HARD WICKE 'S S CIENCE ■ G OS SI P. 



45 



certainly looked twenty years older. I thought his 

 hair had decidedly turned greyer : this may, however, 

 have been only imagination, and therefore ought rather 

 to be considered as an impression than actual fact. 

 Within the last few months a fresh case of the possi- 

 bility of the colour of hair changing has come under 

 my notice. An old gentleman, aged eighty-nine, 

 residing in my immediate neighbourhood, lately died. 

 For many years his hair had been perfectly white, 

 but a few days before his death some of his hair 

 became black, giving the appearance of his having 

 dark brown or black hair. Here it is interesting to 

 note that in his younger days his hair was light. 

 After the death of this gentleman the tips of the hair 

 for about an inch assumed the original colour, 

 becoming white again. Has a similar case fallen 

 under the notice of any of your readers ? I have heard 

 of another instance, where after death the hair turned 

 from white to black. Dogs seem to be affected with 

 regard to their hair in like manner as human beings. 

 I lately read of a case where a black Newfoundland 

 dog became grey in a few weeks ; and the writer 

 declares that the only cause for this sudden change 

 was grief. — C. P. Ogilvic. 



Mistletoe, Apple, and Pear. — Does not the 

 fact mentioned by Mr. C. H. Westley, that mistletoe 

 does not grow commonly, if at all, on the pear, open 

 up some interesting questions ? I believe I am correct 

 in saying that, though the apple and the pear can 

 each of them be grafted on a variety of stocks, 

 amongst others on some but remotely related to them, 

 neither can be grafted on the other. The growth of 

 the mistletoe is a kind of natural grafting, and occurs 

 on trees belonging to several widely different orders ; 

 yet it seems to be confined to one of these two allied 

 species. May there not be some underlying physio- 

 logical identity between the various possible stocks, 

 some physiological difference between apple and 

 pear ? Has any one ever attempted to graft apple or 

 soecies ther on mistletoe? Will mistletoe grow on 

 all stocks used for apples, or on any used for pears ? 

 — G. S. Bo i tiger. 



Mistletoe. — Bentley mentions Viscum album as 

 parasitic on thorns and willows ? Can your readers 

 tell me whether it is commonly found on these ? also 

 whether Primus spinosa is the plant meant by 

 thorns ?— J. J. W. S. 



Watercresses. — The following extract may per- 

 haps be of interest to some of your readers. At the 

 meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on 

 Tuesday, Mr. Shirley Hibberd, of Stoke Newington, 

 presented a dozen pans of watercresses, grown in the 

 manner he has practised for some years past. One 

 of the advantages of this system is, that the plants 

 are under complete control to be placed in the sun or 

 the shade, or during winter in heated plant-houses, 

 and can at all times be supplied with pure water, and 

 thus be preserved from contamination by the pollu- 

 tions common to rivers, and even to watercress-beds. 

 The pans in which they are grown measure from 

 1 5 inches to 20 inches across, and from 6 inches to 

 9 inches deep. They are filled with rich loamy 

 soil, intermixed with lumps of chalk or old mortar, 

 and then very small cuttings are inserted. These 

 soon become strong plants, and in from fifteen to 

 twenty days may be gathered from, the cresses being 

 tender and delicate in flavour, and of the most beau- 

 tiful appearance. The twelve plants shown have 

 been regularlvcut for the table for a period of six weeks, 

 and their fresh and robust appearance indicated that 

 gatherings might be had from them for another six 

 weeks without their being exhausted. The sorts shown 



were die Erfurt sweet green cress, the Springhead 

 brown cress, and the Stoke Newington purple cress. 

 The adjudicators signified their approval of this mode 

 of cultivation by the award of a medal to Mr. Hibberd. 

 — H. Budge. 



Query respecting Sea Anemones. — Will a 

 correspondent kindly give a little information respect- 

 ing Sea Anemones : should they be fed, and if so, 

 how often, and about in what quantity ? — W. T. H. C. 

 Trome. 



Swans and Rats. — Some time since I noticed 

 some rats had taken possession of a hollow tree grow- 

 ing by the side of my mill dam, and not wishing to 

 retain them there as tenants, I suggested to one of 

 my servants the propriety of serving them with 

 "notice to quit," and to this end I enlisted the ser- 

 vices of a ferret. Very soon two or three of the family 

 leaped into the water. A pair of swans were close 

 by watching our movements, and no sooner did the 

 rats attempt to swim across the dam, than the swans 

 at once gave chase to the enemy ; more than once they 

 seized the rats and threw them above the water, and as 

 often as they raised their heads, the swans, regardless 

 of the presence of spectators, pursued their enemy to 

 their bitter end, and by frequently pecking at them 

 eventually succeeded in drowning them, as was proved 

 by the dead bodies floating down to the mill ruck a 

 few minutes after the battle. — R. Cooke, G Ian ford- 

 Mill, Norfolk. 



Spectral Phenomena. — Two curious phenomena 

 have lately come to my knowledge in conversation 

 with friends who were eye-witnesses of them. 

 Perhaps some of your readers may be interested 

 enough to endeavour to throw some light upon them. 

 A gentleman was parting with a friend on Hampstead 

 Heath, one night about eight years ago, the moon 

 and stars shining, when they both observed what 

 appeared like three bright bars stretching across the 

 sky about midway between the zenith and horizon 

 towards the west, and apparently also twenty or thirty 

 yards in length, and remaining so for over half an 

 hour. A lady walking along the Euston road when 

 the sun was shining brightly, saw in the air before her 

 a gigantic semaphore. Upon reaching one of the 

 stations of the Metropolitan Railway, a real sema- 

 phore was noticed to correspond in position with the 

 spectre. — A'. II. A. B. 



The Lunar Bow. — I observed this remarkable 

 phenomenon on November 22nd under very favour- 

 able circumstances. At about 8.25 p.m. the moon 

 was shining very brightly, and on looking towards 

 the western sky, I perceived a faintly-coloured bow 

 spanning the heavens and extending some distance 

 across the distant landscape. The colours were pale 

 and indistinct, but the general form of the bow was 

 very definitely marked. — George Clinch, West Wick- 

 ham, Kent. 



Lapwing and Sparrow-hawk. — I am not much 

 surprised at the communication of J. C. Stephens, 

 No. 155, p. 262, in which he states that he " observed 

 a lapwing or peewit pursuing a sparrow-hawk." 

 I believe that, under certain circumstances, that bird 

 will attack, or at least chase and attempt to frighten, 

 any bird whatever that approaches the ground where 

 it has taken up its abode. As a proof of this I will 

 mention what came under my own observation during 

 the past spring. In a field of about twelve acres 

 in extent adjoining my residence, two lapwings took 

 up their abode. There are some rookeries at a short 

 distance from this, and on several occasions the 

 colonies came into this and the adjoining fields to 



