  and  pro- 
sperous a  season's   sport  as  we  have  just   enjoyed. 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


77 


Many  are  the  recollections  of  past  pleasure  when  we 
think  where  this  rarity  was  caught,  or  the  lovely 
scenes  with  which  this  or  the  other  capture  is  con- 


Fig.  68.   Maiden's  Blush  Moth   EphyTa  pwictaria). 


Fig.  69.  The  Flame  [Antklea  ritbidata). 

nected  ;  so  that  often  the  thought  of  pleasure  gone  by 
is  brought  back  to  our  memory,  and  Me  can  really 
enjoy  the  pleasure  over  again.  A.  J.  R. 


THE    ECONOMICAL    PRODUCTS    OF 

PLANTS. 

By  J.  T.  Riches. 

THE  Bikh  or  Bish  Poison  of  Nepal .—Thi?.  most 
virulent  poison  is  the  produce  of  one  or  more 
species  of  Aconitiun,  which  is  a  very  important  genus 
oi  Raimnculacea:,  and  characterized  by  coloured  sepals, 
the  upper  one  being  large  and  helmet-shaped,  from 
which  has  originated  the  name  of ' '  Monkshood,"  com- 
monly applied  to  the  plants  belonging  to  the  genus. 
It  is  well  known  that  A.  ferox,  Wallich,  which  is 
thought  by  some  botanists  to  be  a  variety  of  A. 
Napcllns,  is  the  principal  species  from  which  the 
poison  is  obtained,  although  other  species  may  also 
yield  it.  It  is  obtained  from  the  leaves  and  roots  of 
the  plant.  The  plant  is  a  native  of  Nepal.  The 
root-stock  is  perennial,  sending  up  an  annual  her- 
baceous stem,  with  acuminately-lobed  leaves,  purple 
flowers,  with  a  semicircular  helmet.  The  poison  is 
used  to  a  great  extent  in  Northern  Hindostan  for 
poisoning  the  arrows  used  for  tiger-shooting.  The 
effect  very  rapidly  reveals  itself,  for  we  have  read  of 
a  tiger  shot  from  a  bow  in  Assam  being  found  dead 
only  sixty  yards  from  the  spot. 

Aconite  Root. — This  drug  is  the  produce  oi  Aconi- 
turn  Napellns,  Linn. ;  a  plant  very  commonly  grown 
in  gardens,  and  which  was  originally  thought  to  be 
indigenous  to  Britain,  but  that  is  now  open  to  doubt. 
It  is  found  wild  in  the  South  of  Europe,  and  the 
greater  portion  of  the  bulk  used  in  this  country  is  im- 
ported from  Germany.  Some,  however,  is  cultivated 
in  this  country.  The  stem  is  about  three  feet  in 
height,  with   dark  green   glossy  leaves  deeply  pal- 


mately  divided.  Flowers  arranged  in  erect  clusters, 
of  a  dull  purple  colour.  The  roots  are  clustered  and 
tapering,  dark  brown  externally  and  white  internally . 
The  taste  of  the  fresh  root  is  bitter,  but  after  a  while 
a  numbness  and  tingling  of  the  lips  and  tongue  is  ex- 
perienced. The  acrid  narcotic  principle  of  the  root 
is  due  to  the  presence  of  an  alkaloid  known  as 
"  Acotine,"  which  is  a  white  amorphous  solid  sub- 
stance, extremely  virulent ;  so  much  so  that  one- 
fiftieth  part  of  a  grain  would  kill  a  cock-robin.  The 
alkaloid  is  prepared  from  the  roots,  and  is  used,  as 
well  as  a  tincture  of  the  root  occasionally,  with  suc- 
cess externally  for  the  removal  of  neuralgic  and 
rheumatic  pains.  And  it  need  scarcely  be  said,  that 
the  greatest  caution  is  necessary  in  using  it.  This 
root  has  often  produced  fatal  results  by  being  mis- 
taken for  horseradish  root :  probably  this  has  beeii 
brought  about  by  taking  up  the  root  after  the  flowers 
and  leaves  have  died  away,  as  it  would  be  impossible 
for  such  a  terrible  blunder  to  occur  when  the  plant  is 
in  a  state  of  leaf  and  flower,  owing  to  the  great  dis- 
similarity of  the  two  plants  in  that  particulai'.  The 
root  of  the  Horseradish  may  be  distinguished  from 
the  Aconite  by  being  much  larger,  of  a  dirty  yellow 
colour  externally,  and  having  rings  at  the  top  of  the 
root,  indicating  the  place  of  fallen  leaves.  It  is  ad- 
visable that  all  young  students  should  have  in  their 
Materia  Medica,  or  Herbaria,  specimens  of  each 
mounted  side  by  side,  when  the  distinction  will  be 
obvious  enough.  Figures  of  the  plant  may  be  seen 
in  Wood's  "Med.  Bot,"  plate  VI.;  Lindley's 
"Med.  Bot.,"  p.  151. 

Sweet  Sop,  Sonr  Sop,  Ciistard-apple,  and  CJieri- 
nioyer. — These  are  the  names  applied  to  four  very 
important  and  largely  cultivated  tropical  fruits,  fur- 
nished by  different  species  of  the  genus  Anona,  a 
genus  of  trees  and  shrubs,  natives  of  South  America 
and  the  West  Indies.  The  flowers  of  the  genus  are 
somewhat  remarkable  (although  not  an  uncommon 
exception)  in  having  several  ovaries  placed  on  a  re- 
ceptacle slightly  united  at  their  bases,  which,  before 
the  fiuit  matures,  are  completely  united  into  a  many- 
celled  fruit.  The  Sweet  Sop  is  the  produce  of  Anona 
squamosa,  Linn.,  a  native  of  the  Malay  Archipelago, 
as  other  genera  of  the  family  are,  but  is  cultivated  in 
the  East  and  West  Indies.  The  fruit  is  ovate,  scaly, 
with  a  thick  rind  inclosing  luscious  pulp,  concerning 
which,  however,  tastes  greatly  differ.  The  Creoles 
greatly  fancy  it,  but  the  delicate  palate  of  a  European 
requires  time  before  the  taste  is  appreciated.  The 
fruit  produced  in  the  Malay  Islands  is  much  superior 
in  flavour  to  any  other.  The  Sour  Sop  is  the  produce 
of  Anona  muricata,  Linn.,  a  native  of  the  West  Indies. 
The  fruit  of  this  species  is  very  large,  often  weighing 
two  pounds.  It  is  greenish  and  covered  with  prickles, 
with  a  moderately  thick  rind  inclosing  a  white  pulp 
of  a  very  agreeable  sub-acid  flavour.  The  Custard- 
apple,  or  BuUock's-heart,  is  produced  by  A.  reti- 
culata, Linn,,  a  native  of  the  West  Indies,  cultivated 


78 


{HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSIP. 


as  well  in  the  East  Indies.  The  fruit  is  very  large, 
but  the  pulp  is  not  so  much  relished  as  any  of  the 
other  kinds.  The  Cherimoyer  of  Peru  is  produced 
by  A.  Cherimolia.  The  fruit  is  somewhat  heart- 
shaped,  and  scaly  externally ;  much  esteemed  by  the 
natives — nay,  thought  by  the  Creoles  to  be  superior  to 
any  other  fruit  in  the  world,  but  not  so  by  Europeans, 
although  we  have  heard  Europeans  greatly  admiring 
the  fruit,  and  have  brought  home  seeds  as  relics 
of  remembrance.  Specimens  presei-ved  in  spirit  may 
be  seen  at  the  Kev^'  Museum. 

Gocculus  indicus.- — This  term  is  applied  to  the  fruit 
©f  Anamirta  Cocculus,  a  plant  belonging  to  the 
family  Menispermacea:,  most  of  which  are  climber^i. 
The  name  applied  to  this  drag  would  lead  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  was  obtained  from  the  genus 
Cocculus.  It  must,  however,  be  borne  in  miiid,  that 
such  is  not  the  case.  It  was  formerly  included  in 
that  genus,  but  has  since  been  separated  and  esta- 
blished as  a  distinct  genus  ;  the  characters,  in  fact, 
admit  of  such  a  rank. 

The  characters  of  tlie  genus  Cocculus  are  thus  : 
flowers  unisexual,  the  male  flowers  with  six  sepals, 
six  petals,  and  three  stamens ;  the  female  flowers 
with  three  ovaries  placed  on  a  short  stalk.  The 
genus  Animirta  has  unisexual,  dioecious  flowers, 
with  six  sepals  but  no  petals.  The  male  flowers 
have  numerous  stamens  united  into  one  bundle 
(monadelphous)  ;  the  female  flowers  with  three 
ovaries  attached  to  a  thick  receptacle. 

The  plant  is  a  native  of  the  East  Indies,  growing 
especially  in  Malabar  and  the  Eastern  Archipelago, 
from  whence  the  supply  of  this  countiy  is  obtained. 
It  is  a  climbing  plant  with  a  light-coloured  bark. 
Leaves  cordate,  smooth,  light  green,  paler  beneath  ; 
flowers  pendulous ;  fruit  slightly  ovate,  somewhat 
lai^er  than  a  'full-sized  pea,  dark  brown  externally, 
wrinkled,  containing  a  yellowish,  oily,  kidney-shaped 
seed.  The  quality  of  this  substance  is  extremely 
acrid,  poisonous,  and  intoxicating  ;  its  legal  uses  are 
not  very  important,  while  no  doubt  the  illegal  uses  to 
which  it  is  applied  are  otherwise.  An  ointment, 
which  was  formerly  more  used  than  at  the  present 
time,  is  obtained  from  it.  It  is  also  used  for  taking 
fish.  But  the  amount  annually  imported  far  exceeds 
what  is  required  for  legal  purposes.  Where  does 
the  superfluous  portion  find  a  home  ?  It  is  said  that 
the  extract  is  very  largely  used  for  the  adulteration  of 
porter ;  and  of  course  the  result  of  such  adulteration 
is  to  produce  giddiness  and  intoxication  ;  and  it  is  to 
such  wholesale  system  of  adulteration  that  the  many 
ills  which  are  often  heaped  upon  "  malt  liquor"  may 
be  attributed.  The  poisonous  nature  of  this  drug  is 
due  to  the  pi'esence  of  a  chemical  substance  known 
as  "  picrotoxin."  This  plant  is  figured  in  Wallich's 
•'Asiat.  Res.,"  vol.  xiii.  PI.  15,  16;  or,  what  is 
more  desirable,  the  plant  itself  may  be  seen  growing 
in  more  than  one  place  in  the  Royal  Gardens, 
Kew. 


THE  MICROSCOPE  IN  GEOLOGY. 

THE  annual  address  of  the  President  of  the  Royal 
Microscopical  Society  (H.  C.  Sorby,  F.R.S., 
&c.)  for  the  present  year,  will,  I  fear,  scarcely  meet 
with  the  unqualified  approval  of  the  "Microscopist." 
It  contains  no  hints  about  "pretty  objects,"  &c.  ; 
but,  for  those  who  look  upon  the  microscope  as  an 
invaluable  instrament  of  research,  it  will  be  read  with 
much  interest.  Unlike  the  usual  addresses,  it  does 
not  contain  a  rc'snme  of  the  work  done  with  the 
microscope  during  the  past  year.  It  might  be  fairly 
called  a  lecture  on  the  microscopic  stracturc  of  rocks, 
as  the  following  outline  of  its  contents  will  show  : — 
The  application  of  the  Microscope  to  Geology ; 
Structure  of  Stratified  Rocks  ;  Preparation  and 
mounting  of  the  objects  ;  Object-glasses  used.  On 
the  Microscopical  Characters  of  Sands  and  Clays  : — 
Origin  of  the  IMaterial,  viz.  :  Quartz,  Mica,  Horn- 
blende and  Schorl,  Felspars,  Pumice,  Iron  oxides, 
Sorting  the  material.  Pi-actical  application  of  above 
described  :  General  Principles ;  Identification  of  the 
constituent  materials ;  Application  of  similar  prin- 
ciples to  the  sections  of  Rocks ;  Application  of  the 
above  to  special  cases,  viz.  : — Millstone-grit  of  South 
Yorkshire  ;  Sand  of  Egyptian  Desert  ;  Sand  derived 
from  Schists,  Clays,  &c.  ;  Volcanic  Ash-beds  in 
British  Strata.     Conclusion. 

The  author,  after  alluding  to  the  labours  of  "  our 
late  distinguished  Honorary  Fellow,  Dr.  Ehrenberg," 
in  the  study  of  the  organic  constituents  of  rocks 
remarks  that  very  little  has  been  done  in  the  applica- 
tion of  the  microscope  to  the  investigation  of  the 
nature  and  origin  of  loose  and  unconsolidated  sands 
and  clays.  .  .  .  Seeing  that  this  great  subject  had 
hitherto  been  so  much  neglected,  and  is  yet  the  very 
foundation  of  our  knowledge  of  the  history  of  those 
rocks  which  constitute  a  large  portion  of  the  accessible 
framework  of  our  globe,  it  appears  desirable  in  my 
address  this  evening  to  treat  this  subject  in  a  syste- 
matic manner. 

The  study  of  the  microscopical  structure  of  strati- 
fied rocks  is  very  naturally  divisible  into  two  very 
distinct  questions,  \'iz.,  the  nature  and  origin  of  the 
materials  deposited,  and  the  changes  which  have 
occurred  since  deposition,  but  on  the  present  occasion 
I  must  almost  entirely  confine  myself  to  the  former. 

When  the  stratified  rocks  are  sufficiently  hard  to 
allow  of  their  sections  to  be  made,  many  facts  may 
be  better  seen  in  slices  cut  perpendicular  to  the 
stratification,  than  by  attempting  to  disintegrate  the 
rock  and  examine  the  detached  particles.  If  the 
particles  are  lield  together  by  calcic  or  ferrous  oxide, 
or  by  any  of  the  oxides  of  lime,  they  may  be  set  free 
by  the  action  of  cold  dilute  hydrocliloric  acid,  or  by 
a  stronger  hot  solution,  or  if  not  reducible  by  these 
means  a  small  stiff  brush  may  be  used  ;  but  violent 
mechanical  separation  by  crushing  must  be  avoided. 
When   the   particles  are  separated   they  should  be 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S CIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


79 


attached  to  the  slide  by  a  weaJc  solution  of  gum,  and 
when  dry,  mounted  in  Canada  balsam. 

In  order  to  detect  the  minute  iluid  and  glass 
cg.vities,  an  amplification  of  about  doo  linear  is 
desirable.  Mr.  Sorby  states  that  the  Messrs.  Beck 
constructed  for  him  a  low  angle  i  (75°  angle  of 
aperture),  which  performed  admirably. 

"In  studying  loose  and  unconsoUdated  sands  and 
clays,  little  or  nothing  can  be  learned  respecting  the 
stmctural  arrangement  of  the  particles.  Our  atten- 
tion must  be  almost  entirely  confined  to  their  mineral 
nature,  external  form,  and  internal  structure. 

"  The  examination  of  a  comparatively  recent  deposit 
may  be  extended  into  comparatively  remote  epochs, 
and  in  a  similar  manner  the  study  of  the  ultimate 
constituents  of  the  very  oldest  stratified  rocks  might 
enable  us  to  form  some  opinion  respecting  the  nature 
of  still  earlier  rocks,  of  which  no  other  record  remains. 
This  appears  to  me  to  be  a  question  of  so  much 
interest,  and  its  solution  so  dependent  on  microsco- 
pical investigations,  that  I  venture  to  bring  it  before 
you  in  some  detail,  even  although  the  conclusions 
have  a  more  direct  bearing  on  geology  than  on  those 
branches  of  science  which  usually  claim  the  attention 
of  this  Society."  F.   Kitton. 

EARED  SEALS. 
By  Thomas  Southwell,  F.Z.S. 

Hon.   Secretarj'  of  the  Norfolk  and  Norwich 
Naturalists'  Society. 

WIDELY  distributed  on  the  lonely  shores  and 
islands  of  both  hemispheres  of  the  globe, 
are  found  certain  animals  known  as  Sea  Lions  and 
Sea  Bears  :  they  belong  to  the  order  Pinnipedise,  and 
are  closely  related  to  the  true  seals  (Phocid^),  and 
Walrus  (Trichechus) ;  from  both  of  which  they  are 
distinguished  by  the  possession  of  an  external  ear  ; 
hence  the  family  to  which  they  belong  is  appropriately 
named  OtariidiZ.  Unlike  the  true  seals,  which  seem 
to  have  the  head  set  upon  the  body,  almost  vidthout  a 
neck,  the  eared  seals  possess  a  long  and  remarkably 
flexible  neck  and  body  ;  and  their  limbs  are  so  modified 
as  to  admit  of  being  used  in  progression  on  dry  land, 
with  the  body  raised  from  the  ground.  Instead  of 
the  short  stiff  hair  of  the  true  seal,  they  are  covered 
with  a  coat  of  coarse  hair,  longer  in  some  parts  of  the 
body  than  in  others,  and  at  the  base  of  which,  in  some 
species,  is  found  a  thick  soft  coat  of  under  fur,  which, 
when  properly  dressed,  forms  the  beautiful  "  seal- 
skin "  so  much  prized  by  the  fair  sex  when  made  into 
jackets,  &c.  These  are  called  Fm-  Seals  or  Sea  Bears. 
Those  in  which  the  under  fur  is  not  present  are  called 
Hair  Seals  or  Sea  Lions.  Mr.  J.  W.  Clark,  of  Cam- 
bridge, in  an  excellent  paper  on  the  "  Sea  Lions," 
delivered  at  the  Zoological  Society's  Gardens  on 
April  22,  1875  (forming  one  of  the  "Davis  Lec- 
tures"), and  published  in  the  Contcinporaiy  Revirju  for 
December,  1875   (to  which  I  am  much  indebted  for 


what  follows),  remarks,  that  he  strongly  suspects  it 
will  turn  out,  when  the  subject  has  been  thoroughly 
investigated,  that  all  the  Otarias  have  under  fur  at 
some pei-iod  of  their  lives.  Dr.  Gray,  in  his  catalogue 
of  the  "  Seals  and  Whales  in  the  British  Museum," 
has  divided  the  family  into  nimierous  genera  and 
species,  in  some  cases  upon  very  slight  grounds. 
Mr.  Clark,  however,  is  of  opinion  that  in  the  present 
state  of  oiu-  knowledge  it  would  be  better  to  retain 
the  originial  genus,  Otaria,  as  founded  by  Peron  in 
1 81 6,  under  which  he  includes  all  the  species  which 
have  been  made  out  with  certainty,  and  which  he  con- 
siders do  not  exceed  nine  or  ten  in'number,  remark- 
ing, however,  that  as  we  become  better  acquainted 
with  the  family  the  number  will  probably  be  increased. 

Various  species  of  Eared  seals  are  found  widely 
scattered  over  the  seas  of  the  world  :  commencing  in 
the  north,  with  the  Prybilov  Islands,  in  Behring's  Sea, 
the  Aleutian  Islands,  they  extend  southward  to  Cali- 
fornia and  the  Galapagos  Islands  ;  round  Cape  Horn 
and  the  adjacent  islands  to  the  river  Plate ;  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  far-off  shores  of  Kerguelen's 
Land,  and  the  coasts  of  Australia  and  New  Zealand. 
The  range  of  some  species  is  very  extended  ;  that  of 
others  more  or  less  restricted.  Space  will  not  allow 
of  my  noticing  each  member  of  this  interesting  family, 
but  I  will  select  two  individuals,  which  will  fairly 
illustrate  the  habits  and  appeai-ance  of  the  whole. 

The  best  known  of  the  fur  seals  is  the  Northern 
Sea  Bear,  Otaria  ttrsina,  which,  although  almost 
entirely  confined  to  the  islands  of  the  Prybilov 
group  in  Behring's  Sea,  is  there  at  the  proper  season 
of  the  year  found  in  great  numbers.  The  male, 
which  reaches  its  full  size  at  the  age  of  six  years, 
measures  about  nine  feet  in  length,  and  is  dark  brown 
or  nearly  black  in  colour,  with  a  grayish  tinge  about 
the  head,  neck,  and  anterior  parts ;  the  ears  in  both 
sexes  are  pointed  and  slanting  backward.  The  fe- 
male arrives  at  maturity  at  the  age  of  four  years,  and 
does  not  reach  above  half  the  size  of  the  male ;  her 
colour  is  silver-gray,  becoming  darker  with  age.  The 
young  are  black  at  first,  which  changes  to  silvery- 
gray  ;  the  under  fur  is  very  silky  and  of  a  reddish- 
brown  colour.  A  single  young  one  is  produced  at  a 
birth,  which  takes  place  about  the  middle  of  July. 
In  addition  to  the  value  of  the  skin,  each  fur  seal 
yields  a  gallon  and  a  half  of  oil,  and  the  flesh  is  said 
to  be  very  good  eating.  Of  the  general  appearance 
of  the  animal  the  accompanying  drawing  (fig.  70)  will 
convey  a  more  correct  idea  than  would  along  description. 

The  limbs  are  encased  in  a  coating  of  tough 
bare  skin,  which  extends  beyond  the  ends  of  the 
toes  of  the  hind  flipper,  the  toes  themselves  being 
nearly  equal  in  length,  and  the  three  middle  ones 
armed  with  claws.  The  fore  flipper  has  the  thumb 
the  longest,  and  the  other  digits  decreasing  rapidly  in 
length  give  it  a  very  fin-like  appearance  contrasted 
with  the  square  margin  of  tlie  hinder  extremity  : 
there  are  no  claws  present  on  the  fore  flippers.     The 


8o 


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


eyes  are  large,  glistening,  and  very  expressive.  The 
great  haunt  of  this  species  during  the  breeding  season 
is  the  small  group  of  islands  in  Behring's  Sea,  dis- 
covered by  Prybilov  in  1 786  and  named  after  him. 
Upon  the  discovery  of  the  islands  the  Russians  at 
once  established  a  fur  company  there,  and,  says  Mr. 
Clark,  "slaughtered  annually,  for  thirty  years,  from 
80,000  to  90,000  animals,  luithoiit  regard  to  sex  or 
system.  About  181 7  it  was  observed  that  they  had 
diminished  in  number.  Still  no  change  took  place. 
But  in  1836  only  a  tithe  of  the  former  number  ap- 
peared, and  then  the  system  was  adopted  which  is 
practically  the  same  as  that  enforced  at  the  present 
day  by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  to  whom 
the  islands  now  belong"  {^Contemporary  ReiAe^v,  vol. 
xxvii.  p.    36).       In    Scammon's    "Marine   Animals 


middle  of  July  the  "rookeries"  are  full.  At  this 
time  it  has  been  estimated  that  on  the  Island  of  St. 
Paul's,  with  a  beach  extending  for  eight  miles  in 
length  and  129  feet  in  depth,  over  three  millions  of 
breeding  fur  seals  with  their  cubs  are  to  be  found, 
and  on  the  smaller  Island  of  St.  George  are  163,420 
more ;  add  to  which  the  yearlings  and  males  under 
six  yeai"s  of  age,  estimated  at  two  millions  more,  and 
the  astounding  total  of  five  or  six  millions  of  fur  seals 
are  found  to  congregate  upon  these  small  islands. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  females  or  "mothers,"  the 
duties  of  the  "  bachelors  "  commence  :  following  the 
females,  they  compel  them  to  land,  when,  imme- 
diately, down  comes  the  nearest  old  male,  who,  with 
much  clucking  and  many  bows,  contrives  to  get  be- 
tween the  lady  and  the  water:  "then  his  manner 


HUffLE 


Fig.  70.  Northern  Fur  Seal  (fitarla  2irsina),'^'xi\.^x  Scammon. 


of  the  North-western  Coast  of  North  America"  is  a 
long  and  interesting  account  of  the  bree  ding  habits  of 
this  species,  from  which  the  following  is  condensed. 

By  the  middle  of  April  the  first  old  males  make 
their  appearance  at  the  breeding- places  in  the 
Prybilov  Islands,  and  after  landing  and  reconnoitring 
depart,  to  return,  however,  in  a  few  days  with  the 
first  party  of  males  of  all  ages;  then  follow  fresh 
animals  daily  till  all  the  males  of  various  ages  have 
arrived.  The  old  patriarchs,  called  ' '  married  seals, " 
immediately  land  and  take  up  their  stations  in  the 
"rookery,"  often,  it  is  said,  returning  to  the  same  spot 
year  after  year,  each  reserving  for  himself  a  space 
equal  to  about  a  square  rod  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  ten  or  fifteen  wives  he  is  expecting  shortly  to 
arrive.  The  young  males  are  compelled  to  stay  in 
the  water,  and  are  called  "Bachelors."  About 
15th  June  the  females  begin  to  appear,  and  by  the 


changes,  and  with  a  harsh  growl  he  drives  her  to  a 
place  in  his  harem,"  alas !  only  to  be  seized  by  the 
nearest  male  above,  as  soon  as  her  lord  is  otherwise 
occupied  ;  the  new  lord  in  his  turn  being  subjected  to 
the  same  robbery  till  the  males  farthest  from  the 
sea  have  secured  their  complement  of  females.  The 
poor  "mother"  often  gets  roughly  used  in  thus 
passing  from  mouth  to  mouth  (for  she  is  lifted  about 
like  a  kitten) ;  and,  should  a  fight  for  her  possession 
occur,  is  not  unfrequently  pulled  in  two.  When  all 
the  places  are  filled  up  tranquillity  prevails,  the  old 
males  keeping  order,  each  in  his  own  harem,  and 
driving  off  all  intruders.  The  young  are  born  two 
or  three  days  after  all  is  quiet,  and  carefully  tended 
by  their  mothers.  By  the  middle  of  August  the  young 
are  all  born  and  the  females  again  pregnant ;  the  old 
males  then  resign  their  charge  to  the  younger  males 
and  go  off  to  sea  to  break  the  long  fast  which  has 


HARD  WICKE'S    S CIENCE-G 0 SSIP. 


8i 


continued  during  the  whole  of  their  stay  upon  the 
land.  The  pups  do  not  take  readily  to  the  water  at 
first,  but  soon  learn  to  love  the  element  in  which  so 
much  of  their  future  life  is  to  be  spent.  By  the  ist  of 
October  the  seals  begin  to  leave  the  islands,  the  males 
going  last  and  keeping  to  themselves. 

The  seals  engaged  in  breeding  are  on  no  account 
allowed  to  be  disturbed,  all  those  which  are  killed 
belonging  to  the  "bachelor"  class,  and  of  these  only 
about  100,000  ai'e  killed  annually,  those  of  two  or 
three  years  of  age  being  selected.  The  bachelor  seals, 
as  before  observed,  are  not  allowed  to  occupy  the 
"rookeries,"  but  take  up  their  station  on  the  slopes 
above ;   they   can   thus   be   surrounded   and    driven 


suitable  age  are  allowed  to  escape  and  return  to  the 
shore ;  those  destined  to  be  killed  are  driven  to  the 
killing-place,  some  six  or  seven  miles  distant  (out  of 
sight  and  smell  of  the  rookeries),  by  easy  stages  of 
rather  over  a  mile  a  day  ;  hei-e  they  are  allowed  to 
rest  and  cool  themselves,  as,  if  too  much  heated,  the 
fur  is  loosened.  When  required  for  killing,  from  70 
to  100  are  separated  from  the  flock,  driven  together, 
and  those  selected  quickly  dispatched  by  a  blow  on 
the  nose  ;  tlie  rejected  ones  are  allowed  to  go  to  the 
nearest  water,  and  quickly  return  to  their  old  haunts. 
This  goes  on  till  the  whole  flock  is  disposed  of.  The 
skins,  after  being  removed,  are  salted  in  bins,  and 
afterwards   packed,   the  flesh  sides  inward — with  a 


Fig.'yi.  Steiler's  Sea-lion  {Otaria  Stclleri), — after  Scammon. 


away  without  alarming  the  breeding  seals.  The 
killing  commences  in  June,  but  the  best  months  are 
September  and  October,  although  more  care  has  to 
be  exercised  then,  as  at  that  time  a  large  number  of 
females  are  mixed  with  the  young  males,  from  which 
it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  them  (not  a  single  female 
is  allowed  to  be  killed),  whereas,  earlier  in  the  sea- 
son, males  alone  occupy  the  slopes,  and  it  is  only 
necessaiy  to  select  those  of  the  proper  age.  When  it 
is  determined  to  make  a  drive,  a  party  of  men  ap- 
proach quietly  and  creep  between  the  seals  and  the 
shore,  when,  starting  up  with  a  shout  at  a  given  sig- 
nal, they  commence  driving  the  seals  inland.  As 
they  proceed,  as  many  as  possible  of  those  of  an  un- 


little  fresh  salt  between  them — for  shipment.  On 
arrival  in  this  country  the  skins  are  properly  dressed 
and  the  long  hairs  removed  by  paring  down  the  flesh 
side  of  the  skin  till  the  roots  of  the  hairs,  which  are 
deeper  seated  than  those  of  the  fur,  are  cut  through  ; 
all  the  coarse  hair  is  then  brushed  off  and  the  beauti- 
ful under  fur  alone  is  left ;  this  is  at  first  of  a  reddish- 
brown  colour,  arranged  in  little  curls,  which  in  the 
subsequent  process  of  dyeing  lose  their  crispness,  and 
the  skin,  which  in  the  rough  was  sufficiently  unattrac- 
tive, is  now  converted  into  the  beautiful  silky  fur  so 
well  known  as  "  seal  skin." 

By  the  wise  regulations  of  the  American  Govern- 
ment an  annual  rent  of  50,000  dollars  and  a  tax  on 


82 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSSIP. 


each  skin  taken,  are  realized  from  the  Alaska  Com- 
mercial Company,  to  whom  the  islands  are  leased, 
and  the  breeding  herd  still  maintained  undiminished  ; 
so  that  a  permanent  source  of  industry  and  profit  is 
established,  which,  should  nothing  unforeseen  occur, 
may  continue  for  an  indefinite  period.  What  a  lesson 
to  the  Governments  interested  in  the  northern  seal 
fisheiy,  both  in  prudence  and  humanity  ! 

In  the  South  Seas,  the  fur  seals,  being  unprotected, 
have  been  nearly  exterminated,  slaughtered  without 
regard  to  sex  or  age,  and  their  skins  so  carelessly 
cured  that  in  one  instance  100,000  rotted  on  the 
voyage  home,  and  had  to  be  dug  out  of  the  ship's  hold  ! 
Well  might  a  correspondent  of  Mr.  Clark's  exclaim,  "I 
should  as  soon  expect  to  meet  a  sea-lion  on  London 
Bridge  as  on  any  one  of  the  islands  in  Bass's  Strait !  " 

I  will  now  turn  briefly  to  the  other  section  of  the 
Eared  seals,  the  Sea-lions. 

Steller,  the  naturalist  to  Behring's  second  expedi- 
tion in  the  year  1741,  discovered  a  sea-lion,  to  which 
he  gave  the  name  of  Leo  marinus,  and  first  described, 
in  a  paper  published  after  the  death  of  its  author,  in 
the  "  Transactions  of  the  St.  Petersburg  Academy 
for  1751."  Thisspecies,  Otaria  Stellcri  [Euiiictopias 
Sfellcri  of  Gray),  inhabits  Behring's  Straits,  and  the 
coasts  and  islands  of  the  North  Pacific,  its  range  ex- 
tending westward  to  Kamschatka  and  the  islands  of 
the  Ochotsk  Sea,  and  southward  along  the  west  coast 
of  North  America  to  California  and  the  Galapagos 
Islands.  The  adult  male  varies  much  in  colour  from 
dull  grey  to  black  or  reddish-brown ;  the  head  and 
neck  are  much  elongated,  the  upper  lip  furnished 
with  strong  flexible  whiskers  of  a  whitish  colour  ;  the 
eyes  full  and  expressive,  especially  when  excited ; 
ears  cylindrical,  tapering,  short,  and  lying  nearly  in 
a  line  with  the  body.  The  female  is  of  a  light  brown 
colour.  The  total  length  of  the  full-grown  male  is 
about  twelve  feet,  that  of  the  female  a  little  over  six 
feet.  Many  of  my  readers  have  doubtless  seen  the 
pair  of  Steller's  sea-lions  now  living  in  the  Brighton 
Aquarium  ;  to  those  who  liave  not,  the  accompanying 
figure  (fig.  71)  will  convey  an  idea  of  their  general 
appearance.  For  an  interesting  account  of  the  habits 
of  this  species  in  confinement  and  an  excellent  figure, 
I  beg  to  refer  the  reader  to  an  article  by  Mr.  Lee  in 
Land  and  Water  iox  February  5th,   1876. 

Although  not  yielding  the  beautiful  fur  of  com- 
merce, almost  every  part  of  this  useful  animal  seems 
to  be  of  value  to  the  natives  of  the  coasts  on  which  it 
is  found :  the  skin  forms  excellent  leather  for  boats 
and  tents,  the  flesh  is  used  for  winter  food  ;  from  the 
lining  of  the  throat  tlie  legs  of  their  boots  are  made, 
and  the  soles  from  the  skin  of  tlieir  flippers ;  a  large 
quantity  of  oil  is  extracted  from  their  blubber  ;  even 
their  stomachs,  intestines,  and  sinews,  have  their 
uses,  and  the  whiskers  are  sent  to  China,  there  to  be 
used  as  ornaments  by  tlie  Celestials.  In  its  habits 
this  species  greatly  resembles  the  preceding.  Scam- 
mon  says  that,  like  the  fur  sea),   it  congregates  in 


great  numbers  at  the  breeding  time,  which  takes 
place  on  the  Californian  coast  from  May  to  August, 
and  upon  the  shores  of  Alaska  from  June  to  October  ; 
but  in  disposition  it  is  much  less  shy,  frequenting 
"not  only  remote  and  secluded  places,  but  also 
thickly-inhabited  coasts  ;  entering  inland  bays  and 
rivers  ;  at  times  disporting  itself  among  the  shipping, 
and  quite  frequently  making  some  detached  rock  or 
reef,  contiguous  to  the  busy  shore,  a  permanent 
abode,  where  it  seems  to  enjoy  its  approximate  union 
with  civilization."  Not  far  from  the  city  of  San 
Francisco,  on  an  island  called  the  "Seal  Rocks,"  a 
colony  of  these  animals,  wisely  protected  by  the  au- 
thorities, exists.  There  in  happy  security  they  dis- 
port themselves  (watched  by  the  inhabitants,  who 
frequent  an  hotel  erected  near  the  spot  and  called 
"Ocean  House"),  sometimes  basking  in  the  sun,  at 
others  sporting  in  the  waters,  into  which  they  plunge 
from  rocks  at  least  twenty  feet  high,  with  a  mighty 
splash  amid  showers  of  spray,  their  gambols  en- 
livened by  a  running  accompaniment  of  incessant 
barking.  At  their  "  rookeries  "  or  breeding-places, 
the  polygamous  males  are  not  so  fiercely  jealous  as 
the  fur  seals,  but,  unlike  the  latter,  there  appears  to 
be  very  little  attachment  between  the  parent  and  its 
offspring,  and  still  less  between  the  lord  and  his 
numerous  wives.  Their  food  consists  of  fish,  mol- 
lusks,  and  sea-birds,  and  in  the  capture  of  the  latter 
great  ingenuity  is  displayed.  During  the  time  they 
frequent  the  "rookeries,"  however  astonishing  it  may 
appear,  little  or  no  food  is  taken  by  the  males,  and 
not  much  more  by  the  females.  The  mode  adopted 
for  their  capture  is  similar  to  that  pursued  in  the  case 
of  the  fur  seal  as  already  described.  After  the 
breeding  season  they  disperse  in  all  directions ;  and  in 
proof  of  the  migratory  habits  of  this  species  it  is  re- 
corded, on  the  authority  of  Professor  Davidson,  of  the 
U.S.  Coast  survey,  that  a  large  male  sea-lion,  killed 
in  June,  1870,  on  the  coast  of  California,  at  Point 
Arenas,  in  lat.  30°,  bore  in  its  body  a  spear-head 
such  as  is  used  by  the  natives  of  Alaska.  On  the 
coasts  of  Siberia  and  Kamschatka,  the  sea-lions  as- 
cend the  rivers  to  feed  upon  the  salmon,  and  are 
taken  by  the  natives  in  stake  nets  or  captured  upon 
the  ice  in  spring.  In  the  southern  regions  Scammon 
says  sea-lions  escape  capture  by  the  feeble  Fuegians, 
but  the  Patagonians  kill  them  for  their  skins,  which  are 
also  inflated  by  the  natives  of  Chili  and  Peru  and  used 
as  boats.  In  conclusion  he  remarks  that  in  the  far  north 
and  south,  where  they  are  Irunted  by  the  natives  solely 
for  domestic  consumption,  they  do  not  materially  di- 
minish in  number,  but  that  on  the  shores  of  California 
"  they  will  soon  be  exterminated  by  the  deadly  shot  of 
the  rifle,  or  driven  away  to  less  accessible  haunts." 

The  larger  Southern  sea-lion,  Olaria  jiibata,  now 
living  in  the  Zoological  Society's  Gardens,  was 
brought  from  the  Falkland  Islands,  where  it  was 
captured  in  1867  ;  the  smaller  one,  O.  piisilla,  is  from 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  where  it  was  taken  in  1871. 


HA RD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE -GOS SIP. 


83 


A   GOSSIP   ABOUT   NEW   BOOKS. 

THE  Christmas  publishing  season  was  marked  by 
an  issue  of  several  scientific  and  other  works 
from  the  press,  which  cannot  fail  to  have  great 
influence.  Chief  among  these  may  be  mentioned 
Commander  Cameron's  "Across  Africa"  (London: 
Daldy,  Isbister,  &  Co.).  The  story  of  African  travel 
and  adventure  has  lost  none  of  its  charm  by  often 
telling.  Cameron  was  among  us  last  autumn  at  the 
Geographical  Society,  the  British  Association,  and 
elsewhere,  in  plain  but  pithy  language  narrating  his 
eventful  journey.  Now  we  have  the  full  and  com- 
plete story,  in  two  handsome  volumes,  crowded  with 
illustrations  of  scenery,  natives,  natural  history  ob- 
jects, &c.  So  full  of  fresh  matter  is  the  book  that 
there  is  little  or  no  room  left  for  those  sporting  ad- 
ventures which,  we  may  be  sure,  were  indulged  in. 
The  time  occupied  in  this  journey  across  Equatorial 
Africa  was  nearly  three  years  and  a  half.  In  many 
places  Commander  Cameron's  was  the  first  European 
face  which  had  been  seen.  The  entire  route  was 
crowded  with  most  interesting  and  importaiit  inci- 
dents, so  that  we  can  well  believe  the  author  when 
he  tells  us  how  his  book  would  have  swollen  to  an 
unwieldy  size  had  he  included  his  party's  adven- 
tures and  sports.  As  a  work  of  African  travel  it 
stands  higher  in  literary  execution  than  any  other. 
Much  as  we  have  heard  of  African  Equatorial  explora- 
tion in  recent  years,  conducted  by  German  and  Eng- 
lish travellers,  we  do  not  think  any  writer  has  kept 
more  to  the  point  in  narrating  it  than  Cameron.  We 
say  this  in  no  invidious  spirit ;  we  have  reason  to  be 
proud  of  that  glowing  spirit  of  adventure  which  has 
impelled  all  alike  to  peril  their  lives  for  the  sake  of 
adding  to  our  knowledge  of  unknown  and  important 
countries.  But,  in  spite  of  the  studied  plainness  with 
which  Commander  Cameron  has  kept  to  the  strict 
particulars  of  his  route,  the  physical  characters  of 
the  scenery,  and  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
various  countries  through  which  he  passed,  this  rather 
enhances  the  charm  of  his  narrative  than  otherwise. 
We  feel  we  are  listening  to  a  man  who  has  something 
to  tell  us  that  nobody  else  can  narrate.  Then,  again, 
no  other  African  writer  has  so  thoroughly  exposed 
the  iniquitous  traffic  in  slaves  which  goes  ori  in  Equa- 
torial Africa,  nor  traced  it  so  thoroughly  to  its  source. 
If  the  knowledge  of  an  evil  is  the  first  step  towards 
its  cure,  then  we  have  to  thank  Commander  Cameron 
for  taking  that  step.  Let  us  hope  that  the  uplifted 
voice  of  the  civilized  world  will  denounce  the  curse 
more  vehemently  than  ever,  and  yet  more  perempto- 
rily demand  its  immediate  suppression  !  In  conclu- 
sion, we  can  only  refer  our  readers  themselves  to  this 
quietly  thoughtful  and  impressive  book,  and  they  will 
rise  from  its  not  unexciting  perusal,  as  we  have  done, 
all  the  more  prepai-ed  to  honour  the  gallant  author 
who  bore  so  patiently  evils  which  other  travellers 
have   immediately   and    cruelly   resented,    with   the 


noble    spirit    of   an    enlightened   and    a    Christian 
man. 

"The  Life  of  a  Scotch  Naturalist,"  by  Samuel 
Smiles  (London  :  John  Murray),  has  created  a  gi-eater 
sensation  than  any  other  book  of  its  kind.  It  is  a 
noble  record  of  a  brave  and  noble  life.  With  Thomas 
Edward,  the  subject  of  it,  we  have  from  time  to  time 
had  similar  epistolaiy  intercourse  to  that  which  we 
abundantly  enjoy  with  many  others  of  his  stamp.  It 
was  to  ourselves  that  he  appealed  in  the  case  of  the 
"auld  been,"  figured  on  page  369  of  this  work  ;  and 
it  was  in  the  ' '  Answers  to  Correspondents  "  of  our 
pages  that  it  was  finally  named  from  the  photograph 
Thomas  Edward  sent  us.  Two  good  results  have 
already  issued  from  the  publication  of  this  remark- 
able book — one,  that  Thomas  Edward  has  been 
placed  by  Her  Majesty  on  the  Civil  List,  and  so 
rendered  independent  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  and  free 
to  follow  his  delightsome  pursuits  after  the  "auld 
beasties";  and  the  other,  that  his  life  has  been  the 
means  of  widely  interesting  educated  people  in  the 
studies  of  operative  naturalists,  and  in  natural  his- 
tory generally.  For,  useful  though  Edward's  life  has 
been,  we  feel  like  the  English  king  when  he  heard  of 
the  results  of  Chevy  Chase, — we  know  there  are  "five 
hundred  men"  as  good  as  he  !  And  in  making  this 
remark  we  are  not  detracting  from  the  position  which 
Thomas  Edward  has  so  nobly  attained.  We  have  in 
our  mind's  eye  the  men  who  compose  the  botanical 
and  natural  histoiy  societies  in  Lancashire,  Yorkshire, 
and  elsewhere  —  operatives  in  mills  or  workers  in 
coal-mines — men  whose  only  education,  perhaps,  was 
obtained  in  a  Sunday-school,  but  whose  acquaintance 
with  plants  and  insects  and  birds  and  fossils  would  sur- 
prise any  one  whose  life  has  been  spent  in  the  schools  1 
We  are  constantly  in  correspondence  with  such  men, 
of  some  of  whom  Mr.  James  Cash  has  so  well  written 
in  his  "  Where  there's  a  Will  there's  a  Way."  Such 
men  as  these  are  one  of  the  glories  of  modern  Eng- 
land, and  it  is  delightful  to  feel  that  the  educated 
classes  are  being  stirred  in  their  favour,  so  as  to  give 
them  that  recognition  their  services  so  richly  deserve. 
To  return  to  Mr.  Smiles's  book  :  when  we  say  that  for 
style  it  is  not  excelled  by  any  of  his  other  books, 
those  who  have  read  the  latter  will  know  how  attrac- 
tive it  is.  The  illustrations,  which  are  by  Mr. 
George  Reid,  are  a  labour  of  love,  and  all  of  them 
are  artistic  in  the  highest  degree.  The  frontispiece 
is  the  full-page  etching  of  the  rugged  and  powerfully- 
lined  head  of  Thomas  Edward  himself.  In  conclu- 
sion, we  thank  ]\Ir.  Smiles  for  this  book  :  it  is  em- 
phatically a  good  one,  and  its  influence  for  good  will 
not  end  when  it  is  placed  on  the  shelf. 

"The  Primeval  World  of  Switzerland,"  by  Pro- 
fessor Heer  (London:  Longmans,  Green,  &  Co.),  is 
a  welcome  contribution  to  our  geological  literature. 
Swiss  tourists  who  desire  to  do  more  than  gaze  in 
wonder  at  the  Alps,  will  here  find  the  difficult  strati- 
graphy of  that  wonderful  region  clearly  worked  out. 


84 


HARD  WICKE  \S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


The  various  localities  where  fossils  are  to  be  found  in 
the  various  formations — from  the  Carboniferous  series 
to  the  Miocene,  are  all  noted  ;  and,  as  many  of  them 
lie  within  the  usual  range  of  the  tourist,  this  book 
will  be  all  the  more  welcome  to  him  of  geological 
tastes.  The  details  of  the  Miocene  beds  are  given  at 
great  length,  as  m  c  should  have  expected  beforehand, 
seeing   that   they   attain   a  greater   develoiDment    in 


Switzerland  than  anywhere  else,  and  are  there 
crowded  with  fossil  plants,  flower-bearing  and  cryp- 
togamous,  in  hundreds  of  species,  as  well  as  with  the 
remains  of  insects  which  were  associated  with  this 
magnificent  flora.  To  Professor  Heer  is  due  the 
great  merit  of  working  out  the  details  of  these 
Miocene  fossil  plants,  and  of  showing  how  they  were 
related  to  genera  and  species  now  growing  elsewhere. 


i!  ft 


glii'l.'ii.: 


m&^%s&^/Wm^ 


flu',' 

I'lVii'i 


«ifci'';i  i;i,ji  v'l'iiiia^'S 


pifSMii  \\\m\i\\ Mfcj'^ 


f  111  u 


Fig.  72.  Moraine  in  the  Canon's  Platz  in  the  City  of  Zurich.     (From  Heei-'s  "  Switzerland.") 


Fig.  73.    Various  Genera  of  Fossil  Hymenoptera,  from  the  Miocene  strata  of  Moudon.     (From  Heer's"  Primeval  Switzerland.") 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


85 


but  widely  distant,  geographically  speaking.  Pro- 
fessor Heer  has  spent  the  best  part  of  his  life,  and 
won  numerous  scientific  laurels,  in  deciphering  this 
great  stone  l^ook  of  Miocene  Switzerland.  Hitherto, 
the  only  way  the  geological  student  could  get  at 
Professor  Heer's  results  was  either  second-hand, 
thi-ough  the  pages  of  "manuals,"  or  by  unearthing 
them  from  scientific  journals  and  memoirs.  Now  we 
have  the  full  and  complete  results  set  before  us  by 
the  author  himself,  and  we  are  thankful  for  them. 


has  grown  into  a  completeness  it  did  not  possess 
before.  Intending  students  and  actual  workers  in 
this  department  of  research  will  therefore  welcome; 
Mr.  Llewellyn  Jewitt's  "Half-hours  with  English 
Antiquities  "  (London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue).  No 
other  writer  was  more  fit  to  undertake  the  somewhat 
difficult  task  of  making  these  things  plain  as  Mr. 
Jewitt  has  done.  The  work  is  richly  illustrated  by 
vigorous  and  artistic  woodcuts,  some  of  which  we  arc 
enabled   to   reproduce  here   for   the   benefit   of  our 


Fig.  74.   Roman  Masonry  at  Colchester.     (From  Jewitt's  "  Half-hours  with  English  .\ntiquities.") 


Fig.  75.  The  Lanyon  Cromlech. 


Fig.  76.  Grooved  .Stone-hammer,  with 
twisted  Withes  for  holding. 


The  work  is  in  two  volumes,  abundantly  illustrated 
with  capital  woodcuts,  of  which  we  are  enabled,  by 
the  kindness  of  the  editor,  to  reproduce  several. 
Numerous  full-page  lithograph  illustrations  are  also 
introduced,  giving  us  "  ideal  landscapes,"  &c.,  of  the 
various  geological  epochs.  A  coloured  geological 
map  adds  to  the  completeness  of  this  work  for  practi- 
cal purposes.  We  should  say  that  the  present  is  an 
English  translation,  edited  by  Mr.  James  Heywood, 
F.R.S.,  who  has  in  every  way  done  his  part  well, 
and  presented  to  English  geologists  the  best  book  on 
Swiss  geology  we  have  yet  received. 

Within  the  last  few  years  the  study  of  archeology 


readers.  The  arrangement  and  style  of  the  book  arc 
alike  excellent.  The  former  includes  chapters  on 
"Barrows,"  "Stone  Circles,  Cromlechs,  &c.," 
"Flint  and  Stone  Implements,"  "Celts  and  other 
early  Instruments  of  Bronze,"  "  Roman  Roads,  Tes- 
sellated Pavements,  Altars,  Temples,  Inscriptions, 
&c.,"  "Ancient  Pottery,"  "Arms  and  Armour," 
"Sepulchral  Brasses,  &c.,"  "Coins,"  "Church 
Bells,"  "Stained  Glass,  Tapestry,"  &c.,  "Personal 
Ornaments,"  &c.  From  this  list  the  reader  will  sec 
how  important  an  introduction  is  the  above  work  tt> 
the  study  of  archaeology. 

"  Text-books  "  of  science  are  among  the  notable 


86 


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


features  of  modern  literature,  and  they  indicate  the 
course  of  thought,  perhaps,  more  strikingly  than  any 
other  works.  We  have  now  to  welcome  Professor 
Thome's    "Structural   and    Physiological    Botany," 


Fig.  77.  Grooved  Hammer. 


Fig.  78.   Sling-stone. 


Fig.  79.  Common  type  of  Flint  Flake. 

translated  and  edited  by  Mr.  A.  W.  Bennett,  B.Sc, 
F.L.S.,  &c.  (London:  Longmans,  Green,  &  Co.). 
The  work  is  embellished  by  600  woodcuts,  all  of 
which  materially  assist  the  botanical  student.  This 
is  the  recognized  text-book  of  botany  in  the  German 
technical  schools,  and  its  appearance  in  an  English 
garb  is  therefore  required.  No  better  or  more  trust- 
worthy editor  and  translator  could  liave  been  selected 


than   Mr.    Bennett,   who    himself    takes   high   rank 
among  our  most  distinguished   botanists.     The  ar- 


Fig.  80.  Barbed  Flint  Arrow-head  from  Derbyshire. 

rangement  is  both  clear  and  exhaustive,  and  the 
price  (6s.)  will,  we  hope,  bring  this  most  useful  book 
within  the  range  of  every  intending  student. 


MICROSCOPY. 

How    TO    FILTER   WATER    TO    OBTAIN    MiNUTE 

Organisms. — Upon  this  subject  there  are  some 
observations  of  Dr.  A.  Meade-Edwards  in  your 
Febraary  impression,  and  as  it  appears  that  a  second 
contribution  may  not  be  wholly  unacceptable  to  the 
readers  of  Science-Gossif,  I  beg  to  inclose  a  sketch 
of  a  little  piece  of  apparatus  designed  by  me  for  the 
same  purpose  some  three  years  since,  and  then  intro- 
duced at  one  of  the  meetings  of  our  Margate  Micro- 
scopical Society,  to  which  I  am  honorary  librarian, 
and  which  has  been  found  both  portable  and  usefid 
at  the  pond-side.  Indeed,  by  its  use,  one  may  in 
half  an  hour  collect  all  the  living  organisms  con- 
tained in  a  butt  of  water,  and  carry  home  in  his 
breast-pocket  a  myriad  of  the  larger  and  smaller  fry 
which  abound  in  pond-life.  The  entire  apparatus 
costs  only  a  couple  of  shillings,  and  was  made  for  me 
by  a  local  tinman,  and  neatly  finished  off  with  a  coat 
of  red  sealing-wax  varnish,  a  is  one  of  the  three- 
inch  jam-covers  patented  by  Mr.  Jennings,  and  con- 
sisting of  a  disc  of  tin  with  an  indiarubber  ring  (b) 
beneath,  by  which  an  instant  and  air-tiglit  joint  is 
effected  with  a  glass  tumbler  or  wide-moutlied  bottle. 
C  is  a  small  funnel  with  a  double  wire  rim,  and  over 
the  mouth  of  which  a  piece  of  coarse  muslin — ^simply 
as  a  strainer,  to  arrest  duckweed,  bits  of  stick,  &c. — 
may  be  kept  stretched  by  a  small  indiarubber  ring, 
which  will  lie  between  the  two  wire  rings  forming  the 
rim  ;  and  D  is  a  similar  tin  funnel,  across  the  mouth 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


87 


of  which  a  piece  oi  fine  muslin  is  stretched,  and  con- 
fined in  a  similar  way.  Arriving  at  the  pond-side, 
or  at  the  seashore,  or  while  the  net  is  doAvn  in  tow- 
ing, the  collector  snaps  the  band  B  around  the  mouth 
of  a  glass  tumbler,  a  jam-pot,  beaker,  or  wide- 
mouthed  bottle,  and  proceeds  at  once  to  ladle  water 
in  at  c,  which,   finding  its  way  into  the  containing 


Fig.  81.  Pond-side  Filter. 

vessel,  rises  through  the  finer  muslin  at  d,  and  flows 
off  by  the  indiarubber  tube  E,  the  siphon-like  charac- 
ter of  the  arrangement  materially  assisting  the  opera- 
tion, wiiile  Desmids,  Volvoces,  Daphnia,  Rotifers, 
Floscularia,  &c.,  are  all  retained  in  the  three  or  four 
ounces  of  fluid  which  the  jam-pot  or  tumbler  may 
contain.  Jennings'  patent  covers  may  be  obtained  at 
the  price  of  a  few  pence  at  either  of  the  indiarubber- 
shops  in  Ludgate-hill,  or  at  Abbott  Anderson's,  in 
Queen  Victoria-street.  —  IV.  Lane  Scar,  Margate. 

New  Method  of  Illumination.  —  Being  in 
New  Orleans  some  three  weeks  ago,  and  having  some 
curiosity  to  see  the  silver  microscope  made  and  ex- 
hibited at  the  Royal  Microscopical  Society  by  Smith 
&  Beck  about  two  years  ago,  I  called  on  the  owner. 
Dr.  A.  W.  Smyth,  and  ■\\'as  very  much  pleased  with 


the  construction  and  working  of  the  instrument,  but 
particularly  with  the  effects  produced  by  a  mode  of 
illumination  which  was  claimed  by  him  as  original 
and  exceedingly  simple.  It  was  produced  by  a  disc 
of  ordinary  cover-glass  ground  on  botk  sides,  and 
used  in  the  same  place  and  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  ordinary  black-ground  stop  below  the  condenser, 
the  marginal  rays  of  light  passing  unobstructedly 
around  the  outer  edge  of  the  ground  cover-glass, 
producing  a  difterent  and  far  more  pleasing  effect 
than  that  produced  by  the  ground  glass  extending 
over  the  whole  aperture  of  the  condenser,  and  en- 
tirely different  to  that  produced  by  a  ground  glass 
cap  over  the  top  of  the  condenser.  I  am  sure  your 
readers  will  be  pleased  with  this  simple  mode  of 
illumination  on  nearly  all  objects  usually  viewed  on 
black  ground,  as  well  as  those  objects  viewed  by 
direct  light. — jf.  A.  Perry. 

Bramhall's  Horizontal  Super  or  Sub-stage 
Reflector. — Mr.  Bramhall's  recommendation  of 
this,  backed  by  the  authority  of  Mr.  F.  Kitton,  in- 
duced me  to  order  it.  Some  delay  occurring  in  its 
receipt,  probably  owing  to  accidental  circumstances, 
I  resolved  to  make  a  temporary  substitute,  and,  with 
this  view  only;  disregarding  the  precise  instructions 
given  in  Science-Gossip  (p.  136,  1876),  chose  ma- 
terials that  came  most  readily  to  hand  and  promised 
least  trouble  to  adopt.  A  small  toy  mirror-plate,  a 
cardboard  back  and  millboard  front  of  the  same  size, 
the  latter  punched  centrally  with  a  |-in.  aperture; 
two  pieces  of  gummed  covering-paper,  that  for  the 
upper  side  being  similarly  perforated ;  in  a  few 
minutes,  I  provided  an  accessor)'  which  enabled  me  to 
see  the  transverse  markings  on  A.  pellucida  under 
~  immersion  with  eye-piece  and  3-in.  draw-tube. 
The  conditions  of  stand,  stage,  and  light  being  all 
unfavourable,  and  purposely  accepted  to  severely  test 
asserted  fitness  to  supply  students  and  others  with  a 
substitute  for  costly  appliances  which  will  always  be 
used  by  those  who  can  affoixl  such  luxuries.  This 
result  and  others,  obtained  with  a  low  angle  5th  (blue 
glass  being  interposed  between  condenser  and  the 
slide  lying  upon  it),  surprised  me ;  the  latter  were 
very  beautiful,  and  not  less  wonderful,  as  I  think,  the 
fine  lines  of  S.  gemma  being  distinctly  visible,  and 
those  on  more  difficult  valves  dimly  so.  A  stereo- 
scopic image  of  P.  dngidatitm  and  balticnin  gave  a 
better  idea  of  their  shape  and  character  than  I  had 
ever  before  got.  Mr.  Kitten's  praise  would  seem,  as 
might  be  expected,  to  be  well  deserved,  and  pro- 
bably both  my  mechanical  execution  and  manipula- 
tion are  open  to  improvement  by  longer  acquaintance 
with  this  inexpensive  condenser. — M.  O.  H. 

Mounting  in  Dajiar. — I  am  very  glad  to  see 
that,  at  last,  the  use  of  damar  as  a  mounting  medium 
is  so  warmly  advocated,  especially  in  the  extremely 
convenient  form  mentioned — namely,  in  a  tube  : 
nothing  could  be  cleaner,  nothing  more  expeditious; 


88 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


as  it  is  always  ready  for  use.     Towards  the  end  of 
his  article,  I  see  that  Mr.  Williams  justly  laments  the 
time    that   damar   takes   to   properly  fix   and   dry ; 
indeed,    I   have   often   asked   myself    the   question, 
"  Does  it  ever  get  thoroughly  dry?  "  I  having  found 
slides  quite  loose,  and  the  damar  sticky,  three  weeks 
after  mounting.     A  few  weeks  since,  however,  I  dis- 
covered a  process  by  which  an  object  can  be  mounted 
in  damar,  finished  with  "black  japan  "or  other  var- 
nish, labelled  and  put  in  its  place  in  the  microscopical 
cabinet  in  less  than  half  an  hour.     The  apparatus 
required  consists  of  a  small  copper  plate,  fixed  at  a 
convenient  height  on  iron  feet ;  a  spirit-lamp  ;  a  few 
needles  ;  and  some  bullets  :  conical  pistol-bullets  are 
the  best.     The  way  I  mount  is  as  follows  :  Having 
fixed  my  metal  table  a  sufficient  height  above  the 
flame  of  the  spirit-lamp  (say  about  two  inches),  I 
place  my  slide  on  the  copper  plate,  with  the  object 
put  in  the  right  position  for  mounting,  and  the  glass 
eover  on  top  ;  this  I  let  warm  for  about  two  or  three 
minutes ;  then  (having  previously  warmed  the  tube 
of  damar,  which  has  the  effect  of  making  it  much 
more  fluid)  I  drop  a  small  quantity  on  the  slide,  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  edge  of  the  medium  shall 
come  in  slight  contact  with  the  glass  cover :  capillary 
attraction  causes  the  damar  (which  is  now  very  liquid) 
to  gradually  flow  under  the   cover ;    if  air-bubbles 
appear  around  the  object,  they  must  be  removed  by 
slight  pressure  and  the  aid  of  a  heated  needle.     If 
the  object  is  not  flat,  and  raises  the  cover,  a  bullet 
placed  on  the  top  will  keep  it  down.     The  above 
operation  ought  to  take  from  ten  to  twelve  minutes. 
Having  proceeded  thus  far,  I  remove  the  spirit-lamp 
from  under  my  table,  and  let  the  slide  gradually  cool. 
When  cold,  the  damar  is  quite  hard,  and  the  cover 
firmly  cemented.     I  now  (with  an  old  pocket-knife) 
remove  the  superfluous  damar,  wash  the  slide  with  a 
camel-hair   brush    dipped   in   turpentine,    and   then 
again  with  the  same  sort  of  brush,  only  using  soap 
and  water.    Having  thoroughly  wiped  dry  the  slide, 
I  finish  with  a  ring  of  "black  japan  varnish,"  al- 
though I  believe  asphalte  will  do  quite  as  well,  and 
finally  I   label  and   put   away  in   my  cabinet ;    the 
whole  having  been  completed   in  less  than  half  an 
hour.     Of  course,   "  practice  alone  makes  perfect," 
and  the  microscopist  must  expect  some  few  failures 
to  commence  -n-ith.     The  failures  most  likely  would 
occur  from  one  of  the  following  causes  :  Too  girat 
heat,  thereby  making  the  damar  boil  under  the  cover, 
which  would  have  the  effect  of  destroying  the  object, 
— the  only  remedy  would  be  to  at  once  remove  or 
lower  the  flame  of  the  lamp.     Too  liit/c  heat,  the 
result  of  which  would   be  that  the  damar  would  not 
harden  when  cold.     And  air-bubbles  :  these  are  only 
got  rid  of  by  watching   and  carefully  pressing  the 
cover  ;  and  if  that  will  not  remove  them,  by  very 
gently  lifting  the  cover  so  as  not  to  distuib  the  object, 
and  introducing  a  drop  more  damar  irom  the  tube, 
which  will  no  doubt  prove  effectual.     Of  the  two 


former  causes  of  failure  experience  alone  can  pro- 
perly set  right,  so  as  to  enable  the  operator  to  judge 
the  exact  time  to  keep  the  slide  heated  :  this  any 
one  can  easily  do  after  half  a  dozen  attempts.  I 
should  be  glad  if  Mr.  Williams,  or  some  other  gentle- 
man, would  (if  they  have  not  already  done  so)  try 
this  mode  of  mounting,  and  let  me  know  the  result, 
I  feel  positive  that  most  of  our  amateur  microscopists 
would  use  damar  as  a  mounting  medium,  especially 
with  the  afore-mentioned  process,  if  they  only  knew 
how  easy  it  was  to  work,  and  what  capital  results 
were  obtainable. — E.  B.  L.  Bray  ley. 

Cleaning  Diatoms  with  Glycerine.  —  The 
American  N^atiiralist  for  February  gives  an  account 
of  a  process  for  cleaning  diatoms  with  glycerine,  dis- 
covered by  Mr.  James  Neil.  It  states  that  this  is  an 
easy  and  effective  way  of  separating  the  valves  from 
the  foreign  matter  with  which  they  are  usually  mixed. 
Mr.  Neil  filled  a  two-ounce  graduated  measuring- 
glass  three-quarters  full  of  glycerine  and  water  mixed 
in  equal  parts.  The  diatoms,  after  being  heated 
with  acid  and  thoroughly  washed,  are  then  shaken 
up  in  some  pure  water,  and  poured  gently  over  the 
diluted  glycerine.  If  carefully  done  the  water  and 
diatoms  do  not  at  first  sink  into  the  glycerine,  but 
gradually  the  diatoms  sink  through  the  water  and 
into  the  glycerine,  preceding  the  light  flocculent 
matter  held  in  the  water.  In  a  few  minutes  a  pipe 
introduced  closed  through  the  water  and  into  the 
glycerine  will  bring  up  remarkably  clean  diatoms, 
which  must  afterwards  be  freed  from  glycerine  by 
repeated  washing  and  decanting. 

The  Microscopical  Society  of  Bath. — We 
have  received  a  copy  of  the  annual  address  given  to 
the  members  of  this  Society  by  the  President,  Mr.  J. 
W.  Morris,  F.L.S.,  on  February  6th.  It  is  a 
capital  discourse  on  most  of  the  prominent  and 
important  topics  with  which  microscopists  have  to 
deal,  and  we  think  the  Society  have  done  right  to 
publish  it. 

"Errors  of  Interpretation,"  &c. —  By  an 
error  the  figures  illustrating  Dr.  Jabez  Hogg's  paper 
on  the  above  subject,  in  last  month's  number,  were 
transposed.  Fig.  46  represents  the  "Scales  of 
Diurnal  Lepidoptera,"  magnified  250  diameters ; 
Fig.  47,  the  "Scale  of  a  Gnat,"  magnified  650 
diameters. 

The    Quekett    Microscopical   Club. —The 
I   thirty-third  number  of  the  journal  of  this  well-known 
'   club  has  just  been  published.     It  contains  papers  on 
a   new   Anti-vibration   Turn-tray,    by   Mr.    W.    K. 
I    Bridgman  ;   on  a  new  Universal   Reflecting  Illumi- 
nator, by  the  same  microscopist ;  and  a  capital  paper 
by  Mr.   H.  Crouch,   on  Microscopy  in  the   United 
States.     In   addition   to   the   above   are   papers   by 
Messrs.  T.  C.  White,  W.  H.  Gilburt,  G.  F.  George, 
,   &c. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


89 


ZOOLOGY- 
PERSONAL  Observations  in  Natural  His- 
tory.—A  neatly-bound  little  pamphlet  has  been 
issued,  written  by  Mr.  Thomas  Kingsford,  of  Can- 
terbury, and  entitled  "Reminiscences  of  Animals, 
Birds,  Fishes,  and  Meteorology."  It  is  a  series  of 
personal  jottings  on  natural  phenomena,  and  indi- 
cates the  author  to  be  a  man  fond  of  nature  and 
possessed  of  large  powers  of  observation. 

Life.— A  most  thoughtful  and  suggestive  paper  on 
"Life,"  appears  in  the  Mtdico-Chirurgical  Journal 
for  January,  from  the  pen  of  that  well-known 
naturalist,  Mr.  R.  Garner,  F.L.S.,  of  Stoke-on- 
Trent.  The  subject  is  treated  alike  from  the  evo- 
lutionistic  and  specialistic  point  of  view,  the  author 
boldly  and  eclectically  accepting  whatever  views 
appear  to  him  most  explanatory  of  facts.  He  argues 
in  favour  of  teleology,  and  against  the  idea  that  life 
is  the  result  of  organisation. 

Danais  Archippus. — A  specimen  of  this  North 
American  butterfly,  taken  near  Hassock's  Gate, 
Sussex,  was  exhibited  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the 
Entomological  Society,  by  Mr.  F.  Bond.  This 
makes  the  third  specimen  of  this  species  which  has 
been  captured  in  England. 

Bathybius.  —  Notwithstanding  that  Professor 
Huxley  and  other  naturalists  have  given  up,  from 
discoveries  made  by  the  "Challenger,"  the  idea  of 
there  being  such  a  primitive  animal  substance  as 
Bathybius,  Dr.  Bessels,  of  the  "  Polaris  "  expedition, 
states  that  he  discovered  in  Smith's  Sound  a  sub- 
stance much  like  it,  only  even  simpler  in  its  structure. 
He  proposes  to  call  it  Protohathyhius. 

Provincial  Museums. — We  noticed,  in  the  last 
Report  of  the  East  Kent  Natural  History  Society, 
some  remarks  as  to  the  usual  contents  of  many  local 
museums,  which  remind  us  of  the  discourse  on  this 
subject  given  a  few  years  ago  by  Professor  Gulliver. 
The  report  shows  how  money  is  often  squandered  in 
such  institutions  which  might  be  advantageously 
applied  in  making  them  worthy  of  their  name. 
Many  museums  are  nothing  better  than  old  curiosity 
shops,  whose  contents  convey  no  lesson  to  the  minds 
of  people.  Thus  the  study  of  natural  history  is 
retarded  rather  than  advanced.  Local  museums 
should  be  adapted  to  the  best  mental  culture,  and 
their  contents  ought  to  explain  the  general  principles 
of  nature.  Systematic  sets  of  specimens  to  explain 
the  general  natural  history  of  the  district  ought  to  be 
especially  exhibited,  and  all  useless  objects  should  be 
weeded  out. 

The  Intelligence  of  Ants. — The  researches 
of  Sir  John  Lubbock  do  not  lead  him  to  think  so 
highly  of  the  intelligence  of  ants.  In  another  of  his 
remarkable  observational  papers,  lately  read  before 
the  Linnean  Society,  he  states  that  they  had  not  sense 


enough  to  drop  from  a  height  of  only  three-tenths  of 
an  inch  from  the  ground,  but  went  a  long  way  round, 
owing  to  their  want  of  power  of  calculating  distance. 
It  appears,  however,  that  in  other  respects  they  are 
intelligent  enough.  Thus,  they  soon  recognize  their 
friends,  even  after  a  year's  separation.  Slavery  in 
certain  genera  is  a  regular  institution.  The  Amazon 
ants  {Polya-gKS  riifcscens)  absolutely  require  a  slave 
to  clean,  dress,  and  feed  them  !  Repeated  experi- 
ments prove  that  they  will  rather  die  than  help 
themselves. 

The  Watford  Natural  History  Society.— 
The  sixth  part  of  the  first  volume  of  the  Transactions 
of  this  flourishing  Society  has  just  appeared.  It 
contains  papers  on  the  "  Herefordshire  Bourne,"  by 
Mr.  John  Evans,  F.R.S.,  the  President;  on  the 
"  Herefordshire  Bench-marks,"  by  Mr.  John  Hop- 
kinson,  F.G.S.,  Hon.  Sec,  and  an  important  one  on 
the  "Polarisation  of  Light"  (illustrated),  by  Mr. 
James  U.  Harford. 

Public  Aquaria.— Mr.  John  T.  Carrington  has 
been  appointed  "Resident  Naturalist"  to  the  Royal 
Aquarium  Society,  Westminster,  in  place  of  Mr.  W. 
Saville  Kent.  Mr.  Carrington  has  for  the  last  year 
been  studying  aquarium  management  with  Mr.  W. 
Alford  Lloyd,  at  the  Crystal  Palace  Aquarium. 
Mr.  C.  P.  Ogilvie,  formerly  a  pupil  of  Dr.  J.  E. 
Taylor,  F.L.S.,  and  who  studied  aquarium  manage- 
ment under  Mr.  W.  S.  Kent,  at  Westminster,  has 
been  appointed  Curator  to  the  Great  Yarmouth 
Aquarium. 

Marine  Aquarium.— My  experience  of  the  above 
may  be  interesting  to  some  of  your  readers.     Last 
July,  when   at  Westgate,   I  collected  half  a  dozen 
common  ]\Ies.,  and  brought  them  to  town  with  me, 
Hkewise  two  gallons  of   sea-water  and   some  small 
stones  with  ulva  and  callithamnion  growing  attached. 
I   had   a   spare   bell-glass,   and,  wanting  something 
better,  I  fitted  this  up,  intending  it  to  be  pro  tern. , 
covering  half  the  outside  of  the  glass  with  light  green 
paper  and  copal  varnish.     Everything  flourished  so 
well  that,  after  a  month,  I  determined  to  leave  things 
as  they  were.     The  anemones  seemed  at  home,  some 
small  mussels,  limpets,  winkles,  and  acorn  barnacles 
made  their  appearance,  and  also  four  small  nereis; 
and  these  always  appear  when  the  anemones  are  fed. 
The  food  that  I  have  found  to  suit  them  best  is  oyster 
cut  into  small  slips  ;  the  only  care  I  have  bestowed 
upon  it  is  to  remove  the  rejecta  of  the  animals  and 
to  add  a  little  filtered  fresh  water  when  the  hydro- 
meter has  indicated  the  necessity.     Two  months  ago 
I  added  six  sagartia.     These  have  flourished  equally 
well,  and,  a  fortnight  since,  I  discovered  a  colony  of 
over  twenty  young  ones  and  sagartia  attached  to  the 
glass  near  the  bottom.     In  addition,  I  may  say  that 
the    coats   the   anemones   occasionally  cast  off,   and 
small    pieces   of  ulva   I   have   sometimes   removed. 


90 


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


have  furnished  me  with  many  beautiful  objects  for 
the  microscope,  and  have  afforded  many  pleasant 
evenings  to  myself  and  friends.  —  G.  L.  P.,  Camber- 
well. 


BOTANY. 

Crystal  Prisms  ix  Allium  Porrum.  —  Mr. 
F.  W.  T.  Williams  has  given  a  very  useful  note  on 
this  point  (SciENXE-GossiP,  No.  147),  to  which  may 
be  added  that  these  crystals  are  very  beautiful  in  the 
bulb-scales  of  many  other  species  of  Allium,  as  may 
be  easily  seen  in  the  Shallot,  &c.,  always  to  be  had 
at  Covent-garden. — Q.  F. 

Insect-trapping  Plants.  —  Besides  Apocynum 
androsamifolhtm,  mentioned  by  Mr.  T.  Britain  in  tlie 
March  number  of  Science-Gossip  as  a  carnivorous 
species,  there  are  other  plants  of  different  orders 
which  entrap  insects,  and  this  by  means  and  for  an 
end  which  would  appear  to  be  obscure .  Thus,  at  a 
late  meeting,  at  Canterbuiy,  of  the  East  Kent  Natural 
History  Society,  Major  Hall  read  an  interesting 
paper,  to  which  Professor  Gulliver  contributed  an 
historical  introduction,  showing  that  the  flowers  of 
PhysiantJms  albens  catch  and  kill  such  large  insects 
as  humble-bees  and  noctua-gamma  moths,  a  fact 
which,  so  far  as  is  known,  cannot  be  beneficial  to  the 
plant.— (?.  F. 

Cornelian  Cherry  {Cornus  mascnla). — The 
Brighton  town  gardener  has  asked  for  the  name  of  a 
shrub,  10  or  15  ft.  high,  in  the  Pavilion  Gardens, 
very  old,  evidently  planted  when  the  Palace  grounds 
were  originally  laid  out  eighty  or  ninety  years  ago. 
It  is  the  Corinis  mascida,  a  native  of  Austria,  but 
little  cultivated,  I  believe,  in  England.  From  the 
beginning  of  February  it  has  been  (and  is  still)  in  full 
flower,  very  conspicuous,  presenting  as  it  does  one 
mass  of  yellow.  I  have  seen  it  in  fruit  in  shrubberies 
in  Switzerland,  and  tasted  the  cornelian-coloured 
berries :  they  have  an  acid  taste,  and  are  eaten  by 
children  and  made  into  sweetmeats  and  tarts.  I 
think  it  might  be  a  pleasing  addition  to  our  shrub- 
beries, as  the  flowers  appear  before  those  of  any 
shrubs. —  T.  B.   IF.,  Brighton. 

Teucrium  Cham/EDRYS  (from  Teucer,  son  of 
Scamander,  and  father-in-law  of  Dardanus,  king  of 
Troy). — The  Germanders  and  their  allies  form  a  most 
extensive  genus  of  herbs  and  shrubs,  comprising 
nearly  a  hundred  species,  widely  dispersed  through- 
out the  world,  but  abounding  chiefly  in  the  northern 
temperate  and  sub-tropical  regions  of  the  eastern 
hemisphere.  Several  species  of  Teucrium  were  for- 
merly reputed  to  possess  medicinal  virtues,  and  found 
a  place  in  the  Materia  Medica ;  but  they  are  now 
discarded  by  all  except  rustic  practitioners.  There 
are  only  three  British  species.  T.  Chaiinrdiys  was 
once  much  employed  in  medicine,  and  entered  as  an 


ingredient  into  the  celebrated  Portland  powder.  It 
was  at  one  time  employed  in  gout  and  rheumatism, 
and  also  as  a  febrifuge.  T.  Scordhim  was  once  highly 
esteemed  as  an  antidote  for  poisons,  and  as  an  anti- 
septic and  anthelmintic.  T.  Scordonia,  wood  ger- 
mander or  sage.  The  smell  and  taste  of  this  plant 
resemble  very  much  the  hop.  In  Jersey  it  is  some- 
times used  as  a  substitute  for  hops  in  beer,  and  by 
some  persons  the  bitter  given  by  the  germander  is 
preferred  to  that  of  the  hop.  T.  Maritin,  or  cat- 
thyme.  This  was  fonnerly  included  in  the  "  London 
Pharmacopoeia,"  and  employed  in  the  pi-eparation  of 
compound  powder  asarabacea.  It  has  been  recom- 
mended as  a  stimulant  and  aromatic  in  various 
diseases.  Cats  are  very  fond  of  it,  and  destroy  it 
when  they  get  near  it. — Dipton  Burn. 

Lady  Smith. — A  link  between  the  periods  which, 
in  the  history  of  botany  at  least,  we  may  call  the  old 
times  and  the  new,  has  been  severed  by  the  death  of 
Lady  Smith,  wife  of  Sir  James  Edward  Smith,  the 
celebrated  botanist,  and  first  President  of  the  Linnean 
Society.  Her  ladyship,  who  died  at  Lowestoft,  on 
the  3rd  of  February,  lived  to  the  ripe  age  of  104. 


GEOLOGY. 

Remains  of  the  Mammoth  and  other  Mam- 
mals FROM  Northern  Spain.— Prof  A.  Leith 
Adams  recently  read  a  paper  on  this  subject  before 
the  Geological  Society.  The  author  said  that  the 
remains  were  obtained  by  MM.  O'Reilly  and 
Sullivan  in  a  cavern  discovered  at  about  12  metres 
from  the  surface,  in  the  valley  of  Udias,  near  San- 
tander,  by  a  boring  made  through  limestone  in  search 
of  calamine.  They  were  found  close  to  a  mound  of 
soil  which  had  fallen  down  a  funnel  at  one  end  of  the 
cavity,  and  more  or  less  buried  in  a  bed  of  calamine 
which  covered  the  floor.  The  cavern  was  evidently 
an  enlarged  joint  or  rock-fissure,  into  which  the  entire 
carcases,  or  else  the  living  animals,  had  been  pre- 
cipitated from  time  to  time.  The  author  had 
identified  among  these  remains  numerous  portions, 
including  teeth  of  Elephas  priinigcniiis,  which  is 
important  as  furnishing  the  first  instance  of  the 
occurrence  of  that  animal  in  Spain.  He  also  recorded 
Bos  primigenius  and  Cervus  elaphiis  (?),  and  stated  that 
MM.  O'Reilly  and  Sullivan  mention  a  long  curved 
tooth  which  he  thought  might  be  a  canine  of  hippo- 
potamus. 

Geological  Honours. — At  the  annual  meeting 
of  the  Geological  Society  of  London,  the  WoUaston 
gold-medal  was  presented  to  Mr.  Robert  Mallet, 
F.R.S.,  for  his  researches  in  the  phenomena  of 
earthquakes  ;  the  Murchison  medal  was  presented  to 
the  Rev.  W.  B.  Clarke,  for  his  investigation  of  the 
geology  of  New  South  Wales ;  the  Lyell  medal  was 
given  to  Dr.  Hector  for  his  services  in  working  the 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  GOSSIP. 


91 


geology  and  palasontology  of  New  Zealand  ;  and  the 
Bigsby  medal  was  presented  to  Professor  Marsh,  of 
the  United  States,  for  his  labours  in  American 
geology.  The  proceeds  of  the  Wollaston  fund  were 
awarded  to  Mr.  R.  Etheridge,  jun.  ;  those  of  the 
Murchison  fund  to  the  Rev.  J.  F.  Blake ;  and  of  the 
Lyell  fund  to  Mr.  William  Pengelly.  In  each  case 
the  honour  has  been  well  and  worthily  won. 

Geology  of  the  Planet  Mars. — In  the  Gco- 
Jogical  Magazine  for  March  there  appears  a  paper  by 
Mr.  Edward  Carpenter,  M.A.,  on  "Evidences 
afforded  by  the  Planet  Mars  on  the  subject  of  Glacial 
Periods."  He  holds  that  the  present  condition  of 
Mais  is  in  favour  of  the  view  held  by  Mr.  Murphy 
and  others  as  to  the  cause  of  the  earth's  last  glacial 
period.  The  same  journal  has  another  excellent 
paper  on  "  A  Permian  fauna,  associated  with  a 
carboniferous  flora,  in  the  uppermost  portion  of  the 
coal  formation  of  Bohemia. " 

Geology  of  Herefordshire.  —  We  have  re- 
ceived a  copy  of  a  paper  reprinted  from  the  Trans- 
actions of  the  Watford  Natural  Histoiy  Society,  by 
Mr.  W.  Whitaker,  F.G.S.,  of  the  Geological  Sur- 
vey, giving  a  very  complete  list  of  works  on  the 
geology  of  Herefordshire.  Mr.  Whitaker  is  well 
known  for  his  knowledge  of  geological  literature,  and 
his  services  seem  to  be  at  the  command  of  nearly  all 
our  provincial  societies. 

The  Cause  of  Activity  in  Earthquakes 
AND  Volcanoes,"  by  Mr.  R.  A.  Peacock,  C.E., 
F.G.S. — A  thoughtful  pamphlet  on  the  above  sub- 
ject has  just  been  published  by  G.  E.  &  F.  N.  Spon, 
in  which  it  is  argued  that  steam  is  their  active  cause, 
whilst  heat,  produced  by  the  crushing  of  rocks  (Mr. 
Mallet's  theory),  is  not. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

Early  Primroses. — For  the  last  four  years  we 
have  resided  at  a  small  village  in  Hampshire,  about 
twelve  miles  from  Winchester,  and  each  year  we 
have  found  primroses  in  flower  out  of  doors  before 
Christmas.  The  place  where  they  bloom  first  is  on 
ground  where  a  copse  has  stood,  which  was  cut  down 
the  previous  year.  Snowdrops  growing  in  the  woods 
were  also  in  flower  the  first  week  in  January  this 
year.— .-f .  J.   V.,   West  Meon. 

Water  -  Tortoises,  and  \vhat  they  Eat. — 
Some  time  since,  wishing  to  procure  two  water- 
tortoises  for  a  friend,  I  applied  to  a  person  in  the 
neighbouring  city,  of  whom  I  had  frequently  bought 
gold  and  other  fish  for  my  aquaria,  to  know  if  he 
could  supply  them.  His  answer  was,  "Oh,  no!  I 
do  not  keep  them.  I  did  so  once  ;  but  they  always 
died  after  I  had  them  a  few  months."  I  asked, 
"How  did  you  feed  them?"  He  replied,  "  I  did 
not  feed  them  at  all  ;  I  did  not  think  they  required 
feeding."  Lest  any  of  your  readers  should  entertain 
the  same  opinion,  I  venture,  in  the  interest  of  the 
poor  animals,  to  give  you  my  experience  during  two 
years.     In  the  early  spring  of  1875  I  purchased,  in 


Covent  Garden  Market,  two  water-tortoises  ;  the 
carapace  of  one  measured  3^  inches  in  length,  tliat 
of  the  other  2J-  inches.  (At  the  present  time  they 
measure  4  inches  and  3  inches  respectively. )  Never 
having  kept  them  before,  I  scarcely  knew  what  food 
to  give  them  ;  but,  upon  trying  them  with  earth- 
worms, and  finding  they  ate  them  with  avidity,  I 
supplied  them  through  the  summer  with  worms,  occa- 
sionally varied  with  slugs,  woodlice,  and  blue-bottle 
flies  ;  of  the  latter  they  seemed  to  be  remarkably 
fond.  During  their  hybernation  last  winter,  they  rarely 
ate  anything ;  scarcely  ever  coming  above  water  ;  in 
the  spring  of  1876,  soon  after  coming  to  their  appetite, 
and  still  thin  and  poor  from  their  long  fast.  One 
morning,  on  going  into  the  conservatory  in  which 
their  tank  is  placed,  I  discovered  a  sparrow,  which 
had  got  in  through  an  open  window,  and  in  its  efforts 
to  escape  had  fallen  into  the  tank  upon  a  piece  of 
rock,  in  the  centre  of  which  the  two  tortoises  were  bask- 
ing in  the  sun.  Before  I  had  time  to  take  the  sparrow 
out  of  the  water,  the  larger  tortoise  had  slipped  from 
off  the  rock,  caught  it  by  one  of  its  legs,  and  held  it 
so,  until  it  was  drowned.  I  now  left  it  for  two  hours, 
and  upon  my  return  found  nothing  visible  of  the  bird 
but  its  cleanly  picked  bones  and  its  wing-feathers, — all 
else  had  been  devoured.  After  this  I  could  not  tempt 
them  to  eat,  not  even  Avith  their  favourite  food,  a  meat- 
fly, for  nearly  a  week.  I  now  thought  I  would  try 
them  with  another  kind  of  food,  and  gave  them  a 
gold-fish  about  5  inches  in  length,  that  had  jumped 
out  of  an  aquarium  in  the  night,  and  so  died.  This 
they  ate  eagerly,  and  left  nothing  but  the  head  and 
backbone.  A  week  or  ten  days  after  this  I  dropped 
from  a  trap  upon  their  rock  a  live  mouse  :  this  the 
larger  tortoise  no  sooner  discovered  than  he  gave 
chase,  mounting  the  rock,  and  the  mouse  taking  to 
the  water,  here  soon  became  nearly  exhausted,  and 
soon  clung  to  the  rock.  The  tortoise  now  warily 
approached  him,  made  a  grab  at  his  head,  and  held 
him  under  water  until  he  was  dead.  He  now,  after 
tearing  off  the  head,  turned  the  skin  of  the  mouse 
inside  out,  being  unable  to  tear  it,  and  in  two  or  three 
hours  ate  the  whole  except  the  skin  and  bones.  Dur- 
ing the  course  of  the  present  summer  they  have  eaten 
in  addition  five  other  mice.  The  consequences  itre 
that  they  are  in  capital  condition,  and  the  brightness 
of  their  colouring  is  such  that  they  are  not  like  the 
same  creatures  I  bought  two  years  ago.  —  George  N. 
Hams,  Clifton,  Bristol. 

Peregrine  Falcon.  —  Mr.  J-  W.  Dealy,  in  his 
article  on  the  "  Peregrine  Falcon""  (Science-Gossip, 
p.  53),  speaks  of  the  so-called  Falco  anatnin  as  iden- 
tical with  F.  pei-egrimis  ;  he  also  gives  the  reasons  on 
which  he  bases  his  opinion.  I  have  just  been  looking 
through  the  splendid  series  of  peregrines  from  all 
parts  of  the  world  in  the  Norwich  Museum,  and  al- 
though the  American  race  differs  slightly  from  those 
of  Europe  and  Asia,  I  confess  that  were  the  labels 
removed  I  should  be  utterly  unable  to  distinguish  one 
from  the  other.  Mr.  Gould  certainly  includes  F. 
atiatum  amongst  the  birds  closely  allied  to  F.  pere- 
grinus,  and  which,  "  although  closely  resembling 
each  other,  possess  distinctive  characteristics,  and 
have  rightly  [he  thinks]  been  regarded  as  so  many 
different  species  "  ;  but  most  modern  ornithologists, 
including  Dresser,  Newton,  and  Gumey,  think  other- 
wise, and  regard  the  "Duck  Hawk"  as  a  local  race 
of  F.  peregrinus.  As  to  Mr.  Dealy 's  reasons  for  his 
faith,  I  do  not  think  size  is  to  be  depended  upon.  In 
a  series  from  American  and  European  localities,  birds 
could,  I  believe,  be  found  which  would  not  differ 
perceptibly  from  each  other.  Wilson  says  that  the 
Duck-Hawk  never  carries  off"  its  prey,   but  permits 


92 


HARD  WICKE 'S     S CIENCE - G O SSIP. 


the  duck  to  fall  previous  to  securing  it.  It  is  curious 
that  Mr.  Gould's  plate  of  the  European  peregrine,  in 
his  "Birds  of  Great  Britain,"  represents  the  bird 
striking  down  a  duck  precisely  as  the  American  pere- 
grine is  said  to  do  by  Wilson.  Mr.  Dealy  says  the 
Duck- Hawk  constructs  its  nest  upon  trees  in  the  cedar 
swamps,  and  that  the  true  peregrine  never  frequents 
swamps  of  any  description,  and  has  never  been  known 
to  construct  its  nest  on  a  tree  of  any  sort — always  on 
the  rocks.  I  do  not  think  this  is  strictly  correct. 
Professor  Newton,  in  "Ootheca  Wolleyana,"  pp. 
102-3,  gives  repeated  extracts  from  Mr.  Wolley's 
note-book  of  eggs  of  the  peregrine  taken  from  nests 
found  on  the  ground,  amongst  the  bear-moss,  in  a 
marsh :  this  was  in  Lapland.  Mr.  Dresser  says 
("  Birds  of  Europe  ")  that  in  the  flat  wooded  parts  of 
North  Germany,  ' '  it  appears,  as  a  rule,  to  nest  in 
trees."  In  Livonia,  Von  Middendroff  states  that  it 
nests  on  the  moors  in  the  moss,  "never  otherwise 
than  on  the  ground."  Mr.  Dresser  obtained  eggs  of 
the  peregrine  in  Northern  Finland,  "  which  were 
placed  on  a  large  tussock  in  the  middle  of  a  great 
morass."  It  also  occasionally  breeds  in  church 
towers,  and  has  been  known  to  do  so  in  the  steeple 
of  Gorton  Church,  Suffolk,  not  many  miles  from 
where  I  am  now  writing.  Under  these  circumstances 
I  think  Mr.  Dealy  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  made 
out  a  good  case  in  favour  of  Falco  anatiun.  Wilson 
was,  as  Mr.  Dealy  says,  a  truly  great  naturalist,  and 
could  at  once  appreciate  the  powerful  influence  cir- 
cumstances and  surroundings  would  have  upon  the 
habits  and  mode  of  feeding  of  a  species  so  wide- 
spread over  the  globe  as  the  Peregrine  Falcon,  even, 
it  might  l^e,  to  the  production  of  a  darker  shade  of 
plumage,  or  a  slightly  superior  size. — T.  Soiitlnodl, 
Noj-wich. 

The  Herox. — In  answer  to  F.  H.  Arnold's  query 
as  to  whether  the  Heron  is  a  good  bird  to  eat,  he 
may  be  glad  to  know  that  I,  on  my  uncle's  persua- 
sion, tried  one  about  three  years  ago  ;  and  in  spite  of 
the  protestations  of  the  cook,  who  declared  that  it 
was  carrion,  found  it  very  good  eating,  both  roast 
and  hashed  :  its  flavour  is  something  like  hare.  I 
am  afraid  he  will  find  it,  however,  no  easy  matter  to 
get  his  friends  to  taste  it,  as  there  seems  to  exist  in 
England  a  strong  prejudice  against  the  use  of  herons 
as  food. — J.  G.  P.  Vereker. 

The  Common  Nettle  (p.  46). — Mr.  Augustus 
Mongredien,  in  his  work  on  "Trees  and  Shrubs  for 
English  Plantations  "  (Murray,  1870),  has  a  chapter 
on  "  Man's  Influence  on  Vegetation,"  in  which  he 
gives  a  list  of  plants  which  follow  human  cultivation, 
and  mentions  the  nettle  as  follows  : — "  Urtica  dioica 
(the  common  nettle),  whose  presence  almost  infallibly 
indicates  that  not  far  off"  a  house  or  shed  exists,  or  has 
existed."— ^r.  R.  Tate,  Blandford. 

Fertilization  of  Crucifers. — At  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  West  Sussex  Natural  History  Society, 
when  the  Crucifers  were  under  discussion,  a  question 
was  put — Why  are  two  of  the  stamens  shorter  than 
the  other  four?  What  advantage  does  this  give  for 
insect  fertilization  ?  In  Sir  J.  Lubbock's  work  this 
order  is  stated  as  "not  offering  so  many  special  spe- 
cific adaptations  [for  this  purpose]  as  other  groups." 
Is  this  so  ?  Any  observations  on  this  point  will  be 
acceptable. — F.  H.  Arnold. 

Fertilization  of  Mosses. — Will  you  or  some  of 
your  numerous  readers  kindly  answer  in  your  journal 
the  two  questions  that  arise  from  the  following  quo- 
tation from  "  Footnotes  from  the  Page  of  Nature," 


page   32 


■  There   is   one   remarkable   species  [of 


mosses],  the  male  plants  of :  which  exist  only  in 
Europe,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  and  the  female 
only  in  America,  and  yet  they  propagate  themselves 
with  as  much  facility  as  though  they  grev/  side  by 
side  in  the  same  crevice  of  rock."  The  two  questions 
are  :  (i)  What  is  the  name  of  this  species?  (2)  How 
do  they  propagate  themselves  ?  A  short  answer,  or  a 
reference  to  books  containing  the  infonnation,  will  be 
very  acceptable  ;  but,  since  books  are  suspected  things 
here,  a  direct  answer  will  be  more  serviceable. — 
James  Key,  St.  Petersburg. 

Apocynum  andros.'Emifolium. —  The  fact  that 
this  plant  is  insectivorous  is  not  new,  as  it  is  men- 
tioned in  Kirby  and  Spence  (4th  edit.,  i.  289), 
where,  indeed,  this  plant  heads  the  list  of  "  Vege- 
table Muscicapae." — Albert  C.  Coxhead. 

Destruction  of  Rare  Birds. — I  was  glad  to 
read  "G.  T.  B's."  protest,  in  the  January  number  of 
Science-Gossip,  respecting  the  destruction  of  rare 
birds.  I  frequently  see  recorded  in  a  Cornish  news- 
paper the  name  of  some  so-called  naturalist  who  has 
shot  a  rare  bird  visitor.  Last  week  a  Northern  Diver 
was  killed  near  Penzance.  Would  not  the  fact  that 
such  visitors  had  been  seen  and  were  unmolested  be 
much  more  satisfactory  to  all  true  lovers  of  nature 
than  that  their  skins  were  handed  to  a  taxidermist 
for  stuffing  ? — H.  Budge. 

Teucrium  Cham.-edrys. — In  the  autumn  of  1875 
I  gathered  Tencrhun  Chamczdrys  on  the  walls  of 
Winchelsea  Castle,  where  it  grew  in  some  abundance. 
The  locality  is  a  very  solitary  one,  far  from  gardens 
or  houses.  The  fact  of  a  plant  being  found  on  ruins, 
or  old  walls,  does  not  appear  to  me,  as  it  does  seem 
to  one  of  your  correspondents,  to  be  any  reason  for 
thinking  it  not  to  be  indigenous,  any  more  than  the 
grass,  chickweed,  or  ivy  that  is  sure  to  be  growing  in 
every  crevice,  is  to  be  supposed  doubtful  also  ! — 
H.  E.  JVilkinsoii,  Anerley,  S.E. 

Early  Flowering  Plants.  —  It  may  interest 
your  readers  to  know  that  to-day  (Feb.  7th)  I  found 
the  following  plants  in  bloom  near  Hughenden  Park, 
the  seat  of  Lord  Beaconsfield  :  Lamiu)n  purpure^iin, 
Veronica  Buxbaiimii,  Getim  in-banuvi,  Potentilla 
fragraria,  Mercurialis  peren)iis,  Stellaria  media,  and 
flower-buds  of  the  Bramble ;  also  hazel  catkins  in 
abundance,  barren  and  fertile  "palm."  The  wild 
honeysuckle  and  elder  are  also  in  leaf,  and  the  beech- 
woods  seem  almost  ready  to  follow  their  example. — 
E.  R.  B. 

Orchids  near  Boxhill. — Your  correspondent, 
J.  R.  N. ,  Kingston,  inquires  for  a  good  locality,  near 
Boxhill,  where  many  species  of  orchids  may  be 
found.  During  residence  at  Guildford,  I  used  to 
visit  Compton  chalk-pit,  a  wild  spot  on  the  left 
slope  along  the  Hog's  Back  (one  mile  from  Guild- 
ford Station.  On  one  occasion,  in  various  stages  of 
flowering,  I  gathered  the  following  species  :  Early 
purple,  Ladies'  Tresses,  Musk,  Bee,  Fly,  Pyrami- 
dalis.  — 7^.  //.  Stock. 

The  Colours  of  Shadows. — The  answer  to 
H.  O.  Sterland's  inquiiy  is  simple.  A  shadow  is 
only  a  space  from  which  light  is  cut  off  by  an  opaque 
body.  If  the  light  is  entirely  intercepted,  the  space 
becomes  invisible ;  but  in  practice  all  so-called 
shadows  receive  some  light  by  reflection  from  sur- 
rounding objects.  The  apparent  colour  of  the 
shadow  (on  a  white  ground)  in  such  cases  is  always 
complementary  to  that  of  the  light ;  this  illusion  be- 
ing simply  the  well-known  effect  of  contrast.     Thus 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


93 


in  ordinary  daylight  the  shadows  are  grey.  If  the 
light  contains  any  tinge  of  yellow,  inclining  to  orange, 
the  shadow  will  contain  a  tinge  of  blue  in  the  same 
proportion.  Since  the  yellowish  light  of  gas  contains 
comparatively  few  blue  rays,  of  course  all  purely 
blue  colours  nearly  disappear  when  the  gas  is  lit :  but 
that  is  tlie  very  reason  M'hy  the  shadows  have  a  blue 
tinge,  and  that  is  the  only  way  in  which  the  blue 
tinge  could  arise.  Tv.'o  simple  experiments  will 
illustrate  this.  At  the  time  of  sunset  in  autumn, 
when  the  clouds  are  all  aflame  with  rosy  light,  it  will 
be  found  that  the  shadow  of  a  pencil  or  finger,  on 
white  paper,  is  so  decidedly  green,  that  it  is  hard 
to  believe  the  appearance  is  illusory.  Again,  if 
the  green  Venetian  blinds  be  nearly  closed  on  a 
bright  day,  so  that  all  the  light  which  enters  is  re- 
flected from  their  surfaces,  and  is  therefore  green, 
the  shadow  will  be  found  to  have  an  equally  strong 
rosy  tinge.  —  W.  B.  G. 

Colours  of  Shadows. — The  blue  colour  of  the 
shadow  thrown  by  gas  during  daylight,  may,  I  think, 
be  observed  with  all  ordinary  artificial  light,  but  at 
the  same  moment  the  shadow  of  the  same  object,  or 
of  adjacent  ones,  thrown  by  the  daylight  will  be  seen 
to  be  yellow-brown.  The  cause  I  take  to  be  that  the 
artificial  light  is  yellow,  and  that  in  the  shadow 
thrown  by  it,  where  the  yellow  light  is  absent  and  the 
daylight  only  seen,  the  object  illuminated  by  day- 
light alone  looks  blue  by  contrast,  whereas  in  the 
other  shadow,  where  the  daylight  is  more  or  less 
absent  and  the  yellow  light  alone  seen,  it  looks  yellow- 
brown  by  contrast  or  complementary  colour.— 
Albert  D.  Michael. 

Cyclas  cornea.- — Is  this  creature  wholly  or 
partially  carnivorous  ?  Having  had  reasons  for  an 
answer  to  the  above  question,  I  made  a  limited  search, 
but  did  not  succeed  in  finding  the  required  informa- 
tion. A  few  days  since,  a  living  frog  was  brought  to 
me  witli  a  full-sized  specimen  of  this  shell-fish  attached 
to  one  of  its  toes,  having  been  found  upon  a  bank  by 
the  side  of  a  canal.  Upon  examination  the  frog 
appeared  to  be  suffering  very  much  from  its  intruder  ; 
its  eyes  very  red,  and  it  moved  its  leg  backwards  and 
forwards  evidently  tiying  to  get  rid  of  cyclas.  After 
allowing  the  shell  to  remain  for  tsvo  days,  I  removed 
it  and  sent  the  frog  on  its  way  rejoicing,  a  small  hole 
having  been  made  where  the  shell  was  fastened.  It 
is  certain  that  the  shell  became  attached  in  the  water, 
and  probably  when  the  frog  was  quietly  reposing  on 
the  mud,  as  these  animals  bury  themselves  in  the 
mud,  at  all  events  during  the  day.  Was  the  cyclas 
hungry  ?  If  the  attachment  was  made  to  satiate  its 
appetite,  was  it  not  a  daring  attempt  ?  I  should  be 
glad  to  know  if  any  of  the  readers  of  Science- 
Gossip  ever  witnessed  such,  and  whether  Cyclas 
cornea  is  really  carnivorous. — J.  T.  Niches. 

The  Plague  of  Flies. — The  common  fly 
{Musca  domestica,  &c.)  has  a  strong  dislike  for  the 
musk-plant  (Mimulus  moscatus).  If  *'  E.  C.  M.  " 
has  boxes  of  this  plant  before  the  windows  of  the 
rooms  affected,  the  nuisance  may  be  abated. — David 
A.  King. 

Parasites  on  Cyclops. — The  vorticella-like 
parasites  "A.  H.  "  mentions  as  occurring  on  cyclops 
are  probably  epistyles.  Of  these,  there  are  many 
species,  most  of  them  branched,  which  Vorticella  in 
its  adult  stage  never  is.  Some  species — e.g.,  E.  vege- 
tis  and  E.  grandis — are  not  branched,  and  almost 
always  occur  on  the  minute  crustaceans.  The  animal 
might  be  podophrya,  a  suctorial  infusorian,  having 


a  short  stalk  and  head,  covered  with  single,  radiating, 
cilia-like  suckers. — David  A.  King. 

Wild  Strawberries  in  January. — I  think 
the  following  fact  is  worth  recording.  Whilst  out 
for  a  walk  with  a  friend  last  week  (the  third  week  in 
January)  on  the  borders  of  Wales,  I  gathered  some 
wild  strawberries,  about  half  the  size  of  peas.  They 
\\ere  green  and  in  a  healthy  state,  and  the  plants  on 
which  they  were  growing  were  covered  with  flowers 
and  flower-buds. — H.  G.,  Oswestry. 

YOLVOX  globator  in  great  profusion  was  found 
by  me  in  a  pond  near  this  town  on  25th  December, 
1875.  INIyriads  of  specimens  were  to  be  found  there 
throughout  the  following  January,  and  then  they  dis- 
appeared altogether.  I  have  searched  the  pond  many 
times  since,  particularly  in  December  last,  and  in  the 
present  month  of  January,  without  finding  a  single 
specimen.  Owing  to  the  heavy  rain  which  has  fallen 
so  continuously  for  several  weeks  past,  the  water  has 
been  highly  coloured  with  red  marl,  a  condition 
which  may  have  been  unfavourable  to  the  develop- 
ment of  Volvox  again  this  winter. —  T.  y.  Scatter. 

Hawfinches. — With  regard  to  the  Hawfinch 
breeding  in  this  country :  they  are  very  common  in 
this  part  of  Hertfordshire,  but  not  much  noticed  on 
account  of  their  shyness.  I  have  several  times 
reared  the  unfledged  young  ones,  and  repeatedly  have 
had  the  nests  and  eggs  of  the  Hawfinch  brought  to 


me. 


-E.L. 


Insects  and  Plants. — Allow  me  to  call  the 
attention  of  your  readers  to  pp.  167-170,  Letter  IX, 
in  tlie  seventh  edition  of  Kirby  and  Spence's  "  Ento- 
mology," 1856.  There  occurs  the  following  :  "  Some 
plants  are  gifted  with  the  faculty  of  catching  flies. 
These  vegetable  muscicapce  which  have  been  enume- 
rated by  l3r.  Barton,  of  Philadelphia  {Philos.  Mag., 
xxxix.  107),  may  be  divided  into  three  classes  :  First, 
those  that  entrap  insects  by  the  irritability  of  their 
stamens,  as  Apocyniini  androste mifolinm ,  Asclcpias 
svrica  and  curassaoica,  Neriiiin  Oleander,  and  a 
grass,  Leersia  lenticnlaris.  The  second  class  entrap 
them  by  viscosity  ;  .  .  .  .  and  the  third  by  their  leaves, 
whether  from  irritability,  as  in  Dionrea,  Drosera,  &c., 
or  from  forming  hollow  vessels  containing  water,  into 
which  the  flies  are  enticed  either  by  their  carrion-like 
odour,  or  the  sweet  fluid  which  many  of  them  secrete 
near  the  faux,  as  in  Sarracenia,  Nepenthes,  Aquarium, 
Cephalotus,  &c.  In  this  class  may  be  placed  the 
common  Dipsacus  (Teazle),  the  connate  leaves  of 
which  form  a  basin,  in  which  many  insects  are 
drowned.  To  these  a  fourth  class  might  be  added  of 
those  plants  whose  flowers  smell  like  carrion  (Stapelia). 
Dr.  Barton  doubts  whether  the  flowers  can  derive 
any  nutriment  from  the  insects,  and  he  does  not  think 
the  leaves  of  Dionxa,  &c.  can  need  any  stimulus." 
An  experiment  of  "Mr.  Knight's,  nurseryman,  in 
King's  Road,  London,"  is  then  quoted,  who  "laid 
fine  filaments  of  raw  beef"  on  the  leaf  of  Dionsea, 
which  "was  much  more  luxuriant  than  others  not  so 
treated."  ....  "  However  problematical  the  agency 
of  insects  as  to  their  nutriment,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  many  species  perform  an  important  func- 
tion with  regard  to  the  impregnation  of  plants,  which, 
without  their  aid,  would,  in  some  cases,  never  take 
place  at  all."  The  Barberry,  Iris,  Asclepiadeos  and 
Orchidea;,  Aristolochis,  and  Fig  are  then  referred  to. 
Sprengel's  then  despised  "Endecktes  Geheimniss" 
being  quoted.  "  Sprengel  asserts  that,  apparently  to 
prevent  hybrid  mixtures,  insects  will,  during  a  whole 
day,  confine  their  visits  to  that  species  on  which  they 


94 


BARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


first  fixed  in  the  morning  ;  and  the  same  observation 
was  long  since  made  with  respect  to  bees  by^our 
countryman Dobbs  "  {Phil:  Trans.,  xlvi.  536).— 6".  S. 
Bonlger. 

Herons  and  Rooks.  —  Your  correspondent 
"T.  H.  Arnold,  LL.B.,"  in  your  Notes  and  Queries 
for  December,  1876,  asks  for  information  as  to  the 
habits  of  herons,  and  more  particularly  if  it  is  the 
case  that  herons  and  rooks  seldom  build  in  company. 
In  the  fine  old  woods  of  Dallam  Tower,  near  Miln- 
thorpe,  Westmoreland,  in  peaceable  neighbourhood, 
there  is  a  heronry  and  a  rookery.  The  situation  is 
not  far  removed  from  Morecombe  Bay,  an  excellent 
feeding-ground  for  the  birds.  I  well  remember,  many 
years  ago,  hearing,  at  the  Kendal  Literary  Institution, 
a  charmingly  written  allegory,  read  by  the  late  Mr. 
Pearon,  of  Borderside,  Winster,  on  the  fierce  struggle 
which  took  place  between  the  black-coats  and  the 
long-necked'gentlemen,  and  the  ultimate  destruction 
of  nests  and  young  by  the  partisans  of  each  genus,  until 
first  a  truce,  and  at  length  peaceful  relations,  were 
established  between  the  rival  colonies.  Your  corre- 
spondent, by  writing  to  Thomas  Gough,  Esq.,  of 
Sandside,  Amside,  Westmoreland,  will  be  able  to 
obtain  all  the  information  which  he  seeks  on  this  sub- 
ject.—>/^;/  Harker,  M.D.,  d-^r. 

Strength  of  the  Stag-beetle. — I  had  a 
specimen  of  the  Stag-beetle  that  lifted  nearly  three 
pounds  in  weight.  A  boy  brought  me  one  a  short  time 
since,  in  a  glass  tumbler,  and  I  placed  it  in  a  strong 
card  box,  four  inches  square,  so  as  to  examine  it  next 
day.  Before  going  to  bed  that  night,  I  placed  the 
box,  with  the  beetle  in  it,  on  a  glass  case,  and  placed 
a  large  polished  outside  slab  of  madrepore  on  the 
box  containing  the  beetle.  In  the  morning  the  slab 
I  found  turned  over,  and  the  cover  off  the  box,  and 
the  beetle  walking  about  the  floor.  Can  any  readers 
of  Science-Gossip  inform  me  if  they  have  noticed 
any  similar  instance  of  strength  in  the  Stag-beetle 
(Liicaniis  cennis)  ?—A.  J.  R.  Sclatcr,   Tdgnmozith. 

Cause  of  Coloration. — Mr.  A.  R.  Wallace, 
of  London,  having  recently  delivered  two  lectures  at 
the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society,  Newcastle- 
on-Tyne,  on  "Colours  of  Animals  and  Plants,"  and 
being  a  well-known  authority  on  these  subjects,  I 
think  that  a  few  notes  taken  at  one  of  these  lectures 
would  not^only  be  interesting  to  "  H.  B.,"  p.  281, 
but  also  to  the  readers  of  Sciexce-Gossip  in  general. 
I  shall  merely  give  a  few  of  those  which  have  refer- 
ence to  the  questions  raised  by  "H.  B."  He  said  it 
had  long  been  supposed,  and  was  still  held  by  some 
very  high  authorities,  that  heat  and  light  had  some 
direct  influence  in  producing  colour  ;  but  many  facts 
were  opposed  to  this  idea.  Tropical  plants  and 
animals,  although  many  were  excessively  l^rilliant, 
were  not  perhaps  more  brilliant,  on  the  average,  than 
those  of  temperate  climates  ;  and  there  were  some 
striking  examples  of  tropical  countries,  in  which  the 
brilliant  colours  usually  pi^esent  in  tropical  countries 
were  entirely  wanting.  Again,  we  saw  a  wonderful 
difference  between  different  classes  of  animals  ;  and 
whereas  birds  and  insects  display  immense  minuteness 
and  variety  of  colour,  mammalia,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  rarely  if  ever  brilliant.  Again,  the  birds  of  the 
tropics  are  only  very  partially  brilliant.  It  is  pro- 
bable there  are  more  perfectly  ])lain,  dull-coloured 
l)irds  in  the  tropics  than  there  are  brilliant-coloured  ; 
and  those  groups  of  birds  which  in  our  country  are 
most  prevalent,  and  which  are  characterized  by  the 
ordinaiy  dull  colours,  where  they  extend  to  the 
tropics,  are  generally  equally  dull.      On   the  other 


hand,  there  are  some  groups  which  exhibit  their 
greatest,  or  an  equal  brilliancy  of  beauty,  in  the 
temperate  zone.  Some  of  the  most  magnificent  birds 
in  the  world  inhabit  the  temperate  regions  of  China 
and  the  Hinxalayas  ;  and  there  are  a  few  in  the  arctic 
regions,  such  as  the  arctic  duck  and  divers,  which  are 
even  more  brilliant  than  those  of  the  temperate  or 
tropical  zone.  With  insects  and  flowers  the  same 
thing  prevails.  In  a  great  many  cases  colour  has 
no  relation  whatever  10  light.  This  was  veiy  well 
seen  in  the  general  colour  of  fishes,  the  colours  of  the 
upper  sides  of  which  were  almost  invariably  black, 
while  the  lower  was  white  ;  whereas  if  the  effect  were 
produced  by  light,  the  reverse  would  be  the  case. 
Again,  the  gorgeous  colours  of  the  greater  part  of  the 
brilliant  butterflies  and  birds  have  no  relation  what- 
ever to  the  general  circumstances  which  surround 
them  ;  and  in  the  arctic  regions,  though  the  prevail- 
ing colour  is  white,  yet  we  find  the  raven  as  black  as 
with  us.  Colour  answered  the  purpose  of  conceal- 
ment, and  the  animals  which  had  not  had  this  pro- 
tection had  been  killed  off  by  their  enemies.  The 
colour  of  the  blacks  is  too  extensive  a  subject  to  enter 
upon. — Dipto7i  Burn. 

Spawn  of  Newts,  &c.— Pardon  me  if  I  again 
revive  the  discussion  concerning  the  spa%vn,  &c.,  of 
newts,  which  occupied  so  much  of  your  space  some 
time  ago.  But  several  of  your  correspondents  appear 
to  be  incredulous  of  my  statement  {vide  Science- 
Gossip,  Dec.  I,  1875)  that  the  mother  newt  does  not 
akvays  wrap  up  her  eggs  separately  in  the  leaves  of 
some  water-plant.  In  order  to  set  the  matter  at  vest, 
on  the  14th  April  last  I  procured  a  quantity  of  newt 
spawn  from  the  same  pond  as  that  mentioned  before. 
The  spawn  ivas  not  zvrappcd  up,  nor  even  covered, 
but  there  was  mixed  up  with  it  a  small  quantity  of  a 
green  slimy  matter  which  is  often  seen  floating  on 
stagnant  water.  That  the  spawn  was  that  of  the 
newt  was  evident  from  the  fact  that  each  egg  was 
separate,  and  not  connected  into  a  mass  like  that  of 
the  frog,  or  in  strings  like  that  of  the  toad.  The 
tadpoles  began  to  hatch  out  on  the  same  day.  I  put 
two  of  them  under  my  microscope,  when  I  could 
easily  see  the  blood  circulating  in  the  branchije  or 
gills.  I  noticed  that  it  moved  much  faster  in  the 
smaller  than  in  the  larger  specimen,  and,  what  is 
very  remarkable,  the  water  in  contact  with  the  gills 
was  moving  rapidly  along,  closely  following  their 
outline.  Can  any  of  your  readers  tell  me  by 
what  means  it  was  propelled  ?  By  the  24th  April 
the  branchiate  gills  had  entirely  disappeared.  By  the 
1st  of  June  the  front  legs  were  just  appearing,  but  I 
was  unfortunately  unable  to  follow  up  their  develop- 
ment, for  there  was  a  sudden  mortality  amongst  them, 
and  they  all  died  in  a  very  short  time.  There  can  be 
no  doubt,  however,  that  they  were  newt  tadpoles,  as 
\he.  front  legs  were  then  apparent.  I  think  that  the 
reason  the  newts  in  this  pond  do  not  wrap  up  their 
eggs  is,  that  none  of  the  water-plants  in  it  have 
leaves  fit  for  the  purpose,  being  all  of  a  more  or  less 
filiform  or  threadlike  shape. — //.  £.  Forrest. 

Singular  Star-fish. — I  have  a  specimen  of  a 
six-armed  brittle  star,  probably  Ophiothela  mirahilis, 
which  was  found  entangled  in  a  dried  gorgonia  from 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  I  should  like  to  learn  from  .some 
of  your  readers  how  common  it  is  to  find  six  arms 
amongst  normally  five-armed  ophiuras  and  star- 
fishes. 

The  Glastonbury  Thorn. — A  note  on  this^ 
subject  appears  in  p.  45.  May  I  ask  the  favour  of 
your  finding   room  for  two  more  paragraphs  on    this 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


95 


intCTCsting  topic  ?  "  Luscus,"  who  dates  from  Bristol, 
writing  to  the  Standard  ' '  says  :  It  may  interest  some 
of  your  readers  to  hear  that  the  Glastonbury  Thorn — 
a  tree  of  which  is  in  my  parish — is  blossoming  this 
Christmas.  The  blossom  is  small  and  of  a  white 
colour.  I  enclose  a  spray  from  a  branch  before  me, 
which  is  fairly  covered  with  blossom.  The  tree  on 
which  it  grew  is  in  an  orchard,  and  is  as  large  as  a 
good-sized  apple-tree,  and  must  be  of  very  great  age. 
The  legend  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea  planting  his  staff 
in  the  ground  is  well  known,  and  generally  dis- 
believed, but  the  thorn  can  be  traced  back  to  a  very 
early  period  at  Glastonbuiy,  and  was  probably 
brought  over  by  some  early  monk  (perhaps  in  Saxon 
times)  whose  conscience  did  not  revolt  at  a  pious 
fraud.  Pidman's  Weekly  News  says  that  a  piece  of 
the  original  Glastonbury  Thorn  is  growing  in  the 
garden  of  a  cottage  between  Hewish  and  Wool- 
mingston.  For  several  years  past,  the  tree — or, 
rather,  a  small  bush — has  been  visited  at  midnight  on 
Old  Christmas  Eve  by  people  who  vow  that  the  bush 
actually  blossomed  while  they  were  watching  it,  and 
became  bare  again  shortly  afterwards.  On  Friday 
night,  the  number  of  '  pilgrims '  to  this  shrine  was 
at  least  200 — from  Crewkerne,  Misterton,  and  other 
places — and  those  who  came  to  scoff  remained — if  not 
*  to  pray '  at  least  to  be  convinced  of  the  wonderful 
phenomenon.  They  say  that  at  half-past  eleven  not 
a  sign  of  a  flower  could  be  seen,  but  that  at  midnight 
every  t\^^g  of  one  side  of  the  bush  was  covered  with 
delicately-tinted  May  light  blossoms."  This  last 
paragraph  appeared  in  a  Crewkerne  paper,  and  was 
copied,  among  others,  by  a  Yeovil  paper  having  a 
circulation  of  some  25,000  copies  in  Somerset  and  the 
neighbouring  counties.  Strange  to  say,  however,  it 
has  not  been  contradicted  nor  even  queried  so  far  as 
I  have  ^been  able  to  ascertain.  The  natives  seem 
quite  capable  of  "  swallowing "  the  above  and  a 
great  deal  more  about  "  the  holy  thorn."  This 
notice  in  a  scientific  journal  may  be  the  means  of 
causing  some  of  your  curious  readers  to  endeavour  to 
throw  a  little  light  on  this  superstition  or  phenomenon 
— whichever  they  may  decide  it  to  be. —  VV.  Mac- 
millait,  Castle  Cary. 

The  Sun. — While  in  the  fields  last  autumn  with 
my  little  boy,  he  called  my  attention  to  what  he 
called  little  black  balls  rising  out  of  the  sun.  On 
looking  at  the  sun,  I  fancied  I  could  witness  similar 
phenomena.  Will  some  one  kindly  account  for  this  ? 
—Pater. 

North  Winds. — A  friend  of  mine  asks  me  a 
question  I  am  unable  to  answer,  and  therefore  pass  it 
on  to  your  readers.  How  is  it  that  the  row  of  plants 
facing  the  north  suffer  less  severely  from  the  cold 
than  those  facing  the  south  ? — Pater. 

The  Domestic  Cat. — I  am  glad  that  the  ques- 
tion of  the  introduction  of  the  domestic  cat  into 
Europe  is  exciting  attention,  for  there  are  several 
conflicting  data  to  reconcile  with  the  facts  of  history 
on  the  matter.  Professor  Mahaffey,  in  his  "  Old 
Greek  Life,"  claims  the  Cat  among  the  household 
animals  of  the  ancient  Greeks,  while  the  Rev.  Wil- 
liam Houghton  (a  contributor  to  Smith's  "Dictionary 
of  the  Bible"),  in  a  paper  on  the  domestic  animals 
of  the  Assyrians,  in  "Trans.  Soc.  Bib.  Archccology, " 
vol.  V.  p.  I,  maintains  that  the  Cat  was  entirely  un- 
known to  the  ancients — Assyrian,  Greek,  or  Roman, 
and  that  its  use  and  "cultus"  were  confined  solely 
to  Egypt.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  the  indispu- 
table evidence  that  when  Herodutus,  in  "  Euterpe," 
describes  the  reverence  paid  by  the  Egyptians  to  their 
cats,  he  does  so  in  terms  which  imply  that  the  crea- 


ture was  well  known  to  his  readers ;  and  with  this 
agrees  also  his  theory  of  that  reverence  as  arising 
from  the  goddess  Artemis  having  taken  refuge  in 
Egypt  in  the  form  of  a  cat  during  the  temporary 
overthrow  of  the  Olympic  deities  by  the  Gigantoma- 
chia.  Further  also,  in  the  ancient  (?)  mock  heroic 
poem  of  the  Batrachomuomachia,  at  one  time  attri- 
buted to  Homer,  and  more  probably  written  in  the 
later  Greek  period,  as  it  is  quite  in  the  style  of 
Lucian,  there  are  no  less  than  three  distinct  references 
to  the  Cat :  the  hero  of  the  poem,  the  Prince  Psycerpax, 
was  one  whom  "cats  pursued  in  vain."  His  elder 
brother  "perished  by  the  ravening  cat,  as  near  my 
door  the  Prince  unheedful  sat."  And  the  chief  of  the 
army  of  the  mice,  when  they  attack  their  rivals  the 
frogs,  wears  a  cuirass  ' '  faced  with  the  trophy  of  a 
cat  they  flayed."  Heroic  mice  indeed  !  Still,  despite 
all  these  citations,  it  is  also  certain  that  the  ancients 
used  a  species  of  "  Mustela,"  or  Ailurus,  or  ferret,  as 
a  destroyer  of  household  mice  ;  and  the  early  Chris- 
tian bishop,  Timothy  Ailurus,  was  so  named  from 
his  thin,  eager,  weasel  face  and  piercing  eyes.  The 
discussion  in  the  Academy  unfortunately  dropped, 
and  I  was  at  the  time  too  seriously  ill  to  take  it  up 
(indeed,  I  now  write  without  my  books  and  quite 
from  memoiy),  still  I  trust  that  some  more  of  your 
readers  may  find  time  and  inclination  next  month  to 
pursue  this  interesting  subject  further.  —  W.  R.  Cooper, 
F.P.A.S. 


EXCHANGES  (contimied.') 

Duplicates. — Fine-bred  specimens  of  the  large  American 
Silk-moth  {Boiidtyx  Cecropid)  in  exchange  for  birds'  eggs,  side- 
blown.  Accepted  offers  answered  in  three  days. — John  Thorpe, 
Spring-gardens_  jMiddleton,  Manchester. 

Istkinia  iiicrzus,  a  pure  gathering,  in  exchange  for  Mon- 
tery  or  Bermuda  Diatomaceous  Earths. — R.  Rattray,  30, 
Balfour-street,  Dundee. 

Globergerina  Ooze,  mid-Atlantic,  and  fossil  Polyzoa, 
carboniferous,  for  good  slides. — N.,  18,  Elgin-road,  St.  Peter's 
Park,  London. 

Very  good  Micro.  Slides  to  exchange  for  British  birds'  eggs — 
any  except  the  very  common. — Send  list  to  Micro,  care  of  Mr. 
C.  Gray,  11,  Crooked-lane,  London,  E.C. 


BOOKS,  &c.,  RECEIVED. 

"  Vis-Inertiae,  and  Recent  E.xplorations."     By  \V.  L.  Jordan 
London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 
"  Land  and  Water."     March. 
"  American  Naturalist."     February. 
"Canadian  Entomologist."     February. 
"  Les  Mondes."    February. 
"  Botanische  Zeitung."      February. 
"Monthly  Microscopical  Journal."     jMarch. 
"  Ber.  Brierly's  Journal.  "     March. 
"  Boston  Journal  of  Chemistry. "     February. 
&c.  &c.  &c. 


'       Communications  Rexeived  up  to  qth   ult.  from  :  — ^ 

T.  B.  W.— T.   S.— J.   F.   R.— G.  D.— J.  A.  P.— H.   L  T. 

,    A.  W.  R.— T.  J.  W.— E.   V.   B.— F.  Q.— F.   F.— C.  W.  B.— 

I    Prof.  G.— W.   L.   S.— W.   L.  W.   E.— H.  W.  T.— W.  G.  P.— 

W.  M.— E.  C— W.  R.   C— A.   F.— W.   R.    T.-A.  J.   R.— 

A.  C.  C— W.  W.  I.— J.  F.  G.— W.  E.  T.— G.  C— E.  R.  B.— 

T.  W.  T.— H.  B.— A.  D.  M.— W.  B.  G.— C.  F.  W.— P.  W.  B. 

— F.  T.  M.— R.   M.  C— A.    M.— A.  J.  A.— G.   D.— S.    H.— 

A.  B.— 3.1  A.  IS.— J.  W    S.— G.  W.  C— G.  L.  B.— G.  M.  D. 

—  C.  L,  jun.  —  J.  T.  W.  —  T.  B.  A.  —  W.  J.   B.  -  W.  Y. 

'    —  C.  F.  W.  T.  W.  —  I.  H.  K.  —  Col.  H.  —  J.  H,|  A.  J.— 

,    H.  A.  A.— H.   R.    M.— J.  T.   R.— W.   P.— T.   W.— E.  E.— 

!    E.  J.  L.-A.  H.  A. -A.  J.  A.— C.  B.-W.  L.  N.-R.  H.  M.— 

J.  C  -J.  H.  A.  J.-A.  H.— D.  B.-A.  B.-J.  W.-T.  H.  B.— 

S.  J.  W.  S.-T.  C.  R.-W.  T.  E.-J.  T.-M.  F.--E.  L.-S.  S. 

'    -M.  H.  R.-B.  B.-S.  H.-F.  J.  A.-C.  G.-E.  H.-G.  W. 

— G.  N.— H.  H.  C.-T.   B.-B.  P. -A.   G.-R.   R.— D.  B.— 

Dr.  C— J.  J.  M.— W.  G.  N.— F.  W.  P.— M.  M.— C.  W.  S.— 

E.  R.  F.— A.   W.— J.    W.— G.   K.-A.    C— E.    L.— W.    B.— 

W.  H.  G.-F.  H.  D.-A.   S.-A.  H.  W.-G.  C.-W.  E.  T.- 

H    F.    F.— H.  C— T.   W.— F.    M.  H. -E.   L.--M.  L.  W.— 

H.    J.— C.   D.— R.  V.   T.-M.  W.— G.   B.-J.   C.-E.    H.— 

J.  W.— T.  P.— W.  E.  L.— H.  P.-C.  J.  W.,  &c.  &c. 


96 


HARDWl  CKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  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  8th  of  the 
previous  month. 

C.  Drinkwater. — The  piece  of  coal  you  sent  has  white 
veins  of  calcite  (carbonate  of  lime)  running  through  it. 

Arthur. — There  is  no  truth  whatever  as  to  limetrees  be- 
having as  you  say  is  reported. 

H.  D. — For  popular  information  about  earwigs,  see  Wood's 
"  Insects  at  Home,"  or  "  Episodes  of  Insect  Life." 

Pauline. — The  virgin  ferns  undoubtedly  went  through  the 
antheridial  and  ,archegonial  stages.  Those  borne  as  shoots  on 
the  fronds,  as  in  the  cases  you  name,  do  not  pass  through  these 
stages. 

W.  J.  Beumont. — The  Dytiscits  iiiarghialis  leave  the  water 
in  August  and  fly  about,  so  that  it  is  not  singular  to  find  a 
specimen  under  the  circumstances  you  name. 

C.  F.  W.  T.  WiLLi.VMS. — The  slides  arrived  safely.  Many 
thanks  for  them. 

T.  Bovle. — Your  fern  is  a  young  specimen  of  the  Northern 
Hard  Fern  (_Blechinim  horcale). 

T.  S.MITH,  JuN. — Your  insect  is  not  a  beetle,  but  one  of  the 
homoptera.  It  usually  lives  in  fresh-water  ponds,  but  leaves 
the  water  for  the  air  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  Its  name 
is  Nepa  ciiwrea. 

E.  V.  B.  —  Get  Nicholson's  "Elementary  Te.\t-Book  of 
Zoology,"  published  by  Blackwoods,  at,  we  believe,  2S. 

F.  F. — Many  thanks  for  your  good  wishes. 

A.  F. — The  name  of  your  moth  is  /'//w/rt,  v. rt«rt'7i/«  (female); 
commoner  in  Ireland  than  in  England. 

F.  Quarterman. — The  .specimen  sent  was  that  of  one  of 
our  commonest  British  sponges,  called  Chalma  ociilntn. 

A.  Croall  (Stirling). — Address  M.  Gautier  himself,  at 
Narbonne,  France. 

T.  \V. — Your  zoophyte  appears  to  be  Sertularia  r?igosa,  but 
it  is  anything  but  a  good  specimen  to  identify. 

J.  A. — The  seed  of  which  you  sent  a  sketch,  found  in  wool, 
eoes  by  the  name  of  "  The  Devil's  Horns."  Botanists  know  it 
bj'  the  name  of  JlnrtiHia  Moiitcvidiensis. 

G.  M.  Doe. — The  act  of  spinning,  indulged  in  by  certain 
snails  and  slugs  is  well  known.  See  an  article  by  Mr.  G. 
Sherriff  Tye,  in  Science-Gossip  for  1874,  page  49,  on  "  Mol- 
luscan  threads.'' 

To  members  of  ".Science-Gossip"  Naturalists'  Clubs,  &c. — 
Will  a  member  of  above  clubs  oblige  me  with  regulations  and 
hints  for  forming  a  "  Science-Gossip"  club  ? — John  J.  Morgan, 
Tredegar. 

Miss  Spark  es.  —  The  moss  from  the  Arctic  regions  is 
Distichiiiin  caJ>iUaccum. 

G.  A.  Holt. — Your  mosses  are: — i.  Griiinnia  pulvlncita  ; 
2  and  5.  Ceratodoii  purpurciis  ;  3.  Orthotrichujn  anovtaluin  ; 
4.    Tortilla  sulndafa. 

R.-  R.  T. — Your  specimens  are  : — i  and  3.  P/iyscomiti-hun 
pyyiforme  ;  2.  Rkacomitruan  lietovsticliitm  ;  4.  Orthotriclinnt 
cupulatutn ;  5.  Griminia  apocarpa,\2.r.  rividaris ;  6  and  7. 
Orthotridiinn  affinc. 

J.  PERCIV.A.L. — Your  moss  is  probably  Bryjcni  petidiihiiii. 

R.  G. — The  following  are  the  names  of  your  mosses  : — i. 
Rliacomitritim  lanugiiwsum ;  2.  Dicfainiin  /uscesce7is ;  3. 
D.  scopariian ;  4  and  5.  Hypiium  iriq7iet7'nin ;  6.  H. 
ciispidatnnt ;  7.  H.  sfrlendois;  8.  Bartrnjuia  /oninjin ;  9. 
Hypmtm  iorertin ;  10,  is  a  flowering  plant,  probably  3.Sagiiia  ; 
II.    Tortitla  tortiiosa  ;  12.   Bariraiitia  potniJbriius.—'R.'R.'ij. 

H.  A.  (Cannes). — The  names  of  the  two  species  you  enclose 
are  :  No.  i  with  a  dark-looking  hood  over  the  long  spike  of 
real  flowers,  is  a  Cuckoo-pint,  Arum  Arisarntn,  L.  No.  2, 
with  the  light  pink-lipped  corolla,  is  a  Hen-bit,  or  Galeopsis 
angjistifolia. 

J.  H.  G.  (Gravesend). — We  have  never  noticed  the  Gei- 
scmiinivt  as  a  garden  or  cultivated  species  ;  so  we  should  judge 
it  is  a  'Jasininiiin  you  have  observed.—  J.  F.  R. 

G.  C.  D.  (Northampton). — Thanks  for  specimen  of  Linaria 
spuria  ;  it  is  a  true  "  peloria,"  at  least  several  flowers  are  thus 
transformed.  The  Khyiicospora  is  what  we  have  always 
regarded  as  the  typical  form  ;  all  our  herbarium  specimens  are 
similar.  IThe  grass  is  Glycerin  aguatica.  Linaria  ?ni>!or — yes. 
Ergotized  e.vample  is  very  interesting.  A  short  paper  upon  this 
with  drawing  will  probably  appear  soon  in  our  pages. 


EXCHANGES. 

W.\ntkd,  the  rarer  British  or  any  Foreign  Algse,  Mosses,  &c. 
for  others. — A.  Croall,  the  Smith  Institute,  Stirling,  Scotland. 

Offered,  ist  Vol.  of  "  Cassell's  Book  of  Birds,"  including 
Parrots,  Pas.seres,  and  Ravens  (7s.  6d.),  and  Ramsay's 
Mineralogy  (3s.),  both  nearly  new,  for  a  book  on  British 
Birds.— D.,  78,  Claverton-street,  London,  S.W. 

Wanted,  Fleas  and  Parasites  from  Bats,  also  Ixodes  (Ticks) 
from  foreign  animals  :  good  slidesor  books  in  exchange. — H.  E. 
Freeman,  48,  Woodstock-road,  N. 


Wanted,  to  exchange  with  American,  Continental,  and 
Colonial  Collectors,  British  Land  and  Fresh-water  Shells,  for 
foreign  ones,  either  land,  fresh-water,  or  marine.  Also  the 
first  seven  vols,  of  Science-Gossip  to  purchase.  State  lowest 
price  in  cash.  ^  Address,  H.  Crowther,  Philosophical  Hall, 
Leeds. 

Wanted,  a  few  specimens  illustrative  of  deep-sea  formations, 
mounted  or  otherwise  ;  also  of  marine  zoology  ;  a  variety  of 
similar  objects  for  exchange. — Edwd.  Lovett,  Holly  Mount, 
Croydon. 

Well-mounted  Slides  of  Tous  les  Mois  Starch,  Hair  of 
Esquimaux  Dog,  and  others,  to  exchange.  —  Edwd.  Howell, 
Yeovil. 

Wanted,  the  Three  first  Volumes  of  Science-Gossip,  for 
years  1865,  '66,  and  '67.  Also  those  foi  years  1872,  '73,  and  '74. 
— Dr.  Cunynghame,  6,  Walker-street,  Edinburgh. 

I  AM  desirous  of  having  Australian  Eggs.  I  can  offer  British 
and  also  a  few  North  American  eggs.  The  commonest  species 
accepted,  if  neatly  blown  ;  mine  are  side-blown.  Australian 
correspondence  invited.  All  letters  answered. — T.  W.  Dealy, 
142,  Clarance-street,  Sheffield. 

Fine  duplicates,  early  this  month,  of  Gothica  criida,  &c. 
Wanted,  in  exchange,  old  edition  "Merrin's  Calendar,"  or 
back  numbers  Science-Gossip. — J.  T.  Willis,  Adwick-le-street, 
Doncaster. 

Wanted,  in  exchange  for  eighty  distinct  and  well-dried 
.specimens  of  exotic  Ferns,  including  species  of  the  genera 
Hyiiicnophylluiit,  Triclwniaties,  Deparia,  Gleichoiia,  &c., 
all  correctly  named, — British  Shells  (rarer  kinds),  several  speci- 
mens of  each  species,  or  British  tossils;  the  former  preferred, 
especially  the  Helices. — A.  B.,  12,  EUesmere-road,  Victoria- 
park,  London,  E. 

Wanted,  the  Back  Volumes  of  Science-Gossip.  Other 
books  given  in  exchange  ;  a  list  will  be  sent. — W.  T.  E.,  i.  The 
Prairie,  Lowestoft. 

British  and  foreign  Butterflies  wanted  in  exchange  for  Trap- 
door Spider's  Nest,  and  the  Adult  Spiders  of  Nemesis  meri- 
dioiialis  3.\\A.  Nemesis  Eleanora. — Address,  Miss  Maulere,  15, 
Queen-street,  Mayfair,  London,  W. 

Will  give  specimens  of  Himalayan  Ferns,  about  thirty  kinds, 
to  any  one  who  will  name  them  correctly  for  me. —J.  A.,  2, 
Oriental-place,  Brighton. 

Journal  of  the  Chemical  Society  for  the  past  yeai- 
off"ered  for  other  books. — W.  A.  Law,  11, \,  Abington-street, 
Northampton. 

Nos.  551,  873,  162,  and  1652  Lon.  Cat.  7th  ed.,  and  PlanLs 
from  Goza  (unnamed).  Wanted  :  Nos.  873/,  S74,  S74/,  875,  876, 
and  others. — Tom  Watson,  54,  Bank-parade,  Burnley. 

For  Trollius  Eiiroptpm,,  Anemone  apcnnina,  Myosurus 
minimus.  Ranunculus  con/usus,  R.Jicaria,  with  bulbils  and 
fruit, — Daphne  lanreola.  Send  stamp  and  address  to  W.  G. 
Piper,  70,  London-street,  Norwich. 

Anchors  and  plates  of  Synapta  in  arranged  form,  in  ex- 
change for  good  Slides.  Send  list. — W.  Nash,  11,  London- 
road,  Reading. 

Wanted,  Two  examples,  dried,  oi  Festuca  sylvatica.  State 
.Susse.x  plant  desired  in  exchange. — F.  H.  Arnold,  LL.B. , 
Fishbourne,  Chichester. 

Cellularia  avicularis,  sJicnving  biriVs-Jiead  processes.  I 
have  a  few  Slides  of  the  above,  and  should  be  pleased  to  ex- 
change one  of  same  for  other  good  slide. — J.  Wooller,  7,  Farm- 
road.  Hove,  Brighton. 

Berthon's  Dynamometer,  with  Lens  (for  measuring  the 
power  of  any  Telescope,  and  gauging  glass  covers  of  any  thick- 
ness) offered  for  six  good  slides. — T.  H.  Baff'ham,  Clarendon- 
road,  Walthamstow. 

Wanted  to  exchange.  Shells  from  Limax  larjis,  Testncella 
Maugei,  or  Vertigo  edentula,  Vertigo  pygimea,  Limtiiea 
peregra  (white  shells,  which  are  rare),  for  either  Testncella 
haliotidea,  Limax  gagates,  Gcomalacus  inaculosns,  or  Vertigo 
Moulinsia>ia,  V.  alpestris,  V.  sid^striata,  V.  pusilla,  V. 
angustior ;  no  other  sorts  will  do. — J.  Whitenham,  Cross-lane 
Marsh,  Huddersfield. 

.Wanted,  Helix  lapicida,  var.  albida.  In  exchange  offered 
Unio  tumidus,  var.  oz'alis,  and  other  rare  species. — Address, 
Miss  F.  M.  Hele,  Fairlight,  Elmgrove-road,  Cotham,  Bristol. 

Figuier's  "Vegetable  World,"  cost  -js.  6d.,  nearly  new; 
would  like  to  exchange  for  a  work  on  Entomology.  Offers 
requested. — Henry  Jones,  Hawley,  Farnboro'  Station. 

Vol.  I.  of  Cassell's  "Popular  Natural  History,"  unbound,  for 
Pupa;  (living)  of  Machaon. —  C.  Swatman,  Mr.  Feldwick's, 
London-road,  .Sevenoaks,  Kent. 

Fossils  from  the  Chalk  and  Gault,  and  British  .Shells,  ofl'"ered 
for  foreign  shells. — Address,  M.  M.,  Post-office,  Faversham. 

For  Mounted  Palates  of  Ancylus  Jluviatilis  .send  other 
well-mounted  slide  ;  named  diatoms  preferred,  or  good 
materials. — M.  Fowler,  20,  Burn-row,  Slamannan,  N.B. 

Butterflies  and  Moths  from  Madagascar,  Opals  and  other 
precious  stones,  and  Exotic  Shells  to  exchange  for  good  micro- 
scopic slides. — G.,  18,  Elgin-road,  Harrow-road,  London,  W. 

Dumeril's  "Sciences  Naturelles,"  2  vols.,  for  good  micro- 
slides.— F.  W.  Phillips,  Maidenhead-street,  Hertford. 

In  Mr.  T.  Brittain's  exchange  of  last  month  the  word 
"  Wanted"  should  have  appeared  before  "  UtricuKaria,  &c." 


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


97 


QUARTZ  J    ITS    VARIETIES   AND    MODES    OF  FORMATION. 

No.  II. 
By  the  Rev.  J.  MAGENS  MELLO,  M.A.,  F.G.S. 


M  O  X  G  S  T  the  most 
varied  and  beautiful 
forms  of  quai^tz  which 
have  had  a  purely- 
aqueous  origin,  are  all 
the  varieties  of  crys- 
talline and  amorphous 
silica,  which  frequently 
coat  the  interiors  of 
geodes  and  other 
hollow  spaces  in  the 
igneous  rocks,  and  which  consist  chiefly  of  an 
intermingling  of  chalcedony  and  jasper,  and  are 
conveniently  grouped  under  the  general  name  of 
Agates.  Pure  rock  crystal,  amethyst,  cairngorm, 
and  other  valuable  crystallized  forms  of  quartz,  are 
often  found  in  connection  with  the  same  rocks,  or 
in  others  of  a  more  purely  metamorphic  character. 
All  these  varieties  of  quartz  are  secondary  forma- 
tions, deposited  from  watery  solutions.  The  exact 
mode  in  which  agates  have  originated  is  a  question  full 
of  interest,  and  not  easy  in  every  case  to  answer.  A 
wonderful  history  of  mineral  growth  is  written  in  the 
folded  leaves,  if  one  may  so  denote  the  bands  of  a 
single  agate.  A  very  large  number  of  agates  consist 
of  more  or  less  concentric  layers  of  chalcedony  of 
various  colours  (the  colours  depending  on  the  pre- 
sence of  metallic  oxides),  together  with  jasper,  rock 
ciystal,  amethyst,  &c.,  in  many  cases. 

Chalcedony  is  sometimes  described  as  a  reniform 
condition  of  silica,  and  though  apparently  amorphous, 
when  it  is  microscopically  examined,  it  generally,  if 
not  always,  exhibits  a  minute  and  definite  radiated 
ciystalline  structure.  It  frequently  forms  stalactites, 
and  many  of  the  most  exquisite  of  the  banded  agates 
are  sections  cut  from  stalactitic  formations.  Jasper 
may  be  looked  upon  as  chalcedony,  which,  as  it 
consolidated,  caught  up  a  certain  amount  of  alumina, 
or  sometimes  of  lime  or  oxide  of  iron.     Professor 

Ruskin,  who  has  paid  some  attention  to  this  subject, 
No.    149. 


has  observed*  that  "jasper  will  collect  itself  pisoliti- 
cally  out  of  an  amorphous  mass  into  a  concretion 
round  central  points,  but  does  not  actively  terminate 
its  external  surface  by  spherical  curves  ;  while  chalce- 
dony will  energetically  so  terminate  itself  externally, 
but  will,  in  ordinary  cases,  only  develop  its  pisolitic 
structure  subordinately,  by  forming  parallel  bands 
round  any  rough  surface  it  has  to  cover,  without  col- 
lecting into  spheres,  unless  provoked  to  do  so  by  the 
introduction  of  a  foreign  substance,  or  encouraged  to 
do  so  by  accidentally  favourable  conditions  of  repose." 

According  to  the  same  observer,  some  agates 
appear  to  be  of  the  nature  of  concretions  formed  from 
within,  round  a  nucleus ;  these  would  consist  of 
chalcedony  or  jasper  in  the  inner  portions,  and  have 
distinctly  crystallized  exteriors.  There  is  another  class 
of  agates  composed  of  external  bands  of  chalcedony 
or  jasper,  stalactitically  deposited  in  a  cavity  which 
may  either  have  a  hollow  centre,  or  one  filled  up  with 
crystals  of  quartz.  There  appear,  however,  to  be 
intermediate  varieties  in  which  concretionary  or 
stalactitic  formations  have  been  combined  with,  or 
interrupted  by,  other  modes  of  growth. 

Some  of  the  most  curious  and  beautiful  agates  are 
those  containing  dendritic  ciystallizations  ;  in  these 
we  see,  in  the  more  or  less  transparent  chalcedony, 
which  in  these  agates  is  not  banded,  wonderful 
mossy  or  confervoid-like  growths,  often  very  closely 
resembling  vegetable  forms.  The  valuable  stones 
from  Mocha  contain  ferruginous  brown  or  black 
inclosures,  whilst  some  of  the  dendritic  agates  from 
India  are  filled  with  a  bright  green  network  of 
what  appear  to  be  filaments  of  confervce.  These 
dendritic  forms  in  the  moss  agates  are  mostly  the 
oxides  of  iron  or  manganese  ;  or  in  the  green  Indian 
pebbles,  delessite  or  chlorite.  The  question  of  their 
origin  is  a  difficult  one.  In  some  agates  the  den- 
drites may  have  resulted  from  a  segregation  of  the 


*  Geological  Magazine,  vols.  iv.  and  v. 


98 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SI  P. 


oxides  of  the  metals  from  the  colloid  or  partially 
crystallized  silica ;  in  other  cases  they  may  be  the 
effect  of  subsequent  infiltrations  ;  or  again,  the  quartz 
may  have  been  consolidated  around  previously  existing 
crystallizations.  With  regard  to  infiltration  by  these 
oxides,  it  is  well  known  that  even  the  most  compact- 
looking  chalcedony  is  permeable,  as  it  is  possible  by 
steeping  it  in  solutions  of  the  aniline  or  other  dyes  to 
impart  the  most  brilliant  tints  to  agates,  the  dye  un- 
doubtedly gaining  access  to  the  interior  ot  the  speci- 
men through  the  interspaces  of  its  minutely  crystalline 
structure. 

In  a  large  gi'oup  of  agates,  of  which  beautiful  speci- 
mens  come   from  India,   an  appearance  of  banded 
formation  is  seen,  which,  upon  microscopic  examina- 
tion, resolves  itself  into  an  infinite  number  of  red  or 
brown  spots,  regularly  arranged  in  bands  or  concen- 
tric groups  :  these  spots  appear  to  be  segregations  of 
oxide  of  iron.     I  have  not  seen  a  specimen  of  this 
species  of  agate  cut  sufficiently  thin  to  show  whether 
the  arrangement  of  these  minute  spots  is  dependent 
upon  a  banded  structure  in  the  chalcedony  itself,  or 
whether  it  is  independent  and  the  result  of  molecular 
force  which  has  determined  the  arrangement  in  ques- 
tion.    It  may  here  be  noticed  that  a  vast  number  of 
the  Indian  agates  come  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  Gulf  of  Cambay.      Near  Turkeysar   there   are 
agate   conglomerates   intercalated    between  beds   of 
laterite  which  belong  to  the  Eocene  period.     These 
conglomerates  we  may  suppose  to  have  been  derived 
from   the   denudation   of  the   earlier  igneous   rocks 
which  abound   in   the    same   district.     Uruguay,   in 
South  America,   also   produces   a   large  number  of 
remarkably  fine   banded   agates.      Sometimes   well- 
formed    quartz    crystals    will    be    found     inclosing 
other  substances,    which,    in   some   instances,    have 
been  caught  up  by  the  crystals  in  the  course  of  their 
formation,    or    have    crystallized,     perhaps,    almost 
simultaneously  with  the  quartz.     In  other  cases  the 
quartz  is  proved  to  have  crystallized  over  other  pre- 
viously-formed crystals  ;    thus  schorl   is  occasionally 
seen  partially  inclosed  in  quartz  crystals  and  partially 
free,   the   ends   of  the  crystals  of  schorl  projecting 
through   the   quartz.     Titanite,  asbestos,   and    other 
minerals  are  not  unfrequently  found  in  minute  acicu- 
lar  forms  in  quartz.     The  quartz  in  the  igneous  rocks 
may  frequently  be  seen  to  inclose  crystals  of  felspar 
or  titanite,   or   portions  of  the  matrix  which  must 
have  been  previously  solidified. 

Opal,  as  has  already  been  pointed  out,  is  a  pro- 
duct of  aqueous  origin  found  in  the  fissures  and 
amygdaloid  cavities  of  igneous  rocks.  Its  wondrous 
play  of  colours  has  given  rise  to  much  discussion  by 
Brewster,  Des  Cloiseaux,  and  other  writers.  Some 
have  attributed  it  to  the  presence  of  numerous -cavi- 
ties of  varying  size,  which  cause  a  kind  of  iridescent 
refraction.  Des  Cloiseaux  was  inclined  to  suppose 
that  organic  matter  might  be  inclosed  in  small 
quantities  in  its  cavities.     The  most  reasonable  sup- 


position, however,  appears  to  me  to  be  that  of 
Reusch, — that  light  reflected  or  transmitted  from 
numberless  flaws  in  the  mineral  gives  rise  to  the 
phenomena  in  question  through  a  process  of  double 
refraction. 

We  may  now  turn  to  the  consideration  of  forms  of 
quartz  which  have  a  more  or  less  organic  origin.     At 
the  head  of  these  may  be  placed  such  undoubtedly 
organic   aggregations    of  silica  as   the   Tripoli   and 
semi-opal  of  Bohemia,  which  consist  almost  entirely 
of  fossil  diatomacece.     Some  beds  of  rock  also  in  the 
island  of  Barbadoes   are  found  to  be  composed  of 
little  else  than  polycystinje  and  spiculaa  of  sponges. 
Much  of  the  flint  so  characteristic  of  the  chalk  rocks, 
as  well   as  the   chert  of  the  greensand   and  of  the 
mountain  limestone,  appears   to  have  been  derived 
from   the   precipitation,    by   organic   substances,    of 
silica  held  in  solution  by  the  waters  of  the  ocean  ;  at 
any  rate,   much  of  it  seems  to  have  been  thus  de- 
posited ;  flinty  nodules  are  often  found  to  consist  of 
fossilized  sponges,    the  silicious  skeletons   of  which 
may  have  attracted  to  themselves  the  silica  dissolved 
in  the  surrounding  water.     Spiculie  of  sponges,  dia- 
tomacea;,  foraminifera,  shells,  corals,  and  other  organ- 
isms are  abundant  in  the  flint,  and  also  in  much  of 
the  chert.    Recent  observations  by  MM.  Guignet  and 
Teller  have  shown  that  the  water  of  the  Bay  of  Rio- 
de  Janeiro  contains  large  quantities    of  both  silica 
and  alumina  in  solution,  the  amount  in  the  case  of 
silica  being  as  much  as  9.5  grains  per  cubic  meter. 

Wood  will  sometimes  be  found  to  be  pseudomor- 
phosed  into  silica,  the  woody  structure  being  replaced 
atom  by  atom,   so  that  the  minutest  vessels  are  per- 
fectly preserved.     Various  species  of  palm  from  the 
East  Indies   are  frequently  found   fossilized  in  this 
manner,  and  sections  of  them  make  very  beautiful 
objects  for  the  microscope.     Large  fragments  of  a 
partially  silicified    wood,   named  Endogcnitcs  crosa, 
may  often  be  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Hastings,. 
j    derived  from  the  Wealden  formation. 
1        The   curious   so-called   mineral   Beekite   is  really 
■    coral  or  shelly  matter  which  has  been  replaced  by 
silica.     Researches  into  the  behaviour  of  the  colloid 
fonn  of  silica,  already  spoken  of,  have  shown  how  in 
\   many  instances  large  deposits  of  silica,  such  as  the 
''    flinty  bands  of  the  cretaceous  formation,   may  have 
originated.     Mr.  Church's  experiments,  made  some 
years  since,  proved  that  the  minutest  particle  of  car- 
i   bonate  of  lime  was  sufficient  to  transform  the  pure 
aqueous  solution  of  silica  into  the  solid  state  in  the 
!    course  of  a  few  minutes ;  and  he  was  able,  by  the 
I    infiltration  of  silica  in  solution,    to  replace  almost 
!    entirely  the  carbonate  of  lime  in   recent   coral   by 
1    silica,  producing  by  this  means  what  may  be  looked 
:    upon  as  a  kind  of  artificial  Beekite.     Thus  in  the 
slower,    perhaps,    but   mighty   chemistry  of  nature, 
j    marvellous  re-actions  may  have  taken  place,  giving 
j   rise  to-  some  of  the   multitudinous   forms   in  which 
silica  presents  itself  to  the  mineralogical  student. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


99 


OUR  FIRST  SrRIXG  RAMBLE. 

ONE  Friday  afternoon  my  friend,  Dr.  Morton, 
having  freed  himself  from  his  professional 
duties  with  a  view  to  a  botanical  tour,  we  started  at 
two  p.m.  upon  a  long  country  drive,  which  proved  to 
both  of  us  one  of  the  most  enjoyable  excursions  we 
have  made  for  a  long  time.  The  morning  had  been 
heavy  and  threatening,  but  soon  after  twelve  o'clock 
the  sky  became  perfectly  clear,  the  sun  shone  out  with 
the  splendour  of  summer,  and  a  light  and  refreshing 
breeze  played  over  us,  toning  down  the  fierceness  of 
the  solar  rays. 

In  about  ten  minutes'  time  we  found  ourselves 
obliquely  descending  the  steep  face  or  escarpment  of 
the  first  parallel  (to  use  a  military  phrase)  of  the  great 
chalk  range  which  forms  the  beautiful  chain  of  hills 
known  as  the  North  Downs.  These  hills  here  dip 
i^ently  to  the  N.E.,  the  chalk  passing  beneath  the 
Medway ;  for  some  distance  on  each  side  of  which  it 
is  covered  with  alluvial  sand,  in  many  places  rich  in 
coprolites.  At  the  distance  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
S.  W.  of  the  Medway,  the  long  incline  of  chalk,  with  an 
immense  tract  of  fine  grass-land  reserved  by  Govern- 
ment for  military  purposes,  known  as  the  "Lines," 
is  abruptly  terminated  by  the  escarpment,  AB  of 
fig.  82.  These  "Lines,"  lying  as  they  do  equally 
between  the  three  towns.  New  Brompton,  Old  Bromp- 
ton,  and  Chatham,  and  being  for  the  most  part  open 
to  the  public,  are  simply  invaluable  as  a  hing  to  the 
large  population  of  these  towns. 

The  lines  of  "dip"  and  "strike"  of  these  creta- 
ceous deposits  ai'e  well  shown  by  the  beautiful  sections 
laid  bare  in  the  numerous  chalk-quarries  found  along 
the  slope,  the  alternate  layers  of  chalk  and  flint 
revealing  in  an  unmistakable  manner  the  direction  of 
each.  Many  beautiful  fossils  are  to  be  found  in  these 
pits,  and  a  visit  to  them  well  repays  the  geological 
student  for  his  trouble.  The  long  slope  of  the  next 
ridge  is  furrowed  by  many  transverse  valleys  opening 
into  the  gi'eat  longitudinal  valley  B  (fig.  82),  which 
.  runs  for  miles  to  the  south-east,  gradually  shallowing 
out  so  that  the  two  ridges  ultimately  become  more  or 
less  merged  into  one.  Some  of  the  effects  of  aqueous 
denudation  during  the  upheaval  of  the  great  anticlinal 
chalk  ridge  from  the  bosom  of  the  deep,  and  the  sub- 
sequent denuding  of  the  central  part,  afterwards  occu- 
pied by  the  estuary  of  a  mighty  river,  are  well  shown 
by  these  transverse  furrows  and  by  the  scooping  out 
of  the  escarpment  immediately  opposite  the  termina- 
tions of  these  hollows  by  the  waters  which  rushed 
through  them.  Standing  on  our  ridge  near  the 
Windmill,  upon  the  spot  where  one  of  the  forts  for 
the  defence  of  Chatham  is  to  be  erected,  and  looking 
over  the  country  to  the  south-west,  noting  as  one  must 
the  termination  of  these  valleys  opposite  the  denuded 
face  of  the  chalk  and  the  splendid  bay-like  inward 
sweep  of  the  ridge  at  these  points,  even  the  most 
ungeological  of  men  could  scarcely  fail  to  see  in  it  the 


direct  agency  of  water.  In  fact,  I  know  of  no  place 
better  fitted  for  a  "lay  sermon"  than  this.  Fig.  83 
shows  the  termination  of  two  of  these  transverse 
valleys,  and  the  modification  thereby  of  the  contour  of 
the  ridge  opposite. 

This  cliff,  facing  as  it  does  the  south-west,  is  in 
summer  a  perfect  flower-garden,  furnishing  to  the  eye 
botanical  a  feast  that  can  be  surpassed  in  few  places. 
A  notion  of  its  richness  and  beauty  may  be  gathered 
from  a  Ixare  enumeration  of  a  few  only  of  the  flowers 
that  adorn  its  banks.  L.  corniailatiis,  A.  viclncraria, 
Hippocrcpis  coniosa,  O.  sativa,  L.  pratcnsis,  Hdian- 
thcmum  vulgare,  numerous  Composite,  several  species 
of  Bed-straw,  D.  carota  and  other  Umbelliferce  in 
abundance  ;  common  mallow,  wild  mignonette,  ver- 
bena, the  sho\\-y  Ec/tiiiiu  vulgare,  the  ragworts, 
Alysstiin  funriivjiinji,iiumeYO\xs  labiates, — among  them 
Origanum  vulgare,  thyme,  three  species  of  Chenopo- 
dium,  N.  cetaria,  N.  glcchovia,  &c.  In  the  hedge  we 
find  Euonymus,  V.  lantana,  P.  aria,  with  magnificent 
silver-lined  leaves,  privet,  black-thorn,  white-thorn, 
cum  multis  aliis.  At  the  present,  however,  we  have 
but  a  small  promise  of  these  in  the  budding  leaves, 
the  enlarging  corymb  of  V.  lantana,  and  in  the 
appearance  of  V.  odorata,  V.  canina,  S.  holostca,  and 
the  pretty  blossoms  of  the  black-thom. 

Passing  along  the  valley  we  came,  near  Bradhurst, 
to  a  small  wood,  a  favourite  hunting-ground  of  ours, 
where  we  found  the  showy  flowers  oi  Anemone  ne mo- 
ras a,  R.  Jit  aria,  Cardamine  pratensis,  and  P.fragra- 
riastrium  gaily  intermingled,  forming  a  most  pleasing 
picture.  Among  these  were  scattered  tufts  of  Z. 
campestris,  while  mosses  of  various  kinds  clothed  the 
earth  as  with  a  carpet  of  many-tinted  green.  After  a 
few  turns  amid  its  thickets,  feasting  our  eyes  upon  its 
beauties  and  securing  for  the  future  some  of  its 
treasures,  Ave  drove  on  through  Lidsing  to  Boxley- 
hill. 

Here  again  meets  the  eye  of  the  wanderer  a  scene 
that  is  rarely  surpassed  for  beauty  and  variety.  Im- 
mediately before  us  lies  the  abrupt  descent  of  the 
chalk  escarpment,  a  counterpart  of  the  one  already 
alluded  to,  but  on  a  grander  scale,  and,  unlike  that, 
clad  from  base  to  summit  with  thousands  of  trees  of 
various  species.  Prominent  among  them  are  the  giant 
gloomy-headed  yew,  the  beautiful  beech,  the  graceful 
elm,  the  pretty  evergreen  oak,  its  massive  gnarled 
brother,  the  English  oak,  and  the  elegant  birch. 
Among  its  humbler  denizens  we  find  V.  opulus,  V. 
lantana,  the  hornbeam,  the  hazel,  various  willows, 
buckthorn,  Atropa  belladonna,  and  the  curious  juniper. 
Stretching  away  for  miles  before  us,  studded  with 
magnificent  elms  and  other  forest  trees,  and  dotted 
over  with  town  and  hamlet,  rises  the  Weald  of  Kent, 
forming  a  picture  that  surpasses  description,  and  thus 
justifies  by  its  beauty  and  fertility  the  boast  that 
' '  Kent  is  the  garden  of  England, " 

Arrived  here,  we  descended  on  foot  the  steep  lane 

that  leads  to  the  lower  land  of  Boxley  village,  making 

F  2 


lOO 


HARD  W I CKE 'S    S CIENCE  -  G O SSIF. 


frequent  detours  right  and  left  into  the  wood  which 
borders  the  road  on  either  side.  The  anemone,  pile- 
wort,  dog-violet,  and  primrose  everywhere  met  our 
eyes,  covering,  as  with  a  carpet,  the  openings  between 
the  trees,  and  slyly  peeping  out  from  beneath  every 
tuft  and  bush.  About  halfway  down  the  hill  we 
visited  a  piece  of  rough  ground  formed  by  old  chalk- 
pits and  their  debris.  Here  among  the  bushes  we 
found  IJellcborns  fcetidiis  in  great  abundance,  hanging 
out  its  great  handsome  panicle  of  drooping  green, 
red-margined  flowers.  Here  we  were  also  delighted 
to  find  in  considerable  abundance  the  pretty  Spurge- 
laurel  {Daphne  laureola)  in  full  bloom.     The  flowers 


porosity  enabling  it  to  drink  in  all  that  falls  upon  its 
surface.  This  dearth  of  water  is  one  of  the  charms 
wanting  to  render  the  lovely,  undulating,  wooded 
chalk  district  perfect  in  its  beauty.  To  the  botanist 
it  is  a  source  of  annoyance,  or  rather  regret,  as  it 
deprives  him  of  a  large  section  of  the  common  flora  ; 
viz.,  all  the  freshwater-loving  plants.  Directly  we 
leave  the  ridge,  however,  we  meet  with  numerous 
streams  like  that  at  Boxley,  issuing  in  plenty  from 
below  the  chalk. 

Here  we  had  a  refreshing  drink,  and  an  equally 
refreshing  rest,  after  which  we  turned  our  attention 
to  our  favourite  pursuit.      The  wall  bordering  the 


BOXLEY    H ILL 


Fig.  S2.   Escarpments  of  the  Chalk. 


jiijjIiiiyiiiiilJJIiLiniiiiiiiiiii. 


Fig.  S3.  Diagram  showing  the  Termination  of  Two  Transverse  Valleys,  and  Modification  of  Opposite  Ridges. 


are  very  like  those  of  D.  mezer'mm,  but  green.  They 
are  strongly  fragrant,  emitting  a  sweet,  more  or  less 
primrose-like  scent.  This,  though  deemed  agreeable 
by  us,  was  thought  to  have  a  sickly-sweet  odour  by 
others  to  whom  we  showed  it.  Bentham  speaks  of 
it  as  "  scentless  "  ;  but  how  he  could  arrive  at  that 
conclusion  we  are  at  a  loss  to  understand.  Surely  he 
never  visited  Bo.xley  woods  in  March,  or  he  would 
not  have  fallen  into  so  strange  an  error.  In  the  same 
place  we  were  struck  with  the  gay  appearance  pre- 
sented by  the  rich  orange-yellow  seeds  of  the  Iris 
faiidtis,  which  remained  clinging  to  the  opened  and 
partially-decayed  seed-vessels  of  last  autumn.  On 
leaving  the  chalk  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  we  meet  with 
a  splendid  stream  of  the  coolest  and  most  sparkling 
of  waters,  reminding  one  forcibly  of  the  beautiful 
streams  seen  so  frequently  in  Derbyshire.  On  the 
chalk  one  never  meets   with  streams   of  water,  its 


stream  was  resplendent  with  flowers  of  the  golden 
sa.x\hs.gQ{C.  oppositifoliiiiii),  and  the  beautiful  green 
fronds  of  the  liverwort.  The  grassy  banks  and  the 
lower  lands  perfectly  blazed  with  the  golden-yellow 
of  the  pilewort.  On  the  wall  we  found,  just  bursting 
into  bloom,  the  singular  little  Saxi/raga  tridactylites, 
Linaria  cymbalaria,  and  the  stone-cress  {Aradis 
petrad).  In  nnny  of  the  lanes  Tussilago  farfara  was 
very  plentiful. 

We  now  drove  on  past  Pennenden  Ileatli,  which 
was  en  fete,  a  kind  of  fair  being  held  there  on  Good 
Friday.  The  scene  was  gay  in  the  extreme,  contrast 
no  doubt  adding  something  to  the  effect,  as  we  had 
spent  the  greater  part  of  the  afternoon  in  the  woods. 
Tents  bedecked  with  flags  eveiywhere  dotted  the  heath; 
swings,  boats,  roundabouts,  the  cocoa-nut-capped 
sticks  of  Aunt  Sally,  and  other  similar  sport-producing 
apparatus,  were  thickly  crowded  together.     Numbers 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE  -GOSSIP. 


lOI 


of  young  men,  who,  thougli  en  diinanclics,  showed  by 
their  heavy,  slouching  gait  they  were  tillers  of  the 
soil,  proudly  paraded  the  heath,  while  others  spent 
their  hard-earned  coppers  in  short  rides  upon  un- 
fortunate skeleton  horses  and  ponies  brought  from 
Maidstone  and  surrounding  districts.  Perhaps  this 
Mas  the  only  part  of  the  scene  that  produced  pain  in 
the  beholder.  To  see  those  poor  half-starved  brutes 
mercilessly  belaboured  with  sticks  in  the  vain  effort 
to  make  them  move  their  weak,  stiffened  limbs  at  an 
impossible  speed,  was  really  painful,  and  greatly 
marred  the  pleasing  effect  of  the  scene,  which  in 
every  other  respect  seemed  one  of  light,  thoughtless 
happiness.  The  "  Society  for  the  Prevention  of 
Cruelty  to  Animals  "  might  have  done  good  service 
here,  and  would  do  well  to  have  an  agent  present  at 
all  such  gatherings. 

From  here  we  drove  to  Grove  Green,  the  boyhood 
haunts  of  my  friend,  in  whom  it  stirred  up  many 
sweet  remembrances  of  the  past,  and  who  was  thus 
led  to  give  me  many  reminiscences  of  those  happy 
days  of  yore  that  made  one  mentally  sigh — 

I  would  I  were  a  careless  boy. 

Returning  through  country  lanes  bordered  with 
wood  and  high  banks,  a  la  Devonshire,  we  finally 
struck  the  high  road  from  Maidstone  to  Chatham. 
It  was  now  dusk,  but  our  route  up  the  long,  steep 
"  Blue  Bell  Hill,"  along  which  we  thought  it  right 
to  walk  to  ease  the  horse,  was  lightened  by  the 
incessant  singing  of  the  thrush  and  blackbird,  and 
the  occasional  calls  of  other  birds  preparatoiy  to  their 
final  settling  down  for  the  night. 

We  arrived  home  about  8.30,  bearing  our  spoils 

for  further  examination,  and  a  rich  harvest  of  sweet 

recollections  for  future  years. 

J.   IIepworth. 


THE    RING    OUSEL. 

{Tiifdiis    iorqiiatiis.) 

THIS  bold  and  handsome  Thrush  is  somewhat 
thinly  distributed  over  our  islands,  becoming 
more  frequent  as  we  advance  northwards.  It  is 
common  in  France,  Germany,  and  other  parts  of 
Europe.  Unlike  the  Fieldfare  and  Redwing,  which 
visit  us  in  the  winter,  the  Ring  Ousel  is  a  summer 
visitant,  arriving  on  our  shores  in  April. 

It  inhabits  the  wildest  parts  of  our  moors  and 
commons,  among  the  secluded  glens  and  large 
boulders  of  rocks  over  which  flow  swift  mountain- 
torrents.  Soon  after  their  arrival  the  Ring  Ousels 
commence  building  their  nests,  which  are  generally 
placed  on  or  near  the  ground,  on  some  bank, 
especially  one  which  is  near  to  water.  They  are 
somewhat  common  on  the  moors  near  Sheffield,  and 
in  the  Peak  of  Derbyshire  :  hence  one  of  their  local 
names,  "  Moor  Blackbird."  It  has  for  the  last  three 
years  bred,  to  my  knowledge,  on  the  banks  of  a  large 


piece  of  water  near  Sheffield,  The  nest,  something 
like  the  Blackbird's  in  shape  and  materials,  is  com- 
posed of  coarse  grass,  cemented  with  mud,  and  lined 
with  fine  grass  and  roots.  The  eggs,  five  in  number, 
one  inch  and  a  quarter  long,  by  seven-eighths  broad, 
are  of  a  bluish-green  ground-colour,  spotted  and 
blotched  with  brown.  They  bear  a  striking  resem- 
blance to  those  of  the  Blackbird.  When  their  nest 
is  approached,  they  fly  round  in  circles,  uttering  loud 


Fig.  84.  The  Ring  Ousel  {Tnidiis  iorgimiiis). 

cries,  and  will  feign  lameness,  fluttering  along  the 
ground  with  drooping  wings,  and  try  every  artifice  to 
lead  the  intruder  from  their  coveted  treasure.  I  have 
known  them  fly  into  my  face,  and  I  have  even 
struck  them  with  a  fishing-rod,  but  still  they  have 
darted  at  me,  and  turned  away  with  the  rapidity  of 
an  arrow,  and  have  followed  me,  keeping  up  their 
incessant  cries,  until  I  have  gone  some  distance  from 
the  place  where  their  nest  was  concealed. 

The  food  of  the  Ring  Ousel  is  composed  of  snails, 
insects,  and  berries ;  it  is  also  very  partial  to  fruit,  to 
gain  which,  it  makes  great  depredations  in  the 
garden  and  orchard,  for  which  penalty  it  sometimes 
suffers  death  by  the  hand  of  the  indignant  gardener. 

The  length  of  the  male  Ring  Ousel  is  from  ten  to 
twelve  inches  ;  beak  yellow,  tipped  with  black  ; 
head,  neck,  back,  wing-coverts,  upper  tail-coverts, 
wings,  and  tail,  all  one  colour,  which  is  brownish 
black,  each  feather  of  body  bordered  with  blackish 
grey ;  throat,  belly,  and  under  tail-coverts,  same  as 
upper  parts.      Across  the  chest  is  a  band  of  pure 


I02 


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


white  ;  legs  and  cla\\'s  l^rownish  black.  The  female 
is  not  so  deep  coloured  ;  also  the  band  of  white 
across  the  chest  is  not  so  broad  and  pure  as  in  the 
male. — Charles  Dixon. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  OUR  SALAD  HERBS. 

THE  use  of  salads  is  of  the  greatest  antiquity,  for 
we  find  mention  of  the  Lettuce,  Endive,  Ra- 
dishes, &c.,  in  most  of  the  books  of  ancient  authors 
who  wrote  upon  plants.  In  the  "Mishna,"  a 
Hebrew  book  containing  the  traditions  and  explana- 
tions of  Sci-ipture,  we  find  that  the  bitter  herbs 
commanded  to  be  eaten  at  the  Paschal  feast  of  the 
Jews,  was  a  salad  consisting  of  wild  lettuce,  endive, 
the  young  green  tops  of  horseradish,  a  species  of 
nettle  and  coriander,  all  of  which,  in  their  uncultivated 
and  unbleached  state,  are  of  an  intense  bitter. 

The  ancient  Epicureans  of  Athens  and  Rome  took 
great  pains  to  have  their  salad  herbs  of  the  first-rate 
quality  ;  even  poets  sang  their  praises. 

Ovidj  in  his  tale  of  "  Philemon  and  Bauris,"  says  : 

A  garden  salad  was  the  third  supply 
Of  endive,  radishes,  and  succory. 

In  England  there  is  no  doubt  at  a  very  early  period 
the  old  monks  and  the  ecclesiastical  orders  had  the 
gardens  of  their  monasteries,  which  were  scattered 
over  the  kingdom,  well  stocked  M'ith  salad  herbs  and 
other  simples,  both  for  the  table  and  medicinal  use. 
Oil  for  salads  is  mentioned  in  one  of  the  Paston  letters 
written  in  1466  ("  Paston's  Lett.,"  i.  p.  228). 

Our  ancestors  used  a  great  many  more  herbs  and 
roots,  which  are  never  put  in  the  salad-bowl  at  the 
present  day.  Gerard's  list  of  garden  growths,  and 
simples  good  for  salads,  comprised  more  than  thirty. 
John  Evelyn,  in  "Acetaria,  a  Discourse  on  Sallets," 
published  in  1699,  enumerates  over  seventy.  He 
praises  the  milky  or  dappled  thistle,  either  as  a  salad 
or  baked  in  jjies ;  it  was  at  that  period  sold  in  our 
herb-markets  for  a  supposed  virtue,  in  consequence  of 
its  name,  Cardiius'  JMar'uc  (Our  Lady's  Milk-thistle), 
which  caused  it  to  be  esteemed  a  proper  diet  for 
nurses  ;  but  of  all  his  dainties  which  we,  in  the  present 
age,  would  be  the  least  willing  to  partake,  are  the 
small  young  acorns  which  we  find  in  the  stock-doves' 
craws,  and  which  he  declares  are  delicious  fare,  as 
well  as  those  incomparable  salads  of  young  herbs 
taken  out  of  the  maws  of  partridges  at  a  certain  season 
of  the  year,  which  give  them  a  preparation  far  ex- 
ceeding the  art  of  cookery.  They  were  certainly 
valiant  eaters  in  those  days,  and  one  who  admired 
such  salads  might  have  sat  down  with  a  relish  to  a 
Northern  Indian's  feast.  Nettles  and  twigs  of  rose- 
mary, with  pickled  gherkins,  we  are  told,  were  also  a 
favourite  salad  with  our  forefathers. 

Although  many  herbs  miglit  be,  and  are,  used  on 
the  Continent  as  material  for  salad,  I  must  confine 


myself  in  these  articles  to  those  which  are  in  common 
use  among  us.  The  first  of  these  is  the  genus  contain- 
ing the  Lettuce,  Endive,  and  Succory,  all  belonging 
to  the  order  Composite. 

The  Lettuce  [Lactuca  sativa)  is  mentioned  by 
Hippocrates  and  Dioscorides,  both  as  an  aliment  and 
medicine.  We  also  learn  from  an  anecdote  related 
by  Herodotus,  that  lettuces  were  served  in  their 
natural  state  at  the  royal  tables  of  the  Persian  kings 
at  least  550  years  before  the  Christian  era.  Cambyses, 
son  of  Cyrus  the  Great,  had  his  brother  Smerdis  killed 
from  mere  suspicion,  and,  contrary  to  the  laws,  married 
his  sister  :  this  princess  being  at  the  table  with  Cam- 
byses, she  stripped  a  lettuce  of  part  of  its^  leaves,  when 
the  king  observing  that  the  plant  was  not  so  beautiful 
as  when  it  had  all  its  leaves,  "It  is  the  same  with 
our  family,"  replied  the  princess,  "since  you  have 
cut  off  a  precious  shoot."  This  indiscreet  allusion 
cost  her  her  life. 

Pliny  tells  us  that  the  Greeks  cultivated  a  variety 
of  lettuce  which  grew  to  a  great  height,  and  that 
they  bestowed,  like  his  own  countrymen,  great  care 
in  the  cultivation  of  them.  It  is  stated  that  Aristoxenes, 
a  philosopher  by  profession  and  epicure  by  taste,  grew 
a  variety  of  these  plants  iir  his  garden  that  were  the 
envy  of  his  neighbours.  He  used  to  sprinkle  them 
at  night  with  a  sweet-smelling  wine,  and  when  asked 
the  means  he  employed  to  get  lettuce  of  such  delicate 
perfume  and  exquisite  taste,  replied  that  the  earth 
prepared  them  expressly  for  him  (Athen.,  i.  12). 

Theophrastus  in  his  "  History  of  Plants,"  men- 
tions that  the  Lettuce  was  a  favourite  plant  of  the 
beautiful  Adonis  ;  and  that  on  his  death  Venus  threw 
herself  upon  a  bed  of  lettuces  to  lull  her  grief  and 
repress  her  desires ;  thus  showing  that  the  narcotic 
and  sedative  virtues  of  this  plant  were  well  known 
to  the  ancients.  The  celebrated  physician  Galen, 
who  lived  A.D.  150,  mentions  that  in  his  old  age  he 
found  no  remedy  against  wakefulness  with  which  he 
was  troubled  so  effectual  as  eating  lettuces  of  an 
evening.  I\Iany  persons,  he  says,  boil  this  tender 
herb  in  water,  before  it  produces  stalks,  "as  I  myself 
now  do  since  my  teeth  begin  to  fail  me."  Suetonius, 
the  biographer  of  Augustus  Ccesar,  informs  us  that  this 
emperor  was  cured  of  a  dangerous  disease  by  the  use 
of  lettuces,  recommended  by  Antonius  Musa,  his 
first  physician.  After  that  the  Romans  began  to 
devise  means  of  growing  them  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year,  and  even  preserving  them,  for  they  were  used 
in  pottage  as  well  as  in  salads.  They  were  anciently 
eaten  at  the  conclusion  of  supper  ;  but  in  the  time  of 
Domitian  they  changed  this  order,  and  served  them 
with  the  first  entries  at  their  feasts.  We  do  not  know 
exactly  at  what  period  the  Lettuce  was  introduced 
into  England,  but  Turner,  153S,  mentions  it  as  not 
being  a  rare  or  recently-cultivated  plant,  but  being 
one  with  which  the  public  had  long  been  familiar. 
In  the  Privy  Purse  Expenses  of  Henry  VUL,  in 
1530,  we  find  that  the  gardener  at  York-place  received 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  GOSSIP, 


103 


a  reward  for  Ijringing  "lettuze  and  chemes  to 
Hampton  Court."  In  1597  old  Gerard  gives  us  an 
account  of  divers  sorts  of  lactase  or  lettuse  that 
were  then  cultivated  in  England.  He  says  :  "Lectuces 
maketh  a  pleasant  sallade,  being  eaten  rawe  with 
vinegar,  oil,  and  a  little  salt ;  but  if  it  be  boiled,  it 
is  sooner  digested  and  nourishetli  more."  He  adds  : 
"  It  served  in  these  dales  and  in  these  countries  at 
the  beginning  of  supper,  and  eaten  first  before  any 
other  meat ;  but  notwithstanding,  it  may  now  and 
then  be  eaten  at  both  these  times  to  the  health  of 
bodie  ;  for  being  taken  before  meate  it  doth  many 
times  stir  up  appetite,  and,  eaten  after  supper,  it 
keepeth  away  drunkenness  which'cometh  by  wine ; 
and  that  it  is  by  reason  that  it  staieth  the  vapors 
from  rising  up  into  the  head."  He  also  says  : 
*'Lecttuce  cooleth  a  hot  stomake  called  heartburn- 
ing, &c.  &c." 

The  native  country  of  the  Lettuce  is  not  known, 
but  the  genus  is  spread  over  Southern  Europe  and 
Central  Asia.  In  England  we  are  no  doubt  indebted 
for  some  of  its  varieties  to  the  Greek  islands.  The 
Cos  Lettuce,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  a  native  of  the 
island  of  Cos,  and  ^\•as  most  probably  brought  from 
thence  into  this  country.  About  the  year  177 1  this 
plant  was  first  introduced  into  the  modern  phar- 
macopoeia by  the  celebrated  physician  Collin,  of 
Vienna,  who  recommended  the  inspissated  juice  in 
the  treatment  of  dropsy.  The  Lettuce  was  largely 
cultivated  at  one  time  at  Brechin,  in  Forfar,  and  its 
juice  collected  nearly  in  the  same  way  as  opium  for 
medical  purposes  ;  and  as  far  back  as  1 799  there  was 
an  article  published  in  the  "Transactions  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society"  (vol.  iv.  p.  387), 
on  the  "comparative  effects  of  opium  extracted  from 
the  White  Poppy  and  that  from  the  cultivated 
Lettuce. 

Our  poet  Pope  notices  the  narcotic  property  of 
this  plant  in  one  of  his  poems,  for  he  says — 

If  you  wish  to  be  at  rest. 
Lettuce  and  cowslip  wine  probatmn  est. 

The  Extrachim  Lactiiccc,  as  it  is  called,  is  not  pre- 
pared from  the  garden  lettuce  (Z.  saiiva),  but  from 
the  strong-scented  lettuce  (Z.  virosa),  which  abounds 
with  a  milky  and  narcotic  juice,  and  is  sometimes  to 
be  found  growing  wild  on  banks  and  waysides  in 
England,  especially  in  a  chalky  soil. 

Phillips  tells  us  that  the  Latins  gave  this  plant  the 
name  of  Lactuca  from  Lac,  on  account  of  the  milky 
juice  with  which  it  abounds.  The  French,  for  the 
same  reason,  call  it  Lactue ;  the  English  name.  Let- 
tuce, is  a  corruption  of  either  the  Latin  or  the  French 
word,  and  in  all  probability  originated  from  the 
former,  as  several  of  our  old  authors  spell  it  Lectuce. 

Endive  {Ciclwrium  Eiidh'ia).\ 

The  Cichorium  mentioned  by  Theophrastus  in  use 
among  the  ancients  is  supposed  to  be  a  kind  of  wild 


endive,  and  a  species,  if  not  the  same,  as  our  Suc- 
cory (C.  intyhis).  Pliny  informs  us  that  this  plant 
was  eaten  both  as  a  potherb  and  a  salad  by  the 
Romans.  It  also  possesses,  he  tells  us,  medicinal  pro- 
perties ;  the  juice  mixed  with  rose-oil  and  vinegar 
was  used  to  allay  pains  in  the  head,  and  when  mixed 
with  wine  it  was  thought  good  for  complaints  of 
the  liver.  It  is  one  of  those  plants  with  which  the 
magicians,  in  credulous  ages,  used  to  endeavour  to 
impose  on  their  easily-seduced  believers.  They 
affirmed  that  if  persons  anointed  their  bodies  all  over 
with  the  juice  of  this  herb  mixed  with  oil  it  would 
make  them  appear,  not  only  so  amiable  that  they 
would  win  the  goodwill  and  favour  of  all  men,  but 
that  they  would  easily  obtain  whatever  they  set  their 
hearts  upon. — (See  Phillips's  "  Hist,  of  Veg.") 

The  common  garden  Endive  now  in  use  appears  to 
have  been  first  cultivated  in  England  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  VI.,  1548,  and  is  said  to  be  a  native  of  China 
and  Japan. 

Gerard  gives  us  an  account  of  the  manner  by  which 
this  plant  was  preserved  for  winter  use  in  the  days  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  : — "Endive  being  sown  in  July,  it 
remaineth  till  winter,  at  which  time  it  is  taken  up  by 
the  rootes,  and  laide  in  the  sunne  or  aire  for  the  space 
of  two  houres  ;  then  the  leaues  be  tough,  and  easily 
endure  to  be  wrapped  upon  an  heape,  and  buried  in 
the  earth  with  the  rootes  itpwards,  where  no  earth 
can  get  within  it,  which  if  it  did  would  cause  rot- 
tenness ;  the  which  so  couered  may  be  taken  up  at 
times  convenient,  and  used  as  sallades  all  the  winter, 
as  in  London  and  other  places  is  to  be  scene,  and  then 
it  is  called  white  endiue. " 

Succory,  Chicory  {Cichormm  intybns)  is  mentioned 
by  Gerard  under  the  name  of  Hedypnois  in  his  Cata- 
logues. He  says,  "  Thise  wild  herbes  are  boiled  in 
pottage  or  broths  for  sicke  and  feeble  persons  that 
haue  hot,  weake,  and  feeble  stomacks,  to  strengthen 
the  same.  Thess  plants  growe  wilde  in  sundry  places 
in  Englande  upon  wilde  and  unfilled  barren  grounds, 
especially  in  chalkie  and  stonie  places."  Miller  and 
other  English  authors  on  horticulture  do  not  notice 
this  plant  as  an  article  for  the  garden,  and  it  is  very 
little  cultivated  with  us  in  the  present  day  as  a  salad 
herb,  though  it  is  in  much  repute  on  the  Continent, 
especially  in  France  and  Italy.  Both  in  France  and 
England,  Succoiy  has  been  occasionally  cultivated  as 
food  for  cattle ;  the  roots,  when  well  grown,  have 
the  appearance  of  large  white  carrots,  and  sometimes 
produce  a  crop  from  three  to  five  tons  per  acre.  The 
root,  when  dried  and  ground,  has  long  been  employed 
both  for  mixing  with,  and  as  a  substitute  for,  coffee. 
Hampden  G.  Glasspoole. 


How   TO  Preserve   Star-fish. — A  very  good 

I   way  to  prepare  a  star-fish  for  the  cabinet  is   as  fol- 

1    lows  : — Take  the  star-fish,  and  wash  it  thoroughly  in 

fresh  water ;  then  pin  it  to  a  board,  and  leave  it  to 

I    dry  in  the  sunshine  till  ready.  -  G.  H.  Rayner. 


I04 


HARD  WICKE  'S     S CIENCE -  G  O SSIP. 


THE  BLYBOROUGH  TICK. 

{Aj-gas  Fischcrii.) 

THIS  interesting  and  curious  arachnid  was  found 
in  considerable  numbers  during  the  removal  of 
the  old  roof  from  the  village  church  at  Blyborough, 
near  Kirton-in-Lindsey,  Lincolnshire  ;  it  forms  a  very 
beautiful  object  for  the  lower  powers  of  the  micro- 
scope. When  living,  the  vermicular  movements  in 
the  coeca,  which  occupy  nearly  the  whole  of  its  body, 
can  be  very  distinctly  seen.  The  cceca  are  well  shown 
in  the  diagram.  Mr.  Ball's  drawing  (fig.  85)  is 
taken  from  a  mounted  mature  specimen,  and  shows 
eggs  in  its  interior ;  but  the  anus,  which  is  situated 
very  neaidy  in  the  centre  of  the  abdomen,  is  not  shown, 
nor  are  the  spiracles  (which  are  two  in  number,  and 
situated  between  the  third  and  fourth  legs  on  either 
side)  to  be  seen.  Like  its  near  relation,  Argas  re- 
jlexns,  which  was  found  in  Canterbury  Cathedral,  it 
is  very  tenacious  of  life  ;  I  have  some  at  this  present 
time  which  appear  to  be  as  lively  as  ever,  and  have 
been  about  five  months  in  a  glass-topped  box,  with 
nothing  but  two  small  pieces  of  wood  for  them  to 
crawl  upon  ;  I  cannot  see  that  they  have  altered  in 
appearance  during  the  whole  of  that  time.  They  differ 
greatly  from  Argas  rcflexiis  in  colour,  shape,  size, 
and  deportment ;  thus,  Argas  rcjlcxiis  is  slate-coloured, 
oval,  three-tenths  of  an  inch  long,  by  nearly  one-fifth 
broad,  whilst  Argas  Fischa-ii  is  of  a  beautiful  red- 
brown  colour,  nearly  circular,  and  the  finest  speci- 
mens do  not  reach  one-fifth  of  an  inch  in  their  largest 
diameter  ;  as  to  their  deportment,  if  you  \.o^xQ\\  Argas 
rejlexus  it  immediately  simulates  death,  and  so  remains 
long  enough  to  tire  out  your  patience,  whereas  Argas 
Fischcrii  waits  a  few  seconds,  and  then  hurries  off, 
with  a  gliding  motion,  at  a  tolerably  rapid  pace. 
Mr.  Fullagar's  drawing,  which  was  taken  from  a 
living,  medium-sized  specimen,  gives  a  very  good 
idea  of  the  creature,  but  would  be  much  improved  by 
the  addition  of  a  little  colour.  I  think  it  not  unlikely 
that  this  cre^iture  will  be  found  tolerably  common  if 
well  looked  for  in  likely  situations,  for  I  have  heard 
of  two  cases  where  creatures,  supposed  to  be  bugs, 
have  been  noticed  when  old  church  roofs  have  been 
taken  down.  Their  life  history  has  not  by  any  means 
been  satisfactorily  made  oiit.  I  have  not  seen  a  male, 
nor  have  I  heard  of  the  male  of  Argas  rcj^cx/ts  yet 
having  been  seen.  The  structure  of  the  mouth, 
resembling  Ixodes,  seems  to  point  out  their  parasitic 
nature  ;  but  I  have  not  yet  heard  of  their  being  found 
on  their  host,  at  least  in  this  country,  although 
Argas  rcflexiis  is  said  to  be  parasitic  on  the  pigeon, 
and  Argas  Fischcrii  may  be  parasitic  on  the  bat ;  but 
if  so,  how  is  it  that  no  one  has  yet  found  them  on 
these  creatures  ?  I  have  carefully  examined  bats 
from  this  very  church,  but  have  not  succeeded  in 
finding  the  Argas  on  them.  On  February  i6th  I 
saw  an  Argas  changing  its  skin ;  the  process  was 
rather  more  than  half  completed  when  I  fust  observed 


it ;  the  skin  part*!  at  the  edges,  either  half  being 
turned  backwards.  On  viewing  the  Argas  as  an 
opaque  object,  I  could  see  the  tracheae,  like  whitish 
threads,  branching  from  two  centres,  over  the  posi- 
tion of  the  spiracles  ;  the  contractions  and  dilatations 


Fig.  85.  The    Blyborough    Tick    {Argas    FiscJur'ii),   from    a 
mounted  adult  specimen,  showing  eggs  in  interior. 


Fig.  86.  Mouth  Organs  of  ditto. 


Fig.  87.   Foot  of  ditto. 


in  the  coeca  M'cre  at  the  same  time  being  carried  on 
with  tolerable  activity.  One  specimen  which  I  dis- 
sected contained  several  ova,  and  in  each  of  them  the 
embryo  was  easily  seen  in  a  considerably  advanced 
state  of  development. 

I  must  refer  those  interested  to  my  paper  published 
in  the  "  Journal  of  the  Quekett  Microscopical  Club," 
No.  33,  February,  1877,  for  some  further  remarks  on 
this  subject. 

C.  F.  George,  M.R.C.S. 


"IlERB-rARis,  or  Herb  Tiiielcn'e.  Paris  is 
incorrectly  spelt  with  a  capital  P.  The  name  is  from 
the  Latin  Herba-paris,  the  best  of  a  j^air,  of  a 
betrothed  couple,  in  reference  to  its  four  leaves  being 
set  upon  the  stalk  like  a  true-love  knot." — Dr.  Prior. 


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


los 


THE  MIGRATION  OF  THE  LEMMING. 

IN  ihQ  Popular  Science  Review  for  April  (an  unusually 
good  number),  we  find  a  suggestive  article,  by 
Mr.  W.  D.  Crotch,  M.A.,  F.L.S.,  on  "The  Norwe- 
gian Lemming  and  its  Migrations,"  in  which  the 
author  indulges  in  a  bold  and  striking  theory  as  to  the 
origin  of  these  migrations.  He  thinks  they  point  to 
a  lost  page  in  the  history  of  the  world.  It  is  certainly 
most  singular  that  instinct  should  seem  to  be  so  much 
at  fault  as  it  is  with  these  little  animals.  Instinct  is 
usually  preset  vaiive,  but  in  the  Lemmings  it  is  highly 
destructive,  for  Mr.  Crotch  tells  us  that  every  member 
of  the  vast  swarms  which  periodically  devastate 
Norway  perishes  voluntarily,  or  at  least  instinctively, 
in  the  ocean. 

After   describing    the    zoological     characters   and 
general  habits  of  the  Lemming,    Mr.  Crotch  shows 


a  rug,  merely  because  its  ancestors  found  it  necessary 
thus  to  hollow  out  a  couch  in  the  long  grass." 

Mr.  Crotch  goes  on  to  seek  for  the  "  lost  continent " 
towards  which  the  migratoiy  instincts  of  the  Lem- 
mings still  turn  : — "  Is  it  probable  that  land  could 
have  existed  where  now  the  broad  Atlantic  rolls  ?  All 
tradition  says  so  :  old  Egyptian  records  speak  of 
Atlantis,  as  Strabo  and  others  have  told  us.  The 
Sahara  itself  is  the  sand  of  an  ancient  sea,  and  the 
shells  which  are  found  upon  its  surface  prove  that  no 
longer  ago  than  the  Miocene  period,  a  sea  rolled  over 
what  is  now  a  desert.  The  voyage  of  the  Challenger 
has  proved  the  existence  of  three  long  ridges  in  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  one  extending  for  more  than  three 
thousand  miles  ;  and  lateral  spurs  may,  by  connecting 
these  ridges,  account  for  the  marvellous  similarity  of 
the  fauna  of  all  the  Atlantic  islands.  Moreover,  I  do 
not  suppose  the  Lemmings  ever  went  so  far  south, 


Fig.  88.  Croup  of  Lemmings  {Myodcs  Icnniiiis). 


that  mere  lack  of  food  is  not  the  cause  of  their  migra- 
tions. He  thinks  that  it  results  from  a  former  long- 
continued  habit,  which  was  of  benefit  to  them  in 
geological  days,  but  destructive  now  that  physical 
geological  changes  have  submerged  the  ancient  goal 
of  the  migrations.  He  illustrates  the  present  habit  of 
the  Lemmings  by  those  of  the  swallows,  which  leave 
us  every  year  for  Africa,  and  says,  ' '  If  the  continent 
of  Africa  were  to  become  submerged,  would  not  many 
generations  of  swallows  still  follow  their  inherited 
migratory  instincts,  and  seek  the  land  of  their  ancestors 
through  the  new  waste  of  waters?  "  It  seems  to  the 
author  quite  as  probable  that  the  impetus  of  migration 
towards  such  a  "lost  continent  should  be  retained, 
a  that  a  dog  should  turn  round  before  lying  down  on 


though  they  are  found  as  fossils  in  England  ;  but  it  is 
a  remarkable  fact  that  whilst  the  soundings  off  Norway 
are  comparatively  shallow  for  many  miles,  we  find  a 
narrow  but  deep  channel  near  Iceland,  which  probably 
has  prevented  the  Lemming  from  becoming  indigenous 
there,  although  an  American  species  was  found  in 
Greenland  during  the  late  Arctic  expedition.  If,  as 
is  probable,  the  Gulf  Stream  formerly  followed  this 
deep  channel,  its  beneficent  influence  would  only 
extend  a  few  miles  from  the  coast,  which  would  also 
have  reached  to  a  great  distance  beyond  the  present 
shores  of  Norway,  and  thus  the  Lemmings  would  have 
acquired  the  habit  of  travelling  westward  in  search  of 
better  climate  and  more  abundant  food  ;  and  as,  little 
by  little,  the  ocean  encroached  on  the  land,  the  same 


io6 


HA  R  D  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  0  SSIP. 


advantages  would  still  be  attained.  And  thus,  too, 
we  find  an  exjDlanation  of  the  fate  which  befalls  the 
adventurous  wanderers ;  for  no  lake  deters  them,  and 
they  frequently  cross  the  fiords  in  safety.  No  doubt, 
therefore,  they  commit  themselves  to  the  Atlantic  in 
the  belief  that  it  is  as  passable  as  the  lakes  and  fiords 
they  have  already  crossed,  and  that  beyond  its  waves 
lies  a  land,  which  they  are  never  destined  to  reach." 


THE  BIRDS  OF  NEW  GUINEA. 
By  George  Bennett,  M.D.,  F.L.S.,  F.Z.S.,  «S:c. 

AN  unexplored  and  fertile  country  like  New 
Guinea  cannot  fail  to  excite  the  attention 
of  the  naturalist,  whether  his  speciality  may  be  or- 
nithology, botany,  ethnology,  or  any  other  branch 
of  natural  history.  The  discoveries  already  made, 
the  numerous  rare  birds,  insects,  reptiles,  &c.,  col- 
lected and  already  described,  have  excited  the  deepest 
interest  among  zoologists,  and  have  aroused  the  en- 
thusiastic collector  to  still  further  perseverance  in 
adding  to  our  stores  more  of  the  rich  fauna  which 
New  Guinea  possesses  ;  for  New  Guinea  and  the 
adjacent  islands  are  well  known  to  teem  with  varied 
and  beautiful  forms  of  life  in  a  luxuriant  region,  for 
the  most  part  of  tropical  vegetation. 

In  the  geographical  distribution  of  birds.  New 
Guinea  may  be  veiy  correctly  placed  in  the  same 
region  as  Australia,  and  may  also  include  New 
Britain,  New  Ireland,  and  the  Duke  of  York  group 
of  islands.  Dr.  Sclater  considers  that,  while  "Borneo, 
Java,  and  Sumatra  are  inseparably  allied  to  the  South 
Asiatic  fauna,  Amboyna,  Timor,  Gilolo,  and  New 
Guinea,  with  some  of  the  other  eastern  islands,  are 
properly  appertinent  to  the  same  primary  zoological 
region  as  Australia.  The  Straits  of  Macassar  are 
perhaps  the  determining  line  separating  these  two 
regions,  the  island  of  Lombok  (which  lies  due  south 
of  them)  being  (as  Mr.  Wallace's  investigations  have 
shown)  in  some  respects  debatable  ground  between 
them.  New  Guinea  agrees  witlr  Australia  in  the 
absence  of  two  families,  the  Woodpeckers  (Picidcs) 
and  the  Pheasants  {Phasiaiiidai),  both  of  which  are 
very  fully  developed  in  the  region  of  Indian  zoology. 
Signor  D'Albertis  obtained  in  New  Guinea  a  re- 
markable form  of  rapacious  bird,  a  New  Guinea 
Harpy,  which  has  been  described  and  published  very 
recently  by  Salvador!  (in  the  Annall  del  Mus.  Civ. 
diSt.Nat.  di  Geiiova,  vol.  vii.  1875).  It  forms  a  new 
genus  allied  to  the  South  American  Harpy  ( Thras{ettis 
harpyia),  and  he  has  named  it  Harpyopsis  Nova 
GuimcB. 

New  Guinea  and  the  adjacent  islands  are  well 
known  to  be  the  home  of  the  more  splendid  forms 
of  the  Birds  of  Paradise ;  for  the  ParadiscidiS,  or 
Birds  of  Paradise,  form  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
families  of  birds,  unsurpassed  alike  both  for  the 
beauty  and  singularity  of  their  plumage.    The  various 


species  of  true  Paradise  Birds  having  ornamental 
plumes  developed  from  different  parts  of  the  body, 
are  almost  wholly  confined  to  New  Guinea  and  the 
adjacent  Papuan  islands,  one  species  only  being 
found  in  the  Moluccas,  and  three  in  Australia. 
Wallace  obsei"ves  that  of  the  "eighteen  species 
which  deserve  a  place  among  the  Birds  of  Paradise, 
eleven  are  known  to  inhabit  the  great  island  of  New 
Guinea,  eight  of  which  are  entirely  confined  to  it 
and  the  hardly  separated  island  of  Salwatty."  But 
since  Wallace  wrote  in  1869,  many  other  species 
have  been  discovered ;  as  Dirpanoniis  Alhertisi, 
Epiinackus  Elliot tii,  and  Diphilloides  Gulielmi  III., 
Paradisca  Raggiana. 

The  naturalists.  Lesson,  Wallace,  Meyer,  D'Al- 
bertis, Beccari,  and  others,  have  done  much  to  develop 
the  zoology  of  New  Guinea  and  the  adjacent  islands. 
Many  Australian  forms  of  birds,  c^-c,  are  met  with 
in  New  Guinea,  and  others,  again,  are  peculiar  to 
New  Guinea,  that  is,  they  have  not  been  found  else- 
where ;  many,  again,  are  common  to  both  Australia 
and  New  Guinea ;  others  occur  in  other  of  the  eastern 
islands  as  well  as  New  Guinea,  and  some  are  birds 
of  a  wide  distribution.  This  extends  even  to  New 
Britain,  New  Ireland,  and  the  Duke  of  York  group 
of  islands,  as  I  obsen^ed  when  looking  over  a  col- 
lection of  birds,  &c.,  made  at  those  islands  by  a 
Wesleyan  missionary,  the  Rev.  George  Brown.  With 
respect  to  Duke  of  York  Island,  Mr.  Brown  says 
that  it  is  not  one  island,  but  forms  a  group  of  twelve 
islands  ;  seven  of  these  are  inhabited,  the  population 
of  which  he  supposes  amounts  to  between  4,000  and 
5,000. 

New  Guinea,  as  far  as  we  at  present  know,  is 
very  deficient  in  mammals,  compared  with  Australia. 
In  the  ornithology  of  New  Guinea,  some  of  the  most 
interesting  to  notice  will  be  the  group  of  true  Para- 
dise Birds,  with  their  waving  golden  trains,  and  rich 
crimson  plumes,  clothed  all  over  the  head,  back, 
breaSt,  and   shoulders,    in   colours  of  deep  metallic 

•  green,    rich    yellow,     bright    crimson,    deep    purple 
;    shading  gradually  into  delicate  mauve,  silver,  and, 

j    indeed,  a  combination  of  most  exquisitely  rich  and 

•  beautiful  colours,  gradually  blending  into  the  most 
delicate  hues  conceivable,  forming  a  dazzling  beauty 
of  plumage  not  to  be  surpassed. 

I        Indeed,  a  very  strong  feature  of  the  Papuan  orni- 
'    thology  is  the  large  proportion  which  the  handsome 
'    and  bright-coloured  birds  bear  to  the  more  obscure 
i    species,  compared  with  birds  of  other  countries  where 
j   brilliancy  of  plumage  was  always  supposed  to  be  in 
the  ascendency.     In  New  Guinea  we  notice  the  rich- 
1    ness  and  specialization  of  the  parrots,  ijigeons,  and 
I    kingfishers,  the  beautiful  paradise  birds,   and  some 
remarkable  species  of  flycatchers.     But  the  Birds  of 
Pai'adise  present  the   most  wonderful  developments 
of  plumage,  and  the  most  gorgeous  varieties  of  colour 
to  be  found  among  Passerine  birds  ;  so  I  will  com- 
mence with  the  Great  Bird  of  Paradise,  or  Footless 


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


107 


Bird  of  Paradise,  which  perpetuates  the  memory  of 
a  fable  respecting  these  birds  (Paradisea  apoda  of 
LinnDSUs).  It  is  the  largest  species  known,  and  is 
said  to  be  confined  to  the  Aru  Islands,  and,  according 
to  Wallace,  is  not  found  in  any  parts  of  New  Guinea 
visited  by  the  Malay  and  Bugis  traders,  nor  in  any 
of  the  other  islands  where  Birds  of  Paradise  are  ob- 
tained ;  but  this  is  by  no  means  conclusive  evidence, 
for  it  is  only  in  certain  localities  that  the  natives 
prepare  skins,  and  in  other  places  the  same  birds 
may  be  abundant  without  ever  becoming  known.  It 
is,  therefore,  quite  possible  that  this  species  may 
inhabit  the  great  southern  mass  of  New  Guinea, 
from  which  Aru  has  been  separated,  while  its  near 
ally  {P.  Papuaiid)  is  confined  to  the  North-western 
peninsula." 

In  a  recent  letter  from  my  friend  L.  RI.  D'Albertis, 
dated  from  Katau,  September,  1876,  he  says :  "The 
presence  of  the  Great  Bird  of  Paradise  [P.  apoda)  in 
the  centre  of  New  Guinea,  but  at  the  same  time  in 
almost  the  same  latitude  as  Aru  Island,  is  of  the 
greatest  importance  after  what  Lesson  has  asserted, 
and  which  has  been  denied  by  Wallace.  I  have  got 
specimens  in  every  stage  of  plumage,  and  of  both 
sexes,  and  I  have  no  doubt  it  is  P.  apoda  and  not 
P.  Papua?ia.  It  is,  nevertheless,  much  smaller  than 
all  the  specimens  I  have  seen  in  the  British  Aluseum 
and  in  the  collections  of  M.  Beccari  and  Mr.  Cockrell, 
and  if  with  this  distinction,  when  compared,  any 
other  difference  may  be  perceptible,  then  it  will 
probably  prove  a  new  species.  For  the  present,  I 
believe  it  to  be  the  Paradisea  apoda ;  I  have  two 
beautiful  male  birds  in  full  plumage." 

It  was  in  1834  that  I  had  an  opportunity  of  obsen'- 
ing  the  habits  of  a  living  bird  of  this  species  in  cap- 
tivity in  the  aviary  of  Mr.  Beale,  at  Macao,  in  China, 
and  an  account  of  whose  habits  I  then  published  in 
my  "  Wanderings  in  New  South  Wales,  Sumatra, 
and  China."  It  was  a  fine  male  bird  arrayed  in  full 
and  splendid  plumage,  and  had  been  in  captivity  for 
nine  years.  The  elegant  bird  had  a  light,  playful, 
and  graceful  action,  with  an  arch  and  impudent  look 
as  he  throws  the  head  on  one  side  to  glance  at  visitors, 
uttering  his  cawing  notes.  The  sounds  produced  by 
this  bird  are  very  peculiar ;  that  which  seems  to  be  a 
note  of  congratulation,  and  uttered  when  a  visitor 
approaches,  and  when  he  appears  delighted  at  being 
admired,  resembles  somewhat  the  cawing  of  a  raven, 
but  changes  to  a  varied  scale  in  musical  gradations. 
He,  hi,  ho,  haw,  repeated  rapidly  and  frequently,  as 
lively  and  playfully  he  hops  round  and  along  his 
perches,  descending  to  the  second,  or  lower  perch,  to 
be  admired,  and  congratulate  the  stranger  who  has 
made  a  visit  to  inspect  him  ;  he  frequently  raises  his 
voice,  and  sends  forth  notes  of  such  power  as  to  be 
heard  at  a  long  distance  :  these  notes  are  Whock, 
whock,  whock,  whock,  uttered  in  a  loud,  barking 
tone,  the  last  being  given  in  a  low  note  as  a  con- 
clusion. 


!  One  of  the  best  opportunities  of  seeing  this  splen- 
did bird  in  all  its  beauty  of  action  and  a  display  of  its 
rich  and  delicate  plumage,  is  early  in  the  morning, 
when  he  makes  his  toilet ;  for  many  mornings  I 
watched  this  charming  bird.  After  his  ablutions  the 
beautiful  subalar  plumes  were  thrown  out  and  cleaned 
by  being  passed  gently  through  the  bill ;  the  short, 
chocolate-coloured  wings  are  then  widely  extended 
and  kept  in  a  steady  movement,  as  if  preparing  for 
flight,  at  the  same  time  the  long  plumes  are  thrown 
up  over  the  back,  spreading  out  in  a  graceful  and 
elegant  manner ;  and  this  elevation  and  depression  of 
the  rich  golden  plumes  are  continued  for  some  time  in 
quick  succession,  the  bird  uttering  at  the  time  its 
cawing  notes.  After  the  toilet  is  complete  it  ap- 
proaches close  to  the  bars  of  its  cage  to  receive  dona- 
tions of  living  grasshoppers,  which  it  usually  receives 
at  this  time.  When  a  grasshopper  is  given  to  him  in 
an  entire  state,  he  places  the  insect  on  the  perch, 
keeps  it  firmly  fixed  by  the  claws,  and  with  great 
rapidity  divests  it  of  the  legs,  wings,  &c.,  and  then 
devours  it ;  but  usually  the  servant  who  attends  to 
the  aviary  prepares  the  insects  ready  for  him,  when 
he  devours  them  with  great  [rapidity.  The  Wumbi, 
or  Lesser  Bird  of  Paradise  {P.  Paptiatia),  is  a  smaller 
bird  than  the  former,  and  has  a  comparative  wide 
range,  being  a  common  species  on  the  mainland  of 
New  Guinea,  as  well  as  on  the  islands  of  Mysol,  Sal- 
watty,  Jobie,  Biak,  and  Sook.  It  is  very  probable, 
says  Wallace,  that  it  ranges  over  the  whole  of  the 
mainland  of  New  Guinea.  The  opinion  of  Mr. 
Wallace  has  been  disproved  by  M.  D'Albertis,  who 
found  in  the  central  and  south-eastern  part  of  New 
Guinea  the  closely-allied  species  P.  Raggiana,  sup- 
planting the  P.  Papuana  of  the  west.  The  Red,  or 
Ruby  Bird  of  Paradise  {Paradisea  rubra)  is  obtained 
at  Waigiou,  and  as  an  instance  of  limited  range,  is 
confined  to  that  locality,  a  small  island  off  the  north- 
west extremity  of  New  Guinea,  where,  according  to 
Wallace,  it  replaces  the  allied  species  found  in  the 
other  islands.  D'Albertis,  however,  discovered  a 
new  species  in  Orangerie  Bay  in  1873,  allied  to  Para- 
disea rubra.  At  first  sight  it  resembled  P.  rubra, 
but  on  a  close  examination  and  comparison  it  was 
evidently  distinct.  It  was  sent  to  England  to  Dr.  P. 
L.  Sclater,  by  whom  it  was  described,  and  at  Mr. 
D'Albertis'  request  named  after  his  friend  the  Mar- 
quis Raggi,  Paradisea  Raggiana.  The  ^original  speci- 
men was  not  in  good  condition,  but  he  has  since 
obtained  at  the  Fly  River  and  other  southern  parts  of 
New  Guinea  specimens,  male  and  female,  in  every 
stage  of  plumage,  from  the  young  bird  to  the  adult, 
and  among  them  some  males  in  full  and  gorgeous 
plumage.  During  his  recent  expedition  to  the  Fly 
River,  in  1876,  he  writes  to  me  that  he  has  obtained  , 
but  few  specimens  of  P.  Raggiana  of  both  sexes  ;  but 
in  1875  he  found  thirty-six  specimens,  six  in  full 
plumage.  A  most  beautiful  little  paradise  bird  is 
found   in   great   numbers   widely  spread  over  New 


io8 


HA  R  D  WICKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-  G  O  SSI  P. 


Guinea,  and  seen  climbing  about  the  vines  in  the 
forests — it  is  the  King  Bird  of  Paradise  [Ciciuimrtis 
rcgius),  the  "  Burong  Rajah,"  King-bird  of  the 
Malays.  This  exquisite  little  creature  frequents  the 
smaller  trees  in  the  thickest  part  of  the  forest,  feed- 
ing on  various  fruits  ;  it  is  very  active,  both  on  its 
wings  and  feet.  D'Albertis  in  his  recent  expedition 
up  the  Fly  River  obtained  the  Twelve-wired  Bird  of 
Paradise  {Selencides  alba).  This  beautiful  and  singu- 
lar bird  appears  at  first  sight  to  be  velvety  black,  but 
by  holding  the  bird  in  various  lights,  it  is  found  that 
every  part  of  it  glows  with  the  most  exquisite  metallic 
tints — rich  bronze,  intense  violet,  and  on  the  edges  of 
the  breast-feathers  brilliant  green  colour.  An  im- 
mense tuft  of  dense  plumes  of  a  fine  orange-buff 
colour  springs  from  each  side  of  the  body  ;  and  six  of 
these  on  each  side  terminate  in  a  black  curled  shaft, 
which  form  a  perfectly  unique  adornment  to  this 
lovely  bird,  and  from  these  raches  or  shafts  it  has 
been  named  the  Twelve-wired  Paradise  Bird.  Wal- 
lace says  "  it  is  found  in  the  island  of  Salwatty,  and 
in  the  north-western  parts  of  New  Guinea,  where  it 
frequents  flowering  trees,  especially  sago-palms  and 
pandani,  sucking  the  flowers,  round  and  beneath 
which  its  unusually  large  and  powerful  feet  enable  it 
to  cling.      Its  motions  are  very  rapid." 

(  To  be  contimtcd. ) 


CHAPTERS  ON  CARBONIFEROUS 
POLYZOA. 

By  G.  R.  Vine. 

THE  Polyzoa  of  the  Carboniferous  epoch  have 
been  only  partially  described.  There  is  no 
monograph  as  yet,  and  probably  some  time  will 
elapse  before  one  is  called  for.  Material  for  the  work 
is  fastly  accumulating,  and  every  now  and  again  some 
few  additional  species  are  noticed  in  works  devoted 
to  popular  geology.  The  few  species  that  are  fully 
described  are  in  books  too  often  inaccessible  to  the 
general  reader,  or  isolated  in  periodicals  not  always 
on  the  shelves  or  tables  of  our  free  libraries  and 
reading-rooms.  Then,  again,  the  proper  identifica- 
tion of  species,  and  the  synonyms  of  various  authors, 
prove  too  often  a  stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  new 
beginners.  If,  by  the  publication  of  a  few  papers  in 
SciEXCE-GossiP  I  can  help  others  to  follow  up  a 
most  delightful  study,  I  shall  be  more  than  amply 
repaid  for  the  many  difficulties  I  have  had  to  en- 
counter. 

When  De  la  Beche,  in  1832,  published  the  second 
edition  of  his  "Geological  Manual,"  he  gave  as  a  list 
of  then  known  Carboniferous  Polyzoa  two  species 
only,  Cellepora  Urii,  Rdepora  clongata,  and  two 
doubtful  species,  under  the  genera  Millepora  [foliacca) 
and  Retepora,  but  stated  that  "  Polypifers  were  very 
numerous  in  the  British  Isles,  but  that  the  genera 
were  undetermined." 


J        In    the    "Geology  of   Yorkshire,"   by  Professor 

Phillips,  there  is  a  plate  of  figures,  with  descriptions 
of  about  sixteen  species  of  Polyzoa  from'the  carboni- 
ferous limestone  of  Ireland  and  Yorkshire.     Under 

'  the  generic  term  Retepora  he  describes  and  figures 
the  species  memh-anacea,  flabellata,  flusti-lformis, 
plitnia,  tiiidnlata,  polyporata,  ir7-egidaris,  tciitiisfila, 
laxa,  and  nodnlosa  ;  four  species  of  Alillepom — • 
rJtombifera,  inferporosa,  spicidaris,   ocidata  ;  and  one 

I    doubtful  species,  which  he  gives  as  Flustra  parallela. 


Fig.  89.  Fenestella     F!g.  go.  Fragments 

7tic!nbra>iacea  of  Fcnestella 

(magnified).  (magnified). 


Fig.    gi.    Another 
fragment  of  ditto. 


In  the  "Student's  Manual  of  Geology,"  by  J.  Beete 
Jukes  (ed.  1857),  the  list  of  Carboniferous  Polyzoa 
is  increased  to  twenty-two  species  and  fourteen 
genera  :  Ceriopora  distans  and  rhonibifera  (this  is 
the  Millepora  of  Phillips)  ;  Diastropora  megasioma 
(M*^Coy)  ;  Fenesiclla  {Retepora  of  Phillips)  ;  Glaiico- 
nome  {Retepora  plmiia  of  Phillips) ;  Heinitrypa  Hiber- 
iiica  ;  leJdhyorachis  Neivenhaini ;  Orbictdites  aiitiquits; 
Polypora  fastitosa,  laxa,  polyporata  ;  Ftilopom  phima 
{Retepora  fliistriformis  of  Phillips)  ;  Pitstidopora 
oeidata  and  spieidaris  ;  Retepora  itndata  ;  Sidcorete- 
pora parallela  ;  Vhieidaria  diehotoiiia  (the  Flustra  (?)  of 
PhiUips). 


Fig.  92.  Larger  fragment  of 
Fenestclla. 


Fig.  93.    Vincutayici 
jiiegastoina. 


In  King's  Catalogue,  and  in  ]\P'Coy's  "Car- 
boniferous Fossils,"  there  are  several  species  of 
Polyzoa  figured  and  described ;  but  as  these  works 
are  at  present  inaccessible  to  me,  I  cannot  give 
details  of  the  genera  and  species.  The  particular 
part  of  vol.  XXX.  of  the  "  Quarterly  Journal  of  the 
Geological  Society "  is  also  inaccessible ;  but  in  it 
Drs.  Young,  of  Glasgow,  figure  and  describe  a  new 
genus,  Aetinostonia  fenestraliitin,  and  also  a  new 
species,  Glaneonome  stellipora.    There  is  also  a  paper, 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OS  SI  P. 


109 


by  the  same  authors,  in  the  "Annals  of  Natural  His- 
tory," vol.  xiii.,  on  a  new  genus  of  Carboniferous 
Polyzoa,  in  which  the  authors  examine  the  generic 
value  and  affinities  of  the  genus  Ceriopora  with  spe- 
cial reference  to  the  Carboniferous  JMillcpora  gracilis 
{Ceriopora  gracilis  of  Morris).  This  species  they  con- 
clude to  be  entitled  to  separation  from  Ceriopora, 
however  this  genus  may  be  ultimately  defined.  They 
therefore  projDose  the  name  RhabdoDicson  gracilis  for 
this  form.*  . 


Fig.  94.  Polypora 
tiibcrculnta. 


Fig.  95.   Portion  of  ditto, 
magnified. 


Fig.  96.   RctcJ>oya  Trenioni- 
eusis,  nat.  size. 


Fig.  97.   Ditto,  mag 
nified. 


As  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  the  genera  and  species  of 
the  Carboniferous  Polyzoa  are  become  extinct,  it  will 
be  necessaiy  to  give  the  generic  characters  in  a  con- 
nected form ;  reserving  the  specific  differences  for 
another  paper,  with  a  few  illustrations  of  the  more 
common  species,  together  with  their  range  in  space, 
more  especially  in  the  British  carboniferous  strata. 

Fenestella,  Miller.  —  Cup-shaped,  conical, 
formed  of  thin  carinated  (keeled)  radiating  ribs, 
connected  by  transverse,  non-poriferous  bars  ;  two 
rows  of  prominent  pores  on   the   external  carinated 

*  See  also  paper  on  Hairmj're's  Polyzoa  in  the  "  Edinburgh 
Geological  Transactions,"  1874. 


face  of  each  interstice.  In  his  introduction  to  his 
genus  Retepora  (Fenestella),  Phillips  says  the  open- 
ings in  the  network  are  called  "  fenestrules  " ;  the 
spaces  between  the  ends  of  these,  "dissepiments"; 
those  between  tlie  lines  of  fenestrules,  "inter- 
stices." 


There  are  a  few  more  papers  in  the  "Geological 
Magazine  "  and  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  Geologists' 
Association,"  and  this  is  nearly  all  of  the  English 
literature  that  I  am  aware  of  in  which  descriptions 
and  figures  of  Carboniferous  Polyzoa  are  given.  Lists 
may  be  found  in  Armstrong's  "  Carboniferous  Fossils 
of  the  West  of  Scotland,"  in  the  "Memoirs  of  the 
Geological  Survey,"  especially  in  the  explanation  of 
sheet  23  (Scotland),  and  also  in  Morris's  "  Catalogue 
of  British  Fossils." 


Fig.  98.  Fenestella  iin-     Fig.  99.  Glaiicoiioiite     Fig.  100.   Out- 
dulaia  (magnified).  plniiia.  line  of  ditto. 


Fig.  loi.   Fi-ncsiella 

(Devonian  Species), 

nat.  size. 


Fig.  I02.    Ditto  ^magnified)  ; 
non-poriferous  side  only. 


Retepora,  Lamarck.- — The  coenoecium,  or  face, 
fan-shaped  ;  in  place  of  transverse  "dissepiments," 
the  branches  of  the  coenoecium  unite  with  one  another 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  ovate  interspaces  of 
"fenestrules."  The  outer  surface  of  the  coenoecium 
is  non-celluliferous,  and  minutely  striated.  The  inner 
surface  bears  several  rows  of  small  cells. 

Ptilopora. — A  feather-like  arrangement.  A 
central  stem  giving  off  lateral  branches,  \vhich  are  con- 
nected by  dissepiments,  leaving  oval  fenestrules  ;  ex- 
ternal face  of  the  interstices  carinate,  and  bearing  two 
rows  of  pores.  Fig.  in  Page's  "  Litroductory  Text- 
book," p.  81. 

Glauconome,  Goldfuss,  restricted  by  Lonsdale. — 
Stem  elongate,  oval,  laterally  branched,  bearing 
longitudinally-disposed  cellules,  but  which  are  not 
united  by  transverse  dissepiments  ;  reverse  striated. 
In  another  description  of  the  genus  it  is  stated  "  that 
both  stems  and  branches  have  two  rows  of  cells  on 
one  face,  which  is  usually  carinated  between  them ; 
in  some  species  a  row  of  small  cells  on  the  keel." 
This  genus  is  the  Acanthocladia  of  King. 

Archimedipora. — Two  figures  of  this  genus  are 
given  in  Dana's  "Manual  of  Geology,"  as  common 
in  the  United  States.  The  ccenoecium  is  wound 
round  in  an  oblique  column,  or  spiral,  on  a  central 


no 


HARD  Wl  CKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


axis,  similar  in  many  respects  to  an  Archimedian 
screw.  There  is  a  figure  also  in  Page's  "  Introductoiy 
Text-book  to  Geology,"  p.  8i, 

Ceriopor,\,  Goldfuss. — Polypidom  tuberose,  com- 
posed of  numerous  concentric  layers ;  pores  round, 
unequally  placed  (the  JNIillepora  of  Phillips). 

POLYPORA,  APCoy. — Expanding,  interstices  round, 
branching,  from  3  to  5  rows  of  pores,  the  margins 
of  which  are  never  raised ;  interstices  connected  by 
thin  transverse,  non-poriferous  dissepiments.  Coral- 
lum  a  delicate  reticulated  calcareous  expansion. 

Verticillopora,  De  Franc.  —  Polypidom 
branched,  cylindrical,  composed  of  aggregated  poly- 
gonal tubes,  divided  by  transverse  septa ;  axis  hollow 
or  filled.  A  peculiar  genus,  which  may  be  probably 
modified  in  course  of  time.  There  are  two  species 
described  and  figured  by  M'-'Coy  :  one  abnormis, 
Lonsdale,  the  other  ditbia,  M"^Coy. 

ViN'CULARiA,  De  Franc. — This  is  a  beautiful  and 
delicate  genus,  several  species  of  which  Eichwald  has 
figured  and  described  in  his  "  Palxontology  of 
Russia."  The  only  generic  description  that  I  have  is 
this:  "without  lateral  branches,  and  having  more 
than  two  roM's  of  pores." 

Carixella. — This  is  a  new  genus  of  Carboniferous 
Polyzoa.  "The  characters,  which  are  particularly  con- 
stant and  well-marked,  assign  to  it  a  position  between 
Feiicstdla  and  Polypora.  Polyzoarium  composed  of 
angular,  irregularly-disposed  anastomosing  branches, 
strongly  carinate  on  both  aspects,  but  celluliferous 
only  on  one,  apparently  arising  from  a  common  root. 
No  regular  dissepiments  ;  the  branches  bifurcate  and 
reunite  with  one  another  to  form  hexagonal,  pentago- 
nal, or  polygonal  fenestrules,  often  of  most  irregular 
form."* 

Hemitrypa,  Phillips.— a  stony  cup-shaped  net- 
work, keeled  and  poriferous  as  in  FcucstcUa,  covered 
with  an  external  (imperforate  ?)  sheath. 

IcHTiivoRACHls,  M'Coy.— A  straight  central  stem, 
having  on  each  side  a  row  of  short  simple  branches  or 
pinnce,  all  in  the  same  plane ;  obverse  rounded,  without 
keel,  each  bearing  several  rows  of  small  prominent 
oval  pores,  arranged  in  quincunx;  reverse  rounded, 
smooth,  or  finely  striated. 

Synocladia,  King. — Corallum  cup-shaped,  with 
a  small  central  root-like  base,  reticulated,  composed 
of  rounded,  narrow,  often  branched  interstices,  bear- 
ing on  the  inner  face  from  3  to  5  alternating 
longitudinal  rows  of  prominent  edged  pores ;  sepa- 
rated by  narrow  keels,  studded  with  small,  irregular 
vesicles,  alternating  with  the  cell-pores  ;  dissepiment 
thin,  forming  short  spur-shaped  pinnce,  extending 
upwards  from  the  sides  and  meeting  those  from  the 
adjoining  interstices  at  an  angle  directly  upwards, 
bearing  two  alternate  rows  of  cell-pores. 

Much  of  the  above  information  is  culled  from  various 
sources  ;  from  books,  as  I  said  before,  too  often  out 


"Mem.  of  Geo.  Survey,  Scotland."     E.xplan.  of  Sheet  23. 


of  the  reach  of  the  ordinary  reader ;  and  from  com- 
munications by  letter  from  friends  and  well-wishers. 
My  thanks  are  especially  given  to  the  Rev.  W. 
Howchin,  of  Haltwhistle,  and  to  Professor  Duncan, 
for  the  kind  assistance  they  have  given  me  in  my 
researches  among  the  Carboniferous  Polyzoa.  1  shall 
still  be  thankful  for  all  the  information  I  can  obtain 
from  the  various  sources  of  rocks  or  books  which  can 
help  to  throw  light  on  a  most  important  branch  of 
PalKontological  history  ;  and,  though  writing  espe- 
cially in  the  interest  of  working  men,  who,  like 
myself,  can  only  give  to  the  studies  the  moments  of 
relaxation  between  the  hours  of  labour,  I  hope  this 
rhwne  will  be  profitable  to  others  of  more  leisure  and 
greater  opportunities  for  study. 
Atterdiffc,  Sheffield. 

( To  he  continued. ) 


CANADIAN  PHLOGOPITE. 

THIS  mineral,  a  variety  of  mica  found  in  Canada, 
has  the  property  of  so  diffracting  light  that  if  a 
small  flame  be  viewed  through  a  thin  film  of  it  held 
close  to  the  eye,  a  well-defined  six  or  twelve-rayed 
star  is  seen  surrounding  the  luminous  centre.  On 
rotating  the  film  the  rays  revolve  also. 

Having  lately,  through  the  kindness  of  my  friend 
Professor  Rudler,  obtained  a  specimen,  I  thought 
that  a  short  account  of  the  constitution  and  mode  of 
action  of  this  peculiar  mineral  might,  perhaps,  be  of 
interest  to  your  readers. 

When  a  thin  film  is  examined  under  the  inch- 
power  of  the  microscope,  it  is  seen  to  be  thickly 
studded  with  minute  crystals  ;  some  short  and  com- 
paratively broad,  others  long  and  very  slender. 
These  are  arranged  at  no  definite  interval  from  one 
another,  and  are  seemingly  placed  at  all  angles  one 
with  another.  But,  on  careful  inspection  and  com- 
parison, aided  by  the  quarter-inch  power,  it  is  seen 
that  the  vast  majority  of  the  crystals  have  their  long 
sides  pointing  (in  the  twelve-rayed  specimen)  in  six 
directions  only.  These  lines  of  direction  make  equal 
angles  with  one  another,  so  that  if  produced  so  as  to 
intersect,  a  twelve-rayed  star  would  be  formed.  The 
confused  appearance  of  the  crystals  is  shown  in 
fig.  103,  drawn  with  the  camera  lucida. 

If  the  direction  of  the  crystals  in  Fig.  103  be  traced 
out',  it  will  be  found  that  (with  two  exceptions  only) 
they  unite  to  form  a  twelve-rayed  star,  with  equal 
angles  between  the  rays.  This  is  shown  also  in 
fig.  104,  taken  at  random  from  another  part  of  the 
same  specimen.  Here  the  crystals  are  less  crowded 
together,  and  it  may  be  seen  that  it  needs  only  one 
differently-inclined  crystal  to  complete  the  twelve  rays. 
O^  course  in  so  minute  a  part  it  is  not  strange  that 
one  direction  should  be  missing ;  all  around  may  be 
found  plenty  of  crystals  pointing  in  this  before-un- 
represented   direction.      The   variety  of  Phlogopite 


HARD  WICKE ' S    S CIENCE  ■  G  OSSIF. 


Ill 


that  produces  the  six-rayed  star  has  its  crystals  dis- 
posed mainly  in  three  directions. 

Very  often  a  six-rayed  specimen  will  give  six  other 
intennediate  and  less  brilliant  rays.  These  secondary 
rays  are  seen  to  be  produced  by  more  minute  or  less 
frequent  ciystals,  arranged  at  intermediate  angles 
with  those  crystals  that  form  the  primary  and  brighter 
star.  Occasionally  a  piece  will  show  two  or  four 
more  rays,  making  the  star  look  unsymmetrical. 
Careful  inspection  will  then  show  other  sets  of  crystals 
at  a  different  angle. 

The  crystals  vary  in  shape,  sometimes  being  short, 
flat,  and  tabular,  but  are  usually  very  narrow,  being 
about  from  six  to  ten  times  longer  than  their 
width. 

They  have  often  a  faint,  pinky-blue  colour,  though 
the  majority  are  colourless  ;  occasionally  a  yellowish 
crystal  may  be  seen. 

The  larger  crystals  show  polarization  pretty  well. 
Numerous  minute  "  Newton's  rings"  are  formed  by 
the  excessively  thin  laminae,  of  which  even  the  thin- 
nest film  that  one  can  prepare  is  composed.  These 
are  best  seen  v.-hen  the  film  is  mounted  in  Canada 
balsam.  Prolonged  soaking  of  pieces  in  ether,  and, 
after-immersion  in  turpentine,  successive  exhaustions 
by  the  air-pump,  failed  to  exhaust  the  air  entirely  from 
between  these  exceedingly  minute  laminae.  It  oc- 
cuiTed  to  me  that  a  film  might,  perhaps,  give  some 
effects  with  polarized  objects  if  used  above  or  below 
the  eyepiece  of  the  microscope ;  but  I  failed  to  find 
that  it  gave  any  at  all.  Its  action  on  light  can  be 
well  imitated  by  blacking  a  plain  microscopic  slide 
over  the  flame  of  a  lamp,  and  then  with  a  camel-hair 
brush  scratching  fine  lines  along  the  slide.  When  a 
light  is  looked  at  through  this,  a  ray  of  light  is  seen 
crossing  the  flame  at  right  angles  to  the  lines  scratched. 
Now,  on  cross-hatching  these  with  lines  at  right 
angles,  and  again  looking  at  the  light,  a  luminous 
cross  is  observed.  Then,  if  lines  at  angles  of  eighteen 
degrees  with  the  former  lines  be  made  (not  an  easy 
task),  a  twelve-rayed  star  may  be  seen,  on  viewing  a 
light  through  the  glass. 

This  effect  may  be,  however,  far  more  easily  and 
brilliantly  produced  by  spreading  a  little  viscid  oil  on 
a  large  microscopic  cover-glass.  The  strite  in  this 
case  are  made  by  wiping  off  the  mass  of  the  oil  by  a 
single  straight  rub,  using  a  coarse,  napless  cloth. 
This  will  give,  as  in  the  case  of  the  partly-blackened 
glass,  a  brilliant  ray  at  right  angles  to  the  strire.  By 
single  careful  rubs  two  other  sets  of  lines  may  be  made 
on  the  same  side  of  the  glass,  producing  a  six-rayed 
star.  Now,  the  other  side  of  the  glass  is  to  be  treated 
similarly,  taking  care  not  to  smear  the  first  side,  and 
making  the  rubs  at  alternate  angles  to  the  last  set. 
Thus,  by  very  careful  manipulation,  a  twelve-rayed 
star  may  be  produced.  A  glass  slide  does  not  succeed 
so  well  as  a  thin  cover-glass,  its  thickness  preventing 
the  striae  on  opposite  sides  of  the  glass  focussing  in 
the  eye  at  the  same  time. 


A  familiar  instance  of  the  same  phenomenon  must 
have  been  observed  by  most  people. 

Coming  along  the  streets  on  a  rainy  evening  (no 
rarity  of  late),  if  you  are  under  a  silk  umbrella  and 
chance  to  twirl  it  round  as  you  approach  a  street 
lamp,  you  may  have  noticed  a  luminous  ray  extending 
vertically   down   the   middle   of  a   gore.     As  a  fib 


Fig.   103.    Slide   of  Canadian  Phlogopite,  showing  confused 
appearance  of  Crystals  x  250  diam. 


Fig.  104.   Another  Slide  of  ditto,  showing  tendency  to  rayed 
condition  x  250  diam. 


Fig.  105.     Diagram  illustrating  radiating  "gores"  of  an 
umbrella. 


approaches  toward  the  liglit,  the  ray  is  inclined,  say, 
from  light  to  left ;  on  the  rib  passing  the  light,  and 
the  edge  of  the  next  gore  coming  in  front  of  the  lamp. 


12 


HARD  WICKE  '5    5  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSIF. 


the  inclination  of  the  ray  is  changed,  it  leaning  now 
from  left  to  right.  When  the  umbrella  is  rotated  at 
a  moderate  pace,  the  two  edges  of  each  gore,  aided 
by  the  persistence  of  vision,  produce  a  sort  of  St. 
Andrew's  Cross.  The  inclination  of  the  rays  is  seen 
to  be  produced  by  the  tightly-stretched  and  curved 
threads  that  run  from  rib  to  rib.  In  fig.  105  two  gores 
are  roughly  shown  here,  while  the  light  is  seen 
through  the  centre  of  gore  A  ;  where  the  minute 
portions  of  the  threads  are  horizontally  arranged,  the 
ray  is  necessarily  vertical.  When  the  light  is  seen 
through  the  silk  at  y,  the  threads  there  being  inclined 
from  the  horizontal,  the  ray  produced  is  likewise  in- 
clined from  the  vertical.  The  threads  in  gore  B,  at 
the  part  x,  having  an  inclination  opposite  to  those 
at  y,  the  luminous  ray  has,  therefore,  a  similarly 
opposite  inclination  to  that  formed  previously. 

On  advancing  close  to  a  lamp,  and  pointing  the 
ferule  of  the  umbrella  exactly  towards  the  light,  a 
star  is  seen,  one  ray  of  which  extends  down  each 
gore  of  the  umbrella  ;  so  that  the  star  has  as  many 
rays  as  there  are  gores.  This  star  revolves  as  the 
umbrella  is  rotated.  A  fainter  set  of  luminous  lines 
at  right  angles  to  each  ray  of  the  star  may  be  observed, 
these  being  formed  by  the  threads  that  run  in  the 
direction  of  the  length  of  the  umbrella.  They  do  not 
form  so  bright  a  line,  because  they  are  not  quite 
parallel,  and  are  further  apart  from  one  another  than 
the  cross  threads. 

These  instances,  I  think,  may  serve  to  show  that 
it  is  not  necessary  to  conceive  that  the  crystals  of 
Phlogopite  exert,  because  of  their  crystalline  nature, 
any  refractive  influence,  thus  causing  the  phenomenon 
described.  It  naturally  occurs  to  one  to  explain 
similarly  the  rays  seen  proceeding  from  points  of 
light  when  these  are  looked  at  with  half-closed  eyes. 
But,  on  examining  the  rays  thus  formed,  they  are 
seen  to  form  either  a  confused,  many-pointed  star, 
or  more  usually  a  long  line  of  light  stretching  above 
and  below  the  flame  ;  that  is,  in  a  direction  parallel 
with  the  intervening  eyelashes  (the  supposed  cause 
of  the  phenomenon),  instead  of  at  right  angles  to 
them,  as  one  would  have  expected  from  the  previous 
examples.  So  that  we  are  obliged  to  seek  some  other  ex- 
planation in  this  case.  The  true  explanation  was  pointed 
out  by  Mr.  Arnulph  Mallock  in  the  August  number 
of  Nature.  These  effects  are  produced  by  small, 
prism-like  tear-fihus,  situated  at  the  upper  and  lower 
angles  formed  by  the  eyelid  and  the  eye,  the  effects 
being  due  to  refraction  in  this  case.  When  two 
Phlogopite  films  are  rotated  one  behind  the  other, 
both  stars  are  distinctly  seen,  the  rays  of  one  alter- 
nately coinciding  and  falling  between  those  of  the 
otlier. 

I  forward  you  a  mounted  slide  of  each  variety  of 
Phlogopite.  I  have  a  few  other  specimens,  should 
any  of  your  readers  care  to  exchange. 

A.  W.  Stokes. 

Labcraloiy,  Guy  s  Hospital. 


MICROSCOPY. 

False  Light  Excluder. — The  Amer'uan  N'atii- 
ralist  states  that  Mr.  E.  Gundlach  mounts  his  new 
two-inch  lenses  with  a  brass  tube  five-eighths  of  an 
inch  long,  projecting  below  the  front  surface  of  the 
objective,  and  having  a  perforated  diaphragm  at  its 
lower  end.  This  cuts  off  much  of  the  stray  light 
that  would  otherwise  enter,  and  still  leaves  one  inch 
and  an  eighth  of  working  focus. 

Sydenhamand  Forest  Hill  NaturalHistory 
AND  Microscopical  Club  (founded  1871). — The 
objects  of  this  club  are  the  reading  of  papers  and 
exhibition  of  specimens  in  all  branches  of  Natural 
History  and  Microscopy.  It  meets  on  tlie  first 
Thursday  in  each  month  at  the  Foresters'  Hall  ; 
Forest  Hill,  at  8  p.m.:  first  excursion  during  the 
summer  months  on  Saturday  afternoon.  Annual 
subscription,  5^.  President,  Mr.  Edward  Simpson  ; 
Hon.  Sec,  Mr.  E.  L.  C.  P.  Hardy. 

Vorticell^.— In  a  bottle  I  have  had  standing 
by  me  for  some  time  I  found  some  fungoid  growths 
at  the  bottom,  to  which  were  attached  several  vor- 
ticella; ;  they  were  very  minute,  and  had  long,  thin, 
and  very  slender  footstalks  ;  but  the  peculiarity  about 
them  was,  that  one  and  all  of  them  were  living 
singly,  and  not  in  colonies,  as  I  have  seen  in  others. 
Is  this  characteristic  of  a  distinct  species  ?  One  in- 
dividual had  the  power  of  bringing  the  head  down, 
by  bending  the  footstalk  at  an  exceedingly  sharp 
angle  midway  between  the  point  of  attachment  and 
the  bottom  of  the  bell ;  this  it  did  several  times,  and 
always  bent  it  at  the  same  place.  Can  any  of  your 
readers  tell  me  what  species  of  vorticellrc  this  is  ? — 
F.  B. 

Parasites  on  Cyclops. — Several  specimens  of 
the  Cyclops,  which  I  have  at  present,  are  quite 
crowded  with  the  bell-shaped  parasite  "A.  H."  writes 
about  in  the  February  number  of  Science-Gossip. 
I  counted  on  one  poor  unfortunate  upwards  of  eighty 
individuals,  and  not  one  part  of  his  body,  except  the 
antennce,  was  free  of  them  ;  even  the  eye-spot  had 
two  upon  it.  They  are  very  long  in  the  body,  com- 
paratively speaking,  and  have  no  spiral  stalk,  but 
otherwise  are  similar  to  vorticella;. — P.  B. 

Mounting  in  Damar. — Having  read  Mr.  E.  B. 
L.  Brayley's  article  on  the  above  subject,  I  should 
like  to  be  permitted  to  ask  one  or  two  questions. 
1st.  How  air-bubbles  are  to  be  prevented  from 
forming  within  an  object  when  placed  upon  a  hot 
slide  without  any  medium?  It  seems  to  me  that  the 
heat  soon  fills  the  object  with  air,  unless  it  is  kept 
moist  with  turps  or  benzole  :  and  secondly,  does  not 
the  Japan  varnish  ever  run  into  the  damar  when 
there  is  no  other  varnish  between  ?  I  have  been 
accustomed  to  use  damar  with  heat  as  Mr.  Brayley 
does,  with  this  exception,  viz.,  that  I  first  heat  the 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OSSIF. 


"3 


damar  on  the  slide,  and  then,  while  hot,  put  the 
object  in,  and  put  the  cover  on;  thereby  avoiding 
air-bubbles  within  the  object  ;  and  those  outside,  if 
there  happen  to  be  any,  generally  disappear  if  the 
slide  is  gradually  cooled.  I  should  be  much  obliged 
if  any  one  would  recommend  a  tough  varnish  which 
will  not  run  into  damar  nor  crack  under  any  or- 
dinaiy  circumstances  :  I  only  know  of  shellac,  and 
that  cracks  so  easily. — y.  A.  Le  M.  H. 

Identity  of  the  Red  Blood-corpuscles  in 
Different  Races  of  Men. — Dr.  J.  G.  Richardson, 
of  Philadelphia,  has  been  experimenting  on  different 
i^aces  of  mankind,  specimens  of  which  attended  the 
Philadelphian  International  Exhibition.  As  might 
have  been  expected,  these  show  little  difference,  the 
slightly  smaller  averages  of  the  Italian,  Swedish,  and 
Norwegian  specimens  being  too  small  for  a  decisive 
indication  of  natural  difference. 


ZOOLOGY. 

Fishes  of  the  Arctic  Expedition.  —  Dr. 
Gunther  has  read  a  paper  on  the  fishes  collected 
during  the  above  expedition  by  Captain  Fielding. 
Among  them,  he  said,  were  some  of  great  interest, 
notably  a  new  species  of  Charr,  to  which  the  name 
of  Salino  arditrus  has  been  given.  This  new  species 
was  discovered  in  the  freshwater  lakes  of  Grinnell 
Land,  and  it  is  slated  to  be  the  most  northern  fresh- 
water fish  known  to  exist. 

"Zoological  Classification." — It  is  with 
much  pleasure  that  we  heartily  recommend  a  ' '  Handy- 
book  of  Reference  on  Zoological  Classification,"  by 

F.  P.  Pascoe,  F.L.  S.  (London:  Van  Voorst.)  Such 
a  book  has  long  been  wanted,  and  we  believe  that 
Mr.  Pascoe  has  done  his  work  well.  In  it  the 
student  will  find  all  the  new  views  as  to  classification 
fully  and  succinctly  expounded.  It  also  contains 
tables  of  the  sub-kingdoms,  classes,  orders,  &c.,  as 
well  as  of  their  characters,  and  lists  of  the  families 
and  principal  genera. 

Recently  Extinct  Lizards. — At  a  late  meet- 
ing of  the  Linnean  Society,  Dr.  Gunther  gave  a 
description  of  two  large  extinct  lizards  which  for- 
merly inhabited  the  Mascarene  Islands.  To  one  the 
name  of  Didosaurns  Matcritianus  has  been  given. 
It  was  related  to  both  the  Glass-snakes  and  the 
Scinks,  but  differed  from  both.  The  second  lizard, 
found  at  Rodriguez,  was  allied  to  the  Geckos,  and 
yet    distinct    from    them.      This    has   been   named 

G.  N'exvtonii. 

Structure  of  the  Red  Blood-corpuscle. — 
Mr.  Hammond,  of  Milton  Chapel,  lately  gave  a 
demonstration  of  the  nucleus  in  the  red  blood-cor- 
puscles of  the  Trout,  while  theywere  circulating  within 
the  living  blood-vessels  of  this  fish.  This  he  showed  to 
the  meeting  of  the  Natural  History  Society  at  Canter- 


bury, April  5th,  The  fact,  if  confirmed,  will  go  far 
to  prove  that  the  nucleus  really  exists  in  the  living 
corpuscle,  contrary  to  the  conclusion  of  Professor 
Savory  and  other  eminent  physiologists,  who  assert 
that,  until  after  death,  when  the  nucleus  is  formed  by 
a  sort  of  coagulation,  the  whole  red  corpuscle  is 
homogeneous.  But  Professor  Gulliver,  in  his  Tables 
of  the  Blood-discs  of  Vertebrates,  published  in 
the  Proceedings  of  the  Zoological  Society,  June  15, 
1875,  while  confirming  Savory's  observations  on  the 
blood  of  frogs  and  newts,  has  long  since  maintained 
the  view  now  given  by  Mr.  Hammond  on  the  blood  of 
fishes.  The  question,  which  is  one  that  may  be  well 
prosecuted  at  this  season,  would  afford  instructive 
employment  for  the  microscope. 

Metropolitan  Societies,  —  The  West  Kent 
Natural  History,  Microscopical,  and  Photographical 
Society  meets  in  the  Hall  of  the  Mission  School, 
Blackheath.  The  President  is  Mr.  J.  Jenner  Weir, 
F.L.S.,  &c.,  and  the  hon.  sees.,  Messrs.  C.  Sharpe 
and  B.  Guest. 

Bird-preserving. — We  have  received  a  copy  of 
the  shilling  edition  of  "  The  British  Bird-Preserver," 
by  Samuel  Wood,  published  by  F.  Warne  &  Co. 
We  can  sincerely  recommend  it  to  those  of  our  young 
readers  who  are  going  in  for  taxidermy. 

Lampyris  noctiluca.  — While  walking  over 
Hayes  Common  on  the  evening  of  April  3rd  I  dis- 
covered a  specimen  of  the  glow-worm  {Lampyris 
noctiluca).  Is  not  it  unusual  to  find  this  little  crea- 
ture at  this  part  of  the  year? — Geo.  Clinc/i,  West 
IVickhani,  Kent. 

EoLis  pustulata. — I  was  fortunate,  about  a  fort- 
night ago,  to  capture  axxEolis piistitlata,  which  is  still 
living.  Jeffrey's  "  Conchology,"  which  gives  Alden's 
description,  states  only  two  individuals  of  this  species 
having  been  found.  It  is  therefore  very  rare.  It 
was  found  on  a  stone  at  low  water-mark. — T/ios. 
Bokoes,  Sunderland. 

General  Index  to  Science-Gossip. — For  the 
benefit  of  those  who  have  procured  this  part,  we  beg 
to  say  that  the  volumes  are  counted  as  follows  : — 
Vol.  I.  =  1865,  II.  =  1866,  HI.  =  1867,  IV.  =  i86S, 
V.  =  i869,  VI.  =  1870,  VII.  =  1871,  VIH.  =  i872, 
IX,  =  1873,  X.  =  i874,  XI.  =  1875,  Xn.  =  i876. 

Two-horned  Rhinoceros. — At  a  recent  meeting 
of  the  Zoological  Society  of  London,  Mr.  Sclater 
called  the  attention  of  the  meeting  to  an  article  in 
the  Oriental  Sporting  Maoazine  for  May,  1876,  by 
which  it  appeared  that  a  two-horned  rhinoceros  had 
been  killed  in  February,  1876,  at  a  place  some  20 
miles  south  of  Comillah,  in  Tipperah.  Mr.  Sclater 
stated  that  this  was  the  third  recorded  occurrence 
of  a  two-horned  rhinoceros  north  of  the  Bay  ot 
Bengal, 

Early  Appearance  of  Cetonia  aurata. — On 
the  30th   of  March    I  saw  a  fine  specimen  of  this 


114 


HA R D  WI CKE 'S    S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


insect  crawling  along  tlie  road  just  outside  what  used 
to  be  Coombe  Wood.  Stephens  gives  its  time  of 
appearance  as  May  to  August,  and  I  have  never 
previously  observed  it  earlier  than  the  third  week  in 
April.— y.   W.  Slater. 

Testacellus  haliotideus. — I  have  in  my  pos- 
session a  specimen  of  this  remarkable  slug,  and 
thinking  that  a  description  of  it  might  interest  your 
readers,  I  send  the  following  notes.  Its  chief 
peculiarity  consists  in  the  shell,  which  is  on  the 
hinder  part  of  its  back,  and  not,  as  in  most  other 
slugs,  on  the  head.  The  length  of  the  shell  is  about 
one-third  of  an  inch.  From  the  upper  end  of  the 
shell  two  deep  furrows  traverse  the  sides  of  the 
creature,  and  terminate  at  the  head.  It  is  of  a  dingy 
yellow,  deepening  here  and  there  into  brown.  The 
habits  of  this  slug  are  curious.  It  is  carnivorous, 
principally  feeding  upon  worms,  of  which  it  is  able  to 
swallow  specimens  longer  than  itself.  It  lives  most 
■of  its  time  under  ground,  and  is  therefore  difficult  to 
observe.  I  have  arranged  mine  so  that  I  can  at  any 
time  remove  the  top  of  his  subterranean  abode  and 
watch  liim.  He  has  lived  thus  for  a  month,  and  is 
in  very  good  condition. — S. 

Water-currents  on  Gills  of  the  Newt. — In 
the  April  number  of  Science-Gossip  Mr.  H.  E. 
Forrest  asks  how  the  current  of  water  is  propelled 
rapidly  along  the  surface  of  the  gills.  The  water  is 
carried  by  the  action  of  vibratile  cilia,  as  may  be  seen 
with  a  good  quarter-inch  objective,  especially  when 
the  cilia  begin  to  i-elax  their  extreme  activity.  The 
process  is  respiratory,  the  organ  of  which  is  the  gill, 
by  which  the  free  oxygen  of  the  water  is  taken  up 
according  to  the  M'ants  of  the  economy.  And  hence 
the  necessity  of  a  constantly  rapid  current  of  the 
water  over  the  gills. — Q.  F. 

METAMORrHOSES  OF  AMPHIBIANS. — Much  in- 
terest has  lately  been  caused  among  philosophical 
zoologists,  by  certain  experiments  relating  to  the 
metamorphoses  of  some  amphibians.  Hitherto  it 
has  been  regarded  as  absolutely  necessary  that  this 
group  should  be  characterized  by  the  intervention  of 
a  distinct  intermediate  stage  between  the  egg  and  the 
adult ;  although  several  exceptions  occurred,  notably 
that  of  the  Black  Salamanders.  Dr.  Peters  has 
recently  made  a  communication  to  the  Berlin  Academy 
of  Sciences,  giving  an  outline  of  various  cases  in 
which  no  metamorphosis  takes  place,  but  where  a 
young  frog  is  developed  directly  from  the  egg,  without 
any  intervention  of  the  "  tadpole  "  stage.  The  paper 
was  based  upon  the  researches  of  various  zoologists, 
chiefly  on  those  of  Dr.  Bello,  who  has  observed  a 
tree-frog,  found  at  Porto  Rico,  which  lays  its  eggs 
far  from  any  water,  in  which  the  young  breathed  air 
as  soon  as  they  were  hatched.  This  frog  is  Hylodes 
Martincensis.  Dr.  Gundlach  has  succeeded  in  artifi- 
cially hatching  out  some  of  the  eggs  of  this  frog,  which 
were  sent  to  him.     In  doing  so  he  was  enabled  to 


watch  the  entire  process  in  the  egg-stage,  and  he  sent 
Dr.  Peters  specimens  in  various  stages  of  develop- 
ment, who  discovered  that  much  of  the  process  of 
what  we  call  in  the  amphibians  "metamorphoses," 
in  'this  instance  occurred  within  the  egg.  The  tail 
was  gradually  reduced  before  hatching,  and  had 
almost  disappeared  a  few  hours  after  birth.  The  only 
other  instances  previously  known  of  absence  of 
metamorphoses  (except  the  Black  Salamander),  is  in 
the  genus  Pipa,  in  which  the  eggs  are  hatched  in  the 
pits  or  hollows  which  cover  the  back  of  the  mother. 
In  addition  to  the  above  a  German  lady  has,  perhaps, 
given  to  the  scientific  world,  by  dint  of  patience  and 
perseverance,  the  most  remarkable  facts.  Fraulein 
Chauvin  has  succeeded  in  forcing  Axolotis  to  pass 
into  the  other  so-called  generic  form  known  as  Am- 
blyostoiiia.  Some  years  ago  several  axolotis  did  this 
of  their  own  accord,  in  one  of  the  Parisian  aquaria,  and 
much  surprised  the  world  by  the  act.  But  no  other 
instance  has  been  given,  we  believe,  and  Miss  Cliau- 
vin's  is  certainly  the  first  where  the  Ainblyostoma  stage 
has  been  scientifically  brought  about  by  a  sudden 
change  of  environment.  Her  plan  consisted  in  gra- 
dually accustoming  the  axolotis  to  a  terrestrial 
existence.  A  good  many  died  during  the  process  ; 
but  eventually  the  experiment  proved  successful,  and 
is  scientifically  valuable  as  showing  how  even  new 
generic  types  may  have  been  developed  through  the 
changed  physical  geographical  conditions  produced 
by  the  myriads  of  geological  operations  which  we 
know  have  taken  place  during  our  planet's  past 
history. 

Singular  Star-fish. — In  reply  to  the  paragraph 
headed  "  Singular  Star-fish,"  in  page  94  of  this 
year's  SciENCE-Gossir,  I  beg  to  inform  the  writer 
that  in  a  miscellaneous  gathering  lately  made  by  a 
friend  in  the  Bay  of  Naples  I  have  found  numerous 
small  Opliinrida,  all  of  which  have  six  arms. — 
Major  L. 


BOTANY. 

The  Fertilization  of  Mosses. — The  moss  in- 
quired about  by  Mr.  Key  is  a  species  of  the  immense 
genus  Fissidens,  named  F.  grandijrons,  Bridel,  found 
throughout  the  Pyrenees,  and  in  the  South  of  France, 
Baden,  and  Algeria  ;  and  no  doubt,  if  plants  of  both 
sexes  were  cultivated  together,  fecundation  would 
take  place.  With  respect  to  propagation,  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  moss-spore  does  not  develop 
into  a  new  individual,  but  produces  on  germination  a 
branched  confervoid  protonema,  from  certain  cells  of 
which  young  plants  are  produced.  We  need  not, 
then,  be  surprised  to  find  that  certain  cells  of  the  old 
plants  are  capable  of  development  into  new  indivi- 
duals, for  which  in  some  cases  special  provision  is 
made,  as  in  the  production  of  gemma;  or  propagula 
in    Tetraphis  pelhicida,   Atdacomnium,   and   others, 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


115 


where  they  form  clusters  terminating  the  stem,  or  in 
OrtJictrichuiJi  Lyellii  and  PliyUaiitliitiu,  where  they 
are  produced  on  the  leaves.  But  this  is  not  all ;  for 
in  various  GrinimiiC  and  Tortiilcc  tubercles  are  deve- 
loped on  the  roots,  which  produce  protonema  and 
new  plants  ;  and  some  are  tnily  viviparous,  for  some 
species  of  Campylopns  and  Leticobiyu in  throw  out 
young  plants  among  the  radicular  tomentum  which 
besets  the  stem,  which  fall  off  and  continue  the 
species  ;  and  it  has  been  observed  in  the  common 
Fiinaria  hygromctrica  that  from  the  basal  cells  of  a 
cast-off  leaf  protonema  has  been  thrown  out  M-hich 
has  produced  a  new  colony  of  plants. — R.  Braith- 
waiie. 

Note  on  the  Nettle.— With  respect  to  the 
Nettle  [Urtica  dioica),  the  sudden  appeai^ance  and  dis- 
persion of  which  a  correspondent  of  Science-Gossip 
has  remarked  upon  as  my  not  having  accounted  for, 
it  is  certainly  true  that  this  pestilent  stinging  plant 
does  follow  any  human  settlement  or  resting-place  in 
a  manner  that  is  surprising  ;  but  this  in  a  different 
way  to  the  sudden  appearance  of  plants  where  woods 
have  been  felled.  The  Nettle  appears  to  follow  the  foot- 
steps of  man,  or  rather  more  probably  of  the  animals 
that  are  in  his  train.  Nobody  would  willingly  dis- 
seminate the  Nettle,  and  it  seems  difficult  to  suppose 
how  men  themselves  could  bear  the  seeds  about 
them.  But  the  animals  attendant  upon  or  kept  by  man 
unquestionably  do.  Sheep  especially,  as  I  have  fre- 
quently noticed,  are  harbingers  of  the  Nettle, 'and  they 
may  cany  its  seeds  about  in  their  fleeces.  Indeed, 
as  to  the  instance  of  the  beds  of  nettle  observed  in 
some  of  the  present  deer-forests  of  Scotland,  as  men- 
tioned by  "  Daccort  Ackone,"  it  will  be  found  that 
these  deer-forests,  so  called,  were  formerly  sheep- 
walks,  and  that  the  sheep  were  really  instrumental 
in  bringing  the  seeds  of  the  Nettle.  Only  last  year  I 
noticed  in  a  pasture  near  Worcester,  which  I  have 
been  cognisant  of  for  many  years,  the  introduction  of 
nettles  by  sheep.  Till  lately  it  had  been  only  used 
for  the  produce  of  hay,  and  though  horses  were  fed 
on  the  aftermath,  no  sheep  were  introduced.  But 
now,  sheep  having  been  turned  in  the  next  year,  I 
observed  numerous  tufts  of  nettles  scattered  over  the 
field.  So  I  have  noticed  in  the  Malvern  Hills,  where 
sheep  alone  are  depastured,  that  nettles  are  rampant, 
not  only  on  their  sides,  but  on  the  very  summit  of  the 
Herefordshire  Beacon.  In  fact,  wherever  sheep  are 
placed  theNettle  soon  appears,  not  on  fresh  turned-up 
ground,  but  in  the  midst  of  the  pasture  itself.  Very 
probably,  also,  dogs  may  carry  the  Nettle  about, 
which  does  not  so  much  attach  itself  to  man's  actual 
residence,  as  spots  where  he  has  had  only  a  tempo- 
raiy  lodgment,  or  been  occasionally,  and  then  left  the 
ground  to  neglect.  But  there  it  remains  with  singu- 
lar tenacity,  pointing  out  where,  at  some  time  or 
other,  a  wandering  human  footstep  or  some  domestic 
animal  has  been.     It  is  rather  curious,  therefore,  that 


no  botanist  should  have  suspected  that  the  Nettle  is  a 
plant  that  has  been  furtively  introduced  into  Britain, 
and  though  now  become  a  "denizen,"  has  had  a 
foreign  origin  as  much  as  any  agrarian  of  our  corn- 
fields. Its  inroad  may  have  been  at  a  very  early  lime, 
brought,  perhaps,  with  the  very  first  wanderers  that 
set  foot  on  our  island  ;  but  I  do  not  believe  that  they 
found  it  already  established.  It  is  certainly  a  sticker, 
like  the  American  water-weed,  which  has  become  a 
curse  in  our  streams  and  canals  ;  and  the  Nettle  can 
never  be  got  rid  of  from  its  perennial  roots,  though 
sharp  frosts  cut  it  down  to  the  ground.  Its  dissemi- 
nation by  animals  is  clearly  shown  by  its  abounding 
in  rural  churchyards,  where  sheep  are  often  jDlaced  to 
graze  ;  and  it  is  in  pastures  rather  than  in  gardens 
where  it  becomes  so  pestiferous,  and  grows  so  tall. 
In  some  sequestered  spots  I  have  found  it  growing 
nearly  six  feet  in  height,  and  forming  a  dense  thicket 
difficult  to  get  through.  I  never  saw  the  Nettle  in 
such  abundance  as  within  the  area  of  Norton  Camp, 
Shropshire,  an  eminence  about  800  feet  high,  which 
it  entirely  occupied,  excluding  every  other  j.lant. 
Here,  no  doubt,  sheep  had  some  time  previously  been 
depastured,  though  no  blade  was  left  for  them  until 
the  Nettle  was  displaced.— ^^/ewV^  Lees,  F.L.S., 
Worcester. 

Science-Gossip  Botanical  Exchange  Club. 
— We  are  glad  to  be  able  to  inform  our  numerous 
botanical  friends  that  there  are  several  enthusiastic 
members  who  are  working  most  heartily  to  make  this 
club  a  success.  We  hear  of  fair  collections  having 
already  been  made ;  the  Easter  holidays  witnessed 
many  presses  and  diying-boards  again  brought  into 
use.  We  trust  this  success  may  be  maintained  with 
vigour  all  the  year. 

Notes  on  Ferns.— I  send  you  a  fern  from  my 
W'ardian  case  as  I  plucked  it  last  summer,  but  I  am 
sorry  that  I  do  not  remember  where  I  obtained  it 
originally.  Its  peculiarity  is  the  existence  of  dark- 
green  fleshy  buds  or  galls,  springing  apparently  from 
the  rachis  of  the  pinnules  on  the  under  side.  Can 
you  determine — first,  what  the  fern  is  ?  and  secondly, 
what  is  the  nature  of  the  bodies  in  question  ? — R.  G. 

Seeds. — On  two  occasions  certain  seeds,  of  which 
I  inclose  specimens,  have  been  sent  to  me  as  taken 
from  or  around  blackbirds'  and  thrushes'  nests.  I 
cannot  think  of  any  plant  to  which  they  belong  unless 
it  be  the  Arum  or  Wake-Robin.  They  are  covered 
with  husks,  and  I  presume  have  passed  through  the 
bodies  of  the  young  birds.  But  are  not  these  fledged 
before  the  scarlet  berries  of  the  Arum  are  ripe? 
Being  very  acrid,  are  they  not  strange  food  for  young 
biixls  ?  The  Blackbird  in  the  district  where  the  seeds 
were  found  is  not  seen  in  the  immediate  environs  of 
the  towns,  neither  is  the  Wake-Robin. — R.  G. 

Fertilization  of  the  Flowers  of  Broom. — 
The  mechanism  by  ^vhich  the  flower  of  Broom  is 
fertilized  through  the  visit  of  the  bee  is  very  admir- 


ii6 


HARD  WICKE  \S    S CIENCE  ■  G  OSSIF. 


able,  and  has  been  described  by  Mr.  Darwin ;  but  of 
this  no  more.  Last  year  I  noticed  that  a  great  num- 
ber of  the  flowers  remained  closed  and  unfertilized, 
and  upon  examination  I  found  that  all  such  flowers 
contained  each  a  little  lively  grub,  spinning  a  web, 
which  fastened  the  lower  petals  together ;  and  by  the 
spinning  of  the  same  thread  it  was  also  able  to  sus- 
pend itself  when  thrown  down.  It  appeared  to  feed 
on  the  stamens,  and  turned  to  a  little  moth — I  think 
a  species  of  Depressarias. — R.  G. 

Researches  in  the  Structure  of  the  Com- 
mon Teasel. — At  a  meeting  of  the  Royal  Society,  a 
paper  by  Mr.  Francis  Darwin  has  been  read,  of 
which  the  following  is  a  summary  :— Certain  observa- 
tions have  been  made  on  the  protrusion  of  protoplas- 
mic filaments  from  leaf-glands  on  the  Teasel,  and 
the  only  theory  -which  Mr.  Darwin  thinks  capable  of 
accounting  for  all  the  facts  is  that  these  glands  were, 
in  the  ancestors  of  the  Dipsaccir,  mere  resin-excreting 
organs  ;  that  the  protoplasm  which  comes  forth  was 
originally  a  necessary  concomitant  of  the  secreted 
matters,  but  that  from  coming  into  contact  M'ith 
nitrogenous  fluids  it  became  gradually  adapted  to 
retain  its  vitality,  and  to  take  on  itself  an  absorptive 
function.  This  power,  he  thinks,  was  further  deve- 
loped in  relation  to  the  decaying  fluid  accumulating 
within  the  connate  leaves  of  the  Teasel. 

An  Electric  Plant.  —  A  jDlant  possessing 
natural  electrical  powers  is  said  to  have  been  dis- 
covered in  Nicaragua,  and  a  short  description  of  it  is 
given  in  a  Belgian  horticultural  journal.  It  is  a 
species  of  Phytollacca,  and  has  been  christened 
P.  electrica,  in  consequence  of  its  curious  properties, 
which  are  so  strong  as  to  cause  a  sensible  shock,  as 
from  a  galvanic  battery,  to  the  hands  of  any  person 
attempting  to  gather  a  branch.  I  should  be  glad  if 
any  correspondent  can  give  more  information  about 
the  plant. — D.  Douglas. 


GEOLOGY, 

A  New  Area  of  Upper  Cambrian  Rocks  in 
South  Shropshire,  -with  the  Description  of 
a  new  Fauna. — This  was  the  title  of  an  important 
paper  lately  read  before  the  Geological  Society  by 
Mr.  C.  Callaway,  M.A.,  F.G.S.  The  purpose  of 
the  author  was  to  prove  that  certain  olive,  micaceous, 
thin-bedded  shales  exposed  at  Shineton,  near  Cres- 
sage,  and  covering  an  area  of  eight  miles  in  length 
by  two  in  the  greatest  breadth,  which  had  been  mapped 
as  Caradoc  in  the  survey,  were  of  Tremadoc  age. 
They  were  seen  clearly  to  underlie  the  Hoar  Edge 
Grit,  the  lowest  beds  in  the  district,  with  Caradoc 
fossils  ;  and  no  rock  distinctly  underlying  the  shales 
could  be  detected.  Tlie  evidence  .for  their  age 
was  chiefly  palreontological.  With  the  exception  of 
Asaphw;  Ilomfrayi,  a  Tremadoc  form,  the  species  are 


new.  Genera  such  as  Olcniis,  Conocoryphc,  Oboldla, 
and  Lingulella  suggested  a  very  low  horizon,  but  t-wo 
asaphoid  forms  (though  not  typical  AsapJii)  pointed 
in  an  opposite  direction.  Corroborative  evidence 
was  found  in  a  correlation  of  the  shales  at  Shineton 
with  the  Z>/c/jw;i?w«-shales  at  Pedwardine  and  Mal- 
vern. It  was  shown  from  lithological  characters  and 
from  fossils,  that  the  shales  at  the  three  localities  were 
of  the  same  age  ;  and  as  the  beds  at  Pedwardine  and 
Malvern  were,  on  their  own  testimony,  admitted  to 
be  of  L/ng/i/a-{{a.g  or  Tremadoc  age,  the  Shineton 
shales  were  inferred  to  be  on  the  same  horizon,  the 
Asaphids  leading  the  author  to  adopt  the  younger  of 
the  two  formations.  He  was  of  opinion  that  the 
Black  Shales  of  Malvern  (Dolgelly  beds)  were  not 
represented  in  the  Shineton  area.  He  announced  the 
discovery  of  the  Hollybush  Sandstone,  forming  a 
continuous  band  between  the  Shineton  Shales  and 
the  Wrekin  axis,  recognized  by  the  occurrence  of 
Kutorgiiia  cingiilata,  and  probably  separated  from 
the  shales  by  a  fault.  This  also  afforded  corrobora- 
tive evidence  of  the  identity  of  the  Dictyiiomcna- 
shales  with  the  shales  at  Shineton. 

■  Origin  of  the  Flora  of  Southern  France. 
— M.  Martins  has  read  a  paper  before  the  Paris 
Academy  of  Sciences,  on  the  Palxontological  Origin 
of  the  trees,  shrubs,  and  bushes  indigenous  to  the 
South  of  France,  and  which  are  most  sensitive  to 
cold  during  extreme  winters.  He  considers  them  to 
be  the  s!n~>ivors  of  the  flora  which  covered  the  same 
area  during  the  mid-Tertiary  period.  They  are,  he 
thinks,  exotic  as  to  tinw,  just  as  other  plants  are  to 
space. 

The  Late  Dr.  Bowerbank. — Many  naturalists 
at  home  and  abroad  will  be  sorry  to  hear  of  the 
death  of  this  veteran  zoologist  and  palteontologist. 
He  was  best  known"  for  his  researches  in  ih.Q  Spoil - 
gidir,  especially  as  regards  their  geological  relations. 
He  was  also  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Paljeonto- 
logical  Society,  in  which  he  took  great  interest.  He 
died  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty  years. 

Radiolarians  from  the  Carboniferous  Lime- 
stone.— A  discovery  of  some  importance  has  been 
announced  to  the  Chester  Natural  History  by  Mr.  J. 
D.  Siddall.  This  is  the  finding  of  Radiolaria  in  various 
localities  in  the  carboniferous  limestone,  as  in  the 
Halkin,  and  also  in  the  Mineva  limestones.  Two 
polished  blocks  beautifully  showed  the  Radiolarians 
in  situ.  Mr.  Siddall  has  thus  thrown  back  our  kno\\-- 
ledge  of  the  distribution  of  the  Radiolaria,  in  time, 
to  the  Palaeozoic  period. 

Upper  Devonian  Fossils  at  Torbay. — In  the 
Geological  Magazine,  Mr.  J.  E.  Lee,  F.G.S.,  has 
called  attention  to  the  occurrence  of  Upper  Devonian 
fossils  in  the  shales  of  Torbay,  similar  to  fossils  from 
Biidesheim,  in  the  Eifel.  These  fossiliferous  shales 
occur  at  Salleni  Core,  and  have  yielded  several  species 
of  Goiiiatiks  and  other  fossils,  believed  to  be  identical 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OSS  IF. 


117 


with  those  from  Biklesheim,  and  recognized  there  as 
of  Upper  Devonian  age. 

Facts  for  Darwin. — During  the  recent  two 
days'  excursion  of  the  Geologists'  Association  into  the 
Crag  district  of  Suffolk,  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
W.  Whitaker,  F.G.S.,  of  the  Geological  Survey,  Dr. 
J.  E.  Taylor,  F.G.S.,  and  Edward  Charlesworth, 
F.G.S.,  the  latter  gentleman,  who  is  well  acquainted 
with  the  palceontology  of  the  Crag  deposits,  in  the 
course  of  a  short  address  to  the  members,  showed 
that  the  Red  Whelk  {Fiisiis  antiquus)  and  the  Dog- 
whelk  {Purpura  lapillus)  lived  together  in  the  Red 
Crag  seas  as  they  do  now  in  our  own.  But,  whereas 
a  child  could  tell  the  difference  between  these  two 
genera  of  shells  now,  in  the  Crag  period  these  two 
forms  were  so  alike  that  he  often  found  it  difficult  to 
discriminate  between  them.  The  same  thing  occurred 
with  the  Trochi.  It  was  the  easiest  thing  in  the 
world  for  a  conchologist  to  tell  the  difference  between 
the  existing  British  species  ;  but  it  was  often  a  very 
difficult  task  to  determine  the  Crag  forms,  owing  to 
the  way  in  which  the  species  of  "frocJii  seemed  there 
to  run  into  each  other.  Mr.  Charlesworth  expressed 
it  as  his  opinion  that  these  were  strong  facts  for 
Darwin. 

The  Lias  of  Fenny  Compton,  Warwick- 
shire.— We  have  received  a  very  able  paper  on  the 
above  subject,  by  Mr.  Thomas  Beesley,  F.G.S.  It 
was  originally  read  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Warwickshire  Naturalists  and  Archaeologists'  Field 
Club,  held  in  the  Warwick  Museum  last  February. 

The  Insect  Fauna  of  the  Tertiary  Period. 
— One  of  the  most  interesting  and  exhaustive  papers 
on  this  most  suggestive  topic  has  just  been  read  be- 
fore the  Brighton  and  Sussex  Natural  History  Society, 
by  Mr.  Herbert  Goss,  F.  L.S.  The  paper  is  fully 
reported,  in  five  columns  of  small  printed  matter,  in 
the  Sussex  Daily  News  of  March  9th.  We  can  only 
express  our  admiration  of  the  ability  and  fulness  of 
Mr.  Goss's  paper,  and  expi-ess  a  hope  that  it  will  be 
given  in  full  to  the  scientific  world. 


NOTES    AND    QUERIES. 

Microscopical.— In  looking  over  the  back  volumes 
of  Science-Gossip,  I  recently  came  upon  the  expres- 
sion "a  microscopic  gentleman,"  used  seriously  to 
designate  a  gentleman  devoted  to  the  microscope  or 
microscopy.  I  have  noticed  a  similar  use  of  the 
word  in  other  places,  and  I  should  like  to  suggest  the 
propriety  of  confining  the  word  microscopic  to  the 
sense  of  requiring  the  microscope  for  observation,  and 
the  word  microscopical  to  the  sense  of  pertaining  to 
the  microscope  or  microscopy. 

How  Foreign  Plants  are  Introduced. — 
I  have  just  entered  a  cloth  manufacturing  business, 
and,  of  course,  we  use  a  large  quantity  of  raw  wool, 
from  our  colonies  chiefly,  but  sometimes  German.  I 
have  found  various  kinds  of  beetles  in  the  wool,  and 


though  not  very  good  specimens,  they  are  interesting 
on  account  of  the  peculiar  manner  of  importation  : 
we  recently  found  a  most  curious  one,  gold  and  green, 
with  a  long  proboscis  just  like  a  rhinoceros."  If  I 
have  the  good  fortune  to  find  another,  as  I  daresay  I 
shall,  you  shall  have  it  ;  but  wool-sorters  are  doing 
sixty  bales  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  that  is  where  I 
found  it.  We  get  most  curious  things  in  the  wool  : 
frogs,  crushed  quite  flat,  with  their  bones  showing  to 
perfection  ;  leaves,  seed-vessels,  and  seeds,  some  of 
which  we  have  grown.  One  especially,  called  the 
"Devil's  Horns"  by  the  natives,  we  sent  to  Dr. 
Hooker,  of  Kew,  and  he  said  the  name  of  it  was 
Martiiiia  l\Ioutcvidcnsis  ;  but  had  never  been  grown 
in  England  l^efore.  It  is  covered  with  short,  sharp, 
and  strong  prickles,  and  it  will  sometimes  kill  the 
sheep  when  it  gets  into  the  wool.  The  last  two 
things  on  the  "  Australian  "  are  seed-vessels,  or  rather 
seeds,  which  grow  easily,  and  are  very  abundant  in 
our  mill-yard,  where  the  seeds  get  often  thrown  to, 
but  I  have  never  seen  one  in  bloom.  Bird  of 
Paradise  feathers,  ticks,  nutmegs,  and  even  knives 
and  money,  are  among  the  curiosities  which  we  find. 
Two  snakes  I  have  obtained  I  cannot  quite  deter- 
mine. No.  I  :  Back  dark,  with  black  markings, 
and  a  V  on  its  head ;  belly  slate-colour.  No.  2  : 
Back  dark  green,  shading  into  light  green  towards 
the  belly,  which  is  dark  slate,  and  green  patches  ; 
yellow  mark  round  the  back  of  head,  followed  by 
black.  It  has  dark  spots  on  its  back.  Which  is 
best  for  preserving — gin,  or  spirits  of  wine  ? — E.  E. 
Evans. 

Mermaid's  Purses. — Most  people  who  pay  their 
annual  visit  to  the  sea-side  must  have  noticed  in  their 
rambles  certain  curious-looking  objects  of  a  brownish- 
black   colour  and  horny  consistence,   shaped   some- 
what   like   a   stretcher,   or  a  pillow-case,  with  four 
handles,   called  provincially,    "Mermaid's    Purses," 
"  Skate  Barrows,"  &c.,  and  known  to  naturalists  as 
"  Skate's  Eggs."     Their  average  length  is  about  four 
inches,  but  one  in  my  possession  measures  sei'en,  and 
not  unfrequently  they  are  invested  with  a  miniature 
forest  of  algx  and  zoophytes.     Now,  I  have  a  great 
desire    to   know   the   approximate   number   of  eggs 
dropped  by  any  one  skate  during  the  spawning  season. 
I    have    searched    through     "  YaiTell "    and    other 
"  eminent  authorities"  without  success  :  the  "purses" 
are  described  and  figured,   but  no  allusion  is  made 
(so  far  as  I  can  see)  to    the   numerical   proportion 
between  these  and  the  eggs  of  other  fishes.     We  are 
gravely  informed  that  in  the  roe  of  a  single  "  cod," 
nine  millions  of  eggs  have  been  counted  (calculated 
would   be  the  more  correct  term)  ;  other  fish  are,  I 
presume,    equally  prolific  ;  the  herring,  for  instance. 
Now  an  ordinary-sized  herring's   roe  might  be  placed 
inside  one  of  these    "purses,"  yet  the  skate  is  not 
uncommon,  and  there  are  some  dozen  species.     The 
Dog-fish,  again,  is  plentiful  enough  (there  are  some 
seven  or  eight  species,  exclusive  of  the  two  sharks),  as 
any  fisherman  can  tell  you,  as  they  injure  his  nets  and 
devour  his  "  catch  "  ;  they  produce  the  same  kind  of 
egg  slightly  modified,  being  somewhat  narrower,  of  a 
lighter  colour,  and  with  an   elongated  tendril  at  each 
of  the  four  corners,  by  which  they  become  attached 
to    sea-weeds  or  other  fixed  bodies.     Now,    it  does 
appear  to  me  rather  singular  that  such  pains  should 
be  taken  to  ascertain  the  millions  of  eggs  contained 
in  a  cod's  roe,  or  the  still  more  startling  announce- 
ment that  a  cubic  inch  of  the  Polierschiefer  orpolishing- 
slate  of  Bilin  contains  forty-one  thousand  millions  of 
the  silicious   shells   of  GalioncUa:,    and  yet    that  we 
should  be  ignorant  of  the  approximate   number   of 
"cases"  or  "purses,"  varying  from  three  or  four  to 


ii8 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-G OSSIP. 


seven  inches  in  length,  contained  in  the  common 
skate  {Raia  bntis,  Montagu).  I  may  have  jumped 
to  a  conchision,  and  the  Raia  may  liave  been  ascer- 
tained with  mathematical  accuracy  by  some  ichthyo- 
logist for  aught  I  know  to  the  contrary  ;  but  having 
made  diligent  search,  and  being  ignorant  of  the  fact, 
I  seek  information.  I  trust  that  some  of  your 
numerous  correspondents  may  be  able  to  throw  some 
light  upon  the  subject. — N.P. 

The  Common  Three-spined  Stickleback 
{Gastcrostciis  scmiarmatus).  —  I  procured  a  three- 
spined  stickleback  from  a  Hampstead  pond  in  Sep- 
tember last,  together  with  five  others  who  since  died. 
I  have  always  noticed  that  sticklebacks  do  not  live 
long  unless  they  have  plenty  of  room  afforded  them  ; 
or  at  least  a  large  amount  of  oxygen.  In  the  short 
time  I  have  had  this  stickleback  he  has  become  tame 
enough  to  take  his  food  freely  from  my  fingers ;  he 
•even  invariably  niljbles  the  latter  in  mistake  for  food. 
A  tench  and  British  carp  are  also  kept  in  the  vessel 
with  him  ;  the  former  does  not  seem  to  mind  his  pre- 
sence, although  he  sometimes  annoys  the  carp  ;  but 
this,  however,  seldom  happens.  The  tench  generally 
gives  chase  if  the  stickleback  comes  too  close,  and 
Avhen  such  is  the  case,  the  colours  of  the  latter  glow, 
and  the  sharp  spines  are  protruded  to  their  utmost, 
but  they  have  never  proceeded  to  extremities.  The 
stickleback  seems  to  feel  the  want  of  oxygen  sooner 
than  the  larger  fish  ;  as,  should  the  air  of  the  room  in 
which  he  is  kept  become  close,  he  is  sure  to  be  seen 
gasping  at  the  surface  of  the  water.  Blood-worms 
seem  to  be  his  favourite  food.  I  have  known  him 
take  three  or  more  of  them  one  directly  after  another, 
and  then  be  ready  for  more  in  a  few  minutes  ;  but 
where  he  manages  to  stow  theni  is  beyond  my  com- 
prehension. He  used  to  be  very  fond  of  biting  at 
the  toes  of  some  newts  tliat  were  kept  with  him,  mis- 
taking them  I  suppose  for  worms,  much  to  the  dis- 
comfort of  the  poor  newts,  who  were  almost  afraid  to 
move  their  feet,  and  if  they  ventured  to  do  so,  the 
stickleback  was  sure  to  notice  the  movement  and  dart 
towards  them,  and,  staring  at  them  with  all  his  spines 
extended,  watching  for  their  next  movement.  The 
changing  of  colour  when  friglitened  seems  to  be 
pretty  generally  the  case  with  most  fish  ;  the  stickle- 
back, when  he  is  suddenly  touched  or  otherwise 
startled,  turns  from  his  usual  colour  to  that  of  a  very 
light  brown,  and  does  not  recover  his  silvery  hue  en- 
tirely until  a  few  minutes  afterwards.  If  the  British 
carp  is  frightened,  all  the  black  'colour  of  his  back 
vanishes  and  leaves  a  red-brown  tint  in  its  place. 
The  stickleback  cannot  be  recommended  as  a  suitable 
fish  for  the  aquarium  on  account  of  its  pugnacity,  but 
it  can  be  kept  in  a  separate  vessel,  and  will  well  repay 
the  trouble  by  its  amusing  vagaries  and  pleasant  fa- 
miliarity. I  have  followed  the  plan  recommended  in 
Mr.  Shirley  Hibberd's  book  on  the  aquarium,  and 
have  placed  a  piece  of  board  across  a  window  on 
which  are  placed  a  dozen  or  so  glass  jars  ;  these  I 
Iiave  stocked  with  beetles,  larvje,  water-spiders,  and 
other  inhabitants  of  our  ponds  and  streams.  I  find 
this  plan  aids  me  greatly  in  watching  the  movements 
and  habits  of  ai^uatic  insects,  and  the  latter  being 
divided  in  the  separate  jars  prevents  their  destroying 
one  another,  which  they  are  sure  to  do  if  confined  in 
single  vessels  altogether. — Frank  Rowbothant. 

Aquarium  v.  Aquavivarium. — A  year  or  two 
ago  there  was  some  stir  made  with  reference  to  an 
appellation  which  has  now  become  a  very  familiar 
one.  "Aquarium,"  so  it  was  urged,  speaking 
correctly,  can  mean  nothing  more  than  a  receptacle 
for  water,  large  or  small,  as  may  be,  and  conveys  no 
notion  as  to  its   living  contents.     The  word  "  Aqua- 


vivarium "was  accordingly  introduced,  and  struggled 
into  a  certain  amount  of  popularity,  but  of  late  the 
old  term  seems  to  have  re-established  itself.  Its 
brevity  gives  convenience,  no  doubt,  still  I  think  it 
may  be  alleged  ,that  nowadays  it  is  too  loosely  used, 
and  such  places  as  the  Brighton,  or  the  Crystal  Palace 
' '  Aquarium  "  appear  to  want  some  other  name  than 
that  first  given  to  the  glass  globe  or  tank  we  place  in 
a  drawing-room  or  conservatory. — y.  R.  S.  C. 

Query  about  a  Flower. — What  flower  does 
Shelley  mean, — described  as  below  in  his  poem  "The 
Question  "  ?— 

"  And  that  tall  flower  that  wets 
Its  mother's  face  with  heaven-collected  tears, 
When  the  low  wind,  its  playmate's  voice,  it  hears." 

A.  H. 

Pronunciation  of  Names. — Is  there  any  book, 
or  books,  from  which  a  self-teaching  student  might 
learn  the  correct  pronunciation  of  scientific  proper 
names?  I  have  "  Alcock's  Botanical  Names  for 
English  Readers,"  but  this  covers  only  the  field  of 
British  botany.  Is  there  a  similar  work,  with  a  more 
comprehensive  range?  Does  the  "New"  pronun- 
ciation of  Latin  affect  scientific  names  ?  If  you  would 
kindly  answer  the  above,  you  would  confer  a  great 
favour  on  an  isolated  countryman. — D.  jf. 

Freshwater  Tortoise. — In  reply  to  "H.  F., ' 
Jun.'s"  inquiry,  I  write  to  say  that  freshwater  tor- 
toise will  live  out  of  doors  in  the  south  of  England. 
I  had  one  for  some  years  in  a  small  pond  in  my  lawn, 
when  I  resided  in  Hampshire  ;  and  land  tortoises  that 
have  escaped  from  confinement  have  been  found 
again,  after  a  lapse  of  over  twenty  years,  in  the 
grounds  surrounding  the  house  they  left. — Helen  E. 
Watncy. 

Lepidoptera,  &c.,  of  the  Black  Forest. — I 
should  be  much  obliged  if  you  or  any  of  your  nu- 
merous correspondents  would  give  me  a  list  of  the 
Lepidoptera  and  Land  and  Freshwater  Mollusca  to 
be  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  "  Black 
Forest"  ;  also  the  Mollusca  of  North  Wales.-— iT".  J. 
Taylor. 

Peculiar  Habit  of  Starlings. — That  starlings 
are  accustomed  in  the  evening  to  leave  the  place 
where  they  have  spent  the  day,  and  repair  in  a  body 
to  roost  in  some  rather  distant  wood,  is  'a  familiar 
fact.  In  the  summers  of  1867  and  1S68  I  noticed 
every  evening  a  large  flock  of  these  birds  rendezvous 
on  a  large  tree  in  Pye  Nest  Park,  near  Halifax,  and 
take  wing  in  a  south-easterly  direction,  down  the 
valley  of  the  Calder.  When  they  had  proceeded  say 
three  or  four  hundred  yards,  a  small  number  of  birds, 
perhaps  thirty,  fell  out,  wheeled  round,  returned  to 
Pye  Nest  Park,  and  there  dispersed  themselves 
among  the  trees.  This  singular  procedure  was  re- 
peated night  after  night,  and  the  number  of  starlings 
who  thus  returned  was  always  approximately  the 
same. — J.   W.  Slater. 

Eggs  of  YamA-Mai.  —  Can  any  of  your  corre- 
spondents tell  me  where  I  may  obtain  eggs  of  the 
l-'izwrt-^')/;?/ silkworm  ?  Some  years  ago  I  purchased 
a  small  quantity  of  Dr.  Wallace,  of  Colchester,  but 
afterwards  received  a  circular  stating  that  he  had 
ceased  rearing  the  silkworm  and  had  given  his  stock 
to  some  one  else,  whose  name  I  have  lost. —  Geon^c 
M.  Doc. 

Singular  Fact  about  the  Dogwood. — The 
mildness  of  the  past  three  or  four  months  has  been 
the  cause  of  somewhat  extraordinary  behaviour  on 
the  part  of  the  Dogwood  {Coritns  sang-ninca)  in  this 
neighbourhood.     In   November   the   plant   was   en- 


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


119 


tirely  denuded  of  leaves,  yet  blossoms  were  produced 
in  abundance  at  the  extremities  of  the  branches.  The 
same  phenomenon  took  place  during  December,  and 
up  to  the  present  time  flowers  are  being  produced, 
showing  that  though  the  leaves  have  fallen,  there  is 
still  circulation  of  sap.  Why  did  the  leaves  fall  if  the 
sap  was  still  in  sufficiently  active  circulation  to  pro- 
duce perfect  flowers? — J.  H.  A.  Jcnncr. 

Tea-leaves  as  manure. — These  leaves  abound 
in  sphceraphides,  which  are  calcareous  crystals  ;  and 
so,  independently  of  the  decaying  vegetable  matter, 
might  be  reasonably  expected  to  prove  very  valuable 
for  mulching  plants  in  pots.  At  a  late  scientific 
meeting,  Prof.  Gulliver  gave  demonstrations  of  the 
spha:raphides  in  tea-leaves  ;  and  of  these  and  several 
other  allied  ciystals,  which  are  so  abundant  in  British 
trees,  as  to  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  constant  clear- 
ing of  the  dead  leaves  away  from  the  roots,  is  one  cause 
of  the  decay  of  trees  in  shallow  soils,  as  in  Hyde  Park. 
In  short,  depriving  the  plants  of  the  rotting  or  rotten 
leaves  is  simply  withholding  an  important  part  of  the 
food  of  trees  which  have  no  other  manure  given  to 
them.— (2.  F. 

"  Vestiges  of  the  Natural  History  of 
Creation. "^Mr.  Robert  Chambers  or  his  friends 
may  not  have  chosen  to  acknowledge  his  connection 
as  author  with  this  book.  That  he  was  the  author  I 
was  long  since  confidently  told  by  the  late  Mrs. 
Edmondston,  of  Balta  Sound,  Shetland,  ^^■hose  hus- 
band M'as  long  the  respected  physician  in  that  district, 
and  a  regular  correspondent  of  Thomas  Bewick. 
Mrs.  Edmondston  was  a  literary  lady  of  distinguished 
talents,  mother  of  the  promising  young  naturalist — 
too  early  lost  to  science  —  who  first  discovered 
Arena7-ia  A^crzvgica  in  Britain  ;  and  her  husband 
was  an  able  and  zealous  ornithologist,  still  repre- 
sented by  descendants  or  connections  of  the  same 
taste  in  the  Shetland  Isles. — Q.  F. 

Daffodils.  —  The  instructive  paper  by  E. 
Edwards,  while  giving  us  some  agreeable  poetical 
associations,  has  omitted  Milton's,  who,  in  his 
"  Comus"  has, 

"  Pansies,  pinks,  and  gaudy  daffodils"  ; 

and  in  his  "  Lycidas"  makes  it  a  mourning  flower — 

"  Bid  amaranthus  all  her  beauty  shed, 
And  daffadillies  fill  their  cup  with  tears, 
To  strew  the  laureat  grave  where  Ljxid  lies." 

It  is  remarkable  that  this  great  poet  spells  daffodils 
with  an  a  instead  of  an  0  in  the  second  syllable.  But 
my  chief  reason  for  noting  this  plant  is  to  mention 
that  it  is  an  excellent  one  in  which  to  examine  true 
raphides,  of  which  figures  are  given  in  Professor 
Gulliver's  papers  in  Science-Gossip,  May,  1873.  It 
is  necessary  to  M'arn  the  reader  against  the  still  com- 
mon error  in  the  "  Micrographic  Dictionary"  and  most 
recent  botanical  books,  of  confounding  raphides  with 
other  and  very  different  microscopic  plant-crystals. — 
Q.F. 

Ventriculites  ? — Not  long  since  a  friend  of  mine 
found  an  enormous  sponge  (?)  embedded  in  a  block  of 
the  upper  chalk  at  Whitecliff  Bay.  The  fossil  was 
well  preserved  and  very  perfect ;  it  measured  fully 
20  in.  in  diameter,  and  the  whole  was  converted  into 
red  iron  pyrites.  It  resembled  a  huge  circular  fan 
spread  out  on  the  rock.  The  fossil  was  the  most 
perfect  one  of  its  kind  I  have  ever  seen.  The  outer 
foliation,  theskin,  and  even  the  perfect  rootswere  beau- 
tifully preserved.  Could  any  of  your  readers  inform 
me  if  this  is  of  common  cccurrence,  and  if  fossil 
sponges  often  attain  these  gigantic  dimensions  ? — 
G.  IF.  C. 


Mildness  of  the  Season. — Some  of  the  readers 
of  Science-Gossip  may  be  interested  I)y  the  following 
facts,  in  reference  to  the  unusual  mildness  of  the  for- 
mer part  of  the  present  season.  During  the  latter 
part  of  January  I  was  staying  in  the  east  of  Somerset- 
shire, near  to  Frome,  and  between  January  20th 
and  27th,  I  observed  the  following  wild  flowers  in 
full  bloom  : — Creeping  Buttercup,  Shepherd's-purse, 
Whitlow-grass  {Draba  veriia).  Thyme-leaved  Sand- 
M'ort  {A.  scrpyHifolia),  Herb-Robert  Geranium, 
Furze,  Wild  Strawberry,  Daisy,  Dandelion,  White 
and  Purple  Deadnettle,  Primrose,  Procumbent  Vero- 
nica ( V.  agrestis),  Spurge  Laurel  [Daphne  laureola). 
Snowdrop,  Hazel.  I  also  saw  on  February  3rd  and 
4tli,  near  Oxford,  SeiUrio  squalidns  and  Lesser  Peri- 
winkle (in  abundance).  It  will  give  some  idea  of  the 
remarkable  earliness  of  the  plants  if  I  give  the  mean 
date  and  earliest  appearance  of  each  flower,  as  taken 
at  Rugby,  since  the  year  1867.  Creeping  Buttercup, 
mean  date,  May  15,  earliest  appearance,  May  9, 
1874  ;  Shepherd's-purse  has  been  seen  on  January  i  ; 
Whitlow-grass,  mean  February  19,  earliest  February 
I,  1869  ;  Thyme-leaved  Sandwort,  mean  June  7, 
earliest  May  24,  1867  ;  Herb-Robert  Geranium,  mean 
May  6,  earliest  April  23,  1872  ;  Furze  has  been  seen 
on  January  i  ;  Strawberry,  mean  April  12,  earliest 
April  4,  1872  ;  Daisy  and  Dandelion  have  been  seen 
on  January  i  ;  White  Deadnettle,  mean  February 
9,  earliest  January  20,  1869  ;  Purple  Deadnettle, 
has  been  seen  on  January  i  ;  Primrose,  mean 
March  6,  earliest  February  17,  1872  ;  Procumbent 
Veronica  has  been  seen  on  January  i  ;  Spurge 
Laurel,  mean  February  28,  earliest  February  3,  1875  ; 
Snowdrop,  mean  February  13,  earliest  February  2, 
1868  ;  Hazel,  mean  February  15,  earliest  January  23, 
1875;  Senecliio  squalidns,  not  found  at  Rugby; 
Lesser  Periwinkle,  mean  April  12,  earliest  March  23, 
1869.  The  only  one  of  these  flowers  about  whose 
identity  I  am  not  certain,  is  Thyme-leaved  Sand- 
wort. I  dare  say  other  botanists  have  noticed  the 
early  appearance  of  plants,  and  could  add  many  more 
to  my  list.  I  may  add  that  the  leaves  of  Aricm 
macidatnni  are  springing  up  everywhere  in  abun- 
dance ;  usually,  I  believe,  they  do  not  appear  till 
much  later  in  the  year. — //  W.  Trott. 

Occurrence  of  Rabies  in  Wild  Canine 
Animals.  —  The  lamentable  case  of  a  gentleman 
worried  by  three  dogs  left  in  his  charge  by  a  friend, 
has  called  forth,  in  a  morning  paper,  a  leader  in  the 
"  dog-fancying  "  interest.  The  writer  maintains  that 
canine  madness  is  unknown,  or  nearly  so,  in  polar 
and  in  tropical  regions,  and  is  caused  by  the  confine- 
ment to  which  dogs  are  subject  in  civilized  countries. 
Now  I  have  always  understood  that  rabies  is  ex- 
ceedingly common  among  jackals  in  India,  and  far 
from  rare  among  wolves  on  the  Continent.  Perhaps 
some  of  the  correspondents  of  Science-Gossip  may 
be  in  possession  of  facts  bearing  on  this  subject. — 
J.  W.  Slater. 


Communications  Received  up  to  7TH  ult.  from  : — 
T.  S.— Prof.  G.— Dr.  C.  C.  A.— H.  G.  G.— D.  E.  S.  C— H.P. 
—A.  S.-T.  P.-W.  E.  T.— G.  K.— A.  H.  W.— E.  L.— 
M.  L.  W.— W.  B.— T.  W.  S.— F.  J.  A.— T.  C.  R.— J.  T.  R.— 
G.  W.  R.— T.  B.— W.  H.-A.  W.— W.  J.  S.  S.— T.  W.— 
J.  s.  W.— Dr.  G.  B.— T.  H.  B.— G.  H.  R.— M.  S.  Mc.  D.— 
W.  E.  G.— W.  J.— A.  W.  S.— J.  H.— S.  E.  L.— G.  G.— D.  D. 
— W.  M.  P.— J.  E.  S.-G.  H.  R.— A.  B.— J.  H.  S.— 
R.  H.  N.  B.-C.  D.-F.  L.  P.-C.  R.-J.  P.  P.-H.  S.- 
J.  G.— A.  M.— J.  D.— J.  A.  L.— M.  H.— G.  O.  H.— Dr.  R.— 
E.  S.— J.  Y.  G.— W.  V.-J.  C.-E.  F.  M.— J.  F.  P.— G.  B.— 
G.  C.-W.  G.  P.-H.  G.-J.  W.  S.-V.  G.-J.  W.-D.  J.- 
C.  D.-H.  E.  B.-J.  C.-Dr.  P.  Q.  K.-T.  C.-G.  C.  D.- 
C.  A.  O.-H.  F.  P.-R.  M.  C.-T.  H.  H.-A.  H.  S.— W.  T.- 
A.  L.  S.— A.  S.-C.  A.  O.-G.  R.  Y.— J.  M.  \V.— H.  M.- 
R.  H.— J.  B.— J.  P.— £.  H.— H.  N.,  &c.  &c. 


I20 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


NOTICES    TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 

To     CORRESPOXDENTS     AND     EXCHANGERS.  —  As    ve    HOW 

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  8th  of  the 
previous  month. 

J.  Gregory. — The  specimens  you  enclosed  are  those  of 
silicified  and  partially  opalized  wood.  Thin  sections  would 
show  microscopic  structure. 

A.  Milne  (Carnforth). — Vou  had  better  state  definitely  what 
you  have  to  exchange,  in  the  manner  of  our  last  page.  Send 
the  specimen  up,  and  we  will  see  if  it  can  be  named. 

C.  Fletcher. — The  specimen  sent  is  a  fragment  of  micaceous 
granite.  The  glittering,  silvery-looking  crystals  imbedded  in  it 
are  those  of  mica. 

W.  H.  —We  cannot  undertake  to  name  A  ustraliaii  zoophytes. 
We  are  not  aware  of  any  general  work  which  has  been  pub- 
lished on  them. 

"Querist." — No.  i  is  Alyssiiin  calychium ;  No.  2, 
Veronica  Bnxhaninii. 

W.  M.  P. — Many  thanks  for  the  sample  of  DIatomaceous 
earth  from  Inverness-shire. 

A.  1j.  desires  to  know  the  name,  price,  and  publisher  of  any 
book  on  Scottish  entomology. 

S.  C.  L.  is  desirous  of  knowing  if  there  is  a  flora  of  Cumber- 
land and  Westmoreland,  or  of  the  North-western  counties  of 
England  published.  If  so,  by  whom  and  at  what  price.  Per- 
haps some  of  our  friends  will  reply. 

J.  L.  Mitchell. — All  queries  to  be  answered  and  specimens 
to  be  named,  should  be  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  Science- 
Gossip,  192,  Piccadilly,  London. 

GwALi.\. — For  information  as  to  how  to  keep  sea-anemones, 
salt-water,  &c.,  consult  "The  Aquarium,"  by  J.  E.  Taylor, 
published  by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly,  London. 
The  best  fossiliferous  locality,  nearest  to  Caermarthen,  is 
Llandovery,  where  you  get  abundance  of  Silurian  fossils. 

Erratum. — In  our  notice  of  the  Watford  Natural  History 
Society's  Transactions,  for  Herefordshire  read  Hertfordshire. 

C.  A.  O. — No.  9  of  your  list  of  objects  sent  is  a  marine 
sponge,  but  too  small  and  imperfect  to  determine  which.  It 
appears  to  be  a  Grantia.  The  rest  of  your  objects  will  be 
named  in  due  course. 

Dr.  W.  J.  D. — One  of  the  slides  has  mounted  the  Water 
Scorpion  {A'ejia  ciiiered).  Many  thanks  for  the  other  slides. 
The  one  queried  will  be  answered  duly. 

W.  E.  Green. — i.  Ptychoinitrimii  polypJiyllnin  ;  2.  Khaco- 
mitriunt  laiuiginosiiiii ;  3.  Hypnuin  Schrcberi ;  4.  Ditrichiiiii 
flexicaJtle  ;  5.  Bryitin  palletis. 

J.  C.  D. — I  and  3.  Miiiwn  horntcin ;  2.  Hypimin  S'cvai-tzii; 
4.  I\I)tium  cnspidatiiin. 

A.  SoMMERvii.LE. —  I.  HypHuiH  Serpens;  z.  H.  froelonc^utu  ; 
3.  Tortida  riiralis ;  Berkeley's  "  Handbook  of  British  Mosses," 
and  Leighton's  "  British  Lichens." — R.  B. 


EXCHANGES. 

Send  three  well-moimted  Microscopic  Slides  for  a  sample 
tubs  of  splendid  pure,  unmi.ved  gathering  of  Diatoms  (Gom- 
phonema),  enough  for  thirty  slides. — John  L.  Mitchell,  ^q, 
Gilmore-place,  Edinburgh. 

Wanted,  all  or  part  of  the  back  numbers  of  Science- 
Gossip,  bound  or  unbour.d.  .State  lowest  price. — John  L. 
Mitchell,  39,  Gilmore-place,  Edinburgh. 

British  Land,  Freshwater,  and  Marine  Shells  to  exchange 
for  others. — W.,  The  Hawthorns,  Hawthorn-road,  Bootle, 
Liverpool. 

Wanted  to  loan,  Watson's  "Topographical  Botany."  All 
expenses  paid. — G.  C.  Druce,  Northampton. 

ExcH.\NGE,  a  few  specimens  of  Gagea  lutea  for  other  plants. 
—  (j.  C.  Druce,  Northampton. 

For  Hair  of  .Sea  Mouse  (unmounted)  send  object  of  interest 
to  T.  Comlidge,  5,  Norfolk-street,  Brighton. 

Samples  of  a  new  Diatomaceous  deposit,  from  Inverness- 
shire,  exchanged  for  other  deposits,  or  gatherings  of  good 
Diatoms  or  Polycystina;. — W.  M.  Paterson,  Westfield-terrace, 
Loftus-in-Cleveland. 

Chatychiuin  iniuiimint,  C.  latninata,  Plnnorbis  glaber, 
Zoniies  puriis,  Z.  crystallinus,  and  Lepidoptera,  offered  for 
fine  perfect  L.  aincidariiis,  H.  piilchclla,  IS.  pe>-z>ersa,  B. 
acuius,  Paiudina  vivipara,  or  good  marine  species. — F.  H. 
Hedworth,  Dunston,  Gateshead. 

Dum^ril's  "  Sciences  Naturelles,"  2  vols.,  for  good  Micro- 
slides. — F.  W.  Phillips,  Maidenhead-street,  Hertford. 

Wanted,  Nos.  9,  65,  90,  119,  130,  and  others,  for  131,  195, 
260,  575,  285^,  873/;,  and  many  rare  plants.  Lists  exchanged. — 
C.  A.  O.,  76,  Trafalgar-road,  Old  Kent-road,  London. 

Wanted,  good  shells  of  Acme  lineata,  H.  lamellata.  H. 
rotundata,  var.  alha,  Zoniies  e.vcai'aius,  var.  vitrina,  or 
other  good  shells,  for  Vertigo  Mottlinsiana,  l-^.  alpestris,  V. 
^nsilla,  or  V.  augustior. — j.  Whitwham,  Cross-lane  Marsh, 
Huddersfield. 


Wanted,  Anacharis  ahinnstrnm  and  Valisneria  spiralis, 
or  other  plants  for  aquariums,  for  Silkworms'  Eggs. — D.  Jones, 
97,  Percy-street,  Caermarthen. 

Slides  of  post-pliocene  Foraminifera,  &c.,  in  balsam,  also 
'■  Journal  of  Horticulture  "  for  1876,  for  Coal  Fossils  or  polished 
Sections  of  Corals,  &c. — J.  Carpenter,  Cheshunt,  Herts. 

Carboniferous  Microzoon,  a  recent  Foraminifer,  mounted, 
and  named  in  species,  for  iinmoiinted  Fossil  Polyzoa  and 
Foraminifera,  or  recent  foraminiferous  material  or  fossil  earths. 
— G.  R.  v.,  Hill-top,  AttercUffe,  .Sheffield. 

For  Biipicurnm  rotnndifolium,  Silcnc  coHica,Senesio  squa- 
lidus,  Anchitsa  senipertnrens,  or  F>-anlcenia  lievis,  &c.,  send 
stamp  and  address  to  W.  G.  Piper,  care  of  Sutton  &  Co.,  Bank- 
plain,  Norwich. 

Wanted  to  exchange,  .some  E.  Indian  Lepidoptera  for 
British  local  species. — W.  S.  R.,  36,  Euston-square,  W.C. 

Have  about  one  hundred  cases  suitable  for  micro  slides  and 
for  herbarium  specimens  ;  will  exchange  for  Photo  Apparatus, 
or  otherwise.  Any  one  wanting  any  can  have  particulars  per 
post. — W.  Tylar,  165,  Well-street,  Hockley,  Birmingham. 

BRiTiSH^Coleoptera,  S.  E.  coast,  well  set,  for  Books. — R.  H., 
66,  Carlton-square,  Mile-end,  E. 

Branched  Hairs  from  Mullein,  Crystals  of  Strychnine,  and 
other  objects  to  exchange.  — Edward  Howell,  Yeovil. 

Aneroid  Barometer,  Duple.v  Thermometer,  self-registering, 
silent  Metronome,  and  Drum  Clock  with  alarum  and  horizontal 
movement,  in  exchange  for  Microscope,  or  Rhumcorf  coil,  of 
same  value. — J.  Liddy,  6,  Harman-street,  Kingsland,  N. 

Wanted,  Moore  and  Brady's  "Middle  and  Upper  Lias  of 
South-west  of  England"  (Somersetshire  Nat.  Hist.  Soc  Pro- 
ceed. 1865-66).  Fossils  or  cash  offered. — Address,  E.  W.,  21, 
West  Bar-street,  Banbury. 

Wanted,  Eggs  of  Birds  of  India.  Can  offer  British  and  a 
few  North  American  eggs.  Hindostanee  correspondence 
invited.  Send  full  lists  of  duplicates  to  T.  W.  Dealy,  142, 
Clarance-street,  Sheffield. 

Wanted,  good  Silurian  Trilobites,  in  exchange  for  European, 
American,  Australian,  Canadian,  Brazilian,  Indian,  Chinese, 
Hawaiian  postage-stamps,  also  from  Natal,  Jamaica,  Trinidad, 
and  Barbadoes.  Only  a  limited  number  of  the  latter  six. — 
Address,  M.  L.,  88,  High-street,  Bridlington,  Yorkshire. 

Wanted  to  exchange,  British  Land  and  Freshwater  Mol- 
lusca  for  other  British  and  Foreign  .Shells.  Land  shells  pre- 
ferred.— Harry  Nelson,  65,  Freehold-street,  Leeds. 

A  Twelve-inch  Plate  Electrical  Machine,  with  discharges, 
&c.,  complete  in  case,  for  Microscopical  Apparatus. — Apply  to 
A.  C.  Rogers,  132,  High-street,  Southampton. 

Good  Microscopic  Slides  offered  in  exchange  for  Scientific 
Books  or  Instruments,  or  unmounted  material. — R.  H.  Philips, 
28,  Prospect-street,  Hull. 

ExcH.\NGE,  a  few  North-American  Bird-skins,  three  Red 
Squirrels,  and  one  Flying  Squirrel.  Desiderata :  Eggs  of 
British  Sea-birds.  —  j\lr.  John  Dearden,  Bishop's-buildings, 
Oldham-road,  Ashton-under-Lyne. 

Wanted  to  exchange,  Ohio  Unionidce,  Helicid<e,  other 
Land  and  Freshwater  Shells,  for  British  Land,  Freshwater, 
Ac,  .Shells. — J.  P.  Patterson,  Washington,  C.  H.  Fayette  &  Co., 
Ohio,  U.S. 

Wanted,  a  Raven's  Skin  in  good  condition  for  mounting  ; 
good  exchange  in  other  British  Birds'  Skins. — C.  H.  Robinson, 
Lynnfield  House,  West  Hartlepool. 

For  Membrane  of  Bat  send  a  stamped  directed  envelope  to 
W.  H.  (Jomm,  Somerton,  Somerset. 

Wanted,  Moore's  "  British  Ferns  and  their  Allies"  :  offered 
in  exchange,  Stark's  "  British  Mosses,"  quite  new,  coloured 
plates. — Address,  F.  L.  Poulton,  6,  Southfield-road,  Cotham, 
Bristol. 

Nos.  40  and  1283,  seventh  edition  London  Catalogue,  for 
other  flowering  plants  or  mosses. — J.  .S.  Wesley,  Wetherby, 
Yorkshire. 

Well-mounted  slides  of  Spicules  of  Corsican  Holothnria 
and  Pedicellariie  of  U raster  ^lacialis,  for  Plenrosigvia  fas- 
ciola,  or  other  Pleurosigmata  dry,  or  Eggs  of  Lepidoptera  for 
mounting. — T.  H.  Buffhain,  Clarendon-road,  Walthamstow. 


BOOKS,  &c.,  RECEIVED. 

"  The  Complete  Peerage,  Baronet.age,  Knightage,  and  House 
of  Commons  for  1877."     London  :   Hardwicke  i^  Bogue. 

"  Vis-Inertia;,  and  Recent  Explor.-itions. "     V>y  W.  L.  Jordan. 
F.R.Cr.S.    London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 

■'  I'he  British  Bird-Preserver."     By  Samuel  Wood.  London  : 
F.  Warne  &  Co. 

"  The  Argonaut."     April. 

"Monthly  Microscopical  Journal."     April. 

"Popular  Science  Review."     April. 

'■  Potter's  American  Monthly."     March. 

"American  Naturalist."     Alarch. 

"Yorkshire  Naturalist."     April. 

"  Land  and  Water." 

"  Journal  of  Applied  Science." 

"  Canadian  Entomologist."     March. 
&c.  &c.  &c. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


121 


THE  BIRDS  OF  NEW  GUINEA, 

No.  II. 
By    GEORGE    BENNETT,    M.D.,  F.L.S.,  F.Z.S.,  &c. 


BIRD  very  little 
known  —  except  very 
recently  only  from  im- 
perfect specimens  —  is 
the  Superb  Bird  of 
Paradise  {Lophoriiia 
aira).  It  was  found 
by  Mr.  D'AIbertis  in 
tlie  north  of  New 
Guinea,  about  thirty 
miles  from  the  coast, 
at  an  elevation  of  3,600  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  near  Mount  Arfak,  and  feeds  upon  various 
kinds  of  fruits.  D'AIbertis  says, —  "It  flies  from 
branch  to  branch  in  the  forests,  uttering  a  cry  of 
'Nied,  Nied,'  and  from  this  peculiar  note  is  named 
by  the  natives  '  Niedda.'  "  The  Six-feathered  Bird 
of  Paradise  (Parolia  sexpennis)  has  also  been  until 
recently  only  known  from  mutilated  specimens.  It 
is  one  hundred  years  since  the  bird  was  first 
figured  by  Montbeillard,  and  until  about  three  or 
four  years  ago  nothing  was  known  of  this  beautiful 
species,  but  a  few  specimens,  roughly  prepared  by 
the  natives,  which  existed  in  some  of  the  great 
collections  of  Europe.  Even  its  exact  habitat  was 
unknown  j  but  the  correctness  of  the  supposition 
that  it  came  from  New  Guinea  has  been  verified  by 
D'AIbertis,  who  found  it  in  a  similar  locality  to  the 
Lophoriiia  atm,  about  thirty  miles  from  the  coast,  at 
an  elevation  of  3,600  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
near  Mount  Arfak.  Of  this  bird,  D'AIbertis  says, — 
' '  I  have  never  found  the  adult  male  in  company  with 
females  or  young  birds,  but  always  in  the  thickest 
parts  of  the  forests.  The  female  and  young  male 
birds  I  have  generally  found  in  a  much  lower  zone. 
This  bird  is  very  noisy,  uttering  a  note  like  '  Gnaad, 
Gnaad.'  It  feeds  upon  various  kinds  of  fruit,  more 
especially  on  a  species  of  fig  which  is  very  plentiful 
in  the  mountain-ranges  ;  at  other  times  I  have 
observed  it  feeding  on  a  small  kind  of  nutmeg.  The 
No.   150. 


bird  is  named  Corana  by  the  natives.  To  clean  its 
rich  plumage  this  bird  is  accustomed,  when  the 
ground  is  dry,  to  scrape  (similar  to  a  gallianceous 
bird)  around  places  clear  of  all  grass  and  leaves,  and 
to  roll  over  and  over  again  in  the  dust  produced  by 
the  clearing,  at  the  same  time  cr}'ing  out,  extending 
and  contracting  its  plumage,  elevating  the  brilliant 
silvery  crest  on  the  upper  part  of  its  head,  and  also 
the  six  remarkable  plumes  from  which  it  derives  the 
specific  name  of  Sexpennis.^''  I  have,  by  the  kind- 
ness of  Mr.  D'AIbertis,  now  before  me  a  beautiful 
and  perfect  pair  of  these  birds,  male  and  female,  and 
observe  that  the  plumage  of  the  male  glows  in  certain 
lights  with  bronze  and  deep  purple,  with  the  brilliant 
tints  of  the  emerald  and  topaz  ;  over  the  forehead 
there  is  a  large  patch  of  feathers  of  silvery  hue,  and 
from  each  side  of  the  head  spring  the  six  feathers 
from  which  the  specific  name  of  the  bird  is  derived. 
These  are  slender  wires,  about  six  inches  long,  with 
a  small  oval  web  at  the  extremity. 

We  now  come  to  a  long-billed  Paradise  Bird,  be- 
longing to  the  Epimachine  section  of  the  group,  and 
forming  both  a  new  genus  and  a  new  species.  It  is 
named  by  Dr.  Sclater  Drepanornis  Albcrtisi,  after 
its  discoverer.  This  remarkable  new  form  of  Para- 
dise Bird  was  one  of  the  most  interesting  discoveries 
made  by  Mr.  D'AIbertis  during  his  exploration  in  the 
island  of  New  Guinea.  He  shot  it  at  Mount  Arfak, 
and  subsequently  Dr.  Meyer  had  one  brought  to  him 
from  the  same  locality.  D'Albertis's  account  of  the 
bird  is  as  follows  : — "  It  is  very  rare,  and  many  of 
the  natives  did  not  know  it,  but  others  called  it 
'Quarna.'  The  peculiarity  of  this  bird  consists  in 
the  formation  of  the  bill  and  head,  and  in  the  softness 
of  the  plumage.  At  first  it  does  not  appear  to  have 
the  beauty  peculiar  to  other  birds  of  this  class  ;  but 
when  obser^'ed  more  closely,  and  in  a  strong  light, 
the  plumage  is  seen  to  be  rich  and  brilliant." 

A  "very  marked  New  Guinea  form  discovered  on 
the  continent  of  Australia,  and  placed  by  naturalists 

G 


122 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


with  the  Paradise  birds  {Paradiseida),  is  an  elegant 
"Crow  Shrike,"  adorned  with  phimage  of  a  green 
and  purplish-black  colour  :  it  is  the  Manucodia  Kerau- 
dreni,  and  a  question  arises  whether  it  migrates. 
This  bird  has  a  peculiar  formation  of  the  trachea,  the 
convolutions  being  very  large  and  numerous  for  the 
size  of  the  bird,  and  are  lodged  between  the  pectoral 
muscles  and  the  skin.  Dr.  Sclater  informs  me  that 
this  peculiarity  in  the  trachea  has  been  already  de- 
scribed by  Lesson,  and  I  find  a  very  accurate  descrip- 
tion of  it  has  been  published  very  recently  by  Pavesi 
of  Genoa.  This  bird  is  found  about  the  same  locali- 
ties as  the  Rifle-birds  {Epimachus  iiiagnifica,  et  Vic- 
toi-icE)  :  they  frequent  the  dense  forests,  and  are  usually 
seen  high  up  in  the  trees  :  ihe  note  uttered  by  these 
birds  is  a  deep  guttural,  loud  and  prolonged.  Their 
movements  are  active  and  graceful ;  when  approached, 
they  evince  more  curiosity  than  fear,  looking  down 
at  the  slightest  noise,  and  appearing  to  be  more 
desirous  of  obtaining  a  full  view  of  the  intruder  than 
regarding  their  own  safety.  They  are  almost  uni- 
versally seen  in  pairs.  In  "  Elliott's  Monograph  of  the 
Birds  of  Paradise,"  I  find  he  mentions  the  Manucodia 
Keraudreni  as  inhabiting  the  continent  of  Australia, 
and  other  species  of  the  same  genus  which  are  only 
found  in  New  Guinea,  still  I  do  not  see  how  they  can 
be  classed  with  the  Paradise  Birds,  being  so  deficient 
in  all  the  rich  and  splendid  plumage  of  that  class  of 
birds,  as  well  as  differing  in  their  anatomical  struc- 
ture. Yet  if  we  refuse  to  admit  this  bird  among  the 
Birds  of  Paradise,  Australia  still  possesses  three 
species  ;  one  in  common  with  New  Guinea,  viz.  Epi- 
machus magnificus,  and  two  exclusively  to  Australia, 
Ptiluris  Alberti  of  New  South  Wales  and  Queensland, 
and  Pliloris  Victoriic,  which  is  found  on  a  limited 
area  in  Queensland. 

The  zoologist,  when  exploring  the  dense  forests  of 
New  Guinea,  contemplates  with  admiration  the  mag- 
nificent and  gigantic  fig-trees,  the  wild  nutmeg 
(Myristica),  the  Canary-nut  {Canariuni),  the  noble 
palms,  the  Candle-nut  (Alcnrifcs),  and  other  lofty 
trees,  clothed  in  luxuriant  foliage.  At  some  places  the 
vegetation  was  found  more  dense,  and  entangled  by 
numerous  vines,  and  the  strong-growing  climbing 
palm  {Calamus  Australis),  mingled  with  numerous 
ferns,  orchids,  and  a  variety  of  flowering  plants.  The 
abundance  of  fruit-bearing  trees  attracted  a  number 
of  frugivorous  and  other  birds,  most  of  whom  were 
arrayed  in  the  most  gorgeous  plumage  conceivable. 
Among  them  the  fruit-eating  pigeons  {Carpophaga) 
were  plentiful,  and  on  tlie  tops  of  the  loftiest  trees, 
the  magnificent  new  Red  Bird  of  Paradise  {Paradisia 
Raggiana)  may  be  seen  displaying  its  rich  and  elegant 
plumage  under  the  bright  sunshine,  or  endeavouring 
by  the  display  to  excite  the  attention  of  the  unadorned 
female,  being  apparently  aware  that  liis  elevated 
position  left  him  out  of  the  reach  of  the  arrows  of 
the  natives  or  the  gun  of  the  naturalist.  In  some 
of  the  localities,  where  the  trees  are  lofty  but  not  too 


much  overgi'own  by  vines,  the  large  and  noblest 
crowned  pigeons  {Goura  coronata  and  6*.  Albertisi),  the 
size  of  a  turkey,  are  often  seen  walking  majestically 
about,  seeking  for  the  fruits  and  seeds  upon  which 
they  subsist.  The  last  [Goura  Albertisi)  was  found 
by  Mr.  D'Albertis  on  the  south  end  of  New  Guinea, 
opposite  Yule  Island.  By  a  rivulet  in  some  secluded 
nook,  the  splendid  and  rare  Kingfisher,  the  Halcyon 
nigrocianea,  and  another,  the  Ceyx  solitaria,  are 
heard  uttering  their  very  pleasing  notes.  Another  of 
the  Kingfishers  is  seen  in  the  midst  of  the  foi-est,  the 
elegant  racquet-tailed  Kingfisher  (  Tanysiptera  dea), 
whose  plumage  of  vivid  blue  and  white,  and  coral- 
red  bill,  combined  with  the  long  spatulate  tail, 
renders  this  bird  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the 
family  :  it  may  occasionally  be  seen  darting  down 
upon  a  beetle,  or  some  other  insect.  But  still  more 
attractive  for  its  rich  beauty  is  the  small,  but  not  less 
brilliant.  King  Bird  of  Paradise  {Ciciunurus  regius), 
who  may  be  seen  climbing  over  the  vines,  displaying 
the  bright  tints  of  its  splendid  rich  and  varied  colours 
to  the  bright  rays  of  a  tropical  sun,  as  it  occasionally 
penetrates  the  dense  foliage  of  the  trees.  \Vhere  the 
jungle  is  not  very  dense,  a  small  bamboo  grows,  and 
is  a  place  of  resort  for  the  mound-building  birds,  as 
the  Megapodius  and  Talegalla,  the  place  being  suit- 
able both  for  obtaining  their  food  and  for  the  con- 
struction of  their  nests.  The  Great  Black  or  Palm 
Cockatoos  were  also  attracted  by  the  fruit  of  several 
species  of  Canary-trees  (Canarium)  as  well  as  by 
the  soft  cabbage  of  the  palm-trees  on  which  they 
feed.  The  note  of  this  bird  is  very  peculiar,  being  a 
prolonged,  loud,  and  shrill  but  mournful  whistle.  I 
saw  a  fine  living  specimen  of  this  bird  in  the  Zoolo- 
gical Gardens  at  Amsterdam  in  i860.  The  Red- 
necked Hombills  [Buceros  ruficollis)  were  also  seen : 
their  flight  is  very  peculiar,  being  slow  and  steady, 
with  the  puffing  noise  of  a  locomotive  engine.  At 
night  the  attention  of  the  naturalist  is  directed  to  the 
myriads  of  fire-flies  flitting  about  in  all  directions, 
the  variety  of  the  strange  noises,  and  probably  still 
stranger  animals,  still  further  banish  sleep  ;  while  at 
dawn  of  day  his  attention  is  again  attracted  by  the 
piercing  cries  of  dense  flocks  of  lories  {Lorius), 
honey-eating  parrots  ( Trichoglossus),  passing  over- 
head, the  latter  darting  with  the  rapidity  of  an  arrow. 
Then  he  hears  the  loud  cries  of  "Whock,  whock, 
whock,"  emanating  from  the  unmusical,  harsh,  and 
far  from  celestial  voice  of  the  true  Birds  of  Paradise 
{Paradiseidce),  and  this  is  followed  by  the  shrill  but 
mournful  whistle  of  the  Great  Palm  Cockatoo  [Jlficro- 
glossum  aterrimum),  followed  by  the  drum-like  sound 
of  the  Cassowary,  and  numerous  other  birds.  The 
novelty  of  the  situation  was  most  interesting,  and  the 
traveller  would  feel  difficulty  in  expressing  the  intense 
delight  and  irresistible  fascination  he  experienced  at 
the  wildness  and  beauty  of  the  scene.  The  number 
of  birds  seen  in  certain  localities  in  New  Guinea  is 
very   great.     D'Albertis   says,  —  "In   the   month    of 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


123 


December,  from  our  anchorage  at  Attack  Island,  we 
saw  large  flocks  of  the  Straw  throated  Ibis  {Ibis  stric- 
tipennis)  flying  at  a  great  elevation  in  the  north-west 
and  south-west  directions."  At  Yule  Island,  parrots 
{Eclectiis  polieloriis)  start  early  in  the  morning  in  a 
westerly  direction,  and  return  to  the  east  in  the 
evening  :  he  observed  this  also  at  Sorong  Island, 
north-west  of  New  Guinea,  near  the  Salavati.  At 
Kiwai  Island,  on  the  Fly  River,  early  in  the  morning, 
and  a  little  before  sunset,  he  observed  thousands  of  a 
black  and  white  pigeon  {Carpophaga  spilloroa),  and 
they  were  also  seen  at  Yule  Island,  going  from  the 
east  to  the  west  to  their  roosting-places  ;  and  in  the 
morning  would  be  seen  returning  from  the  west  to  the 
east.  He  considered  this  pigeon  to  be  almost  as 
plentiful  in  this  part  of  the  world  as  the  Passenger 
Pigeon  {Coliimba  migratoriiis)  in  North  America. 

The  collections  made  will  not  only  determine 
the  birds  or  mammals  confined  solely  to  New  Guinea 
and  the  more  adjacent  islands,  but  enable  us  to  judge 
of  the  geographical  distribution  of  species  ;  and, 
after  an  examination  of  its  fauna,  it  may  be  decided 
whether  New  Guinea  maybe  placed  in  the  Australian 
region,  which  would  appear  to  be  more  correct  than 
dividing  it  into  East  and  West.  D'Albertis  says, 
"  The  most  beautiful  and  characteristic  species  of  the 
north-west  are  also  found  far  east  of  New  Guinea, 
and  are  dispersed  from  one  end  to  the  other  ;  for 
instance,  the  Paradise  Oriole  {Seriaclus  aureus),  the 
King  Bird  of  Paradise  {Cicinnurus  regiiis),  the 
Superb  Bird  of  Paradise  [Lophorma  atra),  and 
others,  are  all  common  from  the  north-west  to  the 
most  south-eastern  part  of  New  Guinea,  at  the  same 
time  that  there  are  many  genera  belonging  to  Aus- 
tralia ;  as  Podiccps,  Porphorio,  Lobivaiiclhis,  Mann- 
codia,  Plotiis,  Myctcria,  &^c. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  OUR  SALAD  HERBS. 
Part  II. 

THE  next  plants  or  herbs  which  are  largely  used 
in  composing  a  salad  with  the  foregoing  ones, 
are  the  Radish,  Mustard,  and  Cresses,  all  belonging 
to  the  natural  order  of  the  Criicifercc.  The  Radish 
(Rap/iaiuis  sativus)  is  mentioned  by  the  writers  of 
antiquity,  and  the  size  to  which  they  said  these  roots 
attained  must  make  the  enormous  Beet-roots  and 
Turnips  which  are  exhibited  in  the  present  day  at 
our  agricultural  shows  very  diminutive  in  compari- 
son, for  in  the  Babylonic  "Talmud"  (which  book 
contains  some  very  singiilar  and  doubtful  records)  it 
is  stated  that  the  land  of  Jud^a  produced  such  large 
radishes  that  a  fox  hollowed  out  one  of  these  enor- 
mous roots,  and  made  it  his  residence  for  a  time  : 
after  vacating  this  new  kind  of  lair,  it  was  put  into  a 
scale,  and  found  to  weigh  nearly  100  lb.  (?)  The 
Radish  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  ancient  Greeks, 
for  we  read  that  in  the  oblations  of  vegetables  offered 


to  Apollo  in  his  temple  at  Delphos,  these  plants  were 
presented  in  beaten  gold,  whereas  beet  was  in  silver, 
and  turnips  in  lead.  Moschian,  one  of  their  chief 
physicians,  thought  so  highly  of  this  root,  that  he 
compiled  one  whole  book  on  the  Radish  alone.  The 
Greeks  appear  to  have  known  three  varieties,  one  of 
which  was  wild,  and  the  other  two  cultivated.  The 
Radish  was  largely  cultivated  in  Egypt  in  the  days 
of  the  Pharaohs  for  the  abundance  of  oil  produced 
from  the  seed  ;  and  as  this  root  did  not  pay  so  much 
tribute  as  corn,  it  was  more  profitable  to  the  culti- 
vator. Pliny  states  that  the  Radishes  of  Egypt  were 
better  and  sweeter  than  any  in  the  world,  because 
they  were  watered  with  brackish  water,  and  are  be- 
dewed and  sprinkled  with  nitre  ;  and  adds  that  salt 
was  considered  necessary  for  the  growth  of  these 
roots.  This  author  gives  us  an  account  of  the  Ra- 
dishes known  in  Rome  in  his  time.  "  We  have," 
says  he,  ' '  one  kind  from  Mont  Algidea,  about  fifteen 
miles  from  this  city,  where  the  climate  is  cool,  and 
the  soil  produces  fine  radishes,  the  roots  of  which  are 
so  transparent  that  one  may  see  through  them." 
Another  variety  he  describes  that  produces  a  root 
like  a  turnip  or  rape,  which  is  tender  and  sweet,  and 
is  able  to  endure  the  frost  and  winter  weather.  The 
largest  kind  came  from  Germany ;  and  some  of  the 
roots  he  mentions  as  weighing  401b.,  which  size  was 
gained  by  stripping  off  the  leaves. 

The  ancients  used  to  boil  their  radishes,  but  the 
Roman  physicians  recommended  them  to  be  eaten 
raw,  of  a  morning,  with  salt,  before  taking  other 
food.  They  also  had  a  method  of  preserving  them 
by  covering  them  with  a  paste  composed  of  honey, 
vinegar,  and  salt,  and  thus  have  them  for  winter  use  ; 
but  at  all  times  they  were  considered  injurious  to  the 
teeth,  nevertheless  they  gave  a  beautiful  polish  to 
ivory.  The  seeds,  parched  and  mixed  with  honey, 
were  given  to  cure  short  breathing  ;  indeed,  this  plant 
was  believed  by  the  ancients  to  possess  wonderful 
medicinal  properties.  It  was  considered  an  antidote 
against  poison,  particularly  in  cases  where  persons  had 
partaken  of  poisonous  mushrooms ;  and  it  is  stated 
that  if  a  man  rub  his  hands  well  with  either  the  juice 
of  the  root  or  tlie  seeds  he  can  handle  scorpions 
safely,  and  that  if  a  radish  be  laid  on  one  of  these 
reptiles  it  will  cause  its  death.  Varro,  one  of  the 
celebrated  Latin  writers  on  plants,  tells  us  that  at  the 
end  of  three  years  the  seed  of  this  vegetable  produced 
very  good  cabbages,  which  must  have  been  rather 
vexatious  at  times  to  honest  gardeners,  who  might 
have  preferred  radishes,  as  some  author  remarks. 

Our  poet  Thomson  has  described  the  patriots  of 
the  city  of  the  misti-ess  of  the  world,  sitting  at  their 
frugal  supper, — 

"  Under  an  oak's  domestic  shade 

Enjoy'd  spare  feast — a  radish  and  an  egg." 

The  Radish  has  long  been  in   cultivation  in  this 

counti-y.      Bullein,   who  wrote   in  1562,  says,    "Of 

radish    rootes    there     be    no    small    store    growing 

G  2 


124 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-G  OS  SI  P. 


about  the  famous  City  of  London ;  they  be  more 
plentifull  than  profytable,  and  more  noysome  than 
nourishinge  to  manne's  nature."  It  appears  that  they 
were  used  thirty  years  before  this  date  at  the  table  of 
Henry  VIII.  Gerard  informs  us  that  he  cuUivated 
three  varieties  of  radishes  in  the  reign  of  Ehzabeth. 


He  tells  us,  that  "  the  root  stamped  with  honey  and 
the  powder  of  sheep  heart  dried  causeth  the  hair  to 
grow  in  a  short  space."  He  also  states  that  when 
boiled  in  broth  a  decoction  of  this  plant  was  thought 
good  for  an  old  dry  cough  by  "  making  thin  the  thick 
flegni  which  sticketh  in  the  chest." 


Fig.  io6.  j^cldiuin  dcpau/ermis. 

A,  Runners  of  Viola  cornuta  alba,  showing  habit  of  the  y^cidium  (nat.  size  ;  b,  Fragment  of  bract,  showing  cells  of  leaf 
and  JEcidium  in  different  st.iges  of  growth,  x  40  diam.  ;  c.  Transverse  section  through  runner,  showing  the  fungi 
bursting  through  the  epidermis,  X  diam  ;  D  D,  Section  through  an  yKcidium  cup,  showing  chains  of  spores  and 
transparent  Cells  of  peridium  (outer  coat),  x  160  diam.  ;  E,  Viola  leaf  attacked  by  ^■Ecidium  Vicl(e,  Schum.  (nal 
size),  showing  difference  in  habit. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


125 


Thomas  Cogan,  M.D.,  of  Manchester,  a  medical 
writer,  who  died  1607,  thought  radishes  unwhole- 
some, but  states  that  they  were  largely  eaten  by  his 
countrymen  as  a  sauce  with  roast  mutton.  Trajus 
states  that  he  had  seen  radishes  that  weighed  40  lb., 
and  Matthiole  assures  us  that  he  had  met  with  some 
weighing  loo  lb.  each;  these,  I  should  think,  must 
have  been  roots  of  some  other  vegetables,  as  we 
never  meet  with  such  enormous  radishes  in  the  pre- 
sent day.  There  is  a  specimen  of  one  in  the  Museum 
at  Kew,  which  weighs  1 1  ounces,  and  is  1 7  inches  in 
length,  and  6  inches  in  circumference.  Some  authors 
state  that  our  garden  radish  originally  came  from 
China,  where  Miller  states  it  is  a  native  ;  but  Mr. 
Bentham  suggests  that  it  may  be  a  cultivated  race  of 
one  of  the  wild  species  that  are  found  growing  on  the 
coast  of  the  Mediterranean. 


one  a  correct  idea  as  to  its  contrast  with  the  general 
yEcldhtm  found  on  violets.  It  is  a  singular  circum- 
stance that  in  a  thin  bed  of  Viola  contuta  extending 
several  yards  in  length,  both  the  yellow,  purple,  and 
white  varieties  grew  together,  but  only  the  white  one 
had  the  yEcidiiim  on  it ;  and  very  singular,  too,  that 
the  fungus  does  such  damage  to  the  leaves  and  stems  it 
infests  as  to  dwarf  the  plant  and  not  give  it  strength 
to  mature  its  leaves.  The  lower  leaves  seem  to  be 
the  first  affected,  although  the  top  ones  are  the  first 
to  be  decomposed.  Another  peculiarity  about  it  is 
that  the  cluster  cups  (irddia)  do  not  congregate 
together  in  patches  :  they  are  solitary,  and  perhaps 
by  this  means  the  rootlets  {mycdia)  do  their  de- 
structive work  more  effectually,  and  in  less  time.  The 
following  are  the  characteristics  of  this  species  : — 
^cid'iuvi  dfpauperans  (Vize)  :    spots  none,   peridia 


Fig.  107.  Common  Seal  [PJioca  vitiiluta). 


The  outer  rind  of  the  root  of  the  radish  gives  a  blue 
tint  to  water,  but  becomes  red  on  pouring  acids  on 
it ;  from  this  circumstance  it  was  much  used  by 
chemists  in  former  days  as  a  substitute  for  the  litmus 
paper  now  in  use. 

The  Latin  name  of  this  plant,  J^aJ>/iamts,  is  derived 
from  the  Greek  ra,  quickly,  and ///ai;io»iai,  to  appear, 
on  account  of  its  rapid  germination.  The  English 
name  is  derived  from  Radix,  a  root. 

H.  G.  Gl.\sspoole. 


NEW    VIOLET   FUNGUS. 

A      CORRESPONDENT     in     the     Gardener's 
Chronicle  says  :  —  The   accompanying    figure 
(fig.  106)  of  ALcidiiim  depaiiperans  \\\S\.  give  to  any 


scattered,  at  first  round,  becoming  elongated,^  but 
when  elongated  parallel  with  the  length  of  the  Viola 
stem.  Spores  yellow.  Locality,  Nantcribba  Hall, 
Forden. 


ON  THE    SEALS    AND    WHALES    OF   THE 
BRITISH  SEAS. 

By  Thomas  Southwell,  F.Z.S., 

Hon.    Secretary   to   the   Norfolk   and   Norwich 
Naturalists'  Society. 

TO  the  inhabitants  of  an  island  home,  the  ter- 
restrial Fauna  of  which  must  of  necessity  be 
very  restricted  and  well  known,  the  study  of  the 
marine  animals  frequenting  its  seas  and  coasts  cannot 
fail  to  be  possessed  of  a  peculiar  charm.     The  un- 


126 


HARD  WICKE  \S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


certainty  and  rareness  of  their  occurrence,  their  ex- 
ceptional foniis,  the  mystery  which  shrouds  their 
origin,  heightened  by  the  romance  which,  lilvc  a 
halo,  surrounds  the  seas  and  high  latitudes  form- 
ing their  chief  homes,  must  always  render  them 
objects  of  the  greatest  interest.  I  purpose  attempting 
to  give  in  the  following  papers  such  an  account  of 
our  Marine  Mammalia  as  will,  I  trust,  assist  the 
uninitiated  to  identify  those  specimens  which  may 
chance  to  come  under  their  notice,  and  if  at  the  same 
time  I  succeed  in  inducing  others  to  take  up  the  study 
of  this  most  interesting  class  of  animals,  I  am  sure  it 
will  be  to  their  benefit  and  advantage. 

The  two  great  groups  of  Marine  Mammals  known 
as  Pinnipedia  and  Cetacea,  although  widely  separated 
from  each  other  zoologically,  naturally  present  them- 
selves to  us  side  by  side  as  inhabiting  the  same 
regions  ;  the  facilities  for  studying  the  one  are  also 
equally  favourable  for  obtaining  a  knowledge  of  the 
other.  It  is  remarkable  that  in  few  groups  of  the 
animal  world,  until  recently,  has  so  much  confusion 
existed  as  in  the  seals  and  whales.  This  has,  of  late 
years,  through  the  labours  of  English  and  Conti- 
nental naturalists,  to  some  extent  been  remedied, 
although  very  much  still  remains  to  be  done,  and  the 
excellent  and  carefully-executed  portion  of  the  second 
edition  of  Bell's  "British  Quadrupeds"  devoted  to 
these  groups  has  brought  together  the  widely-scat- 
tered results  attained  by  scientific  labourers,  and  pre- 
sented them  in  a  sound  but  popular  form.  Adopt- 
ing the  arrangement  and  nomenclature  used  by  Bell 
in  his  second  edition,  I  purpose  to  give  a  short  account 
of  the  seals  and  whales  inhabiting  or  occurring  in  the 
seas,  or  on  the  shores,  surrounding  the  British 
Islands,  with  remarks  on  their  habits  and  distribu- 
tion. 

The  Pinnipedia  (fin-footed)  forms  a  well-marked 
sub-order  of  the  Carnivora,  and  may  be  divided  into 
three  distinct  families — the  Pliocida:,  or  true  Seals  ; 
the  Trichechidcr,  represented  by  one  species  only,  the 
Walrus ;  and  the  Otariidce,  or  Eared  Seals.  The 
PJiocidce  are  found  both  in  the  Northern  and  Southern 
hemispheres,  most  plentifully  in  the  cold  regions,  but 
extending  into  the  temperate  seas  ;  in  the  Northern 
hemisphere  they  are  found  as  far  south  as  40°  N. 
latitude  ;  two  species,  however,  are  said  to  be  sub- 
tropical. The  true  seals  may  readily  be  distinguished 
by  the  absence  of  external  ears  and  the  position  of  the 
posterior  limbs,  which  are  not  adapted  for  progression 
on  land,  but  admirably  suited  for  propelling  the 
animal  through  the  element  in  which  it  obtains  its 
sustenance.  These  limbs  are  directed  backwards, 
and  compressed  laterally,  the  soles  of  the  flippers 
being  turned  inwards,  and  are  only  free  from  the 
ankle-joints.  Like  the  whole  group,  they  are  car- 
nivorous. Five  species  are  believed  to  have  occurred 
on  our  shores.  The  family  of  TricJuxhidce  is  limited 
to  one  genus,  and  that  consisting  of  only  one  species, 
the  Walrus  or  Morse,  which  is  essentially  Arctic  in 


its  habitat,  and  on  our  coasts  can  only  be  regarded  as 
a  very  rare  and  accidental  straggler  ;  in  this  animal 
there  is  no  external  ear,  and  its  limbs  are  adapted  for 
raising  the  body  from  the  ground,  thus  enabling  it  to 
progress  by  their  means  upon  dry  land.  The  third 
family,  0/ariid<r,  consists  of  several  genera  and  species 
(according  to  Grey),  none  of  which  find  a  place  in  our 
fauna;  they  are  distinguished  from  both  Phocida 
and  Trichccus  by  the  presence  of  external  ear- 
conchs,  and  from  the  former  by  the  structure  of 
their  limbs,  which  are  free  and  adapted  for  progres- 
sion upon  land,  where  at  a  certain  season  they  take 
up  their  abode  for  a  considerable  period,  whereas  the 
Walrus  visits  the  shore  only  occasionally,— generally 
towards  the  end  of  summer, — and  the  true  seals  pass 
much  of  their  time  basking  on  the  shore  or  ice,  but 
never  leave  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  water.* 

The  Eared  Seals  inhabit  the  lonely  shores  and 
islands  of  the  South  Seas  and  North  Pacific  Ocean, 
where  they  are  hunted  for  their  skins,  the  beautiful 
"seal-skin"  of  commerce,  so  much  prized  for  its 
lustre  and  softness,  being  the  produce  of  some 
members  of  this  family.  Of  this  family  I  have 
already  given  some  account  (see  Science-Gossip, 
April,  1877,  p.  79). 

The  true  seals,  as  has  already  been  said,  spend 
most  of  their  time  in  the  water,  but  visit  the  shore  or 
ice  to  bask  in  the  sun  or  bring  forth  their  young  ; 
this  takes  place  early  in  the  summer,  and  it  is  seldom 
that  more  than  one  is  produced  at  a  birth.  Some 
species  enter  the  water  almost  immediately  after 
birth,  but  others  are  two  or  three  weeks  before  they 
leave  the  ice,  quitting  it  at  first  very  unwillingly,  but 
soon  becoming  expert  at  swimming  and  diving.  The 
power  of  the  seal  to  remain  beneath  the  water  for 
lengthened  periods  Dr.  Wallace  t  believes  to  be 
acquired  rather  than  structural.  Their  food  consists 
of  Crustacea  and  fish,  with  an  occasional  sea-bird. 
Some  species  are  migratory  in  their  habits.  In  dis- 
position they  are  timid  and  gentle,  and  capable  of 
attachment,  when  in  confinement,  to  those  who  feed 
and  attend  them.  The  Bladder-nose  Seal,  however, 
appears  to  be  an  exception  to  this  rule ;  it  is  said  to 
be  fierce  and  vindictive,  rather  courting  than  fleeing 
from  danger,  and  altogether  a  formidable  opponent. 
Their  great  affection  for  their  young  is  made  use  of 
by  the  sealers  for  their  destruction.  When  the  sea  is 
covered  with  ice,  the  seals,  by  their  constant  visits  to 
the  surface  to  breathe,  always  returning  to  the  same 
spot,  keep  open  spaces  which  are  termed  ' '  blow- 
holes "  ;  as  they  cannot  remain  beneath  the  water 
longer  than  from  five  to  fifteen  minutes,  these  holes 
are  prevented  from  freezing  over,  and  here  the  hunter 

*  Professor  Bell  also  points  out  that  the  fore-feet  are  hardly 
used  by  the  true  seals  as  means  of  propulsion  in  the  water, 
whereas  in  the  eared  seals  they  form  the  chief  organs  used  for 
that  purpose,  and  in  the  walrus  all  four  limljs  are  employed. 

t  Dr.  Robert  Brown  on  the  "Seals  of  Greenland."  Re- 
printed, with  additions,  in  the  "  Manual  and  Instructions  for  the 
Arctic  E.\pedition,  1875,"  from  the  P?-oc.  Zool.  Sec,  i868, 
pp.  405—440. 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE- G OSSIF. 


127 


and  polar  bear  patiently  await  their  visits  and  fre- 
quently effect  their  capture. 

Although  not  found  in  sufficient  numbers  round 
our  own  coast  to  be  of  any  commercial  value,  in  the 
Northern  Seas,  where  they  congregate  in  vast 
numbers  at  the  breeding  season,  the  seal-fishery  is  of 
great  importance  as  a  branch  of  industry,  and  finds 
employment  for  a  large  number  of  vessels  and  men, 
both  from  this  country  and  from  the  ports  of 
Northern  Europe.  In  the  Greenland  sea-fishery  the 
Norwegian  whalers  had  in  1874  sixteen  steamers  and 
nineteen  sailing-ships,  with  an  aggregate  tonnage  of 
9,000  tons,  manned  by  1,600  sailors,  and  in  the  three 
years  ending  1874  they  killed  142,500  young  seals 
and  128,000  old  ones,  notwithstanding  which  the 
balance-sheet  of  the  three  years  showed  only  a  small 
profit  on  the  steamers  and  a  large  loss  on  the  sailing- 
vessels.  (Land and  Water,  K\\g\x?,i26i\i,  i^T$.)  In 
a  newspaper  report  [Daily  Mews,  April  15th,  1874) 
eleven  British  ships,  there  named,  are  said  to  have 
returned  in  1874  with  cargoes  varying  from  9  to 
95  tons  of  oil,  amounting  in  all  to  528  tons,  which, 
at  the  estimate  of  100  seals  to  the  ton  of  oil,  would 
show  the  vast  number  of  52,800  seals  to  have  fallen 
to  the  British  ships  alone  in  that  season,  exclusive 
of  those  wounded  and  lost,  or  otherwise  destroyed. 
Dr.  Wallace  *  estimates  the  annual  produce  of  the 
Greenland  seal-fishery  alone  at  the  sum  of  ^^i  16,000  ; 
the  bulk  of  the  seals  taken  are  the  Harp-seal 
{P/ioca  grcenlandica).  To  show  the  wasteful  manner 
in  which  this  trade  is  at  present  prosecuted,  I  will 
quote  from  a  letter  written  by  an  old  and  experienced 
sealer,  Captain  David  Gray,  of  the  steamship  Eclipse. 
He  says  that  five  ships  in  1873  shot  among  the  old 
seals  for  four  days  until  the  pack  was  utterly  ruined. 
"I  suppose,"  he  continues,  "about  10,000  old  seals 
had  been  taken.  Add  20  per  cent,  for  seals  mortally 
wounded  and  lost,  gives  an  aggregate  of  12,000  old 
ones  ;  add  12,000  young  ones  which  died  of  starva- 
tion [their  parents  being  killed  before  the  young  ones 
wei'e  of  any  value  or  able  to  shift  for  themselves], 
gives  24,000  .  .  .  The  whole  of  the  young  brood 
was  desti-oyed,  and  had  these  seals  been  left  alone  for 
eight  or  ten  days,  I  am  quite  within  the  mark  when 
I  say  that,  instead  of  only  taking  300  tons  of  oil  out 
of  them,  1,500  could  as  easily  have  been  got,  and 
that  without  touching  an  old  one."f  So  great  are 
the  cruelties  perpetrated  by  the  crews  of  the  sealers, 
that  even  the  men  themselves,  hardened  as  they  are, 
sicken  at  the  work,  and  cry  shame  that  the  law  does 
not  put  a  stop  to  them.  Let  anybody  who  cares  to 
know  what  fearful  cruelties  man  is  capable  of  per- 
petrating for  gain,  read  Captain  Gray's  letter.  The 
remedy  for  this  waste  of  life  (of  course  its  cruelties 
can  only  be  modified)  is  perfectly  simple.  Let  the 
ships,  says  Captain  Gray,  be  kept  from  sailing  before 


*  Dr.   Brown's   "Seals  of   Greenland,"   "Arctic   Manual,' 
p.  67. 
t  Land  and  Water,  Mav  9th,  1874. 


the  25th  March,  about  a  month  later  than  they  now 
start,  and  by  the  time  they  reach  the  fishery  and  find 
the  seals  the  young  ones  will  be  sufficiently  grown  to 
be  worth  killing,  and  the  frightful  waste  of  life  which 
now  occurs  from  the  destruction  of  the  old  seals 
before  their  young  are  able  to  shift  for  themselves, 
resulting  in  the  death  from  starvation  of  the  whole 
brood,  will  be  put  a  stop  to.  An  attempt  was  made 
last  season  by  the  countries  interested  in  the  seal 
fishery  to  regulate  the  departure  of  the  vessels  ;  but 
for  some  reason  the  necessary  treaties  were  not  com- 
pleted.* It  is  to  be  hoped  that  legislation  on  the 
subject  will  be  delayed  no  longer,  or  the  time  will 
have  passed  for  restrictions  to  be  of  benefit.  "Sup- 
posing the  sealing  prosecuted  with  the  same  vigour 
as  at  present,"  says  Dr.  Brown,  "  I  have  little  hesi- 
tation in  stating  that  before  thirty  years  shall  have 
passed  away,  the  seal-fishery,  as  a  source  of  com- 
mercial revenue,  will  have  come  to  a  close,  and  the 
progeny  of  the  immense  number  of  seals  now  swim- 
ming about  in  Greenland  waters  will  number  but 
comparatively  few."+ 

The  Walrus  is  rapidly  and  even  more  surely 
becoming  exterminated  than  the  seal ;  it  has  become 
extinct  from  station  after  station,  and  but  for  its  ice- 
loving  habits,  which  render  its  present  strongholds 
always  difficult  and  sometimes  impossible  of  access, 
it  would  now  probably,  like  Steller's  Rhytina,  have 
to  be  spoken  of  in  the  past  tense. 

The  Common  Seal,  par  excellence,  of  the  British 
waters  is  Phoca  vitidina,  Linn.  (fig.  107).  It  is  found 
in  more  or  less  abundance  on  unfrequented  shores  and 
sands  from  the  Orkney  and  Shetland  Islands,  where  it 
most  abounds,  to  Cornwall,  often  ascending  estuaries 
and  rivers  for  a  considerable  distance,  but  never 
quitting  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  water.  It  is 
found,  according  to  Bell,  on  both  sides  the  North 
Atlantic,  and  is  common  in  Spitzbergen,  Greenland, 
and  Davis  Straits  ;  also  Northern  Russia,  Scandi- 
navia, Holland,  and  France,  and  is  said  to  occur 
occasionally  in  the  Mediterranean.  It  figures  largely 
in  the  returns  of  the  Danish  and  Greenland  fishery. 
The  number  killed  annually  of  this  species  and  P. 
hispida  is  estimated  by  Dr.  Brown  at  about  70,000. 
On  our  own  shores  it  is  not  so  frequent  as  formerly  ; 
but  still,  in  suitable  situations,  is  by  no  means  rare. 


*  Since  the  above  was  written  another  season  has  been 
allowed  to  pass,  and  no  steps  have  been  taken  to  regulate  this 
cruel  and  wasteful  trade  ;  the  sealing  crews  are  probably  at  this 
moment  engaged  in  their  bloody  work  of  extermination.  Would 
that  some  of  the  well-meant  but  misdirected  energy  which  has 
been  brought  to  bear  against  so-called  vivisection  could  be 
employed  to  urge  upon  all  the  powers  interested  a  speedy  and 
thorough  reform  in  a  trade  which,  conducted  as  at  present,  is  a 
disgrace  to  all  nations  and  people  concerned  in  it. 

t  Brown,  "  Seals  of  Greenland."  Dr.  Brown's  prediction  is 
already  virtually  fulfilled,  for,  as  this  paper  is  passing  through 
the  press,  I  read  in  the  Daily  News  of  April  loth  an  account  of 
the  success  of  Dundee  vessels  engaged  in  the  Newfoundland 
seal-fishery.  39,000  seals  are  said  to  have  been  captured  by 
two  vessels.  The  paragraph  ends  thus :  "  Previously  all 
Dundee  vessels  were  employed  at  the  Greenland  seal-fishing, 
but  Captain  Adams  has  lor  some  years  been  of  opinion  that 
I  that groundis practically  usedup,  and  hence  his  visit  to  New- 
'    foundland."     The  italics  are  not  in  the  original. 


128 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CTENCE  -  G  OSS  IF, 


In  the  great  estuary  between  the  Norfolk  and  Lin- 
colnshire coasts,    called   the    "  Wash,"    this  species 
frequents  the  sand-banks  left  dry  at  low  water,  and  I 
doubt  not  many  young  ones  are  produced  there  an- 
nually.    At  birth,  which  takes  place  about  the  month 
of  June,  the  young  one  is  covered  with  a  coat  of  white 
woolly  hair,  which  is  shed  at  birth  or  shortly  after, 
and  the  young  one  takes  to  the  water  when  only  a 
few  hours  old.     Mr.  Bartlett  gives  an  account  of  the 
birth  of  a  young  one  (at  the  time  believed  to  be  P. 
hispida)  in  the  Zoological  Gardens,*  and  states  that 
it  completely  divested  itself  of  its  coat  of  fur  and  hair 
in  a  few  minutes,  and  was   swimming   and  diving 
about   within  three  hours  of  its  birth ;    its  mother 
turned  on  her  side  to  let  it  suck,  and  its  voice  was  a 
low,    soft    "ba."      The    first   coat  is  not   shed   so 
quickly  in  some  species,  nor  do  they  all  take  to  the 
water  at  so  early  an  age  ;  as,  for  example,  P.  gfcen- 
andica,  which  is  two  or  three  weeks  before  it  leaves 
the  ice.     The  total  length  of  the  adult  is  about  4  feet, 
and  its  coat  is  generally  of  a  yellowish  colour,  thickly 
spotted  with  black  on  the  back  and  upper  parts,  but 
less  distinctly  so  on  the  sides.     The  under  parts  are  a 
bright  silvery  hue ;  there  is,  however,    considerable 
variety  in  colour  and  in  the  distinctness  of  the  spots. 
This   species   is  readily  domesticated,   and   displays 
great  intelligence,  and  even  affection  for  those  who 
feed  and  tend  it.     Almost  everybody  must  have  been 
struck  with  the  docility  displayed  by  the  seals  which 
are  occasionally  exhibited  as  "  talking  fish."     At  the 
Zoological  Gardens  and  Brighton  Aquarium  they  are 
a  never-failing  source  of  attraction,  and  their  graceful 
movements   in  their  confined  homes   cannot  fail  to 
excite  admiration.      Swimming   silently  and  swiftly 
along,  the  animal  threads  with  the  greatest  accuracy  the 
intricacies  of  its  narrow  pond,  assuming  every  possible 
attitude,  and  turning  over  and  over  in  its  course,  as 
much  at  ease  when  swimming  on  its  back  as  in  its 
usual  position.      When,   tired   with  this  exercise,  it 
comes  to  the  edge  of  its  pond  and  raises  itself  out  of 
the  water,    its  rounded  head,  and  bright,  full  black 
eyes  have  something  almost  human  in  their  expres- 
sion, and  the   fabled  "mermaid"  seems  a  reality; 
but  when  once  it  leaves  the  water,  it  is  clearly  seen 
that  it  is  no  longer  in  the  element  in   which  it  is 
destined   to   live   and    move,     for    its    motions   are 
laboured  and  awkward  in  the  extreme.      It  throws 
itself  along,  first  on  one  side  and  then  on  the  other, 
just  as  a  man  tightly  sown  in  a  sack  would  do,  but, 
notwithstanding   its   clumsiness,    contrives   to  make 
considerable  progress. 

This  species  may  be  distinguished  by  the  arrange- 
ment of  its  molar  teeth,  which  are  placed  obliquely 
along  either  side  of  the  jaw,  not  in  a  line  with  each 
other.  It  has  been  said  that  this  is  only  a  character- 
stic  of  youth,  and  that  the  peculiar  arrangement 
disappears    "before   the   skull  attains  its  maximum 

♦  Proc.  Zool.  Soc,  1868,  p.  402. 


size."  In  the  second  edition  of  Bell's  "  Quadmpeds," 
however,  the  author  expresses  his  belief  that  "it  will 
be  found  a  characteristic  of  all  ages,  although  cer- 
tainly more  marked  in  the  young  than  in  very  old 
animals."  Dr.  Brown  says  that  the  Greenland  Seal 
{P.  grociilandicd)  in  its  second  coat  has  often  been 
mistaken  for  this  species,  but  that  the  former  may 
readily  be  distinguished  by  having  the  second  toe  of 
the  fore-flipper  the  longest.  The  hair  next  the  skin  is 
short  and  woolly,  but  externally  harsh  and  shining, 
admirably  adapted  for  irepelling  the  water  in  which 
the  animal  passes  so  much  of  its  time ;  the  whiskers 
with  which  the  upper  lip  is  furnished,  are  thick, 
flattened  hairs,  laterally  compressed,  presenting  dia- 
mond-shaped inequalities.  The  food  of  this  species 
consists  of  fish  and  Crustacea. 

(  To  be  continued. ) 


FERTILIZATION  OF  CRUCIFERS. 

IT  is  very  easy  to  ride  a  hobby  "too  far,  and, 
perhaps,  in  assuming  every  modification  of  the 
flower  to  have  some  reference  to  insect  fertilization, 
we  run  the  risk  of  doing  so.     The  quotation  made  by 


Fig.  108.  Diagram  of  Cleoine  droseyi/oiia. 

Mr.  F.  H.  Arnold  from  Sir  John  Lubbock  is  un- 
doubtedly correct.  There  are  hardly  any  specific 
special  adaptations  in  the  flowers  of  Cruciferoe.  But 
then  morphologically  and  otherwise  the  Crucifer^e 
are  a  "  very  natural  order,"  as  is  evidenced,  for  in- 
stance, by  their  wholesome,  antiscorbutic  properties 
so  general  amongst  them.  The  relative  length  of  the 
stamens  seems  a  purely  morphological  matter,  ex- 
plicable on  Eichler's  binary  hypothesis.  Eichler 
(Ueberden  Bliithenbau  der  Fumariaceen,  Cruciferen, 
und  einiger  Capparideen,  in  Flora  1865  -  1869), 
derives  the  flowers  from  a  primitive  type,  resembling 
Cleome  droserifolia  and  some  species  of  Lepidium, 
Senebiera,  and  Capsella,  represented  in  fig.  108. 
This  typical  flower  consists  of  two  lower  median 
sepals,  two  upper  lateral  sepals,  four  diagonal  petals 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSIP. 


129 


in  one  whorl,  two  lower  lateral  stamens,  two  upper 
median  stamens,  two  lateral  carpels.  Deviations 
from  this  type  occur  from  the  replacement  of  each  of 


Fig.  109.  Diagram  of  the  Cruciferce. 


Axis 


Fig.  no.  Diagram  of  Polanisia graveoleiis. 


the  upper  (inner)  median  stamens 
by  two  or  more,  through  "col- 
lateral chorisis  " ;  in  the  Cruci- 
ferre  usually  by  two,  in  the  Cleo- 
mere  sometimes  by  more  (figs, 
109  and  no).  This  "  cho- 
risis "  is  a  branching  at  an  early 
stage  of  development,  and  is 
rendered  probable  by  the  genera 
Atelanthera  and  Streptanthus, 
in  the  first  of  which  the  median 
stamens  are  only  split,  each 
half-filament  bearing  a  half- 
anther,  whilst  in  the  latter  the 
forked  filament  bears  two  entire 
In  the  Cmcifer  Megacarpaa 
many  members   of  the  section 


Fig.  III.   Stamen  of 
Streptaiiiluis. 

anthers    (fig.   in). 
polyandra,    and   in 


Cleomese  of  the  allied  order  Capparidacea?,  the 
stamens  are  indefinite  in  number,  a  condition  indi- 
cated in  the  genus  Crambe,  in  which  each  of  the 
four  inner  stamens  puts  out  a  lateral  sterile  branch. 

G.  S.  BOULGER. 


THE    ECONOMICAL    PRODUCTS    OF 

PLANTS. 

No.  IL 

By  J.  T.  Riches. 

CAOUTCHOUC— This  important  produce  is 
obtained  from  many  different  plants,  belonging 
to  totally  different  natural  orders.  However,  for  the 
present  we  shall  only  notice  four  of  the  principal 
plants,  distinguished  for  their  superiority  in  the 
qualitative  and  quantitative  production  of  this  valu- 
able article  of  commerce. 


Fig.  112.  Hei'ea  [SiplioHia)  Brasilienszs  [rG^nc^d).  «,  flower. 

The  plants  are  : — ffdz'ea  {Siphonia)  Brasiliensis, 
Mull.,  Arg.,  and  Castillod  dastica,  Cerv.,  natives  of 
the  western  hemisphere  ;  and  Ficus  elastica,  Rox., 
and  Urceola  dastica,  Rox.,  natives  of  the  eastern 
hemisphere. 

Commencing  with  those  natives  of  the  western 
hemisphere,  H.  Brasiliensis  is  a  native  of  Guiana,  the 
Amazon  and  Rio  Negro  districts  of  Brazil.  The 
tree  has  a  straight  trunk,  about  sixty  feet  in  height. 
Leaves  on  long  footstalks,  ternate ;  leaflets  elliptical, 


I30 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OSS  IP. 


entire,  smooth.    Flowers  monoecious,  racemose,  at  the 
ends  of  the  branches. 

This  tree  produces  the  best  "Para  rabber,"  the 
most  esteemed.  To  obtain  the  juice  incisions  are 
made  in  the  bark,  from  which  the  juice  very  quickly 
and  readily  flows.  It  is  collected  in  earthen  vessels, 
and  poured  upon"  clay-moulds,  often  in  the  fonn  of 
bottles.  After  one  layer  is  poured  upon  the  mould 
it  is  subjected  to  the  dense  smoke  produced  by  burn- 
ing palm-nuts  [Attalea  excclsa  and  Cocos  coronata  nuts) 
until  it  is  sufficiently  blackened  and  hardened,  when 
a  fresh  layer  is  poured  on  and  treated  in  the  same 
way,  until  it  assumes  the  black,  homogeneous  mass 
known  to  us  as  "  indiarubber. "  The  clay  is  removed 
by  washing,  leaving  the  rubber  pure. 

The  bulk  of  Caoutchouc  imported  to  this  countiy 
produced  by  this  plant  is  from  Para  ;  but  that  im- 
ported from  the  Upper  Amazon  and  Rio  Negro  is 
usually  obtained  from  other  species  (//.  Intea  and 
H.  brcvifoUd). 


Fig.  113.   Urccola  elastica  (reduced),   a,  flower — (magnified). 


The  other  plant  belonging  to  the  western  hemi- 
sphere is  Castilloa  elastica,  a  native  of  Central  America. 
It  is  a  large  tree,  growing  to  the  height  of  from  150 
to  200  feet,  with  a  cylindrical,  hispid  stem ;  un- 
branched  until  near  the  top,  giving  the  tree  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  gigantic  umbrella.  Leaves  alternate, 
ovate,  acuminate,  crenate-serrate,  hispid,  accom- 
panied with  large  amplexicaul,  ovate,  acuminate, 
seven-ribbed,  hispid,  stipules. 

The  trees  in  Panama  grow  by  the  side  of  rills  and 
rivulets,  and  in  the  rainy  season  the  stems  ai-e  five  or 
six  feet  under  water.  They  delight  in  a  swampy 
situation.  Those  grown  in  this  country,  it  is  said, 
succeed  best  when  standing  in  water. 

A  good  tree  yields  seventy  pounds  of  rubber  in  a 


season  ;  it  is,  however,  somewhat  inferior  to  that 
produced  by  Hevea,  but  such  a  deficiency  is  more 
than  made  up  by  the  greater  quantity  it  yields. 

The  Indian  Government  has  undertaken  the  task  of 
introducing  these  two  plants  to  India  for  the  purpose 
of  cultivating  them,  and  there  is  a  fair  prospect  of 
the  enterprise  proving  very  successful. 

The  plant  most  known  as  belonging  to  the  eastern 
hemisphere  is  Fictis  elastica,  Rox. ,  native  of  the  East 
Indies,  gi-owing  to  the  size  of  a  moderate-sized  tree. 
Stem,  cylindrical ;  leaves,  alternate,  ovate,  acumi- 
nate, glabrous,  coriaceous,  with  a  prominent  mid-rib. 
Fruit  not  edible. 

This  plant  is  a  universal  favourite  for  ornamenta- 
tion. It  is  largely  cultivated  for  the  production  of 
Caoutchouc ;  but  the  produce  is  not  so  much  esteemed 
as  that  imported  from  the  western  hemisphere. 
Urceola  elastica,  Rox.  (fig.  113)  is  a  native  of  Borneo, 
Sumatra,  and  other  islands  of  the  Indian  Archipelago. 
It  is  a  large,  climbing  shrub,  or  small  tree.  Leaves, 
ovate-oblong,  opposite,  roughish ;  flowers, 
cymose,  terminal,  of  a  greenish  colour  ;  fruit 
double ;  each  portion  about  the  size  of  an 
orange,  containing  numerous  renifonn  seeds 
in  a  copious  pulp,  which  is  much  relished  by 
the  natives  and  British  residents. 

The  juice  is  collected  from  incisions  made 
in  the  bark,  and  forms  one  of  the  kinds  of 
Caoutchouc  known  as  "Juitawan";  but 
owing  to  want  of  care  in  preparation  it  is 
veiy  inferior  in  quality  to  the  South  Ame- 
rican, the  juice  being  simply  coagulated  by 
mixing  with  salt  water,  instead  of  gradually 
being  inspissated  in  layei'S. 

Pepper  {Piperacece). — This  agreeable  and 
valuable  condiment  is  the  produce  of  a  plant 
originally  a  native  of  India  and  the  Indian 
Islands,  but  now  cultivated  in  those  places  ; 
also  Western  Africa  and  the  West  Indies, 
from  which  places  the  supplies  of  this 
country  are  derived. 

The  plant  {Piper  uigniin,  Linn.)  is  a 
climber.  Stem  in  a  wild  state  reaching  to 
twenty  feet  in  height,  but  under  cultivation 
only  allowed  to  grow  from  eight  to  twelve  feet, 
dichotomously  branched  ;  leaves  broadly  ovate, 
alternate,  acuminate,  five  to  seven-nerved,  connected 
by  lesser  transverse  veins,  dark  green  colour  above, 
pale,  glaucous  green  beneath ;  flower,  spikes  opposite 
the  leaves,  three  to  six  inches  long,  slender,  pen- 
dulous, uni-  or  bi-sexual ;  fruit,  distinctly  round, 
about  the  size  of  a  pea,  red  when  ripe. 

The  plants  are  placed  at  the  base  of  trees  as  rough 
as  can  be  found,  to  facilitate  the  climbing  nature  of 
the  plant.  In  three  years  fruit  is  gathered  from  them 
until  they  are  eight  years  old,  when  they  decline. 
The  Black  Pepper  of  shops  is  produced  by  gathering 
the  fruit  before  it  is  quite  ripe  and  drying  it  in  the 
sun,    when   it   loses   its    red    colour,    and   becomes 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  GOSSIP. 


131 


shrivelled  and  black,  and  is  known  as  "pepper- 
corns." The  white  pepper  is  produced  by  allowing 
the  fruit  to  ripen,  and  removing  the  pulp  by  macera- 
tion, or,  as  has  been  done  in  this  country,  removing 
the  dry,  black  skins  of  the  black  pepper  by  mecha- 
nical agency. 

It  has  been  ascertained  that  pepper  contains  a 
peculiar  neutral  principle  called  ' '  piperine, "  an  acrid 
resin,  a  volatile  oil,  gum,  starch,  malic,  and  tartaric 
acids,  <S:c.  That  known  in  commerce  as  "ground 
pepper"  is  usually  adulterated  with  flour,  sago,  &c., 
which  may  easily  be  detected  with  the  microscope. 


that  in  the  fifth  century  Attila  demanded,  among 
other  things,  three  thousand  pounds  of  pepper  in 
ransom  for  the  city  of  Rome. 

The  following  description  of  the  plant  was  given 
by  Sir  John  Mandeville,  who  travelled  in  the  four- 
teenth century,  which  applies  now,  with  some  ex- 
ceptions. He  writes  : — "  The  Peper  growethe  in 
manner  as  doth  a  wyld  vine,  that  is  planted  fast  by 
the  trees  of  the  woodee  for  to  susteynen  it  by,  as  doth 
the  vyne,  and  the  fruyt  thereof  hangethe  in  manere 
as  reysinges  ;  and  the  tree  is  so  thikke  charged  that 
it  semethe  that  it  wolde  bi-eke ;  and  when  it  is  ripe  it 
is  all  grene,  as  it  were  ivy 
berryes ;  and  then  men  kytten 
hem  as  men  doe  the  vynes ;  and 
then  they  putten  it  upon  an 
owven,  and  there  it  waxeth  blak 
and  crisp." 


OUR  COMMON  BRITISH 
FOSSILS,  AND  WHERE 
TO  FIND  THEM. 


Fig.  114.  Pz/£r  fn'^rum  {rsdnc^d). 

Piperine,  when  perfectly  pure,  is  in  colourless 
crystals,  neutral,  and  not  alkaline.  Pelletier  says 
that  when  quite  pure  it  is  tasteless ;  Dr.  Christison, 
however,  states  that  the  very  whitest  crystals  he  ever 
found  were  very  acrid.  The  resin  is  very  acrid  and 
pungent ;  and  it  is  thought  by  some  that  the  proper- 
ties of  pepper  depend  chiefly  upon  the  resin. 

Its  uses  as  a  universal  condiment  are  too  well 
known  to  need  further  remark.  It  is  used  to  a  small 
extent  in  medicine. 

The  uses  of  pepper  were  known  from  the  earliest 
times  of  which  we  have  any  record.  It  is  frequently 
mentioned  by  ancient  Roman  writers,  and  it  is  related 


No.  V. 

By  J.  E.  Taylor,  F.L.S., 
F.G.S.  &c. 

PERHAPS  there  are  no  fossils 
with  which  the  delighted 
young  geologist  so  soon  becomes 
acquainted  as  those  called  £ncri- 
nites.  Especially  is  this  the  case 
if  his  attention  has  fii-st  been  called 
to  rocks  of  the  Palaeozoic  period. 
The  limestones  of  the  Silurian, 
Devonian,  and  Carboniferous 
epochs  are  often  crowded  with 
the  varied  remains  of  the  fossils 
which  half-popularly  and  half- 
scientifically  come  imder  the  de- 
nominational name  of  Encrhiites. 
It  is  tme,  the  student  frequently 
has  hazy,  and  even  erroneous, 
notions  as  to  what  they  really 
are.  But  that  is  then  a  secondary 
consideration.  The  most  impor- 
tant to  him  is  that  they  are  fossils 
— remains  of  creatures  which  actually  lived  millions 
of  years  ago,  in  other  seas  than  any  now  existing, 
and  that  he  has  collected  them  with  his  own  hand. 
The  first  flush  of  geological  investigation  surrounds 
these  common  paloeontological  objects  with  a  halo 
of  interest,  which  is  not  eclipsed  even  by  fuller  and 
more  accurate  knowledge  of  them.  They  are  the 
pegs  on  which  sunny  holiday  rambles  have  been 
hung,— rambles  which,  even  after  the  lapse  of  years, 
cannot  be  remembered  without  their  recalling  the 
perfume  of  the  heather,  the  hum  of  insects,  the  glint 
of  sunshine  on  distant  streams,  and  the  shadows  cast 
by  cumulous  clouds  on  the  brown  slopes  of  sunht  hills  ! 


132 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE -GOSSIP. 


These  Encrinites  are  often  spoken  of  as  Zoophytes, 
— a  term  which,  although  still  in  use  among  natural- 
ists, is  a  bad  one,  inasmuch  as  it  conveys  the  idea  that 
the  creatures  thus  named  partake  of  an  intermediate 
nature  between  animals  and  plants.     At  any  rate,  this 

b 


Fig.  n6.  Individual  of  P^w/rt- 
crinus  expanded  (mag- 
nified). 


Fig.  115.  Larval  stage  of 
Coinatitla  {Pentacrinvs  Eti- 
ropatts),  nat.  size,  adhering 
to  a  Sea-fir. 


beginners  in  palaeontology,  we  regard  it  as  a  duty  first  of 
all  to  disabuse  the  mind  of  errors,  previously  to  placing 
before  it  legitimately-deduced  facts.  We  may  say  at  the 


Fig.  117.  Living  West  Indian  Encrinite  {Pentacrbtus  Capiii-Medtiscf). 


is  the  popular  signification  attached  to  the  word 
zoophyte  by  the  unscientific  public.  Encrinites  have 
been  loosely  grouped  among  Zoophytes,  and  so  have 
been  regarded  with  the  same  degree  of  haziness.  As 
these  papers  are  intended  solely  for  the  use  of  first 


Fig.  n8.  Triassic  'E.ncriml^  {Encrinus 
jiioniti/ormis). 


outset,  therefore,  that  none  of  the  Encrinite  family 
have  any  or  the  slightest  relationship  with  plants  of 
any  kind.  They  are  most  nearly  related  with'com- 
mon  marine  animals,  belonging  to  a  group  having  a 


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


-^Zl 


world-wide   distribution, — the     star-lishes    and    sea- 
urchins. 

At   first   sight   it   seems   strange   to  associate  the 
stemmed  and  jointed  Encrinites  with  animals  having 


renders  it  difficult  for  the  young  geological  student  to 
understand  that  they  are  x\.o\.  Zoophytes,  or  "plant- 
animals."  Then,  again,  the  manner  in  which  the 
feathered  arms  fold  up  against  the  body,  represented 


Fig.   123 


Fig.  125.  Body  of  ditto,  showing 
proboscidal  anus  on  summit, 
and  articulating  places  of  the 
arms. 


Figs.  120   and    121.   Magnified  portions  of  arms  of  Comaiiihi, 

showing  joints  or  ossicles. 
Fig.  122.  One  of  the  rays  of  arms  of  the  Comatnla  (magnified), 

showing  terminal  hook. 
Fig.  123.  Comatnla  (reduced). 


Fig.  124.  Nave  Encrinite  {Actiitocritius 
iriacouiydaciylus). 


the  power  of  locomotion.  Perhaps  it  is  the  fact  that 
Encrinites  were  all  fastened  to  one  spot  by  means  of 
a  jointed  stem  (just  as  a  flower  is  by  its  stalk),  which 


in  illustrations  of  them,  just  as  the  petals  of  a  tulip 
are  folded  up  ;  and  the  flower-like  aspect  resulting 
from  this  mode  of  rest  ;    the  names  attached  to  parts 


134 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE-GOSSIP. 


of  Encrinites,  such  as  "stem,"  "calyx,"  &c., 
— all  these  are  apt  to  still  further  magnify  the 
error  with  which  the  beginner  starts,  of  some- 
how imagining  that  the  Encrinites  have  certain 
relations  to  plants  which  other  marine  animals 
do  not  possess. 

This  is  entirely  wrong  :  an  elephant  or  a  lion 
is  not  more  distinctively  an  animal  than  any 


Fig   126.   Feather-star  {Eurvalc  costosa) 


Fig.  12S.  Body,  or  centre,  of  Euryale  costosa 
(back  view). 


Fig.  129.  Common  Brittle-star  {Ophhtra  granulaia),  showmg  affi- 
Fig.  127.  Eurynlc  fahiii/cra,    sTiowing   at   h,    disk  and  part  of  arm      nities  with  Enryalc  falmifera.     a,  front  view  ;  b,   back  \icw  ;  c 
(front  view)  ;  c,  ditto  (back  view) ;  d,  extremities  of  arms.  and  d,  magnified  portions  of  arms. 


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


135 


between  the  extreme  north  of  Scotland 
and  Iceland,  is  known  to  belong  per- 
haps to  the  same  genus  as  that  found 
fossil  in  our  chalk  strata,  and  called 
Bonrgetocrimis.  Now  this  recently- 
discovered  genus  of  living  Crinoids  has 
been  well  examined,  and  much  light 
has  consequently  been  thrown  upon 
the  structures  of  fossil  Encrinites  of  all 
ages. 

Cuvier,   and   many  naturalists   after 
him,   including  even  Agassiz,  grouped 

the  Encrinites  among  that  hodge-podge 
Fig.  130.  c.  Detailed  plates  which  compose  test  oi  Peiitreviites ;  d.  Upper  surface     /-  ■  i  •     .        .-n       n    i     t->    j-  ^ 

of  P^^Z/rw/^.'^,  showing  ambulacra!  furrows.  of  marme  objects  Still  Called  A«<//rt^.Z. 

This  term  is  about  as  expressive  of  any 
real  facts  or  mutual  relationships  as 
the  names  of  the  orders  and  classes  of 
plants  under  the  Linnean  system  of 
botany  are  to  the  plants  themselves. 
The  order  Radiata  is  a  kind  of  zoo- 
logical "lumber-room,"  into  which  all 
kinds  of  little  or  not  understood  crea- 
tures were  thrust,  if  they  only  had  ra- 
diating organs  around  the  mouth  ;  or 
even  if  the  body  itself  was  of  a  stellar 
or  radiated  shape,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  star-fishes.  The  Radiata  is  no 
longer  used  by  modern  naturalists,  and 
most  of  the  animals,  living  and  extinct, 
formerly  grouped  under  that  name,  have 
been  assigned  to  distinctive  and  clearly- 
understood  groups. 

Thus,  all  the  spiny-skinned  animals 
{Echinodermata)  are  now  included   in 
the  %vi^-V\x\^Ao\xs. Amitdoida,  or  "ring- 
like "  animals.     All   are  internally  re- 
lated,   although   their  external  shapes 
may  be  different,  by  the  possession  of  a 
peculiar  apparatus  called  the  ' '  water- 
vascular  system."     In  the  Sea-urchins 
and   common  Star-fishes   this   highly- 
developed  hydraulic  machinery  is  im- 
mediately applied  to  locomotive   pur- 
poses ;  and  these  creatures  are  thereby 
enabled  to  move  about  over  the  sea- 
floor.       In    the    Crinoids,    the   water- 
vascular   system   is  perhaps  employed 
for  respiratory   purposes.      But,    even 
in  the   shapes   of  the  Echinodermata, 
varied  though  they  be,  we  can   pass  almost  imper- 
ceptibly from  one  type  to  another.     Thus,  we  might 
begin  with  living  Encrinites,  such  as  the  Rhizocriniis 
of  northern  seas,  the  rare  and  beautiful  Feniacrinns 
Capitt-Mcdnscc  of  West    Indian  seas,  nearly  related 
to  the  abundant  species  {P.  hriareits)  found  in  the 
Lias,    and    the    little   Pentacrimis   Enropanis,   occa- 
sionally dredged  up  in  quiet  spots  off  the  southern 
coasts  of  Ireland.     The  latter  has   a  jointed  stem, 
and  is  usually  attached  to  Sertularians.     It  is  now 


Fig.  131.  Pentacriiius  briarens.     a,  common  Liassic  Encrinite  ;  /',  upper 

surface  of  body. 


species  of  Encrinite  is,  no  matter  what  shape  the 
latter  may  assume.  But  the  history  of  Encrinites  has 
been  involved  in  a  good  deal  of  obscurity,  from  which 
it  is  now  emerging.  This  was  partly  due  to  the 
fact  that,  a  few  years  ago,  few  or  no  real  Encrinites 
were  known  to  be  in  existence;  and  none  had 
been  thoroughly  dissected.  The  dredging  expeditions 
of  Carpenter,  Wyville  Thomson,  and  others, Ibrought 
to  light  several  species.  One  called  Rhizoerinus  lo/o- 
tenesis,   found  living  in  the  deeper  parts  of  the  sea, 


136 


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


known  to  be  but  the  laroal  stage  of  the  common 
Feather-star  {Coma tula  rosea),  which  maybe  dredged 
up  in  immense  quantities  in  the  quieter  parts  of  our 
sea-beds,  but  particularly  so  in  the  Irish  Sea,  and 
from  the  bottom  of  the  salt-water  lochs  which  indent 
the  western  coasts  of  Scotland.     The   Comatula  is 


Fig.  132.  Pear  Encrinite  {Aplocyinltcs  rotiiiulus),  from  the  Oolite 
formation  :  3,  Body,  or  pelvis  ;  4,  Vertical  Section  of  ditto,  showing 
Stomach. 


nearly  related  to  another  of  our  native  free-moving 
echinoderms,  the  Eiuyale,  a  genus  which  has  a  very 
large  geographical  distribution.      One  living  species 
of  Euryale,  called  palmifera  (fig.  127),  is  evidently 
nearly  related  to  the    common    Brittle-stars    (Ophi- 
2iridic),  which  are  distinguished  by  not  possessing  a 
water-vascular   system,  and  in  being  covered 
with  rows  of  limy  plates.     The  commonest  of 
our  British  species  is  Ophiiira  gninidata  (fig. 
129).     Thus,    we  may   pass   from  true  living 
Crinoids,  stalked  and  jointed,  to  others  which 
are  Crinoids  only  during  the  earlier  part  of 
their  lives.    Thence  to  free-crawling  Comatulas 
and  Enryales,  and  through  the  latter  to  the 
Brittle-stars.     This  remarkable  relationship  is 
still   further   indicated   by   the   external   limy 
plates  which  cover  or  otherwise  enter  into  the 
structure   of  Crinoid,    Feather-star,    Euryale, 
and  Brittle-star  alike.     A  similar  blending  of 
the  external  shapes  of  allied  forms  may  be  seen 
in  another  large  group  of  Echinodennata — the 
Star-fishes  and  Sea-urchins.     Thus,  beginning 
with  Asterias  (noted  for  the  body  and  arms 
being  covered  with  limy  plates),  we  pass  on  to 
the  Cushion-stars,   where   the  arms   seem  to 
have  been  so  stretched  along  their  sides  that 
they  have  eventually  grown  together.     Thence 
we  pass  by  such  forms  as  Sciitella  and  Spaian- 
giis,  until  we  come  to  the  true  and  abundant 
Sea-urchins  (Echiiiiis),  so  that  the  wide  space 
between  the  Encrinites  and  the  Sea-urchins  is 
bridged   over  by   a   large    number   of    inter- 
mediate generic  forms.      Still  more    remark- 
able  is   the  fact   illustrated  by  Haeckel  and 
others,  that  the  young  of  all  the  Echinoderms 
are  so  alike  that  it  is  most  difficult  to  tell  one 
from  another.      All   commence  life   as    free- 
swimming,  worm-like  larvte. 

The  relationship  between  the  Crinoids  (or 
Encrinites)  and  the  other  leading  members  of 
Echinodermata  is  undoubtedly  bound  still 
more  nearly  together  by  the  intercalence  of 
several  extinct  groups.  Thus  the  two  extinct 
orders,  Cystidea  and  Blastoidea,  were  in  some 
degree  intermediate  between  Encrinites  and 
Sea-urchins  in  a  manner  that  we  have  no 
examples  of  now  living.  The  Tortoise-En- 
crinites  of  the  chalk  (Marsupites),  and  the 
Saccosoma  of  the  Oolite  (most  probably  allied 
to  the  Feather-stars)  are  deejjly  interesting, 
inasmuch  as  they  are  stalkless  fossil  Encrinites. 
We  may  regard  the  body  and  arms  of  an 
Encrinite,  of  any  species,  as  a  kind  of  star- 
fish attached  to  a  jointed  stalk.  The  base  of 
the  Encrinite's  body  is  called  the  "pelvis." 
Hence  the  mouth  is  uppermost,  surrounded 
by  the  feathered  arms— a  position  just  the 
reverse  of  that  which  would  be  assumed  by  a 
star-fish,  for  the  latter  in  crawling  over  the  sea 


HA R D  Wl CKE 'S    S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


137 


floor  would  have  the  mouth  downwards.  Both  mouth 
and  anus  are  usually  present  on  the  upper  surface  of 
the  body  of  a  Crinoid,  the  anus  often  terminating  a 
nipple-shaped  protuberance.  In  the  most  ancient 
Crinoids  there  seems  to  have  been  a  difference  from  the 
structure  seen  in  their  living  representatives.  If  we 
carefully  examine  the  arms  of  recent  Crinoids  we  see 
that  they  are  ftirrcnoed  on  the  upper  surface.  Both 
the  arms  and  the  pimiDs  which  give  to  them  such  a 
feathered  appearance  are  formed  of  an  immense 
number  of  limy  joints.  (In  the  extinct  Pentacrinus 
briarcus,  found  so  abundantly  in  the  Lias  near 
Whitby,  it  is  estimated  that  no  fewer  than  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  joints  are  employed  in  the 
construction  of  the  five  pinnated  arms  of  one  indivi- 
dual !)  All  are  alike  grooved  on  their  upper  surface, 
and  thus  we  have  channels  or  gutters  running  over 
every  part  of  the  upper  surface  of  each  arm.  All  is 
covered  by  a  membrane  or  skin,  which  not  only  keeps 
the  ossicles  together,  but  is  itself  covered  with 
thousands  of  minute  cilia.  The  latter  are  movable, 
and  are,  as  most  of  our  readers  are  aware,  a  kind  of 
motive  machinery  much  in  use  among  all  kinds  of  the 
lower  forms  of  aquatic  life.  The  consequence  of  the 
general  action  of  these  vibratile  cilia  over  the  entire 
upper  surface  of  the  arms  of  the  Encrinites  is  that 
currents  of  water  bearing  food  are  constantly  being 
deflected  down  the  bases  of  the  five  arms.  The  main 
grooves  of  these  are  continued  over  the  surface  of  the 
body  of  the  Encrinite,  and  all  converge  toward  the 
mouth,  which  is  thus  supplied  with  fresh  food  and 
fresh  water. 

In  the  Palaeozoic  Crinoids  the  arms  are  grooved 
above,  but  the  grooves  terminate  at  their  bases,  and 
do  not  continue  over  the  surface  of  the  body,  as  above 
described.  Instead  of  this  they  open  into  tunnels 
or  channels,  which  are  excavated,  so  to  speak,  in 
the  under-surface  of  the  limy  plates,  and  thus  reach 
the  mouth  of  the  Encrinite  beneath  the  plates,  instead 
of  from  above.  The  arms  of  Encrinites  are  not 
hollow,  as  is  sometimes  supposed,  but  formed  of  solid 
joints  or  ossicles,  as  they  are  scientifically  called.  The 
joints  of  the  stem,  on  the  contrary,  have  a  cavity 
running  down  their  middle,  of  various  shapes,  some- 
times round,  and  frequently  petal-shaped  into  five 
radiating  arms.  This  continued  hollow  was  formerly 
believed  to  be  a  continuation  of  the  alimentary  canal, 
but  the  notion  is  incorrect.  The  joints  of  the  stems  of 
all  species  of  Encrinites  are  either  grooved  or  toothed 
along  their  margins.  In  this  way  they  were  firmly 
interlocked,  and  yet  were  so  capable  of  free  move- 
ment that  there  is  no  doubt  the  whole  Encrinital 
structure  was  swayed  about  by  the  tides  and  currents  as 
freely  as  any  of  our  larger  rooted  sea- weeds.  From 
what  we  have  said  as  to  the  pinnated  arms  of 
Crinoids,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  old  notion  of  their 
being  so  many  nets  in  which  to  catch  organic  waifs 
and  strays,  is  a  good  way  from  the  truth.  In  com- 
parison  with   the  size  pi  the   entire   structure,    the 


stomach  is  wonderfully  small,  and  enclosed  in  the 
large  and  densely-plated  body.  Some  of  the  carboni- 
ferous Encrinites  must  have  had  stems  of  enormous 
length,  judging  from  the  strength  and  diameter  of  the 
joints.  In  the  Yoredale  shales  of  the  valleys  running 
from  Hebden  Bridge  to  Halifax,  in  Yorkshire,  we  have 
disinterred  and  exposed  connected  stems  of  Encrinites 
ten  feet  in  length,  the  ossicles  of  which  were  not  a  fourth 
part  the  diameter  of  those  to  be  abundantly  met  with 
in  the  Carboniferous  limestones  of  Derbyshire. 

In  our  next  article  we  propose  describing  the  chief 

generic   types,    and  the  localities  where  they  most 

abound  in  the  fossil  state. 

( To  be  continued. ) 


MICROSCOPY. 

MiCROSPECTROSCOPES. — The  proposition  I  should 
like  to  make  through  the  medium  of  your  journal  is 
one  which  I  at  least,  though  apparently  alone,  would 
most  willingly  be  always  glad  to  do  something  for.  I 
would  speak  to  those  who  have  a  microspectroscope. 
Is  it  not  in  many  cases  purchased  to  be  pul  into  one's 
case  that  people  shall  say  ' '  What  a  perfect  set  of 
instruments  !"  or  ai-e  its  revelations  too  abstruse  ? 
Surely  this  cannot  be,  for  those  things  which  have  the 
character  of  being  abstruse  seem  to  be  most  sought 
after.  The  fact  is,  that  its  use  is  not  even  realized  as 
an  addition  to  our  microscopes.  I  have  been  a 
student  at  it  now  for  over  three  years,  and  my 
experience  tells  me  that  we  owe  to  Mr.  H.  C.  Sorby 
a  great  deal,  and  should  show  forth  those  feelings  of 
gratitude  by  forming  in  some  way  a  community  of 
combined  workers  who  could  compare  measurements 
and  so  perhaps  bring  forth  some  good  fruit.  I  would 
therefore  propose  that  some  of  your  readers  who  have 
worked  at  this  instrument  should  develope  (through 
your  journal)  this  research  more  generally.  An 
exchange,  or  rather  a  post-box,  to  contain  tubes,  might 
be  kept  in  circulation,  and  worked  on  the  same  rules 
as  one  we  all  know  of,  which  sends  slides  for  the 
microscope.  As  to  the  supposed  difficulty  of 
measurement,  that  is  overcome:  the  correct  one  is,  of 
course,  wave-lengths,  and  any  measurements  expressed 
should  be  always  quoted  by  that  standard,  by  which 
alone  it  appears  possible  to  establish  formuke.  —  TJios. 
Palmer. 

Microscopical  Societies. — TheQuekett  Micro- 
scopical Society  held  their  annual  soiree  in  University 
College  on  April  13th.  The  tables  were  as  usual 
crowded  with  microscopes,  and  most  of  the  new 
microscopical  and  mechanical  appliances  to  these  in- 
struments were  to  be  seen  in  working  order.  The 
list  of  objects  exhibited  was  both  large  and  various. 
The  soiree  was  a  complete  success  in  every  way,  and 
it  is  gratifying  to  find  the  efforts  of  the  committee  and 
secretary  so  highly  appreciated.     The  Medical  Micro- 


138 


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


scopical  Society  held  their  annual  meeting  in  their  new 
rooms,  6,  Pall-Mall-piace,  W.,  in  January,  under  the 
presidency  of  Dr.  Payne.  The  secretary's  report 
showed  that  twelve  papers  on  important  subjects  had 
been  read  during  the  year,  of  which  four  were 
illustrative  of  new  forms  of  instraments  applied  to 
medical  histology.  The  number  of  members  of  this 
society  in  December  last  was  129.  Dr.  Payne  de- 
livered an  address  on  the  above  occasion,  chiefly  on 
the  study  of  histology,  and  in  the  course  of  his 
remarks  he  reviewed  the  scope  and  bearing  of  most 
of  the  important  papers  which  had  been  read. 

The  Fresh-water  Sponge. — At  a  recent  meet- 
ing of  the  East  Kent  Natural  History  Society,  Mr. 
Fullagar  (who  has  been  successful  in  getting  it  to  live 
and  grow  in  confinement)  again  exhibited  the  fresh- 
water sponge    [Spongia  fluviatilis),    illustrated    by 
diagrams,  showing  (since  the  last  meeting,  December 
6th)  the  production  by  growth  of  the  pellucid,  semi- 
Iransparent,    gelatinoid    substance    termed    sarcode, 
which  had  extended  to  some  distance  on  the  glass  cell 
in  which  it  was  placed  ;  in  the  new  sarcode  the  pores 
through  which  the  current  of  water  enters  the  sponge 
were  obsei-vable,  fonning  the  in-current,  bearing  with 
it  the  nutriment  on  which  the  sponge  feeds.     In  the 
newly-formed  sarcode  was  to  be  seen  a  number  of 
new  spicules  ;  they  were  pointed  at  each  end,  and 
their  middle  or  centre  was  bulged  out,  from  which  the 
growth  extended  to  both  terminal  points  ;  the  mature 
spicules  are  a  little  bent  or  curved,  and  pointed  at  both 
ends,  but  not  bulged  out  in  the  middle.     Some  good 
specimens  of  the  mature  spicules  have  been  cleaned 
and  mounted  by  Mr.   Hammond.      They  are  com- 
posed of  the  pure  silex,  as  transparent  as  glass.     The 
peculiar  spicules  of  the  ovaria  were  beautifully  shown 
under  the  microscope.     In  a  specimen  Mr.  Fullagar 
had  successfully  mounted  in  damar,  by  first  drying  the 
ovaria  and  then  in  a  drop  of  damar  with  a  thin  glass 
cover  gently  pressed  down,  the  granular  contents  of 
the  ovaria  were  pressed  out,  and  the  beautiful  stellated 
fonn  of  the  spicule  was  seen  standing  out  in  form  of 
so  many  miniature  palm-trees  :  the  real  form  of  them 
is  stellated  at  the  two  ends,  connected  together  by  a 
shaft,  similar  to  two  wheels  on  an  axle.     This  form 
of  spicule  in  the  ovaria  performs  the  double  office  of 
tension  and  defence. 

On  Cleaning  Microscopic  Slides. — For  re- 
moving Canada  balsam  from  spoilt  or  useless  slides, 
turpentine  is,  I  believe,  in  general  use.  If  the  slides 
be  immersed  for  about  two  minutes  in  strong  sul- 
phuric acid,  heated  to  about  100"  Fahr.,  the  balsam 
will  be  decomposed  into  a  filmy  substance,  easily  got 
rid  of  by  washing  with  cold  water.  If  the  acid  is 
cold,  the  time  will  be  somewhat  longer.  Circles  of 
asphalt  and  rubber,  the  deposit  of  carbon  from  a 
lamp,  which  is  sometimes  very  difficult  to  remove  by 
other  means,  turpentine  from  beakers,  bottles,  &c., 
may  be  done  in  the  same  manner.  —  ]V.  M.  Patcrson. 


Mounting   in   Damar. — As  the  writer  of  the 
article  on   damar,  which  has  given   rise  to   several 
remarks  and  suggestions  as  to  using  that  fluid  aright 
(see  "  Damar  as  a  Mounting  Medium,"  S.  G.   1876, 
p.   254),    I   should   like  just   to   mention   that   Mr. 
E.  B.  L.  Brayley  has  very  kindly  sent  me   two   or 
three   specimens  of  slides   mounted  in   the   manner 
described   by  him   in   the   April   number.      I   have 
thoroughly  examined  and  tested  these  slides,  and  must 
say  that,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  they  are  of  a  very  supe- 
rior character ;  for  not  only  are  the  slides  free  from 
air,  but  the  damar  is  thoroughly  hard.     I  have  not 
had  time  to  try  Mr.  Brayley's  method  myself  yet,  as 
requested  by  that  gentleman,  but  I  feel  sure  that  when 
I  do  so  my  opinion  will  be  the  same  as  above.     Cor- 
respondents complain   of  there  being  no   varnishes 
sufficiently  tough  to  use  with  this  medium ;  but  is  this 
not  more  the  fault  of  the  mounting  and  moistness  of 
the  damar  than  of  the  varnish  ?     If  this   is  not  the 
case,  how  is  it  that,  though  I  have  never  used  any  but 
asphalt  varnish,  I  find  all  my  slides  perfectly  dry  and 
clean,   without   the   slightest  appearance  of  varnish 
having  run  in  ?     To  say  that  I  have  never  had  such  a 
mishap  happen  to  my  slides  would  be  simply  stating 
what  is  untrue ;  but  then,  when  the  varnish  has  run  in, 
it  has  either  been  from  the  fact  that  the  damar  was 
not  sufficiently  dry,  or  the  varnish  too  liquid.     As  for 
air-bubbles,  I  never  find  any  trouble  with  them  ;  and 
I  think  that,  did  others  but  follow  my  plan  (see  my 
paper,  p.  254,  1876),  they  also  would  have  less  reason 
to  complain.     Doubtless  the  thorough  hardening  of 
the  damar,  as  achieved  by  Mr.  Brayley,  will  do  more 
for  making  damar  a  popular   mounting  medium  than 
anything  one  could  write  or   say  in   connection  with 
its   other  valuable   qualities.  —  Charles   F.    W.    T. 

IVilliants,  Redland. 


ZOOLOGY. 

Provincial  Societies. — We  have  received  the 
reports  of  meetings  of  various  provincial  natural 
history  societies,  all  of  which  indicate  the  spread  of 
the  spirit  of  scientific  inquiry.  The  "Botany  of 
Northamptonshire  "  has  been  the  subject  of  an  able 
and  exhaustive  paper  by  a  well-known  correspondent 
to  our  columns,  Mr.  G.  C.  Druce.  The  report  of 
the  Chichester  and  West  Sussex  Natural  History 
and  Microscopical  Society  has  just  been  issued  for 
1876-7,  and  shows  that  thirteen  papers  have  been 
read  during  the  year  on  various  geological,  botanical, 
and  zoological  subjects  ;  in  addition  to  two  very  suc- 
cessful summer  excursions,  and  one  annual  exhibition 
held  during  two  days  in  September.  The  East  Kent 
Natural  History  is  strong  in  well-known  names,  and 
we  think  it  is  a  pity  its  Transactions  are  not  published 
in  a  fuller  manner.  Mr.  James  Fullagar  has  been 
exhibiting  and  making  additional  discoveries  in  the 


HA  R  D  WI CKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


139 


economy  of  the  fresh-water  sponge.  The  monthly 
meetings  of  this  [society  are  marked  by  a  spirit  of 
thorough  and  earnest  scientific  inquiry.  The 
"Society  of  Inquiry,"  which  holds  its  meetings  in 
the  Museum  at  Thornhill,  Dumfriesshire,  is  not  so 
ambitious  in  its  aims.  It  is  a  quiet  but  commendable 
band,  chiefly  of  "Inquirers"  into  natural  science, 
who  are  pursuing  their  studies  under  the  direction  of 
Dr.  Grierson,  Dr.  Sharp,  and  other  naturalists,  and 
we  wish  them  every  success.  The  Goole  Natural 
Histoiy  have  several  energetic  members,  notable 
among  whom  is  Dr.  Franklin  Parsons,  a  well-known 
botanist  and  naturalist,  whose  thoughtful  and  well- 
written  paper  recently  read  before  the  Goole  Society, 
on  the  "  Coverings  of  Animals,"  we  hope  before  long 
to  publish.  The  Staffordshire  Field  Naturalists' 
Club  have  already  commenced  their  well-attended 
summer  excursions.  These  cannot  fail  to  make  such 
societies  popular  and  attractive  ;  and  we  commend 
them,  if  only  sufficient  care  is  taken  to  preserve, 
instead  of  destroying,  the  rarer  animals  and  plants 
which  may  form  the  chief  scientific  attractions  of  such 
outings. 

Metropolitan  Societies. — The  West  London 
Scientific  Association  and  Field  Club  hold  their 
meetings  at  the  rooms,  Horbury  Schools,  Notting- 
hill  Gate.  The  president  is  the  Rev.  Professor 
Henslow,  M.A.,  F.L.S.  ;  and  thehon.  secretary,  Mr. 
Henry  Walkei",  F.G.S.  Three  excursions,  on  Satur- 
day and  Tuesday  afternoons,  have  already  been  held 
up  to  the  end  of  May,  to  different  places  of  geological 
and  botanical  interest ;  and  three  lectures  and  papers 
on  geology  and  zoology  have  been  given  by  Dr. 
Foulerton,  Mr.  F.  P.  Pascoe,  F.L.S. ,  and  Miss  C. 
Donagan. The  West  London  Entomological  So- 
ciety (established  1868),  president,  Mr.  E.  G.  Meek. 
Meetings  are  held  every  Friday  evening,  between 
8.30  and  II  p.m.,  in  the  club-room  of  the  St. 
Mark's  Institute,  George-street,  Oxford-street,  W. 
(near  Grosvenor-square).  The  object  of  the  society 
is  for  the  promotion  and  investigation  of  entomo- 
logical science  by  reading  of  papers  and  members 
exhibiting  their  captures.  The  library  contains 
many  valuable  works  on  Lepidoptera,  Coleoptera, 
and  Botany,  which  are  lent  to  the  members ;  and  the 
library  is  increased  as  fast  as  the  funds  will  permit. 
During  the  past  three  years  the  society  has  held  three 
exhibitions,  which  have  been  very  largely  attended. 
The  number  of  members  on  the  books  is  93.  The 
subscription  is  4s.  \A.  per  annum,  with  an  entrance- 
fee  of  IS.  All  information  and  rules  can  be  obtained 
from  E.  W.  Timms,  secretary,  at  the  address  of  the 
society. 

The  Borough  of  Hackney  Microscopical 
AND  Natural  History  Society. — This  society  was 
established  March  20th,  1877.  There  are  now  about 
fifty  members.  The  Meetings  are  held  the  first  and 
third  Tuesday  of  every  month,   at  194,   Mare-street, 


Hackney ;  Mr,  C.  Wilmott,  hon.  secretary.  The 
Society  invite  the  support  of  all  microscopical  students 
and  lovers  of  nature. 

Birds'  Eggs.— We  are  glad  to  see  that  the  Wool- 
hope  Club  has  abolished  its  practice  of  giving  a 
reward  for  the  best  collection  of  Birds'  Eggs.  We 
should  like  to  see  every  natural  history  society  in  the 
kingdom  following  the  example,  and  thus  declining 
to  keep  company  with  nest-robbers.  Indeed,  we  hold 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  all  our  natural  history  societies 
to  do  all  they  can  to  carry  out  the  Wild  Birds 
Protection  Act  as  far  as  possible,  and  by  their 
influence  thus  to  make  a  very  poor  and  discreditable 
piece  of  legislation  as  thoroughly  effective  for  pre- 
servative purposes  as  it  can  be.  We  should  like  to 
hear  what  our  ornithological  readers  have  to  say  on 
this  important  subject. 

The  Folk  Lore  of  Natural  History. — We 
have  received  a  copy  of  a  lecture  on  this  extensive 
subject,  given  before  the  Warrington  Literary  and 
Philosophical  Society,  by  an  old  correspondent  of 
Science-Gossip,  Mr.  Robert  Holland,  a  naturalist 
well  capable  of  dealing  with  this  suggestive  and 
interesting  question. 

"The  Sun-Birds."— Capt.  Shelley,  F.Z.S.,  has 
completed  his  Monogi-aph  of  the  Cinny rider,  or 
family  of  Sun- Birds,  and  it  is  now  being  issued  in 
one-guinea  parts.  The  plates,  of  which  there  are 
ten  in  each  part,  are  magnificently  got  up.  We  have 
never  before  seen  the  metallic  tints  or  shades  of  colour 
so  well  represented,  and  those  who  are  acquainted 
with  the  Sun-Birds  know  how  important  it  is  that 
any  coloured  delineation  of  them  shall  express  it. 

The  Centrine  Shark. — Mr.  Thomas  Cornish 
gives  an  account  in  the  Zoologist  of  a  specimen  of  the 
Centrine  Shark  [Sqtcalus  centrina)  taken  in  twenty- 
six  fathoms  of  water  near  the  Wolf  Lighthouse,  off 
the  Cornish  coast.  This,  he  believes,  is  the  first 
specimen  taken  in  English  seas.  It  is  not  uncommon 
in  the  Mediterranean,  but  has  not  before  been  noted 
as  occurring  farther  north  than  Lisbon.  . 

Coloured  Butterflies  and  Coloured 
Flowers. — Mr.  A,  S.  Packard,  jun.,  calls  attention 
in  the  American  A^'atiiralist  to  some  interesting 
observations  of  his  own.  He  noticed  in  a  field  where 
a  low  white  Aster  and  a  common  Golden-rod 
(Solidago)  were  abundant,  twelve  European  Cabbage 
butterflies  {Pieris' rapa)  fly  directly  to  the  less  con- 
spicuous but  white  Aster,  and  that  they  invariably 
passed  by  the  yellow  flowers  of  the  Golden-rod.  On 
the  following  day  they  visited  some  of  the  Golden- 
rods,  but  evidently  had  a  partiality  for  the  white 
Asters.  On  the  other  hand,  the  yellow  sulphur 
butterfly  {Colias  philedoce)  visited  the  flowers  of  the 
Golden-rod  much  oftener  than  those  of  the  white 
Asters. 


J40 


HARD  Wl  CKE  'S    S  CIENCE  ■  G  0  SSI  P. 


Aquaria. — We  understand  that  Mr.  W.  A.  Lloyd 
is  collecting  material  for  a  work  on  Aquaria  he  is 
engaged  upon,  in  which  he  will  narrate  his  varied 
experiences.  Such  a  work,  from  Mr.  Lloyd's  hands, 
cannot  fail  to  be  a  valuable  contribution  to  practical 
zoology. 


BOTANY. 

CORNUS    MASCULUS   (CORNELIAN    CiIERRY).— In 

Science-Gossip  for  the  month  of  April,  page  90, 
I  drew  attention  to  this  shrub,  growing  in  the  Pavilion 
Garden  at  Brighton,  which  was  in  full  flower  at  the 
beginning  of  Februaiy.  The  flowers  were  all 
perfect  ;  but  as  there  is  now  (April  28th)  no  appear- 
ance of  the  young  fruit,  and  I  cannot  learn  that  the 
shrub  has  ever  been  known  to  bear  any,  I  wrote  to 
Mr.  Baker,  of  Kevv  Gardens,  to  know  if  the  shrub 
bore  fruit  there,  and  if  he  could  account  for  the  failure 
of  it  at  Brighton.  In  answer,  he  says  "  Cornus  mas. 
fruits  sometimes  near  London,  but  I  do  not  think  the 
fruit  is  common  in  England."  It  M-ould  seem,  there- 
fore, that  the  climate  of  England,  with  some  few 
exceptional  localities,  is  too  severe  at  so  early  a  season 
to  allow  the  flowers  to  fertilize.  In  France  and 
Switzerland  it  fruits,  I  believe,  freely.  I  have  met 
with  it  in  fruitat Lausanne,  in  Switzerland.  —  T.B.  W., 
Brighton. 

Cornus  masculus.  —  Your  correspondent, 
"T.  B.  W.,"  describes  this  valuable  but  much- 
neglected  old  plant  "to  the  life,"  in  one  of  your 
recent  issues.  We  have  here  at  Valentines,  an  old 
seat  of  Archbishop  Tillotson's,  several  aged  trees  of 
the  same.  It  might  aptly  have  been  named  nttdijlora, 
as  the  mass  of  yellow  blossoms  come  long  before  any 
sign  of  foliage,  and  afford  a  pleasing  floral  feature 
C[uite  devoid  of  accompaniment  at  a  veiy  early  season- 
I  have  seen  them  in  bloom,  "full  out,"  late  in 
February.  The  cornelian  cherry  it  bears  in  Britain 
is  very  small  and  acrid,  and  such  as  few  children,  I 
think,  would  care  to  eat.  If  my  memory  is  to  be 
depended  upon,  the  wood  is  superior  for  gunpowder 
manufacture  ;  whilst  the  cherry  abroad,  in  its  native 
home  or  habitat,  is  as  large  as  the  fruit  of  the  olive. 
If  this  be  so,  what  a  gorgeous  fruiting  i^lant  !  espe- 
cially when  we  note  the  contrast  between  the  small 
leaves  and  fruits  of  such  colour  and  proportions.  The 
fruit  is  more  or  less  flat-sided.  The  old  trees  have 
bloomed  indifferently  this  season.  Corinis,  from  wood 
as  hard  as  horn.  Some  species  are  highly  valued 
in  America  for  their  tonic  properties. —  JV.  EarJcy. 

Death  of  Celebrated  Botanists. — Such  of 
the  botanical  readers  of  Science-Gossip  as  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  pursuing  their  vocation  at  Genoa  will 
be  sorry  to  hear  of  the  recent  death  of  Mr.  De 
Notaris,  who  was  so  many  years  Professor  of  Botany 
at  that  University,  and  subsequently,  on  the  changes 
in  Italy,  transferred  to  the  University  of  Rome,  where 


he  was  also  Professor.  All  who  were  fortunate 
enough,  as  I  was,  to  make  his  acquaintance,  will  bear 
testimony  to  his  courtesy  and  readiness  to  render  all 
the  assistance  in  his  power.  He  was  a  great  au- 
thority on  cryptogamy  as  well  as  botany  in  general. 
His  most  extensive  production  was  his  "Bryologia 

Italiana,"  a  folio  volume  of  781  pages. Another 

botanist  (an  Englishman),  I  regret  to  say,  died  a 
shoil  time  back,  Mr.  Giles  Munby,  of  York,  who  for 
a  great  many  years  was  residing  in  Algeria,  and  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  flora  of  that  country,  of  which 
he  published  a  catalogue,  taking  as  his  foundation 
the  Flora  Atlaiitica  of  Defontaine,  to  which  he  added 
many  hundred  plants.  He  M'ill  also  be  remembered 
as  having  brought  conspicuously  before  the  world  the 
"  Manna  of  the  Desert"  {Lecanora  esciilenta),  which 
is  so  abundant  in  the  desert  beyond  the  Atlas  moun- 
tains in  Algiers,  and  fed  the  French  army  for  three 
days.  (See  Science-Gossip,  viii.  60,  186;  xi.  146.) 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  his  acquaintance  in  the  province 
of  Oran  for  four  seasons,  when  he  gave  me  great 
assistance  in  collecting  and  forming  a  herbarium  of 
the  extensive  and  interesting  flora  of  that  country. — 
Thomas  Birch  Wolfe. 

Rare  Plants. — Mr.  Thomas  Rogers,  the  hon. 
sec.  of  the  Manchester  Botanists'  Association,  sends 
us  a  copy  of  a  paper  recently  read  by  him  before  the 
above  society,  entitled,  "A  Botanical  Excursion  to 
the  Grampian  Mountains."  It  is  a  well-written  and 
agreeable  account  of  the  peculiar  and  attractive  flora 
of  this  region.  The  paper  is  published  by  Mr.  James 
Nield,  Oldham. 

Glaucium  luteum. — With  reference  to  the 
article  in  January's  number,  entitled  "An  Early 
Summer  Tour  in  Kent,"  the  term  corniciilatiini, 
as  applied  therein  to  Glaucium  hiteiim,  is  an  obsolete 
one,  and  more  a  synonym  of  the  garden  species,  I 
am  told,  than  of  the  common  seaside  sort. — E.  de  C. 

Vegetable  (Parthenogenesis. — The  following 
looks  veiy  much  like  the  phenomenon  known  among 
zoologists  as  Parthenogenesis.  In  an  Alpine  dioecious 
flowering  plant,  Antennaria  Alpina,  a  native  of  the 
high  Alps  and  the  Arctic  regions,  the  male  plant  is 
extremely  scarce.  Professor  Kerner  has  never  seen 
the  male  plant,  and  he  relates  how,  in  1874,  he  cul- 
tivated the  female  plant  with  very  great  care  in  the 
Botanical  Gardens  at  Innspruck,  excluding  all  pos- 
sibility of  foreign  impregnation  either  by  this  or  any 
allied  species.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  plants  pro- 
duced a  number  of  seeds.  These  were  sown  the 
following  spring,  and  six  out  of  ten  germinated,  two 
only  reaching  maturity,  but  showing  no  signs  of 
hybridisation. 

Sexual  Modifications  of  the  Glumes  of 
Grasses. — M.  Fournier  gives  the  following  as  the 
result  of  his  examination  of  Mexican  grasses.  Among 
those  with  sexes  separated,  if  the  sexes  are  borne  on 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OS  SIP. 


141 


different  plants,  the  female  flowers  differ  very  little, 
if  at' all,  as  regards  the  situation  or  form  of  the  floral 
envelopes.  But  when  the  plant  is  monoecious,  the 
glumes  of  the  two  sexes  are  widely  different.  These 
differences  are  most  marked  in  certain  genera  of 
Chloridccs,  normally  dioecious,  and  accidentally 
monoecious.  The  grass  named  BucJiloe  dactyloides  is 
a  curious  example  in  point.  Besides  this  is  now 
placed  Opiza  stolonifcra,  of  which  Presle  had  only  seen 
the  female  plant.  Although  the  flowers  of  these  plants 
differ  vei-y  widely,  their  male  plants  resemble  each 
other  so  much  that  they  have  been  grouped  in  the  same 
genus.  Castiostega  humilis  is  the  male  form  oiBuchVde, 
and  Castiostega  anoinala  the  male  form  of  Opiza. 

Insects  and  Flowers. — In  a  lecture  recently 
delivered  by  Sir  John  Lubbock  on  ' '  Certain  Relations 
between  Insects  and  Plants,"  Sir  John  shows  the 
probable  use  to  plants  of  hairs,  &c.,  on  stems  and 
flower-stalks.  Although  flowers  tempt  flying  insects, 
it  is  not  to  the  advantage  of  flowers  that  ants,  which 
are  decidedly  nectar-loving  insects,  shall  rob  the  floral 
nectaries  of  their  contents.  Ants  could  not  produce 
crossing  by  crawling  over  flowers  ;  and  Sir  John 
Lubbock  suggests  that  hairs  covering  flower-stalks 
are  usually  bent  with  the  points  downwards,  and  act 
as  a  chevaux  defrisc,  hindering  ants  and  other  useless 
insects  from  crawling  up.  Thorns  and  prickles  are 
equally  protective  against  snails  and  slugs.  When 
the  flower-stalks  are  smooth,  the  flower-head  is  often 
covered  with  teeth  or  hairs,  as  in  the  cornflower 
(Centaurea  cyamts).  When  Polygonittm  amphibium 
grows  on  land,  the  stems  are  covered  with  hairs, 
which  secrete  sticky  matter  to  deter  crawling  insects 
from  reaching  the  honey-laden  flowers.  But  when 
the  same  plant  grows  in  water  the  stem  is  smooth, 
inasmuch  as  there  is  no  fear  of  creeping  insects  in  the 
water. 

Yew-poisoning. — We  often  hear  of  cases  of 
cattle  dying  from  partaking  of  the  leaves  of  the  Yew. 
M.  Mavine  has  found  a  poisonous  alkaloid  in  the 
leaves  and  seeds  of  the  common  Yew  ( Taxus  baccata), 
which  is  named  Taxiiic.  It  is  nitrogenous,  and 
evolves  ammonia  when  heated  with  freshly-ignited 
soda-lime.  Taxine  is  present  in  larger  quantities  in 
the  leaves  of  the  Yew  than  in  the  seeds. 

The  Alkaloids  of  the  Greater  Celandine 
(Chelidonium  viajus).  From  chemical  experiments 
which  have  been  made  on  this  plant  by  E.  Masing 
the  following  results  have  been  arrived  at :  There  is  a 
diminution  in  the  total  amount  of  alkaloids  before 
flowering,  and  a  marked  increase  a  few  days  after- 
wards. The  young  plant  gathered  in  autumn  shows 
a  regular  increase  of  alkaloids.  The  weather  is  an 
important  matter  in  the  contents  of  alkaloids.  In 
rainy  weather  the  consumption  is  greater  than  the 
production,  whilst  in  sunny  weather  consumption  and 
production  are  nearly  in  equilibrium.  These  changes 
are  more  noticeable  in  the  root  than  in  the  leaf.      A 


good  soil  influences  the  formation  of  alkaloids  ;  and 
plants  grown  in  gardens  were  found  to  have  double 
the  amount  of  alkaloids  found  in  wild  plants. 


GEOLOGY. 

How  to  clean  Fossil  Polyzoa,  etc. — All  col- 
lectors of  carboniferous  polyzoa  have  frequent  occasion 
to  notice  that  in  the  case  of  large  handsome  specimens 
of  FeiicsteUiS  and  allied  forms  the  polypiferous  face  is 
unfortunately  seldom  that  which  is  exposed.  This 
circumstance  of  course  considerably  lessens  the  value 
of  the  fossils,  and  those  among  the  readers  of 
Science-Gossip  who  are  inclined  to  follow  Mi-. 
Vine's  excellent  example,  and  become  collectors  of 
the  palaeozoic  "sea-mats"  and  "bottle-brushes" 
will  be  glad  to  know  how  the  evil  in  question  may  be 
remedied.  Mr.  John  Young,  F.G.S.,  of  the  Hun- 
terian  Museum,  Glasgow  University,  has  very  suc- 
cessfully solved  the  difiiculty  by  applying  the  slabs 
bearing  the  polyzoa  on  to  plates  of  asphalt  heated  to 
a  proper  degree  of  softness.  The  original  shale  is 
then  removed,  and  the  fenestellcs  are  found,  polypi- 
ferous face  uppermost,  adhering  to  the  hardened 
asphalt  in  a  perfectly  natural  manner.  This  may 
appear  to  some  a  rather  risky  process  of  dealing  with 
tender  fossils,  but  an  examination  of  the  very  beauti- 
ful results  which  Mr.  Young  has  obtained  by  this 
means,  and  which  form  one  of  the  many  attractions 
of  the  fine  carboniferous  series  under  his  care,  will 
set  such  fears  at  rest.  I  may  add  that  I  have  tried 
the  method  myself  with  invariable  success. — G.A.  L. 

The  Metropolitan  Well  Borings.  —  Some 
misunderstanding  has  taken  place  in  the  public  news- 
papers as  to  the  views  of  geologists  respecting  the 
Metropolitan  under-ground  water  supplies.  At 
Messrs.  Meux's  brewery,  Tottenham  Court  Road,  the 
base  of  the  gault  has  been  penetrated,  and  a  depth  of 
one  thousand  and  fifty-nine  feet  from  the  surface 
reached.  From  minute  examinations  of  the  lowest 
cores,  there  are  reasons  for  believing  the  lo'ocr  green- 
sand  has  been  reached.  If  this  should  prove  to  be 
the  case,  the  water-supply  of  London  will  be  practi- 
cally inexhaustible.  Twenty-seven  years  ago  Prof. 
Prestwich  published  a  work  on  the  "  Water-bearing 
Strata  in  and  around  London,"  wherein  he  stated 
(although  no  boring  about  London  had  then  been 
carried  more  than  three  hundred  feet  into  the  chalk), 
that  the  chalk  would  be  penetrated  at  a  depth  of  650 
feet.  Subsequent  borings  proved  this  prophecy  to  be 
correct  in  several  instances.  Later  on,  Mr.  Godwin- 
Austen  showed  the  probability  of  an  ancient  ridge  of 
primary  rocks  stretching  under  the  upper  cretaceous 
system,  along  the  line  of  the  Thames  valley  ;  and  the 
deep  boring  at  Kentish  Town,  and  another  at  Har- 
wich, also  proved  Mr.  Godwin-Austen  to  be  correct. 
Prof.  Judd  thinks  that  although  this  old  ridge  of 
primary  rocks  must  limit  the  area  of  the  available 


142 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-  G  O  SSIF. 


water-bearing  lower  greensand  beneath  London,  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  an  enormous  supply  will  be 
obtained  from  the  latter  source. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

Peregrine  Falcon. — In  my  remarks  on  Mr. 
Dealy's  paper  on  the  Peregrine  Falcon  (Science- 
Gossip,  p.  91),  I  find  I  have  been  guiUy  of  a  very 
strange  sHp  of  the  pen.  I  must  ask  your  readers  to 
be  good  enough  to  substitute  for  "  identical  with," 
at  lines  3  and  4,  the  words  "distinct  from."  They  will 
doubtless  have  perceived  the  error.  —  7.  Southivell. 

The  Peregrine. — Perhaps  Mr.  T.  Southwell 
will  not  mind  my  pointing  out  a  few  errors  in  his  re- 
marks on  my  article  on  the  Peregi'ine.  He  says  that 
in  this  said  article  (p.  53)  I  speak  of  the  so-called 
Falco  anatiiin  as  identical  with  F.  peregrinus ; 
saying  at  the  same  time  that  I  give  reasons  to 
support  this  opinion.  I  believe,  however,  if 
Mr.  Southwell  would  again  look  over  the  para- 
graph wherein  this  is  contained,  he  would  see 
that,  far  from  saying  they  are  identical,  I  tried  to 
prove  that  they  are  distinct.  Again,  although  I 
said  that  F.  peregrinus  often  carries  off  birds  as  heavy 
as  a  duck,  I  did  not  imply  that  it  always  carried  off 
the  birds — as  one  would  be  led  to  think,  where  Mr. 
Southwell  remarks  :  "Curious,  that  in  Gould's  'Birds 
of  Great  Britain, 'the  Peregrine  is  represented  in  the  act 
of  striking  down  the  duclv."  Of  course  the  Peregrine 
does  sometimes  strike  down  its  prey,  and  let  it  fall 
previously  to  securing  it.  I  never  said  it  did  not ; 
indeed,  this  is  implied  in  what  I  said.  But  Wilson 
says  that  F.  anatuni  ahvays  strikes  down  its  prey. 
Mr.  Gui-ney's  opinion  as  to  the  fact  that  F.  aiiatnm 
and  F.  peregrinus  are  merely  local  varieties,  is  un- 
doubtedly high  ;  still  the  proofs  that  Mr.  Southwell 
has  put  before  me  are  not  sufficient  to  convince  me  of 
this.  Does  Mr.  Southwell  mean  (when  he  says  that 
in  a  series  from  American  and  European  localities 
there  could,  he  believes,  be  found  birds  wliich  would 
not  differ  perceptibly  from  each  other),  that  if  we 
were  to  take  an  adult  American  specimen  and  an 
adult  European,  they  would  look  alike  ;  that 
there  would  be  no  difference — no  perceptible  differ- 
ence ;  or  does  he  mean  to  compare  immature  speci- 
mens, when  it  might  be  possible  to  find  them  to  all 
appearance  alike?  Again,  as  to  Mr.  Soutlrwell's 
quotations  of  the  Peregrine  breeding  in  a  morass,  in 
trees,  and  on  the  moors,  I  believe  I  am  right  in  saying 
that  they  are  merely  the  deviations  from  the  general 
rule  of  breeding,  which  now  and  then  occur  in  most 
birds.  This,  however,  cannot  be  said  of  F.  anafntft, 
as  North  America  is  not  without  its  mountainous 
rocky  situations,  — situations  such  as  the  '  European 
representative  delights  in  ;  yet  this  F.  atiatum  passes 
by  all  these  seemingly  suitable  localities,  and  places 
its  nest  on  a  tree  in  a  gloomy  cedar-swamp  to  bring 
up  its  young.  This  I  could  fancy,  even  in  a  Pere- 
grine, were  there  no  precipitous  places  in  America ; 
but  this  is  not  so.  Many  different  opinions  have 
been  given  pro  and  con.  the  separation  of  these  two 
birds ;  and  among  them,  as  Mr.  Southwell  says, 
are  those  of  Dresser,  Newton,  and  Gurney,  who  say 
that  they  are  merely  local  varieties,  and  not  two  dis- 
tinct species.  Presumptuous  as  it  may  appear  for  me 
to  differ  from  ornithologists  of  such  liigh  repute,  I 
cannot  help  it.  The  proofs  which  Mr.  Southwell  has 
given  are  not  such  as  to  make  me  waver  from  this 
opinion.— 7'.  W.  Dealy,  Sheffield. 


Peregrine  Falcon. — In  my  article  on  the  Pere- 
grine, p.  51,  the  second  line  from  the  bottom  of 
first  column,  for  "  Jiercel  "  read  "Tiercel."  In  the 
thirty-nintli  line  on  the  second  column  of  same  page, 
for  "whilst  descending"  read  "now  fast  descending." 
In  the  first  paragraph  on  page  55,  instead  of  "  Isle 
of  Man,"  substitute  "Isle  of  May"  (off  Crail,  in  the 
Firth  of  Forth).  A  few  additional  notes  on  the  eyrie 
at  Barra  Head  will,  perhaps,  not  be  out  of  place 
here.  The  account  I  gave  on  p.  55  '^^'^s  procured 
mainly  from  a  former  keeper  of  the  lighthouse  there. 
In  a  letter  from  the  present  keeper,  dated  January 
1 6th,  1877,  he  says  that  these  birds  have  of  late 
years  nestled  in  places  inaccessible.  He  says  he  has 
been  now,  at  the  request  of  English  gentlemen,  for 
the  last  seven  or  eight  years  on  the  look-out  for  the 
eggs  of  the  Peregrine  and  Raven  [Corviis  corax), 
but  has  been  unable  to  procure  either,  on  account  of 
the  fact  aforementioned.  They  still  continue  un- 
molested and  nestle  in  one  place  year  after  year. — 
T.  W.  Dealy,  Sheffield. 

Migration  of  Birds.— On  Monday,  April  2nd, 
I  heard  and  saw  the  ring  ousel  ( T.  torqiiatus)  at 
Castleton,  Derbyshire,  where,  amid  the  rocky  valleys 
of  that  place,  it  delights  to  rear  its  young.  On 
April  4th  (Wednesday)  I  heard  several  willow-wrens 
{S.  trochiliis)  uttering  tlieir  call-notes,  but  no  signs  of 
any  song  at  present.  On  April  6th  I  again  saw  the 
ring  ousel  upon  the  moors :  the  white  ring  across  the 
throat  made  it  very  conspicuous.  It  was  singing,  but 
the  song  was  very  monotonous.  I  did  not  observe 
any  females.  I  also  saw  another  willow-wren  fly 
from  a  tuft  of  heather :  it  was  very  lively.  It  would 
be  very  instructing  and  interesting  for  naturalists  to 
insert  in  this  paper  a  few  notes  upon  this  subject, 
and  it  would  also  tend  to  clear  up  many  doubts 
which  encircle  the  annual  movements  of  some  of  the 
feathered  tribes. — Charles  Dixon. 

Sudden  Re-appearance  of  Plants. — I  have 
often  heard  my  aunt  say  that  all  the  earth  from  the 
gravel-pits  at  Oundle,  Northamptonshire,  became  of 
a  blood-red  colour  owing  to  the  poppies  which 
covered  them  wherever  the  waste  was  cast,  and  that 
British  remains  were  found  in  the  beds,  which  would 
imply  great  age.  I  thought  I  had  by  me  some  seed 
of  a  tall  white  poppy  {P.  soinnifernm,  I  believe), 
which  I  gathered  amongst  some  turnips  in  the  parish 
of  Chelboro,  Dorset.  A  small  wood  in  a  hollow  at  the 
foot  of  Castle  Hill — so  called  from  a  building  once 
upon  it — had  been  cleared  of  timber,  and  as  nearly  as 
possible  brought  to  the  level  of  the  field  by  shifting 
the  soil.  This  part  of  the  _  field  was  covered  with 
these  poppies,  but  I  saw  none  in  the  other  part,  nor 
do  I  remember  ever  to  have  seen  it  wild  or  cultivated 
in  that  neighbourhood  before.  What  I  have  heard 
of  the  forests  here  fully  bears  out  your  paper ;  but  I 
have  not  had  time  to  prove  it  by  experience.  Captain 
Main  says  that  the  boundary  line  between  the  States 
and  Canada  through  the  primeval  forest  which  he 
cut  was  in  a  year  or  two  so  blocked  with  gooseberries 
and  raspberries  as  to  be  hardly  recognizable.  I 
presume  he  means  the  pink-flowered  one,  called 
salmon  berry,  which  is  common  here,  and  larger  and 
stronger  than  the  ordinary  one.  —  C.  R.  Bashett, 
Victoria,  British  Coliunbia. 

Primroses. — Two  specimens  of  double-headed 
primrose  have  been  found  here  this  spring  ;  both 
heads  are  enclosed  in  one  calyx,  with  separate  stamens 
and  pistil,  and  are  united  by  the  tubes  of  the  corallas. 
Does  this  often  occur  in  primroses  ? —  The  Needles, 
Strangford,  Downpatrick. 


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


143 


Tadpoles. — I  shall  be  much  obliged  to  any  one 
who  will  tell  me  the  best  way  of  keeping  and  feeding 
tadpoles. —  The  Needles,  Strangfoni,  Downpatrick. 

Mistletoe  on  Lime-tree. —  It  may  interest 
readers  of  this  journal  to  know  that  in  the  grounds 
of  Clare  College,  Cambridge,  there  is  a  lime-tree 
(Tilia  Eiovpaa)  bearing  a  large  bunch  of  mistletoe  in 
a  flourishing  state  of  growth.  It  seemed  such  an 
extraordinary  occurrence  that  when  I  first  saw  it 
I  could  hardly  believe  that  the  bunch  was  really 
mistletoe :  a  further  examination,  however,  convinced 
me  (though  I  could  not  climb  to  observe  it  closely) 
that  it  was  nothing  else,  the  characteristic  habit  of 
the  plant,  and  the  dichotomous  branching  of  the 
stems  and  leaves  being  very  conspicuous. — Frank  y. 
Allen,  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge. 

The  Sun. — "  Pater  "  asks  an  explanation  of  the 
phenomenon  witnessed  after  looking  at  the  sun — viz., 
the  appearance  before  the  eye  of  "  small  black  balls." 
These  are  no  doubt  attributable  to  the  fact  that  the 
intense  light  of  the  sun  so  fatigues  the  nerves  of  the 
part  of  the  eye  upon  which  it  falls  that  the  feebler 
diffused  light  of  the  sky  is  unable  for  a  time  to  stimu- 
late them  to  action  ;  and  we  have  thus  a  small  round 
temporary  blind  spot  of  the  size  of  that  part  of  the  eye 
affected  by  the  sun.  As  the  parts  of  the  eye  all  round 
are  sensible  to  light,  this  looks  like  a  "small  black 
ball,"  or  rather,  circular  disc.  If  there  be  more  than 
one  such  disc,  they  are  doubtless  caused  by  the  slight 
involuntary  movements  of  the  eye  while  looking  at 
the  sun,  and  the  consequent  formation  of  several 
such  blind  spots.  Other  very  interesting  cognate 
effects  are  produced  by  gazing  steadily  at  highly  illu- 
minated coloured  bodies.  On  removing  the  eye  and 
fixing  it  upon  a  white  surface,  it  will  be  found  strongly 
tinged  by  the  complementary  colour  to  the  one  pre- 
viously looked  at.  This  is  due  to  the  fatiguing  of  the 
nerves  that  respond  to  waves  producing  this  colour, 
while  those  not  so  affected  respond  freely  to  the 
stimulus  of  waves  of  light,  giving  rise  to  other 
colours  ;  hence  we  get  a  tint  complementary  to  the 
original.  "Pater"  should  read  Hehnholtz  "  On  the 
Recent  Progress  of  the  Theory  of  Vision,"  one  of  his 
"  Popular  Lectures  on  Scientific  Subjects,"  where  he 
would  find  much  highly-interesting  and  curious  infor- 
mation on  this  subject. — John  Ilcpworth,  N'ew 
Brompton. 

Sparrow-hawk  and  Crow. — The  propensity  of 
crows  to  chase  the  sparrow-hawk,  referred  to  at  pages 
21  and  44,  is  so  well  known  in  Germany  as  to  be 
utilized  for  sporting  purposes.  A  common  mode  of 
shooting  crows  there  is  as  follows  :  A  hut  in  the 
shape  of  an  Indian's  wigwam,  capable  of  holding 
several  persons,  with  holes  in  the  sides  about  a  foot 
square,  is  erected  in  the  field.  Outside  this  hut  is  a 
perch  ;  near  the  perch,  opposite  the  hole  in  the  side 
of  the  hut,  is  a  naked  or  dead  tree.  When  the 
sportsmen  want  to  shoot  crows,  they  chain  a  sparrow- 
hawk,  kept  for  the  purpose,  on  to  the  perch  and 
ensconce  themselves  in  the  hut.  Immediately,  crows 
arrive  in  numbers  for  the  sole  purpose  of  flying  and 
pecking  at  the  helpless  hawk  and  bullying  it 
generally.  They  settle  on  the  dead  tree  to  rest  from 
their  labours  and  recruit  for  a  renewed  attack,  and 
are  then  a  capital  mark  for  the  inmates  of  the  hut. 
My  single  experience  in  one  of  these  "crow  huts,"  as 
they  are  called,  enables  me  to  answer  a  question  as  to 
the  Hoopoe  at  page  22,  unless  indeed  that  question 
refers  to  England  only.  While  in  the  hut,  a  bird 
settled  on  the  tree  which  I  did  not  at  the  moment 
recognize.     On  applying  to  the  gamekeeper  with  us 


in  the  hut,  he  said  "  It  is  a  hoopoe,  shoot  it  by  all 
means  :  they  are  troublesome  birds  and  do  great 
damage  to  the  crops."  I  acted  accordingly.  This 
was  in  North  Prussia,  not  far  from  Stettin,  con- 
siderably further  north  than  Birmingham,  and  in  a 
much  colder  climate.  It  was  in  the  early  spring. — 
T.  C.  R. 

Destruction  of  Rare  Animals.  —  Mr.  H. 
Budge,  who  makes  some  judicious  remarks  on  this 
subject  (Science-Gossip,  April,  1877),  will  be  glad 
to  learn  that  the  evil  has  long  since  been  reprobated 
by  the  East  Kent  Natural  History  Society.  The 
committee,  in  their  last  report,  state  that,  "  instead 
of  favouring  the  destruction  of  rare  animals  and 
plants,  by  offering  premiums  for  the  best  collections, 
like  the  rewards  of  our  forefathers  for  wolves'  heads, 
it  would  be  better  to  encourage  the  diligence  of  young 
persons  by  inducing  them  to  study  the  nature  and 
economy  of  common  plants  and  animals."  The 
committee  add  that,  for  this  purpose,  there  are  such 
plants  as  our  familiar  willows  and  sedges,  of  which 
the  specific  characters  are  still  obscure  ;  and  that 
raphides  and  other  plant-crystals,  and  the  intimate 
structure  of  the  glands,  hairs,  and  other  appendages, 
which  have  been  often  illustrated  in  Science-Gossip, 
would  afford  ample  ground  for  the  exercise  of 
observation  and  proof  of  knowledge.  And  as  to 
animals,  the  structure  and  general  economy  of 
numberless  common  species,  of  different  classes  and 
orders,  would  include  far  more  useful  and  interesting 
results  than  the  extirpation  of  the  pi^ecious  species  of 
our  native  flora  or  fauna. — E.  R. 

Names  of  Animals. — The  rabbit- catchers  here 
call  the  male  ferret  a  Hob,  the  female  a  Jill.  Both 
are  old  names  for  male  and  female  bipeds,  not  re- 
spectable ;  in  fact,  sometimes  worse  than  not  respect- 
able— unearthly.  We  have  Hob's-hurst-hole,  the 
cavern  of  the  fiend's  grove — even  to  this  day  avoided 
by  the  superstitious  as  haunted;  and  so  with  regard 
to  the  word  "Jill."— 7?.  G.,  Stoke-on-Trent. 

Fruit  Culture. — If  apples  or  pears  are  raised 
from  seed,  and  the  suckers  of  such  seedlings  planted 
and  taken  care  of,  will  the  fruit  of  such  suckers  be 
identical  with  the  fruit  of  the  seedlings  from  which 
the  suckers  were  originally  obtained  or  not  ?  Again, 
if  the  suckers  of  those  suckers  were  taken  care  of, 
would  the  fruit  so  obtained  be  the  same  with  the 
suckers  of  the  first  generation  ? — Boats. 

Sussex  Oaks. — The  history  of  ancient  trees  is  of 
great  interest ;  can  any  correspondent  furnish  me  with 
such,  as  to  any  Sussex  Oak  antecedent  to  the  17th 
century? — F.  PL  Arnold,  LL.B. 


BOOKS,  &c.,  RECEIVED. 

"Smithsonian  Report  for  1875." 

"  Somerville's  Physical  Sciences."     loth  edition.     Edited  by 
A.  B.  Buckley.     London  :  John  Murray. 

"  Somerville's  Physical  Geography."     7th  edition.     London: 
John  Murray. 

"  The  Winds  and  their    Story  of  the  World."      By  W.   L. 
Jordan.     London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 

"  Mesmerism,  Spiritualism,  &c."     By  Dr.   Carpenter.     Lon- 
don :  Longmans  &  Co. 

"  Elementary  Te,xt  Book  of  Physics."    By  Professor  Everett. 
London  :  Blackie  &  Sons. 

"Monthly  Microscopical  Journal."     Maj'. 

"  Journal  of  Forestry."     No.  i.  „ 

"  Journal  of  Applied  Sciences."  ,,  * 

"  Land  and  Water."  ,, 

"  Chambers's  Journal."  ,, 

"  Canadian  Entomologist."  April. 

"  American  Naturalist."  ,, 

"  American  Journal  of  Microscopy        ,, 

"  Potter's  American  Journal."  ,, 

&c.  &c.  &c. 


144 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE  ■  G  0 SSIP. 


NOTICES   TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 

J.  A.  C. — Some  mistake  must  have  occurred,  for  your  note  of 
April  29th  contained  no  specimen  of  any  kind,  flower  or  other- 
wise. We  believe  that  the  paper  you  refer  to  was  read  at  the 
West  of  London  Club. 

"A  Reader."— Please  send  us  your  name  and  address,  and 
we  will  send  you  the  name  and  address  of  such  a  person  as 
you  require. 

A.  D.  M.— "The  Transformation  of  Insects,  by  Professor 
Duncan,  gives  numerous  illustrations  of  the  structural  parts  of 
insects. 

F.  W.  B.  N.— Election  into  the  Linnean  Society- is  by  pay- 
ment of  an  entrance  fee  of  si.x  guineas,  and  an  annual  subscrip- 
tion of  three  pounds.  A  candidate  must  have  his  admission 
paper  signed  by  three  Fellows,  who  will  testify  to  his  fitness 
from  "a  personal  knowledge  of  his  work  and  writings,"  &c. 
Admission  to  the  Royal  Society  is  by  an  entrance  fee  of  ten 
guineas.  Only  fifteen  are  elected  every  year,  and  are  chosen 
on  account  of  the  scientific  work  they  have  done.  Peers  of 
the  realm  are  F.R.S.  without  election. 

P.  E.  C. — For  full  details  about  aquarium  keeping,  marine 
and  fresh-water,  stocking  aquaria,  balance  of  animal  and  veget- 
able life  in  ditto,  consult  Taylor's  "Aquarium  :  its  Inhabitants, 
Structure,  and  Management."  Published  at  192,  Piccadilly. 
Price  6s. 

Rev.  W.  H,  P.— We  see  no  reason  why  the  plants  you  refer 
to  should  not  be  eligible  as  e.xchange. 

C.  J.  A.  Crawley. — The  umbelliferous  flower  enclosed  is 
that  of  the  Wild  Chervil  {C!ni;rophyllus  Sylvcstre).  No.  2  is 
more  important,  for  the  "succulent  plant"  is  the  Toothworth 
(Lathrea  sgnainaria),  which  is  found  parasitically  growing  on 
roots  of  alder,  &c.  We  cannot  pronounce  on  the  Helix  until 
we  .see  some  specimens. 

Bervll.— The  "Mineral"  Magazine  referred  to  was  an 
abbreviation  for  the  "  Mineralogical  "  Magazine. 

G.  H.  Ravner.— The  name  of  the  commonest  living  species 
of  coral  known  as  "  Madrepore  "  \s  Madrejiora  plantaginca  ; 
the  word  "  I\Iadrepore,"  however,  is  very  loosely  used,  and 
often  includes  several  genera  of  living  corals,  besides  fossil 
ones.  . 

F.  W.  S.— The  fungus  on  the  nettle  leaves  sent  is  that  called 
the  "  Cluster-cup"  {Aicidiitm  iirtiae). 

H.  J.  M'GiLL. — Your  specimens  are  as  follows  :— No. 
I.  Flowers  of  the  White  Beam  tree  (Pynis  aria).  2.  Three- 
fingered  Saxifrage  [Saxi/raga  tridactylites).  3.  Field  Ve- 
ronica {V.  agnstis).  4.  Small  Sand  Rocket  {Brassica  viiiiiera). 
And  5.   Stem  ard  leaves  of  the  Woodruffe  {Aspcrnla  odorata). 

C.  L.  Lamplugh. — There  is  no  separate  work  that  we  are 
aware  of  on  the  Sponges  of  the  Yorkshire  Coast.  Get  Gosse's 
"  Manual  of  Marine  Zoology,"  which  will  answer  your  pur- 
pose." (2)  A  new  edition  of  Professor  Phillip's  "  Geology  of 
Yorkshire  "  contains  all  that  you  require  as  to  the  coast  sections. 
It  is  published  by  Taylor  and  Francis  at  one  guinea.  (3)  Pretty 
much  the  same  kind  of  the  commoner  fossil  sponges  will  be 
found  in  the  Yorkshire  chalk  as  in  the  chalk  elsewhere  in  Eng- 
land. (4)  Your  specimens  from  the  Boulder  clay  are,  No.  i,  Tel- 
Una  balthica,  and  No.  2,  a  fragment  oi  Pafwpca.  You  cannot 
do  better  than  make  a  collection  of  such  marine  shells  from  the 
Boulder  clays.     Collectors  of  them  are  much  in  request. 

T.  Richard.son. — The  case  of  the  "Cockroaches"  you  men- 
tion is  not  one  of  albinism  at  all  ;  for  all  these  insects,  when 
they  first  emerge  from  the  pupa;  state,  are  nearly  white.  In  a 
few  days  they  assume  their  natural  colour. 

Isaac  Crawford. — Get  the  shilling  work  published  by 
Warne  &  Co.,  and  written  by  Samuel  Wood,  called  "The 
British  Bird  Preserver." 

F.  Quarterman.  — The  fossils  you  inquire  about  are  as 
follows  -.—Astrea  crassolantellata.  Tertiary  (a  coral)  ;  Cyclocy- 
at/uts  Fittoni,  Gault  (a  coral)  ;  Alveolai-ia  semi-ovata.  Lower 
greensand  (a  Polyzoon)  ;  Niillipora,  Lower  greensand  (a  cal- 
careous sea-weed,  like  existing  species  of  ditto,  and  Corallina 
officinalis);  Tragos,  Lower  greensand  (a  sponge);  Verticclli- 
j>ora  anastamosus  (a  Polyzoon?);  Nebulipora  pidchella, 
Wenlock  formation  (a  sponge  '?). 

Ron.— The  "American  Naturalist"  is  published  by  B.  O. 
Houghton  &  Co.,  Boston.  "  The  American  Journal  of  Micro- 
scopy "  is  published  at  Box  4875,  New  York  City.  Get 
Proctor's  "  Half-Hour.s  with  the  Telescope,"  price  2s.  6d.  ;  and 
Proctor's  "  Plain  and  Easy  Guide  to  the  Constellations," 
illustrated  with  12  star  maps,  price  5s.  Published  at  192, 
Piccadilly.  The  "  Astronomical  Register "  is  published 
monthly. 


For  Geological  Slides  (Transparent)  send  good  Injections  to 
M.  Fowler,  20,  Burn-row,  Slamannan,  N.B. 

A  FEW  rare  British  and  Foreign  Birds'  Eggs  for  others  not 
in  collection.  Also  a  few  Skins  for  Eggs. — J.  T.  T.  Reed, 
Ryhope,  Sunderland. 

Wanted,  a  number  of  Snakes'  and  Blindworms',  or  other 
Lizards'  Eggs  or  Young,  for  Embryological  purposes.  State 
price  or  what  required  in  exchange,  to  T.  W.  Bridge,  New 
Museum,  Cambridge. 

Good  Microscopical  Material  (Chirodota  or  Holothurians  pre- 
ferred) wanted  in  exchange  for  well-mounted  objects. — W.  L.  S., 
6,  Dognall  Park-terrace,  Selhurst,  S.  E. 

A  FEW  .Slides  of  "  Synapta,"  with  Anchors  and  Plates,  and 
Crystals  of  Zeolite  for  Polariscope,  to  exchange  for  other 
interesting  Slides. — William  A.  Firth,  Whiterock,  Belfast. 

For  a  Primrose  leaf  with  cluster  cups  send  a  stamped  directed 
envelope  to  J.  Turner,  Davenport,  Stockport. 

A.M  open  to  receive  ofiers  of  uncommon  Birds'  Eggs,  side 
blown,  in  return  for  Lepidoptera  in  fine  condition,  also  a  few 
Birds'  Eggs. — R.  Kay,  2,  Spring-street,  Bury. 

Microscopic  Objectives  in  exchange  for  any  of  the  Palse- 
ontographical  Society's  Monographs  prior  to  1873. — Address, 
T.  C.  Maggs,  Yeovil. 

Will  exchange  Sponges  from  the  Yorkshire  Chalk,  Plana, 
Convoluta,  &c.,  for  good  fossils  from  Tertiary  or  Palaeozoic 
Strata.— G.  W.  L.,  Londesbro'  House,  Bridlington  Quay. 

Nos.  40  and  1283,  seventh  edition  London  Catalogue,  for 
other  flowering  plants  or  mosses. — J.  S.  Wesley,  Wetherby, 
Yorkshire. 

For  exchange.  Vols,  for  1866  and  1867,  one  bound  in  blue  cloth, 
the  other  half-calf,  both  in  nice  fresh  condition.  Desiderata  ■. 
"  Humphrey's  Coin  Collectors'  Manual,"  2  vols.  (Bohn's 
series).— Address,  H.  AUingham,  Ballyshannon,  Ireland. 

Pup.E  oi  Monacha  offered  for  pupa;  of  Villica,  Plantaginis, 
Fiiliginosa,  or  Lancstris.—M.  INIiller,  Junior,  Ipswich. 

For  exchange,  Fritillaria  meleagris  (with  white  v.-iriety), 
Lencoium  irstivum.  Anemone  Pulsatilla,  and  Saxifraga 
granulata.  Send  list  of  plants  for  exchange  to  E.  W.  Andrews, 
University  School,  Hastings. 

Hiematopinus  equi  vel  asini,  mounted  or  unmounted  ;  also 
Trichodectes  Scalaris,  unmounted,  in  exchange  for  good  Slides. 
Send  list  to  H.  Barker,  The  Grove,  Kirton-in-Lindsey, 
Lindsey. 

Wanted,  to  exchange  for  other  books,  or  to  purchase, 
Wilson's  "  Bryologia  Britannica,"  with  coloured  engravings  of 
Mosses,  a  second-hand  copy  in  good  condition. — Address,  Miss 
Sparkes,  St.  John's,  Bridgnorth. 

Several  Sets  of  6  or  12  Slides  of  Carboniferous  Microzoa 
(Foraminifera,  Polyzon,  and  Radiata)  to  exchange  for  Veget- 
able preparations.  Palates,  Entomological,  or  Diatom  Slides. — 
G.  R.  Vine,  Attercliffe,  Sheffield. 

Wanted,  "  Davis's  Welsh  Botanology."  Exchange  in  Dried 
Plants  or  cash.— H.  S.  Fisher,  i.  Gladstone  Road,  Liverpool. 

A  Nose  Plate  to  hold  3  Objectives,  by  Wheeler.  Cost 
^i.  15s.  Wanted,  good  i-Inch  Object  Glass  or  Slides.  Also 
Hoggen  Microscope,  and  Gosse,  "Evenings  with  Micro- 
scope."    New.— Address,  T.  24,  St.  Patrick's-hill,  Cork. 

Wanted,  a  few  fresh  specimens  of  the  following  mollusks  :— 
Neritina  Jiuviatilis,  Valvata piscinalis,  Limnea  anricularia, 
Ancylus  oblongus,  Vit7-ina  pellucida,  Zonitcs  tiitidulus,  Zua 
lubrica,  Achatina  acicula,  Carychium  minimum,  Succinca. 
Microscopic  objects,  &c.,  or  Cash  offered.— W.  White,  Litcham, 
Norfolk.  ,       ^        .      , 

"  British  Nests  and  Eggs."  Morris.  3  vols.  For  Aculeate 
Hyinenoptera,  or  Coleoptera.  —  C.  H.  Goodman,  Lessness 
Heath,  Kent. 

Unmounted  duplicates  o^  ALcidinm  ari  on  Arunttnactda- 
tum,  in  exchange  for  other  good,  named  species — Charles  J. 
Watkins,  King's  Mill  House,  Painswick,  Gloucestershire. 

Grimmia  Donniana  and  other  mosses,  in  exchange  for  Mosses 
or  Plants.— Robert  Renton,  Threeburnfoot,  Lauder,  N.B. 

Zonitcs  7-adiatnlus,  \3.r. ,yiridesccnta  alba,  Helix  lamellata, 
Helix  pygmcea,  J'ertiga  minutissima,  Cochlicopa  tridens, 
var.  crystallina,  i^c,  offered  for  the  rarest  Vertigos  or  Geo- 
malacus7naculosus(y\\\ng).  Silence,  a  negative.— Lister  Peace, 
Crosland  Moor  Bottom,  Huddersfield,  Yorks. 


EXCHANGES. 

Casseli.'s  "  Natural  History,"  "  Book  of  Birds,"  and  many 
other  works  on  Natural  History,  &c.,  in  exchange  for  lioutell's 
or  Catman's  Monumental  Brasses,  or  for  Rubbings. — F.  Stan- 
ley, 6,  Clifton  Clardens,  Margate. 

Colorado  Potato  Beetles  given  in  exchange  for  good  Slides. 
—  Address  E.  Pennock,  805,  Franklin-street,  Philadelphia, 
U.S.,  A. 


Communications  Received  up  to  7TH  ult.  from  :— 
T  S  — F.  K.— Dr.  C— Dr.  H.  F.  P.— Prof.  B.— T.  B.  W.— 
G  C— E.  E.— W.  W.— F.  W.  S.— H.  J.  McG.— F.  S.— 
e'.  B.  L.  B.-J.  O.-T.  O.  J.-H.  M.-J.  S.  W.-F.  H.  A.- 
T.  B.-E.  E.  P.-C.  F.  C.-J.  N.  B.-A.  D.  H.-W.  E.- 
f  G.— F.  H.— T.  C— C.  D.-G.  B.— T.  P.-C.  M.  V.— 
s!  H.-G.  O.  H.-C.  C.  H.-Dr.  P.-Dr.  V.-J.  W.- 
C.  R.  B.-W.  L.  S.-E.  P.-H.  E.  W.-C.  F.  W.  1.  W"- 
W.  J.  H.-J.  A.  C.-H.  G.  G.-J.  T.  T.  R.-C.  J.  A.  C.- 
T  w  B.-W.  H.-P.  E.  C— W.  A.  C— W.  M.  P.- M.  !<  .— 
H  E."  W.— T.  C.  M.— R.  F.  S.-R.  D.— A.  D.  M.-N.  P.— 
I.  A.  L.-E.  W.  A.-I.  C.-R.  K.-W.  A.  F.-J.  T.- 
T  W  D.— F.  W.  B.  N.— A.  W.  S.— J.  F.— G.  W.  L.— 
H.    P.    M.-H.   A.-E.    B.   L.    B.-H.    B  -T.   L.    C.    R.- 

I  C.  W.-  N.  M.  E.  W.-W.  M.-L.  P.-C.  J.  W.-E.  R.  1.- 
R  B.-J.  A.  S.-G.  R.— H.  S.  F.— H.  L.— C.  H.  J.— 
E.   F.   M.-F.  C-W.   St.   H.-W.  W.-J.   V.   D.-G.  S.- 

,    J.  A.  F.— R.  R.— T.  E,  D.— &c.     &c.     &c. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


145 


ON    CLEANING    DIATOMACE£, 


By  FRED.   KITTON,  F.R.M.S. 


N  spite  of  the  instruc- 
tions for  the  above  pur- 
pose which  have  ap- 
peared from  time  to 
time  in  this  and  similar 
works,  I  am  constantly 
asked  to  describe  my 
modus  operandi.  I  do 
not  claim  any  originality 
or  special  merit  for  the 
following  methods,  and 
I  can  only  say  I  generally  succeed  in  making  good 
preparations  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  those  who  are 
accustomed  to  prepare  slides  of  Diatomacex  will  learn 
nothing  from  these  directions,  or  may  have  better 
methods  of  their  own.  I  am  writing  for  those  who 
have  just  taken  up  the  study  of  these  organisms,  and 
are  anxious  to  prepare  their  own  slides.  Below  is  a 
list  of  apparatus  and  chemicals  required,  which,  it 
will  be  seen,  is  neither  numerous  nor  costly. 

ArPARATUS. 

A  spirit-lamp  (or,  where  gas  can  be  obtained,  a 
Bunsen  burner). 

Test-tubes  of  various  sizes  and  diameters.  (It  is 
better  to  use  a  small  tube  if  the  material  to  be  operated 
upon  is  minute  in  quantity. ) 

Two  pint  precipitating  glasses,  with  lips. 

Three  porcelain  saucers,  holding  one,  two,  and 
three  ounces. 

Florence  flasks  are  extremely  useful  when  operating 
on  large  quantities  of  material  (from  one-half  to  two 
ounces. 

Litmus-paper. 

CHEMICALS. 
Hydrochloric  acid. 
Nitric  acid. 
Sulphuric  acid. 
Caustic  potash,  or  soda. 
No,  151. 


CHEMICALS — contimied. 

Bicarbonate  of  soda. 
Liquor  ammonire  (strongest). 
Chlorate  of  potash. 
Methylated  spirit  of  wine. 
Pure  spirit. 
Distilled  water. 

Diatomaceous  material  may  be  divided  into  three 
classes,  each  of  ^^•hich  will  require  a  different  mode 
of  treatment.     The  first  kind,  and  that  which  offers 
the  least   difficulty  to  the  preparer,   are  the   "pure 
gatherings,"— that    is,    those   free   from   extraneous 
matter.     If  the  forms  in  it  are  to  be  mounted  with 
the  valves  and  frustules  not  separated,  it  should  be 
gently  heated,  so  as  to  kill  the  diatoms  and   cause 
them  to  subside ;    when  this  has  taken  place,  pour 
off  the  water  and  replace  it  with  methylated  spirit,  in 
which  they  can  be  kept  till  wanted  :  this  will  dissolve 
out  the   endochrome,  or  colouring   matter,   and  not 
separate  the  valves.    When  the  frustules  are  very  stout 
and  not  easily  broken  up,  a  solution  of  hydrochloric 
acid  may  be  used  (about  five  parts  of  water  to  one 
of  acid)  :  this  will,  in  the  course  of  a  week,  destroy 
the  endochrome.     If  the  diatoms  are  stipitate  or  para- 
sitic on  other  algre,  and  it  is  desirable  to  mount  them 
in  situ,  the  water  in  which  they  are  growing  must  be 
poured  off  and  replaced  by  spirit,  every  trace  of  which 
must  be  washed  away  before  mounting.     The  slide 
(or  cover,  if  the  specimen  is  mounted  upon  it)  should 
now  be   made   sufficiently   hot   to  slightly  char  the 
stipes.     When  the  valvular  aspect  only  is  required, 
the  gathering  must  be  boiled'  in  nitric  acid  for  about 
ten  minutes,  and   after   the   diatoms   have  subsided 
(four  or  five  hours  are  usually  sufficient),  the  super- 
natant acid  should  be  poured  off  and  the  test-tube 
about  one-third  filled  with  distilled  water,  repeating 
the  process  until  every  trace  of  acid  is  eliminated. 
(I  must  caution    the   operator   against  allowing  the 
fumes  of  the  acid  to  come  in  contact  with  the  stock 

H 


146 


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


of  distilled  water ;  and  in  order  to  avoid  this,  the 
water  should  be  poured  into  a  clean  test-tube,  or, 
preferably,  into  an  ordinary  graduated  glass  measure. 
I  would  also  remark  that  it  is  more  economical  to 
use  small  quantities  of  water  at  different  times  than 
a  larger  quantity  at  once,  although,  of  course,  it  takes 
somewhat  longer  to  get  rid  of  the  acid.)  When  the 
water  no  longer  shows  any  trace  of  acid,  pour  off 
and  replace  it  with  liquor  ammonice,*  cork  up  the 
test-tube  and  allow  the  diatoms  to  remain  in  it  for 
from  half  an  hour  to  nine  or  ten  hours  :  the  time 
will,  of  course,  depend  on  the  delicacy  of  the  forms. 
Although  ammonia  is  not  so  injurious  as  soda  or 
potash,  it  will  in  time  destroy  the  diatoms ;  it  is," 
therefore,  better  to  pour  off  a  little  too  soon  than  too 
late.  When  the  ammonia  is  decanted,  fill  the  tube 
with  water  and  shake  well,  and  if  it  is  desirable  to 
separate  the  clean  diatoms  into  densities,  it  should 
now  be  done.  Pour  into  another  tube  all  that  have 
not  reached  the  bottom  of  the  tube  in  five  minutes, 
-  (If  the  gathering  contains  very  large  and  stout  forms, 
from  one  to  two  minutes  will  be  long  enough.)  Ten 
minutes  may  be  allowed  for  the  next  density,  and 
should  there  be  any  veiy  minute  diatoms,  at  least  an 
hour  should  be  allowed  for  their  subsidence.  The 
water  last  poured  off  will  contain  the  connecting 
zones  and  flocculent  matter  (the  latter  is  sometimes 
held  in  suspension  for  several  days).  We  have  now 
three  or  four  test-tubes,  each  containing  diatoms  of 
different  sizes,  and  also  ammonia :  this  must  be 
got  rid  of  before  mounting.  If  the  material  is  valu- 
able, it  is  best  to  begin  with  the  heaviest  density. 
Fill  the  tube  about  one-third  full,  shake  it,  allow  the 
same  time  as  before  for  subsidence,  then  decant  into 
the  next  density ;  continuing  the  process  with  the  other 
densities. 

Unfortunately,  diatomaceous  gatherings  generally 
contain  the  debris  of  various  algae,  mosses,  leaves, 
microzoa,  &c.  In  collections  made  from  fresh-water 
sources  the  process  just  described  is  usually  suf- 
ficient to  eliminate  the  extraneous  substances,  parti- 
cularly if  the  gathering  is  strained  through  a  piece  of 
muslin,  previously  macerating  it  in  hydrochloric  acid 
and  water ;  but  those  from  marine  habitats,  such  as 
dredgings,  stomachs  of  ascidians,  salpce,  noctilucae, 
or  moUusca,  require  sulphuric  acid  for  the  entire 
destruction  of  the  organic  matter. 

I  have  generally  found  the  following  process  suc- 
cessful. If  the  material  contains  much  animal  matter, 
it  is  best  to  give  it  a  preliminary  boil  in  a  solution  of 
bicarbonate  of  soda  (half  an  ounce  to  two  ounces  of 
water),  and  filtering  through  a  piece  of  fine  net :  add 
more  water  and  allow  the  solid  matter  to  subside  ; 
boil  the  residuum  in  nitric  acid,  wash  away  the  acid, 
and,  after  pouring  off  the  water  as  closely  as  possible, 
add  sulphuric   acid  (this   must   be  done  with  care  : 


•  A  small  quantity  is  usually  sufficient  :  enough  to  cover  the 
diatom  about  half  an  inch  will  do. 


if  added  too  rapidly,  steam  will  be  suddenly  generated 
and  a  portion  of  the  contents  of  the  tube  scattered 
about),  and  boil  until  the  organic  matter  is  carbonized. 
If  this  exists  in  any  quantity,  the  material  will  become 
black  ;  small  pieces  of  chlorate  of  potash  must  now 
be  dropped  into  the  tube,  allowing  the  effervescence 
to  subside  before  using  a  second  piece.  This  must  be 
continued  until  the  contents  become  white,  or  decar- 
bonized. The  whole  should  now  be  slowly  poured 
into  warm  distilled  water  and  washed  as  previously 
described.  If  the  residuum,  when  free  from  acid, 
should  contain  any  crystals  of  sulphate  of  potash,  a 
further  boil  in  nitric  acid  will  dissolve  them. 

In  guanos  Ehrenberg  discovered  many  rare  and 
beautiful  forms  of  diatomacea;,  which  he  described  in 
a  communication  to  the  Berlin  Academy  in  1844. 
Unfortunately,  in  guanos,  the  amount  of  organic 
matter  is  very  large,  and  ofTers  considerable  diffi- 
culty to  the  tyro  ;  and  most  pf  the  recent  samples 
it  is  almost  impossible  to  make  sufficiently  clean  to 
allow  of  mounting  anything  but  picked  specimens. 
One  of  the  earliest  discovered  guanos  was  that  on 
the  island  of  Ichaboe,  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa 
(26°  19'  S.  lat.,  14°  15'  E.  long.) ;  and  if  any  of  the 
original  samples  are  still  in  existence,  they  would 
well  repay  the  trouble  of  cleaning.  This  guano 
speedily  became  of  little  value  to  the  diatomist,  and 
is,  I  believe,  now  entirely  worked  out.*  The  guano 
from  the  Chincha  Islands  and  Arica,  commercially 
known  as  Peruvian  guano,  f  was  also  veiy  good,  and 
not  very  difficult  to  clean.  I  adopt  the  following  plan 
for  that  purpose  (I  usually  operate  on  about  two  oz.). 
I  wash  away  all  the  soluble  matter  by  boiling  in  hot 
water  (a  Florence  flask  is  very  convenient  for  this 
purpose).  A  small  piece  of  carbonate  of  soda  in 
each  boiling  will  be  found  advantageous.  The  in- 
soluble residuum  may  now  be  treated  with  nitric  acid  : 
this  must  be  added  in  small  quantities,  as  consider- 
able effervescence  ensues,  and,  if  poured  on  too 
quickly,  considerable  waste  of  acid  and  material 
will  occur.  The  sulphuric  acid  process  must  be  used 
after  the  nitric  acid  has  been  got  rid  of :  when  there 
is  much  lime  in  the  guano,  as,  for  example,  that  from 
Algoa  Bay,  a  boil  in  hydrochloric,  before  using  nitric 
acid,  is  desirable. 

The  fossil  deposits  may  be  divided  into  two  kinds  ^ 
those  which  are  of  comparatively  recent  date,  to 
which  class  belong  the  subpeat  deposits,  of  which  so 
many  kinds  are  found  in  America,  and  the  marine 
deposits,  such  as  those  occurring  in  Virginia,  Cali- 
fornia, Oregon,  Barbadoes,  and  many  other  localities. 
Most  of  these  require  what  the  late  Professor  Bailey 
called  "heroic  treatment."  A  preliminary  boil  in 
nitric  acid,  to  eliminate  the  lime,  is  generally  neces- 
sary.    Sometimes  this  is  sufficient  to  break  up  the 

*  Genuine  samples  of  this  guano  were  found  to  contain  from 
I'oS  to  2  per  cent,  of  siliceous  matter  (sand  and  diatoms), 
t  Peruvian  guano  contained  from  i  to  i  '46  of  siliceous  matter, 
!    principally  diatoms 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSS  IF. 


147 


material,  but  usually  a  caustic  alkali  is  necessary  to 
effect  it  :  this  requires  great  care  in  using,  as  silica 
is  soluble  in  potash  or  soda.  I  usually  add  the  caustic 
to  the  water  and  deposit  whilst  boiling  :  in  the  course 
of  a  few  seconds  the  material  begins  to  break  up. 
The  contents  of  the  test-tube  should  now  be  poured 
into  a  precipitating  glass  three  parts  filled  with  water 
(ordinary  water  will  do)  ;  after  subsidence,  the  water 
must  be  poured  off,  and  the  deposit  returned  to  the 
test-tube  (which  should  be  three  parts  filled  with 
water),  and  then  vigorously  shaken.  If,  as  is  fre- 
quently the  case,  some  of  the  material  still  remain 
unbroken,  a  further  boil  in  caustic  will  be  necessary. 

The  sub-peat  deposits  generally  yield  to  a  weak 
solution  of  bicarbonate  of  soda  :  they  should  after- 
wards be  boiled  in  nitric  acid. 

The  final  treatment  with  liquor  ammonite  should 
never  be  omitted  :  those  who  have  never  before  tried 
it  will  be  astonished  at  the  freedom  from  flocculent 
matter,  and  the  brilliancy  of  the  diatoms. 

In  concluding  these  instructions,  I  must  urge 
all  those  who  wish  to  make  good  slides  to  use  the 
purest  distilled  water  obtainable,  and  to  make  sure 
that  no  traces  of  the  acids  or  alkalies  used  in  cleaning 
have  been  retained.  I  must  also  caution  the  learner 
against  a  plan  proposed  in  some  books  on  the  pre- 
paration of  microscopic  objects,  viz.,  burning  the 
vegetable  and  animal  matter  away  by  heating  on  a 
platinum  spoon.  This  is  utter  destruction  to  the 
diatoms. 

In  a  future  number  I  hope  to  describe  my  plan  of 
selecting  and  mounting. 


THE  UNDERGROUND  GEOLOGV  OF 
LONDON. 

THE  ultimate  conclusions  based  upon  the  results 
of  the  deep  boring  at  Messrs.  Meux's  breweiy, 
Tottenham  Court-road,  have  been  singularly  confirma- 
tive of  geological  predictions.  We  referred  to  these 
in  our  last  number,  and  pointed  out,  what  were  for  a 
few  days  believed  to  be  differences  of  opinion, 
although  we  were  strongly  inclined  to  believe  that 
Mr.  Godwin-Austin's  general  theory  would  ultimately 
prove  true  :  such  has  been  proved  to  be  the  case. 
Many  years  ago  the  above  eminent  geologist  pointed 
out  that  the  rocks  which  came  up  in  Somersetshire  on 
the  west,  and  formed  hilly  ground  there,  and  which, 
beyond  the  south-eastern  side  of  England,  on  the 
Continent,  formed  the  high  ground  of  the  Ardennes, 
must  strike  across  England  in  the  vicinity  of  London. 
Thereabouts  this  chain  of  hills  must  be  let  do\ATi,  and 
over  the  tops  of  the  hills  other  deposits  of  later  date 
must  have  accumulated  and  masked  them.  Messrs. 
Meux's  hope  in  going  on  with  their  deep  boring,  was 
to  find  the  Lower  Greensand  formation,  where  they 
would  secure  plenty  of  good  water.  At  first,  after  the 
London  clay  and  upper  chalk  had  been  passed  through, 


it  was  thought  that  this  formation  had  been  struck 
upon.  Such  an  event  would  have  been  good  news 
for  the  metropolis.  Instead  of  this,  however,  it  now 
turns  out  that  the  bed,  which  it  was  thought  might  be 
one  of  the  Greensand  strata,  is  only  the  old,  weathered, 
superficial  upper  surfaces  of  a  deposit,  geologically 
speaking,  much  older.  After  the  borer  had  passed 
through  a  few  feet  of  this,  it  suddenly  entered  green 
and  purple-coloured  slates,  having  an  appearance 
which  geologists  are  in  the  habit  of  associating  with 
the  Primary  rocks.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Mr. 
Godwin-Austin  held  that  the  old  ridge  of  rocks  lying 
at  no  great  depth  underneath  London  would  be  found 
to  be  of  Primary  or  Palceozoic  age,  and  possibly 
belonging  to  the  Carboniferous  formation.  A  well- 
boring,  carried  on  some  years  after  this  theory  was 
propounded,  at  Kentish  Town,  actually  sti'uck  on  the 
old  ridge,  although  the  cores  brought  up  were  not 
scientifically  satisfactoi-y  in  determining  the  geological 
age  of  the  rocks  thus  reached.  Afterwards,  in  a  deep 
well-boring  at  Harwich,  underneath  the  chalk,  similar 
old  rocks  were  pierced  at  a  depth  of  a  little  over 
1,100  feet,  and  here  the  Lower  Carboniferous  rocks 
were  reached,  as  was  evident  from  one  characteristic 
Lower  Carboniferous  fossil  brought  up  in  the  lowest 
cores  of  rock. 

These  two  facts,  so  strangely  confirmatory  of  a 
bold  geological  theory,  have  caused  geologists  to  be 
on  the  look-out  for  deep-well  or  other  borings  in  and 
about  London.  They  had  no  small  influence  in  bring- 
ing about  the  sub-Wealden  explorations  in  Sussex. 
The  green  and  purple  slates  brought  up  a  few  days 
ago  from  beneath  Tottenham  Court-road,  were  found 
to  be  highly  inclined,  at  an  angle  of  about  30  degrees 
dip.  Unfortunately  the  boring  tool  which  brought 
up  a  specimen  of  these  highly-inclined  slates,  had  to 
be  turned  round  many  times  before  it  came  to  the 
surface.  Hence  we  are  completely  in  the  dark  as  to 
the  direction  of  the  dip.  If  this.could  be  ascertained, 
it  would  be  no  difficult  task  to  calculate  how  far  we 
should  have  to  go,  on  the  south  and  north  of  this  sub- 
terranean mountain  axis,  before  we  should  bore  for 
coal  with  any  possibility  of  success.  The  purplish 
green  slates  found  underneath  Tottenham  Court-road 
are  said  strongly  to  resemble  the  rocks  found  at  the 
bottom  of  the  deep  well-boring  at  Kentish  Town, 
The  cores  containing  these  slates  were  confided  to 
Mr.  Robert  Etheridge,  F.R.S.,  palseontologist  to  the 
Geological  Survey,  who  immediately  discovered,  from 
the  nature  of  the  fossils  imbedded  in  them,  that  they 
were  of  Devonian,  or  Old  Red  Sandstone  age ;  and 
they  are  said  to  be  almost  identical  with  the  rocks  of 
the  Eifel.  The  most  characteristic  fossils  found  in  the 
cores  were  Spirifera  disjuncta  (formerly  called  Spi7-i- 
fera  Verneuilli,  a  characteristic  Devonian  fossil  on  the 
Continent),  and  Rhynchonella  aiboides. 

We  here  obtain  a  glance  at  the  vastness  of  the 
physical  changes  which  must  have  taken  place  under- 
neath us.     These  Devonian  rocks  were  formed  along 

H  2 


148 


HA  RD  Wl  CKE  'S  S  CIENCE  ■  G  0  SSIP. 


the  floor  of  an  ancient  sea,  arid  were  afterwards  up- 
heaved and  converted  into  a  mountain-chain,  whose 
rocks  lay  inclined  at  a  steep  angle.  This  mountain- 
chain  was  subsequently  lowered  until  seas  covered 
its  highest  summits,  and  deposited  beds  of  chalk, 
London  clay,  &c.,  which  ultimately  buried  them  up 
to  the  depth  of  more  than  a  thousand  feet. 

J.  E.  Taylor. 


APPEARANCE  OF  CRYSTAL  FORMS  IN 
MOUNTING  MEDIUM. 

THOSE  microscopic  readers  of  Sciexce-Gossip 
who  read  my  paper  on  ' '  Damar  as  a  Mounting 
Medium,"  in  the  November  number  of  last  year,  will 
remember  the  high  terms  in  which  I  spoke  of  it  as  a 
substitute  for  balsam.  As  I  have  found  from  several 
kind  letters  and  slides  received,  that  many  others  are 
of  my  opinion,  I  wish  now  to  call  attention  to  a  most 


Fig.  133.  First  Appeanince  of 
Small  Crystals  in  Damar. 


Fig.  134.   Second  .-Appearance 
of  ditto. 


remarkable  and  aggravating  appearance  that  has 
come  under  my  notice  within  the  last  few  weeks. 
Let  me  remark  at  the  commencement,  that  though 
what  I  am  going  to  describe  is  (as  all  who  read  this 
wjll,  I  feel  sure,  agree)  annoying  to  me  personally, 
still  no  brother  microscopist  with  whom  I  am  ac- 
quainted has  experienced  anything  of  a  like  nature. 
As  you  will  see  by  reference  to  the  paper  mentioned 
above,  I  have  used  damar  in  mounting  for  some  con- 
siderable time,  and  you  will  also  see  the  method  I 
adopt  in  mounting  with  it.  Some  four  weeks  ago  I 
mounted  a  slide  of  a  spiracle  of  a  Privet  Hawk-moth 
larva  for  a  friend,  who  remarked,  on  receiving  it, 
that  there  was  a  peculiar,  scratchy  appearance  seem- 
ingly between  the  slide  and  thin  cover.  On  looking 
myself,  I  remarked  that  it  was  a  scratch  on  the  glass, 
and  so  the  matter  ended  for  the  time.  About  a 
fortnight  since,  however,  I  was  examining  a  slide  of 
Sphturaphides  which  I  had  mounted  a  few  days 
before,  when  I  was  surprised  to  observe  the  same 
appearance  of  scratchiness  that  was  noticed  by  my 
friend  in  the  spiracle  slide,  except  that,  whereas  in 
that  only  two  or  three  scratches  were  visible,  here  they 
were  fast  covering  the  slide,  and  obliterating  almost,  in 
many  cases,  the  Sphneraphides.  I  at  once  saw  that 
these  forms  were  no  marks  on  the  glass,  but  decidedly 
some  chemical  property  either  of  the  object  or  of  the 


fluid.  As  I  had  been  mounting  other  slides  at  the 
time,  I  at  once  examined  them,  when  I  found,  to  my 
annoyance,  all  showed  signs  of  the  crystal  forms  ; 
one  slide  in  particular,  the  mandibles  of  a  house 
spider,  which  I  had  mounted  for  a  friend  rather 
successfully,  I  was  vexed  to  find  almost  surrounded 
by  the  crystal  form,  some  large,  some  small ;  and 
since  then  they  have  quite  covered  part  of  the  object. 
Had  the  crystals  made  their  appearance  in  animal 
preparations  only,   I  should  have   thought  that  the 


Fig.  135.  Crystals  in  Damar,  seen  under  higher  power. 


Fig.  136.     .\nother  set  of  ditto. 

liquor  potasso;  or  turpentine  with  which  they  were 
prepared  had  had  somewhat  to  do  with  it ;  but 
vegetable  and  animal  preparations  shared  the  same 
fate ;  so  I  at  once  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
damar  must  be  the  cause. 

The  tube  of  damar  that  I  am  now  using  has  been 
employed  in  the  mounting  of  many  slides,  and  all, 
with  the  exception  of  those  mounted  within  the  last 
two  or  three  weeks,  are  as  clear  and  good  as  any  one 
could  wish.  The  peculiar  thing  is,  then,  what  is  the 
cause  of  the  damar  only  recently  producing  these 
crystals?     In  order  that  I  might  be  certain  that  the 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  OSS  IP. 


149 


crystals  appeared  from  the  damar,  I  on  Friday 
(February  23rd)  dropped  sonre  damar  on  a  slide,  and 
put  a  thin  cover  over.  On  examining,  I  found  some 
particles  of  an  amber  colour  floating  about  (see 
fig-  '^Z'yl-  On  Saturday  the  slide  appeared  fairly  clear  ; 
but  on  Sunday  morning  an  inch  objective  revealed 
the  crystals  in  their  early  form  (see  fig.  134) :  the  circle 
is  only  drawn  to  show  the  positions  of  the  ciystals 
within  the  thin  glass.  Figs.  135  and  136  show  various 
forms  of  the  crystals,  both  great  and  small,  taken 
from  a  slide  of  antenna  of  Field  Beetle  :  this  slide, 
together  with  one  of  Sphffiraphides,  I  shall  forward 
with  this  to  the  Editor  for  his  inspection. 


THE     GOATSUCKER. 

( Caprimulgiis  Ew'opcEns. ) 

JUST  al^out  this  time  of  the  year,  any  one  taking  a 
country  walk  on  some  fine  evening  towards 
dusk,  in  our  southern  counties,  must  notice  that  most 
remarkable  of  our  migrants,  the  Goatsucker.  Even 
if  the  bird  itself  has  been  overlooked  in  the  shadows 
around,  the  curious  jarring  note  characteristic  of  the 
species  cannot  fail  to  have  been  heard,  seeming* 
perhaps,  to  come  from  close  at  hand,  and  then 
becoming  more  distant,  while  the  bird  is  within  a 
stone's  throAv  from  where  the  listener  stands. 


Fig.  137.  Goatsucker  {Ca^riimil^iis  Eiirppams). 


When  the  polariscope  is  applied,  the  most  beautiful 
colours  emanate  from  the  crystals. 

My  object  in  writing  this  paper '  is  not  only  to  lay 
before  my  readers  an  aggravating  case  of  a  mysterious 
appearance,  but  more  especially  to  (if  possible)  have 
three  questions  solved  by  some  kind  correspondent  or 
correspondents. 

Firstly,  Is  this  a  new  appearance,  and  am  I  a 
solitary  victim  so  far  ?  Secondly,  What  in  damar  is 
likely  to  produce  such  results  ?  Thirdly  and  lastly. 
Why  have  not  the  dozens  of  other  slides  which  I  have 
mounted  from  the  same  tube  developed  the  same 
remarkable  and  annoying  appearance  ? 

Redland.  Charles  F.  W.  T.  Williams. 


The  Goatsucker  reaches  us  about  the  middle  of 
May,  and  leaves  us  at  the  end  of  August  or  beginning 
of  September,  its  stay  being  determined  by  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  insects  on  which  it  feeds.  On  its 
first  arrival  it  at  once  attacks  the  swarms  of  cock- 
chafers, large  or  small,  as  they  congregate  round  the 
tree  tops  in  the  evening,  following  them  in  their 
descent  to  the  meadows  towards  dusk.  Failing  the 
cockchafers,  the  Goatsucker  pursues  an  allied  species, 
the  fernchafer,  which  makes  its  appearance  in  beds 
of  fern  in  June.  Moths — especially  the  large  swallow- 
tailed  moth — and  bees  form  a  large  projDortion  of  the 
food  of  the  Goatsucker,  together  with  dor-beetles  and 
flies  from  the  low  damp  meadows,  and  around  the  cattle. 


15° 


HARD  WICKE 'S    SCIENCE-  G OSSIF. 


The  structure  and  habits  of  the  Goatsucker  seem 
to  constitute  it  a  link  between  the  Swallows  and  the 
Hawks,  while  its  night-flying  propensities  give  it  a 
claim  to  relationship  with  the  Owls.  Its  flight  is 
essentially  hawk-like,  and  exceedingly  rapid  and 
graceful,  though  as  perfectly  silent  as  that  of  an  owl ; 
and  indeed,  on  examining  the  wing,  we  find  a  similar 
margin  to  the  outer  feathers  of  serrated  fibres,  to 
that  possessed  by  the  Owls.  In  common,  too,  with 
them,  the  eyes  are  large  and  bright,  and  surrounded 
by  a  well-marked  radiation  of  feathers.  In  its  general 
characteristics,  however,  the  Goatsucker  resembles 
its  near  relations,  the  Swallows.  The  mouth  is  re- 
markably wide,  the  opening  extending  behind  the 
eye.  The  beak  is  small,  but  the  great  peculiarity 
consists  of  an  array  of  long  bristles  growing  from 
above  and  below,  from  the  margins  of  the  mouth, 
and  so  disposed  as  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the 
insect  when  once  captured — an  obviously  necessaiy 
arrangement  when  we  consider  the  powerful  insects 
on  which  the  bird  feeds.  The  feet,  like  those  of 
other  insectivorous  birds,  are  small  and  weak  :  on 
the  middle  toe,  however,  is  a  peculiar  comb-like 
structure,  formed  by  dilation  and  serration  of  the 
hard  covering  of  the  bone.  What  purpose  this  comb 
serves  is  not  known,  but  it  has  been  conjectured  that 
it  may  be  of  use  in  capturing  and  retaining  large 
moths,  &c.,  while  on  the  wing.  The  only  way  in 
which  the  plumage  of  the  Goatsucker  can  be  described 
is  by  comparing  it  to  the  undermarking  of  the  wings 
of  some  of  the  Vanessidae  among  butterflies.  It  is  a 
most  intricate  combination  of  black-greys  and  sepia. 
This  colouring  renders  the  bird  perfectly  undistin- 
guishable  while  in  shade,  and  probably  preserves  it 
from  notice  in  the  daytime,  as  it  generally  hides 
among  the  long  fern  in  woods,  where  its  colouring 
would  blend  with  that  of  the  dead  leaves  and  wood 
scattered  around. 

The  Goatsucker  breeds  with  us,  laying  its  two 
eggs  on  the  ground,  without  forming  a  nest  of  any 
description.  These  eggs  are  about  the  size  of  a 
dove's,  marked  with  grey  and  brown  on  a  white 
groimd.  I  have  noticed  that  these  two  eggs  are 
never,  as  far  as  I  know,  alike  in  marking,  one  being 
boldly  dappled  with  colour  and  leaving  broad  spaces 
unmarked,  and  the  other  closely  marked  with  small 
spots  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  little  of  the  ground 
showing.  Can  any  one  say  whether  this  is  always 
so? 

Another  point  on  which  I  should  like  information 
is  whether  the  Goatsucker  ever  "jars"  whilst  on 
the  wing,  while  it  is  settled  on  the  ground,  or  length- 
wise on  a  rail.  I  have  seen  it  in  the  act  of  so  doing, 
but  have  never  been  able  to  determine  if  it  does  so 
during  flight.  The  names  of  the  Goatsucker  are 
numerous,  all  referring  to  its  habits.  The  commonest 
are  Fernowl,  Nightjar,  Evesjar,  and  Night-hawk. 

The  range  of  the  family  of  the  Capriinitlgidic  is 
very  extensive,  as  they  belong  to  the  old  and  the  new 


world.  That  of  our  one  English  representative  is 
limited  to  the  southern  and  south-eastern  counties, 
seldom  extending  far  inland. 

Chas.  W.  Whistler. 


AN   IRISH   BOTANIST'S   HOLIDAY   TOUR. 

HAVING  made  up  my  mind  to  snatch  a  few  days 
from  business  and  enjoy  a  brief  holiday,  I 
fixed  on  the  second  week  of  May  last  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  decided  on  devoting  it  to  what  seems  to 
me  the  pleasantest  of  all  mundane  pursuits — botan- 
izing. The  season  thus  selected  was  not,  of  course, 
the  very  best  time  in  which  to  collect  a  large  number 
of  plants,  nevertheless  I  reckoned  on  finding  as 
many  representatives  of  the  spring  flora  of  the  West 
of  Ireland  as  I  could  conveniently  manage  to  dry  on 
my  return. 

My  route  to  the  West  was  by  way  of  Dublin,  and, 
on  nearing  that  city,  I  was  gratified  by  seeing  on  the 
railway-banks  an  abundance  of  Primula  verts,  a 
plant  that  does  not  grow  wild  in  the  county  of 
Antrim,  and  is  extremely  scarce  in  the  neighbouring 
counties  of  Down  and  Derry.  This  species  seems  to 
prefer  a  limestone  soil  :  it  abounds  not  only  about 
Dublin,  but  all  along  the  Midland  Railway  line  to 
Galway,  and  I  observed  it  by  the  road  north-west  of 
that  city  until  near  Outerard.  In  many  places  it 
seems  more  abundant,  even,  than  the  Primrose,  but 
does  not  enter  Connemara.  In  fact,  I  noted  that  the 
Cowslip  disappeared  as  soon  as  we  left  the  limestone 
and  entered  on  a  country  carved  out  of  the  meta- 
morphic  rocks. 

On  reaching  Dublin  I  at  once  made  tracks,  as  the 
Yankees  say,  for  the  Royal  Canal,  in  hope  of  meet- 
ing with  EquisetuDi  IVilsoni  before  night  would  set  in. 
In  this  I  was  successful,  and  found  the  desired  horse- 
tail growing  in  dense  tufts  in  the  shallow  water  at 
the  edge  of  the  canal.  Twilight  was,  however, 
coming  on,  and  not  getting  satisfactory  specimens,  I 
decided  on  visiting  the  canal  again  in  daylight,  when 
returning  from  Galway.  While  referring  to  this 
species  I  may  be  allowed  to  anticipate,  and  just 
mention  that,  eight  days  later,  I  came  up  from 
Galway  by  the  night  mail  for  the  purpose  just  stated. 
The  Midland  line  runs  for  a  great  distance  parallel 
with  the  canal,  and  on  arriving  at  Maynooth,  fifteen 
miles  west  of  Dublin,  I  left  the  train,  and  set  out  on 
foot,  following  the  course  of  the  tow-path.  Equisetniit 
IVilsoni  is  even  more  abundant  than  the  record  in 
"  Cybele  Ilibernica  "  leads  one  to  expect.  I  found 
it  in  quantity  not  only  east  of  Clonsilla,  as  stated  in 
the  "Cybele,"  but  also  close  to  Maynooth,  and  at 
many  points  between  that  station  and  Clonsilla.  It 
grows  in  large  dark-green  masses,  much  more  densely 
tufted  than  either  E.  pahistre  or  E.  liinosiun,  fringing 
the  canal  as  they  do,  but  readily  distinguished,  even 
at   a   distance,   by   its   darker  colour.     E.    IVilsoni 


HARD  WI CKE 'S    S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


151 


comes  very  near  to  E.  trachyodon :  the  latter  grows 
in  a  more  scattered  way,  on  wet  rocks,  never,  as  far 
as  I  have  seen,  in  water,  as  is  the  case  with  its  ally. 

Connemara  is  quite  easy  of  access  to  the  tourist ; 
a  few  hours  bring  one  from  Dublin  to  Galway,  and 
vans  leave  the  latter  city  twice  each  day  for  Clifden, 
in  the  heart  of  the  mountains.  I  took  the  day-car, 
and,  barring  the  dust,  enjoyed  a  delightful  drive  of 
forty  miles,  the  greater  part  of  which  lay  over  wild, 
uninhabited  moors  and  beside  picturesque  mountain- 
lochs,  veritable  rock-basins.  This  i-egion  has  been  so 
often  described  that  it  would  be  useless  to  enlarge  on 
it ;  suffice  it  to  say  that  it  seems  the  very  paradise  of 
the  naturalist.  Here  Nature  holds  undisputed  sway 
over  mountains  and  lakes  that  have  not  been  pro- 
faned by  the  improving  hand  of  man  ;  one  can  label 
specimens  obtained  in  such  a  locality  without  being 
haunted  by  any  doubt  that  they  may  be  only 
"casuals"  or  "introduced." 

Having,  on  the  evening  of  my  an-ival,  perambu- 
lated the  boundaries  of  Clifden,  a  clean  and  respect- 
able village  for  such  an  out-of-the-way  region,  I  set 
out  next  morning  to  visit  Urrisbeg,  and  fill  my  vas- 
culum  with  specimens  of  the  beautiful  heath  Erica 
Mediterranea,  I  made  an  early  start,  and  soon 
leaving  the  road,  struck  out  across  the  moor,  or,  as 
they  call  it  here,  the  mountain.  This  seems  to  be  in 
Ireland  the  usual  term  for  a  heath  ;  and  I  found  that 
I  was  not  understood  when  I  spoke  of  Urrisbeg  as 
the  mountain,  but  that  it  was  necessary  to  distinguish 
it  as  the  hill,  and  to  call  the  low-lying  boggy  flat 
behind  it,  with  its  numberless  lakelets,  the  mountain, 
Urrisbeg,  though  dignified  in  books  as  a  mountain,  is 
not  entitled  to  that  distinction,  being  only  a  hill  of 
987  feet,  that  overlooks  Roundstone  Bay,  and  domi- 
nates the  pretty  little  village  of  that  name.  It  is 
one  of  those  hills  that,  by  reason  of  their  isolation, 
appear  much  larger  than  they  really  are.  In  the 
seven  or  eight  hours  that  I  spent  there  I  ascended 
and  descended  it  many  times,  and  on  all  sides,  poking 
into  nearly  every  nook,  and  scaling  nearly  every  crag 
to  be  met  with.  I  was,  however,  disappointed  with 
regard  to  its  botanical  riches  :  as  far  as  the  early 
spring  is  concerned,  it  is  scarcely  worth  a  visit. 
Orchis  Morio  was  rather  plentiful  in  places,  but  the 
plants  small.  I  found  also  leaves  of  Vacciniu)n  vitis- 
idcea.  Glyphomitrium  Daviesii,  a  rather  rare  moss, 
occurs  on  rocks  near  the  summit,  but  not  in  such 
plenty  as  we  find  in  Antrim.  Erica  Mediterranea 
was  not  to  be  found  anywhere,  and,  after  careful 
search,  I  could  not  help  feeling  considerable  doubt 
as  to  whether  a  single  scrap  of  it  now  remains  on  the 
hill.  I  had  consulted  all  the  notices  of  this  heath 
that  I  could  find,  and  certainly  the  impression  re- 
ceived from  reading  these  was  that  the  plant  grows 
plentifully  on  Urrisbeg.  That,  doubtless,  has  been 
the  case ;  but  it  is  certain  that  it  is  now  nearly,  if  not 
altogether,  extirpated  in  that  station.  Having  stayed 
on  the  hill  until  sunset,  and  then  got  entangled  in  a 


labyrinth  of  little  lakelets,  out  of  which  there  seemed 
to  be  no  outlet.  I  was  delayed  until  near  midnight 
before  reaching  the  hotel  at  Clifden.  Here  I  found 
the  people  all  gone  to  bed,  save  the  "boots,"  and  I 
had  to  retire  supperless,  a  regimen  that  possibly  was 
healthful,  but  scarcely  agreeable  under  the  circum- 
stances. 

Next  day  I  started  to  visit  the  Twelve  Pins,  and 
took  advantage  of  the  van  as  far  as  Ballynahineh, 
from  whence  I  commenced  the  ascent  of  Ben  Lettery. 
The  Twelve  Pins  form  a  magnificent  group  of  moun- 
tains, and  the  climbing  is  excellent.  Bare  rocks,  as 
hard  and  as  reliable  as  a  street  pavement,  give  a  firm 
footing ;  and  in  scaling  the  steepest  cliffs,  one  feels 
that  he  may  trust  his  life  on  the  smallest  surface 
whereon  he  can  get  foothold.  During  the  day,  I 
ascended  three  of  the  principal  tops,  and  had  I  not 
been  occupied  with  plant-hunting,  I  could  have  done 
the  whole  dozen  before  night.  A  fine  stream  comes 
down  the  west  face  of  Ben  Lettery,  and  has  cut  a 
deep  gorge,  in  which  plants  attain  unusual  luxuriance. 
Here,  in  a  sheltered,  sunny  nook  I  found  one  speci- 
men of  Dabeocia  polifolia  already  (May  10)  in  flower. 
I  also  found  Sphagnum  riibellii/n  growing  on  rocks 
by  the  stream,  and  in  abundant  fructification  thus 
early  :  this  moss  is  plentiful  in  the  North  of  Ireland, 
but  I  have  never  seen  it  fruiting  there.  The  greatest 
charm  of  this  mountain  is,  however,  the  London 
Pride  {Saxifraga  lonbrosa),  Avhich  grows  in  the 
greatest  profiision  from  the  base  up,  close  to  the  very 
summit :  the  form  that  occurs  is  the  variety  punctata, 
and  it  is  especially  luxuriant  on  the  banks  of  the 
stream,  becoming  dwarfed  on  the  dry,  unsheltered 
cliffs  above.  On  the  summit  I  found  Armeria  mari- 
tima,  a  dwarf  form,  and  not  in  flower ;  Cochlearia 
alpina  also  occurs,  growing  on  the  caini  at  the  very 
summit  of  Lettery.  The  cryptogamic  floi^a  of  these 
mountains  seems  to  be  good.  I  have  luxuriant  speci- 
mens of  Hyinenophyllwn  Wilsoni  in  my  herbarium, 
from  gorges  cut  in  the  cliffs  :  some  of  my  fronds 
measure  five  inches  in  length.  Hypnnm  fiagellare 
occurs  in  profusion  on  wet  rocks  by  the  stream,  but 
barren  ;  Eiitosthodon  Tcniplctonii  also  occurs,  but  not 
plentifully  ;  Hypnion  uridiilatitm  grows  magnificently, 
but  immature  at  that  date  ;  Catiipylopiis  atrovirens 
was  abundant,  but  not  in  fruit.  I  am  not  familiar 
with  the  Hepatica,  but  one  fine  species  that  I  met 
with  abundantly  could  not  fail  to  attract  attention — 
namely,  Physiotium  cochlear  if orme.  Sendtnera  adunca 
was  also  in  great  quantity.  At  the  base  of  the 
mountain  were  great  plants  of  the  Royal  Fern  just 
commencing  to  throw  up  their  fronds.  Here  also  I 
met  with  Carduus  nutans  in  flower,  but  not  full- 
grown. 

On  the  next  day  I  set  out  on  my  return,  and  on 
the  way  enjoyed  the  excitement  of  a  breakdown  that 
threatened  to  keep  us  longer  in  the  mountains  than 
we  had  bargained  for.  Late  in  the  afternoon  I 
arrived  in  Galway,  and  arranged  with  a  Claddagh 


152 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE  -G  OS  SI  P. 


fisherman  to  take  me  across  the  bay  next  morning  to 
Ballyvaughan,  in  the  famous  Burren  of  Clare,  which 
yields  more  rare  plants  than  can  be  found  in  the 
same  area  anywhere  else  in  Ireland.  Ballyvaughan 
is  the  headquarters  of  the  botanist  who  would  do  the 
Burren,  and  the  very  comfortable  hotel  there  is  kept 
by  a  gentleman  who  is  one  of  the  "  ould  stock  "  of 
CO.  Clare,  and  who  understands  the  use  of  the  vascii- 
liivi,  and  takes  an  interest  in  directing  the  visitor  to 
spots  where  he  is  likely  to  meet  with  rarities  to  fill 
it.  The  I'ocks  here  are  of  carboniferous  limestone, 
and  not  only  very  singular,  but  especially  adapted  for 
the  growth  of  many  of  the  species  that  abound  in 
this  region.  The  limestone  is  split  up  by  numerous 
fissures,  varying  from  a  few  inches  to  two  or  three 
feet  in  width.  These  fissures  are  not  filled  up  to  the 
surface  with  soil,  and  plants  that  cannot  endure  the 
full  blaze  of  the  sun  find  needful  shade  between 
the  vertical  walls.  The  Scaly  Hart's-tongue  grows 
in  these  clefts  with  a  luxuriance  beyond  anything 
that  I  had  anticipated,  and  in  enormous  profusion. 
On  the  afternoon  of  my  arrival  I  visited  Blackhead, 
on  the  southern  shore  of  Galway  Bay,  a  singularly 
terraced  hill  of  650  feet.  On  the  rocks  here  Dryas 
octopetala  grows  in  immense  quantity ;  the  large 
cream-coloured  flowers  are  very  fine,  resembling 
closely  those  of  Rosa  spinosissiina.  The  Bear-berry 
{A .  7iva-7irsi)  grows  here  also,  and  was  just  in  flower 
at  this  time.  On  my  second  and  last  day  in  the 
Burren  I  passed  again  over  Blackhead,  and  proceeded 
a  good  distance  to  the  south  of  it.  I  found  Hclian- 
themum  canum  —  three  small  specimens  only ;  its 
bright  yellow  flowers  are  hard  to  distinguish  from 
those  of  P.  toriiientilla  as  one  passes  along.  After  a 
long  and  patient  search  I  came  upon  Adiantiim 
Capilhis-  Veneris,  and  brought  away  a  few  of  the  roots, 
the  fronds  being  not  yet  up.  I  was  almost  ashamed 
of  taking  the  plants,  as  the  Maiden-hair  is  rapidly 
becoming  more  rare.  My  scruples  were,  however, 
allayed  on  my  return  to  Ballyvaughan.  Here  I  met 
with  a  collector,  or  rather  an  extirpator,  who  had 
come  over  to  gather  rare  ferns  for  the  English  market. 
Armed  with  a  sledge-hammer,  and  assisted  by  a 
native  with  a  donkey-cart,  the  coast  was  scoured  and 
ferns  were  being  lifted  by  the  hundred.  The  few 
select  specimens  which  the  botanist  takes  away  can 
have  little  effect  on  the  life  of  the  species  ;  but  such 
wholesale  uprooting  for  commercial  purposes  as  I 
witnessed  must,  in  a  brief  period,  doom  to  extinction 
any  plant  which  has  the  misfortune  to  become  fashion- 
able. Why  do  not  fern-cultivators  endeavour  to 
raise  their  plants  from  spores,  instead  of  banishing  the 
ancient  denizens  of  the  country  from  their  native 
rocks  ?  Gentiana  verna  deserves  a  passing  notice 
before  concluding  this  narrative  :  the  short  pastures 
and  the  hillsides  were  everywhere  spangled  with  the 
brilliant  blue  flowers  of  this  lovely  plant  :  on  this  side 
of  Galway  Bay  it  is  one  of  the  commonest  species 
met  with.  S.  A.  Stewart,  Belfast. 


CHAPTERS    ON 

CARBONIFEROUS     POLYZOA. 

No.  II. 

By  G.  R.  Vine. 

IN  writing  these  Papers  it  will,  I  hope,  be  under- 
stood that  they  are  to  be  taken  in  a  popular,  rather 
than  in  a  strictly  scientific  sense.  In  the  present  state 
of  our  knowledge  of  these  fossil  Polyzoa,  we  can  do 
no  more  than  classify  provisionally.  Before  long  the 
whole  class  will  have  to  undergo  complete  revision. 
Even  now,  with  the  material  already  in  the  hands  of 
specialists,  it  is  a  great  difficulty  to  completely  identify 
species,  either  by  the  figures  or  the  written  descrip- 
tions of  Phillips  or  M"^Coy.  In  my  first  paper  I  felt 
that  the  whole  weight  of  responsibility  would  have 
rested  upon  me  had  I  committed  myself  to  original 
figures  or  descriptions.  I  therefore  gave  figures  from 
Phillips  and  Nicholson  as  the  most  accessible  to  me 
at  the  time.     Since  then  I  have  received  the  kindly 


^^..^5 


Fig.  138.  Cdk  of  Fe/iesM/a,  in  section. 


^ FenestcUa  tcnnijila  (Phillips). 


Fig.  139.  Non-poriferous  side, 
slightly  rubbed  down,  to  show 
base  of  cells. 


Fig.   140.     Poriferous   side. 
Nat.  size  4  of  an  inch. 


advice  of  Mr.  John  Young,  of  the  Hunterian  Museum, 
Glasgow,  also  two  papers  by  him  on  Carboniferous 
Polyzoa  ;  and  rather  than  alter  what  I  had  previously 
written,  I  give  this  introductory  paragraph  as  a  guard, 
both  to  myself  and  to  the  readers  of  this  journal, 
that  specific  distinctions  can  only  be  at  present  pro- 
visional. A  vast  field  of  inquiry  is  open  for  intending 
students,  and  if  I  can  influence  some  few  of  the  many 
microscopists  to  turn  their  attention  to  this  much 
neglected  branch  of  study,  these  articles  will  not  have 
been  written  in  vain. 

At  the  base  of  that  division  of  the  animal  kingdom 
termed  MOLLUSCA,  the  Polyzoa  are  now,  by  universal 
consent,  most  judiciously  placed.  They  thus  enjoy  with 
the  Tiiuicata  a  subdivision  which  is  called  the  MOL- 
LUSCOIDA.  "The  class  ol  Polyzoa  is  composed  of 
small  animals,  which  always  grow  together  upon  a 
common  stock,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  compound 
Polypes,  with  which  they  were  formerly  arranged. 
Each  animal  resides  in  a  separate  cell,  within  which  it 
can  usually  retract  itself  entirely.  The  cells  are  some- 
times soft  and  flexible,   sometimes  horny,  and  some- 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


15: 


times  calcareous:  they  frequently  stand  upon  short 
footstalks  rising  from  a  tubular  stock,  which  creeps 
over  the  surface  of  stones  and  aquatic  plants,  in  the 
same  way  as  the  horny  stems  of  many  of  the  hydroid 
polypes.  In  other  cases  the  cells  are  sessile,  forming 
a  crust  upon  submarine  objects,  whilst  in  others  the 
colony  is  attached  only  by  its  base,  with  the  opposite 
extremity  floating  freely  in  the  water.  In  these  the 
stock  is  more  or  less  branched,  and  often  leaf-like. 
.  .  .  The  cells  are  generally  partially  free  ;  but  in 
some  of  the  stony  species  they  form  a  calcareous 
mass,  presenting  some  resemblance  to  true  Corals, 
from  which,  however,  they  may  always  be  distin- 
guished by  the  absence  of  the  calcareous  partitions 
which  the  latter  invariably  exhibit."* 


Fig.  141.    Cell-Structure  of  Retef>ora, 
from    Coralline     Crag,    Suffolk, 
a.  fenestrule.    Nat.  size  i  of  inch. 


Fig.  142.  Two  cells 
of  Fciiestellafor- 
inosa,  highly 

magnified. 


The  Tiinicafa  have  no  known  fossil  representatives, 
on  account,  probably,  of  the  absence  of  those  hard 
parts  which  were  most  likely  to  be  preserved ;  but 
the  Polyzoa  have  fossil  representatives,  ranging  from 
the  lower  Silurian  rocks  up  to  the  Post-Tertiary,  and 
family  connections  connecting  the  living  Polyzoa  of 
to-day  with  families  which  long  ages  ago  had  become 
extinct. 

The  ordinary  divisions  of  this  important  class  have 
reference  chiefly  to  living  genera,  or  to  genera  which 
can  be  traced  backward  in  time,  connecting  the  living 
with  the  fossil  species.  To  follow  the  subject  still 
further  backward,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  take 
in  the  whole  class  and  allow  the  old  to  piece  in  with 
the  new,  and  thus  form  a  connected  group,  whether 
that  group,  or  portions  only  of  that  group,  may  be 
designated  either  fossil  or  recent.  It  will  be  well, 
therefoi'e,  to  confine  our  attention  to  one  arrangement 
of  the  Palpeontological  record,  rather  than  to  many  ; 
and  the  student  who  desires  to  enlarge  his  knowledge 
of  the  past  may  very  appropriately  study  the  affinities 
of  those  genera  named  in  the  list  which  belong  to  the 
living  Polyzoa  of  our  present  seas. 

M.  Pictet,  in  his  Palaeontology,  divides  the  Polyzoa 
into  two  groups.  One  (A)  called  the  Cellulina  or 
EsCHARlD.T,  group  ;    the  other  (B)  called  the  Cen- 

*  W.  S.  Dallas,  F.L.S.     "  Invertebrated  Animals." 


TRIFUGIN.E  or  TUBULIPORID^  group.     Tlicse  are 
again  subdivided  into  families. 

A. — The  Cellulina. 

Family  I. — Cellarioid^e,  of  which  the  genera 
Electra,  Electrina,  Caberea,  Reteplectrina  have  no 
known  fossil  species  ;  Cauda,  Cellaria,  Tubucellaria, 
with  fossil  representatives. 

Family  II. — Escharoidea  :  Lanceopora,  Tere- 
bripora,  no  fossil  species  ;  Vincitlaria,  Eschara,  Lu- 
nulites,  Rdcpoi-a,  Cellepora,  Vincularina,  Porina, 
Escharifora,  Discoporella,  Steginopora.  Some  of 
the  genera  in  this  list  have  fossil  species  ranging  from 
the  Palaeozoic  rocks  to  the  present  seas,  or  to  the 
cretaceous  formation. 

Family  III. — Flustrinoida  :  Siphonella,  Flus- 
trella,  Flustrina,  all  with  fossil  representatives. 


Fig.  143.    F./onnosa  (Hurst,  Fig.  144.  Fenestclla  imifii- 

Vorkshire),    showing   fenes-  lata    (Phillips).        Nat. 

trule   at   bifurcation.     Nat.  size  ^-^   of    inch.      Pori- 

size  yV  of  inch.  ferous  face,    imperfectly 

rubbed,  showing  both 
the  inner  chamber  and 
also  the  mouth  of  cell 
undulating  the  margin. 

B. — The  Centrifugin^.  (The  Cyclostomata  of 
Busk). 

Family  I. — Radicell.'E  :  Crisea,  Unicrisia. 

Family  II. — Operculin^  :  Nodelea,  and  the 
extinct  genera  Melicertites  and  Elea. 

Family  III. — Tubulu'orid.e  :  Fasciculipora, 
Frondipora,  Berenicea,  Idmonea,  Tubulipora,  Sto- 
matopora,  Hornera,  and  the  extinct  genera  Theonoa, 
Fascipora,  Spiropora  (Cricopora),  Diastopora,  Cavea, 
Ceriopora,  Heteropora.  To  these  M.  Pictet  appends 
the  following  extinct  genera  :  Fenestella,  Synodadia, 
Glauconome,  Piilodycda,  Seriatopora,  and  Oldhamia. 
Below  these,  Professor  Huxley  is  of  opinion,  the 
family  of  Graptolites  ought  to  be  placed.* 

In  dealing  with  the  Carboniferous  Polyzoa,  the  only 
genera  I  shall  have  to  illustrate  and  describe  in  the 
above  list  are  those  printed  in  italics.  The  list  will 
be  useful  to  the  scientific  student,  and  those  who 
wish  to  follow  up  the  study  will  do  well  to  refer  to 
Mr.  Busk's  arrangement  as  given  in  his  "Crag 
Polyzoa  "  and  museum  catalogues. 

Fenestella. — This  genus,  as  restricted  by  Lons- 
dale from  Miller's  MSS.,  so   far   as   is  yet  known' 

*  Jukes's  •'  Manual  of  Geology,"  pp.  367-8.  I  have  not 
mentioned  the  sub-genera,  extinct  and  living,  as  given  by 
Jukes. 


154 


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


began  in  the  Lower  Silurian,  having  but  one  repre- 
sentative ;  in  the  Upper  Silurian,  six ;  in  the  Devonian, 
five  ;  in  the  Carboniferoiis  formation,  twenty-two,  and 
in  the  Permian,  one.  This  was  previous  to  the  labours 
of  Professor  Nicholson  on  the  Palaeozoic  Palaeontology 
of  North  America.  Since  then  he  has  described  several 
species  new  to  the  fauna  of  the  Silurian  and  Devonian 
era,  swelling  the  list  of  described  species  to  nearly 
forty  in  number — a  sufficient  evidence  that  this  was 
the  most  prevailing  genus  of  the  Palaeozoic  seas. 
The  signification  of  the  term  is,  a  "little  window," 
and  if  the  reader  will  bear  this  interpretation  in  mind, 
he  will  soon  get  over  the  difficulty  of  specific  dif- 
ferences. Let  us,  then,  suppose  a  common  window- 
frame,  minus  the  glass.  The  vertical  bars  will  repre- 
sent the  "interstices,''  the  horizontal  bars  the  "  dis- 
sepiments," and  the  open  spaces  where  the  glass 
should  be,  "  fenestrules. "  The  whole  expansion  is 
called  a  Polyzoary.  Pi-ofessor  Nicholson,  in  de- 
scribing species  of  Fenestella,  calls  the  vertical  bars 
"branches,"  and  wherever  the  branches  separate,  like 
the  prongs  of  a  fork,  "bifurcations." 

The  Polyzoary  of  the  Fenestella  is  a  calcareous  and 
cellular  structure,  forming  a  conical  or  fan-shape 
expansion  of  radiating  branches.  The  external  surface 
of  the  branches  is  rounded  and  covered  by  a  minutely 
porous  layer.  The  middle  portion  of  the  interstices 
is  occupied  by  a  keel  (carina)  separating  two  rows  of 
mouths  or  short  tubular  cells.  The  non-celluliferous 
side  is  formed  internally  of  a  layer  of  vertical  hair- 
like tubes.*  Many  of  the  species  of  Fenestella 
encrusting  rocky  masses  of  the  Silurian  or  the 
Devonian  seas  are  known  only  by  the  non-poriferous 
side,  as  also  many  species  of  the  carboniferous  lime- 
stone. Whenever  the  celluliferous  side  is  shown,  the 
cell-mouths  are  either  round  or  slightly  oval.  In 
section,  the  cells  may  be  said  to  have  an  outer  and 
an  inner  chamber,  but  are  really  the  continuous  cell 
in  an  oblique  line.  In  the  longitudinal  section,  pre- 
pared for  microscopic  examination,  the  keel  is  a  thin 
wall  with  a  sinuous  outline,  which  occupies  the  whole 
length  of  the  branch,  separating  the  two  rows  of 
pores  which  nin  along  the  border-lines  of  the  fenes- 
trules. Evei-y  cell  is  independent  of  the  other,  and 
the  living  animal,  which  at  one  time  occupied  the  cell, 
was  as  distinct  in  its  habitation  as  are  the  cyclosto- 
matous  Polyzoa  of  the  present  time.  The  dissepi- 
ments are,  apparently,  continuations  of  the  border- 
line of  the  fenestndes,  forming  a  part  of  the  cccnecium 
only,  and  are  entirely  destitute  of  pores.  The  exact 
fonn  of  the  cell  is  not  peculiar  to  Fenestella,  but  there 
is  a  generic  difference  in  the  manner  of  development 
of  the  cell  along  the  whole  length  of  the  branches 
which  separate  the  species  of  this  genera  from  Rete- 
pora,  although  there  may  be  a  resemblance  in  the 
facial  configuration.  My  experience  leads  me  to 
believe  that  true  Retepora  are   far  from  common  in 

*Sce  M-^Coy's  "Carb.   Fossils." 


the  carboniferous  limestone  ;  and  to  study  the 
affinities  of  the  genera  I  have  had  to  have  recourse 
to  sections  of  species  from  the  Coralline  crag  of  Suffolk. 
In  Retepora  the  cells  are  in  oblique  lines,  and  the 
fenestrules,  on  account  of  their  irregularity,  are  pro- 
bably accidental  in  part,  whilst  in  Fenestella  the  shape 
of  the  fene.strule  has  often  been  taken  as  the  ground- 
work of  specific  distinction.  The  development  of 
Fenestella,  as  also  the  development  of  Polyzoa 
generally,  was  from  the  base  outwards  by  means 
of  bifurcations  of  the  branches.  In  one  particular 
species  {F.  forinosa),  at  every  bifurcation  of  the 
branch,  a  cell,  larger  than  the  ordinary  cells,  M'Coy 
says,*  is  formed  in  each  angle. t  In  the  specimen  that 
I  am  now  describing,  from  Hurst,  in  Yorkshire,  this 
angular  cell  is  formed  within  the  immediate  angle 
of  bifurcation,  having  a  small  tubercle  where  the 
branches  join.  A  narrow  keeled  dissepiment  unites 
the  interstices,  and  above  this  two  cells,  the  walls  of 
which  come  close  together  without  any  intercellular 
space,  form  the  real  base  of  the  newly-rdeveloped 
fenestrule  ;  above  this,  four  circular  cells  are  formed 
on  each  side  of  the  interstices  of  the  fenestrule,  about 
half  the  cell's  diameter  apart.  This  regularity  is,  in 
many  cases,  uneriing ;  but  the  animals  were  not 
always  regular  in  their  continuous  operation,  for  at 
one  bifurcation  in  the  same  specimen  no  fenestrule  is 
formed,  and  the  slightly  alternate  cells  are  developed 
in  one  plane,  the  interstices  of  the  non-poriferous 
side  being  likewise  double.  I  notice  another  pecu- 
liarity in  this  species,  but  in  another  specimen.  The 
first-formed  fenestrule  above  the  root  is  destitute  of 
cells,  and  even  the  fenestrule  above  this  is  destitute 
of  cells  on  the  interstices  fully  a  third  of  the  distance 
upwards,  and  the  uninterrupted  branches  are  covered 
with  closely-set  strips,  bending  in  a  spiral  round  the 
branch. 

Another  species  of  Fenestella  found  at  Hurst,  in 
Yorkshire,  will  answer  to  the  description  given  of 
F.  bicellnlata,  a  new  species  of  Fenestella  found  in 
fragments  only  in  the  Calderwood  limestones  of 
Western  Scotland.  The  specimen  measures  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  by  three-sixteenths.  The  celluliferous,  as 
well  as  the  non-celluliferous  aspect,  is  distinctly 
visible.  In  the  limits  of  this  space  I  can  count  41 
fenestrules,  besides  several  halves.  The  enlargement 
of  this  species  is  by  bifurcations,  and  the  fenestrules 
on  the  non-poriferous  side  are  very  much  like  the 
Devonian  species  figured  in  Science-Gossip  for  May 
(fig.  loi),  but  considerably  smaller,  and  the  branches 
rounded.  The  Polyzoarium  is  flattened  and  ex- 
panding. The  interstices  are  straight,  carinated 
(keeled),  occasionally  bifurcating,  and  the  whole 
carina  is  ornamented  by  prominent  pores.  There  is 
no  regularity  in  the  arrangement  of  these  pores  ; 
occasionally  one  pore  is  placed  at  the  end  of  each 

*  "  Carboniferous  Fossils." 

t  In  several  specimens  that  I  have  in  my  cabinet  the|cell  of 
the  angle  is  the  same  size  as  the  other  cells. 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  OS  SIP. 


155 


dissepiment  and  one  between,  but  only  occasionally. 
The  dissepiments  arc  thin  and  sub-opposite.  The 
fenestrules  are  nearly  square,  and  the  margins  are 
slightly  indented  by  the  cells.  The  cells  are  in  alter- 
nating rows  on  the  margins  of  the  fenestrules,  one 
placed  in  each  angle  formed  by  the  junction  of  the 
interstices  and  dissepiments,  and  one  between ;  some- 
times the  cells  of  the  angle  are  on  the  dissepiments. 
A  cell  not  larger  than  ordinary  cells  is  placed  on  the 
keel,  as  well  as  in  the  angle  of  bifurcation.  In  this 
description  I  have  adopted  all  that  I  could  adopt 
from  Mr.  Robert  Etheridge's  description  from  one 
of  the  Appendices  of  the  "Geo.  Survey,  Scotland" 
(Sheet  23). 

Nearly  all  the  species  figured  and  described  by 
Phillips,  in  his  "  Geology  of  Yorkshire,"  under  the 
generic  term  Refepora,  are  now  considered  to  be  true 
Fenestella.  In  F.  membra nacea^  the  interstices  are 
straight,  equidistant,  with  elongated  fenestrules,  and 
pores  a  little  oblong,  with  tln'ck  dissepiments.  In 
F.  flabellata  the  dissepiments  are  thin,  and  the  pores 
small  but  prominent.  In  F.  temdfila  the  dissepi- 
ments and  interstices  are  thin,  the  fenestrules  rectan- 
gular with  small  pores  with  prominent  edges.  In 
F.  undulata  the  interstices  are  also  thin,  fenestniles 
large  and  irregular,  with  large  prominent  pores.  The 
species  figured  from  Nicholson's  f  sketch  is  nearly  al- 
lied to  F.  laxa,  which  Phillips  describes,  from  the  Car- 
boniferous and  Devonian  rocks  of  Great  Britain — a 
proof  of  the  wide  geographical  range  of  allied  species. 
The  differences  in  the  fenestrules  of  F.  laxa  are, 
however,  from  two  to  four  times  larger  than  those  of 
F.  magnifica.  In  the  species  termed  F.  nodtilosa  the 
branching  is  very  peculiar  ;  the  fenestrules  are  com- 
paratively close  together,  and  the  pores — generally 
three  in  number — undulate  the  margin,  with  small 
pores  in  the  interstices.  The  interstices  of  F.  poly- 
porata  are  thick,  the  fenestrules  large  and  irregular, 
with  numerous  small  rounded  pores.  In  the  Geo- 
logical Survey  of  Scotland,  several  new  species  are 
described  in  the  explanatory  memoir  of  sheet  23,  but 
the  specimens  discovered  and  described  are  in  a  veiy 
fragmentary  condition.  Two  of  these — F.  bicelhtlata, 
already  described,  and  F.  tubercitlo-carinata — may, 
says  the  author,  with  the  discovery  of  better  material, 
probably  rank  as  distinct  species  ;  the  fragments  are, 
however,  well  marked,  and  distinct  from  others.  In 
his  catalogue  of  carboniferous  fossils,  ]M'"Coy  figures 
ten  more  species,  as  found  in  the  British  carboniferous 
rocks.  Tliey  are  F.  carinata,  crassa,  ejuncida,  hemi- 
spherica,  JMorrisii,  mnltiporata,  ocnlata,  plcbcia,  quad- 
radecitnalis,  and  variocosa.  In  the  Carboniferous 
Limestone  formation  of  Nova  Scotia,  Fenestella 
plebeia  (M<^Coy)  was  recognized  by  Mr.  J.  Kirkby  as 
common  to  the  Permian  and  Carboniferous  formations 
of  England.    Amongst  a  series  of  Indian  carboniferous 

*  Fig.  89,  SciENCE-Gossir,  May. 

t  Science-Gossip,   May,  p.    109.     Figs.   loi   and   102.     F. 
jHiignifica,  Nicholson. 


fossils  discovered  by  Dr.  A.  Fleming,  of  Edinburgh, 
and  described  by  Professor  de  Koninck,*  there  were 
three  Polyzoa  provisionally  classed  with  Fenestella 
and  Retepora.  The  first  of  these,  F.  megastoma  (De 
Kon),  has  a  faint  resemblance  to  F.  crassa  of  M'"Coy. 
"  It  is  composed  of  rays  which  are  sub-parallel  with 
each  other,  and  the  visible  surface  is  garnished  with 
very  small  longitudinal  stride,  similar  to  those  which 
ornament  one  of  the  surfaces  of  some  other  species." 
The  non-poriferous  side  only  of  this  species  is  known ; 
and,  judging  from  this,  the  species  differs  from  F. 
crassa  by  the  much  more  shortened  shape  of  its 
fenestrules  and  the  distance  of  its  principal  branches. 
There  is  another  Fenestella  among  the  Indian  fossils 
which  De  Koninck  names  F.  Sykesii,  the  figure  of 
which  has  some  resemblance  to  an  Irish  specimen  in 
my  own  cabinet.  The  Indian  "  Polyzoa  is  fan- 
shaped,  irregularly  plaited,  composed  of  a  number 
of  rays  soldered  one  to  the  other,  the  direction  of 
which  is  indicated  solely  by  the  feeble  thickening, 
and  especially  by  the  series  of  small  circular  openings 
which  border  them.  The  arrangement  of  the  open- 
ings demonstrates  sufficiently  that  the  rays  bifurcated 
once,  or  several  times,  during  the  development  of 
the  polyzoarium,  and  that  this  bifurcation  is  the 
principal  cause  of  its  rapid  enlargement.  The 
openings  are  almost  all  the  same  size,  and  are  little 
more  than  half  a  millimetre  in  diameter.  One  may 
generally  count  seven  in  the  breadth  of  a  centimetre. 
There  is  no  trace  of  pores  and  strise  on  the  surface  of 
the  specimen,  although  it  is  perfectly  well  preserved."+ 
The  same  description  will  suit  the  Irish  species  from 
Athlone,  with  this  exception  :  the  polyzoary  is  much 
more  delicate  than  the  Indian  species,  and  the 
openings  (fenestrules?)  count  about  twelve  to  the 
one-eighth  of  an  inch,  both  ways,  and  the  shape  of 
the  openings  is  hexagonal  instead  of  circular. 

One  remarkable  genus  of  recent  Polyzoa  approaches 
the  Fenestella,  not  so  much  by  the  development  of  the 
cell  as  by  the  fenestrate  appearance  of  the  poly- 
zoarium. The  genus  was  established  by  Kirchenpaur, 
and  called  Retihornera.  "  The  zoarium  is  foliaceous, 
composed  of  sub-parallel  branches  connected  by 
transverse  tubules,  so  as  to  form  an  expanded  frond 
with  quadrangular  fenestr?e. "  M'^Gillivray's  species, 
discovered  among  the  Australian  Polyzoa,  is  placed 
by  Busk  among  this  genus,  with  the  remark  that 
"  Herr  Kirchenpaur's  genus  Retihornera  would, 
from  his  descriptions,  appear  to  include  some  Es- 
charidan  or  cheilostomatous  forms  approaching  Rete- 
pora ;  but  amongst  them,  his  R.  dentata  and  plicata 
appear  without  doubt  to  be  cyclostomatous ;  and  I 
have  therefore  ventured  to  appropriate  his  expressive 
appellation  for  the  fenesti'ate  forms  of  hornera,  not 
regarding  it,  however,  as  impossible  that  the  fossil 
genus  Fenestella  may  have  a  prior  claim  after  all."+ 


*  Quarterly  Journal  0/  Geo.  Soc,  vol.  xix.,  1862. 

t  De  Koninck,  ibid. 

%  Busk's  "Mus.  Catalogue,"  Part  III.,  page  20. 


156 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


I  have  the  fragments  of  several  undescribed  species 
of  Fenestella,  but  enough  has  been  said  in  a  popular 
article  to  indicate  the  riches  of  the  Carboniferous 
formation  ;  and  I  now  desire  that  local  investigators 
in  and  around  Richmond  and  Hurst,  in  Yorkshire, 
will  search  for  species  of  Fencstella,  Glauconome, 
Ccriopo7'a,  and  Vmcularia,  as  the  riches  of  this  deposit 
are  equalled  only  by  that  of  Hairmyre,  in  Scotland. 

Attercliffe,  Sheffield. 

{To  be  coiid/tucd.) 


sometimes  seen  in  the  Hebrides,  and  believed  by  the 
natives  to  be  a  distinct  species  :  this  was  rendered 
probable  by  their  not  associating  with  the  common 
seals,  and  not  being  so  wild  in  their  nature.  It  is 
thought  i^robable  that  this  small  seal  may  have  been 
P.  hispida.  I  have  more  than  once  heard  of  small 
dark-coloured  seals  having  been  seen  on  the  Norfolk 
and  Lincolnshire  coast,  or  exhibited  in  the  towns, 
which  it  is  quite  possible  also  may  have  belonged  to 
this  species.  That  it  inhabited  the  coast  of  Scotland 
in  the  past,  there  is  evidence  in  the  abundance  of  the 


Fig.  145.   Ringed  or  Marbled  Seal  [Phoca  hispida,  Schreber). 


ON  THE    SEALS    AND    WHALES    OF   THE 
BRITISH  SEAS. 

No.  IL 

By  Thomas  Southwell,  F.Z.S., 

Hon.    Secretary  to  the   Norfolk  and   Norwich 
Naturalists'  Society. 

THE  only  recorded  instance  of  the  occurrence  of 
the  Ringed  Seal,  Phoca  hispida,  Schreber 
(fig.  145),  on  the  British  coast,  is  that  of  an  individual 
captured  on  the  Norfolk  coast  in  June,  1846,  and 
purchased  by  Mr.  J.  II.  Gumey,  in  the  flesh,  in  the 
Norwich  fish-market,  the  skull  of  which  is  now  in 
the  museum  of  that  city.  Although  no  other  instance 
of  its  occurrence  is  on  record,  it  seems  not  improbable 
that  it  may  occasionally  be  met  M'ith,  and  pass  un- 
recognized. In  the  first  volume  of  the  "Magazine  of 
Zoology  and  Botany,"  Mr.  Wilson,  in  a  paper  on  the 
Scottish  seals,   speaks   of    a   small  seal   which  was 


remains  of  this  species  found  in  the  glacial  clays  of 
that  country,  as  identified  by  Professor  Turner.*  At 
present  its  home  is  the  high  latitudes  of  the  Arctic 
seas,  especially  parallels  76  and  77  deg.  North.  In 
Davis's  Straits  it  is  found  all  the  year  round,  particu- 
larly up  the  ice-fjords,  and  many  are  killed  in  South 
Greenland.  Mr.  Alston  informs  me,  on  the  authority 
of  Captain  Fielden,  the  naturalist  to  the  expedition, 
that  this  was  the  only  species  found  by  the  late  Arctic 
expedition  north  of  Cape  Union,  82°  15'  N.  lat. 
The  small  seal  found  in  the  inland  fresh-waters  of 
Lake  Baikal  is  believed  to  be  a  variety  of  this  species, 
differing  only  in  its  darker  colour ;  it  is  also  said  by 
Wheelwright  ("Scandinavian  Fauna"),  on  what  au- 
thority I  know  not,  to  have  been  taken  in  the  Channel 
off  the  French  coast.  Dr.  Brown,  in  his  paper  on  the 
"Greenland  Seals"  ("Proc.  Zool.  Soc,"  June,  1S6S), 

*  yournal  0/  Anatomy  and  Physiology,  1870,  p.  260. 


HARD  W I CKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE  -  G  OS  SI  P. 


157 


gives  an  interesting  account  of  this  species,  which,  like 
the  preceding,  is  littoral  in  its  habits,  seldom  frequent- 
ing the  open  sea,  but  found  generally  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  coast  ice,  in  retired  situations.  They  are 
known  by  the  whalers  as  the  "  Floe  rat,"  and  their 
food  consists  of  various  species  of  Crustacea  and  small 
fishes.  This  is  the  smallest  of  the  Northern  seals, 
and  of  very  little  commercial  value  :  its  flesh,  how- 
ever is  eaten,  and  its  skin  forms  the  chief  material  of 
clothing  in  Greenland. 

In  appearance,  this  species  is  very  like  the  common 
seal ;  but  it  is  darker  in  colour,  more  particularly  on 
the  back,  and  the  spots  in  the  adult  are  surrounded 


is  copied  from  Karl  Thorin's  "  Grundlinier  Zoologiens 
Studium,"  p.  S3  (Stockholm,  1868). 

The  claims  of  the  Greenland  Seal,  F/ioca  gran- 
la7!dica{¥ah.),  to  a  place  in  the  British  Fauna,  although 
long  considered  highly  probable,  were  not  perfectly 
conclusive  until,  in  January,  1S68,  they  were  satis- 
factorily established  by  the  production  of  the  animal 
itself.  A  seal,  recorded  as  belonging  to  this  species, 
was  killed  on  the  above  date  near  the  viaduct  on  the 
Lancaster  and  Ulverstone  Railway,  and  is  now  pre- 
served in  the  Kendal  Museum.  Professor  Turner 
("Journal  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology,"  vol.  ix.  p.  163) 
says  that  he  has  himself  examined  this  specimen,  and 


Fig.  146.  Greenland  Seal  {Fhoca  griFnlandicn,  Fab.),  Adult  and  Immature. 


by  oval-shaped  whitish  rings  ;  the  young  ones  are 
lighter  in  colour.  The  old  male  is  said  to  emit  a 
most  disgusting  smell :  hence  one  of  its  specific  names, 
"  fcetida."  The  molar  teeth  are  arranged  in  a  straight 
line  along  the  jaws,  and  not  obliquely,  as  in  the 
common  species.  As  this  seal  is  very  likely  to  pass 
unnoticed,  should  it  occur  on  our  coast,  it  will  be  well 
to  bear  in  mind  that  the  arrangement  of  the  molars 
will  at  once  distinguish  it  from  P.  vitiilina,  the  only 
species  with  which  it  is  likely  to  be  confounded. 
Professor  Flower  has  given  a  minute  description  of 
the  skull  of  the  Norfolk  specimen  in  the  "Proc.  Zool. 
Sec."  for  1871,  pp.  506-12.    The  figure  of  this  species 


found  the  dentition  exactly  to  agree  with  that  of  the 
skulls  of  the  Greenland  seals  with  which  he  compared 
it.  The  individual  in  question,  a  male,  measured  six 
feet  from  the  tip  of  the  nose  to  the  "point  of  the 
hind  toes,"  and  the  colour  indicated  the  age  to  be 
about  three  years.  Previously  to  this,  the  claims  of 
this  sjDecies  to  a  place  in  our  list  rested  principally 
upon  the  skulls  of  two  seals  killed  in  the  Severn,  and 
exhibited  by  Dr.  Reilly  at  the  meeting  of  the  British 
Association  at  Bristol  in  1836.  These  skulls  were 
at  first  referred  by  Professor  Nilsson  to  P.  hispida, 
but  afterwards,  both  by  that  gentleman  and  Professor 
Bell,     determined    to     belong    to    P.    grcenlandica. 


158 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE-  G  OS  SIP. 


Doubts  having  been  thrown  on  the  accuracy  of  this 
decision,  Professor  Bell,  in  the  second  edition  of  his 
"British  Quadrupeds,"  p.  253,  again  states  his  belief 
that  he  was  correct  in  assigning  the  skulls  to  the  young 
of  this  species.  These  skulls  are  unfortunately  lost. 
Several  supposed  cases  of  the  occurrence  of  this  species 
are  recorded,  but  in  no  instance  were  they  supported 
by  the  production  of  the  animal  itself.  Dr.  Saxby 
("  Zool.,"  1864)  says  that  this  species  is  not  rare  in  bad 
weather  in  the  Voe  of  Baltasound,  Shetland ;  and  Mr. 
H.  Evans,  of  Darnley  Abbey,  Derbyshire,  in  the  year 
1856,  shot  what  he  believes  to  have  been  a  Greenland 
Seal  near  Roundstone,  county  Galway, — "  Unfortu- 
nately, the  animal  sank  and  was  lost ;  but  Mr.  Evans, 
who  is  well  acquainted  with  the  common  and  grey 
species,  is  perfectly  certain  that  it  was  quite  different 
from  either"  (Bell,  2  edit.,  p.  254).  Perhaps  the 
best-authenticated  case  of  the  supposed  occurrence  of 
this  species  on  our  shores  is  given  by  Mr.  H.  D. 
Graham  in  Part  I.,  vol.  i.  of  the  "Proceedings  of 
the  Nat.  Hist.  Society  of  Glasgow,"  p.  53  (Feb.  24, 
1863).  Three  large  white  seals  were  seen  by  Mr. 
Graham  in  Loch  Tabert,  Jura,  Western  Isles,  lying 
on  some  shelving  rocks,  about  300  or  400  yards  from 
the  shore.  They  were  watched  through  an  excellent 
deer-stalking  telescope  for  three  hours,  and  Mr. 
Graham  states  that  the  chai'acteristic  markings  of  the 
Harp  Seal  could  be  distinctly  seen.  He  also  believes 
that,  in  three  authentic  instances,  captures  of  white 
seals,  of  extraordinary  size,  had  been  made,  and  states 
some  particulars  of  the  habits  and  appearance  of 
these  animals,  as  communicated  to  him  by  the 
islanders — to  whom  they  appear  to  have  been  well 
known, — which  render  it  highly  probable  that  they 
belonged  to  this  species.  Although  essentially  an 
Arctic  species,  this  animal  has  a  very  wide  geo- 
graphical range,  which,  added  to  its  migratory  habits, 
renders  it  not  at  all  improbable  that  individuals  occa- 
sionally wander  to  our  shores.  It  is  a  native  of  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  and  ranges  from  the  N.E.  coast  of 
America  to  the  Kara  Sea  (where  it  was  found  by  the 
Swedish  Arctic  Expedition  in  1875),  changing  its 
quarters  according  to  season.*  It  is  this  species 
which  constitutes  the  chief  object  of  pursuit  in  the 
northern  seal  fishery,  and  the  season  chosen  for  the 
attack  is  when  they  visit  the  ice  for  the  purpose  of 
producing'their  young  ones.  Dr.  Brown  says,  "They 
take  to  the  ice,  to  bring  forth  their  young,  generally 
between  the  middle  of  March  and  the  middle  of 
April,  according  to  the  state  of  the  season,  &c.,  the 
most  common  time  being  about  the  end  of  March. 
At  this  time  they  can  be  seen  literally  covering  the 
frozen  waste,  with  the  aid  of  a  telescope,  from  the 
'crow's-nest,'  at  the  main  royal  mast-head,  and  have 
on  such  occasions  been  calculated  to  number  upwards 


*  Ph.  screen  la  ndka  was  the  only  seal  met  with  by  the  Aus- 
trian Arctic  Expedition,  in  the  Tcgcthoff  in  August,  1873, 
the  ship  then  drifting  in  the  ice  in  !at.  79°  31',  long.  61°  43'. 
Subsequently,  both  this  species  and  Ph.  barbata  were  met  with 
about  North  lat.  81°. 


of  half  a  million'of  males  and  females."*  The  young, 
when  born,  are  pure  white,  M'hich  changes  to  a  yellow 
tint.  At  about  14  days  old  they  begin  to  take  to  the 
water,  and  at  the  age  of  a  month  are  capable  of 
taking  care  of  themselves  :  they  then  assume  a  spotted 
coat,  which  changes  gradually  to  the  adult  markings, 
which  are  perfected  in  about  three  years.  The  adult 
male  is  about  five  feet  long,  the  body  generally  of  a 
tawny  grey,  varying  to  nearly  white,  marked  with  a 
conspicuous  band  of  dark  brown  or  black  spots 
running  into  each  othei-,  which,  commencing  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  back  between  the  shoulders  and 
curving  downwards,  is  continued  along  the  sides, 
disappearing  before  it  reaches  the  hind  flippers.  The 
under  parts  are  a  dingy  white,  and  the  muzzle  nearly 
black.  The  female,  according  to  Dr.  Brown,  rarely 
reaches  five  feet  in  length,  and  is  a  dull  white  or  yel- 
lowish straw-colour,  tawny  on  the  back,  and  with 
similar  markings  to  the  male,  but  somewhat  lighter. 
Some  are  bluish  or  dark  grey  on  the  back,  with  "oval 
markings  of  a  dark  colour  apparently  impressed  on  a 
yellowish  or  reddish-brown  ground "  :  these.  Dr. 
Brown  believes  to  be  young  females.  The  adult 
Greenland  Seal  is  readily  recognized,  but  it  varies  so 
greatly  in  its  different  stages,  and  individuals  differ 
so  much  from  each  other,  that  the  most  reliable 
charactei-s  are  to  be  found  in  the  dentition  and  the 
structure  of  the  skull,  which  should  in  all  cases  be 
preserved,  as  affording  the  most  ready  and  reliable 
means  of  determining  the  species  of  doubtful  indi- 
viduals. As  has  been  before  said,  the  second  toe  of 
the  fore  flipper  is  the  longest  in  this  species. 


HOW  TO  CLEAN  FOSSIL  POLYZOA. 

IN  the  June  number  your  correspondent  "  G.  A.  L.," 
in  a  note,  "How  to  clean  Fossil  Polyzoa," 
has  called  the  attention  of  your  readers  to  a  method 
I  have  adopted  for  exposing  the  poriferous  face  of 
fronds  of  polyzoa  that  may  be  adhering  by  that  face 
to  the  stone.  Perhaps  you  will  allow  me  space  to 
explain  the  modus  operandi  to  your  readers  more  fully 
than  he  has  done  ?  In  the  first  place,  I  may  state, 
that  it  is  only  those  specimens  of  polyzoa  imbedded 
in  shales  that  yield  readily  to  the  disintegrating  in- 
fluence of  the  weather,  which  can  be  treated  success- 
fully by  the  asphalt  process.  Very  little  can  be  done 
by  this  method  with  specimens  imbedded  in  hard 
calcareous  shales  or  limestones.  After  selecting  the 
specimens  of  polyzoa  that  are  to  be  operated  upon,  it 
is  best  to  let  them  be  well  dried  at  a  fire,  or  in  the 
sun's  rays  for  a  few  days,  to  get  quit  of  the  moisture, 
before  applying  the  layer  of  melted  asphalt  to  the 
surface  of  the  fronds,  as  I  find,  by  so  doing,  the 
asphalt  adheres  more  firmly  than  when  the  specimens 
are  damp.     I  also  heat  the  specimens  for  a  short  time 

*  "  Seals  of  Greenland."      Reprinted  in   "Manual  and   In- 
structions for  the  Arctic  Expedition,  1875,"  p.  47. 


HARD  WI CKE 'S    S C/jEJV CE-G OSSIP. 


159 


at  the  fire  before  applying  the  asphalt,  so  as  to  make 
it  bite  the  fronds  of  the  polyzoa  more  keenly.  Never 
let  gum  or  any  other  mucilage  touch  the  fronds  that 
are  to  be  treated  by  the  asphalt  process,  as  these 
interfere  with  the  adherence  very  much.  The  asphalt 
I  use  is  the  common  sort,  free  from  sand,  employed 
in  the  constmction  of  pavements  for  our  streets. 
When  a  specimen  of  polyzoa  is  wished  to  be  operated 
upon,  let  it  be  heated  as  above  directed,  then  lay  it 
down  flat,  and  with  a  piece  of  iron  heated  nearly  to 
redness  (the  kitchen  poker  does  very  well),  melt  a  layer 
of  the  asphalt  over  the  surface  of  the  frond,  spreading 
it  evenly  with  the  iron.  Let  there  be  a  bit  of  tough 
brown  paper  ready  beside  you  to  cover  the  surface  of 
the  asphalt,  and  while  it  is  still  hot,  press  the  paper 
down  over  the  surface  evenly  with  the  fingers.  The 
layer  of  tough  paper  strengthens  the  asphalt  very 
much,  and  afterwards,  when  the  specimen  is  finished, 
the  paper  adheres  more  firmly  to  the  tablet  on  which 
it  is  mounted  than  wlien  the  asphalt  is  used  alone. 
When  I  lift  large  fronds  of  polyzoa  from  the  shale,  I 
use,  first  a  layer  of  the  asphalt ;  next,  a  layer  of 
paper ;  then  a  second  layer  of  asphalt  and  paper. 
This  method  forms  a  firm  thin  cake,  which,  in  large 
specimens,  is  less  liable  to  break  across.  The  next 
operation,  after  fixing  the  asphalt  to  the  fronds  of  the 
polyzoa,  is  to  place  the  specimens  in  water,  and  let 
them  lie  until  the  shale  softens.  The  length  of  time 
this  requires  varies  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
shale.  In  some  cases  the  polyzoa  parts  from  the 
shale  in  a  few  minutes,  in  others  it  may  take  as  long  as 
an  hour  or  two,  or  even  a  day ;  but  the  process  may 
be  hastened  by  placing  the  specimens  in  a  saucer  filled 
with  water,  and  as  the  shale  is  softened  keep  picking 
it  away  with  a  thin  sharp  knife  imtil  you  see  the 
fi-onds  of  the  polyzoa  appearing ;  then  with  a  worn 
nail-  or  tooth-brush  mash  the  surfaces  of  the  speci- 
mens until  you  consider  you  have  got  them  quite 
clean,  and  the  cell-pores  well  exposed.  If  the  fronds 
of  the  polyzoa  have  been  well  fixed  to  the  asphalt, 
you  may  use  the  greatest  freedom  in  the  mashing  of 
the  specimens  without  fear  of  their  removal  by  the 
brush.  My  collection  contains  a  large  series  of  beau- 
tiful specimens  that  I  have  treated  according  to  the 
above  method,  and  I  find  no  difficulty  in  lifting  the 
largest  fronds  of  Fenestella  and  other  fenestrate  genera 
of  polyzoa  that  are  preserved  in  our  shales,  so  as  to 
show  their  poriferous  face.  Lately  I  have  managed  to 
show  by  the  same  process  the  poriferous  face  of  some 
of  the  feathery  fronds  of  the  more  delicate  branching 
Glaiicononie  with  perfect  success.  The  last  thing  I 
have  to  note  regaixling  this  process  is,  that  the  surplus 
asphalt  and  paper  can  easily  be  neatly  cut  away  from 
around  the  fronds  by  using  a  pair  of  sharp  scissors. 
For  cleaning  small  specimens  of  polyzoa  that  are 
intended  for  microscopic  examination,  I  use  the  fol- 
lowing method.  After  having  picked  the  specimens 
out  from  amongst  Ae  weathered  limestone  shales, 
where  they  often  have  a  thin  layer  of  clay  adhering 


I  to  them,  I  take  a  glass  slide  snd  cover  it  with  a  layer 
j  of  thin  gum.  I  then,  with  the  forceps,  lift  all  the 
j  fragments  of  polyzoa  that  I  wish  to  clean,  and  place 
'  them  on  the  slide  with  the  poriferous  face  uppermost 
aferwards  allowing  the  slide  to  diy  slowly  for  a  day 
or  two.  When  the  gum  is  quite  hard,  place  the  slide 
in  a  saucer  of  water,  and  brush  the  specimens  gently 
and  quickly  with  a  nail-  or  tooth-brush.  The  gum 
will  hold  the  fragments  of  polyzoa  firmly  and  safely 
in  position,  quite  long  enough  before  dissolving,  so  as 
to  allow  of  the  specimens  being  well  cleaned.  When 
this  is  done,  'allow  the  slide  to  lie  in  the  water  until 
all  the  specimens  are  melted  off  from  the  surface  : 
they  can  afterwards  be  collected  with  a  soft  hair- 
pencil,  and  dried  on  blotting-paper,  when  they  are 
then  quite  ready  for  mounting.  By  this  method,  t  he 
appearance  of  the  polyzoa  is  veiy  much  improved, 
and  the  cell-pores  much  more  satisfactorily  examined. 

John  Young. 
Httntcrian  Rlitsciini,  University  of  Glasgozo. 


MICROSCOPY. 

The  Quekett  Microscopical  Club. — We  have 
received  No.  32  of  the  Journal  of  this  energetic  and 
popular  society,  iDublished  by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue, 
192,  Piccadilly.  It  contains  well-illustrated  papers, 
by  W.  K.  Bridgman,  on  the  ' '  Principles  of  Illumi- 
nation in  connection  with  Polarization";  by  Prof.  11. 
L.  Smith,  "  On  a  New  Method  of  Mounting  Micro- 
scopic Objects"  ;  by  Dr.  Francis  E.  Hoggan,  "  On 
a  New  Process  of  Histological  Staining  "  ;  and  by 
James  Fullagar,  on  "  Ttibicolaria  Najas."  In  ad- 
dition to  the  above,  we  have  also  the  Annual  Address 
of  the  President,  Dr.  John  Mathews. 

Mounting  in  Damar. — I  am  glad  to  see  by  the 
Science-Gossip  for  May,  that  some  one  as  well  as 
myself  has  used  heat  in  the  process  of  mounting  in 
damar,  and  I  hope  with  as  satisfactory  results  as 
I  have  obtained.  I  observe  in  "J.  A.  Le  M.  H.'s" 
article  on  the  subject  that  he  asks  two  questions  which 
I  trust  I  can  answer  to  his  satisfaction,  ist.  "  How 
air-bubbles  are  to  be  prevented  from  forming  within 
an  object  when  upon  a  hot  slide  without  any 
medium  ?  "  When  air  is  heated  it  is  rarefied  ;  there- 
fore there  would  be  less  air  between  the  slide  and  the 
glass  cover,  when  slightly  heated  than  when  quite 
cold.  The  only  reason  I  have  for  heating  it  first  is, 
that  it  facilitates  the  damar  running  in  by  capillary 
attraction,  which,  as  it  ran  in,  would  drive  out 
what  air  there  was.  Of  course  I  do  not  heat 
the  object  long  enougli  to  dry  up  the  turpen- 
tine or  benzole  in  which  it  had  previously  been 
soaked.  .  The  only  time  I  have  any  trouble  with  air- 
bubbles  is  when,  by  accident,  I  heat  the  medium  to 
boiling  pitch ;  which  I  now  avoid  by  the  following 
slight  alteration  of  my  process.  Instead  of  having 
the  flame  of  the  spirit-lamp  about  two  inches  below 


i6o 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OS  SI  P. 


the   metal   plate,   I  place  it  from  five  to  six  inches 
below ;  and  instead  of  heating  the  slide  from  ten  to 
fifteen  minutes,  I  heat  it  for  about  an  hour.     The 
result  is  precisely  the  same  by  either  process ;  the 
only  advantage  of  the  longer  being,  that  it  does  not 
require  so  close  watching,  as  the  heat  is  not  so  fierce, 
the  damar  does  not  boil,  and  therefore  no  air-bubbles 
form  ;   besides   which,    one  can  work  at  something 
else  whilst   the  slide  is  being  heated.     I  have  tried 
Mr.  Williams's  mode  of  dropping  the  damar  on  the 
object  previous  to  placing  the  glass  cover  on  it,  with 
good  result ;  a  few  bubbles  accumulating  occasionally, 
which,  however,  the  heat  has  expelled.     The  way  to 
ascertain  when  it  has  been  heated  long  enough,  is  to 
dip  the  point  of  a  pin  into  any  superfluous  damar 
that  may  have  collected  round  the  edge  of  the  cover  : 
if  it  forms  a  HARD  globule— not  in  the  slightest 
degree  sticky — on  the   point,  when  cold,    you   can 
remove  the  lamp  and  finish  off.     The  second  question 
is,  "Does  not  Japan  varnish  ever  run  into  the  damar 
when  there  is  no  other  varnish  between  ?  "      Ever 
since  I  have  used  Japan,  which  has  been  for  a  con- 
siderable time,  only  once  I  have  found  it  run  in  ;  and 
that  was  because  I  had  not  heated  the  damar  enough 
for  it  to  get  hard.     I  find  it  very  TOUGH  and  trust- 
worthy, and  prefer  it  to  asphalt,  being  easier  to  work 
with.     Of  course,  if  made  very  liquid  with  turps,  it 
would  have  a  tendency  to  run  in,  as  turps  dissolves 
damar  ;  but  not  otherwise ;  at  least,  I  don't  think  so. 
If  "J.  A.  Le  M.  H."  will  send  me  his  address,  I  shall 
be  most  happy  to  send  him  a  slide  so  finished. — E. 
B.  L.  Brayley,  Bristol. 

Spontaneous  Generation. — Professor  Tyndall, 
in  a  paper  read  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Royal 
Society,  showed  that  repeated  heatings  for  a  short 
lime  destroy  the  living  germs  from  which  infec- 
tious growths  proceed,  much  more  effectually  than 
any  continuous  heating  for  a  long  time,  even  though 
that  time  should  be  much  longer  than  all  the  shorter 
periods  added  together.  His  view  is  that  living  germs 
exist  in  all  stages  of  growth,  in  some  of  which  they 
are  hard  and  insensible  to  heat,  in  others  plastic  and 
instantaneously  destroyed  by  heat,  and  he  thinks  that 
by  repeating  the  heating  process  very  often,  the  heat 
catches  the  different  germs  in  all  their  stages,  while  if 
one  heating  takes  place,  even  though  it  last  for  many 
hours,  some  of  the  germs  may  live  through  it,  owing 
to  their  not  having  reached  the  age  of  development  in 
which  they  are  destroyed  by  heat.  Another  way  of 
destroying  the  vitality  of  these  germs  is  to  deprive 
them  completely  of  air  by  the  use  of  the  Sprengel 
pump,  after  five  or  six  hours'  exposure  to  which  they 
will  be  rendered  permanently  barren.  Dr.  Bastian 
may  find  that  this  discovery  of  Professor  Tyndall's 
accounts  for  some  of  the  seeming  successes  which  he 
has  achieved  in  producing  life  out  of  tubes  previously 
raised  to  a  very  high  temperature,  and  sustained  at 
that  temperature  for  many  houi-s. 


Cement. — Some  of  your  correspondents  have 
been  asking  for  a  good  cement.  I  can  strongly  recom- 
mend the  white  cement  sold  by  Mr.  White,  of 
Litcham,  Norwich.  If  put  on  as  a  thin  layer  first, 
and  this  allowed  to  dry,  there  is  no  fear  of  lamning 
in,  even  with  quite  soft  balsam  or  damar  ;  in  fact,  I 
have  been  in  the  habit  of  putting  the  white  ring  round 
at  once.  The  white  cement  dries  very  rapidly,  and 
especially  if  the  [turn-table  is  twisted  quickly  for  a 
few  minutes.  If  there  seems  to  be  any  danger  of 
running  in,  I  put  some  shellac  and  castor  oil  cement 
round  first. — Fred.  Ahn,  jM.D. 

Dry  Mounting. — I  would  like  to  draw  the  atten- 
tion  of  those  readers  who  are  in  want  of  a  good 
method  for  mounting  objects  diy,  with  asphalt  cells, 
to  a  method  I  found  out  some  time  ago,  and  which  I 
have  since  used  with  complete  success.   The  methods 
to  be  found  in  text-books,  at  present,  are  briefly  as 
follows  :  — I.  Make  a  ring,  dry  it,  warm  over  a  lamp 
until  slightly  soft,  and  having  placed  the  object  in 
position,  adjust  the  cover.     2.  The  former  method  is 
sometimes  varied  by  making  two  rings  ;  the  second 
after  the  first  has  dried.     3.  Narrow  rings  of  paper 
are  introduced  between  the  ring  and  cover,  and  a  few 
other  modifications  of  these  processes.     The  whole  of 
the  foregoing  methods  are  liable  to  the  objection  that 
the  medium  employed  for  making  the  cell,  asphalt 
and  rubber,  or  whatever  else  it  may  be,  runs  in  by  ca- 
pillary attraction,  and  either  spoils  the  object  or  ren- 
ders the  slide  unsightly.      Of  the    above-mentioned 
methods,  I  decidedly  prefer  the  first  one,  but  I  could 
not  depend  on  it  six  times  out  of  ten,  and  have  many 
a  time  spoiled  both  slide  and  temper.     Most  micro- 
scopists  seem  to  have  battled   against   the  material 
"running  in,"  a  propensity  which  I  have,  to  some 
degree,  taken  advantage  of.     Take  a  slide,  and  with 
the  turn-table  make  two  narrow  concentric  rings  of 
asphalt-and-rubber  varnish,  the  inner  one-half,  and 
the  outer  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and 
fill  up  the  space  between  the  two  w  ith  varnish,  so  as 
to  make  a  thin  cell    of  varnish,  with  an  interior  a 
half-inch    in  diameter.      Dry  the  slide   in  an  oven, 
slightly  warmed,  and  when  quite  dry,  make  a  nar- 
row   ring   of  varnish    on  the   extreme  outer   edge  of 
the  cell,  and  having  placed  the  object  in   position, 
or,  according  to  circumstances,  before  the  first  ring 
was  made,  adjust  a  cover,  pressing  it  down  slightly. 
The  varnish  is  generally  only  flattened  out,  and  only 
occasionally  spreads  to  the  edge  of  the  cell  encircling 
the  object.      The  reason  for  its  not  "running  in," 
is    simply    because    very   little    capillary    attraction 
is  offered    to    the    film    of  varnish  by  the    dry  cell 
[    and  cover,   compared  with    the   capillary  attraction 
offered  to  varnish  by  two  plain  surfaces  of  glass,  as 
i    is    the    case    when  the  old    methods  are  employed. 
1    When  the  cover  has  become  fixed,  the  slide  should 
j   be    finished    by  making  a    ring    on  the  cover,  cor- 
!   responding   with  the  cell   beneath.     My  experience 


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


i6i 


with  this  method  relates  to  diatoms  and  chemical 
salts,  and  I  have  succeeded  so  \vell  that  I  have  not 
yet  spoiled  a  single  slide — and  I  have  mounted  many 
— even  including  those  used  in  performing  the  test 
experiments.  In  mounting  chemical  salts,  care  must 
be  taken  that  the  level  of  the  ring  is  above  that  of 
the  object. —  W.  M.  Patcrson,  Loftiis. 


ZOOLOGY. 

Elementary  Zoology,  —  Messrs.  W.  &  R. 
Chambers  have  just  issued  a  capital  little  manual  of 
"Elementary  Zoology,"  written  by  Dr.  Andrew 
Wilson.  This  little  book  certainly  meets  a  want 
long  felt  by  intending  students,  in  giving  outlines  of 
the  comparative  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the 
leading  types  of  animals,  as  well  as  of  their  mor- 
phology. The  manual  is  profusely  illustrated,  and  is 
furnished  with  a  good  list  of  questions  turning  upon 
the  subjects  taught.  It  cannot  fail  to  be  useful  in 
schools. 

Science  in  the  Provinces. — We  have  received 
the  third  part  of  the  second  volume  of  the  ' '  Trans- 
actions of  the  Norfolk  and  Norwich  Naturalists' 
Society,"  just  presented  to  the  members.  As  is 
well  known,  this  society  is  one  of  the  most  vigorous 
in  the  prosecution  of  local  natural  histoiy  in  Great 
Britain.  The  present  part  contains  a  short  but  com- 
prehensive and  remarkably  clear  address  by  the 
President,  Mr.  T.  G.  Bayfield.  It  contains  papers 
on  "The  Diatomacece  of  Norfolk,"  by  Mr.  Fred. 
Kitton  ;  on  the  "Naturalization  of  the  Edible  Frog 
in  Norfolk,"  by  Professor  Newton;  on  "Aculeate 
Hymenoptera, "  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Bridgman  ;  "Ornitho- 
logical Notes,"  by  Mr.  H.  Stevenson;  on  "The 
Polish  Swan,"  by  the  hon.  sec,  Mr.  T.  Southwell ; 
and  a  paper  by  Mr.  Randall  Johnson,  giving  an  ap- 
proximate list  of  the  extinct  mammalia  of  Norfolk. 

Vitality  of  Gasteropoda.  —  Most  naturalists 
are  acquainted  with  the  instance,  cited  by  Dr.  S.  P. 
Woodward,  of  extraordinary  vitality  in  a  Helix  deser- 
toruin,  which  was  found  alive  after  having  been  fixed 
on  a  board  four  years  all  but  eighteen  days.  Mr. 
Stearns  states,  in  the  American  Natio-alist,  that  he 
kept  in  a  box,  from  March,  1873,  to  June,  1875,  nine 
individuals  of  Biiliintis  pallidior  (Sow.),  received  from 
Lower  California,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  they 
were  all  still  alive.  A  little  later,  they  all  died  but 
one.  A  Helix  Veatchii,  of  Cerro  Island,  lived  about 
six  years  (1859-1865)  without  food.  Mr.  Stearns  calls 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  three  species  of  Helix 
and  BtiUnius  known  for  this  extraordinary  vitality, 
belong  to  arid  regions  almost  without  rain.  The 
vegetation  is  thus  very  limited,  and  the  animals  are 
compelled  to  inake  prolonged  fasts. 

Spawn  of  Newt. — The  question  as  to  the  manner 
in  which  the  Newt  deposits  its  spawn  has  been  the 


source  of  continued  discussion  among  correspondents 
of  Science-Gossip.  I  think  all  differences  of 
opinion  may  l)e  terminated  by  the  following  notes, 
taken  from  observing  the  habits  of  about  a  dozen  fine 
specimens  of  the  Crested  Newt  {Triton  crisiatus). 
(The  largest  newt  measured  eight  inches  long.)  I 
observed  the  newts  laid  their  eggs  and  hid  them  in 
the  four  following  ways  : — (i)  Amongst  the  moss  on 
a  rock  projecting  out  of  the  water  :  the  eggs  were 
inclosed  in  a  transparent  gelatinous  bag  :  about  six 
or  eight  eggs  were  usually  the  contents  of  one  of 
these  envelopes.  (2)  Singly  amongst  the  same  moss 
as  No.  I.  (3)  In  small  clusters  on  the  under  side 
of,  and  rolled  up  in,  the  oval  leaves  of  a  water-plant. 
(4)  Singly,  and  rolled  up  in  a  similar  way  to  No.  3. 
It  may  be  noticed  that,  in  the  first  two  ways,  the  eggs 
were  not  rolled  up,  as  is  the  supposed  manner  in 
which  all  newts  conceal  their  eggs. — G.  W.  C. 

"Edusa  "  AND  "  Hyale."— I  think  it  worthy  of 
note  that  on  Monday  last,  4th  inst.,  while  walking  in 
Hampton  Court  Palace-gardens,  a  fine  Edusa  flew 
past  me,  and  scarcely  had  I  gone  twelve  steps  further 
when  a  Hyale  also  did  the  same.  What  is  the  meaning 
of  this  very  early  appearance  of  these  two  insects  ? — 
Windsor  Hambroicgh. 

Metropolitan  Entomology.— Having  last  year 
made  Warm-lane,  Cricklewood,  my  collecting-ground, 
I  have  this  year  tried  another  locality,  viz.,  a  lane  on 
the  west  side  of  Bishops-wood,  Highgate.  On  June  i, 
1877,  being  then  on  the  look-out  for  Cardamines^ 
I  captured  G.  Rhaiiini,  and  saw  a  specimen  of  C. 
Edusa,  which,  after  a  desperate  run  of  200  yards,  I 
missed.  On  June  4th,  1877,  I  again  frequented  the 
lane,  and  this  time  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  capture 
a  female  hybernated  specimen  of  C.  Edusa.  Again 
this  morning  (June  Ith),  I  captured  a  remarkably 
fresh  specimen  of  C.  Edusa  (male),  and  chased  another 
half  over  the  Vale  of  Health,  Hampstead.  I  can 
find  no  record  of  such  captures  in  any  work  on 
Entomology. — A'.   7!  Gibbous. 


BOTANY. 

Flowers  in  New  Zealand. — The  wild  flowers 
of  New  Zealand  are  neither  numerous  nor  generally 
very  beautiful.  In  the  early  spring  festoons  of 
Clematis  indivisa  hang  on  the  shrubs  in  the  skirts  of 
the  great  forests,  and  warn  the  native  gardener  to  pre- 
pare for  the  duties  of  the  coming  year.  Then  Sophora 
grandifora,  a  shrub-tree,  and  almost  the  only  one 
that  sheds  its  leaves  in  winter,  puts  forth  its  clusters 
of  large  papilionaceous  blossoms,  reminding  the 
colonist,  by  their  yellow  colour,  of  the  wild  daffodil 
of  the  early  British  spring.  Dysoxylum  spcciahile,  a 
tree  whose  leaves  resemble  those  of  the  Lilac,  its 
timber  Pencil  Cedar,  and  its  fruit  the  Chestnut,  now 
also  hangs  out  its  sprays  of  white  bell-flowers  from 


l62 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


shoots  proceeding  from  the  bark  of  mature  limbs,  and 
not  from  the  terminal  branches.  As  the  spring  advances, 
Aristotdea  raceinosa,  a  shrub  bearing  a  strong  resem  - 
blance  to  the  American  blossoming  currant,  is  in 
bloom  in  the  forest  clearings.  Towards  Christmas 
the  woods  are  in  their  glory  ;  then  the  grand  Rata 
Mctrosidcros  robiista  is  suffused  with  a  rosy  blush,  by 
reason  of  its  multitudinous  crimson  myrtle  blooms 
peeping  out  among  its  green  leaves  all  over  its  great 
crown  ;  the  curious  flowers  oi  Astelia  hang  delicately 
out  between  the  stout  grassy  leaves  of  epiphytes, 
perched  high  up  on  tlie  branches  of  the  great  trees ; 
then  both  white  and  crimson  myrtle  blooms  hang 
from  creejDers  running  lilce  the  shrouds  of  a  vessel  up 
the  trunks  of  the  giants  of  the  forest ;  then  sweet- 
scented  dendrobiums  hang  pendent  from  many  a  stem, 
mingling  their  yellowish  blossoms  with  silky  and  trans- 
parent fronds  of  Jrichoinancs  and  Hyinenophylluin ; 
then  the  native  Screw-pine,  bound  like  ivy  with  a  net- 
work of  rootlets  to  some  supporting  stem,  expands 
in  the  midst  of  its  sedge-like  leaves  its  curious 
spadices  and  its  white  sugary  spathaceous  bracts, 
sought  after  by  natives  and  schoolboys  as  a  delicacy  ; 
then,  too,  Wenmannia  raccmosa  is  gay  with  a  pro- 
fusion of  racemes,  of  white  veronica-like  blossoms  ; 
tlien  on  the  edges  of  precipices  Rhabdothammis 
Solandri  displays  its  orange-coloured  bells,  and 
Knighlia  excelsa,  a  tree  whose  timber  presents  a 
curious  interwoven  appearance,  bears  its  honeysuckle 
blossoms.  On  the  mountains,  at  this  season,  Ranun- 
culus nivicola,  a  robust  buttercup,  reminds  the 
mountain  shepherd  of  his  native  fields  ;  and  on  the 
volcanic  peaks,  just  beneatli  the  snow-line,  may  now 
be  found,  in  full  bloom,  dwarf  veronicas,  Senecio 
eleagnifolia,  Claytonia,  Forstera,  GaitUheria,  Selmesia, 
Ozot/iatunus,  and  other  interesting  plants.  On  the 
sea  cliffs  to  the  north,  Metrosideros  tomentosa  puts 
forth  its  really  splendid  cymes  of  crimson  myrtle 
blooms,  and  a  beautiful  crimson  veronica,  with  a  large 
dark  gi-een  glossy  leaf,  may  be  found  in  the  same 
locality.  There  is  a  great  dearth  of  herbaceous 
flowering  plants  here  :  the  Buttercup,  a  white  linum, 
Ouresia,  a  feeble  violet,  and  daisy,  with  a  small  pale 
mesembryanthemum,  being  nearly  all  that  we  possess. 
Strangers,  however,  from  almost  every  clime  ai^e 
stealing  in  upon  and  amidst  the  native  plants.  The 
Purple  Foxglove  of  Britain,  and  the  white  species 
from  the  Canaries,  now  grow  by  the  sides  of  the  forest 
roads  ;  while  thistles,  hawkweeds,  daisies,  and  butter- 
cups are  everywhere.  In  our  gardens  Agave  Amtri- 
cana  is  quite  at  home  ;  variegated  and  other  yuccas 
send  up  pillars  of  tulip-shaped  blossoms;  camellias, 
six  or  seven  feet  high,  bear  profusion  of  -delicate 
blooms,  and  rhododendrons  open  their  great  cups, 
shedding  rich  fragrance  around.  Near  to  the  sea 
geraniums  and  pelargoniums  blossom  all  the  winter. 
Indeed,  a  bouquet  may  be  gathered  in  North  New 
Zealand  any  day  in  the  year,  both  in  the  forests  and 
in  the  gardens—^.  Wells,  Taranaki,  New  Zealand. 


Flora,  of  Cumberland  axd  Westmoreland. 
— I  beg  to  inform  your  correspondent  "  S.  C.  L."  in 
Science-Gossip  for  May,  that  there  is  no  published 
completed  "Flora "of  either  Cumberland  or  West- 
moreland. One  was  projected  for  these  two  coun- 
ties about  three  or  four  years  ago  by  a  society  in 
Kendal,  but  to  the  regret  of  many  it  was  never  com- 
pleted. There  are  lists  of  plants  in  several  local 
guidebooks,  but  often  imperfect  and  untrustworthy. 
Dr.  Trimen,  in  "Journal  of  Botany"  for  June,  1874, 
enumerates  a  great  variety  of  these  lists,  contribu- 
tions, remarks,  and  such-like.  He  says  the  list  in 
Mrs.  Lynn  Linton's  book  is  the  best.  From  a 
manuscript  "Flora  of  Cumberland"  which  I  pos- 
sess, from  a  London  catalogue,  marked  to  show 
Cumberland  flowers,  by  Mr.  H.  C.  Watson,  from 
lists  contributed  by  botanical  friends,  and  other 
sources,  I  conclude  that  a  Flora  of  Cumberland 
should  comprise  at  least  875  flowering  plants.  We 
have  great  diversity  of  elevation  and  soil,  from  the 
top  of  Scawfell  Pike,  3,210  feet,  to  the  level  of  the 
sea.  And  the  sandy  sea-banks,  the  morasses,  the 
debris  covering  the  red  sandstones,  the  coal-mea- 
sures, the  mountain  limestone,  and  the  different  clay- 
slates — not  to  speak  of  the  plutonic  rocks — form  a 
suitable  habitat  for  many  classes  of  plants.  Cumber- 
land can  boast  of  having  produced  one  plant  which, 
as  regards  England,  is  unique, — Lychnis  alpina,  and 
also  that  still  greater  rarity,  Alcheinilla  conjiincta ; 
concerning  which  Dr.  Syme  doubts  whether  it  has 
ever  been  found  truly  wild  in  Britain  or  not. — R.   W. 

Anemone  Cluster-cup.  —  I  lately  found  near 
Windermere  the  Anemone  Cluster-cup  {ALcidium 
leucosperiniiin)  on  the  petals  and  along  the  stalk  of 
the  flower.  This,  I  think,  is  a  most  unusual  case, 
for  amongst  many  thousands  of  specimens  I  have 
found,  I  never  before  met  with  snch  a  circumstance. 
— Thos.  Brit  tain. 

Teratology  among  the  Crucifer/E. — Among 
plants  that  bear  flowers  in  racemes  or  spikes,  I  know 
of  none  in  which  the  characters  of  indefinite  inflo- 
rescence appear  more  constant  than  in  the  Cruciferae, 
of  whicli  I  have  been  so  confident  as  to  think  it  as 
likely  that  water  would  run  up  hill  as  that  any  cruci- 
ferous plant  would  produce  a  flower  on  tbe  top  of  a 
branching  stalk.  This  year,  however,  I  am  sorely 
tempted  to  cast  away  my  confidence  in  the  fidelity  of 
any  plants  to  such  a  law.  For  I  have  in  my  garden 
a  stock  raised  from  seed  sown  in  1875,  which  has 
flowered  for  the  first  time  in  the  present  spring,  and 
is  covered  with  purple  blossoms.  On  one  of  its 
branches  there  are  three  flowers,  one  at  its  extremity 
and  the  other  two  at  its  sides.  The  flower  at  the 
extremity  was  the  first  to  open,  the  lateral  flowers 
afterwards.  This  abnormally  terminal  flower  is  evi- 
dently double,  in  the  sense  of  being  formed  of  two 
united,  so  that  it  might  be  thought  that  they  were 
only  lateral   flowers  coherent;   but   in   that  case  I 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  GOSSIP. 


163 


cannot  understand  this  uppermost  flower  expanding 
before  those  below  it,  as  if  it  were  really  terminal. 
For  a  flower-stalk  of  a  perennial  stock  to  bear  two 
flowers  instead  of  one  does  not  seem  very  unusual, 
but  for  the  same  stalk  to  have  lateral  flowers  below, 
which  do  not  expand  until  after  those  at  the  top, 
seems  to  me  so  unprecedented  that,  if  I  am  mis- 
taken in  considering  it  remarkable,  I  would  rather 
expose  my  ignorance  to  your  readers  than  lose  an 
opportunity  of  having  it  removed  by  reading  of  any 
similar  phenomenon,  if  such  has  been  observed. — 
John  Gibbs,  Essex  and  Chelmsford  Museum. 

Claytonia  perfoliata. — This  plant  is  well 
established  on  the  border  of  Epping  Forest,  near 
Walthamstow.  From  its  position  by  the  side  of  a 
ditch  and  outside  a  fence,  it  is  probably  an  outcast. 
It  is  now  (June  2)  blooming  and  shedding  its  beauti- 
ful black  seeds  freely  along  a  strip  of  ground  some 
twenty  yards  in  length,  where  it  is  successfully  strug- 
gling for  life  with  chickweed,  dock,  and  other  com- 
mon plants.  From  its  succulence  it  dries  slowly, 
but  when  mounted  makes  a  nice  addition  to  the 
herbarium. — J.  T.  Poivell. 


GEOLOGY. 

The  Winds,  &c. — !Mr.  William  Leighton  Jordan, 
F.R.G.S.,  has  written  a  well  got-up  bi-ochiire  \i\\\(ih. 
cannot  fail  to  interest  all  geologists  and  others  con- 
cerned in  the  study  of  physical  geography.  It  is 
entitled  "The  Winds,  and  their  Story  of  the  World," 
and  is  published  by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192, 
Piccadilly. 

The  Bone-caves  of  Cresswell  Crags. — The 
Rev.  J.  M.  Mello,  F.G.S.,  has  read  another  paper 
on  this  subject  before  the  Geological  Society.  The 
author  gave  an  account  of  the  continued  exploration 
of  these  caves,  and  of  the  completion  of  the  examina- 
tion of  the  Robin  Hood  Cave.  Five  deposits  could 
be  distinguished  in  the  Robin  Hood  Cave.  Variations 
both  in  thickness  and  in  character  occur  in  different 
parts  of  the  cave.  The  surface-soil  yielded  traces  of 
Romano-British  occupation,  such  as  enamelled  bronze 
fibulae,  fragments  of  pottery,  &c.  The  most  im- 
portant discoveries  were  made  in  the  cave-earth,  and 
chief  among  these  was  a  fragment  of  bone,  having 
on  it  a  well-executed  outline  of  the  head  and  neck  of 
a  horse,  the  first  recorded  discovery  of  any  such 
work  of  art  in  this  country.  The  cave-earth  also 
yielded  a  canine  of  Machairodus  latidens,  hitherto 
obtained  in  England  only  in  Kent's  Hole.  Numerous 
remains  of  the  Pleistocene  mammalia  already  re- 
corded were  found,  together  with  a  great  number  of 
implements  of  quartzite  and  flints,  and  two  of  clay 
ironstone.  The  quartzite  implements  were  most 
abundant  in  the  lowest  bed.  In  the  other  cave  ex- 
amined, the  Church  Hole,  Avhich  consists  principally 


of  a  long  fissure  in  the  south  side  of  the  crags  oppo- 
site Robin  Hood's  Cave,  the  succession  of  beds  was 
nearly  the  same  as  in  the  latter.  In  the  surface-soil 
near  its  mouth  a  fine  bronze  brooch  was  found.  Some 
of  the  implements  met  with  in  the  cave-earth  were  of 
great  intei'est,  and  several  of  them  were  of  bone.  Bones 
of  rhinoceros  were  found  in  great  abundance ;  and 
those  of  the  Mammoth,  Horse,  &c. ,  were  also  plen- 
tiful. As  the  result  of  the  exploration  of  these  caverns, 
the  author  said  it  is  evident  that  during  the  Pleistocene 
period  Derbyshire  and  the  adjoining  counties  were 
inhabited  by  a  very  numerous  and  diversified  fauna, 
the  vast  forests  and  pastures,  which  extended  far  to 
the  east  and  south,  offering  a  congenial  home  to  the 
Mammoth,  the  Woolly  Rhinoceros,  the  Hippopota- 
mus, the  Irish  Elk,  the  Reindeer,  the  Bison,  and  the 
Horse  ;  whilst  among  them  the  Hyaena,  the  Glutton, 
the  Bear,  the  Lion,  the  Wolf,  the  Fox,  and  the  great 
sabre-toothed  Machairodus  roamed  in  search  of  prey ; 
and  that  with  these  and  other  animals  man  lived  and 
waged  a  more  or  less  precarious  struggle,  amidst  the 
vicissitudes  of  a  varying  climate,  sheltering  himself 
in  the  numerous  caves  of  the  district,  which  were 
already  the  haunts  of  the  Hyaena  and  its  com- 
panions. After  Mr.  Mello  had  concluded,  Professor 
W.  Boyd  Dawkins  followed  with  a  paper  on  the 
"Mammal  Fauna"  of  the  same  cave.  In  this 
paper  the  author  gave  an  account  of  the  remains 
found  in  the  caves  explored  by  the  Rev.  J.  M. 
Mello.  He  stated  that  the  recent  explorations 
had  proved  that  the  Robin  Hood  Cave  was  inha- 
bited by  hycenas,  not  only  during  the  deposition 
of  the  cave-earth  and  breccia,  but  also  during  that  of 
the  red-sand  clay  underlying  it,  which  had  also 
furnished  traces  of  the  existence  of  man.  An  im- 
mense number  of  specimens  were  collected  in  this 
cavern,  including  bones  of  the  following  animals  : — 
Machairodtis  latidens,  Cave  Lion,  Wild  Cat,  Leopard^ 
Spotted  Hyrena*,  Fox*,  Wolf,  Bear,  Reindeer*,  Irish 
Elk  *,  Bison  *,  Horse  *,  Woolly  Rhinoceros  *,  Mam- 
moth *,  and  Hare  *  ;  those  marked  with  an  *  occur- 
ring in  the  red  sand  and  clay  as'  well  as  in  the  cave- 
earth,  although  much  more  sparingly.  The  traces  of 
man  consisted  of  more  than  1,000  implements  ;  and, 
as  before,  those  made  of  quartzite  were  generally 
found  in  the  lower  strata.  The  most  important  indi- 
cation of  human  handiwoi-k  was  the  outline  of  the 
head  and  fore  quarters  of  a  horse,  engraved  upon  a 
fragment  of  the  rib  of  some  animal.  Among  the 
animal  remains  the  most  interesting  discovery  was 
that  of  a  canine  of  Machairodus  latidens ;  it 
consisted  of  the  sabre-shaped  crown  only,  which 
appeared  to  have  been  purposely  broken  away  from 
the  root.  The  superficial  layer  of  earth  in  the  cave 
contained  remains  belonging  to  the  historic  and  pre- 
historic ages,  including  a  Romano-British  enamelled 
bronze  brooch,  of  the  same  pattern  as  one  found  in 
the  Victoria  Cave  ;  fragments  of  pottery,  human 
bones  and  teeth,  and  bones  of  both  wild  and  domestic 


1 64 


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


animals.  The  distribution  of  the  remains  found  in  the 
Church  Hole  Cave  agreed  generally  with  that  above 
described  :  traces  of  human  occupation  and  remains  of 
the  Hycena  occurred  both  in  the  cave-earth  and  in  the 
red  sand  and  clay.  The  bones  found  indicated  the 
following  animals  : — Lion,  Polecat,  Hyrena,  Fox, 
Wolf,  Bear,  Reindeer,  Irish  Elk,  Bison,  Horse, 
Woolly  Rhinoceros,  Mammoth,  and  Hare — all 
common  to  both  the  cave-deposits,  excej^t  the  Lion, 
which  was  found  only  in  the  cave-earth,  and  the 
Polecat,  of  which  a  single  jaw  occurred  in  the  red 
sand.  The  latter  contained  a  larger  proportion  of 
the  remains  than  in  the  Robin  Hood  Cave,  but,  as  in 
the  latter,  the  quartzite  implements  were  more  abun- 
dant in  the  lower  strata  of  the  deposits.  Among  the 
articles  of  human  workmanship  was  a  perfect  and 
well-shaped  bone  needle.  The  superficial  soil  of  the 
Church  Hole  Cave  also  contained  articles  of  the 
historic  and  prehistoric  age,  including  a  bronze  fibula, 
fragments  of  pottery  (one  mediaeval),  and  bones  of 
man  and  animals.  From  the  presence  of  these  objects 
in  the  surface-soil  the  author  inferred  that  the  caves 
of  Cresswell  Crags,  like  those  of  Yorkshire  and  else- 
where, were  used  as  jDlaces  of  refuge  by  the  Brit- 
welsh  during  the  conquest  of  the  country  by  the 
English.  After  noticing  the  conditions  of  the  fossil 
bones  found  in  the  caves,  the  author  proceeded  to 
remark  upon  the  general  results  of  the  explorations 
with  regard  to  their  Pleistocene  fauna,  and  concluded 
that  there  is  no  evidence  from  these  or  other  caves  in 
this  country  to  prove  that  their  faunas  are  either 
pre-  or  interglacial,  and  that  we  have  no  proof  of  the 
existence  of  pre-  or  interglacial  man  in  Britain. 


■  NOTES    AND    QUERIES. 

Density  of  Sea-water. — In  the  February  num- 
ber of  Science-Gossip,  H.  Macco  says,  "It  is 
a  known  fact  that  all  water,  fresh  or  salt,  when 
agitated,  requires  a  lower  temperature  to  freeze  than 
when  perfectly  still.''  But  is  he  quite  sure  of  this? 
The  following  statement  occurs  in  the  article  "  Ice," 
in  "Chambers's  Encyclopaedia": — "Water  in 
ordinary  cases  freezes  at  the  degree  of  heat  marked 
32  deg.  on  Fahrenheit's  thermometer,  and  o  deg.  on 
Centigrade  and  Reaumur's,  but  if  it  is  kept  perfectly 
still,  it  may  be  cooled  to  nearly  22  deg.  Fahr.  below 
freezing  and  still  remain  liquid.  The  least  shake, 
however,  or  the  throwing  in  a  solid  body,  makes  a 
portion  of  it  freeze  instantly,  and  its  temperature  rises 
immediately  to  32  deg."  As  this  is  just  the  reverse 
of  what  Mr.  Macco  says,  it  would  be  interesting  to 
know  which  is  right. — D.  Douglas. 

Pronunciation  of  Names.— Mr.  G.  S.  Boulger 
says  that  he  thinks  that  the  "ch"  in  Lachcnalia, 
Glcichenia,  &c.,  should  be  hard,  i.e.  like  k.  There 
is  a  genus  of  ]5lants  named  Richardsoriia,  after  Mr. 
Richardson.  Is  this  then  to  be  pronounced  Rikard- 
sonia?  If  it  is  not,  and  the  English  sound  of  the 
"ch  "  is  to  be  retained  in  this  word,  why  should  not 
the  soft  sound  of  the  French  "  ch "  be  used  in 
Lachcnalia, — a  genus  named  after  M.  de  la  Chenal? 
—E.  C. 


Albinism  in  Birds. — I  send  you  the  following, 
hoping  it  may  be  of  some  interest  to  your  readers- 
Feb.  24.  When  walking  near  the  edge  of  the  reced- 
ing floods  in  this  place  (Weston,  near  Bridgwater),  I 
saw  a  number  of  starlings,  and  amongst  them  a 
white  one.  I  saw  it  fly  from  the  ground  several 
times  with  the  others.  I  was  only  about  sixty  yards 
distant  when  I  first  noticed  it,  so  had  a  good  view.  — 
E.  y.  King. 

Vitality  in  Seeds. — The  mines  of  Laurium, 
which  gave  rise  recently  to  such  lively  diplomatic  dis- 
cussion, are  generally  known  to  be  largely  encumbered 
with  scoriae,  proceeding  from  the  working  of  the 
ancient  Greeks,  but  still  containing  enough  of  silon 
to  repay  extraction  by  the  improved  modern  methods. 
Professor  Hendrich  relates,  that  under  these  scoriie 
for  at  least  1500  years,  has  slept  the  seed  of  a  poppy 
of  the  genus  Glaiiciitm.  After  the  refuse  had  been 
removed  to  the  furnace,  from  the  whole  space  which 
they  had  covered  have  sprung  up  and  flowered  the 
pretty  yellow  corollas  of  this  flower,  which  was  un- 
known to  modern  science,  but  described  by  Pliny  and 
Dioscorides.  This  flower  has  disappeared  for  fifteen 
to  twenty  centuries,  and  its  reproduction  at  this 
interval  is  a  fact  parallel  to  the  fertility  of  the  famous 
"mummy  wheat." — London  Medical  Record. 

Lining  Butterfly-boxes.  —  Some  years  ago  I 
used  some  linoleum  as  a  lining  for  butterfly-boxes, 
and  experience  has  shown  me  how  good  a  material 
it  is  for  this  purpose.  Cork  and  oil  entering  into  its 
composition  render  it  both  tenacious  of  the  pin  and 
insect-proof.  I  lined  my  box  with  brown  linoleum  in 
March,  1873,  and  now  every  specimen  is  intact,  no 
mites  having  ever  appeared  since.  The  insects  show 
up  well  on  the  dark  ground,  and,  as  I  said  before, 
the  pin  holds  better  than  in  anything  I  have  ever 
tried.  The  only  objection  I  have  to  it,  is  the  increase 
of  weight  in  travelling.  Of  course  those  who  object 
to  the  colour  could  cover  it  with  paper.  —  A. 
Hamilton. 

Ivy. — The  Ivy  is  always  described  as  having  the 
leaves  of  the  climbing  stems  angular  and  lobed,  while 
those  of  the  flowering  stems  are  ovate  or  lanceolate 
and  entire.  I  have  just  gathered  a  variety  from  the 
trunk  of  a  large  elm  in  which  the  leaves  of  the  flower- 
ing stems  are  not  entire.  On  each  side  of  the 
acuminate  point  is  a  sharp  lobe  pointing  forwards, 
the  base  of  the  leaf  being  sometimes  a  little  rounded, 
sometimes  cuneate.  In  this  variety  the  leaves  of  the 
climbing  stems  are  ve:y  deeply  divided,  very  dark  in 
colour,  and  with  whitish  veins.  On  another  elm, 
about  twenty  yards  distant,  grew  the  more  common 
variety  with  leaves  of  a  paler  green,  the  lobes  shorter, 
broader,  and  blunter,  and  those  of  the  flowering 
branches  all  entire.  I  do  not  remember  any  British 
plant  in  M'hich  the  leaves  vary  so  much  in  the  same 
species,  and  even  on  the  same  individual,  as  the  Ivy, 
unless  it  be  the  Hawthorn  ;  but  in  this  case  the  lobed 
leaf  of  the  flowering  branch  is  not  accidental  but 
quite  characteristic.  It  was  so  striking  that  it  at- 
tracted my  attention  at  once  as  I  walked  along  by  the 
hedgerow,  although  the  flowering  branches  were 
some  feet  above  me,  and  I  had  to  climb  to  get  one. 
There  are  two  very  small  entire  leaves  just  below  the 
umbel  of  fruit  ;  eveiy  other  leaf  on  the  branch  is  lobed. 
This  form  may  possibly  be  the  origin  of  the  garden 
variety  digitata.  The  tendency  to  division  of  the  leaf 
is  evidently  stronger  in  this  than  in  the  common  form, 
so  that  its  force  is  not  quite  exhausted  even  in  the 
flowering  branches. — F.  T.  Mott,  Leicester. 

The  Un-common  Nettle.— There  grows  in  the 
Australian  bush  a  nettle-tree  which  attains  the  size  of 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


165 


the  largest  trees  seen  in  England.  It  has  a  large 
round  furry  leaf ;  is,  as  all  other  Australian  trees  are, 
evergreen,  but  it  makes  no  timber,  the  trunk  being 
simply  a  tube  filled  with  pith,  and  one  stroke  of  the 
axe  will  fell  a  young  tree  about  a  foot  through.  The 
tree  is  well  known,  very  common,  and  carefully 
guarded  against ;  but  if  by  accident  one  does  happen 
to  touch  a  leaf,  it  is  an  occurrence  one  does  not  easily 
forget.  Surveying  a  line  one  day  through  the  dense 
scrub,  I  happened  inadvertently  to  brush  against  a 
young  tree,  and  the  leaves  just  touched  the  back  of 
my  hand.  The  pain  caused  was  extreme,  and  ex- 
tended immediately  right  up  the  arm,  with  a  sensa- 
tion as  if  the  arm  were  paralyzed,  and  it  was  quite 
useless  ;  and  a  swelling,  the  size  of  an  egg,  appeared 
within  five  minutes  exactly  under  my  arm.  These 
symptoms  lasted  some  hours,  then  a  smart  tingling 
was  left ;  but  this  remained  for  six  weeks,  and  it  was 
considerably  increased  by  wetting  the  part  with  cold 
water. — Brisbmie. 

Peregrine  Falcon. — I  am  not  surprised,  seeing 
the  initial  blunder  which  I  made,  that  Mr.  Dealy 
does  not  quite  understand  the  purport  of  my  observa- 
tions as  to  the  specific  value  of  the  so-called  Falco 
anatiiin.  If  you  will  kindly  allow  me  a  little  more  of 
your  space,  I  will  briefly  reconsider  Mr.  Dealy'sgrounds 
for  his  conclusions.  That  gentleman  says:  "The 
American  bird  is  an  inch  or  two  the  longest  .... 
of  a  darker  shade  of  colour" ;  also,  "not  having  skins 
of  the  two  birds  at  hand,  I  am  not  able  to  point  out 
the  difference  which  I  feel  sure  exists."  I  wish  I 
could  have  the  pleasure  of  showing  Mr.  Dealy  the 
splendid  series  of  46  mounted  specimens  of  Falco 
peregrinus  which  I  have  to-day  examined,  and  from 
which  I  selected  five  adult  males  from  widely  distant 
localities ;  viz.  Port  Kennedy,  Greenland,  England, 
Ceylon,  and  Formosa.  I  think  he  would  agree  with 
me  that  it  would  be  impossible,  the  localities  being 
withheld,  to  distinguish  the  North  American  species 
from  the  others,  so  exactly  similar  are  they  in  all 
respects.  The  same  applies  to  five  adult  females  ;  one 
from  the  Saskatchewan  River,  Hudson's  Bay,  New 
York,  England,  and  Egypt.  I  hope  Mr.  Dealy  will 
give  me  credit  for  being  too  old  a  bird  myself  to 
found  my  comparison  on  immature  specimens  ;  it  is 
between  adult  birds  from  the  purposely  selected  far- 
distant  localities,  that  I  can  find  "no  perceptible 
difference "  ;  that  is  to  say,  none  greater  than  there 
exists  between  undoubted  individuals  of  any  other 
species.  With  regard  to  the  habits  of  the  so-called 
F.  anatiim,  Mr.  Dealy  says,  quoting  from  Wilson,  that 
it  ^^ never"  carries  off  the  duck  on  striking  it,  but 
permits  it  to  fall  previous  to  securing  it.  Wilson 
makes  rather  a  strong  assertion  when  he  uses  the  word 
"never,"  as,  judging  from  the  difficulty  he  experienced 
in  procuring  a  specimen,  he  probably  had  no  very 
extensive  acquaintance  with  the  bird.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  the  Duck-hawk  has  not  the  habit  all  to  itself, 
for  the  Peregrine  often  does  the  same  ;  and  I  repeat, 
it  is  a  curious  circumstance  that  the  Peregrine  in 
Gould's  plate  should  be  represented  as  striking  down 
the  bird  in  precisely  what  is  stated  to  be  the  Duck- 
hawk  fashion  ;  showing  that  the  habit  is  not  confined 
to  the  latter  species,  and  therefore  is  of  no  value  as  a 
distinctive  character.  Mr.  Dealy  says  "  the  Peregrine 
never  frequents  swamps  of  any  description — always 
rocky  ground,"  and  that  it  "  has  never  been  known  to 
construct  its  nest  on  a  tree  of  any  sort — always  on  the 
rocks,"  whereas  the  Duck-hawk  breeds  in  swamps  on 
tall  trees.  In  my  previous  note  I  gave  numerous 
instances  of  the  European  F.  peregrintts  habitually 
nesting  on  the  ground  in  swamps  in  Lapland, 
Northern  Finland,  and  Livonia.     I  also  gave  instances 


of  its  nesting  in  trees  in  North  Germany  "as  a  rule," 
and  even  in  a  church  steeple.  The  Duck-hawk, 
therefore,  cannot  be  said  to  have  the  exclusive 
monopoly  of  trees  ;  consequently,  as  this  habit  also  is 
shared  by  the  European  race,  it  cannot  be  said  to  be 
distinctive,  unless  indeed  the  North  German  Falcon 
be  F.  anaiunt.  Seeing,  therefore,  that  the  so-called 
F.  anatuni  differs  so  little  (if  at  all)  in  appearance 
from  F.  peregrinus,  and  does  not  appear  to  have  a 
single  habit  which  is  not  in  a  more  or  less  degree 
shared  by  the  latter  species,  I  for  one  am  content  to 
accept  the  decision  of  modern  ornithologists,  and 
regard  the  two  races  as  identical  in  species.  —  T. 
Southzvell. 

Ornithological  Errors. — It  makes  me  feel 
uneasy  for  the  welfare  of  Ornithology  when  I  see  that 
one  author  remarks  that  our  W^agtails  jerk  their  tails 
to  arouse  the  clouds  of  insects  which  infest  their 
haunts  (by  the  way,  does  the  sprightly  Magpie,  or  the 
little  Redstart,  both  veritable  tail-jerking  birds,  per- 
form these  motions  for  the  same  object  ?) ;  or  that  the 
Robin  decorates  his  nest  with  a  plentiful  lining  of 
feathers,  and  that  the  feathers  from  the  base  of  the 
Rook's  bill  are  rubbed  off  by  frequent  collision  with 
the  earth  ;  and  when  I  see  an  ornithologist  arguing 
over  the  specific  distinction  of  a  bird  which  he  has 
never  seen.  As  to  the  latter  circumstance,  I  very 
much  doubt  if  his  (Mr.  Dealy's)  present  opinions 
would  have  come  before  the  public  if  he  had  had 
access  to  the  recent  works  on  ornithology.  He  has 
based  his  opinions  entirely  on  the  writings  of  authors 
whose  facilities  of  observation  were  extremely  limited. 
I  hope  that,  since  those  volumes  were  circulated, 
ornithology  has  risen  to  a  science  which  brings  her 
students  to  nature  for  knowledge.  I  hope  Mr.  Dealy 
will  see  these  remarks,  and  kindly  give  me  his  opinion 
on  the  matter.  I  hope  to  prove  to  him  how  much 
better  it  is  to  describe  birds  which  we  have  observed 
in  their  native  wilds,  than  to  attempt  to  describe  the 
habits  of  a  bird  from  the  writings  of  others. — Charles 
Dixon,  Heeley,  near  Sheffield. 

Query  about  a  Flower. — I  think  the  flower 
referred  to  by  Shelleyis  the  Crown  Imperial  {Fritillaria 
imperialist.  Its  nectaries  ai'c  filled  with  large  drops  of 
liquid,  which,  from  the  pendulous  habit  of  the  corolla, 
are  scattered  either  on  the  earth  or  leaves  when  the 
plant  is  agitated  by  the  wind. — G.  S. 

Query  as  to  a  Flower. — "A.  H.,"  in  the  May 
number  of  Science-Gossip,  asks  what  flower  Shelley 
refers  to  in  lines  which  are  quoted.  May  it  not  be 
the  Arum  that  is  meant  ?  I  have  observed  a  copious 
exudation  of  a  watery  fluid  from  the  tendril-like 
extremity  of  the  blossom  of  this  plant.  I  refer  to  the 
cultivated  variety.  Perhaps  the  wild  ones  exhibit  the 
same  peculiarity,  but  I  have  not  noticed  it.— JF.  y . 
Horn. 

Exudation  from  Sycamores.  —  I  have  fre- 
quently noticed,  under  lime-trees  and  sycamores  espe- 
cially, that  flagstones  overshadowed  by  them  have 
been  quite  covered  with  drops  of  some  apparently 
gummy  exudation — I  presume  from  the  leaves.  I 
have  sometimes  thought  it  might  be  caused  by  aphides, 
but  have  failed  to  see  any  when  I  have  looked.  It 
appears  to  be  more  noticeable  after  some  duration  of 
hot  weather.  Perhaps  some  correspondent  may  be 
able  to  explain  this.  —  W.  J.  Horn. 

Endive. — In  connection  with  the  reading  of  Mr. 
Glasspoole's  interesting  paper  on  "The  History  of 
our   Salad    Herbs,"    a    very   interesting    remark    of 


i66 


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


Horace's,  in  his  "Odes,"  may  be  new  to  some  of 
your  readers.     I  allude  to  the  lines, 

"  Me  pascunt  olivse, 
Me  cichorea  levesque  malvae." 

Horace,  i.  xxxi.  15,  16. 

The  word  cichorea  here  may  be  translated  in  the 
name  of  three  herbs;  for  cichorium,  which  ^  if  tx'^P""'' 
is  either  chicory,  succory,  or  endive.  It  is  therefore 
of  some  interest  to  find,  in  an  ode  written  about 
B.C.  28,  such  favourable  mention  made  by  the  poet 
to  these  herbs  from  a  nourishing  and  supporting 
("pascunt")  point  of  view. — Charles  F.  W.  T. 
Williams,  Redland. 

The  Wild  Tulip.— This  plant  {Ttilipa  syl- 
vesiris)  is  growing '  in  our  parish,  in  the  corner  of  a 
meadow,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  any  house  or  road. 
As  it  is  rare,  perhaps  you  would  like  to  mention  it  in 
SciENCE-Gossir.  I  enclose  a  specimen,  so  that  you 
may  see  it  is  genuine.  — J.  Onions,  Dymoch,  Gloucester- 
shire. 

Albino  Birds. — Seeing  in  previous  numbers  of 
your  useful  work  a  list  of  Birds,  White  or  Cream 
Colour,  I  have  seep  most  of  those  already  named,  and 
can  vouch  for  the  accuracy  of  the  following  : — The 
Qxow  {Coiviis  corone).  This  bird  was  quite  white  ; 
its  feathers  of  a  much  finer  texture  than  other  crows  I 
have  had.  I  thought  the  bird  was  diseased,  as  it 
was  veiy  poor. — The  Sand  ^'{.■ax'i\\\{Hirundo  ripaiia). 
This  bird  is  a  splendid  specimen,  beautifully  white, 
and  in  the  possession  of  a  friend  of  mine. — G.B. 

Bat  {Vespertilio  pipestrellits). — This  specimen  was 
obtained  by  a  keeper  from  some  eaves  of  a  barn  on  a 
gentleman's  estate  in  this  neighbourhood.  Its  body 
was  as  white  as  down,  and  the  texture  of  the  wings 
was  beautiful,  their  transparency  giving  them  a 
beautiful  blush  appearance.  I  could  not  secure  this 
species,  as  it  was  intended  for  the  gentleman  himself. 
—G.B. 

Haw-finch  [Fringilla  cocothraustes).  —  Seeing 
many  different  opinions  on  this  bird's  breeding  in  this 
neighbourhood,  I  have  heard  from  good  authority, 
worthy  of  belief,  that  they  have  found  its  nest  in  the 
neighbourhood,  as  I  have  specimens  brought  in 
different  times  of  the  year. — G.B. 

Preserving  Crustaceans. — Could  any  of  your 
obliging  correspondents  inform  me  of  the  best  way  of 
preserving  crustaceans  (crabs,  lobsters,  <S:c.),  echini, 
and  such-like  things,  dry  for  the  cabinet? — A  Constant 
Reader. 

Blister-Beetle.  —  Can  any  one  inform  me 
whether  the  Blister-beetle  {Cantharis  vesicatoria) 
has  been  found  in  this  country? — G.  0.  Howell. 

Aquarium-keeping. — Can  any  Science-Gossip 
contributoi-s  give  me  some  information  as  to  aquarium- 
keeping  ?  I  have  a  bell  glass  about  8  in.  across,  in 
which  I  have  deposited  3  sticklebacks,  3  large 
planorbis  snails,  2  caddis-worms,  and  i  common 
stagnalis.  I  have  filled  the  bottom  with  mould  and 
planted  therein  2  water-plants.  Now  I  believe  I 
ought  to  have  the  weeds  so  arranged  that  they  may 
give  out  sufficient  oxygen  for  the  sticklebacks  and 
other  animals,  but  at  present  it  does  not  seem  to  do 
so ;  secondly,  the  sticklebacks  will  not  allow  one 
snail  to  appear  from  under  its  shell  :  directly  the  snails 
attempt  to  move  about,  the  little  fish  come  up  and 
make  the  most  vigorous  endeavours  to  get  a  bite  out 
of  them,  so  I  am  fairly  puzzled,  and  I  should  like  to 
know  how  to  feed  them,  and  in  what  way  to  stop  such 
very  barbarous  proceedings.  Do  sticklebacks  eat 
snails  ?     I  should  be  glad  to  know  of  any  hints  which 


your  readers  can  throw  out  about  this  matter.  How 
many  animals  could  I  keep  in  such  a  space? — F.E.  C, 
Trin.  Coll.,  Cambridge. 

Management  of  Small  Aquaria. — Can  any 
reader  of  Science-Gossip  give  me  infoi-mation  as  to 
the  management  of  small  bell-shaped  aquaria  ?  My 
sticklebacks  attacked  and  killed  all  the  water-snails  I 
kept  confined  with  them.  Is  this  always  the  case, 
and  is  there  a  preventive  ?  Also,  has  any  one  suc- 
cessfully reared  caddis-worms  into  their  final  stage  ? — 
F.  E.  C. 

Changing  Aquarium  Water. — In  reply  to  your 
correspondent  "A.  S."  (Jan.  No.)  about  changing 
the  water  in  aquaria,  I  would  say  that  when  I  com- 
menced keeping  one,  about  23  years  ago,  the  beginner 
was  instructed  to  periodically  change  the  water,  besides 
keeping  it  pure  by  means  of  aeration,  filtration,  &c.  ; 
and  I  well  remember  that,  to  the  inexperienced  it 
seemed  to  require  it,  for  at  that  time  the  list  of  life 
given  as  suitable  for  aquaria  was :  of  Plants,  Vallis- 
neria  spiralis,  Anacharis  alsinastrum,  Calliiriche 
aittiimnalis,  Ahtphar  lidea,  Fotaviogetonjrrispns,  and 
many  others  ;  of  Mollusks,  univalves,  Flanorbis 
co7-neiis  and  carinatiis,  Fahcdina  vivipara,  Lymnea 
stagnalis,  &c.  ;  bivalves,  Anodon  cygnens,  Unio 
pictoriim  and  tumidns;  besides  reptiles  and  fishes. 
With  a  small  selection  from  these,  what  with 
decaying  vegetation,  death  of  mollusks,  especially 
bivalves,  and  other  causes,  the  water,  in  a 
month,  seemed  anything  but  pure.  But  experience 
and  observation  taught  \^hat  to  keep  and  what 
to  reject ;  so  that  periodical  changing  of  the 
water  was  no  longer  necessaiy.  The  plants  were 
reduced  to  Vallisneria  spiralis,  Stratiotes  aloides,  and 
Frog-bit,  the  latter  only  on  account  of  its  beautifully- 
formed  leaves  and  the  nice  cool  shade  it  gives  to  the 
water  in  summer  (for  it  is  a  rapidly-decaying  plant)  ; 
the  mollusks  to  Flanorbis  corneus,  and  the  fresh- 
water limpet ;  reptiles  were  rejected  ;  for  though  I 
have  had  them  live  twelve  months,  they  are  bad Teeders 
in  confinement,  droop,  get  very  thin,  and  soon 
become  objectionable  objects  in  aquaria,  I  think 
that  with  a  dozen  good  plants  of  Vallisneria,  one  or 
two  Stratiotes,  and  some  frog-bit,  an  aquarium  con- 
taining ten  gallons  of  water  placed  at  a  window  look- 
ing west  or  north-west,  where  the  light  will  fall 
mostly  at  the  top,  sixteen  fish  can  be  kept  in  good 
condition  for  many  years  without  either  filtration, 
aeration,  or  change  of  water.  The  longest  time  the 
water  in  my  tank  remained  was  two  years,  and  then 
it  was  only  changed  on  account  of  being  removed  to 
other  premises  ;  still  it  was  as  clean  and  pure  as  when 
first  put  in.  But  under  all  circumstances,  water  pure 
or  foul,  changed  or  unchanged,  the  eel  has  lived ;  and 
though  for  his  age  he  must  lie  considered  small,  he  is 
to-day  apparently  as  cheerful  and  vigorous  as  if  his 
twenty  years  had  been  spent  in  the  waters  of  the 
Severn.  Of  the  other  fish  I  cannot  speak  so  well ; 
they  will  die  from  some  unknown  cause.  Carp, 
sticklebacks,  and  minnows,  I  find  live  longest — some  for 
one  or  two  years ;  but  dace,  roach,  perch,  ruffe,  &c., 
soon  become  unhealthy,  sluggish,  blind,  and  then  die. 
—Ben  Flant. 

Potato  Beetle. — Caution. — Too  much  care  can- 
not be  taken  to  prevent  that  dreaded  pest,  the  Potato 
Beetle  (the  Colorado)  from  becoming  an  inhabitant  of 
this  country.  Six  were  carefully  packed  in  a  pill-box 
and  sent  to  me  from  Canada,  and  one  was  alive  when 
I  received  them  and  for  a  week  afterwards.  I  want 
some  paste  eels,  and  offer  one  or  two  of  the  beetles 
in  exchange. — A,  Nicholson,  Fareham. 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSSIF. 


167 


Vestiges  of  the  Natural  History  of 
Creation. — The  author  of  this  work  must  have  been 
born  a  geologist  and  phrenologist,  and  have  had  an 
intimate  knowledge  of  both  these  sciences.  Of  the 
latter  science  it  is  well  known  that  Mr.  George  Combe 
was  the  head  of  the  phrenological  school  during  a 
great  portion  of  his  life,  but  I  am  not  aware  that  he 
had  any  knowledge  of  geology,  and  I  am  tolerably 
well  acquainted  with  his  writings.  The  greatest 
portion  of  them  is  devoted  to  mental  and  moral 
philosophy.  But  with  Mr.  Robert  Chambers  the 
case  is  quite  different.  He  possessed  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  both  these  subjects.  He  was  a  member 
for  many  years,  and  I  believe  one  of  the  original 
members,  of  the  Phrenological  Society  of  Edinburgh, 
and  of  course  on  intimate  terms  with  Mr.  George 
Combe.  That  the  subject  of  development  or  evolution 
treated  of  in  the  "Vestiges"  was  a  subject  often 
discussed  by  the  two  we  may  naturally  suppose  ;  and 
it  is  quite  possible  that  Mr.  Combe  might  not  only  be 
aware  of  the  authorship,  but  even  assist  by  his  advice 
in  the  composition  of  that  great  work,  but  that  it  was 
written  solely  by  Mr.  Robert  Chambers  I  do  not  enter- 
tain the  slightest  doubt.  Mr.  Robert  Cox,  brother-in- 
law  of  Mr.  Combe,  wrote  a  review  of  the  "  Vestiges  " 
shortly  after  its  publication,  and  from  passages  which 
occur  there  I  am  tolerably  well  satisfied  that  Mr. 
Combe  was  not  the  author.  But  what  I  ground  my 
opinion  principally  on  is  the  following.  Not  very 
long  ago  I  was  informed  by  a  well-known  author  of 
several  scientific  works,  and  who  is  now  a  professor 
in  one  of  our  colleges,  that  he  knew  for  a  fact  that  Mr. 
Robert  Chambers  was  the  author  of  the  "  Vestiges." 
This  may  be  said  to  be  only  assertion,  but  I  know 
that  this  gentleman,  from  the  position  he  held  during 
the  publication  of  the  "Vestiges"  in  1844,  had  a  better 
means  than  any  other  man,  except  those  to  whom  the 
author  might  have  divulged  the  secret,  of  obtaining 
the  necessary  information  for  making  this  assertion. 
I  may  here  conclude  these  fragmentary  observations 
by  expressing  my  surprise  that  the  doctrine  of 
evolution  should  be  solely  placed  to  the  credit  of  Mr. 
Darwin;  when  we  have  here  a  work  on  the  same 
subject  written  several  years  before  the  publication  of 
Mr.  Darwin's  works,  in  which  the  aim  of  the  author 
was  to  show  "  that  the  simplest  and  most  primitive 
type  under  a  law  to  which  that  of  like  production  is 
subordinate,  gives  birth  to  the  type  above  it,  and 
this  again  produces  the  next  higher,  and  so  on  to  the 
very  highest," — a  work  of  great  originality,  and 
which  by  the  grandeur  of  the  conceptions  and  the 
occasional  bursts  of  eloquence  produces  the  effect  of  a 
great  historical  poem. — Dipton.  Burn. 

The  Grave  of  the  Rev.  Gilbert  White. — 
Being  a  great  admirer  of  Gilbert  White's  liistory,  I 
had  long  desired  to  visit  Selborne,  so  I  accordingly 
drove  over  from  here  three  weeks  ago,  accompanied 
by  two  young  friends,  to  see  the  old  naturalist's 
grave.  We  duly  admired  the  noted  yew-tree  in  the 
churchyard  and  read  the  inscription  on  the  tablet  in 
the  edifice,  and  then  began  to  seek  for  the  grave. 
Failing  to  find  it,  I  spoke  to  one  of  the  workmen, 
who  came  and  pointed  out  a  heap  of  rubbish,  broken 
bricks,  mortar,  pieces  of  slate,  &c.  "  It  lies  some- 
what about  there,"  he  said.  Clearing  away  some  of 
the  debris,  a  headstone  became  visible,  and  on  it  the 
simple  letters,  "  G.  W."  "Two  gents  came  and 
cleaned  that  ere  stone  last  year,"  added  our  guide.  I 
was  pained  to  witness  such  want  of  respect  shown  to 
the  memory  of  one  whose  writings  have  made  "  Sel- 
borne "  a  wide-world  name  ;  but  imagine  my  disgust 
later  in  the  day,  when  speaking  to  an  inhabitant  of 
the   village,    who   had    informed    me,    with   a   vast 


amount  of  local  pride,  that  "a  great  number  of 
strangers,  some  of  them  carriage  people,  came  to  see 
the  village  in  the  summer,"  he  said,  in  reply  to  my 
remark  of  "  Ves,  Gilbert  Wiiite  has  made  it  famous. 
What  a  pity  it  is  to  so  neglect  his  grave."  "I  don't 
know  him— never  saw  it,"  and  looked  utterly  puzzled, 
"  Gilbert  White  "  was  evidently  to  him  an  unknown 
name. — Helen  E.  IVatney. 

The  "Ice  Age."— In  the  last  number  of  the 
Popular  Science  Review  I  read  with  much  interest  an 
article  on  the  "  Evidences  of  the  Ice  Age,"  by  Mr, 
H.  Woodward,  F.R.S.,  &c.  It  possessed  additional 
interest  for  me  in  the  fact  that  I  was  engaged  in 
reading  Mr.  Geikie's  "Great  Ice  Age"  at  the  time 
when  the  above-mentioned  number  of  the  Popular 
Science  Review  reached  me.  It  would  be  simply  pre- 
sumption on  my  part  to  question,  on  my  own  sole 
authority,  any  statements  put  forth  by  Mr.  Wood- 
ward, but,  in  comparing  his  statements  with  Mr. 
Geikie's,  I  was  quite  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  fol- 
lowing discrepancy.  Mr.  Woodward  says,  at  the 
bottom  of  page  113,  Popular  Science  Review,  April, 
1877 — "When  the  earth,  from  these  two  causes  com- 
bined, became  subject  to  a  slight  variation  in  its  two 
hemispheres,  which  would  give  to  one  7^  days  more 
of  the  sun's  presence  in  one  tropic  than  the  other 
now  enjoys,  then  .Mr.  CroU  concludes  the  ice  on  the 
more  favoured  pole  would  melt  ,  ,  .  &c,  ;  and 
this  cause  alternating,  would  give  rise  to  .  .  , 
glacial  epochs  ..."  &c,  &c.  Does  Mr.  Wood- 
ward mean  by  the  word  "now,"  the  glacial  epoch, 
or  A.D,  1877  ?  If  the  latter,  it  is,  I  suppose,  correct 
to  say  that  the  earth  is  7i  days  longer  in  aphelion 
than  in  perihelion  ;  but  the  point  and  drift  of  the 
passage  seem  to  be  gone.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
means  the  glacial  period,  surely  the  interequinoctial 
difference  ought  to  be  represented  as  more  then  than 
it  is  now.  Mr.  Geikie,  at  least  ("Great  Ice  Age," 
P-  I39)>  estimates  the  difference  as  36  days. — 
W.  D. 

Parasites  of  Plants. — Canyon,  or  any  of  your 
readers,  recommend  a  good  descriptive  work  on  the 
parasites  of  plants?— 7.  M.   W. 


BOOKS,  &c.,  RECEIVED. 

"  Report  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
1872." 

"Zoolo.gy."     By  Dr.  Andrew  Wilson.     London  and  Edin- 
burgh :  W.  &  R.  Chambers. 

"Annual  Report  of  West  London  Scientific  Association." 

"Annual    Report    of    Norfolk    and    Norwich    Naturalists' 
Society." 

"Monthly  Microscopical  Journal."    June. 

"  Land  and  Water."  ,, 

"  Les  Mondes."  ,, 

"  American  Naturalist."     May. 

"  American  Journal  of  Microscopy."     May. 

"Canadian  Entomologist."     May. 
&c.  &c,  &c. 


Communications  received  up  to 
T.  S.— J.  B.— A.  S.— E.  C— C.  W.  W.- 
G.  S.  T.— H.  L.— E.  v.— E.  S.— E.  A. 
R.  J.  M.— Dr.  A.  H.  N.— D.  D.— J.  E. 
— H.  H.  C.-R.  L.— T.  E.  B.— J.  G.- 
E.  W.— G.  W.  L.— W.  J.  V.-T.  W.- 
H.  W.  P.— B.  W.— F.  P.— B.  J.  S.- 
G.  F.  B.— W.  T.— J.  R.— W.  B.— R.  W. 
J.  R.  S.  C— M.  H.— E.  T.  M.— Dr.  C. 
— E.  E.— R.  D.— G.  R.— J.  P.— W.  E.- 
— T.  V.  D.— W.  W.— T.  S.— T.  W.  S.— ■ 
A.  W.-G.  O.  H.— J.  F.  R.— Dr.  P. 
C.  W.  B.-B.  P.— F.  C— J.  M.  M.— F. 
M.  F.— W.  S.  jun.— W.  M.  P.-P.  E. 
S.  E.  A.  W.— J.  B.  P.— E.  S.— G.  H.  R. 
J.  S.  H.— F.  W.  F.— J.  W.  M.— J.  T.- 
W.  R.  T.— G.  N.— T.  H.  M.— W.  H.  G. 
—J.  v.— E.  M.— A.  N.— J.  T.  P.— R. 
W.  H.— M.  S.-  C.  D.— W.  K.  M.— J.  H 
— H.  J.  S.— &c.  &c.  &C. 


I2TH  ULT.  FROM  : — 
-Captain  H.— C.  C— 

C.   W.— V.  M.  G.— 

P.— E.  C.  D.— J.  F. 
J.  M.  W.— W.  D.— 
-F.  B.— B.  W.  H.— 
-F.  H.  A.— A.  B.— 
— H.  H.  C— F.  K.— 
C.  A.— B.  B.— G.  N. 

J.  A.  S.— W.  H.  W. 
T.  R.  C.  G.— H.  S.— 

Q.  K.— T.  J.  W.— 
S.— H,  M.— W.  T.— 

C— H.  A.— J.  L.— 
—J.  S.  W.— Dr.  C— 
-C.  J.  M.— H.  S.— 
—J.  T.  R.— G.  W.  C. 

H.  B.-R.  T.  G.— 
—A.  R.  C— ]\L  O.  H. 


i68 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSSIF. 


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  8th  of  the 
previous  month. 


E.  W.  A. — The  worm  whose  name  you  request  is  that 
familiarly  known  as  the  "Hair-worm"  {Goniius  agiintic7is). 
It  is  the  one  which  schoolboys  religiously  believe  is  developed 
by  putting  a  horse-hair  in  shallow  running  water  exposed  to 
the  sun  !  The  "  Hair-worm"  passes  the  first  stage  of  its  life 
within  the  bodies  of  some  insects. 

H.  W.  Hitchcock  (Hadleigh). — The  "  Grub  "  sent  us  is  the 
larva  of  the  common  Stag  Beetle  {Lucanus  cerznis),  abundant 
in  your  part  of  the  country. 

A  Subscriber. — The  fern  you  sent,  with  young  ones  grow- 
ing on  the  ends  of  the  older  fronds,  is  in  the  not  unusual  con- 
dition called  proliferous.  The  young  one  may  be  taken  off, 
when  ready,  and,  if  properly  potted,  will  develop  into  another 
plant.  Your  proliferous  plant  is  abtiorinally  in  the  condition 
which,  in  the  Strawberry  is  normal — as  when  the  latter  puts 
forth  its  stolons  and  buds. 

W.  Statham. — Get  Cooke's  "Manual  of  Botanical  Terms  " 
(London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue).  It  is  just  the  kind  of  book 
you  want. 

Constant  Reader. — The  shrub  you  enclosed  was  Garrya 
elliptica. 

A.  L.  S.  (Camden-street). — The  portion  of  flower  you  sent 
was  a  Boiigaijivillea. 

V.  G.  (Waltham-cross). — Could  you  send  us  a  more  perfect 
specimen  of  the  shrubby  plant  ?  The  primrose  which  you 
believe  to  be  the  Japanese  P.  is  one  with  much  less  pretension, 
Primula  denticiilaia. 

Inquirer. — Your  specimen,  judging  from  the  rough  outline 
sketch  sent  us,  is  Rotifcra  vulgaris. 

T.  V.  D. — You  can  obtain  anything  you  require  for  an 
aquarium,  marine  or  freshwater,  from  JNIr.  King,  Sea-horse 
House,  Portland-road,  London. 

J.  M.  M. — No  charge  is  made  for  the  insertion  of  "  E.x- 
changes,"  unless  they  extend  over  three  printed  lines. 

G.  \V.  Landels. — We  imagine  you  must  be  mistaken  in  the 
number  of  legs  of  the  parasite  on  the  Tortoise.  Otherwise  your 
description  makes  it  answer  to  a  species  ol  Ixodes. 

W.  J.  V. — The  only  book  we  know  of  relative  to  Felixstowe 
(except  the  "  Suffolk  Traveller  "  and  other  county  works)  is  an 
old-fashioned  and  incorrect  local  guide-book. 

R.  Hamilton. — The  white  variety  of  the  Hyacinth  you 
enclosed  is  undoubtedly  a  natural  variety,  and  not  a  garden 
sport.  White  specimens  of  the  common  Hyacinth  are  not  un- 
common in  some  localities. 

R.  J.  Manning. — No  specimen  of  a  plant  was  enclosed  in 
your  letter  of  May  20th. 

Fred  Ahn. — We  should  be  glad  to  receive  an  article  from 
you  on  the  subject  you  mention. 

F.  S. — Get  Johnston's  "British  Zoophytes"  from  some 
natural  historj'  bookseller  in  London. 

D.  F.  and  Alpha. — You  will  find  McNicoll's  "Dictionary 
of  Natural  History  Terms"  answer  your  purpose,  as  it  gives 
the  correct  pronunciation  of  each  name,  and  the  Latin  and 
Greek  words  from  which  the  names  are  derived.  It  was  pub- 
lished, we  believe,  by  Lovell  Reeve  &  Co. 

Erratum. — In  the  article  on  "Economic  Products  of 
Plants  "  last  month,  the  names  of  the  first  two  illustrations  were 
transposed.     No.  112  is  Urceola,  and  113  Herz'a. 

J.  T.  Powell. — The  popular  character  of  Science-Gossip 
does  not  admit  of  mere  lists  of  plants  or  insects  being  pub- 
lished, unless  they  illustrate  some  general  principle. 

J\I.  O.  H. — Sir  John  Lubbock's  work  on  the  Thysatiitra  was 
published  in  the  Linnean  Society's  Transactions,  in  1862,  1867, 
and  1869.  We  are  not  aware  that  a  new  edition  of  Pritchard's 
"  Infusioria"  is  in  hand.  It  has  been  talked  of  for  some  time, 
and  is  much  wanted. 

H.  ScADDiNG. — Accept  our  best  thanks  for  the  capital  slides 
you  sent. 

H.  J.  Savorv,  Jun. — The  insects  enclosed  in  small  bottle  aVe 
a  species  of  Long  Horn-moth  (Adela  lie  Geerella). 

"  R.-vnunculus." — You  did  not  give  us  any  name  to  answer 
your  query  by.  From  the  remains  of  the  plant  you  sent  us 
packed  in  moss,  we  think  it  is  Anemone  ranunculoides. 


EXCHANGES. 

y'Ecidium  nllii  (on  Garlic)  and  others,  offered  for  /Ecidimn 
soldnella-,  or  Ai.  dracotitii ;  yH.  valerianacearum  ;  .'K.  as- 
perifolii ;  yK.  orobi ;  yK.  scrofihulariie  ;  ^K.  pedicularis. — 
Thos.  Brittain,  52,  Park-street,  Green  Heys,  Manchester. 

Wanted,  transparent  sections  of  Petrified  Wood  from  known 
localities.  Foraminifera,  itc,  given  in  exchange. — Geo.  Clinch, 
West  Wickham,  Kent. 


_  Several  good  Slides  of  foreign  diatomaces  for  good  Injec- 
tions.— T.  Brown,  7,  Spencer-street,  E.C. 

Will  exchange  Coprolite  Fossils  for  others.— J.  F.,  Mission 
House,  Alcester,  Warwick. 

For  one  dozen  Spheerinm  corneum  (living),  send  small  box 
and  postage,  or  any  local  Land  or  Freshwater  Shells. — Mrs.  S., 
Brentford  End. 

British  plants,  named,  but  not  mounted,  offered.  Wanted 
Johnston's  "British  Zoophytes." — G.,  15,  Thornhill-road,  N. 

Wanted,  Science-Gossip  for  years  1872  and  1873. — Apply, 
Dr.  Cunynghame,  6,  Walker-street,  Edinburgh. 

Duplicates— Larvae  oi Liparis  dispar.  Desiderata—  many 
common  or  local  species. — Robert  Laddiman,  Upper  Hellesdon, 
Norwich. 

Wanted,  good  section  of  Agate  or  other  mineral  for  polari- 
scope.  Two  good  Slides  for  polariscope  given  in  exchange. — 
Wm.  Sargant,  jun.,  Caverswall,  Stoke-on-Trent. 

PuPyE  oi  Filipendulce,  Fidigiiiosa,  and  Bucephala,  for  others. 
— John  Rae,  Hanover-street,  Aberdeen. 

Double  Nose-piece  for  microscope  by  Swift,  offered  for  Fresh- 
water Alga;  and  Zoophytes,  living,  or  Shells. —F.  B.,  Vine- 
street,  York. 

Will  exchange  Fritillaria  Meleagris,  No.  1327,  7th  edition 
London  Catalogue,  for  other  good  Plants. — F.  Crosbie,  The 
Chestnuts,  Barnet. 

Student's  Polariscope,  a  good  J-in.  or  good  \-\v\.,  for  good 
i-in.  Object  Glasses :  two  required  ;  Swift's  or  Crouch's  pre- 
ferred.— J.  S.  Harrison,  48,  Lowgate,  Hull. 

Seeds  oi  Paulownia  imperialis.  I  have  a  few  of  the  above, 
which  I  shall  be  happy  to  distribute,  on  receipt  of  stamped 
envelope.— G.,  15,  Thornhill-road,  N. 

Eel  Scales,  Seaweeds,  &c.,  mounted  in  balsam,  sent  for 
other  mounted  Micro.  Objects  of  interest. — Address,  H.  Stiby, 
Yeovil,  Somerset. 

For  exchange  a  few  Slides,  Gorgonia  spicules.  Elytron  of 
Diamond  Beetle,  and  Sulphate  of  Cadmium  Crystals. — Alex. 
Milne,  Silverdale,  Carnforth. 

Wanted,  a  dried  specimen  of  each.  Geranium  columbinum 
and  G.  pusillum  for  Herbarium.  Will  send  examples  of 
Fritillaria  Meleagris  (with  the  white  variety),  fresh  collected 
this  season. — G.  Garrett,  Harland  House,  Wherstead-road, 
Ipswich. 

Microscopic  Slides  of  Insects,  whole  and  dissected.  Marine 
Algae,  Tongues  of  MoUusks,  &c.,  to  exchange.— T.  H.  Moor- 
head,  Dalkey,  Dublin, 

Carex  ericeiorum.  Poll.  (Suffolk)  for  either,  23,  106,  511,  536, 
544.  545.  546.  730.  851,  913,  933,  971,  997,  iiis,  1279,  1286, 
1329,  1410,  1552,  1553,  1622,  or  1624,  7th  Edition  London 
Catalogue. — A.  B.,  107,  High-street,  Croydon. 

"Surveys  of  Nature,"  2  vols.,  by  Fitzgerald  ;  Weld's  "Patho- 
logical Histology  "  ;  2  Saws  of  Saw-fish,  and  a  few  Micro. 
Photos  for  album,  for  Books  or  anything  useful. — W.  Tylar, 
165,  Well-street,  Hockley,  Birmingham. 

Young  of  Hiftpocatitpus  (Sea-horse),  well-mounted,  polarize 
beautifully.  Send  a  first-class  Slide,  anatomical  preferred. — E. 
Eaton,  48,  Currie's-lane,  Ipswich. 

Send  specimens  of  named  Shells,  Minerals,  or  Natural  Objects, 
for  fac-simile  Warrant  for  beheading  Charles  I.  ;  unmounted 
Micro.  Material  for  Minerals,  Fossils,  &c. — W.  I'ylar,  165, 
Well-street,  Birmingham. 

Wanted,  pure  Gatherings  of  any  of  the  Pleuro-sigmata,  for 
good  Slides ;  also  living  specimens  of  Cyclostoma  elegans^ 
Littorinidce,  Paludnin,  and  Vnlvata. — M.  Fowler,  20,  Burn- 
row,  Slamannan,  N.B. 

Eggs  for  exchange,  side-blown.  Golden  Plover,  Ring  Plover, 
Snipe,  Grouse,  Oyster-catcher,  Dipper,  Dunlin,  Redshank, 
Tern,  Wood  Wren,  Sparrow-hawk,  and  others. — J.  Lancaster, 
24,  Prince's-street,  Carlisle. 

Wanted,  Professor  Newton's  "Suggestions  for  forming 
Collections  of  Birds'  Eggs."  Will  exchange  a  few  British  Birds- 
Eggs,  or  give  reasonable  price.— Address,  H.  H.  Collinge, 
Stanley-park,  Letherland,  near  Liverpool. 

I  WILL  give  a  liberal  exchange  in  North  American  Land  and 
Freshwater  Shells  to  any  one  who  will  send  me  some  good 
specimens  of  Scotch  Anodons(^/'«/(7i-  not  required). — G.  Sherriff 
Tye,  62,  Villa-road,  Handsworth,  near  Birmingham. 

Eggs  of  Red  Grouse,  Redshank,  Ringed  Plover,  and  Lesser 
Tern,  for  other  good  eggs  ;  a  good  exchange  would  be  given  for 
an  egg  of  the  Chough.— J.  B,  Pilley,  2,  High  Town,  Hereford. 

Marine  Objects  for  dissection  or  mounting  for  the  micro- 
scope, for  Gosse's  "  Marine  Zoology"  or  "  Sea  Anemones,"  or 
p.art  exchange  in  cash.  —X.  Y.,  48,  Leonard-street,  Finsbury, 
London,  E.C. 

ist  and  2nd  vols,  of  the  "  Naturalist  "  (first  edition),  and  ist 
and  2nd  vols.    "  Entomologist,"  for  Foreign   Shells  or  British 
Birds'  Eggs. — R.    H.    B.,    13,     DaIr>--grove,     Wavertree-road 
Liverpool. 

British  Birds' Eggs  required;  can  offer  good  Lepidoptera 
and  other  Natural  History  Specimens. — W.  K.  Mann,  Welling- 
ton-terrace, Clifton,  Bristol. 


HA  RDWl  CKE  'S    S  CI£JV  CE  -  G  OS  SI  P. 


169 


A  SKETCH  OF  THE   GEOLOGY  OF   PLYMOUTH  AND  THE 

NEIGHBOURHOOD, 


Bv     HORACE    B.     WOODWARD,     F.  G.  S. 

Of  the  Geological  Survey  of  England  and  Wales. 


HE  country  around  Ply- 
mouth possesses  very 
many  features  of  geo- 
logical interest,  afford- 
ing a  good  school  for 
the  beginner,  and  fur- 
nishing plenty  of  pro- 
blems for  the  most  ad- 
vanced student.  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  three 
great  divisions  of  the 
stratified  rocks  can  be  observed  within  easy  distance 
by  road  and  rail  ;  and  many  exposures  of  both  igneous 
and  metamorphic  rocks  can  be  reached  with  equal 
readiness.  The  formation  of  the  scenery  is  a  subject 
which  opens  up  a  number  of  interesting  questions, 
and  leads  us,  when  we  come  to  study  the  records  of 


Devonian  strata  to  be  concealed  by  the  shales  and 
grits  of  the  Culm-measures.*  Turning  eastwards, 
we  find  outliers  of  the  red  sandstones,  breccias,  and 
conglomerates  of  the  Triassic  period,  which  beyond 
Torquay  form  part  of  the  great  belt  of  red  rocks 
which  stretches  across  England  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Tees. 

Again,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Newton  Abbot 
are  traces  of  the  Upper  Greensand ;  and  in  the  Bovey 
valley  beneath,  occur  the  well-known  clays  and  lignites 
classed  as  Miocene.  Extensive  beds  of  gravel  are 
locally  met  with  ;  the  coast-line  is  fringed  here  and 
there  with  i-elics  of  raised  sea-beaches  and  sub- 
marine forests  ;  and  the  caverns,  formed  in  the 
Devonian  limestone,  have  yielded  the  bones  of 
mammalia,  many  of  them  belonging  to  extinct  forms, 
associated  with  the  ancient  implements  of  man. 


Dartmoor. 


Ivy  Bridge. 


Plympton. 


River  Plym. 


Plymouth. 


^Vy'V"'  ^--'-r  ^^T^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ll^;^^^!^^^^^ 


Granite. 


Altered  Slate.  Igneous  Dyke.  .Slates. 

Fig.  147.    Section  from  Dartmoor  to  Plymouth  (after  Sedgwick  and  Murchison). 


^'Hr-. 


Limestone. 


the  caverns,  into  close  connection  with  the  early 
history  and  antiquity  of  man.  Speaking  generally, 
the  rocky  structure  of  Plymouth  and  its  neighbour- 
hood is  composed  of  limestones,  slates,  and  sandstones, 
which  belong  to  the  Devonian  period.  The  rugged 
highlands  of  Dartmoor  are  formed  of  granite  ;  while 
numerous  igneous  rocks,  contemporaneous  and  in- 
trusive, jut  out  here  and  there  amongst  the  old  slates 
and  limestones. 

Westwards,  near  Mevagissey,  we  find  traces  of 
Upper  Cambrian  (or  Lower  Silurian)  rocks ;  and  if 
we   turn  to  the  north  and  north-east,  we  find  the 

No.  152. 


But  while  the  relative  ages  of  the  rocks  have,  on  th 
whole,  been  well  established,  yet  the  geology  of 
Devonshire  presents,  perhaps,  more  problems  in 
regard  to  tlie  classification  of  its  strata  than  any 
other  English  county.  Some  of  the  hardest  geological 
battles  have  been  fought  over  the  Devonian  rocks  ; 
and  whether  they  entirely  correspond  in  age  with 
the  Old  Red  Sandstone,  or  belong  partly  to  this 
formation   and   partly  to  the   Lower   Carboniferous 

*  The  term  Culm  is  a  local  name  for  anthracite,  and  the 
beds  in  which  it  occurs  are  classed  with  the  coal-measures  and 
millstone  grit, 

I 


170 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S CIENCE -  G O SSIP. 


group,  is  still  a  much-vexed  question.*  The  age 
and  exact  equivalents  of  the  several  subdivisions  of 
the  Triassic  rocks  have  not  been  established  ;  and 
the  Greensand  hills  of  Haldonare  outlying  fragments 
of  the  Blackdown  beds,  the  subject  of  great  discus- 
sion. Confining  ourselves  as  much  as  possible  to 
facts,  we  may  take  a  section  from  Dartmoor  to 
Plymouth,  as  drawn  by  Sedgwick  and  Murchison, 
which  gives  the  general  structure  of  that  line  of 
country,  t 

The  granite,  which  forms  the  highest  ground,  is  a 
pale  grey,  or  white,  porphyritic  rock,  containing  large 
crystals  of  felspar  J  and  it  has  been  thrust  up  amid 
the  Paleozoic  rocks,  and  even  intruded  as  veins 
amongst  the  slates,  so  as  to  produce  great  meta- 
morphism  in  its  immediate  vicinity.  It  has  burst 
through  both  Devonian  rocks  and  Culm-measures,^a 
very  significant  fact,  and  one  which  sufficiently  ex- 
plodes the  early  notion  that  granite  is  always  the 
oldest  rock.  Thus  the  granite  of  Dartmoor  is  more 
recent  than  the  Culm-measures,  but  whether  these 
rocks  represent  the  whole  of  the  Coal-measures,  or 
merely  the  lower  part,  is  a  question  that  has  yet 
to  be  settled.  We  have  the  means,  however,  of 
marking  off  the  age  of  the  granite  in  another 
-direction.  Large  boulders  of  this  rock  are  oc- 
casionally met  with  in  the  Triassic  rocks  near 
Teignmouth.  Hence  it  must  have  been  formed  in 
an  earlier  period,  and  may  very  likely  be,  as  has 
been  suggested,  of  Permian  age. 

In  our  section,  the  granite  abuts  against  the  meta- 
morphosed Devonian  slates ;  these  assume  their 
natural  character  of  bluish-grey  and  claret-coloured 
slates  further  south.  In  them  are  occasionally  found 
various  igneous  rocks,  most  of  which,  according  to 
Mr.  Worth,  are  contemporaneous  with  them.  They 
pass  beneath  the  limestone  of  Plymouth,  which  rests 
conformably  upon  them. 

The  Devonian  limestone,  which  is  so  conspicu- 
ously developed  at  Plymouth  and  in  the  cliffs  that 
face  the  Sound,  is  a  bluish-grey  crystalline  rock, 
sometimes  stained  red,  and  veined  with  calc-spar. 
In  its  general  aspect,  and  in  the  scenery  it  produces, 
it  reminds  us  forcibly  of  the  mountain  limestone  ; 
but  when  we  come  to  study  the  organic  remains,  it 
will  be  found  that,  especially  in  its  coral  fauna,  the 
forms  of  life  were  different.  From  the  southern 
portions  of  Plymouth  this  limestone  stretches  some 
two  or  three  miles  eastward  of  Oreston,  and  it  is  again 
developed  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Yealmpton.  A 
study  of  the  geological  maps  of  this  district,  and  of 
that  around  Torquay,  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
the  limestone  occurred  in  great  lenticular  masses. 
But  although  in  places  the  limestone  becomes  more 
or   less    shaly,    and    has    been    considered    to    pass 

This  question  has  recently  been  reviewed  by  Mr.   R.   N. 
Worth  in  an  article  on  the  Geology  of  Plymouth,— r^rtwi.  Ply- 
Jiwuih  Inst.,  vol.  v.  p.  450. 
t  Trans.  Ccpl.  Soc,  2nd  Ser.,  vol,  v.  Plate  LI. 


almost  directly  into  this  type  of  rock,  yet  a  careful 
study  of  portions  of  the  limestone  district  near 
Newton  Abbot  convinced  me  that  its  frequently 
abmpt  termination  \<2.%  more  often  due  to  faults 
than  to  any  disappearance  of  the  limestone  in  its 
passage  into  slates. 

In  that  district  we  find  a  well-marked  succession  (in 
descending  order)  of— (3)  Limestone,  (2)  Slates,'and 
(i)  Red  Sandstones,  very  like  Old  Red  Sandstone; 
and  the  same  divisions  have  been  very  carefully 
mapped  out  in  the  countiy  around  Totnes  by  Mr. 
Champeraowne. 

Now,  in  their  section  drawn  from  Plymouth  to 
Bolt  Head,  Sedgwick  and  Murchison  i^epresented  a 
series  of  contorted  red  sandstones  as  abutting 
against  the  limestone  of  Mount  Batten,  Plymouth, 
and  their  diagram  would  make  them  appear  to  rest 
upon  it.  They  state  that  this  sandy  division,  "in 
many  parts,  is  exactly  like  the  Old  Red  Sandstone." 
It  is  quite  possible  that  the  southern  margin  of  the 
Pl3'mouth  limestone  may  be  a  faulted  one,  as  sug- 
gested to  me  by  Mr.  Champemowne  ;  or  the  structure 
may  be  that  of  an  inverted  anticlinal,  as  supposed  by 
Jukes.  The  red  sandstones  may  therefore  be  on  the 
same  horizon  as  those  which  occur  at  the  base  of  the 
slaty  rocks  before  mentioned,  and  which  are  very 
well  exposed  in  a  quariy  at  Cocklngton,  near  Torquay. 

The  red  sandstones  of  Staddon  are  overlaid  by 
greenish-grey  and  sometimes  "glossy"  slates,  which 
occasionally  yield  slates  useful  for  roofing  purposes, 
and  these  are  stated  to  occur  in  planes  parallel  to  the 
bedding. 

In  the  promontory  of  Bolt  Head  and  Salcombe,  the 
beds  have  been  highly  altered  into  micaceous  and 
slightly  chlorltic  slates.  No  direct  clue  to  the  agent 
which  produced  this  change  can  be  seen  ;  but  Jukes 
was  of  opinion  that  a  boss  of  granite  may  be  approach- 
ing the  surface  in  this  region,  and  perhaps  reaches  it 
under  the  sea  in  adjacent  parts  of  the  Channel.""' 

Although  fossils  are  not  common  in  the  slaty  series, 
specimens  o{ Spirifcr,  Ortliis,  Lcptcnia,  and  Trllobites 
may  sometimes  be  procured. 

In  the  Plymouth  limestone,  and  in  that  developed 
around  Torquay  and  Newton  Abbot,  many  beautiful 
fossils  have  been  obtained.  But  it  is  generally 
necessary  for  the  specimens  to  be  polished  before 
their  structure  can  be  well  seen,  and  the  visitor  may 
frequently  be  disappointed  In  his  search  among  the 
quarries.  He  must,  however,  look  out  for  the 
weathered  surfaces  of  the  rock,  and  as  the  fossils  are 
better  capable  of  withstanding  the  wear  and  tear  of 
atmospheric  agencies  than  their  matrix,  they  may  not 
unfrequenlly  be  found  standing  out  in  bold  relief. 

Wherever  the  limestone  is  developed,  quarries 
abound,  for  the  stone  is  extensively  dug  for  building 
and  paving  jaurposes,  for  road-mending,  to  be  burnt 
for  lime,  or  to  be  polished  for  purely  ornamental  uses. 

*  "  Notes  on  parts  of  South  Devon  and  Cornwall, '  1868. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


171 


Much  of  Plymouth  itself  is  paved  with  this  stone,  and 
hence  it  is  said  that  the  town  is  paved  with  marble, 
the  beauty  of  which  may  well  be  perceived  on  a  rainy 
day,  when  the  moistened  stone  best  exhibits  its 
structure. 

Some  of  the  choicest  varieties  of  marble  are  dug  in 
the  vicinity  of  Ipplepen,  Newton  Abbot,  and  St.  Mary 
Church.  In  this  district,  as  well  as  at  Plymouth,  the 
beds  are  sometimes  specially  distinguished  by  the 
character  of  their  organic  remains. 

Thus  the  "Feather  Stone"  contains  the  coral 
Favosites polyniorpha  ;  some  varieties  contain  Cyatho- 
phylluvi  ciEspitosinii,  Hcliolitcs  porosa,  Astrcea  pcii- 
iagona,  &c.,  while  the  "Buck's  Horn  Marble"  is 
formed  of  Stroviatopora.  Other  varieties  again  are 
noted  for  their  colour  or  the  peculiar  veins  of  spar 
which  run  through  them,  one  of  which  is  termed 
"Thunder  and  Lightning." 

The  disturbances  to  which  the  Devonian  beds  and 
culm-measures  have  been  subjected  are  worthy  of 
much  attention.  In  some  quarries  it  is  impossible  to 
make  sure  of  the  dip  of  the  limestone,  it  being 
affected  with  a  rude  cleavage,  and  cut  up  by  parallel 
joints.  In  the  grand  cliffs  of  Torquay  the  contortions 
may  be  seen  to  advantage,  and  Mr.  Champernowne 
has  drawn  attention  to  an  inverted  anticlinal,  which, 
apai-t  from  physical  structure,  is  also  marked  by  a  bed 
at  the  base  of  the  limestone  which  contains  Calccola 
sandaliua.  * 

At  Hope's  Nose,  a  quarry  in  the  limestone  shows 
beds  apparently  horizontal  resting  on  the  upturned 
edges  of  similar  limestone,  and  this  feature  has  been 
produced  by  a  fault  which  runs  along  the  face  of  the 
quarry  with  a  hade  dipping  away  from  it.  In  the 
culm-measures  the  contortions  and  faults  are  equally 
numerous,  so  that  it  must  be  the  labour  of  many  years 
and  many  lives  ere  the  entire  structure  of  Devon  is 
worked  out  in  detail. 

Most  of  these  disturbances  were  produced  prior  to 
the  accumulation  of  the  Triassic  rocks,  and  the  beds 
themselves  must  have  been  largely  denuded  before  the 
earliest  sediments  which  mark  this  period  were 
deposited. 

The  red  sandstones,  conglomerates,  and  breccias 
of  the  Triassic  period,  which  form  the  picturesque 
cliffs  at  Dawlish  and  Teignmouth,  occur  in  outliers 
at  Slapton,  and  at  Thurlestone  on  the  shores  of  Big- 
bury  Bay.  At  this  last-named  locality  a  natural  arch, 
formed  of  these  rocks,  stands  out  on  the  foreshore. 

No  organic  remains  belonging  to  this  period  have 
been  found  in  the  district,  but  pebbles  of  the  Devo- 
nian limestone  washed  out  of  the  rocks  are  frequently 
picked  up  on  the  beach  at  Teignmouth  and  Dawlish, 
and  are  sometimes  polished  for  brooches. 

Resting  indifferently  on  any  of  the  older  rocks  are 
found  the  outliers  of  Upper  Greensand  which  form  the 
Haldon  Hills,  and  perhaps  the  crest  of  Milber  Down,  f 

*  Trans.  Devon  Assoc,  for  1874. 

t  See  Quart.  Journ.  Geol.  Sac,  vol,  xxxii.  p.  230. 


These  are  composed  chiefly  of  sand  of  many  colours, 
green,  red,  and  brown,  with  a  few  included  sandy 
and  cherty  concretions ;  but  there  is  no  such  develop- 
ment of  this  upper  cherty  part  of  the  series  as  we 
meet  further  east  at  Chard  and  Lyme  Regis.  The 
hills  are,  however,  capped  by  accumulations  of  flint 
and  chert  gravel,  the  relics  of  the  chalk  and  of  the 
upper  part  of  the  Greensand  which  formerly  extended 
over  the  district.  In  the  Greensand  are  found  species 
oi  Aniiitonitcs,  Trigoiiia,  Exogyra,  &c. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Teign,  between  Bovey  Tracey 
and  Newton  Abbot,  are  certain  clays  and  lignites 
which  contain  plant-remains  pronounced  by  Dr.  Heer 
to  be  Miocene.  The  details  of  the  lignite-beds  in 
which  these  fossils  are  chiefly  found,  have  been  most 
carefully  worked  out  by  Mr.  Pengelly,  and  they  are  well 
shown  in  a  large  pit  near  Bovey  Tracey.  Some  of 
the  beds  have  been  used  as  fuel  during  the  past  150 
years,  -but  the  burning  of  the  Bovey  coal  is  almost 
discontinued  now. 

The  clay  beds,  which  are  worked  very  largely  in 
the  parish  of  Kingsteignton,  are  about  40  feet  in 
thickness,  and  are  most  probably  older  than  the 
lignites.  Sandy  beds  are  met  with  beneath  them, 
and  the  entire  series  must  attain  a  thickness  of  about 
300  feet.  The  clays  are  largely  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  pottery,  &c. 

The  formation  itself,  when  looked  at  in  a  large 
way,  seems  to  have  been  deposited  in  a  lake,  the 
slopes  surrounding  which  were  covered  with  a  luxuri- 
ant vegetation,  comprising  Wellingtonia,  Cinnamons, 
Evergreen  Oak  and  Fig,  Vines,  Rotang-palm,  numer- 
ous Ferns  and  Water-lilies.  Much  of  the  sediment- 
ary deposit  was  due  to  the  destruction  of  the  granite 
hills,  the  felspars  giving  rise  to  the  clay,  and  the 
quartz  yielding  material  for  the  coarse  sands.* 

Far  more  recent  deposits  of  gravel  fringe  this  Bovey 
basin,  and  extend  up  the  hills  on  to  Haldon.  To 
what  exact  period  they  belong  is  uncertain,  but  it  is 
probable  that  their  formation  may  have  taken  place 
during  some  of  the  changes  which  affected  the 
country  during  the  Glacial  period.  Considerable 
portions  of  them  have  been  reasserted  in  modern 
times  by  the  river,  and  constitute  parts  of  the  "head" 
beneath  which  the  Bovey  clays  are  worked. 

In  the  higher  portions  of  the  Dart  valley  are  very 
coarse  boulder-gravels  containing  large  masses  of 
quartz,  quartzite,  granite,  and  other  rocks,  which  the 
present  stream  would  seem  incapable  of  shaping  or 
transporting,  t 

Mention  should  also  be  made  of  the  China-clay 
worked  at  Lee  Moor,  about  five  miles  from  Plympton, 
which  deposit,  like  the  Bovey  clays,  owes  its  origin 
to  the  destruction  of  the  felspar  in  the  granite. 

Among  the  most  interesting  of  the  geological 
phenomena  offered  for  our  study,  are  the  caverns  and 

*  Pengelly  and  Heer,  Phil.  Trans.,  vol.  clli. 
t  See  paper  by  W.  A.  E.  Ussher,  Trans.  Devon  Assoc,  for 
1876. 

I  2 


172 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


fissures  in  the  Devonian  limestone  of  Plymoutli  and 
Torquay,  which  liave  yielded  so  many  bones  of  mam- 
malia, and  not  a  few  of  the  implements  fashioned  liy 
man. 

Plymouth  can  boast  of  possessing  the  first  bone- 
cave  that  was  systematically  explored  in  this  country. 
So  early  as  1816  Mr.  Whidbey,  an  engineer,  dis- 
covered bones  and  teeth  in  a  loamy  deposit  which  he 
met  with  in  fissures  of  the  limestone  at  Oreston,  and 
one  of  these  belonged  to  the  Rhinoceros  megarhinus. 
Among  other  remains  found  there  are  the  Cave  Bear, 
Cave  Lion,  Grizzly  Bear,  Hycena,  Horse,  Bison,  &c. 
Remains  of  Rhinoceros  and  Hy;:ena  were  twenty  years 
later  (1835-6)  discovered  by  Mr.  Bellamy  and  Col. 
Mudge  in  a  cavernous  fissure  of  the  limestone  at 
Yealmpton.* 

By  far  the  most  important  reseai-ches  have  been 
carried  on  more  recently  at  Brixham  and  Torquay. 
The  cave  at  Brixham  was  first  discovered  in  1858, 
and  it  was  entirely  explored  by  a  scientific  committee 
appointed  for  tlie  purpose.  Of  this  committee  Dr. 
Falconer  and  Mr.  Prestwich  were  leading  members, 
and  the  latter  has  prepared  an  ample  report.  Upon 
Mr.  Pengelly,  however,  ^\dlo  ^^•as  enabled  to  under- 
take active  personal  superintendence,  the  chief  work 
devolved,  and  he  has  also  furnished  us  with  an  inter- 
esting account  of  the  cave.  Amongst  the  remains 
obtained  are  the  Mammoth,  Tichorine  Rhinoceros, 
Reindeer,  Cave  Lion,  Cave  Hyi^na,  Cave  Bear, 
Brown  Bear,  Grizzly  Bear,  &c. ;  .and  associated  with 
them  were  implements  fashioned  by  man. 

Kent's  Cavern,  near  Torquay,  which  is  so  well 
known  to  all  visitors  to  that  charming  neighbour- 
hood, and  has  been  known  "from  time  immemorial," 
was  first  found  to  contain  bones  in  1824,  and  later 
on  was  actively  explored  by  the  Rev.  J.  MacEnery. 

In  1S64  the  investigations  were  carried  on  by  the 
British  Association  under  the  unflagging  superin- 
tendence of  Mr.  Pengelly  ;  and  to  him  we  owe  the 
chief  part  of  our  knowledge  of  the  history  of  this 
cave.  All  the  species  obtained  in  the  Brixham  cave 
have  been  found  at  Kent's  Hole,  and  in  addition,  the 
Macliairodiis  latideiis.  Wolf,  Glutton,  Badger,  Irish 
Elk,  &c.  In  this  cave  of  Kent's  Hole  the  oldest 
deposit  consists  of  a  breccia  with  remains  of  Bear 
only,  and  flint  implements.  Above  it,  and  separated 
by  a  bed  of  crystalline  stalagmite,  comes  the  cave- 
earth  with  remains  of  Hyrena,  &c.,  and  more  flint 
implements.  This  deposit  is  covered  with  a  granular 
stalagmite,  and  with  more  recent  deposits. 

Mr.  Pengelly  has  pointed  out  that  the  implements 
found  in  the  breccia  are  very  dissimilar  to  those  found 
in  the  cave-earth  above,  the  former  being  much  ruder 
than  the  latter,  which  are  very  elaborate,  and  were 
associated  with  bone  implements  and  ornaments. 
He  considered  that  the  cave  was  tenanted  by  two 

*  Prof.  W.  Boyd  Dawkins,  "Cave  Hunting,"  pp.  13,  317. 
See  also  Pengelly,  Ceologist,  vol.  ii.  p.  434  ;  T:uvts.  Devon 
Assoc,  vol.  iv.  p.  81. 


distinct  races  of  men,  between  which  was  evidence  of 
a  long  lapse  of  time  :  both  races  of  men  were  coeval 
with  extinct  animals,  but  they  nevertheless  repre- 
sented two  distinct  civilizations.  Mr.  Pengelly 
thought  it  possible  that  the  earliest  race  may  have 
witnessed  the  separation  of  England  from  the  Con- 
tinent, and  its  formation  as  an  island. 

We  must  not  linger  any  more  over  the  caverns, 
but  proceed  to  notice  other  subjects  deserving  of 
attention. 

Submarine  forests  have  been  observed  in  Torbay, 
in  the  Salcombe  Estuary,  and  more  recently  in 
Bigbury  Bay. 

These  are  much  obscured  by  the  recent  accumula- 
tions of  marine  sand  or  shingle.  Mr.  Pengelly 
mentions  tliat  by  a  great  and  almost  sudden  removal 
of  sand  at  Blackpool,  near  Dartmouth,  a  submerged 
forest  was  there  disclosed  in  1802,  and  not  again 
exposed  until  about  fifty  years  subsequently. 

An  excellent  example  of  a  raised  sea-beach  was 
first  described  by  Mr.  Godwin-Austen  at  Llope's 
Nose,  near  Torquay.  The  lowest  part  was  31  feet 
above  the  usual  high-water  line.  Another  raised 
beach  is  met  with  on  the  Thatcher  Stone,  an  islet  of 
Devonian  limestone,  near  Torquay. 

On  the  Hoe  at  Plymouth,  and  at  Boveysand, 
certain  deposits  of  clay  and  sand  have  been  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  C.  Spence  Bate  and  Mr.  R.  N. 
Worth.  They  are  regarded  by  Mr.  Worth  as  old 
fluviatile  accumulations,  formed  either  when  the  river 
ran  at  a  higher  level,  or  \\hcn  the  land  was  lower. 
In  the  latter  case  they  may  constitute  a  raised 
river-bed.  Traces  of  a  genuine  raised  sea-beach 
have  also  been  noticed  on  the  Hoe  at  an  elevation 
of  30  feet  above  high-water  mark. 

Glancing  briefly  at  the  character  of  the  changes 
that  the  rocks  around  Plymouth  teach,  we  find  that  the 
oldest  are  those  of  A^eryan  Bay  and  Mevagissey,  rocks 
which  were  originally  spread  out  as  soft  sands  in  later 
("ambrian  times,  or,  as  some  would  say,  in  the  Lower 
Silurian  period. 

Portions  of  these  rocks,  now  altered  into  quartzites, 
may  have  formed  part  of  the  coast-line  in  the 
Devonian  period,  between  whicli,  long  ages  past, 
when  rocks  elsewhere  developed,  the  LIpper  Silurian, 
and  perhaps  the  Lower  Old  Red  Sandstone,  were 
deposited.  In  all  probability  they  formed  part  of 
a  mass  connected  with  what  is  now  the  French  coast 
as  late  as  Triassic  times,  for  the  "popples"  of 
the  Budleigh  Salterton  pebble-bed  are  many  of  them 
quartzites  of  similar  character,  and  contain  shnilar 
fossils.* 

The  Devonian  strata,  commencing  with  sandy 
sediments,  which  may  be  the  only  true  representa- 
tives of  the  Old  Red  Sandstone,  in  condition  as  well 
as  in  time,  perhaps  originally  commenced  as  lacustrine 
deposits,  which  were   succeeded,  on   depression    of 

*  See  paper  by  Salter,  Geol.  J\fn,^.,  vol.  i.  p.  5. 


HA R D  \V1  CKE 'S    S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


173 


tlie  area,  by  tlie  marine  muddy  sediments  now 
hardened  into  tiie  slates  or  "killas,"  so  largely 
developed  over  South  Devon 'and  Cornwall.  Vol- 
canic agency  was  rife  then,  and  some  ash-showers 
and  lava-flows  are  interbedded  with  the  slates.  Suc- 
ceeding this  period  the  eruptive  force  was  subdued, 
manifesting  itself  only  in  the  slow  subsidences  of  the 
area.  Extensive  growths  of  coral  now  took  place, 
as  represented  by  the  limestone.  Again,  the  waters 
became  muddy,  the  conditions  altered,  and  we  pass 
into  the  Culm-measure  shales,  sandstones,  and  grits, 
with  here  and  there  beds  of  anthracite,  or  culm,  and 
occasional  band>  of  limestone. 

Succeeding  this  period,  great  volcanic  activity  was 
manifested.  The  granitic  bosses,  of  \\hich  Dartmoor 
is  one,  were,  intruded  amongst  the  rocks,  both 
Devonian  and  Cuhn-measures,  which  have  since 
been  extensiuely  denuded  from  above  them,  while 
Elvan  dykes  and  other  veins  of  igneous  matter  were 
thrust  out  here  and  there  amid  the  slates  and 
limestones. 

Portions  of  some  large  lake  then  occupied  the  area 
in  which  the  Triassic  rocks,  so  Prof.  Ramsay  tells 
us,  were  deposited.  The  area  may  ha\e  been  con- 
tinuously upheaved  in  this  tract,  which  was  certainly 
not  the  case  in  others.  It  is,  however,  scarcely 
probable  that  any  of  the  Liassic  or  Oolitic  sediments 
were  spread  over  the  area. 

Not  until  we  come  to  the  Cretaceous  period  do  we 
again  find  evidence  of  extensive  deposition  or  evidence 
of  submergence.  '  Then  the  sandy  sediments  of  the 
Greensand  were  formed  along  the  eastern  margin  of 
Dartmoor;  liut  how  far  they  extended  to  the  south 
and  to  the  south-west  is  uncertain.  The  chalk 
must,  it  is  considered,  have  spread  over  the  whole  of 
Devon,  for  it  required  a  deep  sea  for  its  formation. 
It  is  quite  possible,  however,  that  Dartmoor  remained 
as  an  islet  above  water,  and  this  would  have  yielded 
the  pea-like  grains  of  quartz  which  are  found  in  the 
lowest  beds  of  chalk  in  Devonshire  and  Dorsetshire. 

Enormous  denudation  must  have  taken  place  since 
this  period,  in  Tertiary  times,  of  which  the  gravels 
and  superficial  soils  are  but  feeble  relics.  The 
Miocene  deposit  of  Bovey  Tracey  tends  to  show  that 
much  must  have  been  denuded  in  Eocene  times  ;  but 
this  period,  small  as  it  may  seem  in  comparison  with 
other  geological  epochs,  must  itself  have  been  of 
great  duration. 

In  more  recent  times — Pliocene,  Glacial,  and  Post- 
Glacial — the  area  can  scarcely  have  remained  \\\\- 
affected  by  the  changes,  of  which  elsewhere  in  the 
British  isles,  we  have  such  conspicuous  records. 
Forty  years  ago,  Mr.  Godwin-Austen  hinted  that  the 
meagre  list  of  shells  from  the  raised  beaches  pointed 
to  the  period  having  been  "one  less  favoui-able  to 
the  development  of  marine  life,  owing,  perhaps,  to 
a  lower  temperature."  And  he  added  that  the 
broken-up  or  detrital  edges  of  the  slate  rocks,  a 
feature  frequently  to  be  observed,  might  have  been 


produced  by  agencies  in  a  period  having  a  lower 
temperature  and  attended  by  the  action  of  deeper 
searching  cold."' 

But  the  connected  history  of  these  later  deposits,  of 
raised  beaches,  submarine  forests,  and  caverns, 
recording  as  they  do  many  of  the  ups  and  downs  of 
modern  geological  change,  remains  yet  to  be  told. 

The  scenery  itself  is  the  general  result  of  the 
changes  that  have  affected  the  area  throughout  all  the 
geological  periods.  The  consolidation  of  the  strata 
after  deposition,  their  induration  and  elevation,  their 
disturbance  and  dislocation,  produced  the  ground- 
M'ork  upon  which  at  various  times  the  agents  of 
destruction  have  operated. 

The  features  of  the  coast-line,  and  the  features 
inland,  are  the  results  of  marine  and  subaerial  de- 
nudation acting  on  rocks  of  unequal  hardness,  and 
the  direction  of  which  forces  has  been  modified  more 
or  less  by  the  disturbances  which  have  affected  the 
rocks.  Bays  and  promontories  are  formed,  like  hill 
and  dale,  by  the  alternatron  of  hard  and  soft  rocks, 
the  latter  having  been  niore  easily  worn  away  than 
the  former.  The  granite  of  Dartmoor  has  Iseen  up- 
heaved to  its  present  elevation,  Init  the  tors  and 
other  fantastic  forms  winch  it  assumes  are  the  results 
of  subaerial  denudation.  The  igneous  dykes  which 
often  form  little  conical  hills,  owe  their  present 
features  to  the  fact  that  they  are  better  capable  of 
withstanding  denudation  than  the  surrounding  slates, 
and  none,  not  even  Brent  Tor,  so  Mr.  Rutley 
informs  me,  have  any  immediate  relation  in  outline 
to  the  old  volcanic  features  of  which  they  are  the 
relics.  Were  we,  however,  to  enter  into  any  further 
discussion  of  this  subject,  to  attempt  to  trace  out  the 
origin  of  the  valleys  of  the  Tamar,  or  of  our  "  English 
Rhine,"  the  Dart,  we  should  have  to  dwell  upon 
more  of  the  local  details  of  structure  than  the  space 
allotted  to  this  sketch  would  permit. 


BOTANICAL  NOTES  IN  THE 
NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  CADER  IDRIS. 

FEW  districts  present  so  charming  a  diversity  of 
rock,  wood,  and  water,  of  grand  mural  preci- 
pices and  craggy  heights,  of  rich  undulating  woods, 
of  dark  solemn  lakes,  leaping  streams,  and  far- 
reaching  estuary,  as  the  picturesque  country  about 
the  quaint  Welsh  town  of  Dolgelly,  anciently  written 
Dolgellau.  Weeks  might  be  spent  in  exploring  the 
fine  streams  that  come  tumbling  down  between  the 
mountains,  in  ascending  the  many  rocky  heights,  or 
in  reaching  the  shores  of  the  lakes  ;  some  beautiful 
exceedingly,  some  grandly  rocky,  others  the  picture 
of  calm  but  stern  solitude. 

In  June  of  1876  I  spent  four  days  at  Dolgelly  with 
a  scientific  friend,    and   subsequently  re-visited  that 

*   Trans.    Gcol.   Si'C,   2nd  Ser. ,  vol.  viii.   pp.   437,  442;  see 
al'^o  Mackintosh,  Qj(art.  yoiirn.  Geol.  Soc,  vol.  xxiii.  p.  326. 


174 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE- GOSSIP. 


town  a  few  weeks  afterwards,  mainly  to  rest  and 
enjoy  the  scenery,  so  that  scientific  work  of  any  kind 
was  a  secondaiy  object ;  nevertheless  we  recorded  a 
few  plants  during  some  most  enjoyable  and  long 
rambles,  some  notes  of  which  may  be  acceptable  to 
readers  of  SciENCE-Gossir. 

Starting  off  one   morning  fgr  Abermaw  (by  cor- 
ruption changed  to  Barmouth),  we  found  upon  an 
old  wall  just  ouLside  the  ioww  Hypericum  montanum, 
dwarfed    by  position,   one   of  the  legs   common   St. 
John's  worts  ;  and  not  long  afterwards  came  across 
Hypericum   humifusitm,    a   smaller    and    less    rigid 
species  ;  while  growing  upon  the  first  old  wall,  and 
nearly  everywhere  on  walls  and  rocks,  was  a  profuse 
quantity  of  Cotyledon  Umbilicus  (some  racemes  being 
of  gigantic   proportions),   and    of  Scdum   anglicum, 
with  its  matted  and  pretty  flowers  of  white  and  pink, 
growing  in  the  driest  of  places  :  this  latter  a  plant, 
by  the  way,  that  seems  to  dislike  the  less  pure  air  of 
more  inland  counties.     At  about  one  mile  from  the 
town,  on  left  of  the  road,  field  near  the  private  road 
to  Doluwch-cogryd,  I  found  in  flower  on  my  second 
visit  some  fine  examples  of  Epilobium  telragonuin,  so 
attractive  with  its  long  flower-stems,  very  profuse  in 
this  instance,  of  a  deep  and  rich  rose-colour,  consti- 
tuting  a   very    showy   wild    flower.      Presently    at 
Llanelltyd   Bridge   ws:  were   arrested    by   sheets   of 
colour  bespreading  the  tidal  meadows,  v/here  the  Sea 
Pink,  Armeria  maritima,  flourished  in  great  masses, 
nearly  acres  in  extent,   imparting  a  more  rich  and 
beautiful   aspect    to  a  spot   peculiarly   charming   in 
picturesque  features ;   where  Cader  Idris  'assumes  a 
grand  outline,  and  the  Mawddach  river  comes  down 
between  far  folds  of  purple  mountains.     Here  also, 
in  damp  spots,  are  great  clumps  of  Iris  Pscudacorus, 
which    drew    the    eye   by  their   masses    of  gold,    in 
certain  spots,   between  which   flat  habitats  the  tide 
here  and  there  insinuates  itself,  running  up  the  river 
and  its  arms  as  far  as  the  bridge,  when  higher  than 
usual.     Passing    on,    we    diverged   from    the    road 
several  times,  striking  some  distance  up  the  hillsides, 
or   staying   to   explore    some    of    the   side    streams 
leaping   down  sonorously  among   the  woods.     Car- 
peting  the  ground  of  these  woods  in  some  places 
Allium   Ampcloprasum    had    gained    mastery    over 
other   plants,    really   pi-etty    in    its    delicate    white 
flowers,  but  assailing  the  nose  fearfully  ;  while  in  a 
few  spots  the  yellow  Cow-wheat,  PJelampyrum  pra- 
tense,  reigned  supreme,  partly  in  flowei', — a  plant  one 
sometimes  may  travel   a  long  way  to  see  a  single 
specimen,  but  wJien  found  generally  very  abundant 
at  that  spot  :  when  dried,  its  dusky  name  explains 
itself.     Among  the  soft  ancient  turf,  in  green  open 
spots   bordering  hillside   rocks,   the   golden   hue  of 
small  Potentilhe  was  blended  with  various  shades  of 
blue    from    Polygala   vulgaris,    the    latter    here    and 
there  also  of  a  pure  white  ;  while  at  foot  of  some 
rocks  in  one  spot  we  found  one  of  tlie  rarer  Ranunculi, 
probably  lingua,  not  far  removed  from  a  group  of 


remarkably  fine  ScropJmlaiia  nodosa,  with  some 
leaves  of  a  strikingly  rich  bronzy  colour,  the  latter 
not  3-et  in  flower.  Here  and  there  on  our  way  to 
Abermaw,  we  found  Silene  inflata,  Euphrasia  offici- 
nalis (very  frequent),  Chclidonium  majus  (scarce), 
Brassica  campestris,  Plypericum  quad?'angulum,  and 
Epilobium  montanum  ;  and  upon  rocks  at  Abermaw 
some  very  richly-blue  specimens  of  Scabiosa  succisa, 
as  we  determined,  but  far  deeper  in  colour  than 
usual,  possibly  from  the  sea  air. 

Upon  crossing  the  long  railway  bridge  and  re- 
turning upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  estuary,  we  had 
small  time  for  botany,  as  evening  began  to  settle 
upon  the  mountains,  but  observed  that  wherever  the 
turf  had  been  cut  from  off  the  peat-beds,  abundance 
of  the  pretty  Cotton-sedge,  Eriopltormu  polystachyon, 
had  sprung  up  after  a  year  or  so  had  passed,  its 
graceful  glumes  waving  in  the  breeze  and  tempting 
the  hand  by  their  whiteness ;  the  seeds  evidently 
enduring  long  burial  in  the  peat.  Some  good  and 
probably  raix  kinds  of  sedges  and  grasses  prevailed 
in  peaty  drains  near  the  railway,  but  for  these  time 
failed  us.  As  we  sped  along  in  the  deepening 
twilight  we  could  descry  some  large  masses  of  the 
grand  white  Waterlily,  Nympluva  alba,  coating  the 
surface  of  a  little  lonely  tarn,  nestling  under  the 
woods,  near  Garth  Anghared. 

I  will  now  recount  some  plants  noted  during  three 
or  four  rambles  upon  Cader  Idris,  including  two 
ascents  of  that  grand  wall  of  rock,  one  by  way  of  the 
Foxes'  path,  returning  down  the  pony  track — greatly 
enjoyed  with  my  friend  before-mentioned,  a.  most 
delightful  companion  at  once  humorous  and  scien- 
tific ;  one  by  way  of  Geu  Graig,  when  alone  I  took 
the  five  principal  peaks  of  the  mountain  and  walked 
nearly  from  end  to  end  ;  also  including  Mynydd 
Gader,  that  long  ridge  of  rocks  that  is  really  part  of 
Cader,  though  by  a  wild  upland  moor  stands  some- 
what apart,  as  you  discover  when  upon  it.  First  I 
would  observe  that  upon  this  moor,  in  rock-bound 
cups  of  peaty  water,  I  found  large  masses  of  that  rare 
plant  Lobelia  Dortmanni,  then  only  beginning  to 
flower,  just  showing  a  lilac  bloom  here  and  there, 
but  mostly  the  plant  submerged,  growing  in  water  of 
a  certain  depth,  and  there  monopolizing  nearly  all 
space  on  the  rocky  bottom  of  the  tarnlets,  to  coin  a 
word.  Sighted  about  the  same  locality,  in  less 
thoroughly  watery  habitats,  but  in  wet  peat,  the 
beautifully-divided  leaves  of  Pedicularis  palustris 
showed  themselves,  a  plant  memorable  for  strong 
upright  growth,  fern-shaped  leaf,  and  for  its  large 
crimson-jDurple  flowers,  all  quickly  dying  away  into 
a  black  mass  early  in  autumn.  Here  also,  and  at 
several  spots,  on  high  mossy  and  wet  spaces,  all 
about  the  lower  ridges  of  Cader,  I  found  great  plenty 
of  Pinguicula  vulgaris,  associated  with  those  other 
and  more  remarkable  flesh-consuming  plants  Drosera 
rotundifolia  and  intermedia,  whereon  numerous  flies 
were  caught,  some  struggling  still  in  the  toils  of  the 


HA  R  D  WICKE '  S    S  CIENCE-  G  O  SSIF. 


175 


viscid  glands  of  the  exquisitely  sensitive  tentacles. 
Three  grey-coated  artists  left  their  studies  of  cloud 
on  the  upper  rocks,  to  cluster  over  my  specimens, 
one  morning  as  I  returned.  I  noticed  thereabouts 
various  Orchids  sending  up  their  strange  flowers  into 
the  brilliant  sunshine  ;  as  Orchis  mascula  and  macii- 
lata,  Habeiiaria  bifolia,  with  the  green  flowers  oi  Lister  a 
ovata,  and  Epipactis  latifolia ;  some  of  these  only 
then  in  flower,  and  many  dwarfed  by  position. 
Upon  Mynydd  Gader  grows  Cystopteris  fragilis  in 
abundance  in  crevices  of  rocks,  a  pretty  little  fern 
that  mostly  prefers  pure  air  ;  associated  with  Asple- 
Jiiitni  Trichoiiianes  and  Adianiiim-iiigriDit.  I  would 
here  remark  that  the  veiy  rare  fern  Asplciiiiuii 
stptentrionale  is  to  be  found  under  the  precipices  of 
Cader  :  its  exact  position  botanists  will  mostly  keep 
silent,  for  I  have  heard  of  baskets,  full  of  this  choice 
fern,  being  sent  off  to  Cambridge  !  Wholesale 
slaughter  ! 

About  Llyn  Gafr,  or  Goat  Lake,  my  friend  and  I 
found  Erica  tetralix  profuse,  the  prevailing  heath, 
but  of  course  not  then  in  flower ;  also  great  clumps  of 
that  giant  of  mosses,  Polytrichuin  coiiiinunc,  with  its 
spore-cases  fringed  with  richly-brown  hair.  We  ob- 
served, as  I  have  done  on  several  other  mountains, 
that  at  an  elevation  of  about  2,000  feet  above  the  sea, 
the  Club-mosses  show  themselves  in  great  force  ; 
thus  about  Llyn  y  Gadei",  and  elsewhere  at  a  like 
altitude,  we  found  fine  clumps  of  Lycopoditun  da- 
vatiiiii,  alpinuiii,  and  Selago,  all  plants  attractive  by 
their  comparative  rarity  and  beautiful  mode  of 
growth  ;  the  latter  peculiarly  interesting  from  its 
viviparous  buds,  which  fall  from  the  ends  of  the 
stems  and  form  fresh  plants.  Some  grand  Lichens 
were  seen  on  the  extraordinary  rocks  cast  about  in 
wildest  chaos  ("put  round  the  lake  by  previous 
tourists,"  my  friend  suggested),  and  on  dead  sticks  of 
the  peat,  which  I  at  least  had  neither  time  nor  know- 
ledge to  determine.  Beside  the  somewhat  steep  and 
stony  Foxes'  path  we  found  a  few  large  tufts  of 
the  Parsley  Fern,  AUosonis  crispiis,  partial  only  to  a 
few  spots  on  this  mountain,  but  which  I  discovered 
in  plenty  subsequently  upon  the  very  summit  of 
Cyfrwy,  the  second  in  altitude  of  the  peaks  of  Cader 
Idris. 

Not  far  from  the  summit  of  the  mountain  we  found 
one  specimen  of  Sctxifraga  nivalis,  and  subsequently, 
in  the  spring  of  water  on  the  edge  of  rocks  directly 
above  Llyn  Aran,  I  saw  a  large  growth  of  Saxi/raga 
oppositifolia,  mingled  with  moss ;  and  among  the  fine 
grass  of  the  crest  I  gathered  a  true  Viola  liitea,  or 
yellow  Heartsease,  found  once  before  high  on  Radnor 
Forest.  Among  the  rare  kinds  of  ferns  growing  in 
favoured  spots  on  the  slopes  I  would  mention  Lastrca 
Oreopferis  and  Polypodium  Phegopteris ;  not  to  omit 
one  other  rare  plant,  found  in  quantity  in  one  or  two 
peaty  cups  of  water  on  the  rocky  moorland  above 
Dolgelly,  namely,  MenyantJics  trifoliata,  with  its 
lovely  white  flowers  so  exquisitely  fringed. 


One  morning,  with  three  merry  companions,  I 
stayed  an  hour  or  more  at  Llyn  Gwernan,  rowing 
about  among  the  waterlilies,  white  and  yellow, 
Nyinphica  alba  and  Nitphar  liiica,  flowering  in  rich 
profusion  round  the  shores,  two  ladies  of  the  party 
vastly  enjoying  the  fun.  Presently  three  of  us  struck 
off  across  the  mountains  to  Llyn  Crcigencn,  a  grand 
and  lonely  lake,  in  a  spot  I'emarkably  wild,  and  set 
in  crag  and  moorland,  beneath  the  face  of  Cader 
Idris,  a  pool  that  in  dry  weather  becomes  divided, 
but  in  wet  times  has  two  outlets,  one  at  each  end — 
an  unusual  condition.  On  the  shores  of  this  lake  it 
was  that  we  found  the  finest  Drosenv,  with  many 
insects  caught  in  their  tentacles  ;  also  near  there,  in 
boggy  ground,  quite  a  large  and  beautiful  mass  of  the 
Bog  Pimpernel,  Anagallis  tenella,  with  its  delicate 
pink  flowers  clustered  into  a  showy  expanse. 

Rambling  one  day  over  the  high  land  to  the  north- 
east of  Cader  Idris,  near  the  little  hamlet  of  Brithdir, 
growing  in  an  old  pasture,  we  came  upon  Trollius 
eiiropaus,  looking  very  effective,  with  its  double 
golden  flowers  ;  and  during  the  same  walk  found 
Linaria  Cyinbalaj'ia,  growing  where  we  could  not 
doubt  it  was  truly  wild.  The  woods  above  Pont 
Newydd  were  most  charming  in  luxuriance  of  the 
more  common  wild  flowers  of  the  woods,  a  fine  con- 
ti-ast  to  the  rich  brown  of  young  oak-leaves.  But  space 
presses.  I  would,  however,  allude  to  an  old  wall  on 
the  way  between  the  ancient  village  of  Llanfachreth 
and  Nannau  Park,  clothed  with  moss,  lichen,  and 
various  plants,  but  peculiarly  rich  in  ferns,  of  which 
these  at  least  were  there  in  plenty  :  Polypodiiint  vul- 
gare  and  Phegopteris,  Aspleniwn  Trichoiiianes,  Adian- 
tuin  nigrum  and  Ruta  imiraria,  Scolopendrinm  vnlgare, 
Blechniim  spicant,  Polystichum  angulare,  Lastrea 
Oreoptcris,  Filix-inas  and  dilataia,  Athyriniii  filix- 
ficinina,  and  Pteris  aqnilina.  These,  and  possibly 
one  or  two  more  kinds,  were  growing  upon,  or 
directly  at  the  base  of,  this  rich  old  wall — verily,  "a 
sweet  and  lovely  wall." 

I  will  merely  add,  regarding  the  ferns  of  the  district, 
that  I  once  found  a  plant  of  the  Ceterach  officinarum 
growing  on  Llanelltyd  bridge;  that  abundance  of  the 
pretty  Oak-fern,  Polypodiitin  Dryopteris,  may  be  found 
among  the  disintegrated  rocks  below  the  Precipice 
Walk,  well  known  to  tourists  of  this  part ;  and  that 
the  noble  Osiiutnda  regalis  has  for  untold  ages  had  a 
fitting  home  in  moist  depressions  of  the  wild  and 
lofty  mountain-range  extending  from  near  Dolgelly 
to  beyond  Harlech. 

Stoitrbiidge.  HORACE  Pearce,   F.L.S, 

The  Colorado  Beetle. — The  Lords  in  Council 
have  issued  natural  history  descriptions  and  coloured 
drawings  of  this  much-dreaded  insect,  with  a  view  to 
familiarizing  all  those  whom  it  may  concern  with  its 
habits  and  appearance.  We  may  observe  that  we 
published  a  lengthy  article  on  this  beetle  (illustrated) 
in  Science-Gossip  for  January,  1S74. 


176 


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


THE   SEALS    AND   WHALES    OF   THE 

BRITISH    SEAS. 

No.  HI. 

By  Thomas  Southwell,  F.Z.S.,  <S;c. 

'Tj'^HE  Hooded  or  Bladder-nosed  Seal,  Cysto- 
X  phora  crislala  (Erxleben),  fig.  149,  has  occurred 
at  least  twice  upon  our  shores.  In  June,  1S47,  a  young 
one  was  killed  in  the  Orwell,  and  is  now  in  the 
Ipswich  Museum,  and  in  1872  a  second  young  one 
was  killed  in  Scotland  near  St.  Andrews.  Others 
are  believed  to  have  been  obtained  in  the  Orkneys, 
and  a  seal  supposed  to  be  of  this  species  was  seen  off 


temperate  waters  of  Europe  and  America.  It  is  poly- 
gamous and  migratory  in  its  habits  :  during  the 
rutting  season  it  is  very  pugnacious,  and  Dr.  Brown 
says  great  battles  take  place  between  the  males,  and 
their  roaring  is  said  to  be  so  loud  that  it  can  be  heard 
for  miles  off.  The  young,  which  are  born  in  April, 
are  pure  white  at  first,  which  changes  to  gre)-,  and 
gradually  becomes  darker  till  it  assumes  the  adult 
colour  and  markings,  which  it  appears  to  do  about 
the  fourth  year  ;  the  colour  then  is  "  dark  chestnut  or 
black,  with  a  greater  or  less  number  of  round  or  oval 
markings  of  a  still  deeper  hue."  The  adult  is  fur- 
nished with  a  curious  bladder-like  ap]iendage,  com- 


Fig.  148.    CiYcy  ?!&3.\{Halichtrrus £:>yj'/iiis,  l"al).). 


the  Irish  coast  near  Westport.  "In  Hollingshed's 
'Chronicles,'  in  the  year  1577,  'sundry  fishes  of 
monstrous  shape,  with  cowls  on  their  heads  like 
monks,  and  in  the  rest  resembling  the  body  of  a 
man, '  are  said  to  have  occurred  in  the  Firth  of  Forth'' 
(Bell's  "Brit.  Quads."),  the  appearance  of  which 
was  of  course  followed  by  pestilence  and  famine. 
Throughout  the  Polar  seas  this  species  is  widely 
distriliuted,  being  found  in  the  Greenland  seas,  Ice- 
land,   and    Spit/.bergen,    also    occasionally    in    the 


mencing  at  the  nostrils,  with  which  it  is  connected, 
and  continued  upwards  to  the  forehead  :  tliis  when 
inflated  presents  a  very  remarkable  appearance  ; 
when  the  animal  is  at  rest  it  remains  flaccid,  but  when 
irritated  or  excited  it  is  blown  up  to  its  full  extent. 
It  is  generally  supposed  that  tlie  "bladder  "  is  found 
only  in  the  male,  l>ut  Dr.  Brown  does  not  think  there 
is  any  just  ground  for  lliis  belief.  The  Bladder-nose 
Seal  is  fierce  in  its  nature  and  dangerous  to  attack  ; 
although  not  actually  taking  the  initiative,  it  is  always 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSSIP. 


177 


ready  for  battle,  and  will  avail  itself  of  any  advantage 
by  turning  upon  and  following  its  opponent.  The 
air-bladder,  wliich  is  placed  in  the  spot  usually  most 
vulnerable,  renders  it  difficult  to  kill,  as  it  forms  a 
protection  from  the  clubs  of  the  sealers.  This  is  one 
of  the  largest  of  the  Northern  seals,  varying,  ac- 
cording to  different  authorities,  from  7  to  10  or  even 
12  feet  in  length. 

One  other  species  of  true  seal,  the  Grey  Seal, 
Halichczriis  gryphus  (Fab.),  claims  a  place  in  the 
British  Fauna.  Dr.  Brown  says  the  Grey  Seal  ' '  has 
no   doubt    been    frequently   confounded   with    other 


Ireland,  however,  appear  to  be  its  chief  places  of 
resort  on  our  shores;  it  has  also  been  known  to  breed 
on  the  Fern  Islands.  According  to  Bell,  it  inhabits 
the  "temperate  northern  seas  rather  than  the  Polar 
waters,"  and  is  found  in  the  North  Sea,  Baltic,  Ice- 
land, Scandinavia,  Denmark,  and  North  Germany. 
Dr.  Brown  met  with  a  specimen  a  little  south  of 
Discoe  Island,  but  can  only  speak  of  its  claims  to  a 
place  in  the  Greenland  Fauna  as  strongly  probable. 
Bell  gives  some  interesting  information  with  regard 
to  the  habits  of  this  species  as  observed  in  various 
British  stations,  and  calls  attention  to  the  remarkable 


Fig.  149.    Hooded  Seal  {Cystcphora  cn'stafa,  'Ei-xleleii). 


species,  particularly  Pit.  barbata  and  F.  grcejtlajtdica." 
Such  has  undoubtedly  been  the  case,  and  a  specimen 
in  the  British  Museum,  long  regarded  as  PIi.  baj-bafa, 
has  been  referred  to  this  species.  There  is,  I  believe, 
no  sufficient  evidence  that  P/i.  barbata  has  ever 
occurred  on  the  British  coast  ;  but  so  imperfect  even 
now  is  our  acquaintance  with  the  seals  which  fre- 
quent our  shores,  that  it  may  even  yet  be  found. 

The  Grey  Seal  has  been  found  on  various  parts  of 
the  coast,  from  Shetland  to  the  Isle  of  Wight  ;  the 
Shetland  Isles,  the  Hebrides,  and  the  west  coast  of 


fact,  that  whereas  in  this  country  it  produces  its  young 
in  the  months  of  October  and  November,  on  the 
Continent  this  is  always  said  to  take  place  in  February ; 
he  suggests,  to  account  for  this  singular  discrepancy, 
that  in  our  milder  climate  pairing  takes  place  much 
earlier  than  in  Scandinavia.  The  young,  which  are 
born  white,  are  suckled  for  about  a  fortnight ;  the 
first  coat  is  shed  before  they  take  to  the  water,  which 
is  not  for  some  weeks  after  birth.  The  colour  varies 
with  age,  sex,  and  season,  so  much,  that  it  is  not  of 
great  service  in  their  identification,  their  large  size 


178 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OSS  IF. 


being  the  best  external  guide.  The  general  colour  of 
the  adult  is  greyish,  tinged  with  yellow,  and  spotted 
and  blotched  with  darker  grey ;  the  under  parts  lighter. 
The  length  of  the  adult  varies  from  7  to  10  feet. 
By  the  form  of  its  skull  and  teeth  it  is  readily  dis- 
tinguished, as  well  as  by  the  great  size  of  the  animal. 
In  the  skull  the  brain-case  is  small,  the  nasal  opening 
very  large,  and  the  grinders  conical,  only  the  two 
hinder  pair  in  the  upper,  andthe  last  pair  in  the  lower 
jaw,  double-rooted,  the  rest  simple.  Professor  Bell, 
in  his  history  of ' '  British  Quadrupeds, "  gives  excellent 
figures  of  the  skulls  of  the  various  British  seals,  which 
will  be  found  most  useful  in  determining  the  species 
of  any  doubtful  individuals  ;  other  carefully  executed 
figures  will  be  found  in  Dr.  Gray's  "  Catalogue  of  the 
Seals  and  Whales  in  the  British  Museum,"  as  v/ell  as 
the  generic  and  specific  characters  in  both  authors. 

The  family  Trkhechidic,  restricted  to  a  single 
genus  and  species,  Trickechics  rosinartis  of  Linnaeus, 
the  Morse  or  Walrus,  is  the  only  remaining  repre- 
sentative of  the  Pimiepcdia  found  on  our  shores  ;  the 
third  family,  Otaiiidiv,  not  being  represented  in  our 
Fauna.  Although  it  has  occurred  in  several  instances, 
here  the  Walrus  can  only  be  regarded  as  a  rare  and 
accidental  straggler,  far  from  its  native  habitat,  the 
icy  seas  of  the  Arctic  regions,  from  which  it  rarely 
strays.  Wallace  ("Geo.  Dist.  of  Ani.,"  vol.  ii.  p.  203) 
gives  as  its  trae  home  the  shores  of  Asia,  between 
80°  and  160°  E.,  or  on  the  N.  shores  of  America,  from 
100°  to  150°  W.,  but  occasionally  reaching  as  far 
south  as  lat..  60°.  In  the  Kara  Sea,  the  German 
Arctic  expedition  in  the  Proven  found  it  abundant, 
but  the  object  of  "exterminating  pursuit"  on  the 
part  of  the  Norwegians.  In  the  better-known 
regions  of  the  Arctic  Seas  it  has  gradually  become 
exterminated  by  the  hands  of  man  ;  from  the  northern 
coasts  of  Scandinavia  it  has  receded  to  the  coasts  of 
Greenland  and  Spitzbergen,  which  now  form  its 
stronghold  for  a  time ;  but  the  fate  which  awaits  it 
cannot  long  be  deferred.  Its  fossil  remains,  Wallace 
says,  have  been  found  in  Europe  as  far  south  as 
France,  and  in  America  probably  as  far  as  Virginia  : 
a  skull  in  the  Cambridge  Anatomical  Museum  was 
found  in  the  peat  near  Ely.  Recently  it  has  been 
met  with  on  our  shores,  according  to  Bell,  on  the 
coast  of  Harris  in  1817  ;  in  the  Orkneys  in  1825  ; 
one  was  seen  in  1827  in  Hoy  Sound,  but  not 
captured  ;  and  in  1841  one  was  killed  near  Harris. 
Dr.  Brown  also  states  that  two  were  seen,  one  in 
Orkney  and  the  other  in  Shetland,  in  1857.  More 
than  one  successful  attempt  has  been  made  to  bring 
the  Walrus  alive  to  this  country ;  but  although  they 
show  considerable  docility,  and  readily  recognize  the 
voice  and  person  of  their  keeper,  in  no  instance  have 
they  long  survived  in  confinement. 

In  a  paper  in  SciENCE-Gossir  for  January,  1877, 
I  have  given  a  more  particular  account  of  the  habits 
of  the  Walrus,  with  illustrations. 

( To  be  continued. ) 


ANOTHER   SKETCH   IN   THE   WEST   OF 
IRELAND. 

{Iliar,  or  JVest,  Gahvay.) 

By  G.  II.  KiNAHAN,  M.R.LA.,  &c. 

THE  county  of  Gal  way  has  been  called  by  a 
recently  deceased  popular  novelist,  ' '  the  land 
of  Nimrod,  Ramrod,  and  Fishingrod."  This  seems 
to  be  rather  a  happy  thought,  its  champaign  country 
being  famed  for  the  Foxhunters  it  has  produced,  its 
mountains  being  the  abode  of  the  Kirkenafree  [aiigiice. 
Heather-hen  or  Grouse),  while  its  lakes  teem  with 
Salmon  and  Trout.  The  siglit  in  summer  from  the 
West  bridge  in  Galway  will  never  be  forgotten  by 
those  who  have  seen  it,  the  bottom  of  the  river 
being  literally  paved  with  salmon. 

Before  the  advent  of  the  English  under  de  Burgo, 
the  major  portion  of  the  co.  Galway  belonged  to  the 
powerful  sept  of  the  O'Fflaherties,  or  some  of  their 
dependents,  their  territoiy  being  known  as  Hiar 
(pronounced  Yar)  Connaught.  This  extended  from 
the  Shannon  on  the  east  to  the  Atlantic  on  the  west. 
Afterwards  the  O'Connors,  with  the  aid  of  their 
English  allies  under  de  Burgo,  drove  the  O'Fflaherties 
west  of  lochs  Corrib  and  Mask ;  the  name  of  the 
territory  retreating  with  them.  Hiar-Connaught 
of  the  present  day,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is 
bounded  on  the  east  by  these  lakes,  west  by  the 
Atlantic,  south  by  Galway  Bay,  and  north  by  the 
fiord  of  Killary  Harbour  and  the  Formnamore 
mountains.  It  comprises  the  barony  of  Moycullen, 
Connemara,  and  the  Joyce  country.  Moycullen, 
or  Magli-Ullin,  the  field  of  Ullin,  was  so  called  from 
Ullin  having  slain  the  famous  navigator  Mananan- 
mac-Sir  (Mananan,  tlie  son  of  the  Sea),  in  a  battle  in 
the  district.  This  place  was  marked  by  a  long 
standing  stone  :  according  to  Wilde,  the  stone  is  now 
lying  prostrate  in  a  furze  field  in  the  townland  of 
Leagaun  {anglicc,  standing  stone),  not  far  from  the  old 
road  between  Oughterard  and  Galway,  and  about  six 
miles  distant  from  the  latter  place.  Connemara, 
or  Coumhaicnemara,  that  is,  Sea-Coumacney,  was 
called  after  Coumac  or  Coumhaicne,  to  distinguish  it 
from  two  other  territories  also  called  after  him, 
namely  Conmacny-rein,  in  the  cos.  Longford  and 
Leitrim,  and  Conmacny-dunmore,  in  the  N.E.  of  tlie 
CO.  Galway.  This  name  was  changed  to  Ballyna- 
hinch  [toivn  of  the  Island),  after  the  O'Fflaherties' 
castle  in  Loch  Ballynahinch,  but  of  late  years  the  old 
name  has  been  much  in  use.  Joyce  country,  so  called 
from  a  Welsh  family  of  Jjoyce  or  Shoye  who  settled 
in  the  district  of  Partly,  west  of  Loch  Mask,  under 
the  O'Fflaherties,  about  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth 
centuiy. 

Hiar-Connaught  is  most  interesting  to  the  anti- 
quarian, botanist,  and  geologist,  especially  to  the 
latter,  as  in  it  the  solution  of  many  geological  problems 
is  manifest.  Ilere  we  can  study  the  different  phases 
of  the  Drift,    also  what    ice   can  do   to   rocks;    the 


BARD  WICKE 'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


179 


formation  of  "  rock -basins,"  and  the  connections 
between  valleys,  fissures,  and  breaks.  Vast  areas  are 
bare,  or  nearly  bare,  tracts  of  rock,  in  which  the 
solution  of  many  of  these  different  problems  is  mapped 
out  by  Nature's  hand.  The  relation  between  many 
of  the  different  kinds  of  rocks  is  also  exemplified  ;  as 
the  gradations  from  the  sedimentary  rocks  through 
the  metamorphic  into  the  granites ;  as  also  the 
gradations  from  the  latter  rocks  into  the  Plutonic. 
These  subjects,  however,  we  hope  to  treat  of  in  future 
sketches,  and  in  this  will  give  an  epitome  of  the 
Physical  features  of  the  area. 

To  the  east  of  the  district,  margining  lochs  Corrib 
and  Mask,  is  low  limestone  ground,  while  in  general 
the  rest  of  the  area  is  composed  of  groups  of  hills  inter- 
sected and  divided  from  one  another  by  narrow  low- 
seated  valleys  ;  to  this,  however,  there  is  an  exception, 
namely,  the  champaign  country  between  Roundstone 
and  Clifden. 

To  the  south-east  of  the  area  are  the  low  irregular 
Moycullen  Hills,  rising  from  the  carboniferous  lime- 
stone flat,  margining  Loch  Corrib ;  while  to  the 
north,  and  separated  from  them  by  the  Oughterard 
Valley,  are  other  hills  in  the  same  barony ;  and  still 
farther  north,  on  the  other  side  of  Maum  Bay,  the 
north-west  arm  of  Loch  Corrib,  are  the  Joyce 
country  hills.  The  latter  at  one  time  formed  one 
extensive  slightly  undulating  table-land.  To  the  right 
hand,  but  now  isolated  from  the  rest,  is  Benlevy  or 
Gable  Mountain,  so  called  from  its  likeness  to  the 
gable  of  a  cabin  ;  while  in  the  background  is  the 
massive  table-land  of  Formnamore,  the  only  true 
highland  in  the  country.  This  is  separated  from  the 
hills  in  the  foreground  by  the  deep  valleys  in  which 
are  situated  Derry  and  Kilbride  bays,  arms  from  Loch 
Mask,  and  the  valley  of  the  picturesque  Loch-na-fooey. 
The  massive  form  of  Formnamore  is  seen  from 
Ailledubh,  at  the  west  end  of  Loch-na-fooey.  The 
Maum  valley,  extending  northward  from  the  end  of 
Maum  Bay  to  Leenaun,  on  Killary  Bay,  is  a  narrow 
deep  low-seated  valley,  nowhere  more  than  130  feet 
above  the  sea-level,  and  rising  on  each  side  abruptly 
to  form  hills  having  peaks  of  considerable  altitude. 
Maum,  a  connecting  gap  between  two  valleys,  is  a 
common  term  in  this  part  of  Ireland.  Maaiii  or 
Mam  (pronounced  Alaivm)  is  the  hollow  formed  by 
the  palm  of  the  hand  when  the  fingers  are  raised  up. 
This  Maum  is  the  gap,  far  excellence,  having  been 
the  great  leading  thoroughfare  in  ancient  times  from 
the  central  plain  of  Ireland  into  the  Mild  country  to 
the  west.  There  are  also  others,  such  as  Maumturk, 
the  pass  of  the  wild  boar  ;  Maumbwe,  the  yclloiv  pass  ; 
Maumean,  the  pass  of  the  birds ;  Maumeen,  little 
pass ;  Maumnagee,  zuindy  pass ;  and  numerous 
others. 

To  the  south  of  Maum  is  the  isolated  sugar-loaf  hill 
called  Lackavrea.  This,  although  low  compared  with 
many  other  hills  in  the  country,  is  considered  by 
many  of  the  natives  as  the  highest.     This  mistake. 


however,  is  allowable,  if  the  hill  is  seen  towering  above 
you  while  rowing  uj)  the  narrow  fiord-like — Maum 
Bay.  Tlie  name  of  this  hill,  which  means  tangled 
flags,  is  most  expressive,  the  hill  being  composed 
of  quartzite,  metamorphosed  flagstones,  that  perfectly 
deceive  the  observer,  as,  from  appearance,  the  rocks 
seem  capable  of  being  spit  up,  while  in  reality  they  are  a 
compact  intractable  mass.  West  of  the  Maum  Valley 
is  the  abrupt  rugged  Maumturk  range,  called  after 
the  deep  pass  through  it ;  while  to  the  north  are 
the  Leenaun  hills,  separated  from  the  range  just 
mentioned  by  the  pass  called  Glenisky  {the  zvalery 
glen)  ;  to  the  south  it  is  separated  from  the  Coreoge- 
more  hills  by  Maumean  {the  pass  of  the  birds). 
Through  the  latter  all  the  woodcock  and  duck  when 
migrating  are  said  to  pass.  This  may  have  been  the 
case  once,  but  nowadays  they  do  not  seem  to  frequent 
it  much.  It  is  also  remarkable  for  a  Tober  and 
Labba,  both  called  after  St.  Patrick,  who  is  said, 
^\■hen,  weary  and  tired  in  his  peregrination  through 
Ireland,  he  at  nightfall  reached  this  place,  to  have 
prayed  for  water  and  a  resting-place,  which  were  im- 
mediately given  him ;  but  in  the  morning,  when  he 
saw  the  desolate  country  before  him,  he  said,  "I 
bless  you  to  the  west,  but  never  a  foot  I  will  put 
among  you,"  when,  turning  on  his  heel,  he  went  back 
again.  We  can  scarcely  credit  that  such  a  good  man 
would  make  such  a  rash  speech  ;  we  therefore  hope 
it  has  been  put  into  his  mouth  by  his  enemies. 

Here  it  may  be  mentioned  that  all  the  quartzite 
hills  in  the  country,  with  only  one  or  two  exceptions, 
have  peaked  summits,  while  in  general  none  of  the 
other  kind  of  rocks  form  peaks.  Bounding  Maum- 
turk range  on  the  west  and  south-west  is  the  valley 
of  Lough  Inagh.  This  to  the  south  is  split  into  two 
by  the  isolated  hill  called  Lissoughter  {upper  fort), 
so  called  from  an  ancient  encampment  on  its  south- 
west slope  ;  Caher-eighter  (now  called  Caher),  or  the 
loiverfort,  being  situated  farther  south  in  the  valley. 
To  the  west  of  the  valley  of  Lough  Inagh  are  the 
well-known  twelve  pins  or  stacks,  called  in  Irish 
Ben-na-Beola. 

To  the  north  of  Ben-na-Beola  is  the  picturesque 
wooded  valley  and  lake  of  Kylemore,  much  improved 
and  beautified  by  the  owner  ;  while  farther  north  are 
the  massive  hills  of  the  Benchoona  group,  bounded 
on  the  north  by  Killary  Bay. 

The  hills  that  have  been  mentioned,  excepting  the 
South  Moycullen  hills,  all  lie  to  the  north  of  the 
low  wide  valley  that  stretches  from  Oughterard,  on 
Loch  Corrib,  westward  to  Clifden,  on  the  Atlantic  ; 
to  the  south  of  this  line,  and  west  of  the  South 
Moycullen  hills,  the  character  of  the  country  is 
slightly  undulating,  dotted  over  with  lakes  and  lakelets 
(lochs  and  lochauns)  ;  but  from  it  rise  four  isolated 
hills.  Towards  the  east  is  the  massive  hill  called 
Shannavarra ;  to  the  south,  margining  Kilkievan  Bay, 
is  the  long  smooth  hill  called  Slieve  Moirdaun  ;  while 
farther  S.  E.  are  the  hill-islands  forming  the  Archipelago 


i8o 


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


that  bounds  the  north-west  portion  of  Galway  Bay. 
To  the  N.  and  N.W.  of  the  latter  are  a  few  isolated 
abrupt  hills,  the  most  marked  being  the  broken  but 
peaked  hill  of  Cashel,  rising  out  of  the  plain  to  the 
north  of  Bertrabwe  Bay  ;  while  to  the  southward  is 
Errisbeg,  the  rugged  hills  on  the  west  of  Round- 
stone  Bay.  The  name  of  this  bay  is  interesting,  as 
the  Irish  name  of  the  place  was  Carrig-na-roan,  or  the 
rock  of  the  seals,  from  a  rock  near  the  entrance  of 
the  bay  formerly  much  frequented  by  these  animals  ; 
the  Carrig  has  been  translated,  but  jvaii  has  been 
corrupted  into  round — hence  the  jDresent  name. 


of  them  being  fiords ;  that  of  Streamstown,  to  the  north 
of  Clifden,  being  four  or  five  miles  long,  and  on  an 
average  four  hundred  yards  wide,  while  Killary 
Harbour,  the  mearing  between  the  cos.  Galway 
and  Mayo,  is  over  nine  miles  long  and  in  general  not 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide.  The  latter  is  most  striking, 
being  for  its  entire  length  margined  by  abrupt  hills 
of  greater  or  less  altitude.  The  sketch  gives  some 
idea  of  it  ;  but  as  it  was  taken  from  high  ground 
near  the  east  end,  in  the  vicinity  of  Leenaun,  in 
places  the  adjoining  hills  do  not  appear  to  be  as  high 
as  they  really  are. 


Fig.  150.    Panoramic  \ie\v  of  Lough  Inagh,  with  Ben-na-BeoIa  on  the  west,  and  the  Maum-turk  range  to  the  east. — A,  road. 


West  and  north  of  the  Errisbeg  liills  is  the 
champaign  country  previously  mentioned.  This, 
viewed  from  any  of  the  southern  peaks  of  Ben- 
na-Beola,  has  a  most  peculiar  aspect,  studded  as  it 
is  with  innumerable  lochs  and  lochauns,  which,  in 
connection  with  the  archipelego  to  the  south-east, 
makes  it  nearly  impossible  to  detect  where  the  sea 
ends  and  the  mainland  begins.  This  place  can  scarcely 
be  described :  it  must  be  seen  to  have  any  conception 
of  it.  We  have  previously  drawn  attention  to  the 
floors  of  the  valleys  being  so  low  ;  but  it  ouglit  to  be 
mentioned,  tliat  if  Hiar-Connaught  was  lowered 
10  feet,  the  major  portion  would  be  under  water, 
and  if  150,  all  the  mountain-groups  mentioned  would 
be  disconnected  islands.  Besides  the  lakes  mentioned, 
there  are  others  in  all  the  principal  valleys,  except 
that  of  iVIaum. 

As  yet  no  mention  has  been  made  of  the  bays 
that  indent  both  the  south  and  the  east  coast.  Tliose 
to  the  south  are  more  or  less  irregular,  but  have 
a  tendency  to  run  nearly  north  and  south.  Tliese 
north  and  south  bays,  however,  are  connected  with 
others  that  cross  them  more  or  less  obliquely  ;  thus 
giving  the  sheets  of  water  irregular  outlines.  On 
the  west  coast  the  bays  run  nearly  east  and  west,  two 


THE    ECONOMICAL   PRODUCTS    OF 

TLAXTS. 

No.   III. 

Bv  J.  T.  Riches. 

OPIUM. — The  well-known  and  most  important 
drug  is  the  inspissated  juice  of  a  plant  known 
as  Papavc7'  somniferiuii,  Linn. 

The  plant  is  supposed  to  have  been  originally  a 
native  of  tlie  Levant ;  it  grows,  however,  very  readily 
in  this  country,  but  there  is  no  doubt  it  has  been 
introduced  at  some  early  period.  It  grows  about  two 
feet  high,  usually  with  a  smooth  stem  ;  leaves  ob- 
long, clasping  the  stem,  glaucous,  smooth ;  flowers 
light  violet  with  purple  centre  ;  capsule  smooth. 
It  is  cultivated  in  this  country  for  the  sake  of  its  cap- 
sules, which  are  known  as  "poppy-heads,"  a  decoc- 
tion of  which  with  chamomile  flowers  is  often  used 
for  the  relief  of  toothache  and  similar  pains  ;  an  ex- 
tract is  also  obtained  from  them.  There  is  an 
abundance  of  oil  contained  in  the  seeds,  which  is 
expressed  and  used  as  an  article  of  food,  often  mixed, 
it  is  said,  with  olive  oil.  In  Greece  and  other  places 
the  seeds  themselves  form  an  article  of  food.  The 
seeds  of  one  variety  are  imported  to  this  country,  and 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


iSi 


sold   under   the  name  of   "Maw-seed,"  for  feeding 
cage-birds. 

The  most  important  use,  however,  of  this  plant  is 
the  production  of  opium,  for  which  purpose  it  is  very 
largely  cultivated  in  India,  China,  Asia  Minor,  Persia, 
Egypt,  &c.  There  are  two  varieties  more  especially 
known  in  cultivation — one  with  violet  or  white  flowers 
and  black  seeds;  the  other,  with  white  flowers  and 
seeds.  The  latter  is  the  variety  cultivated  in  India, 
where  we  may  easily  judge  it  forms  an  important  article 
of  trade  by  the   "  opium-pipes  "  kindly  allowed  for 


(where  such  exists),  and  placed  into  large  troughs  or 
vats,  when  it  is  kneaded  into  a  homogeneous  mass 
by  native  vvorkmen  ;  it  is  then  examined  by  native 
examiners,  and  the  true  quality  is  ascertained,  and 
freedom  from  adulteration  is  insured.  When  the 
drug  has  arrived  at  that  state,  it  is  ready  for  ex- 
portation. 

It  is  moulded  into  spherical  masses,  from  4  to  5 
inches  in  diameter,  and  invested  with  dried  petals 
fastened  together  with  inferior  opium,  packed  in 
cases,  and  exported  in  very  large  quantities  to  China, 


^m£=W^ 


Fig.  151.    Arnotto  Plant    Bi.va  crcllniia). 


exhibition  by  the  Prince  of  Wales,  presented  to  him 
during  his  recent  visit  to  India. 

The  way  in  which  opium  is  obtained  in  India  is 
similar  to,  if  not  wholly  the  same,  as  that  in  other 
countries.  When  the  plants  are  in  flower,  the  petals 
are  taken  off  and  preserved  for  the  investment  of  the 
opium  balls.  The  capsules,  when  but  imperfectly 
ripe,  are  lanced  from  top  to  bottom  by  small  instru- 
ments known  as  "nushturs," — an  operation  which  is 
only  performed  on  favourable  occasions,  usually  about 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  milky  juice 
quickly  exudes  from  the  incisions,  hardens  upon  ex- 
posure to  the  atmosphere,  and  is  collected  in  small 
iron  "scoops."  After  repeated  incisions  are  made, 
and  the  juice  collected  until  the  supply  is  exhausted, 
the   drug   is    carried    into    the   Government    factory 


where  the  practice  of  "opium-smoking"  is  carried 
on  to  an  alarming  extent,  about  which  we  have 
all  heard.  Its  effects,  of  course,  are  most  inju- 
rious to  the  persons  habitually  practising  that  habit. 
A  small  amount  also  finds  its  way  to  this  country  ; 
but  the  chief  supply  of  this  country  is  obtained  from 
Turkey  and  Egypt,  and  is  the  most  esteemed  :  it  is 
usually  in  the  form  of  irregular  lumps,  varying  from 
four  ounces  to  two  pounds,  and  covered  with  dock 
seeds.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  workmen 
employed  in  opium-factories,  although  exposed  for 
several  hours  in  a  day  to  opium  fumes,  do  not  mate- 
rially suffer  therefrom :  occasionally  they  are  troubleil 
with  a  drowsy  sensation  at  the  latter  part  of  the 
day. 

The  chemical  nature  of  opium  is  very  complex  ;  its 


i8: 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSS  IP. 


medicinal  properties,  however,  are  due  to  the  pre- 
sence of  the  alkaloid  morphia. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  all  drugs,  and  is 
used  with  advantage  in  an  immense  number  of  con- 
ditions,— to  relieve  pain,  allay  spasm,  produce  sleep, 
prevent  restlessness,  promote  perspiration,  &c. 

Arnotto. — This,  to  some  extent,  important  colour- 
ing agent,  is  obtained  from  the  seeds  oiBixa  orcUana, 
Linn.,  originally  a  native  of  tropical  America,  by  the 
side  of  rivulets  and  streams,  but  now  cultivated  through- 
out the  tropics.  It  is  a  small  tree,  with  a  stem  from 
12  to  15  feet  in  height.  Leaves  cordate-peltate,  taper- 
ing at  the  apex,  smooth,  on  long  petioles.  Flowers 
in  terminal  panicles,  pale  pink ;  stamens  numerous. 
Fmit  bristly,  two-valved,  many-seeded.  Seeds  angu- 
lar, covered  with  an  orange-red  waxy  pulp.  The 
pulp  surrounding  the  seeds  is  the  important  part  in 
an  economical  point  of  view.  It  has  the  smell  of 
violets,  and  is  bitter  and  astringent.  A  refreshing 
decoction  is  prepared  from  it,  which  is  considered 
febrifugal,  and  is  also  used  in  cases  of  haemorrhage, 
gravel,  diarrhcea.  The  aromatic  bitter  seeds  and 
root  are  reputed  stomachics.  So  much  for  its  "  re- 
puted "  medicinal  properties. 

To  obtain  the  arnotto,  the  seeds  are  steeped  in 
water,  and  allowed  to  fei-ment ;  it  then  forms  a  valu- 
able red  dye,  which  by  evaporation  becomes  a  solid 
paste.  This  is  made  into  cakes  or  rolls,  known  as 
arnotto  or  annotto.  It  is  largely  used  by  silk-dyers 
and  varnish-makers,  also  for  colouring  cheese,  butter, 
chocolate,  &c.  It  was  formerly  considered  an  anti- 
dote to  the  poison  oi  Jatrop]ia  ]\IantIiot .  The  Carib- 
beans  formerly  tattooed  themselves  with  it  to  prevent 
mosquito-bites. 


A   MICROSCOITCAL  SLIDE-BOX. 

THE  old  cloth-covered  microscopic  slide-boxes, 
that  we  all  know  so  well,  have  to  this  day 
some  advantages  possessed  by  no  others.  They  take 
a  large  number  in  a  small  space,  and,  with  a  dozen 
or  two  slides,  go  easily  into  the  pocket.  They  are 
unequalled  for  carrying  about,  but  possess,  as  sta- 
tionary boxes,  this  serious  drawback,  tliat  each  slide 
rests  upon  one  edge,  giving  the  object  a  great  ten- 
dency to  slip. 

The  newer  tray-boxes  are  a  great  improvement 
upon  these,  in  that  all  the  slides  lie  flat.  But 
it  is  very  awkward  when  you  happen  to  want  a  par- 
ticular slide,  and  do  not  remember  exactly  in  which 
tray  you  put  it,  to  liavc  to  pull  out  a  number  of  trays 
before  you  come  upon  the  one  containing  the  slide 
you  want.  Cabinets  are  well  enough  for  home  use ; 
but  are  not  portable,  and  labour  somewhat  under  the 
same  disadvantage  as  the  tray-boxes. 

There  is  great  need  of  a  box  in  which  each  slide 
may  lie  flat,  and  be  kept  in  its  place  whatever  tempo- 
rarily may  be  the  position  of  the  box,  one  into  ^hich 


the  name  of  every  slide  may  be  seen  at  once,  and  any 
slide  be  taken  out  without  disturbing  any  other. 

Such  a  box,  I  think,  is  shown  in  the  accompanying 
drawings.  Fig.  152  gives  a  general  perspective  view, 
and  fig.  153  shows  a  section  of  the  same. 

It  consists  of  a  box  opening  in  front  and  at  the  top, 
like  the  tray-slide  box  ;  but  here  the  trays,  or  rather 
shelves,  are  fixed,  and  have  no  front  ledge.  Each 
shelf  projects  a  little  beyond  the  one  above,  and  is 
divided  along  its  length  by  thin  slips  of  wood  into 
spaces,  each  just  wide  enough  to  take  one  slide.    The 


Fig.  152.    Perspective  view  of  Microscopical  Slide-box. 


Fig.  153.    Section  of  Microscopical  Slide-box. 

piece  marked  A  in  both  drawings  is  a  piece  of  card- 
lioard,  or  wood,  loosely  jointed  to  the  lid,  v,.  This, 
when  the  box  is  open,  lies  flat  upon  the  lid,  i! ;  though 
it  is  drawn  in  the  illustrations  projecting,  in  order 
better  to  show  its  position.  When  the  lid  B,  and  the 
front,  E,  are  closed,  the  piece  A  falls  down,  so  that  its 
lower  edge  rests  in  the  angle  formed  by  the  bottom  of 
the  box  and  its  front,  E.  It  therefore  lies  fixed  against 
the  front  edges  of  all  the  slides  ;  so  that  if  the  box  be 
placed  on  its  end  or  upside  down,  the  slides  cannot 
shift,  and  will  be  found  each  in  its  place  when  the 
box  is  righted  and  opened.  The  slides  project  in 
front  \  inch  beyond  the  shelves,  so  tliat  with  the 
finger  and  the  thumb,  applied  either  laterally  or  ver- 
tically, any  slide  may  be  instantly  removed.  By 
making  the  shelves  project  \  inch,  the  labels  on  every 


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


183 


slide  are  visible  at  once.  The  top  slides  rest  on  a 
tray  with  a  front  ledge,  and  are  prevented  from  shift- 
ing by  this  ledge  and  the  lid  when  the  box  is  carried 
about.  All  the  shelves  can  be  made  of  cardboard,  as 
they  have  little  or  no  weight  to  bear,  and  are  each 
well  supported  by  the  partitions  of  the  one  below. 
This  construction  lightens  the  weight  of  the  box  con- 
siderably. If  the  shelves  and  sides  Idc  covered  with 
white  enamelled  paper,  they  will  be  less  likely  to  get 
dirt}',  besides  giving  a  pleasing  effect. 

A  box  holding  35  slides,  as  in  the  illustration,  would 
be  9  in.  long  by  5  in.  broad  and  2  in.  deep. 

The  only  spaces  lost  are  those  marked  c  and  D  in 
<"'§•  153  •  Ii^  ^  small  box  these  could  not  well  be 
utilized ;  but  in  a  larger  box  I  have  made,  these  are 
also  filled  with  slides ;  so  that  all  the  slides,  180  in 
number,  can  be  seen  at  once. 

I  am  indebted  for  the  drawings  to  the  kindness  of 
my  friend  Mr.  G.  C.  Maile. 

Doubtless  the  idea  is  capable  of  improvement : 
whether  it  has  previously  occurred  to  any  one  else,  I 
do  not  know,  but  I  think  the  Irox  has  some 
advantages  over  other  boxes  now  in  use. 

I  have  shown  the  box  to  jMr.  Stanley,  the  optician, 
Railway-approach,  London-bridge,  who  api:iroves  of 
the  design,  and  expresses  his  intention  of  forthwith 
making  some  of  this  pattern.  Should  any  of  your 
readers  not  care  to  make  them  for  themselves,  he  would 
doubtless  be  able  to  supply  them. 

A.  W.  Stokes. 

Lalwratory,  Guys  Hospital. 


MICROSCOPY. 

'INIOUNTING  IN  Damar. — Having  had  a  similar 
experience  in  mounting  in  damar  to  that  related  by 
Mr.  Williams  at  p.  148  of  the  July  numlier,  T  will 
shortly  relate  it.  I  had  mounted  some  scales  of 
Eleagnus  in  damar  obtained  from  Mr.  White,  of 
Litcham,  and  shortly  after  the  slides  had  been  put 
aside  to  dry,  I  found  in  all  of  them  crystals  like  those 
in  fig.  136,  which  had  the  property  of  polarizing 
beautifully.  Mr.  White  could  not  explain  the  cir- 
cumstance, but  gave  me  another  bottle  of  damar, 
which  has  not  hitherto  deposited  any  crystals. 
Whether  damar  contains  any  ingredient  of  a  saline 
character,  or  whether  the  solvent  added  to  licpefy  it 
was  not  free  from  such  impurity  I  cannot  say. — 
G.D.B.,  Ealing. 

White  Copal  as  a  Mounting  Medium. — I  have 
seen  much  correspondence  respecting  the  merits  of 
damar  as  a  mounting  medium,  but  have  found  great 
difficulty  in  drying.  This  has  caused  me  to  look 
around  for  something  which  would  possess  the  ad- 
vantages of  damar  without  the  great  disadvantage  of 
its  not  drying.  This  I  think  I  have  found  in  the  best 
white  copal.  I  should  be  glad  if  any  of  your  cor- 
respondents would  try  it  and  report  thereon. — T.B. 


"  Histology  of  the  Island  of  Reil." — 
Thoughtful  microscopists  will  be  delighted  with  an 
aj-ticle  in  the  last  number  of  the  Monthly  Microscopical 
Journal,  by  Dr.  II.  C.  Major,  Medical  Director  of 
the  West  Riding  Asylum,  on  the  above  subject.  It 
is  a  careful  histological  inquiry  into  the  structural 
peculiarity  of  the  central  lobe  of  the  brain,  called  the 
insula  or  "Island  of  Reil."  It  is  that  part  of  the 
brain  which  appears  earliest  both  in  the  human  foetus 
and  in  the  higher  apes.  With  the  exception  of  the 
Makis,  no  indication  of  its  presence  has  been  observed 
in  other  animals.  There  are  good  grounds  for  be- 
lieving that  this  part  of  the  brain  is  connected  in 
an  especial  manner  with  the  exercise  of  the  faculty 
of  language. 

ZOOLOGY. 

The  British  Association.^  In  the  matter  of 
excursions,  the  Plymouth  meeting  of  the  British 
Association,  commencing  August  15th,  under  the 
presidency  of  Professor  Allen  Thomson,  will  be 
notably  attractive.  There  are  very  few  localities  in 
the  kingdom  in  and  around  which  there  is  so  much 
to  interest;  and  the  object  of  the  Excursion  Arrange- 
ment Committee  has  been  to  cater  for  all  tastes,  and 
to  give  the  widest  range  of  choice.  Plymouth  itself 
is  a  very  pleasant  town,  with  its  wide  streets,  de- 
lightful suburbs,  magnificent  Guildhall,  and  its 
famous  promenade,  the  Hoe,  which  overlooks  the 
waters  of  the  broad  Sound,  with  the  Breakwater  and 
the  Eddystone,  and  the  lovely  domain  on  Mount 
Edgcumbe  on  its  western  shores.  At  the  sister-town 
of  Devonport  are  the  Government  dockyards  and 
arsenals,  which  are  open  to  inspection,  while  scores 
of  ships  of  war,  of  all  kinds  and  sizes,  stud  the 
Hamoaze — the  estuary  of  the  noble  river  Tamar, — 
across  the  upper  reach  of  which  Brunei  threw  the 
famous  Albert  Bridge.  As  is  usual,  two  days  are 
allotted  to  excursions.  Saturday,  the  iSthof  August, 
and  Thursday  the  23rd,  are  those  selected  ;  and  the 
local  executive  have  endeavoured  to  arrange  the 
shorter  excursions  for  the  Saturday,  to  meet  the  case 
of  those  members  who  may  be  engaged  in  the  sections 
which  will  sit  on  that  day,  so  far  as  is  possible.  One 
of  the  chief  of  the  Saturday  excursions  will  be  by 
steamer  to  the  Breakwater  and  the  Eddystone,  and 
on  the  return  round  Hamoaze,  passing  the  various 
Government  establishments.  The  Breakwater  is  a 
mile  in  length,  and  two  miles  from  the  Hoe.  The 
Eddystone,  Smeaton's  great  work,  is  built  on  a 
reef  thirteen  miles  from  Plymouth,  and  has  now 
defied  the  waves  and  the  winds  for  over  a  century. 
It  is  possible  that  while  in  Hamoaze  a  visit  may  be 
paid  to  some  of  the  ships  there.  One  of  the  most 
interesting  features  of  the  excursion  to  Plymouth  and 
Devonport  at  the  time  of  the  Exeter  meeting  was  a 
visit  paid  to  the  Cambridge  gunnery  ship,  to  witness 
what  may  be  called  the  electric  gun  drill  and  torpedo 


i84 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  GOSSIP. 


experiments.      Another   excursion   on   tlie  Saturday 
will  be  by  rail  to  Liskeard,  passing   over  the  Royal 
Albert  Bridge,  and  along  the  banks  of  the  winding 
Lynher ;    and    from    Liskeard  to    the  mines   on  the 
Caradon  Hills, — a  bleak  range  of  barren  moorland, 
but  abounding  in   the  picturesque,   and   stored  with 
hidden  wealth.      Arrangements  have   l)een   made  to 
visit    the  well-known    South    Caradon  copper-mine, 
and  the  productive  tin-mine  of  Phoenix,  not  far  dis- 
tant.  Here  the  mining  operations,  which  are  the  special 
industry  of  the  county,   may  be  seen  to  the  fullest 
advantage.       To   the  mineralogist,    too,    this  district 
sliould   have   much   interest.      South  Caradon  yields 
many  forms  of  copper  ore— chalcocite,    chalcopyrite, 
and   cuprite,    with   chessylite    and    malachite ;    and 
Phcenix,  besides  its  cassiterite,  has  produced  the  rare 
chalcosiderite,  andrewsite,  and  the  lovely  turquoise, 
henwoodite.     It  is  intended  also  to  visit  the  Cheese- 
\\  ing,  the  most  grotesque  pile  of  granite  rocks  in  the 
county.      Hard  by  are  large  granite  quarries  ;  and  in 
the  vicinity  are  the  stone  arches  known  as  the  Huslers, 
the  Trevethy  Cromlech,  and  other  antiquities.     It  is 
understood  that  the  good  people  of  Liskeard  will  in 
some  way  entertain  their  visitors.     The   third  excur- 
sion of  the  Saturday  will  be  to  the  great  China-clay 
works  at  Lee  JNIoor,  on  the  borders  of  Dartmoor, 
and  within   a  few   miles  of  Plymouth  ;    and  this  is 
likely  to  be  extended  to  embrace   Prince  Town  and 
some  of  the  more  accessible  pre-historic  remains  of 
Devon's  great  central  waste,  which  stretches  for  many 
a  mile  almost  a  trackless  wild — a  weird  region,  but 
full  of  charm  and  interest.     Finally,  those  who  cannot 
take  part  in  either  of  these  excursions  will  be  able, 
through  the  kindness  of  the   Earl  of   Mount   Edg- 
cumbe,  to  visit  his  enchanting  domain,  unrivalled  in 
its  loveliness  even  in  this  rightly  named  "garden  of 
England."     The  chief  local  excursion  on  the  Thurs- 
day will  be  up  the  river  Tamar  to  Merwhellam,  and 
thence  to  the  famous  Devon  Consols  copper-mines. 
The  Tamar  is  one  of  the  pleasantest  rivers  in  Eng- 
land ;  and  very  {ew  present  such  a  comlnnation  and 
variety  of  charms.    Above  Saltash,  where  it  is  spanned 
by  the  Albert  Bridge,  it  spreads  into  a  wide  lake-like 
expanse,  beyond  which  the  channel  suddenly  contracts 
and  commences  to  wind  in  the  most  romantic  fashion, 
the  meadows  which  had  lined  its  banks  giving  place 
to  stee]3  descents  clad  with  wood  down  to  the  water's 
edge.     At   Cotehele   Quay,  which    is  in   the  heart  of 
scenery  of  this  description,    the  party  Mill   land  for 
the  purpose  of  visiting  Cotehele  House— an  ancient 
seat  of  the  Mount  Edgcumbe  family,  and  one  of  the 
most  perfect  examples  of  the  baronial  mansion  now 
in  existence.      It   has   remained   unchanged  almost 
from  the  first,  and  still  contains  the  arms  and  the 
furniture,  the  tapestry  and  the  fittings,  which  it  held 
back    in     the    fourteenth    and     fifteenth     centuries. 
For  the  opportunity  of  seeing  this   fine  old  house  the 
members  of  the  Association  arc  again  indebted  to  the 
noble  owner.     A  little  above  Cotehele  is  Calstock, 


and   about   four  miles    beyond    this,    Merwhellham, 
where    the    Tamar     flows    through    a    tree-shrouded 
gorge.      From  the  precipitous  hill-sides,   rising  to  a 
height  of  over  200  feet  above  the  river,  jut  out  a 
series  of  crags  known  as  the  Morwell  Rocks.     Here 
is  the   grandest   scenery   on   the   river.      From   Mer- 
whellham there  is  a  mineral   railway  to   the  Devon 
Consols  mines.     These  mines   are  noted  for  having 
paid  considerably  over  a   million  in    dividends,    for 
the  magnitude  of  their  operations,  and  for  the  extent 
and   completeness  of  their  machinery.     The  largest 
waterwheels  in  the  West  of  England  are   here,   and 
the  arsenic-works  are  the  most  extensive  in  the  world. 
The  arsenic  is  driven  off  from  the  arsenical  pyrites  in 
calciners,  which  obtain  all  the  heat  required  from  the 
combustion    of  the    sulphur   and   arsenic  in  the   ore 
itself.       It   is   perhaps  worth   noting  that  when    the 
British  Association  visited  Plymouth  in  1841,  its  only 
excursion    was    to    the    Tavistock    mining   district. 
Devon  Consols,    however,   was  not  then    in  being. 
Another  excursion  will  be  to  Torquay,  but  this  will 
be  by  invitation.     Following  the  excellent  precedent 
set  at  the  Exeter  meeting,  the  Torquay  folk  intend  to 
play  the  part  of  hosts,  and  to  issue  invitations  to  a 
distinguished  party,  whom  they  will  conduct  over  the 
manifold  attractions  of  that  lovely  watering-place, — 
in  a  scientific    point  of  view  chiefly  famed    for   the 
celebrated  Kent's  Cavern,  to  which,  of  course,  a  visit 
will   be   paid.     The  mechanicians  of  the   party  will 
feel  a   special  interest  in  the  experimental  works  of 
Mr.  Fronde,  F.R.S.,  wherein  the  conditions  of  sta- 
bility in  various  fonns  of   vessels   are  exhaustively 
investigated.     The  pleasantest  way  of  getting  from 
Plymouth  to  Torquay  will  be  to  go  to  Totness  by 
rail,    thence    down    the    enchanting    river    Dart    by 
steamer,  and  thence  again  by  rail  skirting  Torbay. 
Lastly,  those  who  prefer  to  go  West  will  find  them- 
selves consulted  also.     Arrangements  are  being  made 
for  an  excursion  to  Penzance,  the  most   interestingly 
situated  town  in  all   Cornwall  :    hemmed  in   by  the 
lieauties  of   sea   and  land  ;    environed  by  antiquities 
dating  back  to  the  earliest  times  of  recorded  history, 
and  far  beyond  ;  and  with  some  of  the  most  import- 
ant  mines    in    the    whole  county  in  the  immediate 
vicinity.     St.  Michael's  Mount,  the  Logan  Rock,  the 
Lizard,  the  Land's  End,  Botallack  Mine,  are  the  best- 
known  points  of  interest  in  this  far-west  region  ;  but 
they  are  only  a  few  of  many.      What   Penzance  will 
do   in  the   way   of  welcome    is    not   yet   definitely 
settled.— A'.  A'.  J  Forth. 

New  Spkcies  of  Carnivora. — At  a  late 
meeting  of  the  Zoological  Society,  Dr.  Sclater 
described  a  new  species  of  Cheetah  from  .South 
Africa.  It  differs  from  Ft'lis  jithata  in  having  its. 
body  covered  with  spots  of  a  dark  yellow  colour, 
instead  of  black  ;  and  the  body  is  also  more  thickly 
covered  w  ith  hair.  Dr.  Sclater  has  given  the  name  of 
Fdis  canea  to  this  species. 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  •  GOSSIP. 


185 


How  TO  TRESERVE  CRUSTACEANS. — Separate  the    . 
upper    from    tlie    under    shell   with    a   strong    knife,    [ 
remove  the  contents,  and   anoint  the  inside  with  cor-    ■ 
rosive    sublimate    dissolved    in    methylated    spirits  ;    \ 
then  fasten  the  shells    together  with  strong  glue  ;  if 
the  crab  is  large,  remove  a  little  of  the  under  side  of  ■ 
the  claw,  and  clear  it  out  with  a  hooked  wire  ;  then 
fasten  the  piece  in,  place  the  limbs  in  position,  and    ' 
let  it   dry ;   varnish    is    not    required     Echini  simply 
require  to  be  hung  up  to  dry  without  any  preparing. 
— G.  Ciirrie. 

CoLiAS  Edusa. — We  have  received  upwards  of 
thirty  letters  announcing  the  early  appearance  of  this 
beautiful  butterfly  in  nearly  all  parts  of  England. 
The  greatest  surprise  seems  to  be  connected  with  its 
unusually  early  appearance. 

The  Hoopoe. — A  fine  specimen  (male)  of  this 
bird  has  been  shot  this  summer  at  Tockwith,  near 
York.  One  wishes  either  that  our  rare  birds 
^\■ould  learn  wisdom  and  keep  away,  or  that  their 
shooters  might  learn  a  little  more  mercy  and  common 
sense. 

The  '•'Challenger"  Results. — At  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  Zoological  Society  of  London,  Mr. 
John  Murray,  naturalist  to  the  Challenger  expedi- 
tion, exhibited  and  made  remarks  on  a  series  of 
sharks'  teeth,  whales'  ear-bones,  and  other  speci- 
mens, dredged  up  at  great  depths  during  the  Challenger 
expedition.  Dr.  P.  L.  Sclater,  F.R.S.,  then  read 
the  first  of  a  series  of  reports  on  the  collection  of 
birds  made  during'the  voyage  of  H. M.S.  Challenger, 
containing  general  remarks  on  the  collection,  which 
was  stated  to  consist  of  about  679  skins  of  terrestrial 
and  198  of  oceanic  birds,  besides  a  considerable 
series  of  specimens  in  salt  and  in  spirit,  and  a  collec- 
tion of  eggs,  principally  of  the  oceanic  species.  A 
communication  was  also  read  from  the  Marquis  of 
Tweeddale,  F.R.S.,  containing  a  report  on  the  collec- 
tion of  birds  made  during  the  voyage  of  H.M.S. 
Challenger  in  the  Philippine  Islands.  Amongst  them 
were  examples  of  seven  species  new  to  science.  Mr. 
P.  L.  Sclater  read  another  paper  giving  a  description 
of  the  birds  collected  at  the  Admiralty  Islands 
during  the  visit  of  the  Challenger  expedition  to  that 
place.  Amongst  these  were  examples  of  six  species 
hitherto  vmknown  to  naturalists. 

Current  Scientific  Literature. — The  Po- 
pular  Science  Rezneiu  for  July  has  a  very  important 
article,  by  Prof.  Duncan,  called  "Studies  among  the 
Aiiia'bce,"  which  will  be  diligently  read  by  all  natu- 
ralists who  use  the  microscope.  A  very  readable 
article  is  that  by  Mr.  W.  F.  Kirby,  on  "The  Geo- 
graphical Distribution  of  Animals.'  The  Rev.  W.  R. 
Symonds  has  a  veiy  interesting  paper,  based  chiefly 
on  personal  investigations,  on  "  The  Volcanoes  of 
the  Haute  Loire  and  the  Ardeche."  Besides  the 
above  papers,  there  are  others  on  various  branches  of 


physical  science,  by  Prof  Osborne  Reynolds  and 
Messrs.  R.  A.  Proctor  and  \V.  N.  Hartley.  The 
scientific  summary  of  the  quarter  is  always  a  strong 
and  attractive  feature  in  this  excellent  magazine. 

Propagation  of  Food-Fishes. —  We  have  re- 
ceived Part  III.  of  the  "  Report  of  the  United  States 
Commission  on  Fish  and  Fisheries,"  consisting  of 
nearly  Soo  pages  of  printed  matter  relating  to  this  im- 
portant subject.  The  Report  is  in  two  parts,  one  of 
which  is  devoted  to  an  inquiry  into  the  decrease  of 
our  food-fishes,  and  the  other  into  the  propagation 
of  food-fishes  in  the  waters  of  the  United  States. 
The  generous  manner  with  which  the  United  States 
Government  distribute  copies  of  all  Government 
printed  books  on  science  contrasts  severely  with  the 
miserable  stinginess  of  our  own  Stationery  Office, 
where  the  Reports  of  the  Geological  Surveys  arc  not 
even  sent  to  scientific  journals  for  review. 

Sphinx  Pinastri. — Early  in  July  last  a  fine 
specimen  of  this  exceedingly  rare  moth  was  captured 
in  the  gardens  of  Tuddenham  Rectory,  near  Ipswich, 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Long.  A  few  days  previously 
a  specimen  had  been  caught  at  Waldringfield,  a 
parish  about  se^"en  miles  from  Tuddenham. 

Capture  of  a  Seal  in  the  Solway. — A  speci- 
men of  the  common  seal  was  captured  by  the 
fishers  at  Port  Carlisle  on  the  29th  of  June  last ;  it 
was  four  feet  long,  and  weighed  84  lb. —  JV.  D. 

Cleaning  the  Shells  of  the  Smaller  Species 
OF  MoLLUSKS. — I  have  recently  adopted  the  follow- 
ing method  of  extracting  the  animal  from  some  of 
the  smaller  species  of  land  and  fresh-water  shells. 
After  killing  them  by  immersion  in  boiling  M'ater, 
they  are  placed  in  a  large  test-tube,  with  a  solution 
of  caustic  potash,  and  heated  to  the  boiling  point  ; 
in  a  short  time  the  animal  is  completely  dissolved, 
and  the  shells  are  freed  from  the  potash  by  boiling 
in  plenty  of  distilled  water.  The  method  may  not 
be  new,  but  suggested  itself  to  me  whilst  preparing 
some  of  the  lingual  ribbons  of  the  mollusca  with 
potash  for  microscopic  examination  ;  and,  so  far  as  I 
have  at  present  tried  it,  I  am  pleased  with  the  result. 
The  epidermis  of  some  species  is  injured  by  it,  but 
for  many  kinds  it  seems  to  answer  admirably.  —  7'. 
E.  Doeg,  Evesham. 

The  Blvborough  Tick. — This  arachnid,  which 
has  been  lately  described  either  as  Argas  foriiiosns  or 
Argas  Fischeri,  and  depicted  in  two  plates  of  the 
"Journal  of  the  Microscopic  Club,"  and  several  wood- 
cuts in  Science-Gossip,  turns  out  to  be  the  Argas 
pipistrilhe,  described  in  the  "Proceedings  of  the 
Entomological  Society  of  London"  for  1872,  by 
Professor  Westwood.  Mr.  Gulliver,  jun.,  took 
specimens,  obtained  from  Mr.  C.  F.  George,  to 
Oxford,  and  the  result  was  the  determination  of  the 
species  just  named,  which  was  made  the  subject  of 
a  communication  to  a  late  meeting  of  the  East  Kent 
Natural  History  Society  at  Canterbury. — Q.  F. 


i86 


HARDWI CKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -GOSS  IT-. 


BOTANY, 

Plant-Crystals. — At  the  last  meeting  of  the  East 
Kent  National  History  Society,  at  Canterbury,  Mr. 
W.  H.  Hammond  read  a  paper  on  this  subject,  and 
illustrated  his  observations  by  numerous  admirably- 
prepared  slides,  exhibiting  excellent  specimens  of  true 
Raphides,  long  crystal  prisms,  short  prismatic  crys- 
tals, and  Spha.n-aphides,  so  as  to  show  the  different 
forms  of  the  various  kinds  of  plant-crystals.      And  in 
order  to  give  a  bird's-eye  view  of  them,  he  laid  be- 
fore the  meeting  the  numerous  engravings  which  had 
been  published  thereon  by  Professor  Gulliver  in  the 
"Annals  of  Natural  History,"  November,  1863,  the 
"Monthly  Microscopical  Journal,"  December,  1873, 
and  Science-Gossip,  May,   1873.     After  observing 
the  gross  errors  both  of  omission  and  commission  in 
our  current  botanical  treatises,  including  even  the  last 
edition  of  the  "Microscopical  Dictionary,"  Mr.  Ham- 
mond proceeded  to  show  the  importance  of  a  subject 
so  lamentably  neglected  or   maltreated  l)y  botanical 
writers.    These  crystals  afford  an  inexhaustible  supply 
of  beautiful  objects  for  microscopic  examination,   as 
regards  both  pleasure  and  profit ;  and  this  is  in  itself 
a  great  recommendation,  now  that  the  microscope  is 
happily  rivalling  or  superseding  the  piano  in  so  many 
intelligent  families.       But   these    crystals    are  by  no 
means  mere  curiosities.     They  are  one  of  the  means 
by  which  nature  so  bountifully  provides  stores  of  cal- 
careous salts  as  food  for  animals  to  build  up  their 
solid  tissues,  and  as   manure  when  restored  to  the 
earth  in  the  decaying  leaves. and  other  parts  of  plants. 
And  Raphides  afford  such  valuable  characters  in  sys- 
tematic botany  that  by  them  alone  such  orders  in  the 
British  Flora  as  Onagmcciv,  Galiacccs,  and  Balsami- 
nacece  may  be  at  once,  at  any  stage  of  their  existence, 
distinguished  from  their  nearest  allies  in  the  same 
flora.     And  yet  these  plain  and  important  characters 
have  ]iot  yet  been   even   noticed  in   our  systematic 
books  !     Hence  the  whole  subject  requires  that  fur- 
ther ventilation  which  may  be    given   to  it  by  the 
readers  of  Science-Gossip,  and  which  it   has  not 
yet  received  from  our  metropolitan  societies,  nor  in- 
deed, according  to  Mr.  Hammond,  from  any  society 
except  that  already  mentioned.     But  the  cr3'stals  are 
so  numerous  and  beautiful,  and  so  exquisitely  adapted 
for  the  preparation  of  slides  for  the  microscope,  that 
they  arc  not  likely  to  he  much  longer  neglected. 

Forestry. — There  are  few  of  the  specializations 
of  practical  science  ^\•hich  have,  of  late  years,  been 
so  little  studied  as  that  of  Forestry.  We  are  therefore 
glad  to  welcome  another  literary  confrere,  which  has 
just  appeared  under  the  title  of  T/ie  Joiinial  of 
Forestry.  We  have  received  two  numbers  of  this 
shilling  monthly,  and  believe,  from  its  solid,  and 
attractive  table  of  contents,  that  it  will  l)c  welcomed 
by  all  who  love  arboriculture. 


Epiphytal  Plants. — On  the  9th  of  June,  while 
walking  with  two  friends  through  Stone  Fenny,  a 
wooded  dingle  near  Kidderminster,  we  observed  the 
Wild  Raspberry  [Ribes  idtciis)  and  the  Red  Campion 
(Lychnis  diiiriia),  the  latter  in  flower,  growing  epi- 
phytally  upon  an  old  pollard  willow,  at  a  height  of 
about  eight  feet  from  the  ground. — Horace  Pearce, 
F.L.S. 

Origin  of  Long  Stamens  in  Crucifer.^;. — 
From  a  plant  of  the  common  watercress,  I  have  just 
gathered  a  raceme  of  unripe  pods,  one  of  which  has 
at  its  base  a  lateral  flower,  which  appears  to  have  been 
developed  within  the  original  flower,  perhaps  in  the 
axil  of  one  of  the  sepals.  Having  never  read  of  such 
a  formation,  I  send  you  so  much  of  the  raceme  as  may 
enable  you  to  perceive  its  character ;  and  I  also 
enclose  a  similar  pod  which  I  gathered  from  the  same 
plant,  more  than  a  week  ago,  with  two  lateral  flowers 
at  its  base.  As  the  origin  of  the  two  pairs  of  long 
stamens  in  cruciferous  plants  has  been  the  subject  of 
much  discussion  among  botanists,  may  I  suggest  a 
possibility  that  they  may  be  the  leaves  of  lateral  buds 
\\'ithin  the  flower,  which  buds  are  capable,  under 
exceptional  circumstances,  of  being  developed  into 
actual  blossoms. — Jolui  Gibbs,  Essex  and  Clielmsford 
Museum. 

Sussex  Oaks. — In  my  "Rambles  in  Cowdray 
Park,"  published  in  vol.  xiii.  of  the  new  series  (1867) 
of  the  yoiinial  of  Horticulture,  I  made  mention  of 
several  famous  oaks,  among  M'hich,  in  particular,  one 
individual  called  "  Queen  Elizabeth's  Oak,"  so  called 
because  traditionally  said  to  be  that  under  which  her 
INIajesty  stood  to  shoot  at  the  deer  with  a  crossbow. 
This  lordly  tree  had,  at  the  time  I  visited  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Cowdray  Park  and  INIidhurst,  a  very 
picturesque  appearance,  and  it  was  sound  from  top  to 
bottom.  The  trunk,  at  four  feet  from  the  ground, 
measured  36  feet  in  circumference.  In  quoting  this 
measurement,  I  alluded  to  that  given  in  "  INIurray's 
Handbook  of  Yorkshire,"  of  the  celebrated  Cowthorpe 
Oak,  which  was  stated  to  be  36  feet  8  in.  in  girth, 
consequently,  if  correct,  only  8  inches  superior  in  cir- 
cumference to  that  of  "Queen  Elizabeth's."  But 
there  appears  to  be  an  error  somewhere,  for  there  is  a 
very  wide  difference  between  the  above-mentioned 
figure  and  that  given  by  Dr.  Hooker  in  his  excellent 
little  work,  "The  Student's  Flora  of  the  British 
Isles"  (1870),  who  quotes  the  girth  of  that  forest 
monster  as  70  feet. — George  iYeiulyn._ 

The  "EDEL^VEISs"  (Gnaphalium  Leontopo- 
dium). — There  appears  a  probability  of  the  extinction 
of  this  beautiful  rare  Alpine  plant,  which  was  so  much 
noticed  in  the  press,  including  Science  Gossip,  two  or 
three  years  back,  in  consequence  of  a  lady  staying  at 
Pontresina,  in  the  Engadine,  being  said  to  have  been 
killed  by  an  accident  while  searching  for  the  plants  by 
the  side  of  a  glacier.  In  a  paragraph  in  the  Tv?ies 
of  the  3rd  July,  copied  from  the  Echo,  it  is  said  that 


HARD  WICKE'S   SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 


•187 


the  Italian  herdsmen  and  boys  phick  up  the  flower  by 
the  roots,  and  offer  it  for  sale  to  travellers ;  and  no 
doubt  they  destroy  every  plant  they  can  find.  The 
local  authorities  and  the  Austrian  Alpine  Club  have 
taken  the  matter  in  hand,  in  the  hope  of  preserving 
the  plant  on  the  mountains  ;  but  it  is  hardly  likely 
they  Avill  succeed,  so  long  as  travellers  can  be  met 
with  who  are  willing-  to  become  purchasers. — 
T.B.  W. 

Shining  Moss. — If  you  think  the  following  would 
be  in  any  way  interesting  to  the  readers  of  Science- 
Gossip,  will  you  kindly  insert  it  in  your  August 
number.  There  is  near  Portsmouth,  Lancashire, 
a  narrow  tunnel,  made  by  miners  for  the  purpose 
of  working  the  coal.  This  tunnel  is  many  years 
old,  and  its  sides  are  covered  with  a  very  minute 
moss,  which,  when  seen  from  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel,  has  a  very  delicate  green  metallic  lustre.  On 
going  into  the  tunnel  (about  5  feet  high)  this  lustre 
is  not  seen,  and  the  moss  itself  is  nearly  invisible. 
Its  botanical  name  is  Schistostega' peiinata.  Could 
any  correspondent  give  other  instances  of  shining 
moss  ?  Is  not  the  moss  very  rare  ? —  T.  J  Vat  son, 
54,  Bank  Parade,  Burnley. 

Alth.^a  hirsuta  IX  Gloucestershire. — The 
readers  of  SciENCE-GossiP  may  be  interested  in  the 
occurrence  of  this  rare  plant.  Yesterday,  in  a  ramble 
in  search  of  some  of  the  botanical  treasures  which 
abound  in  our  neighbourhood,  I  passed  over  Pur 
Down  towards  Stapleton,  and  was  delighted  to  find 
this  rare  member  of  the  Mallow  tribe.  From  its 
situation  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  its  claim  to  a 
place  in  our  flora.  The  south  side  of  the  Dov/n  was 
covered  with  a  splendid  grove  of  old  beeches,  and  I 
have  repeatedly  observed  the  almost  entire  absence 
of  vegetation  under  their  shade ;  some  time  ago 
most  of  these  trees  Avere  felled,  and  it  was  round  one 
of  the  old  stumps  the  marsh  mallow  sprung  up. 
The  stems  of  all  the  plants  are  procumbent,  and  the 
colour  and  general  appearance  of  the  flowei^s  similar 
to  the  common  marsh-mallow  {A.  officinalis),  but 
smaller,  while  the  calyx,  bracts,  and  the  whole  plant, 
are  rough  with  erect  hairs.  Bentham  describes  the 
flowers  as  pale  purplish-blue  :  these  are  a  pale  pink, 
with  white  stamens.  In  a  shady  lane  leading  from 
the  Down  into  the  Stapleton  road,  many  plants  of 
Cardami7ie  impatiens  were  in  fine  flower. —  W.  E. 
Green,  Bristol. 


GEOLOGY. 

Volcanic  Cones. — At  the  last  meeting  of  the 
Geological  Society,  Mr.  Robert  Mallet,  F.R.S.,  read 
a  paper  on  "A  hitherto  Unnoticed  Circumstance 
affecting  the  Piling-up  of  Volcanic  Cones."  After 
some  remarks  upon  the  two  forms  of  volcanic  activity, 
the  earlier  system  of  "fissure  eniption,"  and  the 
present  one  of  "  eraption  at  explosive  foci,"  which 


he  did  not  think  could  be  carried  back  much  beyond 
the  Tertiary  epoch,  the  author  discussed  the  ordinary 
method  of  formation  of  a  volcanic  cone,  and  pointed 
out  that  the  effect  of  the  piling  up  of  material  must 
produce  a  pressure  on  the  original  surface  commen- 
surate with  the  amount  of  material  heaped  up  on  it, 
and  therefore  increasing  gradually  from  the  circum- 
ference nearly  to  the  centre  of  the  cone,  where  the 
loftiest  column  of  material  presses  upon  the  unit  of 
space.  When  the  supporting  rock  is  unyielding, 
such  as  the  granite  which  bears  the  Puys  of  Auvergne, 
it  will  probably  maintain  its  original  position  ;  but 
when  it  is  of  a  more  yielding  nature,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  ordinary  stratified  rocks,  the  pressure  of  the 
cone  will  produce  a  saucer-shaped  depression, 
deepest  in  the  centre  where  the  greatest  pressure 
occurs ;  and  this  tendency  to  sink  will  be  aided 
materially  by  the  honeycombing  and  evisceration  of 
the  subjacent  rock-masses  exposed  to  the  action  of 
the  volcano.  The  consequence  of  this  depression 
of  the  surface  supporting  the  cone  will  be  to  diminish 
the  original  slope  of  the  successive  superimposed 
deposits,  and  even  in  some  cases  cause  the  lowest 
beds  to  slope  from  the  circumference  towards  the 
centre.  If  the  strata  upon  which  the  volcano  stands 
be  particularly  plastic,  its  pressure  may  cause  an 
uprise  of  the  strata  into  protuberances  round  the 
foot  of  the  mountain.  Similar  phenomena  may 
occur  when  the  support  of  the  cone  is  formed  by 
older  volcanic  deposits. 

The  Insect  Fauna  of  the  Secondary 
Period. — A  short  time  ago  we  stated  that  Mr.  H. 
Goss,  F.L.  S.,  had  read  a,  very  important  paper  on 
the  Insect  Fauna  of  the  Tertiaiy  Period  before  the 
Brighton  and  Sussex  Natural  Histoiy  Society.  The 
latter  society  has  recently  had  the  opportunity  of 
hearing  another  paper  by  the  same  industrious  natu- 
ralist, on  "The  Insect  Fauna  of  the  Secondary 
Period,"  which  is  even  a  better  geological  summary 
of  all  that  is  known  of  insect  fossils  than  the  pre- 
ceding. Our  knowledge  of  this  department  of 
paleontology  has  been  veiy  vague  and  untrustworthy, 
and  we  are  therefore  pleased  to  see  Mr.  Goss  de- 
voting his  time  and  abilities  to  the  subject.  The 
latter  paper  is  reported  in  full  in  the  Sussex  Daily 
News  of  June  15th. 

New  Species  of  Fossil  Bird. — Mr.  AY.  H. 
Shrubsole,  of  Sheerness,  has  been  fortunate  enough 
to  discover  in  the  London  clay  of  the  Isle  of  Sheppy 
some  large  fossil  bones,  which  Professor  Owen  states 
are  those  of  a  gigantic  bird  called  Lithornis  cmuinus. 

Note  on  a  Probable  Cause  of  Faults  in 
Limestone. — I  have  for  some  time  strongly  suspected 
that  some  of  the  Faults  and  dislocations  so  frequent 
in  limestone  rocks  may  not  be  due  to  plutonic 
agency,  but  to  a  cause  more  constantly  at  work,  and 
which  is  chemical,  rather  than  mechanical.  It  is 
well  known  that  the  water  falling  in  the  form  of  rain 


i88 


HARD  Wl  CKE  'S  SCIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


obtains  by  contact  with  decaying  vegetable  matter  a 
certain  amount  of  carbonic  acid,  capable  of  dissolving 
a  portion  of  the  limestone  rocks  through  which  it 
passes,  and  of  carrying  off  in  solution  no  small 
quantity  of  bicarbonate  of  lime,  and  in  so  doing 
acquires  the  character  known  as  "hard."  The  same 
process  would  also  doubtless  occur  to  some  extent  in 
its  horizontal  passage  through  softer  beds.  Many 
springs  carry  off  as  much  as  17  grains  of  lime  to  the 
gallon,  and  it  is  probable  other  material  is  being 
carried  off  in  a  similar  manner.  Now  when  we  con- 
sider that  springs  frequently  deliver  from  i  to  lOO 
gallons  of  water  per  hour,  we  must  own  that  the 
<lenuding  of  the  strata  along  certain  lines  must  be 
considerable,  and  we  cannot  do  other  than  suppose 
that  the  beds  thus  denuded  would  form  an  unequal 
support  for  the  bands  of  rock  overlying  them,  which 
would  sink  and  crack,  forming  those  joints  and 
svnclinals  so  common  in  limestone  beds.  At  the 
surface  these  joints  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Godal- 
ming  are  frequently  filled  with  the  sandy  loam  of 
the  field  ;  at  others  they  probably  form  a  line  of  sur- 
face drainage.  The  last  stage  of  all,  when  the  two 
causes  had  met,  would  probably  be  one  of  those  deep 
ravines,  sometimes  having  a  stream  at  their  bottom, 
which  are  so  common  among  our  Green-sand  Hills. 
I  should  only  add  that  1  do  not  intend  that  all  Faults 
have  been  caused  by  the  agency  of  water,  but  I  think 
the  question  is  not  so  much  what  water  cannot  do,  as 
what  water  can,  and  has  done. — II.   IV.  Kidd. 

Occurrence  of  the  Remains  of  Ilvu-tiarcfos 
IN  THE  Red  Crag  of  Suffolk.  — At  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  Geological  Society  a  paper  was  read 
on  the  above  subject  by  Prof.  William  Henry  Flower, 
F.R.S.,  F.G.S.  The  traces  oi Hyivnairtos  described 
by  the  author  consist  of  a  right  and  a  left  first  upper 
molar,  which  were  obtained  from  the  Red  Crag  of 
Waldringfield,  and  are  so  much  alike,  that,  but  for  the 
former  being  rather  more  \\orn,  they  might  have  be- 
longed to  the  same  animal.  On  comparison,  these 
teeth  were  found  to  show  no  apprecialjle  difference 
from  the  corresponding  teeth  of  the  original  specimen 
oi Ilyainu-ctos  sivalensis  from  the  Sewalik  Hills  ;  and 
hence  the  author  did  not  venture  to  regard  them  as 
representing  a  species  distinct  from  the  Indian  one. 
The  author  discussed  the  synonymy  of  this  species, 
which  was  first  described  by  Falconer  and  Cautlcy  in 

1836,  mider  the  name  of  Ursiis  sivalensis.  The  genus 
A^iotheriiim   was  established  for  it   by  Wagner  in 

1837,  and  the  names  Avipltiantos  and  Sivalarctos 
were  given  to  the  genus  by  Blainville  in  1841  ;  but 
Falconer  and  Cautley's  name  F/ycrnatrtos,  although 
certainly  of  later  date,  has  licen  generally  adopted. 
Remains  of  the  genus  ha\e  been  found  in  the  Pliocene 
marine  sands  of  Montpellier  (//.  iiisii;-jtis,  Gerv.),  and 
in  Miocene  beds  at  Sansans  (//.  /n/nin'ou),  and  at 
Alcoy,  in  Spain.  An  early  perfect  mandible  of  //. 
sivalensis  has  recently  been  obtained  in  its  original 
locality  by  Mr.  Theobald. 


NOTES    AND    QUERIES. 

The  Cormorant. — I  have  lately  been  engaged 
in  the  study  and  observation  of  the  common 
Cormorant  [Phalacracorax  carbo),  and  perhaps  some 
of  the  results  thereof  will  prove  not  uninteresting  to 
the  readers  of  SciENCE-GossiP.  i.  In  the  first  place, 
after  a  rather  extensive  experience,  I  may  say  that  I 
never  saw  any  cormorant  execute  the  juggling  feat  of 
tossing  in  the  air  a  fish  captured  tail  foremost,  so  as 
to  cause  it  to  be  caught  again  and  swallowed  in  the 
more  approved  fashion  of  head  foremost.  2.  Ornitho- 
logical writers,  in  treating  of  the  habits  of  this  bird, 
would  lead  us  to  suppose,  that,  after  fishing,  it 
generally  alights  on  a  sand-bank,  &c.,  and  remains 
stationary  in  that  position,  with  its  wings  held  out  to 
dry,  for  hours  at  a  time.  Now,  I  have  frequently  seen 
as  many  as  as  twenty  cormorants  in  the  precise  position 
now  referred  to,  and  in  no  single  instance  have  I 
seen  the  wings  expanded  in  order  to  dry  for  a  longer 
period  than  a  couple  of  minutes.  The  bird  fltes 
tolerably  rapidly,  presenting  a  shai'p,  lengthy  appear- 
ance while  suspended  in  the  air,  and  alights  upon  an 
insulated  bank  of  mud  or  sand.  It  tucks  away  its 
short  "cutty"  wings,  commences  to  preen  its  feathers 
or  its  down,  and  presently  expands  its  wings  in  a 
manner  that  clearly  indicates  that  some  effort  is 
required  for  that  purpose.  Perhaps  the  bird  revolves 
a  point  or  two  on  its  axis  (as  it  were),  so  as  to 
quicken  the  evaporating  process.  Perhaps  also,  too, 
he  may  flap  the  wings  backwards  and  forwards  two  or 
three  times  ;  but  I  am  convinced  that  to  keep  them 
fully  expanded  for  any  considerable  time  would 
involve  a  straining  of  the  muscles  and  an  expenditure 
of  physical  power  which  the  bird,  in  its  season  of  rest 
and  relaxation,  is  barely  competent  to  endure  and  to 
display.  Moreover,  the  whole  flock  thuswise  reposing 
do  not  siniiiltaneously  expand  their  wings  in  the 
manner  described ;  perhaps  two  or  three  out  of  ten 
may  do  so  at  any  one  time.  3.  Lastly,  I  wish  to 
make  some  observations  respecting  the  commonly 
accepted  opinion  that  cormorants  are  "low"  birds, 
and  that  hardly  any  of  the  other  members  of  their 
order  would  be  seen  in  their  company.  Now,  on 
several  occasions  I  have  seen  a  great  black-backed 
gull  [lanis  inariniis)  reposing  on  the  same  sand-bank 
with  these  "vulgar  creatures."  It  is  no  exaggeration 
to  say  tliat  if  birds  in  general  are  at  all  capable  of 
feeling  emotions  of  pride  and  vanity,  if  they  are  any- 
wise disposed  to  entertain  an  overweening  opinion  of 
themselves,  then  most  assuredly  the  gull  now 
mentioned  can  do  so,  for  of  all  the  birds  that  hover 
over  the  ocean,  this  one  is  the  most  pompous  and 
the  most  imperious.  Frequently  have  I  observed 
this  haughty  gull  strutting  about  with  all  its  usual 
pomposity,  or  reposing  in  its  usual  "studious" 
manner  upon  a  stone,  ^\■ithin  a  few  feet  of  where  a 
company  of  ugly  cormorants  were  resting  themselves 
and  preening  their  feathers,  and  expanding  their 
wings  with  all  customary  eccentricity.  Occasionally, 
too,  specimens  of  that  most  indefatigable  and  most 
smart-looking  of  little  birds,  viz.  the  Oyster-catcher, 
would  advance  very  near  to  the  chosen  resting-seats 
of  these  most  powerful,  vigilant,  and  enduring  of 
Natatores.— Z*.  CKeegan,  LL.D. 

Red-winged  Starling. — Early  in  May  last  year, 
when  commencing  a  collection  of  birds'  eggs,  I 
obtained  in  the  village  of  Roundhay,  near  Leeds,  a 
nest  containing  five  eggs  which  were  unlike  any  I 
ever  saw  before.  The  nest,  which  was  placed  in  the 
fork  of  a  hawthorn  tree,  was  composed,  as  nearly  as 
I  can  recollect,  of  twigs  and  stalks  externally,  and  was 
lined  with  wool  or   hair.      The   eggs,   ^^'hich  are  of 


HARDWICKE'S  SCIENCE-GOSSJP. 


1S9 


a  greenish  grey,  streaked  with  deep  yellowisli  brown, 
I  sent  to  J\Ir.  T.  W.  Dealy,  of  Sheffield,  for  his 
opinion  of  them,  and  he  informs  me  that,  after  com- 
paring tliem  with  others  in  his  own  collection,  he 
has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  they  are  those  of 
the  R'ed-winged  Starling.  As  this  is  an  American 
bird  which  seldom  breeds  in  England,  I  thought  the 
fact  worth  communicating  to  other  egg-collectors 
through  your  valuable  columns. — A.  Wylcs,  Leeds. 

Herons  and  Rooks.— I  take  it  that  it  is  by  no 
means  general  for  herons  and  rooks  to  live 
peaceably  in  a  common  home.  Heronries  that  I 
have  known,  notably  the  fine  one  at  Dynevor  Castle, 
Llandilo,  the  seat  of  the  noble  owner,  Lord  Dynevor, 
being  situated  upon  taller  trees  than  rooks  care  to 
build  upon,  that  is,  where  such  trees  exist.  I  write 
more,  however,  to  direct  attention  to  a  varying 
instance.  At  the  old,  and  once  nigh-regal  residence, 
Wanstead-park,  there  is  a  very  extensive  island, 
o'ergrown  with  masses  of  aquatic  and  semi-aquatic 
vegetation.  Here  upon  very  low  trees— mere  saplings 
— herons  build  freely,  and  the  young  might  be 
Ijrought  down  with  stones — sitting  upon  the  branches 
— could  the  island  be  reached.  Rooks  nest  abun- 
dantly amongst  these  trees,  near  to,  if  not  quite 
beside,  the  herons'  nests.  I  have  shot  the  young 
rooks  thereon,  but  I  have  not  seen  the  least 
antagonism  displayed  between  what  appeared  to  be 
those  highly  friendly  colonies,  so  anti-homogeneous 
notwithstanding. —  William  Earley,  raleiitincs. 

Strength  of  Beetles. — A  similar  instance  to 
that  mentioned  by  Mr.  Sclater  a  short  time  ago 
has  happened  during  my  own  experience.  A  few 
summers  ago  I  remember  putting  four  or  five  male 
stag-beetles  {Lucanus  Cei-inis),  pro  tern.,  into  a  good- 
sized  chip-box.  This  box  had  an  exceedingly  tight- 
fitting  cover,  which  I  thought  wo'rld  resist  all  attempts 
made  to  escape  on  the  part  of  their  "Stagships." 
Great  was  my  surprise,  however,  upon  going  to  the 
box  some  two  or  three  hours  afterwards,  to  find  it 
empty,  with  the  cover  off  and  lying  on  the  table, 
and  the  fugitive  beetles  crawling  about  on  the  carpet. 
I  know  for  a  certainty  that  no  one  had  been  near 
the  box  in  question  during  my  absence,  so  that 
these  insects  must  have  pushed  the  cover  off  by  main 
force.  Another  beetle  which  I  have  found  to  possess 
great  muscular  power  is  the  curious  Typhaeus 
vulgaris.  I  once  captured  a  male  specimen  of  this 
insect  and  lodged  it  in  a  small  box  until  I  was  at 
leisure  to  examine  it.  As  the  cover,  however,  was 
rather  large  for  the  box,  I  took  the  precaution  to 
place  a  heavy  preserve-pot  (which  was  close  at 
hand)  upon  it  to  keep  it  down  in  its  place.  But 
I  was  greatly  astonished  sometime  after  to  see  the 
cover  being  raised  several  times  and  the  jar  tilting 
on  one  side,  the  result  of  the  imprisoned  insects' 
efforts  to  escape.  The  Dor-beetle  ( Geofnipcs  verualis) 
is  also  said  to  have  enormous  strength,  but  I  have 
had  no  opportunity  of  observing  this. — G.  O.  Ho-vell. 

Eggs  of  Yama-mai. — In  answer  to  Mr.  Doe's 
inquiry  respecting  Dr.  Wallace's  successor — he  was 
a  Mr.  Teutschel,  who  in  turn  was  succeeded  by  Mr. 
S.  H.  Gaskell,  147,  Brinnington,  Stockport,  where 
I  have  for  years  past  obtained  all  the  requirements 
of  sericulture. — Arthur  Smyth,  Parraeombe,  Dez'oii. 

Bees  and  Paint. — The  other  day,  as  I  was 
painting  a  new  beehive,  not  far  from  an  apiary,  a  lot 
of  bees  hovered  round  me,  some  even  alighting  on 
the  newly-painted  hive,  as  though  enjoying  the  paint. 
Can  any  of  your  readers  give  the  cause  of  this, 
to  me,  somewhat  remarkable  occurrence? — Arthur 
Smyth,  Parraeombe. 


Drying  Brittle  Plants. — Most  botanists  wilt 
have  observed  that  many  plants,  though  quite  supple 
when  fresh,  lose  all  their  flexibility  when  dry,  and 
have  a  provoking  tendency  to  crumble  to  powder 
with  very  slight  pressure  indeed.  This  is  the  case 
with  the  various  species  of  Chara  and  with  the  leaves 
of  many  flowering  plants.  It  is  very  annoying,  after 
sending  a  parcel  of  specimens  carefully  packed  to  a 
friend,  to  learn  that  on  its  arrival  many  of  them  were 
so  much  broken  as  to  be  scarcely  recognizable  ;  and 
if  any  correspondent  can  give  a  simjale  method  of 
treating  such  species  so  that  they  will  retain  their 
pliability  when  dry,  as  many  of  our  favourites  are 
now  Ijlooming  around  us,  the  information  will  be 
both  useful  and  opportune. — D.  Douglas. 

Hybrid  Primula. — I  found  the  other  day  what 
I  supposed  to  be  an  oxlip,  but  which  seems  to  be  a 
hybrid  between  a  cowslip  and  a  primrose,  in  a  ditch 
between  a  field  of  cowslips  and  a  wood  containing 
primroses.  The  oxlip  had  a  large  thick  stalk  and 
flower,  which  was  surrounded  by  half  a  dozen  or 
more  primroses,  all  springing  from  the  same  point 
and  attached  to  the  same  root.  Can  any  of  your 
readers  tell  me  if  this  is  a  common  occurrence? — 
B.  JF.  Hant. 

Is  the  Lemming  found  in  England?— On  the 
14th  of  May  in  the  present  year,  whilst  walking 
from  Pattendale  into  Mardale,  over  the  High  Street 
range,  we  observed,  at  a  height  of  about  2,500  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  a  great  number  of  small 
holes  in  the  ground.  These  holes  were  very  irregu- 
larly disposed,  but  there  was  a  continuous  line  of 
them  (many  evidently  quite  new)  for  some  distance 
along  what  is  nearly  the  highest  part  of  the  range, 
and  they  lay  behind  the  shelter  of  the  stone  wall 
which  runs  parallel  to  the  old  Roman  road  from 
which  this  mountain  derives  its  name.  These  holes 
excited  our  curiosity,  for  we  had  never  seen  anything 
exactly  like  them  before.  They  were  apparently  too 
small  to  have  been  made  by  moles,  being  very  little 
more  than  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  were  excavated 
in  many  cases  through  the  snow,  which  was  still  lying 
in  considerable  quantities  on  this,  the  eastern  side  of 
the  wall.  All  the  newest  holes  were  surrounded  by 
a  ring  of  the  earth  which  had  been  thrown  out,  and 
carefully  piled  up.  In  the  case  of  others  which  had 
evidently  been  buried  for  some  time  beneath  the  snow, 
the  latter  had  pressed  down  and  often  partly  or  alto- 
gether removed  the  heaps  of  soil.  On  looking  more 
closely,  we  discovered  that  the  holes  were  connected 
by  innumerable  underground  runs  tunnelled  as  near  as 
possible  to  the  surface,  for  the  roof  of  some  of  them 
had  been  displaced,  allowing  us  to  perceive  the 
breadth  and  depth  of  the  passage,  which  was  about 
one  inch  or  so  in  width,  and  was  continued  under  the 
snow.  Putting  aside  a  mole — for  these  appearances 
were  utterly  unlike  any  mole-heaps  we  had  ever  seen 
— what  animals  could  have  made  and  inhabited  these 
holes  and  runs  in  such  an  elevated  position?  We 
watched  in  vain  for  one  to  come  forth  :  probably 
they  were  aware  of  our  neighbourhood,  for  they  took 
care  not  to  show  themselves.  The  only  creatures  we 
could  think  of  whose  homes  would  at  all  resemble 
those  described,  was  the  lemming.  This  curious 
little  animal  lives  in  communities,  burrowing  near 
the  surface  in  search  of  the  roots  on  which  in  winter 
it  subsists,  and  is  very  shy  of  showing  itself.  But 
are  there  any  lemmings  in  England  ?  They  are  not 
supposed  to  inhabit  these  islands  now,  though  their 
fossil  remains  are  sometimes  found.  If,  however, 
any  do  exist  here  still,  perhaps  the  highest  points  of 
the  Lake  district  would  be  as  suitable  a  place  for 
them  as  we  could  find  ;   for  Norway  and  Lapland 


IQO 


HARDWICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  ■  G  OSSIP. 


must,  of  course,  be  much  colder  than  any  part  of 
England,  and  it  is  in  the  most  northerly  countries  of 
Europe  that  they  are  found  in  any  numbers  now.  If 
the  little  animals  whose  traces  we  thus  noticed  on 
High  Street  were  not  lemmings,  as  we  are  almost 
inclined  to  believe,  what  could  they  have  been  ? — E. 
Anna  Clifton  Ward. 

Birds'  Eggs. — Can  any  reader  tell  me,  from  ex- 
perience, whether  rinsing  birds'  eggs  with  a  solution 
of  corrosive  sublimate  affects  the  colour  of  the  egg 
in  any  way,  or  makes  the  shell  more  brittle  ?  And 
can  the  solution,  after  having  rinsed  one  egg,  be  used 
with  effect  for  others  ?  Any  information  will  oblige. 
I  should  also  be  vei7  glad  to  know  the  correct  quan- 
tities of  corrosive  sublimate  and  spirit  of  wine  to 
make  the  solution  of. — //.  H.  C. 

Migration  of  Birds. — On  April  i6  I  was  sur- 
prised to  see  upwards  of  two  hundred  ring-ousels 
(Tw-dits  torqitatiis)  on  the  moors  near  Sheffield  : 
they  were  very  shy,  and  feeding  upon  the  marshy 
meadow  land  ;  they  kept  together  when  disturbed, 
and,  after  wheeling  about  in  the  air,  again  alighted  in 
search  of  food.  Were  these  birds  bound  for  more 
northern  regions,  and  aligiited  here  merely  as  a 
stopping-place,  or  were  they  just  arrived  from  their 
spring  migration,  to  scatter  over  the  moorlands  of 
this  district  ?  On  April  1 7  I  observed  the  Redstart 
{Pliaiiicnra  rii(icilla)  once  more  amongst  us,  fresh 
from  the  sunny  regions  of  Africa.  Saw  no  females. 
On  Ajiiril  18  I  saw  the  Blackcap  Warbler  {Citrruca 
airicapilla)  for  the  first  time  this  season  :  it  was 
perched  upon  a  hedge,  busily  employed  searching  the 
twigs  for  insects.  It  was  a  male,  very  wary,  and  did 
not  utter  any  notes.  On  April  22  the  Cuckoo  {Ciiciilus 
canonts)  was  first  heard  near  Heeley,  and  on  April  .23 
I  saw  this  welcome  harbinger  of  spring.  It  was  very 
tame  and  admitted  of  close  approach  ;  it  was  accom- 
panied by  a  female  chaffinch  (/■.  ccelchs).  ^Vhen  the 
cuckoo  alighted,  it  was  amusing  to  see  how  trustfully 
the  little  willow  wrens  {S.  trochihis)  approached  him. 
What  a  lesson  these  little  birds  teach  to  those  indi- 
A'iduals  (I  have  known  several)  who  most  aljsurdly 
believe  the  Cuckoo  changes  into  a  hawk  for  the  winter 
months.  Instinct  would  teach  them  never  to  trust 
him  at  any  time,  never  knowing  when  his  rapacious 
propensities  might  again  break  forth  with  fatal  result 
to  themselves.  The  Martin  {Hinindo  nrliica) — upon 
the  authority  of  a  friend — was  seen  on  April  27, 
skimming  with  graceful  motions  over  a  pool  of  water. 
They  (the  swallows)  are  very  late'this  season.  None 
arrived  as  yet — May  i.  —  Charles  Dixon. 

The  Ring-Ousel. — The  Ring-Ousel,  like  many 
■others  of  the  rarer  British  birds,  appears  every  year 
to  become  scarcer.  In  Morris's  "British  Birds" 
Lamborne,  Berks,  is  given  as  one  of  the  localities 
where  it  has  been  met.  To  this  I  can  add  Binfield 
and  Warfield,  in  the  same  county,  from  my  own 
observation.  In  the  former  of  these  places  I  shot  a 
female,  mistaking  it  for  a  blackbird,  several  years 
ago,  when  the  snow  was  deep  upon  the  ground  ;  and 
a  male  was  seen  for  three  seasons  in  succession, 
feeding  on  the  berries  of  the  Portugal  laurel  and 
holly,  in  the  rectory  garden,  close  to  the  house. 
Since  the  year  i860  I  have  not  met  with  the  bird 
again.  As  there  has  been  some  discussion  in  your 
pages  as  to  the  breeding  of  tlie  Hawfinch  in  England, 
I  may  mention  that  it  certainly  breeds  in  both  the 
above-named  parishes,  which  lie  within  the  old 
Windsor  Forest  district.  It  used  to  be  one  of  our 
commonest  birds,  and  is  still  very  frequently  seen, 
but  not  so  often  as  formerly.  In  Warfield  it  is  still 
common.      I  have  seen  it  in  Binfield  every  month  in 


the  year.  The  Mountain  Finch  and  Crossbill  are 
occasional  visitors ;  and  some  years  ago  I  saw,  and 
nearly  caught,  in  the  garden  of  the  Rectory,  a  Siskin, 
in  beautiful  plumage,  feeding  on  the  seeds  of  an 
annual,  in  the  month  of  September.  There  are 
many  other  interesting  and  rare  birds  to  be  seen,  at 
times,  in  this  part  of  Bei-kshire. — E.S.,  Binfield. 

Harvest  Bugs. — An  effective  means  of  allaying 
the  irritation  caused  by  these  little  pests,  and  which 
has  been  found  to  answer  admirably,  is  as  follows  : — 
Cut  a  lemon  in  half,  and,  taking  one  piece  up  Avith 
the  hand,  rub  the  juice  well  over  the  part  or  parts 
affected,  and  continue  the  process  whenever  there  is 
any  feeling  of  irritation.  It  will  be  found  that  this  is 
conducive  to  considerable  ease,  and  very  soon  the 
appearances  caused  by  the  insect  vanish,  and  tran- 
quillity is  restored  to  the  sufferer.—  W.  H.  Ingall. 

Carboniferous  Plants.  —  In  the  sandstones 
associated  with  the  carboniferous  measures  of  the 
South  Wales  coal-field,  I  have  recently  discovered 
specimens  of  plants,  the  margin  or  back  of  same  being 
defined  by  a  ring  of  pure  coal,  which,  however,  fre- 
quently remains  attached  to  the  stone  when  removal 
is  attempted.  On  grinding  down  sections  sufficiently 
thin  to  transmit  light,  the  structure  of  the  plant  is 
most  beautifully  shown,  whilst  the  genuineness  of 
the  same  being  carboniferous  plants  is  undoubted. 
I  shall  be  pleased  to  effect  exchanges  of  either  mate- 
rial or  prepared  slides  for  other  objects  of  interest,  if 
any  of  your  readers  should  require  same.  —  IV.  H. 
Harris,  Partridge-road,  Cardiff. 

Fungus  on  Flies. — On  passing  the  edge  of  a 
field  this  morning,  I  noticed  a  large  number  of  flies 
dead  and  attached  to  grass,  nettles,  and  other  plants  : 
they  were  so  numerous  as  to  call  for  special  attention. 
On  examination  they  seem  to  be  affected  by  a  species 
of  fungus,  not  unlike  that  which  in  autumn  attacks 
the  common  house  fly.  A  few  individuals  would 
not,  jjerhaps,  be  noticed,  but  these  might  have  been 
counted  by  hundreds  clinging  to  the  plants  for  a 
distance  of  some  yards  in  this  particular  spot.  What 
could  have  caused  this  excessive  mortality  would  be 
interesting  to  know. — E.  IVhcder. 

New  Fact  about  Red  Grouse  {Tdrao  britan- 
nicus  vel  scoticus). — What  will  ornithologists  think 
when  I  tell  them  that  the  Red  Grouse  perches  on 
trees  !  My  attention  was  first  drawn  to  this  fact  in 
the  winter  of  the  year  '75.  I  was,  as  may  easily  be 
surmised,  very  much  astonished,  as  I  had  read  in 
many  standard  works  on  Ornithology  that  the  Red 
Grouse  does  not  perch  on  trees  ;  and  I  was  more  sur- 
prised when  I  saw  that  "  Old  Bushman,"  in  his 
"  Spring  and  Summer  in  Lapland,"  asks,  when 
pointing  out  the  difference  between  the  Red  and 
Willow  Grouse,  Does  the  Red  Grouse  perch  on 
trees  ?  It  seems  to  me  a  most  extraordinary  circum- 
stance that  an  ornithologist  who  has  been  so  much 
and  so  often  among  grouse,  should  never  have 
noticed  this  habit.  Since  I  first  observed  this  new 
fact  in  the  habits  of  this  bird,  I  have  seen  it  several 
times  in  the  same  position. —  T.  ]V.  Dcaly. 

The  Sparrow-hawk. — Have  any  of  the  numerous 
ornithological  or  oological  readers  of  SciENCE- 
GossiP  ever  heard  of  five  different  lots  of  eggs  being 
taken  (within  a  month)  from  one  sparrow-hawk's 
nest  ?  I  have  this  year.  They  were  composed  of 
one  four,  one  three,  one  two,  and  two  ones,  making 
in  all  eleven  eggs  taken  from  one  nest  at  various 
times.— 7".   W.  Dealy,  Sheffield. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


191 


Wren's  Eggs,  &c. — A  friend  and  correspondent 
(Mr.  R.  Standen,  Goosnargh,  Preston)  informs  me 
that  he  took  a  chitch  of  seven  sparrow-hawks  from 
one  nest.  A  few  days  since  a  lad  offered  to  sell  me 
a  wren's  nest  containing  twenty-five  eggs. —  T.  IT. 
Deal}',  Sheffield. 

Charitable  Birds. — In  a  garden  at  Acton  three 
young  thruohes  were  found  on  the  ground.  Two 
were  dead,  and  the  old  birds  were  also  missing,  sup- 
posed to  have  been  killed  by  the  cat ;  but  one  of 
the  young  thrushes,  still  alive  but  unable  to  fly, 
was  picked  up  and  put  into  a  large  cage,  which  was 
hung  up  outside  the  window.  In  a  short  time  a 
Robin  was  observed  to  visit  the  cage,  and  presently 
returned  again  with  a  -VA'orm  in  its  mouth,  which  it 
deposited  in  the  cage  for  the  benefit  of  the  young 
thrush.  The  pair  of  Robins  afterwards  visited  the 
cage,  and  have  since  continued  to  feed  the  young 
thrush.  Is  not  this  a  somewhat  remarkable  occur- 
rence ? — R.  H.  Nisbett  Browne. 

The  notice  in  Science-Gossip  for  June,  con- 
cerning the  collection  of  birds'  eggs,  is  well  worthy 
the  attention  of  all  ornithologists.  There  are  too 
many  collectors  and  too  few  students  in  all  branches 
of  Natural  History.  How  many,  even  of  our  genuine 
"bird-lovers,"  when  they  find  some  rare  bird's  nest 
refrain  from  taking  all  the  eggs ;  and  the  demand  for 
rare  birds  and  eggs  is  so  great  that  both  are  found  in 
decreasing  numbers  year  by  year.  The  editor  of 
the  A'czi'easlle  IVeekly  Chroniele  has  instituted  a 
"Dickey-Bird  Society"  among  the  children  of 
England.  There  are  already  a  large  number  of 
members.  The  editor  received,  a  short  time  ago, 
the  thanks  of  the  "  Society  for  Prevention  of  Cruelty 
to  Animals."  I  believe  that  a  copy  of  the  rules  may 
be  had  on  application  to  the  editor.  Is  there  any 
reason  why  the  ornithological  readers  of  SciENCE- 
GossiP  cannot  unite  for  the  protection  of  birds  ?  The 
"Wild  Birds'  Protection  Act,"  incomplete  as  it  is, 
does  a  great  deal  of  good,  as  very  few  persons  are  to 
be  seen  with  guns  during  close  time,  and  even  bird- 
catchers  do  not  ply  their  avocation  to  the  extent  they 
used  to.  I  hope  that  in  a  very  short  time  a  union  of 
ornithologists  will  take  place,  and  that  the  birds  of 
England  will  not  be  allowed  to  become  extinct, — J. 
T.  T.  Reed. 

Peregrine. — Ornithological  Errors. — With 
regard  to  Mr.  Dixon,  it  will  be  well  reniembered 
that  he  intruded  himself  into  the  fray  in  a  veiy  indis- 
creet manner.  He  has  not  attempted  to  solve  the 
question  which  Mr.  Southwell  and  I  were  discussing. 
He  only  threw  insinuations  at  me  ;  endeavoured  to 
stir  up  bad  blood,  and  did  not  try  to  do  anything 
towards  the  discussion  referred  to  ;  moreover,  he  has 
even  been  personal  in  his  abuse.  If  I  give  reasons 
to  support  an  opinion,  I  have  a  perfect  right  to  ex- 
press that  opinion,  and  no  one  has  any  call  to  attack 
me  for  doing  so,  although,  of  course,  any  one  has  a 
right  to  attack  my  opinion.  —  T.  W.  Dealy,  Sheffield, 

The  Grave  of  the  Rev.  Gilbert  White. — 
In  reply  to  Mrs.  Helen  E.  Watney's  letter  in  your 
last  number  relative  to  the  grave  of  the  Rev.  Gil- 
bert White  at  Selborne,  your  readers  may  be  informed 
that  it  is  on  the  north  side  of  the  church  chancel,  and 
that  the  tablet  inside  directs  to  the  south  side,  having 
been  misplaced  in  repairing  the  church  some  years 
since.  The  grave  is  well  known  in  Selborne.  Mr. 
Blunden,  of  the  Queen's  Arms  Hotel,  took  me  to  it 
on  a  delightful  visit  I  paid  the  place  about  two  years 
since. — Koht.  y.  Leeky. 

C.  Edusa. — Over  thirty  C.  Edusa  have  been  cap- 
tured within  the  last  three  weeks  round  about  Hornsey, 


Colney  Hatch  (New  Southgate),  and  neighbourhood. 
They  appear  to  have  been  very  common  this  June  all 
over  the  country.  Some  of  the  specimens  are  worn, 
but  a  good  many  appear  to  have  only  just  emerged 
from  the  chrysalis.  Can  any  of  your  readers  make 
any  suggestions  as  to  the  great  nuniher  and  early 
appearance  ?  Some  have  undoubtedly  hibernated, 
while  others  have  not. —  Win.  J.  Vandenbergh,  Jim., 
Hornsey. 

"Edusa"  and  Hyale. — No  satisfactory  answer 
to  Mr.  W.  Hambrough's  query  seems  yet  to  have 
been  arrived  at,  but  the  matter  is  now  taking  up  great 
attention  in  the  Entomologist,  to  which  journal  I 
beg  to  refer  him.  • —  ]Vni.  y.  Vandenbergh,  jnn., 
Hornsey. 

The  Goatsucker.— In  an  article  on  the  Goat- 
sucker in  your  last  number  (July,  1877,  p.  149),  it  is 
stated  in  the  concluding  sentence  that  this  bird  is 
found  only  in  the  southern  and  south-eastern  counties 
of  England.  This  is  a  mistake,  as  the  Goatsucker 
visits  us  here  in  Kirkcudbrightshire  annually,  in  some 
years  more  plentifully  than  in  others.  The  only  nests 
I  have  found  of  this  bird  have  been  under  bushes  of 
heather  growing  in  low,  swampy  places,  and,  as  late 
as  the  middle  of  July,  the  eggs  were  still  unhatched. 
The  last  one  I  saw  was  "jarring"  while  flying  round 
a  large  beech-tree  ;  it  was  apparently  pursuing  some 
insect,  as  its  fl-ight  was  in  a  jerky  and  zigzag  manner'. 
As  a  rule,  I  think  its  cry  is  uttered  immediately 
before  or  after  it  has  taken  flight  from  a  branch  or 
fence  where  it  has  been  sitting  ;  but  its  shy  nature, 
and  the  time  of  flying,  are  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
close  observation  of  this  interesting  bird.  —  Robert 
Service,  Dttvifries. 

Pronunciation  of  Names. — A  scientific  name 
is  a  Latin,  not  an  English  word,  and  must  be  pro- 
nounced, if  not  spelt,  accordingly.  If  this  were 
borne  in  mind,  we  should  not  have  such  Avords  as 
"  Richai'dsonia  "  or  "  Richardia,"  which  might  have 
been  spelt  as  pronounced — Ricardia,  Ricardsonia, — 
the  "c"  being  hard.  As  cases  in  point,  I  would 
refer  to  the  careful  Latinizing  of  their  own  names  by 
old  authors,  and  suggest  that  "Brunii"  is  more  eu- 
phonious than  "  Brownii,"  "  Divisiensis  "  than  "  De- 
vLziensis,  and  "  Trinobantum  "  than  "  Londinensis." 
Pleasing  form,  euphony,  and  correct  formation,  are 
objects  worth  aiming  at  in  scientific  terminology. — 
G.  S.  Bottlger. 

Hardy  Fleas. — On  the  servant  cutting  through  a 
loaf  of  bread,  the  other  week,  she  observed  several 
fleas,  which  she  put  aside  on  a  piece  of  paper  and 
showed  to  me.  On  touching  them,  tzsio  actually 
jumped  in  proper  flea  fashion,  after  having  been 
kneaded  and  baked  !  Some  of  the  flour  was  Austrian, 
and  the  fleas  were  supposed  to  have  got  in  during  the 
voyage.     So  said  the  flour-dealer. — T.  IF.,  B. 

Birds'  Nests. — A  remarkable  instance  of  trustful- 
ness in  the  nest-building  of  birds  came  under  my  own 
notice  a  few  days  ago.  For  three  years  successively 
a  pair  (I  presume  the  same)  of  the  common  Black- 
cap (Cnrntca  atricapilla)  have  built  their  nest  in  the 
private  letter-box  of  a  friend  of  mine  at  Glendon,  near 
Kettering,  in  this  county.  The  box  is  situated  inside 
a  gate  into  a  park,  and  of  course  the  letters  and  news- 
papers are  slipped  in  on  to  the  birds  below  ;  but  this 
they  do  not  seem  to  object  to,  nor  to  be  disturbed 
when  the  box  is  opened  for  the  letters  to  be  removed. 
Each  year  they  have  successfully  reared  their  brood  : 
last  year  seven  flew  away,  and  this  year  I  saw  ten 
nestled  at  the  bottom  of  the  box,  fully  fledged,  and 
I  have  no  doubt  flown  by  this  time.  —  \'V.  A.  Law, 
N'orthampton. 


192 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -G  OS  SI  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  Sth  of  the 
previous  month. 

B.  K. — We  do  not  fear  the  extirpation  of  any  rare  plant  by 
the  members  of  the  E.xchange  Club.  They  are  all  too  genuine 
botanists  to  assist  in  such  vandalism. 

F.  F.  (Highbury  New  Park,  N.).—Vour  plant  belongs  to  the 
nat.  ord.  Uiuhcllifera',  and  is  a  woodland  species,  commonly 
called  Wood  Sanicle  (Sauicnla  Enrajxra,  Linn.). 

T.  H.  (Oldham).— It  is  probably  a  plant  carried  to  its  present 
habitat  with  ballast  ;  however,  it  is  the  rare  Lejiidiitm  lati/o- 
Itjeiii. 

W.  J.  H.— We  believe  the  fern  enclosed  to  us  to  be  A  tJiyriusii 
iiinllc.      It  is  a  very  interesting  variety. 

H.  W.  T.  (Rugby). — We  aFways  place  finely  powdered  cam- 
phor, sewed  in  small  flat  bags,  on  all  our  herbarium  shelves, 
and  we  are  never  troubled  with  insects.  Your  plants  are  as 
follows  :  —  I.  JuncHs  lainprocarpiis.  2.  Quite  correct.  3. 
lUnaiitltc  Jliiviatilis  ;  colour  very  rare.  4.  Not  to  be  found. 
Kindly  send  the  latter,  whatever  it  be,  again. 

M.  H.  R.  (Newcastle). — Your  specimens  are  very  interesting. 
No.  I.  Cystopteris  dciitata.  No.  2.  C.  fragilis.  They  are 
now  generally  merged  into  a  single  species,  though  Francis 
names  them  as  above. 

E.  F.  C.  (Leicester). — The  neat  specimens  you  sent  are  as 
follows  :  Briza  media,  Linn,  (common  Quaking  Grass) ;  Mc- 
lampyriiin  iiioittaHUJii,  Joust,  perhaps  only  a  variety  :  Flialarls 
caiuD-iensis,  Linn.,  not  a  true  native,  the  product  of  some  bird- 
cage ;  Spcigula  a>-7<L'HS!S,  a  verj^  common  weed  in  cvdtiv.-ited 
land.  Farmers  call  it  "  Pickpocket,"  because  it  is  injurious 
to  most  fields  where  it  is  found. 

F.  Cranford. — The  monstrosity  in  the  daisy  you  mention  is 
that  known  to  botanists  by  the  name  of  "  Hen-and-Chickens  " 
Daisy.     See  Masters'  "Vegetable  Teratology." 

J.  Ingleisv. — The  fragment  of  rock  is  a  siliceous  sand- 
stone, not  unlike  the  "gannister"  rock  of  Lancashire  in  com- 
position, but  more  granular  in  structure. 

T.  B.  T. — The  association  referred  to  by  Mr.  Palmer  in  his 
communication  to  our  columns  is  the  "  Postal  Micro-Cabinet 
Club."  It  originated  through  a  discussion  in  these  columns  in 
1873,  and  you  will  find  all  that  you  require  to  know,  as  well  as 
the  rules,  &c.,  of  the  Club,  in  the  December  number  of  Science- 
Gossip  for  that  year. 

E.  Grove. — The  .specimen  is  that  of  the  common  Tutsan 
{Hypericum  nndivsii'inuvi). 

T.  T.wi.OR. — One  of  the  best  books  of  its  kind  is  Geikie's 
"Physical  Geography,"  just  published  by  Macmillan. 

\.  C.  (Market  Drayton). — INIorris  mentions  the  fact  of  several 
young  cuckoos  having  been  kept,  by  great  care,  throughout 
the  winter.  Worms  or  occasional  chopped  meat  would  serve 
as  food. 

f  J.  E.  Pritch.vrd. — You  may  obtain  artificial  birds'  eyes  of 
all  kinds  and  in  any  quantity,  from  J .  (jardner's,  naturalist, 
Holborn,  London. 

F.  H.  S\v.\i,i.ow. — The  objects  enclosed  in  a  small  bottle 
are  the  larva:  of  a  species  of  Ephemera.  The  larvre  of  several 
species  of  beetles  are  called  "  Wire-worms,"  but  perhaps  the 
commonest  are  the  lirva;  of  Elater,  or  "  .Skip-jack  "  beetles. 

R.  V.  T.  —Consult  the  "  Micrographical  Dictionary." 

N.  Wilson. — You  will  find  a  capital  life-history  of  the 
common  Ainccbn,  and  where  to  find  it  near  London,  in  the  last 
number  of  the  Popular  Science  Re-cne'cu. 

A  ScnscRiRER. — The  cottony  substance  sent  us  was  the  seeds 
of  the  White  Poplar  (^Popuhts  alba),  covered  and  surrounded 
with  the  usual  silky  hairs. 

F.  MocKLER. — A  solution  of  chloride  of  lime  is  one  of  the 
best  means  of  cleaning  corals,  fossil  or  recent. 

J.  J.  Morgan. — The  chalk-like  dust  found  in  a  fissure  of 
rock  near  a  coal-seam  appears  to  be  Arragottlte.  Under  the 
microscope  the  crystals  appe.ar  very  distinctly,  and  polarize 
beautifully.  Can  you  send  us  a  little  more ';  There  was  not 
sufficient  to  analyze  it. 


EXCHANGES. 

WiLi,  send  Schistostega pcnnaia  (Shining  Moss)  in  exchange 
for  plants.— T.  Watson,  54,  Bank  Parade,  Burnley. 

Specimens  of  Synapta  iiihtrreiis  in  exchange  for  good 
Micro.  Slides. — William  O.  Firth,  Whiterock,  Belfast. 

Duplicates — Rubiginata,  Radiata,  Dcrivata,  Propugnata, 
Fulvata,  and  others.  Desider.ata — many  Noctu;e  and  Geo- 
metra;.  — J.  Woodgate,  New  Barnet,  Herts. 

Duplicates — Z.  nitidula,  H./ulva,  H.  rotundata  (white 
var. ),  C.  latiiiuata,  C.  rugosa,  C.  iiiinijnn,  for,?",  radiatiilus, 
H.  Cantiana,  B.  frngilis,  C.  Rolphii,  P.  gluti/iosa,  or  British 
marine  and  foreign  Land  Shells.— Thos.  H.  Hedworth,  Duns- 
ton,  Gateshead. 


Lavatera  sylvestris,  OpJiioglossuiii  vulgatuni,  B.  ainbiguuiii, 
I'^iola  Maekaii,  Orobanelie  aiiietJiystea,  and  Orchis  viaculata, 
for  other  rare  plants. — W.  Curnow,  Pembroke  Cottage,  Newlyn 
Clifi",   Penzance, 

Aquari.\. — Planorbis  ccrneus  and  PaUtdina  vivipara  in 
exchange  for  Shells  or  Fossils,  &c. — Mrs.  S. ,  Brentford  End, 
Middlesex. 

For  a  small  box  of  Foreign  Cape  Shells  sent  through  the 
post,  will  send  in  exchange  living  Diatomaceas  on  weeds.  Will 
also  exchange  Polish  Slabs  of  Madrepores  for  Trilobites. — 
A.  J.  R.  Sclater,  9,  Bank-street,  Teignmouth,  Devon. 

Wanted,  to  exchange,  good  Rhastic  fossils,  from  Aust,  for 
good  Tertiary  Fossils.— W.  T.  Ord,  13,  Royal-park,  Clifton, 
Bristol. 

SiLURi.\N  Fossils  from  Dudley,  in  exchange  for  Briti.sh 
Birds'  Eggs. — Address,  D.  M.,  Townsend  House,  Kingswin- 
ford,  near  Dudley. 

N.  Bailey's  "  Etymological  Dictionary,"  containing  unique 
and  scientific  words,  scarce.  Wanted,  Babington's  "  Manual 
of  British  Plants." — Medicus,  Newferry,  Birkenhead. 

One-holed  Eggs  of  P.  Flycatcher,  C.  Sandpiper,  W.  Ousel, 
fJ.  Wagtail,  Dunlin,  Oyster-catcher,  Black-headed  Gull,  Arctic 
Tern,  &c.  &c.  What  others  in  exchange  ?  Unaccepted  offers 
not  answered. — W.  D.,  17,  Grey-street,  Carlisle. 

W.anted,  other  insects  for  Fuliginosa,  Humuli,  Velleda, 
Alsus,  Atalanta. — E.  T.  Smith,  23,  Watson-street,  Aberdeen. 

Wanted,  Jukes  &  Geikie's  "  ^lanual  of  Geologj-."  Please 
say  condition  and  price. — G.  A.  O.,  121,  Golborne-road,  North 
Kensington,  W. 

Nos.  233,  363,  682,  873/',  1263,  and  IMalva  borealis,  seventh 
edition  London  Catalogue,  for  106.  108,  137,  164/",  556,  588. 
Lists  exchanged. — C.  A.  O.,  5,  Wenban-terrace,  Worthing, 
.Su.ssex. 

Volvox globator. — A  supply  sent  to  any  address  on  receipt  of 
bottle  and  postage.  Spare  material  of  any  kind  acceptable. — 
Edward  Howell,  Gas-works,  Yeovil. 

Eggs  of  Landrail,  Grasshopper  Warbler,  Kestrel,  -Sparrow- 
hawk,  Stonechat,  Spotted  Flycatcher,  Chiffchaff,  all  side-blown, 
one  hole,  for  other  good  eggs. — A.  H.  Martin,  66,  High-street, 
Evesham. 

Going  to  a  Yorkshire  watering-place,  .\dvertiser  will  be 
happy  to  exchange  Fossils  from  Neocomian  Oolites  or  Lias  of 
that  county  for  specime'ns  from  some  other  district,  or  scientific 
exchange. — W.  H.  Herries,  Trimley  Park,  Farnborough  Sta- 
tion. 

Offered  to  exchange  for  other  rare  Plants  or  Mosses.  Rait. 
tripnriitus,V>.  C,  161/',  315,  328,  330,  333,  334,  335,  363,  346, 
611. — R.  V.  T.,  Bore-street,  Bodmin. 

A  FEW  Slides,  illustrating  the  organisms  of  sedimentary 
deposits,  recent  and  fossil,  for  exchange. — E.  Lovett,  Holly 
Mount,  Croydon. 

"Bell  on  Cow-pox,"  coloured  plates;  Science-Gossip, 
1876-77  ;  small  Microscope,  three  powers.  Wanted,  a  good 
Lens,  or  Books. — Medicus,  Newferry,  Birkenhead. 

I  h.we  Eggs  of  Guillemots,  Razorbills,  Kittiwakes,  &c.,  to 
exchange  for  Dippers',  Owls',  or  other  good  Eggs.  Send  list. 
— .\ddress,  J.  W.,  73,  High-street,  Bridlington,  Vorks. 


Communications  received  up  to  qth  ult.  from  :— F.  K. 
-Prof  G.-H.  M.-W.  W.  I.-R.  A.-S.  S.-J.  D.  W.— 
W.  T.  O.— P.  D.— J.  T.  T.  R.— J.  S.— H.  P.— A.   J.  R.  S.— 

D.  y.-W.  R.  H.— H.  G.-W.  J.  H.— W.  H.  S.— T.  S.- 
R.  H.  N.  B.-J.  J.  M.— D.  M.— J.  W.— V.  C.-W.  G.  T.— 
G.  C— R.  W.— G.  W.,  jun.— C.  C.  C— A.  D.  M.— W.  J.  V., 
jun.— E.  W.— T.  H.  S.-J.  E.  S.— J.  B.  G.— F.  M.— W.  G.  G. 
—W.  R.  H.— F.  W.  F.— D.  J.— A.  P.— W.  B.— J.  W.— H.  A. 
— H.  L  — E.  T.  S.— H.  W.  K.— G.  C.  D.— W.  A.  F.— W.  A.  L. 
— W.  H.— B.  K.-G.  D.  B.-G.  A.  O.— J.  W.— J.  H.  O.— 
H.  W.  K.— T.  E.  D.— T.  B.— C.  T.  M.— T.  B.  T.— G.  C— 
(;.  N.— E.  H.— C.  A.  0.--A.  C— A.  H.  M.-C.  B.  M.— 
J.  L.  M.-  R.  G.-R.  J.  L.— W.  M.  B.— J.  G.— G.  S.  B.— 
R.  H.-F.  H.  A.-H.C.  R.— W.  T.  V.  D.-F.  H.  M.— W.  D. 
— T.  W.— E.   H.-R.  S.-E.   G.-E.    F.  C.   L.— T.  W.  D.— 

E.  E.— R.  V.  T.— E.  L.— H.  H.— M.  S.— T.  H.  H.— J.  F.  R. 
—  H.  F.  A.— A.  J.  A.— E.  W.  M.— C.  E.  D.— H.  B.-P.  B.  ISL 
— W.  E.  G.— I.  C— C.  B.— &c.  &c.  &c. 


BOOKS,  &c.,  RECEIVED. 
A  New  London  Flora."      By  Dr.    De  Crespigny. 


Lon- 


don :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 

"Ferns:  British  and  Foreign."  By  John  Smith,  A.L.S. 
New  and  enlarged  Edition.     London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 

"  William  Caxton,  the  First  English  Printer."  By  Charles 
Knight.     New  edition.     London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 


'  Popular  Science   Review." 
"  Monthly  Microscopical  Journal.' 
"  Land  and  Water." 
"Journal  of  Applied  Science." 
"  Potter's  American  Monthly." 
"American  Naturalist." 
"  Ben  Brierley's  Journal." 
"  Botanische  Zeitung." 

&c.  &c.  &c. 


July. 


June. 

July. 
June. 


HA  RDWI CKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE  -  G  OSSIP. 


193 


THE   PRONUNCIATION   OF   SCIENTIFIC   NAMES. 


By  GEORGE  NEWLYN. 


jIIE  suggestion  of  "  E.  C.," 
who  differs  from  Mr. 
Boulger  (p.  164)  in  the 
pronunciation  of  ch  in 
some  botanical  terms  de- 
rived from  English  and 
French  names,  as  in  the 
two  examples  quoted — 
viz.  Rkliardsonia  and 
Lachcnalia — seems  not 
unreasonable.  Much  con- 
fusion is  caused  by  the  fact  that  the  rule  applying 
the  old  Latin  pronunciation  to  the  corresponding 
characters  of  the  Greek  gutturals,  as  c  (e),  ch  {x), 
and  g  (7),  does  not,  to  some  educated  persons, 
appear  admissible  in  all  cases  ;  whilst  others,  who 
may  be  a  little  fastidious  about  uniformity  of  pro- 
nunciation, jjursue  a  rigid  consistency  in  assimilating 
the  g  and  ch  sounds  to  those  of  the  Greek  ganuna 
and  chi,  yet  entirely  ignoring  the  same  guttural 
claim  of  the  kappa  representative.  But  it  may  be 
seen,  on  looking  into  the  matter  a  little,  that  there 
is  not,  even  among  the  latter  authorities,  that  strict 
regard  for  the  guttural  rights  for  which  they  plead 
that  one  should  expect  to  find.  The  g  in  Geiiiii  may 
be  guttural  or  sibilant,  but  there  seems  to  be  no 
choice  in  the  articulation  of  the  same  initial  character 
in  Geranium.  Yet  why  ?  Both  names  have  come  to 
us  through  the  Latin  from  the  Greek  by  the  same 
process,  only  the  latter  has  crept  into  our  English 
vocabulary,  and  is  rendered  a  vernacular  term,  and 
botanists  in  this  case  yield  to  the  common  pronun- 
ciation. It  may  be  nrged  in  palliation  that  English 
orthoepists  are  not  consistent  with  words  adopted 
into  the  English  language ;  to  wit,  Jameson  and 
Knowles  retain  the  Greek  guttural  sound  in  the  ini- 
tial letter  of  gymnastic  and  gyves  resi^ectively.  Mr. 
Randal  Alcock  points  out  in  a  rule,  that  in  words 
direct  from  the  Greek,  especially  modern  sciciifific 
terms,  the  g  is  pronounced  hard.  Really,  this  is 
implying  that  the  older  terms  may  go  their  own  way 
as  regards  our  dealing  with  this  letter  in  any  of  them, 
No.  153. 


and  the  young  student  in  botany  must  be  utterly 
l^uzzled  in  his  attempts  at  utterance  of  scientific  lan- 
guage. Mr.  Boulger  argues  (p.  191)  that  a  scientific 
name  being  "Latin,  not  English,"  it  "must  be  pro- 
nounced, if  not  spelt,  accordingly."  That  would  be 
all  very  well  if  we  knew  how  the  people  of  ancient 
Greece  and  Rome  spoke  Greek  and  Latin.  We  pos- 
sess no  certain  guide  beyond  the  information  pointed 
out  to  us  by  the  poets  in  mere  accentuation  of  words  ; 
but  even  in  this  the  precepts  are  often  obscure.  Sci- 
entific persons,  who  may  be  also  classical  scholars, 
now  articulate,  when  reading  those  languages,  ac- 
cording to  the  usage  of  their  own,  yet  with  the  con- 
sciousness that  such  pronunciation  would  have  sounded 
exceedingly  strange  to  the  ears  of  an  ancient  Greek 
or  Roman. 

Phonetic  change  is  even  going  on  in  our  own  lan- 
guage ;  and  although  the  printing-press  and  the  Bible 
have  combined  to  preserve  intact  the  orthographic 
element,  there  is  no  doubt,  as  Mr.  Peile  observes, 
that  the  pronunciation  has  so  much  altered  that  our 
language  would  have  scarcely  any  resemblance  in 
sound  to  that  as  spoken  contemporaneously  with  the 
discovery  of  the  art  of  typography.  Moreover,  the 
guttural  articulation  which  our  ancestors  liked  —  a 
noteworthy  example  in  the  old  guttural  .^//—English- 
men of  the  present  day  disliice.  What  would  the 
Greek  and  Latin  purists  say  to  this  ?  And  further- 
more, critical  opinion  on  the  articulation  and  ac- 
centuation of  those  languages  is  constantly  changing, 
to  say  nothing  as  to  the  impediment  to  correct  Greek 
or  Latin  speaking  (whereby  international  intercourse 
might  be  effected  by  the  tongue  of  scientific  men),  owing 
to  the  peculiarities  of  speech  that  each  people  of  a  nation 
develops  as  its  exclusive  own ;  as,  for  instance,  the 
consequence  in  the  euphony  of  the  French  language 
by  the  dislike  of  the  h  or  zu  by  the  people,  or  in  the 
German  by  the  same  inability  to  master  the  th  sound. 
University  men  know  all  these  difficulties,  and  it  seems 
utterly  absurd  to  say  that  men  ofscience  can  do  more  than 
university  graduates  in  the  laying  down  of  rules  for  stu- 
dents' guidance  in  the  mode  of  accurate  pronunciation. 

K 


194 


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


Mr.  Boulger  hints  that  botanists  should  modify,  if 
necessary,  the  spelling  of  a  modern  substantive  name, 
which  they  may  adopt  into  the  language  of  science  as 
a  generic  term,  and  therefore  he  condemns  the  terms 
Richardia  and  Richardsonia,  because  the  h  has  been 
retained.  I  cannot  agree  with  him  here.  Such 
advice  seems  unwarrantable,  and,  if  followed,  would 
do  irreparable  mischief  in  the  tendency  to  destroy 
the  etymology,  and  likewise  neutralize  the  compli- 
mentary idea  associated  with  the  adoption  (if  a  per- 
son's name)  of  the  word  into  scientific  use.  It  is  at 
variance,  too,  with  the  laws  of  nomenclature,  as  laid 
down  by  M.  Alph.  de  Candolle,  and  as  received  as 
"the  best  guide  for  nomenclature  in  the  vegetable 
kingdom"  by  the  "International  Botanical  Con- 
gress of  1867."  In  this  body  of  laws.  Article  27 
states  that,  "  When  the  name  of  a  genus,  sub-genus, 
or  section,  is  taken  from  the  name  of  a  person  .... 
the  spelling  of  the  syllables  ....  is  preserved  zvith- 
oiit  alteration,  even  zuitk  letters  or  diphthongs  noio 
ernployed  in  certain  languages,  but  not  in  Latin.'''' 
Moreover,  in  the  above  instances,  the  h  in  union  with 
the  c  is  in  perfect  harmony,  in  form  at  least,  with 
that  which  combines  with  the  c  to  represent  the 
Greek  chi  in  Achillea,  Orohanche,  &c.  Again,  the  ch 
in  Fiuhsia  has  a  totally  different  sound,  and  where  is 
the  propriety  for  altering  the  form?  There  seems 
something  more  edifying  by  retaining  the  form  of 
the  adopted  name  as  whole  as  possible,  and  by  follow- 
ing the  correct  pronunciation  of  it,  than  by  subjecting 
it  to  mutilation  both  in  form  and  sound  for  the  pur- 
pose of  rendering  it  in  supposed  uniformity  with  the 
simile  of  dead  languages.  There  is  not  the  vestige 
of  fascination  or  interest  in  the  latter  course.  Not 
that  those  languages  can  be  undervalued  for  the 
purposes  of  science,  and  something  might  be  perhaps 
urged  against  the  introduction  of  spurious  terms 
from  a  modern  source  into  the  vocabulary  of  science; 
but  purists  must  take  into  consideration  the  import- 
ance and  claims  of  association,  though  these  may  be 
after  all  inferior  to  those  connected  with  names  which 
express  principal  characters  in  the  individual  plant, 
or  such  as  would  call  to  mind  the  affinities  or  the 
analogies  of  the  genus,  and  hence  pursued  on  the  plan 
adhered  to  mainly  in  the  selection  of  names  to  desig- 
nate the  higher  groups.  In  respect  to  the  compara- 
tive euphony  between  the  adjectival  terms  Brozsinii 
and  Brunii,  one  must  admit  the  preference  for  the 
latter;  but  any  tendency  to  confusion  by  the  modifica- 
tion, or  to  nullify  the  purpose  for  which  the  particular 
name  was  given,  should  be  remembered.  There 
are  two  genera  of  plants  to  which  the  terms  Brownea 
and  Brtmonia — both  distinct  genera,  but  etymolo- 
gically  identical — are  applied.  Brnnonia  is  far 
better,  euphonically,  as  Mr.  Boulger  would  point 
out.  But  there  is  also  another  genus  named  Brunia, 
derived  from  C.  Brnn.  If  the  rule  suggested,  then, 
were  followed,  Brunia  might  have  come  from  Brozan 
or  Brim,  and  if  from  the  former,  both  the  compliment- 


ary importance  and  the  etymological  form  be  sacri- 
ficed for  the  sake  of  a  sound  that  is  a  little  more 
pleasing. 

I  have  ventured  to  trespass  beyond  the  limits  of 
sjDace  I  had  intended,  but  my  plea  is  an  aim  at 
reform.  Although  the  pronunciation  of  botanical 
names  is  of  but  secondary  importance,  yet,  if  a  free 
and  sober  discussion  upon  this  subject  would  be  the 
means  of  leading  to  a  greater  facility  and  uniformity 
of  articulation,  the  object  attained  would  be  more 
than  worthy  the  effort  bestowed  by  authorities  for 
instruction.  Authorities,  it  is  true,  differ;  but  in 
words  containing  the  Greek  and  Latin  guttural  repre- 
sentatives, the  usage  of  our  Universities  is  now  pretty 
generally  adopted ;  that  is  to  say,  by  articulating 
those  characters  in  scientific  names  in  the  same  way 
as  we  do  when  reading  English.  Geiim,  Potmno- 
geton,  &c.,  should  not  accordingly  be  pronounced 
with  a  guttural  g,  as  Mr.  Alcock  pleads,  but  after 
Withering  rather,  from  whom  he  quotes  that  c  and  g 
before  e  and  /,  and  before  a:  and  a:  should  be  ren- 
dered sibilant ;  before  other  diphthongs,  guttural. 


A  WELSH  MEADOW. 

DURING  the  last  week  in  June  Mr.  James  Britten 
and  I  spent  three  days  in  North  Wales,  some- 
times walking,  sometimes  travelling  by  rail,  from 
Llangollen  to  Dolgelley.  Whilst  at  the  latter  place 
we  took  an  evening  stroll  along  a  road  leading  to  the 
foot  of  Cader  Idris,  and  some  three  miles  or  more 
from  Dolgelley  we  came  upon  a  small  meadow,  cer- 
tainly not  more  than  an  acre  in  extent,  which  appeared 
from  the  road  to  be  almost  covered  with  various  kinds 
of  Orchids.  On  a  closer  inspection,  we  found  great 
quantities  of  Gymnadetiia  conopsea,  of  Habenaria 
chlorantha,  of  Listera  ovata,  and  of  Orchis  niactdata, 
and  such  a  profusion  of  many  other  pretty  and  some 
not  very  common  plants,  that  we  determined  to  search 
the  place  carefully,  and  for  our  own  amusement  to 
put  down  all  the  species  we  could  find  in  this  fertile 
little  spot.  The  list  soon  became  so  large  as  to 
astonish  ourselves,  and  I  am  tempted  to  send  it  for 
the  edification  of  my  fellow-readers  of  SciENCE- 
GossiP.  Probably  there  is  scarcely  another  acre  to 
be  found  containing  not  only  so  many  species  of  wild 
plants,  but  so  many  individuals  of  certain  species. 
It  was  the  gayest  little  garden  imaginable.  At  the 
time  of  our  visit  it  was  perhaps  chiefly  conspicuous 
for  the  Orchids,  and  for  the  amazing  undergrowth  of 
Fairy  Flax  ;  but  at  various  times  other  plants  will  be 
in  the  ascendant.  The  moister  portions  will  by  this 
time  be  yellow  over  with  the  fragrant  Asphodel,  and 
the  drier  parts  will  soon  be  blue  with  Scabious; 
whilst  the  pretty  pink  Pedicularis  will  give  it  a  rosy 
tint.  The  following  is  ihe  list,  set  down  without 
reference  to  arrangement,  pretty  much  in  the  order  in 
which  the  plants  were  found. 


HARDmCKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


^95 


Gymnadenia  conopsea,  Habenaria  clilorantlia,  Lis- 
tera  ovata,  Orchis  maculata,  Scilla  nutans,  Veronica 
cliamEedrys,  V.  officinalis,  Buniam  flexuosum,  Lotus 
corniculatus,  Potentilla  tormentilla,  Rumex  acetosa, 
Potentilla  fragariastrum,  Rubus  fruticosus,  R.  Idseus, 
Scabiosa  succisa,  Achillea  millefolium,  Polygala  eu- 
vulgaris.  Origanum  vulgare,  Hypericum  montanum, 
Prenanthes  muralis,  Alchemilla  vulgaris,  Centaurea 
nigra.  Prunella  vulgaris,  Hypochx-ris  radicata,  Ga- 
lium saxatile,  Droserarotundifolia,  Pinguicula  vulgaris, 
Rhinanthus  crista-galli,  Gentiana  Amarella,  Trifo- 
lium  pratense,  T.  repens,  T.  filiforme,  Linum 
catharticum.  Ranunculus  acris,  R.  bulbosus,  R. 
flammula,  Narthecium  ossifragum,  Cardamine  pra- 
tensis,  C.  impatiens,  Euphrasia  officinalis,  Heracleum 
sphondylium,  Qinanthe  crocata,  Anemone  nemorosa, 
Ajuga  reptans,  Hieracium  (sp.  undetermined),  H. 
pilosella,  Carduus  palustris,  Chrysanthemum  leucan- 
themum,  Pedicularis  palustris,  P.  sylvatica,  Spir^a 
ulmaria,  Plantago  lanceolata,  Hydrocotyle  vulgaris, 
Caltha  palustris,  Myosotis  repens,  Calluna  vulgaris, 
Orobus  uberosus,  Cerastium  tri\iale,  Melampyrum 
pratense,  Viola  sylvatica,  Vicia  cracca,  Sanicula 
EuropEca,  Bellis  perennis,  Stellaria  Holostea,  Sphag- 
num, Juncus  squarrosus,  at  least  two  Carices  (sp. 
undetermined) ;  of  grasses,  Festuca  duriuscula,  F. 
ovina,  Anthoxanthum  odoratum,  Dactylis  glomerata, 
Cynosui'us  cristatus,  Briza  media,  Holcus  lanatus, 
Aira  csespitosa;  and  of  ferns,  Pteris  aquilina,  Las- 
trsea  filix-mas,  L.  Oreopteris,  Athyrium  filix-fcemina. 

In  all  eighty  species ;  but  we  did  not  take  into 
account  the  hedges  nor  the  trees.  It  likewise  grew 
too  dark  to  see  any  more,  and  we  were  obliged  to 
give  up  our  search,  no  doubt  missing  several  species 
which  would  probably  have  brought  up  the  list  to 
very  nearly  one  hundred. 

Robert  Holland. 

N'oi-Con  Hill,  Runcorn. 


THE   PETREL   SPECIES   OF   SEA-BIRDS. 
By  p.  Q.  Keegan,  LL.D. 

WHEN  the  broad  bosom  of  the  Atlantic  is  up- 
heaved with  storm,  above  the  foamy  crests 
of  the  waves  may  be  discerned  the  dark,  diminutive 
figure  of  the  Stormy  Petrel.  The  wings  of  the  bird 
seem  uplifted  as  if  in  flight,  but  his  long  black  web- 
feet  paddle  playfully  upon  the  surface  of  the  water, 
as  if  in  sport.  With  rapid  flight,  as  of  an  anow,  he 
skims  the  waves,  now  settling  for  an  instant  on  their 
foamy  crests,  now  coursing  swiftly  o'er  the  watery 
waste.  Far  off  among  the  rolling  billows  he  spies  a 
ship  looming,  and,  prompted  by  instinct  or  a  foregone 
pleasurable  experience,  he  wends  his  way  thereto, 
and  hovers  round  about  the  stem  and  sails.  The 
motion  of  the  vessel,  and  the  shelter  furnished 
thereby,  subserve  the  bird's  purposes  admirably  ;  for 
as  it  ploughs  its  way  amid  the  waves,  stray  mollusks 


and  crustaceans  are  frequently  upturned,  and  these 
the  petrel  coveting,  pounces  down  upon  and  con- 
sumes with  evident  relish.  His  vision  is  keen,  too, 
for  any  oily  matter  thrown  overboard  the  ship,  and, 
IDrompted  by  his  native  partiality  for  it,  he  follows 
for  days  and  days  the  source  whence  it  flows. 

When  the  storm  abates,  the  Petrel  disappears.  His 
temperament  prompts  him  to  seek  some  lonely  spot 
upon  shore  or  islet,  or,  perhaps,  among  the  masses  of 
seaweed  that  drift  upon  the  bosom  of  the  ocean. 
There  he  lies  intrenched,  till  storm  and  darkness 
summon  him  to  bear  them  company  again. 

The  members  of  the  Petrel  genus  of  sea-birds  are 
rarely  to  be  discerned  inland,  or  even  upon  the  coasts 
of  the  larger  continents  and  islands,  except  during 
the  breeding  season,  which  in  our  latitudes  seems  to 
occur  twice  in  the  year — viz.  about  June  and  August. 
Immediately  after  the  occurrence  of  unusually  severe 
storms,  however,  some  stray  specimens  of  Petrel  have 
been  discovered  either  dead  or  in  a  very  exhausted 
condition  at  various  places  tolerably  far  inland,  or 
adjacent  to  our  coasts.  I  may  mention  that  several 
breeding-places  of  the  Stormy  Petrel  have  been  dis- 
covered along  the  western  coast  of  Ireland  ;  for 
instance,  on  Tory  Island,  the  Galway  and  the  Kerry 
coasts,  &c. 

The  genus  Thalassidroma,  to  which  the  Petrel 
tribe  belongs,  has  been  divided  into  four  sub-genera 
— viz.,  Daption,  Thalassidroma,  Ungellus,  and  Pro- 
cdlaria.  I  propose,  however,  confining  my  attention 
exclusively  to  the  four  British  species  of  the  sub- 
genus Thalassidroma,  and,  in  the  first  place,  we 
shall  specify  some  of  their  distinguishing  characteris- 
tics, as  follows  : — 

The  Forked-tail   Petrel   {Thalassidroma  Lcachii), 

which  occasionally  occurs  on  the  British  coasts,  is 

characterized  by  the  possession  of  a  black  bill  and 

dark-brown    irides ;    while   the   head,    neck,    back, 

breast,  and  belly  are  of  a  sooty-black  colour.     The 

wing-coverts  are  of  a  rusty-brown  colour,  the  tertials 

tipped  with  white  ;  the  upper  tail-coverts  white  ;  the 

primaries  and  tail-feathers  black.;  while  behind  each 

thigh  there  is"  an  elongated   patch  of  white.     The 

tail  is  forked,  the  outer  feathers  being  about  half  an 

inch  longer  than  those  in  the  middle.     This  species 

is  about  seven  inches  long.    Wilson's  Petrel  ( T.  Wil- 

sonii)  has  the  head  and  all  the  lower  parts,  the  back, 

scapulars,  wings,  feet,  bill,  and  iris  of  a  black  colour  ; 

all  the  upper  tail -coverts  are  pure  white  ;  the  tail  is 

nearly  square,  the  three  lateral  feathers  being  white 

at  their  base.     On  the  membranes  of  the  feet  there 

is  a  long  yellow  stain,  and  the  edges  of  the  toes  are 

bordered  with  the  same  colour.    This  species  is  about 

six   inches  long.     Bulwer's  Petrel  {T.  Biihverii)  is 

extremely   rare   in    England.      The    Stormy    Petrel 

(71  pelagica)  is   characterized  by  having  the  head, 

back,  wings,  and  tail  dull  black  ;  the  lower  parts, 

bill,  and  feet  are  sooty  black.     There  is  a  large  band 

of  pure  white  on  the  rump,  while  the  scapulars  and 

K  2 


196 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE -GOSSIP. 


secondary  quills  are  ferminated  with  traces  of  the 
same  colour.  The  tail  is  square,  and  the  tips  of  the 
wings  hardly  reach  beyond  its  extremity.  The  total 
length  of  this  interesting  bird  is  ^h  inches. 

Having  specified  the  various  characteristic  features 
of  the  British  department  of  this  interesting  genus 
of  sea-birds,  I  shall  now  briefly  discuss  some  ques- 
tions that  may  be  readily  started  upon  the  contempla- 
tion of  their  habits.  In  the  first  place,  we  may 
observe  that  the  extraordinary  vital  energy  and 
endurance  exhibited  by  these  tiny  creatures  may 
reasonably  excite  feelings  of  wonder,  and  demand 
some  explanation.  During  stormy  weather  these 
petrels  have  been  observed  to  follow  in  the  wake  of 
a  particular  ship  for  as  long  a  period  as  one  month. 


instrumentality  of  the  oxygen  contained  in  the  red 
corpuscles  of  the  same  fluid.  Now  it  follows,  that 
the  more  thoroughly  the  blood  is  charged  with  these 
nerve-building  materials  and  with  oxygen,  the  more 
efficient  and  inexhaustible  will  be  the  supply  of  nerve 
or  animal  force.  Perhaps  the  fresh  air  of  the  sea 
and  the  character  of  the  Petrel's  food  furnish  power 
to  the  nervous  centres  which  mniister  to  the  digestive 
apparatus  of  the  bird  so  thoroughly  and  efficiently  as 
to  enable  it  to  digest  and  assimilate  nutritive  ma- 
terials in  a  manner  which  other  birds,  differently 
situated,  cannot  experience.  Moreover,  we  know 
that  the  stomachs,  both  of  the  Stormy  and  Wilson's 
Petrel,  are  exceedingly  large  in  proportion  to  the 
size  of  the  birds.     There  are  two  gizzards  provided 


Fig.   154.    The  Vv.]m:>.r  V&\.rtA{P!VCe!',a?-ia  g!ncial/s). 

During  this  time  there  is  exhibited  on  their  part  an 
almost  perpetual  fluttering  of  the  wings  and  exertion 
of  the  feet — a  restless  spontaneity  of  movement  that 
necessarily  involves  an  immense  expenditure  of 
animal  energy.  Now,  from  what  source  springs  the 
fuel  that  feeds  this  vital  machinery  ?  Let  us  imagine 
a  man  who  is  compelled  to  exercise. the  muscles  of 
his  limbs  incessantly  every  day,  say  for  a  period  of 
twelve  hours.  Would  his  frame,  however  naturally 
robust,  endure  this  treatment  for  any  lengthened  span 
of  time  ?  But  the  Petrel,  in  addition  to  this  exten- 
sive and  protracted  limb-movement,  is  known  to 
emit  during  the  night-time  its  jjeculiar  melancholy 
cry.  Perhaps  the  incessant  inhalation  of  the  exhila- 
rating air  of  the  sea  imparts  to  the  nervous  centres  of 
the  bird  an  energy  and  efficiency  which  men,  living 
amid  the  smoke  and  foul  air  of  cities  and  houses,  can 
never  experience.  Physiologists  inform  us  that  the 
blood,  being  charged  with  certain  ingredients,  builds 
up  the  structure  of  the  nervous  centres,  imparting 
thereto  at  the  same  time  a  store  of  potential  energy 
which,  at  the  command  of  the  will,  &c.,  is  dis- 
charged or  converted  into  actual  energy  through  the 


Head  and  foot  of  the  Stormy  Petrel  {T/ialassi- 
droina  pelaglca). 


with  a  great  number  of  glands,  which  secrete 
gastric  juice,  and  they  are  curved  in  a  very 
peculiar  manner.  The  Petrels  also  subsist 
chiefly  on  fishy  and  oily  matter,  a  species  of 
nutriment  which,  in  the  human  subject  at 
least,  is  eminently  adapted  to  the  maintenance 
and  stability  of  cerebral  and  nervous  tissue. 
In  the  next  place,  we  may  institute  a  brief  inquiry 
regarding  the  cause  of  the  manifest  predilection  for 
ships  exhibited  by  the  members  of  the  Petrel  tribe. 
Why  do  these  birds  follow  ships  for  so  lengthy  a 
period  ?  Some  naturalists  suppose  that  the  hull  of 
the  vessel  shelters  their  tiny  Ijodies  from  the  violence 
of  the  storm.  Others  think  that  the  keel  of  the 
ship,  in  its  motion  through  the  water,  ploughs  up 
sundry  mollusks,  &c.,  and  that  the  birds  love  to  take 
advantage  of  this  convenient  provision  for  their 
bodily  sustenance.  In  attempting  to  solve  this  diffi- 
culty, we  must  remember  that  the  Petrels  appear  in 
the  vicinity  of  ships  only  during  stormy  weather. 
But  the  turbulence  of  the  seas  at  that  period  would, 
we  might  apprehend,  be  amply  competent  to  stir  up 
these  marine  animals  to  the  surface,  without  the 
intervention  of  a  ship's  motion.  The  latter  theory 
would,  therefore,  on  this  view  of  the  matter,  appear 
to  be  untenable ;  and  on  that  account  let  us  endeavour 
to  contemplate  the  subject  from  a  different  stand- 
point. Latter-day  physiologists  have  propounded 
the  theory  of  the  hereditary  transmission  of  acquired 
psychical  aptitudes.      We   know  that   upon   desert, 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSP. 


197 


uninhabited  islands,  birds  do  not  exhibit  those 
symptoms  of  fear  at  the  approach  of  man  which  they 
commonly  show  in  densely  populated  localities.  It 
is  maintained  that  this  fear  is  not  natural,  but  has 
been  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation, 
and  when  so  transmitted,  it  is  manifested  on  \\\q  first 
instance  of  men's  approach,  and  without  any  pre- 
vious experience  of  any  of  the  disagreeable  conse- 
quences thereof.  Is  it  possible  that  the  Petrel  has 
come  to  regard  ships  as  security  against  the  dismal 
consequences  of  storm  and  tempest  ?  Sometimes, 
indeed,  the  birds  are  captured  and  killed  by  the 
sailors ;  but  even  that  apparently  deterrent  influence 
does  not  seem  to  divest  them  of  their  well-known 
partiality  for  ships.  Their  progenitors  have  sought 
and  obtained  food  and  shelter  from  them  ;  and  this 
experience,  being  transmitted  hereditarily  to   their 


ternate  elevation  and  depression  of  the  hull  as  it  rides 
on  the  crest  of  a  billow  or  sinks  into  the  trough  of  the 
sea,  the  progressive  movement  through  the  force  of 
the  gale,  and  the  general  indications  of  bustle  and 
animation  exhibited  thereby,  may  perhaps  furnish  a 
fund  of  pleasurable  entertainment  to  the  birds  which 
love  to  live  on  the  ocean. 

We  may  endeavour  to  discover  the  cause  of  the 
peculiar  sea-walking  habits  of  this  genus,  whence 
they  have  derived  their  distinctive  appellation  of 
Thalassidroiiia.  Whilst  engaged  in  this  operation, 
are  they  in  quest  of  food,  or  is  that  the  sole  aim  ? 
Most  naturalists  incline  to  the  affirmative  answer  ; 
but  with  all  due  deference  to  their  opinion,  I  am 
constrained  to  suspect  that  this  is  not  the  only  reason 
for  this  course  of  conduct.  We  know  that  an  abun- 
dant supply  of  Mollusks,  Radiata,  Fishes,  Crustacea, 


^^ /:-s^m\m'^i 


Fig.   156.    Wilson's  Petrel  {Thalassidroiiia  Wilscnii). 


offspring,  induces  them  to  cling  to  a  course  of  con- 
duct of  the  risk  and  danger  of  which  their  own 
career  furnishes  no  indication. 

Again,  if  we  take  into  account  the  indubitable 
act,  that  many  of  the  lower  animals,  especially  the 
Bird  tribe,  manifest  an  unequivocal  sense  of  enjoy- 
ment in  activity,  we  may  perhaps  be  induced  to 
consider  that  the  Petrels  regard  the  motion  of  a  ship 
as  a  source  of  this  pleasurable  animal  excitement. 
We  know  that  the  sciisori  motor  system  of  nerves  is 
especially  developed  among  the  Birds :  and  we  might 
thence  conclude  that  they  derive  a  large  proportion 
of  their  pleasure  from  its  operation.  A  kitten  pur- 
suing a  rolling  cork,  or  ball,  furnishes  us  with  an 
illustration  of  this  phenomenon  among  the  Mammalia. 

The  spectacle  of  a  ship  in  full  sail  is  a  source  of 
nervous  excitement  of  a  pleasant  description.  The  al- 


and Zoophytes,  may  be  readily  found  in  the  Sargasso 
Sea,  and  other  detached  masses  of  sea-wrack,  which, 
borne  up  by  their  air-bladders,  perpeuially  float  upon 
the  surface  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Why  do  not  the 
Petrels  satisfy  their  requirements  there,  and  not 
commit  their  slender  bodies  to  the  fury  of  the  winds 
and  waves?  A  satisfactory  explanation  of  this  point 
is  perhaps  impossible ;  but  I  apprehend  that  the 
animal  delight  in  excitement  already  alluded  to  in 
the  preceding  paragraph,  and  the  sources  whence  it 
springs,  will  furnish  at  least  a  subsidiary  clue 
towards  the  elucidation  of  the  sea-walking  habits. 

The  contemplation  of  the  little  sea-birds,  whose 
habits,  &c.,  we  have  been  engaged  in  discussing,  is 
profoundly  interesting  to  the  human  heart.  Their 
appearance  in  the  vicinity  of  ships  is  regarded  by 
sailors  as  indicative  of  a  coming  storm,  with  all  the 


198 


HA  R  D  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSIF. 


dismal  consequences  that  follow  in  its  train.  On 
this  account,  the  birds  were  first  dubbed  by  Spanish 
sailors  "Mother  Carey's  Chickens,"  in  allusion  to 
the  care  and  watchfulness  which  the  Blessed  Virgin 
(Span.  Madre  cava,  i.e.  Mother  dear)  is  supposed  to 
exercise  over  the  wayfarers  of  the  seas,  in  thus-wise 
warning  them  of  impending  danger. 


THE    SEALS   AND   WHALES   OF   THE 
BRITISH    SEAS. 

No.  IV. 

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

THE  occasional  stranding  upon  our  shores  of  some 
monster  member  of  the  order  Cetacea  serves 
from  time  to  time  to  reawaken  our  interest  in  these 
wonderful  animals,  and  sets  us  thinking  how  little  we 
know  about  them,  and  how  small  is  our  acquaintance 
Avith  their  life-history. 

Nor  is  this  surprising  at  when  we  coi>sider  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  studying  the  larger  Cetacea, 
which  are  so  great  as  to  be  almost  insuperable  to  any 
ordinaiy  person,  and  even  to  the  leaders  of  zoological 
science  rarely  does  the  opportunity  present  itself  of 
examining  specimens  in  the  flesh ;  for,  of  the  rare  in- 
stances in  which  they  are  cast  ashore,  the  majority 
occur  in  wild  and  unfrequented  parts  of  the  coast, 
where  they  are  probably  cut  up  for  their  oil  before  a 
naturalist  has  an  opportunity  of  examining  them. 
Their  unnatural  position  when  cast  up,  and  their 
altered  appearance,  from  the  falling  in  of  some  parts 
and  distension  of  others,  make  correct  portraiture 
almost  impossible  ;  and  their  great  size  renders  it 
difficult  and  expensive  to  make  them  serviceable  to 
science,  whilst  the  putrid  condition  in  which  they 
are  frequently  found  renders  a  close  examination  any- 
thing but  desirable.  If  seen  in  their  native  element, 
where  alone  they  should  be  seen  duly  to  appreciate 
their  grand  proportions  and  perfect  adaptation  to 
their  mode  of  life,  the  view  must  be  brief  and  too 
often  distant,  certainly  affording  no  opportunity  for 
close  observation.  There  is  thus  little  left  for  natu- 
rahsts  to  study,  except  the  bony  skeletons,  and  of 
these  often  mere  fragments.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, we  shall  cease  to  wonder  at  the  great  con- 
fusion which,  till  recently,  existed  in  the  classification 
and  nomenclature  of  the  Cetacea,  and  which  has  been 
only  partially  cleared  away  by  the  labours  of  the  late 
Dr.  Gray  and  Professors  Flower  and  Turner  in  this 
country,  and  by  Professors  Eschricht,  Reinhardt,  Van 
Beneden,  and  others  on  the  continent.  The  literature 
of  the  subject  is  widely  scattered  and  difficult  of 
access  ;  and  although  Dr.  Gray  and  Professor  Flower 
have  done  much  to  condense  and  systematize  what  is 
known,  our  acquaintance  with  the  tropical  and 
southern  species  of  this  interesting  order  is  not  at 
present  sufficient  to  furnish  materials  for  a  monograph 


worthy  of  the  subject.  No  class  of  animals  has, 
I  believe,  been  called  so  many  names,  or  so  vilely 
caricatured  in  portraits,  as  the  unfortunate  Whales. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  now  to  say  that  the  Cetacea 
hold  a  fully  recognized  place  in  the  great  class 
j\Iai)unalia,  although  this  honour  has  not  always  been 
accorded  to  them.  Ray  classed  them  with  the  Fishes  ; 
and  although  Linnaeus  places  them  in  their  true  po- 
sition. Pennant  failed  to  do  so.  The  members  of  this 
order,  which  includes  the  Whales  proper.  Narwhal, 
Dolphins,  and  Porpoises  (and,  till  recently,  the  Du- 
gong  and  Manatees,  which  were  styled  herbivorous 
cetaceans),  differ  from  the  Fishes  in  bringing  forth- 
their  young  alive.  They  are  nourished  by  the  female, 
which,  for  this  purpose,  is  furnished  with  two  in- 
guinal mammae.  They  are  warm-blooded,  and 
breathe  by  means  of  lungs,  rendering  frequent  visits 
to  the  surface  of  the  water  necessary,  as  the  animal 
can  only  respire  when  the  orifice  of  the  nostrils, 
called  the  blow-hole,  which  is  placed  on  the  top  of 
the  head,  is  above  water.  The  breathing  apparatus 
is  very  peculiar,  being  so  modified  that  the  air  is 
admitted  into  the  trachea  without  passing  through 
the  mouth ;  the  whale  can  thus  breathe  freely,  pro- 
vided the  blow-hole  be  above  water,  even  when  its 
mouth  is  submerged  or  filled  with  water.  All  the 
members  of  the  family  are  carnivorous,  feeding  on 
marine  animals,  some  possessing  formidable  teeth, 
which  are,  however,  used  only  for  purposes  of  pre- 
hension ;  others  possess  teeth  in  the  lower  jaw  only  ; 
and  in  one  section  the  teeth  are  never  developed,  but 
in  their  stead,  from  the  upper  jaw  depend  curious 
plates,  arranged  side  by  side,  to  which  the  name  of 
baleen  has  been  given.  The  body  is  encased  in  a 
layer  of  fat,  called  "blubber,"  which  serves  to  main- 
tain the  heat  of  the  body,  and  the  skin  is  smooth, 
polished,  and  quite  devoid  of  hair  or  scales.  On  the 
back  of  most  species  is  found  a  fleshy  dorsal  fin,  and 
the  fore  limbs  are  represented  by  flippers  externally 
undivided  ;  the  hind  limbs,  so  far  as  external  ap- 
pearance is  concerned,  are  altogether  absent,  but  a 
rudimentaiy  pelvis  is  found  embedded  in  the  flesh. 
The  tail  forms  the  chief  organ  of  locomotion  :  it  is 
always  fixed  horizontally,  and  is  of  great  size  and 
power,  enabling  the  animal,  by  its  vigorous  use,  to 
attain  great  speed.  There  are  many  and  striking 
peculiarities  in  the  bony  skeleton  which  I  will  not  now 
enumerate. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  give  some  account  of  the 
species  which  have  been  found  in  the  British  seas. 
It  will,  however,  first  be  necessary  to  say  a  few 
words  as  to  the  arrangement  of  the  genera  and 
species  ;  and  in  doing  so,  I  shall  follow  the  classifica- 
tion adopted  in  the  second  edition  of  Bell's  "  British 
Quadrupeds."  I  shall  enter  into  this  part  of  the 
subject  so  far  only  as  is  necessary  for  us  clearly  to 
understand  the  relative  positions  of  the  species  which 
we  shall  have  to  consider. 

Professor  Flower  divides  the  order  Cetacea  into  two 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


199 


sub-orders  :  First,  ]\Tystacoc€ti,  or  Bahviwidea,  in  all 
the  members  of  which  baleen  takes  the  place  of  teeth, 
which  are  never  developed,  disappearing  before  birth; 
second,  Odontocdi  or  Ddphinoidca,  in  which  teeth, 
sometimes  very  numerous,  are  always  developed  after 
birth.  The  first  sub-order  is  a  very  restricted  one, 
embracing  only  two  families,  Balcp.nidce  and  Bahviio- 
ptcridcc,  to  the  former  of  which  belong  the  two  genera 
of  Right-whales,  Balicna  and  'Eitbalccua  ;  and  to  the 
latter,  two  genera,  namely,  Mcgaptera  and  Balczno- 
ptera.  To  these  two  genera*  belong  the  Rorquals, 
which  occasionally  occur  in  the  British  seas.  The 
second  sub-order,  Odontoccti,  contains  the  families 
of  Physeteridce,  represented  by  the  Sperm  Whale, 
Hyperoodott,  and  several  allied  species  ;  PlatanistidcB, 
some  curious  forms  found  only  in  India  and  South 
America  ;  and  Delphinidoc,  comprising  the  Narwhal, 
Beluga,  or  White  Whale,  Grampus,  Porpoise,  and 
Dolphins.  The  total  number  of  British  Cdacea  has 
been  variously  estimated ;  Bell,  whom  we  shall  follow, 
enumerates  twenty-two ;  Dr.  Gray,  in  1864,  describes 
tliirty  species,  and  in  1873  thirty-three  species. 

The  first  species,  both  in  order  and  importance,  is 
undoubtedly  the  well-known  Bahina  Mysticetus,  the 
GREENLANDor  Right- WHALE  (fig.  157),  as  it  is  called 
by  the  whalers.  I  use  the  terai  well-known  perhaps 
unadvisedly ;  for  although  for  centuries  it  has  engaged 
the  energies  and  industry  of  the  merchant  seamen  of 
Northern  Europe,  so  little  was  known,  of  it  scientifi- 
cally that  until  Eschriclit  obtained  a  skeleton  from 
Holsteinsbor^,-  in  Greenland,  in  1846,  not  a  single 
skeleton  of  this  species  had  ever  found  its  way  into 
any  European  museum.  That  this  species  ever  in- 
habited the  British  seas  seems  veiy  doubtful,  and  the 
i-ecorded  instances  of  its  occurrence  are  unsatisfactory 
in  the  extreme.  The  most  positive  record  is  that  in 
Messrs.  Paget's  "Natural  History  of  Great  Yarmouth." 
They  say:  ^' Balitna  Mysticetus — common  Whale — 
a  small  one  taken  near  Yarmouth,  July  8,  1784." 
Upon  writing  to  Sir  James  Paget,  if  possible  to  obtain 
further  information,  he  tells  me,  "  I  am  soriy  I  can 
give  you  no  information  respecting  the  whale  taken 
off  Yarmouth  in  1784;  I  have  no  notes  as  to  the 
source  from  which  I  derived  the  statement,  but 
probably  it  was  from  some  MS.  of  Mr.  Dawson 
Turner's.  It  is  not  likely  that  any  bones  of  the 
whale  were  kept  in  Yarmouth,  for  there  was  no 
naturalist  there  at  the  time,  and  the  whaling-trade, 
which  was  then  actively  carried  on  from  the  port, 
must  have  made  whales*  bones  very  common."  This 
is  all  that  is  ever  likely  to  be  learned  of  the  Yarmouth 
Right -whale  ;  but  the  season  at  which  it  occurred 
would  render  the  heated  seas  on  our  coast  utterly  un- 
bearable to  an  ice-loving  inhabitant  of  the  Arctic 
circle.  This,  with  its  small  size,  would  seem  to  point 
to  a  closely-allied  species  to  be  mentioned  soon. 
Sibbold  records  what  he  considers  was  probably  a 

*  Physalns  and  Sibbaldius  are  now  rejected  by  Prof.  Flower. 


Right-whale  at  Peterhead  in  1682;  and  a  whale  re- 
corded at  Tynemouth  by  Willughby  may  have  been 
of  this  species.  In  the  first  edition  of  Bell's  "  Quadru- 
peds "  is  a  communication  from  the  Rev,  Mr.  Barclay 
to  the  effect  that  on  the  coast  of  Zetland  dead  or  very 
lean  whales  of  this  species  have  several  times  been 
found  or  have  run  aground  ;  but  in  the  second  edition 
of  the  same  work  the  author  states  that  "there  is  no 
proof  these  references  do  not  apply  to  some  other 
species."  This  is  all  we  know  of  the  Right-whale 
as  occurring  in  British  waters  in  recent  times,  and 
none  of  the  instances  are  at  all  satisfactory. 

The  extreme  northern  habitat  assigned  to  this  species 
by  those  who  have  devoted  much  time  and  labour  to 
the  investigation  of  the  subject,  I  think  clearly  proves 
that  it  must  either  have  changed  its  habitat,  wliich  its 
present  habits  seem  to  render  improbable,  or  that  some 
other  species  formerly  inhabited  the  temperate  seas 
outside  the  Arctic  circle  extending  southward  to 
the  Atlantic  as  far  as  latitude  40",  for  it  is  beyond 
doubt  that  a  brisk  trade  was  carried  on  in  former 
times  by  the  Basque  population  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay 
and  adjacent  seas  as  far  back  as  the  8th  or  loth 
centuiy.  That  such  a  southern  species,  distinct 
from  tlie  northern  Right-whale  did  exist,  is,  I  think, 
proved  by  Professors  Eschricht  and  Reinhardt  in 
their  splendid  memoir  of  the  "  Greenland  Whale,"  a 
ti-anslation  of  which,  edited  by  Professor  Flower,  was 
published  by  the  Ray  Society  in  1866.,  This  whale, 
which  was  formerly  distinguished  by  the  name  of 
Sard^  by  the  French,  and  Nordkaper  by  the  Dutch, 
they  have  called  Balana  biscayensis  :  it  was  smaller 
than  the  northern  species,  probably  about  forty  feet 
in  length,  the  head  not  more  than  one-fourth  of  the 
entire  lengtli,  the  colour  uniformly  black,  and  the 
baleen  much  shorter  in  proportion  than  in  the  larger 
species.  Of  this  whale,  once  abounding  in  the  North 
Atlantic  and  North  Sea,  and  finding  emplo3Tiient  for 
so  many  hardy  and  daring  seamen,  the  only  remains 
now  known  to  exist  are  the  cervical  vertebrae  dredged 
up  off  Lyme  Regis,  now  in  the  British  Museum,*  and 
the  skeleton  of  a  young  one  which  was  taken  in  the 
hai^bour  of  St.  Sebastian  on  the  1 7th  Jiinuary,  1854. 
The  mother,  which  was  seen  with  it,  escaped,  but  the 
little  one  was  caught,  and  a  drawing  of  it  made  by 
Dr.  Monedero  ;  the  skeleton  was  preserved  for  the 
museum  of  Pampeluna ;  thence  it  was  removed  by 
Prof,  Eschricht  in  1858  to  the  Copenhagen  Museum, 
for  which  he  purchased  it.  As  there  is  every  proba- 
bility that  any  Right-whale  occurring  on  our  coast 
belonged  to  this  species,  it  will  at  once  be  seen  what 
interest  is  attached  to  any  scrap  of  information  on  the 
subject,  and  how  imperative  it  is  to  pursue  to  the 
uttermost  any  clue  which  might  possibly  throw  light 
on  the  history  of  this  probably  now  extinct  species. 
It  is  worthy  of  remark,   that  in  the  Southern  ocean 

*  The  vertebrae  in  the  British  Museum  is  the  type  of  //ati- 
halcEtta  britatmica  (Gray) ;  B.  cisaixtica  (Cope)  is  also  probably 
identicalwith  B.  biscayensis. 


200 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSIF. 


there  are  two  recognized  species  of  Right-whale,  one 
Caperea  antipodorum  (Gray),  not  found  further  north 
than  40°  south  latitude  ;  the  other,  Eubahtna  aiis- 
ij-alis  (Gray),  found  as  near  the  equator  as  20°  south 
latitude.  Dr.  Gray  does  not  recognize  Balcena 
biscayensis  as  a  good  species,  and  accounts  for  the 
absence  of  the  Right-whales,  formerly  found  in  British 
waters,  from  the  disturbed  state  of  the  seas,  owing  to 
the  great  increase  in  traffic  of  ships,  and  especially 
steam-vessels,  which,  he  says,  "appears  to  restrict 
their  visits,  and  especially  their  breeding,  more  to 
the   Arctic  portion  ;  thus  some  whales,  which  were 


been  seen  in  summer  as  far  north  in  Baffin's  Bay  as 
ships  have  succeeded  in  penetrating,  whilst  its  south- 
ward range  in  winter  was  always  limited  by  a  rather 
northerly  degree  of  latitude.  This,  they  show,  has 
gone  on  with  the  greatest  regularity  for  at  least  80 
years,  during  which  they  have  constantly  made  their 
appearance  at  the  same  places,  at  the  same  season, 
without  the  slightest  alteration  having  taken  place. 
The  fact  of  the  whales  always  following  the  ice  floes 
will  account  for  their  being  found  in  the  spring  in  differ- 
ent latitudes  ;  thus,  on  the  Greenland  coast,  they  are 
found,  at  this  season,  in  latitude  65°  25' ;  but  in  Davis 


Fig.   157.    The  Greenland  or  Right-whale  {Baltrita  Hfysiicfius). 


formerly  said  to  be  common  on  the  coast  of  Britain 
as  the  Right- whales,  no  longer  visit  this  country." 
Eschricht,  however,  has  clearly  shown  that  the  habits 
and  localities  frequented  by  the  northern  Right-whale 
have  remained  unchanged  for  many  years,  as  proved 
by  the  record  kept  by  the  whaling  stations  established 
by  the  Danish  government  on  the  west  coast  of 
Greenland.  The  fishery  at  these  stations  was  pro- 
secuted from  the  shore  Avhen  the  whales  appeared 
upon  the  coast  in  the  winter  months  ;  as  the  spring 
advanced   they  followed  the  receding  ice,  and  have 


Strait,  in  61°  to  62°,  always,  however,  inseparable 
from  the  ice.  Messrs.  Eschricht  and  Reinhardt  thus 
conclude  :  "  It  seems,  therefore,  that  the  whales  have 
not  retreated  farther  north,  as  they  are  still  found 
within  precisely  the  same  limits  in  which  they  were 
found  at  the  beginning  of  the  persecution,  but  in  num- 
bers so  diminished  that  the  fishery  will  hardly  repay 
tiie  trouble  and  expense  attending  it."  The  southern 
limit  of  the  Right-whale  in  the  Northern  ocean  may 
be  shown  by  a  line  drawn  from  the  coast  of  Lapland 
at  70°,   just  touching  the  southern  point  of  Iceland, 


HA  R  D  WICKE'S   S  CIENCE-  G  O  SSIP. 


20I 


and  ending  on  the  coast  of  Labrador  at  about  55° 
north  latitude. 

The  whale-trade,  which  once  employed  so  many 
hardy  seamen,  is  now  reduced  to  very  narrow 
limits,  and  appears  to  have  passed  almost  entirely 
into  the  hands  of  the  English,  or  rather  Scotch.  The 
Biscayans  were  not  content  with  exterminating  the 
whales  found  in  their  own  seas,  but  followed  them  up 
to  the  north ;  in  1721  they  had  twenty  vessels  in  the 
Greenland  fishery  from  Biscay  ;  the  Dutch  also  took 
a  large  part  in  the  trade  ;  in  Norfolk,  Yarmouth 
and  Lynn  both  sent  out  vessels.  In  1801  twenty 
ships  were  employed  from  the  port  of  Yarmouth  in 
this  fishery,  and  returned  from  Greenland  with  rich 
cargoes;  l)Ut  heavy  losses  subsequently  occurred,  and 
early  in  the  present  century  the  whale  fishery  from 
Yarmouth  was  abandoned.  At  Lynn  it  must  have 
ceased  about  the  same  time.  During  the  nine  years 
ending  1818  there  was  an  average  of  ninety-one 
English  and  forty-one  Scotch  ships  employed  in  the 
trade ;  in  1830  they  were  reduced  to  forty-one 
English  and  fifty  Scotch.  1830  was  a  very  disastrous 
year  in  the  whale  trade  ;  nineteen  British  ships  were 
totally  wrecked,  and  twelve  seriously  injured  in  that 
season.  The  number  since  then  has  been  gradually 
decreasing,  till  at  the  present  time  Dundee  and 
Peterhead  are  the  only  two  ports  in  Great  Britain 
which  are  engaged  in  the  whale  fishery.  Dundee 
sends  out  ten  iDowe,rful  steam-vessels,  which  leave 
about  the  beginning  of  INIay,  and  if  fortunate  in  filling 
up,  return  about  the  beginning  of  November.  The 
expense  now  incurred  renders  it  necessary  that  a 
large  number  of  whales  should  be  taken  to  make 
the  voyage  pay :  the  Arctic,  in  her  voyage  of 
1873,  captured  twenty-eight  whales,  which  were 
estimated  to  produce  in  oil  and  bone  jQ'^'i,^^'^,  or 
about  ^678  per  wliale,  the  best  wliale,  a  female  witli 
sucker,  was  estimated  at  ^1,500,  and  the  smallest  at 
only  £\  10.  An  average  whale  produces  9^  tons  of 
oil,  a  ton  measuring  252  gallons,  and  7  ft.  6  in.  of 
whalebone  ;  the  longest  bone  cut  of  the  twenty-eiglit 
fish  was  1 1  ft.  9  in.  and  the  shortest  2  ft.  6  in.  Tliis 
was  considered  a  very  successful  year.  An  interesting 
account  of  a  whaling  voyage  in  the  ship  Arctic,  and 
full  particulars  of  the  mode  pursued  in  taking,  and 
subsequent  treatment  of  the  fish,  is  given  by  Captain 
A.  H.  Markham,  in  his  "  Whaler's  Cruise  to  Baffin's 
Bay." 

The  usual  length  of  a  full-grown  Riglit-whale  is 
about  50  feet ;  but  Dr.  Brown,  in  his  paper  on  the 
Cetaceans  of  the  Greenland  Seas  {P.  Z.  S.,  1868,  p. 
539),  gives  the  dimensions  of  one  which  measured 
65  feet.  The  general  colour  is  black.  The  mouth 
occupies  about  one-third  of  the  entire  length,  and  the 
baleen  is  from  10  to  12  feet  long.  This  baleen, 
which  is  found  depending  from  the  upper  jaw,  con- 
sists of  a  number  of  horny  plates,  placed  transversely 
along  either  side  of  the  palate ;  they  are  arranged 
closely  together,  with  the  external  edge  smooth,  and   ' 


gradually  thinning  off  towards  the  inner  margin, 
which  ends  in  a  fringe  of  long  hair-like  fil^-es  :  the 
number  of  laminas  is  about  360  on  each  side.  *  The 
whale  whilst  feeding  swims  along  with  its  mouth  open, 
until  it  has  collected  a  quantity  of  the  small  marine 
animals  which  form  its  food ;  then,  closing  its  capacious 
under-jaw,  it  forces  out  the  water  between  the  plates 
of  baleen,  leaving  the  captive  prey  stranded  on  its 
huge  tongue,  when  it  swallows  them  at  leisure. 
The  food  of  the  Greenland  whale  consists  entirely 
of  small  marine  animals,  particularly  a  kind  of  shrimp, 
found  in  great  abundance  in  the  Arctic  seas.  This 
species  is  believed  by  Eschricht  and  Reinhardt  to 
bring  forth  its  single  young  one  (rarely  two)  about  the 
end  of  March  or  beginning  of  May,  and  the  time  of 
gestation  to  be  thirteen  or  fourteen  months,  so  that  it 
will  bring  forth  only  every  other  year;  Scoresby 
considers  that  they  go  eight  or  nine  months,  and 
bring  forth  in  Februaiy  or  March,  t  The  young 
one  is  supposed  to  be  suckled  for  twelve  months. 
In  disposition  the  Greenland  whale  is  timid  and 
retiring  ;  the  chief  danger  in  its  capture  arises  from 
its  rapid  descent  when  harpooned  ;  the  line  is  then 
carried  out  with  such  speed  that,  should  it  foul  or  all 
run  out  and  not  be  immediately  cut,  the  boat  will  be 
upset  or  carried  under  water.  It  has  never  been 
known  to  attack  a  boat,  but  accidents  sometimes 
happen  if  approached  too  closely  in  its  death 
"flurry,"  which  is  said  to  be  very  terrible  to  wit- 
ness. Its  fondness  for  its  young  is  such  thut  if  the 
"sucker"  is  killed  the  old  one  readily  falls  a  victim, 
and  the  whalers  do  not  fail  to  avail  themselves,  for 
their  own  advantage,  of  this  amiable  trait  in  its 
character. 


THE   COLORADO    POTATO-BEETLE. 

{Doiyphora  dccciiilineata.   Say.) 
By  E.  C.  Rye,  F.Z.S. 

LITTLE  thought  the  American  entomologist  Say, 
when,  in  1824,  he  characterized  a  compara- 
tively insignificant  Chrysomela  from  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region  of  the  Upper  Missouri,  that  his 
foster-beetle  should,  in  less  than  the  average  life  of 
man,  so  increase  and  multiply  as  to  outrival  the 
EgyjDtian  plague  of  flies,  or  that  this  Yankee  "  bug  " 
shoidd  scare  the  British  lion.  Yet  so  it  is  ;  and  our 
Elizabethan  arch-poet,  who  sjwke  of  "the  poor 
beetle  that  we  tread  upon,"  woidd,  if  his  spirit  re- 
visited us,  by  the  help  of  Dr.  Slade,  or  any  other 
medium,  find  that  tables  were  indeed  turned  in  the 
Victorian  era,  and  that  the  beetle  is  likely  to  be  the 


*  By  an  old  feudal  law,  the  tnil  of  all  whales  belonged  to  the 
Queen,  as  a  perquisite  to  furnish  her  Majesty's  wardrobe  with 
whalebone  (Brown,  quoting  "  Blackstone's  Commentaries," 
vol.  i.  p.  233,  ed._i783). 

T  Dr.  Brown,  in  the  paper  before  quoted,  states  that  they 
couple  from  June  to  August,  and  bring  forth  in  iMarch  or  April. 


202 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OSS  IF. 


oppressor  of  us !  Of  a  certainty,  never  before  did 
Chrysomcla  cause  such  a  commotion  in  this  country 
or  any  other,  let  scholars  argue  as  they  may  about 
the  golden  apples  of  Paris  or  of  the  Hesperides  :  of 
equal  certainty  is  it,  that  no  beetle  ever  before  attained 
such  notoriety.  Its  biography  has  been  faithfully 
chronicled  to  the  uttermost  point ;  its  goings  and 
comings  have  been  telegraphed  and  advertised ;  a 
Fellow  of  the  Linnean  Society  has  been  sent  by  the 
Government  to  certify  its  arrival  at  Liverpool ;  it  has 
been  photographed,  lithographed,  drawn  on  wood, 
and  otherwise  depicted,  in  its  natural  size,  and  mag- 
nified up  to  the  dimensions  of  an  ordinary  cat ;  it 
has  been  modelled  in  wax  and  other  materials  ;  it  has 
had  books,  pamphlets,  and  newspaper  notices  written 
about  it  ad  nauseam  ;  it  has  inspired  leading  articles 
in  the  most  powerful  nevvspapers  ;  it  has  been  the 
subject  of  a  large  cartoon  in  Punch  ;  it  has  occupied 
the  serious  attention  of  the  Privy  Council,  and  formed 
a  bone  of  contention  for  savans  and  demi-savans ; 
and,  finally,  has  attained  the  dignity  of  an  Act  of 
Parliament,  hurriedly  pushed  through  the  House  of 
Lords,  for  its  special  behoof. 

Entomologists,  as  a  natural  consequence  of  all  this 
popular  excitement,  are  just  now  considering  them- 
selves less  than  usually  unimportant  ;  and  it  would 
seem  an  excellent  opportunity  for  the  patrons  of  art 
and  science  who  delight  in  South  Kensington  to 
obtain  the  foundation  of  some  Government  office, 
after  the  fashion  of  the  American  State  Entomolo- 
gists (only,  of  course,  on  a  more  lucrative  scale, 
in  inverse  ratio  to  the  work),  to  which  one  of  their 
proteges  could  be  duly  appointed.  The  ordinaiy 
duties  could,  without  much  difficulty,  be  discharged 
after  a  careful  study  of  Curtis's  "Farm  Insects"  and 
one  or  two  other  works  of  a  like  nature ;  and  the 
country  would  then  be  at  rest,  should  an  invasion 
by  a  foreign  foe  like  that  now  imminent,  ever  again 
occur. 

There  can,  however,  be  no  doubt  that  earnest  and 
energetic  steps  should  be  taken  at  the  present  un- 
precedented juncture,  when  the  insect  has  succeeded 
in  effecting  a  lodgment  in  two  inland  parts  of  Ger- 
many (though  how  that  lodgment  was  effected  we 
have  no  particle  of  evidence),  and  specimens  have, 
after  many  false  alarms,  been  proved  to  have  at 
last  arrived  on  the  British  shores  ;  and  it  is  with 
the  idea  of  furthering  a  knowledge  of  the  outward 
appearance  of  the  dreaded  beetle  that  the  present 
article  is  penned.  The  majority  of  our  readers  have 
probably  already  formed  a  sufficient  idea  of  it  from 
other  sources  ;  but  it  is  astonishing  to  what  an  extent 
fear  will  paralyze  the  faculties  of  unscientific  ob- 
servers, causing  them  in  the  present  instance  to  think 
such  vastly  different  insects  as  the  common  Tiger- 
beetle  {Cicindela  campcstris),  the  Cockchafer  {Mdo- 
lontha  vulgaris),  the  common  banded  burying-beetle 
{N'ecrophorits  vcspillo),  the  larva;  and  pupa;  of  lady- 
birds  (Coccitiella    scptempimctata),    &.C.,    to    be   the 


dreaded  Colorado  Beetle.*     The  following]  figures, 
therefore,  may  be  of  use  : — 


-^-^ 

Fig.  138.  Various  stages.  A,  B,  C,  D,  and  JS,  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Colorado  Potato-beetle,  Doiyphora  dccem- 
lineata  (Say). 

A  is  the  perfect  beetle,  a  male  (in  which  the  legs 
and  prehensile  tarsi  are  more  developed  than  in 
the  female),  magnified  about  twice  the  natural  size ; 
B  is  the  same  insect  seen  sideways,  and  of  the 
natural  size  ;  C  is  the  full-grown  larva  (in  shape 
resembling  somewhat  our  common  "Bloody-nose 
Beetle  "  ( Timarclia  tenebrkosa) ;  D  is  the  pupa,  and 
E  a  batch  of  the  yellow  eggs.  The  beetle,  when 
alive,  is  of  a  yellowish  cream-colour  (lighter  when 
quite  fresh),  with  five  longitudinal  black  stripes  on 
each  wing-case,  and  some  dark  spots  and  markings, 
more  or  less  confluent,  on  the  thorax.  The  antenna;  are 
black,  with  the  basal  joints  more  or  less  orange,  and 
the  legs  are  orange,  with  black  knees  and  tarsi ;  the  am- 
ple wings,  seen  when  the  insect  flies,  are,  as  in  our  com- 
mon seaside  dark  purple  species,  Chrysomela  luvmo- 
pfera,  rosy-red,  especially  along  the  nervures  and  upper 
portion.  The  colours  of  the  beetle  become  much 
darker  after  death,  and  are  entirely  altered  by  im- 
mersion in  spirits  or  benzine  ;  and  it  is  usually  speci- 
mens so  treated  that  are  in  the  hands  of  English 
entomologists.  It  should  also  be  observed  that,  ac- 
cording to  Riley,  the  ground-colour  varies  consider- 
ably in  specimens  from  different  parts,  from  deep 
gamboge-yellow  to  almost  pure  white.  The  beetle 
appears  also  to  vary  much  in  size,  marks  of  thorax, 
elytra,  and  legs,  &c. ,  according  to  the  same  authority. 
The  larva  may  be  described  as  Venetian-red,  inclining 
to  cream-colour,  or  rosy-red,  slightly  yellowish  be- 
hind the  head,  which,  with  the  back  of  the  thoracic 
plate,  the  legs,  two  rows  of  conspicuous  spots  on  the 
sides,  and  some  other  minute  black  dots,  are  black. 

*  Instances  of  all  these  mistakes  have  come  under  the  writer's 
personal  notice. 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OS  SI  P. 


203 


It  does  not  always  assume  the  position  drawn,  but 
lengthens  itself  out  in  the  act  of  feeding. 

The  best  and  most  elaborate  account  of  the  beetle 
is  contained  in  a  little  work  called  "Potato  Pests," 
published  by  the  well-known  Orange  Judd  Company, 
of  New  York,  and  written  by  our  countryman  Mr. 
C.  V.  Riley,  the  State  entomologist  of  Missouri,  to 
whose  various  reports  all  English  writers  on  the  sub- 
ject are  indebted.  As  this  is  not  accessible  to  all,  it 
maybe  mentioned  that  there  is  a  good  and  illustrated 
account  by  Mr.  H.  W.  Bates,  in  vol.  xi.  (second 
series)  of  the  "Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural 
Society  of  England,"  1875,  pp.  36i--375- 

Space  will  not  permit  an  extended  notice  in  these 
columns  ;  but  the  following  may  be  given  as  a  sketch 
of  the  progress  of  the  beetle  since  its  discovery.  It 
was  known  to  occur  on  a  sand-bur  or  wild  potato 
{Solamtm  rostratian)  in  the  Rocky  ^Mountains  since 
1820,  or  thereabouts.  As  the  cultivated  potato  ex- 
tended westwards,  it  acquired  a  preference  for  that 
plant,  and  spread  eastward,  until,  in  1859,  it  was  in 
Nebraska,  in  1 861  in  Iowa,  in  1864  and  1865  in 
Illinois,  on  at  least  five  different  points,  in  1866  in 
Wisconsin,  in  1868  in  the  centre  of  Indiana,  and  so 
on  further  eastward  to  the  Atlantic,  until  it  touched 
the  seaboard  at  many  different  places  in  1874,  having 
travelled  at  an  average  annual  rate  of  about  eighty- 
eight  miles.  Having  reached  New  York,  it  swarmed 
and  extended  nortli  and  south  along  the  coast,  and 
finally  reached  Canada,  having  spread  over  an  area  of 
nearly  1,500,000  square  miles, — considerably  more 
than  one-third  the  area  of  the  United  States,  and  now 
occupying  more  or  less  completely  thirty-four  states 
and  territories,  besides  a  large  portion  of  Canada. 
Its  western  barrier  appears  to  be  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  the  Atlantic  would,  of  course,  prove  an 
effectual  limit  to  the  east  were  it  not  for  ships  in  the 
harbours,  on  which  it  has  swarmed  since  1874  to  an 
incredible  extent,  even  floating  on  the  sea  in  vast 
numbers  far  from  the  shore.  The  wonder,  therefore, 
is,  not  so  much  that  the  insect  should  succeed  in 
reaching  us  on  board  ship,  but  that  it  should  not  long 
before  this  have  done  so,  and  in  great  numbers. 
There  is  no  need  for  any  material  connected  with  the 
potato  or  its  cultivation  to  be  shipped  in  order  to 
afford  a  cover  for  the  beetle,  which  is  ubiquitous  on 
the  American  side,  and  can  as  easily  be  brought  over 
en  masse  in  a  hat-box  or  secreted  in  unused  clothing, 
as  in  a  barrel  of  potato-haulm. 

But  whether,  having  arrived,  it  can  succeed  in 
becoming  acclimatized  in  England,  is  another  matter, 
upon  which  opinions  are  divided  ;  though  there  would 
seem  great  danger  of  its  effecting  a  lodgment  in 
Southern  Europe.  To  the  writer,  it  seems  that  our 
much  damper  and  colder  climate,  not  affording  op- 
portunities for  the  rapid  succession  of  broods  which 
the  insect  develops  in  America,  must  materially  mili- 
tate against  its  obtaining  a  permanent  hold ;  and  the 
collateral  argrmients  that   no  American   beetle   has 


ever  established  itself  in  England,  and  that  we  possess 
no  near  ally  of  this  particular  one  (the  original  home 
of  whose  special  generic  group  appears  to  be  almost 
tropical,  in  Central  America),  cannot  fail  to  have 
some  weight  in  the  matter. 

But  the  powers  of  exceptional  vitality  and  exten- 
sion of  range  possessed  by  the  Colorado  beetle  are 
so  great,  that  it  would,  even  if  all  these  objections 
were  granted,  be  the  height  of  folly  to  neglect  all 
possible  precautions  against  its  encroachment ;  and 
of  these  the  first  is  a  dissemination  of  a  knowledge  of 
the  foe.  This  has  already  been  done  to  a  large  extent, 
both  by  the  Government  (according  to  its  lights)  and 
by  private  enterprise ;  and  on  this  point  it  is  some- 
what amusing  to  find  a  paper  like  the  Standard 
suggesting  the  publication  and  dispersal  of  drawings 
of  the  insect  as  a  likely  means  of  imparting  know- 
ledge, long  after  that  course  had  been  very  exten- 
sively adopted.  There  are  penal  clauses  in  the 
Destructive  Insects  Bill  above  referred  to  against 
harbouring  the  beetle,  or  selling  it,  or  offering  it  for 
sale  alive,  which  seem  to  suspect  its  systematic  intro- 
duction by  naturalists,  and  with  that  idea  would  also 
seem  opposed  to  the  most  certain  method  of  obtaining 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  insect.  It  can  scarcely  be 
believed  that  entomologists  would  be  so  culpably 
careless  as  to  permit  the  escape  of  living  specimens  ; 
and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  no  coleopterist  will  import 
the  "Bogus  potato-bug,"  DorypJiora  jimcta,  not  in- 
cluded in  the  Act,  but  specifically  very  close  to  the 
Colorado  beetle,  for  the  purpose  of  puzzling  the  Go- 
vernment officials  charged  with  the  levying  of  the 
pains  and  penalties  warranted  by  it. 

Should  the  beetle  by  any  evil  chance  obtain  a  foot- 
ing in  our  fields,  the  method  employed  at  MUlheim, 
as  detailed  in  the  Cologne  Gazette,  will  prove  most 
effective  for  its  destruction:  this,  briefly,  consists  of 
isolation  of  the  infested  locality  by  ditches,  and 
covering  its  surface  with  sawdust  which  is  saturated 
with  benzoyl,  benzoyl  also  being  poured  into  the 
ditches.  After  burning  the  surface,  it  is  ploughed  in 
close  ridges,  again  saturated,  and  again  burnt.  When 
once  the  beetle  has  fairly  settled  itself  over  too  large 
an  area  for  such  vigorous  treatment,  the  best  course 
appears  to  be,  to  take  especial  and  energetic  pains  in 
systematically  hunting  for  it  in  spring,  before  the 
parents  have  deposited  their  eggs.  As  a  destructive 
dressing,  the  Americans  find  that  a  solution  of  Paris 
green  in  water,  sprinkled  by  a  machine  over  the  plants, 
is  the  most  effectual. 

Of  the  various  natural  enemies  to  the  beetle  (chiefly 
other  insects)  occurring  in  America,  it  would  be 
practically  useless  to  speak,  as  they  cannot  well  be 
found  here,  though,  doubtless,  some  of  our  own  pre- 
daceous  and  parasitic  species  (and  also  our  insectivo- 
rous birds)  would  have  something  to  say  to  the 
invader.  The  parasitic  mite  which  has  figured  in 
various  London  papers  (roughly  copied  from  Riley's 
drawing  of  Uropoda   ainericana),    has,    however,    a 


2  04 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSSIP. 


common  European  representative,  U.  vegetans,  of 
similar  habits,  though  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how 
these  could  materially  affect  the  beetle. 

In  concluding  these  notes,  it  may  not  be  out  of 
place  to  observe  that  the  generic  name  under  which 
the  beetle  is  usually  mentioned  is  scarcely  correct. 
Doryphora  is  based  upon  a  character  not  possessed  by 
the  Colorado  beetle,  viz.,  a  spear-point  on  the  mesoster- 
num  (whence  the  American  name  "  spearman,"  and 
also  the  allusion  conveyed  by  the  spear  in  PiincJis 
cartoon,  which,  bad  as  it  is,  is  not  so  gross  a  caricature 
as  others  not  intended  to  be  so) ;  Leptinotarsa  is 
founded  upon  an  unstable  groove  in  the  tibise ; 
PolygraJimia  has  only  coloration  to  recommend  it, 
and  no  structural  points ;  Myocoiyna  is  preoccupied 
by  Dejean  in  the  same  family;  and  Riley  proposes  a 
new  name,  Thlibocoryiia,  for  the  group,  which  is 
closely  allied  to  DorypJiora  in  the  shape  of  its  palpi. 
No  English  beetle  belongs  to  it,  or  is  in  any  way 
really  like  it  ;  our  only  large  striped  Chrysouicld  is 
the  refulgent  copper  and  green  C.  ccrcalis,  found  on 
wild  thyme  on  Snowdon. 


THE  FERTILIZATION  OF  LESCHEN- 
AULTIA  FORMOSA. 

THE  specific  name  of  this  plant  was  given  by 
Robert  Brown.  It  is  a  native  of  Australia. 
It  is  a  small  woody  shrub,  with  linear,  sub-coriaceous 
leaves,  about  half  an  inch  long.  Flowers  solitaiy, 
terminal ;  corolla  monopetalous,  with  a  deep  scarlet 
1)ilabiate  limb  ;  the  upper  lip  divided  into  three  rather 
irregular,  slightly  reflexed  divisions  ;  the  lower  almost 
boat-shaped,  and  partially  surrounding  the  indusiate 
stigma.  It  is  a  very  pretty,  and  certainly  most  inter- 
esting plant,  and  one  admired  by  all  plant-lovers. 

The  genus  belongs  to  the  family  Goodcniaceic :  a 
family  of  peculiar  and  interesting  structure.  A  great 
deal  of  interest  resides  in  the  indusium  which  sheaths 
the  stigma.  The  same  structure  is  developed  in  the 
genus  Bi-unonia,  and  in  the  Styleivorts.  The  indu- 
sium here  referred  to,  and  which  is  shown  in  fig.  1 60,  a, 
is  a  prolongation  of  the  disk,  that  is,  adnate  to  the 
style;  and  it  is  to  find  out  the  object  of  this  indusium 
that  we  here  treat  upon  it. 

Looking,  then,  at  the  front  of  the  lower  lip  of  the 
flower,  we  see  the  indusium  (fig.  159,  a ;  moreenlarged 
fig.  160,  a),  which  is  two-lipped  ;  when  the  flower  is 
expanded,  that  upper  lip  is  closed  tight  down ;  the 
lower  lip  is  no  doubt  adnate  to  the  stigma,  or, 
according  to  some,  the  true  stigma  is  outside  the 
indusium  entirely  ;  but,  whether  the  latter  is  correct 
or  not,  it  is  sufficient  for  our  purpose  to  say  that  the 
lower  portion  is  tufted  with  hairs,  and  between  the 
hairs  and  the  closed  upper  lip  is  tlic  true  stigmatic 
surface.  When  in  this  state,  the  whole  affair  re- 
sembles the  mouth  with  the  lips  closed. 

Now,  suppose  we  open  the  upper  lip  with  a  pin, 


we  find  a  large  quantity  of  pollen  stored  up  in  that 
part  of  the  indusium.  Finding  this,  we  naturally  look 
at  the  stamens,  and  only  to  find  them  shrivelled,  with 
their  anther-cells  devoid  of  pollen.  How,  ihen,  did 
the  pollen  get  in  the  position  we  have  found  it  ?  To 
obtain  an  answer  to  this  question,  a  l)ud  must  be 
dissected.  No  doubt  the  first  bud  is  too  young. 
Another  is  dissected,   almost  ready  to  expand,  and 


'59 


161 


Fig.  159.  LcscJienaitltiaformosa,  expanded  flower.  Fig.  160, 
calyx  and  pistil,  showing  the  indusiate  stigma,  a,  magnified. 
Fig.  161,  stamens  and  pistil  in  a  bud  state,  showing  the  pollen 
being  discharged  from  the  anthers  into  the  indusium  (mag.). 


what  satisfaction  !  we  find  the  pollen  being  discharged 
from  the  anthers  into  the  indusium  (fig.  161),  just  as 
coals  are  discharged  into  the  holds  of  a  ship  !  How 
beautiful !  It  would  be  well  to  state  here  that  the 
flowers  in  a  bud  state  are  nearly  erect,  thus  facilitating 
the  discharge  of  the  pollen.  After  the  indusium  thus 
receives  the  pollen,  it  quickly  closes,  and  covers  the 
pollen,  while  the  growtlr  of  the  style  is  very  rapid. 

It  is  now  time  to  ask  Nature  this  question  :  why 
is  the  pollen  thus  stored  up  ?  First,  tliat  it  should 
not  be  lost,  since  the  anthers  discharge  their  pollen 
before  the  stigma  is  ready  to  i-eceive  it.  And, 
secondly,  to  ensure  a  most  peculiar  and  beautiful 
method  of  cross-fertilization.  And  we  must  bear  in 
mind,  that  although  the  pollen  is  in  such  close  con- 
tiguity with  the  stigma,  it  cannot  reach  it,  nor  can 
the  ovules  be  fertilized  without  some  foreign  agency. 
Suppose,  then,  a  small  insect  to  alight  upon  the  lower 
lip  of  the  corolla,  and  in  search  of  nectar  down  the 
tube  (although  we  have  never  found  any  nectar,  but 
we  arc  pleased  to  say  that  Mr.  Darwin's  observations 
differ  in  this  respect,  as  he  states  that  the  flowers 
contain  a  copious  supply  of  nectar),  the  under  part  of 
the  insect  would  easily  push  back  the  indusium,  thus 
exposing  the  pollen  to  the  insect,  and  to  which  the 


HA RD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSSIF. 


205 


pollen  would  readily  attach  itself.  Thus,  upon  visiting 
other  flowers,  the  pollen  would  be  carried  to  those 
flowers,  while  fresh  supplies  would  be  obtained. 
Suffice  to  say,  that,  by  the  conveyance  of  pollen  from 
one  flower  to  another,  obtained  by  imitating  an  insect, 
seeds  have  been  produced ;  and,  of  course,  insects 
could  do  the  work  much  more  efficiently. 

J.  T.  Riches. 


NOTES  ON  HOPLOPHORA   FERRU- 
GINEA. 

DURING  the  month  of  March  I  found  a  few 
specimens  of  this  most  singular  mite.  The 
"  Micrographic  Dictionary"  mentions  the  genus,  but 
says  "not  British,"  adding,  however,  a  query  in  a 
parenthesis.  There  is,  however,  no  doubt  about  its 
being  British,  as  not  only  have  I  found  it  alive  myself, 
but  a  friend  of  mine  also  tells  me  that  he  found  it 


Fig.  162.  Hoplophora  /crniginea,  side  view. 

some  time  ago.  It  looks  like  a  little  egg  of  polished 
cornelian,  and  is  about  yfo^hs  of  an  inch  in  length  : 
it  belongs  to  the  family  Oribatea,  and  its  chitinous 
covering  is  very  brittle,  so  that  it  is  easily  broken  by 
pressure.  The  body  is  covered  with  a  bright,  shining, 
egg-shaped  case  of  chitine,  deficient  in  front  and  on 
the  under  side.  The  thorax,  legs,  palpi,  and  pro- 
boscis are  covered  with  a  shield  of  the  same  material, 
joined  above  to  the  body  part  of  the  case  by  mem- 
brane, acting  like  a  hinge  ;  the  deficiency  underneath 
is  also  protected  by  four  plates  of  chitine,  moving 
towards  each  other,  and  meeting  in  the  middle  line, 
like  two  pairs  of  sliding  doors.  When  the  creature 
is  placed  on  its  back,  on  a  glass  slide,  under  the 
microscope,  at  first  he  lies  still,  and  having  closed  his 
sliding  doors  and  shut  down  his  head-shield,  he  looks 
exactly  like  a  highly-polished,  egg-shaped  piece  of 
cornelian,  only  exhibiting  marks  of  a  somewhat  darker 
colour  at  the  edges  of  the  diff"erent  pieces  of  chitine, 
and  some  slight  shades,  produced  by  the  body  within 
this  semitransparent  case  ;  but  after  a  short  time,  the 
carapace  slowly  opens,  the  palpi  and  legs  are  pro- 
truded, and  the  creature  commences  to  struggle,  in 
order  to  regain  its  feet ;  but,  in  consequence  of  his 
short  legs,  he  is  rarely  able  to  accomplish  this  feat 
unaided.  Whilst  watching  this  process  when  first 
examining  the  creature,  I  was  astonished  to  see  the 


pieces  of  chitine  covering  the  abdomen  open  like 
sliding  doors,  the  vent  then  becoming  conspicuous. 
If  a  slight  jar  was  given  to  the  stage,  or  the  creature 
touched  with  a  needle,  the  doors  immediately  closed, 
the  legs  and  proboscis  were  withdrawn,  the  head- 
shield  shut  down,  and  the  creature  once  more  resumed 
the  egg-like  form. 

The  eyes  were  not  apparent ;  the  palpi  are  jointed 
and  hair}- ;  the  mandibles  chelate,  and  very  powerful, 


Fig.  163.     Hoplophora,  with     Fig.  164.     Hoplophora  ;  under 
carapace    and  .abdominal  side  view  ;  abdominal  plates 

plates  closed.  partly  opened. 


Fig.  165.     Hoplophora  lavigata  (traced  from  Koch). 

resembling  the  claws  of  a  lobster  ;  the  legs  rather 
short,  very  hairy,  and  terminated  by  a  single  hooked 
claw. 

They  are  found  under  damp  stones  and  pieces  of 
decaying  wood  :  they  move  very  slowly.  When  I 
first  found  them  I  thought  they  were  common,  but  I 
have  since  looked  for  them  in  similar  situations  in 
vain;  and  I  did  not  secure  drawings  of  the  legs, 
palpi,  and  cheUv,  thinking  to  do  so  on  a  future 
occasion. 

I  am  not  sure  that  I  have  named  the  variety  cor- 
rectly. The  only  book  in  which  I  have  found  any 
information,  besides  the  "Micrographic  Dictionary," 
is  in  the  third  Heft  of  C.  L.  Koch's  "  Uebersicht  des 
Arachnidensystems,"  where  there  is  a  figin-e  of  H. 
lavigata.  The  legs  appear  to  be  much  longer  in 
this  species  than  in  the  one  examined  by  me.  Koch 
names  no  less  than  thiiteen  varieties. 

C.  F.  George,  M.R.C.S. 

Kirton-in-Lindscy. 


2o6 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  OS  SIP. 


A  CHEAP  MICROSCOPICAL  CABINET 
FOR  SLIDES. 

AS  I  dare  say  some  of  the  readers  of  Science- 
Gossip  have  felt  the  want  of  some  more  con- 
venient mode  of  bestowing  their  microscopic  slides 
than  the  old-fashioned  racks,  and  have  at  the  same 
time  been  unwilling  to  give  the  prices  demanded  by 
dealers  for  cabinets,  I  am  anxious  to  give  the  results 
of  an  effort  I  made  to  supply  myself  with  a  set  of  five 
books,  to  hold  150  slides  each. 


Fig    166.     Microscopical  Cabinet  for  Slides. 

I  procured  at  a  stationer's  twenty-five  Welsh  slates, 
such  as  are  used  in  schools,  carefully  picking  those 
having  well-formed,  clean  frames,  the  size  being  6\ 
by  10  inches  on  the  inside.  I  removed  the  slate  from 
one  of  them,  which  is  easily  done  by  pressing  out  the 
pegs  at  two  of  the  corners,  and  ordered  twenty-five 
pieces  of  stiff  milled-board,  about  as  thick  as  that 
used  for  the  backs  of  octavo  books,  to  be  cut  to  the 
exact  size  of  the  slate  I  removed,  and  then  to  have 
highly  glazed  white  paper  pasted  over  them. 

When  they  were  finished,  I  procured  some  of  the 
best  silk  elastic,  \  inch  broad,  and  had  it  stitched  on 
both  sides  of  the  boards,  three  bands  on  each  sewn 
through  and  through  at  such  intervals  as  to  take  five 
slides  on  each  row,  holes  having  been  previously  bored 
in  the  cardboard  thus  ;:::::  the  spaces 
being  about  an  inch  and  a  quarter  wide. 

In  the  meantime  I  took  a  sharp  knife  and  a  bit  of 
sand-paper,  and  trimmed  all  projecting  corners  off 
my  slate-frames,  and  then,  without  removing  the 
slates,  sent  them  to  a  French  polisher  to  stain  and 


polish  them  like  mahogany.  When  I  got  them  back 
I  removed  the  slates  and  substituted  for  them  the 
pieces  of  cardboard  I  had  prepared,  carefully  replacing 
the  pegs  exactly  as  I  took  them  out.  The  next  step 
was  to  take  them  to  a  bookbinder,  with  orders  to 
bind  five  frames  in  each  volume,  securing  them  by 
tacking  a  piece  of  stout  canvas  to  the  edges  of  each 
frame  in  the  volume.  The  results  have  surpassed  my 
expectations,  for  the  grain  of  the  wood  is  so  like 
mahogany  that  only  careful  observation  could  detect 
the  difference  ;  and  the  volumes  filled  with  slides, 
fifteen  on  each  "page,"  if  I  may  use  the  term,  look 
remarkably  well,  and,  what  is  better,  are  most  con- 
venient. 

Now  as  to  cost  : — 


£ 


d. 


0 

9 

44 

0 

8 

4 

0 

8 

6 

0 

6 

0 

0 

15 

0 

^2 

7 

^\ 

25  slates,  6J  x  10  in.,  at  4/6  per 

dozen   ... 
25  milled  boards,  cut  to  size  and 

covered  with  white  paper 
36  yards  of  clastic 
French  polishing  slate-frames  ... 
Binding  five  volumes     ... 


I  have  not  included  the  sewing  on  of  the  elastic, 
as  most  microscopists  have  lady  friends  \\\\o  would 
do  them. 

The  accompanykig  sketch  gives  a  better  idea  than 
any  amount  of  description. 

I  need  hardly  add  that  the  cost  of  many  of  the 
items  could  be  reduced.  For  instance,  Berlin  black 
might  be  applied  to  the  frames  instead  of  French 
polishing  ;  and  the  cost  of  cutting  and  covering  the 
boards  might  l^e  dispensed  with  by  any  one  taking  the 
trouble  to  do  it  himself. 

T.    H.    MOORHEAD. 


MICROSCOPY. 

The  "Journal  of  the  Quekett  Micro- 
scopical Club,"  Part  34. — The  i^art  just  pxiblished 
is,  perhaps,  of  more  than  usual  interest,  and  we  ap- 
pend a  list  of  the  papers  read  before  the  Society, 
several  of  them  containing  important  practical  infor- 
mation : —  "On  a  New  Form  of  Section-cutting 
Machine,"  by  H.  F.  Hailes.  I  plate.  — "On  Black 
Moulds,"  by  M.  C.  Cooke,  M.A.,  LL.D.,  &c. 
4  coloured  plates. — "  On  the  Absence  of  Stomata  in 
certain  Ferns,"  by  W.  H.  Gilbert.— "A  Contribution 
to  the  Life  History  oi  Botrylloides,''  by  T.  C.  White, 
M.R.C.S.,  &c.— "  Professor  Giuseppe  de  Notaris."— 
"  On  Staining  Vegetable  Tissues,"  by  W.  H.  Gil- 
bert.— "Proceedings."  Mr.  Hailes' machine,  which 
we  have  seen,  seems  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
those  who  are  anxious  to  make  their  own  sections 
(and  which  every  one  should  do  ^\•ho  really  wishes  to 
know  something  of  the  minute  animal  or  vegetable 


HARD  WICKE 'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


207 


structure)  :  it  is  capable  of  cutting  fresh,  growing  wood 
as  thia  as  the  iiooth  of  an  inch,  and  sections  of 
bone  thin  enough  to  mount  at  once.  The  paper  on 
"Black  Moulds  "  calls  for  no  remark,  the  name  of 
the  writer  being  a  sufficient  guarantee  of  its  value. 
Mr.  Gilbert's  papers  are  of  considerable  interest, 
particularly  that  on  staining  vegetable  tissues.  Mr. 
C.  White's  remarks  on  Botrylloides  are  valuable,  as 
all  contributions  to  our  knowledge  of  the  lower  forms 
of  life  must  be  when  they  proceed  from  the  actual 
observations  of  the  writei".  The  "  Proceedings,"  of 
course,  consist  of  vivA  voce  remarks  and  discussions 
on  the  papers  read  at  the  various  meetings.  At  one 
of  these  meetings,  Mr.  B.  Lowne  described  a  very 
ingenious  instrament  made  by  Lippmann  in  Germany  : 
it  is  a  very  delicate  form  of  electrometer,  and  is  in- 
tended to  measure  minute  cuiTcnts  of  electricity,  such 
as  the  most  delicate  galvanometer  would  fail  to  indi- 
cate. We  would  strongly  recommend  those  interested 
in  microscopical  research  to  purchase  the  part.'' 

QuEKETT  Microscopical  Club. — The  twelfth 
annual  meeting  of  this  important  society  was  held  on 
July  26th,  when  the  annual  report  was  presented  and 
elections  for  officers  took  place.  From  the  report  it 
appeared  that  satisfactory  progress  continued  to  be 
made ;  many  valuable  papers  had  been  read,  much 
practical  work  accomplished,  and  many  valuable 
additions  to  the  library  and  cabinet  had  been  made. 
The  meetings,  held  fortnightly  throughout  the  year, 
had  been  well  attended,  the  field  excursions  were 
well  conducted,  and  the  Journal  had  taken  its  place 
amongst  the  microscopical  literature  of  the  day. 
Forty-five  new  members  had  been  elected  during  the 
year,  and  after  allowing  for  removals  by  death  and 
default,  the  present  number  was  stated  to  be  542. 
It  was  incidentally  mentioned  that  the  total  number 
of  members  since  the  establishment  of  the  club  had 
been  1,050.  The  report  of  the  treasurer  showed  the 
receipts  from  all  sources  to  have  been  ^Z^"].  5s.  iid., 
with  the  satisfactory  balance  in  hand  of  ;^7 1.  14s.  lod. 
The  president  then  read  the  customary  annual  address, 
in  which  the  distinctive  features  of  the  club  were 
specially  dwelt  upon,  and  many  valuable  hints  and 
suggestions  were  given.  Votes  of  thanks  to  the 
president  for  his  admirable  address,  to  the  officers 
and  committee  for  past  services,  and  to  the  Council 
of  University  College  for  continued  permission  to 
meet  in  the  Library  of  that  building,  were  unani- 
mously carried.  The  election  of  officers  for  the 
ensuing  year,  and  of  four  members  to  supply  va- 
cancies on  the  committee,  was  then  proceeded  with, 
and  the  result  of  the  ballot  was  announced  as  fol- 
lows : — President,  Henry  Lee,  Esq. ;  vice-presidents. 
Dr.  Matthew,  Messrs.  Frank  Crisp,  E.  T.  Newton, 
and  T.  C.  White  ;  treasurer,  Mr.  F.  W.  Gay ;  hon. 
secretaiy,  Mr,  J.  E.  Ingpen ;  hon.  foreign  secretary, 

•  Published  by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue.     Price  is. 


Dr.    M.    C.    Cooke ;    committee,    Messrs.    Gilburt, 
Parsons,  Priest,  and  Spencer. 

On  Mounting  Spider  Preparations. — In  the 
December  number  of  last  year's  (1876)  Gossip,  a 
correspondent,  signing  himself  F.  E.  Fletcher,  in- 
quires the  best  method  of  mounting  spiders  for 
microscopical  research.  No  answer,  as  far  as  I  can 
see,  having  been  given  to  your  con-espondent's  re- 
quest, I  thought  my  own  experience  and  way  of 
mounting  may  perhaps  be  useful  to  him  and  other 
microscopists.  The  class  Arachnida,  to  which  the 
Spiders  belong  (the  name  Arachnida  being  taken  from 
the  Greek  dpaxv>7f,  a  spider),  have  certain  well- 
known  characteristics  which  it  may  be  well  to  note. 
Firstly,  the  body  is  not  formed  of  three  sections,  as 
those  of  insects  :  it  consists  only  of  two  ;  the  head 
and  thorax  are  not  separated,  but  form  together  the 
part  called  the  cephalo-thorax.  Secondly,  they  have 
always  eight  legs.  Thirdly,  they  do  not  undergo 
changes.  Fourthly,  their  eyes  are  never  compound, 
though  they  vary  in  number  and  position.  These, 
then,  may  be  termed  the  chief  characteristics  of  this 
order.  As  regards  those  spiders  which  most  concern 
the  microscopist,  I  may  mention  three  groups  :  I. 
The  House  Spider  ;  2.  the  Garden  Spider ;  3.  the 
Wandering  Spider.  The  latter  two  species,  which 
are  to  be  found  in  our  gardens,  though  well  adapted 
for  mounting  purposes,  are  not  so  easily  obtained  as 
our  friends  that  take  up  their  board  and  lodging  with 
us  in  the  house.  It  is  no  difficult  matter  to  find  the 
house  spider ;  any  old  cupboard,  or  disused  room, 
will  furnish  plenty.  If  one  keeps  his  eyes  about 
him  of  a  wet  day,  he  is  sure  to  see  some 
large  specimens  crawling  either  on  ceiling,  wall,  or 
floor.  Having  found  your  spider,  the  next  thing  is 
to  catch  him,  and  then  kill  him.  A  pair  of  curved 
forceps  is  what  I  generally  use  to  catch  specimens 
with.  The  best  way  of  killing  them  is  with  the 
poison-bottle,  which,  I  presume,  eveiy  microscopist 
has  ready  at  a  moment's  notice  for  use.  Those  who 
do  not  know  of  this  contrivance  may  like  to  know 
the  way  to  prepare  it.  Get,  then,  from  your  garden 
a  lot  of  laurel-leaves  ;  chop  them  up  fine,  dry  them 
in  the  oven  a  short  time,  and  then  put  them  in  a 
small  glass  jar  (there  should  be  enough  to  half  fill 
the  bottle  or  jar) ;  next  cut  a  circular  piece  of  card- 
board, the  size  of  the  inside  of  the  bottle ;  punch 
this  all  over  with  small  holes  of  the  size  of  a  pin's 
point,  then  place  it  on  the  laurels,  and  your  engine 
of  destruction  is  complete.  Laurel  is  well  known  to 
contain  prussic  acid,  and  this  kills  in  a  short  time  all 
insects,  and  small  animals  of  any  kind,  placed  inside 
the  bottle  or  jar,  always  providing  the  stopper  is 
firmly  in  its  place,  which  it  always  should  be,  whether 
the  bottle  be  in  or  out  of  use.  A  very  strange  case 
is  under  my  notice  while  writing  this  paper,  a  case  in 
which,  for  the  first  time,  I  have  found  this  poison- 
bottle  to  fail.     I  mention  it  here  because  it  is  con- 


208 


HARD  Wl  CKE  'S  SCIENCE  ■  G  OS  SIP. 


nected  with   the   subject    I  am   dealing  -with.      On 
Tuesday,    May   22nd,    I    caught,    in   an  old  wine- 
cellar,  which  is  quite  dark  and  I'ather  damp,  a  very 
large  black-looking  house  spider.     I  at  once  put  him 
in  the  above-described  bottle  and  left  him.     Judge  of 
my   surprise   to   find,    on    inspection    the   following 
morning,  that  instead  of  being  dead,   he  was  alive 
and  very  lively ;  and  at  this  present  moment,  Friday, 
May  25th,  he  appears  inside  the  bottle  as  lively  as 
ever  !     The  bottle  is  air-tight,   and  the   laurel  very 
strong.     On  Sunday  a  large  house  spider  placed  in  it 
was  perfectly  dead  in  fifteen  minutes.     My  idea  is 
that  the  gentleman  now  incarcerated  must  be  of  a 
poisonous  class,  and  therefore  imjjervious  to  prussic 
acid  or  anything  else.     Let  me  advise  my  readers 
who  are  going  to  mount  spider  preparations,  to  dissect, 
as  quickly  as  possible  after  death,  the  bodies  of  the 
spiders  they  have  captured  ;   for,  if  kept  long,  they 
shrivel  up,  and  become  very  difficult  to  manipulate. 
The  dissection  of  a  spider  is  by  no  means  difficult,  as 
those  objects  which  the  microscopist  desires  are  all 
external,  so  to  speak,  and  visible  to  the  naked  eye. 
Place  the  spider  on  your  dissecting-board,  and  pin  it 
down ;  then  with  a  pair  of  sharp,  fine  scissors  remove 
the  eight  legs,  and  put  them  aside  ;  next  with  a  scal- 
pel cut  off  the   spinnerets,    which   are  to  be  found 
at  the  extremity  of  the  abdomen,    and  are   four   in 
number.     Then  remove  the  maxilla; ;   and  lastly,  cut 
away  the  mandibles,  if  possible,  with  eyes  attached. 
This  plan  of  mounting  the  eyes  and  mandibles  I  have 
found  to  be  highly  satisfactory  in  every  way.    Having 
carefully  dissected  all  the  parts,  put  them  in  a  galli- 
pot, and  pour  liquor  potassee  upon  them.     The  best 
jars  are  those  which  Liebig's  extract  of  meat  is  sold 
in.     In  about  three  to  six  days,  take  the  preparations 
from  the  liquor  potassce,  and  place  them  in  a  saucer 
full  of  distilled  water,  and  Tijell  wash  ;  then  press  be- 
tween two  pieces  of  thin  glass,   the  spinnerets  ex- 
cepted ;  and  then  wash  again,  always  using  a  camel's- 
hair  brush  to  cleanse  the  specimens  with.     Dry  the 
specimens  on  clean  blotting-paper,  and  then  place  in 
another  gallipot  full  of  spirits  of  turpentine.     In  a  day 
or  two  you  may  mount.    You  must  be  careful  that  the 
mandibles  and  eyes  are  fairly  flat,  and  that  the  jaws 
are  not  gaping  too  much  apart  :  the  novice  will  find 
this  difficult  of  attainment ;  but,  persevered  in,  good 
results  will  be  obtained.     In  mounting  the  feet  and 
legs,  see  that  the  combs  of  each  foot  are  clear  and 
distinct.    The  maxillce  are  not  particularly  interest- 
ing, but  should  be  mounted  together.     Be  careful  not 
to  flatten  the  spinnerets  by  pressure.     The  best  fluid 
for  mounting  in  is  damar ;  but  if  there  can  be  found 
such  a  wonder   as   a  microscopist   who  ignores   its 
utility,  why,  then  let  him  use  Canada  balsam.    Thus, 
in  a  very  brief  manner,  I  have  noted  the  chief  things 
to  be  observed  in  mounting  specimens  of  arachnida  ; 
and  I  certainly  think  they  make  good  specimens  for 
the  cabinet.     What  with  those  who  preserve  spiders 
whole,  and  those  who  mount  for  microscopical  re- 


search, certainly  the  fair  Lydian  maiden's  descend- 
ants, of  fabulous  record,  are  thought  a  little  about, 
and  also  studied,  in  this  age  of  learning  and  improve- 
ment— the  nineteenth  century. — C.F.  W.  T.JVilliains, 
Bristol. 

Structure  of  the  Red  Corpuscles  of  the 
Blood. — It  has  long  been  a  vexed  question  whether 
the  nucleus  of  the  red  corpuscle  may  not  be  a  mere 
coagulation  after  death,  and  not  an  entity  within  the 
living  corpuscle.  The  former  opinion  is  maintained 
by  Professor  Savory  and  other  eminent  physiologists, 
and  the  latter  view  is  that  of  Professor  Gulliver,  who 
founds  on  it  his  two  great  sections,  Pyrencemata  and 
Apyrenremata,  of  the  vertebrate  sub-kingdom  of 
animals.  In  a  late  number  of  Science-Gossip,  Mr. 
W.  H.  Hammond,  of  Milton  Chapel,  is  reported 
to  have  proved  the  existence  of  the  nucleus  in  the 
living  red  blood-corpuscle  of  fish ;  and  at  the  last 
meeting  of  the  East  Kent  Natural  History  Society 
he  read  a  paper,  illustrated  by  numerous  drawings, 
on  the  same  corpuscles  of  birds  and  batrachians,  in 
which  he  concluded  that  the  nucleus  also  really  exists, 
and  is  plainly  demonstrable,  in  the  living  animal. 
For  observing  the  circulation  in  the  bird,  Mr.  Ham- 
mond used  the  foot-web  of  young  ducks,  which  he 
found,  in  the  newly-hatched  bird,  sufficiently  trans- 
parent to  admit  of  the  use  of  deep  objectives  ;  and 
this  would  appear  to  be  a  novel  and  interesting 
addition  to  cur  means  of  viewing  the  course  of  the 
blood,  and  the  form  of  the  corpuscles,  in  a  class  of 
vertebrates  but  rarely,  if  ever,  before  subjected  to 
this  kind  of  experimental  examination.  Mr.  Ham- 
mond's paper,  with  the  necessary  details,  will  pro- 
bably appear  in  a  forthcoming  number  of  the  MontJily 
IMicroscopical  Journal, 


ZOOLOGY. 

Spiders  and  their  Weus.  —  In  Science- 
Gossip,  some  time  ago,  the  question  was  asked.  Why 
do  spiders  make  webs  in  dark  corners  of  closets 
which  are  seldom  opened,  so  that  there  can  be  no 
flics  in  them?  ]My  idea  is — (i)  Spiders  are  not  de- 
signed to  walk  comfortably  except  on  lines  of  their 
own  spinning,  and  therefore  make  webs  for  their  own 
convenience  ;  (2)  They  need  homes  for  themselves 
and  their  eggs,  and  therefore  construct  them  of  a 
material  most  readily  accessible  ;  (3)  Perhaps  there  is 
a  supply  of  web-material  for  which  some  outlet  must 
be  found,  so  that  if  they  do  not  want  to  construct 
webs  for  the  purpose  of  catching  flies,  they  get  rid  of 
the  surplus  by  making  a  mass  of  cobweb  in  out-of- 
the-way  places.  These  webs  are,  as  a  rule,  irregular 
masses,  not  constructed  with  .that  skill  and  evident 
economy  of  material  that  is  seen  in  the  fly-catching 
web. — S.  IJorsley,  Travancore. 


HARD  WI CKE 'S    S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


209 


Preserving  Crustaceans. — Having  successfully 
preserved  some  hunclretls  of  crustaceans,  I  can  confi- 
dently recommend  the  following  method  as  giving 
good  results  : — First  carefully  take  off  the  carapace, 
and  with  a  pair  of  forceps  remove  the  whole  of  the 
adherent  flesh  from  the  interior,  completing  the 
cleansing  process  by  thoroughly  rinsing  with  fresh 
water,  for  which  purpose  a  bottle-syringe  will  be 
found  extremely  useful.  All  the  soft  matter  is  then 
to  be  removed  from  the  body  of  the  crab,  picking  out 
with  the  forceps  as  much  as  possible  of  the  muscular 
fibres  at  the  base  of  the  legs,  and  finally  wash  away 
all  the  debris  with  water.  The  crab  must  then  be 
placed  in  a  current  of  air  to  dry,  taking  care  that  it  is 
not  exposed  to  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun,  as  too  much 
heat  would  alter  the  natural  colour  of  the  specimen. 
Before  the  crustacean  is  quite  dry,  the  carapace 
should  be  replaced,  and  the  legs  pinned  out  on  a  cork 
setting-board,  and  the  whole  put  in  a  warm  place  to 
dry.  It  is  unnecessary  to  attempt  to  remove  the  flesh 
in  the  legs  and  claws,  as  the  muscular  fibre  contained 
in  them  will  entirely  dry  up  if  the  foregoing  instruc- 
tions are  properly  carried  out. —  Thomas  D .  Russell, 
48,  Essex-street,  Strand. 

Researches  among  the  Acarid^. — In  a  recent 
number  of  Ahiture  there  appears  an  account  of  the 
researches  made  by  M.  Meguin  among  the  Acaridce, 
and  particularly  on  that  strange  asexual  form  known 
as  Hypopes.  This  is  a  form  which  is  not  absolutely 
necessary  for  reproduction,  although  it  seems  to  occur 
under  certain  biological  conditions  for  the  conserva- 
tion of  species.  In  the  aerial  reservoir  of  birds,  espe- 
cially of  the  GallinaceiE,  there  is  found  an  inoffensive 
species  of  acarus,  called  Kytodites  glabcr,  which 
sends  off  colonies  even  to  the  bronchial  branches,  and 
the  marrowless  bones  of  the  limbs  which  are  in  com- 
munication with  the  air-vessels.  Another  harmless 
acarus  has  been  found  in  the  cellular  tissue  of  birds, 
living  and  dying  there.  A  third  species,  which  lives 
normally  between  the  barbs  of  the  feathers,  produces 
in  the  skin  of  birds,  especially  of  pigeons,  at  the  time 
of  moulting,  a  hypopial  vermiform  nymph.  Without 
this  latter  precaution,  the  species  would  soon  be  an- 
nihilated, on  account  of  the  falling  of  the  feathers 
during  the  moulting  season. 

The  New  Museum  in  Dublin. — In  the  second 
part  of  Industrial  Art  (a  capital  new  monthly  shilling 
magazine  devoted  to  technology  and  art,  and  profusely 
illustrated  with  highly  artistic  vignettes)  there  is  a 
well-written  article  on  this  subject.  It  was  a  scheme 
of  Mr.  Sullivan,  M.  P.,  who  seems  to  have  wished  for 
a  science  and  art  focus  in  Dublin  which  should  equal 
that  of  South  Kensington  in  England.  The  scheme 
seems  to  promise,  however,  that  the  new  Dublin 
Museum,  like  that  at  Edinburgh,  will  simply  be  a 
satellite  of  that  at  South  Kensington. 

The  Gorilla. — A  young  gorilla,  the  first  living 
specimen  which  has  been  exhibited  in  this  country, 


has  for  some  time  been  shown  at  the  Westminster 
Aquarium.  It  is  about  three  years  old.  Those  who 
have  the  opportunity  should  not  neglect  to  see  it. 

The  Rothsay  Aquarium. — We  have  received  a 
copy  of  the  official  guide-book  to  this  flourishini; 
aquarium,  compiled  by  the  curator,  Mr.  Barker. 
The  matter,  is  well  and  popularly  presented  to  the 
public,  and  the  guide  cannot  fail  to  interest  visitors 
in  the  objects  exhibited  to  them. 

New  Species  of  Birds. — In  the  August  number 
of  the  Annals  and  JMagazine  of  Natural  History, 
Lord  Tweeddale  has  described  four  new  species  of 
birds  from  the  Indian  region,  under  the  names  of 
Megalurits  riificeps,  Niltava  leiuura,  Diazuin  xant/10- 
pygiiim,  and  Oxyccra  Everetti. 


BOTANY. 

Fructification  of  Sycamore. — The  Sycamore, 
Acer  pseudoplatanus,  belongs  to  the  natural  order 
Sapindacem,  the  flowers  of  which  are  partly  charac- 
terized by  having  eight  stamens  and  a  two-celled 
ovary.  In  the  Sycamore,  as  every  one  knows,  the 
two  ovaries  eventually  become  a  fruit,  formed  of  two 
diverging  winged  seeds,  called  a  Samara.  That  there 
are  only  two  winged  seeds,  by  reason  of  the  suppres- 
sion, under  ordinary  circumstances,  of  several  others, 
is  clear  from  the  fact  that  occasionally  a  sycamore 
fruit  may  be  found  in  which  three,  four,  five,  and 
even  six  winged  seeds  have  been  developed.  Per- 
haps eight  should  be  the  theoretical  number,  to  cor- 
respond with  the  eight  stamens.  But  the  fact  to 
which  I  wish  to  draw  attention  is  that,  for  some 
reason  or  other,  this  year  the  suppressed  cells  of  the 
ovary  have  been  developed  in  a  very  remarkable 
manner.  Sycamore  fruits,  with  three,  four,  five,  and 
six  winged  seeds  are  as  common  almost  as  with  two. 
Those  with  three  seeds  are  on  some  trees  almost  the 
rule  rather  than  the  exception  ;  they  are  less  frequent, 
with  larger  numbers  of  seeds,  but  still  a  bunch  can 
scarcely  be  found  that  has  not  at  least  one  fruit  with 
four  wings.  My  observations  extend  to  Cheshire, 
and  North  Wales  along  the  Vale  of  Llangollen,  and 
on  to  Dolgelley.  I  observe  that  the  abnormal  growth 
is  most  marked  in  young  and  vigorous  trees  ;  but 
even  old  trees  of  a  'large  size  are,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  the  same.  It  would  be  interesting  to  hear  if 
this  curious  phenomenon  has  been  general ;  and  more 
interesting  still  if  any  correspondent  can  suggest  a 
reason  for  it  in  this  particular  year. — Robert  Holland. 

Erica  mediterranea.  —  Mr.  Stewart,  in  the 
June  number,  says  that  he  believes  Erica  mediterranea 
to  be  extinct  on  Urrisbeg.  This  is  a  mistake  ;  but  it 
is  very  local,  only  growing  in  one  small  valley.  I 
found  it  there  in  June  abundantly,  but  with  nearly 
all  the  flowers  withered  and  brown.  Any  one  going 
in  search  of  it  had  better  get  a  guide  to  the  spot. 


2IO 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  GOSSIP. 


The  plant  is  well  known  to  many  of  the  natives  under 
the  name  of  the  French  Heath. — Philip  B.  Rlason, 
F.L.S. 

The  "Edelweiss." — I  notice  what  I  must  in- 
terpret as  a  small  "scare"  in  your  last  number,  to 
the  effect  that  Edelweiss  is  becoming  all  but  extinct 
in  the  Swiss  Alps.  Two  years  ago  I  found  it  in 
plenty,  and  in  several  of  the  ranges  of  Alps,  and  that 
being  my  eighteenth  or  nineteenth  visit  to  Switzer- 
land, I  found  no  perceptible  falling  off  in  the  fre- 
quency of  its  occurrence.  Although  Edelweiss  is 
not  found  only  at  such  awful  altitudes  as  Cockneys 
are  wished  to  believe,  it  does  grow  at  such  heights 
that  Italian  boys  and  herdsmen  are  not  in  the  least 
likely  to  exterminate  the  plant  !  Still,  as  there  is 
seldom  smoke  without  fire,  it  would  be  interesting  to 
be  informed  by  some  Alpine  man  who  is  on  the 
^.cramble  this  year  what  foundation  may  exist  for  the 
stoiy  copied  by  the  Times  from  the  Echo. — Marshall 
Hall. 

British  and  Foreign  Ferns. — All  true  bota- 
nists ■will  hail  with  pleasure  a  new  and  enlarged 
edition  of  John  Smith's  well-known  work,  "Ferns: 
British  and  Foreign,"  (London  :  Hardwicke  & 
Ijogue.)  For  amount  as  well  as  excellency  of  matter 
and  illustrations,  we  have  no  equal  to  it.  Mr.  Smith 
lias  brought  this  edition  to  the  front  of  all  the 
liotanical  knowledge  of  the  day. 

Shining  Moss.  — In  reply  to  your  correspondent 
Mr.  T.  Watson,  I  beg  to  state  that  I  have  found  the 
Shining  Moss  {Schistostega  pejinaia)  in  an  old  quarry- 
hole  near  here ;  and  its  luminous  appearance,  accu- 
I'ately  described  by  him,  led  me  to  believe  it  was  some 
mineral  substance,  until  I  proved  the  contrary  by 
closer  examination.  The  hole  in  which  it  grew  was 
very  wet,  from  water  constantly  dripping  from  the 
roof;  and  the  fact  that  it  was  a  sandstone  quarry  led 
me  to  suppose  that  it  was  a  growth  peculiar  to  this 
stone,  and  I  was  not  aware  it  was  found  in  coal- 
measures. —  P.  A.  Gaily,  Bradfidd  Rectory,  near 
Sheffield. 

Shining  Moss.  —  Last  year,  when  staying  near 
the  Land's  End,  I  was  told  by  the  fishermen  of  a  cave 
not  believed  to  be  known  to  tourists,  the  sides  of 
which,  they  said,  were  covered  with  gilded  moss.  I 
visited  it,  and  found  it  to  be  a  large  cave,  with  a 
small  and  narrow  entrance,  very  much  blocked  up  by 
fallen  rocks,  so  that  the  light  came  in  through  the 
upper  part  only,  and  fell  in  a  sloping  direction  ;  the 
sides  were  very  damp  with  constant  dripping,  and 
the  Aspleniuin  marinum  hung  in  quantities  from  the 
roof  J  the  sides  of  the  cave,  in  many  places  where  the 
light  struck,  shone  really  with  as  great  brilliancy  as 
if  they  had  actually  been  gilded,  and  the  same  effect 
was  seen  in  the  small  pools  below.  It  was  only  seen 
when  standing  near  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  with  one's 
back  to  the  light.  The  lustre  was  decidedly  greenish. 
I  should  think  the  sea  only  entered  the  cave  at  very 


high  spring  tides.  On  approaching  the  places  where 
the  gilded  effect  was  seen,  it  vanished,  and  only  a 
thin  shiny  layer  was  seen.  I  gathered  some  of  this  both 
from  the  sides  and  from  the  pools,  and  examined  it 
on  my  return,  and  in  each  instance  found  it  to  consist 
almost  entirely  of  diatomacere  of  various  kinds. — 
Albert  D.  Michael. 

Shining  INIoss. — In  answer  to  Mr.  Watson's  no- 
tice of  a  Shining  Moss,  I  would  inform  him  that  in 
London's  Magazine,  vol.  ii.  p.  406,  there  is  a  long 
notice  of  the  same  plant  in  Derbyshire,  in  the  shady 
recesses  of  some  of  the  rocks.  In  case  Mr.  Watson 
has  not  the  volume,  I  would  mention  one  or  two 
things  Mr.  Bowman,  a  well-known  naturalist,  says  of 
it.  He  mentions  the  golden-green  light,  of  a  phos- 
phorescent appearance,  which  showed  best  at  a  little 
distance,  and  was  lost  on  close  inspection.  When 
brought  into  the  light,  there  was  a  network  of  green, 
with  cylindrical  jointed  stems  and  branches.  It  ap- 
peared to  be  a  kind  of  conferva,  nearly  approaching 
Conferva  velntina ;  and  Mr.  Bowman  seemed  to 
think  that  the  light  must  have  been  concentrated  and 
reflected  by  the  convex  form  of  the  reticulations  of 
the  plant.  In  vol.  iii.  p.  152,  a  correspondent  men- 
tions a  similar  thing  which  he  saw  in  a  cavern  by  the 
roadside,  near  Penryn.  It  there  seemed  a  small 
moss,  apparently  Dicraniim  taxifolinm.  In  De  Luc's 
"Geological  Travels"  the  same  thing  was  seen  in 
the  granite  mountains  about  Beyreuth.  When  seen 
from  a  particular  point,  the  part  covered  with  the 
moss  showed  a  fine  emerald-green  light.  — E.  T. 
Scott. 

Botany  of  Cader  Idris. — I  have  read  with  con. 
siderable  interest  "Botanical  Notes  in  the  Neigh- 
bourhood of  Cader  Idris,"  published  in  your  issue  for 
August ;  but  I  was  rather  astonished  at  finding  no 
mention  made  of  the  beautiful  Gentiana  acaiilis,  or 
Gentiauella,  which  I  certainly  noticed  as  growing  on 
the  Cader  in  July,  1862.  There  were  several  plants 
of  it.  I  hope  and  trust  it  has  not  been  exterminated. 
One  seldom  sees  it  even  in  gardens,  and  the  only 
garden  where  I  noticed  it  in  great  perfection  belonged 
to  a  friend  of  mine  at  Guestling,  Sussex.  It  formed 
a  sort  of  edging  for  the  flower-borders,  and  attained 
the  greatest  degree  of  beauty  and  perfection.  In 
Babington's  "Manual  of  Botany"  it  is  stated  that  the 
Cotoneaster  is  found  on  Great  Orme  Head.  I  tra- 
versed its  length  and  breadth  in  July,  1862,  but  was 
unable  to  find  a  single  plant ;  and  Llandudno  within 
the  last  twenty  years  having  become  a  large  town,  I 
suppose  its  numerous  visitors  to  Orme  Head  have 
sealed  the  fate  of  Cotoneaster. — John  Colebrooh. 

Phormium  tenax  (New  Zealand  flax),  &c. — This 
plant  is  now  in  full  flower  at  the  Cliftonville  Nursery, 
Brighton.  Is  not  this  an  unusual  circumstance  ?  The 
same  florist  has  had  many  plants  for  several  years,  but 
none  have  flowered  before :  the  flower-stem  is  about 
eight  feet  high,  and  the  fllowers  very  abundant.     The 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S     S  CIENCE  ■  G  0  SSIF. 


211 


Eiionyimts  Japonka,  also,  which  flowered  at  Brighton 
for  the  first  time  about  three  years  ago  upon  only  one 
or  two  plants,  has  this  year  flowered  abundantly. 
Has  any  peculiarity  in  the  weather,  this  season,  occa- 
sioned this  unusual  inflorescence,  or  can  the  readers 
of  Science-Gossip  suggest  the  cause  of  it? — 
T.  B.  W.,  Brighton. 

Drying  Brittle  Plants. — The  experience  of 
Mr.  D.  Douglas,  in  his  attempts  to  preserve  Chara 
and  similar  fragile  plants,  is  by  no  means  uncommon. 
Last  season  I  received  a  parcel  of  plants  which  had 
been  some  time  dried,  and,  after  passing  through  the 
postman's  hands,  they  were  reduced  to  a  confused 
mass  of  fragments.  I  was  induced  by  the  difficulty 
of  making  even  characteristic  specimens  of  the  Cras- 
sula  family  (to  say  nothing  of  beauty)  to  try  a  method 
which  has,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  the  merit  of  keeping 
the  parts  of  a  plant  together.  .  After  one  of  these 
troublesome  subjects  has  been  in  the  press  long 
enough  to  flatten  it  (a  day  or  two  suffices),  gum  one 
side  of  the  specimen  carefully  and  lay  upon  it  a  sheet 
of  mounting-paper  of  the  required  size.  It  can  then 
be  passed  through  the  press,  and  dried  in  the  usual 
way  between  blotting-paper.  The  plant  is  by  this 
means  secured  to  the  paper  during  the  process  of 
diying.  I  have  secured  very  good  specimens  of 
Sediim  dasyphylhun,  with  all  the  leaves  attached, 
a  thing,  I  fancy,  next  to  impossible  if  the  plants  are 
dried  in  the  ordinary  way.  A  friend  suggests  air 
improvement  on  this  plan  for  delicate  filamentous 
plants  like  the  Charas.  Lay  the  plant  on  paper  tha 
has  been  well  gummed  over,  and  while  the  gum  is 
wet  ;  then  upon  this  place  a  sheet  of  dry  paper,  care- 
fully turn  upside  down,  and  after  drawing  off  the 
gummed  sheet,  replace  it  with  a  clean  sheet  of 
mounting-paper ;  turn  over  again  and  remove  sheet 
No.  2  ;  the  plant  is  thus  secured,  and  does  not  col- 
lapse or  tangle. —  W.  E.  Green. 

A  New  London  Flora. — This  is  the  title  of  a 
capital  hand-book  of  the  flora  of  the  metropolis  and 
the  neighbourhood,  by  Dr.  Eyre  de  Ci'espigny,  pub- 
lished by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly. 
To  practical  botanists  it  is  invaluable,  as  it  serves  all 
the  purposes  of  a  field  guide.  We  have  many  capital 
collecting-grounds  not  far  from  London,  in  spite  of 
the  sure  manner  with  which  the  capital  is  swelling 
its  boundaries.  Dr.  Crespigny  gives  not  only  lists 
of  flowering  plants  and  their  localities,  but  treats  of 
ferns,  mosses,  and  other  cryptogamic  plants.  A  list 
of  seventy-five  places  is  given,  each  place  described 
as  to  its  scenery,  physical  character,  &c.  ;  and  then 
follows  the  lists  of  plants  to  be  met  with.  It  is  with 
much  pleasure  we  heartily  commend  this  book. 

GEOLOGY. 

The  Microscopic  Character  of  Rocks. — 
Professor  Zirkel,  in  a  recent  review  of  the  various 
kinds  of  crystalline  rocks  and  their  microscopic  dis- 


tinctions, says  he  generally  uses  the  term  ground  mass 
for  rock  which  is  distinctly  granular  under  the  micro- 
scope, and  base  where  there  is  an  amorphous  paste 
not  ciystallinely  granular  under  the  highest  magnify- 
ing power,  though  containing  crystalline  minerals. 
The  ciystalline  minerals  in  the  base,  he  thinks,  were 
formed  while  the  base  had  still  a  flowing  movement, 
as  is  shown  by  the  minerals  ranging  in  straight  or 
wavy  lines,  and  by  their  fractures  or  abrupt  bends 
and  displacements.  Hence  the  positions  and  forms 
of  the  crystals  have  been  partly  determined  by  the 
flowing  ;  and  hence,  also,  the  rock  has  not  under- 
gone any  metamoi-phic  changes  since  solidification 
took  place.  Those  rocks  whose  micro-fluidal  struc- 
ture is  particularly  distinct  are  generally  proportion- 
ally rich  in  broken  ciystals,  shivered  into  detached 
sharply-angular  fragments. 

Geological  Phenomenon  in  the  Savoy 
Alps. — A  good  deal  of  interest  has  lately  been  taken 
in  a  phenomenon  reported  from  the  Savoy  Alps.  A 
mountain  in  Tarentaise  has  been  crumbling  down, 
and  this  has  been  going  on  for  nearly  a  month. 
Huge  stones,  some  of  them  of  fifty  cubic  yards'  bulk, 
have  been  detached  from  the  summit  of  the  mountain, 
and  been  precipitated  to  the  bottom  from  a  height  of 
five  thousand  feet,  leaping  a  thousand  feet  at  a  bound. 
The  air  has  been  filled  with  the  noises  of  falling 
stones,  and  two  neighbouring  villages  have  suffered 
disasters  from  the  constant  stony  avalanches.  The 
debris  which  has  been  thus  detached  has  formed  a 
huge  conical  mound  in  the  valley  nearly  two  thousand 
feet  in  diameter  at  the  bottom,  and  six  hundred  feet 
wide  at  the  top.  Extensive  pine  forests  have  slipped 
from  the  mountain-side,  or  been  shivered  to  pieces. 
It  is  well  known  to  geologists  that  the  Alpine  range 
is  one  of  the  newest  of  mountain  systems,  and  owes 
its  existence  to  the  folding  or  crumpling  up  of  for- 
merly horizontal  strata.  This  process  has  been 
going  on  for  a  long  time  intermittingly,  and  it  may 
be  that  the  phenomenon  we  have  referred  to  is  due 
to  a  local  dislocation  of  strata  produced  by  forces 
tending  to  still  further  fold  up  the  rocks. 

"The  Geological  Record  for  1875."  — We 
are  glad  to  see  the  second  issue  of  this  most  useful 
volume  to  geologists.  We  are  not  surprised  to 
notice  that  it  is  increased  in  size  to  more  than  forty 
pages  over  its  predecessor.  This  is  caused  not  only 
by  increase  of  matter,  but  also  by  a  most  valuable 
feature  ;  viz.,  an  index  of  all  species  of  fossils  noticed 
in  the  work.  The  editor,  Mr.  W.  Whitaker,  B.A., 
F.G.S.,  is  most  competent  to  the  task,  and  is 
assisted  in  his  undertaking  by  about  two  dozen 
of  the  most  notable  geological  writers  of  the  da)'. 
Notwithstanding  the  increase  in  size,  the  price  of  the 
Recoi-d  remains  the  same. 

Another  Specimen  of  Arch^opteryx. — It 
is  announced  that  another  specimen  of  the  Archceo- 
pteryx,  or  fossil  feathered  animal  originally  discovered 


212 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


in  the  Solenhofen  slates,  has  been  found  at  Pappen- 
heim,  near  Solenhofen.  It  is  said  to  be  much  more 
perfect  than  the  former,  and  that  the  head  is  pre- 
served. In  the  original  specimen,  parts  of  the  head 
were  missing.  Some  geologists  have  long  been  of 
opinion  that  this  fossil  bird  or  reptile  (for  the  type  is 
so  intemiediate  that  it  is  difficult  to  say  which  it  is) 
must  have  had  teeth  implanted  in  the  mandibles. 

The  New  Fossil  Tertiary  Bird. —  The  new 
species  of  fossil  bird,  called  LitJiornis  eimiimis,  to 
which  we  referred  in  our  last  number,  is  believed  by 
Professor  Owen  to  have  had  enormous  wings,  and  to 
have  been  closely  allied  to,  but  larger  than,  the 
albatross. 

Geology  of  Plymouth. — In  my  sketch  of  the 
Geology  of  Plymouth  (Science-Gossip,  August, 
p.  170),  I  inadvertently  committed  Mr.  Champer- 
nowne  to  an  opinion  which  he  never  has  held.  In 
the  sentence,  "It  is  quite  possible  that  the  southern 
margin  of  the  Plymouth  limestone  may  be  a  faulted 
one,  as  siigocstcd  to  mc  by  Mi:  Champerncnvne,''''  the 
words  here  marked  in  italics  should  be  erased. — 
H.  B.  Woodward. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

Peregrine  Falcon,  &c. — However  much  it  is 
against  my  inclination  to  refer  to  books  to  assist  me 
to  solve  the  question  in  dispute,  or,  in  fact,  to  pass  an 
opinion  at  all  upon  the  specific  distinction  of  birds 
which  I  have  never  observed  in  their  native  wilds, 
still  I  will,   as  requested   by  Mr.    Dealy,    give   the 
opinion  of  several  trustworthy  writers  of  recent  date 
upon  this  subject.     In   the   first   place   Dr.    Elliott 
Coues,  in  his  "Birds  of  the  North-west,"  says  :   "The 
American  Duck-hawk    appears    to    have   been   first 
separated  from  the  Old  World  Peregrine  by  Prince 
Bonaparte  in   1838  ;  but  no  characters  were,   to  my 
knowledge,  then  ascribed  to  it,  and  it  is  very  doubt- 
ful that  any  exist."     It  may  be  presumed  that  this 
autlior  was   misled  by  a  then  supposed,    but   since 
proved   groundless,    difference    in    the   nidification ; 
more  likely,  however,  he  proceeded  upon  some  theory 
respecting  geographical  distribution.     The  name  has, 
however,  been  very  generally  adopted,  even  by  those 
who  have  demurred  against  it.     One  of  the  highest 
authorities  on  birds   of  prey.    Dr.   Schlegel,  states, 
after  examination  of  various  examples  from  North  and 
South  America  and  Mexico,  that  "  le  Faucoii  comnnin 
de  I'Amerique  ne  differe  en  aucune  fa9on  du  notre." 
Such  is  nearly  my  own  view  ;  and  even  Bonaparte,  in 
1850,    confesses   that   his   ana t tun   is   "  forsan  a  F. 
(Y'ww//;?/ spec,  baud  diversus."  ....      Of  the  Aus- 
tralian F.  mclanoi^enys  Dr.   Schlegel  has  remarked  : 
"  La  variete  accidentelle  foncee  de  I'Australie  .   .   .   . 
ne  merite  pas  meme  le  nom  de  conspecies."    As  to  the 
Duck-hawk   "retiring  to  swamps,   &c.,"    Mr.   Allen 
states  (writing  in  1864)  that  ]\Ir.   Bennett  took  the 
eggs  of  the  Duck-hawk  upon  Mount  Tom,   Mass., 
U.S.A.,  and  secured  the  female  bird.     I  will  quote  a 
few  of  the  remarks  made  by  Mr.  Allen.     "  Ten  days 
later  he  made  another  visit,  and,  creeping  carefully  to 
the  summit  of  the  cliff,  at  a  point   near  the  eyrie 
already  spoken  of,  he  saw  the  female,  on  looking  over 
the  cliff,  sitting  on  the  nest,  and  but  five  or  six  yards 
distant.     She  eyed  him  fiercely  for  an  instant,  and 


then,  scrambling  from  the  nest  to  the  edge  of  the 
narrow  shelf  supporting  it,  launched  into  the  air.  In 
a  twinkling  Mr.  Bennett's  unerring  aim  sent  her 
tumbling  dead  at  the  foot  of  the  precipice  several 
hundred  feet  below.  The  nest  contained  four  eggs, 
which  were  soon  safely  secured,  and  the  body  of  the 
female  was  obtained  from  the  foot  of  the  cliff."  There 
is  another  matter  to  which  I  would  call  Mr.  Dealy's 
attention— his  recent  assumed  discovery  of  the  Red 
Grouse  perching  upon  trees, — if  he  will  allow  hini- 
self  to  remember  that  we  were  once  discussing  this 
matter,  and  that  I  informed  him  of  this  peculiar 
habit,  which  he  has  now  published  as  his  cum  dis- 
coz'ciy.  I  claim  no  merit  for  the  so-called  discovery, 
which,  I  have  no  doubt,  many  of  the  readers  of 
Science-Gossip  have  repeatedly  observed  ;  but  I 
cannot  allow  a  person  to  claim  honour  which  he  has 
not  earned  by  any  of  his  own  researches.  As  I  have 
now  endeavoured  to  reply  fully  to  Mr.  Dealy's 
remarks,  I  ask  him  to  kindly  express  an  opinion  upon 
my  own,  as  I  previously  wished.  (See  Science- 
Gossip,  July  I,  1877.)  By  the  way,  will  Mr.  Dealy 
kindly  inform  me  from  what  authority  he  has  received 
the  information  respecting  the  numerous  clutches  of 
eggs  in  one  sparrow-hawk's  ntsil— Charles  Dixon, 
Heeley,  near  Sheffield. 

Peregrine. — I  was  particularly  pleased  with  July 
number  of  Science-Gossip,  inasmuch  as  Mr.  South- 
well's paragraph  referring  to  the  Peregrine  entirely 
clears  up,  as  it  now  stands,  everything  concerning/'. 
peregrinus  and  F.  anatwn ;    and  I  might  say  with 
the    Hon.     Secretary    of    the   Norwich   Naturalists' 
Society,  "I  too  am  content  to  accept  the  opinion  of 
modern  ornithologists  "  as  to  the  identity  of  the  t\yo 
above-named  birds.     Although  the  assertion  of  Wil- 
son regarding  the  so-called  Duck-hawk  always  strik- 
ing its  prey  to  the  ground  may  be  strong,   I  do  not 
consider  the  expression  too  strong,  as  he  adds  :   "The 
circumstance  of  the   hawk's  never  canying  off  the 
duck  on  striking  it,  has  given  rise  to  the  belief  of  that 
service   being   performed   by   means   of  the   breast, 
which  vulgar  opinion  has  armed  with  a  projecting 
bone."     It  would  be  interesting  to  know  the  grounds 
on  which  Gould  based  his  opinion  as  to  the  distinction 
of  these  two  birds.     I  candidly  admit  that,  under  the 
information  brought  to  light  by  Mr.  Southwell,  I  was 
using  a  very  wide  expression  -when  I   said  that  the 
Peregrine  never  "  built "  its  nest  on  trees, — always  on 
rocks."    I  see  also  that  "Old  Bushman,"  in  his  "Ten 
Years  in  Sweden,"  says  that  the  Peregrine  constructs 
I    its  eyry  on  trees  ;  whether  in  a  s^\•amp  or  on  the  wikl 
!    lonely  sides  of  these  rocky  fells,  he  leaves  us  to  con- 
I   jecture.     The  fact  of  the  Peregrine  breeding  on  trees 
I    in  Europe  is  not  confined  to  North  Germany  alone, 
and  I  have  little  doubt  that,  if  properly  inquired  into, 
1   it  would  be  found  that  it,  at  times,  nestled  on  trees  in 
I   various  other  parts  of  Europe.     My  heartiest  thanks 
'   are  due  to  the  editor  for  the  kindness  and  forbearance 
he  has  shown  in  allowing  this  discussion  to  take  place, 
I    as  it  has   been  productive   of  much  good,   and  has 
I    called  opinions  out  of  obscurity  where  they  have  long 
lain  dormant.  — r.  W.  Dealy,  Sheffield. 

The  Red-legged   Partridge. — I  have  in  my 

collection  an  egg  of  the  above,  taken  in  May  of  this 

I    year,   a  few  miles  from   here   (Ripon,  Yorkshire).      I 

:    should  like  to  know  if  any  of  the  readers  of  Science- 

i    Gossip  have  ever  known  or  heard  tell  of  the  Red-leg 

breeding  so  far  north  as  this  before,  there  being  no 

i    preserves  of  this  species  anywhere  near,  at  least  not 

to  my  knowledge.     I  have  not  heard  of  them  being 

preserved  out  of  Norfolk.      I  can  only  set  it  down  as 

being  some  bird   or  birds  which,  have  strayed  away, 

I  have  made  inauiries,  but  have  never  heard  of 


as 


mquines. 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


213 


■any  one  who  had  seen  this  species  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. Not  being  a  bird  noted  for  its  flying  powers, 
I  am  totally  at  a  loss  to  account  for  its  breeding  here, 
and  more  so  that  it  ever  got  here  to  breed. — F.  Pratl, 
Ripoit. 

Gilbert  White. — Doubtless  there  are  many  who 
could  endorse  the  remarks  of  Mrs.  Watney  about  the 
ignorance  of  the  Selborne  rustics.  Five  years  ago 
this  summer,  the  plan  of  my  holiday  trip  into  Hamp- 
shire and  West  Sussex  included  Selborne  in  my 
homeward  course,  and  on  passing  through  the  village 
from  the  southern  end,  I  made  inquiries  of  the  first 
adult  person  (a  woman)  i-especting  the  house  in  which 
the  Rev.  Gilbert  White  lived.  Her  answer  was,  as  near 
as  I  can  recollect:  "I  don't  know  who  'e  is  ;  I 
don't  know 'im— never 'eard  on 'im  !"  The  church 
and  graveyard  are  some  distance  up  from  the  Rogate 
end  of  Selborne  at  which  I  entered,  and  wishing  to 
avoid  the  possibility  of  having  to  retrace  my  steps,  I 
interrogated  one  or  two  other  persons  before  I  was 
rightly  informed;  and,  on  this  occasion,  it  was  by  an 
apparently  intelligent  workman,  occupied  then  in 
cutting  the  grass  on  the  "  many  a  mould'ring  heap" 
in  the  churchyard.  The  fact  recorded  of  the  Sel- 
borne folks  is  only  one  of  the  many  instances  that 
have  for  ever  been  observed  in  civilized  countries  since 
the  words  of  Him  who  suffered  more  than  any  one 
his  countrymen's  disregard,  were  uttered — "A  pro- 
phet hatli  no  honour  in  his  own  country." — George 
Ncivlyn. 

Gilbert  White's  Grave. — Allow  me  to  thank 
Mr.  R.  F.  Leckey  for  what,  I  have  no  doubt,  he 
intended  to  be  a  well-meant  correction  of  my  state- 
ment respecting  the  grave  of  the  above-mentioned 
widely-known  writer  on  and  lover  of  natural  history. 
I  sought  Gilbert  White's  grave  according  to  the 
directions  given  by  Edward  Jesse,  Esq.  I  looked  for 
the  fifth  grave  from  the  north  wall  of  the  chancel, 
and  I  found  it  covered  up  (as  I  stated  in  the  note 
alluded  to  by  Mr.  R.  F.  Leckey)  between  bricks,  old 
mortar,  slates,  and  rubbish.  This  was  on  my  first 
visit  to  Selborne  some  six  months  ago.  On  my 
second  visit,  paid  in  June,  to  inspect  the  old  stone 
coffins  lately  discovered  between  the  nave  and  the 
south  aisle,  I  was  exceedingly  pleased  to  find  that  all 
the  debris  had  been  removed  from  Gilbert  White's 
grave.  It  looked  clean  and  trim,  the  head-stone 
being  uncovered,  and  the  inscription 

"G  W 

26  June 
1793" 
was  readable.  My  remarks  in  a  London  paper  had, 
I  was  told,  been  instrumental  in  effecting  so  desirable 
a  result ;  and  a  friend  of  mine,  a  member  of  the 
Athenaeum,  tells  me  that  there  is  a  movement  in  the 
right  direction  amongst  literary  men  towards  erecting 
a  proper  monument  to  the  good  old  naturalist's 
memory  in  Selborne  churchyard.  Did  time  permit, 
I  should  like  to  send  you  an  account  of  the  stone 
coffins  and  their  contents. — Helen  E.  Watney. 

Birds'  Eggs. — As  some  time  has  now  elapsed 
since  the  editor,  in  the  June  number  of  this  paper, 
congratulated  "The  Woolhope  Club"  upon  its 
having  abolished  its  practice  of  giving  a  reward  for 
the  best  collection  of  birds'  eggs,  and  no  abler  pen 
than  mine  has  made  any  comments  upon  this  subject, 
although  discussion  was  invited,  I  venture  to  make 
the  following  remarks  in   favour  of  birds-nesting: — 

1.  In  no  other  way  would  so  good  a  knowledge  be 
likely  to  be  obtained  of  the  different  kinds  of  nests 
built,  and    the  places  where  they  are  to  be  found. 

2.  Were  it  not  for  birds-nesting,  a  great  number  of 


persons  would  grow  up  in  almost  total  ignorance  of 
ornithology.  3.  That  as  most  wild  birds  lay  at  least 
twice  during  tlie  season,  it  can  be  no  greater  hardship 
to  take  their  eggs  than  to  take  ordinary  hens'  eggs. 
4.  Several  of  the  commonest  birds  would  become  far 
too  numerous  were  it  not  for  this  practice.  In  con- 
clusion, I  think  it  would  have  been  far  better  if  the 
Woolhope  Club,  instead  of  ceasing  to  give  their 
reward  for  the  best  collection  of  eggs,  had  required 
each  competitor,  at  the  time  of  presenting  his  collec- 
tion, to  pass  an  easy  examination  in  his  knowledge 
of  the  birds  whose  eggs  he  had  collected. — A  Birds- 
nester. 

The  Goatsucker. — Referring  to  the  article  on 
the  above  bird  in  your  journal.  No.  151,  July  ist, 
1877,  it  is  there  stated  that  "our  one  English  repre- 
sentative is  limited  to  the  southern  and  south-eastern 
counties,  seldom  extending  far  inland."  This,  how- 
ever, is  pointed  out  as  a  mistake  by  a  Dumfries  cor- 
respondent in  No.  152,  August  ist,  1877,  so  far  as 
concerns  the  south  and  south-eastern  counties  ;  and 
as  it  is  always  desirable  to  submit  circumstantial 
evidence  of  a  fact,  I  beg  to  point  out  that  your 
readers  will  find,  on  page  lOl  of  "  The  Life  of  a 
Scotch  Naturalist,"  by  Smiles,  reference  made  to  the 
bird  as  an  inhabitant  of  the  county  of  Banff.  The 
work  referred  to  is  the  Life  of  Edward,  the  now 
notorious  shoemaker.  The  paragraph  in  which  the 
reference  is  made  is  one  of  great  beauty:  "  The  sun 
went  down.  The  mellow  thrush,  which  had  been 
pouring  forth  his  requiem  to  the  parting  day,  was 
now  silent.  The  lark  flew  to  its  mossy  bed,  the 
swallow  to  its  nest.  The  wood-pigeon  had  uttered 
his  last  coo  before  settling  down  for  the  night.  The 
hum  of  the  bee  was  no  longer  heard.  The  grass- 
hopper had  sounded  his  last  chirp  ;  and  all  seemed 
to  have  sunk  to  sleep.  Yet  Nature  is  never  at  rest. 
The  owl  began  to  utter  his  doleful  and  melancholy 
wail ;  the  night-jar  [Caprtjniil^ns  Enropaus)  was 
still  out  with  his  spinning- wheel-like  birr,  birr  ;  and 
the  lightsome  roe,  the  pride  of  the  lowland  woods, 
was  emitting  his  favourite  night  bark."  I  may  add 
that  I  have  myself  seen  this  bird  as  far  inland  as 
North  Wilts  and  North  Gloucester.— J.  E.  Stephens, 
Alloa,  N.B. 

The  Goatsucker.— In  Mr.  Whistler's  interest- 
ing paper  on  the  goatsucker,  he  asks  if  the  bird 
ever  jars  when  on  the  wing.  I  am  not  an  orni- 
thologist, but  the  bird  is  a  very  frequent  and  very 
near  neighbour  of  mine  during  summer  evening  walks, 
and  I  should  have  been  inclined  to  say  that  it  most 
decidedly  does  jar  when  on  the  wing  ;  I  should  also 
feel  tempted  to  add  a  note  to  the  perfect  noiselessness 
of  the  flight.  The  ordinary  flight  is  certainly  quite 
silent,  but  I  have  noticed  that  every  now  and  then 
it  will  suddenly  be  accompanied  by  a  loud  flapping 
noise,  which  will'  last  for  a  minute  or  so.  My  im- 
pression is,  that  this  is  produced  voluntarily,  and 
usually  when  a  pair,  male  and  female,  are  wheeling 
round  after  one  another  ;  but  perhaps  Mr.  Whistler, 
or  some  of  your  readers,  can  give  a  better  explana- 
tion.—y4//v;Y  D.  Michael. 

The  Goatsucker.— I  think  Mr.  C.  W.  Whistler 
has  given  rather  too  restricted  a  i^ange  to  the  Goat- 
sucker. It  is  not  at  all  an  uncommon  bird  in  the 
Westmoreland  Lake  district,  where  it  is  almost 
universally  called  the  fern-owl,  and  I  have  heard  its 
peculiar  note  very  frequently  near  Lake  Windermere. 
— A.  y.  Adams,  Rotherhani. 

Birds'  Nests  and  Eggs. — We  hear  and  see  and 
read  a  great  deal  these  days  about  "Oology"  and 
"Oologists,"  l:)ut  I  am  afraid  that  this  science  of  eggs 


214 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


and  its  votaries  cannot  stand  a  strict  scientific  scrutiny, 
unless  when  entirely  shielded  by,  and  made  sub- 
servient to,  true  Ornithology.     We  are  told  that  Mr. 

has  a  vei7  fine  Oological  collection.     What 

does  that  mean  ?  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  it  simply 
signifies  that  that  scientifically  inclined  gentleman  has 
accumulated  a  large  quantity  of  birds'  eggs,  which  he 
has  blown,  stuck  on  cords,  and  ranged  in  his  cabinet, 
where  visitors  can  see  and  admire  them.  No  one  can 
deny  that  the  effect  is  truly  very  pretty,  but  the  spirit 
of  the  work  is  not  so  admirable  ;  it  is  exactly  similar 
to  the  motives  a  school-boy  has  to  collect  postage- 
stamps,  or  buttons,  or  pieces  of  broken  crockery; 
there  is  not  a  whit  more  true  science  in  it  than  there 
would  be  in  making  a  collection  of  birds'  legs  or  tails. 
And  at  what  cost  is  this  fancy  work  carried  on  ?  At 
the  sacrifice  of  hundreds  of  little  songsters,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  larger  birds ;  at  the  cost  of  the  local 
extermination  of  the  rarer  species,  by  the  depopulation 
of  the  field,  the  garden,  the  orchard,  and  the  wood- 
lands of  their  most  beautiful  inhabitants,  and  of  the 
consequent  multiplication  of  a  hundred  forms  of  insect 
vermin.  Take  a  moderate-sized  collection  of  say  lOo 
species,  with  an  average  of  three  eggs  of  a  kind  ;  add 
to  this  a  hundred  for  eggs  lost,  owing  to  the  unwilling- 
ness of  the  parent  birds  to  return  to  a  disturbed  nest  ; 
add  fifty  for  eggs  broken  or  otherwise  lost  in  prepara- 
tion, and  another  hundred  for  companion  eggs  which 
have  been  transferred  to  another  collection,  and  you 
have  the  equivalent  of  at  least  500  birds  slaughtered 
for  m.ere  amusement  on  a  British  holiday.  Surely 
there  is  no  utility  in  a  collection  of  eggs,  except  when 
it  constitutes  a  portion  of  a  thorough  ornithological 
collection,  where  the  bird,  its  nest,  and  eggs,  are 
placed  in  juxtaposition  for  scientific  comparison  and 
investigation :  then  indeed  it  fills  an  important 
position,  for  the  history  of  a  bird  cannot  be  looked 
upon  as  complete  until  its  habits  of  nidification  and 
its  Oology  (if  the  term  musthe  employed)  ai-e  known. 
If  egg-collecting  as  egg-collecting  would  be  dropped 
by  (so-called)  naturalists,  and  the  general  rule  laid 
down  never  to  take  an  egg  of  whose  parent  bird  the 
collector  does  not  possess  a  specimen  or  a  reasonable 
hope  of  obtaining  one,  it  seems  to  me  that  a  per- 
ceptible check  would  be  given  to  this  wholesale, 
useless,  and  cruel,  but  deplorably  popular,  method  of 
waging  war  against  some  of  our  best  friends. — IV.  T. 
Van  Dyck,  Biyrout,  Syria. 

Tadpoles. — As  I  have  several  times  kept  tadpoles, 
I  can  inform  your  correspondent  of  the  plan  I  have 
found  to  succeed,  though  I  am  not  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  their  history.  He  is  probably  aware 
that  it  is  now  too  late  in  the  year  to  get  any  young 
tadpoles  or  spawn.  The  spawn  can  be  found  in  great 
abundance  at  the  edges  of  ponds  in  the  early  spring. 
The  young  tadpoles  should  be  kept  in  a  wide,  shallow 
vessel,  with  a  layer  of  gravel,  earth,  or  sand  at  the 
bottom,  and  some  water- weeds,  such  as  you  will  find 
in  the  pond  where  they  came  from.  The  weeds 
serve  both  to  keep  the  water  sweet  and  for  food  for 
the  tadpoles  ;  for  at  the  beginning  of  their  career 
they  are  entirely  herbivorous.  You  should  get  two  or 
three  kinds  of  weed,  for  they  do  not  like  every  sort. 
But  they  seem  to  be  veiy  fond  of  the  green  slime 
generally  to  be  found  in  ponds,  and  I  take  care  to  let 
mine  have  a  pretty  constant  supply.  The  gravel 
sei-ves  to  root  the  weeds,  and  I  think  helps  to  keep  the 
water  pure.  In  a  short  time  (perhaps  two  or  three 
weeks)  they  begin  to  become  carnivorous,  and  must 
have  a  tiny  piece  of  lean  meat  given  them  oc- 
casionally. In  the  wild  state  they  doubtless  supply 
themselves  with  insects.  If  animal  food  is  not 
supplied,  they  do  not  develop  at  the  proper  time,  and 


will  continue  in  nearly  the  same  state  for  weeks  ;  and 
finally  begin  to  devour  one  another.  They  do  not 
seem  to  mind  whether  the  meat  is  raw  or  cooked,  but 
prefer  it  tender.  A  little  piece  the  size  of  a  three- 
penny bit  will  feast  a  dozen  tadpoles  for  perhaps  a 
day  or  two.  It  is  most  interesting  to  watch  them 
wrestling  with  the  meat  and  struggling  with  each 
other  to  get  at  it.  They  are  as  eager  and  voracious 
as  young  kittens.  As  soon  as  they  have  four  legs, 
they  begin  to  want  to  come  out  into  the  air  occa- 
sionally, and  you  must  make  a  shelving  bank,  of 
stones  or  a  tile,  where  they  can  climb  out  of  the 
water  easily.  The  gills  are  now  giving  place  to  lungs. 
If  they  cannot  easily  get  out  to  take  an  airing,  they 
will  die,  and  the  other  younger  tadpoles  will  act  the 
part  of  cannibals,  ^^'^len  they  have  begun  to  sit  out 
in  the  air,  it  is  surprising  how  fast  the  tail  is  absorbed. 
A  single  day  will  make  a  perceptible  difference. 
When  it  is  nearly  gone  they  begin  to  hop  ;  and  it  is 
as  well,  when  they  reach  this  stage,  to  keep  them  out 
of  doors,  putting  the  vessel  (a  pie-dish  if  you  please) 
on  a  level  with  the  ground,  so  that  they  can  come 
back  to  the  water  if  they  wish.  I  give  mine  a  change 
of  water  occasionally  ;  but  if  there  were  more  water 
and  weeds  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  tadpoles,  it 
probably  would  not  be  necessary. — R.A. 

AQUARiUM-KEEriNG. — Ihavejust  seen  your  corre- 
spondent "P.E.C.'s  "  query  (July  number) ;  and  think- 
ing some  notes  on  my  own  experience  might  not  be  un- 
interesting, I  send  them  for  what  they  may  be  worth. 
My  aquaria  consist  of  a  rectangular  one,  about  2  ft. 
by  I  ft.  4 in.,  flanked  on  either  side  by  a  small  bell- 
glass  about  9  in.  in  diameter.  The  centre  aquarium 
has  a  fountain  and  waste-pipe.  I  have  also  fixed 
permanent  siphons  of  fine  glass  tubing  from  it  to  each 
of  the  side-glasses,  so  that  I  can  at  any  time,  by 
drawing  the  water  off  from  one  of  these,  establish  a 
stream  of  water  right  through.  The  fountain  does 
not,  I  believe,  meet  with  much  favour  from  those  who 
keep  aquaria  upon  purely  scientific  principles,  but  it 
adds  so  much  to  the  beauty  of  one,  that  I  should  ad- 
vise all  keepers  of  aquaria  to  introduce  one.  Mine  is 
simply  a  tank  on  the  top  of  a  bookshelf,  in  one  corner 
of  the  room,  from  which  I  have  a  kw  yards  of  tubing 
(India-rubber),  passing  through  a  metal  pipe  fixed  to 
the  bottom  of  the  aquarium.  The  mouthpiece  is  a 
piece  of  glass  tube,  heated  in  a  gas-jet,  and  drawn  to 
a  fine  point.  It  throws  a  jet  about  3  ft.  in  height, 
and  passes  little  more  than  a  gallon  of  water  per 
hour.  The  waste-pipe  conducts  the  water  to  a  pitcher 
that  stands  behind  the  window-curtain,  and  all  that 
is  necessary  is  to  empty  the  water  back  into  the  cis- 
tern some  three  or  four  times  a  day.  The  aquarium 
is  further  embellished  with  a  strip  of  virgin  cork, 
about  3  in.  in  width,  running  round  the  back  and 
ends,  and  just  touching  the  top  of  the  water.  On 
these  I  grow  various  kinds  of  moss  and  ferns,  the 
spray  from  the  fountain  seeming  to  suit  them  very 
well.  This,  however,  is  only  a  recent  addition,  most 
of  the  ferns  having  been  planted  this  year.  And  now 
for  the  contents  of  the  aquaria  :  the  bottom  is  co- 
vered with  sand  and  broken  spar,  and  I  have  some 
plants  of  valisneria  in  pots,  the  pots  being  concealed 
in  the  sand.  I  have  also  some  plants  of  water  star- 
wort  and  anacharis.  The  latter  sorts  do  not,  however, 
do  well  in  any  place  where  there  are  fish, — at  least  that 
is  my  experience.  If  grown  without  fish,  or  where 
there  are  only  very  small  ones,  they  will  thrive  very 
well.  I  have  tried  Stratiotes  aloides  twice,  but  find  the 
snails  are  too  fond  of  it  ;  they  eat  the  plants  away. 
For  fish,  I  have  one  goldfish,  one  tench,  one  ruffe, 
two  perch,  and  minnows  and  sticklebacks.  Roach 
I  find  not  easy  to  keep,  as  sooner  or  later  they  are 


HARD  WICKE'S  SCIENCE-  G  OSS  J  P. 


215 


always  attacked  with  mould,  the  great  pest  of  small 
fish.  One  of  the  side-glasses  I  keep  entirely  for  In- 
fusoria and  other  microscopical  objects.  The  other 
contains  fish  too  small  to  be  trusted  in  the  large  one. 
Some  time  in  March  last  I  banished  a  large  male 
stickleback  from  the  centre  aquarium  to  one  of  the 
side  ones,  on  account  of  his  quarrelsome  habits  ;  and 
knowing  their  nest-building  propensities,  I  thought  I 
would  see  if  they  would  buikl  in  a  small  aquarium. 
I  therefore  caught  a  female  heavy  with  spawn,  and 
put  lier  in  the  small  glass  with  him,  and  in  a  very  few 
days  the  male  had  built  a  rough  kind  of  nest,  in  which 
were  deposited  the  eggs.  After  this  the  male  set  up 
such  a  violent  persecution  of  the  female  that  I  was 
obliged  to  remove  her  to  a  separate  tank.  I  now 
thought  a  stream  of  water  would  be  good  for  the 
eggs ;  so,  instead  of  letting  the  water  run  through  the 
waste-pipe,  I  fixed  another  siphon  up,  to  draw  the 
water  out  of  the  side-glass,  nearly  emptying  it  three 
or  four  times  a  day,  by  which  means  I  got  an  almost 
constant  current  through  the  bell-glass,  which  the 
stickleback  himself  supplemented  by  poising  over  the 
nest,  and  setting  his  fins  in  motion,  very  much  in  the 
same  way  as  that  in  which  bees  ventilate  a  hive  in  hot 
weather.  Some  three  or  four  weeks  after  I  was  very 
pleased  to  see  a  lot  of  small  sticklebacks  hatch  out. 
I  immediately  removed  the  old  one,  lest  his  appetite 
should  overcome  his  parental  affection.  I  fed  the 
young  fish  on  meat-flies'  eggs  and  small  water  in- 
sects for  some  weeks,  during  which  time  they  throve 
well.  One  day,  however,  a  friend  brought  me  some 
very  small  minnows  ;  these  I  placed  in  the  large 
aquarium,  but  they  were  immediately  set  upon  by  the 
perch  ;  one  was  captured  and  swallowed  by  a  perch 
not  more  than  half  as  long  again  as  himself;  and 
fearing  the  rest  would  go  in  the  same  way,  I  caught 
them  again,  and  put  them  in  the  side-glass  with  the 
young  sticklebacks,  and  on  looking  for  them  some 
time  after,  they  (the  sticklebacks)  had  all  disap- 
peared. I  have  now  put  three  small  roach  in  with 
the  minnow,  the  largest  of  them  all  not  being  more 
than  one  inch  long.  With  regard  to  food,  I  find 
small  worms  cut  up  are  the  best.  I  also  give  them 
vermicelli,  which  they  all,  except  sticklebacks,  eat 
greedily.  Since  writing  the  above,  one  of  the  perch 
has  come  to  an  untimely  end,  in  endeavouring  to 
swallow  a  small  stickleback,  a  great  many  of  which 
he  had  eaten  before  in  safety.  The  spines  had  caught 
in  his  throat  and  killed  it.  Had  I  seen  the  difficulty 
before,  I  should  doubtless  have  been  able  to  relieve 
him,  as  I  have  frequently  pulled  sticklebacks  out  of 
the  mouths  of  gold-fish  when  they  have  been  unable 
to  swallow  them. —  T.  Sliipton,  Chesterfield. 

Sticklebacks  in  Aquaria.— Perhaps  my  ex- 
perience in  keeping  sticklebacks  may  interest 
"  P.  E.  C."  I  have  had  an  aquarium  for  many  years, 
holding  about  eighty  gallons,  and  hearing  of  the 
mischievous  propensities  of  sticklebacks,  I  did  not 
have  any.  However,  one  was  brought  me,  a  pretty 
creature  in  his  bright  colours.  He  was  tame,  came 
and  took  food  from  your  hand,  and  became  a  favourite, 
but  he  soon  began  to  pluck  at  the  snails  and  killed 
them  ;  he  then  bit  pieces  out  of  the  tails  and  fins  of 
the  fish.  Not  satisfied  with  this,  he  used  to  meet  the 
fish,  swim  under  them,  put  up  his  stickles  and  rip 
them  open.  At  first  I  could  not  imagine  how  it  could 
be,  but  at  last  we  saw  it  done.  Of  course  he  was 
taken  out,  but  the  fish  all  died  off  from  wounds  which 
he  had  inflicted,  though  not  perceptible  to  me  :  I  had 
no  living  thing  left.  After  a  while  I  put  in  some 
snails  and  tadpoles ;  a  friend  brought  me  four 
stickles,  three  males,  one  female  ;  I  put  them  in,  and 
one  of  them  began  almost  immediately  to  build  a  nest. 


He  was  indefatigable  in  his  attention  to  it  night  and 
day,  hovering  over  it  and  fanning  the  water  ;  mean- 
while the  others  were  killing  the  snails  and  biting  oiV 
the  tails  of  the  tadpoles,  so  they  could  not  swim,  and 
fell  to  the  bottom,  dying  one  after  the  other.  In  about 
seven  or  eight  days  the  young  ones  were  swimming 
about  over  the  nest ;  we  counted  seven ;  the  parent 
kept  them  there  and  drove  the  others  away  furiously. 
However,  they  soon  lost  their  protector ;  he  was 
floating  dead  in  about  three  days  after  the  hatching, 
which  I  hear  is  always  the  case  :  I  do  not  think  he 
ate  anything  all  the  time.  From  that  time  we  saw- 
no  more  of  the  young  ones  until  by  chance  we  sav/ 
two  behind  a  stone  as  though  they  were  hiding  ;  the 
female  went  up,  put  her  head  in,  and  swallowed  them 
both  ;  they  were  nearly  half  an  inch  long,  and  very 
slender.  I  had  the  cannibals  taken  out  and  sent 
down  into  the  sewer. — H.C.R. 

Metropolitan  Entomology. — In  reference  to 
Mr.  R.  S.  Gibbons'  communication  in  your  July 
number,  I  may  say  that  some  few  years  ago,  M'hen 
I  lived  at  his  collecting-ground,  Cricklewood,  I 
often  saw  C.  Edusa  in  my  own  garden,  and  in  the 
adjoining  fields  ;  I  did  not  want  it,  and  therefore 
did  not  capture  it.  With  regard  to  G.  Rhaiiini,  which 
one  may  fairly  expect  to  meet  nearly  everywhere  near 
London,  unless  Cane  Wood,  Hampstead,  has  been 
even  more  hunted  lately  than  it  used  to  be, — Mr. 
Gibbons  will  find  the  pupce  pretty  frequent  there, 
and  I  doubt  if  there  is  any  more  beautiful  chrysalis 
among  British  butterflies. — Albert  D.  Michael. 

How  TO  Get  Eggs  in  Trees. — A  friend  of  mine 
in  Canada  would  like  to  collect  the  eggs  of  various 
hawks  and  owls,  which,  as  he  informs  me,  breed  in 
the  woods  near ;  but  he  is  deterred  from  this  by  the 
great  size  of  the  trees  in  which  these  birds  nidificate. 
What  would  be  the  best  method  (easiest)  of  climbing 
trees  from  50  to  90  feet  high  and  from  4  to  8  feet  in 
diameter ;  for  in  such  trees,  he  says,  the  much- 
wished-for  eggs  are  located. — T.  W.  Dealy,  Sheffield. 

Notes,  &c. — May  I  call  your  attention  to  what 
seems  to  me  a  singular  freak  of  nature  in  the  case  of 
a  grey  parrot  ?  I  have  just  seen  one  which,  after 
being  in  the  same  family  for  25  years,  has  within  the 
past  two  months  laid  four  eggs  :  it  had  never  laid 
one  before.  The  bird  is  a  capital  talker,  and  a  great 
pet.  The  eggs  are  of  the  size  and  colour  of  a  wood- 
pigeon's.  The  bird  would  be  at  the  least  nearly 
thirty  years  old  :  it  has  always  lived  alone  in  the  usual 

large  wire   parrot's   cage. The  question  of  early 

primroses  has  brought  out  many  wonderful  examples 
of  the  mildness  of  the  season;  but  surely  "Haw- 
thorn," in  "J.  H.  of  Watford's  ''  account,  must  be  an 
error. —  W.  E.   ThontJ>son. 

A  Cat  and  her  Kittens. — In  front  of  a  certain 
public-house  on  the  Abingdon  road  stands  a  row  of 
elm-trees.  In  one  of  these  trees,  many  feet  from  the 
ground,  is  a  hollow,  in  which  cackling  jackdaws  nest 
every  year.  One  morning,  before  it  was  light,  a  cat 
was  heard  making  a  great  noise  in  the  tree,  and  was 
observed  in  the  uncertain  light  to  be  bringing  some- 
thing down  in  its  mouth.  When  a  short  distance 
from  the  ground  pussy  was  seen  to  drop  her  burden 
very  softly  on  the  ground,  and  afterwards  convey  it 
very  carefully  into  an  outhouse.  When  the  landlady- 
came  down  stairs  and  went  into  the  latter  place,  pussy 
had  laid  the  last  of  her  three  kittens  (for  kittens  they 
were)  on  the  floor,  and,  looking  up  in  her  mistress's 
face,  mewed  most  piteously,  as  if  soliciting  her  pro- 
tection, which  was  cheerfully  given,  it  is  needless  to 
say.  She  had,  perhaps,  been  driven  up  by  some  dog 
the  night  before,  and  had  "  kittened  "  in  the  jackdaws' 
haunt. —  IV.  H.  Warner. 


2l6 


HARD  WICKE '  6*    6-  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


NOTICES    TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 


To     CoRRESrONDENTS     AND     EXCHANGERS.  —  As    We    llOW 

publish  SciENXE-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  8th  of  the 
previous  month. 


W.  H.  (Beeralston.) — .^.s  you  wished,  we  placed  j'our  Cera- 
nhiiii  in  the  hands  of  our  greatest  authority  on  British  Botany, 
though  we  had  no  doubt  it  was  Geranium  striattau.  Such  it 
I)rove.s  to  be.  We  have  met  with  it  plentifully  at  Garth  Ferry, 
Anglesea. 

Y.  H.  Arnold. — We  should  be  pleased  to  have  all  the  plants 
you  suggest. 

H.  D. — The  monstrosity  in  the  rose  you  sent  us  is  of  that 
kind  called  phyllody  of  the  sepals  by  Dr.  INIasters.  See  his 
"  Vegetable  Teratology,"  published  by  the  Ray  Society. 

To  "Exchangers"  and  others. — A  correspondent  kindly 
draws  our  attention  to  a  supposed  new  regulation  of  the  Post- 
Office,  which  forbids  letters  to  be  addressed  to  initials  onlj-. 
He  .states  that  he  knows  of  one  case  in  which  a  letter  so  ad- 
dressed was  returned. 

C.  V.  Smith. — The  publishers  of  the  Annals  and  Magazine 
of  Natural  History  are  Taylor  &  Francis,  Red  Lion-courtj 
Fleet-street.     The  price  is  2S.  6d.  monthly. 

C.  D. — We  must  be  allowed  our  editorial  right  to  revise  all 
such  communications  as  we  deem  necessary. 

W.  Mc.\. — We  have  found  soda-water  to  be  a  capital  medium 
in  which  to  keep  freshlj'-cut  flowers  fcr  a  long  time.  Add  a 
little  fresh  when  they  appear  to  droop. 

J.  WoODGATE. — We  should  be  glad  to  have  a  specimen  of 
Aciinocarpns  Damasoniuni. 

B.  KlRiiV. — All  the  snails,  land  and  fresh-water  and  marine, 
belong  to  the  sub-kingdom  Mollnsca. 

N.  G. — The  fern  sent  to  us  from  Grange  is  the  Bladder  fern 
{Cystopteris  /ragilis). 

M.  Fowler. — The  shells  are  Claiisilia  biplicata. 

Flater  noctilucus. — Would  any  of  the  numerous  readers 
of  SciENCE-Gossir  kindly  mform  me  if  Flater  ncctibicus  is 
an  inhabitant  of  the  West  Indies? — Cite.  Lloyd,  St.  Thomas, 
D.  W.  I. 

J.  E.  S. — Your  mosses  are  : — i,  Bryiinicarnenni  ;  2,  IVeissia 
controversa ;  3,  Ptychoviitrimn  polyphyllum ;  4,  Hypnuin 
hitescens ;  5,  Ceratodon  piirpnrcns ;  6,  Tortiila  suhulata  ; 
7,  Didymodon  luridus  ;  8,  Loplwcolea  bidentata  ;  and  9,  Hyp- 
nuin serpens  and  S-wartzii. 

W.  Burbridge. — Your  specimens  are:— i,  Hypnnm  inol- 
luseuin  ;  2,  Polytriekictn  commune  ;  3,  IMadotheca  platyphylla; 
4,  Hyp)t7im  lorcjun ;  5,  Hypnnm  riitabuluin ;  6,  Thuyidium 
tamariseinum ;  and  7,  Anoinodou  viticulosns. 

E.  Wheeler. — Your  mosses  are: — i,  Bfyum  murale  ;  2, 
Tortilla  iinguicidata  ;  3,  Hypnuin  pili/crnm  ;  4,  Hypnum 
filicinnm  ;  5  and  6  next  month.  — R.  B. 

R.  M.  NoRRis. — Your  fossils  are  all  Silurian  species,  and  are 
(i)  Rhyneonella  IVilsoni,  (2)  Graptolites,  sp.,  (3)  Asaphns 
caudatns,  and  (4)  fragment  of  an  Orthoceras. 

S.  P.  O.  (Warwick). — Send  to  the  secretary  of  the  Ray- 
Society  for  copies  of  their  rules  and  publications.  Some  of  the 
most  valuable  monographs  have  been  published  under  the 
society's  auspices. 

T.  Jones  (Lancaster). — The  specimens  are.  No.  1,  Epipactis 
lati/olia,  and  2,  Gentiana  Pncumonanihe. 


EXCHANGES. 

One-holed  eggs  of  Kestrel,  Sandpiper,  Magpie,  Long- 
tailed  Tit,  Kingfisher,  Grey  Wagtail,  Stock  Dove,  Coot,  &c., 
to  exchange.     Send  list. —  J.  F.  Pratt,  Westgate,  Ripon. 

A  FEW  Shells  to  exchange  for  other  shells,  fossils,  &c. — 
Address,  A.  H.,  Springfield  House,  Spring  Bank,  Hull. 

Specimens  of  fresh-water  Crustacean  {Astacus  Jiuviatilis), 
prepared  for  the  cabinet,  offered  for  other  Crustacea  or  Echino- 
dermata. — Ed.  Lovett,  Holly  Mount,  Croydon. 

For  wing  of  green  Indian  Beetle  send  mounted  or  unmounted 
Micro,  object,  with  stamped  and  directed  envelope  to  F.  S., 
22,  East-parade,  Rhyl. 

Send  two  stamps  for  sample  of  Diatoms  prepared  ready  for 
mounting,  to  E.  W.  Wilton,  18,  Lovellgrove,  Leeds. 

Wanted,  Popular  Science  Ke^'lezv,  from  the  commencement 
to  end  of  year  1876,  either  in  parts  or  bound,  in  exchange  for 
IMicroscopic  Objectives. — Address,  T.  C.  Maggs,  Yeovil. 


Swammardam's  "Bybel  der  Natuur,"  3  vols,  folio,  36 
plates,  for  other  Natural  History  works  (English).— A.  Lins- 
kill,  Falsgrave,  Scarborough. 

Well-i\iounted  specimens  of  young  of  Swan  Mussel  polari- 
scope),  Spicula  of  Gorgonia  and  Alcyonium,  in  exchange  for 
other  good  Slides  or  material. — Wm.  Low  Sarjeant,  6,  Dagnell 
Park-terrace,  Selhurst,  S.E. 

A  few  rare  British  and  Foreign  Birds'  Skins  and  Eggs  to 
exchange  for  rare  eggs.— J.  T.  T.  Reed,  Ryhope,  Sunder- 
land. 

Helianthcmum  polifolium.  Convolvulus,  Soldanella,  for 
other  rare  plants.  Lists  exchanged. — T.  Stock,  6,  Lorne-street. 
Leith,  N.B. 

Eggs  of  C.  Guillemot,  Razorbill,  Kitiiwake,  Herring  Gull, 
C.  Partridge,  Red-legged  Partridge,  Pheasant,  Skylark,  Blue 
Tit,  and  Greenfinch,  side-blown,  one  hole,  for  other  good  eggs. 
— Charles  Wild,  Hawthorn  House,  Eaton,  Norwich. 

Anthraeosia  7-obusta,  from  Slamannan  coal-measures. — I 
have  a  few  specimens  of  the  above  for  the  cabinet,  also  a  lot  of 
broken  pieces  to  make  micro,  slides.  Will  exchange  for  other 
Geological  Fossils. — M.  Fowler,  20,  Burn-row,  Slamannan, 
N.B. 

Wanted,  Leucodon  sciuroides,  two  or  three  good  fruiting 
specimens,  in  exchange  for  other  mosses  or  flowering  plants. — 
E.  D.  C,  25,  Oxford-road,  Kilburn,  London. 

British  Plants,  Nos.  45,  113,  121,  124,  147,  218,  366,  406, 
521,  534,  539-  623,  814,  822,  924,  1040,  1124,  1264,  1349,  1361, 
i384>  ,^429.  1458,  1473.  1537,  seventh  edition  "  London  Cata- 
logue," for  other  flowering  plants. — Lists  to  Thomas  Gough, 
Elmfield  College,  York. 

Noel  Humphrey's  "Genera  of  British  Moths,"  with  co- 
loured plates,  good  as  new.  Wanted,  Object  Glass  or  Eye- 
pieces for  Microscope. — W.  Harper,  Norfolk  Park,  Maiden- 
head. 

Good  specimens  o^  Cynthia  cardui  in  exchange  for  Polyoma- 
tus  JEgon  or  T/iecla  quercus.~Y.  C,  20,  Hova-villas,  Clifton- 
ville,  Brighton. 

Genista  tinctoria,  Actinocarpus  Damasoniuni,  Ruscus  acic- 
leatiis,  Fritillaria  Meleagris,  Crocus  vcriius,  for  other  plants. 
— J.  Woodgate,  New  Barnet,  Herts. 

Lagiirus  ovatiis,  Polypogon  monspeliensis,  and  yuncus  capi- 
tatus,  offered  for  Juncus  diffusus,  Equisetum  pratcnse,  and 
Impaticns  fiilva,  &c. — G.  C.  Druce,   Northampton. 

CoNCHOLOGV.  —  Wanted  to  exchange,  L.  palustris,  L 
glabra,  Ancylus  lacustris,  Zonites  radiatulus,  Z.  excavatus< 
Helix  lamellata.  Helix  aculeata,  H.  lapicida,  C.  tridens,  &c. , 
for  British  or  foreign  Unios  or  Anadontas,  from  well-authenti- 
cated localities. — Lister  Peace,  Crosland  Moor  Bottom,  Hud- 
dersfield. 


BOOKS,  &c.,  RECEIVED. 

"Forms  of  Flowers."  By  C.  Darwin,  F. R. S.  London: 
John  Murray. 

"  The  Antelope  and  Deer  of  America."  By  Dr.  J.  D.  Caton. 
London  :  Hurd  &  Houghton. 

"  Scepticism  in  Geology."  By  "Verifier."  London:  John 
Murray. 

"  Popular  British  Fungi."  By  Jas.  Britten,  F.L.S.  London: 
Bazaar  Office. 

"Pollen."  By  M.  P.  Edgeworth.  London:  Hardwickp 
&  Bogue. 

"  Monthly  Microscopical  Journal."  August. 

"  Feuille  des  Jeunes  Naturalistes."  June. 

"Botanische  Zeitung."  July. 

"American  Naturalist."  ,, 

"  Potter's  American  Monthly."  ,, 

"  Ben  Brierley's  Journal."  August. 

"  Chambers' Journal."  ,, 

"  Western  Journal  of  Literature  and  Science." 


&c. 


&c. 


&c. 


Communications  have  been  received  from:  —  F.    K. 

— T.  S. Prof.  G.  — H.   B.  W.— C.  D.— C.  W.— G.  C.  D.— 

J.  E.  S.-T.  S.— W.  McA.— W.  v.,  jun.— L.  P.— M.  F.— 
C.  W.— B.  S.— W.  M.  P.— T.  G.— W.  K.— T.  S.— A.  W.  S.— 
A.  W.  G.— J.  F.  P.— E.  de  C— J.  T.  R.-G.  N.— E.  L.— 
T.  D.  R.— W.  A.  C— B.  K.— C.  F.  W.  T.  W.— H.  E.  W.— 
F.  C.  M.— J.  C.-S.  P.— C.  V.  S.-H.  P.— A.  L.— W.  E.  G. 
— F.  W.  B.  N.— W.  L.  S.— A.  D.  M.— G.  R.  V.— R.  W.  S.— 
J.  T.  T.  R.— W.  J.  B.— E.  T.  S.— Dr.  JNI.- F.  H.  A.— M. 
H.  S,— W.  H.— E.  H.— J.  C.  D.— W.  H.  P.— H.  D.— J  J.  M. 
— D.  J.  S.— C.  H.  G.— F.  E.  L.— T.  W.  D.— T.  B.  W.— &c. 
&c.  &c. 


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


217 


Wsi'MWS&'/S^JS^sfJSgM^^/ 


ON    MOUNTING    DIATOMACEvE, 


By  F.  KITTON,  Hon.  F.R.M.S. 


■  N  my  former  paper  on  "Clean- 
ing Diatomacese,"  I  omitted 
a  somewhat  important  hint 
— viz.,  how  to  obtain  these 
forms  in  a  more  or  less 
clean  condition  without 
acid.  If  the  diatoms  are 
living  in  the  gathering,  it 
should  be  poured  into  a 
wide-necked  bottle  (similar 
to  those  in  which  pomade  is 
sold),  and  placed  close  to  the  window.  Under  the 
influence  of  the  light,  the  diatoms  will  make  their  way 
to  the  surface  of  the  mud  or  vegetable  debris,  and  will 
continue  to  propagate  (sometimes  for  weeks).  Their 
presence  will  be  indicated  by  a  film,  more  or  less 
thick,  of  a  dark  yellowish-green  colour  :  this  must  be 
removed' from  time  to  time  by  a  small  dipping-tube. 
As  these  papers  are  written  for  learners,  I  may 
perhaps  be  excused  if  I  explain  how  to  use  it.  Before 
inserting  it  in  the  bottle,  the  fore-finger  should  be 
firmly  pressed  on  the  top,  the  other  end  being  placed 
over  and  almost  touching  the  film  ;  withdraw  the 
finger,  and  the  diatoms  will  rush  into  the  tube; 
replace  the  finger,  and  drop  the  contents  into  distilled 
water  or  spirit.  When  a  sufficient  supply  has  been 
obtained,  the  remainder  of  the  gathering  can,  if 
desirable,  be  cleaned  as  previously  described. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  essentials  required  for 
mounting  diatoms  : — 

Glass  slips  3x1. 
Thin  glass  discs,  f  and  \  inch. 
Turn-table. 
Writing-diamond. 
Common  brass  forceps. 
Small  camel-hair  pencil. 
Canada  balsam. 
Asphalt  varnish. 
Gold  size. 
Turpentine. 
Benzine  collas. 
Gum  arable. 
Glycerine. 
No.  154. 


.As  the  tyro  should  be  content  in  the  first  instance 
with  what  are  termed  spread  slides  (and  for  the 
purposes  of  study  these  are  the  most  valuable),  we 
will  endeavour  to  explain  our  plan  of  making  them. 
The  slide  must  be  cleaned  by  dipping  in  a  strong 
solution  of  common  soda ;  wipe  it  dry  with  an  old 
linen  handkerchief :  this  ought  to  be  thoroughly  freed 
from  soap  grease  by  boiling  in  soda  and  water. 
Place  the  slide  or  slides  on  a  level  surface,  spread 
evenly  a  small  quantity  of  the  material  on  the  centre 
of  each  slide,  and  leave  it  to  dry  slowly.  If  held  over 
the  lamp  it  almost  invariably  dries  in  ripples,  and 
the  slide  is  spoilt. 

But  few  gatherings  are  free  from  particles  of  sand, 
and  as  their  presence  is  the  bete  noire  of  dry  mounting, 
the  following  hints  for  their  elimination  may  prove 
of  service.  If  the  sand  grains  consist  of  minute 
fragments  of  quartz,  as  is  most  frequently  the  case, 
they  may  be  got  rid  of  to  a  great  extent  by  first 
placing  the  cleaned  material  in  a  porcelain  saucer  or 
watch-glass,  and,  after  subsidence,  giving  it  a  lateral 
circular  motion,  which  will  produce  a  vortex  :  the 
diatoms  will  rise,  and  may  be  poured  off  into  some 
distilled  water  :  a  repetition  of  the  process  will  eli- 
minate still  more  of  the  sand.  Many  valves  will  of 
course  be  lost;  but  this  is  of  little  consequence  when 
they  occur  in  abundance  or  the  forms  are  large,  such 
as  Eupodiscus,  Coscinodiscus,  Triceratium,  &c.  ;  but 
these  can  be  easily  picked  out.  If  the  quantity  to  be 
operated  upon  is  small,  a  large  drop  of  the  material  may 
be  placed  on  a  slide,  and  similar  motion  given  to  it, 
and  the  drop  tilted  to  one  corner  of  the  slide  and 
poured  into  a  drop  of  water  on  another  slide  :  75 
per  cent,  of  the  sand  will  be  left  behind.  If  the 
sand  largely  predominates,  two  or  three  drops  may 
be  operated  upon  by  pouring  them  into  the  drop  of 
distilled  water  :  repeat  the  process  with  this,  and 
a  good  slide  will  be  the  result.  If  the  sand  is 
micaceous,  I  know  of  no  plan  that  will  enable  us  to 
get  quit  of  it.  The  rationale  of  this  may  be  thus 
explained.  The  diatom  valve  and  the  micaceous 
sand  consist  more  or  less  of  thin  plates,  both  of 
which  sink  much  less  readily  than  the  quartz  sand, 

L 


2l8 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S CIENCE -  G O SSIF. 


whicli  is  principally  composed  of  round  or  prismatic 
granules. 

If  the  diatoms  are  to  be  mounted  in  balsam,  I  prefer 
that  they  should  be  on  the  slide  ;  if  for  dry  mounting, 
and  for  examination  by  high  power  (anything  beyond 
an  -g-),  they  ought  to  be  mounted  on  the  cover. 

We  will  suppose  that  the  gathering  consists  of 
diatoms  requiring  to  be  mounted  dry.  We  must 
make  a  cell  of  asphalte  varnish  on  the  slide,  taking 
care  that  it  is  of  sufficient  depth  to  prevent  the 
fracture  of  the  diatoms  when  the  cover  is  pressed 
down. 

Asphalt  varnish   should   always   be  thinned  with 
benzine,  as  it  evaporates  quickly,  and  the  cell  can 
be  made  hard  in  a  short  time.    Cells  made  of  turpen- 
tine and  asphalt  are  objectionable  for  two  reasons  : 
the  first  is,  that  the  cell  never  becomes  thoroughly 
hard,  and  in  consequence  a  deposit  of  oily  globules 
takes  place   on  the  cover,  and  the  slide  is  spoilt ; 
secondly,  the  coloured  varnishes  used  for  finishing  off 
(unless  made  of  sealing-wax)  are  almost  certain  to 
nm  in.     If  the  diatoms  are  large  and  heavy,  a  minute 
quantity  of  gum  must  be  used  to  make  them  adhere, 
otherwise   they   are   in   danger  of   being   detached. 
Mounting  in  Canada  balsam  generally  gives  the  tyro 
no  end  of  trouble,  particularly  if  he  tries  to  harden  it ; 
air-bubbles  often  appearing  in  considerable  numbers. 
These  are  caused  by  the  balsam  having  been  mixed 
with  turpentine.     Pure  balsam  may  be  heated  until 
it  is  brittle  without  the  formation  of  bubbles.      A 
little  turpentine  should  be  dropped  on  the  diatoms, 
which  should  be  allowed  to  permeate  them  before 
putting  on  the  balsam.     When  this  has  penetrated, 
the  slide  should  be  heated  until  the  balsam,  when 
cold,  is  too  hard  to  be  indented  with  the  nail.     The 
slide  should  be  again  heated,  and  the  cover  applied 
to  the  edge  of  the  balsam,  but  must  not  be  allowed 
to  fall  suddenly  upon  it.      I  prefer  to  hold  the  cover 
in  a  slanting  position,  until  the  balsam  is  sufficiently 
hard  to  retain  it.     I  then  reverse  the  slide  (the  cover 
downwards)  over  the  lamp,  and  as  the  balsam  melts, 
the  cover  is  gradually  drawn  up  by  capillary  attrac- 
tion,  and   the   superfluous    balsam    may   be   gently 
pressed  out,  and  when  the  slide  is  cold,  carefully  re- 
moved with  a  knife,  and  the  slide  cleaned  with  spirits 
of  wine  and  ammonia,  or  benzole.     The  advantages 
of  hard  balsam  are  twofold  :  first,  the  covers  are  not 
likely  to  be  displaced,  particularly  when  they  are  sent 
to  hot  climates  ;  secondly,  the  refractive  index  of  the 
balsam  is  altered,  and  less  nearly  approaches  that  of 
the  diatom-valve  ;  consequently  markings  that  would 
be  invisible  in  soft   balsam  or  damar  are  distinctly 
seen  in  the  hard  balsam.     Unfortunately  hard  balsam 
cannot  always  be  used — e.g. ,  when  it  is  desirable  to 
mount  the  frustule,  or  the  valves  are  very  convex.    In 
these  cases  the  heat  drives  out  the  fluid  balsam,  and 
as  it  thickens  on  cooling,  it  cannot  re-enter,  and  a 
pseudo-bubble  or  vacuole  makes  its  appearance.     To 
avoid  this  I  do  not  harden  the  balsam  more  than  will 


allow  the  nail  to  easily  indent  it.  This  is  best  done 
by  subjecting  the  slide  to  a  gentle  heat  (about  80°  or 
90°)  for  several  hours  after  the  cover  is  placed  upon 
it.  As  much  of  the  superfluous  balsam  as  possible 
should  be  removed,  taking  care  not  to  shift  the  cover: 
it  should  be  allowed  to  remain  for  several  days  (if 
possible  exposed  to  the  above  heat).  To  avoid 
accident,  a  ring  of  gum  and  whiting  should  be  spun 
round  the  edge  of  the  cover :  this,  when  dry,  will 
allow  of  a  finish  with  asphalt  or  coloured  varnish. 
Before  mounting  in  slightly  hardened  balsam,  the 
diatoms  should  be  attached  to  the  slide  by  a  very 
weak  solution  of  gum,  to  keep  them  in  position  if  the 
slide  should  be  placed  in  a  racked  cabinet.  In  no 
case  should  the  cover  be  placed  on  the  balsam  or 
damar  when  quite  soft  :  it  never  hardens  afterwards, 
excepting  at  the  edges ;  if  it  did,  the  slide  would  be 
much  disfigured  by  vacuoles  making  their  appearance. 
As  balsam  or  damar  owes  its  fluidity  to  the  presence 
of  turpentine  (natural  in  new  balsam)  or  benzole,  it 
must  inevitably  occupy  less  space  as  it  becomes 
harder,  which  can  only  take  place  through  the  escape 
of  the  spirit. 

The  desideratum  of  the  diatomist  is,  or  ought  to  be, 
gatherings  containing  only  one  species,  or  at  most 
tv/o  or  three.  But  as  these  are  not  of  frequent 
occurrence,  the  plan  of  selecting  or  picking  one  and 
transferring  to  another  slide  has  been  adopted,  parti- 
cularly by  professional  mounters,  some  of  whom  have 
acquired  considerable  skill  in  arranging  these  tiny 
forms  in  various  designs.  To  do  this  requires  a  great 
deal  of  practice  and  time,  and  no  particular  advantage 
is  gained.  All  that  the  student  need  attempt  is  to 
pick  out  as  many  as  he  can  of  one  species,  place  them 
close  together  in  the  centre  of  the  slide,  and  in  various 
positions.  I  trust  the  following  hints  and  practice 
will  enable  the  learner  to  prepare  slides  in  this 
manner. 

Selecting  diatoms  can  only  be  done  by  the  aid  of  a 
microscope,  and  the  question  is,  whether  the  simple 
or  compound  instrument  is  the  better  for  that  pur- 
pose. Individually,  I  prefer  the  simple  form ;  the 
powers  I  use  are  ^,  |,  and  i  inch.  The  ^'^  I 
use  to  search  over  the  drop,  and  when  I  see  a 
form  I  wish  to  select,  I  use  the  |  or  I  inch  to  push 
it  on  the  clean  part  of  the  slide.  I  usually  place 
a  drop  of  water  near  the  drop  of  material  :  the 
advantage  of  this  is,  the  diatom  may  be  freed  from 
any  extraneous  matter  hanging  to  it.  If  it  is  intended 
to  remove  it  to  another  slide,  it  must  be  pushed  out 
of  the  drop  and  allowed  to  dry,  when  it  can  be 
picked  off  and  transferred  to  another  drojD  of  water, 
which  should  be  about  half  an  inch  from  the  centre 
of  the  slide,  or,  if  mounted  on  the  cover,  to  a  small 
drop  near  its  edge.  In  this  drop  other  specimens 
must  be  placed,  and  when  the  desired  number  are 
selected,  pushed  into  the  centre  of  the  slide  or  cover. 
If  the  specimen  appears  to  be  new  or  very  rare,  it  is 
better  not  to  risk  the  removal  to  a  fresh  slide ;  tlie 


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


219 


drop  of  material  can  be  wiped  off,  and  the  selected 
diatom  pushed  to   the   centre   of  the   slide.     Some 
species  of  diatoms  are   too   transparent  to   be  seen 
wneii  In.  water.     I  then  allow  them  to  become  dry, 
and  place  the  slide  (bottoin  >..p,„n,vUi  under  the  com- 
pound microscope,  and  examine  it  with  a  |  objective, 
and  if  any  form  should  be  observed  that  I  wish  to 
select,  I  place  a  small  ink-dot  just  above  it ;  this 
enables  me  to  detect  it  with  the  simple  lens.     The 
best  instrument  for  picking  out  is  a  "  feeler"  from  a 
hare  or  rabbit.     As  these  gradually  taper  to  a  point, 
an  opportunity  is  afforded  of  obtaining  any  stiffness 
that  may  be  found  desirable.     It  should  be  mounted 
on  a  light  handle    (like   those   used   for   camel-hair 
pencils)  by  slipping  over  it  the  quill  of  a  small  wing- 
feather  from  a  pigeon  or  partridge  ;    the  hair  can  be 
adjusted  by  drawing  it  up  or  down,  and  when  found 
to  be  satisfactory,  press  the  handle  tightly  into  the 
quill  and  cut  off  the  superfluous  hair.    (Captan  Lang,  in 
M.  M.  y.,  December  1st,   1870,  p.  308,  recommends 
a  badger  hair,  but  I  do  not  find  it  stiff  enough  to  push 
the  diatoms  out  of  the  drop,  or  detach  them,  if  dried, 
on  the  slide.)     The  learner  will  probably  find  to  his 
gi-eat  annoyance  that  the  diatoms  are  disturbed  by  the 
application  of  the   balsam   and  heat,  and  exhibit  a 
tendency  to  float  in  it,   and  worst  of  all,  when  the 
cover  is  put  on,  a  large  proportion  of  them  escape 
with  the  squeezed-out  balsam.     This  may  be  counter- 
acted in  two  ways.     First  (my  plan),  let  the  drop  of 
diatoms  be  as  small  as  possible  and  very  full,  taking 
care  that  the  turpentine  does  not  disturb  them  ;  the 
quantity  of  balsam  should  be  just  enough  to  fill  the 
space  occupied  by  the  cover-glass  when  pressed  down. 
If  this  is  carefully  done,  the  diatoms  will  be  evenly 
distributed,  and  the  slide  will  not  require  cleaning. 
The  second  plan  is  to  place  a  little  gum  in  the  last 
washing,  or  a  better  plan  is  to  make  a  solution  of  it 
in  distilled  water  (i^  grains  of  gum  arable  to  I  grain 
of  water),  put  a  drop  of  this  on  the  cover  or  slide,  and 
then  drop   a  little    of   the    diatom    material   in   it. 
When  dry,  the  diatoms  will  be  found  firmly  fixed  to 
the  glass.     The  gum-water  can  also  be  used  for  fixing 
selected  specimens.     The   tyro   will  sometimes   find 
to   his   intense   disgust    that    his    carefully   selected 
specimens  have  become  smashed  ;   this  is  generally 
caused  by  too  much  pressure  on  the  cover-glass.     In 
order  to  avoid  this  risk,  a  little  cell,  about   ^o'   o^ 
an  inch  in  diameter,  should  be  spun  on  the  slide  :  the 
gmii  and  whiting  before  alluded  to  will  be  found  very 
useful  for  this  purpose  ;  or  a  little  lamp-black  or  ver- 
milion may  be  mixed  with  it,  and  if  the  cell  is  neatly 
made,  it  wiU  not  injure  the  appearance  of  the  slide, 
and  it  has  the  advantage  of  enabling  the  observer  to 
find  the  objects  without  trouble.     I,  however,  give 
the  preference,  myself,  to  cells  made  of  thin  glass,  of 
the  same  diameter  as  the  cover ;  these  are  not  difiicult 
to  make,  and  when  the  cover-glass  is  very  thin,  it 
sometimes  prevents  a  smash  when  the   objective  is 
focussed  upon  it.     The  cells  are  made  in  the  follow- 


ing manner  : — A  piece  of  brass,  the  size  of  an  ordinary 
slide,  and  -^  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  is  perforated  in 
the  centre  (the  size  of  the  hole  might  be  -f^  of  an  inch 
in  diameter) ;  a  disc  of  thin  glass  is  cemented  over  it 
with  shell  lac.  When  cold,  the  centre  may  be  easily 
Ki<,,.i.„ri  niit  with  a  small  round  file  or  steel  broach. 
Re-heat  the  brass  ana  sup  ,=.«•  +1,^  ^pn  \^<^q  some 
methylated 'spirit,  which  will  speedily  dissolve  off  the 
lac  ;  by  using  five  or  six  brass  plates,  a  stock  of  cells 
can  soon  be  made.  In  order  to  attach  them  to  the 
slides,  I  spread  a  little  balsam  upon  it  and  harden  the 
balsam,  place  the  cell  in  position,  re-heat  the  slide 
and  press  it  down,  drop  a  little  more  balsam  into  the 
cell,  which  should  be  hardened,  but  in  a  less  degree 
than  for  fixing  the  cell.  The  diatoms  already  placed 
on  the  cover  and  balsamed  may  be  now  finally  placed 
over  the  cell,  and  the  cover  pressed  without  risk. 

In  using  gum,  care  must  be  taken  to  avoid  using 
more  than  is  absolutely  necessarj'  for  fixing  the 
diatoms,  as  it  injures  their  sharpness ;  in  fact,  I  have 
long  given  up  using  it,  and  prefer  the  following 
method  when  the  diatoms  are  not  too  delicate.  We 
will  suppose  them  picked  out  and  clean.  I  put  a 
drop  of  turpentine  upon  them,  and  then  some  balsam, 
which  should  be  thin ;  on  another  slide  I  place 
some  more  balsam.  I  now  slightly  warm  the  slide 
containing  the  diatoms,  and  with  a  bristle  rather  stiffer 
than  that  used  for  picking  out  of  water,  I  take  them 
out  of  the  balsam  and  transfer  them  to  the  balsam-slide 
No.  2.  When  they  are  all  removed,  I  pi'oceed  to 
arrange  them,  which  is  easily  done  if  the  balsam  is 
kept  fluid  by  heating.  The  diatoms  may  be  pressed 
down  with  the  bristle,  and  as  the  balsam  hardens 
they  retain  the  position  in  which  they  are  placed. 
This  method  would  not  answer  for  slides  like  Moller's 
Typen  Platte  :  these  ai-e  arranged  and  fixed  to  the 
cover  with  gum.  Captain  Lang  approves  highly  of 
the  following  plan  of  his  friend  Captain  Haig  : — 
He  smears  the  slide  or  cover  with  a  little  glycerine, 
to  which  a  little  gum  has  been  added ;  into  this  the 
diatoms  are  placed  and  afterwards  anranged.  Glyce- 
rine has  this  advantage  over  water,  that  it  does  not 
diy  up  during  the  process  of  arrangement. 

When  diatoms  are  mounted  on  the  cover,  it  is 
necessary  to  temporarily  attach  it  to  a  slide  :  this  is 
sometimes  done  with  a  little  balsam.  My  own  plan 
is  to  place  a  minute  drop  of  water  on  the  slide  and 
drop  the  cover  upon  it :  it  will  adhere  firmly  enough 
to  allow  of  the  necessary  manipulations.  Captain 
Haig's  method  is  more  elaborate.  He  first  centres 
very  carefully  an  ordinary  slide,  and  then  makes  a 
ring  the  size  of  the  cover  he  intends  using  with  gold 
size ;  in  the  centre  of  this  he  makes  another  minute 
ring.  He  now  heats  the  shde  until  the  rings  burn 
black  ;  on  the  outer  ring  he  places  three  little  pieces 
of  bees-wax  ;  on  these  he  fixes  the  cover  by  slight 
pressure.  When  the  arrangement  is  completed,  the 
slide  or  cover  must  be  placed  on  the  hot  plate  to 

evaporate  the  glycerine. 

L  2 


220 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


It  is  sometimes  desirable  to  mount  the  parasitic  or 
filamentous  forms  in  fluid,  in  order  to  see  the  vari- 
ous attachments  of  the  frustules.  For  this  purpose 
an  asphalt  or  thin  glass  cell  must  be  used.  I  have 
used  camphor-water  as  the  medium,  and  it  appears  to 
answer  the  purpose.  After  the  object  1t'=-  '"-^'' 
arranged,  and  \\^^  r.u  cn.a,  me  cover  must  be  placed 
in  position  ;  this  requires  some  little  practice  to  do 
successfully.  A  thin  ring  of  gold  size  must  be  made 
on  the  cell,  upon  which  the  cover  must  be  placed 
(care  being  taken  to  exclude  the  air)  and  pressed 
down  upon  the  ring  of  gold  size.  Wipe  off  the 
superfluous  water,  and  spin  a  ring  of  shell-lac  or 
sealing-wax  varnish  round  the  edge.  When  this  is 
hard,  a  ring  of  varnish  should  be  put  over  it.  The 
best  for  this  purpose  is  that  described  in  a  former 
number,  viz.  that  made  of  litharge  and  red  and  white 
lead  ;  or  a  mixture  of  flake-white  and  damar  varnish 
(as  used  for  mounting)  will  answer  the  purpose.  The 
white,  sold  in  tubes,  is  best,  as  no  grinding  is  re- 
quired. In  all  fluid  mounts,  care  must  be  taken  to 
fill  up  the  angle  formed  by  the  slide  and  cover.  This 
is  better  done  by  successive  applications  than  all  at 
once.  In  conclusion,  I  beg  to  observe  that  I  do  not 
give  these  instructions  as  the  best.  Their  chief  merit 
is  that  they  are  the  results  of  experience,  and  that 
with  practice  the  manipulator  will  be  able  to  produce 
well-mounted  specimens. 


CHAPTERS  ON 

CARBONIFEROUS       POLYZOA. 

No.  III. 

By  G.  R.  Vine. 

THE  genus  Polypora,  M'^Coy,  is  another  of  the 
fenestrate  forms  of   Polyzoa  which  seems  to 
have  been  confined  entirely,   so   far  as  we  are   yet 
acquainted  with  the  genus,  to  the  Palceozoic  rocks. 
It  had,   however,   a   wide  geographical  range,    and. 
though  not  so  varied   in   specific   character  as    the 
Fcneslclla,   the   individuals   of    certain   species   may 
have  been  equally  numerous.      The  "  corallum  "  or 
Polyzoary  of  the  Polypora  was  either  a  delicate,  or  a 
robust,  reticulated  calcareous  expansion.     The  inter- 
stices were  round,  bearing  from  three  to  five  rows  of 
cell-openings,  the  margins  of  which  are  usually  not 
projecting.     The  interstices  were  connected  by  thin, 
transverse,  non-poriferous,  dissepiments.* 

It  is  doubtful  whether  the  genus  had  its  origin 
further  back  than  the  Devonian  era.  One  doubtful 
form,  P.  crassa  (?),  is  named  by  Lonsdale  as  belonging 
to  the  Upper  Silurian,  Dudley.  From  the  Devonian 
rocks  of  America,  Prof.  Nicholson  has  figured 
and  described  two  new  species,  P.  piilchclla  and 
P.  tenella,  from  Ontario, t  and  Prout  has  described 

•  M 'Coy's  "  Carb.  Fossils." 

t  Geological  Mag.,  1874,  and  "  Ontario." 


two  others,  P.  Halliana  and  P.  ttiberculata*  From 
the  carboniferous  limestone  of  Derby  and  Kildare, 
M'^Coy  figures  and  describes  two  species,  P.  dcndroidea 
and  P.  verrucosa  ;  and  P.  marginata  as  rv'>»"'inig  at 
Killymeal.  in  Ti-pl^n^,  tugetner  with  P.  papillata. 
Morris  refers  two  species  described  by  Phillips  to 
this  genus, — Retepora  laxa  and  R,  polyporata  (?),  and 
also  the  species  Gorgonia  faslitosa  of  De  Koninck.f 


Fig.  167.  Polyjiorafasiuosa* 
De  Koninck  (India). 


Fig.   168.  P.  ttiberculata, 
Prout,  Hairmyres,  Scotland. 


The  last  of  these  species  had  a  very  wide  geographical 
range,  as  it  has  been  found  in  Ireland,  Belgium,  and 
in  India.  "I  have  not  been  able  to  perceive,"  says 
De  Koninck,  "any  diff"erence  between  the  Indian 
specimen  and  those  I  discovered  in  the  carboniferous 
limestone  of  the  environs  of  Ecoussinnes."J 

The  species  of  Polypora  most  frequent  in  the  shales 
of  Scotland  is  the  P.  tuberctdata  of  Prout.  In  the 
explanation  of  sheet  23  of  the  Geological  Survey  of 
Scotland,  this  species  is  referred  to  the  P.  verrucosa 
of  M'^Coy.  "There  are  important  characters  to 
show  that  it  differs  from  M'=Coy's  species.  i.  Its 
manner  of  branching  is  different.  M'^Coy  says 
that  P.  verrucosa  rarely  bifurcates  in  its  interstices, 
and  that  its  fenestrules  are  equal.  P.  tuberculata  has 
its  fenestrules  very  unequal,  and  its  interstices  bifur- 
cate nearly  every  fourth  or  fifth  fenestrule.  2.  M'^Coy's 
figures  and  descriptions  do  not  show  that  the  marginal 
pores  encroach  on  the  borders  of  the  fenestrule  ;  in 
P.  tuberctdata  there  are  raised  marginal  pores.  3. 
P.  tuberctdata  are  characterized  by  the  presence  of  a 
single  row  of  raised  tubercules  along  the  middle  of 
its  branching  interstices,  a  feature  not  observable  in 
M'^Coy's  species,  and  which  of  itself  would  mark  it 
as  distinct.  On  account  of  these  differences  Dr.  and 
Mr.  John  Young  say  that  the  Scottish  Hairmyres 
species  agrees  closely  in  all  its  important  characters 
with  the  American  P.  tuberculata  of  Prout. § 

As  this  species  will  be  more  frequently  met  with 
by  the  student,  it  may  be  advantageous  to  give  the 
following  extracts  from  Prout's  description: —  "  The 
Bryozoum  (polyzoary)  a  fan-like  expansion ;  longitu- 
dinal rays  moderately  large,   p  retty  uniform  in  size, 

*  "  Transactions  of  the  Academy  of  Science  of  St.  Louis." 

t  Morris's  Catalogue  of  British  Fossils. 

%  De  Koninck  on  Indian  Fossils,  jlourn.  of  Geol.  Soc, 
Nov.,  1862. 

§  "  Transactions  of  the  Edinburgh  Geo.  Soc,"  pt.  iii.  vol.  ii., 
1874,  and  Geol.  Mag.,  June,  1874. 


HARD  WICKE  'S     S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


221 


suddenly  enlarged  before  and  after  bifurcation. 
Dissepiments  small,  about  one-third  the  transverse 
diameter,  and  one-fifth  the  longitudinal  diameter  of 
the  fenestrules.  Fenestrules  oblong  sub-quadrangular, 
sometimes  shortly  spatulate  or  irregular  near  the 
bifurcations.  Cell-pores  small,  round,  with  thin 
lips  slightly  raised  above  the  surface,  alternate,  their 
own  diameter  apart.  Reverse  covered  by  a  dense 
cortical  substance,  with  a  few  scattered  granules."* 


Fig.  169.  Polypora  tiiberculata 
(to  show  arrangement  of  Cells). 


Fig.  170.  Synocladia  Sp. 
Fenestrule  to  show  arrange- 
ment of  pores. 


In  the  Scottish  species  "the  thin  lip  of  the  pores 
in  well-prepared  specimens  is  not  circular,  but  sinks 
down  on  the  lower  edge  of  the  aperture,  which  thus 
has  a  pyriform  crater  shape.  In  addition  to  the 
ridges  mentioned  by  Prout,  the  intervening  surface 
is  covered  with  very  fine  short  wrinkles,  which  are 
sinuous,  and  sometimes  interrupted,  so  as  to  give  a 
tubercular  aspect.  The  fronds  sometimes  attain  a 
size  of  three  inches."  f 

In  the  building  -  up  of  its  cell,  this  PakTeozoic 
Polyzoan  differed  in  some  particulars  as  to  plan  from 
its  contemporaries.  The  pores  with  which  its  outward 
surface  was  ornamented  were  the  openings  to  small 
tubes  slightly  incurved.  These  tubes  had  their  origin 
on  the  axis  of  the  principal  branches,  which  diverged 
obliquely  upwards  on  each  side.  Unlike  Retcpora, 
where  the  cells  are  separated  one  from  another  by 
a  thick  wall,  the  cells  of  Polypora  are  contiguous, 
the  partition  being  so  thin  as  to  be  inseparable  under 
an  inch  power.  The  pores  in  the  innermost  portion 
of  the  branches  are  very  much  compressed  into  a 
diamond  shape,  whereas  the  cells  of  the  edges  pre- 
sent the  appearance  of  a  blown  bladder,  some  of  them 
occupying  just  about  double  the  space  of  the  com- 
pressed cells.  It  would  be  folly,  however,  to  make 
too  much  of  this  economy  of  space,  as  I  observe  the 
cells  in  species  of  other  genera — such  as  Ceriopora 
and  Glaitconome — ^of  the  Carboniferous  era.  Some 
of  the  Ceriopora  of  the  Greensand  ;  and  Horiiera 
reftporacea  of  the  Crag  economized  in  the  same  way. 

The  other  localities  besides  those  named  for  Poly- 
pora tuberailata  are  Loxdale  Limestone  and  Rich- 
mond    in    Yorkshire,    and    Hairmyres    and    Beith 


*  Geol.  Mag.,  June,  1874. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  258. 


quarries    in   Scotland  ;    for   P.   dendroides,    M'Coy, 
Corriebum  and  also  Beith  quarries. 

The  genus  Synocladia  of  King  is  not  so  well  known 
as  many  of  the  other  forms  of  fenestrate  Polyzoa. 
"The  'corallum'  (polyzoary)  was  cup-shaped,  with 
a  small  central  root-like  base,  reticulated  and  com- 
posed of  roundish,  narrow,  often  branched  interstices, 
bearing  on  the  inner  face  from  three  to  five  alternately 
longitudinal  rows  of  prominent  edged  pores,  sepa- 
rated by  narrow  keels,  studded  with  small  irregular 
vesicles,  alternating  with  the  cell-pores  ;  dissepiments 
thin  ;  vesicles  direct,  usually  forming  short  spur- 
shaped  pinnae,  extending  upwards  from  the  sides  and 
meeting  those  from  the  adjoining  interstices  at  an 
angle  directly  upwards,  bearing  two  alternate  rows  of 
cell-pores.  It  differs  from  Fe/testella  in  the  large 
number  of  rows  of  pores  in  each  interstice."* 


Fig.  171.  Cells  in  dissepiment  of      Fig.  172.  Enlarged  pore  of 
Svnocladia.  Polypora  tubercnlata. 


'olypo 


In  the  Annals  and  Magazine  of  Nat.  History,^ 
Robert  Etheridge,  jun.,  has  described  from  the 
Lower  Limestone  series  of  Gilmerton,  a  most  peculiar 
polyzoon,  under  the  name  of  Synocladia  carbona7-ia. 
This  species  agrees  in  its  main  characters  with  a 
species  already  described  by  Mr.  Meek  as  S.  biserialis 
of  Swallow.  J  "  To  the  latter  Mr.  Meek  also  refers 
the  Scptopora  cestriensis,  Prout,  a  form  which  appears 
to  differ  only  from  the  typical  species  oi  Synocladia 
by  having  from  one  to  four  rows  of  cell-apertures  on 
the  dissepiments  instead  of  two.  On  a  comparison 
of  photographs  of  American  specimens,  kindly  lent 
by  Professor  King,  all  those  from  Scotch  beds  appear 
to  have  a  much  greater  irregularity  of  branching,  and 
there  are  never  more  than  two  rows  of  cell-apertures 
on  the  dissepiments,  one  row  on  each  side  the  keel  : 
these  characters  are  so  constant  that  the  varietal  term 
carbonaria  is  here  used  to  distinguish  the  American 
and  the  British  forms.  § 

In  the  shales  from  Capelrig  quarry  two  species  of 
Synocladia  may  be  obtained.  The  other  localities 
are  High  Blantyre  and  Gillfoot  in  Scotland,  and 
minute  fragments  (?)  may  be  found  among  the  Carboni- 
ferous  shales  of  Yorkshire. 

The  most  delicate  and  beautiful  of  all  the  forms  of 
fenestrate  Polyzoa  that  have  ever  come  under  my 
notice  is  the  new  genus  described  and  figured  in 
vol.  30  of  the  "Quart.  Jour,  of  the  Geo.  Society,"  by 
Professor  Young  and  John  Young,  of  the  Hunterian 
Museum  of  Glasgow.  I  have  tried  in  vain  to  get  the 
especial  part  of  the  journal  in  which  the  description 
is  given,  and  to  which  my  attention  was  directed  by 


*  "  Permian  Fossils." 
t  September,  1873. 
j  "Trans,  of  St.  Louis  Acad.,"  1858. 

§  Robert  Etheridge,  jun.      Expl.  of  Sheet  23,  Scot.  Geo. 
Survey. 


222 


HA  RD  WICKE'  S    SC  lENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


Professor  Duncan,  of  King's  College,  London.  But 
I  have  before  me  a  beautiful  specimen  from  the  Hair- 
myres  shale  of  Scotland,  and  this  compensates,  to 
some  extent,  the  want  of  the  paper.  The  genus  and 
species  is  called  Actmostofiia  fenestratum,  Young  & 
Young,  and  has  only  been  found,  so  far  as  I  am  yet 
aware,  in  Scotland,  at  Hairmyres  and  High  Blantyre. 
I  can  easily  account  for  its  having  escaped  so  long  the 
keen  eyes  of  Scottish  palaeontologists.  The  fragments 
are  so  minute  as  to  be,  in  ordinary  specimens,  only 
observable  in  all  its  beauty  under  a  one-inch  power. 
When  the  character  of  the  genus  and  species  is  once 
kno\Mi,  it  is  easy  then  to  pick  out  specimens  from  the 
shale  with  an  ordinary  hand-glass. 

I  will  not  venture  on  the  generic  description  of  this 
Polyzoon,    but   simply   direct    the   attention   of  the 
reader  to  the  article  in  question  ;  but  the  authors  are 
perfectly  justified  in  removing  the  former  from  the 
genus  Fenestella,   and  erecting  for  it  a  new  genus. 
The  cells  are   somewhat   corallaceous  in  character, 
and  the  cell-mouth  is  protected  by  star-like  spines, 
similar  in  some  respects  to  the  starry-mouth  of  some 
species  of  Forarnini/era,  Polymorphina ,  and  Pejuro- 
plis.     The  same  cell-aperture  is  also  seen  in  another 
of  Messrs.   Young's   new   species,    described   in   the 
same  journal,    called    Glauconoine  stellipora.     This, 
too,  will  fonn  a  new  genus  under  the  title  oiAcantho- 
fora,  Young  &  Young,  and  very  justly  so,  because 
the  cell-aperture  is  a  character  of  itself,  unlike  any  of 
the  characters  found  in  ordinary  species  of  Glauconome. 
Acanthopora    stellipora    nobis.     Young    &    Young. 
"Stems    nearly    cylindrical,    branching   irregularly, 
bearing  two  rows  of  alternate  cells,  with  prominent 
circular  orifices,   over   which   eight   radial  denticles 
converge,  as  in  Actinostoma,  a  smaller  orifice  being 
placed  at  one  end  of  the   cell   on   the   side    of  the 
prominence,  and  separated  from  the  larger  aperture 
by  an  interval,  which  never  exceeds  the  diameter  of 
the   larger   cell.     The   stem   is   ornamented  with   a 
sinuous  mesial  ridge,  and  sinuous  ridges  likewise  pass 
from  cell  to  cell.     All  these  ridges  are  finely  tubercu- 
lated,  or,  more  correctly,  beaded. 

The  non-poriferous  face  is  traversed  by  longitudinal 
parallel  ridges,  which  are  also  finely  tuberculated. 
Occasionally  a  larger  cell  occurs  in  the  angles  of  the 
branches  ;  but  the  small  size  of  the  fragments  hitherto 
obtained,  showing  the  poriferous  face,  renders  it 
impossible  to  say  whether  they  are  of  frequent  oc- 
currence.    They  are  possibly  ovi-cells."* 

There  are  varieties  in  the  mode  of  branching  of 
several  specimens  sufficient  to  distinguish  them  by 
a  varietal  term ;  but  the  general  characters  are  the 
same  in  all  the  specimens,  all  of  which  may  be 
characterized  by  the  adjectives  delicate  and  beautiful. 
The  localities  of  the  genus  are  the  limestone  shales 
at  Hairmyres,    where   it   is  pretty  abundant,    Rob- 


•  "  Proceedings  of  the  Nat.  Hist.  Soc. ,  Glasgow. 
Young,  M.D.,  and  Mr.  J.  Young,  F.G.S. 


Prof.  J. 


royston,  Gare,  and  Boghead.     I  have  not  yet  detected 
the  merest  fragment  in  any  of  my  English  material. 

To  those  friends  and  well-wishers  who  have  kindly 
favoured  me  with  advice,  information,  and  material, 
I  again  tender  my  thanks.  I  would  be  glad,  how- 
ever, if  students  fresh  at  the  work  of  discovery 
among  the  limestone  Polyzoa  would  communicate 
results  from  their  different  localities. 

{To  be  continued.)  • 

NOTES  FROM  THE  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION. 

THE  intense  scientific  vigour  which  has  charac- 
terized the  meetings  of  the  British  Association 
for  twelve  years  past  has  at  length  given  way  to  a 
short  reaction.  The  Plymouth  meeting  this  year  has 
not  been  a  success,  either  in  point  of  numbers  at- 
tending (a  secondary  consideration)  or  in  the  quality, " 
importance,  or  character  of  the  papers  read  or  the 
addresses  given.  Perhaps  the  short  pause  in  the 
long-continued  high  pressure  of  years  will  be  advan- 
tageous in  the  future.  All  work  and  no  play  makes 
even  the  scientific  "Jack  "  but  a  dull  boy. 

The  inaugural  address  of  the  President,  Professor 
Allen  Thomson,  was  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  bold 
and  decisive  declaration  he  made  in  favour  of  the 
doctrine  of  Evolution,  declaring,  as  he  did,  that  no 
student  of  embryology  could  understand  his  subject 
except  in  the  lights  afforded  by  this  inodern  doctrine. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  President  of  the  Biological 
Section,  Dr.  Gwyn  Jeffreys,  the  celebrated  concho- 
logist,  avowed  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  long-con- 
tinued characters  of  deep-sea  niollusca  were  not  in 
favour  of  Darwinism.  It  is  more  than  probable, 
however,  that  equally  good  naturalists  would  argue 
quite  the  contrary,  and  decide  that  the  reason  why 
deep-sea  mollusca  did  not  alter  their  specific  cha- 
racters was  because  their  surroundings  had  not 
altered ;  for,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  evolution, 
varietal  modifications  are  simply  the  result  of  respon- 
sive adaptations  to  any  changes  which  take  place  in 
the  environment.  If  there  are  no  changes  in  the  one, 
there  are  none  required  in  the  other.  One  set  thus 
becomes  more  or  less  of  an  index  to  the  rate  of 
intensity  of  the  other.  Dr.  Jeffreys  was  almost  by 
himself  in  defending  the  old  lights,  for  most  of  the 
zoological  and  botanical  papers  read  were  based  on 
the  new  philosophy,  or  were  expositions  of  it. 
Notably  among  these  were  the  addresses  of  Mr.  F. 
Galton,  to  the  department  of  Anthropology,  and  that 
of  Professor  McAlister  to  the  department  of  Anatomy 
and  Physiology.  The  address  of  the  President  of 
the  Geological  Section,  Mr.  \V.  Pengelly,  F.R.S., 
turned  almost  entirely  upon  the  geological  history 
and  antiquity  of  caverns  in  general  and  those  of 
Kent's  Hole  and  Brixham  Cave  in  particular.  Mr. 
Pengelly  showed  his  reasons  for  believing  that  man 
had  made  his  appearance  in  England  before  the 
hj'ffina    (although    the    latter    is    a    notorious    cave- 


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


223 


dweller) ;  and  that  man,  in  Devonshire  at  least,  was 
of  inter-  if  not  of  /r^-glacial  antiquity.      A  capital 
paper  read  in  the  Geological  Section  was  that  by  Mr.    ! 
R.  N.  Worth,  on  the  "  Palaeontology  of  Plymouth";    ' 
whilst  Mr.  Champernowne  presented  one  on  ' '  The    [ 
Succession  of  Paleozoic  Deposits  of  South  Devon," 
and  Mr.   H.   B.  Woodward  another  on   "The  De- 
vonian Rocks  near  Newton  Abbott  and  Torquay," 
with  remarks  on  the  subject  of  their  classification .  Mr. 
R.  PI.  Tiddeman  presented  the  Fifth  Annual  Report 
of  the  Committee  for  assisting  in  the  Exploration  of 
the  Settle  Caves  ("Victoria  "  Cave),  and  still  insisted 
on  the  inter-glacial  age  of  the  deposits.     Another  im- 
portant geological  report  was  that  by  Mr.  C.  De  Ranee, 
on  the  Investigation  of  the  Circulation  of  Underground 
Waters  in  the   New  Red    Sandstone  and    Permian 
Formations.      The    Report    by    Professors    A.     S. 
Ilerschel   and   G.   A.   Lebour,    on    "  The   Thermal 
Conductivity  of  Rocks,"  was  received  with  merited 
attention.      Perhaps  the  most   important  papers  in 
the   Geological    Section  were  the   following:    "On 
the  Post-Tertiary  Fossils  procured  in  the  late  Arctic 
Expedition,"  with  notes  of  some   of  the  recent  or 
living  Mollusca  from  the  same  expedition,  which  was 
read  by  Dr.  Gwyn  Jeffreys ;  and  another  by  Mr.  C. 
De  Ranee,   on   "The    Correlation  of  Certain  Post- 
Glacial  Deposits  in  West  Lancashire."     Mr.   Moly- 
neux's   paper   on   the  occuiTcnce   of  Avicido-pecten, 
and  other  mai-ine  shells,  in  deposits  associated  with 
seams  of  coal  containing  salt-water,  in  the  Ashby-de- 
la-Zouche  coal-field,  wherein  he  contended  that  these 
salt-water  reservoirs  were  the  remnants  of  the  ancient 
carboniferous  seas,  was  productive  of  much  discussion, 
although  not   generally   in   favour    of  the   author's 
views.      Mr.   Morton's  paper  on  the  Carboniferous 
Limestone  and  Millstone  Grit  in  the  country  around 
Llangollen,  North  Wales,  was  full  of  personal  labour 
and  investigation,  and  was  very  properly  regarded  as  a 
valuable  contribution  to  stratigraphical  geology.    Such 
was  also  the  conclusion  respecting  Mr.  W.  Gunn's 
contribution   announcing  the   discovery   of  Silurian 
rocks  in  Teesdale.     On  the  last  day  of  the  meeting 
there  were  papers  by  Professor  Heer,  of  Zurich,  on 
the  Fossil  Flora  of  the  Aixtic  Regions,  and  a  very 
important  one  by  that  most  accurate  and  diligent  of 
obsen-ers,  Mr.  H.   C.   Sorby,  F.R.S.,  on  a  "New 
Method  for  Studying  the  Optical  Characters  of  Mine- 
rals."    Mr.   Henry  Woodward,   F.R.S.,  announced 
the  discovery  of  BrancJiippits,  in  a  fossil  state,  in  the 
freshwater  Eocene  limestone  of  Gurnet  Bay,  in  the 
Isle  of  Wight.     Mr.  R.  A.  C.  God  win- Austen  then 
showed  the  geological  significance  of  the  well-boring 
at  Messrs.   Meux's  brewer}',   Tottenham-court-road, 
an  account  of  which  we  published  in  a  short  article 
in  our  July  number. 

Some  excellent,  thoughtful,  and  suggestive  papers 
were  read  in  the  Biological  Sections.  Noticeable 
among  these  were  the  following  :  "  On  Anticipatory 
Inheritance  in  Plants,  especially  with  reference  to  the 


Embryology  of  Parasites."     Another  was  by  Mr.  A. 
S.   Wilson,    B.   Sc,    "On   Structural  Characters  in 
Relation  to  Habitat  in  Plants."     Professor  McNab, 
of  Dublin,  read  fwo  most  important  communications, 
one  on  the  Classification  of  the  Vegetable  Kingdom, 
and  the  other  on  "The  Classification  of  Flowering 
Plants  considered  Phylogcnetically''^ ;  that  is,  accord- 
ing to  their  descent.     Professor  Rolleston's  address 
on  "  New  Points  in  the  Zoology  of  New  Guinea,"  of 
which  we  give  a  short  abstract  elsewhere,  was  lis- 
tened to  with  great  attention,  as  was  also  Mr.  W. 
Ackroyd's  paper  on  the  Colours  of  Animals.      Of 
course  the  Colorado  Beetle  turned  up,  and  indeed  this 
ubiquitous   insect   and   the    Telephone,    or  sounding 
telegraph,  were  the  "  lions  "  of  this  year's  meeting. 
But  the    Beetle   was   in   good    hands,    for   Mr.    R. 
McLachlan,    F.R.S.,    the   celebrated    entomologist, 
introduced  the  subject,  and   spoke  strongly  against 
the  panic  existing  in  this  country  regarding  its  ap- 
pearance.     Mr.    McLachlan's    remarks   were    most 
timely,  and  we  have  been  pleased  to  see  they  have 
not    been   without    due    influence   in    the   country. 
Among  other  papers  of  interest   to   naturalists,  .  we 
may  mention  that  by  Dr.  G.  Bennett,  on  the  Habits 
of  the  Pearly  Nautilus  {Naiitilns  povipilid) ;   another 
by  Mr.  W.  Thomson,  on  a  "Method  for  excluding 
Germs  from  Rooms  used  for  Surgical  Operations " ; 
an  important    communication  by  the   Rev.   W.   H. 
Dallinger,  entitled  "  Researches  on  the  Life  History 
of  the  Simplest  Organisms,"  a  short  account  of  which 
will  be  found  elsewhere  in  our  columns  ;  on  "Trans- 
cendental Anatomy,  or  a  geometrical  Investigation  of 
the  best  possible  Number  of  Hints  for  Terrestrial  and 
Aquatic  Animals,"  by  the  Rev.  Professor  Haughton, 
F.R.S.,  of  Dublin  ;  and  one  on  "The  Possibility  of 
Life  on  a  Meteoric  Stone  falling  on  the  Earth,"  by 
Sir  W.  Thomson,  wherein  the  author  repeated  the 
absurd  idea  that  life  could  be  brought  to  our  planet 
by  a  meteor,  although  the  latter  had  been  fused  by  the 
heat  attending  its  passage  through  the  atmosphere  ! 
Professor   Haughton  also   read  a  paper  in  the  Me- 
chanical Section,  on  a  -"New  Method  of  Calculating 
the  Absolute  Duration  of  Geological  Periods." 

The  excursions  were  all  of  them  very  satisfactory, 
and  to  places  famed  for  geological,  zoological,  or 
arch  ecological  interest.  Indeed,  the  excursions 
formed  perhaps  a  more  important  element  of  this 
yeai-'s  meetings  than  heretofore.  Another  fact  of 
significance  was  the  prominent  place  which  the  local 
scientific  men  took  in  the  readings  of  papers  and 
discussions  thereon. 


COLIAS  Edusa. — Post  after  post  has  continued  to 
bring  us  in  letters  from  observant  and  obliging 
correspondents  in  every  part  of  the  countiy  announc- 
ing the  special  abundance  of  this  pretty  butterfly  this 
summer.  We  mention  this  because  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  publish  a  tithe  of  the  communications  we 
have  thus  received. 


224 


HARD  WICKE 'S    SCIENCE-  G OSSIP. 


ON  THE  POST-GLACIAL  DEPOSITS  OF 
THE  THAMES  VALLEY. 

THE  Post-Glacial  period  is  beautifully  represented 
by  the  brick  -  earths  of  the  Thames  Valley. 
Undoubtedly  this  is  one  of  the  most  completely 
developed  deposits  which  occurred  during  that  period 
to  be  found  in  England.  The  brick -earth  pits  at 
Erith  and  Crayford  afford  very  good  sections  of  this 
formation.  It  is  here,  as  many  of  my  readers  will 
probably  know,  that  remains  of  the  Mammoth  and 
several  other  extinct  mammals  have  been  found.  In 
excavating  the  loam  for  the  purpose  of  brick- making, 
teeth  of  the  Mammoth  are  occasionally  met  with, 
and  discoveries  of  bones  of  other  animals  are  not 
rare.  The  Thames  Valley,  in  which  these  deposits 
occur,  is  a  very  fair  specimen  of  the  effects  of  denu- 
dation. It  was  partly  scooped  out  by  the  retreating 
waters  of  the  sea  which  covered  it  during  part  of  the 
Glacial  Period.      The  immense  thickness  of  super- 


bed,  called  "Lower  Brick-earth,"  contains  many 
beautifully  preserved  shells.  Cyrenajluviinalis  may 
be  found  in  abundance,  as  well  as  species  oiPlanorbis, 
Limnaa,  Unio,  &c.  But  the  discoveries  which  have 
excited  the  most  interest  are  the  remains  of  mammals 
which  have  been  found  in  this  stratum.  The  suc- 
ceeding deposit,  "Thames  Gravel,"  is  of  a  very 
different  nature.  It  consists  of  rounded  pebbles 
enclosed  in  a  somewhat  clayey  sand.  During  the 
period  of  this  deposit,  it  seems  to  me  that  icebergs 
passed  down  the  valley.  At  Crayford  I  have  found 
boulders  and  pebbles  of  quartz  in  the  Thames  Gravel, 
the  presence  of  which  appears  inexplicable  unless  we 
accept  this  explanation.  The  Thames  Gravel,  like 
the  underlying  brick-earth,  contains  bands  of  shells 
and  mammalian  remains,  which,  however,  are  of 
rarer  occurrence.  Its  thickness  is  from  twelve  to 
twenty  feet,  and  it  covers  a  much  wider  tract  of 
country  than  the  preceding  deposit.  The  third  bed, 
called  "  Upper  Brick-earth,"  rests  conformably  on 


Fig.  173.  Section  illustrating  Post-glacial  Structure  of  the  Thames  Valley. 


incumbent  strata  was  denuded  away  by  water,  and  it 
was  not  till  the  chalk  had  been  reached  and  exposed 
that  this  abated.  It  has  been  imagined  by  some  that 
the  valley  lying  between  the  Essex  hills  and  the  hills 
of  the  north  coast  of  Kent  was  entirely  formed  by 
the  river  Thames,  but  I  do  not  favour  this  belief.  It 
appears  clear  to  me  that  a  river  never  forms  the  valley 
through  which  it  flows ;  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  it 
is  continually  helping  to  raise  the  level  of  its  bed. 
As  an  example  I  may  mention  the  river  Thames,  the 
bed  of  which  is  gradually  but  unmistakably  rising, 
and  as  often  as  the  tide  rises  higher  than  usual,  the 
waters  overflow  their  banks  and  the  results  are  often 
disastrous.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  principal 
agent  employed  in  the  excavation  of  the  valley  is 
water,  but  I  think  it  was  water  in  the  shape  of  glaciers 
that  acted  most  powerfully  in  breaking  up  the  chalk. 
I  think  it  probable  that  a  glacier  commenced  forming 
the  valley  during  part  of  the  Glacial  Period.  Sub- 
sequently a  change  of  level  flooded  the  valley  with 
water,  and  when  it  had  become  sufficiently  pacific,  it 
deposited  the  sand  and  loam  held  in  suspension ;  and 
thus  the  first  deposit  commenced  upon  the  denuded 
chalk.  The  deposition  of  the  sediment  extended 
over  a  somewhat  lengthy  period,  as  this  deposit  has 
a  thickness  of  thirty  feet, — no  inconsiderable  thickness 
in  comparison  to   the   more  recent  deposits.     This 


the  Thames  Gravel.  The  thickness  is  only  eight  feet, 
and  in  some  places  even  less.  The  loam  is  worked 
for  brick-making.  This  deposit  at  one  time  covered 
a  large  tract  of  land,  but  subsequent  denudations 
have  materially  lessened  its  extent. 

After  the  deposition  of  these  strata,  oscillations  of 
level  occurred  which  exposed  the  Upper  Brick-earth 
to  the  action  of  denudation,  and  dislocated  some 
parts  of  the  valley.  Upon  the  Thames  Gravel  and 
Upper  Brick-earth  there  has  been  found  a  bed  of 
peat  containing  the  stems  of  trees,  and  the  river 
Thames  now  runs  over  part  of  this  ancient  forest. 
Remains  of  the  following  animals  have  been  found 
in  the  Post-Glacial  strata  of  the  Thames  Valley  : — 
Felis  spehca,  Hyana  spehca,  Bos  primigenlus,  Elcphas 
primigenius,  Ovibos  moschatus,  &c. 

There  are  few  places  so  near  London  where  a  day 
may  be  more  profitably  spent  than  at  Erith  or  Crayford. 
At  these  places  shells  may  be  found  in  abundance : 
species  of /i't'/Zx,  Cyrena,  Planorbis,  i/nio,  Sec,  inexcel- 
lent  preservation.  These  shells,  with  the  exception  of 
[/nia,  are  exceedingly  minute ;  but  a  well-arranged 
collection  of  them  will  repay  all  the  trouble  which 
may  be  spent  in  procuring  them. 


Geo.  Clinch. 


IFes^  IVick/iam,  Kent. 


HARD  WI CKE 'S    S CIENCE -GOSS IP. 


225 


CANADIAN  "NOTES." 

I  HAVE  been  looking  over,  with  considerable 
interest,  the  back  numbers,  for  the  current  year, 
of  your  Science-Gossip,  which  I  have  just  received: 
and  it  occurs  to  me  that  perhaps  a  few  occasional 
notes  from  our  distant  colony,  on  various  subjects 
comprised  therein,  may  not  prove  altogether  un- 
acceptable to  your  readers. 

No.  I.,  p.  II.  An  Article  on  Trilobitcs,  &c. 
We  have  a  number  of  remarkably  fine  specimens  in 
the  Trenton  limestone  of  the  county  of  Peterboro'. 
One  which  I  found  I  took  to  Professor  Chapman,  of  the 
University  of  Toronto,  for  identification.  He  assured 
me  that  it  was  a  new  species,  i.e.,  new  to  his  ex- 
perienced eye.  He  named  it  Asaphiis  Halli  after 
Professor  Hall. 

It  would  occupy  too  much  of  your  space  were  I  to 
describe  it  minutely  :  suffice  it  to  say  that  it  differs, 
in  some  respects,  from  all  others  previously  examined : 
e.g.,  by  "its  dSy\A^& glabella,  and  by  the  presence  of 
furrows  on  its  pygidiiuii'"  ;  by  "  its  thorax  and  pygi- 
dium  being  of  equal  length,"  &c.  It  is  a  broad  oval 
in  shape  :  total  length  five  inches. 

P.  18.  "Another  insectivorous  plant." 
The  Apocymim  androscBmifolium  is  a  member  of 
the  Dogbane  family,  of  which  family  America  pos- 
sesses, I  believe,  but  \}o.\Qe.  genera  ;  viz.,  Amsonia, 
Forsteronia,  and  Apocynum.  The  A.  androscrmi- 
folium  \s  the  "  Spreading  Dogbane,"  and  common 
enough  with  us.  The  corolla  is  of  a  pale  rose- 
colour. 

I  was  not  aware  of  the  peculiarity  alluded  to  by  your 
correspondent,  Thomas  Brittain  ;  but  the  juice  of  all 
these  plants  is  poisonous,  being,  in  fact,  strychnia. 
P.  23.     "  The  Cuckoo." 

We  also  have  a  bird  in  Canada,  the  "  Cow  Bunt- 
ing," Emberiza  pecoris,  the  female  of  which  invariably 
lays  her  eggs  in  the  nest  of  some  small  bird,  of  a 
species  different  from  her  own. 

Not  long  ago  I  found,  in  my  own  garden,  the  nest 
of  a  "chipping  sparrow,"  Fringilla  socialis,  con- 
taining, in  addition  to  her  own  eggs,  one  laid  by  a 
cow  bunting. 

The  American  Cuckoos  make  nests  of  their  own, 
in  which  they  lay  their  eggs.  I  have  seen  the  flat, 
rough  nest  of  a  "black-billed  cuckoo,"  Cucidits  ay- 
throphthalmus,  with  the  female  sitting  on  her  eggs. 

No.  II.,  p.  42.  "  Our  American  Cousin,  the 
Robin." 

Your  correspondent  Apis  gives  correctly  the  scien- 
tific name  of  this  bird,  Turdiis  migratoriiis,  which 
should  have  told  him  that  our  Robin  is  in  fact  a 
thrush.  It  is  not  in  a7iy  point  similar  to  the  English 
"redbreast,"  save  only  in  the  colour  of  its  breast, 
which,  however,  is  more  of  a  dark  orange  than  of  a 
red  colour.  It  has  not  a  "  chocolate-coloured  dress," 
its  prevailing  upper  tint  being  ash  with  black  mark- 


ings. It  is  at  least  nine  inches  in  length.  At  the 
present  moment  several  of  them  are  running  over  my 
lawn  in  quest  of  worms. 

Like  its  English  congener,  the  Missel-Thrush,  the 
American  Robin  perches,  in  showery  weather,  upon 
the  topmost  branch  of  a  tree,  and  carols  forth  it^ 
wildest  notes.  Before  migrating,  we  see  numbers  of 
them  upon  the  Mountain  Ash  trees,  literally  gorging 
themselves  with  rowan  -  berries.  They  may  fre- 
quently be  seen  with  their  upraised  beaks  wide  open, 
as  if  at  the  last  gasp,  having  taken  in  a  larger  number 
of  berries  than  they  can  conveniently  swallow. 

The  English  Robin,  our  childhood's  pet,  is  so 
intimately  and  so  pleasurably  associated  with  all  our 
thoughts  and  recollections  of  "Home" — as  we  in 
Canada  always  term  the  dear  old  island  across  the 
Atlantic — that  it  has  ever  been  a  source  of  regret  to 
me  that  the  Tiirdus  migratorius,  a  bird  so  widely 
differing  in  every  respect  from  the  British  Redbreast, 
has  been  selected  as  its  American  confrere.  And 
this  regret  is  enhanced  by  the  consideration  that 
another  choice  might  have  been  made,  in  every  way 
more  satisfactory,  in  the  Blue  Bird,  Sylvia  stalls — a 
bird  named  by  Bufifon  le  Rouge  Gorge  Bleu,  or  the 
Blue  Redbreast. 

I  cannot  but  fancy  that  the  name  of  Robin  was 
given  to  the  Turdus  viigratorius  by  some  enthusiast 
who  had  not,  up  to  that  time,  seen  a  "Blue  Bird," 
and  who,  resolved  that  we  should  at  all  events  possess 
the  luxury  of  a  Robin  on  this  continent,  gave  that 
name  to  the  first  bird  adorned  with  a  rufous  breast 
that  presented  itself  to  his  view. 

The  Blue  Bird  is  about  the  size  of  the  English 
Robin,  and  very  much  resembles  that  much-loved 
bird  in  its  shape  and  in  its  characteristics.  It  has  a 
blue  instead  of  a  brown  back,  and  a  red  breast,  and 
is  one  of  our  earliest  and  most  welcome  visitants. 

Vincent  Clementi,  B.A. 

Pcterboro\  Ontario,  Canada. 


ON  CERTAIN  GENERA  OF  LIVING  FISH 
AND  THEIR  FOSSIL  AFFINITIES, 

THE  following  very  interesting  and  able  paper, 
by  Miss  Crane,  was  recently  read  before  the 
Brighton  and  Sussex  Natural  History  Society  : — 

On  first  thoughts,  it  may  seem  that  the  lowest  group 
of  vertebrates,  of  all  the  divisions  comprised  in  the 
animal  kingdom,  might  be  most  easily  described,  and 
its  zoological  limits  defined  ;  but,  on  examination,  the 
fishes  prove  to  be  most  curiously  linked  to  the  inverte- 
brata  below  and  the  amphibian  reptiles  above.  In 
fact,  it  is  not  easy  to  draw  the  lines  positively  between 
them,  and  to  say  where  the  true  vertebrates  begin,  or 
where  the  piscite  characters  are  merged  in  the  reptilian. 


226 


HARD  WICKE 'S    SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 


It  is  now  proposed  to  refer  to  some  of  the  most  1 
aberrant  forms  of  living  fish  and  their  fossil  affinities ; 
then,  briefly  passing  in  review  tlie  distribution  of  the 
various  families  in  geological  time,  to  see  how  far 
descent  with  modification  is  traceable  in  this  class  of 
vertebrates. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  lowest  vertebral  form  is 
the    anomalous     lancelet    {Amphioxits    lanceolatits), 
which  is  found  burrowing  in  sandbanks  on  our  south- 
ern shores  and  in  the  Mediterranean.     The  position 
which  this   singular   species   should   occupy   in   the 
animal  kingdom  has  long  been  a  subject  of  debate 
among  naturalists.     Some,  like  Agassiz,   separate  it 
entirely  from  all  other  fishes,  while  Haeckel  proposes 
to  place  it  in  a  distinct  division  of  the  Vcrtebrata,  and 
Professor  Semper  removes   it   from   the  vertebrates 
altogether.     But  Professors  Owen  and  Huxley,  con- 
sidering it  to  possess  the  rudiments  of  a  skull  and 
brain,  with  the  elements  of  a  vertebral  column,  retain 
it  among  the  fishes,  and  it  forms  the  first  or  lowest 
orders  of  their  respective  systematic  arrangements. 
\v\.Amphioxiis,  which  ranges  from  one  inch  and  a  half 
to  two  inches  in  length,  the  vertebral  column  is  noto- 
chordal  throughout  life, — that  is  to  say,  composed  of 
a  membraneous  sheath  enclosed  in  cartilage, — and  as 
there  is  no  enlargement  of  the  skull  for  the  reception 
of  the  brain,  the  animal  tapers  nearly  equally  at  either 
end.     The  skin  is  scaleless,  lubricous,  and  so  trans- 
parent that  the  internal  structure  is  visible,  and  the 
eyes  are  not  more  fully  developed  than  in  the  common 
leech.     The  mouth  is  vertical,  jawless,  and  suctorial, 
and  is  furnished  with  vibratile  cilia.     The  lancelet 
possesses  neither  heart  nor  swimming  bladder,  and  is 
without  ribs   and   even   rudimentary  limbs.     In  all 
other  fishes  respiration  is  effected  by  means  of  water 
passing  through  the  mouth  and  escaping  by  the  gills, 
or  their  equivalents ;  in  this  species  it  traverses  the 
whole  interior  of  the  animal,  and  escapes  by  a  special 
pore  on  the  under  surface  of  the  body.     Prof.  Goodsir 
long  ago  called  attention  to  this   peculiar  mode  of 
respiration,  and  noticed  the  resemblance  between  the 
enlarged  pharangeal  sac  oi  Amphioxus  and  that  of  the 
tunicated  mollusks  or  sea  squirts.     He  considered  the 
lancelet  also  as  allied  to  the  annulosa,  from  the  simple 
organization  of  its  respiratoiy  and  circulatory  system, 
and  M.  Kowalevesky  has  more  recently  traced  a  close 
affinity  between  this  species  and  the  early  stages  of 
some   Ascidians.     Thus,    in  Amphioxits   are   vmited 
characters  belonging  to  the  Timicatcs  and  Antielides, 
and  unexpected  i-elations  are  revealed  between  the 
Vertebrata  and  the  hivertebrata. 

In  the  Lepidosiren,  the  highest  of  all  the  fishes,  we 
find  an  organization  of  a  no  less  complex  nature. 
This  genus  was  founded  in  1837  by  Dr.  Natterer  for 
the  reception  of  a  singular  animal  to  which  he  gave 
the  specific  name  o{ paradoxa,  discovered  by  him  in 
America,  inhabiting  the  swamps  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
river  Amazon.  This  species,  which  attains  a  length 
of  three  feet,  the  body  being  eleven  times  as  long  as 


the  head,    is   now   becoming  veiy   rare.     In    1839, 
Professor  Owen  referred    specimens   from  the  river 
Gambia  of  West  Africa  to  the  same  genus,  under  the 
designation  of  Lepidosiren  annectens,  and  classed  them 
in  a  provisional  group  between  the  reptiles  and  fishes. 
They  are  placed  by  Professor  Pluxley  in  the  highest 
order  of  his  classification  of  fish,  namely,  the  Dipnoi 
or  "double  breathers,"  and  are  popularly  known  as 
the  mud-fishes.     These  paradoxical  "scaled  sirens" 
have  well-developed  reptilian  lungs  co-existing  with 
functional  internal  branchiae,  and  are  capable  of  living 
either  in  the  water  or  out  of  it.     Their  structure  and 
habits  are  veiy  peculiar.     During  the  rainy  season, 
the  waters  of  the  Gambia  overflow  its  banks,  and  the 
mud-fish  is  carried  out  of  the  true  bed  of  the  river. 
When  the  waters   retire   it  is   left   stranded ;   then, 
burrowing  in  the   softened  mud,   it  coils   itself  up, 
keeps  open  a  communication  with  the  air  above  its 
nest,  and  breathes  by  means  of  its  modified  swimming 
bladder.     It  thus  remains  inactive  till  the  return  of 
the  floods  soften  the  walls  of  its  cell,  when  it  emerges- 
and   resumes   its   former  habits.      They   have   been 
found  in  a  semi-torpid  state  eighteen  inches  below  the 
surface,  in  situations  where  the  ground  is  diy  and 
hard  for  months  in  the  year,  and  are  dug  out  by  the 
natives  with  a  sharp-pointed  stick  and  used  for  food. 
A  specimen  of  L.  a7tnectens  has  been  on  exhibition  in 
the  entrance-hall  of  the  Brighton  Aquarium  for  more 
than  two  years.     It  is  kept  at  a  regular  temperature 
of  70  degrees,   and  is  in  a  very  thriving  condition, 
having  grown  several  inches  since  it  has  been  in  the 
Institution,    and    thickened    proportionately.       The 
animal  generally  lies  quietly   at   the   bottom   of  its 
tank,  rising  occasionally  to  the  surface  to  take  in  air.. 
It  is  fed  three  times  weekly  on  small  pieces  of  raw 
beef,  which  it  can  be  observed  to  eat  in  a  very  unusual 
manner.     When  the  food  is  thrown  in  the  mud-fish 
stretches  itself  leisurely  and   seizes    it,    as   it  comes 
within  reach,    between  its  sharply-formed  vomerine 
teeth.     After  masticating  it  slowly,  it  throws  it  out 
with  a  quick  jerk,  and,  commencing  at  the  other  end, 
repeats  the  manoeuvre  ;  it  then  again  rejects  it  and 
subjects  it  to  a  third  process  of  mastication  before 
finally  swallowing  it.     The  body  of  the  Lepidosiren 
is  fish-like,   and  covered  with  small  cycloid  scales ; 
simply  constructed   pectoral   and  ventral   limbs  are 
present,  with  a  dorso-caudal  fin.     The  notochord  is 
persistent,  but  the  skull  is  partly  bony,  partly  cartila- 
ginous, and  the  costal  arches  and  neural  and  ha:mal 
spines  are  well  ossified  ;  thus  it  forms  a  link  between 
the   bony   and   cartilaginous   types   of  fishes.      The 
dentition  is  composed  of  a  pair  of  vomerine  teeth,  and 
two  molars  in  each  jaw.     The  heart  is  three  cham- 
bered, and  true  lungs  exist  with  rudimentary  external 
branchiae  and  functional  internal  ones. 

Among  living  fish,  the  Lepidosiren  is  most  closely 
related  to  another  "dipnoid,"  discovered  in  the  rivers 
of  Queensland,  Australia,  in  1870.  This  species  was 
at    once,    with   singular   accuracy,    referred   by  Mr. 


HARD  WICKE 'S    SCIENCE  -  GOSSIP. 


227 


Gerard  Krefft,  the  curator  of  the  Sidney  Museum,  to 
Ceratodus,  a  genus  till  then  only  known  by  the  fossil 
teeth  occurring  abundantly  in  Triassic  and  Jurassic 
strata.  He  also  described  it  "  as  a  gigantic  amphi- 
bian, and  as  allied  to  Lcpidosircn"  the  correctness  of 
which  determination  has  been  fully  demonstrated  by 
the  subsequent  minute  investigations  of  Dr.  Giinther 
and  Professor  Huxley,  who  have  published  exhaustive 
memoirs  on  this  subject.  Two  species  of  living 
Ceratodonts  are  recognised,  one  named  after  its  dis- 
coverer, the  Hon.  William  Foster,  Ceratodus  Fosteri, 
and  Ceratodus  miolepis,  distinguishable  only  by  its 
smaller  and  less  ornate  scales.  These  fish,  known 
locally  as  "  flat-heads,"  inhabit  the  fresh  and  brackish 
waters  of  the  Queensland  rivers,  and  "at  night  leave 
the  streams,  and  go  out  on  the  flats,  among  the  reeds 
and  rushes,  subject  to  tidal  influence."  Dr.  Giiather 
is,  however,  of  opinion  that  they  do  not  probably  live 
freely  on  land,  as  the  limbs  are  too  flexible  and  feeble 
to  support  the  heavy  body,  and  considers  that  though 
they  may  be  occasionally  compelled  to  leave  the 
water,  they  could  not  remain  long  in  a  lively  condition 
without  it.  The  species,  which  range  up  to  six  feet 
in  length  and  twenty  pounds  in  weight,  appear  to 
feed  exclusively  on  the  remains  of  plants  Myrtaccc  and 
GraiiiiucB,  taken  in  a  decomposing  state.  Tlie  body 
of  Ceratodus  is  covered  with  large  cycloid  scales,  and 
the  limbs  are  structurally  identical  with  those  of 
Lepidosircn,  but  the  axis  and  fringe  are  more  dilated, 
and  the  fin  scales  distinctly  visible.  The  internal 
skeleton,  though  of  a  more  cartilaginous  type,  re- 
sembles that  of  the  mud-fishes,  and  the  skull  is  partly 
osseous.  The  anterior  nasal  openings  are  situated 
under  the  lip,  in  front  of  the  vomerine  teeth,  while 
the  posterior  pair  are  placed  in  the  cavity  of  the 
mouth,  a  little  before  the  maxillary  ones.  The  den- 
tition is  essentially  that  oi  Lepidosiren,  slightly  modified 
to  suit  herbivorous  diet,  being  adapted  rather  for 
"cutting  and  crushing"  instead  of  "piercing  and 
cutting."  It  consists  of  a  pair  of  vomerine  teeth  and 
two  molars  in  each  jaw,  thus  proving  the  correctness 
of  the  views  of  Pander  and  Agassiz,  who  had  assigned 
that  number  of  dental  plates  to  the  fossil  forms  of  the 
middle  geologic  ages.  The  respiratory  organs  are 
twofold,  as  in  Lepidosiren,  but  the  gills  are  more 
developed  in  Ceratodus,  and  when  inhabiting  clear 
waters  the  fish  probably  breathes  by  them  alone,  the 
true  lungs  only  conaing  into  action  when  on  the  mud 
flats,  or  living  in  turbid  waters.  The  shape  of  the 
body,  the  number,  position,  and  structure  of  the  fins, 
the  elements  of  the  internal  skeleton,  and  above  all 
the  co-existence  of  a  lung  with  gills,  show  how  close 
is  the  affinity  between  the  Australian  Ceratodus  and 
the  mud-fishes  of  Africa  and  South  America  ;  and 
although  the  former  approach  less  to  the  amphibian 
type  than  the  latter,  it  is  obvious  that  in  a  natural 
classification  their  place  is  side  by  side. 

( To  he  continued. ) 


THE  HARVEST-BUG. 
{Leptus  autumnalis.) 

OF  all  the  insects  with  which  entomologists  are 
acquainted,  few  are  more  troublesome  than 
the  tiny  hexapod  depicted  in  our  sketch.  In  pro- 
portion to  its  size,  it  has,  perhaps,  greater  powers  of 
annoyance  than  any  other  insect  indigenous  to  this 
country.  A  moment's  reflection  on  the  part  of  our 
readers  will  bring  to  their  remembrance  a  host  of 
troublesome  insects,  but  should  they  ever  have  been 
attacked  by  an  army  of  harvest-bugs,  they  will  scarcely 
need  to  be  informed  that,  in  proportion  to  its  size,  its 
powers  of  punishment  far  exceed  those  of  any  other 
of  our  indoor  or  outdoor  tormentors.  The  flea 
{Pulex  irritans),  the  common  bed-bug  {Cimex  lectu- 
larius),  and  the  gnat  {Culcx pipiens)  sometimes  punish 
us  severely,  but  in  considering  this,  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  smallest  fully-developed  specimen 
of  the  smallest  of  these,  namely,  the  flea,  is  at  least 
one  hundred  times  larger  than  the  harvest-bug.  The 
latter  is,  in  fact,  a  near  approach  to  a  mathematical 
point  ?  Three  or  four  may  be  easily  overlooked  on 
the  point  of  a  needle. 

As  its  name  implies,  this  bug  is  found  during  the 
months  of  harvest.  So  far  as  our  obsei'vations  extend, 
its  period  of  activity  ranges  from  June  to  October ; 
August  and  September  being  the  months  during 
which  it  is  most  active.  A  period  of  drought  appears 
to  contribute  to  its  abundance  and  activity.  In  this 
respect  it  is  exactly  the  reverse  to  a  similar  insect, 
said  by  Kirby  and  Spence  to  be  found  in  Brazil,  and 
to  abound  in  the  rainy  season. 

We  believe  that  during  the  whole  year  this  insect 
makes  its  home  in  our  fields  and  gardens  ;  the  above 
period  being  that  of  its  activity.  As  we  should 
expect  to  find,  this  tiny  creature  has  its  preferences. 
In  tlie  harvest-fields  it  seems  to  prefer  those  of  wheat. 
In  our  gardens,  the  French  or  kidney-bean  plant  and 
the  leaves  of  the  currant-tree  appear  to  be  its  paradise. 
We  have  observed  that  whilst  it  may  be  found  on 
nearly  every  vegetable  in  a  garden,  it  is  always  most 
abundant  on  those  above  indicated  ;  the  bean  plant 
being  preferred  to  those  of  the  currant-tree.  We 
fancy,  loo,  we  hear  our  readers  saying  that  the  body  of 
man  must  be  preferred  to  the  plant  of  the  Fi-ench 
bean.  This  may  be  so,  but  it  is  a  point  we  have  not 
yet  been  able  to  decide.  Our  experience  thus  far  is 
against  the  proposition ;  for,  unless  the  plant  on 
which  the  little  creature  exists  is  disturbed,  we  have 
never  known  it  to  attack  man,  but  the  instant  it  is 
interfered  with,  by  walking  through  the  harvest-fields 
or  brushing  against  the  garden  plants,  it  commences  its 
attack.  Its  weight  is  so  infinitesimal,  and  its  motion 
so  slight,  that  the  body  of  man,  sensitive  as  it  is,  is 
not  aware  of  the  presence  of  the  enemy  until  the  attack 
is  fairly  commenced. 

But,  before  proceeding  further,  it  may  be  as  well  to 
state  that  the  harvest-bug  has  the  power  of  adapting 


228 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


its  colour  to  that  of  the  plant  or  animal  on  which  it  is 
feeding.  We  have  found  it  of  a  reddish-straw  colour 
in  the  hai-vest-field,  quite  green  on  green  plants,  and 
perfectly  crimson  on — or  more  correctly  in  the  skin  of 
— the  human  body.  We  have  also  placed  the  insect, 
when  green,  on  the  back  of  the  hand,  and  watched 
its  mode  of  attack  and  change  of  colour. 

On  being  placed  in  a  green  state  on  the  hand, 
it  commences  to  use  its  pointed,  spear-like  mandibles 
(yJ/  in  fig.  174)  vigorously,  and  a  sense  of  pain 
is  quickly  experienced.  In  two  or  three  minutes 
it  begins  to  imbibe  the  human  blood,  still  vigorously 
working  with  its  mandibles,    and   forcing  its  way 


state  of  the  blood.  Once  embedded  in  the  skin,  the 
han'est-bug  appears  to  have  no  power  of  extricating 
itself,  A  state  of  torpidity  soon  sets  in,  peihaps  at 
once,  and  after  a  few  hours  the  little  creature  ceases 
to  exist.  The  irritation  may  continue,  however,  in  a 
sensitive  person  for  two  or  three  days. 

The  question  now  arises  : — To  what  is  the  irritation 
due  ?  To  the  mere  puncture  it  can  scarcely  be.  Is 
it,  then,  to  a  poisonous  fluid  injected,  or  is  it  to  the 
numberless  cilia-like  spines  or  stilettos  with  which  the 
body  and  legs  of  the  insect  are  covered  ?  We  have 
not  yet  satisfied  ourselves  on  this  point,  but  are 
inclined  to  think  that  it  is  due  to  the  latter.     The 


Fig.  174.  The  Harvest-hug  (,Le/ius  nuiuiuriaiis),  highly  magnified. 


under  the  skin.  After  the  lapse  of  two  or  three  more 
minutes  it  may  be  seen,  by  the  aid  of  an  ordinary 
pocket  lens,  to  have  sensibly  changed  colour,  and 
in  from  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes  from  the  first,  it  will 
be  seen  to  be  quite  crimson,  and  so  thoroughly  em- 
bedded in  the  skin  that  nothing  short  of  a  slight 
surgical  operation,  which  may  be  performed  with  a 
sharp-pointed  needle,  will  remove  it.  During  this 
time  a  slight  pain  is  experienced,  but  it  is  after  the 
little  creature  is  fairly  embedded  in  the  skin  that  the 
irritation  is  most  painful,  and  the  swelling  commences. 
In  many  cases  the  swelling  thus  raised  is  two  or  three 
hundred  times  the  size  of  the  insect.  By  numbers  of 
people  these  swellings  are  called  /leat  hinnps,  and 
were  believed  to  result  from  a  heated  or  disordered 


prolonged  irritation  may  be  in  part,  or  altogether,  due 
to  the  decomposing  body  of  the  insect  in  the  skin  ;  a 
poisonous  fluid  being  thus  generated.  This  hy- 
pothesis is  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  the  irritation  of 
the  punctures  from  which  the  insects  have  been 
removed  ceases  much  sooner  than  that  of  those  in 
which  the  insects  are  allowed  to  remain.  At  the 
same  time  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  may  be 
due  to  the  absence  of  the  mechanical  irritative  body. 

Another  interesting  question  also  arises  : — Does  the 
blood  extracted  from  the  human  body  by  the  insect, 
which  imparts  to  it  its  crimson  colour,  undergo  any 
change  in  the  system  of  the  insect?  We  believe  it 
does,  but  only  a  mechanical  change,  the  human 
blood  corpuscles  being  broken  up  sufficiently  fine  to 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSIF. 


229 


circulate  in  the  system  of  the  insect.  It  may  also 
undergo  a  chemical  change,  but  as  to  this,  it  is  not 
easy  to  decide. 

A  further  question  arises  : — What  becomes  of  the 
body  of  the  insect  imbedded  in  tlie  skin  ?  Is  it,  after 
decomposition,  absorbed  by  the  blood,  or  is  it  ex- 
pelled by  perspiration  from  the  pores  of  the  skin? 
We  are  inclined  to  think  that  the  latter  is  the  case. 
A  still  further  question  arises  :— What  is  the  best 
fluid  to  apply  to  the  skin  to  allay  irritation  ?  Speak- 
ing from  experience,  we  say,  moderately  strong 
acetic  acid  or  concentrated  common  vinegar.  Our 
knowledge  of  chemistry  also  points  to  this,  acetic 
acid  being  a  solvent  of  animal  substances. 

Finally,  we  may  remark  that  the  reproduction  of 
species  with  this  insect  appears  to  be  by  the  deposition 
of  ova  on  the  under  parts  of  leaves,  and  underneath 
the  bark  of  small  garden  trees  and  shrubs.  The 
harvest-bug  is  believed  to  live  one  season  only,  as  a 
rule,  but  we  have  found  it  in  a  dormant  state  in 
winter  underneath  the  decaying  bark  of  the  garden 
currant-tree.  We  failed,  however,  to  ascertain  as  a 
fact  that  it  again  became  active  in  the  succeeding 
summer  or  autumn. 

In  this,  as  in  all  the  works  of  the  Creator,  we  see 
infinite  design  ;  but  the  exact  part  this  little  creature 
is  designed  to  fulfil  in  the  economy  of  nature  is  as  yet 
a  mystery  to  man. 

I  should  remark  that  my  sketch  is  from  a  very  fine 

specimen. 

J.  E.  Stephens. 

Inland  Revemce,  Alloa,  N.B. 


THE  METAMORPHOSIS  OF  THE  WHITE 
CABBAGE  BUTTERFLY. 

(Pier is  brassica.) 

ON    seeing    the    curious   manner   in   which   the 
chrysalis  of  the  butterfly  is   suspended   by  a 
silken  cord  round  its  body,  one  would  naturally  ask 
how  this  was  accomplished.     There  is  something  so 
wonderful  that   a   creature   like   the 
caterpillar  should   spin    a   thread   of 
silk,  and  so  utilize  it  as  to  hang  itself 
up  by  it  in  a  position  suitable  for  the 
future  development  of  the  butterfly, 
that  I  do  not  think  it  a  waste  of  time 
or  labour  in  attempting  to  explain  the 
way  it  is  accomplished  :  this  I  have 
endeavoured  to  do  by  the  aid  of  the 
accompanying  sketches.     I  procured 
a  number  of  caterpillars  and  kept  them 
until  they  were  full-fed,  when  they  leave  their  food  and 
travel  in  search  of  a  spot  suited  for  them  to  undergo 
their  metamorphosis.     In  this  case,  being  kept  in  a 
glass  box,  they  had  to  travel  up  the  smooth  glass. 
This  they  easily  accomplished  by  spinning  a  ladder  of 
silk  in  a  zig-zag  form.     Having  fixed  themselves  to  a 


spot,  they  then  rested  quiet  for  some  time,  hanging 
in  the  position  of  fig.  175.  When  about  to  commence 
forming  the  silk  cord  that  is  to  support  the  future 
chrysalis,  they  do  so  by  bending  the  head  backward 
to  about  the  fourth  segment  of  the  body  (fig.  176),  and 
then  turning  the  head  downwards  on  the  right  side, 
so  as  to  bring  the  mouth  to  the  points,  fig.  176.  The 
caterpillar  there  fixes  the  first  line  of  silk,  and  then 
carries  the  head  over  to  the  left  side,  spinning  a  line 
of  silk  at  the  time,  and  fastening  it  down  on  the  left 
side  ;  again  bringing  a  line  of  silk  back  over  to  the 
right  side,  and  fastening  it  down.  This  process  is 
continued  and  repeated  until  about  forty  lines  of  silk 
are  in  this  manner  drawn  across  the  body  and  the 
head.  At  this  time  the  silk  is  drawn  so  tight  that, 
to  appearance,  the  head  of  the  creature  is  in  danger 


Fig.  175.  Stage  of  metamorphosis        Fig.  177.  Chrysalis  of 
of  P.  I'rassictF.  P.  brassictr. 


Fig.  176.  Another  stage  in  ditto. 

of  being  severed  from  the  body ;  but  this  does  not 
happen,  as  the  caterpillar  is  very  soft  and  flexible, 
and  will  bear  a  large  amount  of  pressure.  Now 
comes  the  task  of  releasing  the  head  from  this  bent- 
back  and  tied-down  portion.  I  confess  that  I  watched 
this  movement  with  a  degree  of  curiosity,  and  was 


230 


HARD  WI CKE  'S  S CIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


surprised  to  see  the  creature  adroitly  bring  the  head 
down  to  the  spot  (fig.  176,  a)  where  there  appeared  more 
space  between  the  body  and  the  silk  cord  than  at  any 
other  point,  and  it  quickly  withdrew  the  head  out  from 
inider  the  cord,  and  placed  itself  in  the  position  of 
fig.  1 75,  with  the  cord,  at  /',  complete  :  this  process 
occupied  about  twenty-five  minutes.  In  this  state  it 
rested  until  the  chrysalis  was  fonned,  when  the  old 
skin  was  thrown  off  from  under  the  cord,  and  the 
chiysalis  left  as  shown  (fig.  177),  from  which  in  due 
time  the  butterfly  will  emerge. 

Canterbury.  J.  Fullagar. 


MICROSCOPY. 

Raphides. — Would  one  of  the  many  readers  of 
Science-Gossip  kindly  inform  me  in  what  way 
turpentine  acts  on  vegetable  tissues,  so  as  to  make 
them  transpai-ent  ?  Some  time  ago,  being  desirous  of 
obtaining  a  good  slide  of  the  outer  coating  of  an 
onion,  showing  the  raphides  for  the  polariscope,  I 
soaked  it  for  several  weeks  in  spirits  of  turpentine, 
after  which,  when  taken  out  to  mount,  it  ^^•as,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  very  small  opaque  spots, 
transparent.  However,  when  it  had  been  in  balsam 
for  some  hours,  these  spots  which  were  left  became 
larger,  so  that  in  time  the  structure  would  have 
regained  its  original  opacity.  I  therefore  repeated 
the  experiment,  but  with  the  same  results.  I  may 
add  that  it  was  mounted  in  balsam  dissolved  in 
benzole.  Of  course  it  was  of  no  very  great  conse- 
quence, as  it  still  shows  the  crystals  pretty  well ; 
but  I  suppose,  as  a  general  rule,  for  the  polariscope 
tissues  cannot  be  made  too  transparent.  While  upon 
the  subject  of  Raphides,  may  I  suggest  a  plan  which 
I  have  found  answers  well  for  making  very  interest- 
ing slides  of  those  from  the  rhubarb.  Take  a  stick 
of  rhubarb,  and,  after  peeling  it,  cut  about  two 
inches  off,  and  again  divide  this  into  pieces  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  thick.  Put  these  into  a  test-tube  and 
half  fill  with  distilled  water ;  boil  or  simmer  till 
they  become  quite  stringy,  then,  after  emptying  the 
tube  of  its  contents,  gently  pour  off  the  surplus  fluid. 
Now,  if  a  drop  of  liquid  be  squeezed  from  the  re- 
maining mass,  put  on  to  a  slide  with  a  covering- 
glass,  and  submitted  to  the  microscope,  isolated  cells 
will  be  seen,  many  of  them  having  in  their  interior 
the  aforesaid  raphides.  Generally  there  are  some 
loose  ones  as  well,  so  that  one  has  the  opportunity  of 
seeing  them  singly  or  in  situ.  As  to  preserving,  my 
way  of  mounting  is  in  fluid,  by  mixing  the  liquid 
containing  them  with  a  solution  of  carbolic  acid, 
adopting  Mr.  Suffolk's  plan  of  making  a  cell  of  thick 
damar  varnish,  and  putting  on  the  cover  while  it  is 
yet  sticky.  The  only  fear  is,  I  think,  whether  enough 
carbolic  acid  can  be  introduced  into  the  cell  to  pre- 
serve its  contents.  There  is,  perhaps,  nothing  very 
new  in  all  this ;  but  for  those  who  are  only  beginners 


in  mounting  their  own  objects,  the  foregoing  direc- 
tions may  prove  useful. — E.  W,   JF.,  Le^vis/iam. 

Plants  for  Raphides,  &c.— In  last  September 
number  of  the  "Monthly  Microscopical  Journal" 
Professor  Gulliver  gives  a  list  of  the  plants,  chiefly 
British,  in  which  these  and  other  microscopic  crystals 
may  be  most  conveniently  examined  and  discriminated. 
The  orders  and  families  are  noted  according  to 
Babington's  "  Manual  of  British  Botany,"  so  that  the 
student  may  at  any  time  select  a  plant  in  which  to 
examine  any  of  the  particular  forms  of  ciystals.  These 
are  as  follow  : — For  i.,  Raphides — Balsaminacese, 
Onagracece,  Rubiacece,  Dioscoreacese,  TrilliaceDe, 
Orchidacece,  Amaryllidaceje,  Asparagaceje,  Liliacece 
(part  of),  Typhacete,  Aracece  (part  of),  Lemnacese 
(except  Wolfifia),  Vitacere,  Hydrangia,  Veratrum. 
For  ii.,  SphcerapJddes — Caryophyllacese,  Geraniaceas, 
Celastracece,  Rhamnaccse,  Myriophyllum,  Parony- 
chiaceae.  Viburnum,  Mercurialis  annua,  Chenopo- 
diacece  (part  of).  Rhubarb,  Urticete,  Passifloracese, 
Cactaceae,  New  Zealand  Spinach,  Pulp  of  Pear.  For 
iii.,  Long  Crystal  Prisms — The  pericarps  of  Compositse 
leaves  of  Iridacece,  Fourcroya,  Sweet  Orris,  Guaiacum 
bark,  Quillaja  bark,  bulb-scales  of  Onion,  Shallot, 
Garlic,  and  Leek.  For  iv..  Short  Prismatic  Crystals — 
Pericarps  of  many  Composite,  leaves,  &c.,  ofTiliacese, 
Aceraceae,  Amentifer^e,  Leguminosse,  testa  of  the 
Elm,  Anagallis,  and  Tamus.  Figures  of  the  different 
crystals  were  given  in  Science-Gossip,  May,  1873, 
except  the  short  prisms,  of  which  there  is  a  plate  in 
the  "  Monthly  Microscopical  Journal"  for  December 
of  the  same  year.  But  the  present  list  will  afford  an 
inexhaustible  collection  of  materials  for  microscopical 
amusement  and  instruction,  all  remarkable,  too,  for 
their  interest  and  beauty.  As  regards  their  distinctive 
characters  and  taxonomic  value,  remarks  are  added 
in  the  "  Monthly  Microscopical  Journal."  When  not 
otherwise  mentioned,  the  raphides,  &c.,  are  to  be 
looked  for  in  the  leaves  or  sepals. 

Life  History  of  the  Simplest  Organisms. — 
At  the  recent  British  Association  meeting  the  Rev.  W. 
H.  Dallinger  delivered  an  exceedingly  interesting 
lecture  on  "  Researches  in  the  Life  History  of  the 
simplest  Organisms."  He  stated  that  he  had  worked 
out  the  life  histories  of  six  monads,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded to  give  the  results  of  numerous  experiments  in 
connection  with  the  same.  Motion  was,  perhaps, 
nowhere  so  universal  as  in  the  most  minute  forms  of 
life,  and  here  it  was  that  we  often  found  movement 
of  the  most  graceful  kind.  It  had  now  been  made 
quite  certain  that  the  degrees  of  ease  and  force  of 
motion  of  these  animals  depended  upon  the  number 
of  their  flagella,  which,  so  far  as  investigation  had  yet 
gone,  ranged  from  one  to  four.  With  regard  to  the 
most  minute  forms  of  life,  Mr.  Dallinger  said  that  the 
study  of  their  life  histories  showed  that  these  forms 
were  perfectly  complete  and  definite  ;  there  was  no 
mutation  nor  anything  unnatural.     The  results  of  his 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 


231 


experiments  with  certain  life-germs  showed  that  when 
ordinary  air  was  charged  with  given  germs,  any 
nutritive  fluid  receiving  these  germs  would  produce 
monads,  while  when  the  air  was  kept  perfectly  pure 
the  same  fluid  would  not  produce  a  single  monad. 
With  the  air  at  a  temperature  of  310°  Fahrenheit 
and  charged  with  germs,  the  fluid  produced  no 
monads.  As  to  the  theory  of  the  "  survival  of  the 
fittest,"  he  stated  that  he  was  a  perfect  convert  to  it. 
At  a  temperature  of  45^  the  six  monads 'with  which 
he  had  been  expermienting  were  found  to  live  and 
flourish,  and  they  could  bear  a  sudden  increase  of 
temperature  up  to  60°,  without  exhibiting  any  signs 
of  inconvenience;  but  if,  upon  reaching  this  point, 
the  temperature  was  suddenly  increased  by  five 
degrees,  the  monads  showed  a  faintness.  The  tem- 
perature might,  however,  by  a  slow  process,  be  in- 
creased to  127°,  in  which  the  monads  would  live,  and 
multiply  even  more  rapidly  than  in  a  temperature  of 
45°.  The  results  of  similar  experiments  also  seemed 
to  show  that  it  took  a  much  longer  time  to  produce  a 
modification  in  the  ovum  than  to  produce  a  modifica- 
tion in  the  parent.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  lecture 
Professor  Macalister  remarked  that  the  questions 
raised  by  Mr.  Dallinger  were  of  incalculable  im- 
portance. 


ZOOLOGY. 

The  Zoology  of  New  Guinea. — At  the  recent 
meeting  of  the  British  Association  at  Plymouth,  Prof. 
RoUeston,  F.R.S.,  read  a  paper  on  the  above  sub- 
ject. He  commenced  by  saying  that  the  zoology  of 
New  Guinea  has  had  a  great  deal  of  research  bestowed 
on  it,  and  will  yet  have  a  great  deal  more,  as  a  con- 
sequence of  the  profit  which  has  already  resulted.  A 
point  which  recent  zoological  discoveries  in  New 
Guinea  throw  light  upon,  is,  that  there  was  a  dry- 
land passage  at  one  time  between  Australia  and  New 
Guinea  ;  recent  discoveries  in  the  latter  country  hav- 
ing revealed  the  presence  there  of  animals  similar  to, 
or  identical  with,  some  found  in  Australia.  This  is 
held  as  proof  that  where  Torres  Straits  now  is,  there 
was  once  dry  land.  But  against  this  hypothesis  is 
urged  the  difference  between  the  vegetation  of  the  two 
islands.  This,  however,  is  accounted  for  by  what 
Herbert  Spencer  calls  the  circumambient  medium. 
Though  people  are  inclined  to  think  vegetables  con- 
siderably less  sensitive  than  animals,  sometimes  they 
are  more  sensitive  to  heat  and  dryness ;  and  Professor 
Rolleston  believes  that  it  is  the  greater  susceptibility 
of  the  vegetation  at  the  antipodes  which  accounts 
for  the  disparity  observable  between  the  vegetable 
growths  of  New  Guinea  and  those  of  Australia.  In 
the  centre  of  New  Guinea  there  is  a  high  range  of 
mountains,  which  attract  and  impart  moisture  to  the 
surrounding  country  ;  while  the  interior  of  Australia 
consists  of  great  barren  plains,    which   harbour  no 


moisture.     The  plants,    as  they  have   not  liad  the 
means  to  protect  themselves  available  to  animals,  liave 
gradually  altered  their  form  to  accommodate  them- 
selves to  circumstances.     A  curious  creature,  covered 
with  prickles,  living  on  ants  and  other  insects,  and 
improvided   with    means   of  militant   operations,    is 
found  on  both  sides  of  the  Straits.     Two  kinds  of 
Echidna  have  also  been  discovered  in  New  Guinea, 
and  corresponding  with  them  is  one  in  Tasmania,  and 
another    in    Australia.      As    these    creatures    could 
not   travel   over   water,    there  must  have  been  land 
communication  at  the  period  of  their  original  dis- 
tribution.    Quite  lately  an  Echidna  has  been  found 
in  the  south-west  corner  of  New  Guinea,  and  sent  to- 
Professor  Rolleston  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lawes,  the  dis- 
coverer, accompanied  by  a  letter,  in  which  the  state- 
ment is  made  that  this  is  the  first  ever  found.     For 
this  species  the  name  Echidna  Lazuesei  is  proposed. 
The  Cassowary  has   also  been  found  on  both  sides 
of  Torres    Straits,    and  the  existence    of   the    Tree 
Kangaroo,  both  in  Australia  and  New  Guinea,  Prof. 
Rolleston  also  considered  reliable.    At  its  conclusion, 
the  paper  treated  of  the  Admiralty  Island  pig,  in  the 
fore  part  of  which  Professor  Rolleston  pointed  out  the 
peculiarity  of  a  glabellum .  Dr.  Bennett  proposed  a  vote 
of  thanks  to  Professor  Rolleston,  and  took  opportunity 
to  explain  that  there  had  been  no  tree-kangaroo  actually 
found  in  Australia,  though  there  is  little  room  left  for 
doubt  that  the  species  has  inhabited  the   place,  as 
marks  left  on  trees  could  only  have  been  produced  by 
it.     Dr.  Sclater  thought  it  would  have  been  well  if 
the  Professor  had  informed  them  that  the  Echidna, 
together  with   that  wonderful  animal   the  Duckbill, 
constituted  by  themselves  a  third  class  of  mammals. 
Professor   Rolleston   was,    he   thought,    to   be   con- 
gratulated on  being  the  first  in  England  to  possess 
that  most  interesting  animal,  the  Echidna.     Professor 
Newton  exhibited  an  engraving  in  Nature  of  the  skull 
of  an  echidna,  and  expressed  a  desire  to  learn  something 
by  which  to  discrimiate  between  the  Tachglossi  of  the 
northern  part   of    New   Guinea    and   those   of  the 
southern  part.     He  thought  they  should  pause  before 
accepting  the  fact  that  this  echnida,  just  arrived,  was 
really  something  novel,  and  deserved  classification  as 
a  new  species.     Professor   Rolleston,   in  answer  to 
the  remarks  of  Professor  Newton,  said  the  specimen 
had   been    sent    to    him    by    Mr.    Ramsey,    of  the 
Museum,  Sydney,  to  be  classified  and  named. 

LARViE  OF  PaPILIO  MaCHAON  AT  BRIGHTON.— 
About  the  second  week  in  July  a  couple  of  caterpillars 
of  the  Swallow-tail  butterfly  {Papilio  Machaon)  were 
found  by  two  little  boys  in  a  garden  near  the  race- 
course, and  taken  to  Messrs.  Pratt  &  Sons,  North 
Street  Quadrant,  Brighton.  The  larvae  were  feeding 
on  the  carrot  when  taken,  and  continued  feeding  on 
it  for  four  days,  when  one  turned  to  a  chrysalis  and 
the  other  died.  The  chrysalis  was  of  a  light-brown 
colour  with   black   stripes,    instead  of  the  ordinary 


232 


HA  RDWI CKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -GOSSIP. 


green  colour.  It  is  stated  that  when  caterpillars  of 
this  butterfly  feed  on  the  cultivated  carrot,  the 
chrysalides  are  usually  browTi.  On  August  6th  a 
very  fine  female  emerged.  The  question  naturally 
arises,  how  came  the  caterpillars  in  a  garden  near 
Brighton  ?  Has  some  entomologist  been  trying  an 
experiment  ?  Did  a  female  escape  from  captivity  and 
lay  her  eggs  ?  Or  has  an  impregnated  female  flown 
across  the  Channel  ?  Any  way,  we  may  possibly  hear 
of  the  perfect  insect  being  seen  or  caught  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Brighton  during  the  present  month. 
The  emergence  of  this  female  confirms  the  opinion  of 
continental  entomologists  that  P.  Mackaon  is  double- 
brooded. —  T.  IF.  Wojtfor. 

The  Aquarium  and  Winter  Garden  at 
Tynemouth,  near  Newcastle,  is  rapidly  approaching 
completion.  The  building  occupies  a  commanding 
position  on  the  Long  Sands  between  the  town  of  Tyne- 
mouth and  the  little  fishing  village  of  Cullercoats. 
The  entire  basement  is  devoted  to  the  Aquarium, 
with  its  reservoirs  and  pumping-machinery,  and  the 
show-tanks,  of  which  there  will  be  both  a  sea  and  a 
fresh-water  series,  will  contain  upwards  of  140,000 
gallons  of  water.  The  plan  adopted  is  the  circulation 
system,  which  has  proved  so  successful  in  the  main- 
tenance of  aquatic  life  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  Naples, 
and  elsewhere.  Special  arrangements  are  being 
made  for  the  culture  of  salmon  and  trout,  and  in  con- 
junction with  the  Aquarium,  but  out  of  doors,  there 
will  be  an  enormous  seal-pond,  into  which  a  supply 
of  sea-water  will  be  pumped  direct  from  the  sea  when 
required.  Mr.  E.  Howard  Birchall  has  been  ap- 
pointed curator. 

The  Sharp-winged  Hawk-moth.  —  On  the 
29th  of  August  I  caught  a  specimen  of  the  Sharp- 
winged  Hawk-moth  {Charocampa  Celerio)  in  one  of 
the  rooms  of  our  house.  It  is  in  splendid  condition. 
Is  not  this  early  for  it  to  make  its  appearance  ? — 
//.  Molony,  Scaton,  South  Devon. 

"  Potato  Pests." — Under  this  head  a  cheap  but 
well  got-up  brochure  has  been  published  by  Orange, 
Judd,  &  Co.,  New  York,  the  author  being  Dr.  C.  V. 
Riley,  the  State  entomologist  of  Missouri.  It  was 
Dr.  Riley  who,  three  or  four  years  ago,  worked  out 
the  life-history  of  the  Colorado  Beetle  {Doryphora 
\o-liueata,  Say).  In  this  little  work  we  find  the 
entire  story  as  to  its  progress  and  migrations  re-told. 
Nobody  is  better  able  to  tell  the  story  than  Dr.  Riley, 
and  from  his  publications  anent  this  pest  most  of  the 
matter  published  in  England  has  been  obtained. 
Dr.  Riley  has  also  just  written  another  work,  entitled 
*'  The  Locust  Plague  in  the  United  States,"  wherein 
he  has  worked  out  the  popular  life-history  of  the 
insect  causing  it,  as  he  had  done  that  of  the  Colorado 
Beetle. 

Rorquals  off  Filey? — A  Mr.  Haxby,  smack 
owner,  of  Filey,   told  [me,  about  a  week  ago,  that 


some  days  previously,  when  fishing  for  herrings  oft'  the 
Yorkshire  coast,  between  Scarborough  and  Whitby, 
he  saw  three  large  whales,  but  was  rather  vague  as 
to  their  size ;  they  were  as  large  or  larger  than  his 
smack,  and  might  be  perhaps  nearly  100  feet  long. 
Might  they  not  be  Rorquals  ? — R.  M.  Gordon. 

Close  Time  for  Sea  •  Fowl.  —  The  "close 
time  "  for  sea-fowl  has  been  extended  to  the  1st  of 
September  for  the  county  of  Northumberland  and 
the  Fern  Islands  ;  and  to  the  15th  of  August  for  the 
East  Coast  of  Yorkshire.  Is  there  any  reason  why 
the  sea-fowl  on  other  parts  of  our  coast  should  not 
share  in  this  amnesty  ?  It  is  a  grave  reflection  on 
the  ornithologists  of  Great  Britain  that  we  cannot 
preserve  our  native  birds  from  destruction  ! 


BOTANY. 

Shining  Moss. — A  correspondent,  in  a  recent 
number  of  SciENCE-GossiP,  asks  for  instances  of  the 
growth  of  Schisiostega  pemiata.  There  is,  near  this 
place,  a  group  of  gritstone  rocks,  through  which  there 
is  a  natural  passage,  on  the  sides  of  which  this  beau- 
tiful moss  grows  in  profusion.  I  have  noticed  that 
the  bright  green  metallic  lustre  is  much  increased  in 
damp  weather. — Rev.  H.  Milncs,  Winster  Vicarage. 

"  Pollen." — By  this  name  an  attractive-looking 
book  has  just  been  published  by  Messrs.  Hardwicke 
&  Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly.  It  is  written  by  M.  P. 
Edgeworth,  F.L.S.,  and  embellished  by  twenty-four 
lithographed  plates  of  pollen-grains,  giving  no  fewer 
than  440  objects.  Since  the  division  has  been  made 
of  all  flowers  into  insect-  and  wind-fertilized,  and  the 
fact  made  known  that  even  the  pollen-grains  of 
these  two  groups  are  strikingly  different,  the  shapes 
and  ornamentations  of  pollen-grains  have  assumed  a 
new  interest.  We  have  long  thought  that  in  the 
delineation  and  description  of  pollen-grains  there  lay 
an  unworked  field  for  the  microscope,  and  we  are 
glad  to  see  that  Mr.  Edgeworth  has  taken  up  the 
subject.     All  botanists  will  welcome  this  book. 

Popular  British  Fungi. — This  is  the  title  of  a 
well-got-up  little  work,  by  James  Britten,  F.L.S., 
published  at  the  Bazaar  office.  It  contains  descrip- 
tions and  histories  of  the  principal  fungi,  both  edible 
and  poisonous,  found  in  Great  Britain.  Mr.  Britten 
is  a  well-known  botanical  author,  and  therefore  such 
a  work  as  this,  which  ought  not  to  be  intnisted  to 
any  other  than  experienced  hands,  may  be  thoroughly 
depended  upon.  The  illustrations  are  excellent,  and 
the  style  in  which  the  book  is  written  is  clear  and 
attractive. 

"Veronica  spicata,"  var.  "  hybrida,"  is 
now  in  full  bloom  on  the  St.  Vincent's  Rocks,  near 
Bristol.  We  saw  it  recently,  on  a  very  dangerous 
part  of  the  rocks,  where  we  hope  it  will  remain  un- 


HA  RD  Wl  CKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  0  SSI  P. 


^IZ 


disturbed,  and  subsequently  in  a  more  accessible 
position,  whence  a  fine  spike  of  flowers  was  obtained, 
though  not  without  difficulty.  We  had  no  time  for 
further  search.  Bentham  mentions  this  rare  plant  as 
having  been  found  on  limestone  in  Somersetshii-e  : 
we  gathered  it  on  the  Gloucestershire  side  of  the 
Avon.  The  sloping  rock  on  which  Sedum  rupestrc 
once  grew  luxuriantly  has  been  utterly  destroyed  in 
blasting  for  the  new  railroad.  I  hope  the  latter 
plant  has  other  habitats  not  far  distant. — H.  M,  C. 
Allen,  Barcoinbe  Rectory,  Leaves. 

Edelweiss. — I  have  this  year  found  the  Edelweiss 
to  be  as  abundant  in  certain  localities  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Zermatt  as  on  any  former  occasion,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  places  where  I  remembered 
having  seen  it  growing  by  the  roadside.  The  news- 
paper article  to  which  Mr.  Hall  refers  has  been  freely 
translated  and  copied  into  most  of  the  Swiss  papers, 
and  has  led  to  the  imposition  of  restrictive  penalties 
by  some  of  the  local  authorities,  against  the  whole- 
sale uprooting  of  the  plant  in  endangered  districts  ; 
it  has  also  called  forth  many  suggestions  for  the  pro- 
tection and  preservation  of  this  and  other  botanical 
rarities.  Fortunately  for  the  Edelweiss,  it  does  not 
grow  in  such  localities  as  those  usually  indicated  by 
the  guide-books,  and  those  persons  who  are  not 
acquainted  with  its  habitat  are  generally  obliged  to 
content  themselves  by  purchasing  their  supplies  from 
the  natives,  who,  for  obvious  reasons,  are  naturally 
reticent  as  to  its  whereabouts.  So  far,  however, 
from  being  extinct,  I  may  say  that  in  several  places 
(well  known  to  me  in  former  years),  at  no  great  ele- 
vation above  Zermatt,  it  would  have  been  easily 
possible,  in  August  last,  to  have  collected  enough  of 
the  plant  in  full  bloom  to  have  filled  a  bushel  basket, 
within  the  space  of  a  few  hundred  yards. — R.  T. 
Lewis. 

Origin  of  Long  Stamens  in  Crucifer.e. — 
Mr.  Gibbs  is  very  possibly  right  in  his  explanation  of 
the  "  lateral "  flowers  he  has  observed  in  the  Water- 
cress, but  I  fail  to  see  how  their  occurrence  explains 
in  any  way  the  origin  of  the  long  stamens.  Every- 
body knows  that  a  stamen  is  a  modified  leaf  or  leaflet, 
i.e.  a  lateral  organ,  and  that  it  forms  a  member  of  a 
modified  leaf-bud,  known  as  the  flower.  Any  leaf 
may,  I  believe,  produce  an  axillary  bud,  and 
instances  similar  to  those  observed  by  Mr.  Gibbs 
have  been  previously  recorded.  Such  a  bud  may 
form  a  flower,  or  not ;  but  it  will  most  probably  con- 
sist of  more  than  one,  if  not  more  than  two  leaves  ;  so 
that  it  is  not  a  very  satisfactory  explanation  of  the 
origin  of  a  pair  of  stamens,  which,  as  I  recently 
showed  in  your  columns,  are  often  but  branches  of 
one.  Moreover,  if  axillary,  the  long  pairs  must  be  in 
the  axils  of  the  sepals  to  which  they  are  superposed  or 
opposite.  How  then  do  they  occur  within  the  petal 
and  not  alternating  with  them  in  the  same  whorl  ? — 
C.  S.  Boulger. 


ver- 


NoTES  ON  Vegetable  Tera- 
tology. —  Probably  no  genera  of 
British  plants  display  as  many 
vagaries  as  the  Plantains.  Dr. 
Masters,  in'  his  valuable  work,  often 
refers  to  the  various  species.  The 
one  here  figured  is  Plantago  lancco- 
lata.  At  the  summit  of  the  spike, 
three  perfect  leaves  are  seen  grow- 
ing; it  is  simply  the  bracts  trans- 
formed into  leaves :  it  teaches  a 
lesson  about  which  there  can  be  little 
doubt — that  the  bracts'are  only  modi- 
fied leaves,  which,  under  certain 
favourable  circumstances,  such  as  a 
continuance  of  humid  weather,  like 
what  has  recently  taken  place,  will 
again  revert  to  the  original  form. 
Our  botanical  friends  might  keep  a 
sharp  look-out,  and  when  they  find 
any  peculiar  abnormal  forms,  they  pjg  ^^g  Y\o^^■^.- 
would  confer  a  favour  if  they  would  ing -spike  of  P/.z^- 
send  them  in  a  fresh  state  by  an  early  "^ 
post. — James  F.  Robinson,  Frods/iam. 

The  Cotoneaster.— In  answer  to  your  corre- 
spondent, I  might  say  that  last  year  I  searched  the 
Orme's  Head,  and  found  the  Cotoneaster  in  the 
locality  described  by  Mr.  Lees,  of  Worcester,  in  an 
interesting  paper  which  appeared  in  Science-Gossip 
for  1874,  though  very  sparingly.  The  same  ledge  of 
rocks  yielded  many  other  good  plants,  such  as  Ileli- 
antheiniim  canum,  Epipactis  ovalis,  Rid'ia  peregrina, 
&c.,  which  would  repay  a  visit.  Gentiana  acaulis  is 
acknowledged  to  possess  no  claims  as  an  English 
plant,  and  if  it  occurs  on  Cader  Idris,  it  is  evidently 
planted.  I  saw  nothing  of  it  when  there  last.— 
G.  C.  Driice. 

Allium  ampeloprasum. — Is  not  your  corre- 
spondent, Mr.  H.  Pearce,  mistaken  in  saying  this 
plant  "  carpets  the  ground  of  woods  in  some  places 
(about  Cader  Idris)  where  it  has  gained  the  mastery 
over  other  plants  "?  If  this  be  indeed  the  case,  it  is 
a  grand  discovery  in  English  botany.  Hitherto,  A. 
amtieloprasiiin  has  been  ranked  among  our  native 
plants  only  as  growing  on  the  Steep  Holms,  a  rocky 
islet  in  the  Severn  estuary,  where  Ray  was  the  first 
to  notice  it ;  and  even  there  Borrer  considers  it  to  be 
"  only  a  remnant  of  ancient  cultivation."  Is  not  the 
Cader  Idris  plant  most  probably  Allium  ursinum .? — 
E.S. 

Notes  upon  Cader  Idris  Botany. — I  believe 
that  if  there  be  a  thankless  task  in  connection  with 
such  a  pleasant  subject  as  field  botany  it  is  surely  the 
throwing  of  a  doubt  upon  the  accuracy  of  the  printed 
records  of  a  fellow  "follower"  of  Flora.  Yet  at 
times,  when  one  sees  evident  mistakes  gaining  cur- 
rency as  scientific  facts,  one  feels  constrained  to 
put  in  a  word  for  the  benefit    of  travellers  in  the 


234 


HA  RD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-GO  SSI  P. 


future.  Herein  is  my  justification  for  the  following 
remarlcs  uj^on  a  paper  in  the  August  number  of 
Science-Gossip,  entitled  "  Botanical  Notes  in  the 
Neighbourhood  of  Cader  Idris."  It  is  upon  the  internal 
evidence  of  the  paper  in  question,  to  be  found  Upon 
pages  174  and  175,  that  I  ground  my  convictions  as 
to  the  incorrect  determination  of  some  of  tlie  plant 
names  -whose  discovery  it  records  ;  for  none  of  those 
to  which  I  allude  have  been  previously  known  in  the 
Cader  Idris  district.  I  will  take  the  species  to  which 
I  demur,  in  the  paper  referred  to,  in  the  same  order 
as  there  found  : — i.  Hypericum  viontanum  :  upon  an 
old  wall,  just  outside  the  town  of  Dolgelly.  An  old 
wall,  and  that  in  a  slate  district,  is  a  most  unusual 
station  for  a  plant  xerophilous — dry  or  limestone- 
loving— in  its  distribution.  It  is  unrecorded  for 
Merioneth,  both  in  "  Topographical  Botany  "  and  in 
the  Rev.  A.  Ley's  supplementary  list  of  Merioneth 
plants  in  the  Bot.  Loc.  Record  Club  Report  for  1875. 
I  fancy  dithium  may  be  the  species  really  found, 
2.  Epilobiiim  teh'agonum  is  recorded  as  "  so  attractive 
with  its  long  flower-stems,  of  a  rich  rose-colour,  con- 
stituting a  very  showy  wild  flower  "  !  The  writer  very 
evidently  intends  some  other  plant,  if  his  description 
is  correct ;  for  E.  tetragoniim ,  both  in  the  type-fomi 
and  in  the  variety  obscuriun,  is  a  veiy  weedy,  small- 
flowered,  inconspicuous  sort  of  plant.  I  cannot  guess 
at  the  plant  really  found,  if  it  was  not  the  showy  Rose- 
bay  Willow-herb  {E.  angtistifoliiiiu)  of  gardens,  and 
of  rocky  sub-alpine  districts.      3.    Allium   Ainpelo- 

prasnm  is  described  as  ' '  carpeting  the  woods 

really  pretty   in   its   delicate   white   flowers,    whilst 
assailing  the  nose  fearfully,"  when  clearly  the  too 
common  Ramson  or  Ramp  is  intended.     The  puzzle 
here  is  how  the  familiar  A.  iirsimtm  got  called  by 
the  name  of  the  Leek  of  South  and  Central  Europe  : 
a  species  rarely  found  in  England,  and  very  doubtfully 
indigenous  where  it  does  occur.      4.   Droscra  inter- 
media,   written   of   as   observed   about  the   "lower 
ridges  of  Cader,"  is  a  somewhat  singular  discovery, 
if   the  name  be  the  correct  one.     I  greatly  doubt  it, 
and  for  this  reason, — D.  intermedia  is  a  species  of 
restricted  vertical  range,  hitherto  found  only  below 
100  yards  in  elevation,  upon  the  sandy  heaths  and 
I^eat  mosses  of  our  island,  and  chiefly  upon  its  eastern 
side.     I  am  inclined  to  accept  a  long-leaz'ed  vSundew 
as  having  been  observed  ;    but  in  all  probability  it 
was  D.   anglica,  which,  when  dwarfed  in  size  from 
elevation  of  site,  is  in  physiognomy  very  similar  to 
intermedia.      In   such  a  condition  the  bowed  shank 
of  the  flowering-stem,   springing  laterally  from  the 
rosette  of  leaves,   would   alone    readily   distinguish 
between  them.       5.    Asplenium  septentrionale  under 
the  precipices   of    Cader   in  such   plenty   as   to  be 
obtainable  by  the  "basketful"  !     There  is  a  much 
greater  probability  of  this  fern  having  been  seen — if 
it  was  seen  and  not  recorded  on  hearsay  evidence — 
than  is  the  case  with  the  four  previously  questioned 
species  ;    still,  in  face  of  the  other  evident  errors  in 


the  paper  I  am  referring  to,  one  cannot  help  doubt- 
ing.      I    will    say  nothing  as  to  my  own   personal 
knowledge  of  the  mountain  in  question  ;  but  it  seems 
somewhat  curious  that  the  Rev.   A.   Ley,  an  inde- 
fatigable  and  experienced   botanist,   accustomed    to 
climbing,  should  never  have  seen  it  when  exploring 
the   district,   prior  to  furnishing  a  fairly  exhaustive 
list  of   Merioneth  plants  for  the  Bot.   Loc.  Record 
Club.      This  gentleman,    writing  to  me  in  regard  to 
this   supposed  discovery,    with    leave   to   quote   his 
opinion,  remarks  : — "  Of  course  one  would  hesitate  to 
say  it  did  not  exist  on  the  mountain'';  but  if  so,  it  must 
be  in  very  small  quantity,  and  difficult  to  find."     The 
mountain  has  also  been  well  worked  by  others,  and 
yet  this  fern  still  stands  unrecorded  for  Merioneth  in 
"Topographical  Botany,"     6,  Saxi/raga  nivalis  not 
far  from  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  is  far  more 
likely  to  have  been  one  of  those  dwarfed  examples  of 
Saxifraga  stellaris,  with  the   branches   of  the   cyme 
bearing   the   flowers  suppressed  or  aborted  (giving  an 
appearance  as  of  blooms  clustered    in  a  capitulum 
or  head),  which  are  so  often  mistaken  for  nivalis.   This 
opinion  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  of  stellaris  never 
being  mentioned  at  all  as  a  Cader  species  ;  whereas 
it  is  on  all  parts  of  the  Cader,  at  the  proper  season, 
"singularly  abundant  and  of  all  sizes  and  develop- 
ments." I  quote  from  Mr.  Ley,  who  searched  diligently, 
he  writes  me,  for  nivalis  "  in  the  two  most  likely  spots, 
viz.  the  precipices  ofLlyn  Canandof  Llyn-y-Cader." 
Lastly,    Linaria    Cymbalaria, — a    South    European 
species,  nowhere  indigenous,  although  freely  natural- 
ized in  England,— is  written  of  as  " growing  where 
we  could  not  doubt  it  was  truly  wild."     This  is  an 
error,  having  its  origin  in  want  of  knowledge  as  to 
distribution  of  European  plants.     I  trust  the  author 
of  the  article  I  have  animadverted  upon  will  pardon 
my  remarks,  since  prompted  only  by  a  profound  desire 
for  strict  accuracy,  even  in  what  some  may  regard  as 
"little"  matters,  and  by  no  wish  to  display  critical 
acumen  for  its  own  sake.     I  should  be  very  glad  to 
be  proved  in  error  as  to  my  surmises  with  regard  to 
the  Asplenium   and  the  Droscra,  for  both  of  these 
records,  if   correct,  are  valuable  and   interesting,  as 
adding  to  our  knowledge  of  the  distribution  of  the 
former,  and  of  the  climatal  conditions  under  which  the 
latter  species  can  survive.      Additional  Note: — 
Mr.    Jolm    Colebrook   records    of    Gentiana   acaiilis 
(Science-Gossip,  p.   210),  that  the  species  is  one 
most  unlikely,  from  its  geographical  range,  to  occur 
as  an  indigenous  plant  in  any  part  of  Great  Britain. 
If  it  were  really  that  species  which  Mr.  Colebrook 
saw  in  1862  (and  not  G.  amarelld),  then,  where  he 
saw  it,  it  must  most  certainly  have  been  a  garden- 
escape.     Mr.    Colebrook    quotes    from    Babington's 
"  Manual"  a  reference  to  Cotoneaster  on  Great  Orrae 
Head   (where  a  single  bush  of  it  still  exists  in  an 
almost  inaccessible  situation  on  the  side  overlooking 
the  town  of  Llandudno),  but  omits  to  say  how  Mr. 
Babington   dismisses    G.   acaulis   on   p.    236   of  his 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE- G  OSSIF. 


235 


"Manual"  (7th  edit.)  with  the  remark  "  not  a  native." 
In  our  island  the  Gentian  is  a  garden  or  rockery 
plant  only,  and  has  its  headquarters  in  the  Pyrenees, 
Alps,  and  Apennines.  I  have  received  from  Mr. 
Pearce,  who  had  it  from  the  lame  guide,  Pugh,  of 
Dolgelly,  a  specimen  of  Asplcninm  septentrionale. 
That  record,  therefore,  I  now  no  longer  see  any 
reason  for  doubting.  In  July  last,  Mr.  James  Back- 
house, of  York,  found  Woodsia  ilvcnsis  on  the  Cader, 
— another  rare  fern,  and  one  hitherto  unrecorded. 
The  grand  precipices  under  "the  saddle"  of  this 
mountain  would,  from  these  notable  discoveries,  seem 
to  be  as  yet  imperfectly  explored,  notwithstanding 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Ley's  assiduous  investigations  in  past 
years.  I  also  note  that  Hypericum  montamim  was 
amongst  the  eighty  species  of  wild  flowers  observed 
by  Mr.  Robert  Holland  in  "a  Welsh  Meadow" 
near  Dolgelly  in  June. — F.  Arnold  Lees,  M.R.C.S., 
L.R.C.P.,  Land. 

Cornish  Plants. — In   the   course  of  my  walks 
round  Newquay  I  have  found  the  following  plants, 
many  rare,  I  believe  : — On  Pentire  Head,  a  barren 
tract,  carpeted  with  Erodhim  inaritimiiin  and  tiny 
Glechoma    hedcracea,    another    space    with    Radiola 
viillegrana.    Cochlear ia  Grce7ilandica,  and   Anagallis 
arvensis  (with  unusually  large  flowers  of  every  shade 
of  salmon-pink).    An  equally  large  space  was  covered 
with  pink  and  white  Erica  ciiierea,  Scilla  vcrna  in 
seed,   and  white   Geranium  moHe,    whilst  the  stone 
boundary-walls  were  hung  with  Arenaria  rubra  and 
Eivdium  moschatum,   pink  and  white,    with   bright 
blue  Alkanet  and  Borage.     But  the  spot  most  attrac- 
tive to  botanists  was  a  bog  formed  by  a  clear  little 
trout-stream  running  through  land  red  with  iron-ore. 
In  this  charming  spot  I  gathered  Drosera  rotundifolia 
with   its  lovely  blossoms  wide  open,  like  alabaster 
cups  mingling  with  the  dainty  lilac-tinted  Pinguicula 
Lnsitanica  and  rosy  Sphagnum  to  form  cushions  fit 
for  fairies,  whilst  by  searching  could  be  found  Drosera 
longifolia,    also   in  bloom,   amidst   quantities  of  the 
sweet-scented  Anagallis  tenella.     The  numerous  seed- 
spikes  of  Bog-orchis,  Buckbean,  and  Asphodel  showed 
that  it  was  not  wanting  in  the  earliest  spring  flowers. 
Hidden  under  the  flowering  sprays  of  the  waxy  Erica 
tetralix  were  masses  of  seedling  Osmunda  regalis.    On 
my  way  down  the  stream  I  gathered  Bai-tsia  viscosa 
and  Neotfia  spiralis.      Under  a  hedge  we  gathered 
very  fine  Scilla  autumnalis  ;  on  one  spike  I  counted 
no  less  than  45  flowers  over  and  coming  out,  every 
plant  bearing  on  an  average  three  such  spikes  of  the 
rosy-purple  flowers  on  slender  pink-tinted  scapes.     I 
am  still  keeping  the  Droseras  in  a  saucer  of  water, 
and  feeding  them  every  few  days  with  tiny  scraps  of 
meat,  over  which  they  close  greedily,    and  seem  to 
thrive  on  it.     In  fact,  I  have  seldom  been  in  a  spot 
more  interesting  to  the  botanist,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  the  geologist,  than  this  new  and  rather  primitive 
bathing-place  of  Newquay,  which  is  witliin  reach  of 
both  Plymouth  and  Tintagel. — M.  Conybcare. 


GEOLOGY. 

Post-Tertiary  Arctic  Fossils. — At  the  British 
Association  Meeting  a  paper  was  read  by  Dr.  J.  Gwyn 
Jeffreys,  on  "The  Post-Tertiary  Fossils  procured  in 
the  late  Arctic  Expedition,  with  Notes  on  some  of 
the  Recent  or  Living  MoUusca  from  the  same  Expe- 
dition."    The  author  remarked  that  the  fossils  were 
collected   by   Captain   Fielden   and    Mr.    Hart,    the 
naturalists   of  the    expedition,    and    by   Lieutenant 
Egerton  and  Dr.  Moss,  two  of  the  officers  of  Her 
Majesty's  ship  Alert,  in  very  higli  latitudes,  namely, 
between  82°  and  ^Ty"  N.      The  highest  point  realched 
by  the  expedition  was  83°  20'  26".     These  fossils  were 
found  in  mud-banks  or  raised  sea-beds,    at  heights 
varying  from  the  level  of  the  sea  to  400  feet  above  it. 
They  consisted  of  eighteen  species  of  mollusca,  one 
of  hydrozoa,  one  of  foraminifera,  and  one  of  marine 
plants ;  being  altogether  twenty-one  species,   all  of 
which  now  live  in  the  Arctic  seas.     The  author  then 
gave  a  list  of  the  species,  and  showed  their  distribu- 
tion in  a  recent  or  living  as  well  as  a  fossil  state ;  and 
he  added  some  remarks  as  to  the  recent  mollusca 
procured  in  the  expedition,  and  as  to  the  apparent 
abundance  of  marine  animals  in  the  ' '  Palseocrystic 
Sea  "  of  Sir  George  Nares.     Professor  T.  R.  Jones 
remarked  on  the  single  species  of  foraminifera  found 
in  the  expedition,  and  i-eferred  to  the  importance  of 
these  lowly-organized  fossils  in  throwing  light  upon 
the  physical   condition   in   which   they  lived.      Dr. 
Moss,  of  the  Arctic  Expedition,  described  the  shells 
and  driftwood  found  on  a  bank  at  the  margin  of  the 
Palssocrystic    Sea,    and    regarded    them    as   strictly 
recent ;  the  shells,  indeed,  living  almost  on  the  spot 
where   they   were   found.       Foraminifera   were    fre- 
quently found  in  bottom-soundings.     Mr.  De  Ranee 
gave  an  account  of  the  sketches  and  specimens  brought 
by  Captain  Fielden  from  the  Arctic  regions.     The 
valleys  had  been  partly  filled  up  by  a  deposit  closely 
resembling  the  boulder  clay  of  Lancashire.     Shells 
were  exceedingly  rare  in  the  Arctic  clay.     Sands  and 
gravels  resembling   the  middle  drifts  of  Lancashire 
were  not  observed  by  the  expedition.    Major  Woodall 
mentioned  that  on  the  shores  of  Norway  and  Shet- 
land anchorage  could  only  be  found  where  deposits 
of  clay  occurred  near  the  mouth  of  the  valley.    These 
clays   were   generally   unfossiliferous.      Dr.  Jeffreys, 
in  reply,  stated  that  the  single  species  of  foraminifera 
mentioned  by  him  ranged  throughout  the  North  At- 
lantic, and  also  occurred  in  the  Mediterranean.     He 
believed  there  was  no  necessary  difference  in  appear- 
ance between  the  recent  and  fossil  shells.     If  on  a 
raised  beach  they  found  shells  not  now  living  in  the 

neighbouring  seas,  they  ranked  them  as  fossils. 

Interesting  Discovery  of  a  Moa  Skeleton. 
— The  discovery  of  the  skeleton  of  a  moa  is  reported 
to  have  taken  place  on  Mr.  M 'Tier's  fann  in  the 
Awitu  district.  New  Zealand.     Mr.  M'Tier  had  some 


236 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


men  employed  draining  a  swamp  on  his  farm,  and 
they  found,  at  the  depth  of  four  feet  from  the  surface, 
a  number  of  large  bones,  which  they  supposed  at 
first  to  be  those  of  a  bullock.  Mr.  M  'Tier  examined 
the  bones,  and  identified  them  as  being  those  of  a 
moa.  A  careful  search  was  then  made  for  the 
remainder  of  the  skeleton,  and  the  whole  of  the  bones, 
with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  small  ones,  have 
been  found.  The  skeleton  has  been  sent  to  the 
Museum  at  Auckland  ;  and  it  will  probably  prove  to 
be  the  most  complete  skeleton  of  this  extinct  bird  that 
has  ever  been  found  in  the  North  Island. 

The  Geology  of  Water-Sutply. — An  interest- 
ing experiment  is  being  made  by  the  Stafford  Town 
Council,  in  order  to  obtain  a  good  water-supply  for 
the  town.  By  boring  to  a  depth  of  about  600  feet 
by  means  of  the  Diamond  Rock-boring  process  they 
hope  to  penetrate  the  water-bearing  rocks  of  the  New 
Red  Sandstone  formation,  which  exist  widely  in  Staf- 
fordshire, and  in  many  places  lie  at  an  elevated  level. 
A  depth  of  300  feet  has  already  been  bored.  It  was 
asserted  by  many  eminent  geologists  that  extensive 
beds  of  rock  salt  existed  in  the  variegated  marls  above 
the  bunter  rocks.  This  opinion  has  been  found  to  be 
correct,  for  a  bed  of  rock  salt  40  feet  in  thickness 
has  been  perforated,  as  well  as  various  smaller  veins ; 
but  the  engineers  find  that  the  brine  can  be  effectually 
"tubbed  out"  by  means  of  iron  lining  tubes.  A 
considerable  length  of  time  must  necessarily  elapse 
before  the  water-bearing  rocks  are  entered. 

Geological  Phenomenon  in  the  Savoy 
Alps. — This  crumbling  down  of  mountains,  as 
noticed  in  the  September  number  of  Science-Gossip, 
has  gone  on  from  unknown  time.  The  mass  of 
matter  now  falling  in  Tarentaise  is  said  to  have  formed 
a  "mound  2,000  ft.  in  diameter  at  the  bottom,  and 
600  feet  wide  at  the  top."  In  the  Tyrolean  Alps 
such  masses  of  fallen  rock  extend  to  great  distances, 
and  are  of  great  thickness.  Rocks  of  varied  sorts 
and  of  varied  size  are  found  in  them,  the  whole  mass 
conglomerated  together  by  a  silicious-calcareous 
natural  cement,  due  to  the  constant  percolation  of 
water  holding  silica  and  calcium  in  solution.  As  a 
rule  the  lower  portions  of  mountains  are  formed  from 
material  that  has  rolled  down  from  the  top.  Rail- 
ways in  the  Alpine  districts  are  constructed  on  this 
debris :  great  skill  and  constant  care  are  required  in 
their  construction,  and  in  preventing  the  whole  hill- 
side from  slipping  down.  The  vibration  of  the  traffic 
loosens  the  surface,  while  the  natural  erosion  of  the 
foundation  by  subterranean  water  slowly  but  surely 
undermines  the  whole.  To  counteract  this  natural 
tendency,  great  works  arc  now  going  on  at  the  French 
end  of  the  Mont  Cenis  tunnel.  The  preventive 
works  on  the  Brenner  pass,  for  the  purpose  of  stopping 
slips  and  intercepting  avalanches  of  rock,  are  frequent 
and  of  great  magnitude.  The  causes  of  these 
avalanches  and  slips  are  due  to  natural  agents  always 


at  work.  Both  happen  most  frequently  in  wet  seasons ; 
water  percolates  the  crevices  very  common  in  cal- 
careous rocks  ;  the  adhesion  is  destroyed,  and  the 
masses  gi-avitate,  breaking  up  in  their  fall.  As  rain 
falls  on  the  bare  rock-face  of  the  mountain-height,  it 
runs  down  below  the  debris,  resting  on  the  lower 
slopes.  This  subterranean  water-force  even  eats 
away  the  bottom  of  the  debris,  which  inevitably  sinks 
into  the  undulation  beneath  it,  or  slips  down  the  face 
of  the  mountain  at  some  time  or  other.  We  da 
not  require  any  "folding  or  crumpling  of  formerly 
horizontal  strata "  to  cause  these  local  dislocations: 
they  are  unavoidable  under  the  laws  of  nature,  and 
we  must  recollect  that  the  formation  of  mountains  by 
crumpling  and  folding  is  only  an  unfounded  theory 
of  man.  Our  mountain  tunnels  might  be  very  dan- 
gerous if  the  rocks  were  in  the  habit  of  folding  up. — 
//.  P.  Malet. 

[Mr.  Malet  forgets  that  the  entire  region  of  the 
Alps  is  folded  nevertheless. — Ed.  S.-G.] 

"  Cave- HUNTING." — We  have  received  a  copy 
of  Mr.  Rooke  Pennington's  "Notes  on  the  Barrows 
and  Bone  Caves  of  Derbyshire,"  published  by 
Macmillan.  Mr.  Pennington  is  well  known  as  an 
ardent  cave-explorer,  and  those  who  have  seen  the 
Museum  at  Castleton,  containing  the  results  of  his 
labours,  will  acknowledge  that  large  contributions  to 
our  geological  knowledge  maybe  made  from  "  Cave- 
hunting."  This  book  also  contains  a  well-written 
account  of  a  descent  into  Eldon  Hole — one  of  the 
wonders  of  the  Peak — made  by  the  author  some  time 
ago.  Mr.  Pennington  writes  like  one  who  has  a 
story  to  tell,  and  he  tells  his  well  and  unaffectedly. 

Recent  Works  on  Physical  Geography. — 
There  are  few  modern  sciences  which  have  made 
more  rapid  progress  in  breadth  and  clearness  of  views 
than  that  of  Physical  Geography.  This  is  due  to  the 
auxiliary  aid  received  from  other  sciences,  and 
especially  to  the  fact  that  it  can  only  thoroughly  be 
understood  from  a  geological  point  of  view.  We 
have  received  a  copy  of  ' '  Elementary  Lessons  in 
Physical  Geography,"  by  Professor  Geikie,  F.R.S_ 
(London  :  Macmillan),  uniform  with  the  series  on 
Botany  by  Hooker,  on  Chemistry  by  Roscoe,  and 
on  Physiology  by  Huxley.  An  elementary  work  on 
Physical  Geography,  written  from  a  geologist's  stand- 
point, was  much  needed,  and  we  therefore  welcome 
this  work.  The  reputation  of  the  author  is  sufficient 
recommendation  for  its  scientific  value,  and  the 
idlest  of  literary  triflers  will  have  nothing  to  complain 
of  on  the  score  of  interest.  "Physiography  and 
Physical  Geography "  is  the  title  of  another  little 
manual  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander  Mackay  (Edin- 
burgh and  London :  W.  Blackwood  &  Sons).  It 
is  compiled  with  special  reference  to  the  instructions 
recently  issued  by  the  Science  and  Art  Department, 
by  whom  the  needless  name  of  "  Physiography"  has 
been  adopted.     Dr.   Mackay's  little  manual  is  very 


HARD  WICKE ' S    S CIE NCE- GOSSIP. 


237 


full  and  effective,  and  students  intending  examination 
by  tlie  South  Kensington  system  will  find  it  exceed- 
ingly useful.  It  is  not  au  courant,  however,  with 
many  of  the  leading  views,  and  some  old  ones  are  re- 
narrated  with  charming  simplicity.  Thus,  at  p.  112, 
we  have  more  of  theology  than  ethnology,  where  the 
author  adopts  the  literal  account  of  the  dispersal  of 
nations  after  the  Deluge,  and  the  part  which  the  sons 
of  Noah  took  in  the  several  migrations  of  the  human 
race.  A  new  edition  (the  seventh)  of  the  late  Mrs. 
Somerville's  "  Physical  Geography,"  well  and  ably 
revised,  and  bi^ought  up  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
present  day,  is  a  more  acceptable  recent  publication 
by  John  Murray,  Albemarle-street.  Those  who  never 
studied  Mrs.  Somerville's  most  charming  book  will 
now  have  the  opportunity  of  doing  so  with  even 
greater  advantage  than  when  that  important  work  was 
first  published. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

Bees  in  a  Shower. — It  has  been  asserted  that 
bees  are  never  caught  in  a  sudden  shower,  unless  it 
be  at  a  very  great  distance  from  the  hive  ;  that  by 
"  instinct,"  or  by  due  attention  to  the  signs  of  the 
A\-eather  they  know  Avhen  to  return  to  shelter.  This 
statement  is  endorsed  by  Mr.  John  Hunter  in  his 
excellent  "  Manual  of  Bee-keeping."  On  the  5th  July 
I  witnessed  a  curious  exception  to  this  rule,  which  I 
nevertheless  believe  to  hold  good  in  almost  every 
instance.  It  was  a  mile  or  so  from  St.  Ives,  in 
Huntingdonshire,  the  sun  shining  brightly  at  the 
time,  but  an  innocent-looking  cloud  had  crept  up 
from  the  north.  It  thus  cast  no  shadow,  and  its 
presence  was  unnoticed  until  asserted  by  the  sudden 
pattering  down  of  large  drops  of  rain.  I  ran  to  the 
nearest  hedge,  and  from  its  friendly  shelter  observed 
a  stream  of  bees,  rising  apparently  from  the  field  of 
white  clover,  passing  over  the  fence,  and  making  a 
regular  "bee-line  "  for  a  farm  half  a  mile  away.  Each 
insect  was  about  a  yard  from  those  on  either  side, 
and  the  same  distance  from  those  in  front  and  rear. 
The  stampede  continued  for  two  or  three  minutes, 
during  which  time  some  hundreds  of  bees  must  have 
passed  over  the  hedge.  A  few  wheeled  round  above 
my  head,  but  generally  they  rose  a  little  at  the  fence, 
and  continued  their  course.  The  rain  ceased,  and  the 
number  of  homeward-bound  insects  immediately  de- 
creased, while  those  which  could  not  in  the  time  have 
reached  home  began  to  return,  looking,  one  might 
almost  fancy,  ashamed  of  their  false  alarm.  A  few 
still  made  for  home,  so  that  for  a  minute  or  two  there 
were  lines  going  in  each  direction  ;  but  the  sun  again 
shone  as  brightly  as  ever,  and  the  insects  went  skim- 
ming here,  there,  and  everywhere  in  their  usual  man- 
ner. This  occurrence  seems  to  show  that  it  is  not 
through  "instinct"  that  the  bee  seeks  its  home  on 
the  approach  of  rain,  but  through  close  observation. 
In  this  particular  case  it  was  at  fault,  owing  to  the 
rather  unusual  circumstance  of  the  rain  beginning  to 
fall  in  the  midst  of  bright  sunshine.  Another  point 
which  struck  me  at  the  time  was  that  the  bees  seemed 
to  rise  from  the  clover,  a  plant,  the  flowers  of  which 
are  robbed  and  fertilized  by  the  humble  bee,  and 
there  were  many  of  these  insects  so  employed  on  this 
occasion.  The  clover  was  poor  and  the  flowers  were 
small,  so  that  it  is  perhaps  possible  for  the  bees  to 


have  profitably  expended  their  time  thereon,  Init  I 
failed  to  verify  this  by  actual  observation.  —  IV.  Henry 
Penning. 

Rats  and  Roses. — I  reside  in  a  house  which  once 
formed  part  of  a  great  abbey,  and  is  now  included  in 
the  precincts  or  close  of  a  renowned  cathedral.  Its 
venerable  walls  are  clothed,  and  greatly  adorned,  by 
a  luxuriant  growth  of  clustering  roses,  of  ivy,  and  of 
white  jasmine  and  clematis,  the  two  latter  now  in 
charming  perfection,  the  admiration  of  all  beholders. 
The  clematis,  especially,  regales  our  eyes  by  its 
wealth  of  blossoms  immediately  beneath  the  sill  of  our 
drawing-room  window,  on  the  first  floor  of  the  house, 
some  fifteen  feet  above  the  level  of  the  garden  below. 
That  birds,  bees,  and  butterflies  should  hover  around 
the  creepers,  and  share  our  enjoyment  of  their  beauty, 
is  quite  according  to  the  best  precedents,  and  has  our 
full  acquiescence  and  approval.  If  a  few  earwigs 
extend  their  walks  beyond  the  leafy  shelter,  we  know 
how  to  pardon  such  indiscretions.  But  we  are  not 
superior  to  old-fashioned  prejudices  against  mis- 
chievous vermin  of  a  much  more  formidable  kind ; 
and  you  may  imagine  our  surprise,  when  quaffing  our 
tea  yesterday  evening,  to  have  ocular  proof  that  rats 
avail  themselves  of  our  climbing  plants  for  the  purpose 
of  invading  our  upper  decks,  and  that  they  use  them 
as  sailors  use  the  shrouds  of  their  ships;  in  short, 
that  the  boughs  and  tendrils  of  our  creepers  are  con- 
verted into  rat-lines  !  The  tranquillity  of  tea-time 
might  well  be  interrupted  when  a  whiskered  Rodent 
appeared  at  the  window,  tried  it  with  his  clever  paws, 
and,  finding  it  closed,  retired  with  a  discomfited  air  ! 
You  and  your  readers  will  feel  for  us  in  our  serious 
dilemma,  threatened,  perhaps,  with  the  fate  of  Bishop 
Hatta  in  the  Mause-thurm.  What  is  to  be  done  ? 
We  cannot  trice  up  boarding-nettings  !  Must  we 
really  cut  away  our  charming  clematis?  Can  we  by 
no  sacrifice  less  harrowing  to  our  best  affections  place 
ourselves  beyond  the  reach  of  renewed  attacks  by 
unscrupulous  and  crafty  invaders  ? —  IV.  E.  D. 

Plants  for  Reptile  Vivaria. — Will  some  cor- 
respondent oblige  me  M'ith  a  few  hints  as  to  the  most 
likely  plants  to  succeed  in  a  reptile  vivarium  ?  Our 
case  is  large  and  oblong,  as  for  ferns,  with  free  venti- 
lation by  means  of  a  sheet  of  perforated  zinc  at  top. 
Lizards,  salamanders,  blindworm,  and  frogs,  are  the 
present  occupants,  and  appear  to  do  very  well ;  but 
the  plants  are  mostly  a  failure.  Ferns  wither  up  and 
die  off, — I  think  because  the  atmosphere  is  not  suffi- 
ciently humid ;  and  I  doubt  if  ferns  and  reptiles 
would,  under  any  circumstances,  thrive  under  similar 
artificial  conditions.  But  there  are  surely  some  plants 
of  moderate  size  which  might  be  cultivated  in  the 
case  with  success  ?  Any  practical  suggestion  on  this 
point,  as  also  information  on  the  best  food  for  reptilia 
not  hybernating  during  the  winter  months,  would  be 
thankfully  received,  —  W.  H.  Groser,  B.  Sc. 

Is  the  Lemming  found  in  England? — If  the 
holes  seen  in  the  Lake  district  by  your  correspondent 
(Science-Gossip,  p.  189)  were  made  by  the  Lemming, 
it  would  be  a  most  interesting  discovery.  But  it  is 
more  likely  that  they  would  be  the  work  of  the  field 
vole  [Arvicola  agrestis).  Although  usually  frequenting 
lower  grounds  than  that  mentioned  ("2,500  feet"), 
this  destructive  little  animal  sometimes  does  a  great 
amount  of  damage  on  the  higher  grounds,  as,  for 
instance,  in  the  upper  parts  of  Teviotdale  in  the 
spring  of  1876.  Perhaps  some  one  living  in  the 
district  may  be  able  to  say  what  animal  made  the 
holes. — A.  B.,  Kelso. 

The  Gorilla  at  the  Westminster  Aquarium. 
— Possibly  a   few  brief   notes  on  the  Gorilla  now 


238 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OS  SI  P. 


exhibiting  at  the  Royal  Aquarium  may  interest  some 
of  the  readers  of  Science-Gossip,  as  it  is  beheved 
to  be  the  only  living  specimen  ever  shown  in  Europe 
as  such,  though  it  is  stated  that  an  example  once 
figured  in  an  English  travelling  menagerie  under  the 
title  of  Chimpanzee,  being  duly  appreciated,  like 
many  of  the  genus  Homo,  only  after  its  death.  Soon 
after  taking  a  front  seat  at  one  of  Mr.  Pongo's  public 
receptions  he  was  carried  in  by  an  attendant  and 
placed  in  a  chair,  where,  with  his  obese  body  and 
short  tucked-up  legs,  he  looked  not  unlike  a  Hindoo 
idol,  contrasting  with  the  lighter  form  of  a  chimpanzee 
brought  in  at  the  same  time.  One  could  not  help 
regretting  that  an  orang  outang  was  not  also  present 
to  complete  a  trio  of  anthropoid  apes.  The  animals 
are  exhibited  on  an  earth-covered  platform  surrounded 
with  a  light  framework  of  iron,  the  bars,  sufficiently 
wide  apart  to  allow  the  attendants  to  pass  in  and 
out  with  ease  ;  but  the  gorilla  and  his  companion 
seemed  little  inclined  to  go  beyond  the  boundaiy. 
Ropes  dangled  from  the  ceiling,  and  a  strong  ladder 
was  reared  against  the  bars,  at  an  angle  of  about  45°, 
up  which  the  gorilla  would  occasionally  go  with  a  slow 
and  careful  movement,  always  descending  by  grasping 
the  two  sides  of  the  ladder  and  sliding  down  head 
foremost.  This  would  appear  to  be  an  acquired 
movement,  as  a  tree  could  hardly  be  descended  in 
such  fashion.  He  frequently  seized  one  of  the 
hanging  ropes  and  gave  himself  a  slight  swing,  but 
never  to  clear  the  ground,  while  the  chimpanzee 
would  often  climb  nimbly  up  a  rope  to  a  considerable 
height  and  pass  from  one  rope  to  another.  The 
difference  in  the  activity  of  the  two  animals  was 
marked.  In  one  of  his  restless  excursions  aloft,  the 
chimpanzee  dislodged  a  heavy  brass  gas  sconce  which 
nan-owly  escaped  one  of  the  spectators  in  its  fall. 
The  gorilla  seems  incapable  of  advancing  on  the 
hinder  feet  alone,  always  assisting  himself  along  by 
the  knuckles  of  his  fore  limbs,  but  the  arms  are  so 
much  longer  than  the  legs  that  the  back  is  not  nearly 
so  horizontal  as  it  would  be  in  a  man  progressing  in 
a  similar  manner.  He  would  shuffle  along  in  this  way 
at  a  pretty  good  pace,  sometimes  dodging  his  keeper 
round  a  chair  for  some  while  before  being  causrht. 
His  dog  Flock  seemed  to  suit  him  better  as  a  play- 
mate than  the  chimpanzee,  and  an  amusing  struggle 
took  place  when  a  piece  of  rag  was  thrown  down 
and  carried  off  by  the  dog,  clumsily  pursued  by  the 
gorilla.  When  the  latter  grasped  it,  a  tug  of  war 
ensued,  the  dog  of  course  holding  on  by  its  teeth  but 
Pongo  using  his  hands.  Flock  could  drag  his  oppo- 
nent along  on  his  three  limbs,  but  when  the  gorilla 
lay  down,  his  dead  weight  proved  victorious.  Once 
or  twice  the  attendant  placed  his  own  hat  on  Pongo's 
head,  of  course  bonneting  him  completely,  when  the 
latter  would  gravely  remove  it,  and  placing  it  in  front  of 
him,  commence  drumming  on  the  crown  with  his 
fists  with  a  vigour  that  threatened  destruction  to  the 
article  if  it  were  not  snatched  away  quickly.  Some- 
times, apparently  when  pleased,  Pongo  claps  his  hands 
so  naturally  that  one  almost  expects  to  hear  him  cry 
"  encore  ! "  A  mug  of  some  drink  was  brought  to 
the  gorilla  and  a  bottle  to  the  chimpanzee,  and  both 
creatui^es  held  the  vessels  to  their  mouths,  but  ap- 
peared to  imbibe  the  contents  with  some  difficulty. 
Soon  after  his  introduction  the  attendant  set  Pongo 
on  a  chair  among  the  audience,  whence  he  quickly 
escaped  and  climbing  along  the  backs  of  the  seats 
caused  some  commotion  among  the  ladies.  When, 
however,  his  peaceable  nature  was  recognized,  he 
became  a  general  favourite,  and  one  young  lady  went 
out  and  procured  him  some  grapes,  but  he  seemed 
to  care  little  about  them,  though  she  placed  tliem 
in  his  mouth,    an  orange  being   more  to  his  taste. 


He  evidently  possesses  considerable  strength  as 
though  his  height  cannot  much  exceed  three 'fe^^t' 
he  repeatedly  turned  over  the  heavy  ladder  with  ease'. 
His  weight  was  said  to  be  about  42  pounds,  which  I 
should  fancy  an  under-statement.  Though  seemingly 
mild  and  docile,  the  attendant  said  he  would  not  bear 
correction,  and  that  he  had  been  known  to  snap  ;  at 
present,  however,  he  appears  to  be  a  very  gentle 
example  of  the  terrible  gorilla,  reputed  to  be  un- 
tamable and  ferocious  in  the  extreme.  How  it  may 
be  if  he  lives  to  attain  his  full  stature  and  strength 
is  another  matter.  These  disjointed  notes  of  what 
v/as^bbserved  at  one  of  Pongo's  receptions  may  amuse 
some  who  have  not  been  able  to  have  a  personal 
interview  with  one  of  the  greatest  zoological  rarities 
of  the  day.  He  is  the  sole  representative  of  his  race 
in  Europe,  and  it  may  be  a  lifetime  before  we  see 
another. — G.  Gityoii. 

Arsenicated  Wall-paper. — I  should  be  very 
much  obliged  if  you  would  tell  me  whether  you  know 
of  any  solution  that,  on  being  applied  to  a  wall-paper 
containing  arsenic,  would  render  it  harmless.  I  have 
just  taken  a  house  in  which  the  hall,  corridors,  and 
passages  are  all  papered  with  a  green  marble-paper 
containing  arsenic,  and  as  I  have  a  large  family  of 
young  children,  I  am  anxious  to  know  whether  any 
harm  is  likely  to  result.  No  bed-rooms  or  sitting- 
rooms  are  papered  with  the  paper,  or  in  fact  any  green 
paper  at  all.  —  Gerion. 

Query  as  to  Watercress. — In  the  "  Genie  du 
Christianisme,"  by  Chateaubriand,  I  find  the  fol- 
lowing passage  : — On  nous  a  montre  au  bord  de  I'Yar, 
petite  riviere  du  comte  de  Suffolk,  en  Angleterre^ 
une  espfece  de  cresson  fort  curieux  :  il  change  de  place, 
et  s'avance  comme  par  bonds  et  par  sauts.  II  porte 
plusieurs  chevelus  dans  ses  cimes ;  lorsque  ceux  qui 
se  trouvent  a  I'une  des  extremites  de  la  masse  sont 
assez  longs  pour  atteindre  au  fond  de  I'eau,  ils 
y  prennent  racine.  Tirees  par  Taction  de  la  plante 
qui  s'abaisse  sur  son  nouveau  pied,  les  griffes  du 
cote  oppose  lachent  prise,  et  la  cressonniere,  tournant 
sur  son  pivot,  se  deplace  de  toute  la  longueur  de  son 
banc.  Le  lendemain  on  cherche  la  plante  dans 
I'endroit  ou  on  I'a  laissee  la  veille,  et  on  I'aper^oit 
plus  haut  ou  plus  bas  sur  le  ours  de  I'onde, "  &c.  &c. 
Does  this  refer  to  the  common  watercress?  Is  it  a 
correct  description  of  its  habits  ?  I  have  never 
noticed  these  strange  motions  myself  nor  ever  heard 
them  referred  to  by  any  botanist.  The  plant,  like  all 
creepers,  throws  out  adventitious  roots  which  be- 
come new  centres  of  life  ;  the  older  portions  of  the 
plant  gradually  die,  and  thus  the  plant  moves  slowly 
from  its  original  seat.  But  surely  the  graphic  state- 
ment that  it  ' '  s'avance  comme  par  bonds .  et  par 
sauts"  is  somewhat  overdrawn.  Perhaps  some  Suffolk 
correspondent  can  throw  a  little  light  on  this  pas- 
sage.— J.   Hepworth. 

White  Birds. — In  1871,  while  on  a  visit  to 
Norton,  a  village  eight  miles  from  Lincoln,  I  noticed 
a  perfectly  snowy-white  bird  fly  past  and  alight  on 
the  ground  before  me  :  it  was  in  size  and  shape  like  a 
sparrow ;  it  hopped  and  flew  on,  and  I  traced  it  for 
some  time,  till  it  flew  into  a  barn-yard,  and  did  not 
reappear.  I  never  saw  it  again  during  my  three 
weeks'  sojourn  at  the  Rectory,  but  I  inquired  some 
months  after,  when  revisiting  Norton,  if  such  a  bird 
was  known  to  be  about  the  park  and  Rectory  grounds 
adjoining,  when  I  was  told  that  there  had  been  a  nest 
of  them ;  and  from  the  schoolmaster  I  have  gained 
the  perfect  information,  as  detailed  to  me,  but  which 
I  could  not  remember  with  sufficient  accuracy  with- 
out reference  to  the  first  authority.  —  C.  M.  V. 


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


^39 


Skate  and  Dog  Fish. — 1  have  no  doubt  but 
that  your  correspondent  "  N.  T.  "  will  be  able  to 
obtain  all  the  information  he  seeks  on  the  above 
subjects  from  the  courteous  manager  of  the  Brighton 
Aquarium,  although  I  certainly  do  not  remember 
having  ever  seen  any  published  record  of  the  number 
of  eggs  produced  by  the  skate.  The  dog  fish  pro- 
duces its  young  alive,  and  they  are  often  seen 
swimming  with  the  yolk-bag,  or  case,  attached  to 
them  :  so  says  an  American  authority  on  the  subject, 
the  same  writer  who  states  that  the  eggs  of  skates 
are  found  to  be  of  different  sizes  and  various  degrees 
of  development  in  the  ovary ;  therefore  he  is  of 
opinion  that  it  is  probable  several  years  are  required 
for  their  maturity.  The  young  of  the  smooth  ray 
found  on  the  northern  coast  of  America  are  produced 
twice  a  year — in  spring  and  autumn.— iTL'/tv;  E. 
IVatney. 

Double  Orange.  —  Twice  lately,  opening  an 
orange,  I  found  in  its  centre  another  orange,  perfectly 
formed,  only  pipless  and  rindless — two  whorls  of 
carpels  combining  to  form  one  fruit,  the  inner  con- 
solidated into  a  central  orange  and  the  outer  whorl 
growing  over  it. — C.  M.   V. 

The  Squirrel. — A  short  time  ago  I  saw  a  squirrel 
creeping  from  spray  to  spray  in  a  cherry-tree,  which 
was  in  full  bloom.  Curious  to  know  his  business,  I 
got  as  near  as  possible  without  being  observed  by 
him,  when  I  discovered  it  was  feeding  on  the  ovaiy 
and  dropping  the  petals  to  the  ground,  which  was 
strewed  with  hundreds  of  petals.  The  sepals,  petals, 
and  stamens  on  some  boughs  were  entirely  stripped 
of  flowers  in  a  few  seconds.  — yohn  Onions,  Dymock. 

Development  of  the  Newt.  —  Your  corre- 
spondent H.  E.  Fon-est,  in  the  April  number  of  your 
journal,  makes^ome  statements  which  seem  to  me  to 
deserve  attention,  respecting  the  early  stages  of  deve- 
lopment of  the  common  newt.  Every  observant 
aquarium  naturalist  is  well  aware  that  the  ova  of  the 
newt  are  not  always  enfolded  by  leaves,  but  this  is  an 
imnatural  method,  and  is  resorted  to  only  where 
proper  —  i.  e.  pliable  —  leaves  are  not  accessible. 
Whether  they  ever  come  to  maturity  under  these 
exceptional  circumstances  is  an  interesting  point  to 
decide.  H.  E.  F.  states  that  they  do  ;  but  in  de- 
scribing their  development  he  makes  some  statements 
which  cast  a  doubt  upon  the  accuracy  of  his  observa- 
tions. "  By  the  24th  of  April, "  he  says,  "branchiate 
gills  had  disappeared,  and  five  weeks  later  the  front 
limbs  appeared."  Now  the  branchice  of  the  newt 
persist  long  after  the  creature  (though  not  full  grown) 
is  fully  developed,  while  the  gills  of  the  frog-tadpole 
are  absorbed  before  the  limbs  appear.  If  they  were 
newt-tadpoles  the  rapid  absorption  of  the  branchiae 
was  an  unnatural  circumstance,  and  if  they  were  frog- 
tadpoles,  as  the  rapid  absorption  would  seem  to  show, 
the  primary  development  of  the  thoracic  limbs  is  con- 
trary to  the  usual  metamorphosis  of  ranidjc.  Taken 
either  way,  it  will  be  seen  H.  E.  F.'s  statements  do 
not  agree  with  well-established  observations.  — 
Edward  E.  Prince. 

Sparrow-hawk  and  Canary. — A  short  time 
since  two  ladies  were  seated  in  the  house  of  Mr. 
Burton,  Habergham,  near  Padiham,  Lancashire, 
when  they  were  startled  by  the  sudden  smashing  of 
one  of  the  window-panes  (14  in.  by  10  in.)  by  a 
female  sparrow-hawk,  in  endeavouring  to  obtain  a 
canary  which  was  in  a  cage  between  the  curtains, 
three  feet  from  the  window.  It  was  stunned  by  the 
concussion,  and  fell  to  the  bottom  of  the  window, 
where  it  was  caught,  not  before  making  several 
attempts  to  bite  its  captor,  Mr.  D.  Mitchell,  who  has 
stuffed  and  mounted  it  for  Mr.  Burton. —  W.  Wilcox. 


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  £th  of  the 
previous  month. 


W.  Ratcliffe.— Slide  No.  1062  contains  :  DrapaniaMia 
glomcrata ;  1098,  Protococcus  nivalis ;  and  iioi,  H<eiiiatococcns 
vulgaris.  The  only  standard  work  on  the  "  British  Fresh 
Water  Algje,"  is  Hassell's,  published  in  1845  ;  on  Desmids, 
"  RalPs  British  Desmidise,"  1848.  Both  are  now  rare  and  expen- 
sive.    "  Bisse.v,"  we  should  imagine,  is  a  mistake. 

Will  the  lady  or  gentleman  who  sent  me  Mytilus  cdiilis  for 
"  Scotch  Anoiions"  hereby  accept  my  thanks,  as  I  have  unfor- 
tunately mislaid  the  address.— CJ.  S.  T. 

W._  E.  Legge. — The  larger  of  your  exceedingly  well-painted 
egg  is  that  of  the  Lapwing  or  Green  FXoveLT  {yanc/his  cris- 
tatus).  The  smaller  is  that  of  the  Goldfinch  {Carihiclis 
clcgans). 

W.  H.  Harris.— Thsnks  for  the  well-cut  slides  of  Coal 
Plants.  There  is  no  doubt,  we  think,  that  the  tissue  is  that  of 
Sigillaria.  See  Prof  Williamson's  paper,  published  in  Trans- 
actions of  the  Royal  Society,  on  Carboniferous  Plants. 

W.  A.  F.— The  name  on  your  slide  (Spicules  of  Gorgonia 
fiagellitiit)  is  correct. 

W.  HowcHiN. — Your  fossils  are  as  follow  : — No.  i.  Prodiccta 
semircticiilata.  2.  Spirifer  rotnndata.  3.  Spirifcr  striata. 
4.  (Absent.)  5.  A  young  specimen  of  Orthis,  perhaps  resu. 
pinata.  Always  send  entire  specimens  of  fossils  to  be  named, 
if  possible.     We  cannot  undertake  to  correctly  name  fragments. 

H.  M.  D. — No.  I  specimen  is  the  Fir  Club-Moss  {Lycopodium 
selagd).  No.  2  is  the  common  Club-Moss  {Lycopoditim  clava- 
tuni). 

J._  Woodgate. — Many  thanks  for  Actinocarpus  Damo- 
soitiitiii. 

F.  W.  B.  N. — Many  thanks  for  your  valuable  hints. 

J.  H.  —  You  will  find  no  difficulty  in  getting  your  fossils 
named  at  the  Edinburgh  Museum,  where  one  of  our  best 
palaeontologists  is  engaged. 

J.  A.  Flovd.— Get  Nicholson's  "  Manual  of  Palaeontology," 
price  15s.,  published  by  W.  Blackwood  &  Sons. 

CoNus.— Woodward's  "  Recent  and  Fossil  Shells"  is  one  of 
the  best  books  we  have  on  the  subject.  For  British  Seas,  Gwyn 
Jeffrey's  "  British  Conchology,"  in  five  volumes.  Chenu's 
"  Manuel  de  Conchyliologie"  is  one  of  the  best  in  Europe.  It  is 
in  French,  but  the  woodcuts  are  the  most  exquisite  we  have 
ever  seen.  Damon,  of  Weymouth,  is  one  of  our  chief  dealers 
in  Conchology. 

G.  V.  Green  (Ashby-de-la-Zouch).  —  Your  fungi  ought  to 
have  been  wrapped  up  separately  in  oiled  silk.  They  had 
deliquesced  in  the  tin  box,  and  reached  us  in  a  state  of  semi- 
catsup— not  an  uncommon  condition  ! 

Mrs.  E.  C.  R.  (Somerton). — All  that  we  have  received  from 
you  is  a  part  of  a  cover  marked,  "  Found  at  Taunton,  without 
contents." 

R.  G.  C. — Get  Newman's  "  Butterflies  and  Moths,"  pub- 
lished by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  ig2,  Piccadilly,  London.  It 
contains  figures  of  every  species,  and  full  descriptions.  Vul- 
canite is  the  best  material  out  of  which  to  make  pipes  and 
valves  for  the  aquarium. 

E.  Howell. — The  stone  you  sent  us  is  not  "  Meteoric,"  but 
the  half  of  a  nodule  of  iron  p^'rites  (Ferric  sulphite).  These 
nodules  are  common  in  the  Lower  Chalk,  and  are  often  found 
on  the  surface,  having  been  removed  by  denudation. 

Z.  Y.  X. — The  bivalve  shell  enclosed  was  Cycias  corneas 
(young  specimen).     The  other  specimen  was  a  species  oi  Pupa. 

A.  M.  G.  —  From  your  description  and  sketch  we  should 
imagine  the  "  curious  cells  "  you  speak  of  are  those  of  one  of 
the  Mason  Bees  (Osinia). 

D.  J.  Stuart. — The  eggs  in  the  caterpillar  are  those  of  a 
species  of  Ichneumon.  They  have  developed  since  you  sent 
the  specimens.  Most  caterpillars  are  liable  to  be  the  victims 
of  the  larvse  of  certain  ichneumons. 

A,  Harkeh. — Your  shells  are — i,  Pliolas ca7tdida  ;  2,  Pholas 
crispata  ;  and  3,  Artemis  exolcta. 

J.  Horner. — From  your  description  we  are  inclined  to 
believe  that  the  "jelly-like  deposits  scattered"  in  the  yard  are 
Nostoc,  one  of  the  algae,  perhaps  Nostoc  commune,  which 
frequently  makes  its  appearance  thus.  They  certainly  are  not 
a  "  descent  of  Sponge  gemmules." 

W.  E.  HAMBORoaGH. — We  are  afraid  we  cannot  help  you 
in  identifying  the  Moth  from  the  imperfect  description  of  the 
caterpillar.  There  will  be  no  help  but  to  wait  till  the  moth 
emerges. 

C.  Wild. — The  general  description  of  the  caterpillar  answers 
in  many  respects  to  that  of  the  Elephant  Hawk  Moth  {Cluero- 
campa  elpenor). 


240 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


G.  B.  (Leominster).— Your  specimen  of  fungus  was  remark- 
ably "high"  when  it  reached  us,  and  no  wonder,  for  it  was 
an  early  stage  in  the  development  of  the  fearfully  loathsome 
Phallus  impudicns. 

Miss  E.  M.  H.  M.— Your  fungus  is  the  rather  rare  Hysier-^ 
angiuvt  Thwaitesii.  See  Cooke's  "  Handbook  of  British  Fungi," 
vol.  I,  page  358. 

W.  J.  Horn.— The  stem  of  the  common  white  lily,  termi- 
nating in  a  bulb,  is  one  of  the  most  noticeable  of  teratological 
features  we  have  hitherto  come  across.  It  would  appear  as  if 
the  floral  parts  had  become  metamorphosed  into  the  ordinary 
tleshy  bracts  of  a  bulb. 

F.  W.  Foster.— The  "  healing-up  "  in  old  or  unworked  coal- 
mines is  simply  the  effect  of  the  rising  up  of  the  lower  strata, 
and  the  depression  of  the  upper,  until  both  meet  and  fill  up  the 
places  excavated.  This  phenomenon  is  well  known  under  the 
name  of  "  creep,"  and  you  will  find  an  account  of  it  in  any  of 
our  larger  and  fuller  Manuals  of  Geology,  including  Lyell's. 
The  modifications  of  figures  engraved  or  scratched  on  the  sur- 
face of  rock-salt  is  a  surface  change  alone.  The  interior  of  the 
salt  mass  is  not  affected. 

EXCHANGES. 

Slide  of  Amphibian  Blood  Discs  for  other  objects.— J.  B. 
36,  Windsor-terrace,  Glasgow. 

FoRAiMiNiFERA  or  Zoophytes,  mounted  or  unmounted,  wanted 
in  exchange  for  good  Slides  of  American  material  of  various 
kinds.— R.  Hitchcock,  8,  Beekman-place,  New  York  City, 
U.S.A. 

PoTAMOGETON  mucronatus,  Scluad.  (true),  for  Nos.  106,  511, 
536,  546,  913,  957,  1035,  1121,  1200,  1312,  1622. — A.  Bennett, 
107,  High-street,  Croydon. 

Wanted  living  specimens  of  Heli.x  pomatia.  —  Address, 
J.  E.  Palmer,  Lucan,  Co.  Dublin. 

L.  C— 7  ed.— Nos.  167,  432,  461,  852,  9223,  ggi,  1058,  1114, 
1 121,  iiSo,  13561^,  1548,  1589,  1654,  1665,5,  &c.,  for  others. 
.Send  lists. — J.  Harbord  Lewis,  145,  Windsor-street,  Liverpool, 

Wanted,  Bell's  Monograph  of  Fossil  Crustacea,  Part  i 
(London  Clay),  in  exchange  for  Sheppey  Fossils,  or  cash. — 
W.  H.  Shrubsole,  Sheerness-on-Sea. 

Wanted  AUman's  "  Fresh-water  Polyzoa."  State  what 
required  in  exchange,  to  W.  H.  Beeby,  Outram-road,  Addis- 
combe,  Croydon. 

Seventh  London  Catalogue.— Nos.  54,  171,  632^,  86r, 
1280,  1341C,  1469*,  for  Nos.  4,  g,  15,  23,  25,  32,  37,  39,  77,  78, 
106.  Lists  exchanged.— C.  A.  O.,  19,  Eardley-crescent,  South 
Kensington. 

For  a  few  spines  of  Sea-urchin  (violet)  from  St.  Helier, 
send  a  stamped  directed  envelope  to  W.  H.  Gomm,  Somerton, 
Somerset. 

Wanted  a  3-in.  Microscope  Objective  in  exchange  for  ij  or 
i-in.  ditto.— T.  Workman,  Belfast. 

London  Catalogue,  Nos.  of  Plants,  120,  144,  21S,  268,  273, 
295,  296,  297,  299,  352,  389,  458,  464,  475,  515,  543,  551.  589. 
632,  671,  761,  815,  831,  858,  1040,  1205,  1317,  1501,  1598,  1657, 
for  other  plants.— Wm.  West,  Chemist,  Bradford.     Send  list. 

Li7ii!tea  glutinosa,  Plancrbis  litieatus.  Helix  cnrtusiaiia. 
itc,  offered  for  Vertigo  alpcstris,  V.  7nouliiisiana,  V.  sub- 
striata.  V.  pusilla.  Helix  hispida  Tar.,  Albida,  Limnea 
involida,  rare  British  marine  or  foreign  shells,  or  small  glass 
tubes.— Address,  E.  R.  F.,  82,  Abbey-street,  Faversham. 

Duplicates. — C.cardui,  C.  Edusa,  V.  Atalatitn,  V.poly- 
chloros,  V.  nrticce,  A.  Galathea,  P.  gaiiiina,  M.  stellatarnvi, 
&.C.  Desiderata,  C.  hyale,  E.  blandina,  E.  Cassio/e,  C.  davus, 
L.  Sybilla,  S.  ligustri,\S.  occellatus,  S.  convolvuli,  C/i.  Elpenor, 
and  others.— R.  T.  Gibbons,  175,  Albany-street,  Regent- 
street,  N.W. 

Unmounted  spines  of  Aphrodila  ncjtleata,  Flustra 
foliacia.  Scales  of  Lizard  wanted.  Good  Slide  of  Diatoms, 
Injections,  or  Foraminifera. — W.  H.  Cheesman,  Coolinge, 
Folkestone. 

One  Porcupine  fish  {Diodnn  Heptrix),  one  Parrot  fish,  and 
one  Globe  fish,  all  stuffed,  and  in  good  condition  (from  Jeddah). 
Micro-slides  or  a  good  J  object-glass  preferred. — Address,  Dr. 
Paitridge,  Stroud,  Gloucestershire. 

I  HAVE  a  large  stock  of  Diatoms  and  Foraminifera,  which  I 
will  gladly  send  to  any  reader  on  receipt  of  two  stamps  for 
each. — E.  W.  Wilton,  18,  Lovel-grove,  Leeds. 

A  LIBERAL  exchange  in  American  Land  and  Freshwater 
Shells  (univalve  or  bivalve)  to  any  one  who  will  send  me  a  few 
good  examples  of  Scotch  Anodons  (unios  not  required). — 
G.  Sheriff  Tye,  62,  Villa-road,  Handsworth,  near  Birmingham. 
A  FEW  rare  British  and  Foreign  Birds'  Eggs  for  others  not 
in  collection. — S.  T.  T.  Reed,  Ryhope,  Sunderland. 

Wanted  rare  Ticks  (Ixodes)  F'leas,  Atiiinal  Parasites  and 
Acari,  in  exchange  for  good  Slides  of  similar  objects,  or  others 
of  more  general  interest. — H.  E.  Freeman,  48,  Woodstock-road, 
Finsbury-park,  N. 


Blysiinis  cojiipressus,  Panz,  Dianthus  proUfer,  and  Lotus. 
diffusus,  offered  for  Ligustic7(»t  scoticiun,  Galium  aiiglicuin, 
and  Poa  bulbosa. — G.  C.  Druce,  Northampton. 

"  Flustr.a.  Foliacea." — Spines  of  "Echinus"  and  Teeth 
from  Shark,  in  exchange  for  Fossils,  or  other  specimens  of 
Zoology,  &c. — J.  A.  Floyd,  Mission  House,  Alcester,  Warwick. 

One  hundred  or  more — according  to  arrangement — of  slides, 
illustrative  of  the  micro-botany,  Polyzoa,  p'oraminifera,  Ento- 
mostraca,  and  other  Microzoa  of  the  Carboniferous  era,  for  the 
Micrograpical  Dictiojiary,  in  parts  or  vol. — G.  R.  Vine,  Atter- 
cliffe,  Sheffield. 

A  verv  rare  collection  of  British  Land  and  Freshwater 
Shells  for  disposal  (exchange  or  otherwise).  Suitable  for 
museum  or  private  collection  ;  many  duplicates  and  rarities.— 
A.  Knowles,  S.  W.  B.,  Tobacconist,  Swinegate,  Halifax,  Yorks. 

I  HAVE  a  quantity  of  Fossils  from  Oolite  and  Coral  Crag, 
some  of  them  labelled.  Will  exchange  for  good  Micro-slides. 
— Charles  Wild,  Eaton,  Norwich. 

Helix  Cap.\rata,  Virgata,'Rufescens,  Arbustorum,  Bulimus 
Acutus,  Clausilia,  Laminata,  Limn^ea  Palustris,  also  various 
Anodonta  and  Unios,  in  exchange  for  other  shells.  Send  lists 
to  J.  Hagger,  Repton,  Burton-on-Trent. 

Offered  Ckara  fragifei'n,  new  to  Britain,  and  C.  crinitn, 
for  either  Nos.  1669,  1670,  1671,  1672,  and  a-h,  iSy^,  and  a-b,. 
1674,  1678,  1679,  London  Catalogue,  7th  ed. — W.  Curnon, 
Pembroke  Cottage,  Newlyn  Cliff,  Penzance. 

A  FEW  L.  iuvoluta  and  other  good  shells  for  exchange. 
Desiderata  numerous. — Henry  Laver,  F.L.S.,  Trinity-street,^ 
Colchester. 

I  HAVE  eggs  of  Guillemot,  Redstart,  Lapwing,  Ring  Ousel. 
Sand  Marten,  Tree  Sparrow,  Black-Headed  Ijunting,  Ringdove, 
&c.,  for  other  good  eggs.  Send  list.  Unaccepted  offers  not 
answered. — Jas.  Alf.  Wheldon,  .South  Parade,  Northallerton. 

Living  specimens  of  L.  stagnalis,  L.  peregra,  Plaiiorbis 
corneus,  P.  coviplaiiattts,  P.  vortex,  and  Bithinia  tentacnlata, 
in  exchange  for  shells  or  any  objects  of  interest. — Mrs.  S., 
Brentford  End,  Middlesex. 

Duplicates  : — Rhatnni,  Edusa,  Cardatniues,  Galathea, 
Argeria,  Seiitele,  Sibylla,  Cardui,  Atalattta,  Polychlorcs, 
Paphia,  Aglaja,  Adyppe,  Quercus,  Corydon,  'Pages,  Sylvamcs, 
Jacobcra,  Pyraynidea,  Sponsa.  —  Desiderata  :  —  31achao>i, 
Crataegi,  Davus,  C.  album,  W.  album,  Pnirii,  Lucini. 
Artemis,  Ciuxia,  Athalia,  Argus,  ActtFOii,  Puniscus,  Occel- 
latus, Tilltf,  Atropos,  the  Gesiadie,  and  many  Noctua,  and 
GeometriF. — H.  C.  Dent,  20,  Thurloe-square,  London,  S.W. 


BOOKS,  &c.,  RECEIVED. 

"Half  Hours  in  the  Green  Lanes:"  a  book  for  a  country- 
stroll.  Fourth  edition.  By  J.  E.  Taylor,  F.L.S.,  &c. 
London  :  Hardwicke  &  Bogue. 

"Potato  Pests."  By  C.  V.  Riley,  Ph.D.  New  York: 
Orange,  Judd,  &  Co. 

"The  Locust  or  Grasshopper  Plague."  By  C.  V.  Riley,  Ph.D. 
Chicago  :  Rand,  McN.-illy,  &  Co. 

"American  Palaeozoic  Fossils."     By  S.  A.  Millar.     London 
Trubner  &  Co. 

"  Monthly  Microscopical  Journal."  September. 

"  Land  and  Water."  ,, 

"  Law  Times."  ,, 

"  Potter's  American  Monthly."     August. 

".Scientific  American."  „ 

"  Botanische  Zeitung."  _  ,, 

"  Feuille  des  Jeunes  Naturalistes."  September. 

"  Ben  Brierley's  Journal."  ,, 


&c. 


&c. 


&c. 


CflMMUNICATlONS     HAVE     BEEN    RECEIVED   UP    TO  THE   7TH, 

FROM  :— F.  K.-T.  S.-W.  B.  G.— G.  H.  K.— D.  F.-A.  L.— 
H.  P.-R.  C— R.  H.  N.  B.— A.  B.— A.  H.— J.  B.— M.  C— 
E.  S.-T.  B.  W.— W.  B.  F.— J.  A.,  jun.— J.  P.  G.— H.  G.— 
J.  E.  P.— G.  C.-F.  M.— J.  B.— C.  M.  B.— W.  H.  H.— 
F  W  F.— R.  H.— W.  E.  D  — W.  H.  P.— T.  B.  W.— G.  C— 
H.  M  -E.  W.  W.— J.  H.— G.  G.— J.  W.  S.-W.  H.  W.— 
W.  H.  G.— J.  H.  Z.— J.  B.  B.— L.  T.-J.  F.— W.  E.  H.— 
W  A.  C— H.  P.  M.— W.  F.  P.— J.  T.  E.— M.  J.  W.— W.  B. 
— R.  G.  C.-A.  J.  F.— W.  H.  S.— H.  E.  W.— G.  N.— C.  H.  G. 
—Prof.  G.— H.  B.  R.— W.  H.  B.— H.  M.  D.— J.  W.— C.  A.  O. 
_W.  B.  G.— E.  J.  H.— H.  M.  S.— F.  R.  S.— G.  C.  D.— 
R.  J.  S.— E.  H.  B.-W.  E.  G.-W.  H.  G.— R.  T.  L.-J.  P.  S. 
-T.  W.-H.  McA.-W.  H.  L.-F.  W.— E.  B.  F.-C.  W.— 
T  P.— R.  A.— H.  W.  K.— W.  W.— S.  A.  S.— Dr.  P.  Q.  K.— 
G.  T.  B.-J.  H.-F.  W.  B.  N.-J.  A.  F.-G.  C.  D.-T.  S.  W. 
— T.  W.  D.— W.  R.— H.  E.  F.-J.  T.  T.  R.-G.  S.  T.— 
R.  M.  G.-A.  W.- A.  J.  E.-G.  V.  G.-E.  W.  W.-A.  K.- 
J.  F.  P.— Dr.  P.-J.  G.-W.  H.  C— J.  H.— R.  T.  G.— 
W.  E.  T.— W.  C— W.  A.  F.,  &c.,  &c. 


HARD  Wl  CKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE  ■  G  OS  SI  P. 


241 


THE   HARD   PARTS   OF   ANIMALS. 


By  H.  F.  parsons.  M.D. 


"HEM'ords  "Hard  Parts" 
I  use  in  their  common 
acceptation,  without  re- 
gard to  strict  scientific 
homologies.  Thus  the 
satin-like  skin  of  an  in- 
fant is  homologous  with 
the  scaly  hide  of  the 
crocodile,  but  for  our 
present  purpose,  the 
former  may  be  classed 
with  soft,  the  latter  with  hard  parts. 

The  uses  of  hard  parts  are  numerous ;  the  chief 
are : — 

1st.  To  protect  soft  tissues  and  important  organs  : 
thus  in  many  of  the  invertebrate  animals,  e.g.  the 
Sea-urchin,  Oyster,  and  Crab,  the  soft  parts  are  entirely 
enclosed  in  a  hard  shell.  Fishes  and  reptiles  are 
protected  by  a  scaly  armour,  more  or  less  dense, 
sometimes,  as  in  the  Sturgeon  and  Crocodile,  consist- 
ing of  strong  bony  plates.  In  the  Turtles,  the  ex- 
panded ribs  and  breast-bone  blend  with  the  homy 
skin  to  form  a  carapace  or  shell,  in  which  the  soft 
parts  of  the  trunk  are  wholly  enclosed.  Even  in  the 
higher  vertebrates,  as  ourselves,  in  whom  the  hard 
skeleton  is  entirely  internal,  we  find  the  most  impor- 
tant vital  organs,  those  which  have  been  called  the 
tripod  of  life,  the  brain,  heart,  and  lungs,  placed 
within  the  bony  cases  of  the  skull  and  thorax.  The 
extremities  of  the  limbs  which  come  in  contact  with 
the  ground  are  protected  with  pads  and  hoofs. 

2nd.  To  form  a  framework  or  skeleton  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  soft  tissues.  In  vertebrates,  the  true 
skeleton  is  internal,  in  many  invertebrates  external.  In 
sedentary  compound  animals,  as  corals,  sponges,  and 
polyzoa,  the  skeleton  serves  both  to  connect  the 
different  members  of  the  community  together,  and  to 
attach  the  whole  compound  organism  to  tlie  rock  or 
other  substance  on  which  it  grows. 

3rd.  As  levers  or  passive   instruments  of  motion, 

the  active  agents  being  the  muscles.     Each  muscle  is, 

as  a  rule,  attached  at  either  end,  usually  by  means  of 

a  tendon,  to  some  portion  of  the  hard  skeleton  ;  the 

No.  155. 


more  fixed  point  of  attachment,  or  the  nearest  to  the 
trunk,  being  termed  the  "origin";  the  more  mov- 
able, or  farthest,  the  "  insertion."  With  few  ex- 
ceptions, the  bones  in  our  bodies  form  levers  of  the 
3rd  order  ;  i.e.,  the  power — the  muscle — is  applied 
between  the  joint  or  fulcrum  and  the  weight.  Levers 
of  this  kind  always  act  at  a  "mechanical  disadvan- 
tage"; i.e.,  a  large  power  moving  through  a  small 
space  is  required  in  order  to  raise  a  small  weight 
through  a  large  space.  Nevertheless  this  form  of 
lever  is  for  the  purposes  of  the  animal  economy  the 
most  useful  that  could  be  chosen,  for  the  muscles  con- 
tract with  enormous  force,  but  through  a  limited 
space  (about  ^  of  their  length),  and  it  is  plainly  more 
convenient  for  us  to  be  able  to  move  our  limbs  with 
a  moderate  degree  of  force  rapidly  over  a  large  area, 
rather  than  with  irresistible  force  through  a  small 
range.  In  vertebrate  animals,  the  muscles  lie  external 
to  the  skeleton  ;  in  articulate  animals,  as  the  Crab, 
in  which  the  skeleton  is  external,  the  muscles  lie 
inside  it.  In  the  Crab,  the  tendons  are  bony,  and  so 
they  are  in  birds,  as  any  one  will  have  observed  who 
has  watched  the  cook  drawing  the  sinews  out  of  a 
turkey's  leg  through  the  crack  of  the  kitchen  door. 

4th.  For  the  seizing  and  mastication  of  food.  Those 
animals  in  which  the  food  is  ground  small  in  a  strong 
muscular  stomach  or  gizzard  have  frequently  hard 
plates  or  teeth  to  assist  this  process.  In  birds  which 
live  on  hard  seeds,  this  object  is  effected  by  swallow- 
ing small  stones  with  the  food,  but  some  mollusks 
and  some  insects,  as  the  Cockroach,  have  teeth  inside 
the  gizzard.  About  the  last  animal  in  which  one 
would  expect  to  meet  with  a  muscular  gizzard  fur- 
nished with  teeth,  is  the  Flea,  living,  as  it  does, 
wholly  on  liquid  food  ,  but  this  active  little  creature 
is  nevertheless  so  provided.  We  must  infer  that, 
to  an  animal  of  that  size  a  blood-coi-puscle  is  a  tough 
morsel,  requiring  careful  mastication  before  it  can 
be  digested.  In  most  animals,  however,  the  hard 
organs  of  mastication  are  placed  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  mouth.  The  simplest  form  of  teeth  is 
the  circle  of  booklets  which  surrounds  the  mouth  of 
some  of  the  Entozoa,   e.g.,   the  tape-worm.     In  the 

M 


242 


HARD  Wl CKE  'S    S CIENCE  -  G  OSSIP. 


Sea-urchin  there  are  five  pointed  teeth  arranged  in  a 
circle  round  the  mouth,  and  attached  above  to  a  com- 
plicated mechanism  of  arches  and  levers,  called 
"Aristotle's  Lantern."  The  Leech  has  three  horny 
serrated  jaws,  in  shape  like  segments  of  a  circular 
saw,  and  which  produce  the  well-known  three-rayed 
bite.  In  crustaceans  and  insects  the  masticatory 
organs  are  modified  limbs  ;  in  insects  they  vary  veiy 
much  in  shape  according  to  the  nature  of  the  food, 
from  the  short,  strong  jaws  of  the  Wasp  to  the  long, 
slender  proboscis  of  the  Moth.  The  lower  or  headless 
mollusks  have  no  teeth ;  in  the  higher  mollusks,  as 
the  Snail,  the  dentition  is  very  curious  :  there  is  a 
band,  the  lingual  ribbon,  which  is  set  with  innumer- 
able minute  teeth,  and  which,  being  drawn  backwards 
and  forwards  over  a  cartilaginous  pulley,  rasps  the 
food.  In  the  Limpet,  this  ribbon  is  nearly  twice  the 
length  of  the  entire  body.  As  the  teeth  in  front  wear 
away,  their  place  is  supplied  by  fresh  ones  from 
behind.  In  vertebrates,  we  most  frequently  find  the 
jaws  set  with  teeth  :  in  birds,  however,  the  jaw- 
bones are  covered  with  horn,  and  form  a  pointed 
beak ;  and  this  form  is  again  met  with  in  the  Turtles, 
and  even  among  mollusks,  as  in  the  Cuttle-fish.  In  fish 
and  most  reptiles  the  teeth  are  of  a  piece  with  the  jaw- 
bones, and  grow  in  a  continuous  succession  :  as  one 
drops  off,  another  comes  forward  to  take  its  place. 
In  crocodiles  and  mammals,  the  teeth  are  implanted 
in  sockets  in  the  jawbone.  In  mammalia,  the  shape, 
number,  and  arrangement  of  the  teeth  vary  greatly, 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  food  ;  so  that  from  the 
teeth  the  habits  of  the  animal  to  which  they  belong  may 
be  deduced.  Carnivorous  animals  have  strong  canine 
teeth  for  holding  their  prey,  and  sharp -edged  molars 
for  mincing  up  the  flesh.  Herbivorous  animals  have, 
on  the  other  hand,  broad  flat  molars,  adapted  for 
grinding,  and  the  harder  and  softer  tissues  of  the 
tooth  are  so  arranged  that  the  unequal  wear  shall 
preserve  a  rough  surface,  like  that  of  a  millstone. 

5th.  As  weapons  of  offence ;  e.g. ,  the  sharp  fin- 
spines  of  some  fisheg,  as  the  Stickleback  ;  the  claws  of 
the  carnivora  ;  the  horns  of  the  Rhinoceros  and  the 
ruminant  animals  ;  and  the  strongly-developed  tusks 
or  canine  teeth  of  many  others.  In  venomous  snakes, 
certain  of  the  teeth  are  channelled  and  furnished  with 
poison-glands  at  the  base.  In  many  animals  which 
ftght  for  the  possession  of  the  females,  these  weapons 
of  offence  are  only  met  with  in  the  male  sex,  as  the 
horns  of  the  stag,  and  the  tusks  of  the  boar  and  male 
ape.  This  fact  has  furnished  Mr.  Darwin  with  a 
strong  argument  in  favour  of  the  modifying  operation 
of  "sexual  selection." 

6th.  They  form  part  of  the  mechanism  of  many 
special  organs  ;  as  those  of  the  senses  and  voice.  As 
examples,  I  may  quote  the  ossicles  and  otoliths  of  the 
ear,  the  bony  plates  met  with  in  the  eyes  of  birds,  and 
still  more  strongly  developed  in  those  of  the  extinct 
Ichthyosaurus,  the  spongy  bones  of  the  nose,  the 
liyoid  bone  which  forms  the  fulcrum  for  the  tongue. 


the  cartilages  of  the  larynx  or  organ  of  voice,  and  the 
bony  centre  in  the  bullock's  heart. 

I  projjose  briefly  to  run  through  the  animal  kingdom, 
and  note  the  different  materials  and  mechanisms  which 
we  find  in  the  different  classes. 

The  simplest  animals  of  all,  Rhizopoda,  consist 
merely  of  homogeneous  specks  of  animated  jelly,  of 
which  every  part  is  capable  of  performing  all  the 
functions  of  the  animal.  Some  of  them,  as  Amoeba, 
have  no  hard  parts  at  all ;  others  form  minute  calcareous 
shells  of  the  most  varied  and  beautiful  forms.  The 
Foraminifera  are  so  called  from  the  fact  that  in  one 
division  of  the  order  the  shells  are  pierced  by  numerous 
minute  holes  for  the  extension  of  the  radiating 
tentacles.  In  some  Foraminifera  the  shell,  however,  is 
not  perforated.  In  the  perforated  species  the  shells 
are  often  transparent,  in  the  imperforate  kinds  they 
are  of  porcelain-like  texture,  or  covered  with  grains 
of  sand  cemented  together.  The  shells  are  sometimes 
single-chambered  ;  more  often  many  chambers,  each 
rather  larger  than  its  predecessors,  are  clustered 
together,  forming  shells  which  frequently  resemble  a 
nautilus  in  shape.  The  great  variety  of  forms, 
through  apparently  very  complicated,  ai-e  produced  by 
variations  in  the  shape,  relative  size,  and  relative  posi- 
tion of  the  chambers. 

The  Polycistina  possess  shells  of  equal  beauty  with 
those  of  the  Foraminifera,  but  differing  from  them  in 
shape,  and  in  being  composed  of  silica  instead  of 
carbonate  of  lime. 

Scarcely  higher  in  the  scale  of  animal  life  are  the 
Sponges,  the  possession  of  which  indeed  the  Botanists 
long  disputed  with  the  Zoologists.  The  Sponges  con- 
sist merely  of  a  framework  covered  with  a  soft  animal 
jelly.  The  skeleton  differs  in  nature  in  different 
classes  of  Sponges  :  in  some,  as  the  sponge  of  commerce 
and  the  little  freshwater  Spongilla,  it  is  composed  of 
horny  fibres  mixed  with  flinty  needles  or  spicules  ;  in 
others  it  is  calcareous,  as  many  of  the  fossil  forms ; 
while  in  a  third  class,  including  deep-sea  forms,  as  the 
beautiful  Venus's  flower-basket  (Euplectella),  it  is 
wholly  composed  of  interlaced  siliceous  spicules. 
Spicules  are  a  kind  of  hard  structure  met  with  in 
animals  of  other  orders,  differing  widely  from  the 
Sponges :  they  are  of  very  various  fornis ;  some  needle- 
shaped,  others  like  a  toasting-fork,  or  thorny  stick,  or 
two  wheels  and  an  axle.  Some  are  composed  of 
carbonate  of  lime,  others  of  silica.  They  are  embedded 
in  the  soft  flesh  of  the  animal,  and  their  use  is  com- 
monly believed  to  be  to  give  consistence  and  support 
to  the  soft  tissues ;  but  Mr.  Wallace  believes  that  they 
also  serve  to  render  the  animal  uneatable,  and  thus 
protect  it  from  those  creatures  who  would  otherwise 
devour  it. 

Passing  to  the  Coelenterata  or  Polypes,  we  find 
very  frequently  in  the  Hydrozoa,  of  which  Sertularia 
pinnata,  the  zoophyte  commonly  found  on  oysters, 
may  be  taken  as  an  example,  a  horny  branched  poly- 
pidom,  or  common  skeleton,  furnished  with  a  number 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE  -  G O SSIP. 


243 


of  cup-shaped  cavities,  in  which  the  Polypes  of  the 
united  colony  are  lodged.  In  the  Actinozoa  we  find 
hard  structures  of  great  variety  and  interest,  and  which 
have  even  borne  an  important  part  in  the  formation  of 
our  earth  ;  I  mean  those  commonly  known  as  Corals. 
Corals  are  of  two  kinds,  sclerobasic  and  sclerodermic. 
The  difference  between  these  I  will  try  to  explain. 
Let  us  take  the  common  Sea-anemone  as  a  type  of  the 
class,  although  it  has  no  hard  parts.  We  find  that 
this  animal  has  a  cylindrical  body  with  a  disk-shaped 
foot  below,  by  which  it  can  adhere  to  the  rocks  and 
move  from  place  to  place,  and  above,  a  crown  of  ten- 
tacles, in  the  centre  of  which  is  the  mouth.  If  we 
took  a  slice  across  the  body,  we  should  find  in  the 
interior  a  number  of  radiating  partitions  like  those 
seen  when  a  poppy-head  is  cut  across.  Now  if  we 
had  a  number  of  sea-anemones  united  together  by  the 
edges  of  the  foot,  so  as  to  form  a  hollow  cylinder,  the 
inner  surface  of  which  was  formed  by  the  feet,  and 
that  the  feet  then  secreted  calcareous  matter,  so  as  to 
fill  up  the  interior  of  this  tube  and  convert  it  into  a 
hard  axis,  we  should  get  a  coral  like  the  red  and  black 
corals  of  which  ornaments  are  made.  If,  however,  the 
tissues  of  the  body  wall  and  of  the  radiating  partitions 
were  converted  into  hard  stony  tissue,  we  should  get 
a  coral  of  the  other  or  sclerodermic  class.  Corals 
of  the  second  class  are  sometimes  simple,  as  many 
of  the  cup  corals,  sometimes  compound,  like  the  brain 
coral ;  corals  of  the  first  kind  are  always  formed  by 
compound  animals,  and  they  may  be  distinguished 
from  the  others  by  not  showing  any  cup  with 
radiating  partitions. 

In  the  subkingdom  Annuloida,  the  Scoleclda  are 
soft-bodied  animals,  many  of  which  inhabit  the  bodies 
of  other  animals.  They  are  almost  devoid  of  any 
hard  parts,  although  one  kind  of  tapeworm  has,  as  I 
mentioned,  a  circle  of  hooks, _and  the  wheel  animalcules 
have  a  rather  complicated  set  of  horny  jaws. 

In  the  Echinodermata,  on  the  other  hand,  the  hard 
parts  form  a  prominent  and  important  feature.  The 
sea-urchin,  for  instance,  has  a  globular  shell  composed 
of  hundreds  of  plates,  which  are  arranged  in  ten  double 
alternately-dissimilar  rows,  reaching  nearly  from  pole 
to  pole.  At  the  apex  of  the  shell  are  inserted  small 
plates  which  are  perforated  for  the  eyes,  genital 
apertures,  and  anus  ;  at  the  base  is  a  gap,  closed  in  by 
membrane,  in  the  centi-e  of  which  is  the  mouth  armed 
with  five  teeth  worked  by  the  apparatus  of  which  I  have 
before  spoken.  The  plates  of  five  of  the  double  rows 
are  perforated  with  numerous  holes  for  the  passage  of 
the  tubular  feet.  The  surface  is  studded  with  tubercles, 
on  which  are  jointed  movable  spines  :  in  some  urchins, 
as  Cidaris,  the  spines  are  veiy  large  in  proportion,  and 
are  attached  by  a  ball-and-socket  joint,  which  reminds 
one  very  strongly,  in  its  arrangements  of  ligaments,  of 
the  human  hip-joint.  There  are  also  "  pedicellariae," 
very  singular  little  organs  with  three  snapping  jaws, 
tlie  use  of  which  is  unknown.  The  shell  of  the  Sea- 
urchin  grows  by  addition  to  the  edges  of  the  plates ; 


hence  it  does  not  need  to  be  cast  off  like  that  of  the 
Lobster.  The  Star-fishes  resemble  the  Sea-urchins,  but 
their  plates  are  less  closely  attached  together  and  the 
spines  are  smaller.  In  the  Sea-cucumbers  there  is  no 
distinct  shell,  but  the  plates  of  the  Sea-urchins  are  re- 
presented by  scattered  granules  or  spicules,  often  of 
remarkable  shapes  ;  thus  in  Myriotrochus  they  are 
wheel-shaped,  in  Synapta  like  anchors  jointed  to  per» 
forated  plates.  The  shells  of  the  Echinoderms  are 
composed  of  carbonate  of  lime  in  the  form  of  earthy 
granules,  which  in  the  spines  are  arranged  in  a  beauti- 
ful radiating  pattern  with  concentric  zones  like  a  section 
of  an  exogenous  tree.  In  the  fossil  state,  however,  the 
hard  tissues  of  the  Echinoderms  always  break  with 
an  oblique  ciystalline  fracture. 

In  the  subkingdom  Annulosa,  the  material  usually 
made  ixse  of  for  the  construction  of  the  hard  organs  is 
chitine,  a  substance  resembling  horn,  but  devoid  of 
any  structure,  and  with  little  effect  on  polarized  light. 
Chitine,  although  a  nitrogenous  substance,  is  one  of  the 
most  indestructible  of  organic  matters.  Caustic  alkalies, 
prolonged  boiling,  and  acids  unless  concentrated,  have 
no  effect  upon  it ;  strong  sulphuric  acid  dissolves  it 
without  charring.  In  the  Annulosa  the  skeleton  is- 
external  and  jointed,  and  in  all  but  the  Annelids,  as 
the  Leech,  provided  with  jointed  limbs.  The  seg- 
mentation, as  might  be  supposed,  is  more  or  less 
marked,  in  proportion  to  the  hardness  of  the  skeleton  j 
tlius  in  the  soft  bodies  of  the  Leech  and  Spider  it  is 
much  less  conspicuous  than  in  the  hard  armour  of  the 
Lobster  :  sometimes,  however,  as  in  the  Crab,  several 
segments  are  fused  together  into  a  shell  or  carapace. 

The  Hermit-crabs,  which  have  a  soft  unprotected 
body,  seek  a  protection  by  taking  lodgings  in  the  vacant 
shell  of  some  mollusk.  In  one  order  of  Annelids, 
the  Tubicola,  to  which  the  Serpula  belongs,  the 
integument  is  soft  and  smooth,  but  has  the  power  of 
secreting  calcareous  matter,  which  forms  a  fixed  tube 
or  sheath,  into  which  the  animal  can  retire  for  safety. 

The  Caddisvvomi,  which  is  the  larva  of  an  insect 
allied  to  the  Dragon-flies,  forms  for  itself  a  somewhat 
similar  but  movable  case  by  cementing  together  grains, 
of  sand,  shells,  and  other  small  particles  of  matter. 

In  the  larger  Crustacea,  as  the  Crab  and  Lobster,  the 
shell  is  hardened  with  carbonate  of  lime.  The  shell 
has  a  radiating  fibrous  texture,  with  contour-markings 
indicating  the  layers  of  growth.  As  the  shell  of 
the  Crustacea  forms  a  complete  rigid  case,  in  order  to 
allow  of  the  growth  of  the  animal,  it  has  to  be  cast 
off  from  time  to  time,  and  a  new  one  formed.  Prior 
to  the  casting  off  of  the  old  shell,  a  store  of  material 
for  the  new  one  is  laid  up  in  the  form  of  deposits  of 
carbonate  of  lime  in  various  parts  of  the  body.  The 
tendons  are  also  calcareous. 

In  Insects  the  external  skeleton  is  chitinous,  and 

is  modified  in  different  species  to   form  implements. 

of  various  kinds,  of  wonderful  elegance  of  form  and 

exquisite  adaptation  to  use. 

{To  be  continued.') 

M   2 


244 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-GO  SSIF. 


THE   SEALS    AND   WHALES    OF   THE 

BRITISH    SEAS. 

No.  V. 

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

THE  next  family,  BalcEuoptcridc?,  is  represented 
by  two  genera,  Megapicra  and  Bahrnoptera. 
Like  the  Right-whales,  they  all  have  two  blow-holes, 
but  may  readily  be  distinguished  by  having  the  throat 
and  belly  curiously  marked  with  longitudinal  furrows, 
like  the  ribs  in  a  worsted  stocking  :  they  also  possess 
a  well-defined  dorsal  fin.  Megaptera  longimana,  the 
Humpbacked  Whale,  the  only  member  of  the  first 
genus  known  to  occur  in  the  British  seas,  has  twice 
been  met  M'ith ;    first   at    Newcastle  in   September, 


it  is  difficult  of  approach,  and  upon  being  harpooned, 
such  is  the  velocity  with  which  it  shoots  through  the 
water  that  the  danger  is  very  great ;  Scoresby  men- 
tions one  which  took  out  480  fathoms  of  line  in 
about  one  minute.  In  addition  to  this,  the  whale- 
bone is  short  and  of  little  value,  and  the  yield  of  oil 
small ;  it  is  therefore  avoided  by  the  whalers,  as  more 
dangerous  than  profitable,  and  if  struck  at  all,  it  is 
most  likely  a  case  of  mistaken  identity.  From  the 
port  of  Vadso,  however,  the  capture  of  this  species  is 
now  successfully  effected  by  means  of  an  explosive 
shell  or  harpoon,  which  kills  them  at  once,  as  many 
as  30  or  40  being  obtained  each  summer.  They  are 
towed  into  Vadso,  where  the  blubber  is  refined  and 


Fig.  179.  The  Common  Rorqual  {Balanoptera  muscidus,  Linn.). 


1839,  and  again  in  the  estuary  of  the  Dee,  in  1863  : 
both  were  females.  It  is  possible  other  examples 
may  have  been  mistaken  for  Rorquals,  from  which  it 
may  at  once  be  distinguished  externally  by  the  great 
length  of  its  flippers,  which  are  white  and  very  con- 
spicuous. The  total  length  of  the  animal  is  about  45 
to  50  feet,  its  baleen  is  black,  and  the  flippers,  which 
are  notched  at  the  edge,  about  10  feet  in  length. 

We  now  come  to  the  genus  Bahcnoptcra,  the 
Rorquals  or  Fin-whales,  the  first  species  of  which  is 
the  Common  Rorqual,  Bahrnoptera  muscnlus 
(Linn.),  the  BaLsjioplcra  loops  of  Bell's  first  edition, 
and  Physalus  antiquoi-itin  of  Gray  (fig.  179).  This 
is  a  much  more  active  animal  than  the  Right-whale  : 


the  carcase  made  into  manure.  The  habitat  of  the 
Common  Rorqual  is  the  temperate  Northern  seas, 
from  the  Mediterranean,  which  it  sometimes  enters, 
to  the  70°  north  latitude,  and  sometimes  even 
farther  north  stdl.  The  range  of  this  group  is  very 
great,  and,  according  to  Andrew  Murray,  it  would 
appear  that  one  or  more  of  the  Balcenopteridoe  is 
found  over  the  whole  world,  although  it  is  by  no 
means  certain  that  any  particular  species  has  a  very 
wide  geographical  range.  Megaptera  longimana, 
which  occurs  in  the  North  Sea,  was  also  supposed  to 
have  been  met  with  at  the  Cape,  but  Dr.  Gray  has 
pointed  out  differences  in  the  cervical  vertebrce  of  an 
individual   from   that   locality,    which    he   considers 


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


245 


constitute  distinct  specific  characters  ;  on  the  other 
hand,  a  Fin-whale  from  Java  so  closely  resembles 
our  Balicnoptera  latkeps  that  Professor  Flower,  after 
the  most  careful  examination  and  comparison  almost 
bone  by  bone,  hesitates  to  pronounce  it  distinct,  and 
only  separates  it  provisionally.  On  our  own  coast 
this  species  has  been  met  with  in  numerous  instances. 
In  feeding,  the  Rorquals  are  not  so  restricted  to 
minute  marine  animals  as  the  Right-whales,  but 
devour  large  quantities  of  fish  of  various  sizes,  from 
herrings  up  to  cod.  In  the  stomach  of  the  New- 
castle Humpbacked-whale  (the  species  mentioned 
immediately  before  the  present  one)  were  found  six 
cormorants,  but  a  seventh,  found  in  its  throat,  was 


of  the  baleen  is  to  form  a  screening  apparatus  through 
which  the  water  is  ejected,  leaving  its  minute  prey 
behind  ;  and  in  the  toothed  whales  it  would  not  be  re- 
quired. What  appears  like  a  jet  of  water  is,  in  reality, 
dense  vapour — in  fact,  the  breath  issuing  from  the 
lungs  of  the  animal,  highly  charged  with  moisture, 
which  becomes  condensed  upon  exposure  to  the 
atmosphere.  The  figure  of  this  species  is  copied,  by 
kind  permission  of  Professor  Flower,  from  the  illus- 
tration to  his  paper  in  the  "  Proceedings  of  the 
Zoological  Society  of  London"  for  1869,  p.  604, 
et  scq. 

Sibbald's  Rorqual  {Baldnoptera  Sibbaldii,  J.  E. 
Gray)   has   several   times   been  met  with  in  British 


Fig.  180.  The  Lesser  Rorqual  {Baheno^tera  rostrata,  p'ab.). 


iupposed  to  have  caused  its  death  by  choking  it. 
The  blowing  is  accompanied  by  a  loud  noise,  which, 
on  a  still  night,  may  be  heard  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance. It  was  formerly  supposed  that  in  "blowing " 
the  whale  ejected  from  its  nostrils  a  very  considerable 
quantity  of  water,  which  might  be  seen  to  spout  up 
into  the  air  like  a  fountain ;  and  in  the  performance 
of  this  remarkable  feat  they  were  generally  depicted. 
Beall,  however,  in  his  "Natural  History  of  the  Sperm 
Whale,"  as  early  as  1838,  shows  that  this  is  not  the 
case,  and  the  truth  of  his  observations  is  now 
generally  acknowledged.  The  power  so  to  eject 
water  taken  into  its  capacious  mouth  could  be  of  no 
service  to  the  Whalebone-whales,  as  the  very  purpose 


waters.  It  is  the  largest  of  this  gigantic  family, 
measuring  from  80  to  perhaps  lOO  feet  in  length. 
The  famous  "  Ostend  Whale,"  which  was  found 
floating  dead  in  the  North  Sea  in  1S27,  and  taken 
into  Ostend,  belonged  to  this  species ;  its  skeleton 
was  long  exhibited  in  this  country,  and  afterwards  in 
America.  Dr.  Gray  says  it  is  now  in  St.  Petersburg, 
and  gives  the  total  length  as  102  feet ;  as,  however, 
several  of  the  vertebrce  are  missing,  the  exact  length 
is  uncertain.  Professor  Turner  gives  the  length  of 
a  specimen  stranded  in  the  Firth  of  Forth  as  78 
feet  9  inches,  and  the  girth  behind  the  flippers  about 
45  feet :  this  animal  was  gravid,  but  notwithstand- 
ing this   fact,    the  bulk  must  have  been   enormous. 


246 


BA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  ■  G  OS  SIP. 


This  species  may  be  known  by  its  low  dorsal  fin, 
black  baleen,  and  long  flippers,  which  are  black  above 
and  whitish  below  :  as  it  is  said  to  be  frequently 
■met  with  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Iceland,  its 
occasionally  straying  into  our  latitude  is  not  at  all 
improbable. 

Rudolph's  Rorqual  [Balcenoptera  laticcps,  J.  E. 
Gray)  is  a  small  species  which  may  be  mistaken  for 
the  lesser  Rorqual.  A  whale  stranded  at  Charmouth 
in  1840  is  believed  to  have  been  of  this  species,  but 
the  skeleton,  although  prepared  at  the  time,  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  sold  and  converted  into  manure. 
Very  little  is  known  about  the  history  or  distribution 
of  this  species  ;  the  flippers  are  entirely  black  above, 
wanting  the  white  band  found  in  the  next  species, 
and  the  baleen  is  believed  to  be  black. 

The  next  and  last  of  the  Whalebone-whales  which 
"we  know  to  have  occurred  in  the  British  seas  is  the 
Lesser  Rorqual  {Balcenoptera  rostrata.  Fab.), 
(fig.  180).  Many  individuals  of  this  species  have 
been  obtained  on  various  parts  of  the  coast,  from 
Cornwall  to  the  north  of  Scotland.  On  the  coast  of 
Norway  it  is  frequently  met  with,  and  is  there  called 
the  "Bay-whale,"  from  its  habit  of  entering  bays 
and  estuaries  ;  this  habit  the  natives  take  advantage  of 


for  its  destruction.  Stretching  a  strong  net  across  the 
inlet,  they  cut  off  its  escape,  and  put  a  cruel  and  often 
protracted  end  to  its  existence  with  harpoons  and  arrows, 
the  poor  whale  sometimes  lingering  from  eight  to  four- 
teen days.  This  species  is  also  known  as  the  "Summer 
Whale,"  and  does  not  appear  to  be  so  strictly  a 
northern  species  as  the  Balrenoptera  generally  are  :  it 
is  believed,  like  the  Common  Rorqual,  to  have  been 
taken  in  the  Mediterranean.  The  Lesser  Rorqual 
may  be  known  at  once  by  its  small  size  (not  exceeding 
30  feet),  and  by  the  bi-oad  white  band  across  its  black 
flipper ;  the  baleen  also  is  nearly  white,  which  is 
another  good  distinction.  The  figure  of  this  species 
is  from  an  article  by  Messrs.  Carte  and  Macalister,  on 
the  Anatomy  of  Balcenoptera  rostrata,  in  the  "  Philo- 
sophical Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  *'  for  1868, 
vol.  clviii. 

In  the  following  table  I  have  endeavoured  to  give 
the  most  striking  external  peculiarities  of  our  British 
Mystacoceti.  They  are  easily  remembered,  and  may 
be  useful  in  identifying  specimens  should  no  authority 
be  at  hand ;  it  also  indicates  the  points  to  be  observed 
by  a  i^erson  not  acquainted  with  this  class  of  animals, 
as  most  serviceable  to  enable  others  to  identify 
doubtful  specimens. 


TABLE  OF  DIFFERENCES  OF  BRITISH  MYSTACOCETI  (Whalebone  Whales). 


Colour. 

Baleen. 

Species. 

Belly  and 
Throat. 

Flippers. 

Dorsal 
Fin. 

Total 
Length. 

Upper 
Part. 

Under 
Part. 

Length. 

Colour. 

Balccna  Alystketits, 
Northern  Right  Whale 

Dark 
grey 

Throat 
M'hite 

Smooth 

Black 

None 

Long  and 
narrow ; 
10  or  12 
feet 

Blackish 
grey 

50  or  60 

feet 

Balana  Biscayensis, 
Atlantic  Right- Whale 

Uni- 
form 
black 

Uni- 
form 
black 

Smooth 

Black 

None 

Shorter 
than  the 
above 

... 

40  feet  (?) 

Megaptej-a  longimana. 
Humpbacked  Whale 

Black 

Black 

and 

white 

Plaited 
(plicae) 

Wholly  white, 
about  10  feet 
long,      and 
notched      at 
the  edge 

Very  low 

Short 

Black 

About 
50  feet 

Balcenoptera  fniiscuhis, 
Common  Rorqual 

Black 

White 

Plaited 

Black 

Distinct 

Short 

Slate  co- 
lour — 
shaded 
lighter 
to  inner 
edge 

About 
70  feet 

Balanoptera  Sibbaldii, 
Sibbald's  Rorqual 

Black 

Slate 
gi-ey 

Plaited 

Dark  above. 
White  beneath 

Very  low 

Short 

Rich 
black 

About 
80  feet 

Balenoptera  latieeps, 
Rudolphi's  Rorqual 

Black 

White 

Plaited 

Upper  part 
black 

... 

Short 

Black  (?) 

30  or  40 

feet 

Balcenoptera  7-ostrata, 
Lesser  Rorqual 

Black 

White 

Plaited 

Black,    with 
broad  band  of 
white  across 

... 

Short 

Yellowish 
while 

25  to  30 
feet 

HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  ■  G  OSS  IF. 


247 


THE  PAIRING  INSTINCT  OF  BIRDS. 

By  Charles  Dixon. 

'"I'^HIS  subject  has  always  been  one  of  much 
-L  dispute  among;st  naturalists,  and  indeed  one 
of  a  very  pei-plexing  nature.  I  have  found  it  to 
be  a  subject  which  few  writers  on  ornithology  treat 
with  a  proper  amount  of  care,  while  others  refrain 
entirely  from  introducing  it  into  their  works.  I 
consider  it  to  be  one  of  the  most  important  traits  in 
the  character  of  the  feathered  tribes — an  amovmt  of 
instinct  given  alike  to  the  lordly  eagle  and  the  dimi- 
nutive wren ;  I  cannot  believe,  with  some  persons, 
that  instinct  is  only  a  certain  power  inherited  from 
the  parent  birds.  Of  its  manifold  uses  I  am  not 
going  to  treat,  they  being  at  variance  with  the  present 
subject.  But  if  birds  inherited  this  power  from  their 
parents,  as  some  assert,  they  would  all  employ  these 
powers  in  the  same  manner  peculiar  to  their  species, 
as  their  kind  have  done  before  them  for  ages  ;  but 
witness  the  many  different  fonns  of  instinct  dis- 
played by  birds  which  are  only  applicable  to  the 
surrounding  circumstances,  powers  which  perhaps 
no  other  birds  of  their  race  have  had  to  exert 
before. 

Birds  may  be  divided  into  three  classes;  viz., 
firstly,  those  birds  which,  having  once  paired,  remain 
together  for  life ;  secondly,  birds  which  pair  annually ; 
and,  thirdly,  birds  which  never  pair,  but  are  poly- 
gamous. I  will  briefly  glance  at  these  three  divisions, 
and  give  the  opinions  I  have  arrived  at  in  a  matter  to 
which  I  have  paid  special  attention. 

"We  will  take  firstly  those  birds  which  pair  for  life. 
Swallows  are  an  excellent  type  of  this  class,  returning 
annually  to  their  old  7iesfiHg-siies,  for  the  same 
purpose  as  previously.  The  Martin  returns  to  its  old 
nest.  But  to  some  this  may  appear  incredulous, 
knowing  that  these  birds  perform  long  migrations, 
and  may  get  separated  while  upon  them.  Do  these 
birds  get  finally  sepai-ated  when  in  large  companies 
they  are  searching  the  air  for  their  food  ?  or  do  Rooks, 
Starlings,  and  Jackdaws  fail  to  remember  the  position 
of  their  nests  ?  The  same  instinct  which  informs  the 
Swallows  when  to  leave  Africa  in  like  manner  urges 
them  onwards  to  their  old  nests  ;  and  again  the  same 
pair  of  birds  will  perform  the  duties  of  incubation. 
We  all  know  that  the  same  nesting-site  will  be  yearly 
tenanted  by  its  former  owners,  provided  they  are 
left  unmolested.  This  must  be  by  the  same  pair  of 
birds,  for  what  ornithologist  has  ever,  in  the  course 
of  his  observations,  seen  swallows  piying  about  into 
barns  and  outbuildings  in  search  of  some  old  nest, 
which  will  save  them  the  labour  of  constructing  one 
themselves  ?  The  time  would  be  so  taken  up  in  this 
search,  that  no  brood  would  be  reared.  Young  birds 
pair  most  likely  before  their  migration  to  us,  and 
search  out  nesting-sites  upon  their  arrival  in  this 
country. 


Again,  the  Rook  is  another  bird  which  I  believe 
pairs  for  life.  At  the  commencement  of  the  breeding 
season  rooks  (unmolested  by  the  other  members  of 
the  rookery)  return  to  their  old  nests,  and  commence 
doing  the  necessary  repairs  required  for  the  comfort 
of  their  future  brood  ;  while  others,  whose  nests  have 
been  destroyed,  diligently  set  to  work  to  reconstruct 
them,  in  company  with  many  of  the  last  year's 
brood  which  have  paired  some  time  during  the 
previous  six  months.  Can  any  ornithologist  inform 
me  of  any  combat  he  has  been  witness  to  for  the 
choice  of  the  nests  which  have  withstood  the  storms 
of  winter?  A  few  pairs  of  rooks  will  sometimes 
desert  the  general  rookery  and  build  their  nests  in 
neighbouring  trees,  returning  to  them  yearly. 

Ravens,  Magpies,  Jackdaws,  Starlings,  House 
Sparrows,  several  of  the  Falconidm  and  ParidcE, 
have  all  been  known  to  return  to  their  nests  of 
the  previous  season.  I  have  known  the  Robin  and 
the  Wren  return  to  their  old  sites  (but  not  to  the  old 
nests)  for  several  years.  From  these  instances  I  would 
infer  that  all  birds  which  return  t'o  their  old  nests  or 
nesting-sites  for  the  same  purpose  every  season  pair 
for  life. 

In  the  second  place,  those  birds  which  pair 
annually ;  the  birds  which  fonn  this  division  are  the 
most  numerous  of  any.  We  have  many  instances  of 
this  class  :  as  a  good  type,  we  will  take  the  Willow 
Warbler.  When  these  birds  first  arrive  in  this 
country  they  ai'e  never  in  pairs.  But  observe  them  a 
few  weeks  later ;  they  have  all  found  a  mate,  and  are 
employed  in  domestic  duties.  It  is  the  nature  of 
these  birds  to  make  fresh  nests  every  season,  and 
never  in  the  same  position  or  locality.  When  once 
these  birds  have  left  their  nests  and  the  young  can 
forage  for  themselves,  I  firmly  believe  all  connection 
between  the  two  birds  ceases ;  the  nests  are  aban- 
doned, never  to  be  returned  to,  and  the  birds  roam 
about  searching  for  food,  very  often  solitary,  until 
the  time  of  migi-ation  arrives.  Several  of  the  Thrushes 
are  for  the  most  part  solitaiy  in  their  habits,  except 
in  the  breeding  season,  while  others  roam  about  in 
flocks,  very  often  the  males  or  females  being  predo- 
minant, but  as  spring  arrives,  separating  into  pairs 
for  incubation  ;  after  which  the  same  routine  is  again 
repeated.  The  Chaffinch  is  the  same — in  flocks 
during  the  winter,  the  sexes  not  at  all  social ;  but  as 
the  breeding  season  approaches  they  are  again  seen 
in  pairs  for  the  propagation  of  their  species.  The 
Pigeons,  Partridges,  Snipes,  Plovers,  and  Rails,  all 
pair  annually.  In  the  same  manner  the  Buntings, 
Larks,  many  of  the  Finches,  Warblers,  all  pair  in 
their  due  season. 

All  these  birds'  nests,  after  once  serving  their 
purpose,  are  abandoned  for  ever  :  a  walk  round  the 
leafless  hedges  will  confirm  this.  Will  the  frail  little 
Whitethroat  use  yon  abode  again  ?  or  the  Sandpiper 
return  to  the  cavity  which  once  contained  her  eggs  ? 
These  birds  pair  annually,  and  of  course  select  each 


248 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


successive  year  a  fresh  situation  for  the  birthplace  of 
their  young.  In  the  third  place,  we  will  take  that 
class  of  birds  which  never  pair,  or  are  polygamous. 
It  is  only  in  one  division  of  our  present  classification 
that  we  can  trace  those  of  polygamous  habits — in  the 
first  section  of  the  Gallinaceous  birds.  In  this  ar- 
rangement we  can  observe  one  of  the  wisest  provisions 
of  Nature  :  the  flesh  of  all  these  birds  forms  a  whole- 
some and  substantial  article  of  food  for  man,  from 
the  savage  in  his  boundless  wilds  to  the  man  of  civi- 
lization. But  what  can  keep  this  demand  supplied  ? 
Clear-thinking  readers  will  at  once  assert  that  to  keep 
up  this  supply  the  birds  must  multiply  quickly  :  the 
only  way  is  by  polygamy.  It  is  well  known  how 
prolific  all  birds  are  which,  endowed  with  this 
peculiar  instinct,  can  propagate  their  species  equal  to 
the  demand  made  upon  them. 

In  all  birds  which  are  polygamous  the  female  alone 
is  intrusted  with  all  care  of  the  eggs  or  young,  and 
she,  through  a  wise  provision  of  Nature,  is  made 
equal  to  the  emergency.  The  male  shows  little  or  no 
affection  for  them.  From  this  I  would  infer  that  all 
birds  of  the  Gallinaceous  order,  with  few  exceptions, 
are  polygamous. 

I  proceed  now  to  give  exceptions,  which  tend 
greatly  to  perplex  and  bewilder  the  observer  in  the 
study  of  this  interesting  subject.  This  matter  presents 
veiy  little  uniformity  in  its  arrangement.  In  the 
Gallinaceous  order  of  birds  the  first  section  are  poly- 
gamous in  their  habits ;  but  even  to  this  the 
Grouse  form  an  exception,  while  the  latter  section 
of  these  birds  (the  Columbid(x)  are  decidedly 
monogamous. 

The  House  Sparrow  returns  to  its  nesting-site,  and 
is  thus  at  variance  with  its  congeners  of  the  same 
family.  The  tame  duck  is  polygamous  ;  but  observe 
its  wild  representative,  the  Mallard,  which  separate 
into  pairs  for  nidification.  The  Long-tailed  Titmouse 
never  returns  to  its  beautiful  abode,  while  the  Blue 
Titmouse  appears  annually  at  its  hole  in  the  hollow 
tree.  The  Goatsucker  annually  pairs,  while  Swal- 
lows, Swifts,  &c.,  I  believe,  remain  united  for  life. 
The  Rook  I  have  once  obser\'ed  practising  poly- 
gamous propensities,  a  fact  perhaps  never  before 
recorded. 

Are  those  birds  which  pair  for  life  gifted  with  a 
greater  amount  of  affection  than  those  which  pair 
every  season  ?  While  those  who  pair  every  season,  as 
soon  as  the  young  are  sufficiently  matured  to  take 
care  of  themselves,  do  the  ties  which  previously 
united  them  together  entirely  cease  ?  Is  this  peculiar 
instinct  wanting  in  polygamous  birds,  and  why  ?  In 
many  species  of  birds — notably  the  Natatores  and 
Ardeidcc — it  is  difficult  to  say  under  which  of  my 
two  first  divisions  they  fall.  This  subject  only  tends 
to  show  us  upon  what  an  intricate  foundation  the 
.system  of  Nature  is  leased. 

Heeley,  near  Sheffield. 


THE  ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  CROSS- 
FERTILIZATION  IN  THE  DELPHINIUM. 

THE  adaptation  in  most  of  the  DdpJiininDi  to 
bring  about  cross-fertilization  is  perhaps  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  Nature  has  ever  planned.  To 
understand  it  fully,  we  must  know  at  least  some 
of  the  generic  characters,  as  we  all  know  ordinal 
characters  are  too  variable  in  the  peculiar  family 
Raitunctdacecc.  Sepals  5,  petaloid,  unequal,  partially 
cohering  at  their  base ;  the  posterior  one  developed 
into  a  spur.  Petals  2-4,  small  ;  the  two  upper  pro- 
longed into  a  pointed  spur,  enclosed  in  that  of  the 
posterior  sepal ;  the  2  lateral  not  spurred,  or  absent. 
Stamens  numerous.  Carpels  1-5,  distinct,  many- 
ovuled ;  follicular  when  ripe. 


Fig.  181.     Ylowtr  oi Deljihininm.     a,  front  petals;  i,  pistils; 
c,  stamens. 

The  structure  we  are  about  to  refer  to  is  especially 
present  in  D.  elatum  and  D.  fon/iosiim,  and  their 
varieties.  After  the  expansion  of  the  flowers,  and  the 
consequent  secretion  of  nectar  in  the  hornlike  appen- 
dages of  the  two  upper  petals — where,  it  is  evident, 
there  is  sufficient  at  least  for  luncheon  for  a  humble- 
bee, — about  four  or  five  of  the  stamens  stand  erect, 
immediately  under  the  two  front  petals  (fig.  185,  h)  :  in 
this  position  the  anthers  dehisce,  and  expose  the 
pollen.  When  the  anthers  have  thus  discharged  their 
pollen,  they  shrivel  and  die,  while  another  set  of 
stamens  arise,  and  fill  their  positions,  until  all  have 
had  their  turn,  and  all  alike  droop  and  die  (fig.  181,  c, 
and  fig.  182). 

Now,  as  the  two  front  orlateral  petals  (fig.  iSj,c7,  and 
fig.  182,  /;)  serve  as  a  good  landing-place  for  the  bee, 
and  for  which  it  is  admirably  adapted,  being  copiously 
covered  with  long  hairs,  it  is  obvious  enough  that  the 
throat  and  the  under  part  of  the  bee's  body  will 
become  dusted  with  pollen,  exposed  by  the  stamens 
in  their  erect  position,  under  the  landing-stage,  where 
the  bee  rests  while  seeking  the  nectar,  and  frequently 


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


249 


struggling  there  :  as,  for  instance,  if  its  proboscis  is 
too  short  to  reach  the  coveted  nectar.  It  is  most 
amusing  to  watch  a  small  humble-bee  working  at 
Dclphiniuni,  with  a  proboscis  not  long  enough  to 
reach  the  nectar.  With  what  rage  he  flies  from  one 
ilower  to  another,  until  he  finds  out  the  best  method 
of  getting  at  the  nectar  is  to  bore  a  small  hole  at  the 
Imck,  or  thrust  his  proboscis  in  a  hole  made  by  that 
•energetic  little  depredator  the  ant ! 


Fig.   182.     Flower  of  Delphiniitin.      a,  nectar-tube  ;  l>,  front 
petal  ;  c,  pistils. 

Well,     how     is     fertih'zation 

effected  ?  and  in  what  way  does 

the  bee  perform  it  ?     To  answer 

the  question  we  must  seek   the 

position  of  the  stigma.     Let  us 

suppose,    then,    we    examine    a 

0  ,,  flower  where    the    first    lot    of 

183.  184. 

Fig.  183.  Pistil  when  Stamens  are  shedding  then-  pol- 

the  first  anthers  open,  j       ^^      ^^y      ^^^^  ^^^  3^^. 

Fig.  184.  Pistil  when  \b        J/  } 

all  the  anthers  have  mens,   and    we    hnd   the   pistils 

'''"'''po^lfn. '^^''       quite    immature,    with    scarcely 
any  style  developed   (fig.    183)  ; 


iFig.  185.    '^lowtr  oi Delphiniuii!.   «,  upper  petals  (the  front  ones 
removed) ;  b,  five  stamens,  erect  and  shedding  their  pollen. 


and  it  is  not  until  all  the  anthers  have  discharged 
their  pollen  that  the  pistils  arrive  at  maturity,  i.e., 
with  the  style  lengthened  out  so  as  to  bring  the  stigma 
within  easyreach  of  the  pollen  (fig.  184).  Well,  what  is 
the  advantage  gained  by  such  a  delay  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  pistils  ?  It  is  certainly  for  no  other  purpose 
than  that  cross-fertilization  may  be  effected  ;  and,  to 
secure  that  end,  the  stigmas  are  placed  in  precisely 
the  same  position  as  that  previously  held  by  the 
stamens  (fig.  182,  r).  Thus,  the  bee  which  has  become 
dusted  with  pollen  from  newly-expanded  flowers, 
when  visiting  others  which  had  been  longer  open, 
would  carry  the  pollen  to  the  waiting  stigmas  !  It  is 
almost,  if  not  quite,  impossible  for  the  stigmas  to  be 
fertilized  with  the  pollen  of  the  same  flower,  and  this 
will  account  for  the  copious  supply  of  seed  always 
produced  upon  Delphiniums  in  our  gardens.  It  is 
veiy  difficult  to  imagine  a  more  simple,  and  yet  more 
effectual  arrangement  to  bring  about  cross-fertilization ! 

J.  T.  Riches. 


ON   CERTAIN   GENERA  OF  LIVING  FISH 
AND    THEIR   FOSSIL  ALLIES. 

No.  II. 

HAVING  shown  the  close  connection  between  the 
two  genera  of  living  Dipnoids,  let  us  now  con- 
sider the  relations  of  the  living  and  fossil  Ceratodonts. 
No  remains  of  this  genus  have  as  yet  been  found  in  the 
Tertiary  or  Cretaceous  formations,  but  the  fossil  teeth, 
of  which  several  varieties  are  recognizable,  possibly 
the  relics  of  numerous  species,  occur  abundantly  in 
the  Triassic  beds  of  Aust  Cliff",  near  Bristol  ;  in  the 
Stonesfield  Slate  of  Oxford  ;  and  in  the  Muschelkalk 
of  Gemian}'.  They  have  also  been  obtained  from 
strata  now  determined  to  be  of  Triassic  age  at  Maledi, 
South  of  Nagpur,  in  India,  and  associated,  as  in 
Europe,  with  the  reptilian  remains  Hyperodapedon. 
Many  of  these  fossil  teeth  are  much  larger  than  those 
of  the  existing  species  (specimens  of  one  Triassic 
form  measure  over  two  inches  in  length),  and  must 
necessarily  have  belonged  to  individuals  of  a  gigantic 
race.  The  dental  plates  only  have  been  found  fossil, 
but  the  stracture  of  Ceratodus  Fostcri  indicates  that 
they  alone  of  a  like-constructed  animal  would  be 
susceptible  of  preservation  in  sedimentary  strata,  and 
the  classification  of  the  recent  forms  with  those  of  the 
Mesozoic  rocks,  separated  by  so  wide  a  gulf  of 
geological  time,  though  founded  on  the  similarity  of 
the  dentition  alone,  is  the  only  reasonable  one,  as 
there  is  no  evidence  that  the  living  and  fossil  Cerato- 
donts differed  from  each  other.  The  teeth  of  this 
genus  resemble  in  general  shape  and  structure  those 
of  Ctenodns,  -which  are  widely  distributed  in  Carboni- 
ferous strata,  species  occurring  in  America  being 
identical  with  those  of  the  British  rocks  of  contem- 
poraneous   age.      The    dentition    of  the  Devonian 


25° 


HARD  WICKE '  6"    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSIP. 


Dipienis  is  also  closely  related  to  that  of  Ceratodus, 
as  well  as  Lepidosiren. 

Thus  the  history  of  the  Dipnoi,  an  order  before  the 
discovery  of  the  Australian  Ceratodus  only  represented 
by  the  mud-fishes  of  Africa  and   South  America,  is 
carried  back  to  remote  geological  ages,  and  the  four 
living  representatives  at  present  known  are  found  to 
be  the  survivors  of  a  well-defined  and  characteristic 
group  of  fishes  first  appearing  in  the  Devonian  age. 
They  can  be  traced  up  from  Diptenis,  through  the 
Carboniferous  Ctenodits,  to  the  Jurassic  Ceratodonts, 
and  then   the   link   is   lost   sight  of  until  their  lineal 
descendants  reappear  widely  distributed  on  the  surface 
of  the  present  world.     This  is  but  an  illustration  of  the 
truth  that  species  which  have  the  greatest  vertical  range 
in  time  have  also  the  widest  geographical  distribution, 
or  that  a  wide  distribution  proves  the  antiquity  of  the 
genus.     It  is  certainly  a  very  significant  fact  that  the 
group  of  living  fish  most  closely  allied  to  the  amphibian 
reptiles  should  be  represented  in  the  Devonian  rocks 
long  before  the  most  simply  constructed  amphibians 
appeared  on  the  scene  of  life  in  the  swamps  of  the 
Carboniferous   period.     The   Dipnoi,  as   at    present 
constituted,    comprise    the  following  families  :   Pro- 
topterina,  Ceratodontijia,  Ctciiododiptendiv,  and  possibly 
Phaneropleurida.     They   are   closely   allied    to   the 
Ganoids,  and  especially  to  that  sub-order  termed  by 
Prof.  Huxley  the  Crossoptcrygida,  or  "fringe-finned," 
to  be  presently  referred  to.     Dr.  Giinther,  indeed,  pro- 
poses to  unite  the  Dipnoids  with  the  Ganoids,  as  a 
distinct   family ;   but    Prof.    Huxley  considers  that, 
though  nearly  related  to  that  order,  they  yet  possess 
many   important    differences.     It    seems    as   if    the 
Dipnoihoid  also  some  affinities  with  the  group  of  fishes 
known   as  Placoderms,  for  a  most  remarkable  fossil 
fish  has  recently  been  discovered  in  America,   the 
dentition  of  which   is  almost   exactly   like   that   of 
Lipidosiren,  except  that  it  is  about  one  hundred  times 
greater.     The  genus  Dinichthys  was  founded  by  Prof. 
Newberry  for  the  reception  of  this  gigantic  Placodcrni, 
of  which   two    species   at  least    are   recognized  and 
graphically  described  by  him  in  vol.  ii.  of  the  State 
Reports  of  the  Palaeontology  of  Ohio.     They  occur 
in  the  Huron  Shales  of  the  Upper  Devonian  series, 
where  they  seem  to  have  preponderated  in  number, 
fragments  of  over  a  hundred  individuals  having  been 
detected,  while  the  remains  of  other  genera  are  found 
more  rarely  in  the  same  horizon.     The  original  speci- 
mens  of  D.    Terrelli  were   destroyed   by   fire,    but 
fortunately  a'photograph  had  been  secured,  from  which 
the  plates  exhibited  were  taken.     The  jaws  of  this 
"terrible  fish"  were  each  two  feet  long,  the  breadth 
of  the  head  was  about  three  feet,  and  the  cranium  was 
composed  of  massive  bony  plates,  the  solid  bone  of 
the  occipital  portion  being  three  inches  in  thickness. 
The  length  of  the  body  is  estimated  liy  Prof.  Newberry 
to  have  been  about  fifteen  feet,  and  its  diameter  three. 
The  anterior  was  protected  liy  huge  dorsal  and  ventral 
shields,  resembling,  in  general  shape  and  structure. 


those  of  the  genus  Coccosteiis,  rendered  classic  by  the 
pen  of  the  lamented  Hugh  Miller.  Very  little  is 
known  with  regard  to  the  fins,  "  about  six  inches  only 
of  an  apparently  median  fin,  with  well  ossified  rays 
as  thick  as  one's  little  finger,"  having  as  yet  been 
found,  and,  from  the  absence  of  scales,  it  is  conjectured 
that  the  posterior  portion  of  the  body  of  the  animal 
was  covered  %\'ith  a  tough  skin,  as  in  Coccosteiis,  a 
genus  which  possibly  protected  itself,  like  the  modem 
sheat-fish  of  the  Ganges,  by  burrowing  in  the  mud, 
watching  for  prey  with  only  its  mail-clad  parts  exposed. 
The  powerful  dentition  of  Dinichthys  is  suggestive  of 
carnivorous  habits,  and  probably,  being  so  heavily 
weighted  by  the  thick  shields  encasing  its  vital  organs, 
it  would  be  compelled  to  obtain  food  rather  by  cunning 
than  by  swift  pursuit.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that 
the  ponderously  armed  Placoderins'ha.6.  a  comparatively 
short  range  in  time,  remains  of  the  group  being  only 
found  in  the  Silurian  and  Devonian  rocks  :  thus  it 
seems  as  though,  unable  to  cope  in  the  struggle  for 
existence  with  the  lighter  armed  and  more  active  race 
of  ganoids  which  predominated  in  the  Devonian 
waters,  they  died  out,  leaving  no  immediate 
descendants.  The  vertebral  column  in  the  Placoderms 
was  generally  cartilaginous,  a  condition  considered  by 
some  authors  as  indicative  of  a  low  organization  ;  but 
as  the  quantity  of  bone  composing  their  external 
shields  was  much  greater  than  that  forming  the 
internal  skeleton  of  the  existing  types  of  true  bony 
fishes,  and  as  traces  of  ossified  caudal  vertebrise  have 
been  discovered  in  one  genus,  they  ought  rather  to  be 
highly  placed  in  a  systematic  classification.  The 
group  is  considered  by  Professor  Huxley  to  form  a 
link  between  the  Ganoids  and  the  Teleosts,  and  as 
having  most  affinity  with  the  living  plated  Siluroid 
Teleosts  of  the  African  rivers. 

( To  be  continued. ) 

NOTES  ON  MARINE  AQUARIA. 

AS  there  were  two  communications  in  a  recent 
number  of  Scien'CE-Gossip,  relative  to  fresh- 
water aquaria,  perhaps  a  few  notes  concerning  the 
keeping  of  marine  life  Avill  not  be  uninteresting.  I 
have  three  tanks,  made  of  wood,  with  plate  glass 
fronts,  the  two  larger  of  which  have  a  false  bottom  of 
slate  sloping  from  the  front  up  to  the  back,  and 
which  are  so  made  in  order  to  obtain  a  varying  depth 
of  water.  These  contain  respectively  thirteen  and 
nine  gallons,  and  to  efficiently  aerate  such  a  body  of 
water,  I  have  connected  a  double-acting  pair  ot 
bellows  with  a  jDipe  running  along  the  bottom,  and 
which  is  pierced  at  intervals  with  very  small  holes. 
The  pipe  most  suitable  for  the  purpose  is  that  ordi- 
narily used  by  gas-fitters,  and  known  as  "  composition 
pipe,"  but  lest  the  salt  water  should  act  upon  the 
metal  and  prove  injurious,  it  is  advisable  to  varnish 
the  inside  with  a  solution  of  shellac  in  spirits  of  wine. 
This  I  did  thoroughly,  in  addition  to  coverhig  the 
outside  with  pitch,  in  fact,  the  whole  of  the  interior  of 


HARD  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE-G  OSS  IP. 


251 


each  tank,  with  the  exception  of  the  glass  front,  is 
well  pitched  and  covered  with  fragments  of  granite, 
arranged  as  fancy  dictated.     The  slate  bottom  rests 
on  the  floor  in  front,  at  about  four  inches  from  the 
glass,  thus  leaving  a  sort  of  gutter  running  the  whole 
length,  and  which  is  filled  to  a  depth  of  about  one 
and   a  half  inch, — one   part  with   shingle,   and  the 
remainder   with   sand.      It   is    now   more    than   six 
months  since  the  first  two  tanks  were  completed,  and 
they  are  in  better  condition  than  when  freshly  stocked. 
The  water  is  kept  at  the  proper  density  by  means  of 
two  little  specific  gravity  bulbs,  so  weighted,  that  one 
rises  to  the  surface  directly  the  water  becomes  too 
salt  through  evaporation,  and  the  other  sinks  to  the 
bottom   if  too   much   fresh   water   be   added.     The 
larger  of  these  two  tanks  contains  more  than  sixty 
anemones,    principally  the  common  Actinia  meson- 
b}yanthenmm,  although  there  are  several  Actinoloba 
dianthus,  Cereiis  geinmaceiis  and  Sagartia  bellis.    The 
other  inhabitants  consist  of  about  a  dozen  Corynadis, 
as  many  prawns,  a  starlet  starfish,  and  a  few  common 
periwinkles.     Of  course,   the  greatest  difficulty  is  in 
maintaining  the  balance  between  animal  and  vegeta- 
ble life,  and  which  is  so  essential  to  the  well-being  of 
the  former.    Now,  although  there  is  not  sufficient  weed 
to  give   oft"  the   necessaiy    amount    of  oxygen,   yet 
the  loss   is   made  up  by  the   bellows   arrangement, 
which  forces  a   series   of  small  jets  of  air   through 
the  water,  and,  rising  in  the  form  of  minute  bubbles, 
so   give   off   their    oxygen ;    thus  burning   out  any 
impurities.      I    tried     to    keep    a    few    "Opelets" 
{Anthea  cereiis)  and  succeeded  in  retaining  them  in  a 
healthy  condition  for  about  three  months,  when  they 
one  by  one  sickened  and  had  to  be  taken  out  :  these, 
together  with  a  few  prawns  who  died  a  natural  death, 
are  all  the  losses  I  have  sustained  in  my  marine  family, 
whilst  on  the  other  hand   may  be  enumerated  the 
frequent  birth  of  anemones,  of  which  there  are  now  a 
considerable  number.     Several  of  the  prawns  have 
spawned  ;  but  the  young  fry  were  either  cannibalized 
by  their  parents  or  became  food  for  the  anemones. 
In  their  early  days  they  form  most  interesting  micro- 
scopic objects  and  are  easily  preserved  in  glycerine. 
One  peculiarity  noticeable  concerning  them  is,  that 
they  were  invariably  born  in  the  night.     The  larger 
prawns   occasionally    cast    their    skins,     and    when 
fortunate  enough  to  be  a   spectator  of  the  process, 
nothing  is  more  interesting.     For  some  hours  before 
the  event  takes  place  the  prawn  swims  about  apparently 
seeking  some  dark  shelter ;  suddenly  the  poor  thing 
seems  seized  with  a  series  of  rapid  convulsive  jerks, 
the  head  is  drawn  out  of  its  shell  and  the  body  follows 
after  a  few  more  jerks.     The   whole   performance   is 
but   the  work  of  an  instant,  and  then   the   fenceless 
prawn,  with  a  few  languid  flaps  of  its  tail,  steers  to  a 
place  of  shelter,  there  to  await  the  hardening  of  its 
new  skin,  which  is  soon  accomplished,  and  once  more 
it  takes  its  place  among  its   brethren,   to  fight  the 
battle  of  life.  J.  W.  Worster. 


OUR  COMMON  BRITISH  FOSSILS  AND 
WIIERT:  TO  FIND  THEM. 

No.   VI. 

By  J.  E.  Taylor,  F.G.S.,  &c. 

HAVING  given  the  general  zoological  structures 
and  natural  history  habits  of  the  Eiuriniks 
both  recent  and  fossil  (see  June  No.),  let  us  now  turn 
to  their  occurrence  in  the  various  formations.  They 
are  by  far  the  most  abundant  in  the  Primary  rocks, 
although  they  range  upwards  into  the  Secondary  strata, 
and  frequently  occur  there  in  very  large  numbers, 
But  their  distribution  in  the  Primary  rocks  is  more 
general  and  abundant,  and  the  types,  or  generic  forms, 
are  more  numerous  than  we  find  them  in  the 
Secondary  strata.  Indeed  many  of  the  limestones  oi 
the  Silurian,  Devonian,  and  especially  of  the 
Carboniferous  formations,  are  chiefly  built  up  of 
encrinital  remains.  As  limestones  are  always  indicative 
of  what  sailors  call  "blue  water  "—that  is,  water 
free  from  any  muddy  sediment  and  perfectly  clear, 
it  follows  that  such  conditions  must  have  favoured  the 
growth  of  Encnnites.  In  this  respect  they  were 
nearly  related  to  the  habits  of  reef-building  corals,  to 
whom  muddy  water  is  an  abomination  and  sure  death. 
A  sudden  surcharge  of  sea  water  with  mud  brought 
down  by  rivers  will  almost  immediately  kill  oft 
millions  of  living  coral  polypes.  And  from  what  we 
learn  of  the  stony  record,  the  same  thing  happened  in 
Geological  times  to  the  immense  groves  of  Encrinites 
which  sometimes  for  square  miles  together  covered  the 
bottoms  of  the  seas.  In  the  clay  bands  which  are 
often  intercalated  in  the  Silurian  and  other  limestones, 
we  have  frequent  geological  evidence  of  how  large 
numbers  of  young  Encrinites  were  killed  by  the 
muddied  water,  and  eventually  buried  in  the  muddy 
sediments  which  had  first  destroyed  them.  The  same 
is  often  abundantly  true  of  the  fine  clayey  shales  of 
the  Yoredale  beds  of  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire, 
where  entire  specimens,  stems,  heads,  and  fingers,  of 
frail  but  lengthy-stalked  Encrinites  are  to  be  dis- 
entombed in  the  most  perfect  condition.  The  best 
place  we  know  of,  where  these  Encrinital  remains  are 
to  be  found  in  "the  Yoredale  series,  may  easily  be 
discovered  by  following  the  bed  of  the  river  from 
Hebden  Bridge,  in  Yorkshire,  towards  Higher  Green 
Wood.  The  Yoredale  shales  crop  out  in  cleanly  cut 
sections,  owing  to  the  river  frequently  denuding  them 
along  the  lines  of  natural  joints.  The  geological 
student  will  there  find,  strewn  about,  huge  cubical 
blocks  of  thin  dark  shale,  crowded  with  fossils,  such 
as  Goniafites,  Orthoceratites,  Nautili,  and  Encrinital 
remains.  He  can  while  away  many  a  i^leasant  hour 
in  these  secluded  but  exceedingly  picturesque  places, 
with  the  murmur  of  the  stream  playing  somnolent 
music  in  his  ears,  and  the  most  picturesque  hilly 
scenery  ready  to  greet  his  eyes,  whenever  he  thinks 
proper   to    turn    them    away    from    the    absorbing 


252 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  GOSSIP. 


employment  of  laying  open,  layer  after  layer,  like  the 
pages  of  a  book,  the  thin  laminae  of  the  shale  blocks 
he  is  working  upon.  They  are  verily  written  ' '  within 
and  without,"  and  the  iron  sulphite  into  which  nearly 
all  the  organic  remains  of  these  beds  have  been  con- 
verted, looks  as  if  they  had  been  electrotyped  on  the 
surfaces  of  the  black  shales. 


Fig.  i86.  K&a.A  oi  Ichthyo- 
crinns,  an  American  Silu- 
rian genus  of  Crinoids. 


Fig.  187.  Head  o{  Eucalypto- 
cn'inis,  a  De^■onian  Encri- 
nite. 


Fig.  188.  Actiiwcriinis 
trincoittadactylns,  a' 
Carboniferous  genus. 


Fig.  1S9.   Head  of 
Taxocri/uts 
(Devonian). 


of  natural  casts,  nobody  will  deny  their  abundance 
or  beauty.  We  have  here  seen  slabs  of  si.\  feet  in 
length  completely  crowded  with  these  Encrinites,  roots, 
stems,  and  heads,  just  as  they  grew,  looking  to  all  the 
world  like  a  fossil  tulip-bed  ! 

Again,  what  geological  student  who  has  made  a 
pilgrimage  through  the  Peak  district  of  Derbyshire, 
has  not   had  his  attention  called  to  the  ' '  Encrinital 


Al  Bradford,  near  Bath,  we  have  numerous 
Encrinites  occurring  in  clayey  rocks,  instead  of  in 
limestone,  their  usual  storehouse.  This  clay  (60  feet 
thick)  is  in  the  Oolitic  formation,  and  proves  exactly 
the  same  conclusion  as  we  have  drawn  from  the  En- 
crinites buried  in  the  Primary  rocks,  namely  that  muddy 
sediments  always  kill  them  off  and  bury  them  where 
they  are.  In  the  hard  slates  (formerly  shales)  of  the 
Upper  Silurian  formation,  about  a  couple  of  miles  from 
Llangollen,  in  North  Wales,  the  student  may  find  some 
beautiful  specimens  of  the  characteristic  Upper  Silu- 
rian Encrinite  known  v&  Actitwcriniis  pttlchcr.  Well 
does  it  deserve  its  specific  name,  for  no  Encrinite 
exceeds  it  in  gracefulness  of  shape.  At  the  slate 
quarries  visible  on  the  hill  side,  as  the  reader  walks 
towards  Val  Crucis  Abbey,  he  may  see  abundance 
of  these  fossil  Encrinites,  and  although  all  the  structure 
of  the  fossils  has  been  completely  altered  since  they 
were  alive,  and  they  are  now  really  in  the  condition 


Fig.  191.  Flatycrinus  tyi^hi' 
tidactyhiS  (carb.  limestone). 


Fig.  192.   Head  oi Ac- 

tinocrimts  cuspidatiis 

(carb.  limestone). 


Fig.  190.   Clyptocritiiis  (Silurian). 


Fig,  193.  Head  of 
Rhodocrinns. 


Fig.  194.  Lower  part  of  stem 
of  Encrinite,  showing  mode 
of  attachment  to  sea-bottom. 


Fig.  195.  Cufrcssocrbncs. 


limestone,"  as  everybody  calls  the  rock,  which  is  sO' 
completely  filled  or  rather  made  up  of  Encrinite  stems 
that wesometimes find  nothingelse ?  "Screw  Stones," 
the  county  folk  call  them — that  name  being  given  in 
reality  to  those  siliceous  casts  of  Encrinital  stems 
which  occur  abundantly  in  the  Chert  bands,  where 
the  original  limy  matter  of  the  ossicles  (as  the  indivi- 
dual joints  of  the  stems  are  called)  has  been  dissolved. 


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


253 


away,  leaving  only  thin  plates  of  flinty  material,  such 
as  was  deposited  between  the  joints,  so  arranged 
around  the  filled-up  hollow,  or  alimentary  canal  which 
ran  down  the  whole  length  of  the  stem,  as  to  give  the 
appearance  of  the  screwed  end  of  a  bolt.  For  mile 
after  mile,  the  geologist  may  walk  along  the  Derby- 
shire mountain  roads,  and  find  the  stone  walls  on  either 
hand  composed  of  nothing  else  but  Encrinital  remains. 
Sometimes  the  rock  containing  them  is  very  hard,  and 
then  it  will  be  worked  as  marble,  which,  when  polished, 


splendid  relief  from  the  jet-black  stone  in  which 
they  are  imbedded.  The  stones  of  the  mountain 
roads  are  usually  picked  off  the  surface,  where 
the  limestone  rocks  have  been  most  weathered. 
And,  as  the  structure  of  most  fossils  imbedded  in 
limestones  is  such  that  they  are  harder  than  the 
limestone  itself,  it  follows  that  when  surface  weather- 
ing has  gone  on  for  some  time,  the  fossils  will 
stand  out  in  relief.  Millions  of  Encrinite  stems  may 
be   found   thus   dispersed  over  the   surfaces   of  the 


Fig.  196.   Woodocriints  macrodaciylus. 

will  be  used  for  mantel-pieces.  Many  of  my  readers 
must  be  acquainted  with  this  polished  grey  marble, 
full  of  all  sorts  of  objects,  but  especially  of  these 
Encrinite  stems,  cut 
across,  lengthwise,  or 
at  all  kinds  of  angles, 
so  that  the  appear- 
ance varies  with  each 
individual  fossil. 
When  the  limy  matrix 
is  quite  black  (as  it  is 
at  Ashford,near  Bake- 
well),  the  marble  is  all 
the  more  valuable  for 
economic  purposes, 
for  then  the  white 
fossils    stand     out    in       Fig.  197.   Head  of  Poteriocrhms. 


Fi^.  198.     Stem  of  Encrinite,  most  abundant  in  Carb.   Lime- 
stone {Potcriocrinns  crassus). 

Carboniferous  limestone  whose  fragments  are  used 
for  wall-building.  In  Clithero,  Lancashire,  at  a  small 
elevation  known  as  Salt  Hill,  the  rock  is  also  built  up 
of  Encrinite  stems.  In  this  case,  however,  the  fossils 
are  loose  and  incoherent,  stems  and  ossicles  lying 
together  almost  uncemented  by  any  matrix,  or  by  one 
which  speedily  weathers  and  liberates  the  fossils.  The 
consequence  is  that  joints  and  short  stems  of  Encrinites 
are  so  loose  and  abundant,  that  they  are  procured  as  a 
kind  of  limy  gravel  to  mend  or  make  garden  paths 
with  ! 

Some  of  these  abundant]. Encrinite  stems  in  Derby- 
shire are  often  more  than  one  inch  in  diameter.  This 
species,  known  as  Potcriocrir.iis  crassits,  was  by  far  the 
most  wide-spread  and  abundant  of  all  the  Carboni- 
ferous Crinoids.  The  head,  or  body  of  the  Encrinite, 
was  tapering,  and  in  this  respect  it  resembled  the 


254 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  ■  G  OS  SI  P. 


singular  little  Rhizocrimis  lofotensis  brought  up 
from  the  bottom  of  the  North  Sea,  in  the  living  state, 
by  Messrs.  Carpenter  and  Wyville  Thomson,  during 
one  of  their  earlier  dredging  expeditions.  This 
Rhizocrimis  is  one  of  the  last  survivors  of  a  once 
cosmopolitan  race  of  animals,  now  all  but  extinct, 
whose  functions  seem  to  be  usurped  by  members  of 
the  Sea-urchin  family.  Stems,  and  sometimes  small 
heads,  and  the  joints  of  the  arms  of  an  Encrinite 
nearly  allied  to  the  living  Rhizocrimis,  and  almost  as 
small  as  it,  are  frequently  found  in  the  Chalk,  and 
especially  on  the  surfaces  of  the  flint  nodules  imbed- 
ded in  the  chalk,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Norwich. 

Glyptocriniis  basalis  is  common  almost  everywhere 
in  the  Silurian  rocks,  but  especially  so  in  those  of 
Wales.  At  Myndd  Fronfrys,  about  two  or  three 
miles  from  Llangollen,  large  numbers  of  the  remains 
of  this  fossil  may  be  found,  as  indeed  may  those  of 
other  common  Silurian  Crinoids.  The  generic  name 
of  Glyptocriniis  (signifying  "sculptured")  is  in  allusion 
to  the  highly  ornamented  basal  plates  of  the  body  or 
pelvis.  Cfofalocrimis  has  the  first  part  of  its  name  de- 
rived from  a  Greek  word  signifying  a  "child's  rattle," 
on  account  of  its  peculiar  shape  and  appearance.  The 
arms  commence  at  the  top  of  the  body,  and  as  the  joints 
or  ossicles  are  fastened  to  each  other  sidewise,  as  well 
as  vertically,  the  arms  have  a  subdivision  resembling 
the  meshes  of  a  net,  or  the  basket-work  of  a  child's 
penny  rattle.  When  portions  of  these  arms  are 
found,  as  they  frequently  are,  on  the  surfaces  of  the 
Wenlock  and  Dudley  limestones,  they  look  like 
fossil  Polyzoa  or  "Sea-mats,"  and  are  frequently  mis- 
taken by  young  geological  students  for  such.  Another 
Silurian  genus  of  Encrinites,  called  Anthocrimis  from 
its  flower-likea  ppearance,  has  its  arms  subdivided, 
something  after  the  fashion  of  those  of  the  Cro- 
talocrimis. 

Periechocrim/s,  Rhodocrimts,  Taxocrimis,  and 
Poteriocriniis  are  other  common  Silurian  genera, 
nearly  always  found  in  the  various  limestones  of  that 
formation.  Rhodocriniis,  or  the  "  Rose  Encrinite," 
ranges  upwards  in  the  Primary  rocks  to  the  Carboni- 
ferous limestone,  in  which  it  is  found  in  Lancashire. 
The  joints  of  its  column  may  be  known  by  the  five- 
sided  hole  running  through  the  middle.  On  examin- 
ing the  weathered  surfaces  of  the  Silurian  limestones 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Wenlock  or  Dudley,  the 
student  will  often  find  splendid,  sometimes  perfect, 
specimens  of  one  or  another  of  the  above-mentioned 
Crinoids.  Glyptocrimts  appears  to  be  most  abundant 
in  the  Caradoc  beds,  and  may  be  found  wherever 
they  are  well  exposed. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Newton  Abbott,  Torquay, 
and  elsewhere,  where  the  Devonian  limestones  crop 
out,  remains  of  Encrinites  peculiar  to  this  formation 
in  tlieir  specific  cliaracter,  may  be  found,  although  not 
abundantly.  It  would  seem  as  if  corals,  having 
pretty  much  the  same  marine  habits  as  Encrinites, 
competed  with  them.     Hence,   as  a  rule,  wherever 


fossil  corals  are  very  abundant,  Encrinites  are  not 
so ;  and  contrariwise.  This  is  markedly  the  case  with 
the  Devonian  limestones  of  England,  where  fossil  co- 
rals are  very  abundant,  and  Encrinites  comparatively 
rare,  except  in  localities.  In  the  Eifel  Mountains, 
the  Crinoid  family  is  better  represented.  One  of 
the  few  characteristic  genera  is  Czipressocrim/s,  or 
"Cypress"  Encrinite  ;  Haplocrimis  is  another.  Platy- 
crimis,  a  genus  very  abundant  in  the  Carboniferous 
limestone,  makes  its  first  appearance  in  the  Devonian 
strata.  Its  stem  is  naturally  flattened  or  lenticular, 
instead  of  being  round,  as  is  usually  the  case  with 
Palaeozoic  Crinoids.  The  former  part  of  its  generic 
name  signifies  "breadth,"  and  is  given  to  it  on 
account  of  the  basal  and  radial  plates  of  the  body 
being  unusually  broad  in  comparison  with  those  of 
other  Encrinites. 

The  Carboniferous  limestone  is  undoubtedly  the 
metropolis  of  the  Crinoids.  During  its  deposition  in 
Europe,  the  number  of  genera  and  species  reached 
its  maximum.  They  were  never  so  numerous  before  ; 
they  have  gradually  been  dwindling  away  ever  since, 
until  our  own  epoch  would  seem  to  be  that  when  their 
final  extinction  would  occur.  Besides  Rhodocrimis, 
Platycrinus,  and  Poteriocrinus  (already  referred  to), 
we  have  the  remains  of  such  genera  as  Actinocrinus, 
Cyathocrimis,  Gilbertocrimis,  Taxocrimis,  Woodocrimis, 
&c.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Clithe- 
roe,  Lancashire,  we  get  limestone  seams  composed  of 
heads  of  Encrinites,  just  as  elsewhere  we  get  beds 
formed  of  their  stems  and  arms.  Cyathocrimis, 
Actinocrinus,  Platycrinus,  and  PoteriooiJiiis  are  the 
commonest  of  Carboniferous  genera,  the  latter  being 
profusely  abundant  in  Ireland  and  Scotland,  as  well  as 
in  every  part  of  England  where  the  Mountain  or  Car- 
boniferous limestone  appears.  Actinocrinus  is  an 
abundant  fossil  in  places;  its  name  of  "radiated" 
Encrinite  being  due  to  the  thorn-like  side-arms, 
which  project,  at  irregular  distances,  from  the  main 
column.  IFoodocrimis  was  named  after  Mr.  Edward 
Wood,  of  Richmond,  in  Yorkshire,  its  original  dis- 
coverer. Although  not  a  very  widely-distributed 
fossil,  it  occurs  in  large  quantities  and  in  great  per- 
fection in  the  Carboniferous  limestone  at  Richmond, 
whence  most  of  the  finest  specimens  to  be  seen  in 

j  private  and  public  collections  have  been  obtained ; 
thanks  to  the  generosity  of  Mr.  Wood,  who  worked  a 
small  quarry  for  the  sole  purpose  of  obtaining 
specimens. 

The  Secondary  Encrinites  are  mainly  distinguished 
from  those  of  the  Primary  rocks  by  the  fact  that  the 

'  grooves  in  the  arms  are  not  arched  over,  but  are  con- 
tinued over  the  central  or  upper  surfaces.  In  Eng- 
land, the  only  member  of  the  New  Red  Sandstone 
which  yields  fossil  Encrinites — the  Muschelkalk — is 
absent.  In  Germany,  especially  in  the  hilly  country 
about  Jena,  where  the  Muschelkalk  limestone  crops 
out,  the  Avell-known  "Lily  Encrinite"  {Encrimis 
inoniliformis),   (fig.  Ii8),   abounds.      In  our  Liassic 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSIF. 


255 


and  Oolitic  rocks,  Crinoids  are  sometimes  very  com- 
mon. This  is  notably  the  case  in  the  shales  of  the 
Lias  about  Whitby  and  at  Lyme  Regis,  where  several 
species  of  the  beautiful  Pcntacrinus  occur  profusely. 
The  heads  and  the  wonderfully  complex  arms,  which 
must  have  expanded  like  a  living  net  when  the  animals 
were  alive,  are  preserved  in  the  greatest  perfection, 
and  are  frequently  converted  into  iron  pyrites.  The 
joints  of  the  stems  have  long  been  known  under  the 
name  of  "St.  Cuthbert's  Beads,"  and  as  such,  Sir 
Walter  Scott  alludes  to  them  in  his  "Marmion." 
In  the  Oolite  we  have  such  genera  as  UliUerocriinis 
and  Apiocriniis,  the  latter  perhaps  better  known  as 
the  "Pear  Encrinite."  In  the  Bradford  clay,  near 
Bath,  the  thick  seam  swarms  with  joints  and  detached 
plates  of  the  body,  so  that  the  student  may  here  ob- 
tain material  enough  to  exercise  his  ingenuity  in 
reconstructing  afresh  the  entire  organism.  The 
Apiocrinites  were  usually  fixed  to  some  hard  body  by 
means  of  the  base  of  the  column  being  spread  out, 
something  after  the  way  in  which  such  limy  sea- 
weeds as  the  Corallina  officinalis  attach  themselves  to 
the  sea-bed. 

Species  of  Crinoids  belonging  to  the  genus  Bour- 
getocriims  (allied  to  the  living  Rhizocrinus)  occur 
scantily  in  the  Chalk.  In  some  places  in  the  London 
clay,  as  at  Witham,  in  Essex,  we  get  joints  of 
Encrinites  allied  to  the  rentacriniies  now  common  in 
West  Indian  seas.  We  have  already  seen  the  relation- 
ship -which  the  Crinoids  bear  to  the  Star-fishes, 
through  such  forms  as  Euryale  and  Coinatula.  In 
like  manner  they  are  related  to  the  Sea-urchins, 
through  such  fossil  forms  as  the  Saccosoma  of  the 
Oolite,  and  the  Marsiipites  of  the  Chalk.  To  these 
we  shall  refer  at  greater  length  when  we  come  to  treat 
on  fossil  Echini. 


MICROSCOPY. 

The  late  Dr.  Henry  Lawson. — Many  micro- 
scopists  at  home  and  abroad  will  be  saddened  to  hear 
of  the  sudden  death,  at  an  early  age,  of  Dr.  Henry 
Lawson,  editor  of  the  Monthly  Microscopical  Journal. 
He  was  author  and  editor  of  several  well-known 
works,  and  up  to  the  end  of  last  year  was  editor  of 
the  Popular  Science  Review. 

Cleaning  Spoilt  Slides. — In  the  June  number 
of  SciENCE-Gossip'for  this  year,  is  a  short  article  on 
"Cleaning  Microscopic  Slides,"  by  W.  M.  Paterson, 
in  which  he  advises  the  use  of  sulphuric  acid.  Now 
although  I  doubt  not  that  his  way  may  be  veiy 
effectual,  yet  is  there  not  a  degree  of  danger  and  in- 
convenience arising  from  the  use  of  this  acid,  especi- 
ally if  heated  in  large  quantities  ?  I  therefore  pro- 
pose to  give  my  experience  in  the  following  directions, 
which  will  I  believe,  if  carried  out,  insure  success 
to  any  one  who  may  try  it.     Using  up  old  slides  at 


least  saves  money  if  nothing  else.     In  the  first  place, 
get  a  large  earthenware  pipkin,   costing  2jd.   (this 
when  bought  may  seem  rather  too  big,  and  it  will 
therefore  be  best  to  wait  till  a  quantity  of  slides  have 
accumulated— say  five   or  six  dozen),   however,   the 
size  is  of  no  great  consequence.   Next,  having  placed 
the  slides  therein,  pour  in  cold  water   till  it   rather 
more  than  covers  them.      I  say  cold,  because  there 
can  be  no  danger  then  of  their  cracking.      Put  in  a 
piece  of  yellow  soap  about  the  size  of  a  walnut — 
though  of  course  the  size  depends  on  the  quantity  of 
slides.   Place  this  over  a  fire, — a  range  is  best  if  it  can 
be  had  ;  it  may  now  be  left  to  boil  for  three  hours, 
occasionally  stirring  with  a  piece  of  stick,  and  adding 
water  when  necessaiy,  i.e.  when  there  is  not  enough 
of  the  soapy  solution  to  cover  the  slides.     They  may 
now  be  taken  off  and  tipped  into  another  vessel  con^ 
taining   warm  water,   when    the    slides    should    be 
scraped  with  an  old  knife,  the  blade  of  which  should 
be  made  soft  to  prevent  scratching  the  glass.     If  the 
first  boiling  has  been  sufficient,  the  balsam  will  come 
off  almost  by"  itself,    and  the  varnish,    &c.,    will  be 
greatly   loosened.     If  possible,  they  should  now  be 
put  back   into   the   pipkin,   clean    warm    water  and 
soap  added,  and  left  to  boil  for  another  three  or  at 
least  two  hours  ;  it  will  do  them  no  harm,  and  will 
more  thoroughly  cleanse  them.     Again  tip  them  out, 
waiting  till  they  have  got  cooler,  when  they  must  be 
rinsed  in  clean  water  two  or  three   times,  and  wiped 
quite  dry.     I  have  cleaned  seven  dozen  in  this  way, 
and  have  found  it  answer  well.     Of  course  there  may 
be  one  or  two   scratched  or  otherwise  spoilt,    but 
could    they    not  be    used    for    opaque    objects  ? — 
E.  W.  IF.,  Lcwishain. 

Borough  of  Hackney  Microscopical  and 
Natural  History  Society. — At  the  last  meeting, 
held  October  and.  Dr.  R.  C.  Kibbler  gave  a  valu- 
able paper  on  the  ", Anatomy  of  Insects,"  the  first 
of  a  series,  beginning  with  the  External  Anatomy. 
It  was  illustrated  with  some  beautifully  executed 
diagrams.  Six  new  members  were  balloted  for  and 
elected,  and  five  nominations  taken.  At  the  last  ex- 
cursion of  the  Society  to  Epping  Forest,  Wood- 
street  Station,  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  secure 
Plumatella  rcpcns.  I  am  informed  that  it  has  never 
been  taken  there  before. — Collis  WillmoU. 

A  One-armed  Hydroid. — M.  Mereschkowksy 
has  described  a  remarkable  form  of  polyp  found  in 
the  White  Sea,  adhering  to  the  shell  of  Tellina 
solidula,  and  which  is  remarkable  for  the  extra- 
ordinary length  of  its  single  tentacle.  He  has  called 
it  by  the  generic  name  of  Monobrachiu7n, 

Raphides. — "  E.  W.  W.,  Lewisham,"  willfind.the 
following  a  good  plan  for  mounting  plant  crystals 
ill  situ,  and  he  will  at  the  same  time  be  able  to  ob- 
tain the  tissues  in  a  transparent  state.  If  the  object 
to  be  mounted  should  contain  cJilorophyll,  such  as  a 


=56 


HARD  WICKE 'S    SCIENCE-  GOSSIP. 


leaf,  sepal,  iSzc,  boil  it  for  two  or  three  minutes  in  a 
solution  of  caustic  potass,  then  let  it  soak  for  a  short 
time  in  cold  water,  after  which  place  on  a  slide  and 
draw  off  superfluous  water  with  a  pipette,  pour  on 
the  object  two  or  three  drops  of  glycerine  jelly,  and 
warm  it  gently  over  a  spirit-lamp,  so  as  to  allow  the 
jelly  to  flow  under  the  object ;  then  put  on  the  cover 
and  fasten  down  with  a  wire  clip ;  and  to  remove  air- 
bubbles  hold  the  slide  over  the  flame  of  a  spirit-lamp 
until  the  jelly  boils :  when  cold,  clean  off  the  slide  and 
finish  as  usual.  Transparent  objects  do  not  i^equire 
boiling  in  caustic  potass.  To  mount  the  crystals  in 
rhubarb  I  should  prefer  to  make  a  thin  section  in  a 
section-cutter,  omit  the  boiling  process  and  proceed 
as  above.  These  crystals  [i.e.  in  the  rhubarb),  are 
SpJucr aphides,  and  should  not  be  confounded  with 
Raphides  ;  needle-shaped  bodies  usually  occurring  in 
bundles,  and  differing  perhaps  as  much  in  chemical 
composition  as  they  certainly  do  in  value  as  a 
character  in  systematic  botany.  —  .5".  Baker, 
Chichester. 

ZOOLOGY. 

Chameleon-like  Changes  in  the  Frog. — 
On  the  7th  October  I  fed  my  pet  frog  Paul  with  a 
few  choice  worms,  finishing  off  with  a  plump  blue- 
bottle fly.  I  noticed  at  the  time  he  was  of  a  beau- 
tiful lemon-colour,  with  drab  spots  and  markings. 
I  may  mention  that,  after  a  long  search,  I  discovered 
him  in  a  secluded  spot  in  the  vivarium.  After  par- 
taking of  his  repast,  he  indulged  in  a  bath.  "Within 
the  hour  I  again  visited  Paul ;  he  was  then  of  a  dark 
drab  colour,  or  nearly  black.  I  have  frequently  no- 
ticed this  change  of  colour,  but  not  so  decided  and 
in  such  a  short  space  of  time  as  in  this  instance. 
Paul  has  been  with  us  now  over  six  years.  Is  this 
sudden  change  commonly  known  ?  I  have  not  read 
works  on  the  frog  (St.  George  Mivart's,  for  instance). 
If  the  above  is  of  sufficient  interest  for  your  columns, 
oblige  by  recording  it. — J.  J.  M. 

Plants,  &c.,  for  Reptile  Vivaria.— In  answer 
to  W.  H.  Groser,  I  shall  be  happy  to  give  my  ex- 
perience, having  kept  reptiles  many  years.  In  the 
first  place,  my  vivarium  is  an  ordinary  fern-case, 
34  in.  long,  20  in.  deep,  18  in.  wide,  with  a  zinc  trough 
at  the  bottom,  1 1  in.  deep,  filled  with  peat-mould ; 
in  the  centre  a  water-tank,  which  may  be  formed  out 
of  a  variety  of  articles ;  for  instance,  a  common  gar- 
den pan,  lined  with  thin  cement  or  well  painted 
outside,  simply  to  keep  the  water  from  weeping 
through ;  a  glass  fern-dish,  or,  what  I  consider  has 
a  better  effect,  I  have  an  ornamental  terra-cotta  pan, 
12  in.  across,  and  about  3  in.  deep,  a  small  rustic 
ruin  in  the  middle,  the  top  of  which  is  a  recess  for  a 
small  fern.  As  regards  plants,  I  consider  that  ferns 
are  decidedly  best,  as  there  are  so  many  beautiful 
forms  in  the  commoner  sorts ;  for  instance,  Lastrea 


Filix-mas,  Filix-fccniitia,  P.  angidare,  S.  vulgarc, 
B.  spicant,  and  many  others,  also  many  mosses  ; 
and  one  great  advantage  is,  should  any  of  your  plants 
begin  to  look  sickly,  you  can  replace  them,  the  only 
cost  being  a  pleasurable  afternoon's  walk  in  the 
country  lanes,  it  being  a  very  poor  locality  where 
they  cannot  all  be  found.  I  generally  trim  up  mine 
with  a  few  fresh  ferns  once  a  year — not  a  very  hard 
task.  The  inhabitants  of  my  case  are  toads,  frogs, 
salamanders,  lizards,  &c.  For  the  lizards  I  have  a 
piece  of  virgin  cork  placed  in  two  of  the  corners, 
forming  imaginary  castles,  the  entire  furniture  being 
nice  dry  moss,  which  they  seem  to  appreciate  amaz- 
ingly, and  soon  form  their  own  apartments  ;  and  very 
pretty  it  is  to  see  frequently  some  one  or  more  of  my 
reptile  friends  sitting,  or,  if  you  like  it  better,  lying, 
with  their  heads  out  of  the  window  (that  is,  holes 
made  by  cutting  away  bits  of  the  cork).  Lastly,  the 
food  :  of  course,  in  summer  it  is  easily  procured  and 
various — earth-worms,  insects,  maggots — a  fine  food, 
for  those  not  devoured  in  the  maggoty  state  will  in 
a  short  time  emerge  in  the  state  of  large  flies,  called, 
when  I  was  a  boy,  blue-bottles  ;  and  it  is  wonderful 
to  see  the  dexterity  with  which  they  are  caught  by 
the  lizards,  toads,  &c.  But  in  the  winter,  that  is  the 
time — well,  it  is  the  time  when  you  can  with  very 
little  trouble  prove  that  your  reptiles  are  useful  as 
well  as,  to  you,  ornamental,  by  setting  traps  in  the 
kitchen  to  catch  the  cockroaches,  that  is,  supposing 
you  have  any ;  if  not,  most  likely  some  of  your  friends 
or  neighbours  have,  which  no  doubt  they  will  very 
willingly  part  with.  Should  that  fail,  your  baker  will 
provide  you  with  any  amount  for  a  small  cost,  to  re- 
pay the  boy  for  catching  them.  I  should  have  also 
mentioned  that,  after  watering  the  ferns  occasionally, 
place  a  piece  of  glass  over  the  perforated  zinc,  to 
steam  and  enliven  the  plants,  which  the  reptiles  do 
not  at  all  object  to.  —  J.  IF.  Clarke,  Park-place, 
Clifton,  Bristol. 

Popular  Science. — IXxt  Popular  Science  Rez'ietu 
well  maintains  its  character  in  the  last  issue.  Therein 
we  find  capital  articles  by  the  Rev.  W.  S,  Symonds, 
F.G.S.,  on  "  The  Volcanoes  of  the  Haute  Loire  and 
the  Ardeche  "  ;  on  "  Flint  Implements,"  by  Captain 
King  ;  "The  Song  of  the  Cicada,"  by  J.  C.  Galton, 
F.L.S.  ;  "  Caves  and  their  Occupants,"  by  the  Rev. 
J.  M.  Mills,  F.  G.  S. ;  and  one  on  "  Meteorites,  and 
the  Origin  of  Life,"  by  Dr.  W,  Flight. 

Physiological  Tables. — Dr.  E.  B.  Aveling  has 
prepared  and  published  a  set  of  Physiological  Tables, 
whereby  a  student  can  see  at  a  glance  the  various 
facts  in  physiology  arranged  in  systematic  order.  To 
science  teachers  this  little  manual  is  indispensable. 
It  is  published  by  Hamilton,  Adams,  «&  Co. 

Bournemouth  Insects. — During  several  visits 
to  this  watering-place,  I  have  been  struck  with  the 
remarkable  prevalence  of  the  grayling  {H.  Semele), 
certainly  the  commonest  butterfly  of  the  neighbour- 


HARD  WICKE  'S     S  CIENC  E-GO  SSI  P. 


257 


hood.  Almost  any  number  may  be  taken  among  the 
heather,  and  even  in  the  town,  on  a  summer  day. 
C  Editsa  is  also  somewhat  abundant  this  season,  and 
larv?e  of  the  Emperor  moth  [S.  Carpini)  are  common 
on  the  heaths.  Some  years  ago  I  used  to  find  the 
larvae  of  the  Cinnabar  {E.  yacobcEo)  in  large  numbers 
on  the  ragwort  growing  by  the  roadside  ;  but  I  have 
not  since  been  able  to  meet  with  a  single  specimen. 
Is  this  species  known  to  be  thus  capricious  in  its 
appearance  ? —  W.  H.  Grosci: 

Pied  Blackbird. — A  very  fine  pied  variety  of  the 
Blackbird  ( Turdiis  Jiicntla)  was  shot  at  Ryhope,  co. 
Durham,  on  27th  September,  iZ^T.—J.T.T.R., 
Ryhope,  Ditrhain. 

Supposed  Occurrence  of  the  Atlantic  Right 
Whale. — Since  my  article  on  the  Greenland  Whale, 
the  following  paragraph  has  appeared  in  Nature, 
which  renders  it  extremely  probable  that  the  Atlantic 
Right  Whale  still  lingers  in  its  old  haunts  : — "  Mr. 
P.  J.  Van  Beneden  has  made  a  short  communication 
to  the  Academie  Royale  de  Belgique,  published  in 
that  society's  Bulletin,  with  reference  to  a  letter  by 
M.  Capellini,  on  a  true  whale  captured  in  the  Medi- 
terranean Sea,  near  Taranto.  The  Italian  author 
suggests  the  new  specific  name,  Bahzna  tarantina  ; 
but  M.  Van  Beneden  much  more  reasonably  thinks 
it  most  probable  that  it  is  a  stray  specimen  of  B.  bis- 
cayensis.'''  I  hope  something  more  will  be  heard  of 
the  interesting  stranger.  —  T.  SoutJnuell,  Norioich. 


BOTANY. 

Inflorescence  of  Gourds  and  Pumpkins. — 
Gourds  and  Pumpkins  are  an  interesting  group  of 
plants,  whose  large  yellow  flowers,  having  the  appear- 
ance of  golden  vases,  richly  ornament  the  trailing 
stems  in  the  quiet  months  when  summer  is  passing 
into  autumn.  The  solitary  flowers  in  the  axils  of 
their  leaves  form,  what  botanists  call,  the  simplest 
form  of  indefinite  inflorescence.  But  in  every  gourd 
or  pumpkin  plant  that  I  have  noticed,  the  simplicity 
of  its  inflorescence  has  been  interrupted  by  the  appa- 
rent impatience  of  the  fruit-blossoms  to  expand.  The 
male  flowers,  oi",  in  popular  language,  false  blossoms, 
are  in  the  proportion  to  the  fertile  flowers  of  about 
ten  to  one ;  but  the  latter  rigorously  insist  upon  the 
rule  of  "ladies  first  "  in  the  order  of  their  expansion. 
A  fruit-blo5Som  will  open  while  three  or  four  other 
buds  remain  below  it  unexpanded,  and  a  gourd  ac- 
quires considerable  size  before  its  brother  blossom 
next  below  it  will  have  come  to  display  its  two 
stamens  and  a  half.  I  should  not  have  written  about 
this  perhaps  familiar  fact,  but  that  I  have  never  read 
of  it,  which  may  be  in  consequence  of  the  very  limited 
circle  of  my  reading  :  but  there  may  be  among  your 
readers  others  besides  me,  who  have  more  ready 
access  to  plants  themselves  than  to  what  learned  men 
have  written  about  them,  and  who  may  be  able  to 


confirm  what  I  say.  But  how  is  the  phenomenon  to 
be  explained  ?  At  every  node  of  the  stem  are  three 
germs  or  buds.  One  of  these  becomes  a  branch,  one 
a  flower,  and  the  third  is  developed  as  a  tendril.  I 
have  been  sometimes  tempted  to  suppose  that  male 
and  female  flowers  do  not  belong  to  the  same  series 
of  buds,  but  was  obliged  to  give  up  this  hypothesis  on 
observing  that  whenever  two  flowers  appeared  at  the 
same  joint,  they  were  invariably  similai-,  whether 
barren  or  fertile  ;  so  that  the  matter  remains  unex- 
plained, except  by  consideration  of  the  necessity  for 
the  fertile  flowers  to  make  haste,  in  order  to  ripen 
their  fruit  during  the  few  days  of  hot  weather  in  which 
they  have  to  live. — John  Gibbs. 

Erica  Mediterranea. — Mr.  Mason  rather  mis- 
understands my.remarks  in  the  July  number  of  Science- 
Gossip,  as  to  Erica  Mediterranea.  What  I  said  was 
that  I  felt  "  considerable  doubt"  as  to  the  continued 
existence  of  that  plant  on  Urrisbeg,  and  that  it  was 
"  nearly,  if  not  altogether"  extirpated  in  that  station. 
I  am  glad  to  learn  from  Mr.  Mason  that  my  doubts 
were  unfounded,  and  that  this  beautiful  heath  is  still 
to  be  found  at  Roundstone,  though  I  failed  to  find  it. 
I  observe  that  it  has  also  been  seen  recently  by 
Prof.  Balfour  {vide  Proc.  Bot.  Soc.  Edin.).  This 
elegant  heath  appears,  however,  to  be  in  very  small 
quantity  as  compared  with  its  former  abundance. 
Mackey  says,  ^'  eoz'eriiig  a  space  of  three  acres,"  and 
Mr.  Ogilby,  who  gave,  in  the  pages  of  the  Phyto- 
logist,  a  good  account  of  this  plant  at  Urrisbeg,  says 
that  it  occurs  for  more  than  a  mile  along  the  stream. 
Erica  Mediterranea  does  not  seem  to  be  well  known 
to  the  common  people  of  that  region.  The  only  native 
I  met  on  the  hill  was  an  old  man  looking  after  cattle, 
and  he  rather  thought  I  was  a  greenhorn  to  be  looking 
for  heather  in  bloom  so  early  :  he  said  there  would  be 
none  in  flower  until  July.  I  cannot  concur  in  Mr. 
Mason's  advice  to  procure  a  guide.  I  have  never  yet 
employed  one,  and  would  much  rather  miss  my  plant 
than  have  it  shown  to  me  by  a  professional  guide.  I 
spent  another  day  at  Roundstone  in  August  of  the 
present  year,  and  before  breakfast  succeeded  in  finding 
Nais  flexilis  in  "some  plenty.  This  plant  should  have 
been  called /;-«^//w,  as  it  breaks  off"  with  a  slight  touch, 
and  you  usually  get  only  the  upper  portion.  I  also 
found  Adiantwn  Capilliis-  Veneris,  but  in  very  small 
quantity,  and  the  plants  insignificant.  District  VIII, 
is  to  be  credited  with  Elatine  hexandra  and  Carex 
pallescens  :  the  former  grows  sparingly  along  with 
JVais,  and  the  latter  occurs  at  Killery  Harbour,  not 
far  from  Leenane. — S.  A.  Stezvart. 

Fructification  of  Sycamore. — The  large 
quantity  of  Sycamore  fruits  with  more  than  the 
usual  number  of  winged  seeds  that  made  their  ap- 
pearance this  season,  as  noted  by  Mr.  Holland  in  the 
August  number  of  Science-Gossip,  was  also  very 
noticeable  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bristol  ;  but,  so 
far  as  I  observed,  there  were  seldom  more  than  three 


258 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE .  G  OS  SIP. 


or  four  wings  to  the  fruit.  It  may,  perhaps,  suggest 
an  explanation  of  this  phenomenon  that  this  year 
has  been  an  unusually  fruitful  one  for  several  other 
plants.  The  white  Beam-tree  [Pyriis  Aria),  which 
last  year  did  not,  I  believe,  flower  at  all  with  us,  was 
this  season  loaded  with  blossoms.  The  common  Nut, 
the  Hornbeam,  and  also  the  wild  Plum  and  Cherry, 
have  borne  much  above  the  average.  It  is  a  common 
notion  that  a  fruitful  year  is  followed  by  a  certain 
number  of  less  fruitful  ones  in  a  regular  series.  Is 
this  really  the  case  ?  May  not  the  mildness  of  last 
winter  account  for  the  vigorous  growth  of  the  recent 
season  ? —  IVm.  E.  Green. 

Hybrid  Primula. — As  far  as  I  can  judge  from 
his  description,  your  correspondent  B.  W.  Hant's 
"oxlip"  or  "hybrid"  is  a  "common  occurrence," 
but  neither  an  oxlip  nor  a  hybrid.  The  true  Oxlip 
{Primula  elaiior),  according  to  Hooker's  "  Student's 
Flora,"  occurs  in  Suffolk,  Cambridge,  and  Essex; 
differs  from  the  primrose  {Primula  vulgaris)  in  having 
inodorous  flowers,  a  less  inflated  calyx,  and  a  capsule 
longer  than  the  calyx-tube  ;  and  from  hybrids  be- 
tween the  Primrose  and  Cowslip  {Primula  vcris)  in 
having  a  more  downy  calyx,  paler  flowers,  and  the 
mouth  of  the  corolla-tube  wide,  and  without  the 
thickened  folds  seen  in  the  Primrose.  B.  W.  Hant's 
specimen  seems  to  have  been  a  simple  primrose,  but 
it  is  difficult  to  understand  from  his  words,  "the 
oxlip  had  a  large  thick  stalk  and  flower,"  whether  it 
was  a  case  of  "  fasciation  "  or  fusion  of  several  flower- 
stalks,  a  phenomenon  familiar  to  us  in  the  Cockscomb 
{Celosia  crista ta),  in  which  case  several  flowers  would 
be  also  fused,  or  whether  it  was,  as  I  expect,  only  a 
prolongation  of  the  common  flower-stalk  or  peduncle. 
This  last  I  have  often  seen  in  the  Primrose,  wild  and 
in  gardens.  It  must  not  be  wondered  at,  seeing  that 
the  inflorescence  of  the  species  is  as  truly  an  umbel 
as  that  of  the  Cowslip,  the  individual  flower-stalks 
being  only  pedicels.  The  only  difference  in  inflo- 
rescence between  Primrose  and  Cowslip  is  that  the 
umbel  of  the  former  is  usually  sub-sessile,  not  pe- 
duncled.  In  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  primulas  we 
have  further  pedunculation,  producing  the  tier-on-tier 
arrangement  of  the  flowers.— G^.  S.  Boitlger. 

Malvern  Forest  and  Chase.— A  deeply  inter- 
esting little  book  has  just  been  written  by  Mr.  Edwin 
Lees,  F.L.S.,  on  "The  Forest  and  Chase  of  Mal- 
vern, its  Present  and  Ancient  State" — botanical, 
archaeological,  and  historical.  We  have  been  delighted 
with  its  perusal,  and  with  the  accounts  of  the  re- 
markable old  trees  still  to  be  found  within  the  con- 
fines of  the  Chase.  Most  of  these  trees  have  been 
artistically  and  vigorously  sketched  by  Mr.  Lees,  and 
now  illustrate  his  work.  The  pamphlet  is  a  re]irint 
from  the  "  Transactions  of  the  Malvern  Naturalists' 
Field  Club." 

Botanical  Notes  in  the  Neighbourhood 
OF  Cader  Idris. — In  replying  to  the  comments  of 


Dr.  Lees  upon  my  Notes,  I  would  observe:  i. 
Hypericum  ??iontanum ;  this  plant  has  smce  been 
recorded  as  also  found  by  Mr.  Robert  Holland  in 
the  same  locality.  2.  Epilobium  tdragoniun  ;  possibly 
another  species,  but  certainly  not  angiistifoUuin, 
Avhich  grows  plentifully  near  here.  3.  Alliitm 
Ampeloprasiim  J  should  manifestly  have  been  nrsi' 
num,  by  an  oversight.  4.  Drosera  intermedia; 
such  I  still  consider  were  the  plants  found,  as  deter- 
mined  with  the  aid  of  three  authorities,  and  not  the 
larger  anglica.  Most  of  the  two  species  of  Droserce 
I  found  were  from  the  boggy  shores  of  Llyn  Creigenen, 
a  lake  of  moderate  altitude,  although  but  a  short 
distance  removed  from  the  precipitous  face  of  Cader 
Idris.  I  kept,  for  about  six  weeks,  a  number  of 
both  kinds  alive  at  home,  for  observation  with 
Darwin's  work  on  Insectivorous  Plants,  after  which 
time  they  slowly  died.  5.  Aspletihim  septentrionale  ; 
on  the  24th  of  August  I  forwarded  to  Dr.  Lees  three 
pieces  of  this  rare  fern,  in  a  living  state,  which  Pugh 
of  Dolgelly  had  then  sent  me  from  Cader  Idris. 
6.  Saxifraga  nivalis ;  one  specimen  only  is  men- 
tioned, which  fuay  have  been  a  small  form  of  stellaris, 
a  species  it  much  resembles.  7.  Linaria  Cymbalaria  ; 
the  locality  among  the  mountains  was  sufficiently 
wild,  nevertheless  this  plant  may  not  be  truly  indige- 
nces in  this  country.  Babington,  in  his  seventh 
edition,  1874,  is  silent  upon  this  ■p'^mi.- -Horace 
Pearce,  F.L.S. 

Cotoneaster  vulgaris.  —  Mr.  Colebrook,  in 
September  number  of  Science-Gossip  ,says  that  the 
above  plant  is  extinct  on  the  Great  Ormes  Head. 
This  is  not  the  case.  Mr.  Thomas  Shortt,  in  the 
Gardener's  Chronicle,  13th  Januar>',  1877,  says  :  "In 
company  with  a  friend,  a  few  days  back,  I  saw  it 
growing  in  two  distinct  places.  It  is  much  relished 
by  sheep,  which  devour  eveiy  leaf  they  can  obtain, 
which  makes  the  plant  now  difficult  to  find.  There 
is  one  plant  growing  in  the  centre  of  a  Whitethorn 
bush,  very  'healthy.'" — M.  King. 

GEOLOGY. 

American  Palaeontology. — Students  of  Ameri- 
can Palreontology  will  find  the  work  recently  written 
by  Mr.  S.  A.  Miller  on  "American  Palceozoic 
Fossils  "  exceedingly  valuable.  It  contains  a  laboured 
catalogue  of  all  the  genera  and  species,  together  with 
names  of  authors,  dates,  places  of  publication,  groups 
of  rocks  in  which  the  fossils  have  been  found,  and 
the  etymology  of  the  words  employed  in  nomen- 
clature. Prefacing  the  catalogue  of  fossils  is  a  capital 
introductory  chapter  on  the  stratigraphy  of  the 
American  Paleozoic  rocks.  This  work  is  published 
in  London  by  Triibner  &;  Co. 

The  Geology  of  Leicestershire  and  Rutland. 
— We  have  received  a  copy  of  a  short,  Jjut  compact 
and  well- written  brochure  on  the  geology  of  the  above 


HARD  WICKKS     SCIENCE-  G  OSSIF. 


259 


counties,  by  Mr.  W.  J.  Harrison,  F.G.S.,  of  the 
Leicester  Museum  (published  by  Simpkin,  ]Marshall, 
&  Co.).  It  is  a  reprint  from  White's  Gazetteer,  drr., 
of  those  counties.  The  author  gives  us  an  outhne  of 
each  formation,  its  area  and  outcrops,  fossils,  &c.,  in 
the  most  compendious  and,  at  the  same  time,  hicid 
manner.  To  add  to  the  scientific  vahvs  of  this  little 
work,  there  are  twelve  large  photographs  of  the  most 
remarkable  sections,  both  natural  and  those  exposed 
in  quarries.  Geological  students  may  here  see  how 
valuable  an  adjunct  photography  may  become  to 
students  of  field  work.  We  sincerely  congratulate 
Mr.  Harrison  on  the  success  of  his  "  Sketch,"  as  he 
modestly  terms  it. 

"Scepticism  in  Geology." — This  is  the  title 
of  a  clever  little  book,  by  "Verifier,"  published 
by  John  Murray.  The  author  attacks  many  promi- 
nent geological  doctrines,  although  he  seems  to  be 
hardly  aware  that  in  many  cases  he  sets  up  his 
own  skittles  only  for  the  sake  of  knocking  them  down. 
One  of  the  most  direct  attacks  he  makes,  in  which 
we  cannot  for  one  moment  agree  with  him,  is  that 
rivers  never  can  and  never  did  cut  gorges  in  I'ocks. 
This  leads  us  to  believe  that  the  author  has  worked 
very  little  in  the  field,  or  he  would  have  seen  the 
process  for  himself.  The  criticism  of  the  book,  how- 
ever, is  on  the  whole  healthy  and  fair.  It  is  cer- 
tainly able,  and  would  have  been  more  so  had  the 
author  been  a  Jield  instead  of  evidently  a  hook  geo- 
logist. 

The  Origin  of  Mountain  Chains.  —  The 
Editor,  Science-Gossip,  notes  on  p.  236,  "Mr.Malet 
forgets  that  the  entire  region  of  the  Alps  is  folded.'''' 
With  due  deference,  M.  Malet  begs  to  say  he  does 
not  forget  what  he  never  knew.  He  is  fully  aware 
of  present  ideas  of  mountain  formation,  but  the  con- 
traction and  folding  theoiy  has  not  yet  been  proved 
to  be  a  fact— I/.  P.  Malet. 

Fossil  "Glass-rope"  Sponges. — Mr.  Carter 
calls  attention,  in  the  September  number  of  Annals 
and  Magazine  of  Natural  History,  to  the  occurrence 
of  the  remains  of  certain  fossil  sponges  allied  to 
Hyalonenva,  or  the  well-known  recent  ' '  Glass-rope 
Sponge"  in  the  Carboniferous  limestone  of  Dairy, 
Ayrshire. 

Fossil  Lizards. — Prof.  O.  Fraas  has  described 
an  extraordinary  group  of  fossil  lizards,  twenty-four 
in  number,  all  found  beautifully  preserved  in  one 
slab  of  Triassic  sandstone,  at  Heslach,  in  Germany. 
It  has  been  named  Aetosaiirus,  or  "  Eagle  Lizard," 
because  of  certain  bird-like  characters  which  this 
new  genus  presents. 


Notamia  bursaria.  —  Having  found  Notamia 
hiirsaria  at  Hove,  Brighton,  I  should  be  glad  to 
know  if  it  is  still  considered  a  rarity,  and  also  where 
I  can  find  a  later  and  fuller  description  of  it  than  that 
given  in  the  last  edition  of  Johnston's  "  British  Zoo- 
phytes."— Annie  Michael. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

The  Goatsucker  {Caprimulgus  europLcus). — 
There  is  an  interesting  point  in  the  history  of  this 
singular  bird  which  is  not  referred  to  in  the  remarks 
on  p.  149 ;  namely,  that  it  lays  later  than  probably 
any  other  of  our  single-brooded  birds.  White  of 
Selborne  had  eggs  brought  him  on  July  4th,  "one 
of  which  had  been  laid  this  morning,  as  appears 
plainly,  because  there  was  only  one  in  the  nest  the 
:  evening  before  "  ;  and  on  another  occasion  two  were 
'  given  to  him  on  July  14th,  "  full  of  young  and  just 
ready  to  be  hatched."  Four  or  five  years  ago  I 
found  a  couple  as  late  as  the  5th  of  August.  1  w-as 
'  entomologizing  in  Darenth  Wood  when  a  nightjar 
rose  from  a  slight  hollow  among  the  fern  almost  at 
my  feet.  After  a  close  search,  I  discovered  the  eggs 
lying  on  the  bare  ground,  unprotected  by  the  smallest 
vestige  of  a  nest.  They  could  not  have  been  laid 
more  than  four  or  five  days.  These  eggs,  which  I 
have  now  in  my  collection,  are  dissimilar  in  marking, 
but  not  so  strikingly  as  those  described  by  Mr, 
Whistler.  Both  are  beautifully  marbled  with  bluish 
grey  and  yellowish  brown  on  a  white  ground,  and 
one  of  them  has  near  one  end  a  zone  of  pale  brownish 
streaks  and  blotches  :  if  this  were  washed  away,  the 
eggs  would  be  as  nearly  alike  as  possible.  The 
Nightjar  arrives  here  punctually  on  the  1 7th  of  May, 
and  retires  during  September.  I  never  observed  it 
uttering  its  note  on  the  wing,  but  Gilbert  White  says, 
"  I  have  always  found  that  though  sometimes  it  may 
chatter  as  it  flies,  as  I  know  it  does,  yet,  in  general, 
it  utters  its  jarring  note  sitting  on  a  bough"  ;  and  the 
Rev.  F.  O.  Morris  says  it  jars  "at  times  on  the  wing." 
Last  year  I  timed  one  which  had  stationed  itself  in  a 
clump  of  trees  not  far  from  my  garden,  and  I  was 
surprised  to  find  that  the  song  was  begun  almost 
every  evening  with  the  utmost  punctuality.  For 
instance,  on  three  consecutive  evenings  the  jarring 
commenced  precisely  at  8.27,  and  on  the  fourth  at 
8.26,  Occasionally  it  would  be  five  or  ten  minutes 
late,  having  perhaps  overslept  itself,  or  strayed  away 
and  got  lost  among  the  neighbouring  trees.  Is  the 
song  continued  all  the  night  through,  and  if  not,  at 
what  hour  does  it  recommence  in  the  morning  ?  I 
have  heard  the  chattering  half  an  hour  before  day- 
break at  the  end  of  May. — E.  D.  Marquand, 
Brockenhurst. 

Doctrine  of  Evolution, — Your  correspondent 
Dipton  Burn  refers  (p,  167)  to  the  very  common 
mistake  of  attributing  the  doctrine  of  evolution  solely 
to  Mr,  Darwin.  If  readers  of  "The  Origin  of 
Species  "  would  take  the  trouble  to  read  the  historical 
summary  prefixed  to  the  6th  edition  of  works  on  the 
subject,  previous  to  the  first  edition  of  Mr.  Darwin's 
book,  commencing  with  those  of  Lamarck,  perhaps 
the  mistake  would  not  be  so  general, — R.  Egerton. 

Blister-beetle  (p,  166). — I  find  it  stated  in 
Rye's  "British  Beetles"  (p,  171),  that  the  Blister- 
beetle  [Lytta  vesicatoria)  is  occasionally  taken  in  the 
southern  counties,  but  cannot  be  considered  as  truly 
indigenous. — R.  Egerton. 

Exudation  from  Sycamores  (p.  165). — The 
exudation  noticed  by  W,  J,  Horn  is  honey-fall,  or 
honey-dew,  which  became  remarkably  abundant  in 
this  neighbourhood  upon  sycamore,  and,  indeed, 
all  other  trees  during  the  hot  weather  we  had  a  fort- 
night since,  and  at  the  present  time  still  exists  in  very 
large  quantities,  in  spite  of  several  heavy  showers  of 
thunder  rain.  During  the  hot  weather  it  dropped  off  the 
trees  like  rain,  and  if  one  stood  under  a  sycamore-tree  it 


26o 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE -  G OSSIP. 


was  at  the  risk  of  having  one's  clothes  spoiled  by  the 
clammy  shower.  It  is  commonly  supposed  to  be 
secreted  by  aphides,  and  it  is  rather  strange  that  Mr. 
Horn  should  not  have  been  able  to  find  any  of  those 
insects.  Aphides  usually  accompany  the  exudation  of 
honey-dew,  and  in  this  neighbourhood,  if  a  sycamore 
branch  be  shaken,  a  complete  cloud  of  aphides  falls  to 
the  ground. — Robci't  Holland,  Runcorn. 

HousE-SPARKOW  AND  ITS  YouNG.  —  Will  any 
of  your  readers  kindly  inform  me  whether  it  is  usual 
for  the  House-sparrow  to  desert  its  young  ?  I  wit- 
nessed the  following  occurrence  a  few  days  ago. 
Bounding  our  garden  is  an  ivy-covered  wall,  where 
quantities  of  sparrows  build  their  nests  ;  and  the  other 
day  observing  a  young  sparrow  hopping  about  on  the 
grass,  I  imagined  it  had  been  allured  from  the  nest 
by  the  parent  bird,  but  had  not  sufficient  strength  to 
lly  up  again.  It  could  not  feed  itself,  and  towards 
night  we  caged  it,  in  order  to  protect  it  from  the  cats. 
Early  the  following  morning  we  liberated  it,  and  had 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  another  bird  come  and  feed 
it.  It  remained  under  the  tree  until  nighl,  when  we 
placed  it  in  the  cage  again,  and  in  the  morning  put  it 
in  a  bush,  but  the  birds  seemed  to  have  deserted  it. 
During  the  day  many  sparrows  came  under  the  bush 
for  the  crumbs  placed  there,  and  each  time  the  little 
one  fluttered  to  them,  opening  its  mouth  and  chirrup- 
ing, but  not  one  would  feed  it.  Several  times  we 
took  it  up  and  tried  to  give  it  crumbs,  but  the  little 
thing  had  not  sufficient  knowledge  to  take  the  food, 
and  I  could  not  succeed  in  putting  any  into  its  mouth. 
^Ye  moistened  its  beak  with  a  feather  dipped  in  water, 
but  it  was  not  enough  to  sustain  life  ;  the  bird  grew 
hourly  weaker,  and  before  night  it  died.  But  it  was 
piteous  to  see  the  poor  little  thing  beg  repeatedly  for 
food  from  the  other  sparrows,  and  we  could  do 
nothing  for  it.  I  should  be  glad  to  know  if  this  be  a 
solitary  case  or  not. — Louisa  Corrie. 

Cuckoos. — On  the  8th  of  June  my  nephew  took 
me  to  see  two  young  cuckoos  in  separate  nests, 
and  within  30  yards  of  one  another  ;  one  as  large  as 
a  young  jiigeon,  and  nearly  full-feathered  and  still 
l^eing  fed  by  the  Titlark  (or,  as  called  here,  Bute) ; 
ihe  other  was  about  the  size  of  a  sparrow,  but  very 
^itw  feathers  on.  The  nests  were  small,  and  made  of 
dried  grass  (called  fog  here),  and  evidently  a  titlark's. 
The  cuckoos  were  much  too  large  for  the  nests  ;  the 
larger  being  veiy  pugnacious,  striking  with  its  beak 
if  you  put  your  finger  near  it.  They  were  in  a  hay- 
meadow  at  Wall  Hill  Bottom,  Saddleworth.— 
Cliarlcs  BiittaiiJortJi. 

An  Incident  in  the  Life  of  a  Scottish 
Naturalist. — In  Smiles's  "  Life  of  a  Scotch  Natu- 
ralist," I  find  (p.  332)  that  "  Edward  also  discovered 
a  specimen  of  the  Lcplocliniiim  piDictatinn,  which  had 
been  thrown  on  shore  during  a  severe  storm.  It  was 
of  a  most  beautiful  greenish  colour,  variegated  with 
steel-blue.  This  specimen  he  sent  to  Mr.  Alder, 
who  answered  him  in  the  following  letter  : — '  The 
Ascidian  which  you  sent  me  is  a  Leptoclinium,  and 
may  probably  be  a  new  species.  There  are  few  of 
that  genus  with  the  star-shaped  calcareous  crystals 
emliedded  in  them.  The  species  you  have  sent  me 
has  the  star-shaped  crystals,  and  differs  in  colour 
from  any  I  have  seen,  being  of  a  greenish  blue 
colour.  I  put  it  into  water  to  moisten  it  after  it 
came,  and  it  stained  the  water  of  a  blue  colour. 
I  therefore  presume  that  it  would  be  of  that 
colour  when  fresh.'"  As  the  habitat  of  "  some  of 
the  ascidians  is  the  Indian  Ocean,  the  Red  Sea, 
and  the  Mediterranean,"  could  this  have  been  the 
animal  from  which  was  extracted  the  celebrated  Tyrian 


dye,  and  have  become  scarce,  and  thus  the  art  for- 
gotten, through  the  scarceness  caused  by  the  great  de- 
mand ? — B.     [No,  a  species  ol Purpura.  —  Ed.  S.-G.] 

Sick  Cage-Birds. — I  should  feel  much  obliged 
if  any  of  your  readers  could  suggest  a  remedy  for  a 
Paradise  Paraquet  which  has  lost  its  quill  feathers  for 
two  years.  He  is  in  perfect  health,  but  as  fast  as  any 
feathers  grow  they  drop  out  in  a  diseased  state.  This 
merely  refers  to  the  smaller ;  the  long  tail  and  wing 
quills  never  make  any  appearance.  He  is  in  a  large 
aviary  cage,  and  last  summer  was  turned  loose  in  an 
attic  for  several  months.  He  is  fed  on  millet  and 
canary-seed. — C.  I.  M. 

Mistletoe  on  Lime-trees. — There  are  several 
flourishing  branches  of  this  parasite  on  the  fine  Lime- 
trees  in  Sutton  Park,  near  Guildford. —  IV.  R.  Tate, 
Blandford. 

Query  about  a  Flower. — Two  answers  have 
been  given  in  the  July  number  of  Science-Gossip  to 
the  question  asked  by  "A.  H.,"  headed  as  above,  in 
the  number  for  May.  "  G.  S."  thinks  the  plant 
meant  is  Fritillaria  imperialis,  which,  I  think,  can 
hardly  be  the  case,  as  it  is  not,  so  far  as  I  am  aware, 
a  British  plant  at  all.  In  the  case  of  the  Arum, 
which  W.  G.  Horn  suggests,  I  think  it  may  be 
objected  that  the  "tears"  which  flow  from  this  re- 
markable flower  are  not  "heaven-collected,"  and, 
moreover,  the  wind  does  not  appear  to  have  much 
influence  in  producing  them.  Does  it  not  seem 
more  likely  that  the  "tall  flower"  intended  by  the 
poet,  is  the  common  Teasel  [Dipsacus  sylvcstris),  the 
leaves  of  which  are  so  formed  as  to  compose  a  kind 
of  cup  round  the  stem,  which  catches  the  rain,  or, 
in  rainless  weather,  the  dew,  so  that  the  plant  is 
never  without  a  certain  amount  of  moisture,  and,  of 
course,  when  bowed  by  the  wind,  it  scatters  the 
water  on  the  earth  around  it  ? —  C.  B.  M. 

Willows  and  Spontaneous  Combustion. — 
Can  any  of  the  readers  of  Science-Gossip  ex- 
plain the  reason  of  a  curious  fact  mentioned  in  a 
book,  "  English  Forests  and  Forest  Trees  "  (author's 
name  not  given),  published  in  1863,  I  believe,  to  the 
effect  that  the  JViUo^u  is  subject  to  spontaneous 
combustion  ?  It  was  stated  that  a  willow  in  full 
vigour  would  suddenly  smoulder  and  begin  to  con- 
sume away  ;  is  it  occasioned  by  an  accumulation  of 
gases,  which  take  fire  from  various  causes  ?  I  have 
unfortunately  mislaid  an  extract  I  made  of  the  state- 
ment in  cxienso. — E.  Hopkins. 

Gullibility  (or  Pugnacity)  of  Spiders. — • 
Some  naturalists  maintain  that  a  spider,  if  its  web  is 
touched  or  gently  shaken,  will  rush  out  to  seize  the 
supposed  prey,  whilst  others — the  late  Mr.  Rennie 
included — hold  the  contraiy  opinion.  The  following 
incident,  I  think,  speaks  for  the  former  opinion.  Being 
much  annoyed  by  a  Tegenaria,  which  would  persist  in 
attaching  its  web  to  a  burette-stand  in  my  laboratory 
window,  I  unstoppered  a  pint  bottle  of  ammonia, 
and  held  it  close  to  the  web.  The  spider,  instead  of 
decamping  as  I  expected,  charged  the  intruding 
object  with  such  fury  that  it  nearly  fell  into  the  open 
bottle  ;  but,  checking  itself  just  in  time,  and  feeling 
the  influence  of  the  fumes,  it  fled.  Now,  the  neck 
of  a  20  oz.  phial  certainly  bears  no  resemblance  to 
any  insect  or  other  prey  which  the  spider  could  ever 
have  met  with. — J.   W.  Slater. 

A  Predatory  Slug. — Taking  a  twilight  walk  in 
my  garden  after  a  mild,  moist  spring  day,  I  observed, 
as  I  went  along,  the  earthworms  slipping  into  their 
holes  on  either  side  of  the  path.     One  huge  fellow, 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


261 


liowever,  remained  motionless.  On  stooping  down 
to  find  out  the  reason,  I  saw  that  a  large  grey  slug 
had  seized  him  by  the  middle  and  was  holding  him 
fast.  This  proves,  I  think,  that  certain  slugs  are 
•decidedly  predaceous  in  their  habits,  since  there 
were  juicy  young  seedling  plants  all  around  the 
scene  of  action,  upon  which  tha  slimy  aggressor 
.might  have  feasted  if  so  disposed.  It  is  somewhat 
surprising  that  so  wary  and  so  comparatively  swift  a 
creature  as  an  earth-worm  should  allow  itself  to  be 
■seized  by  so  slow-paced  an  enemy.  Whilst  on  the 
■subject  of  slugs  and  snails,  I  may  remark  that  I  have 
often  found  them  feasting  heartily  upon  the  leaves  of 
the  foxglove.  This  is  not  merely  a  good  example  of 
the  specific  character  of  pqisons — what  is  deadly  to 
one  animal  being  innocent  to  others  —  but  may 
deserve  the  consideration  of  persons  who  use  snails 
for  food.— y.  IV.  Slater. 

Brevipennate  Birds. — I  was  reading  over  some 
back  volumes  of  Science-Gossip  the  article  headed 
Brevipennate  Birds.  The  author  says  :  "On  Jan.  8, 
1755,  by  an  order  of  the  vice-chancellor  and  his  co- 
trustees, it  was  ordered  to  be  burnt,  the  head  and 
foot  alone  escaping  destmction."  Will  you  have  the 
kindness  to  inform  me,  through  the  "Notes  and  Query" 
column,  why  this  was  done  ?  You  do  not  get  many 
queries  from  so  far,  I  suppose,  but  I  think  Science- 
Gossip  is  splendid,  and  a  fellow-botanist  of  mine 
here  thinks  the  same.  Its  special  merit  is  its  use  to 
amateurs. — yas.  A.  Sandford,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

The  Veteran  Eel.  —  Your  correspondent 
**  E.  L."  will  perhaps  be  interested  to  learn  that  the 
eel  which  has  lived  twenty-two  years  in  my  aquarium 
died  on  ist  August,  I  think  of  old  age.  It  began  to 
show  signs  of  uneasiness  about  fourteen  days  ago,  wan- 
dering about  in  a  strange,  unusual  manner  in  the  day- 
time ;  but  as  it  managed  to  eat  a  loach  about  three 
inches  long  I  thought  it  would  be  all  right  in  a  day  or 
two  ;  instead  of  which  it  became  worse,  seemed  more 
languid  and  restless,  would  not  bury  itself  in  the 
shingle,  and  looked  paler  than  usual.  I  gave  it  three 
small  worms,  which  it  ate  greedily  but  did  not  revive  ; 
it  did  not  show  signs  of  distress,  as  fish  usually  do 
when  dying,  such  as  gasping,  rising  to  the  top  of  the 
water  to  breathe,  and  turning  on  their  backs,  but 
breathed  slowly  and  regularly,  not  vigorously.  I 
took  it  out  gently  and  put  it  in  a  bowl,  and  let  fresh 
water  run  on  it  for  about  fifteen  minutes,  but  it  had 
no  effect.  I  then  tested  the  water  ;  it  was  as  pure 
as  a  streamlet,  and  at  a  temperature  of  65  deg.  Fahr., 
which  is  not  warm  for  water  in  summer.  1  put  it 
into  the  aquarium  again  and  it  swam  slowly  and 
gently  about,  and  then  resting  on  the  shingle  lay  still. 
So  it  remained  for  three  days,  getting  paler  and 
breathing  slower  ;  its  eyes  which  were  so  bright  and 
quick,  became  slimy  and  dim,  I  could  see  that  it  was 
all  over,  in  a  few  hours  its  life  was  gone,  yet  it  lay 
•on  the  shingle  in  an  ordinary  way  as  if  resting.  It 
had  been  a  pleasant  companion  for  me  for  twenty-two 
years,  had  witnessed'the  death  of  many  of  his  order,  and 
had  seemed  to  learn  how  to  meet  the  inevitable  with 
a  calm  philosophy  which  would  have  done  credit  to 
a  higher  order  of  vertebrata. — Ben  Plant. 

PoLYZOA  IN  Aquaria.  —  I  should  be  much 
obliged  if  some  of  your  readers  would  kindly  give 
their  experience  in  keeping  alive  fresh-water  Polyzoa 
in  aquaria.  I  have  endeavoured  to  keep  several 
liinds,  Plumatella  repens,  Lophopus  oystallinus,  Fredi- 
sella  and  Pahidicella,  but  invariably  with  the  same 
result, — they  died  in  a  few  weeks  after  being  placed 
in  the  aquarium.  My  microscopic  aquarium  is  but  a 
small  one,  and  that  probably  may  have  something  to 


do  with  it.  That  it  is  possible  to  keep  them  appears 
from  Mr.  Taylor's  book  on  the  aquarium,  and  from 
several  writers  in  former  numbers  of  Science-Gossip. 
I  trouble  you  with  less  hesitation,  as  I  know  I  am  not 
alone  in  my  hitherto  fruitless  attempts.  On  what 
and  how  should  they  be  fed  ?  I  should  like  to  know, 
too,  the  shape  and  size  of  any  aquarium  in  which  they 
have  been  successfully  kept,  and  how  long  they  have 
lived. — A.  Solicitor. 

Blister-Beetle  {Cantharis  vesicatoria). — In  the 
July  number  of  this  magazine,  Mr.  G.  O.  Howell 
wishes  to  know  whether  this  insect  has  ever  been 
taken  in  Britain  :  it  may  interest  him  to  know  that 
I  possess  a  specimen  which  was  brought  to  me  alive 
this  summer,  found  in  a  garden  near  this  city. — 
R.  Laddiinan,  Upper  Hellesdon,  N'orwich. 

Holes  in  the  Head  of  Pike. — What  is  the 
use  of  the  holes  all  about  the  head  of  the  pike  {Esox 
luciiis)  ?  Mr.  Frank  Buckland,  in  his  "  Curiosities 
of  Natural  History,"  third  series,  vol.  i.  p.  151, 
says,  referring  to  the  holes,  "  I  do  not  think  anybody 
knows."  Perhaps  some  of  your  numerous  corre- 
spondents can  throw  some  light  on  the  matter. — 
Co)yhcs. 

The  Petrel  Species  of  Sea  Birds. — Allow 
me  to  correct  a  typographical  error  which  appears  in 
my  paper  in  the  September  No.  on  "The  Petrel 
Species  of  Sea  Birds."  I  am  there  represented  as 
affirming  that  the  Stormy  and  Wilson's  Petrel  possess 
t7ao  gizzards.  What  I  said  in  my  MS.  was,  that  the 
stomachs  of  those  birds  were  tnie  gizzards  furnished 
with  scattered  glands.  The  lower  part  of  the 
oesophagus,  which  is  called  the  proventiculus,  is 
enormously  dilated,  and  lavishly  provided  with 
organs  secreting  gastric  juice.  The  stomach  itself  is 
very  small,  but  the  duodenum  is  peculiarly  arched, 
and  the  remaining  portion  of  the  intestine,  where 
the  chyle  is  absorbed,  is  long  and  narrow.  In  every 
respect,  therefore,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Petrels  are 
amply  provided  with  organs  suitable  to  the  digestion 
of  fishy  material.  I  may  also  mention  that  these 
birds  sometimes  follow  in  the  wake  of  small  fishing- 
boats,  and  even,  it  is  said,  that  they  hover  in  the 
vicinity  of  stranded  hulks,  or  about  where  the  masts 
of  a  ship  indicate  the  vicinity  of  a  sunken  wreck. 
These  facts  would  seem  to  demonstrate  an  innate 
partiality  for  the  very  body  or  appurtenances  of  a 
ship  ;  and  the  numerous  little  acrobatic  feats  (such  as 
hopping  for  a  distance  with  the  feet  closely  joined, 
&c. )  which  they  execute  upon  the  storm- vexed  ocean, 
apparently  for  sheer  sport  and  exercise,  evince  a  liveli- 
ness of  temperament  which  would  specially  relish  the 
buoyant,  bending,  ever-moving  vessel. — P.  Q.  Reegan, 
LL.D. 

Arsenicated  Wall-paper. — "Gerion"  should 
varnish  the  green  marble  paper  if  afraid  of  poison,  but 
there  is  little  or  no  danger  to  be  apprehended  from 
wall-papers,  as  in  nearly  every  case  wc^/^-arsenical 
colours  are  used  in  the  manufacture.  It  is  only  the 
bright  emerald-green  papers  (such  as  are  used  in 
chemists'  shops)  that  can  be  considered  injurious  if  the 
colour  rubs  oft"  easily.  Many  celebrated  analysts,  after 
testing  samples,  are  of  opinion  that  the  majority  of 
paper-hangings  containing  green  are  not  in  the  least 
injurious. — Papersiainer. 

Birds  of  Lincolnshire.  —  Will  any  corre- 
spondent kindly  give  me  (by  letter  or  otherwise)  a  list 
of  the  common  species  of  birds  which  are  found  on 
the  coast  of  Lincolnshire  in  the  winter  months  ?  Any 
hints  as  to  the  time  of  their  appearance  and  habits 
will  also  be  gladly  received.  —  Henry  Turner, 
90,  Albert-road,  Heeley,  Sheffield, 


262 


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


Raising  an  Obelisk. — The  Cra/Z/Zr  of  Sept.  29 
gives  an  account  of  the  mode  adopted  in  raising 
the  obelisk  at  Paris,  and  this  reminds  me  of  an 
incident  that  occurred  during  the  lifting  of  the 
celebrated  obelisk  at  Rome.  At  the  instance  of 
the  chief  engineer  the  Pope  had  issued  an  order 
that  perfect  silence  should  be  preserved  among  the 
vast  crowd,  the  severest  penalties  being  threatened 
for  the  breach  thereof.  Slowly  but  steadily  the  oxen 
strained  at  the  ropes,  which  passing  over  powerful 
pulleys,  were  fastened  to  the  upj^er  part  of  the  case 
which  enclosed  the  monolith — slowly  but  safely  rises 
the  end  which  is  to  point  to  the  heavens— the  anxiety 
is  intense,  but  all  goes  well — ^^the  perpendicular  is 
nearly  attained,  when  suddenly  the  huge  mass  stops 
— the  oxen  have  come  to  the  boundary  wall  and  can 
go  no  further.  Destruction  threatens  the  precious 
obelisk.  In  apportioning  the  length  of  the  ropes  to 
the  available  space,  the  engineer  did  not  remember 
that  they  would  stretch.  All  is  consternation  and 
despair  ! — when  from  among  the  crowd  a  voice  is 
heard  "  Acqua  !  acqua  !  "  The  audacious  offender  is 
seized  and  awaits  his  punishment.  But  why  are  the 
engineer  and  his  men  hurrying  with  those  vessels 
filled  with  water  ?  Has  he  comprehended  the 
meaning  of  that  cry  Acqua  ?  Yes  !  the  water  is 
poured  upon  the  ropes — the  ropes  contract — the 
obelisk  attains  the  perpendicular,  and  is  saved  ! 
Shall  the  man  whose  exclamation  was  its  salvation 
endure  his  punishment  ?  No,  the  engineer  has  repre- 
sented to  his  Holiness  that  reward,  not  punishment, 
is  due  to  that  man  :  he  is  graciously  pardoned,  and 
informed  that  any  reasonable  request  he  may  make 
will  be  granted.  Who  is  he  ?  and  for  what  will  he 
ask  ?  He  commands  a  small  vessel  that  hails  from 
Bordighera,  a  beautiful  place  on  the  lovely  Riviera, 
between  Mentone  and  San  Remo,  and  has  often 
brought  palm-leaves  from  thence  to  Rome  for  Palm- 
Sunday  ;  he  claims  for  his  native  place  the  monopoly 
of  that  supply.  His  boon  is  granted,  and  the  palm- 
leaves  of  I3ordighera  make  a  yearly  descent  upon 
Rome. — M.  M, 

Massacre  of  Colias  Edusa.  —  This  butterfly 
has  been  seen  almost  everywhere,  even  in  such  barren 
localities  as  St.  James's  Park  and  Trafalgar  Square, 
but  that  does  not  justify  the  sweeping  destruction 
which  it  experiences.  Many  brethren  of  the  net  have 
acted  in  a  manner  more  like  sportsmen  than 
naturalists,  and  have  indulged  in  what  I  cannot  help 
calling  wanton  slaughter.  The  following  facts  need 
no  comment.  I  have  heard,  on  good  authority,  of  a 
boy  who  had  captured  130  specimens  in  a  very  short 
time.  In  Darenth  Wood,  my  son  was  told  by  a  rather 
rough-looking  fellow  that  he  and  a  party  had  caught 
1,000  in  one  day  in  that  neighbourhood  ;  and  I  have 
seen  an  advertisement  offering  to  supply  perfect 
specimens,  set  and  carefully  packed  at  is.  per  dozen. 
If  insects  were  only  caught  by  those  who  wish  to 
study  them,  or  at  any  rate  to  make  permanent  bona 
fide  collections,  we  need  not  fear  the  extirpation  of 
any  British  species.  But  unfortunately  multitudes — 
including  sometimes  rarities — are  captured  to  be 
played  with,  or  to  be  arranged  in  circles,  triangles, 
half-moons,  &c.  And  some  who  act  thus  pretend  to 
be  entomologists. — J.   W.  Slater. 

Peregrine,  Red  Grouse,  &c. — I  cannot  do  less 
than  thank  Mr.  Dixon  for  his  remarks  about  the 
Peregrine  (Falco  Peregrimts).  It  is,  however,  about 
the  habit  of  Red  Grouse  mentioned  by  me  in  Science- 
Gossip  last  August, to  which  I  would  draw  his  atten- 
tion for  a  brief  period,  as,  in  his  remarks  on  my 
notice  of  this  extraordinary  habit,  he  brings  some 
very  serious  charges  against  me.      The  first  which 


I  refer  to,  is  the  following  passage  :  *'  If  he  [myselfj 
would  allow  himself  to  remember,  that  we  were  once 
discussing  this  matter,  and  that  /  informed  him  of 
this  peculiar  habit  which  he  )!ozu  publishes  as  his  own 
discovery.^''  The  manner  in  which  the  above  state- 
ment is  worded,  particularly  that  portion  of  it  in 
italics,  would  lead  any  one  to  infer  that  my  communi- 
cation of  August  last,  viz.,  that  my  attention  was 
first  drawn  to  this  important  fact,  in  the  Nat.  History 
of  the  Red  Grouse,  in  the  winter  of  1875,  was  a  false 
assertion.  Does  Mr.  Dixon  mean  to  say  that  I  did 
not  see  the  fact  above  mentioned  ?  I  cannot  conceive 
the  uncharitable  motives  which  impelled  Mr.  Dixon 
to  contradict  me  so  flatly.  I  was  somewhat  surprised 
to  see  him  ask  for  information  respecting  the  clutches 
of  Sparrow-hawks'  {Accipiter  nis74s)  eggs  !  Mr. 
Dixon  himself  took  clutches  of  four  and  three  ;  a 
friend  (Mr.  J.  Elvidge)  and  I  took  one  ;  and 
another  friend  (Mr.  Armitage),  took  two  sets  of  two 
and  one  from  the  same  nest  ;  of  which  I  have  one 
of  the  first  set.  In  conclusion,  I  again  aver,  that  it  was 
entirely  by  my  own  investigation  that  I  obtained  the 
information  about  which  Mr.  Dixon  remarks.  — 
T.   W.  Dealy,  Sheffield. 

[Mr.  Dealy  having  replied  to  Mr.  Dixon,  we  must 
now  close  this  controversy. — Ed.  S.-G.] 

Magpie,  Starlings,  and  Swift. — When  I  was 
walking  near  my  father's  house  on  Tuesday,  May  1 5, 
I  saw  a  magpie  and  two  starlings  surround  and  attack 
a  small  bird.  I  ran  to  its  assistance  and  rescued  it, 
and  found  it  to  be  a  swift.  I  took  it  into  the  house, 
and,  having  given  it  some  brandy,  put  it  outside  the 
window,  when  it,  much  to  my  satisfaction,  flew  away. 
Is  not  it  a  remarkable  thing  for  a  magpie  and 
starlings  to  attack  a  swift  on  the  wing? — S.  E.  A.  W. 

Lapwing  and  Sparrow-hawk. — I  beg  to  com- 
municate what  appears  to  me  an  interesting,  if  not 
an  unprecedented,  fact.  The  other  evening,  at  about 
7  P.M.,  when  about  a  mile  from  the  town  of  Alloa, 
on  the  Stirling  road,  I  observed  a  lapwing,  or  peewit 
( Vanellus  cristatus),  pursuing  a  sparrow-hawk  [Ac- 
cipiter  fringillarius).  The  pursuit  lasted  for  the  space 
of  four  or  five  minutes,  during  which  the  struggle 
between  the  birds  appeared  to  be  for  position,  but 
from  first  to  last  the  lapwing  soared  above  the  hawk, 
and  ever  and  anon  descended  and  bufi"eted  it.  At 
length,  however,  the  birds  reached  a  wood  in  which 
the  hawk  took  shelter,  and  left  the  lapwing  to  return 
to  the  meadows  on  the  Firth  of  Forth,  where  pro- 
bably nestled  its  young.  Had  there  been  several 
lapwings  in  pursuit,  I  should  have  thought  the  oc- 
currence less  worthy  of  note  ;  but  this  was  a  combat 
between  a  single  bird  of  each  description. — f.  C. 
Stephens. 

Spotted  Slug  (Z.  maxiimis). — A  poor  slug  of 
this  species,  which  had  been  crushed  in  two  in  the 
middle,  and  kept  so  for  hours  (unconsciously,  of ' 
course),  was  so  far  lively  on  being  released  as  to  erect 
its  horns  and  crawl  slowly  away.  Thus  this  mollusk 
is  very  tenacious  of  life.—  IV.  PI.  Warner. 

Common  Swift.— It  is  said  here  (Oxon. )  that 
when  the  Swifts  fly  at  a  great  rate  in  small  jiarties, 
and  screaming  loudly  the  while,  it  is  a  sign  that  fine 
weather  will  continue.  —  W.  H.  Warner. 

Phenomenon  of  Water. — May  I  inquire,  through 
your  columns,  the  cause  of  a  phenomenon,  no  doubt 
known  to  some  of  your  readers,  but  of  which  I 
haven't  met  with  an  explanation  ?  If  a  stream  of 
water,  or  spirit,  be  allowed  to  fall  on  a  surface  of 
the  same,  numerous  globules  of  liquid  (not  bubbles 
of  air,  since  they  possess  more  apparent  weight  and 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


263 


momentum  than  air-bubbles  would  have)  run  rapidly 
over  the  surface,  diverging  in  straight  lines  (on  a 
calm  surface)  from  the  point  of  contact.  I  have 
seen  them  glide  rapidly  for  many  feet  over  the  surface 
of  a  mill-pool.  The  waves  of  the  sea  may  be  often 
seen  to  be  covered  with  them,  darting  in  various 
directions.  I'hey  have  the  appearance  of  beads  of 
glass,  and  as  soon  as  they  lose  a  certain  momentum 
immediately  disappear,  being  absorbed  into  the  main 
body  of  liquid.  Is  their  separate  existence  main- 
tained by  a  thin  plate  of  air  interposed  between 
them  and  the  surface  of  the  water,  &c.,  on  which 
they  roll  ?— 6^.   W.,  Jiiu. 

Density  of  Sea-water.  —  Your  correspondent 
^Ir.  Macco  admits  the  probability  of  misquotation, 
misprint,  or  slip  of  the  pen,  which  is  precisely  that 
to  which  I  desired  to  call  attention.  In  doing  so,  the 
giving  of  "kind  advice'"  I  quite  disclaim,  nor  did  I 
think  it  courteous  or  otherwise  desirable  to  assume  in 
your  previous  correspondent  either  ignorance  or  for- 
getfulness  of  the  elementary  facts  connected  with  the 
subject,  with  which,  I  suppose,  all  the  world  are 
sufficiently  familiar.  —  C.  F.  IV. 

Blackbird  and  Thrush. — About  the  middle  of 
last  April,  as  I  was  looking  round  the  garden, 
I  found  a  nest  nearly  finished,  which  I  thought  be- 
longed to  a  blackbird,  but  I  could  not  see  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  spots  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,  for  she  let  me  watch  her, 
standing  within  a  few  feet  of  her  nest,  and  showing 
no  signs  of  fear.  The  last  week  in  April  the  eggs 
were  hatched.  I  was  unable  to  watch  her  again  for 
ten  days  when,  to  my  regret,  I  found  only  one  young 
bird  remained.  The  old  bird  was  then  very  restless, 
flying  all  round  me,  but  never  going  more  than  ten 
yards  from  her  nest,  and  uttering  incessantly  a  single, 
low,  plaintive  note.  I  had  then  ample  opportunity  of 
watching  her,  and  can  state  with  certainty  that  she 
was  a  Song  Thrush  {Tiirdits  nutsiciis).  As  soon  as 
•ever  the  young  bird  was  able  to  fly,  both  the  mother 
and  her  offspring  disappeai'ed.  I  saw  the  blackbird 
come  and  sing  to  her  once,  standing  on  a  tree  close 
to  the  nest.  I  see  no  reason  why  this  blackbird 
should  mate  with  the  thrush,  as  there  are  plenty  of 
blackbirds  all  around  us,  so  that  it  could  not  be  for 
want  of  one  of  its  own  species.  Perhaps  some  of 
the  correspondents  of  Science-Gossip  will  kindly 
give  me  some  information  on  this  subject. — G.  T.  B. 

Spawn  of  Newts. — I  have  found  the  eggs  of 
newts,  not  wrapped  up,  but  deposited  on  stones  or 
other  convenient  objects.  Several  of  these  I  pre- 
served until  they  were  hatched  out,  when  they  fed 
freely  on  entomostraca,  which  they  would  catch  by 
first  lying  still  and  then  suddenly  darting  upon  them. 
As  the  bodies  of  young  newts  are  very  transparent, 
many  of  your  readers  would  doubtless  find  them  to 
be  interesting  objects  for  observation  during  the 
coming  spring.  —  T.  C. 

North  Winds.— Before  this  question  can  be 
answered,  it  must  be  known  whether  the  plants  facing 
the  north  are  situated  on  elevated  ground  and  those 
facing  the  south  in  a  valley,  for  if  so  it  is  quite  in 
accordance  with  experience  that  the  latter  should, 
during  calm  serene  nights,  suffer  from  frost,  although 
facing  the  south,  whilst  the  former,  under  similar 
conditions  of  sky  and  air,  would  escape,  in  conse- 
quence  of  their   position   affording   them   a   higher 


temperature,  although  on  the  north  side  of  a  hill.— 
C.  C.  Haviland. 

The  Sun.— The  "little  black  balls  rising  out  of 
the  sun,"  observed  by  "  Pater,"  were  no  doubt  the 
eff"ect  of  the  insensibility  to  light  produced  on  the 
retina  by  gazing  at  the  sun.  If  one  looks  at  the  sun 
for  a  second  or  two,  and  then  looks  away,  a  black 
spot  of  about  the  same  size  as  the  sun  will  be  seen. 
A  similar  effect  is  produced  by  looking  at  a  red  wafer 
on  a  sheet  of  paper  ;  only  in  this  case  the  spectral 
wafer  appears  of  the  complementary  colour,  green. 
I  have  observed  the  phenomena  mentioned  in  his 
second  query, — that  plants  on  the  north  side  of  a 
garden  are  often  less  injured  by  frost  than  those  on 
the  south  side.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that 
they  are  more  screened  from  the  sun.  Plants  often 
suffer  not  so  much  from  frost  as  from  alternations  of 
frost  and  sunshine. — R.  H.  N.  B. 

"Alkanf.t.— This  plant  yields  a  red  dye.  The 
name  seems  to  have  been  transferred  from  the  Arabic 
name  of  another  plant,  also  yielding:  dye,  called 
Henna:' 


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  Sth  of  the 
previous  month. 

J.  H.  (Idle,  near  Leeds). — Theslide  you  sent  us  of  Diatoms 
found  at  New  Brighton,  contains  Rhabdonema  arcuattiin, 
R.  iin'nutiim,  and  Navicula  libellus. 

J.  French.— You  had  best  get  the  volumes  on  "  Humming- 
Birds"  (illustrated),  price  gs.,  published  in  the  "Naturalist's 
Library,"  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly.  They  will  fur- 
nish your  American  friend  with  all  the  information  he  wants. 

T.  P.  B. — The  specimen  you  sent  is  the  chrysalis  of  the 
Death's-head  Moth  i^Acheroittia  atropos). 

C.  C.  (Coventry). — The  specimen  you  enclosed  in  the  enve- 
lope is  an  umbelliferous  plant,  Astraiitia  juaj'or. 

H.  A.  Francis. — No  small  tube  containing  Diatoms  has  as 
5'el  reached  us. 

_H.  J.  R.  Oyestbury).  — Origanum  vulgare,  frequent  in 
Limestone  districts. 

A.  H.  B.  (Wallingford).—  Gipsy  wort,  or  Lycopus  EuropcEus, 

J.  P.  G. — You  are  quite  right ;  it  is  Hahejiaria  alhida.  It 
differs  much  in  size,  and  frequently  the  flowers  are  but  faintly 
perfumed. 

J.  B.  B.  (Dudley). — It  is  Spifcsa  salici/olia.  Borrer  believed 
it  to  be  naturalized  in  the  locality  where  you  found  your  speci- 
men. We  have  seen  it  both  luxuriant  and  abundant  on  the 
margin  of  Lake  Miosen,  Norway. 

A.  P.  (Doncaster). — The  seedling  fern  is  Cysiopteris  fragills. 
It  does  sometimes  produce  bulbs  on  the  margin  of  the  pinnules. 

C.  U.  (Croydon). — Your  specimen  is  merely  the  bracts  from 
beneath  the  flower.  Could  you  kindly  send  us  a  more  perfect 
e.xample  ?  then  we  could  name  it  with  certainty. 

JNI.  J.  W. — We  have  not  received  any  sea-weeds  from  you. 
If  you  have  others,  please  to  send  them.  We  are  constantly  losing 
specimens  which  have  been  sent,  through  correspondents  pack- 
ing them  in  paper  boxes,  or  match-boxes,  or  some  other  similar 
substances.  Not  only  so,  but  these  frail  protections  have  the 
stamp  placed  on  them,  instead  of  on  a  label,  the  result  being 
a  smash  the  first  time  the  Post-office  clerk  operates  on  them. 
Glass  microscopic  slides  for  naming  are  even  foolishly  put  in 
envelopes  !  An  editor  soon  becomes  acquainted  with  practical 
physics  ! 

Important  to  Exchangers. — In  one  of  those  moods  which 
only  Postmasters-General  indulge,  it  has  been  ordered  that  all 
letters  addressed  with  initials  only  will  be  returned  to  the 
senders  after  October  ist,  1877.  We  sincerely  hope  the  safety 
of  the  British  empire  is  not  endangered  by  correspondents  of 
Science-Gossip,  who  desire  to  e.xchange  one  species  of  butter- 
fly for  another  ! 

J.  M.  (Huddersfield). — From  what  we  can  make  of  your 
drawings,  there  is  no  doubt  one  is  one  of  the  genera  of  Star- 
fishes called  AsterophytoK  ;  the  other  drawing  is  that  of  a  genus 
of  sponges  called  Halichondria. 


-64 


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


T.  W.  D. — The  reason  your  reply  was  not  inserted  is,  that 
the  number  was  made  up  for  the  printers  before  your  MS. 
arrived. 

J.  B. — R.  Damon,  of  Weymouth,  would  supply  you  with 
any  species  of  foreign  shells  you  may  require. 

R.  H.  Stevens. — The  mineral  sent  is  a  lump  of  Calcite,  or 
Calcic  Carbonate,  which  assumes  an  enormous  number  of  crys- 
tallized forms. 

To  Authors. — We  have  numerous  manuscripts  standing 
over,  all  of  which  are  desirable  articles  ;  but  as  we  can  only  in- 
sert a  certain  number  each  month,  we  are  obliged  to  hold  them 
over  at  our  discretion.  Should  any  writer  desire  his  returned, 
we  shall  be  happy  to  return  it  (if  he  cannot  wait)  on  receipt  of 
postage. 

Miss  A.  W. — The  fungus  sent  is  Agarkiis  pyocenis,  an 
edible  species.  After  Cook's  "  Plain  and  Easy  Account  of 
British  Fungi,"  you  had  better  get  his  "  Manual  of  British 
Fungi,"  in  i  vols.,  published  at  a  guinea,  by  Macmillan. 

W.  A.  Clarke. — Your  caterpillar  had  taken  advantage  of  its 
dry  journey  by  post  to  us  to  partially  enter  into  the  chry-salis 
stage.  It  is  the  caterpillar  of  the  Poplar  Hawk-moth  {Siiic- 
rhtthiis  populi). 

F.  Ram. — Your  fungus  is  undoubtedly  a  specimen  of  the 
Great  Puff-ball  (Lycoperiion  gigunteuiii).  It  is  not  uncommon 
in  the  Eastern  counties,  although  rarer  outside.  We  have  seen 
several  this  summer  quite  as  large  as  that  you  describe. 

G.  F.  Benjamin. — There  is  no  doubt  your  specimen  is  that 
of  the  Great  Green  Grasshopper  {Acrida  vi>-idissiiita). 

A.  G.  A. — The  objects  on  the  back  of  leaf  sent  to  us  are  not 
/uiigi,  but  "oak-spangles,"  formed  by  an  insect,  a  species  of 
Cyiiips.     See   "  Half-Hours  in  the  Green  Lanes,"  pp.  196  and 
197. 


EXCHANGES. 

For  fac-simile  of  "  Warrant  to  Execute  Charles  I.,"  send  rare 
British  birds'  eggs. — J.  A.  Wheldon,  South  Parade,  North- 
allerton. 

Wanted,  Nos.  7,  9,  lO,  n,  14,  15,  16,  and  17  of  the  "  Ento- 
mologist's Monthly  Magazine  "  (the  first  four  belonging  to  the 
first  volume,  and  the  others  to  the  second  volume).  For 
numbers  of  the  third  volume,  microscopic  slides,  or  cash,  or 
would  like  the  first  and  second  volumes,  or  either  of  them. — 
C.  F.  George,  The  Grove,  Kirton  Lindsey. 

For  Donnx  anatiniis,  Venus  exoleta,  Nassa  reticosa.  Pur- 
pura litpillus,  Trochus  cinereus,  or  Limnca  stagualis,  send  any 
Land  or  fresh- water  shell  to  A.  H.,  Springfield  House,  Spring 
Bank,  Hull. 

L.  C— 7th  ed. — Nos.  181,  812,  858,  923,  986,  1054.  1128,  1263, 
1274,  1281,  1318,  1595.  For  Nos.  2,  3,  4,  15,  17,  286,  287,  420, 
4201^,  421,  432,  433,  or  others,  J.  Comber,  Southgate  House, 
Winchester. 

Good  specimens  of  P.  Machao»,  C.  Hyale,  C.  Eiiiisa,  A. 
Adippe,  T.  quercus,  &c.,  for  G.  allunn,  M.  homhyliforiiiis,  M. 
fucijorjiiis.  P.  comma,  &c. — Address,  H.  T.  Preston,  Esq., 
Heatherfield,  Bournemouth,  Hants. 

For  slide  of  Diatoms,  send  slide  of  interest  or  material — 
deep-sea  soundings  preferred — to  T.  Comlidge,  5,  Norfolk- 
street,  Brighton. 

White's  "  Natural  History  of  Selborne,"  Bohn's  edition. 
Wanted,  live  Lizards,  or  Lepidoptera.  —  J.  E.,  21,  Dorset- 
road,  Anfield,  Liverpool. 

Wanted,  samples  of  New  Nottingham  and  other  good  foreign 
Diatomaceous  deposits.  Two  co.  Antrim  Earths  and  well- 
mounted  Slides  to  offer  in  e.xchange. — Communicate  with  W.  A. 
Firth,  Whiterock,  Belfast. 

Wanted,  Nos.  141,  1244,  1247,  1494,  1418,  731,  for  Nos. 
1220,  1221,  1222,  1223,  1229,  1248,  or  Charus. — Rev.  F.  H. 
Arnold,  Fishbourne,  Chichester. 

For  pieces  oi  Fhtstrafoliacea  and  Peacock  Copper-ore,  send 
stamped  directed  envelope,  and  Diatoms  or  other  unmounted 
object,  to  G.  W.  Harfield,  24,  Ryde-villas,  St.  Mary's-road, 
Pcckham,  .S.E. 

Wanted,  Nos.  191,  560,  714,  386,  for  other  plants. — Address, 
M.  King,  120,  Pitt-street,  Bonnington,  Edinburgh. 

R.\Rii  Lias  Fof,s\\s{Mo)itin'aitia,  Victoria  iiiucrotiata,  Wal- 
d/icimia  Lycetti,  &c.),  for  books,  papers,  or  magazine  articles, 
on  Lias. — W.,  72,  High-street,  Banbury. 

V)vv\-\ZKY'e.i,:  —  Polychloros,  lo,  Z.  trifoUi.  Filipenduhr, 
and  L.  dispar.  Desiderata,  very  numerous  to  end  oi  Noctute. 
—  H.  Jones,  Hawley,  Farnborough  Station. 

A  REAL  Colorado  Beetle  sent  in  e.xchange  for  any  good  En- 
tomological Slide.  —J.  C.  T.,  4,  Lord-street,  Liverpool. 

"  Ho(;g  on  the  Microscope,"  and  Mahogany  Section-cutter, 
faced  and  lined  with  brass,  for  Carpenter's  "  Microscope  and 
its  Revelations,"  2-inch  Objective,  Compressorium,  or  Double 
Nose-piece,  &:c.  Will  pay  cash  for  e.xtra  value,  if  any.  List 
of  du])licate  mounted  Microscopic  objects  exchanged. — H.  Mor- 
land,  Cranford,  Middlesex. 

London  Catalogue,  7th  ed.— Nos.  3,  97,  i3of,  185,  206,  218, 
361,  386,  515,  608,  753,  831,  944,  1059,  1092,  1263,  1516,  1537,  for 
others.  — Thomas  Whitelegg,  58,  Hillgate-street,  Hurst  Brook, 
Ashton-under-Lyne. 


DtrPLlCATES  : — Edusa,  Cardui,  Atalanta,  lo,  and  Dispar 
(bred).  —  Desiderata:  —  Sinapis,  Cratcpgi,  Paphia,  Aglaia, 
Adippe,  Lucina,  Artemis,  T.  quercus,  Betuke,  Rubi,  Adonis, 
Argiolus,  Alsns,  /^gon,  Conitiia,  and  Alveolus. — J.  B.  Pilley, 
2,  High  Town,  Hereford. 

So.ME  splendid  living  Chrysalides  of  Death's-Head,  Aclieron- 
tia  Atropos'\  to  exchange  for  Microscopical  injections. — W. 
Lane,  Sear,  Margate. 

For  slide  of  Diatoms,  send  object  of  interest,  mounted,  or 
good  material,  to  T.  Comlidge,  5,  Norfolk-street,  Brighton. 

DiATOMACEA,  slides  of,  to  exchange  for  injections  or  others. 
— T.  B.,  7,  Spencer-street,  London,  E.G. 

Wanted  to  borrow  for  a  short  time,  "Entomologist's  Monthly 
Magazine,"  vols,  i,  3,  4,  5,  and  6  ;  Newman's  "  Entomologist," 
the  first  4  vols.  ;  the  whole  series  of  the  "  Naturalist,"  conducted 
by  the  Rev.  F.  O.  Morris. — W.  Denison  Roebuck,  9,  Sunny 
Bank,  Leeds. 

Live  Moles  wanted  by  J.  E.  Palmer,  Lucan,  co.  Dublin. 

Duplicates. — Edusa,  Cardamiiies,  JEgeria,  Semele,  Ata- 
lanta, Polychloros,  Paphia,  Adippe,  Jacobcea,  Pyraviidea, 
Sponsa,  &c. — Desiderata  : — Local  Diurni,  Ocellatus,  Tilice, 
Atropos,  the  Sesindrr,  many  Noct7ier,  and  Geometry. — H.  C. 
Dent,  20,  Thurloe-square,  London,  S.W. 

London  Catalogue,  7th  ed. — Offered,  Nos.  335,  370,  372,. 
457.  568,  593,  598,  600,  76c,  831,  999,  1140,  1265,  1282,  1327, 
1387,  1480,  for  Nos.  32s,  360,  367,  396,  566,  594,  588,  590,  746, 
832,  1000,  1141,  1301,  1287,  1339,  1388,  1515.— E.  D.  C,  25, 
Oxford-road,  Kilburn,  London. 

Barbadoes  Earth,  from  Cambridge  Estate,  rich  in  Polycis-- 
tina  and  Spicula,  in  exchange  for  first-class  Balsam-mounts,  at 
the  rate  of  six  slides  per  ounce. — Dr.  Grifilin,  66,  Kingsdown 
Parade,  Bristol, 

H.  ericitomm,  for  other  land  or  fresh-water  shells  ;  or  /«» 
thina  communis  ;  latter  especially  desired. — J.  B.,  9,  Royal- 
teriace  West,  Kingstown. 

Want  to  exchange  good  Limestone  Corals  for  any  other 
good  fossil. — J.  Mackenzie,  Nursery  Cottage,  Huddersfield. 

London  Catalogue,  7th  ed.  —Nos.  81,  82,  97,  98,  100,  in. 
133,  141,  144,  177,  258,  280,  319,  354,  1342,  1340,  1447,  1448, 
1502,  &c.,  for  other  rare  Plants,  Mosses,  or  British  Shells. — 
Lists  to  W.  E.  Green,  24,  Triangle,  Bristol. 

Wanted  Silurian  and  other  Fossils.  Geological  exchange 
given. — Address,  J.  T.  A.,  The  Quay,  Selby,  Yorkshire. 

O.NE  or  two  dried  specimens  of  the  Menziesia  cccrulea  and' 
other  Highland  plants.  I  wish  rare  English  plants  in  exchange-. 
— k..  Crawfurd,  Norwood  Lodge,  Bridge  of  Allan,  N.B. 

Strong-rooted  leaves  of  various  Gloxinias  and  seedling 
Streptocarpus  bijlorus,  in  exchange  for  other  stove  subjects, 
cuttings  or  otherwise  ;  also  some  Achimenes  bulbs. — G.  Pim, 
Monkstown,  co.  Dublin. 

Will  send  Wings  of  Wasp  (hooked  together),  Phragtnidiuvf 
bullosum,  &c.,  in  e.xchange  for  other  mounted  micro,  objects. 
— H.  Stily,  High-street,  Yeovil,  Somerset. 

Duplicates.— .,4rt'/>>/^,  Aglaia,  Paphia,  Sibylla,  and  Hu- 
muli. — Desiderata  :— Hyale,  Cassiope,  Orion,  Paniseus,  Acteon,. 
and  many  others.— C.  Malyon,  Lewisham,  S.E. 


BOOKS,  &c.,  RECEIVED. 


'  American  Naturalist."         September 

'  Potter's  American  Monthly." 

'  Scottish  Naturalist." 

'  The  Naturalist." 

'  Popular  Science  Review." 

'  Monthly  Microscopical  Journal 

'  Land  and  Water." 

'  F'euille  des  Jeunes  Naturalistes 

'  Ben  Brierley's  Journal." 

&c.  &c.  &c. 


October. 


Communications  have  been  received  ur  to  the  9tk 
ult.,  from  :— F.  K.— T.  S.— J.  C— W.  G.— Dr. J.  H.  G.— A.  H. 
— C.  F.  G.— H.  T.  P.— F.  W.  B.  N.— J.  A.,  jun.— J.  W.  S.-- 
W.  H.  W.— W.  H.  G.— E.  W.  W.— J.  M.  W.— J.  C— E.  L.  R. 
— H.  C.  D.— A.  W.— R.  L.— J.  A.  W.— M.  M.— H.  W.  K.— 
W.  E.  G.— R.  J.  G.— J.  F.  P.— T.  S.— F.  K.— S.  C.  S.— T.  L. 
-C.  T.  M.— F.  A.  A.— J.  C— J.  H.  R.— A.  P.— J.  C— 
R.  H.  M.— S.  A.  B.— E.  E.— T.  B.  W.-C.  N.— C.  R.  V.— 
T.  B.  P.— J.  L.— M.  T.— W.  J.  H.— H.  P.  M.— J.  E.— W.  A.  F. 
— F.  H.  A.— G.  W.  H.— M.  K.— H.  J.— H.  M.— J.  C.  T.— 
W.  L.  S.— T.  W.— J.  B.  P.— T.  C— J.  B.— W.  D.  R.— J.  A., 
jun.— C.  B.— R.  A.  — H.  P.— E.  W.  W.— E.  E.— W.  J.  B.— 
C.  W.— M.  J.  W.— A.  W.— G.  O.  H.— C.  B.— H.  T.-J.  E.  P. 

—J.  W.  C— J.  T.  T.  R. Dr.  F.  V.  P.— C.  M.— Dr.  E.  D.  C. 

— S.  E.  B.— H.  C.  D.— G.  C— S.  B.— J.  M  — T.  W.  D.— 
T.  B.  W.— R.  W.  C— E.  F.  C— F.  W.  G.-J.  B.— Dr.  G.— 
A.  B.— W.  S.  G.— J.  J.  M.— W.  V.  A.— J.  R.  N.— F.  R.-- 
Capt.  T.  W.  B.— J.  T.  A.— J.  C— R.  H.  S.— G.  P.— M.  M. 
— W.  A.  C— J.  F.  R.— H.  W.  K.— A.  C.  -A.  G.  A.-  G.  F.  B. 
— H.  S.— H.  M.— H.  R.— R.  T.  G.— E.  L.— A.S.— R.  S.  M.  G., 
&c.,  &c. 


HA  RD  WI CKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE  -  G  OS  SI  P. 


265 


THE   HARD   PARTS   OF   ANIMALS-No.    H. 


By  Dr.   IT.   F.  PARSONS,  F.L.S. 


N  the  Subkingdom  Mol- 
luscoida,  the  Bryozoa  in 
external  form  closely 
resemble  the  Polypes, 
from  \\'hich  they  have 
only  of  late  years  been 
separated.  They  have 
a  common  horny  poly- 
pidom  closely  resem- 
bling that  of  the  Hy- 
drozoa. 

The  Tunicata  or  Sea-squirts  have  no  hard  parts,  but 
are  enclosed  in  a  leathery  tunic,  which  deserves  mention 
in  this  place  on  account  of  its  remarkable  chemical 
composition,  being  composed  of  cellulose,  a  non- 
nitrogenous  substance  which  enters  largely  into  the 
composition  of  plants,  but  which  is  hardly  known  to 
occur  elsewhere  in  the  animal  kingdom. 

In  the  Mollusca  (with  which  I  include  the 
Brachiopoda)  the  integument  or  mantle  very  often 
secretes  a  calcareous  shell  which  is  considered  to  be  a 
calcified  epidermis.  It  consists  of  a  basis  of  animal 
membrane,  hardened  by  carbonate  of  lime.  If  the 
carbonate  of  lime  be  dissolved  away  by  an  acid,  a  soft 
flexible  membrane  is  left,  which  exhibits  a  structure 
similar  to  that  of  the  shell.  Those  Mollusks  which 
have  no  distinct  head,  the  Brachiopods  and  Lamelli- 
branchs,  are  provided  with  a  two-valved  shell  ;  the 
shell,  however,  presents  marked  differences  in  the  two 
classes.  In  the  former  the  shell  is  always  equilateral  but 
never  equivalve,  the  valves  are  back  and  front,  the 
ventral  valve  being  the  larger,  and  frequently  pro- 
longed beyond  the  other  into  a  beak  perforated  at  the 
end  for  the  passage  of  a  muscle  by  which  the  animal 
attaches  itself  to  a  rock.  In  the  Lamellibranchs  the 
shell  is  generally  equivalve,  but  rarely  equilateral,  the 
hinder  end  being  generally  produced.  The  valves  are 
right  and  left  ;  the  valves  are  closed  by  one  or  two 
powerful  muscles,  and  opened  by  the  recoil  of  an 
elastic  ligament  and  a  cartilaginous  cushion,  so  that 
when  dead  the  shell  gapes.  In  the  Brachiopoda  the 
shell  is  both  opened  and  shut  by  muscular  effort.  The 
Brachiopods  have  spiral  fringed  arms,  which  in  some 
No.  156. 


of  the  fossil  forms  were  supported  by  slender  watch- 
spring-like  processes  of  the  shell.  The  structure  of 
the  shell  consists  of  flattened  prisms  which  lie  very 
obliquely  to  the  surface.  In  many  of  the  species  the 
shell  is  perforated  by  numerous  minute  canals  con- 
taining prolongations  of  the  mantle. 

In  the  Lamellibranchs,  the  shell  has  two  layers, 
the  outer  being  made  up  of  prismatic  fibres,  placed 
nearly  perpendicular  to  the  surface,  the  inner,  or 
nacre,  being  laminated,  and  frequently  reflecting 
iridescent  colours.  The  shells  of  the  headed  Mollusks 
consist  of  a  single  valve,  of  a  conical  shape,  and 
generally  spirally  coiled ;  in  the  GasterojDods,  the 
spiral  is  generally  drawn  out  on  one  side,  most  fre- 
quently the  right ;  in  the  Cephalopods,  the  spiral  is 
usually  flat  and  symmetrical,  as  in  the  Nautilus.  The 
structure  of  univalve  shells  resembles  that  of  the  inner 
layer  of  the  bivalves.  Some  of  the  Gasteropods  arc 
without  shells,  others,  as  the  slugs,  have  a  thin  shell 
embedded  in  the  mantle. 

In  the  higher  Cephalopods,  as  the  cuttle-fish,  we 
begin  to  find  an  approach  to  vertebrates  in  the  pos- 
session of  an  internal  skeleton.  The  cuttle-fish  bone 
is  well  known  :  it  is  calcareous,  and  its  structure  is 
very  curious.  It  consists  of  flat  plates  parallel  to 
the  surface,  the  interstices  being  occupied  by  flexuous 
laminte  at  right  angles  to  the  others,  like  narrow 
strips  of  corrugated  iron  cut  in  a  direction  across  the 
folds,  and  standing  on  edge  between  flat  plates  :  this 
form  combines  strength  with  lightness.  The  Belem- 
nite  had  an.internal  skeleton  consisting  of  an  elongated 
guard  of  a  radiating  fibrous  texture,  pointed  at  one 
end,  and  hollowed  at  the  other  into  a  conical  cavity, 
in  which  was  lodged  a  chambered  internal  shell  or 
phragmacone  ;  at  the  upper  end  it  was  prolonged  into 
a  horny  wing-like  expansion. 

We  are  now  arrived  at  the  highest  or  vertebrate 
sub-kingdom.  In  this  sub-kingdom,  phosphate  of 
lime  takes  the  place  of  carbonate  as  the  hardening 
material,  the  latter  being  seldom  met  with,  though  the 
shell  of  the  eggs  of  birds  is  an  instance.  The  hard 
parts  of  the  body  arc  grouped  into  two  systems,  the 
internal   skeleton   and    the    dermal   skeleton.      The 

N 


266 


HARD  WJCKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


internal  skeleton  consists  of  a  chain  of  bones,  called 
vertebras,  in  the  axis  of  the  body,  and  of  appendages 
called  limbs,  never  more  than  four.  Each  vertebra 
has  a  central  mass,  the  "body,"  from  which,  in 
a  typical  vertebra,  spi-ing  two  arches — a  dorsal  arch, 
which,  witli  the  corresponding  arches  of  the  other  verte- 
bra;, forms  a  canal  for  the  lodgment  of  the  principal 
mass  of  the  nervous  system,  the  brain  and  spinal  cord, 
— and  a  larger  ventral  arch,  which  encloses  the  principal 
blood-vessels  of  the  body  and  the  alimentary  canal. 
Three,  or  perhaps  four,  vertebrae  at  the  anterior  end  of 
the  body  are  expanded  and  modified  to  form  the  skull, 
which  contains  the  brain.  The  vertebrse  from  which 
the  hinder  limbs  spring,  are  often  fused  together  into 
a  mass,  called  "  os  sacrum,"  and  the  vertebr^-e  of  the 
tail  are  often  reduced  to  a  body,  and  nothing  else,  the 
arches  being  absent, — as,  indeed,  the  ventral  arches 
are  in  most  vertebrae.  Except  in  the  skull  and 
sacrum,  the  vertebrae  are  jointed  together  by  means  of 
interlocking  processes  and  an  elastic  fibro-cartilaginous 
pad,  allowing  a  little  motion  between  each  vertebra  and 
the  next.  They  vary  in  number,  from  eight  in  some  of 
the  frogs  to  many  hundreds  in  snakes.  The  limbs 
are  not  attached  directly  to  the  vertebral  column,  but 
to  intermediate  bones  ;  they  consist  of  long  bones  so 
jointed  together  as  to  allow  of  a  large  amount  of 
movement. 

The  materials  of  which  the  internal  skeleton  is 
composed  are  cartilage  and  bone. 

Cartilage  is  the  substance  of  which  the  skeleton 
consists  in  the  early  stages  of  development  of  all 
vertebrate  animals,  and  permanently  in  some  of  the 
fishes,  as  the  sturgeon  and  lamprey.  It  is  also  met 
with  throughout  life  in  certain  parts  of  the  body, 
where  firmness  is  required,  yet  with  a  certain  amount 
of  flexibility,  as  in  the  ribs,  covering  the  ends  of  the 
bones  where  they  form  joints,  in  the  larynx,  ear,  &c. 
Cartilage  consists,  chemically,  of  chondrin,  a  nitro- 
genous substance  allied  to  gelatine,  but  scarcely  dis- 
solved on  boiling.  Microscopically,  it  consists  of 
cells  embedded  in  a  matrix.  In  what  is  called  simple 
cartilage,  as  that  of  the  mouse's  ear,  the  matrix  is 
absent,  or  only  just  sufficient  to  bind  the  cells  together, 
so  that  the  microscope  shows  a  mass  of  cells  very  like 
vegetable  pith.  In  hyaline  cartilage,  as  that  of  the 
ribs,  the  matrix  is  clear  and  structureless  ;  in  fibro- 
cartilage,  the  matrix  is  made  up  of  white"  or  yellow 
elastic  fibres.  When  cartilage  undergoes  conversion 
into  bone,  the  cells  multiply  and  increase  in  size  ;  they 
then  arrange  themselves  in  rows  perpendicular  to  the 
surface  of  the  bone.  Particles  of  phosphate  of  lime 
then  become  deposited  in  the  matrix,  while  the  cells 
are  believed  to  be  converted  into  the  "lacunas"  of 
bone.  The  flat  bones  of  the  skull  are  not  formed 
from  cartilage,  but  commence  as  a  radiating  net-work 
of  bony  fibres  between  two  layers  of  meml^rane. 

Bone  consists,  chemically,  of^by  weight  of  gelatine 
and  §  of  earthy  matter,  mostly  phosphate  of  lime. 
If  we  burn  a  bone  in  an  open  fire,  we  get  a  white, 


brittle,  earthy  residue  retaining  the  shape  of  the 
bone.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  soak  a  bone  in  acid, 
we  dissolve  out  the  earthy  matter  and  find  the  animal 
matter  left,  so  that  the  bone  becomes  soft  and  flexible, 
like  cartilage.  The  animal  matter  of  bone,  unlike 
that  of  cartilage,  is  readily  soluble  in  water,  especially 
when  digested  with  it  at  a  high  temperature,  as  in 
making  soup  and  glue.  Cartilage  contains  no  blood- 
vessels ;  bone,  on  the  other  hand,  is  highly  vascular. 
The  blood-vessels  in  the  compact  parts  of  bone  iixn  in 
channels  termed  Haversian  canals,  around  which  the 
laminae,  of  which  the  bone  is  made  up,  are  arranged 
concentrically.  Throughout  the  substance  of  the 
bone  are  scattered  small  cavities,  called  lacunre,  from 
which  proceed  extremely  fine  branching-tubes,  called 
canaliculi.  The  lacunse  are  arranged  in  concentric 
circles  around  the  Haversian  canals,  with  which  the 
canaliculi  are  connected  at  their  inner  ends,  while 
externally  they  anastomose  with  those  of  the  next 
circle  ;  thus  a  system  of  channels  is  formed  for  the 
nutrition  of  the  bone. 

Bones  are  of  three  classes,  long  bones,  flat  bones, 
and  short  bones.  The  long  bones  are  found  in  the 
limbs  ;  they  have  a  more  or  less  cylindrical  hollow 
shaft  of  compact  bone,  and  an  expanded  head  of  loose 
spongy  bone  at  either  end,  the  surface  of  which, 
where  it  enters  into  the  joint,  is  covered  with  a  layer 
of  smooth  cartilage,  to  break  shocks,  and  enable  the 
bones  to  glide  easily  one  upon  another.  The  flat 
bones,  as  those  of  the  skull,  have  two  layers  of  com- 
pact bone,  with  an  intermediate  spongj'  layer.  The 
short  square  bones  are  composed  of  spongy  tissue. 

The  nutrient  blood-vessels  enter  the  bone  in  three 
ways.  1st.  Through  a  single  large  oblique  canal  near 
the  middle  of  the  shaft  of  long  bones.  2nd.  Through 
a  series  of  holes  at  the  articular  ends,  which  convey 
blood-vessels  into  the  spongy  tissue.  3rd.  Through 
a  tough  vascular  membrane  which  lines  the  whole 
surface  of  the  bone,  and  from  which  minute  blood- 
vessels pass  into  its  substance. 

Bone  has  no  power  of  interstitial  growth,  but  can 
only  increase  in  size  by  additions  to  its  exterior. 
Consequently,  in  order  to  allow  a  bone  to  increase  in 
length,  the  articular  ends  of  long  bones  are  ossified 
from  independent  centres,  a  layer  of  cartilage  inter- 
vening between  the  bony  ends  and  the  bony  shaft ; 
by  the  growth  of  this  layer  the  bone  is  increased  in 
length,  and  it  is  not  until  adult  age  is  reached  and 
growth  has  ceased  that  the  bone  becomes  welded 
into  a  solid  piece. 

The  dermal  skeleton  or  skin  is,  in  different  classes 
of  animals,  of  very  different  degrees  of  density,  from 
the  hard  bony  scales  of  the  ganoid  fishes  and  the 
crocodile  to  the  soft  moist  naked  skin  of  the  frog ; 
but  we  almost  always  find  it,  in  some  parts  of  the  body 
at  least,  modified  into  hard  appendages,  as  nails  and 
hoofs,  scales,  horns,  and,  what  you  will  perhaps  be 
surprised  to  hear  mentioned  as  parts  of  the  skin, 
teeth. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE -GOSSI  P. 


267 


The  deep  portion  of  the  skin,  the  "true  skin,"  is  a  I 
fibrous  network ;  the  superficial  part  is  a  cellular  layer,  I 
called  the  cuticle.  At  the  junction  between  the  two  is 
the  "basement  membrane,"  the  seat  of  active  growth, 
often  thrown  into  ridges  or  papillce.  Thecells,  orepithe- 
lium,  of  which  the  cuticle  is  composed,  are  formed 
hei-e.  They  are  at  first  soft  and  gelatinous,  but  as 
they  approach  the  surface,  they  become  flattened  hard 
homy  scales,  and  they  are  at  length  cast  off. 

In  amphibians,  the  skin  is  naked ;  in  fishes  and 
reptiles,  covered  with  scales ;  in  birds,  with  feathers ; 
in  mammalia,  with  hair.  The  scales  of  fishes  are 
classed  in  four  groups,  placoid  or  plate-like,  as  in  the 
shark  ;  ganoid  or  enamelled,  as  in  the  sturgeon  ; 
cycloid  or  circular,  as  in  the  salmon  ;  and  ctenoid  or 
comb-like,  as  in  the  perch.  Each  scale  is  embedded  in 
a  sac  of  the  cutis.  The  cycloid  and  ctenoid  scales, 
which  are  met  with  in  the  fishes  with  a  bony  skeleton, 
are  of  a  homy  texture.  The  placoid  and  ganoid 
scales  are  found  in  those  fishes  which  have  a  car- 
tilaginous vertebral  column.  The  scales  are  hard, 
and  composed  either  of  bone,  or  of  dentine,  like  that 
of  teeth  ;  the  ganoid  scales  are  also  covered  with  a 
shining  enamel.  The  scales  of  the  Crocodile  are 
plates  of  bone  covered  with  a  homy  epidermis  ;  the 
bony  plates  are  curiously  pitted,  as  if  the  top  of  the 
little  finger  had  been  pushed  into  them  when  soft. 

Hairs  consist  of  elongated  and  flattened  epithelial 
scales.  They  spring  from  a  single  'large  papilla  at 
the  bottom  of  a  sheath, — an  inversion  of  the  basement 
membrane,  which  may  be  compared  to  the  finger  of 
a  glove  pushed  inside  out,  all  but  the  tip,  the  latter 
representing  the  papilla.  In  the  Hedge-hog  and  Por- 
cupine, the  hairs  are  very  large,  strong,  and  pointed, 
forming  the  well-known  quills ;  they  are  hollow 
internally,  and  divided  into  a  number  of  chambers  by 
transverse  and  radiating  partitions.  The  feathers  of 
Birds  are  simply  large  pinnate  or  bipinnate  hairs  ; 
they  are  developed  from  a  large  papilla  or  pulp ; 
this  is  vascular  in  the  young  state,  but  in  the  full- 
grown  feathers  the  base  of  the  quill  contracts  around 
the  root  of  the  papilla,  so  as  to  cut  off  its  supply  of 
blood  and  stop  further  gi-owth.  The  human  nail 
consists  of  compact  layers  of  flattened  epithelial 
scales  resting  on  close  rows  of  fine  papillee.  The  hoofs 
of  Ungulates  and  the  claws  of  Carnivorous  Animals 
are  modified  nails,  and  consist  of  compacted  epithe- 
lium ;  that  of  the  Horse  springs  from  a  layer  of 
papillee,  which  form  flat  lamina,  like  the  leaves  of  a 
book ;  this  layer  is  plentifully  supplied  with  blood- 
vessels and  nerves,  forming  an  important  organ  of 
sense,  by  which  the  Horse  makes  himself  acquainted 
with  the  nature  of  the  ground  on  which  he  treads. 
Horns  are  of  three  classes  ;  the  antlers  of  the  Stag 
consist  wholly  of  bone  ;  they  are  covered  at  first  with 
a  soft  skin,  which  dries  and  peels  off;  they  are  shed 
and  reproduced  every  year,  the  horn  of  each  year 
having  one  branch  more  than  that  of  the  year  before. 
The  horn  of  the  Rhinoceros  is  wholly  an  epidermic 


structure,  resembling  in  microscopic  characters  the 
hoof  of  the  Horse  ;  it  is  not  shed.  The  hom  of  the 
Cow  consists  externally  of  hard  epidermis,  but  it  has 
a  bony  core  springing  from  the  skull ;  between  the 
two  portions  there  is  a  layer  of  soft  vascular  tissue, 
which  bleeds  profusely  when  injured. 

Horn,  in  its  chemical  nature,  is  allied  to  gelatine 
and  chondrine ;  it  contains  sulphur.  It  is  quite 
insoluble  in  water,  but  has  the  property  of  becoming 
soft  when  heated.  It  strongly  rotates  the  plane  of 
polarization  of  light,  hence  sections  of  hom  are 
among  the  most  brilliant  of  polariscope  objects. 

The  horny  plates  or  strainers  of  the  Whale,  the  so- 
called  whalebone,  are  epidermic  organs,  and  in  structure 
may  be  compared  to  large  compound  masses  of  com- 
pacted hairs,  the  ends  of  which  alone  are  free,  forming 
a  fibrous  fringe. 

Teeth  are  found  in  most  Vertebrates,  except 
Birds  and  Turtles,  in  whom  the  jaws  take  the 
form  of  a  horn-covered  bill.  In  the  higher  Vertebrates 
the  teeth  are  confined  to  the  jaw-bones,  but  in  many 
Fishes  they  are  found  on  the  palate  as  well,  and  indeed 
in  some,  as  the  Skate,  the  scales  over  the  general  sur- 
face of  the  body  exactly  resemble  teeth  both  in  form 
and  stmcture.  In  Fishes  and  the  lower  Reptiles  the 
teeth  are  united  to  the  jaw  and  indefinite  in  number, 
being  continually  shed  and  reproduced.  In  the 
Crocodile  and  the  Mammalia  the  teeth  are  implanted 
in  sockets  in  the  jaw.  In  most  Mammalia  we  find 
four  classes  of  teeth,  incisors,  canines,  prsemolars,  and 
molars.  There  are  two  sets,  a  temporary  or  milk  set 
and  apermanent  set.  Each  tooth  hasabody,  an  exposed 
crown,  and  one  or  more  fangs  implanted  in  the  jaw. 
In  the  centre  of  the  tooth  is  a  cavity  containing  a  soft 
pulp  plentifully  supplied  with  blood  vessels  and  nerves 
through  a  minute  hole  at  the  apex  of  the  fang.  Teeth 
are  highly  sensitive ;  not  only  are  they,  when  diseased, 
the  seat  of  acute  pain,  as  most  of  us  have  probably 
experienced  to  our  sorrow,  but  they  are  important 
organs  of  touch  ;  a  gritty  particle,  however  minute, 
getting  between  the  teeth,  is  at  once  detected. 

The  structure  of  teeth  is  somewhat  complicated. 
In  each  tooth  there  are  three  difTerent  hard  tissues,, 
the  dentine  or  ivoiy,  the  enamel,  and  the  cement.  The 
ivoiy  constitutes  the  main  bulk  of  the  tooth  ;  it  is 
composed  of  fine  parallel  wavy  branched  tubules  ;  in 
the  centre  of  the  tooth  there  is  a  cavity,  containing  a 
soft  vascular  pulp,  slender  prolongations  of  which 
are  continued  into  the  dentinal  tubules.  The  enamel 
forms  a  hard  cap  covering  the  exposed  crown  of  the 
tooth ;  it  consists  of  prismatic  wavy  striped  fibres 
arranged  perpendicularly  to  the  surface  ;  it  is  intensely 
hard.  The  cement  covers  the  fang,  that  part  of  the 
tooth  which  is  embedded  in  the  jaw  bone  ;  it  is  of  a 
yellowish  colour,  -and  softer  than  the  dentine  and 
enamel ;  under  the  microscope  it  shows  lacunae 
and  canaliculi  like  those  of  bone:  in  old  people 
it  becomes  thicker,  and  is  traversed  by  Haversian 
canalf. 


268 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP, 


This  arrangement  of  the  structures  of  the  tooth 
is  modified  in  many  of  the  lower  animals ;  in  the 
Rodent  or  gnawing  animals,  as  the  Rat,  the  enamel, 
dentine,  and  cement  are  arranged  in  parallel  layers  ; 
in  order  of  hardness,  the  enamel,  the  hardest,  being 
in  front,  the  dentine  in  the  middle,  and  the  softer 
cement  behind  ;  hence  the  tooth,  as  it  wears  away, 
always  presen'es  a  sharp  chisel-like  edge.  In  Herbi- 
vorous Animals,  as  the  Horse  and  Elephant,  the 
dentine,  enamel,  and  cement  in  the  molar  teeth  form 
a  series  of  parallel  plates  the  unequal  wear  of  which 
preserves  a  rough  surface  for  grinding. 

Teeth  are  formed,  like  hairs,  from  papillae  of  the 
skin,  or  "  mucous  membrane  "  as  it  is  termed  when  it 
lines  the  cavities  of  the  body.  In  the  embryo,  at  an 
early  period,  a  groove  is  formed  along  the  summit  of 
the  gums ;  this  groove  is  then  divided  by  transverse 
folds  into  a  number  of  separate  cells  at  the  bottom  of 
each  of  which  is  seated  a  papilla,  the  germ  of  the 
future  tooth.  The  edges  of  the  cell  then  grow  over 
and  convert  them  into  shut  sacs.  The  papilloe  then 
take  the  form  of  the  future  tooth,  and  the  surface  be- 
comes calcified,  forming  the  dentine,  while  the  base 
continues  for  a  time  to  grow ;  when,  however,  the 
tooth  has  attained  its  full  size  the  base  of  it  closes 
around  the  root  of  the  papilla,  preventing  any  further 
increase  in  length,  and  leaving  only  a  minute  hole 
through  which  the  vessels  and  nerves  of  the  tooth  pass. 
In  certain  cases,  however,  as  the  incisor  teeth 
of  the  Rodents,  and  the  canine  teeth  or  tusks 
of  the  Elephant  and  other  animals,  this  con- 
traction of  the  base  of  the  papilla  does  not 
occur,  so  that  the  tooth  continues  to  increase 
in  length  for  the  whole  of  life,  unless  worn 
away  by  use.  The  enamel  is  probably  the 
calcified  epithelium  of  the  inner  surface  of  the 
tooth  sac.  The  second  set  of  teeth  are  formed 
in  secondary  sacs  given  off  from  the  sacs  of 
the  milk  teeth.  The  molar  teeth  however 
are  exceptions,  the  first  molar  is  formed  in  a 
primary  sac  like  the  milk  teeth,  but  the 
second  and  third  molars  are  fonned  in  second- 
ary sacs,  successively  given  off  from  that 
of  the  first  molar.  Hence  the  first  molar 
of  the]  second  set  is  developed  like  the  teeth 
of  the  first  set,  which  will  perhaps  account 
for  the  fact  that  it  is  usually  the  first  tooth 
to  decay. 

In  conclusion,  I  may  remark  that  in  no  part 
of  the  animal  body  do  we  find  more  obvious 
and  beautiful  adaptations  of  structure  to  func- 
tions than  in  the  hard  organs. 

The  hard  organs,  being  the  most  easily  preserved 
parts  of  the  body,  are  of  the  greatest  value  to  the 
Zoologist  and  Palreontologist  in  determining  the 
structure,  habits,  and  affinities  of  existing  and  extinct 
animals.  This  value  is  due  especially  to  the  fact  that 
they  constantly  exhibit  characters  from  which  the 
anatomy  of  the  soft  parts  may  be  ascertained,  as  holes 


for  the  passage  of  vessels  and  nerves,  rough  marks 
for  the  attachment  of  muscles  and  ligaments,  &c. 
From  the  shape  of  the  bones  of  the  limbs  the  mode 
of  progression  may  be  ascertained,  from  that  of  the 
teeth  the  nature  of  the  food,  and  so  on.  To  the 
Paleontologist  the  hard  parts  are  all  important,  for 
they  are  almost  the  only  data  which  he  has  for  obtain- 
ing any  knowledge  of  the  past  inhabitants  of  our  earth. 
Thus,  of  the  early  representatives  of  orders  of  animals 
composed  wholly  of  soft  tissues,  as  the  Entozoa  and 
Tunicata,  we  know  nothing  ;  whereas  our  knowledge 
of  the  Corals,  Echinodermata,  Brachiopods,  and 
Reptiles,  would  be  small  compared  to  what  it  is,  did 
we  not  take  into  consideration  fossil  as  well  as  existing 
forms. 


NOTES  ON  TERATOLOGY. 

EXAMPLES  of  floral  prolification,  or  monstrosi- 
ties in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  are  often  met 
with  in  one  form  or  another ;  probably  lateral  prolifica- 
tion is  of  more  common  occurrence  than  the  median 
form.  In  one  of  the  old  stained-glass  windows  in  the 
Bodleian  picture-gallery  at  Oxford  is  a  representation 
of  a  ranunculus,  affected  with  median  floral  prolifica- 
tion. It  would  appear  from  this  that  they  have  at- 
tracted a  little  attention. 


Fig.  199.     Cohesion  of  Leaflet  in  Clematis. 

Some  forms  are  veiy  interesting ;  those  figured 
above  are  worthy  of  notice.  We  are  indebted  to  the 
kindness  of  our  correspondents  for  the  specimens. 
We  also  give  an  example  of  the  cohesion  of  the  margin 
of  leaves.  Dr.  Masters  gives  a  similar  specimen 
of  pelargonium  leaf.     The  one  here  figured  is  more 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


269 


rare  ;  it  is  the  leaf  of  Traveller's  Joy,  or  Clematis 
vitalba.    Not  unfrequently  in  some  species  the  margin 


Fig.  200.     Floral  Prolification  in  Cowslip. 

is  joined  the  whole  length,   thus  making  a  perfect 
pitcher-shaped  leaf.     It  haj^pens  often  on  the  lime- 


Fig.  201.     Prolification  of /'(r/rt/^T""'""'- 

tree  [Tilia).  It  is  reported  a  tree  of  this  kind  is 
growing  in  the  cemetery  of  a  Cistercian  monastery  at 
Sedlitz,  on  which  certain  monks  were  once  hanged  ; 
hence  the  legend  has  arisen  that  the  peculiar  form  of 
the  leaf  was  given  in  order  to  perpetuate  the  memory 
of  the  martyred  monks. — yaincs  F.  Robinson,  Frod- 
sham. 


Gigantic  Dinosauria. — rrof.  Mudge  has  an- 
nounced  his  discovery,  during  the  past  summer,  of 
a  new  species  of  gigantic  Dinosauria,  in  Colorado. 


A  FOSSIL  FUNGUS. 

THE  potato  disease  is  no  new  thing ;  for  Mr. 
Worthington  Smith  has  discovered  a  fossil  spe- 
cies belonging  to  this  genus,  which  was  found  rami- 
fying through  the  vascular  structure  of  a  Lepidoden 
dron,  one  of  the  huge  club-mosses  of  the  Carboniferous 
epoch.  Mr.  Carruthers,  of  the  British  Museum,  first 
noticed  the  fungus  in  a  slide  prepared  to  show  the 
vascular  structure  of  the  axis  of  Lcpidodcndron.  Mr. 
Smith  has  now  discovered  another  specimen.  The 
first  contained  both  the  mycelium  and  oogonia  of  the 
fungus,  which  he  has  named  Pcronosporites  antiqna- 
riiis.  He  believes  that  both  the  specimens  belong  to 
the  same  species.  This  is  perhaps  the  oldest  fungus 
on  record.  Mr.  Carruthers  had  previously  recognized 
the  mycelial  threads  of  a  fossil  species  in  the  cells  of 
a  fossil  fern  found  in  the  Eocene  beds  of  Heme  Bay; 
and  this  comparatively  late  form  was  also  ascribed  to 
the  genus  Peronospora.  The  well-known  botanist, 
Robert  Brown,  also  discovered  the  mycelia  of  a  fossil 
fungus  many  years  ago. 

Mr.  Smith  read  a  paper  on  this  remarkable  car- 
boniferous fungus  at  the  Woolhope  Club  early  in 
October,  which  paper  was  printed  at  length  in  the 
Gardenei's  Chronicle  shortly  afterwards.  He  there 
stated, — "  I  believe  that  the  fungus  I  have  named 
Peronosporites  antiquariiis,  in  the  scalariform  axis  of 
the  stem  of  a  Lepidodendron  from  the  Coal  Measures, 
has  up  to  the  present  time  only  been  examined  in  a 
somewhat  slight  manner,  and  has  never  been  search- 
ingly  looked  into.  No  description,  except  that  of  a 
Mucor,  also  from  the  Coal  Measures,  has  hitherto 
been  published  of  any  well-defined  fungus  belonging 
to  the  Palaeozoic  series  of  rocks.  It  is,  however, 
possible  that  a  paper  in  the  Annals  and  Magazine  of 
Natural  History,  4th  series,  vol.  iv.  1869,  p.  221, 
and  tabb.  ix.  and  x.,  describes  and  illustrates  a  fungus 
of  a  somewhat  similar  nature  with  my  Peronosporites. 
The  paper  in  question  is  communicated  by  Messrs. 
Albany  Hancock,  F.L.S.,  and  Thos.  Atthey,  and 
purports  to  describe  five  species  of  '  Archagaricon  ' 
from  the  Cramlington  black  shale.  The  authors  state 
that  the  fossil  fungus  has  been  found  at  Newsham  and 
in  other  localities.  They,  however,  describe  '  lenti- 
cular swellings  '  with  a  'reticulated  surface,'  which  I 
have  never  seen,  and  siDore-like  bodies  within  the 
mycelium,  which  is  clearly  an  error  of  observation. 
The  authors  also  refer  their  plant  to  Sderotiiim  stipi- 
tatum,  and  they  say  they  can  find  no  '  important 
difference '  to  distinguish  this  latter  plant  from  their 
coal  fungi.  Of  course,  Sclerotium  is  not  a  fungus  at 
all,  but  a  mass  of  condensed  mycelium,  and  the 
Cramlington  plants  do  not  resemble  Sclerotia. 

"  One  of  the  most  instructive  groups  of  threads 
and  fruit,  or,  more  properly  speaking,  mycelia  and 
zoosporangia  (or  oogonia),  as  seen  within  the  vascular 
axis  of  the  Lepidodendron,  is  shown  in  fig.  204,  en- 
larged 250  diameters.    Beginning  with  the  mycelium. 


270 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 


a  close  examination  of  this  shows  that  it  is  furnished 
with  numerous  joints  or  septa.  If,  therefore,  any 
reliance  is  to  be  placed  upon  the  modern  distinguish- 
ing characters  of  the  now  living  species  of  Perono- 
spora  and  Pythium,  as  furnished  by  a  septate  or 
non-septate  mycehum,  then  the  fossil  parasite  belongs 
to  Peronospora,  and  cannot  belong  to  Pythium  or 
any  of  the  Saprolegniere.  The  oogonia  do  not  agree 
with  those  of  Cystopus.  Within  many  of  the  fossil 
oogonia  of  the  group  illustrated,  the  differentiation 
of  the  protoplasm  into  zoospores  is  clearly  seen  ;  but 
if  any  doubt  could  exist  as  to  the  exact  nature  of  this 
differentiation,  then  other  oogonia  (or  zoosporangia) 
on  the  same  slide  show  the  contained  zoospores  with  a 


especially  with    the   same    organisms    belongino^    to 
Peronospora  infcstans.     The  contained  zoospores  are. 


'«^'«* 


Fig.  202.  The  Fruit  of  a  Fossil  Fungus  {Pcronosj-orltcs  aniu/narins)  containing 
zoospores  z«  i/Vrf  as  seen  amongst  the  scalariform  vessels  of  a  Lepidodendron  from 
the  Coal  measures  (enlarged  400  diam.). 


clearness  not  to  be  exceeded  by  any  living  specimen 
of  the  present  time.  One  of  the  most  perfect  groups 
of  these  Palaeozoic  bladders,  containing  the  once- 
mobile  spores,  is  shown  in  fig.  202,  enlarged  to  400 
diameters,  and  the  wonderful  fact  becom.es  manifest 
that  the  bladder  is  exactly  the  same  in  size  and 
character  with  average  oogonia  of  the  present  day, 


Fig.  203.  Fruit  of  the  Potato  Fungus  {Peronospora  infcstans), 
from  the  tuber  of  a  potato,  to  show  uniformity  in  size  with  the 
fossil  fungus  (enlarged  400  diam.). 

moreover,  the  same  in  form  and  dimensions  with  the 

zoospores  of  Pcro)iosp07-a  infcstans,  when  measured 

to   the    ten-thousandth    of  an    inch. 

^■Jx;.':'    .  For  comparison,    an   oogonium  and 

&r#o-''  ^  group  of  free  zoospores  enlarged  400 

diameters,     and    belonging    to     the 

fungus  of  the  Potato  disease,  is  illus- 

^>;    :•:■;•";;■;■:•'        trated  in  fig.  203.     On  examination, 

it  will  be  seen  that  the  oi-ganisms  are 

apparently   identical.      The   average 

number  of  zoospores  in  each  oogonium 

is  also  the  same,  viz.,  seven  or  eight. 

The  aerial  condition  of  the  fungus  has 

not  yet  been  observed. 

' '  In  Pcronospoi  ites  antiquariiis  we 
then,  probably,  have  one  of  the  simple 
primordial  plants  of  the  great  family 
of  fungi.  The  Peronosporce  are 
closely  allied  to  the  Algre — so 
closely,  indeed,  that  De  Bary  says 
the  species  of  the  foraier  may  with 
reason  be  compared  with  the  species 
of  one  group  of  the  latter  named, 
the  Saprolegniece ;  other  botanists  ■ 
place  the  Saprolegniere  amongst  true 
fungi.  If  Peronospora  is,  therefore, 
an  Alga  (and  its  extremely  close 
relationship  is  doubted  by  none),  we 
have  in  Pcronospo7-itcs  antiquariiis  a 
plant  which,  from  its  extreme 
antiquity,  lends  some  favour  to  the 
views  of  Sachs  and  other  evolution- 
ists. These  observers  place  the  lower 
Algae  amongst  the  primreval  plants 
from  which  fungi  and  all  other  cellular 
Ciyptogams  have  branched.  This 
position  is  hardly  invalidated  by  the 
presence  of  the  more  highly-organised 
vascitlar  Cryptogams  living  at  the 
same  period  of  time  with  the  prim- 
ordial Alga  or  fungus. 

"The  evolution  of  animals  and  plants  is  quite 
comparable  with  the  ages  of  stone,  bronze,  and  iron, 
with  reference  to  the  different  tribes  of  the  human 
family.  Because  the  stone  age  dates  back  to  dim 
antiquity,  it  does  not  follow  that  it  has  entirely  va- 
nished from  off  the  face  of  the  earth.     It  is  clear  that 


HARD  WI  CKE'S    S  CIENCE-  GO  SSI  P. 


•71 


the  law  which  called  the  Peronosporites  into 
existence  countless  ages  ago  is  in  force  now,  and 
that    this    law    produces    tlie    same    results    now 

as  then." 


CHAPTERS    ON 

CARBONIFEROUS       POLYZOA 

By  G.  R.  Vine. 

Chapter  IV.  and  Last. 


T' 


Fig.  204.    A  Fossil  Fungus  [Ptronn^/iorites  antiquayius)  with  its  'Mycelium  growing  amid  the  vascular 
bundles  of  a  Lepidodendron  from  the  Coal  measures  (enlarged  250  diam.). 


*HE  Glaucoitonij 
of  the  carbon- 
iferous era  comes  next 
to  the  FcncstcUa  in 
number  of  species  and 
in  the  variation  of 
pattern  amongst  the 
individuals  of  the 
several  species.  The 
genus  was  established 
by^  Gold  fuss,  and  re- 
vised by  Lonsdale, 
but  so  insufficiently 
characterized  by 
M'Coy  in  his  work 
on  the  Carboniferous 
Fossils  of  Ireland  as 
to  be  scarcely  of  any 
advantage  to  the  stu- 
dent. His  description 
is,  ' '  stem  elongate, 
oval,  laterally  branch- 
ed ;  obverse,  bearing 
longitudinal  rows  of 
pores ;  reverse,  stri- 
ated;"— a  description 
sufficiently  exact  when 
you  know  the  genus, 
but  useless  to  a  large 
extent  when  you  do 
not.  "  The  oval  form 
is  not  universal ;  and 
the  omission  of  any 
reference  to  the  form 
of  the  cells  has  led  to 
the  inclusion  under 
one  generic  designa- 
tion of  forms  which 
should  at  least  rank 
as  sub-genera."* 

The  Glaiicononic 
seems  to  have  come 
into  existence  in  the 
Upper  Silurian  era ; 
but  the  one  solitary 
species  of  the  genus 
given  in  Morris's  Cata- 
logue is  veiy  insuffi- 
cient data  on  which 
to  found  an  argument 

*  Prof.  J.  Young  and 
Mr.  John  Young.  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Nat.  His. 
Soc.  of  Glasgow,  March, 
1875. 


272 


HA  RD  Wl  CKE  'S   S  CIENCE  -  G  O  SSI  P. 


for  the  partially  universal  distribution  of  generic  type. 
There  is  also  a  paucity  of  this  type  among  Devonian 
fossils,  and  it  is  only  when  we  arrive  at  the  Car- 
boniferous era  that  we  come  across  the  full  develop- 
ment of  the  genus  Glaticonome :  and  these,  passing 
upwards  into  the  Permian  era,  seem  to  have  dwindled 
down  to  a  single  species  and  ultimately  became  ex- 
tinct before  the  close  of  the  period  ;  so  that  the 
Glauconome  may  be  considered  a  peculiarly  Paleozoic 
Polyzoan. 

About  fourteen  species  of  this  genus  have  been 
figured  and  described.  One  belonging  to  the  Silurian 
era,  one  to  the  Devonian,  eleven  to  the  Carboniferous, 
and  one  to  the  Permian.  This  is  in  connection  with 
our  own  formations  in  Great  Britain,  for  on  this 
genus  I  am  unable  to  make  any  observations  respect- 
ing foreign  species. 

Of  the  eleven  British  Glaiicono/iw,  seven  are  entirely 
new  to  science,  and  from  MS.  communications  from 
Mr.  J.  Young,  I  learn  that  he  has  discovered  another 
specie  to  add  to  the  above  list.  Even  now  in  all 
probability  the  number  of  distinct  species  and 
varieties  are  not  exhausted  :  so  numerous  and  so 
minute  are  some  of  the  individuals.  As  the  work  on 
this  genus  has  been  so  ably  performed  by  Prof. 
Young,  M.D.,  and  Mr.  John  Young,  F.G.S.,  of  the 
Hunterian  Museum  of  Glasgow,  I  can  do  no  more  than 
refer  the  student  to  their  papers  in  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Nat.  His.  Soc.  of  Glasgow,  for  March  1875.  But 
for  the  general  reader,  and  the  student  to  whom  the 
above  may  be  inaccessible,  I  here  reproduce  a  most 
useful  list  from  the  above  paper,  in  which  the  authors 
sum  up  the  principal  points  of  distinction  between  the 
species : — 


I  have  not  satisfied  myself  yet  as  to  the  geographical 
range  of  the  genus,  as  my  material  gives  to  me  only 
a  few  scanty  fragments  from  the  several  English 
localities  with  which  I  am  familiar. 

Until  quite  recently  I  was  not  aware  of  the  exist- 
ence of  the  Glauconome  stellipora  in  England,  but 
examining  more  minutely  than  I  had  hitherto  done 
my  Richmond  material,  I  came  across  several  frag- 
ments of  the  variety  named  by  Messrs.  Young, 
G.  stellipora  nobis.  The  fragments  of  species  are  not 
so  well  preserved  as  are  the  Scottish  fragments, 
neither  are  the  stellar  markings  over  the  pores  so  per- 
fect, but  the  habit  of  the  species  is  as  distinctly 
marked.  I  have  not  yet  found  Actinostoinia  feues- 
tratmn,  another  stellar  species  of  the  fenestrate  forms 
of  Polyzoa. 

Under  the  two  families  of  the  Cyclostoinata,  given 
by  Busk  in  his  work  on  the  Crag  Polyzoa — 
Diastoporida:  and  Cerioporidce — ^several  genera  may 
be  given,  but  the  species  of  these  have  not  yet  been 
so  sufficiently  worked  out  as  to  be  as  yet  exhaustive. 
M'Coy,  I  believe,  gives  only  one  specie  oi Diastopora, 
the  D.  viegastonia  of  the  Carboniferous  Limestone  of 
Ireland.  But  the  form  of  this  parasitic  Polyzoa 
varies  so  much  that  it  is  difficult  to  classify  all  the 
Diastopora  under  this  one  head.  One  specimen  now 
before  me  from  Richmond,  in  Yorkshire,  is  the  finest 
I  have  ever  seen,  and  the  marginal  edges  of  this  are 
broken  so  that  I  have  not  a  perfect  specimen ; 
another  specimen,  parasitic  on  Fenestella,  is  so 
delicate  as  to  be  scarcely  more  than  ^  of  an  inch 
in  diameter  ;  but  all  may  be  classed  under  the  generic 
description  given  by  M'Coy  under  the  genus  Beri- 
nicea  of  Lamarck.       "  Corallum  encrusting   foreign 


Name  of  species. 

Glauconome  bipinnata,  Phillips 

G.  gracilis,   M'Coy 

G.  grandis         ,,      

G.  pulcherima  , ,      

G.       (Diplopora)       marginalis 
Young  &  Young 
G.  elegans  ,, 

G.  aspersa  ,, 

G.  flesicannala  ,,, 

G.  retioflexa  ,, 

G.  luxa  ,, 

G.    (Acanthopora)     stellipora. 
Young  &  Young 


Pinnae. 

Cells  in  ^in. 

Bipin. 
Pin. 

>> 
Bipin. 

Pin. 

28 

Bipin. 

21 

20 
18 
18 
18 

j> 

24 

Cells  in  interval 
of  branches. 


I 

3 
I 


Cells. 


Pinnules. 


alternate 

opposite 

sub-alternate 

alternate 


opposite 
alternate 


opposite  or  sub-alternate 

irregular 

sub-alternate 


alternate 
sub-alternate 


I  have  left  out  of  the  above  list  a  few  points  more 
essential  to  the  specialist  than  to  the  general  student. 
All  of  the  above  species,  together  with  many 
varieties,  are  found  in  the  rich  shales  of  Hairmyres  ; 
and  as  I  have  specimens  of  the  whole  of  the 
species  in  my  cabinet,  I  can  speak  positively  of  the 
accuracy  with  which  both  Dr.  and  Mr.  J.  Young 
have  done  their  work.  One  species,  however,  I  have 
only  an  MS.  sketch  of,  and  this  Mr,  John  Young 
calls  G.  diplopora. 


bodies,  composed  of  very  thin,  calcareous  foliaceous 
base,  bearing  numerous,  ovate,  distinctly  separated 
cells,  not  piled ;  aperture  round  near  the  broad 
anterior  ends."* 

The  generic  character  given  by  Busk  of  the  Cerio- 
poriihe  is  ' '  Polyzoarium,  solid  or  lamellar,  erect,  or 
decumbent  (sometimes  encrusting?),  simple  or 
branched:     cells     contiguous,      crowded."  f       But 

*  M'Coy 's  "Carb.  Fossils  of  Ireland." 
1"  Busk,  Crag  Polyzoa. 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


273 


Prof.  Nicholson,  in  describing  his  species  Cerio- 
pora  (?)  Ilaiiiiltonciisis,  is  more  minute  in  particu- 
larizing the  true  character  of  the  genus,  but  scarcely 
more  concise  than  Busk.  Prof,  Phillips,  to  whom  we 
owe  much,  as  being  the  earliest  investigator  who 
patiently  figured  several  species  of  Polyzoa,  gives  the 
fallowing  as  the  characteristic  of  the  genus  Millepora  : 
"Branches  cylindrical,  with  acute  rhomboidal  cells 
in  quincunx."  Since  his  time  the  genus  has  been 
more  particularly  studied,  and  the  result  of  later  in- 
vestigations has  led  to  a  division  of  the  genus  into 
ihree  genera,  if  we  may  place  in  this  family  the 
Hyphasmopora  of  Mr.  Robert  Etheridge,  jun. 

Ceriopora  interporosa  {Millepora  inter.)  Phillips. 
,,         gracilis  ,,         gra.  ,, 

, ,  siutilis  , , 

RJiabdomeson  gracile  {Millepora  Fhill.),  Young  & 
Young. 

RJiabdomeson     rhombiferum     {Millepora      PkilL), 
Young  &  Young. 

Hyphasmopora  Btiskii,  Robt.  Etheridge,  jun. 


account  of  the  insufficiency  of  the  work  done. 
Phillips,  in  his  "  Geology  of  York,"  speaks  of 
it  doubtfully  under  the  name  Flustra{l)  parallela, 
and  his  minute  description  is  reproduced  here 
without  any  comment: — "Linear:  longitudinally 
and  deeply  furrowed,  cells  in  the  furrows ;  in  quin- 
cunx, their  apertures  oval,  prominent ;  side  fur- 
rows without  cells  ;  it  seems  to  have  been  a 
tubular  or  folded  membrane,  the  number  of  rows 
of  cells  varies  in  different  specimens.  No  sign  of 
ramification."* 

The  genus  has  passed  under  the  name  of  Viiicularia 
parellela  and  Suleoretepora  parellela,  and  by  the  latter 
name  it  is  now  more  generally  known.  I  have  speci- 
mens from  several  English  and  Scotch  localities,  some 
of  which  differ  sufficiently  as  to  be  characterized  as 
different  species,  three  of  which  are  given  in  the 
Catalogue  of  Western  Scottish  Fossils,  compiled  for 
the  British  Association  of  1876.  Suleoretepora 
parallela,  Phillips;  S.  raricosta,  M'Coy;  .5'. 
Robeitsonii,  Y.  &  Y.,  MS. 


% 


J 


Fig.  203.  Glanconoine        Fig.  206.  Glau-  Fig.  207.  G.  mar-  Fig.  208.  Sul- 
((Lowie).  coiwine,  sp.         ginatis    [Diplo-      coretipora 

poni).  (Hairmyres). 


Fig.  209.  Siilco?-eii-     Fig.  210.  Siilcoreii- 
pora,  sp.  />ora,  sp.  (Redes- 

dale). 


Fig.  211.     Cell-structure  of  Transparent  G/awtf/wwc. 


c-^' 


£^ 


Fig.  212.     Thaiiiniicus  (furrowed  like  Sulcoretipord),  Young 
Form,  magnified 


The  Hyphasmopora  Biiskii  has  always  been  con- 
sidered by  me  a  peculiarly  Scottish  species  and  of 
very  local  occurrence.  It  is  found  rather  scantily  in 
the  shales  of  Capelrig.  High  Blantyre  is  given  as 
another  locality,  but  in  the  minute  investigation  of 
my  Richmond  material  spoken  of  previously,  I  came 
across  five  small  fragments,  slightly  differing  from  the 
more  characteristic  Scottish  species,  of  this  beautifully 
delicate  genus. 

Another  genus  of  Carboniferous  Polyzoa  had  a 
very  wide  geographical  range,  although  the  species 
of  the  genus   were  very  few,  or    apparently  so,  on 


Another  of  ^Messrs.  Young's  new  species  is  one 
called  by  them  Thamniscus {?)  Rankini.  "The 
stem  is  free,  dichotomous,  circular,  about  -^  inch  in 
diameter,  branches  in  one  plane.  Celluliferous  face, 
equal  to  two-thirds  of  circumference,  cells  arranged 
in  spirals,  the  left  -  handed  series  longer  than  the 
right-handed  ;  cell  aj^ertures  circular  when  entire,  be- 
coming oval  when  worn  ;  lower  lip  prominent,  mar- 
gins of  aperture  tuberculate.  Intercellular  surface 
covered  with  finely  tubercular  ridges,  whose  termina- 


PhilHps's  "Geology  of  York. 


274 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSSIF. 


tions  form  the  marginal  denticles.     Non-celluliferous 
aspect  finely  granular,  faintly  striate."  * 

At  first  Mr.  Robert  Etheridge  was  disposed  to 
class  the  species  among  the  genus  Polypora  with  the 
specific  definition  of  P.  pastiilata.  Better  specimens 
having  been  received  from  Dr.  Rankin,  of  Carluke, 
by  the  Messrs.  Young,  they  have  been  able  to  give 
the  above  characters,  together  with  the  generic  and 
specific  name.  But  wisely  the  authors  say  :  "The 
generic  position  of  the  fossil  is  uncertain.  It  is  not 
a  Polypora  since  it  is  not  reticulate.  Thaniiiisciis, 
King,  shows  a  tendency  to  reticulation  ;  but  the  junc- 
tions are  at  small  angles.  Synodadia  presents  the 
next  step  towards  the  Fcncstdla  type.  If  the  gem- 
muliferous  vesicles  described  by  King  are  essential  to 
his  Thainnisciis,  this  character  is  wanting  in  our 
species,  even  in  the  best  preserved  specimens.  Longi- 
tudinal sections  show  the  cells  starting  from  an 
imaginary  axis,  and  reaching  the  surface  at  various 
levels  ;  but  the  tendency  to  an  arrangement  in  trans- 
verse series  is  apparent.  ]Meanwhile,  though  strongly 
disposed  to  regard  this  fossil  as  a  true  Hornera  or  a 
member  of  a  closely-allied  genus,  we  think  it  safer  to 
leave  it  in  the  Palreozoic  genus  T/ianmisais,  and  to 
name  it  TIi.  {?)  Raiikini,  after  the  gentleman  to  whom 
we  owe  the  finest  examples."  i" 

The  testimony  of  these  eminent  specialists  in  con- 
necting the  present  with  the  past,  if  only  by  a  single 
species,  is  of  double  advantage  to  the  student  in  the 
present  state  of  scientific  nomenclature.  Certain 
authors  attach  too  great  a  value  to  apparently 
essential  characters  in  a  species,  so  that  minute 
specific  nomenclature  often  prevents  a  correlation  of 
the  ancient  types  with  the  recent  types  of  the  same 
genus  ;  hence  I  am  glad  to  make  a  note  of  any  desire 
on  the  part  of  Paleontologists  to  bring  the  past  his- 
toric life  of  animal  or  vegetable  nearer  to  the  present. 
This  desire  to  bridge  over  the  wide  gulf  has  been 
followed  by  Mr.  Brady  also  in  his  "Monograph  of 
Carboniferous  and  Permian  Foraminifera, "  for  one 
species  named  by  him  as  Trochammijia  gordealis  is 
veiy  similar  to  the  figure  of  the  same  genus  and  species 
found  among  the  Arctic  Foraminifera  of  Messrs. 
Rupert  Jones,  &c. 

Are  the  Hornera  the  real  descendants  of  the  sup- 
posed extinct  tribes  oi  Fencstdla  Polypora  and  Tkaiii' 
nisciis  ?  The  question  is  one  open  to  much  debate, 
but  one  to  which  I  shall  return  at  some  future  time. 

There  are  a  few  other  genera  belonging  to  the 
Carboniferous  Polyzoa  of  which  I  am  unable  to 
speak  with  any  degree  of  authority.  My  desire  has 
been  to  clear  the  way  for  intending  students  living  in 
isolated  localities,  and  I  have  here  merely  glanced  at 
a  few  of  the  riches  without  at  all  exhausting  the  mine. 
The  genera  Archaopora  of  De  Konick,  Heinitrypa 
Hibernica,  and  Ptilopora  of  M'Coy,  I  have  left  un- 


*  "Ann.  and  Mag.  of  Nat.  Hist.,"  May  1873. 
t  Ibid. 


touched,  because  I  have  not  yet  satisfied  myself  of 
the  true  value  of  their  descriptions,  and  because  the 
old  work  on  these  special  genera  will  have  to  undergo 
severe  revision  before  long.  I  here  indicate  their 
existence,  and  keen  eyes  must  go  to  work  to  discover 
fresh  iiraterial  for  the  revision. 

I  have  now  come  to  the  end  of  my  catalogue  of 
Carboniferous  Polyzoa.  The  task  I  set  myself  has 
been  a  pleasant  one  rather  than  a  burthen,  and  had  I 
not  had  the  opportunity  given  to  me  of  publishing  the 
results  of  my  investigations,  I  should  have  given  it  up 
in  despair  long  ago.  In  my  own  locality,  I  have  had 
no  specialist  to  sympathize  with  me  in  the  work,  and 
the  fragments  that  I  have  had  to  work  upon  have  not 
been  the  most  encouraging  as  furnishing  matter  for 
a  special  study.  But  perseverance  has  made  me 
familiar  with  generic  and  siDecific  types,  so  that  the 
merest  fragment  from  any  locality  is  sufficient  to  in  - 
dicate  the  presence  of  the  species.  This  has  been 
one  of  the  chief  charms  about  the  study,  to  build  up 
a  type  from  the  merest  fragment ;  and  although  I 
have  not  given  a  vast  variety  of  localities,  I  have 
endeavoured  to  indicate  the  presence  of  species  where- 
ever  they  were  most  abundant.  To  the  student  I 
will  say  that  I  should  be  happy  to  name  any  and 
every  specimen  sent  to  me  from  different  localities  ; 
and  to  my  American  friends  I  will  gladly  avail  my- 
self of  this  opportunity  of  asking  from  them  Devonian 
or  other  Polyzoa  in  exchange  for  Carboniferous 
species.  According  to  Prof  Nicholson,  many  genera 
are  plentiful  in  the  Devonian  strata  of  Ameiica, 
though  others  are  more  rare.  And  to  those  interested 
in  the  subject  in  this  country,  who  desire  the  con- 
tinuation of  articles  similar  to  these,  I  shall  also  be 
glad  to  exchange  for  Polyzoa  from  all  the  various 
formations  in  which  Polyzoa  is  known,  to  form  a  per- 
centage of  the  fossils.  I  shall  be  glad  to  receive  the 
material  immounted,  but  with  the  localities  and  strata 
carefully  given. 

My  sincere  thanks  are  due  to  all  those  friends  who 
have  so  kindly  assisted  me  in  these  articles. 


ON  CERTAIN   GENERA  OF  LIVING  FISH, 
AND    THEIR   FOSSIL  AFFINITIES. 

No.  III. 

IN  considering  the  distribution  and  range  of  the 
various  families  in  geological  time,  Ave  find  that 
authenticated  remains  of  sharks,  Placodcrms,  and 
Cephalaspids  have  been  obtained  from  the  Lower 
Ludlow  beds  of  the  Upper  Silurian  rocks  of  Europe, 
but  in  America  it  is  singular  that  no  fossil  fishes  have 
as  yet  been  discovered  before  the  Devonian  epoch, 
when  the  relics  of  numerous  genera  occur  abundantly, 
differing,  however,  from  the  European  forms.  This 
dissimilarity  in  the  fauna  is  probably  owing  to  the 
differences  existing  in  the  physical  geography  of  the 
two  areas  at  the  time  of  the  deposition  of  the  series. 


HARD  WICKE 'S    S CIENCE- G OSSIF. 


275 


The  Devonian  formation  is  built  up  of  freshwater, 
estuarine,  and  marine  strata,  each  group  characterised 
by  its  peculiar  forms  of  life.     In  the  Old  Red  Sand- 
stone  of  Scotland   and    Russia,    freshwater   species 
predominate,    while    in    the    marine    limestones  of 
Devonshire  and  the  Eifel,  Mollusca,  Corals,  and  the 
remains  of  genera  of  inshore-dwelling  fish  indicate  a 
shallower  marine  deposit.     The  greater  part  of  the 
American  Devonian,  on  the  contrary,  was  apparently 
laid  down  in  a  deep  sea,  and  thus  a  monster  marine 
fauna   flourished,    not   so    generally   represented  in 
Europe ;  but  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  identity  of  a 
few  species  occurring  in  localities  where  the  beds  are 
of  similar  structure  to  those  of  contemporaneous  age 
in  Europe.     In  both  worlds  the  formation  is  alike 
distinguished  by  the  great  preponderance  of  ganoid 
over  elasmobranchiate  fishes.     The  conditions  existing 
during  the  formation  of  the  Devonian  rocks  are  well 
illustrated  at  the  present  day  by  the  freshwater  lakes, 
mighty  rivers,  and  extended  coast  line  of  the  African 
and  American  continents,  and  it  is  a  most  suggestive 
and  significant  fact  that  the  genera  of  living  ganoid 
and  dipnoid  fishes  most  resembling  the  palaeozic  forms 
are  now,  with  two  exceptions,  found  on  those  con- 
tinents alone.     Taking  the  various  orders  of  Professor 
Huxley's  comprehensive  classification  in  succession,  we 
find  that  no  traces  of  the  first  or  lowest  order,  the 
Pharyngobranchii,  which  contains  only  the  "gullet 
breathing  "  Lancelet,  have  been  found  in  a  fossil  state. 
This  is  easily  accounted  for,  however,  by  the  soft  and 
perishable   structure   of  the   species,    of    which    no 
remains  could  possibly  be  preserved  m  the  finest  sedi- 
mentary strata,  and  therefore  the  non-representation 
of  this  lowest  form  of  ichthyic  life  in  "the  records 
of   the   rocks"   becomes   less  remarkable.     Of    the 
cartilaginous   Marsipobraiichii,  comprising   the   hag 
fishes  and  lampreys,  the  horny  teeth  alone  would  be 
susceptible  of  preservation,   and  their  absence  has 
been  commented  on   as  negativing   the   evidence  of 
progressive  development  among  fishes,  as  it  is  obvious 
the  most  simply  constructed  forms  should  appear  first 
on   the  scene  of  life,  in  order   to  give   place   to  their 
more  highly  organized  descendants.     In  1856,  Pander, 
in  his  magnificent  work  on  the  Silurian  and  Devonian 
fishes  of  the  Russian  Baltic  provinces,  gave  numerous 
figures  of  what  he  supposed  to  be  the  teeth  of  small 
sharks  firom  the  Lower  Silurian  rocks ;  but  these  so 
termed  conodonts  have  not  been  accepted  as  of  true 
ichthyic  origin.     Professor  Owen  *  retains  only  three 
species  as   possibly  the   teeth   of  fishes,  and   is   of 
opinion  that    the  remainder    might    be   either   the 
ornaments  of  crustaceans,  "  or  the  spines,  or  booklets, 
or  denticles  of  naked  mollusks  or  annelides. "     Great 
numbers  of  these  "cone  teeth"  have  recently  been 
detected  in  carboniferous  strata  both  in  England  and 
America,  and  it  is  suggested  that  they  may  be  the 
teeth  of  cyclostomous  fishes  like  the  hags  and  lampreys, 

*  Enc.  Brit.,  vol.  xvii.,  part  i.  1839,  art.  "  Palseontology." 


and  thus  be  the  representatives  of  the  MarsipobrancJiii 
of  the  ancient    Silurian   seas.     They  seem   most   to 
resemble   in   shape   and   structure   the   teeth  of  the 
Myxinoids,  in   which  the  dentition  is  peculiar,  being 
composed  of  one  horny  conical  tooth  situated  in  the 
roof  of  the  mouth,  with  two  serrated  dental  plates  on 
the  tongue.     It  has  been  objected  that  the  teeth  of 
living  cyclostomous   fishes   are  horny  or  chitonous, 
while  the  fossil   cone  teeth  are  calcareous  ;   but  this 
applies  with  equal  force  to  the  theory  that  they  are 
the  teeth  of  mollusks,  as  the  modern  shell-fish  have 
siliceous     teeth.     The     piscine     derivation     of    the 
conodonts    is,    however,    still    a    debated    question 
requiring  careful  investigation,  as  it  would  antedate 
the  appearance  of  ichthyic  life  in  geologic  history  ; 
but  if  it  cannot  be  asserted  that  they  are  the  teeth  of 
fishes,  neither  as  yet  can  it  be  positively  proved  that 
they  are  not.     The  next  order,  the  Elasinohranchii, 
embraces  the  sharks,  dog-fishes,  rays,  and  Ckim<2roids. 
The  first  of  these  families  has  enjoyed  a  long  range 
from  the  Upper  Silurian  epoch  to  the  present  day,  and 
one   genus   seems   to   have  varied  but   slightly,  the 
Cestracion  Phillippi,  or  Port  Jackson  shark  of  Australia, 
being  a  descendant  of  the  old  time   Cesfracionfes,  a 
once  numerous  family  now  verging  towards  extinction. 
The  Chimceroids  appeared  first  in  the  Devonian,  and 
live  on,  but  the  Rays  were  not  represented  until  the 
Jurassic  age.     The   Placodenns,    as   we   have   seen, 
enjoyed  but  a  transient  existence,  dying  out  at  the 
close  of  the  Devonian,  while  the  Tdeostei,  or  true  bony 
fishes,  which  so  largely  predominate  at  the  present  day, 
did  not  appear  on  the  scene  of  life  until  the  formation 
of  the  cretaceous  rocks.     Seven  living  genera  alone 
survive  of  the  Gajioidei,  which  prevailed  so  numerously 
in  PalcEozoic  times,  and  but  one  of  these,  the  Sturgeon, 
the   least    characteristic  of    the  group,  is  found    in 
European  waters.     Two  of  the  six  remaining  forms, 
which  are  all  dwellers  in  fresh  water,  occur  in  Africa, 
and  four  inhabit  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  North  America. 
The  preservation  of  the  majority  of  living  ganoids  in 
America   is   probably  owing   to   the   fact   that  some 
portions  of  this  ancient  continent,  truly  the  old  world 
of  geologists,  have  never  been  submerged  since  their 
upheaval  from  the  first  Silurian  seas  :  thus  some  repre- 
sentatives of  this  ancient   race   of  fishes  were  able 
to  find  a  refuge  in  its  bays  and  rivers,  and  the  chain 
of  descent  has  been  kept  unbroken  from  the  early  ages 
of  the  incalculably  remote  past.     The  large-spined, 
shagreen-scaled  Acanthodidce,   which  are  considered 
by   Professor   Huxley  to  link   the   Ganoids   to   the 
Elasmobranchs,  range  only  in  the  Devonian  and  car- 
boniferous rocks.     The  ' '  thick-toothed  "  Pycnodonts 
lived   from   the  coal-measures    to  the  Tertiaries,  and 
are  now  extinct,  while  the  buckler-headed  Cephalaspids, 
like  the  Placodenns,  existed  only  in  Devonian  times. 
The  Chojtdrosteidce,  to  which   group   the  Sturgeons 
belong,  were  certainly  represented  in  the  Jurassic  seas, 
and  possibly  by  the  gigantic  MacropetalichtJiys  in  the 
Devonian.     Amia  calva,  the  dog-fish  of  the  American 


276 


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


lakes,  is  the  sole  member  of  the  sub-order  Ainiadu:. 
The    Lepidosteidis    include    the   living   bony  pikes, 
inhabitants  of  the  rivers  of  the  same  continent,  and 
fossil  forms  in  all  the  formations  reaching  back  to  the 
Devonian.     There  remains   for  disscussion   but   the 
sub-order  Crossopterygidtr,  that   important   group   of 
fringe-finned    ganoids,     through     which     Professor 
Huxley  considers  the  passage  from  the  fishes  to  the 
reptiles  took   place.     All   the   families  of  this   well- 
defined  sub-order  are  characterized  by  the  possession 
of  two  dorsal  fins,  and  by  lobate  paired  fins  having  a 
central  axis  or  stem  covered  with  scales  like  the  body 
walls,  and  surrounded  by  a  fringe  of  fin  rays.     Jugular 
plates  always  replace  the  branchiostegal  rays,  and  the 
scales   are    either    rhomboidal    or    cycloidal.      The 
families  Saurodiptenni,  Glyptodipterini,  and  PJianero- 
pleurini  are  restricted  to  the  Palaeozoic  rocks.     The 
Calacaiithiiii  range  from   the    Carboniferous  to  the 
Chalk,  and  the  Polypterini,  comprising  only  the  living 
Polyptents  and   Calamokhihys  of  Africa,  alone  repre- 
sent this  numerous  race  of  fishes  at  the  present  day. 
Tlie  genus  Polyptents  is  remarkable  for  the  unique 
arrangement  of  its  subdivided  dorsal  fin,  and  by  the 
possession  of  a   double   cellular   air-bladder,  which 
most  nearly  approximates  to  the  true  lungs  of  the 
Dipnoi.     It  has   least   structural   affinities  with   the 
Cxlacaiiths,  its  nearest   allies  in   time,  and   is   most 
closely  zoologically  related  to  the  rhomboidal  scaled 
Saurodipterines  of  the   Devonian,  from  which   it   is 
separated  by  an  enormous  gulf  of  geological  time,  as 
no  intermediate  links  have  been  discovered.     In  the 
notochordal   Phaneroplciirini  we   find   forms   which 
most    closely    resemble    the    acutely    lobate-finned 
Lepidosiren.  The  shape  of  the  body,  number,  position, 
and  structure  of  the  fins,  and  all  the  elements  of  the 
internal  skeleton,  exactly  foreshadow  those  of  the  mud 
fishes.     Like  them  Phaneropleuron  was  covered  with 
thin  cycloidal  scales,  through  which  the  long  and  well- 
ossified  ribs  show  so  plainly  in  the  fossil  state  as  to 
suggest  the  name  of  the  genus.     The  dentition,  how- 
ever, differs  from  that  of  Ceratodus  and  Lepidosiren, 
being  composed  of  a  row  of  short  conical  teeth  in 
each  jaw,  and  in  the  absence  of  the  grooved  dental 
plates  so  characteristic  of  the  tnie  Dipnoi,  it  is  uncertain 
whether  this  family  can  be  associated  with  the  other 
members  of  that   order.     The   chain   of    descent   is 
carried  on  by  the  Caacanth'ini,  the  only  fringed-finned 
ganoids  occurring  in  the  mesozoic  rocks.     They  can 
be  traced  up  from  Calacantkics,  in  the  Carboniferous, 
through  Holophagiis  in  the  Lias  and  Undina  in  the 
Oolites,  up  to  Macropoma  in  the  Chalk.     The  family 
is  distinguished  by  cycloid  scales,  hollow  fin-supports, 
and  a  notochordal  skeleton  built  on  the  same  principle 
as  that  of  the  mud  fishes.     In  some  genera  the  walls 
of    the   air-bladder   are    ossified.     This   peculiarity, 
which  was   first  suspected   by  Mantell,  is   especially 
remarkable  in    Undina  and  Macropot/ia.     No  fossil 
Crossopterygids   have   been   discovered   in   Tertiary 
strata,  but  it  is  the  opinion  of  Professor  Huxley  that, 


as   the    rhomboidal    scaled    Saurodipterines   of  the 
Devonian  rocks  are  now  represented  by  the  living 
Polypterus,  so  the  stiff"- walled  lungs  of  the  Lepidosiren 
are  the  homologues  of  the  ossified  air-bladder  of  the 
Ccelacanths ;   and   thus   that   genus  carried    up   the 
cycloidal  branch  of  the  Crossopterygids  to  the  present 
day.     Such,  in  the  abstract,  is  the  life-history  of  fishes, 
a  class  characterized,  like  other  divisions  of  the  animal 
kingdom,  by  the   extinction  of  some   groups  after  a 
brief  existence,  and  by  the  persistent  endurance  of 
others  through   untold   ages.     In   the   few  genera  of 
living  ganoids  we  have  undoubtedly  the   surviving 
descendants  of  a  numerous  and  powerful  race,  which 
prevailed  in  the  Devonian  epoch,  and  by  the  discovery 
of  fossil  dipnoal  forms,  the  progenitors  of  Ceratodus 
and  Lepidosiren,  the  Dipnoi  are  likewise  proved  to  be 
of  ancient   lineage.     The  greater  part  of  the  existing 
piscine  fauna,  on   the   contrary,  is   shown   to   be   of 
comparatively  modern  date.    Moreover,  in  considering 
the  fact  that  the  early  fishes  are  remarkable  from  a 
combination   of  diverse  characteristics  which   subse- 
quently  become   the    distinguishing  peculiarities   of 
distinct  families,    and  of   a   higher   order,    we   find 
further  evidence  that  the  ancient  ganoids  formed  the 
parent    stocks  from   which    the   succeeding    fishes, 
amphibians,   and  reptiles  have  diverged.     In   some 
sauroid  Devonian  fishes  the  position  and  structure  of 
the   teeth   foreshadow   those   of   the   Labrinthodont 
reptiles ;   in   others   the  throat   is  protected  by  gular 
plates,  'a    fashion    retained     in    the    Carboniferous 
amphibia.     Again,  in   some   species   the   scales   are 
surface-pitted,  like  the  scutes  of  crocodiles.     While, 
in  the  notochordal  weak-limbed  amphibians  of  the 
coal-measures,  with  minute  body-scales,  and  partly 
osseous  skulls,  we  cannot  fail  to  recognize  structural 
peculiarities  now  found  in  the  swamp-dwelling  mud 
fishes.     Thus  in  the  anomalous  "scaled  sirens"  we 
have  the   "persistent   type"  of  an   ancient  group  of 
fishes,  in  which  now,  as  in  the  old  time,  the  piscine 
and  amphibian  characters  are  so  united  as  to  com- 
pletely  efface  the  line  of  demarcation  between   the 
orders,  and  effectually  link  the  fishes  to  the  reptiles. 


MICROSCOPY. 

Cleaning  Glass  Slides. — I  am  not  sure  whether 
the  following  method  of  cleaning  used  glass  slides 
and  covering  glasses  has  been  mentioned  before  in 
your  columns ;  if  it  has  I  can  bear  testimony  to  its 
utility.  I  had  tried  previously  to  remove  the  har- 
dened balsam  in  many  ways,  and  had  succeeded  fairly 
with  a  mixture  of  prepared  chalk,  methylated  spirit, 
and  liquid  ammonia,  but  found  this  objectionable  be- 
cause it  was  such  a  dirty  job.  I  now  simply  warm 
the  slides  over  a  flame,  and  push  ofT  the  covers  into 
strong  sulphuric  acid  (oil  of  vitriol),  and  leave  them 
therein  for  a  short  time  ;  when  clean,  I  drain  off,  and 
rinse  with  a  little  fresh  acid,  and  finish  off  by  washing 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


277 


well  in  water.  As  much  balsam  as  possible  is  re- 
moved from  the  slides  by  scraping  with  a  knife,  and 
then  sulphuric  acid  is  rubbed  upon  them  with  a  glass 
rod.  They  are  then  well  washed.  If  necessary  a 
finishing  touch  may  be  given  with  a  warm  solution  of 
washing  soda  or  methylated  spirit  and  ammonia,  to 
remove  all  trace  of  grease.  Sulphuric  acid  should  be 
ailded  to  water,  or  water  to  sulphuric  acid  very 
gradually.— Thos.  H.  Powell. 

Opaque  Glass  Slides. — American  microscopists 
are  using  white  porcelain  glass  slides  for  mounting 
opaque  objects,  and  black  glass  slides  for  white 
objects. 

Axes  of  Double  Refracting  Substances, — 
At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Royal  Microscopical  So- 
ciety, the  President,  H.  C.  Sorby,  F.R.S.,  read  a 
paper  on  an  improved  method  for  distinguishing  sub- 
stances which  consist  of  a  wedge-shaped  piece  of 
quartz,  cut  parallel  to  the  positive  axis  of  the  crystal, 
and  made  to  slide  into  the  eye-piece  of  the  micro- 
scope. When  this  passed  across  the  field  of  view  in 
polarized  light,  every  gradation  of  tint  was  succes- 
sively produced  by  the  varying  thickness  of  the 
quartz ;  and  by  viewing  ciystals  through  this  it  was 
easy  at  once  to  determine  the  position  of  their  axes, 
by  noting  the  effect  upon  the  series  of  coloured  bands 
produced  by  the  quartz  scale. 

Diatoms. — We  have  received  a  capital  little  bro- 
chure, published  by  the  Industrial  Publication  Com- 
pany, New  York,  entitled  "Practical  Directions  for 
Collecting,  Preserving,  Transporting,  Preparing,  and 
Mounting  Diatoms. "  The  articles  are  by  Professor  A. 
Mead-Edwards,  Professor  C.  Johnston,  and  Professor 
Hamilton  L.  Smith— all  well-known  American  mi- 
croscopists. 


ZOOLOGY. 

Watford  Natural  History  Society. — The 
Rev.  Dr.  Gee  recently  read  a  lengthy  and  exhaustive 
paper  before  this  society  on  "Famous  Trees  in 
Hertfordshire."  Afterwards  the  members  gave 
their  Hon.  Secretary,  Mr.  J.  J.  Hopkinson,  a  hand- 
some testimonial,  as  a  tribute  of  their  esteem,  and 
their  appreciation  of  the  energy  he  has  displayed 
since  the  society  was  founded  a  few  years  ago.  Mr. 
Hopkinson's  labours  in  making  the  Watford  Society 
so  successful  shows  what  can  be  done  by  a  man 
who  is  in  earnest. 

The  Study  of  Practical  Zoology.  —  Under 
the  name  of  "The  Channel  Islands  Museum  and 
Institute  of  Pisciculture  Society,"  a  limited  liability 
company  is  being  formed  for  the  establishment,  at 
Jersey,  of  an  Aquarium  which  shall  also  be  a 
"Zoological  Station,"  similar  to  that  founded  by 
Dr.  A.  Dohrn,  at  Naples,  where  yoimg  zoologists  can 
study  their  science  practically.     Biological  research 


will  there  be  encouraged  to  the  utmost,  and  lectures, 
laboratories,  apparatus,  &c.,  will  be  provided  for 
students.  A  Museum,  as  well  as  a  popular  Aquarium,, 
will  be  established  in  connection,  in  the  Zoological 
School,  for  the  use  of  the  public.  The  technical 
control  of  this  promising  and  much  required  institu- 
tion will  be  undertaken  by  Mr.  Saville  Kent,  F.L.S., 
whose  experience  in  marine  aquaria,  and  wide  repu- 
tation as  a  marine  zoologist,  eminently  fit  him  for  the 
post. 

Provincial  Societies. — We  have  received  a 
copy  of  the  "Transactions  of  the  Cumberland 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Literature  and 
Science  " — an  organization  which  we  should  be  glad 
to  see  imitated  in  every  part  of  Great  Britain,  as  it 
proves  what  can  be  done  in  the  way  of  scientific 
propagandism  by  co-operative  effort.  The  volume 
contains  some  capital  papers  by  Dr.  Dodgson, 
J.  F,  Crosthwaite,  R.  F.  Martin,  R.  Russell, 
J.  Clifton  Ward,  J.  Richardson,  W.  Fletcher, 
J.  Birkett,  J.  D,  Harington,  &c.,  and  is  edited  by 
Mr.  J.  Clifton  Ward,  F.G.S.,  the  President  of  the 
Association. 

Colours  of  Birds'  Eggs. — In  an  article  on 
this  subject  Von  Reichenan  concludes  that  birds 
which  build  open  nests  uniformly  have  coloured  egg?,  ; 
and  that  those  which  possess  concealed  or  covered 
nests  have  white  eggs.  He  further  states  that  in 
open  and  ground  nests  the  colour  of  the  eggs  has  a 
protective  function. 

The  Sense  of  Hearing.  —  Prof.  Jager  has 
published  an  article  on  this  subject,  in  which  he 
expresses  his  opinion  that  in  animals  possessing 
nerve  fibres,  the  organs  of  hearing  are  but  a 
specialisation  of  the  general  tactile  sense. 

Spotted  Crake. — On  the  i8th  September  I  had 
brought  to  me  a  beautiful  male  specimen  of  the 
Spotted  Crake  {Crex porzatta).  It  had  been  killed 
by  a  lad  who  mistook  it  for  a  rat,  and  threw  a  stone 
at  it  as  it  ran  along  the  side  of  a  ditch.  Though  by 
no  means  a  rare  bird  in  some  districts,  this  is  the 
first  instance  that  has  come  under  my  notice  of  its 
capture  in  this  part  of  Lancashire. — R.  Staiulen, 
Cossnargh. 

Remarkable  Sagacity  of  a  Lobster. — A  few 
days  ago  we  had  occasion  to  empty  a  tank  containing 
flat-fishes,  and  a  flounder  of  eight  inches  in  length 
was  inadvertently  left  buried  in  the  shingle,  where  it 
died.  On  refilling  the  tank,  it  was  tenanted  by  three 
lobsters  {Homarus  viarinus),  one  of  which  is  an  aged 
veteran  of  unusual  size,  bearing  an  honourable  array 
of  barnacles  ;  and  he  soon  brought  to  light  the  hidden 
flounder,  with  which  he  retired  to  a  corner.  In  a 
short  time  it  was  noticed  that  the  flounder  was  7ion 
est.  It  was  impossible  the  lobster  could  have  eaten 
it  all  in  the  interim,  and  the  handle  of  a  net  revealed 
the  fact  that,  upon  the  approach  of  the  two  smaller 


278 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  GOSSIP. 


lobsters,  the  larger  one  had  buried  the  flounder  be- 
neath a  heap  of  shingle,  on  which  he  now  mounted 
guard.  Five  times  within  two  hours  was  the  fish 
unearthed,  and  as  often  did  the  lobster  shovel  the 
gravel  over  it  with  his  huge  claws,  each  time  ascend- 
ing the  pile  and  turning  his  bold,  defensive  front  to 
his  companions. — Ernest  E.  Barker,  Rothesay  Aqua- 
rium, Bute. 


BOTANY. 

Gentiana  Acaulis. — In  your  issue  for  Oct.  I, 
page  234,  one  of  tlie  correspondents  appears  to  ex- 
press some  doubts  about  my  liaving  seen  Gentiana 
acatdis  on  the  Cader  Idris,  or,  if  I  Iiad  seen  it,  that 
it  must  have  been  a  garden  escape.  On  referring  to 
my  diary  for  1862,  I  find  that  I  ascended  the  Cader 
in  August  of  that  year,  and  recorded  "  Gentiana 
acaulis,  found  on  the  slopes."  I  have  the  most  vivid 
recollection  of  having  noticed  it,  and  am  as  certain 
as  I  am  of  my  own  existence  that  it  was  then  there. 
It  was  certainly  not  Gentiana  amarella,  for  that,  as 
an  autumn  gentian,  would  probably  flower  in  the 
autumn.  Moreover,  it  was  as  unlike  it  as  chalk  is  to 
cheese  in  other  respects.  In  the  Botanical  Magazine, 
or  F/o-cver-ga?-den  Displayed,  by  W,  Curtis,  1796,  it 
is  stated  that  ' '  G.  acaulis  is  a  plant  growing  in  moun- 
tainous situations,  where  it  is  constantly  exposed  to 
strong-blowing  winds.  Such  plants  are  always  dwarf- 
ish in  such  situations.  The  present  plant  has  no 
stalk,  whence  its  name  acajdis,  but  cultivated  in  gar- 
dens it  becomes  one.  As  most  alpine  plants  do,  this 
loves  a  pure  air,  an  elevated  situation,  and  a  loamy 
soil,  moderately  moist ;  it  is,  however,  somewhat 
capricious,  thriving  without  the  least  care  in  some 
gardens,  and  not  succeeding  in  others."  Sowerby's 
'•'  English  Botany,"  vol.  vi.,  states  that  "  G.  amarella 
gi^ows  in  pastures,  especially  in  chalky  and  limestone 
districts  ;  stem  3  to  1 5  inches  high  ;  flowers  of  a  dull 
lurid  purple."  Mr.  Bentham,  in  his  "  Handbook  of 
the  British  Flora,"  writes  :  "  G.  amarella,  diffused  over 
the  greater  jjart  of  Britain.  Flowers  at  the  end  of 
summer  and  autumn." — yohn  Colebrook. 

How  TO  Dry  Faded  Leaves  for  Decora- 
tions.— Get  a  variety  of  the  most  beautiful,  in  dif- 
ferent states  of  decay.  Be  careful  not  to  have  the 
slightest  injury  in  any.  Iron  them  with  an  iron,  not 
too  hot,  till  quite  flat,  and  then  with  a  camel's-hair 
pencil  brush  lightly  over  the  whole.  Some  leaves, 
such  as  oak,  pear,  chestnut,  alder,  birch,  and  poplar, 
are  better  than  the  softer  kinds.  If  carefully  done, 
they  should  look  very  nice,  and  last  long. — Harriet 
Moore,  Cantei-bury. 

Cotoneaster. — With  reference  to  your  corre- 
spondent M.  King's  letter  relative  to  the  existence  of 
Cotoneaster  upon  Great  Orme's  Head,  I  stated  (see  my 
remarks,  page  210,  SciENCE-GossiP,  September  17), 


not  in  such  positive  terms  that  it  did  not  grow  there, 
but  that  I  was  wholly  unable  to  find  it  anywhere. 
When  I  considered  what  numbers  of  people,  inde- 
pendent of  sheep,  traverse  that  promontory  annually, 
the  inference  as  regards  its  extinction  was  a  fair  one. 
I  do  not  remember  when  Professor  Babington's 
Manual  was  first  published,  but  suspect  it  must  have 
been  long  before  my  first  and  only  visit  to  Orme's 
Head,  in  August,  1862,  so  that  there  was  ample  time 
for  its  extinction.  Your  correspondent  has  quoted  a 
letter  of  Mr.  Thomas  Shortt's,  which  happily  shows 
that  it  was  seen  by  himself  and  friend  to  grow  in  two 
distinct  places  upon  the  Head.  My  doubts,  therefore, 
as  to  its  extinction  are  at  an  end. — John  Colebrook. 

The  Origin  of  Flowers. — H.  Miiller,  in  an 
article  on  this  subject,  expresses  it  as  his  opinion 
that  the  first  Angiospermous  flowers  to  appear  on  the 
surface  of  the  globe  were  diclinous,  and  fertilized  by 
the  wind  ;  that  is,  supposing  them  to  have  oiiginated 
from  a  single  stock. 

Origin  of  Long  Stamens  in  Crucifer^. — 
In  suggesting  a  possibility  that  the  long  stamens  of 
cruciferous  plants  may  be  the  leaves  of  lateral  buds 
within  the  flower,  I  am  prepared  to  admit  that  such 
buds  cannot  be  regarded  as  axillary  to  the  sepals. 
They  would,  in  such  a  case,  be  extra-axillary,  as  the 
flower-buds  of  cmciferous  plants  mostly  are,  flowers 
in  a  raceme  without  bracts  being  almost  as  charac- 
teristic of  that  order  as  tetradynamous  stamens.  That 
a  flower  should  consist  of  only  two  stamens  cannot 
seem  incredible  to  one  who  knows  that  the  male 
fiowtx  oi  Euphorbia  or  Callitriche  consists  of  only  one. 
It  may  seem  unlikely  that  throughout  a  large  and 
very  natural  order  lateral  buds  should  be  constantly 
found  within  the  floral  envelopes,  giving  origin  to 
some  of  the  essential  organs  of  reproduction.  But  in 
those  coniferous  trees,  in  the  bi-anches  of  which  we 
find  a  cluster  of  leaves  in  the  place  of  one,  it  is  usual 
to  regard  them  as  the  leaves  of  an  axillary  bud. 
When  such  a  phenomenon  occurs  within  the  flo\\-er 
as  two  or  more  stamens  in  the  place  of  one,  why 
should  we  not  adopt  a  similar  explanation  of  it  ? 
Collateral  chorisis  is  an  hypothesis  not  easily  illus- 
trated by  reference  to  foliage  leaves.  In  the  work 
A.  P.  CandoUe  on  Vegetable  Organography,  the  au 
thor  observes  that  the  hypogynous  scales  found  in 
some  Rammcidaceous  flowers  have  tlie  appearance  of 
carpellary  bracts.  If  they  be  so  indeed,  the  carpels 
must  belong  to  their  axillary  buds. — John  Gibbs. 


GEOLOGY. 

Swiss  Lake  Dwellings. — Dr.  Gross  exhibited 
at  the  meeting  of  the  German  Antluopological 
Society,  held  at  Constance,  some  hatchets  of  Nephrite, 
a  mineral  now  only  found  in  China,  which  had  been 
found  among  the  remains  of  the  Svdss  Lake 
dwellings.     Professor   Desor  expressed  his  opinion 


HA  R D  WICKE'S    S  CIENCE-  G  0  SSIP. 


279 


that  these  nephrite  implements  had  been  originally 
brought  from  Asia  by  the  lake  inhabitants  as 
"valuables." 

African  Geography. — The  latest  discovery  of 
Mr.  Stanley,  that  the  River  Congo  is  identical  with 
the  Lualaba,  is  one  of  the  most  important  which  has 
yet  been  made,  for  the  Lualaba  was  known  to  be 
connected  with  the  immense  lake  Tanganyika. 
Mr.  Stanley  has  made  his  way  from  that  lake  down  ! 
the  Lualaba,  and  found  the  latter  to  be  the  Congo.       | 

Mid-Silurian  Vegetation. — M.  de  Saporta 
has  recently  called  attention  to  a  fossil  found  in 
[Middle  Silurian  rocks  at  Angers,  which  represents 
the  oldest  known  land  plant.  It  indicates  a  large 
fern,  allied  to  Cydopfcris,  which  is  preserved  in  iron 
sulphite. 

Tertiary  Man.— In  a  paper  published  in  the 
last  number  of  the  Geological  Magazine,  Professor 
Mantorani  discusses  this  question.  He  refers  chiefly 
to  the  antiquity  of  man  as  adduced  by  the  discoveries 
in  the  valley  of  the  Tiber.  The  hills  around  are 
formed  of  Pliocene  beds,  and  flint  implements  have 
been  found  in  the  upper  gravels  capping  these. 

Metals  accompanying  Iron. — M.  Terrell  has 
shown,  from  numerous  analyses  made  from  the 
principal  ores  of  iron,  that  this  metal,  like  platinum, 
is  always  accompanied  in  its  ores  by  other  metals, 
among  which  are  manganese,  nickel,  cobalt,  vana- 
dium, titanium,  tungsten,  chromium,  and  copper. 

Extinct  Land  Saurian. — Prof.  Cope  has  called 
attention  to  the  teeth  of  a  new  species  of  huge 
land  Saurian,  named  Palceoctonns  Appalachiamts, 
which  inhabited  Pennsylvania  at  an  early  geological 
period.  This  reptile  was  probably  thirty  feet  long, 
and  had  a  bulky  body,  supported  by  strong  and  heavy 
limbs.  In  point  of  time  it  was  the  oldest  of  land 
reptiles,  and  Prof.  Cope  thinks  it  was  probably  the 
most  formidable,  for  the  character  of  the  teeth  indicate 
carnivorous  habits. 

Miocene  Animals  of  the  Far  West. — Prof. 
Marsh  has  described  several  new  species  of  Edentate 
animals  (the  first  discovered  in  that  country),  from 
the  Lower  Pliocene.  A  species  of  Rhinoceros  has 
also  been  found  in  Eocene  beds.  Another  fossil  is 
intermediate  between  the  Rodents  and  Ungulates,  and 
is  called  Allomys. 

The  Largest  known  Saurian. — The  American 
Naturalist  gives  an  account  of  Prof.  Cope's  new  genus 
of  land  Saurians  {Camccosaurns  siipremus),  found 
near  Canyon  City,  Colorado,  and  which  he  says  is  the 
largest  known.  Its  size  may  be  gathered  from  that 
of  one  of  the  Dorsal  Vertebrae,  which  has  an  expanse 
of  three  feet  and  a  half.  The  former  measures  over 
six  feet  in  length.  If  the  cervical  series  included  six 
vertebrte  of  the  proportions  of  the  one  preserved,  the 
neck  of  the  animal  must  have  been  ten  feet  long. 


NOTES   AND    QUERIES. 

The    Mistletoe. — The   various   notes   on    the 
Mistletoe    in    the    February   number   of    Science- 
Gossip  have  suggested  to  me  other  notes  and  queries. 
Perhaps  you  will  find  room  for  them,  as  it  is  always 
best  to  strike  the  iron  while  it  is  hot,  and  to  finish 
one  horse-shoe  before  beginning  another.     In  Norfolk 
the  Mistletoe  is  very  rare ;  so  much  so  that  I  have 
only  seen  one  specimen  within  a  radius  of  six  or 
seven  miles  from  Norwich.     Consequently,  as  I  en- 
deavoured to  make  plain  in  my  former  paper,  I  had  to 
depend  on  printed  records   such  as  came  to  my  hand, 
for  my  facts  concerning  the  age  of  the  Mistletoe. 
Such  records  are  extremely  scanty.     The  relations  of 
plants  to  time  are  not  often  considered.     It  would  be 
interesting  to  know  when  the  Mistletoe  first  appeared 
in  the  world,  and  how  long  the  leaves  remain  on  the 
branches.      The  casts  of  the  insertion  of  mistletoe 
roots,  which  I  mentioned  in  my  paper  as  being  in  the 
South  Kensington  Museum,  prove  that  the  Mistletoe 
does  occasionally  die  on  its  supporting  tree.     Hew 
long   it  is   before   this  occurs  does  not  seem  to  be 
known.     I  remember  seeing  a  note  of  the  disappear- 
ance by  death  of  a  mistletoe  plant  from  an  oak  (?). 
It  grew  on  an  inaccessible  branch  quite  out  of  the 
reach  of  collectors,  and  it  was  observed  gradually  to 
diminish,   and   at  last  disappear.      Unfortunately  I 
cannot  lay  my  hands  on  the  reference.      Certainly 
such  cases   are,    as   asserted   by  Mr.   Lees,   of  rare 
occun-ence.     Mr.  Lees's  facts  prove  that  the  Mistle- 
toe attains  the  age  of  at  least  forty  years.     Are  there 
any  records  of  older  plants?     The  relations  of  the 
Mistletoe  to  space  have  not  been  mentioned  in  any  of 
the  notes  in  Science-Gossip.     To  what  size  does  it 
grow  ?     The  legend  of  Baldur  seems  to  prove  that  it 
grows  large  enough  to  form  a  small  javelin  ;  but  I 
have  seen  no  direct  statements  of  its  size.     What  are 
the  geographical  limits  of  the  Mistletoe,  and  to  what 
height  is  it  found  on  mountains?     Druidic  remains 
are  found,  e.g.,  in  Shetland  and  the  Channel  Islands, 
Was  Druidic  worship  carried  on  there,  and  if  so, 
whence  did  they  get  their  Mistletoe  ?     I  believe  it 
does  not  grow  in  either  of  these  island  groups.     Mr. 
Lees  says  that  the  Romans  upset  the  Druidic  super- 
stitions, and  that  during  their  sway  it  was  not  likely 
that  the  Mistletoe  would  be  allowed  to  be  held  in 
much  honour.      I  believe  it  is  generally  supposed 
that  the  Romans  invariably  respected  the  religions 
of  the  countries    they  conquered  —  witness   the  re- 
ligious liberty  of  the  Jews  at  the  time  of  Christ.     It 
was  only  after  repeated  rebellions  that  the  temple 
was  desecrated.     If  the  Romans  let  the  Jews  alone, 
they  would  be  much  less  likely  to  trouble  themselves 
about  the  barbaric  Britons.     Nevertheless,  it  is  pro- 
bable  that   we  derive   our  use  of  the  Mistletoe  at 
Christmas  from  the  northern  nations  ;   for  they  so 
thoroughly  conquered  our  British  ancestors  that  it  is 
very  unlikely  any  of  their  customs  have  come  down 
to   us.     Can  Mr.   Lees   give  us  any  more  detailed 
account  of  the  origin  of  our  present  customs  under 
the  Mistletoe-bough  ?     It  is  curious  that  in  England 
and  France  this  plant  has  very  few  names,  while  in 
Wales  and  Germany  it   has   many.     All  the  really 
English  names  are  variants  of  Mistltan.     In  France 
it  seems  to  be  only  called  "  Gui."     Now,  such  well- 
known  plants  as  the  Oak,  Ash,  and  Elm  are  some- 
what analogous.     Each  in  English  is  known  by  but 
one  name  ;  probably  the  case  is  the  same  in  other 
languages.     On  the  other  hand,  less-known  but  still 
conspicuous   plants,    such   as    the    Pansy    and    the 
Ground  Ivy,  have  numerous  names.     May  we  argue 
from  this  the  Mistletoe  was  less  generally  known  and 
i   prized  by  the   Germans   and  Welsh  than   by   the 


;8o 


HARD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


northern  colonizers  of  France  and  England  ?     Were 
the  old   English   and   French    so    familiar   with  the 
plant  from  their  childhood  up  that  they  never  wanted 
to  coin  a  name  for  it,  but  always  had  one  ready  to 
hand.     And,  on  the  other  hand,  was  the  plant  only 
known  to  the  more  observant  of  the  Welsh  and  Ger- 
mans, so  that   there  would  be  difficulty  in  talking 
about  it  ?     I  think  that  the  facts  support  this  idea. 
Until    direct   observations    are    brought    forward,    I 
think  that  the  idea  of  the  method  of  propagation,  so 
prevalent  in  the  older  writers,  and  which  is  expressed 
in  the  Latin  adage  quoted  in  my  paper,  has,  at  least, 
as  much  probability  as  Mr.  Lees'  suggestion  :  obser- 
vation in  this  case  is,  it  is  true,  almost  impossible. 
We  know  that  the  Mistletoe  can  be  propagated  by 
rubbing  its  seeds  on  the  bark  of  trees  ;  whether  it  is 
also  propagated  by  the  excrements  of  birds,  we  can- 
not say.     That  the  nutmeg  is  thus  propagated  by  the 
nutmeg-pigeon  is,  I  believe,  proved  by  Mr.  Wallace, 
in  his   "Malay  Archipelago."     Mr.    Macco,   in  his 
interesting  list  of  German  names  for  the   Mistletoe 
says  that  Geinster  is  applied  not  only  to  the  Mistletoe 
but   also    "to   a   plant  the  flower  of  which  is  use, 
for  dyeing  purposes. "    May  I  suggest  to  him  and  other 
writers  in  Science-Gossip,  that  this  kind  of  reference 
is  most  tantalizing  ?      It   seems   almost   dog-in-the- 
mangerish.     It  seems  to  tell  us  that  the  writer  knows 
something  that  he  had  rather  keep  to  himself,  or  that 
he  thinks  we  cannot  appreciate.     It  would  be  much 
pleasanter  to  me,  and  I  doubt  not  to  other  readers 
of  Science-Gossip,  to  have  the  full  facts,  even  if 
they   were   not   quite   relevant.     Speaking    now   of 
botanical   facts   alone  :    supposing  this   dye-plant  is 
an  English  one,  the  mere  mention  of  its  name  and 
use  would  be  interesting.     If,  again,  it  is  not  British, 
the  genus  and  natural  order,  or  the  most  nearly  allied 
natural  order,  would  enable  us  all  to  place  the  fact  in 
its  proper  place  in  our  already  collected  store.     A 
similar  plan  would  apply  to  all  branches  of  know- 
ledge.    I  hope  Mr.  Macco  will  take  the  hint  and  tell 
us  to  what  plant  he  refers.     "  H.  M.  M."  says  that  a 
friend  once  showed  him  a  series  of  photographs  of 
the  various  mistletoe  oaks.     Can  he  tell   us  where 
copies  of  them  may  be  obtained?     I  am  sure  that 
many  would  be  glad  to  get  such  a  series.     One  other 
name  for  this  plant  has  occurred  to  me  since  writing 
my  paper.     In  Norfolk,  according  to  Wright's  "  Tro- 
vincial  Dictionary,"  the  plant  is  called  Mislin-bush  ; 
Mastlin,    or  Meslin,  is  a  name  still  given  to  mixed 
corn  and  barley,  or  peas  and  beans;  so  that  this  name 
supplies  a  needless  confirmation  of  Mr.  Lees's  deriva- 
tion of  the  name  Mistletoe.—  IV.  G.  Piper. 

The  Mistletoe  ("  W.  T.  E.,"  p.  43)-— In  most 
mythological  systems  the  Ash,  Hazel,  Mistletoe,  and 
Whitethorn  were  symbolical  of  fire,  the  light  and 
life-giving  force  of  Nature.  Hence  the  fire-gods  were 
patrons  of  love  and  marriage,  and  their  symbols  were 
endowed  with  special  virtues.  The  wedding-torches 
of  old  were  made  of  whitethorn  ;  hazel-nuts  are  a 
common  medium  of  divination  respecting  a  lover  ; 
and  it  is  in  virtue  of  this  symbolism  also  that  the 
Mistletoe  confers  its  privilege  (Comp.  Fiske,  "Myths 
and  Myth-makers").— Z'.   W.  Britton. 

The  Mistletoe. — Some  very  interesting  commu- 
nications formerly  appeared  in  your  valuable  pe- 
riodical on  Jllisiletot'.  One  is  led  to  believe  it  is  a 
plant,  always  found  on  trees  in  the  country,  and  not 
in  any  populous  district.  I  should  be  glad  to  know 
if  that  is  the  case,  and  therefore,  perhaps,  the  fol- 
lowing fact  may  be  interesting  : — Some  years  ago  I 
lived  about  half  a  mile  nearer  the  Crystal  Palace  than 
I  do  at  present,  and  consequently  I  was  surrounded 
by  houses.     One  day  I  observed  a  curious  protube- 


rance on  one  of  the  branches  of  an  apple-tree  in  my 
garden.  I  was  led  to  watch  it,  and  very  soon  a  leaf 
burst  forth,  shortly  followed  by  others ;  and  presently 
a  good-sized  plant  of  Mistletoe  appeared.  If  the  in- 
crease of  this  plant  be  chiefly  due  to  birds  dropping 
the  seeds,  when  wiping  their  beaks  after  eating  the 
berries,  how  does  it  happen  that  it  is  found  so  rarely 
on  the  Oak  or  the  Elm,  or  any  shrub,  which  are  so 
common  everywhere  ? — H.  E.  Wilkinson. 

Destroying  Mites.  —Can  any  of  the  readers  of 
Science-Gossip  give  a  recipe  for  destroying  mites 
in  a  collection  of  lepidoptera.  I  have  tried  "  kyaniz- 
ing"  the  specimens  with  bichloride  of  mercury  and 
spirits  of  wine,  as  recommended  by  Dr.  Knaggs,  but 
without  success. — A.  F. 

Escape   of   a   Cat. — Nearly    every   one   knows 
what  a  remarkable  tenacity  of  life  there  is  in  the  cat ; 
and  most  people  probably  are  familiar  with  the  saying 
it  has  given  rise  to — viz.,  "  as  many  lives  as  a  cat." 
A  better  example,  perhaps,  has  never  been  met  with 
of  what  a  cat  can  go  through  than  the  following.     A 
few  weeks  since  two   relatives   called   at  a  friend's 
house  in  Bath ;  the  owner  proved  to  be  out,  and  they, 
having  come  from  Bristol,  resolved  to  wait  until  his 
return,   which  the  servant  assured   them   would  be 
shortly,  and  were  accordingly  shown  into  the  dining- 
room,  the  window  of  which  happened  to  overlook  the 
street.     They  had  waited  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
when  suddenly  they  heard  a  dull  thud  on  the  pave- 
ment outside,  shortly  followed  by  the  remarks  of  a 
sympathetic   crowd   which   had    collected  : — "  Poor 
thing!"    "  Better  kill  it,"     " It  is  dead,"  and  several 
others,    which  I  have  not   room  to  chronicle.     On 
rushing  out  of  the  house  they  foimd  the  servants  of 
the    establishment   and    the   aforementioned    crowd 
looking  at  a  sorry  object.    Poor  Grimalkin,  the  pet  of 
the  house  generally,  and  the  property  of  a  little  girl  par- 
ticularly— who  luckily  was  spending  the  afternoon  from 
home, — was  lying  on  the  flagstones,  to  all  appearance 
lifeless,  except  three  small  streams  of  blood,  which 
slowly  trickled  from  its  mouth  and  ears.     By  some 
means  or  other  it  had  fallen  from  a  third-story  window, 
a  distance  of  considerably  over  forty  feet.     When 
lifted  up  it  hung  quite  limp,    as   if  its  back  were 
broken.     The  general  verdict  of  the  bystanders,  on 
seeing  it  give  a  slight  shudder,  was,  "  Kill  it  and  put 
it  out  of  its  sufferings,"  but  this  the  servants  objected 
to,  until  its  mistress— the  little  girl— returned :  so  it 
was  taken  into  the  kitchen  and  put  into  a  basket.    Just 
as  my  relatives  were  starting  for  home,  about  three 
hours  after  the  accident — during  which  time  the  cat 
had  not  been  mentioned,— they  were  astounded  by 
seeing  puss  feebly  crawl  into  the  room,  curl  up  on  the 
rug  and  go  to  sleep.     On   making  inquiries,   I   find 
that  it  caught  a  mouse  the  next  morning,  and  is,  at  the 
time  I  write,  livelier  than  ever.     I  am  quite  certain 
that  if  any  other  animal — cats  excepted— had  fallen 
the  same  height,  and  on  as  hard  a  substance  as  a 
paving-stone,  it  would  have  been  killed  in  an  instant. 
—E.  B.  L.  Braylcy,  Bristol. 

CoLiAS  Edusa  and  its  Varieties.— Quite  an 
excitement  has  been  caused  amongst  Lepidopterists 
by  the  appearance  in  extraordinary  profusion  of  this, 
perhaps,  the  most  beautiful  of  our  PapUionida.  It 
has  been  reported  from  most  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
from  places  indeed  where  till  this  season  it  had  never 
previously  been  observed.  The  earliest  recorded  date 
amongst  the  communications  to  the  Entomologist 
is  that  of  May  30th.  The  question  arises,  whether 
the  specimens  seen  were  hibernated  ones  ?  and  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  this  was  the  case  with  by  far 
the  greater  portion,  though  the  perfect  condition  of 


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


281 


some  would  lead  one  to  think  that  a  few  might  have 
only  recently  emerged.  I  much  doubt  whether 
Edusa  could  have  anywhere  been  seen  in  greater 
numbers  than  in  this  neighbourhood.  North,  south, 
east,  or  west,  whichever  way  one  might  wall<  there 
they  were  flying  about.  They  seemed  to  have  a 
peculiar  penchant  for  fields  of  Trifolin/n  incarnafinn  ; 
neither  7-epciis  nor  pi-ate)isc  possessed  anything  like 
the  attraction.  My  brother  was  fortunate  in  taking 
two  of  the  rare  white  varieties  to  which  the  name  of 
Helice  has  been  given.  I  myself  secured  a  female  of 
an  intermediate  tint  between  the  white  and  the 
ordinary  orange.  But  my  especial  object  in  writing 
these  few  notes  is  to  elicit  some  information  as  to  a 
very  beautiful  form  of  the  male  insect  which  fell  into 
my  net.  In  this  case  the  hind  wings  are  suffused 
with  a  rosy-purple  lustre,  which,  except  that  it  is 
redder,  much  resembles  that  of  Apatura  Ilia,  or  the 
shining  purple  tips  on  the  fore  wings  of  several 
African  species  of  Picris  or  Aiit/wcaris.  May 
not  this  alteration  of  the  orange  into  violet  in 
each  instance  be  due  to  the  effects  of  heat?  I 
have  one  other  similar  to  it  in  my  cabinet, 
though  not  so  brilliant,  taken  last  season.  I  am 
anxious  to  ascertain  the  opinions  and  observations  of 
entomologists  concerning  it.  I  have  captured  and 
set  numbers  of  Edusa,  but  have  never  seen  this  par- 
ticular colour  on  any  other  specimen  ;  judging  then 
from  my  own  experience,  I  am  led  to  believe  that  it 
is  decidedly  uncommon.  Is  not  the  butterfly  itself, 
however,  becoming  far  more  generally  distributed  ? 
It  used  to  be  considered  a  prize,  and  for  years  I  col- 
lected without  seeing  a  specimen,  and  then  it  sud- 
denly swarmed,  and  lately  not  a  season  has  passed 
without  its  occurrence  in  greater  or  less  abundance. — 
yoscph  Anderson,  yun.,  Chichester. 

Mistletoe  on  Pink  Hawthorn.— Some  time 
ago  several  letters  appeared  in  Science-Gossip 
respecting  the  trees  on  which  mistletoe  was  known 
to  grow,  and  one  of  your  correspondents  asked  if  it 
was  ever  known  upon  the  Pink  Hawthorn.  It  may 
interest  some  of  your  readers  to  know  that  it  does 
grow  upon  the  Pinlc  Hawthorn,  and  that  I  have  some 
now  growing  upon  one  in  my  garden  at  Bewdley, 
Worcestershire.  I  have  never  seen  it  upon  pear-trees, 
although  I  have  some  old  ones  in  my  orchard  quite 
close  to  apple-trees  upon  which  a  large  quantity  of 
mistletoe  is  and  has  been  growing  for  years. — Charles 
H.  Westley. 

Ruscius  ACULEATUS  {Cneou<holcn). — It  may  in- 
terest some  readers  to  know  that  the  ancient  name  of 
this  plant,  as  mentioned  by  Mr.  Kitton  in  his  notice 
of  "An  Anglo-Saxon  Herbal"  (page  50),  still  sur- 
vives. I  have  known  it  for  many  years  as  Nehoine  or 
Nehone  (I  could  not  profess  to  spell  it  properly,  as 
the  name  has  only  come  to  me  orally),  and  have 
often  wondered  whence  the  word  was  derived.  A 
bundle  tied  as  a  brush  is  used  by  tanners  to  sprinkle 
hides  in  some  process  of  manufacture  when  it  is 
found  necessary  to  moisten  them  but  a  little.  A  regu- 
lar brash  would  hold  and  transmit  too  much  water, 
whilst  a  single  drop  only  is  shaken  off  the  sharp 
point  of  each  leaf;  it  is  also  used  by  tobacco  manu- 
facturers for  the  same  reason.  It  is  an  instance  of  the 
superiority  of  Nature  to  Art  in  some  manufactures, 
similar  to  the  use  of  teasels  in  dressing  cloth. — 
Alph.  Smith. 

Moonlight  Phenomena. — Any  one  who  has 
visited  the  promontory  of  Lleyn,  in  South  Car- 
narvonshire, will  doubtless  remember  the  pictu- 
resque little  village  of  Llanbedrag,  the  church  and 
few  surrounding  houses  being  snugly  nestled  at  the 


foot  of  the  fine  projecting  headland  of  Mynydd- 
Cwmmwd,  on  the  shore  of  Cardigan  Bay.  Upon  a 
bright  moonlight  night,  some  time  ago,  a  phenome- 
non was  observed  by  a  resident  there,  which  I  venture 
to  bring  before  your  readers,  wondering  whether  any 
of  them  may  have  seen  a  parallel  case,  and  can 
explain  the  cause.  The  moon  was  shining  in  its  full 
brilliancy  about  nine  o'clock  p.m.,  its  rays  being 
condensed,  as  it  were,  into  a  path  of  light  across  the 
bay  in  the  direction  of  Barmouth,  giving  the  appear- 
ance of  a  line  of  water,  raised  considerably  higher 
than  the  shadowed  portion  on  each  side ;  along  this 
luminous  pathway  the  water  seemed  full  of  life,  as  it 
might  be  shoals  of  fish  sporting  themselves  ;  or  else 
bounding  silvery  waves  playing  across  each  other, 
full  of  motion,  whilst  the  sea  on  both  sides  of  this 
strange  line  of  light  remained  perfectly  smooth. 
This  has  been  observed  more  than  once. — M.  L.   W. 

Egg  Collecting. — In  reference  to  Mr.  W.  T. 
Van  Dyck's  unwarranted  wholesale  attack  upon 
Oologists  as  he  somewhat  sneeringly  terms  them,  in  a 
recent  number  of  Science-Gossip,  I  should  like  to 
make  a  few  remarks  as  to  the  utility  and  scientific 
worth  of  making  a  collection  of  eggs  alone  ;  not  as 
he  would  have  it  done,  together  with  specimens  of  the 
birds  as  well.  Being  a  collector,  and  I  flatter  myself 
an  enthusiastic  one,  he  has  rather  touched  me  in  a 
tender  place.  Firstly,  looking  at  his  theory  of  having 
both  birds,  nest,  and  eggs,  from  a  pecuniary  point  of 
view.  There  are  a  good  many  collectors  of  eggs,  and 
real  earnest  collectors,  not  robbers  of  nests,  with 
whom  it  would  be  an  utter  impossibility  to  procure 
the  old  birds  as  well  as  the  eggs  ;  for  it  is  not  every 
one  who  is  able  to  walk  about  with  a  gun  in  his 
hand,  ready  at  any  moment  to  bring  down  some  luck- 
less bird  whose  egg  he  may  have  in  his  collection, 
besides  taking  into  account  its  preserving  when  he 
has  got  it.  It  requires  no  small  share  of  this  world's 
riches,  as  perhaps  Mr.  Van  Dyck  will  know,  before 
a  man  can  carry  a  gun  and  use  it,  and  it  is  not 
only  the  mere  carrying  it,  but  also  being  able  to 
stand  upon  and  walk  over  ground  upon  which  he 
may  with  safety  discharge  it ;  I  should  say  that  it  is 
altogether  a  different  thing  carrying  firearms  in  Syria 
and  doing  the  same  in  England  (it  means  IDs.  for 
carrying  it  alone,  without  taking  into  account  its  use). 
Again,  many  of  the  birds  which  breed  with  us,  whose 
eggs  we  could  procure  with  safety,  are  no  longer  here 
when  we  might  do  the  same  with  them  ;  for  I  must 
remind  him  that  there  is  such  a  thing  in  England  as 
a  law  for  the  "  Protection  of  Wild  Birds,"  which 
restricts  their  being  either  captured  or  killed  within 
a  certain  time,  and  before  that  time  is  passed  many  of 
them  have  flown  to  warmer  regions,  or  at  least  have 
left  their  breeding  places.  There  are  also  many 
persons  who  could  without  feeling  any  pain  or  com- 
punction take  one  or  two  eggs  from  a  nest,  who  could 
not  slaughter  a  poor  unoffending  bird  in  the  same 
even-minded  manner.  Looking  at  his  argument  from 
any  point  of  view  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  his 
method  of  getting  a  truly  scientific  knowledge  of 
birds  and  their  habits  is  by  far  the  cruellest ;  for  he 
would  have  a  collection  in  which  should  be  both 
bird,  eggs,  and  nest  ;  to  procure  which  wanton 
robbery  must  be  committed.  He  would  also  wish 
us  to  believe  that  scientific  knowledge  could  not  be 
obtained  without  a  stuffed  specimen.  I  think  dif- 
ferently, for  there  is  far  more  real  knowledge  to  be 
gained  by  a  contemplation  of  birds  and  their  manners 
in  their  wild,  unfettered  and  unstuffed  state  ;  as  I 
think  every  earnest  collector  of  eggs  is  in  the  habit  of 
doing,  than  any  number  of  cotton-padded  skins  could 
give.     Does  not  many  a  collector  when  he  is  looking 


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HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CI  EN  CE-  G  OS  SI  P. 


over  his  well-stocked  cabinet  recall  to  his  memory 
as  his  eye  rests  on  a  certain  egg,  a  whole  train  of 
long-forgotten  events  connected  with  how,  when,  and 
where  he  took  it ;  what  peculiar  habits  the  bird 
which  laid  it  had,  and  many  other  little  things  which 
to  an  uninterested  spectator  are  as  nothing,  but  to  him 
fond  memories  of  bygone  days !  In  conclusion,  I 
must  say  that  if  Mr.  Van  Dyck  had  used  a  little  more 
discernment  in  distinguishing  between  a  "  collector  " 
and  a  "robber  of  eggs,"  he  would  at  least  have 
gained  my  good  opinion  in  his  attempt  to  put  a  stop 
to  egg-collecting  ;  for  I  think  with  him  the  making 
a  collection  for  the  mere  sake  of  the  eggs  (as  he  seems 
to  think  all  collectors  do)  is  not  at  all  to  be  approved 
of ;  but  he  must  remember  when  he  uses  such  an  ex- 
pression, as,  "  500  birds  slaughtered  for  mere  amuse- 
ment on  a  British  holiday,"  however  much  it  may  be 
partaking  of  Byron's  style  (I  believe  the  sentence  is 
a  crib  from  the  "Dying  Gladiator  "  slightly  altered), 
that  he  is  attaching  a  kind  of  odium  to  all  collectors 
of  eggs  who  do  not,  as  he  would  have  them,  collect 
birds  and  nests  as  well.  I  think  that  he  would  find 
very  few  collectors  of  eggs  who  have  been  collecting 
for  a  few  years,  who,  if  he  asked  them  what  a  cer- 
tain egg  was,  could  not  only  tell  him  its  name,  but 
also  give  him  an  account  of  the  bird,  its  place  of 
nidification,  habits,  and  an  accurate  description  of  it  ; 
together  with  a  number  of  interesting  facts,  which 
they  would  never  have  known  if  they  had  not  been, 
as  I  have,  and  shall  remain, — A  Collector  of  Eggs. 

Aquarium-keeping. —  If  you  would  allow  me 
space,  I  should  be  glad  to  say  a  few  things  on  this 
subject,  from  my  own  experience,  in  answer  to 
"P.  E.  C."  (July  No.).  "P.  E.  C."  could  not,  I 
believe,  have  chosen  more  troublesome  inmates  of  his 
aquarium  than  sticklebacks,  for  they  are  great  fighters, 
and,  in  all  my  attempts  to  keep  them,  have  continued 
at  enmity  until  only  one  remained  alive.  I  should 
advise  him  to  substitute  carp  for  these  creatures.  The 
best  plant  for  an  aquarium  is  undoubtedly  Vallisneria, 
which  is  to  be  preferred  to  all  others  for  the  quantity 
of  oxygen  it  gives  out.  Univalve  mollusks  are  far 
better  than  bivalve,  as  being  more  migratory  :  those 
most  commonly  kept  are  Linnuta  stagualis  and  Plan- 
orbis  co7-)teus.  "P.  E.  C."  asks  whether  any  one 
has  succeeded  in  rearing  caddis-worms  to  their  final 
stage.  I  cannot  say  that  I  have  ;  but  I  know  why, 
and  think  I  can  state  the  cause  of  failure.  It  is 
necessary  to  place  caddis-worms  in  veiy  shallow 
water  when  the  time  of  their  perfection  approaches. 
If  they  are  kept  instead  in  deep  water,  the  creature 
cannot  get  itself  to  the  surface,  though  they  often 
struggle  to  do  so,  and  will  stand  upright  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  aquarium,  holding  on  to  some  plant,  but 
of  course  all  this  is  in  vain.  The  truth  is,  they  are 
drowned  ;  for,  when  they  are  on  the  point  of  leaving 
their  case,  they  must  also  leave  the  water,  or  they 
cannot  come  to  perfection.  If  "P.  E.  C."  guards 
against  this,  I  think  he  will  achieve  success. — .5". 

New  Fact  about  Red  Grouse. — I  can  confirm, 
from  personal  observation,  Mr.  Dealy's  statement, 
that  the  Red  Grouse  do  sometimes  perch  upon  trees, 
and,  like  him,  have  often  thought  it  strange  the  fact 
should  be  unmentioned  in  any  of  the  works  on  orni- 
thology to  which  I  have  had  access.  I  first  observed 
the  fact  in  1873.  -^  friend  and  I  were  walking  down 
a  lonely  "  clough  "  on  Saddle  Fell,  when  we  suddenly 
came  upon  a  pack  of  grouse  comfortably  perched 
amongst  the  branches  of  a  dead  mountain  ash.  They 
were  all  "preening"  their  feathers,  and,  as  they  did 
not  see  us  at  first,  we  lay  quietly  down  behind  a  piece 
of  rock,  and  had  a  good  look  at  them  before  they 


took  flight.  Since  then  I  have  several  times  seen 
grouse  perch  upon  trees.  I  have  also  observed  a  still 
more  unlikely  bird  than  the  grouse  perch — the 
common  snipe  [S.  galliiiago).  There  is  near  here  a 
boggy  piece  of  ground,  covered  with  rush  and  long 
grass,  and  surrounded  with  stunted  alders,  which  is  a 
favourite  haunt  of  the  snipe.  Some  years  ago  I  was 
lying  concealed  under  a  bush  in  this  place,  hoping  to 
see  a  snipe  alight,  and  ihus  discover  a  nest,  when  a 
female  snipe,  after  flying  several  times  over  me,  to 
my  extreme  surprise,  alighted  upon  a  tree  close  by. 
It  remained  in  this  strange  position  for  some  time,  all 
the  while  uttering  its  note,  click-a,  click-a.  On  two 
other  occasions  I  have  observed  snipe  perch  upon 
trees  in  this  place.  As  this  seems  to  be  a  very  unusual 
habit,  I  should  be  glad  to  hear  whether  any  of  the 
ornithological  readers  of  SciENCE-GossiP  have  ever 
observed  the  like. — R.  Standcn,  Goosnargh. 

Capture  of  a  Moose-deer  at  Sea. — A  relative 
who  has  for  many  years  resided  on  and  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  a  beautiful  North  American  island, 
still  so  rich  in  bird  life  and  otherwise  attractive  to  the 
lover  of  natural  histoiy,  forwarded  me  lately  the 
following  account  of  the  capture  of  a  Moose-deer, 
which  may  probably  interest  some  of  your  readers. 
"  Since  the  departure  of  winter  and  the  return  of  our 
long-looked-for  spring  my  youngest  son,  John,  with  a 
companion,  has  been  fishing  off  the  north-western 
coast  of  this  island,  portions  of  which  are  uninhabited, 
and  ai"e  rarely  visited  except  by  the  fowler  or  seal- 
hunting  Indian.  He  was  preparing  his  boat  for  a 
pull  round  North  Plead  to  his  home,  it  being  Satur- 
day, when,  after  rowing  along  shore  quietly  for  about 
half  a  mile  from  his  starting-post,  he  saw  something 
swimming  from  this  island  and  heading  to  the  more 
distant  one  of  Campobello,  seven  miles  off.  Unable 
to  make  it  out,  and  supposing  it  to  be  one  of  the  great 
Loons,  a  bird  not  very  uncommon  in  these  waters  at 
this  season  of  the  year,  he  put  on  a  little  extra  steam, 
hoping  to  come  up  to  it,  and  soon  discovered  it  M'as 
not  a  bird,  but  a  large  dark-looking  animal  nearly 
submerged,  and  swimming  vigorously.  After  a  mo- 
ment's calculation  about  the  length  of  daylight,  he 
determined  to  try  and  intercept  it,  alone  as  he  was, 
and  set  off"  in  full  pursuit ;  but  as  the  animal  swam 
well  and  John  was  rather  tired  with  his  morning's 
work,  quite  an  hour  elapsed  before  he  succeeded  in 
heading  it  inshore  and  towards  a  small  cover,  where 
lay  at  anchor  a  schooner,  whose  crew  he  was  ac- 
quainted with.  These  men,  who  it  appears  had  for 
some  time  observed  John's  movements  from  the  deck 
of  their  vessel,  dropped  into  a  yawl,  with  three  oars, 
they  had  alongside,  and  having  made  out  it  was  a 
Moose-deer  showing  symptoms  of  great  fright  and  ex- 
haustion, shot  out  from  the  cove  and  turned  the 
animal  again  seawards.  John  now  pulled  straight  for 
it,  seized  the  Moose  by  the  ears,  and  managed  to 
hold  him  until  the  sailors  came  up,  when  they  assisted 
in  raising  the  deer's  fore  feet  on  to  the  gunwale  of  his 
boat,  tied  its  fore  legs,  and  dragged  the  unwilling 
passenger  on  board.  Though  so  far  successful  in 
shipping  their  captive,  they  soon  found  out  they  had 
a  regular  Tartar  to  deal  with,  and  it  required  the 
united  strength  of  these  four  men  to  prevent  the 
Moose  staving  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  with  its 
horny  hoofs.  At  last  the  dangerous  hind  legs  were 
secured,  and  as  the  schooner  was  on  the  point  of  sail- 
ing to  Eastport,  and  admiring  John's  pluck  and 
courage,  the  sailors  cheerfully  gave  up  all  claim  to 
their  share  of  the  prize,  and  left  him  to  land  it  in  the 
best  way  he  could.  After  they  were  gone,  John  found 
it  no  easy  thing  to  pull  the  boat  with  this  ugly  com- 
panion on  board,  for  it  could  still  butt  unpleasantly 


HA  RD  WICKE  'S    SCIENCE  -  GOSSIP. 


28- 


Avith  its  head,  and  make  itself  disagreeable  in  many 
ways.  Daylight  was  just  departing  when  I  heard  of 
John's  return  to  North  Head,  and  the  sort  offish  he  had 
hooked.  I  hired  a  neighbour's  cart,  had  the  deer  at 
once  landed  and  carefully  conveyed  to  my  barn,  where 
he  was  made  fast  to  a  strong  post  used  for  tethering 
cows.  After  letting  him  rest  awhile  undisturbed,  v/e 
thought  we  might  venture  to  cut  the  cords  which 
bound  his  feet,  when  he  again  made  the  most  violent 
efforts  to  escape,  but,  finding  that  escape  was  im- 
possible, he  lay  quietly  down,  and  apparently  resigned 
to  his  fate.  We  got  together  some  food  I  thought  he 
would  like,  knowing  their  habits  and  the  plants  they 
p)rincipally  live  upon  in  the  woods,  but  nothing  would 
tempt  him  to  eat,  so,  befoi^e  leaving  him  for  the  night, 
I  poured  a  cow  mash  {nolens  voleiis)  down  his  throat. 
Early  next  morning  we  paid  the  deer  a  visit ;  the  food 
Ave  had  left  for  him  remained  untouched.  He,  who  had 
roamed  the  primitive  forests  of  New  Bnmswick,  and 
knew  what  sweet  liberty  was,  could  not  live  a  prisoner 
in  a  cow-shed.  Towards  evening  the  eyes  showed 
great  weariness,  and  as  we  thought  he  could  not  sur- 
vive another  day,  we  had  him  slaughtered  as  merci- 
fully as  possible.  This  Moose,  when  deprived  of  his 
skin,  proved  to  be  in  fine  condition,  weighing  135  lb., 
and  was  sold  by  John  for  nine  dollars,  without  the 
skin.  I  was  presented  with  the  head,  which  I  have 
pi-eserved  for  some  Boston  friends  who  are  at  pi'esent 
collecting  objects  of  natural  history  on  this  island, 
and  who  have  promised  to  send  me  in  exchange  some 
birds  I  cannot  procure  here.  John  tells  me  I  have 
omitted  to  inform  you  that  this  deer  swam  at  the  rate 
of  five  miles  an  hour,  and  frequently  sprang  half  his 
length  out  of  the  water.  Had  it  not  been  intercepted 
we  have  little  doubt  it  would  have  reached  Campo- 
bello  safely,  and  perhaps  returned  to  this  island 
when  the  object  of  its  visit  had  been  accomplished. 
We  have  many  touching  and  curious  instances 
brought  under  our  notice  proving  the  strong 
affection  the  large  migratory  birds  have  for  one 
another,  especially  the  gregarious.  A  broken-winged 
gull  will  often  gather  a  cloud  of  sympathizing  com- 
panions around  it  when  the  nature  of  its  affliction  is 
understood,  and  it  is  rarely  it  is  left  entirely  alone  so 
long  as  life  continues.  When  unable  to  rise  from  the 
ocean,  two  or  more  birds  are  sure  to  alight  near  and 
swim  around  it,  as  if  to  cheer  and  encoiu-age  it,  and 
will  continue  to  do  so  until  the  receding  tide  has 
carried  the  party  far  out  of  sight.  Before  the  winter 
of  1876-7  had  terminated  a  large  flock  of  wild  geese, 
on  their  annual  migration  to  the  great  lakes,  was  ob- 
served making  its  way  to  our  island,  and  a  man  I 
know,  who  is  constantly  on  the  look-out  for  stray 
shots,  and  who  keeps  his  rifle  ready  loaded,  noticing 
their  direction,  rushed  into  his  house  and  fired  at  a 
venture  at  the  birds  then  over  head.  It  was  a  random 
sort  of  shot,  but  there  was  no  doubt  he  had  hit  one  of 
them,  as  it  fell  out  of  the  line  of  flight,  dropped  some 
distance  below  the  others,  yet  still  feebly  continued 
its  journey.  The  instant  it  did  this  a  confusion  of 
goose-notes  was  heard,  when  some  of  its  companions 
swooped  down,  got  under  the  wounded  bird,  and 
bore  it  up  on  a  level  with  the  others.  Being  too 
weak  to  sustain  itself,  again  it  fell,  and  again  it  was 
buoyed  up  by  the  relief  party.  It  fell  for  the  third 
time,  but  not  before  it  reached  the  earth  did  these 
affectionate  birds  join  the  lagging  flock,  finding 
further  efforts  useless  to  sustain  it  in  the  air.  Writ- 
ing about  sea-gulls,  I  am  reminded  of  a  rather  unique 
way  they  are  caught  alive  by  the  good,  or  bad,  people 
at  ftlouiit  Desert,  Maine.  A  rather  long  stick  is  nm 
through  the  tail  of  a  small  fresh  fish,  and  then  it  is 
left  on  the  sea-shore,  where  it  can  be  seen  by  the 
birds.     A  hungry  gull,  who  has  perhaps  been  unsuc- 


cessful in  his  day's  fishing,  seizes  it  and  attempts  to 
swallow  it  in  the  usual  way,  head  first.  He  succeeds 
remarkably  well  until  he  comes  to  the  stick,  when  a 
stop  is  made,  and  further  progress  is  arrested.  De- 
termined not  to  give  up  what  he  has  already  pinched, 
extraordinary  efforts  are  made  to  bolt  the  stick, 
and  so  he  chokes,  strangles,  and  falls  over,  when  he 
is  easily  captured.  Hooks  attached  to  lines  are 
baited  with  fish  with  the  same  object,  proving 
how  cruel  man  is  in  exercising  his  boasted poivcr  over 
the  lower  animals,  particularly  those  of  no  value  to 
him  as  food.  Another  scrap,  and  I  must  close  this 
long  letter.  Various  are  the  ways  birds  are  deprived 
of  life.  A  short  time  ago  I  was  informed  that  a  wild 
duck  had  been  found  floating  dead  in  Chesapeake 
Bay  with  a  large  oyster  firmly  attached  to  its  bill.  It 
was  thought  the  bird  when  diving  had  purposely 
captured  the  bivalve  for  food,  but  I  think  it  more 
probable  the  duck  had  been  seeking  its  usual  food  at 
the  bottom,  and  had  accidentally  put  its  bill  between 
the  gaping  shells  of  the  oyster,  and  so  was  compelled 
to  bring  it  to  the  surface,  and  not  having  strength 
to  support  it  there  or  to  fly  away  with  it,  the  head 
drooped,  and  the  bird  was  drowned. — H.  M.,  Red- 
lands,  Bristol. 


NOTICES   TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 


To  Correspondents  and  Exchangers.  —  As  we  now 
publish  Science-Gossip  at  least  a  week  earlier  than  hereto- 
fore, wecarinot  possibly  insert  in  the  following  number  any 
communications  which  reach  us  later  than  the  9th  of  the 
previous  month. 


R.  G.  (Stoke-upon-Trent). — Your  Manx  plant  is  the  Poten- 
tilla  hirta;  as  you  suspect,  a  "foreigner."  It  is  recorded  in 
the  Phytologist,  as  found  on  the  Witchill,  Perth,  by  Mr.  John 
Sim. 

G.  D.  P. — The  specimens  you  sent  us,  so  neatly  mounted, 
are.  No.  i,  a  seedling  plant  of  the  Sea  Spleenwort  {Asple^iimiz 
marinmii) ;  No.  2,  a  pretty  seaweed  of  the  Floridie  group, 
named  Dclcsscria  saiigiiiiiea.     Both  from  North  Devon. 

E.  F.  C.  (Leicester). — It  is  one  of  the  protean  forms  of  the 
Batrachian  Rajiimculi.  Without  doubt,  if  it  can  be  made  into 
a  species,  the  K.JJoribitndus,  Bab.  These  varieties  are  a  very 
interesting  study. 

E.  F.  C  (Leicester). — Your  seedling  Fern  is  difficult  to  name 
in  its  present  state  ;  you  may,  however,  name  it  Pteris.  The 
species  will  be  seen  in  time. 

J.  R.  N.  (Kingston). — Thanks  for  the  neat  examples  sent, 
which  are  as  follow: — No.  i,  Anthrisciis  vulgaris;  No.  2, 
Trifoliiini  refieiis ;  No.  3,  Rosa  jnicrantha.  Smith — a  very 
great  rarity  ;  No.  4,  Hieraciuiii  7iin>-or?i>ii ;  No.  5,  Epipactis 
palitstris,  L.  We  advise  you  to  procure  Hooker's  "  Student's 
Flora,"  as  the  best  for  j-our  purpose. 

Col.  F.  a.  D. — The  best  photographs  of  the  Moon  are  those 
by  Rutherford,  enlarged  by  Brothers.  See  "The  Moon;  her 
Motions,  Aspect,  Scenery,  and  Physical  Condition,"  by  R.  A. 
Proctor.  London  :  Longmans,  Green,  &  Co.  (in  which  the 
reduced  photographs  of  the  Moon  are  employed  for  illustra- 
tion). 

E.  B.  Turner. — We  are  not  aware  of  the  existence  of  any 
cheap  work  on  British  Diptera. 

J.  E.  Stephens. — Your  specimen  is  the  Field  Cockroach 
[Blatta  gennaiiica). 

A  Subscriber. — Rye's  "British  Beetles,"  published  by 
Lovell  Reeve  at  los.  6d.,  with  coloured  plates,  is  the  best 
popular  work  of  the  kind. 

■W.  B.  M.— Get  "The  British  Bird  Preserver,"  by  Samuel 
Wood,  published  at  is.  G.  F.  Warne.  Swainson's  "  Taxi- 
dermist "  treats  on  stuffing  all  kinds  of  animals. 

C.  Foord. — The  insect  is,  as  far  as  one  can  judge  from  the 
sketch,  Trichiosoma  hicorjnn,  one  of  the  large  Saw-flies,  the 
cocoons  of  which  may  be  found  attached  to  the  ends  of  the 
branches  of  the  white  thorn  during  the  winter.  The  lar\-a  is 
smooth,  green,  and  looks  as  if  it  had  been  covered  with  meal. 

R.  G.  Goodwin  (Walsall). — We  have  examined  the  so-called 
"growth  "  on  Aihyris,  but  it  is  not  organic.  It  must  be  simply 
an  efflorescence,  caused  by  the  acetic  acid  probably  combining 
with  traces  of  argillaceous  matter. 

W.  H.  GoMM. — The  spines  sent  us  are  those  of  Echinus 
miliar  is. 


284 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


\V.  K. — We  are  sorry  to  say  your  specimens  have  been  mis- 
laid.    Can  you  send  us  others  ? 

R.  V. — You  will  arrive  in  Australia  at  the  wrong  time  of  year 
for  collecting. 

Geo.  NiCHOLSOM.  —  The  "Science-Gossip  Botanical  Ex- 
change Club"  has  not  only  been  founded,  but  has  distributed 
all  the  collected  specimens  among  the  members,  which  number 
about  one  hundred. 

M.  B.  — Put  some  damp  Moss  in  with  your  Green  Tree  Frogs, 
and  give  them  an  occasional  worm  when  they  wake  up. 

S.  G.  S.— In  addition  to  those  dredged  up  off  the  Essex 
coasts,  and  found  beneath  the  London  Clay  of  Suffolk,  the 
localities  where  remains  of  the  Corphyodon  have  been  found  in 
the  Woolwich  beds  are  two  places  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Camberwell. 

T.  E.  W.— Your  insect  is  the  Great  Sawfly  {Sirex gigas). 

Jas.  Thompson. — Your  fungus  is  the  rather  rare  "  Yi^x- 
cu\^^'  C\\xh"  {Cla7'ariapistillaris). 

M.^CDONALD  Steel. — The  thistle  sent  us  is  very  interesting. 
The  peculiar  growth  is  due  to  the  development  of  the  upper 
parts  of  the  capitulum  into  leaves. 

G.  O.  Howell. — The  objects  found  on  the  garden-path  are 
gasteromycetous  fungi,  and  a  species  of  Niiiularia. 

M.  B.  (Dudley). — Your  specimen  is  a  Sednm,  or  more  popu- 
larly named  Stonecrop  ;  but  in  the  absence  of  flowers  we  cannot 
give  you  its  specific  name. 

F.  W.  (Old  Broad-street). — From  your  description,  we  should 
think  the  shrub  is  Veronica  Aiuiersonii.  We  were  not,  how- 
ever, aware  of  its  peculiar  intoxicating  properties.  It  would  be 
interesting,  especially  so  to  entomologists,  if,  when  you  have 
correctly  ascertained  its  name,  you  would  make  it  public. 

H.  H.  (West  Ashling). — The  true  Polygonum  duinctoruin 
has  highly-polished  seeds,  not  unlike  ebony.  We  have  carefully 
examined  the  specimens  sent,  and  find  it  is  P.  convolvulus, 
P.  pseudo-dumetoruin,  Wats.  The  angular  stem,  although 
this  is  not  always  to  be  relied  upon,  and  dull,  striated  fruit ;  if 
you  slightly  magnify  the  fruit,  you  will  observe  it  to  be  covered 
with  niinute  points,  whereas  in  P.  ditinetoriivi  it  is  smooth. 
This  character  you  may  rely  upon  with  certainty. 

Elation  (Radcliffe).— The  true  Shamrock  seems  to  be  a 
disputed  point.  Whilst  one  would  declare  it  to  be  Wood  Sorrel 
{Oxalts),  another  just  as  stoutly  clings  to  the  Clover  ;  the  latter, 
however,  is  the  plant  mostly  selected  by  the  Irish  peasantry  to 
be  worn  on  St.  Patrick's  Day.  Write  to  Mr.  Wheldon,  Great 
Queen-street,  London  ;  he  will  probably  supply  you  with  Gal- 
pine's  book. 

J.  C.  (Oscott,  Birmingham)  — By  holding  up  the  leaf  to  the 
light,  the  veins  running  from  the  midrib  to  the  margin  are  seen 
to  be  forked.  This  simple  plan  will  point  out  a  fern,  apart  from 
the  fructification.  It  is  the  Hart's-tonguc  Fern,  although  we 
have  never  seen  the  stipe  so  long  in  British  specimens. 

(Harrow).— Get  "Geological  Stories,"  price  4s.,  published 
by  Hardwicke  &  Bogue,  192,  Piccadilly,  W. 


EXCHANGES. 

A  FEW  Galathea,  Edusa,  and  Corydon,  in  exchange  for 
Eup/irosyne,  Rubi,  Argiolus,  Argon,  or  Panisciis,  or  many 
common  Moths  (unset  preferred).— A.  W.  Rosling,  20,  Bootham, 
York. 

I  HAVE  about  60c  species  of  Brachiopoda,  and  wish_  to  add 
species  I  have  not  got.  I  would  give  in  exchange  Trilobites, 
or  one  or  two  American  Brachiopoda. — C.  Callaway,  Welling- 
ton, Salop.  .  r        <<  If 

Wanted  Microscopic  Objectives,  m  exchange  for  Micro- 
scopical Dictionary."— T.  C.  Maggs,  Yeovil. 

Sea-shells  for  exchange,  and  shall  be  glad  to  hear  of  any 
one  who  is  willing  to  exchange.  —  J.  Backhouse,  junr.,  20, 
Bootham,  York. 

I  HAVE  Diatoms,  Spicules,  Spines,  Skins  and  Scales,  Palates, 
&c.,  mounted  or  unmounted.  Shall  be  glad  to  exchange  for  any 
unmounted  material  really  good. — E.  Barker,  Aquarium,  Rothe- 
say, N.B.  .  „      J   . 

Crocus  nudijlorus,  growing  or  dried  plants  offered  in  ex- 
change for  any  rare  dried  plant. — Lists  to  W.  Jones,  Man- 
chester-street, Oldham. 

A  good  writing-diamond,  for  gUss  slides  for  mounting. — 
Apply,  sending  sample  slide,  to  Wm.  Sargant,  junr..  Cavers- 
wall,  Stoke-on-Trent. 

Will  exchange  Eggs  of  Guillemot,  Razorbill,  &c.,  for  Bri- 
tish Lepidoptera.  —  List  to  J.  Wrangham,  73,  High-street, 
Bridlington.  . 

Some  living  Chrysalides  of  Emperor  Moth  {S.  carpini),  in 
exchange  for  Sea-birds'  Eggs. — Jas.  Ingleby,  Eavestone,  near 
Ripon. 

Wanted,  Animal  Parasites,  either  mounted  or  unmounted. 
— Apply  to  W.  A.  Hyslop,  22,  Palmerston-place,  Edinburgh. 

Haworth's  "Lepidoptera  Britannica,"  Stainton's  "Ma- 
nual," Samouelle's  "  Entomological  Cabinet,"  Newman's  "  But- 
terflies," Carpenter's  "  Microscope,"  4th  ed.,  and  others. 
Wanted,  Hassal's  "Fresh-water  Algje,"  Johnston's  "Zoo- 
phytes," or  Ross's  4-ioth  Condenser.  Ca.sh  or  by  arrangement. 
-J.  Hodkinson,  loi.  Mill-street,  Macclesfield. 

L.  C,  7th  ed.— Nos.  858,  923,  &c.,  for  other  Plants.— Send 
lists  to  J.  Comber,  Southgate  House,  Winchester. 


Eggs  of  H.  dispar  and  O.  antigua,  for  other  Eggs. J.  T- 

Rodgers,  222,  Chadderton-road,  Oldham. 

One-holed  Eggs  of  Heron,  Hooded  Crow,  Stockdove,  Jack- 
daw, Magpie,  Garden  Warbler,  L.  Redpole,  Long-tailed  Tit 
Pipets,  Coot,  Kestrel,  Blue  Tit,  Razorbill,  Guillemot,  &c.,  &c.', 
to  exchange  for  Nightingales,  Owls,  Cormorants,  Shag,  C.  Gull^ 
Grasshopper  Warbler,  C.  Bunting,  Wryneck,  Crested  Grebe,  or 
other  rare  Eggs. — J.  F.  Pratt,  Westgate,  Ripon. 

For  Hypninn  Siuarizii  (in  fruit),  send  other  Moss  or  object 
of  interest,  on  stamped  envelope,  to  Mrs.  Skilton,  Brentford 
End,  Middlesex. 

Cyclas  rivicola,  Zua  lubricn,  Helix  nfinoralis,  var.  hoftensis, 
for  any  other  common  Shell  not  in  collection. — Mrs.  Skilton, 
Brentford  End,  Middlesex. 

L.  C.,  7th  ed. — Nos.  120,  257,  273,  282  383,  389,  390,  576, 
634,  651,  729,  829,  865,  1015,  1036,  1040,  1131,  1501,  1571,  1597, 
1639,  for  other  British  Plants. —  W.  J.  Hannan,  6,  Tatton- 
street,  Ashton-under-Lyne. 

For  deep-sea  sounding  from  INIediterranean,  send  some  object 
of  interest  or  good  material. — A.  Alletsee,  11,  Foley-street, 
Portland-place,  London. 

Duplicates.- 19,  72,  93,  iii,  157^,  169,  196,  198,  203,  285, 
279.  326,  363,  338,  354,  622,  722,  760,  1264,  1281,  1283,  1297, 
1584,  1586,  and  others,  for  local  plants. — Send  lists  to  J.  H.  A. 
Jenner,  4,  East-street,  Lewes. 

For  PluiHularia  cristata  and  Anguinaria  spatula  (un- 
mounted), send  stamped  envelope  or  object  of  interest  to  J. 
Wooller,  7,  Farm-road,  Hove,  Brighton. 

Di;pLic.\TES. — Eggs  of  Pied  Flycatcher,  Whinchat,  Wheat- 
ear,  Yellow  Wagtail,  Lesser  Redpole,  Carrion  and  Hooded 
Crow,  Brown  Snipe,  Common  and  Lesser  Tern.  Desiderata— 
any  Fritillaries  (e.xcept  dark -green  and  pearl-bordered).  Skip- 
pers, Blues  (except  Chalkhill  and  C'ommon),  Hair-streaks 
(except  Green),  Sybilla  {G.  album),  Polychloros,  Mac/uion, 
Khainni,  Cardainincs. — R.  McAldowie,  82,  Bonaccord-street, 
Aberdeen. 

Lepidiion  lati/oliuin,  Filago  gallica,  Spiranthes  autuin- 
nalis,  Dipsacus  pilosus,  Centaurea  solstitialis,  &c.,  for  other 
rare  plants  or  microscopic  material. — Send  list  to  G.  Tenyiere, 
23,  Crouch-street,  Colchester,  Esse.x. 

Books  wanted. — Johnson's  "Spongiada:  and  Lithophytes," 
Edinburgh,  1842  ;  "British  Spongiadse,"  by  Bowerbank,  Lon- 
don, 1864.— Address,  R.  Allen,  Troy,  New  York,  U.S.A. 

A  gentlei\l\n,  having  a  well-stocked  laboratory  of  Chemical 
Apparatus,  in  value  exceeding  .£50,  wishes  to  exchange  the 
-same  for  a  good  Microscope,  Slides,  and  Apparatus. — H.  Hilder, 
33,  St.  Andrew's-road,  Hastings. 

S.  rivicola,  P.  ainnicuin,  P.  vortex,  P.  carinatus,  P.  cor- 
neus,  P.  contortus,  L.  palnstris,  L.  glabra,  H.  virgata,  H. 
cnporata,  H.  erictorutn,  H.  lapicida,  and  B.  acutus,  offered 
for  N.  Jiiiviatilis,  H.  couciniia,  H.  re7)elata,  H.  obiwluta,  P. 
ringens,  or  any  Vertigos. — Edward  Collier,  7,  Dale-street, 
Manchester. 

Wanted,  exchange  in  Birds'  Eggs  with  American,  Colonial, 
and  Continental  collection,  by  William  Stoate,  Wembdon, 
Bridgwater. 

BOOKS,  &c.,  RECEIVED. 

"The  Origin  of  the  World,"  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Dawson,  F.R.S 
London  :  Hodder  &  Stoughton. 

"  Proteus  ;  or  Unity  in  Nature,"  by  Dr.  Radcliffe.  Second 
Edition.     London  :  Macmillan. 

"  Monthly  Microscopical  Journal."     November. 

"  Land  and  Water."  ,, 

"  The  Natur.ilist." 

"  American  Naturalist."  October. 

"  American  Journal  of  Microscopy,"  ,, 

"Western  Journal  of  Science  and  Industry."     September. 

"  Botanische  Zeitung."     October. 

"  Land  and  Water."     November. 

"  Law  Journal."  ,, 

"  Industrial  Art."  ,, 

&c.  &c.         &c. 


Communications  have  been  received  up  to 
ULT.,  from:— T.  S.— V.  M.  G.— G.  R.  V.— H.  M 
F.  C— E.  A.  W.— A.  W.  R.— M.  B.— T.  C.  M.— C. 
— C.  J.  A.~H.  B.— W.  G.  H.  C— G.  L.— J.  B.,  jun. 
— E.  B.— A.  J.  F.--J.  M.  H.— J.  A.,  jun.— G. 
C.  B.  R.  A.— W.  R.  T.-R.  T.  G.— A.  W.— W.  E.  T.- 
—  G.   T.    B.— M.  J.   W.— C.  W.   H.— S.  E.  B.— E 

F.  R  B.— J.  F.  R.— C.  W.  H.— F.  V.  P.— W.  S.  K. 
-R.  S.-Col.  F.  A.  D.— Prof  C.  S.  B.— Dr.  B 
W.  S.,  jun.-W.  J.— J.  G.— C.  F.-E.  F.  C— J.  E. 
—A.  S.  H.-J.  W.  W.— W.  H.  G.— T.  B.— J.  F.  P. 
J.  H.-G.  T.  B.-S.  G.  S.-J.  A.  S.-E.  B.  K.  W.- 
_j.  W.— J.  I.— T.  H.   P.— J.  C— M.    K.— W.  K.- 

G.  F.  C— J.  T.  R.— S.  T.-Dr.  H.  F.  P.-G.  T.  B.- 
W.    I.   H.— J.   I.   N.— J.   T.— A.   A.— J.   C  — E. 
T.  H.  A.  J.-J.  W.— J.  T.— A.   B.-T.   W.  D.— D 
J.  C.— W.  R.  T.-H.  H.— C.  D.-R.  H.  N.  B.— T. 
— T.  E.  W.-F.  Q.— E.  C.-J.  S.— W.  S.-J.  R.  N, 
&c. 


THE    7TH 

-J.  c- 

C— M.  S. 
— E.  B.  T. 

O.    H.— 

— W.  V.  A. 

L.   R.— 

F.  W.  B. 

— E.  E.— 

S.— I.  C. 
— R.  H.— 
-W.  A.  H. 
-R.   v.— 

-H.  c;.— 

H.— R.— 
.  A.  K.— 
L.— R.  A. 

,  G. — &c., 


HARD  WICKE'S    SCIENCE-  G  OSSIP. 


285 


INDEX    TO    VOL    XIIL 


Aberdavine  (Siskin),  71 

Acaridcr,  Researches  among  the,  cog 

JEcidiiiin  dejiau/ieraiis,  T25 

^'EsiinoiiiJis  iVciilt'Sy  46 

African  Geographj',    the    latest  Discovery 

in,  279 
Alkanet,  263 

Allium  anipclofj-nsnin,  233 
Alliiiiu po>-niin{'L^<t\C),  Crystal  Prisms  of, 

65,  90 
Altluen  hirsuta,  1S7 
American  Antiquities,  45 
American  Palaeontology,  258 
Amphibians,  JMetamorphoses  of,  114 
AinJ>hitetras  aiitediluviana,  15 
Anemone,  Cluster-cup,  162 
Anglo-Saxon  Herbal,  an.  49 
Animals,  Destruction  of  Rare,  143 
Animals,  the  Hard  Parts  of,  241,  265 
Animals  of  the  Miocene  Period,  279 
Animals,  Names  of,  143 
Anthropoid  Ape,  Conjecture  as  to  Existence 

of  in  South  America,  47 
Ants  in  South  America   41 
Ants,  Intelligence  of,  89 
Ant-eaters  in  South  America,  41 
Apocytitiin  androsteini/oliuiit,    18,   44,  60, 

70,  92 
Aquarium,   Notes  on  the,  6,   66,   8g,  iiS, 

166,  214,  215,  282 
Aquarium,  Marine,  38,  250 
Aquarium,  a  Public,  89 
Aquarium  at  Tynemouth,  232 
Archaeopteryx.  211 
Arctic    Expedition,    Collection  of   Insects 

by  the,  38 
Aictic  Expedition,  Collection  of  Fishes  by 

the,  113 
Argas  ^;V/i?r/V(Blyborough  Tick',  104 
Ascidians,    new,    observed    on    Cruise    of 

Challenger,  67 
Atlantic  Right  Whale,  257 


Bat,  the,  166 

Bathybius,  38,  Sg 

Bees  attracted  by  Paint,  189 

Bees,  Conduct  of,  in  a  Shower,  237 

Bees  and  Flowers,  20,  44 

Beetles,  Strength  of,  i8q,  281 

Birds,  Albinism  among,  14,  23,  164,  i66, 
238 

Birds,  brevipennate,  261 

Birds,  Instance  of  Charity  among,  191 

Birds'  Eggs,  Collection  of,  139,  191,  213, 
215.  281 

Birds'  Eggs,  Colour  of,  277 

Birds'  Eggs,  Effect  of  Corrosive  Sublimate 
on,  190 

Birds  of  Lincolnshire,  261 

Birds,  Local  Names  of,  46,  261 

Birds,  Migration  of,  142,  190 

Birds,  Nests  of,  Instance  of  Trust  in  Build- 
ing, 191 

Birds  of  New  Guinea,  106 

Birds,  New  Species  of,  in  India,  2og 

Birds,  Pairing,  Instinct  of,  247 

Birds,  Shooting  of  Rare,  22,  92 

Bird,  an  Unidentified,  21 

Blackbird,  Pairing  with  Thrush,  263 


Blackbird,  Pied,  Variety  of,  257 
Blister-beetle,  the,  166,  259,  261 
Blyborough   Tick  :  see   Aigas   Fischerii, 

104 
Botany,  18,   39,   67,   90,  114,  140,  161,  186, 

2og,  232,  257,  278 
Botanical    Notes    in     Neighbourhood    of 

Cader  Idris,  173,  210,  233 
Botanists,  Death  of  Celebrated,  140 
Bournemouth,  Notes  on  Insects  at,  256 
Bowerbank,  Dr.,  n6 
Boxtree,  the,  40,  71 
British  Association,   Notes  from  the,  183, 

222 
British  Botany,  Field  Notes  on,  39 
Brittle  Plants,  Modes  of  Drying,  211 
Butterfly-boxes,  Directions  for  Lining,  164 


Cader  Idris,  Botany  of,  210,  233 

Cage-birds,  Remedy  for  Sick.  260 

Calderon,   Professor,  as    to  Absorption  of 
Organic  Matter  by  Plants,  18 

Caiiiieosauriis  sitjireiiiiis,  279 

Canadian  Notes,  225 

Canadian  Phologophite,  no 

Carboniferous  Plants,  190 

Carboniferous  Polyzoa,  108,  220,  271 

Cat,  the  Domestic,  43,  95,  215 

Cat,  remarkable  Vitality  of  a,  280 

Caterpillars,  Victims  of  Larva;  of  Ichneu- 
mons, 239 

Cave-hunting,  236 

Centrine  Shark,  the,  139 

Cetoitia  aurata,  early  Appearance  of,  113 

Challenger,     Ascidians    observed   during 
Voyage  of  the,  67 

Challenger,  Zoological  Results  of  Expedi- 
tion of,  185 

Cheetah,    new    Species    of,    from    .South 
Africa,  184 

Chelidciniiini  juagus.  Alkaloids  of  the,  141 

Claytonia  perfoliata,  163 

Clubs,  see  "  Societies  " 

Cockroaches,  Colour  of,  144 

Coffee,  Use  of  for  watering  Window-plants, 
2(note)  I 

Coli'as  edusa,  185,  223 

Colias  editsa.  Massacre  of,  262 

Colorado  Beetle,  175  (note),  201 

Coloration,  causes  of,  45,  94 

Coloured  Butterflies  and  Flosvers,  139 

Convoh'olus  ar^ensis,  47 

Cooked  Meat,  Discoloration  of,  40 

Corals,  cleaned  by  Chloride  of  Lime,  192 

Cormorant,  the,  1S8 

Cornelian  Cherry,  90,  140 

Cornish  Plants,  235 

Corphyodon,  284 

Cotoneaster,  the,  233,  278 

Coioneaster  vulgaris,  258 

"  Creep  "  in  unworked  Coal-mines,  240 

Cresswell  Crags,  the  Bone  Caves  of,  163 

Cribella  rosea,  16,  38 

Crow,    Animosity   of,  to   Sparrow-Hawk, 
21,  44,  71,  143 

Crow,    the    Nut-cracker,    or    Black   and 
White,  70 

Crucifem,  Origin   of  Long  Stamens   in, 
186,  233,  278 


Cruci/ertp,  Teratology  among,  162 
Crustaceans,  Preservation  of,  166,  185,  209 
Crj'stals,  Fluid  Cavities  in,  37 
Crystals  o^  Allium porrtiin  (Leek),  65,  90 
Cuckoos,  Habits  of,  21,  22,  23,  43.  192,  2(10 
Cumberland  and  Westmoreland,  I'lor.i  of, 

162 
Cyclas  cornea,  93 


Daffodils,  55,  119 

Damar,  as  a  Mounting  McUiniii,   16,  S7, 

112,  159,  183 
Damar,  Crystal  Forms  in,  14S 
Danais  Archippus,  89 

Darwin's  Theory,  Facts  in  Siippon  of,  117 
Death's-head  ISIoth,    Use  of  Cotton-wooL 

by  the,  21,  44 
Delphinium,     Arrangement     for      Cro.':s- 

Fertilization  in  the,  248 
Diatomaceae,  on  Cleaning.  145 
Diatomacese,  on  Mounting,  217 
Diatoms,  16,  37,  88,  277 
Dinosauria,  Discovery  of,  269  (note) 
Dispar,  45 
Dogwood,   118 

Domestic  Cat,  the  :  see  "  Cat" 
Doubleday  Collection,  the,  17 
Double  Orange,  a,  239 
Double  Refracting  Substances,  277 
Dry  Mounting,  160 
Dublin  New  Sluseum,  209 
Duckweeds,  a  Chapter  on,  34 
Dytisctcs  marginalis,  96 


Eared  Seals,  79 

East  Anglia,  Geology  of,  ig 

Echidna  in  New  Guinea,  66 

Edelweiss,  186,  210,  233 

Edusa  and  Hyale,  161,  igi 

Eel,  Longevity  of  the,  261 

Eggs  of  Birds,  Colour  of,  22,  277  ;  and  see 

''Birds" 
Eggs,  intra-oval,  17 
Eggs  of  Yama-lSIai  Silkworm,  iiS 
Electric  Plant,   116 
Endive,  165 

Entomologj',  Notes  on,  67 
Entomology  of  Epping  Forest,  75 
Entomology,  Metropolitan,   161,  215 
Eolis  postulaia,  113 
Epiphytal  Plants,  186 
Erica  Rlediterranea,  209,  257 
Erica  vagans,  18 
Eurypterus,  a  New  Species  of,  40 
Evolution,  259 


Faded  Leaves  as  Decoration's,  278 

False  Light  Excluder,  the,  112 

Ferns,  a  Few  Words  on,  7,  115 

Ferns,  Modes  of  Bleaching.  44 

Fish,    certain  Genera  of  Living,  and  their 

Fossil  Affinities,  225,  249,  274 
Fish,  Embryology  of,  38 
Fleas,  Vitality  of,  191 
Flies,  Plague  of,  46,  93 
Flies,  Fungus  on,  190 
Flowers,  Change  of  Colour  of,  24,  70 


286 


HARD  WICKE  'S    S  CIENCE  -  G  OS  SIP. 


Flowers,   Fertilisation  of,   by  Insects,  21, 

39,  92,  114,  113,  128,  140 
Flowers,  Origin  of,  278 
Flower,    Query    as    to    a,    mentioned    by 

Shelley,  iiS,  165,  260 
Flowers,  Symmetry  of,  67 
Food-fishes,  Propagation  of,  1S5 
Foreign  Insects,  &c.,  how  introduced,  117 
Forest  Pathology,  i 
Fossils,  common  British,  and  Where  to  find 

them,  II,  60,  131,  251 
Fossil,  Crustacean,  a  new,  40 
Fossil  Fungus,  a,  269 
Fossil  Glass  Rope  Sponges,  259 
Fossil,  Lizard,  259 
Fossils,  Mode  of  Strengthening,  6g 
Fossils,  Mode  of  Cleaning,  141,  159 
Fossils,  Upper  Devonian,  at  Torbay,  116 
Fowls,  Lead-poisoning  of,  71 
Frog,  Chameleon  -  like   Changes    in  the, 

256 
Fruit  Culture,  143 
Fungi,  Distinction  between  Poisonous  and 

Edible,  18 
Fungi,  Fossil,  269 
Fungi,  new,  on  Violets,  125 


"  Gapes,"  Treatment  for  Malady  of, 

16 
Gasteropoda,  Vitality  of,  161 
Geutiana  acaiilis,  278 
Geology,  ig,  40,  69,  90,  116,  141,  163,  187, 

=  11,  235,  25S,  279 
Geology  of  Harwich  and  Walton-on-Naze, 

69 
Geology  of  Hertfordshire,  91 
Geology  of  Leicestershire,  258 
Geology  of  the  Planet  Mars,  91 
Geology  of  Plymouth,  169,  212 
Geology  of  Rutland,  258 
Geology  of  the  Savoy  Alps,  236 
Geology  of  Underground  London,  147 
Geology  of  Water-supply,  236 
Geology,  Scepticism  in,  259 
Geological  Honours,  90 
Geologists'  Association,  Proceedings  of,  41 
Gilbert  White,  the  Rev.,   Grave    of,    167, 

213,  191 
Glass  Rope  Sponges,  Fossil,  259 
Glastonbury  Thorn,  45,  94 
Glnuciim  liiteutn,  140 
Goatsucker,  the,  149,  191,  213,  259 
Gold-fish,  46 
Golden   Pheasant,   Breeding  of  Domestic 

Fowl  with  the,  22 
Gorilla,   the,   at   Westminster  Aquarium, 

209,  237 
Gourds,  History  of,  9 
Gourds  and   Pumpkins,   Inflorescence  of, 

257 
Grey  Parrot,  singular  Fact  as  to  a,  213 


Hairy  Rhinoceri  akd  Siberian  Mam- 
moths, 20 

Hard  Parts  of  Animals,  the,  241,  265 

Harvest  Bugs,  44,  227 

Harvest  Bugs,  Mode  of  Destroying,  190 

Hawfinch,  the,  44,  193,  i65 

Hearing,  the  Sense  of,  277 

Hedgehog,  Food  of  the,  21 

Hedge-sparrow,  a  White,  14  (note) 

Heliopelta,  37,  65 

Herb-paris,  104  (note) 

Herons,  Habits  of,  47,  71,  92 

Herons  and  Rooks,  94,  189 

Holy-grass,  Northern,  44 

Hoopoe,  the  Rarity  of,  22,  185 

H oploplwra  femiginea,  Notes  on,  205 

House  Sparrow,  Desertion  of  Young  by 
a,  260 

Hyaenarctos  in  the  Red  Crag  of  Suffolk, 
i88_ 

Hybrid  Primula,  i8g 

Hydroid,  a  One-armed,  235 

Ice  Age,  the,  167 

Illumination,  new  Mode  of,  87 

Irish  Botanist,  Holiday  Tour  of  a,  150 

Iron,  Metals  accompanying,  279 

Ivy,  early  Flowering,  69 

Ivy,  Notes  on,  164 


Kent,    Scjmmer    Ramble     on     East 
Coast  of,  29 


Lampyris  noctiluca,  113 

Land  Tortoises,  from  Ossiferous   Cave  ms 

of  Malta,  69 
Lawson,  Dr.  H.,  Death  of,  253 
Lemming,  Migration  of  the,  103 
Lemming,    Probability    of    Existence     in 

British  Isles  of  the,  189,  237 
Lepidoptera  cf  the  Black  Forest,  118 
LeptocliniHin  punctaticm,  260 
Lescheiianltiafor)nosa,YM'X\7-sX\o-!\  of,  204 
Limestone,  probable  Cause'of  Faults  in,  187 
Linnean  Society,  Particulars  of  Admission 

to  the,  144 
Lithorttis  emtduus  in  the  Isle  of  Sheppey, 

187 
Lizards  recently  extinct  of  the  Mascarene 

Islands,  113 
Lizard  Fossil,  259 
Lobster,  Sagacity  of  a,  278 
Locusts  in  British  Isles,  21,  45,  67 
Lyons,  Query  as  to  Geology  of,  71 


Magpie  and  Starlings,  Attack  on  a 

Swift  by,  262 
Mammoths,  Siberian,  20 
INIarigold,  Query  as  to,  47 
Marion  Island,  Flora  on,  18 
Marmozet,  anew,  17 
Medusae,  Varieties  of,  67 
Mermaid's  Purses,  117 
Metropolitan  Well  Borings,  141 
Metropolitan  Societies,  139 
Mexican  Grasses,  Sexual  Modification  of 

the  Glumes  of,  140 
Mica,  Discovery  of,  in  Arctic  Regions,  69 
Microscope,  how  to  choose  a,  66 
Microscope,  Application  of,  in  Geology,  78 
Microscopical  Society  of  Bath,  88 
Microscopical,  Use  of  Term,   117 
Microspectroscopes,  137 
Microscopy,  15,  36,  65,  86,  112,  137,  139, 

183,  206,  230,  233,  276 
Mid-Silurian  Vegetation,  279 
Miocene  Period,  Animals  of  the,  279 
Mistletoe,  Celtic  Names  of  the,  39 
Mistletoe,   Growth,  Age,  &c.,   of,  25,  43, 

44,  279,  2S0 
Mistletoe  on  Lime-trees,  143,  260 
Mistletoe  on  Pink  Hawthorn-tree,  281 
Mites,  Destruction  of,  280 
Moa  Skeleton,  Discovery  of  a,  233 
Mollusks,  Methods  for  Cleaning  Shells  of 

Smaller  Species  of,  183 
Moon,  Photographs  of  the,  283 
Moonlight,    Phenomena    connected  with, 

281 
Moose-deer,  Capture  of,  at  Sea,  282 
Morse  or  Walrus,  3 
Mountain  Chains,  Origin  of,  259 
Mystacoceti,     Table    of    Differences    of 

British,  246 


N,\MES  OF  Birds,  46 

Names  of  Plants,  46 

Names,  Pronunciation  of,  43,  118,  164,  193 

Nettle,  the  Common,  46,  92,  115 

Nettle,  the  Uncommon,  164 

New  Forest,  Sport  in  the,  26 

New  Fossil  Tertiary  Bird,  212 

New  Guinea,  Birds  of,  106,  121 

New  Guinea,  Zoology  of,  231 

Newt,  Development  of,  239 

Newt,  Spawn  of,  94,  161,  263 

Newt,  Water  Currents  on  Gills  of,  114 

New  Zealand,  Flowers  in,  161 

North  Wind,  Effects  of,  on  Plants,  93,  263 

Notes  and  Queries,  21,  41,  69,  91,  117,  142, 

164,  188,  212,  237,  239,  279 
Notices   to   Correspondents,    24,    48,    72, 

96,  120,  144,  168,  192,  216,  239,  263,  283 
Notices  and  Reviews  : — 

Across  Africa  (Cameron),  83 

Animals,    Uses   of   to   Men   (Dr.    Lan- 
kester),  67 

Botany,    Structural   and    Physiological 
(Thome'),  86 

Botanical  Excursion  to  the  Grampians, 
a,  140 


British  Bird-preserver  (Wood),  113 
Cross-  and   Self-Fertilization  of  Plants 

(Darwin),  31 
Diatoms,   Practical  Directions  for  Col- 
lecting, Preserving,     Mounting,   &c., 

277 
Earthquakes  and  Volcanoes,  Causes  of 

Activity  in  (Peacock),   91 
Elementary  Zoology  (Wilson),  161 
English    Antiquities,    Half-hours    with 

(Jewitt),  8s 
Ferns,  British  and  Foreign  (Smith),  210 
Folk  Lore  of  Natural  History  (Holland), 

139 

Forest  and  Chase  of  Malvern,  its 
Present  and  Ancient  State  (LeesJ,  258 

Geologj-  of  East  Anglia,  ig 

Geology  of  England  and  Wales  (Wood- 
ward), 31 

Geology  of  Walton-on-the-Naze  and 
Harwich,  69 

Geological  Record  for  1873,  24 

Insect  Fauna  of  the  Second  Tertiary 
Period  (Goss),  117,  187 

Journal  of  Forestry,  186 

Journal  of  the  Quekett  Microscopical 
Club,  206 

Large  and  Small  Game  of  Bengal  and 
North- Western  Provinces  of  India 
(Capt.  Baldwin),  31 

Lias  in  Warwickshire  (Beesley),  117 

Life  (Garner),  89 

Life  of  a  Scotch  Naturalist  (Smiles),  83 

London  Flora,  a  New  (De  Crespigny), 
211 

Microscope,  how  to  Choose  a  (Demon- 
strator), 66 

Microscopical  Society  of  Bath,  Annual 
Address  of  the  President,  88 

Norfolk  and  Norwich  Naturalist  Society's 
Transactions  of,  161 

Orchids,  Fertilisation  of  (Darwin),  67 

Physiological  Tables  (Aveling),  236 

Popular  Science  Review,  183,  236 

Primeval  World  of  Switzerland  (Profes- 
sor Heer),  83 

Reminiscences  of  Animals,  Birds,  Fishes, 
and  Meteorology  (Kingsford),  89 

Royal  School  of  Mines  Magazine,  69 

Sun  Birds,  the  (Shelley),  139 

Symmetry  of  Flowers  (Gibbs),  67 

Watford  Natural  History  Society,  Trans- 
actions of,  89 

Winds  and  their  Story  of  the  World 
(Jordan),  163 

Zoological  Classification,  Handbook  of 
Reference  on  (Pascoe),  113 


Oaks  in  Sussex,  186  . 

Obelisk,  raising  an,  262 

Orchids  in  Surrey,  44,  92 

Orchids,  Fertilization  of,  67 

Oriental  Plane,   suited  for   Cultivation  in 

Towns,  48 
Ornithology,  Errors  in,  163,  igi 
Orobanche  jitinor,  68 


Pal.^octonus  Appalachianus,  279   ■ 

Palcrospalax  matins,  69 

Papilio  inachaon.  Larvae  of,  at  Brighton, 

231 
Parasites  on  the  common  Cyclops,  46,  93, 

112 
Parasites  in  Egg  Cocoon  of  the  Spider,  17 
Parasites  on  Midge,  13 
Parasites  on  Plants,  167 
Parthenogenesis^  140 
Peregrine  Falcon,  the,  31,  91,  142,  163,  212, 

262 
Petrel  Species  of  Sea  Birds,  Notes  on  the, 

195,  261 
P]iormii(in  teiiax  (New  Zealand  Flax),  210 
Physiography    and   Physical   Geography, 

236 
Physical  Geography  (Mrs.  Somerville),  237 
Pike,  Holes  in  the  Head  of,  261 
Plants,     Absorption     of    Organic    Matter 

by,  18 
Plant  Crystals,  dS,  90,  186 
Plants,  economical  Products  of,  77,  129,  iSi 
Plants  exposed  to  North  Winds,  Effect  on, 

95>  2C3 


HARDWICKE'S    SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 


287 


Plants,  early  Flowering,  <)5,  69,  70,  71,  91, 

92,  119 
Plants,  Insectivorous,  18,  70,  90,  93 
Plants,  Mode  of  Drying,  if,  189 
Plants,  sudden  Re-appearance  of,  142 
Plymouth,  Geology  of,  212 
Pollen,  232  ^ 

Polygonvm  dumetorum,  284 
Polyzoa,  141,  152,  158 
Polyzoa  in  Aquaria,  261 
Popular  Science  Revie-M,  the,  38 
Porcupine  from  Borneo,  new  Variety  of,  17 
Post  Tertiary,  Arctic  Fossils,  235 
Post  Glacial,  Deposit  of,  Thames  Valley, 

224 
Potato  Beetle,  of  Colorado,  166 
Primroses,  Double-headed,  142 
Primroses,  early  flowering,  70 
Primula,  hybrid,  258 
Pronunciation  of  Scientific  Names,  193 
Provincial  Museums,  89 
Provincial  Societies,  138,  277 
Psychoda,  infested  with  Parasites,  15 
Pygidium,  Notes  on  the,  13,  66 


Quartz,    Varieties    and    Modes     of 

Formation  of,  73,  97 
Quekett  IMicroscopical  Club,  the,  88,  159, 

207 


Rabies  in  Wild  Canine  Animals,  119 

Radiolariain  Carboniferous  Limestone,  116 

Raphides,  230,  253 

Raphides,  Plants  for,  230 

Rats  and  Roses,  237 

Red    Blood-Corpuscules,    Identity  of,    in 

different  Races,  113 
Red  Blood-Corpuscules,  Structure  of,  113, 

208 
Red  Grouse,  190,  262,  282 
Red-legged  Partridge,  212 
Red-winged  Starling,  188 
Reflector,  Bramhall's,    Horizontal   Super- 

or  Sub-stage,  87 
Reil,  History  of  the  Island  of,  183 
Reptile  Vivaria,  Plants  for,  237,  256 
Rhinoceros,  the  Two-horned,  113 
Ring  Ousel,  the,  101,  igo 
Robin,  the,  in  America,  42 
Rocks,  the  Microscopic  Character  of,  21  r 
Rorquals  oft'  Filey,  232 
Rothsay  Aquarium,  209 
Royal  School  of  Mines  Magazine,  6g 
Riisciis  acideatics,  281 


Salad  Herbs,  a  History  of  Our, 
102,  123 

Saurian,  Discovery  of  anew  Land,  279 

Savoy  Alps,  Geological  Phenomena  in 
the,  211,  236 

Scales  of  Insects,  Errors  of  Interpreta- 
tion as  to  Examination  of,  37,  88 

Scour  Water,  Notes  on  a  Ramble  up,  2 

Science  Gossip,  Note  on  General  Index 
of,  113 

Science  Gossip  Botanical  Exchange  Club, 
Rules  of  the,  115 

Science  Gossip  Section  Machine,  22 

Science  in  the  Provinces,  33 

Scotland,  New  Geological  Map  of,  20 


Sea  Birds,  the  Petrel  Species  of,  19s 
Seals  and  Whales  of  the  British  Seas,  123, 

156,  176,  198,  244 
Seal  in  the  Solway,  183 
Sea-fowl,  a  Close  Time  for,  232 
Sea-water.  Density  of,  45,  164,  263 
Seeds,  Indigestible   Nature  of,  21,  45,  113 
Seeds,  Vitality  in,  164 
Shadows,  Colours  of,  44,  02,  93 
Sharp-winged  Hawk  Moths,  232 
Shining  Moss,  1S7,  210,  232 
Siberian  Mammoths,  20 
Sivatheriam,  Specimen  of  in  Spain,  20 
Skate  and  Dog-fish,  239 
Slides,  Microscopical,  I?ox  for,  182 
Slides,  Miscroscopical,  Cabinet  for,  206 
Slides,     Miscroscopical,      Directions     for 

Cleaning,  138,  233,  276 
Slides,  Use  of  Opaque  Glass,  277 
Slug  (Maximus),  Tenacity  of  Life  of,  262 
Slug,  Predatory  Nature  of,  260 
Smith,  Lady,  Notice  of  Death  of,  go 
Snowdrops,  43 
Societies  and  Clubs  : — 

Amateur     Botanists'     Exchange     Club, 
Proposal  to  found,  19,  68 

Borough  of  Hackney  Microscopical  and 
Natural  History  Society,  235 

Channel   Islands  Museum  and  Institute 
of  Pisciculture,  277 

List  of,  in   London  devoted  to  Natural 
History  Pursuits,  64 

JMedical  Microscopical,  64 

Quekett  Microscopical,  83,  159 

Sydenham    and    Forest     Hill     Natural 
History  and  Microscopical,  112,  137 

Watford  Natural  History,  277 

West    Kent    Natural    History,    Micro- 
scopical, and  Photographical,  113 
Soda-water  a  good  Medium  for   keeping 

Flowers  in,  216 
Southern  France,  Notes  on  Flora  of,  116 
Sparrow-hawk  breaking  Window  to  obtain 

Canary,  239 
Sparrow-hawk,  Animosity  of  Crow  to,  21, 

44.  71,  143 
Sparrow-hawk,  Eggs  of,  190 
Sparrow-hawk  pursued  by  Lapwing,  262 
Sphinx  pinastri,  185 
Spiders,  Friendliness  of,  42 
Spiders,  Parasites  in  Egg  Cocoon  of  the,  17 
Spiders'  Preparations,  Mounting  of,  207 
Spiders,    Venomous    Nature    of,    in   New 

Zealand,  46 
Spiders,  Webs  of,  how  constructed,  208 
Sponge,  Fresh-water,  138 
Spontaneous  Generation,  160 
Spotted  Crake,  the,  277 
Spring  Ramble,  Notes  on  a,  99 
Squirrel,  the,  239 

Stag  Beetle,  Strength  of  the,  94,  281 
Star  Fish,  the,  94,  114 
Star  Fish,  how  to  Preserve,  103  (note) 
Star  Fish,  how  to  Skeletonize,  21 
Starlings,  Peculiarities  of,  118 
Stickleback,  Common,  118 
Stone  Age,  the,  in  New  Jersey,  69 
Sun,  Phenomena  connected  with,  93,  143, 

263 
Swift    (common).     Flight    of    a,    Sign   of 

Weather  Change,  262 
Swiss  Lake  Dwellings,  279 
Sussex  Oaks,  143 

Sycamore,  Exudation  from,  163,  259 
Sycamore,  Fructification  of,  209   237 


Tadpoles,  143,  214 

Tea  Leaves,  Use  of,  as  Manure,  69,  119 

Teasel,  Structure  of  the,  ti6 

Tennyson    and    his    "  Sea-blue    Bird     of 

March,"  47 
Teratology,  Notes  on,  268 
Tertiary  Mammal,  a  New,  40 
Tertiary  Man,   279 
Testacellus  halioiideiis,  114 
Teucriutn  chaincpdrys,  46,  go,  92 
Tulip,  the  Wild,  166 


Unio,  Specimen  of,  near  Repton,  67 
Upper   Cambrians   in   South    Shropshire, 
Notes  on,  116 


Vanessa  antiopa,  ^6 

Varnishing  Cells,  Directions  for,  && 

Vegetable  Teratology,  Notes  on,  233 

Ventriculites,  119 

"Veronica  Spicaia,"    var.     " Hyirida," 

232 
'*  Vestiges    of    Creation,"     Query    as    to 

Authorship  of,  48,  70,  119,  167 
Viviparous  Blenny,  the,  15 
Volcanic  Cones,  187 
Volvox  gloliator,  21,  40,  43,  43,  71,  93 
Vorticellse,  112 


Wall  Paper,  Arsenicated,  238,  261 

Walrus  or  Morse,  Notes  on  the,  3 

Water,  Mode  of  Filtration  of,  37,  3/ 

Water,  Phenomena  connected  with,  262 

Water  Glass,  68  (note) 

Waterproof  Cement,  13,  63 

Watercress,  Query  as  to  Powers  of  Pro- 
gression of,  238 

Water-supply,  Geology  of,  236 

Water  Tortoises,  91,  118 

Watford  Natural  History  Society,  Trans- 
actions of,  8g 

Water-vole,  46 

Welsh  Meadow,  Botanical  Notes  in  a, 
194 

West  of  Ireland,  Sketch  in,  178 

Whales  and  Seals  of  the  British  Seas,  123, 
156,  176,  198 

Whin  Sill  Basalt  Beds,  the,  41 

White  Cabbage  Butterfly,  Metamorphoses 
of  the,  229 

White  Copal    as    a    Mounting    Medium, 

183 
Wild  Strawberries  in  January,  93 
Willows,  sDontaneous  Combustion  of,  260 
Woollen  Moths,  Destruction  of,  23 
Wren,  Eggs  of  the,  191 
Wrj'neck,  Habits  of  the,  23 


Yama  Mai   Silkworm,    Eggs   of  the, 

118,  189 
Yew  Poisoning,  141 


ZOARCES  VIVIPARUS,   1 3 

Zoology,   i6,  38,  66,  89,  113,  138,  i6r,  183, 

208,  231,  236,  277 
Zoology,  elementary  (Wilson),  161 
Zoology  of  New  Guinea,  231 
Zoology,  Study  of  Practical, 


WVMAN   AND    SON?,    PRINTERS,    GREAT   QUEEN    STREET,    LONDON,    W.C. 


MBL  WHOI    LIBRARY 


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