HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



i75 



branches of the Burnet rose {Rosa spiuosissima), 

 which grows here in profusion ; while the pieces of 

 old newspapers left here and there by the various 

 picnic parties seem to have an especial attraction for 

 them, for every piece we meet with is literally 

 covered all over with these snails. The variety 

 alba is very frequent, and some of the shells are 

 especially beautiful, having a rosy band inside the 

 mouth, probably the effect of exposure to the sun. 

 Helix virgata also abounds in every possible variety 

 of size, markings and colour — dark brown, light 

 chestnut, single banded, many banded ; bands white, 

 dark brown, continuous, and interrupted so as to 

 give the appearance of the shell being spotted. 

 On a bank dividing a lane from the adjoining fields, 

 we come upon Helix cape? ata, feeding after a shower. 

 Leaving the Burrows and reaching the downs above 

 Giltar Point, we espy among the grass some fine 

 specimens of that elegant shell, Helix ericetorum, and 

 its variety alba ; but the finest specimens are to be 

 found on the cliffs above Lydstep Haven ; some of 

 them measure nearly three inches in circumference. 

 Here, also, is another elegant land shell, the Cyclo- 

 stoma elegans, hiding away under the root-leaves of 

 the common musk thistle (Cardiacs nutans) and the 

 ox-eye daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum). On 

 a hedge bank are plenty of specimens of Helix serieea, 

 with its epidermis thickly covered with downy hairs, 

 and also what we believe to be its variety cornea, for 

 the shells are "horn-coloured, semi-transparent, and 

 very thin." Dwelling on the same bank are Helix 

 nemoralis, Helix rufescens, Helix concinna, Helix 

 aspersa, Helix hispida, Helix rotundata, Clausilia 

 nigricans, and, on old wall close by, Balea perversa, 

 Cochlicopa lubrica and Helix rupestris. The reversed 

 monstrosity of Helix aspersa is in our thoughts, but, 

 alas ! only there ; for though we pick up some 

 hundreds of specimens of aspersa of all shades of 

 brown, and yellow-ochre, and of all sizes, the much- 

 wished-for monstrosity is not to be found. 



The tide is now low, and we hurry down to the 

 shore to try and add a few marine beauties to our 

 store. Our first capture is Patella pellucida, with its 

 bright blue lines. We find it sticking to the large 

 broad, dark olive fronds of the Laminaria, or oar- 

 weed, while we dislodge its stronger and less elegant 

 variety lavis from its shelter in the root. On a large 

 boulder close by, and covered by the tide at high- 

 water, is a numerous colony of Purpura lapillus, 

 some white with orange-coloured bands, others white 

 with brown bands, some light yellow, some dull red, 

 some with purple mouths, others with orange mouths, 

 some thick, some thin, some smooth, some imbri- 

 cated (var. imbricata) of every size and age. Here 

 we take one specimen, with the body-whorl puckered 

 up in neat folds at the suture. On the same stone, 

 in the same endless variety, dwells Littorina rudis, 

 some of which stand out more conspicuously than the 

 rest, in consequence of their bright scarlet colouring. 



We notice also large colonies of Patella vulgala, 

 with its variety elevata, covering a portion of the 

 stone like an encampment of Lilliputians, and in a 

 shallow, rocky pool, some beautiful specimens of its 

 first cousin (not very easily removed) Patella athlelica. 

 We know that Fissurella reticulata is to be found 

 here, but though we make diligent search we are 

 unsuccessful. While we are hammering at the rock, 

 we are greeted with a miniature shower-bath, and on 

 looking closer find the source of these waterworks in 

 the little shell, Saxicava rugosa, which has completely 

 honeycombed the stone. With considerable trouble 

 — for the stone is particularly hard — we dig out 

 several specimens, which we determine to place in 

 our cabinet with their siphons extended and stuffed 

 with cotton wool. In the crevices of the same rock, 

 and underneath the hanging seaweeds, we take 

 several specimens of Chiton, namely, fascicularis, 

 ruber, cinereus var. maculatus ; and safely imbedded 

 between the cells of the Balani we discover Turtonia 

 (Cyamium) minuta, while high up on the rock 

 above, beyond high-water mark, we take Littorina 

 ncritoides. 



H. Milnes. 

 (To be continued.) 



ANOTHER GARDEN PEST. 



PERMIT me to call attention to another garden 

 pest exceedingly plentiful this season, and 

 which I have found to be very destructive to the 

 French and kidney beans and onions in my garden, 

 so much so, in fact, that it became necessary to repeat 

 the sowing of seed. 



The grub, when full-grown, measures three-tenths 

 of an inch in length, with an average width of one- 

 twentieth of an inch ; it is made up of thirteen 

 articulations, some of which, however, are not very 

 clearly defined. The two anterior articulations con- 

 tain the mandibles, which consist of two powerful 

 (for the size of the creature) curved jaws, with one 

 tooth on each, which work against two similar teeth 

 situated immediately beneath the mandibles ; when 

 examined in the living grub they show the wonderful 

 adaptability of the organs for excavating a channel 

 up a small stem of a plant ; the head, if such it can 

 be called, tapers off to a blunt point, while the 

 posterior articulation is by far the largest, and is 

 furnished with sixteen prominent spines of a some- 

 what cartilaginous texture, the object of which is 

 evidently to enable the creature to obtain a firm hold 

 in the burrow, to enable it to drive its jaws into the 

 stem, while by continually rotating its body it con- 

 trives to attack the exact centre of the plant. The 

 legs, if any, are of a most rudimentary character, 

 consisting of mere elevations on the skin, while the 

 most powerful objective I possess has failed to detect 

 anything that would pass current for eyes. 



