26 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-G OSSIF. 



Chara and Nitella, gathered near Woking, Surrey. 

 The Rev. H. H. Slater remits Thalidrum Kochii, 

 Fries, collected in Patterdale. This species deserves 

 more attention than it appears yet to have received 

 from British collectors ; in the " Student's Flora," it 

 ranks as a sub-sp. of T. minus, L., it however, bears 

 but little resemblance to that species. Mr. Wilkinson 

 woiices Hyoscyamus 7iiger, L., thus : "this plant has 

 grown wild in my garden for a dozen years. The 

 place was once a common, and after my having the 

 ground dug deep, this and about ten other uncommon 

 plants made their appearance spontaneously." This 

 we believe to be the experience of other observers 

 in various parts of the kingdom. 



I\Ir. Shrivell has dried a few well-marked specimens 

 of Sambucus laciniata, a variety we but seldom meet 

 with ; whilst Mr. Duncan sends a large number of 

 the rare orchid — RIalaxis pahtdosa, L., from Ben- 

 nachie. All our members will be interested in the 

 numerous, as well as carefully dried specimens sent 

 by Mr. Bailey. Amongst others, also noteworthy, 

 are the following : — Viola Ciniisii, Fost., Barmouth ; 

 Spergularia marginata, Boswell, Barmouth ; Poteriiiin 

 platylobijim, E. Bot. , Kenilworth ; CEnantheJluviatile, 

 Coleman, Navan, Co. Meath ; Euphorbia Esula, a. 

 gc'/iuiua, Kenilworth; Nepda parviflora, Benth., a 

 variety of N. Gkchoma, very distinct, and worthy of 

 studious notice, Leamington ; and Chrysajithcmum 

 fiiaritiinum, Pers., Conway. 



The above are but a few species taken promiscu- 

 ously from the parcels, but sufficient to indicate to our 

 readers the useful nature of the Science-Gossip 

 Botanical Club. We trust it will also tend to increase 

 the interest in our work. 



URSINE FOLKLORE. 

 By John Wager. 



[Continued from f age 15.] 



THE bear's broad paws, so well adapted for 

 hugging hunters and paddling over lakes, 

 have, it is said, a much more remarkable proi^erty, for 

 " although he lies in his den the whole winter through 

 without eating or drinking in the least, he is, neverthe- 

 less, according to all accounts, at the fattest in early 

 spring, when he emerges from his retreat, solely, as 

 the saying is, from having sucked his paws " — Olaus 

 Magnus says, from sucking the right paw alone. 

 With so much sucking, his paws are naturally tender 

 at first when he again essays to walk. His stomach 

 too feels squeamish, but is presently set right by the 

 combined tonic and purgative effects of an ant-hill, 

 which, before taking other food, he prescribes for 

 himself and swallows at one dose. 



Leaving the good bishop's pseudo-natural histoiy, 

 we may remark that folklore seems scarcely con- 

 sistent in ascribing more than human sagacity to the 



bear, and at the same time delighting to tell how 

 easily he allows himself, like a great lubberly clown, 

 to be befooled by the knavish fox. Everybody knows 

 how the bear lost his tail. North American Indians, 

 Scandinavians, and Laplanders, tell the story much 

 in the same way, though a different tailpiece is ap- 

 pended to it by the Lapps. According to their version, 

 as related by Professor Friis ("Laijpisk Mythologi, 

 Eventyr og Folkesagn "), the bear once when taking 

 his depredatory rounds in the forest, met the fox 

 with a fish, and asked where and how he had got it. 

 " I stuck my tail in a well down yonder where man- 

 folk dwell, and let the fish hang upon it," said the 

 fox. "Couldn't I get a fish to hang on my tail?" 

 asked the bear. ' ' Thou couldst not endure what I 

 endured," answered the fox. "Pooh," growled the 

 bear, "couldn't I endure what thou hast endured, 

 old fox fool?" "Yes, yes, then, grandfather," said 

 the fox, "so thou also mayest stick thy tail into the 

 manfolk's well and try, I will show thee the way !" 

 So tlie fox led the bear to a well, and said : " See, 

 grandfather, here is the well where I caught my 

 fish." So the bear stuck his tail down into the well. 

 Meantime, the fox skulked about a little, while the 

 bear's tail was in course of being frozen fast. Then, 

 when the right moment had arrived, he shouted : 

 " Come hither, manfolk, with your bows and spears. 

 There is a bear here, sitting and polluting your well !" 

 So the people came running with their bows and 

 spears ; and when the bear saw them, he hobbled up 

 with such haste that his tail broke short off; but 

 the fox sprang into the forest, and crept under the 

 root of a fir-tree. 



Besides the ordinary Scandinavian version of the 

 affair, some of the Swedish peasants have another, 

 which I translate from the " Warend och Wirdarne " 

 of Hylten-Cavallius : 



The fox found a humble-bees' nest, and would 

 fain get the honey. So he stretched out his tail, and 

 all the bees settled upon it ; he then ran off with 

 them, and afterwards turned back and ate the honey. 

 Rambling a little farther,' he met the bear; "Thou 

 art licking thy lips," said the bear; "I know thou 

 hast been eating honey." "Yes, that I have," said 

 the fox. " Where didst thou get it? " said the bear. 

 "Well, I did so-and-so," said the fox. "Thou art 

 alway ingenious," said the bear ; " good would they 

 be who would show me where I also might get my- 

 self a little honey." " Oh, that is easy enough," 

 answered the fox; "if thou wilt only follow me; I 

 happen to know of another bees' nest in the forest." 



But the fox thought only of a roguish trick, as he 

 never was anything else but a rogue. He therefore 

 led the bear to a great log which lay cloven in the 

 forest, with the wedge in. "Stick thy tail in here 

 now," said the fox ; " it is full of bees, and here thou 

 wilt find honey." But when the bear had stuck his 

 tail in, the fox was ready, and took out the wedge. 

 "Now thou hast them," said the fox. "Jerk now 



