184 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



The following account of the specific character- 

 istics of the male red -breasted merganser (Mergus 

 scrrator) cannct be regarded as complete : — The 

 head is decorated with a long loose crest of a glossy 

 dark-green colour ; the upper mandible is reddish- 

 brown, the lower one is of an orange tint ; a few 

 rather large feathers, of a pure white colour margined 

 with black, crop out from each side of the breast, and 

 fold over the wings when these are at rest ; the 

 ■upper breast is reddish-brown, the lower is pure 

 "white, but when the bird is just recently killed, there 

 is thereabouts a beautiful salmon-colour tint ; the 

 outside of the tarsus and toes, and the webs are of a 

 purplish shade, while the claws are of a light greyish- 

 brown. The total length of the bird is about twenty- 

 one inches. As is the case with almost all the Anati- 

 dx, a most important c pecific indication is afforded by 

 the appearance of the trachea. In the red-breasted 

 merganser, the structure and arrangement of this 

 organ are so singular as to merit a detailed descrip- 

 tion. Two inches from the mouth, it swells out to 

 four times it's diameter, an enlargement which it 

 maintains for the space of two inches and a half; it 

 then continues as at first for another couple of inches, 

 when it becomes flattened for the same distance 

 further ; it finally appears under the form of a bony 

 labyrinth which measures two inches long, by one 

 and a half in breadth, and which is covered with a 

 yellowish skin-like parchment. 



This species nidifies from about March till May or 

 June. Greenland, Newfoundland, and the shores of 

 Hudson's Bay are the localities which have been 

 •notified as its special haunts during the breeding 

 season. But away along the margins and among the 

 islands of the more lonely and secluded Highland 

 •lochs, the nest of this bird has been frequently dis- 

 covered. It is said to be commonly situated amongst 

 brushwood, and at a few yards from the water, and 

 to be warmly constructed with the down taken from 

 the bird's own body. 



The persecution to which this beautiful bird has 

 been subjected by the human race for ages past, may 

 be inferred and estimated from the contemplation of 

 •its incomparable diving powers, and by its shyness 

 and general deportment when pursued. The love of 

 power inherent in man, which, in the destitution of 

 other means of gratification, seeks to slaughter the 

 beasts of the field and the birds of the air, has been 

 especially directed against this beautiful merganser. 

 We cannot here enter into a discussion regarding the 

 relation which may subsist between the shyness and 

 vigilance of the bird, and the amount or kind of 

 persecution to which it has been subjected, since the 

 unlucky period when it first became known to human 

 beings. Nor can we venture to suggest a cause or 

 reason for the gorgeous apparel with which it has 

 been clothed. Neither can we confidently pronounce 

 whether this ostentatious drapery subserves any 

 .particular purpose, whether it exists only to please 



the eye of man, or whether the bird is beautiful for 

 the mere sake of beauty. All these questions are 

 replete with interest, and furnish ample material for 

 the reflective and thoughtful mind ; but, at the same 

 time, they are fraught with danger. They contain 

 many mazes and labyrinths, which are difficult if not 

 impossible to thread, and which are ever liable to 

 land the rash and unwary speculator in quagmires 

 and obscure haunts, where the glorious light of 

 religion is for ever quenched. Perhaps the most 

 unequivocal mark of design, connected with the 

 subject of our paper, is the peculiar structure of the 

 beak. Unlike that of the generality of the duck 

 family, it is adapted, not so much for straining the 

 water and the sandy particles from the edible morsel 

 within the mouth, as to effectually seize and firmly 

 retain the solid body of a fish. 



PELORIC FORM OF ORCHIS MASCULA. 



PELORIA, or the regular form of flowers normally 

 irregular, seems to be most common among 

 flowers with spurred petals. In Linaria, with one 

 spur, the flowers are sometimes altered so that all 

 the petals are spurred. In Columbine, on the other 

 hand, with all the petals spurred in their normal 

 condition, forms are sometimes found with the spurs 

 suppressed. For peloric forms to be found among 

 the orchids is, however, much less common. We 

 have, growing wild, in this neighbourhood, about 

 three plants which every year produce these curious 

 forms. I first found them last year, and sent 

 specimens to two or three friends, who, like my- 

 self, were much puzzled, and could make nothing of 

 them. One gave it up in despair, another thought 

 the plant might be Epipactis purpurea, but could not 

 make form of ovary to agree. This year I submitted 

 specimens to Dr. Hooker, who was much interested 

 with them, said he had seen nothing like them, and 

 pronounced them to be peloric forms of O. morio or 

 mascula. After subsequent examination and informa- 

 tion he decided upon mascula. I regret I have not a 

 specimen to send for engraving, and my description, 

 from memory, must necessarily be vague. I hope, 

 however, to remedy these defects next year. The 

 most striking difference is in the form of the lowest 

 petal, which, instead of being much larger than the 

 upper pair, and spurred, is equal in size and form to 

 the other two, and without the spur. The petals of 

 the upper pair are larger than in ordinary forms of 

 the flower ; all are purple and without spots. The 

 calyx is coloured like the corolla, the three sepals are 

 about the usual size ; so that the floral leaves, six in 

 number, are alike in colour and size, and the perianth 

 is therefore regular. As there is no spur, and there- 

 fore no apparent receptacle for honey, it seems 

 difficult to understand how this form can be repro- 

 duced. A friend of mine informs me on the authority 



