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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



proposition, but I think it exists, although perhaps 

 almost unconsciously. Similarly with animals. Again, 

 occasionally we cannot at once call to mind some fact 

 we wish to use ; but a related fact may occur to us, 

 and suggest the one we originally wanted. There is, 

 I think, some reasoning in this act of memory. I admit 

 that in all cases memory may not involve reasoning, 

 but in many it does, although sometimes very slightly 

 and all but unconsciously. I do not think memory is 

 instinctive, though it may sometimes become nearly 

 so. The converse proposition, that reasoning cannot 

 take place without memory, is, I think, true. With 

 respect to Mr. Kitton's suggestion, that the pipes 

 were in the way of the rats, it is certainly a simple 

 explanation. It may be so at times, but it does not 

 follow that the rat could not open a pipe with the 

 intention of obtaining water. The water may some- 

 times be heard trickling, if not in Mr. Kitton's case, 

 and rats might have more than one motive for cutting 

 the pipes. But in the supposition that the pipes 

 were in the way, the animals might reason about 

 cutting them. If anything were in our way, we 

 should think that, to pass on, we must remove it. 

 Might not the animals do the same? I do not think that 

 it is impossible. In a recent number of " Nature," I 

 see that some reasons are given for thinking that in 

 some instances the memory of localities may be 

 hereditary. If so, this does not make the subject of 

 memory easier to explain. Whether this may favour 

 or oppose my line of thought, it ought to be mentioned, 

 as leading, perhaps, one step nearer to what we are 

 in search of, that is, light and truth. — A. Wheatky. 



Harvesting Ants. — While residing at Mentone 

 during the spring of 1878, I noticed a most curious 

 fact connected with the harvesting ants. When 

 passing through an avenue of plane-trees, I observed 

 some of their seeds apparently walking along, but on 

 closer examination found them to be borne by ants 

 (Atta barbard), which were carrying them to their 

 nests. Everyone who has broken up one of the 

 round balls of the plane-tree knows it to consist of 

 wedge-shaped seeds tapering to a point, from whence 

 springs a parachute of long refltxed hairs. The ants 

 were carrying these seeds along by the broader end, 

 and on arriving at the nest attempted to pull them 

 down. But the hairs naturally stuck in the entrance 

 of the nest and rendered it difficult or nearly impos- 

 sible to draw in the seeds. Several times I took out 

 the seed and placed it with the narrower end — the 

 end from which the hairs spring — downwards, in 

 which case there would have been little difficulty for 

 the ants to get them in. But they almost invariably 

 took the seeds out and put them in the other way. 

 Thus it took a long time to take down each seed, and 

 before they had dragged in many, a great number 

 were accumulated outside ; the ground round some 

 of the nests being thickly strewn with them in all 

 directions, for the distance of three or four inches. 

 After laboriously bringing the seeds into their nests, 

 the ants nip off the hairs and throw them out into 

 a rubbish heap or midden. If they were to nip off 

 the hairs before dragging them down, or turn them 

 the reverse way, they would, one would naturally 

 suppose, save much time and trouble. I have en- 

 quired of several friends, but none of them seem to 

 have noticed this peculiarity ; nor does Moggridge 

 mention it in his work on "Harvesting Ants and 

 Trapdoor Spiders." Can you or any of your readers 

 throw a light on this apparent stupidity in insects 

 usually so sagacious? — G. H. Bryan. 



The " Griding " of Trees.— Our Poet-Laureate, 

 in his "In Memoriam," has referred to the aspect 



of a wood in winter, saying that it ' ' grides and 

 clangs " its many branches, and the distinction be- 

 tween the words is, I find, missed by some readers 

 of the poem. " Gride " is a word of good antiquity ; 

 we have a derivative from it in the familiar word 

 "gridiron." Milton has the word "gride" in the 

 sense of "cut," which does not suit Tennyson's 

 application of it here. Seemingly he means the 

 stridulous or creaking sound that the boughs of some 

 species produce as they sway in the wind, contrasting 

 with the deeper sound that is indicated by the word 

 " clang."— J. R. S. C. 



Shower of Pollen. — In reference to the notice 

 of a "shower of pollen" at Windsor in Science- 

 Gossip, I would say that a similar phenomenon was 

 noticed by a friend of mine in the same town towards 

 the end of June, especially covering the surface of 

 a fountain and some water butts standing in the 

 garden. — E. G. H. 



Leaves of Rhubarb. — Ever since I tasted in 

 Brussels, seven years ago, the delicious dish which 

 can be made from rhubarb leaves, I have urged upon 

 all my friends to try it, and it has been almost uni- 

 versally appreciated by those who like spinach, as, 

 when properly prepared, rhubarb leaves resemble that 

 delicate vegetable very closely, only possessing a 

 slightly more acid flavour, which, however, is most 

 refreshing. To prepare the leaves for the table, the 

 younger ones only should be used ; after taking out 

 the ribs and coarser parts, the leaves should be treated 

 similarly to spinach. After boiling, they must be 

 passed through a fine sieve, and then served up 

 either with a little butter on toast or with rich brown 

 gravy. — Hastings C. Dent. 



Under what Circumstances is the Yew 

 Foliage poisonous to Cattle ? — A diversity of 

 opinions has, within the last few months, been 

 offered on this subject, and your correspondent 

 "J. H. G. Kettering," who has asked this question 

 in the July number of Science-Gossip, may like to 

 hear some of them. Many persons have affirmed 

 that the yew is only hurtful in a dry or withered 

 state, that the fresh foliage was eaten with impunity 

 by cattle, but that the lopped, dying branches invari- 

 ably proved injurious. Most poisonous plants lose 

 a portion, if not all, their poisonous properties by 

 dying, but not so the yew, according to old-fashioned 

 notions. The number of deaths that have occurred 

 lately in consequence of cattle having partaken of 

 fresh yew leaves led to inquiries which resulted in an 

 opinion to the following effect, namely, that the female 

 yew-tree is poisonous, the male not. But this idea 

 has been set aside by the fact that in several instances 

 horses have eaten yew foliage and escaped injury, 

 when other horses, on another occasion having de- 

 voured the same trees, have died. An old gentle- 

 man, a friend of mine, assures me that "drinking 

 does the mischief." Cattle may, he says, eat fresh yew 

 leaves, and escape if they do not drink water for a few 

 hours after their dangerous meal, and I feel very much 

 inclined to think he is right, for a gentleman farmer, 

 living near Less, lost two valuable cart horses lately 

 from the effect of yew poisoning. The animals had 

 been left standing under the tree while the carters 

 were loading, and had, unfortunately, been allowed 

 to drink very shortly afterwards at a stream on their 

 way home ; both horses died in the course of three 

 hours to the great astonishment of their owner, who 

 said that "his cattle had browsed those very trees 

 for the last ten years, and he had never known one of 

 them injured before." — H. E. Watney. 



