162 



HARD WICKKS SCIENCE- G OS SIP. 



were seeking to find the entrance, the wasps who had 

 been out on foraging expeditions began to return. 

 We were speedily surrounded by a great multitude of 

 them. At first we beat them away with boughs, but 

 when we found they made no attempts to molest us, 

 we let them alone in wonder. Evidently they were so 

 occupied with the endeavour to find their nest, that 

 no provocation would drive them to sting us, but as 

 soon as the passage leading to the nest was reopened, 

 out came the wasps in fierce anger, and we all 

 speedily got stung. 



Until a few days ago I thought this was an 

 original discovery of my own ; but, alas, there is 

 nothing new under the sun. I find a Mr. Knight 

 made the same discovery and recorded the fact in 

 the Philosophic Transactions for 1807. 



{To be continued.) 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



On June 14th the members of the Essex Field 

 Club and the Ipswich Scientific Society, to the 

 number of about one hundred, had a capital field 

 day on the rivers Orwell and Stour, in Suffolk. The 

 excursion was under the direction of Dr. J. E. 

 Taylor and Mr. E. A. Fitch. The party hired 

 a steamer, and had some remarkably good dredging. 

 The Orwell is especially rich in sponges, hydrozoa, 

 and polyzoa, as well as Crustacea. Dr. Taylor gave 

 an address on board the steamer "On the Estuaries 

 of the Orwell and the Stour." 



The first two numbers of " British Cage Birds," 

 by R. L. Wallace, and published by Upcott Gill, are 

 to hand. They are extremely well illustrated (plain 

 and in colours), and are to be had at the modest price 

 of sevenpence a number. 



The same remarks apply to "The Canary Book," 

 by the same author and publisher, the first two 

 numbers of which are before us. 



Mr. James Johnson sends us his two pamphlets 

 "The Ether Theory of 1839 is the true Theory of 

 the Leyden Jar," and " Facts which prove that the 

 Two-Force Theory of Electricity is True." 



The editor of the " Naturalist's Gazette " has sent 

 his interesting and amusing little " Naturalists' 

 Calendar and Weather Guide," which contains 

 much of the old folk-lore with regard to the weather. 



The last number of "The Asclepiad " contains 

 the following articles: — "Asphyxia, Apncea, and 

 Syncope of the Lesser Circulation," "The Hypnotic 

 Epidemic," " Opuscula Practica," "William Cullen 

 M.D., and the growth of Physical Medicine" (two 

 portraits), "The Physiological Properties of Nitrate 

 of Amyl," "Contemporary Practice and Literature," 

 &c. 



We are sorry to see that "Research" is to be 

 discontinued, after having completed its second year 

 of an active and promising career. 



We" deeply regret having to chronicle the death of 

 an old contributor and a dear personal friend, Mr. 

 John'Gunn, M. A., F.G.S., of Norwich, at the ripe age 

 of eighty-nine years. He was eminently known by 

 his numerous writings as the " Norfolk Geologist." 

 His splendid collection of mammalian remains from 

 the forest bed, the crags, etc., were presented by him 

 to the Norwich Museum, where they are arranged in 

 the " Gunn Room." 



" Jeyes' Disinfectant Fluid" has, by a proclamation 

 just issued in the " Hong-Kong Government Gazette," 

 been authorised by the Acting Colonial Secretary for 

 use on board the Chinese passenger ships. 



No. 1 of " Le Diatomiste" promises well. It con- 

 tains two excellent plates of diatoms, with detailed 

 descriptions of the species, besides other interesting 

 matter. The editor, Mr. J. Tempere, intends to 

 publish it every three months. Our English readers 

 can obtain it at Mr. W. P. Collins', 157, Great 

 Portland Street, W. 



A careful and correct local flora is always useful 

 and interesting ; we therefore welcome Mr. W. T. 

 Haydon's " Catalogue of the Flowering Plants, &c.^ 

 found in Dover and its neighbourhood." 



Mr. T. D. A. Cockerell is contributing an 

 interesting series of " Notes on the Insect Fauna of 

 High Altitudes in Custer County, Colorado," to the 

 " Canadian Entomologist." 



A " Popular Natural History of Gloucestershire," 

 edited by W. B. Strugnell and C. A. Witchell, 

 assisted by numerous contributors, is in course of 

 preparation ; and, from the list of the contributors, 

 promises to be a success. It will be published in 

 eight or nine monthly shilling parts, or, when com- 

 pleted, may be had in one volume for 10s. 6d. 



At a recent meeting of the "Paris Academy of 

 Sciences," M. Perrier proposed the following artificial 

 sea- water for marine aquariums: — Sodium Chloride, 

 81 grammes ; Magnesium Sulphate, 7 grammes ; 

 Magnesium Chloride, 10 grammes ; Potassium 

 Chloride, 2 grammes ; dissolved in 3 or 4 litres of 

 water. He stated that he had found this particularly 

 good for oysters. 



At the same meeting M. Stanislas Meunier 

 mentioned the formation of a tin ore in the hot 

 spring of Azer-Panas in Malaysia. This is 

 interesting as being the first case known. 



The editor of the "Naturalist's Gazette" has in 

 the press an " Illustrated Handbook of British 

 Dragon-flies," which will contain a full description of 



