126 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



above must be considered true and independent. This 



view is in best accordance with the facts and with a 



true philosophy. 



W. B. Grove, B.A. 



Note. — Although Bacillus tuberculosus, the newly 

 discovered germ of consumption, is not included in 

 the foregoing list of the Schizomycetes, I have added 

 a figure drawn with the camera, showing the rods 

 when filled with spores, as occurring in human 

 sputum, from a specimen kindly lent me by Mr. 

 F. H. Collins, F.L.S. There is also a Bacillus lepra:. 



A DAY'S MOUNTAIN RAMBLING IN 

 NORTH WALES. 



By WlLLOUGHBY GARDNER. 

 [Continued from page 99.] 



BUT to return to my journey; eventually there 

 was some little break in what seemed to me then 

 in that dreary east wind the stupendous monotony of 

 the place ; for I began to get upon rougher ground, 

 pieces of rock protruded here and there through the 

 greensward, in many places to an extent sufficient 

 to form what might be called small cliffs and preci- 

 pices. As soon as this change in the nature of the 

 ground became apparent, the vegetation began to be 

 more diversified, and many plants came under my 

 notice sufficiently interesting-looking to warrant 

 their claim to attention, as no doubt rare and interest- 

 ing species ; but being no general botanist, I am 

 unable to mention any by name, though I saw 

 several I had not observed before. In some of the 

 hollows beneath these rocks, however, I met with 

 something more in my line, viz. a great profusion of 

 ferns. Among literally beds in some places of the 

 common species, such as L. dilatata and A. Filix- 

 fa-mina, I think — though I am not sure that it was 

 not something else after all — I was pleased to meet 

 with the Beech Fern (Polypodium Phegoptcris) in 

 fair quantity, and the Mountain Buckler Fern {Lastrca 

 Orcopteris), easily recognisable by its peculiar frag- 

 rance when handled, in great abundance. The Hard 

 Fern {BlecJmum Spicant) also grew here and there 

 among the rocks ; and under a large overhanging 

 stone I found a single root of a very interesting 

 variety of Lastrca, which I have not yet been able to 

 identify. 



Here, too, the character of the rocks became quite 

 different, nearly the whole of the route from Aber 

 had lain over those of the Lower Silurian age ; but I 

 now entered a large patch of igneous formation, 

 which appears to extend over some three square 

 miles behind the Aber cascade, and includes Llyn and 

 Afon, which it surrounds on all sides ; the patch 

 contains igneous rocks of various kinds, the hills on 



the western side of the Llyn being composed of 

 greenstone. 



But I anticipate, not having yet reached the Llyn, 

 though after rounding still a few more corners, and 

 surmounting yet another ridge or two, there it lay 

 before me, a dark blue-black sheet of water, lying in 

 a hollow, surrounded on all sides by high mountains, 

 and with a small stream running into it from the 

 south, where the steep precipices of Y Foel Fras, 

 with their tops hid in cloud and mist, formed an im- 

 posing background. A few steps more brought me 

 to the margin, and a more lone and desolate piece of 

 water I certainly never saw ; the solitude, more 

 especially perhaps on this particular day, black and 

 drear as it was, seemed almost awe-inspiring. The 

 rushing of the stream running out of the lake was 

 just audible where I stood, and with the exception of 

 the lapping of the little waves of the lake on the 

 stones at my feet, the only other sound was the harsh 

 croak of two great black birds which were wheeling 

 about in the air round a rock high up on the right. 

 At first my enthusiasm led me to imagine that they 

 might be ravens, birds I have never had the pleasure 

 of seeing in their wild state ; but they were most 

 probably only a pair of carrion crows, though at the 

 height it was difficult to distinguish size, and their 

 note was certainly hoarse and loud enough for any- 

 thing, and seemed more so in the silence which 

 reigned around. Having now since starting traversed 

 a distance of some seven miles of rather rough, and 

 in many places steep country, I thought it well to 

 improve the occasion by making a meal of some of 

 the provisions I had brought with me, and accord- 

 ingly did so, quenching my thirst between whiles with 

 the crystal water of the lake. While I was thus 

 engaged, the mist I had noticed on my arrival hang- 

 ing over the cliffs of Y Foel Fras, descended on all 

 sides to within about 40 feet of the level of the lake, 

 making all chance of further progress impossible for 

 the time being ; I therefore just had to make myself 

 comfortable, sitting still on a large stone for an hour. 

 I employed the time in studying my ordnance map to 

 determine the next point to be aimed at, and also in 

 taking a sketch of the lake, as well as it was possible 

 to do so in the mist which overhung the scene. I 

 had intended having a cast or two on the lake with 

 my fly, had the day been more favourable ; but the 

 east wind made fishing quite out of the question. At 

 length the clouds lifted again, and after mature con- 

 sideration, I made up my mind to set off to find the 

 top of "Drum," a mountain 2527 feet high, almost 

 direct east from the lake, and then again to call a 

 halt before deciding whether to continue east down 

 the valley towards the Conway vale, or to strike off 

 south again in search of Llyn Dulyn, a wonderful 

 little lake high up in the mountains, within a couple 

 of miles from the top of Carnedd Llewellyn — the state 

 of the weather to determine which it was to be. 

 Leaving the lake, I crossed the little stream I had 



