NOTES—ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 191
Newspaper Science—Poisonous and Edible Fungi.—Prof. Boulger
writes, "The following gem is perhaps worth reproduction. I think it was
in the Daily Chronicle" :—Our Paris Correspondent writes :—"An exhibition of
poisonous and edible fungi will be held on Sunday, at the Hall of the Horti-
cultural Society, 84, Rue de Crenelle. Some useful knowledge is to be
obtained in looking at the exhibits. The toadstool mushroom is no longer
treated here as a fungus. One sees it sold at the grocer's at high prices
under the name of 'Cepes de Bordeaux.' The toadstool, which becomes
the colour of indigo when broken, is also used for culinary purposes.''
METEOROLOGY.
Whirlwind near Halstead on June 30th.—As Mr. G. J. Symons, F.R.S.,
remarks in his Monthly Meteorological Magazine, "truly Essex is a wonderful
county! Mr. Joseph Last, haybinder, of Halstead, sent information to the
branch office of the Essex County Chronicle in that town on Wednesday,
June 30th respecting a whirlwind that took place in the hayfield at Nether
Priors about noon. The writer stated that a large quantity of hay was taken
up into the air and carried out of sight. Twelve men who were at work in
the field watched the travelling of the hay in great amazement." The hay
appears to have fallen about three miles further north on the same day about
eleven o'clock. [There is a discrepancy of time here, between the two records,
or there may have been more than one whirlwind.—Ed] A curious phenome-
non was witnessed in the neighbourhood of Belchamp St. Paul, N. Essex.
"For some minutes the atmosphere was laden with falling hay, which came
down in a very fantastic manner, some quite large bunches being among the
single bents. It is supposed to be the effect of a whirlwind on a distant
hayfleld."
"The Great Storm of Midsummer Day, 1897."—The Photo-block
Map accompanying this paper (ante p. 114) did not print off so clearly as was
intended. Readers are advised to darken the dots showing damage by hail
with Indian Ink. Ed.
MISCELLANEA
"Four Days in a Denehole ; an old Man's Terrible Experience."—
We take the following under the above title from the Daily Mail of
September 21st, 1897 :—"An elderly inhabitant of the village of Crockenhill,
Kent, named Richard Castleton, was on Thursday afternoon rescued from a
denehole, of which there are many in that part of Kent, after having been
incarcerated four days. He had been missing since the previous Sunday
afternoon, when he entered a wood in search of nuts. His disappearance
caused considerable anxiety in the village, and on the fourth day it occurred
to a man named Chambers that Castleton might have fallen into the denehole,
and a search party was instituted, a dog accompanying them. Upon
arriving at the mouth of the hole the dog became very excited, and it
jumped down. Ropes were lowered, and the man was eventually brought to
the surface, apparently more dead than alive, having only had a few nuts to
eat all the four days of his imprisonment. He states that on being pre-
cipitated into the hole, which is from 40ft. to 50ft. deep, he lay at the bottom