Page:Hardwicke's Science-Gossip - Volume 1.pdf/135

Fish in Aquaria.—I have several times had fungus or parasites growing on gold fish, and have always succeeded in restoring them to a perfectly healthy state by placing them for two or three weeks in a tub of cold water, in the cellar, and allowing the water to drop from the tap, so as to prevent stagnation.—H. B.

British Land Shells (Achatina acicula).—Mr. Ralph Tate asks if the presence of this mollusk in a living state on the surface of the soil be a previously unobserved fact? In Jeffrey's "British Conchology" it is stated that "its occurrence has been noticed by Mr. Bridgman at Norwich, on a sunny bank near the Thorpe tollbar, adhering to the roots of grass, in the loose earth between the stones." It was not, however, at the roots of the grass beneath the surface of the soil, but quite upon the top, and also in the fine loose earth among the large flint boulders, with which the bank is faced, and in the first instance adhering to the flint itself. Had it been within the soil, in all probability it would have remained undetected; in passing the spot a dead shell of caroicolla hapicida, a species then unrecorded for this district, had just been discovered, and it was in searching amongst the grass and stones in the hope of finding the carocolla alive, which we ultimately did, that my sons came upon the achatina. It is now at least ten or twelve years ago, and several dozens were taken at various times during the year or two they were sought for, but it does not appear that any have been found lately.—W. Kencely Bridgman.

Green Conferva.—I wish very much to know the name of this plant? It is a very common inhabitant of "pools by the wayside," and forms masses of a green substance. It is a very beautiful object in the microscope, dark masses of green in the midst of tubes of hyaline.—E. S. [The specimen sent consists principally of a young spirogyra, mixed with it is also a diatom of the fragillaria, in broad bands with narrow divisions, the width varying much according to age. The species of the first, it is impossible at so early a stage to decypher. The writer will find it very interesting to watch it through the spring. It will keep well in some of its own water in a glass vessel.—J. B. H.]

Six-spot Burnet?—In the Isle of Wight I have observed a black moth, about half-an-inch in size, the upper wings transparent, and spotted with red. The caterpillar is green, with black dots placed at regular intervals, and remains in the chrysalis state in a silky-looking cocoon, attached to a blade of grass. They were very numerous on a chalky spot above the Undercliff. "A. R." would be glad to learn its name.—[From the description, it would appear that your insect is a species of Anthrocera, probably Filipendulæ, called the "Six-spot Burnet." There are three closely allied species, Trifolii and Loniceræ, with 5 crimson spots, and Flilipendulæ, with 6 spots, on each fore-wing. You should have sent a specimen.—F. M.]

Salmon Maut.—It is the pleasure of many followers of good old Izaak Walton, in North Lancashire, to angle for a fish they call "salmon maut." The best sport is after heavy rain during the autumn months. The fish, to look at, are like young salmon, and vary in weight from ¾ lb. to 3 lb. Can any lover of the rod kindly tell me why the name "maut" is given, how it is spelt, and whether the fish belong to the salmon or the trout tribe?—F. S. T.

What is an Inch of Rain?—The last weekly return of the Registrar-General gives the following interesting information in respect to rainfall:—"Rain fell in London to the amount of 0.43 inches, which is equivalent to 43 tons of rain per acre. The rainfall during last week varied from 30 tons per acre in Edinburgh to 215 tons per acre in Glasgow. An English acre consists of 6,272,640 square inches, and an inch deep of rain on an acre yields 6,272,640 cubic inches of water, which at 277.274 cubic inches to the gallon makes 22,622.5 gallons; and, as a gallon of distilled water weighs 10 lb., the rainfall on an acre is 226,225 lb. avoirdupois; but 2,240 lb. are a ton, and consequently an inch deep of rain weight 100.993 tons, or nearly 101 tons per acre. For every 100th of an inch a ton of water falls per acre." If any agriculturalist were to try the experiment of distributing artificially that which nature so bountifully supplies, he would soon feel inclined to "rest and be thankful."—Times.

"T. R." writes:—"In my search for fossils among flints I am frequently meeting with those which, upon being broken, exhibit flinty casts in their interior of a very perfect conical form; excepting some imperfect circular groovings I cannot detect any reticulations of the surface. They bear no resemblance to echini, and I can hardly imagine them to be ventriculites." They are casts of the alveolus, or conical cavity, in which is lodged the phragmacone of Belemnitella mucronata.—R. T.

"F. P. P."—We recommend the following works to enable you to name your Petherwin fossils:—M. M. Edwards and Haime's "Monograph of the Corals from the Devonian Formation" (1853). The Palæonthographical Society's Publication, vol. xvi., issued for 1864, contains the first part of the "Devonian Brachiopoda," by Mr. Davidson; this monograph will be completed in the forthcoming volume. In the same volume is commenced a "Monograph of British Trilobites," by Mr. Salter; a few Devonian species are described. For the remaining forms "Phillips" must suffice.—R. T.

"J. A."—Seven Oaks will well repay a visit. The principal geological formation is the lower greensand, with the wealden on the south, and the upper cretaceous on the north. The railway cutting and tunnel, now in course of construction, afford excellent opportunities for the examination of the lower greensand and wealden. A few quarries are opened in the lower greensand on the roadside from the station to the town. To the south-west of the town strike on to the railway cutting (it would be advisable to obtain a pass from the secretary of the South-Eastern Railway), and near the mouth of the tunnel the Atherfield beds are finely exhibited, and contain a few fossils; examine the débris of the shafts for weald-clay fossils in passing over the hill. At the south-end of the tunnel the Hastings sands appear. In a future number we propose giving a full acount of the nautral history of this delightful locality.—R. T.

"J. W. C." informs us that he has verified Mr. Tate's observationes on "Planorbis Coreus" (see Science Gossip, No. 3, p 61).