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HARD WICKE ' £ S CLE NCE-GO SSI P. 



plant concerned in alcoholic fermentation ? I thought 

 M. Pasteur proved that the pure juice of the grape 

 has no power to ferment of itself ; and when he saw 

 this he set to look for the cause of the fermentation, 

 and found it in the small microscopic particles which 

 stick to the outside of the berries, and even on the 

 twigs of the vine. I shall feel greatly obliged to any 

 of the readers of Science-Gossip who can tell me 

 whether Professor Lowe or M. Pasteur is correct. — 

 D. M. D. 



Anemones in Aquaria. — Some of your readers 

 may be interested in the following facts. I have 

 a small bell glass aquarium which as a marine 

 aquarium has been very successful, there having been 

 no deaths for upwards of two years, and the anemones 

 throughout have maintained a high standard of 

 vitality, attributable, I consider, to regular feeding, 

 aerations, and scrupulous cleanliness. Numerous 

 young have been cast off and one stone is closely 

 covered with what are apparently the larval form of 

 the star fish. During this winter the anemones have 

 been of an unusually errant disposition, and I have 

 three times on different occasions observed what 

 seem to be conjugations. In each case the first sign 

 was the appearance round the base of the animal of 

 spermatic cords, and these in some cases reach an 

 inch and a half in length. They float in the water 

 and that they are perceived by other anemones is 

 proved by the animals moving up, and with their 

 base partially covering the extended base of the first. 

 They remain in this state for about twelve hours, 

 the emission of the spermatic cords is increased till 

 both are enveloped in the coils and these are per- 

 fectly visible, and between thirty and forty in number, 

 at least I have counted as many. After some interval 

 — about twenty-four hours from the first contact — the 

 one that has moved up moves away, each closes and 

 remains in a state of quiescence from which they do 

 not emerge for some days, no matter how tempted by 

 food or aeration. I shall be glad to learn if any of 

 your readers have noticed similar occurrences. — 

 G. L. B., Denmark Hill. 



Mistletoe on the Pear. — A writer in Science- 

 Gossip, page 43, 1877, asks for further evidence that 

 the mistletoe grows on the pear. Kittel, in "Bota- 

 nisches Taschenbuch" and Dr. F. M. Bechstein, in 

 "Forstbotanik," page 679, both state that in Ger- 

 many Viscnm album is found on the pear. P.S. — 

 Withering, in "British Plants," states that Viscnm 

 album occurs on the Pear.-r-y. A. Sandford. 



Mandrake (?) (Science-Gossip, page 166, 1878). 

 — Throughout the United States Podophyllum pettatum 

 of the natural order Berberidaceae is known as man- 

 drake. The fruit, when fully ripe, is sweet and edible, 

 and weighs from 1 to 4 oz. — J. A. Sandford. 



Hempseed and Bullfinches. — With reference 

 to my letter on the effects of hempseed causing the 

 plumage of bullfinches to become black, and which 

 was inserted in Science-Gossip of November 1, it 

 would appear that under the head of " Cage Birds," 

 in a paper contributed to the "Times" of February I, 

 Norwich canaries fed on cayenne pepper (a teaspoon- 

 ful to one egg) have their plumage under such diet 

 changed into a bright metallic flush — which pales at 

 every moult. I must confess that if I possessed any 

 pet birds, whether bullfinches or canaries, I should 

 pause ere I continued giving either hempseed or 

 cayenne pepper on the ground of both being too 

 stimulating for any lengthened period. It would be 



interesting to know what the opinion may be of 

 extensive bird fanciers upon this subject. — John 

 Colebrookc. 



Hyalophora Cecropia at Clapham. — In 

 Science-Gossip, at page 46, Jas. Ives records the 

 capture last July of a specimen of Hyalophora Cecropia 

 at Clapham. He adds the rather extraordinary query,, 

 "Is it not likely to have escaped from some entomo- 

 logical cabinet ?" Live insects are not usually placed 

 in cabinets, nor do pinned and probably dead ones 

 generally escape. The explanation, however, is very 

 simple. Mr. A. Wailly, an importer and dealer in 

 silk-producing bombyces of the Clapham Road, 

 records in the "Entomologist," vol. xii. p. 9, that in 

 December, 1877, he received from America an ex- 

 traordinary number of live cocoons of this moth, and 

 that a number of impregnated females which had 

 emerged therefrom, he let loose in his garden. Some 

 were also taken to a wood near London. — W. L. 

 Distant. 



Curious Sites for Birds' Nests. — From time 

 to time, notices of birds' nests being found in strange 

 and unlooked-for situations, have appeared in 

 Science-Gossip. In the belief that a number of 

 instances which have come under my own observation 

 during my experience as a " birds'-nester," may not 

 be uninteresting, I have been induced to write a 

 short account of a few of the more remarkable 

 deviations from the ordinary rules followed by most 

 species of birds in their choice of a nesting-place, and 

 which I have jotted down in my note-book whenever 

 observed. Several years ago, I found a nest of the 

 common thrush, on the ground, in a large clover- 

 field, quite a hundred yards from the nearest fence. 

 The nest was merely an apology for one, being but a 

 few straws, collected together in a slight depression 

 of the ground, without any attempt at lining, indeed 

 I have seen plenty of lapwings' nests with far more 

 materials collected about them. It was partially 

 concealed by the young clover, which was about six 

 inches high, but otherwise there was nothing to 

 screen it from view. My attention was first drawn to 

 the nest — which contained five eggs — by seeing the 

 old bird fly off. I watched the nest closely, until the 

 eggs were hatched, and the young ones nearly 

 fledged ; but one morning, I found that some 

 prowling weasel or hedgehog had discovered and 

 made a dainty breakfast of the unfortunate ' ' throstles " 

 as the mangled bodies of two, and the scattered 

 feathers of the rest, plainly showed. This is the 

 only instance I have noticed of a thrush nesting on 

 the bare ground, away from any cover. Another 

 thrush's nest was in an old milking-can which had 

 been kicked about by the school lads, and finally 

 lodged in a large thorn bush, about two yards from 

 a much-frequented footpath, close by the village 

 church. I chanced to throw a stone at the can 

 when, greatly to my surprise, out flew a thrush. I 

 lost little time in jumping over the fence, and found 

 the nest snugly ensconced within the can, the mouth 

 of which, being turned away from the path, pre- 

 vented the nest from being seen by any of the numerous 

 passers-by, and, as I only divulged the secret to a 

 few trusted friends, I am pleased to say the mother 

 bird safely reared her brood. I have found a nest of 

 the blackbird on the branch of a tree quite thirty feet 

 from the ground, and several nests of" missel-thrush 

 on the shelves of an old shed once used for the 

 manufacture of drain pipes. I have also seen a nest 

 of this species built on one of the stone walls used as 

 fences in moorland districts. As in this case there 

 were neither trees nor bushes within a considerable 

 distance, I suppose the birds had ' been obliged to 



