HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



167 



the Inackus Kempfcri, which frequently attains a 

 large size ; specimens having been caught measuring 

 ten feet between the tips of its nippers. The body 

 of this monster sea-spider before it went into the 

 hands of the taxidermist reached the enormous 

 weight of forty pounds. The carapace was a deep 

 red and covered with irregular knobs or excres- 

 cences. The length of the legs' was over five feet, 

 "and had evidently shrunk at the joints since caught. 

 These elongated limbs resembled thick bamboo canes 

 and were a sickly pale yellow in colour. From tip to 

 tip of these clam-feet — which are furnished with two 

 rows of regular teeth — it measured over thirteen feet. 

 The mouth and eyes of this monster of the deep 

 somewhat resembled those of a toad, and the former 

 is armed with two long tusk-like teeth, and sur- 

 rounded by circles of stiff wiry hair, like that seen in 

 the mouth of the whale." 



Another account says : " The mouth of this 

 Japanese monster is provided with two large teeth, 

 which are quite worn, giving evidence of great age, 

 and its tongue is covered with coarse beard." 

 Several ordinary-sized star-fish were placed on the 

 board, to show by comparison the size of this gigantic 

 cancer. The party who brought this monster crab 

 from Japan experienced considerable difficulty with 

 the local authorities, as a law exists making every- 

 thing of that description the property of the govern- 

 ment. The following amusing description was culled 

 from the "San Francisco Evening Bulletin :," — " We 

 have been shown by a gentleman who arrived on the 

 last steamer from Japan, a crab of proportions far 

 exceeding anything in the shell-fish line that we have 

 ever heard or read of, not even the marvellous 

 ichthyological wonders seen and recorded by that 

 prince of "fish-story" letters, old Bishop Pontop- 

 pidan (to whom we are mainly indebted for our 

 knowledge of sea-serpents, gigantic cuttle-fish, and 

 other marine monsters), had fully prepared us to 

 realise the huge dimensions of this King of the 

 Crustacea." "This Crustaceous mastodon was ex- 

 hibited to upwards of 20,000 persons (?), who unani- 

 mously pronounced it to be the greatest natural 

 wonder ever brought to the United States." So says 

 a placard which was freely distributed over the city. 



There was a very large individual of this species in 

 the Fisheries Exhibition, but I think it is far short of 

 the dimensions of this gigantic Crustacean. 



John Davis, F.R.M.S. 



Pied Lapwing. — I have had a very handsome 

 pied lapwing brought to be stuffed this week ; 

 knowing it to be very unusual, I thought many readers 

 of your interesting paper would like to know it. The 

 whole of the back and part of the wings are white, 

 with a buff band across the tail instead of white, the 

 usual colour. I should like to know if it has been 

 observed before. — G. Bristow, jun. 



A DAY'S BOTANISING. 



TO the naturalist, a day's run with a brother nat. 

 is always looked forward to with the greatest 

 delight and expectation. It is to him an approaching 

 day of enjoyment, such as few but lovers of nature 

 ever can experience. He knows that the conversa- 

 tion will be such as befits his tastes, that it will be 

 free from vulgar scandal, and will be almost entirely 

 upon his favourite hobby. It was with such feelings 

 that I planned a day's botanical excursion with my 

 enthusiastic friend Mr. Cannon, whose forte is vege- 

 table morphology and physiology. 



We started, then, on Thursday morning, June 1st, 

 from Strood by the 8.7 A.M. train for Maidstone, 

 accompanied by my son, a youth of 14. Arrived at 

 Maidstone, we at once struck off along the banks of 

 the Medway. The river here and for many miles up 

 is still a large and imposing stream, though it ceases 

 to be tidal at Allington Lock, a few miles below 

 Maidstone. The scenery from here to Yalding, the 

 farthest point of our day's journey, is extremely 

 beautiful, the banks of the river being skirted with 

 woods or trees, on one or both sides nearly the 

 whole distance, and lined with a rich, varied and 

 luxuriant vegetation, attractive even to a non-botanical 

 eye, and therefore much more so to ours. There are 

 pretty picturesque old bridges at East Farleigh, West 

 Farleigh and Yalding. Their crumbling walls are 

 richly decorated with plants, whose green waving 

 leaves and branches contrast finely with the grey 

 background upon which they grow. Among them we 

 noted the rue-leaved spleenwort, pellitory, wild 

 marjoram, ivy-leaved toad-flax, and many others. 

 The river is well stocked with fish, and affords fine 

 sport for the disciples of Walton. There are splendid 

 little glimpses of scenery that would well repay the 

 artist for a few visits to its banks. The watercress 

 (Barbarea vulgaris), with its dark green cup-leaves 

 and brilliant yellow flowers, everywhere decorated the 

 river banks, and everywhere the beautiful and aro- 

 matic pansy ( Tanacetum vulgare) waved its rich green 

 feathery-looking leaves. At intervals was to be 

 seen the lovely yet poisonous hemlock {Conium 

 maculatum), its graceful leaves and artistically spotted 

 stem lending a charm to the scene. Near the bridge 

 at East Farleigh we found in some abundance the 

 sweetly pretty Potentilla argentea, some exceedingly 

 fine specimens of Mcdicago metadata (with almost 

 spotless leaves), a very small flowered variety of 

 Ranunculus acris, a single plant of Linum usitatis- 

 si/tucm in bloom, as also the silver weed and many 

 others. On reaching the bridge at West Farleigh, 

 we left the river-side, and made for the " Chequers 

 Inn," a large and commodious house, where we were 

 well entertained by "mine hostess." Along the 

 road to this house we found several mints : Nepeta 

 calaria, Stachys sylvatica, Torilis anthriscus and 

 others. After lunch we returned to the river and 



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