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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Dec. 1, 1SGS. 



Each of these is surrounded by delicate short cilia, 

 which project into the openings. When mounted 

 as an opaque object, and seen with a 2-inch or 

 li-inch objective, it is very attractive. Or the 

 layer may be removed with a sharp knife, and 

 mounted in balsam. A slide mounted in the former 

 manner was exhibited at a recent meeting of the 

 Quekett Microscopical Club, and attracted con- 

 siderable attention. It promises to be a good 

 stock object, at first sight resembling a section of 

 sponge, with the spicules in situ. 



Melanism in Xylophasia polyodon.— Whilst 

 " sugaring " for Noctuas last June, in a plantation 

 at Wallasey, Cheshire, I captured a specimen of 

 this most abundant moth, which appeared to bear 

 the same relation to the typical form as Argynnis 

 mlezitia does to A. paphia. The forewings were 

 completely black, the usual markings appearing 

 very indistinct ; and it completely agreed with the 

 description aud figure in p. 285 of "Newman's British 

 Moths." Mr. Newman there observes that he is 

 not aware whether this state of melanism is common 

 in that species, but that he has received specimens 

 collected by Mr. Birchall from Scotland. I conclude 

 therefore, that in England at least it is somewhat 

 of a rarity.—/. C. Melvill, November IQth, 18GS. 



Repaired Eossil Ribs.— Among the numerous 

 fossil specimens I have recently obtained from the 

 shale of the Low Main coal-seam, Northumberland, 

 are several ribs of fishes and reptiles, some of 

 which present the comparatively unusual pheno- 

 menon of having been broken and repaired within 

 the bodies of the animals to which they belonged. 

 There are several broken in one place that have 

 undergone repair, but two specimens on the same 

 piece of shell, about four inches in length, have been 

 broken and repaired, one in but one place, and the 

 other in four places. Where the repairs have 

 taken place the bones present the usual appearance 

 of bulging, caused by the throwing out of osseous 

 matter for the restoration and continuity of the 

 broken bones. We have in these examples a very 

 beautiful illustration of the existence of the law of 

 fracture and natural restoration in the animals of 

 the carboniferous era, such as is daily operating in 

 existing animals. 1 desire that the readers of 

 Science-Gossip will send to me for carboniferous 

 fossils, without any apprehension of exhausting 

 either my stores or patience. The duplicates 

 increase upon me so rapidly that I must either give 

 them away freely or throw them away. Any 

 reader of Science-Gossip can have forwarded to 

 his address about four ounces of carboniferous 

 fossils, if he will send to me an ordinary perforated 

 luggage label bearing his address, and two postage 

 stamps. I shall be able for the two stamps to send 

 specimens per sample post.— T. P. Barkas, Neto- 

 castle-on-Tijne. 



BOTANY. 



Wild Pansy.— I found yesterday (Nov. 10), in a 

 turnip-field near Wycombe, an unusually fine speci- 

 men of Viola tricolor. The central stem was erect, 

 and from the axils of the leaves, whence the 

 flowers usually proceed, grew branches with two or 

 t hree flowers on each. Besides this central stem, there 

 were at least a dozen procumbent branches of great 

 length, forming a patch, which, at its widest part, 

 measured 26 inches across. The blossoms were 

 much larger than usual, almost as large as those of 

 V. comuta ; one or two had their two upper petals 

 faintly tinged with blue, but the remainder had the 

 four upper petals cream-colour, and the lowermost 

 deep yellow in the centre, fading away to straw- 

 colour. There must have been at least fifty open 

 flowers on the plant, the branches of which would 

 doubtless considerably increase in size before 

 fading. I remarked that the blossoms were very 

 sweet-scented, a peculiarity I do not before re- 

 member to have noticed in this species.— B. 



The Wood Sorrel (Oxalis acetosella).— hi my 

 paper on the Wood sorrel in the March number of 

 Science-Gossip I spoke of the "white, pearly- 

 looking seeds," and their mode of distribution. As 

 this was subsequently repeated in Aunt Judy's Maga- 

 zine, and as my friend Mr. Holland has shown 

 me that it was erroneous, I feel bound to supplement 

 my remarks by the following note, which I give iu 

 Mr. Holland's own words: — "The arrangement iu 

 Oxalis is as follows. The calyx is persistent, which 

 matters nothing ; the fruit consists of a five-celled 

 ovary, which opens with five valves (slits) ; the 

 seeds are attached to a central column. In 0. 

 acetosella there is only one seed in each cell ; in 0. 

 comiculata and 0. strict a there are many seeds. 

 They are brown, and beautifully corrugated, looking, 

 when magnified, like peach-stones. Each seed is 

 contained in a white pocket, which, when ripe, 

 suddenly turns inside out, expelling the seed with 

 considerable force, and detaching itself at the same 

 time from the placenta. Lindley calls this pocket a 

 white integument. This is wrong, and apt to 

 mislead. The brown skin of the seed is the integu. 

 ment ; the white pocket will, I am pretty sure, be 

 found to be an arillus, or extension of the funi- 

 culus."— B. 



STRATIOTES AL01DES (L.) IN THE NORTH. — In 



most botanical works the south-eastern counties 

 alone, such as Cambridge and Norfolk, are given as 

 localities for this curious aquatic. I found it, how- 

 ever, in some plenty in a pond at Silverdale, North 

 Lancashire, this summer, flowering profusely, aud 

 Mr. R. Holland tells me it is not uncommon in Che- 

 shire ; so its distribution is evidently more general 

 than our Floras would lead us to suppose. — /. C. 

 Melvill. 



