42 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Weather-glass). At Esholt a rose-coloured speci- 

 men of Oxalis acetosella. I collected two white 

 specimens of Solatium dulcamara two years ago, but 

 cannot remember the locality. The places that I 

 have mentioned above are all (excepting Settle) 

 within walking distance of the large town of Leeds. 

 — Fred. Casson. 



The Plants op Whitelex Dean.— Whiteley 

 Dean may be a new place to many of the readers of 

 Science-Gossip for botanical rarities, jet it has 

 been for many years noted. There are many speci- 

 mens to be found there that are not to be met with 

 for miles elsewhere. Buxton, in his " Guide to 

 Plants growing Seventeen Miles round Manchester," 

 speaks of Malaxis paludosa as growing near to 

 Milnrow. No doubt this is the place indicated. 

 It has been thonght that this plant was locally 

 extinct, but after a few years' diligent search I have 

 had the good fortune to meet with it, but at a dif- 

 ferent place to where it used to grow, and I have 

 reason to believe that it is due to an old veteran 

 botanist in our locality, Mr. James SchoCeld, of 

 Lady House, near Milnrow, who tells me he once 

 removed one to a different situation. It is very 

 rare,— I only found some half-dozen specimens. 

 Another plaut 1 have not seen for some time, 

 common Butterwort (Piaguicula vulgaris), but 

 I believe it is still in existence. I have sometimes 

 found it rooted up, which I always attributed to the 

 sheep-keepers, who believe with Whithering that it 

 causes diseases in sheep. The Bound-leaved Sun- 

 dew (Drosera rotundifolia) is very common, almost 

 as common as anything in the Dean; also, the 

 Ivy-leaved Bell-flower {Campanula hederacea), Bog 

 Pimpernel [AmgaUis tenella), Bog Asphodel (Nar- 

 thecium ossifragum), but not plentiful. Marsh 

 Arrowgrass [Trigloehmpalustre), Great Water-scor- 

 pion Grass, Forget-me-not {Mgosotis palustris). 

 Another locally-common plant said to be scarce in 

 most parts of England is the Mountain Spignel or 

 Bald-money (Meum athimanticum), also one of the 

 Cow-wheats (Melampyrum pratense). Amongst 

 the mosses I may mention a few : Mnzum- subglo- 

 Bosum, Fountain Apple-moss (Bartramia fontana). 

 I have found in fruit this last summer Hz/pnum 

 aduncum, U. cuspidatum, II. fluitans, H. commu- 

 tatum, Sphagnum acutifolium, S. squamosum, S. 

 obtusifolium (the former fruited very freely this 

 last summer), Dicranum squamosum, Atrichum laxi- 

 folium, and Bryum pseudo-triquelrum.—B. Belfield, 

 La,ic Bullom, near Milnrow. 



Hterociiloe borealis— With reference to the 

 early or late time of flowering of this plant, Science- 

 Gossip, November, p. 262, I would beg to lay 

 before your readers the testimony of one of the 

 most eminent of living professors of botany. He 

 says: "The Uierochloe borealis usually flowers in 



April. It is certainly an early-flowering plant." 

 I suppose this testimony is decisive. — R. W. 



Petasites pragrans (Sweet-scented Butter- 

 bur, or Coltsfoot). — Perhaps it will interest some 

 readers of Science-Gossip to know that this plant 

 is very abundant in the neighbourhood of Tenby, 

 and especially so in the village of Penally, where I 

 gathered a fine bunch of it in flower on Decem- 

 ber 24th. I also gathered it near Carmarthen last 

 winter, in flower, immediately after some very severe 

 weather. — II. Lewis Jones. 



Cladiuai Mariscus. — Your correspondent F. H. 

 Arnold asks where Chadium Mariscus is to be found 

 in the southern counties. I can help him to one 

 locality, for I gathered the plant last autumn from 

 the banks of the lake iu Arundel Park, Sussex. — 

 H. E. Wilkinson. 



Centaurea solstitialis. — This phut, which I 

 mistook for a yellow variety of C. Calcitrapa, and 

 which I mentioned as being so abundant here in a 

 field of lucern in the autumn of 1875, did not 

 appear again this year, although the lucern was 

 allowed to remain. I suppose that the summer here 

 was not long enough for it to ripen its seeds, or 

 that the frosts of spring destroyed the young plants. 

 It is mentioned in an old work which I have re- 

 ferred to, as being a native of Montpellier. I sent 

 specimens to two of our regular correspondents, 

 Mr. G. C. Druce, of Northampton, and Mr. W. 

 Green, of Bristol, but uufortuuately my notice sent 

 to Science-Gossip was held over until the winter, 

 when the plants had perished. Hooker gives its 

 habitat as fields in south and east of England. I 

 shall be glad to know from any of our correspondents 

 in what locality it is an established plant. C. Cal- 

 citrapa is very abundant here as a roadside weed. — 

 Dr. Morton, New Brompton, Kent. 



Colours op Crocuses.— Before we accept the 

 conclusion of Mr. Thirkel, may I ask him if his 

 crocuses may not possibly be an example of the 

 Darwinian theory that the " fittest survive " ? I 

 have known a bed of blue crocuses to appear year 

 after year of the same colour, and have in my own 

 gardens some thousand or more bulbs which I 

 believe always come true, still I think it most likely, 

 if a number of blue and yellow crocuses were 

 planted together, that the yellow variety, being the 

 hardiest, would propagate faster, and ultimately 

 crowd out the blue ones.— Br. Morton, New Bromp- 

 ton, Kent. 



" Flora op Eastbourne."— This is the title of a 

 handsome book, well printed, and compiled by Mr. 

 F. C. S. Roper, F.L.S., the President of the East- 

 bourne Natural History Society. This society is 

 well known for the thorough manner with which its 

 members have worked out, and are still working out, 

 the natural history of their neighbourhood ; and we 



