142 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



ventricosus, one of the saw-flies, is clearly defined 

 by " G. P. H." (p. 93). It would be much better if 

 would-be correctors would study the pros, and cons. 

 of a subject a little more before hastily contradict- 

 ing the statements of others. I have been a sub- 

 scriber to this journal from its commencement, and 

 have several times observed with pain a want of 

 common courtesy in replies to some of Mrs. 

 Watney's communications. A lady at least is en- 

 titled to courtesy; and especially so, from cor- 

 respondents of Gossip, is a lady who has so often 

 contributed to our information in its pages.— E. B. 

 Kemp- Welch. 



Tyrian Purple.— The molluscs which form the 

 subject of this note belong to the families Muricidce 

 and Buccinida. According to Gosse, the principal 

 fish from which the dye (perhaps the most cele- 

 brated product of Tyre) was extracted was the 

 Murex trunculus ; and the same writer, in another 

 place, remarks that Mr. Wylde, who visited the 

 ruins of Tyre in 1838, found on the shore a number 

 of round holes cut in the rock, varying in 

 size from that of an ordinary metal pot to that of a 

 large boiler. In these cavities, and scattered on the 

 beach around, lay large quantities of shells, broken 

 apparently by design, but subsequently agglutinated 

 together. The broken shells proved on examination 

 to be those of the Murex trunculus. The Tyrians 

 used to extract the dye, which was a white clammy 

 liquid, from a small reservoir situated in the throat 

 of the mollusc, and as the quantity seldom exceeded 

 two drops, the number killed must have been very 

 great. After the dye was extracted, it was mixed 

 with salt to prevent decomposition; then it was 

 diluted with six times its weight in water, and kept 

 in tin vessels moderately hot for ten days, during 

 which time the liquid was frequently skimmed to 

 prevent impurities remaining. After this the 

 material to be dyed was immersed in the liquid for 

 five hours ; then it was taken out and dried, and in 

 this state was ready for use. Only woollen fabrics 

 could be coloured successfully with this preparation ; 

 and articles thus coloured had an extremely un- 

 pleasant smell. Pliny informs us that the Tyrians 

 first dyed their wool in the liquid of the Purpura, 

 and afterwards in that of a species of Buccinum. 

 Plutarch also mentions another mode of preserving 

 the dye by combing the coloured wool with honey, 

 and tells us that the purple of Hermione, which was 

 thus prepared, after it had been laid up for 190 

 years, retained its freshness and beauty. In later 

 times the art was practised only by a few persons, 

 kept by the emperors for that purpose, and shortly 

 afterwards it became quite lost. In the year 1683, 

 Mr. Cole, of Bristol, procured a white liquid from 

 the head of a mollusc he calls the Buccinum Lapillus 

 (now called Purpura Lapillus), with which he 

 stained linen. When the stain was exposed to the 

 light, the linen first became green, then blue, and 

 ultimately a purple red. {Phil. Trans, abridged, 

 vol. ii. page 823.) Reaumur regarded the modern 

 purple fish as a species of Buccinum, and he adds 

 that there are several kinds differing in magnitude 

 and form. The ordinary name of the fish is the 

 Dog- winkle— E. H. G. and W. J. S. S. 



Cats and Music— Some time since I had an 

 ordinary tortoiseshell cat, which had a peculiar 

 fondness for the tune known as " Rode's Air." One 

 day 1 chanced to whistle it, when, without any 

 previous training, she jumped on my shoulder, and 

 showed unmistakable signs of pleasure, by rubbing 

 her head against mine, and trying to get as near my 



mouth as possible. I have tried many other tunes, 

 but with no avail. — Musicus, Padiham. 



London Field Naturalists' Societies. — 

 Having just come to live in the East centre of Lon- 

 don, I should be glad if any of the numerous readers 

 of S.-G. could inform me of any Field Natural 

 History Club that I could join, taking especial 

 interest in Entomology and Botany. — M. J. An- 

 derson. 



Australian Insects. — I have been collecting 

 insects for the last few years, and have, I think, 

 about 500 specimens, but am in great difficulty as 

 to naming them. They are all collected within a 

 few miles of Melbourne, therefore Victorian. I 

 should be very much obliged if you could inform 

 me, by means of your Journal, of some book (illus- 

 trated, if possible, as I have no idea of the names, 

 though I can classify them in their different orders) 

 by which I could name them — and price of it. — 

 Francis G. A. Barnard. 



Seaside Shrubs.— At page 95 of Science-Gos- 

 sip, a nameless correspondent mentions among sea- 

 side shrubs "an evergreen with small oval leaves, 

 bright and shiny." which he thinks to be a kind of 

 bay-tree, but does not know its name. The shrub 

 referred to is ; evidently the Euonymus, which 

 flourishes in the immediate neighbourhood of the 

 sea, and, I believe, does not do well inland. Here, 

 in the Isle of Wight, it is abundant in gardens close 

 to the shore, and also some distance away from it. 

 It is a very useful shrub, growing to a considerable 

 size (I have one over eight feet high), can be cut 

 to any form, or trained against a wall. The young 

 leaves in the spring have a fine golden-yellow 

 colour ; and I have often noticed strangers stop to 

 admire them. Besides those that have the leaves 

 concolorous, there are varieties in which the margins 

 of the leaves are yellow and white, known as Gold 

 Edge and Silver Edge.— G. Guyon, Ventnor, I. W. 



The Colorado Beetle. — Though the alarm 

 about the Colorado beetle appears to be rather sub- 

 siding, yet as it is important that the insect, if it 

 did occur, should be detected at once, and few per- 

 sons in this country would know it, it might be 

 worth suggesting that some American correspon- 

 dents could easily send over a bottleful or two, 

 which might be distributed through the Ento- 

 mological Society or otherwise. Most English 

 towns boast of a resident Entomologist, who might 

 keep a specimen for comparison. Early detection 

 of the interesting stranger might enable the source 

 of introduction to be traced, and further immigra- 

 tion arrested. — 67. Guyon, Ventnor, Isle of Wight. 



White Varieties, &c— May I add to the list of 

 "White and other varieties of flowers " already 

 mentioned by some of your correspondents the 

 Lychnis Flos-cuculi (Ragged Robin), which I have 

 found of a pure white, almost more beautiful than 

 in its natural red or rose, also a pink variety of 

 Veronica chamcedrys (Blue Speedwell), which, for 

 two or three consecutive years I found in the same 

 spot, and the Scilla vcrna (Spring Squill), which I 

 found in the Isle of Man ? This grew in great pro- 

 fusion in various parts of the island; but on the 

 hill overlooking Peel Castle, among the stunted 

 grass, were many specimens of white and pink, 

 while those of the ordinary pale blue were of a 

 deeper tint than usual. These specimens were very 

 small, many of them less than one inch in length, 

 including bulbs, leaves, and blossoms. They were 



