260 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



rise to an abnormally high temperature in the 

 water. The cold winter winds produce an opposite 

 effect, and cause what may be called an abnormally 

 low temperature. From what has been said, it is 

 easily seen that the Gulf Stream and equatorial 

 regions are only adjuncts and not the direct cause 

 of the abnormally high temperature. 



The literature published about Bermuda is 

 considerable, but I have failed to find any 

 explanation given of the extremes of temperature 

 of the water. The highest recorded tempera- 

 tures in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf are 96 F. 

 and 94° F. respectively, and in the equatorial 

 regions of the Pacific Ocean 90 has been recorded 

 in the cpen sea. Considering its geographical 

 situation I think the heat of the Bermudian 

 water is very great, and can only be accounted 

 for by the explanation I have given. 



The characteristic vegetation of Bermuda is 

 peculiar, inasmuch as the trees are seldom over 

 twenty feet tall. This may be attributed to the 

 fierce storms which rage and lay low any tree 

 above a medium height. The Bermuda cedars 

 are closely allied to those of the West Indies. 

 They have strong roots and it takes a furious 

 storm indeed to prostrate them. The flora of 

 Madeira, on the other hand, shows a large 

 number of lofty forest trees and tends to that of 

 a temperate climate, while Bermuda possesses a 

 flora almost tropical. In Bermuda the damp 

 climate, inasmuch as it favours the growth of 

 the higher plants, suits also the requirements of 

 parasites which can destroy them. We find that 



the oranges and limes are few, having been 

 destroyed, I am told, by an insect blight. The 

 Easter lilies are now infested by a species of 

 Rhizoglyphiis, and the onions a few years ago 

 suffered from the attack of a Peronospora. 



The soil is so porous that wells are useless 

 until the sea-level is reached, when brackish 

 water collects. The porous soil also opposes 

 great resistance to the passage of the electric 

 current, so much so that the " earth lines " in 

 telegraphy have to be carried into the sea, other- 

 wise the telegraph instruments will not work. 

 The "earth return" for the telephone is satisfac- 

 tory, as only a very feeble current of electricity 

 is required. 



The annual rainfall in Bermuda is about fifty-nine 

 inches, and the mean temperature at 9 a.m. is 

 71-4° F. The mean temperature of Madeira is 

 65 - 76° F., being a difference of 5-6° F. lower than 

 in Bermuda. Heavy squalls of wind accompanied 

 by rain occur throughout the year, but most 

 frequently in the winter and autumn seasons. 

 Gales of wind prevail in the winter, and in the 

 autumn the islands are sometimes visited by 

 hurricanes. The prevailing winds are from the 

 south and they are very depressing in their 

 effects. Mosquitoes are very numerous during 

 the greater part of the year and their bites are 

 most irritating 



I leave it to the reader to imagine how much 

 pleasure may be obtained from residence in a 

 climate like that possessed by Bermuda. 

 Kensington; December, 1898. 



ADDITIONS AND NOTES ON SUSSEX FLORA. 

 By Thomas Hilton. 



UOR several years I have been collecting flower- 

 ing plants in Sussex to form a herbarium for 

 the Brighton and Hove Natural History Society. 

 Perhaps a few notes and observations connected 

 with the distribution and occurrence of plants 

 in the county may not be without interest to 

 many readers of Science-Gossip. Plants that 

 have come under my notice, but not recorded in 

 " Arnold's Sussex Flora" (1S87), are marked with 

 an asterisk. 



For the purpose of study, Sussex may be divided 

 into three regions. They are (a) the long coast- 

 line, where many seaside plants are found ; (b) the 

 South Downs, and (c) the extensive forest region 

 in the north of the county. Sussex is traversed 

 by several rivers, running from north to south, 

 cutting through the Chalk Downs on their way to 

 the sea. 



In some cases plants are confined to one river 

 basin, apparently not passing the "divide" to the 



next one. This is the case with Phyteuma spicatum, 

 which is only found in the area drained by the 

 little river Cuckmere. Althaea officinalis grows 

 plentifully by the eastern Rother and Arun, but is 

 not found, to my knowledge, in the intermediate 

 region drained by the Ouse and Adur. Although 

 the South Downs have a flora very distinct from 

 the coast and forest regions, patches of soil, sand 

 or clay occur in places upon the Downs on 

 which are found numerous forms not common 

 on the chalk. This is notably the case on a small 

 area at Telscombe, where, among other plants 

 to be found, are Siiene conica, S. anglica, Lycopsis 

 arvensis, Spergularia rubra, Hyoscyamus niger and 

 Onopordon acanthium. 



Ranunculus baudotii Godr. — Abundant in ditches 

 and shallow water near the sea. Cuckmere Haven, 

 Shoreham, also in sheep ponds on the Downs. I 

 have never found it inland further than two miles 

 north of the Downs. This plant appears to pro- 



