23" 



HARD WICKE 'S S CIENCE - G O SSIP. 



angles to it is a light rod, 'of any convenient 

 length, upon which a graduated scale slides opposite 

 to the thin glass in the Camera. On looking through 

 the latter the object will appear to have the scale 

 laid upon it, and its size can be easily determined. 

 The rod upon which the scale is clamped should be 

 graduated in order that the magnifying power of the 

 objective may be ascertained and registered : this is 

 ascertained in the following manner : — the divisions 

 on the scale are adjusted to those seen on the stage 

 micrometer, and its position noted for future reference. 

 It is necessary the figures on the scale should be 

 reversed. A goniometer scale for the measurement of 

 angles can be easily substituted for the ordinary scale. 



The Miniature Microscope Lamp. -We have 

 recently tried the above-mentioned lamp, just intro- 

 duced by Messrs. How & Co., St. Bride-street, 

 Ludgate Circus, London, and find that, although very 

 much smaller than those hitherto 

 in use, it affords a pure white 

 light sufficient for all micro- 

 scopic purposes. One of the 

 advantages of its small size is 

 the much less heat given off, a 

 somewhat important matter, 

 when a dozen or more lamps 

 are burning simultaneously. It 

 is fitted with the Improved 

 "Hailes" shade; this in its 

 original form, as most of our 

 readers are aware, was that of 

 a porcelain cylinder, with an 

 aperture at the lower part, the 

 rest of the light being obscured ; 

 it was supported by a brass ring 

 sliding on the upright rod of 

 the lamp. One fault in this 

 form of shade was that a great 

 amount of light was visible 

 above it, and generally on a 

 level with the eye of the ob- 

 server. In the new shade this 

 has been obviated by the upper 

 part being made dome-shaped, the eyes being thus 

 effectually protected from glare. The shade is sup- 

 ported by a "gallery" just below the burner; it 

 is therefore always in position. The lamp, when 

 not in use, is packed in a japanned tin case, about 

 3 inches in diameter, and 9 inches in height, and 

 weighs under two pounds. 



The Painted Lady. — Have you ever observed 

 a kind of metallic sound when this insect is on the 

 wing? I also fancy it has a partiality for sandy 

 patches on hedge-banks, especially under the shade 

 of trees. It flies later in the evening than some other 

 species, and is a bold insect — returning to the spot 

 where an attempt has been made to capture it. 

 — IF. M. C. C. S. 



Fig. 198. The Miniature 

 Microscopic Lamp. 



ZOOLOGY. 



The Black-Throated Stonechat in Lanca- 

 shire (Saxicola stapazina). — It is a pleasing duty 

 to me to record the taking of a very beautiful 

 specimen of what I consider an exceedingly rare bird 

 in our neighbourhood {Saxicola stapazina). The 

 specimen was shot by a friend of mine about the 

 middle of May this year on the margin of the Bury 

 and Radcliffe Reservoir ; and, though very mangled 

 with shot, having a goodly number of 6's, it has been 

 very well mounted indeed by my friend Johnson, of 

 Prestwich. Considering the condition it was in from 

 being killed with such large shot, I really doubted at 

 one time whether it could be mounted ; however, it 

 has been, and a valuable addition to our list of birds 

 it is. We naturally ask ourselves now, if this bird 

 is no native what is it doing here, and how came 

 it to visit us? The most probable solution to this is, 

 the Stonechat family are migratory, leaving us for 

 more southern and western countries about the begin- 

 ning or middle of September, returning to us in large 

 flocks about the end of April or beginning of May ; and 

 likely enough this specimen, being of the same habits 

 as our Wheatear, has travelled along with a flock 

 and reached our shores, whence he would drive 

 inland in search of a mate. I have sought many works 

 on British birds, but failed to find its mention ; and 

 the only description I can find is in Cassell's "Book 

 of Birds," vol. ii., p. 199. The bird I have is 

 a male bird, in fine mature plumage, and in very 

 good condition when shot. Its habits when alive, 

 as noticed by several parties for a few days prior 

 to its being captured, were very active, vigilant, and 

 shy. It seemed to hoid itself aloof from any of 

 the same order (Saxicola cenanthe). Cassell's de- 

 scription of these birds in their native home is very 

 interesting, and I here give an extract : — "Though 

 they by no means avoid fruitful tracts or cultivated 

 districts, these birds very decidedly prefer to take up 

 their abode in mountainous or stony regions ; and 

 are for this reason particularly numerous in Sweden, 

 Southern Germany, and Switzerland ; in the latter 

 country they are popularly known as Mountain Night- 

 ingales, from the height to which they often ascend. 

 Even the icy and rugged tracts of Scandinavia and 

 Lapland seem to suit their requirements, and we have 

 often seen them hopping nimbly over the glaciers in 

 situations where no other living objects were dis- 

 cernible. Individuals inhabiting more southern lati- 

 tudes display the same liking for barren grounds, and 

 are usually seen in localities so sterile and arid as to 

 appear totally incapable of affording them a sufficient 

 supply of the insects upon which they subsist ; their 

 disposition is lively, restless, and very unsocial ; only 

 during their winter migrations do they seem to com- 

 mingle with others of their species, even when cir- 

 cumstances compel a certain amount of neighbourship ; 

 each bird lives for itself, without appearing to have 



