HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



43 



BOTANY. 



Polymorphic Fungi.— In the current part of 

 Popular Science Review, a description is given of a 

 species of mucor developed from the mycelium of 

 the roseate penicillium of dead box-leaves. And in 

 Mr. Lewis's report on cholera evacuations, recently 

 published in Calcutta, occurs another similar in- 

 stance of a mucor developed from the mycelium of 

 a penicillium, the two observations thus confirming 

 and strengthening each other. 



Red Snow. — An interesting account of the sub- 

 stance so called is to be found under plate 241 in 

 the 4th volume of Greville's Scottish Cryptogamic 

 Flora. The minute plant, under the name of Pro- 

 tococcus nivalis, is figured and described, and the 

 different theories and opinions which had obtained 

 as to the nature and origin of this mysterious organ- 

 ism are detailed. In times past, red snow, and red 

 spots on bread, and similar phenomena, for which 

 no very satisfactory account could be given, inspired 

 terror, and were considered as prognostic of evil. 



'"- Early Gardens.— The roll of the household ex- 

 penses of the Countess of Leicester, a daughter of 

 King John, goes far towards proving that gardens 

 were more cultivated in the early ages than the 

 paragraph quoted in Science-Gossip would lead 

 one to suppose ; green peas, beans, parsley, onions, 

 fennel, and pot-herbs, being amongst the vegetables 

 mentioned, although it is exceedingly probable that 

 the gardeners of the period were monks. This 

 same roll mentions only apples and pears in the list of 

 fruit ; but Matthew Paris says, when describing a 

 very bad season in England, that quinces, cherries, 

 plums, and shell-fruits were entirely destroyed; 

 thus showing that in the year 1257 such fruits were 

 grown in this country. The "shell-fruits'''' are 

 supposed to have been walnuts, chestnuts, and com- 

 mon cobnuts. Oranges were not known in France 

 before 1333, but they are mentioned in England as 

 early as 1290 — imported, of course, not grown in 

 the country. Eleanor of Castile, Edward's queen, 

 it is supposed, first introduced this fruit on English 

 tables, and a dessert of that age would not appear at 

 all out of date now. — H. JFatney. 



Henbane. — This is one of the plant-names which 

 has puzzled Dr. Prior (p. 108, 2nd edition). The 

 following cutting from the Athenauim, No. 2,182, 

 August 21st, 1869, may prove interesting to some 

 readers; it bears the well-known signature of 

 A. De Morgan : — " Hanne-baiie ; Hyocyamus. Here 

 are two words wrongly spelt according to our 

 notions. Our English word henbane is supposed to 

 indicate a plant which is fatal to domestic fowls ; 

 but nobody makes out that the hens ever eat 

 it. In Gerard's 'Herbal' (1597) hanne-bane is 



given as the only French word for what they now 

 call jusquiame, from the Italian jusquiamo. In the 

 Academy's Dictionary hane-bane and hene-bene are 

 given as obsolete forms, for which reference is made 

 to jusquiame. Neither hannc nor bane has separate 

 recognition from the Academy, nor does either 

 occur in any compound except one, so far as I can 

 find. It may be suspected that a form of the old 

 word is seen in that ' hebenon ' with which the 

 Danish Cain murders his brother. The Greek word 

 means hog-bean. Now, vo is the crude form of hog, and 

 Kua/j-og is bean ; hence voKva\ihc, (Jiyocyamus) should 

 be the word, analogous with vo-6Xog, voudfig, &c. 

 The common form vo<jKvaj.iug (Jiyoscyamus), with the 

 full genitive vbg, is just such a word as we see in 

 horse's-radish, cow's-heel, goose's-berry, &c. It is 

 true that the insertion may only be intended to 

 avoid a number of short syllables coming together, 

 as seems' to be done in vgttoXoq, &c. But we need, 

 not preserve what to a Greek ear was only euphonic 

 to the confusion of etymology. It would surely be 

 desirable to write hyocyamus."— li. T., M.A. 



Pansy. — In the additional remarks to the first 

 edition of his "Popular Names of British Plants," 

 Dr. Prior gives a reference to Chaucer, — "Assem- 

 blie of Ladies," v. G2, where we have "poure 

 penses;" in Spenser's " Shepheard's Calendar," 

 April, 1579, we have "pretie pawnee;" and in 

 Milton's "Par. Lost," bk.ix., and "Lycidas "'(these 

 last three given in Richardson's Dictionary) wc 

 have pansy. William Webbe, in his "Discourse of 

 English Poetrie" (15S6), has, in his translation of 

 Virgil's second Eclogue (p. 79, Arber's edition), 

 pancyes ; but on p. 84 (possibly owing to the re- 

 quirements of his verse) he has " prety paunce." 

 Does the dissyllabic form occur in earlier authors ? 

 In this same work we have also, p. 79, " broade 

 Mary Goldes;" p. 82, " Daifadillies ; " p. S4, 

 " Gelliflowres sweete," " Cullambynes," "Corna- 

 tion" (see Prior, p. 53), "Daffadowndillies," 

 " Kyngcuppe," " deluce flowre," and in close con- 

 nection with comation we have " Wynesops." 



" Let us have the Wynesops 

 With the Cornation that among: the loue laddes 

 Wontes to be vvorne much." 



(See Sops-iii-Wine, Prior, p. 216 ; also.p. 3S.)— P. T., 

 M.A. 



Shamrock. — This Linnseus, in his " Flora Lap - 

 ponica " (edit. Smith, 1792), p. 230, states to be the 

 Trifolium pratense. His words are : — " Hiberni suo 

 chambroch, quod est Trifolium pratense pur- 

 pureum, aluntur, celeres et promptissimi roboris, 

 Muni. duet. 125, conficiunt enim panem e fionbus 

 hujus plantse melleum odorem spirantibus, qui 

 magis placet, quam qui ex spergula recensita 

 paratur;" i.e. from the Corn Spurrey (S. arvensis). 

 —See Prior, "Plant-Names," p. 210— B.T., M.A. 



