4 6 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



in some of the families named already. I have seen 

 eggs so marked of the herring-gull, guillemot and 

 razorbill, and have specimens of the two former in 

 my cabinet. These were noticed amongst many 

 hundreds freshly taken by the climbers on the cliffs of 

 the Yorkshire coast. I have not noticed the eggs of 

 the kittiwake to present this peculiarity (but that 

 may be because I have not been on the look-out for 

 such an occurrence), although I have seen hundreds of 

 eggs. Perhaps some physiological reader of Science- 

 Gossip could say if it is possible for such an egg as, 

 say that of a guillemot, to become reversed in transit 

 along the oviduct ; would it not be analogous to the 

 turning of a foetus in the mammalia ? Perhaps the 

 egg in these latter cases may enter the oviduct narrow 

 end first. Have any eggs been noticed presenting 

 the reverse way, on dissection of the parent ? As 

 Mr. Nunn suggests, it seems unlikely that these 

 relatively large eggs should turn, after once entering 

 the oviduct. I may say that the guillemot egg so 

 marked in my possession, is comparatively short, yet 

 the herring-gull's is rather longer than usual. It 

 would be very interesting to hear what other eggs 

 have been noticed by collectors, presenting this type 

 of colouration. — J. A. Wheldon, 20 High Ousegate, 

 York. 



Gathering and Storing Nuts and Filberts. 

 — So soon as the nuts become brown, and separate 

 readily from the husks, they are fit to eat. But for 

 long sound keeping they should be what is called 

 dead ripe before gathering. It is rather difficult to 

 keep filberts in the husks ; still, it may be done with 

 more or less success by thoroughly drying the latter, 

 either in the sun or with sulphur fumes, before 

 packing into air-proof jars or pots. The latter, if not 

 over done, is best, as it removes all the moisture from 

 the husks, partially bleaches them, and destroys the 

 germ of the mould, or fungi, that mostly accelerates 

 their decomposition. It is a mistake to add salt, or 

 anything else, to filberts. They keep far better 

 without, packed closely and stored in a fairly dry 

 store-room. Nuts out of husks keep best packed in 

 jars in a similar manner, closely covered over, and 

 buried about a foot deep in dry soil. Thus stored, 

 they retain their original sweetness and moisture for 

 many months.— From " CasseWs Popular Garden- 

 ing" for December. 



A Monster of the Deep. — A correspondent 

 writes: — "On the little strand at Dugort, in Achil 

 Island, on the west coast of Mayo, now lie the 

 remains of one of the most curious creatures perhaps 

 to be met with in all the animal creation. It was 

 stranded for some months on one of the outlying 

 reefs at the entrance of Blacksod Bay, where the 

 villagers took it to be the carcass of a large whale. 

 It was afterwards carried on to the Achil strand by 

 the late gale, which swept over the Western Ocean 

 on the night of October 4th. This large sea monster 

 is none other than the gigantic squid, or king cuttle- 

 fish, and is rarely seen on our shores. To what 

 species of the OEmmestephes it belongs will ever 

 remain unknown, as it was too far gone in decay, and 

 was shorn of all its beauty. The suckers and horny 

 rings had fallen off long before it reached the strand, 

 and the parrot-like horny beak, which is peculiar 

 to this animal, was also missing. The animal, though 

 shrunk and distorted, measured as follows : — Length 

 of tentacles, or long arms, thirty feet each ; 

 circumference of body, including short arms, sixty 

 feet ; the circumference of tentacles in some places, 

 four feet. I know of only four instances of the 

 appearance of this strange monster in British waters : 



one was stranded on the shores of Kerry more than 

 two hundred years ago ; another is reported as having 

 occurred off the Banks of Newfoundland ; one is 

 recorded by the naturalist, Mr. Gwyn Jeffries, from 

 Shetland ; and the last we read of was taken off 

 Boffin, Isle of Mayo, about fourteen years ago, and 

 identified and recorded by the naturalist, Mr. A. G. 

 More of Dublin. Portions of this animal are now in 

 the Dublin Museum. A very faint idea can be 

 gathered from what is preserved in museums of 

 this curious creature, as it shrivels away almost to 

 nothing except a large cartilage pen, which runs 

 across the body, and branches off to the short arms. 

 It would take a vessel as large as the hull of the 

 Great Eastern filled with spirits to show off the 

 animal for exhibition. Curious tales are often told 

 by mariners about this sea-monster. Its enormous 

 arms or tentacles are armed with formidable suckers 

 and horny rings, which are set with small teeth, 

 pointing inwards. These long arms, seventy feet in 

 length when outstretched, as they toss about in the 

 ocean, may have given rise to the story of the sea 

 serpent. It is curious that three out of the whole 

 number of these animals of which we have record 

 should have been stranded on the west coast of 

 Ireland. — " Bristol Times and Mirror." 



Natural History Notes. 



From Hallowtide to March the milling seeds that 

 have been dried on the kiln, and are used in this part 

 of the country as fuel, will burn for three days if kept 

 tight together. After March, when vegetation com- 

 mences, the same quantity will only last three hours. 

 What is the reason of this? 



A miller states that it is a well-known fact that 

 water is heavier at night ; that it took less to turn 

 the mill than in the day-time. Steam is the same 

 between one and two o'clock in the morning. Query, 

 Does water rest ? 



Can any of your readers explain why wasps pre- 

 ferred eating the outside skin of one particular dahlia 

 and never touched the other dahlia plants ? Under- 

 neath this plant they lay in a stupefied state. 



The bark of several elm trees were eaten all round 

 the bole to the height of about ten feet, more than three 

 years ago, by horses ; the trees seemingly have not 

 suffered. I have also seen an ash bared of its bark 

 several feet from the ground six years ago by goats ; 

 it is also in full vigour. How have they received 

 nourishment ? The sap, which is supposed to permeate 

 through the bark, being off, the wood is quite 

 seasoned. 



The following account of a cuckoo is narrated by 

 the late J. Templeton, Oranmore, Belfast, who was 

 well known as a naturalist and botanist : "A tame 

 cuckoo, which my daughter Ellen Templeton had for 

 about two years, sometimes changed the position of 

 its toes, bringing the toe apparently joined to the 

 back toe forward, so as to have then three toes 

 forward. It also sometimes endeavoured to climb up 

 the rods of its cage, but as they were very smooth it 

 made but little progress." 



In a paper read before the Linnean Society, June 

 16th, 1818, by the Rev. R. Shepphard, F.L.S., it is 

 stated that " the genus Cuculus is furnished with two 

 toes before, and two behind, and yet is actually never 

 known to climb at all." — Rev. S. A. Brenan, Rector 

 of Ctiskendeen, co. Antrim. 



