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HARDWICKE'S SCIEN CE - GO S SIP. 



Eix& Ousel. — It is not a very iiiicommon oc- 

 currence to see the Ring Ousel in Dorset and Wilts 

 duriu? the autumn months. Tliese birds visit the 

 mountainous districts of this country in the sprinj? 

 of the year, travelling southvk^ard as the autumn 

 approaches. About six years ago, a gentleman 

 caught one of these ring ousels, near Cerne Abbas. 

 If I remember rightly, it was towards the end of 

 November, during very inclement weatlier. The 

 bird was a very beautiful specimen of the male 

 Tardus torquatns, and was in my mother's posses- 

 sion for sometime. We christened him Charlie, after 

 the donor, and he became one of our best-loved 

 household pets. In a very few weeks Charlie lost 

 all his natural shyness, and became charmingly at- 

 tractive. He would come to the side of his cage 

 and utter a peculiarly clear strong note, almost like 

 the song-note of a thrush, and beg to have his head 

 rubbed. He would peck crumbs out of rny mother's 

 hand in the most delicate gentleman-like manner 

 imaginable. We fed him like our other birds, on 

 mixed seeds, home-made German paste, &c., and he 

 appeared well and happy. His end was most un- 

 timely and sad. A neighbour's cat, having a 

 pencliant for birds, attacked the cage one day, ;md 

 succeeded in putting an _ end to poor Charlie's 

 existence, as well as killing two canaries, who 

 shared his home, and were great friends of the 

 ring ousel. — Barbara Wallace Fyfe, Nottingliam. 



BoMBTX QuEECTJS. — I have personally ex- 

 perienced the urticating property of the hairs of 

 B. Quercics, noticed by your correspondent in last 

 month's Science-Gossip. I opened some cocoons 

 of this species, and both my brother and I got the 

 hairs from the cast skin of the caterpillar into our 

 hands and faces, causing considerable irritation. I 

 have been told that it is only the hai'.s of the 

 female larvae that are irritatiug, but I don't think 

 so. 1 had often previously handled the caterpillars 

 without getting the hairs into my skin. — Harry 

 Leslie. 



Birth and Death op a Hippopotamus. — 

 An interesting event took place at the Zoological 

 Gardens on the 9i h of January. A baby hippopota- 

 mus was born, and great endeavours were made to 

 keep it alive, but in vain. The little animal was 

 unable to suck, and after three days it died from 

 lack of nourishment. Some difficulty was experi- 

 enced in getting the baby away from its mother, 

 and when it had been safely placed in the hands of 

 its foster-parent, Mr. Bartlett, tlie indefatigable 

 curator, managed to get about a pint and a half of 

 milk down its throat. It was too far gone, how- 

 ever, to rally, and died almost immediately. The 

 young hippopotamus could swim as well as its 

 mother. 



Geophilus electkicus.— The following notes 

 on an electric centipede, which I kept in captivity 

 for some days a few years ago, may prove interest- 

 ing to your correspondent Mr. Henderson : — " Oc- 

 tober 13th, 18G9. A fiiend brought me an electric 

 centipede {GeopJiilns cledricus) this evening. He 

 found it on Primrose Hill. I laid it on some damp 

 earth in a small glass jar. When I breathed on it, 

 it writhed about and became luminous. The lumi- 

 nosity had sometimes a greenish, sometimes a bluish 

 tint. The green seemed to be con lined to the head 

 and the blue to the body; but of this I am not 

 sure, for the colours were usually so intermingled, 

 and the diiFerence between the shades was so slight, 



that it was almost impossible to distinguish between 

 them. The power of showing light appeared to be 

 weakened by frequent exercise. After a time my 

 breathing on the centipede only caused its head to 

 become luminous, and at: length the luminosity en- 

 tirely ceased. 14th. Tliis morning I took the cen- 

 tipede into a dark closet, and breathed on it two or 

 three times, but with no effect. In the evening my 

 breathing on it had the same effect as it had last 

 night. Pirst its whole body became luminous, after 

 a time only its head was lighted up, and at length it 

 showed no light at all. 15th. To-night it again 

 showed it,s light, but not so brightly as heretofore. 

 16th. This evening also the centipede became lumi- 

 nous, but not so brightly even as last night. I think 

 the insect was injured in some way by the roughness 

 of its captor. It appetirs to me to be dying. 20 th. 

 I have not been able to make any observations dur- 

 ing the last few days, and this morning 1 find the 

 centipede is dead." These notes were not made from 

 memory, but at the time, and may therefore be de- 

 pended on. It will be seen that the insect lived in 

 captivity exactly a week. It never showed any dis- 

 position to crawl from the spot on which it lay when 

 first put into the jar, and never moved, I think, 

 except when breathed upon, or otherwise disturbed. 

 This inertness I attribute to its having been injured 

 when it was taken. — John Landels. 



A. ATROPOS, Pupa. — Your correspondent "E. L." 

 may succeed in breeding perfect specimens oiA.atro- 

 pos by placing the pupa in a hat-box containing damp 

 moss, which should be kept moderately warm near 

 a fire. Sphag^mm moss is the best for the purpose, 

 and it should be prepared by baking it, to destroy 

 any insects it may contain. Without sufiicient 

 moisture the moth cannot break through the pupa- 

 case. If not forced in this way, but allowed to 

 remain in the pupa state during the winter, they 

 seldom come to anything in the following year. — H. 

 A. Auld. 



Daylight Aurora.— On Priday, January 5th, 

 about four p.m., I observed a peculiar appearance of 

 the sky in the N.E. It consisted of fine dark rays, 

 or stripes, coming apparently from a centre not far 

 belov.' the horizon. A friend of mine oliscrved a 

 similar appearance on Saturday, the 6th, at the same 

 hour. Have these phenomena any connection with 

 " aurora by daylight," mentioned in your last num- 

 ber ? — Julia Colsoji, Sicauage. 



The Unicorn.— I was much interested in Mr. 

 Kittou's article on medieval science. These histo- 

 rical reflections are useful as indicating the degree 

 of real progress which has been made. If it is not 

 outside your province, I should like to be informed 

 if there is any connection between the unicorn, em- 

 ployed as a supporter of the British arms, and that 

 figured in Mi\ Kittou's paper from the seal of Mar- 

 garet of Scotland ? The latter, it will be remem- 

 bered, was given to illustrate the medieval tradition 

 of how the fabulous animals were caught. — T. E. 



Malvern Naturalists' Club.— The Rev. W. 

 Symonds, P.G.S., who has presided over this elub 

 so admirably for eighteen years, has at length re- 

 tired. The members have sliown their sense of 

 Mr. Symonds' merit by presenting him, after a 

 luncheon given for the purpose, with a splendid 

 silver epcrgnc. To Mrs. Symonds, on the same oc- 

 casion, was presented a capital portrait of her 

 husband. T'he address from the members set forth 



