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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



i.e., to burn, most certaiiilj^ witli allusion to the 

 rough, somewhat stiiigiug hairs of the plant. So 

 much in defence of what I wrote. — A. Ernst, 

 Caracas, Venezuela. 



The "Ltvek."— There appears to be a great 

 diversity of opinion as to the bird now known as 

 the lAver, which figures so conspicuously in the 

 arms of Liverpool. Can you tell me what bird is 

 meant t—Inciidrer. 



TBi-rETALOTJS PRniROSE.— On the 11th Novem- 

 ber I gathered, in a wood near Battle, several 

 blooms of Primula vulgaris (common primrose), one 

 of which was a curious variety, with only three 

 petals. It does not seem very unusual for prim- 

 roses to bloom in the autumn, as in the year 1S65 I 

 gathered some on September 26th. I may also 

 mention that on the 19th November I observed 

 three swallows flying in the sunshine at Battle. 

 The temperature in tlie shade at the time was 

 bdow freezing.— t/. //. A. Jenner. 



Mice im Tkaps. — IVill any of your readers ex- 

 plain the phenomenon of the death of mice caught 

 iminjured in a live-trap? A house-mouse — after 

 being in the trap a short tinio, shaking the wires 

 and trying every means of escape — seems to resign 

 itself to its fate and at once die, instead of patiently 

 and without further struggle awaiting the coming 

 of the trapper, as a rabbit does in a snare. It is 

 found in a sitting posture, plump and sleek, but 

 cold and stiff. A field-mouse taken in a similar 

 trap remains alive for a longer time, but dies alter 

 some hours in a similar manner. lias the mouse 

 the power of dying of its own will ? Or are fright 

 and exhaustion the causes of death? Neither the 

 one nor the other can be nearly so great as it must 

 suffer, often for alengthened time, from a cat before 

 she destroys it. — Plalomys. 



Walken'g Eekns, &c. — On a recent visit to a 

 noted watering-place, called Bedford Springs, in 

 Bedford County, Pa , I was very much pleased to 

 find oue of the ilnest specimens of the Clwmtozorus 

 rhizophylluYii (Walking Fern) I ever saw, situated on 

 a rock jiist above v.'here a strong spring arises. The 

 rock was entirely covered, so)ne of the fronds being 

 a foot in length. Should any of the readers of 

 SciENCE-GossiF wish any leaf fungi, I will gladly 

 supply them, by sending their address to me. I 

 have quite a variety of them. I notice Roestelia 

 physota growing on the leaf of Fyrus coronaria 

 (sweet-scented crab-apple), which is, indeed, beau- 

 tiful. I have also a collection of diatom aceons de- 

 posits, and desire to send them to you, or such as 

 may desire them. They are niostly from Pennsyl- 

 vania. — Dr. J. Curtis, Knoxville, Tennessee. 



A House to Let.— ;-In the aquarium at the 

 Crystal Pahice a very diverting entertainment was 

 lately given by the Hermit Crabs. A fight was in 

 progress between a little crab and a big one ; but 

 it was a spiritless aflair, the big one evidently dis- 

 daining so sniall an oiiponent, and the small one, 

 naturally taking adv.autage of such lukewarmne-s, 

 wanted the big one's shell, and would probably 

 liaTO continued to annoy him had he not caught 

 sight, of a comrade who was leisurely examining an 

 empty whelk shell (as a man might look over a 

 house he fancied). Towards this comrade he went, 

 and a smart encounter followed, — a struggle for the 

 possession of the residence. They held one an- 

 other's claws to gain advantage in the attack, until 



at last the comrade seemed tired of the contest, 

 and retired, doubtless satisfied with his old house, 

 and not thinking the new one worth fighting about. 

 The little crab having obtained possession of it, 

 turned it quickly over into a convenient position, 

 and rapidly drawing his defenceless posteriors from 

 their confined shelter, inserted them into the uew 

 oue, and marched off victor. — R. W. B. G. 



Oak Eggar. — Are the urticating properties of 

 the oak eggar {B. ajiercus) larvae commonly knowTi ? 

 On taking one of these caterpillars into my hand 

 last autumn I immediately experienced a smarting 

 sensation (resembling the sting of a nettle, only not 

 quite so painful) in the part which came iu contact 

 with the creature, and the pain continued for four 

 or five days. I was out of health when I touched 

 the larva, so perhaps that had something to do with 

 the smart occasioned, for another person with me 

 at the time, on takiug up the caterpillar, felt no 

 pain whatever.—^. B.. S. 



White Varieties. — It may be interesting to 

 some to know that I have found white varieties of 

 the following plants : — Ajiif/a reptans, two or 

 three specimens ; Betonica oJJicinaUs, a single spe- 

 cimen ; Geranium Robert iannm, a, large number of 

 specimens ; and Hyacintlms non-scriptus, a few 

 specimens. All these grew on a clay soil, with the 

 typical plants. I also found growing on a very 

 chalky soil one large specimen of Cichorinni Tntybus. 

 I think a white variety of this last plant is uncom- 

 mon. — T. B. Blow, Welioyn, Herts. 



The British Eorget-me-not {Myosotis). — The 

 British species of Eorget-me-nots— namely, M. pa- 

 lustris, repens, and ccespitosa — are often confounded 

 with each other. We frequently find, especially 

 in old herbaria, both 31. ctespitosa and M. repens 

 labelled Myosotis palustris. AH the three species 

 inhabit bogs and the margins of ditches and ponds, 

 and may with propriety be called by the old familiar 

 name Porget-me-not ; but this is no reason for 

 assuming that they are all one species ; besides, by 

 attending carefully to a few well-defined character- 

 istics, they may at first sight be easily recognized. 

 The two first, \\^meA.3I. palustris and M.repe)is,\m\Q 

 angular stems, dark-green foliage, a rough habit of 

 growth, and creeping roots ; on the contrary, M. 

 ccespitosa has a liglit-greeu, translucent, and elegant 

 appearance, with tufted fibrous roots, and roundish 

 stem. Myosotis palustris (Kipholf?).— Roots creep- 

 ing, blackish; stem angular; pubescence of the stem 

 spreading; flowers large, bright blue, with a yellow 

 eye ; calyx divided about one-third way down ; seg- 

 ments broad, triangular, single-ribbed; raceme 

 usually leafless. M. repens (Don.) may be known 

 from the preceding species by its smaller and jialer- 

 colourcd flowers, leafy raceme, leaves tapering off 

 to an acute point, and lanceolate acute calyx-seg- 

 ments. M. ccespitosa (Schullz), whole plant of a 

 slender, tiifted, elegant apiiearance ; roots fibrous, 

 not creeping; stem roundish, clothed with white 

 close-pressed pubescence ; calyx divided halfway 

 down ; segments lauceolate, 3-ribbed ; corolla small, 

 concave, equalling the tube ; lobes entire. The 

 flowers of M. palustris and repens are seldom found 

 except of a bright blue colour, but white varieties 

 of M. Cfcspitosa are not unfrequent. On Delamere 

 Forest I have seen lar^e masses of M. palustris and 

 caspitosa intermingled; the latter, however, had 

 only white flowers. Although these species prefer 

 a damp or boggy soil, they may be grown success- 

 fully in the garden border. — James F. Robinson. 



