340 



■CIEXCE-GOSSIP. 



T^Z^ 



-i^ 



f *; COUNTRY LORE m 



The Coming of Sprixg. — Far 

 bustle of town life, far too from \z 

 and yellow mist which shronds 

 is a quiet, peaceful spot where the a 

 is earlier and far more appare: 

 ever be in the neighbourhood c: 

 dwellings. This earthly paradise :; 

 common land a few feet above -h 



bar :it :'- 

 Al~:£: i"-e: 



growth ot cr 



It is deli^ttf-^ 



look cat over 

 with its ricJ: 

 greys, and i: 



distant clouds 



flvinsT and s • :: 



- = , some 

 : irrbv 



the waves ar.; :'.e -:B.rir :r:t5 :: .-e ;:ris. 

 Behind these H^'i jm^.; i- :he ;; — -;r i:ji;:f:, 

 dose, gree' ::^r: ur. ier ::;. ^r :r;; ruihrs, 

 covered ::- ^rlit" ;.;s£:~; 3.re :r. t rr siit, 

 and the cl:uil=£s r.ue :: ::it s^y ici't I'z.- 

 silence seecis i.~;E: litres;.- r -;-v :-a-. :jie 

 waves and tiie su.-s are ir ir.z heirir.; Tze 

 warm sunshine r :urH i:".n up:- .r_e izrHt f.:v ers, 

 and the whc.e a:r ;; zz.':.iz^~- v.:- :.-r.r "^.i-rar.: 

 perfume. The s~e.- rerriris re ;: resides ye: 

 in reality, it is erv ainerer: . — :ri:: re rrasf 

 great blue dcg-v::le:s a; a g^a:^ :: .ae ras^ir; 

 breeze, and a huge, hairy, yea: -zarrer ree 

 buzzes aimlessly by. Suddenly a lara sarirrE a a 

 a few yards in front, and goes av.ay ra :r:: :ae 

 heavens, pouring forth its flood ;: ::ar Tae 

 music is " as old as the hills," sc :: saeali. ye: :: 

 never palls. We have heard the sarre s:r^ naa . 

 times before, yet we are always aer!ia:er :: aear 

 it again, and shall be xintil the err ::rr.e£ C :' 

 how many songs of man's makire ::alr :a:s re 

 said ? Yet, so it is with Nature ; none of her Tra^.s 

 ever become old to those who watch them with 

 eyes tempered with love and reverence of her. 

 Beyond ldie common the groimd rises. On the 

 slope is a coppice with underwood of two or three 

 years' growth separated from the gorse by a wide 

 ditch. The ground under the bushes is carpeted 

 with primroses and wood anemones, whose stellate 

 blossoms are seen through a network of brown 

 twigs and branches. A tiny silvery tricale crrres 

 to the ear from where a red, moss-ar: r ::'e 

 empties its sparkling shower into the di:aa aela .. . 

 On the bank is a primrose plant remarkable for its 



size and beauty. All the flowers seem to be 

 stri\-iog to catch a glimpse of the splashing water. 

 There are numbers of them on this one plant, each 

 -■.r:a its five yellovr petals ranged round the orange 

 :ea:re. This coppice will resound to the song of 

 :re rir.aiagale ere many days have passed. They 

 5. a. a ; ~e. Thousands of 3-ears ago the ancestors 

 :; .ri£e !:::!e brown birds came, probabh' to this 

 er :r:: ^rr sang their wonderful song all 

 :ar:aia :ae saan)- days and far into the moonlit 

 a:iaa:s. Then man v.-as nothing but a half-naked 

 savaae, roaming the forests b)' daj- and sheltering 

 ia caves bj^ night ; but the nightingales came, 

 rad: their nests of dead, brown leaves, reared 

 :ae;r yraag, and carried out all those delightful 

 -i::;e r : .~ esric duties which are ascribed to instinct 

 yr:: a.s cleverly and well as the}- did last j-ear, and 

 as :_aey : :.! :a;5 spring, in a week or so. — Alfred 

 H- r:r:;: : ." y, H .use, Ne'^' Road, Reading ; April, i&gf. 



Australian Wool. — The introduction of 

 Australian wool into England appears to have 

 been due to a Quaker, Samuel Marsden, who went 

 to Australia in 1808. He sent a quantity of 

 Australian wool to one William Tompson. This 

 was made into cloth, and as the material was so 

 satisfactory two coats were made out of it — one 

 for Samuel Marsden, who appeared in this coat 

 before George III. The Mng was so pleased with 

 its appearance that he ordered one for himself, 

 and gave Mr. Marsden six merino sheep to 

 irrarave the breed in Australia. 



S?iiL£A JAPONICA." — The plant commonly sold 

 a:::ea for decorative purposes under this name, 

 aas ao claim to it at all. It does not even belong 

 to the same natural order as the true Spirsa. It 

 bears a somewhat superficial general resemblance 

 to them, and by anyone slightly acquainted with 

 botany may easily be mistaken for a foreign species 

 of the genus. A Uttie carefcd examination, however, 

 makes the differences obvious. There are two 

 indigenous British members of the genus Spiraa, 

 S. fiUpendula and S. ulnmria, the well-known 

 beautifully-scented and graceful queen-of-the 

 raeaaows, or meadow-sweet. These, like almost 

 all :'ae members of the great natural order Rosaceae 

 :: -vaich they belong, have " indefinite " stamens ; 

 :aa: is twenty or more, while the pseud o-spirsea 

 aas :ea only, a fact of itself sufficient to make one 

 ri::e :r rrnsidering its systematic position, and 

 :r;er- e rr:re careful!}' the pistil or central organ 

 ::' :ae :::ver. upon which, chiefly, the final 

 re::s::r is :':araed. This, in the true Spima, is 

 ::rr.r :srr :: ■ :arae!s five or more, free or connate 

 rel: se:^:er :r :rie open receptacle. In the 



ars: 3r:::sa s^eries named they are straight, in 

 5 :'.■'■'■. iria much twisted ; in each case two ovnles 

 are a resent ; fruit follicles, five or more, ^\^lile in 

 :'ae ::aer rase there are two carpels only, united 

 rel:- ira: a two-celled ovary, separate above vri.xh. 

 :er.a::r?_'- =::gma5, ovules many, fruit a capsule. 

 Tae : ary is sub-superior, i.e. the lower part 

 aa'aeres :: :ae calyx tube, while the upper is free. 

 Tae = r :r_ara::ealstics bring the plant into natural 

 rrier r a::::rara:es. which, though closely allied to 

 rae P.isares. :s s:/! =aracientiy distinct. Its 

 ccrre:: aane is --;: ::'.inoa. — James Buiion, g, 



AziimmnfT, Road, 'n'es: nampstead. 



Nightingales. — These birds were in early song 

 :a:s se=s:a in several localities in southern Kent 

 aar Easse::. the soft, damp weather having been 

 ia I'avcar r: the pradaction of their insectivorous 

 food. 



