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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



mm 



UKICOUNTKYLOKE 



Foxglove for Consumption. — Early this 

 year I happened to find an old volume en- 

 titled " The Medical and Physical Journal;, con- 

 taining the earliest information on subjects of 

 Medicine, Surgery, Pharmacy, Chemistry, and 

 Natural History, conducted by T. Bradley, M.D., 

 and A. F. M. Willich, M.D., March to July, 1799, 

 printed for P. Phillips, No. 71, St. Paul's Church- 

 yard." On glancing over the old tome, I could 

 not avoid being struck by the similarity of the 

 topics under discussion in 1799 to those of 1899. 

 I found ample confirmation of the trite saying 

 that " History repeats itself." As in 1899, vacci- 

 nation, then recently introduced, and consiunption 

 appear to have been two very prominent subjects 

 of discussion. The theories regarding "cow-pox" 

 afford entertaining reading in the light of the 

 present day ; and the editors having received an 

 article from Dr. Pearson, remark that it " shows 

 how rapidly the practice of inoculation increases." 

 Current literature of our times discloses an ebbing 

 rather than a flowing tide. A few years before 

 the birth of this " Medical and Physical Journal," 

 Withering, the well-known botanist, had intro- 

 duced the foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) to the 

 notice of the profession, and it appears to have 

 soon assumed an important place as a remedial 

 agent in the Materia Medica of the day. It was 

 destined to have still higher powers claimed on 

 its behalf. On the 21st of February, 1799, Dr. N. 

 Drake, of Hadleigh, Suffolk, announced the virtues 

 of Digitalis as a specific for the cure of consump- 

 tion, and the editors congratulated him " on the 

 happy success of this remedy, in conquering the 

 most formidable, and hitherto supposed invincible 

 disorder." It may be observed that Dr. Drake 

 attributed this disease to " an ulcer of the lungs, 

 23erpetually exposed to a stream of air, and of 

 course an ichorous poison continually forming, by 

 union of oxygen with secreted matter." Accord- 

 ing to Dr. Drake's theory, the patient was poisoned 

 by the virus resulting from the oxidation of the 

 secretion from these ulcers. Note what a revolu- 

 tion has occurred in the hundred years that have 

 elapsed since this was written. Now, instead of 

 being a factor of causation, oxygen, in the shape 

 of fresh air, is called upon to cure the disease. 

 The next paragraph from the same author of 1799 

 would admirably wind up many eloquent discourses 

 of 1899 — " The least considerate must perceive 

 that if the subsequent harvest correspond to the 

 first fruits, there is a cause for national rejoicing, 

 greater and more universal than has ever before 

 occurred." But, alas ! the harvest was a failure. 

 Other plants I find recommended in my old 

 "journal" to be used in the cure of consump- 

 tion are broom, lake-weed (Ranunculus aquaticus), 

 and fennel. These are now relegated to the 

 pharmaceutical dust heap. What will be thought 

 of the fresh air system of cure in 1999 ? We can 

 only hope that the promise of the present may 

 have richer fulfilment than that of the past. — 

 J. A. Wheldon, Walton, Liverpool. 



A Grass New to Ireland. — In the Irish 

 Naturalist for March, Mr. John Adams records the 

 addition of Hordeum sylvaticum to the Irish flora. 

 He found it near Carnlough, co. Antrim, in July 

 last. It has already appeared in Cybele Hibernica, 

 but as an alien. 



Pinnate Sepals op Eosa Canina. — I am much 

 obliged to Mr. E. E. Hutchinson (ante p. 220) for 

 the ingenious explanation of the reason for the 

 curious interrupted pinnate sepals in Eosa canina, 

 &c, which is probably the correct one ; but I 

 cannot see why the overlapping, or otherwise, of 

 the sepals in the bud should have that effect. 

 Why, if the sepals themselves can develop as to 

 their edges, when overlapped, should not the 

 appendages also ? If the much more delicate 

 parts inside — the corolla, stamens, and pistil — can 

 develop inside all, surely these lobes might, even 

 though overlapped. Is not a probable reason to 

 be found in the fact that they are not needed on 

 those sides, the overlapping supplying their place 

 in tightening the embrace of the sepals, the 

 supposition being that their use is the closer 

 compression and tighter fastening of the calyx for 

 the greater protection of the flower within ? If 

 that be so, the question remains : why are these 

 lobes needed at all ? Why more needed in Rosa 

 canina and allies than in other plants ? The calyx 

 would surely be secure enough without these extra 

 fastenings. — A. E. Burr, Bath ; December loth, 1898. 



Agarictjs Stlvaticus near Liverpool. — Early 

 in January last, a friend residing in Highfield 

 . Eoad, Walton, informed me that his drawing- 

 room was pervaded by an unpleasant odour, for 

 which he could not account. It gradually became 

 worse, until the room became uninhabitable be- 

 cause of the unwholesome stench, which was said 

 to be like that of putrid flesh. Thinking that the 

 unpleasant scent proceeded from the decaj^ing 

 carcase of a defunct rat, my friend secured the 

 services of a carpenter to take up the floor and 

 eject the remains of the obnoxious rodent. Be- 

 neath the boards adjacent to the hearthstone was 

 discovered a mass of rotting fungi, a pound or two 

 in weight. In order to ascertain the name of his 

 unwelcome visitor, my friend brought an unsavoury 

 lump to me. As I could not identify it, I sent it 

 to Kew, and the authorities there very kindly 

 determined it to be Agaricus sylvaticus. Interesting 

 speculation may be indulged in as to the origin of 

 this occurrence. Did the fungus spring from 

 spores lying dormant in the soil beneath the 

 floor, or from mycelium permeating the boards ? 

 In either case, why should they only now appeal", 

 after the house has been standing twenty years 

 or more ? No woods are known to have existed 

 on the site, such as would form a suitable habitat 

 for a sylvestral plant. Perhaps some reader of 

 Science-Gossip who has studied the fungi will 

 kindly suggest a reason for this invasion of an 

 English hearth and home. — J. A. Wheldon, 60, 

 Hornby Road, Walton, Liverpool. 



