258' 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[[[Nov. 1, 1867. 



stopped awhile after it had been disturbed. These 

 actions continued all that evening, but the next day 

 not observing any movement, I concluded it was 

 dead (though I afterwards learnt that it had been 

 seen to move on that day), and the evening of the 

 day following, still finding no signs of life, I opened 

 it, and, as anticipated, found it was tenanted by a 

 larva, which, contrary to expectation, was alive. It 

 was a whitish maggot, with a small yellowish scaly 

 head, the body bent into a semicircle, and the tail 

 end slightly flattened. It had no legs, but the shining 

 skin was deeply corrugated, or thrown into folds, 

 which appeared to serve in some degree as limbs ; a 

 very few hairs could be detected on the body. The 

 movements when extracted from the case, though 

 pretty vigorous, had nothing of a leaping character, 

 and consisted in twisting about in a helpless 

 manner. As the walls of the case were thin and 

 shewed little material left for food, it would appear 

 that the larva was near its change. That any living 

 thing entirely enclosed in a rigid box or envelope as 

 this appeared to be, should be able to "jump " the 

 said box from one spot to another as easily as a 

 boy jumps in a sack, is not a little marvellous. The 

 oscillating or rolling motion is more easily explained, 

 as the mere shifting of the centre of gravity in a 

 body with a round or cylindrical (in this case rather 

 conical) exterior would be likely to cause the whole 

 to change place. Possibly the envelope being thin, 

 might be somewhat elastic, and capable of trans- 

 mitting the force of the blows given from within, 

 otherwise it would remind one of the accounts 

 sometimes related of coffins being found upright, 

 supposed to be so placed by the struggles of the 

 wretched inmate buried alive — a feat of strength 

 that would defy the efforts of the greatest athlete 

 the world ever saw. — G. Guyon, Ventnor, Isle of 

 Wight. 



Boletus cyanescens. — On the 17th September 

 this extremely rare and beautiful species of Boletus 

 was growing in comparative abundance on the 

 grassy banks near the north gate of Richmond Park. 

 It grew in batches of all sizes, under oaks. In the 

 immediate neighbourhood, also under oaks, I came 

 upon a considerable colony of B. piperatus, a lovely 

 fungus, but possessing fearful pungency. B.felleus 

 also occurred under the same trees. — IF. G. Smith. 



Boletus impolitus, Fn. — Surely your corre- 

 spondent "H. B. " is in error regarding this ex- 

 cellent Boletus. I know it well ; it is pleasant and 

 mild when raw, and nutty, crisp, aud most delicious 

 when cooked ; in fact I consider it preferable to 

 Boletus edulis. Its comparative rarity was the only 

 cause of its omission in the sheets published by 

 Mr. Hardwicke. Has " II. B." mistaken the bitter 

 and disagreeable Boletus felleus, for Boletus im- 

 politus? They resemble each other to a certain 



degree, the former" (as' far as my" experience goes) is 

 much the commoner of the two. Boletus impolitus 

 is one of the best of all our fungi. — W. G, S. 



Pkimary Colours.— Having noticed in this 

 month's number of Science-Gossip a record of the 

 blue pimpernel having been found near llfracombe, 

 I would remark that (in this spot at least) it seems 

 to be more than usually common this season, oc- 

 curring almost as plentifully as the red variety. I 

 was led to notice this from a conversation I had 

 with a friend a short time since, on the limited 

 number of plants which produce flowers of the three 

 primary colours. The pimpernel is certainly one 

 of the few that does so. The anemone is another ; 

 the red and blue being well known, and the yellow 

 I have found growing in the Pyrenees. If any of 

 the readers of Science-Gossip would kindly mention 

 any other class of plants possessing the same 

 properties, I think the subject might prove of 

 interest. — /. W. 31., Cawston Rectory, Norwich. 



Yellow Violets.— Pliny mentions yellow violets, 

 so they were known in the time of the author of the 

 " Historia Naturalis ;" and there are several 

 members of the order Violacese bearing yellow 

 flowers found in America. I imagine the par- 

 ticular plant mentioned by Mr. " Edward H. 

 Robertson " in Science-Gossip must be the Viola 

 biflora of the Swiss Alps. I am a great admirer 

 of the American violets ; but they must be grown 

 in peat mould, and some of them would, I should 

 say, require greenhouse culture in this country. 

 Muhlenberg's violet, with its large, pale-blue violets 

 on long peduncles, is very lovely. — Helen G. 

 Watney. 



Hampshire Lycopod (see p. 209). — The 

 Gardeners' Chronicle of September 2S again 

 alludes to this plant, and states, on the authority 

 of Mr. Lloyd, that it is certainly Lycopodium 

 alpinum. Mr. Lloyd maintains that Lycopoilir, 

 alpinum has not been correctly described as to its 

 habit of growth, a repent above-ground stem being 

 attributed to it ; and this opinion he supports by 

 specimens of the Welsh plant still growing in the 

 sod of earth, in which a subterranean rhizome is 

 distinctly evident. It is therefore clear that, in 

 addition to a stem threading its way on the surface, 

 amongst the surrounding herbage this Alpine 

 Lycopod does also produce a true underground 

 stem, in which it agrees with the Hampshire 

 plant. 



Linn.ea borealis in YORKSHIRE. — The Scar- 

 borough Mercury of August 24 states that Linneea 

 borealis " has been discovered in a wood on the 

 moors in the neighbourhood of Scarborough," where 

 it was found by Mr. John Tissiman of that town. 

 -B. 



