190 



HARD WICKE' S S CIENCE- G OS SIP. 



small white particles were observed floating on the 

 surface, which have united into this floating mass. 

 Would it be worth preserving, and how is this to be 

 done ? — Rev. S. Arthur Brenan, Glcndun Lodge, 

 Cushendun. 



Flight of Bees. — Since reading Mark Antony's 

 reply (p. 143) to my note (p. 118) on the flight of 

 bees, I have looked up my copy of Goldsmith's 

 " Animated Nature," and I find my countryman has 

 been misquoted by your correspondent. Goldsmith's 

 words are : " Every bee when it leaves the hive to 

 collect this precious store enters into the cup of the 

 flower, particularly such as seem charged with the 

 greatest quantity of this yellow farina." In this 

 passage, Goldsmith is describing the pollen or 

 fertilising grains, borne only on the stamens, which 

 are always situated in the centre of the flower, and 

 which the bees cannot get without entering the cup 

 of the flower. Mark Antony asserts that " natu- 

 ralists vary greatly," in proof of which he brings 

 forward part of the above passage, in which the 

 words " this precious store " are left out, "honey" 

 being substituted for them. Any person may make 

 a mistake, but this looks like a deliberate alteration. 

 I would just say further that Mark Antony's original 

 query (p. 94) was about the flight of bees to and 

 from their hive, by which I understood the honey- 

 bee (Apis nullified), to be meant, and not any of the 

 221 species of wild British bees. I thought your 

 correspondent was desirous of obtaining information. 

 — H. W. Lett, 31. A. 



A Curious Fact.— A ewe, three years old, 

 belonging to a farmer in this parish (Tuxford, Notts.) 

 gave birth in the first week in March last to a male 

 lamb, which she suckled up to the fifth of June, on 

 which date she dropped another male lamb, the 

 firstborn not being afterwards allowed by her to suck. 

 I may mention that the period of gestation in the 

 ewe is seventeen weeks. No mistake could arise, 

 as, apart from all the sheep being individually known 

 to the owner, there is the fact that only those having 

 lambs were placed in the field in which the latter 

 birth occurred. Last year this ewe had a single lamb. 

 — W. A. Gain, Tuxford, Newark. 



Spots on Sycamore-leaves. — I have no doubt 

 the spots referred to by W. B. Drummond (p. 167) 

 are due to a common fungus (Capnodium Footii, 

 Berk.) which is very abundant in Sherwood Forest. 

 Dr. Cooke, in his " Handbook of British Fungi," 

 says : "It occurs on leaves of evergreens, deciduous 

 trees, as the beech, and on herbaceous plants, as 

 Mercurialis perennis." Of course one must needs see 

 the spots to be able to speak with absolute certainty 

 about them. The work of insects is sometimes so 

 similar in its effect upon plants to the micro-fungi 

 that even a careful collector may be deceived till he 

 examines the specimen under a lens. — Jlilderic Friend, 

 Worksop. 



Setting Foreign Lepidoftera. — In the " Sci- 

 entific Enquirer" for July, Mr. G. H. Bryan gives 

 the following recipe : For relaxing these I far prefer 

 plaster of Paris to sand. The plaster should be 

 stirred up with water to form a paste, poured into 

 the bottom of a shallow biscuit-tin with a tight- 

 fitting lid, and allowed to harden. To moisten the 

 plaster, pour some water over it, and after a short 

 time drain it off. A piece of perforated zinc may be 

 laid on plaster, to prevent the insect from touching it. 

 The butterflies are laid on this, and the box closed 

 and put in a warm place. I relaxed 150 butterflies 

 from Ceylon in this way. One of the large OrnitJw- 



ptera darsius was ready in twelve hours, while 

 others of this species required four days. Some 

 Mentone butterflies, caught seven years previously, 

 were ready to set after five days. When set, the 

 insects must be left on the setting-board for at least a 

 fortnight (three weeks is better), otherwise the wings 

 will spring out of place. If this precaution is 

 attended to, the insects will rarely spring at all ; but, 

 should any show a tendency to do so, the wings may 

 be fixed in place with a very little thick gum (con- 

 taining a drop or two of glycerine) placed at the base 

 of the wings on the under side. 



Aquarium Difficulties. — I have had several 

 minnows in an aquarium for over twelve months, 

 which have appeared all along to be quite healthy. A 

 few weeks ago I placed a few medium-sized speci- 

 mens of Limnea stagnalis in the same aquarium, and 

 to my surprise I found this morning two of my 

 minnows dead, and several of the snails attached to 

 them and a large part of the abdomens eaten away. 

 Is it possible they could have been destroyed by the 

 snails, as they appeared to be in a perfectly healthy 

 condition ? and is it not unusual for Limnece to eat 

 other than vegetable matter ? I may add there is a 

 good supply of Chara in the aquarium. — J. Collins. 



Corncrakes.- — Many of the readers of Science- 

 Gossip have doubtless noticed the great tameness 

 of cornrails whilst sitting on their eggs, or even after 

 the young birds are successfully hatched. I saw a 

 curious instance of this yesterday ; the poor bird had 

 been disturbed by the mowing and clearing away of 

 the hay, and took up her abode in the centre of 

 the lawn, where she was discovered by one of the 

 daughters of the house. She did not attempt to 

 move, but sat quite still, allowing herself to be gently 

 stroked, and looking quite happy whilst one of the 

 eight tiny black chicks was being tenderly handled 

 and examined. Just then two other ladies came 

 up, in whom the mother did not seem to have as 

 much confidence as her first friend, for she got up 

 slowly, and took refuge behind a low shrub some 

 little distance off, whilst the small fluffy black 

 creatures scattered in all directions till the mother's 

 voice was heard calling to them in such a soft sweet 

 note, widely different to the usual harsh grating 

 sound of the corncrake. A wonderfully pretty sight 

 it was to watch those eight tiny fledglings being 

 gathered safely home ; some had wandered in their 

 fright to a great distance, and it was evidently as 

 much as the weary little legs could do to carry them 

 back; they paused and rested, and it needed all the 

 encouragement of their mother's voice to induce 

 them to gain the safe shelter of her wings. At last 

 all was still, and we left them in the softly falling 

 shades of the peaceful Sunday evening, devoutly 

 hoping that neither cat nor dog, nor village schoolboy 

 might discover the retreat of our charming little 

 pets.— F. M. B. C. 



Notes from the Books of the "Fairford 

 Juvenile Naturalists' Club."— (i) Small tit's 

 nest in old tomb, Fairford churchyard. (2) Black- 

 bird's nest in old bucket. These birds brought 

 up their young in this queer situation. (3) Blackbird's 

 nest in middle of unused pathway on the ground. 

 (4) Black tern shot. It was flying over the river 

 Coin, Fairford Park. (5) Beetle (Sylpha), being 

 caught and placed in the collecting box, devoured 

 a Necrophorus— or at least its body disappeared, 

 leaving only the elytra and legs. Was not this 

 rather unusual? (6) Three specimens of Viola 

 odorala, with three spurs each. (7) Stickleback 



