44 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Fossil Insects.— The "Entomologist's Monthly 

 Magazine" for January contains the tenth of Mr. 

 Herbert Goss's valuable contributions to Fossil 

 Entomology. The paper in question deals with 

 the insects of the Miocene period, and the animals 

 and plants with which they were correlated. 



Palaeolithic Implements. — An important dis- 

 covery has just been made in the neighbourhood of 

 Elbceuf (Seine-Inferieure), by M. Noury. He found 

 a multitude of prehistoric implements in the sands 

 which form the subsoil of the Seine valley, between 

 Elbceuf and Rouen. In a single locality he collected 

 more than 400, as well as bones of large quaternary 

 mammals. The implements are said to belong to the 

 palceolithic age ; they consist of cut flints forming 

 axes, cores, punches, and hammers of various 

 dimensions. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Yew Poisoning.— S. A. B., in Science-Gossip 

 for December, doubts the cases of alleged poisoning 

 of animals from eating the yew. I am able to bring 

 forward a case which may perhaps remove his doubts. 

 This occurred so late as the 1st of December, at 

 Noblestown, Bew Castle, Cumberland. Mr. Leonard 

 Potts, of Kirkcumbeck, bought two valuable bullocks 

 from his uncle, Mr. James Potts, of Roansgreen, on 

 the 1st of December. The bullocks were removed 

 the same day to Noblestown Farm, and were put 

 into the orchard for the night ; next morning, both 

 the bullocks were found dead in the orchard. In 

 order to ascertain the cause of this sudden death both 

 animals were opened, when several pieces of the bark 

 of the yew-tree were found in the stomach of each. 

 There is a yew-tree in the orchard, of which the 

 cattle had eaten pieces of the bark, thus causing 

 death. Another case came within my knowledge 

 some twelve months ago, when a valuable horse 

 belonging to an extensive cartman of a railway 

 company was poisoned by eating the branches of a 

 yew. The horse had been left standing beside a yew- 

 tree for a few minutes, in the absence of the cartman, 

 during which it had eaten some of the twigs, which 

 caused its death on the following day. The remark- 

 able characters and properties of the yew have drawn 

 towards it at all times much attention. Dioscorides, 

 Pliny, Thcophrastus mention its poisonous properties ; 

 and Caesar (Bell. Gall. vi. 31) relates that Cutivolcus, 

 king of the Eburones, committed suicide by swallow- 

 ing the juice of the yew. Plutarch and Tliny say the 

 fruit is poisonous, but this is an error, as it is now an 

 established fact that the berries can be eaten with 

 impunity by children, and are greedily devoured by 

 wasps, caterpillars, and several kinds of birds. It is 

 said that deer and goats can feed on the leaves with 

 impunity. There are several varieties of yew, but 

 those best known are the common yew {Taxus 

 baccata), and the Irish yew {Taxus fastigiata), this 

 latter having been made by Lindley a distinct species. 

 It is distinguished by its upright mode of growth, 

 and by its leaves not being arranged in ranks, but 

 scattered. It was first discovered at Florence Court, 

 on the mountains of Fermanagh, and has since been 

 observed in other parts of Ireland. Now if the yew- 

 possesses such deadly qualities, why are its effects 

 not shown in every case when eaten by horses and 



cattle? I think that Professor Wiborg, of Copen- 

 hagen, accounts for this. He states that the leaves 

 of the yew are only poisonous to animals when they 

 are eaten alone, but that if eaten with three or four 

 times the quantity of other food they are innocuous. 

 This may account for the animals mentioned by 

 S. A. B. having eaten the branches with impunity. 

 Those who have paid attention to horses and cattle 

 grazing in a pasture-field, will have noticed thern 

 nibbling the branches of any trees that come in their 

 way ; but this is only after they have become satis- 

 fied with their proper food. — Dipton Burn. 



What are " Mealies " ?— It would be interesting 

 to the readers of Science-Goss-IP to see a description, 

 botanical and economical, of the plant which produces 

 the "mealies," so often mentioned in the reports 

 from Zululand, which are read daily with interest by 

 all Englishmen. — E. Y. S. 



Water-Cresses.— Can any one give me a few 

 citations from eminent authorities as to the dietetic 

 value of the above plant ? — A'. B. B. 



Notes on Rookeries.— Many years ago a rookery 

 was established in a plantation on the north side 

 of St. George's Church, Newcastle, Staffordshire, 

 through some rooks' eggs being placed in a magpie's 

 nest, which was built on one of the trees ; the mag- 

 pie's eggs were taken out, and the rooks' put in their 

 place. Various vicissitudes have from time to time 

 befallen this rookery, such as the birds being recklessly 

 shot, the nests robbed of their eggs, and more 

 especially a high wind, which several years ago, 

 blowing many of the trees down, all but drove the 

 rooks entirely away. But of late years the rookery 

 has gradually increased in size ; last year there were 

 between eighty and ninety nests, this year (1879) 

 there were only seventy, doubtless, owing to the 

 long severe winter and stormy spring we have just 

 experienced. One of the rough windy days last 

 March blew some of the nests out of the trees and 

 killed the young birds. Two or three friends now 

 contribute a small sum yearly for the preservation 01 

 the rookery, which is full of interest to all who love 

 to watch the habits of these intellectual and remark- 

 able birds ; indeed this little colony is quite an 

 ornament and pleasure to the neighbourhood. The 

 following notes upon the above subject may not here 

 be out of place ; they were sent to us by a friend 

 living in Leamington. She remarks : " There are a 

 few old elm-trees before my sitting-room window, 

 and I see the rooks are beginning to build. Last year 

 it was much amusement to watch them ; they are 

 very quarrelsome, but are very wonderful in their 

 habits, and a delightful study. I watched one pair 

 that were most persevering, but as fast as they had 

 begun their nest, or somewhat progressed, a party of 

 j some four or five would come all together and pull 

 1 every stick down . At last I saw the nest half finished, 

 and the poor disconsolate bird was sitting in the only 

 half-made nest ; her head was always to be observed 

 above the edge of the nest, while all the other birds 

 were totally hidden. A gentleman who had made 

 the rooks a study for some time past said he noticed 

 there was one tree where they would assemble and 

 caw away, but if any attempted to put a stick there 

 to build a nest it was a sure sign for them all to 

 protest against it, and not one would they allow to 

 be built in that special tree." The Rev. Gilbert 

 White has given us several interesting accounts of 

 the habits of rooks. In his " Natural History of 

 Selborne," he remarks, "that during the breeding 

 season, rooks are continually fighting and pulling 

 each other's nests to pieces ; these proceedings are 



