SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



165 



A Freshwater Polyzoon. — We have received 

 the following note from an authority on the subject : 

 " The paragraph on page 105 of Science-Gossip, in 

 which Mr. F. J. Bryan alludes to the affinities of 

 the polyzoa, contains several inaccuracies which 

 should not pass uncorrected. The external form of 

 certain polyzoa may resemble, but cannot be "very 

 closely allied to, the hydrozoa." The polyzoa are 

 not "identical with the mollusca" in any respect, 

 and still less so with the ascidians. Molluscs and 

 ascidians are in no way related to one another. 

 The reader is referred to any modern text-book of 

 zoology for information on the relationships of these 

 various groups of animals. It is a pity that 

 Mr. Bryan did not allude to and figure the charac- 

 teristic horse-shoe-shaped tentacular crowh of 

 Cristatella." 



Somerset Fossils. — The Rev. Mr. Denman has 

 certainly made a mistake (p. 108) either in the 

 identification of his fossils, or the formation from 

 whence he obtained them. Psiloceras planorbis is a 

 zonal ammonite, a Lower Lias species, and is, so 

 far as I know, restricted to the lowest beds of that 

 division of the Lias. Dactylioceras communis is an 

 Upper Lias form, whilst his Ammonite varians is a 

 chalk fossil. In all probability the latter may be 

 Pleuroceras spinatnm ; Belemnitella mucronata is also 

 a chalk fossil ; Pecten beaveri, Upper Cretaceous. 

 Unio is a freshwater mollusc; as also is Anodonta. 

 On further examination the former may turn out 

 to be a Cardinia ; the later a Myacites or some such 

 form. Not one of the above fossils is to my 

 knowledge found in the Middle Lias of this country 

 or elsewhere. The district mentioned, South 

 Petherton and Ilminster, is rich in Liassic Brach- 

 iopoda, and I am surprised that the reverend 

 gentleman only records an unnamed Rhyn. If I 

 can be of any service in the identification of the 

 same I shall be most happy to do so. — /. W . D. 

 Marshall, 16, Peter Street, Bristol; July 16th, 1894. 



Dendritic Crystals. — Having read Mr. A. F. 

 Tait's contribution on Dendritic Crystals in 

 "Science-Gossip " (ante p. 85) I should like to ask 

 him what sort of paper he usually finds them on, 

 as my experience is, that they only occur on papers 

 containing some colouring matter, such as blue and 

 azure wove and laid paper, and on brief and draft. 

 In fact, I have seen reams of these papers before 

 they have been printed, with numerous specimens 

 of all sizes on nearly every sheet, and if these took 

 twenty years or more to develop as he states, how 

 1 ong could they have been stocked in the warehouses ? 

 As far as my memory serves I have never observed 

 these crystals on ordinary printing papers such as 

 one would suppose constitute the kind used in the 

 term "books" as opposed to "account books." 

 Although my experience of these growths extends 

 over a period of twenty years, and I have frequently 

 used them as microscopic objects, their crystalline 

 character was not even suspected, but their general 

 appearance led me to suppose them to be some 

 form of lichens, as my knowledge of chemistry is 

 practically nil.— Edward E. Turner, Coggeshall, Essex. 



Flora and Fauna of British Columbia. — 

 Can any reader oblige me with title, etc., of a work 

 giving a popular account of the flora and fauna of 

 British Columbia ? I have made many enquiries, 

 but cannot hear of -such. — William Foster, The 

 Laurels, Cairscross, near Stroud ; August 14th. 



Maternal Care of House Martins. — In 

 making repairs to farm-buildings at Broadstone 

 Lodge, near Penistone, it was necessary to remove 

 the old spouts, and in doing this a martin's nest 

 was destroyed. The young birds were taken out 

 by the workmen and placed upon the roof, where 

 they were fed by the parent birds for the rest of the 

 day. Next morning the old birds commenced to 

 build a new nest into which they removed the 

 young ones before night. — Thos. Winder, Broomfield 

 Villa, Sheffield; August, 1894. 



Triton cristatus, var. (?) — Last April I had sent 

 me a bait-can from a friend in Thirsk, containing 

 a vast number of those minute forms of life so 

 interesting to the keeper of an aquarium, and 

 amongst other things was a good deal of newt 

 spawn, which has since hatched out. These young 

 newts have not yet lost their branchiae, but I have 

 noticed a small yellow ring round each leg, 

 immediately at the junction of that limb with the 

 body. I have never before noticed this peculiar 

 marking, and I write to ask if any of your readers 

 can tell me whether or not it is usual. — Henry J. 

 Barber, Brighouse, Yorkshire ; August 16th. 



Cultivated Puff-balls. — During August, 1891, 

 a very fine Lycoperdon giganteum came up at the foot 

 of an old apple tree in a gap of a laurel hedge in 

 the kitchen garden. Eating and much approving 

 of one given later by a friend, we thought perhaps 

 by placing pieces of the one then ripened in 

 suitable places to obtain more for another year. 

 Accordingly some were placed on a raised border 

 amongst patches of alpines, as being not likely to 

 be disturbed by digging, etc. Nothing appeared 

 even on the old site until this year, when five very 

 fine and perfect puff-balls came up amongst the 

 alpines, the largest thirty inches round. About a 

 week later two appeared in the old spot, which is 

 quite twenty yards from the new, and separated by 

 a hedge and path, and not in a direct line. Can any 

 of your correspondents tell me if they always take 

 as long to come up ? — R. Moxon, Godalming, Surrey ; 

 August 12th, 1894. 



Iridescent Band on Windermere. — The 

 notice in the June number of Science-Gossip of 

 the rare phenomenon of an iridescent band, lately 

 seen on Windermere, reminded me of a similar 

 effect that I saw on Loch Lomond in the summer 

 of 1853 ; and since reading that notice my recollec- 

 tion has been refreshed by referring to a letter I 

 wrote at the time describing the appearance. It 

 was a beautiful bright and calm day, aud between 

 our boat and the shore, just where the land and 

 water met, but at some distance from us, there was a 

 line of bright prismatic colours. There was a break 

 in this line for some distance, but it reappeared 

 again, so that it had somewhat the appearance of 

 being the two bases of an otherwise invisible 

 rainbow. The extreme ends only of the arc were 

 visible. We saw the same thing again on the next 

 day but one, only much finer. A gentleman who 

 lived on the lake side was with us in the boat at 

 the same time, and was particularly struck with 

 the appearance, as he had never seen such a 

 thing before.— Rev. H. M. Mapleton, Badgworth 

 Rectory, Somerset. 



