HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



139 



soldier (Stratiotes), two or three water-lilies, and three 

 plants of the Anacharis, which is the best plant I have 

 discovered for a pond that will cause goldfish to breed 

 in it. The fish will always find food where the 

 Anacharis grows, and will. eat it, hide in it, and spawn 

 on it, if not disturbed in their breeding season. The 

 plants should be placed in flowerpots some distance 

 apart, and rock work around the pots to keep them 

 steady ; some of the plants when grown too large, 

 can be taken out, and a few of the young buds placed 

 in instead, particularly the Anacharis, as it grows so 

 fast in the summer months ; it should be changed 

 twice a year. Any small spray will grow planted, 

 and will grow as well if left floating on the water. 

 I would not recommend it for a large pond or a large 

 sheet of water, as it will soon choke it up, unless 

 swans are kept there ; those birds feed on it and 

 thrive well. I think our aquarium tanks are too 

 small for the spawn of goldfish to come to anything. 

 I have kept tanks for years and never got any young 

 gold-fish from their spawn, after trying all sorts of 

 ways. To keep goldfish healthy in the aquarium you 

 must only give them a small fly or a red worm ; if 

 you can get enough plants of Vallisneria do not place 

 in any others. Above all things do not give the fish 

 biscuit, bread, or meat, as it will cause a disease in 

 the fish. The fish like fine gravel at the bottom. 

 They take it in their mouth occasionally ; it does 

 them good, and cleans the mouth. Small roach may 

 be kept with goldfish, as they thrive very well 

 together. — A. J. R. Sclatcr, Teignmouth. 



BOTANY. 



Respiration of Plants. — If Colonel Dickens 

 will expose a piece of a plant to the light of the sun 

 under an inverted glass vessel full of some water in 

 which lias been dissolved some carbon dioxide, he 

 will soon see bubbles of gas collect on the leaves 

 of the plant. If this gas is examined, it will be 

 found to be oxygen gas. If on the other hand, the 

 water be examined, it will be found to have lost some 

 of its carbon dioxide. This I think proves that 

 plants take in carbon dioxide, and give out oxygen ; 

 but that they do not take in oxygen and give out 

 carbon dioxide. — C. B. 



Abnormal Development of Fir-stem. — In 

 Merevale Park, Atherstone, Warwickshire, there is 

 growing a fir which has its stem bifurcate from about 

 half-way up. The bifurcation is remarkably equal, 

 and both stems continue beautifully straight. I have 

 never before noticed this dichotomous branching- of 

 the fir ; have any of your readers ? It probably 

 resulted from injury to the terminal bud when young. 

 — George T. Harris. 



Plants and the Late Winter. — It may in- 

 terest your readers to know what plants were injured 



by the repeated changes of the weather during the 

 last winter in the Flower Garden, Kensington, and 

 at Battersea Park. The Flower Walk, 13 April, 

 1880. — Quercus vireus, Quercus cerres, Quercus saber, 

 Quercus agrifolia, Quercus [broad-leaved), Quercus ilex, 

 Mahonia agrifolia, Ligustrum lucidum, Jasminum 

 fruticans, Arbutus procera, Laurus nobilis, Laitrus 

 nobilis var. salicifolia, Cerasus lusitanica, Ccdrus 

 deodara (unhealthy), Biota tatarica, Cratcegus pyra- 

 cantha, Nitriscus syriacus, Eucalyptus globulus. 

 Battersea Park, 13 April, 1880. Generally little 

 difference, somewhat better, except Viburnum times, 

 many of which much hurt, and the leading shoots 

 of many hollies dead, in which case Battersea Park is 

 worse off than Flower Walk. The damage may per- 

 haps be attributed to frequent rain by day, followed 

 by frost at night, thus coating the leaves with ice. — 

 M. M. 



Heteromorphic Fertilisation of Primula 

 Vulgaris. — I was botanising in a wood, one of the 

 days this spring, and on stooping down to select some 

 specimens of Primula vulgaris, I noticed something 

 dark moving among the stamens of a thrum-eyed 

 flower ; carefully shaking out the insect, I found it 

 was a small beetle covered with pollen ; I then 

 searched for a root bearing pin-eyed flowers, and 

 was successful in finding one having on its stigma a 

 beetle of the species just captured, also covered with 

 pollen, some of which had been retained by the viscid 

 surface of the stigma. I examined the base of the 

 corolla-tubes, wondering whether the insects confined 

 themselves to the upper series of stamens and pistils, 

 or penetrated to the lower series ; they seemed, how- 

 ever, to confine themselves to the mouth of the tube. 

 In most of the flowers examined the insects were in 

 copula. — George T. Harris. 



The Study of Mosses. — Mr. Robert Anslow 

 has published his paper on the above subject (Wel- 

 lington, R. Hobson). It has a well-written intro- 

 duction to the structures of mosses, and contains a 

 copious list of all the species found about the Wrekin. 

 It is, therefore, a welcome contribution to the Bryo- 

 logy of Shropshire. 



The Exploration of Socotra. — Dr. Balfour 

 has returned from his very short exploration of 

 Socotra. Among his prizes is a large plant of the 

 Draaeua, which yields the "Dragon's blood" of 

 Socotra, and which until lately was unknown to 

 botanical science. 



Notes on Occurrence of Rare Flowers. — 

 A few notes as to some scarce and local flowers found 

 in my neighbourhood, may not prove altogether un- 

 interesting to the readers of Science-Gossip. The 

 rare Carum verticillatum, or whorled caraway, occurs 

 not uncommonly in some of the damp meadows in 

 the neighbourhood, while at Ferryside, a little water- 

 ing-place at the mouth of the Towy, the Sea spurge 



