SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Jan. 1, 1865. 



solace, any mental enjoyment, any feeling of 

 manhood elevated in the pursuit of ornithology 

 OX' entomology, and he will answer you with 

 a smile, as if he doubted whether any one 

 could ask such a question in eai^nest ; and 

 immediately, as he answers, he inquires, 

 " What is your hobby 1 " 



Should you have a friend addicted to the 

 habit of bringing home bits of wild flowers 

 in his hat, mosses in his pocket, or occasionally 

 be caught with a flat, brown, japanned sand- 

 wich box, when you know that he never 

 carries sandwiches out in it, but will be seen 

 to bring home many strange things in it, — 

 ask of him, as he plucks petal from petal — 

 as simple girls are wont to do, in the hope 

 of nnsolving thereby some hidden mystery of 

 the future — ask of him whether the pursuit 

 of his study of plant-life, of wild flowers, of 

 mosses, does not give an interest to every 

 half-hour's stroll along a hedgerow or into a 

 wood, which it would not otherwise possess ; 

 whether it has not given to him a new sense ; 

 whether it has not unfolded to him a new 

 world ; whether, in fact, he is disposed to 

 relapse again into inanition ; and the chances 

 are that he will ask you, good-humour- 

 edly enough, in return, " AVhat is your 

 hobby ? " 



But, above all, can you not purchase for 

 yourself a Microscope 1 One that will answer 

 all your purposes can be supplied you for a 

 moderate sum. What you ivill do with it 

 depends much upon yourself and your own 

 inclinations. What you cmi do with it, is 

 more than we have space to tell. Within 

 that instrument lies the revelation of a world 

 equally variable and populous, — nay, even 

 more variable and populous, — than that which 

 is revealed to the unaided eye of man. If you 

 only know as much of the world of nature as 

 you can see with your naked eyes, you have 

 never seen half what you might have seen, 

 and really know nothing of the greatest 

 marvels in all Nature's handiwork. Some of 

 the wonders of minute life, as seen through 

 this medium, will continually be presented to 

 the readers of these pages ; but all that we 

 can ever hope to do, will be but as a drop of 



water from the ocean, and can only serve to 

 indicate the direction which those may pursue 

 who are in search of a " hobby." 



If already these, or any similar pursuits 

 employ your moments, few though your 

 moments of leisure may be, you will need no 

 solicitation on our part to continue such a 

 course. The pleasure derived from the pur- 

 suit of knowledge ; the power obtained by the 

 possession of knowledge ; the vigour imparted 

 to the mind, the recognition of an object in life, 

 besides the mere toil for " daily bread," all 

 exert their influences in one direction. And, 

 unless we are much mistaken, few indeed are 

 the instances in which, having mounted a 

 hobby of his own, the rider is disposed to be 

 unhorsed. This is especially the case where 

 the " hobby " costs but little to keep, and 

 when it partakes of a mental character. 



VIPER OH SNAKE? 



SNAKE. 



VIPER. 



EVERYBODY involuntarily shudders at 

 the name of a snake. Very few possess 

 courage enough to attempt staring one out of 

 countenance, or staying to count the number 

 of scales on its head. Fancy oneself deeply 

 intent, with nose unusually low, seeking the 

 ruddy wild strawberry on a sunny hedge- 

 bank, and even whilst smacking the lips with 

 the relish of the tarb little fruit but lately 

 conveyed there, about to pluck another yet 

 larger and redder, when lo ! beneath our very 

 fingers glides the sleek, attenuated form of the 

 reptile — ay, v/ithin ten inches of our depressed 

 nose. Under such circumstances, should we 



