258 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



The Golden Eagle {Aquila chri/sdetos).— Ac- 

 cording to the Hants Advertiser of September 25tli, 

 a specimen of this bird was shot at Bowcombe, in 

 the Isle of Wight, in the second week of September, 

 The bird, which had been noticed several times in 

 the locality, was a fine specimen, in good flesh, but 

 was moulting. Outstretched it measured between 

 seven and eight feet from point to point of the 

 "wings, and was 3 feet 1 inch long, and weighed lOi lb. 



The Eeench Association eok the Advance- 

 ment OF Science. — The first meeting of the above 

 association, closely modelled after that of Britain, 

 was held at Bordeaux, from the 5th to the 12th of 

 September, and seems to have been successful and 

 satisfactory. The citizens of Bordeaux lavished 

 their hospitality upon the members, who well de- 

 served this for inaugurating a movement to spread 

 among that nation a knowledge of and love for 

 science, and thus inform and temper their often 

 misleading enthusiasm ; iu the words of M. Quatre- 

 fages, " to renovate our country by the scientific 

 spirit and scientific studies." The meetings were 

 well attended, both by French and foreign savans, 

 though the only two English ones were Professor 

 Odiing and Dr. Gladstone. The Society already 

 numbers SOO members, and its finances are in a 

 flourishing condition. The first general meeting 

 was presided over by M. de Quatrefages (the 

 president-elect for next year), in room of M. Claude 

 Bernard, the state of whose health prevented him 

 from attending. The opening address of M. de 

 Quatrefages, as acting president, was a very stirring 

 and noble one, full of sound sense as to the recent 

 humiliation and present condition of Prance, en- 

 thusiasm towards science, and faith in it as one of 

 the most powerful regenerators of the country. 

 " Science is at present supreme," he said ; " she is 

 becoming more and more the sovei'cign of the 

 world ; " and he believes that it is only when all 

 ranks and classes of the people, rulers and ruled, 

 are thoroughly imbued with the scientific spirit, and 

 are guided by scientific knowledge, that Prance will 

 ever again take and maintain the supreme place in 

 the world which she ought to hold. M. de Quatre- 

 fages concluded with a graceful allusion to "our 

 elder sister, the British Association." 



New Entomological Society.— The entomo- 

 logists in the neighbourhood of Kensington are 

 zealously endeavouring to form an Entomological 

 Society for that end of Loudon. All entomologists 

 desirous of joining or co-operating are requested to 

 address themselves to Mr. W. Wells, 12, Phillimore 

 Terrace, Kensington. 



The Smooth Snake {Coronella la;vis).— K?,l am 

 the person refen-ed to in the letter from W. T. P. 

 W. (p. 239) in your last number, I may mention for 

 his satisfaction that no search has been or is being 



made for specimens of this reptile in this locality. 

 All the captures I have mentioned in the Zoologist 

 have been quite casual. It is, however, quite likely 

 that the rapid spread of buildings in this neigh- 

 bourhood may drive this snake away from Bourne- 

 mouth as a habitat. In reply to W. G. (same page) , 

 he will find a full and excellent description of this 

 snake, together with its various synonyms, in 

 Cooke's "British Reptiles" (Hardwicke), an invalu- 

 able little work in that branch of natural history; 

 The description extracted by Pred. P. Warner 

 (p. 232) is rather vague as to points of difference 

 beween this snake and the other two British snakes, 

 and omits, especially, one striking difference ; viz. 

 the perfect smoothness of all the scales as opposed to 

 the carina, or keel, in all the vipers' scales, and the 

 carination of part of those of the ringed snake. 

 Any one who has been accustomed to seeing the 

 smooth snake Tvould recognize one at a glance, and 

 would not for one instant confound it (I speak of 

 adult specimens) with either of the others ; the 

 markings and conformation of the head being very 

 distinct. I have received a second specimen this 

 summer, taken between this place and Christ- 

 church. — U. B. Kemp Welch. 



BOTANY. 



Singular Scabious. — A short time back I found 

 at Polkestone a singular specimen of ScaLiosa 

 columbaria, a plant very abundant there, nearly all 

 with single stems, but a few branched, generally 

 about eight inches high. The one iu question was 

 fourteen inches, having the ordinary single sessile 

 head at the top, immediately beneath which, and 

 apparently springing out from the bottom or root 

 of the head of flowers, were no less than sixteen 

 other single heads of flowers on stalks three inches 

 and a half long, forming, in fact, a pertect umbel, 

 two of the stalks having each a small head of 

 flowers nearly sessile from about the centre of the 

 stalks. The single head was in fruit, while of all 

 the other heads some were in flower, others not 

 quite so much advanced. Six of the stalks had 

 each two short linear sharp-pointed leaves from a 

 little above the centre of the stalk. Wit,h the plant 

 grew another the same height, and apparently from 

 the same root, with the ordinary head of flowers in 

 fruit. Polkestone is an interesting spot for the 

 botanist ; within a short walk may be found a great 

 variety of plants. The greater part are found close 

 to the walk by the fields between the third Mar- 

 tello tower and the turnpike on the Dover road, 

 and a place called the Warren, close by. At Brighton 

 I last year found three plants of Centaurea solsti- 

 clalis, also a plant that I believed to be Cachris 

 Icevigata ; it was sent to Professor Babiugton to 

 decide, but after pronouncing it to be a continental 



