IIARDWICKK'S SClEx\CE-GOSSlP, 



117 



become a prey to the Geomalacus. Since then I 

 liave introduced more Viiriua^, and a few of the 

 following species : — Zonites glaber, Z. mtidulus, 

 Z. punts, Z. cnjstallbms, two Helix ftisca, two 

 H. caperuta, two H. Jiirsuta, and three Clausilia 

 lamiHat(i,yi\{\\ the following results : all the shells 

 representing the genus Helix are empty, with the 

 shells more or less scraped away and perforated ; all 

 the Vitrina shells are empty, but left perfect ; and 

 some few of the Z. purus and Z. crystallinus are 

 tenantless. The Clausilia and the other two species 

 of Zonites remain untouched. Whether all these 

 may have fallen victims to the rapacity of Geoma- 

 lacus maculosus, may be questionable, but I would 

 suggest that the probable cause of your last 

 month's correspondent from Banbury finding so 

 many of the Vitrina shells empty, might be owing 

 tojthe ravages of the black slug, Arion ater, and its 

 congener the Arion hortemis. Experiments carefully 

 observed would no doubt determine this point. 

 Allow me to say further, that in my experiment 

 with the Geomalacus I added occasionally a piece 

 of carrot, which seemed to suit the taste of this 

 rare Irish slug ; also a dead shell of Succinea pnlris 

 has been nearly eaten away. — Thos. Rogen. 



Does the Moon affect Lunatics ? — Could you 

 inform me in what way the moon affects lunatics ? 

 Having heard that it did, and being unable to find it 

 in any book, I should be glad if you could inform 

 me through Science-Gossip. — R. P. U. 



Sparus.— On the 15th ult. a fisherman of Helford 

 harbour brought to me a Sparus boijps, which he 

 had just caught in a herring-net. It was twelve 

 inches in length and two inches in depth. The 

 silvery gleam of the body and of its yellow stripes 

 was most brilliant ; there were patches as of bur- 

 nished gold in front of the eyes. The first British 

 recorded specimen was caught near the entrance of 

 Ealmouth harbour in J 842, and was brought to my 

 brother, Alfred Pox, who had a coloured drawing 

 of it taken, of which Jonathan Couch published a 

 copy in his valuable book on British fishes. It is 

 a more faithful representation of this beautiful fish 

 than that given by Bloch. Dr. Cocks, of Ealmouth, 

 sent a Boops, caught at a later period (in the same 

 fishing-ground), to the British Museum. I have 

 often seen this fish in the market of Algiers. The 

 Sword-fish is justly esteemed there ; its flesh is, I 

 think, preferable to that of other Scomberidse ; such 

 as the Thunny or Mackerel. It probably swallows 

 the blood and other juices of the fish that it wounds, 

 as it is almost toothless. Its ear-bones must be 

 very minute or rudimentary, as I could not discover 

 any. — C. Fcx. 



The Swokd-fish.— The author of the article 

 "Notes from fliL; South Pacific," in the Leisure 

 Hour for January, has not, in my opinion, " ialleu 

 into error in describing the Saw-fish as the Sword- 

 iish ; "at the same time, I have not seen a sword- 

 fish with the saw-like teeth which are figured in 

 the cuts illustrating his paper. The Saw-fish 

 (Prisiis aniiquorum), length in some instances, 12 to 

 15 feet (a specimen of which is in my posses- 

 sion), is of the Shark family, and has its head pro- 

 longed by a long flat plate, bearing osseous spines 

 inaplanted like teeth on each margin, and resem- 

 bling a saw. The specimen before me measures 34 

 inches in leujrth, and has 26 teeth on each side, each 

 tooth being U inch long. It was found in a river 

 in Demerara. Your correspondent " E. H. H." is 

 certainly right in saying it would be impossible for 



the Saw-fish to penetrate the timbers of vessels with 

 his saw" although it is a powerful weapon to 

 attack whales and other cetaceous animals ; whereas 

 the Sword-fish is a well-known enemy to ships, one 

 of these "swords" being found, some years'ago 

 sticknig to the depth of eighteen inches in the 

 lovyer timbers of Her Majesty's sliip Fawn. The 

 writer in tlie Leisure Hour says the fish he describes 

 has been pronounced "delicious" food bv all who 

 have tasted it ; moreover the flesh of the Saw-fisA is 

 hard and lU-tasted. Upon the whole, it is clear that 

 the hsli described in the Leisure Hour whatever 

 species of sword-fish it may be, is not the Sawfish.— 

 H. Allinuham. 



Fossils. — A correspondent in last month's 

 bciENCE- Gossip asks for information relative to 

 corn-brash and forest marble fossils in the West of 

 England. In answer thereto, I beg to state that in 

 a little work published by Stanford, of Charin» 

 Cross, entitled "Geology of Weymouth and the Isle 

 ot 1 ortland,_ there is a good deal of interesting 

 matter relating to the above, with list of fossils" 

 &c.— 1*. W. 



Ekimstone Butterfly.— There is a variety of 

 this species with orange-coloured patches in the 

 lore wings, which occurs in Prance. Possibly it is 

 a specimen of this variety to which Mr. H. Moore 

 refers in his note in last month's Science-Gossip. 

 A hybrid between two such widely separated species 

 as Gonepteryx Rhanmi and Colias Edusa would be 

 most unlikely to occur.— ffarri/ Leslie. 



A White Brimstone (p. 95). —I scarcely believe 

 Mr. Moore is justified in imagining that the butterfly 

 referred to is a hybrid between G. Rhamni and C. 

 Edusa, since this variety of the Brimstone and the 

 typical form have both been reared from the same 

 batch of eggs. This variety is occasionally met with. 

 In the south of Europe a variety is met witli called 

 G. Cleopatra, in which the orange patches cover 

 nearly the whole of the upper wings.— /T. H. 

 Warner, Kingston, Abingdon. 



Passion-flower.— I liave been told that the pas- 

 sion-flower was used in the early Christian churches 

 as a symbolic reveration of faith, because of the 

 resemblance discovered by some of the Catholic 

 fathers in difi"erent portions of the flower to our 

 Saviour's passion. Thus : the five anthers are the 

 wounds ; the stigmas represent the nails ; the rays 

 of the corona, the crown of thorns ; and the ten 

 parts of the perianth are apostles ; Peter and Juda 

 being absent— the one who betrayed, the other who 

 denied our Lord.— if. E. Watney. 



Starlings.— These birds, like swallows, are 

 migratory birds. In the northern parts of this 

 country, where the winters are severe, the Starling, 

 on the approach of the cold season, wings its flight 

 southward, returnmg to its old haunts about Febru- 

 ary or (if the season be inclement) March. In the 

 south of England, during mild winters, they will 

 often remain. At Charminster, a pretty little Dorset 

 village, we had frequently the Starling all the year 

 round, unless a very severe season set in, and then 

 we missed them for a short time. The country 

 people in Dorset are very fond of starling dumplings; 

 and they are often sold for a shilling a dozen by the 

 labourers. The chief winter food of starlings con- 

 sists of berries of all descriptions ; such as moun- 

 tain ash, haws, and grain. A gentleman of my 

 acquaintance used to make quite a friendship with a 



