HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



277 



are widely separated, the Liliacece being brought 

 into close proximity with the Smilacecs. 



Northamptonshire Notes.— Morton, in his 

 "Natural History of Northants," published in 

 1712, mentions the richness of the old " delves" or 

 quarries in good plants, particularizing Barnack 

 Quarries, which were then the habitat of some 

 "brave" species, including the Spider, and Bee 

 Orchis, and Anemone Pulsatilla. Dr. Bowles says, 

 of Barnack, in the Phyt. Brit., that this old stone- 

 pit, now green, is as fine a place for rare plants as 

 he ever beheld. So, encouraged by this and by some 

 valuable MSS. notes supplied by the Rev. M. J. 

 Berkeley and W. L. Jones, Esq., I recently walked 

 from Wansford to Barnack and Stanford. I found 

 the Southorpe habitat of the Spider Orchis, but, as 

 Mr. Berkeley said, larch had been planted over the 

 site, and no trace of it could be found, though the 

 season was then not sufficiently advanced -. how- 

 ever, by the grassy paths I came across the pretty 

 Astragalus hypoglottis, Carex precox, and by a still 

 used pit, Cynoglossum officinale, Echium vulgare 

 Lithospermum officinale, Erythrea centaurea ; near 

 Ufford, on the railway banks, I found Chlora per- 

 foliata, a very local plant with us (it has been found 

 near Yardley Chase, on the drift, by Mr. Scriven). 

 Near Wansford occurred Anthyllis vulneraria, 

 Rhamnus Frangula, much rarer with us than cathar- 

 ticus; Valerianella officinalis, and Schlerochloa rigida. 

 On the gained Barnack Heath, or Hills and Holes, 

 I was at first terribly disappointed ; but the glisten 

 of the feathery carpels of Anemone Pulsatilla, and 

 then one in flower ; then came Aceras anthropo- 

 phora, Antennaria dioica, Wppocrepis comosa, Astra- 

 galus hypoglottis, Carex precox; and on the walls in 

 Barnack, Geranium lucidum. The walls of Walcot 

 Hall were plentifully covered with A. mta-muraria. 

 I was apparently too early for the Bee Orchis 

 and Hypochairis maculata. The rare Senecio cam- 

 pestris is also, heralded from the vicinity. I might 

 also add that Cerastium arvense was very frequent, 

 and about Stamford Reseda lutea and luteola and 

 Cynoglossum officinale. On the rail-banks at Wel- 

 lingborough I found Papaver hybridum,a,ri& on Wel- 

 lingborough Bridge A. trichomanes. Our field-day 

 to Bad by Woods yielded Lysimachia nemorum, Eqni- 

 setum sylvaticum, Melampyrum pratense, Vicia syl- 

 vatica, Lathyrus syloaticus, Melica uniflora, Hip- 

 puns vulgaris, Scirpus syhaticus, Carex pallescsns, 

 Polygonum Bistorta, and abundance of Nephrodium 

 dilatatum spinulosum, Athyrius filix-fccmina, Lo- 

 maria spicant. Recently in Whittlewood, while 

 looking afrer the Purple Emperor, which was fre- 

 quent there in 1874 I found Carex pseudo-Cyperus 

 and pendula, and Neottia nidus-avis, but no butterfly. 

 Recently in Northampton district I have gathered 

 Crepis biennis, which was growing sparingly with 

 C. taraxacifolia. As escapes may also be mentioned 



Meconopsis cambrica, Euphorbia lathyris, Alyssum 

 calycinum, Reseda alba, Polygonum fagopyrum, 

 Bianthus plumarius, aud Sedum rupestre ; the latter 

 of which occurs in great plenty on the towing- 

 path of the canal, near Stoke Bruerne; and Mr. 

 Lewin has sent me Sedum dasyphyllum from Brig- 

 stock, where he has known it for twenty years. — 

 C. C. Bruce. 



The Fertilization- of Flowers.— During the 

 hot weather a glass, containing a number of red 

 poppies, mixed with specimens of the common 

 blue scabious, was standing in my window. I 

 noticed a large humble-bee fly up to the bunch, 

 and dip into every poppy, scrupulously avoiding 

 the Scabiouses. Subsequently, a common honey- 

 bee arrived and visited all the flowers that his pre- 

 decessor had omitted, but did not attempt to enter 

 a poppy. Can any of your correspondents enlighten 

 me as to whether humble-bees are particularly 

 partial to the nectar of poppies, and wild bees to 

 that of Scabious ; or whether, in accordance with 

 some law of Nature, bees always visit consecutively, 

 different specimens of the same species of flower, 

 in order to carry out more perfectly and certainly 

 their fertilization ? — C. W. C. 



Symphytum tuberosum. — As to the time of 

 this plant's flowering, so far as my observation goes, 

 Mr. Douglas is correct. It usually commences 

 flowering in this neighbourhood in the beginning of 

 May. About Melrose, where it is plentiful, I have 

 seen it in full flower in the second week of May. 

 Typical S. officinale, as far as I am aware, does 

 not grow in this district, so that I have no means 

 of comparing them, but the purple-Qowered plant 

 {S. patens, Sibth.), which is usually considered 

 a variety of officinale, and, according to Withering, 

 flowering at the same time, is frequent, and widely 

 spread over the district. It generally begins to 

 flower about a mouth later, aud continues flowering 

 for a much longer time. — A. B., Kelso. 



White Plants.— The most lovely exhibition of 

 white plants which, has ever come before me oc- 

 curred during the month of July of the present 

 year. A field on the Oolite Saud sown with a mix- 

 ture of Rye grass and Dutch clover, after being 

 mown, soon became thickly-studded with Erythrea 

 centaurea, large patches of which preseuted the 

 usual bright pink flowers, which were intermixed 

 by other patches of the same plants, the flowers of 

 which were a bright silvery white. We found both 

 varieties suddenly disappear, as the rustics had 

 gathered it to make " yarb tay to strengthen 

 the stumick." It is a flue bitter, and its infusion 

 not only provokes appetite, but that digestion 

 which one would wish to wait thereupon. " May 

 digestion wait on appetite, and health on both." — 

 /. Buckman, Bradford Abbas. 



