HA R D WI CA'E' S S CTENCE - G SSIP. 



263 



graceful as the lofty Cocoa-nut trees of Ceylon, or 

 the Sago-palm of Borneo," I am inclined to think 

 that the species to which he alludes is Fortune's 

 Chamrerops, which is an inhabitant of the cooler 

 portions of China, and one or two specimens of 

 which might be seen, a few years ago, growing in the 

 open air at Kew. But the general question of 

 acclimatization is one well deserving the attention of 

 botanists and florists. If all plants that are uninjured 

 by frost or snow in their own country could be 

 guaranteed to be equally hardy in England, the 

 matter of acclimatization would be very simple. Our 

 shrubberies, and heaths, and hedgerows would be 

 enlivened with many a bright gem from Canada, 

 Switzerland, and the mountainous portions of hotter 

 lands. I have lately returned from a sojourn in 

 Tasmania, and there, every winter, the lovely Fern- 

 trees, which abound in the mountain gullies, are 

 weighed down with snow ; and quaint Gums 

 {Eucalypti) and feathery Wattles {Acacia) nourish in 

 a temperature rivalling in coolness that found in many 

 parts of England. But nothing is more certain than 

 that neither Fern-tree, Gum, nor Wattle will exist in 

 Great Britain, except in one or two favoured situa- 

 tions. The reason of this apparent paradox is not 

 far to seek. The incapability of these foreigners 

 to bear the severity of an English winter is simply 

 due to the difference between their respective sum- 

 mers. In the countries named, during the summer 

 months, there is an almost continuous outpouring of 

 the sun's actinic rays, thoroughly ripening the wood, 

 and giving life and vigour to the contained fluids, 

 while, at the same time, the atmosphere is com- 

 paratively dry, and the air is not eternally loaded 

 with superabundant moisture. We all know how 

 different from this is the normal condition of the 

 English summer. We certainly get the advantage in 

 the greenness of our meadows and the fresh appear- 

 ance of our vegetation, aspects for the most part 

 unknown in the countries alluded to ; but the in- 

 cessant humidity, and the general absence of sunlight, 

 are fatal to the well-being of plants which in other 

 lands, thanks to the summer solar ray, can defy the 

 frost and snow of winter. A very careful selection 

 might add a few foreign names to our native species ; 

 but before Palms and Fern-trees grace our land- 

 scapes, the theory of "heredity" must be worked 

 out patiently and slowly, and then possibly the 

 "survival of the fittest" may take place. — IV. W. 

 Spicer. 



Clams. — I have tasted clam soup in America. 

 It is somewhat like oyster soup, but I believe it is 

 made, not from the giant-clam, Claina gigas, but 

 from the soft clam of the northern shores, the Mya 

 arenaria, which is very much used in America as an 

 article of food. It is found in great abundance on 

 the coast of New England, and makes good bait in 

 cod and haddock fishing. The shells are dug up 

 from thin beds at low water. They are found a foot or 

 so deep below the surface, their siphon-tube projecting 

 upward in the hole by which they communicate with 

 the water at high tide. They are " shucked," that is 

 taken out of their shells, and salted for the fisheries. 

 As many as five thousand barrels a season are thus 

 consigned. Clams are often mentioned in the early 

 history of the Plymouth colony; and judging from 

 scalloped clams, roasted clams, and clam soup, I 

 have no doubt but what Mr. W. A. Cairns will find 

 preserved clams very fair eating for persons who 

 rejoice in a good digestion. — H. E. Watney. 



A Mysterious Gift. — An account of the first 

 ascent of the Peter Botte Mountain is given in the 



Penny I\ fa gazine for 1833, which is probably the one 



referred to by your 

 -Charles Madeley, 



correspondent, Alfred Paterson. 



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. 



M. (Bradford). — You will find instructions as to preparing 

 such skeletons as you require in the chapter on " Bones," in 

 " Collecting and Preserving Natural History Objects," pub- 

 lished by Hardwicke & Bogue, price 3s. 6d. 



C. A. Cowley. — Your specimen is the beautiful and rare 

 Astrantia major, found in Shropshire. See articles on it at 

 page 8 of Science-Gossip, vol. for 1873. 



M. J. Wilde. — -No rock specimens, such as described in 

 your letter, have yet reached us. 



O. P., Cambridge.— '1 he Agaric is evidently a very young 

 state of Agaricus 'Mycena) polygra?n>nus. Fr. M. C. C. 



David Scott. — Your plants are: 1. Anthemis nobilii ; 

 2. Cardamine amara ; 3. Parnassia palustris ; and 4. Saxi- 

 fraga stellaris. 



Young Muscologist.— Get Hobkirk's " Synopsis of British 

 Mosses," price 10s. 6d., published by Lovell Reeve. 



A. Bernard. — The curious monstrosity of the stems of the 

 Malva moschata (which we are much obliged to you for 

 sending us) is described by Dr. Masters in his " Vegetable 

 Teratology" by the name oi fasciculation. It is caused by 

 the abnormal growing together of branches, just as the normal 

 substance we call "horn" is due to the agglutination of hairs. 



J. Sims. — Of course we are obliged to trust to the honour 

 of those who use our exchange column, and we cannot be 

 expected to guarantee good faith. We shall always feel 

 obliged if " exchangers " will notify to us any breach of faith. 

 We shall then take good care to exclude the offenders for the 

 future. 



A Young Geologist. — Your fossils are : — 1. Pcctunculus 

 glycimeris (young specimen) ; 2. Fragment of Natica ; 3. 

 Purpura lapillus. The crystals are selenite, or sulphate of 

 lime, derived from the London clay. See chapter in Taylor's 

 " Geological Stories," entitled " Story of the Crags." 



J. K. (Yarmouth). — Trimmer's "Flora of Norfolk" is a 

 well-known and highly esteemed work. (2) We have not heard 

 of any recent numbers of Donkin's " British Diatomacese " 

 being issued ; nor can we guess the cause of the delay, unless 

 it be the author's professional engagements. Your plants are 

 named correctly in the parcel sent us. 



J. Kirdy. — You may get the materials mentioned in Dr. 

 Woodward's process for staining muscular tissues from any 

 first-rate chemist. 



W. J. R. — Write to Mr. Van Voorst, publisher, who has (we 

 believe) published lists for labelling, such as you require. 



J. Anderson, jun. — The Fuchsia with the calyx segment 

 transformed into a green veined leaf is very curious, and very 

 instructive as an illustration of reversion. 



J. W. N. — The slide contains elytra, &c. of the female of 

 the common water-beetle {Dyticus margi?ialis). The female 

 is so unlike the male in appearance that it was formerly re- 

 garded as a different species. 



A. Wheldon. —Thanks for your monstrosity of Plantago 

 lanceolatum, showing three heads on one stalk. 



K. D. — Will you kindly send us your query again, as we 

 have mislaid it. 



G. R. Redgrave. — The malformed rose with mass of 

 petals arranged around the stem beneath the main mass is a 

 case of what Dr. Masters terms " mediate prolification." See 

 his masterlv work on " Vegetable Teratology." 



Gregori'us and A. G. Wright. — See article on "Pre- 

 serving Fungi," by Mr. Worthington Smith, the eminent 

 fungologist, in " Collecting and Preserving Natural History 

 Objects." 



T. Watson (Burnley).— Your best plan would be to offer 

 the instrument for exchange in our " exchange " column. Or 

 advertise it for sale in the magazines you name. There are 

 none better. 



A Subscriber. — Your grapes are attacked by the usual vine 

 disease, which is a fungus. For its treatment consult any 

 work on grape-culture. 



H. W. S.-We like the paper, and shall insert it at our 

 earliest opportunity. 



F. VV. Hytch. — There is a " Postal Microscopical Club" 

 established, of whose rules, &c. you will find a full account in 

 Science-Gossip, vol. for 1873. 



W. Gaist. — From the description of your larva we conclude 

 it is that of the goat-moth (Cossus ligniperda), but we cannot 

 judge definitely without seeing it. Leave it where it is. 



