40 



HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Feb. 1, 1867. 



our houses. As these little martins,- with, all the 

 swallow tribe, are insectivorous, they were no doubt 

 collecting the exuviae of the Trepang, not for food, 

 but as the material wherewith to construct their 

 nests, the slime being moist and plastic, when first 

 thrown off, and hardening into a kind of dry isin- 

 glass when put into shape by the bird. — H. Kelsall, 

 M.1). 



An Eagle in Hylands Park. — On Thursday, 

 au eagle made its appearance in Hylands Park, 

 causing great consternation among the rooks and 

 other birds. It was seen again the next day, and 

 was observed to leave the ice-house clump. The 

 keepers, expecting the rare visitor to roost in the 

 high trees of the clump, posted themselves with 

 guns towards dusk on each side of the ice-house, 

 and had scarcely taken up their position when he 

 came soaring over, and was knocked down by one 

 of the keepers, and, with some difficulty, secured 

 alive. It proves to be a white-tailed, or cinereous 

 eagle {Halieetus albicilla). It is a bird of this 

 year in fine plumage, and measures 7 feet across the 

 wings. On the 11th it was alive and likely to re- 

 cover from its wound, which appears to be only in 

 the wing. I should like to know if this species is 

 common on the Eastern coast. — H. Wiglesworth. 



Nest of the Trapdoor Spider. — New-comers 

 into the country which the Trapdoor Spider inhabits 

 are often surprised by seeing the ground open, a 

 little lid lifted up, and a rather formidable spicier 

 peer about, as if to reconnoitre the position before 

 leaving its fortress. At the least movement on the 

 part of the spectator, back pops the spider, like the 

 cuckoo on a clock, clapping its little door after it 

 quite as smartly as the wooden bird, and in most 

 cases succeeds in evading the search of the astonished 

 observer, the soil being apparently unbroken, without 

 a trace of the curious little door that had been so 

 quickly shut. — Eev..J. G. Wood's "Homes without 

 Hands." 



Torpidity of the Snail. — The following in- 

 stance of prolonged torpidity in Helix nemoralis is 

 so remarkable that I think it worth putting on 

 record. In August, 1863, 1 was staying for a few 

 weeks at Swanage, in Dorsetshire, and in one of my 

 walks on the road between Swanage and Studland, 

 I picked up some very pretty specimens of this 

 species. These I put into a chip box and brought 

 home, placing them in a drawer of my cabinet, 

 where they were forgotten until about a fortnight 

 since. On opening the box I found them dead, the 

 bodies being dried up and shrivelled, in some in- 

 stances having fallen out into the box, in others 

 remaining in the mouth of the shells. I picked out 

 all these, and placed the empty shells in my cabinet. 

 Having occasion to look at them yesterday 

 (Nov. 28th, 1866), I saw, to my intense surprise, a 



black head and a pair of horns protruding from one 

 of the shells which I had supposed to be empty. 

 Presently the animal entirely emerged, and walked 

 about in as lively a manner as when first picked up. 

 The ordinary period of their torpidity is, I believe, 

 about six or seven months, but I am aware of an 

 instance in which a supposed empty shell had been 

 glued down to a block in one of the table cases in 

 the British Museum for two years, when the unsus- 

 pected tenant made its appearance. Put my pri- 

 soner had never been removed from the box in 

 which it had been first placed for three years and a 

 quarter ! Is not this a remarkable instance, or 

 have any of the readers of Science Gossip known 

 it to be exceeded ? — W. J. Sterland. 



The Poisonous Spider of Russia. — We have 

 received the following account of a poisonous black 

 spider, which has of late years made its appearance 

 in Eussia. We are indebted for the information to 

 a traveller, who passed the greater part of last year 

 in the province of Berdiausk. The appearance of 

 this insect amongst the wheat at harvest time, 

 created for a few clays a panic among the labouring 

 classes, and, indeed, one of so threatening a cha- 

 racter, that wages rose to double their ordinary 

 rate, and it was with difficulty that the labourers 

 could be induced to work. More than 300 persons 

 were bitten by this venomous insect, but only three 

 cases are reported to have proved fatal, and these 

 deaths, it is supposed, are not to be attributed 

 solely to the bite of the spider. Fortunately, this 

 visitation was restricted to one part of the town 

 lands, otherwise the consequences might have been 

 very serious. The bite of this insect was indicated 

 by a hard, white spot. The first symptoms ex- 

 perienced were alternate violent heat and cold, 

 shortness of breath, bordering on suffocation, and 

 increased pulsation of the heart, and pains in the 

 chest and back, then weakness in the legs, and 

 dizziness in the head. After a few hours these 

 symptoms diminished, and in two days the patient 

 was able to resume his work. The general remedy 

 employed was to cup the poisoned part, and liberally 

 wash it with cold water. Some cauterized the 

 place ; but this remedy was not so efficacious, and 

 it created besides a fresh wound. The first time 

 this spider was seen at Berdiansk, was in 1861 ; but 

 a very few persons were bitten by it. Last year, 

 however, it increased to a most alarming extent. It 

 was remarked that the spider was very active in 

 killing locusts, on which it seemed principally to 

 feed, and it was only when disturbed that it stung 

 persons. The majority of the persons bitten did 

 not know the cause of their illness, and it was only 

 the same symptoms in each case that proved it to 

 be the sting of the spider. This poisonous insect 

 has again visited Russia this year, but we under- 

 stand it has done but little mischief. — Technologist. 



