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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



there should be a large surface of water exposed to 

 the air, which is never provided for in the ordinary 

 aquaria sold in shops ; hence the great difficulty 

 experienced in the use of them. The correct form 

 of the tank should be a large shallow vessel with 

 plentv of light, and also dark nooks and shady 

 hollows, for most fish cannot stand a continual 

 uniform light such as they are obliged to put up 

 with in a bell-glass or globe. The proper balance 

 of fish, insects, and plants is best ascertained by 

 observation, and can soon be ariived at It is 

 scarcely necessary to remark that a considerable 

 amount of care is required in the selection of the 

 occupants for the tank. Sickly plants, refuse, &c, 

 should instantly be removed. Well - managed 

 aquaria do not require change of water for a con- 

 siderable time, but this will depend upou existing 

 circumstances, such as position, size, &c, of the 

 tank.— Ed. Lovett. 



Nests of Mice.— One of the most remarkable, 

 and, perhaps, one of the most valuable features in 

 the study of natural history, is the constant discovery 

 of something new. Ten thousand eyes may have 

 noticed the same thing before, but it is new to us, 

 and we hail the discovery with delight, while it adds 

 to our store of knowledge. How often have we who 

 love nature so much that we almost aspire to the 

 proud name of naturalists, to confess that we know 

 nothing! For example, a friend asked the writer 

 the other day if he knew the nest of a certain mouse, 

 and the truthful answer was that the writer had 

 never had the pleasure of seeing the nest of any 

 mouse. Many readers of Science-Gossip will 

 understand the humiliation of such a confession. Of 

 course an early reference was made to the back 

 volumes of this Journal for information, but with 

 very little result. Other works were resorted to, 

 and very little information gained. The friend 

 referred to gave the writer an opportunity of seeing 

 a very interesting nest which was found in an out- 

 building recently, and which the friend ascertained 

 to be the nest of the short-tailed field-mouse. It 

 was beautifully formed of straw, and though larger 

 than a cricket-ball weighed only half an ounce. The 

 eutrauce to this interesting little home was perfectly 

 rounded, and very artistically finished. None of the 

 disagreeable odour of the common mouse could be 

 detected about the nest. The nest in appearance 

 is much the shape of that figured in Wood's " Natural 

 History" as that of the harvest mouse, but this one 

 is more solid, and not of uniform texture so far as 

 material is coucerncd. The inside straw has been 

 bitten or torn into very fine fragments (resembling 

 hay), while the outside is of straw in its normal 

 condition. It was found near the ground, and not 

 attached to a stick or stone. If these few remarks 

 should lead some kind reader to write a chapter on 

 the nests of British mice, tbey will not have been 

 penned in vain. — W. Macmillan, Castle Cary. 



Gooseberry Caterpillar. — I realiy think 

 " A. N." will find that the grub usually known by 

 the above name, is the larva of the magpie-moth 

 (Phalana grossulariafa). Perhaps he alluded to 

 the " Gooseberry Saw-fly" {Tenthredo grossularim) . 

 As the eggs of the magpie-moth are hatched in 

 September, and the young larvae seek shelter in the 

 soil under the bushes, I, by removing the earth at the 

 end of that month, destroyed the pests before they 

 became active. I removed the cause of the evil, 

 and do not feel that I quite deserved his strictures, 

 especially as I, to make assurance doubly sure, 



I advised a like rousing of the soil again in spring.— 

 Helen E. Watney. 



The Shepherd's Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) . 



—I remember, when at school at, Birmingham, that 

 , my playmates manifested a very great repugnance 

 I to this' plant, which was found abundantly on the 

 | waste grounds. Very few of them would touch it 



at all, and it was known to us by the two bad 

 i names. "Naughty Man's Plaything," and "Pick 

 ! your Mother's Heart out." Havinsr seen no notice 

 i taken of such repugnance or ill names in botanical 

 ! notices of this plant, it would be interesting to 

 ' know whether the prejudice exists elsewhere, or is 



purely local.— W. Macmillan. 



Hedgehog.— One of my sisters, who resides at 

 Bridlington Quay, had a hedgehog, of which she had 

 made a pet, and in her house it had a free range of 

 the basement, kitchen, and area. Thus domesti- 

 cated it was fed well, and fared liberally during the 

 warmer part of the year, and hybernated in some 

 secluded comer in the colder season. Ordinarily, 

 with the return of spring, it reappeared too ; but a 

 singular exception occurred : for the summer came 

 and went, and a second winter passed, and then, 

 after the interval of a whole year, on this one 

 occasion, the long-lost Echinus again came, to my 

 sister's no small surprise. That it was her identical 

 old friend, its familiarity and ready resort to 

 favourite haunts quickly proved, andshe had no 

 uncertainty on this score ; but where it had been, 

 and how it had subsisted, were unaccountable. 

 Erom the nature of the situation, egress seemed 

 impossible. The area is small, and wholly walled 

 in, communicating merely with an outhouse where 

 sticks and wood are stored. My sister thinks it 

 must have lain Tdorrnant all the time in the out- 

 house (her area is some eight or ten feet deep, cut 

 off from a garden) ; and therefore she looks on 

 continued dormancy as the only satisfactory expla- 

 nation.— Thomas Cape. 



Expansion of Water in Freezing. — During 

 the recent severe frost at Christmas the thermometer 

 registered 1° below zero ; and in the west bedroom 

 at the Vicarage the water in both ewer and bottle 

 was frozen solid. The ewer was broken in two ; 

 the bottle was filled with water within an inch of 

 the top of the neck, and a glass tumbler turned 

 upside down upon it. In freezing, the column of 

 ice in the neck of the bottle rose until it, was 

 nearly 3 inches above the top of the bottle-neck, 

 and the tumbler suspended on it. The column of 

 ice looked like a semi-transparent wax candle, and 

 was between 3i or 4 mhces above the level at which 

 it began to freeze. It was to me one of the most 

 interesting illustrations of the expansion of water 

 in freezing I have ever seen. — //. 0. S., St. Edmund's 

 Vicarage, Gateshead-on- Tyne. 



Cats and Water.— There has lately been, in the 

 columns of the Glasgow papers, a correspondence 

 relating to the disappearance of the trout from the 

 fountain in the West-End Park. Mauy explanations 

 have been offered, such as the depredations of 

 beggars, of cats from the neighbouring houses, and 

 of the numerous gulls and other sea-fowl which 

 frequent the Kelvin, which is but a short distance 

 from the scene of spoliation. In this case I cer- 

 tainly am of opinion that the disappearance of the 

 trout is caused by the last-named, everything tending 

 to make the poor fish an easy prey, the locality being 

 comparatively remote, and the pond being very 



