HARDVVICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



71 



Science-Gossip. I may say that, in company witli 

 Mr. Warner, of Winchester, I found it in the well- 

 known locality near Lyndhurst, in September, 1871. 

 It is by no means extinct there. Had we been 

 three weeks earlier, we should no doubt have found 

 more than the three plants we obtained. I may 

 add, also, that we were much pressed for time, and 

 could not continue our search much beyond a 

 quarter of an hour or twenty minutes. We met a 

 Winchester boy, who told us that he was accustomed 

 to obtain the plant for his botanical school-fellows. 

 — G. S. StreatjieU. 



Lenses of Flies. — In replyto A. M., Paris (p. 276, 

 1872), I must first tell him that no eye will do so 

 well for his purpose as that of the dra<?on-fly ; 

 indeed, any other does bnf poorly after it. A. M., 

 Paris, should cut a piece of tlie cornea off, and clean 

 it. With a little carehe will find that it is composed 

 of a number of layers. Some of these he may take 

 off, if he likes. 1 have taken off six, at least ; but 

 I don't think it matters, except as a curiosity. 

 Having cleaned the cornea, he must mount it with- 

 out any preparation to it; but mind that the 

 outside of the cornea is next to his lenses. He 

 may then try it. As a common object, focus it to 

 the hexagons. Hold any object between the mirror 

 and the eye, and very slowly move the power 

 further from the eye. The hexagons will disappear 

 and look roundish, and in each he will see a beauti- 

 ful image of whatever object he is holding under 

 the eye. Tilt the microscope nearly horizontal, and 

 proceed without, or with, the mirror, as is suitable, 

 and a person, the trees, or other objects will be 

 seen. By arranging it properly, he may view 

 butterflies' scales magnified.— i?. T. Scott. 



WooD-riGEON's Cky.- — The Berkshire version of 

 the legend is somewhat similar to that of the Irish, 

 with 1;he exception that the would-be thifef is sup- 

 posed to be a Welshman, and the bird is made to 

 say "Take two cows, Taffy," instead of "Take two 

 coos, Jemmy," or "Take two sheep, Taffy."— 7/^. 

 H. Warner, Kingston. 



Cole Tit (p. 22). — With reference to the name 

 "Burrow-down Tit" and the burrowing propen- 

 sities of this bird, it may, perhaps,_ interest "P. D. 

 S." to know that the nest of this tit is occasionally 

 found in a hole of the ground, perhaps hollowed 

 out by the bird itself. — W. H. IFimier, Kingston. 



How DO Haddocks Spawn. — My cook has 

 frequently told me that she has often found both 

 hard and soft roe (" milt " and "roe ") in the same 

 fish This I did not believe until this morning (Jan. 

 15), when she said again that she had found both 

 roe and milt. On doubting which, she said there 

 were two unopened fish, would I come and see 

 them opened? I went; one was a male with only 

 "soft roe," or "milt," and the other had unmis- 

 takably two "milts" and two "roes," male and 

 female, in full development. It is undoubtedly a 

 " fact." Is it usual ?— if. 0. Sterland. 



Valeriana pyrenaica and other Plants. — 

 Touching lhe subject of rare plants, or of those, at 

 least, which, to my mind, are generally too mucli 

 regai'ded and spoken of as being doubtful natives of 

 this country, I think I can, in addition to, and upon 

 evidence of an almost equally conclusive character 

 as that claimed by Edwin Lees, E.L.S., for 

 Astrantia viajor, mention another, namely, Vale- 

 riana pyrenaica (Pyrenean or heart-leaved Valerian), 

 which plant was found by me growing in great 



luxuriance and plenty up a woody dell in Derbj'- 

 shire, where no doubt it has flourished for years ; 

 and its growth, too, being so apparently confined to 

 the spot in that part seems, to me, to afford proof 

 sufficiently strong to disestablish all doubt as to 

 why it should not, along witli- many others, which 

 appear to be recognized as native upon no clearer 

 evidence, be comprehended also. But as it may be 

 that my principal authorities— Mr. Pratt and G. 

 Bentham — might not be in agreement with other 

 writers on this point, or at all events, with the 

 Rev. J. D. la Touche, in his " Archajology of Rare 

 Plants" — provided it be there mentioned by him — in 

 which case, or otherwise, I shall trust to the kind- 

 ness of those who are in possession of that work 

 giving me the information. Two other plants, 

 which I also found growing not very far away from 

 the Valeriana pyrenaica, and whose nativity to this 

 country is alike disputed, were Hellehorus viridis 

 and Epilobiiim anciust>folium, which latter, though, 

 perhaps, comparatively rare as a wild plant, yet had 

 much,' in this instance, to favour the idea of its 

 being an escape. A record of plants gained through 

 some such medium as that suggested by Mr. Blair, 

 or F. Arnold Lees, F.L.S., in Science-Gossip, must, 

 in the long run, prove very valuable and interesting, 

 besides, at the same time, facilitating the better 

 determining of such plants that may or may not be 

 indigenous. — John Harrison, Neiocastle-on-Tyne. 



TUSSILAGO ERAGRANS NOT PeTASITES. — In last 



month's Science-Gossip, Mr. S. Smith mentions 

 having found Tussilago petasites at the foot of 

 Clifton Rocks, " in full flower, and leaf also, on the 

 1st day of January." Prom his description, I have 

 no hesitation in saying that the plant is not Tus- 

 silago petasites, but Nardosmia fragrans {Tussilago 

 fra grans), the Sweet-scented Coltsfoot or AVinter 

 Heliotrope. In Macnight's "Manual of British 

 Botany," it is thus described: — " N. fragrans 

 (Richenb.), Sweet-scented Coltsfoot. Leaves ap- 

 pearing with the flower, cordate at the base, 

 orbicular, dentate ; the teeth cartilaginous ; gla- 

 brous above, pubescent on the nerves beneath. 

 Scales of the involucre acute, about the length of 

 the flowers. Submale flowei-, ligulse oval-oblong, 

 generally longer than the involucre. Subfemale 

 flower, not known. Native of the south of 

 Europe. Cultivated in gardens. Very common. 

 Elower white or light purple. January, and 

 February. Perennial." In Loudon's "Encyclo- 

 pedia of Plants," T. fragrans is distinguished from 

 T. petasites thus : — 1\ fragrans. Thyrsus fastigiate. 

 Leaves roundish cordate, equally toothed, downy 

 beneath ; flowers from January to March. T. 

 petasites. Thyrsus ovate-oblong. Leaves cordate, 

 unequally toothed, with the lobes approximate, 

 downy beneath ; flowers, March and April." T. 

 fragrans is called Sweet-scented Coltsfoot, from the 

 pleasant odour of its flowers. The plant found by 

 Mr. Smith is probably an escape from a garden. — 

 Wni. Harkness. 



Plants 'and Gaslight. — I have on the table 

 before me a pot of yellow crocuses, which at nine 

 o'clock at night were closed (in fact, they had not 

 opened). At eleven o'clock they were all fully ex- 

 panded, and at 12.30 p.m. were closed again. The 

 temperature of the room is quite ordinary, audthe 

 gas has been full on all the night. The gas-light 

 evidently caused them to expand, but why do they, 

 after about an hour, close up again ? Has the gas 

 poisoned the atmosphere, as suggested (p. 191, 

 August, 1872) bv jNlr. White, or has the hour any- 

 thing to do with' it '^-H. 31. W. N. 



