IS 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



be remembered that every day, especially in the 

 summer season, a Einnber of insects are brought 

 into London by a variety of agencies against their 

 own will. An instance particularly well marked, is 

 that furnished by the multitudinous trains reaching 

 the metropolis from rural districts. The carriages, 

 after remaining for a time in the sidings of stations, 

 surrounded by vegetable life, become the resort of 

 moths, flies, and other species, which subsequently 

 perform long or short journeys without paying any 

 fares ! But the appearance of a dragon-fly in town 

 may, I believe, be thus explained :— Amongst the 

 quantity of garden and field produce brought into 

 London, reeds and rushes are occasionally to be 

 found, being used as packing. Now attached to the 

 stems of these there are at times various aquatic 

 pupa. That of some dragon-fly is likely enough to 

 occur sometimes ; and the insect thus travelling, if 

 uninjured, would subsequently emerge in the winged 

 state, and flit its little hour amongst the bustle of 

 streets.-/. B. S. C. 



A Likely Story. — Naturalists were a little 

 unscrupulous formerly,! and the public too gulli- 

 ble, or the following could not have been gravely 

 printed in an old magazine — a type of not a few 

 outrageous fictions which were received without 

 question by those ignorant of the rudiments of 

 Natural History. In the Mirror of the year 1821 

 it is reported : — 



" Lieutenant Hebestreit has discovered the means 

 of employing a kind of caterpillar in spinning a fine 

 web, which is perfectly white and waterproof. "With 

 this web he lately constructed a balloon, which he 

 inflated by burning spirits of wine under it, and 

 which ascended in the large hall which serves as a 

 workshop for his caterpillars. He can make them 

 trace ciphers and figures in their web. Por this 

 purpose he draws the outline of his design with 

 spirits of wine, which the caterpillars avoid and 

 spin round it. A web, 7 feet square (!), perfectly 

 pure, and as brilliant as taffety, was the result of 

 three weeks' labour of about 500 caterpillars. The 

 subject is not unworthy the attention of natural 

 philosophers." 



They must have been naturals, indeed, Scottice, 

 if they could accept this lieutenant's narrative. 



Baby Spiders. — A short time since my attention 

 was attracted by some dark object suspended against 

 the outer wall of the house, in a sheltered corner, 

 which, on examination, proved to be a mass of tiny 

 spiders. The little creatures were hanging by a few 

 threads of web of exquisite fineness, so as not to 

 quite touch the wall. They were congregated in a 

 dense cluster, as large as a good-sized walnut, and 

 must have been many hundreds in number. They 

 were pale yellow, with a dark spot on the hinder 

 part of the body. It was on the 22ud of May that 



I first saw them, and they remained without especial 

 alteration till the 27th ; the weather being fine and 

 dry. On the morning of that day they were all 

 astir, and in a few hours had formed a ladder of 

 web reaching to the ledge of a small window about 

 a yard above the spot where they hung. By this 

 they all mounted, and from thence formed another, 

 reaching up about another yard, to the projecting 

 slates which covered a water-tank, under shelter of 

 which they ensconced themselves in a dense cluster 

 as before. In the afternoon of that day some slight 

 showers fell, and the next, the 28th, was a day of 

 heavy rain without intermission ; but the wonderful 

 instinct of my tiny friends had led them to a place 

 of perfect shelter. Let rain and wind drive as they 

 would, nothing could reach them beneath the wide 

 flat slates under which they had taken refuge. The 

 next day it was most amusing to see the many scouts 

 who went on exploring expeditions to the edge of 

 their hiding-place ; but they did not seem to bring 

 back any satisfactory tidings till the 1st of June, 

 when again all were in action ; and, in a few hours, 

 a third ladder was formed, reaching this time to the 

 roof of the house, to which in the course of the day 

 they all mounted, and were, alas! lost to my view. 

 How did these baby spiders live and thrive ? I 

 never saw any larger spider near them, and they 

 made no web, properly so called ; indeed, if they 

 had, anything which they might have entrapped 

 larger than a midge would have been beyond their 

 powers. Did sun and air, and the warmth supplied 

 by their close contact, suffice for their nourishment ? 

 Or do the young of the spider, when first hatched, 

 possess some of that substance which is, I believe, 

 called in full-grown specimens, the " fat-body," and 

 which enables them to endure long fasts, on some- 

 what the same principle as a hybernating animal ? 

 I was sorry to lose sight of these interesting little 

 creatures before I could ascertain how long they 

 would remain thus associated before beginning an 

 independent existence. I have not yet detected any 

 webs in the garden, or near the house, which appear 

 to be occupied by any of my much-regretted little 

 friends.-^. T. 



Plumed Gnat. — In one of our bedrooms, for 

 the last fortnight or more, swarms of Plumed Gnats 

 are seen upon the window panes. This is confined 

 to the one room. Can you explain it ? "Where do 

 these gnats propagate ? We have no water near, 

 or a chalky soil, nearly ninety feet in the depth of 

 well. The room faces south. There are two 

 other windows in the same line, and none are seen 

 there.—/. P. G. 



The Robin.— Can any reader of Science-Gossip 

 inform me who was the author of the nursery ballad 

 called "The Death of Cock Robin," and when it 

 was first printed ? — G. B. 



