HA RD WICKE' S SCIENCE- G OSSIF. 



89 



Heidelberg. These were feeding on the broad-leaved 

 sallow. Ichneumons seem to be singularly capricious 

 in their attacks on the larvoe of the Vanessidre ; not 

 one of these hundred of Antiopas had been attacked, 

 though of two large broods of V. xantliomeles (very 

 like polychloros) which I found (also on willow) three- 

 fourths had been " struck," and more than half of all 

 the los I got, were in a similar plight. 



During the day, I saw several large spotted wood- 

 peckers, and two or three common buzzards. The 

 shrill querulous cry, of these last, as they sweep round 

 in graceful curves, often at such a height as to be 

 almost invisible, though their cry is still distinctly 

 audible, must always attract the attention of the 

 naturalist. For my part I was never tired of watching 

 ithe elegant flight of these beautiful birds. 



r: b. p. 



Juistlnmrnc. 



OUR SCIENTIFIC DIRECTORY. 



[The Editor will be obliged, if, for the benefit of his numerous 

 readers, secretaries of scientific societies will send notices like 

 the following, also place and time of meeting.] 



"ryURY (Lane.) Liter-ary and Scientific Society: 

 JLJ President, Rev. Douglas Walmsley, B.A. ; 

 Hon. Secretary, Mr. Thomas K. Holden, Blackford 

 Bridge, Bury, Lane. 



Nottingham Naturalists' Society: President, W. J. 

 Abel, B.A., F.R.M.S. ; Hon. Secretary, W. Hanley 

 Kay, Gresham Chambers, Beastmarket Hill. 



The Practical Naturalists'' Society : President, 

 S. Robinson Hallam, F.R.M.S. ; Hon. Secretary, 

 G. K. Gude, 5 Giesbach Road, Upper Holloway, 

 London, N. 



The Penarth Entomological Society : President, Mr. 

 J. Wallis ; Hon. Secretary, G. A. Birkenhead, 

 Downs View, Penarth, near Cardiff. Meetings are 

 held on the second Tuesday evening in each month. 



Norwich Science-Gossip Club: President, John 

 Bidgood, B.Sc. ; Hon. Secretary, Frank Balls. 



Petherton Microscopical Society: Founded 1882. 

 j\Ieets third Thursday in month at 80 Petherton 

 Road, Highbury New Park, N. ; excursions on third 

 Wednesday. Museum and library. President, 

 Bernard H. Woodward, F.G.S. ; Hon. Secretary, 

 D. Mottram. 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Thanks to strict preservation, and to the fact that 

 the inhabitants are realising the value of the bird, the 

 eider has greatly increased in number in Iceland 

 during recent years. The people do all in their power 

 to attract the bird to their property. Among these 

 attractions are bells worked by the wind or by water, 



the hanging up of dress material of a glaring colour, 

 and the keeping of brightly-coloured fowls. A society 

 has been formed for the granting of premiums for the 

 killing of animals preying upon the eider, and last 

 year I155 such prizes were awarded. 



The Secretary to the Committee on Science and the 

 Arts of the Franklin Institute asks us to make it 

 knownito our readers that the Committee is empowered 

 to award, or to recommend the award, of the following 

 medals, &c., for meritorious discoveries and inventions 

 tending to the progress of the arts and manufactures :' 

 (l) The Elliot Cresson medal, gold; (2) The John 

 Scott legacy and premium and medal, twenty dollars 

 and a medal of copper. For further information, 

 application should be made to the Secretary, The 

 FrankUn Institute of the State of Pennsylvania, 

 Philadelphia. 



At the Brockley and St. John's Scientific Society 

 (late New Cross Microscopical and Natural History 

 Society), a lecture on "Crabs, Lobsters and Shrimps," 

 was delivered at the St. John's Church Room, Lewis- 

 ham High Road, on the 7th February, by W. J. 

 Spratling, Esq., B.Sc, F.G.S. The development 

 of the Crustaceans was explained, and exemplified by 

 Trilobites found in the Cambrian Rock, Palaeozoic 

 and Secondary and Tertiary Rocks up to the crabs of 

 the present day. The lecture was illustrated by 

 photographic slides, which were shown by means of 

 the society's oxyhydrogen lantern. 



Nickel and Cobalt.— In reply to a query in the 

 March number of Science-Gossip as to the reported 

 decomposition of nickel and cobalt, the following facts 

 may be of interest. The task which Dr. Kriiss set 

 himself was the determination of the atomic weights of 

 nickel and cobalt ; and for this purpose he employed 

 Winkler's process. Having accurately determined 

 the atomic weight of gold, a definite quantity of nickel 

 or cobalt was treated with a solution of gold chloride 

 and the precipitated gold weighed. As the amount 

 of this gold varied, without any apparent cause, after 

 eliminating possible sources of error, the gold itself 

 was examined. After being dissolved in nitro-hydro- 

 chloric acid and reprecipitated, it was found that it 

 had lost weight, and that the washings were coloured. 

 These washings when concentrated were found to 

 eive reactions characteristic of none of the metals 

 operated upon, so Dr. Kriiss endeavoured to obtain 

 larger quantities of the unknown material ; and 

 ultimately he found that by igniting fresh oxide of 

 either nickel and cobalt with potassium hydrate, and 

 washing out the mass, he got a solution containing 

 two or three per cent, of a substance with the characters 

 of none of the substances operated upon, while the 

 pure oxide of nickel or cobalt was left. From this 

 solution a white oxide was obtained, and from this by 

 means of blow-pipe and charcoal was obtained a brown 

 malleable metallic powder, soluble in hydrochloric 



