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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



with so-called tame squirrels, and have more than 

 once warned intending purchasers of the trick which 

 was being played upon them. — Spedding Curicen, 

 Upton. 



Botanical Experiments. — I am much interested 

 in these, as I am trying the same thing myself, and 

 hope to be more fortunate in following the matter out 

 than the other correspondents seem to have been. 

 My acorn was dug up three years ago with the root 

 and stem well sprouted ; it was suspended over a 

 white glass bottle full of water, which has been kept 

 constantly filled up as required ; it made 3 inches 

 growth the first year, li inch the second, and 

 3£ inches in the present year, and has now four 

 leaves, but no side branches. It has made a quan- 

 tity of small fibrous root, which has got very dark 

 and dirty-looking; and there is a deposit of dark 

 fiocculent matter at the bottom of the glass, pro- 

 bably dust and a discharge from the roots; the 

 water otherwise remains perfectly clear. I have 

 also two horse-chestnuts in water two years old ; 

 one in a greenish glass, the other in a blacking- 

 bottle, as I wish to see if keeping the roots in the 

 dark makes any difference. I notice that in the 

 spring the buds first swell nearly to bursting, then 

 the roots begin to grow rapidly, and make some 

 growth before the leaf comes out; they hold their 

 leaves much longer than usual into the winter. 

 All these are in the window of a warm room, and 

 have never had a drop of water or moisture on their 

 leaves. I am about to treat some others in the 

 same way, but put them out of doors, and let them 

 have the rain, &c, as usual. The first ones will 

 remain as they are, except shifting into larger water- 

 jars, which they now want. The ultimate result 

 of this continuous water-treatment I hope to be 

 able to record in Science-Gossip. — H. F.,jun. 



Cats and Music — I had a cat which acted in an 

 amusing way when I was playing some tunes on the 

 harmonium, but I don't think the liking for music 

 is confined to one animal. A robin about our house, 

 when it heard the music, would constantly come 

 and sit by the window and whistle in the most 

 vehement way as long as the instrument was played, 

 and the thrushes sometimes do something of the 

 same kind. I fancy the description of music makes 

 some difference. The higher notes seem to please 

 best, but I am not sure. — E. T. Scott. 



Stratagems of Birds. — A few weeks ago, as I 

 was walking in a country lane near Shrewsbury, my 

 attention was attracted to the motions of a chaffinch 

 whose behaviour was very eccentric. It flew out 

 of a hedge, and fell down close in front of my feet, 

 and commenced roiling and tumbling about as if its 

 wing was broken, but would not let me catch it. 

 When it had led me in chase for some yards, it 

 jumped up and flew away. _ It had a nest in the 

 hedge close by, and was evidently trying by this 

 stratagem to lead me away. I have heard of the 

 partridge acting thus, and should like to know if 

 any of the readers of Science-Gossip know of a 

 similar instance to this. 



How to Bleach Ferns.— A friend of mine has 

 some dried ferns which have been prepared in some 

 way so as to render them bleached and almost 

 transparent. I have not seen them myself, but 

 those who have speak of them as being very beauti- 

 ful. The particular way in which they have been 

 treated seems to have been kept a secret. I have 

 been asked, however, to try and find out, and I do 



not know how I could do better than apply to you ; 

 and I should be much obliged if, through the 

 medium of your valuable journal, you could obtain 

 for me any information on the subject. — /. F. D. 



Laburnum.— As the query of "L. A. B." (p. 187), 

 on the occurrence of yellow and purple flowers on 

 the same tree, has not as yet elicited any response, 

 the following facts with reference to this phenome- 

 non may prove interesting. The plant known to 

 gardeners as the Purplish-flowered Laburnum is a 

 hybrid between the common yellow Laburnum and 

 a small purple-flowered Cytisus. This latter differs 

 from the Laburnum in the shape of its leaves, in its 

 shrubby habit, and in bearing its purple flowers in 

 much smaller clusters. The hybrid very closely 

 resembles the Laburnum in habit, and differs from 

 it in little except the colour of the flowers, which 

 are of a reddish purple. This hybrid has a remark- 

 able tendency to revert to the original forms of 

 which it is compounded. Thus in a tree of which 

 the majority of the flowers are purple, there are 

 frequently several branches bearing yellow clusters, 

 while here and there a bunch of the little purple 

 Cytisus may be seen peeping out, the shrubby habit 

 of which gives it much the aspect of mistletoe. The 

 plant is generally propagated by grafting, and pro- 

 bably, like other hybrids, does not bear fertile seeds, 

 except in such parts of the plant as have reverted.to 

 the characters of one or other of the parents. Such 

 seeds would doubtless reproduce their own kind 

 and not the hybrid. There seems to be some little 

 obscurity as to the exact mode in which this hybrid 

 was originally produced : the subject is discussed 

 at some length in Darwin's "Variation of Animals 

 and Plants under Domestication." — F. V. F. 



Laburnum. — In Science- Gossip for August 

 " L. A. B." asks for information respecting a 

 branch of laburnum bearing both purple and yellow 

 flowers. As nothing has been elicited in the present 

 number (September) that has the slightest hearing 

 on the subject, 1 beg to give a quotation from 

 the " Treasury of Botany." After mentioning the 

 Cytisus Laburnum, it goes on to state that " C. pur- 

 pureas is an elegant procumbent shrub, a native of 

 Carniola. It seldom exceeds a foot in height, and 

 is either used for ornamenting rockwork, or is 

 grafted on the Laburnum. C. purpurescens (Fr. 

 C. d'Adam), the purple Laburnum, is a hybrid 

 between the two preceding. It was originated in 

 Paris in 1828, by M. Adam, and has since been 

 much cultivated in England. A peculiarity of this 

 tree has often been noticed, which is interesting to 

 the physiological botanist, as showing the influence 

 exercised by the stock on the scion. ' This purple 

 Laburnum is a hybrid between the common yellow 

 Laburnum and C. purpurescens. The branches 

 below the graft, produce the ordinary yellow labur- 

 num flowers of large size ; those above often exhibit 

 a small purple laburnum flower, as well as reddish 

 flowers, intermediate between the two in size and 

 colour. Occasionally the same cluster has some 

 flowers yellow and some purple' (Balfour)." This 

 variety certainly cannot be depended upon to come 

 true from seeds. It must be propagated by bud- 

 ding or grafting. Now, a word in regard to the 

 assertion of E. T. Scott. It is a well-known fact, 

 that, under certain conditions, many flowers will 

 change one or two shades from their normal colour, 

 and regain it when those conditions do not obtain. 

 The common Hydrangea is a familiar instance. 

 However, I never heard of any such radical change 

 as that from purple to yellow. Let E. T. Scott 



