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BARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



first fixed in the morning ; and the same observation 

 was long since made with respect to bees by^our 

 countryman Dobbs " {Phil: Trans., xlvi. 536).— 6". S. 

 Bonlger. 



Herons and Rooks. — Your correspondent 

 "T. H. Arnold, LL.B.," in your Notes and Queries 

 for December, 1876, asks for information as to the 

 habits of herons, and more particularly if it is the 

 case that herons and rooks seldom build in company. 

 In the fine old woods of Dallam Tower, near Miln- 

 thorpe, Westmoreland, in peaceable neighbourhood, 

 there is a heronry and a rookery. The situation is 

 not far removed from Morecombe Bay, an excellent 

 feeding-ground for the birds. I well remember, many 

 years ago, hearing, at the Kendal Literary Institution, 

 a charmingly written allegory, read by the late Mr. 

 Pearon, of Borderside, Winster, on the fierce struggle 

 which took place between the black-coats and the 

 long-necked'gentlemen, and the ultimate destruction 

 of nests and young by the partisans of each genus, until 

 first a truce, and at length peaceful relations, were 

 established between the rival colonies. Your corre- 

 spondent, by writing to Thomas Gough, Esq., of 

 Sandside, Amside, Westmoreland, will be able to 

 obtain all the information which he seeks on this sub- 

 ject.— >/^;/ Harker, M.D., d-^r. 



Strength of the Stag-beetle. — I had a 

 specimen of the Stag-beetle that lifted nearly three 

 pounds in weight. A boy brought me one a short time 

 since, in a glass tumbler, and I placed it in a strong 

 card box, four inches square, so as to examine it next 

 day. Before going to bed that night, I placed the 

 box, with the beetle in it, on a glass case, and placed 

 a large polished outside slab of madrepore on the 

 box containing the beetle. In the morning the slab 

 I found turned over, and the cover off the box, and 

 the beetle walking about the floor. Can any readers 

 of Science-Gossip inform me if they have noticed 

 any similar instance of strength in the Stag-beetle 

 (Liicaniis cennis) ?—A. J. R. Sclatcr, Tdgnmozith. 



Cause of Coloration. — Mr. A. R. Wallace, 

 of London, having recently delivered two lectures at 

 the Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle- 

 on-Tyne, on "Colours of Animals and Plants," and 

 being a well-known authority on these subjects, I 

 think that a few notes taken at one of these lectures 

 would not^only be interesting to " H. B.," p. 281, 

 but also to the readers of Sciexce-Gossip in general. 

 I shall merely give a few of those which have refer- 

 ence to the questions raised by "H. B." He said it 

 had long been supposed, and was still held by some 

 very high authorities, that heat and light had some 

 direct influence in producing colour ; but many facts 

 were opposed to this idea. Tropical plants and 

 animals, although many were excessively l^rilliant, 

 were not perhaps more brilliant, on the average, than 

 those of temperate climates ; and there were some 

 striking examples of tropical countries, in which the 

 brilliant colours usually pi^esent in tropical countries 

 were entirely wanting. Again, we saw a wonderful 

 difference between different classes of animals ; and 

 whereas birds and insects display immense minuteness 

 and variety of colour, mammalia, on the other hand, 

 are rarely if ever brilliant. Again, the birds of the 

 tropics are only very partially brilliant. It is pro- 

 bable there are more perfectly ])lain, dull-coloured 

 l)irds in the tropics than there are brilliant-coloured ; 

 and those groups of birds which in our country are 

 most prevalent, and which are characterized by the 

 ordinaiy dull colours, where they extend to the 

 tropics, are generally equally dull. On the other 



hand, there are some groups which exhibit their 

 greatest, or an equal brilliancy of beauty, in the 

 temperate zone. Some of the most magnificent birds 

 in the world inhabit the temperate regions of China 

 and the Hinxalayas ; and there are a few in the arctic 

 regions, such as the arctic duck and divers, which are 

 even more brilliant than those of the temperate or 

 tropical zone. With insects and flowers the same 

 thing prevails. In a great many cases colour has 

 no relation whatever 10 light. This was veiy well 

 seen in the general colour of fishes, the colours of the 

 upper sides of which were almost invariably black, 

 while the lower was white ; whereas if the effect were 

 produced by light, the reverse would be the case. 

 Again, the gorgeous colours of the greater part of the 

 brilliant butterflies and birds have no relation what- 

 ever to the general circumstances which surround 

 them ; and in the arctic regions, though the prevail- 

 ing colour is white, yet we find the raven as black as 

 with us. Colour answered the purpose of conceal- 

 ment, and the animals which had not had this pro- 

 tection had been killed off by their enemies. The 

 colour of the blacks is too extensive a subject to enter 

 upon. — Dipto7i Burn. 



Spawn of Newts, &c.— Pardon me if I again 

 revive the discussion concerning the spa%vn, &c., of 

 newts, which occupied so much of your space some 

 time ago. But several of your correspondents appear 

 to be incredulous of my statement {vide Science- 

 Gossip, Dec. I, 1875) that the mother newt does not 

 akvays wrap up her eggs separately in the leaves of 

 some water-plant. In order to set the matter at vest, 

 on the 14th April last I procured a quantity of newt 

 spawn from the same pond as that mentioned before. 

 The spawn ivas not zvrappcd up, nor even covered, 

 but there was mixed up with it a small quantity of a 

 green slimy matter which is often seen floating on 

 stagnant water. That the spawn was that of the 

 newt was evident from the fact that each egg was 

 separate, and not connected into a mass like that of 

 the frog, or in strings like that of the toad. The 

 tadpoles began to hatch out on the same day. I put 

 two of them under my microscope, when I could 

 easily see the blood circulating in the branchije or 

 gills. I noticed that it moved much faster in the 

 smaller than in the larger specimen, and, what is 

 very remarkable, the water in contact with the gills 

 was moving rapidly along, closely following their 

 outline. Can any of your readers tell me by 

 what means it was propelled ? By the 24th April 

 the branchiate gills had entirely disappeared. By the 

 1st of June the front legs were just appearing, but I 

 was unfortunately unable to follow up their develop- 

 ment, for there was a sudden mortality amongst them, 

 and they all died in a very short time. There can be 

 no doubt, however, that they were newt tadpoles, as 

 \he. front legs were then apparent. I think that the 

 reason the newts in this pond do not wrap up their 

 eggs is, that none of the water-plants in it have 

 leaves fit for the purpose, being all of a more or less 

 filiform or threadlike shape. — //. £. Forrest. 



Singular Star-fish. — I have a specimen of a 

 six-armed brittle star, probably Ophiothela mirahilis, 

 which was found entangled in a dried gorgonia from 

 the Pacific Ocean. I should like to learn from .some 

 of your readers how common it is to find six arms 

 amongst normally five-armed ophiuras and star- 

 fishes. 



The Glastonbury Thorn. — A note on this^ 

 subject appears in p. 45. May I ask the favour of 

 your finding room for two more paragraphs on this 



