250 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



LNov. 1, 1865. 



NEW AECADIAN FIR. 



TN the late Sir T. Wyse's "Excursion in the 

 -8- Peloponnesus," just published by Day and 

 Son, an account is given of an interesting coni- 

 ferous tree, which is named Queen Amalia's Fir 

 {Abies RegincB Amaliee). It was first described by 

 Dr. Heldreich, in 1860, and has only been found on 

 the mountains of Central Arcadia, where it forms 

 forests of considerable extent, at from 2,700 to 5,000 

 feet above the level of the sea. It is especially 

 remarkable for its peculiarity of pushing forth new 

 shoots and branches where the trunk has been cut. 









m 



" The Greek foresters, Messrs. Origoni and Bal- 

 samaki, first saw this singular tree when passing, on 

 a tour of inspection, near the village of Ivhrysovitza, 

 about nine miles from Tripolitza. They came to a 

 pine forest extending for eighteen miles in a north- 

 westerly direction across Mount Rhoudia (1,400 feet 

 high), and through the adjacent valleys as far as 

 Alonistena and Magouliana. Their surprise became 

 great at observing the countless branches that had 

 been lopped off at every variety of size and height 

 (doubtless ))y the neighbouring villagers for theirown 



use), and which had again thrown forth new crests 

 around the broken parts. In some instances three 

 and four new shoots sprung up, the stems having the 

 thickness of a tree ; but, generally speaking, when 

 the central branch had been cut away, not only a new 

 top-shoot had grown, but two or three upright 

 branches rose anew, giving a chandelier-form to the 

 tree, often of very symmetrical proportions. . . . 



"These firs, in favourable localities, attain the 



height of fifty-five feet, the trunk having a diameter 



of two or three feet. In those trees which have been 



deprived of their original top-shoots, the new crests 



and upright shoots often grow to eighteen or twenty 



feet, whilst their lower part is one foot and a 



quarter thick. These new shoots, however, are 



of very unequal growth, and one of the number 



usually develops itself to the prejudice of the 



others. . . H. M. Queen Amalia sent one of her 



gardeners, M. Bayer, to Arcadia to examine this fir, 



and he fully confirmed the report of the foresters, 



.' bringing back with him to Athens ripe seeds and 



several small trees showing this peculiarity. . . 



The illustration, placed at our disposal by the 



publishers, is from the work already named. 



SEA-SIDE DIATOMACEiE. 



SINCE Dr. Donkin in the Quarterly Journal of 

 Microscopical Science, vols. 5 and 6, recorded 

 his discovery of several new and beautiful forms 

 of marine diatomacese, gathered from the open 

 Northumberland sea-beach, I have not seen any 

 published accounts of the best mode of gathering 

 free forms of marine diatomacese. 



It may not, therefore, be uninteresting to the 

 readers of Science Gossip to be informed how 

 to recognise diatoms when they make their 

 appearance on the open sea-beach, how to gather 

 them free from admixture of dirt, and what the 

 principal forms are that may be gathered on 

 those parts of the beach which mark the high, 

 middle, and low tides. My experience in 

 gathering marine diatoms is confined to the 

 Northumberland coast, and to that, therefore, 

 the observations I am about to make particu- 

 larly apply, although there can be little doubt 

 that were the coasts on other parts of the United 

 Kiugdom properly searched, similar and perhaps 

 more extensive varieties might be found on many of 

 them. Marine diatomacese may be obtained during 

 all periods of the year, but the months most favour- 

 able for obtaining them in great abundance are 

 April, May, August, and September ; the days most 

 favourable are those that are clear and bright, Mdth 

 considerable warmth in the sunshine ; and the period 

 of the day, the afternoon or eai-ly evening, when the 

 sun has had an opportunity of exerting his full 

 influence on the exposed sea-beach. 

 Diatoms are found in greatest abundance on the 



