HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



93 



one day in the country, across my path I observed 

 a slug and a butterfly very close together. On 

 stooping down I noticed that the half of the body of 

 the butterfly had disappeared, and the slug (the com- 

 mon white variety) was busily devouring the remain- 

 der. In a short time it all disappeared. Now, the 

 curious part of this is, how could the butterfly have 

 been so unwary as t<5 allow the slug to approach so 

 near ? Perhaps some of your numerous correspon- 

 dents could relate some similar circumstances. — 

 J. D. O., Carrickfergus. 



Asplenium septentrionale. — In the January 

 number of Science-Gossip there is a paragraph 

 which states that Asplenium septentrionale was dis- 

 covered near Dolgelly, by Mrs. Chamberlain Barlow, 

 of Edgbaston, in 1867. Allow me to inform the 

 writer that it had been previously discovered in the 

 district by the Rev. T. Salway, vicar of Oswestry, 

 and in a " List of certain Plants found in the Neigh- 

 bourhood of Barmouth," published by him in 1863, 

 this passage occurs : "Asplenium septentrionale, a 

 single plant gathered by me on the wall of the turn- 

 pike-road between Hendwet and Dolgelly, in 1842," 

 and this note, "I could never find this in subsequent 

 years, though I gathered only a few fronds, and left 

 the root." — F. C. Raiulings, Barmouth. 



Venomous Reptiles of Ireland. — In reply to 

 S. E. Bennett, page 42, for February, I beg to say we 

 have none such ; our reptiles are frogs, green lizard, 

 one newt, and Natter Jack, in Co. Kerry. It was not 

 St. Kevin, but a bigger saint — St. Patrick — who sent 

 them adrift from Croagh Patrick, in Co. Mayo. " He 

 gave the snakes and toads a twist, and banished all 

 the vermin, " as the song goes. — F. H. 



Solanum Dulcamara. — In reply to Mr. W. 

 West, Bradford, as to above, I regret to say I have 

 known two fatal cases in this neighbourhood (Athy) 

 from children eating the berries of|this plant. One fact 

 is worth one hundred doctors. — F. H. 



The Mildness of the Season. — On the 21st 

 of February, whilst taking my accustomed walk 

 through the beautiful beech- woods of Nettlebed, I 

 was surprised by an adder attempting to cross my 

 path, and having destroyed many of these venomous 

 reptiles, particularly in the county of Devonshire, I 

 found, on killing it, that it was the largest I had ever 

 seen, — its length being not less than twenty-eight 

 inches. The occurrence of this reptile so early, with 

 the primrose and other wild flowers in bloom, on this 

 elevated, picturesque, healthy range of the Chiltern 

 Hills, is a proof of the extreme mildness of the sea- 

 son. — Thomas Shipway. 



Small Mites. — Some newly-married friends of 

 ours, gone to reside in a farmhouse in a pretty, undu- 

 lating country district in Gloucestershire, have been 

 sadlv annoyed for some time past by the presence of 

 numbers of very small mites ; they come on their 

 books, clothes, and furniture, — even on the piano 

 specks of dust-like particles are often seen, and an 

 inexperienced eye would think them to be only dust ; 

 but, on close inspection, they are seen to move. 

 Benzoline and sanitas have been tried in vain. Can 

 any of your readers throw any light on the matter ? 

 — whence they come, or in what way they may be 

 exterminated?—^/. R. D. 



Age of Sea-Gulls. — It may not be generally 

 known to what age sea-gulls live. There is a gull 

 living at Freshwater, Isle of Wight, at the present 



time, which has reached its thirtieth year, and is appa- 

 rently as well as ever. It was taken when young from 

 the nest, and was supposed to be a male bird, but 

 when nearly twenty years old, to the surprise of 

 every one an egg appeared, and since that time it has 

 laid many more. All this time it was called by the 

 name of Willie, but the name was then changed 

 to Rittie, which it still bears. The bird is perfectly 

 tame, and comes at once when called. It lives in a 

 garden, and is fed principally on meat and fish ; it 

 has also a great liking for cheese. The bird has been 

 in the possession of the same person all its life ; I 

 believe it is the common gull (Larus canus). — Frank 

 Morey. 



Midnight Songsters.— On Feb. 15th and three 

 following evenings, blackbirds, thrushes, and many 

 of the smaller birds have been singing merrily at mid- 

 night. The gentleman at whose house I am staying, 

 a doctor, driving late through the park, and several 

 others, have heard the above, but no one seems ever 

 to have known of such an occurrence before. A 

 blackbird was seen while singing, perched on a tree, 

 close to the house-windows. The nightingale has 

 not yet been heard in this part. — M. B. Gordon, 

 Little Chart, Kent. 



Birds Singing at Midnight.— On the night 

 of Saturday, the 15th of February, I was returning 

 home from the house of a friend, between the hours 

 of eleven and twelve o'clock, when I was consider- 

 ably surprised to hear a thrush singing away merrily. 

 Presently, the songster was joined by others, and in a 

 short time a regular concert began, taken part in by 

 at least a dozen thrushes and blackbirds, whilst the 

 robin, wren, and other small birds were singing and 

 chirruping in the hedgerows, just as you hear them in 

 the early morning in summer. On arriving home, I 

 called the attention of my friends to this singular" 

 circumstance, and we stood at the door for some 

 time listening with wonder to this — at such an hour 

 — unusual melody. On the following night, about 

 the same hour, the concert again commenced, and 

 was even more lively than on the preceding night, 

 and continued until morning. On both nights the 

 weather was very calm and mild, and the moon shone 

 with great splendour, making it almost as light as 

 day. I should be glad to learn whether any of the 

 readers of Science-Gossip residing in other parts of 

 the country have noticed this — to me— remarkable 

 incident in the history of our singing birds, which 

 most certainly has never come under my observation 

 before. — R. Standen, Goosnargh, Lancashire. 



Herring Fishery. — A correspondent in your 

 March No. inquires how fishermen tell when herrings 

 are in their vicinity. On this coast most of our 

 cobbles cast their nets by night, and if any herrings 

 are near, they can readily see the phosphorescence 

 caused by this fish, which is generally very brilliant, 

 especially if, the night be dark and the herrings plen- 

 tiful. Nine out of ten of our cobbles do not shoot 

 their nets unless this " flame," as the fishermen call 

 it, be visible. They can also tell the difference 

 between "full "and "spawn" fish, a shoal of the 

 former swimming like a single one, the whole body 

 oscillating gently from side to side as they proceed, 

 whereas, in a shoal of the latter, each fish is constantly 

 on the move, darting restlessly about. This is by 

 far the most useful sign of the approach of herrings, 

 as the following can only be observed during the day, 

 and are even then not very reliable ; viz., that if the 

 weather be warm and the sea smooth, a whole shoal 

 will frequently disport on the surface of the water, 



