494 Queries and A7iswei's. 



by Mr. Wilson and myself. One of your correspondents (Agronome, 

 Vol. IV. p. 557.), I observe, is disposed to ridicule the utility of these in- 

 vestigations ; but he must be quite ignorant of their value in a physiological 

 point of view. There is, perhaps, no question in botany, which, at this 

 moment, it is more desirable to settle on the sure basis of experiment, 

 than the law which limits the variation of species. I trust, therefore, that 

 some other of your correspondents will lend their assistance in patiently 

 experimenting upon the specific identity of different plants, and record all 

 their failures as well as their successes, in each case ; for it will be only 

 after a multitude of such experiments shall have been carefully performed, 

 that we can expect to arrive scientifically and legitimately at the truth. 

 I am. Sir, yours, &c. — J. S. Henslow. Cambridgey Feb. 2. 1832. 



Mountains seen through ' a Haze which Solar Rays can scarcely pierce. 

 (p. 356.) — The interesting article of Mr. Spence, on the meteorology of 

 Switzerland and Italy (p. 353^ — 359.), states that mountains can be seen 

 through a haze which the solar rays cannot penetrate. This is to me a 

 new phenomenon in optics. I have consulted several friends, who, as well 

 as myself, have been eye-witnesses of the phenomena of the mountains of 

 Switzerland, and this fact escaped us all. It is so curious, that it were to 

 be wished other travellers would verify and certify it. At Lyons, Mont 

 Blanc is considered as certain a barometer as that of Torricelli : whenever 

 it can be distinctly perceived at Lyons, rain is certain to fall within the 

 twenty-four hours. I have verified this fact many times, at an interval 

 of thirty years, and I have never found it fail. I am, Sir, yours, &c . — 

 J. Byerley. London, May 7. 1832. 



Art. III. Queries and Answers. 



Pheasants hatched under white domestic Hens have a greater or less Por^ 

 Hon of white Feathers. ^— Sir, I have been informed by a gentleman, who 

 strongly exemplifies the English character, in being devotedly attached to 

 the sports of the field, that his curiosity has been repeatedly excited by a 

 very singular fact in natural history. If he places the eggs of a pheasant 

 under a white hen, he frequently finds several of the young brood showing 

 a tendency to white plumage ; but, in the case of a black hen, the same cir- 

 cumstance has seldom, indeed scarcely ever, occurred. Is it that the colour 

 white is less favourable to the communication of heat, which is the grand 

 agent in the hatching process, and so the young birds have a less vigorous 

 and healthy constitution, discovering itself by a white plumage, which is 

 certainly a sign of degeneracy ; or is it one of those many facts which we 

 regard with surprise, but cannot reach with our understanding ? An answer 

 will oblige — B. B. P. 



Hatching of Eggs. (p. 102.) — C. P.'s valuable remarks (p. 102.) on the 

 feet of gallinaceous birds moistening their feathers during the process of 

 hatching deserves to be reconsidered; and this, in connection with the 

 remarks by Mr. Couch, on the hatching of the swallow tribe, expressed 

 Vol. IV. p. 522. As Mr. Couch deems the embryo chick liable to perish 

 from superfluous heat, is it not just possible that wetting the feathers is the 

 means adopted by the sitting bird to modify the temperature of the em- 

 bryos, as well as also, conformably with C. P.'s suggestion, to moisten the 

 shells ? — An Asher. 



Reptiles in Ireland. — Sir, A query on this subject appears p. 104.; and, 

 as a contribution towards an answer to it, I have to say that I have just 

 received, from a lady who has been for some years a resident in Derry, a 

 fine specimen of the common eft (l/acerta vulgaris i.), which was taken 

 by herself, and which has travelled safely to London in a vial of spirits. 



