HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



71 



{Coccinella septempundata) ? It never struck me 

 as anything out of the way till the other day, when 

 I happened to hear an argument upon the subject, 

 which was brought to a termination by my friend 

 saying he had tried to find this point out but had 

 not succeeded, it had therefore been allowed to fall 

 through. — T. Palmer. 



Remounting Objects. — I bought some old but 

 very fine injections in fluid the other day. But 

 they all want remounting, as the cells contain air 

 more or less. I have remounted several in fresh 

 Goadby solution, but I am not sure whether the'old 

 fluid was the same. How can I find it out? I 

 notice some of the newly mounted specimens have 

 shrunk a little. I have tried the old solution with 

 various tests, and I think proved that it was not 

 spirit and water, or chloride of calcium. Please 

 advise me, as I should be sorry to spoil them. — 

 Wm. Statham. 



A White Robin. — Much has been said lately 

 by some of your correspondents about white spar- 

 rows ; doubtless they would be interested to hear 

 of what I consider a far greater rarity. Some 

 years ago an uncle of mine caught in a trap (what 

 was said to be) a white robin. It was identical 

 in form with the redbreast, but its plumage was of 

 a creamy white, and it had bright pink eyes. The 

 bird was kept in a cage for some weeks after its 

 capture, but at length it died. Its body was pre- 

 served, and, of course, regarded as a great curiosity. 

 — G. 0. Howell. 



Extracting Lingual Ribbons.— What is the 

 best method of extracting the lingual ribbon (palate) 

 of very small mollusca ? I find liquor potassa- answer 

 in most cases ; but with Clausilife and other small 

 shells I have completely failed. I suppose that the 

 membrane is so delicate that the liquor potassae dis- 

 solves it.— C P. Ct. 



A Mysterious Mousetrap.— Last night when 

 I left the office an _ ordinary Id. mousetrap was 

 baited and set. ; This morning, in looking for a 

 prisoner, the trap had gone, and after a\hile I 

 found it removed some little distance from where it 

 was set, covered with blood, bait gone and within 

 a foot of it was the mutilated remains of a mouse. 

 Not a bit of flesh could be seen, and it seemed as if 

 it had been nicely skinned, minus one or two small 

 portions of which were missing. The head was 

 scalped. Can any of your readers tell me how this 

 could have occurred ? The trap was set in a large 

 drawer, consequently out of a cat's reach, and no cat 

 is kept. I may mention that a mouse caught two 

 days previously swarmed with small insects very 

 like fleas. Could these insects have done the 

 mischief, or would other mice have eaten their 

 brother ? — Joseph J. Warry. 



_ Eresh- WATER Aquaria.— There have been, from 

 time to time, so many hints given with regard to 

 aquariums in the pages of Science-Gossip, that it 

 seems almost like sending coals to Newcastle to 

 forward any further information ; but since " M. A. 

 H." requests it, I will just say that I found a slate 

 square tank, with a glass front and glass top slides, 

 answer most admirably. I purchased this tank for 

 a marine aquarium, changed my mind, and converted 

 it into a fresh-water one. I put a little rockwork in 

 it to afford shade for the fish, and introduced a few 

 plants, Vallisnena spiralis, CJiara vulgaris, and 

 Anacharis ahinastnim (confervas will usually ap- 

 pear spontaneously if the aquarium is in good 



order). The Water-boatman, and the large Water 

 beetle. Hydrous pisceus — not the carnivorousWater- 

 beetlc mind — and tiie Caddis-worm are all suitable. 

 Sticklebacks are very amusing, but I gave them a 

 glass globe to themselves. 1 went in largely for 

 fresh-water aquaria at one time. 1 had a small 

 pond in the garden stocked with gold-fish, the snig- 

 eel, the common frog, and the smooth water-newt; 

 I also had a large round glass aquarium in the green- 

 house with millers'-tliumbs, small water-tortoise, and 

 minnows. Much depends, of course, on the size of 

 the aquarium "M. A. H." wishes to stock. He 

 must not over-crowd it. _ The fresh-water Limpet 

 and the viviparous Paludina are desirable inmates, 

 but I should neverput the Duck-mussel, or either 

 of the Mud-shells in a tank ; they are better suited 

 for a pond out-of-door aquarium. Small Cray-fish 

 are interesting, if, like the Sticklebacks, they have 

 a glass house to themselves. Whirligig-beetles do 

 well in an open aquarium, and the least mud or 

 earth put at the bottom of an aquarium the better. 

 I used to put river-sand and well-washed pebbles 

 in mine, water alone being sufficient to nourish 

 the aquatic plants. I had a small jet of water over 

 the glass tank in the greenhouse, which I could 

 turn on at will, and I found it a great aid in keeping 

 the inhabitants of the aquarium healthy. — Helen 

 Eliza Watneii. 



WooB Ants (page 2S3, last vol.).— I have fre- 

 quently observed wood ants ejecting formic acid in 

 the manner described by Mr. N. M. Richardson, and 

 have pointed out the fact to others. If, after the nest 

 has been [disturbed, the hand be passed over, the 

 surface of the ant-hill, the drops of fluid produce a 

 sensation of cold upon the skin, and if a clean steel 

 knife be waved rapidly several times close to the 

 insects, the effect of the acid is as if the knife had 

 been dipped in strong ammonia, and the smell is 

 sufliciently powerful to take away the breath for 

 the moment. — Francis Brent. 



Marine Aquarium. — Could any reader of 

 SciENCE-Gossii^ kindly give me some hints as to 

 the formation and maintenance of a small marine 

 aquarium in London, also as to where I could 

 obtain my supply of water to start it with, as it 

 would be inconvenient to bring it from the sea. 

 —J.G. 



Hedgehogs. — I have had several tame hedge- 

 hogs, and 1 always found that they would eat meat 

 with avidity. They had the run of the garden, and 

 they would generally come to the house in the 

 evening for a piece of meat or a bone. One that I 

 had for some time got very tame, and would readily 

 take food from the hand. He would lick up milk 

 or jam with great pleasure. We gave him a little 

 box with hay in it, but he preferred to make a nest 

 for himself, which he did among the ferns in the 

 garden. His end, like that of many pets, was un- 

 fortunate — he was found drowned one morning in a 

 tub of water in the garden. — T. 



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