44 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



such a collection as he names (S.-G. p. 253) for the 

 Agricultural Department at S. Kensington. I have 

 also fitted up collections on somewhat different lines 

 for the Royal Gardens, Kew ; Liverpool Free 

 Museum, and other places, and am now appointed 

 by the S. Kensington authorities to fit up collections 

 for any institution receiving government support, 

 that may require them. — S. L. Mosky, Beaumont 

 Park Museum, Iluddersfield. 



Sphinx Convolvuli. — This fine species seems to 

 have been not uncommon in the neighbourhood of 

 Birmingham last season. I have heard of three 

 captures, one in Moseley, and the others in adjoining 

 parishes. — K. D., Co/ton. 



Temminck's Stint. — During the autumn migra- 

 tion a specimen of this bird was shot on the edge of 

 a large piece of water in this part of Worcestershire. 

 — K. D., Co/ton. 



The Ivy. — It appears to me that Mr. Williams 

 has wandered a little from the point in his reply 

 (p. 257) to C. C.'s remarks (p. 236), the case of the 

 flower-stem which he quotes not being quite a 

 parallel one. The stem of the flower is the channel 

 through which it receives its main nourishment, and 

 is equivalent to the main stem of the ivy, whereas 

 the rootlet of the ivy is evidently not the main 

 channel of its nourishment, but only at best a minor 

 one, if even that. It does not follow that C. C. is 

 correct, however. Cut through the main ground- 

 root of the ivy, and the plant dies, as he remarks ; 

 but this does not at all prove that the rootlet conveys 

 no nourishment or moisture whatever to the plant. 

 I take it the chief function of the rootlet is similar to 

 that filled by the tendril of the pea, viz. to cling. 

 Most walls are more or less damp externally, and 

 that being so, why should not the rootlet in course 

 of time evolve some process by which it could 

 absorb this ready-to-hand moisture, and so aid the 

 main stem in its work of sustaining the plant? Ivied 

 walls have had the reputation of being damp, and 

 the question seems to be whether the damp attracts 

 the ivy, or the ivy attracts the damp. It ought not 

 to be difficult to ascertain whether ivied walls really 

 are damp or not. — F. M. 



The Singing of the Kettle. — The explanation 

 of this familiar phenomenon, given in Science- 

 Gossip for December, pp. 275-6, by Mr. Williams, 

 is the correct one. The air dissolved in water is 

 expelled in boiling, and if the singing depended on 

 the elimination of air, no recurrence of it would 

 take place by replacing the kettle on the fire. Yet 

 every boy who has experimented with a kettle knows 

 how readily the kettle will sing by alternately heating 

 and cooling the water. — D. S. 



Flies and Ants. — I shall feel much obliged if 

 any of your readers can give me a clue as to what 

 was going on in the incident detailed at foot hereof. 

 I was staying at Sandovvn, I.W., last summer, and 

 one Sunday afternoon (7th August), about four 

 o'clock in the afternoon, I observed an enormous 

 number of black ants running about all over a con- 

 crete path, up some short iron railings, and over the 

 bed and grass adjacent to their nest. Besides the 

 ants were a great number of a peculiar-looking fly, 

 which I do not remember having noticed before. 

 They were about .', in. long, dark sepia bodies 

 (almost black), with the segments distinctly marked, 

 moniliform antennre, short plump abdomens, which 

 did not extend to the end of the wings when the 



latter were folded on their backs. Their movements 

 were slow and deliberate. The number of their 

 wings was four, consisting of a thin transparent sub- 

 stance like the house-flies'. Query name ? Besides 

 those of the above-mentioned size, there were about 

 an equal number of smaller ones, not much more 

 than half the size of the others ; but I think of the 

 same species. Both flies and ants were running 

 about in a distracted sort of way, and to all ap- 

 pearance having no object in their movements. The 

 larger of the flies were collected at the tops of the 

 railings, over whose rounded summits they moved in 

 much the same manner as a bee over a ball-shaped 

 flower. Neither flies nor ants attacked one another, 

 but rather the reverse, for when they met both 

 seemed to try and get out of the way of the other, 

 and went off in different directions. — Amator Natures. 



Vanessa C- album. — During September last year, 

 this butterfly was common along the west side of the 

 Malvern Hills. I caught several specimens during 

 the month, but only one in August, on the 9th, 

 which seemed as if it might be a lingering specimen 

 of a July brood. Is it certain whether C-album has 

 two distinct broods or not ? I find in Newman's 

 "British Butterflies": — "An idea seems prevalent 

 that there are two broods in the year. ... I think 

 this is a mistake ; I have been able to obtain no 

 satisfactory evidence of any caterpillars prior to those 

 so abundant in the autumn months about the season 

 of hop-picking." Now the butterfly I caught on 

 August 9th (and Newman admits he has seen it in 

 June, July, and August), certainly cannot have been 

 a hibernated specimen, or the imago of a cater- 

 pillar feeding "about the season of hop-picking." 

 C-atbum's favourite flower seems to be bramble ; 

 indeed I tried a long while on the 20th of September 

 after three or four which were settling on a clump of 

 brambles. Every time I struck at one or other of 

 them my net got caught and torn, while the butterfly 

 took a few turns in the air and then re-settled. I 

 noticed that when a cloud passed over the sun, they 

 would fly into a high tree near, and close their wings 

 till the cloud had passed. Another flower these 

 butterflies seem attached to is Scabiosa suecisa ; in- 

 deed these two were the only flowers I saw them on. 

 Although usually a comparatively shy insect, I saw 

 several flying about the high road on two warm 

 sunshiny days, September 19th and 20th. Is it 

 known whether the curious and beautiful variation 

 of the underside is merely individual ? I caught 

 several specimens with the dull brown underside, 

 and several others of the variegated, green, and 

 different shades of brown variety. I should be very 

 interested to get information on these points. — 

 A. G. T. 



Yew-Tree poisoning Cattle. — The question of 

 cattle being poisoned by eating the leaves, etc., of 

 the common yew-tree (Taxus baceata), was discussed 

 at some length in Science-Gossip for the years 1879 

 and 1880. Many instances were brought forward in 

 proof of the poisonous nature of the plant. Yet at 

 the very close of the correspondence on the subject, 

 a writer hailing from the co. Tyrone, asserted that 

 cattle could feed with impunity on the yew, and 

 cited a case he had met with. Now for the satisfac- 

 tion of those who consider the yew to be poisonous 

 eating for cattle, and for the conviction of those who 

 do not, I ask room to record a case that occurred on 

 the 1 6th of November, 18S7, in the demesne of the 

 Earl of Caledon, co. Tyrone. A number of cattle 

 were taken violently ill, and eight bullocks and one 

 sheep died with every sign of having been poisoned. 



