HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G SSIP, 



23 



cretion in a Yorcdale Sand Quarry," by Dr. Hind ; 

 " Manufacture of Serpentine in Nature's Laboratory," 

 by Gen McMahon ; "A New Species of Capulus," 

 by Professor Boulger ; " An Erosion near Stirling," 

 by H, W. Monckton ; "The Auriferous Series of 

 Nova Scotia," by Geoffry F. Monckton ; " The 

 Pebley Beds on and near the Addington Hills, 

 Surrey," by H. M. Klaasseu ; and " Pleistocene Sec- 

 tions in and near London," by W. F. Leevis Abbott. 



A Huge Gold Nugget. — At a recent meeting of 

 the Geological Society, a model of the largest gold 

 nugget yet found in Western Australia, known as the 

 "Little Hero," weighing 330 oz. S dwts., found at 

 Shaw's Fall, 200 miles from Roebourne, and So from 

 Nullagine, at a depth of 8 inches, was exhibited by 

 Mr. Harry Page Woodward, F.G.S. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



The Colouring of Birds' Eggs.— Seeing Mr. 

 Hewett's note on colouring of birds' eggs, though he 

 especially wishes to hear from collectors about guille- 

 mots' and razorbills' eggs, I hope my note will not be 

 out of place. In the April issue I sent a letter on a 

 few varieties I had in my collection, and seeing this 

 interesting subject has started again I hope to see 

 other collectors give notes of their varieties, which 

 will be very interesting. In looking over my collec- 

 tion I find three interesting varieties of the lapwing's 

 egg ; one a cream colour closely marked at the thick 

 end with jet-black streaks which are very small, 

 another one of a grey or stone colour with faint 

 blotches of light-brown all over. Both specimens are 

 of usual size, but nearer white than the typical colour, 

 and both taken from different nests with full clutch of 

 four. The other specimen is in size and colour similar 

 to the black tern, if any difference a little darker, but 

 really if it had been found in a nest by itself near a 

 locality where the black tern breeds it would, I fear, 

 have been put amongst the rest under the above name. 

 It also was found in a nest with other three, making 

 the usual number found in the lapwing's nest. — 

 W. D. Rae. 



Small-end Colouring of Sea-eirds' Eggs. — 

 Referring to the notes and observations on this subject 

 which have recently appeared in Science-Gossip, I 

 have looked through my collection of over a hundred 

 beautiful and interesting varieties of guillemot's eggs, 

 and find that I have three specimens which are 

 thickly marked at the points or small ends and very 

 sparingly on the other portions. The first is of an 

 almost white ground colour, with a blotch of black on 

 the small end, which extends about an inch from the 

 point all round the egg. There are also a few spots 

 of black scattered over the other part of the egg. 

 The ground colour of another is of a bluish tinge, with 

 a dark zone of different shades of brown and black 

 round the small end and speckled with the same 

 colours on the other part. A third, the ground 

 colour of which is not uniform ; part of it is of a 

 decidedly blue hue and the remainder of a bluish 

 green ; this egg has a zone of black round the small 

 end. I may mention that I have obtained these 

 varieties in a casual way, never having made a point 

 of procuring " small end " marked specimens. If I 

 have the opportunity next season I will note how 

 many I see at the cliffs and in the climbers' 

 possession of eggs so marked. — E. G. Potter, York. 



The following flowers have been found in bloom' 

 here in December : corn buttercup, hawkweed picris, 

 red campion, comnKjn daisy, common mallow, red 

 clover, procumbent speedwell, dark blue speedwell, 

 common feverfew, furze, common nipplewort, creep- • 

 ing cinquefoil, common yarrow, lesser periwinkle, 

 hedge woundwort, creeping crowfoot, upright meadow 

 crowfoot, garlic, black horehound, common chick- 

 weed, yellow bedstraw, red dead-nettle, and ground- 

 sel. — H. G. Ward, Nortkmarston. 



Natural History in January.— January is by 

 no means a dull month in the calendar of nature, for 

 many birds commence singing this month. The 

 song-thrush sings sweetly from the top of some tall 

 tree, while the skylarks are singing joyously over- 

 head. The hedge-sparrow, robin, and great-tit all 

 charm us with their music, and sometimes, too, if the 

 weather is mild, we may hear the long-drawn but 

 pleasant notes of the chaffinch. In the gardens, 

 snowdrops, primroses, garden daisies (red and white), 

 hepaticas (red and blue), gillies, the yellow globe 

 flower, and red and brown oxlips may be found in 

 flower this month. In the corn-fields and meadows 

 we may find red dead-nettle, procumbent speedwell, 

 groundsel, pansy, shepherd's purse, dandelion, white 

 dead-nettle, chickweed, and a few daisies. The bat 

 comes stealing out in the dusk of evening as the days 

 get longer. The fieldfares, redwings and starlings 

 frequent the meadows in large flocks, and in mild 

 weather, when the ground is moist, they find an 

 abundance of food. — //. G. ]Vard. 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



To Correspondents and Exchangers. — As we now 

 publish Science-Gossip earlier than formerly, we cannot un- 

 dertake to insert in the following number any communications 

 which reach us later than the 8th of the previous month. 



To Anonymous Querists. — We must adhere to our rule q1' 

 not noticing queries which do not bear the writers' names. 



To Dealers and Others. — We are always glad to treat 

 dealers in natural history objects on the same fair and genera! 

 ground as amateurs, in so far as the "exchanges" offered are fair 

 exchanges. But it is evident that, when their offers are simply 

 Disguised Advertisements, for the purpose of evading the cost 

 of advertising, an advantage is taken oi onx gratuitous insertion 

 of " exchanges," which cannot be tolerated. 



We request that all exchanges may be signed with name (or 

 initials) and full address at the end. 



Special Note. — There is a tendency on the part of some 

 exchangers to send more than one per month. We only allow 

 this in the case of writers of papers. 



To OUR Recent Exchangers. — We are willing and helpful 

 to our genuine naturalists, but we cannot further allow dis- 

 guised Exchanges like those which now come to us from 

 Devonshire to appear unle=s as advertisements. 



J. Capell. — The shells you sent are all rightly named 

 except No. 2, which is Planorbis carinatus, not P. vivipara — 

 the latter is very much larger. The fungus on leaf of sweet 

 William is Puccinia lychiiidearu-in. 



T. S. A. — Get Dr. Cooke's recently published work on 

 " British Freshwater Algse," price ^s. — one of the International 

 Scientific Series. 



A. T. — Richard Jefferies's books can be obtained of Messrs. 

 Chatto and Windiis. 



R. S. — There is a capital little hand-book to the geology oi 

 Derbyshire, by the Rev. J. Mello, with geological map. Apply 

 to some Derbj' bookseller. 



P. F.— Yes, the " Yoimg Collector" series is both cheap, 

 well got-up, and trustworthy. You cannot do better. 



EXCHANGES. 



Wanted, an injecting syringe and a Valentin's knife. — 

 H. P., 103 Camden Street, London, N.W. 



Offered, i golden-crested wren, 2 bullfinches, 2 chaffinches, 

 2 moorhens, 2 magpies, 1 long-tailed tit, all side-blown, one 

 hole, in exchange for i coot, i common heron, i wild duck, 

 I partridge. Will exchange singly. — C. D. Heginbothom, 

 Patwell House, Bruton, Somerset. 



