SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



247 



NATURE NOTES IN THE RIVIERA. 



By John T. Carrington. 



'T^HE Riviera, like most other parts of the 

 northern hemisphere, is susceptible to con- 

 siderable variation of atmospheric conditions in 

 different seasons. The Riviera of southern France, 

 and also of northern Italy, is a narrow strip 

 bordering the shore of the Mediterranean, extend- 

 ing from a little east of Marseilles as far as Genoa. 

 It occupies the space between the high hills which 

 terminate the different ranges that constitute the 

 southern spurs of the Alps. As a rule the 

 climate is remarkably equable ; but the past two 

 winters have been notable, the one for extreme 

 dryness, the other for unusual wetness. The 

 winter 1S95-6 was characteristic until the last 

 week in December, when fine sunny weather 

 commenced, and lasted almost without inter 

 mission until the following August. This winter 

 has been exceptionally rainy, although there was, 

 up to the middle of December, many of those 

 deliciously fine days which remind one so much of 

 early June in England. Since then there have 

 been some on which the rain has fallen with 

 tropical intensity, filling the usually dry torrent 

 beds which come down to the sea from the Maritime 

 Alps, 



I arrived at Marseilles about the middle of 

 October and spent some little time in the neighbour- 

 hood. For the botanist, the malacologist, entomo- 

 logist, and indeed the student of natural history 

 generally, the district surrounding that large city 

 affords many opportunities for research. So far as 

 I could discover there are unfortunately but few 

 amateur naturalists in the district. This is the 

 more unexpected as I know of few cities in Europe 

 possessing so fine a museum of natural science 

 objects, where students may compare their captures 

 for nomenclature or otherwise. This museum 

 occupies the right wing of the Palace which was 

 presented to the city some time ago by the Empress 

 Eugenie. It is admirably arranged, well lighted, 

 and bears evidence of the fostering care of a clever 

 curator. The great feature for the amateur in this 

 museum is a beautiful and extensive collection of 

 natural history subjects typical of the marine and 

 terrestrial fauna and flora of Provence, which 

 literally represents the littoral of Mediterranean 

 France. This collection occupies a very large 

 room, and by its aid any collector may identify 

 species which present difficulties to him. Should 

 he be unable to do so he will find polite attention 

 from officials in charge, so that it must indeed 

 be something exceptional to defy their united 

 experience. 



The collection of landshells in the local collection 



at Marseilles is only equalled by that of the marine 

 species. In the former will be found liberal series 

 of all southern French species containing a large 

 number of varieties and some curious monstrous 

 forms. What strikes one immediately on seeing 

 some of these is the large size to which several species 

 attain. For instance, among examples of Helix 

 aspcrsa found in the neighbourhood of Marseilles are 

 specimens as large as some that occur in Algeria. 



Any visitor to the Riviera interested in natural 

 science should not fail to break the journey at 

 Marseilles, for at least a day, so as to examine this 

 fine collection. Should it happen on the visit that 

 the museum is found to be closed, no difficulty will 

 be encountered in obtaining admission by applying 

 at the house of the concierge, which will be found 

 at the right-hand corner of the basement. While 

 writing of this museum, two or three others in 

 the Riviera may be mentioned. There is one of 

 natural history at the museum in Toulon. I have 

 not had an opportunity of visiting this establish- 

 ment for four or five years, when it was only just 

 opened and very incomplete. The museum at 

 Cannes is at the public offices of the town, 

 where there is also a small collection of local 

 animals. Among landshells of the region are 

 several good series, especially notable being some 

 immense specimens oi Helix pomatia, which exceed 

 in size any I have previously seen. The curator 

 informed me that these were found in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Grasse which lies inland some few 

 miles north of Cannes. 



At Nice there is a compact little museum, which 

 has become the property of the city through the 

 gift of a gentleman, who died on November 5th 

 last, at the age of seventy-nine years. He was 

 M. Jean Baptiste Barla, a gentleman of private 

 means. Born at Ni9ois, he lived all his life in the 

 neighbourhood of that city. He was a botanist, 

 possessing an exceptional knowledge of the plants of 

 the Department of Alpes Maritimes and the adjoin- 

 ing Department of Var, the Principality of Monaco 

 and western Italy. His herbarium, which is now 

 at the museum, is considered to be a nearly com- 

 plete representation of the plants of both the 

 French and Italian Riviera. The series of each 

 species contain a large number of specimens for 

 comparison from other regions, including Algiers 

 and other parts of North Africa, as well as Corsica, 

 Sardinia, Sicily, Spain, Italy, etc. This herbarium 

 contains about two thousand species of flowering 

 plants, which are in good condition and well 

 arranged. The curator of the museum is M. J. 

 Olivier, who is himself an excellent botanist. He 



