HARDWICKKS SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



215 



farming operations are f^oing on, will often see small 

 children following the plough armed with small 

 jiitchers, into which they put all the white, fat grubs 

 of the cockchafer which are turned up. In England 

 the rooks do this work, without young children being 

 withdrawn from school or from play. But the French 

 sportsman has nearly extirpated these useful birds. 

 A recent iniquity, according to a contemporary of 

 yours, is the systematic destruction of the swallows 

 on their return from Africa. Emissaries of the Paris 

 vtodistes fix up on the shore, about the points where 

 the birds usually land, long wires connected with 

 powerful electric machines. The wearied swallows 

 perch on the wires, and are struck dead by scores. 

 Their bodies are then sent off to Taris to ornament 

 women who are a disgrace to humanity. The saddest 

 feature is that our contingent of martins and swallows 

 arrive by way of France, and will doubtless be cruelly 

 decimated. — J. W. Slater. 



The Yew. — Letters have been appearing from 

 time to time lately in SciENCE-Gossip about the 

 yew — about big yews, the measuring of the smallest 

 diameter, and the means of approximately ascertain- 

 ing their age. May I call attention to a notice in 

 Gilpin's "Forest Scenery" in these words? — "At 

 Ilensor, in Buckinghamshire, there was lately, if 

 there be not still, a yew in health and vigour, 

 27 feet in diameter, or about 81 feet in girth." 

 What is remarkable about this notice is, that though 

 this circumference is greater than that of any other 

 mentioned by the writer, and greater than that of 

 any other known yew, no special attention is called 

 to it, and I cannot find any mention of the tree else- 

 where. Will any of your readers kindly give any 

 information about this tree ? — P. jf. 



Colour of Eggs. — Mr. Nunn, in a recent 

 number of SciENCE-GossiP, surmised that the colour 

 of eggs bore some relation to their fertility. I 

 ventured to doubt this, and gave reasons for my 

 doubt, which Mr. Nunn entirely disdains to notice ; 

 but he asks the opinions of " those who have taken 

 the trouble to investigate," and dismisses mine 

 curtly " for what it is worth." In the meantime his 

 theory, or surmise, or whatever it was (I have not that 

 number of Scienxe-Gossip by me as I write), has 

 suddenly become an established fact. Mr. Nunn 

 does not wish to enter into controversy on the 

 subject, so perhaps it is too much to ask him to 

 favour the readers of SciENCE-GossiP with his 

 reasons for putting forth a new fact in Natural 

 History. But until he proves his position to be 

 secure, he must not be surprised if others express 

 doubts concerning his discovery. I have been an 

 egg-collector myself for seventeen years (hence I 

 might even claim to be one of "those who have 

 taken the trouble to investigate "), and I must say 

 that I have never observed more than an accidental 

 coincidence between the degree of colour and the 

 fertility of eggs. Lord Wenlock's gamekeeper 

 kindly obliged me with a batch of addled pheasants' 

 eggs some weeks ago. These should all have been 

 exceedmgly pale, according to Mr. Nunn's theory (or 

 "fact"); nevertheless, out of sixteen eggs, eight 

 were of the deep shade, which I consider to be the 

 normal colour, the remainder being very pale. At 

 the same time I saw numerous shells of both shades 

 of colour that had produced healthy chicks. Birds of 

 the crow-tribe are perhaps remarkable, at least they 

 are in my experience, for leaving an addled egg after 

 the hatching of the others. Sometimes this egg is 

 abnormal, but very often indeed the reverse is the 

 case. I feel rather curious to know if Mr. Nunn has 



collected other si)ecics on the same wholesale scale 

 as those of the sparrow ; certainly sparrow-clubs 

 ought not to Ije required about Royston, and the 

 farmers and gardeners of the district should be grateful 

 to him for his endeavours to exterminate a bird which 

 they, no doubt, regard as an enemy to their produce. 

 —J. A. Whcldoii, York. 



Var. of H. aspersa.— I found, on July 30th, a 

 Helix aspersa, with a spire almost as prominent as a 

 Lii/uura slagiialis. I have it alive still (August 13th). 

 Are they comparatively common ? 1 have not seen 

 one alive before. — S. Denys. 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



To Correspondents and Exchangers. — As we now 

 publish Science-Gossip earlier than formerly, we cannot un- 

 dertake to insert in the following number any communications 

 which reach us later than the 8th of the previous month. 



To Anonymous Querists. — We must adhere to our rule of 

 not noticing queries which do not bear the writers' names. 



To Dealers and Others. — We are always glad to treat 

 dealers in natural history objects on the same fair and general 

 ground as amateurs, in so far as the "exchanges" offered are fair 

 exchanges. But it is evident that, when their offers are simply 

 Disguised Advertisements, for the purpose of evading the cost 

 of advertising, an advantage is taken oi ovlt gratuitous insertion 

 of " exchanges " which cannot be tolerated. 



We request that all exchanges may be signed with name (or 

 initials) and full address at the end. 



Special Note. — There is a tendency on the part of some 

 exchangers to send more than one per month. We only alljiv 

 this in the case of writers of papers. 



E. Wheeler. — The insect causing the gall on the leaf you 

 send is Cecidoniegia bursaria. 



M. H. (Shrewsbury).- — The specimens sent are the ordinary 

 Patella vtilgata. The others you mention are only varietiei of 

 the same. 



J. H. — The nut and shell are certainly not those of the 

 almond. 



T. R. Caux. — You should write to Mr. J. Sinel, Cleveland 

 Road, Jersey, who will no doubt be able to supply you with all 

 living marine objects you require. 



C. C. Wilson. — If you will apply to the Secretary of the 

 Belfast Natural History Society, you will doubtless get all you 

 require to le.trn concerning the Dog's Bay foraminiferal sand. 

 Mr. Joseph Wright {a member of that society) could give full 

 particulars. 



Dr. B. — The best account we know of Pasteur's .system of 

 treatment for hydrophobia is by Dr. Suzor (London: Chatto & 

 Windus), published at 6j. 



H. ISL' — We have not the addresses of anj^ makers of boxes 

 for microscopic slides. We have been inquired of before. 

 Usually they are made by local carpenters. If there is any 

 specialist or dealer, perhaps our readers will let us know. 



E. J. Batty (Wisbech). — You can obtain sets of reagents 

 and apparatus for a small laboratory of Messrs. Wiggin & Son, 

 Ipswich. 



R. W. (Wiesbaden). — See the list of reduced prices of object- 

 glasses by Messrs. R. and J. Beck, offered in our advertising 

 columns of last month. 



M. E. Pope. — The cause of the curious development of the 

 willow catkin was evidently due to gall insects. 



H. W. (Durham). — Get the "Chemical and Physical Studies 

 in the Meiamorphism of Rocks," by Dr. A. Irving, just pub- 

 lished by Longmans, price '^s. 



R. T. Spurling. — You will find the phenomena you mention 

 gone into fully by Dr. Masters in his " Vegetable Teratology," 

 published by the Ray Society. 



J. Miles. — Get Professor Nicholson's "Manual of Zoology" 

 (new edition), pubhshed by Blackwoods. 



EXCHANGES. 



Unused old red \d. postage stamps in exchange for good 

 foreign stamps, or offers requested. — Miss B. L. Purchase, 

 Stockbridge Villas, Chichester. 



Turtledoves and zebra finches offered in exchange for 

 foreign plants or named alg^e and lichens. — J. A. Wheldon, 

 York. 



