HARDWICKE'S SCIEN CE-GOSSIP. 



199 



a defensive posture by sitting on end, elevating its 

 fore-feet iu a threatening manner, and making stren- 

 uous efforts to seize the finger, which was not, how- 

 ever, permitted ; so that, practically speaking, I did 

 not become acquainted with its ferocity. The ants 

 having satisfied their appetites, took a very lazy 

 way of reaching the ground ; for instead of descend- 

 ing in the usual way, they dropped from leaf to leaf, 

 and thus reached terra firma. Yesterday (May 16) 

 I had another excellent opportunity of watching 

 the habits of the Wood-ant. On the path running 

 through a wood were a large number of these ants 

 hurrying about with great activity ; some going in 

 one direction, others in another. Ever anxious to 

 add to my imperfect knowledge of natural history, 

 1 stopped and watched them for a long time. In a 

 very short time I had noticed that this army of 

 ants was somewhat unequally divided into two 

 parties — one party proceeding to the right, the 

 other to the left. I also discovered that those 

 marching to the right were all laden with provisions, 

 and pushed forward with alacrity; while those 

 going to the left were empty-handed (if I may so 

 express it), and instead of marching straightforward, 

 were proceeding slowly, and hunting over every 

 inch of ground and every blade of grass. The ants 

 going to the right were, as I said before, laden with 

 provisions, and it needed no prophet to tell me that 

 the nest lay in that direction. Wishing to have an 

 opportunity of examining a nest, I was about to 

 push forward with that intention, when happening 

 to look up, my eyes rested on one of those terrible 

 " Take Notices " which menace the reader with all 

 the terrors of the law if he should dare to place his 

 trespassing foot out of the legal six-inch path. Having 

 a great respect for the law, I forbore gratifying my 

 curiosity, and therefore turned my attention to the 

 nature of the provisions carried by the industrious 

 ants. I found them to be dead flies of different kinds, 

 bits of the exuv'uv or cast-off skins of other insects, and 

 three or four were busily lugging to the right the 

 carcass of a small bee. Then several — I may say 

 dozens — had small caterpillars of the leaf-rolling 

 moths (Tortrices) in their mouths, and others were 

 carrying along dead, or parts of dead, comrades. 

 Thus we see that the little leaf-rolling caterpillar 

 has other enemies besides birds to fear, and though 

 it may often escape the bill of the bird by rolling 

 out of its tubular dwelling and dropping to the 

 ground by its silken thread, yet it is still in danger 

 of being seized as lawful spoil by some ferocious 

 Formica Herculanea, and dragged off to the fir-leaf 

 nest. But what shall we say respecting the dead 

 and mutilated comrades? How shall we explain 

 it ? Is it possible that the defunct ants had suc- 

 cumbed to the cold May breezes (what an anomaly) 

 so prevalent here the last few days ? No, I should 

 scarcely thiuk it probable, seeing that these ants 

 are able to abide the frosts of winter, and come 



forth again in March or April none the worse for 

 their sharp experience. I tremble to bring such an 

 awful charge against the Formica Herculanea ; but 

 I reluctantly believe him to be not only an humble 

 professor of the "noble art of self-defence," with its 

 concomitants of fierce blows and sudden abridge- 

 ments of life, but, alas for the poetical associations 

 of ant-dom ! a cannibal into the bargain. A last 

 gleam of hope. Perhaps the ants were about to 

 remove their dead comrades to the family mauso- 

 leum, previously securing the services of that ritual- 

 istic-looking undertaker the Burying -beetle, and 

 likewise engaging the most plaintive nightingales 

 in the neighbourhood to wail solemn requiems to 

 the memory of the departed — pugilist. How ro- 

 mantic. William Henry Warner. 

 Kingston, Abingdon. 



A NEW BRITISH MOSS 



{Thuidiiim decipiens, De Notaris). 



FN the spring of 1868 I discovered a moss grow- 

 -*- ing abundantly by the side of a streamlet, and 

 about springs on the Clova mountains. It had 

 the aspect of a cross between Hypnum commuta- 

 tion, and Hylocomium umbratum, but seemed not 

 only different from these, but from all other British 

 mosses. On this account it was immediately sent to 

 the late Mr. Wilson, who, if I remember rightly, 

 declared it to be a form of Hypnum commutatum . 

 With this decision I was satisfied at the time, but 

 upon a re-examination of the moss early in 1870, 1 

 came to the conclusion that it was clearly different 

 from any British, European, or American species 

 described in Wilson's " Bryologia Britannica," 

 Schimper's " Synopsis," or Grey's " Manual." Ac- 

 cordingly I issued it as a new species under the 

 name Hypnum rigidulum. Mr. Wilson, on his at- 

 tention being re-directed to it, finally pronounced it 

 to be a form of Hypnum falcatum, Bridel ; and, with 

 one exception, all the other bryologists to whom I 

 sent it, some of whom were of the highest standing 

 in this country and on the continent, regarded it as 

 only a form of Hypnum commutatum. The influ- 

 ence of such authority was so great, that 1 was- very 

 reluctantly subsiding into the general opinion, when, 

 quite recently, Juratzka received' the 23rd fascicle 

 of Rabenhorst's " Bryotheca Europaea," containing 

 specimens of Thuidium decipiens of Notaris. These 

 he compared with the specimens of Hypnum rigi- 

 dulum, and found the two identical in all particulars. 

 This interesting moss seems to have been first 

 gathered, but in a barren state (like our own), in 

 Finnmark, by Ritter von Erauenfeld, in 1863 ; but, 

 though distributed by him at the time, was not re- 

 cognized as an independent species distinct from 

 Hypnum commutatum. It was afterwards, but in 

 what year I do not know, discovered in Italy, I 



