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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



however, that they are continually putting out tunnels 

 from all parts of the wall ; where this is an exposed 

 part, their tunnel is either broken down by the 

 servants in sweeping, or abandoned by the white ants 

 themselves, in consequence of light, before it attains 

 an appreciable length ; in my verandah at Allahabad, 

 I told my servants not to destroy the white ant tunnels ; 

 in consequence, although the light must have been 

 somewhat a drawback, at least twenty tunnels were 

 thrown out from the wall, and continued to a length 

 varying from four \ to nine inches. These tunnels 

 were perfectly objectless, as there were no clothes or 

 furniture in the verandah for the white ants to attack. 

 I found that the longer tunnels were curved upwards, 

 so as to form about a quarter of a circle. With refer- 

 ence to the tunnels pushed up from below, through 

 the plinth, thei same explanation holds. The white 

 ants drive their tunnels quite at random ; if a tunnel 

 emerges in the open part of the room, it is trodden 

 down before it has got long enough to attract notice ; 

 if it emerges under a table or similar article, the 

 servants destroy it when sweeping ; and it is only 

 those which escape, through being sheltered by the 

 leg of a table or in some like manner, which subse- 

 quently attract notice. — J. R. Holt. 



Notes on Aldeburgh. — Aldeburgh is a small 

 town on the coast of Suffolk, facing due east. It is a 

 place of some antiquity, as is evidenced by its 

 possessing a mayor and corporation, as well as by the 

 Moot Hall, a curious old building of timber, brick, 

 and flints. The church, which is large and in good 

 preservation, is also built of flints. The river Aide 

 flows from the west towards the town, but instead of 

 running into the sea at Aldeburgh it turns abruptly 

 to the south, and flows for several miles, only divided 

 from the sea by a bank of shingle. The tidal estuary 

 thus formed is a fine sheet of water, and being well 

 protected is much frequented by yachts and pleasure- 

 boats. Many brackish-water shells are to be found 

 here, particularly Mya arenaria, Scrobicularia piperata, 

 Hydrobia ulvco, H. ventrosa, Melampus myosotis, M. 

 bidcutata, Ulriaihis truncatulus, U. obtusus, etc. 

 Hydrobia ventrosa occurs occasionally with the last 

 whorl quite separated from the next. There are but 

 few shells on the sea-shore, as there is not much sand. 

 North of the town Pupa marginata lives on a piece 

 of sandy ground together with an almost endless 

 variety of Helix virgata. The geology of Aldeburgh 

 is of some interest. There is a fine section of the 

 Coralline crag on the Leiston Road, which yields 

 numerous corals and bryozoa, with a few shells. 

 Other sections of both; Coralline and Red crag are to 

 be seen in the neighbourhood. Off the coast there 

 appears to be an ancient forest-bed, as large masses of 

 peat containing tree-roots are washed up on the shore 

 to the north of the town. Some of these lumps of 

 peat are full of Pholas Candida. The tide also brings 

 up the fruits of a coniferous tree, which probably 

 came from the same bed. Wild-flowers abound at 

 Aldeburgh. Carduus nutans grows in great profu- 

 sion, and bears very fine flower-heads, which are 

 occasionally white. Onopordon acanthium is also 

 abundant. Glaucium luteum, Senccio viscosus, S. 

 silvaticus, and Convolvulus soldanella grow near the 

 sea on the north side of the town. Sisymbrium sophia 

 and Cichorium intybus are fairly common on the road- 

 sides, together with many other plants. — J. E. 

 Cooper. 



Unknown Insect. — As I am known to most 

 people in this district as a sort of harmless lunatic 

 who spends some of his leisure in grubbing about 

 ponds and ditches, and the remainder in " staring 



down a brass pipe," and who is also credited with an 

 almost unlimited knowledge of beetles, bugs, and 

 "wick things" generally, I am sometimes consulted 

 as to the identity and characteristics of various beasts 

 and insects which occasionally find their way into 

 human habitations. A working-man's wife has been 

 to consult me several times, with reference to some 

 small insect, which I failed to make out from her 

 somewhat imperfect information. However, as she 

 somewhat whetted my curiosity last week by saying 

 the insect was swarming in thousands, all over her 

 sitting-room furniture, I resolved to humour her by 

 paying a visit of investigation. After business I 

 went to the place, and a hunt with a candle soon 

 showed some hundreds, about a dozen of which I 

 secured with a wet camel-hair pencil. A microscopic 

 examination enables me to give a diagnosis of the 

 insect, which is quite unknown to me. Very active, 

 dirty white insect, roughly, about the size of the head- 

 louse (Pediculus capitis) ; head somewhat triangular, 

 widest behind ; eyes two, compound of numerous 

 facets, situated at posterior angles of head ; antenna; 

 setaceous, as long as the whole insect ; maxillary 

 palpi four jointed ; mandibles two large curved' 

 hooks; thorax narrower than base of head, cylindrical, 

 of about four segments ; abdomen of about seven 

 segments, oval, and in young specimens pointed 

 posteriorly ; legs six, as long as abdomen, slender ; 

 tarsi three jointed ; claws two. The limbs, and 

 indeed the whole insect, covered with short hairs ; 

 the smaller specimens are slenderer than full-sized 

 ones. I have drawings of two of these insects, but 

 the above description will probably be sufficient for 

 their identification. So far as I could learn, none of 

 the other houses in the row were infested, and few 

 were found in any part of the house other than the 

 sitting-room. I was informed that they appeared 

 immediately after the purchase of some hair-seated 

 furniture, and was shown many places where the 

 seating was in holes, which the woman was convinced 

 were caused by the insect invaders. I should be glad 

 if any of your numerous entomological readers could 

 identify the insect for me. — J. E. Lord, Rawtenstal. 



Bleaching Ferns. — Could any of your readers 

 inform me how to bleach ferns ? I have tried and 

 cannot make a success of it. — A. N. Z. 



Hollinwood Botanists' Garden. — The " Old- 

 ham Microscopical Society and Field Club," recently 

 visited the Botanists' Garden, Hollinwood, snugly 

 situated a short distance off the bottom end of 

 Hollins Road. The visit was paid for the purpose of 

 seeing what had been accomplished 'by the botanists 

 of that district during the last half-dozen years in the 

 way of cultivating British wild plants. The report 

 goes on to state that a glance from the outside gave 

 an impression that the garden differed little from 

 other similar places to be seen in suburban lanes of 

 many Lancashire towns, gardens in which white 

 roses, lupines, orange lilies, willow herbs, thrift, 

 sweet-williams, and a score of other good old- 

 fashioned favourites vied with each other in giving 

 all possible gaiety to the little piece of ground that 

 nourished them. As soon as entered, the garden was 

 found to possess an individuality of its own. The 

 closer it was examined the more evident it became 

 that there were to be recognised forms that the 

 visitors had only met with occasionally in their coun- 

 try rambles, or that they had scanned with half- 

 hearted interest in various herbariums. The inspec- 

 tion began by sauntering along one side of an open 

 channel, smelling suspiciously of sewer water, that 

 ran through the garden, and which the botanists had 



