HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



125 



Briefly let me refer to the land shells so abundant 

 in our lane, and woods, and fields hard by. Not far 

 has one to seek to find a plenitude of helices. 

 Helix aspersa. If. iiemoralis, H. hortensis, H. arbus- 

 torum, H. virgata, H. ericctormn, H. hispida, H. 

 riipestris, and H. lapicida go far towards forming the 

 nucleus of a good collection. In moist weather the 

 smooth-barked beeches bristle with Clausilia lami- 

 nata, and, if less abundant, C. riigosa (C. nigricans) 

 is yet plentiful on the mossy banks and stones. 

 Bulitniis obsairus, too, occurs in company with C. 

 laminata, and pupae abound under fallen logs and 

 stones. Pupa secale, P. timbilicata, P. pygma:a and 

 P. siibstriata may be collected at all times, whilst a 

 search of damp moss and stones will soon reveal 

 Zonites nitididus, Z. radiatiilns, Z. excavahis, Z. 

 nitidus, Z. crystallimis, and Z. cellarius. Nor will 

 the searcher go unrewarded if he seeks for Balea 

 fragilis, Ziia hibrica, and Azeca tridetis. Slug collec- 

 tors would doubtless discover many varieties. I 

 have once turned up in our garden Testacella 

 haliotoidea. 



It would be a profitless labour to enumerate a 

 tithe of the plants which flourish in and about our 

 lane. So diversified with hill and dale are these rich 



Fig. 8g. — Helix virgata. 



woodlands, that, 'twere remarkable indeed if a 

 wonderful variety could not be found. Not botanist 

 enough am I to say if many great rarities may be 

 discovered, but may yet venture to predict that the 

 diligent collector cannot fail to add many an un- 

 familiar one to his store. The meadow saff"ron 

 flourishes in our orchard, the lesser periwinkle 

 ( Vinca minor) carpets the ground over large areas 

 beneath the trees in the beech wood at the top of 

 our lane, where, also, I have found in abundance the 

 bee orchis {Orphrys apifera), the butterfly orchis 

 {Habenaria bifolia), and a host of others. The 

 moneywort {Lysimachia nnmmidaria), is fairly plen- 

 tiful in some places, and if, bearing away from our 

 lane, we descend to the lowest parts of the beech and 

 larch woods, we shall quickly find the spurge laurel 

 {Daphne laureola). A wealth of smaller plants 

 clothe our banks with beauty. 



The mistletoe {Viscum a/bum) is very abundant, 

 and is to be found growing upon apple-trees in many 

 an old orchard hereabout. Nor is our floral display 

 confined to the plants beneath our feet, for from 

 the time the hazel hangs out its tasselled catkins, and 

 the yew expands its flowers, until the late lime {Tilia 

 Europiza) perfumes the air with its delicious odour, 

 we have a succession of bloom. Haw- and black- 



thorns, sycamore, mountain ash, horse chestnut, ash, 

 elm, holly, box, birch, beech and crab. Do not the 

 orchards, too, spread out their treasures to catch the 

 genial sun-rays ? I know no greater delight than, 

 when the pink-tipped apple-blossoms are fully ex- 

 panded, to wander 'neath their flowery shade, and, 

 meanwhile, drink in with ecstasy the sweet concert 

 of woodland music poured from a hundred tiny 

 throats ; at such moments one feels that every sense is 

 steeped in innocent delight, and sadly out of 

 harmony with nature must be his soul who cannot 

 find refreshment in communion with her in these her 

 happiest moods. 



The transition from the overshadowing beech to 

 the humble moss, that garnishes its gnarled roots with 

 beauty, may seem a somewhat sudden one ; far less, 

 however, than might at first appear, for are they not 

 friends, from earliest life associate and interdepen- 

 dent? 'Twere needless to tell how lavishly these 

 humble members of the vegetable kingdom have been 

 spread o'er earth, and twig, and stone, and the mus- 

 cologist will in our lane and woods find an Eldorado. 



Nor will the fungologist fare less pleasantly, for a 

 profusion of curious forms spring up on every side. 

 Very brilliantly coloured specimens, too, are some. 



Fig. 90. — Helix laficidia. 



One has a bright scarlet pileus, studded with small 

 golden knobs ; this I take to be the Amanita f?tuscaria 

 of the fungologist. Many another bright-coloured 

 "toadstool" of graceful form have I come across in 

 my autumnal rambles through the woods ; though 

 evanescent their beauty, they yet afford the naturalist 

 much more than a moment's joy, nor run in vain is 

 their short-lived course. 



Not yet exhausted are the attractions of our lane — 

 nevertheless, no longer are things animate my 

 pleasant theme. Things inert — the veriest shadows 

 of things that were, but are no longer — these must be 

 the subject of my closing remarks — the remains of 

 creatures that once enjoyed their short day of life — 

 then perished to make room for others, and leave 

 behind a record of times remote, when man — earth's 

 youngest born — was a creature in the far, far distant 

 future. 



Could some marvellously facile pen unfold the story 

 of their life, 'twould be a wondrous one indeed, but 

 we must be content to read it in the vestiges which 

 crowd the rocks beneath our feet. Our lane and all 

 the surrounding district is situated upon the formation 

 known as the Upper Oolite, one rich in fossil remains, 

 which may generally be readily extracted from the 

 matrix. Sea urchins and pentacrinites, and univalve 



