42 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. [February 



beries. Yellow jasmines {jasminum nudiflorum) and Christmas roses 

 have decorated our gardens since the beginning of December. In fact, 

 with the exception of a few days of frost, once or twice repeated, England 

 has not known what winter is. — Robert Davies, Birchdale,Warrington. 



NOTES. 



Early Flowering of Hazel. — On page 5 of No. 1, British Naturalist, 

 the 27th January is given as an early record for the flowering of this plant 

 near Warrington. In that district, I have for the last ten years, — with one 

 exception, when the flowers did not appear until the 5th of February, — 

 found it in flower earlier than the date given. This year it was in full 

 blossom, between Latchford and Grappenball, on New Year's Day, and 

 from the appearance of the catkins they had evidently been out a 

 week. — C. R. B. 



Curious Egg. — The other day, when breaking a hen egg which 

 had been boiled for breakfast, I found a perfectly shelled egg measuring 

 about three-quarters of an inch in length in the interior. I have 

 preserved both the outer shell and the small inner one. — W. P. 



Coal Tar Product. — Another product from Coal Tar has been 

 discovered and named by chemists Tuluol. It contains no water, and can 

 stand a much lower temperature than quicksilver without freezing ; it is 

 light, cheap, evaporating very slowly, and when warm expands with regu- 

 larity, qualities which recommend it as a very suitable medium for filling the 

 tubes of thermometers. Its lightness will enable the globe to be larger, 

 and thereby secure greater regularity in registering the degrees of heat 

 and frost, while its colour, which is dark blue, will make it more dis- 

 tinguishable in the tube of the thermometer and enable the registration 

 to be easily and quickly read. Quicksilver freezes when the temperature 

 sinks below 39 degrees centigrade, whilst alcohol, sometimes used for 

 filling the tubes of thermometers, frequently contains water, which 

 renders it an unreliable medium for purposes of barometrical registration. 



We are pleased to announce that our old contemporary Science Gossip 

 is to be revived under the editorship of Mr. John T. Carrington. We 

 wish it under its new management every success, and our readers will 

 undoubtedly welcome the new issue of an old and valuable magazine. 



