HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



'19 



Among the specimens collected from the Border 

 'Ground are several similar specimens, but so well 

 ipreserved as to show that they are not plants at all. 

 They are most probably a yet undescribed comb-like 

 •organ belonging to Euryptcrus. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Atmospherical Electricity. — In a note to the 

 article " On Certain Phenomena connected with 

 Atmospheric Electricity," in the June and July 

 Clumbers by Mr. Woollcombe, a remark is made on 

 my recent pamphlet " Electric Meteorology," and I 

 did hope that the subject would have gone on so that 

 some distinct objections might have been made to the 

 theory I advance, and not a mere vague allusion. On 

 the phenomenon to which Mr. Woollcombe refers in 

 .his note (Ball Lightning), my remarks are these, " I 

 have omitted reference to what are at times described 

 as globuled lightnings or electric fire-balls, simply 

 .from the fact [hat, although an earnest observer of 

 thunder-storms from my childhood, I have never 

 seen anything to which such a description would apply 

 and I can form no opinion on the subject." This is 

 .not " denying the existence of ball lightning;" but 

 that a ball of electricity, as described by Mr. Wooll- 

 combe, should " strike the earth and rebound," is so 

 •opposed to all known laws of electricity in motion, 

 that I do not hesitate in expressing my disbelief in 

 such a phenomenon. The following are my remarks 

 on the subject of the two last paragraphs of Mr. 

 Woollcombe's paper: — "With regard to what is 

 called the return electric stroke, i.e. an upward stroke 

 of lightning from the earth to the clouds, I not only 

 Jiave never seen anything of the kind, but I believe it 

 is an impossibility. That electricity on a great and 

 ■sudden collapse of vapour should at once pass off 

 from a cloud to the earth, seems strictly in accordance 

 with its powerful tendency to gain an equilibrium, 

 and it has the whole globe to attract it. But as 

 a^egards the return stroke of electricity, what have we 

 .to support the idea of it ? We know of no natural 

 -cause for a sudden development of electricity on the 

 earth's surface, as in the collapse of vapour. In 

 drawing a spark from any charged body we have 

 evidence of atmospheric resistance to the passage of 

 •electricity. How then can it be imagined that a 

 collection of mere mist could thus draw liphtnine: 

 .through a long course of resisting medium, and on 

 the instant disturb the electric equilibrium over a 

 considerable portion of the earth's surface ? The 

 •evidence I have seen in support of the reality of this 

 phenomenon seems insufficient, and I believe it has 

 been accepted from its being in accordance with the 

 bipartite theory of negative and positive electricities, 

 • or has been advanced in support of it." — G. A. Rowcll, 

 Oxford. 



Hair-Bell or Hare-Bell. — Your correspondent 

 Mr. Kingston, whose letter I have only just seen, 

 seems (so far as I understand him) to propose to 

 remove the ambiguity of calling two very different 

 flowers by the name of hare-bell, and to do so more 

 than effectually, by depriving them both of that 

 .name. For he objects to call the Hyacintlnis non- 

 scriptits (which I think most botanists now call Scilla 

 ntitaiis) any kind of bell, because it is not one of the 

 ■Campanulaceae, and suggests to spell the popular 

 ,3iame of the Canipantila rotitndifolia as hair-bell. 

 As his argument about the wild hyacinth applies as 

 (much to calling it blue-bell as hare-bell, he would 



apparently deprive it of any popular name at all. 

 But surely when he says that by applying the .spelling 

 hair-bell to the Campanula rotundifolia, "we at 

 once satisfy the demands of botanical accuracy and 

 of the fitness of things," he forgets how hopeless it 

 was apparent from the first that it would be to seek 

 scientific accuracy in popular names. (I presume by 

 the "fitness of things " he means the hair-like stalk 

 of the little campanula.) As far as my experience 

 goes, I have never heard the wild hyacinth called 

 anything but blue-bell, and it was only in books that I 

 found it, as well as the Caiupanitla 7-otuiidifolia, was 

 called hare-bell. The analogies pointed out by Pro- 

 fessor Skeat, in his " Etymological Dictionary," make 

 it probable that this is the correct spelling ; though 

 it is not more easy to see what the hare has to do 

 with it than the fox has with the digitalis or fox- 

 glove. A question of great interest to me is to 

 which of these did Shakespeare refer in the lines I 

 quoted from " Cymbeline " in SciENCE-Gossir for 

 July? Mr. Bowker thinks to the Hyacinthus ox Scilla 

 iintaus ; and subsequent consideration, from the 

 season of the year, leads me to believe that he is 

 right, although I should never liken the colour of 

 the human veins (unless of a very much older person 

 than Fidele was supposed to be) to that of the blue- 

 bell. I cannot help thinking that heath-bell (which 

 is sometimes used for it) is the most appropriate 

 name for the Cainpainda rotuiidifoUa. Small as it is, 

 it is a conspicuous flower on heaths, from coming at a 

 season when there are so few others. — P.S. — Since 

 writing the above, I have seen F. K.'s note in last 

 month's SciENCE-GossiP. I am afraid, from one 

 expression in it, that he somewhat misunder- 

 stood a remark of mine with regard to the hare- 

 bell. I too never saw it spelt hare's-bell with an s, 

 but in the failure of finding any instance of its use by 

 early English writers (I know of none earlier than 

 Shakespeare) it seemed worth while to refer to the 

 analogy of other plant-names, and the frequency of 

 those of animals forming a part of them. The hare 

 in particular often occurs in this connection, and I 

 adduced the fact that it has sometimes, when part of 

 the name of a plant an s after it [e.g. hare's-lettuce, 

 &c.), as decisive of the quadruped being intended. I 

 am quite aware that the non-occurrence of that letter 

 in hare-bell may be used to look upon it as an excep- 

 tion in this respect, but cannot consider this more 

 than merely possible. I should be quite as glad as 



F. K. to find any early instance of its use, until 

 which the question must be to some extent doubtful. 

 An historical basis, as is so well set forth by example 

 rather than precept, in Professor Skeat's " Etymo- 

 logical Dictionary," is (where it may be had) the 

 only trustworthy one in matters of this kind. — IV. T. 

 Lynn, B.A., Blackheath. 



Hare-bell, &c.^ — May not the spelling and struc- 

 ture of the maidenhair fern be taken as an analogy, 

 in deciding the question of the rival spellings between 

 hair-bell and hare-bell ? — J. A. E., IVeshoick Rectory, 

 Herts. 



Folk-lore of Plants. — If your correspondent 



G. N. Widcombe has not yet found an answer to 

 his interesting question concerning " stannen gusses " 

 he may like to hear that in old Gerarde the "Lady- 

 traces " [Neottia spiralis) is called " Stander-grasse," 

 and in Dutch " Standelwelks and Stondelcraut," 

 which latter word pretty well explains itself as 

 applied to many of the orchis family. The termina- 

 tion " craut '' (herb) is of course the same as " grasse," 

 or its corruption "gasse." May I suggest to your 

 correspondent, and to others interested in plant-lore, 



