92 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



MICROSCOPY. 



Bunt of Wheat as a Lens.— Most micro- 

 scopists are familiar with au arrangement by 

 means of which the eye of a beetle mounted in 

 balsam, and placed on the stage of the microscope, 

 a little out of focus, is made to show in each facet 

 the image of a small object, such as a watch-key, 

 placed between the slide and the source of light. 

 The fungus Tilletia caries, commonly called the 

 bunt of wheat, possesses similar optical properties 

 when mounted in Canada balsam ; and the sharp 

 definition of the image proves that the spores of 

 the fungus possess what opticians call "a good 

 figure." It should be remarked that whilst the 

 beetle's eye must be beyond the focus of the objec- 

 tive in order to show the image, a difference of 

 refractive power in the bunt renders it necessary 

 that it should be within the focus. As the spores 

 are smaller than the lenses of the beetle's eye, a 

 proportionately higher power is required to show 

 the image.— F. W. M. 



Hydra.— I had last summer a number of Hydras 

 in a small aquarium with Volvox globator, &c. As the 

 winter came on, they all disappeared, and for three 

 months nothing was seen of the Hydras. I ex- 

 amined the water almost daily, from the time of 

 their disappearance, with a Coddington lens, but 

 nothing of them was to be seen until March 2nd, 

 when I observed a small Hydra attached to a piece 

 of Anacharis alsinastrum (which plant had been 

 growing in the water the whole time), aud now 

 there are several of them, and increasing by gem- 

 mation, some of them having two buds at a time. I 

 mention this, as I believe it is not often that the 

 reproduction of the Hydra has been observed 

 in the confinement of an aquarium. — James 

 Fullagar. 



Quekett Soiree.— The Soiree of the Quekett 

 Microscopical Club was held on Priday evening, 

 17th March, by permission of the authorities at 

 University College, Gower Street, and was not a 

 whit behind any of its predecessors, either in interest 

 or arrangement. The exertions of the Soiree 

 Committee were rewarded by the presence of as 

 large a company as the building could comfortably 

 accommodate, and by the expressions of general 

 satisfaction. 



The Lung of a Prog.— At the last meeting of 

 the Quekett Club, an American gentleman exhibited 

 the lung of a living frog with the circulation going 

 on, which attracted considerable attention during 

 the evening. The method was explained by the 

 exhibitor. This was one of the features only of a 

 most interesting evening meeting. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Pield Club in South- Western London.— 

 Can you tell me if there is any Naturalists' Field 

 Club in existence in these South-western suburbs 

 of London ? I retain very pleasing recollections of 

 excursions with the Liverpool Naturalists' Pield 

 Club in years past, and I have just been speaking 

 with a friend who agrees with me in wishing that 

 similar excursions could be organized in this neigh- 

 bourhood. We should both be glad to know any 

 who might have a like feeling with ourselves, and 

 then, it' there be no such society in existence 

 already in this South-western District, we might 

 possibly have a meeting with a view to the for- 

 mation of a Pield Club.— W. II. Hatcher, Belmont, 

 Batiersea. 



Popular Errors (page 70). — It is commonly 

 said that rats will not stay, and that horses will never 

 be diseased, where a goat is kept. Is it the odour of 

 the goat which is disagreeable to the rats ? Odorous 

 aud bitter plants will, it is said, drive away bugs. 

 Last winter a farmer I know kept a goat among 

 some colts in a shed. One of the colts, a two-year 

 old. had a tail which trailed on the ground. The goat, 

 taking a liking to this particular tail, began one day 

 and pulled the hair out, leaving it a complete stump. 

 A great part of the hair was chewed and swallowed. 

 The goat was not short of other food. — George 

 Roberts. 



The Song of Birds. — The purpose which the 

 song of birds answers in the economy of Nature is 

 one of those mysteries which, like the differences of 

 tint in their plumage, human ingenuity has not yet 

 been able to explain. It is not, however, a mere 

 pairing cry, because it is continued until the birds 

 break the shell, and in some instances until they 

 are able to ily. We may be sure, however, that it 

 has its use ; and as we can observe that the females 

 of all birds which have that cry, whether it be what 

 we call song or not, are excited when it is uttered 

 by the male; it may be that it produces in the fe- 

 male that heat which is]necessary for hatching the 

 eggs. In ourselves there are many sounds which 

 make the heart beat, the blood dance, and the 

 whole body glow, we know not why ; and thus we 

 have no ground for denying without proof that 

 other animals may be affected in a similar manner. 

 Perhaps the more philosophical way of considering 

 it is to suppose that it produces general excitement, 

 and a power of more energetic performance in all 

 the labour which the birds can undertake. The 

 connection between the song and the plumage, and 

 the silence and the moult, is also a curious matter, 

 and shows that the whole bird is subject to some 

 general law, which, though it lies deep beyond the 

 power of our divination, governs even the minutest 

 circumstance, the production of a new spot or gloss 

 on a feather, the reddening of a comb or a wattle, 

 or the inspiration of courage into birds naturally 

 timid.— Mudie, "The Feathered Tribes of the British 

 Islands." 



GorgoniaDjE. — Major Holland's suggestion that 

 possibly, a few specimens of the living polypes 

 might be picked up amongst the debris thrown up 

 on our shores, is well worth the attention of your 

 Cornish readers. Last summer, whilst on a tour in 

 the north of that county, 1 found several of the 



