May 1, I860.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



109 



renders it very difficult to catch sight of them in 

 this position. In this way no doubt they often 

 escape destruction. 



The food of the Peewit is, to a great extent, 

 insectivorous. The stomachs of a great many of 

 these birds, which we have shot and examined on 

 grass-land upon a clay soil, were filled with 

 different species of small Coleopterct, and minute 

 particles of grit, while others, which we procured on 

 down-land upon a chalk soil, contained fragments 

 of two Mollusca which are extremely common in 

 such situations,— Helix virgata and Helix caperata. 

 It is the Helix caperata, by the way, which, being 

 taken up with grass by sheep, is said to impart the 

 excellent flavour to tbe South-down mutton. 

 Judging by the condition of the Peewits which had 

 fed upon this mollusk, we should say that its 

 properties are very fattening. 



When the birds get down to the shore, they lose 

 their flavour, and are then not nearly so good for 

 the table. We have noticed this in the case of the 

 Curlew, Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Redshank, and 

 many others besides the Lapwing. The reason of 

 this, no doubt, is the change in their diet. On the 

 shore they get sand-hoppers, shrimps, and other 

 small Crustacea, which impart more or less a 

 marine and disagreeable flavour. 



As the name "Peewit" has been given to the 

 bird from its peculiar note, so has the name "Lap- 

 wing" reference to its characteristic flight. 

 1 Those who live in the country must have noticed 

 how appropriately both these names have been 

 applied. In some places the bird is known as the 

 " Green Plover " in spring, and the " Black Plover " 

 in winter. At, the approach of the nesting season 

 the back and scapulars become of a dark but bright 

 metallic-green colour. In the winter this colour 

 becomes darker and duller, until at a little distance 

 it looks almost black. 



We know few sights more engaging than a flock 

 of Peewits on their breeding-ground, where the eye 

 is pleased with their graceful actions and curious 

 evolutions on the wing, while the ear is charmed 

 with their strange long-drawn notes. Happy the 

 man who lives near the resort of these birds, and 

 who, listening to " nature's sweet sounds," can hear 

 amid the well-known caw of the Rook and the 

 gentle murmuring of the Wood-pigeon, the plaintive 

 cry of " Pee-wit." J. Edmund Hauting. 



Large Egg. — There was brought me on Saturday 

 (March 20th) a hen's egg of so large a size that 

 probably the dimensions may be worth notice : — 

 Circumference round the two ends 9 inches ; round 

 middle, Gf inches ; length, 3£ inches. Inside were 

 two yolks, one of which, enclosed in a very thick 

 and strong membrane, was the size of a moderately 

 small egg. Both ends were very rounded, one a 

 little less than the other. — Henri/ Ward. 



NOTES ON NEW YORK DIATOMS. 

 By E. Kitton. 



Communicated to the Quekett Microscopical Club. 



BEEOllE alluding particularly to the two bottles 

 of Diatomaceous material forwarded by Dr. 

 Edwards, it will be necessary for me to quote from 

 the letter which accompanied the bottles, as much 

 as refers to this subject. He writes: "I have put up 

 two bottles ; one is of the sediment from the water 

 supplied to this city (New York), and contains 

 Amphiprora ornata, and other things, as Asterionella. 

 I want to call your attention to, and get your 

 opinion of, one or two things therein. Burn it on a 

 cover, and you will see— First, two species of 

 Orthosira. Now Bailey found in this sediment 

 (' Croton water,' so called, coming in an aqueduct 

 from the Croton river) a Galliouella, which he 

 called G. Crotonensis; but his form was undoubtedly 

 the smallest of the two, and is, I presume you will 







CO Ot O.oVii J - J'-r, 



Fig. "9- Amphiprora ornatii, x 600. 

 a, portion of keel, x 1,000. 



agree with me, Orthosira orichalcea ; but the other 

 form, coarsely marked, and with spines at the ends, 

 is new to me. If it has not been described, would 

 it not be wellto transpose the name 'Crotonensis ' 

 to this? Eor my part, I am not in favour of 

 naming forms after places or persons, but strongly 

 incline to distinctive and descriptive names. Give 

 me your ideas hereon. Second, Is the Asterionella 

 here present the same as any of those described ? 

 I. think not. Third, What is the queer form 

 looking like a Fragillaria, except that the frustules 

 only touch at the middle, and is hence like a lot of 

 Synedra laid side by side ? I have never seen it in 

 any other gathering but this. If this gathering is 

 boiled in acid, of course you do not get these forms 

 in their best condition ; and burning on the cover, 

 after spreading out, 1 find give very good results, 

 especially if it is then examined dry. 

 " In the second bottle I send you a gathering I 



