HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP, 



261 



•■cautious, I have done no harm, and must thank Mr. 

 Campbell for correcting me. I can testify that the 

 weasel is found in the west of Ireland, as I shot one 

 myself near the town of Roscommon, co. Roscom- 

 mon, in August, 1879. I was informed by the 

 gentleman on whose estate I shot it that they are of 

 great use in exterminating rats.— C. Deivar. 



Collecting on the Norfolk Marshes.— It 

 was a rather dull morning, the latter end of August, 

 that we started from Norwich for a day's collecting 

 on the marshes. As we walked along the lanes 

 leadmg from Wroxham to Horning, we captured a 

 splendtd specimen of Phlogophora mdkidosa resting 

 on the edge, also Gonepteiyx rhamni. We also 

 noticed in a meadow near Horning the Dianthus 

 ddtoidcs growing very abundantly. At last we got 

 on the river, about 9.30, and at once set off for some 

 marshes about half a mile down, where machseon are 

 very abundant. On our way we landed once or twice 

 and collected some pupce of the lo, and Atalanta, 

 also a great many larvoe of the same. The pretty 

 little plant, Drosera rotundi/olia, was very plentiful 

 on the wet marshes. We reached the favourite haunt 

 of themachceon about mid-day, but it was so dull that 

 we hardly expected to get anything ; but as we were 

 •collecting some puprc of the lo, we came across two 

 of the machKon fastened to the stem of the marsh 

 carrot. We found a few more common pupae, but 

 we were obliged to shorten our ramble and return 

 home soaked to the skin, for the rain was coming 

 down in torrents.—^. JV. G. and E. P. D. 



Frog-spawn. —Last February I obtained a lot of 

 frog-spawn and put it in a large bell-glass with a few 

 water-plants, but nothing else. They were so well 

 balanced that I have not had to change the water 

 since, only adding for evaporation. When the eggs 

 were all hatched"! found the tadpoles very gradually 

 'diminishing, until now I have only about twelve lett 

 out of a hundred or more. If they are in the habit 

 of eating each other, one would expect to find a 

 youngster going about minus his tail or part of his 

 body ; I certainly have not seen this, though I looked 

 closely for it. Would some reader kindly account for 

 their disappearance ? — P. W. A. 



Query as to Spider. — Could any of your corre- 

 spondents tell me the name of a spider whose web I 

 found to-day in the corner of a window ? It was a 

 light yellow colour itself— slight in body, with long 

 legs. It was surrounded by a very strong web which 

 stretched across the angle of the window-frame, 

 •enclosing the ' spider in a roomy triangular house. 

 Up in the corner of the nest was a round ball-like 

 cotton, about the size of a pill. I put the spider out 

 and then opened this ball, out of which rolled small 

 yellow eggs ; I counted ninety-four, and think there 

 must have been quite one hundred. I enclose you 

 the little ball in which these eggs lay. Please to 

 inform me if all spiders propagate in this way, or if 

 this one I found is a distinct and uncommon species. 

 An answer in the next number of Science-Gossip 

 would much oblige — A Lover of Insects. 



Hair-Bell or Hare-Bell. — In the preceding 

 number of Science-Gossip, Mr. Lynn takes excep- 

 tion to my suggestion that hare was an erroneous 

 spelling of some old form of the word hair, as being 

 beside the question. I am now prepared to admit it. 

 1 have searched several old Herbals, but have not 

 been able to find that either of the prefixes were 

 employed. Parkinson calls it the blue bell-flower, 

 but this is only the English equivalent of the Latin 

 campanula. Lobel, in his list of English names, also 



calls it bell-flower, nor can I find any mention of it 

 in Chaucer or Piers Plowman,. nor in the still earlier 

 Anglo-Saxon Leechdoms. It would be interesting to 

 know when it first appeared by either name. I can- 

 not see that Mr. Skeat's book would be likely to help, 

 although it may merit all the praise Mr. Lynn bestows 

 upon it. We do not want the etymology of hare or 

 hair, but only to know which of them was used in 

 connection with this plant. I should be glad to know 

 where and when the s is found attached (Hare's bell) 

 this would settle the matter, as far as the writer was 

 concerned, but I have never seen or heard it called by 

 that name. Our popular names of plants were given 

 1st, from some resemblance to other objects; 2nd, from 

 their real or supposed medical virtues ; 3rd, from the 

 time they first appeared or flowered, and 4th from 

 the partiality (imaginary or otherwise) animals had for 

 them as food. The what may be termed specific 

 name, I quoted from the Kruydtboeck of Matthias 

 de Lobel (not Christoffel Plantyn, he was only the 

 printer), was given on account of the two small tubers 

 at the bottom of the stem. Lobel's synonymy is as 

 follows : " Vosse Cullehyns, Teriiculus viilpiniis. In 

 Franchois, Moucherens ; in Spanish, Satyrion." In 

 English the name I quoted. The plant meant was 

 the butterfly orchis ; indeed most of the orchids had 

 similar names, as the foxes, the goats, &c. I think that 

 if any intelligent country labourer was asked why 

 this plant was called hair-bell he would at once reply, 

 from the likeness of the flower stalk to a hair. Mr. 

 Lynn asks for an instance of hare being used for 

 hair. lean give him one, " Hoshare boght hear," 

 this I remember seeing exhibited in a marine-store 

 dealer's window for many years. Since writing the 

 above I have met with a curious instance of a name 

 being given not for the resemblance, but the reverse. 

 Our "go to bed at noon " {Tragopogon pratensis) 

 has or had in Holland the popular name of "Joseph 

 Bloem," and is thus called because Joseph would not 

 go to bed at noon. — F. K. 



Spider robbed of its Prey. — In a web there 

 were two spiders— male and female — I suppose, and 

 a fly which they had killed. The whole centre of the 

 web had been torn away, and the fly was on the 

 inner edge of what remained. Standing on the fly 

 was a scorpion 'A^ [Panorpa (ro;«;;«/«/j-), busily suck- 

 ing all its viscera. Once the larger of the two spiders 

 tried to drive away the unbidden guest, but as 

 panorpa threatened to violate all laws of hospitality 

 by devouring his hostess if she interfered, she pru- 

 dently retired. Do the scorpion flies gain their living 

 as pirates regularly, or is this exceptional ? — A. Dixon, 

 Wye. 



Grasshoppers in Turkey.— Turkey, it appears, 

 is overrun with grasshoppers, and the Government 

 has been compelled to adopt very extraordinaiy 

 measures to overcome the plague. A particularly 

 voracious species has appeared in the Bodirun District 

 (Smyrna), and the whole population is employed to 

 combat the insects. At Angora all business was sus- 

 pended for three days by order of the Governor- 

 General, and all the inhabitants were ordered to 

 march out into the fields to destroy the grasshoppers. 

 Every inhabitant was compelled to deliver twenty oka 

 (about fifty-six pounds) of dead grasshoppers to the 

 officials. The swarms are said to emanate principally 

 from Persia. 



Flukes. — I believe Clara Kingsford will find 

 all the information she desires under the heads 

 of "Cercaria" and " Trematode Worms" in any- 

 modern Encyclopaedia. The fluke is said to lay its 

 eggs in the skin of sheep and other animals, but they 



