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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Nov. 1, 1SGS. 



alarmed it ; at any rate I felt it bite, and in an 

 instant the most violent pain came on, and the ear 

 and surrounding parts became much swollen and in- 

 flamed; and felt as if something was burning. I 

 got up and applied some washing soda and a little 

 opium, the best application for wasp stings, but 

 though the pain soon went off, the swelling did not 

 go down for about a day or two. In my haste I 

 threw; the creature, whatever it was, on the ground, 

 especially as 1 did not expect any particular effect 

 from the bite. The only thing I could find was an 

 earwig at the top of the bed curtain. We know 

 the tale about them, but I never heard that their 

 bite was poisonous. Have they got poison-fangs ? 

 But perhaps it was a spider, which wished to give 

 me a practical proof that they can both bite hard 

 and poison the wound. At any rate it was 

 extremely painful — E. T. S. 



Lemna gibba. — I can confirm the observation of 

 W. W. as to Lemna gibba being found in running 

 water. I found it in a branch of the river "VVandle, 

 on Mitcham Common (Beddington corner side), 

 asociated with L. minor and L. polyrhiza. The 

 stream runs with moderate swiftness, and is quite 

 clear ; the plants growing on either side of the 

 stream, among Water-mint {Mentha aqua/is) and 

 Hemp Agrimony {Eupatorium cannabinum), — A. B. 



Fuchsia and Bees.— The blossoms of a common 

 fuchsia in my garden have this autumn been tapped 

 by the bees in a most extraordinary manner. Iu the 

 long tube-like neck of the pendulous blossoms a 

 hole of considerable size has been drilled, and in 

 some instances too, one near the top, and the other 

 near the bottom of the tube. I can scarcely detect 

 a blossom that has not been pierced. It appears to 

 me that these perforations are made by a smallish 

 species of humble bee, with a white-tipped tail, one 

 broad band of yellow upon the body, and a similar 

 one across the thorax. The blossoms of a large 

 species of globe fuchsia growing close by are un- 

 touched— F. T. 



Second Spuing. — Your correspondent " L." 

 mentions the flowering of blackthorn in September as 

 an example of the extreme mildness of the autumn. 

 On the 1st of October, while walking in the garden, 



1 noticed that the strawberry plants had commenced 

 to flower again in some places. In one case the 

 fruit had attained to a considerable size. — W. H. 

 Largs, Ayrshire. 



" Spider Architecture."— My attention was 

 this morning drawn to a singularly constructed 

 spider's web. The spider, a large Diadema, had 

 apparently commenced her labours by fastening a 

 number of threads to the eaves of a low roof, about 

 7 feet high, of a corridor. The extreme points of 

 the outer stays were about 4 feet apart. These 

 fibres were united at a distance of about 3 feet from 

 the roof, thus forming a triangle. From the point 

 of union a single strand was carried down to within 



2 or 3 inches of the ground. To the end of this 

 cable was suspended a small triangular stone, about 

 h an inch across and i of an inch thick. It is 

 evident that the stone must have been fastened to 

 the glutinous web as it lay upon the earth, and 

 subsequently drawn up. The fibre suspending the 

 stone was so fine that it could only be seen with 

 difficulty and from certain positions. As the wind 

 caught the web, it .caused the stone to vibrate 

 gently; the motion thus communicated to the 

 geometrical part of the web was all but impercep- 



tible. This seems a departure from the spider's 

 usual mode of working, and shows considerable 

 ingenuity on her part. What was her object in the 

 adoption of this novel plau ? It appears clear that one 

 such thread as was here employed, if firmly fixed to 

 the earth, would be unable to support the web 

 against the force of the wind; whereas the weight 

 of the stone was not only sufficient to retain the 

 web in a perpendicular position but also to keep it 

 steady while the power thus obtained of yielding to 

 the wind ensured its safety from destruction. Have 

 we not here something more than what is generally 

 understood by the vague term instinct ? In order 

 to see, and apply means to remedy the defects of 

 construction, does it not require reason? — John 

 Hepworth, St. Mary's Vale, Chatham. 



Clouded Yellow. — I caught a male specimen 

 of this maritime butterfly in the uncultivated part 

 of the Horticultural Society's Gardens (South 

 Kensington). Have any of the correspondents of 

 Science-Gossip ever found it in the suburbs of 

 London ?— H. H. O'Farrell. 



_ Colossal Cephalopod. — Being somewhat fami- 

 liar with the magnificent collection of zoological 

 specimens in the museum of the Boyal College of 

 Surgeons, I have made a particular point of ascer- 

 taining how much foundation there existed for the 

 rumour of its containing the mandibular apparatus 

 of a Cephalopod of such dimensions as referred to 

 in your last. In the physiological series of the 

 above-mentioned institution/there is a specimen pre- 

 served in spirit, which, although not quite equalling 

 the size quoted, " that of a man's hand," is evidently 

 the one alluded to. Reports, like gases, possess an 

 innate tendency to expand. The length from the apex 

 of the beak to the extreme posterior termination of 

 the horny tissue is just four inches, and the depth, 

 taken at right angles to the long axis, measures a 

 little over two inches and a half. The component 

 mandibles are invested with a considerable amount 

 of muscular and connective tissue, which of course 

 adds much to the apparent bulk. The specimen is 

 Hunterian ; the animal itself was captured, floating 

 in an exhausted condition, in the open sea off Cape 

 Horn, by Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Solander, and 

 is said to have measured six feet in length. It 

 belongs to the genus Onychotcuthis, a representative 

 of the Decapoda, and took its specific name of 

 Banksii in honour of its captor. Unfortunately, 

 only the buccal apparatus, and the posterior portion 

 of the body bearing the characteristic lateral fins, 

 were preserved, and no record has been left as to 

 what regions of the huge mollusk were included in 

 the above measurement, whether only those of the 

 body proper, or that of the extended arms as well ; 

 the dimensions of the tail-piece, however, if I may- 

 be allowed to make use of a convenient term, 

 favour the first-mentioned supposition. It may not 

 be out of place to mention here, that readers of 

 Science-Gossip having a little leisure at disposal, 

 will be well repaid by a visit to the museum, con- 

 taining the specimen just brought before their 

 notice. Many of the queries daily inundating its 

 devoted Editor, might there be solved in a practical 

 manner, which, no one hardly will venture to dis- 

 pute, conveys to us afar more substantial knowledge 

 of any subject than can be possibly gained by the 

 mere perusal of letter-press. It appears to be not 

 generally known that the Museum of the Boyal 

 College of Surgeons is practically accessible from 

 eleven till four every week-day excepting Friday 

 and Saturday. — W. S. K. 



