io8 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



TJottiny* 1 



Euonymus Japonicus. — Referring to the note by 

 Mr. J. C. Eccles (ante page 16), as to the fruiting 

 of Euonymus japonicus at Ventnor, and to the 

 reference to the subject (on page 27) in report of 

 the annual meeting of The South London Entomo- 

 logical and Natural History Society, where it is 

 remarked that the shrub rarely flowers in this 

 country, it may be of interest to note that I saw a 

 specimen in flower at Dawlish, Devon, on or about 

 the 5th of August last. The shrub was trained on 

 the front of a house under the cliffs facing the sea, 

 but in a somewhat sheltered position. — W. P. 

 Quelch, 8, Eccleston Road, Ealing Dean, W. ; April 

 30th, 1895. 



Botanical Field Clubs. — With reference to a 

 paragraph which appeared under the heading of 

 " The Popularity of Botany " (ante page 8o), you say 

 that the subject of botany is rarely included in the 

 subjects of a Field Club. Permit me to say that the 

 Field Club of the Selborne Society, the committee 

 of which has organised a series of rambles round 

 London, for every Saturday, from April to Septem- 

 ber, includes many members of the Society and 

 associates of the Field Club that are very much 

 interested in botany. We have several excellent 

 referees on the subject. The Editor of "Nature 

 Notes " (the magazine of the Selborne Society), 

 Mr. J. Britten, F.L.S., is an eminent botanist. I 

 am sure that we would heartily welcome anyone 

 who was interested in the subject, either at our 

 rambles, or if that is not convenient to. exchange 

 notes and assist in identifying specimens. Any 

 information on the subject I should be very happy 

 to give. — E.J. Temple, Hon. Sec. Field Club, Selborne 

 Society, 50, Clovelly Mansions, W.C. ; May ijth, 1895. 



Field Botanical Societies. — With reference to 

 the paragraph which appears in this month's 

 Science-Gossip (page 80), on the popularity of 

 Botany, I should much like the opportunity of 

 taking an active part in forming a popular London 

 Botanical Society. The flora of London is a sub- 

 ject well worth working, and replete with interest 

 for many a Saturday-afternoon's ramble. Any 

 scheme or society with the object of working this 

 field, I should be most happy to help to organize 

 and carry out to the best of my power. I have had a 

 good many years, practical experience of field-work, 

 especially in the south-east of England. During 

 last summer I gave much attention to the flora 

 in the country immediately round the Metropolis, 

 with results that surprised me. I trust that should 

 there be any response to your paragraph, you will 

 allow me a chance of doing what I can to further 

 it. — T. Alfred Dymes, 16, Lancaster Road, Kensington 

 Park, W.; May nth, 1895. 



[Will others interested in Field Botany who 

 desire to join such a society, send in their names to 

 the Editor of Science-Gossip, who will be pleased 

 to assist in any way, to form local "Botanical 

 Gossip" Clubs. The subscription need be only 

 nominal. — Ed.] 



We hear that the beautifully prepared herbarium 

 of British plants, prepared with so much care by 

 the late Mrs. Elizabeth Ann Lomax, who died at 

 Torquay in March last, has been offered by her 

 trustees to the National History Museum, Owens 

 College, Manchester. 



Many students of botany will miss the courteous 

 head of the Botanical Department at Cromwell 

 Road. Mr. William Carruthers, F.R.S., retires 

 on superannuation, and is to be succeeded by 

 Mr. George Murray, F.L.S., so well-known by 

 frequenters of the students' room for his unfailing 

 help in cases of difficulty. We congratulate Mr. 

 Murray and our botanical readers upon his 

 appointment as keeper of botany in the British 

 Museum. 



Impatiens Noli-me-Tangere. — With reference 

 to your comment upon my notice of the where- 

 abouts of this plant (ante page 80), I regret to find 

 that I have been mistaking /. fulva for it, having 

 been misled by reading in C. A. John's " Flowers 

 of the Field" : (a) " Balsaminacece, the only British 

 species belonging to the balsam tribe," etc.; (b) 

 "Impatiens, the only English species (/. noli-me- 

 tangere)." — ■/. C. Dacie, 105, Upper Richmond Road, 

 Putney. 



Shrubs Killed by Frost. — Now that the spring 

 foliage has appeared it would be well to take notes 

 of some of the plants and shrubs which have 

 suffered severely from the late prolonged frost. In 

 Sussex, between London and Brighton, as seen 

 from the railway carriages, the gorse, Ulex europaus, 

 seems quite dead and shrivelled, having lost all its 

 deep green colour. There are very few sprays in 

 flower. Laurestinus was much killed in south-east 

 Essex, and the margins of bramble leaves were 

 commonly brown for at least half-aninch from the 

 edge. Many evergreen oaks also have succumbed. 

 If correspondents would give us some particulars of 

 the plants which have been killed during the past 

 winter, we might arrive at valuable data for the 

 guidance of those cultivating such plants for 

 ornament or otherwise. In writing, particular note 

 should be taken of the aspect in which the plants 

 grew, whether sheltered or not. 



Impatiens Fulva in Surrey. — There can be no 

 doubt that the above species, and not I. noli-me- 

 tangere, is the plant found by your correspondent, 

 Mr. J. C. Dale (ante page 80). The localities he 

 mentions render this certain. It is a North 

 American plant and I have seen it growing on the 

 banks of the Niagara river, near the falls. In my 

 opinion the seeds were originally introduced among 

 a cargo of wheat, and that this wheat was ground 

 at a mill near Abinger, in the county of Surrey, in 

 the mill-pond of which, Impatiens fulva is growing 

 in the greatest profusion. From this pond it was 

 carried down the stream called the Tillingburn, 

 into the river Wey, where it was found occasionally 

 many years ago. In the later botanical works it 

 appears as an introduced species found on the Wey 

 and its tributaries. It is now getting quite common 

 on the Thames and its tributaries, and abounds on 

 the Grand Junction Canal and by ditches and 

 streams communicating therewith. There is also 

 in Britain, another introduced species, the Russian 

 Impatiens parviflora, a much taller plant, with 

 insignificant yellow flowers. This was many years 

 ago a perfect weed in our garden in Essex, and also 

 at Kew. Impatiens noli-me-tangere I have never 

 seen out of the lake district. It is the only true 

 British species, and is very local. — A.Sewell, 62, 

 Ranelagh Road, Ealing, W. ; May, 1895. . 



