HARD WI CKE 'S S CIENCE - G SSI P. 



^39 



Skate and Dog Fish. — 1 have no doubt but 

 that your correspondent " N. T. " will be able to 

 obtain all the information he seeks on the above 

 subjects from the courteous manager of the Brighton 

 Aquarium, although I certainly do not remember 

 having ever seen any published record of the number 

 of eggs produced by the skate. The dog fish pro- 

 duces its young alive, and they are often seen 

 swimming with the yolk-bag, or case, attached to 

 them : so says an American authority on the subject, 

 the same writer who states that the eggs of skates 

 are found to be of different sizes and various degrees 

 of development in the ovary ; therefore he is of 

 opinion that it is probable several years are required 

 for their maturity. The young of the smooth ray 

 found on the northern coast of America are produced 

 twice a year — in spring and autumn.— iTL'/tv; E. 

 IVatney. 



Double Orange. — Twice lately, opening an 

 orange, I found in its centre another orange, perfectly 

 formed, only pipless and rindless — two whorls of 

 carpels combining to form one fruit, the inner con- 

 solidated into a central orange and the outer whorl 

 growing over it. — C. M. V. 



The Squirrel. — A short time ago I saw a squirrel 

 creeping from spray to spray in a cherry-tree, which 

 was in full bloom. Curious to know his business, I 

 got as near as possible without being observed by 

 him, when I discovered it was feeding on the ovaiy 

 and dropping the petals to the ground, which was 

 strewed with hundreds of petals. The sepals, petals, 

 and stamens on some boughs were entirely stripped 

 of flowers in a few seconds. — yohn Onions, Dymock. 



Development of the Newt. — Your corre- 

 spondent H. E. Fon-est, in the April number of your 

 journal, makes^ome statements which seem to me to 

 deserve attention, respecting the early stages of deve- 

 lopment of the common newt. Every observant 

 aquarium naturalist is well aware that the ova of the 

 newt are not always enfolded by leaves, but this is an 

 imnatural method, and is resorted to only where 

 proper — i. e. pliable — leaves are not accessible. 

 Whether they ever come to maturity under these 

 exceptional circumstances is an interesting point to 

 decide. H. E. F. states that they do ; but in de- 

 scribing their development he makes some statements 

 which cast a doubt upon the accuracy of his observa- 

 tions. " By the 24th of April, " he says, "branchiate 

 gills had disappeared, and five weeks later the front 

 limbs appeared." Now the branchice of the newt 

 persist long after the creature (though not full grown) 

 is fully developed, while the gills of the frog-tadpole 

 are absorbed before the limbs appear. If they were 

 newt-tadpoles the rapid absorption of the branchiae 

 was an unnatural circumstance, and if they were frog- 

 tadpoles, as the rapid absorption would seem to show, 

 the primary development of the thoracic limbs is con- 

 trary to the usual metamorphosis of ranidjc. Taken 

 either way, it will be seen H. E. F.'s statements do 

 not agree with well-established observations. — 

 Edward E. Prince. 



Sparrow-hawk and Canary. — A short time 

 since two ladies were seated in the house of Mr. 

 Burton, Habergham, near Padiham, Lancashire, 

 when they were startled by the sudden smashing of 

 one of the window-panes (14 in. by 10 in.) by a 

 female sparrow-hawk, in endeavouring to obtain a 

 canary which was in a cage between the curtains, 

 three feet from the window. It was stunned by the 

 concussion, and fell to the bottom of the window, 

 where it was caught, not before making several 

 attempts to bite its captor, Mr. D. Mitchell, who has 

 stuffed and mounted it for Mr. Burton. — W. Wilcox. 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



To Correspondents and Exchangers. — As we now 

 publish Science-Gossip at least a week earlier than hereto 

 fore, we cannot possibly insert in the following number any 

 communications which reach us later than the £th of the 

 previous month. 



W. Ratcliffe.— Slide No. 1062 contains : DrapaniaMia 

 glomcrata ; 1098, Protococcus nivalis ; and iioi, H<eiiiatococcns 

 vulgaris. The only standard work on the " British Fresh 

 Water Algje," is Hassell's, published in 1845 ; on Desmids, 

 " RalPs British Desmidise," 1848. Both are now rare and expen- 

 sive. " Bisse.v," we should imagine, is a mistake. 



Will the lady or gentleman who sent me Mytilus cdiilis for 

 " Scotch Anoiions" hereby accept my thanks, as I have unfor- 

 tunately mislaid the address.— CJ. S. T. 



W._ E. Legge. — The larger of your exceedingly well-painted 

 egg is that of the Lapwing or Green FXoveLT {yanc/his cris- 

 tatus). The smaller is that of the Goldfinch {Carihiclis 

 clcgans). 



W. H. Harris.— Thsnks for the well-cut slides of Coal 

 Plants. There is no doubt, we think, that the tissue is that of 

 Sigillaria. See Prof Williamson's paper, published in Trans- 

 actions of the Royal Society, on Carboniferous Plants. 



W. A. F.— The name on your slide (Spicules of Gorgonia 

 fiagellitiit) is correct. 



W. HowcHiN. — Your fossils are as follow : — No. i. Prodiccta 

 semircticiilata. 2. Spirifer rotnndata. 3. Spirifcr striata. 

 4. (Absent.) 5. A young specimen of Orthis, perhaps resu. 

 pinata. Always send entire specimens of fossils to be named, 

 if possible. We cannot undertake to correctly name fragments. 



H. M. D. — No. I specimen is the Fir Club-Moss {Lycopodium 

 selagd). No. 2 is the common Club-Moss {Lycopoditim clava- 

 tuni). 



J._ Woodgate. — Many thanks for Actinocarpus Damo- 

 soitiitiii. 



F. W. B. N. — Many thanks for your valuable hints. 



J. H. — You will find no difficulty in getting your fossils 

 named at the Edinburgh Museum, where one of our best 

 palaeontologists is engaged. 



J. A. Flovd.— Get Nicholson's " Manual of Palaeontology," 

 price 15s., published by W. Blackwood & Sons. 



CoNus.— Woodward's " Recent and Fossil Shells" is one of 

 the best books we have on the subject. For British Seas, Gwyn 

 Jeffrey's " British Conchology," in five volumes. Chenu's 

 " Manuel de Conchyliologie" is one of the best in Europe. It is 

 in French, but the woodcuts are the most exquisite we have 

 ever seen. Damon, of Weymouth, is one of our chief dealers 

 in Conchology. 



G. V. Green (Ashby-de-la-Zouch). — Your fungi ought to 

 have been wrapped up separately in oiled silk. They had 

 deliquesced in the tin box, and reached us in a state of semi- 

 catsup— not an uncommon condition ! 



Mrs. E. C. R. (Somerton). — All that we have received from 

 you is a part of a cover marked, " Found at Taunton, without 

 contents." 



R. G. C. — Get Newman's " Butterflies and Moths," pub- 

 lished by Hardwicke & Bogue, ig2, Piccadilly, London. It 

 contains figures of every species, and full descriptions. Vul- 

 canite is the best material out of which to make pipes and 

 valves for the aquarium. 



E. Howell. — The stone you sent us is not " Meteoric," but 

 the half of a nodule of iron p^'rites (Ferric sulphite). These 

 nodules are common in the Lower Chalk, and are often found 

 on the surface, having been removed by denudation. 



Z. Y. X. — The bivalve shell enclosed was Cycias corneas 

 (young specimen). The other specimen was a species oi Pupa. 



A. M. G. — From your description and sketch we should 

 imagine the " curious cells " you speak of are those of one of 

 the Mason Bees (Osinia). 



D. J. Stuart. — The eggs in the caterpillar are those of a 

 species of Ichneumon. They have developed since you sent 

 the specimens. Most caterpillars are liable to be the victims 

 of the larvse of certain ichneumons. 



A, Harkeh. — Your shells are — i, Pliolas ca7tdida ; 2, Pholas 

 crispata ; and 3, Artemis exolcta. 



J. Horner. — From your description we are inclined to 

 believe that the "jelly-like deposits scattered" in the yard are 

 Nostoc, one of the algae, perhaps Nostoc commune, which 

 frequently makes its appearance thus. They certainly are not 

 a " descent of Sponge gemmules." 



W. E. HAMBORoaGH. — We are afraid we cannot help you 

 in identifying the Moth from the imperfect description of the 

 caterpillar. There will be no help but to wait till the moth 

 emerges. 



C. Wild. — The general description of the caterpillar answers 

 in many respects to that of the Elephant Hawk Moth {Cluero- 

 campa elpenor). 



