70 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[March 1, 18C5. 



EEPOETS OP SOCIETIES. 



Botanical of Edinbtjkgh, Jan. 13. — Amongst 

 otliei" communications, Professor Balfour read an 

 "Account of Excursions to the Mountains at the 

 Head of Loch Lomond, to Ben Lawers, and the Sow 

 of Athole, in August and September, 1864." 



Amatetjk Botanists (London), Feb. 1. — The 

 president {Mr. M. C. Cooke) introduced the business 

 of the evening by a brief explanation of the chief 

 groups of Microscopic Eungi, selecting the section 

 called Pucciiiio'ioi Uredinaceous, and the Sphariacei 

 of Ascigerous Eungi for special illustration. Several 

 microscopes having been provided, together with an 

 excellent series of mounted specimens, the members 

 proceeded, under direction of the president, to devote 

 the evening to their examination, with the view_ to a 

 better acquaintance with these interesting and little- 

 known plants. 



Dumfries and Galloway Natural History 

 AND Antiquarian Society, Feb. 7.— Sir William 

 Jardine, Bart., of Applegarth, who presided, read a 

 paper upon the occurrence of the Holler {Coracias 

 garndd) in Dumfriesshire. He had heard of a 

 strange bird being seen on the borders of Annan- 

 dale, and its remains were afterwards found in a 

 state of decomposition ; but from the feathers he 

 recognised it to be a Garrulous Roller. Dr. Gilchrist, 

 medical superintendent of the Crichton Lunatic 

 Asylum, read a paper on the proceedings_ of the 

 geological department of the Society during the 

 summer. 



The Microscopical Society of London, Feb. 

 8. — The president, Mr. Brookes, deltvered the 

 annual address, in the course of which he congratu- 

 lated Messrs. Powell and Lcaland on their triumph 

 in producing a:^th object glass, the effects of which 

 were marvellous. With regard to the examination 

 of the microscopes sent in for competition, he had to 

 state that some difficulties had arisen which had pre- 

 vented the committee from delivering their report 

 upon them on that occasion. Of the eighteen in- 

 struments sent in, five were at 10 guineas, seven at 

 7 guineas, five at 3 guineas, and one at a guinea; he 

 regretted, however, to observe that not one of the 

 leading London makers had responded to the invi- 

 tation of the Council. After some business of a 

 formal nature, Mr. Glaisher was unanimously elected 

 president for the ensuing twelvemonths. 



Liverpool Naturalists' Society. — The usual 

 fortnightly meeting of this Society was held, at the 

 residence of the secretary, on Eebruary 9th. Speci- 

 mens presented by Mr. Hartley to the Society were 

 exhibited, after which the following papers were 

 read :— " Volcanic Islands," by Mr. J. Hartley ; 

 " The Cat," by Mr. J. W, Love. 



" Natural History Society of Northumber- 

 land, Durham, and Neavcastle-upon-Tyne, and 

 Tynkside Naturalists' Eield Club, Feb. 9.— 

 The followiug papers were read : — " Entomological 

 Notes for 1864," by T. J. Bold; "On Naturalists' 

 Eield Clubs— their Objects and Organization," by 

 G. S. Brady ; " Reports on Deep Sea Dredging on 

 the Coasts of Northumberland and Durham," edited 

 by George S. Brady ; " Descriptions of three new 

 or imperfectly known Polyzoa found on tlie Coasts 

 of Northumberland and Durham," by Joshua Alder. 

 Mr. Bold's paper gave an interesting account of the 

 severe attacks of insects on the various crops, and 

 especially tnrnips, during the last season. 



NOTES AND aUEEIES. 



Migratory Eels. — Does the common eel at a 

 certain period of the year leave the stagnant 

 ponds in which it is confined, and wriggle its way, 

 through the dewy grass, to the nearest water- 

 course?— 0. 0. 



The Snake in Scotland.— A " Scotch Adder " 

 will feel obliged by any of our correspondents men- 

 tioning authentic instances of the occurrence of the 

 snake {Natrix torqtiata) in Scotland. 



Blue-Bottles. — Can you account for the appear- 

 ance of great numbers of the common blue-bottle 

 fly at this inclement season ? Erom the second 

 week of January to the 10th of February, I haye 

 destroyed upon an average three per diem_, and that 

 in the hardest frosts, the thermometer registering as 

 low as 12 degrees of frost. They appear only in the 

 warmest rooms of the house, where the usual tem- 

 perature is about 60°. — T. II. F. 



TussiLAGO Hybrida. — We should be glad if any 

 of our readers Avould favour us with a fresh, flower- 

 ing specimen or two of this plant during the present 

 season. Our correspondent desires to subject it 

 to anatomical examination, for which purpose 

 " dried specimens " will not sufiice. The specimens 

 should be sent to 192, Piccadilly, addressed to 

 " Tussilago Hybrida." 



Diseased Elies.— One day last summer I ob- 

 served a common house-fly having a number of 

 what appeared to be baggy protuberances of a 

 reddish_ brown colour attached to some of its legs, 

 and which I imagined to be some kind of disease. 

 1 should have examined it in the microscope, but 

 failed to catch it. Have any of your readers seen 

 the same thing ? — /. L. E. 



Leaves for Pacicing.— The Querist in our last 

 should have sent specimens of the leaves he inquires 

 about. Oranges are packed with the sheaths 

 which enclose the ears of maize or Indian corn. 

 We know of no leaves employed. The leaves of the 

 same plant are a,lso pegged together with small 

 wooden pegs for packing ; but it is so long since we 

 saw them that we do not remember anything of the 

 structure of the pegs ; probably, if from China, they 

 are little slips of bamboo. — Fd. /S. &. 



Use for Nettles. — Dr. Rutty, in his "Natural 

 History of Dublin," after mentioning several curious 

 applications of the nettle, makes the followiug 

 observation : — " There is another use of nettles well- 

 known and practised by our gardeners near Dublin, 

 namely, to make the green hairy gooseberry red, or 

 at least to improve the natural pale red, the red 

 being in most request, which is done by putting 

 them into a tub, and strewing it from the bottom 

 to the top with alternate layers of fresh nettles and 

 gooseberries, by which means they acquire a red 

 colour, superior to what they have upon the trees." 

 Nat. Hist. oJ\ Co. Dublin, vol. i. p. 132. 1772. I 

 have tried this experiment on a small scale with 

 pale-red gooseberries and the leaves of the common 

 nettle^ and found that the fruit was considerably 

 darkened in colour after the lapse of some hours. 

 The formic acid at the base of the stinging hairs in 

 the nettle is probably the cause of the change. 

 Could any of your correspondents ini'orm me of such 

 a practice being prevalent in any other locality ? — 

 F, J. S, 



