14: 



HARDWICKE 1 S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Kent's Hole, and to the east of the mouth of Beaulieu 

 river ; and of depression at Tilbury Docks, Selsea, 

 Ryde, Brading harbour, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, 

 Bourne valley, river Dart, Pentium, Carnon, and 

 Torbay ; besides changes of some kind at Pagham 

 Harbour, the Solent, the Isle of Wight and Poole. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



TheWaterOusel in Northumberland.— This 

 is perhaps one of the most common of the water- 

 frequenting birds (wren and wagtail excepted). It is 

 perhaps more common in Northumberland than in 

 any other county in England, and is to be found in 

 almost all the valleys of the small unfrequented 

 streams of that county. There, in the summer, you 

 may, if you sit by the banks of the river, catch sight 

 of it diving into the water in search of insects. It 

 has been said by a great authority, that the ousel has 

 the power of walking on the bed of the river, but I 

 am very much inclined to doubt that, though there is 

 no doubt that its food consists of insects that cling to 

 the bottom of the stones, as well as of small fish, and 

 you would almost wonder at its power in getting to 

 these insects. It is capable of staying a long space of 

 time under the water, and it also swims well on the 

 surface. It is most interesting to stand and watch 

 this bird obtain its food. It will dive headlong into 

 the water, rise up again after capturing its prey, and 

 proceed to devour it, and if you go to the spot you 

 will generally find it strewn with fragments of the 

 shell, or cases of the water-insects. It builds its nests 

 in the banks of the stream which it frequents, and 

 prefers to be in the solitudes of the woods, rather than 

 near the haunts of men, though I have known one 

 case where one, or rather a pair, of these birds built 

 their nest in close proximity to a large town. In 

 winter especially, it seems to draw near to the towns 

 and villages on the banks of the streams. It is then 

 that its low sweet song may be heard to perfection. 

 These birds are very early builders, a pair, to my know- 

 ledge, having commenced to build their nest early in 

 the month of February, 18S3. It was then beautiful 

 mild weather, but early in the following month, 

 before they had finished their building operations, a 

 severe frost set in, followed by a heavy fall of snow. 

 This did not at all hinder the process of building, but 

 it seemed to be an incentive to make them work 

 harder, for one morning, while the ground was covered 

 with snow, I stood and watched them for about an 

 hour, and I saw them fly into the tunnel (in the wall 

 of which they were building their nest), every two or 

 three minutes, with roots and leaves in their bills, 

 and on March 15 it laid the first egg ; this day was 

 probably the coldest day we had that winter. But, 

 soon after, I think when it had got its fourth egg, it 

 was robbed by some idle boys. Strange to say, it 

 shifted its residence to a new spot, not .many yards 

 from the old spot, and built a new nest, and succeeded 

 in hatching its full complement of eggs, six in number. 

 The eggs are of a beautiful white. The song of this 

 bird is low and sweet, and, strange to say, when you 

 hear it singing, you would think that you were listen- 

 ing to a chorus of birds instead of one. Its song may 

 be heard at its best in winter. — J. Bozoman, Neivcastk- 

 on- Tyne, Northumberland. 



Ranunculus Ficaria. — Not only is R. ftcaria 

 usually classed as the "pile-wort," but it is equally 



commonly described as Lesser celandine. The 

 following authors so name it : Sir J. D. Hooker, 

 in the " Student's Flora of the British Islands " ; Anne 

 Pratt, Spencer Thompson, in " British Wild Flowers, 

 where to find, and how to know them ; " J. T. 

 Burgess, in his little book on "Old English Wild 

 Flowers." It is not wise to place any reliance on 

 the popular or trivial name of a plant when seeking 

 its genus, for such trivial name will often vary with 

 locality. It would take a student a long time to find 

 the evening primrose among the Primulacese. — F. jf. 

 George. 



Golden Eagle's Eggs. — The fact of the eagle 

 mentioned [by A. F. being kept in captivity would 

 not, I think, have any effect on the colour of the eggs. 

 They are to be found from pure white to those of a 

 rich dark brown, and I have a pair in my collection 

 of the former colour taken in Scotland. It is, I think, 

 more remarkable that it should lay at all, as, 

 although it is said to be more easily domesticated 

 than the white-tailed eagle, it is a species that does 

 not readily lay in confinement. — jf. M. Campbell. 



Tree standing after a fall of many feet. — 

 In the description in White's " Sel borne " of a land- 

 slip at Hawkley, mention is made of several oaks, 

 which slipped thirty or forty feet, but still remained 

 standing and in a state of vegetation. Several years 

 ago, a similar occurrence took place in Hubbard's 

 Valley, near Louth, when a beech (Fagus sylvatica) 

 growing near the top of a steep bank, from the side 

 of which much chalk had been excavated, slipped 

 down, together with the earth at its roots, for a 

 distance more than equal to its own height. This 

 tree, which is still standing, produces every year an 

 ordinary supply of foliage, and seems to have been 

 but little affected by its fall.—//. Wallis Kew, Louth. 



A correspondent sends from Kent a specimen 

 of an abnormal bluebell {Scilla nutans) in which the 

 bracts are greatly developed, attaining a length be- • 

 tv/een two and three inches, or even more. The 

 bracts are yellowish and green, instead of being blue, 

 as in the normal flower, and their great length gives 

 the raceme a tasselled appearance as in a sprouting 

 ear of grass. 



Chara and Nitella. — Can any one kindly inform 

 me where chara and nitella can be found near 

 Tonbridge?— C. J. Bohnso. 



Purple W t ood Sorrel. — Can any reader kindly 

 tell me if this is a distinct species ? I have found it 

 several times in North Wales. In some places the 

 flowers were a deep purple, in others a pinkish 

 purple. In both plants, the under side of the leaves 

 was very dark, those of the deep purple flowers being 

 darkest. — M. E. Thomson. 



The Colour of the Red Sea. — I shall be glad 

 to add a few remarks to Dr. Stonham's in your March 

 number, on the minute weed seen by him in the Red 

 Sea. I have had many opportunities of observing it, 

 and have found it in both Atlantic Oceans, both 

 Pacific Oceans, and the Bay of Bengal, so it seems to 

 be pretty largely distributed. I am of the opinion 

 that it is often noted as volcanic dust when seen in 

 calm weather floating on the surface, and also that it 

 frequently escapes notice altogether. Sometimes I 

 have seen it, and even when I have called attention 

 to it floating in the sea, yet till I got some water in a 

 bucket, other people could not distinguish it. In 

 addition to the little bundles Dr. Stonham figuies, 

 little balls may frequently be seen very similar to the 



