212 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Sept. 1, 18/0. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Miniature Photographic Apparatus _ for 

 Tourists. — The little camera, the outside dimen- 

 sions of which are three and a half inches all ways, 

 with lenses for landscapes, architectural subjects, 

 etc., and the necessary slides for twelve pictures or 

 negatives, are very readily carried in the pocket, 

 or, if preferred, can he packed into a small leather 

 sling case measuring 7 * 4 x Ik inches deep, and 

 weighing with plates 44Jb. It is only necessary to 

 carry, in addition to this, a small stand not. heavier or 

 more bulky than an ordinary Alpenstock. The process 

 that is worked in this apparatus is so simple that no 

 previous knowledge of photography is neces-ary for 

 the amateur to make pretty sure of obtaining good 

 results. The plates are ready prepared, and we are 

 informed will keep any length of time, and can be 

 leveloped at any period after exposure, so Ihat the 

 traveller brings home exact transcripts of whatever 

 he may desire, with no further trouble than pointing 

 the camera at the ohject to be taken, and opening 

 the slide containing the prepared plate. The plates 

 so exposed can be returned at convenience to the 

 makers, to be developed and printed. Of course the 

 negatives and prints thus obtained are very minute, 

 some two and a half inches square ; but even of this 

 size they are perfect little gems. Should a larger 

 size finished picture lie desirable, having once ob- 

 tained the negative it can be enlarged to almost any 

 extent. This apparatus may be obtained of Murray 

 and Heath, Opticians, Jermyn Street. 



Animated Oats. — With regard to the query of 

 Mrs. Watney about Animated Oats in this mouth's 

 Science-Gossip, all I can say is that a few were 

 given to me some years ago ; 1 have since planted 

 them, and they have come up well, and born a fine 

 crop. I may add that they never condescended to 

 " hop and skip about, " for me, unless 1 had pre- 

 viously soaked them in water. I therefore consider 

 the curious movements of the awns in some manner 

 due to this operation. — J. S. William, Durham. 



Hoddy Doddy (pp. 70, 93, &c). — In looking 

 through the pages of an old book (published in 1739) 

 the other day, 1 came across a vocabulary of cant 

 terms used by gipsies, and among them found "Hod- 

 mendod, a snail in its shell." It is most probable 

 that Hoddy Doddy, whether applied to the snail or 

 its shell, or both, is only a corrupted form of Hod- 

 mendod.— E. T. Cox. 



Query about Bees. — Your correspondent Mr. 

 W. W. Spicer asks: ''Do bees confine themselves 

 to a single species of plant when collecting nectar 

 and pollen, during a flight out and home ? " My 

 neighbour, Mr. Morse, the florist, who keeps bees, 

 thinks they do, and the uniformity in the specimens 

 of pollen which my friend Mr. Cubitt and myself 

 have found on the bees which we havemicroscopically 

 examined, seems to establish the fact. The following 

 extract from"ATheatreof Politicall Plying Insects," 

 by Samuel Purchas, M.A.,in 1657, bears on the point, 

 and may prove interesting to your readers. He 

 says, on p. 95 : — " Bees have this property, that 

 whatsoever flower they first begin with when they 

 goe to work, they meddle with no other that journey, 

 but lade themselves with such meat alone as that 

 kind yeildeth ; this is a common, but no catholique, 

 custome, for 1 have often observed the contrary. It 

 is true, if there be flowers enoii!>h near at hand, to 

 make up their burden of that sort they begin 



withall, they will meddle with no other; but if 

 they have begun to gather of a flower that likes 

 them, and cannot finde enough to furnish them, 

 then they will make up their load of some other. 

 Arist. de Hist. Anim., a. 9, c. 40."- IF. T. 1/iff, 

 Epsom. 



Hairs or Sundew. — Can any of your readers 

 kindly tell me how to proceed to prepare the hairs 

 of sundew, to show the spiral cells as figured in 

 Science-Gossip for May, p. Ill ?-JF. W. 



Small Egg. — I have in my possession a black 

 Spanish hen's egg of so small a size that probably 

 the dimensions may be interesting. Circumference 

 round the two ends, 4* inches; round middle 4| 

 inches; length 1| inch.—/. It. 



Peora Hantoniensis. — I am sorry that 1 cannot 

 answer this question for your cerrespondent "R.T., 

 M.A.," but 1 may state that the best flora of Hants 

 at present, extant, is undoubtedly that compiled by 

 the late Dr. Bromfield, and published in the Phyto- 

 logist. If "R. T., M.A." has not the volumes of 

 t he Phytoloaist, and would like to see Dr. Brom- 

 field's " List," I shall be happy to lend them to 

 him. I have never met with the"Aunual Hamp- 

 shire Repository " — at least the volume referred to 

 by " R. T., M.A." — Henry Reeks, Thruxton, Andover. 



Borage.— This plant was formerly considered 

 very useful in different hypochondriacal complaints. 

 Hence the name of borage, derived from "cor," 

 heart ; and "ago" to bring; as it was supposed to 

 exhilarate the spirits. The young tender leaves are 

 still in request whenever the good old English 

 drink, known as "a cool tankard," is made. — Helen 

 E. Watney. 



Valisneria spiralis.— " J. M. A.'s" remarks 

 upon the blossoming of this beautiful plant (p. 190) 

 find an exact echo in my own experience. I have 

 never noticed in my tank any other than female 

 flowers, though these have appeared for the last 

 tour or five years in the utmost profusion. — Edward 

 Banks. 



Green Woodpecker.— I see, from a paragraph 

 in " Notes and Queries," that the name of '" rain- 

 bird " is given to the common woodpecker in many 

 parts of the north of England. It may be interest- 

 ing to those who are curious about provincial 

 names, to hear that in this neighbouihood the 

 country people give it the less elegant, but equally 

 expressive, name of the " wet-bird," as its cry fre- 

 quently repeated usually foretells rain. I have 

 generally found it a true prophet.— E. A. J., More- 

 tonhampstead. 



Molly-hawk.— In answer to Mr. A. Aldridge's 

 question in the August number of Science-Gossip, 

 1 beg to inform him that the bird known by seamen as 

 the " Molly-hawk " is the Sooty Albatross (Diomedea 

 fuliginosa, Latham). It is also by some called the 

 "Badiehawk," and by others the "Badie-Auk," 

 and its big brother (I), exulans, Linn.) is known to 

 them as the " Molly-muck."— G. Sim. 



Phosphorescence. — What animal or animals 

 inhabiting peat bogs are phosphorescent ? Peat is 

 not favourable to abundance or variety of life ; and, 

 until lately, I was not aware that the phenomenon 

 of phosphorescence was displayed by any of the 

 creatures who tenant our bogs. Last July, however, 

 I chanced to be benighted on a wild mountain-range 



