19S 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



head-covering and leathern miner's jacket (for his 

 bearship had been in California at the diggings) had 

 ever met his eyes before. I saw doubts of our sanity 

 working in his face. He turned away rapidly, and 

 strode off over the turnip ridges, tbinking, poor man 

 (as he afterwards confided to a friend), that we were 

 a party of lunatics out for a holiday from Eare- 

 ham Asylum ; " for what, I ask you, Earmer 

 Stubbington, could any ere people in their senses 

 want a catching them nasty worms and beadles 

 for?" and he considerably disturbed his family's 

 peace of mind at dinner by telling them what dan- 

 gerous characters there were in the vicinity of "Hoe 

 Earm " that day, while we returned to our lunch, 

 and amused the Hon. Mrs. Cochrane and Miss 

 Williams with an account of Earmer T.'s discom- 

 fiture. 



It is astonishing how profoundly ignorant some 

 of the lower classes still are, despite the progress of 

 education, in respect to natural history. I have seen 

 a butterfly-collector followed by a crowd of rustics, 

 men, women, and children. 



"Poor man, he baint quite right in his head." 

 " It's easy to see he have a soft place there." 

 " He is a button short, or he'd never be fishing 

 in the sky instead of the sea," were a few of the 

 remarks made, and one bright youth suggested that 

 " the gentleman ate them things, like mother's cat 

 did the crickets." 



Once, on an excursion to Southsea, I found two 

 friends, who had started early in the morning, sur- 

 rounded by a parcel of boys. They were seemingly 

 much amused, and one of them having overheard a 

 remark to the effect that the lads believed they be- 

 longed to the show that had just been in Ports- 

 mouth, they aided the delusion, by saying, " How 

 the Mermaid, poor dear, will enjoy these jelly-fish 

 (sea-anemones) for her supper," &c. When La 

 Comtesse de Mania and myself put in an appearance, 

 I conclude they imagined us to be "show people " 

 also ; for they continued to follow ; but after the 

 lunch - hamper was opened, and Mr. Maybridgc 

 asked, " Couutess, will you have sherry or sherry- 

 and-water ? " they all scampered off, evidently too 

 polite to stare at a lady eating bread and butter ; 

 so showing more true, instinctive good feeling than 

 a person in the rank of a gentlewoman, whom I 

 really heard call to her two daughters to " come 

 and see the Prince of Wales eat strawberries," add- 

 ing in a loud voice, a voice perfectly audible to His 

 Royal Highness, "He eats tliem just like any other 

 man." 



Little grey mullet do well in an aquarium; they 

 are very pretty, and I think a goby is of infinite 

 use, for he helps to disturb the water, by constantly 

 darting in and out from amongst the tufts of plants 

 and pieces of rock, in search of food : small mullets 

 also are excessively lively. The Cinderella of the 

 tank is the Periwinkle, a common but useful mem- 



ber of marine society. He clears the glass sides, 

 enabling you to see with perfect facility the beauti- 

 ful living dowers contained within. 



" Here too, were living- flowers, 

 Which like a bud compacted, 

 Their purple cups contracted ; 

 And now in open blossoms spread, 

 Stretch'd like green anthers many a seeking head, 

 And arborets of jointed stone were there, 

 And plants of fibres fine as silkworm's hair." 



Southey. 



Helen E. Watney. 

 Bryn Hyfryd, near Beaumaris. 



LARGE WOOD-ANT 



{Formica Herculanea). 



rTHIIS, the largest of our British ants, is very 

 -*- common in a wood in this neighbourhood ; and 

 though an extremely interesting sketch of its habits 

 has already appeared in Science-Gossip,* yet per- 

 haps two or three more of its traits may not be 

 unacceptable. It is much superior in size to the 

 black, red, or yellow ants, being between a quarter 

 and half an inch in length. Its colour is of a dark 

 brown, but lighter on the thorax. Last September, 

 while strolling through a wood, I derived much 

 amusement from noticing its habits. I then 

 observed numbers of these ants running up the 

 stems and among the foliage of the oak bushes; and 

 on looking more closely to ascertain the cause, I 

 found that numbers of the ants were congregated 

 round the large dark-coloured, wingless aphides 

 which are commonly found on the oak-twigs in the 

 autumn months. The youngest reader of Science- 

 Gossip must have heard or read of what the ants 

 do with the aphides — how the ant pats the side of 

 the aphis with its antennae, and makes it exude a 

 drop of honey-dew, which the former eagerly licks 

 up. The ants of which I am speaking were thus 

 eugaged, busily elbowing their way among their 

 fellows, and persistently tapping the aphides. One 

 large and corpulent aphis resented this familiarity 

 by kicking out its hinder legs vigorously whenever 

 an ant approached, and thus kept the honey-dew- 

 loving Eormicidae at a respectful distance. I suspect 

 that not only are the aphides plundered by the ants, 

 but are also occasionally devoured, for I noticed 

 one of the ants seize a small aphis, and very un- 

 ceremoniously carry it off. Perhaps, however, it 

 was merely taken to the nest to afford further rich 

 treats. These ants are very pugnacious among 

 themselves, fend I noticed two engaged in a despe- 

 rate pugilistic encounter on an oak-gall. This ant 

 is also of a fierce and fearless disposition to enemies 

 greatly superior to itself in size. On presenting a 

 finger to one of them, it immediately placed itself in 



■ Vol. ii. p. 150. 



