HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



283 



appear. The facts, in short, are these : — A miner 

 named Waters, working in Wheal Agar Mine, on 

 arriving at his work there one morning, mentioned 

 that, on his way home the previous evening, he had 

 seen a shower of shells falling on the farm of Mr. 

 Fredinnick, near Redruth. Captain Ralph Daniel, 

 of the mine, immediately went with some of the men 

 to the farm, where they found the whole of one 

 field and parts of the several others, covered with 

 these snails, and they arrived at the same conclusion 

 as the miner. The only error in the above account 

 is in the miner saying he saw them falling — a very 

 simple error ; but to what an extraordinary conclusion 

 it leads ! This explanation I forwarded to the 

 "Western Morning News," which duly inserted it, 

 and it was copied by most of the local journals that 

 published the original account ; and I trust, in this 

 part of the country, at least, we shall not be edified 

 with a similar account for some years to come. 

 Your correspondent of last month seems to have 

 been "fetched" by the tale, for he says — -"It is 

 unfortunate that attention was not directed to the 

 phenomenon earlier, that it might have been observed 

 whether there were any on the roofs of the cottages 

 in the vicinity. This cannot be done now, as the 

 abundant rains that have subsequently fallen would 

 have washed them away." The Helix virgata is 

 often to be found on the walls, and probably the 

 roofs of cottages in suitable situations, and I lately 

 saw thousands on a wall seven feet high, newly built 

 within two months, without a particle of herbage at its 

 base. The wall had been built on some meadow 

 land, and the turf removed on either side and 

 gravelled ; the bare wall and gravel-walk crowded 

 with these snails, giving an aspect that would appear 

 extraordinary to any one not a naturalist. — J, T. 

 Marshall, Scvcnoaks, Torquay. 



Gulls Roosting on Trees. — It is commonly 

 asserted that the common seagull never perches on a 

 tree. Going up Loch Lomond one Saturday not long 

 ago, I noticed that a few gulls which had followed 

 the steamer up the lake, took up their quarters upon 

 some trees behind the Aard Lui hotel, and remained 

 till Monday morning, when they escorted the boat 

 on her return voyage. — J. IF. Slater. 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



To Correspondents and Exchangers. — As we now 

 publish Science-Gossip earlier than formerly, we cannot un- 

 dertake to insert in the following number any communications 

 which reach us later than the 8th of the previous month. 



To Anonymous Querists. — We must adhere to our rule of 

 •not noticing queries which do not bear the writers' names. 



To Dealers and others. — We are always glad to treat 

 dealers in natural history objects on the same fair and general 

 ground as amateurs, in so far as the " exchanges " offered are fair 

 exchanges. But it is evident that, when their offers are simply 

 disguised advertisements, for the purpose of evading the cost of 

 advertising, an advantage is taken of our gratuitous insertion of 

 "exchanges" which cannot be tolerated. 



We request that all exchanges may be signed with name (or 

 initials) and full address at the end. 



F. E. Reed. — Rimmer's " Land and Freshwater Shells," 

 •each species photographed, price 10s. 6d. 



C. E. Gubbins. — The echinoderm is the green pea urchin 

 [Echinocy amies pusillus). The Trochuses are T. umbilicatus, 

 young and old specimens. 



M. Ratheone.— Your plant is a variety of the sea sand-wort 

 spurrey (Spergularia negtccta). 



Dr. Davidson. — The shell is a freshw ater bivalve, Pisidium 

 ■amnicum. 



Dr. P. (Margate). — The insects in the bottle you sent us are 

 the red house-ant [Diplorhopton molcsta). See article on them 

 in Science-Gossip for 18^6 (December). 



Dr. A. D. — You could not begin the study of land and fresh- 

 water shells belter than with Rimmer's " Manual," price 10s. 6d. 

 (London: Allen & Co.) It contains photographs of every 

 British species. 



H. W. P. — You will have no difficulty in getting access to the 

 Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. 



H. Allnutt.— Besides our own "Scientific Directory," 

 which has been running throughout the present year, consult 

 " Year-Book of Scientific Societies," published by Griffin & Co. 



M. E. Thomson. — The "green rose" is a monstrosity, called 

 phyllody of the petals, and is produced by the petals reverting 

 to their leaf stage. "Green roses" are not uncommon. 



K. A. D. — The fossil bones are, from your description, those 

 of Diprotodon, which occur in the Australian river drifts as 

 the Mammoth does in our valley gravels, and is of post-pliocene 

 age. See Nicholson's " Palaeontology." 



A. P. — You will find an account of Euplsctella speciosa in 

 Science-Gossip for 1872, p. 180. 



J. J. — Get the "Illustrated Dictionary of Scientific Terms," 

 by W. Rossiter, published by W. Collins, Son & Co., London 

 and Glasgow, at y. 6d. 



A correspondent from Bath inquires whether a bull has a 

 mind or not ! He always has a mind to eat when he is hungry. 



T. J. P. — Get Sowerby's "British Grasses," 1 vol., coloured 

 plates, of some secondhand bookseller. 



M. Johnson. — Get Dr. Wormell's "Treatise on Magnetism 

 and Electricity," published by Murby, price 4s. 6d. For fungi, 

 get Dr. M. C. Cooke's " British Fungi," published by Allen & 

 Co., price 6s. For geology, Taylor's " Geological Stories" and 

 "Common British Fossils" (latter published by Chatto & 

 Windus). 



W. Woods. — The series of articles "On Marine Collecting 

 with the Surface-Net," commenced in March and were con- 

 tinued till June of the present year. 



A. H. D. — From your rough sketch and description, we 

 judge that the "mossy-looking" object is a species of Batra- 

 chospermum, a freshwater alga. 



EXCHANGES. 



Science-Gossip for 1866, 1868, and 1869, bound, and 1884, 

 1885, 1886, unbound ; also British and foreign shells. Wanted, 

 autographs, any of Ruskin's works, or offers. — S. C. Cockerell, 

 5 Priory Road, Bedford Park, Chiswick, W. 



One dozen well-mounted physiological and pathological micro- 

 slides for a similar number of good lantern photographs of 

 microscopic objects. — D. Burford, Bowbridge, Stroud. 



Nicholson's "Zoology," Turner's "Anatomy," Nettleship's 

 " Diseases of the Eye," latest editions, new. What offers in 

 books or micro apparatus? — G. A. Grier^on, 74 Market Place, 

 Sheffield. 



Wanted, Parts 5 and 12 of vol. i. of the " Journal of Con- 

 chology." Offers requested. Briti-h shells and a few micro 

 slides for exchange: lists sent. — J. W. Cundall, Carrville, 

 Alexandra Par!:, Redland, Bristol. 



Small collection of Indian shells in cabinet ; microscopical ex- 

 change desired. — G. A. Barker, 1 Northwold Road, Clapton, E. 



Sp/i. rivicola, P. nitidus, Cy. clegans, C. rugosa v. dubia, 

 and others, for shells not in collection. Lists exchanged. — 

 J. A. Hargreaves, Baildon Woodbottom, Shipley, Yorkshire. 



Small air-pump for microscopical objects, not much used, 

 cost^i when new. What offers in glass slips, ground edges, 

 3 in. X 1 in., or spoiled slides, not scratched. — M. Farhall, 

 7 Lorna Road, West Brighton. 



L. C, 7th ed., offered, 180, 194, loxa, 217, 271.6", 317, 490,533. 

 545, 553. 715, 856, 859, 907, 1300, 1332, 1613, 1615, 16166, 1636. 

 and many others. Wanted, 101, 103, 119, 174, 401, 477, 546, 

 665, 720, 721, 819, 830, 931, 971, 1005, 1081, 1292, 1299, 1302, 

 1552, and many others. Lists exchanged. — A. W. .Preston, 

 Thorpe Hamlet, Norwich. 



Well-mounted slides of spicula of various sponges and 

 Gorgonias in exchange for diatoms or diatomaceous earth. — 

 J. B. Bessell, Freemantle Square, Bristol. 



British or foreign dried plants, mosses, or micro slides_ for 

 correctly-named and localised crystals, crystalline rocks, mine- 

 ral-, rare polarising salts, or good micro material. — J. Harbord 

 Lewis, F.L.S., 145 Windsor Street, Liverpool, S. 



Duplicates: P. astcrias (cf, 9), /'. troilins, Danais ar- 

 chippus (cf, 9), Colitis philodice (cf, 9), Lyccena comyntus 

 (cf, 9), Lhrysophauus Americana, Melitaa t/iaros, Catoca'.a 

 parta, C. concumbens, and other species of American butterflies 

 and moths; also cocoons of our larger species. _ Desiderata 

 \ery numerous ; English and exotic species of all kinds. Corre- 

 spondence solicited from persons in all parts of the w-orld. — 

 Frank G. Jones, 1623 Montgomery Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa., 

 U.S.A. 



