HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



191 



Schliemann's interesting work on " Troy and its 

 Remains," published last year ? " Among the huge 

 blocks of stone at a depth of from 12 to 10 metres, 

 I found two toads ; and, at a depth of '69h feet, a 

 small but very poisonous snake, with a scutiform 

 head. The snake may have found its way down 

 from above, but this is an impossibility in the case 

 of the large toads, they must have spent 3,000 years 

 in these depths. It is very interesting to find in the 

 ruins of Troy living creatures from the times of 

 Hector and Andromache, even though these crea- 

 tures are but toads." I have often before seen 

 somewhat similar statements, vouched for as facts 

 by some, and as confidently declared impossible by 

 others : if true, how do these toads manage to get 

 inclosed alive in such places ? I presume they are not 

 bricked up in them for misconduct by their brother- 

 toads, as used to be done to poor nuns who broke 

 their vows (see "Marmion"). And how do they 

 live on, even if torpid, for so long without air, 

 breathing not oxygen, but carbonic acid ? I confess 

 I am much puzzled, and would thankfully be en- 

 lightened in some way. — G, N. W. 



Natural History Notes. — Mj friend, TV. Col- 

 lier James, of Plymouth, was fishing in a Dartmoor 

 stream recently, when he observed a snake {Natrix 

 torquattts), having the corolla of a primrose round 

 its neck, which the flower still encircled, wheu en- 

 tering its hole. Accident rather than selection 

 must have given the reptile this floral necklace, 

 which fairly entitles it to the epithet of torquatus. 

 I have sometimes urged my observant friend, or his 

 brothers, to record some of their piscatory ex- 

 periences in the pages of Science-Gossip. One 

 day he saw the head of an eel with widely-opened 

 jaws, whilst a stone concealed its body. Some little 

 fishes were swimming in the small pool before it. 

 One fish after another entered the fatal portal, and 

 were found in the stomach of the eel, which he 

 caught. A well-known otter has often interfered 

 with their fishing for salmon. Lying concealed 

 near a little fall in the river, and listening to hear 

 the splash made by the fish on leaping, he seemed 

 almost iustantly ou the spot to seize his prey, some- 

 times of many pounds in weight. A young relative 

 of mine (H. Tregelles), residing at Santiago, and 

 recently travelling in a railway train in that vicinity, 

 whilst passing a flock of seven ostriches {Rhea 

 americand) shot one which weighed about 40 lb. — 

 C. Fox, Trebah. 



Puljionaria officinaiis. — The other day, 

 whilst walking along one of the lanes which are 

 still left to us for botanical research, I picked a 

 specimen of the common Lungwort (Pulmonaria 

 offici?ialis)_ in full bloom, the peculiarity of which 

 consisted in it being, if I may so call it, variegated. 

 There were in the same cluster white, pink, and 

 violet-blue flowers ; some of these blue flowers 

 were spotted with white and pink alternately. All 

 your readers are no doubt aware that the buds are 

 of a pink colour ; but I should much like to know 

 if this special form is what seems to me a freak of 

 nature, occasioned by insects, &c, which we are 

 sure influence the varieties of plants, and so cause 

 many curious changes. I was sorry that I did not 

 get the root and put it in my garden, but suppose 

 my hasty enthusiasm is to blame. — Thos. Palmer. 



Local Names of Plants. — Although a Cum- 

 brian, I never heard the Polygonum Bistorta called 

 " Easter Magianty " ; but more than half a century 

 ago I invariably heard old people in the district 

 where I resided speak of it as " Easter man-giant " 



(Easter-eating, French mangeant) ; consequently we 

 may suppose that this has been the popular name of 

 that plant for at least a century or a century and a 

 half,and how long previously itis perhaps difficult to 

 say. Now the French word mangeant sounds very 

 like man-giant, and the common people would very 

 naturally substitute tbe latter name for the former. 

 With respect to tbe word " yorlin," I have no idea 

 of its origin, but it was not always confined to the 

 earth-nut, as I recollect very well when a youth of 

 hearing it often applied to the Yellow-hammer as 

 Yellow -yorlin. This bird, at that period, was 

 always known to us boys by the name either of the 

 "yellow" or the " yellow-yorlin." On a recent 

 inquiry I found that it was also known by the latter 

 name in Northumberland. — Dipton Bum. 



In answer to Alfred Bridon's question (in 

 March number of Gossip) about the occurrence of 

 the Hawfinch [Coccothraustes vulgaris) as far west 

 as Somersetshire, would you allow me to put it to 

 him whether he is not doing his best, by the taking 

 of the nest and eggs, to render a rare occurrence 

 still more rare ? I see he uses the word find, and 

 it may be that he has observed the nest without 

 destroying it ; but I must add one more to the many 

 protests that you have printed against the destruc- 

 tion of rare birds, rare insects, rare plants, by the 

 zeal of collectors.—/. G. Halliday, Colonel, Devon. 



Volvox Globator — Will you kindly ask this 

 question in Science-Gossip ? Is it usual to find 

 the Volvox Globator only during about a fortnight 

 in June, and then for it quite to disappear ? I have 

 found it the case for the last few years here. In 

 the ponds only the water was thick with them ; and 

 most beautiful specimens ; they lasted about a fort- 

 night, and after that not one could be found. I 

 have heard that the rotifera are very fond of eating 

 them, but I do not think this quite accounts for it. 

 I have found portions of them often, but never in 

 perfection, except at this time. I also want to 

 know if caddis worms, kept in an aquarium only 

 for microscopic purposes, are injurious to the 

 rotifera and other small fry, in the way of feeding 

 on them. 



The Large Tiger Moth {Arctia caja).— The 

 following information may be useful and interesting 

 to some of our young collectors. Last August I took 

 a female moth of the large Tiger. I kept it in a box, 

 where she laid a batch of eggs. The eggs remained 

 a fortnight, when they became hatched. The larva 

 continued feeding until the beginning of October, 

 when they ceased feeding all the winter, until the 

 middle of March, at which time they commenced 

 again. They continued growing until the begin- 

 ning of June, when they finished feeding for 

 the last time. When these caterpillars have done 

 feeding they spin a loose kind of silken ham- 

 mock, and, after throwing off their larval skin, lie 

 in the pupa state until July, when the beautiful moth 

 appears, and continues through August and the 

 early part of September, or even later. — IF. H. 

 Narracott, Torquay. 



Vanessa Urtic.e is the same as to markings in 

 both sexes ; at least, I never could learn or read of 

 any distinction. Newman, in his elaborate descrip- 

 tions, gives none. The insect is, as is well known, 

 subject to much variation in colour and size. If 

 Mr. Edwards wants to be certain as to the sexes of 

 his specimens, he had better breed a lot (easily 

 done), and he will then have no difficulty, I should 

 think.—/. S. Wesley. 



