HARD Wl CKE' S S CIENCE - G O SSI P. 



189 



overlying Secondary rocks. Mr. W.Whitaker, F.G.S., 

 remarked on the difference between the Lower Green- 

 sand at the outcrops north and south of London, and 

 the peculiar oolitic limestone found in Meux's well. 

 He regarded the beds at the bottom of the Crossness 

 boring as by no means proved to be Devonian ; but 

 thought some of the specimens more closely resembled 

 New Red Marl. He referred to the Loughton section, 

 in which water was got at the base of the Gault, 

 probably indicating the existence of Lower Greensand. 

 He thought that, considering the inverted condition 

 of corresponding strata in France and Belgium, the 

 determination of the direction of the dip of the beds 

 in Meux's well was by no means of great importance. 

 He did not think that the depth of Gault at Shore- 

 ham was exceptional, as at Caterham and other 

 points along the outcrop an even greater thickness of 

 Gault had been found. He stated that the Cambridge 

 phosphate-becl, a few inches thick, was found imme- 

 diately above the Upper Greensand in Meux's well, 

 and pointed out that some doubt existed as to the 

 thickness of the several beds passed through in the 

 boring. 



A Fossil Bird.— Mr. J. A. Allen has just obtained 

 a new genus and species of fossil Passerine bird from 

 the insect-bearing shales of Florissant, Colorado, 

 which shows the greater part of the skeleton, and 

 the impressions of the feathers, The general features 

 indicate arboreal habits, and well developed power 

 of flight. The name of Palaospiza bella has been 

 given to this interesting Tertiary fossil. 



A new Fossil Mammal from the Oolitic 

 Formation of America. — The right lower jaw of 

 a small mammal has just been found in the Rocky 

 Mountain regions. Its position was in the Upper 

 Oolitic or Jurassic rocks, where it was found asso- 

 ciated with the remains of Dinosmiria. The name 

 of Dryolestes priscus has been given to this newly- 

 discovered mammal, which bears out the evidence of 

 early mammalian life elsewhere by its being mar- 

 supial, "and allied to the existing opossums. The 

 size of this primitive animal was about that of a 

 weasel. No fossil mammals have previously been 

 discovered in the Oolitic rocks of America. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Remarkable Nests. — Having noticed two short 

 articles on "Remarkable Nests " in the Notes and 

 Queries, I thought it might not be out of place to 

 add one other which came under my notice this year. 

 While out for a walk late in March, I saw two black- 

 birds and one thrush fly out of a hawthorn-bush. On 

 looking into it, I found a true blackbird's nest, built 

 of old hay, with a lining of mud, and then relined 

 with hay, &c, again; but, curious to say, it con- 

 tained three eggs of the thrush ; there were no signs 

 of their being crossed. I am sorry to say that I have 

 not since had the opportunity of visiting the nest, 



else I might have been able to account for it in some 

 way or other. — Joseph T. Gnmersall. 



HOW DID THEY GET THERE?— On the 17th of 



June, 1877, I put a few bits of straw into a bottle 

 of water, placed it in the sun, left it there for 

 some time, and had a large quantity of the infusoria. 

 After I had finished with the infusion, I put it into a 

 dark cupboard ; it was left there for about seven 

 months, when, wanting some wide-mouthed bottles, 

 I filled this up with water, and left it for a day or 

 two, and when I came I found it swarming with the 

 water-flea. If any of your readers can give me any 

 light on the subject, I should be much obliged. — 

 E. W. Wilton. 



Ornithological Nomenclature. — My little 

 boy is beginning to study ornithology, and I have 

 warned him to be very careful that, in his scientific 

 terms, to make his adjectives agree with nouns, &c. 

 In the first week of his study he brings me Morris 

 with Erylhaca rubecula, and Wood with Erythacus 

 rubecula, and asks me to explain. I cannot. Will 

 some correspondent kindly do this for my little boy ? 

 — Robin Goodfellcna. 



Strange Suicide. — The following account 

 appears in a Bedford paper as occurring at Wootton : 

 — A cat belonging to the Vicar of this parish had 

 given birth to four kittens. As she did not seem 

 strong enough to suckle so many it was judged best 

 to drown them. After this she moped and went 

 about in quite a desponding manner. On Thursday, 

 June 20, she seemed worse, in fact half frantic, con- 

 tinually rushing about the house. On a sudden she 

 dashed out of the house, ran across the lawn and 

 plunged into the ornamental pond in front of the 

 house. She was quickly rescued, and a little brandy 

 given her. As she then seemed a little better she 

 was let loose. Later in the afternoon, however, she 

 spied an opportunity to get out of the house, ran 

 again to the pond, and plunging in was drowned 

 before she could again be recovered. 



Moles at Work. —In Professor Paley's paper on 

 Earthworms in last month's Science-Gossip this 

 passage occurs : " This is the case with mole-heaps ; 

 but I never saw and I never met with any one who 

 could say he had seen the earth actually being thrown 

 up." If the professor is here speaking of moles, 

 surely he knows but little about them, almost every 

 professional mole-catcher carries a spud with which 

 to pounce on any luckless mole seen throwing up the 

 earth. I myself, one day last month, observing a 

 perfectly fresh mole-run, followed it up, and soon had 

 the satisfaction of' seeing the earth being thrown up, 

 evidently by a mole ; after watching this proceeding 

 for some seconds, I put my heel hard down behind 

 the mole, thereby cutting off his retreat, and dug him 

 out with my walking-stick. Within a quarter of an 

 hour in the same field I served another mole the 

 same. A third, which I saw actively employed in 

 digging, heard me coming and had time to retreat 

 before my foot barred his tunnel. I may mention that 

 the field had been that day sown with turnips and 

 rolled down, so that the moles, as is their custom, 

 were not throwing up what are commonly known as 

 mole-casts, but simply burrowing about 3 inches 

 under ground and forcing up the soil as they pro- 

 ceeded. From this and other evidence I am strongly 

 of opinion that the intelligence of the mole is by 

 many naturalists over-rated ; it is by far the easiest 

 animal I know anything about to trap, and although 

 if it does hear you coming it undoubtedly runs 



