I<52 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



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DOT71NY; 



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Referee: the rev. e. Adrian woodruffe- peacock, l.th., 



F.L.S., F.G.S., CADNEY, BRIGG. 



Double Flowers. — Specimens of plants with 

 double flowers and variegated leaves are constantly 

 being sent in to me for record or figuring in this 

 journal. I regret to say I can do neither as a rule. 

 These anomalies are too common and of insufficient 

 scientific interest. Albanism is merely a diseased 

 state of the chlorophyll ; and ordinary double 

 flowers a petaloid growth of the anther stalk. 

 There are, however, rare cases of peloriation which 

 must not be classed in the same category as 

 ordinary double flowers. A few years ago I 

 received from Miss S. Allett, of Bath, a specimen 

 of Habenaria conopsea, Benth., with three spurs on 

 each plant of more than normal length. This looks 

 like a reversion to some lost type, and such specimens 

 are worthy of a much closer study than they can 

 possibly receive at the hands of a general botanist. 

 This specimen is preserved in the Lincolnshire 

 County Herbarium. White-flowered species and 

 anomalous forms have been carefully collected 

 into this herbarium for a number of years, and 

 demonstrate how common these abnormal changes 

 are. — E. Adrian Woodruffe-Peacock ; September, 1S97. 



Xenodochus Careonaria in Wales. — I have 

 found in Mid-Wales a good many leaves of burnet 

 with Xenodochus carbonaria. If it is a sufficiently 

 rare fungus to make it worth while, I shall be 

 happy to send a leaf or two to anyone who will 

 send a stamped envelope. — J. W. Walker, 2, Stanley 

 Road, Watford ; July ijth, 1S97. 



Adaptability of Plants. — I have lately met 

 with two good instances of adaptation to circum- 

 stances by plants. The first case was that of a 

 hazel branch, which in the course of its growth 

 met with an obstruction in the form of the ridge of 

 a roof of a building. The branch, instead of 

 turning aside, put forth a large excrescence, which 

 on the under-side completely fitted itself to the 

 ridge. In the second case, three onions, growing 

 next one another, encountered some pieces of 

 broken glass, and being unable to push them out 

 of the way, grew round them and enclosed them 

 within themselves. — Chas. J. Marten, 30, London 

 Road, Horsham. 



Bladderwort. — This interesting plant (Ulri- 

 cularia vulgaris) occurs in a small, clear ditch by the 

 side of the Thames, between Maidenhead and 

 Cookham. The very conspicuous bright yellow 

 flowers, by the irregular shape of the corolla 

 almost suggesting those of some papilionaceous 

 plant, grow on upright peduncles rising two or 

 three inches above the surface of the water. At 

 first sight the submerged portion of the plant, 

 when taken from the water, has the appearance of 

 being covered with little water-snail shells. The 

 apparent snails are really the older and darker of 

 the bladders, with which the leaves are abundantly 

 furnished. The date of the find was July iSth. 

 I am informed that the plant also occurs at 

 Burnham Beeches, about five miles from Maiden- 

 head.— F. P. Perks, 41, St. Martin's Lane, W.C. 



Immense Meteoric Stone. — Lieutenant Peary 

 has succeeded in bringing from Greenland the 

 meteoric stone found by him there. It weighs 

 about eighty tons. This is believed to be the 

 largest in the world. 



Waterspout off Cromer. — The unusual phe- 

 nomenon of a waterspout was observed off the 

 Norfolk coast on September 4th. A sketch of the 

 storm was obtained by Mr. S. T. Dadd, an artist 

 staying at Mundesley, which was reproduced in 

 the " Graphic " of September 12th. Writing from 

 Newhaven Court, near Cromer, Sir William 

 Flower, K.C.B., F.R.S., said : " It was estimated 

 to be about eight miles from the shore and 

 travelled rather quickly from west to east. It 

 consisted of two portions, a cloud with a narrow 

 stem which rose from the sea, and long conical 

 projection from the edge of a dense black cloud. 

 The projection terminated in a point, which, 

 though the descending column writhed and 

 twisted about like an elephant's trunk, being 

 sometimes longer and sometimes shorter, always 

 pointed to the centre of the ascending cloud ; but 

 the two never appeared to mingle. The phe- 

 nomenon was observed for half an hour, when, 

 moving further out to sea, was finally lost to sight." 



Weather Signs at Whitby. — While staying 

 recently near Whitby, I observed some rather 

 unusual phenomena which may perhaps interest 

 your readers. On the evening of Tuesday, August 

 3rd, about 7.30, I noticed numerous rays of light 

 emanating from a spot in exact opposition to the 

 sun, about io° above the eastern horizon, very 

 similar in appearance to the rays commonly seen 

 proceeding direct from the sun when the latter is 

 hidden behind a cloud, but in this case no such 

 rays were visible. At the same time there was, 

 very clearly defined, what is locally known as 

 "a ship in the sky," that is, long strips of cirro- 

 cumulus clouds stretching right across the sky, 

 converging at either end like the planks in the hull 

 of a ship. According to the popularly weather- 

 wise, if this ship is apparently sailing in the 

 direction of the wind it indicates fine weather, but 

 if the wind blows broadside to the ship it is held to 

 be a certain sign of a storm within forty-eight 

 hours. In this instance the wind was blowing 

 broadside to the ship. There was no other sign of 

 rain, the barometer being high and steady ; but 

 twenty-four hours afterwards a gale was blowing, 

 and the following day we had a thunderstorm. 

 Eleven days later another " ship " appeared, likewise 

 broadside to the wind, and this was also followed 

 by a storm within forty-eight hours. The morning 

 of August 4th was brilliant, but a white mist was 

 floating on the hill-side between Haggit Howe and 

 Whitbv. Upon this mist a beautiful white bow 

 appeared about 7.45. It was similar to a lunar 

 rainbow, but without the faintest trace of colour. 

 The arc was perfect and continued visible till the 

 mist gradually melted away before the advancing 

 sun. — G. Cresivcll Turner, F.L.S., Parkhurst, Upper 

 Nezu Walk, Leicester; August 24th. 



