162 



HARDWICKK S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



the bulbous crowfoot {Ranunculus bulbosus) showing 

 abnormal development of the floral axis. The height 

 of it was 6 inches from the neck of the root to the 

 apex of the flower-head, f of an inch broad at the 

 base of the stem, graduated to h inch at the thalamus. 

 The flowering portion consisted of a conglomeration 

 of six ordinary flowers on the top of a fasciated 

 peduncle, arranged in such a manner that most of 

 the productive organs were in the centre, the floral 

 envelopes encircling them, thus giving it at a little 

 distance the appearance of one large flower. I have 

 never seen one so peculiar before, although aware that 

 the genus is liable to deviation from the normal 

 growth. — Teratologist. 



On the Designation of Stiral Curves. — In 

 the " Academy " of the 27th of January, 1877, is a 

 paragraph on the use of the terms " dextrorse" and 

 "sinistrorse;' employed by some writers in the oppo- 

 site sense to that in which others use them, according 

 as the writer imagines himself to be in the centre of 

 the spiral or outside it. It seems to me that much 

 confusion would be avoided, if, instead of imagining 

 oneself either inside or outside the spiral, one put 

 oneself in the place of the spiral. To make my 

 meaning clear, suppose a man to be ascending a tower 

 by a spiral staircase, he either keeps to his right or 

 keeps to his left, according to the manner in which 

 the staircase twists. In the same way, by the use of 

 the locutions " twining to its right " and " twining to 

 /fa left" with regard to plants, all ambiguity would 

 be obviated. — 13. Ilobson. 



Organs of Mosses. — After reading several ac- 

 counts of mosses I fail to find information on the 

 following points, and shall be glad if any readers can 

 give it. 1. Use of the calyptra after being torn away 

 from the vaginula. 2. Use of the paraphyses. 3. Use 

 of the apophysis. 4. Whether the vaginula is merely 

 the base of the archegonium from which the calyptra 

 has been torn away, or a special and separately 

 developed tissue. 5. The manner in which the 

 antherozoids, after leaving the antheridia, are con- 

 veyed to the archegonia. — Inquisitive. 



New Plants. — We have received part 3 of 

 "Diagnoses Plantarum novarum vel minus cognitarum 

 Mexicanarum et Centrali-Americanarum," by Mr. 

 W. B. Hemsley, A.L.S. 



The British Moss-Flora. — We have received 

 Part I. of this important work by Dr. Braithwaite, 

 F.L.S., &g. The author's reputation as a bryologist 

 is world-wide, and this book is worthy of his name. 

 We can only sincerely wish the author health and 

 leisure sufficient to complete it. The present part is 

 in reality the monograph of the Andreacese, and it is 

 illustrated by two beautiful plates, giving structural 

 details of the five different species. Author, artist, 

 and publisher are all represented in Dr. Braithwaite, 



of whom these half-crown parts can be obtained, at 

 303 Clapham Road. When completed it will be the 

 most thorough work of the kind yet undertaken, and 

 by the most capable of living bryologists. We may 

 add that each family of British Mosses will occupy 

 a monograph and be illustrated by plates of all the 

 species, with microscopic details of structure. 



GEOLOGY. 



Ancient glacial Condition in India.— Mr. 

 V. Ball, M.A., F.G.S., read a paper at a recent 

 meeting of the Royal Dublin Geographical Society 

 on this subject. In this communication the author 

 gave a brief risumi of the facts which are held by 

 Indian geologists to prove that during a part of the 

 Talchir period the climate of Peninsular India was 

 sufficiently cold, during the winters at least, to cause 

 the formation of land-ice on the margins of the great 

 lakes which then existed. The facts are similar to 

 those employed to establish the glacial period of 

 Europe. There is a boulder bed which contains huge 

 masses of rock enveloped in fine silt. In some cases 

 it is demonstrable that these boulders have been 

 carried from long distances in a direction contrary to 

 the present slope of the surface. In others, but less 

 commonly, polished and striated boulders have been 

 found resting on scored and striated surfaces. The 

 fossils of the Talchir rocks, consisting of a few ferns 

 and Equisetacete — all previous periods having been 

 azoic — are not inconsistent with a mild, temperate 

 climate. Reference was made by the author to the 

 Karroo beds of South Africa and the Permian 

 breccias of England, which are likewise believed to 

 have had a glacial origin. 



Transactions of the Watford Natural 

 History Society and Hertfordshire Field 

 Club. — We have received vol. ii., part 7, of the 

 above Transactions, containing "Remarks on the 

 Winter of 1878-79." By William Marriot, Esq., 

 F.M.S., and an important paper on "The Recent 

 Discovery of Silurian Rocks in Hertfordshire, and 

 their relation to the Water-bearing Strata of the 

 London Basin." By the Hon. Sec, Mr. John Hop- 

 kinson, F.L.S., F.G.S. 



The Mineralisation of Coal Plants. — I 

 have often been struck with the appearance of the 

 matrix surrounding our coal plants while preparing 

 sections for examination with the microscope. Some 

 sections are surrounded with little of anything but 

 carbonate of lime, others are surrounded with frag- 

 ments of rootlets of stigmaria, bundles of scalariform 

 tissues, broken pieces of woody fibre, Sec. Others 

 again are surrounded with the'pinnules of fern which 

 are cut at every angle owing to the position in which 

 they lie, and frequently these pinnules are shown bent 

 back at the edges as is seen in some recent species, 



