282 



HARDWICKE'S SCIBNCE-GOSSIP. 



Insects on Eerns.— I had my ferns cateu off 

 last yeai- by insects. I asked several I'rieiuls the 

 best way to desti-oy them, but got no satisfactory 

 reply: the same occurred this month, when I pro- 

 cured some Schecle's prussic acid, put it into a cup 

 under the glass case, and, I am glad to say, it has killed 

 them all. I mention this as others may have the 

 same difficulty. The acid being a strongpoison.tliere 

 may be some difficulty in obtaining it ; but any 

 chemist would supply it for you. — Thos. Buck. 



Spenser's "Heknesuaw." — In the seventh canto 

 of the sixth book of Spenser's "Eaerie Quccne " 

 these lines occur : — 



"As when a cast of faulcons make their flight 

 At a Herueshaw, tliat lyes alolt on wing-, 

 Tlie whjles they stiike at him with heedless e might, 

 The wane foule liis bill doth backward wring." 



What bird under the name of " Herueshaw " is 

 here referred to, and what is the origin, of its name ? 

 —H. Hudson. 



Stings of Wasps and Bees. — In Dr. Mills's 

 paper on " Stings and Poison-glands of Bees and 

 Wasps" (Science-Gossip, 1S6S, p. liS), he 

 refers to the method iu which the poison from 

 the bag reaches the sting, passing down a groove 

 between tlic two lancets. Erom a preparation I 

 made the other day of the sting of a wasp, 1 am 

 inclined to think that a tube i-uns along the whole 

 length of the lancet from the poison-bag, with 

 branches to three or four teeth nearest the extre- 

 mity. Can any of your readers throw anv further 

 light on this subject ?— i?. H. N. B. 



The Cambehwell Beauty.— A fine specimen 

 was secured, on the 15th September, so far north 

 as the Eorest of Glen-Tauar, Abojue, Aberdeenshire. 

 — Wilcehe. 



Electrical Excess.— Can any meteoric cause be 

 given for the great amount of electricity which this 

 year has developed in the frequeut thunder-storms 

 which have manifested themselves 'i—T. C. 



Setting Hymenopteua.— Can you or some of 

 your readers kindly inform me which is the best 

 way to kill and set out Hymeuoptera ? — B. 



How AKE Eels Bred ?— Perhaps some of the 

 readers of Science-Gossip will be able to enlighten 

 me on the generation of eels. I have caught them 

 at every season of the year, and never yet met with 

 any sign of ova or spawn in any one, and the 

 question is, are they oviparous or viviparous ? 

 According to the "Naturalist's Cabinet," a work 

 published at the beginning of the present century, 

 they are viviparous, although other writers say the 

 contrary. Tliey appear to migrate to the sea (or 

 rivers at least) at certain times of the year, as large 

 quantities are taken in nets and coops in various 

 parts, when the streams are swollen; but I can 

 never detect any sign of spawn at those times, and 

 again in the spring-time myriads of the "fry," as 

 tbe young eels are called, can be seen winding' their 

 way against the stream in almost every Ijrook or 

 stream throughout the CQ\xntxy.—IIe,inj 'Bennett. 



Peeserving Lizards, &c.— Is there any method 

 of preserving lizards, slow-worms, &c., besides 

 keeping them in spirits ? They are too small for 

 my clumsy hands to stuff, and yet I should like to 

 mount them in cases along with butterflies, &-c. 

 Any help through the medium of Science-Gossip 

 would oblige.— C. Kilminter. 



Dyed Sections op Wood,— Having viewed with 

 much interest some dyed sections of wood under the 

 microscope, would some of the readers of Science- 

 Gossip kindly give me the best 'method of dyeing 

 them?-r. R. 



Whitebait. — In reply to the query (p. 263) on 

 the individuality of whitebait {Clupea alba), I 

 think there is now no doubt of its distinctness. 

 Yarrell is decided on the point ; at least I think, 

 speaking from memory only, he is so. It is, how- 

 ever, quite possible that many of the young fry of 

 the other Clupecs are taken and consumed together 

 with alba. It has been a much-disputed question 

 in its time, the points of difference being so minute. 

 —B.B.Kemp-Welch. 



Phosphorescence (p._3u2). — The appearance 

 described by "A. B. C." is by no means of uncom- 

 mon occurrence. I have frequently observed it, and 

 briefly alluded to it in Science-Gossip some years 

 ago {see vol. v. p. 143). 1 have also recently noticed 

 phosphorescence in walking over peat bogs at night, 

 the light, as iu the former case, only appearing 

 where a disturbance of the wet surface of the bog 

 had taken place, as by tlie pressure of the feet. 

 Disturbance generally seems favourable to the 

 development of the light of this phosphorescent 

 matter, or Nodilncine, as it has been called, from 

 whatever source it originates ; the light of the glow- 

 worm even shining more brightly when the animal 

 is touched, in this case, as also in the hydroid 

 Medusae, perhaps from irritation. The lightning, in 

 the instance mentioned at p. 262, can scarcely have 

 had any connection with the phenomenon; but 

 sometimes it is apparently otherwise, for at the 

 commencement of a storm, after continued fine and 

 calm weather, the whole sea may occasionally be 

 seen to be brilliantly illuminated with sparkling 

 points of light. Here, again, disturbance, and not 

 electrical influence, seems to be the cause of the 

 dev?elopment of the phosphorescent light. The 

 subject is one which might well repay careful in- 

 vestigation, A frequent source of phosphorescence 

 in the sea, the Noctiluca, is figured in Science- 

 Gossip, vol. i, p, 246, — John Ho2')kinson. 



The Young Cuckoo. — One morning in August 

 last, as I was paddling up the river Stour, near 

 Blandford, my attention was directed to the move- 

 ments of a large bird perched on a rail by tlie side 

 of the river. As I came near, I discovered it was a 

 young cuckoo : whilst I waited and watched, I saw 

 a water-wagtail fly down and run along the rail to 

 the cuckoo with some insect in its mouth. As my, 

 curiosity was excited, I watched the bird for some 

 twenty minutes ; and, during that interval I wit- 

 nessed a repetition of the feeding process several 

 times. Every time the wagtail approached the 

 cuckco, it showed its delight by waving its wings 

 and uttering a faint cry of satisfaction. As I ap- 

 proached nearer, both birds flew off to the brancli 

 of a neighbouring tree, whilst the wagtail continued 

 to supply the hunger of the cuckoo as before. — 

 0. II. Bennett, 



lluRAL Natural History. — The inhabitants of 

 Cheshire and the border Welsh counties have 

 another remedy {'{) which they use for the cure of 

 " c/»'«-cough." C'///«-cough, by the way, I have 

 been told, is a name which may yet be found for 

 this distressing malady, in old medical works even. 

 The cure referred to consists in this. The pitient 

 must receive sometliinn — a stick or a stone suffices— 



