36 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



splendour. On similar loose sand, where little 

 else but the marram, sea-spurge and sea-holly 

 will thrive, the lovely little pansy, ]'iola curtisii, 

 was flowering freely, but we only saw the purple 

 flowered form. The yellow variety is usually the 

 commoner here. The dog-violet, Viola ericetorum, 

 was still more abundant, but affected the oases 

 amongst the sand-hills, where the rainwater col- 

 lects and promotes the growth of a certain amount 

 of cover in the form of grasses, dwarf willow and 

 sedges. Amongst the mosses, which were our 

 more especial quest, our first find was Bryum 

 pendulum, its dense miniature forest of setae giving 

 a distinctly russet tinge to the hollow in which it 

 grew, contrasting beautifully with the delicate pale 

 green of the drooping unripe capsules. Scattered 

 thinly near, we found Biyum neodamense ; and 

 IJypiuim polygamum, as it should do in virtue of 

 its name, was fruiting freely, the capsules being in 

 good condition for gathering. In the immediate 

 vicinity, a station for Meesia nliginosa has been 

 destroyed, and we looked for it in vain. Crossing 

 a dense patch of Schfiis rujvs (also doomed to 

 disappear before the builder) we struck further 

 . inland. Then our ears were saluted by a chorus 

 of soft purring notes that seemed to come floating 

 on the air out of space. The cause was soon 

 discovered. At every step swarms of natterjack 

 toads (Bufo calamita) with their sombre but gaily- 

 streaked backs, scuttled off to shelter under the 

 damp herbage, their melodious croaking ceasing 

 as soon as they were disturbed. Here we chanced 

 to find a great patch of Hypmmi wilsoni, but, as 

 usual, there was no fruit. With it were H. sendtneri 

 and H. revolvens, the former an addition to our 

 Lancashire records. Crossing the newly-made 

 golf-links, the construction of which will, I fear, 

 cause some missing links in the chain of our 

 present florula, we saw H. lycopodioides, and my 

 lynx-eyed juvenile companion succeeded in detect- 

 ing two or three immature capsules. This was 

 followed in rapid succession by interesting finds in 

 Brywn ventricosmn var. C07npactmn, B. calophylhim, 

 B.palieiis and B. lacustre (all, unfortunately, with 

 fruit too immature to be collected), Hypnmii serpens 

 — apparently var. dcpanperatJim, in fruit — and the 

 peculiar form of H. filicinuvi, described and figured 

 in Science-Gossip (Vol. ii. N.S., p. 284) as var. 

 tvhitcheadii. My son next brought what he called 

 " very thick Hypnum aispidatnm," which I. at once 

 recognized to be H. gigantcum. The cuspidate tips of 

 the branches cause it to closely resemble the former 

 plant when submerged in the pools. In collecting 

 specimens of this I brought up a huge beetle, which 

 I took to be a Dytisais. He was very ferocious, 

 and laid hold of my hand with his mandibles, but 

 without piercing the skin. I returned him to his 

 element, and he promptly dived to the bottom. 

 After a rest and refreshment we resumed our 



journey, our first discovery being the moss we had 

 specially come to collect, a form of Hypnmn adnncum 

 of the growp psevdofluitans. It is somewhat remark- 

 able that such a handsome and noble form should 

 have been overlooked so long, as it is very abundant. 

 Near it grew Bracliythechnn albicajis — now out of 

 fruit — the stunted sand-dune form of Climaciinu 

 dendroides and Aviblyodon dealbatiis ; also a little 

 Camptoilieciitni lutescens, which is said in the "Liver- 

 pool Flora" to clothe the sandhills, but which I 

 have only found in exceedingly small quantity. 

 Retracing our steps a short distance, we found 

 Cerastinm tetiandnm and Vicia lathyroides in flower. 

 Striking inland we resumed our return journey in a 

 parallel line with our earlier route, and found more 

 of the Hypmnn aduncnm variety and of the variety 

 of H.fiUcinum before-mentioned. With these were 

 H. ivilsoni, on which we detected about half a dozen 

 capsules, H. cuspidatum (in fruit), H. gigantetmi, 

 H. lycopodioides and H. ivilscni var. hamatuvi, the 

 last-named an addition to the Lancashire list. 

 We were now amongst the natterjacks again, and as 

 evening approached they became more clamorous. 

 Before finally leaving the sandhills, my young 

 comrade found H. elodes fruiting freely, but the 

 capsules were hardly mature. It had been our 

 intention to visit the north side of Southport for 

 ripe fruit of Pottia heimii, but we had already 

 exhausted our time, and very regretfully turned 

 our backs on the sea, after a most enjoyable 

 ramble in perfect weather. I have to express my 

 gratitude to Mr. H. N. Dixon for much critical 

 advice and assistance in determining some of the 

 above-named mosses. 

 H.M. Prison, Liverpool. 



Croydon Congress. — The annual congress of 

 the South-Eastern Union of Scientific Societies 

 was held on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of June, at 

 Croydon. The Mayor and Corporation placed 

 the Town Hall at the disposal of the Union. The 

 Mayor also invited the delegates to a reception, 

 which was numerously attended. The presiden- 

 tial address, read by Professor G. S. Boulger, was 

 devoted to a review of the progress of science 

 during the past sixty years. In tracing the rise of 

 enlightened thought from the comparatively dark 

 period of scientific knowledge of the first decades 

 of this century, Professor Boulger had to deal 

 with an attractive subject. The President by no 

 means disappointed his audience, for he told his 

 story with ability. Numerous papers were read at 

 the meetings, and useful discussions took place. A 

 temporary museum was arranged, in which exhibits 

 and photographs were displayed, some being of 

 more or less local character. There were various 

 pleasant excursions on the Saturday afternoon, and 

 visits on other days to the ancient archiepiscopal 

 palace and Whitgift Hospital in Croydon. Next 

 year's congress of the South-Eastern Union is to 

 be held at Rochester. At future meetings of the 

 Union it will be well to shorten the length of some 

 of the papers communicated, and otherwise reduce 

 the work attempted, which will add to the success 

 of the congress. 



