HARDWICKE'S SCIENC E-GO SSIP. 



21 



Insects and Ploaveus. — WiMi veffard to the 

 communication of " W. W. H.," in the December 

 number of Science-Gossip, I quite aprree with him 

 that butterflies have a great objection to geraniums, 

 and an equally strong predilection for a lavender 

 hedge; but I think that he is mistaken in sup- 

 posing that the flavour of the nectar influences the 

 colour of the blossom. In obedience to a general 

 law, butterflies settle on those objects which, by 

 their nature and colour, are most likely to protect 

 them, and shield them from observation. We never 

 see a IMeadow Erowu soaring aloft like a Hed Ad- 

 miral ; it always flutters near the sombre-coloured 

 earth. A place well-known to London eiitomolo- 

 sists is Box-hill, in Surrey, which during the season 

 literally swarms with graylings. Yet the hill is so 

 covered with flint stones, that the butterflies are 

 quite invisible uutil disturbed. There is also a little 

 sreen tortrix (I think its name is Lepfogramma 

 Uteraiia) which is very abundant in the woods here 

 during the summer months ; but as it is of a brisrht 

 green colour, and always settles on the nnder-sides 

 of the leaves, it eludes the sharpest scrutiny. — E. C. 

 Lefroij, Blaclcheath. 



Saffron (r>. 281, vol. vii."). — Tlie writer of the 

 work referred to bv "J. F. C" has probably been 

 misled by a similarity of name in assuniiu'r that the 

 bastard saffron, or safflower (Carflir/mns tindorinii), 

 is the plant from which Saffron Wsilden takes its 

 name. The safflower answers well to the descrip- 

 tion given. It resembles a thistle, but the seed is 

 smootli, and " without down." Tlie " full-blown 

 flower" is the part used for dyeing purposes, and 

 when dried is said to resemble the true saffron so 

 exactly, as only to be distinguishable by tlie absence 

 of smell. About the "shrewd pilgrim" I can find 

 nothing; but, according to Paxton's "Botanical 

 Dictionary," this species of Carfhamns was intro- 

 duced into England from Egypt in WcA.— G.lI.H. 



Sapfron : Peel's Parsley-leaf (Science- 

 Gossip, 1871, r). 281).— Mr. Thornbury is not so 

 far out as J. E. C. seems to think. The "Orange- 

 juiced Saffron" is, no doubt, CartJuimns thidorius, 

 more frequently called Safflower. " Peel's parsley- 

 leaf " refers to the following anecdote from "The 

 Life and Character of Sir Robert Peel," by Sir 

 Laurence Peel, published in I860: — "Mr. Peel 

 was in his kitchen making some experiments in 

 printing on handkerchiefs and other small pieces, 

 when his only daughter. . . . brought him in from 



their 'garden of herbs' a sprig of parsley 



She pointed out and praised the beauty of the leaf, 

 and looking, by habit of imitation, naturally to the 

 useful side, she said that she thought it would make 

 a very pretty pattern. He took it out of her hand, 

 looked at it attentively, praised it for its beauty, 

 and her for her taste, and said that he would make 

 a trial of it. ... A pewter dinner-plate .... was 

 taken down from the shelf, and on it was sketched 

 — say, rather, scratched— a figure of the leaf, and 

 from this impressions were taken. It was called in 

 the family Nancy's pattern, after his daughter. It 

 became a favourite : in the trade it was known as 

 the parsley-leaf pattern ; and apt alliteration, lend- 

 ing its artful aid, gave its inventor the nickname of 

 Parsley Peel. — James Britten, British Museum. 



Saffron (p. 281, No. SI).— The writer quoted 

 in the above note evidently fell into the_ error of 

 confounding Safflower {Carthamus finctorius) ynW\ 

 Saffron. The Safflower is a composite plant, and is 

 not, I believe, cultivated in England. The following 

 particulars will be seen to agree very well with the 



description quoted by J. F. C. :— "It has an erect 

 cylindrical stem, branching near the sunnnit, a foot 

 or two high, and furnished with sharp-pointed, oval, 

 sessile, somewhat spiny leaves. ... On the opening 

 of the flowerets they are rapidly gathered, without; 

 being allowed to expand fully. jTliey are then dried 

 with great care. It grows naturally in Egypt, and 

 is cultivated largely in Spain and in many parts of 

 the Levant, whence it is chiefly imported, and from 

 India." (Balfour's "CyclopEcdia of India," p. 293.) 

 It is probably to its introduction into Spain that 

 the tradition refers. — F. V. P. 



Infusoria, &c. — Would you be kind enough to 

 let me know which is the best method to prepare 

 and mount "Infusoria"? I should like to know 

 by what means you get rid of the water in which 

 the animalculai are ; and by what preservative you 

 keep the clenned infusoria? — H. Sammann. 



[The above inquiry is much too vague to enable 

 us to give the information our correspondent re- 

 quires. It is necessary to know what organisms he 

 wishes to preserve. The terms infusoria and 

 animalculre are very indefinite. If he means the 

 desmids and diatoms, full explanations of the best 

 methods of preparing and mounting those forms 

 have appeared from time to time in the pages of 

 this Journal. If. however, our correspondent means 

 such forms as Eotifers, Steiitors, Stephmioceri, &c., 

 no method has yet; been discovered of preserving 

 such delicate and sensitive organisms.] 



Ancient Serpent - worship. — Mr. John S. 

 Phene, E.G.S., has made several interestinar dis- 

 coveries, and has just investigated a curious eartlien 

 mound in Glen Feochan, Argyleshire, referred to by 

 him at the late meeting of the British Association 

 in Edinburgh as bein;? in the form of a serpent or 

 saurian. The mound is a most perfect one. The 

 head is a lavire cairn, and the body of the earthen 

 reptile 300 feet long ; and in the centre of the' bead 

 there were evidences of an altar having been placed 

 there. The shape can only be seen so as to be 

 understood when looked down nron from an eleva- 

 tion, as the outline cannot be understood unless the 

 whole of it can be seen. This mound corresponds 

 almost entirelv with one 700 feet lonsr in America, 

 an account of which was lately published, after 

 careful survey, bv Mr. Squier, The sinuous wind- 

 ings and articulations of the vertebral spinal 

 arrangement are anatomically perfect in the Argyle- 

 shire mound. Beneath the cairn forming the head 

 of the animal was found a megalithic chaml)er, in 

 which were a quantity of charcoal and burned earth 

 and charred nut-shells, a flint instrument beautifully 

 and minutely serrated at the edge, and buiued 

 bones. The" back or spine of the animal form was 

 found beneath the peat moss to be formed by a 

 careful adjustment of stones, the forniation of which 

 probably prevented the structure being obliterated 

 by time and rain. 



Once more Borrago (see p. 239, vol. vii.}.— My 

 authority for the Italian borrrtpine is Buttura, Diet, 

 fraiigais-ital. et ital.-fratigais (Paris, 1832), and so 

 it must be written, as the a in the second syllable 

 is not long, but short. The Spanish borraxa is the 

 old-fashioned mode of spelling of what, since 1815, 

 is written borraja : the pronunciation of both was 

 in all times the same (with deep guttural j). The 

 Portuguese horragens is the plural of borragem 

 Also in other languages there are plant-names used 

 in both numbers ; as, for instance. Span, herro and 

 herros=ioater-cresses. TheDutch hernctgie is derived 

 from the old verb bernen or barnen, to-day brcrnden, 



