Dec. 1, 1865.] 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



281 



Lardened and cracked. Fig. 4 represents a motion- 

 less form, in which'tlie cilia are wanting-. 



In fig. 5 each of the gonidia lias become changed 

 into a cluster of gonidia like the parent plant, each 

 with its own proper envelope, but all contained in 

 the original covering. This seems to be clearly a 

 condition of vegetative growth. It is remarkable 



that in this, and in a corresponding form (fig. 7) in 

 which the gonidia are without cilia, there are only 

 fifteen clusters ; not sixteen, as one would naturally 

 have expected. 



In a state of decay, the envelope seems to break 

 up into indistinct cells (fig. 10), each of which con- 

 tains a gonidium. This seem s to indicate that there 

 is a proper envelope to each gonidium, as well as 

 one common to all. J. S. Tute. 



ZOOLOGY. 



The Gray Wagtail. — Some years ago a discussion 

 took place in the pages of the Zoologist on that curious 

 habit which the Gray V\' agtail {Motacilla hoarula) has 

 of sometimes fluttering for hours togethcrat somepar- 

 ticular window in a dwelling-house. Various reasons 

 were there assigned for this strange propensity. Mr. 

 H. Doubleday suggested that the bird was seeking 

 its food; but as no insects could be discovered, and 

 the bird did not seem to pick up anything, this 

 explanation was considered untenable. Others 

 supposed that the bird seeing its own image in the 

 glass, mistook it for its lost mate, wliich it was 

 endeavouring to rejoin ; but it was shown that, at the 



time indicated, the bird could have no mate. A third 

 solution was that some reflection from the window 

 had the same elfect on the Wagtail as a piece of 

 looking-glass is known to have on Larks ; but this 

 seemed a mere fancy, as fear is the prevailing 

 influence in the latter case, but not at all in the 

 former. An instance of the exhibition of this odd 

 habit took place a while ago at the house of a neigh- 

 bour of mine. Day after day the bird kept fluttering 

 at the window of the common kitchen, and how often 

 soever driven away, always returned. So unusual a 

 circumstance began to be talked about, and a report 

 soon got abroad that the house was haunted, and 

 there were not wanting those who believed it. One 

 Sunday afternoon many scores — nay hundreds — of 

 people from a neighbouring town came to see the 

 ghost. This v/as so annoying to the farmer that he 

 let loose a rather for undable -looking bull, the sight 

 of which soon efl'ected a clearance ; and next morn- 

 ing the poor bird had to bear the penalty of its 

 notoriety ; it was shot, and that without a silver 

 sixpence in the charge. But superstition apart, this 

 habit of the Gray Wagtail, not recorded, I think, of 

 any other bird, is a very strange one, and one worthy 

 of investigation. Do any of the readers of Science 

 Gossip know whether it has ever been satisfactorily ' 

 explained ? — W. i?. 



Tom-tits and Celeuy-ply. — A few days before 

 your republication of the description of the insect 

 which is the cause of what is commonly called celery 

 blight, my ubiquitous friends the Tom-tits dis- 

 covered that the larvae were fit for eating; and a few 

 dozen Tits were actively engaged in flitting up and 

 down the rows of celery in the kitchen garden here 

 in search of what must be to them as great a treat 

 as fried grasshoppers are to a Hottentot. Although 

 two men Avere digging on the adjoining plot, the 

 Tits pertinaciously examined every leaf; and the 

 result was that the larvsB were cleared in two days. 

 Let us, therefore, save our small birds. — /. W. Lau- 

 rence, in Gurdener''s Chronicle. 



Squacco Heron. — I understand that a specimen 

 of the beautiful Squacco Heron {Ardea comata) has 

 been shot this year on the pond at Lord Eldon's 

 place, Encombe, in the county of Dorset. — C. jr. 

 Bingham. 



Clouded Yellow Butterfly. — A great number 

 of the beautiful butterfly, " Clouded Yellow " 

 (Edusa), have been taken during the past week in 

 this neighbourhood. Coimoisscurs here say they are 

 evidently fresh from the chrysalis, their wings being 

 quite soft, and the whole insect in a state of beauti- 

 ful perfection. One young enthusiast took fifty in 

 two days (last Eriday and Saturday), all unusually 

 large, and of brilliant colours. This is the third 

 brood this season— one in June, one in August, and 

 now one in mid-October. — Frederick Hudf.cn, 

 T'entnor, Isle of Wight. 



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