48 THE QUERIST. 



premises. If they do return — not probable, repeat the " hospitable spread;" 

 and their race will shun you, hereafter, as if you were their hereditary foe. 

 Their instinct very closely resembles reason ; I have found it so. They never 

 enter my house now; although my neighbours, right and left, entertain 

 whole armies of them. The coinmon " Carbonate of Barytes " is to be used, 

 price 6d. per lb. It is to be had in London, genuine, of Mr. Bolton, Chemist, 

 146, High Holborn. " A little of it goes a very great way." — William Kidd, 

 Hammersmith, January 12th, 1855. 



Lastraia collina is mentioned in the December number of The Naturalist as 

 occurring at Moseley Pool. As I do not know this fern I would feel obliged 

 by Mr Twinn giving its more usual name. He also terms the Hawkweeds 

 Pilosella. This is not a generic, but a specific name, and therefore not 

 likely to convey a clear idea of the writer's meaning. I am aware that one 

 species of hawkvveed is called Hieraciam pilosella. — J. B. Davies, Edinburgh, 

 December 10th, 1854 



Venessa Antiopa at Blachlieath. Permit me through the medium of your 

 periodical to acquaint Mr. Drury, Jun.. that one of the specimens of " Venessa 

 Antiopa" caught at Blackheath, and mentioned in my communication of 

 January last, was taken at Montpelier Row, in September 1852, and is, I have 

 no doubt, the same as the one mentioned in his communication which 

 appeared in The Naturalist for last August. — L. Shields, Blackheath, 

 October 4th, 1854. 



Unhnoivn Eggs. Are not the eggs described by Mr. C. E. Smith, in The 

 Naturalist, vol. iv. p. 238, those of the Sedge Warbler? (Sylvia salicaria?) 

 H. Buckley, Calthorpe-street, Birmingham, November 6th, 1854. 



I shall be much obliged if any of your subscribers can give me the 

 Botanical name of a plant provincially known as the " Owl's Crown." It is 

 said to be indigenous to light, sandy soils, disappearing upon the land being 

 clayed, and to have been a favourite food of the Great Bustard. — Thomas 

 Southwell, Fakenham. 



On separating Desmidiece from Mud. In answer to the inquiry as to the best 

 mode of separating Desmidiese from mud ; I believe the following to be the 

 best mode, which is suggested by Mr. Ralfs, in his work on Desmidiese, 

 and which I give you in his own words. 



" If a species be much mixed with mud, I take a saucer, fill it with earth 

 made into a paste and water, and cover it with a piece of linen ; over this I 

 spread a thick layer, containing the Desmidiese, and allow it to become 

 nearly dry ; Avithin a few days the specimens will form a stratum on the 

 linen, and may be scraped off with a knife." — C. G. Lenny, Eamsgate, 

 January 2nd, 1855. 



On removing Grease from Insects. Can any of the readers of The Naturalist 

 inform me of the best way of taking the greasy substance out of the bodies 

 of insects ? — W. C. H., Cambridge. /^^h M^^J^ 



