tions. Though this pretty brilliant plant is usually looked on as a native, it is said the seeds were originally brought in some marble sculptures from Italy to Oxford. I can bear cordial testimony to its fringing and mantling, with its elegant drapery, the walls of colleges and gardens in that splendid university. And every one knows how likely the plant is to be desired and removed, and when sown, how readily spreading, and impossible of eradication. It may inform some of your readers (and I am one who highly approve your giving derivations, though I could wish the Greek appeared in its own type, from the impossibility of otherwise expressing their variety of vowels), I say, it may amuse your readers to know that Antirrhìnum (snapdragon), is compounded of a Greek preposition and noun, signifying lip to lip. Cymbalàris is an ancient epithet for a plant, and is (I presume,for I could show another, denoting the gadding nature of the plant, only "Priscian would be a little scratched") derived from the Greek for a small boat. In this poikilonomizing (various-naming) age (or rage), some botanists retain Linària as a genus, distinguishing it by the greater length of its spurs. A verse in Juvenal's Satires (iv. 45.) has both the words together, the boat and the flax; "cymba linique magister;" speaking of a fisherman and his apparatus. - John F. M. Dovaston. Westfelton, near Shrewsbury, July 21. 1829.

Erratum.-Page 259. lines 13 to 16. for " Mr. William Phillips, one," &c. read "Mr. William Phillips, one of the authors of Geological Outlines of England and Wales, and author of an Elementary Introduction to Mineralogy and of various other works, and Dr. Wollaston who has left 1000l. to the Society," &c.

ART. XI. Queries and Answers.

FLORA Virgiliana, and other Matters. Can you not give us a complete Flora Virgiliana (Vol. I. p. 484.), by the aid of Martyn's Georgics, and other works? I should like to see all the weeds included, and verified with their Linnean names, when I shall recur with a new pleasure to my old acquaintance:

"Lappæque tribulique; interque nitentia culta
Infelix lolium et steriles dominantur avenæ.

et amaris intuba fibris." (Georg. i. 153. 120.)

In the mean time, until difficulties be cleared away, let us rejoice in the

"biferique rosaria Pæsti:

Et virides apio ripe, tortusque per herbam

cucumis; nec sera comantem

Narcissum, aut flexi... vimen acanthi,

Pallentesque hederas, et amantes littora myrtos." (Georg. iv. 119.) I should delight to know more about even "graveolentia centaurea," but especially as to the

"flos in pratis, cui nomen amello

Fecêre agricolæ," (Georg. iv. 270.)

which puzzles me dreadfully, as I contemplate every species of the genus A'ster in a nursery garden which I frequent. As to Dictamnus (Æneid. xii. 412.), I am sufficiently contented when I pore over a plant of "Oríganum Dictamnus" in flower, and let it be described as

"Dictamnum genitrix Cretæâ carpit ab Idâ,
Puberibus caulem foliis et flore comantem
Purpureo: "

as for the

"non illa feris incognita capris Gramina, cum tergo volucres hæsêre sagittæ,"

I let that pass, as I was taught it at school, requiring no evidence to prove its truth, but admitting that a mass of classical authority is in favour of it, and of the skill in simples manifested by animals in general. I should greatly delight in idling away some days in a good library, and sending you a real paper on this subject, instead of a hurried scrawl, despatched even uncorrected. Can you tell your readers what is the Linnean name for a fish (caught on the coast of North Carolina, I believe) called by the natives "Devil Stingarree. It has a long tail like a coach whip, and a barbed bone about 4 in. long, which it strikes into an opponent. — W. April 24. 1829. Various Questions. Where can I procure lives or memoirs of the following naturalists, Buffon, Jussieu, Ray, Pennant, and Azara? Is there any translation of Azara's Memoirs in English, and if so, is it from the French or original Spanish edition? Where can I procure plates and descriptions of the blindworm, and which is the best treatise on the Símia tribe? The General Gazetteer, speaking of Devonshire, mentions that " In the western parts there is a bird so very small, that it is reputed to be a humming-bird, and, like that bird, builds its nest on the extreme branches of trees." Pray, Sir, can you, or any of your correspondents, inform me what bird is here meant?-When, Sir, do you intend to notice the menageries of the King's Mews and the Tower? Might you not also give some account of the travelling collections, for the instruction of your country readers? I am, Sir, &c. Perceval Hunter. June 4. 1829.

Effects of Salt Water on some Marine Animals, and Scientific Descriptions of these Animals. Sir, In your useful and entertaining Journal (p. 121.), there is an excellent paper by Dr. Drummond, on the effects produced by fresh water on some marine animals and plants. The facts which he has adduced are very curious, and having witnessed the same, or very similar ones, I have no doubt whatever of their accuracy. On dropping, for example, the Polýnöe imbricata (Zool. Journ., iii. 332.) into a glass of fresh water, it instantaneously casts off its scales, and drops dead to the bottom. The same is the case with the Lycòris margaritàcea of Dr. Leach. These are worms, and belong to the class Annelides of modern zoologists; but fresh water is no less poisonous to some molluscous animals. The Tritònia pinnatifida and the Eólida papillòsa are immediately killed by it, and lose their branchial processes.

My object in addressing you at present, however, is not to corroborate Dr. Drummond's facts, but to solicit from him a scientific description of two of the animals on which his experiments were made. The first is the Aphrodita squamàta. The descriptions of this given by British authors are quite insufficient to enable any one to tell what they intend, and it would be doing a good service to our Fauna to have it correctly ascertained. Is it the Polynoe squamàta of Lamarck, or is it not rather the P. imbricàta above mentioned? What is the Nèreïs cærulea of Linnæus, the second animal experimented on? The descriptions of Linnæus and of Pennant, and the figure of the latter, are good for nothing; and I very much suspect that Pennant intended to figure what is now called Lycòris margaritacea, and of which Dr. Leach is presumed to be the discoverer. Dr. Drummond will, I trust, excuse me for soliciting an answer to these queries. — G. J. May 14. 1829. Active Molecules. About Christmas last I placed, for preservation, in a small phial (filled with an equal mixture of hollands and water), a dead fleshy grub of the Musk Beetle (Cerambyx moschàtus Lin.) found on wil lows. The animal had experienced some injury, part of the skin near the

head being broken. On examining the phial, in the course of two months afterwards, I perceived a quantity of very fine white sediment at the bottom of the phial, and partly extending up its sides, which I immediately supposed was a portion of the matter forming the body of the grub, which had escaped through the wound on the neck, as there was nothing else in the bottle from which it could have been produced. For the purpose of investigating its nature, I emptied the whole contents of the phial into a shallow white saucer, which enabled me to perceive by the assistance of a high-powered glass, that these minute portions of matter were of irregular forms, and without individual life. Although, to my great surprise, they appeared to be endowed as a mass, or rather as numerous small masses, with very great motion, moving about in various directions or currents, now slowly, now briskly, advancing, retreating, coming into contact with each other, then gradually becoming motionless, then again (without any additional motion having been given to the saucer), coming into active life, as it were, as before, and resembling, individually, to the naked eye, the minute animalcules found in putrid water, which are just perceivable without the assistance of lenses. These motions, I observed for at least a quarter of an hour, but as I felt convinced that they in some manner or other were the effect of some motions in the substance of the fluid, and not of the particles of sediment, I did not think it necessary to continue my observations.

Might not the motion have been produced in the same manner as that which we perceive when we mix spirits with water? and may not many of the motions heretofore observed have originated from a similar cause? and has the result been the same when pure rectified water has been employed, as when pure spirit? I am, Sir, &c.-J. O. Westwood, F.L.S. &c. Chelsea, June, 1829.

The Cause of Goitre. — Sir, I should be glad to be informed, through the medium of your useful Magazine, what is the most generally received opinion as to the cause of that distressing disease, the goître, with which the inhabitants of Switzerland and other countries are afflicted. It has been attributed to some peculiar quality in the water of mountainous districts; but this appears to me to be totally inadequate to account for a disease which appears under such different circumstances of climate and habitation. May it not, with more probability, arise from some peculiar disposition in the muscles of the throat, which certain habits of life have, by time, rendered hereditary? If it be true that the absence of this deformity in the neighbourhood of Lucca, in Italy, is to be attributed to the iodine with which the water is there impregnated, how is this supposed to operate? and what noxious qualities of the water would it tend to neutralise? Is the disease curable without having recourse to the knife? Yours, &c. — Obscurus. June, 1829.

The Dark-looking Water Bird (fig. 21. p. 101.) shot at Fowey, I think, must be the young female of the Anas nigra, or Scoter, the peculiar formation of the bill marking the particular species. Walter Henry Hill. New land, July 14. 1829.

The Young of the Raven. — In March last, a nest, containing five young ones and two unhatched eggs, was brought to me. The young ones were of various sizes; the largest covered with down, the smallest quite naked, but all of them blind. The place for the eye being very indistinctly marked, query, are all the young of the genus Córvus expelled from the egg blind; and if so, how long after their expulsion do they remain without sight?—Id. The Small Dover. I shall be obliged for some certain information respecting a bird shot by me in May last, figured by Bewick as the Lough Diver. On my taking it to Ledbetter's to be set up, his son pronounced it to be the female of the Anas Clángula, or Golden Eye; but I pointed out circumstances, both as to appearance and otherwise, which convince me that it is a distinct species. Tbegged he would have it dissected, to ascer

tain the sex, but I have not yet heard the result. The velocity with which it dived, after being slightly wounded in the wing, exceeds belief; and the length of time it continued immerged, and the distance it dived to, are remarkable. Nor was it till I had fired eleven shots at it that it was killed. The following is the description of it: Length, when stretched out, 16 in.; breadth, from tip to tip, about 25 in.; the head a bright chestnutbrown, with a slight crest of the same colour, but a shade darker; the scapulars pencilled with a bluish grey; the back and rump dusky; the tail dark brown, with hoary edge, and consisting of sixteen feathers, the centre ones the longest; the chin and fore part of the throat white, inclining to grey; breast pencilled with grey; belly brilliantly white; the lesser coverts barred with white, in a large patch; the greater coverts ash colour, with two white bars; the primaries ash colour. The eye, bright yellow iris, surrounded by white, and very brilliant; the bill bluish brown; the legs inclined to dusky blue; the webs particularly large and spreading. This bird was shot in the river Stour, near Sandwich in Kent, and is there known as the small Dover. Any information respecting its habits, place of breeding, or other circumstance connected with it, will be interesting to, Sir, yours, &c. Walter Henry Hill. Newland, July 14. 1829.

The Black-headed Bunting (in answer to T. G. p. 289.)— Sir, Permit me to refer T. G. to Bewick's History of British Birds, where he will find an exact engraving of that small bird called the blackcap (M. Atricapílla Lin.), and by some the mock nightingale, from its imitation of the notes of that sweet songster. The blackcap arrives early in the spring, with the many other small birds which visit us at that season; it frequents orchards and shrubberies, and builds its nest in a bush about 4 ft. from the ground. The male bird has a singular habit of warbling its notes while sitting on the nest, in which situation I have often seen him. The specific distinction between the male and female is, that the spot or cap on the head of the former is coal black, and of the latter a dark brown. Yours, &c.—A Constant Reader. July 3. 1829.

A Nest containing a dirty greenish white Egg.-Sir, This nest, of which the following is a description, was taken by a boy in Essex, during the first week of this month (July). The nest was built in a kind of hedge of elms, or the shoots from elms growing by the side of a village road; it stood 6 or 7 ft. from the ground. The bulk of the nest was formed of moss and wool intermixed, and outside of this a very few pieces of dried grass were thinly scattered. The inside was composed entirely of horse and cow hair. In size it was not quite so large as the nest of the greenfinch. The egg (which was about the size of a skylark's, though not so tapering at the small end) was of a dirty greenish white, marked with eccentric dark spots, like the egg of a yellow bunting. It cannot be the egg of that bird, nor of any of the wagtails, for reasons which, on considering the above description, will, I think, be apparent. I shall feel obliged if you or any of your correspondents can enlighten me upon this subject. I take this opportunity of expressing my regret that some gentleman does not undertake a description of the nests and eggs of British birds: it is a work much wanted; and, if executed carefully, would, I am convinced, repay his exertions. [There is Donovan's Nests and Eggs of British Birds. Nos. I. to V. 4to. 3s. 6d. each.] I have seen some periodical containing coloured engravings of insects, so excellently done, that I am sure the same artist might be employed to advantage upon the engravings for such a work as that I have mentioned. Is there any person in London or elsewhere who collects and sells nests and eggs? Yours, &c. T. F. R. Essex, July 13. 1829.

A curious Ball containing Bees. - Sir, Some little time back a curious ball was discovered suspended from the roof of a hen-house, which, on being opened, proved to have been the habitation of a species of bee. The cells, in one of which was an injured specimen of the insect, were enveloped in

three distinct coverings, composed of a brownish substance resembling paper in appearance, thin and rather brittle. The whole was hung by a thread of the same material. If you or one of your correspondents would, through the medium of your valuable Magazine, favour me with the name of the species which inhabits this curious structure, with some particulars connected with its natural history, it would oblige yours, &c.-H. Gunt. Missenden, Bucks, July 7. 1829.

The Harvest Bug. (p.290.)—This is one of the most teasing little animals in nature. Though bred and intended, like its congener the red spider (Acarus vìtis), to live on vegetables, as currants, raspberries, and French beans, yet it will desert these, whether by accident or design, to live on and annoy the most delicate and sensitive portion of the human race. These insects are so minute, that they are only visible to the keenest eyes, and then only when placed on any very smooth white surface; in course, they are only known by their effects. Ladies and children are the first to complain of their attacks; and chiefly where any part of the dress fits closely to the skin. There they seat themselves at the intersection of the lines, and lay such firm hold with their feet and jaws, that they cannot be displaced by rubbing, nor by washing, unless a powerful spirit or acid is used. A microscope readily detects them; and, by its assistance, they may be dislodged with the point of a muslin needle, and, if placed on writing paper, will be seen to have eight legs, two tentacula or feelers, and an abdomen something egg-shaped; colour livid red; and in size no bigger than the point of a small needle. They lacerate the epidermis in some way or other, as a small hole is observable where they have been seated; and cause extreme itching and considerable inflammation of the part. J. M. Chelsea.

The Superstition respecting Bees prevails in some parts, as to informing them of any great public event that takes place. Anon. Bishopsbourne March 26. 1829.

is

The Eggs of Butterflies. - Sir, Amongst your numerous correspondents, unquestionably there are many, no doubt, willing to give any information that might be considered useful to the pursuit of natural history. Should there be any that can assist me, I should feel obliged by their communication. Most generally, collectors find no difficulty in obtaining the eggs of moths, by the readiness of these insects to copulate and deposit them. With the butterflies (that portion of Lepidoptera called day-flies) the case very different, it being impossible to make them copulate or deposit their eggs when bred from the chrysalis. At any rate, I have found it so; nor do I know any one who has been able to effect it. I have succeeded in obtaining a few eggs by going into the woods, and catching them whilst in copulation, and carrying them home. On the separation of the male, having placed the female in a box, with some of the food of the caterpillar, and tied it on with green gauze, I placed it in the sun, and thus obtained only a few. Should any of your friends be able to assist me, they will oblige me by their information. Yours, &c.-D. G. Kerridge. Ipswich, July 15. 1829. The Nidus on a Rush. (p. 104.)- Sir, The illustrious De Geer has given, in detail, an account of some similar ones that he met with both in Holland and Sweden. The first he observed were suspended in a hay chamber, and he noticed others afterwards in similar places. He describes them as composed of silk of a dirty white, in the form of little oval bags, suspended by a slender but strong thread. They were nearly of the shape of hen's eggs, and were so thin that the eggs they contained might be seen through them. When the eggs hatched, they produced a spider, which he names Aranea tuberculata.* He afterwards found, suspended to stalks of grass, &c., other nests, more nearly resembling those figured in your Magazine, which he

* De Geer, vii. 227. plate xiii. fig. 5.