HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



ig-iiorance may now elicit a smile of pity, what can 

 be said of the knowledge of natural history at the 

 present time, when the Mark Lane Express for Sep- 

 tember 4th has the following paragraph in answer 

 to a correspondent who inquires how he can rid his 

 fields of charlock. They are unable to give him the 

 required information, but propound a theory that 

 botanists will be surpi'ised to hear : — 



"We do not think they come from seed, but 

 is («'(?) the result of some electrical action producing 

 them spontaneously. The charlock is an unwel- 

 come visitor, but its removal in corn crops is often 

 worse than the evi! itself. Let both grow together 

 until the time of harvest. Tiie seed has more value 

 than some suppose, and when crushed will be found 

 a good tonic. Nothing is given to us in vain." 



One scarcely knows which to admire most, his 

 bold contempt of Liudley Murray or his botanical 

 knowledge. You will also observe that in the com- 

 mencement of the precious paragraph he does not 

 think they come from seed, :ind liicu a few lines fur- 

 ther on he says " the crushed seeds are a valuable 

 tonic." If such a lamentable amount of ignorance is 

 displayed by those whose province it is to educate, 

 who is to teach the teachers ? 



The above extracts are taken from one of the 

 volumes published by the Historical Society of 

 Science. The Anglo-Saxon treatise occupies about 

 twelve, the treatises of Philip de Thaun above 

 a hundred pages of royal octavo. 



AN AURORA BY DAYLIGHT. 



A SHORT time since, in a contemporary,* a 

 discussion took place on daylight aurorse, a 

 few observers stating that they had seen such a 

 phenomenon, while at least one correspondent tried 

 to prove such a display was an impossibility. Since 

 then I have anxiously watched for an opportunity 

 of judging for myself, and now can state that aurora 

 displays may be apparent in the daylight. The 

 facts observed will be given in detail, the hours 

 mentioned being Dublin time, taken from the watch 

 of the mail guard. 



On October 6th, 7th, Stli, and 9i,h there were 

 slight frosts, the nights being clear and bright, with 

 brilliant displays of stars, and a rather sharp wind 

 from the north. On the morning of the 8th we 

 travelled from Galway to Clifden, our route lying 

 for more than half the way through the hills of 

 Varconnaught. When leaving the town of Galway, 

 at two o'clock A.M., there was a red glow over most of 

 the sky, being rather more intense to the northward, 

 while toward the southward it was imperceptible, 

 tills glow appearing and disappearing at intervals 

 of from fifteen to twenty minutes. These intermit- 



* Nature. 



tent lights continued till four o'clock, when a bright, 

 brilliant crimson band suddenly darted up from the 

 northern horizon through the North Star, extending 

 southward more than halfway across the heavens. 

 This band lasted only for a few moments, however. 

 Subsequently it graduated into space, and was 

 succeeded by a display of needle-shaped rays of red 

 light, that seemed to be falling every M'ay from the 

 zenith, but especially towards the N.W., N., and 

 N.E. This shower of rays, if it may be so called, 

 might be likened to a shower of red rain or blood, 

 the rays drifting away and gradually disappearing 

 in space, similarly to a passing shower, as any one 

 who is accustomed to a mountainous country 

 must often have observed. Subsequently very 

 similar displays, but of greater or less intensity, 

 succeeded one another at intervals of from about 

 live to ten minutes, till seven minutes to five 

 o'clock, when the first streak of daylight was appa- 

 rent on the eastern horizon. After the dawn of 

 day, and from that to six o'clock, the aurora was 

 still visible. The colour, however, of the rays 

 changed, first to purple, and afterwards, as the 

 daylight grew stronger, to a neutral tint ; but the 

 play of the rays was similar to those of a red colour, 

 except that the intervals of time between each 

 appearance became longer and longer. Further- 

 more, the rays, instead of brightening up the sky, 

 as they did during the night, now cast a shadow 

 over it. When the daylight had become strong, 

 and all the stars but a few of the larger ones had 

 disappeared, all defined colour seemed to have 

 departed from the aurora rays, they then being- 

 more like a fleeting, dusky, thin cloud, or a dii^tant 

 passing shower of rain. Nevertheless, that such 

 appearances were due to the aurora was evident, as 

 they radiated from the northern horizon, besides 

 coining and going similarly to the previously 

 described red lights. 



At six o'clock the day had well dawned ; scarcely 

 a star could be detected, while the distant moun- 

 tains, hills, fields, cattle, and houses, were dis- 

 tinctly visible, and the aurora seemed to have 

 disappeared for good. Not so, however, for at 

 seventeen minutes past six there was a grand dis- 

 play ; eight double pencils of bright but pale yellow 

 light suddenly appearing, radiating from the edge 

 of a dark cloud that floated due north close to the 

 horizon, having an appearance similar to the rays 

 from a setting sun. These lasted for about three 

 minutes, and disappeared as suddenly as they had 

 come up. The daylight at this time apparently 

 was quite perfect ; however, it was not till eleven 

 minutes afterwards (twenty-eight minutes past six) 

 that the edge of the rising sun appeared above the 

 eastern horizon. 



From the above facts it seems apparent that an 

 aurora display during daylight may occur, but that 

 such a phenomenon is easily overlooked, as the 



