HARDWICKE'S SC IEN CE-GOSSIP. 



71 



The Year-Book of Pacts.— We have before us 

 Mr. Tirabs's annual volume for last year, and it is 

 not a whit behind any of its numerous predecessors 

 in interest or value. This book has become quite 

 an institution; almost as sure as Christmas Day and 

 Good Friday, it " cometh but once a year." Tor 

 those who do not take the trouble to learn how 

 " the world wags " in science but once in twelve 

 months, this volume must be invaluable. To others 

 it is useful as a reminder of what has been done, or 

 at least some of it— that which is popular. The 

 portrait of Professor Huxley, and the vignette of 

 the American Gatling Mitrailleuse, are in them- 

 selves hints as to the course of the stream in 1870. 



"The Ctpeess of Lomma."— This small account 

 of a most interesting tree, I copy from the Mori- 

 cultural Cabinet of 1858, thinking it might in- 

 terest some of the readers of Science-Gossip ; 

 and also I should like to know whether any of the 

 readers have ever seen it, &c. "This tree is the 

 oldest of which there remain any records. It is sup- 

 posed to have been planted in the year of the birth 

 of Christ, and on that account is looked on with 

 reverence by the inhabitants ; but an ancient chro- 

 nicle at Milan is said to prove that it was a tree in 

 the time of Julius Csesar, B.C. 42. It is a hundred 

 and twenty-three feet high, and twenty feet in cir- 

 cumference at one foot from the ground. Napoleon, 

 when laying down the plan for his great road over 

 the Simplon, diverged from a straight line to avoid 

 injuring this tree." — Thomas Wynne. 



Bees and Soot.— De Quincey, in his "Con- 

 fessions of an English Opium- Eater," says that, 

 when in the Lake district, he was told that bees 

 make use of soot in some stage of their wax or 

 honey manufacture. Is this an admitted fact? If so, 

 I should be glad to hear more about it. — G. H. H. 



Gregories (S.-G., 1871, p. 47).— In connection 

 with this name, cf. Greygoles, which Halliwell gives 

 as a Dorset synonym of Agraphis nutans. A writer 

 in Notes and Queries, 4th series, iv. 345, states that 

 this plant is called, in the same county, " Blue 

 Gramfer Greygles," and that Lychnis diurna is 

 called " Bed Gramfer Greygles."— James Britten. 



Is the Landrail a Bird of Passage? — The 

 readers of Science-Gossip are greatly indebted to 

 your correspondent " J. B." (Dolgelly), for haying 

 called attention to this subject; and probabilities 

 are quite in favour of the suggestion thrown out, 

 viz., that the Landrail remains with us all the year 

 round. Por, in the first place, it strikes one as more 

 than likely that a bird so awkward upon the wing 

 would find great difficulty in crossing the sea at 

 even the shortest passage from shore to shore. It 

 is to be hoped that sportsmen and gamekeepers will 

 give us their experience in this matter. Turning to 

 Thompson's " Birds of Ireland " (one of the most 

 interesting of bird-books, and so rich in facts and 

 observations), vol. ii. p. 311, we are told that the 

 Landrail has been seen in late autumn and through- 

 out the whole of the winter months, and quotes the 

 following from McSkimmin's "History of Carrick- 

 fergus " :— " On January the 10th, 1788, eight or 

 ten brace were flushed among the rocks at the 

 Knockagh," &c. This extract would lead to the 

 inference that they are gregarious in winter. Per- 

 haps the fact that these birds do not come much 

 under observation except at the breeding season 

 may be accounted for by their partially nocturnal 

 habits. They certainly become very fat towards 

 the autumn, as though to prepare for winter. — W. P. 



Dos A Dos. — I have long been wishing to put 

 a query and state the following. Last autumn 

 twelvemonth, when passing through the aquarium 

 at Boulogne, I found an interested crowd gathered 

 in front of one particular tank containing about 

 thirty fish — all of one kind, which I fancied might 

 be mullet — and closely watching their movements. 

 Several of the fish were paired back to back ; the 

 under fish poised naturally in mid-water, the upper 

 fish swimming back downwards ; and each one, 

 with snouts conjoined, breathing simultaneously. 

 " Voila ! lis sont accouples ; oh, c'est drole ! " ex- 

 claimed the Frenchers ; it was so. For a time I 

 was content to fancy it an optical delusion due to 

 reflection or refraction, but that I waited till [ saw 

 some pairs separate, others join. It was indeed 

 droll to watch their gills moving in concert; 

 kissing is a mild term, for a curious bubbling of the 

 water showed that they were interchanging breaths. 

 The point of contact was only at the snout : it was 

 August, and the weather intensely hot. — A. H. 



Titmice (p. 34).— I can quite endorse Mr. Budd's 

 laudatory notice of the Tomtit as a sprightly and 

 agreeable aviary bird. I have had a Blue Tit 

 {Cyanistes caruleus, Kaup.) for more than twelve 

 months, and a more pleasant little companion it is 

 impossible to conceive. It is a French specimen, 

 having been procured by me across the Channel, and 

 brought away when driven out by the near approach 

 of the German army to the town in which I resided. 

 Of course it differs in no respect from our English 

 tits, unless it be that it has adopted in some measure 

 the mercurial habits and lively ways of our neigh- 

 bours — at least as they were before the war! 

 Never was there a more agile acrobat,_ or more 

 loquacious little twitterer ! The door of the cage 

 is opened during each meal, and Tom eagerly takes 

 advantage of the permission given him to fly about 

 the room, or hop fearlessly over the table, perching 

 on the edges of the plates and dishes, and taking 

 tithe of the food that may chance to be present. It 

 is exceedingly fond of fat and butter, and never 

 fails to " leave its mark " on the pats at breakfast- 

 time. It is fed on bread-and-water squeezed dry, 

 with pieces of meat and apple, of all of which it is 

 exceedingly fond. Hemp-seed is quite irresistible, 

 and should the bird fail to return to its home within 

 a reasonable time, a few seeds thrown into the 

 cage are sure to draw it back. It will take them 

 too from our lips and fingers. Its method of climb- 

 ing over the wires of its cage head downwards, and 

 its many other grotesque habits render this tiny 

 specimen of the bird-world a great favourite. I 

 have often heard that the Great Tit (Parus major, 

 L.) is given to peck out the brains of its fellow- 

 captives. I can only say, however, from my own 

 experience, that last year three or four were kept 

 in my house for some months, in a cage with several 

 other birds, and that they all lived on the most 

 peaceable and affectionate terms. The Great Tit is 

 a much larger and more dignified member of the 

 family than our tiuy monkey -like friend the Blue- 

 cap ; but I much prefer the latter as a companion. 

 — W. W. Spicer, Potteme, Wilts. 



The Cicada in Brazil.— The main purpose of 

 the Casuarina in creation seems to be that of 

 housing destitute crickets, 



" a importuna monotona si garra," 



jolly beggars, whose ceaseless chirping and hoarse 

 whispering drown the sound of the human voice.— 

 Burton, " Highlands of the Brazil." 



