Chapter II: Part 2

June is the month for the Orchis tribe. The Bee must be looked for in its earliest weeks or never. So also of the Spider and the Frog. Others continue in flower much longer, but almost all are in their perfection in June.

Rhododendrons are now plentiful, and the very interesting arrangement by which their anthers open at their points to discharge their pollen may easily be observed. It is characteristic of the whole family of heaths, but as the anthers of rhododendrons are far larger than those of our English heaths, it is best seen in them.

Those who have never observed it before will be amused to be shown the jack-in-the-box manner in which the curled up stamens of the Broom spring out when the bee touches the shoulders of the petals. June is the month for Broom and both will soon be past.

Amongst our summer visitants the pretty little Turtle-dove is one of the last to arrive. It waits until the season is well settled and rarely comes to us before the middle of May. As perhaps a result of this caution its numbers remain each year much the same. We have now plenty of turtle-doves at Haslemere, whilst all representatives of the Swallow tribe are scarce. Some observers think that Nightingales also have been less frequently heard this spring than usual. Their song, which ceases when the young are hatched and the business of feeding begins, will soon be over for 1906.

Speaking of Birds of Passage, we may say that we shall be glad to receive from any readers in different parts of the kingdom, estimates of the year’s abundance of the various species. The spring was remarkably variable, and much of it cold, and this may have had the result of much diminishing the supply of food which would await our guests. So far as our enquiries have gone we believe that there is a general impression that the early spring migrants are this year somewhat defective in number.

Peach and Almond trees, with their leaves curled, distorted and thickened, some yellowish-green, others rosy or purplish, are infested with a fungus, scientifically known as _Exoascus deformans_. It is one of the ascomycetes; in the same genus is included the fungus responsible for the “witches’ besoms” of our birch-trees. At maturity the fungus bursts through the cuticle of the leaf, coming to the surface to disperse its spores or seeds. The part of the leaf with the ripe spores upon it, is minutely velvety; the whitish bloom may be easily seen with the unaided eye, but of course individual spores could not be seen without the aid of a powerful microscope.

It is said that this disease is very rarely seen in seasons following an uniformly mild spring.

At the moment of writing we have not observed many oaks defoliated by caterpillars. The following note is taken from the Museum Record Book, June 1, 1899: “Oak-trees badly attacked by the larvæ of the green leaf-roller (_Tortrix viridana_), which cause much damage to the foliage. The continuous falling of the excreta of these small caterpillars sounds like paper being pricked by a fine pin, and is very noticeable in a quiet wood.” In 1902 these larvæ were again equally troublesome in this district.

The ingenious work of the leaf-rolling Beetles (_Genera apoderus_, _Attelabus and Rhynchites_) may be observed at this time of the year. The female, in some species, rolls a leaf into a tube, in others she makes a compact little thimble of the upper half of the leaf, in the centre of which she puts an egg. Hazel, oak and chestnut leaves so folded are not uncommonly seen in this district. Specimens may be usually seen in the vivarium towards the end of the month.

June is a good month for the observation of what are termed Social Flowers. The veronica, in many meadows, especially those in which the grass is kept short by grazing, now exhibits round patches of several yards in diameter, which are beautifully blue. The little mouse ear (Myosotis) makes similar patches, but in much less conspicuous tints. These plants appear to have the power not only of spreading themselves, but of excluding intruders, and their territories sometimes show no other form of vegetation. The common daisy is also a social flower, but much less able to keep others at a distance. So also the wild strawberry.

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QUESTIONS FOR ANSWERS.

(_Continued from p. 31, which see._)

(14) Give the meanings of the following prefixes: (1) sub, (2) pseudo, (3) ob, (4) hypo, (5) hyper, (6) para, (7) ab, (8) aero, (9) con, (10) amphi, (11) ana, (12) pro.

(15) The late Mr. Holyoake tells us that as the result of a street accident in which he was much bruised he remembers “squalling for a fortnight on being taken out of bed.” In another place we read respecting an accident that “a huge dog had loitered behind, and suddenly discovered his master had driven ahead, and he, like a Leming rat, made straight for his master, quite regardless of our being in his way.” Explain the reference to the Leming rat, and rewrite both quotations so as to make them express what you think that the author intended that they should.

(16) What is meant by “a rootless tooth”?

(17) When the number of digits differs on the front and hinder feet of a quadruped, which has usually the most?

(18) Amongst the principal divisions of the mammalian kingdom are Rodentia, Carnivora, Insectivora, Cheiroptera, Primates and Ungulata. Name an English representative of each.

(19) Why are Bees named Anthophila?

(20) Was Captain Cook killed at Owhyhee or in Hawaii?

(21) What do the figures 2123 mean when applied to the teeth, and how many teeth would the animal possess to which that formula would be suitable?

(22) At what time in the morning do Daisies open their flowers?

(23) In the _Times_ of September 13, we read, respecting the Sakhalin coast, “The number of walruses and sea-beavers have been greatly reduced by the destructive methods of the American fishers.” What animals are meant by the term “sea-beavers,” and is the name a suitable one?

(24) If you have watched a stableman washing the wheels of a carriage, you will have seen him use an implement for lifting the vehicle from the ground. Why does he use it? What is its name? Explain its mechanism.

(25) If you pour hot water upon a dry sponge it will sink down to half its size, whereas if the water were cold it would swell up. Try the experiment and explain the different results.

(26) When a man’s hands are cold he will swing his arms so as to strike the hands violently against the sides of his shoulders. What is this action called, and why is it practised?

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NOTICES OF BOOKS RECEIVED.

ORNITHOLOGY.--Messrs. West, Newman and Co., have recently published a very handy and useful “Pocket Book of British Birds,” which we have much pleasure in recommending to field ornithologists. The arrangement followed is that given in Howard Saunders’ well-known “Manual of British Birds.” Species “of which only a few specimens have been observed or obtained in this country” are omitted. The notes are arranged under the heads of localities, haunts, observation, plumage, language, habits, food, nest, site, material, eggs. The size is very convenient for the pocket. Price, 2s. 6d.

THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE BRITISH MYCOLOGICAL SOCIETY for the season 1905 (published, May 19, 1906) contain a full account of the Fungus Foray held at Haslemere during the week ending September 30, 1905.

The specimens collected were exhibited in the Museum. The exhibition was a record one as regards the number of species, as no less than four hundred and eighty-five were identified during the foray, including twenty-five mycetozoa. Four plates, three coloured, accompany the Transactions.

Amongst the species depicted we may mention _Polystictus montagnei_, a new British species found near Haslemere in 1898, and _Sparassis laminosa_ (also a new British record) found by Mr. Douglas Taylor on the occasion of the Society’s visit to Woolmer Forest on September 26, last.

Full particulars respecting the Society may be obtained of the Hon. Secretary, Carelton Rea, Esq., B.C.L., M.A., at 34, Foregate Street, Worcester.

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DESCRIPTIONS OF MUSEUM SPECIMENS.

[_These descriptions are adapted for Museum Labels, and they may be had separately._]

SKULL OF MONTJAC, OR BARKING DEER.

The skull of the little Montjac, or Barking deer, is of interest as showing better than any other the relation of the antler to its pedestal. The pedestal is very long and the antler very small. The latter usually possesses only two tines, the main one and a short stout one which grows near its base. From the front of the pedestal there runs a strong bony ridge down the outer border of the frontal bone as far as the junction with the nasal. This evidently gives strength to the prolonged and rather slender pedestal.

SKULL OF A LLAMA (Camel of America).

The skull of the Llama resembles that of the Camel, and both differ from those of the other ruminants in having incisor teeth in the upper jaw. “These teeth are placed at the side of the intermaxillary bone close to the canines, and agree with them in form” (Van der Hoven, vol. ii., 644).

“There are six incisors only in the lower jaw, and this jaw is undivided.”

The camels and llamas form transition species between horses and oxen (ruminants and solid-ungulates).

THE HORNS OF A GNU.

The Gnu’s horns are alike in both species and may be known at a glance by their hook-like curves. They pass outwards and downwards and then suddenly curve upwards and forwards. They resemble those of buffaloes and perhaps most closely those of the American bison. They are never very large, and always black. They are of fibrous structure and of large girth at their bases, emulating those of the buffaloes. The Gnu in some of its features resembles a little horse, possessing a mane and having its face, tail, and hindquarters much like those of a pony. It has, however, a cleft hoof and a beard which, as well as its horns, distinguish it from the horse family.

One of the gnus has a brindled neck and forequarters, pale streaks on a dark ground, and a black and tufted tail; another has a white tail covered with long hair from its base, and shows no brindling. The latter has an almost straight back, whilst the former stands higher in its forequarters like the bison. The horns of the brindled black-tailed gnu do not pass forwards nearly so much as those of the other.

All the Gnus are South African and would appear to bear the same relation to the buffaloes of that continent that the North American bison does to the American buffalo.

They are active but rather awkward animals, and their self-important airs are sometimes amusing.

THE SKULL OF THE DUGONG, OR HALICORE.

This animal is allied to the Manati, both belonging to the order _Sirenia_. They are water-living mammals. The dugong occurs only in Eastern and Australian seas, the manati on the coasts of South America and Africa. The grotesquely misshapen aspect of the skull of the dugong is due to the enormous development of the bones in its upper jaw which carry the cutting teeth (premaxillary bones and incisor teeth), and its clumsy lower jaw. The former bear a tusk in the male, which in the female is present but is never cut. There are no canine teeth, and in the massive lower jaw no incisor teeth are ever cut. The rudiment of one is, however, present in the jaw. It may be noted that the bones carrying the upper incisors do not become united to those of the upper jaw. The back teeth (chewing teeth), are only four, five, or six in number in the dugong, whereas in the manati there may be twenty. A remarkable tendency to vary in their dentition is characteristic of this group of animals, and is no doubt in relation with differences in food. A recently extinct member of the family (Steller’s sea-cow) had no teeth at all, but masticated the soft sea-weeds on which it fed by the aid of a horny palate (_Rhytina Stelleri_).

HEAD OF THE WART HOG (_Phacochœrus Æthiopicus_).

The Wart Hog is a native of Africa. His name makes reference to a pair of wart-like excrescences, which are formed, one under each eye. These may be an inch and a half in length.

There is an enormous development of the base of the zygoma. The incisor teeth in the upper jaw are often wanting, and sometimes those in the lower also. The snout is short and square. The so-called warts are fleshy skin-growths and may be large enough to look like ears.

There is another Wart Hog (_Œliani_), met with in Abyssinia. It differs from the Cape Wart Hog in that its incisor teeth in both jaws are more persistent. It has two “warts.”

THE SKULL OF A PIG (_Sus scrofa_).

The skulls of most of the swine family may be recognised by the long face, and the large size, in both jaws, of their dog-teeth or tusks. These are especially large in the male sex, and are often curiously curved, those of the upper jaw upwards, and those of the lower outwards and upwards. The incisor, or biting, teeth vary very much in different species and at different ages. They are often shed early, especially those of the upper jaw. In some pigs the lower incisors are strong and slope directly forwards, as if for digging. The incisor teeth are of less service in the pig than in most animals, and are only exceptionally used for biting or grazing. The pig makes great use of the snout, and the nasal bones are strong and prominent. The molar teeth are well adapted for chewing, and are usually worn flat on their surfaces. Pigs champ but do not ruminate. They are, for the most part, root-eaters. The rim of the orbit is always imperfect. The normal dentition is three incisors, one canine, and seven molars in each jaw. If the upper canine is extracted the lower one will grow into a complete circle and reach the gum close to the root of the tooth. When thus curved it forms an ornament much valued in Fiji.

SKULL OF THE BABIRUSSA.

Note especially that the tusk of the upper jaw grows upward from the first. No part of it is directed into the mouth. This tusk is of extraordinary size, and it curves upwards so as to touch, and sometimes even to pierce, the skull. They are, as compared with those of other swine, slender tusks, more especially the under ones. The upper tusk grows through the skin of the upper lip. In old animals, when it is well curved, it must be useless as a weapon. It may serve to protect the eyes when the animal rushes through brushwood. In the female the tusks are small.

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ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS, &c.

CONCHOLOGIST.--Your shells are _Helix nemoralis_ (immature), _Hyalinia (Vitrea) pura_, and _Buliminus obscurus_. _Vitrea pura_ is a much smaller shell than _V. nitidula_, the latter may be distinguished from _V. radiatula_ by the striæ not being continued from whorl to whorl. _B. obscurus_ is much smaller than any member of the genus _Clausilia_. If you examine in May the trunks of beech trees growing on calcareous soils you will find _B. obscurus_ and _Clausilia laminata_ ascending them in large numbers to spend the summer aloft, coming down again in October to go into hybernation at the base of the trees during the winter months. You will find _C. rugosa_ (in modern terminology, _C. bidentata_) equally common on the trees, it is smaller and thinner than _C. laminata_. _B. obscurus_ is a short, stout little shell, seldom exceeding 9 millimetres in height.

GARDENER. _Diseases of the Cultivated Chrysanthemum._--At the present time three diseases are recorded for this country, viz., sclerotium disease (_Sclerotinia sclerotiorum_, Massee); corticium disease (_Peniophora chrysanthemi_, C. B. Plowright), and the only too familiar Rust (_Puccinia hieracii_, Mart). The sclerotium, which first appears as a white mould on the stem just above the ground, forms black lumps within the stem. The stem becomes very brittle and falls. From the black nodules in the following spring, small funnel-shaped brownish fungi with long, weak, dark stems appear. The spores from these settle upon dead organic matter, forming an abundant mycelium which ultimately attacks the base of the stems of chrysanthemums. It is said that fresh stable manure favours the spread of the disease. Diseased stems should be carefully collected and burnt.

The corticium disease also appears on the lower part of the stem, forming a white growth in autumn; Dr. Plowright, who first discovered it, says it resembles a splash of whitewash. It is not confined to the stems but extends into the adjacent soil. Diseased plants are shorter in height and thinner in the stem than healthy; they always die within the year. This disease has hitherto been observed only at King’s Lynn in Norfolk, but it is very possible it occurs in other parts of the country. Dr. Plowright remarks that the only treatment is burning the diseased plant. It is useless to separate the apparently healthy shoots.

The well-known chrysanthemum rust first appeared in 1897, and spread with great rapidity in the very dry summer of 1898. The snuff-coloured uredo spores (summer form) are familiar to all cultivators of chrysanthemums. This fungus occurs on many wild plants of the order _Compositæ_, notably the hawk-weeds (_Hieracium_). All diseased plants should be burnt. The disease may be prevented by spraying the new leaves with potassium sulphide solution.

It is to be hoped that the chrysanthemum leaf blight (_Cylindrosporium chrysanthemi_), which has caused so much damage to cultivated plants in Ontario, Canada, will not find its way into this country. It forms large dark patches on the leaves, which turn yellow and hang down; the flower buds do not expand. It is stated that fungicides are useless.