HARDIVICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



213 



of six to nine inches or more. The greater part of 

 the body of the caterpillar has now, through the 

 growth of the fungus, become converted into vege- 

 table tissue, hence its name "Vegetable Caterpillar.' 

 These specimens may be obtained of Messrs. Kelsey 

 & Co., Auckland, New Zealand. 



BOTANY. 



The genus Oroeaxche in Great Britain.— 

 Orobanche, a genus of herbs parasitical on the roots 

 of other herbs, or shrubs, is represented in our Floras 

 by 7-1 1 species, according to the text-book we take 

 as our guide. In the fresh state they are not very 

 difficult to determine, but when dried are very so. 

 The flowers should be dried separately, between 

 pink blotting-paper, on the outside of which a thin 

 sheet of wadding (cotton-wool) should be laid, and 

 then put between the usual drying paper. So far as 

 my own experience leads me to judge, they are not 

 so often gathered as many other genera ; and having 

 just determined a species new to our Flora, I am 

 very desirous of seeiog as many of the genus as 

 possible. I will gladly name any sent to me, asking 

 that when sent it should be stated whether they are 

 to be returned, or not — time, place, and county 

 where found are needed to be clearly stated. — Arthur 

 Bennett, Croydon. 



Vegetable Teratology.— I have forwarded to 

 you to-day some heads of a monstrosity of white 

 clover (T. repens) which I found by the side of a 

 road at Birchington, Thanet, on July 25th. You 

 will see that in many cases the teeth of the calyx 

 have developed each into a single leaflet, like, but 

 much smaller than, the leaflets of ordinary leaves. 

 The ovary in some cases is elongated, protruding 

 from the standard, but in others is further developed 

 into a folded or into a boat-shaped leaflet, or further 

 still into a flat leaflet on a long stalk. There was a 

 large patch of this clover. Most of the flower-heads 

 were normal, but there were also many like those I 

 have sent ro you. — Frank Sich, Jun. 



Nasturtium sylvestre, Br. This plant is 

 fairly abundant about Highgate : it may be found in 

 woods, on dry roads and banks, growing in large 

 tufts ; there is a large tuft of it on a bank at the foot 

 of a bridge on the G.N.R., near Higbgate, which I 

 conclude is the same tuft as mentioned by A. E. 

 Hudson, p. 22. The two inner pairs of stamens 

 opposite the two lateral sepals afford a good example 

 of " collateral chlorisis " which is almost universal in 

 this natural order. They are sometimes wholly 

 coherent while at other times only partially so. — 

 // E. Griset. 



Var. of L. ovata. — The variety of Lislera ovata 

 figured in your last number is not uncommon. I 



have a Yorkshire specimen in my herbarium, which 

 only differs in the fact of all the leaves being of the 

 same size. A similar abnormal form of Paris 

 quadrifolia is even more common. I have found the 

 latter with from five to seven leaves. — J. A. Wheldon, 

 Walton, Liverpool. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



A Nest in a Postal Store. — The following is 

 well authenticated. There is a niche used as entrance 

 to a letter-box in the Bushey Park wall, Hampton 

 Court road, Hampton, adjacent to the head keeper's 

 residence. There are four postal deliveries a day, 

 and on nearly every occasion a collection of private 

 or official letters, packets, etc., are pushed through. 

 Mr. Halliday, the head keeper, some time ago noticed 

 a few hairs, bits of moss, dried grass, feathers, etc., 

 at the bottom of the letter-box, which is of ordinary 

 size. He did not root the unusual dttris out, but 

 waited and watched, ultimately discovering that a 

 pair of great tits (Parus major) had fixed upon the 

 box for domestic purposes. The birds built a com- 

 modious and handsome nest — the female laid five 

 eggs and ultimately brought out five beautiful weenie 

 nestlings, now nearly ready to take flight. All the 

 time the construction of the nest was in progress, 

 during incubation, and while the young tits were 

 being reared, letters, etc., were regularly dropped 

 into the box, but not all on to the nest, for Mr. 

 Halliday considerately placed a few convenient twigs 

 above it to break the fall of the heavy packets. Most 

 friendly and amicable relationship exists between the 

 keeper and his pets (although he does grow peas in 

 his garden), the parent birds even allowing him to 

 fondle them, and they feed their young while he is 

 looking on. 



Termites. — When I first arrived in India, I heard 

 a good deal about white ants, I was told that they 

 not only devoured wood and cloth, but that they 

 bored through the solid walls and concrete plinths of 

 the bungalows ; and that, besides this, they seemed 

 to possess some sense unknown to us, as, if a garment 

 were hanging against the wall, the white ants would 

 throw out a gallery from the wall immediately behind 

 it ; while no such galleries were thrown out from the 

 portions of the wall where nothing was hanging ; ' 

 similarly, when some wooden article of furniture, such 

 as a table, remained for any length of time without 

 having been moved, it would often be found that 

 they had driven a gallery through the plinth, and up 

 one of the legs, so that it would often be found that 

 the whole inside of the table had been eaten away, 

 leaving the exterior perfect. 



This seemed to me very extraordinary, so that I 

 carefully observed the habits of the white ants. It is 

 true that they bore in all directions through the walls 

 of the bungalows, but as these walls, though massive 

 in appearance, are usually made of sun-dried bricks, 

 but little harder than mud, the fact is not so extra- 

 ordinary as it at first appears ; it is also true that they 

 bore through the concrete plinths, but the hardness 

 of these is entirely superficial : the interior is com- 

 paratively soft and friable, moreover, the hard 

 exterior coat is broken up by numerous fine cracks, 

 which are utilized by the termites. Now, as to the 

 instinct, or sixth sense, said to be possessed by the 

 white ants, the facts at first seem more wonderful, 

 and more difficult to explain. I found by observation 



