46 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE -GO S SIP. 



throat, and to twist till I heard "click," which 

 would draw it up ! In Kent, the idea prevails also, 

 a great and sudden fright will cure ague ; an old 

 womau telling me that when young, and suffering 

 from ague, she was sitting by a little stream, a 

 passer-by in fun gave her a push, and she was pre- 

 cipitated into the water and very much frightened, 

 " but it quite cured the ague." 



Collection Catalogue.— I find the following 

 an easy plan as applied to English Botany ; I think, 

 moreover, it has the merit of simplicity. I procure 

 an ordinary account-book, ruled, however, with the 

 faint blue transverse lines only ; the size as to length 

 or breadth is immaterial, although it is better to 

 have one tolerably large, say 9 inches by 6 : the 

 thickness should be in proportion to the amount of 

 notes the collector intends to make. I now take 

 my text-book (Hooker and Arnott's), and I find 

 under the fii'st order Ranmiculacece, the first genus 

 Clematis, containing one species only ; accordingly I 

 head my book with the name of the order in bold 

 writing, and the genus I write on the extreme left 

 margin, leaving the line to be filled in when I get 

 the plant. The next genus, Thalidnim, contains 

 three species ; consequently, I leave three lines, 

 writing the genus on the edge as before, and 

 connecting the lines with a bracket. In this 

 manner 1 go right through my Flora, and have 

 created a sort of skeleton list to be filled up as I 

 collect the plant. Whenever I have found and 

 named any ordinary specimen, say Cardamine pra- 

 tensis, I refer to the order and genus, and write in 

 the species, and carry the habitat, &c., on to tlie 

 opposite page. In the event of a rarity or any 

 peculiarity deserving especial notice, I write an 

 account of it at the end of the list (which should 

 occupy about half the thickness of the book), and 

 against the entry of the plant in its proper place, I 

 write the page on wliich this further account may 

 be found. I may add that, the list being arranged in 

 precisely the same order as the book, it is wonder- 

 fully easy after a time to turn to any order and 

 plant at once ; and of course, as long as any English 

 plant remains to collect, so long is the list service- 

 able.— (?. T. N. 



Variety of Convolvulxis Sepitjm. — On driving 

 along the road between Yeovil and Montacute, in 

 passing through the village of Preston we were 

 struck by the profusion of large bright white convol- 

 vulus flowers, intermixed with which were larger 

 flowers of a beautiful pink hue. On examining these 

 latter more atteutivelj^, we found that the flowers 

 wereas much as nine inches in circumference, their 

 interior being ornamented by five bands or folds 

 of the purest white. These very conspicuous flowers 

 were both in colour and ornamentation like some of 

 the brighter examples of C. arvensis upon a gigantic 

 scale, and were so pleasing and attractive as to be 

 not unworthy of cultivation.—/. B. 



On the Sleep oe Plants. — Your correspondent 

 W. J. W. White may rest assured that plants do 

 go to sleep, and that the light of gas alone, pro- 

 vided there were not any deleterious properties 

 in it, would, in time, kill them. Experiments have 

 been tried, and prove this : plants kept in a dark 

 cellar and exposed for a time both day and night to 

 the light of a lamp, retain a portion of their green 

 colouring matter, but die eventually of weakness, 

 caused by the lack of rest. Light separates the 

 moisture in plants into hydrogen and oxygen, and 

 disengages the oxygen from the carbonic acid ; but 



vegetable chemists cannot go on working for ever 

 at the same thing ; they want darkness to give out 

 carbon and absorb oxygen in ; so I repeat it, plants 

 iDould die from exposure to continual light, though 

 Mr. White is of opinion that my "notion" is "a 

 most mistaken one." — Helen H. JFatney. 



Parasites on House Ely. — In March last, 

 whilst examining under the microscope a specimen 

 of the common fly {Musca domesticd), I found a 

 number of parasites : can any one give me an idea 

 where I may find a description of the same ?— G^. 

 Bennett. 



Stings of Wasps.— "R. H. N. B." is right about 

 a tube running down the blade of the sting ; but is 

 that for economy and strength, like a quill, or to 

 convey the poison ? I cannot get any wasps now ; 

 but in a sting I have by me the tube goes nearly to 

 the point of the sting, and from it six projections, 

 like small tubes, extend, not to the points of the 

 barbs, but just halfway between two points. They 

 certainly look as if they had an opening, but I 

 should like to know more about this ; if they 

 are open, and come from the poison-bag, a good 

 hand ought to be able to squeeze put some of the 

 poison from a fresh sting. This would be proof 

 positive as to the use of the tube. — E. T. Scott. 



Self-heal. — The _ Self-heal, or its synonyms 

 Carpenters' Herb, Sickle-wort, and Hook- weed, 

 allude to its uses as a vulnerary. Old herbalists record 

 many cases of wounds inflicted by sickles, scythes, 

 &c., being healed by its use. On account of its 

 astringent nature, it was probably useful in such 

 cases. Its original name, Brunella, said to be 

 derived from the German Brdune, the quinsy 

 (from its supposed use in that complaint), was 

 altered by Linnseus to its modern one of Frunella. 

 — ^. L. Sarjeant. 



Sugaring for Noctu^. — Any sweet compound, 

 which is somewhat odorous also, will bring some of 

 the night-flying moths. Treacle and honey in 

 solution have been tried, but the best preparation 

 decidedly is that compounded of the strong, dark- 

 coloured sugar, commonly known as " foots," which 

 must be dissolved in boiling water (it is hardly 

 necessary to boil the solution), and then, at the 

 time of using, a small quantity of rum is added to 

 the syrup, about in the proportion of a tablespoonfui 

 to a pint. Some entomologists use other flavours, 

 as, for instance, the essential oils of aniseed and 

 bitter almonds, but I have not found these of ad- 

 vantage. This compound can be spread on tree- 

 trunks and palings:! it is usual to distribute it in 

 streaks rather than in patches, and at about four 

 feet above the ground. It is quite possible that 

 were it spread at a greater height — say seven or 

 eight feet from the ground, — it would exert a greater 

 attractive power, yet it would be difficult under 

 these circumstances for the collector to make his 

 captures in the dusk of evening, even with the aid 

 of a lantern. This latter is an important acces- 

 sory ; but the bull's-eye lantern is apt to confuse 

 both the moths and the moth-hunter. Besides 

 Noctua, other moths will occasionally visit the 

 sugar, Py rales pretty frequently, and Geometrce 

 now and then; and I have found larvae upon it, 

 not seemingly by accident ; as, for instance, that of 

 Arctia lubricipeda. I have noticed repeatedly what 

 has been pointed out by the Rev. Joseph Greene, 

 viz., that there is mostly an interval about ten — 

 sometimes earlier, sometimes later, — wiien moths, 

 if they do not cease to fly, will not approach the 

 sugar. — /. R,_S. C. 



