HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



117 



of the cup, which is on a level with the surface of the 

 ground ; it thus gives it the appearance of a small 

 hollow in the soil, of one or two inches diameter ; this 

 hollow sometimes gets filled up with soil or stones, so 

 that it is almost impossible without close observation 

 to detect the fungus at all. The specimens I found 

 were growing near an elm-tree, among a great quantity 

 of the Arum maailatum, and in close proximity to a 

 yew, and once before when this fungus was found, it 

 was growing under a cedar. Perhaps they have some 

 liking for the neighbourhood of conifers. Some of the 

 specimens I gathered, and which I left to dry, have 

 shrivelled up to a great extent, so that it might be 

 difficult to recognise them, but some which were left 

 in a tin collecting case, have lost their cup-shape, and 

 become almost flat, thus making it very easy to 

 preserve them in a collection. — J. H. Wright. 



The Sundews. — I do not think there is any 

 difficulty in cultivating the Droseras in confinement 

 or captivity, at any rate not such as your contributor, 

 the writer of the curious article on " The Sundews" 

 (one column of which alone refers to the subject, 

 and that only to one species) seems to meet with. 

 All three British species grow abundantly on Goole 

 Moors, and I have repeatedly kept them for observa- 

 tion for some time without the least trouble or extra 

 care. The other day I saw in the house of a friend very 

 fine specimens growing in Bohemian dishes (placed 

 in a window facing south-east), which had been 

 taken from the moor when very young and kept for 

 many weeks under daily observation ; these were 

 flowering in fine condition, and as perfectly healthy as 

 any individual living on its native heath. If E. T. D. 

 or any of your readers wish to study those curious 

 plants, they may do so at their leisure by taking up 

 the plant with a ball of peat attached and placed in 

 a dish, afterwards keeping it constantly moist. 

 Drosera rotundifolia may be rare and local, but it is 

 surely not " minute ; " this term must be a misnomer 

 when applied to species the size of any of the sun- 

 dews. — Thomas Birks, jun., Goole. 



Odd Name of Plant. — Might I be allowed to 

 suggest that persons interested in curious plant-names 

 will find Messrs. Holland & Britten's "Dictionary 

 of English Plant-Names," a perfect storehouse of 

 out-of-the*way information? That work contains 

 (pt. I., p. 81), the following entry: "Cain and 

 Abel. The tubers of Orchis latifolia, L., ' Cain 

 being the heavy one.' E.Bord. Bot. E. Bord. See 

 Adam and Eve." Turning to the place indicated 

 we find a similar entry. Several plants bear names 

 of like nature either on account of their having bi- 

 coloured flowers or for some other striking peculiarity. 

 A chapter on " Rustic Plant Names" will be found 

 in " Flowers and Flower Lore " (Sonnenschein & Co. 

 Paternoster Square). — Hildcric Friend, F.L.S., 

 Brachley, Northants. 



GEOLOGY, &c. 



A Fossil Antelope in the Crag Beds. — At 

 the last meeting of the Geological Society, Mr. E. T. 

 Newton, F.G.S., described the occurrence of part of 

 the skull and horn-core of a smal Icavicorn ruminant, 

 which had been obtained by Mr. H. B. Woodward 

 from the Norwich Crag of Thorpe. The presence of 

 a frontal fossa with a foramen passing directly into 

 the orbit, was held to indicate an affinity with the 

 antelopes ; and after comparison with the available 

 recent specimens in the British Museum and Royal 

 College of Surgeons, it was regarded as most near 

 to the gazelles — Gazella dorcas, G. subguitui-osa, G. 

 pieticaiida, and G. Benneitii, being most like the 

 fossil, and agreeing with it in having the skulls more 

 or less compressed in the frontal region, nearly 

 upright horns, and a well-marked frontal fossa and 

 foramen, but differing in the form of the fossa and in 

 the position of the pit on the pedicle. On the whole, 

 G. Bennettii was regarded as nearest to the fossil. 

 Among the known fossil forms only a few were 

 thought sufficiently near to render a comparison with 

 them necessary ; the following, however, were men- 

 tioned, and attention called to the points in which 

 they differed from the Norwich specimen, namely, 

 Antilope dcpe.rdita, A. brevicornis, A. poi-rectieontis, 

 Tragoceros Valencienncsi, and Palcsoryx parvidcns. 

 Seeing that all the important characters of this fossil 

 are found among the recent gazelles, it is referred to 

 that genus ; but as it differs in certain jJoints from 

 each of them, it is necessary to give it a new specific 

 name ; the author therefore called it Gazella Anglica. 

 Fortunately, this interesting discovery is corrobo- 

 rated by two other similar examples of horn-cores 

 with frontals from the same locality and horizon. One 

 of them is in the British Museum, and the other in the 

 possession of Dr. Arthur King, of Norwich. A short 

 appendix, by Mr. H. B. Woodward, on the horizon 

 from which these fossil gazelles were obtained, was 

 also read. In the discussion which followed, Mr. 

 Lydekker agreed with the author that the species was a 

 gazelle. He remarked that the hyaena occurring in the 

 crag was an African type, and that further comparison 

 of the present species with African gazelles was desir- 

 able. Mr. Blanford remarked that the present paper 

 was the outcome of an excellent piece of palseonto- 

 logical work. After noticing the present distribution 

 of the genus gazella, he pointed out that nearly all 

 the species were inhabitants of plains, and most of 

 deserts, and that the occurrence of this species in the 

 crag might perhaps indicate the condition of England 

 in Pliocene times. Professor Prestwich said that this 

 species was particularly valuable, because the 

 specimen was not derived. He noticed that a species 

 of antelope, belonging to the genus Saiga already 

 found in France and Belgium, occurred in Britain 



in Pleistocene times. Mr. H. B. Woodward 



