ii8 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



remarked on the valuable corroboration furnished by 

 the specimen subsequently obtained by Dr. A. King 

 from the same locality. 



The Origin of Diamonds.— In Science- 

 Gossip for April, it is recorded that M. Chaper 

 has traced diamonds to their matrix, having found 

 them in "pegmatite." I am not sure what his 

 claim in connection with this discovery exactly is. 

 If he thinks that he is absolutely the first who has 

 anywhere traced the diamond to any matrix, I need 

 hardly remind you that he is quite mistaken. West- 

 rop's Manual names three Brazilian rocks in which 

 diamonds have been found, viz., " Gres Psammite," 

 Stacolumite and Hornblende. But perhaps M. 

 Chaper claims only the distinction of having been 

 (apparently) the first to find the diamond in situ 

 in the old world, and in a different rock from those 

 above mentioned. Possibly you may think the 

 matter worthy to be a little cleared up. If so, an 

 explanation in S. G. will be much valued by many 

 readers. — //. J. Monk. 



The Geologists' Association.- — No. 4 of vol. 

 viii. of the Proceedings of this society (edited by 

 Professor G. S. Boulger), contains some unusually 

 good papers as follows : — " On the Geology of the 

 district in North Wales to be visited during the Lay 

 excursion," by Dr. Hicks; "The Chalk, its dis- 

 tribution and subdivisions," by Professor Morris ; 

 " On a Section of the Lower London Tertiaries at 

 Park Hill, Croydon," by Mr. H. M. Klaassen. 

 "Note on Coryphodon Remains" (illustrated) by 

 E, T. Newton, besides accoimts of the geological 

 excursions made to the Medway Valley, Bangor, 

 Snowdon, Holyhead, &c. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



The recent Sunsets. — The abnormal displays 

 of colour in the sunsets of the autumn of 1883 have 

 been described as seen from many places. I do not 

 think many of them have come from Ireland ; at all 

 events I would briefly tell the incidents of the sunset, 

 as seen at Stoneyford, in the county of Kilkenny, and, 

 afterwards, on Sunday, December 30th. By the 

 almanacks the sun set on that day at 3.47 r.M, The 

 sky was a clear grey -blue, wind N.N.W. , and calm at 

 sunset. There was nothing remarkable in tlie actual 

 setting of the sun, no redness or glow preceded or 

 accompanied the sinking of the sun's orb, nothing 

 but a yellowish diffused tint over the S.S.W. sky, but 

 shortly after glows appeared, and by 4.20 a band of 

 ruddy orange lay along tlic horizon, and above it a 

 space of yellowish opal-tinted green, liigher still an 

 arc of rose colour, the upper limit of which extended 

 about half-way to the zenith, fading upwards into 

 purple pearl-tinted grey. By 4.30 the arc of rose 

 grew rose red, and although the sun had three-quarters 

 of an hour a burst of red lit up the landscape. The 

 leafless trees shone red, and the fields and water were 

 lit up by the ruddy glow like sunlight. By 4.40 the 

 rose red arc had taken the place of the opal green 



and touched the horizon ; this rose-red glow also 

 I appeared on the opposite (N.E.) side of the sky, 

 but more faint than that over the place of sunset. 

 By 5 o'clock the rose-red glow had sunk lower to the 

 western horizon, and the sky was a purple blue, 

 above it. The sunset seemed over. One hour and 

 fourteen minutes after sunset, but still bright twilight. 

 However, by 5.10 the rose-red glow flashed again up 

 western horizon, spreading upwards graduallyijto the 

 zenith. By 5.30 this glow was almost flame coloured— 

 a deep rose-red. The stars were now shining in the 

 zenith. At 5.40 the glow was like the reflection of 

 a fire-flame colour, and extended pretty high towards 

 the zciiiih, stars shone green through it, and the 

 new moon (a day old) showed its thin sickle, a wan 

 green, through the glow a little above the S.S.W. 

 point of the horizon ; bright twilight still, nearly two 

 hours after sunset. At 5.50 the glow still remained 

 like the reflection of a great fire, but rapidly faded , 

 and by 6 o'clock all was gone, but there was still 

 twilight. — James Graves. 



The Storm of January 26th. — It may be of 

 interest to some of your readers to know that after 

 the severe storm of wind, rain, and snow, which 

 occurred on the night of the 26th inst., the windows 

 assumed a very dirty appearance ; on closer exami- 

 nation, they were found to be covered with a deposit 

 of chloride of sodium or common salt. On evapora- 

 ting some of the rain which fell on that night upon a 

 microscopic slide, and placing it under the micro- 

 scope, crystals of chloride of sodium wei^e found in 

 large numbers. The same thing was noticed upon 

 melting and evaporating some of the snow which 

 also fell that night. The wind blew from a westerly 

 direction, and it is supposed that the salt observed in 

 the rain and snow must have come from the sea, 

 which is distant thirty miles from here due west, the 

 spray having been carried inland by the force of the 

 wind. The windows when the sun shone upon them 

 sparkled as if they had been covered with frost, the 

 li<;ht catching the angles of the crystals. — -J. C. Sinitli, 

 Edenkall, near PenritJi, Ctimberland. 



Are Water-voles entirely Vegetable 

 Feeders ?■ — Whilst walking on the banks of a canal, 

 I noticed in the runs of the water-vole {Cervicola 

 antphibius) numerous small heaps of the empty shells 

 of water-snails, all of which had their lips very much 

 notched, as if they had been broken by the teeth of 

 some small quadruped. It seems to indicate that 

 water-voles are not entirely vegetable feeders, as they 

 are generally believed to be. I should be glad to 

 hear if any of the readers of SciENCE-GossiP have 

 observed the same thing. — F. H. Farrott, Aylesbury. 



Striped Hawk Moth.— Early last June, whilst 

 a gentleman and myself were walking on the cliffs 

 here, my friend captured a fine specimen of the 

 striped hawk-moth {Deilephila Livornica). Judging 

 from the geographical position of the place, the 

 appearance of the insect, and the fact of the ladies' 

 bedstraw (on which the caterpillar is said to feed) 

 growing abundantly here, there can be no doubt of 

 this being a genuine British example of this extremely 

 rare moth. — C. Jefferys, Langliarne, Carmarthen- 

 shire. 



Swelling on Horse's Leg. — Will any reader 

 kindly explain the following : — For some time I have 

 noticed that several of the horses belonging to the 

 Nottingham Tram Company have at times large 

 swellings beliind the elbow, wdiich appear as if filled 

 with some fluid. These swellings are sometimes of 

 great size, but do not seem to cause the animal any 



