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HARDWICKE'S S CI EN C E- GOSSIP. 



The Ascent or Man.— Once upon a time, that 

 is somewhere about the year 1400, there lived in 

 Gilaw, near the Caspian Sea, a Muhammadan saint, 

 called Mahmud, whose ideas respecting the Creation 

 appear to have been entirely Darwinian. Perhaps 

 the doctrine of the transmigration of souls is a 

 correct one, and our present Darwin may have been 

 the Mahmud of the past— the curious old prior who 

 lived in the days of Timur, and who was persecuted 

 by the Persian government as an arch-heretic. I 

 have been reading a short article, taken from an 

 Eastern publication, respecting this Caspian saint, 

 and it may, perhaps, interest your readers to know 

 that his idea of the Creation was as follows :— 

 "NuJctah ikhak" (an atom of earth) underwent 

 numberless changes : first of all it spread abroad in 

 the form of plants ; these plants became animals ; 

 and they in time developed into a distinct species— 

 a sort of advance upon the brute kind, something 

 very much like a gorilla, but far inferior to man as 

 lie was in Mahmud's time ; for he modestly states 

 that gorilla-man, after throwing off various imper- 

 fections during successive generations, reached its 

 perfection— " the human form divine"— in his oavu 

 person. A few of Mahmud's followers came to 

 India in the 16th century, so his opinions must have 

 gained ground in some minds.—//. Watney. 



The Lotus. — A correspondent recently inquired 

 if there is evidence of the use of the Lotus in 

 India at all analogous to its use or adoption in 

 Egypt ; this was stated to be the case in India 

 and also in Assyria {see Science-Gossip, No. 66, 

 p. 124 ; No. 73, p. 19). My object in writing now, 

 is to add that, the Lotus is figured on the plaster 

 cast of the Sanchi Tope gateway, on view at the 

 International Exhibition ; the date assigned to it is 

 about coeval with the commencement of the Chris- 

 tian era. It may be noted that many characteristics 

 of the ornamentation of this Buddhistic structure 

 are very decidedly Assyrian.— A. H. 



Tritons— In reply to "E. Halse," in Science- 

 Gossir for the last month (May), I beg to refer him 

 to a paper contained in the "Annals and Magazine 

 of Natural History" for December, 1S53, by John 

 Higginbottom, E.R.S., of Nottingham, which will 

 give him every information he may require respect- 

 ing the British Tritons. — S. II. 



Eisii in the Jordan.— " H. C. S. S." would be 

 glad if any one would kindly give some information 

 as to the 'kind of fish found in the river Jordan. 

 He cannot find the names mentioned anywhere, but 

 many works say that the river abounds in fish.— 

 June 5th, 1871. 



Earth-worm.— Mr. Soombridge gives the fol- 

 lowing prescription for the destruction of earth- 

 worms. " Mix a small quantity of corrosive sub- 

 limate (about half a gill to an ordinary-sized water- 

 ing-pot will be sufficient), and well saturate the lawn 

 or path." 1 beg to state that corrosive sublimate 

 is a solid crystallized body, but, not a liquid. Mr. E. 

 Winder suggests another formula containing the 

 above sab, viz., "loz. of corrosive sublimate 

 dissolved in 2 oz. of hydrochloric acid, one or two 

 tablespoonfuls to be added to the canful of water." 

 I would, however, recommend that in place of 

 hydrochloric acid, a solution of sal ammoniac be 

 employed to dissolve the very sparingly soluble 

 sublimate, loz. of each of the above sails will make 

 about 12 gallons of a saturating solution when dis- 

 solved in water, which is perfectly innoxious to 

 plants.— 72. C. Smith, M.I). 



The Pursuit oe Science under Difficulties. 

 — I had for some time looked with lonGcina: eyes on 

 the undisturbed serenity of a small pond visible from 

 the elevated platform of a certain railway station in 

 the outskirts of the metropolis ; for "having ranged 

 and searched a thousand nooks " along the 

 banks of "silver-breasted Thames," this particular 

 pond offered itself in my estimation a bonne bouche 

 not to be disregarded, and, "accoutred as I was" 

 with collecting-case and stick, and fortified with a 

 polite note explainin? the object of my desire, J 

 duly presented myself at the door of the mansion of 

 the lady occupier and proprietress of the domain, 

 who at once, to my surprise and amusement, stated 

 her determination not to accede to my request in 

 the following courteous terms : — " No ; not if I know 

 it. I s'pose it is you and the likes of you as breaks 

 my fences ! I should like to catch you at it. 

 There's plenty of ponds and puddles about Wands- 

 worth Common and Tooting Common ; why don't 

 you go there? No! young man, I shall set my 

 gardener to keep a watch ; go about your business." 

 I went about my business, and was immeasurably 

 amused to watch from the same platform for several 

 succeeding mornings, the precautionary measures 

 undertaken at the direction of this intellectual and 

 'amiable lady for the protection of her property, 

 which consisted in depositing some loads of lime- 

 dust around the banks of the pond in question, and 

 in erecting an expensive wood fencing between her 

 own and the grounds adjoining. — Charles Cubitt. 



Sirex juvencds. — In Science-Gossip for Nov., 

 1S70, I inserted a question on the occurrence of 

 Sirex juvencus in England, commonly or otherwise ; 

 no answer to which having been received, 1 again 

 ask, will any entomologist acquainted with the 

 Hymenoptera kindly give me the desired infor- 

 mation? — W. Chaney. 



Violets. — I planted some pure white violets 

 last year, but am astonished to see them come up 

 this spring in blue (deep). I am at, a loss to see 

 why this is, as no other plants were near, nor even 

 in the neighbourhood. — H. W. H. 



Borax and Cockroaches. — In Hardwicke's 

 Science-Gossip for this month (May), at page 117, 

 it is stated that borax is certain death to cock- 

 roaches. The paragraph is taken from the " Journal 

 of Applied Science," the back numbers of which I 

 have not got, to refer to. I have thrown pow- 

 dered borax over cockroaches without its producing 

 the smallest effect on them, or even making them 

 move. The Growler is over-run with cock- 

 roaches, and I should be much obliged to any one 

 who would tell me how to set rid of them. The 

 only thing I have found efficacious has been car- 

 bolic acid diluted, and squirted into the holes and 

 corners they frequent ; but this has the disadvantage 

 of spoiling paint and furniture. What^ is really 

 wanted is some poisonous and seductive food. All 

 I have tried has utterly failed.— Edmund II. Vemey. 



Queries, G. J. W -Your inquirer, " G. J. W.," 

 will find his queries Nos. 1 and 7 discussed m 

 Lindley's " Elements of Botany," also in Hunt's 

 " Poetry of Science." Experiments demonstrating 

 the effects of sunshine upon combustible matter, by 

 Professor Tomlinson, are referred to m "Popular 

 Science Review " for October, 1S70. Having great 

 doubts in the matter of borax being obnoxious to 

 the common cockroach, I threw a quantity of the 

 powder upon one placed in a gallipot. It lived lor 



