46 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



August 23rd, the next day (24th) a male came out, 

 these at once paired, and on the 25th the female 

 deposited a large quantity of eggs, and three more 

 moths came out. Another also emerged on the 27th. 

 The eggs deposited on the 25th hatched on September 

 1 2th, and the young larvi-e were supplied with 

 branches of oak, on which they fed well for a time, 

 but did not increase in size very rapidly ; most of 

 them passed the second moult, but by November loth 

 all had died. In 1876 I fed up a quantity of larvje of 

 A. Pernyi, the pupce from these I placed in a cool 

 cellar to prevent their emerging, but in spite of this 

 an imago appeared on September 22nd, and another 

 on October 9th, the remainder did not produce ima- 

 gines until the following spring. Attacits Cynthia&lso 

 with me, have occasionaly reached the perfect state 

 the same year. — Robert Laddiinan, Hdksdon Road, 

 Norwich. 



Blood Prodigy. — In regard to my communica- 

 tion to Science-Gossip on this subject a relative 

 of mine writes me : " I am much obliged to you 

 for sending me the bramble leaves with the fungi 

 on them. I took them to the Curator of our 

 Institute, who has been giving his attention to 

 microscopic fungi, and he and I come to the con- 

 clusion that it must be Lccythea riibonim, belonging 

 to the order Puccinrci, another member of which 

 is Pucciiwa graininis, which gives rise to wheat 

 mildew, so that your conjecture was in a right 

 direction. 'Smut' is caused by Ustilago, also 

 belonging to a family of the same order Puccina^i." 

 Shakespeare makes Quintus exclaim when Martins 

 falls into the pit where Bassianus is lying murdered, 

 it will be remembered : 



"What art thou fallen? What subtle hole is this. 

 Whose mouth is cover'd with rude-growing briars ; 

 Upon whose leaves are drops of new-shed blood, 

 As fresh as morning's dew distill'd on flowers?" 



But since I cannot vouch for every conceit in 

 Shakespeare, I must in justice say that the umber- 

 crimson drops in point are somewhat more suggestive 

 of the liquified blood of some old saint than morning's 

 dew. The artist whose duty it is to paint the tragic 

 stains at Holyrood and Rothesay might take copy. 

 — A. H. Sii'inton. 



The Common Hedgehog (Erinaceiis Ettroptziis). 

 — A correspondent in the November number of 

 Science-Gossip, asks for information about the 

 habits of the hedgehog. Possibly the following facts 

 may be of interest to him. Pledgehogs eat insects 

 (especially beetles), snails, slugs, earth-worms, frogs, 

 lizards, snakes, fallen fruit, and small animals, such 

 as mice. I do not think they will eat rabbits — unless 

 they are very small. In captivity they relish small 

 pieces of raw meat. The celerity with which they 

 will clear a kitchen of cockroaches and crickets is 

 well known. I am not able to state with certainty 

 their length of life, possibly about ten or twelve 

 years. They are nocturnal animals and slumber in 

 the daytime. A tame hedgehog will remain persis- 

 tently curled up and somnolent as long as the sun is 

 above the horizon, giving his possessor the idea that 

 he is an animal of exceptional lethargic disposition. 

 But see him at night, take a candle into the kitchen, 

 during the small hours and see him racing about after 

 the blattidre and gryllidoe. During the cold months 

 of winter when insect life is for the most part dead 

 or dormant, the hedgehog retires to some snug hollow 

 — frequently a deserted rabbit's burrow, and there 

 curls liimself up and sleeps (or hybernates) until 

 warm weather returns. The number of young 

 brought forth by the female is few in number 



(usually but two, sometimes four). At first the infant 

 hedgehog is white and devoid of the prickly coat so 

 characteristic of adult individuals. It is a singular 

 fact about the hedgehog that you cannot poison it. 

 Strychnine, arsenic, or prussic acid have no visible 

 effect whatever upon it. Moreover, it is indifferent 

 to the bite of the most poisonous snake. Adders 

 are, indeed, a favourite diet with it, and it attacks and 

 devours them, heedless of their venomous fangs.' On 

 this account it is a very useful animal, checking the 

 increase of what might become dangerous pests. — 

 Albert //. Waters, B.A., Cambridge. 



Cause of Gold-Fish Dying. — In answer to Mr. 

 Easton's query, as to "how it is that gold fishes in a 

 glass aquarium die so soon ? " There are probably 

 several reasons for this. He says that he has tried 

 both rain and town water, and that he changes it 

 every three days. Now, I have had some gold fishes 

 for the last two years, and they have always had town 

 water, that is, water which is supplied from the water- 

 works. I have also in the same tank two chub, 

 these I have had for five years. When first I had 

 them they were no more than two inches ; long, now 

 they are about seven inches long, and very., tame, 

 taking ilies from the hand. So you will see that it is 

 not the town water which has killed the fish ; and 

 rain water would not be likely to do so, as it is their 

 natural element. With regard to the frequent chang- 

 ing of the water, that may perhaps be partly the 

 reason; these fish are very delicate, and too much 

 handling, or moving from one vessel to the other, 

 will often cause death. My tank is capable of con- 

 taining about ten or twelve gallons of water, and in 

 it are the two chub mentioned, three gold fish and 

 three small minnows ; which are quite enough. 

 Perhaps Mr. Easton overstocks his aquarium ? I 

 change the water in my aquarium once a week in the 

 summer, and once a month in the winter. I have no 

 aquatic plants or mollusc in it, nothing but the fish, 

 and I never have any trouble with it. Bread should 

 not be put into an aquarium as food for the fish, as it 

 will pollute the water and kill the fish. A little vermi- 

 celli is all they require for food, say — once or twice a 

 week. Then again, some of these gold fish are 

 obtained from water or gas-works, where they are 

 bred in warm or tepd water ; to place such fish in 

 cold water would be certain death. My fish are cold- 

 water bred and therefore are kept in cold water. 

 Fish should not be kept in a room, where gas is burnt, 

 as it is very unhealthy for them. Hoping Mr. Easton 

 will have better success, I remain, &c., IV. Finch, 

 jitn., Nottingham. 



White Stoat in England. — A friend of mine 

 saw one — quite white, except for black tip to tail — - 

 a few weeks since (December) at Clevedon, Somerset. 

 — C. Jeffreys, Langhartie. 



Soap-Bubbles.^ — The reason why H. J. G. has 

 failed in his experiment is fairly obvious. In intro- 

 ducing the glass tube he has forgotten that the film 

 of the bubble will adhere to its edges and cover its 

 opening. In proof of this let a glass tube be intro- 

 duced mto the bubble in the manner performed by 

 H. J. G., and blow through the tube, when a small 

 bubble will be formed inside the large one, i.e., the 

 film over the opening of the tube will be distended 

 into a spherical shape. This difficulty will be 

 avoided if the bubble be blown by means of the 

 glass tube, and the mouth then removed ; the air 

 will be forced back through the tube, and the bubble 

 will certainly contract, though not, in general, with 

 such force as to blow out a light. — G. II. Bryan. 



