23S 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Oct. 1, 1S70. 



the irritable hairs or bristles, are instrumental in 

 burying the seed, confirming my observations on 

 tin's' peculiarity for a number of years. There is, 

 however, one feature in my animated oat not alluded 

 to by either of the above gentlemen ; viz., that the 

 strong and formidable awn is, when the seed is ripe, 

 bent back at a right angle at about half its length. 

 The awn, in this state, no doubt acting as a lever to 

 assist in burying the seed, exactly in the way of the 

 carpels of Erodium, as described in a former paper. 

 Avena sterilis is a handsome plant with a very grace- 

 fully-arched panicle, from which the florets — which, 

 with awn included, are fully three inches long— drop 

 in a very pleasing manner. When fully ripe, this 

 strange seed not inaptly resembles some very large 

 insect, with hairy body, enormous hind legs (the 

 bent awns), and the large expanded calyx glumes, 

 grotesquely resembling wings ; and when excited by 

 heat, it requires a little adroitness in picking it up, 

 and if held loosely in the closed hand, it is something 

 like holding an eel ; placed up the sleeve of one's 

 coat, it will soon be found on one's back, or some 

 other remote part of the body. Gathered before 

 ripe, it is very handsome as a winter decorative 

 plant, for which purpose I have grown it largely. 

 A large bunch of these oats stood on a table in my 

 little parlour, which from absence of fire had become 

 very damp. After a fire had been lit, and the little 

 room had become very warm, my attention was 

 drawn to a strange rustling sound, something like 

 that produced by a reptile gliding among dry leaves; 

 on looking round, every floret in the large bunch of 

 oats was in motion, twisting and writhing in all 

 directions, like tortured serpents, and so strong was 

 this motion, that, being rather top-heavy, it had 

 to be taken away to prevent capsizing \— Thomas 

 Williams, Bath Lodge, OrmsMrh. 



Good King Harry. — " W. B. G." may perhaps 

 be partly satisfied by reading the following passage, 

 which I translate from Jacob Grimm's " Deutsche 

 Mythologie " (German Mythology), pp. 1163, 1164, 

 a most important work, which ought to be made 

 accessible to English readers.—" Some herbs are 



called after the proper names of persons. 



Remarkable appears the herba boni Henrici (Cheno- 

 podium), sometimes called only bonus Henrietta, the 

 good Harry j the proud Harry (Atriplex), the red 

 Harry. These denominations I derive from the 

 belief in elves and kobolds, who frequently are called 

 Henry or Harry (Heinz or Heinrich), names which 

 afterwards were also transferred to evil spirits and 

 wizards. To their demoniac powers the medical 

 properties of the plant were ascribed. It is not 

 impossible that even the story of Poor Harry, the 

 origin of which is as yet not explained, may be in 

 some relation to a plant which cured the lepra, as 

 it is stated that the herba boni Henrici was con- 

 sidered to be a remedy against this illness."—-./. 

 Ernst, Caracas, Venezuela. 



Queries in No. OS. — In answer to " H. G.'s " 

 queries in your No. 68, which I got by this mail, I 

 would say that "Bois noir" is, A/bizzut Lebbek,Bth. 

 (see Grisebach, " Vegetation der Karaiben," 64) ; the 

 " Shell-flower" is most probably Fhaseolus Caracalla, 

 L., called Caracal, i.e. shell, in Cuba and other parts 

 of Spanish America; the "Pao d'arco" is Tecoma 

 toxophora, Mart.; the " Massandarnba" is Mimusops 

 elata (T. M. da Silva Continho, Memoir on the 

 Gums, Besins, and Gum-resins in the Exhibition of 

 1867, published in the " Diano olicial do Imperio 

 do Brazil," Kos. 60, 61, March 9th and 10th, 1869); 



the "Tiger-bird" may possibly be Ardea tigrina, 

 which is called Garza Tigre,i.e.Tiger-heron,inYene- 

 zuela; and finally, the " Moca-moca" trees are per- 

 haps identical with Caladium arborescens, Vent., or 

 C. aculeatum, Meyer, both being known in Dutch 

 Guyana under the name Moko-moko (see H. C. 

 Focke, " Neger-Engelsch Wordenboek," Leiden, 

 1S55, p. SI). As Waterton's "Wanderings" are not 

 to be found in Caracas, I am unable to speak more 

 positively on the last two points. — A. Ernst, Caracas, 

 Venezuela. 



Curious Bodies. — Can any of your readers tell 

 me what is supposed to be the nature of certain 

 fungoid bodies within the strong jaws of the Rove 

 Beetle [Staphylinus), and upon the under side of the 

 abdomen of the Click Beetle ? I would call atten- 

 tion to the row of shield-like bodies around the 

 opening of the ovipositor of the Rove Beetle. In- 

 sects are full of beauties and curious apparatus, 

 and well repay the trouble of preparation and ex- 

 amination. — J. B. 



Colour in Eggs. — I have had in my collection 

 for more than four years a thrush's egg which, so 

 far, has shown no sign of fading, but remains as 

 bright a blue as when I first took it out of the nest, 

 while all the others have turned pale, and have lost 

 half their beauty. Could you kindly throw a little 

 light on the subject ? I may mention that this egg 

 has not been varnished, neither have any of the 

 others. — S. A. Harry. 



Aquarium Worms.— Could you or any of your 

 readers kindly inform me how to get out of an 

 aquarium worms (I think) of the Nais tribe ? I can 

 find very little about them in books on the micro- 

 scope. I have a number in the mud of my aquarium , 

 and have tried the dipping-tube, but that has failed ; 

 have tried to scoop them out with some of the mud, 

 but have been alike unsuccessful, as they dart into 

 the mud in an instant, and are nowhere to be found ; 

 so should be very much obliged if any one could 

 inform me how to capture them for examination 

 under the microscope. — S. I. 



Helix nemoralis (p. 215).— These shells are 

 frequently very common on sandhills near the sea ; 

 and, of course, in places where they have been un- 

 disturbed for a long time, "dead" shells are 

 numerous. Erom Mr. Allingham's account, how- 

 ever, it would seem that there are now no living- 

 specimens on the sandhills he mentions ; and, con- 

 sequently, it would be interesting to learn whether 

 the dead ones there are similar to the curious shells 

 of this species found, some years since, near Conne- 

 mara, by Mr. Thomas Glover, of Manchester. The 

 shells discovered by that gentleman were large and 

 porcelain-like, extremely thick, and consequently 

 heavy, and some, which were cut in half, were found 

 to have a calcareous deposit in the upper whorls. 

 Many suggestions as to their origin, and the cause 

 of their remarkable condition, were put forth, and 

 they were generally regarded as fossil shells of a 

 recent deposit. — G. II. II. 



Quails (p. 209).— The Rev. J. C. Atkinson, in 

 his little book on " British Birds' Eggs and Nests," 

 speaking of these birds, says : " They do not pair, 

 and their nests are met with in various parts of the 

 kingdom. ... A small depression in the ground is 

 made, or found, and loosely lined with bits of grass 

 and dry stalks. Seven to ten, or possibly yet more 

 eggs, arc laid, presenting much variety of appearance, 



