HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



45 



central position. Both eggs were covered by shell. 

 Can any one explain the nature of this malformation '.' 

 — F. IV S., Todmordcn. 



Preserving Fossils.— Having a number of mam- 

 malian remains from caves which seem liable to chip 

 and decay after exposure to the air, I should be 

 greatly obliged to any reader who would tell me the 

 best treatment for their preservation. I have been 

 advised to paint them over with hot solution of gela- 

 tine, but this does not appear to improve those speci- 

 mens on which I have tried it. I should also be glad 

 to learn the best plan of preserving fossils from the 

 coal and chalk ; some specimens from the lias are very 

 liable to chip. — W. G. Tuxford. 



Pronunciation of Scientific Names.— The 

 great difficulty is to find the place of the accent. There 

 appears to be no certain rule for this ; most frequently 

 it is on the penultimate syllable, in other cases its 

 place is determined by the etymology, and again in a 

 few instances both systems find supporters, as in the 

 case of veronica and veronica. Would it not be a 

 good plan to mark the accented syllable in those 

 generic and specific names occurring in at least the 

 more popular of the manuals of the various branches 

 of natural history ? These accents need not appear 

 on every repetition of the word, a good accented 

 index would answer the purpose. The more fortu- 

 nate of the dabblers in science, who live in large 

 towns, and have the advantage of hearing lectures, 

 and talking over their pet subjects with friends having 

 a similar taste to their own, may not need this help, 

 but it is different with those who live in out-of-the- 

 way country places, and read but rarely hear anything 

 about their favourite studies. — IV. G. Tuxford. 



Birds Singing at Midnight.—" X." expresses a 

 wish to know whether it prevailed all over the 

 country. I heard them singing on the nights of the 

 15th and 16th of February, 1878, and other nights as 

 well. — James Ingkby, Yorkshire. 



The "Fagus" of Cesar. — Caesar's words, 

 " Materia cujusque generis, ut in Gallia, est, pneter 

 fagum atque abietem," have puzzled many, and Mr. 

 Freeman has opened up a subject on which it may be 

 hoped that other correspondents will give an opinion. 

 Selby has touched on it in several places. It can 

 scarcely be doubted that Caesar must have seen the 

 beech, which loves the chalk of Kent and Sussex, and 

 is still the tree which characterises the hangers fring- 

 ing the northern slope of the Sussex Downs, while as 

 the sweet chestnut was (in all probability) introduced 

 to Britain by the Romans, he appears to have noted 

 its absence. Is it not then most likely that Caesar's 

 "Fagus" was the chestnut? Both trees grew in 

 Italy in his days, as is apparent from Virgil. It may 

 be observed that Linnaeus included the beech and 

 the chestnut under the same generic name " Fagus." 

 Has this led translators of Caesar into an error ? Old 

 Gerarde's quaint comparison of the fruit of the two 

 trees is worth quotation. Speaking of the beech, he 

 says, " The fruit or mast is contained in a huske or 

 cup that is prickly and rough bristled, yet not so much 

 as that of the chestnut ; which fruit being taken forth 

 of the shells or urchin husks be covered with a soft 

 and smooth skin, like in colour and smoothnesse to 

 the chestnut." " The beech tree," he adds, " loveth 

 a plaine and open countrey, and groweth very plenti- 

 fully in many Forressts and desart places of Sussex, 

 Kent, and sundry other counties." — F. H. Arnold, 

 LL.B. 



Colour of Birds' Eggs. — Can any of the readers 

 of Science-Gossip inform me of anyway to preserve 

 the colour of birds' eggs from fading ? I do not want 



varnish ; something that will not show, but keep the 

 colour from growing dull ? — James Ingleby. 



Birds using Others' Nests. — In connection 

 with birds appropriating the nests of others to lay in, 

 the following may be interesting : — Walking through 

 a small copse in the early part of the summer I dis- 

 turbed a blue-tit which flew from a large bush. It 

 was soon joined by its mate, and by their rapid 

 motions and uneasy cries I concluded that their nest 

 was not far off. There was, however, no likely place 

 for it to be built, and I thought there must be some 

 other reason for the uneasiness of the birds. In the 

 bush before me there was a blackbird's nest, which, 

 judging from its very untidy appearance, I expected 

 to find empty. I tried it however, and to my surprise 

 found it contained seven blue-tit's eggs. The black- 

 bird's nest had probably been robbed early in the 

 spring, and the tits had lined it with some soft 

 material, and there laid their eggs. — T. L. S. 



Fossil Ferns. — I remember seeing in the British 

 Museum some years ago a number of fossil ferns, the 

 impressions beautifully coloured a bright emerald 

 green, without destroying the sharpness. I should 

 be glad to learn what colour is used for this purpose, 

 and how applied. — IV. G. Tuxford. 



Query about the Daisy. — Will any reader kindly 

 inform me on what authority Chaucer, in "The Legend 

 of Good Women," states the following : — 



" The greate goodness of the queen Alceste 

 That turned was into a daisy. 

 She that for her husbande chose to die," &c. 



****** 



" In remembrance of her, and in honour 

 Cybele made the daisy, and the flow'r 

 Ycrowned all with white, as men may see 

 And Mars gave her a crowne red, pardie ! 

 Instead of rubies set among the white." 



C. F. IV. 



Poisonous Action of Dulcamara. — With refer- 

 ence to your correspondent's query relative to the 

 poisonous action of Dulcamara on man, I would beg 

 to quote some interesting remarks from Professor 

 Taylor's work on Poisons (3rd edition). That great 

 toxicologist writes : "There are two species of night- 

 shade {Solatium) S. Dulcamara, bitter-sweet or woody 

 nightshade, which has a purple flower and bears red 

 berries, and the 6". nigrum or garden nightshade, 

 with a white flower and black berries. Duval gave 

 to dogs four ounces of the aqueous extract, and, in 

 another experiment, 180 ripe berries of the Dulcamara, 

 without any ill effects resulting. On the other hand, 

 Floyer states that thirty of the berries killed a dog in 

 three hours. The differences may perhaps be recon- 

 ciled by supposing that the active principle, solania, 

 on which the poisonous properties of both species 

 depend, varies in proportion at different seasons of 

 the year. In one instance a decoction of the plant is 

 said to have produced in a man dimness of sight, giddi- 

 ness, and trembling of the limbs. In September, 

 J 1853, the red berries of the woody nightshade are 

 stated to have caused the death of a boy aged four. 

 He had eaten some of the berries, and at first did not 

 appear to suffer from them ; but eleven hours after- 

 wards he was attacked with vomiting, purging, and 

 convulsions, which continued throughout the day, 

 the child being insensible in the intervals. He died 

 convulsed in about twenty-four hours. Other children 

 had partaken of the berries at the same time, but one 

 of them suffered only slightly."— Lancet, June 28, 

 1856, p. 715. All my own books on botany certainly 

 point to the conclusion that Dulcamara berries are 

 poisonous, although of much less virulence than those 

 of belladonna ; from which I suspect persons ignorant 



