HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



69 



■ocelli may suggest that it is one of the cobra kind. 

 jVIay be, some of your readers may be able to suggest 

 a better explanation. Anyhow, the thing is curious, 

 and I think worthy of note.— y. R. Holt. 



Hertfordshire Natural History Society. — 

 We have received the May, July, September, and 

 December parts of the Transactions of this well-known 

 society, containing the Anniversary Address by the 

 President Lord Clarendon, on " Field Sports and 

 their bearing on National Character," and the follow- 

 ing original papers — " Seeds and Fruits, their Structure 

 and Migrations," by A. E. Gibbs, "Meteorological 

 Observations," by John Hopkinson ; " Record of 

 Water Level in a Deep Chalk Well at the Grange, St. 

 Albans," by H, G. Ford ham ; "Local Scientific 

 Investigation in Connection with Committee of the 

 British Association," by John Hopkinson ; 

 " Geological Photography in Hertfordshire," by John 

 Hopkinson ; " Some Hertfordshire Well Sections," by 

 Wm. Whitaker ; " Report on the Rainfall in Hert- 

 fordshire in lSS9,"byJohn Hopkinson; " Climato- 

 logical Observations in Hertfordshire in 1S89 ; " 

 *' Half-a-century Rainfall in Hertfordshire ; " " Notes 

 on Birds observed in Hertfordshire in 1889," by 

 George Rooper, «S:c. 



Influence of the Late Severe Winter on 

 Small Birds. — The feathered tribes, especially the 

 insectivorous species, suffered terribly during the in- 

 clement weather of December and January. Hedge 

 accentors, tits, thrushes and blackbirds tried to keep 

 life in their poor little famished bodies by coming 

 round houses and disputing for stray crumbs with the 

 sparrows. The want of food and water seemed to 

 •affect birds more even than the cold. In my out- 

 door aviary where the birds had abundance of food 

 and water to drink, but little special protection against 

 the cold, greenfinches seemed quite indifferent to the 

 weather, but I had a few casualties among the other 

 birds, especially the linnets. On the whole, however, 

 they bore the severe cold very well indeed ; a tame 

 moor-hen I have in an out-door aviary seemed 

 absolutely indifferent to it. — Albert H. Waters, B.A., 

 Cambridge. 



Lovers of Natural History are invited to join the 

 Practical Naturalist's Society. Beginners may join as 

 Associates, Prospectus for stamp from the Secretary, 

 IVilloughby House, Mill Road, Cambridge. 



BOTANY. 



Ornithopus ebracteatus.— Mr. Haydon, in his 

 note about the Cyprus Spurge, which was published 

 in your January number, mentioned that the Ornith- 

 ■cpus ebracteatus was found at Folkestone by a visitor 

 in 1888. As I was fortunate enough to discover it 

 ihere in the same year, perhaps he would kindly let 



me know to whom he refers ; amongst my own books 

 I could find no reference to it, except as growing in 

 the Scilly islands, I therefore sent it to the Secretary 

 of the Natural History Society at Folkestone, but for 

 this and other specimens I have sent him I have had 

 no acknowledgment. I presumed it was not considererl 

 of sufficient value to be mentioned. In future I will 

 record all my findslin your columns as Mr. Haydon 

 suggests. — G. Abbott, Tunbridge Wells. 



Plants Found in the Neighbourhood ok 

 OxsHOTT, Surrey, September 27TH, 1890, — 

 The following is a short general description of the 

 district of Oxshott Heath, Surrey, and a list of plants 

 observed there on the afternoon of September 27th, 

 1890, when the writer formed one of the members of 

 a natural history excursion-party. The plants have 

 all been recorded for the county, and so, scientifically, 

 their present mention is of little value ; but to those 

 among whom this magazine circulates, who are little 

 accustomed to moorland scenery, they may give some 

 idea of flowers likely to occur in such districts. 

 Oxshott Heath is about seventeen miles from the 

 centre of London — I say centre because the 

 metropolis is only too rapidly pushing out one of its 

 arms in that direction, and the speculative builder is 

 busy at work not many miles off. For so near 

 London some of the plants are by no means of 

 frequent occurrence, and the writer would urge upon 

 collectors to gather their specimens with a sparintj 

 band. Nearly all this district is in the Bagshot sand 

 formation ; and close to Oxshott railway station there 

 is a curious sandy knoll or hill of considerable height ; 

 these sand-hills, many of them clad with Scotch fir, 

 are quite a characteristic of this district. The St. 

 George's Hills, near Weybridge, not many miles 

 from Oxshott, are another good example. Although 

 much of the Heath is elevated, covered with ling, 

 furze, and clumps of fir-trees, there are peat-bogs 

 abounding in sphagnum-moss, and in these most of the 

 rarer plants are to be found. The plants noted were 

 as follows : — Ulex nanus, Forst., very abundant on 

 the sandy open parts ; Scabiosa succisa, L., abundant ; 

 Sonchus arvetisis, L., abundant; Calluna vulgaris, 

 Salisb., in large masses, and still in fiill bloom ; Erica 

 Tetralix, L., fairly abundant in the moister parts ; 

 the flowers of some plants were very pale, almost 

 white, in fact. E. cinerea, L., very frequent ; 

 Drosera rotundifolia, L., in fair quantity, growing 

 amongst sphagnum-moss, D. intermedia is known 

 also to occur, but none was noted on this occasion, 

 and it is fortunate for its own sake that it is not easy 

 to find in this locality. Teucrium Scorodonia, L., 

 very common ; Mentha Fulegium, this plant, which 

 is rare elsewhere, was found in considerable quantity 

 in the bog. Scutellaria minor, L., found very 

 sparingly ; Verbena officinalis, L., one patch found by 

 roadside. Nartheciuni ossifragum, Huds. (Lancashire 

 bog-asphodell), in large quantity in the bog, but only 



