258 



HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Nov. 1, 18C6. 



circumstances of the case may require. I have not 

 had much to do with very old cuticles ; but I ima- 

 gine they only require more time and a greater 

 amount of care. About six years a^o, I had a leaf 

 of one of the Cypripediums (C. venustum), which I 

 intended for dry -mounting, and so put it in a drying- 

 book to prepare it for mounting. Early this year I 

 took it out, and, drying it in a cool oven for some 

 evenings in succession, rendered the leaf perfectly 

 dry. I now changed my mind; and, as most of the 

 line living colours were gone, I decided to get the 

 cuticles instead. I found a very long time was re- 

 quired* to get these cuticles, and also more trouble 

 to clean them ; but at last I succeeded, and so, I 

 presume, this will serve as a sample of what may 

 be done with thoroughly-dried leaves ; but it must 

 be always borne in mind, some cuticles are very 

 thin, and in those cases great care is required in the 

 handling, as well as more patience in watching them 

 during the process ; for, in thin cuticles, it is best 

 not to leave them in the water any longer than just 

 to allow of the cuticles being separated, whereas in 

 thicker kinds it is of no special consequence if the 

 cuticles are left long after they are ready for mount- 

 ing ; although, as a matter of course, it is better not 

 to do so. I have often felt great surprise that so 

 simple a process should be so little known, and hope 

 the few hints I have thrown out may be of service 

 to young beginners. — N. Burgess. 



Magnified Electricity. — At the last meeting 

 of the Quekett Microscopical Club, a paper was 

 read by Mr. Lewis on the " Microscopic Appear- 

 ance of the Electric Spark," wherein it was shown 

 that in passing a spark through paper or card, the 

 orifice had a distinct pentagonal shape, more or less 

 geometrical according to the direction of the spark. 



GEOLOGY. 



The Shale-heap. — Upwards of twenty years, to 

 my knowledge, have gradually passed away since the 

 hammerand chisel were first employed in foliating the 

 black shale of our coal measui'e, to lay open to view 

 the mutilated remains of fossil fish with which it is 

 so pregnant. During this time many have directed 

 their attention to this branch of geological science, 

 but very little more than an elementary knowledge 

 of it has as yet been obtained. To the enterprising 

 scientific explorer who has time and opportunity at 

 command, is opened a wide field for study in this 

 branch of science. Although we cannot all be dis- 

 coverers of new things, yet every one who has any 

 taste for the subject may profitably spend part of 

 his time in splitting this shale, for it offers the same 



* I think over three months, by far the longest time any 

 cuticle ever took me to clean, Yucca gloriota alone excepted. 



advantage now as when it was first opened out. It 

 is true a visitor may come to one of our shale-heaps 

 and split away for almost a whole day without 

 meeting with anything particular as a reward for 

 his labour, but the next day might be amply repaid 

 for his trouble. 



I have carefully examined this shale, not only at 

 this,' but at most of the neighbouring collieries, and 

 have found always the same kind of fossils. Some- 

 times they may be found in abundance, at others 

 they are rare, thus proving beyond a doubt that the 

 fish must have perished in shoals. It has been 

 asserted by some that it can easily be known by 

 looking at a piece of shale whether or not it con- 

 tains any fossils. Than such a statement I think 

 nothing can be more absurd ; as well say, that by 

 looking at the outside of a chest, its contents may 

 be known. Nature is not so lavish of her secrets ; 

 if we wish to hold converse with her, we must open 

 her leaves, or, in other words, split open the shale 

 before we can know what fossils she has concealed 

 there. 



While examining through the microscope some 

 polished sections of bone that I have taken out of 

 this shale, I have detected teeth so very minute that 

 to the naked eye they would have been quite 

 invisible. Others that I have found and kept for 

 my cabinet are about \\ inch in length, but those 

 are exceptional ones ; for it is a much easier task to 

 find 100 small ones than to find one the length I 

 have stated. All those teeth, when the shale is 

 removed from them, present a most beautifully dark 

 and shining appearance, showing very clearly their 

 enamelled surface. I have found some very curious 

 teeth in our shale heaps, with a large piece o 

 enamelled-like substance at the point, which, when 

 ground and polished, become an object of great 

 interest to the microscopist. Jaws, Spines, Gancia 

 Scales, or Scales with a hard and bright surface, and 

 long pieces of bone, should always be taken ; for a 

 visitor to the shale heap may rest assured that they 

 are not always to be found. 



In a short time I'shall be glad to exchange those 

 fossils with any who may be desirous of doing so. 

 In difFerent parts of the country there may be a 

 variety, and I shall most willingly "give and take" 

 from any one who may feel disposed. 



West CramUngton. John Sin. 



Sandstone Markings.' — Resting immediately 

 above the Millstone Grit series, in the Pennine chain 

 of hills, about four miles due east of Oldham, and 

 displaying itself in the bed of a brook, is a stratum 

 of dark argillaceous sandstone. This rock is thin- 

 bedded, and very fissile. On the foliations are 

 numerous labyrinthine "markings," that are evi- 

 dently the work of an Annelid. I think they are 

 not " worm-borings," in the meaning of that term 

 as now understood — unless Palaeozoic Worms had 



