June 1, 1865.] 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



143 



believed that tlie flowers were unknown in tliis 

 country. They much resemble those of the common 

 sunflower, a member of the same genus, but are 

 smaller in size. — B. JF. H. says it flowers occa- 

 sionally in Cornwall in hot summers, and Dr. Livett 

 has had it flower several times during the past ten or 

 twelve years, at Wells, in Somersetshire. 



A Spiber Hoax. — Several correspondents have 

 sent us the following, which is going the round of 

 the country papers : — "A sudden panic fell upon the 

 worshippers on Easter Sunday in a large churcli at 

 Lisbon. An enormous spider was suddenly seen to 

 descend to an ancient web that is said to have existed 

 for many years. The creature was so formidable, 

 that the women began to scream, and a scene of 

 general terror and excitement followed. When 

 Arachue was captured, she was found to be, with 

 legs extended, nearly five feet long. She weighed 

 six pounds." Could this have originated in a mis- 

 take, or is it an intentional hoax ? Yv' e should like 

 to see a fragment of its web. 



Bees' Eemains.— The other day I saw, under a 

 shrub, the cases of five humble-bees ; the head and 

 body were eaten away, but the fur and wings were 

 not the least injured ; and when I first saw them, I 

 thought the bees were alive. Can you tell me what 

 had eaten them in this artistic manner ? — A. 0. 



An Aquarium: Query. — Can you tell me any 

 way of preventing the curious fungus, or whatever 

 it is, like iron rust, which grows on the glass of 

 /rd's/i-water aquariums ? — G. B. B. 



A Viper Story. — I have a well-authenticated 

 account of a viper following a woman from a wood 

 across two meadows and a plank thrown athwart a 

 stream, up to her cottage door, and even then 

 making an attempt to spring to an upper window 

 from which the pursued surveyed her pursuer. I 

 can have no doubt of the fact from the character of 

 my informant, and his wife's mother was \\ie woman 

 in question. The reason of the creature's perti- 

 nacity is said to be that the woman it followed was, 

 at the period in which the circumstance occurred, 

 suckling a child. Can it be true that a viper has a 

 predilection for baby's food ? Also,_is the fat of a 

 roasted viper a certain cure for its bite ? Of this I 

 am strongly assured. — R. 



N.B. — It is a pity our correspondent did not 

 observe the fact himself. However, he accepts the 

 responsibilify, and as a clei'gyman and a gentleman 

 we are bound to give him credence. — Ed. S. G. 



Paris quadrieolia. — Ingatheringsomespecimens 

 of this plant I found two or three with five leaves 

 instead of four. All the other parts of the flowe: 

 had the usual number till I came to the pistil, where 

 one carpel was deficient, so that, taking the plant as 

 a whole, the number of parts were perfect, but the 

 distribution of them was imperfect. Can any of 

 your correspondents inform me whether, in the de- 

 viation from the normal condition of this plant, they 

 have noticed the same agreement in the aggregate? 

 ■ — A. Gnigeon. 



Valeriana dioica. — I gathered this plant some 

 years ago in Naziug Meads, Essex, where it was 

 very abundant, but only obtainedtwo female flowers. 

 I have gathered the same plant again these last two 

 years in another locality, an*^' have not succeeded in 

 obtaining even one female. Is this disparity in the 

 sexes general, and if so, may not these same male 

 plants in some seasons produce female fiovi^ers ? — 

 Alfred Grvgeon. 



Ants and Cineraria Marithia.— Ants seem to 

 have a great liking for Cineraria maritima. Last 

 year in my garden I had many plants in divers 

 situations ; some in the ground, others in vases and 

 baskets ; but no matter their situation, they were 

 severally chosen by the ants as a temporaiy abode, 

 and were built round by them like a tower, inclosing 

 the stem to the top of the plant, which of course 

 drooped and died under such treatment. I did not 

 disturb their work, being ciu-ious to know why 

 they did it.— ^. M. Edmonds. 



_ AscLEPiAS Seeds. — I have a small lot of American 

 silkweed or milkweed seeds {Asclepias Syriacd) 

 lately suggested as a new substitute for cotton, of 

 which I shall be pleased to send a few (for micro- 

 scopic examination, &c.) to those inclosing a 

 stamped directed envelope to W. E. Williams, jmi., 

 31.1)., Corsham, Wilts. 



Ornithological Queries.— Yv'ill any of your 

 travelled readers tell me if they have ever seen, or 

 heard from reliable authority, of swalloios being 

 seen in any numbers migrating towards Europe, in 

 the spring of the year, across Erance or Spain ? 

 Also, if they have ever seen, or heard, of sicallows 

 existing in New Zealand ? I ask these questions, 

 as 1 cannot, with all my research at the British Mu- 

 seum Library, discover aflirmative evidence of the 

 former fact, whilst I find it stated by Mr.E.Layard, 

 the naturalist, that "no swallows visit New Zealand, 

 though they abound in Australia, 1,200 miles distant 

 therefrom." And another naturalist, Mr. O. Salvin, 

 reports that on his voyage to South America in the 

 steamer Atrato, May, 1859, " they encountered 

 swallows (the Hirmidu rustica species) ISO miles to 

 the N.W. of the Azores," or, in fact, 1,100 miles 

 from the west coast of Africa, whence they were 

 migratiiig (Qy. to Europe or North America "? ) As 

 the swallow is found in Noith and South Africa, 

 from Tunis to the'Cape of Good Hope; in North 

 and South America, from Cape Horn to the Mac- 

 kenzie river, within the Arctic circle; and througli- 

 out Europe and Asia, as high up as Bodoe, in 

 the former, lat. N. 67^ and Pekin in the latter, 

 why should it shun New Zealand so exceptionalh', 

 -with its temperate climate and its food-abounding 

 lakes and woodlands ? — //. B. A. 



Hedgehogs eating Eggs. — I kept one for a time, 

 and used to give it birds' eggs as a treat, which it 

 appeared to enjoy very much. — H. Bunnyard. 



Natterjack. — " This word is a corruption of two 

 German words. Natter, ' an adder,' and jack, 

 ' cut short,' " writes Mr. W. li. Tate in reply to the 

 query at page 118. We think that JS'atter is in 

 itself probably derived from Nieder, Anglo-Saxon 

 Ncedre, "nether" or "lower," from the creeping- 

 habit of the adder to which it belonged, under the 

 form of eddre ; and jager, "one who runs," is very 

 applicable to such a running reptile as the Natter- 

 jack. Moreover, woixis compounded of nieder ha.ve 

 the signihcation of some place or object lying low, 

 i>Mdi jager or jagd in such a combination would not 

 be inapplicable to the Natterjack toad. 



Salmon Maut. — In answer to the note at page 

 119, ll.A. quotes from an old " Art of Angling" pub- 

 lished in 1771 : " Those (salmon) that are taken in 

 the river Mersey in Cheshire, the first year are called 

 smelts, the second sprods, the third morts, tie 

 iQ\ii:i\\ fork-tails, the fifth half-fish, ami in the sixth, 

 when they have attained their proper growth, arc 

 thought worthy of the name oi salmon.." 



