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HARD WICKE 'S SCIENCE - GOSSIP. 



The "Furniture" Beetle. — Having just been 

 put to much expense by repairs to furniture and 

 skirting-boards, &c, which have been injured more 

 or less by the furniture beetle, I should be glad to 

 elicit any remarks upon its probable cure or pre- 

 vention. I have generally found it in the sappy part 

 of the wcod, and have found it in every kind of wood 

 used in house-building and furniture, except in ma- 

 hogany ; and I cannot hear of its being ever found in 

 pitch pine. I am not sure of the correctness of my 

 supposition, but I think that the beetle (it is not larger 

 than a middle-sized pin's head) bores and lays its egg 

 or eggs, and the grub eats till its changing period, 

 the beetle from which then eats its way out ; the 

 holes not being larger in bore than a middle-sized pin. 

 I have just been taking out several pieces of wood in 

 my house, but could not detect the insect itself in any 

 stage of existence. I have only twice seen the beetle, 

 and can recollect the time was summer or autumn. 

 On my own premises I have also found it out of 

 doors, in old wood laid aside two or three years for 

 burning. I hope to have some remedy discovered 

 that may protect the new wood now replacing my 

 damaged furniture and shelves. — y. Hashes. 



Mistletoe. — In reading the short notes on this 

 species in the December Science-Gossip, I remem- 

 bered seeing many large specimens some few years 

 ago when engaged as a botanical collector in Nor- 

 mandy, that would with ease have been sufficiently 

 long in the stem to have made a "small javelin." 

 At the time, I took particular notice, but I do not 

 believe I saw a single example on the Oak ; the 

 finest specimens were observed on the Lombardy 

 Poplar. It is very abundant in the north of France. 

 — R. 



Mistletoe on Lime-trees. — I do not think that 

 this is an unusual phenomenon. Next to the Apple, 

 the Hawthorn, and the Black Poplar, I should say 

 that the Lime was the most frequent host of the 

 Mistletoe. I have never seen the mistletoe growing 

 in greater luxuriance than on two fine avenues of limes 

 at Cutteridge House, near Westbury, Wilts. Near 

 Malvern, where the mistletoe is abundant, I have 

 seen it growing on a variety of other trees, as the Oak, 

 the Maple, the Willow, and Robinia Pseudacacia. — 

 H. F. Parsons. 



Seeds of Mistletoe. — Some twenty-two years 

 ago I put two seeds of Mistletoe in a cavity formed 

 on the stem of a young apple-tree, caused by the 

 partial healing over of the part where a small branch 

 had been cut off the previous season, tying a string of 

 bass over to prevent birds, &c. from picking out and 

 devouring them. They both took, and in three 

 years had grown to about three inches in length ; 

 since then they have grown to about two and half 

 feet through, but during the time have only produced 

 three berries : that was two years ago. Since then 

 one of the plants has died. It first showed symptoms of 

 decay by the leaves becoming yellow and dropping 

 off; since then it has fallen away piecemeal by 

 breakage at the joints, the larger portions still remain- 

 ing attached. The other plant, although so close, 

 remains in perfect health and looks as usual, except 

 that it is much thinner from the loss of the inter- 

 mixed branches of the former plant. I cannot say 

 which of the plants is dead, — either that which bore 

 the berries or otherwise, but the remaining plant has 

 no berries this season. Until the berries were pro- 

 duced, I had a notion that the plants were of one sex, 

 consequently barren, but had always neglected ex- 

 amining them to ascertain the fact, which I now re- 

 gret, as I fancy the berries produced were barren ; — at 



least, none of them grew when inserted in the usual 

 way. My plants, at first, were of very slow growth : 

 the first season only produced two small stumpy 

 leaves from each seed ; the second, four on each, and 

 so on ; and I rather think only one joint in length has 

 been produced of a season, but as the plant got 

 stronger, frequently four shoots were produced instead 

 of two, increasing thereby much faster, as well as 

 forming a handsomer and much stronger-looking 

 plant. Some years ago, I was much pleased and 

 interested by observing, about an inch above the 

 plant, several young plants which had pushed their 

 way through the bark, which they have since con- 

 tinued to do, always ascending, and about an inch 

 from each other, some of which are now dead and 

 some living ; from which I draw the conclusion that 

 those produced from the former plant are dead also. 

 These off-sets were of equally slow growth as the 

 young seedlings, only a pair of leaves of a season, 

 although more elongate, and I cannot understand H. 

 E. Wilkinson's statement when he says he observed a 

 protuberance and very soon a leaf, — mine always 

 came in twos — and presently a good-sized plant of 

 Mistletoe. Mine always take four or five years to 

 come to anything like a good-sized plant, and I have 

 grown many since the first, both on apple and pear- 

 trees. The " Dumelow Seedling" is the apple on 

 which my large plant is now. It was removed once 

 when the Mistletoe was about five years old : it made 

 not the slightest difference to its growth ; but I have 

 lost plants by removing the tree when only of the first 

 year's growth. I also lost a fine young plant of four 

 years' growth by the dying off of the tree itself by can- 

 ker of the root, the Mistletoe living some months after 

 the tree died, but losing colour and becoming rigid, 

 and finally perishing also. My trees do not suffer in 

 the least from the growth of the parasite on it, either 

 in growth or bearing, although established on the 

 main stem about three feet from the ground. — Wm. 

 Curnow. 



How to Preserve Animalcul.e. — I have several 

 works on the microscope, but I have never read of 

 any way to preserve animalculce ; that is, the best 

 medium to use. I have tried several, but none have 

 acted satisfactorily; viz., spirits, glycerine, glycerine 

 and camphor : the last was the best. I mounted 

 some Canthocamptus minatus and some ChyJorns 

 sp/uzricus in it, and found the objects looked better 

 than when preserved in the other mediums, but still 

 they were not to my satisfaction. Could you, or 

 some of your correspondents, tell me of some better 

 medium, I should be greatly obliged. — II, Foley- 

 streei, Portland-place. 



Root- Propagation of the Ipecacuanha. — 

 In a paper on i-oot-propagation read by Mr. Lindsay, 

 of the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, before the Scottish 

 Horticultural Association, that gentleman stated a 

 curious fact in connection with the propagation of the 

 Ipecacuanha by that operation — viz., from a piece of 

 the root about a foot long or only one of the rings of 

 the annulated root, one plant would be the conse- 

 quence. Have any of the readers of Science-Gossip 

 had any experience of the multiplication of that 

 highly serviceable plant in that way ? — M. King. 



Badly-blown Eggs. — If any of the able corre- 

 spondents to your journal could tell me of some fluid 

 that would dissolve the hard albumen in badly-blown 

 eggs without affecting the shell, I should be much 

 obliged. I have had some rare eggs given to me 

 that I wish to preserve, many of which are so badly 

 blown that they have broken with very careful 

 handling. — G. T. B. 



