Dec. 1, 1866.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



275 



having sufficient ballistic energy to hurl these bodies 

 within the sphere of the earth's attraction. Lastly, 

 it has been urged that observed facts cannot other- 

 wise be explained than by considering these bodies 

 as existing freely in the inter-planetary spaces, 

 whence they are drawn by the earth's attraction, 

 when she approaches near enough to them; that, in 

 fact, they are — 



" Sucked from out the distant gloom," 



to be kindled into momentary splendour upon the 

 confines of our atmosphere. Of these theories, the 

 first two have long since been felt to be untenable. 

 It is true, indeed, that certain appearances resem- 

 bling shooting-stars, occurring in particular states 

 of weather, may be explained by the former theory. 

 The theory, also, of a lunar origin, fantastic as it 

 may appear, has seemed to have enough of proba- 

 bility to attract the notice of such mathematicians 

 as Laplace and Olbers. But the planetary rapidity 

 with which shooting-stars move, the regular oc- 

 currence of showers, and the phenomenon of 

 radiant points, point very decidedly to an origin 

 other than terrestrial, other than lunar, in fact to a 

 comical origin. It may be considered as established 

 beyond a peradventure, that there exist numerous 

 zones of small bodies (pocket-planets Humboldt 

 has called them), travelling independently round 

 the sun. Some of these zones travel in the same 

 direction as the earth, others in a retrograde direc- 

 tion; the same zone also maybe variable in rich- 

 ness in different parts. Thus when the earth is 

 traversing different zones, showers varying in 

 character are exhibited ; and in successive passages 

 of the same zone, similar variations, or even periodic 

 intermittences, may be observed. The annual 

 recurrence of the first-named variations, and the 

 periodic recurrence of the last-named, serve at once 

 to mark the cosmical origin of the phenomena, and 

 to enable the astronomer to predict (in general 

 correctly) the nature and extent of each display. 



Richard A. Proctor, B.A., E.R.A.S. 



GREEN SPLEENWORT 



(Aspleniiim viride). 



"DRIGHT beautiful little fern, with light green 

 -L* leaflets and yellowish green stalks, how lovely 

 you look in your native home, the wild rocky moun- 

 tains of Wales. Not, be it understood, I pray, that 

 I mean to imply by this remark the Asplenia,,) 

 viride to be uncommon, in England, or confined to 

 Cambrian soil ; on the contrary, it is found through- 

 out Europe ; but I have never seen it grow so luxu- 

 riantly as in Wales. 

 I was wandering with one who — 



" Knew the names, 

 Long learned names of agaric, moss, and ferns," 



and who first pointed out to me the difference be- 

 tween the green spleenwort and the wall spleen- 

 wort. The main root of the green spleenwort is a 

 dark brown colour, and more like a carrot in shape 

 than the wall spleenwort. It has many more rootlets 

 also than the latter, and the whole of the upper por- 

 tion of the stalk is green, while the wall spleenwort's 

 stalks are black. This dissimilarity in the stalks is 

 the chief distinctive character between the two 

 ferns. 



The top of the root has a tuft out of which the 

 fronds spring. They sometimes grow to the height 

 of ten inches in moist, favourable situations, but 

 often do not exceed three. The ends of the frond.-. 

 are occasionally branched, and the leaflets vary con- 

 siderably in form — some are egg-shaped, others 

 spear-headed, but usually tapering gracefully to- 

 wards their stalk, which is always very slender. 



The mid-vein of the green spleenwort produces 

 side veins, and they are generally alternate and often 

 forked. The fructification occurs in masses, vary- 

 ing from two to six on each leaflet. The colour is a 

 much more yellowish brown than in the wall spleen- 

 wort, and lies more in the middle of the leaflet than 

 it does in the just-named fern. These masses finally 

 run together, and cover the whole of the back of the 

 leaflet, with the exception of a narrow border, which 

 presents a singular appearance when seen round the 

 ripe spores in August. 



Some of our botanists have distinguished as a 

 variety the branching frond, but as this peculiarity 

 is not permanent, even in the same plant, one hardly 

 feels satisfied in accepting it as such, even though 

 Liunaeus deemed it such. Stagnant water and im- 

 pure air are very hurtful to this fern ; it is also diffi- 

 cult of removal from its native places, eccentric in 

 its likes, and cannot be successfully cultivated 

 without much trouble. 



Helen E. Watney. 



The Hellebore.— The species of this plant 

 called Christmas Rose has been named Black 

 Hellebore from the black colour of its roots, and 

 Melampodium in honour of Melampus, a celebrated 

 physician, who flourished at Pylos, in Peloponnesus, 

 about a hundred years after the time of Moses, or 

 1,530 years, or thereabouts, before the birth of 

 Christ. Melampus travelled into Egypt, which was 

 the seat of science at that period, to study medicine. 

 He afterwards cured the daughters of Prcetus, king 

 of Argos, of mental derangement, with hellebore ; 

 and from this circumstance it became so celebrated 

 a medicine for mad people, that naviga ad Anticyram 

 was a common proverb used to hypochondriacal 

 persons, which meant " sail to Anticyra," an island 

 in the Gulf of Corinth, where the Hellebore flourished 

 in great abundance. — Henry Philips. 



