Page:Hardwicke's Science-Gossip - Volume 1.pdf/159
believed that the flowers were unknown in this country. They much resemble those of the common sunflower, a member of the same genus, but are smaller in size.—B. W. H. says it flowers occasionally in Cornwall in hot summers, and Dr. Livett has had it flower several times during the past ten or twelve years, at Wells, in Somersetshire.
A Spider Hoax.—Several correspondents have sent us the following, which is going the round of the country papers:—"A sudden panic fell upon the worshippers on Easter Sunday in a large church at Lisbon. An enormous spider was suddenly seen to descend to an ancient web that is said to have existed for many years. The creature was so formidable, that the women began to scream, and a scene of general terror and excitement followed. When Arachne was captured, she was found to be, with legs extended, nearly five feet long. She weighed six pounds." Could this have originated in a mistake, or is it an intentional hoax? We should like to see a fragment of its web.
Bees' Remains.—The other day I saw, under a shrub, the cases of five humble-bees; the head and body were eaten away, but the fur and wings were not the least injured; and when I first saw them, I thought the bees were alive. Can you tell me what had eaten them in this artistic manner?—A. O.
An Aquarium Query.—Can you tell me any way of preventing the curious fungus, or whatever it is, like iron rust, which grows on the glass of fresh-water aquariums?—G. R. B.
A Viper Story.—I have a well-authenticated account of a viper following a woman from a wood across two meadows and a plank thrown athwart a stream, up to her cottage door, and even then making an attempt to spring to an upper window from which the pursued surveyed her pursuer. I can have no doubt of the fact from the character of my informant, and his wife's mother was the woman in question. The reason of the creature's pertinacity is said to be that the woman it followed was, at the period in which the circumstance occurred, suckling a child. Can it be true that a viper has a predilection for baby's food? Also, is the fat of a roasted viper a certain cure for its bite? Of this I am strongly assured.—R.
N.B.—It is a pity our correspondent did not observe the fact himself. However, he accepts the responsibility, and as a clergyman and a gentleman we are bound to give him credence.—Ed. S. G.
Paris quadrifolia.—In gathering some specimens of this plant I found two or three with five leaves instead of four. All the other parts of the flower had the usual number till I came to the pistil, where one carpel was deficient, so that, taking the plant as a whole, the number of parts were perfect, but the distribution of them was imperfect. Can any of your correspondents inform me whether, in the deviation from the normal condition of this plant, they have noticed the same agreement in the aggregate?—A. Grugeon.
Valeriana dioica.—I gathered this plant some years ago in Nazing Meads, Essex, where it was very abundant, but only obtained two female flowers. I have gathered the same plant again these last two years in another locality, and have not succeeded in obtaining even one female. Is this disparity in the sexes general, and if so, may not these same male plants in some seasons produce female flowers?—Alfred Grugeon.
Ants and Cineraria Maritima.—Ants seem to have a great liking for Cineraria maritima. Last year in my garden I had many plants in divers situations; some in the ground, others in vases and baskets; but no matter their situation, they were severally chosen by the ants as a temporary abode, and were built round by them like a tower, inclosing the stem to the top of the plant, which of course drooped and died under such treatment. I did not disturb their work, being curious to know why they did it.—E. M. Edmonds.
Asclepias Seeds.—I have a small lot of American silkweed or milkweed seeds (Asclepias Syriaca) lately suggested as a new substitute for cotton, of which I shall be pleased to send a few (for microscopic examination, &c.) to those inclosing a stamped directed envelope to W. E. Williams, Jun., M.D., Corsham, Wilts.
Ornithological Queries.—Will any of your travelled readers tell me if they have ever seen, or heard from reliable authority, of swallows being seen in any numbers migrating towards Europe, in the spring of the year, across France or Spain? Also, if they have ever seen, or heard, of swallows existing in New Zealand? I ask these questions, as I cannot, with all my research at the British Museum Library, discover affirmative evidence of the former fact, whilst I find it stated by Mr. E. Layard, the naturalist, that "no swallows visit New Zealand, though they abound in Australia, 1,200 miles distant therefrom." And another naturlaist, Mr. O. Salvin, reports that on his voyage to South America in the steamer Atrato, May, 1859, "they encountered swallows (the Hirundo rustica species) 180 miles to the N.W. of the Azores," or, in fact, 1,400 miles from the west coast of Africa, whence they were migrating (Qy. to Europe or North America?) As the swallow is found in North and South Africa, from Tunnis to the Cape of Good Hope; in North and South America, from Cape Horn to the Mackenzie river, within the Arctic circle; and throughout Europe and Asia, as high up as Bodöe, in the former, lat. N. 67°, and Pekin in the latter, why should it shun New Zealand so exceptionally, with its temperate climate and its food-abounding lakes and woodlands?—H. E. A.
Hedgehogs eating Eggs.—I kept one for a time, and used to give it birds' eggs as a treat, which it appeared to enjoy very much.—H. Bunnyard.
Natterjack.—"This word is a corruption of two german words, Natter, 'an adder,' and jack, 'cut short,'" writes Mr. W. R. Tate in reply to the query at page 118. We think that Natter is in itself probably derived from Nieder, Anglo-Saxon Nædre, "neither" or "lower," from the creeping habit of the adder to which it belonged, under the form of eddre; and jager, "one who runs," is very applicable to such a running reptile as the Natterjack. Moreover, words compounded of nieder have the signification of some place or object lying low, and jager or jagd in such a combination would not be inapplicable to the Natterjack toad.
Salmon Maut.—In answer to the note at page 119, R. A. quotes from an old "Art of Angling" published in 1774: "Those (salmon) that are taken in the river Mersey in Cheshire, the first year are called smelts, the second sprods, the third morts, the fourth fork-tails, the fifth half-fish, and in the sixth, when they have attained their proper growth, are thought worthy of the name of salmon."