Jan. 1, 1S67.] 



HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



17 



to my surprise, and^I must also add disgust, a large 

 black spider [dropped out. Looking at the seat of 

 irritation, I could not observe the mark of auy 

 puncture, but there was a red spot at the part 

 about three-fourths of an inch iu diameter. The 

 irritation was slight and soon went off. It is not 

 always safe to use the post hoc propter hoc argument, 

 but from your late correspondent's description of 

 the poison-gland, I think that conclusion may now 

 be considered correct. — G. A. W. 



Common Tekn (Sterna Hirundo) .—I succeeded in 

 shooting a single specimen of the above bird some 

 short time since in this neighbourhood. With us it 

 is a very rare visitant ; no doubt it was driven out 

 of its course by contrary winds which prevailed at 

 that time. Scores of people were watching it at 

 the time I shot it. — C. Benny, Kelvedon. 



The Baen Owl. — In all old barns a hole may be 

 observed in the angle of the roof, made on purpose 

 to allow of the owls flying in and out. It is not 

 made in the newer barns ; but surely it was more 

 sensible thus to encourage these great destroyers of 

 vermin than to shoot them, as both gamekeepers 

 and farmers now do. — W. B. Tate, Grove Place, 

 Denmark Hill. 



Swallows and the Choleba. — A correspondent 

 whose signature is familiar to the readers of Science 

 Gossip, draws attention to the fact that these birds 

 deserted those districts affected by the fatal scourge, 

 and I venture to suggest a reason for their doing so. 

 Swallows are insect-feeders, and I have noticed 

 that on the appearance of cholera, flies and other 

 insects decrease ; may not this account for the de- 

 parture of the birds ? It was a long time ago, the 

 first advent of cholera that I remember, and persons 

 were far more nervous about it then than they are 

 at present. I was a very little girl, but can well re- 

 collect remarks to the effect that, " the cholera had 

 not reached us, because the flies were as numerous 

 as ever:" it having been observed that in those 

 towns where the plague raged, there was not a fly 

 to be seen. — Helen E. Watney. 



Galls on the Elm. — At a meeting of the En- 

 tomological Society (November 5th), Mr. E. Smith 

 exhibited some large galls formed by Aphides, and 

 found at Deal, on the elm. On the 24th of July 

 last, Mr. R. McLachlan observed numbers of these 

 galls on some elms on the banks of the Thames, 

 near Hampton Court. Each was at, or near, the 

 extremity of a twig. In size they varied from that 

 of a walnut to that of a medium-sized potato, of an 

 irregular shape, green externally, turning to rosy on 

 the side exposed to the sun. They were hollow, 

 and each had a large hole on one side. Internally 

 they were half full of liquid. Mr. McLachlan con- 

 siders that the insect which produces the gall is 

 Schizoneura gallarum-ulmi of De Geer. The account 



from which the above notice is taken will be 

 found in the Entomologists Monthly Magazine, 

 December, 1SG6. Mr. McLachlan is reminded 

 that in Italy and the south of Erance, similar, if not 

 identical, galls are produced on the elm, sometimes 

 as large as the fist, containing a clear water called 

 eau d'orme, which is sweet and viscid, and is recom- 

 mended to wash wounds, contusions, and sore eyes. 

 Towards autumn, when the galls become dry, a 

 residue in the form of a yellow or blackish 

 balsam, called beaume d'ormeau, is found, which is 

 said to be recommended for diseases of the chest. 

 Kirchner (in "Lotos," 1S55, p. 241), calls the 

 insect Schizoneura lanuginosa, Hart., of which Mr. 

 McLachlan's S. gallarum-ulmi is probably a synonym. 

 The same authority states that it has a parasite in a 

 new species of Entedon. — Ed. 



Eine Tench.— I succeeded in capturing a fine 

 tench some short time since, weighing upwards of 

 two pounds and a half, length eighteen inches, 

 girth thirteen and a half inches, and which is now 

 in course of preservation by Mr. H. Rose of Cogges- 

 hall. — G. Benny, Kelvedon. 



Lateness or Martins and Swallows. — These 

 birds stayed with us remarkably late this year, later 

 than I ever knew them to stay before ; up to the 

 14th of November several specimens were observed, 

 I suppose, owing to the mildness of the season. — 

 C. Benny, Kelvedon. 



Bittekn in Nokfolk. — I have a fine female 

 specimen of the Bittern (Ardea Stellaris, Linn.) 

 shot on Barton Broad, Norfolk, 26th November 

 last. As these birds have nearly, if not entirely, 

 become extinct in Norfolk, I think very probably it 

 was blown over from Holland during the gales that 

 prevailed about that time. ' Several beautiful 

 specimens of the Bohemian v Waxwjng > (5o«^i7/a 

 garrulus) have been shot at different jwts of Norfolk 

 during the last three we*eks, at- Cromer, Wroxham, 

 Beestpn, Hickling, Mutford, and other places. 

 Erom the numbers already procured, 7 there must 

 have Heen a very unusual 'flock of them visiting us 

 this w r inter. The extremities of their wings are 

 adorned with waxlike tips of a bright red colour, 

 and varying from two to seven on each wing. The 

 tails in some specimens are slightly tipped in the 

 same manner. Their food here appears to consist 

 of the haws of the whitethorn. It is three years 

 since any number has been noticed here, when about 

 sixteen were shot. — Stephen Wm. Utting. 



Nesting of the Pied Wagtail (Motacilla 

 alba). — Eor some years a pair of Chimney Swal- 

 lows built their nest in an unused chimney ; but 

 three years ago, before their arrival, a pair of 

 Wagtails took possession of it, and, spite of an 

 endeavour to dislodge them, they reared four young 

 ones, and have continued to build in the same 

 chimney ever since. — John Hanson, Linton-on-Ouse. 



