HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



157 



duckweed. The only explanation I could offer was 

 that it had been devoured by a Cypris ; thus turning 

 the tables on the decapitated Hydra. The cephalic 

 extremity is shrunken to a mere speck, and evidently 

 dead. I have never known a Cypris devour a Hydra 

 before, but taking into consideration the weakened 

 state of the polype, I see no season why any other 

 explanation should be sought for the disappearance 

 of the subject of the experiment. It had certainly 

 gone from the live-box. 



The chief point of interest in the experiment is, I 

 think, the effect of light on the two fragments. Of 

 course one knows that there are many more hema- 

 tocysts on the tentacles than on the body, but one 

 has always considered that their purpose was specially 

 that of paralysing prey seized. Whether the smaller * 

 capsules mentioned by some authorities are in any 

 way concerned in the reception of external stimuli 

 would, I take it, be mere speculation. Anyhow, it 

 is evident that the tentacles are more easily stimulated 

 than the body, and it is chiefly with the object of 

 noting this fact I have ventured to send in the record 

 of this experiment, unfortunately brought to an 

 abrupt termination, to the readers of Science- 

 Gossip. 



Herbert J. Frederick, L.S.A. 



Sidcup. 



SWISS BOTANY. 



AN old botanist wishes to draw attention to the 

 country round Vevey as a most interesting 

 and prolific collecting-ground, and one not much 

 resorted to. 



In early spring, long before the higher pastures are 

 accessible, the meadows about Elonay are carpeted 

 with the poetic narcissus and tufts of the beautiful 

 Fiimaria densifolia ; every little rock peeping up 

 through these hilly meadows is decked with the red, 

 white, or blue Vinca minor, sometimes all three 

 growing together. 



In damp woody places near Jilamont, the lily of 

 the valley is plentiful. The vineyards are full of 

 various species of hyacinth : the grape hyacinth 

 perfuming the whole country where the vineyards, 

 bathed in the sun, slope down to the lake. The 

 feather hyacinth, and many other curious and rare 

 plants, grow amongst the vines, and round the edges 

 of the vineyards a great variety of linaria. 



In the woods on Mont Chardon is found the 

 Cypripedium calceolus, the lady's-slipper. 



The hill rising behind Blonay, the Pleiades, is 

 nexhaustible in its variety of botanical treasures 

 — Myosotis rupicola and alpina amongst others being 

 plentiful — and in the little marshy spots formed at 

 intervals by the rills running down the mountain side, 

 there is a rich and beautiful harvest to be gathered. 



* Griffith and Henfrey. 



In the valley behind Villa Jilamont, and running 

 parallel to the Freiburg Road, the steep river-banks- 

 on either side are full of a great variety of orchidaceous 

 plants, and also a small variety of the Anthevicum. 

 liliastrum ; and on the higher ground between Jila- 

 mont and Maison Lavade may be found the spider 

 and fly orchids in considerable quantity. I several 

 times found the Epipactis latifolia, the E. grandifolia 

 and the pink Epipactis all growing together in the 

 woods. 



I have never myself collected in the marshy places, 

 at the head of the lake, but they are known to be 

 homes of many botanical treasures. 



The "Dent de Jaman" is another delightful place 

 for a day's botanizing. Besides the variety of 

 gentians (amongst them the medical gentian), there 

 are many plants not usually found so low down 

 on the mountains, and close under the mass of 

 rock forming the "Dent," amongst the debris are to 

 be found the sweet-scented cyclamen, and sparingly, 

 the Rose des Alpes. On the roadsides, where it seems 

 to love the dust, a sweet perfume leads one to the 

 pretty Dianthus Galliais. 



Anyone who wishes for a more distant ramble can 

 cross the lake and climb one of the mountain paths 

 close to the bridge that marks the Piedmontese 

 frontier, and there find the Aquilcgia alpina and the 

 curious yellow monkshood, looked on with terror by 

 the peasants as the most poisonous plant in existence. 

 They used to tell awful stories of tourists being 

 poisoned by carrying bunches of it in their hands. 



I have given but a very faint sketch of the advan- 

 tages of Vevey for collecting purposes, and I hope 

 some botanist will try it this year, and give us his 

 experiences. I have never seen noticed the distinct 

 difference between the Swiss and Italian Op/irys 

 apifera and ours. Independently of the much larger 

 size of the foreign plant, there is a very marked differ- 

 ence in the form of the blossom. The middle segment 

 of the calyx, which in the English apifera is always 

 bent back so as to be little visible in the front, in 

 the Swiss and Italian flower stands upright and often 

 bends slightly over the lip when in full blossom, the 

 small triangular petals are much larger in proportion, 

 and the green bands on the pink sepals more pro- 

 nounced ; added to which, the foreign plant has a 

 very disagreeable smell, not the flower alone, but the 

 whole plant, which is not the case with ours ; also, 

 the foreign plant is generally found in marshy places, 



while ours loves dry, chalky downs. 



I. G. 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



A new and ingenious instrument has just been 

 invented for roughly indicating the amount of dust in 

 the atmosphere. It is called the Koniscope. It 

 consists of an air-pump and a tube provided with 

 glass ends. The dusty air to be tested is drawn into 



