274 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



PHIZES EOll COMPETITION IN BOTANY, 

 MICROSCOPY, AND GEOLOGY. 



BY the kindness of several distinguished friends 

 of the Saturday half-holiday in London, the 

 sum of thirty guineas is proposed to be offered for 

 competition to London field-naturalists and micro- 

 scopists, for the encouragmcnt of Saturday after- 

 noon field excursions for botanical, geological, 

 and microscopical purposes. 



Her Grace the Duchess of Sutherland, the 

 Countess of Ducie, and the Most Noble the Mar- 

 quis of Westminster, believing that the proposal 

 would tend to popularize pleasant and instructive 

 recreation on the Saturday afternoon, and commend 

 the Saturday half-holiday in departments of busi- 

 ness where this weekly boon is greatly needed, 

 have kindly intrusted the Committee of the Early- 

 closing Association with a fund for this purpose. 



The following are the prizes and the subjects 

 proposed for competition : — 



1. The Duchess of Sutherland's Prize of Ten 

 Guineas, for Botanists— £5. 5s. for the best col- 

 lection of mosses, including the H&paticce, obtained 

 within twenty miles of London; £3. 3s. for the 

 second best collection; £2. 2s. for the third best 

 collection. 



2. The Countess of Ducie's Prize of Ten Guineas, 

 for Microscopists.—£o. 5s. for the best list of the 



ponds and other aquatic resorts within fifteen miles 

 of London, and the Jlicrozoa found in them, in the 

 twelve months between 1871, and 



1S72, giving the locality of pond, the date of the 

 visit, and the state of the weather at the time ; 

 £3. 3s. for the second best collection ; £2. 2s. for 

 the third best collection. 



3. The Marquis of Westminster's Prize of Ten 

 Guineas, for Geologists.— £5. 5s. for the best list of 

 open geological sections and exposures of the strata 

 of the London district, giving the fossil species 

 found at each section (in the order of their abun- 

 dance) and the characteristic species of each 

 formation exposed. (Note.— As the object is to 

 obtain information for the purpose of field-excur- 

 sions, the sections given must be such as are now 

 open, and likely to continue open for several years ; 

 e.g., chalk-pits, gravel-pits, sand-pits, clay-pits, and 

 similar excavations. The natural exposures given 

 should also be accessible for at least the next few 

 years. £5. 5s. for the best notes on the connection 

 of the landscape scenery of the London district 

 with its geology. 



The papers on Geology and Microscopy (sub- 

 jects 2 and 3) must not in any instance exceed in 

 length two columns of The Times newspaper Par- 

 liamentary debates. 



Professional collectors and dealers are excluded 

 from the competition. The prizes are intended 



exclusively for those with whom Natural History 

 pursuits are solely the recreation of their leisure 

 after-business hours. 



Henry "Walker, Secretary. 

 Early-Closing Association, 



100, Fleet Street, B.C. 



CHANTING MICE. 



FOR some time past I have had a mouse about 

 my aviary making a very queer noise, about 

 as loud as the steam of a roasting apple, but some- 

 what resembling the song of the canary ; that is, 

 that part of the song where the canary imitates the 

 titlark. 



I have been told the noise which i*ue mouse makes 

 is caused through a diseased liver. Such is not the 

 case with the little animal in my possession,* for when 

 most comfortable he sings almost without ceasing. 

 When first taken he was uncommonly tame, fed well, 

 cleaned himself, and seemed as happy as though he 

 had been there all his lifetime, and this peculiar tame- 

 ness was exhibited whilst in the mousetrap ; but 

 after being in the trap some hours he began to get 

 cold, and then he discontinued his song. A cage 

 having been procured, the chorister was transferred 

 to warm quarters and treated to some sop-bread and 

 milk ; he was again in full song, thereby proving 

 that it is not disease which causes him to make his 

 peculiar noise. The editor of " Routlcdge's Na- 

 tural History" mentions mice imitating the song of 

 several different birds ; so, upon the strength of his 

 remarks, I have hung mine near a woodlark-linnet. 

 Some years ago I had a mouse in my pigeon- 

 room that nearly always made his appearance as 

 soon as the birds were fed ; there was he, tail 

 cocked up, and looking like a miniature stuffed 

 pig. After a little time I discovered his fur began 

 to disappear, until the poor thiug looked at last for. 

 all the world like a parchment mouse. I came to 

 the conclusion that he was an outcast, and that the 

 rest of the mice stripped him ; and the only chance 

 he had of getting food was at the time I fed my 

 pigeons. 



About seventeen years ago an intelligent and 

 highly respectable person told me of a common 

 brown house mouse that used to appear daily and 

 climb upon the table whilst the servant was at 

 breakfast. After the little creature had taken his 

 repast, he would descend, disappear behind the 

 dresser, and then commence its song. One morning 

 a mouse was found caught in a trap, and from the 

 knowledge they had of the tame mouse, which they 

 thought had a longer head than usual, their fears 

 were aroused ; and not without cause, for the odd 

 mouse was seen no more. 



Ciias. J. W. Rudd. 



A trap was set, and the song3ter soon caught. 



