238 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Doubt regarding the source of meteoric dust has only 

 arisen since Professor Laurence Smith, and others 

 proved the Orifak iron to be of terrestrial origin, and 

 I venture to say that it is scarcely philosophical to 

 base deductions concerning the origin of dust which 

 is precipitated in all quarters of the globe, upon the 

 evident source of a few isolated masses found in one 

 spot only. The fact of the Greenland iron being 

 telluric does not prove meteoric dust to be telluric 

 also, nor even terrestrial. Indeed, the composition of 

 the former offers direct proof of its dissimilar origin 

 to the latter. Dr. Smith states that all the iron 

 obtained from Greenland contains combined carbon, 

 while meteoric iron has none. I therefore think 

 that, as Jacchini and Von Lasaulx have rested their 

 conclusions upon the assumption that the Orifak iron 

 is of meteoric composition but terrestrial origin, and 

 that assumption is false, the presence of iron particles 

 in atmospheric dust must still be referred to a cosmic 

 source. The argillaceous and other particles may be 

 merely detritus ; but the iron particles cannot be so. 

 See " Comptes rendus," Ixxxvii. 911, " Annales de 

 Chimie," for April, 1879, "Geographical Magazine," 

 1 87 1, p. 570, " Quarterly Journal Geological Society," 

 vol. xxviii. p. 44, and for Daubrie's Papers, " Comptes 

 rendus," Ixxiv. 1541, and Ixxv. 240. — J. A, IVeshuood 

 Oliver, Athentuun, Glas'^ow. 



The Holly-Fern in Herefordshire.— How 

 is it that in no botanical works I have seen, is Here- 

 ford or Monmouthshire named as a locality for the 

 holly-fern? When visiting some few years ago at 

 a friend's house about four miles the Herefordshire 

 side of the town of Monmouth, I found it growing 

 pretty plentifully in a lane between Welsh Newton 

 and Llanrothal ; also in another lane leading out of 

 W elsh Newton, but there only in one spot. 1 brought 

 away several plants, one of which I gave to a friend 

 who has a large collection of ferns ; my others died. 

 I am not confusing this with Fclysticluiui aciileatitvi, 

 which also grows in abundance in that neighbourhood 

 and which 1 know well. — Fanny Bryan, CaJiibridge. 



The Fern Cave at Matlock. — A recent visit 

 to Matlock was singularly corroborative of a corre- 

 spondent's lamentation as to the extinction of our 

 rare ferns. In the streets were plenty of baskets 

 containing the common species ; lut in none of these 

 appeared Cystoptcris fragilis, probably on account of 

 its general eradication in the neighbourhood. The 

 rocks on the High Tor, rent asunder as by a magi- 

 cian's hand, are well suited for fern growth ; but we 

 saw at first only a few specimens of Aspleniiun 

 Trichomancs, Aspleniiun Ruta-inuraria, and Poly- 

 podhtm vulgare. A board pointed to the Fern Cave, 

 and one wondered where the ferns could have existed 

 free from destruction. Entering its narrow, gloomy 

 and fortunately lofty defiles, the mystery was ex- 

 plained. High up, and alike unattainable from above 

 and below, were lovely fronds of cystopteris and other 

 fine ferns, tantalising to the sight ; but pleasing to 

 the thought that they would be able to retain their 

 native beauty. — F. H. Arnold. 



Our " List of Assisting Naturalists." — The 

 following statistics of the numbers of assisting 

 naturalists in various branches, in the recent lists in 

 SciENCE-Gossir, are very significant. Botany, total 

 52; 23 are marked "botany," which probably 

 generally includes phanerogamia ; besides this, phane- 

 rogams 24 ; cryptogams i6. Almost all specialists 

 include : ferns 4, mosses 4, hepaticce 2, fungi 5, algoe 

 (freshwater and marine) 4, diatoms i. Geology 19 ; 

 mineralogy 3, microscopy 12, general natural history 5. 



Zoology, total 35 ; of which we have mammalia 6, 

 ornithology (principally oology) 14, reptilia 4, am- 

 phibia 2, mollusca 9, arachnida 2, entomology 13 

 (lepidoptera 9, coleoptera 2, diptera i), infusoria and 

 pond life 2, polyzoa, zoophytes, and foraminifera, 

 each I. Now, sir, if we take half of those marked 

 " botany " as phanerogamists (and I am sure this is 

 far within the mark), we shall have thirty-five persons 

 all willing to assist beginners in determining the 

 names of wild flowers, a thing easily done by the aid 

 of one of the many (perhaps too many) British 

 Floras, some of which are very easy and cheap. 

 Besides, the list of books published in Science- 

 GossiP in 1879 would enable a beginner to choose 

 his book. On the other hand, we have arachnida 

 and coleoptera each represented by two assisting 

 naturalists, lichens, diatoms, diptera, infusoria, zoo- 

 phytes, polyzoa, foraminifera, &c., by one ; hymenop- 

 tera, neuroptera, hemiptera, orthoptera, desmidiaceas, 

 and many others by none. But these are just the 

 subjects where most help is needed ; for the books on 

 them are few and expensive, their language often 

 unintelligible to a beginner, while the most valuable 

 information is contained in various "Proceedings" 

 and " Transactions " where it is often very difficult to 

 find, and too often drops into oblivion. Another 

 example may be found from the fact that of the nine 

 lepidopterists several make "macros," and "butter- 

 flies" their speciality, but none the "micros." — 

 G. //. Bryan. 



Scarcity of Wasps. — Up to the present time in 

 this part of Somersetshire and parts of Wiltshire there 

 has been a great scarcity of wasps, as your correspon- 

 dent has observed in Reading. Last year they were 

 very numerous with us. Large numbers of nests 

 were destroyed ; may this not have something to do 

 with their scarcity this year ? Gilbert White tells us 

 that though the summers of 1781 and 1783 were un- 

 usually hot and dry, yet in the former years they had 

 not any wasps, while in the latter there were 

 " myriads," and from this he points out that though 

 wasps only abound in hot summers yet they do not 

 do so every hot summer. (See White's Selborne, 

 page 309, edited by J. E. Marting, F.Z.S., second ed. 

 i%lb.)— Charles F. W. T. Williams, Bath. 



Queen and Worker Wasps. — It has been 

 noticed by several in this district that there was an 

 extraordinary abundance of queen wasps in the spring, 

 and until the late rains a great scarcity of workers. 

 Can any of your readers inform me whether this is 

 due to the exceptional dryness of the early summer 

 months or to what other reason they attribute it? — 

 S. Bnrlinghani, HUchin. 



Scarcity of W^asps.— I have not seen a wasp in 

 this locality up to the present date, although in the 

 early spring the queen wasps were very numerous. 

 I killed a hundred and fifty at that season, and 

 numbers must have escaped. Last summer they were 

 a perfect plague. — 6". A. Brenan, clerk, Allan Rock. 

 CO. Tyrone. 



Hair Bell or Hare Bell.— Having noticed in 

 " Flora Hertfordiensis " (Flora of Plertfordshire, pub- 

 lished about 1S50) that the editors spell this name 

 hare bell, and apply it to Hyacinthus non-scriptus, 

 and that other authorities spell it hair bell and apply 

 it to Campanula rotundifclia, \ was interested in the 

 notes which recently appeared in Science-Gossip on 

 this subject. Where authorities thus differ it is 

 scarcely worth while to dogmatise, but under such 

 circumstances something may generally be allowed 



