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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



the flowers about twelve in number, each composed 

 of six white petals, every three lobed, the lower part 

 of the stem bulbous, like a spring onion, but solid 

 instead of being composed of layers ; root cylin- 

 drical and fibrous, like an orchis. The whole plant 

 smells and tastes very strongly of garlic?— /f. F. L. 



"White Beech - leaves. — A friend of mine, 

 whilst taking a walk the other day, was struck with 

 the appearance of a beech-tree, a branch of which 

 had its leaves perfectly white. Thinking that the 

 leaves had withered, he examined them, and found 

 them quite fresh. Never having heard or seen the 

 leaves of a beech of this colour, I thought it worth 

 making a note of, I inclose you a small bit, 

 although I am sorry to say it is not so fresh as when 

 I first saw it. The remainder of the tree w-as of the 

 normal colour.— James Bate. 



Jelly on Sea-weeds.— I should be obliged to 

 any of your readers who would tell me the name 

 and nature of the masses of green jelly found 

 attached to various sea-weeds. They are about the 

 size of a pea, and are seen by a lens to be studded 

 throughout with a multitude of minute green 

 globules. The gelatinous substance is nearly 

 structureless under the microscope, merely showing 

 faint signs of striation, and the globules seem to be 

 granulated more densely towards the centre. Their 

 diameter is about the two-hundredth of an inch. — 

 George Guyon. 



Slugs v. Alpine Plants.— 1 am happy to be 

 able to recommend to " Mary Longhear " a certain 

 way of protecting her alpine plants from slugs. I 

 had been annoyed by these for a long time, and 

 could find no certain remedy. At length I deter- 

 mined to " fortify " the bed, and admit none but 

 such as could " leap the ditch." This fortification 

 I effected to my entire satisfaction by procuring a 

 coil of zinc, which I cut into strips about 20 inches 

 wide, and bent into U form, and buried as an 

 edging round the bed, and kept it constantly nearly 

 filled with water ; and I found that neither slug nor 

 snail ever crossed it, and it was very easy to banish 

 all that happened to be inclosed. 1 connected this 

 with a fishpond, and it no doubt afforded the 

 inhabitants a source of great pleasure, as they 

 regularly made " excursions round the world," and 

 seemed to benefit much by the liberty given them. 

 In small pots standing in the water I planted 

 several pretty plants, such as Drosera, Pinguictda, 

 mosses, &c. &c., taking care that no bridges were 

 formed : the effect was very pleasing. I give my 

 address, and shall be glad to exchange further ideas 

 with "Mary Longhear." — T. MacGam, Burrin, 

 Ireland. 



P.S. — At several potteries they are now manu- 

 facturing pots and pans with double sides to hold 

 water between them for the same purpose and to 

 keep up a constant supply of moisture. 



Birds and PunmosEs. — Being very fond of 

 primroses, I have quantities of them growing on 

 the sides of the drive leading to my house, the trees 

 overshadowing which are sacred to blackbirds, 

 thrushes, and birds of all kinds. Each spring I 

 observe that my floral pets arc destroyed by hun- 

 dreds, the flowers being bitten oft' at their junction 

 with the scape, and usually the germ appears to 

 have been abstracted. Without doubt the black- 

 birds are the depredators ; but why they should do 

 it, and what for, it seems difficult to determine. My 

 own notion is that the Blackbird really eats the 



gernij^as it has a somewhat sub-acid flavour, and in 

 early spring it seems to be the only kind of fruit he 

 can get at. Later in the year he pays too much 

 attention to our strawberry-bed ; still "we put up 

 with these depredations on account of his fine, 

 vigorous music. — Jas. Biickman, Bradford Abbas. 



Paruots. — With regard to Mr. Guyon's inquiry 

 about my anecdote of the parrot, I beg to state 

 that the "action was so carefully observed as to 

 leave no loophole for doubt that it was designed." 

 Numerous instances of the sagacity of the Parrot 

 tribe might be given, some of which undoubtedly 

 manifest, at least to my mind, the existence of 

 mental faculties, quite apart from those natural 

 instincts with which they are endowed for supplying 

 the more ordinary demands of their being. — G.O. 

 Howell. 



Moths' Wings. — In answer to the query of your 

 correspondent " S. A. B.," viz., "Do moths fold 

 their wings over their backs as butterflies?" I 

 would remark that all lepidoptera act thus when 

 drying their wings immediately after emergence 

 from the pupa. But when the wings once become 

 thoroughly hardened, this peculiarity is possessed 

 by the butterfly alone, the moth then placing its 

 wings on or around its body. Doubtless your 

 correspondent observed in his captive its excellent 

 condition, another but not so certain an indication 

 that it had just assumed the imago state. It is not 

 unfrequently given as a rule of distinction betwixt 

 butterfly and moth, that the one when at rest places 

 its wings erect over the back, whereas the other 

 wraps them round the body ; however, this does not 

 hold good till our friend has made at least one 

 journey through the air. — Henry A. Auld. 



Destruction of Insects. — I thoroughly agree 

 with your correspondents that something ought to 

 be done to stop the wholesale destruction of insects, 

 &c., that takes place year after year. But what? 

 Some time ago a collector showed me some boxes 

 in whicli were literally dozens of butterflies, all 

 jumbled together so that they were of no use what- 

 ever. His usual plnn of collecting was, as soon as 

 he saw an insect to net it, and before looking to 

 see if it was anything he wanted, kill ii first and . 

 examineit afterwards; so that I should think by the 

 end of a season he must have killed hundreds, and 

 after selecting what he wanted, have thrown the 

 rest away. It is true they were mostly the common 

 sorts, but Ave know that many butterflies, which are 

 now rare with us, were originally amongst the com- 

 mon ones ; as, C. dispar, P. Acts, and P. Arion. 

 Again, in the season of lS72,a swarm of y:/. Lathonia 

 occurred here, and of course there was a rush of 

 collectors after them (I confess I was one). I re- 

 collect one day counting fourteen or sixteen nets 

 in one nieadow; the consequence was, tliat last 

 year I did not hear of a single specimen being- taken, 

 and the year before I myself knew of over thirty ; 

 but most likely there were other captures which 

 did not come under my observation. It was the 

 same with P. Daplidice and V. Antiopa, several of 

 which were taken here the same year. Now if 

 these insects had been left alone, they would, in all 

 proi)abilit-y, have bred here (for there were both 

 sexes), and so have become regular inhabitants, 

 instead of occasional visitors. The most thorough 

 means of preserving the insects of this land (but 

 not the most probable) would be for all true ento- 

 mologists to cease from collecting for a h\v years, 

 say the next six, in order to give tiiose insects which 



