HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



47 



Mii.DXKSS (iK THE Sf.ASOx. — I may say, as a rider 

 to Mr. Moffat's and Mr. Williams's notes, that we 

 had in November the warmth we should have been 

 thankful- for in the autumn. Many garden flowers 

 have bloomed here, Kingstown, until a fortnight ago 

 a few nights' frost killed them, and on December 31st 

 at an evening service in the Mariners' Church a large 

 white butterfly was flitting about. — James Boa'ker, 

 F.R.G.S.I. 



Hen Canary.— I have a hen canary singing as 

 lustily as "many cock birds. Being always under the 

 impression that the female was mute, is the one in 

 (question a kind of phenomenon ? — Stuart McB. 



Mr. Kitton's Illumination. — Before trying the 

 above mode of illumination I had been in the habit 

 of condensing the light on to the mirror by means of 

 a bull's-eye condenser, convex side uppermost ; this 

 I found answered pretty well, and I also use two 

 ordinary lenses fitted into a brass tube of about one 

 inch in length, which I fit in the diaphragm under the 

 stage to condense the light on to the object. I do 

 wish people in giving instructions for what is meant 

 to be for the guidance of others would not follow the 

 appetising cookery books, which give you the fullest 

 particulars what to do with the necessary article, but 

 not a word or syllable how or where you can obtain 

 that same. Ultimately I obtained a Bohemian glass 

 receiver from a chemical shop and a funnel holder. 

 Now, my lamp is a Queen's reading-lamp, burning 

 colza oil, it moves up and down a brass rod ; so 1 

 place the flame fifteen inches from the table and I fix 

 the receiver in the funnel stand, the bottom about 

 eight inches from the table. The lamp stands fifteen 

 inches or more from the mirror, and I then place the 

 receiver about four to six inches from the lamp and 

 focus on to the mirror. I would strongly advise 

 others, to prevent disappointment (which was my 

 first result), to do as I had ultimately to do, viz. 1st, 

 use distilled filtered loater. 2nd, fill the globe quite 

 full, so as to prevent a shaky light. 3rd, do not use 

 too much sulphur chlorate, and first filter same. 

 I am sure others will then join me in thanking Mr. 

 Kitton for his valuable suggestion, for it yields the 

 nicest, softest light I have ever worked by — giving, 

 with the aid of a spot lens, a character to diatoms 

 I never before witnessed, except with other people's 

 microscopes. It answers splendidly with the Polari- 

 scope, and in all cases when needed gives a jet black 

 ground. — yo/in Alex. Ollard. 



Diseases of Blue-bottle Flies, &c. — The 

 other day I noticed a bluebottle having some diffi- 

 culty in crawling along the floor and unable to fly. 

 Killing and examining it under the microscope I 

 found the tongue and ovipositor dried up and hard, 

 the contents of the thorax half dry, and as to the 

 abdomen, it was closely packed with larvce lying side 

 by side with the heads towards the thorax, all the 

 viscera gone, and nothing left but the alimentary 

 canal, two fragments of tracheae and a few of what 

 seemed to be the skins of eggs. I send a few speci- 

 mens of the larvre, and should feel obliged by knowing 

 what they are. For three seasons I had turned a 

 large bay window into a breeding ground for spiders, 

 and was fortunate enough to witness a set fight, and 

 what I do not doubt for a moment was the act of 

 pairing. — //. Maceo. 



White Orchis. — I see one of your correspondents 

 is surprised to hear that a specimen of O. morio has 

 been found white ; in my locality it is oftener white 

 than purple, the green veins of the wings showing 

 boldly up. — G. T. 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



To Correspondents and Exchangers. — As we now 

 publibh bciENCE-GossiP earlier than heretofore, we cannot 

 possibly insert in the following number any communications 

 which reach us later than the 8th of the previous month. 



To Anonymous Querists. — We receive so many queries 

 which do not bear the writers' names that we are forced to 

 adhere to our rule of not noticing them. 



To Dealers and others. — We are always glad to treat- 

 dealers in natural history objects on the same fair and general 

 ground as amateurs, in so far as the " exchanges " offered are fair 

 exchanges. But it is evident that, when their offers are simply 

 disguised advertisements, for the purpose of evading the cost of 

 advertising, an advantage is taken oi omt gratuitous insertion of 

 "exchanges" which cannot be tolerated. 



J. A. O. — The remarks made concerning Rimmer's "Land 

 and Freshwater Shells " are insorrect. We regard it as the 

 best popular book of its kind which has yet appeared, and the 

 author (we believe) had the kind supervision of Dr. Gwyn 

 Jeffreys in bringing it out. 



B. Thomas. — Many thanks for the violets and jasmine. The 

 former reached us still full of perfume. 



C. R. — Both your papers are now to hand, and will appear ii; 

 due course. 



N. P. — The yasmiiiuiii midiflorum is no doubt the flower 

 mentioned. 



T. P. D. — Your list of local plant names and your plant-lore 

 would be very acceptable. 



S. H. — You will find the following books among the kind of 

 books you require: "Contributions to the Theory of Natural 

 Selection, &c.," by Alfred Russel Wallace; Watenon s 

 "Essays in Natural History:" "Leaves from a Naturalist's 

 Note-Book," by Dr. Andrew Wilson; "Nature's Bypaths," by 

 J. E. Taylor ; " Rambles of a Naturalist," by Robert Garner. 



A. Waller. — There is no dearth of really good manuals of 

 geology. First of all we have the "Student's Manual " of Sir 

 C. Lyell ; then the following: Juke's and Brown's "Manual :' 

 Professor Geikie's ditto ; Penning's " Field Geology ;" WooJ- 

 ward's "Geology of England and Wales ;" Professor Green's 

 " Physical Geology," &c. 



P. B. W. — Dr. Lang's work on " European Butterflies," now 

 being issued in ■>,$. (sd. parts, is by far superior to the other serial 

 work you mention in artistic merit, although it is deficient in 

 not giving the caterpillar and chrysalis. 



H. R.Alexander. — Dr. Cooke's " Plain and Easy Account 

 of British Fungi," would enable you to name most of your 

 specimens. Stark's " History of British Mosses," published at 

 lOJ. td. (coloured plates), would be an effective help ; " British 

 Hepaticse," by Dr. Cooke, is a fourpenny attempt at popular 

 science tried many years ago. It is an excellent thing, but 

 we are not aware if any copies remain. Any bookseller will 

 tell you the published prices of the books you name. Many 

 of them may be obtained second-hand of W. Wesley, Essex 

 Street, Strand, or W. Collins, 157 Portland Street, W. 



Ellen P. — Your fossils are all from the upper cretaceous 

 bed, and are as follows: i. Ananchytes ovata (commonly 

 called " P'airy loaves ") ; 1. Micrastercor-anzubtnrn; 3. Terc- 

 bratulacarnea; 4. a species o{ Parasinilia, probably centralis 

 (a fossil coral). 



R. Harden. — Your specimen is not a sea-weed, but a poly- 

 zoon (a colony of molluscoid animals), called Flustra ckartacca. 

 See Taylor's " Half Hours at the Sea Side." 



T. H. Baffham. — The two specimens of Australian algje 

 have been submitted to specialists to name, and returned to us 

 with the remark" Unable to tell the names for want of prop.r 

 specimens." 



" Omph.a."— We have no doubt you could obtain a specimen 

 oi U tricularia by offering something in exchange in our column, 

 devoted to that purpose, and which we open free to all our 

 readers. 



J. T.— Carefully read the chapter devoted to the subject in 

 " Notes on Collecting and Preserving Natural History Speci- 

 mens," price 3^-. 6a., published by David Bogue. 



F. A. Barton. — Mr. Mechan's paper on "Objects of Sex 

 and Odour in Flowers" is not on sale. It was published, we 

 believe, in the "Transactions" of one of the American learned 

 societies. 



Old Subscriber.— You will see by the reference you quote 

 to Pritchard's "Infusoria" in 1877, that we replied we were 

 not aware of any new edition being prepared. None has 

 appeared, nor is it likely there will be, now that Savillc Kent's 

 magnificent monograph on the infusoria is completed. 



Novocastrian.— Your query concerning the " round worms" 

 in the dog, &c., is not quite definite. The common round- 

 worm (parasitic) is Ascaris luvibricoides, it belongs to the- 

 order Nematoda. The "Midland Naturalist" contains mucb- 

 microscopical information. 



