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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



to appear under a sort of membrane. This is a pupa 

 state. A final moulting sets free the wings also, and 

 the insect is now perfect. — Dunley Owen, B.Sc. 



Phosphorescent Insects. — I venture to send an 

 additional circumstance which seems to explain the 

 phenomenon described in November Science-Gossip. 

 I saw the other evening, on my gravel-walk, a bright 

 light, which I found to proceed from a centipede, 

 which was being violently attacked by a beetle, 

 apparently Steropus madidus. The latter kept 

 pouncing on its victim, and biting it with fury, and 

 the beetle itself, as well as the gravel around, was 

 covered with the luminous matter from the centipede, 

 so that its form was distinct, in spite of the darkness. 

 I brought the centipede indoors, and it seemed 

 injured. It seemed to me to be unusually luminous, 

 from the excitement it was in from the assaults of this 

 carnivorous beetle. — John C. Scitdamore, Norfolk. 



Water Voles. — To substantiate my conjecture as 

 to the carnivorous habits of water voles, I may mention 

 that it was on the 5th of February, 1884, that I found the 

 shells in their runs, and amongst them was a quantity 

 of recent excrement of some small animal. With 

 regard to Mr. J. A. Wheldon's suggestion, that it 

 might have been done by common rats, I believe they 

 only frequent the water during the summer time. 

 There is no building of any kind, I should think, 

 within a mile of the spot where the shells were found, 

 and although I am often walking by the side of this 

 canal, I have never seen a common rat there. — F. H. 

 Parrott, Aylesbury. 



Mildness of the Season at Arundel. — While 

 taking a long walk in Arundel Park on Sunday, 

 November 23rd, I observed several new shoots on the 

 lime-tree, with their leaf buds expanding, and in 

 three or four instances fully developed. A few days 

 a friend of mine noticed some new shoots on the oak 

 tree. These shoots must owe their early development 

 to the then mildness of weather at the time of their 

 evolution. Primroses have been gathered here quite 

 a month ago. — A. JK Fry. 



Large Unios and Anodons in Nottingham- 

 shire. — Mr. Planner's note concerning the Unio 

 pictorum, 4 |3 in., will, I have no doubt, be answered 

 by Mr. Tuxford himself. I will only say that I 

 have collected some from the same locality, as large 

 and larger than the size mentioned. So far as there 

 is any doubt as to their being Unios, I can only say 

 that after fifteen years' collecting, neither Mr. Tux- 

 ford nor myself would be likely to mistake the species. 

 Mr. Harmer mentions large anodons, 61 in. I took, 

 a month since, at Sutton in Ashfield, in this county, 

 some 300 specimens of A. cygnea, 150 of which 

 measure more than 6\ in. One specimen measures 

 7j in., two more 7 in., 30 between 6| in. and 7 in. and 

 50 or 60 between 6^ and 6\. These are the largest I 

 have ever seen, but the species has been found much 

 larger (see old numbers of Science- Gossip). Speci- 

 mens have been taken at Southampton, measuring 

 8^ in., and in one case as much as 9 in. At Worthing, 

 also, very large ones have been obtained, measuring 

 "]\ in. and 8 in. Should Mr. Harmer be desirous of 

 seeing a specimen, I shall be pleased to send him a 

 6^ in. A cygnea, if he will send me his address (see 

 exchange column for my own). — C/ias. T. Musson. 



Large Unios and Anodons. — Since writing my 

 note respecting the large shells in Ossington Lake, 

 I have paid another visit to that locality. I was 

 pleased to find that one portion where the shells 

 were very plentiful had been untouched by the 



workmen ; here I gathered many large specimens of 

 Unio pictorum, several exceeding five inches in 

 length, the largest measuring 5f s inches. I also 

 obtained many examples of Anodon cygneus, the 

 largest having a length of 6-| inches. In respect to 

 Mr. E. G. Planner's note, I must remark that I never 

 saw an Anodon cygneus which I should consider " a 

 very similar looking shell " to Unio pictorum, nor, 

 in fact, one that even bore a remote resemblance to 

 any of the anodons. If Mr. Harmer has any such 

 variety of this species, I shall be very pleased to make 

 an exchange of shells with him. — IV. Gain, Tuxford, 

 Newark. 



Bats.- — A note appears in your December number 

 re bats flying during the winter months. It is possible 

 that they do so, and I should say the reason was, 

 mild weather during the time they were observed. I 

 have noted that some hybernating animals seem to 

 sufter, owing to partially renewed activity through 

 mild winters, more than they would naturally do 

 through a cold one. The warm weather, when no 

 suitable food exists, must cause a waste of tissue, 

 which cannot be replaced until the following spring, 

 hence hybernating creatures such as the bat, grass 

 snake, common lizard, &c, would present a more 

 attenuated appearance in the spring following a mild 

 winter, than if the winter had been cold, and thus 

 inducive to complete torpor. I have observed this 

 with respect to the grass-snake, but not yet with the 

 bat. However, I have one now under observation, 

 which is hybernating in a bird cage, and I notice it is 

 rather restless on a warm night. — F. W. Halfpenny. 



Camel. — A dromedary is a camel, but a camel is 

 not a dromedary. This I learned to recognise in 

 repeated travels in Egypt and Asia Minor. The 

 dromedary, as its name implies, is a swift animal, 

 and bears the same relation to the camel as the fast 

 trotting-horse does to the cart-horse, or pack-horse — 

 these last being strong, heavy and slow. The drome- 

 dary is credited with trotting about twenty miles an 

 hour — the torture of such a trot to one unaccustomed 

 to it is fearful. An Arab bearer of despatches will 

 keep up the pace for hours together. A well-bred, 

 well-trained dromedary — for there are great dif- 

 ferences — is valuable. A regular camel or burden- 

 bearer cannot be forced more than some four or five 

 miles an hour. Having ridden these day after day 

 across the desert, I can say the movement caused by 

 the long swinging sort of walk — though not painful 

 to the rider, causes great fatigue till he learns to 

 accommodate his back-bone to the motion of the 

 animal. The Egyptian camel then and dromedary 

 have respectively one hump, and a camel judge 

 estimates an animal by the plumpness of this store- 

 house of fat. I never saw a " Bactrian " or two-humped 

 camel, till I was east of the Crimea. — John Anthony, 

 M.D., F.R.M.S. 



Irish Pearls. — In the muddy banks of the tidal 

 river Blackwater, Waterford, buried to the depth of 

 some inches, is found a shell-fish, commonly known 

 as the sugar-loom, and which are used as bait for 

 fishing. In some of these shells have been lately 

 found a number of pearls, the finders of which looked 

 upon them as no value, the shell fish being only 

 looked for as bait. A few days ago a gentleman 

 encountered a young lad who had several of these 

 pearls in his pocket, and one of these having been 

 sent to an expert has been valued at j£$, and there is 

 no doubt but that a large number of pearls of con- 

 siderable value are lying covered in the mud of the 

 river. — J. Graves. 



