HARD WJ CKE' S S CTENCE - G O SSI P. 



237 



into the column of this drill-machine, and there, sure 

 enough, was the remains of the toad, nothing now 

 but a few bones and dirt. By its side was the wick 

 of a tallow candle, but no trace of the tallow was left ; 

 possibly the toad had eaten the tallow, or, perhaps, 

 the tallow had decomposed. I should state that the 

 column was perfectly air-tight, and, as far as I could 

 learn, had never been opened. It was about four 

 feet high and seven or eight inches in diameter in- 

 side. The air inside was foul, as a light would not 

 burn. Without comment, I leave these two instances 

 to speak for themselves. — ill. O. Hay don. 



The Longevity of Toads. — I have read in 

 the last number of Science-Gossip, the account, 

 by Mr. W. Downes, of a live toad having been 

 found in limestone rock. I believe there are 

 several well-authenticated instances of that nature, 

 one of which I now send you. My informant is a 

 personal friend, and a well-known mining-engineer of 

 great celebrity. About two years ago, in a Yorkshire 

 coal-seam 600 yards below the surface, a live toad 

 was found in the middle of a block of coal. My in- 

 formant was not present at the moment, but within 

 half an hour he saw the toad, then dead, and the hole 

 out of which it came. He had no doubt whatever as 

 to the truth of the collier's statement that the toad 

 was in the hole alive at the time he broke the lump 

 with his pick, and came out apparently unhurt, but 

 lived only about twenty minutes. I believe my 

 friend has the toad in his possession. — y. D. 

 S 'hake spear. 



Teratology of Leaves, &c. — I think the en- 

 closed leaves as curious as the Cabbage-leaf of your 

 last number of Science-Gossip. We received from 

 South Africa some seeds of Cobicr. Capensis and some 

 of Mimosa. We conclude, from the result, that a 

 seed of each was set in one pot, as two distinct plants, 

 yet united at the bottom of" the stem, came up, and, 

 as you see, there is a second freak in the union of the 

 two plants. Can you tell me if this is only a freak of 

 nature, or is there a plant that is always so ? — B. H. 

 Kirby. 



Goat Caterpillars. — Can any of the readers of 

 Science-Gossip say whether there are any means of 

 saving trees which have become infested by these 

 caterpillars, and of preventing their spread to others in 

 the same garden, other than cutting down and de- 

 stroying the tree? If any know of a remedy, and 

 would state it, it would greatly oblige, and save some 

 valuable trees in this neighbourhood. — A. Warner, 

 Hoddesdon. 



Behaviour of Lightning during Thunder- 

 storms. — A friend and myself were talking of 

 thunderstorms, apropos of the late ones, when he 

 spoke of the lightning as having been observed by him 

 leaving the earth and shooting up towards the sky. 

 This, I replied, was owing to the position of the 

 clouds, as electric fluid never left the earth in that 

 manner during a storm, but might be seen darting 

 from cloud to cloud. He, however, affirmed that it 

 did so, and referred me to a work by Captain Snow 

 Harris for confirmation of what he had seen. He 

 also said that when trees or buildings were struck the 

 injury was often done by the electric fluid leaving the 

 earth, not, as I always supposed, attracted to it, and 

 that the nature of its track displayed the fact. As I 

 still doubt whether it be so or no, will you kindly 

 settle the dispute ?— y. H. G. 



Roots of the Palm-Tree. — Two sermons have 

 been preached lately in our neighbourhood on Psalm 



xcii. 12, " The righteous shall flourish like the palm- 

 tree." In the first sermon special mention was made 

 of, and a lesson was drawn from, the tap-root which 

 we were told a palm-tree possessed. The second 

 preacher, ignorant of the previous sermon, told us 

 that a palm-tree had no tap-root like most other trees, 

 and drew a lesson from its absence. " Where doctors 

 differ disciples disagree." We should be greatly 

 obliged if any correspondent of Science-Gossip 

 could tell us whether palm-trees have tap-roots or 

 not— A. B. 



Preserving Animals. — The whole of the 

 "modus operandi" of Waterton's method, most 

 exactly described, may be found in the end of his 

 " Wanderings in America." The early editions of 

 this work are scarce, but I am happy to say a new 

 one has lately been issued, price 3/6, and may be 

 obtained of any bookseller, from the London houses. 

 W. Bairett-Rowe, Bristol. 



Preserving Slugs. — In "Rambles in Search of 

 Shells," and also in the article on " Land and Fresh- 

 water Shells" in the "Notes on Collecting and 

 Preserving Natural History Objects," the following 

 receipt is given for preserving slugs. " Make a cold 

 saturated solution of corrosive sublimate ; put it in a 

 deep wide-mouthed jar or bottle, then take a slug you 

 wish to preserve and let it crawl on a long slip of card. 

 When the tentacles are fully expanded, plunge it 

 suddenly into the solution ; in a few minutes it will 

 die with the tentacles extended in the most lifelike 

 manner, so much so, indeed, that if taken out of the 

 fluid it would be difficult to say whether it were alive 

 or dead." I have tried this repeatedly, and have 

 never yet succeeded in obtaining one specimen with 

 the tentacles extended. In most cases the head of 

 the slug, when it is dead, protrudes a little outside 

 the mantle, but there is no sign of a tentacle in any of 

 them. I should be glad if any of the readers of 

 Science-Gossip would give me information about 

 the preservation of slugs, as I am anxious to obtain 

 them for my collection of land and fresh-water shells. 

 In the same books it is also stated that the best 

 mounting fluid is glycerine and water in the propor- 

 tions of one to one and one-half. But I find that the 

 fluid becomes coloured a deep yellowish brown soon 

 after the slug is put into it. — B. E. Smith. 



Grey Lag. — In answer to "G. L. 's" inquiry con- 

 cerning " Grey Lag," as applied to the goose, I beg 

 to draw attention to the Cumbrian word laghter, brood 

 of chickens, setting of eggs, which is from the A. S. 

 I leegan to lay (eggs). The Grey Lag may therefore be 

 the Grey Egg- Amy-. — y. C. Clongh. 



Green Hastings. — This cry undoubtedly is a 

 corruption of Green " Hasties," for Coghan, in "The 

 Hauen of Health," black letter edition of 1584, says, 

 " There be three sortes of Pease common among us 

 in Englande, — the first garden pease or hastie pease. 

 The seconde sorte is called graie pease. The thirde 

 greene pease, both growing in the fieldes." He then 

 gives the cooking of them at that time, and states 

 that " The two first sortes are used to bee eaten greene 

 before they be full ripe. First they are sodden, then 

 buttered, salted, and peppered. But if any student 

 list to eate greene Beanes or greene pease, let him 

 spare no pepper upon them, for this is a generall rule 

 in Galen for meates that be windie." Also it appears 

 at that day bread was made from peas, as further on 

 he says, "If pease be unwholesome, then the bread 

 which is made of them is unwholesome ; yet it is much 

 used in Lecestershire. But I leave it to Rustickes, 



