HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



191 



mustard be derived from mustum aniens, in the 

 preparation of which it was used? Suspicious as it 

 may seem at first sight, on deeper examination more 

 will be found in favour of this source than of any 

 other that has been proposed. At any rate, as the 

 slightest acquaintance with etymological principles 

 will show, that furnished by Mr. Glasspoole's pretty 

 anecdote may be despatched to the limbo of all mere 

 prettiness in science — oblivion. For it is subject to 

 two cardinal objections: first, it does not account 

 for the s which originally formed part of the word 

 (compare Old Fr. moustarde, It. mostarda, Sp. mos- 

 taza) ; secondly, it commits the serious error of 

 attempting to account for the French name merely 

 as a French word, without reference to the cognate 

 forms in other languages, all of which must have had 

 a common origin. These remarks, though rather 

 different from the ordinary contents of this journal, 

 are not out of place. For there is a science of 

 language. The days are past, when it could be said 

 that in etymology " the vowels meant nothing, and 

 the consonants very little," and, if the subject is to be 

 entered into at all here, something more is wanted 

 than merely to copy derivations out of old books. — 

 W. B. Grozv, B.A. 



Destruction of Insects, &c. — In the February 

 number of Science-Gossip, your correspondent 

 " L. W. G." protests against the robbing of birds' 

 nests ; in which protest I certainly join. May I be 

 allowed, in your columns, to protest also against the 

 wholesale massacre of insects ? In the same number 

 I read an account of a visit to Sponsa's head-quarters, 

 and there I find that the writer pleads guilty to 

 destroying no less than 70 of those moths, while 

 he succeeds in taking 80 specimens of Quercus. More- 

 over, he meets with a brother collector who has 

 taken 120 of the former insect in three nights, and 

 usually takes from 12 to 20 per night. "Some 

 gentlemen 'uv took fourty a noight this season," he 

 is informed by another. May I ask such collectors 

 where this is to end ; for surely Sponsa is no Colorado 

 beetle to be stamped out ! Is science promoted in 

 any way by wholesale destruction ? The system of 

 exchange is pleaded as a reason, or rather an excuse, 

 for obtaining duplicate specimens ; but the zealous 

 entomologist should aim at something higher than 

 becoming a mere collector, I had almost said de- 

 stroyer, of insects. In the life of the Scotch naturalist, 

 Thomas Edward, by Smiles, at page 93, I read, 

 " He sometimes lost for a time the object of 

 which he was in search, because he wished to ob- 

 serve its traits and habits. For this purpose he would 

 observe long and carefully before obtaining posses- 

 sion of it. By this means he was enabled to secure 

 an amount of information in natural history, such as 

 no book, except the book of Nature, could have sup- 

 plied him with."— H. L. G. 



Sea Anemones. — I have kept sea anemones for 

 the last four years with a tolerable amount of success, 

 and have tried various sorts of food for them ; such as 

 raw meat, fish, cockles {Cardnm edule), and mus- 

 sels (Mytilus edidis) ; but find the last-mentioned 

 agree best with them, as they seldom reject any 

 portion after feeding, which I have found they con- 

 stantly do after they have partaken of meat, &c. I 

 give them pieces varying from the size of a sparrow- 

 shot to a pea, according to the size of the anemone, 

 every fifth or sixth day. Care must be taken to 

 remove any rejecta or pieces they do not happen to 

 eat, or they will soon decompose, and render the 

 water foetid and thick. I may mention that by 

 attending to this rule, the water in my tank, holding 



about fourteen gallons, is as clear as crystal, although 

 it has been over a year in use. Referring to my 

 friend Mr. Edward HorsnailPs note on Sagartia 

 sphyrodeta (page 16 of the current volume), it may 

 interest some of your readers to know that I have had 

 three specimens of Corynactis, variety Corallina, 

 undergo spontaneous fission in manner described by 

 Mr. H., and both the parent and offspring are alive 

 and doing well (I had the original specimens from 

 Torquay early last year, since which they have grown 

 considerably). I think this will assist in confirming 

 the opinion expressed by Mr. P. H. Gosse, in his 

 " British Sea Anemones," page 291, as to the in- 

 crease of this species. I may also observe that I have 

 succeeded in rearing several anemones born in the 

 tank, principally Bunodes gemmacea, and they are 

 now, when distended, nearly an inch high, and the 

 disc more than an inch in diameter. — C. A. Crimes. 



"Buttercup. — Baits, cow ; twos, curd (Greek). 

 Butter is therefore 'cow-curd'; in early times curd 

 was also obtained from goats and other animals." 



"Tulip, from the Persian tidipan, a turban." 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS, 



To Correspondents and Exchangers. — As we now 

 publish Science-Gossip a week earlier than heretofore, we 

 cannot possibly insert in the following number any communi- 

 cations which reach us later than the gth of the previous 

 month. 



C. W. Burgess. — Your sea-weeds are too minute and ob- 

 scure to tell with any degree of certainty. 



J. W. J.— The plants you sent us from Shanklin contain 

 fossil sponges. That polished is a Scyphonia ; the other (No. 

 8) contains a Ventriculite. See Taylor's " Geological Stories," 

 page 180, et seq. Price 4s. Published by Hardwicke & 

 Bogue, 192, Piccadilly. 



Dr. R. B. — It is a Puccinia, very much like Puccinia Thesii. 



Is it quite certain that the foster-plant is Lythrum ?— M. M. C. 



J. K. (London).— It is the Cerastium tetrandrum, although 



scarcely distinguishable from some specimens of C. semicicccm- 



drum. 



Meta V.— Your plants are as follows : 1. Cerastium tri- 

 viale. 2. Doubtful. 3. Chrysanthemum leucanthemum. 

 4. Equisetum arvense. 5. Lotus corniculatus. 6. Geranium 

 molle. 7. Erica cinerea. 8. Lunula congesta. 9. Geranium 

 pusillum. 10. Malva rotundifolia. 11. Polygala vulgaris. 

 The one marked 2. is too imperfect for identification. 



Meta. V. — We should advise you to procure a small book 

 published by Hardwicke & Bogue, "Notes on Collecting 

 Natural History Objects, &c." Price 3s. 6d. This would give 

 you the information desired. 



"An Amateur" (Bristol).— You would find Backhouse & Son, 

 York, the best nurserymen. No doubt you could purchase a 

 living plant of Diomea (Venus's Fly-trap). 



S. E. L. (Penrith).— An excellent specimen of Nephrodiuni 

 Famisecii— or Lastrca Fcenisecii. Lowe. It is very uncommon. 

 J. H. M. (London).— You might have been much wider from 

 the mark. It is Sagina procumbens,~L. 



A. B. M.— The plants enclosed are as follows :— No. 1. 

 Goosegrass (Galium Aparine, L.) ; No. 2, Herb-Robert 

 (Gera?iium Robertianum. L.) ; No. 3. a Moss (Polytnchum 

 commune); No. 4, also a Moss (Hypnnm rutabu/um) ; SSo. 5, 

 Creeping Cinquefoil 'Potentilla reptans); No. 6, Galium 

 saxatile. . . , 



Mr. Buck sends us a plant gathered on the banks of the 

 Orwell last August, and thinks it is Loliitm temulentum. It 

 is a much commoner species, namely, Triticum ?-epeus, yar. 

 littoreum, Schum., or the T. littorale, Host, a species according 

 to continental authorities. 



A Subscriber.— Cow's horn may be easily softened and 

 even dissolved in a strong alkaline solution, such as strong 

 soda-lye. , ... „ 



W. Hamborough.— " The strange little stalked things 

 are the eggs of the Lace-wing Fly (Chrysopa vulgaris), be- 

 longing to the Neuroptera. 



W. C. C. — Botanical drying-paper may be obtained at 

 Messrs. Spicer's, New Bridge-street, Blackfriars, London. 



T. S. S. (Rochdale).— Your plants are : No. 1, Thyme-leaved 

 Speedwell <l r cronica serpyllifolia). No. 2, Heath Bedstraw 

 {G.ilittm saxatile) _j 



