HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 93 



The Mistletoe.— " R. S. T." requests your 

 readers to supplement his list of trees which support 

 mistletoe. In this neighbourhood I have found 

 it growing on apple, poplar, hawthorn, common 

 willow, and the tree commonly called acacia, but 

 which I believe is a Robinia. — H. L. Graham, Bishop 

 Frome, Herefordshire. 



The Mistletoe. — Referring to the note on the 

 mistletoe by " R. S. T.," in Science-Gossip # for 

 February, it may be found (or a few years ago might 

 have been) growing abundantly on a large hawthorn 

 in a field adjoining Black Park, near Langley, 

 Bucks. I do not know how rare or frequent this 

 may be, but it is not among the trees named by 

 your correspondent as those upon which he has 

 observed the mistletoe parasite.— C. F. W. 



The Mistletoe— I would refer "R. S. T." 

 to some interesting observations in the Gardener's 

 Chronicle of January 29, by J. Rust, Eridge Castle, 

 Tunbridge Wells, which inform us that the mistletoe 

 is growing on the common azalea at Eridge Castle. 

 The plant was first noticed about ten years ago, and 

 it continues to increase every year ; it appears to be 

 about fifteen years old, but bow it came there no 

 one knows. The letter is full of other interesting 

 matter, and well worthy of perusal. I should fancy 

 this growth of mistletoe on azalea is the only in- 

 stance on record. — John Colebrooke. 



The Mistletoe. — Since sending my inquiry 

 last month, I find that Science-Gossip for Decem- 

 ber, 1875, contains a li*t of trees which support the 

 mistletoe : it is taken from a paper by Dr. Harley, 

 communicated to the Linnjean Society. The list is 

 as follows :— Maple, walnut, plum, false acacia, 

 cherry laurel, Portugal laurel, hawthorn, apple, 

 crab, almond, lime, olive, ash, poplar, willow, 

 pear, elm, fir, larch, oak, and beech. This list leaves 

 the question open respecting the mountain ash ; 

 it may or may not be included under the term " ash." 

 In the same number of Science-Gossip, a note 

 about its growth on the mountain ash is mentioned, 

 with some unusual facts respecting this parasitic 

 plant.— 22. 8. T. 



The Mistletoe. — By way of a supplement to 

 " R. S. T.'s " list, I will name the service, pear, 

 hawthorn, willow, and walnut trees as habitats 

 for this plant. — H. E. Watney. 



Notes on the Birds of Maidstone.— On 

 referring to a book published in 1839, I find that 

 the osprey, buzzard, hobby hawk, and merlin were 

 to be found near this town ; but, now, I know of no 

 other hawks to be found here than the kestrel and 

 sparrow-hawk. The same book says the heron and 

 bittern were occasionally seen here. I have heard of 

 1 he heron being shot at Snodland Marsh, and also the 

 bittern; but the latter bird is rarely seen, and it 

 was some years ago when this one was shot there. 

 There are two or three heronries in Kent, so that it 

 is quite probable that this bird strays as far as 

 Maidstone occasionally. The hooded crow, raven, 

 hoopoe, great grey shrike, night-jar, landrail, quail, 

 snowy owl, golden plover, kingfisher, great wood- 

 pecker, spotted woodpecker, lesser woodpecker, 

 tree-creeper, ring-ousel, hawfinch, common cross- 

 bill, and several others, are mentioned in this book, 

 that were either shot or observed in these parts. 



will now make a selection of the above birds to 

 be seen here at the present time. The landrails is, 1 

 am afraid, scarce (at least near this town). I used 

 to hear it in a field here, but it is several years since 



I have heard its grating noise. The golden plover 

 is, I believe, common on the marshes and hills at 

 Burham and Snodland. Kingfishers are, I have 

 reason to believe, rather less rare than formerly. I 

 have seen them several times this past year, 1S75, on 

 the banks of the Medway, and in the streams along 

 Loose Valley. I saw a green woodpecker last year 

 in the Maidstone cemetery. The tree-creeper is not 

 uncommon. Kent is rich in warblers, and the 

 sweetest songster of that family, the nightingale, 

 may always be heard close to the town in the 

 summer. Nearly all the other warblers are com- 

 mon near Maidstone. I have at present only 

 discovered three of the tits, viz., the great tit, 

 longtailed tit, and blue tit. I observed more 

 yellow wagtails last summer than formerly. In the 

 winter large flocks of seagulls visit this place, and 

 / occasionally wild ducks may be seen. And, now, 

 not wishing to encroach on your space, I take 

 leave of the subject for the present.— Henry Lamb, 

 Maidstone. 



Notes on Pleomorphism. — In the February 

 number of Science-Gossip the writer of the inter- 

 esting " Notes on Pleomorphism " refers to De 

 Bary's Myxomycetes, and confesses that inasmuch 

 as these fungoidal spores exhibit at one period 

 of their life-history every characteristic of the 

 animal tfamily Amcebtf, the consequences of such 

 observations are so startling that on less authority 

 we should be inclined to doubt their accuracy. 

 Certainly for a vegetable to present the appearance 

 of an animal form is startling; but is it more won- 

 derful than the fact that certain cells of the animal 

 body should possess the power of motion by means 

 of their cilia alter they have been detached from the 

 body, and even when that body is dead and putre- 

 fying ? In the words of Dr. Carpenter, "the 

 motion of the cilia is not only quite independent (in 

 all the higher animals at least) of the will of the 

 animal, but is also independent even of the life of 

 the rest of the body. Thus, isolated epithelium- 

 cells have been seen to swim about actively in 

 water, by the agency of their cilia, for some hours 

 after their detachment from the mucous membrane 

 of the nose ; and the regular movement of cilia has 

 been noticed fifteen days after death, in the body of 

 a tortoise in which putrefaction was already far 

 advanced. In the gills of the river mussel, which 

 are amongst the best objects for the study of this 

 most curious phenomenon, the movement endures 

 with similar pertinacity." — W. F. 



Kynin, Keening, or Kenning Stone. — A 

 small round stone found in Devonishire, about the 

 size of a cherry,— a red-brown colour ; indeed, it 

 closely resembles a red cherry in the early stage of 

 rotting. There is a peculiar virtue attached to this 

 stone ; according to the superstition, it is able to 

 cure sore and diseased eyes, and is eagerly sought for 

 by the country people. Can any reader of Science- 

 Gossip give me the correct way of spelling the 

 name, its origin, and any further particulars they 

 know about it.? — R. M. Latham, Disraeli-road, 

 Putney. 



Folk - lore respecting the Nettle. — Bee- 

 keepers still plant in some country places a nettle 

 or two near the hives. One old woman I knew 

 assured me that if the bees saw a frog in the 

 vicinity they would not swarm ; so, she added, " I 

 always keep some sting-nettles growing in my 

 garden, 'cause them frogs can't abide the sight of 

 one."— II. E. Watney. 



