June 1, 1870.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



141 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



The Fieldfare. — In Gloucestershire and Somer- 

 set this bird is called " Vildevierd." The name 

 being pronounced as a word of three syllables, the 

 letter v taking the place of ./, in the popular pro- 

 nunciation in the above counties. — W. It. Grattann. 



Strange Bees. — A relation of mine, who is a 

 great bee-fancier, but no entomologist, particularly 

 wishes for information about a species of Bee, of 

 which he noticed a great number in his garden last 

 August. They were very busy about the small blue 

 lobelias, at that time in blossom. In form, size, 

 colour, and mode of flight, they so exactly resembled 

 the Hive Bee {Apis mellifica), that an ordinary ob- 

 serverlwould have ^detected no difference ; but closer 

 attention showed a tuft of short pale yellow hair 

 between the eyes, in front, giving a peculiar aspect to 

 the head. At first it was thought that this peculiarity 

 was due to the insect having inserted its head among 

 the pollen of some flower ; but when the same mark 

 was detected in a number of individuals, it became 

 evident that these could not be Hive Bees, but of 

 an entirely distinct species. On very close inspec- 

 tion it might perhaps be thought that the body was 

 a trifle fuller, and rounder thau that of the common 

 Bee; but the difference was so slight that_ it was 

 almost doubtful. Five or six of these curious insects 

 might be seen at once in a small space of ground; 

 but it could never be ascertained whence they came. 

 Perhaps one of your numerous readers could give 

 the desired information. — A. W. 



Unwelcome Guest. — In an aquarium of mine, 

 containing Valisneria spiralis, a few gold fish, and 

 trumpet snails, a green film (I presume a sort of 

 alga) has grown lately on the Valisneria, projecting 

 quite a quarter of an inch from the leaves from all 

 sides, giving the aquarium a green and stagnant 

 appearance ; whereas for some years it has always 

 been perfectly clear and transparent. Will some 

 kind friend inform me how to get rid of the unwel- 



come 



smest?— C. L. C. 



Killing Aphides. — Hot water may be employed 

 for the destruction of the insects that most commonly 

 infest plants. The few experiments made have been 

 attended with such promising results that we shall 

 hope to find opportunity soon for repeating them in 

 a more extended and systematic manner. For the 

 present we shall speak of aphis only, and as that is 

 the most prevalent of plant-pests, we trust these 

 remarks will be useful to many readers. It appears, 

 then, that aphides quickly perish if immersed in 

 water heated to 120° Fahr. We obtained from 

 various sources plants infested _ with green-fly, 

 and cleansed them all by the simple process of 

 dipping. As the experiments were made in the 

 month of February, we thought it probable that 

 aphis might endure in June a temperature many 

 degrees higher than that which proved fatal to them 

 in the earlier and colder season. Hence it became 

 desirable to ascertain the degree of heat the plant 

 could endure in the dipping process. A number of 

 herbaceous and soft-wooded plants were therefore 

 subjected to the process of immersion in water 

 heated to various degrees above 120°. We found 

 that fuchsias were unharmed at 1-40°, but at 150° 

 the young leaves were slightly injured. Calceolarias 

 suffered at 140°, but the plants were not killed, 

 though their soft tops perished. Pelargoniums were 

 unhurt up to 100°, but the slightest rise beyond that 



figure killed the soft wood and the young leaves 

 completely. Chinese primulas were injured by any 

 rise beyond 140°, and this at last proved to be the 

 most general maximum, and may be cited as a rule 

 for observance. Centaureas, sedums, saxifragas, 

 thyrsacanthus, justicias, ferns, heliotropes, pe- 

 tunias, begonias, mignonette, and many other plants 

 of soft texture, were unhurt by being dipped in water 

 at 140°, but the slightest rise beyond that point was 

 followed by blackening of the leaves, and consequent 

 disfigurement of the plant, and at 150° the process 

 of killing commenced. — The Gardeners' Magazine. 



Toad and Wasp. — In answer to Mr. Guyon's 

 letter in last month's Science-Gossip, with regard 

 to the question as to whether toads will or will not 

 eat bees or other stinging Hymenoptera, and if 

 they do, whether injury is the consequence to the 

 reptiles, I may mention that I tried the experiment 

 a few days ago. Having caught one of my toads I 

 placed him under a glass shade, having previously 

 inserted a large wasp. For some time neither one 

 nor the other stirred ; suddenly, however, Bufo 

 turned round and darted out his tongue, caught 

 the wasp, and having all but swallowed him, to my 

 astonishment — for I believed him to be fairly down 

 — spat him out. After this I frequently tried him 

 again, shutting them up together for a long time ; 

 but the toad would have nothing more to say to the 

 wasp, and appeared to grow _ even frightened and 

 sulky. I therefore thought it useless to continue 

 the experiment. Whether or no he received a 

 sting in the tussle I cannot say.—/. S. William 

 Durham. 



Paigle.— Can "P. T., M. A," or any other con- 

 tributor, explain the meaning or derivation of this, 

 the popular name for Primula veris? To prevent 

 an unnecessary amount of space being occupied by 

 discussion on the matter,! will briefly enumerate 

 the various derivations which have already appeared 

 in print.- From the French epingle ; from "prata, 

 meadows, where it dclighteth to grow" (Forster)' 

 " Perennial Calendar;" from A.-S., paell, a dye-plant 

 (Forinby) ; from the word speckle, in allusion to its 

 cinq-spotted corolla, a corruption of the old name 

 herba paralyesos ; or of its " M. Lat. name of ver- 

 basculum, with a change of b to p, and omission of 

 s (Prior) ; or from the A.-S. words beak, a garland, 

 and gelde, golden. I am not satisfied with any 

 of these ; and Dr. Prior, remarking that it is " a 

 word of extremely obscure and disputed origin," 

 leaves it unexplained. In connection with the name 

 we may remember that in some of the eastern 

 counties it is still appplied to the various Ranunculi, 

 known as buttercups, and has been thus applied as 

 far back as the time of Hay ; and Gerarde applies a 

 similar one— Pygie or Pagle — to the Great Stitch- 

 wort {Stellaria Holostea). "Pagil" appears to be 

 the spelling most usually adopted in the older books ; 

 and "Peggie" is the pronunciation at the present 

 day. Can any one state the origin and meaning of 

 Cowslip, the other popular name of P. veris ? — James 

 Britten. 



Bees. — I'should feel extremely obliged if any of 

 the bee-keeping readers of Science-Gossip would 

 inform me if using zinc troughs to feed bees is 

 injurious to them, and whether the zinc has any 

 chemical effect upon the syrup, which would be 

 likely to poison and destroy the bees— as 1 fed 

 two hives in the above manner last autumn, the 

 inhabitants of both of which have died this month, 

 having plenty of meat left in the hives. — E. S. 



