HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



187 



Mr. English, of Epping village, for the information 

 he requires. Mr. English is the originator of a 

 method of preserving plants, with their blooms re- 

 taining not only their proper colours, but also their 

 natural form. The modus operandi may be learned from 

 a treatise published by him containing full recipes. 

 He has also applied his method to the preservation 

 of fungi with equally surprising success, and as I 

 have had several opportunities of seeing many speci- 

 mens of these short-lived plants, generally so difficult 

 to deal with, treated by him to perfection, besides 

 numerous flowers of various orders, which, after the 

 test of years, still retain all their original natural 

 charms, I can testify to' the efficacy of the system. 

 Botanists generally would do well to adopt this 

 method, as specimens for the herbarium undoubtedly 

 possess a far higher value when set naturally, and 

 present at the same time a much better appearance, 

 than they can when squeezed out of shape into 

 shrivelled up, dead-looking things, which have lost 

 all the specific characters of value. — W. White. 



^ECIDIUM URTIC/E and JE. Tragopogonis. — I 

 am induced to furnish your readers with particulars 

 of localities where I have met with the above. Mr. 

 Charles F. W. T. Williams, in his interesting Paper 

 No. II., in Science-Gossip of July, observes that 

 he has never been able to meet with either of them. 

 I can quite understand his difficulty, notwithstanding 

 his great industry, for it was only after hunting for 

 about a quarter of a century that I was successful. I 

 first met with AL. Urticce on the high road leading 

 from Milnthorp to Kendal. It was in quantity on 

 the stalks of the nettles growing close to the foot- 

 path. I next, a year or two afterwards, found it in 

 smaller quantity on the road from Ambleside to 

 Keswick, near Grasmere, and I have no doubt it 

 might then have been met with all around the dis- 

 trict. I afterwards met with it on the high land 

 looking over Corwen, and on one occasion I found 

 the Urtiaz on the borders of a lake in Sherwood 

 Forest. I have twice found it in Derbyshire, once 

 about three miles from Hathersage and once, but a 

 single specimen, in a wood on the roadside opposite 

 to Haddon Hall. I have not been equally fortunate 

 in AL. Tragopogonis, but I have found it very plentiful 

 in two localities not far from Southport. One was 

 near Crossins, on a raised bank which runs from 

 north to south, bordering some fields about two miles 

 north of the Hesketh Public Park. I have met with 

 it in large quantity on the bank of a river which is 

 crossed by a railway bridge leading in the direction 

 of Preston — the line is not yet complete. The dis- 

 tance from Southport is about six miles. The infested 

 plant (goatsbeard) is on the south side of the north 

 bank of the river, about a third of a mile from the 

 railway bridge.— Thomas Brittain. 



New Habitats for Plants.— It will be interest- 

 ing, I think, to note the discovery of three plants in 



a locality which is at any rate not noticed in Sowerby's 

 " Botany/' In the neighbourhood of Battle, Sussex, I 

 found, a few days ago, Viola Intea, var. amecna ; Gen- 

 ista tinctoria, var. humifusa ; and Sedum album, var. 

 teretifolium. On Viola lutea Sowerby says, "Not 

 south of Derby and Notts." Kynance Cove is always 

 given as the station for var. humifusa of G. tinctoria, 

 the hairiness of midribs, of leaves, of bracts, calyces 

 and stem forced me to decide for this variety, the 

 plant in its usual form being wholly glabrous. On 

 Sedum album Sowerby writes, " Rather rare ; west 

 of England, Gloucester and Somerset." The three 

 specimens have been declared genuine by an able 

 field botanist. — C. Stickland. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Clausilia dubia et alia. — Will any concholo- 

 gist afford information on the following points ? In 

 Tate's Manual, C. dubia is figured with one tooth 

 high up on the columella lip, and both Tate and 

 Turtou agree that the shell is larger and more ven- 

 tricose than C. rugosa. C. rugosa is figured by 

 Tate with two tooth-like folds, high up on the colu- 

 mella, and one more to the front of the aperture. Is 

 C. dubia generally found with only the one tooth ? 

 Any information will be welcome. I have lately 

 taken several white pellucid specimens of H. cella- 

 rius. Is this a recognised variety ? Can Helix con- 

 cinna be rightly regarded as a distinct species ? If so, 

 on what grounds ? Should it not rank with H. depi- 

 lata as a variety of H. hispida ? Is not the variety 

 costata of Helix pulchella obsolete, it having been 

 found that the shells not costated were merely older 

 and worn shells ? — Baker Hudson. 



Ranunculus Ficaria. — Does not 1 Mr. J. R. 

 Neve make a mistake when he calls the Ranunculus 

 Ficaria, p. 130, the common celandine ? The 

 ranunculus is among the Ranunculaceae. The celan- 

 dine, or chelidonium, is among the Papaveraceae, the 

 calyx is two-leaved ; the ranunculus, five-leaved ; 

 chelidonium has a siliqua. In the ranunculus, the 

 seeds are naked, and there are various other distinc- 

 tions. The Ranunculus Ficaria is usually called the 

 pilewort. — E. T. Scott. 



Curious Phenomenon. — The phenomenon al- 

 luded to by your correspondent, A. H. D., was plainly 

 visible here on date, and at time mentioned by him, 

 and so accurately has he described it, that I can add 

 nothing more. I am only surprised at having seen 

 no notice taken of it in the papers, or an explanation 

 from those competent to afford it. — Windsor Ham- 

 brough, Farnham. 



Peculiar Site of a Water-Hen's Nest. — On 

 May 1 8th, I was out egg-hunting, and while going 

 up to what I supposed to be a ring-dove's nest, was 

 surprised to see a black-coloured bird fly off. My 

 curiosity was at once aroused, as I could not imagine 

 what the bird was, and upon looking into the nest 

 found five water-hen's eggs. It was situated about 

 half-way up a fir-tree, some twenty feet from the 

 ground, in a small plantation. The nest was made 

 of sticks, and had evidently been a ring-dove's, and 

 was lined with a few pieces of sedge. A friend of 

 mine, W. Wells Bladen, of Stone, has also noticed 



