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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



speaking of "the lower edge of the 3rd band," I 

 meant the situation of the lower edge of the 3rd band 

 of a specimen having five bands, as in H. iiemoralis, 

 as in my variety the 3rd band was obsolete, being 

 taken up in the chocolate colour of the upper part of 

 the whorl. — T. D. A. Cocker ell, 51 Woodstock Road, 

 Bedford Park, Chis-vick. 



Rare Species of Trochus. — I shall be glad if 

 any of your readers can tell me where I could procure 

 a specimen of Trochus Dutninyi, figured and thus 

 described in Jeffrey's "Marine Conchology : " — 

 " Shell orbicular, rather solid, but semi-transparent 

 and somewhat glossy, colour white — spire scarcely 

 raised, but apex well defined— named in honour of 

 Professor Duminy of Ajaccio, who discovered it at 

 Bundoran, co. Donegal, Ireland, the only locality at 

 which it has been observed. Could any conchologist 

 assist me to find this shell, by sending me specimen 

 for comparison ? — //. Allingham, Ballysliannon. 



BOTANY. 



Double Flowers. — Being interested as to the 

 origin of double flowers, I have read John Gibl)s's 

 articles on that subject with great pleasure, and quite 

 agree with him as to self-fertilised flowers being 

 sometimes the cause of doubles. In the spring, 

 iSSi, I selected one plant of sweet william {Dianthus 

 larbalus), with very dark green foliage, from a 

 number of seedlings, and planted it, throwing away 

 all the rest, my object being to ascertain if the 

 flowers from the offspring would be of the same 

 colour as the parent. This plant was of robust habit 

 and carried a fine broad head of dark red flowers ; 

 the seed being saved, were sown in 1882, the 

 offspring flowered in 1S83, all the flowers being a 

 dark red colour of various shades, but I was gladly 

 surprised to find one a very fine double. I think the 

 experience of other observers would be of universal 

 interest. — W. Sim, Fyvie. 



The Behaviour of Plants. — As you are pub- 

 lishing a volume on the behaviour of plants, I am 

 tempted to take the liberty of telling you al^out my 

 arbutus. As it grows near my study window, and 

 is, according to Miller, very similar as regards 

 fertilisation to Erica, which he describes, the 

 flowers this season got more of my attention than 

 ever before. I need not tell you what Miiller says, 

 but this in addition. I noticed in sunny weather that 

 many of the flowers were tenanted by small flies of 

 various kinds, and the question arose, with what 

 object does the flower entice and harbour these 

 otherwise unwelcome guests ? I could not at the 

 time see any reason for such a course, but not long 



after, there happened to follow several days of such 

 cold wet weather as necessarily led to all fertilising 

 insects staying at home, and the query arose in my 

 mind, how is fertilisation going on now ? On 

 examining the flowers, I found that every one of the 

 tenants had flown, but an interesting sight presented 

 itself : evidence that they had not been there in vain. 

 They had shaken out a great deal of pollen, and this 

 was retained for future use by the fine silvery hairs 

 that abound in the interior. Still the question arose 

 as to how the stigma was to avail itself of them, so 

 as in the absence of insects to effect cross-fertilisation, 

 to fertilise itself. But on closer inspection I found 

 one style bending back near to one side of the flower, 

 then another doing the same, and in addition curving 

 forward so as to shorten the distance from base to 

 apex, and, as a consequence, bring the stigma into 

 contact with the captive pollen. On further exami- 

 nation, I found various degrees of curvature until 

 some were bent even to a right angle, and all had 

 obtained a plentiful supply of what they were 

 apparently seeking after. I ought to have said that 

 the little flies seemed to have an irksome time of it, 

 for, with scarcely room to move, they had to push 

 hard to get about, thanks to the broad hairy filaments 

 and confined space ; so much the better, however, 

 for the flower, which, by this means, secured a good 

 shaking for the anthers. But another surprise 

 awaited me. At the beginning of Januaiy, when all 

 my flowers had dropped off, I happened to visit our 

 cemetery, where I found an arbutus still in flower. 

 On examining some of these, I found that the style 

 had saved itself the trouble (and evident waste of 

 time and labour) of growing beyond the corolla, and 

 then having to bend itself back again, by tlie very 

 simple expedient of ceasing to grow in proper time. 

 In breaking off" one or two of the horn-like appendages 

 of the anthers, I was delighted to find (on touching 

 them with a needle) that they were dry, hard, and 

 elastic, just proper for being shaken by the bees ; 

 but my delight was increased to wonder, when, 

 under the microscope, they each exhibited hundreds 

 of small projections, thus, by a roughened surface, 

 still further securing the evident object of their 

 existence. — J. IVallis. 



Peziza Sumneria. — A few days ago I gathered at 

 Roehampton some specimens of a fungus of the 

 genus Peziza, which Dr. M. C. Cooke, to whom I 

 showed one, identified as the Peziza Sumneria. This 

 fungus is, I believe, of very rare occurrence in England 

 the first specimen being found, I think, in 1870, in 

 Warwick, and I have heard of its being seen then at 

 Chiswick. I should be glad to know whether it has 

 occurred in other English localities. Its form is that 

 common to the genus Peziza, viz. cup-shaped ; the 

 interior being smooth and white, and the exterior of a 

 dark colour. It is subterranean in habit, the fungus 

 being completely buried under ground, except the rim 



