During June and July the botany of a district may be very fully
illustrated in the Museum-vivarium. Mr. Douglas Taylor, who has
charge of that department in our Museum, experiences no difficulty in
exhibiting one hundred species simultaneously. No very rare species
are exhibited. At the present time the only plants in our collection
to which the term “uncommon” may be applied are herb Paris, bird’s
nest orchis, Solomon’s seal, and climbing corydalis. The flowers are
arranged, in zinc cylinders, on an ordinary florist’s stand. For the
printed labels now in use we are indebted to the generosity of E. E.
Lowe, Esq., F.L.S., of the Plymouth Museum.
Vipers and grass snakes are not difficult to obtain (see page 53).
The former, when discovered, should be carefully pinned with a stick,
whilst a vasculum (or large bottle) containing leaves and heather is
placed before it. Upon release the viper, judiciously guided by the
stick, will take refuge in the receptacle prepared for it. Grass-snakes
thrive well in captivity, their chief food being frogs and mice. On the
other hand, the English viper nearly always refuses food under such
conditions.
Our vivarium contains, in addition to the above, two of the three
British newts, viz., _Lophinus punctatus_ and _L. palmatus_. The
former, though usually spoken of as the “common newt” is in many
districts (as at Haslemere) not so common as the palmate newt. The
latter is smaller, and the tail terminates abruptly in a threadlike
filament, instead of gradually tapering to a point.
An ants’ nest contained between sheets of glass, on the plan devised
by Sir John Lubbock (Lord Avebury) and described in his “Ants, Bees,
and Wasps” (p. 2), always proves a source of attraction to visitors in
the winter, as well as summer months. We have had for two seasons past
a nest of the amber-coloured meadow ant (_Formica flava_) displayed
under these conditions. It is probably the most intelligent of European
species, forming the grassy hillocks from 9 to 18 inches high, so
commonly seen in some districts. The queen, which is much larger than
either workers or males, requires very careful searching for upon
opening a nest; but the peculiar little white woodlice (which delights
in the long name of _Platyarthous hoffmanseggii_, they are a sort of
guest of the ants) may be always easily discerned.
Every spring we take out of the Museum and arrange in this department a
series of our summer migrants, accompanied with general notes on bird
migration. The following may be seen now: Swallow, martin, swift, sand
martin, cuckoo, corncrake, nightingale, wryneck, nightjar, redstart,
yellow wagtail, garden warbler, wheatear, chiffchaff and whinchat.
Kept under a bell glass and fed with lettuce and cabbage leaves are
some half a dozen examples of the large edible or vine snail (_Helix
pomatia_), the largest of our native land molluscs. This species occurs
chiefly on the chalk in the southern counties. At one time it was
supposed to have been introduced by the Romans, but of late years the
opinion has gained ground that it was indigenous. In the same quarters
is an example of a shell-slug, the _Testacella haliotidea_, sent from
Torquay. The shell-slugs differ from ordinary slugs in having a shell
on the tail. They are carnivorous and feed upon earth-worms, which they
pursue in their burrows; hence may be considered as gardeners’ friends.
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