HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



283 



be glad to know whether similar instances have been 

 observed this season. — Leopold A. D. Montague. 



Acarus and Bombus. — In answer to your corre- 

 spondent, W. H. Seyfang, I may state that I have 

 often observed the acarus he mentions in such 

 numbers on various species of bombus, as to render 

 them helpless, and unable to fly. I have never been 

 able to ascertain that they injure the bee in any way, 

 though they are said to destroy large quantities of 

 the wax. It is probably for the purpose of being 

 conveyed to the nests that they attach themselves to 

 the bees. — G. E. Frisby, Church Street, Maidstone. 



Late Appearance of Swallows. — On Sunday, 

 October 26th, near St. Peter's, Broadstairs, a friend 

 of mine saw two swallows flying. It was very 

 squally at the time, with occasional showers of hail. 

 Is not this very late ? The recent wonderful weather 

 would no doubt account for their delay in quitting us, 

 but I never remember them so late before. — F. C. F., 

 New Maiden. 



Cerura vinula in its Four Stages. — The egg 

 of this moth is of a brick-red colour, and flattened on 

 the side which is in contact with the leaf. The 

 larva, which feeds on white willow, sallow, or poplar, 

 is nearly black on emerging from the egg, but 

 gradually becomes of a bright green colour, with a 

 brown mark like a St. Andrew's cross on its back. 

 It has a small lump on the third segment below the 

 head, and at the hinder extremity of the body are 

 two horny processes from which, when irritated, the 

 creature can protrude two flexible red filaments, 

 which have no power over the human skin. The 

 length of the animal, when full fed, is nearly 

 2i inches. When full fed, it spins a cocoon of silk 

 and scraps of bark, which is very hard. Perhaps 

 someone can tell me how the moth emerges from this 

 cocoon. I have now in my possession cocoons of 

 cardboard, brown and white paper, and one of the 

 gummy excretion alone, which I obtained by placing 

 the larva in a tin box covered with glass. Is it true 

 that this caterpillar, when irritated, ejects a fluid 

 from an aperture under the head ? I have never 

 seen this done, but have heard that it is so. When 

 several of the larvse are kept together, they gnaw 

 each other's tails, and they also sometimes eat their 

 cast-off skins. The moth appears about the middle 

 of June, and the wings are white with black mark- 

 ings. It has the thorax and abdomen covered with 

 white downy plumes, scantily spotted with black.— 

 IV. H. Leyfang. 



White Field-Mouse. — Mr. Blaby will be 

 interested to hear that some twenty-five years ago 

 one of my father's tenants in Worcestershire caught 

 a full-grown short-tailed field-mouse, and also a 

 young one, both perfectly white. The former is still 

 in my possession. — K. A. Dcakin, Cofton. 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



To Correspondents and Exchangers. — As we now 

 publish Science-Gossip earlier than formerly, we cannot un- 

 dertake to insert in the following number any communications 

 which reach us later than the 8th of the previous month. 



To Anonymous Querists. — We must adhere to our rule of 

 not noticing queries which do not bear the writers' names. 



To Dealers and Others.— We are always glad to treat 

 dealers in natural history objects on the same fair and general 

 ground as amateurs, in so far as the " exchanges " offered are fair 

 exchanges. But it is evident that, when their offers are simply 

 Disguised Advertisements, for the purpose of evading the cost 

 of advertising, an advantage is taken of owt gratuitous insertion 

 of " exchanges," which cannot be tolerated. 



We request that all exchanges may be signed with name (o» 

 initials) and full address at the end. 



Special Note. — There is a tendency on the part of some 

 exchangers to send more than one per month. We only allow 

 this in the case of writers of papers. 



To our Recent Exchangers. — We are willing and helpful 

 to our genuine naturalists, but we cannot further allow dis- 

 guised Exchanges like those which now come to us from 

 Devonshire to appear unless as advertisements. 



Chigwei.l. — We are very sorry to say your rotifers cannot 

 be identified from your figures. 



C. E. Salmon.— Address Mr. James Grove, 16 St. Michael's 

 Road, Stuckwell, SAV. 



H. A. Macpherson.— The paper on "The Food of Birds," 

 appeared in the July number of Science-Gossip. 



F. J. Provis. — Thanks for the very interesting specimen of 

 Verbascum thapsus in the fasciated state. 



E. S. Salmon. — Apply to Messrs. Wesley & Sons, Essex 

 Street, Strand, or to Mr. W. P. Collins, 157 Great Portland 

 Street, London, W., for a copy of the " London Catalogue of 

 British Mosses." We are not sure, however, that Mr. J. A. 

 Wheldon's "Catalogue of Mosses" (Ousegate Street, York) is 

 not better. 



E. Smith. — See reference to the address of Mr. J. Grove 

 above, from whom all information respecting the valuable and 

 cheap little book on British Characeae can be obtained. 



W. B. — Consult Sowerby's vol. on Cyperacae. You will find 

 it in most good free reference libraries. 



J. O. B. — There can be little doubt that your specimen 

 No. 1 is a Planaiian, but it is impossible to tell the species 

 from the drawing. No. 2 appears to be the larval form of the 

 freshwater shrimp, or some other higher type than an ento- 

 mostracan, as you suppose, judging from the elaborately 

 segmented body shown in your sketch. 



C. .agrave. — Taylor's "Geological Stories" "is published 

 by Messrs. W. H. Allen & Co., Waterloo Place, London, at 

 is. dd. A new edition is now almost ready, we believe the 

 sixth. 



B. C. R. — Thanks or your correction. The error was a 

 hasty clerical one, such as a busy writer is apt to make. 



Miss Morris. — Your interesting and valuable papers on 

 " Fruit Trees " shall all be continued. 



I. S. St. John. — A notice of "Larva Collecting and Breed- 

 ing" appeared in the June number of Science-Gossip. 



C. Dixon. — "Stray Feathers" was noticed in Science- 

 Gossip for July last. 



Caht. L. — We erred in stating the price of Taylor's "Play- 

 time Naturalist" at is. (3d. It should have been 5s. 



H. E. Griset. — You will find capital papers on "Skeleton- 

 ising Leaves," in Science-Gossip, vol. for 1865, page 286, also 

 in vol. for 1867 (in several places), and again in the vol. for 

 1871, page 252 ; vol. for 1872, pages 30 and 190, and vol. for 

 1874, pages 68, 113, 140, and 142. 



EXCHANGES. 



I have eggs of the song thrush, blackbird, starling, jackdaw, 

 hedge-sparrow, missel-thrush, magpie, jay, chaffinch, robin ; 

 one each of the wood-pigeon, partridge, linnet, and twenty-six 

 various, mostly tits, wrens, finches, &c, and two gold-crest, 

 all obtained in this neighbourhood. Wanted, living pupae of 

 British lepidoptera, Machaon cardui, Pavonia mitwr. De- 

 siderata numerous. — Offers to — F. Smart, 8 Clowance Street, 

 Devonport. 



Wanted, Aplin's " Birds of Oxfordshire," and G. Claridge 

 Druce's " Flora of Oxfordshire." Will give in exchange 

 Sowerby's " Illust. Index of Brit. Shells," 1859 ed. Lea's 

 " Obs. on the genus Unio," 1829, twenty-eight coloured plates, 

 or state desiderata. — W. E. Collinge, 41 Springfield Place, 

 Leeds. 



Offered, P. fontinale, vars. Henslotuiajia and cinerea, in 

 exchange for different forms and vars. of spheridae and pisidia, 

 and of H. arbustorum. — Chas. Oldham, Ashton-on-Mersey. 



Wanted, a good polariscope. Exchange, " Italian Classics," 

 3 vols., "Grammar of Etruscan Language," &c. List— 

 J. Wallis, Deal. 



Wanted, Oliver's " Lessons in Elementary Botany." Will 

 give in exchange a Beale's neutral tint camera lucida, by Beck. 

 — A. Montague, Crediton, Devon. 



Wanted, Davis's " Biology," in good condition. — H. Pariitt, 

 103, Camden Street, London, N.W. 



Science-Gossip wanted for 1887 and 1888, in parts or bound, 

 in good condition. — T. Keen, Chigwell, Essex. 



Offered, L. C, 8th ed. : 191, 193, 3 8 °, 403, 5 6 3- 62I » 6 5<V 

 696, 726, 849^, 897, 967, 970, 1044, 1075, 1106, 1116, 1128, 1346, 

 1464, 1490, 1495, 1567, 1570, 1594, 1691, 1708, 1752, 1794, 1798, 

 and 1804, in exchange for others— H. Masterman, 26 belmount 

 Place, Kelso. 



Sciknce-Gossip wanted, from commencement to end of 1873 ; 

 also for years 1878 to 1881, inclusive. Offered, fossils, shells, 

 rocks, &c. — Rev. John Hawell, Ingleby-Greenow, Northal- 

 lerton. 

 Offered, a fine collection of Scotch graptohtes— lower 



