Feb. 1, 1869.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



45 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Fumart.— The Pole- cat is called Fumart in Cum- 

 berland, which is evidently a corruption of Foul- 

 marten, so called on account of the horrid stench it 

 emits when attacked ; and also to distinguish it 

 from the Beech-marten, or Sweet-marten (Mustela 

 martes), or, as it is generally called there, " Mart." 

 The Stinkhorn fungus (Phallus impjidicus) is known 

 here by the name of Pow-cat, which is doubtless a 

 corruption of Pole-cat. It is not uncommon to hear 

 a person say, when speaking of anything causing 

 a disagreeable odour, that it stinks iike a Pow-cat. 

 -J. B. 



Similar replies have also been received from E. T. 

 Scott, W. Tyrer, Fred. Smith, &c. 



Fumart.— At p. 22, W. Gain makes inquiries 

 about this word. The only light (if light it can be 

 called) that I can throw on the subject is an extract 

 from Thomson's "Etymons of English Words," 

 1826. He speaks of the "Jumart" as "an animal 

 absurdly supposed to be produced from a male ass 

 and a cow. F. (French) Jumart, from A. (Arabic) 

 Hummar, a red ass, which is held in disrepute as 

 degenerate." One is almost tempted to correct the 

 word with the Latin " Jumentum, a beast of 

 burden." Of course, such a monster as the Fumart 

 or Jumart never existed. — IF. W. Spicer. 



Weather-wise Glowworm. — There is a weather 

 proverb to the effect that, — 



" When the glowworm lights her lamp 

 Then the air is always damp." 



Can you inform me why this is the case ? Sometimes 

 on a warm night in summer, when walking in the 

 neighbourhood of Lyme, I have seen glowworms in 

 abundance, but on passing through the same place 

 a i'ew nights afterwards I have scarcely observed 

 any. How far north is the insect found ? and does 

 it inhabit the Isle of Man and Ireland ? — F. J. D. 

 Hintori. 



Snow-bunting. — Can any of your readers in- 

 form me where I can get a female snow-bunting. 

 I have two males, and should be glad to exchange 

 one of them for a female, or am willing to buy. I 

 have had my birds two years, they are healthy and 

 in good feather. I should like the female to have 

 moulted in confinement. — A. Pickard, Wokingham, 

 Darlington. 



Drying Leaves. — In drying leaves for a speci- 

 men-collection of " winter leaves," I find the leaves 

 of the laurel (either common or variegated) become 

 invariably spotted with black, which spreads until 

 the whole leaf is discoloured, every precaution 

 having been taken, such as changing the drying- 

 papers. Can any of your correspondents explain 

 this, or assist me with their experience ? — H. P. 



Lamperns. — "L.S." would be glad to know if the 

 little fish caught in the Severn and sold by the 

 name of Lampern, or Lampron, is Petromyzon 

 fluviatilis, _ and whether it is the same fish that 

 Henry I. is said to have died from indulging in ? 

 She would be glad to know if Lamprey is its proper 

 name, or whether the country name of Lampern or 

 Lampron is right. She has heard that the lamprey 

 is a much larger fish. 



What's in a Name?— The remarks made by 

 " M.G." in Science-Gossip last month remind me 

 of an amusing incident somewhat a propos of his 

 little anecdote. A new gardener of mine said to 



me one morning, when I was giving him some 

 directions respecting a few shrubs I wanted re- 

 moved, " A couple of those ' Our angels ' would 

 look beautiful there, if you 'please, ma'm." — "A 

 couple of what ? " I asked. " ' Our angels,' ma'm. 

 Those blue 'our angels,' like your mamma, Mrs. 

 Raby, has at Beyn M or," was the reply— " 'Our 

 angels,'" I repeated. " Yes, ma'm ; we have pink 

 ones here : there is some over there," pointing, 

 as he spoke, to a clump of hydrangeas. — "Why, 

 those are hydrangeas, Jenkins," I exclaimed, nearly 

 dying of laughter. " Well to be sure ! Mrs. Raby 

 called them by some foreign name, and I thought it 

 was ' our angels.' ''—Helen E. Watneij. 



Acorns.— It is a fact— no "folk lore" at all— that 

 when pigs are killed without being put up to fatten 

 on barley-nieal, peas, &c, after feeding on acorns 

 the flesh will not make good pork or bacon. 1 know 

 this to be the case. — Helen E. Watney. 



Humming-bird in England. — I must beg leave 

 to dissent from your correspondent's inference with 

 regard to its being the Sphinx convolmdi which was 

 mistaken by the lady at Leamington for the Hum- 

 ming-bird, for I think everything points to the sup- 

 position that it was the Humming-bird Hawk-moth 

 (Macroglossa stel lata rum) which she saw. For in- 

 stance, S. conrolculi is a nocturnal insect, and the 

 probability is that no one would imagine it was a 

 Humming-bird which was seen flying at night. M. 

 stellatarum being diurnal in its habits, flying in the 

 hottest sunshine over flowers, with that peculiar 

 darting, hovering motion (which has earned for it 

 its common name) when about to dive its long 

 haustellum into the nectaries of petunias, pelar- 

 goniums, or other flowers, might well be mistaken 

 by a person ignorant of natural history for the 

 veritable Humming-bird. The description, too, 

 tallies with M. .stellatarum, inasmuch as the 

 "plumage of reddish brown, speckled upon the 

 back with white," is as the two bars of white upon 

 the rufous ground-colour of the body would appear 

 when the moth was poising itself over the flowers. — 

 A. 31. B. 



Silurian Maps. — I believe there have been pub- 

 lished some approximate geological maps of Europe 

 at the Silurian period. Will you inform me where 

 they are to be obtained, and the price of them ? Can 

 you also inform me if there are any other than the 

 Silurian maps ? — H. W. Richardson. 



Laurel-leaves. — I noticed the four, rarely only 

 two, spots at the back of the leaves of the common 

 laurel many years ago. I was in a garden on Mus- 

 well-hill, Hornsey, and my attention was drawn to 

 the spots by noticing a number of bees, not the 

 common honey-bee, alight on the leaves in a steady 

 business-like way, and run rapidly down the middle 

 of the leaf, turn briskly under to the side where the 

 spots are found, suck the juice from the four ending 

 spots in succession, and fly away. I have since ex- 

 amined these spots, or (?) excretionary glands. At 

 some seasons of the year they exude each quite a 

 respectable drop of a sweet juice; at other times 

 the spots are dry and brown. I have never seen 

 them on any other save the common, laurel-leaves. 

 Fshould be glad to know what species of bee it is 

 that seems to know and like so well this nectar or 

 syrup. When I first observed the spots I was more 

 interested in them than my little guides, and so lost 

 the opportunity of settling the question as to their 

 species. — S. M. 



