142 



HARD WICKKS SCIENCE- G OS SIP. 



mens nearly a foot long, having at least six inches 

 surrounded with bloom. I have not heard of a 

 white variety. The mosses were well represented ; 

 on the moors, by the common club moss {Lycopodiitm 

 clavatnm), called there, "stag's horn moss," and the 

 Alpine club moss (Z. alpiniim) ; and on rocks, 

 boulders, &c. by Dicrannm scoparinm and D. 

 Botijeanni. The peat-bogs and water-holes were 

 full of innumerable water-plants and mosses, most of 

 them unknown to me, forming a carpet of wonderful 

 beauty in pattern and colouring, such a one as only 

 Nature's pencil could design or her brush enliven 

 with its lovely shades of yellow, green, pink, and 

 purple ; truly an enticing seat, but to say the least of 

 it, " just a wee saft." I recognised here the following 

 species of Sphagnum, S. cy7?ibifolinm, S. rigidiim, 

 S. Austmi, and several other specimens I was unable 

 to identify. Parnassus grass {Parnassia palustris), 

 the two cotton grasses {Eriophorum vaginatum and 

 E. polystachu7)i) and the fragrant sweet gale {Myrica 

 gale) wert abundant, greatly adding to the beauty and 

 attractiveness of the spot. In dryer situations, cran- 

 berries [Oxycoccics palustris) and crowberries or crake- 

 berries i^Empetriim nigrum) grew abundantly amidst 

 the heather, the latter in black shining clusters of five 

 or six, or singly along the small-leaved stems, and were 

 quite as conspicuous as their larger-leaved neighbours, 

 indeed, growing as most of these do right down 

 under, the leaves, it is no wonder they so rarely ripen, 

 the average colour being scarlet above and white 

 below, even when ripe they are dry and tasteless, a 

 contrast to the very juicy and not unpleasantly 

 flavoured crowberries ; both, however, are very 

 inferior to the purple bilberry or blayberry ( Vacci- 

 ?iiitm myrtillus) also called blowberry, so plentiful in 

 woods. From a distance perhaps, a Scotch moor 

 does not appear a very promising field for the 

 botanist, but on coming to close quarters, the great 

 wealth and variety of vegetable life is truly astonish- 

 ing, and I feel sure anyone spending even a few 

 hours in studying these moorland wonders, will be 

 amply repaid for so doing. — D. II. S. Stewart. 



GEOLOGY, &C. 



The North-West of England Boulder Com- 

 mittee. — A society under this title has been formed 

 for the study of the glacial phenomena of the North- 

 West of England, North Wales, and the Isle of Man. 

 It has been in existence only two months, but already 

 numbers fifty-two members, amongst whom may be 

 reckoned some of the best-known glacial geologists 

 of the North of England. The society is about to 

 publish shortly a handbook for the guidance of its 

 members in the methods of observing glacial pheno- 

 mena. Meetings are held once a month, and the 

 society is peripatetic, like the British Association. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



A White Toad. — We are accustomed to keep' 

 one or two toads in the greenhouse, for the purpose 

 of keeping off injurious insects. One of these animals 

 was put in about four months ago, and has turned a 

 light yellowish white. The temperature of the house 

 ranges from about 50° to 70° Fahr. Is it the heat 

 that has brought about this curious change ? — IV. H. 

 Styfafig. 



Bats flying in Sunlight. — On April 15th,, 

 1 89 1, I was very much surprised to see a small bat 

 flying about in full daylight. I watched it for some 

 time, and on April iSth I and a friend of mine went 

 to the same field and saw two bats. The sun was 

 shining brightly on both mornings, and both times it 

 was after li a.m. The two were busy when we left, 

 at nearly i p.m. — D. M. Higgins, '93 Wellington- 

 Street, Luton. 



Bats in Daylight. — In answer to Mr. J. E. 

 Taylor's note about bats flying in broadidaylight, I find 

 the following note in my journal, " I witnessed a 

 curious sight on Sunday, February 15th (1891), the day- 

 being bright but cold, on coming out of church just 

 before one, a pair of bats (? species) flying about as if 

 it had been twilight, although as a matter of fact the- 

 sun was shining brightly." This was at Harlington, 

 Middlesex.—//. J. Toipey. 



Society for the S.E. District. — Would any. 

 gentlemen residing in the S.E. district, who are 

 willing to join a small society,' for mutual and practical' 

 study, and field-work send their names and addresses 

 to Mr. L. O. Grocock, 13 Lower Maryon Road,. 

 Charlton, S.E. The subscription would be small, 

 and workers in all branches of Natural History would 

 be welcomed. 



Variations of Colour in Plants. — Among the 

 plants liable to variations of colour I have seen no- 

 mention of Bartzia odontites, white specimens of 

 which are frequent by the roadside at South Weald 

 and Navestock in Essex. The soil is a stiff clay. — 

 Norris F. Davey, Abergavenny. 



Swallows destroying their Young. — The 

 philosopher Kant one day was passing a certain 

 building in his daily walk, and on looking up, he 

 discovered as he fancied that the old birds were 

 actually throwing their young ones out of the nests.. 

 It was a season remarkable for the scarcity of insects, 

 and the birds were apparently sacrificing some of 

 their progeny to save the rest. — III. A. 



Bats in Daylight. — On the 27th April I saw a 

 large bat flying over the river Medvvay between 12. 

 o'clock and i p.m., a warm, but not very bright day, 

 A few days before a little bat was seen by several 

 people flying near the edge of a wood down in the 

 Weald, at midday. Can it be scarcity of insects that 

 brings the bats out at unusual hours ? — -31. E, Pope. 



Early appearance of the Cuckoo. — The 

 cuckoo was heard on the Barmouth Hills on the 

 2Sth of March. Some people say they heard him in 

 the same direction a week before that date. — 3f. E. T.,. 

 Barmouth, N. Wales. 



The Two Sides of the Medal.— It seems to me 

 that a great deal of what Mrs. Bodington remarked 

 on this subject is difficult to controvert. Everybody 

 knows that certain diseases acquired during the life- 



