HA RD WICKE' S SCIENCE- G OSSIP. 



255 



which was photographed in 1882, was really an 

 object of this description. 



The recent eclipse appears to be the darkest of any 

 observed in recent times. 



In November, Mercury is an evening star. Venus 

 is a morning star. Mars is an evening star. 

 Jupiter is a morning star. 



Rising, Soulhing, and Setting of the Principal 

 Planets at intervals of Seven Days. 



There will be an occultation of Aldebaran, a star 

 of the first magnitude, on the 13th of November. 

 The disappearance takes place at 6 hr. 27 min. 

 morning, 165 from the vertex ; and the re- 

 appearance at 7 hr. 16 min. morning, 284 from the 

 vertex. 



Meteorology. — At the Royal Observatory, Green- 

 wich, the mean reading of the barometer, for the 

 week ending 25th of September, was 29.77 in. The 

 mean temperature of the air was 54. 2°. No rain was 

 measured during the week. 



The mean reading of the barometer for the week 

 ending 2nd of October was 29.79 m - The mean 

 temperature of the air was 58. 5 . Rain fell on four 

 days of the week to the aggregate amount of 0.45 of 

 an inch. 



At the Greenwich Observatory the mean reading 

 of the barometer for the week ending 9th of October 

 was 29.69 in. The mean temperature of the air 

 was 58.8°> ar >d 5.8 above the average in the corre- 

 sponding week of the twenty years ending 186S. 

 Rain fell on three days of the week, to the aggregate 

 amount of 0.52 of an inch. 



The mean temperature for November of Berwick 

 is 42 , of Hull is 43 , of Canterbury is 44 , and of 

 the South Coast generally is 45 °. 



The average rainfall in November is 2 inches over 

 the greater part of England, but along the South 

 coast it is 3 inches, and on many parts of the West 

 coast it reaches 4 and 5 inches. The last is nearly 

 520 tons of water to each acre. 



NOTES ON A MISCELLANEOUS RAMBLE 

 IN DEVON. 



By the Rev. W. Downes, F.G.S. 



MISCELLANEOUS." Yes; let the word 

 stand ; for, though botany was the raison 

 (Titre of the ramble, geology, archaeology, and even 

 such mundane affairs as luncheon and the sad sea 

 waves will find their place in the day's experiences. 



As an inhabitant of south-eastern Devonshire, 

 living at no great distance from the reputed sole 

 locality of Lobelia urens, I felt constrained to pay a 

 visit to the spot. Sowerby (vol. ii.) tells us that this 

 plant is only found "near Axminster in Devon," and 

 a pencil note in the copy before me still further 

 narrows the field to " Kilmington, near Axminster." 



So to Kilmington we went, two boys and myself. 

 As the habitat is described as a "common," there was 

 no question as to our direction. The only common 

 in the parish is on a hill called in the Ordnance map 

 " Shute Hill," and locally known by that name. On 

 Shute Hill is the boundary which separates the parish 

 of Kilmington from the parish of Shute, and I 

 strongly suspect that it was in Shute parish, and not 

 in Kilmington, that we found what we were looking 

 for, for eventually after some two hours' walking we 

 did find it. At any rate, so far as our experience 

 went, I should say that " Shute Hill, near Ax- 

 minster " would be the most correct description of the 

 locality of L. urens. 



The roadside was drawn blank, and we commenced 

 exploring across country. Though enclosed, the 

 higher part of the hill may still, for the most part, be 

 called "common," for gorse, heather, bracken, and 

 dwarf birch-trees, occupy a considerable portion of 

 the area to the partial exclusion of pasturage. We 

 had not long left the high road before we found 

 L. urens growing abundantly, but only on one very 

 limited area of about two acres, just about where the 

 letter " h"of the word " Shute." occurs in Sheet XXI. 

 of the Ordnance map on Shute Hill. I found occasion 

 to criticise another point in Sowerby's description 

 beside that of the locality. The habitat is described 

 as "under bushes," whereas it was plain that the 

 plant preferred the clearings. Certainly some plants 

 were under the shade of the bushes, but the best and 

 strongest, and indeed by far the largest number were 

 in the sun, and in comparatively open ground. The 

 time of flowering too, is said by Sowerby to be 

 "about September," and according to this we timed 

 our visit for the first week of September. But this 



