Nov. 1, 1869.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-G SSIP. 



261 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Caterpillars on the Willow. — The willows 

 on the banks of the Stour, in this neighborhood, 

 are infested this autumn with caterpillars in such 

 numbers that some of the trees are quite leafless, 

 nothing being left but the midrib. As I have not 

 been able to find out of what insect they are the 

 larvae, I will endeavour to describe them. Colour 

 on centre of the body greyish-blue, or nearly ap- 

 proaching to that of the under surface of the leaf 

 they feed upon. The extremities are orange, and 

 along the whole body there are rows of black spots, 

 except on the ventral side. Head black, legs six, 

 and prolegs ten or twelve. In size they vary ac- 

 cording to age, but when full grown they are as 

 large as the caterpillar of the cabbage butterfly. 

 They have never been observed here before this 

 season. Are they the larvae of a species of sandfly? 

 — W. Wright, M.D., Shepton-on-Stour . 



Carpels oe Geraniums. — Having been solicited 

 by Mr. Britten to give the name of the Geranium 

 whose carpels, or styles, or tails (or whatever they 

 are), that act or behave in a remarkable manner, as 

 described by me in the September number of 

 Science- Gossip, 1 beg to state that 1 have not 

 particularized any Geranium, critically speaking, 

 but had in view, when I made my remarks, the 

 natural family of Gcraniace&, two divisions of which, 

 Erodium and Pelargonium, have the awns or styles 

 convoluted or twisted in the manner I have de- 

 scribed ; but the section I had particularly in view 

 was Erodium, and the particular species was E. 

 Manescavii, a beautiful plant, which from its extra 

 large carpels is well adapted to display what I have 

 attempted to describe ; and I can assure Mr. Brit- 

 ten that I had no wish to disparage his remarks on 

 the Cranesbills, but to cast a mite into the treasury 

 of useful knowledge by pointing to a fact not 

 generally known. Mrs. Watney, it seems (as 

 pointed out by W. T., Ipswich), has committed the 

 same error as myself in lumping Erodium with 

 Geranium. I beg pardon for having committed the 

 bluuder of having substituted stigmas for styles ; it 

 should have been persistent or indurated styles ; but 

 the fact is, it is no easy matter for a person like me 

 to put the spade aside and take the pen to write an 

 article on structural botany. In addition to my re- 

 marks, I may add that the coiling of the styles of 

 Erodium is not a good character, as they will not 

 coil at all in damp weather, and if previously coiled 

 will unroll themselves in cold, damp weather. I 

 have before me about a dozen of the carpels of 

 Erodium lying on the surface of a pot of sand, all 

 as straight as a dart, each of which had, when placed 

 there, from six to twelve coils. These, when carried 

 into a warm room and warmed before the fire, will 

 instantly recoil themselves. It is a fine sight to 

 gather a lot of carpels of Erodium, bring them in 

 and place on a warmed plate : they will all commence 

 twisting and writhing like tortured snakes ; and so 

 true it is about the seeds twisting themselves into 

 the soil, that I have generally found that seeds of 

 Erodium or Pelargonium sown in pots, under glass, 

 will always come to the surface, and bury them- 

 selves in their own way. — T. Williams, Ormskirk. 



Wasp, Local Name of. — " Look-ee, sir, that ere 

 ' apple-drain ' will sting ec." So quoth a buxom 

 Devoushire farmer's wife near Chawleigh the other 

 daw This appellation is common in those parts. — 

 IL P. 



Flight of Birds. — In answer to the inquiry of 

 your correspondent T. Southwell, in the September 

 number of Science-Gossip, I venture to append the 

 following extracts:— "Hawks and many other birds, 

 probably, fly at the rate of 150 miles an hour; an eider- 

 duck at 90 miles an hour. Sir George Cayley computes 

 the common Crow to fly at nearly 25 miles an hour. 

 Spallanzani found the rate of the Swallow at about 

 92 miles an hour; while he computes the rapidity 

 of the Swift to be nearly three times greater. A 

 falcon, which belonged to Henry IV. of France, 

 escaped from Fontainebleau, and in 24 hours after 

 was found at Malta, a distance of not less than 

 1,530 miles ; a velocity nearly equal to 57 miles an 

 hour, supposing the Falcon to have been unceasingly 

 on the wing. But as such birds never fly by night, 

 and allowing the day to be at the longest, his flight 

 was, perhaps, equal to 75 miles an hour. If we 

 even restrict the migratory flights of birds to 50 

 miles an hour, how easily can they perform their 

 most extensive migrations ! Fair winds may, per- 

 haps, aid them'at the rate of 30 or 40 miles an hour; 

 nay, with three times greater rapidity." — (Dr. Fle- 

 ming's "Philosophy of Zoology.") "Few birds pass 

 over so great an extent of surface, in the same time, 

 as the Swallow, who flies in the usual way at the 

 rate of a mile in a minute. There is one little bird, 

 however, the Swift, which appears to excel all others 

 in the rapidity of its movements. An eminent 

 naturalist, who has assiduously studied the habits 

 of this bird, estimates its motions as being equal to 

 250 miles an hour. Thus, we see that the speed of 

 a bird's flight is not equalled by the fastest railway 

 train, which is little more than half the velocity of 

 the Golden Eagle, estimated to pass through the 

 air at the rate of 140 miles an hour. Of all birds, 

 the Condor mounts the highest into the atmosphere. 

 Humboldt describes the flight of this bird in the 

 Andes to be at least 20,000 feet above the level of 

 the sea. The power of pigeons on the wing is pro- 

 verbial. In 1850, on October 6, Sir John Boss de- 

 spatched a pair of young pigeons from Assistance 

 Bay, a little west of Wellington Sound ; and on 

 October 13, a pigeon made its appearance at the 

 dovecot in Ayrshire, Scotland, from whence Sir 

 John had the two pairs of pigeons which he took 

 out. The distance direct between the two places is 

 about 2,000 miles."— (/. Timbs's "Animal Life.") 

 " The specific gravity of the body of birds is con- 

 cerned but in a very subordinate manner with their 

 aptitude for aerial locomotion. Their fitness seems 

 to depend on other circumstances; such as the great 

 lightness of their feathers, owing to the air which 

 they contain ; the little tendency of water to adhere 

 to them when exposed to rain ; their form and ar- 

 rangement, so admirably adapted for the purpose of 

 impulse ; the high temperature of the body expand- 

 ing the contained air ; and the immensely powerful 

 muscles, the pectoral belonging to the wings. Is 

 not the power of flight of each species in a great 

 measure proportioned to these conditions?" — (Dr. 

 John Davey.) I hope the above will satisfy the 

 wishes of your correspondent, and that I have not 

 trespassed too much on your valuable space. — W.F. 

 Price. 



Bramble Brand.— I have been struck with the 

 excessive prevalence of this fungoid growth during 

 the present autumn. In some neighbourhoods I see 

 scarcely a leaf which is free from traces of it. I 

 presume some climatic peculiarity will account for 

 it. If any reader care for any, I shall be happy 

 to send him some. — H. P., 12, Bedford Circus, 

 Exeter. 



