56 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



and which they attached to the weeds. The tube soon 

 became covered with extraneous matter. In this tube 

 they kept up a continual waving and undulating 

 motion, by which water was pumped through, and 

 there was sufficient room for the creature at times to 

 turn round so tliat the head protruded where the tail 

 was, and vice versd. Having many times seen these 

 creatures both in their naked state and in the tube, 

 I had wondered where they came from and to what 

 they belonged ; now, having seen them developed 

 from the egg, one question is answered, as to their 

 being a larva of some sort. By referring to Mr. 

 Edward Cox's paper, entitled " A Few Words about a 

 Little Gnat," in Science-Gossip, vol. xiv. p. 269, 

 the other question will be answered, as he has 

 witnessed both the transformation of the larva to the 

 pupa, and from the pupa to the imago. The little 

 sketch given at the head of his paper I think will 



i 1 



THE TREE CREEPER. 



By W. H. Warner. 



'ERE is a certain inoffensive little brown bird 

 haunting an adjoining orchard at the present 

 time (March) whose habits have afforded me some 

 little amusement during leisure moments. This little 

 creature is only about five inches in length, is of 

 slender build, and like all other objects of the 

 Creation, is beautifully fitted for the life it leads. 

 Being never seen on the ground, and gaining its 

 livelihood entirely on the trunks of old trees, posts, 

 and walls, it has all its members specially adapted 

 for such a life. For climbing and clinging purposes, 

 it has long and sharp claws ; as a support when 

 so engaged, its tail feathers are very stiff, and on 

 these the bird rests ; and for collecting its food 



<^ ^.^^. (Us 



« '-S,(i^ 



Fig. 41. — ]'"gg (enlarged): a, red eye-spots. 



Fig. 40. — Ovasac of Gnat. 



Fig. 42. — The Larva from the Egg. 



prove it to be the same as fig. 42. I am sorry he was 

 not able to obtain the name of the gnat, as I should 

 also like to have known it. His description of the 

 larva is very good, and corresponds with what I 

 have been enabled to observe of it. Perhaps some 

 of the readers of Science-Gossip can give the 



information required. 



^ , , Tames Fullagar. 



Canterbury. •' 



Geranium. — I met with white-flowered specimens 

 of this plant in Worcestershire and Herefordshire in 

 1877, and at or near the same spot in Herefordshire 

 in 1878. Mr. A. D. Melvin tells me he also found it 

 near Worcester some years ago. I think the plants 

 I have seen are larger and more vigorous than those 

 of the usual colour. Is this generally so? — R. F. 

 Icivndroiv. 



it has a long, curved, slender bill, which is particu- 

 larly useful in cap'^uring those tiny specimens of the 

 entomological world which lurk in the crevices of 

 the bark. Seen at a distance, this little climbing, 

 clinging bird appears clothed in a plain brown and 

 white garb ; but examine a specimen in your hand, 

 and you will find that its upper plumage is finely 

 mottled with different shades of brown both rich and 

 sombre, and that its white under-parts seem to have 

 a silvery appearance. After this preamble we intro- 

 duce a bird well-known to every schoolboy — the 

 tree creeper (^Cerihia familiaris). 



A very appropriate name this little bird bears. 

 See it when you will (which is not very often, unless 

 you have sharp eyes and know how to use them), it 

 is climbing or creeping up the trunk of some tree, 

 and sedulously hunting for all those tiny creatures 

 which find their homes in and about the bark. An 



