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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Abnormal Geum. — I send you a specimen of 

 water avens (Geum rivale Lin.) gathered near 

 Bellerby, Yorkshire. You will see that a compara- 

 tively perfect flower grows from the middle of a 

 monstrous flower and takes the place of the carpels. 

 — Frank Sich,junr., Niton, Isle of Wight. 



Pink Flowers of Bugle. — With regard to the 

 colour of the flowers of the common bugle (ante 

 p. 60), the " Student's Flora " describes it as blue, 

 rarely white or rosy, and " Babington's Manual " 

 also says, " fl. blue, rarely white." The pink- 

 flowered form I have seen near Woodside and in 

 woods near Addington, both localities being in 

 Surrey. At the Addington locality, this colour- 

 variation has come under my notice in different 

 years. During the past spring I encountered the 

 pink-flowered bugle in one of the home counties, 

 but not having made any note at the time, am now 

 uncertain of the locality. The white-flowered form 

 is a very beautiful plant, and this I have gathered 

 in woods near Addington and have also seen the 

 same from Kent. — C. E. Britton, 189, Beresford 

 Street, Cambeni'ell, S.E. 



With reference to Mr. Falconer's note (ante p. 60) 

 as to Ajuga reptans with pink flowers, I enclose one 

 of several plants which I found on the 19th June 

 on the chalk hills above Luddesdown, Kent, with 

 perfectly white flowers. This Ajuga was growing 

 on a chalk plateau such as that described by your 

 correspondent, Dr. Parsons (ante p. 41), where the 

 chalk appeared to be covered with a " thin loamy 

 surface soil." I remarked that in the same locality 

 Polygala vulgaris was pink in colour, whereas on 

 the harder upper chalk above Wrotham it was 

 invariably a bright blue. — M. J. Teesdale, St. 

 Margaret's, Thurlow Park Road, Duiwich. 



I have found pink flowers of bugle near Guild- 

 ford, and also albinos of the same in Hereford- 

 shire. — E. Armatage, Ross, Herefordshire. 



I found Ajuga reptans with pink flowers at Cran- 

 brook, Kent, in 1881. At Littlehampton I have 

 gathered a very pale pink variety of Cnicus lanceola- 

 tus. White varieties of many red flowers are 

 comparatively common, but as far as my experi- 

 ence goes white varieties of flowers normally 

 yellow are rare. The only example I ever found 

 was a single plant of Crepis foetida, which had 

 while blossoms just tinged with pink. At Mus- 

 well Hill last year there was a plant of Leontodon 

 aulumnalis with very pale lemon-yellow flowers, 

 and I have noticed specimens of Anthyllis vulnenuia 

 at Ilfracombe and Tenby with unusually light 

 yellow blossoms, but these were not white. — 

 /. E. Cooper, 68, Nonh Hill, Highgate. 



Flight of Swift. — It often appears to me as 

 if the swift in flying moves its wings alternately, 

 instead of simultaneously, like other birds ; but 

 the motion is so exceedingly rapid that it is almost 

 impossible to tell. Can any of your readers say 

 whether this is so and has ever been noticed ? If 

 it is the case, surely it must be known and have 

 been remarked upon before ; but I have never seen 

 or heard of such a fact. Can anyone account for 



the extreme paucity of swallows and martins last 

 summer and again this summer ? There are hardly 

 any to be seen in this district. — A. E. Burr, Bath. 



Localities for Tulip and Maidenhair Trees. 

 — In reply to Mr. Martin's enquiry (ante p. 21), I 

 can say that two good specimens of Liriodendron 

 tulipifera (tulip-tree) are to be found in a nursery 

 at Shamley Green, near Guildford, Surrey. The 

 trees are quite close to the road and can easily be 

 seen from it. — Harold S. Geihie, 11, Aden Terrace, 

 Green Lanes, N. 



There are, I find, four tulip-trees in the Royal 

 Victoria Park, Bath, two of which are in the 

 Botanical Gardens, in which also is a small maiden- 

 hair tree. There is a large one in a garden near 

 Bath. It may also interest him to know that there 

 are four specimens of another rare tree, the Judas- 

 tree, in Bath, one in the Botanical and one in the 

 Sydney Gardens, one in a private garden in Bath- 

 wick Hill, and one, a very old one, in Holloway, 

 overhanging the foot-pavement. — A. E. Burr, Bath. 



Both the tulip-tree and maidenhair tree grow at 

 Brockhill, Broad Clyst, Exeter on the property of 

 Mr. W. T. Bagne. Good specimens of both are at 

 Sans Souci, a place at Lychett Minster, Dorset. A 

 tulip-tree is also at Blount's Court, Oxon, belonging 

 to Sir F. Knollys. At Brockhill many curious trees 

 exist, the owner being particularly fond of trees, 

 and of planting rare sorts. The liquid amber tree, 

 a very curious and rare tree, grows in the garden 

 of Col. Balkeley at Hare Hatch, near Twyford, 

 Berks. — (Mrs.) Emily f. Climenson, Chugra House, 

 West Cliff Road, Bournemouth. 



I saw a maidenhair tree a few years since in the 

 garden of Mrs. Brightden, Stanmore, Middlesex.— 

 J. W. Walker, Cefn Llys, Stanley Road, Watfoid. 



There are two tulip-trees growing in this town. 

 One is in Horsham Park, the seat of Mr. R. H. 

 Hurst, J.P. ; the other is in the garden of Holly 

 House, North Parade. — Chas. J. Marten, Hon. Sec. 

 Horsham Museum, 30, London Road, Horsham, 

 Sussex. 



I have two fine specimens of tulip-tree here. 

 They were planted at the beginning of the century ; 

 the largest has a girth of ten feet.—/. C. Mansel- 

 Playdell, Whatcombe, Blandford. 



We have specimens of both trees growing in our 

 garden here. The tulip-tree is about thirty feet 

 high, and the maidenhair tree, which is about 

 eleven feet high, is just bursting into leaf. — Cecil 

 }. T. Birts, Westwood House, Welling, Kent. 



Some few years ago 1 went to St. Osyth's 

 Priory, where I saw a fine tulip-tree. There is 

 another in front of a chapel in St. John's Road, 

 Tunbridge Wells. I have a very small fern-tree in 

 my garden.— S. Hatchard, St. Helena, The Common, 

 Tunbridge Wells. 



There is a magnificent specimen of maidenhair 

 tree, Gingko biloba, at Whitfield Court, Hereford- 

 shire, which was planted by Lady Elizabeth 

 Stanhope about 1775, and is therefore one of the 

 earliest introduced to this country. There are 

 fine tulip-trees at Coughton and Wilton, near 

 Ross, and several gardens in the county have 

 smaller specimens of each species. — E. Armttage, 

 Ross, Herefordshire. 



Aquaria in Hot Climates. — I have read in 

 Science-Gossip of fish having been kept for a long 

 time in a 10-inch bell aquarium, so that the water 

 need not be changed, and with very little attention. 

 Being myself unsuccessful, with your permission I 

 would ask any of your readers who have succeeded 

 if they will kindly supply me with the result of their 



