u 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



[Feb. 1, 1869. 



seem to be connected with one another in longitudi- 

 nal series by muscular bands, by the action of which 

 a flickering independent motion of these organs is 

 produced, which is visible when the mouth is open ; 

 the muscular apparatus by which this is effected is 

 very similar to that by which the barbs of feathers 

 are erected. The teeth are decidedly carnivorous* 

 and in a certain limited sense prehensile ; the 

 gelatinous Velella is said to be a favourite prey. 



i 



Fig. 23. Lingual strap of I. exigua x 280. 



The deep hue of the shell induced some writers'to 

 ascribe to the lanthinidce a share in furnishing the 

 matchless Tyrian dye ; closer research and chemical 

 tests have shown this supposition to be erroneous, 

 the fugitive colour produced by them bears no 

 relationship to the unyielding tincture of the royal 

 purple, extracted from the renal organ of the Murex 

 trunculus, whose pounded shells are found in abun- 

 dance in the ruins of the Eastern cities where the 

 manufacture was carried on ; the honour has, 

 however, generally beeu awarded to the common 

 dog-winkle, Purpura lapillus. J. Y. H. 



Bury Cross, Gosport. 



BUDS, AS OBJECTS FOR WINTER 

 STUDY. 



WHEN admiring (as who does not ?) the dense 

 and highly ornamental foliage of our forest 

 trees, one stays not to inquire minutely into the 

 disposition of its component parts ; the mind rests, 

 gratefully satisfied, in contemplation of the graceful 

 symmetry and perfect beauty of the whole. Yet it is 

 with trees as with some grand artistic composition : 

 the beauty of the whole results from the harmonious 

 disposition of the minuter parts. And just as the 

 thousand little touches that give harmony and 

 beauty to a picture are perceived and understood 



only by the well- versed student of art, so in regard 

 to our forest trees, it is only the careful student of 

 nature who recognizes the minutiae productive of 

 their noble beauty. 



The very different ways in which leaves are inserted 

 into their stems, together with their great variety in 

 form and colour, must ever be ranked among the 

 chief sources of the elegance and beauty of our 

 trees. As the disposition of leaves may be studied 

 now, by means of their buds and scars, with equal 

 ease as in summer, we may profitably study the 

 naked branches and dead twigs as we take our 

 winter's walk in the woods or shady lanes. 



Here at the edge of the wood is a fine beech 

 (Fagus sylvatica) ; let us commence our studies 

 upon him. Here is a twig covered with lanceolate, 

 finely-pointed, reddish buds with closely imbricated 

 scales. No rain will penetrate here. The leaves 

 within are folded with marvellous skill, and are 

 securely housed for the winter. As we gaze upon 

 the almost infinite number of buds crowding every 

 branch and twig of this giant tree, our heart swells 

 within us in joyful anticipation of the glories of the 

 coming spring and summer. Instead of the melan- 

 choly bowlings of the wintry winds crashing through 

 naked branches, we can almost hear the sweet 

 music of the summer's breeze as it gently plays 

 amid the dense foliage. Sweet promise of a glorious 

 future ! Breaking off a small branch, and observing 

 the method in which the buds are arranged along 

 its surface, we shall obtain the same result as if we 

 studied the leaves themselves ; for these buds were 

 formed in the axils of the fallen leaves, and now 

 enclose next summer's. A glance is sufficient to 

 show that they are arranged in two opposite rows, 

 and that they occur alternately on opposite sides. 

 Let us suppose a line drawn spirally round the 

 branch, so as to pass through three consecutive 

 buds, and we shall see that the third bud is directly 

 over Vat first, and that our spiral line, in going from 

 the first to the third, has described a complete re- 

 volution round the twig. In whatever part of the 

 twig this be done, starting from whatever bud we 

 please, the same result will always be obtained. This, 

 then, is the normal arrangement of leaves for the 

 beech. It is the simplest plan, and is common 

 among our forest trees, and the humbler denizens 

 of our woods and lanes. This disposition of leaves 

 is expressed by the fraction I (see figs. 2-i, 25), which 

 signifies that in one complete circle round the branch 

 two leaves are arranged, separated from each other 

 by half the circumlerenee, thus making with each 

 other an Z of 180° — i.e., they are in two opposite 

 rows. The elm, the hazel, the lime, the hornbeam, and 

 others follow the same method of arrangement. 



Here is a noble specimen of the White Beam 

 (Pyrus Aria), an ardent lover of our chalk summits. 

 Its yellowish-green leaves, with their lovely re- 

 splendent white silk linings, rendered it a con- 



