104 



HARDWICKE'S SC lENCE-G O S SIP. 



when mixed with that of wheat it renders the bread 

 more light, palatable, and digestible ; for this pur- 

 pose it is largely manufactured in the neighbour- 

 hood of Paris, where the excellence of the bread is 

 very remarkable. 



This valuable plant belongs to the family SolaneiB 

 of Jussien ; almost all the species of which are of a 

 poisonous and narcotic nature; as, Belladonna 

 (Deadly Nightshade), Solanum (Common Night- 

 shade), Henbane, &c. 



The potato is a perennial herbaceous plant, rising 

 with a slender branching stem to the height of two 

 or three feet. The leaves are of a roundish form, 

 of unequal size, and of a dark green colour, the petals 

 white or of a purplish tinge ; the fruit a large berry 

 with a greenish pulp, which eventually changes 

 to black, containing numerous small seeds in the 

 centre. In its native state the plant is small, and the 

 tubers seldom exceed the size of a walnut or common 

 chestnut. They are also of a moist, waxy consist- 

 ence and have a slightly bitterish taste. The tubers 

 are not the real root of the plant, but true under- 

 ground stems, and contain germinating points or 

 eyes, from which young shoots spring forth. The 

 number of acres in the United Kingdom under 

 potato-cultivation, according to the Agricultural 

 returns for 1871, was 027,691, and in 1872, 56i,088 ; 

 thus showing a large decrease in the cultivation. 

 This is accounted for by the bad weather in some 

 parts of the country at the'planting season, and in 

 others by a scarcity of labour at the time. A 

 statement in the Times, 17th Feb., 1873, shows that 

 the importation of this root is on the increase, for 

 in January of that year the value of imported pota- 

 toes amounted to £282,303, and January, 1S7J, to 

 £15,987 ; and the same month the previous year the 

 declared value was only £222 ! 



KEMARKS ON THE HABITS OF THE 

 SMOOTH NEWT. 



BEING desirous of witnessing something of the 

 habits of the smooth newt, on April 14tli, 

 1873, 1 procured three of them, one male and two 

 females. These I placed in a glass containing two 

 gallons of water, in the middle of which I stood a 

 small flower-pot, with water-plants, as Anacharis 

 alsinastrum, water ranunculus, with frogbit and 

 duckweed, which floated on the surface. This glass 

 stood in my window, so that I had them continually 

 before me while attending to my usual occupation. 

 The study of these newts afforded me much plea- 

 sure. I now pen a few things among many that I 

 have witnessed of their habits. To prevent their 

 escaping by climbing up the side of the glass (which 

 they are apt to do) I had a wire frame about four 

 inches in height, covered with a muslin net, on the 



top of the glass. I kept the newts well supplied 

 with water-fleas {Daphiia pulex), on which they 

 feed readily. I think the want of food is the cause 

 of their attempting to escape, in consequence of 

 which many persons who wish to keep them often 

 lose them. During the breeding time they are 

 very active, and sometimes manifest a sort of in- 

 quisitiveness which has much amused me, for if I 

 placed my pocket lens to the side of the glass with 

 the view of making some observation, they would 

 all three of them come and place their heads within 

 the circle of my glass, as much as to say, " What 



Fig. 70. 



Natural 

 Size of 

 egg of 



Newt. 



Fig. "1. Leaves of Callitriche vernu 

 enfolding eggs of Newt. 



are you looking for ?" This they have repeatedly 

 done during the time of laying their eggs. The 

 laying of the egg is a curious operation to witness, 

 as each egg is laid singly, and is folded in a leaf. 

 They are laid at intervals during a month or five 

 weeks, so that I have had them of all ages and 

 sizes, from those just escaping from the egg to a 

 month old. When about to lay an egg, the newt 

 would examine several leaves before she found one 

 to suit her purpose. In some cases the leaf has 

 been too stout to bend with ease, such as the leaf 

 of the frogbit, and after vainly trying to fold it, she 

 would leave off. Sometimes she would fold two of the 

 narrow leaves of A. alsinastrum or Callitriche verna 

 round the egg, but the leaf of the water-ranunculus, 

 being large and easy to fold, was most used. The 

 manner of operation was this : after examining 



