46 



HA R D WI CKE ' S S CIENCE - G O SSI P. 



Parrots and Water. — We have a lovely grey 

 African parrot, have had it many years, and it has 

 never had any water except what it catches when we 

 give it a shower bath of tepid water in summer time. 

 We always keep it with a supply of boiled milk and 

 bread in one cup, and nut kernels and small white 

 stones in the other. It is always in perfect health, 

 and never seems to have lost a feather in moulting. 

 It is very fond, too, of biscuits, and a bone to pick 

 pleases it. When my husband takes it out of the 

 cage to have a game with it, Poll gulps up its food 

 and wants to feed its master, and, on his refusing to 

 take it into his mouth. Poll will sometimes climb up 

 and fill his ear with food. — Bessie Thomas. 



Sparrows. — In several distinct parts of Kent, also 

 in the neighbourhood of Wellington, Salop, sparrows 

 have been seen with white feathers in their wings ; 

 some have only two or three of them on the top of 

 the wing, others have a perfect bar of them and look 

 quite bright and pretty. Can any of the readers of 

 Science-Gossip tell me if they have seen anything 

 of the kind, and in what localities ? — Clara Kingsford, 

 Canterbury. 



Violets in January. — I read in your Science- 

 Gossip for this Januaiy of violets being gathered 

 near Bath on December 1st and jasmines in bloom in 

 November. Here in " Wild Wales " we have been 

 able to gather from our garden (by no means a 

 sheltered one) sweet violets almost daily, and the 

 southern front of our house is now gay with the 

 yellow blossoms of the jasmine's rich flowers, and 

 has been so for many weeks. I send you a few, 

 asking your kind acceptance. — Bessie Thonias. 



Parasites on Dyticus" marginalis. — I recently 

 had a male specimen of the great water-beetle, 

 Dyticiis iJiarginalis, die without any visible cause, 

 but upon examining it, I found adhering to the upper 

 side of the body, beneath the wings, three parasites. 

 Two of these were about three lines long by one line 

 broad, and consisted of a bag tapered at the ends, the 

 neck, or portion affixed to the body of the beetle, 

 being somewhat constricted, and bent half round. 

 The third parasite was smaller than the other two, 

 but they were all of a bright orange-red colour, similar 

 to the hue of a ripe capsicum, of which (on a smaller 

 scale) they reminded me. They were firmly attached 

 to the beetle. Perhaps some of your correspondents 

 will give the name of these creatures. It is a well- 

 known fact that males of D. marg^ittalis die sooner, 

 at least when in captivity, than the females. Is it 

 possible they are more subject to the attacks of this 

 parasite? — Abbott G. Laker. 



Mason Wasps.— A friend in New Zealand has sent 

 me some spiders for microscopical purposes, taken 

 from the nests of the mason wasp. He wishes to 

 know if there are any mason wasps in England, and 

 how many species : any information on the subject 

 w^ill greatly oblige—-^. IV. S. 



Mounting Shells. — Will some one kindly inform 

 me the best and cheapest way of mounting a small 

 collection of beautiful foreign shells (large and small) 

 in a cabinet ? and oblige — One IVe^v to Science. 



"Some say the Loathkd Toad and Lark 

 change Eyes." — See Glossary, p. 242, Bickers and 

 Sons, 18S0 edition ofDyce's "Shakespeare." Dyce 

 quotes Warburton : "The toad having very fine eyes 

 and the lark very ugly ones, was the occasion of a 

 common saying among the people that the toad and 

 the lark had changed eyes," — L. C. Robertson. 



I Harebell. — The enclosed extract from Latham's 

 "Johnson's Dictionary" appears to afford a satis- 

 factory explanation of the name, and the passage from 

 Scott, referred to by Mrs. Watney, seems to support 

 this view.- 



-/i. Egerton. 



'* Heather-pell." — In Scotch, this is a common 

 word. In the ordinary English, however, it prevails 

 in the abbreviated and catachrestic form "harebell."' 

 This has nothing to do with hares, but is simply 

 " ha'erbell " with the elision of the th or (/(heder and 

 hedder being other forms) between the two vowels, 

 a process which in the Danish language is almost 

 universal ; sadel, fader, «S;c., being pronounced sa'el, 

 fa'er, &c. The derivation of the word being ascer- 

 tained, the doubt as to its true application is removed. 

 Two well-known plants are called harebells. To go 

 no farther than the last edition of Sowerby's " British 

 Wildflowers," we find the following entries : — i. C. 

 rotnndifolia, bluebell, hairbell. 2. //. non-scriptus, 

 wild hyacinth, harebell. It is to the former of these 

 plants that the name most properly applies (the dis- 

 tinction between the " hair " and " hare " being either 

 imaginary or artificial) in respect to its resemblance 

 to a bell (for it belongs to the genus Campanula, or 

 bellflower) and its growth upon the heath." — From 

 Latham's "Johnson's Dictionary," edition 1866, under 

 "Heather-bell." 



I 



Origin of the word Harebell. — I venture 

 to point out that the true etymology of tlie word has 

 not yet been given by any of your readers. Dr. 

 Brewer, in his very excellent " Dictionary of Phrase 

 and Fable," explains the words thus : " Hare-bell, 

 a corruption of ayr-bell, from the Welsh awvr-pel, 

 a balloon or distended globe." I 

 compound word awyr-pel in Dr. 

 tionary of the Welsh language," 

 translation of the word is air-ball, 

 certain Welsh sentences, becomes bel, hence the word 

 has been corrupted into hare- or hair-bell. In 

 Latham's "Johnson" the proper spelling is given as 

 ha'er-bell, an abbreviation of heather-bell, but this 

 explanation is surely rather far-fetched. — E. Halse. 



The Arbutus. — With reference to Mr. Rasor's 

 interesting notes, I may say that the arbutus grows 

 freely about here, Kingstown, co. Dublin, in shrub- 

 beries and gardens, and bears fruit plentifully. To- 

 day, January 2nd, my table is decorated with both 

 its flowers and fruit, for owing to the extreme mild- 

 ness of a portion of this season, some of its shrubs are 

 bearing both unusually large fruit and a few flowers. 

 — James Bo7vker, F. B.C. S.I. 



Notes on the Arbutus. — This shrub is to be 

 observed to great advantage in a rocky gorge in Blaise 

 Castle woods, near this city. The fruit ripens here at 

 least, and I can quite endorse INIr. Rasor's opinion as 

 to its flavour ; moreover the pheasants seem to have 

 similar views of its excellence, and may be observed 

 feeding on the fallen fruit beneath the trees. — y. IV. 

 Ciindall, Bristol, 



Dreissena polymorpha. — It may interest " E, 

 Gardner " to know that this mollusc, first, I believe, 

 noticed as British by Mr. Sowerby in 1824, appears to- 

 be by this time quite acclimatised. In 1S34 they are 

 stated to have been observed at Edinburgh, and are 

 now common almost throughout our freshwater 

 system. In the canals at Bath and Gloucester they 

 are especially numerous, and are also common in the 

 docks here, in the river Avon, &c. — IV. J. Cundally 

 Bristol. 



cannot find the 

 Pughe's " Die- 

 but the literal 

 the word pel, in 



