214 



HARUWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Artichoke {Reliantlms tuberosns), a species of sun- 

 flower, was brought into Italy from Peru, and called 

 by the Italians Girasole (turnsole) articiocco, the 

 name corrupted by the English in Jerusalem Arti- 

 choke, Was not the Cytiara scolymus also brought 

 from South America ?— /. B. J. 



How TO SEND Objects thkough the Post. — 

 I am often grieved, on reading your "notices to 

 correspondents," to see the complaints of articles 

 being received in such a " smashed" state as to be 

 useless; and in your number for this month it is 

 recommended to inclose them in a tin box to with- 

 stand the energy of the post-oiBce officials. _ But 

 even that is not safe ; for though the said box itself 

 may not be broken by the tremendous whack the 

 said officials usually lay on, yet still, very delicate 

 objects inside may be injured by concussion. In 

 short there is a better way, by which I have sent 

 microscopic objects hundreds of miles and nume- 

 rous times, without the slightest injury. It is as 

 follows. It is quite a mistake to place stamps upon 

 the box itself. Theyshould be fixed to one of the com- 

 mon luggage labels, which is then attached to the box 

 by a reliable piece of string, so as to separate it 

 from the box about two inches. The " official " may 

 then whack away at the luggage label to his heart's 

 content, and no harm be done. In this case the box 

 need not be strong ; and, to prove this I now send, 

 for your acceptance, a very fine specimen of the 

 Chirodota violacea, popularly known as " Pharaoh's 

 chariot-wheels." The containing box, you see, is pur- 

 posely slight ; and j'et, I will venture to say, you will 

 receive the slide uninjured ; and, if so, I hope you 

 will inform your readers of the fact; and draw their 

 attention to the impropriety of placing their stamps 

 on the box. I will merely add that by the " com- 

 mon luggage label " I mean those made of paper 

 pasted on cloth ; and having a small ring at one end. 

 They are sold by the dozen at almost everystationer's 

 shop. I must add that 1 do not claim the merit of the 

 invention. It is by no means new, but, nevertheless, 

 does not appear to be known to many. One more 

 remark. The address should be written (as you see 

 I have) on the label itself ; and, though not abso- 

 lutely needful, it is a good plan to wrap the box 

 in black paper, which prevents all temptation to 

 stamp it ; as in that case the stamp will not be 

 seen. — H. U. J. 



[Our correspondent is quite right. His frail box 

 reached us safely, and we cannot but be glad of the 

 Post-office energy which has happened so fortunately 

 for us ! — Eu.] 



Black Smut.— In the last number of Science- 

 Gossip, p. 164, a correspondent inquires for the 

 name of the black smut which is so apt to cover the 

 leaves of orange and other greenhouse plants. If 

 *' E.G.M." will closely examine the stem and leaves 

 of the plants on which the smut occurs, I think he 

 will find them infested with the Scale insect, and the 

 black smut is simply the excrementitious matter from 

 it. The same appearance occurs on the leaves of 

 plants infested with the Aphis or green-fly, doubt- 

 less from the same cause. — /. F. Cranswick. 



The Landkail {Crex pratensis). — This bird, 

 usually quite common in our neighbourhood, has, 

 this season, neither been seen nor heard. In former 

 years I have known a man cut out as many as 

 twenty eggs in one field. I should like to hear 

 whether it has disappeared thus in other parts of 

 the country, and what reason can be assigned for it. 

 — Fred. Anderson, Alresford, 



_SoNGs_ OP Birds (p. 166).— With reference to 

 this subject I send the following, which I came 

 across the other day, for wh it it may be worth : — 

 " The song of the Nightingale is thus transcribed 

 by Bechstein, fiom whom it is quoted by Broderip : — 

 Zozozozozozozozozoznzozozo — zirrhading — Hezeze- 

 zezezezezezpzezezezezezeze cowar ho dze hoi — Hi 

 gai gai gai gai gai gai gai gai gai gai gai gai guai 

 gai— Coricor dzio dzio pi." — /. Anderson, Jim. 



Eggs of Snails.— Will any reader inform me 

 bow to preserve the eggs of Helix pomatia in a dry 

 state, to retain their form ? They are to be seen thus 

 preserved in the British Museum. — F. B. F. 



Death's-head Moth, &c. — In several Entomo- 

 logical books I have seen it stated that the Death's- 

 head moth is common in Kent. I have lived in 

 Kent for four years, and have searched particularly 

 for this motlj, and have not even seen a single speci- 

 men. Can any of your correspondents explain this? 

 A'frierid of mine has caught a rare Swallow-tail in 

 the neighbourhood of Brockley, and another friend 

 saw one of these moths on a wall on the railway 

 banks near the same place last year. A specimen 

 of Polyommatus CcHicus, the long-tailed Blue, has 

 also been caught near here, and is now in the 

 possession of a publican in Deptford. — C. B. Barnes. 



Maggots on Stuffed Birds.— Could you tell 

 me of any way of getting rid of maggots from stuffed 

 birds, without injuring the plumage ? I have tried 

 several things, but without success. — R. M. 



An Adventure with a Mousetrap. — A friend 

 of mine being annoyed by the mice in his pigeon- 

 house, set an ordinary penny mousetrap baited with 

 cheese. The bait was soon taken ofi", but, owing to 

 the catch being rather stiff, the door did not fall ; he 

 however left the trap as it was for a day or two, 

 when one morning he was astonished to find five 

 nearly full-grown mice caught in it. Why they all 

 got in together is a mystery, as they had scarcely 

 room to move ; and there was no bait of any sort in 

 the trap at the time. — E. Lovett. 



Swans and Cygnets.— In answer to J. _H. 

 Alchin's question regarding the manner in which 

 swans assist their youug when swimming up stream, 

 allow me to state that it is a very common occur- 

 rence, and may be 'often seen on the Thames this 

 time of the year (June and July). Also when cross- 

 ing a stream the parent bird will place herself so as 

 to be between the force of the current and offspring, 

 and, stretching out her wings, tliey shelter themselves 

 beneath it, and swim safely across. — Thomas C. 

 Oborn, Surrey. 



Glass Shade.— Can any of your correspondents 

 tell me how I could cement the angles of an oblong 

 glass shade, so as to make it water-tight, and serve 

 as an aquarium ? — W. K. 0. 



The Cuckoo (p. 164).— Might I venture to ask 

 Mr. John Hopkinson what reason he has for saying 

 that the Cuckoo " robs other birds of their food," 

 as such a habit of this singular bird is entirely new 

 to m^e ? — W. H. Warner, Kingston. 



Spotted Ely-catcher. — A pair of these birds 

 rear two broods of young every year in a jargonelle 

 pear-tree trained against the walls of this house. 

 The female, when sitting, occasionally leaves the 

 nest to stretch her limbs, and generally takes her 

 station on the top of an old-fashioned arbour close 



