260 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Nov. 1, 1866. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



" The Marine Aquakium.— About a year ago I 

 started a Marine Aquarium, the water still remains 

 brislvt and unchanged, but the pebbles are getting 

 black. Will some one kindly tell me how to obviate 

 this, and how I can clean them again ? At first the 

 anemones were difficult to feed, all not being ex- 

 panded at once ; but I got over this by " stroking 

 them to "wake" them up, and also by passing a 

 stream of water into the tank through a garden pot 

 half-filled with broken charcoal, and with a piece of 

 flannel in the hole ; the rejected particles of food 

 (the flesh of an oyster or mussel well washed), the 

 dust from the surface, or any sediment, or loose 

 weed, I remove with a tube and pass the impure 

 water through this little filter ; which is placed on 

 two sticks on one corner of the tank. One of the 

 anemones has split pieces off itself several times, 

 until it barely exceeds in size some of these pieces, 

 since become anemones, and now it has moved quite 

 out of the water on the top of the rockwork : if this 

 is a bad sign I should like to know its remedy. I use 

 pumice-stone for rockwork, cemented with Portland 

 cement to a piece of limestone to keep it down, as 

 it looks so rugged and is so light, and is very favour- 

 able to the growth of weed.— C. A. J. 



Mounting in Balsam. — I find with Canada 

 Balsam I am not much troubled with air-bubbles, 

 which are generally considered the pest of the tyro 

 in mounting, but I do find great difficulty in getting 

 the balsam to harden. Some slides mounted in 

 May were not to be trusted in this respect in 

 September. Davies does not touch on this subject, 

 and Wood, in his "Common Objects," seems to 

 think that a night or two is sufficient to harden the 

 preparation. The former author does not mention 

 spirits of turpentine, but merely turpentine for soak- 

 ing objects ; but as the latter says spirits of turpen- 

 tine I have always used it. May this have some- 

 thing to do with it? I bought the balsam at 

 Steward's, in the Strand, last September. I may 

 mention also that some gold size bought at the 

 same time seems to have much the same qualities 

 in the way of drying. — James W. Impey. 



Cement for Marine Aquaria. — In answer to 

 "E.E. W.K." in last month's Science Gossip, I can 

 recommend the cement composed of white-lead, 

 red-lead, and litharge mentioned in the February 

 number of the Science Gossip. _ This will resist 

 the action of salt water. Putty is by no means a 

 good cement, and I fancy that, had the fresh water 

 been allowed to remain in the tank some time longer, 

 it would have found its way out as the salt water 

 did. — ^4. B., Glasgow. 



"As Dead as a Herring." — Why a herring? 

 Do the members of this family die very quickly 

 when taken out of the water? — W. F. 



Scarcity ofLepidoptera. — I have found this sea- 

 son a very unprolific one in the above order of insects, 

 and continually receive complaints of the same from 

 my correspondents. How can we account for such 

 a paucity ?• — does it arise from the continued rains 

 of last winter, or was the temperature of the past 

 summer not high enough to bring many to perfection? 

 Many of the Hymenoptera require a high temperature 

 for their development ; and the Lepidoptera, in 

 some respects, resemble their stinging relations. — 

 67, B. C, Ringicood. 



Cats and Young Birds.— It is commonly thought 

 that cats abstain from taking young birds out of the 

 nest till they are just ready to fly, that so they may 

 have a larger, if not a choicer meal. This may be 

 so, but is it not more likely that the young birds in 

 their efforts to fly discover themselves to their enemies? 

 I have heard of cats visiting nests every day, till 

 they thought it unsafe to wait any longer ; but beins 

 rather sceptical as to the self-denial of cats, I shall 

 be glad if any of your readers will give me the re- 

 sults of their experience. — W. F. 



"Wanted to Kiel— If "II. M." will cut a 

 few large potatoes in half, scoop out the centre, and 

 place the cups so formed inverted in the places fre- 

 quented by the woodlice, I think he will find good 

 sport whenever he examines them.— W. T., Suffolk. 



A similar plan is recommended by " W. K. Bridg- 

 man" and " VV. B." 



Nidification of Barer Birds.— In answer to 

 "J. S.," the common and Honey Buzzards, as well 

 as the Marsh and Hen Harriers, breed in the New 

 Porest sometimes ; but I have never been able to 

 obtain eggs of either species. The ash-coloured 

 Harrier also has been shot or trapped ; but I never 

 heard of an instance of its breeding there. I know 

 a gentleman who obtained one egg and one young 

 bird of the Honey Buzzard last season. I have 

 occasionally seen a mature specimen of the bird, 

 which makes a sort of quick whistling noise as it 

 flies, which it generally does at a considerable alti- 

 tude. I was informed by a gamekeeper some time 

 ago, that they had received orders to protect both 

 birds and eggs of all the Buzzards ; but whether the 

 statement is correct or not, I am unable to say.— 

 67. B. 67. 



Probable Hybrid.— The other day, a gamekeeper 

 brought me an animal which he called " a curious 

 rabbit," and which he had trapped the night before. 

 It is rather larger than a full-grown wild rabbit, 

 and is of a pale yelloicish-brown colour, with head 

 rather large, and ears small in comparison. 1 sup- 

 pose it to be a hybrid of a rabbit and a hare, is 

 such a thing of common occurrence ? — 67. B. C. 



Taxidermy.— To a lover of ornithology, it fre- 

 quently happens that a practical knowledge of Taxi- 

 dermy is of great use and benefit. I am a mere be- 

 ginner of both, consequently have very much to learn; 

 and knowing that some of the readers of Science 

 Gossip are old and well-experienced hands " in the 

 art of preserving specimens, and also acting upon 

 the theory that " a fellow-feeling makes us won- 

 drous kind," 1 beg to ask my older brethren the 

 following questions : — If moths, mites, or " acari " 

 attack a bird after it is stuffed, how can they be 

 effectually destroyed, oris it possible to preserve the 

 bird so that those insects will not attack the 

 feathers ? 1 have seen uncased specimens of birds 

 which for years have been quite exposed to moths, 

 &c, but they were in as perfect a state of preserva- 

 tion as when first mounted. How is it done? — 67. 

 B. C. 



Mounting Objects. — Would any of your corre- 

 spondents be kind enough to inform me as to how 

 to mount objects for the microscope in Canada 

 Balsam, which have been previously steeped in 

 liquor potassse, without the milky appearance which 

 is produced on the application of the object to the 

 balsam, as I have tried washing in clean water and 

 all other ways that I can think of to do away with 

 it, but without any effect.— T. B. N. 



