101 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[May 1, 186S. 



from the root to the extremity. The hair of the 

 Tobacco-plant has a two-celled gland at the ex- 

 tremity, containing the narcotic secretion. The 

 hair of the Lobelia is like a knotted club ; others 



Fig. 100. Hair of Lavender. 



Fig:. 101. Hairs of Lavender. 



Fig. 102. Hair of Bean. 



Fig. 103. Hair of Hop. 



Fig. 10-1. Hairs of Balm Geranium. 



assume a star-like appearance, like those of the 

 Hollyhock and the Ivy. In the Geum we have 

 another example of a club-shaped two-celled hair ; 

 while that of the Bean has a erook-shaped ap- 

 pearance. The flower of the Dead Nettle bears 

 two-celled hairs remarkable for the number of 



knobs scattered over the surface ; a similar appear- 

 ance is presented by the hairs of the Wallflower 

 and Chrysanthemum. 



Many connecting links present themselves be- 

 tween hairs and scales, such as the stellate hairs of 

 the Ueutziascahra, which a good deal resemble those 

 within the air-chambers of the yellow Water Lily. 

 The cuticle of the Ice-plant is covered with hairs 

 that have the appearance of frozen dewdrops, and 

 consist of very large oval-shaped cells which lie 

 detached from one another upon the surface of the 

 cuticle. 



Fig. 105. Hair of Wallflower. 



Fig. 106. Forked Hairs. 



As we have probably said enough to draw the 

 attention of young microscopists to this interesting 

 branch of research, we need only add that vegetable 

 hairs are easily preserved in weak spirit, while some 

 retain their natural appearance very fairly in Canada 

 Balsam. R. H. N. B. 



[The figures illustrating this paper have been 

 engraved facsimile from the writer's sketches. It 

 was not until they were engraved that we discovered 

 the majority of tbem to be indifferent copies, ou an 

 enlarged scale, from the Rev. J. G. Wood's " Com- 

 mon Objects for the Microscope." For this plagia- 

 rism, therefore, we trust that our readers will hold 

 the author, and not the editor, responsible. — Ed.] 



REPTILES AND FISH REMAINS EROM 

 THE COAL MEASURES. 



WITHIN the last few months two excellent 

 papers on the remains of fossil reptiles and 

 fish found in the coal shale of Northumberland have 

 been read before the members of the Tyneside 

 Naturalists' Field Club in Newcastle-on-Tyne. The 

 papers are the first of a series now in course of 

 preparation, and are founded upon discoveries of 

 fossil remains made by Mr. Thomas Atthey, of 

 Gosforth, Northumberland, who for many years 

 has devoted all his spare time to a most minute 

 investigation into the fauna of the Northumberland 

 coalfields. 



