22 



HAKDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



and fly about with a strong humming noise, so as to 

 darken the air for several square miles. The noise 

 made by this swarm in gnawing the leaves re- 

 sembled the sawing of timber, and in a short time 

 after their arrival they had eaten up every green 

 thing. Several causes contributed to their destruc- 

 tion. High winds and steady rain killed many 

 millions, and tiie pigs devoured them with great 

 relish as they fell from the trees. The poor people 

 also lived upon them when they had nothing else 

 left to eat. Towards the end of the summer ail the 

 chafers that remained took themselves off in a body 

 as they liad come, and never returned in succeeding 

 years in such swarms. In this country such visita- 

 tions as these are very uncommon, but on the 

 coiitinent they are of frequent occurrence.— -ff. C. 

 Lefroy, Blackheath. 



Tenacity of Life in a Hekmit Cbae. — TVe 

 have a small sea-water aquarium, the principal 

 occupants of which are a number of sea-anemones 

 of different colours and sizes, and a hermit crab, 

 which last is a great favourite, and causes us much 

 amusement by his ceaseless activity and odd ways. 

 The other day we missed the little fellow, but 

 thinking that he might have hidden himself under 

 some pieces of rock, and that he would soon reap- 

 pear, we did not concern ourselves much about him. 

 Three days passed and still he was nowhere to be 

 seen. We then emptied the aquarium of its contents, 

 and looked most carefully among the pieces of rock 

 and coral, but alas, the missing gentleman was not 

 to be found. At last it was suggested that a sea- 

 anemoue must have made a meal of him, in which 

 case we knew that the shell would soon be rejected. 

 We therefore examined the anemones one by one, 

 and. soon saw a little bit of the shell of our hermit 

 protruding from between the tentacula of one of 

 them. With some difficulty the crab was extricated 

 from the living grave which was only just large 

 enough to hold him, and to our great astonishment 

 he at once began to run about in his usual lively 

 manner, and though his shell is somewhat broken, 

 he seems to have sustained no bodily injury, and is 

 in as good health and spirits as ever. Of course his 

 name from henceforth will be " Jonah" !—E. P. 

 Jackson. 



The Cambeuavell Beauty.— I believe that the 

 correct date for the Camberwell Beauty, alluded to 

 in Mr. Barrett's paper as having been observed at 

 Easton, was March 22nd, IS47, and that I was in 

 error in informing him it was on July 31st. Cf. 

 Zoologist, p. 1702.—/. //. G., Jm. 



How does the Spider weave its Web ?— 

 If your correspondent " G. C." will refer to vol. ii. 

 of Kirby and Spence's " Introduction to Ento- 

 mology " (third edition, 1S23), he will find much 

 information as to the wonderful means of (so-called) 

 " flying" practised by spiders, indicating that they 

 can thus'with great facility bridge over with their 

 webs a considerable span.— /S". F. 



How DOES the Spider weave its Web ?— Of 

 the methods suggested to explain the difficulty 

 presented by " G. C.," the most probable appears to 

 be that the spider possesses the power of projecting 

 its thread to some distance, and fixing it to any 

 object it may aim at. Eor corroboration of this I 

 will refer " G. C." to page 213 of last September 

 number of Science-Gossip. The web then may be 

 formed in this way :— The spider first forms a ring 

 for the boundary of its web, as much in the shape 

 of a circle as circumstances allow. In the case of 



a stream, this ring is attached to grass, &c., _ at 

 each side. It then forms a thread across from side 

 to side. Erom the middle of this diameter it makes 

 the radii, and then fills up the centre with the 

 concentric circles. — G, R. 



TJnio littokalis.— The shells from the Rhine 

 mentioned by me in November's Science-Gossip 

 turn out to be those of TJnio Batavns, and not 

 Uttoralis, which, I am told, is not found so far north 

 as Holland ; it occurs, however, in Erance. — Harry 

 Leslie. 



Ants. — Can any of your readers tell me t lie best 

 means to extirpate the Hed Carrier-aut {(Ecodoma 

 cephalotes), which is so very destructive to the 

 leaves of shrubs and trees throughout Brazil ? They 

 are particularly fond of rose-trees, and when once 

 they make their appearanre the tree is doomed, as 

 every fresh leaf is cut off and carried away into 

 their holes. Much labour is spent in trying to 

 destroy them by forcing charcoal or other fumes 

 into their holes, but with little effect. It is doubted 

 whether they are affected by any fumes or gases 

 whatever ; and they will not eat any kind of seeds, 

 grain, sugar, &c. ; so that they cannot be destroyed 

 v.'itli arsenic or phosphorus. If anything could be 

 found to be really effective against them, it would 

 command an extensive sale throughout Brazil, and 

 take the place and name of the — Ant-eater. 



Cole Tit {Parus ff/<?/-).— Having set a common 

 brick trap in the garden, I was surprised to find on 

 trwo occasions, when the trap was sprung, that the 

 intruder had burrowed out under the brick, the 

 footmarks not being that of mouse, mole, or rat. 

 To make sure of the captive, I banked up earth all 

 round the outside of the trap, and laid down inside a 

 slate, when, behold, was secured a cole tit, and 

 what is remarkable, it had exhausted itself to death 

 with efforts to burrow out ; the crown of the head was 

 sore and bare of feathers, from contact with the edge 

 of the brick ; its claws of each foot were worn down 

 to the quick, and the beak had all the appearance 

 of desperate efforts to bore a hole through the slate ; 

 the tail feathers were clotted with earth, and the 

 edges of the wings mutilated. Can any of your 

 readers inform me if the Cole Tit burrows for food, 

 such as larvae, underground ? A friend told me 

 in Herefordshire this bird is called locally the 

 " Burrow-down Tit."— 2^. D. S. 



Ipswich Science- Gossip Society.— This flourish- 

 ing society, which took its name from ourmagaziue, 

 has just held its third conversazione, at which nearly 

 seven hundred persons were present. The hall in 

 which it was held was filled with objects of interest. 

 Among others was shown a musical-flame organ, 

 constructed by Mr. Eord Goddard, on the principle 

 of Tyndall's musical flames. This is, we believe, 

 the first time the original discovery has been practi- 

 cally applied, and too much praise cannot be be- 

 stowed upon it. Several simple airs were played 

 by it. Electro-magnetic engines, in motion, con- 

 structed and exhibited by the Hon. Mr. Grimston, 

 Dr. Piesse's " Odophone," the " Siren," an instru- 

 ment for measuring the velocity of music-sounds, 

 and various other objects of the same kind, were 

 exhibited. Splendid cases of butterflies, comprising 

 local varieties, were shown by Mr. Henry Miller, 

 hou. sec, and Mr. Long. Other natural objects 

 were minerals and fossils, birds' eggs, &c. The 

 committee had worked for weeks previous, and, 

 together with the president, Dr. Drummoud, and 

 the hon. sec, Mr. Miller, deserved their success. 



