HA ED WICKE' S S CIENCE - G O SSI P. 



2 39 



"Black Coral," &c. — Can any reader of the 

 Science-Gossip give me any information concerning 

 the so-called "black coral," sold to visitors at Capri? 

 I have a specimen, but feel great doubts as to its being 

 coral at all. I saw in the August number of Science- 

 Gossip (p. 187) a mention of double Cardamine 

 pratensis. A quantity of this plant was growing with 

 double flowers last spring on the south-west side of 

 Shotover hill, near Oxford. Is this a peculiar pheno- 

 menon ? Can any one tell me if Gilbert White was 

 the author of the twenty-six letters on the " Antiquities 

 of Selborne," published in the edition of White's 

 Selborne, with notes by Frank Buckland (Macmillan 

 and Co., 1875) ?— A. M. C. T. 



Relaxing Lepidoptera. — I have for some years 

 had in my possession a fine specimen of the death's 

 head moth (AcAeronta Atropos), which was captured 

 at Northallerton many years ago. It had never been 

 set out, and so its wings were folded over its back, 

 the upper ones alone being visible. I succeeded last 

 week in making a very fine cabinet specimen of it, by 

 floating it on a piece of cork, in a basin of boiling 

 water, covered at the top, for a few hours. I was 

 then able to pin it out almost as easily as a fresh 

 specimen, and it has kept its position ever since. — 

 J. A. Wheldon. 



Works on Aphides. — In reply to Mr. A. C. 

 Smith's inquiry for a work on aphides or plant-lice, 

 let me strongly recommend Buckton's "Monograph 

 of British Aphides," with excellent coloured plates, 

 drawn under the camera lucida. It is published by 

 the Ray Society, and will be completed in three 

 volumes, the two first of which have been published. 

 By applying to Mr. Wm. Wesley, Natural History 

 Bookseller, 28 Essex Street, Strand, London, who 

 purchased the work for me, I have no doubt Mr. 

 Smith will be able to obtain it. The coloured 

 drawings comprise not only several forms of each 

 species, but also many of the insects which relate to 

 the aphis, such as the ants, sylphida?, aphidivorous 

 ichneumonidse, &c. It is however a pity that the 

 leaves of this and some other works on Natural 

 History are not even cut before being issued for sale. 

 Much time is thereby lost in turning over one by one 

 the uneven edges to find any particular plate. Surely 

 the expense of cutting them by machine must be very 

 insignificant, and it would be a great boon to readers 

 to purchase them evenly cut. — William C. Tail. 



Dutch Clover. — The abnormal state of the 

 flowers of Trifolium repens, as described by Mr. W. E. 

 Green, has been a very common phenomenon at 

 Darlington this year. I have also found several plants 

 in a viviparous condition. Professor Henfrey, in his 

 "Elementary Course of Botany," states — "In wet 

 seasons it is not uncommon to find flowers of the 

 white clover, with more or less of the organs modified 

 in this way ; the pistils, one or more of the stamens, 

 &c, appearing in the form of green leaves, occasion- 

 ally compound or temate, as in the stem below." 

 Although I have examined a large number of 

 specimens in this condition, I have not as yet found 

 one in which all the floral organs were converted into 

 leaves ; there invariably being portions of the petals 

 and stamens of the normal shape and colour. — J. A. 

 Wheldon. 



Our Singing Mouse.— Some little time since we 

 had a mouse which made its home in a little cup- 

 board adjoining our kitchen firegrate. At first it was 

 remarkably shy, but in a few weeks I tamed it, so 

 that it would come to my hand for its evening 

 supper ; then it would sit up on its hind legs on the 



hearthrug and sing. The song was very like the low 

 warbling of a thrush. In time I came to look regularly 

 for my visitor, for I often sit up alone for about an 

 hour after all my family have retired to rest. If 

 any of the household stayed with me to see my little 

 singer, it would not make its appearance ; the only 

 way to hear it was by keeping out of sight, and being 

 very quiet in the lobby. I am sorry to relate it fell 

 a victim to our Manx cat, who, one evening, unknown 

 to myself, had not been turned out of the house — thus 

 ended the life of our songster. — R. 



Shells of Brood Eggs. — In reply to F. M. W.'s 

 query as to what birds do with the shells of their eggs 

 after the young brood is hatched. Some swallows 

 returned to their nests in the eaves of our cottage at 

 Clevedon, Somerset, this year, andhavealso added two 

 nests since they came back. Our children take great 

 interest in their movements while hawking flies and 

 returning to the gaping mouths of the little ones. My 

 little girl showed me the shells lying amongst the plants 

 just under the nests ; they had evidently been thrown 

 out as soon as hatched. This the birds would have no 

 difficulty about ; the little beaks, which make such an 

 excellent trowel, would serve admirably as a forceps. 

 — W. G. G. 



Shower of Pollen.— In reply to H. G. Wheeler, 

 in the August number of Science-Gossip, I beg to 

 say I also noticed the shower of pollen at Windsor, 

 on June 8th. — A. Davis. 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



To Correspondents and Exchangers. — As we now 

 publish Science-Gossip a week earlier than heretofore, we 

 cannot possibly insert in the following number any communi- 

 cations which reach us later than the 9th of the previous 

 month. 



To Anonymous Querists. — We receive so many queries 

 which do not bear the writers' names that we are forced to 

 adhere to our rule of not noticing them. 



To Dealers and others. — We are always glad to treat 

 dealers in natural history objects on the same fair and general 

 ground as amateurs, in so far as the " exchanges " offered are fan- 

 exchanges. But it is evident that, when their offers are simply 

 disguised advertisements, for the purpose of evading the cost of 

 advertising, an advantage is taken of our gratuitous insertion of 

 "exchanges" which cannot be tolerated. 



H. — The notion that hedgehogs sucked cows has long since 

 been exploded. It is utterly impossible, from the structure of 

 their mouth and teeth, for hedgehogs to do anything of the 

 kind. 



F. Crosbie. — Your sketch is evidently a figure of the bee- 

 louse (Braula ca-ca), a singularly degraded dipterous insect. 

 The commoner parasite of the honey-bee is a tick, and possesses 

 eight legs. » 



D. D. — The proceedings of the British Association can be 

 purchased each year for one guinea, from the secretary. But 

 the best lectures, addresses, and papers usually appear in 

 " Nature." 



J. W. J. — The tree which produces the well-known Brazil-nut 

 of commerce, is called Bcrtholettia, excelsa. The so-called 

 " nuts " are in reality seeds. 



J. W. Ward. — The "projections" on the leaf are monothala- 

 mous or single-chambered galls, produced by a species of aphis, 

 probably A . bursaria:. Yes. Jackdaws will eat the eggs of other 

 birds if they have the chance. 



T. G. Harris. — Get the pamphlet " How to Choose a 

 Microscope," price is., published by D. Bogue, 3 St. Martin's 

 Place, Trafalgar Square, London. It will give you full in- 

 structions as to terms, &c. Beck's economic microscope is an 

 excellent instrument. Davis's "Preparation and Mounting of 

 Microscopical Objects," price 2s. 6d. (same publisher), will give 

 you full instructions as to that department. 



Miss F. — The leaves on which the " singular growth" occur, 

 are those of the ground ivy (Glechomahederacea). The nipple- 

 like "growth" is caused by a species of aphis, puncturing the 

 skin of the leaf, and depositing its eggs therein. 



