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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
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■^^.^^^^::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-
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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.
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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.
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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-
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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,
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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
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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