HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSSIF. 



"5 



LivERrooi, Science Students' Association. — 

 The Inaugural Meeting of this recently- formed 

 Society was held towards the end of March, when a 

 telling address was delivered by the President, Mr. 

 A. N. Tate, F.I.C. The Society is really a field club 

 in connection with the Botany and Physiography 

 Classes of Liverpool. 



How Snakes cast their Slough. — Gilbert 

 White, in his "Natural History of Selborne," thinks 

 that snakes "crawl out of the mouth of their own 

 sloughs, and quit the tail part last, just as eels are 

 skinned by a cook-maid." But my friend Captain 



N , who has served thirty years in the army in 



India, and has kept tame snakes (one a Cobra de 

 capello, and another a rock-snake), and watched the 

 •operation in the case of one of his pets, describes the 

 process thus : For some days before casting the slough, 

 the snake appears to suffer in health (as do birds before 

 and during moulting), and, in the instance witnessed 



by Captain N , the creature chose his (the 



captain's) bed for the purpose. The snake had got 

 its head beneath the pillow, and partly cast the skin 

 when first observed. By alternate contraction and 

 expansion of the muscles, the skin was pushed over 

 the head, the creature gradually hacking out of the 

 slough through the orifice at the tail. The task took 

 eight hours to accomplish, and the snake vv'as then of 

 a glowing red colour, and highly sensitive to the 

 touch for the first twenty-four hours after leaving the 

 old skin, at the end of which time it had gradually 

 become darker and darker until it regained its natural 



blackish colour. Captain N ■ was known among 



the natives as the " Samp-Wallah " or Snake-man, 

 and the snakes proved a most efficient guard for his 

 quarters. — John Heath, Soiithsea, Hants. 



Popular Natural History. — "The Natural 

 History Journal and School Reporter," conducted 

 by the Natural History Societies in the Friends' 

 Schools, is a capital illustration of how practical 

 observation can be combined with ordinary school 

 work when schoolmasters are themselves naturalists. 



BOTANY. 



Mercurialis perennis. — In looking through the 

 herbarium of my friend, the late Mr. W. J. Smith of 

 Worcester, I found a monoecious form of this plant, 

 which I have not seen described. It is more robust 

 than the type, with longer and more deeply serrate 

 leaves ; the female inflorescence terminal, and the 

 male in axillary spikes. The specimens were labelled 

 "The Grove, Little Malvern," and last season I 

 searched this spot, where the typical AL perennis is 

 abundant, but without finding the monoecious form. 

 I should be glad to know if any readers of Science- 

 Gossip have met with it, or have seen it described 

 in any woxk.—A. D. Melvin. 



Epilobium roseum. — In Babington's "Manual " 

 this plant is described as having "buds nodding," 

 and in Hooker "buds inclined." The plants found 

 by Mr. R. F. Touriclrow and myself in this district 

 have always erect buds. I sent a specimen to Pro- 

 fessor Babington with a note to this effect, and he 

 says in the experience of himself and friends the 

 buds do nod. Will some of your readers kindly 

 observe tliis epilobium during the coming season, 

 and let me know the result. — A. D. illelvin, North 

 Jllalvern. 



Bee Orchis. — The uncertain and fitful method of 

 appearance of the bee orchis {Ophrys apifera) was 

 well exemplified within the last two years in this 

 neighbourhood. In 1879, I found this orchis in such 

 large quantities all over a rough meadov/ with a poor 

 subsoil of Forest Marble clay, that I gathered a large 

 handful to ornament my study, and at the same time 

 from the same meadow I got specimens of Lathy r us 

 NissoUa, Lotus tenuis, and Ervuin ( Mcia) tetrasper- 

 nium. During last year I went to gather my favourite 

 orchis, but it had entirely disappeared, and as it is a 

 common plant around the district I sought it in 

 several well-remembered localities and almost with- 

 out success. Years ago we have been interested by 

 the same fitfulness in the appearance of the bee 

 orchis in our old Gloucestershire hunting grounds. — 

 James Buckinan, Bradford Abbas. 



A local Flora. — Another addition to the "local 

 floras " of Britain has appeared in the form of a 

 " Hand List of the Plants occurring within seven 

 miles of the United Services College, Westward IIo." 

 It has been printed for the use of the College Natural 

 History Society, but will also be of great service to 

 other observers in the district. As this list is only 

 the result of one year's observations, every other 

 page has been left blank for the insertion of addi- 

 tions. 



Heliotropism. — What I. P. K. says in regard to 

 the paragrajohs in McNab's botany is correct, but I 

 venture to suggest that he puts a wrong construction 

 on them. Light no doubt retards growth — of this we 

 have plenty of examples in our alpine flora ; but we 

 are told that it is often marked by increased assimi- 

 lation, so also does darkness retard growth because 

 the plant cannot assimilate. But in this particular 

 case retardation is marked by increased nutrition, in 

 one direction a kind of hyponastic growth takes place. 

 The growth of the dark side of the stem "depends 

 upon nutrition which only affects the mechanism " of 

 growth in a secondary degree. Thus we see the 

 growth in this case is lateral on the "light" side, 

 and longitudinal on the "dark" side. I should 

 like to see the opinons of some othez's of our botanical 

 friends on this subject. — li. Astley, Huhne, 



Lieerian Coffee. — In the coffee-growing world 

 a new impulse has been given to the trade in the 



