April 1, 18G9.J 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



9:5 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Fruit of the Hawthorn. — The word cat-haws, 

 inquired about in Science-Gossip, p. 70, is 

 evidently allied to cat-kin, the diminutive of cat : it 

 is applied to the pendulous blossom of some trees, 

 from a faucied resemblance to a kitten's tail, and 

 hence extended, as your correspondent informs us, 

 to the "fruit of the "hawthorn."— A. Hall. 



Hair and its Restorers. — In the present day, 

 when the human hair is the object of so much 

 attention to the fair sex, the following receipts, 

 taken from the work alluded to in your last 

 number, by Samuel Purchas, 1657, may be read 

 with interest :—" Pound bees dead and dry in the 

 combs : mingle them with honey, and annoynt bald 

 places of the head, and the hair will spring afresh." 

 "The ashes of bees ground with oyl make hair 

 white." " Water distilled of honey four times by a 

 limbick, so that the honey were first boiled, makes 

 beautiful hair, and the hair wet therewith doth not 

 only become yellow, but softer, and increaseth like- 

 wise, especially if it be done in the sun."— W. J. 

 II iff, Epsom. 



_ Habits of House Mice.— Some few years 

 since, I had a regular nightly visitant to my bed- 

 room, in the shape of a singing mouse: it came 

 booming round the apartment with such vocal power 

 that, after the first novelty had worn off, we voted 

 it a nuisance, had a cat, and soon heard no more of 

 it. I have now another visitant, a much quieter 

 animal : it rustles about a good deal on first 

 entering, but after a while subsides into a gentle 

 and very peculiar murmuring sound : it is 

 soporific, a constant sibilation without any / in it ; 

 a hushing musing sound ; a perpetual sh' sh' shiver. 

 And here is a great and wonderful analogy, it is 

 really ymssitating, i.e. " to gently murmur," that 

 mysterious word, from musso, mussare, quasi yovao, 

 that has given us the " lulling " theory of the 

 historical name Lollard. This analogy of mus, a 

 mouse, and mussito is really very close. I would 

 ask your naturalistic readers to define the singing of 

 a mouse, aud also the murmuring above named — 

 how are they produced, and how far universal among 

 the murid(B.— A. Hall. 



Hybernation op Bees. — I see that your corre- 

 spondent, Mr. A. Hall, has some doubts about the 

 hybernation of the humble bee. My own experience 

 goes to corroborate Mr. Mill's discovery. Whilst 

 pupa-digging last month (February) I turned up a 

 humble bee in a very torpid condition. I very much 

 regret that the pupa-digger had mutilated his cell, 

 so that I could not accurately determine whether 

 an entrance did or did not exist : there was no stone 

 on top, and, as far as I could_ see, it was merely a 

 cell rudely dug in the earth without any attempt at 

 smoothing. The bee was on its back, not, as in 

 Mr. Mill's cell, on its side. As to Mr. Hall's 

 theory, that the bee had been involuntarily confined, 

 I regard that as quite out of the question. With 

 regard to question 4s, I think that bees could exist 

 for a length of time without air and food, or at least 

 with only as much air as could penetrate through 

 the soil. I know that I have this winter dug out, 

 at the root of a tree in stiff and clayey soil, a newt, 

 at the depth of at least three inches below the 

 surface: this newt, though at that time very 

 sluggish and almost lifeless, is now a lively inhab- 

 itant of my aquarium. If he could thus endure 

 hunger and want of air, why not a humble bee ? I 



if 



think that it would be very interesting i some 

 of your correspondents were to keep, during the 

 ensuing summer, a colony of humble bees. This 

 would not be a difficult task ; a flower-pot partially 

 filled with mould and covered with gauze, would 

 serve for their habitation. The results, I am sure, 

 would be interesting. The formation of the winter 

 cell could then be clearly seen, and Mr. Hall's 

 doubts satisfactorily cleared up. The only singular 

 point, however, in my opinion is that it does not 

 appear to be noticed by entomologists. Westwood 

 (introduction to Mod. Class., vol. ii., page 281), 

 says "they form societies of about fifty or sixty 

 individuals, occasionally, however, amounting to 

 two or three hundred. They construct their 

 dwellings underground in meadows, pastures, or 

 hedge-rows, generally employing moss for this 



purpose 1 few impregnated females alone 



survive" Here he speaks of their making common 

 dwellings, but altogether omits the fact of their 

 constructing solitary ones. He alludes to a few 

 females surviving till the spring, but is surprisingly 

 silent on the subject of their forming any dwelling 

 in which to brave the inclemency of the winter. 

 The only reference I can find to their hybernation is 

 in Maunder's " Treasury of Natural History," page 

 332 :— " These (the larger females) live in a sort of 

 chamber distinct from the rest, but, as it would 

 appear, without any supply of food." I earnestly 

 hope that these short remarks may stimulate the 

 readers of Science-Gossip to investigate further 

 this very interesting subject.—//. 11. O'Farrell. 



Leeches.— I have on many occasions been 

 obliged to avail myself of the services of leeches, 

 and, feeling thankful to them for the relief they have 

 afforded, have always been pained at the torture 

 they are made to endure by salt, squeezing, &c, to 

 make them disgorge the blood they have swallowed. 

 Some short time since, on using them, I determined, 

 in the face of strong prejudice, to see if I could 

 keep them alive without using any of the means 

 alluded to, and, as yet, have succeeded in doing so. 

 I was told it was cruel kindness, for they might live 

 after the salt, but must die without ; but I am glad 

 I persevered, as I think I shall be able to prove the 

 fallacy of the popular belief. When they do live 

 after being subjected to the salt process, they are 

 poor shrivelled things, with indentations on the skin 

 wherever the salt has touched. Mine, after being- 

 well washed, were put in a globe with cold water, 

 plenty of sand at the bottom, and some Anacharis, 

 with water-snails, water-shrimps, water-fleas, &c. ; 

 and some antiquated leeches which we have kept as 

 our " clerks of the weather." I should be glad to 

 know whether any one else has tried to do away 

 with what is, I am convinced, a needless piece of 

 cruelty to a creature so valuable to suffering 

 humauity. — //. 



Origin of Life.— A succinct account of this 

 subject is presented in a small French volume just 

 issued under the title of "L'Origine de la Vie," by 

 Georges Pennetier. It contains the case stated on 

 behalf of spontaneous generation, with the objections 

 of the panspermists, and may be accepted as a 

 summary of the discussions between Pasteur and 

 Pouchet, and their several adherents. There is a 

 good show of cheap woodcuts, which is accomplished 

 by repeating them over and over again, sometimes 

 three or four times. This is hardly a commendable 

 way of " making up " an illustrated book, which we 

 do not advise our English publishers to follow. 



