Si FENi E-GOSSIP. 



10? 



dant, washed ofl into .1 small >ievi and slowli 

 1 y t| 1 parated from 



iniirii into :i glass 



ol ;ummed 

 1 , whii h are drupp ti on tl 

 indto which thefl I ;l iraminili ra 

 iei 1, : ' i carefully lifted off by one 1 



1 ifter drying, llv 1 b bru :hi d ofl 



tube The material which has sunk to the I 



the heav iei foraminifera, osti 



; hould I"' preservi -I foi si Ii c 



first il latings contain much animal 01 



1 as is frequently the case, they should be boiled 



istic potash, which will 



:his, » ithout damaging the foi iminifi 1 1. The 



quantity of floatings obtainable from a gathering and 



their condition of freedom from extraneous matter 



varies vi Some gatherings will be found 



to yield an abundant suppl) of pure 1 linifera at 



iting, while in othei cases it is necessary to 

 tion several times to procure satis- 



: iUltS. 



or the prepara- 

 sandy materials. When the material is 

 in the form liminai pi 



matter, as ii the water 



i> turbid and opaque it b rj difficult (■■judge 



the moment for pouring ofl the floats. The mud 



ken up int 1 lum] - ah ml an inch in 



. md oroughly, bill very slowly, dried. It 



is then placed in a basin and 1 vered with water, which 



disintegrates the lumps. A few foraminifera 



during this process may be removed with 



te papers. The mud i- then washed out by 



g the material, a spoonful at a time, in a sieve 



■ I with mi' silk gauze, through w h 



stream of water is allowed ;>> flow until i; passes 



through quite clear. The muddy water should be 



ill iwed i" settle in a lath ami the solid portion then 



d 'nit ami thrown away, as it will probabl) 



I stoppage of the wast'' pipes ii allowed to run 



down the sink. The residuum left in the sieve should 



roughly .hied, and m;n then he pi 

 .1 tray under the microscopi . or if desired the floatings 

 may be separated in the manner ahead) described. 

 Foraminifera have existed from the earliest times, 

 1 im the Silurian downwards there are pi 

 lew marine formations whirl) would not yield them to 

 the diligent worker. Until we reach llv 

 r> 1 id the) are, however, lew in number and difficult 

 to obtain, except in sections. From this period to 

 the presenl day they may he found in nearly all marine 

 us. The stale of preservation varies consider- 

 ably, those from clay formations being usually in the 

 best condition. Owing to the infiltration of mineral 

 matter, it is, as a rule, impossible to obtain floatings 

 from fossil material: although in exceptional cases, 

 sandy gatherings such as the Crag, will yield some 

 floating forms. Clays and shales maybe treated in 

 the same manner as dredged mud, the material 

 generally breaking up under the action of water, if 



!,l\ dried. It lb •■ liduum in the 

 sieve is still muddy after washing, it ma) I 

 and washed again. Tin. second drying is generally 



slICCCsSl'ul. 



Botany m IIunsi in ton. Havi laid] 

 at Hunstanton north westol Y 1 ;hbour- 



rich in planl ! ihabit lens, sail marsh.-,, 



.mil chalk) -oil ; b 11 pi rhaps the mosl inti 1 



5D0I IS al Gore Point, three -and -a hall miles north ol 

 I tnton Tier. There, between the cultivated 



land and the sand-dunes, 1- trai 



which 1 famous foi I ■■ rides, viz., Stiatdaf. 1 



and Statice reticulata Linn., called by some authors 

 .V. caspia and .S'. hellidifolia by others. This station is 

 also famous for tie beauty of colour displayed by a 

 vast bed, perhaps five acres or more, ol Statict 

 limoiiium, the common sea lavender, which is in ils 

 glorv all through the month of August. The rich 

 purple carpet is a very striking and lovely object, the 

 colour being rather brighter than that of the purple 

 heather. The bulk of the colour is due to the large 

 panicles of.?. limonium, butagood deal of the smaller 

 .s'. aurictdaefolia is there also, chiefly in the drier 



spots, bl ning at the same time, while abundance of 



.S. reticulata may he found here and there, but its 

 small pale flowers look as if they were withered beside 

 the richer hues of its compeers. Mixed with the sea 

 lavender are Trigiockiu maritima, Salicornia ht 

 the rarer .s'. radicaiis in thick clusters, with creeping 

 rhizomes, Aster tripolium var. Glaux 



maritima and Suaeda maritima. On the drier 

 borders of the marsh are Frankenia laevis, Sitaeda 

 fruticosa and Glycerin maritima, and on the sand- 

 dunes Psamma arenaria, arenaria peptoides, Coiwol- 

 vultis soldanella, and Eryngium maritimum. 



The Sea Holly (Eryagium) is particularly fine here, 

 and wonderfully blue. I noticed that the central 

 flower-heads of this plant were nearly always green, 

 while those on the branches were of a bright lavender 

 blue: and seeing that only styles were visible on 

 the green heads, while the coloured stamens were 

 conspicuous on the blue ones, I fancied at first that 

 the plant must be monoecious; I believe however 

 that the central heads had dropped their blue corollas 

 ami si. miens, while the younger heads on the branches 

 had just opened. This, however, implies that the 

 primary inflorescence is cymose and not umbellate, if. 

 .1- Syme states, the branches in this plant represent 

 the primary umbel. Perhaps however that is a 

 mistake, as it is in accordance with a frequent if not a 

 universal rule among the Umbelliferae for the central 

 or truly terminal umbel to open first. 



Opposite to Gore Point there is exposed at low- 

 water a green bank which looks at a distance like a 

 1 grass. It is really covered with a green alga, 

 with narrow undulated fronds from one 

 to two leet long. A variety of other Seaweeds are 

 cast up here on the sands. 



On the Hunstanton Cliffs the most conspi 

 pi. mis are Centaurea scabiosa, Scabiosa an 

 Anthyllis vulneraria, Reseda lu/ea, and Linaria 

 iris. In a street at King's Lynn I met a small 

 girl wheeling a big barrow full of Salicornia herbacea. 

 1 )n asking her what she was going to do with it she 

 answered wonderingly, " Moil it and ea: it like 

 cabbage. Its -ampher." I did not know that it was 

 so used. It is not of course the true rock samphire 

 [Crithwum) but it is known in some pans as marsh 

 samphire, anil was formerly burnt to extract the soda 

 which it contains. /■'. '/'. Holt, 1 ■ House, 



Leicester, August 7, / 



1= 3 



