HA R D WICKE'S S CIENCE- G SSIP. 



279 



that these nephrite implements had been originally 

 brought from Asia by the lake inhabitants as 

 "valuables." 



African Geography. — The latest discovery of 

 Mr. Stanley, that the River Congo is identical with 

 the Lualaba, is one of the most important which has 

 yet been made, for the Lualaba was known to be 

 connected with the immense lake Tanganyika. 

 Mr. Stanley has made his way from that lake down ! 

 the Lualaba, and found the latter to be the Congo. | 



Mid-Silurian Vegetation. — M. de Saporta 

 has recently called attention to a fossil found in 

 [Middle Silurian rocks at Angers, which represents 

 the oldest known land plant. It indicates a large 

 fern, allied to Cydopfcris, which is preserved in iron 

 sulphite. 



Tertiary Man.— In a paper published in the 

 last number of the Geological Magazine, Professor 

 Mantorani discusses this question. He refers chiefly 

 to the antiquity of man as adduced by the discoveries 

 in the valley of the Tiber. The hills around are 

 formed of Pliocene beds, and flint implements have 

 been found in the upper gravels capping these. 



Metals accompanying Iron. — M. Terrell has 

 shown, from numerous analyses made from the 

 principal ores of iron, that this metal, like platinum, 

 is always accompanied in its ores by other metals, 

 among which are manganese, nickel, cobalt, vana- 

 dium, titanium, tungsten, chromium, and copper. 



Extinct Land Saurian. — Prof. Cope has called 

 attention to the teeth of a new species of huge 

 land Saurian, named Palceoctonns Appalachiamts, 

 which inhabited Pennsylvania at an early geological 

 period. This reptile was probably thirty feet long, 

 and had a bulky body, supported by strong and heavy 

 limbs. In point of time it was the oldest of land 

 reptiles, and Prof. Cope thinks it was probably the 

 most formidable, for the character of the teeth indicate 

 carnivorous habits. 



Miocene Animals of the Far West. — Prof. 

 Marsh has described several new species of Edentate 

 animals (the first discovered in that country), from 

 the Lower Pliocene. A species of Rhinoceros has 

 also been found in Eocene beds. Another fossil is 

 intermediate between the Rodents and Ungulates, and 

 is called Allomys. 



The Largest known Saurian. — The American 

 Naturalist gives an account of Prof. Cope's new genus 

 of land Saurians {Camccosaurns siipremus), found 

 near Canyon City, Colorado, and which he says is the 

 largest known. Its size may be gathered from that 

 of one of the Dorsal Vertebrae, which has an expanse 

 of three feet and a half. The former measures over 

 six feet in length. If the cervical series included six 

 vertebrte of the proportions of the one preserved, the 

 neck of the animal must have been ten feet long. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



The Mistletoe. — The various notes on the 

 Mistletoe in the February number of Science- 

 Gossip have suggested to me other notes and queries. 

 Perhaps you will find room for them, as it is always 

 best to strike the iron while it is hot, and to finish 

 one horse-shoe before beginning another. In Norfolk 

 the Mistletoe is very rare ; so much so that I have 

 only seen one specimen within a radius of six or 

 seven miles from Norwich. Consequently, as I en- 

 deavoured to make plain in my former paper, I had to 

 depend on printed records such as came to my hand, 

 for my facts concerning the age of the Mistletoe. 

 Such records are extremely scanty. The relations of 

 plants to time are not often considered. It would be 

 interesting to know when the Mistletoe first appeared 

 in the world, and how long the leaves remain on the 

 branches. The casts of the insertion of mistletoe 

 roots, which I mentioned in my paper as being in the 

 South Kensington Museum, prove that the Mistletoe 

 does occasionally die on its supporting tree. Hew 

 long it is before this occurs does not seem to be 

 known. I remember seeing a note of the disappear- 

 ance by death of a mistletoe plant from an oak (?). 

 It grew on an inaccessible branch quite out of the 

 reach of collectors, and it was observed gradually to 

 diminish, and at last disappear. Unfortunately I 

 cannot lay my hands on the reference. Certainly 

 such cases are, as asserted by Mr. Lees, of rare 

 occun-ence. Mr. Lees's facts prove that the Mistle- 

 toe attains the age of at least forty years. Are there 

 any records of older plants? The relations of the 

 Mistletoe to space have not been mentioned in any of 

 the notes in Science-Gossip. To what size does it 

 grow ? The legend of Baldur seems to prove that it 

 grows large enough to form a small javelin ; but I 

 have seen no direct statements of its size. What are 

 the geographical limits of the Mistletoe, and to what 

 height is it found on mountains? Druidic remains 

 are found, e.g., in Shetland and the Channel Islands, 

 Was Druidic worship carried on there, and if so, 

 whence did they get their Mistletoe ? I believe it 

 does not grow in either of these island groups. Mr. 

 Lees says that the Romans upset the Druidic super- 

 stitions, and that during their sway it was not likely 

 that the Mistletoe would be allowed to be held in 

 much honour. I believe it is generally supposed 

 that the Romans invariably respected the religions 

 of the countries they conquered — witness the re- 

 ligious liberty of the Jews at the time of Christ. It 

 was only after repeated rebellions that the temple 

 was desecrated. If the Romans let the Jews alone, 

 they would be much less likely to trouble themselves 

 about the barbaric Britons. Nevertheless, it is pro- 

 bable that we derive our use of the Mistletoe at 

 Christmas from the northern nations ; for they so 

 thoroughly conquered our British ancestors that it is 

 very unlikely any of their customs have come down 

 to us. Can Mr. Lees give us any more detailed 

 account of the origin of our present customs under 

 the Mistletoe-bough ? It is curious that in England 

 and France this plant has very few names, while in 

 Wales and Germany it has many. All the really 

 English names are variants of Mistltan. In France 

 it seems to be only called " Gui." Now, such well- 

 known plants as the Oak, Ash, and Elm are some- 

 what analogous. Each in English is known by but 

 one name ; probably the case is the same in other 

 languages. On the other hand, less-known but still 

 conspicuous plants, such as the Pansy and the 

 Ground Ivy, have numerous names. May we argue 

 from this the Mistletoe was less generally known and 

 i prized by the Germans and Welsh than by the 



