IO 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



every leaf was infested. If the description just given 

 is compared with that of P. soncki, which I will pro- 

 ceed to translate from Winter's "Pilze," p. 189, it 

 will be seen that ours was probably the early stage of 

 the latter, but had not yet reached the time for the 

 production of teleutospores. The chief difference 

 lies in the fact that I found the circle of paraphyses 

 round the pustules of uredo spores. 



Puccinia sonchi, Desm. — II. Sori at first covered 

 by the epidermis, which is swollen like a bladder, 

 afterwards surrounded by it like a bowl ; roundish- 

 pulvinate, scattered or grouped without order, brown. 

 Spoies roundish, ovate, elliptic or oblong, with a very 

 thick, colourless, warted membrane, and yellow oil, 

 23-35 /* l° n S> J 6-2i jx thick. III. — Sori more com- 

 pact than in II., roundish-pulvinate, on the stem ob- 

 long, often confluent, scattered, or arranged in circles, 

 or even grouped without order ; black, surrounded by 

 brown paraphyses, which are clavately thickened 

 above. Spores on a pretty long, persistent peduncle, 

 elliptic or oblong, somewhat constricted, rounded 

 below, or tapering into the peduncle, only slightly 

 thickened and rounded or cap-shaped, at the apex ; 

 smooth, clear-brown, 30-60 /u. long, 19-30 fj. thick. 

 Mesospores numerous, similar, but only one-celled ; 

 generally more thickened at the apex, reaching 50 jjl 

 in length. 



W. B. Grove, B.A. 



HOW-TO KEEP SMALL MARINE AQUARIA. 



IN Science-Gossip for April of this year, I 

 described two small glass -jar aquaria, which I 

 had started in the middle of October, 18S3, as an 

 experiment, and which, up to that time, had proved 

 most successful for so small a quantity of water. 

 Now, on October 20th, 1884, one jar still remains, 

 with four of its original occupants after a most trying 

 time of it. 



For the benefit of those who felt interested in my 

 former paper, I will briefly sketch the history of my 

 miniature aquarium during one of the hottest 

 summers we have had for many a year. 



My first death was the small A. dianthus, which 

 seemed to grow gradually less for want of. fresh 

 sea-water, and ultimately died. About the end of 

 May I left home, but before going, I changed the 

 water of the two jars (from my reserve quart), and 

 stood the jars in a pan of water, covering them with 

 a piece of woollen material capable of keeping moist 

 by capillary attraction ; finally placing the whole in 

 a cool dark place. 



Upon my return, I was sorry to find the mussels 

 dead, and the water so offensive that the winkles had 

 crawled out, and the two old A. mesembryatitheuiurii, 

 were much contracted ; the young had disappeared. 



I thought this was a final collapse, especially as the 

 weather had set in very warm. However, I found 



that my reserve sea-water was beautifully clear, so I 

 poured off the tainted water, rinsed out jar numbei 

 one, which was now to become the receptacle for 

 what was still living, and poured the clear water upon 

 the survivors. In half-an-hour matters were "in 

 statu quo ante." A. mcsembryanthemum unfolded 

 their tentacles, and Littorina littorea recommenced 

 their travels, although their shells began to show 

 signs of want of lime. 



The bad sea-water, the smell of which was simply 

 unbearable, I strained carefully, and corked up in a 

 bottle, keeping it in the dark, and shaking it up 

 vigorously every day. In about ten days it was as 

 clear and sweet as the other ; but as the heat of the 

 weather increased I found the greatest difficulty in 

 keeping my little stock from decomposition. I 

 have, however, so far succeeded, that for more than 

 one year I kept alive four out of nine animals in 

 a pint jar of sea-water, without introducing any fresh 

 sea-water or any alga;. 



Now that the year is up, I have put into the jar a 

 good clump of ulva, fresh from the coast, and a 

 piece of chalk. The effect is evidently gratifying to 

 the prisoners, for there is a sudden addition of seven 

 young anemones, which I saw ejected myself. 



Considering the great heat, and the fact that I 

 confined my experiment strictly to the materials I 

 commenced with, I think that there is as little trouble 

 in keeping a small marine aquarium as in keeping a 

 fresh-water one, provided, of course, that one or two 

 simple laws are followed, and that the animals selected 

 be hardy species. 



Edward Lovett. 



Addiscombe, Croydon. 



GLASTONBURY AND ITS THORN. 

 By William Roberts. 



THE Somersetshire town of Glastonbury is one of 

 great antiquity. It was called by the ancient 

 Britons Avalon, from the abundance of apple-trees in 

 the district ; and by the Saxons Glasln-a-byrig, from 

 which its present name is immediately derived. 



Within a short distance of, and in a south-west 

 direction from, the site of the present town, is situated 

 a place known from time immemorial as "Weary 

 Hill," and here, it is conjectured, the first society of 

 Christian worshippers established themselves in 

 Britain. St. Patrick, who came over from Ireland in 

 439, is said to have spent thirty years of his life in the 

 convent then existing at the spot. Previous to this 

 saint's visit, the brethren had lived in miserably 

 furnished huts scattered round about the vicinity of 

 the place of worship ; and the primitive form of 

 religion, which, after the death of Lucius, the first 

 Christian king of Britain, had fallen into disuse, was 

 again resuscitated with all its former vigour. 



In 530 David, Archbishop of Menevia, with seven 



