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No. 71. 



JANUARY, 1857. 



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A POPULAR MONTHLY MAGAZINE, 



ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE 



ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, AND MINERAL 
KINGDOMS. 



WITH OCCASIONAL ENGRAVINGS. 



CONDUCTED BY 

THE EEV. P. 0. MORRIS, E.A., 

Member of the Ashmolean Society, etc. 

Author of "A History of British Birds." "A History of British Butterflies. 

"A History of the Nests and Eggs of British Birds." 

"A Bible Natural History." "A Book of Natural History," etc., etc., etc. 



Lord, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: the 
earth is full of Thy riches.— Psalm civ., 24. 



LONDON: 
GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS, 5, PATERNOSTER ROW. 



AXD MAY BE HAD OF ALL BOOKSELLERS. 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

The Study of Natural History Conducive to Health. By Thomas 

Fuller, Esq 1 

Destruction of Birds. By 0. S. Bound, Esq 3 

Extracts from Correspondence with a Brother Naturalist. By 

Frederick M. Burton, Esq 5 

A Peep at the Ferns, etc., of Sutherland and Boss. By W 8 

On the Ascent of Cader Idris, from Barmouth. By K. C 13 

Golleyweston Slate. By Frederick M. Burton, Esq 1(3 

Systema Naturae. By The Editor 18 

Miscellaneous Notices. — The Nightingale. Blackbirds and Bat. 

Kingfishers. Fly Orchis and Canterbury Bell 19 

Exchange. — Sea, Land, and Fresh-water Shells 20 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

Communications have been received from Mr. C. Thurnall; — Arthur 
Havers, Esq.; — Mr. C. Smoothy, Jun.;— Miss J. E. Wilkinson; — James S. 
Walker, Esq.; — Mr. James Bladon; — Mr. William Yellowlt; — Francis 
Walker, Esq., (two;) — T. Southwell, Esq.; — Mr. C. Waleord, (two;) — Mr. 
John Walsh; — Rev. J. Greene, (two;) — J. Gatcomre, Esq.; — G-. H. Twinn, 
Esq.; — Rev. H. Harpur Crewe; — Mr. S. P. Savill. 



NOTICE TO ENTOMOLOGISTS. 

For the future various matters connected with Entomology, will receive 
more attention in this Magazine than they have hitherto done. Promises 
of assistance in this department have been made by several able Ento- 
mologists. The Editor will be glad to receive contributions of a scientific 
character. 



%* Correspondents are particularly requested to write the 
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THE 



NATURALIST; 



A POPULAR MONTHLY MAGAZINE, 



ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE 



ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, AND MINERAL 
KINGDOMS. 



CONDUCTED BY. 

THE REV. F. 0. MORRIS, B. A. 

THE ENTOMOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT BY 



• A 
C. R. BREE, ESQ. 



VOL. VIL-Vllj 

WITH ENGRAVINGS. 



Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them 
all : the earth is full of Thy riches. — Psalm civ., 24. 



LONDON : 

GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
m dccc i/ra. 



TI E NATURALIST.^ 





THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTOKY CONDUCIVE 
TO HEALTH. 

BY THOMAS FULLER, ESQ. 

The object of the following observations are intended more to establish 
the truth of the above proposition, than to furnish information upon the 
subject itself, in which I fear the little knowledge displayed will caiise 
a smile from my readers : but with reliance upon the old homely proverb 
"that it is never too late to learn/' I am encouraged to proceed, and, if 
not an apt, can at least testify to being a willing scholar, and of fully 
appreciating the labours of the talented Editor of the "Naturalist," and 
the interesting communications of his correspondents, towards leading the 
minds of others to a taste for the pursuit of a study tending so much 
to the acquirement of health and content. 

Somersetshire, for rich and romantic scenery, is not inferior to any 
county in the kingdom. The Mendip and Quantock hills, with abundance 
of other elevated downs, where the purest air can be enjoyed as it comes 
fresh from across the Atlantic, stand in pleasing contrast with the rich and 
productive valleys. Luxuriant woods furnish shelter and protection to the 
feathered creation, particularly on the north-western side, bordering on the 
Bristol Channel, when nature assumes a grander appearance, with bold 
rocks projecting to the sea, and retiring bays richly wooded leading to 
enchanting vales. In these more favoured situations, the contemplation of 
birds, and other subjects of Natural History, might be carried on with 
advantage. My visits in this direction, though limited, have been quite 
sufficient to satisfy me that the lover of nature might here follow his 
favourite pursuit with success. 

The ancient and elegant city of Bath, is too well known to require 
description. Situated at nearly the eastern extremity of the county, in 
a rich valley, through which flows the River Avon from east to west, on 
the north and south sides beautiful hills rise in gentle slopes, and then in 
bolder elevations, ascended by easy winding paths, affording enchanting views 
at every turn, and, upon reaching their summit, extensive and varied pros- 
pects. The population of the city and villages around is too numerous to 

VOL. VII. B 



2 THE STUDY OF NATURAL HTSTORY. 

favour propagation of the feathered tribes, but notwithstanding this drawback, 
the book of nature is not a blank, and subjects of interest are not wanting 
to those possessing taste and inclination to seek after them. A life of 
industrial occupation leaves few opportunities for recreation, the theatre for 
the study of Natural History being essentially that of the fields and woods ; 
with a mind at ease and in full command of time, few individuals 
engrossed in business find themselves in possession of these advantages, 
and until within the last few years such has been my situation. 

Our immortal bard, in one of his never-to-be-forgotten soliloquies, has 
pourtrayed the life of man in seven ages. In my case five have passed; 
not all of them, it may be observed, in the same characters described by 
him, and however varied these may be according to position and occupa- 
tion, the next admits of pretty general application. — 

"The sixth age shifts 
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon." 

It is at this period of life that the greatest of all temporal blessings, 
Health, is best appreciated as the only means of alleviating the pains 
attending that inevitable disease, old age, and beneficial as the investigation 
of nature is, at all seasons, it is never attended with greater advantages, 
than in this, the autumn of our existence. I have chiefly to thank the 
"Naturalist" and the charming freshness prevailing through the communi- 
cations of its various correspondents, for inspiring me with a taste for, 
and inclination to follow this delightful pursuit. And here let me embrace 
the opportunity of earnestly recommending everybody, particularly those 
who, like myself, have passed the best portion of their lives absorbed in 
business occupations, to cultivate acquaintance with natural objects, and to 
lose no opportunity of studying the book of Nature. In so delightful a 
study the mind finds perfect relaxation, every page of this inexhaustible 
volume being full of interest, and pleasing reflections attend every line. 
Here is no complex subject to speculate upon and unravel; no difficult 
problem for solution; no doubtful proposition to argue, to the strain upon and 
exhaustion of the mental powers. On the contrary, natural presentations, 
simple and interesting, are replete with pleasure and satisfaction, cheerfulness 
waits upon every reflection, and every step leads to happiness, even 
winter, frowning winter, when as Thompson says, — 

"How dead the vegetable kingdom lies! 

How dumb the tuneful! Horror wide extends 

His desolate domain." 

And as Dr. Johnson beautifully expresses it, — 

"Xo music warbles through the grove, 

No vivid colours paint the plain, 
No more with devious steps I rove, 

The verdant paths are sought in vain." 



DESTRUCTION OP BIRDS. 3 

Even at this inclement season, when sexagenarians like myself, are prone 
to seek comfort from closed doors and blazing fires, nature without pre- 
sents sufficient attraction to draw us forth. Visitors peculiar to the 
season begin to arrive from still colder regions, and very little exertion 
brings under our observation Fieldfares, Redwings, and a variety of other 
strangers, to the benefit of our health, and increased enjoyment of our 
firesides upon returning home, whilst those who are fortunate enough to 
reside in retired rural situations, are gladdened with the nearer approach 
to their dwellings, of Blackbirds, Thrushes, and many others of our native 
birds, affording opportunities of feeding them, and of closer observation. 

As spring advances, the lover of nature becomes full of pleasurable 
anticipations; he looks out for the Sky-lark, watches his soaring flight, 
and listens with lively satisfaction to his swelling notes. The appearance 
of the Swallow tribe is anxiously waited for, and the arrival of the various 
species carefully written down. The harsh cry of the Wryneck, the avant 
courier of the Cuckoo, gives notice of his approach, and the country round 
soon abounds with his welcome, though monotonous note. Numerous other 
birds follow, whilst Blackbirds, Thrushes, and many others of our constant 
residents, hitherto silent, open their little throats, filling the air with 
their music, and making the woods ring with their son^s. Now is the time 
for full enjoyment of the country, and happy, thrice happy, are they who 
have the good fortune to reside in the rural districts. 

(To be continued.) 



DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS. 

BY 0. S. ROUND, ESQ. 

In the September No. of "The Naturalist," there is an article by 
Mr. Thomas Fuller, upon the "Scarcity of Birds" in particular districts, 
involving the difficult question, "how far their destruction is necessary?" 
With regard to the question of their destruction through mere wantonness 
or ignorant superstition, this we may of course dismiss at once, as indefen- 
sible; but, on the other hand, I am afraid that, were the natural checks 
to undue increase removed, (one of which I take cats to be,) it would be 
subversive of natural economy, and this too, in a state of things where 
even greater checks are rendered necessary. What I mean is this, suppose 
this country were an Arcadia, and man, subsisting upon the spontaneous 
products of the earth, roamed at will, unharmed and unharming, it is 
obvious that both cats and birds would be vastly more numerous than at 
present; cats then would prey upon birds, and in their turns have, probably, 
as many enemies at least, as at present, and we know very well that no 



4 DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS. 

domestic animal ha3 so many. We all admire "poor pussy," she is our 
earliest playmate, gentle, pretty, and useful as a mouser, but she has the 
lion's nature, she is still of the order Felis, and in reality a wild beast, 
and where opportunity occurs, the wild nature comes out, and she is therefore 
subject to the contingencies attending it, and, like other wild animals, is 
prolific enough to make the supply equal to the demand. 

In the state of things I am supposing, the fruits of the ground would 
arise without tillage, and be gathered without labour and without being 
the exclusive property of any one, and hence such an equality of right 
would exist, that the birds would have the same title to the corn or the 
cherry as a rational being. But this state of things does not exist, and 
therefore, when time, and labour, and money are expended in the producing, 
although the natural territory of the bird may be, to a certain extent, 
invaded, and the natural supply lessened, still man labours for a return 
and is clearly entitled to it, and therefore if the numbers of birds remain 
the same, with a less field for their support, the question arises, are they 
to be supported to his detriment? Now, if under these circumstances, some 
of them are destroyed, certainly this comes not either under the head of 
wanton or superstitious destruction, and although it may be a sad one, still 
it is a real necessity. 

I know it has been said that Sparrows, or Larks, or Buntings, let them 
be ever so numerous, cannot consume sufficient to create any loss to the 
farmer; I have seen it otherwise, and it is notorious how pea-fields and 
fruit-gardens are often entirely stripped of their produce by these gentry. 
This is on the general question, and then comes that branch to which 
Mr. Fuller especially refers, namely, the indiscriminate destruction for some 
supposed object, and by too great a number of the feline race being kept. 
Now, with regard to "collecting" birds as specimens, my own notion is 
this; my earliest memories, and bright and pleasant ones they are, are 
associated with the contemplation of natural objects, and the contemplation 
only; I would sit for hours, (without metaphor,) watching the movements, 
habits, and appearance, both of birds and animals, and had no thought of 
appropriating or destroying them. Then came the time of boyhood, and 
with it, I confess, the destructive tendency common to that age, but as 
I soon became a bird-stuffer, and an "indifferent good" hand, I really had 
some excuse, but there was still the innate propensity to possess, and I 
fear that by gun and stone, (for I was an excellent shot with this latter 
primitive weapon,) I knocked down many a luckless songster which was 
not made any use of, and I look back upon that time with deep regret, and 
have always, and shall always do my best to prevent such useless cruelty 
in those of the same age. 

I entirely agree with Mr. Fuller upon the destruction of our most 



EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 5 

beautiful birds, both in song and plumage, and although I prize my small 
museum, had rather, a hundred times, sit and watch one of these lovely 
creatures as he did, than possess twenty as stuffed specimens. Putting it 
on the lowest ground, there is a beauty about a living bird, which no skill 
in preserving, nor taste in mounting, can ever restore, and I am convinced 
were this evil, for evil it certainly is, under some control, our choicest 
kinds would not be so fast vanishing from our eyes as they are. It is 
chiefly, however, I trust and believe, by the ignorant and coarse-minded 
that this wholesale havoc is made, for I am certain that did any one of 
common sense and feeling only allow himself to watch instead of killing, 
he would seldom or never kill. 

I am convinced that the subject only wants consideration, to shew any 
one the true line. No doubt modes of preserving fruit and crops may be 
adopted, and are adopted, but with regard to natural enemies, it were 
almost impugning the natural order of things to call that in question, and 
when birds become "vermin," beautiful as they are, I fear they must meet 
the fate which vermin meet. 

Pembroke Square, Kensington, September, 1856. 



EXTRACTS FROM 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH A BROTHER NATURALIST. 

RY FREDERICK M. RURTON, ESQ. 
(Continued from page 221, vol. vi.) 

Who is there that has not wondered at the curious circles so common 
in our English meadows, sometimes green and sometimes bare, called "Fairy 
Rings," and when we think of the tales of wonder we have often heard 
as children in connection with these weird impressions, it seems almost a 
pity that it should be so determinately settled that they are nothing but 
the work of eccentric fungi; but let us hear what a learned doctor of the 
seventeenth century has to tell us on the subject, in the good old days 
of witches and warlocks, and if it will not alter our ideas respecting their 
origin, it may perhaps tend to shew on which side of the nineteenth cen- 
tury we are to look for the golden age. I lately chanced to meet with 
an old book, printed in the year 1686, written by one Robert Plot, L.L.D., 
keeper of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, and Professor of Chemistry 
in that University, and dedicated to King James the Second, in which he 
lays down the law on the subject to his own and no doubt to his reader's 
satisfaction. I will give you the account in his own words: — "And here 
we will inquire into the efficient cause of those rings called 'Fairy Circles;' 
whether they are caused by lightning, or are indeed the rendezvous of 



6 EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 

witches, or the dancing places of those little pigmy spirits, the Elves or 
Fairies." He then goes on to state that they are various in size and 
shape, and mentions having seen one near Birmingham nearly forty yards 
in diameter, that the rims of the circles are seldom narrower than a foot, 
or broader than a yard; and after a somewhat minute description of their 
shapes, he says, "Now that witches and wizards have sometimes their field 
conventicles, and that they dance in such rings, we have ample testimony 
from divers good authorities, who received it in confession from the criminals 
themselves, condemned by them." One of the authors alluded to was one 
Keraigius, a Judge in Lorraine, "who," says the Doctor, "was the best 
skilled in matters of this nature that the world has ever yet known, having 
had the examinations, confessions, and condemnations of no less than nine 
hundred wizards and witches in fifteen years." 

This same experienced Judge, in "a learned work upon the subject," 
describes one of these dances, how a damsel, returning from grinding corn, 
spied an assembly of these fairy Elves at their dance in one of these rings, 
some of which said Elves she could observe on close inspection "had cloven 
feet like oxen and goats, at which sight, she being sore astonished, called 
upon the auxiliary name of St. Peter to help her home, whereupon the 
Elves did all quickly vanish in the air," leaving, of course, the marks of 
their cloven feet and the circular limit of their ball-room. The damsel 
was very ill in consequence of the fright, and one of her antiquated neigh- 
bours was soon discovered to have been at the dance, and, on being 
apprehended, confessed, and was burnt. The Doctor did not, however, 
himself believe that the witches caused "the more part" of the circles, aud 
after winding up the marvellous by saying that "herein every man is to 
choose his own creed," he proceeds to assign some causes for these curious 
rings, and says, "Some of them may be occasioned by Moldwarps, (Moles,) 
which may at a certain time of the year, by instinct of nature,* work in 
circles, as 'tis certain Fallow Deer do in the time of rutting, treading the 
same ring for many days together. Others have fetched their origin from 
the dung of cattle, fed in the winter time at the same part of hay, falling 
always from them in due distance, and fertilizing the ground in a more 
than ordinary manner. 

Others have them to be caused by the water, and hay itself, falling from 
the eaves of round hay- stacks plentifully in wet weather, and indeed it is 
possible that some of them may be made in either of these ways." But 
for the larger circles of forty, fifty, and sixty feet in diameter, he assigns 
a different cause. He says they abound in the parks near Oxford, and 
that he examined the soil under the rims of sonic of them to see how it 
differed from the adjoining earth, and found it much drier and looser, and 
the parts interspersed with a white hoar, much like that in mouldy bread, 



EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 7 

and of a musty rancid smell, but to taste insipid, and this scarcely any- 
where above six inches deep, the earth again below being of a due con- 
sistence, and genuine smell. He then says, "this must needs be the effect 
of lightning, which explodes from the clouds most times in a circular 
manner; it first singes the grass and makes it of a russet colour, but the 
year following of a dark luxuriant green, the earth underneath having been 
highly improved with a fat sulphureous matter." 

So much for the learned Doctor's theories, at all events he must have 
been of an inventive turn of mind, and like a good lawyer, he knew how 
to assign a sufficient number of causes to one effect, so as to have some- 
thing to fall back on in case of being deprived of his status quo. But at 
this time of the year, (February,) when the ground is once more covered 
with an old-fashioned coat of snow, and the roads stopped up with drifts, 
it seems out of place to be talking of fairy rings and green meadows. 
It is a long time since we have had so severe a frost, the birds are 
beginning to be wonderfully tame, and as fear gives place to hunger, they 
approach nearer to our windows, and become the more easy prey of that 
itinerant English vagabond the "hedge- popper." 

It has often struck me as strange how the numberless troops of gnats, that 
appear with the first gleam of sunshine on a fine winter day, are preserved 
during the cold frosty nights from destruction, and I have often thought that 
like the chrysalides of moths and butterflies, which are exposed to the action 
of the weather above ground, and during seasons of cold become so hard as 
to break like glass, and on the return of warmth relax and live again, so 
it might be with these insects; and I have had the satisfaction of finding 
out that with some of them at all events this is the case, for one bright 
day last January I observed several flying up and down the panes of my 
window enjoying the warmth. Towards the afternoon a very sharp frost 
set in, and the heat of the room inside began to congeal on the glass, 
and caught one poor gnat that had been slow in discovering the change 
in the weather, and held it fast by, the feet. Feeling the cold stiffening 
around it, it began to kick and struggle, but this only made matters worse, 
and it was presently fastened down flat on the glass in the most uncom- 
fortable position, with its wings distorted, and every leg out of place. Next 
morning I discovered it in the same position, quite hard, and completely 
frozen through. Presently however the sun began to melt the coating of ice 
on the window, and I was glad to see the gnat revive with the returning 
warmth, and fly as briskly as ever up and down the panes. A severe 
winter like this, which to some is always a dreary season, is ever interesting 
to the naturalist, from the change wrought in the instincts and habits of 
animals by the inclemency of the weather. 

Wild birds are driven inland, and some of those that dwell around us 



8 THE FERNS OF SUTHERLAND AND ROSS. 

congregate in vast numbers. In one of my late rambles I saw some Gulls 
feeding with a flock of Rooks in a newly- ploughed-up field, and some sheep, 
that ought to have been taken better care of, were obtaining their food, 
covered six inches or more with snow, by scraping each one a bare place 
on the ground with its feet, renewing their labour as often as occasion 
required. One of them was highly displeased with a piece of thorn that 
had got entangled in its long wool behind, and kept every now and then 
darting off at full speed as if trying to get rid of its persecutor; sometimes 
it stopped to take a side glance at the object of its alarm, and then with 
a kick and a bound set off again with renewed vigour. 

Notwithstanding the intense cold the birds are not entirely silent; the 
Robin sings early and late, and to-day one was indulging in its loudest 
notes in the middle of a heavy snow-storm, doubtless in anticipation of 
the warm sun's rays, which soon after broke through the clouds; now and 
then also one may hear the "laugh" of the Green Woodpecker, and towards 
evening the musical caw of the Rooks, as they return home from their 
day's excursion, attracts attention. These birds are most regular in their 
winter habits here; — from about September to the beginning of March they 
congregate from all the neighbouring rookeries, and morning after morning 
set out in a body for the low marshy lands of the Welland, and regale 
till the evening, when as regularly they may be seen a little after dusk 
returning in a long straggling line to the place of rendezvous — Wardley 
Wood; those that arrive first invariably settle on the high ground over- 
looking the wood, and when all are assembled, at some given signal, they 
rise with one long caw, and settle for the night on the bare branches of 
the tallest oaks. 

Uppingham, February 0>th., 1856. 



A PEEP AT THE 
FERNS, ETC., OF SUTHERLAND AND ROSS. 

BY W. 

Relieved for a time from the duties of office, I resolved to avail 
myself of a kind invitation to spend some days in Sutherland. I took 
the Orion steamer at Banff to Burghead, and thence proceeded by another 
boat to Little Ferry, near Dunrobin Castle. My course then lay along 
Strathfleet to Rogart. Here a few days were spent very pleasantly. On 
a rising ground behind the manse I met with Lycopodiura clavatum, and 
among the broom the beautiful Cemiostoma spratifoliella. In a small loch 
about two miles to the north of the manse grows in abundance Nymphoea 
alba. 



THE FEIiNS OF SUTHERLAND AND ROSS. V 

I was joined by a companion at the manse, and on Monday, August 
4th., we started from Lairg for Durness. The road at first lies along^the 
side of Loch Shin; it runs, on leaving Lairg, through a fine avenue of 
natural birch, interspersed with tall tangled patches of the more common 
Ferns, Lastrea dilatata, L. spinulosa, L. oreopteris, Athyrium Fitixfcemina; 
on emerging, it enters on bare, benty, low-lying ground, where we were 
greeted by the scream of the Curlew and the whirr of the Grouse. The 
country all along the loch has the same bleak appearance, and the hills 
on the opposite side are low, and rise in gentle round masses, their brown 
surfaces broken here and there by a house and its plot of tilled land. 
Near Shiness the land is cultivated, the only place along the loch, and 
many fine trees enliven the parks. As we proceed the view becomes 
more varied; in front, the hills rise in serrated masses, with Ben 
More Assynt far away in the distance, towering high over all. On 
nearing the end of the loch, and coming to the next in order, Loch 
Greim, the scene is wild and grand. The road appears to be barred up, 
and it is only on reaching a high point on the road that it is seen, 
running along the edge of the loch, at the foot of a hill, steep, rugged, 
and bare, with a few clumps of stunted birch hanging on its sides, while 
on the other side the hills rise in black heavy masses. Eight cheerily 
did we wheel along the deep glen where Loch Markland, the next in 
succession, lies. We had on one hand the loch, backed by dark hills, 
with here and there a bare polished rock glistening in the sun, and their 
sides furrowed by torrents that dashed down in foam to the lake, and 
sent across in fitful notes their murmurs, softened by distance; and on the 
other, hills rising, sometimes steep, sometimes broken and jagged, and 
sometimes round, with the deep blue heavens spangled with white fleecy 
clouds, and a hot sun overhead, and the breeze coming from the hills in 
refreshing gusts. On reaching the watershed, a little beyond the loch, 
a scene singularly bold and beautiful is opened up. The hills in front 
rise black and frowning; their bases and half-way up their sides are strewn 
thick with rocks torn from their ribs, all huddled and heaped in terrible 

confusion — 

"Crags, knolls, and mounds confusedly hurled, 
The fragments of an earlier world," 

overgrown with birch, whose dark foliage is in unison with the scene, while 
towards the summits their sides are almost perpendicular, broken up into an 
endless variety of pinnacle and ridge, one here and there shining in the 
sun like the eye of the mountain's guardian god, looking out from his 
storm-rocked couch to admire and watch over the beauty and grandeur 
of his charge. Down the slope we swept, and round an overhanging 
cliff, some hundred feet high, to Loch More, that gradually displayed 
VOL. vii. c 



10 THE FERNS OF SUTHERLAND AND ROSS. 

itself, lying deep in its mountain bed, and breaking in sweet murmurs on 
its white beach, with the wavelets glittering, and playing, and dancing, 
as if in sportive gladness at the sweetness of its music, and in delight of 
its beauty, with Ben Stack at its head, like a giant, 
"To sentinel enchanted laud." 

The scenery along the loch is of much the same character as that along 
Loch Markland, only grander and wilder. The hills on the one side 
are steep, broken, and rugged, covered far up with birch, and under- 
grown with Poly-podium vulgare, Pteris aquilina, Lastrea dilatata, L. 
Filix mas, and Athyrium Filix feemina. On the other, they receded 
from the water in rounded masses, cleft here and there by deep ravines, 
till towards the head of the loch, where the rocks rise, at the water's 
edge, bare, bold, and bluff. 

Horses were changed at the head of the loch, and we set off at a 
quick pace round the base of Ben Stack, through low-lying ground, along 
the side of a loch growing thick with Nymplioea alba. The ground shortly 
rises, and has an undulating kind of appearance, the rocks being a sort 
between gneiss and greywacke. We in a little time reached the highest 
point of the road, and then descended to Loch Stack. The road, 
cut partly from the rock, and built up partly from the loch, makes a 
sudden sweep, and discloses at once the whole lake, — a scene of wondrous 
wildness. The hills rise on the one side almost perpendicular for several 
hundred feet, here and there along the base strewn with huge rocks torn 
from the higher parts, and overgrown far up with birch, ferns, foxglove, 
etc., while the overhanging summits are broken up into every variety of 
form, now smooth, now round, now jagged, now jutting out in fantastic 
ridges, now seeming to topple over. 

"The rocky summits, split and rent, 
Formed turret, dome, or battlement, 
Or seemed fantastically set 
With cupola or minaret, 
Wild crests as pagod ever deck'd, 
Or mosque of Eastern architect." 

On the opposite side of the loch, the hills rise in every shape and colour, 
in deepening array,— round, steep, abrupt, serrated, peaked, deeply furrowed, 
white, grey, green, dark, mottled, — all bathed in a glorious sunshine, 
casting their deep shadows the one on the other, and forming a fairy 
sight of light and shape. Towards the end of the loch, the scenery 
becomes much tamer, and the road that lies between the loch and 
Laxford Bridge may be said to have a desolate and an uninviting appearance, 
passing through a part with a low, broken, bare, rocky surface. Beyond 
Laxford Bridge, the country loses its terrible sublimity, and assumes an 



THE FERNS OF SUTHERLAND AND ROSS. 11 

appearance of desolate grandeur; for a short distance the road runs at the 
foot of bare rocks along the edges of Laxford, that stretches away to 
the ocean between high steep cliffs; then toils up rising ground, through 
rocks, broken, twisted, and thrown up at all conceivable angles; then 
along a height whence a view of the country is got — a real picture of 
desolation; now down a steep descent; then round a projecting ridge; 
here along the end of a narrow glen, reaching far away between grey 
mountains; now along the edge of a loch; now round the shoulder of a 
hill; then along the face of another; now along the side of a torrent 
fretting its way among granitic boulders to some kyle, shewing its sparkling 
waters through some gorge in the hills; now up hill, and out on a 
heath dreary and lonely; then along past some lochs, amidst bare rocks, 
whose basins look like the vents of subterranean fires. Mile after mile 
of this wild desolateness passed away, wearying, and yet not wearying, 
the eye with looking; the same, and yet not the same; leaving on the 
mind an indescribable mixture of pleasure and wonder, not unaccompanied 
with a feeling of sadness, rising at times even to pain. By this time the 
sun was far down, and 

"Each purple peak, each flinty spire. 
Was bathed iu floods of living fire," 

with here and there a cloud — now white, no v dark, now red, now fringed 
with orange — sailing along their sides, or stretching from pinnacle to 
pinnacle, as if to form a bridge for the spirits of the warrior chiefs who 
once owned these lands. Before Durness was reached, night had clothed 
the hills in her sable folds, and the bold coast of the Atlantic Ocean 
was only seen in the dim distance. 

Next day I set out to see the sights. The country round the townships 
of Durine and Sango is very rocky, mostly of limestone, and very uneven, 
dotted in every direction with lochs. Not much is cultivated, and that 
part very slovenly; for the inhabitants, notwithstanding all that has been 
done for them by the Duke of Sutherland, are in a blissful state of 
primitive civilization. The hills towards the south enclose it in the form 
of a crescent, and on the north is the Atlantic Ocean, with a coast of 
great wildness. There is an almost endless variety of cliff, precipice, rock, 
kyle, and bay. Sometimes the rocks rise up like walls; sometimes in 
black twisted masses; sometimes in overhanging cliffs; sometimes they run 
out in long, sharp, precipitous ridges, often terminated by an isolated rock, 
that seems to stand as the guardian of its own ridge; sometimes they 
gently recede from the sea, and leave a bay of fine white sand, now and 
then strewn with huge black limestone rocks. Here the sea runs up a 
narrow gorge, with high, wall-like sides, with tremendous force and terrific 
roar; there it rushes through a narrow hole, in white foaming circles, 



12 THE FERNS OF SUTHERLAND AND ROSS. 

into a deep, dark, green pool — a forest of sea-weed; there, again, the rocks 
retire from each other, and the sea runs up for a good many yards, and 
forms a beautiful hay, with a cave at its head, for example, the cave of Smoo. 
At times would I lean over a precipice, and watch the sea rolling, and 
tossing, and boiling, and foaming, and moaning among the broken, huddled, 
charred rocks a hundred feet below, with the White Sea Mews, like the ghosts 
of drowned men, hovering over the abyss — now light green, now deep green, 
now blue, now a mass of white foam, now green again, with a thin broken 
covering of foam — and uttering their mournful cries, as if chiding the hungry 
waters for snatching so many from the bosoms of their happy families; 
with farther out to sea a Cormorant, now sitting as if in an easy chair 
on the wavy ridges, as they chased in each other to dash themselves against 
the opposing rocks; now diving below, and rising far from where it sunk; and 
now and then the Rock Pigeon flying past with the speed of the wind. 
After enjoying my fill of the grandeur of the scene, I would scramble away 
among the rocks, and down almost to the water's edge, in search of caves. 
Here is one. All around the rocks are black, as if burned, some lying 
loose, some lying flat, others standing perpendicular; here a large hollow 
worn out by the action of the water, and there, round a jutting rock, 
gapes the cave, like some monster. In I crept, and groped about among 
water-worn stones, round large smoothed pieces of projecting rock, now 
standing erect, now tumbling, now stooping into some black corner. But 
here is another narrow opening. Is this another farther in? Let us 
look. I am seated squat on the slippery rock, peering into a dark, deep 
recess, with scarcely a ray of light penetrating. Shall I enter? A strange 
sort of feeling sets upon me, a feeling, I suppose, experienced by most 
people on entering places of a like kind. I crawled in, and, lo! a mag- 
nificent dome of about thirty feet high, with a large piece of white quartz 
shining in the apex. I heard nothing save the dull dead dash of the 
Atlantic wave, wasting its fury on the rocks outside, and felt only the 
tremor of the rocks, as the heavy billows broke over them, and a cold, 
damp chill I never before experienced began to creep over me. I satisfied 
myself with looking, and left full of wonder and awe. But the Cave of 
Smoo surpasses all the others. The rocks round it cannot be less than 
two hundred feet in height. The cave itself is said to be eighty feet 
high, and is of a circular form. On the east side is a fine natural arch, 
and on the west is a long, dark passage, lightened by a large opening 
in the roof, through which passage a mountain stream runs, that tumbles 
through another opening further inland, on the opposite side of the road 
that leads from Tongue. On the surrounding rocks, and within the cave, 
grow Scolopendrium vulgare, Asplcnium trichomanes, A. ruta-muraria, 
and Cystopteris fragilis. 



ON THE ASCENT OF CADER IDRIS. 13 

To the west of Durness lies the beautiful bay of Balnakiel, with its 
old church and churchyard close on the margin of white sand. Here 
live numbers of Oystercatchers, and on the moorlands above the sea, 
further to the west, lives the Golden Plover, while in the lochs that are 
scattered about in such profusion are to be found Eels, Trout, and (in 
Loch Borley) Oharr, (Salrao umbla.) Around the margins of some of 
them grow, to the height of two and three feet, Equisetum limosum. 
At the south end of Loch Crosspool, near the Manse, I picked off the 
limestone rocks A. ruta-muraria and A. trichomancs, and from the same 
rocks I procured some specimens of Clausilia nigricans. Among the rocks 
close to the water's edge grows Equisetum palustre, and a little further 
up, in a path leading to the Manse, Equisetum arvense in great richness. 

(To be continued.) 



ON THE ASCENT OP CADER IDRIS, PROM BARMOUTH. 

This morn I heard a strain among the hills, 

So sweet and yet so wild, it seemed 

To fill my inmost soul with ecstaey, 

And listening to its melody, my spirit swelled, 

As if 't would burst the massive circling folds 

Of some vast tangent cloud that pressed upon it: 

And yet there were no outward sounds; 

The voice that spake was that of Nature, 

Or of Nature's God. 

A fresh breeze, springing from the Western Sea, 

Danced lightly o'er the blades of heathy grass, 

Blending their gentle heads one way, 

While patchy shadows of the sailing clouds, 

That scarce along the valley seemed to creep, 

Shot up the mountain's smooth and slanted sides, 

And o'er its barren summit disappeared. 

The wild bee, soaring from the plains below, 

And wheeling past with rapid droning flight, 

Scarce caught the ear with sound, ere it was gone. 

Save this, and echoing from the upland meads 

The faint and lazy tinklings of the bells 

Worn by some vagrant leaders of the herd, 

Uninterrupted silence reigned supreme. 

Above, clear out against the sky, two buzzards sailed, 

And crowned the loftiest peak with circling curves; 

While stealthily, in contrast to their graceful flight, 

A solitary raven, full of dire intent, 

Slow flapped with lagging wings from space to space. 

[I have inserted the above at the request of a correspondent, but I have on hand a 
superabundance of "plain prose" for the time to come.] 



1-t ON THE ASCENT OF CADEtt IDRIS. 

The sun had now attained its midday course, 

Since first I crossed the Mawddach's rippling wave, 

And skirting by its southern shore, past Arthog's Falls, 

Across the moorland decked with heath and gorse, 

The purple heath flower and the yellow gorse, 

Had climbed the lofty crag of Towr Mur. 

Here turning round to gaze, a nobler view 

Of purest Nature, blest by God's munificence, 

Than that which lay beneath, I never saw. 

The river, filled to silence by the tide, 

Lay like a still cold serpent far below, 

While in and out among its wooded isles 

Long lines of sea-fowl winged their steady flight; 

Beyond, the everlasting mountains reared their crests, 

With peak on peak, and height succeeding height; 

While, stretching far to north, a yellow line of sand 

Skirted the sea's illimitable plain, 

Whose waves, refracted by the midday's sun, 

Twinkled incessantly with starry gems of light. 

Here having gazed, with mind insatiate I turned. 

And passing o'er a brown and heathy wold, 

Well stored with saxifrage and homed moss, 

I reached the base of Cader's barren crest. 

Not far from hence, (so ancient shepherds tell,) 

On a bare lofty peak that stands alone, 

The last of Cambria's eagles lived and died: 

The crag is still the safe abode of birds, 

Where, unmolested, they may rear their young. 

From hence unto the summit of the mount, 

One vast chaotic mass of broken rock, 

In wild confusion tossed, lay scattered round, 

And scarce a break or sign of life appeared, 

Save where a gushing stream with magic touch 

Transformed the leaden grey to living green. 

This passed, the long-expected height was gained; 

But how describe the scene: 

I gazed not merely at each object there, 

Noting them down in memory's sure page; 

I saw, and felt again that power, 

That earnest secret longing after good, 

That something unattainable, which oft, 

Amid the wild and fever'd dream of life, 

When thirst for gain and thoughts of earth are stilled, 

The burdened heaven-born soul of man desires. 

Speak out, ye everlasting hills, and tell, 

'Mid all your glorious beauty, what Creation's Lord 

Has done to mar your messages of love. 

Long time I gazed, 
Standing above the dark and dizzy precipice 
Which flanks the northern brow of Cader, 
A sheer descent, eight hundred fathoms deep, 
A riven wall of stone, where dwell secure 
The ravening birds of prey, and at its base, 
Beyond the loose debris, a still, dark lake. 



ON THE ASCENT OF CADER IDRIS. 

Down this descent a narrow path is shewn, 

Where, it is said, the mountain foxes climb; 

And stirring tales of chase, that ne'er grow old, 

Are oft related by the hardy mountaineers, 

And listened to with breathless, shuddering awe. 

They tell how once a well-known wary fox, 

That oft had slain the choicest of the herd, 

Was roused from out his hidden lair of fern, 

Down in the woods that skirt the Mawddach's shore; 

How right away it fled, close followed by the pack, 

Whose music, echoing from the distant rocks, 

Brought ready huntsmen from their cottage homes, 

A motley crew, on horseback and on foot, 

Bold cragsmen, well inured to the chase. 

With shout and wild halloo they sped along, 

And first across the lowlands held their way, 

Past copse, and fell, and cavernous ravine, 

Past many a wooded glen and wild retreat, 

Past heath and moorland, where the curlew feeds, 

Past busy scenes, and scenes of joyful mirth, 

Past homes of mourning, sorrow, and disgrace, 

Past many a tarn and rippling mountain brook, 

Where, like a shadow, glanced the wary trout, 

Past hamlet, and the quiet churchyard graves, 

Where, heedless and unheeded, lay the dead : 

And thus for many a winged mile they sped, 

Till hounds and huntsmen, wearied with the chase, 

Exhausted, one by one gave up pursuit, 

All save one staunch hound, which still pressed on, 

And gained upon its prey, which then essayed 

To climb the mountain's brow — its last resource. 

And now, with lolling tongue and panting sides, 

Eight up the steep ascent they slowly pressed, 

Pursuer and pursued in close companionship; 

With wistful eyes each passed the rippling stream 

Which gushes from the summit of the mount; 

A moment more, and almost side by side 

Over the fearful precipice they sprang. 

The next day, safe upon a jutting crag, 

By those who went in search, the hound was found; 

While far down at the base, a shapeless mass, 

Among the loose debris, the fox lay dead. 

And now the sun had reached its western bounds, 

And, as it sank beneath the level of the sea, 

Shot forth a radiant path of light 

Over the quiet ripple of the waves, as if 

To kiss the earth once more, then disappeared; 

And long before I reached the plains below, 

From dell, and vale, and wooded glens arose 

The opal mists of eve. K. C. 



16 
COLLYWESTON SLATE. 

BY FREDERICK M. BURTON, ESQ. 

Whenever any particular locality possesses something of interest not 
attainable elsewhere, any account, though even the most bare and unscientific, 
from those who have access to it, becomes worthy of perusal, and it is 
for this reason that I venture to send the following lines to "The Natu- 
ralist:" — But before alluding to these Slate pits, it will be advisable shortly 
to state the general formation of the strata in thi3 neighbourhood. Up- 
pingham is situated on a small outlier of the Lower Oolite, the junction 
of which with the Lias is plainly manifest in many places. This outlier 
is formed most probably by the great mass of the Oolite having been in 
ancient days partially swept away by some vast river or arm of the sea, 
leaving the Lias exposed beneath; and this supposition is warranted by the 
general appearance of the surrounding country, which lies in long smooth 
furrows from west to east, and presents evident traces of denudation. It 
terminates to the west of Uppingham, just outside the town, but in the 
opposite direction it stretches towards Stamford, to the distance of eight 
or nine miles; it is nowhere very wide, the greatest breadth, that opposite 
Collyweston, to the north of the Welland, being not much more than a 
mile and a half. Shortly after leaving Uppingham to the east, the great 
bed of the inferior Oolite is succeeded by the higher strata of the system, 
alternate bands of sandstone and concretionary limestone, under which the 
former dips, the inclination being to the east, and on Barrowden Common, 
a bed, or rather single layer of a large Oyster, (Ostrcea Marshii,) is found 
uppermost, in some places not more than twelve inches from the surface. 
As you approach Collyweston, you leave this outlier to the north, and 
crossing the River Welland, which runs over beds of Lias, you come to 
the general mass of the Lower Oolite formation, and there we find strata 
which are not to be met with in any other part of the kingdom. Allied 
to the Slates of Stonesfield, they yet differ from them in some respects, 
the latter being situated at the foot of the great Oolite, while the former, 
though originally supposed by some to have been below the Fuller's Earth, 
are now ascertained by Professor Morris to be situated one hundred feet 
higher than the Stonesfield beds, at the top of the great Oolite, and 
equivalent to the Forest Marble of Somersetshire and other places. 

The quarries are worked only in the winter time, as it requires the rains 
and frosts of that season to enable the slate to be split. The blocks, when 
first taken out, are on this account exposed in fields to the action of the 
weather, and in dry seasons watered to make them more amenable to the 
frosts. The slates when prepared are extensively used in this neighbour- 



COLLYWESTON SLATE. 17 

hood, and when first dug up they are of a light grey colour, which on 
exposure soon turns to a dark brown; they endure very well, and are more 
ornamental than the ordinary Blue Slates. The splitting is caused, says 
Professor Phillips, by organic exuviae, on which account, as you would 
naturally suppose, immense numbers of fossils are found imbedded, princi- 
pally consisting of Trigonnellites and Gervillidae, one of the latter (Gervillia 
Monotis) being the characteristic fossil. I have also found there Myacitis 
ninomformisy Ceromya concentrica, Hinnites tegulatus, Pinna cuneata, 
Natica (Grandis, ?) and the rare Pteroceras Bentleyii. A great deal of 
wood, sometimes in immense pieces, is found in the strata; and the layers 
of Slate often present ripple marks, rain drops, and tracks of crawling 
worms. 

The laminations are pretty regular throughout, and the following is a 
section taken from the largest pits. 

ft. in. DESCRIPTION. 



The Carving, 


4 


. 


. Bubble. 


Soft Cale, "i 
Hard Cale, 1 


5 





Irregular beds of Oolite. 


Kiggling Course, 


1 





Beds more firm and compact 
concretionary limestone. 


Ring Course, 


1 


. 


do. 


Bedding Sand, (with gigs,) 


3 





Indurated Sand. 


Brood, .... 


4 


. 


. Oolitic, (not burnt for lime.) 


Limestone, . . 


1 


6 


Stone used for Lime. 


Betch, .... 


1 


. 


. Irregular Sandstone. 


Slate, . . 3 to 4 





Fine hard, compact, shelly 








stone, readily split. 


Fine Sand, (with gigs,) 14 to 18 





Soft yellow sand 



Red Sandstone, . . Considerable depth. 

The Gigs, (so called by the workmen,) are discoidal masses of stone, 
exceedingly hard, imbedded in the sandy strata; they vary very much in 
size, some being not bigger than a cart wheel, while others are twenty 
feet or more in diameter. What these masses are, and how formed, 
perhaps some of your more scientific readers will explain; they are of a blue 
colour, and so hard that it is very difficult to break them with a hammer. 

These Slate beds have never yet been found to the north of the Welland. 
On crossing that river, which runs, as before stated, through the Lias, you 
come again to the same outlier of the Lower Oolite, at its eastern extremity, 
at Ketton, which there consists of broad deep beds of the great Oolite 
rock, in much request for buildings, and presenting the following 
section : — 

VOL. VII. d 



18 



SYSTEMA NATURE. 



ft. in. 



Whitish Clay, . 


7 . 


Crash, . 


.40 


Guts, . 


4 . 


Rag, . 


.30 


Freestone, . 


4 . 


Rag, . . . 


as before 



DESCRIPTION-. 

Thick Loam. 

Hard coarse Oolite of a red colour. 

Brown Oolitic stone. 

Oolitic. 

Good Oolitic stone for building. 



There are but few fossils found in these beds, which renders them of 
more value for the purpose for which they are required. Some Pectens 
and Terebratulce are found in the Red Crash, and a few other shells, in 
the underlying strata, but the Freestone is almost entirely exempt from 
fossils of any description, and being, when first quarried, so easy to cut, 
and afterwards becoming so hard, it is much sought after, and is of con- 
siderable value to the owners. 



Uppingham, October 14th., 1856. 



SYSTEMA NATURE. 



BY THE REV. F. 0. MORRIS. 



(Continued from 

Sorex varius, Schinz. 
Sorex cinnamomeus, Licht. Schinz. 
Sorex pulchellus, Licht. Schinz. 
Sorex carolinensis, Bachm. Schinz. 
Sorex longirostris, Bachm. Schinz. 
Sorex cinereus, Bachm. Schinz. 
Sorex Dekayi, Cooper, Bachm. Schinz. 
Sorex Cooperi, Bachm. Schinz. 
Sorex fimbripes, Bacnm. Schinz. 
Sorex platyrhynchus, Silliman, Schinz. 
Sorex surinamensis, Pennant, Shaw, 

Schinz. 
Sorex Le Suerii, Duv. Schinz. 
Sorex himalaieus, Gray, Schinz. 
Sorex nigricans, Gray, Schinz. 
Sorex Dsi-Nezumi, Temm. Schinz. 
Sorex umbrinus, Temm. Schinz. 
Sorex platycephalus, Temm. Schinz. 
Sorex talpoides, Gapper, Schinz. 
Sorex mariquensis, Smith, Schinz. 
Sorex poensis, Fraser, Schinz. 

SoLENODEN. 

Solenoden paradoxus, Brandt. Schinz. 



page 286. vol. VI. ) 

MACROSCELlOiiS. 
Macroscelides typicus, Smith, Schinz. 

Rhinomys jaculus, Licht. Darst. 
Macroscelides rupestris, Smith, Schinz. 
Macroscelides Intufi, Smith. Schinz. 
Macroscelides Edwardii, Smith, Schinz. 
Macroscelides brevirostris, Schinz. M. 

brachyrhynchus, Smith. 
Macroscelides Alexandri, Schinz. 
Macroscelides melanotis, Schinz. 
Macroscelides Rozeti, Wag. Schinz. 

Myo galea. 
Myogalea muscovitica, Schinz. Mygale 

muscovitica, Desm. M. moschata, 

Brandt. Sorex moschatus, Pall. 

Schreb. 
Myogalea pyrenaica, Fisch. Schinz. 

Mygale pyrenaica, Desm. Geoff. G-a- 

lomys pyrenaica, Wagl. 
Talpa. 
Talpa europaea, Schinz. 
Talpa cceca, Savi. Bonap. Schinz. 
Talpa microura, Hodgson, Schinz. 
Talpa Wogura, Temm. Wieg. Schinz. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 



19 



SCALOPS. 

Soalops aquaticus, Linn. Schreb. Sehinz 
S. canadensis, Desm. Richards. 

Scalops Townsendii, Sehinz. S. cana- 
densis, Richards. Towns. Bachm. 

Scalops Breweri, Bachm. Sehinz. 

Scalops argentatus, Bachm. Sehinz. 

Scalops latimanus, Bachm. Sehinz. 
Rhinasteb. 

Rhinaster cristatus, Sehinz. Sorex 
cristatus, Linn. Schreb. Richards. 

Rhinaster macrurus, Sehinz. Cordy- 
lura macroura, Harlan. Rich. Wag. 

Rhinaster longicaudatus, Sehinz. Talpa 
longicaudata, Frxleb. Cordylura 
longicaudata, Harlan. Desm. 
Cheysochloeis. 

Chrysochloris aurata, Sehinz. C. ca- 
pensis, Desm. Talpa asiatica, Linn. 
T. inaurata, Schreb. 

Chrysochloris holosericea, Licht. Sehinz 

Chrysochloris albirostris, Wag. Sehinz. 

Chrysochloris rutilans, Wag. Sehinz. 

Chrysochloris villosa, Smith, Sehinz. 

Chrysochloris hottentotta, Smith, Sehinz 

Chrysochloris damarensis, Ogil. Sehinz. 
Ubotbichtts. 

Urotrichus talpoides, Temm. Guerin. 
Sehinz. 



FAMILIA II.— Caenivoba. 

Ubsus. 

Ursus arctos, Sehinz. 

Ursus isabelhnus, Horsf. Fisch. Sehinz. 

IT. syriacus, Fhrenb. 
Ursus ferox, Lewis Sf Clark. Richs. 

Prinz Max. Sehinz. U. cinereus, 

Desm. U. candenscens, Griff". Fisch. 

IT. horribilis, Cuv. 
Ursus Americanus, Pall. Richards. 

F. Cuv. Fisch. Sehinz. 
Ursus Crowtheri, Sehinz. 
Ursus ornatus, F. Cuv. Fisch. Wag. 

Schreb. Sehinz. 
Ursus torquatus, Sehinz. U. tibetanus, 

Cuv. Schreb. 
Ursus malayanus, Raffl. Linn. Horsf. 

Cuv. F. Cuv. Griff. Sehinz. He- 

larctos euryspilus, Horsfield. 

Ursus labiatus, Blainv. Desm. SyTces. 

Sehinz. U. longirostris, Tied. Reich. 

Bradypus ursinus, Shaw. Prochilus 

ursinus, Hliger. 

Ursus maritimus, Schreb. Blum. Cuv. 

Richards. Griff. Sehinz. U. mari- 

nus, Pall. Fisch. U. albus, Ross. 
Ursus longirostris, Sehinz. U. formi- 

carius, Eversmann. 
Ursus fructilegus, Sehinz. 



(To be continued.) 



MimWunn Unto. 

The Nightingale.— -The very picturesque village of Thorpe, near Norwich, 
has long, from its quiet, thickly-wooded gardens, been a favourite habitat 
for Nightingales. I was strolling round the grounds of a friend there, on 
the evening of July 5th., when I was shewn a nest of this bird, built 
on a dwarf fir tree, certainly not more than three feet from the raised 
path. The song of the bird was not noticed till the second week of 
May — later than in former years; nor was the nest discovered till early 
in June, when it was complete, and contained eggs. Its "whereabouts" 
was made known by the partner's sitting on a closely-adjoining fir, and 
singing softly in the afternoon and evening. Many eyes watched the 
birds and peered into the nest, but no such intrusion had any effect in 



20 EXCHANGE. 

disturbing the birds, for they hatched and brought up four nestlings, which 
were frequently seen sitting with the parents on the spreading branches of 
their paternal tree; but no song was heard from the offspring, though 
instances have been authenticated of their very early indulgence in song. 
The exterior of the nest was formed of dry leaves of the lime, proving 
that, in the absence of oak leaves, this bird, like many others, adopts 
what is to be met with, and so "suits itself to circumstances". — George 
II. Twinn, Birmingham, October 2nd., 1856. 

An agricultural gentleman I was recently visiting in Norfolk shewed 
me in his garden an apple tree, the lower part of the trunk of which had a 
hole about two feet and a half from the soil; a stick had often been 
thrust in, and found to travel down much farther, shewing the hollowness 
of the tree; the diameter of the opening was larger at the side of the 
tree than it was when once the hollow began to descend. In this hole 
a pair of Blackbirds stuck their nest, and plastered it securely in. One 
morning a burrow was found at the bottom of the tree, proving that a 
Rat must have been blocked up by the nest, and not liking "durance 
vile," had worked a passage out. Having no desire to remove his home, 
he kept to his lair at the foot of the tree, entering by the hole he had 
newly formed; but his days were doomed, after the discovery of his 
burrow, for he fell into the "tender embrace" of a deadly trap. — Idem. 

As we were driving one day (July 11th.) by the gate of a corn-field, 
we stopped to gather an ear that was black with smut. Getting over 
the gate, we found a small pond on our left, thickly grown round with 
bushes, from which five young Kingfishers rose. I think we certainly are 
losing this bird from the vicinity of dwellings, for I enquired relative to 
its haunting a mill-stream, where I had, some few years ago, known it 
breed three times in the season, and found that now it was never seen 
there, nor could I get any information to form a conclusion as to the 
cause. — Idem. 

I saw at the village of Runhall several specimens of the Fly Orchis, 
gathered by a cottager in her little paddock. She imagined she had found 
a prize, and so to her they were, for she conveyed the plants to a highly- 
respectable florist in Norwich, and received for them seeds useful for her 
garden. I also met with a fine bunch of the Canterbury Bell, with blossoms 
much larger than when under cultivation. — Idem. 



fejnrage. 

Sea, Land, and Fresh-water Shells, for exchange.-^J?#e»4iRicK M. Burton, 
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CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

The Study of Natural History conducive to Health. By T. 

Fulleb. Esq 21 

Addenda to Bird-retreating. By George R Twinn, Esq 24 

On Birds using Oil from Glands, for the purpose of lubricating 

the surface of their plumage. By T. Fuller, Esq 25 

On Unity of System 27 

A Peep at the Ferns etc., of Sutherland and Ross. By W 29 

Miscellaneous Notices. — Grey Phalarope. Ringtail Harrier. 

Merlin. Little Auk. Little Grebe. Scarcity of Birds in hard 

weather. The Knot. Landrail. Skylarks. Starling & Blue Tit. 32 

Reviews. — A Simple Catechism of the Animal, Vegetable, and 
Mineral Kingdoms. By Charlotte O'Brien. London: Relfe, 

Brothers. Prize Essay on the Prevention of the Smoke 

Nuisance. By Chari.es Wye Williams. London : John Weale, 

59, High Holborn.' Hours of Sun and Shade, Reveries in 

Prose and Verse. By Percy Vernon Gordon de Montgomery. 

London: Groombridge and Sons. Edinburgh: Hogg. The 

Natural History Review. London: Highley. Edinburgh: John- 
stone and Hunter. Dublin: Hodges and Smith 34 

Exchange. — Algas. British Eggs 38 

Proceedings of Societies. — Thirsk Natural History Society 38 

The Querist. — The Chimney Swallow. Vegetable Caterpillar from 
New Zealand. Substance used to represent Snow and Ice. The 
Heratical Subject 39 

Obituary. — Death of Mr. David Dyson 43 

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21 



THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTOEY CONDUCIVE 

TO HEALTH. /^5^5?^X 

BY THOMAS FULLER, ESQ. I fV^lfrC ) 

( Continued from page 3._) N^Va <;E:iJ 'â– *<$'/ 

There are many beautiful spots among the villages surrounding this city 
favourable to such objects, but, as before observed, the population being 
large, furnishes enemies persecuting them at every stage. It becomes neces- 
sary therefore, in order to reach more favourable situations, to undertake 
walks of somewhat greater length than the powers of one near entering 
upon the "sixth age" will permit him to accomplish with convenience. 
Nevertheless I sometimes manage to get over a tolerable distance, and 
am happy to say, with less fatigue than anticipated, no doubt arising from 
the beneficial effect of breathing the pure and health-inspiring air of our 
beautiful downs. In one of these walks to the westward a few days back 
accompanied by a friend, we heard the chattering of Magpies; my attention 
was immediately roused, and turning quickly to the direction from which 
the sound came, perceived three of my gay and lively favourites. We 
endeavoured with much caution to get near them, but the unfortunate 
persecuted creatures held the sight of man in too much dread to allow of 
any approach, and soon disappeared in the cover of an adjoining wood. 
My friend expressed equal pleasure with myself at their appearance, and 
cordially joined me in regretting the persecution and prejudice prevailing 
against them, which, he added, so far as his observations went, had increased 
to such an extent as to cause nearly the extirpation of the species: he also 
agreed with me as to the usefulness of this bird to farmers, and related 
an anecdote respecting one which his son brought last year from the Isle 
of Wight; thinking it may amuse my readers I repeat it: — 

The young man being on a visit to a friend on the island, in one of 
his walks' encountered a brood of young Magpies, and immediately gave 
chase; one of those thick fogs peculiar to the vicinity of the sea, prevailing 
at the time, the birds could not see the direction to their cover, so he 
succeeded in running down and capturing one of them, which he brought 
to the house he was visiting at. The bird soon grew familiar, making 
himself quite at home, and became a general favourite notwithstanding his 
mischievous habits. He had his liberty in and about the house; he was a 
most incorrigible thief, pilfering everything within reach in his power to 
carry away: reels of cotton, and all sorts of small articles he could manage 
to get hold of, were taken off and hid among his private stores. He was 
very fond of playing tricks upon the fowls, among others, he would 
approach the fowl-house with pieces of bread or meat in his beak, thrusting 

VOL. VII. E 



22 THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 

it between the wires, holding it temptingly to the fowls and chickens, and 
when either of them ran eagerly towards it, he would draw it back in 
evident enjoyment of the fun, and run off with it to his own hiding-place. 
At the termination of the young man's visit he returned home, carrying 
the Magpie with him. A cigar box was converted so as to contain him, 
and in this Mag travelled to Bath. The journey was made through 
Salisbury, where some detention took place, when the box containing Mag 
was deposited, with other packages, upon a table in a room appropriated 
to the use of travellers. Whilst in this situation he made so loud a noise 
with his hard beak against the side of the box, as to alarm many in the 
room, some of whom concluded it to be spirit rapping, and no doubt would 
have gone away with that impression, if they had not been undeceived. 

Upon reaching home Mag was quickly released from confinement, apparently 
none the worse, as he hopped about briskly, highly pleased at the recovery 
of his liberty. Food was brought to him, when a large cat — (this cat it 
should be mentioned is a remarkable fine one, an especial favourite, not 
only with individuals belonging to the family, but with visitors also; over 
the dogs attached to the establishment he reigns supreme, and is the terror 
of the feathered tribe about the garden and grounds: fowls and ducks are 
not spared, and in spite of all correction a victim frequently falls to his 
terrible claws; nevertheless his clean handsome appearance, with delicately 
striped fur, and his insinuating ways, cause all his depredations to be 
overlooked; latterly he has been invested with a bell fastened round his 
neck, which by tinkling with his slightest movement, gives timely notice 
of his approach, and affords opportunities of escape to numbers of his 
meditated victims.) This formidable animal approached Mag with stealthy 
steps and glaring eyes, bent on his destruction. The bird, nothing daunted, 
stood firm as iron, watching the movements of the cat, and regarding him 
with bold determination After a few minutes puss slunk away, leaving Mag 
master of the field; he then made his repast in perfect self-possession, and 
having selected a projecting peg used for hanging harness upon, as a roosting- 
place, was left for the night. 

Next morning Mag was introduced to the garden, of which a tame Gull 
had hitherto possessed the sole range, which Gull shewed no disposition to 
fraternise with Mag; neither did Mag bestow the slightest notice upon the 
Gull. This same Gull had been procured, at some trouble and expense, 
from a small rocky island in the Bristol Channel, for the purpose of 
destroying the snails and slugs abounding in the garden, but however 
serviceable his habits might be towards effecting that object, they were far 
outdone by Mag, and my friend says that it was with the utmost satis- 
faction he watched the vigour and activity displayed by Mag in dashing 
away the leaves from side to side and pouncing upon every snail and slug; he 



THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 23 

was therefore welcomed as a great acquisition, and took high place in the favour 
of all, particularly with ray friend, who was vastly delighted at the idea 
of having so able an assistant towards exterminating one of his greatest 
annoyances. But alas! these happy feelings were doomed to be of short 
duration. The next morning, upon going into the garden, poor Mag was 
discovered quite dead, by the side of a small tub of water which was 
sunk to a level with the ground, for the use of the Gull. 

It appears that whilst the Magpie was at the Isle of Wight, he was 
accommodated with a shallow pan of water, in which he could stand and 
wash, flap his wings, dipping and raising himself up by his legs. It is 
surmised that, mistaking this tub for a vessel of similar depth, upon hopping 
into it his legs descended, and finding no resting-place, he had not the 
power of raising himself up; his wings must have been immersed, and in 
consequence, his feathers becoming heavy with water, the poor fellow sunk 
and was drowned. How he got out of the tub appeared at first mysterious, 
but it was soon accounted for, as when first seen the Gull was observed to 
be plucking and tugging at him violently, so that no doubt remained of 
his having been pulled out by the Gull. 

But to return to our walk, which we continued under some hanging 
woods, into which a Blackbird every now and then sought shelter, as disturbed 
by our advance. We came back home by the side of the Avon, saw several 
Kingfishers, and were much interested in observing the rapid flight and 
quick evolutions of numberless Swallows. 

Yesterday the same friend accompanied me in an excursion eastward. 
We ascended one of the hills on the south side of the city, and by crossing 
the elevated land called Hampton and Claverton Downs, we cut off a very 
considerable circuit in the valley, into which we descended again higher 
up the river, near the romantic villages of Monckton Coombe, and Limpley 
Stoke. The views in this neighbourhood are of surpassing beauty at all 
seasons of the year, and particularly so in the spring and summer, when 
the, extensive woods are in verdure, and full of the songs of all kinds of 
birds, and here the Nightingale is still to be heard. 

At this season of the year nearly all our songsters are silent, and we 
saw but few birds moving; my companion accounted for this, by saying 
that nearly all would be found in the stubble fields, where they congregate 
in great numbers. The note of the Kobin was the only one heard; this 
general fiivourite will continue to sing through the winter; they were now 
answering each other from every side. Making our way to the banks of 
the river, which is here lined with trees, principally the alder and willow, 
we observed numerous gaudy butterflies, and the Kingfisher frequently 
glanced by displaying his brilliant colours. I was highly gratified at the 
sight of so many of these beautiful birds, both in this and our former 



24 ADDENDA TO BIRD-RETREATING. 

walk, and am led to hope that museums are nearly all supplied with 
specimens; happily their nests are made in places too difficult of access for 
marauding boys to get at them, so that some probabilities remain of this 
lovely bird being preserved to us. The shades of evening coming upon us 
sooner than we were prepared for, terminated our observations, and caused 
us to return by the shortest route. 

Robins are singing nearly all day from the high trees near this house, 
and as cold weather comes on, would approach closer and become familiar, 
picking up crumbs of bread from the lawn and window-sills, were they 
not prevented by the prowling cats. Even now whilst writing, seated at 
a window opening to the garden, over which my eyes are frequently directed 
upon the look-out for anything on the move, I see one of these 
feline pests creeping onwards, with body depressed, close to the ground, 
head stretched forward, and eyes intent upon some object, some poor bird 
no doubt. Yes, there is a pretty Grey Wagtail running about the lawn, 
picking up insects from the short grass; the cat is now in the shade of 
a laurestina bush; a few more steps round it and the bird will be in his 
clutches: there goes a book at him, (the first thing I could lay hand upon,) 
missed him of course, but saved the bird. 

(To be continued.) 



ADDENDA TO BIRD-RETREATING. 

BY GEOROE R. TW1NN, ESQ. 

I was much gratified with the perusal of the article "on the Scarcity 
of Birds in certain districts." I am sure it must be a great grief to every 
true lover of nature, that though many agencies promotive of this scarcity, 
are easy of remedy, yet ignorance and prejudice contrive to keep them 
"going," because, forsooth, they follow the error, that continuance of a 
folly or a wrong is a justification of it. 

In my former paper, written at the close of May, the Spotted Flycatcher 
had not appeared in our grounds, but early in July it was proved to have 
been there some time, for the gardener and footman, under the plea of 
driving sparrows from the peas, amused themselves with a gun, and among 
their victims fell a poor Flycatcher. This led to a close search, and the 
result was, that in the identical hole of the wall in which Flycatchers 
had formerly built, was a nest with four young ones. 

This autumn a pair has been shot from a party of upwards of a dozen; 
also a bird that has to be recorded as appearing here for the first time, 
the Tree Pipit, and which is in the hands of a bird-preserver. But it 
may occur to the reader, why complain of bird-retreating, when you appear 



BIRDS USING OIL PROM GLANDS. 25 

to lend a sanction to a cause? I reply, to seem, is one thing, to be, a 
far different. I am glad I have in no manner justified the destruction of 
these birds, merely for destruction, but to verify by actual specimens, that 
such have been obtained from our grounds. Nor are any of the domestics 
habitually employing fire-arms, but they fulfil the adage, "that the mice 
will play in the cat's absence;" hence our possession of the Pipit. We 
have a pair of Chaffinches permanently settled with us, and I have several 
times seen and heard a Whitethroat, though I presume its migration will 
soon ensue. The Redbreast at all periods of the day is enlivening us with 
his always pleasing song, and winning from us renewed love and care. 

I fully concur with Mr. Fuller, that "boys are as destructive as cats." 
Are they not more so? Country boys are never so happy as when armed 
with a gun, and as for their depredations they are immense, as regards 
eggs. I met with an instance this summer of upwards of four hundred 
taken by one lad, the majority of them song birds. 

Wholesale and thoughtless persecution is much to be censured; anything 
done for no higher or worthier motive than mere gratification is unnatural 
and unwise. The labours of a boy early arranging and collecting, thoughtfully 
reading and confirming his knowledge by habits of observation, and proper 
and lawful acquisition of specimens are to be commended, the germs of a 
future scientific naturalist are to be encouraged. 

I have an idea, and it is founded on the intense pleasure all classes 
feel in hearing of the wonders of the vast kingdoms of Natural History, 
that were practical and outdoor lessons given plainly and attractively to 
the young generally, we should find ourselves repaid in seeing grow up 
around us a better and a wiser class of men, realizing the oft-quoted 
utterance of Coleridge: — 

"He prayeth best who loveth best 
All things both great and small." 

Birmingham, October 2nd., 1856. 



ON BIRDS USING OIL FROM GLANDS 

"FOR THE PURPOSE OF LUBRICATING THE SURFACE 

OF THEIR PLUMAGE." 

BY THOMAS FULLER, ESQ. 

That all swimming birds possess glands which furnish an oily liquor is 
well known, and it is generally believed that such oily liquor is used for 
lubricating their feathers and plumage for the purpose of resisting wet. 
Waterton, in his Essays on Natural History, when treating upon this 
subject, expresses himself entirely in opposition to such belief, and says, 



26 BIRDS USING OIL FROM GLANDS. 

that when birds are supposed to be employed in the operation of applying 
this oil, people are mistaken, and that the endeavours of the birds are 
towards the dislodging of vermin which constantly infest them. This opinion 
he stoutly maintains in his usual decided style of argument, in course of 
which he enquires — -"Will any naturalist declare that he has actually seen 
a bird procure liquor, or oil, or whatever you may choose to call it, from 
the gland with its bill, and then apply that liquor, or oil, to its plumage? 
The gland has somewhat the appearance of a nipple upon its upper extremity; 
an oily liquor may be obtained from this nipple by applying our fingers 
to it, but I marvel how it can be obtained by the sharp-edged bill of a 
bird. When, the nature of the gland, and the form of the bill are duly 
considered, it is rational to conclude that the application of the hard bill 
to the soft gland would be very painful to the bird. Let us here suppose 
that the bird has succeeded in getting some of the liquor into its bill; 
how is the liquor to be supplied to its feathers, they would merely come 
in contact with the edges of the bill, while the liquor would have sunk 
into the cavity of the lower mandible. 

Suppose, for the sake of argument, that the bird does actually apply oil 
from the gland to lubricate the plumage, (which, by the by, I flatly deny) 
how is the head and part of the neck to be supplied with oil? Why, the 
truth is, they never can be supplied; and if you examine with the nicest 
scrutiny, the feathers of the body within the range of the bill, and the 
feathers of the head which are out of the range of the bill, and then 
compare them, you will not perceive the smallest difference in their downy 
appaarance — proof positive that the plumage of the body has not been 
lubricated with oil from the gland."* 

Having no pretensions to the title of "Naturalist," to whom this question 
is propounded, it is with much diffidence I offer any reply in opposition to 
the opinion of so close an observer of nature as Waterton, particularly as 
my field of investigation has been limited; but presuming the habit under 
consideration peculiar to all aquatic birds, observations upon one species 
must apply to others, and furnish a reply to his question. The following 
will therefore sufficiently justify my differing both from his premises and 
conclusion. 

I have frequently watched Geese, and there is no difficulty whatever in 
lubricating those parts which Waterton says cannot be done. It is thus 
managed. There is no necessity for, neither does the bird get the oil into 
the cavity of the lower mandible; the bill is rubbed over and against the 
gland, and being well covered with the oily secretion, the same is transferred 
to the feathers on the back; the head and parts of the neck which the 

* In the "Magazine of Natural History," volumes viii. and ix., Mr. Fuller will see that 
I have disposed of Mr. Waterton's arguments. — F. 0. Moiuus. 



UNITY OF SYSTEM. 27 

bill cannot reach, is then rubbed over the parts where this extra quantity 
of oil is placed, so that by turning the head and neck on either side, all 
those feathers out of reach of the bill are as regularly and effectually 
lubricated as any other part of the body. 

Waterton also remarks, "Granting glands to supply an oily secretion, a 
sufficient quantity could not be obtained to lubricate all the feathers." 

Why not? It is known that the bones of swimming birds are not hollow 
like those of other classes, but are filled with oily marrow; and that the 
glands spoken of are well supplied, is evidenced by the appearance of 
these parts even after the death of the bird. Where then is the difficulty 
in believing the oily liquor to be supplied in sufficient quantity? Besides, 
it does not necessarily follow that so large a proportion is required at one 
time. The secretion being continuous, and the operation of lubrication 
frequent, removes that objection; and as to the extraction of the oil 
from the soft gland by the sharp bill of the bird being a painful operation, 
it is all nonsense, for it is evident the bill is not so used, but is merely 
rubbed against the gland as already described. The necessary state of 
lubrication is therefore accomplished without incurring any of the difficulties 
enumerated by Waterton; and without the defence of such preparation, 
how is the fact of water running off the plumage of birds like quicksilver 
to be accounted for? 

Weston Road, Bath, October lOtk, 1856. 



ON UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

"Thro' ceaseless change to seek th' unchanging." 

There is a universal law of creation as beautifnl as it is simple, and 
apparent throughout nature, and in all creatures, collectively and individually, 
and rising through successively higher manifestations, till it is lost to us 
in unrevealed mysteries. 

This is the law of degradation, or of subjection, by which the cessation 
of one state or epoch, or at least the diminution of its most perfect con- 
dition must precede the development of the ensuing and higher degree of 
existence. By this law the means are continually more and more subject 
to the end, in which they at last disappear or cease. The examples afforded 
by Geology are very numerous, and a few are here selected, wherewith to 
commence the illustrations of this law: — 

The earth during very many millions of ages was gradually cooled from 
an incandescent mass to its present state, and the latter part of this period 
was marked by numerous successive epochs, in which the great divisions 
of the animal, such as Radiata, Mollusca, Fishes, Reptiles, Birds, and 



28 UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

Mammalia, appeared and flourished in the said succession, and the species 
of each class having reached their perfection, or culminating point, dwindled 
or were degraded, and generally completely exterminated previous to the 
creation of smaller, fewer, and less highly-developed species of the same 
class, which were the contemporaries of the kinds of the next higher class, 
or higher forms of life, the latter being then for the first time distributed. 
Nevertheless, each epoch, whose average duration amounts to millions of 
years, is characterized by the presence of some creatures which are different 
from all the others, and represent, though in a slight degree, the creatures 
of the coming epoch. 

The whole of the earth had a warm climate during nearly all the period 
from the epoch of Mollusca to that of Birds. Every one of the thousands 
of species, and most of the genera of those ages have passed away, and 
the details of this part of the earth's history are full of examples of the 
law of degradation, and are all in accordance thereto. 

Of the revolutions of the earth, in which its system was disturbed or 
convulsed, that which closed the Azoic age, or the period previous to the 
existence of living creatures, was probably most nearly universal. 

The Radiata, Mollusca, Articulata, and Vertebrata appeared by some of 
their kinds in very ancient times, and the first three almost or quite 
together. The creatures of lower grade, such as Foraminifera, Medusae, 
Confervae, and Fuci, whose office it is to reanimate, and to recall into 
circulation more matter, are comparatively co-extensive with it, both as to 
space and as to time, and supply abundant nourishment for the numerous 
and voracious tribes of Mollusca, Crustacea, and Fishes. 

The epoch of Mollusca, or the Silurian Period, continued for a long 
succession of ages, and with this class the Corals, the Crinoids, and the 
Trilobites were associated. Then the Coral animalcules built the limestone 
hills and mountains, and the Mollusca in size and organization far exceeded 
those of the later creation, but their degradation, and finally their complete 
cessation ensued. The last Trilobite lived in the seas of the carboniferous 
epoch, and the last Ammonite existed in the Reptilian Age. In vegetation, 
the epoch of sea-weeds only continued for a long time, and after its 
diminution, that of flowerless trees, (Tree Equisetae and Tree Ferns,) and of 
the Pine tribe succeeded, to be in its turn degraded before the appearance 
of the present vegetation. 

* I must here take occasion to adopt the stereotyped notice of the newspapers, — "The 
Editor does not hold himself responsible for the opinions of his correspondents;" and cer- 
tainly, moreover, even after allowing, as I think may be allowed, a wide limit to the 
term "day" of creation, as we are so expressly told that "One day is with the Lord as a 
thousand years, and a thousand years as one day;" yet, I cannot conceive that any animals 
can have lived on the earth while only yet in the act of being cooled from an "incandescent 
state." — F. 0. Morris. 



THE FERNS OF SUTHERLAND AND ROSS. 29 

After the Mollusca asra appeared the Vertebrate class, of which the four 
great divisions, Fishes, Reptiles, Birds, and Quadrupeds, are organized 
according to one type. This was the Devonian Period, with which the 
Silurian is included in the age of Algae, or of sea-weeds. 

The Ganoid tribe of Fishes now existed, and continued till the middle 
of the Reptilian Age. The earliest Fishes having the most perfect organ- 
ization, almost all passed away, and were succeeded by other kinds. The 
species of Fishes before mentioned being exterminated, the epoch of Am- 
phibians and of Coal Plants, or the Carboniferous Age ensued. The lower 
division of Reptiles, such as the tribe of Frogs and of Salamanders, and 
those of immense size, now took the load. These are most allied to Fishes, 
having gills when young. 

Land had now appeared, and when the Amphibians flourished, the land 
plants were first in exuberant growth, and by cleansing the atmosphere 
from carbonic acid, made it suitable for the respiration of land animals. 
These plants (flowerless trees or Acrogens) and Coniferae then disappeared, 
and the last Lepidodendra lived in the forests of the Carboniferous con- 
tinents. 

The Amphibians comparatively passed away, and the age of true Reptiles 
gradually appeared in all its grandeur. Reptiles larger than Whales in- 
habited the water, immense reptiles were on the land, and flying Reptiles 
in the air. But they began to decline before the close of the epoch, and 
the last flying Reptile and swimming Saurian existed in the Reptilian Age. 

Thus the Mollusca, the Fishes, and the Reptiles successively passed their 
prime, and dwindled both as to number of individuals and as to rank of 
species. Each of these great epochs contained many lesser periods, in each 
of which there are subordinate examples of the law of degradation. The 
Mollusca, with their companions, the Corals, the Crinoids, and the Trilobites, 
were either wholly or more frequently partially exterminated, and were 
replaced by new kinds, and the same may be said of the Fishes and of 
the Reptiles, and the causes of such disturbances can be often traced. The 
age of Reptiles includes the periods between the Coal epoch and the Ter- 
tiary epoch. 

(To be continued.) 



A PEEP AT THE 
FERNS, ETC., OF SUTHERLAND AND ROSS. 

BY W. 
( Continued from page 13. ) 

Aftkr exploring, to the best of my ability, the country round Durness, 
I resolved on an expedition to Cape Wrath. In company with the minister 

VOL. VII. f 



30 THE FERNS OP SUTHERLAND AND ROSS. 

of the parish, I started on Monday, 11th. August, to walk on foot a 
distance of thirteen miles. On landing on the opposite side of the Kyle 
of Durness, I espied some Ferns growing in the cliffs of the rocks. They 
proved to be Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, A. trichomanes, Polypodium 
phegopteris, and others of a more common kind. We were now fairly on 
our road; but, somewhat to our dismay, the clouds, which, during the 
morning, had hung in threatening aspect towards the east, began to give 
forth their contents in no ordinary quantities — in real Highland drops — 
and the wind to come in fitful gusts, driving the rain before it like 
snow-drift. We consoled ourselves with the fine view of the bay, and 
the thought that all would soon be over; but it only grew more and 
more stormy. It would be like cowards to turn, and on we held — like 
idiots, some may say. 

The road for the whole distance is very dreary and ugly. The hills 
towards the south have in general a tame, rounded appearance, softened 
by the distance of several miles from the road. The intervening space is 
somewhat uneven, and mostly of a peaty nature, covered with heath and 
bent, a loch or two only breaking the dreariness of the scene. On the 
north side the ground is, for the most part, hilly, and shuts out the 
view of the sea, except at a part about five miles from the Cape, where 
the road rounds the shoulder of a hill, and comes in sight of the ocean. 
On we trudged, with the rain hissing and pelting against our drenched 
persons, now and then casting a look behind us, to examine the face of 
the sky. A wild sight it was! Landward, the hills were covered with 
a dark sort of haze; for about ten degrees above the horizon extended a 
space of a dun dirty white; above that the clouds were piled on cloud, 
blacker and ever blacker; sea-ward, the sky and water seemed to meet; mass 
after mass rose, and chased each other up the heavens in deep blackening 
folds, till the whole was inky black. 

" ponto nox incubat atra." 



In our evil plight, we beguiled the time by speaking of "the light of 
other days," and sometimes launching forth on hope's wings to a sunny 
future. Things often go by contrast; we were in rain, and mist, and 
cloud — why should not the imagination run wild in sunny fields? Mine 
did so, and I began "biggin' castles in the air," to the forgetting of the 
storm. At last we got to the Lighthouse, "like to eat the wind for 
hunger." Most hospitably were we entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Ewing, 
and most heartily did we enjoy our meal. A long road, a mountain air, 
and a merry heart make an empty stomach, and hunger makes the sweetest 
"kitchen." 

After viewing the Lighthouse, we stepped over the wall that surrounds 



THE FERNS OP SUTHERLAND AND ROSS. 31 

the building to view tbe Cape. But what pen can describe it? It would 
require one dipped "in hues of earthquake and eclipse." The Cape itself 
rises perpendicularly from the water to the height of four hundred feet, 
or thereabout, and runs away towards the east in rugged overhanging cliffs. 
Towards the west it runs for a few yards with a slight curve) and then 
juts out into a terrific cliff; from behind this runs outward to the sea a 
low ridge of rocks, rising in height to sea-ward, till it reaches, to appearance, 
the height of one hundred and fifty or two hundred feet, and affords 
shelter to numbers of Gulls. Further to the westward, the coast is a 
continuous line of high, rugged precipices. 

After lingering along on the top of the rocks till the chill of our wet 
clothes warned us "to move on," we set our faces Durineward. If our 
morning's journey had anything disagreeable in it, it was amply made up 
for by the beauty of the afternoon. The storm had passed over, and 
was succeeded by that calm sweetness common after a heavy breeze. The 
air was balmy; the heavens were blue, streaked with cirrus, tinged with 
gold towards the sinking sun; the Bees hummel past; the Curlew screamed; 
the Plover sent forth his whistle; the Raven flew over our heads uttering 
his dull croak; and now and then was borne on the gentle breeze the 
sweet murmur of some streamlet, as it was flowing to its home in the 
ocean. On one side rose up the hills in bold relief against 

"The summer heaven's delicious blue," 

all one sea of golden light, except "where fell the black shadow of some 
hill. On the top of one sailed away the remnant of a cloud; there, over 
some dark, deep hollow, hung a thin white vapour, fine as a bridal veil; 
there again, like a necklace round some dark Eastern beauty, clung a 
fringe of glittering mist round a "summit hoar." Before us lay the ocean, 
broken in upon by high, bold headlands, some black, some white, some 
sparkling in the sun, with the Orkney Islands looming far off on the 
horizon. - All this, combined with the lonely desolation of the scene, tended 
to soothe the mind, and lead away the thoughts to scenes of toil, and 
trade, and competition, and villany, and misery, and wretchedness, both 
the one and the other the effect of sin; and then far away into futurity, 
on the speculation that the time would come when ocean's fury should 
be tamed, and become the safe highway of nations,* and when those 
wildernesses should be brought under the strong hand of cultivation, when, 
in the words of the Prophet, "The wilderness and the solitary place shall 
be glad, and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose/'f 

We trudged along happy as kings, examining the Fern treasures of 

* Do not our Lord's miracles of stilling the sea point to something like this? 
t I am inclined to think that this will one day literally be fulfilled. 



32 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

the road: — Pohjpodium vidgare, P. pheyopteris, Lastrea dilatata, L. spinu- 
losa, L. oreopteris, Athyrium filix-fcemina, Pteris aquilina, Blechnum boreale, 
Asplenium adiantum-nigmm, and A. trichomanes. We arrived at our lodg- 
ings a little after sunset, all dry and comfortable, and ready again for 
another inea 1 of which we partook most heartily. 

(To be continued.) 



Grey Phalarope. — A very fine male specimen of this bird was shot this 
week in a neighbouring parish, about sixteen miles from the Solway. — W. 
G. Gibson, 75, High-Street, Dumfries, December 17th., 1856. 

Ringtail Harrier, (Falco pygargus.) — A female was shot in the act of 
devouring a Partridge, at Foulmire, Cambridgeshire, November 29th., 1856. 
— S. P. Savill, 13, Regent- Street, Cambridge, December 10th., 1856. 

Merlin, (Falco sesalon.) — One of these birds, an adult female, was shot 
at Cherry Hinton, Cambridgeshire, November 19th., 1866. Another, an 
immature male, at Green End, near St. Ives, Huntingdonshire, December 
3rd., 1856. — Idem. 

Little Auk, (Alca alle.) — On Thursday last, November 13th., a boy at 
Little Shelford, four miles distant from Cambridge, picked up, in an ex- 
hausted state, a good specimen of this bird. After a short time it seemed 
completely revived, and, when put into a tub of water, it was quite at 
home, and seemed much refreshed by its bath. — C. Th urn all, Newton, 
near Cambridge, November 15th., 1856. 

Little Auk, (Alca alle.)-— -I have just discovered one of these birds lying 
dead on the surface of our river, forty or fifty miles from the sea. We 
have also had the Rose-coloured Starling and Hoopoe shot close to us. — 
C. Smooth v, Jun., Great Abington, Cambridgeshire, November 22nd., 1856. 

Little Grebe, (Podiceps minor.) — A fine specimen of this bird, in the 
winter plumage, was shot while swimming in a pond near South Shields, 
on November 19th., 1856; it is now in my possession.f — W. Yellowby, 
South Shields, November 26th., 1856. 

Scarcity of Birds in Hard Weather. — This subject was treated upon in 
"The Naturalist" last year, or, indeed, I believe, strictly speaking, two 
winters ago; for we have been visited so unusually early with a severe 

* This bird is the female of the Hen Harrier. — F. 0. M. 
f It is a common bird everywhere. — F. 0, M. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 33 

"storm," snow-blast, and frost, that we have, as it were, bad two^winters 
in one year. It "came in like a lion and went out like a lamb," having 
lasted eight days, beginning on November 28th., and ending on December 
6th., I think. I never remember harder frosts, both black and white. 
The latter, as usual at this season of the year, were precursors of rain, 
and the last continuing for a whole day, the trees were singularly beautiful, 
every spray of every bough being silvered over with the hoar-frost, as if 
all had come out into winter leaf, the verdure, so to speak, being of 
dazzling whiteness, glittering and sparkling in the sun. But the birds, as 
seems to be their wont now-a-days, almost one and all vanished — scarce a 
feather was to be seen. One used to think that hard weather drove the 
birds to us; now it seems to drive them away. — "The why and the 
wherefore?"— F. O. Morris, December 11th, 1856. 

On the 28th. of November last, duriug snow and hard frost, I shot a 
Knot at Nunburuholme, on the edge of the stream by the village green. 
It was extremely tame. I put it up several times, and it alighted each 
time only a few yards off, while I went into a neighbouring cottage for 
a gun. I never before knew one myself so far inland — some five-and- 
twenty miles from the sea. — F. 0. Morris. 

Land Mail. — A fine one was taken alive by a woman at Shelf, near 
Halifax, late one evening in the beginning of November last. She had a 
lantern, and the bird followed her into a little walled enclosure near her 
cottage door, called a fold. — J. Walsh, Hipperholme, near Halifax, 
December 2nd., 1856. 

Skylarks. — On the morning of Wednesday, November 26th., the] neigh- 
bourhood of Halifax was visited by vast flocks of Larks. Many hundreds 
have been shot. They were so numerous that the air was partially darkened 
with them, and they were between one and two hours in passing over. 
Those killed were nearly all very fat. — Idem. 

The Starling and Blue Tit. — In a garden in Church-road, Edgbaston, 
there are many trees of the mountain ash, well berried; on them I saw, 
November 2&th., a large muster of Starlings — nearly thirty; and on 
Monday, December 1st., I observed the Blue Tit, in several instances, 
very near town, also feeding on the red berries of the mountain ash. I 
think it right to record these instances, simple as they are, that my paper 
on "Bird-retreating" may not be without a slight counterbalance. These 
are my first notices of these birds within five minutes walk of the busy 
workshops of our town. Nothing would be more gratifying than an oppor- 
tunity of recording the appearance of many other birds, even though stray 
and occasional visitors. — G. R. Twinn, December 4th., 1856. 



34 

A Simple Catechism of the Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral Kingdoms. 
Particularly adapted to the capacities of very young children. By Charlotte 
O'Brien. London: Relfe, Brothers. Duodecimo, pp. 70. 

A capital little book. It is what it professes to be, and that is more 
than can be said of all books. 



Prize Essay on the Prevention of the Smoke Jttuisance. By Charles Wye 
Williams, Associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers. London: 
John Weale, 59, High Holborn. 1856. Imperial 8vo, pp. 48. 

I suppose that a reviewer, like the editor of a newspaper, is believed 
to know everything; — a most mistaken belief, I will take upon me to assure 
all who entertain it. Among the multitude of subjects of which I know 
little or nothing, that on which the book before us treats must be included; 
but, nevertheless, I have no hesitation in saying that it appears to be the 
able, elaborate, and useful production of one who thoroughly understands 
what he writes about. This, indeed, is evidenced by the fact of its having 
had a special gold medal awarded to it by the Society for the Encouragement 
of Art, Manufacture, and Commerce. There is an excellent portrait (from 
a photograph) of the author given with it. 



Hours of Sun 'and Shade, Reveries in Prose and Verse, with Translations 
from various European Languages. By Percy Vernon Gordon 
de Montgomery. London: Groombridge and Sons. Edinburgh: Hogg. 
1856. 

However heteredox I may seem to some, or perhaps many of my 
readers, for an assertion I have often made in private, I now say 
for the first time in public that, with a few — a very few — exceptions, 
Walter Scott's for instance, Percy's Reliques, and Gray's Elegy, I do not 
like poetry. I do not, however, trouble my readers with this expression 
of my private opinion except for the purpose of saying that the poetry in 
the little book I have now to notice forms one of the exceptions; and, as 
I am called upon to give an opinion about it, I can really say that it 
is an admirable little volume, both prose and poetry being exceedingly 
pleasing, and imbued most happily and judiciously with religious sentiments 
of the right kind. The reason why I like the poetical portion of it is 
not only because the sentiments are good and the rythm easy, but because 
you can understand it as you read it straight through, a quality which, 
to my mind, must be an excellence, as contradistinguished from that 
which is so much of a contrary character as to require almost as 



REVIEWS. 85 

much study as the chorus of a Greek play to make out what it means. 
Take, for instance, Keble's "Christian Year/' which has gone through some 
thirty or forty editions, for no imaginable reason that I can possibly think 
of but that the general idea was happy and the title well chosen; for 
though some of the poems are, I willingly admit, very beautiful, "Sun of 
my Soul," for instance, yet as to many or most of them, I defy any 
human being to read them straight through and tell you the meaning as 
he goes along. 

I have sincere pleasure in heartily recommending this work to all families 
who read "The Naturalist." It is the very book for a present, of an inex- 
pensive kind, to a friend. 

The Natural History Review. ATo. VII. July, 1855. London: Highley. 
Edinburgh: Johnstone and Hunter. Dublin: Hodges and Smith. 

I have received several numbers of this useful work together, and among 
them the one named above, which, as may be seen, I have already noticed 
in vol. vi. of "The Naturalist." It is my intention to review one of the 
quarterly parts each month, and thus a more continued and larger notoriety 
may be gained for the work. I have, I say, already passed under review 
the part before us, but as it has again been inadvertently forwarded with 
the others to me for the purpose, in aniraum venit to begin de novo, for 
the following reason. The said Part contains a review of my "History 
of Biutish Butterflies," and though I before thought that I would not 
remark upon one or two strictures which the editor had added to quite 
as much commendation as, in my opinion, the book deserves, yet as they 
really seem to me to be incorrect, and my having a "Review," as herein, 
of my own, gives me an opportunity, not often possessed by authors, of 
replying to what they do not agree with in any criticisms on their works, 
I enter the lists on the "Diamond-cut-diamond" principle. 

And first let me premise that though having, as hereinbefore said, a 
strong antipathy to and profound contempt for the "Editorial 'We,'" (the 
most potent newspaper "Leading article," that frightens those who are childish 
enough to be "frightened out of their propriety" by such, being the simple 
effusion of the goose-quill of a paid John Wilcocks or Thomas Jones,) I 
desire my readers will not let this be understood as animadverting on the 
editor of the "Natural History Review," who is an able writer well up 
to the mark. 

First, then, to be brief, I "take exception" to what the writer says 
as follows, in his strictures on my having admitted Vanessa Hampstediensis 
into my "British Butterflies," namely, that it "has no claim to be 
esteemed British, having been introduced into the lists by a mere accidental 



"(1 REVIEWS. 

error," and, in a note, "Mr. Dale's remarks, in a letter read before the 
Dublin University Zoological Association, explain* how the mistake occurred 
in regard to this species." I assert, point-blank, that they do not, for the 
best of all possible reasons, that they cannot; nor can he or any one else 
ever do so, unless indeed some evidence never yet brought forward should 
be produced; and to prove this assertion, I here quote the observations 
I made on this subject in "The Naturalist," vol. iv., p. 139: — 

"2ndly., as to the Vanessa Hampstediensis. — Let it be observed how 
guarded I was in what I said of it in my account. — 'The only specimen 
of this insect that has ever yet been recorded, was captured at Hampstead, 
near London, by Albin, and then first described and figured by Petiver. 
It has since been continuously figured and described by succeeding Ento- 
mologists, who have faithfully copied the original picture. By some it has 
been considered a foreign specimen, accidentally imported; by others as 
the product of two different species. The specimen is however no longer 
in existence, and cannot speak for itself; no 'Ecce signum' can now testify 
to the truthfulness of the Entomologist who shall pretend more accurately 
to describe it, than in the stereotyped form which has come down to the 
present day.' 

Mr. Dale said that I ought not to admit it at all, because it must 
have been a mistake of Petiver to say that Albin took it at Hampstead, 
and that he must have meant the 'Isle of Amsterdam/ 

To this I replied, and reply, — 

1st. — That Petiver's express words are, (I quote from my copy of 
Haworth,) 'Papilio oculatus Hampstediensis ex aureo fuscus, (Albin's Hamp- 
stead Eye,) where it loas caught by this curious person, and is the only one 
I have yet seen.' 

2ndly. — That if he had meant the 'Isle of Amsterdam/ he would have 
said so. 

3rdly. — That Amstelodamum being the Latin for Amsterdam, the word 
in this case would have been Amstclvdamensis, and not Hampstediensis. 

4thly. — That Hampstediensis means 'of Hampstead.' 

5thly. — That the Isle of Amsterdam is described as a barren rock in 
the Indian Ocean, on which it was remarkable that not a single insect was 
to be found except the Common Fly! 

He then said that there were three Isles of Amsterdam; but he could 
neither tell me in which of the three the Butterfly was taken, nor when, 
nor by whom. 

Gthly. — That every Entomologist of eminence, down to Stephens and 
Curtis, has given it as British. 

'The very height and front' of my 'gravamina et reformanda' 'hath this 
offence no more.' " 



REVIEWS. 37 

For every one who is open to conviction this, I fancy, will be conclusive. 

Once more, the reviewer thinks that I should have said more as to the 
non-specific identity of Pontia chariclcea and P. sabellicce respectively, with 
P. brassicce and P. napi, but here I differ altogether from him, the fact 
being that every shade of intermediate variety is to be met with; the 
prominent differences being only exhibited in the spring and autumnal broods 
of one and the self-same insect in each case. 

Again, he says that I ought to have admitted Chrysophantis chriseis. 
Hippothoe, and Viryaurea, "the first and last of which can scarcely be 
denied." unless I consider them extinct. Hereon I remark that Mr. Double- 
day has excluded every one of these species, and I believe Mr. Westwood 
also, in his second edition. 

The writer, though he does not say so, seems to hint that I should 
not have admitted Vanessa Jiuntera, as I expressly call it an American 
species. It is, however, an undoubted fact that, a specimen was captured 
on the wing in England, by Captain Blomer, and 1 therefore decidedly 
admit it, in precisely the same way that I, as all other writers, admit 
many birds as British on the ground of the occurrence of single specimens; 
for instance, the Spine-tailed Swallow, though an Australian species. It 
was the dictum of Dale, (though he will not, as I have shewn, act on it 
in the case of Hampstediensis,) and one of which I fully approve, that if a 
credible witness positively asserts a fact as of his own knowledge, the 
statement of such fact ought to be believed, unless positive proof to the 
contrary be shown. 

Here too he remarks on my saying of Argynnis aphrodite, that one was 
taken in a "wild state." The plain meaning was, that the specimen being 
taken, as I stated, in a midland county, and in a wood a few miles from 
a town, precluded the idea of its having been accidently imported, which 
might have been more readily imagined if it had occurred in the 
vicinity of a sea-port town. The reviewer here seems, I think, to be 
rather hypercritical. I see no reason to alter the expression in any future 
edition. 

Lastly, the worthy reviewer would rather that the book had not contained 
the many discursive paragraphs I here and there inserted. He would, it 
seems, have preferred dry details exclusively. Here too, however, I am 
"of the same opinion still," and not "convinced" either against or with 
my will. These are to my mind the very source of the popularity of the 
book, and of the many letters I have received from all parts of the 
country, expressive of the pleasure of the readers with it. Why should 
a reviewer's opinion be worth more than that of any other individual? and 
if I have fifty to his one, am I to agree with the one or the fifty? 
Not one of them can I afford to lose; and least of all can I coincide 

VOL. VII. G 



38 EXCHANGE. PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 

with the reviewer in thinking that the few remarks of a religious tendency 
would have been better omitted. 



tajjnngL 

Algce. — The Rev. F. 0. Morris has duplicates of the following species: — 
Delesseria sanguinea, D. sinuosa, Duinontia filiformis, Odonthalia dentata, 
Himanthalia lorea, Polysiphonia parasitica, P. byssoides, P. urccolata, P. 
Brodioei, Ptilota sericea, P. plutnosa, Porphyra laciniata, Pycnophycus tu- 
besculatus, Rhodomenia laciniata, Mesogloia virescens, Laureucia pinnatifida, 
Laminaria saccharina, Iridaea edulis, Halidris siliquosa, Gracilaria confervoides, 
Desmarestea aculeata, Ectocarpus littoralis, Declyota dichotoma, Cystoseira 
ericoides, C. fibrosa, Chylocladia ovalis, C. articulata, Chordaria flagelliformis, 
Cladostephus verticillatus, Callithamniou arbuseula, Bryopsis plumosa, and 
Alaria esculenta. 

Mr. T. Southwell, Hempton, Fakenham, Norfolk, has a few duplicate 
specimens of British Eggs, and will be happy to send a marked list to 
any subscriber who may also have eggs he wishes to exchange. — Nov. 1856. 



^rnmMttgs nf Inrirtfrs. 

ThirsTc Natural History Society. — The third annual meeting of this Society 
was held on the evening of the 5th. of December, 1856, the President, 
Mr. J. G. Baker, in the chair. The officers brought in their report for 
the past quarter, and were re-elected unanimously. 

The Committee revised a list of the rules, and Mr. John Rhodes was 
requested to put in circulation amongst the members the result of their 
labours. 

It was agreed that all donors of money, or books to the amount of five 
shillings, be recognised as patrons of the Society. 

The following works were proposed to be purchased for the library, and 
accepted unanimously, — "Kirby and Spence's Introduction to Entomology," 
and "Dr. Lauder Lindsay's Popular History of British Lichens." 

Mr. J. H. Davies exhibited a specimen of Cinclidotus riparius, of Ar- 
nott, in fructification, from Sussex. Mr. J. G. Baker exhibited specimens 
from Gormire of an Epilobium, resembling palustre in habit of growth, 
but differing by its decurrent leaves and angular stem, which he suggested 
to be likely to prove an undescribed species, and which he proposed, if 
such proved to be the case, to call Epilobium ligulatum; he also shewed 
to the meeting a series of specimens of the critical Manchester Barbaria, 
described by Mr. Burton, under the name of B. vulgaris, variety intermedia. 



39 



€"jje (terist. 

In answer to your query concerning the bird named Chimney Swallow, 
(Hirundo pelaagia,) in the "List of Birds of Nova Scotia/' which appeared 
in the December No. of "The Naturalist/' the English name should, more 
properly, have been the American Chimney Swallow. There is also a bird 
which should have appeared in that list, namely, the Hudson's Bay Tit, 
(Parus Hudsonicus,) common during winter. Some of your readers may 
be misled with regard to the bird in the list under the name of Northern 
Redpole, (Linaria lorealis,) which is incorrect, the bird being the American 
Lesser Redpole, (Fringilla linaria, Wilson,) or Linaria minor, (Swain and 
Rich.;) it must not, however, be confounded with the Lesser Redpole of 
Britain, (Linota linaria, Yarrell.) There appears to be considerable doubt 
as to the number of species of Redpoles of Europe and North America, 
and as to which of those that have been described are identical. I am 
afraid that it may be some time before the "List of Water Birds" can 
be sent to you, on account of a copy having been mislaid, and the original 
being at present in North America. — T. Blakiston, Woolwich, December 
17th., 1856. 

Vegetable Caterpillar from New Zealand. — When it is alive it lives 
on the seed of the Rata Tree, a very large New Zealand tree. When 
it is a certain age it drops to the ground, and commences burrowing 
till it gets to the root. When the seed begins to grow it dies and 
turns to a part of the root itself:** the stalk coming out of the tail 
is where it attaches itself to the root. I have seen the insect and 
made the drawing from it. The sketch is half the size of the 
original. There is no doubt that some time the specimen was a 
live caterpillar, as it exactly resembles what one of our large cater- 
pillars would appear if dried and wrinkled, 
though the tail has all the appearance of 
a piece of dried stick. Its colour is that 
of stone or bnff. Can any of your numer- 
ous readers favour me with a satisfactory 
explanation? — Arthur Havers, Tenterden, November 22nd., 1856. 

Can any of the readers of "The Naturalist" inform me what the sub- 
stance is that is used to represent snow and ice in cases of stuffed birds, 
also the manner of applying it. At the Exhibition of 1851 there was a 
case of birds, from Sutherlandshire, representing winter, with icicles hanging 
down amidst the moss, and snow covering the rock-work above; perhaps 
some person may remember it, and also have some idea how it was managed; 

* Not so. — F. 0. Morris. 



40 THE QUERIST. 

any information would oblige. — John Braim, Sleights Bridge, Whitby, 
Yorkshire, November 17th., 1856. 

THE HERATICAL SUBJECT. 
I have received the following note from Mr. Frederick Bond: — 
"I certainly do not agree with you that the Guernsey insects should be 
considered British, because a few Botanists and Conchologists consider the 
plants and shells so; and I am not a little astonished at your correspon- 
dent, W. S., taking upon himself to answer for all your readers agreeing 
with you; I know several that do not. — Fred. Bono, 24, Cavendish Road, 
St. John's Wood, November 6th., 1856." 

I wrote to Mr. Bond to inquire whether this note was intended for 
publication, and as in his reply he gives me the option of doing as I 
like with it, I have printed it as above. 

It was needless to tell us that every one did not agree with W. S., 
as I had already published Mr. W. Gray's letter, and Mr. H. T. Stainton's 
dogmatical assertion, to the contrary effect. If however, as I incline to 
hope, the great majority of the readers of "The Naturalist" are persons 
who will "hear reason," I refer through them any others who may take 
an interest in the question, to all 1 have said on the subject in the 
recent numbers. 

Mr. Gray, I well know, is a sound lawyer and a good man; and Mr. 
Bond's name is also creditably known as a naturalist. The question, 
however, for my readers to decide with me, is this: — In the one scale we 
have the names of Babingtonl Hooker!! with Forbes!!! with every Con- 
chologist and Botanist; and in the other those of Mr. H. T. Stainton, 
Mr. W. Gray, and Mr. F. Bond. It is in no disparagement of the latter 
that I ask the question, which scale is to kick the beam? — F. O. Morris. 

It seems next to impossible to extend the wings of many, if not of 
most specimens of Ilymenoptera, in a proper manner. Are any collections 
of this tribe of insects made with the wings in repose, as those of the 
Coleoptera, — namely, with only the legs extended, and the wings reclining 
backwards on each side, ad libitum? — F. O. Morris. 

There are two or three observations by Mr. Morris appended to my 
note on pupce found at the roots of ash, to which, according to his 
request I now reply. I entirely agree with him that many larvae wander 
from their feeding-places till a satisfactory hybernaculum be found, e. g. } 
Pi/gcera bucephala, which, though a tree-feeding species, is rarely found at 
the roots of the tree on which it has fed. But Mr. Morris is mistaken 
in thinking that we must attribute to this circumstance the finding of 
mod of the pupae enumerated by me. This will be seen from my answer 



THE QUERIST. 41 

to his question: — "What species have I fed in confinement on the ash?" 
— I have beaten from ash the following larva?: — P. populi, S. psi, A. 
ligustri, the four Toeniocampce, given, E. Illunaria, E. Fuscantaria, (once) 
0. bidentaria, IT. pennaria, P. pilosaria, B. liirtaria and letularia, and C 
dilutaria. According to M. Guenee C. ocerampelina feeds on the seeds 
of ash ; and I have little noubt that E. innotaria also feeds on that tree, 
as all my specimens of that rare species were taken, as pupa?, under moss 
on the ash. It is well known that Sphinx ligudri also feeds on the 
ash. When speaking of certain trees as harbouring certain pupa?, I by 
no means assert, (though I may infer,) that the larva? feed on those trees. 
The question is how to obtain the moth; and if I can find the pupa at 
the root of some particular tree, it is comparatively immaterial whether 
the larva feeds on it or not* With regard to Alni I must say that, in 
spite of its name, I am very sceptical as to its feeding upon alder at all. 
That tree abounds in this county, but I have in vain searched for the 
larva ;f equally vain has been my search for the pupa, and there are few 
moths I have more sedulously sought for, since it is yet a desideratum in 
my collection. I have always understood that oak was its pabulum, but 
some of your readers may perhaps have met with it elsewhere. I wish 
to correct an error made in my first communication respecting the pupa? 
found at the roots of poplar. I included C. diluta; this is a mistake, I 
have found it at oak, but not at poplar. — J. Greene, Playford, Ipswich. 
In the Querist for December, Mr. Morris seems to doubt whether any 
of the larva? of Lepidoptera feed upon ash. I have great pleasure in 
informing him that during some years collecting I have taken the following 
larvae off ash, and all of them frequently, with the exception of Orgyia 
pudibunda, Ennomos illunnria, and Enpithecia innotata. Sphinx ligustri, 
Orgyia pudibunda, Acronycta ligustri, Tceniocampa gothica, T. instabilis, T. 
stabilis, Odontopera bidentaria, Ennomos illunaria, Biston betularia, Chei- 
matobia brumaria, and Eupithecia innotata. The larva? of Sphinx ligustri 
and Acronycta ligustri are much fonder of ash than privet. The latter, 
though I have taken a considerable number, I never, except in a single 
instance, found upon anything but ash. This exception was a larva which 
I beat half-grown off hazel at Malvern; I fed it upon hazel and bred 
the perfect insect the following year. I am quite at a loss to under- 
stand how it ever got the name of Ligustri. I have not unfrequently 
found the pupa? of Toeniocampa gothica, stabilis, and instabilis, Biston betu- 
laria, Agrotis putris, and Halias prasinana at the roots of ash. As there 

* Of course it is; but how can you calculate on finding it at the root of a tree it has 
not fed on?— F. 0. Moiuus. 

f Because it is a very rare moth. — F. 0. Mokkis. 



42 THE QUERIST. 

seems to be some little doubt with regard to the Lepidopterous larvse 
feeding upon the alder, I take the present opportunity of stating that I 
have at different times beaten the following larvae from that tree, and 
all of them not unfrequently, with the exception of Pcecilocampa populi, 
Ennomos tiliaria, and Zerene rubiginaria. — Pcecilocampa populi, Platypterix 
falcula, Notodonta camelina, N. dromedarius, Pygara bucephala, Apatela 
leporina, Toeniocampa gothica, T. stabilis, T. instabilis, Ennomos tiliaria, 
Chlorochroma cestivaria, Phigalia pilosaria, Piston betularia, Ypsipetes 
impluviaria, Zerene rubiginaria, and Cabera pusaria. A few years since 
I had a pupa of Acronycta alni, the larva of which was found by my 
brother upon alder** in Radnorshire. I have also known the larvae of 
Geometra papilionaria to be taken off alder. I have several times dug up 
the pupae of Toeniocampa gothica, instabilis, and stabilis, and Piston betularia, 
at the roots of alder. I do not suppose that any one ever accused 
Phragmatobia menthrasti, and lubricepeda, Segctia xanthographa, Agrotis 
putris, Chersotis plecta, Hadena persicarice, Phlogophora meticulosa, Abrostola 
urticce, and triplasia, of feeding upon the leaves of the trees under which 
their pupae are found, as it is well known that they all feed upon various 
low-growing plants, and I think that Mr. Morris entirely misunderstood 
Mr. Greene, if he supposes the latter to think that such is the case. 
The larvae of these insects, like most others, when full fed, select a spot 
sheltered from damp and moisture, in which to undergo their transform- 
ations;! and as the nooks and crannies at the roots of trees are 
admirably adapted for this purpose, it thence happens that their pupae are 
often found there. The larva of Hadena persicarice is the only larva of 
those above named which can be suspected of feeding on trees, though 
I have never taken it upon anything higher than elder; it is however 
such an extremely polyphagous animal, that is just possible that it mav 
sometimes aspire to more lofty food. — H. Hart-ur Crewe, M.A., Stowmarket, 
Suffolk, December 8th., I806. 

° ° Having some years ago been taught to "chop logic" at Oxford College, 
I hope I am found to aim at precision in what I say, but it seems that 
I am not so fortunate in being understood as I could wish. The question 
I asked was, what species Mr. Greene had himself fed in confinement on 
the ash? and his reply is a re-enumeration of the species he has beat 

* I am glad that this confirms my statement. — F. 0. Mourns, 
f Is not this exactly what I had stated; I really cannot see that I am open to the 
charge of having misunderstood Mr. Greene, who without note or comment enumerated, in 
reply to my qucure as to what species fed upon the ash, lubricepeda and menthrasti as among 
those he had found at the root of that tree. If this did not mean to leave it to he inferred 
that those species fed upon the ash, what did it mean? Is it I or Mr. Crewe that mis- 
understands Mr. Greene's meaning? I will ask Mr. Greene himself to say; nay, he allows 
on the previous page, 41, that it is to be inferred. — F. 0. Morris. 



OBITUARY. 43 

from that tree. So again, Mr. Crewe gives very valuable information as 
to several larva), but he tenders a similar reply to Mr. Greene's to my 
question, and does not mention one single species that he has himself fed 
in confinement on the ash. — F. 0. Morris. 



(Dliitnnri[. 

Death of Mr. David Dyson, the Naturalist. — We announce with deep 
regret the death of Mr. David Dyson, of Manchester, a well-known naturalist, 
at the early age of thirty-three, which took place on the afternoon of Wed- 
nesday, December 10th., 1856, at the residence of his brother, Mr. John 
Dyson, Woodbine Cottage, Rusholme. The cause of his death was ulcer- 
ation of the larynx. Mr. Dyson was born at Oldham, in April, 1823, and 
his early years were passed as a factory worker; but he very soon evinced 
a passion for collecting insects, and spent every available penny of his hard 
earnings in the gratification of his love for entomology. He subsequently 
devoted himself to making collections in ornithology and conchology. His 
ardour in these pursuits led him, in 1843, to undertake a voyage to the 
United States of America. He was then twenty years of age, and quite 
unknown beyond his own neighbourhood, and unfriended, for his own savings 
and some money given him by his elder brother furnished him with such 
scanty means for his voyage, that on landing in New York he had only 
a few shillings left. His industry and energy, however, enabled him to 
make a tour in his new profession as collector through the States, across 
the Alleghany mountains, and as far as St. Louis, earning the means of 
subsistence on his way by selling portions of his collections in natural history 
to the local museums. 

After an absence of less than twelve months he returned to England 
with upwards of eighteen thousand specimens of insects, birds, shells, and 
plants. This collection was found to contain some very rare specimens; 
his success was the source of amazement almost among the leading natu- 
ralists, and the late Mr. Hugh Strickland invited him to his father's 
residence, Cracombe House, Worcestershire, and attempted to engage him 
on behalf of himself and a number of other gentlemen to make a 
second voyage to America; but the negociations failed. Being then near 
London he took the opportunity to visit that city for the first time in his 
life, and fouud, to his surprise, that his fame as a collector had preceded 
him thither. At the British Museum he found that the intelligence had 
reached there of his recent visit at Sir George Strickland's, and an en- 

* This is a mistake. Mr. Hugh Strickland's father, then resident at Craeomhe House, the 
seat of Mr. IVrrott, and now of Apperley Court, near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, was Mr. 
Henry Eustatius Strickland, brother of Sir George. — F. 0. Morris. 



44 OBITUARY. 

gageraent was offered him to go out in search of specimens to Central 
America, which he accepted. In corroboration of the statement that he 
thus early became acquainted with some of the leading naturalists, it may- 
be mentioned that Mr. Edward Doubleday speaks of him in an article on 
ledidopterous insects in the second volume of the "Zoologist," published in 
1844, as "an intelligent young man, originally a weaver at Oldham, whose 
zeal for entomology carried him out last year to the United States." 

He started for Central America on the 17th. of September, 1844, and 
landed at Belize on the 3rd. of November. He remained in Honduras till 
the latter end of 1845, actively engaged in his vocation, and in the deadly 
swamps of that country contracted disorders which undermined his consti- 
tution, the immediate cause of his return being a sunstroke at Belize. He 
was eminently successful, however, and returned to England after forwarding 
an extensive and varied collection of insects, shells, birds, and reptiles. His 
collection included an extensive variety of orchidaceous plants. In this tour 
he also executed several commissions for the late Earl of Derby and others 
in live and dead specimens, which were added to the already magnificent 
aviary and museum at Knowsley. Some plants of his collection were also 
presented to the Manchester Botanical Gardens. The chief result of this 
enterprise, however, was the addition of many thousand specimens to the 
British Museum. In 1846 he went out to South America for the British 
Museum, and travelled in Venezuela, carrying with him very valuable intro- 
ductions. He was accompanied by his brother, Mr. Amos Dyson, and they 
returned after an absence of about eleven months; his collection on this 
occasion including a great variety of humming-birds, moths, beetles, and 
shells. 

In the latter part of his life conchology became his favourite study, 
and he has left behind him a private collection, numbering upwards of 
twenty thousand shells, many of them very rare, and including more than 
ten thousand different species. He has also left a large collection of birds 
and insects. These collections, it is said, are very valuable, and equalled 
by few out of London; and it is hoped than an effort will be made to 
secure them for some of the local public museums. Mr. Dyson succeeded 
Mr. Louis Fraser as curator at Knowsley, and he held that responsible 
situation up to the death of the late Earl of Derby, when the specimens 
of natural history collected there by that nobleman were sold. Some years 
ago he resided for a time with Mr. CumnVing, of Gower Street, London, 
and assisted that gentleman in the arrangement of his extensive collection 
of shells. He was altogether a S3lf-educated man, and, notwithstanding 
early disadvantages, his acquirements were considerable, his kind and gen- 
tlemanly bearing gathering about him a large circle of highly-cultivated 
men, whose esteem he retained to the last. — From the "Homing Herald." 




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The Study of Natural History Conducive to Health. By T. Fuller, 

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On the Classification of the Animal Kingdom by the Distribution of 

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45 



THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY CONDUCIVE 
TO HEALTH. 

BY THOMAS FULLER, ESQ. 

(Concluded from page 24.) 

How to get rid of these Cats puzzles me sadly. Notwithstanding" 
they have found powerful advocates in some of your correspondents, in my 
estimation they are absolutely vermin. I have succeeded in getting rid 
of a litter of kittens; fortunately, they have gone into houses in the city, 
where their natural habits will be limited to the destruction of rats and 
mice; but I am sorry to say a continuance of certain nightly serenades of 
the most horrid sounds gives promise of another. If such consummation 
takes place, they, at least, shall have early care; meanwhile, something 
must be done to lessen the number of full-grown individuals now about. 
I did look for assistance from my gardener, but upon sounding him, 
found no hopes of co-operation from that quarter. Although a rough 
uneducated subject, I never met with a man so full of human kindness; 
he is taciturn to a degree, which makes him appear uncouth to some 
people; but I respect him so much for his honesty, and genuine goodness 
of heart, that I would not on any consideration, ask him to do what was 
opposed to his own feeling. Such is his gentleness that I have seen him 
take up toads tenderly with his spade, carry them a distance from the 
garden, and deposit them carefully in the nearest ditch. Such acts stand 
out in striking contrast to the cruelty generally practised towards these 
poor reptiles. I next made overtures to a man who works for me 
occasionally, and inquired if he could manage to make away with some 
Cats which infested my house. "Oh! yes," replied he, "I will manage 
that job;" so having appointed him to come in the evening for them, 
we proceeded to get possession of the offenders, with no small difficulty, 
so wild are they: we succeeded in capturing two, one of them, La Chatte, 
a principal performer in the serenades, as evidenced by appearance of the 
approaching consummation before mentioned. My accomplice was punctual 
"to his engagement, and producing a sack, the animals were forthwith 
securely bestowed in it. "Now," said I, "the river, the river is the thing; 
tie a heavy stone round the neck of each, and cast them far as you 
possibly can towards the middle." "Lor Sir!" ejaculated the man, "I 
would not kill a Cat for the world." "Then what on earth did you 
come here for?" said I, somewhat nettled at the fellow's simplicity. "Oh!" 
added the man, "I am going to carry them a long distance off, to a mill 
that I know of, where they are sure of finding protection, and will never 
come back here to annoy you." 

VOL. VII. H 



46 THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 

The working classes here share with sailors in the superstition respecting 
Cats, and believe that ill-luck is certain to attend any person who kills 
one. It is much to be regretted the same feeling does not prevail in 
regard to Magpies; or, what would be still better, the disposition towards 
each reversed. 

It is not uncommon for Cats to return home after being taken long 
distances. Knowing this, I ought not to have placed any reliance upon 
the proposed plan; but feeling happy in the idea of being rid of them, I 
was not particular as to the way; so telling him to do what he pleased 
with them so as my garden was freed from their presence, I proceeded 
to join my family circle, congratulating myself upon being thus relieved 
from two of the worst of my tormentors, and claiming approval from the 
individual members of my family for having so cleverly managed this 
affair. 

The night passed tranquilly, undisturbed by Le tintarnarre horrible. In 
the morning all seemed right, and I had the satisfaction of walking round 
my gardens without seeing anything of my enemies; the morning passed 
without anything occurring to disturb pleasing reflections; the midday meal 
passed over, and taking my accustomed seat at the window commanding 
a view of the garden — Eh! what! surely it cannot be; yes, true enough, 
there crouched one of the Cats in a favourite situation, blinking in the 
sun with an easy indifference, as if nothing had happened! Though greatly 
mortified at his appearance, I comforted myself in the hopes that one at 
least was gone, and the worst, inasmuch as it was La Chatte, with Les 
Chattee in immediate prospect. Night passed sans tintarnarre affreuoc, and 
the next morning, with no signs of the absentee. The day had nearly 
passed, and I was beginning to feel somewhat at ease, when in came a 
servant from the garden, with the disagreeable intelligence of the return 
of the other Cat. Rising from my seat, and going despondingly to the 
window, there sure enough was madame seated under a shrub, upon the 
watch for prey, intent as usual. 

Pardon this rambling digression, and pray expunge it if you think fit 
to do so; but really these enemies to my peace so occupy my mind at 
present, that I could not help offering a few remarks upon them. 

The Swallow tribes are now manifesting a disposition to leave us. On 
the morning of the 8th. instant, House Martins assembled in great numbers 
upon the roof of the villa adjoining this; there was a perfect charm in 
their twittering, and although all were speakers there appeared no difference 
of opinion, for suddenly they all dispersed, clearly of one mind, distributing 
themselves about the meadows around, with quick gyrations, collecting 
food as usual. Notwithstanding the researches of many indefatigable 
naturalists, we are still imperfectly informed upon the movements of these 



SYMPATHY BETWEEN MAN AND ANIMALS. 47 

interesting birds. They continue flying about here, but, as appears to me, 
in reduced numbers since their meeting on the 8th. Is it not probable 
that the flies constituting food most agreeable to them are now lessening? 
so that, like able economists, in which knowledge there is no teaching 
like instinct, they are enabled to comprehend the necessity of sending 
away a portion of their community. The unincumbered are perhaps gone, 
leaving those with young to .follow, soon as sufficient strength is acquired, 
or as food fails. Such condition of affairs may reasonably be assumed to 
be the subject of discussion at the assembly mentioned, and the diminution 
in number points to that result. 

Bath, September \$th. } 1856. 



SYMPATHY BETWEEN MAN AND ANIMALS. 

BY O. S. ROUND, ESQ. 

It is perhaps a trite observation how differently two persons will act 
under the same circumstances; one will fail, the other will succeed; arising, 
doubtless, from the possession of a particular faculty in one, which the 
other does not possess, and therefore has no inciting feeling towards; and 
this goes further, for it often happens that we do possess the faculty, but 
want example or stimulus of some kind to enable us to compass the act; 
and thus, to speak more to the point of what I am about to say, this 
master-spirit exercises a wonderful influence on the brute creation, and 
that not always directly. 

I can speak from experience with regard to horses, the most beautiful, 
noble, and intelligent of animals, in my opinion; and I am sure I need 
only refer any practised horseman or whip to his own experience in con- 
firmation on this point of what I would advance. Let him remember how 
he has thrown himself on the back of a favourite horse on a sunny 
morning, and taken a ride of a few miles, and how he has enjoyed the 
ride; and let him remember how cheerily and well his nag cantered along. 
Why was this? He may answer, "It was a fine morning, and I was 
well and in good spirits, and the fineness of the day influenced the horse 
too, if he felt such things;" be assured he did, but he did more than 
this, he was conscious of your own exhilaration, and partook of and sympa- 
thized in the feeling. Put another case, that of a hunt, when men* and 
horses are excited enough, and yet even here, a timid and unassured rider 
will cause the most gallant horse to miss at his leap, not merely from 
bad management, but the influence which the rider has over his horse's 
sympathies. Thus we hear many anecdotes of an intractable, nay, unman- 
ageable animal being subdued and gentle, merely by the consciousness of 



48 CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

being brought in contact with a master-spirit, although this belongs rather 
to moral influence than sympathy. 

Dogs, again, are extraordinary creatures to discover the humour you 
happen to be in; I have observed their manners much, having always 
kept several; and I remember well on one occasion, a very intelligent 
Terrier, who was quite a parlour pet, displaying the appreciation of the 
feelings of those around her in a singular manner. My father arrived from 
London late in the evening, cold and wet, and not very comfortable; he 
came into the parlour and sat down by the fire, when Mrs. Nelly would 
usually spring upon his lap, but now she lay silent, and not offering her 
usual welcome, but eyeing him attentively; at length, being thawed and 
settled, he became more at ease, and madame ventured to get up and 
gently lick his hand, which was placed upon his knee, and this of course 
produced some such expression as "Why, my little Nell, are you there?" 
etc., and she took her accustomed place on his knee, and they were both 
shortly very comfortable. Dogs are thought to be the only animals that 
understand looks, but I should rather think that this proposition should 
be varied by saying, they are the only animals who shew that they under- 
stand looks; for I am persuaded that Cats are quite as intelligent, but not 
so malleable or docile. 

All animals almost, and particularly wild beasts, are perfectly capable 
of recognising and appreciating determination in the eye, as we have 
witnessed notable instances of in Mr. Van Amburgh, and those who pre- 
ceded and followed him; and even the Tiger in the jungle will not 
willingly face a man. It has been asserted that by looking intently at a 
Hare, in a form, you may pick her up; and I have assuredly caught them 
sitting; but this was when dogs were coursing about, and 1 pounced upon 
her suddenly. Indeed I once remember laying hold of a fine Rabbit in 
his seat, and turning him out of it with my hands, when he would not 
run, although in perfect health, and unhurt; and I could only account for 
this by the supposition that as we had many dogs with us, and formed a 
party of ourselves, he was completely paralyzed by fear. 



ON THE 

CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM BY THE 

DISTRIBUTION OF THE NERVES. 

BY F. M. BURTON, ESQ. 

No. I. 

There is, perhaps, no work that has so much conduced to the spread 
of sound scientific knowledge among all classes, as that of the "General 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. ' 49 

Structure of the Animal Kingdom," by Professor Rymer Jones. Treating 
of matter of the deepest import, it is written in language so plain and 
simple, that the most superficial reader can at once grasp its contents; 
and so interesting does each recital appear under the hands of this popular 
writer, that it is with feelings almost of reluctance that we finish the 
perusal of the book. In the course of the work, following out the systems 
of C'uvier, Owen, and Mc'Leay, the author has classified the entire animal 
kingdom by the distribution of the nerves, which, as he says, "must be 
regarded as the very essence or being of all creatures, with which their 
sensation, volition, and capability of action are inseparably connected;" and 
no one who has perused the book can deny the completeness of the 
arrangement; though, as will presently appear, it is impossible to carry 
out the favourite scheme of so many, that of the gradual and regular 
development of organic created matter, from one class of animals to another, 
by a series of connecting links, each order and genus being in every res- 
pect superior to the one immediately preceding; for in many places it 
will be found that though certain families are undoubtedly superior in one 
or more types of organization to those below them, yet in other respects 
they are not so highly developed. 

Again, in refutation of the errors of such systematic naturalists, it will 
be seen on perusing the Professor's book, that a particular series of 
developments, which may perhaps run through several genera, is again 
repeated in a still higher tribe, as, for instance, the gradual concentration 
of the nerves, from Annelidans to the class Insecta, which is again repro- 
duced, and, as it were, imitated in particular species of the single class 
Crustacea, and so on. How far however the gradual superiority of one class 
over another, in organic structure from the lowest to the highest orders, is 
exemplified by the work before us, I will endeavour cursorily to shew. 

The first great division of the animal kingdom is called Acrita, or animals 
whose nerves cannot be discerned, including, Sponges, Polyps, Polygastrica, 
Acalepha, and Sterelmintha. 

The first and lowest — the Sponges — are animals composed of horny 
elastic fibres of great delicacy, united with each other in every possible 
direction, so as to form innumerable canals, which traverse its substance 
in all directions. When alive, these simple animals are covered over in 
every part with a coating of gelatine, the common sponge being in fact 
only a skeleton of the origins*. They are invariably fixed, when alive, to 
some rock or marine substance, and have not the slightest power of motion, 
except when young. Their means of growth is by the continual suction 
of the surrounding water through the smaller orifices, which is again 
continually cast out from the large canals. They are reproduced by 
mechanical division, and the growth ef little gelatinous gemmules, which on 



GO CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

their first appearance, possess the power of moving about by means of 
cilia, but these drop off" on the animals becoming fixed to any suitable 
substance. 

The next class, Polyps, is a very interesting one; the lowest in order, 
the Mushroom Corals, much resemble the Sponges, onlj-, instead of a horny 
elastic substance, they secrete a stony calcareous skeleton. When alive, 
these corals are covered with gelatine, which is endowed with a slight 
power of sensibility, for it contracts if rudely assailed. These animals are 
not attached, and, as the motions of the sea would easily overturn them, 
in order to keep the right side uppermost, they are provided with a 
singular apparatus of air-vessels. Their means of growth is not well under- 
stood, |no organs of vitality being as yet discovered, but the gelatinous 
covering, it is presumed, in some way or other absorbs materials of support 
from the surrounding water; so that, if superior to the former genus in 
the nature of their secretion and sensitive powers, yet they would certainly 
seem to be inferior to them in their means of obtaining food by the 
formation of currents in the water. Their reproduction is by the devel- 
opment of sprouts or gemmules, which, in process of time, become 
detached. 

The Hydras, or Fresh-water Polyps, are next described. These animals 
are common in our ponds and ditches, and resemble little transparent 
lumps of gelatine; they have the power of motion, can appreciate the 
presence of light, and possess a simple bag in the nature of a stomach, 
with digestive powers of a very enviable description. Their mode of 
catching prey is by means of a variable number of tentacula spread round 
the mouth; and their means of reproduction is by the growth of gemmae 
or sprouts, and by mechanical division or incision. Next come the cortical 
compound Polyps, gregarious animals, some of which secrete a soft central 
mass; a good example of which we have in our coasts in the Alcyonium 
digitatum, or "Dead man's fingers," as they are usually called, and others 
which produce a hard calcareous matter, as the Corallidce, or Corals, etc. 
The Separate Polyps resemble somewhat the Hydrce, but have invariably 
eight tentacula. The stomach of these animals terminates in a tube, which 
extends into the common mass of gelatine, to which it probably conveys 
nourishment; there is in fact an individuality and community of nutrition 
in each Polyp. In their means of reproduction they are decidedly higher 
than anything we have yet met with, as each Polyp possesses an ovary, in 
which germs are developed. 

The Madreporidce and Corallidce are next described — animals which, though 
exceedingly minute, and composed of a soft gelatinous substance, by the 
deposition of their skeletons, become a mighty agency in the hands of 
God for the production of new land in the tropical seas. In one tribe of 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 51 

the latter genus — the Tubiporidce, we find animals which, although they 
live in society, do not seem to he organically united; they have, moreover, 
the power of protruding themselves from the mouths of their tubes, and 
their ovaries are more highly developed. 

Next come the Actina, composed of a fleshy substance, attached by one 
end to a rock, and having numerous tentacula at the other, with which 
they catch their prey. They can detach themselves from their fixed position 
at pleasure, and move along the rocks, or render themselves buoyant by 
distension. Their stomachs are simple bags within the body, and have 
only one orifice, the mouth. Their mode of respiration is by drawing 
water through the tentacula, which are perforated, into a series of chambers 
which communicate with one another, between the digestive bag and the 
outer integument of the animal. Their organs of reproduction are more 
highly developed than [those preceding; their eggs, which are very abundant, 
are secreted by peculiar membranes situate within the chambers before 
spoken of, and the young escape by a minute aperture at the base of the 
stomach. The Anemones are likewise produceable by mechanical division. 
As to their nervous system, some authors seem to think that they have 
discovered a few delicate threads in different parts of the body, but these 
surmises are not free from doubt. 

The next tribe of Polyps mentioned are unciliated gregarious animals 
living in horny tubes, those having cilia — the Bryozoa — being of a much 
higher organization, as will presently appear. These Zoophytes are com- 
mon on our own coasts, and are often taken by the ignorant for sea- 
weeds. They possess a sort of circulation very much like that found in 
some plants. The tentacles of these animals, when stretched out, are 
seen to be studded with minute tubercules, but are never provided with 
cilia. Their stomach is a digestive sac filled with granular matter, and 
they are reproduced in different ways; by cuttings, as in plants, by the 
formation of new branches, and by gemmules capable of locomotion by 
means of cilia. The gemmules spring from cells produced at certain 
periods of the year on the stem of the Zoophyte, and are termed vesicles; 
they are larger than the common cells, and fall off when they have fulfilled 
their functions. 

We now leave the Polyps and come to the next class, the Polygastrica, 
or Infusoria Animalcula, animals of the minutest kind, and the very atoms 
of creation, yet how wonderful in their structure! This family is divided 
into two groups, one having a soft body, and the other covered with a 
delicate transparent shell, the former termed iSuda, and the latter Loricata 
Animalcula. Some of the soft-bodied ones are perfect harlequins; they 
can contract and elongate themselves at pleasure, sometimes appearing 
round, at others linear, and they assume every intermediate variety of 



52 CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

shape according to circumstances. The shells of the loricated gentlemen 
of course confine their owners within due hounds, but their mailed coats 
are often beautifully varied in form. Their means of locomotion differ in 
different species; some move by filaments attached to the body; some are 
provided with styli, or stiff articulated bristles, which are moveable, and 
uncini, or little hooks, by which they attach themselves to foreign bodies; 
others are covered all over with cilia, which vibrate very rapidly; while 
some have the same organs only round the mouth. The oral orifices of 
the Polygastrica are usually simple, yet Ehrenberg in some species has 
described a sort of dental system. Their digestive apparatus consists of a 
number of internal sacculi, or little stomachs, and in most species there 
is only one orifice, the mouth, though some more organized pass their 
food right through the body. Their reproduction is either by external 
gemmules or buds, or by the same gemmules produced internally, which 
latter, when ready to come forth, escape by bursting open their common 
parent; they are also produced by spontaneous division of the body, each 
part becoming a separate animal. No circulation, or means of respiration, 
properly so called, has been seen in the Polygastrica, neither has any 
nervous matter as yet been discovered. 

Next in order comes the class Acalephte, better known by the name 
of Jelly-fishes. These the author of the book above mentioned, following 
previous writers, classifies according to their organs of locomotion, and we 
have the Pulmonigrada, Ciliograda, Physograda, Cirrigrada, and Diphyda. 
The means of motion in the first order is by the alternate contraction 
and expansion of the large mushroom-shaped disc comprising the body of 
the animal, which resembles somewhat the motions of lungs in respiration; 
from the under surface of this disc hang various elongate processes, an- 
swering the purposes of tentacula. In the Ciliograda the organs of motion 
are bands of cilia placed in various parts round the body. The Physograda 
swim by means of bladders, which the animals inflate at their pleasure. 
The Cirrigrada move by means of numerous appendages called cirri, which 
perform the office of oars; these animals possess an internal porous skeleton; 
while the last, the Diphyda, are very extraordinary creatures, and derive 
their name from their appearing each one to consist of two separate portions 
joined together in the slightest way. The whole family possesses but a 
single cavity or stomach, appropriated to the purposes of digestion, circu- 
lation, and respiration, which functions are carried on by means of canals, 
which vary somewhat in different species. Many of them possess the power 
of stinging, but in what way it is produced seems still to be a mystery. 
Some have also the property of emitting phosphorescent light, which is 
exceedingly brilliant in some seas, "many of the larger ones being described 
by navigators as resembling white hot shot, visible at some depth beneath 



CLASSIFICATION OP THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 53 

the surface." The instruments of sensation in the Acahphce are the tentaeula 
and suckers appended to the body. No nervous system has been discovered 
with any accuracy, if at all, in even the largest Medusae, and the organs 
of reproduction seem to be little better understood, though several authors 
have described the position of ovaria in various parts of the body. 

We now come to the last family of acrite animals, the Sterelmintha, 
or Parenchymatous Entozoa, creatures which are nourished, as their name 
implies, in the interior of other animals. The simplest of this class are 
the Cystiform Sterelmintha, or Hydatids, one of which, the Ccenurus cerebralis, 
abundant in the brains of sheep, and met with in other ruminants, is 
shaped like a bladder, with numerous mouths furnished with hooks appended 
to it; others have only one mouth, as the Cysticercus crassicollis. The 
mode of reproduction of these curious creatures resembles that of some of 
the Polyjastrica before mentioned, as the young are formed by gemmules 
growing in the inside of the stomach, which in course of time become 
detached, and burst through the body of their parent. Among the most 
interesting of this last tribe are the Taenia, or Tape-worms, several of 
which infest the human body, and attain to the prodigious length of 
twenty or thirty feet. The body of the commonest consists of a series 
of linear segments united together, and increasing in size towards the middle; 
and each of these segments may be regarded as a distinct animal, for 
every one of them is found to possess a complete generative apparatus, 
the ovaria occupying the centre of each joint. The head is of a very 
singular shape, and is provided with a mouth in the centre beset round 
with spines. The alimentary canal consists of two tubes, which extend 
through the whole length of the body, having cross canals in each segment, 
which unite them. 

The next in order are much more highly organized animals; they are 
called Distoma, or Flukes, and are commonly found in the liver and 
biliary ducts of sheep. These little parasites excel all preceding ones in 
the development of their generative system, which is very voluminous; 
they are hermaphrodite animals, and their structure is very peculiar. 

The Planarice, which seem not altogether properly to belong to this 
class, are next described. They cannot be classed as Entozoa, as they 
inhabit ponds and stagnant waters, and in some respects they are decidedly 
inferior to the animals placed below them, which have been just described. 
They resemble gelatine in appearance, and can be multiplied by mechanical 
division. Their mouths are usually placed on the ventral aspect of the 
body. Their digestive apparatus resembles that of the Distoma, and the 
stomach has only one orifice, in this respect therefore being inferior to 
some Polygastrica. These animals are also hermaphrodite, like the last. 

One more type of this class is mentioned in the Professor's book, the 

VOL. VII. i 



54 INJURIOUS INSECTS. 

most perfect of all the Parenchymatous Entozoa ; they are called Acan- 
thocephala. These animals, although they resemble the preceding genera 
of the family in their digestive apparatus, having no outlet except the mouth 
for discharging the residue of digestion, yet, in the organs of reproduction, 
they are infinitely superior, "and present a manifest analogy with higher 
classes, indicated by the complete separation of the sexes." They are 
Entozoic in their habits, and their mouths are armed with sharp recurved 
hooks, which enable them to hold securely to that part to which they 
are affixed. 

Uppingham, January 1th., 1857. 



INJURIOUS INSECTS.— No. VII. 



APHIS, (APHIDI1, L.,) OR PLANT-LICE. 

BY J. Mc'lNTOSH, ESQ. 
C Continued from page 181, Vol. 6.) 

Aphides. — Each of these" unwelcome visitants to our plants seems to live 
only to eat and be eaten; they take no trouble to conceal themselves, or 
even to shelter their bodies from the passing inclemency of the weather; sun- 
shine or storm are alike to them; and while the emptied carcases of their 
neighbours are being piled around them in heaps by their enemies, they 
go on sucking the juices from the tender shoots and leaves, and as long 
as there remains a drop of sap on which they chance to be, they stick to 
their position until their time has come to be sucked by the larvae of 
the beautiful Hemerobius, L., Syrphice, and the interesting Coccinella, of 
Linn. 

The injuries occasioned to plants by these insects are greater than would 
at first sight appear from their small size and apparent weakness, but they 
make up in number what they want in strength, and thus become such 
formidable enemies to vegetation. Plants are differently affected by them; 
some wither and cease to grow, the leaves and plants put on a sickly 
appearance, and some die from exhaustion; others, although not killed, are 
greatly impeded in their growth, and the tender parts which have been 
attacked become stunted. Their punctures seem to poison some plants, 
and affect others in a most singular manner, producing warts or swellings, 
some of which are solid, and some hollow, containing thousands of the 
descendants of a single individual, whose puncture was the original cause 
of the tumour. The diseases caused to vegetation by these all-destroying 
pests, are worthy of being inquired into, and worthy of man's power to 
remedy; but unfortunately some of them are not to be remedied, at least 



INJURIOUS INSECTS. 55 

no practicable counteractors can be suggested. The application of strong 
tobacco-water mixed with soap-suds, has been frequently recommended, and 
is the safest and best remedy for the gardener. Oil of turpentine has also 
been recommended, by M. De Thosse, in "Mem. d'Agriculture," for their 
destruction in the following manner: — A few handfuls of earth were put 
into a bowl, on which a small quantity of the oil of turpentine was poured, 
which he rendered into a liquid state by the addition of water; with 
this mixture the points of the shoots infected was moistened, which had 
the effect not only of killing the insects but the eggs also; and the evapo- 
ration of the oil had for some time afterwards the effect of keeping off 
other insects from the shoots. 

Oils do not readily mix with water, but the mode here adopted of 
mixing it with earth before the water was added, had the effect of dividing 
the essential particles into sufficiently minute parts, to cause a complete 
division of it through the whole mixture. Oil of turpentine should, however, 
be used with great caution upon the tender shoots of plants and trees, as 
it will not only kill the Aphides but the young shoots also. So also with 
a weak solution of arsenic, as we have frequently experienced from various 
experiments made with a view to discover a speedy remedy for the destruc- 
tion of this pest. 

To the agriculturist we can offer no remedy, but would here observe, 
as we have so frequently done in the pages of "The Naturalist," that 
he destroys his best friends in the very act of destroying these injurious 
insects, which in a certain measure are hidden from his eye; while the 
sparrow, lark, rook, crow, blackbird, thrush, chaffinch, greenfinch, bullfinch, 
hedge-sparrow, robin, tomtit, and many other useful feathered friends being 
in his eyes conspicuous offenders, are considered nuisances, and receive orders 
to depart this life — awful idea! it is quite suffocating! All this is done, 
and another year rolls round — How do things stand now? Why, your 
grain and fruit crops are in the jaws of a far more desti'uctive enemy, which 
you cannot shoot or destroy otherwise; quite a blight to your expectations, 
after all the pains you had taken to extirpate these vermin Birds! How- 
ever, a name once in vogue will have its day. Birds are not the only 
destroyers of the Aphides, for they have their insect enemies as well; a 
variety of species of different orders and genera, keep them within certain 
limits, one or two of which we will here describe. Hylophila nemorum, 
belonging to the Hemipterous order, who with its long beak taps the Aphis 
through the skin and drinks it empty. Hemerobius, L., the larvae of which 
have justly been called the lions of the Aphides. They are furnished with 
a pair of long crooked mandibles, which terminate in a sharp point, and 
are perforated. When amongst the Aphides, like wolves in a sheepfold, 
they make dreadful havoc; half a minute suffices them to suck the largest, 



56 INJURIOUS INSECTS. 

and clothe themselves, like Hercules, with the spoils of their hapless victims. 
The next destroyer in our list comes the interesting Syrphice, whose larvae 
are armed with a singular mandible, furnished, like a trident, with three 
points. Being blind he fixes himself by the tail, and gropes about on 
every side till he touches one, when he immediately transfixes it with his 
trident- shaped mandible, holding it up in the air as if not to be disturbed 
by its struggles for life, and when dead devours it. Notwithstanding the 
disadvantage of being blind, he makes his way from branch to branch with 
astonishing assiduity, examining by feeling about with the nicest discrimina- 
tion even the remotest twigs. Having cleared a twig, monkey-like he 
swings himself to the next, and recommences his operations of rapacity. 

"Not half sufficed, and greedy yet to kill." 

In this way thousands of Aphides are consumed by these larvae, and so 
silly and helpless are their prey, that so far from thinking of escaping 
from their enemy, they may actually be seen walking over his back with 
the greatest indifference, and when seized resigning themselves to their 
doom almost without a struggle. In addition to these a small species of 
Ichneumon deposits its eggs in their bodies. These eggs soon assume the 
larva state, and consume the interior of the Aphis, till at length it sickens, 
and, like the stricken deer, retires from the herd to die alone. Such are 
the remarkably globose specimens of withered straw tint which are frequently 
found firmly adhering to leaves, etc., showing a minute hole through which, 
on attaining its winged form, the parasite made its escape. 

Serviceable as the foregoing insects are, they must make room, and even 
yield to the interesting Coccinella, L., or Lady bird, the favourite insect 
of our childhood, as the greatest enemy of the Aphides, for on these pests 
their larvse entirely live, with the exception of G. Meroglyphica, which, 
according to Professor Reich, lives solely on the leaves of Erica vulgaris, 
(Common Heath.) These insects the hop-grower and the horticulturist will 
do well by protecting as much as they possibly can. They are generally 
seen in years when the Aphides are abundant. 

Mr. Kirby states, "that in the year 1807, the shore at Brighton, and 
on the south coast, was literally covered with them, to the great surprise 
and even alarm of the inhabitants, who were ignorant that their little 
visitors were emigrants from the neighbouring hop grounds, where, in their 
larvae state, each had slain his thousands and tens of thousands of Aphides. 

From what we have already advanced, it will be apparent to those 
unacquainted with entomology, that the insects we have described above, 
in gratifying their own appetite, deliver us from a dreadful scourge, which 
is by many termed "Blight." We often hear intelligent men say, "there 
is blight in the air to-day," when this supposed "blight" is animal life, 



UNITY OF SYSTEM. 



(either visible or invisible to his naked eye, wafted by the winds or air, 
however unperceivable to the feelings of man) in quest of food — a wise 
arrangement of the Great Almighty, who provideth for all, from the micro- 
scopic insect to the biped who calls himself lord of the universe. If it were 
not for the numerous insect enemies with which the Aphides are surrounded, 
these prolific insects would multiply to such a degree, that they would 
finish by totally drying up the plants, which as it is they disfigure so much. 

According to Swainson, our species of Aphides are not found in South 
America, but their place is supplied by numerous species of Membrocis 
Centrobus, Lat., which are in fact the plant-lice of that continent. 

The Aphides are in general so similar in appearance and structure, that 
when we see one or two we may imagine to ourselves thousands as being 
in every way like them. They are oblong, conical, oval, soft and pulpy 
bodies; head furnished with a pair of long slender antennae, which are 
reflected when in a state of repose, but in walking are directed forwards 
alternately to either side. It has six long and slender legs; the mouth 
consists of a thin tube, sometimes three- fourths of the length of its body, 
and when not employed is folded under the breast; with this instrument 
it pumps up the juices of the plants they infect. Wings, where they exist, 
are large and thin, crossed by a few strong ribs. Body peaked at the 
tip, and a little before it there are two short diverging tubes. In their 
habits they are sluggish. Their colours are varied, some black, some green, 
some yellowish, and some mottled, etc. Some covered by cottony fila- 
ments, and some quite transparent. But amidst this sameness, which 
tends to keep them united, there are several with strong individual char- 
acteristics, which form so remarkable a feature in the works of nature, and 
contribute so much to the pleasure we derive from their contemplation. 

In our next we will attempt to describe some of the most injurious of 
these insects, and those who may require a more detailed account, I must 
refer to the papers of Mr. Walker, in the "Ann. Mag. BT. Hist." 

December, 1856. (To be continued.) 



ON UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

(Continued from page 29.J 
"Thro' ceaseless change to seek th' unchanging Pole," 

The colossal birds of other days, some of which were at least twice the 
size of the Ostrich, are well known. They built no nests for their eggs, 
had no care for their young, and were degraded in size and in number of 
kinds before the epoch of the nest-building, musical, and bright-hued birds. 

The next especial degradation occurred with the age of Mammalia, or 



58 UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

the Tertiary and Post-tertiary epochs. The third and last age of vegetable 
life, that of Dicotylidonous plants or our common trees and flowers, began 
just before the age of Mammalia. The Mollusca, Fishes, and Reptiles, 
with a very few kinds of edentate Mammalia, passed away with the Reptile 
age and with the cretaceous period, and new species of these tribes were 
created with the Mammalia. The revolution at the end of the cretaceous 
period was the most universal on record; and nearly all, or perhaps quite 
all the then existing species were exterminated. 

The second great period of the animal kingdom, and the dawn of the 
present order of creation now commenced. The diversity of climates began 
with the age of Mammalia, but they were warmer than they now are 
during the first half of that age. The four great divisions of Mammalia 
each had their day in succession, and also their degradation previous to 
the creation of man; and to each was assigned a part of the world for 
its pre-eminence, and where it still continues to exist. Thus the Marsupials 
once flourished in New Holland, where there are Marsupials still, but of 
lesser size. The past and present fauna and flora of Australia and of New 
Zealand represent the furassic period of Europe in early time, the present 
era affording Trigonias, Terebratulse, Cestraceous Fishes, and the Araucanian 
Coniferae — all furassic types, besides Kangaroos and Moas. 

In like manner, the Edentata have dwindled in South America, for in 
that country, which, in the last age before man, produced the giant 
Megatherium and Glyptodon, and other related 1 Edentata, there fare now 
the small Sloths, Armadillos, and Ant-eaters. The Herbivora, which 
inhabited fit also, passed away with the Megatherium. North America 
was chiefly tenanted by the Herbivora; and among the large Mammalia 
which had possession of the renewed world after the life of the cretaceous 
period had been swept away, the largest, as far as has been ascertained, 
lived on that continent. The Palaeotheria of the Paris basin were but 
half the size of those of the Nibruska. The Buffalo had now become the 
successor to the huge Mastodon, Elephant, and Bootherium; the small Beaver 
to the great Casteroides, and the existing Carnivora are all comparatively small. 

The Carnivora, or most perfect class of all, especially possessed the Old 
World. The gigantic Lion, Tiger, Hyaena, Elephant, and other such 
quadrupeds, have now their very inferior representatives, and are also 
restrained within comparatively narrow limits, for they formerly (that is, 
in the Post- tertiary time,) were ( spread over the whole of Europe, and 
extended to the most northern part of Asia. The ancient species of 
Carnivora, in size and ferocity, far exceeded the largest of modern Lions 
and Tigers, Thus Australia, as regards its Mammalia, is a degraded 
country in comparison with South America; South America is degraded 
when compared to North America; and the latter is inferior when com- 



UNITY OF SYSTEM. 59 

pared to the Old World, its present Fauna being more analogous to the 
later Tertiary of Europe. 

This inferiority of America did not occur till the more recent geolo- 
gical time, for in the Paloeozoic Age, to the close of the Coal Period, 
it was as brilliant and profuse in its life as any other part of the world. 
In the above epoch, the globe was in an important sense not individualized 
in its climates, or its distribution of life, and only partially in its seas. 

The whole of known American species of animals of the Permian, 
Triassic, Furassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary Periods, is about two thousand, 
while in Britain and Europe, a territory even smaller, there are more 
than twenty thousand species. The Eastern world, that is, Europe, Asia, 
and Africa combined, has taken the lead in Animal life ever since Paloeozoic 
times. In the Eeptilian Age, Europe and Asia had species by thousands, 
while America was almost untenanted. 

As between the hot equator and the frigid zone, tribes have now their 
limits in geographical distribution, so in geological times, between the 
warm Silurian Age and the cool present one, there was a localization of 
groups in time, a chronological distribution, an increase and period of 
maximum at different epochs along the ages. A few genera reach from 
the very dawn of life to the existing period; they are continuous lines, 
binding creation in one. 

The Articulate tribe appeared first in their lower and aquatic forms 
— Crustacea and Worms, and did not attain their perfection until the 
close of the creation. They increased in number and variety of structure 
as the land was raised from the sea, and in proportion to the increase 
of diversity in climate, in soil, and in plants. 

When the epoch of man approached, the land was enlarged, the 
mountains were raised, and consequently the valleys and the rivers were 
formed; the climates were more varied; each region had its peculiar 
vegetation and animals, and these became most numerous in kinds, and 
acquired their greatest variety and beauty. When man was placed on 
the earth, the day or epoch of rest ensued. The creation was then 
completed, and no new kind of creature afterwards came into existence. 

The summary of the preceding notes may be comprised in the following 
words: — The most perfect and characteristic form of each inferior group 
did not, in order of time, immediately precede the period of each superior 
group, but passed away previous to that epoch, and there were more or less 
complete and long intervals of cessation of existence on the earth between the 
epochs. Each group of creatures in proportion as its species have a more 
developed organization, recedes further in afl&nity from all the other groups, 
whether superior or inferior to it; and, in process of time, is reduced 
wholly or partially to what it has in common with all other groups, or 



60 NOTES FROM NORFOLK. 

is divested of all its peculiar characters, and is then taken up, as it were, 
into a higher degree of existence. This subject will be further explained 
in the sequel. 

(To be continued.) 



NOTES FROM NORFOLK. 

BY O. R. TWINN, ESQ. 

The Cuckoo.— The Cuckoo appears a gregarious bird, for one morning I 
was stirring early to enjoy a real sunrise in the country, when I was 
struck by the many cries of that bird, almost simultaneously. I am certain 
there were five, from the fact of my seeing so many take flight, when ? 
disturbed them. They were all in an orchard of very humble dimensions. 
I remember in 1853, frequently hearing three crying at one time in Earlham 
Park. In 1854, I received a specimen of this bird, shot by a gentleman, 
who said his grounds abounded with them, for they appeared to increase 
the more they were fired at. 

Ferns. — In July I gathered on an old wall, in the town of Wymondham, 
the Ruta-muraria; on Thuxton Church, A. trichomanes, which grew alone, 
and on the south side most freely; and from Reymerstone Church the A. 
trichomanes; many roots of Adiantum nigrum, dwarfed, and the Ruta-mu- 
raria. Of this last Fern I never before saw such an abundance, nor so 
fine. On the churchyard wall of Mattishall the Ruta-muraria flourished. 
Doubtless in these retired, happy localities, no molestation had disturbed 
their growth, except a very rare visit from some naturalist. 

The Marl-pit. — In the village of Marlingford is a large marl-pit, which 
has not been worked for some time; it is excavated from a hill-side 
abutting on fields, and is as large as any I have seen. One side of it 
contains many layers of chalk, and is nude of all vegetation, except on its 
very top; but it is pierced with hundreds of holes by Sand Martins, which 
flew screaming round me very thickly as I was probing to discover the 
depths of their nesting-places. I saw many shells lying about which the 
birds had ejected, and this is no small task for them, as in some instances 
the hole penetrated nearly two feet. Around the top of this pit I gathered 
clusters of the Deadly Nightshade, with its inviting flowers. The number 
of Spurge Laurels must have been near a hundred, of all sizes; some of 
them I could prove to be upwards of sixteen years growth. There they 
were in all their cool beauty, untouched by the villagers, who, no doubt, 
knew they were dangerous to trifle with: in one or two gardens I saw 
them growing transplanted. Here I enjoyed a feast of wild strawberries, 
that trailed about a very mat of leaves, enlivened by the red fruit. The 
Yellow Vetchling and the White Campion were also prizes. 

December Ath. } 1856. 



61 



SYSTEMA NATURE. 

BY THE REV. F. O. MORRIS. 
( Continued from page 19. J 



Procyon. 
Procyon lotor, Desm. Geoff. Wiegm. 

Richards. Schreb. Pennant. 
Procyon brachyurus, Wiegm. Wagner. 

Schreb. Schinz. 
Procyon Hernandezii, Wag. Weigm. 

Schreb. Schinz. 
Procyon obscurus, Weigm. Wagner. 

Schreb. Schinz. 
Procyon cancrivorus, Desm. Fisch. 

Schinz. Ursus cancrivorus, Cuv. 
Procyon Psora, Gray. Weigm. Schinz. 

Nasua. 
Nasua socialis, Schinz. N. rufa, Desm. 

Viverra Nasua, Linn. Schreb. 
Nasua solitaris, Schinz. Viverra na- 

rica, Linn. Schreb. V. Quasie, Linn. 
Nasua montana, Schinz. 

Cercoleptes. 
Cercoleptes megalotos, Mart. Schinz. 
Cercoleptes brachyotos, Schinz. C. 

caudivolvulus, Illig. Shcom. Schinz. 

Potos caudivolvulus, Desm. Potto 
Vosmar, F. Cuv. Viverra caudi- 

volvula, Pallas. Schreb. Lemur 

flavus, Schreb. 



Arctictis. 
Arctictis Binturong, Schinz. Viverra 
Binturong, Raff. Ictides ater, Cuv. 
I. albifrons, Cuv. 

AlLTJRTTS. 

Ailurus fulgens, F. Cuv. Schinz. 

Meles. 
Meles Taxus, Pall. F. Cuv. Schinz. 

M. vulgaris, Desm. Ursus meles, 

Linn. Schreb. 
Meles Labradorus, Schinz. M. Labra- 

doricus, Say. M. Labradoria, Sab. 

Ursus Labradoricus, Linn. U. tajjus, 

Schreb. Benn. Water. 
Meles Anakuma, Temm. 

Mydaus. 

Mydaus meliceps, F. Cuv. Horsf. 
Schinz. Mephitis Javanensis, Desm. 
Raff. Linn. 

Mydaus collaris, Gray, Schinz. Arc- 
tonyx collaris, F. Cuv. 
Mephitis. 

Mephitis Mapurito, Lich. Fisch. Schinz. 
Viverra putorius, Muiis. V. Ma- 
purito, Gmel. Linn. BZumb. 



(To be continued.) 



A LIST OF SOME OF THE MORE 

UNCOMMON SPECIES OF LEPIDOPTERA OCCURRING IN 

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF WISBEACH, CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 

BY MR. ROBERT MARRIS. 

Colias hyale. — A single specimen, taken in a lane, Sept. 18th., 1843. 

Golias edusa. — One I possess, captured by myself, August 14th., 1844. 
Not seen since. 

Vanessa polychloros. — July: occasional. 

Polyommatus alsus. — July. I have once taken it in the neighbourhood. 
Rare. 

Acherontia atropos. — Rare: occasionally found in potatoe fields, in the 
larva state in autumn. 

VOL. VII. K 



62 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

Sphinx convolvuli. — Very rare: two in the autumn of 1846. 
Sphinx ligustri. — July and August: common some years. 
Smerinthus occellatus. — July; orchards. 
Smerinthus tiliae. — June: occasional. 

Macroghssa stellatarum. — August: not uncommon in flower-gardens during 
the day-time. 

Biston betularius. — July; orchards: rare. 

A crony da megaceplmla. — July; woody places. 

Alcis robararia. — July; woody places. 

Aids rhomboidarice. — July; among willows: occasional. 

Hemerophila abruptaria. — May and June; hedges. 

Cerura furcula. — July and August: rare. 

Notodonta ziczae. — July and August; wooded districts: occasional. 

Lophopterix camelina. — July and August; wooded districts: occasional. 

Clisiocampa neustria. — Of frequent occurrence some years. 

Gastropacha quercifolia. — June. 

Cmullia umbratica. — Sheltered hedges. 

Cucullia verbasci. — Sheltered hedges. 

Mamestra persicaria? — At intervals throughout the summer. 

Triphena fimbria. — July: rare. 

Harpalyce fulvata. — Frequenting hedge-rows. 

Lynn Road, Wisbeach. 



Beggar Woman's Dog. — "It happened on a time that a beggar woman's 
little dog, which she had lost, was presented to Lady More, and she 
had kept it some sen'night very carefully; but at last the beggar had 
noticed where her dog was, and presently she came to complain to Sir 
Thomas, as he was sitting in his hall, that his lady withheld her dog from 
her. Presently my lady was sent for. and the dog brought with her, 
which Sir Thomas taking in his hands, caused his wife, because she was 
the worthier person, to stand at the upper end of the hall, and the 
beggar at the lower end; which, when they did. the dog went presently 
to the beggar, forsaking my lady. When he saw this, he bade my lady 
be contented for it was none of hers, yet she repining at the sentence 
of the Lord Chancellor, agreed with the beggar, and gave her a peice of 
gold, which would well have bought three dogs; and so all parties were 
agreed, every one smiling to see Sir Thomas's manner of inquiring out the 
truth." 

The Common Tern. — In your "History of British Birds," vol. vi, page 
97, you state that a "young" one was caught in Monmouthshire on the 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 63 

12th. of October, as I suppose you allude to a communication of mine, 
to the "Zoologist" vol. iv., page 1555, in which page the capture of a 
young one at Worcester is mentioned; there is a slight error, mine was 
not a young one, but a mature full-grown one. I have not heard of any 
about this neighbourhood since — a few years previously there had been a 
great many driven up the estuary of the Severn, and were seen as high 
up the river as Worcester; (I will try to ascertain where the fact is 
recorded, and if I find it in time for the next month's "Naturalist," I 
will forward the account,) we had some flocks about here at that time, 
at the "Fish Ponds," two long narrow reservoirs, about a mile long each, 
and from twenty to two hundred yards wide, situate in a mountain gorge, 
about fifteen or sixteen miles in a direct line from Bristol Channel, and 
at an elevation above high-water, of four hundred yards, which makes 
their visits the more unexpected. — James Bladon. 

The Kittiwahe Gull. — In the same miscellany I have recorded the cap" 
ture of a specimen of the above Gull near this town, which was so far 
exhausted as to be taken by hand. — Idem. 

The Nightingale. — In your "History of British Birds," vol. iii, page 199, 
you state that none of the above birds are found in Wales; Broderip, 
in his "Zoological Recreations," page 64, (edition 1849,) also states, "the 
Welshman, it is said, never hears it in the Principality, though a poetical 
license has made it vocal there," but in a note corrects himself, it having 
been heard in the county of Glamorgan, and gives the letter in the ap- 
pendix, page 383-4. I also find allusions in other authors to the same 
effect, which I do not quote as they all proceed upon the same hear-say 
evidence; my object in writing this note is to controvert that opinion upon 
several grounds. In the first place a question arises, is this county to be 
considered as forming part of Wales, or not? Although it is included in 
the circuit of the English judges, and so far may be considered a part 
of England^ yet in its geographical and geological features it is evidently 
a part of .Wales; and, in addition to its physical conformation, the lan- 
guage, manners, and customs of its inhabitants equally claim it as Wales. 
I can claim for miles around the neighbourhood the honour of being one 
of the most favoured haunts of the celebrated singer of the night; and 
as only one parish intervenes between here and the county of Glamorgan, 
(undoubtedly Wales upon any hypothesis,) I can hardly believe that it 
can be so extremely local, as to- be so very abundant here, and none a 
few miles distant. There have been many instances of its being reared 
from the nest and caged, with success. I well remember some years ago 
walking from Newport to Pont-y-pool, on a summer's night; we started 
about ten o'clock, and came along the canal side, (which runs near the 



64 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

base of the mountains,) the whole of our journey, about ten miles, was 
rendered most delightful by the singing of the Nightingales answering each 
other, as soon as one ceased its strain it was taken up by another on either 
side, so that during the whole progress of our walk it seemed one continued 
concert from end to end; in one particularly noted locality, about three 
miles distant from here, I should think there could not have been less 
than a dozen of them. Another reason for not believing in its absence 
from Wales, is its having a name in the common spoken language of the 
present day in Wales, Eos, (eos, dissyllable;) was it unknown or extinct, 
the name would be forgotten or only known by reference to books on 
etymology, but here it is known in the vernacular regularly by every 
Welshman, and many of whom know it by no other name. It also forms 
part of the name of many localities in Wales, given at a time when 
names were meant as descriptive of the places; thus we have Court-yr-Eos, 
(the Nightingale Court;) Pentre-yr-Eos, (Nightingale Village;) Pant-yr-Eos, 
(the Nightingale's hollow:) and other significant allusions to its residence or 
visitations. — James Bladon, Pont-y-Pool, November 25th., 1856. 

Extraordinary Flights of Larks. — A correspondent sends us the follow- 
ing : — "I have just returned from a stroll in the Regent's Park (one o'clock 
p.m., Saturday), where I witnessed a very unusual spectacle. When about 
one hundred yards from the railing of the late Mr. Holford's ground, I was 
brought to a stand by observing an immense flight of Larks coming over 
the Zoological Gardens, and making for the late Marquis of Hertford's. 
Their numbers were countless, and they literally darkened the air; they 
were flying very low, and were obliged to divide in order to pass me on 
either side. This flight took two or three minutes to go over, and, after 
a brief interval, was succeeded by another almost as numerous. Being 
curious to observe whether it would be continued, I remained walking up 
and down, and was presently gratified by observing another approach from 
the same quarter, and passing over precisely the same line of ground. I 
stayed on the spot for upwards of an hour, during which time flight after 
flight passed over me, sometimes in detachments of a few hundreds, at 
others in myriads. In one instance one of these flights settled almost 
within pistol shot of me, and covered the ground, within a few inches of 
each other, for about the space of half an acre. The unusual sight attracted 
the notice of one of the park-keepers, and of several persons who were 
passing, and who all declared that they had never witnessed anything like 
it before; indeed it might well be an object of astonishment unto the wide, 
upturned, wondering eyes of cockneys, for although I have for the last 
twenty years been accustomed to be abroad in the severest seasons, and 
not an unmindful observer, I never saw such large and such continuous flights 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 65 

of these birds. How long they may have been passing over before I came, 
I of course cannot say; I only know that when I left, after being detained 
upwards of an hour by the phenomenon, 'the cry was still they come.'" — 
From the "Times" of February 2nd., 1857. 

Does the above explain the local scarcity already spoken of? — F. 0. Monnis. 

Rara Avis. — An addition to British collections of Zoology has recently 
been made in the shape of a fine specimen of the Scolopax Sabini, or Sabine's 
Snipe, which was shot by M. T. Smith, Esq., M. P., on the 17th. of 
October last, at Raynham, near Fakenham, Norfolk, and which is now in 
the possession of his son, a member of Trinity College, Cambridge. In 
addition to this the Little Auk, the capture of which at Shelford has 
been already mentioned in our journal, and which is now the property of 
the Rev. E. Perowne, of Corpus Christi College, and a beautiful White 
Thrush, shot by the Rev. J. J. Bumpstead, of King's College, were lately 
to be seen in the atelier of Mr. Baker, and now form ornaments to the 
cabinets of their possessors. — "Cambridge Chronicle," December 20th., 1856. 

A Curious Incident in Entomology. — On one of those bright and balmy 
mornings, with which we are generally favoured more or less during our 
summer months, I was happily wending my way to the sylvan grove to 
watch the habits of its feathered songsters, and collect a portion of its 
fresh-born treasures, when my sight was arrested by a small dark spot in 
the distance, apparently making towards me at a slow and steady pace; 
and being somewhat curious |and inquisitive in my habits, I was determined, 
if possible, to know what the object could be. I therefore made a stand, 
and partly concealed myself in the hedge-row, in order to intercept its 
progress, or suffer it to pass by unmolested, as I might think proper at 
the moment. In a few seconds I discovered that it was a very large 
Bee, with something like a clog hanging on its leg. The slow and steady 
manner of its flying, added to its strange appearance, induced me to make 
a capture of it, which I found no difficulty in performing, being net in 
hand at the moment. I then found that the clog- like appearance was 
occasioned by a large wood- ant having firmly attached itself to the leg 
of the Bee. The circumstance was of course rather amusing to me at 
the time, but as I could not elicit any information from either of these 
captives, I was content to start them off again, to pursue their journey 
as long as they might find it agreeable to themselves. I could, however, 
but admire the courage of the ant, which appeared to have formed so 
strong an attachment, (at least with its mandibles,) that it did not relin- 
quish its hold while I held them in custody. The Bee, however, went 
grumbling away, as though much annoyed by such unprovoked interference, 
and as by instinct, adopted a higher elevation, probably to secure himself 



66 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

from such like interruption. A circumstance so trifling in itself might 
likely have passed hy almost unheeded by me, had it not occurred to 
my mind that I have either heard or read of a very curious instinct 
being possessed by the Bee tribe, namely, that of alighting on an ant-hill, 
in order to rid themselves of a parasitic insect, with which they are so 
greatly infested. Whether such had been the fact in this instance, or 
whether there had been any mutual arrangement for a journey, on account 
of such services rendered by the ant I Swill not offer my opinion; I can 
only assert that the Bee looked very clean and healthy, and carried his 
ant through the air with due care and steadiness. If on the other hand 
the ant intended any mischief to the Bee, it certainly had a very great 
object in view, and a very formidable task to accomplish. — C. Walford, 
Wikam, November, 1856. 

Winter Work. — As this is the season for relaxing, re-setting, etc., etc. 
of insects, I beg leave to inform all who it may concern, that they will 
find chloroform by far the best of all "appliances and means to boot," 
for cleaning specimens, especially Goleoptera; nay, I will not say for any one 
order more than others; for all. It is so very pure and volatile that it 
leaves no stain, and is vastly better than spirits of wine. — F. 0. Morris. 

Weather Wisdom. 
"A rainbow in the morning is the shepherd's warning; 

A rainbow at night is the shepherd's delight." 
"Evening red and morning grey, 
Are sure signs of a fine day." 
"When the glow-worm lights her lamp, 

The air is always damp." 
"If the cock goes crowing to bed, 

He will certainly rise with a watery head." 
"When black snails cross your path, 

The air much moisture hath." 
"When you see gossamer flying, 

Be sure the air is drying." 
"When the moon shows like a silver shield, 
Be not afraid to reap your field." 

English Snakes. — When on the subject of English Snakes, we take the 
opportunity of inserting a paragraph from a note received from a corres- 
pondent, in reference to the habit of the English Viper swallowing its 
young — a fact which has been doubted by naturalists, and respecting the 
acceptance of which some hesitation was felt by the writer of the present 

* I believe that this instinct in the Bee is alluded to in Kirby and Spence; but as 
some years have elapsed since I read this work, I cannot speak positively upon it. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 67 

article, in his papers on Serpents, in the "Leisure Hour" for last year. 
The correspondent in question states as follows: — "A day or two since, a 
young man, on whose veracity I can perfectly rely, informed me that two or 
three weeks ago, he met with a female Viper and young, who immediately 
on their being alarmed, entered their mother's mouth, whence he drew them, 
to the number of six or eight, after he had killed the reptile. This 
occurred at Shidfield, in Fareham, Hants., and the young man informs me 
that he has heard from others in the same neighbourhood, that they have 
noticed the same remarkable fact, which may now be considered indispu- 
table." — From the "Leisure Hour," forwarded for insertion by G. T. Oldfield, 
Esq. 

Filling and Emptying an Aquarium. — Not having read in any works on 
Natural History anything like the plan I pursue, of filling and emptying 
an Aquarium, and thinking it may be useful to some of your readers, I 
propose giving you a short description of it. I employ a small gutta percha 
tube, of one-fourth inch bore, more than twice the height of the Aqua- 
rium in length, as a siphon, and having placed the vessel containing clean 
water on a higher level, one end of the tube is inserted and filled with 
water, by suction or otherwise, at the other end, out of which it will 
run, at a speed proportioned to the depth it is held below the end in 
the clean water; thus the Aquarium may be filled as gradually as can 
be desired. For emptying, the siphon is still more useful, as the gravel 
may be stirred up by the short leg, so as to raise the sediment, which 
will pass up the tube. By this means much trouble may be saved over 
the ordinary plan. For aerating the water, attach a pair of common blow 
bellows to one end of the tube, which should either be expanded to fit 
the nozzle, or else attached by a short piece of vulcanized India-rubber 
tube. The other end of the tube may advantageously be fitted with a 
glass nozzle, having an aperture of one-eighth or one-twelfth of an inch; 
this may be directed to any hole or corner, and the whole aerated con- 
veniently in a short time. For emptying rock pools the siphon will be 
found of great advantage, as the water may be withdrawn to almost the 
last drop, without rippling the water or disturbing the inhabitants, and by 
hanging a muslin net on the long end, every living thing contained in 
the water may be caught. The tube for this purpose should be of two or 
three inches bore, and for convenience in carrying may be in short lengths 
united by vulcanized India-rubber. This capacity of tube cannot be filled 
by suction from the mouth, but one end should be stopped, and water 
poured down the other until full, and then plunged into the pool. Thirty 
feet is the minimum length for such a siphon, but the longer the better. 
During the past summer I tried to empty a pool on Lihon Island, with 



G8 REVIEW. 

one of three-eighths inch bore, which I found too slow, hut got one 
baled out with a bucket, at the bottom of which was a cavity; in this 
I found a stone with a specimen of Sagartia aurorce. — Isabel E. Wilkin- 
son, December 9th., 1856. 



The Natural History Review. No. VIII. Published quarterly, price 
2s. Gd. London: Highlev, Fleet Street. Edinburgh: Johnstone and 
Hunter. Dublin: Hodges and Smith. 

I don't see very well how one is to write a Eeview of a Review, so I 
shall not attempt it in the present instance. Let it suffice, then, to say, 
that the "Natural History Review" is really a very valuable publication, 
as suggestively indicated by the following table of contents in the present 
part. Review 1. — "The Butterflies of Great Britain." By J. 0. West wood, 
2. — "Popular British Conchology." By George Brettingham Sowerby, F.L.S. 
3. — "Young Naturalist's Library, 'Beautiful Butterflies, British Species."' By 
H. G. Adams. 4. — "Reading Lessons." By Edward Hughes. 6, — "A 
Manual of Marine Zoology for the British Isles." By Henry Philip Gosse, 
F.L.S. 6.— "Catalogue of the Bees of Great Britain." By Frederick 
Smith, M. E. S. 7. — "Mollusca Testacea Marium Britannicoru m." By 
William Clark. y^~ 

Obituary. 
Death of George Johnston, M.D. 

Communications made to Various Societies. 

I. — "On the Advantage to Botany of Local Lists and Notes with refer- 
ence to the Algas of the East coast of Ireland". By Gilbert Saunders. 

II. — "List of Marine Algae collected at Skerries, near the Northern 
limit of the proposed Dublin district in the summer of 1854." By Gilbert 
Saunders. 

III. — "On the effects of the Severe Frost on plants in the neighbourhood 
of Sligo." By The Right Hon. John Wynne. 

Notices of Serials. 

I, — "The Annals and Magazine of Natural History" for July, August, 
and September, 1855. 

II. — "Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science" for April, 1855. 

III.— "The Zoologist" for July, August, and September, 1855. 

IV. — "Hooker's Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany" for 
July, Aagust, and September, 1S55. 

V. — "The Naturalist" for April, May, June, July, August, and Sep- 
tember, 1855. 




TO NATURALISTS, M IC EOS C OP I S TS, ETC. 



GEORGE HOADLEY KING, 

(or Ipswich,) 

Begs to return his sincere thanks to those Gentlemen who have favoured him 
with their patronage, and desires to inform them, and all others interested 
in the study of Natural History, that he will be happy to furnish them 
with Insects, (especially Lepidoptera,) Birds, and Birds' Eggs. 

lie has constantly on hand Microscopic Slides of various kinds, which he 
can supply on very reasonable terms. A Mahogany Box, thirteen inches by 
seven, and one inch and a half deep, fitted with lock, and containing eighteen 
choice slides, three inches by one, may be had for twenty- one shillings. 

N. B. — A few Heliophobus hispidus, Aporophila australis, etc., from the 
Island of Portland; also Diphthera Orion may now be had. 

G. II. K. will be happy to arrange with Gentlemen and Proprietors of 
Museums to meet their requirements during the coming season. 

Norwich Road, Ipsivich. 



NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, 

32 HIGH HOLBOKN LONDON. 

The Largest Collection in the kingdom of Birds' Eggs, and 
Hare Insects. 

Birds, Animals, etc., stuffed in the best possible manner, at 
charges strictly moderate. 

Specimens on show at the Royal Polytechnic Institution. 

Insect Collectors will do well to pay a visit to the Advertiser, 
he having always on hand such an assortment as will astonish many. 
Cabinets with Camphor cells always on hand; also Store Boxes, 
Pocket Boxes, Fly Nets, Pins, in fact all the desiderata required by 
an Entomologist. 

Manufacturer of English and French Artificial Eyes. Coloured 
Birds'' Eyes, varying to Pheasants' size, 5s. per Gross; a superior 
made Eye for best work, the same size, 7s. 6d. per Gross. Cats', 
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All Post-office orders payable in Holborn promptly attended to by 

JAMES GARDNER, 



EGGS. 

Mr. J. C. Stevens is instructed to announce for Sale by Auction, 
at his great room, 38, King Street, Covent. Garden, in the month 
of April next; a Collection of Rare Eggs, made in Lapland for «F, 
Wooley, Esq., during the last season. Mr. J. C. S. is led to believe 
that it will contain some of the most interesting specimens ever 
introduced into this country. 

March 1st, 1857. 



GKOOMBEIDGE'S LIST OF BOOKS. 



THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE EYE. illus- 
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SELF AND SELF-SACRIFICE; OR, NELLY'S STORY. 

By Anna Lisle. Post 8vo., Price 6s. 6d. 

THE VALE OF CEDARS. A Story of Spain in the Fifteenth Century. 
By Grace Aguilar, Author of "Home Influence," etc. Fifth Edition. Illus- 
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COMMON THINGS MADE PLAIN. A Lesson-Book on Subjects 
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THE CAT; ITS HISTORY AND DISEASES. Dedicated by 

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HOW TO EMIGRATE; OR, THE BRITISH COLONISTS. 

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THE EMIGRANT'S HOME; OR, HOW TO SETTLE. A 

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"A Bible Natural History." "A Book of Natural History," etc., etc., etc. 



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earth is full of Thy riches. — Psalm civ., 24. 



•LONDON: 

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AXD MAY BE HAD OP ALL BOOKSELLEKS. 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Swallows. By 0. S. Round, Esq 69 

On Unity of System 72 

Three Days in the Falkland Islands. By J. S. Walker, Esq 74 

A Peep at the Ferns of Sutherland and Ross. By W 77 

List of Butterflies and Sphinges observed at Lausanne, Switzerland. 

By T. G. Bonney, Esq 80 

Entomological Captures in 1856 82 

Notice of the Diurnal Lepidoptera in my Neighbourhood. By Mr. 

G. Stockley 8o 

Contributions to an Entomology of Banffshire. — Butterflies. By W... 87 

Systema Naturae. By The Editor 89 

Miscellaneous Notices. — Wild Cat. Great Black Woodpecker. 

The Crested Grebe. Attachment of the Nightingale to young 

of its own species. Notices in Zoology. Hybernating Papilionidse. 

etc 91 

Review. — Blunders in Behaviour. London : Groombridge and Sons, 

Paternoster Row. Price Sixpence 92 

The Querist. — The Nettle-bird and the Gorse-bird 92 



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* # * Correspondents are particularly requested to write the 
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Fifth Edition, 
with Additions by Professor Henfrey, 8vo., with Engravings, price 5s., cloth. 

AN ANALYSIS OF THE BRITISH FERNS 
AND THEIR ALLIES. 

BY G. W. ERANCIS, E.L.S. 

Fifth Edition, revised by ARTHUR HENFREY, F.R.S., F.L.S., &c, 

Professor of Botany, King's College, London, and Lecturer on 

Botany at St. George's Hospital; with an additional Plate of the latest Discoveries. 

"We highly recommend it to all desirous of becoming acquainted -with this interesting race of plants." 
—Floricultural Cabinet. 
"The clear and comprehensive manual of Mr. Francis " -Quarterly Review, January, 1857. 



LONDON: 
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G9 
SWALLOWS. 

BY 0. S. ROUND, ESQ. 

Those interesting birds, the Swallow tribe, (Jlirandines,) have at all 
times claimed the peculiar attention of naturalists. Among the rest the 
Rev. Gilbert White, whose "Natural History of Selborne" is so well known, 
gave up almost all his leisure time, for a considerable period of his life, 
to the contemplation of their habits and , probable retreat. It is very 
surprising to observe how a favourite idea once gaining a hold upon the 
imagination, is retained under the most adverse circumstances. Mr. White 
had a theory of his own that Swallows, or at least a great part of them, 
never left England at all; but hiding, like bats and dormice, or even 
retiring under water, spent thus, in a dreamy sort of condition, the 
uncomfortable months of winter. Now, if he had harped upon this subject 
with regard to the weak summer birds of passage, he might have had 
some show of reason on his side, but to fix upon the Swallow tribe, 
• whose wonderful power of wing is so well-known and acknowledged, seems 
nothing less than infatuation. He was indeed to a certain degree sceptical 
with regard to the Willow Wrens and Whitethroats, but these seemed 
merely to engage his attention en passant. 

No man has actually seen Swallows depart from our coasts, because 
their migration is probably taken in the deep of the evening to the coast, 
and at the dawn of day, or before it, they are traversing the ocean; but 
that they do so migrate there can now be little or no doubt. Read 
Caillee's travels to the interior of Africa, and see what he says, that 
during one winter he saw flights of the very same species of Swallow 
•which we have in England. Look at the numerous instances of Swallows 
settling on the rigging of ships at sea, at the almost actual transits of 
flights of Swallows, which have been seen both in autumn and spring. 
Why, I remember perfectly well, when a boy, seeing a flight of perhaps 
fifty Swallows pass over our house very early in April, for we were 
expecting daily to hear the Cuckoo, and this must have been in the second 
week in April at the latest; they were flying very high and in a north- 
easterly direction, as well as I remember. 

The Swallow, (Hirundo rustica,) properly so called, is that kind which is 
characterized by having the two outside feathers of the tail much longer 
than the rest; these are the same in the cock and hen, only the cock's 
are, I think, somewhat the longest: the Swallow-tailed Butterfly is so 
called from an analogous formation of its lower wings. The most unob- 
servant must be familiar with this bird, which only stays with us as long 
as the warm weather lasts, arriving in the third week in April, and 
departing about Michaelmas. His shape is very elegant, and his plumage, 
vol. vir. , L 



70 SWALLOWS. 

although really only black, wtiite, and brown, is so covered with blue 
reflections, that it appears quite dark blue on the upper parts, and the 
brown chin may be almost called dull red. The wings are so long and 
tapering, his motions on the wing are so easy and graceful, and he is 
formed after such a delicate manner, that he may be regarded as the 
handsomest of his tribe, taking all things into consideration, lie very 
seldom alights, but when he does it is usually on a chimney, whence he 
has been called the Chimney Swallow; he also often builds in chimneys, 
but not exactly in the flue where a fire is kept; indeed, in the summer 
time, this would be difficult, unless he chose that proceeding from the 
kitchen. Some skill is requisite in ascending and descending the shaft, and 
it not unfrequently happens that the young birds, if they are not perfect 
masters of their wings before they leave the nest, fall down into the 
room below. 

The nest of this little bird is formed of mud, mingled with short straws 
or bits of grass to give it consistence; it is shallow and open at the top; 
in this are usually found five eggs, which are long and white, elegantly speckled 
with red. The same nest is usually renovated, and accommodates a second 
brood, which may be seen essaying on, as yet, imperfect wing, when the 
bulk of the tribe has departed for other shores. It not unfrequently 
happens that Swallows build in barns; from this circumstance, in Sweden, 
they are called Barn Swallows. The most unlikely places have been used 
by them for the purposes of nidification, such as the back of a dried Owl 
hung up in an old garden house, a shell, the handles of a pair of garden 
shears, and the like; they will also build under a verandah, but here 
they are seldom allowed to remain, as the litter they make underneath is 
by no means compatible with the neatness of a mansion's approach. 

These pretty little creatures are perpetually on the wing, and the 
number of miles which they must traverse during a long summer's day 
must be immense. It is the habit of this species to fly very low along 
paths in meadows, and by thi3 peculiarity they may most readily be 
distinguished. Their song is very inward, but when sitting preening their 
feathers in the sun, and twitting from some chimney or other elevated 
point, it is very harmonious; he is indeed the only one of the genus which 
has any song, properly so called; his call is short, and has a soft sound; 
but when a bird or animal of prey appears it increases to a scream of 
the most expressive warning. 

The next most familiar of the tribe is the Martin, or Window Swallow, 
(Uirundo urbica.) Now this, when viewed in the hand, is a delicately 
beautiful little bird; his plumage consists of a mouse-colour, black, and 
white merely, but then this is so prettily arranged in contrast. His head, 
back, wings, and tail are black, subsiding to a soft brown at the nape, 



SWALLOWS. 



71 



whilst the feathers above the tail are snowy white, as are all the under 
parts — neck, chin, and all, and his beautiful little feet covered with small 
soft white feathers. The individuals of this species are so alike, that 
you can only distinguish the cock and hen birds by the superior darkness 
of the cock's plumage. These birds also use mud in the construction of 
their dwellings, which, like sensible architects, they take their time in 
constructing, so that the clay has time to dry before another layer is 
applied, and thus the whole fabric attains a firmness which could not 
otherwise be compassed. This is generally built against an upright wall, 
under the eaves of some roof or the sill of a window, and can by no 
means be considered a dis-sight. Luckily for the poor little builder, there 
is a superstition prevails, that as soon as Martins desert a house where 
they have been for years in the habit of building, bad fortune is certain 
to attend it; however this may be, it is certain that they are seldom or 
never disturbed, and people even go so far as to put a slanting board 
underneath, to shoot off what may accidently fall from them. They are, 
however, seldom annoying from this cause, as the old birds invariably 
carry to a distance what might be offensive if it dropped on the ground 
beneath. 

The eggs of the Martin are usually five in number, and quite white. 
The young birds are often fed by the parents on the wing, but it is 
performed so adroitly, that it is not easily seen; with the Swallow it is 
notorious enough. Although this bird is by no means so graceful as the 
Swallow, it has its own peculiar beauties — a certain prettiness which is 
chiefly produced by the delicate contrast of the markings, and the butterfly 
kind of motion he has on the wing. He is very much smaller than the 
Swallow, and has a particular mode of flight, for instead of sailing grace- 
fully on the air, and darting through it with the rapidity ^of an 
arrow, he flutters and skims alternately, fluttering as he rises, and skimming 
as he descends. I should say he was also more numerous than the 
Swallow, and more domesticated, at least he is more easily viewed, from 
not possessing such wonderful power of wing as the other, and always 
builds at our very thresholds, which he is perpetually flitting around with 
a harsh kind of chirp; for song he has none. The food of both these 
kinds is insects, which they catch on the wing; the act of catching is 
necessarily very quick, and hardly to be observed; but you may often 
hear the snap of the bill as they pass you. 

(To be continued.) 



72 UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

ON UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

( Continued from page 00.) 

The system or classification of animals is wholly in unison with their 
chronological distribution, or with their creation in successive geological 
epochs, and accordingly affords innumerable illustrations of the law of 
degradation, which is manifest in all the successive subdivisions of the 
animal kingdom. It is apparent in every species by the comparison of 
the early state with the final state, and of one part of the structure 
with another part. All kinds of living creatures are alike in their first 
origin, and in the progress of growth the characters which are common 
to the whole animal kingdom first appear, and then the distinctive 
character of the class, the order, the family, the genus, and the species 
are successively evolved, until all the characters have their most full 
development, and the creature has attained its most perfect state. The 
relation of classes and of successive lesser groups with each other is most 
apparent in the more simple forms of each group; and the more the 
character of a species, of a genus, or of a class is developed, the less is 
its affinity with any other species, genera, or classes. So the Radiata, 
Mollusca, Articulata, and Vertebrata are most allied to each other in 
their lower forms and in their earlier growth, and, as it were, in pro- 
portion as they are degraded or more or less deprived of their peculiar 
characters. So also a species is degraded in proportion as it wants its 
distinction from other species; the degradation of a genus is caused by 
the total or partial cessation of its most characteristic species; the family 
has the same relation to the genus, and the order to the family. 

The primary divisions of animals and the divisions and subdivisions of 
each of them are not linked together by the highest form of the inferior 
division being connected with the superior division, but quite otherwise; 
that is, they are united by the lowest forms, and more especially by the 
earlier state of the lower forms, when comparatively all the characters are 
in common. Thus, in proportion as a creature is more highly organized, 
or develops more of the characteristics of its class, it becomes more remote 
from the classes that are higher, as well as those that are lower than its 
own. 

The system or classification of animals is therefore in accordance with 
their chronological succession and geographical distribution, and equally 
subject to the law of degradation, which also governs their growth and 
their comparative structure. 

It is well known that the higher classes in their progressive growth pass 
through states or transition forms which resemble or are akin to the per- 
manent or final states of the inferior classes. But, by way of compensation, 



UNITY OF SYSTEM. 73 

this final state of the inferior creature is far more perfect and complete in 
its functions than the transition state of the superior creature, so that the 
latter while progressive, may be said to be a degradation of the former 
when fully developed, being but a means or passage to a higher state, 
which the inferior creature cannot only never attain to, but from which 
it recedes more and more as it advances towards its final state or perfection. 
The earlier and generally hidden state of the superior creature may thus 
be studied in the ultimate state of the inferior creature, the former cor- 
responding to the latter, though in an imperfect and undeveloped form. 

The independent existence, and more or less distinct and peculiar form 
of the earlier creature, is a character of the Amphibia amongst the Yer- 
tebrata, and of the Articulata generally; and these in their early stage 
represent the perfect state of other classes which are inferior to them. It 
is also an invariable rule that the transition state of the Articulata or 
higher class is degraded or imperfect in comparison to the permanent state 
of the lower class. Thus it appears that the weakness and imperfection of 
the early state of a creature is necessary for its advancement to a higher 
state, in conformity with the law of degradation; its early state being 
inferior to the final state of an inferior creature, and its final state superior 
to the early state of a superior creature. 

The law being thus manifest in the comparison of one kind of creature 
with another kind, it remains to be shewn how it appears in the compar- 
ative organization of every creature, that is, in the comparison of one part 
of its structure with another part. In the process of growth the decrease 
or degradation of one part is simultaneous with the growth of another; 
the substance which was assimilated to and enlarged one part of the structure 
being partly transferred to another of superior faculties; and when this 
process is very conspicuous, as in most of the Articulata, the creature is 
said to undergo a metamorphose. The lower members by being degraded 
are thus partly taken up or assimilated to higher members. During the 
above process there is a period of weakness, or infirmity, or helplessness, 
which all creatures more or less undergo previous to their increase in size 
and strength, or before they pass to a higher degree of organization or of 
existence. It may be clearly seen how this transitory incapacity or sus- 
pension of the faculties corresponds to the times of cessation of existence 
between the epochs before mentioned. 

Parts of the animal structure which are primary, and have their full 
development, and occupy nearly the whole of the organization of the lower 
classes, are successively more and more degraded in the higher classes, 
and become more and more partial, superficial, and unimportant. In a 
worm every segment of the body seems to be equally developed. In one 
of the Myriapoda, the head has its peculiar organs, but all the other 



74 THREE DAYS IN THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. 

segments are furnished with legs, and are equally organized. In a larva 
the abdominal segments are obviously inferior in importance to the 
thoracic segments; but, nevertheless, the abdomen is apparently almost 
on an equality with the thorax, and its segments are furnished with legs. 
But when the change into the perfect insect takes place, the abdomen is 
degraded, that is, it is deprived of its appendages and diminished in size, 
and its substance is partly transferred from it to the head and to the 
thorax, and serves to develop them and their appendages. 

It is sufficient in this place to shew the agreement of the geographical 
distribution of animals with their chronological succession, by citing the 
following law: — "Every species has come into existence coincident both in 
space and time with a pre-existing closely-allied species." Vegetation, as 
is manifest by Morphology, is also subject to this law: for the fullest 
development or luxuriance of leaves, of flowers, and of seed, cannot co- 
exist or appear in succession on the same plant, but the foliage must be 
diminished, or degraded in proportion to the development of the flowers, 
which in their turn must give way to the perfection of the seed. 

Thus geology, classification, structure, growth, comparative anatomy, 
vegetation — in short, all the branches of Natural History, offer an innu- 
merable variety of illustrations of the law of degradation, for every one of 
the millions of kinds of creatures that inhabit the earth has a peculiar 
modification of the above law. 

(To be continued.) 



THREE DAYS IN THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. 

BY J. S. WALKER, ESQ. 

(Continued from page 219, vol. 6,) 

During: our ride across the camp, we saw several herds of wild horses; 
they appeared in good condition, but were sorry beasts, not worth the 
trouble of brcaking-in. They are caught with the lasso, and thrown down, 
and our guide assured us that half an hour after they were subjected to 
this treatment, they would allow themselves to be led away by a halter. 
It was amusing to watch the anxiety with which the father of the family 
collected the mares and foals together, and drove them away before us. 
Those we were riding were imported from Rio Negro, and were of a stout 
short-legged description, without any good points, but sure footed and 
serviceable. A few of the Island- bred horses were at work about the 
settlement, but they were said to be both sluggish and vicious, and incapable 
of enduring fatigue. But the wealth of the Falkland Islands consists in 
the wild cattle, of which it is said there are between thirty and forty 



xdKEE DAYS IN THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. 7o 

thousand. Those we saw were small and of a coarse breed, but we were 
told that the cattle on the southern part of the island are much superior. 
They do not get so fat as in Australia, seldom exceeding five hundred 
pounds in weight; but the meat is of a tolerable quality, and the price 
on the settlement is only two-pence per pound. Judging from the sleek 
condition of the wild horses, I am inclined to think that if greater trouble 
were taken, or rather, if any trouble at all were taken, in improving the 
breed, they would become larger and fatter. 

The whole of the islands abound with rabbits, and in many parts the 
ground is quite honey-combed with their burrows, which adds much to the 
danger of riding. We shot a great many, which our guide fastened to 
his horse by loose straps of untanned leather provided for the purpose. He 
presented an odd appearance as he galloped about with the rabbits and 
other game dangling about him. 

Of course these little conies, like the horses and cattle, were originally 
imported, the only indigenous quadruped is the wild dog, (Ganis Mayellanicus.) 
somewhat larger than the English Fox. We did not meet with a single 
specimen, indeed it is so scarce that only one had been seen at Stanley 
harbour during the last three or four years, which seems rather strange, 
as there is no want of food for them in the camp. 

On one of the adjacent islands there is a breed of wild dogs, but I am 
not aware whether the Falklanders procure any. 

We were surprised to find that we could not procure any fish; occasionally 
large shoals of mullet enter the bay, and are taken with the seine, but 
no fish are caught in the salt water with the hook and line. In the 
rivulets which flow through the peat bog, there arc plenty of small trout. 

A fine large species of Snipe is very plentiful, and we shot great numbers; 
they were of an excellent flavour, and were greatly relished by the invalids 
on board the Great Britain. There are three species of Wild Geese, the 
Upland, Brent, and Kelp Goose; the two former are excellent eating, but 
the flesh of the Kelp Goose is rancid, and of a fishy flavour, and quite 
unfit for the table. Flocks of them were feeding on the plains, or swimming 
amongst the sea-weed, in company with the Loggerhead Ducks. They had 
young ones at the time, and kept up an incessant gabbling until we had 
passed. Besides these we saw two species of passerine birds, and a very 
handsome Starling with a red breast, (Sturnns militaris.) 

Many of the birds were very tame, having probably never seen a human 
being before. A Thrush particularly evinced great curiosity, and undeterred 
by the report of the gun, followed me for a long distance. However, when 
I attempted to come to closer quarters, he scuttled away and hid himself 
amongst the low bushes, but invariably returned when I moved on; sug- 
gesting to my mind the fulfilment of the promise made to aSoah after the 



76 THREE DAYS IN THE FALKLAND ISLAND3. 

Deluge, when the Deity committed to him and his descendants for ever, 
the earthly sovereignty of the universe: — "And the fear of you and the 
dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl 
of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth; into your hands are 
they delivered." 

Walls of peat, with a ditch on one side, are built across various peninsulas; 
the tame cattle and horses are thus confined. Water is procurable in all 
situations, by digging a few feet into the porous soil. 

Large numbers of the eggs of Penguins and Albatross, (Diomedea,) are 
brought into the settlement during the breeding season, from the "rookeries" 
on the rocks and islands round the coast. 

There were formerly a great many Fur Seals, but these animals are now 
nearly exterminated. A good deal of oil of an excellent quality is procured 
from the Hair Seals, which are still tolerably numerous; but as these are 
generally killed when they have "pups" by their side, it is expected that 
they also will soon become scarce. 

After we had supped at Port Louis, I tried in vain to induce my 
companions to accompany me on a stroll, so I took my gun and walked 
out alone along the shores of the bay. At a few hundred paces distant 
I came upon the ruins of the old fort, around which were the vestiges of 
three or four houses. This place, like more flourishing settlements, had a 
history of its own — of battle, and murder, and sudden death. It was 
here that the Americans had performed the valorous exploit of destroying 
this wretched township, and the debris of the houses almost levelled to 
the ground attested their prowess. Here too, more than twenty years 
ago, the Guachos and Indians having mutinied against the English com- 
mandant, had cruelly massacred him and his companions, and had dragged 
their dead bodies with their lassos into the interior. The scene looked so 
dreary that it required little stretch of the imagination to picture to one's self 
the wild Guachos galloping across the plain, with their ghastly burdens 
trailing at the horses' heels. But now a flock of beautiful Kelp Geese 
were quietly feeding upon the glacis of the battery, and a colony of rab- 
bits had taken up their quarters amongst the ruins. 

Having crossed a point of land, I came upon the shores of Berkeley 
Sound; the whole bay seemed alive with Wildfowl and Gulls, and I found 
several young Snipes, only a few days old. I also saw some Upland Geese, 
but they were so wary that I could not get a shot, whereas I might 
have "bagged" any number of Kelp Geese and Logger Ducks, but they 
were not worth the trouble of carrying home. 

I cannot explain the sense of desolation I experienced, as I wandered 
over this miserable country. I could almost fancy that it lay under the 
spell of some potent magician, who had doomed it to utter sterility. 



THE FERNS OP SUTHERLAND AND ROSS. 77 

"For over all there hung a cloud of fear, 
A sense of mystery the spirit daunted, 
And said as plain as whisper in the ear, 
The place is haunted." 

The next day we rode back to Stanley harbour, and the following 
morning we hove up our anchor and steamed slowly out. We were accom- 
panied as far as the lighthouse by the governor and several of the officials. 
As soon as their boats were clear of the ship, the order was given to set 
sail, and put on full steam. I can even now remember the pleasurable 
emotions I experienced at that moment. There are some events in our 
lives which, although of trivial import, remain impressed upon the memory 
as long as reason holds its seat. Such a one was this. 

The sailors have brought the topsail haulyards to the capstan, round 
which they cluster, like bees, seeming to sing with more than usual spirit, 
that famous chorus of "Cheerily men!" familiar to all who go down to the 
sea in ships, keeping time to the sharp click of the windlass. Then as 
the ponderous } 7 ard slowly rises, and the heavy folds of the topsail swell 
out to the breeze, we mutter to ourselves these glorious words — homeward 
bound, homeward bound. Ah! what a world of thick-coming fancies crowd 
upon us now. What wishes, hopes, and fears, do these words suggest. 
Visions of the past, visions of the future, of the days before we left the 
shores of England, and of those scenes we hope soon to revisit; and far 
above all, the pleasing anticipation of seeing again the friends from whom 
we have been so long parted. What if at that moment a true mission 
could have shewn us, as in a glass, our own anxious faces, as we eagerly 
perused the letters awaiting our arrival at Liverpool, or the sickening 
sensation that came over us as we laid them aside; for they told us how 
some were sick even unto death, and others had fallen asleep. 

Thus musing we cast our eyes towards the sterile shores we have quitted, 
and nothing remains but a low misty outline, hardly to be distinguished 
from the heavy bank of clouds which hangs over it. We left the Falkland 
Islands without regret. 



A PEEP AT THE 
FERNS, ETC., OF SUTHERLAND AND ROSS. 

BY W. 
( Continued from page 32. j 

My stay at Durness was now over, and I set sail for Dingue, on board 
a highland pony, on Friday, August 16th. The road winds along the 
sea-coast for several miles, and the country presents much the same ap- 
pearance as that round Durine. Towards Loch Eribol the rocks in a 

VOL. VII. M 



78 THE FERNS OF SUTHERLAND AND ROSS. 

great measure disappear, and the whole is one dreary waste of heather, 
sloping gently down to the Loch. On the opposite shore the rocks rise 
bold and steep in some parts from the water's edge. I crossed the Loch, 
and had now ten miles to walk on foot, as my pony was sent back; at 
first, and as far as the River Hope, the road is interesting, twisting round 
the hills, rising bare and black in all directions, with a small Loch, now 
and then, to vary the scene. After crossing the Hope, which is done by 
a draw-bridge, the road passes up a steep rising ground, grown thick with 
birch and the more common Ferns, and out on a moor the most dreary 
and miserable that can well be imagined. Round and round as far as 
the eye can reach, nothing but heather without almost a single rock to 
break the monotony. On and on for several miles, without seeing any 
living being, except a solitary man on horseback, muffled up as if it had 
been in the midst of winter; I reached the highest part of the road, the 
Moine House. From this is got a fine view of Tongue, lying like an 
oasis in the desert, in gentle slopes from the rugged hills to the water's 
edge, and finely dotted with clumps of trees, amidst which shine the 
white houses and the green fields. 

On reaching it, it did not belie its appearance. Every sense was regaled; 
the air was mild and perfumed with the sweet odour of the woods and 
flowers; the ear was greeted with the song of birds, broken in upon by 
the scream of the Common Tern and Oyster Catcher, mingled with the 
bleating of sheep and the lowing of cattle. Through the opening amongst 
the trees, on the one side, might be seen, lying calm as a sleeping infant, 
the Kyle, ringed with its low black hills; and on the other, the steep 
and broken sides of those that lie towards the north, while in front, in 
the far distance, toward Ben Loyal, and close at hand, rose up from the 
water's edge, a steep rock, crowned by the ruins of an old castle, where 
once the voice both of sorrow and mirth resounded, but whose very 
memory has now perished. Alas, for human greatness! a bubble on the 
ocean of time. 

My road now lay through the eastern part of the county to Lairg. 
The whole district is a dreary waste of heather and loch; mile succeeds 
mile of dismal solitariness; not a hush to be heard, so that the silence be- 
comes oppressive; now and then sweeps along a gust of wind with mournful 
howl, as if sorrowing for the desolation. 

From the ditches by the side of the road I was gathering Equisetum 
palustre, E. umbrosum, E. sylvaticum, and E. limomm. A stout pair of legs 
and a happy heart soon put the road behind me, and I arrived in due 
time at Lairg, on the second day after leaving Tongue. From Lairg to 
Inverinn the road is beautiful, a fine mixture of hill, wood, water, heath, 
and field. The road after crossing the river that flows from the Loch to 



THE FERNS OP SUTHERLAND AND ROSS. 79 

Dornoch Frith, by a fine bridge, lately built, runs along its bank to In- 

verinn, now through bare moor, now through fine fields covered with rich 

crops, now through woods of fir, oak, beech, etc., now at the foot of high 

rocks a little above the stream, whose opposite bank rises to a great height, 

rugged and steep, and "feathered o'er" with birch, with the river here 

spreading out and running amidst huge rocks, now overhung with wood, 

now running between high steep rocks in black boiling pools, now over a ledge 

of rocks in white foam, now again with brawling noise among loose rocks, 

that have tumbled from its high banks. My intention was to lodge at said 

Inverinn, but 

"The best laid schemes o' mice and men 
Gang aft a-gley." 

I was told I could not be accommodated. Nothing daunted, although 
I had already walked over twenty six miles without halting, I resolved to 
walk to Bonar Bridge, about four miles farther down. Having taken in 
coals and water in the shape of a hearty tea, I got up steam, and pro- 
ceeded at a fair rate, and arrived in due time at my destination. Next 
day my journey was to Tain, about eleven miles farther down the Frith, 
a short walk, as I was somewhat tired. 

I was now in Ross, and the country becomes every mile more beautiful. 
The road winds along within view of the Frith, now close to it, now with 
a few trees between, now through a thick wood, now away from the Frith, 
with fine fields stretching to its shore; now through an uncultivated space 
beset with broom, etc.; now out of view of the Frith, through fields rich 
in crops of rye, wheat, oats, etc.; now hemmed in by dykes, overrun with 
the more common species of Fern; now at the foot of a steep slope, planted 
with various kinds of trees, and undergrown with broom, the brier-rose, 
foxglove, and Ferns. Away on the other side are dark green woods, 
interspersed with cultivated fields waving with yellow crops, and farm 
houses, and . cottages, all backed by high hills. The whole line along the 
road is one great Fernery. I never saw them growing in such perfection. 

Poli/podium vulgare, P. dryopteris, Lastrea Jilix-mas, four feet in length, 
L. dilatata, as. luxuriant, L. spinulosa, L. oreopteris, Athyrium Jilix-fcemina, 
in most magnificent crowns, Polystichum loncliitis, P. angulare, hanging in 
graceful festoons of two and a half or three feet long. From the crevices 
of the old red sandstone rock, Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, A. tricliomanes, 
six or seven inches long; Pteris aquilina and Cystopteris fragilis reward 
half an hour's search. 

I left Tain next morning for Invergordon. One would think he was 
walking through some nobleman's park. The roads are excellent, bordered 
by hedges and overhung with trees. The farms are highly cultivated, and 
laid off in parks, while the houses are mostly surrounded with trees, over- 



80 LIST OF BUTTERFLIES AND SPHINGES. 

topped by the brick chimney of the steam-engine of the thrashing-machine. 
The country gives a fine idea of a rich agricultural district, and 'will vie 
with any part of merry England. After a walk through the gardens and 
grounds of Tarbet house, I set out for Invergordon. I went on board the 
Queen Steamer, and landed at Burghead, thence I walked to Elgin. Here 
I viewed "the lions," the ruins of the cathedral, off which I gathered 
Asplenium nda-muraria, and the museum, that is rising so fast in provincial 
specimens of Natural History. Thence I walked to Forgieside, near Keith. 
On my journey I gathered some fine specimens of Equisetum Wihoni, from 
a ditch by the road side, at a place called Forgie Hill. Here I stayed 
for a few days collecting Ooleoptera, and amongst them Agabus uliginosus, 
A. bipudulatus, Halipus lineato-collis ; some species of Itembidium, etc., 
turned up, all to be given at some no distant period, to the readers of 
"The Naturalist." 

I shall now take leave of my readers, with the humble hope that an 
account of what I saw may afford some pleasure to them, as the realit}' 
assuredly afforded to me the very highest, and still does when I wander 
over again in my imagination the wilds of Sutherland and Ross. 

Macduff, September \%th., 1856. 



LIST OP BUTTERFLIES AND SPHINGES OBSERVED 
AT LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND. 

BY THOMAS GEORGE B0NNEY, ESQ. 

The following List of Butterflies and Sphinges observed during -the 
months of July, August, and September, at Lausanne, Canton de Vaud, 
Switzerland, and in other parts of that country and Savoy, may perhaps 
not be without interest to some of the readers of "The Naturalist." 
The figures 1 2 3, denote respectively the first, second, and third divi- 
sions of the ten days in the month. 

Papilio Machaon. 3. — Never common: July and August. 

Gonepteryx rhamni. 3. — Rare: July. 

Colias edusa. 3. — Common: July, August, and September. 

Colias hyale. 3. — Common: July, August, and September. 

Pieris crataegi. 1. — Not uncommon, but going out: July. 

Pontia brasssicae. 1 2 3. — Very common: July, August, and September. 

Pontia rapse. 1 2 3. — Very common: July, August, and September. 

Hipparchia galathsea. 1 2 3. — Not uncommon: July and August. 

Hipparchia hyperanthus. 1 2 3. — Common: July, August, and September. 

Hipparchia megaera. 1 2 3. — Common: July, August, and September. 

Hipparchia tithonus. 3. — Not common: July. 

Hipparchia janira. 1 2 3. — Very common: July, August, and September. 



LIST OF BUTTERFLIES AND SrHINGES. 81 

Hipparchia blandina. 3. — Not common: July. 

Limenitis 2 3. — Not quite the same in its markings as Camilla. 

Rare: July. 

Vanessa Io. 3. — Not common: July and August. 

Vanessa urticas. 1. — Not common: July arid August. 

Vanessa C-album. 2. 3. — Common: July, August, and September. 

Cynthia cardui. 1. — Not common: but going out in July, coming in 
in September: July and September. 

Apatura Iris, ? ? 3. — Did not sec it myself, and rather doubt my 
informant's accuracy: July. 

Melitaea 2 — Rare. Not an English species, about the size of 

M. Euphrosyne, and not very unlike it on the upper side, but with the 
under side like no English species: July. 

Melitaea cinxia. 3.— Rare: July. 

Polyommatus 2. — Only saw one or two specimens on the wing, 

most like P. arion, but as I did not succeed in taking a specimen, I 
can only conjecture: July. 

Hesperia sylvanus. 2 3. — Not common: July. 

Hesperia linea. 2 3. — Not common: July. 

Anthrocera filipendulne. 3. — Not common: July. 

Anthrocera lonicerae. 2 3. — Common: July. 

Anthrocera minos. 1 2 3. — Not uncommon: July. 

Macroglossa stellatarum. 1 2 3. — Very common, particularly near the 
vineyards: July, August, and September. 

Sesia fuciformis. 1. — One specimen: July. 

Additional Flies observed in the month of August: — 

Hipparchia ./Egeria. 3. — Rare: August and September. 

Hipparchia pamphilus. 2. — Not common: August. 

Hipparchia 2. — One specimen. It is not unlike H. hyperanthus, 

but is at least half as large again; the colour of the wings is the same, 
but on each of the fore wings there are two spots, (the upper pair being 
the smaller,) black with purple centres, on the under sides these spots 
also appear of the same colours, but are surrounded by a yellowish ring, 
which is hardly perceptible, if at all, on the upper side. On each of the 
hind wings there is a very small flat spot with a purple eye. The under 
side is rather lighter than the upper, and on the under side of the hind 
wings there is a row of darker marks arranged symmetrically with respect 
to the edge of the wing: August. 

Leucophasia sinapis. 1 2. — Not common: August. 

Vanessa Antiopa. 1. — Only one specimen, which I had the good fortune 
to capture; it was flying along a little water-course between two high walls 
* Camilla? and read "not quite the same as Sibylla."— F. 0. Morris. 



82 ENTOMOLOGICAL CAPTURES. 

enclosing orchards and vineyards, close to Lausanne. It was in splendid 
condition : August. 

Polyommatus alexis. 3. — Common: August and September. 

Polyommatus corydon. 2. — Not common: August. 

In the month of September: — 

Vanessa atalanta. 1. — Not common. 

Argynnis Lathonia. 1. — Rare. 

During a week's tour in Savoy and Canton Vallais, in the middle of 
August, I saw, besides most of those mentioned above as occurring at the 
time, the following Flies: — 

Hipparchia blaudina. Very common. 

Hipparchia cassiope. Very common. 

Melitaea Dia. Not uncommon near Chamouni, among other places near 
the Mer de Glace. 

Argynnis aglaia. Common. 

Parnassius Apollo. I saw about five specimens on the road between 
Chamouni and Martigny, but was informed that it was late for them. I 
also saw about five specimens of this or a kindred species, between St. Pierre 
and the Hospice of the Great St. Bernard; their markings were nearly the 
same as P. Apollo, but they were all very much smaller, not being larger 
specimens than P. brassicje. Is this due to the difference of temperature? 
These I suppose were from six to seven thousand feet above the sea; 
the others between three and four thousand feet. 

Hesperia malvse. Not common. 

I also saw the caterpillars of Acherontia atropos, and Chserocampa Nerii. 

Churchdale House, Rugeley. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL CAPTURES IN 1856. 

EXTRACT FROM A LETTER TO THE EDITOR, FROM THE REV. R. P. ALINGTOST. 

Sugar as well as net has been a sad failure this year, so meagre indeed 
have been the results of my sport, that had you not particularly requested 
me to inform you of my success, I certainly should not have thought it 
worth while to commit it to paper. Having had great luck last season 
I commenced this with great expectations; alas! my hopes have been 
woefully disappointed. I have been informed by others that they have 
experienced a like failure; even A. pistachio, has been scarce; of Mormo 
maura, and Thyatira batis, (so common last season,) I have not taken a 
single specimen. However, "pour commencer," — on the 11th. of February 
I first sugared my two trees, and worn out Satellitias were the result. 
The following night a large moth hovered round my lamp, and settled 



ENTOMOLOGICAL CAPTURES. 83 

heavily on the tree; as I had not sugared so early last season I was 
most anxious to capture it. It proved only to be an old friend of last 
autumn, namely, G. exoleta. 

I continued to take these two flies until the 19th. of April. On the 
1st. of March, with net: — II. capreolaria, (Dotted Border;) H. rupica- 
praria, (Small November;) H. defoliaria, (The Umber;) and A. ascularia, 
(March Moth,) on the 19th. On the 2nd. of April saw the first Gonepterix 
Iihamni, (Brimstone Butterfly;) and had S. yothica, (Hebrew Character,) 
out of chrysalis. On the third took with sugar T. munda, (Twin-spotted 
Quaker;) T. atabilis, (Common Quaker;) T. instabilis, (Clouded Drab;) of 
Munda I only took one pair. On the 5th. Gothica very numerous. I 
continued to take these flies until the 22nd. 

On the lGth. captured the first P. cruda, (Small Quaker;) and on the 
17th. a single specimen of P. meticulosa, (Angleshade.) On the 21st. 
saw the first White Butterfly, and V. Io, (Peacock;) on the 22nd. Com- 
mon Carpets, (M.fluctuata,) and G. illunaria. (Early Thorn.) On the 
24th. H. siiffumata, (Water Carpet,) and M. fenugata, (Red-barred Twin- 
spot.) 

May 10th. A. derivata, (Streamer;) on the 13th. I was at Stockton 
Common, A. myrtilli, (Beautiful Broad-bordered Orange Underwing;) F. 
atomaria, (Common Heath;) and Thecla rabi, (Green Hairstreak;) I obser- 
ved also A. cardamines, (Orange-tip Butterfly,) for the first time. In the 
evening took A. badiata, (Shoulder-stripe;) on the 20th. took caterpillars 
of 0. patatoria, (Drinker Moth,) and A. caga, (Garden Tiger;) saw specimens 
of II. eyeria, (Speckled Wood Butterfly,) worn out. On the 22nd. S. 
libatrix, (Herald,) with sugar; and on the 24th. B. betularia, (Pepper,) 
out of chrysalis. 

On the 2Gth. took larvse and chrysalides of M. artemis, (Greasy Frit- 
illary,) very plentiful on Friesthorp Ings, near Market Rasen; most of 
the former struck with the Ichneumon; also 31. Euphrosyne, (Pearl-bordered 
Fritillary;) P. purpuralis, (Purple and Gold;) S. claihrqta, (Laticed Heath;) 
P. rnarginata, (Clouded Border.) On the 27th. took Bapta punctata, S. 
paniscus* (Spotted Skipper;) Lozogramma petraria, (Brown Silver-lines;) S. 
mendica, (Muslin Moth.) On the following day many Libatrix at sugar. 
June 2nd. T. striyularia, (Engrailed Moth;) S.fuliyinosa, (Ruby Tiger;) 
S. lubricipeda, (Buff Ermine;) and three species of Long Horns. 4th. 0. 
bidentata, (Scalloped Hazel;) T. crepuscidaria , (Engrailed;) very common, 
sticking to the stems of the Scotch Fir. M. lituraria, (Tawny-barred 
Angle;) P. plumbaria, (Belle Moth;) F. piniaria, (Bordered White;) G. 
simulata, (Bride's Carpet;) T. dubitata, A. remutata, (False Riband Wave;) 
E. pendidaria, (Birch Mocha.) 7th. O. pudibunda, (Pale Tussock,) out 
* Yes— a new locality for it.— F. 0. Morris. 



S4 ENTOMOLOGICAL CAPTURES. 

of chrysalis; Artemis on the wing in profusion; took E. mi, (Shipton.) 

On the 11th. E. glgplica, E. dolobraria, (Scorched Wing;) C. marginaria, 
Small Emerald;) P. gamma, (Silver Y.) At this time varieties of com- 
mon flies almost without number appeared on the wing, of which perhaps 
the most numerous might be G. pusaria, G. biliniata, and M. montanata. 
On the 21st. A. ulmata, (Scarce Magpie,) and Z. albicillata, (Beautiful 
Carpet,) very plentiful; also G. Rubricollis, (Red ]S T eck.J 

On the '7th. at Linwood, near Market Rasen, P. iota, (Gold Y;) X. 
Russula, (Clouded Buff;) common: N. plantaginis, (Wood Tiger;) M.has- 
tata, (Argent and Sable;) E. undulata, (Shell Moth;) A. luteata, (Yellow 
Wave;) B. jacobcea, (Cinnabar;) G. mesomella, (Four-spotted Footman;) 
P.falcula, (Hook Tip;) took also caterpillars of Emperor Moth. In the 
evening with net, S. ligustri, (Privet Hawk;) G. porcellus, (Small Elephant 
Hawk;) H. brasAcce, (Cabbage;) and X rurea, (Clouded-bordered Brindle.) 

28th. H. prasinaria, (Silver Lines;) S. fuciformis, (Broad-bordered Bee 
Hawk;) H. proboscicalis, (Snout Moth.) On the 30th. P. linea, P. sylvanus, 
(Skippers;) L. comma, (Dark Straw;) and M. dentina. July 2nd. took a 
pair of D. pudibunda, also A. Jillipendulce, (Six-spot Burnet.) 12th. L. 
Lithargyria. 16th. T. pronuba, (Orange Underwing;) X. lithoxylea, (Light 
Arches;) E. lucipara, (Small Angle Shades;) X. polyodon, (Dark Arches.) 

On Thursday the 17th., I, in company with my nephews, went to Lin- 
wood, near Market Rasen, where we took G. miniata, (Pink Arches;) G. 
Papilionaria, (Large Green Emerald;) H. cythisaria, (Grass Emerald;) P. 
bajularia, (Blotched Emerald;) N. russula, (Clouded Buff;) worn out: also 
worn out M. hastata, (Argent and Sable;) E. undulata, (Shell Moth;) E. 
fasciaria, (Barred Red;) iV. dictaa, (Swallow Prominent;) P. iota, (Gold 
Y;) 0. chcerophyllata, (Sweep;) H. prasiana, (Silver-lines;) A. lonicem, 
(Five-spot Burnet;) S. psi, (Dagger Moth;) A. aglaia, (Dark Green Frit- 
illary.) In the evening on honeysuckle, S. ligustri, (Privet Hawk,) seven 
specimens; two of G. porcellus, (Small Elephant Hawk;) G. elpenor, (Large 
Elephant;) also A. advena, (Pale-shining Brown;) H. brassicce, (Cabbage 
Moth;) G. nigrum, and about fifty other varieties. 

On the 19th. O.patatoria, (Drinker;) L. quercus, (Large Egger;) and 
A. rumicis,* (Bramble Moth,) out of chrysalis. I have taken the latter 
fly early in June. 24th. S. gothica, (Hebrew Character;) M. strigilis, 
(Marbled Mirror;) P. chrysitis, (Brass-wing;) P. salicis, (Satin Moth;) P. 
auriflua, (Gold Tail.) 29th. 0. sambucaria, (Swallow-tailed Moth;) G. 
graminis, (Antler Moth.) 

August 7th. Umbratica; 11th. Nictitans, (the Golden Eye;) 14th. M 
stellatarum, and S. ravida; 15th. V. polgchloros, (Large Tortoise-shell;) 23rd. 
T. orbona, (Lesser Yellow Underwing;) 2oth. 0. tragopogonis, (Mouse,) and 
G. elinguaria, (Angle Dot,) common. 29th. more flics at sugar than usual. 



DIURNAL LEPIDOPTERA 85 

many Angleshades, Mouse Moths, Orange Underwings, etc., etc. olst. Y. 
lo, (Peacock,) and G. album, (Comma.) 

September 2nd. A. naff una, (Dark Sword-grass;) 4th. P. Pyramided, 
(Copper Underwing;) 8th* G. cubicularis, (Pale Mottled Willow,) A. iuno&a, 
(Lunar Underwing,) A. litura, (Brown Pinion-spot,) 0. macilenta, (?) Z. 
cerago, (Light Sallow;) 17th. Z. silayo, (Barred Sallow,) N. typica, (Dark 
Gothic,) X. rujina, ? (Flounced Rustic,) M. oxyacanthoe, (Green- brindled 
Crescent,) Angleshades, Lunosa, Litura, Suffusa, and Ferruginea in abun- 
dance. 21th. Piotea, (Brindled Green;) 26th. II. achatinaria, (the Chevron.) 

October 4th. M. oxyacantha?, very abundant; Ath. V. atalanta, (Red Ad- 
miral;) 10th. G. spadicea, (Dark Chesnut,) Satalitia, Red-lined and Common 
Quaker, and G. nigrum, common. 12th. Exoleta. 

The above is a very useful list, both as regards the flies themselves, and as a guide to 
their contemporaries. — F. 0. Moiuus. 



NOTICE OP THE 
DIURNAL LEPIDOPTERA IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD. 

BY MR. GEORGE STOCKLEY. 

I have always thought local lists of insects to be of great value, as 
by that means entomologists living at distant and various parts may each 
know the species peculiar to certain districts, which, without, many would not 
have the means of ascertaining; consequently, if they should at any time 
visit those localities, much valuable time might be lost in not knowing 
where to look for species in their proper places. 

The above is my apology for sending the following, hoping it may prove 
useful to some of your entomological readers. 

First, a word or two about my neighbourhood; Wanstead, with the sur- 
rounding district of Hainault Forest, is the locality which I include in the 
above term, which, though I do not live there, still the many happy rambles 
I have enjoyed in its wools will certainly entitle me to call it so. The 
district mostly consists of a gravelly or sandy soil, the former place especially, 
while the latter forest is in many places very boggy; in summer these 
boggy places are a favourite resort for the Argynis euphrosyne and Tha- 
naos tages. The trees consist in the Wanstead portion mostly of limes, 
elms, whitethorns, and oaks; those in the Hainault portion being mostly 
hornbean and oak. 

Gonepteryx rhamni. — Common in all parts in spring and summer. 

Colias edusa. — Saw one specimen on the wing near Canhall lane in 
August some years back. 

VOL. VII. n 



8G DIURNAL LEPIDOPTERA. 

Anihocharis cardamines. — Abundant in May and June. 

Leucophasia sinapis. — Very local; occurs in a few places in Hainault 
during May and August. 

Arge galathea. — A very local species, occurring in one or two boggy 
places in Hainault Forest in July. 

Lasiommata cegeria. — Common in the woods in May. 

L. megcera. — Common everywhere in May. 

Hipparchia janira. — Abundant; July. 

H. hyperanthus. — Abundant; June. 

H. tithonus. — Abundant; July. 

Coenomympha pamphilus. — Abundant; June. 

Cynthia cardui. — Occurred rather plentiful near Wanstead in 1S44: 
scarcely seen since. 

Vanessa urticce. — Abundant everywhere. 

V. atalanta. — Common at Wanstead in September. 

V. Io. — Common at Wanstead in August. 

V. polychloros. — Occurs near Hainault in July: not common. 

Argynnis paphia. — Occurs in Hainault Forest, but is very scarce; 
July. 

A. euphrosyne. — Common in many parts of Hainault in June. 

Thecla quercus. — Though I have often found the peculiar larvae of this 
species, the perfect insect seems scarce. It is abundant in Darenth Wood 
in July. 

T. betulce. — Observed one specimen at Hainault in September some years 
back. 

Chrysophanus phlceas. — Common everywhere during summer. 

Polyommatus argiolus. — Very local, though annually abundant in the 
woods near Wanstead, hovering around the holly in the beginning of May. 
A second brood is said to occur in August. I have not found it to be 
so here, as I have often searched for the insect in the latter month without 
success. 

P. alexis. — Abundant everywhere during summer. 

P. agestis. — Scarce near Wanstead in July. 

Thymele alveolus.— Common on Wanstead Heath in April. 

Thanaos tages. — Common in the open heathy glades of Hainault Forest 
in May. 

Pamphila sylvanus. — Common in the lanes throughout the district; 
July. 

P. linea. — I have entered this species in the list as it may occur here, 
though I have not observed it; it is plentiful in Darenth Wood in July. 

* Since writing the above I am almost sure I have a specimen of P. actaon taken here last 
July. 



ENTOMOLOGY OF BANFFSHIRE. 87 

With the foregoing I conclude the list of Butterflies which I have as yet 
observed here. If it should prove acceptable I will send a similar one of 
some of the Noctuce. 

2, Leaclidale Place, Old Ford, July 21st. , 1856. 



CONTRIBUTIONS TO 
AN ENTOMOLOGY OF BANFFSHIRE. 

BY W. 
BUTTERFLIES. 

This may appear to the readers of "The Naturalist/' a high-sounding 
extensive heading. It is; but my motto always is, "Bode a gown o' silk, 
and ye '11 be sure o' a slieve o't." Here then is the first bode, in shape 
of a list of the Butterflies. Whether the "gown" come time will tell. It 
is not meant that time + 1 = the task; but it is hoped that time + the help 
of kind friends + 1 = an approximation of a list of the more common classes 
of insects to be met with in the county and part of the surrounding dis- 
trict. If labour can do anything to accomplish the task, it shall not be 
wanting on my part, if Providence cast my future lot within it, (for I 
am not yet "settled in life") and spare me health. Whether the district 
is rich in entomological stores remains in a great measure to be seen. In 
Butterflies, as the list testifies, it is far from rich; in moths it may stand 
better; and in beetles it may prove fair. 

The arrangement and nomenclature are those of "Stainton's Manual." 

Large White, (Pieris brassicae.) — Is most abundant, and has been caught 
in fine preservation as late as the end of September. 

Small White, (Pieris rapse.) — Is often too plentiful, to the cost of many 
a "kailyard," and to the sore displeasure of many a thrifty "guidwife." It 
is very variable; one I have is pure white, without any spots in the fore 
wings; another, a female, of a pale yellowish colour, very thickly dotted 
both on the fore and hind wings towards the body. A third, a male, 
with the black mark on the costa of hind wing scarcely perceptible; others 
with some other peculiarity, scarcely any two of them are alike. 

Green Veined, (Pieris Napis) — Though common, this one, in my expe- 
rience, is not so plentiful as its congeners. 

Orange Tip, (Anthocaris cardamines.) — Is rather common. 

Grayling, (Hipparchia semele.) — This Butterfly, although not found within 
the precincts of the county, is found in Moray, and will no doubt be found 
in the upper districts, that are quite of the same nature of country as 
Moray. 

Meadoio Brown, (Hipparchia janira.) — In profusion all over the county 



88 ENTOMOLOGY OF BANFFSHIRE. 

from the bogey parts close on the sea shore, to the peat bogs in the 
highlands of Banff. Great variation of .size, colour, and markings charac- 
terize this species. Sometimes it is of a light brown, with one and two spots; 
sometimes of a dark glossy brown, with a very small spot. In the female 
the fulvous patch is sometimes small, at other times large; in some it is 
of a light colour, in others it is dark. 

Heath Butterfly, (Csenonympha davus.) — The same remark applies to this 
species as to Hipparchia semele. 

Small Heath, (Cacnonympha pamphilus.) — Quite common in the upper 
parts, but not so plentiful round Banff. 

Painted Lady, (Cynthia cardui.) — Is said to have been found a good 
many years ago. 

Red Admiral, (Vanessa atalanta.) — Is found, but not in very great plenty. 
Two years ago I found a very fine specimen in a garden in Macduff; since 
then I have not seen a single individual. 

Small Tortoise-shell, (Vanessa urticce.) — In great abundance. A sunny 
day in spring I have seen bring out, long before any of the others, those 
of them that had hybernated. This season, cold as it is, I saw them 
flitting about in sunny nooks, about the middle of September. 

Dark Green Fritillary, (Argynnis aglaia.) — A single specimen of this 
insect was caught by Dr. Bremner, Jun., Huntly, in the parish of Gartly, 
on the banks of a small stream. 

Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary, (Argynnis selene.) — I set this down 
as the Melitcea selene of Stephens, although this synonyme is not given by 
Mr. Morris. A single specimen of this now lies before me, from the same 
place as the former. 

Pearl- Bordered Fritillary, (Argynnis euphrosyne.) — Is rather scarce in 
some districts. , 

Greasy Fritillary, (Melitsea artemis.) — Has been found on the Binn 
Hill, a large rugged wooded hill that lies between Keith and Huntly. Dr. 
Bremner, of Huntly, had the kindness to send me a specimen. 

Green Hairstreak, (Thecla rubi.) — Was found in great plenty this summer 
on the Hill of Baads, near Macduff. Its habitat was an open benty space 
in the middle of a fir wood that covers the hill. Mr. Lemon, who first 
found it, brought me two specimens. Dr. Bremner finds it near Huntly. 

Small Copper, (Chrysophanus phlscas.) — This little beauty is quite 
common. With respect to the district round Macduff, I have observed it 
in great plenty during some seasons; at other seasons scarcely one is to 
be met with. This summer I saw only one or two. 
Little Blue, (Polyommatus alsus.) — Is occasionally got. 
Common Blue, (Polyommatus alexis.) — Is common everywhere. Right 
pleasant it is to be on a grassy bank with the song of the lark overhead, 



SYSTEMA NATUIUE. 



89 



and the bees buzzing past, to watch those beautiful creatures in the full 
tide of happiness, flitting about from blade to blade of grass, and from 
flower to flower, now opening and now closing their wings. 

"A thing of beauty is a joy for ever." 

At such times one may feel a kind of sorrow when two are seen to meet 
in battle. They rush on each other with right good will, buffet each 
other, fly over and over each other, now up, now down, away then on 
the breeze, till the one takes to flight, and leaves the other "alone in his 
glory." This pugnacity I have also observed in the Whites, if pugnacity 
it is. It may be only a tilt for amusement, something to kill their time, 
in imitation of those human butterflies that make life all amusement, 
(what a- ? misuse of the word!) and must try something, and will try any- 
thing to make that pass, they should keep longest. 

Dingy Skipper, (Thanaos tages.) — A specimen lies before me from 
Birnie, Morayshire. 

Of the foregoing I have seen specimens, except of G. car did. To this 
small proportion of British Butterflies time may add a few more, perhaps 
of the Blues. 

The next 'bode,' I hope, may prove more interesting, in the form of 

lists of the Beetles, both Geodephagous and Hydradephagous. Now, that 

no longer 

"Vital power, 
Productive energy, abroad are rife, 
Investing all things with the hues of life," 

We must fight our battles over again, in naming, arranging, and 
preparing notes on the summer captures; and these shall be presented to 
the readers of "The Naturalist" when matured. 

Macduff, September 30th., 1856. 



SYSTEMA NATURE. 



BY THE REV. F. 0. MORRIS. 



(Continued from page 61.) 



Mephitis leuconota, Licht. Schinz. 
Mephitis mesoleuca, Lich. Wag. Schreb. 

Schinz. M. nasuta, Benn. 
Mephitis Chilensis, Licht. Schinz. M. 

furcata, Wag. Schreb. 
Mephitis suffocans, Licht. Schinz. M. 

Feuillei. Gulo suffocans, lllig. 
Mephitis Patagonica, Licht. Schinz. 

Conepatus Humboldtiii, Gray. 



Mephitis Amazonica, Licht. Schinz. 

Conepatus Humboldtii, var. Gray. 
Mephitis Molina?, Licht. Schinz. 
Mephitis Quitensis, Schinz. Gulo Qui- 

tensis, Humb. Licht. 
Mephitis Gumilla?, Licht. Schinz. 
Mephitis mesomelas, Lciht. F. Cuv. 

Schinz. 
Mephitis macroura, Licht. Schinz # 



90 



SYSTEMA NATURE. 



M. Mexicana, Gray. 
Mephitis Chinga, Licht. Schinz. M. 

Americana, var Hudsonica, Rich. 

Viverra mephitis, Linn. Schreb. 
Mephitis vittata, Licht. Schinz. M. 

varians, Gray. 
Mephitis Zorilla, Licht. Schinz. M. 

bicolor, Gray. Viverra Zorilla, 

Schreb. 
Mephitis interrupta, Jtafin. Licht. 

Schinz. 

Helictis. 
Helictis personata, Schinz. Melogale 

personata, Guerin. 
Helictis fusca, Schinz. Gulo orientalis, 

Horsf. Mydaus macrourus, Temm. 

M. orientalis, Mull. Melogale fusca, 

Guerin. Wag. Shreb. 
Helictis moschata, Gray. Schinz. 
Helictis nepalensis, Schinz. Gulo ne- 

palensis, Hodgson. 

Eateltjs. 

Patelus capensis, Schinz. Gulo capen- 
sis, Desm. Viverra capensis, Schreb 
Meles mellivora, Thunb. Cuv. 

Ratelus indicus, Schinz. H. mellivorus, 
Bennet. TJrsus indicus, Shaxo. Hard. 
Ursitaxus inauritus, Hodgson. 
Galictis. 

Galictis barbara, Schinz. Mustela bar- 
bara, Linn. Prinz Max. M. Gulina, 
Schinz. Gulo barbatus, Desm. G. 
barbarus, Rengg. G. canescens, lllig. 
G. taira, F. Cuv. Viverra poliocep- 
hala, Trail. 

Galictis vittata, Schinz. Viverra vit- 
tata, Schreb. Gulo vittatus, Desm. 

Galictis allamandi, Bell. Schinz. 
Rhabdogale. 

Hhabdogale mustelina, Schinz. Viverra 
striata, Shaw. V. Zorilla, Thunb. 
Mustela Zorilla, Cuv. Desm. Fisch. 
Mephitis Africana, Licht. M. Zo- 
rilla, Licht. 



Mustela. 
Mustela canadensis, Schreb. Cuvier. 

Fisch. Richardson. Schinz. 

M. Pennanti, Lewis Sf Clarke, Fisch. 
Mustela flavigula, Benn. Bodd. Schinz. 

M. Hardwickii, Horsf. Viverra 

quadricolor, Shaw. 
Mustela Martes, Linn. Desm. Pallas. 

Richardson. Bonap. Schreb. F. Cuv. 

Schinz. Martes abietum, Ray. 
Mustela Foina, Pall. Bon. Desm. 

Schinz. 
Mustela Zibellina, Linn. Schreb. Pallas. 

Schinz. Viverra Zibellina, Shaw. 

Martes Zibellina, Brisson. 
Mustela melampus, Wagner. Schreb. 

Schinz. 
Mustela leucopus, Kuhl. Schinz. M, 

leucotis, Griff. Fisch. 
Mustela vulpina, Rafin. Fisch. Schinz. 
Mustela Huro, F. Cuv. Ls. Geoff. Fisch 

Schinz. 
Mustela rufa, Desm. Is. Geoff. Schinz. 
Mustela sinuensis, Humb. Desm. 

Schinz. 
Mustela calotus, Hodgson. Schinz. 
Mustela Putorius, Linn. Schreb. Bell. 

Desm. Pallas. Cuv. F. Cuv. Schinz. 
Mustela Eversmanni, Lesson. Schinz. 
Mustela Puro, Linn. Schreb. F. Cuv. 

Desm. Lesson. Fisch. Schinz. 
Mustela sarmatica, Pall. Schreb. Cuv. 

Desm. Fisch. Schinz. 
Mustela sibirica, Pall. Schreb. Desm. 

Cuv. Schinz. 
Mustela nudipes, Desm. Schinz. Pu- 
torius nudipes, F. Cuv. 
Mustela alpina, Gebler. Fisch. Schinz. 
Mustula Kathia, Hodg. Wag. Schinz. 
Mustela subheemachalana, Schinz. Pu- 
torius subhsemachalanus, Hodgson. 

Wag. 
Mustela frenata, Licht. Schinz. 
Mustela Erminea, Linn. Schreb. Schinz. 



(To be continued.) 



91 

ftlktlliraratrs Unta. 

Wild Cat. — One of the largest specimens of the Wild Cat ever killed 
in this country, (Scotland,) is to be seen in the shop of Mr. Ingram, gun- 
maker, 100, Union Street, Glasgow. It was trapped on the shooting-ground 
of Mr. Dennistown, of Golfhill, Caithnesshire. It measures four feet from 
the nose to the tip of the tail, and when caught weighed twenty-two pounds. 
— N. B. Daily Hail. — J. Mc. Intosh, The Grove, January, 1857. 

Great Black Woodpecker, (Picus martius.) — Vol. i., page 20, I have re- 
corded the existence and breeding of this bird in England, particularly in 
the county of Surrey. This announcement, the readers of "The Naturalist'' 
will remember, was met by some of our learned zoologists as an attempt 
on my part to "gull," and that I had mistaken a Tom-Tit for a Black 
Woodpecker. How far I have gulled! the readers of "The Naturalist," 
the following little fact will speak for itself: — In July, 1856, I paid a 
visit to a particular friend in Surrey, and having occasion to pass the 
well-known "Black Bear Inn," at Esher, I pulled up to refresh myself, 
when, on entering the door, what caught my eyes but a fine specimen of 
a ''Black Woodpecker," which I then remembered having, while I resided 
at Claremont, been shot by Mr. Storey, in whose possession it still remains. 
In conversation with Mr. Storey about this bird, and others in his possession, 
he informed me that some gentlemen from London, who professed to have 
some knowledge of birds and Natural History, (?) had the impudence to assert 
that he never shot the bird in question in the county of Surrey. Now 
every bird in Mr. Storey's possession has been shot by his own hands, and 
in the county of Surrey. What is, after this, the value of mere assertion 
made by bookworm Zoologists? — Idem. 

The Crested Grebe, (Podiceps cristatus.) — A fine young specimen of this 
bird was shot by myself off Brighton a fortnight ago. This bird is by 
no means common in these islands. The young in their first plumage are 
without the crests and tufts. — Frank C. d'Alquen, 8, Montpellier Terrace, 
Brighton, January, 1857. 

Attachment of the Nightingale to young of its own species. — Mr. W T agget, 
a piano-forte tuner in this town, had a male Nightingale in confinement, 
and having found the nest of a Nightingale with two young ones, placed 
it in the cage with his bird; and, strange to say, the old bird brought up 
the other two, one of which is now alive and in fine condition. — Idem. 

Notices in Zoology. — Bats flying on 27th. February; some Rooks' nests 
ready with eggs on the 18th. March; 19th., Boat Beetles rising; 6th. April, 
some young Crows hatched; 9th., heard Chiff-Chaff; 17th., Summer Snipes; 
21st., Cuckoo; 28th., Swallows.— R. P. Alington, Swinhope Rectory, 1856. 



92 REVIEW. THE QUERIST, 

Hybernating Papilionidce, etc. — I have at the present time flying about 
in, apparently, the full enjoyment of good and sound health, Ooneptenjx 
rhamni, (Brimstone,) Pontia Brassica, (Cabbage,) Vanessa Atalanta and 
Io, (Admiral and Peacock Butterflies,) with four Musca domestica, or House 
Fly, under a globe-glass, in which I have growing a nice plant of Lyco- 
podium apodum, in my sitting-room. Query, may not this little fact be 
turned to account by those who have time and leisure? D.V. I shall 
pay more attention to this subject this autumn myself, and record the 
results in the pages of "The Naturalist." — J. Mc' Intosh, The Grove, 
January, 1857. 



Urairm. 

Blunders in Behaviour. London: Groombriuge and Sons, Paternoster Row 

Price Sixpence. 

A naturalist, it must be taken for granted, is, and must be, at all 
events one of "Nature's gentlemen." It is not therefore for me, as their 
guide in the fashions of nature, to suppose but that every one of my good 
readers is perfect in politeness — a very Chesterfield improved upon, as I am 
quite sure he (Chesterfield I mean) might be much and easily. Nevertheless, 
perhaps some of their acquaintance, if themselves do not, may require a 
few "Hints on Etiquette," in a second and much improved edition, as it 
were, of "Agogos," and for their behoof I bring under their notice the 
work whose title is prefixed. Some reviewers think, or seem to think, that 
they shall only shine as such by finding every possible fault they can, 
whether justly or unjustly, with the works they have to speak of. Others 
have to strain a point to speak well of any. In the present instance there 
is no fault to be found, nor any difficulty in speaking well of this "littel 
booke." It is a capital "brochure," and you will lay out sixpence well, 
or many sixpences, in giving it to those of your friends who are deficient 
in any point of politeness, especially the young. 



£jff (tarist. 

In a little book, published some time ago by Binns and Goodwin, of 
Bath, on the Eggs of British Birds, by C. Jennings, mention is made of 
the Nettle-Bird and the Gorse-Bird. Will you kindly inform me, through 
the medium of "The Naturalist," what birds she means, as she has not 
given the scientific names in addition to those mentioned. — T. R. Simonds, 
Brighton, January 22nd., 1857. 

I presume that the Whitethroat or Nettle-Creeper is the species intended 
by the Nettle-Bird. What the Gorse-Bird is I do not know. — Perhaps 
the Stonechat. — F. 0. Morris. 




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Animal food 

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Antimony 

Arrow-root and sago 

Asphalte 

Bacon and bams 

Balsams 

Barley 

Beaver 

Beech 

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Biscuit 

Black-lead 

Bleaching 

Bones 

Brass 

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Clock and watch making 
Coal 

Cochineal 
Cocoa 
Coffee 
Coins 
Colouring and staining 

glass 
Common salt 
Copper 
Cork 
Cotton 

rries 
Crape 
Crucil 
Cucumber 



Curry-powder 

Cutlery 

Damask 

Dates 

Diamond 

Distilled liquors 

Dried fruits 

Dying 

Earthenware 

Ebony 

Eggs 

Emery 

Enamel painting 

Epsom salts 

Felt 

Figs 

Fine gold 

Fire- and choke-damp 

Fireworks 

Flannels and blankets 

Flatfish 

Flax 

Flint 

French wines 

Fresco painting 

Fruit trees, engrafting 

Fullers' earth 

Gall-nuts 

Gamboge 

Game 

Garlic and onion 

Gentian 

Ginger 

Glass 

Glue 

Goat, milk of 

Gold 

Grain 

Granite 

Greenland whale 

Grocers' currants 

Gums 

Gunpowder 

Gutta pereha 

Hard-wood trees. 

Hats 

Hemp 

Hens 

Herring- fishery 

Hops 

Horseradish 

Indian corn 

India-rubber 

Indigo 

Infusions, extracts, etc. 

Iron 

Isinglass and caviar 

Ivory 

Japanned goods 

Jet or pitch coal 

Lace manufacture 

Lamp black 

Lard 

Lead 

Leather 

Lemon 

Lettuce 

Limestone 

Linen manufacture 

Linseed oil 

Liquorice 

Loaf sugar 

Macaroni 

Madder 

Mahogany 



Malt 

Marble 
Marine glue 
Mariners' compass 
Mercury or quicksilver 
Metals, properties of 
Milk 

Mineral poisons 
Mineral waters 
Mirrors 
Molasses 
Morocco leather 
Mosaic work 
Mother of pearl 
Mushrooms 
Musk 
Mustard 
Mutton 
Naphtha 

Needle and pin manufac- 
tures 
Nitre and saltpetre 
Nitric acid 
Nutmeg 
Oak 
Ochre 

Oil, manufacture of 
Oil and water colours 
Olive oil 
Opium 
Oranges 

Ox, varieties of the 
Palm oil, sugar, & wine 
Paper 
Parchment 
Parsley 

Pasteboard and cardboard 
Peas and beans 
Pearl 
Peppers 
Perfumes 
Peruvian bark 
Pineapple 
Pitch 

Plaster of Paris 
Platina 

Poisonous acids 
Porcelain 
Port and sherry 
Potatoes 
Precious stones 
Printers' ink 
Prunes 
Prussian blue 
Prussic acid 
Pumice stone 
Quassia 

Quicklime and mortar 
Railways 
Raisins 
Rhubarb 
Rice 

Rock salt 
Rosewood 
Rushlights 
Russia leather 
Sable 

Safety lamps 
Sago 

Salmon fishery 
Sandstone 
Sarsaparilla 
Sassafras 
Seal-fishery 
Sealing-wax 



Senna 

Shell-fish 

Shoe-blacking 

Silk 

Silver 

Slate 

Snuff 

Soap 

Soda 

Solder 

Spermaceti whale 

Sponges 

Squirrel fur 

Standard gold and silver 

Starch 

Steamboats 

Steel _ 

Stockings 

Sugarcane 

Sulphate of copper 

Sulphur 

Sulphuric acid 

Tallow and potash 

Tamarind 

Tar 

Tartaric acid 

Tea 

Tea, consiimption of 

Tin 

Tobacco, cultivation, etc. 
of 

Tobacco-pipes 

Tortoise-shell, 

Treacle 

Tripoli 

Turkey-fowl 

Turnip 

Turnpike roads 

Turpentine 

Turtle 

Type metal 

Vanilla 

Varnishes 

Velvet 

Veneers 

Verdigris 

Vermilion 

Vinegar 

Ultra-marine 

Umber 

"Wafers 

Walnut 

Water 

Watercress 

Wax-candles 

Whale-fishery 

Wheat 

Wheat, chemical compo- 
sition of, etc. 

Wheaten bread 

White fish 

White lead 

Whiting 

Wine, fermentation of 

Woad 

Wood gilding 

Woollen manufacture 

Writing ink 

Yam 

Yeast used in beer making 

Yeast used in bread 
making 

Yellow resin 

Yew 

Zinc etc., etc. 



LONDON: GEOOMBEIDGE AND SONS, 5, PATEENOSTEE EOW. 



No. 75. 



MAY, 1857. 



Price 6d. 



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A POPULAR MONTHLY MAGAZINE, 

ILLUSTEATIVE OF THE 

ANIMAL, VEGETABLE AND MINERAL 
KINGDOMS. 

WITH OCCASIONAL ENGEAVINGS. 



CONDUCTED BY 

. THE REV. E. 0. MORRIS, B.A., 

Member of the Ashmolean Society, etc. 

Author of "A History of British Birds." "A History of British Butterflies." 

"A History of the Nests and Eggs of British Birds." 

"A Bible Natural History." "A Book of Natural History," etc., etc., etc. 



Loiu), how manifold arc Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made thorn all: the 
earth is full of Thy riches.— Psalm civ., 21. 



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AND MAY BE HAD OF ALL KOOK6ELLEli8. 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Swallows. By 0. S. Round, Esq 93 

On the Classification of the Animal Kingdom. — No. 2. By F. M. 

Burton, Esq 97 

On the Destruction of Birds. By T. Fuller, Esq 101 

A List of the Birds of Nova Scotia. By Lieutenant Blakiston, 

R.A., and Lieutenant Bland, R.E 103 

The Vegetable Caterpillar from New Zealand. By W. V. Guise, 

Esq 106 

An Entomological Dream 108 

Systema Naturae. By The Editor 110 

On Birds using Oil from Glands Ill 

Miscellaneous Notices. — Curious Freak of a Dog. Long-eared 

Owl. The Raven. Indications of Spring. White-tailed Eagle. 

Rare Birds. Rare Birds about Plymouth. Jack Snipe. Skenea 

rota. British Butterflies Ill 

Review. — The Natural History Review 114 

The Querist. — Vegetable Caterpillar. Method of making Snow and 

Ice for Cases of Stuffed Birds 115 



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93 
SWALLOWS. 

BY 0. S. ROUND, ESQ. 
( Concluded from page 71..) 

The next species which visits us during the summer months, is the 
Sand or Bank Martin, (Hirundo riparia.) This, the smallest of the whole 
genus, is mouse-colour above and white beneath. He makes his nest usually 
on the banks, or rather in the banks of streams, which in autumn are 
perfectly swarming with these birds, as every angler can testify. This 
little creature, small and weak as he is, bores a hole into the sand, of 
two feet or more in depth, and big enough to admit his own body twice 
over. At the extremity a hollow is formed to receive the nest, which is 
made of hay or dry grass and feathers, and in which six white eggs are 
usually laid. The passage to the nest is seldom in a direct line, but 
whether this arises from some difficulty that has compelled the little borer 
to turn aside, or for safety, is not very clear. In hot weather this retreat 
is necessarily very warm and close, and accordingly forms a suitable situation 
for insect transformation, and accordingly is infested with a small animal 
peculiar to these birds, which Mr. Curtis has called Pulex bifascialus. 

That they breed twice there is no doubt, and it may be a question 
whether some do not even produce a third brood; but this would l'equire 
a very nice observation to determine; the immense number produced only 
raises such a probability, from the period of their stay, which is, I should 
say, extended to the utmost limits of our summer visitants. 

These little birds have a curious flitting kind of flight, and have been 
named by Spaniards Papilion di montagua, or Hill Butterfly. Their only 
cry is a harsh chirp. They come with the Martins about the end of April, 
but do not retire before the middle of October; and from their residence 
in wet, and therefore colder situations, are probably more hardy. 

This species of Swallow is by far the least sociable, and seldom takes 
up its abode near the habitations of man; there are of course exceptions, 
but "exeeptio probat regulam" and I may therefore be pardoned for men- 
tioning one. On that part of the great western road which is between Egham 
and Shrub's Hill, about nineteen miles from London, there is, as every 
one who has travelled that way knows, a very steep hill, called by old 
coachmen, "Virginia Water hill;" so called from being opposite that orna- 
mental lake in the south-east corner of Windsor great park; formed by 
George the Third, and a great delight to his successor during the latter 
years of his reign. In the sides of this hill, abutting on the road, an extensive 
colony of these birds had existed for many years; but as the banks from 
being too steep were continually falling in, and slipping from time to time, it 
was found necessary to shelve them off, to prevent the recurrence of the 

vol. vii. o 



94 SWALLOWS. 

evil; an operation which, in these railway days, we are very familiar with. 
This of course made sad havoc among the poor little birds' dwellings, which 
were almost entirely destroyed. From passing the spot frequently T remarked 
the occurrence, which took place a little before their arrival in this country 
in the spring. The circumstance would probably have passed by unnoticed 
further, had not a person, who worked for us as a carpenter, who knew 
that I was curious about anything connected with Natural History, informed 
me that a colony of Sand Martins had established themselves in a loam pit 
in his garden. This was about the end of May in the same year, and 
putting the two circumstances together, I have little doubt that they were 
the exiled birds, for hardly any bred in the former spot that season;, while, 
I suppose, the new colony could not consist of less than twenty- five pairs, 
and the distance between the localities was about two miles. But, what is 
more to my present purpose, the locality where they had established themselves 
was in a small garden, close at the side or back of a house, inhabited by 
an old man and woman, and their three sons, who were continually about 
the place, and so far from being disturbed by their presence, the Martins 
were extraordinarily tame; and I remember when I paid them a visit, whilst 
we stood within a few yards of the holes, the birds would come and go, 
and feed the young, who came to the mouths of the holes for air. 

Another singular circumstance occurred with reference to these birds, 
which was a new fact in Natural History. The person in whose ground they 
had built was an observant character, and told me that when the young 
Martins could scarcely fly, or sit at the mouth3 of the holes, they were 
attacked and killed by Wheatears. This, I must confess, startled me a 
good deal, as I knew the Wheatear to be harmless, and an insectivorous 
bird. However, as he said these visits were not frequent, and uncertain, 
he would shoot one of the next intruders, and I might judge for myself. 
Accordingly, a few days after I received his Wheatear, which proved to 
be a Flusher, or Red-backed Shrike, (Lanius rvfus;) the mistake therefore 
of a totally ignorant man was pardonable. But here was the fact, namely, 
the Butcher Bird proved to be a bird of prey, which, though assumed to 
be the case by naturalists, has seldom I believe been so directly proved. 
I stuffed the bird, but I was a young hand; it was not cased, and eventually 
became food for the moths. 

There is but one more kind of Swallow which I have to name, and 
this is the Swift, or, as it is sometimes called, the Black Martin, (Hirundo 
opus;) that is, I speak of those familiarly known to us. As a flyer, I 
suppose no bird known has so great an extent or power of wing. The 
webs of the feathers are very stiff and oblique in their position, and particu- 
larly adapted for offering the least possible resistance to the air in one 
position, whilst they oppose the greatest in another. 



SWALLOWS. 95 

Everybody has seen Swifts, but they arc not nearly so familiarly known 
as the other kinds of Swallows, and the reason is two-fold. First, almost 
every individual dwelling has its pair or more of Swallows, and there are 
always several colonies of House Martins in every hamlet and town; whilst 
we very seldom find more than one colony, or two at the farthest, of 
Swifts, in any single district. And secondly, because whilst the building 
of the Swallow and Martin is notorious, the nesting of the Swift is carried 
on completely under cover, or in secret, as it were, in church steeples and 
other hidden places. And their motions are so quick that their very figure 
cannot be so distinctly seen as that of birds which are sometimes passive; 
and hence, although every one knows a Swift when they see it, it is merely 
known in passing, and we cannot help attaching a wild notion to its habits 
and mode of life, for there can scarce be supposed any limit to the aerial 
rambles of a creature which probably courses through the sky at a speed 
of sixty miles per hour! what rate he could fly at is quite another matter. 

His body is remarkably small for the extent of his wing, but at the same 
time the shoulders are so very muscular, that he is evidently capable of en- 
during immense exertion without fatigue. His flight is generally easy, and 
he glides quite as much as he flies. Sometimes you may see whole parties 
of these birds at a vast height, preceding a heavy shower, feasting upon the 
higher flying insects, which the rush of air, caused by the approaching rain, 
drives before it; at other times they will glide along quite low. They never 
settle, at least so seldom that it is not an incorrect statement, as a general 
proposition; and never on the ground, for if they do they have great 
difficulty in rising again, for their feet and legs are very short and small, 
and the toes so jointed as to clasp together at the centre from four points, 
and eminently calculated to cling; hence they can crawl up any paling 
and under eaves with great facility. 

Their colour is black entirely, with the exception of the chin, which 
is white in the cock bird and dull grey in the hen. The head and upper 
parts of the former are also covered with bronze reflections. The head 
is large and flat, and a projecting process is observable over the eyes, 
which are large and black. The mouth very much resembles that of the 
Nightjar; the tail is short and forked. The wings are extraordinarily and 
almost preposterously elongated, the quill feathers being as long as those of 
birds twenty times his bulk! Great doubts have been entertained whether 
this bird ever builds a nest at all, or rather, whether he ever collects 
materials for the home he provides for his young; for this so nearly resembles 
that of the House Sparrow, only much smaller, and is so often built in 
the same situations, that it is highly probable a summary ejection of the 
rightful owner takes place, or what is more probable still, an old nest may 
sometimes serve his turn just as well. Of these statements, however, we 



!K> SWALLOWS. 

can be by no means certain, for it only arises from the fact that no one 
has ever seen him collecting materials. I must say I [cannot see very well 
how this could be seen, for any one who has ever watched these birds, 
must know how inconceivably rapid their movements are, and how difficult, 
nay, impossible, it would be to recognise any substance carried in their bills, 
unless it were large and very apparent. Besides it is by no means necessary 
for them to settle to collect materials, for feathers or hay may be easily 
had for the gathering-in transition, and without even pausing in their flight. 

Their eggs are never more than two, which are white; and as Swifts 
never stay with us more than three months, they have only one pair each 
usually, though instances have occurred either of second broods, or late 
broods from some other reason, such as destruction of the eggs, etc. It 
is a very astonishing thought which presents itself when we reflect that a 
pair of helpless, blind, naked, young birds of this species, which are incapable 
of any voluntary motion in the beginning of July, should by the middle 
of August, be coursing over the boundless ocean to other realms, and fully 
qualified for the task; so kindly does the Creator adapt our corporeal powers 
to the exigency which they are called upon to meet. 

The Swift has no note beyond a kind of harsh scream. He is either a 
bold or foolish bird, which, it were hard to say, for he is not intimidated 
by being repeatedly fired at, nor others by the fate of one; and often 
forms a habitation in a commonly frequented place, such as inn yards, 
the midst of a town, or the like; and the meanest cabins sometimes are 
infested by them. They have a manner, in the evening, of wheeling around 
the neighbourhood of their nests for an hour together, and their screams 
are both incessant and inharmonious. 

When they have young it is their usual habit to carry such insects as 
they catch under their tongues, where they form a considerable lump, as 
any one who has shot them must have perceived. 

There are several other kinds of Swallows, but four only have ever been 
classed as British birds; namely, the great White-bellied Swift of Gribralter, 
(Cypselus Alpinus;) the Purple Martin, (ffirundo purpurea,) which is an 
American bird; the Spine-tailed Swallow, (Hirundo catidacuta,) an Australian 
species; and the Pratincole, (Glareola torquata.) But these are only occa- 
sional visitants, and cannot be called ours; I can therefore say nothing of 
them from personal experience, and shall only add that I myself saw a 
very fine specimen of the Alpine Swift, some sixteen years ago, which 
was preserved by Mr. Gould, being shot by Mr. Mumford, Chobham, Surrey, 
somewhere in that parish, and was then in the collection of Mr. John 
Wheeler, of Wokingham, near Reading, since deceased. 

Pembroke Square, Kensington, December, 1856. 



a 7 



ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 
BY THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NERVES. 

BY F. M. BURTON, ESQ. 
f Continued from page 54. ) 

No. II. 

We have now arrived at the completion of the first great division of 
the animal kingdom — the Acrita; and have witnessed with interest the 
gradual development of various organic structures in these lower orders of 
life, from the sponges to animals possessing a regular digestive apparatus 
and highly-developed organs of generation; but as yet no mention lias been 
made of the nerves. It must not be supposed, however, that the animals 
we have been considering do not possess a nervous system, but that, with 
the aid of the most powerful microscopes, they have not as yet been 
discovered. Professor Jones indeed hints at such a system existing in 
several of the more highly organized types, but always alludes to the 
subject with considerable doubt and hesitation. 

We now come to the second great division of the Animal Kingdom — 
the Nematoneura, or animals with thread-like nerves, including the Coelel- 
mintha, Bryozoa, llotifera, Epizoa, and Echinodermata; and, in the words 
of the author, having hitherto seen "the digestive process carried on in 
canals simply excavated in the substance of the body, without any outlet 
for the discharge of superfluous matter," (although this cannot be said of 
some of the higher types of Polygastrica, which, according to Ehrenberg, 
have a straight intestinal tube with a double orifice, though the author 
himself seems to throw doubt on the statement;) the nervous system 
either perfectly diffused through the tissues, or but obscurely visible in 
the most perfect species, and the sexes, with one exception, invariably 
combined in the same individual, we arrive at a point in the scale of 
animal development at which the nervous fibre becomes for the first time 
distinct arid recognizable; the alimentary canal is visible as a separate and 
distinct tube, and the ovigerous and impregnating sexual organs are found 
to exist in different individuals. In the Gcelelmintha we find animals very 
like the last family of the kingdom Acrita, but with a nervous system 
distinctly developed, and muscular fibre in a rudimentary state is now also 
recognisable. Their digestive apparatus consists of a simple tube running 
from an sesophagus right through the body, without any apparent division 
into stomach and intestine; and the animals are dioecious. 

The Bryozoa, or Ciliobrachiate Polyps, come next in order; and we 
have many varieties of them on our own coasts, the commonest of which 
is the Flustra Foliacea. These animals resemble somewhat the unciliated 



98 CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

tubular Polyps spoken of before, and differ from them externally chiefly in 
having their tentacula covered with an immense number of vibrating cilia, 
which the latter, it will be remembered, never possess. In one of this 
class, the Bowerbankia, which the author has taken for general illustration, 
the digestive apparatus is very complex, consisting of a gizzard, with a 
stomach aud intestinal apparatus. The Flustrge and Escharse have also 
highly-developed digestive organs, though not so perfect as those of the 
animal just described. The Bryozoee are reproduced by the growth of 
germs of buds, and by ciliated gemmules capable of locomotion; they 
possess also a rudimentary muscular fibre. Nothing is said about their 
nervous system, though probably it exists; and with the exception of their 
superior digestive apparatus and slight muscular development, they do not 
greatly differ from the Acritous Polyps, which, in Joutward /orm, they some- 
what resemble. They are produced in the same way, namely, by gemmules 
external and internal, and, in this respect, are not so highly organized 
as some of the preceding class — the Sterelmintha. 

Next in order come the Rotifer a animals, which, although they resemble 
thg Animalcula Infusoria in the kingdom Acrita, and were long confounded 
with them, have been lately discovered to possess a much higher structure. 
Their organs of locomotion are rows of cilia placed round the mouth, which, 
when in action, appear to revolve like wheels. They possess distinct muscular 
fibre, and a digestive apparatus provided with a pharynx, a gizzard of 
rather complex construction, and a stomach with no intestinal division; 
and they have also a rudimentary liver. Ehrenberg thinks that he has 
discovered a nervous system distributed through the body of these animals, 
as well a§ vascular apparatus, but the latter at all events seems to be 
doubtful. Their mode of respiration is probably by the introduction of 
water within the body to bathe the viscera, and their reproductive system 
is of a complex kind, though these animals are not dioecious; and their 
organization in this respect, therefore, though superior to the Bryozoee, 
must be considered inferior to the class Coelelmintha, and others we have 
already examined. 

The Epizoa come next in order: animals which live parasitic on fishes, 
Crustacea, etc., attaching themselves to the mouth, gills, branchiae, or other 
exposed parts. These creatures, some of which are very singular in shape, 
and have strange rudimentary leg-like appendages, approximate in their 
higher types to the family of the Crustacea. They are dioecious, and their 
digestive apparatus is very simple, consisting of an oesophagus with a straight 
digestive canal, not divided into stomach and intestine. Their muscular 
system is more perfect than anything we have yet met with, and they 
possess two long filamentary nerves, which run beneath the alimentary 
canal. These animals also, it would seem, on their first exclusion from 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 99 

the egg, ave not fully organized, but they undergo several metamorphoses 
before assuming their perfect shape. No circulatory or respiratory system 
has as yet been discovered in them; and it is in this respect that, though 
forming a gradual transition to the articulated animals, their organization 
must be considered decidedly inferior. 

We now come to the last tribe of the Nematoneurose division, the 
Echinodermata — animals of an exceedingly interesting structure, which 
approximate intimately, says Professor Jones, with the Polyps on the one 
hand, and the annilose animals on the other. The first tribe mentioned 
is that of the Crinoidea — animals which are attached to rocks by a pedicle 
or foot-stalk, and secrete a stony skeleton in all their parts. They are 
abundant in the fossil-world, but very rarely met with alive. Nothing is 
known more of their structure than that they possess a mouth and canal 
aperture, and we have only one minute species in our own seas. 

The Asteridce come next, and in their lowest structure resemble some- 
what the last tribe of animals, only they are not fixed on a pedicle, 
but can move about at pleasure. Passing by the Ophiura to the true 
Star-fishes, we come to animals possessed of a central disc of a wonderful 
and beautiful construction, and a variable number of rays, into which, in 
the largest species part of the viscera extends. The mouth of these 
animals occupies the centre of the ventral surface, and, on the under side 
of each ray, we find immense numbers of tentacula or suckers, called 
ambulacra, arranged in parallel rows, which can be protruded at pleasure, 
and are used both for the purposes of locomotion and as instruments for 
the prehension of food. 

The next type we meet with of this class, that of the Echinidce, has no 
longer separate rays, though their form is still preserved in the flat or 
globose animals which this tribe includes. The Holothuridce and Fistula- 
ridm come next — animals which unite in a wonderful manner the hard 
spiny sea-urchins to the annulose or worm-like creatures of the great 
homogangliate class. The Asteridce are highly-organized animals, having a 
coriaceous integument, with projections more or less spiny, and a hard 
calcareous skeleton composed of several hundred pieces. Their digestive 
apparatus consists of a muscular oesophagus, capable of great extension, and 
a stomach, with long coecal appendages stretching into each ray, but no 
oral orifice. Their circulatory system is very complex, and permeates every 
part of the body. It is provided with numerous arterial vessels, and, 
according to Tiedemann, an organ equivalent in its operation to the functions 
of a heart. 

The Star- Fishes also possess a curious organ, called by the same author 
a sand canal, which communicates at one end with a roundish calcareous 
mark, readily seen on the back of the animal, while with the other it 



100 CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

opens into a circular arterial tube that surrounds the mouth: the object 
of this organ is quite unknown, but it is used probably for the purposes 
of respiration. This latter function is likewise exercised by the admission 
of sea-water into the interior of the system, which bathes the entire inner 
surface of the viscera; and this is further carried out by the action of 
vibratile cilia, which are extensively distributed over the external and 
internal surfaces of the body. The organs of reproduction are of the 
simplest structure, there being no distinction of sex; and the nervous 
apparatus, which is filamentary and not ganglionic, is well defined. 
Fhrenberg thinks that he has discovered eyes in some species of Star- 
Fish, but apparently without good foundation. They can appreciate the 
most delicate touch, and have the power of casting off their rays when 
alarmed, which often sprout out again. 

With regard to the Echinidce, the outward shape of the common type 
is well known to all. It consists of a hard shell, composed of innumerable 
small plates (some of which are perforated) accurately joined together, and 
covered with spines and tubercles, which are used for locomotive purposes; 
and the whole external surface of this shell when alive is covered over 
with a thin vascular membrane. Through the perforated plates the auiinal 
can extend a great number of tubular feet or suckers, exactly analogous 
to those of the Aateridce. The interior of the animal is most wonderful, 
the mouth is a simple orifice armed with jaws, which are worked by an 
elaborate set of muscles, and five sharp teeth. "These jaws," says the 
author, "from their great complexity and unique structure, form perhaps 
the most admirable masticating apparatus met with in the whole animal 
kingdom." They also possess an oesophagus and stomach, without intestinal 
division. Their circulatory system is very extensive, having a large intestinal 
vein with numerous arteries. Eespiration is effected by the same means 
as that used by the Star-Fishes, namely, by the copious admission of the 
surrounding element into the interior of the body; and besides this, according 
to Delle Chiaje, they possess a series of tentacula in the neighbourhood of 
the mouth, which are capable of performing the office of branchw. Little 
is known about their nervous system, and, like the Star-Fishes, they have 
no distinction of sex. 

The Holothuridue, or Sea Cucumbers, are closely allied to this last family, 
but instead of a calcareous covering, they possess a dense fibrous cutis of 
considerable thickness, covered externally with a thin epidermic layer. 
Their muscular system is well developed, and, like the Echini, they possess 
suckers or feet, distributed either serially or all over the surface of the 
body, which they use as instruments of locomotion. Around their mouths 
is a circle of retractile tentacula, and the structure of their digestive apparatus 
is similar to that found in the Echinus, the teeth of which last mentioned 



DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS. 101 

tribe are here represented by small calcareous pieces which surround the 
mouth. The respiratory apparatus of the Holothuridce is remarkable, and 
differs from all other animals; like the Asteridce and Echini, the sea-water 
is freely admitted into the interior of the body, but in this class instead 
of bathing the surfaces of the viscera, it is collected in a peculiar set of 
ramifying canals. The circulatory system of these animals is, like that of 
the Echini, but imperfectly understood, and various authors give different 
accounts of its arrangement. The generative system corresponds with that 
of the Asteridce. The nervous apparatus is but obscurely developed, and 
the only sense the Holothuridce possess is that of touch, by means of the 
tentacles placed round the mouth. 

The Fistularidce, the last of the class Echinodermata, are animals covered 
with a delicate cuticle or skin, with a strong muscular development beneath; 
like the last, they are furnished with tentacles round the mouth. The 
structure of the alimentary canal of this tribe corresponds with that of 
the Holothuridce; the intestine is very long, and the anal orifice is situated 
high up in the body, an arrangement well adapted to the habits of the 
animal, (Siponculus,) as, if placed in the usual position, the excrementitious 
food cast out, which consists of sand and broken shells, would soon fill 
the cavity occupied by the animal. The circulatory system is essentially 
analogous to that of the Echinodermata. Their nervous system is more 
complete than anything we have yet met with; and two small ganglionic 
masses can be detected; and as to their organs of reproduction, nothing 
decisive or satisfactory has yet been made out. 

Uppingham, February 9th., 1857. 

(To be Continued. J 



. ON THE DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS. 

BY THOMAS FULLER, ESQ. 

I am very happy in seeing so valuable a contributor to "The Naturalist" 
as Mr. 0. S. Round, joining in deprecation of the lamentable work of 
destruction now prevailing towards the feathered creation, through mere 
wantonness and superstition. All lovers of nature will unite in this feeling, 
whatever difference of opinion may exist upon the difficult question "How 
far their destruction is necessary?" 

Mr. Round expresses his fears of undue increase if natural checks were 
removed. Are not these "natural checks" seriously interfered with in pro- 
tection of game, by the destruction of every description of bird of prey, 
in which protection do not all the numerous small birds constituting the 
pilferers so annoying to the husbandman share? If undue increase detrimental 



VOL. VII. 



r 



102 DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS. 

to cereal production exist, is it not very likely to arise from this cause? 
The indefatigable gamekeeper, with his unerring aim, has nearly exter- 
minated all the larger birds of prey, and the smaller, such as Magpies, 
Jays, etc , are fast disappearing, whilst farmers wage war upon the remaining. 
Nearly every village has its Sparrow club, offering prizes for the largest 
number of heads; and we continually read of the hundreds produced at 
their meetings. Thus the removal of natural checks by one interest gives rise 
to unnatural remedies in the other, and the result is, extermination altogether. 

Among natural checks Mr. Round rightly classes Cats: it is for this 
reason I denounce their undue increase by nurture and protection. If 
"poor pussy," so much caressed, could be readily domesticated to the 
useful purpose of a inouser in the house, it would be all very well; but 
the order Felis, to which she belongs, admits not of such control. Pretty 
and playful as the kitten is, maturity developes natural propensities, and 
pussy soon enlarges her sphere of action. The saucer of milk and prepared 
food do not satisfy the Cat; nor will she remain within to watch for 
mice; pussy soon betakes herself to the garden, steals stealthily round the 
borders, scratches and climbs the trees, basks in the sun, displays her attrac- 
tions for others of her species, and hungry or not, is ever ready to pounce 
upon every denizen of the air; nests are rifled, and all the pretty songsters 
scared away. Thus are our suburban houses stripped of one of the greatest 
charms that can attach to a residence in a village or near a town. 

Without entering upon the larger and difficult question, it may be 
interesting to inquire if it be not possible to at least lessen the grievance; 
and it appears to me the uses of our social economy supply reasons for 
doing so; in referring to which I hope no offence. The subject might be 
considered too trifling, but it really is mixed up with a great amount of 
pleasurable enjoyment, and forms one of the links in the chain of our 
terrestrial happiness. I would apologize for this explanation but from the 
feeling that all subjects in Natural History admit of greater latitude in 
discussion than other matters require. The physiological laws prevailing 
through animal life and the influence of certain organs in the modification 
of character are well understood, and enter practically largely into our 
social economy; by their application the greater part of our meat is rendered 
at all times nutritious, which would otherwise, at seasonal changes, be 
unfit for food. In like manner, many of the animals used for draught 
would be dangerous and unmanageable. Similar attention at an early 
period with the Cat, would prevent the savage development of the feline 
character, and improve its aptitude and sagacity as a mouser; and surely 
there can be no shock to humanity in subjecting playful kittens to the 
same process which the provident shepherd deals so extensively towards 
frisking lambs. 



BIRDS OP NOVA SCOTIA. 103 

Equally important is the same preparatory step to the production of 
those majestic noble-looking animals which pace the park with lofty 
action, docile yet full of animation, champing their bits, yet easily reined 
in, and guided with fine touch of hand through crowds and throngs; 
while the fair and interesting occupants of the gay and elegant equipages 
recline in perfect ease and security, to the delight and gratification of 
the multitude of admiring spectators. 

I have been induced to offer these remarks with the view of recom- 
mending the adoption of a practice which will obviously tend to prevent 
the undue increase of a class of animals which are now becoming, from 
their numbers, exceedingly annoying; and there is no doubt but one Chat 
a VAbelard is, for all useful purposes as a mouser in a house, worth a 
dozen others. It is also deserving notice that this qualification, which 
produces such ultra-perfection in the operatic singer, silences pussy altogether. 
He no longer breaks through windows, scales walls, scampers over roofs, 
wailing and screaming his love-ditties, making night hideous with unearthly 
sounds; but is to be found inside the house, quietly reposing on a mat, 
or watching with unwearied perseverance the mouse-holes. 

Bath, January 11th., 1857. 



A LIST OF THE BIRDS OF NOVA SCOTIA, 

AS FAR AS ASCERTAINED, COMPILED MOSTLY FROM 

ACTUAL OBSERVATION, IN THE YEARS 1852-3-4 and 5. 

BY LIEUT. BLAKISTON, OF THE ROYAL ARTILLERY; AND LIEUT. BLAND, OP 
THE ROYAL ENGINEERS. 

Those marked * are on the authority of Mr. Andrew Downs, a naturalist resident in the 
country. 

Water Birds. 

American Coot, (Fulica Americana.) — Not common; depends on setting 
in of the frost: 1st. to end of November. 

Yellmo-breasted Rail, (Rallus novoboracensis.) — Rare; depends on setting 
in of the frost: 1st. to end of November. 

Sora Sail, (R. Carolinus.) — Not common; depends on setting in of the 
frost: 1st. to end of November. 

American Bittern, (Ardea lentiginosa.) — Very common: leaves end of 
October. 
* Least Bittern, (Ardea exilis.) — Accidental. 

Great Blue Heron, (A. Herodias.) — Common: breeds. 

Sncnvy Heron, (A. candidissima.) — Very rare. 



104 BIRDS OF NOVA SCOTIA. 

Piping Plover, (Charadrius melodus.) — Rare. 

American Ring Plover, (C. semipalmatus.) — Plenty: arrives in August; 
leaves in October. 

Black-bellied Plover, (C. helveticus.) — Not common: arrives in August; 
leaves in October. 

American Golden Plover, (C. marmoratus.) — Arrives in flocks about 15th. 
of August. 

Turnstone, (Strepsilas interpres.) — Not common. 

Ash-coloured Sandpiper, f (Tringa Islandica.) — Abundant: August and 
September. 

Bed-backed Sandpiper, (T. alpina.) — Abundant: August and September. 

Semi-palmated Sandpiper, (T. semipalmata.) — Abundant: August and 
September. 

Little Sandpiper, (T. pusilla.) — Abundant: August and September. 

Pectoral Sandpiper, (T. pectoralis.) — Rare. 

Schinz's Sandpiper, (T. Schinzii.) — Not common. 

Sanderling Sandpiper, (T. arenaria.) — Abundant: August and September. 

* Willet, (Totanus semipalmatus.) — Very rare: breeds. 

Spotted Tattler, (T. macularius.) — Common; arrives beginning of May: 
breeds. 

Solitary Tattler, (T. solitarius.) — Common. 

Yellow-shanks, (T. flavipes.) — Abundant: arrives beginning of July; leaves 
by end of August. 

Tell-tale, (T. vociferus.) — Abundant: arrives later; leaves end of October. 

Hudsonian Godwit, (Limosa Hudsonica.) — Common: arrives about loth. 
September; leaves end of October. 

Curlew Sandpiper, (Tringa subarquata.) — Not common. 

American Snips, (Scolopax Wilsonii.) — Common: arrives end of March, 
or early in April; leaves middle of October. A few breed here. 

Bed-breasted Snipe, (S. novoboracensis.) — Common: August and September. 

American Woodcock, (Microptera Americana.) — Common: arrives about 
17th. March; leaves about the end of October. Breeds here. 

Hudsonian Curlew, (Numenius Hudsonicus.) — Common: August and 
September. 

* Long-billed Curlew, (N. longirostris.) — Very rare. 
Esquimaux Curlew, (N. borealis.) — Not common. 
Grey Phalarope, (Phalaropus Wilsonii.) — Rare. 

Canada Goose, (Anser Canadensis.) — Passes north 17th. March; returns 
15th. October. 

* Brent Goose, (A. bernicla.) — Rare. 

* Snow Goose, (A. hyperboreus.) — Occasional. 

t The Plovers and Sandpipers leave from the middle to end of October, or before the frost. 



BIRDS OP NOVA SCOTIA. 105 

Mallard Buck, (A. boschas.)— Rare. 

Dusky Buck, (A. obscura.) — Abundant: breeds; resident. 

Gadwall, (A. strepera.) — In winter: rare. 

Pin-tail Buck, (A. acuta.) — In winter: common; breeds north. 

American Wigeon, (A. Americana.) — Not common: winter. 

Summer Buck, (A. sponsa.) — Arrives about middle of March: breeds; 
rare. 

American Green-winged Teal, (A. Carolinensis.) — Common: leaves about 
middle of October. 

European Green-winged Teal, (A. crecca.) — One killed here in September, 
1854. 

Blue-winged Teal, (A. discors.) — Not common; here in September: breeds 
north. 

* Shoveler Buck, (A. clypeata.) — Very rare: breeds north. 

Scaup Buck, (Fuligula marila.) — Autumn and spring: not common. 

Ring-necked Buck, (F. rufitorques.) — Rare: breeds on lakes inland. 

Ruddy Buck, (F. rubida.) — Very rare. 
° Pied Buck, (F. Labradora.) — Occasional. 

Velvet Scoter, (F. fusca.) — Common; goes north to breed: here in winter. 

Surf Scoter, (F. perspicillata.) — Not very common: breeds north as well 
as inland. 

American Scoter, (F. Americana.) — Abundant: breeds north. 

Eider Buck, (F. mollissima.) — Abundant in winter: breeds north. 

Golden-eye Buck, (F. clangula.) — Abundant in winter. 

Buffel-headed Buck, (F. albeola.) — Common: breeds north. 

Long-tailed Buck, (F. glacialis.) — Abundant in winter. 

Harlequin Buck, (F. histrionica.) — Common in winter. 
° King-Eider Buck, (F. spectabilis.) — Has been seen here: very rare. 

Goosander, (Mergus merganser.) — Common; resident: breeds on the lakes. 

Red-breasted Merganser, (M. serrator.) — Common; resident: breeds on the 
lakes. 

Hooded Merganser, (M. cucullatus.) — Very rare. 

Common Gannet, (Sula bassana.) — Common off the coast. 

Common Tern, (Sterna hirundo.) — Abundant: breeds here. 

Bonaparte's Gull, (Larus Bonapartii.) — Not uncommon in autumn. 

Black-headed Gull, (L. atricilla.) — Rather rare. 

Kittiwake Gull, (L. tridactylus.) — Very common. 

• Common American Gull, (L. zonorhynchus.) 
Herring Gull, (L. argentatus.) — Common. 

Black-backed Gull, (L. marinus.) — Common: breeds in Labrador. 
Mother Cary's Chicken, (Thalassidroma pelagica.) — Common off the coast. 
Least Petrel, (T. Wilsonii.) 



106 VEGETABLE CATERPILLAR FROM NEW ZEALAND. 

Common Puffin, (Mormon arctica.) 

Little Auk, (Mergulus alle.) 

Razor-hill, (Alca torda.) 

Common Guillemot, (Uria troile.) 

White-winged Guillemot, (U. grylle.) 

Great Northern Diver, (Colymbus glacialis.) — Common: resident. 

• Red-throated Diver, (0. septentrionalis.) — Very rare. 
Red-necked Grebe, (Podiceps rubricollis.) — Common in winter. 
Pied-billed Grebe, (P. Carolinensis.) — Very rare here. 

• Cormorant, (Phalacroeorax carbo.) 

• Wandering Shearwater, (Puffinus cinereus.) 

American Oyster-catcher, (Hoematopus palliatus.) — Has been seen here. 



THE VEGETABLE CATERPILLAR FROM NEW ZEALAND. 

BY W. V. GUISE, ESQ., F. G. S. 

Having lately had opportunities of observing several specimens of the 
strange Fungus -bearing Caterpillars of New Zealand, one of which is now 
in my possession, I have been induced to make some inquiries into the 
subject, and have much pleasure in supplying the following notices — being 
all that I have succeeded in collecting — in hopes that others among your 
numerous readers, may be able to furnish further information concerning 
these remarkable and most singular insect phenomena. 

By far the most complete account which I have been able to meet with, 
I find in the late Mrs. Hussey's exquisite work on the British Fungi, 
entitled "Illustrations of British Mycology." From that work I extract 
the following passages: — 

"The Caterpillar with a Sphoeria growing from it, is the larva of LTepialus 
virescens of Doublcday, found in New Zealand; it is as large as those of 
our largest Sphinxes: all colour has vanished, but the contour remains 
perfect. From the head proceeds a rigid contorted stem, six or seven 
inches long, like a dry twig, or very solid herbaceous flower-stem; the 
upper portion for about one-third of its length, is closely beset with minute 
spheres, many broken open and containing dust-like bodies. 

When first we examined this curious object, thinking of Tartarian lambs 
and similar ingenious fabrications, we shrewdly suspected that in his native 
paradise of ferns, a cunning New Zealander had trimmed the rhizoma of 
some creeping fern into this Caterpillar, and that the fructification was 
analogous to that of the Adder's tongue; but being assured on competent 
authority that a powerful microscope developed asci and sporidia in the 
capsules, which consequently were true Sphoerias — that we had in England 



VEGETABLE CATERPILLAR FROM NEW ZEALAND. 107 

both a Caterpillar bearing a Sphceria, (militaris,) and a chrysalis producing 
a Sphceria (entomorhiza,) about which no question had ever been raised, 
and five specimens of both had been found by Mr. Berkeley in person — it 
only remained to admire in acquiescing wonder one more of the many 
marvels of creation." 

The following valuable information was transmitted by Dr. Joseph Hooker, 
of H. M. Discovery-Ship, "Erebus:"— 

"About Sphceria Eobertsii I collected all the information and as many 
specimens as I could, but still am much at a loss to account for its 
development. They are found in spring, generally under tree-ferns; the 
Caterpillar is buried in the ground, as is the lower portion of the fun- 
gus. Now both these fungi, {i.e. this and the following species, Sphceria 
Taylor i, an analogous Australian species,) belong to Caterpillars which 
bury themselves for the purpose of undergoing their metamorphosis; and 
both Mr. Taylor and Mr. Colenso hold the same opinion, that in the act 
of working the soil, the spores of the fungus are lodged in the first joint 
of the neck, and the Caterpillar settles head upwards to undergo its change, 
when the vegetable develops itself. I do not remember whether you have 
remarked in your 'Icones/ that the entire body of the insect is filled with 
a pith, or corky vegetable substance, and that the intestines are displaced, 
which my specimens in spirits shew well; and then what does the muscular 
fibre of the animal become? It must, I suppose, be all turned into vege- 
table, for the skin of the creature remains quite sound all this time. 

This change may take place from the displacement of one gas and 
development of another; it also occurs in the dark, and is hence somewhat 
analogous to the formation of fungi on timber-work in mines. However 
this may be, the whole insect seems entirely metamorphosed into vegetable, 
with the exception of the skin and intestines." 

Professor Balfour in his "Manual of Botany," says: — 

"Some fungi are produced on living animals. Thus the disease called 
muscardine in the silkworm, is produced by Botrytis Bassiana. Certain 
wasps in the West Indies are affected by a similar disease. Sphoeria 
sinensis, a celebrated Chinese drug, grows from a Caterpillar. Sphceria 
Robertsii is developed on the larva of Hepialus virescens in New Zealand; 
and Sphceria Taylori on an Australian Caterpillar. So are also Sphceria 
sobolifera, entomorhiza, militaris, and others." 

One word more upon the position assigned by your correspondent, Mr. 
Havers, to the fungus, which he has represented as proceeding from the 
tail of the Caterpillar, whereas, in all the examples which have come 
under my observation, the fungoid excrescence has invariably been devel- 
oped upon the opposite extremity of the body. It is of course quite 
possible that your correspondent is not in error upon that point, but it 



108 



AX ENTOMOLOGICAL DREAM. 



strikes me as appearing anomalous, and certainly not in accordance with 
the opinions respecting the origin of the fungus recorded above by Dr. 
Hooker. 

Elmore Court, February 7th. 1857. 



AN ENTOMOLOGICAL DREAM. 



Os butterflies, larvae, and moths intent, 
One bright and cheerful morning I went, 
Well supplied with boxes, to where there 

stood 
In leafy majesty a mighty wood. 
I thrashed all the trees, the net I whirled, 
And opened every leaf I saw curled, 
Till, weary, I laid me down by a stream, 
And, with sleep overcome, I dream'd a dream. 
One by one; there passed before me in state 
All our Entomologists, small and great; 
Their characters, thoughts, and works were 

laid bare, 
All of which I noted down with great care. 
Then, methought, a voice whispered soft 

and low, 
The results of this dream the world must 

know. 
Then hearken, my readers, male and female, 
To the strange details of this dream-born 

tale. 

First appear' d Scoliccformis A h, 

Agrotis in hand. Alas! what a dearth 

Of names there must be, when, day after day, 

We find moths green, brown, black, orange, 

and grey 
Call'd Douglasii, Staintoni, and many more, 
In proof how small is our classical lore! 
Warringtonettus' & a very long name, 
But it doesn't add much to the author's fame. 
However, I cannot pause here to show 
That in giving new names we're far too slow, 
For a pleasant writer now calls on me 
To give forth his name, to wit, C. K. B . . e. 
His notes are writ in agreeable style, 
And oftentimes lessen one's angry bile; 
For Rhamni he pleads with persuasive pen, 
And presses his plea once, twice, and again; 
Then closing his desk, he seizes his net, 
And let it be fair, or let it be wet, 
He goes forth to catch some innocent flies, 
Which may gladden his own or others' eyes, 



The butterfly-net so deftly he flings, 
That thus he has captured many good things — 
Iris, Alni, and C. obliquaria, 
But his fame rests on Conspicuaria. 
And now, obeying a general call, 
Came E. C. B...n, of Daresbury Hall. 
Ah! Mr. B, take a warning from me, 
And don't buy Lathonia or Daplidice; 
Honest dealers are just as scarce as they, 
And, like them, you can't find 'em every day. 
But I will not dwell on this subject here, 
Having more to say, as will soon appear; 
For it must be told, with shame and dismay, 
That this pageant did not vanish away 
Till certain shades had passed in review, 
Of whom fame tells a story sad, but true. 
After this I heard an argument hot, 
"Has 2V. camelina two broods or not?" 
"Most surely she has," says H. H....r 

C.e, 
"A fact which I thought ev'ry tyro knew; 
I had eggs in May, in August they spun, 
And in September came forth number one. 
What more can you ask to prove I am right ? 
The matter is settled as clear as light." 
"Pooh!" says E. S., "you know nothing 

about it, 
And we Londoners, all of us, scout it. 
Unmoved by the sneers of this first-rate hand, 
Whose experience scarce goes beyond the 

Strand, 
Our valiant C.e dons his armour again, 
And tells us the how, the where, and the 

when; 
Such clear facts he brings, and so well 

exprest, 
That, "quoad the rustics," the war's at rest. 
Then give all the honour where it is due, 
To that staunch "Camelinist," H. H. C.e. 
J. C . . s next claimed my notice and 

praise ; 
For, though he's a light of earlier days, 



AN ENTOMOLOGICAL DRKAM. 



109 



His love is not quenched, but burns as clear 

As when he had numbered but twenty years ; 

"With regret I've heard that his eyesight's weak, 

And that he no more can an insect seek; 

Sincerely I hope that it is not so, 

But that he may soon be able to show 

That the eye's not dimm'd, nor the hand 

grown cold, 

But that he's the same as in days of old, 

When, with careful eye and with skilful hand, 

He adorned the work which his mind had 

plann'd 

"With those life-like figures which, all agree, 

We scarce ever again can hope to see. 

But now a great name appeared on the stage, 

Name second to none of the present age, 

Discov'rer of sugar, that tempting bait, 

Which beguiles the Noctuce small and great ; 

As breeder of larva? he holds first place, 

His insects he sets with peculiar grace, 

And many, I think, will be of my mind, 

That a finer collection none can find. 

Yet unassuming and modest withal, 

He imparts his knowledge to great and small, 

And, unlike some whom 'twere easy to name, 

Of far more pretension, but far less fame, 

With generous hand his insects he sends 

To all his entomological friends; 

He asks not, he seeks not, aught in return, 

For kindlier feelings within him burn, 

And well I know that I shan't stand alone 

When, with thankful lips, I gratefully own 

That many and many an insect fair, 

Which adonis my drawers, had never been 

there 

Exceptiug for him whose praises I sing, 

Though with feeble pen and on humble wing. 

From what has" been said, I think we all may 

Perceive that I mean my friend D y , 

And so let us give him three hearty cheers, 

And wish him long life and good insect years. 

The lovers of Nature and Nature's works, 

And those who would learn where an insect 

lurks, 

In the next who pass'd by will surely find 

A clever author, and one of like mind. 

The house, the garden, the orchard, the field, 

Whatever the hedges and lanes do yield, 

The fences, the heaths, the commons, the 

downs, 

The woods and the waters, (where are the 

towns?) 

The mountains, the shore, are all in his 

book, 

(To be 
VOL. VII. 



Which well deserves something more than a 

look. 
Had you compiled less, and given us more 
In your own pleasant style, of insect lore, 

Know, Mr. D s, that others, like me, 

Would have thought your work of faults 

almost free. 
But let us not carp, let us rather ask 
Could I have done better, were mine the task ? 
Now next came the Reverend J. . . .h G. . . .e, 
Who, trowel in hand, may often be seen. 
His pen he can use to tell us the way 
To capture a moth on each winter's day. 
So closely he digs, that many would dub 
The digger himself as nought but a grub. 
To see him thus dig, his hands thus employ, 
Is cause of wonder to man and to boy. 
Then methought I heard the mournful lament 
Of him who goes forth on digging intent: 
"It's very hard work, not to mention the 

cold, 
There's much disappointment in damp and. 

mould; 
My poor hands are scratch' d, my back is 

pain'd, 
And yet for all this no pupa I've gained; 
To return empty-handed, tired, and sore, 
Is too much, so I'll not try any more." 
But 6tay! what is this? an earthen cocoon! 
Which soon makes him change his querulous 

tune; 
And then he exclaims, as others appear, 
"I'll try pupa-digging again next year!" 
But whom have we now? a widely-known G., 

G n, to wit, as my readers may see; 

He dwells far away in a northern town, 
And will tell you with hot and angry frown, 
"All the best insects, including the 'Ors,' 
Were taken by me, or my ancestors!" 
0! come let us weave a garland of bays 
For these wonderful "lights of other days ;" 

And when we're gone, may a G n arise 

To celebrate us for catching some flies! 
The next who pass'd was one learn'd and 

urbane, 
One of whom Ireland may justly be vain; 
In anatomical knowledge there's none 
Who more or better-earned laurels has won. 
But his fame's not canfin'd to Erin's land, 
Where he heads a small but zealous band, 
And H 's name stands just as high 

here, 
For knowledge profound, and for judgment 

clear. 
continued.) 



110 



SYSTEMA NATURE. 

BY THE REV. P. O. MORRIS. 
C Continued from page 90. ) 



Mustela Boccamela, Bechst. Bonap. 
Schinz. 

Mustela fusca, Bachm. Schinz. 

Mustela vulgaris, Schinz. M. nivalis, 
Linn. Schreb. Desm. Cuv. 

Mustela altaica, Pallas. Schinz. 

Mustela leucogenis, Schinz. M. javan- 
ica, Seba. 

Mustela africana, Desm. Geoff. F. Cuv. 
Schinz. 

Mustela Cuja, Poppig. Schinz. 

Mustela Quiqui, Schinz. 

Mustela brasiliensis, Schinz. 

Mustela lutreola, Linn. Schreb. Cuv. 
Desm. Schinz. Viverra lutreola, 
Pallas. Lutra lutreola, Shaw. L. 
minor, Erxl. 

Mustela melampus, Temm. Schinz. 

Mustela brachyura, Temm. Schinz. 

Mustela Itatsi, Temm. Schinz. 

Mustela Henrici, Schinz. 

Mustela xantkogenys, Gray. Schinz. 
M. brasiliensis, Schinz. M. javanica, 
Seba. Fisch. M. Erminese, Pallas. 
Gulo. 

Gulo borealis, Nill. Schinz. G. arc- 

ticus, Desm. Schreb. G. Luscus, 

Sab. Penn. TTrsus Gulo, Linn. Ur- 

sus Luscus, Linn. Meles Gulo Pal. 

Lutra. 

Lutra vulgaris, Schreb. Schinz. Mus- 
tela lutra, Linn. Viverra lutra, Pall. 

Lutra roensis, Ogyl. Schinz. 

Lutra nudipes, Mel. Schinz. 

Lutra poensis. Water. Schinz. 

Lutra Canadensis, Sab. Cuv. Lsid 
Geoff. Schreb. Rich. Schinz. L. 
Brasiliense, Marl. 

Lutra lataxina, F. Cuv. Isid Geoff. 
Fisch. Schinz. 

(To be 



Lutra insularis, Cuv. Isid Geoff. Fisch. 

Schinz. 
Lutra enydris, F. Cuv. Isid Geoff. 

Fisch. Schinz. 
Lutra Barang, Raff. Schinz. L. lep- 

tonyx, Wag. 
Lutra Simung, Mors/. Schinz. 
Lutra maculicollis, Licht. Schinz. 
Lutra Chilensis, Benn. Schinz. 
Lutra Paranensis, Rengg. Schinz. 
Lutra platensis, Water. Schinz. 
Lutra Brasiliensis, F. Cuv. Schinz. 
Lutra Nair, F. Cuv. Isid Geoff. Schinz. 

L. Indica, Gray? Nir-Nair Indo- 

rum, Fisch. 
Lutra Kutab, Schinz. 
Lutra taranyensis, Modg. Schinz. 
Lutra monticola, Modg. Schinz. 
Lutra indigitata, Modg. Schinz. 
Lutra aurobrunea, Modg. Schinz. 
Lutra felina, Schinz. 
Lutra inunguis, F. Cuv. Schinz. L. ca- 

pensis, Cuv. 
Lutra solitaria, Natt. Schinz. 

Pterura. 
Pterura Sambachii, Weigm. Schinz. 
Pteronura Sambachii, Gray. 

Enhydris. 
Enbydris marina, Flem. Licht. Schinz. 
E. Stelleri, Fisch. Lutra marina, 
Stell. Mustela Lutris. Linn. Schreb. 
Phoca Lutris, Pall. 

Urva. 
Urva cancrivora, Modg. Schinz. Gulo 
Urva, Modg. 

Bassaris. 
Bassaris astuta, Licht. Darst. Wagl. 
Schreb. Schinz. 
continued.) 



Ill 

ON BIRDS USING OIL FROM GLANDS. 

TO THE EDITOR OF "THE NATURALIST." 

Seeing my friend Mr. Waterton's name mentioned in "The Naturalist/' 
I the other day left the number with him for perusal, and to-day received 
the following, which I think it is but fair to him to publish in the same 
medium in which Mr. Fuller has made his observations. — R. Horson, 
Leeds, March 12th, 1857. 

"I thank you for the loan of "The Naturalist," which I do not take 
in. Will Mr. Fuller deign to satisfy me by stating positively that he 
has seen with his own eyes the 'oily matter' from the gland of birds 
upon the plumage of these said birds. I hold that all 'oily matter' is 
injurious to the nature of feathers. I have never been able to detect the 
slightest appearance of 'oily matter' on the plumage of the many birds (say 
five thousand) which have passed under my dissecting-knife. Mr. Fuller 
states that my remark concerning 'a painful operation, etc.,' 'is all nonsense.' 
Will he obligingly say under what form of condemnatory words he would 
wish me to notice his own remark, namely, 'that it is known that the 
bones of swimming birds are not hollow, like those of other classes, but 
filled with oily matter.' What says the learned ornithologist to the Wild 
Duck, a swimming bird, having the principal bone in both of its wings 
always hollow? — Charles Waterton, Walton Hall, March 12th., 1857." 

In any reply to this, I hope Mr. Fuller will be as brief as possible, 
and the more so inasmuch as the arguments against the supposed use of 
the oil gland have been overturned in the "Zoologist," page 751, etc., in 
an article which, though considerably marred by flattery, is conclusive, so 
far as the said arguments are concerned. — F. 0. Morris. 



Curious freak of a Dog. — The clergyman of this place has in his pos- 
session a pointer, which, to prevent following him to church a few Sundays 
ago, was ordered to be confined in the coach-house, but not liking her 
confinement, she took advantage of escaping up the chimney, on the top of 
which, to the clergyman's great surprise, she was standing when he left his 
home to do his afternoon duty, the time for which was so close at hand that 
he could not stay to see how the dog had attained her elevated position, or 
how she would descend from it. On returning, and making an examina- 
tion, he found that she had ascended the flue as a chimney-sweep, jumping 
from the top of the chimney to the thatched roof, from thence to the 
road which passes behind the house on a level with the eaves of the house, 
having a passage of about five feet between the two; thus making her 



112 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

descent in safety; since that time she has frequently accomplished the same 
feat. I saw her do it last week in less than two minutes. The chimney 
is nearly twenty-five feet in height, the lower two- thirds built of the common 
clay-slate of the neighbourhood, the upper third of bricks; the flue measures 
below twenty- seven inches by eighteen, gradually decreasing to the brick- 
work, where, as well as I can judge from below, it is eighteen inches square 
to the top. — Stephen Cloqg, Looe, March 2nd., 1857. 

Long-eared Owl. — I had a fine specimen of the Long-eared Owl sent me 
in the early part of January, shot on Braddock Moor by the gamekeeper 
of the Hon. G. M. Fortescue, of Boconnoe, who also shot, a few days after, 
what he calls a very large Kite. I have not been able to get any des- 
cription of the bird, but suppose it to be the Moor Buzzard. — Idem. 

The Haven. — I was gratified on old Christmas Day by seeing a flight 
of no less than sixteen Ravens — a sight rarely seen in this part of Corn- 
wall now-a-days. — Idem. 

Indications of Spring. — There are many indications of the coming of 
spring to be daily seen in this locality; — snowdrops are already past their 
prime, whilst in many sheltered sunny nooks may be seen clusters of beautiful 
primroses, and here and there the bright golden buttercup. More than a week 
since I saw a very fine specimen of the Sulphur Butterfly, and yesterday, 
in little more than one hour's walk, I numbered no less than fifteen of those 
insects, (all males,) with one Tortoiseshell and two Peacock Butterflies sporting 
about with all the graceful and buoyant ease of that beautiful tribe of 
insects. Spring also begins to influence the feathered tribes; — Herons are 
to be seen repairing their nests, preparatory to incubation, and on Saturday 
last I observed a Wren busily occupied in building operations; whilst the 
songs of our native warblers and songsters are to be heard on every side, 
filling our ears with melody, and forming a concert not to be equalled in 
our finest cities. — Idem. 

White-tailed Eagle. — In January last there was a fine specimen of the 
White- tailed Eagle shot by two labourers in the parish of East Quantock- 
head, near Bridgewater. It is now at Mrs. Turles', bird-stuffer, of this 
town, who has shewn her well-known talent in preserving it, who, I con- 
sider, second to none in that art. — J. Melhuish, Taunton, February 23rd., 
1857. 

Rare Birds. — On the 20th. of last November I had a very good male 
specimen of the Little Auk, (Uria alle,) from Welney Wash; on the 
21st., a beautiful male Grey Shrike, [Lanius excubitor;) December 2nd., 
I shot a male Chiff Chaif, (Sylvia rufa,) at Batesbite, now in the collection 
of A. F. Sealy, Esq. Dec. 6th., two Snow Buntings from Ely, and two from 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 113 

Haddenham, (two males and two females,) and a very fine Merlin, (Falco 
oesalon.) — William Farren, Jun. 

Rare Birds about Plymouth. — In October last a fine specimen of tbe 
Solitary or Great Snipe, {Scolopax major,) was caught a few miles from Ply- 
mouth. In November a few examples of the Black Redstart were killed. 
In December the Little Auk, Fork-tailed Petrel, and three Bitterns were 
obtained. — John Gatcombe, Wyndham Place, Plymouth, March 7th., 1857. 

The Jack Snipe. — These birds, as is well known, lie very close, and no 
doubt many a one is passed by unsuspected, as the two following instances 
will shew: — One of my boys, when out shooting this winter, came within 
a yard of one before he saw it, and he had to go back some way before 
he could shoot it. Near the same place, a couple of months afterwards, 
a tenant struck one with his whip as it lay on the ground close to him. 
— F. 0. Morris, March 13th., 1857. 

TO THE EDITOR OF "THE NATURALIST." 

I am indebted to the kindness of J. Gwyn Jeffreys, Esq., for permission 
to send to your periodical the following extract from a letter, the result 
of an examination kindly undertaken by him of the small Slcenea found 
by me at Falmouth, which I at first considered a new species, (a short 
account of which appeared in "The Naturalist" a few months ago,) and a 
careful comparison of it with a specimen taken by himself in the Medi- 
terranean, and also a series of the ordinary form of Slcenea rota, taken by 
me in a living state at the Land's End, and other parts of the Cornish 
coast: — "The result of a careful comparison of these specimens induces me 
to retain the opinion I at first formed, that your Slcenea tricurvata is only 
a variety of S. rota; your species appears to differ from S. rota in its some- 
what smaller size, in the whorls being flatter and more angular, (the latter 
character being probably attributable to the greater prominence and dis- 
tinctness of the ridges,) and in the transverse ribs being less marked, and 
not so nodulose as in the typical form. My specimens from the Mediter- 
ranean belong to this variety. All the specimens have three spiral ridges, 
one of them encircling the periphery, and forming an obtuse keel, another 
on the upper side, and a third on the lower side in the centre of each 
whorl. The ridges are nearly equidistant from each other, and their direc- 
tion is marked by a fulvous band; this character has not, I believe, been 
observed by any one except yourself. I however give this opinion with 
some reservation, as I should have preferred to have had an opportunity of 
comparing your specimens with others which I have taken myself from 
various parts of the British and Irish coasts; this, unfortunately, I cannot 
do at present while I am divorced from my cabinets." — W. Webster, Upton 
Hall, Birkenhead, February 9th., 1857. 



114 REVIEW. 

I have been a subscriber from the first to "The Natural History- 
Review" and have been pleased with the almost invariable impartiality of 
their comments. I am, however, quite of your opinion as to their Review 
in July last of your "British Butterflies," as explained by you at page 
35 of vol. vii. of this work. I agree with you that the "discursive para- 
graphs" and "religious remarks," complained of by them, have, with the 
general accuracy of the work, tended much to its popularity and success. 
I have before written to ask you to publish a volume on a like plan 
upon "Moths," etc., and trust yet to see you comply with the request. — > 
John Garland, Dorchester, February 7th., 1857. 



lUtOT. 
The Natural History Review. No. IX. Published quarterly, price 2s. Bd. 

London: Highley, Fleet Street. Edinburgh: Johnstone and Hunter. 

Dublin: Hodges and Smith. 

The following are the contents of the above part of this Review: — 

Review 1. — "Untersushungen ueber die Fluegel-typen der Coleopteren." 
Von Prof. Dr. H. Burmeister. Part 1. — Clavicornia, with a plate. 2. — 
"Glaucus, or the Wonders of the Shore." By the Rev. Charles Kingsley. 
3.— "The Natural History of the Tineina." By H. T. Stainton. 4.— 
"The Fern Allies." By John E. Sowerby. 5. — "Entomologist's Annual for 
1856." 6.— "Geology, its Facts and Fictions." By W. Elfe Taylor. 7.— 
"Experiments on the Dyeing Properties of Lichens." By W. L. Lindsay. 
8. — The Flowering Plants and Ferns of Great Britain." By J. G. Baker. 
Original Communications made to Various Societies. 

I. — "Address to the Dublin University Zoological Association." By the 
President, R. Ball, L.L.D., M.R.I.A., etc. 

II. — "On the Affinities of the Aphaniptera among Insects." By A. H. 
Haliday, A.M., M.R.I. A., V.P. Dublin University Zoological Association. 

III. — "On some Rare Fresh-water Mollusca." By E. Waller. 

IV. — "Notes on the Larva of Octhebius punctatus and Diglossa mersa." 
By A. H. Haliday, A.M., M.R.I.A. 

Notices of Serials. 

I. — "The Annals and Magazine of Natural History" for October, No- 
vember, and December, 1855. 

II. — "Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science" for October, 1855. 

III. — "The Zoologist" for October, November, and December, 1855. 

IV.— "Hooker's Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany" for 
October, November, and December, 1855. 

V. — "The Naturalist" for October, November, and December, 1855. 



THE QUERIST. 115 

And notices of the Serials of North America, Russia, Sweden, Germany, 
Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, and Prussia. 

Proceedings op Societies. 
Dublin University Zoological Association for November 16th., 1855; 
with a plate, illustrative of a paper to appear in the April number, 
"On a Lepidopterous larva attacking the horns of the Orea canna and 
Kolus hypsyprimnus." 

In my notice of the previous part of this work, in my criticism of the 
review of my "History of British Butterflies," I omitted to remark 
one matter touched on by the reviewer, namely, his observation on the 
mistake as to the extent of the wings of the Conepterix Rhamni, speaking 
of which he characterizes it as "odd" that Mr. Westwood should have made 
the mistake twice, but as "truly surprising" that I, following him, should 
have made it once. This strikes me as scarcely fair. 



€\t (tarist. 

Vegetable Caterpillar from New Zealand. — Under this title a very im- 
perfect description is given of the growth of a fungus upon a living body. 
The fungus is known by the name of Sphoeria. There are several species, 
of which the following may be mentioned: — Sphoeria sinensis, a highly- 
valued Chinese drug, which consists of a caterpillar or larva of a Lepi- 
dopterous insect, probably a species of Agrotis, from the neck of which 
projects the fungus designated as Sphoeria sinensis. For a fuller account 
of this fungus, and a figure of it, refer to "Pereira's Materia Medica," 
vol. ii., part 1, page 948. Sphoeria Taylori grows on an Australian cater- 
pillar. I have two or three specimens of this fungus, given to me by 
W. H. Brereton, Esq., who obtained them in Australia. Sphoeria Robertsii, 
developed on the caterpillar or larva of Hepialus virescens in New Zealand. 
This is probably the species referred to by Mr. Arthur Havers. For a 
figure of it, refer to "Balfour's Class Book of Botany," part i., page 345, 
also part ii., page 963. The growth of the fungus destroys the Caterpillar. 
— R. Wilbraham Falconer, M.D., Bath. 

Vegetable Caterpillar. — Observing Mr. Havers' query relative to the Bullrush 
or Vegetable Caterpillar in the last number of the "Naturalist," and having 
in my possession a very fine specimen, together with a descriptive account 
of the insect or plant, I send you a transcript for the information of your 
correspondent: — "Sphoeria liobertsii. Native name Aweto or Hotito. Bull- 
rush Caterpillar — The Aweto is only found at the foot of one particular 
tree, the Rata. The root of the plant, which in every instance exactly 
fills the body of the Caterpillar, in the finest specimens attains a length 



116 THE QUERIST. 

of three and a half inches, and the stem which germinates from this 
metamorphosed body of the Caterpillar is from six to ten inches high ; its 
apex, when in a state of fructification, resembles the Club-headed Bullrush 
in miniature, and when examined with a powerful glass, presents the ap- 
pearance of an ovary. There are no leaves; a solitary stem generally 
comprises the entire plant, but if any accident break it off, a second stem 
arises from the same spot. The body is not only always found buried, 
but the greater portion of the stalk as well, the seed-vessel alone being 
above ground. When the plant has attained its maturity (three years) it 
soon dies away. When newly dug up, the substance of the Caterpillar is 
soft; and when divided longitudinally, the intestinal canal is distinctly seen. 
Most specimens have the legs entire, with the horny part of the head, 
mandibles, and claws. The vegetating process, it is conjectured, arises prior 
to the insect's metamorphosis, from some seeds of the fungus getting 
between its scales, which invariably causes its death. — William Wells, 
Plymouth, 27th. February, 1857. 

The Vegetable Caterpillar. — This is described in "Gray's Supplement to 
the Pharmacopeia" as the larva of Uepialus virescens, a native Moth of 
New Zealand, and is found only at the root of the Rata tree, [Metrosi- 
derus robusta,) a myrtaceous plant. The fungus Sphoeria Robertsii is found 
growing on the larva. I have a specimen of one which was sent to me 
from New Zealand. Although it is very much shrunken, there is no doubt 
ot its having been a Caterpillar; its inside is completely filled with the 
fungus, and from its tail has grown two stems, one of them five inches 
long; about an inch of the top is covered with a fungus bark, which 
gives it the appearance of a Rat's tail. I am inclined to think that the 
Caterpillar is attacked by the parasite fungus, which spreads till it finally 
destroys life; and then taking a firmer root in the earth, becomes an 
independent fungus in the natural order of creation. — Sidney Style, 
Brighton. 

Vegetable Caterpillar from New Zealand. — This so-called Vegetable 
Caterpillar is the larva Uepialus virescens attacked by a curious fungus 
common in New Zealand — the Sphoeria Robertsii. The growth of the 
fungus destroys the Caterpillar. — F. M. Burton, Uppingham. 

Method of making Snow and Ice for Cases of Stuffed Birds. — In reply 
to the query of Mr. Braim, the following recipe will be found to answer 
the purpose: — Put a quarter of a pound of powdered alum to about a 
pint of warm water, and leave it till dissolved; then immerse your grasses, 
etc., and leave them till cold, when the crystals will have formed. The 
strength of the solution must be varied according to the size of the 
grasses, etc., used: but one or two trials will shej 




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Insect Collectors will do well to pay a visit to the Advertiser, 
he having always on hand such an assortment as will astonish many. 
Cabinets with Camphor cells always on hand; also Store Boxes, 
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TO NATURALISTS, M IC EOSCOP ISTS, ETC. 



GEORGE HOADLEY KING, 

(OF IPSWICH,) 

Begs to return his sincere thanks to those Gentlemen who have favoured him 
with their patronage, and desires to inform them, and all others interested 
in the study of Natural History, that he will he happy to furnish them 
with Insects, (especially Lcpidoptera and Coleoptera,) Birds, Birds' Eggs, 
and Marine Animals suited for the Aquarium. 

He has constantly on hand Microscopic Slides of various kinds, which he 
can supply on very reasonable terms; and begs to offer to ladies and 
gentlemen, and dealers having an interest in the Aquarium and Microscopic 
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G. H. K. is at present collecting on the Coast of Devon and Cornwall, 
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N. B. — He will be happy to arrange with Gentlemen and Proprietors of 
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Norwich Road, Ipswich. 

EGGS. 

Mr. J. C. Stevens will sell by Auction, at his Great Room, 38, 
King Street, Covent Garden, on Tuesday, May 12th., (and not in 
April as previously advertised,) at One o'clock precisely, a Collection 
of Rare Eggs, sent from Lapland by J. Wooley, Esq., in 1856. 
The Collection includes three undoubted Eggs of Bombycilla garrula, 
besides Eggs of Pyrrula enucleator, Garrulus infaustus, and many 
rare specimens of Totani, Tringce, and Anatidce. 

Catalogues may be had at Mr. J. C. Stevens' Offices, 38, King- 
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Complete in One Volume, price 4s. 6c?., 

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BUTTERFLIES AND STOUT-BODIED MOTHS; 

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BY H. T. STAINTON, 

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Noto Heady, in Fcap. 8vo. t price Half-a-Croton. 

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A Synopsis of British Flowering Plants. 
BY A. P. CHILDS, F.R.C.S. 



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ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, AND MINERAL 
KINGDOMS. 

WITH OCCASIONAL ENGRAVINGS. 



CONDUCTED BY 

THE EEV. F. 0. MORRIS, B.A., 

Member of the Ashmolean Society, etc. 

Author of "A History of British Birds." "A History of British Butterflies." 

"A History of the Nests and Eggs of British Birds." 

"A Bible Natural History." "A Book of Natural History," etc., etc, etc. 



Loud, how manifold arc Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: 
the earth is full of Thy riches. — Psalm civ., 24. 



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AND MAY BE HAD OF ALL BOOKSELLERS. 



CONTENTS. 

r-AGE. 

On the Classification of the Animal Kingdom. — No. 3. By F. M. 

Burton, Esq 117 

Birds' Nests. By 0. S. Round, Esq 127 

On Unity of System 132 

An Entomological Dream 134 

Addenda to the Birds of Nova Scotia. By Major Wedderburn. 136 

Systema Naturae. By The Editor 136 

Miscellaneous Notices. — A Natural Curiosity. Occurrence of the 
Tree Sparrow in Devonshire. The Common Bittern. The First 

Egg. Insects of the Beetle Tribe 137 

Review. — The Natural History Review 139 

The Querist. — Setting of Hymenoptera 140 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

Communications have been received from T. K. Atkinson, Esq.; — T. Fuller, 
Esq.; — G-. Wightwick, Esq.; — E. J. Maude, Esq.; — Dr. Hobson; — F. 
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Communications, Drawings, Advertisements, etc., to be addressed to the Rev. 
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117 



ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, 
BY THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NERVES 

BY F. M. BURTON, ESQ. 
( Continued from page 101. ) 

No. III. 

Wk have now come to the conclusion of the second great division of 
the Animal Kingdom, and have seen how the various orders and tribes 
gradually increase in organic development towards the great world of 
Articulata, each development being indicated by a similar increase of the 
nervous system in a manner that needs no comment; and we now proceed 
to examine the Homogangliatc division, in which we find five great families — 
Annelida, Myriapoda, Insecta, Arachnida, and Crustacea. 

Hitherto we have had to do with animals fitted only to exist in water, 
or substance of a fluid nature; but in the class we are now entering upon, 
we shall find animals capable, from their advanced state of organization, 
to subsist on land. The principal external character of this division, says 
Professor Jones, is that "they are all of them composed of a succession of 
rings, formed by the skin or outward integument, which, from its hardness, con- 
stitutes a kind of external skeleton, supporting the body and giving insertion 
to the muscles provided for the movements of the animals." In the first 
class, the Annelidans. these rings are very numerous, and the outer covering 
is of a soft nature. In the Myriapoda the rings become less frequent, 
and the body harder. In the Insects there is a greater concentration of 
the external skeleton; and still more so in the Arachnidans and Crustaceans. 
We shall also find, and this is an important fact never to be lost sight 
of, that in proportion as the various tribes comprising this division become 
more condensed in their structure, so much is their nervous system developed ; 
the long many-ringed Annelidans requiring, in fact, a distribution of gang- 
lia to guide their different segments, while it is as obviously necessary 
for the higher orders that their nervous system should be concentrated. 

And first as regards the Annelidans. The blood of these creatures, 
says Professor Jones, "is remarkable for its red colour, and circulates in 
a double system of arteries and veins; they are moreover almost all hermaphro- 
dite." Cuvier has separated them into three distinct orders, the Abranchia, 
Dorsibranchia, and Tubicola. The animals belonging to the first order 
have no external respiratory apparatus, such as the common leech and 
earth-worms. The former, Hirudo medicinalis, is a soft slippery animal, 
possessed of considerable muscular power, but without external limbs. It 
moves about by means of flat discs at each extremity, which act as suckers; 
near the centre of the anterior one is situated the mouth, which is armed 

voi . VII. R 



118 CLASSIFICATION OP THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

with three small cartilaginous teeth. Its digestive apparatus consists of a 
stomach, with numerous lateral coecal appendages, capable of great distension, 
and a small intestine. It breathes by means of spiracles, of which there 
are seventeen on each side. The circulatory system is of a complex nature, 
and is provided with veins and arteries, but there is no heart; while the 
nervous system is composed of a series of small ganglia connected by 
filaments, the anterior pair being larger than the rest, forming a rudimen- 
tary type of the brain of vertebrate animals. They are possessed of eight 
or ten simple eyes, and as regards their generative organs, they are her- 
maphrodite, but not self-impregnating. 

The Abranchia terricola > or Earth-worms, live beneath the ground, either 
inland or amongst the mud by the sea-shore. They move along by means 
of a number of sharp spines. Their digestive apparatus consists of a straight 
and capacious alimentary canal, with an oesophagus and gizzard. Their 
circulatory system is somewhat similar to that of the Leech, but is more 
elaborate. Respiration is effected by the copious distribution of the blood 
to the integument of the body, and also by the admission of air by means 
of stigmata. The generative organs of the Earth-worm are situated in 
the anterior part of the body, their position being indicated externally by 
a considerable enlargement or swelling, which extends from the seventh 
to the fourteenth segment, counting from that in which the mouth is 
situated. They are hermaphrodite, but not dioecious; and the young are 
produced from eggs. Some species of Annelida are also reproduced by 
spontaneous division; and the Earth-worms, though they cannot be multi- 
plied by mechanical division, yet have the power of reproducing small 
parts of their bodies. 

The second order of Cuvier, the Dorsibranchia, are all inhabitants of 
the sea, and, as their name implies, they breathe by means of external 
branchial tufts, or tubercles, of singular and variable construction; in some 
cases these organs being spread over the entire body, in others confined 
to a few of the segments. They have mouths of a peculiar structure, 
capable of being turned inside out, and armed, in some species, with 
powerful teeth. The alimentary canal is similar to that of the abranchiate 
worms, as is also the general course of the circulatory system. The organs 
of reproduction are but little understood; the species of Nereis seem to be 
self propagating by spontaneous division; and, says Professor Jones, "some 
curious speculations have been entertained by continental writers relative 
to this mode of propagation. The tail of the original Nereis is still the 
tail of its offspring, and however often the body may divide, still the 
same tail remains attached to the hinder portion, so that this part of the 
animal may be said to enjoy a kind of immunity from death." 

The Tubicola, Cuvier's third order, which inhabit pipes or tubes of 



CLASSIFICATION OP THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 119 

different construction, are very little known. Some secrete calcareous tubes, 
and others clothe themselves with shells, grains of sand, and other matter. 
Their organs of respiration and other appendages are placed near the 
head. 

We now come to the second class of this division — the Myriapoda; and 
here we find animals capable, from the greater density of their external 
skeletons, to subsist on land. Their bodies consist of a series of segments, 
to each of which is appended one or two pairs' of articulated legs; the 
anterior segment or head being provided, besides the mouth, with eyes and 
jointed antennae. They breathe through spiracles, and the air is distri- 
buted internally by means of trachea. The segments of the body, and 
consequently the feet, increase in number with age, thus differing materially 
from insects. They are divided into two great families — the Zulidce or 
Millipedes, and the Scolopendridce or Centipedes; the former most nearly 
assimilate with the last class, the Annelidans. Their bodies are long and 
round; the feet, of which there are two to each segment, though articu- 
lated are yet very small, so that these animals cannot move very quickly; 
their mouths resemble those of the larvae of some insects, while, like the 
Annelidans, they have a straight and very capacious alimentary canal. 

The internal organization of the class Myriapoda is also similar to that 
of insects, while in other respects they materially differ; as, for instance, 
in the position of the sexual organs, which, in the animals we are 
considering, are situated at the anterior part of the body, like the 
Annelidans; while, among insects, they are invariably placed at the caudal 
extremity. Again, they differ materially in their growth and development. 
Perfect insects, that is, insects that have completed all their changes, have 
six legs, and are then capable of reproduction; while the Myriapods acquire, 
by the changes which they undergo, new segments and legs, and cannot 
propagate their species till two years after their last moult. 

The second family of this class, the Scolopendridoe, are more highly 
organized than the Millipedes, and unite still further the Annelidans with 
the class Insecta. Their segments are fewer in number, flat instead of 
round, and more horny and tough than those of the last family; their 
legs also are larger and more pliable. Their nervous system is of course 
more concentrated and developed. Their mouths are very strong, and are 
armed with sharp curved fangs, perforated at their extremity. The alimen- 
tary canal is smaller than that of the Millipedes, in proportion to the 
nature of their food; the Millipedes living on vegetable substances, while 
these animals feed on animal matter. Their respiratory and circulating 
system seems to be like those of insects; and they also resemble that class 
in the position of their sexual organs, which, unlike the Zulidce, are situated 
at the extremity of the tail. 



120 CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

We now come to the most interesting of all the classes we have yet 
examined — that of Insects, the only animals of the articulated division 
capable of flight; and, as was pointed out at the commencement of this 
division, we find that, instead of an outward skeleton, composed of numer- 
ous segments, they are here found condensed, and divided into only three 
separate parts — the head, thorax, and abdomen. The former, which is 
connected with the thorax by a moveable joint, containing the oral apparatus 
and instruments of the senses. The thorax consisting of three segments, 
united and supporting the legs, wings, and the abdomen, containing the 
viscera. But before arriving at the perfect state, all insects undergo certain 
metamorphoses, or changes from the egg to the caterpillar, thence to the 
pupa, and after that to the imago or perfect insect, and these changes have 
been variously classified by different authors. Professor Jones has selected 
that of Burmeister, who calls the first division Insecta ametabola. 

The larvae or caterpillars of these animals resemble the perfect insect, 
but have no wings, and the pupae of those which have wings in the 
perfect state, possess rudiments of those organs. Some of this order have 
"sucking mouths composed of four fine setae lying in a sheath," as the 
Hsmiptera, a familiar example of which we have in the Water Boatman, 
(JVotonecta,) so common in our ponds. The wings of this order, when 
present, are four in number, and the upper pair generally half-coriaceous, 
and the posterior portion membranous. Others have mouths with jaw- 
like mandibles and maxillae, as the Ortlioptera, of which we have a familiar 
example in the Gryllus domesticus, "the Cricket on the Hearth." This 
possesses four wings, the posterior pair being larger than the upper, which 
latter are of a dense leathery texture. A third order, the Dictyoptera, 
a well-known example of which we have in the Cockroach, has four wings, 
when they exist, and these are of equal size, and never folded. 

The second division, called the Insecta metabola, comprises those insects 
whose larvae are possessed of legs, or without them, and the pupae is quiet, 
or, if it moves, it does not eat. This division comprises the fourth order, 
Neuroptera, with four equal reticulated wings, and strong lateral jaws. 
The most perfect examples of this order are the Dragon-flies, though 
these insects form exceptions to the general rule given above, as their 
pupae are eminently blood-thirsty individuals. The fifth order, Diptera, 
with little appendages, called poisers, in the place of posterior wings, and 
sucking mouths provided with setae, and palpi, of which the common 
House-fly forms a familiar example. The sixth order, the lepidoptera, 
with four wings covered with beautiful scales, and a long sucking proboscis; 
the representatives of which are too well known to need example. The 
seventh order, the Hymenoptera, with four naked wings, traversed by 
strong branching nervures, and larvae generally without head or feet; such 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 121 

are Wasps, Bees, etc. The eighth order, Goleoptera, or Beetles, with a 
pair of dense horny anterior wings, and a thin posterior pair, folded up 
when not in flight, whose larvae possess heads and sometimes feet. 

Having thus specified the orders, the author proceeds next to a descrip- 
tion of the anatomy of perfect insects; and as regards their legs, instead 
of the stiff appendages of the last class — Myriofioda, we find a beautiful 
structure composed of five portions — the coxa or hip, the trochanter, the 
femur or thigh, the tibia or shank, and the tarsus or foot, which last is 
again divided into a variable number of jointed segments. Some insects 
are provided with hooks on the last joint of the tarsus, others with a single 
claw like the Louse, (Pediculus,) others again have flaps or suckers, and 
thick pulvilli, to enable them to climb vertical polished surfaces. The 
thighs of the posterior legs of some insects are greatly enlarged, to 
enable them to leap; others, by the enlargement of the tibia and other 
parts, possess the power of burrowing under the ground, while the legs of 
some swimming insects resemble oars. As regards their means of flight, 
the wings, which are invariably attached to the two posterior segments of 
the thorax, are very variable in their shape and structure, some have four, 
some two, and some none at all. 

The outer integument of insects, which in this respect resembles the skin 
of vertebrate animals, consists of three distinct layers — the epidermis, the 
rete-mucosum, where the colouring lies, and the cutis or true skin; and 
each wing is only a kind of prolongation of this common covering, and 
is "composed of two delicate films of the epidermis, stretched upon a 
strong and net-like framework." Many insects are also provided with 
other appendages, such as spines, hair, scales, etc. The muscular system 
of this class is highly developed, particularly in the legs and wings. Their 
mouths are wonderful instruments, and are either mandibulate or haustellate, 
the former, or perfect mouth, consists of an upper lip, (labrum,) an under 
lip, (labium,) two upper jaws, (mandibulae,) and two under jaws, (maxillae,) 
both pairs of which work horizontally; the lower lip is divided into two 
portions — the mentum, or chin, and the tongue. Besides these there are 
also some curious appendages inserted upon the maxillae and labium, called 
palpi, or feelers. The suctorial or haustellate mouth, though it differs 
very much in outward appearance from the last, yet the parts composing 
it are fundamentally the same as those met with in the mandibulate class. 
These last mouths vary considerably. The Hemiptera, for instance, have 
four lancets, which are only the mandibles and maxillae altered in shape, 
and they are enclosed in a sheath, the base of which is covered by a small 
scale; and these answer, the one to the labium, and the other to the 
upper lip of mandibulate insects; and the same general order is found 
throughout. 



122 CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

With regard to the digestive apparatus of insects, it consists of a delicate 
membranous tube, containing a crop, gizzard, stomach, and small and large 
intestines. The crop is only met with in Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, and 
Diptera, which have no gizzard. The gizzard is found in mandibulate 
insects that live on solid, animal, or vegetable substances. In some instances, 
also, the small intestine ' is wanting, so that the stomach in such cases 
passes at once to the terminal large intestine or colon. Besides these, the 
digestive apparatus possesses occasionally various secreting organs, such as 
salivatory glands, bile vessels, and others. The respiratory organs of perfect 
insects consist of spiracles, from which a great number of delicate air-tubes 
or trachese spread out through the body, and by this process, the blood, 
which is all arterial, is being continually oxygenized, as it is brought in 
contact with the tracheal tubes. 

In the nervous system of insects, we find a gradual concentration of 
parts. The principal ganglion, or brain, becomes considerably developed, 
and a chain of smaller ones runs on the base of the body, to guide the 
muscles of the legs and wings. Interesting experiments have been made 
with reference to this ganglionic nervous chain, and there seems good 
ground for presuming that, analogous to the distinct columns that exist 
in the spinal axis of vertebrate animals, there are at least two distinct 
tracts also in the central axis of insects; for, as Professor Jones observes, 
"It has been well ascertained that the nerves given off to the muscular 
system of the Homogangliata, are not derived from the ganglionic masses 
themselves, but from the cords which connect them together; while the 
nerves, distributed to the integument and external parts of the body, 
communicate immediately with the ganglia." 

Various are the senses which insects possess. That of touch is common 
to all. It is evident also, that some at least, as for instance the Flesh-fly, 
have the power of smelling; while there are abundant proofs of their being 
able to hear sounds. Their eyes are of two kinds, simple and compound; 
and many insects possess both. As regards their means of reproduction, 
the sexes in all of this class are distinct, and the generative organs vary 
considerably in different tribes, and are of a complex description. Those 
of the female terminate in a common oviduct, attached to which are 
certain appendages called gluten-secretors and spermatheca; and in many 
insects there is a long external intestinal tube of elaborate construction at 
the end of the oviduct, called the ovipositor. The number of eggs laid 
by different species varies considerably; some, as the Flea, lay about twelve 
only, while the Queen Bee averages some forty or fifty thousand; but 
they are all beaten by the Termite, which, if it were to continue the 
process throughout a whole year, would, says Professor Jones, produce the 
astonishing number of two hundred and eleven millions four hundred and 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 123 

forty-nine thousand six hundred eggs. The Aphides also are remarkable 
for their fecundity, as "a single sexual intercourse is sufficient to impreg- 
nate not only the female parent, but all her progeny down to the ninth 
generation;" and one of these insects, it is calculated, might be the great 
great grandmother of five thousand nine hundred and four millions of 
young ones. 

With regard to the metamorphoses of insects, to which allusion has 
been already made, Fabricius has divided them into five kinds — the 
Coarctate, comprising all insects having a maggot larva without legs, and 
its pupa encased in a small oval sheath; the Obtected, having a six-legged 
caterpillar and a pupa, on which are indicated the future legs and wings 
of the perfect insect; the Incomplete, having a maggot, without or with 
imperfect legs, and a pupa having the form of the legs, antennae, and 
wings perfectly distinct, though they are all still enclosed in cases; the 
Semi-complete, having a larva like the imago, but without wings; and lastly, 
the Complete, having a wingless imago, resembling the pupae. But there 
are, says Professor Jones, "innumerable examples of metamorphoses which 
will not conform to any of the above descriptions." The larvae or cater- 
pillars differ considerably from the perfect insect in their external parts. 
The viscera of the former are much more enlarged than those of the 
latter, for obvious reasons. The caterpillars also possess the power of 
secreting silk, which is subservient to the purposes of locomotion, and is 
also used for protecting the defenceless pupa. The spinnaret, or orifice 
through which the thread issues, is situated in the labium or under lip, 
and is a simple nipple-shaped prominence. While growing, the skin of the 
caterpillar is cast off at intervals, and when the moult takes place, not 
only is the skin removed, but every part of the outward covering down 
to the jaws and the cornea of the eyes goes with it. It is in the nervous 
system, however, that the most interesting change takes place during the 
insect-metamorphoses; and this beautifully illustrates the important principles 
on which the arrangement of the animal kingdom by the distribution of 
the nerves depends. In the larva;, the ganglia are numerous but small; 
in the pupa state, the principal ganglion increases while others coalesce; 
and when arrived at the imago or perfect state, we find a concentration 
of the nervous centres adapted to the animal's increased necessities: and 
the number of the small ganglia is still farther reduced, and encephalic 
ganglion or brain still more highly developed. 

Having now considered briefly the anatomy and economy of insects, we 
come to the next great class, the Arachnida — animals whose external 
skeleton presents only two divisions — the cephalo-thorax and the abdomen; 
they also differ from insects in the following ways — they have in their 
perfect state eight instead of six legs, eyes invariably smooth and of a 



124 CLASSIFICATION OP THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

more perfect organization, their sexual apertures are also situated beneath 
the thorax or at the base of the abdomen, and their respiration is generally 
carried on by means of lungs instead of tracheae. This class is divided 
into the great groups — the Arachnida tracJiearea, which is an intermediate 
type between insects and true Araehnidans, the Pedipalpi, and the Araneidoe, 
the two last being also classed together under the name Arachnida pul- 
monaria. The first division comprises the mites, (Acaridce,) and the 
Pseudo-scorpionidce, Their bodies are divided into cephalo-thorax and 
abdomen, they have eyes never exceeding four in number, and resembling 
the eyelets of insects; their mouths are adapted to suction, and they have 
strong piercing jaws; they breathe by means of tracheae, as in insects, 
though their spiracles are different. Little is known accurately of their inter- 
nal configuration, owing to their minute size. The Pulmonary Araehnidans, 
comprising the two last divisions, are carnivorous in their habits. 

In the Pedipalpi, or Scorpions, the mandibles of the insect world are 
represented by a pair of small forceps, and the maxillary palpi are very 
greatly enlarged, and resemble the claws of Crustaceans. In the Spiders 
the mandibles are terminated with a sharp moveable perforated fang, while 
the maxillary palpi in the females terminate with a simple hook, and in 
the males are provided with forceps. In both Scorpions and Spiders the 
alimentary canal is very narrow, and is surrounded with a quantity of 
fat, as in the larvas of insects. Their respiratory system is very peculiar, 
being a combination of gills adapted to water, and lungs of air-breathing 
animals. It consists of a series of pulmo-branchise, each of which opens 
externally by a sort of spiracle; they possess a rudimentary vascular appa- 
ratus for the circulation of the blood, which seems not to be confined in 
veins, but wanders slowly in wide sinuses or cavities throughout the body, 
and is thus brought back to the arteries, to be again propelled through 
the system. The nervous system of Scorpions and Spiders differs, however, 
somewhat in character. In the former, it is still ganglionic, though more 
concentrated and enlarged than that of insects, each ganglion moreover is 
united by three intermediate nerves; but in the Araneidte, or Spiders, we 
find the whole chain of ganglia inserted into one* brain, from which nerves 
radiate to all parts of the body. The eyes of Araehnidans are far supe- 
rior to those of insects, and resemble greatly in their construction those 
of vertebrate animals. Their sexual organs, both male and female, are 
very simple in their character. The Araneidce, or Spiders, like the larvae 
of insects, possess the power of spinning; but instead of a single prominence, 
the former possess four spinnarets, each of which is perforated by innumer- 
able orifices, so that, instead of a simple line, each thread is composed 
of numbers of small cords woven together. 

The last class of the great Homogangliate division, the Crustacea, are 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. » 125 

principally marine in their habits, but they are also found abundantly in 
our lakes and ponds. Their outward appearance resembles that of insects 
in structure, being composed of three parts — a hard cuticular secretion or 
shell of a calcareous nature, a coloured pigment, and a vascular dermis. 
These animals, in their lowest form, correspond with the condition of the 
skeleton met with in the Myriapoda and in the larva of many insects, 
"the whole body being composed of a series of similar segments, to which 
are appended external articulated members of the simplest construction," 
and we shall find, as we examine the more organized tribes, that there 
is a gradual concentration of these segments, and a consequent corresponding 
coalescence of the nervous system within. The quantity of rings in the 
body of each species is supposed to be the same, the normal number being 
twenty-one, seven of which belong to the head, and seven each to the 
thorax and abdomen; and, in illustration of this theory, Professor Jones 
brings forward the Talitra, as having the seven cephalic segments all 
united, but their existence indicated by seven several pairs of appendages, 
while the seven thoracic and abdominal segments are all distinct; the 
Lobster, (Astacus marinus,) as having the fourteen cephalic and thoracic 
rings all joined together, but the abdominal segments still distinct; and 
Crabs, as being still more united; and one, the King Crab, (Limulus 
Polyphemus,) as having the division of the abdomen also obliterated; and, 
as he well observes, we cannot but trace, as we review this comprehensive 
class from the lowest to the highest types, the same steps "whereby we 
pass from the Annelidans to the Myriapods, and from thence to the insect, 
the Scorpion, and the Spider." 

The Decapod division of this class is alone noticed in the Professor's 
work, and it is divided into three extensive families — the Macroura or 
swimmers, the Anomoura or Hermits, and the Brachyura; of which last 
the Common Crab is a familiar example. Of the first of these groups 
the best known is the Common Lobster; it has five pairs of articulated 
limbs on each side of its mouth, used for the prehension of food, which 
are called foot-jaws. The next pair of legs succeeding to these are very 
remarkable in structure; they are thick and muscular, and are armed with 
chehe or claws, one pair being provided with sharp teeth for tearing prey, 
and the opposite with large blunt tubercles, for holding fast to any sub- 
marine matter. After these come four pairs of slender legs, the two first 
having also a pair of feeble forceps. These last pairs of legs are but little 
used for locomotive purposes, as the Macroura always employ their tails 
in swimming, and if the former were more powerful, they would necessarily 
hinder the action of the latter. 

The next great family, the Anomoura, or Soldier Crabs, have the 
hinder part of the body soft and coriaceous, which they protect by forcing 



126 CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

it into any convenient empty shell. In their structure they are analogous 
to the Lobster, though widely different in shape. Their chelae or claws 
are of different sizes; the two succeeding pairs, unlike those of the Lobster, 
are very strong, and, instead of forceps, terminate in a sharp point, to 
enable the animal to move along; and their tails, instead of being provided 
with lamellae for swimming, are transformed into a sort of leg-like appen- 
dages, to enable them to hold on to the inner part of the shells which 
they inhabit. 

The Bmchyura have much more concentrated skeletons, their tails are 
very short, they have powerful chela), and their legs are adapted for walking 
on land. At certain times of the year crustaceans change their skin, or 
rather shell; they cast off every part down to the very joints in a 
remarkable way, and a new one comes in its place. The alimentary canal 
of these animals is very simple, and consists of an oesophagus, a stomach, 
in which fs contained a singular masticating apparatus, and a straight 
intestinal tube, it is also provided with a liver and biliary ducts. Their 
circulatory system consists of branchiae, variously disposed, in the lower 
orders the legs used in swimming have certain fringed lamellae appended 
to them, which exercise this function; in the higher orders these lamellae 
are attached to the tail and sides of the body, near the origin of the 
legs. The heart of the lower orders of this class is a dorsal vessel, similar 
to that of insects, but in the decapod division it becomes more centralized. 
It is possessed of various large arteries, which disperse the blood through 
the body, and the venous apparatus analagous to that of spiders, consists 
of delicate sinuses or cavities which freely communicate with each other. 
The nervous system of this class passes through all the gradations of 
development met with throughout the Homogangliate division of the animal 
kingdom. The lowest types indeed of the Crustacea are actually less highly 
organized in this respect than the humblest Annelidans, for, in the latter, 
we always find the two lateral masses of the supra-cesophagal ganglion 
united, but in some Crustacea, as Talitrus, this lateral division is perfectly 
evident. As we rise higher, however, we find a gradual concentration of 
the nervous chain, until at last, in the Common Crab, the whole is gathered 
into one mass or brain, from which radiations are thrown out to all parts 
of the body; a type of development equal to, but not higher than, the 
Spider. 

Allusion has before been made to a division of the ganglionic chain in 
the class Insecta, similar to that found in vertebrate animals; and the 
same character is met with in the class we are now considering. Each 
ganglion consists of two portions, and it is supposed that the inferior is 
connected with sensation, and the superior with the movements of the 
body; which arrangement, however, is precisely opposite to that met with 



birds' nests. 127 

in the higher class vertebrata. A singular power that the Crustacea possess 
must not be omitted; they can break off their own limbs at pleasure, which, 
as the author observes, "is an indispensable provision in their economy," 
for, as their blood flows in wide sinuses, instead of being confined in narrow 
veins, if a limb happened to be fractured, the blood would inevitably escape, 
the Crab therefore breaks off the injured member at a particular place where 
one of these sinuses ends, and the bleeding is thus effectually staunched. 
But the most remarkable thing is, that when broken off, notwithstanding 
the high organization of these creatures, another limb gradually appears in 
its place. 

The eyes of crustaceans are either simple, aggregated, or compound. 
The first resemble those of Spiders; the second are composed of a number 
of simple eyes placed behind one common cornea; and the compound are 
constructed like those of insects. In the two highest orders these organs 
are placed on moveable pedicles. They possess a distinct auditory apparatus 
of a very simple character. In their generative system they are very 
peculiar, these organs on each side of the body of both male and female 
being perfectly distinct both internally and externally. The females almost 
invariably carry their eggs about with them till they are hatched; and 
for this purpose some of the minute Crustacea and Entomostraca have little 
bags attached to the hinder part of their bodies, while the Decapods carry 
their eggs attached to the under part of their tails. These Entomostraca 
resemble the Aphides in one very peculiar fact — they are capable of pro- 
ducing, from a single intercourse, fertile eggs for at least six generations. 
The young of the Crustacea are not like their parents when hatched, but 
undergo a sort of metamorphosis, like the insect world we have already 
considered; and the Common Crab appears at first in the most grotesque 
shape, and takes several months before it arrives at its perfect form. 

Uppinghaihj March, 1857. 



BIRDS' NESTS. 

BY 0. S. ROUND, ESQ. 

In my former papers upon the habits, instincts, and formation of birds, 
I have endeavoured to trace the use, ornament, and pleasure which the 
system of creation receives from their preseuce. What a beautiful and 
interesting class of beings they are, and how much they deserve the con- 
sideration of those who take a delight in contemplating the wonderful 
works of nature! I will proceed now to speak of that peculiar feature in 
their instincts, which is only observed in very few animals beside, and 



128 BIHDS' NKSTS. 

which finds no analogy generally, except in the insect and reptile tribes; 
I mean the nest. This admirable and pleasing structure is one of those 
things which every one, except those brought up in a city, is acquainted 
with from the earliest period, and to find which is one of the chief 
amusements of our boyhood. Who does not mingle in his earliest remi- 
niscences the joy he felt on lighting upon the pretty little retreat of the 
Hedge Sparrow, with its four or five bright blue eggs; or the thoughtless 
manner in which perhaps he bore the prize away; but was he struck with 
'the beautiful workmanship of the little habitation, or did he contemplate 
it for a moment otherwise than as a prize which he had the cleverness to 
discover, and took as the lawful reward of his discernment? The nest was 
probably taken merely for the sake of its general pretty appearance; and 
the eggs which it contained, and which, blown and strung, formed the 
pleasure of the playful hour, were soon broken and cast away with 
their previously disregarded receptacle. I do not speak of this in austerity 
or grave reproof, for I well remember doing the like; but I only wish 
my readers to ponder upon this reflection, or call it to mind the next 
time this temptation offers. I would merely have them think of it in a 
reflective manner, so that they may enjoy the pleasure of the contempla- 
tion without being the unthinking means of pain to even so insignificant a 
creature as the builder of that little nest, by robbing him of his home; 
temporary it is true, but still his home. 

As birds are doubtless a great addition to the full enjoyment of rural 
life by their song and presence, so it is in the capacity of trainers of 
their helpless brood that they chiefly awaken our sympathies. The 
secrecy and care which they bestow in their domestic economy, next claim 
our attention, and we are naturally led to an observation of the progress 
of their household affairs. It is the aim of every one of us men to (what 
is called) settle in life, that is, obtain sufficient to have a house and 
establishment of our own; we then marry, a family springs up around us, 
we educate and place them in the way of doing as we have done; this 
performed, old age has come upon us, and we must turn all our thoughts 
to that second state of existence to which we may be called hence at any 
moment, but which we are perfectly certain cannot by this time be far distant. 

Now, what is this other than the life of all animals, and birds more 
particularly; for, if we think of it, we shall find the resemblance sufficiently 
complete, only, that in all matters of instinct, every part of the duties of 
life is performed with a punctuality which affords a very useful lesson to 
us, superior as we think ourselves. Thus the nestling, as soon as he can, 
performs small journeys in the air or on the earth, gains strength very 
rapidly, and in a very short period commences life on his own account, feeds 
himself, and spends the autumn and succeeding winter in that sportive 



birds' nests. 129 

manner which may well answer to our own childhood; possessing by nature 
first, and by the tuition of his parents and practice afterwards, most 
of the acquirements which are necessary for his support. Thus it is 
no uncommon sight, and a very pretty one, to see a pair of old birds 
instructing their young in flight, fluttering round them, waiting on them, 
and encouraging them to try their own powers. 

The development of these powers varies very much in different species; 
thus, all the water-birds are clothed only with a kind of down for a 
considerable period after their exclusion from the egg; the reason of this 
is manifest, for flight is not their primary qualification, but onlv an 
auxiliary to swimming or wading, which they can exercise almost from the 
moment they are hatched. Again, those birds which are essentially fliers 
have their feathers already in progress of growth at their birth, and in a 
surprisingly short period use their wings for many hours during the sum- 
mer day. There are others, such as the gallinaceous, or fowl and pheasant 
tribe, which trust more to their legs, and are for a considerable period 
imperfect on the wing. Thus we may trace in this as in every other 
stage of animal life, the wonderful and perfect adaptation of the means 
to the necessities of the individual. But before they can arrive at their 
first anniversary they must encounter many and great dangers, which their 
inefficiency in motion and experience renders them peculiarly liable to. 
Among these not the least is migration, which is no mean undertaking, 
and with some, such as the Swift, must take place in about five weeks 
only from the time the young are produced. What an extraordinary 
reflection is this, that creatures so helpless as these appear to be, should, 
in so brief a space, be traversing the fields of air over the vast ocean to 
realms which they are to visit for the first time, and which, if they are 
accidentally separated from the rest of the flock, a thing very likely 
to occur, they can only reach by that wonderful instinct which is such 
a necessary guide. This reflection has, I know, been before made, but 
it must strike the most unobservant with astonishment. 

If this is likely with regard to such powerful fliers as these, how much 
more with the summer birds of passage; in fact, as I have elsewhere observed,, 
the waste which takes place by contingencies is generally found to bring the 
numbers which arrive pretty nearly even every spring. And now begins the 
bird's real entrance into the actual business of life. With our own kinds 
the latter end of February usually sees all (except such as are polygamous, 
which are gallinaceous birds,) arranged in pairs. In my article on "The 
Effects of Spring," I have touched upon this part of the subject to observe 
what a difference of manner this mode of life produces, softening and 
lomesticating to a certain degree even the wildest. The migratory birds 
are seen in pairs immediately on their arrival, and I am inclined to think 



130 BIKDS' NESTS. 

that they so arrive on our shores, as I have very many times had the 
first view of summer birds of different kinds in couples. 

The time at which the different kinds of birds begin the business 
of building varies very much; I think the earliest of any is the Raven; 
this bird often has been known to have young in February, which, allowing 
for the time occupied in sitting, brings the actual building into January 
itself; but these instances must be in mild seasons. All the Crow or 
Pie kind are early builders, and use more or less the same kind of 
material for their nest; this is usually some kind of dead stick, lining with 
wool; Magpies alone of the Pie kind cover their nests entirely over, and 
use a vast quantity of materials, amongst which much black-thorn twig is 
usually found. The nesting of Rooks is too well known to need particular 
description; the Jackdaws mingle with them, and generally form a part 
of a Rookery; Magpies and Jays frequent woods, and build in the tops 
of moderate trees. 

The eggs of all this family are more or less grey and freckled, except 
the Jay, whose eggs are of a dull colour freckled with a dull pink. His 
nest is also much closer than the other, and usually formed chiefly of 
roots, and lined like the others with wool and soft materials. 

Among the first nesters we may reckon the Ouzel tribe; the Blackbird 
usually having young early in April; and Thrushes are not far behind. JN T ow, 
this genus differs exceedingly in the formation of the nest; for, whilst the 
Blackbird uses a good deal of loose moss and sticks, cemented with black 
mud and lined with dry grass, the Thrush has a much larger nest, lined, 
and in fact composed almost entirely of rotten wood, which is so beauti- 
fully moulded within, as to resemble a cocoa-nut shell, the outside being 
kept together by green moss; whilst the Missel Thrush uses clay, lines 
the same as the Blackbird, and uses white moss on the exterior: the two 
first build in low trees or bushes, the last usually in high trees, though 
sometimes very near the neighbourhood of man. The eggs of the Black- 
bird are green speckled with brown; the Thrush the same colour but 
brighter, spotted with black; and the Missel Thrush very light grey dotted 
with red — a very remarkable discrepancy in birds of such analogous form 
and habits. 

The nest of a bird bears no manner of proportion to its bulk, for it is 
remarkable that the Wren, which is next to the smallest British species, 
makes a nest much bigger than that of the Ringdove, which has fifty 
times the bulk; whilst the Ostrich, the biggest of all, makes none, but 
deposits its eggs on the bare ground. The Titmice, with one exception, 
build in holes of the earth, of trees, or some building, the Great Parus 
usually preferring a hollow tree or secure eave of a house. All these use 
green moss, rabbits' fur, aud feathers, and lay a nest full of eggs, which 






BIBDS NESTS. 



181 



are white with red dots. The exception I allude to is the Long-tailed or 
Bottle Tit, so called from the shape of its nest, which is exactly that 
of a soda-water hottle, with an opening on the side, made of the same 
materials as the other, mingled with a little white moss on the exterior; 
this is generally found in hedges, and an elegant little structure it is, 
usually containing twelve or fourteen eggs, which are white. 

Now, the Wren, as I have before observed, builds a very large nest, 
which, from the situation she chooses for it, usually in the side of a 
stack, or wadded wall of an outhouse, or interior of the roof, or eaves, is 
necessarily covered in; and hence, when built, as it sometimes is, in bushes, 
it preserves the same shape, although the necessity no longer exists. Thus 
we see the palpable distinction between reason and instinct, which, although 
it performs the greatest wonders, cannot adapt itself to circumstances. 
The Wren's eggs are white with small reddish speckles, and generally 
seven or eight in number ; this bird, as I have elsewhere observed, is very 
prodigal of her labour in nest-building, for it is not uncommon for one pair 
of these birds to erect five or six nests within a short distance of each 
other; this has never been satisfactorily explained, but the most probable 
supposition is, that it is a cunning artifice to divert the attention from the 
true nest, which is seldom discovered. 

As the Wren builds in such situations as to render it expedient that 
her nest should have a cover, so her relative with a golden crest, takes 
the foliage of a horizontal spruce or cedar bough for her protection, and 
makes an open nest, suspended by cordage formed of cobwebs, hair, moss, 
fine twigs, roots, etc. This elegant little bird is no less elegant in its 
arrangements, for the materials it collects are of the finest description, 
moss, lichens, rabbits' fur, feathers, wool, all on a fine scale and beauti- 
fully enwoven, so that her little dozen of cream-coloured pea-sized eggs 
make a pretty picture. Now we might suppose that the Willow Wrens, 
so analogous as they are to this bird in their mode of life, would choose 
the air for their house, and not build on the ground, and cover in their 
nests, with a small entrance on the side, so that the green moss and grasses 
which they use mingle and confound themselves with the surrounding 
herbage. Their eggs are universally white with red dots, those of the 
Wood Wren being darkest and roundest. 

Wagtails use very light materials, such as fine grasses and feathers, 
and build usually on the banks of fresh waters, and lay five or six white 
eggs speckled with black, very like those of the House Sparrow, which 
uses the same materials, but in a vast quantity, and covers in, preferring 
the eaves of houses or overhanging boughs of trees. 

(To be continued.) 



132 
ON UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

(Continued from page 74.) 

The following notes, commencing with geology, are put together in order 
to indicate the outlines of the system to which this law is applicable, and 
will serve as an introduction to a more detailed account of the variety of 
instances in which it is manifest. 

The law of Nature before mentioned being applied to the Bible, is found 
to be in exact accordance therewith, and it is obvious that they are both 
characterized by the same beautiful simplicity, and are both parts of one 
system, and both partial revelations of the plan on which God has ordained 
creation. The acquaintance with one, as it advances, confirms and illustrates 
the other, and the same means have conduced to the progressive under- 
standing of both in the latter times. Though the knowledge of Nature 
and that of the Bible are continually increasing, yet they are both suited 
to all epochs, and nations, and periods of life, and both contain much of 
what interests children, and of what is beyond the human understanding. 

The progressive study of Nature and of the Bible always corrects and 
modifies the earlier impressions, many of which are successively found to 
be erroneous, and are designed to be so, for an enlarged acquaintance with 
Nature and with the Bible is quite unsuited to the early ages of mankind, c " 
to uncivilized nations, and to children, though all these can understand as 
much of them as it concerns them to know, and what is therefore specially 
adapted to them. 

Till about a century ago system was hardly applied to any of the natural 
sciences, nor was Nature often appealed to by experiments or proofs, but 
since that time the progress has been very great, and shews as it increases 
that there is far more yet undiscovered, and that the knowledge of system 
is still very imperfect, though the appliance of system is now becoming more 
and more necessary. 

The beauty of the laws of Nature, with all their modifications and 
adaptations, is year by year more apparent and more admired, and they 
are now divided into very numerous branches, and each of the latter is 
sufficient for the study of one man. These laws, and the laws which are 
developed in the Bible from the beginning to the end, are equally laws 
of God, and indeed the same laws, though differently applied, and they 
are therefore more or less disregarded by every one who neglects the study 
of the Bible, or the investigation of Nature. And, as a knowledge of one 
is in some degree dependant on that of the other, an acquaintance with 
both is especially requisite for those who profess to know or to teach either 
of them. Any adding to, or taking away from the laws of Nature, would 
destroy their efficiency, or the perception of their perfectness; and the same 
* I cannot admit this, though I have no doubt the writer means "well. — F. O. Morris. 



UNITY OP SYSTEM. 133 

remark applies to the Bible, and accords with the injunction at the close 
of the latter. 

It has been already mentioned how each creature, both in itself, and in 
relation to others, is figurative of the whole creation, though only partially 
so; for the laws of Nature, like the Deity who has ordained them, are 
never fully disclosed. In like manner periods of thousands of years are 
prefigured in the Bible by means of a few words, and by the description 
of a single event. 

The whole Bible is one continued and progressive preparation for another 
life, and its tendency from beginning to end is to disengage man succes- 
sively more and more from the earth; the law of degradation before men- 
tioned being the means applied. 

This law, with regard to man, has three divisions; the first being 
degradation or destruction, on account of the prevalence of evil, and of a 
total inaptitude for a better state of existence, as the creatures of each of 
the early epochs, when they had attained their most flourishing state, began 
to dwindle and to pass away. The second division is humiliation or repen- 
tance of evil; and the third is self-renunciation, or a voluntary separation 
from the present state. This last is 

"That golden key, 
That ope's the palace of eternity." 

It appears figuratively in most of the events and circumstances mentioned 
in the Old Testament, is more distinctly enjoined by the Prophets, and is 
fully and continually disclosed throughout the New Testament. There is 
no compromise or reservation; total renunciation is there required, and it 
insures perfect liberty, as an existence independent of this life being then 
without fear and doubt. Love is the motive for a change of state or of 
situation on the earth, and the greater the change the more must be the 
love for the state to come; all the various events of life being preparatory 
to, or figurative of, the final change, lliches, birth, rank, honours, learning, 
imagination, and all other advantages, and all virtues which are only suited 
to this life, must be inwardly renounced, for they will all cease with the 
present existence. Self-renunciation is true faith, and is all that is required 
)f man, for its motive must be love, and it will shew itself by good works 
when it has the means, though it will be equally efficacious without them, 
as frequently no means are allowed for them. It is easier to renounce 
vices than to renounce trust in virtues, as appears by many examples in 
the Bible; and the ignorant and savage having little to trust to, are often 
more easily induced to self-renunciation than are the civilized heathen, with 
their elaborate laws, and ceremonies, and mythology. The Jews having 
most to trust to, and not seeing beyond their law, are most difficult to 
convert to Christianity. 

VOL. VII. * 



134 



AN ENTOMOLOGICAL DREAM. 



The system disclosed throughout Nature, and throughout the Bible, is 
totally opposed to the prevalent opinion that Christianity begins where 
heathen virtues cease, or that the latter are the ground-work on whioh 
the former must be exalted. It is also equally opposed to all human 
plans for the advancement of mankind, these plans being adverse to self- 
renunciation. 

(To be continued.) 



AN ENTOMOLOGICAL DREAM. 

{Concluded from page 109.) 



Next came a crowd, about seven or eight, 
Who, with downcast looks and shuffling gait, 
Pass'd quickly by, as tho' shunning my gaze; 
"Who, and what are these!" I cried in amaze; 
Whereupon I was told a grievous tale 
Of some, who had precious insects for sale, 
Which, though born and bred in a foreign 

land, 
Yet became, when bought by this worthy band, 
Undoubtedly British, as all were told, 
With unfalt'ring tongue and countenance 

bold! 
And now, Muse, assist, and lend me thine aid, 
While I tell how collections may be made. 
Send to dealers for insects "rich and rare," 
And freely give sixpence for every pair; 
Then quickly send letters south, east, and 

west, 
(Beginners t' address, you '11 find much the 

best,) 
"An insect much prized — to collectors dear, 
I 'm in the habit of taking down here, 
In our cabinets rarely is it seen, 
A British specimen's a prize I ween. 
I gladly send you one, and hope you'll be 
Not slow or long in remembering me." 
Oh! surely 'tis sad and mournful to find, 
That these lovely fruits of the Master Mind 
Should envy, deceit, and dishonesty raise, 
Rather than meek adoration and praise! 
And yet it is so; and many there be, 
Who, if in a friend's collection they see 
An insect they have not, are fill'd with grief; 
And, to give their minds a little relief, 
Will quickly a foreign specimen get, 
And when, with neat hand it has been re-set, 
'Tis plac'd in their drawer— the business is 

done, 
Their heart's earnest, though paltry, aim is 

won; 



For they'll tell you with bright and sparkling 

eye, 
"None have a finer collection than I." 
With pleasure I saw these shades pass away, 
To make room for one with air bright and 

gay. 
With countenance cheerful he took his stand, 
Books on his back and a pen in his hand. 
"Un Entomologiste bon, et loyal, 
Membre de L'Acad. L. C. Imperiale 
Uonuu sous le nom de guerre de Latreille 

E dN n deservedly 'bears the bell."' 

As a writer he's able and clever, 

As anatomist, he can dissever 

With such skill, that I scarce can fail to 

see 
The structure of e'en the "industrious flea." 
He edits numerous excellent works, 
Regardless of sneers, of quips, and of quirks. 
But my chief praise the "Zoologist" claims 
In whose pages each tyro's ardour flames; 
Though some there be, too ready to scout it, 
Th' Entomologist can't do without it; 
Of all like works that are seen in its wake, 
We can't doubt its right, precedence to take! 
"Intelligencer" and "Naturalist," 
"Annual," "Manual," all would be miss'd; 
But the work which gave birth to one and 

all,* 
Has, in my opinion, a prior call. 
Though full of instruction it's far from dear, 
It costs but twelve shillings for a whole year. 
Success to the Z. and E. N....n then, 
And long may he wield the Editor's pen! 
Now this worthy editor scarce was gone, 
When he was speedily followed by one 
Of whom I must speak with a tongue discreet. 
He has a snug little berth in the Fleet Street, 
Where lies enshrin'd a wondrous collection, 
Which I should view with far more affection, 



• The writer here surely forgets Loudon's "Magazine of Natural History," and the first series^ of 
he "Naturalist."— F. O. Morris. 



AN ENTOMOLOGICAL DREAM. 



135 



Had it been made by myself, and did I know, 
Tbat I had captured each beautiful row! 
The skill and the labour here may be seen 
Of Bouchard, Weaver, and Foxcroft, I ween ; 
A collection thus made, I must confess, 
Would appear to me almost valueless. 
But if it be said 'chacun a son gout," 
"There's my collection, and what's it to 

you," 
"How, or by whom it was made?" I would 

say ¥&*?: 1 

Nothing more than this — that surely I may 
My opinion give, that in a dispute, 
Those only with confidence should refute, 
Whose assertions are based on facts they 

know, 
And not on the hearsay of high or low. 

Mr. S d excuse this slight reproof, 

As "rustic," perhaps I should keep aloof; 
Yet I can't but say to me it seems plain 
That we "rustics" more experience can gain 
In the wood, the field, and the breezy down, 
Than you in the fog and smoke of a town. 
Scarce had this shade vanished into thin 

air, 
Scarce had I recovered his angry stare, 
Than one, with a free jaunty look skipp'd by 
So fast, that he well nigh escaped my eye. 
Though so quickly lost in the distant haze, 
I saw quite enough to attract my gaze; 
I saw it was one who stands very high 
In "Microlepidopterology !" 
I'm an "incipient", in poetic fire, 
I've never before struck the Muses' lyre; 
So pardon this word of syllables nine, 
Which makes such a very convenient line. 
And now, reader, lend an attentive ear, 
('Tis but a shade — you may gaze without 

fear,) 
While I endeavour, though with powers faint, 

Great S n's characteristics to paint. 

He's author, critic, reviewer, — yet know 
Still ambitious feelings within him glow. 
Though in some respects he ranks very high, 
Yet that rank he beholds with scornful eye; 
With gait erect, with his head in the skies, 
This line to himself he often applies, 
(And, though charged with presumption, 

he'll brave it,) 
''Nihil tetegit, quod non ornavit." 
So superior he feels to all around, 
That in common justice he feels he 's bound 
To say so: and should any luckless wight 
Presume ,to confront so brilliant a light 



His irate pen composes a "leader" 
To soothe himself, and amuse his reader. 
Or seated high in the critical chair, 
Abusive epithets darken the air; 
"Demented," "absurd," and "nonsense," 

are terms 
Which he freely bestows on such poor worms 
As Guenee and Westwood: unhappy pair! 
How did ye this critic tempt from his lair ? 
"Unscrupulous" authors, who write but 

"trash," 
To make an Entomological hash, 
Who "from previous authors copy wholesale:" 
Such charges indeed make a mournful tale ! 
But review him, expose Mi great mistakes, 
And an ominous growl the silence breaks. 
Oh! be wise, be still, or you'll surely rue 
(See "Substitute" second — pages one, two,) 
The hour, in which you the liberty took 
To hint 'that there might be faults in his 

book. 
And yet, at times he can pleasantly write; 
When "up in his subject," he throws much 

light 
On knotty details, reveals hidden things 
Touching Microlepidopterous wings. 
With a fluent pen he can tell us how 
He took his journey from Ghent to Glogau; 
But in sober truth we owe him real thanks 
For having filled up so many sad blanks, 
Which, up to his time had stifled the zeal 
Of many a tyro, and made him feel 
That while on ignoronce' wave he was tost, 
His time and his toil were "love's labour 

lost." 
But now, thanks to him, we can boast I'm 

sure, 
An Entomological literature. 
The "Intelligencer," and "Annual," 
The "Substitute," also the "Manual," 
Are the goodly fruits of his teeming brain, 
And may plead his excuse for being vain. 
Then take a sincere admirer's advice; 
Bemove from your writings that bitter spice 
Of taunt and sarcasm, and rest assured 
More readers will to your works be allur'd. 
Next followed a crowd, whose well-deserv'd 

fame, 
A more gifted pen than mine must proclaim. 
One name more and my pleasant task is done, 
An undying garland I shall have won. 
'T would ill become me to say very much 
Of the man who grasped with delighted 

clutch, 



13G 



ADDENDA TO THE BIRDS OF NOVA SCOTIA. SYSTEM A NATUR.E. 



The Roynl Society's medal of gold, 

Reward for the many facts he had told 

In insect economy: and therefore 

Should any be disposed to say "wherefore?" 

Any answer but this, I must decline, 

"I wish an honour so great had been mine." 

Now methought, when in solemn pomp, the 

last 
Of this dim and shadowy throng had pass'd, 
The same soft voice whispered thus in my 

ear, 
While my cheek was chilled with a crystal 

tear, — 



"The Genius of NaturalJHistory weeps 
When the spirit of love and concord sleeps ; 
When those, who with one glad accord 

should raise 
A hymn of rapt adoration and praise, 
Rather use those words of anger and strife 
Which embitter the fleeting hours of life!" 
With those sad words, she was passing away, 
When, clasping her knees, I besought her 

stay. 
But it could not be, and from me she broke, 
The shock overcame me, and I awoke! 

Outis. 



ADDENDA TO THE BIRDS OF NOVA SCOTIA. 

BY MAJOR WEDDERBDRN. 
(COMMUNICATED BY CAPT. J. M. JONES.) 

Pectoral Sandpiper. — Extremely common at Cole harbour, and various 
other places. 

Schinz's Sandpiper. — Extremely common at Cole harbour, and various 
other places. 

Purple Sandpiper. — Very common: Cole harbour and coast generally. 

English Scaup. — I have a specimen shot in Halifax. 

American Scaup. — I have a specimen shot in Halifax. 

Ivory Gull. — I saw one in Halifax harbour. 
. Brunnick's Guillemot. — A species answering to this in every particular, 
except having a thicker bill and white at base, is very common. 

Red-throated Diver. — Common in winter. 

Red-necked Grebe. — Very rare. 



SYSTEMA NATURE. 



BY THE REV. F. 0. MORRIS. 



C Continued 
GrALIDICTIS. 

Galidictis vittata, Guer. Schinz. Mus- 
tela striata, Geoff. 

VlVERRA. 

Viverra Civetta, Schreb. F. Cuv. Schinz. 

Viverra Zibetha, Linn. Schreb. Raffl. 
Griff. F. Cuv. Schinz. V. Tango- 
lunga, Gray. V. nndulata, Gray. 

Viverra Basse, Horsf. F. Cuv. Schinz. 
V. Indica, Geoff". V. pallida, Gray. 

Viverra Boiei, Schinz. V. Bojei, Mul. 



from page \\Q.) 

V. fasciala, Gmell Paradoxurus 

Derbianus Gray. 
Viverra gracilis, Desm. Schinz. V. 

Linsang, Hard. Felis gracilis et 

Prionodon gracilis, Horsf. Linsang 

gracilis, Mull. 
Viverra Abyssinica, Riipp. Schinz. 
Viverra Fossa, Schreb. Desm. Schinz. 
Viverra G-enetta, Linn. Schreb. Desm % 

Schinz. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 



137 



Viverra poensis, Waterh. Schinz. 
Viverra perdicator, Schinz. Prionodon 

perdicator, Hodg. 
Viverra Bengalensis, Hard. Schinz. 
Viverra melanura, Hodg. Schinz. V. 

orientalis, Clelland. 
Viverra Eichardsonii, Schinz. Genetta 

Eichardsonii, Ann: Nat: Hist. 
Heepestes. 
Herpestes Pharaonis, Schinz. Viverra 

Ichneumon, Linn. Schrel. Ichueu- 

mon Pharaonis, Geoff. Mangusta 

Ichneumon, Fisch. 
Herpestes caffer, Licht. Wagn. Schinz. 
Herpostes thysanurus, Wagn. Schreb. 

Schinz. 
Herpestes leucurus, Ehren. Hupp. 

Schinz. Ichneumia albescens, Guer. 
Herpestes albicaudus, Cuv. Schinz. 

Ichneumon albicauda, Isid Geoff. 

Guer. I. albicaudus, Smith. 
Herpestes gracilis, Rupp. Schinz. 
Herpestes sanguineus, Rupp. Sohinz. 
Herpestes Mutgigella, Rupp. Schinz. 
Herpestes Zebra, Rupp. Schinz. H. 

tamianotos, Smith. H. fasciatus, Des. 

Ogyl. H. Mungo, Desm. Viverra 

Ichneumon, Schreb. 
Herpestes Atilax, Schinz. H. galera, 

Wagn. H. ITrinatrix, Smith. Atilax 

Vansire, F. Cuv. Ichneumon galera, 

Geoff. Desm: Mustela galera, Erxl. 

Schreb. 
Herpestes fuscus, Water. Schinz. 
Herpastes Javanicus, Mull. Geoff. 

Desm. Horsf. F.Cuv. Schreb. Schinz. 



Herpestes auropunctatus, Schinz. Man- 
gusta auropunctata, Hodg. 

Herpestes pallidus, Schinz. H. griseus, 
Ogyl. Desm. Ichneumon griseus, 
Geoff. Mangusta grisea, Fisch. M. 
Malaccensis, Fisch. M. Nyula, 
Hodg. Schreb. Wagn. 

Herpestes badiu3, Smith, Schinz. 

Herpestes vitticollis, Bennett, Schinz. 

Herpestes Gambianus, Ogil. Schinz. 

Herpestes pulverulentus, Wagn. Schreb. 
Schinz. 

Herpestes exilis, Schinz. 

Herpestes Widdringtonii, Gray, Schinz. 

Herpestes Bennettii, Schinz. 

Herpestes Smithii, Gray, Schinz. 

Herpestes Nepalensis, Gray, Schinz. 

Herpestes brachyurus, Gray, Schinz. 

Cynictis. 

Cymctis Ogilbyi, Smith. Schinz. Her- 
pestes penicillatus, Cuv. Wag. 
Schreb. 

Cynictis lepturus, Smith. Schinz. 

Cynictis Steedmanni, Ogyl. Schreb. 
Wag. Schinz. 

Cynictis melanurus, Wieg. Schinz. 

Galidia. 
Galidia concolor, Guer. Schinz. 
Galidia elegans, Guer. Schinz. 
Galidia olivacea, Geoff. Guer. Schinz. 

Ceossaechus. 
Crossarchus obscurus, Fr. Cuv. Fisch. 

Schinz. 
Crossarchus rubiginosus, Wag. Schreb. 

Schinz. 



{To be continued.) 



A Natural Curiosity. — A Yellow-breasted Martin, a bird which is said to 
abound in North America, and is occasionally seen in France, but very rarely 
met with, we believe, in England, was caught a few days since in a plantation 
the property of W. James, Esq., of Barrock Park, near this city. The bird 



138 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

is a very beautiful specimen of its kind, measuring thirty-two inches from 
beak to tail. Mr. James, we believe, is having it preserved. — From the 
"Carlisle Patriot, communicated by T. K. Atkinson, Esq. 

Occurrence of the Tree Sparrow in Devonshire. — A few days since, when 
examining a lot of small birds exposed for sale in the Plymouth market, I 
was much pleased to find among them two specimens of the Tree Sparrow, 
(Fringilla montana,) never having before observed the species in Devonshire. 
I ascertained they had been killed, with other small birds, on a farm in the 
neighbourhood. — John Gatcombe, Wyndham Place, Plymouth, March 28th., 
1857. 

Common Bittern. — A fine specimen of this bird was captured alive some 
months ago on the banks of the Isis, just below Abingdon. The bird had 
gorged itself with fish to such an extent as to be unable to fly, which, on 
being taken, it immediately disgorged. It is in the possession of a bird- 
stuffer in that town, who has kept it with considerable care, and has succeeded 
in partially taming it. — J. C. Thynne, St. Peter's College, Radley, March 
30th., 1857. 

The First Egg. — I find among my notes for March, 1853, the following: — 
"23rd. — In 'spite of wind and weather,' a pair of Hedge Sparrows seemed to 
have resolved upon being first in having a home; hence through their rashness 
I became this morning possessed of my first egg, taken from their nest. It 
may appear cruel to rob them of their first pledge, but surely the frosts and 
snows now prevalent would have destroyed it. The hedge in which they had 
built had a north-east aspect, and in some parts was deeply imbedded in 
snow-drifts." In 1854, my first egg was a Hedge Sparrow's, secured on 
March 31st.: these occurrences were in Norfolk. My first egg of the present 
year was, singularly, a Hedge Sparrow's, date March 30th. This is the 
only instance I have known of this bird's nesting in Birmingham, for till 
this season it has not been a visitor at the Elms. — G. R. Twinn, April 
6th., 1857. 

TO THE EDITOR OF "THE NATURALIST." 

Accident has just made me acquainted with your pleasing publication; 
and though I have no scientific knowledge whatever of any of the 
"ologies" that make up the distinct components of natural history, I can 
read a publication like yours with much the same pleasure I feel in 
rambling through the fields and the woods. As a mere testimony of my 
good will, I send you an account of a curious incident in my peripatetic 
observances. — Wandering one Sunday evening in the neighbourhood of 
Geneva, I saw something moving in the grass; on looking more nearly I 
discovered two insects of the beetle tribe employed, the one pulling after 



REVIEW. 139 

it by the two hinder, and the other pushing before it by the two fore- 
most of its six legs, a ball of vegetable and earthy matter, resembling 
one of the forced meat balls in soup. After they had moved it two or 
three inches they stopped, as if to rest, still retaining their position, 
till the hinder one, seeming to think the other was lazy, crawled 
over the ball and tapped his fellow-labourer on the back, as much as to 
say "come, pull on, keep moving." Resuming his position, they then 
proceeded as before, till I touched them, when they let go their hold, 
and remained for a minute or so quiet as death. After that they resumed 
their positions, and renewed their operations. — G. Wightwick. 



The Natural History Review. April, 1856, Part X. Price 2s. 6d. 
London : Williams and Norgate. Dublin : Hodges and Smith. Edin- 
burgh: Williams and Norgate. 

The following are the contents of the above part of this Eeview: — 
Review 1.— "Popular History of Birds." By A.White. 2.— "Popular 
British Conchology." By G. B. Sowerby. 3.— "Popular British Ento- 
mology." By M. E. Catlow. 4. — "Popular History of British Zoophytes." 
By the Rev. Dr. Landsborough. 5. — "March Winds and April Showers." 
By "Acheta." 6.— "May Flowers." By "Acheta." 7.— "Handbook to 
the Marine Aquarium." By P. H. Gosse. 8. — "Contributions to the 
Natural History of Labuan and Borneo." By J. Motley and L. L. 
Dillwyn. 9. — "Zetterstedt, Diptera Scandinavia;." 10. — Stenhammer, 
Copromyzinse Scandinaviae." 11. — "Hinrich, das Leben in der Natur." 
12. — "Structure of Victoria Regia." By G. Lawson. 
Miscellaneous Notices. 

Original Communications made to Various Societies. 

I. — "Ova of Hylus." By Dr. Lamprey. 

II. — "Larvae infesting the Horns of Oreas Canna, etc." By A. H. 
Haliday, Esq., (with a plate.) 

III. — "Occurrence of the Uria Lachrymans in Ireland." By A. Carter, 
Esq., M.D. 

IV. — "Letter from Dr. Kinahan, dated Callao, August, 1855." 

V. — "Occurrence of Rare Birds in Ireland." By Dr. Burkitt. 

VI. — "On the Veddahs of Ceylon." By Dr. Lamprey, (with a plate.) 
(A very interesting Ethnological paper. — F. O. M.) 

VII.— Celtic Names of the Water Newt." By J. O'Mahony, Esq., A.B. 

VIII.— "Extracts from my Diary." By Captain M'Clintock, R.N., 
(with a plate.) 



140 THE QUERIST. 

IX. — "Report of Journal of Dublin Natural History Society, 1855. 
And notices of the Serials of Germany, France, and Britain. 



$jie (torist. 

In reference to your query in "The Naturalist," vol. vii., page 40, touching 
the setting of Hymenoptera, I may mention that one of the most extensive 
(if not the most extensive) collections of British Hymenoptera I have seen 
was chiefly unset. The specimens in this condition, though not so easily 
depicted, are, to a great extent, as available for all scientific purposes. 
It is not desirable, indeed, that the wings should be erect and applied to 
each other, as this both obscures the venation and hides the abdomen in 
part. If in a drooping or partly horizontal and divaricated position, this 
objection is done away. If the insect is merely pinned, and so stuck 
into a box, the former will very often be the case; but without the trouble 
involved in what is understood by setting — symmetry and horizontal expansion 
of wings, etc., a very little pains will make very useful specimens. The 
subsequent position is determined chiefly by the pressure of the horny scales 
which protect the base of the fore wings, and the tension of the muscles 
which produce this. If, before the insect is stiff, whether pinned or not, 
a pair of forceps (callipers) with slender ends be passed from above down- 
wards, (and slanting a little forwards in general,) so close to the sides that 
they may catch and raise these base- covers; and having thus embraced 
from above the base of the wing, they be slightly pressed together, so as 
to compress the thorax gently at that point, the wings will usually take 
and keep a drooping position. This process is often necessary previous to 
setting specimens. Let me add for Lepidopterists who may preserve the 
parasitic Hymenoptera reared in the breeding-cages, (with notes of the 
Lepidoptera from which obtained — a very desirable means of information,) 
and others unaccustomed to handling Hymenoptera, that they should be 
transfixed with pins comparatively fine and long; the body of the insect 
brought up to the middle of the pin, or even higher, taking care that 
they do not go through the scutellum, but through the preceding ampler 
field of thorax — or if there be many specimens, in some through the 
thorax from side to side, as the sculpture both of back and sides is 
sometimes to be attended to. To prevent the legs of insects not set 
from hanging down too much, and so getting broken against the cork, I 
often pass the pin through a piece of stout paper, and bring this up 
some way toward the body of the insect so as to serve for a guard, 
which can be easily and safely removed with nippers when the specimen 
is stiff. — A. H. Halidav, Dublin, February 4th., 1857. 
* I think every insect should be set. — F. 0. Mori 




TO NATURALISTS, MIC EOSCOPISTS, ETC. 



GEORGE HOADLEY KING, 

(OF IPSWICH,) 

Begs to return his sincere thanks to those Gentlemen who have favoured him 
with their patronage, and desires to inform them, and all others interested 
in the study of Natural History, that he will he happy to furnish them 
with Insects, (especially Lepidoptera and Coleoptera,) Birds, Birds' Eggs, 
and Marine Animals suited for the Aquarium. 

He has constantly on hand Microscopic Slides of various kinds, which he 
can supply on very reasonable terms; and begs to offer to ladies and 
gentlemen, and dealers having an interest in the Aquarium and Microscopic 
Zoology, specimens, of the lovely, rare, and local "Weymouth Actinia Clavanta, 
A. Bellis of four kinds, and two other kinds found there, in a box, post 
free, for 2s. 6d. 

G. H. K. is at present collecting on the Coast of Devon and Cornwall, 
and dredging for Shells and specimens of Marine Zoology, and supplying 
gentlemen and dealers at a very reasonable rate; and is wishful to establish 
a regular organized staff of Collectors all round the Coast of England and 
Scotland, for Birds, Eggs, Insects, Shells, and living specimens of Actiniae, 
Madrepores, Sea-weeds, etc., etc. Early application will meet with prompt 
attention. 

N. B. — He will be happy to arrange with Gentlemen and Proprietors of 
Museums, to meet their requirements during the coming season. 

Norwich Road, Ipswich. 



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WITH OCCASIONAL ENGRAVINGS. 



CONDUCTED BY 

THE REV. E. 0. MORRIS, B.A., 

Member of the Ashmolean Society, etc. 

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"A History of the Nests and Eggs of British Birds." 

"A Bible Natural History." "A Book of Natural History," etc., etc, etc. 



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LONDON: 
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AND MAY JiV, HAD OF ALL BOOKSELLERS. 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Sympathy between Man and Animals. By T. Fuller, Esq 141 

Birds' Nests. By O. S. Round, Esq 143 

What are they for? By G. R. Twinn, Esq 146 

On Unity of System 148 

Fish Notes. By W 150 

Unexpected Arrivals 152 

First Appearance of Migratory Birds in the Neighbourhood of Kilnsey 

in Craven, Yorkshire. By Edward J. Maude, Esq 153 

The Misteltoe. By J. Mc'Intosh, Esq ]54 

Migration. By 0. S. Round, Esq 156 

Systema Naturae. By The Editor 162 

Miscellaneous Notices. — Blackbirds. The Cuckoo. Carabus intri- 

catus. Rara avis 163 

Proceedings of Societies. — Thirsk Natural History Society 164 

The Querist. — On Birds using Oil from Glands. Synapta lineata. 

Singing of Birds 164 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

Communications have been received frcm the Rev. R. P. Alington; — W. 
Davis, Esq.;— J. Gatcombe, Esq.; — O. S. Round, Esq., (three;)— F. M. 
Burton, Esq.;— G. Wightwick, Esq.;— W.P— A. B., from Cirencester;— Me. 
C. E. Smith;— G. R. Twinn, Esq. The moths sent by an anonymous corres- 
pondent are the Buff Tip, (Pygcera bucephala.) It is a common species. 



Communications, Drawings, Advertisements, etc., to be addressed to the Rev. 
F. O. MORRIS, Nunburnholme Rectory, Hayton, Yorlc; — Books for Review 
and Parcels, to the care of Messrs. GROOMBRIDGE, 5, Paternoster 
Row, London. 



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Just Published, Price Id., by Post 2d., 

A LIST OF ALL THE BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA 
UP TO THE PRESENT TIME, 

GUENEE'S arrangement. 

Upon Blue Paper, and printed upon one side only, for Labeling, 
lid., by Post 2|d. 

In the form of a Pamphlet, 2d., by Post 3d. 
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9d., by Post lOd. 

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JAMES GARDNER, NATURALIST, 52, HIGH HOLBORN, LONDON. 



141 



BY T. FULLER, ESQ. 



In "The Naturalist" for March, Mr. Round has drawn attention to 
subject. To persons familiar with animals no feature in physiology is so 
full of interest, and with minds inclining to thoughts in this direction there 
is no lack of incidents abounding with pleasing reflections. Numerous 
instances have come within my knowledge, especially with horses and dogs, 
and having remarked a decided difference in the character of the sympathy 
as respects these two animals, I am induced to trouble the readers of "The 
Naturalist" with the following observations: — 

The sympathy of the dog is of a higher order than that of the horse; 
he is the friend and companion of man, for whose society he forsakes that 
of his own species. Who has not observed the devotion manifested by 
the dog to his owner? With eyes intent upon, and following every motion 
of his beloved master, he seeks to attract attention, and is overjoyed at 
the slightest notice. I have frequently seen sportsmen enjoying themselves 
at the fireside after a day's exertion, their dogs lying at their feet to all 
appearance asleep; but it is soon seen as the events of the day are talked 
over, that the animals are awake and in deep sympathy with their masters. 
When a dog's name is mentioned he pricks up his ears and is all attention; 
if in connection with a fault he shrinks from the censure; if in commen- 
dation, the wagging of his tail expresses the pleasure he feels. He is never 
so happy as when in his master's company, and if not admitted inside the 
house, he seeks a spot affording a view of the room occupied by his master, 
and crouched upon the ground, gazes intently upon the window, hoping for 
a sight of the object of his affection. 

This attachment is common to all dogs, and marks the character of 
their sympathy with man. Much has been written on the subject, and 
instances mixed with sagacity and intelligence are constantly coming under 
our notice. What can be more strikingly illustrative than a fact of common 
occurrence with sheep-dogs, upon those extensive down lands in Wiltshire, 
so well known by the name of Salisbury Plain. Flocks of sheep, num- 
bering hundreds in each flock, pasture during the day over these wide-spread 
downs. Towards night each shepherd collects his flock to conduct them to 
the fold. If during the day, as frequently happens, a sheep has wandered 
so far as to join another flock, the practised eye of the shepherd quickly 
discovers the loss, and looking to his dog, says in his Wiltshire dialect, 
Go and wind tin. Off starts the dog, scents around, determines without 
hesitation the road towards the flock in which the tenant has herded, soon 
overtakes it, dashes among the herd, singles out the lost sheep, brings him 

VOL. VII. u 




142 SYMPATHY BETWEEN MAN AND ANIMALS. 

safely home, and resumes his situation in attendance, ready for further 
service. 

Here is an amount of instinct and sagacity difficult to comprehend, but 
such is the fact, and when taken in connection with the attachment of 
the animal to his master, it accounts for an obedience and docility observable 
in no other animal. 

The horse, in sympathy with man, shews less of these feelings of attach- 
ment and obedience; he is more capricious in temper. Some are irreclaim- 
ably vicious or stubborn, some bold and courageous, others timid and shy; 
some impetuous, others impassive; some obedient and confiding, with a 
degree of attachment; others sly, and ready to seize every opportunity to 
do mischief. Sympathy between the horse and rider is common, especially 
when both are under the influence of excitement and a similar spirit and 
determination mutually prevails; but if the rider falls, sympathy as regards 
the horse is at an end; the animal goes on, if in chase he joins it, if on 
a journey and the rider falls from illness or other causes, he forsakes him, 
however long their acquaintance might have been. 

The dog on such an occasion never deserts his master; if he moves at 
all it is for assistance, and will not cease his exertions until he has brought 
help to the spot. The horse has sagacity to find his way home, and will 
perhaps cunningly open the stable door and help himself to food, but shews 
no attachment or feeling for his lost master. Among many instances of 
intelligence in the horse now crowding on my recollection, the following 
is perhaps as illustrative as any: — 

A friend of mine, resident in this city, has an estate in Gloucestershire, 
some thirty miles distant. Before the construction of railways it was his 
custom to visit this estate frequently, using the same horse. Upon these 
occasions the horse was fed at an inn about mid-way, and allowed a certain 
time for rest, during which he had always two feeds of oats; this system 
of feeding and resting was so well understood by the ostler, that my friend 
did not think it necessary to repeat his directions, and always found his 
horse ready to start at the expiration of the regular interval. It once 
happened that the regular ostler was called away after giving the horse his 
first feed; and the usual time for resuming the journey having arrived, the 
carriage was summoned to the door. My friend takes his seat and the 
reins, Boniface makes his accustomed bow, which is acknowledged with the 
usual courtesy; but the horse, instead of bounding off as expected, places 
his fore-legs forward, and fixes himself immoveable in the breeching; the 
ostler was ready for coercion, and the driver was desired to apply the 
thonc. "No," says my friend, "there must be something wrong here," and 
descending from the vehicle, patted the horse, but without producing any 
good effect; his ears continued to be turned backwards with evident syrnp- 



B1KD8 NESTS. 



143 



toms of resistance, when it occurred to my friend to inquire how often the 
animal had been fed; — "once," replied the man acting for the ostler. "Oh! 
then the mystery is explained; take him out immediately and give him the 
other feed," which having been done, the horse was again put to the carriage, 
and started off with all gaiety. 

Notwithstanding all the advantages of railway travelling, I cannot from 
old associations help feeling some regret upon our gradual estrangement from 
that noble animal the horse; instead of being mixed up, as was formerly 
the case, with all our means of locomotion, we now only see him in the 
cab or omnibus, a mere animated machine, fettered by harness and blinkered, 
driven through his short existence, and slaughtered immediately accident 
or disease impairs his physical powers or suggests the cost of cure to exceed 
his working value. 

Weston Road, Bath. 



BIRDS' NESTS. 



BY 0. S. ROUND, ESQ. 
( Continued from page 131. ) 

The Swallow tribe are divided into two methods, for the Martin and 
Swallow build one way, the Sand Martin and Swift another. The first, 
everybody knows the mud spherical nest of, as it is stuck under the porch 
or window-sill. The next is almost as well known, sometimes perched as 
it is in chimneys, in barn-roofs, or the faces of cliffs, formed of mud and 
straw, or bits of grass, lined with feathers, and containing its four or five 
elegantly taper-shaped carnation-speckled eggs. On the other hand, the 
Swift and Sand Martin are very careless architects, indeed it is pretty 
certain that the Swift collects all its materials on the way, so that he has 
not much choice, and is content with such feathers and hay as he takes in 
this manner. The Bank Martin uses the same materials, but is so secure 
at the end of h's subterranean retreat, that he needs little nest, for in such 
a situation he must be almost uncomfortably warm, from the closeness. 
Both these lay white eggs, the Swift only two, and seldom producing a 
second brood, the Bank Martin usually bringing out two broods of some 
half-dozen each. 

The Finches have a great similarity in constructing their nests; these 
are all open, and placed on trees or shrubs. The Chaffinch, I think, is 
the neatest hand of any; his nest, with its white moss covering and interior 
of hair, is really a charming object, and the pale green eggs, with their 
purple markings, assimilate very well with it; they have very tender shells, 
and are easily broken ; he is very shy, and soon forsakes. The Greenfinch 



144 birds' nests. 

is not nearly so fearful, but will sit very clos3; and cock and hen take it 
by turns. He usss green moss, lines with roots, and his eggs are reddish- 
speckled. The Goldfinch is very similar, but smaller and more delicate. 
Bullfinches also build somewhat in the same manner, but are more careless, 
and do not breed universally with us, frequenting colder latitudes in summer. 

The Buntings are careful architects, and although they do not cover in 
their nests, take care to have generally a good natural arch of sedge-grass 
or heath above it. The Yellow Bunting's eggs are exceedingly pretty, 
marked with purple as if with a fine pen; these markings have been likened 
to writing, they more resemble, indeed, scribbling than anything else. He 
uses, in common with the Brown Bunting, grasses mixed with a little mud 
to give it consistency, and buills on the ground, but the eggs of the Common 
Bunting are a dull brown mottled. 

All the Larks build on the ground, and have open nests, form their 
structures of grasses and horse or cow hair, and lay four or five eggs very 
similar to the Buntings, but smaller; there is only one exception, and that 
is the Tree-lark, (Alauda arborea.) which is best known by its rising to a 
small height singing, and descending with outspread wings on the topmost 
branches — a sort of humble imitation of the Sky-lark, as Mr. Bewick aptly 
expresses it. The eggs of this bird are deep chocolate-colour, and he often 
builds in a thick furze brake or other herbage, and when put off the nest 
will counterfeit lameness for the purpose of enticing you from his retreat. 

The little Hedge Sparrow's nest almost every one knows, with its bright 
blue eggs. He generally places it in a bush, hedge, or faggot-stack; it is 
very neatly made with green moss, and lined with hair. This is usually 
the victim selected by the Cuckoo for foisting off his eggs upon, so 
unnaturally neglected; this is the more singular as the egg of the Cuckoo, 
although scarcely bigger than that of a small bird, is different in colour 
from the Hedge Sparrow's, being light brown-speckled, that we might 
suppose it would be immediately discarded, but this is never the case in 
healthy districts. The Common Bunting and Tit-lark also come in for 
this foster-parental duty. 

All the summer birds, of course, build much later than our own, their 
nesting-time varying from the middle of April till July. Thus the Black- 
cap, Whitethroats, and Nightingales have broods in June. The two former 
have the same manner of constructing a sort of basket-work nest, very 
deep, and more or less transparent, in some low shrub, the latter in a 
furze brake usually a little above the ground. The Black-cap's eggs very 
much resemble the House Sparrow's, white with black specks very delicately 
marked; the Whitethroat's are merely brown mottled. Many birds are 
very fond of the same situation, for we constantly find Linnets building 
in them, and both the Stonechat and Whinchat do the same, whilst the 



birds' nests. 145 

Wheatear, which so much resembles them, goes underground in rough 
fallows, and, Jike all birds who have this habit, uses very little skill in 
making his house, but deposits his six light grey eggs in the midst of 
loose sedge, and a few feathers occasionally. The Chats are very secret 
in their proceedings, and have a long passage underneath the herbage; their 
eggs are likewise bluish, with dark ends. 

The Linnet's nest I look upon as one of the prettiest possible objects; it 
is very often built on the top of a tuft of herbage, with the overhanging 
branch of some small tree to shadow and protect it; it is of a size suited 
to so small a bird, and rather shallow, formed of a mass of roots, small 
grasses, and moss, and lined with wool; the dark, elegant, and unstudied 
outline forms a kind of fringe of moss, next the white interior, and with the 
dear little red-speckled delicate eggs, makes quite a picture. The first I 
ever saw, I well remember, struck me with great admiration, and I have 
never forgotten it. 

There are many birds, including the Woodpeckers, which take holes in 
trees or buildings for their nesting-places; most of these are of the order 
of Creepers, such as the common Tree Creeper, Nuthatch, or Blue Creeper, 
the Wryneck or Pea- bird, etc., all the Woodpeckers, and these, with one 
exception — the Nuthatch — lay white eggs and use light materials, such as 
roots, moss, down, and feathers, for their nests, which, from their guarded 
position, only require to be a protection for the eggs against the hard 
parts of the tree; hollows in trees, however, generally contain a bed of 
natural chips and dust, the work of time, from the internal decay, and 
insects which have made the crannies their habitation. These are generally 
formed first by the breaking or cutting off of some branch near the body, 
or a natural exterior defect; this becomes a receptacle of moisture, which 
rots the surrounding wood, and in the course of years eats deeply into the 
tree, sometimes to a great depth before it becomes a cavity. Such defective 
trees are eagerly sought for by Woodpeckers, who, although, they possess 
(considering their powers) wonderful methods of boring, seldom attack wood 
in which there is not some latent defect. The holes which they bore are 
very curious, and as regular as if made by a large augur or centre-bit, 
and so small for the size of the bird, that it is a matter of wonder how 
he obtains ingress. 

Besides the Creepers, there are several birds which build in hollow trees; 
thus the Common Flycatcher, the Redbreast, the Starling, the Owl, and 
even some of the Hawks, use such situations. The Flycatcher builds rather 
a careless nest of roots, chiefly mixed with wool and lichens, and lays five 
or six dull red speckled eggs; her usual place for building, however, is 
a part of some out-building, or cornices, porches, creepers, or houses. The 
Redbreast usually builds on the ground, that is, in some bank or heap of 



146 WHAT ARE THE? FOR? 

rubbish, from which she collects moss, roots, and dead leaves, and has a 
pretty snug nest, with five or six largish-sized eggs of a rust-colour. The 
Starling will take any hole that comes to hand, and, with Jackdaws, lays 
its blue eggs in old castle-tunnels, church-steeples, and such places. Hawks 
usually build in trees, but some of the Buzzards on the ground, and almost 
all the Eagles in rocky cliffs, which are, indeed, a kind of ornithological 
nursery for Pigeons, Choughs, and the majority of the Cormorants, Gannets, 
and Gulls; besides, Jackdaws, Grey Crows, and even Swallows infest them. 
In the breeding-season birds purely marine, and which make no great figure 
in flying, choose the most convenient situations which they can come at, 
and their powers of locomotion on the water supply them with the means 
of rendering these sufficiently inaccessible. All sea-birds generally have their 
nests in a sort of societies or colonies, and swarm in such numbers as to 
exceed conception; thus the Gannets are so numerous on the Scotch coast, 
that a small island called Bass Rock is rented at a considerable sum annually, 
merely for the eggs and young of these birds, which assemble there in the 
spring and summer in countless myriads. To attempt any particular descrip- 
tion of the eggs and mode of nesting of these tribes, would carry me to 
an extent sufficient to weary both my own patience and much more that 
of my readers; suffice it to say they use very little art or material in 
their construction, marine grasses being the chief materials, lined with 
feathers from their own breasts; for all water-birds are provided with a 
large clothing of down, probably partly for this very purpose. Their eggs 
are extremely various, white, speckled with various hues, grey or green. 

The Duck tribe use the materials above-mentioned almost without 
exception, and place their nests in the midst of the thick aights or reedy 
islands which abound in large tracts of fen, or on the edges of extensive 
waters. The eggs of all these are white, partaking of a blue or greenish 
tint. 

C To be continued.') 



WHAT ARE THEY FOR? 



BY G. R. TWINX, ESQ. 



The marvels revealed by the study of Natural History, cannot fail 
to excite in the thoughtful, sensations of admiration and praise to the 
Great wonder-working God. The many contrivances He has bestowed on 
the very lowest orders of life, for their general harmony, are as equally 
worthy of our grateful regard, as the complex machinery of that being 
who is "fearfully and wonderfully made." To a superficial observer of 
Nature's great museum, some of the most interesting objects are unknown 
and perfectly foreign; and whenever he may hear of them by means of 



WHAT ARE THEY FOR? • 147 

lectures, readings, or conversations, he, not being able at once to com- 
prehend and appreciate the Almighty's agencies, as displayed in these 
formations, crudely asks, "What are they for?" 

Eliza Cook has written one of her poems to show that nothing is 
formed in vain, though we may not individually perceive its uses, and 
this is a great fact. 

Kingsley remarks in "Two Years Ago," "The little zoophyte lives by 
the same laws as you and I. He, and the sea-weeds, and so forth, teach 
us doctors certain little rules concerning life and death, which you will 
have a chance soon of seeing at work, on the most grand, and poetical, 
and indeed altogether tragic scale. When the cholera comes here, as it 
will at its present pace before the end of the summer, then I shall have 
the zoophytes rising up in judgment against me, if I have not profited 
by a leaf out of their book." 

A<min, what extensive grounds the naturalist has for study among the 
electrical forces of nature, both the vegetable and animal kingdoms affording, 
under . peculiar conditions, abundant displays of electricity. Experiments 
made by Pouillet showed, that in the process of germination, no electricity 
was evolved by seeds, but when sprouting commenced, "a gold-leaf elec- 
trometer had its leaves separated at least half-an-inch." 

The heat evolved from an insect has been known to deflect a galvan- 
ometer, and the entrance of heated persons into a room has operated in a 
similar manner ; for it is a common truth, that the influences of light and 
heat, concordant with a strong play of the body's functions, (with its 
chemical changes also favourably operating,) conduce to give forth electrical 
discharges. The warm heart of a kitten, after death, is capable of con- 
tractile movements, on being touched with a needle, I believe. 

The electrical currents in animals are all dependant on the muscles and 
the nerves, which have a cognate, electro- excitive power, with the muscles. 

The class of fishes that can accumulate electricity, and discharge it, 
with an effect most similar to that given from a Leydon jar, has excited 
much attention. JNor do I think the interest is altogether extinct; for 
scientific men, in their labours, find much in Thermal and Voltaic elec- 
tricity to unravel, that exact results and causes may be given as to the 
origin of this power, possessed by the Gymnotus, Torpedo, and others. 

"The nerves must be regarded as the very essence of being of all 
creatures," and doubtless as further research prosecutes its enquiry, new 
facts of electrical wonders, the connection with many organized bodies will 
be made known, and as the truths are enunciated to the superficial 
observer, he may repeat the question, "What are they for?" 

The answer is, to show the unity of the Great Creator's works, that 
between the lowliest zoophyte and the highest human organization there 



148 . UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

is a connection, as remarkable for its uuiformity throughout the series, as 
for its being a proof that nothing is in vain, nor could any part of the 
scale be removed without a serious detriment to the whole. 

Birmingham, March 20th., 1857. 



ON UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

(Continued from page 134.) 

It has been said with reference to other matters, that a curse attends 
a standing still in them, and this remark is especially applicable to the 
word of God, a true knowledge of which is particularly mentioned as 
an inward growth, and should be ever progressive. In the sciences of 
astronomy and chemistry the laws ordained by God in Nature have been 
gradually separated by continual study from the errors of astrology and 
alchemy; so also the Bible is beginning to be free from the tenfold quantity 
of extraneous matter which has obstructed the knowledge of it. The science 
of astronomy, as will be noticed in the sequel, helps us to understand 
under what a totally different aspect creation will appear in the future 
state of those to whom all things are promised; and also helps to 
show why all previous knowledge must end with this life. In like manner 
science, when it has dissipated the illusions of previous fancy, opens a far 
wider scope for the imagination. 

The Bible comprehends very numerous and various examples of periods 
beginning with degradation or renunciation, followed by a term of probation, 
like the time of cessation, or of night in the epochs of creation, and 
ending in the attainment of a much better state than that which was 
renounced. The first chapter of Genesis contains the outlines of Geology, 
and commences with ages very far more remote than any which have been 
disclosed by that science. The six great epochs of creation are men- 
tioned as six days, the seventh still continuing, and one day, as that 
period is commonly understood, having been appointed to commemorate 
it. The term day has five different applications in the beginning of the 
Bible; the first is opposition to darkness, the second as the term for 
each of the six epochs, the third in opposition to the night, or twelve 
hours, the fourth as comprising a day and a night, or twenty-four hours, 
the fifth as the six epochs, or the whole period of creation. 

The whole period comprises two great epochs, each mentioned as three 
days, each commencing with light, and each third day comprising two acts of 
creation, of which the second is quite different from any preceding one, 
and indicates a future creation. And in like manner there have been in 
each epoch some creatures which do not so properly belong to it as to 



UNITY OF SYSTEM. 149 

the succeeding one. The latter part of the third day is characterized 
by the appearance of vegetation, which takes up or assimilates inorganic 
matter. The second great epoch was occupied by the successive 
creations of animal life, which is to vegetation what the latter is to the 
earth. The latter part of the sixth day contains the creation of man, 
for whom all the previous creation was preparatory, and who himself is 
preparatory for a future existence, in which all things will he new; and 
such, it is said, is the order of creation, not only in the earth, but 
in every other sphere. 

There having been no work, that is, no new being having been created, 
and no great change having occurred on the earth's surface since the creation 
of man, the seventh epoch still continues, and when compared to the six 
preceding periods, is, in the person of man, a progressive separation from 
the earth, and represents a future existence. A more particular separation 
appears by man being placed in the garden of Eden, as distinguished from 
the rest of the earth, and representing another existence, which is still 
more especially typified by the tree of life; so also the tree of knowledge 
of good and evil, is figurative of the present epoch and of its enjoyments, 
without reference to the next, and it appears at the close of the third 
chapter of Genesis, that the possession of both is incompatible, or that the 
two epochs cannot co-exist. "The tree of knowledge is not that of life." 

In the second chapter of Genesis it appears that the plan of the Bible 

in unity with the System of Nature, for successive ages and epochs 
iccord in Nature with the form and growth of a single creature, and in 
the Bible with the relation of a single circumstance or event. That passage 
iiscloses or prefigures the death of Christ, and the eternal life of those to 
whom His Spirit is given, and their unity and equality with Him. The 
epoch which commenced here was closed by the deluge, and the present 
jpoch which began at the Crucifixion, is ordained to have a corresponding 
end, which will be mentioned in the sequel. 

The third chapter of Genesis announces a period which began at that 
time, and though partially ceasing when Christ was on the earth, will 
lot be fulfilled until some future time. It relates man's exalting him- 
self, and his consequent unfitness for, and exclusion from eternal happiness, 
or the tree of life, but the way to it was then promised, and afterwards 
disclosed in Christ, to be again generally forfeited, as was foretold by Him 
and His apostles. Thus the time from the event mentioned in that 
chapter to the close of the present epoch is but one illustration of the 
iw of degradation, already mentioned as universal, that is, the higher 
the degree of every creature or assemblage of creatures in each epoch of 
mortality, the greater is its difference from those of the succeeding epoch; 
the humility which was outward in all preceding periods becoming inward 

VOL. VII. x 



150 FISH NOTRS. 

in that of man. The fourth chapter contains an instance of the growth 
of evil, and the consequent exclusion from a better state; and the fifth, 
a renunciation of the present existence, or means for that better state, or 
true end. These two examples are figurative of the ultimate division of 
the human race. 

Eocks and mountains are comparatively everlasting, their duration not 
being limited to thousands, or to hundreds of thousands of years, and 
the end being indefinite; and so, too, a tree, when it exists for six 
thousand years or upwards, is, as it were, everlasting when compared with 
an animal, the former being to the latter as means to an end. The end 
of man was not declared when he was created, but by the change before 
noticed his existence was limited, and ordained as the means to an end, 
the former being still of great length. But after the deluge the means 
were shortened, and in the time of Moses were limited to the present 
general duration. The evil in the world is generally occasioned by 
regarding, using, developing, or exalting the means as an end; this process 
being wholly opposed to the universal law by which the means are suc- 
cessively shortened, diminished, and degraded, and finally disappear in the 
end. 

The second epoch of the existence of man was now about to come to 
an end, and its conclusion prefigures that of the great epoch, or of the 
seventh day, or of the whole time of man upon earth, and is a warning 
to man that sin, or the usage of this world or of anything in it as an end 
and not as a means to the next world, will cut him off from all grati- 
fication, all sin ending in a severance between this period and that of 
eternal happiness. 

(To be continued.) 



FISH NOTES. 

BY W. 

"Blessings on the fishing-boat." 

Tadpole Fish, (Raniceps trifurcatus.) — On December 5th., 1856, a small 
specimen of this rarity was taken, by hook, off Macduff, in twenty fathoms 
of water, on rocky bottom. 

Pogge, (Aspidophorus Europaeus.) — A somewhat mutilated individual was 
taken from a haddock's stomach, on January 12th. The haddock was 
caught about four miles off, on muddy bottom. 

Sandy Bay, (Raia spinosa.) — This Ray has not been previously noticed 
in the Moray Frith. Fortunately one made its debut on January 17th., 
and produced a great sensation, at least as far as regards the water. What 
a joy in the finding and indentifying of every new specimen ! 



FISH NOTES. 151 

"The sweetest hours that e'er I spend, 
Are spent amang the" Jishes, "0." 

The present specimen measured two feet one inch in length, the tail 
making up one foot, and one foot two inches in breadth. Round one eye 
was a crescent of twelve strong spines, and round the other one of eleven. 
At the distance of one and five-eighths of an inch behind the eye, was 
a triangle of spines in seven rows, five spines in three rows, and three 
in the others. The first spine of the rows on either side of the middle 
row began opposite the second of the middle. Nearly in the same line 
with the outermost rows of the triangle, but a little behind them, were 
two rows of spines, small at first, but increasing in size towards and along 
the tail, running along the back and tail to the dorsal fins, at the tip 
of the tail. Between the rows was a deep depression, and outside each 
was another irregular row, running also to the tip of the tail. On the 
lower edges of the tail were rows of closely-set small spines, overlapped 
by a thin membrane, that increased in breadth as it reached the end of 
the tail. On the snout were also some spines. The upper surface when 
taken alive from the boat, was a light greenish grey. On either side of 
the triangular space of spines, at the distance of one and five-eighths of 
an inch, was a round white spot variegated with black. The under side 
was white. It was caught by hook, in fifty fathoms of water,' on stony 
bottom. When taken into the boat, it curled itself into a circular shape. 
Its stomach was empty. This description is somewhat different from that 
given in Yarrell's "British Fishes," vol. ii, page 576. 

Shagreen Ray, (Raia fullonica.) — This, another stranger in the Frith, 
made its appearance on the boards, on February 6th. Its total length 
was two feet eight and a half inches, the tail measuring one foot five 
inches, and its breadth was one foot two and a half inches. The distance 
from the tip of the snout to the eye, was four inches and an eighth; 
and the breadth between the. eyes was an inch and a quarter. On the 
snout were a few spines; round the eyes were crescents of nine or ten 
spines. A little behind the eyes, on the centre of the back, was a row 
of four spines; and at the distance of four inches behind it began two rows 
of spines, that ran along, increasing in size, to the dorsal fins on the tip 
of the tail. Along the lower edges of the tail ran two rows of small 
closely-set spines, partly covered by a thin membrane. The skin was very 
rough round the snout, and along the outer edges of the fins: the under-side 
was white. The mouth was three inches wide, and placed four and a half 
inches from the tip of the snout. It was taken by hook in about thirty 
fathoms of water. When thrown on the pier from the boat, it threw up 
its tail and snout almost perpendicularly, and brought up its fins in the 
same way, so that it formed itself into something like a basin. On the 



152 UNEXPFCCTED ARRIVALS. 

eyes of skate I have observed a beautiful yellowish fringed membrane, 
which they have the power of drawing up below the orbit, and spreading 
over the whole of the eye at pleasure. ~No doubt this is a wise provision 
for protecting the eye. 

Montagu's Sucking Fish, (Liparis Montagui.) — On the same day one of 
these was taken from a haddock's stomach, that was caught in thirty fathoms 
of water, with rocky bottom. 

Starry Ray, (Raia radiata.) — On the 10th. of February, a fine male 
was hooked in fifty fathoms on muddy bottom. It measured one foot four 
inches in length, and ten inches and a quarter in breadth. This species, 
like the two other, contracts itself into a basin-shape, when taken from 
the water. 

Macdujf, February 23rd., 1857. 



UNEXPECTED ARRIVALS. 

On the 22nd. of September, 1843, on board the good ship General 
Hewitt, bound for Sydney, we were visited by several land-birds. I am 
sorry to find that I have not noted the exact position of the vessel on 
that day, but only that we were about three degrees north of the equator. 

However, from the track usually followed by outward-bound vessels, we 
must have been several hundred miles distant from the land. We had 
experienced heavy gales of wind accompanied with drizzling rain and fogs 
for two or three days previously. Early in the morning a pair of Herons 
came slowly flapping along, and perched on the rigging; they were so 
exhausted as to allow themselves to be caught with the hand. After these 
a bird flew several times round the ship in sight of the passengers, who 
pronounced it to be a Woodcock, but as it did not alight we could not 
be certain. Towards the afternoon arrived four Swallows, (Hirundines 
urbis,) and two Water Wagtails. They all seemed very tired, and flew 
with wearied wing. They remained with us all that day, and perched at 
night on the ropes of the ship close together. 

The next morning one of the Herons was found dead, and as its com- 
panion refused to eat, we gave it its liberty, and away it flew; but it 
had not strength to go far, and we saw it fall into the sea, where it 
doubtless perished. The other little strangers seemed to have quite recovered 
their health and strength; the Swallows hawked about the deck for flies, 
and even ventured into the cabin, passing in and out of the doors, and 
through the port holes of the cabins. They consisted of two old and 
two young ones, the latter not having moulted their nestling feathers; 
from which fact I concluded that they were not on their autumnal 
migration, but must have been blown off from the land, or lost their way 



FIRST APPEARANCE OP MIGRATORY BIRDS. 153 

in the recent fogs. To the best of my belief, no bird migrates until it 
has completely moulted. As night approached, the Swallows seemed very 
restless, flying swiftly round the vessel, and occasionally venturing almost 
out of sight; but, as if their hearts failed them, they returned after an 
absence of a few minutes. At last they took themselves off, and we saw 
no more of them. 

All our guests had thus left us, except the pair of Wagtails, and the 
following day one of these disappeared, but the survivor seemed determined 
to emigrate. In the boat which hung at the vessel's stern a number of 
cabbages and lettuces had been stowed away when we left England, and 
had become spoiled and unfit for use; some small flies and insects had 
bred there, and our little friend soon found them out and made a famous 
meal off them, and having taken a drink of water at the fowls' coops, 
began to preen his feathers and make himself quite at home. Of course 
he became a great favourite, and remained with us until we entered the 
southern tropic, but I regret to add he fell a prey at last to a prowling 
cat. 



FIRST APPEARANCE OF MIGRATORY BIRDS IN THE 
NEIGHBOURHOOD OF KILNSEY, IN CRAVEN, YORKSHIRE. 

BY EDWARD J. MAUDE, ESQ. 

The village of Kilnsey, which lies in the upper part of the valley of 
the Wharfe, and a mountain limestone district, is six hundred feet above 
the level of the sea, and the moors in the neighbourhood range from 
one thousand to two thousand three hundred feet high, but all the 
following first appearances occurred between the level of six hundred and 
a thousand feet. Swallows and Wagtails, (yellow and grey,) make their 
appearance there considerably later than stated in Morris's "British Birds," 
which may be accounted for by the great elevation of the district, but it 
is rather remarkable that the Common Sandpiper should arrive so much 
earlier than the usual average. 

Black-headed Bunting, March 19th., 1857. 

Ring Ouzel, " 21st., " 

Wheatear, March 28th., 1856. " 23rd., « 

Common Sandpiper, April 1st., M 

Chimney Swallows, April 21st., " « 13th., " 

House Martin, " « " " 16th., « 

Redstart, " " « 16th., " 

Yellow Wagtail, " 22nd., " " 18th., " 

Grey Wagtail, " 22nd., « 

Cuckoo, * 18th., " " 27th., « 



154 THE MISTLETOE. 

Those beautiful little creatures the Wheatear and Pied Wagtails are 
very numerous, the limestone walls furnishing them with continuous perching 
places, on which they are constantly displaying their graceful movements. 

The Old Hall, Knostrop, Leeds. 



THE MISTLETOE, (VISCUM ALBUM.) 

BY J. Mc'lNTOSH, ESQ. 

At page 154 to 158 of vol. i, of "The Naturalist," we have recorded 
some interesting notes on this singular parasite. We would now beg to 
draw the attention of our readers to the etymology of the word Mistletoe, 
which we extract from "Willis's Current Notes of the Month," by the 
Kev. T. E. Brown, who writes as follows : — 

"The Saxon is Mis-tel-ta, the signification of which cannot be ascer- 
tained in that language. By taking away the verbal part ta, we have the 
German, Danish, and Swedish mis-tal, the Mistletoe. 

The Gaelic name for this plant forms a singular link and clue to its 
real meaning; it is uile-ice, the Mistletoe, the all-heal, c lus sior waine a 
tharuingeas a bhith o phlannt eile, an evergreen tree that draws its 
existence from another plant. It evidently refers us to the Saxon Se 
Hoeland, the Healer, the Saviour of mankind. 

The Saxon mis-tel-ta is a compound of three Sanscrit words, namely, Mas, 
Vishnee, (the Messiah;) tal, (a pit, Metap, the womb;) and tu, (motion, 
to or from;) therefore Mistalta comprises the whole of the time from the 
conception to the birth of our blessed Saviour, and seems to have been 
subsequently applied to him during his helpless infant state; of this I 
think I have a proof in a painting of the holy family in my possession, 
where the top of Joseph's staff is encircled with, I believe, the Loranthus 
Europceus in blossom, (see description of this plant below,) and what 
seems to be explanatory of the wrong translation of ta into toe, is, that Mary 
holds one of the great toes of the infant gracefully between her fore-finger and 
thumb. Another proof is, if I mistake not, in Guperi Harpocrates, where 
a peculiar amulet is described in the words of Kercher, 'Capsula est in 
forma cordis, et fructum foliumque Persece mentiens! I forbear to comment on 
the word cordis, it is sufficient for my purpose to notice that under the 
feet of the infant Horus or the Messiah, Habia digito prementem,' is a plant 
resembling the Mistelta. 

The ivy and Mistletoe being evergreens, denote everlasting life through 
faith in the promised Messiah; and its dependence on a tree for sustenance, 
etc., has its mystical meaning, and when found on the king of trees, the 
oak, would be considered as the most sacred of its kind, and would 



THE MISTLETOE. loO 

typify the dependence upon, and the unsearchable bond existing between 
God the Father, and the Word. 

Kissing under the Mistletoe has' now lost its import; its primary meaning 
is obvious. I believe 'the branch/ Ezekiel viii, 17, refers to the Mistletoe, 
the Viscum, in Virgil, Mn. 6, v. 205; but the Hebrew signifies a branch 
not torn off, nor broken off, but cut from the tree." 

The above is the substance of the Eev. T. E. Brown's etymology of 
the word Mistletoe, with which we agree, but beg to observe that kissing 
under the Mistletoe has not yet lost its importance, for 

"I remember, I remember, 

"We the Mistletoe hung high, 
On a cold night in December, 

When the Christmas eve drew nigh. 

I remember from the ceiling 

How its gleaming berries shone 
On the pretty girls there squealing 

As I kissed them every one! 

1 remember, I remember, 

How the Mistletoe hung high, 
On that cold night in December, 

And the tale that hangs thereby." 

Of the three Mistletoes known to Europe, Viscum album, Loranthus 
Europceus, and Arceuthobium oxycedri. The V. album abundant in England, 
France, and Germany, is much less so in Italy. The L. Europceus, appears 
to have been Pliny's "Dryas Hyphear," and is found in abundance on 
the Quercus Gerris, or Turkey Oak in Illyria and Italy, with which 
country Pliny was of course best acquainted, but is not so in France or 
England, or anywhere north or west of the Alps, and cannot have been 
the Druids' Mistletoe of this writer. In fact Pliny's account of the Druids' 
Mistletoe appears to me to have been misunderstood by many botanists, 
at least I can see nothing in it which is not in accordance with the 
natural history of V. album. They held sacred the tree which produced 
it, provided it was an oak, but it was exceedingly scarce; therefore, any 
common species of epiphyte, or any tree on which the Mistletoe is common, 
will violate the conditions of the case instead of forwarding them. The 
V. album was in such common use for making bird-lime that it ought 
not to have been the subject of mistakes. I imagine that the passage in 
"Virgil, on the gathering of the one golden branch from the tree of 
Proserpine, favours the idea of a supply being kept up by artificial culture, 
though, probably, not avowedly so. 

The third kind, Arceuthobium (or Viscum) oxycedri, is occasionally found 
on conifers in the south of Europe, as well as in north-west America, 
Mexico, etc., and may have been Pliny's Stelis? It is, however, very 



156 MIGRATION. 

difficult at this distance of time, to state with any degree of exact truth 
which was the plant made use of by the Druids. As it may not be 
impossible that the ingenious mis-translation of some antiquary may prove 
to be the only authority of the accounts which have been handed down 
to us of some, (if not all,) of the purposes to which the Druids applied 
the Mistletoe. 

The Mistletoe is a parasite, which presents all the character of a 
flowering shrub, but instead of rooting in the ground, has its base natur- 
ally grafted upon some living tree, exactly as a scion is grafted upon a 
stock artificially. It has its rings of wood, like other dicotyledons, and 
these are formed year by year with those of the branch on which it 
lives. It has green leaves, and is known to give off oxygen from them, 
so that it is of a higher character than many other parasites, and performs 
for itself part of the operations of assimilating the crude nutriment. 

In France it is called Misseldine; in Germany, Misti, or Missel; in 
Italy, Visco, or Vischio; and in Spain, Legamodoga. 

Since our article in vol. i. was published, we have found it growing 
on the Robinia Pseudacasia. at Hatch, near Taunton, Somersetshire; and 
on the same road, about two miles from Taunton, in a large hedge-row 
may be seen twenty-three apple trees quite covered with this parasite. 

The berries have, from a very early period been used as bird-lime, which, 
Gerard says, is greatly to be preferred to bird-lime made from the holly. 
They are eaten by the blackbird, fieldfare, and common thrush, as well as 
by the missel thrush. 

As a medicine, the Mistletoe was frequently employed in England as a 
cure for epilepsy, but it no longer holds a place in the British materia medica. 

As we have before stated, we shall feel extremely obliged if any cor- 
respondent will record any oak trees on which they have seen this parasite 
grow. 

MIGRATION. 

BY O. S. ROUND, ESQ. 

In speaking of our land-birds, those kinds which are only sojourners in 
this country during the more genial seasons of the year, necessarily 
demand a large portion of our attention; and as the subject of their 
annual visit forms the chief feature of their interesting lives, it is one 
which cannot be passed in silence. The economy of nature in this par- 
ticular is very remarkable; all those kinds which migrate, or change 
their residence to other regions at stated times, are formed only to exist 
in a temperate climate, and cannot sustain the least severity of cold. 
This has nothing to do with their size and tenderness, for some of our 



MIGRATION. 157 

own indigenous species are the minutest ; thus the little Wrens cheer 
us by their presence during the whole progress of ice and snow, pitiless 
blasts, and shelterless woods, and, with the Titmice and many others 
equally weak and helpless, brave the greatest rigours of our climate. Now 
these are chiefly insectivorous birds; but insect food is very scarce in 
winter, and although there are some few insects, such as gnats, which 
are seen at all times, almost when the sun is set, this supply would 
evidently be totally insufficient for the support of so many individuals, 
and indeed, in hard winters, is often inadequate for our own native 
songsters ; hence it is wisely provided that as soon as the general supply 
fails, the bulk of birds that subsist upon it should depart for realms 
where it is still to be met with. From this it appears that it is chiefly 
their inability constitutionally to endure our winters, that causes them 
to migrate, since many of our birds which go through it well enough 
are insectivorous. All the insect tribes lie concealed in what is called 
the pupa state, or dormant in transition existence, during winter, either 
in the . earth, in the bark of trees, or in other concealed situations. As 
soon as the sun has attained a sufficient altitude in the heavens to render 
his beams available, by their reflection, as a medium of heat, a stir takes 
place amongst these vast armies in ambush, and the woods, the plains, 
and the waters teem with insect transformations. A great proportion of 
these deposit their eggs in flesh, which is their proper receptacle, and in 
which they pass the first stage of their existence, and become maggots; 
and some, as the green flesh-fly, perform their office on the bodies of living 
animals. There are also some other larger kinds which bear the name 
of CEstrus, and Bombylim, signifying a large bottle with a narrow mouth, 
which they resemble in shape; these oviposit in particular kinds of cattle, 
chiefly of the horse and ox kind. There are vast numbers of the Dipterous 
and Apterous orders, that is of the fly and flea species, that are blood- 
suckers, and, in company with the culex or gnat kind, are great pests in 
warm weather; there are some which sting and some which bite, and these 
form the two great divisions, for very few are perfectly innocuous. 

All insects are extraordinarily prolific, and it is therefore manifest that, 
without some counteracting agency, their presence and numbers would soon 
become intolerable. This difficulty is met by the migration of the summer 
birds, the bulk of which subsist chiefly upon insect food, and the greater 
number of the bulk entirely so. Only consider for a moment what an 
enormous number of insects must be consumed by the Swallow tribe alone, 
which are on the wing for thirteen hours per day, during their stay of 
more than five months at a moderate average, and catching some kind of 
insect continually, as you may easily presume, if you watch them ever so 
6hort a time. This average of actual activity in search of food, I think, 

VOL. VII. T 



iOO MIGRATION. 

will fairly allow for the time occupied by the hen-birds for incubation, as 
the summer day is sometimes seventeen hours of direct light, in which 
a continual stir takes place. Then there are the Willow-wren3, White- 
throats, Wheatears, Blackcaps, and we know what indefatigable gentlemen 
the Flycatchers are, all these being purely insectivorous, and the first and 
last, perpetually in very active search of prey, scarcely still for a moment; 
and, besides all these, there are our own birds, which, more or less, make it 
their chief article of food. Only reflect, if it were not for this drain, what 
myriads of insects would infest every part of our dwellings, our clothes, and 
furniture; the whole air itself would teem with them, as it does sometimes, 
even as it is, and we should be as it were eaten up piecemeal. Are not 
therefore these little feathered creatures extremely useful members of the 
community? indeed they are, and we must admit that they cheer us by 
their song, and enliven us by their presence also. As they perform the 
process of nesting here, their numbers when they depart are increased nearly 
four-fold at a reasonable computation, more particularly as some have two 
broods; and yet such is the wonderful balance which is kept in this mi- 
raculous scheme of creation, that the difficulties and dangers which they 
undergo in their journeys to and fro, so lessen their numbers as usually 
to bring them very near even again; indeed some most accurate natural 
observers have declared positively that as far as observations went or could 
go, with regard to particular kinds of summer birds, whose motions were 
easily watched, the same exact number of pairs returned to the same spots 
to breed annually. Now is not this astonishing? it may be considered 
almost a miracle, and yet look at our own bills of mortality, and I think 
we shall not be able to deny that it is a parallel case. 

The ancients had the most singular and improbable notions with regard 
to the subject of migration, one of which was, that as the winter 
approached, Swallows went "under water," and there remained in a torpid 
state until spring. Another was that they hid in hollow trees and the 
holes and crannies of rocks, and in Stillingfleet's "Swedish Calendar of 
Flora," published in 17G1, there is an entry made by Linnaeus himself, 
thus, "Swallow goes under water!" It is, however, some excuse for our 
forefathers, that not only was natural science in its infancy, but naturalists 
of much later periods have been sceptical (I will not say absurd) enough 
to entertain the same opinion, though in a doubtful manner. This was a 
particular hobby of Gilbert White's, the Selborne historian, and I believe 
he died without having satisfied himself; but there have been such 
decided proofs of actual migration, that no doubt whatever can exist. Mr. 
Adamson, in his "Voyage to Senegal," says that in October, 1749, 
European Swallows settled on the rigging of the vessel in which he was, 
and they are never seen at Senegal or Goree but at that time of the year, 



MIGRATION. 159 

with Wagtails, Quails, Kites, etc., and do not breed there. Now this 
appears to me a direct proof, or as direct as we can obtain. In Caillie's 
"Travels to Timbuctoo" we find an analogous passage, and the circumstance 
of Swallows settling on the rigging of ships in all latitudes, is too notorious 
to need further proof. The other birds of passage are so desultory and 
uncertain in their movements that it is much more difficult to obtain 
anything like satisfactory information regarding their transit, but we have 
sufficient evidence that they make their way by the British Channel, 
through France, and across the Mediterranean, (probably by Gibraltar, 
being the narrowest passage,) as it has been observed in Spain that there 
is an annual flitting of this kind of birds in autumn, through that country 
towards Africa, many parts of which are quite unknown to us; and may 
it not be very- reasonably supposed, that were we acquainted with those 
regions, we might meet with many of these truant wanderers. 

The sea voyage has often been urged as an insuperable bar to the 
migration of our weaker summer birds, but, I think, this may be easily 
answered even supposing that they took an extensive voyage, which I 
believe they do not. In elucidation of this I will relate a curious circumstance 
as it was told to me by a gentleman whose veracity I cannot doubt, more 
particularly as he was no naturalist, and merely mentioned it as a singular 
thing. "Being at Dover during the autumn he walked daily on the beach, 
at some distance from the port, for the sake of sea-air and exercise, and 
one morning seeing a fisherman looking anxiously out to sea, his curiosity 
was excited, and he enquired what he was gazing at, and to his no small 
surprise received for answer, 'A covey of birds, sir/ 'A covey of birds !' 
said my friend in astonishment. 'Aye, sir/ replied the man, 'it is not 
uncommon when they're shooting inland, for the birds to fly out to sea; 
and then when they can't fly any further why they just settle, and there 
they are settled, pointing with his finger. After a good deal of pointing out, 
(for there are not a many, or rather too many marks to go by at sea,) the 
Partridges, or some birds which were said to be Partridges, were certainly seen 
on the face of the water; a boat was subsequently got and rowed towards 
them, which my friend watched with some interest; but what was his 
surprise to see them rise from the sea, and take another flight, and another, 
but from fatigue and wet they were soon taken up alive, and brought to 
shore, and this, he was informed, was often done." 

Now, as my readers may perceive, my reason for introducing this story 
is to shew that if such a heavy bird as a Partridge, and one which re- 
quires such an exertion to raise itself, could be sustained on the surface 
of the water, and rise from it more than once, how much more could 
our light fragile summer travellers do so? and supposing the weather fine 
and calm, which it usually is in October and the beginning of May, (the 



160 MIGRATION. 

time during which they perform their migrations,) they might thus be enabled 
to fly a few miles, when fatigued to settle, float, rise again, rest again, 
and so on, for neither birds nor fish are met with on the expanse of the 
boundless ocean, and these always indicate the vicinity of land to mariners. 
I only offer these observations as suggestive, and do not pretend to ad- 
vance them as having a spark of foundation, for I have hardly any doubt 
that, except the Swallows and such powerful flyers, the mass of migratory 
birds make the least possible journeying distance over sea, indeed it is quite 
unnecessary for them to do so. It is also somewhat singular that Gilbert 
White, who seems to be satisfied of this to a great degree, from the 
representations of his brother who lived in Andalusia, should fix upon Swal- 
lows, most capable of sea-flights, as the only kind that did not take them. 
As to migration never having been regularly observed, it is performed 
necessarily in such an uncertain manner, from the different circumstances 
and necessities of the individuals engaged in it, that it would be indeed 
a surprising thing if it had been. 

Besides these migrations to foreign countries, there are others which take 
place even within the narrow precincts of our own little island, from north 
to south, westerly or easterly, and so on. These arise from the difference 
of climate, and consequent state of the earth, which is observable between 
the different portions of Great Britain, and food is no doubt the chief 
directing cause in these movements. Of these internal migrations the 
Whinchat, 52 the Wagtails, the Pigeons, the Ring Ouzel, and the Snipe, are 
examples which are always to be found in certain mild districts, whilst 
in others they are only seen at stated times, and their return regularly 
expected. The migration of the Ring Ouzel was first brought into public 
notice by the Rev. Gilbert White, before mentioned; these birds it seems 
breed on Dartmoor, in Devonshire, and are found throughout the whole 
year in Scotland, where they do not perform any migration, a somewhat 
startling anomaly! Whither they depart when they pass eastward in the 
autumn is not well ascertained, but it is very unlikely that they leave this 
country. I have seen them on Brighton Downs, in October, and they are 
very much dispersed over the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, and 
Berkshire, in the early part of October, and as regularly return westward 
the first week in April, and are very late breeders, as they are then only 
repairing to their nesting places. 

In the fourth volume of "The Naturalist," at page 247, I have referred 
to the circumstance of this migration having been observed before Gilbert 
White wrote, by an old man who resided at Sunninghill, in Berkshire; 
and others there have mentioned to me the same circumstance. They were 
known by them as French Magpies, a name, by the way, also given to 
* Stonechat ?— F. 0. Morris. 



MIGRATION. 161 

the Pied Woodpecker, — a singular jumble truly! Snipes and Wagtails are 
a good deal influenced by weather, and shape their course to milder regions 
according to its severity, searching out the running streams and sheltered 
low grounds; and their movements (except the Jack Snipe and Yellow 
Wagtails, which are regular birds of passage) can hardly deserve the name 
of migration. This is very much the case with the Wild Pigeon, which 
can only be said to be migratory in the south of England, where it does 
not appear in bulk of numbers until deep autumn, and yet they breed very 
much in any extent of park, and there are many localities very far south 
which they never desert during the whole year. Windsor great park has 
vast numbers at all seasons, but in winter the numbers are certainly greatly 
augmented, and regular flights wing their way, out early and home late, 
during November and December, in search of food, and probably traverse 
great distances in these excursions; in fact, if we looked narrowly into the 
matter, we should doubtless discover may internal migrations which take 
place among our small native birds, and with which we are at present 
wholly unacquainted ; but this could only be effected by a quick succession 
of movements to different parts of the country by a careful and competent 
observer. By this means not only might new migrations be brought to 
light, but many which are now but imperfectly understood would receive 
a greater certainty of limit and direction than they at present possess. 

It is a beautiful provision of Nature for the preservation of life, that 
when a time arrives at which the species of food which supports a being 
fails, he should be endowed with an insuperable desire to travel to other 
realms, where that sustenance is to be found; this is a generally implanted 
instinct, and arises naturally in the individual, as has been frequently 
instanced; for birds of passage, taken from the nest, and upon whom their 
parents' movements could have consequently had no influence, are seized 
with a sort of restless anxiety at that particular season, and unless very 
narrowly watched and sufficiently secured, will make their escape and follow 
their companions. This has ever been the case with birds that have been 
in captivity for some years from the nest, and then escaped, having learned 
several notes from other birds that were kept with them, and which dis- 
tinguished them from the general chorus in the same vicinity, summer after 
summer, as the species of birds to which they belonged again returned to 
us. It certainly binds a great interest to the first appearance of summer 
birds in May, to reflect on the difficulties and dangers they have encountered, 
and the immense tracts of earth and ocean they must have traversed to 
visit us. As numbers continue to drop in, this feeling wears off, but I 
have often considered, as I have watched them gathering materials for their 
nest to fulfil the chief object of their visit, how much greater travellers 
they were than I, and had probably since last with us visited regions in 



162 



SVSTEMA NATUR/E. 



which European foot never ti-od. Such is the power of that wonderful 
instinct, which watches over the preservation of the life in so miraculous a 
manner, continuing it and sustaining it in an endless succession from the 
moment of its creation until time itself shall be no more. 

Pembroke Square, Kensington, May, 1856. 



SYSTEM A NATURAE. 



BY THE REV. F. O MORRIS. 



{Continued ft 
RHYZiENA. 

Rhyzsena tetradactyla, Schinz. R. 
capensis, Less. Suricata capensis, 
Desm. Viverra suricata, Erxl. V. 
tetradactyla, Schreb. V. Zenik, Linn. 
Gmel. F. Cuv. 

Cryptoprocta. 

Cryptoprocta ferox, JBenn. Schinz. 
Paradoxurus. 

Paradoxurus typus, F. Cuv. Schinz. 
Viverra nigra, Desm. Gray. Fisch. 
Temm. 

Paradoxurus Musanga, Mull. Gray. 
Schinz. P. fasciatus, Ogil. P. feli- 
nus, Katz. Wag. Schreb. P. Pal- 
lasii, Hardw. et Gray. P. dubius 
et hermaphroditus, Gray. Temm. 
Viverra Musanger, Marsden. V. fas- 
ciata, Desm. 

Paradoxurus leucomystax, Gray. Mull. 
Temm. Schinz. 

Paradoxurus larvatus, Schinz. P. la- 
niger, Hodg. P. Graji, Benn. Tern. 
Gulo larvatus, Herm. Smith. Vi- 
verra larvata, Gray. Paguma lar- 
vata, Gray. 

Paradoxurus Bondar, Gray. Schinz. 
P. Pennanti, Gray. P. hirsutus, 
Hodg. Viverra Bondar, Plain. 

Paradoxurus trivirgatus, Temm. Schinz. 
Viverra trivirgata, Gray. Mull. 

Paradoxurus binotatus, Schinz. P. 
Hamilitonii, Gray. Temm. Viverra 
binotata, Gray. 



om page 137.) 

Paradoxurus annulatus, Wag. Schinz. 
Paradoxurus leucopus, Ogil. Schinz. 
Paradoxurus Philippensis, Schinz. P. 

Jourdanii, Gray. Temm. 
Paradoxurus nipalensis, Hodg. Schinz. 
Paradoxurus quinque lineatus, Gray. 

Schinz. 
Paradoxurus musangoides, Gray. 

Schinz. 
Paradoxurus Nubia;, F. Cuv. Geoff. 

Schinz. 

Cynogale. 
Cynogale barbata, Schinz. C. Bennetii, 

Gray. Lamictis carcharias, Blain- 

Potamophilus barbatus, Mull. 
Canis. 
Canis familiaris, Schinz. 
Canis Dingo, Schinz. C. familiaris 

australasise, Desm. 
Canis nova? Hibernise, Schinz. 
Canis primsevus, Hodg. Schinz. 
Canis rutilans, Mull. Schinz. C. ja- 

vanicus, Cuv. Desm. C. sumatrenis, 

Hario. et Raffl. 
Canis simensis, Rupp. Schinz. 
Canis pictus, Rupp. Desm. Schinz. 
Canis Lupus, Schinz. etc. 
Canis ochropus, Esch. Schinz. 
Canis latrans, Rich. Fisch. Schinz. 
Canis mexicanus, Linn. Buff. Fisch. 

Schinz. 
Canis hodophilax, Temm. Schinz. 
Canis pallipes, Sykes. Schinz. 
Canis alpinus, Pallas. Schinz. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 1G3 



Canis jubatus, Desm. Cuv. Schinz. C. 

campestris, Prinz Max. 
Canis aureus, Linn. Schreb. Cuv. Schinz. 
Canis anthus, Cretch. F. Cuv. Schinz. 



C. aureus, Hupp. 
Canis mesomelas, Schreb. Cuv. Desm. 

Fisch. Schinz. 
Canis antarctieus, Shazo. Desm. Schinz. 



C. lupaster, Ehren. I Canis cancrivorus, Desm. F. Cuv. Schinz. 

Canis variegatus, Cretch. Rupp. Schinz. | Viverra cancrivora, Meyer. Fisch. 

(To be continued.) 



SKisrtllimnms JSnta. 

Blackbirds. — As one of the sons of a farmer, at Croole, was going to 
school on Thursday, he observed in a field two blackbirds fighting. He 
pulled up to witness the combat, and they at last came so near that he 
was in the act of raising his cane to strike them, when one of the birds 
darted at him, and billed him just beneath the eye, causing the blood to 
flow. The blow was so sudden and unexpected, that it stunned him for 
the moment ; but on looking round, he found the bird laid dead at his 
feet. — From the "Birmingham Journal," for April loth., 1857. 

The Cuckoo. — This bird was heard here on the 17th. of April, but 
a farmer's boy who brings milk into the city, assures me that he heard 
him a fortnight before. I should doubt this, but the boy is very 
intelligent, and I have questioned him closely ; he is positive as to the 
fact. There was a white frost the same morning. — Thomas Fuller, Bath, 
May 11th., 1857. 

Carabus intricatus. — When digging for insects a few days since in the 
neighbourhood of Plymouth, I had the good fortune to find three fine 
and perfect specimens of Carabus intricatus, and the mutilated remains of 
a fourth. These insects vary considerably in colour, some being tinged 
with resplendent blue and violet, whilst others are dull and nearly black. 
— John Gatcombe, Wyndham Place, Plymouth, May 18th., 1857. 

Rara Avis. — A female specimen of the Harlequin Duck, which is 
perhaps the rarest of all the visitors to our coast, was killed on the 7th. 
of April, at Maxstoke Castle, near Coleshill, in Warwickshire, by Mr. J. 
S. Dugdale. It is very rarely the case that birds of this kind stray so 
far inland. In this instance the Duck had been swimming about with 
four Canada Geese for four or five days in a pond in Maxstoke Park, 
and did not even offer to fly when stones were thrown at her. Tarrell 
only records six instances of specimens of this species being obtained in 
England. It breeds in Greenland, Iceland, and the most northern parts 
of the American Continent. The bird is now in the hands of Mr. 
Franklin, of Birmingham, for preservation. — "Davenport Journal." Com- 
municated by Mr. T. Fogoit. 



164 

UrnroMitgB nf Inriittra. 

Thirsk Natural History Society. — The quarterly meeting of this Society 
was held on the evening of Wednesday, May 6th. The following 
gentlemen were elected officers for the ensuing quarter : — Mr. J. G. Baker, 
President; Mr. R. D. Carter, Secretary; and Mr. J. J. Packer, Librarian. 

The following additions to the library were announced: — "Hugh Miller's 
Testimony of the Rocks," and "The Entomologists' Annual," for 1857. 

E. D. Swarbreck, Esq., was proposed and duly elected a member. Mr. 
J. H. Davies exhibited a series of specimens of Bryum obconicum-Hornch, 
and announced the discovery of a new station for it in the neighbourhood 
of Sawley. He observed that although Mr. Wilson had been led to doubt 
the distinctness of that species, and seemed inclined to refer it as a variety 
to B. capillars, yet it was found that in this neighbourhood it retained 
its characteristics from year to year. 

Mr. Baker laid before the meeting a series of British and Continental 
examples of the Sweet Violet and its allies, and remarked respecting them, 
that a plant which he had gathered in April, by the side of the Ure, near 
Tanfield, he was inclined to identify with Viola sepinafr^ fl£"^Qrdan, a 
species new to Britain. /<£ 




€\t torist. 

On Birds using oil from Glands. — The May number contains an 
enquiry from Mr. Waterton, in reference to some observations of mine 
upon the above subject, which appeared in the "Naturalist," for February 
last. Had I then known the subject had been disposed of by abler hands 
you would not have heard anything from me. In compliance now with 
your injunction to be brief in any reply to Mr. Waterton's questions, I 
cannot do better than refer that gentleman to the articles mentioned in 
your notes upon both occasions. Mr Waterton has sarcastically designated 
me "The learned Naturalist." The pleasure I have received in the 
perusal of his interesting essays on Natural History amply compensates for 
the uncourteous epithet, as applied to a tyro like myself. — Thomas Fuller, 
2, Grafton Place, Bath, May 2nd., 1857. (A word from me hereafter. — 
F. 0. Morris.) 

Would any gentleman favour Mr. Twinn, with information regarding 
the Synapta lineata, and the employment of its anchors? He would 
consider it a great favour. — G. R. Twinn, May 5th., 1857. 

I think I have never before heard the birds sing so little as they have 
this year. Have any correspondents made a similar remark? — F. 0. Morris, 
Nunburnholme Rectory, June 1st., 1857. 



SEA-SIDE PLEASURES.— WONDERS OF THE DEEP. 



GEORGE HOADLEY KING, 

(FEOM IPSWICH,) 

Begs to return his sincere thanks to those Gentlemen who have favoured him 
with their patronage, and desires to inform them, and all others interested 
in the study of Natural History, that he will be happy to furnish them 
with Marine Animals, "Weeds, and every requisite for the Aquarium; British 
Land and Fresh- water Shells; Insects, (especially Lepidoptera and Coleop- 
tera;) Birds, and Birds' Eggs. 

G. H. K. has removed to Torquay, where he has purchased the whole of 
the stock-in-trade of the late Mrs. "Wyatt, many years a celebrated Collector 
of Sea- weeds and Shells, and is prepared to supply parties with some of 
the rarer British Shells, collected and named by the most celebrated Collectors, 
who have kindly lent their aid in this branch. 

He will always have a Boat in readiness for the accommodation of Natu- 
ralists visiting the place, and hopes to secure their patronage and support. 

*** He will be happy to arrange with Gentlemen and Proprietors of 
Museums, to meet their requirements during the coming season. 

(Jrf" A large collection of rare microscopic slides always on hand. 

AGENT FOE J. J. KING'S CELEBRATED TANKS, ST. ANDEEWS, NOEWICH. 

10, George Street, Torquay. 



NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, 

52, HIGH HOLBOEN, LONDON. 

The Largest Collection in the kingdom of Birds' Eggs, and 
Rare Insects. 

Birds, Animals, etc., stuffed in the best possible manner, at 
charges strictly moderate. 

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he having always on hand such an assortment as will astonish many. 
Cabinets with Camphor cells always on hand; also Store Boxes, 
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an Entomologist. 

Manufacturer of English and French Artificial Eyes. Coloured 
Birds' Eyes, varying to Pheasants' size, 5s. per Gross; a superior 
made Eye for best work, the same size, 7s. 6d. per Gross. Cats', 
Dogs', and Foxes' Eyes, 6d. per pair ; Deer's Eyes, Is., Is. 6d., and 
2s., according to size. Black Eyes to Skylarks', Is. per Gross. 

All Post-office orders payable in Holborn promptly attended to by 

JAMES GARDNER. 



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LIST OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS. 

artist's name. engraver. 

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2. Birthplace of Burns Stothard R. Brandard. 

3. Monument to Burns (Doon) D. O. Hill R. Graves. 

4. Mausoleum of Burns (Dumfries) D. O. Hill J. H. Kernot. 

5. Birks of Aberfeldy D.O.Hill... R. Brandard. 

6. The Field of Bannockburn D. O. Hill E. Goodall. 

7. Lincluden College D.O.Hill Cuthwaite. 

8. Braes of Ballochmyle D.O.Hill W.J.Cooke. 

9. Town and Harbour of Ayr D. O. Hill E. Goodall. 

10. Dumfries D.O.Hill E. Goodall. 

11. Nithsdale D.O.Hill W.J.Cooke. 

12. Ayr D. O. Hill W. Miller. 

13. The Pier of Leith D.O.Hill W.Miller. 

14. CoiMeld D.O.Hill R. Brandard. 

15. Colzean Castle D.O.Hill E. Goodall. 

1G. Taymouth ( Jastle â– .. . D. O. Hill It. Brandard. 

17. The Vision Presbury Presbury. 



No. 78. 



AUGUST, 1857. 



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TIH 




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ILLTJSTBATIVE OF THB 

ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, AND MINERAL 
KINGDOMS. ' 

WITH OCCASIONAL ENGRAVINGS. 



CONDUCTED BY 

THE EEY. F. 0. MORRIS, B.A., 

Member of the Ashmolean Society, etc. 

Author of "A History of British Birds." "A History of British Butterflies." 

"A History of the Nests and Eggs of British Birds." 

"A Bible Natural History." "A Book of Natural History," etc., etc,, etc. 



Loed, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: 
the earth is full of Thy riches.— Psalm civ., 24. 



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CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Beautiful Harmony. — Instinctive Action of a Blind Horse. By G. 

R. Twins, Esq 165 

Remarks upon the Ringed Guillemot, (with Engravings.) By Robt. 

Gray, Esq , 166 

Birds' Nests. By 0. S. Round, Esq 171 

On the Classification of the Animal Kingdom. By P. M. Burton, 

Esq 174 

Systema Naturaa. By The Editor 184 

Miscellaneous Notices. — The Corn-crake. Singing Birds near Large 
Towns. "April Showers bring Spring Flowers." Sphinx Euphorbise 
at Box Hill 185 

Reviews. — The Natural History Review. Index Filicum. 

The British Botanist's Field Book 187 

The Querist. — The Mistletoe 188 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

Communications have been received from O. S. Round, Esq.; — Captain J. 
M. Jones; — Dr. Falconer; — Mr. T. Armstrong. 

W. A. B. is informed that the Ring Dove and the "Wood Pigeon are one 
and the same species — the Stock Dove a different one. See Morris's "British 
Birds," Nos. 42 and 43. 



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IGo 

BEAUTIFUL HARMONY.— f ^M^ 

INSTINCTIVE ACTION OF A BLIND HORsLfeSP 

BY GEORGE R. TWINN, ESQ. \^£ H) 

The pure eye of the Christian Naturalist, or man of science, never 
beams with the light of pride; its lustre is caused by the lofty gratification 
that swells in the heart, and prompts the holiest feelings of gratitude; 
reverential humility is always characteristic of true knowledge, as is this 
deep internal joy; resulting from the conscious belief that the mind of the 
Eternal Creator must know all that He has created; whereas man's mind, 
being finite, can comprehend only a part of the vast resources so lavishly 
provided; but with that light of comprehension comes that holy joy. To 
some mental organizations there is an apparent discrepancy in life, because 
only a minute part is recognisable; and from this partial knowledge they 
commit the error of imagining that there is a want of harmony in creation. 
But what is the ennobling object which science puts before her devotees? 
— Truth; and to secure this, they strive in faith and earnestness for a 
glad result to their endeavours; and finding each one in the particular 
branch of his selection a most beautiful harmony distinguishing it, he argues, 
by induction and analogy, as needs be, (and rests in perfect faith,) that 
all, if parts are, is characterized by this law of harmony; — the aggregate 
studies of others, in various departments, all confirming this view. I was 
led into these reflections by considering how important a possession instinct 
is; it is this wondrous gift that leads the young of Mammals to the teats 
for nourishment; that guides the Swallow in its long migratory journey; 
that invariably brings each caterpillar to its favourite distinctive food; 
that thrills through a swarm of ants when a victim is to be secured; that 
draws together the birds of passage; that impels the salmon in the spawning 
season; and that is so marvellously exhibited in an endless variety of Ways 
throughout the animal kingdom — in certain instances bearing so approxi- 
mately upon reason, as to overcome us entirely. 

In July, 1856, I travelled on a lovely night along an open country road, 
in company with a gentleman whose horse was totally blind; our distance 
to reach home was about five miles, and on either side were many branch- 
roads and lanes. Surely and safely went our steed, and to convince me 
of what I had previously been told, the reins were arranged carefully, and 
all guiding discontinued. Instinctively sure of the correct turn on our 
right, the animal diverged with all care and took us from the high-road 
into the lane. No skilled driver with a sound horse could have turned 
more exactly than the blind creature did without any guidance, and in 
safety we reached home. This horse was accustomed to open gates, and 
I saw him do so on several occasions, pushing them forward sharply, when 

VOL. VII. z 



106 THE RINGED GUILLEMOT. 

with his nose he had pressed back the snatch. Now many persons will 
say this and kindred other illustrations prove something more than instinct. 
I think not. The display of memory, or any other passion of the mind 
by the lower creatures, argues they have mind like man, but very widely 
differing in its powers and construction. Man's mind is naturally reflective, 
but not that of animals, for this is the limit marking instinct and reason 
most significantly, and bearing evidence of the Creator's high deed of placing 
them all under man's control. Thus we discover no discrepancy; all is 
as it was intended to be, and a perfect law of harmony and order is 
enacted throughout the manifold regions of animal life. 

The Elms, Birmingham, April 6th., 1857. 



REMARKS UPON THE RINGED GUILLEMOT. 

BY ROBERT GRAY, ESQ. 
Read before the Natural History Society of Glasgow. 

The history of this bird, whether as a variety of the Common Guillemot, 
or as a distinct species, appears to be involved in considerable obscurity; 
any observations which have been yet published about it are certainly far 
from affording either satisfaction as to its description as a variety, or con- 
viction respecting its identity as a distinct bird. The various authors who 
have given it a place in their works have been able to say very little 
about it; hence any ornithologist who wishes information will find on con- 
sulting any of them that the account is not only meagre and partial, but 
in many cases very contradictory. Thus as regards colour, we have the 
bird described from a mouse-colour to a pure black, and in size from fifteen 
to nineteen inches' as the total length. From this, however, as I shall 
afterwards observe, we learn the significant fact that in this case neither 
colour nor size can be relied upon as specific characters. 

On a slight comparison of all the specimens on the table before you, it 
will be seen that the Ringed, or "Bridled" Guillemot, as it has been called, 
differs from the Common Guillemot only in the white line which encircles 
the eyes, and extends about an inch behind them ; but those writers, whom 
I shall presently quote, appear to attach some importance to other differences, 
considered by some as sufficient to remove all doubt of its specific value. 

Sir William Jardine, in his "British Birds," remarks that in colour this 
bird is intermediate in shade between Una troile and U. Brunnichii, and 
that the bill is weaker and more slender, the angle of the under mandible 
being nearly obsolete. The latter feature he illustrates by outlines of the 
bills of the three birds, a copy of which diagram I have the pleasure to 
lay before you. He also remarks that he never found the bird at any of 



THE RINGED GUILLEMOT. 



167 




Ui'ia Brunnichii. 




Uriel troile. 




Uria lachrymans. 



168 THE RINGED GUILLEMOT. 

the breeding stations on the coast; nor had any of the fishermen, (who 
are usually very correct in their observations on these matters,) ever seen, 
or been accustomed to hear of it. 

This author's account, which is the least prejudiced and most scientific, 
is written in excellent taste, and shews a marked appreciation of what might 
or ought to constitute a specific difference. 

The late Professor Macgillivray, who had a comprehensive and most 
accurate knowledge of marine ornithology, describes his Uria troile, in his 
"Manual of British Ornithology," from a specimen of the bird now under 
consideration, apparently through sheer contempt of any claim it had to 
be considered different. "In summer," he says, "it has a white line round 
the eye," etc., and finishes his description by adding, "some individuals want 
the white lines on the head." This author knew Guillemots too well to 
believe that the absence of these lines was the exception to the rule; 
consequently in his subsequent extended work on "British Birds," he makes 
an awkward attempt to follow previous writers by introducing the "Bridled" 
Guillemot as a lately-described species, under the name of Uria lachrymans. 
In addition to a carefully-prepared specific description, he gives a woodcut, 
shewing the head with its white lines and slender bill, which, when con 
trasted with the figure of the Common Guillemot preceding it, shews at 
once he felt anxious to make a species of it. His characters, which he 
says were noted from examination of specimens, differ from those pointed 
out by Sir W. Jardine; for while the latter author states, and shews by 
his diagrams, that the angle of the lower mandible is near the base, and 
very slightly developed, Mr. Macgillivray asserts it is further from the base 
than that of the common species, and is prominent! As a piece of ori- 
ginal description he remarks that the interdigital membranes are full in the 
bridled bird, and emarginate in the other; but from unlimited means of 
judging, I can hardly say the so-called distinction is of any value. Com- 
pare the feet of those before you with the single member cut from a 
common bird, and you will not find a shade of difference. 

Mr. Gould, in his "Birds of Europe," mentions his doubts of the specific 
value of the marks which distinguish the Binged Guillemot. These he 
considers as nothing more than the white lines; yet he figures and describes it 
as distinct, leaving others to judge. Sir W. Jardine, M. Temminck, and some 
others consider it as a separate species, as likewise did the late Mr. Yarrell- 

The safest position with regard to it is to wait for further evidence 
before deciding, as any undue eagerness to settle the matter can never 
advance our information on the subject. Mr. Archibald Hepburn, in a paper 
read before the Wemerian Society of Edinburgh, and afterwards published 
in the proceedings of the "Berwickshire Naturalists' Club," gives an elabo- 
rately-prepared account of a specimen which was killed at the Bass Bock, 



THE BINGED GUILLEMOT. 169 

in 1840. This description in every particular could be then applied to the 
well-known species, with the exception of the lachrymose stripe; and this 
specimen is referred to as a species by Dr. Fleming, who at one time repu- 
diated its claims to notice as such. This shews the prevailing tendency to 
recognise it without doubt, or at least to allow it to remain where it is. 
Some collectors, however, are not proof against that objectionable desire to 
find out something more than the debateable differences; and we therefore 
hear of specimens having been procured through some circumstance hardly 
observable, such as a difference in the mode of flying or swimming, which, 
in examples of such close relationship as the present, can only be received 
with extreme caution. 

On the other hand it is equally unsafe to allow prejudice to influence 
any decision, and those who consider the bird a variety only, may impatiently 
condemn its claims to rank as a species. 

Mr. Proctor, Sub-curator of the Durham Museum, found, during a visit 
to Grirnsay, north of Iceland, the three Guillemots — Brunnichii, troile, 
and lachrymans, all breeding in separate colonies, their eggs being distin- 
guishable by the natives, and each of the birds being known by a different 
name. This apparently conclusive testimony is, however, contradicted by 
the evidence of Mr. J. Wolley, who at a meeting of the British Association, 
in 1850, read an account of a two months' visit to the Ferroe Islands, 
where he found the two birds we are speaking of breeding promiscuously, 
in the proportion of one ringed bird to ten without that ornament. He 
collected the eggs of both, and could not distinguish between them. 

Having then noticed the difficulties which prevent any satisfactory decision 
with respect to the Ringed Guillemot, I shall proceed to notice the evidence 
both in favour and against its specific identity, which I do without hesitation, 
having materials in my possession, not enough perhaps to clear up standing 
doubts, but sufficient in themselves to justify an attempt to correct errors 
in describing details, in so far as the average value of these details becomes 
diminished, if not altogether lost. Every writer has attempted to establish 
some characters whereby we may distinguish the one bird from the other, 
and no one has done so better than Sir William Jardine, who observes in 
his Manual that he has no hesitation in considering the Ringed or Bridled 
Guillemot as "one of those closely allied species which we frequently meet 
with in particular genera." The specimens from which he formed his 
conclusions were lent to him by Mr. Gould, and were without a doubt 
strongly marked and characteristic; hence from his limited means of com- 
parison at the time he wrote his account he was probably led into the 
erroneous belief that these characters, so apparent in the individuals which 
he examined, were permanent. 

Taking a characteristic specimen of the Uria lachrymans, we find that 



170 THE RINGED GUILLEMOT. 

when compared with a veritable "Marrot," {Uria troile,) it presents the 
marked distinctions of a weaker and more slender bill, and a darker shade 
of plumage, being a fine dark olive, or, as Sir William Jardine observes, 
"intermediate in shade between Troile and Brunnichii" besides the all- 
important bridle. But on collecting a number of birds together, the advan- 
tages of unlimited means of comparison become very obvious. In both the 
differences of the bill and the colour there is an imperceptible blending, 
till the characters assume less and less consequence, and finally are not 
distinguishable. Further, there is an actual interchange, and thus we find 
in some cases the Common Guillemot has the weaker bill and the darker 
shade of plumage, from which we may ultimately argue, if we maintain 
two species, that the common birds so marked are the rarer species which 
have lost their bridles; while that with the coarse bill and mouse- coloured 
garb is the commoner one, having borrowed it; in other words, that they 
become varieties of each other. 

As regards size — another of the points which one or two writers have 
laid hold of — the same gradual transition occurs, that is to say, we have 
larger and smaller birds in either case. The Ringed Guillemot is said to 
be the largest, but in both measurement and weight I have never found 
any general advantage on either side; sometimes the one bird being heaviest, 
and as frequently the other. Differences therefore, to be specific, must be 
to some extent permanent and general, otherwise they cannot be considered 
as anything beyond ordinary variety. Ornithologists, however, are not much 
accustomed to regard varieties like the present instance, (if it be regarded 
as such,) because if the white ring and line on the head of a Guillemot 
be considered sufficient to recognise it as a species, we have to look for 
that mark alone to decide, and are saved the pains of endeavouring to 
discover whether a plain head ever had any lachrymose stripe, or when a 
marked one acquired the distinction. 

We now come to consider the facts which lead some authors to believe 
in the specific characters of Uria lachrymans. It is a bird having its 
geographical range, its head quarters being Spitzbergen, where it is very 
abundant. Coming southwards it is found breeding at various localities, 
still in considerable numbers, becoming less numerous as we leave the 
northern regions, until we find it very sparingly around the British coasts. 

It is said to breed in distinct colonies in high latitudes, where the 
commoner species and Uria Brunnichii are also found in great numbers, 
though at the Faroe Islands this habit was not noticed. Again, the young 
bird of the first year's plumage has the peculiar white line as strongly 
marked as in the old bird. This was observed by Professor Macgillivray, 
and since corroborated by Mr. H. D. Graham, late of Iona, who found 
several specimens; these he forwarded to Mr. Selby, who recognised them 



birds' nests. 171 

as "that rare bird the Bridled Guillemot." Both sexes have this line or 
stripe, as I myself have ascertained in several instances, and an example 
of which you have in two specimens before you. In addition I may mention 
that I have found old birds of the common species, Una troile, become 
lighter in colour than young ones, while the reverse is the case with 
lachryrnans, the young of which is the lightest in shade, the old bird being 
much darker, approaching in some specimens to pure black. The female 
of troile is said by Temminck and others to be smaller than the male; in 
lachrymans the superior size is in the female. These differences may be 
advanced, you observe, from actual comparison; yet with a greater number 
of specimens before us we might have occasion to reverse them. 

I offer these remarks without any conviction regarding the subject which 
has given rise to a difference of opinion amongst ornithologists. For my 
own part I feel quite willing to allow our lachrymose Marrot to remain 
registered as a variety until we have sufficient demonstration to the contrary. 

I may add it is found all over the British coasts, specimens having been 
procured from almost every breeding station where the Common Guillemot 
abounds. The localities whence I have obtained the examples before you 
are, Iona, Loch Sunart, and Ailsa Craig. With reference to the last-named 
place, I beg to acknowledge my obligations to John Graham, Esq., Surgeon, 
Girvan, in whose company I have visited it, and from whom I have received 
every assistance in collecting specimens for examination. 

I have thus endeavoured to give you as full a history of this bird as 
our published accounts and my own private investigations will admit of; 
and lay before you these remarks with a view to draw closer attention 
to the subject, as I believe in this, as well as in other subjects of divided 
opinion amongst naturalists, facts, and hence the truth, can only be gained 
by continued and patient research. 

Glasgow, July, 1857. 



BIRDS' NESTS. 

BY 0. S. BOUND, ESQ. 

(Continued from page 146.) 

The Snipe genus, in which I include all those having the characteristic 
length of bill and leg, affect very much the same localities, and use aquatic 
sedges and a few feathers in building; and although their eggs differ much 
of course in minute particulars, they are yet all speckled with the shades 
of black, white, brown, and olive, as a general rule. But when we come 
to the Heron tribe, we find a great difference in their manners; for whilst 
the Bitterns inhabit and breed in the marshes, the Herons nest in trees, 
and the Cranes and Storks in old buildings, all laying, more or less, bluish 



172 BIEDs' NESTS. 

eggs unspeckled, and using a great mass of loose grassy materials. 

The most curious nest, I suppose, of which we have any knowledge, is 
that of the Kingfisher, or Halcyon; this is placed in a hole of the river 
bank, and formed of a kind of gelatine of a very hard substance. It is 
not known to a certainty how this is formed; the most probable conjecture 
is that these birds, like Hawks and Owls, cast up the bones of fish which 
they have swallowed entire. These ejected masses must necessarily be 
impregnated with saliva, which forming a cement when dry, they thus 
erect their nests, for we may strictly speak of it as a structure, being 
thus composed chiefly (supposing the supposition correct) of carbonate of 
lime, which the bones of fishes contain more of than those of any of these 
creatures. Whilst the Kingfisher sits the weather is usually lovely, which 
has given rise to the term "Halcyon days;" and his nest bears nearest analogy 
to the Esculent Swallows' before mentioned, whose nests are like a half 
cup cemented to the sides of caverns on the sea-shore, and sold as a delicacy 
for the table by the Chinese and Japanese. 

There are a race of birds of which the Ostrich is the first, and finding 
an example in our Bustards and Stone Curlew, which make no nest what- 
ever, depositing their eggs upon the bare earth. The Nightjar does the 
same, and the Peewit cannot strictly be said to make any nest. The eggs 
of all these being placed in such exposed situations, are of a colour so 
much resembling the ground on which they lie, that they are frequently 
trodden on before being discovered. The Ostrich's are, however, buff-colour, 
but these are usually found on the sands of the desert, and hatched by 
their heat alone. 

There is one nest of our own songsters that I must not omit; it is that 
of the Reed Wren, (Motacilla salicaria;) this is built generally over the 
water at a small height, and supported by and entwined around three or 
more reed stems or bulrushes by means of cobwebs, formed of grasses, 
and rather deep; thus being quite secure from noxious animals or almost 
any creature from which it could fear molestation. There has been some 
confusion among naturalists about this bird's nest, some stating as above, 
and others that it builds in the same manner in low hedges and trees 
near the water; now indeed they are both right and yet wrong, for this 
bird builds only on the water amongst reeds, as I have described it; but 
there is a nest almost exactly similar to it, built in the other situations 
mentioned, but this is the nest of the Reed Bunting, a bird often confounded 
with the above species, but quite distinct, having a black head and reddish 
brown plumage; whilst the colour of the other is cinereous brown, with a 
milk-white streak over the eye. Mr. Sweet took this view of the subject, 
and he was a very observant naturalist, and one whose opinion may safely 
be depended upon. 



birds' nests. 173 

Pigeons are very simple architects, and either use a few sticks in a low 
tree, which is the manner of the Ring and Turtle Doves, or build in holes 
of trees as the Stock Dove, or in rocks as the Biset Pigeon, or Rockeer; 
all lay two white eggs, and are very prolific. I think there are no other 
birds that I have to speak of now, but the gallinacise or fowl kind, and 
these, or a great portion of them, are ours merely by adoption. Thus 
the Domestic Fowl comes originally from India, where it is found in the 
jungles, or thickly-wooded districts, in great abundance, as is the case of 
the Pigeon. Domestication has here worked strange changes: all the fowl 
kind lay white eggs except the Pea or Guinea Fowl, whose eggs are of a 
dark cream-coloured shade. Poultry will lay about fourteen eggs each upon 
the average; they deposit them upon the ground, as is well known, making 
no nest. Pheasants do the same, but Partridges and Grouse prefer a thick 
covert, or some good protection against weather or observation; even these, 
however, collect very little material, except a small quantity of dry grass. 
The eggs of the Partridge are stone-colour, those of the Pheasant a shade 
darker and distinctly mottled; those of the Grouse brown, speckled, the 
Ptarmigan darkest of all. These lay about the same number as the Domestic 
Fowl, and sit about the same time, namely, twenty-three days. 

It appears from the foregoing observations, cursory and brief as they 
must be to avoid being dry and tedious, that every bird's individual mode 
of forming an habitation answers best, having* regard to its mode of life 
and necessities; thus we find all those birds whose chief time is spent on 
the earth itself, depositing their eggs to bring forth their offspring on its 
very surface; those which are rather more active, and occasionally perch, 
use moderate shrubs and bushes; others of more powerful wings, which 
range to greater distances, employ the tall trees of the forest, and sit 
securely in their aerial mansions; others which depend upon the waters for 
their subsistence, plant their habitations on the margins of streams and 
rivers, some kinds on the sea-shore in cliffs and rocks, or desert islands. 
Those which subsist upon insect food, either reside, as Creepers, in the 
very trees themselves which supply their prey, or, as the Swallows, in such 
situations as to be easily entered on the way without obstacle. It may 
seem anomalous that the Willow Wrens and other small birds which are 
continually in trees, should choose the ground to build, but I consider this 
arises from their weakness, which, did they build in open positions, would 
render them objects of attack without the means of defence; and no doubt 
if we look minutely into such cases we shall always find some good reason 
to support them. The bringing up of a family, providing shelter and sub- 
sistence for them, and educating them that they themselves may be able 
to do likewise, is the chief business of life, and the only instance in which 
this does not hold good universally is our own; but what does this arise 

VOL. VII. 2 A 



174 CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

from? certainly not from Nature, for we find it the case with no animals 
which are more or less regular in their habits; but I suppose there is no 
instance more forcible and striking in this particular than that of the fea- 
thered tribes, whose domestic and parental duties return in regular succession 
with every spring; and as the youth of the year brings into existence those 
vegetable products, which await but the sun's all-enlivening beams to spring 
into life, and growth, and beauty, so they annually choose their partners, 
and enter into all the domestic labours which occupy with ourselves the 
whole duration of our lives. I have therefore considered the relative position 
which this class of beings occupies in the scale of creation, and developes 
as much as possible that exquisite arrangement by which every thing is 
brought to an equality, having regard to the circumstances and situations 
of every member. 

Age upon age sees the method and materials which have been used 
from time immemorial by each little songster, or more noble tenant of 
air, unaltered, so that the merest school-boy, unlearned enough in other 
particulars, will tell you with accuracy what bird's nest it is you may chance 
to find in the absence of the birds who built it. Instinct works by rules 
so immutable that the same situations are always chosen, because they are 
the best; how ridiculous would it be for a large bird to build in a thick 
bush, when he could come at his nest with difficulty, or a small one on 
the apex of a vast forest-tree. There have not, doubtless, been wanting 
instances where these pretty creatures have been betrayed by accidental 
circumstances to choose a very foolish and unsafe place, but this would 
not have been the case in the wilderness; these are the rare exceptions 
to that vast and miraculous rule of action which pervades every atom of 
this beautiful world, and who can regard it without wonder? 






ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, 
BY THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NERVES. 

BY F. M. BURTON, ESQ. 
C Continued from page 127. ) 

No. IV. 

The next great division of the Animal Kingdom, the Heterogangliata, 
or Mollusca, contains seven classes — Girrhipoda, Brachiopoda, Tunicata, 
Conchifera, Gasteropoda, Pteropoda, and Cephalopoda. 

The term "Mollusca," employed by Cuvier, has long since been consid- 
ered not sufficiently distinctive to designate this important division, and it has, 
therefore, by degrees given place to the more important name "Hetero- 
gangliata," indicative of the peculiar character of the nervous system, which 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 175 

corresponds throughout the entire division. All the classes possess nervous 
ganglia, but instead of their being arranged strially in pairs, (though this 
is somewhat the case with the Cirrhopods,) they are distributed in various 
parts of the body. The first in order, the Cirrhopods, or Barnacles, 
though very dissimilar in outward form to the superficial observer of the 
articulated tribes of the Homogangliate division, yet, on close inspection, 
will be found to bear a wonderful resemblance to them, both in their 
internal and external structure. The common goose barnacle, for instance, 
(Pentalasmis Vitiea,) seems from its outward shelly texture to belong to 
the Mollusks, but remove its covering, and we have an animal intimately 
allied in all its parts with the Crustacean class. The shell of this crea- 
ture is composed of five distinct parts, united together by a strong 
membrane, except along the anterior margin, where a fissure is left, 
through which the articulated members can be protruded at pleasure. At 
the base of the shell this same membrane is prolonged into a hollow 
cylindrical foot-stalk, which attaches the animal to any submarine support. 
This tube, by means of internal muscles placed longitudinally, can be bent 
any way at the will of the animal. The oral apparatus is situated at the 
base of the fissure spoken of before, and is provided with a rudimentary 
apparatus of jaws, furnished with minute palpi, and three pairs of mandibles. 
Behind the mouth are certain fleshy appendages which constitute the 
branchial or respiratory organs. Above the mouth are six pairs of artic- 
ulated limbs or cirrlii on each side, which are used by the animal for the 
prehension of food; while, at the extremity of the body, we find a long 
flexible tail-like organ, perforated by a minute aperture. The nervous 
system also, as well as the external shape, assimilates strongly to that of 
the Crustacea, in the Homogangliate division. It consists of a supra- 
cesophagal mass, or brain, from which issues a chain of double ganglia, 
arranged along- the ventral margin, and from thence nerves are distributed 
to the cirrhi and surrounding parts. The muscular system is well devel- 
oped, and is appropriated, says Professor Jones, "partly to the movements 
of the shell, and partly to the general motions of the body." Their 
food consists of entomostraca and other minute animals, caught as they 
are swimming past, by the flexible cirrhous arms, which are alternately 
expanded and drawn in. Their digestive apparatus consists of a mouth, 
armed with strong lateral jaws, a short oesophagus, provided with two 
salivary glands; a capacious stomach, surrounded with coecal appendages, 
representing the liver; and a simple intestine placed along the dorsal 
part of the animal, and terminating at the root of the tail-like organ 
before spoken of, which is placed at the top of the longitudinal fissure. 
Little seems to be known respecting the circulatory system of these 
animals, and their respiration is effected by the branchial organs spoken of 



176 CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

before, and the long cirrhous arms, which by their action expose the 
blood to the surrounding medium. With regard to their means of repro- 
duction the most various opinions are expressed, and no two authors 
seem to be agreed upon the point. They are no doubt hermaphrodite; 
and, according to Cuvier, the eggs are collected in a large vascular mass 
covering the liver, and are ultimately expelled through the perforated 
tail-like organ before spoken of. Others, in direct opposition to this view, 
state that the foot-stalk of the animal is the true ovary, while other 
authors, and they are probably correct, make out both to be right by 
asserting that after the eggs are produced in the manner stated by 
Cuvier, they are carried by the tail-like ovipositor into the cellular 
texture of the pedicle, and there retained for some time, when they are 
again expelled by some means or other from the pedicle, which, while 
they remained there was of a bluish colour, and are then found occupying 
the space on both sides of the animal between the body and the shell. 
The ova at first are of a blue colour; they then become pink, and finally, 
when ready to be hatched, turn white. 

The second order of Cirrhopods, the Balani, are not fixed on pedicles, 
but are sessile; and though they differ from the pedunculated type, in 
their general internal structure, they are not very dissimilar. One remark- 
able fact connected with the class we are now considering must not be 
omitted, which is, that all Cirrhopods undergo a distinct metamorphosis, 
in this respect therefore resembling the families of the Horaogangliate 
division. The young of the Balani indeed have been taken for little 
Crustaceans. In this state they are quite free, and skip through the water 
like the Monoculi in our ponds; they also possess seven pairs of limbs, a 
jointed setiferous tail, and large pedunculated eyes. In a short time, however, 
they become fixed to some rock, shell, or other substance; their arms become 
gradually ciliated, and their eyes quite disappear. The young of the 
pedunculated Cirrhopods also resemble Monoculi, and undergo similar trans- 
formations. 

The second family of this division, the Brachiopoda or Palliobranchiata, 
are so termed from the long arm-like organs with which they procure their 
food. These organs are situated on each side of the mouth, and in some 
species can be protruded to a considerable distance, while in others they 
are confined within the limits of the bivalve shell. Most of them are 
attached to submarine bodies by a fleshy pedicle, similar to that of the 
Cirrhopods, as in Lirigula and Terebratula ; but in the genus Orhicula, 
instead of being fixed by a pedicle, the animals are attached by the lower 
valve of the shell. The Brachiopods are enclosed within the valves by a 
delicate membranous lining called a mantle, which is fringed all round 
with cilia, forming a singular respiratory apparatus, which will be presently 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 177 

explained. The arms, which are contracted and folded up when at rest, 
are protruded when required by a forcible injection of a fluid to their 
extremities; their uses are various, the principal one being the procurement 
of food by means of cilia causing currents in the water. They assist also 
in opening the valves of the shell by their forcible protrusion, and, probably, 
when extended answer in some measure the purpose of oars. The mouth 
is a simple prominent orifice, without any dental apparatus. The alimentary 
canal varies in the different genera. In Lingula, says Professor Jones, 
"it is a long and convoluted tube, but without a perceptible stomachal 
dilatation." In Terebratula, however, there is a large oval stomach, into 
which numerous ducts leading from the liver open by large orifices. 

In their respiratory system the Brachiopods are very peculiar, for instead 
of possessing proper branchial organs like other mollusks, the mantle is 
traversed all over with arborescent blood-vessels, which cause the blood to 
be aerated by exposure; and this is further carried out by the assistance 
of the cilia before-mentioned placed round the mantle, which by their 
vibratile action, are continually pouring fresh currents of water over its sur- 
face. The cilia placed on the arms do not in any manner assist in carrying 
out the circulatory process, for the stem itself contains no blood-vessels, 
and the cilia are of a horny texture. The course of circulation has not 
been fully made out, but the Brachiopods possess a double cavity or heart 
for passing the purified blood through the body. The nervous system is 
also little understood; small ganglia have been detected in various parts of 
the body, with radiating nervous threads. The muscular system, however, 
is well developed, and is of a peculiar construction, differing materially from 
all other bivalve mollusks, while their organs of reproduction are also, like 
the nervous system, but imperfectly known. The ova, when they exist, 
are invariably found between the layers of the mantle, as "is the case with 
the Girrhopodsj but how placed there, and from what source, has not 
hitherto been made out. 

In the next class, the Tunicata, we find animals of a much simpler form 
and structure than those we have been considering, some of the families of 
which, says Professor Jones, "seem to constitute a connecting link between 
the Mollusca and the Bryozoa, which latter in many points of their anatomy 
they much resemble." The animals composing this class are not confined 
in shells, but are enclosed, as their name indicates, in strong flexible bags 
of a leathery or gelatinous nature. In the most highly- organized family, 
the Ascidians, this tunic or bag is of a soft texture, and is fixed by one 
end to any marine substance, while at the other appear two projections, 
one higher than the other, each having a single orifice at the top. Through 
the highest, the water used for respiration and the materials for food enter, 
while from the other are cast out the ova and all excrementitious matter. 



178 CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

The animal itself hangs loose in the interior of this outward covering, and 
possesses a simple heart, a mouth which is peculiarly situated very low 
down in the body of the animal, a short oesophagus, a simple stomach 
surrounded by a liver, and a long intestinal tube. The reproductive system 
is of the simplest form, and the nervous apparatus but slightly developed. 

The most peculiar part of the anatomy of these animals is that connected 
with their means of respiration. A considerable part of the interior of the 
body consists of a thin vascular membranous cavity, analogous to the mantle 
of other Mollusca, and this is covered all over with a perfect net-work of 
veins, and its interior surface studded with vibratile cilia. Into this cavity 
the surrounding water is being continually drawn, and, as it courses over 
the net-work of veins, purifies the blood, which is then conveyed back to 
the system. This current of water also brings in the materials used for 
food, which are thus conveyed to the mouth; and in order to prevent the 
intrusion of any foreign substance which might be deleterious to the functions 
of the body, a simple remedy is provided, for round the outside of the 
entrance into the cavity is arranged a row of delicate tentacula, which 
feel the various atoms brought in by the water, and, if fit for food, they 
allow them to pass, if not, they reject them as unsuitable. Some of the 
other families of this group are most extraordinary. Some are not attached 
like the Aacidians, but swim freely about in the water. Some, as the 
Salpce, have a long thin riband for a branchial organ, over which the blood- 
vessels ramify, instead of lining the respiratory cavity, as in the Ascidians. 
These animals possess also another most striking peculiarity; they are solitary 
and aggregate in alternate generations; the solitary individuals produce an 
offspring which lives gregariously, and they again produce solitary individuals. 
Numbers of them swim about fastened together like a chain. Other families, 
as the Botryllides, are at first free, like the Salpce, and afterwards become 
fixed. In our own seas we have specimens of all the different genera, 
and they are very abundant. 

The next order, the Gonchifem, consists of animals which inhabit bivalve 
shells. Each valve or side of the shell is lined internally with a delicate 
membrane, called a mantle, bordered with a fringe of retractile filaments, 
and the uses of this mantle are very various. It is the sole origin of the 
formation of the shell, and of the spots or streaks of colour with which 
many species are covered; it also constructs pearls by its nacreous secretion; 
and in the Scallop tribe it is studded all round with bright specks, which 
are supposed to be organs of sight. In some species, instead of simply 
lining the two valves separately, it is united along the edges, so as more 
or less to enclose the body of the Mollusk, while in many other species 
it is not confined to the limits of the shell, but protrudes to a considerable 
distance in the form of a single or double cylinder, fringed at its extremity. 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 179 

Between the lobes of the mantle are found four delicate leaf-like organs, 
which are used for the purposes of respiration, and are called the branchiae; 
they are covered all over with innumerable vibratile cilia, which, by the 
currents they cause, serve the double purpose of aerating the blood, and 
bringing food to the mouth. At the base of the branchial organs is situated 
the mouth, a simple orifice provided with thin lips, without any dental 
apparatus. Near the oral aperture is placed a fleshy retractile organ called 
the foot, which in some species can be protruded to a great length. By 
means of this instrument many Mollusks can burrow in the sand with great 
rapidity; others use it as a sucker to keep them in the position which 
they have chosen to live in; and others employ it as a means of loco- 
motion, by springing with it from place to place; while Byssiferous Mollusks 
construct with it the cables by which their shells are attached to rocks 
or other marine substances. The remaining internal parts of the Conchifera 
are the stomach, which varies considerably in different species, the liver, 
which is usually of a large size, the generative apparatus, which is simple 
in its structure, the intestine, which is long and convoluted, terminating 
at the opposite end of the shell to where the mouth is situated, and the 
sart, which also varies in different species, some possessing an auricle and 
a ventricle, others two auricles and one ventricle, while others again, as 
in Area, have four distinct cavities, two auricles and two ventricles. The 
valves of the shell are connected posteriorly by a ligament or hinge of 
various formation, which, by its elasticity, serves to keep them apart; and 
the antagonist to this force is the adductor muscle, which passes interiorly 
from one valve to the other, and is of great strength. Some species possess 
only one of these* muscles, and are named Monomyaria; others (and they 
are the most numerous) have two, and are termed Dimxjaria. The nervous 
system, as would naturally be supposed from the contracted habits of this 
class, is not very highly developed; a few small ganglia, with nervous fila- 
ments radiating from them, have been discovered in various parts; one pair 
is placed in the proper position of the brain, just above the oesophagus; 
others are found in the muscles, and near the vicinity of the branchial 
organs, those of the Dimyaria being the most highly developed, in proportion 
to their increased muscular powers and general structure. 

The fifth class, Gasteropoda, consists of animals which live either in the 
sea or on land, and is very numerous. Most of them inhabit univalve 
shells, a few, as the Chitons, have a covering composed of several pieces, 
generally eight, while many others have no protection at all. "From the 
superiority of their mode of progression," says Professor Jones, "it is evident 
that they are adapted to enjoy a less limited intercourse with external 
objects than even the most highly gifted of the burrowing Conchifera," 
and we therefore find a proportionate increase of development of the nervous 



180 CLASSIFICATION OP THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

system. In the Common Snail, (Helix aspersa,) which belongs to the order 
Palmobranchiata, we have a very good type of the organic structure peculiar 
to the whole class, though the different genera and species often vary con- 
siderably in some one or more particular parts. The body of the animal "can 
be protruded or shortened at pleasure, in consequence of the highly-developed 
muscular system. When in motion, four tentacula are protruded from the 
head, the upper pair of which is furnished with a perfect eye at each extremity, 
and the lower pair more especially form the instruments of touch. The 
mouth, which is provided with a singular cutting instrument, is placed under 
the head, and the tongue is covered over with transverse striae, which, in 
some species are represented by small recurved hooks. It also possesses an 
oesophagus furnished with large salivary glands, a stomach, into which four 
biliary ducts from a large liver pour their secretions, and a simple con- 
voluted intestine, which terminates on the right side of the neck. The 
respiratory system consists of a good-sized cavity, the roof of which is 
interlaced with innumerable blood-vessels, and this chamber communicates 
with the exterior by a wide orifice on the right side of the body, close to 
the anal aperture. The generative system is most complex and peculiar. 
Every Snail is hermaphrodite, but not self-impregnating. The ovary is 
situated in the inmost recesses of the shell, and is provided with a very 
lor:g oviduct. The Gasteropods are divided into groups, according to the 
arrangement of their respiratory apparatus. Those that inhabit the sea 
are provided with branchial appendages of various construction; some of the 
branchiae are external, and are placed along the back, and the animals 
possessing them are termed NudibrancMata ; others, as the Inferobranchiata, 
have these appendages placed on each side of the body, under the projecting 
edge of the mantle; others have the same organs on one side of the body 
only; others, as the PectinibrancMata, which comprise the inhabitants of 
spiral univalve sea-shells, have their branchiae placed in an internal capa- 
cious cavity. In these, and other orders not enumerated, the digestive 
system varies considerably; the mouth alone presents four different types 
of organization, one like that of the Common Snail already described, another 
consisting of a muscular proboscis capable of considerable distension and 
contraction, but without any dental or cutting apparatus, a third like a 
pair of shears, and a fourth consisting of a singular boring instrument, as 
in Buccinum, with which those little round holes so frequently seen in 
dead cast -up shells are drilled. Many species are armed internally with a 
formidable apparatus of teeth; others are provided with sharp cutting 
instruments in the gizzard to assist their digestion. The respiratory system 
also varies considerably in the different tribes. The construction of the 
heart in the great majority of Gasteropods is like that of the Common 
Snail, and consists of a single auricle and ventricle, but in some of the 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 181 

lower orders slight variations are met with. In Chiton, for instance, we 
find two auricles and a single ventricle. The organs of reproduction also 
vary very considerably in the different genera. The lowest orders are, 
like the Conchifera, all hermaphrodite and self-impregnating; the more 
highly-organized Pectinibranchiata are all diaccious; others, again, as the 
Heteropods, so called from having their foot so compressed as to be only 
serviceable for swimming purposes, are simply hermaphrodite. Lastly, the 
nervous system of the animals we are now considering also necessarily varies 
with the more or less developed organic structure of the different orders. 
Throughout the whole class it presents the characteristic scattered condition 
of the Heterogangliate division. The principal centres are the supra-ceso- 
jhagal mass, or brain, which gives off radiating nerves to the organs of 
the senses, a large sub-oesophagal mass connected with the former by 
lervous filaments, and other smaller ganglia in different parts of the body 
which supply the viscera, and are also connected with the brain and each 
other by communicating filameuts. In the higher orders these ganglia, 
mwever, become condensed and concentrated, and, as in the Common Snail, 
exhibit only two great nervous masses, the supra and sub-oesophagal 
ganglions, with radiating filaments to the various organs of sensation and 
the viscera, etc. 

The sixth class, the Pteropoda, consists of animals which live on the 
surface of the waves, and swim abgut by means of two small instruments 
placed on each side of the neck, resembling wings. They are found some- 
times in immense quantities, and form the food of Cetacea and other 
inhabitants of the ocean. The heads of these animals are composed of 
various complex parts. The mouth is a simple triangular opening, armed 
with a very singular dental apparatus, and a tongue covered on the upper 
side with sharp recurved hooks. Round this mouth are placed six small 
hollow tubercles, each one containing a number of little suckers, which can 
be protruded at pleasure, and various other tentacular appendages. The 
digestive apparatus consists of an oesophagus, a wide stomachal cavity sur- 
rounded by the liver, and an intestine which turns upwards to the left 
side of the neck, where the anal aperture is situated. The nature and 
position of the respiratory apparatus has not been yet satisfactorily made 
out, but the animals possess a heart with a single auricle and ventricle. 
"The generative system resembles," says Professor Jones, "in all essential 
particulars that of the most highly-organized Gasteropods, and, as in them, 
composed of a complete set of male organs, as well as of ovigerous 
riscera." These creatures, besides organs of touch, are possessed of a pair 
of very complete eyes situated on the back of the neck; and, as we might 
expect from the perfection of these organs, and the completeness of their 
general structure, though, so insignificant in size and occupying so small 

VOL. VII. 2 B 



182 CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

a portion of the vast surface of the globe, yet the animals belonging to 
this class possess a nervous system which fully entitles them to be placed 
in the high position they hold as regards the general Animal Kingdom, 
and is, in fact, necessarily commensurate with the superior development of 
their various organs. The nerves are easily discoverable, as they are of a 
pale red colour; and the ganglia, instead of being found in scattered masses 
dispersed through the body, according to the usual Heterogangliate type, 
are concentrated in the form of a ring round the oesophagus. There are 
eight large and two smaller masses in this part, and from them are given 
off filamentary nerves to all parts of the body, a type of structure which 
would seem to bear the same relation to the former classes of this division 
as that of the Spiders does to the lower orders of the Homogangliate 
world. The different genera resemble one another in most of the important 
types of their structure, with only a few modifications. Some species possess 
thin glassy shelly plates on the dorsal and ventral aspects of their bodies, 
and others have small spiral shells. Tn our own immediate seas this class 
is not numerous, and we possess only a few species. 

Tn the last class of this division, the Cephalopods, we find animals of 
a very peculiar description, and presenting a much higher state of develop- 
ment than anything we have hitherto met with. They are divided into 
two great orders, the Dibranchiate and Tetrabranchiate Cephalopods, from 
the number of their respiratory organs.- The former are the most numerous, 
comprising all the animals of this class now in existence, except the Nautilus 
Pompilius. The body of the Cephalopods consists of a bag, enclosing the 
viscera and organs of digestion, and a head furnished with a pair of eyes 
and a number of singular tentacula armed with powerful suckers, which 
vary considerably both in shape and size in different species. The eyes 
are generally large and staring, but their structure in the two divisions 
differs materially; those of the Tetrabranchiate Nautilus are very simple, 
and are attached to the head by pedicles, while those of the Dibranchiate 
order are much superior, and conform somewhat in type to the visual 
organs of vertebrate animals. The mouth in all Cephalopods is placed near 
the centre of the feet-like tentacula, and is generally surrounded by a thick 
circular lip, which encloses a pair of horny jaws or mandibles, resembling 
a parrot's beak turned upwards. Inside this beak is a fleshy lobed tongue, 
partly covered with sharp recurved hooks, as in Pteropoda. The oesophagus 
is short, leading quickly into a large dilating crop, which is succeeded by 
a powerful muscular gizzard, passing into a simple slightly convoluted 
intestine, and which, analogous to that of the Pteropods, mounts up to the 
head, at the base of which the anal aperture is situated. The liver is of 
a large size, and the bile is poured into a singular chamber appended to 
the head of the intestine, with which it communicates. Besides the organs 






CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 183 

above enumerated, the Cephalopods possess four salivary glands which com- 
municate with the mouth, and, with the exception of Nautilus Pompilius, 
they all possess a remarkable organ situated in the vicinity of the anus, 
from which they can, when assailed, pour out a secretion of a dark inky 
colour, and thus, by rendering the surrounding fluid opaque and turbid, 
escape from their pursuers. The Cephalopods also possess the first rudi- 
ments of an internal osseous skeleton, the principal part of which is situated 
in the head, enclosing the oesophagus and brain, and corresponds with the 
cranium of a vertebrate animal. Besides the senses of touch and sight 
indicated above, this class possesses a slight sense of smell, and in the 
Dibranchiate order we find also a rudimentary type of an ear. The branchial 
organs consist of a central stem with broad vascular lamellae, and are situated 
within the bag enclosing the viscera, and this respiratory apparatus is not 
only used for aerating the blood, but, by its alternate drawing in and 
expulsion of the surrounding medium, it forms one of the principal means 
of locomotion, by jerking the body of the animal through the water back- 
wards. The circulatory system is very complete, and in the Dibranchiate 
order two distinct hearts are found, one on each side of the body. As 
regards their generative apparatus, all the Cephalopods are dioecious, and. 
in both sexes these organs present a structure peculiar to the class. The 
eggs of the Common Cuttle-fish, (Sepia officinalis,) are of a black colour, 
and somewhat resemble a bunch of grapes. From what has now been 
stated, we shall naturally expect to find a nervous system of a far higher 
development than anything we have yet met with, in accordance with the 
superior general organization of the class we are considering, and such, of 
course, is the case. The principal encephalic ganglion, which, as Professor 
Jones observes, "is now from its size and structure fully entitled to be called 
a brain," is enclosed in the cartilaginous skull already mentioned, and, as 
in the Pteropoda, forms a ring enclosing the oesophagus; in this respect, 
therefore, it is inferior to the brain of vertebrate animals, and accords 
still with the Heterogangliate type of this organ; for, although now united 
into one mass, yet this is effected only by the gradual concentration and 
necessary enlargement of the ganglia met with in the lower orders of this 
class, and presents somewhat the same analogy to them as the concentrated 
nervous system of the butterfly does to the more numerous ganglia of the 
caterpillar. Prom this nervous ring are given off cords, which communicate 
with the optic ganglions, now considerably developed, especially in the 
Dibranchiate genera, and also nervous twigs to the remaining organs of 
sense and other parts. In addition to these, we find also nervous ganglionic 
masses of considerable size distributed in different parts of the body, which 
supply the muscles and viscera, and are variously developed, in proportion 
to the importance of the organs over which they preside. 

(* To be continued.) 



184 



SYSTEM A NATURE. 



BY THE REV. F. O. MORRIS. 



{Continued from page 163.) 



CanisVulpes, Auctorum. Vulpes cru- 

ciger, Pallas. 
Canis fulvus, Desm. F. Cuv. Schinz. 

C. decussatus, Desm. C. argentatus, 

Desm. F. Cuv. 
Canis decussatus, Geoff". Schinz. C. 

cruciger, Schreb. 
Canis argentatus, Shaw. Cuv. Geoff. 

Schinz. 
Canis melanogaster, Bonap. Schinz. C. 

Vulpes kypomelas, Wag. Schreb. 
Canis Vulpes montanus, Pears. Schinz. 
Canis himalajanus, Schinz. C. bimal- 

aieus, Roiles. 
Canis niloticus, Cretsch. Rilpp. Desm. 

Schinz. 
Canis clirysurus, Gray. Schinz. 
Canis melanotus, Pall. Schinz. C. 

Karagan, Erxl. 
Canis famelicus, Cretsch. Pupp. Schinz. 

C. Sabban, Ehren. 
Canis Zerda, Zimm. Schinz. C. Cerdo, 

Linn. Gmel. Viverra aurita, Blum. 

Megalotis Cerdo, Illig. Desm. M. 

Bruccei, Griffith. 
Canis pallidus, Piipp. Schinz. 
Canis bengalensis, Shaw. Gray. Schinz. 

C. Vulpes indicus, Hodg. C. Xan- 

thurus, Proc. 
Canis Coraak,Fisch. Schreb. Pall. Shaw. 

Wag. Schinz. 
Canis Velox, Fisch. Schinz. 
Canis cinereo argentatus, Schinz. C. 

cinereo argenteus, Schreb. Cuv. C. 

virginianus, Gmel. 
Canis lagopus, Linn. Schreb. Pall. 

Schinz. C. Isatis, Gmel. 
Canis magellanicus, Gray. Water. 

Schinz. 
Canis fulvipes, Mart. Schinz. 
Canis Azaree, Cuv. Schinz. 



Canis Kokree, Syhes. Schinz. 

Canis Hodgsonii, Schinz. Vulpes 

Hodgsonii, Gray. 
Cauis dorsalis, Schinz. Vulpes dorsalis, 

Gray, 
Canis melampus, Wag. Cuv. Schinz. 
Canus vetulus, Lund. Schinz. C.Azarae, 

Water. Wag. 
Canis melanotomus, Schinz. C. brasil- 

iensis? Lund. 
Canis Hodopbilax, Temm. Schinz. 

Otocyon. 
Otoeyon caffer, Lich. Schinz. Canis 

megalotis, Cuv. Desm. C. Lalandii, 

Desm. Megalotis Lalandii, Smith. 

Nyctereutes. 

Nyctereutes viverrinus, Schinz. Canis 

viverrinus, Teium. 
Nyctereutes procyonoides, Schinz. Ca- 

is procyonoides, Gray. 
Hyaena. 
Hyajna striata, Zimmer. Schinz. H. 

vulgaris, Desm. Canis Hyaena, Linn. 

Schreb. Pall. 
Hyaena brunnea, Thun. Schinz. H. 

fusca, Geoff. Cuv. H. villosa, Smith. 

Linn. 
Hyaena crocuta, Zimm. Schinz. H. 

maculata, Thunb. H. capensis, Less. 

Canis crocuta, Erxl. Schreb. 
Proteles. 
Proteles Lalandii, Geoff. Schinz. P. 

cristata, Steed. Viverra hyenoides, 

Desm. 

Pelis. 

Pelis Leo, Linn. Schreb. Cuv. Fr. Cuv. 

Griff. Schinz. 
Pelis concolor, Linn. Schreb. Fr. Cuv. 

Desm. Temm. Schinz. P. discolor, 

Schreb. F. Puma, Shaw. 
Pelis Tigris, Schreb. Cuv. Tern. Schinz. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 



185 



Felis Onca, Linn. Cuv. Temm. Fisch. 
Felis Leopardus, Temm. Cuv. Fr. Cuv. 

Schinz. F. Pardus, Linn. Cuv. F. 

chalybeata, Schreb. F. antiquorum, 

Smith. Griff. 
Felis Pardus, Temm. Schinz. F. vari- 

egata, Wag. Sch?'eb. F. melas, Fr. 

Cuv. Schreb. 
Felis uncia, Schreb. Schinz. F. Irbis, 

Ehrenb. 



Felis macrocelis, Temm. Cuv. Schinz. 

F. nebulosa, Griff. 
Felis Maracaya, Wag. Schinz. 
Felis pardalis, Schinz. F. Ocelot, Tern. 
Felis brasiliensis, Cuv. Wag. Schinz. 
Felis tigrina, Schreb. Fr. Cuv. Geoff. 

Temm. Griff. Fisch. Wag. Schinz. 
Felis macroura, Schinz. F. oceloides, 

Temm. F. Wiedii, Schinz. 
Felis elegans, Less. Schinz. 

(To be continued.) 



BlisrrllnttBntts Jfnta. 

The Corn-crake, or Land-rail. — White states this bird to be rare in 
his district, seldom seeing more than one or two in a season, and these 
only in autumn. It has always been a regular visitor round this 
neighbourhood during the suramar months, but I do not remember it as 
early as this year. Yesterday, May 10th., in the forenoon, it was distinctly 
heard in a grass field to the north of my house, and in the afternoon I 
again listened to it in another field eastward. White doubts its being a 
bird of passage, from its formation being so poorly qualified for migration. 
Markwick entertains a different opinion, and says he has seen it fly very 
swiftly, and the editor of a late edition of "White's Natural History of 
Selborne," calls it a bird of passage and a summer visitor to this country; 
its appearance therefore so early in the spring, and in such cold weather, 
seems to me deserving of notice. — Thomas Fuller, Weston Road, Bath, 
May, 11th., 1857. 

Singing- Birds near Large Towns. — That the smoke of our great town 
of Leeds drives away our song birds is but too true. Seven or eight years 
ago the Redstart, Common Linnet, and Golden-crested Wren were not 
uncommon here, (about three-quarters of a mile from the outskirts of the 
town,) but now they have nearly all disappeared. On the 29th. April this 
year, however, I was rather surprised at seeing a Goldfinch in a field not 
more than a quarter of a mile from the eastern border of the town. — 
E. J. M. 

"April Showers bring Spring Flowers!" — Where were those showers this 
year? What a month was last April! the wind north or north-east nearly 
the whole thirty days. Snow, hail, and frost — sugar and rum at a discount 
— not a moth or butterfly, — yes, one or two. On the 1st., Stabilis; on 
the 8th., Bhamni; 16th., Gothica ; i'Oth., Instabilis; May 2nd., first white 
Butterfly; P. brassicce on the 10th.; and on the 16th., H. abruptaria. The 
first Swallow on the 15th. of April; Cuckoo on the 9th. of May; Swifts 



186 REVIEWS. 

on the 12th.; saw a large flight of Fieldfares on the 2nd. The Dotterel 
arrived last week on the lands adjoining the coast, where it generally 
remains a week or so during its spring and autumnal migrations. — It. P. 
Alington, Swinhope Rectory, May 18th., 1857. 

Sphinx Euphorbias at Box Hill. — On the 5th., in close proximity to a 
favourite locality for T. pastinum, (the 'Black Neck,') I espied the above 
rarity at rest on a fence, which I was not long in boxing. This is, I 
believe, the first specimen ever taken in that neighbourhood. Within another 
half-hour I had taken six of the Pastinum, when a continuation of smart 
showers stopped collecting. P. alsus, (Little Blue,) was abundant; also 
Galathea, (Marbled White.) Visited the same ground on the 6th., but 
without success. Tried the sugar-pot to a late hour for Leucophcea, but 
he would not come out; so that after boxing half a gross of small fry, 
returned to the 'land of smoke.' — James Gardner, Naturalist, 52 ; High 
Holborn, London. 



The Natural History Review. July, 1856, Part XL Price 2s. Gd. London : 
Williams and Norgate. Dublin: Hodges and Smith. Edinburgh: 
Williams and Norgate. 

The following are the contents of this Part, which contains three Plates: — 
Review 1. — "Popular History of Palms and their Allies." By B. Seeman. 
2. — "On the Variation of Species." By J. Vernon Wollaston. 3. — "Natural 
History of the Animal Kingdom." By W. S. Dallas. 4.— "June; a Book 
for the Country in Summer Time." By H. T. Stainton. 5. — "Shells and 
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Original Communications made to Various Societies. 
Proceedings of the Dublin Natural History Society. 
I. — "Remarks on the Fungi of the South-west of Ireland." By William 
Andrews, Esq. 

II.— "On the Genus Skua." By Charles Farrar, Esq., M.D. 

III. — "On the Occurrence of Rare Birds in Ireland." By Lord Clermont, 

IV. — "On Asplenium Trichomanes." By W. Andrews, Esq. 



REVIEWS. 187 

V. — "On the Occurrence of the Egyptian Goose, (CJienalopex Egyptianus,) 
in Ireland." By R. J. Montgomery, Esq. 

VI. — "Remarks on some Birds that occasionally visit Ireland." By J. 
R. Kinahan, Esq., M.B. 

VII. — "On the Natural Affinities of Botrychium and Ophioglossum." By 
J. R. Kinahan, Esq., M.B. 

Vril. — "Saprolegnia Ferox attacking Gold Fish in Vivaria." By Dr. 
Fraser. 

IX.— "Change of Colour in a Fowl." By R. P. Williams, Esq. 
Journal of the Dublin Geological Society: — 

X.— "Report of the Council for the year 1855." 

XI. — Donations received to the Library since February, 1855. 

XII.— "On the Geology of the Lake District of Killarney." By G. V. 
Du Noyer, Esq., (Illustrated with woodcuts.) 

XIII. — "Researches among the Palaeozoic Rocks of Ireland, with a View 
to determine the limits of the Old Red Sandstone, and its relation to the 
Inferior Rocks." By John Kelly, Esq. 

XIV. — "Tabular List of Localities in Ireland, where Junctions occur of 
Old Red Sandstone, with the Rocks which lie beneath it." By J. Kelly, Esq. 

XV. — "On the Lower Carboniferous Beds of the Peninsula of Hook, 
County of Wexford." By the Rev. Samuel Haughton, M.A., Professor of 
Geology in the University of Dublin. 

Notices of Serials. 

America. — "Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge. Vol. VII." "Amer- 
ican Journal of Science and Arts. Vol. XXI." "Canadian Journal. New 
Series. Parts I. and II." 

Bussia.— "Bulletin of the Moscow Society of Naturalists. Vol. XXVIII." 
"Archives of Natural Science for Livonia, etc. Series 1., Vol. I., Part I. J 
and Series II., Vol. II., Part I." 

Germany.— "Transactions of the Imperial Academy of Naturalists. Sup- 
plement to Vol. XXIV.; and Vol. XXV., Part I." "Transactions of the 
Berlin Academy, for A.D. 1854." "Journal of Scientific Zoology. Vol. 
VII." "Archives of Anatomy and Physiology, for 1854 and 1855." "Trans- 
actions of the Imperial Geological Institute. Vols. V. and VI." "Journal 
of the German Geological Society. Vol. VI., Part IV., and VIL, Part I." 

Switzerland. — "New Memoirs of Swiss Society of Natural Science. Vol. 
XIV." "Bulletin of Vaudois' Society of Natural Science. Vol. IV., No. 
32-35." "Memoirs of Genevese Society of Natural History, etc. Vol. XXIV, 
Part I." 

Holland. — "Journal of Natural Science of Dutch India. Part III., Nos. 
3-6." 



188 THE QUERIST. 

France. — "Archives of the Museum of Natural History. Vol. VIII., Part 
III." "Bulletin of the Geological Society of France. Part XII." 

Britain. — "Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal. No. VI." "Annals 
and Magazine of Natural History. No. C-CII." "Quarterly Journal of 
Microscopical Science. No. XV." "Zoologist, Nos. CLXIL, CLXIII., 
CLXIV." "Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. New 
Series. Vol. III." "Note on Mr. Newman's Memorandum on the Wing- 
rays of Insects." "Hooker's Journal of Botany, etc. Nos. LXXXVII- 
LXXXIX." "Phytologist. New Series. Nos. XII-XIV." 



Index Filicum; a synopsis with characters of the Genera, and an enumera- 
ation of the species of Ferns, with synonyms, references, etc. By Thos. 
Moore, F.L.S., F.H.S., Author of the "Handbook of British Ferns," 
"The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland, Nature-printed, etc.," and 
Curator of the Chelsea Botanic Gardens. Part I., Price Is. London: 
W. Pamplin, 45, Frith Street, Soho Square. 1857. 
This work promises to supply, and well to supply, the acknowledged 

want of a complete catalogue, or as complete as may be, of those elegant 

plants whose study is at present so popular and fashionable, arranged 

according to the modern classification. 



The British Botanist's Field Book; a synopsis of the British Flowering- 
Plants. By A. P. Childs, F.R.C.S. London: Longman, Brown, Green, 
Longmans, and Roberts. 1857. 

This work is in a portable form, intended for the pocket of the botanist 
abroad. It contains a short description of every British flowering Plant, 
and is altogether well executed and neatly got up. The descriptions are 
necessarily very brief, but for them to be otherwise could not consist with 
the portableness of the book; as a pocket companion — a "vade mecum." 
The work begins with a copious glossary of the terms used. 



CjjB torist. 

Mistletoe. — Your contributor, Mr. J. McTntosh, asks for information from 
those who have seen this plant on the oak. The request induces me to 
send the following 'note,' and append to it a 'query:' — "I never saw more 
plentye of righte oke miscel, then Hugh Morgan shewed me in London. 
It was sent to hym oute of Essex; where as there is more plentve then 
in anye other place of Englande that I have been in." — Turner's Herbal, 
1562. Is Mistletoe still abundant on the oak in Essex? — R. "Wilbraham 
Falconer, Bath. 




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NATURAL HISTORY 

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ADDRESS. 

The object of the Author in the present undertaking, is to present to the 
public a history of the British Grasses published at such a price that it 
may be within the reach of all who are anxious to study this interesting 
and useful tribe of plants. 

The Grasses are not only interesting in a Botanical point of view, but 
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a more intimate knowledge would be found of infinite benefit to the farmer. 
It will therefore be one feature of the work to offer remarks on those species 
that are profitable to the agriculturist. 

There have been many works published on our British Grasses, some of 
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British Grasses are of the utmost importance to mankind; amongst them 
are Wheat, Barley, [Oats, and Rye, providing us with bread, beer, and 
spirits; and to the Grasses we are also indebted for food for our cattle. 

Exotic Grasses are also both useful and interesting. "We have the Sugar- 
cane, Bamboo, Rice, Lemon Grass, Pampas Grass, Tussac Grass, and a host 
of other beautiful and valuable species; it is therefore the intention of the 
Author to furnish as an additional feature, descriptions and figures of the 
more curious and useful of our Foreign Grasses, which will form a supplement 
to the Natural History of British Grasses. 

The Author will be much obliged for specimens, and information regarding 
both the British and Exotic species. 

The great success of the "Natural History of British and Exotic Ferns," 
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189 



CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMON BIRDS. 

BY 0. S. ROUND, ESQ. 

No I. 

In my former papers on this subject, I have chiefly considered those 
of the feathered race which are as familiar to us as household objects; 
for the Sparrow that sits on the house-top, or the Redbreast that hops 
about our path, are surely no less usual to our eye than pussy as she 
purs on the hearth, or Toby as he snores on the mat. There are, 
however, as I have also remarked, common birds which we must go abroad 
to see, and which are equally well known to those who saunter in the 
cool shade, or traverse the open field or down. But let us descend into 
the valley, and here we meet with yet another class; for there is no valley 
of any extent which has not its stream, and here, beside and over the 
cool waters, music and nesting, so inseparable in spring and summer-time, 
are carried on by that intermediate class of songsters, for songsters they 
almost always are, which have their homes by the river or its tributaries. 
First and foremost of these is the Reed Wren, (Motacilla salicaria,) the 
Salicaria of our friend Gilbert White; and it is no slight proof that it 
could not have been common, in the ordinary sense, in the moist hollows 
of that sweet locality, abounding in streams as it does, from the interesting 
discussions which its identity gave rise to in his scientific correspondence. 
I think, however, that this may be easily accounted for by the fact that 
it is not numerous on the banks of mere streams, whilst the true and 
bond fide river and its branches can shew you as many as you choose to 
watch or listen to in an hour's ramble. I have, indeed, met with them 
far away from Father Thames, and in the near vicinity of the great 
metropolis, even at its very threshold, but these were wandered pairs, and 
there was nothing like the merry twittering and chirping which every eyot 
and osier-bed can furnish on the parent water. 

I remember almost the first time I had heard this bird to perfection 
it made a great impression on me, and I can never recall the memory 
without deriving from it a certain soothing influence. It was many years 
since, when suburban railways first enabled gasping, pent-up Londoners to 
breathe July temperature through a purer medium than London streets; 
a holiday enabled me to spend the day a few miles from town; it was 
extremely hot, and, taking an early train, I spent the sultry hours under 
the shade of green woods as much as might be, but still hot, very hot it 
was, and when the sun sunk to rest in unclouded glory, the clear sky and 
cool stillness were exceedingly refreshing, and I can call to mind, as though 
it were yesterday, sitting on a seat near the A station awaiting the 

VOL. VII. 2 C 




190 CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMON BIRDS. 

last up-train, and thoroughly enjoying the still cool of the star-lit hour. 
I had not been long thus when a slight rustling in some dwarf withies 
behind me attracted my attention, for there was a tiny rivulet that wound 
its way through an adjoining coppice; and then commenced the sweetest 
song that, I suppose, ever broke through the silence of the night; the 
half twitter, the running notes, the inward chirp, and withal the constant 
variety, which was kept up almost without intermission within a yard of 
me, never was heard to greater advantage or to greater perfection, and 
one circumstance particularly favoured me — my near proximity to the little 
songster; invisible as he was, I could fancy how prettily he was warbling 
at my side, with his throat swelling and wings quivering; neither did his 
song lose one jot of its sweetness by its immediate vicinity, nay, so far 
from it, I am convinced I could appreciate many a tender intonation 
which but a slight distance might render inaudible. I quite recognised 
the hurrying manner which White notices; and when, after the whirl of 
the train, and the dazzle of the gas-lights, and the din of the streets, I 
once more threw myself on my bed, I speedily dreamed of the dark grove 
and my little Salicaria. 

In reference to this bird, it is singular to observe how alike the ordinary 
notes of all birds of this kind are, I mean a certain harsh twitter or chirp; 
thus the Marsh Tit, the Reed Bunting, even the Kingfishers, all have 
much of this, and, if my memory serves me, the Water Pyot too, though 
his inward warblings are charming. Another thought has often crossed my 
mind — when do Reed Wrens sleep? for day and night during warm weather 
do they seem never to cease their warblings. On the Thames they swarm, 
and every willow bush has its sibilous tenant, and, if you follow the sound, 
you may soon trace him out with his tawny back and dark eye, with its 
cream-coloured eyebrow. I do not think we can call him very pretty, and 
yet he is so, though 

"In sober russet clad;" 

but at any moment we may see him brought into severe contrast with 
that beautiful gem of the waters the brilliant Halcyon. Seen in the sun- 
shine in June, sure nothing was ever so lovely; it is emerald and ruby 
on the wing, but, like many another thing so charming at freedom and 
distance, once reduced into possession, you wonder at the change. That 
there is some actual fading from the absence of life, some departure of 
gloss and brilliance with the departure of motion, I have little doubt, but 
we do not always reflect how much effect is produced and heightened by 
contrast and situation, and the Kingfisher accordingly looks nowhere so 
bright as on his own bright waters, as the song of the Nightingale sounds 
nowhere so sweet as in the deep darkness of the sylvan night. I know 
an instance of a patient ground fisherman, who sat so long and so im- 



CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMON BIRDS. 191 

moveable that a Kingfisher settled on his rod; this thoroughly, awoke him 
to speechless admiration, and he never could be afterwards persuaded that 
his bird and those he saw perpetually under glass could be of the same 
genus. 

Ordinarily speaking, there is some confusion about the Reed Sparrow, 
Reed Wren, etc., and even our friend Gilbert White made the subject 
his particular study, coming at last to the conclusion, no doubt the correct 
one, that the Salicaria, that is, the Motacilla salicaria of Linnaeus,- the 
Passer arundinaceus minor of Ray, and the Sylvia pTiragmitis of Bechstein 
were one and the same bird. The single note is certainly very like that 
of the Common Sparrow, then of the Whitethroat, and there are some 
turns which resemble in a small degree the song of the Whinchat; but 
although the song is very varied, yet, as a whole, there is no confounding 
him with any other bird; his song is, as White aptly calls it, "a sweet 
polyglot." 

The Reed Bunting is another pretty stream bird, but he is a larger 
and more sedate and silent bird than our little active, nay restless Sedge 
Warbler, and I do not call to mind that he has much song; what there 
is, is, I think, very inward; but he is best known in winter, when, I think, 
he performs a partial migration to the south, for there are many localities 
in Berkshire, Hampshire, etc., where he is not known at any other time. 
The fact, I believe, is, that breeding exclusively on the margins of small 
rivers, and such places not being so much open to observation as woods 
and fields, he may be much more common than is usually supposed, but 
distributed through the country » thus, in such a manner as not to be made 
the subject of common observation. This bird, however, is so clearly an 
Eniberiza or Bunting, and the Reed Sparrow* so clearly a Sylvia, that it 
is impossible to confound them, and yet the ignorant, and even those who 
should have known better, have done so. One thing may have contributed 
to the confusion, and that is the nest, for this pretty structure in both is 
placed in much the same situations, and to a certain extent often alike, 
namely, placed above the water, and attached to the stems of two or more 
reeds or other stalks of tall water-plants; and a picture it is, with its 
small eggs, and owners hard by, perching amongst the waving stems, which 
seem so necessary to their presence. Escape from the whirl of London 
life to such a scene on a summer evening, and then tell me whether I 
overrate it, in calling it charming. 

(To be continued.) 



* Reed Warbler I suppose is meant. — F. 0. Morris. 



192 



A MEMORY FROM STRATFORD-ON-AVON. 

BY G. R. TWINN, ESQ. 

In the early part of April, T made a pilgrimage to Stratford-on-Avon, 
to view the places and objects, that cannot but be interesting to every 
Englishman, for whom genius and thought are able to present enduring 
and invaluable charms. The day was one of the warmest and loveliest of 
the present spring, and our drive along country roads for twenty-four 
miles, was most enjoyable; for young lambs and goslings, high banks of 
primroses and anemones, "willow buds swathed in down," and bright ex- 
panding leaves on many a tree; the lark's rich melody, and the black- 
bird's song on fir-tree bough, made such thrills of joy and grateful thought 
arise in our breast, that we were indeed "overcome." 

The Shakspere Hotel was our resting-place, and having arranged for our 
bodily wants, we ventured on a tour of the town, and it is to record 
what (that pertains to Natural History) fell in my way, I pen this 
notice. 

Walking through Henley Street to the house of the immortal poet's 
birth, we saw revelling in the sunlight at different periods, one specimen 
of the Brimstone Butterfly, (Papilio rhamni;) five of the Small Tortoise- 
shell, (Vanessa urticue;) and one of the Large White Cabbage, (Pieris 
brassicce.) In the house itself I was gratified at the nice feeling displayed 
in so many glasses of primroses and violets neatly arranged; pyramids of 
daffodils, and a green spray of hawthorn studded with daisy stars, wreathing 
a bust of the poet. 

In the churchyard of the Trinity I sat and watched the lovely Avon 
sparkling in the gorgeous sun; and over it I saw skimming my first 
Swallows of the season, in a very noon-day rapture. The Blue Tit and 
Redbreast I saw busy at their nests, and the Rookery around the sacred 
building was pregnant with cawing and working. Inside, we saw all that 
was dear and venerated; read the poet's well-known epitaph, and promenaded 
that delightful avenue of yew and other trees, that leads to the north 
entrance. We afterwards rambled along the Avon, and saw the leaping 
fish beneath the pendant willows on its banks; admired the Golden Crow- 
foot's gorgeous glare, and thought of Desdemona's song, "Sing all a green 
willow must be my garland." 

At a later period we visited Miss Reason's collection of Shaksperian 
curiosities, examined the many singular autographs of visitors; and in a 
private room two nice cases of British Butterflies and a few Bats. 

The Mulberry Tree "that Shakspere loved" was not forgotten by us; 
(it is in the centre of a fine bowling-green,) and we certainly had a day 



A MEMORY FROM STRATFORD-ON-AVON. 193 

entirely devoted to the great man, whose many gems were constantly rising 
in our mind, and shedding such light, as made us acknowledge a score of 
times, how multifarious was his mind — how pure his thought — how vast his 
knowledge — and how rich his power of utterance. 

We journeyed home, but our lovely day closed with a violent rain, for 
nine miles, (leaving Henley-in-Arden,) we had a heavy thunderstorm; but 
a most magnificent rainbow gladdened the scene, and taught us the old 
welcome lesson of Hope. Shakspere has truthfully expressed the character 
of a man not affected by sweet sounds; and I think we may justly conclude 
from his writings, that his own soul was equally gladdened by the poetry 
of earth, and its many illuminated illustrations. 

He must have been one of those happy people, whose hearts, attuned to 
the utterance of Nature, find a superior charm therein, to that engendered 
by the world. His poor Ophelia made "garlands of Crow flowers, nettles, 
daisies, and long pm*ples." She also gives "fennel and columbines : there 'â–  rue 
for you, and some for me; we may call it herb o' grace on Sundays: you may 
bear your rue with a difference. There's a daisy, I would give you some 
violets, but they withered all when my father died." In his sonnets are 
many expressions testifying to the geniality of his heart, and its apprecia- 
tion of the dear things of nature: as ''the sweet smell of different flowers," 
— "lilies white," — the "deep vermilion of the rose," — and the great Truth 
enunciated, "sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy." His eyes 
had glistened at the rapid flight of the "painted butterflies," and marked 
the "russet-pated choughs rising and cawing at the gun's report." 

The "scritching owl" had doubtless aroused in his bosom wondrous 
thoughts of the many marvels and superstitions so prevalent; and the fol- 
lowing little gem from the "Midsummer Night's Dream" is confirmatory of 
the belief, that Shakspeare was not altogether regardless of the thousand 
sources of intense interest and gratification found in Nature's wide domains. 

"The ouzel cock, so black of hue, 

"With orange tawny bill; 
The throstle, with his note so true, 

The wren with little quill; 
The finch, the sparrow, and the lark, 

The plain-song cuckoo grey, 
"Whose note full many a man doth mark, 

And dares not answer nay." 

Pleasant are my memories of Shakspere and Stratford! 
The Elms, Moseley Road, Birmingham, May 2nd., 1857. 



194 



ON THE COTTESWOLDS. 

BY W. V. GUISE, ESQ., F. L. S. 

"Jamque ascendebant collem qui plurimus urbi 
Imminet, adversasque adspeetat desuper arces." 

That portion of the ancient Roman road — the Irmin Street — which 
connects the towns of Gloucester and Cirencester, surmounts the steep 
escarpment of the Cotteswolds, at the point known as Birdlip Hill; on 
the crest of which is placed the little village of Birdlip, whose hostelry, 
the Black Horse, placed on the very verge of the summit, forms a favourite 
resort of pleasure-parties during the summer months, in consequence of the 
extraordinary beauty of its situation. 

Well, to the Black Horse, upon a beautiful day in the latter end of 
the last month, (April,) I drove, accompanied by a friend, an ardent and 
accomplished naturalist, bent upon a long day's naturalizing upon the 
Cotteswolds. We had more than one object in view in selecting the Black 
Horse at Birdlip upon this occasion, but more particularly because we were 
desirous, if possible, of satisfying ourselves concerning the existence, at that 
point, of a rare land shell, the Clausilia Holpliii, which a writer in "The 
Naturalist," in August, 1854, had described as existing there "in several 
colonies." 

The season, early spring, was deemed peculiarly favourable, as it appeared 
probable that the animal would not yet have wandered from its hybernacula 
at the roots of grasses and other plants. I must add that we had at a 
former visit hunted indefatigably for this same mollusk without success; 
and a friend of mine, an official of the British Museum, well known for 
his learned work upon the inollusca, though directed to the spot, I believe, 
by the discoverer, had, equally with ourselves, failed in detecting the 
desiderated rarity. 

Our directions, derived from the gentleman just referred to, were very 
precise, and we followed them to the letter. The precipitous face of the 
hill below the Black Horse, and for a long distance westwards, is covered 
with beech-woods, through which runs a road following the crest of the 
hill at right-angles to the Roman road. The garden-wall of the little inn 
bounds this road for a short distance, and where it ceases, a sort of gully 
worn by the rains leads down through the wood to the angle of a hedge 
which forms the boundary of the meadow below. This is the hedge which 
is said to afford shelter to Clausilia Bolphii. 

At the period of our visit the ground on the side of the wood was 
richly carpeted with large patches of the Golden Saxifrage, {Chrysosplenium,) 
which, with the frequent tufts of the pretty but inconspicuous Moschatel, 
(Adoxa moschaiellina,) gave botanical interest to the otherwise barren hedge- 



ON THE COTTESWOLDS. 195 

bank. Here we spent two hours in careful and assiduous search. Not a 
tuft of grass did we leave undisturbed, and, though it went to my heart 
to do it, I pulled up by the roots whole plots of the lovely Saxifrage; 
moss was peeled off and thoroughly investigated, and not a stone was left 
unturned, yet all in vain. We obtained plenty of other land mollusks, 
from Helix pomatia to Carychium minimum, but no trace of Clausilia Roiphii. 
Once indeed my companion thought that he had discovered the object of 
our search, and the shout of "Roiphii at last!" filled me with exultation; 
but it would not do, the microscope revealed only a stunted and somewhat 
rugose variety of C. bidens, which shell abounded in the finest condition 
on all the neighbouring beech trees. 

Now I should hesitate to take upon myself to assert that because I and 
others have failed in finding C. Roiphii, that it does not exist in this 
locality, yet it is certainly somewhat remarkable that a critical species such 
as this, should have been found in tolerable abundance by one individual 
two years and a half ago, while later investigators, and amongst those 
two at least possessed of no ordinary intimacy with the forms of mollusca, 
added to great powers of research and discrimination, should have wholly 
failed in finding even a single dead specimen. 

Disappointed in the object of our search, but not unrewarded, for we 
brought away with us many very beautiful mollusks and a few insects, 
we returned to the Black Horse, and seated in the sunlight in the garden 
of the inn, we enjoyed our luncheon "al fresco." The rich and varied 
landscape of the wide vale of the Severn, with Gloucester in the midst, 
lay spread out like a map at our feet, over which the ever- changing lights 
and shadows played with all the magical witchery of a dissolving view. 
We had, however, a good deal more work in front of us, so putting our 
horse into the shafts away we went, keeping the line of the Roman road 
towards Cirencester, our object being the Beech Pike, some three miles 
distant. 

At the summit of Birdlip Hill we left the highest stratum of the Inferior 
Oolite, which from thence passes downwards through a succession of rubbly 
freestone and pisolitic beds until they meet the Upper Lias, which, with the 
Marlstone or Middle Lias forms the lower slopes of the hill, at the base of 
which the Lower Lias makes its appearance, and extends far and wide over 
the "Vale of Gloucester." Our road taking a south-easterly course, permitted 
us by following the dip of the strata, to investigate some of the higher 
beds, of which the plateau of the Cotteswolds followed in that direction 
presents a gradually ascending series. 

We had not driven above a mile when we observed the brown band 
of the fuller's earth in a quarry by the road- side, and the stone slates in 
heaps by the way for roofing purposes, showed that we had got upon the 



196 ON THE COTTESWOLDS. 

lower bods of the Great Oolite. Observing some labourers at work in a 
newly-opened quarry in a field adjoining the road, we turned in, and found 
them occupied in excavating these stones for roofing-slates. The beds did 
not appear to be very fossiliferous, nevertheless we obtained a few charac- 
teristic Great Oolite fossils: Astrea acuminata and Pecten vagans and pere- 
grinus; and my companion had the good fortune to find a portion of the 
claw of a crustacean, apparently an Astacus. 

Arrived at the Beech Pike, we put up our horse at an adjoining hostelry, 
and buckling on our impedimenta, we started hammer in hand for a 
neighbouring quarry. Here we found the labourers at work upon a freestone 
of fair quality, some short distance above the beds we last visited; it 
was full of comminuted shell, but entire fossil were rare; nevertheless, the 
chisel brought out one or two fair examples of Trigonia i?npressa and 
31oretoni, and portions of Lima cardiformis were observed. This quarry 
did not detain us long. Eetracing our steps we crossed the highroad about 
a quarter of a mile from the turnpike, and entered a sort of farm-road, 
which at the termination of something more than a mile, brought us to 
Side, a perfect example of a quiet Ootteswold village, seated on the side 
of a hill overlooking one of those pretty secluded pastoral valleys so char- 
acteristic of the district. The cottages being all built of stone, and roofed 
with the same material, have, in common with the manorial-like farm 
houses, a grey ancestral look about them which cannot fail to attract the 
eye and attention of the stranger, while the high gables and square labels 
over the mullioned windows bear evidence to a remote date of erection, 
which my be looked for in vain in more busy and populous districts. At 
the bottom of the valley runs the little stream of the Washbrook, hastening, 
as do all the many rills and streams on the southern side of the water- 
shed, to bear its tribute to the Isis. On a bank beneath a hazel coppice, 
but little above the level of the brook, we found a section of the strata 
exposed, which upon examination proved to be the true Oolite Marl, an 
Inferior Oolite bed, distinguished by its characteristic fossils, Terebratula 
fimbria and carinala. Beneath the hazels, upon the roots of which the 
plant is commonly parasitic, I gathered some fine blossoms of the Tooth- 
wort, (Lathrcea squamaria,) for the most part a scarce plant, but not 
uncommon in the Cotteswold woods. 

Following the downward course of the Washbrook, the upland hamlet of 
Caudle Green lay over the hill to our right hand, the road to which bordering 
the course of the stream, presented a pretty section of the Oolite Marl. 
Presently leaving the valley at a point where a little rivulet descending 
from the hill-side pours its tributary waters into the Washbrook, the 
road ascends by a steep incline through Winstone Wood. It would appear 
that this rivulet is in all probability the index to a line of "fault" of some 



RARE BIRDS AT ACKWORTH. 197 

importance, as strange to say after mounting the hill to as much as one 
hundred feet, the same beds of Oolite Marl which we had investigated in 
the valley below were found to recur, accompanied by the same distinctive 
fossils, Terebratula fimbria and carinata, and Bhynconetta lycetti. As we 
journeyed up the hill our passage over the fuller's-earth beds was rendered 
manifest by the dark brown hue of the mould, as well as by the springs 
of water which welled out copiously at their junction with the Great Oolite, 
but no characteristic fossils were obtained. To these clays succeed the lower 
slaty beds of the Great Oolite, which gradually in their passage upwards 
assume a more compact character brought us again to the level of the 
freestone beds which we had examined at the Beech Pike. 

The afternoon was now beginning to wear apace, and we found it neces- 
sary to make the best of our way to rejoin our gig and horse. A cut 
across a few fields brought us to the village of Winstone, from whence a 
road led directly to the point we desired to reach. By the way we 
observed as noteworthy, that the line of the fuller's-earth beds was plainly 
discernible in the newly-ploughed ground, by the sudden and striking contrast 
between its deep brown colour and the light brashy hue of the Oolite 
surface with which it was placed in juxtaposition, frequently in the same field. 

In the course of our day's ramble we collected, besides the fossils named 
and a few others, two pretty Rhynchophorus Beetles, Sitona hispidala and 
sulcifrons, Byrrhus pilula and sericeus, Bembidium nitidulum, and Clivina 
fossor, and the following land-shells: — Vitrina pellucida, Zonitea alliarius, 
purus, crystallinus, Helix aspersa, pomatia, nernoralis, virgata, ericetorum, 
lapicida, rufescens, hispida and variety concinna, fulva, pulcliella, rotundata, 
umbilicata, Bulimus lacJchamensis, obscurus, Pupa secale, Glausilia bidens, 
nigricans, Zua lubrica, Carychium minimum, and Cyclostoma elegans. 

Elmore Court, May, 1857. 



OCCURRENCE OF RARE BIRDS AT ACKWORTH. 

BY CHARLES EDWARD SMITH, ESQ. 

June 5th., 1857. — A fine Turtle Dove, brought me by a gamekeeper. 
Though common in the southern counties, they are rare in Yorkshire. 

Several Grasshopper Warblers have been heard here this spring. Two 
were procured. 

May 13th., 1857. A Tern or Sea Swallow, shot at Hernsworth Dam. 
These birds seldom come so far inland. Two years ago I saw a Black 
Tern hovering over the Dam. Last autumn a Goosander or Merganser, 
(Mergus merganser,) was procured there; — a male bird, as shewn by the 
curious drum-like enlargement of the trachea, not found in that of the 
female. Also a Scoter. 

VOL. VII. 2 D 



198 UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

A Honey Buzzard shot in a neighbouring village last autumn, and a 
Ring Ouzel this spring. 

In the summer of 1855, some Crossbills frequented a row of poplar trees 
in this village, feeding upon the larva in the tuberous swellings so common 
on the leaves of this tree. The Waxwing, Hawfinch, Hoopoe, and Red- 
necked Grebe have been seen or procured near Ackworth during the last 
few years. 

Some years ago, a gamekeeper slightly wounded a Bittern ; upon approaching 
it, it erected the long plumage on its neck, so that it resembled a huge 
fan, half expanded its wings, and eyeing the man full in the face, turned 
round at all his movements, still presenting a bold front on all sides. The 
dog was the first to begin the attack, and soon retired with a wounded 
eye. It was only by using his coat as a protection that the keeper secured 
his bird. Taking it to his cottage alive, he released it in the kitchen. 
Instantly the Bittern resumed the defensive, and with erected plumage, and 
eye flashing incessantly from bright yellow to dark brown, it drove every 
one from the room, and then stalked majestically to and fro. I have 
frequently seen this poor fellow since he was stuffed by Mr. Reid, of 
Doncaster. 

The same keeper once wounded a Heron, and proceeding carelessly to 
pick it up, the bird seized him ingloriously by the nose, the sharp, serrated 
mandible lacerating that member severely. A friend of mine was once struck 
close below his eye by a dying Heron. In its stomach were forty fishes, 
besides others that were too far digested to admit of computation. 

A recent correspondent remarks upon the Red-backed Shrike destroying 
the young of other birds: — Last summer a gamekeeper took one alive in 
a trap, containing a brood of young Thrushes, and set with the intention 
of catching the parent birds. The Shrike had eaten the heads of the young 
Thrushes. I saw it stuffed, so there can be no mistake about its identity. 

A pair of Shrikes built in the garden of a friend in Essex, who tells 
me he once found a field-mouse impaled on a thorn near the nest, and very 
carefully skinned, the skin being drawn over its head. I have several 
times shot these birds in the south. 

Ackworth, Yorkshire, June 10th. } 1857. 



ON UNITY OP SYSTEM. 

(Continued from page 1-50.) 

Mankind, as it appears, then lived together in one region of the earth, 
and modern researches help to illustrate the event of the deluge by the 
observations made on a recently-drained inland sea, as large as the Medi- 



UNITY OF SYSTEM. 199 

terranean, to the north of Syria and of Mesopotamia. This sea, its level 
being raised by an earthquake, flooded the plains then inhabited by man- 
kind, and the ark was at length stationary above the mountains of Ararat, 
as the highlands of Armenia were called in early times. In a few months 
more these mountains were uncovered, and when the ground was dry, the 
ark was opened, and the third epoch commenced. 

Earthquakes, as has been ascertained by their effects, were more frequent 
and violent in the preceding epochs than in the seventh; but as the creatures 
of some parts of the present world represent those of former times, so 
there are still regions in which these electric shocks serve to indicate to us 
the state of the earth before the creation of man. They and their accom- 
paniments were generally the causes of the close of an epoch, or of a great 
physical revolution of the earth, and, as if to shew the unity of system, 
an earthquake was the appointed sign to mark the end of the legal dis- 
pensation, or of a moral epoch, and in the concluding part of the Bible, 
earthquakes are figurative of great political revolutions. 

A period of evil, like the former one, seemed about to ensue, when a 
complete change was ordained in the state of mankind. The prophecy in 
the ninth chapter of Genesis in some degree fortels this event, which oc- 
curred long after, and is related in the eleventh chapter. 

By their humiliation in the institution of languages, they ceased to be 
one community, were dispersed over the earth, and formed tribes more or 
less distinct from each other in speech, habits, customs, inventions, and even 
to some degree in organization, on which circumstances the extensive science 
of Ethnology is founded. Their settlement throughout was just in accor- 
dance, or alike in system, with the distribution of animals, degree and 
difference being observable in the structure of the body, and more especially 
in that of the mind of the natives (as it was in the mind, and more 
especially in the body of the quadrupeds,) in Australia, North and South 
America, and the old world; each greater division containing several lesser 
divisions according to the same system. The geographical distribution of 
plants and of animals has two divisions; the first relating to the native 
kinds of each region, the second to those which have spread from their 
original habitation to other regions, and often to islands by means of con- 
tinents which have been since submerged. Both these divisions are repre- 
sented in some degree by the human race; the first by the original 
inhabitants of each country, the second by the tribes or nations which have 
successively mingled with or supplanted the aborigines. It has been re- 
marked that a distinct tribe, as well as a distinct fauna and flora, was 
appointed to each region. The tribes into which mankind were then dis- 
posed had characters as distinctly marked in gradations as those of a species 
in a genus of animals, and each tribe flourished, and then dwindled like 



200 SUNDAY IN THE COUNTRY. 

the creatures of former epochs, but did not generally pass away until some 
part of each was joined to or assimilated with another and succeeding race. 
The study of Natural History would have comparatively but little interest 
if creation was alike in all places, and in all times of the earth, instead 
of being different in each region and in each epoch, the regions in some 
degree representing the epochs; and in like manner the science of ethnology 
owes part of its attractions to the human race, being in its variations the 
counterpart of the inferior creatures. The general fact of each nation or 
tribe being, before its passing away in part associated or incorporated with 
another people, and thus ever continuing, is also a part of the universal 
system, and is in unison with the morphology of plants, as will be further 
noticed elsewhere. The first two thousand years of the epoch of man on 
earth was represented by the earlier periods of creation, when there was a 
comparative sameness over the globe; while the after-time of man represents 
the latter period of creation, when the earth was diversified by mountains, 
and by the ever-varying associations of plants and of animals. 

(To be continued.) 



SUNDAY IN THE COUNTRY. 

BY 0. S. BOUND, ESQ. 

When we change the "city for the country air," the contrast is very 
striking, and to him who has been compulsorily mixed up in the turmoil, 
bustle, and din which attend a life of business in a great city, it is no 
less agreeable; it is the difference between natural and artificial; and who 
can be insensible to the delightful sensations produced by the transition? 
First, you have a consciousness of emancipation from a thraldom which, 
although it may be lucrative, cannot be considered either healthful or 
agreeable. Every one, no doubt, has his tastes, and there are enjoyments 
in every grade of life, in every position in which fate or fortune may place 
us; but there is a degree of purity which we find in Nature unequalled, 
of course, in any other state of existence. The idea of wealth is pleasurable 
because it gives us the means of enjoying ourselves in any mode which 
money can purchase; and this idea carries us through, and even imparts a 
species of pleasure to the merest drudgery. This is of a negative cha- 
racter, and merely so by reflection; but this cannot be the case with the 
contemplation of the works of Nature. We admire the spruce artizan, dressed 
in his Sunday's suit, and locking his door after his wife and train of little 
ones, as they all issue forth for their evening's walk; we admire more the 
crowds of such that throng the sunny sides of the streets; we do so because 
it speaks of ease and comfort, and a relaxation from labour, and their own 



SUNDAY IN THE COUNTRY. 201 

% 

satisfaction communicates itself insensibly to us; but if we are filled with 
satisfaction at such a sight, how much more so when it is set oft" and 
enhanced by the back-ground of a rural landscape. Some there are who 
can only enjoy the country by contrast to the town, and who by means 
of the appliances now so easily within the reach of the most moderate 
means, make distant excursions when the week's end promises them a day 
of rest. 

"Yet are there those who seek in nearer scenes 
The sweeter air, and the enchanting- peace, 
"Which dwell at distance from the peopled din; 
Souls that can find without the busy world 
The higher joys that contemplation gives, 
Can feel the speechless rapture that belongs 
To Nature's works alone, that heavenly calm 
That lifts the mind to the Omniscient cause, 
Breathing, through every sentient being, life! 

Oh! how the grateful heart of such beats high, 

As leisure bears them forth from other cares, 

Perchance to some fair stream, whose waters flow 

Peacefully through the vales and sweeping woods, 

And woo the mind to peace with all the earth, 

Making it soon an emblem of themselves. 

The atmosphere itself is purer there, 

Than e'en o'er woods and fields, and hastens on 

In purer current o'er the glassy tide, 

"Whilst echo makes her oftenest sojourn there, 

And not a sound, however small it be, 

But wakes her ready answer, fresh and clear." 

We will suppose it young summer, when every green sprout and col- 
oured blossom is in its early freshness, and breathes a separate and exhaling 
perfume; when the air has just imbibed sufficiently the sun's rays, to give 
forth, as you meet it, a mild balminess that you court as you pass on. 
Then such an enchanting and peaceful stillness around, save from the hum 
of that countless multitude of fairy and minute beings who fill the 
atmosphere, and yet impede not its circulation or our vision. Then, every- 
thing bears the impress of such purity; the air is so clear that the smallest 
sounds reach the ear with a distinctness that seems to purify our own 
sense of perception; the crowing of a cock at a farm on the further 
side of a valley, the yelping of a cur, or the twittering of the swallows 
as they toy about in mid-air basking in the warm sunshine. Save these 
sounds all is still except the whistling of the ploughman as he walks 
through his stable, and sees that his horses have their share of provender, 
and are properly sorted. I think it is chiefly the stillness which prevails 
that proclaims the country sabbath. There is an absence also of that 
teeming life which all the fields exhibit on other days, save when the 



202 



SUNDAY IN THE COUNTRY. 



grey and moss-grown steeple calls its humble throng within its walls, to 
hear the word of Divine instruction, and to look forward to something 
beyond the present, but still to regard the blessings they enjoy with a 
contented and thankful spirit. Everything has some standard of compar- 
ison whereby its merits are determined; and by what can we judge of art 
but by the works of human hands? Place it beside Nature, and the 
meanest weed that obscures our paths is far more beautiful in its con- 
struction than the most magnificent work of man. What is a city but 
one continued series of man's works? what the life of its inhabitants but 
one continued artificial display? It is true that life is sustained by 
labour, and rendered more pleasurable by those aids which the labour of 
different arts supplies; but there are many which can be followed without 
the city's sounds, and among the works of the Creator; there is also a 
constant wholesome lesson or memento contained in the survey of natural 
objects, and the man, who, admiring their admirable fitness, finds pleasure 
in their contemplation, can never be without a monitor to remind him 
of the source from whence they spring. 



"Life is a varying chequered scene, 
Where lights and shadows fall; 
And he who would attain the mesne, 
Must see and scan them all. 

Yet chiefly in the fields and plains 

Tour silent task pursue, 
And though bright fancy take the reins, 

Let reason govern too. 

That painted flower and azure sky, 

Beautiful though they be, 
May not alone absorb your eye, 

Nor cause you not to see 

Through them, the Author of them all, 
Whose lovely works they arc, 

Who did into existence call 
The insect and the star, 



Nor as you wander through the grove, 

Where untaught voices sing 
In liquid tones their lays of love, 

The source from whence they spring. 

Doubtless the eye, the ear, the sense, 
Were all for blessings given, 

But meant by God's omnipotence, 
As steps from earth to heaven. 

For through his works, 'tis Him we see, 

If we but see aright; 
And ever should our converse be 

The guide to help our sight, 

Nor less the sense to bid us feel 

His goodness, and to know 
That as His works so much reveal, 

So much to Him we owe." 



Look at the little harebell that grows beside the moorland sheep-walk, 
how delicately and beautifully it is made; look at even the very purple 
heath itself, and see how pretty it is, and what a bloom it gives to the 
face of the landscape, mingling with the green fern, and making such a 
sweet contrast of bright hues on the hill side. Then again, beneath 
your feet, as it were, stretches away the undulation of the more cultivated 
districts, like a miniature panorama of fields and gardens. The little 
furze-chat sits on the topmost fern-tuft, the swallow sweeps over the sur- 
face of the sedge, and scuds away with wild cries, as the kestrel wheels 
his soaring flight athwart the valley. Here and there are black turf-cocks 



BUTTERFLIES. 203 

on the opposite slope, and some Rustic passes along the ridge in his 
sabbath attire, with frock which looks as white as snow. And now again, 
the bell peals for evening prayer, and then to separate to repose, a repose 
how complete, how untouched by the turmoil of the world or the bitter 
consequences of ambition ! Such a view of life may be despised, but it 
is unoffending, and leads to a felicity more lasting. Is it not then worthy 
of industry, that we quit the din of population, and retire to peace 
amid our native hills and the converse of a few congenial souls, who. 
like ourselves, can find the true enjoyment of a country sabbath. 

Pembroke Square, Kensington, January 3rd., 1857. 



BUTTERFLIES. 

BY OEORGE R. TVVINN, ESQ. 

I am not a professed Entomologist, but a great admirer, nevertheless, 

"Of that wonder of wonders, — the bright- winged fly! 
That flits to and fro in the azure sky," 

and my calendar generally contains notes of such as cross my path. The 
accompanying brief list comprises those whose appearance I have noted at, 
or within a mile of Birmingham; and they are all observed, (the Small 
Tortoise-shell excepted,) by me, for the first time here, during a period of 
three years. 

March 30th. — The Brimstone Butterfly, (Gonepteryx rhamni,) in the 
grounds at the Elms. The following day two specimens were seen. 

May 7th. — The Bedford Blue, (Polyommatus alstis,) flying over our lawn. 

May 9th. — Three specimens of the Small Tortoise-shell, (Vanessa urticce,) 
basking upon a bed of opening sweet-williams. 

June 6th. — A solitary Orange Tip, (Mancipium cardamines,) which lived 
for several days in the greenhouse. 

June 12th. — Near the top of Stoney Lane, I tried to capture a prize; 
for a pair of Purple Emperors, (Apalura Iris,) were revelling amid the lofty 
trees and sunlight. I should much have liked these, but having no regular 
implements for securing them with me, I was unsuccessful. Westwood 
(ed. 18r>4) says, "This perfect insect is found in the middle of July, in 
various parts of the south of England: — Epping Forest, Great and Little 
Stour Woods, Wrabness, and Ramsay, Essex; Badly, Dodnath, and Raydon 
Woods, in Suffolk; Clapham Park Woods, Beds.; Brinsop Copse, Heref; 
Emborne Copse, Berks.; in Warminster, Wilts.; New Forest, Christchurch, 
Hants.; Monks' Wood, Cambridge; near Hertford, and Coombe and Darenth 
Woods, have been given as its localities; to which we may add that it is 



204: THE TREE OP THIBET. 

occasionally, though rarely, seen in Warwickshire, near Doncaster, and in 
the Isle of Wight." (Rev. W. T. Bree's MSS.) 

I am very glad that I can confirm its appearance in Warwickshire, 
though not its capture; early as the date of my seeing it may seem. 

I should be glad of any information from parties, who have noticed or 
captured it in June. 

The Elms } Birmingham, June \§th., 1857. 



THE TREE OF THIBET. 

BY GEORGE WIGHTWICK, ESQ. 

The reader is most likely acquainted with the travels of Hue and Gabet, 
the French missionaries. They speak of the wondrous Tree of Thibet, and 
the more worthily of our regard because they have seen it. We may not 
apply to men so soberly minded and so strictly veracious as themselves, 
the lines of Cowper, in reference to the assertions of a Long-Bow, who, 
speaking of some marvel, says, "I saw it with these eyes!" 

"Sir, I believe it on that ground alone; 
I would not, had I seen it with my own." 

No, Hue and Gabet may be men on whom the superstitious and designing 
might impose, but they are evidently incapable themselves of anything 
short of the most honest intentions. 

The famed Tree of Thibet then, bearing a name which signifies the 
"Ten Thousand Images," is existant. Protected by a canopy of silver sup- 
ported by metal standards, it seems to be some thirty feet high, with a 
sturdy trunk, from which, beginning about eight feet above the ground, 
extend horizontally its branches, thickly grown with green leaves, and in 
season bearing rich and beautiful red flowers. The bark, which is also 
of a red tint, gives off an odour resembling that of cinnamon, and the 
description seems to imply that the odour from the tree generally, and 
when in flower, fills the air with an exquisite perfume. 

But the wonder lies in one positive, and in another asserted fact; the 
former relates to the "well-formed Thibetian characters" on the leaves and 
bark of the tree. On the first they are of a green colour, "sometimes 
darker and sometimes lighter than that of the leaf itself, and appearing to 
be portions of the same, equally with its veins and nerves." But I will 
refer for minute description to "Hazlitt's Translation of Travels in Tartary, 
Thibet, and China," vol. ii., p.p. 52 to 54. Illustrated London Library, 
227, Strand. 

The asserted wonder relates to the sole existence of this one tree, which 
is said to defy propagation either by seed or cutting. Tradition assigns to 



SYSTKMA NATUR.K 205 

it an age dating back to the middle of the fourteenth century of our era; 
but this is scarcely favourable to the speculative imagining of a religio- 
romantic friend of mine, who asks, "may not this be the Tree of Life, 
rescued from the lost Eden?" It is, however, apparently of great age, the 
trunk being so large that three men with extended arms can hardly embrace 
it. Its branches are described as resembling those of the plane tree, and 
the form of the letters on the bark and leaves may be supposed to resemble 
the annexed : — 



JlffiW?HS<T£ 



Now it will at once occur to many, that the resemblance, or rather 
the identity of these letters, when compared with the figures on the leaves 
and bark of the sacred Tree of Thibet, argues simply for the hypothesis 
that the characters of the Thibetian language were copied from the forms 
thus presented by nature, and that the tree, without any extravagant 
offence to probability, may be regarded as the means which, having sur- 
vived the deluge, has preserved to us the symbols, and confirmed to us 
the primal originality of the Thibetian tongue, as that spoken by the 
world before its linquistic confusion at Babel. 

All this, however, is from the strict purpose of "The Naturalist," and 
my present object is chiefly to start the subject among its readers, in the 
hope of some intelligent or scientific surmises as to the probable nature 
of this tree. At the same time, the objects of such a publication may, 
I conceive, embrace any subjects of collateral interest, which may fairly 
blossom on the branches of such a curiosity as the Tree of Thibet; and 
many may find additional importance in the study of Natural History 
when they see it connected with religious or moral mystery. 

Of course there is a superstitious legend attached to the Tree of the 
Ten Thousand Images; and, though you have intimated a wish to keep 
your contributors down to "plain prose," there may be an occasional 
cause for exceptive allowance. I have therefore put into verse the legend 
alluded to, and I send it to you, to be printed or not, as you may 
think advisable. 

Portishead, May 6th. , 1857. 



Felis mitis, Schinz. F. onca, Schreb 
Fr. Cuv. Temm. 



SYSTEM A NATURJ1. 

BY THE REV. F. 0. MORRIS. 
(Continued from page 185.) 

Hamiltonii, Reich. F. Griffithii, 
Reich. 
Felis catenata, Hamil. Smith, Griff. 



Felis Chibiguazu, Griff. Schinz. F. 

VOL. VII. 



206 



SYSTEM A NATUR.K 



Fisch. Wag. Schinz. 
Felis armillata, Fr. Cuv. Schinz. 
Felis maraiorata, Mart. Schreb. Schinz. 

F. Diardi? Jar dine. 
Felis senegalensis, Less. Schinz. 
Felis guttata, Herm. Schreb. Schinz. 

F. jubata, Temm. Fr. Cuv. Jardine. 
Felis jubata, Schreb. Schinz. 
Felis serval, Schreb. Cuv. Temm. F. 

capensis, Hill. F. Galeopardus, 

Desm. Wag. F. capensis, Forst. 
Felis celidogaster, Temm. Fisch. Wag. 

Schreb. Schinz. F. cbalybeata, Griff. 
Felis viverrina, Hodgs. Gray. Schinz. 

F. himalayana, Jard. F. viverriceps, 

Hodgs. 
Felis minuta, Temm. Schinz. F. ser- 

valin, Temm. F. javanensis, Horsf. 

F. sumatrana, Horsf. F. undata, 

Desm. 



Felis servalina, Jard. Schinz. F. or- 
nata, Gray. Wag. 

Felis rubiginosa, Schinz. 

Felis nepalensis, Horsf. Schinz. 

Felis torquata, 7/. Owv. Temm. Schinz. 

Felis caligata, Z<?»&. Schinz. F. obscura, 
.Fr. Cwv. CW. _FYsc£. F. cafira, 
Desm. F. Chaus, 2%zm. F. lybicus, 
Oliv. F. nigripes, _Z?wr. F. ery- 
thremia, Hodg. 

Felis Chaus, Giild. Schreb. Tern. Wag. 
Fisch. Rupp. Fr. Cuv. Schinz. F. 
Catolynx, Pall. F. Riipelli, Brandt ? 

Felis maniculata, Rupp. Temm. F. 
Euppellii, Cuv. Schinz. Fisch. Wag. 
F. pulchella, Gray. 

Felis catus domestica, Schinz. 

Felis domestica coerulea, Schinz. 

Felis domestica striata, Schinz. 

Felis cumana, Schinz. 



(To be continued.') 



ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, 
BY THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NERVES. 

BY F. M. BURTON, ESQ. 

( Continued from page 183.^ 

No. V.— Part I. 

We have now reached the fifth and last great division of the Animal 
Kingdom, and find organs, which we have hitherto met with only in a 
rudimentary state, developed to their fullest extent, and various other very 
important structures, which have not yet appeared at all. Above all, in 
proportion to the increase of development in the highly-gifted members of 
the four classes which comprise this division, we shall find the nervous 
system, the great ruling power of all organic created matter, whether spon- 
taneous, muscular, or sentient, also very considerably increased. One of the 
greatest distinguishing features of vertebrate animals is the possession of an 
internal skeleton, composed of very numerous parts. 

We have already, in the last class of the Heterogangliate world, met with 
the rudiments of this internal osseous structure in the cartilaginous cranium 
which defends the brain, and embraces the oesophagus of the Cephalopods, 
but we find in the division we are now entering upon, a wonderful internal 
frame-work, defending and supporting the various fleshy and sentient parts, and 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 207 

forming a powerful lever on which the entire muscular system can act. 

It will not be necessary in a mere summary like this to enumerate all 
the various parts composing the skeleton in the different classes; suffice it 
to say that they all, more or less, accord with one great fundamental type, 
but so endless are the modifications and supplimentary processes met with 
in the different tribes, that no two genera are found exactly alike, and the 
ideal model of a true perfect skeleton, according to philosophy, does not 
exist in Nature. There are other organs also met with in the Vertebrate 
world, which we have not yet seen in even a modified state, such as the 
spleen, the pancreatic glands, and the Vena Portae, etc., which will be 
glanced at as we proceed. The first great class is that of Fishes, animals 
which, though they possess most of the organs typical of the highest tribe 
of vertebrate animals, yet in many respects are still found associated with 
the Cephalopods. In many of them, for instance, the skeleton, instead of 
presenting the usual osseous structure, is still of a soft cartilaginous nature; 
moreover in the structure of their scales, whether flat, as in the Perch, or 
raised and thorny, as in some of the Skate tribe, or in whatever other 
condition they may be found, they are still in their nature and mode of 
secretion exactly like the shells, whether internal or external, of molluscous 
animals. The respiratory organs of fishes are a series of pectiniform bran- 
chial fringes supported on bones, and are situated on each side of the neck, 
and respiration is effected by the continual suction of the surrounding 
medium through their mouths, which passes by these branchiae or gills, and 
so effectually aerates the blood. Their muscular system throughout is very 
highly developed, and whether as an agent of locomotion or otherwise, is 
capable of exercising very considerable force. Their mouths are frequently 
very different in shape and structure; some are quite smooth internally, 
but, generally speaking, they are more or less armed with teeth and dental 
plates. To the mouth succeeds a short oesophagus, and generally capacious 
stomach, as in the Cephalopods, terminating in osseous fishes in a simple 
intestinal tube; but in those whose skeletons are of a cartilaginous nature, 
the intestine is capacious and spiral. The liver is always of a large size, 
and generally contains a quantity of oil, and the biliary ducts open into 
the intestine. There are no salivary vessels in fishes, but they are provided 
with pancreatic glands, by which a fluid of a salivatic nature is secreted, 
and poured into the intestine. In these animals we also find for the first 
time another set of vessels, called the Vena Portae, for separating the bile 
from venous blood, that is, blood flowing from the branchial organs to the heart, 
instead of arterial blood, as in all previous orders; also kidneys, which are 
very voluminous, and a vascular organ, called the spleen, for converting 
arterial into venous blood before its transmission into the liver. 

There is also another set of vessels met with in fishes, and peculiar to 



208 CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL, KINGDOM. 

the Vertebrate world, which is not found in lower animals, the lymphatic 
tubes, which absorb the nutritious articles of food, and pour them into the 
larger veins to be mixed up with the blood. Some fishes are also provided 
with large swimming bladders, which enable them to float or sink at pleasure. 
The circulation of their blood, which is of a red colour, is carried on by 
means of a heart, composed of a single auricle and ventricle, situated beneath 
the branchial organs, but it is not purely of a systemic character. 

The eyes of fishes are much more highly developed that anything we 
have met with in the lower kingdoms, but do not yet attain the perfection 
of these organs in terrestrial vertebrata. Their sense of hearing is still 
very imperfect, and, although superior, is still analogous to that of the 
Cephalopods. Their organs of smelling are also of a very simple structure, 
the nostrils not communicating with the mouth, but being merely two blind 
sacs, and their power of taste must necessarily, on account of the continual 
exposure to the fluid in which they exist, be of a not very discriminating 
character. As regards their means of reproduction, these organs in both 
male and female are still of a simple form, especially in the osseous genera, 
the cartilaginous fishes being more highly organized in this respect, and 
being provided with a more complex apparatus. The number of eggs in 
some fishes is most wonderful, but in others, as the destructive shark 
and those of the cartilaginous class, providentially they are much less 
numerous, and are concealed in singular bags of a horny texture, well 
known to all sea-side ramblers under the name of skates' barrows. 

Some fishes are viviparous. Lastly, with regard to the nervous system 
of fishes, we find it very considerably enlarged, according to the vertebrate 
type, and in proportion to their high organic development. The principal 
portion, the analogue of the supra-cesophagal ganglion of lower animals, 
is a large mass situated within the head, called the brain. Though now 
so concentrated and enlarged, and corresponding in character with that of 
Terrestrial Vertebrata to a certain extent, yet it still preserves the old 
ganglionic structure; for, besides that portion called the cerebral hemisphere, 
the seat of the mental powers in vertebrate animals, and the cerebellum, 
it is divided into large lobes, which communicate with the different regions 
of the senses, and other parts of the head and stomach, and from this 
encephalon proceeds a long chain of nervous cords right down the whole 
length of the spine, being protected by the superior spinous processes of 
the vertebrae. From all the principal masses are given off threads, which 
traverse, and, as it were, animate the whole system, wherever in fact, 
any power, be it sentient or muscular, is exercised in the highly-organized 
families of the Vertebrate division ; there we find a corresponding adequate 
system of nerves guiding and directing each process and function of life. 

The next great class, that of Ecptiles, includes animals of very diver- 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 209 

sified natures, and presenting a regular gradation from gill-breathing inhab- 
itants of the water to true land animals respiring by means of lungs. 
The lowest orders of this class indeed are so little removed in organic 
structure, both internal and external, from the preceding, that it is with 
difficulty determined to which they belong. Others, again, resemble fishes 
in the first stage of their existence, and afterwards, when their metamor- 
phoses are complete, possess the principal attributes of the reptile world, 
while the highest orders, although, like all vertebrate animals, they go 
through certain distinct changes in their youth, yet, like the two higher 
classes of this division, Birds and Mammalia, they pass their transformation, 
or rather series of developments when in the egg state. The class we 
are now considering is divided into four great orders. The lowest the 
Amphibia, is again divided into Amphibia Perennibranchiata, animals which 
breathe by means of branchiaa all their lives, and Amphibia Caducibranch- 
iata, which, although they respire at first by means of gills, like fishes, 
yet, as they approach perfection, are provided with lungs, of which the 
frog affords a familiar example. The second order is that of serpents, 
Ophidia, the third lizards, Sauria, and the fourth Chelonia. 

The skeletons of this great class present various structural modifications 
and additions not met with in those of fishes, which it will not be 
necessary or possible to enter into here, though to the osteologist, from 
the exceeding variety of shape and development of the bones met with 
in the various genera, there is perhaps no class that presents so much 
interest. "In their muscular development," says Professor Jones, "reptiles 
are ordinarily slow and languid," though it is remarkable that when dead 
the muscles retain the power of motion for an astonishing length of time, 
even when separated from the body. The teeth of the lower orders much 
resemble those of fishes. Those of the Ophidians are very numerous, 
particularly in the more venomous tribes. The Saurians possess dental 
organs that approach in their structure the type met with in the Mammalia, 
while the Chelonians have toothless horny jaws resembling the beaks of 
birds. The alimentary canal in reptiles is generally composed of a large 
oesophagus and a very variably-shaped stomach, which, in one species, the 
crocodile, closely resembles that of birds, and an intestine, usually divided 
into two portions, representing the small and large intestines. The secre- 
ting glands are the salivary, which are of very singular and various 
construction, and the liver, pancreas, spleen, and vena portae, which are 
developed in the usual way. The absorbent vessels in this class are very 
elaborate and peculiar in their character, and become very important organs. 

With regard to their means of respiration, the different orders, as has 
been before observed, vary considerably, the lowest breathing by means of 
permanent gills, others possessing a branchial apparatus, which ultimately 



210 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

changes to lungs as the animals become terrestrial in their habits; others, 
again, as the crocodile, which live both under water and on land, possess 
permanent gills as well as lungs, while others are provided with lungs 
only. These organs, though they resemble those met with in the higher 
vertebrata, yet are not so fully developed as in them, and besides this 
they differ materially in another respect, the tracheae or tubes, through 
which the air is brought to the lungs, are in reptiles never divided into 
branchial ramifications, as in birds and fishes, but terminate abruptly by 
one or more orifices. The circulatory system is more fully developed 
than that of the last class, and the heart in the three higher orders 
consists of three cavities, two large auricles, and a ventricle, but in the 
lowest order it approximates intimately to that of fishes. In the devel- 
opment of the generative apparatus also we find an approximation to 
that of fishes in the lowest genera, which gradually approaches in the 
higher succeeding orders the type met with in birds. The eyes of reptiles 
present but few peculiarities of structure, but in the higher tribes we 
meet for the first time with eyelids, some of which present a very com- 
plex construction, and also lachrymal glands. The nasal apparatus presents 
an important difference to that of fishes. The nostrils of the latter are 
mere blind cavities, but, in the class we are now considering, we find a 
communication established between the nasal cavities and the larynx, which 
most materially increases the sense of smell. The ear of the higher 
reptiles is also more fully developed, and possesses a tympanic cavity 
and a thin membranous drum, but in the lower genera this organ is 
still very like that of fishes. With regard to the nervous system, it is 
as in all other cases, necessarily increased with the gradual organic 
development of the class, the cerebral hemispheres being proportionately 
enlarged in comparison with those of fishes, in the rates of increase of 
power in the various component organs of the body. 
Uppingham, June 3rd., 1857. 

(To be continued.) 



fflsabtewm JMim. 

Ornithology in the House of Commons. — It must be a good omen for 
the progress of ornithology, when no fewer than three references to the 
subject are made in a single speech in the ( 'House;" such is the fact. In 
the speech of Mr. Disraeli, on the 27th. ult., on the condition of India, he 
remarks that a previous speaker had called him the Stormy Petrel of Indian 
affairs, for that he never made a speech on them except when they were 
in a disastrous state. He then compares Lord John Russell to the Halcyon 
brooding on the waters; and again talks of the "Constitutional platitudes" 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 211 

the said noble lord was in the habit of pulling out of the dusty pigeon- 
holes of his mind. Had the speech of Mr. Disraeli been made after tho 
1st. instant, I must have concluded that he had just been reading the 
article on the Stormy Petrel, published on that day in my "British Birds," 
but that could not have been the case, however much he and every other 
member of the two houses may ordinarily study the said work as the best 
aid they can possibly have in the preparation of their speeches. At all 
events it satisfactorily shows that ornithological thoughts must be constantly 
uppermost in their minds. — F. O. Morris, Nunburnholme Rectory, August 
10th., 1857. 

Resuscitation of Plants. — Dr. Cox, in an article to the Royal Society, 
(Philos. Trans.: No. 108,) after describing the manner he procured salt 
from Fern aslies, states, "That he placed a quantity of it (in solution) in 
a capacious glass, and after it had been in for five or six weeks, a deposit 
of the salt was formed at the bottom, from which there sprung out at 
small distances from each other, about forty branches, which, excepting the 
colour, did most exactly resemble that kind of Fern which is single, like 
Polypody, and not branched, sending out several leaves on each side from one 
stem." Dr. Cox likewise adds, "that mixing equal parts of Sal Ammoniae 
and Potashes, and placing the mixture into a tall glass body; immediately 
upon feeling the heat a great deal of volatile salt was sublimed, and in the 
glass head he observed to his surprise a Forest in Perspective, of Firs, 
Pines, etc., so admirably delineated as not to be excelled if imitated by 
the pencil of the greatest master." Are there any modern instances of such 
Phoenix-like resurrections corroborative of the above statements on record, or 
is the inference that the plants mentioned by the worthy Doctor, were pro- 
ductions, not of the salts, but of his own more fertile imagination? — J. P. 

Turtle Doves. — The Turtle Doves are particularly numerous here this 
year; I never before saw so many. They first established themselves here 
about fifteen years ago, and are very regular in their return — the first 
week in May. — Charles Watkins, Badby House, near Daventry, Northants. 

Eristalis nubilipennis in Ireland. — I took a week's holiday lately, and 
made a short tour in Ireland, from Dublin to Killarney and the Lakes, 
and so over the mountains to Kenmare. While crossing the said mountains 
between the latter-named towns, about a quarter of a mile from a pass 
called "Windy Gap," I had got off the "car" to relieve the horses, and 
was rewarded for my humanity by the capture of a fine specimen of Eristalis 
nubilipennis, settled upon a stone wall by the side of the road. I never 
took but one specimen of this rare fly before, namely, at Charmouth, in 
Dorsetshire. It is figured in "Curtis," and noticed there as being "in the 
cabinets of Mr. Dale, Mr. Morris, and the Author." — F. 0. Morris. 



212 THE QUERIST. 

Liparis monacha in Lincolnshire. — I had two L. monacha out of chrysalis 
the day before yesterday. I found the caterpillars ready to change under 
some dead bark on an oak tree in Legsby Wood. — W. Waldo Cooper, 
Rectory, West Rasen, July 17th., 1857. 

Purple Emperor in Lincolnshire. — A Purple Emperor was taken in the 
Rectory garden at Linwood last week, by one of the Rev. W. Stockdale's 
sons. The fly was seen there last year, but escaped. — Idem. 

Swallow roosting in a hedge. — I was walking the other evening along- 
side a large high old-fashioned hedge, when a Swallow scuttled out of the 
upper part of it. It had evidently been roosting there. It was just 
in the "duskling" of the evening, sufficiently dark for moths to be flying, 
and sufficiently light for me to see the Swallow quite distinctly. I do 
not remember ever to have noticed a like circumstance before. — F. 0. 
Morris, Nunburnholnie Rectory, July 21st., 1857. 

Erebia blandina, etc. — When botanizing on Craig Koynack, Braemar, one 
forenoon in the beginning of August last, we had the good fortune to come 
upon abundance of E. blandina upon the rocks and the brakes at their 
base, but unfortunately had no appliances to lay in a supply this season. 
In this district A. Aglaia is plentiful, and occasionally we find S. Davus. — 
W. Sutherland, M.A. 

€\)t (tarist. 

The Ringed Guillemot. — Referring to the paper on the Ringed Guillemot, 
by Mr Gray, in the present number of "The Naturalist," Mr. J. Wolley 
is stated to have asserted at a meeting of the British Association in 1850, 
as the result of his experience during a two-month's visit to the Ferroc 
Isles, that the Ringed and Common Guillemots breed there promiscuously, 
in the proportion of one Ringed bird to ten without that ornament; that 
he collected the eggs of both, and could not distinguish them. May I 
be permitted to inquire whether by breeding promiscuously is meant that 
the Ringed pair with the Common Guillemot, or merely that pairs of 
Ringed birds breed in the same locality with the Common, in the proportion 
of one to ten? If the former, would it not settle the question at once, 
in favour of the Ringed being only a variety? But if the latter, and 
the Ringed birds are always found to pair together, though breeding in 
the same locality with the Common or Ringless birds, would it not as 
certainly determine the Ringed Guillemot to be a separate species? — E. K. B., 
Kennington, August 4th., 1857. 

This is a very sensible question to put, and has come opportunely for 
a paper I am writing on the subject, to read at the meeting of the British 
Association at Dublin, on the 2Gth.— F. 0. Mc^i^^gttst 7th., 1857. 




PLANTS, SHELLS, ETC. 



Thb following collections have been made by Me. Mason in the Madeira 

.Islands: — 

Dried Plants; about five hundred species, named: many are new and inter- 
esting species, not contained in any list. Price £2. per hundred. 

A set of about forty-five Dried Ferns. Price £1. 

A collection of the Woods of Madeira, which are very interesting, both com- 
mercially and botanically, consisting either of sections of the Trunks, or of Blocks, 
sis preferred. They can be cut to any size or form desired. The species are the 
following: — 



Dracoena draco. L. 
Euphorbia mellifera. Ait. 

" piscatoria. 

Myrica fay a. Ait. 
Phcebe barbusana, Webb. 
Persea indica. Spreng. 
Oreodapb.no footens. Nees. 
Laurus Canariensis. Webb. 
Clethra arborea. Ait. 
Vaccinium maderense. Link. 
Sideroxylon mermulana. Lowe. 



Heberdenia excelsa. Ait. 
Picconia excelsa. D. C. 
Phamnus glandulosa. Ait. 
Celastrus cassinoides. l'Her. 
Ilex Perado. Ait. 

" Canariensis. Poir. 
Pittosporum coriaceum. Ait. 
Genista candicaus. L. 
" virgata. D. C. 
Visnea mocanero. L. fil. 



This collection is strongly recommended by Sir William J. Hooker, Directer of 
the Royal Gardens, Kew. 

A suite of thirty-five species of the Land Shells of the Madeiras, named. 
Price £2. 2s. 

A collection of about three hundred species of Madeira Coleoptera. Price £5. 

Gorgonias and other Zoophytes, Echini, Starfish, etc. Crustacea in Spirits, and 
dried. Marine Shells, Seeds, etc., etc. 

* # * Application to be made to Nathaniel Haslope Mason, F.L.S., 3, Red 
Lion Square, London, W.C. 



KIEBY AND SPENCE'S ENTOMOLOGY: FIFTH THOUSAND OF 
THE SEVENTH AND CHEAPER EDITION. 

Just Published, in One closely-printed Volume, of 600 pages, crown 8vo., 

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INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY; 



ELEMENTS OP THE 



OR, 

NATURAL 



HISTORY OF INSECTS. 



Comprising an Account of Noxious and Useful Insects; of their Metamorphoses, 
Food, Stratagems, Societies, Motions, Hybernation, Instinct, etc. 

BY WILLIAM KIRBY, M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S., Rector of Barham; and 
WILLIAM SPENCE, ESQ., F.R.S., F.L.S. 

Seventh Edition, (fifth thousand,) with an Appendix relative to the Origin and 

Progress of the Work. 



"No work in the English language, we believe, 
has done more than Kirov and Spence's learned 
and popular Introduction to spread the taste for 

Natural History at home The book is, indeed, 

B marvel of cheapness, — considerably more than 600 

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digested with equal taste and judgment by the 
learned authors, indissolubly associated in fame and 
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though now for a little while separated by a tem- 
poral change. To the survivor of the two we owe 
a very charming addition to the volume, in the 
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PRINCIPAL CONTENTS: 



1. THE HOME OF TASTE. 

2. MARINE AaUARIUM. 

Zoology of the Deep— Construction of Tanks 
Filling and Stocking Aquaria — Artificial 
Sea-water — Management of Collections — 
Anecdotes and Memorabilia. 

3. FRESH-WATER ACITJARIUM. 

Filling and Stocking — Itockwork and Aqua- 
tic Plants — Aquatic Ferneries — Lists for 
Plants for Aquaria — Fishes, Mollusks, 
and Reptilia — Secrets of Success — Cheap 
forms of Aquaria — Balance of Influences. 

4. WARDIAN CASE AND WIN- 

. TER GARDEN. 

Philosophy of the Wardian Case — Modes of 
Constructing Cases— Ferns in Eooms — 
Flowers in Wardian Cases — Designs, 
Measurements, and Embellishments — 
Crystal Palaces for Homos — Fern Vases — 
Flasks and Pots — Application of Heat to 
Cases— List of Plants for Large and Small 
Cases. 

5. THE WALTONIAN CASE. 

In-door Hothouse — Conservatory, Window, 
and Greenhouse Plants — How to Strike 

Cuttings. 

6. FLORAL ORNAMENTS -FOR 

THE TABLE AND WINDOW. 

Teaching of Flowers — Vases for Cut Flowers 
— Modes of Pi-cserving Cut Flowers— 
Boquet Stands — Flower Stages for the 
Window— Crystal Palace Baskets— Cul- 
ture of Suspended Plants — Lists of 
Plants for Suspension — Trellises inside 
Windows — A Gay Look-Out — Plant 
Screens and Floral Blinds — Rustic Bal- 
conies — Plants on Wirework. 

7. THE AVIARY. 

Bird Gossip — Designs for Aviaries — Prin- 
ciples of their Construction — German 
Cages — German Aviaries — Precautions 
against Diseases — Grouping of Birds in 
Families — Feeding — Taming — Manage- 
ment. 



8. THE BEE-HOUSE. 

Pleasures and Advantages of Bee-keeping 
— Wonders of the Hive — Construction of 
Apiaries— Humane Management — Stocks, 
Swarms, Hiving, and Depriving — Honey 
Harvest — Bee-keeping in Towns. 

9. THE PLEASURE GARDEN. 

Taste in Gardening — Modes of Laying Out 
— Scenic Effects — Terraces — Banks — Wa- 
ter and Itockwork — Contrasts of Colours 
and Landscape Uses of Flowers — Plants 
for Pleasure Gardens — Geometric Beds — 
Lawns — Roses and Evergreens — Bulbs — 
Lists of Plants — General Management of 
Border and Bedding Flowers. 

10. GARDEN AaUARIUM AND 

WATER SCENERY. 

Construction of Ponds and Fountains — De- 
signs for Fountains — Planting and Stock- 
ing — Ornamental Waters — Lists of Plants 
for Water Scenes — Rockery and Wilder- 
ness — A Nook of Coolness and Verdure — 
Rules for securing Success. 

11. FERNERY. 

Situation and necessary Elements — Soil, 
Planting, and General Management — 
Shade and Moisture — Fems for Open-air 
and Greenhouse Culture — Foreign Ferns 
— Ferns in Pots — Fern Gardens made 
Easy — Lists of Ferns for various Aspects 
and Effects. 

12. EMBELLISHMENTS OF THE 

GARDEN. 

Vases and the Way to Plant them — Rustic 
Baskets and Garden Seats — Pavilions and 
Summer Houses — Bark, Thatch, Root, 
and Moss Houses — Portable Summer 
House — Flowers for Trellises, Baskets, 
and Tree Stumps— Miscellaneous Garden 
Ornaments — Last Words on Rustic Adorn- 
ments and Out-door Pursuits. 



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THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF 

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IIXTJSTBATIVE OF THE POWER, WISDOM, AND GOODNESS OF GOD. 

BY SPENCER THOMSON, M.D. 

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enters at a considerable length into the anatomy and physiology of the eye, in the same manner which 
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LONDON: 

GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS, 5, PATERNOSTER ROW. 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Utility of the Common Mole, fwith Engravings.) By J. MoTntosh, 

Esq 213 

On the Specific Distinction of the Bridled Guillemot. By the Rev. 

F. 0. Morris 217 

Characteristics of Common Birds. By 0. S. Round, Esq 220 

On Unity of System 223 

Notes on the Natural History of East Cumberland. By Mr. J. 

Armstrong 225 

The Redbreast. By 0. S. Round, Esq 226 

Notice to Entomologists 230 

Notes on Crustaceans. By W 232 

The Naturalist's Wish; (Poetry.) 234 

Systema Naturse. By The Editor 234 

Miscellaneous Notices. — Wood Pigeon. The Wren. Fall of a 
House. Clouded Yellow Butterfly. Xanthia Silago. Four Days' 
Collecting in the neighbourhood of Dorking. T. allantiforme. 
Butterflies 235 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

Communications have been received from G. R. Twinn, Esq.; — F. M. Burton, 
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Bbee, Esq.; — C. F. Tootal, Esq.; — Arthur Havers, Esq. 



Communications, Drawings, Advertisements, etc., to be addressed to the Rev. 
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and Parcels, to the care of Messrs. GROOMBRIDGE, 5, Paternoster 
Row, London. 



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"Cannot do better than consult Mr. Newman's 'History of British Ferns.' " — Mr. Ward on Closed Glass 

LONDON: JOHN VAN VOORST, PATERNOSTER ROW. 



213 



UTILITY OF THE COMMON MOLE, (TALPA VULGARIS) 

BY J. MC' INTOSH, ESQ. 
{Continued from page 161, Vol. iv.) 

The life of the Mole is passed in such a glootny region, separated from 
the light of heaven, and is regarded with such scorn by the illustrious(!) 
bipeds as cultivators of the soil, that those unacquainted with its habits 
and manners, look upon them as noxious vermin that ought to be extir- 
pated the kingdom! That such is riot the case, we have, we hope, iri 
our previous papers on its utility fully shewn, that they are really the farmers' 
and gardeners' best friends. We need not say that the Mole is a miner, 
existing almost exclusively in darkness, arid working its way through 
crumbling earth; large eyes and powerful vision would not only have been 
unnecessary, but absolutely annoying. The eyes of the Mole are, there- 
fore, the least developed of any of its organs. They are very small, 
about the size of a pin's head, perfectly formed, and black, and so care- 
fully protected by the surrounding fur as to have given rise to an idea' 
which is still by many entertained, that this useful and wonderful animal 
is blind. That this idea, which is a very ancient as well as a modern 
one, is erroneous, may be clearly proved by an examination of the animal 
itself. The eye of the Mole, by a beautiful arrangement of muscles, can 
be protruded or withdrawn at the will of the animal, and thus it can 
accommodate itself either in its ordinary subterranean excursions, or to its 
nightly rambles above ground, in changing its quarters, and in search 
of food, as slugs, etc. 

The sense of hearing is exquisite, and to it the animal trusts for 
warning on the approach of danger. Shakspere, though in error as to 
the blindness of the Mole, seems to have been aware of its acriteness 
of hearing, when he says: — 

"Pray you, tread softly, that the blind mole may not 
Hear a foot fall." 

An external ear to the Mole would have been an appendage continually 
liable to injury from the intrusion of particles of earth, etc. In accordance 
therefore, with the peculiar situation of the Mole, it has no external ear,- 
nevertheless, as hearing is essential to its safety, the internal mechanism 
if the ear is very perfect, and its sense of hearing is remarkably acute. 
This accounts for the disappointments of persons, who, when seeing Moles 
throw up the soil, endeavour to get near them, in order to throw therri 
lp with the spade, but to their great surprise, when they are advanced 
lear enough to strike the fatal blow, the Mole is gone. The external 
opening of the ear, which is a simple orifrc e_, is,- in a similar manner to 
vox. VII. 




214 



UTILITY OF THE COMMON MOLE. 



the eye, provided with a muscular apparatus for the purpose of completely 
closing the orifice, as occasion may require. 

The sense of smell is equally delicate as that of hearing, as the latter 
warns it of its danger the former guides it to its food. How wonderful 
are the arrangements of the Almighty! nothing is withheld which is 
indispensible; and nothing is bestowed which is superfluous; or, in the 

words of Pope: — 

"Nature to all without profusion, kind, 
The proper organs, proper powers assign'd; 
All in exact proportion to the state, 
Nothing to add, and nothing to abate." 

The voracity of the Mole is excessive — its sensation of hunger is 
extreme, by the fact that an abstinence of ten or twelve hours is inva- 
riably fatal to it. It is also a great drinker, and its ingenuity is 
strikingly shewn in the plan adopted for obtaining a sufficient supply. 
When there is a pond or stream near its abode, a tunnel is made 
directly to it, if, however, it be too great a distance from such a source, 
artesian wells, in miniature, are sunk, in which water is always found, 
and in some soils these wells may be found full to the top. It is also 
an expert swimmer; we have frequently on summer evenings watched them 
in the act of bathing and swimming, which they seemed to much enjoy. 
In its migration it will cross brooks or rivers, swimming admirably; and 
when spring or autumn floods inundate the fields, it easily saves itself by 
these means. 

Mechanically considered, the body of the Mole is a most perfect boring 
instrument. The gimlet is in reality a perfect model of this little animal, 





as the annexed sketches illustrate; A, the outline of the Mole, B, that of 
a gimlet. The body tapers from the shoulder to the nose, which is 






UTILITY OF THE COMMON MOLE. 



215 



almost pointed, and from the shoulder it gradually diminishes to the 
insertion of the tail. The proportions of the gimlet are exactly the 
same. The skull is depressed above, elongated and pointed, and the 
snout continued beyond the maxillary and nasal bones; it is supported by 
a little additional bone, produced by the ossification of the cartilage. Its 
boring faculties are rendered still more effective by the ossified condition 
of the ligament of the neck, which passes from the back : to the skull, 
and which, in other animals is elastic. 

The form of the body is admirably adapted for its way of life, the fore part 
is thick and very muscular, giving great strength to the action of the fore 
feet, which are broad, bony, and sharp-pointed, (C,) wielded 
by immensely powerful muscles, forming excavating instru- 
ments far superior to the most perfect tools of art, 
enabling it to dig its way with amazing force and 
rapidity, either to pursue its prey or to elude the search 
of its enemies. We have seen it when let loose in a 
field instantly disappear into the earth, like a ghost 
through the stage of a theatre, while a most active man with a spade 
in vain attempted to pursue. 

The Mole is not only a miner, but it is an architect of no mean 
skill, as an examination of its castle will shew. D represents a ground 
plan, and E a perspective view of its fortress. The exterior of this 





.,„,,, JW|/W,'f/;ill!i|.|iiii-' 



castle is a mound very much larger than that of ordinary Mole -hills. 
Under the centre of this mound is a round chamber, in which our friend 
spends his hours of repose; from this chamber are three openings leading 
upwards to a circular gallery, from this upper gallery are five openings 



216 UTILITY OF THE COMMON MOLE. 

leading to a lower circular gallery of a greater diameter on a level with 
the centre of the chamber; and from this lower chamber issue eight or 
ten other passages leading to different parts of the surrounding land, 
which forms its hunting ground. In forming the main road the Mole 
regulates its depth according to the solidity of the surrounding soil, and 
any obstacles, as a road or ditch, that it may have to pass, its depth 
is there considerably increased; but under ordinary circumstances it rarely 
exceeds four or five inches. It also pays considerable attention to the 
proper ventilation of its runs, by leaving small holes for the admission 
of air. Its time of labour is at an early hour in the morning, yet if 
everything is quiet it may be observed at work during the day-time, but 
the slightest sound or movement stops the work. The temperature or 
dryness of the air regulates its motions, as to the depth of which it 
lives or works; this is from its inability to bear cold and thirst, but 
chiefly from the necessity it is under in following its prey, which always 
descends as cold increases. In frosty weather both worms and Moles are 
deeper in the ground than in the summer season, and both seem to be 
sensible of an approaching change to warm weather before there are 
perceptible signs of it in the atmosphere. When it is observed, therefore, 
that Moles are .casting hills through openings in the frozen turf, or through 
a thin covering of snow, a change to open weather may shortly be expec- 
ted. The Mole sleeps more in winter than it does in summer, but it 
does not become torpid, as some Naturalists have asserted; in fact its 
appetite is such, as we have before stated, that it cannot wait any length 
of time without food. Its hunger amounts almost to a degree of frenzy, 
and when under its influence it is violently agitated, and throws itself on 
its prey as if maddened with rage. 

The Mole has more enemies than it is supposed to have, for though 
its disappearance from a district is sometimes due to emigration, there 
are other causes at work to account for their extirpation. They destroy 
each other in their burrows, for they are exceedingly quarrelsome, the 
fox and weazel, too, are formidable enemies; but the ceaseless war waged 
against them by man, the least excusable enemy they have, is the most 
destructive. It may be observed, that where no efforts have been made 
to destroy them they do not increase beyond a given number, which 
varies according to the supply of food, and that their frequent destruction 
by encouraging the increase of the creatures which are their food, aids 
indirectly in augmenting their numbers. The female generally brings forth 
from three to six young, some time in April, May, or June; in the 
latter month we have frequently found them. The nest is composed of 
dry grass, old dry leaves, and slender roots. 

Varieties of the Mole are frequently found, such as pale yellowish orange, 



ON THE SPECIFIC DISTINCTION OF THE BRIDLED GUILLEMOT. 217 

mouse-colour, cream-white, and pure white, which is said to be particularly 
common in Poland, and black and white ones, all of which . we have 
frequently met with in various parts of Great Britain. 

We have now brought our remarks on the Utility and Habits of the 
Mole to a conclusion, and sincerely hope what we have advanced as to 
its utility to the cultivator of the soil, may be the means of sparing many 
a poor Mole's life. 



ON THE SPECIFIC DISTINCTION OF THE 
BRIDLED GUILLEMOT, {UEIA LACHRYMAM, Temminck.) 

BY THE EEV. F. 0. MORRIS. 
Read before the British Association at the Meeting in Dublin, August 27th., 1857. 

In the study of the science of Natural History, the very first lesson 
the student has to learn is to attempt to establish no conclusion upon a 
mere opinion, his own or that of any other person, but to let facts them- 
selves alone guide him to the result. This is plainly the case with regard 
to questions of specific identity, and naturalists must reverse the analogous 
motto "Ubi Scriptura silet, ibi Ecclesia loquitur," and speak alone with 
confidence where Nature herself speaks with the eternal and unerring truth 
of the God of Nature. This remark applies to the subject on which I 
propose to offer some observations to you to-day — a question in itself of some 
interest to those who are studious in such matters, and especially so when 
viewed in reference to one or two other kindred cases, with which it has 
not, so far I am aware, been hitherto compared. (Since making the above 
remark, I must here observe that M. Temminck has pointed out, in a 
passage I shall have occasion to refer to by and by, one of the parallel 
cases to which I refer, but in ambiguous words which may intend a contrary 
conclusion.) 

There are four British species of the present restricted genus Uria. I say 
four, not as defining the number myself, but as stating the generally-received 
opinion, with which, however, as I shall presently have to state, I myself 
coincide, though some, with what has appeared to them sufficient reason, have 
thought differently. As to two of these species there is no manner of doubt 
on any side; on these, therefore, I shall offer no remarks. Neither is 
there any doubt that there is another, a third British species; the question 
is whether there are two other ones — whether three, or four, in all, or not. 

Now, excepting in one main particular, the two species Uria troile and 
Uria lachrymans have been described to be exactly alike, or as nearly so 
as possible. There are, however, some minor differences, which, equally 
occurring in many other species, may, in such cases, be real specific 



218 OK THE SPECIFIC DISTINCTION OF THE BRIDLED GUILLEMOT. 

distinctions, and that although allied species may possibly at times exhibit 
the like, as variations from the usual type, — perhaps even exhibit them in 
these exceptional instances more decisively marked. I allude, with reference 
to the species before us, to the particulars of size and colour, the common 
species, Zfria troile, being by some said to be, if anything, rather larger 
and rather darker, while by others the TJria laehrymans is so described, 
and the bill rather stouter. This last, though perhaps not a common 
variation, is certainly a mere variation, as in the instance of the Crossbill, 
and perhaps in the Nutcracker. And so also with regard to size; the fact 
is, there are found larger and smaller and heavier and lighter birds in each 
case. In addition, however, to these there is another, which may be called 
an "ocular demonstration" of the specific difference between the two species. 
The eye in this Guillemot, (TJria laehrymans,) has been noticed by John 
Gatcombe, Esq., of Wyndham Place, Plymouth, a very exact and accurate 
ornithologist, and described in a letter to me, as being considerably larger 
than in the other. It is encircled by a narrow white band or rim, from 
which the white line extends backwards and downwards about an inch and 
a half. This line, from which the bird derives its name, in the Latin, 
French, and English languages, is the chief apparent mark of difference, 
the main feature on which its specific distinction has been contended for. 
It has never, I believe, been imagined to be a characteristic of either sex 
of the common species, but, on the contrary, is seen in the male as well 
as the female, in both old and young birds, and that in spring, summer, 
autumn, and winter. 

The question then is, is this a real specific distinction, or is it merely an 
occasional though perpotually recurring variety, a variety whose range would 
appear to be defined, the chief station of the bird bearing it being Spitz- 
bergen; while as ragards the British coasts, individuals have occurred in 
every or almost every place where the TJria troile is commonly seen. 

Now with regard to colour, it will, I believe, be found that, as already 
mentioned, this species is specifically darker, that is, in old and mature 
specimens, than Uria troile. Old birds of the latter species would 
seem to become lighter than the young ones; while with the present species, 
so to call it, the case is reversed, old birds becoming almost black. 

Again, the white circle round the eye, and the line of extension from 
it, has nothing to do with age, for, as remarked in a letter to me from 
Mr. Gatcombe, the white line is quite distinct in a young bird of the year, 
in its first winter plumage. Now, in the first place, I do not think that 
in the case of birds, varieties occur in perpetuity with such exactitude as 
in the present case, or as they certainly do in insects. Prima facie, if 
the mark at the back of the head may be so spoken of, it is naturally 
to be judged that the -two birds, the one with it, the other without it, 



ON THE SPECIFIC DISTINCTION OF THE BRIDLED GUILLEMOT* 2I'J 

are distinct. In some species every possible variation of colour and marking 
exists, as for instance in the Buzzard and the Crossbill, the Ruff and others. 
Great, too, are the differences in very many species in the summer and 
the winter plumage; manifold also the shades of pied varieties, from the 
perfect albino down to the unfortunate bird, sure to be shot, that shews 
a single "white feather." But I repeat, such variations are of a totally 
different character from that of the case before us. Here we have a per- 
nanent, distinctive, and always uniform mark of difference — "Quod semper, 
quad ubique, quod in omnibus" — "semper idem." And, to come to the point 
to which I have already briefly adverted, we have instances of a precisely 
similar kind in other species where no possible doubt is or can be, at least 
none is, entertained. One of these, that to which I have already more 
particularly alluded, as having occurred to me, is that of the Crow, (Cor- 
vus corone,) and the Hooded Crow, (Corvus comix,) which two birds are so 
exactly or so closely alike in all but the colour of parts of the plumage, 
that it would be impossible, or next to impossible, to distinguish them by 
any other than that external mark. True, indeed, their habits are different, 
the Crow, (C. corone,) being a solitary bird, only few being at times col- 
lected together to feed on a common carrion, while the Hooded Crow, 
(G. comix,) is decidedly gregarious; but not only in an enquiry into specific 
distinctions do we look first to external or internal marks, and postpone 
the consideration of the habits, but even these last, if mainly considered (even 
though there should be a close resemblance,) might very likely lead us astray, 
as in the case of the Black-backed Gull, (Larus marinus,) where we find 
the young bird, the Wagel, collecting together in numbers, but the old 
birds keeping aloof, singly, or at most, generally, in pairs, seldom more 
than a pair being seen together. And it is not merely that it is the young 
birds that .thus keep together as the members of a family, for we see 
many more than these in a flock, the eggs being only three in number, 
and that without the presence of the parents, as is the case in other con- 
tinuances of the family union, and, moreover, I believe, until the full 
assumption of the adult plumage, probably the third year. 

In a paper, entitled "Remarks upon the Ringed Guillemot," read before 
the Natural History Society of Glasgow, by Robert Gray, Esq., and for- 
warded to me by that gentleman for insertion in "The Naturalist," he 
quotes from a statement made by J. Wolley, Esq. to the British Associ- 
ation in the year 1850, that in the Ferroe Islands the two species, Troile 
and lachrymans breed together promiscuously, in the proportion of one to 
ten; on which a writer, E. K. B., in a subsequent letter to me as the 
editor, observes, that it is left doubtful whether it is meant that the two 
species breed together actually, or merely in the same situations, a decision 
of which question would appear to decide the fact, pro or con the specific 



220 • CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMON BIRDS. 

identity or difference of the two species at once — "pares cum paribus." It 
is however not said which is meant. But, on the other hand, Mr. Proctor, 
sub-curator of the Durham University Museum, found, during a visit at 
Grimsey, an island north of Iceland, all three species, Brunnichii, troile, 
and lachrymans on separate rocks, the eggs being distinguished by the 
natives, and each of the birds known by them under different names. This 
latter statement, I may here observe, is corroborated by Mr. Arthur 
Strickland, who asserts that at Flamborough a few of the Una lachrymans 
breed, but in places more difficult of access than Uria troile, and that the 
egg is invariably white. Mr. Wolley, on the contrary, has stated that the 
eggs of the two species, the present and the common one, are not dis- 
tinguishable. 

The late Mr. Macgillivray, in his "Manual of British Birds," speaks of 
the ring as occurring on Uria lachrymans only in summer, and then only 
in some individuals; but in his subsequent work, the " History of British 
Birds," he seems anxious to make a species of it. He however asserts 
that the angle of the lower mandible is farther from the base than in the 
common species, and more prominent; whereas it has been otherwise des- 
cribed (by Sir William Jardine,) as near to the base, and very slightly 
developed. Mr. Macgillivray also points out what he considers a difference in 
the feet, but this is a mere difference in individuals of different sizes. 

On the whole then, the conclusion I think to be arrived at is, that 
neither in the size, shape of bill, or of feet, is there any other but an 
accidental, or rather temporary, difference between a specimen of the one 
species and a specimen of the other, these differences existing invicem first 
in one and then in the other, but that the larger eye, and the distinct 
line from the eye, joined to the wider and distinct rim round the eye, 
to say nothing of the darker colour, are actual and permanent differences, 
and mark the species as distinct. 



CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMON BIRDS. 

BY O. S. ROUND, ESQ. 

Although the woods are familiarly associated with Birds as a class of 
beings in Nature's great family, the connection more properly applies to 
those which are, strictly speaking, vocal, and with which we are more 
intimately acquainted; but there are other classes, which are not all 
perchers, and are far more extensive in their range, and which we must 
seek for in the air, the wilds, and the waters. Perhaps it may be said, 
all birds may be found in the air, and so they may, almost all, at some 
time or other; even the Dabchick, although I never saw him fly, 



CHARACTERISTICS OP COMMON BIRDS. 221 

yet does fly, and I know those who have seen him do so, very like an 
earwig I should imagine ; but there are some whose life is aerial, and 
when I was a very young student in Natural History, I remember being 
fully persuaded that Swallows never settled at all, and, except in nesting 
time, I suppose they seldom do ; and Swifts even more seldom still. What 
a delightful thing it is to sit on a balmy June morning, watching these 
pretty creatures coursing along just over the grass-tops, and passing so near 
that you almost fancy you feel the wind they make : at these times you 
can see them very well, as every bird should be best seen, in his natural 
element and occupation ; what ease and grace in his movements ; what 
elasticity and swiftness ; what a glossy back he has, and how he seems to 
command time and distance : this generally happens when he is taking his 
chance prey ; and you may usually trace when an insect is seized, and hear 
the snap of the bill. But there are other times, when the herbage teems 
perhaps with some particular kind of fly, it may be the Small Chaffer, 
(Scarabceus solstitialis,) a winged ant;° at these times you may see hundreds 
of these pretty creatures, toying about as it were, just among the tops of 
the bents, and almost dropping down as they seize their prey ; and thus 
you have the best possible opportunity of watching them, for if you sit 
still, the wild creatures seem, (as probably they are,) quite unaware of 
your presence as a living thing. 

It is a somewhat curious circumstance, that Swallows and Swifts, which 
are, I suppose, the most aerial birds living, should not be what are or- 
dinarily termed wild birds, that is shy, and shunning man's neighbourhood, 
indeed, so far from it, they build in our very houses, and will come' in 
and out of a barn, a loft, or a outhouse, where people are continually at 
work, and that even at the common door, or more commonly at some 
small orifice.- I remember very well a pair of Swallows building in the 
loft at our country house, which had a window looking out on the garden, 
and in the centre of this window there was an aperture cut of a diamond 
shape, to let in the light, certainly not four inches any way from point 
to point, and these pretty creatures would shoot through this hole without 
brushing a feather, in the most adroit manner. 

Now Swifts, as is well known, are particularly fond of small low houses 
wherein to rear their young, and sometimes where the aperture is some- 
what overhung by projecting eaves, they will settle on the wall immediately 
beneath, and clinging to it so climb in, for which feat their peculiarly- 
placed toes are very serviceable. I am sorry to confess that in my thoughtless 
days I have often shot Swifts, because they were difficult to hit, and have 
almost invariably found the elastic skin of the mouth or gape stored with 
newly-taken insects, chiefly minute spiders, a store no doubt to be shortly 

* Beetle.— F. 0. Morris. 
VOL. VII. 2 G 



222 CHARACTERISTICS OP COMMON BIRDS. 

taken home to the expectant young; and how far might that he, perhaps 
five or six miles, for this was usually out on the moor, or heside or over 
a moorland lake, and I knew well that there were no nests much nearer. 

Sand Martins are usually less sociable, although occasionally a few pairs 
do take up a temporary abode near the habitations of man, but these are 
probably ousted stragglers from some over-peopled community; whilst the 
pretty Martin is so notoriously attached to society that he is as safe almost 
as master Cock Robin himself, and it is almost a superstition with the 
common people, that ill-luck always follows any harm offered to his mud 
habitation; indeed it is no uncommon sight to see a slanting board placed 
beneath the nests of these birds, to shoot off what may drop from them, 
where they may happen to be placed above an alehouse settle, a clear 
proof of the manner in which they are regarded. There is an instance of 
this in the village of Guestingthorpe, in Essex, which if not now existing, 
was to be seen for many years, for we all know how constant these birds 
are in affecting the same actual spot whereon to construct their pretty nests, 
and how often they repair anew the inroads that a winter's storm have 
made. 

In rambling about a heathy district, it has always appeared to me that 
the observer of nature enjoys many advantages; everything around him is 
wild, so to speak; the creatures whose home is there are more open to 
observation, he sees them in all phases, and generally in the plenitude of 
their various natures. Sit still in the soft air of a mild day beside some 
heathy hillock, and especially if it be evening and you are near some 
marshy ground, what a variety of studies come under your eye — the king 
of heath songsters the Skylark, or Lavrock, as the Scotch somewhat poetically 
term him, after fluttering over the heath-tops with his mate, at length 
soars upwards amidst the most delightful warblings, until the eye is weary 
of watching him. If there be a tree near, perhaps a self-sown fir, the 
Tree Lark humbly imitates his example, singing with out-spread wings 
as he descends; whilst the Whinchat with his sweet running notes adds 
yet another charm to the scene. Then in mid-air comes soaring on the 
Kestrel, with his train of small birds, teazing and dodging him as it were, 
yet none of these does he seem to regard, as his mode of taking his prey 
is on the ground, after hovering over it for a short time, although I have 
seen him pursue a Lark in the air, which, if I remember right, finally 
escaped him. I recollect on the most unfrequented portion of Bagshot 
Heath, once witnessing a very interesting and prolonged contest between 
a Kestrel and a Crow, the struggle being which should get uppermost; the 
Crow displayed more activity than I could have supposed him capable of, 
but the Hawk evidently feared coming to close quarters, and although I 
thought he had many opportunities of striking from above, he did not do 



UNITY OF SYSTEM. 223 

so, and finally after near an hour spent in this manner, the combatants 
gave up the contest by apparent mutual consent, the Hawk skimming 
away to one quarter, whilst the Crow eventually settled on a small fir 
tree, as though to recruit him from his fatigue. I know indeed that as 
between Hawks and Crows or Rooks, it is generally considered a drawn 
battle. 

If at these times you chance to be on the margin of a bog, it is not 
uncommon to see the Snipes, as I have often done, running about among 
the clods, and skipping and fluttering about over them. Like the Moorhens 
they are indifferent walkers, and appear unsteady in their gait, the tail 
turning about in a sidelong and curious manner. Pretty studies these for 
a June morning, at least I always found them so, and many a happy hour 
have I spent in such contemplations; I can wish no one a greater pleasure, 
always premising that it is their taste, although like all things to which 
we ourselves are particularly partial, I am at a loss to discover how it 
chances that it is not. 

Pembroke Square, Kensington, April, 1856. 



OX UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

( Continued from page 200.^ 

"The true goal of science is that towards which it has been moving with 
unceasing progress since man turned from excursions of fancy, and became 
an earnest and faithful learner at the footstool of his Maker. Nature 
to such an one, is not a mere collection of things, of trees, of rocks, 
and animals, and man, but of living activities harmonious in plan and 
action." — Dana. 

In accordance with this quotation, it may be remarked that the facts 
disclosed by science are far more wonderful than the wildest flights of 
fancy can feign, and more than compensate for the loss of the latter, for 
the progress of knowledge proves that truth and fancy cannot co-exist 
or associate, being opposed to each other. 

A few words may be added in explanation of the subject of these 
notes, in which it is purposed to trace the law of degradation from the 
beginning to the present time, and to observe its prevalence throughout 
Nature, and throughout the Bible, and throughout the history of mankind. 
In the latter part of the Bible, it will be observed that reference is often 
made and attention is frequently called to the laws of Nature, as they 
were then known, in illustration and confirmation of the various prophe- 
cies, for their mutual agreement was in consequence of their all being 
parts of, or in subjection to, one supreme law. 

The great increase of knowledge and of its consequent necessarv subdi- 



224 UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

visions is accompanied by the discovery and application of move general 
laws to which all this knowledge is subject, and is thus brought within 
the comprehension of man. All the lines of knowledge during their pro- 
gress converge more and more together until their final union under one 
law, and the agreement between them is more perfect in proportion as 
their advance is equal, but if one of them is stationary while others are 
progressive, they appear rather to oppose than to illustrate and explain 
each other. The system of the Bible has not been studied like'Uhat of 
Nature, and this is the cause that the facts of one occasionally seem 
to contradict those of the other. The laws of God in Astronomy and 
Chemistry were concealed or encumbered for ages by Astrology and 
Alchemy, and, in like manner, but to a much greater extent, the simpli- 
city of the Bible has been disfigured by innumerable traditions, from which 
it is now comparatively free. The eternal life disclosed throughout the 
Bible precedes and is to succeed the present creation, which, notwithstand- 
ing the innumerable ages of its geological periods, is still but 

"A narrow isthmus 'twixt two boundless seas, 
The past, the future, two eternities." 

The course of the visible creation, though ordained for the progressive 
manifestation of eternal life, yet consists of a series of divergences, in 
which every part and faculty of the present existence is in turn developed, 
and recedes in this development more and more from its source, and 
accordingly after a while, comparatively ceases, in order to make room for 
or to be transferred to the development of another power. These epochs 
or developments appear to be successively more comprehensive or higher in 
degree, and more deeply interesting. 

In order that observations on the Unity of System in this earth and in 
all it3 creatures, and in its successive and progressive epochs, may be 
distinct, the outline of the whole design must first be traced, and there- 
fore before proceeding further with the details of the system, I will return 
to the origin of creation, and will endeavour to shew the purpose of the 
law of degradation, or rather to notice a superior law to which that one 
is secondary and final. The Deity, it is said, before the beginning, and 
previous to all visible creation, fixed for the latter end and for all its 
parts two states — the first natural and final, the second eternal — and pre- 
destined all the epochs and events in nature and in the history of man. 
The foreknowledge of the number and variety of the creatures, and the 
pre-arrangement of them in one system, and in subjection to one law 
and the progress of them all from simplicity to complexity by the suc- 
cessive appearance of new means or elements of power, while the former 
agents do not cease but are only diminished, claim admiration as much as 



NATURAL HISTORY OF EAST CUMBERLAND. 225 

the creation of them. He then constituted or designed his existence as 
Christ as the beginning and end of fall nature, or for all the visible creation 
to attain to, or be filled with, or a standard for the perfection of all 
creatures. The Deity having thus designed the beginning, created the means 
or intermediate part, is all the visible and natural objects, and among them 
this earth, to which our knowledge is almost confined, and of which we 
know as yet very little, notwithstanding the late comparatively rapid increase 
of science. And here it may be observed, that a slight accession often 
modifies or alters the whole of our previous store of knowledge, and this 
fact may help to explain why our knowledge must cease with our present 
existence. For this earth is but little when compared with some of the 
numerous planets which revolve round the sun, and the planets are all 
very little when compared to the sun itself, and therefore it may be sup- 
posed that our knowledge of this earth will be quite changed when it is 
combined with the knowledge of all these orbs. Again, the sun is but 
one of the millions, or perhaps infinite number of astral systems in bound- 
less space, and in this fact there is assurance of the endless increase and 
increasing variety and modifications of knowledge in futurity. 

(To be continued.) 



NOTES OX THE NATURAL HISTORY OF EAST CUMBERLAND. 

BY MR. THOMAS ARMSTRONG. 

So wide is the field of Nature, that whatever may be the object of 
our pursuit, never is it without a season which does not produce some- 
thing for our gratification and instruction; first the sunny rays of spring 
usher in the insect and the plant; the lofty hill and feathered tribe announce 
the season. .Next comes summer, when wood and water teem with life: 
the nightingale pours forth his melodious strains, the blackcap raises his 
tuneful voice, the wood wren's pitiful call contrasts with that of the 
piping bullfinch, and the note of the wild and plaintive wood pigeon issues 
from the sheltered wood; the hum of the early bee, and the falling of the 
dew-drops, attract the ear, and allured at every step the Naturalist perseveres 
amidst the foliage of the grove, enlivened by the rays of the sun, and 
refreshed by the summer breeze. 

But friends must part, and so is it with the objects before us: the 
curlew leaves the mountain, the blackcap and yellow wagtail forsake the 
dale, the green plover rears her offspring and departs, the whinchat deserts 
the blooming heather, soon the cuckoo is heard no more; the season is 
on the wane. Then comes winter, whose productions are comparatively 
few, but although nature slumbers under its ungenial shades, there is no 
idle time for the observant naturalist. 



22G THE REDBREAST. 

The botanist is early in the field; the appearance of his favourite plants 
tell him to quit the confined city, its drunkenness and impurities, for better 
and purer air. The wood presents its beauties, is open to every lover 
of nature, and amidst its solitudes are to be found pleasure and instruction. 

Echium vulgare, (Viper's Bugloss,) and Primula farinosa, Bird's eye 
Primrose,) grow here, the former on Cowran Cut and Armthwaite, the 
latter plentifully at Durdar. Paris quadrifolia, (Herb Paris,) Genista 
tinctoria, (Dyer's Green-weed,) Genista Anglica, (Needle Green-weed,) Caram 
carui, (Caraway,) Veronica scutellata, (Marsh Speedwell,) at Blackwell. 

During this season I have met with Cardamine amara, (Large-flowered 
Bitter Cress,) and Gagea lutea, (Yellow Gagea,) in the spring at Arm- 
thwaite and Froddell Crook. 

Chelidonium viajus, (Celandine,) grows plentifully in our lanes; also 
Chrysanthemum Parthenium, (Fever-few,) Hieraceum sabandum, (Broad-leaved 
Hawkweed,) Filago minima, (Least Filago,) and Euphrasia officinalis, 
(Eyebright.) 

Also on some of our lands grow abundantly Linum Catharticum, 
(Purging Flax,) Trifolium arvense, (Hare's-foot Trefoil,) Briza media, 
(Quaking Grass,) Eestuca rubra, (Creeping Fescue,) and Gnaphalium sylva- 
ticum, (Cudweed.) 

Ballota nigra, (Black Horehound,) Stacliys annua, (Woundwort,) Mar- 
rubium vulgare, (White Horehound,) are plants to be found in the 
neighbourhood of Wetheral; so also may be Lythrum salicaria, (Loose 
Strife,) and Asarum Europceum, (Asarabacca.) 

(To be continued.) 



THE REDBREAST, (ERYTEACA RUBECULA, 
SYLVIA RUBECULA.) 

BY O. S. ROUND, ESQ. 

This is a familiar species, which everybody knows, and has probably 
pitied, if not assisted, when the snow lay thick upon the ground, and food 
was hard to come by to those who had no stores of winter-food laid up, 
to resort to when it cannot be had de hord in horam. The Redbreast or 
Robin, as he is familiarly called, has, time out of mind, been spared by 
universal consent; and the reason of this would be a difficult problem 
to solve satisfactorily, although the probability is his familiarity, his bold- 
ness, looking so much like confidence, is the chief reason; and, whatever 
may be the true cause, the idea once having obtained and been received 
it is not difficult then to account for the sustainment of the fact, for 
let any one ask himself the question, why he has spared the bird and 



THE REDBREAST. 227 

regarded it as something sacred from harm, and he will immediately call 
to mind that the idea has been implanted in his mind from the earliest 
period, and is about co-eval with his use of a knife and fork, if not of 
an earlier date. 

It is certain that there is no bird more familiar or more fearless, and 
few, very few, who can at all compete with him in these particulars; it 
is quite notorious that a Redbreast will come upon the breakfast-table 
for crumbs, and instances are not wanting where be will come upon the 
hand of a person who has been in the habit of feeding him, and I saw 
an instance of this, where a young lady almost daily visited a particular 
tree, (a small spruce fir,) standing on the edge of the carriage-drive 
leading to her father's house, and as surely would her little pensioner appear, 
advance along a particular branch, aud hop from thence upon her hand; 
but although he sat there fearlessly and picked up the crumbs from 
the palm, he would not suffer the other hand to be advanced towards him, 
but immediately hopped to a safe distance. I myself induced him to 
take the bread from my hand, but he would never come upon my hand, 
but sat on the extremity of the branch and picked the crumbs from 
thence. A latitude is allowed in all things, and in nothing more than iu 
the nomenclature of colours, which we constantly hear misnamed. Thus, 
Port wine is called Red wine, and Sherry or Madeira, White wine, and 
yet we know very well that one is deep ruby, the other gold-colour. In 
like manner this little bird's breast is called "red," when, if we examine 
it, we shall find it as nearly ochre-coloured as possible; probably the eye 
may be deceived by distance and contrast, and the name once given is 
no doubt all-sufficient as a name, and hence the error was perpetuated. 
We all know that the kingfisher's breast seems of the brightest orange 
as he glides . over the stream, when, if viewed close, it is not a whit 
brighter than the Robin's. 

It has been said that the reason why we prize the Redbreast so much 
is, that he is in song when all other music of the woods is mute. This 
may be, in some measure, true, but let it not detract from the melody 
of his voice. No doubt everything is enhanced in value by contrast, and 
the leafless trees, and the thick dull cold air of a November evening, 
when the light is fast fleeting ere yet the day has seen the eighth hour, 
set off the sweet piping of this pretty songster to the best advantage; but 
he really needs not this to place him in the first rank. I suppose it is 
also partly for the same reason that he passes almost unscathed through 
the multitudes of devices made use of to entrap and destroy other birds, 
for it must be acknowledged in fairness to the other kinds, that as a 
fruit-eating bird he is not less culpable than they; but he certainly does not 
increase in the same proportion, although his nest usually contains five or 



228 THE REDBREAST. 

six reddish mottled eggs, and he has often, nay, I may say, usually two 
broods in the season. One reason may be that it is placed on the ground, 
and, therefore, more accessible to destruction, although the quantity of 
young birds seen about in summer almost negative this, and I take the 
more true reason to be that he is the most pugnacious, perhaps, of any 
bird, and certainly much stronger than any of his own size. Only catch 
one, and see if it does not require all your address to hold him in your 
hand, that is, without such pressure as would injure him. I particularly 
remember a gentleman taking a fancy to catch a number of adult wild 
birds, (not of prey of course,) and turn them into an aviary for experi- 
ment. The result was that the most furious contests took place, ending 
in the Redbreast remaining master of the field, and the wren escaping 
between the wires; for the rest, they fared but indifferently. 

It is unnecessary particularly to describe this bird; who does not call to 
mind his large intelligent eye and finely-formed, head, his taper dark legs 
and pert movements? Like all insectivorous birds, his bill is slender and 
dark, with linear nostrils, and his feathers fine, with a good substance of 
down of a dull greyish hue. The red (so called) covers his fore-throat, 
breast, and forehead, extending round the eyes; the belly is dull white, 
and at the shoulder of each wing is a small bit of grey, which has 
the prettiest conceivable effect. The young, until the first moult, differ 
so much in colour as to be easily taken for some other bird by ignorami; 
but these must be so, however, is very clear, if they do not recognise 
the shape, the air, and the sharp call-note, by which he is so well known. 
Spring is the season which most usually calls our attention to the fea- 
thered tribes, but this bird seems to remind us, when winter drives away 
our gay songsters, or makes them silent, that the woods are not entirely 
deserted, for he is there. 

"The feathered flocks, 

Which hard bestead by hunger's urging call, 

Cast off their shyness, and with crested cock 

And all his train, divide the farm-yard spoil. 

The Redbreast, to a proverb, bolder yet, 

Haunts the abodes of men, for scattered crumbs, 

And e'en at open door and window lights, 

Or raps upon the pane of casement closed, 

With bill importunate; whilst man himself 

Respects the confidence, and sacred keeps 

The pledge of amity, and spares the bird." 

In speaking of the song of this bird, Gilbert White, the Selborne 
historian, goes somewhat out of his way to meet a position which is 
scarcely insisted upon, I think; namely, that Redbreasts are autumn 
songsters; asserting what no one will dispute, that all through the spring 
and summer their voices are drowned in the general chorus, and in the 



THF. BEPBREAST. 229 

autumn only their song becomes distinguishable. He states, also, that 
many songsters of the autumn are young cock birds of that year, and 
adds, (which I may refer to in confirmation of a statement I have made 
above,) that, notwithstanding the prejudices in their favour, they do 
much mischief in gardens to the summer fruits; (via Letter 60, to 
Thomas Pennant.) 

I have often speculated upon the choice of situations which birds make 
for their nests; and it is not easy always to come at the reasons for their 
choice, for reasons we may rest assured there always are, and the more so that 
they do it blindly; it is an implanted instinct, and proceeds therefore 
from Divine Wisdom. My theory has always been that food is the great 
directing agent, and is the best guide to divide animals into genera and 
species, and, I think, the general habits are also much affected by it. To 
apply this: — The Robin builds on the ground, or, rather, in the ground, 
for he always chooses some sheltered nook, where he may form a sort of 
cave, usually in the side of a bank, and this he moulds and forms for 
his purpose, contracting the orifice and making a sort of awning projecting 
above, which renders it difficult to be seen by the eye from above. Now 
the Robin chiefly subsists upon worms, grubs, and insects; his habits are 
sedate, and he is essentially sylvan in his localities, seldom being found 
out of a shrubbery, and generally within a short distance of a habitation, 
for in woods far removed from population, 1 may say, as a general rule, 
he is seldom found. Lofty trees he seldom mounts, though he occasionally 
sings from the summit of some moderately tall leader; but still his food, 
his subsistence, is obtained, and his movements are on the earth, and, 
accordingly, there he builds his nest. Now with the finches, sparrows, 
larks, etc., we all know their discursive and arboreal habits, and hence 
their habitations are in the tall trees of the forest, in the field, or on 
the waste; but master Bobby is a very neighbourly person, and returns 
the compliment of our indulgence, by placing himself, as it were, under 
our protection, and chirping around our very thresholds. 

I have seen singular specimens of Robins' nests, placed in very odd 
situations indeed; in recumbent flower-pots thrown away and lying prone 
amid the dead leaves, and in corners of old garden-houses, in fact any 
snug and out-of-the-way place seems just what he likes; he is not very 
shy, but will suffer his eggs to be handled and his home inspected many 
times without forsaking it, and when I was a thoughtless urchin I have 
many a time tried him sorely in this particular. He is a pretty fellow, 
and although I do not very clearly see why he ought to be spared more 
than other birds, yet I shall certainly always support so laudable a 
custom, although not only with respect to him. All I say is, if rats 
and mice must be killed because they are vermin, and if some birds 

. VOL. VII. 2 H 



230 NOTICE. 

sometimes must come within the same category, why I suppose they must; 
it is a sad necessity, and I do not think that the little fellow we are 
talking of can ever have such a rule applied to him, at least, I hope 
not. 

Pembroke Square, Kensington, January, 1857. 



NOTICE. 

A portion of the "Naturalist" will in future be specially devoted to 
the insertion of papers and communications upon Entomology. The great 
object of this department will be to elicit practical information upon all 
subjects connected with the science, and the ulterior motive, the result 
hoped for, will be not only the advancement of this branch of Zoology, 
but that of exciting an interest in the mind, and thus awakening powers 
of observation among those who from habit, or natural indolence of char- 
acter, too often permit their powers of thought and reflection to lay 
dormant. 

Natural History, or the study of Nature in its grand and sublime 
totality, is indeed a noble pursuit. The beauty of Creation is only half 
seen so long as we are content to look upon the surface. That combina- 
tion of rock and mountain, hill and valley, foliage and water, which 
constitutes fine scenery, is grateful to our feelings, and produces the most 
pleasing and varied sensations in the mind. And if, then, in the hack- 
neyed but beautiful phrase, we are led "from Nature up to Nature's 
God," how much more is such a truth realized when we dive into the 
hidden mysteries of organized beings, and see there a combination of parts 
— a harmony — a Design so exquisite, so beautiful, so perfect, that the 
dullest mind must be filled with admiration and awe. 

Of this Nature, or Natural History, Entomology teaches us an important 
part. The structure, the habits, whether good or bad — useful or hurtful 
— the transformations and the classification and arrangement of all Insects 
— the study of these things is Entomology. 

In this country of Great Britain and Ireland, such a pursuit is mostly 
limited to the insects of our own fauna. Now this limited sphere of study, 
while it gives great interest to our insular collections, is rather obstructive 
than otherwise to the investigation of those higher branches of the science 
by which the affinities and consequent classification of insects is determined. 
There are in fact two classes of votaries who worship at the Entomological 
shrine. — 

First — Those who collect and arrange according to the classification of 
others, who study the habits, changes, food-plants, and localities of larvae, 
the time of appearance, the varieties, and the diurnal or nocturnal move- 



•' NOTICE. 231 

ments of the perfect insect. To such men the term "scientific" is often 
denied. They are called "mere collectors," or perhaps "raw recruits/' by 
the wiser and more learned members of the entomological community. 

Secondly — Those who study the anatomy and affinities of insects, men 
learned in many languages, who examine and compare specimens from all 
parts of the world, and are great in synonymic lore. There are two men 
who are considered, and justly, to walk in the higher paths of science, for 
powers of abstraction and generalization are the requisite accomplishments 
for such a position. They write much Latin in defining the characters 
of insects, and indite long papers upon abstract points of difference in the 
Entomological economy. They are the men to whom the rewards of fame 
fall due. With all these perfections they have one fault; they are apt to 
look down with something akin to contempt upon the hard-working 
Naturalist of the woods and fields. 

With due deference, however, we are inclined to think such a division 
of classes is not normal. It does not in reality exist, and when we find 
that the distinction is anywhere prominently insisted upon, we may be 
quite sure that pedantry or affectation is the spring by which the move- 
ment is made. The practical Entomologist works quite as hard, if not 
more so, than the man who collects facts in his study. Linnaeus, Kirby, 
J. F. Stephens, Curtis, and a host of others, have earned their well-deserved 
reputation as much in the field as the closet. The "Fauna Suecica," the 
"Systema Naturae," the "Introduction to Entomology," the "British Ento- 
mology," and the "Illustrations," are the splendid legacies of men who 
sought Nature as she exists in her own garments of exquisite beauty. 

It is to the men, therefore, comprised in our first category, the "mere 
collectors" of some, the "practical Entomologists" of others, to whom we 
look principally for support in this our new venture in the cause of scientific 
truth. We do not in the slightest degree wish to enter into the field of 
opposition with any existing journal, we would not, if we could, touch the 
well-earned prosperity of our Natural History periodicals, but we wish to 
be supported by those who look upon Entomology as a pure mine of 
science, to be worked by men who will do so for the love of that science 
alone. We wish also to see the tone in connection with one very interesting 
and important branch of Entomology, the most popular, perhaps, of all, 
raised far above that which obtains at the present moment; and this can 
only be done by the determined union of men of high and honourable 
feeling, who will never permit the temple of science to be profaned. We 
need not make further allusion to a subject well known to the collectors 
of Lepidoptera, but which we trust we may now banish from these columns 
for ever. 

Brighter far is the thought which now for a moment directs our attention 



232 NOTES ON CRUSTACEANS. 

to a class of Entomologists to whom we wish to say a few words, namely, 
the incipients, as they are termed in the parlance of the day. To those 
we trust we shall always be a friend. We shall not flatter them by pub- 
lishing ill-digested or useless communications, but we shall do all we can 
to set them in the right way — to encourage them in their difficulties, and 
by holding up to them as examples those who have gone before them, and 
who by steady perseverance have won fame and renown, we hope that our 
efforts to keep them in the true path will be crowned with success. To 
those who are more advanced — to the adult and aged student of Nature 
we appeal with confidence. Had we any other interest than that of the 
advancement of science, we should scorn to make any appeal at all. Science 
never progresses when its advocacy is made subservient to private interests 
or book-trading monopoly. It must be free and unshackled. The great 
object of all science — that of giving knowledge to the ignorant, of enlarging 
the mind, of exciting thought, and forming habits of observation and re- 
flection, must never be lost sight of. To this end simplicity of language 
is all-important; we must not make doubtful laws, and illustrate our assertion 
by long, hard words. The thirst for knowledge is often at once and for 
ever slaked by the cumbersome language of pedantry. Science itself is pure 
and simple. It is merely the study of those laws which the Omnipotent 
Creator in the world's early morning impressed upon all things. In revealing 
these laws we are unfolding to the lower human mind the Greatness, the 
Wisdom, the Power, the Harmony, and Goodness of the one Greater Mind 
which designed Creation. 

And only so far as such revelations impress upon us an exalted feeling 
of gratitude can science be of benefit to mankind. Once let the lower 
usurp the place of the higher mind, and all our efforts to bo useful will 
from that moment cease. 

C. R. Bree. 

Strickland, Sept. lblh., 1857. 



NOTES ON CRUSTACEANS. 



Lithodes Maia. — This beautiful species is pretty common: on March 1st., 
and May 21st. and 26th., specimens came to hand. It inhabits rocky 
ground at a considerable depth. It seems somewhat strange that almost 
all the specimens were incomplete, some wanting one leg, some two, and 
some more. 

Carcinus Mcenas. — On September 12th. I found many of this speeies 
with the carapace quite soft. They were very languid, and made almost 



NOTES ON CRUSTACEANS. 233 

no attempt at resistance when taken hold of. They kept the legs quite 
close to the belly, instead of throwing them up in their usual attitude of 
defence. Some time ago a monstrosity was found; it had four fingers 
on one hand; the superfluous two were growing from the side of the 
normal two. About the same time one of Cancer pagurus was got with 
three fingers on one of the hands. 

Stenorynchns Phalangium. — On October 19th. a specimen came to hand 
with zoophytes attached to the legs, not growing on them; the pieces 
looked as if bitten off, and fixed by means of the bristles of the legs. 
The crab seemed to have lately cast its shell, and was again getting on 
its clothing of sponge, zoophytes, etc. Mr. Bell, in a note at page 24, 
seems to contradict Say, who gives it as his opinion, that the pieces are 
mechanically entangled by means of the hairs. He says: — "There is no 
doubt that they actually grow upon them, and are attached by roots." 
I have found them without doubt growing, and also without doubt "en- 
tangled mechanically in the hooked hairs." May not a few pieces be at 
first attached, and then become rooted, and propagate till the whole 
animal is covered? Why should the slow-moving crabs have this covering? 
It seems likely to serve as a protection from their enemies, by rendering 
them of the colour of the ground they feed on. Is not this the case 
with many, if not all kinds of fish? They take their colour from the 
nature of the locality they frequent. Thus I have found small cod quite 
red when caught among the forests of Laminaria digitata, etc. 

Hyas coarctatus. — October 13th. brought a female loaded with spawn, 
which is of a yellow colour. On November 6th. another completely 
covered with zoophytes growing on it, with some pieces of Flustra lying 
horizontally, was got; it was also loaded with spawn. 

Portunus holsatus. — October 18th. added a fine specimen of this beau- 
tiful crustacean; it was taken from a cod's stomach. A few days later 
another specimen was detected in the stomach of a fish hooked in forty- 
five fathoms of water, about nine miles off; the bottom was rocky. 

Portunus pusillus. — From the numbers taken from cod and haddock 
stomachs, they seem to swarm on the rocky parts of the Frith. 

Inachus Dorsettensis. — About the same time great numbers of this spe- 
cies were turned out of cods' stomachs; they were almost all entirely 
covered with Balani, some of which were of very large size. This species 
does not cast its shell yearly, or else the growth of the barnacles must 
be astonishingly rapid, 

Ebalia Bryerii. — Seems to be most abundant in deep water, from the 
remains found in stomachs. 

Ebelia Pennantii. — October 24th. several specimens were taken from 
haddocks' stomachs, caught on rocky bottom in forty-five fathoms of water. 



234 



THE NATURALISTS WISH. SYSTEMA NATURJE. 



Eurynome aspera. — Was found in a stomach from the same place; this 
crab is very rare. 

Inachus leptocliiriis. — January 17th. brought to light a specimen of this 
"extremely rare" crab. It was found in a cod's stomach, hooked in 
thirty fathoms of water on muddy bottom. 

Hyas araneus. — March 9th. a specimen, carrying spawn, was found 
dead on the beach near Macduff. 

Macduff, March 12th., 1857. 



THE NATURALIST'S WISH. 



They tell me of those fairy isles, 

That far away from here, 
Rise in the Southern Ocean, 

From the waters bright and clear; 
Where birds of gaudy plumage 

Flit from tree to tree, 
On branches never leafless, 

Bending o'er the sea; 
Where the dark and swarthy savage, 

In Nature's garb arrayed, 
Reclines in easy posture 

Beneath the cocoa's shade; 
Where the sun is daily coursing 

Through the blue and lofty sky; 
Where no sorrow or repining 

Brings forth the solemn sigh; 
Where all is joy and gladness, 

And money is not known, 
To tempt the heart to evil — 

To visit Satan's throne. 

Worth Wales, July, 1857. 



Oh! let me live in such a land, 

In some retired spot, 
The world by me forgotten, 

My name ty the world forgot; 
And there I'll study Nature's works. 

Made by a hand sublime, 
So wonderful and lovely, 

In that far-distant clime; 
And every bird and every beast 

Shall share my happy lot, 
And never will molested be 

Around my pretty cot; 
And night and morn my lips shall move 

In heartfelt adoration, 
To bless that God who gave me sense 

To study His creation; 
And when the hour of death draws nigh, 

My only wish shall be 
To be buried beneath the cooling shade 

Of "some wide-spreading tree. 

John ap John. 



SYSTEMA NATURE. 

BY THE REV. P. 0. MORRIS. 
{Continued from page 206.) 



Felis domestica hispanica, Schinz. 
Felis catus angorensis, Schinz. 
Felis domestica chinensis, Schinz. 
Felis brevicaudata, Schinz. 
Felis Manul, Pall. Reich. Schinz. 
Felis catus ferus, Schreb. Buff. Pall. 

Temm. Desm. Schinz. 
Felis Lynx, Linn. Schreb. Tern. Schinz. 

F. Lyncula, Nils. 



Felis pardina, Temm. Cuv. Fisch. Wag. 

Schinz. 
Felis cervaria, Temm. Nils. Cuv. Wag. 

Schinz. F. Lynx, Pall. 
Felis virgata, Nils. Schinz. 
Felis borealis, Temm. Cuv. Schinz. F. 

canadensis, Desm. Griff, Rich. Har. 
Felis rufa, Guld. Schreb. Tern. Desm. 

Fr. Cuv. Schinz. F. maculata, Horsf. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICFS. 



235 



Felis raaculata, Horsf. Reich. Schinz. 
Felis fasciata, Schinz. Lynx fasciatus, 

Rafin. Lewis, Natt. Beech. Har. 
Felis Caracal, Schreb. Cuv. Desm. Tern. 

Fr. Cuv. Wag. Schinz. 
Felis Chrysothrix, Temm. Schinz. 
Felis moorraensis, Hodff. Schinz 
Felis yaguarundi, Desm. Temm. Reng. 

Schreb. Schinz. F. Darvrini, Mart. 
Felis Eyra, Desm. Reng. Griff. Schinz. 

F. unicolojr, Trail. Eyra Azara, 

Fisch. Waff. 
Felis Pajeros, Desm. Water. Schinz. 

Azara essais, Fisch. Wag. 
Felis colocolo, Smith. Schinz. F. 

strigilata, Wag. Cuv. 
Felis megalotis, Mull. Schinz. 
Felis Temminkii, Vigors. Schinz. 
Felis planiceps, Vigors. Mull. Shinz. 
Felis Guigna, Schinz. F. tigrina, 

Linn 1 
Felis nigripes, Burch. Schinz. 
Felis neglecta, Gray. Schinz. 
Felis Ogilbyi, Schins. F. servalina, 

Ogil. F. brachyura, Wag. 
Felis cliinensis, Gray. Schinz. 
Felis inconspicua, Ogil. Schinz. 
Felis Tigrillo, Poppig. Schinz. 
Felis rutila, Schinz. F. rutilus, Water. 



Felis Greofft-oyi, Guer. Schinz. 

FAMILIA III.— Phocidje. 

Otaria. 

Otaria jubata, Desm. Schinz. Phoca 

jubata, Schreb. Platyrrhynckus leo- 

ninus, Less. O. Pernettyi, Less. P. 

leonitius, Fr. Cuv. 
Otaria Stelleri, Less. Schinz. 
Otaria californiana, Schinz. O. cali- 

forniana, Less. 
Otaria ursina, Schinz. O. ursiua, Desm. 

O. Kraschenninikofii, Less. Fisch. 

Phoca ursina, Linn. Schreb. Ursus 

marinus, Stell. Artocepbalus ursi- 

nus, Less. Fr. Cuv. 
Otaria Forsteri, Less. Schinz. 
Otaria flavescens, Desm. Poppig. Shaw. 

Schinz. 
Otaria albicollis, Desm. Per. Less. 

Schinz. 
Otaria cinerea, Schinz, Desm. Per. 

Fisch. 
Otaria australis, Schinz. 
Otaria pusilla, Schinz. O. Peroaii et 

nigra, Desm. Schreb. O. Peronii, 

Griff. 
Otaria falklandica, Schinz, Desm. 

Griff. O. Shawii, Less. 



( To be continued.) 



Mtsn\imm Jin to. 

Wood Pigeon.— I saw a Wood Pigeon to day at Londesborough, flying 
with a large stick in its bill for building a nest. It is not often that the 
second brood will be so late as in this case it must be. — F. 0. Morris, 
August 23rd., 1857. 

The Wren. — A pair of these birds have lately built what must have been a 
second nest this year, and the other day, the 2nd. instant, there were four of 
the young ones, barely able to fly, perched all together on a wire garden 
chair, close to the Rectory here. I caught one of them, a "bonnie wee 
thing," and kept it for a few minutes. It was a very pretty sight to see 
them all together, "a large small family." — F. 0. Morris, August 2nd. 

Fall of a House. — A swallow built her nest inside the roof of our 



230 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

summer-house. One fine (or probably wet) day or night, the nest and all 
that it contained fell down, but the fall was partly broken by a table 
on the middle of the floor. It proved only to have one young bird in 
it. nearly fledged. The parent, or parents, continued to feed it in 
this situation, and in due time it became able to fly, and got away. — 
F. O. Morris, Nunburnholme Rectory, August 17th., 1857. 

Clouded Yellow Butterfly, (Colias edusa.) — I had the good luck this 
morning to capture a fine specimen of this butterfly, and saw another but 
lost it. I have never heard of nor seen it in this district before, and I 
see from Mr. Morris's valuable work on "British Butterflies," that it is 
rare in Scotland. — W. G. Gibson, Dumfries, August 17th., 1857. 

Xanthia Silago. — On the 5th. of August, Instant, Marmaduke C. F. 
Morris found a fine specimen of this moth in our orchard. This date is, 
I fancy, an uncommonly early one for its appearance; the usual time 
seems to be not until September. — F. 0. Morris, Nunburnholme Rectory, 
August 17th., 1857. 

Fouf Days' Collecting in the Neighbourhood of Dorhing. — SxAy 5th. — 
In addition to those already mentioned in the August No., I took 
Helveola, and eight larvae of Verbasci, (The Mullen.) 11th. — Forty- 
eight T. pastinum, (Black-neck;) six Helveola, (Flat Lackey;) two 
liussula, (Clouded Buff;) twelve Angustalis, (Silver-dotted Nettle Trap;) 
six Gcecimaculana; four Cespitana; and eight larvse of Lychnitis. 18th. — 
Ten Black-necks, fifty Flat Lackeys, four Abietaria, (Satin Carpet;) four 
Willow Beauty, six Tissue, and twenty-four larvae of Lychnitis. 25th. — 
Forty-eight Flat Lackeys, six Satin Carpets, and fifteen larvae of Lych- 
nitis. — James Gardner, 52, High Holborn, London. 

T. allantiforme, (White-Belted Clear Wing.) — I have just added a fine 
specimen of this insect to my private collection, which, I believe, is the 
fifth specimen known. Possibly some of the readers of "The Naturalist" 
could enumerate more. Stainton's "Manual" only records a single capture. 
— Idem. 

Butterflies. — The present season is very prolific in insect life. Seldom 
have we seen the Peacock Eye and Red Admiral in such abundance in this 
district. A specimen of the Clouded Yellow, [Colias edusa,) was captured 
a few days ago in Kirkmahoe; and on Tuesday seven were taken, and a 
good number more seen, near Glencaple Quay. As there is only one 
recorded capture of this "Favourite of Entomologists" in Scotland, we 
hope some of them may escape the ruthless net of the collector; and we 
may soon be able to look on it as one of our local species. — Dumfries 
Herald. September, 4th., 1857. 




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NATURAL HISTORY 

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BRITISH GRASSES. 

BY 

E. J. LOWE, ESQ., F.R.A.S., F.G.S., F.L.S., M.B.M.S., 

Hon. Mem. Dub. Nat. Hist. Soc, Mem. Geolog. Soc. Edinb., 
Con - . Mem. Manchester Lit. & Phil. Soc.. etc. 



ADDRESS. 

The object of the Author in the present undertaking, is to present to the 
public a history of the British Grasses published at such a price that it 
may be within the reach of all who are anxious to study this interesting 
and useful tribe of plants. 

The Grasses are not only interesting in a Botanical point of view, but 
they are a study well deserving the close attention of agriculturists; indeed 
a more intimate knowledge would be found of infinite benefit to the farmer. 
It will therefore be one feature of the work to offer remarks on those species 
that are profitable to the agriculturist. 

There have been many works published on our British Grasses, some of 
which are now out of date, others too brief in their descriptions, and too 
scientific for those wdio are not well up in Botany, and others too expensive 
to be in general use amongst that class of readers which the present work 
is written to benefit. 

British Grasses are of the utmost importance to mankind; amongst them 
are Wheat, Barley, Oats, and Rye, providing us with br3ad, beer, and 
spirits; and to the Grasses we are also indebted for food for our cattle. 

Exotic Grasses are also both useful and interesting. "We have the Sugar- 
cane, Bamboo, Rice, Lemon Grass, Pampas Grass, Tussac Grass, and a host 
of other beautiful and valuable species; it is therefore the intention of the 
Author to furnish as an additional feature, descriptions and figures of the 
more curious and useful of our Foreign Grasses, which will form a supplement 
to the Natural History of British Grasses. 

The Author will be much obliged for specimens, and information regarding 
both the British and Exotic species. 

The great success of the "Natural History of British an! Exotic Ferns," 
leads the Author to suppose that the present work, (which will be published 
uniformly with that book,) will be equally successful. 



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THE ENTOMOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT 

BY C. R. BREE, ESQ. 



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the earth is full of Thy riches. — Psalm civ., 24. 



LONDON: 

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CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

The Song of Birds. By 0. S. Round, Esq 237 

On the Classification of the Animal Kingdom. By F. M. Burton, 

Esq 240 

On Unity of System 245 

Water Insects, Etc. By O. S. Round, Esq 247 

Clausilia Rolphii. By W. Webster, Esq 248 

Notes on the Natural History of East Cumberland. By Mr. T. 

Armstrong 250 

Entomology: — 

List of Lepidoptera in the County of Suffolk. By the Rev. J. 

Greene, the Rev. H. H. Crewe, and C. R. Bree, Esq 253 

Ichneumon and Tortrix Larva. By C. R. Bree, Esq 259 

The Wasp and the Spider. Idem 259 

Exchange. — Marine Shells 259 

Review. — The Natural History Review 2G0 

The Retrospect. — The Penguin 260 

The Querist. — Autumnal tones, Etc 260 



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— D. Payne;— S. P. Savill;— C. H. Brown. 



ENTOMOLOGY. 

A. B. — Many thanks: any information about the Coleoptera will be acceptable. We hope 
soon to have a list of the rarer species taken in Suffolk. 

Mil. Twinn. — We are much obliged by your paper on the "Humming Bird Sphinx," but 
as it relates to an insect very common in the South of England, and the habits of which 
are well known to Entomologists, we do not think any good purpose would be attained by 
its publication. 

%* All communications on Entomology intended for insertion in this department of "The 
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Suffolk. 

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"Notice" in last month's number, we are therefore under the necessity of requesting our 
readers to make the following alterations in that article: — Pago 230, sixth line from bottom, 
for "m determined" read "are determined." Page 231, sixth line from top, for " There are 
tivo men," read "These are the men." — Ed. 



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237 
THE SONG OF BIRDS. 

BY 0. S. ROUND, ESQ. 

Everything has a peculiar characteristic, or that by which it is parti- 
cularly distinguished; thus the song of birds is their distinguishing attribute, 
and in the universal possession of which (I speak of song birds) they differ 
from all other creatures, the human race not excepted. This gift has in 
all ages formed the theme of the poet, the charm of the country, and the 
admiration of all; it is simultaneous with a genial change of season, and 
ushers in the first warmth of April's sunbeams in the most agreeable 
manner. I think no one, let him be ever so insensible to the beauties 
of Nature, but must have felt the full effect of the charm of this delightful 
harmony; for, let the season be what it will, sunshine alone calls it forth 
in full chorus, and what can enliven a brilliant day, and add zest to the 
enjoyment of it, more than this sweet accompaniment? It is true that 
the woods, robed in their new dress of light green foliage, are a beautiful 
spectacle; but were they silent, they would charm only without inspiration, 
whilst the native music that resounds amid their branches animates the 
scene in an uncommon manner, and seems to enhance even the brilliancy 
of the hues which are blended in the sea of leaves. It is a remarkable 
circumstance that, almost without exception, the plainest-looking birds are 
the best songsters, as if Nature designed to make up for their want in 
one particular by their excellence in another, in the same manner that we 
constantly find the most ordinary persons the most agreeable, and splendid 
talent incased in a receptacle of deformity, the only difference in the analogy 
being that both are often mingled in the human subject. Hence it seems 
ordained that one is formed to please the eye, and the other the ear, so 
that the pleasure received by two senses may not be called forth by the 
same subject, as though they might interfere and clash with each other. 
Look at the magnificent Peacock, the Eastern Pheasant of the Himalayas, 
our own Pheasant, or the native of China, with their gorgeous and daz- 
zling contrast of resplendent plumage; all these are harshly loquacious, and, 
if not, comparatively mute. The Kingfisher is seldom heard to utter any 
sound, and when he does, it cannot be called even a note, and is only 
agreeable as connected in memory with the cool, flowing river, and the 
refreshing shade of the willows in a summer's day. 

Look at the beautiful Swan as he sails majestically upon the bosom of 
the waters, what can be a more noble sight? and yet this stupendous bird, 
for there are, I believe, very few which exceed him in size, when with 
flashing eyes and out-spread plumage he resents an insult, becomes suddenly 
almost ridiculous when you hear nothing but a "hiss" proceed from him. 

VOL. VII. 2 I 



238 THE SONG OP BIRDS. 

The Hawk tribe, again, beautiful and symmetrical as they are, so formed, 
so exquisitely shaped for rapid and nervous motion, utter nothing but a 
shriek, and yet is their wild cry peculiarly adapted to their nature, and 
sufficiently characteristic. Then there is the Heron tribe, which have all, 
more or less, harsh sounding notes, partaking more of a scream than any 
other sound; but these are partially nocturnal birds, that is, return late to their 
rendezvous, and wake the far-drawn echoes of the valleys as they wing 
their solitary way homeward. 

Most night-birds are clamorous, for although it is true that their eyes 
are so formed as to collect every ray of light, yet we cannot suppose that 
they can do more than see somewhat better than ourselves in the dark, 
and hence this is absolutely necessary to collect stragglers. The cries of 
water-birds are more similar than those which inhabit the earth, for among 
them are no songsters properly so called. Many have curious, and perhaps 
not inharmonious notes, but they either partake of a monotonous whistle, a 
shrill cry, or a harsh quack! The Hooper, or Wild Swan, particularly, 
makes a loud sound, very much like the turning of a rusty hinge, (as I 
have elsewhere observed;) and the Thick-kneed Bustard, or Stone Curlew, 
utters three notes, executed as a turn, reduceable to music; but these are 
the only peculiar instances that occur to me at the present moment. 

All birds, as I have observed at the outset of this paper, are possessed 
of melodious notes, or the capability of uttering such, but it is to the 
land-birds that this observation more peculiarly applies, as amongst them 
we have the finest singers, and indeed the only true songsters, of which no 
country in the globe can boast so many as our own; for I think we may 
fairly call our summer visitants ours, inasmuch as they perform the most 
important function of their lives, namely, nidification, with us, and very 
many of them, we may fairly conclude, although they leave us after being 
bred in England, never reach other shores, amid the waste and destruction 
which their transmarine journey must necessarily cause, especially to young 
and consequently imperfect flyers. Now among these we rank the Night- 
ingale, that divine songster, whose mellifluous notes have formed the theme 
of song and admiration from the earliest ages of antiquity; never, I sup- 
pose, did poet write without celebrating her song, and it is indeed well 
worthy of the most exalted praise which can be bestowed upon it; there 
is a richness, a volume in it, which causes you to look with pleasing 
astonishment at the little throat which pours it forth. 

"Whilst fair Lucinia, in her russet garb, 
Unseen, from deepest nook, pours forth her lay; 
"Whose liquid notes swell on the silent air, 
With richness, fullness, sweetness, unsurpassed, 
If ever equalled, whilst the spell extends 



THE SONG OP BIRDS. 239 

To every car, and thence to every heart, 
Till all confess the power of music's charm, 
And the fair songstress, first of all the choir, 
That carol forth their lays from morn till night." 

Then there is the Blackcap, that charming singer, called also the English 
Mocking-bird, although I have always thought that his native powers, 
bearing as they do a great resemblance to the notes of other birds, are, 
ab initio, his own. The Thrush is another superior songster, and it is 
difficult to say that any but the Nightingale can be placed before him, 
his notes are so extremely varied and powerful, although necessarily often 
repeated; but there are those who prefer the Blackbird, and I own as 
to tone I am of the number, fully awarding, as I do, the second place to 
the sweet Mavis. Then comes the Redbreast, which "conies out" so sweetly 
in sunny December days; the Wren, that noisy little thing, who almost 
rivals the Canary in power; the Redstart and Whitethroat, those delicate 
songsters; and the rest of the Insect ivori, all, more or less, real songsters, 
especially the little Willow Wrens; even the fairy- like golden- crowned 
Wren adds his sweet minute voice to the general chorus. Then the Finches 
are all singers, and very prettily some of them sing; the Chaffinch is par- 
ticularly well known, as he has a powerful round-toned voice; but the 
Goldfinch much surpasses h'm in sweetness and variety, but is comparatively 
insignificant and unheard for want of power, and these with the Bullfinch 
are really all pretty birds as well. Then that pretty little bird the Reed 
Wren, Gilbert White's Salicaria, (how the idea reminds me of Selborne;) 
how sweetly she awakes the echoes of night with her hurrying and varied 
song, which is a very sweet polyglot. She and the Nightingale are charming 
soothers of the summer midnight; and many a time have I enjoyed a 
half- hour when waiting for a late up-train in the neighbourhood of London, 
under the soft light of a bright moon, and drinking in with silent satisfaction 
the song of both these pretty creatures. The Cuckoo too, although he 
only utters two notes, is still entitled, from his strength of voice and its 
pretty combination and true melody, to a foremost place amongst singing 
birds; even the little Hedge Sparrow is very pleasing in the solitude of 
the wood. 

Very few foreign birds are good songsters; America, I believe, boasts the 
best in its "mocking" Thrush, for although the Parrot is very capable of 
producing almost any nofe of music, it is in the way of imitation, and not 
his own natural song. There are a great proportion of the finch tribe, of 
the foreign kinds, which have one loud whistling note; of this the Virginian 
Nightingale is a familiar example. 

Whether we call the note of the Domestic Fowl singing I am dubious, 
although their tones are very varied in expression. These are also foreign 



240 CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

birds, and find their originals in the jungles of India and the regions of 
Java. The Woodpeckers cannot be called singers, although they have a 
loud laughing note enough; but among the very small birds we have some 
beautifully sweet voices, thus the Linnets, the Titmice, the Swallows, the 
Wagtails, the Stone and Whinchats, are pretty songsters, and the Wheatear; 
and what can add to the enjoyment of the purity of the air on the moor 
more than these sweet sounds, as they come upon the air borne amid the 
hum of wings? Even the Buntings, although not strictly harmonious, have 
still a modified song. Then the Sky Lark and Wood Lark are beautiful 
songsters, especially the latter, for there is a delicate sweetness in his notes, 
albeit, the Sky Lark has a splendid voice; the Bullfinch too is a fine 
singer, that is, his natural notes are few, but, as we all know, he is 
capable of being taught to execute complete airs. Even Owls hoot in a 
particular key, and I doubt not but that the Raven and Bittern have 
some fine bass notes. 

It is the Pie, Thrush, and Parrot kinds that chiefly learn to articulate 
words, indeed I believe the only ones; the Starling having in some instances 
attained to great proficiency in this particular, and there have happened 
one or two cases of talking Canaries, but these were considered such 
uncommon rarities as to be valued at the most enormous price. 

The song of birds is so exquisitely adapted to set off their soft aspect 
amid the boughs of the forest or the sprays of the hedge-row, that no 
other accompaniment could render them so charming. It seems to com- 
municate a double degree of elasticity to their motions, and creates a 
joyousness in the scenes of nature which I am persuaded nothing else 
could so well supply. It is impossible in the limits of a single paper, to 
do more than touch upon the different varieties of songsters, but perhaps 
at some future period, I may enter into a more minute comparison of 
the various species as regards their vocal powers. 

Pembroke Square, Kensington, April, 1856. 



ON" THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, 
BY THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NERVES. 

BY F. M. BURTON, ESQ. 

(Continued from page 2\Q.) 

No. V.— Part II. 

In the third great class of the Vertebrate division, that of birds, we find 
many interesting organic changes and developments, the principal of which, 
says Professor Jones, after the improvement in the condition of the nervous 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 241 

system, is the elevated temperature of the body, and the heat of the 
circulating fluids. The skeletons of the animals which belong to this class 
being formed for flight, of course differ widely in their mechanical construction 
from those we have yet considered. The bones throughout are eminently 
fitted for the purposes for which they are intended, uniting the greatest 
strength and firmness with the lightness indispensable for the due exercise 
of their powers. The muscular system is also necessarily very highly 
developed, and far exceeds that of all the classes we have hitherto considered, 
with the exception of insects, which are also adapted to flight. 

The mouth consists of a variously shaped beak, in no instance provided 
with teeth, enclosing a stiff bony tongue, which is used for widely different 
purposes in different species. The oesophagus is provided, in most birds, 
with a crop for holding the food previous to its entering the stomach, and 
a second dilatation, called the bulbus glandulosus, situate just at the 
commencement of the gizzard for the gastric juice. The gizzard itself is 
of immense strength, and its crushing powers are assisted in some birds 
by small pebbles which they swallow for the purpose. The length of the 
intestinal canal varies considerably in different species, and its division into 
small and large intestines is not very distinct. The auxiliary secreting 
glands consist of the salivary, placed immediately beneath the mucous 
membrane of the mouth, the gastric already spoken of, the liver and pancreas, 
which are of a considerable size, and the spleen, which is always very 
small. This class also possesses a peculiar external gland for secreting oil 
for lubricating the feathers, which is especially useful to those species that 
inhabit the water. The respiratory and circulatory systems are much more 
highly developed than in any class we have yet considered. 

The heart is divided into four distinct cavities, two auricles, and two 
ventricles, one of the latter transmitting venous blood to the lungs, while 
the other drives the arterialized portion to all parts of the body, the 
atmospheric air being not only confined to the lungs, but resembling somewhat 
the action of the tracheal tubes in insects, it permeates all the interior of 
the body, and penetrates even into the bones. The lungs are no longer 
confined in closed bags as in reptiles, but resemble spongy vascular masses, 
which are bound down to the dorsal aspect of the thorax, and are incapable 
of alternate dilatation and contraction, the air being distributed through 
the substance by the introduction of innumerable branchial tubes, the main 
trunks of which passing through the lungs, open by wide mouths into the 
thorax, whence the air is transmitted to all parts of the body, an arrangement 
wonderfully adapted to the requirements of the feathered tribes, as by the 
abundant supply of pure air, the blood is at all times highly oxygenized, 
the specific weight of the body is considerably lightened, and those that 
are endowed with the gift of song, are enabled by the same means to 



242 CLASSIFICATION OP THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

produce and prolong those notes of music which in the spring and early 
summer months, and even in the warmer winter days, may be heard 
enlivening our woods, lanes, and hedge-rows. The kidneys of birds are 
always of a large size, and the generative system is quite as simple in its 
structure as that of reptiles. 

The young, while confined in the egg, pass through many most wonderful 
and interesting changes, or rather gradual developments, as regards heart, 
lungs, and circulatory apparatus, before they are hatched and make their 
first appearance in the world as highly organized members of the Vertebrate 
division of the Animal Kingdom. 

The nervous system, in accordance with the never-failing rule, presents 
a very perceptible improvement in comparison with that of reptiles, more 
especially, says Professor Jones, "in the increased proportional development 
of the cerebral hemispheres;" but it is still inferior to that of the highest 
class next to be considered in several important points. The senses of 
touch and taste are but imperfectly developed, while those of smell and 
sight are, on the other hand, very highly brought out, to enable the birds 
to scent the least waft of carrion that may taint the atmosphere, and to 
discover the lurking prey while sailing at a great distance above, or gliding 
quickly through the air. The eye in birds is admirably constructed, and 
is provided with three moveable eyelids — an upper, and a lower, and the 
nictitating membrane, which is in a measure transparent, and the lacrymal 
and other glands. The sense of hearing in birds is like that of the more 
perfect reptiles, there is still no external ear, though the owl tribe possess 
a broad sinus flap, which somewhat resembles the more highly-organized 
auditory apparatus of the next class. 

We now come to the last class of the animal world, at the head of 
which stands man, as far pre-eminent over all the tribes and genera below, 
as his nervous system exceeds theirs in perfection. One of the great 
distinguishing characteristics of this favoured class, and one which is never 
met with in the lower families, is the production of milk for rearing their 
young. Their skeletons, which in man and all other mammals except 
cetacea, are divisible into five parts, — the cervical, dorsal, lumbar, sacral, 
and caudal, are of endless variety and shape, and always singularly and 
perfectly adapted to the circumstances of the different species to which they 
belong. 

The more we examine the principles of nature, the more must we be 
convinced of the consummate wisdom of its divine author, and this is 
nowhere more strikingly displayed than in the formation of the skeletons 
of the different tribes of mammals; as, for instance, the disproportionate 
size of the hind legs, and length of tail of the kangaroos, fitting them to 
escape when pursued, by strong and vigorous leaps; the conversion of the 



CLASSIFICATION OP THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 243 

anterior extremities of whales into broad fins and paddles, enabling them 
to move through the waters of the sea with as much ease as the most 
perfectly organized fish; the elongation of the metacarpus of the horse; 
the remarkable shape of the skeletons of the sloth tribe, adapted to their 
existence amongst the branches of trees; the elongation of the fingers of 
bats, whereon their membranous wings are stretched; and many others, the 
enumeration of which would occupy too much space. 

The transition from birds to quadrupeds, says Professor Jones, is effected 
by gentle gradations of structure, and the Monotremata, of which we have 
a familiar example in the Duck-billed Ornithorhynchus paradoxus of New 
Holland, forms the lowest connecting link. The muscular system of mam- 
mals is in general very variable and highly constructed. One of its dis- 
tinguishing features is the diaphragm or muscle, which divides the thoracic 
from the abdominal cavity, and is peculiar to the entire class. Another 
important one is the cutaneous muscle for moving the integument, which, 
in some species, as the porcupine and hedgehog, is very highly developed. 
In man this muscle is found only partially adapted to different offices of 
the body. Their digestive system is very variable and complex; the teeth, 
which arm the mouth, and seize and masticate the prey, are a study in 
themselves alone. Those of whales, forming the whalebone of commerce, 
are of a horny texture, and hang in fibres from the roof of the mouth, 
straining the waters of the ocean as through a sieve, and catching thousands 
of mollusca and other animals in their net-like fringe. The male narwal, 
instead of the usual teeth planted round the jaw, possesses a single tusk 
of great strength, attaining sometimes the length of eight or ten feet. The 
tusks of the well-known elephant offer another remarkable modification of 
the dental apparatus, and consist of ivory without enamel. But in far the 
greater number of quadrupeds the teeth present a more complex structure, 
consisting of two distinct substances — ivory and a coating of very hard 
enamel; some continue to grow during the life of the animal, as the incisor 
teeth of rodents; while others are limited in their growth, as those of man, 
the carnivora, and others. 

The tongue, the seat of the sense of taste, corresponds in all mammals 
in general muscular structure to that of man, with the exception of the 
ant-eater and others which use it as a means of capturing insects, and 
have it adapted accordingly to the purpose. In some animals this organ 
is studded with recurved points; in the porcupine it is armed at its ex- 
tremity with sharp horny scales. The salivary system in all mammals, 
where it exists, corresponds generally with that of man. In the amphibious 
genera it is but feebly developed, and in the cetacea it is not found at 
all. The oesophagus is a long muscular tube, with a loose lining mem- 
brane, capable of great distension; and the stomach, which is of endless 



244 CLASSIFICATION OP THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 

variety and shape, is either simple, as belonging to the greater number of 
mammals, complex, made up of several communicating compartments of a 
similar organization, as in the kangaroo, porcupine, etc., or compound, as 
that possessed by the ruminants, or animals which chew the cud, consisting 
of four distinct cavities of a different organic construction. Some animals, 
as the camel and dromedary, that have to subsist many days without a 
fresh supply of water when journeying over the desert, in addition to these 
cavities, have deep bags or reservoirs where water may be retained without 
mixing with the contents of the stomach. The rest of the alimentary 
canal in most quadrupeds is divided into small and large intestines, the 
division of which is marked by ccecal and vermiform appendages, or by 
an internal valve, as in the sloth and armadillo tribes. 

The remaining viscera, the chylopoyetic and the lymphatic system, as 
well as the circulatory and respiratory organs, correspond in their general 
development with that found in man, breathing being effected by the alter- 
nate motions of the diaphragm and thoracic cavity, and the heart, which 
offers the same arrangement throughout the entire class, consists of two 
auricles and two ventricles, the arterialized blood being collected by the 
pulmonary veins into the left auricle, and being expelled from its corres- 
ponding ventricle through the aorta into the general structure, and thence 
again collected by the venous system through the vense cavse into the 
right or pulmonic auricle, and its corresponding ventricle, to be again passed 
on as before. 

The skin of all mammals consists of three parts, — the cutis or true skin, 
the epidermis or cuticle, and a thin layer of pigment between the two, and 
the hair and other epidermic appendages with which it is clothed, although 
apparently of very diversified structure, always consist of the same material 
in a more or less modified state. The soft wool of the sheep, the sharp 
quills of the porcupine, the tough armour of the armadillo, and the horn 
on the snout of the rhinoceros are all made of the same material, and 
are of the same construction as that of the human hair. "Widely dif- 
ferent, however," says Professor Jones, "are the so-called horns of the deer 
tribe, which in reality consist of bone, and, being deciduous, have to be 
reproduced from year to year by a most peculiar and interesting process." 

In their generative apparatus mammals in their lowest orders approximate 
to that of birds. The marsupials are ovo-viviparous, but in the highest 
orders these organs present a perfect type of structure; and lastly, as regards 
their nervous system, we find the fullest development of all its parts, 
necessarily commensurate with their high state of organization. The brain 
assumes its maximum development; the cerebrum and cerebellum, with 
additional lateral lobes, are greatly increased; and the various senses of 
smell, touch, sight, and hearing, according to the never-failing rule, have 



UNITY OF SYSTEM. U45 

all their corresponding motor powers in the nerves, in proportion to their 
increased use and energy of action; wherever, in fact, any organ, or set 
of organs, becomes more highly developed in any single species, not only 
in the vertebrate world, but in all classes of the animal kingdom, from 
sponges up to man, though it may be beyond the power of our microscopes 
to discover in the lowest acritous orders, there we may reckon with cer- 
tainty that there is an increased proportionate development of the corres- 
ponding parts of the nervous system. 

Uppingham, September ^th., 1857. 



ON UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

(Continued from page 225.) 

The intermediate period before mentioned, or the visible and natural 
creation is by, and the image of, the beginning, and to be for ever associated 
with the beginning hereafter, or rather then to be for Christ, who, when 
all things are subject to him, or when He has filled all things, will again, 
it is said, re-assume the state which was His before the creation. Thus 
all creatures have two states, one visible, the other as yet invisible; one 
to cease or be changed, the other eternal; the first as the means for the 
second; and the deviation from the way between the first and the second 
in man, may very generally be defined to be the using of the means as 
an end instead of for the end, and is, as we shall see, prefigured in the 
successive epochs of animals before the existence of man. We are told that 
the earth is to be restored, and to be possessed by man in his future 
new existence, and thence it might be inferred, were it not expressly so 
mentioned, that the intermediate part, or all creatures between the dust 
of the earth and man, will also be renewed, for all have one origin, and 
are of the same substance, and Christ partook also of the same, and thus 
the eternal life become the visible life, in order that the latter might 
finally cease in the former. 

Every individual creature, like the whole visible creation, has its origin 
and support or body, and all its powers and faculties in Christ, and is 
thus in some degree His image, or the manifestation of His power and wisdom. 
With this persuasion we always have God, as it were, sensibly before our 
eyes, with the remembrance that he is equally present by His works in 
all times and places. He gives to every creature its peculiar structure, 
form, beauty, and economy, and its perfect adaptation to its habits, or 
the means to the end, and continually directs all its operations, and thereby 
we often see in the results of the instinct of minute creatures, much greater 
wisdom than man can devise. His own power will be almost hidden till 

VOL. VII. 2 K 



246 UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

the end of the present creation, and will appear only in Nature, which is 
His image, and especially in man. Adam, and what is recorded of him, 
is said to be figurative of Christ, and thus the incident towards the end 
of the second chapter of Genesis, is said in the latter part of the Bible, 
to represent both the present state and the eternal life. 

All creatures will retain their individuality in the future state, though 
they will be all filled in various degrees with the same eternal life; and 
in like manner it will be remembered, that all creatures on earth have one 
source of existence, that one power is common to them all, whether good 
or bad, high or low, and that this power is eternal life, which as such, 
is restrained or powerless during the present life, but is manifest by all 
creation. 

The whole history of the earth and of man, from the beginning to the 
end of the Bible, is filled with comparative figures of the present and of 
the eternal state, or rather the earthly existence is continually limited, or 
diminished, or shortened, by the future life; and this is in exact accordance 
with the same law as prefigured in all natural objects, for the diminution 
of the inferior state in each of these objects, is accompanied by the partial 
transfer of its substance to the higher state. In other words the beginning 
and the end are in all instances figuratively or really brought nearer 
together, by the diminution or removal of the means, or of the intermediate 
part and state. In nature we find one law hidden in an endless variety 
of objects, and therefore continually varying in its expression. So in the 
Bible one law is concealed throughout, but the images under which it 
appears, are always differing from the beginning to the end. 

The present or natural existence is figurative of the future or eternal 
one, and in Nature as a whole and in every one of its divisions or parts, 
and throughout the Bible the two states are typified by various figures, and 
the separation of the one from the other is everywhere inculcated, the 
two not being consistent, or co-existent, or to be combined. The eternal 
state is the beginning as well as the end; the present state is only inter- 
mediate, and the former is involved in the latter. Thus Nature, or the 
visible creation, is the means of the infinite increase of Christ, or of the 
eternal creation, and throughout nature every kind of creature, and innu- 
merable combinations of creatures, and all of them collectively, are ex- 
pressive both of Christ and of Nature; that is, of the whole visible creation, 
from beginning to end, and the eternal creation. As the present and the 
eternal creation cannot co-exist, the first must cease before the manifestation 
of the latter, and this can only be effected by Him in whom the present 
creation begun, and whose power is concealed in every part of it. He, 
therefore, representing all creation, both natural and eternal, combined the 
former with Himself, in order that it might be destroyed, that is, changed 



WATER INSECTS, ETC. 247 

from time to eternity; and as it all began in Him, so it must first cease 
in Him, and thus by His death, He first removed in Himself the nature 
which suppresses the power of eternal life, and will afterwards do the same 
in all kinds of creatures, all being made by Him and for Him. 

The Psalms, and some other parts of the Bible, express intense admira- 
tion for the works of creation, though so little of them were then known, 
and the present rapid increase of the knowledge of these works, claims a 
much higher degree of admiration, especially when it is considered that all 
parts of Nature are manifestations of the power of Christ, and that 
descriptions of all His works would be too numerous for the world to 
contain, and that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden 

in Him. 

{To be continued.) 



WATER INSECTS, ETC. 

BY O. S. ROUND, ESQ. 

When the sun begins to shine into our chamber really early, and 
nature is awaking from her winter slumber, I know of no more interesting 
study than can be found in a field pond filled with such a multitude of 
creatures, which are called forth from the larva or inactive state, in which 
they have passed the dreary dark months. I remember when I was a 
boy, a little nook of water of this kind forming one of the greatest sources 
of enjoyment I think I ever recollect, and the happy calm moments 
passed on its margin, bring back to my mind's eye bright gleams of warm 
and sunny young summer hours — how free from the whirl in which after 
years and business habits have since involved me! and I turn to them 
with an interest which few past hours still possess. I scarcely remember 
the time when the study of natural objects did not engross my chief 
attention, and I used to look into the depths of the calm clear stream, 
with something even then of sublime contemplation of those beautiful little 
beings which I saw sporting on its surface, or scudding and diving in its 
pellucid depths, and longed to dive too into those depths, and become 
familiar with those haunts that looked so cool and shady, and above all 
so clear and peaceful. 

At last I bethought me of a contrivance which might in some sort 
effect my object, and this was no other than (gentle reader do not smile) 
an old skimmer, which, handleless and thrown aside, nevertheless was the 
thing I wanted. To this I fixed a long wooden handle, and for years 
after this instrument and a broad red earthenware pan, formed my aquatic 
entomological assistants. With the first I pursued the large Water Beetle, 
{Dytiscus marginalis,) that powerful and bold insect, into the depths of 



248 CLAUSILIA EOLPHH, 

the green weed in which he sought refuge; in vain did the Water Flea 
leave his eccentric gambols and sink beneath the surface, both were certain 
to be sucked into the vast jaws of the skimmer, which drawn forth, was 
speedily emptied of its water through its serrated side, and the unhappy 
victim left high and dry behind; not that I ever had a thought of harming 
him, for I immediately transferred him to my pan of clear water, and 
there had ample leisure to admire his bronzed or silver wings, and the 
beauty and ease of his motions. 

As to the Water Newts or Efts, {Triton palustris,) they were an easy 
prey, and I rather sought to catch those who were more active and shy. 
I know it was for many years doubted whether this little animal was a 
distinct species from that found on sandy banks and on commons, but 
Mr. Ellis, that indefatigable naturalist, was supposed to have satisfactorily 
cleared up the matter, and I own that upon a careful series of observations, I 
was satisfied that he was correct in thinking that the two supposed kinds were 
identical; the chief reason for the mistake arising from the fact of their 
remaining two years in the transition state, before /they become perfect 
land animals. But I met lately with a most talented gentleman who threw 
some doubt upon the matter, and I should be glad to draw the attention 
of the correspondents of "The Naturalist" to it, and to a no less important 
fact with respect to the same animal; namely, that it is not only a 
venomous creature, but that three distinct instances had come actually to 
his knowledge, in which its bite had proved fatal. Now I consider that 
these things are worthy attention, more especially in these days when we 
are apt to fancy that there is nothing more to be learned; and if it is 
not beneath their notice, I might likewise recommend my, perhaps, rather 
inartificial mode of examining specimens without taking the poor little 
creatures' lives, until at least they shall be proved to be venomous, for 
that I shall make the subject of special investigation, and perhaps give 
them to the world on a future occasion, through the medium of these 
pages. 

Lincolns Inn Fields, February 3rd., 1857. 



CLAUSILIA KOLPHII. 

TO THE EDITOR OF "THE NATURALIST." 

In the number of "The Naturalist" for the present month, (September,) 
I see that W. V. Guise, Esq., in a paper on the "Cotteswolds," throws 
considerable doubt on the accuracy of my statement regarding Glausilia 
Rolphii, contained in a "List of the Land and Fresh-water Shells found 
in the neighbourhood of Cheltenham," which appeared in your periodical 



CLAUSILIA KOLPniI. 249 

for August,'|1854. I beg to assure you, nevertheless, that the statement 
referred to is perfectly accurate, and that within a fortnight of Mr. Guise's 
visit to Birdlip in April, 1857, I also revisited that place, after an absence 
of more than three years, and remained till the end of May, and during 
that period never experienced any difficulty in procuring at least "twenty 
specimens" of Clausilia Rolphii in an hour's search, exactly in the spot 
indicated; besides numerous specimens of all the shells mentioned by him, 
as found during his day's ramble, including also Azeca tridens } which was 
equally numerous with G. Rolphii. 

As I had previously heard from the gentleman alluded to, as connected 
with the British Museum, that his search had been unsuccessful, I forwarded 
for his acceptance a box containing about a dozen living specimens, taken 
fresh the morning on which they were sent; but as I never received any 
acknowledgment, I presume the package must have miscarried. 

I have the pleasure of enclosing for your acceptance, several specimens 
of the identical shells taken by me in May last, if they will be of the 
slightest service to you, and I shall also be most happy to forward a 
series to Mr. Guise, if he will favour me with his address in full. 

G. Rolphii appears to me to be gregarious, and is certainly very local, 
but I cannot conceive how either of the gentlemen failed to find it, as 
the marks made by Mr. Guise's search amongst the Chrysosplenium were 
perfectly visible, precisely in the spot where I took so many only a few 
days later. I also met with the same shells in equal numbers near the 
park wall in the same wood, but there also confined to a small space; 
indeed with my little children's assistance, I procured upwards of sixty 
specimens there, in a very short period. Later in the same year, (1854,) 
I found G. Rolphii about a mile from Southborough, near Tunbridge Wells, 
and also near Petersfield, in Hampshire, in company with Helix obvoluta. 

Bulimus lachamensis, abounds in the Birdlip Woods during spring, though 
it is difficult to procure later in the season: I met with one specimen 
with reversed volutions. The white variety of Clausilia bidens is also by 
no means unfrequent. 

It may interest some of your readers to know, that during July last 
I had the pleasure of taking, near Bowness, Windermere, several specimens 
of Vertigo alpestris, evidently quite a distinct shell from V. pygmoea, also 
V. sexdentata and Helix lamellata; the latter I also procured at Castle- 
head, Keswick; and in the wood's of Bonshaw and Springkell, Dumfriesshire. 

Before leaving Birdlip I pointed out the exact spot to Mr. Pinching, 
the landlord of the Black Horse, that he might be able to indicate it to 
any visitor interested in the subject, so that should Mr. Guise or his 
friend again visit Birdlip, I feel assured that they will be rewarded by 
success, indeed I had a letter from a gentleman about a month since, to 



250 NATURAL HISTORY OF EAST CUMBERLAND. 

whom Mr. Pinching had acted as guide, stating that in a very short 
time he found a sufficiency of specimens. 

W. Webster. 
Upton Hall, near Birkenhead, September Hth., 1857. 



NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF EAST CUMBERLAND. 

BY MR. THOMAS ARMSTRONG. 

(Continued from page 226.) 

Trollius Europceus, (Globe flower,) and Aquilegia vulgaris, (Columbine,) 
grow side by side upon those beautiful banks in the vicinity of Armth- 
waite, that decorate the Eden on both sides, a locality fertile in botanical 
productions, and full of wild and majestic scenery, and to those who may 
happen to visit Baron Wood, in order to see it fully, it is well to know 
that it is from the Coombes side of the river that the grandeur of the 
scenery presents itself. 

Parnassia palustris, (Grass of Parnassus,) is plentiful on the boggy pastures 
around Froddel Crook, which is in full bloom in September; Agrimonia 
Eupatoria, (Agrimony,) Saponaria officinalis, (Soapwort,) and Inula dysen- 
terica, (Fleabane,) are to be found in the Coombes Wood; so also grow 
Senecio sarracenicus, (Broad-leaved Ragwort,) and Allium ursinum, (Garlic,) 
along the Eden, which flows between here and Baron Wood; Malva ro- 
tundifolia, (Dwarf Mallow,) and Leonurus cardiaca, (Motherwort,) are found 
in the same locality. 

At the foot of Blaes Fell, and on the Cowran hills, I have gathered 
Echium vulgare, (Viper's Bugloss,) and Polemonium cceruleum, (Greek Va- 
lerian) — the latter is a plant, as well as Hyosciamus niger, (Henbane,) that 
are seldom met with in Cumberland. 

On the Solway Flow grow Drosera longifolia, (Sundew,) Narthecium ossi- 
fragum, (Asphodel,) and Andromeda polifolia, (Wild Rosemary.) Solidago 
virgaurea, (Golden-rod,) Campanula rotundifolia, (Bell-flower,) Hieracium 
pidmonarium, (Hawkweed,) adorn our cliffs. Orchis maculata, Primula 
farinosa, (Bird's-eye Primrose,) Lychnis fios-cuculi, (Ragged Robin,) Agros- 
temma Githago, (Corn-cockle,) and Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, (Saxifrage,) 
bedeck the valleys. 

In 1854, on the 8th. of March, a specimen of the Great Bustard, (Otis 
tarda,) was shot at Lees Hill, near Brampton. 

On Scratchmans Scaur, near Penrith, the Honey Buzzard, (Pernis 
apivorus,) was shot in 1855, having shortly before robbed a wasp's nest, 
as its stomach was full of the larvae of that insect. 



NATURAL HISTORY OP EAST CUMBERLAND. 251 

The Green Cormorant, (Pelecanus cristatus,) was shot on the Calder, 
near Cummersdale, on the 2nd. of October, last year. 

The Spotted Rail, (Crex porzana,) has frequently been shot on Monkhill 
Lough. I met with a specimen last year that was shot on August 24th. 
The Quail, (Perdix coturnix,) is common here; a fine male specimen was 
shot on the 24th. of December, 1S56, at Blackwell. 

The Tufted Duck, (Anas fuligula,) the Pintail, (Anas acuta,) the 
Garganey, (Anas querquedula) , the Scoter, (Anas nigra,) the Shieldrake, 
(Tadorna vulpanser,) and the Shoveler, (Anas clypeata,) are frequently 
met with. * 

The Surf Scoter, (Anas perspicillata,) one of our scarcer British birds, 
was killed at Crofton Hall, by a farm servant, on the 2nd. of November, 
1856; and fell into the hands of the late naturalist, Thomas C. Heysham, 
Esq., of Carlisle. It was first noticed diving on one of those beautiful 
ponds where the fallow deer are sometimes observed to plunge, near the 
mansion of their owner, Sir Wastel Brisco, Bart. 

The Kite, (Milvus regalis,) was shot near Carlisle, on the 13th. of 
November, 1856. The Merlin, (Falco Msalon^) is common on Alston 
Moor; they are frequently shot where Red Grouse, (Lagopus Scoticus,) are 
abundant, and which this little bird does not hesitate to attack and destroy. 

In the lake district, on Ullswater, many rare birds of the order Anseres 
are often met with, which are to be seen in the collections of the taxi- 
dermists of Penrith. 

The Little Auk, (Alca alle,) was caught at RocklifF, in a fisherman's 
net, on the 13th. of November, 1856. A fine specimen of the Red-throated 
Diver, (Coli/mbus septentrionalis,) was caught in a similar way in April, 
the same year. 

I have also' paid particular attention to the Oology of the district. In 
1855 I found the nest of the Sandwich Tern, (Sterna cantiaca,) with two 
eggs, on Burgh Marsh; and in the same year, near the Solway, I found 
that of the Black Tern, (Sterna nigra;) the only instances of these birds 
breeding here. 

The Tawny Owl, ( Ulula stridula,) the Barn Owl, (Strix flammea,) the 
Long-eared Owl, (Strix otus } ) are common here. I have taken the eggs 
of the latter from the same nest three successive seasons. 

The eggs of the Cuckoo, (Guculus canorus,) and the Nightjar, (Capri- 
mulgus Europoeus,) as well as the Pied Flycatcher, (Muscicapa luctuosa,) 
are often taken here. On Wragmire Moss I once found the egg of the 
Cuckoo in a Titlark's nest, and observed a Cuckoo perched on a low tree, 
a pair of Titlarks were flying around it, one at last settled upon its back, 
the Cuckoo all the while flapping with its wings; the other was flying 
about them with apparent fondness, the Cuckoo evidently delighted with 



252 NATURAE HISTORY OF EAST CUMBERLAND. 

their caresses. On Scaleby Moss I once found two eggs of the Cuckoo 
in a Titlark's nest. Another Cuckoo laid an egg last year in a Robin's 
nest, in a garden at Great Orton, which was duly hatched. The nest 
and young bird were put in a cage near to the place; a wire of the 
cage was broken to admit the foster- parent which reared the young Cuckoo; 
the latter lived sometime afterwards inside of the house, and at last effected 
its escape. 

In a cleft of a rock I once found, on the 20th. of May, the nest of 
the White Owl, (Strix flammea,) with four eggs, surrounded on all sides 
with the young of the Jackdaw, with which it is on friendly terms. 
One evening a severe battle took place in a Rook's nest which was a 
little detached from the rookery; a close eye was kept upon them, and 
one of the combatants flew off and was observed to drop something; upon 
inspection it was found to be an unfledged Rook, which was attempted to 
be carried off by the Tawny Owl. 

The Crossbill, so numerous last year in this district, remained past the 
usual time, and judging from the lateness of the season, that some of them 
would remain and breed, I searched for their nests, but did not succeed 
until I met a young man in the country near Cumwhinton, who stated 
he had seen a pair build. I visited the spot, which was a small fir 
plantation near Cumwhinton, and found the nest placed on an outside fir 
containing four eggs; they resemble those of the Green Linnet, but are 
larger and of a darker shade. The nest was placed eight feet from the 
ground, fixed between a branch and the butt of the tree; the outside was 
composed of fir twigs, the inside with dried twitch-grass, and one large 
feather. This was on the 20th. of March; the Crossbills remained with 
us until May, when they gradually disappeared altogether. 

In conclusion I wish to advert to the Entomology of the district, which 
may be considered the most beautiful and most varied of the works of 
nature. Cumberland is a wide field for insect operations, and produces 
many scarce and good moths. 

The Death's Head, (Acherontia atropos,) is frequently met with. One was 
taken at rest upon a stone at Hayton, on the 23rd. of September last year; 
another was taken from a lamp in Finkle Street, Carlisle; and several 
others have also been taken in former seasons in this locality. 

We take here Nodua leucographa and Tceniocampa populdi, the former 
plentifully some seasons: Xylocampa lithoriza is taken from old railings, at 
rest during the day, in April. The best mode to get good specimens of 
Notodonta dictcea, N. didceoides, N. zic-zac, N. carmelita, and N. dromedarius, 
is to beat the birch and sallow in September for the caterpillar. N. 
carmelita is taken in June from the birch, which is much earlier. 

The Duke of Burgundy, (Nemeobius lucina } ) flies on the loth, of May, 



LIST OP LEPIDOPTERA. [ 253 

in Baron Wood. The Little Blue, (Polyommatus alsus,) on the 5th. of 
June, as well as Strenia clathraria, on the Cowran Hills. Dianthecice 
conspersa flies on the loth, of June, around the flowers of Lychnis flos- 
cuculi, taken in the evening with the net. Xylophasia scolopacina, Euperia 
fulvayo, as well as Nodua depuncta, can be taken at sugar; the first two 
can be beaten out of the oak by day, and much better specimens obtained. 

A good rag-wort field should never be overlooked in August, as many 
insects are taken with the lamp in the evening from the rag- wort; Spoelotis 
pyrophila is taken in this way along our Cumberland coasts. 

Melanippe hast aria is taken flying at the heat of noon; Cleora Glabraria 
must be beaten from the oak, about the 24th. of July. Lithosia mesomella, 
Procris globidarice, Platypterix falcula, Acidalia luiearia, Coremia pectinitaria, 
are taken about the latter end of June on Orton moss. 

The lamps about the outskirts of towns should be examined in April, 
as well as most carefully at the latter end of the year; it is in this way 
that. you will obtain Cerura vinula in April, and Petasia cassinea, (Sprawler,) 
and Poecilocampa populi in October. 

Many good moths are obtained by digging for the pupse; in this way we 
take here Biston prodromaria, Taniocampa populeti, Segetia xanthographa, 
etc. 

A Locust was caught last month on the Sheep Mount; another was 
taken behind a house in Spencer Street, Carlisle. 



LIST OP LEPIDOPTERA OCCURRING IN THE COUNTY 

OP SUFFOLK. 

BY THE REV. JOSEPH GREENE, M.A., ASSISTED BY THE REV. H. HARPUR CREWE, M.A., 

AND C. R. BREE, ESQ. 

[The portion of these papers contributed by Mr. Crewe and Mr. Bree, are signed with the 
initials C and B respectively, N.B. at the head of a paragraph signifies that the remarks 
are made after those of Mr. Greene.] 

The following list of Lepidoptera, observed by me in the county of Suf- 
folk, during my residence there of two years, is drawn up, with a two-fold 
object in view, first, in the hope that others may be induced to compile 
similar records of the insects observed in their respective counties; and 
secondly, under the impression that the occasional remarks as to the habits, 
localities, etc., of some of the species, might prove serviceable to those of 
your readers who may be only entering upon the Entomological campaign. 
My own field of observation was somewhat limited, being confined to 
Brandeston and Play ford, two small villages, respectively distant from Ipswich 
twelve and five miles. Under these circumstances I should not have pre- 
sumed to call this list "A List of the Lepidoptera occurring in the county 

VOL. VII. L 



254 LIST OP LEP1DOPTERA. 

of Suffolk/' were it not for the kind assistance rendered by two well-known 
brother entomologists, the Rev. H. H. Crewe, and C. R. Bree, Esq., residing 
in the same county. Owing to his long residence at Stowmarket, his accurate 
and trustwoHhy observation, and his unwearied zeal, no person could be 
found better qualified to impart information than Mr. Bree, and to him 
accordingly it will be found that I am largely indebted. 

J. GREENE. 
32, Lower Pembroke Street, Dublin. 



Part I. — Rhopalocera. 

1. P. Machaon. — Taken in the Rectory Garden at Erwarton, near Ipswich, 
a few years since, and now in the collection of Miss Mary Berners. There 
are some salt-marshes about half a mile from the Rectory, where the 
insect would not be at all unlikely to occur. The Wild Fennel, (Fceni- 
culum officinale, Bab.,) which is one of the food-plants of the larva of P. 
Machaon, grows in the marshes. (C.) 

2. O. rhamni. — Not uncommon. 

N.B. — I am almost positive that Rhamnus catharticus and frangula, Linn, 
are not the only food-plants of the larva of this insect, as both these 
shrubs are exceedingly uncommon in the neighbourhood of Stowmarket, 
where the perfect insect is abundant. R. frangula I have not yet seen at 
all, and R. catharticus occurs most sparingly in solitary bushes. The larva 
may be found of all sizes the last week in June and the beginning of July. 
I have taken it abundantly in Kent on R. frangula, but never saw it upon 
R. catharticus. It is not very difficult to see if you examine the leaves of 
the former shrub tolerably close. It may also be beaten into an um- 
brella. It feeds upon the upper side of the leaf. In appearance it closely 
resembles the larva of Pieris rapce and napi, though it is of course much 
larger. It is extremely easy to rear. The pupa is a most beautiful pale 
green, without any spots. It is suspended in the same manner as the pupa 
of P. brassier, rapce, and napi. (C.) 

3. Colias edusa. — Taken once in my own garden, and by Professor 
Henslow at Felixstowe. (B.) 

Has been noticed at Battisford and Old Newton, near Stowmarket, by 
Mr. William Baker and Mr. R. Bull. (0.) 

4. C. Jiyale. — Taken by Prof. Henslow at Felixstowe. (B.) 

A pair were taken, and several more seen, a few years since by Mr. 
R. Bull, at Old Newton. (0.) 

5. Papilio brassicce. — Abundant. 

6. P. rapce. — Abundant. 

7. P. napi. — Abundant. 



LIST OF LEPIDOPTEUA. 255 

8. A. Cardamines. — Common. The $ however is here, as elsewhere, 
according to my observation, much rarer than the <$ . This year, (1857,) 
I noticed a specimen on the wing as early as the 3rd. of March. 

N.B. — The larva is not uncommon in July on the seed-pods of the 
Common Rocket, or Dame's Violet, {Hcsperis inatronalis, Linn.) a plant 
common in most flower-gardens, though rare in the wild state. It also feeds 
upon the seeds of the Bitter Ladies Smock, (Gardamine amara.) The pupa 
is pale brown, and is most singularly sharp- pointed at the head. (C.) 

9. L. sinapis. — Very (local. Only met with in a wood near Stow- 
market. It is very easy to capture. Its favourite haunts are sunny glades 
and walks in the woods. Its flight is slow and heavy, but it presses 
onwards with a pertinacity truly remarkable; nothing apparently will make 
it turn back. If you miss it, which is not likely, it calmly ascends about 
two yai'ds over your head, and then re-commences the even tenor of its 
way, till having arrived at the end of the walk, it mounts over the under- 
wood, vanishes, and in about ten minutes re-appears, pursuing its monotonous 
course, and enjoying life after its own fashion, till both are summarily 
terminated by the ruthless net of the heartless entomologist. 

N.B. — It is worthy of notice that when dead it will often stiffen in half 
an hour. (C.) 

10. S. cegeria. — Very abundant. 

11. S. rnegcera. — Very abundant. 

N.B. — The larva, which is green and slightly hairy, feeds upon the young 
blades of various species of grass in March. I took one about half-fed 
this year, 1857, on March 2nd. It may be found in the day-time by 
pulling up the tufts of grass on banks, and round the trunks of trees. I 
have found it when pupa-digging. It feeds at night, and conceals itself 
in the day. The pupa, which is most delicate and beautiful, is a pale 
sea-green, minutely studded with gold spots. It is suspended by the tail. 
This insect is double-brooded. I saw one to-day, Oct. 12th. I have not 
taken the larva of the second brood. (C.) 

12. S. semele. — Not uncommon, but very wary, and difficult to capture. 

13. S. Janira. — Very common. 

N.B. — The larva of this insect, which is a bright apple-green, and hairy, 
feeds upon various grasses in May. I have taken it both by sweeping 
and examining by lantern light the grass at the edge of ridings in woods, 
and on banks. It feeds by night. The pupa is green, marked with black. 
(0.) 

14. S. tiihonus. — Very common. (B.) 

15. S. liyperanthus. — Very common. 

N.B. — The larva may be found abundantly where the insect occurs by 
examining with a lantern the grass at the edge of ridings in woods. It 



256 LIST OP LEPIDOPTERA. 

occurs in May and June. It is a pale reddish brown, and hairy. It feeds 
indiscriminately upon various grasses, and crawls up to the top of the 
blade as soon as it is dark. It effectually conceals itself during the day. 
The pupa, which is pale brown, is enclosed in a slight web among the 
roots of the grass. It is not easy to breed. Out of some fifty pupae I 
reared only four or five perfect insects, two years since. I think it arose 
from my having kept the pupae too dry, and not allowing them any sun. 
(C.) 

16. S. pampliilus. — Very common. 

17. Limenitis sibilla. — Common in woods near Ipswich and Stowmarket. 
(B.) 

18. Apatura iris. — Common in oak woods in various parts of the 
county. (B.) 

19. Cynthia cardui. — Not common. Taken in my garden, September 6th., 
1857. (B.) 

Mr. Stainton, in the Manual, does not mention the Common Nettle, 
( TTrtica dioica, Linn.,) as one of the food-plants of G. cardui, but I have 
taken it quite as frequently upon that plant as upon Cnicus arvensis, Hoffm.j 
which, bye the bye, is also omitted by Mr. Stainton in his list of food- 
plants. The larva unites the edges of the leaf together by a web in which 
it lives, only coming out to feed. (C.) 

20. V. atalanta. — Common. 

21. V. Io. — Common. 

22. V. antiopa. — Taken during the last ten years in various parts of the 
county, namely, Stowmarket, Needham Market, Hitcham, Elmswell, and 
Erwarton. (B.) 

23. V. urticce. — Common. 

24. V. polycMorus. — Common, both in the spring and the close of summer. 
Larva in profusion on elms. 

25. A. paphia. — Common. 

26. A. adippe. — Common. (B.) 

27. A. Lathonia. — Seven taken in a clover field near Ipswich, by Mr. 
Garrod, of that town. Mr. G., who is a most respectable person, and a 
tradesman of high character in the town, showed Mr. Crewe and myself 
the only pair he had left; he described minutely the time and place where 
he captured them, and stated to whom his duplicates had been given. (B.) 
(C.) 

28. M. selene. — Common. 

29. M. Euphrosyne, — Common. 

30. M. Aihalia. — Mr. King, the dealer, once showed me a series of this 
insect, which he stated he had taken near Ipswich. I never met with it. 
(B.) 



LIST OP LEPIDOPTERA. 257 

31. M. artemis. — Taken by Mr. Arthur Simpson, close to my grounds 
at Stowmarket, in May, 1857. (B.) 

32. A. lucina. — In various woods; not very common. (B.) 

33. Thecla Betulce. — Taken by Miss Berners, in woods near Ipswich. (B.) 

34. T. pruni. — I once captured a wasted $ of this rare species at 
Brandeston. It was hovering over some blackthorn, doubtless with the 
intention of laying its eggs. I fully expected to meet with it the following 
summer, but unfortunately I had to change my residence before the period 
of its appearance in the perfect state, and though I carefully searchedj^for 
it at Playford, where its food abounded, I was not fortunate enough to 
see it again. 

35. T. W-album. — In great profusion in the larva state. The description 
of the larva given in the "Manual" is correct, with the exception of calling 
it light green; it is rather a pale primrose. When the seeds of the wych 
elm are nearly ripe, it is fully grown. Take an open umbrella, and place 
it on the ground; then grasp a branch, thrash it ivell over the umbrella, 
and, if the insect occur in the same plenty as at Playford, you will rarely 
fail to find from three to as many as ten larvae. I became quite tired 
of taking them. They are extremely voracious. The larva, when free, 
turns to a pupa on the under side of the leaves, and a quick eye may 
detect them by dozens. I need scarcely remark that, in common with the 
rest of this genus, it is very difficult to capture in good condition when 
on the wing, and, even when bred, the slightest touch is sufficient to 
injure irreparably its rich black satiny gloss. It soon fades. I may add 
that it does not seem much exposed to the attacks of Ichneumons, as out 
of upwards of one hundred larvae I did not find one stung. 

N.B. — The larva of this insect entirely changes colour a day or two 
before spinning up. It loses its beautiful primrose colour, and becomes 
reddish brown. Out of between sixty and seventy larvae and pupas which 
1 took this summer, about twenty were infested by a white fleshy maggot, 
which produced a species of Diptera. (C.) 

36. T. quercus. — Also common, and apparently distributed over the whole 
county. I bred very large and brilliant specimens from larvae beaten off 
oaks at the end of June. 

N.B. — The larva of this species, when ready to assume the pupa state, 
descends the trunk of the tree, and spins a slight web among the roots of 
the grass. (C) 

37. T. rubi. — Very abundant. Whether this insect be double-brooded, in 
the strict sense of the term, I am unable to say, but I am disposed to think 
it is. The autumn brood, however, if it be one, seems to be much smaller 
than that of the summer. From the above it will be seen that the whole of 
the genus Thecla, excepting Betulce, has fallen under my own notice in Suffolk. 



258 LIST OF LEPIDOPTERA. 

38. G. phlceas.— Common. 

N.B. — I have in my collection a straw-coloured variety of this species 
taken near|Ipswich. (B.) 

A straw-coloured variety of this species was taken this summer (1857) 
at Erwarton, near Ipswich, by Mr. A. Berners. (C.) 

39. P. argiolus. — Taken by Mr. Levett, in Finborough Park, but not 
the last year or two. (B.) 

40. P. Corydon. — Taken by me on Creeting Hills, August 14, 1856. (B) 

41. P. alexis. — Common. 

Mr. Bree and myself took the larvae of this insect plentifully in July, 
1857, on the Thorny Best-harrow, {Ononis campestris, Bab.,) when sweeping 
for the larvae of Heliotliis marginata. It is dark green and onisciform. 
The pupa is a very pale brown. In colour and slightness of texture it 
very much resembles that of M. stellatarum. It is enclosed in a slight web 
amongst the roots of the grass. (C.) 

42. P. ageslis. — Scarce and local. It is stated in the "Manual" to 
"occur only in the South;" but this is an error. 

43. S. alveolus. — Common, but local. 

44. P. linea. — Common. (B.) 

45. T. Tages. — Common, but local. 

46. P. sylvanus. — Abundant. 

Arge Galathea is reported to have been taken on the chalk hills about 
Coddenham a few years ago. Any insects omitted in the list, if supported 
by competent authority, will be inserted in an appendix at the end of the 
series of papers. — Ed. 

In the above list of the British Butterflies observed in Suffolk there 
will be noticed one or two discrepancies when compared with insects said 
to have occurred near Stowmarket in "Stainton's Manual," which information 
was supplied by the editor. "When that information was asked for we did 
not know that it was intended to be inserted in a standard work, and 
consequently one or two mistakes have occurred either from inadvertence, 
of in consequence of relying too much upon doubtful authorities. We look 
upon the "Manual" as a most valuable work, and one which reflects the 
highest credit upon its zealous aud indefatigable author. It is the first 
really sound work on Entomology which is placed by its extraordinary 
cheapness within the reach of everybody. As such it is the duty of all 
sincere Entomologists to make it as perfect as possible, and in this spirit 
we shall feel obliged if those who possess the work will pass their pen 
through the "St." at the end of the following insects: — A. aglaia, M. 
cinxia, and S. paniscus, (they may occur in the county, but we have no 
certain information;) and add an "St." to the following: — L. sibilla, T. 
betuloe, T. W-album, P. corydon, and P. agestis. — Ed. 

(To be continued.) 



ENTOMOLOGY. EXCHANGE. 259 

Ichneumon and Tortrix Larva. — Whilst sitting under a large chesnut 
tree in my garden on the 20th. of September, I saw a Tortrix larva sus- 
pended by its silken thread from a branch of the tree. Presently one of 
the very small Ichneumons so abundant at this season came down the 
thread about a foot, and then stopped, as though it intended to make 
observations. Of course its object was to get at the small larva, then 
about a foot and a half from the ground. Whether its instinct told it 
that the larva might, in case it descended, be at that distance from the 
tree too heavy for the silk to bear its own weight in addition, or what 
were its contemplations, I know not, but having remained a few seconds 
stationary, it ran back to the branch of the tree. In about half a minute 
however, during which time little Tortrix grub had been making its way 
earthward, it returned again to the same spot. To my equal surprise and 
astonishment the Ichneumon now begun slowly to draw up the larva, just 
as a human being would draw a bucket from a well. Its wings and legs 
were in violent motion, and I observed a small knob or ball at the point 
of the thread where it was situated. Nolens volens up came the grub, and 
when it arrived an unwilling visitor at the knob or ball above mentioned, 
the Ichneumon walked on to its back and commenced the process of 
oviposition! Anxious to immortalize the name of the principal performer 
in this curious feat, I boxed both insect and larva, but having incautiously 
lifted the lid a very little to see how my friends were inside, out flew the 
Ichneumon, and as I made a dash with the box to re-capture it, the larva 
fell into the grass, so I thus clumsily lost them both. This incident displays 
an amount of so-called instinct for which I should not a priori have given 
the insect credit. — C. E. Bree, October 10th., 1857. 

The Wasp and the Spider. — In the above case of the Ichneumon we 
have seen an exercise of instinct approaching very closely to reason. In 
the following instance instinct seemed to have failed for once, but the 
Wasp made up for the deficiency by a process very like that of reasoning. 
Walking through my shrubbery yesterday, I saw a Wasp entangled slightly 
in a Spider's web. The Spider, as usual, rushed down upon its supposed 
victim. A sharp struggle ensued, which ended, however, in the victory of 
the Wasp, who, clutching the Spider, stung him repeatedly, and then 
deliberately cut off the said Spider's eight legs, and flew away with the body. 
— Idem. 



Marine Shells. — I should be glad to exchange Terebrahda caput-serpentis, 
Lima Mans, from Oban, for shells from the southern coasts, etc. — C. P. 
Tootal, Chesnut Street, Wakefield. 



2G0 

Ewm 

The Natural History Review. No XII. October, 1856. Published quar- 
terly, price 2s. 6d. London: Highi.ey, Fleet Street. Edinburgh: John- 
stons and Hunter. Dublin: Hodges and Smith. 

This number contains Reviews of: — 

Review 1. — "Popular Geography of Plants." By G. M.C. Edited by 
Charles Danbury. 2. — "Popular History of British Lichens." By W. 
Lander Lindsey. 3. — "Insecta Britannica — Diptera." By Francis Walker. 
4.— "Manual of British Butterflies and Moths." By H. T. Stainton. 
o._ "Ferns of Great Britain." By J. E. Sowerby. 6.— "The Fern Allies." 
A supplement to the preceding. 7. — "British Poisonous Plants." By 
Charles Johnson. 

Also notices of eighteen original communications made to various 
societies. 



€ltf ftrtnaprt. 

The Penguin. — In a review of a book of Travels in Patagonia and the 
Falklands, in the "Athenaeum" for October 3rd., mention is made of the 
capture of a Penguin, "the skin of which one man could barely carry!" 
Now the Penguin, according to Baron Cuvier, is only the size of a Goose. 
I submit that the Albatross is the bird meant, though not expressed, for 
this bird breeds in company with the Penguin, and being the size of a 
sheep, more accords with the relation quoted in the above review, and which 
has escaped the reviewer's notice. — D. Payne, ]S"ottingha*fl^;^|cj^ber 14th., 
1857. 




€\t (tarist. 

Autumnal tones. — One often remarks, and often hetr^£iemiw4fed about 
the autumnal tints; and I have often remarked, but do not remember 
ever to have heard remarks on the autumnal tones. Do not my country 
readers agree with me that the sound of the cawing of the rooks in 
September and October, has quite a different sound from the note of the 
same birds in the winter or spring months? Whether it be the fineness 
of the air, at this the finest season of the year, that causes the effect, 
or whether the voice of the bird is itself different, certain it is, that to 
me at least the effect is that I have spoken of, and the sound most 
musical. — F. 0. Morris, JSunburnholrne Rectory, October 1st., 1857. 

Can any of my, or to speak more correctly now, of our, entomological 
readers tell me the best method of taking grease out of a drawer, from 
grease in an insect in it, without having to paper or whiten the whole 
drawer afresh? — F. 0. Morris, Nunburnholme Rectory, October 1st., 1857. 



CAPTURE OF 
PHLOGOPHORA EMPYREA, NEAR LEWES, 



BY GEORGE KING. 



Having captured P. Empyred and Chilo obtmellus this year, G. K. begs to 
thank those gentlemen who have so kindly patronised him, and states that 
he has a number of rare and valuable Insects. He can supply E. versicolor, 
H. hispida, A. Australia, L. muscarda, and a number of other kinds. 

N.B. — Marine Animals for the Aquarium, and Fossils for his Geological 
supporters. 

158, High Union Street, Torquay. 



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1.— NESTS AND EGGS OF FAMTLTAR BRITISH BIRDS. Containing Forty-eight 
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2.— BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES: British Species. Containing Twenty-two Species. 

3— BEAUTIFUL SHELLS. Containing Forty-four Species. 

4.— HUMMING BIRDS, Described and Illustrated, and an Introductory Sketch of their 
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5.— SECOND SERIES OF NESTS AND EGGS OF FAMILIAR BRITISH BIRDS. 

Containing Thirty-eight Figures of Eggs, drawn and coloured from Nature. 

*%* Each Volume is complete in itself, and may be had separately. 



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Sketches of all Women who have been distinguished by Great Talents, Strength 
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ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, AND MINERAL 
KINGDOMS. 

WITH OCCASIONAL ENGRAVINGS. 



CONDUCTED BY 



THE REV. F. 0. MORRSS, B.A., 

Member of the Ashmolean Society, etc. 

THE ENTOMOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT 

BY C. R. BllEE, ESQ. 



Lord, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: 
the earth is full of Thy riches. — Psalm civ., 24. 



LONDON: 

GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS, 5, PATERNOSTER ROW. 



CONTENTS. 

PAG . 

The Nuthatch. By O. S. Round, Esq 261 

The Crossbill. By 0. S. Round, Esq ..".!!! 262 

On Unity of System 264 

Voracity of the Wood-Pigeon. By O. S. Round, Esq 267 

Natural History of Nunburnholnae. By the Rev. E. 0. Morris... 269 
Entomology : — 

Exchanging Insects. By C R. Brek, Esq 271 

Lepidoptera near Bungay, Suffolk. By W. Garness, Esq 273 

List of Lepidoptera occurring in the County of Suffolk. By The 

Rev. J. Greene, The Rev. H. H. Crewe, and C. R. Bree, Esq. 273 
Abstracts from the "Species General des Lepidopteres." Par 

M. Boisduval et Guenee. Part I , 277 

Reviews. — The Natural History of the Tineina. Vol. 2, containing 
Lithocolletis, Part 1. By H. T. Stainton, assisted by Professor 

Zbller and J. W. Douglas. London: Van Voorst. Nine 

Botanical Diagrams, Prepared for the Department of Science and 
Art. By the Rev. Professor Hknslow. Size, 40^ by 29, fully 
coloured. Drawn from Nature, and on zinc, by Mr. W. Fitch. 281 
Miscellaneous Notices. — The Whale. Ornithological Notes. Late 
Breeding of the Greenfinch. The Wryneck. Occurrence of the 
Pomerine Skua in Norfolk. Great Skua. Common Tern. Ring 

Ouzel. Sphinx convolvuli. The Spider 282 

The Querist 284 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

Communications have been received by the Rev. F. O. Morris from Messrs. 
M. G. Gibson;— W. G. Johnstone;— W. F. Rooke, M. D.;— H. Payne, 
M.D.;— O. S. Round;— F. Walker;— F. M. Burton;— J. G. Baker:— 
T. Galliers, (two;) — R. Weaver. 

Communications, Drawings, Advertisements, etc., to be addressed to the Rev. 
F. O. MORRIS, Nunhwmholme Rectory, Ilayton, York; — Rooks for Review 
and Parcels, to the care of Messrs. GROOMRRIDQE, 5, Paternoster 
Row, London. 



ENTOMOLOGY. 

Communications have been received from J. Leedes Fox, Esq.; — W. 
Garness, Jun., Esq.;— The Rev. J. Greene;— The Rev. H. H. Crewe. 

We shall publish next month a list of the rarer Coleoptera found in Suffolk. 

%* All <â– â–  ions on Entomology intended for insertion in this department of "The 

Naturalist," must be sent before the 15th. of the month to C. B. BREE, Lsq., Stowmarkct, 
Suffolk. 



QUATREFAGES' NATURALIST'S RAMBLES. 
Just Published, in Two Volumes, Post Octavo., Price 15s., Cloth, 

THE RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST, 

ON THE COASTS OF FRANCE, SPAIN, AND SICILY. 

BY A. DE QUATREFAGES, 

Member of the I Professor of Ethnology in the Museum of Natural 

History, • . Paris, &c. Translated, with the Author's sanetion 

and '.. C. OiTE, Honorary Member of the Literary and Fhilo- 

ical Society Lndrews. 

LONDON: LON( BROWN, & CO., PATERNO£TER-ROW. 




261 
THE NUTHATCH. 

BY 0. S. ROUND, ESQ. 

This is the Sitta Uuropea of Linnseus, and forms a kind of link~between 
the Woodpeckers and the Titmice, of the characters of both of which it 
partakes. Like both, it builds in hollows of trees; like both, it feeds on 
insects, although these do not constitute its whole food; like both, it stays 
with us the whole year, and is an active and bold bird. Although at 
first sight it has not the appearance of the Woodpecker, yet view it in 
the hand, and when in an erect position the resemblance cannot be denied. 
It is by far the best creeper of the whole prehensile genus, as it seems 
to make no earthly difference whether it crawls on the trunk of a tree 
up, or down, or sideways: it also perches like any of the Insectivorse, and 
has a square short tail, for, from its very thickness and muscular con- 
formation, it needs no fulcrum to assist its motions when running over the 
bodies of trees, being perfectly capable of supporting itself in any position 
by means of its great bodily power and strength of leg. In size the 
Nuthatch much resembles the Wryneck, with which, indeed, it forms a 
separate class. All its upper plumage is of a blue-grey colour, and its 
under parts light cream; a black line over the eye; the bill being very 
strong and black, the under mandible light at the base; the legs formed 
for the greatest power, having an exceedingly wide span, and being light- 
coloured, with very strong claws: the feathers under the wings are 
chocolate-coloured. 

It is quite surprising to see what strength and perseverance is exhibited 
by this little creature. A great part of his food is nuts, and the shells 
of them he perforates by sheer hard labour; after he has picked the nut 
he carries it to some convenient chink in a gate-post, wall, or more com- 
monly a cleft in the bark of a tree, and fixing it firmly there, he takes 
a position as advantageously as he can directly above it, and springing 
at it in the most determined manner, with wings fluttering at every 
stroke; you may see, and hear him too, hammering away until he makes 
a jagged hole, through which he extracts the kernel; and in fine weather 
he is at this work from morning till night, so he need be firmly made, 
muscularly speaking. I have watched them for hours together, when 
visiting in the country, at a house round which were many acacias, the 
rugged bark of which was peculiarly adapted for their purpose. 

Their nest they generally make in some hollow of a tree, or often in 
a hole of a wall, but, as they are very averse to intrusion, they reduce 
the original orifice by means of clay, which is firmly plastered around the 
entrance with their bills, and is full of small indentations from the point of 

VOL. VII. 2 M 



262 THE CROSSBILL. 

this natural trowel. The hole they usually leave for ingress and egress 
is so small, that it seems impossible that such a square-formed stout bird 
can pass through it, but this they manage somehow, certainly allowing 
themselves as little room as may be. Having paid this attention to their 
defensive outworks, the nest is as carelessly put together as you please, 
consisting of grass and feathers, much like a Bank Martin's; in this nest 
five eggs are usually found, which are like the Wryneck's, white. 

This bird seems to court observation instead of avoiding it, as in the 
case of the Woodpeckers, as well by its loud sonorous voice, as its active 
habits, for it runs over and under the smallest twigs with the greatest 
ease, and is perpetually in motion except when it finds a nut to crack, 
and then, like some restless people that are found in the world, it is 
quiet enough till it has despatched that business, and then it is off again 
in search of fresh matter to discuss. I often think its life must be a 
very hard one; for observe the Titmouse, the Willow Wren, or any of that 
small flitting class; it is true they appear to be constantly in motion, but 
they are hanging motionless half their time at least, to some catkins or 
fir-apple, picking out the seeds or insects. Look again at the Woodpecker 
tribe, they indeed are constantly on the hunt for insect food, but then 
they merely cling to the bodies of trees, and their motions when they 
shift their position, are extremely laboured and awkward. As for the 
Wryneck, he sits almost motionless on the grey limb of some old tree, 
from which he is scarcely to be distinguished, his plumage bears so great 
a resemblance to it. No activity but that of the Swallow tribe can equal 
that of the Nuthatch. I do not think there is much difference between 
the cock and hen; if anything she is lighter than he in colour, and less 
in size. 



THE CROSSBILL. 

BY 0. S. ROUND, ESQ. 

This is a rare bird in England, and as it has very seldom bred with 
us, we know almost nothing of its nidification. I believe in the aggregate 
that great numbers visit us annually, but then they confine themselves to 
large pine shrubberies, which are only found in the heathy tracts of the 
country, and so the cultivated districts see nothing of them. Having re- 
sided for several years among Scotch fir plantations, I have had good 
opportunities of observing them, and have shot a good many at different 
times; I have some preserved specimens by me while I write. They vary 
so much in plumage that I do not think I ever procured two exactly 
alike; however these must be only regarded as varieties of five distinct 
stages of feathers, which I look upon to be these, namely, old cock 



THE CROSSBILL. 263 

birds, young cock birds, and the same of hens, but to which the fifth 
class belongs I have never been anatomist enough to discover; for, although 
they bear most resemblance to the hen, they are brighter in their colours. 

The plumage of the old cock birds is mostly red, mixed with yellow 
and green, the head and rump brightest, whilst the wings, tail, and 
back, are deep brown, every feather edged with pale green. The hens 
have the wings, tail, and back, the same, but duller, and the rest dull 
yellow green; the legs are strong and black in both. The other varieties, 
which, I suppose, in the absence of direct evidence and reasoning from 
analogy, we must take to be young cock birds, partake of the plumage 
of both old birds in some measure, and have a good deal of red, yellow, 
and even black scattered over their feathers; but the distinguishing mark, 
which is the same in all, is the bill. This is very strong and hooked, 
and of a dark horn-colour; but, instead of the two mandibles lying upon 
each other, and resting as in all other birds, they cross near the end, the 
under one turning to the right, and the upper to the left. 

The food of the Crossbill is the seed of the pine; this, as it is resident 
between the closely adhering leaves of the cone, requires some more than 
ordinary means to dislodge it; this means, the curiously constructed bill of 
this bird supplies, for the two pointed ends of the mandibles being brought 
in opposition to each other, are inserted in this position between the leaves 
of the fir apple, and then, by means of the most powerful lateral muscles 
forced past each other, by which means the seed is sufficiently exposed to 
be seen by the eyes of the bird, and scooped out and extracted by the 
tongue, which has a formation peculiarly adapted for this purpose. The 
indefatigable Mr. Yarrell has investigated this, as well as many other in- 
tricate branches of natural history, and his discoveries, accompanied by 
explanatory figures, will be found in the fourth volume of the "Zoological 
Journal." 

The native country of the Crossbill is Germany; and the pine forests 
of the Hartz Mountains are their chief retreat. Their manners are solitary 
and quiet, and not unlike those of the Parrot, indeed they have been 
named the German Parrot, as they use their bills as a third leg, and 
carry the pine-cones in one claw, standing on the other. They are pow- 
erful flyers, and we generally see them in flocks. Their only note is a 
loud chirp, modifications of which they sometimes utter when disturbed, 
but they are generally very quiet when engaged in feeding. Their figures are 
rather clumsy, and more muscular than elegant; their heads large, and 
their tails forked, the under or vent feathers being white, spotted with 
black. 

I have seen specimens of young birds bred in England, but these were 
few and far between; and I only once had a nest brought me said to be 



264 UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

that of the Crossbill. It was made of roots and wool, loosely enough, 
and contained six largish eggs, white, with brown spots: but the authen- 
ticity of this I cannot vouch for, as village ornithologists cannot be 
depended upon. 

There are some seasons in which the Crossbill is very scarce with us; 
this is chiefly when the weather is very dry and hot, and this may be 
easily accounted for, as being natives of a cold climate, transition would 
be probably detrimental to the health of the bird, for it has so seldom 
happened that they have bred in England, that their visits are probably 
a sort of uncertain or even capricious migration, depending very much 
upon circumstances. One thing I have constantly remarked, namely, that 
the scarcity of fir-cones is accompanied by an almost total absence of these 
birds, but whether they exercise in this a kind of instinctive prescience, or 
having arrived, immediately retire again to their native shores for lack of 
subsistence, must remain, like many other facts, unknown. Their transit, 
however, to and fro, must be easy, for scarce any bird possesses greater 
power of flight, or is more fitted, from its hardy nature, for distant 
migrations. 



ON UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

( Continued from page 247.^ 

Ik pursuing this subject it seems better to incur the charge of repetition 
or of diffusiveness, than that of obscurity, and therefore the present notes 
are introduced, commencing with the beginning of creation, a previous 
state or eternity being apparently beyond the comprehension of man. 
Creation defines the outlines of man's understanding and knowledge, and 
marks out space and time, and time seems to be dependent on space. 

The spheres, such as stars or suns, planets, comets, and aerolites, indicate 
the principal divisions of time by their movements in space. The solid 
globe of the sun occupies a space of nine hundred thousand miles in 
diameter. Around this a circle of somewhat less than three hundred 
millions of miles in diameter, includes Mars, Venus, Mercury, and the 
Earth, with the Moon, besides numerous comets and innumerable aerolites. 
The next concentric circle to be noticed has a diameter of nearly eight 
hundred millions of miles, and the space between it and the first circle is 
occupied by thirty-four or more planets. 

The third concentric circle is rather less than six thousand millions of 
miles in diameter, and in the space between it and the second circle 
there are four planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; this last 
one having an annual circuit which is as long as one hundred and sixty- 
four of the Earth's years. The last concentric circle of the solar system 



UNITY OF SYSTEM. 2G5 

has a diameter of more than one hundred and forty thousand millions 
of miles, and is included in the orbit of a comet. The revolution round 
the sun of one comet exceeds in length five hundred years; and another 
comet is supposed to occupy a far longer period of time in its orbit. The 
solar system just noticed is but one star among the many millions of 
stars in one astral system. Light in one minute travels more than ten 
millions of miles, and thus it is eight minutes in passing from the Sun 
to the Earth, four hours in passing from the Sun to Neptune, and 
ninety-six hours in passing from the Sun to one of the comets. But 
the distance of the nearest star is about eighteen million million miles, 
and therefore light takes three years in coming from it to the Earth. 
Again, light occupies four thousand years in its passage to the Earth 
from a star of the twelfth magnitude, the latter being at a distance of 
twenty-three thousand million million miles. Thus, such a star appears to the 
Earth, not as it is now, but as it was four thousand years ago; and if 
a being on the star at this time had the sense of sight sufficiently powerful 
to behold the history of this Earth, he would see the events which 
occurred four thousand years ago. And if he possessed the faculty of pas- 
sing through the intervening space in one day, or in less, the history of 
four thousand years would be brought together within the lapse of a few 
hours, or of a few minutes, or of one second. And if he used the speed 
of light in passing from the star to the Earth, or from the Earth to the 
star, a momentary event in one of the two spheres would remain fixed 
to his sight during his transit of four thousand years. 

The distance of other stars requires twenty thousand years for light 
to pass from them to the Earth. All these stars belong to one system 
or cluster, but other astral systems scattered at immeasurable distances 
through boundless space, appear to the Earth as they existed millions of 
years ago. From this Earth therefore, as from other spheres, the aspects 
of nature in former epochs extending over myriads of years, are for ever 
radiatory or spreading in concentric circles through infinite space. When 
this Earth in all its epochs is fully known, its adaptation to one purpose 
will doubtless be manifest, and this knowledge of the Earth will be 
much modified or comparatively "done away," when the sun and all the 
planets are equally well understood. This last degree of knowledge will 
be still more changed when it is combined with that of the millions of 
stars which form one astral system. But there are innumerable other 
astral systems, and as each of them is successively understood, the 
knowledge previously acquired will be altered as well as increased. It 
thus appears that time is wholly controlled by space, and may be arres- 

* See "The Stars and the Earth." Bailliere, 219, Regent Street, London. 



266 UNITY OF SYSTEM. 

ted or fixed for ever; or millions of years may be concentrated in one 
moment, or one moment may be expanded to millions of years, according 
to the extent of space and to the quickness with which it is traversed. 
And to a being who is always the same in all epochs and in all places, 
or in eternity and infinity; all time and all space are alike present. 

"Nothing is there to come, and nothing past, 
But an eternal now does always last." 

The future, as will appear is the sequel, being wholly ordained, and 
foreseen, and arranged in systematic accordance with the past. Taking 
this Earth, or any other sphere, or the whole visible creation as a cen- 
tre, space can in some degree be imagined as widening around on all 
sides infinitely, and as including both height and depth; the latter words 
like sun-rising and sun-setting, being deceptive, and only used as conven- 
tional terms. Reflections on the continual circles in which the aspects 
of creation since its beginning, or for millions of years, have been 
expanding in space with the speed of more than a million of miles in 
one minute may tend to enlarge the mind, but these extensions do not 
properly form a part of infinity, for their progress can never diminish it, 
and, having had a beginning, their bounds must always be definite and 
limited. But with regard to a Being who possesses infinity, it is obvious 
that all the past and all the future are ever present, and that the present 
never will pass away. — 2 Peter, iii, 8. 

Infinity before creation is manifestly incomprehensible to man, creation 
being the basis or support on which the mind rests in thought. 

"Je ne vois qu'un grand cerele oU se pud non regard, 
Dont le centre est partout, et les bords nullo part." 

A future eternity and infinity, being accompanied by a future visible 
and eternal creation, is apparently more comprehensible than a preceding 
eternity and infinity; for though the term millions may be applied mil- 
lions of times to the past epochs and to the extent of the present 
creation, still its beginning and its bounds shew that it does not form 
part of or diminish eternity and infinity. In the number of atoms, or 
of grains of sand, the words millions of millions of millions might be 
repeated millions of times; yet the number has its limits, and therefore 
the cessation of one atom will make it less; but no length of time or 
extent of space can make any difference in eternity or in infinity. 

The incapacity of the mind is not more apparent when it cannot grasp 
the whole system of creation, than when it despises the most minute 
objects of created life. It was before observed that all the past time 
may again be comparatively present, and that all the extent of creation 



VORACITY OF THE WOOD-PIGEON. 267 

may be concentrated in one point. On the other hand, as time has no 
appearance in the future; so, in the first existence of all creatures there 
is no space, the development of life in each being, when it is visible, 
having commenced by the assimilation of matter. But, as it is often de- 
clared in the Bible, and, as is also apparent from the fact of all the 
past being wholly in accordance with one system, the future, with the 
lives of all creatures in every particular, and, consequently, with the rise 
and progress, and attainments and reverses of every nation, and with all 
the lesser events therein contained, is all pre-ordained and arranged by the 
Deity, and is as fully developed in His sight, as is the past time and the 
past creation. 

The beginning of individual existence, as has just been observed, is a 
mystery to man, and the creation of species a still greater mystery; but 
the beginning of creation, and how it was added by the Deity, who ever 
fills all space, is far more unknown to him. But the unity in the origin 
of creation is evident from most compounds of matter being compar- 
atively modern, and from there being so very few simple substances. It 
is well known that there is but one agent or means in the change and 
development and organization of matter; and this, in all probability, was 
the secondary cause in the first production of matter. The names of this 
agent, as electricity, magnetism, and gravitation, denote its various proper- 
ties, and its effects also appear in the earthquake and in the volcano. It 
is so evidently the medium between the operations of the body and the 
suggestions of the soul, that several speculative persons have confounded 
it with the mind in man. 



VORACITY OF THE WOOD-PIGEON. 

"There was shot lately, in the neighbourhood of Inverness, a Wood- 
pigeon, in which was found the enormous quantity of one thousand one 
hundred grains of wheat, barley, and oats, together with forty grains of 
peas; the barley grains predominating. This seems to be no unusual 
case, as there was some time before that, another killed on a neigh- 
bouring farm, in which were found seventy grains of peas, with a very 
large quantity of the different kinds of grain already mentioned, but the 
precaution of counting was not taken: it was stated, however; that the 
bird was full to the very bill. Such havoc, by a flock of one hundred 
and ninety or two hundred of these destructive birds, must be very con- 
siderable in the course of a whole harvest-season, particularly since some 
ornithologists maintain that such are the digestive powers of the Wood- 
pigeon, that they are able to consume daily three times their own weight 
of food; a most extraordinary fact, if true. It is needless to add that the 



268 VORACITY OP THE W00D-PIOE0N. 

extermination of such birds must be highly desirable on the part of the 
farmer." — Inverness Courier: copied into The Times, October 22nd., 1857. 

The above broaches a wide and difficult subject, which I had occasion 
some months since to consider with reference to the feline race. Every 
person of humanity must be anxious to avoid the unnecessary destruction 
of any living thing, and with such only would I discuss the subject. We are 
all the work of the same Almighty Power, and we know very well that "not 
a sparrow shall fall to the ground without God's knowledge :" — St. Matthew, 
x. 29. At the same time it is declared in the earliest passages of 
Scripture, first in the twenty-sixth verse of the first chapter of Genesis, 
and in other verses, that man should have dominion over every living 
thing, and that all fruits should be for him for meat; and then in the 
third verse of the ninth chapter, that every moving thing that liveth 
should be meat for him, Noah and his family then representing the whole 
human race. 

It is needless to say how this has been, and is acted upon, until, as 
Mr. Wood in his pretty little book of "Common Objects of the Sea-shore," 
expresses it, there are some people who would fry a rainbow if it were 
possible. Meantime reason must be our guide, although of course it is 
difficult always to know where to draw the line. We must admit that 
butchers' meat, poultry, and game are legitimate articles of consumption, 
and the rationale is, that whatever is wholesome food was, primd facie, 
made to be eaten, for when we come to animals of prey they are uneat- 
able. There is therefore one class of beings made fit for human food, 
and therefore it is lawful to deprive them of life (under the sanction of 
Scripture) for that purpose. 

Then comes the question in dispute — how far is it lawful to destroy 
animal life for any other object? Being in an artificial state of existence, 
as contra-distinguished from animals, man often finds that, for his own 
preservation, those animals which infringe on his support or his safety must 
be sacrificed, and, I think, we must conclude that he is justified so far. 
Then follows a refinement on this necessity, namely, their destruction for 
the purposes of science; and this, I must say, I think stands upon a some- 
what doubtful footing, although the importance of the subject has erected 
it into a received practice, and I do not in the least question that in 
some instances it is perfectly justifiable; but I beg most distinctly to enter 
my protest against any species of cruelty, that is, giving pain, and not at 
once killing, which is too often resorted to under colour of this pretext. 

There is still one other branch left to consider, which is a greater re- 
finement still, namely, the taking away life for the purposes of luxury. 
Now surely, to say the least of it, this is quite unnecessary, and is, on 
a smaller scale, like the feast of nightingales' tongues in ancient times, 



NATURAL HISTORY OP NUNBURNHOLME. u ; 69 

or goose livers of our own day. If animals individually insignificant are 
at the same time a delicate viand, when destroyed let them be eaten, or 
destroyed to be eaten, but when they cannot possibly form a meal, and 
are only applicable to please an epicure's appetite as a novelty, let them 
be spared, as such a satisfaction cannot be placed against the taking away 
of life. 

To apply this to the case before us of the Wood-pigeon. Its great 
powers of appetite and digestion are too well known to need the above 
evidence. I have fed domestic pigeons on horse-beans as hard as stones, 
up to the very bill, and given him a shake to make them rattle, which 
they did lustily, but certainly next morning he was ready for another 
meal; and I do not suppose that the wild bird differs in this particular 
from the tame. Pigeons in America, we have read of with wonder, and 
there is no reason to doubt the fact, American though it be. Of course 
we have no such numbers in England, nor, I should think, in| Scotland, 
but in deep autumn the flocks are very numerous, and I have myself 
seen, I should say, on two occasions, some eighteen or twenty|thousand 
in a flock at a moderate computation; but these were rare instances, and 
the flocks, though very numerous, were usually of not more than forty or 
fifty birds each, and these performed a regular journey at about seven 
o'clock in the morning and five in the afternoon, out and in from Windsor 
Park to some other locality west of it, where I do not know, and many 
a one fell in passing us; of course we watched for their transit. They 
were fine birds, and I think, as well as I remember, we sometimes found 
them filled with beech-nuts and turnip-greens, and sometimes with corn 
cf various kinds. On the occasion of the transit of the largo flocks I 
mention, we were so unprepared that three ramrods were broken in no 
time, in our hurry and trepidation, and from the same cause only two birds 
fell. Since that time the plantations have grown up over that country, 
and they breed almost everywhere, so there are no more armies. They 
are excellent mating, and if destructive must of course be in turn destroyed; 
but this will seldom hold good as a general proposition, so, when we have 
had our pie, lean to the side of mercy, say I. 

O. S. POUND. 

Pembroke Square, Kensington, October 22th., 1857. 



NATURAL HISTORY OF NUNBURNHOLME. 

BY THE REV. F. 0. MORRIS. 

"Glory be to God" was the frequent saying of good old Bishop Ken; 
and with this I will begin, and with this I will end. Abundant recson 
as will be seen, I have to do so. 

VOL. VII. 2 n 



270 NATURAL HISTORY OF NUNBURNH0LME. 

Ever since I have been in Holy Orders, though I have lived in the 
country, and in the country only, yet it has always, till now, fallen to 
my lot to have the care of a large parish, while the superintendence of a 
small one has been the object of my wishes. It is not, however, for the 
clergy to choose as they would in all respects for themselves. "It is 
good for a man that he bear the yoke." 

But, most unexpectedly, and unasked, the Archbishop of York, on St. 
Thomas' Day, the very day for a "dole," wrote to offer me the living of 
Nunburnholme, which I did not even know was vacant, a place from the 
little I knew about it, though I never had been at it, it had before 
come into my thoughts would be exactly the one that would suit me, 
and that I should suit. I thankfully accepted the offer; and more thank- 
ful, if it be possible, I feel every day to his Grace, and to the Supreme 
Ruler of events — the "Head over all things to His Church." 

Surely no one was ever so really suited to his mind — Whereas I had 
thought before that any such place would very likely be thrown away upon 
many a one who might have it, the utter reverse is the case with myself 
— no one would possibly appreciate more that which was just to his liking. 
"Glory be to God." 

"I said if there's peace to be found in the world, 
A heart that is humble may hope for it here." 

Picture to yourself a moderate- sized Rectory-house, quite sufficiently large 
for comfort, but not overgrown, as one sees some houses which are built 
for show and effect more than for the proper ultimate end of architecture, 
(I always pity the dwellers in such,) but if you wish a model of a 
house, not altogether as to appearance, for that, I grant, might be im- 
proved, but one fit for the class to which I belong — the middle class, 
the happiest of all — do you doubt the former part of my assertion? I 
have Scripture for it — "Give me neither poverty nor riches — Feed me 
with food convenient for me" — I beg of you also not to doubt the latter 
part — come and look at Nunburnholme Rectory — I will shew any naturalist 
over my mansion and domain; he shall see my cabinets, and may be 
sure of a hearty welcome. 

But I must first give some sort of general and particular description 
of the place itself. 

In a brief account of the parish which I put forth on the cover of 
my "History of British Birds" in an address on the restoration of the 
quaint little parish church, which was responded to by many kind friends, 
more than one an "ami inconnu," unknown but known, as a lady in 
the south, whom I never saw, nor she me, said in a letter, "we know 
you quite well from your broks." — I have got wrong somehow — how shall 






EXCHANGING INSECTS. 271 

I wind up or unwind this tangled sentence? I cannot well amend it, 
and I do'nt feel disposed to take the trouble of beginning it over again. 
I have it — thus: It is not too late for you, good reader, to contribute 
to the said fund, if you think proper to do so — that will do; a good 
sentence — a good paragraph altogether. Now to proceed. I say, in the 
account I put forth, I wrote as follows. 

"The parish of Nunburnholme is situated at the end of a quiet and 
retired valley, in the East-Riding of Yorkshire, in the midst of some 
very pleasant scenery. The church is small, the population being only 
about two hundred and twenty. It presents some interesting features to 
the antiquary, having a remarkably fine and ornamented Norman arch, a 
small Norman west window, considered to be almost unique, one very 
large and curious double window, a fine east window, and two other 
good ones. The churchyard might have served Gray for the subject of 
his -'Elegy.'" 



tftttonrolngij. 



EXCHANGING INSECTS. 

BY C. R. BREE, ESQ. 

The publication of the "Entomologist's Intellingencer," lias given a great 
impulse to the exchange of insects among collectors, and perhaps a few words 
upon the subject may not be out of place here. 

In exchanging insects, by which local species get generally distributed 
among the various cabinets in the United Kingdom, we think there are 
several points which ought to be strictly observed. In the first place we 
think it ought to be distinctly understood that none but insects in a good 
state of preservation ought to be sent out unless under special or exceptional 
circumstances. 

The transmission of insects by post is attended by considerable expense, 
and a box of bad insects is rarely worth the carriage. The exceptions are 
when an insect is of great rarity, or where it is difficult or almost im- 
possible to get it in good condition. But this ought always to be stated in 
the correspondence, which as a matter of course precedes the exchange, so 
that each party is in possession of the terms of the implied contract. 

We believe, and hope still more, that the instances are rare in which 
bad or injured specimens are sent wilfully. 

If such a case is clearly made out, we think the person who receives 
them is quite justified in returning the box without touching the con- 
tents, or paying the return postage. One general fault among all young 



271' EXCHANGING INSECTS. 

jollectors is tnat of bad setting, which renders it necessary to relax the 
specimens, a process which frequently spoils, and generally takes off that 
freshness and bloom so much prized in the cabinet. 

On this point we shall next month give an admirable paper, by the 
Eev. J. Greene, by studying which every one may insure good setting. 

In the second place we think that with the insects sent, there ought 
to be always a list of names, and where possible, a little history of the 
locality and ceconomy of each insect. Such information is always acceptable, 
and tends much to diffuse a general knowledge of Entomology. 

Thirdly, we need hardly say that every person ought to keep good faith 
with his correspondent. We do not think that a breach of faith is fre- 
quently wilful. Young collectors are often ignorant of the relative value 
of an exchange, and such persons ought to wait until they are more advanced, 
and can better make a return for the specimens sent them. We are not 
among those who think that the duplicates of a hard-working collector are 
to be sent to every one who may assert the claim of being a brother 
Entomologist. Putting aside the injustice of asking a person, who has 
toiled hard, often day and night for perhaps weeks, to give up his rare 
specie3 to the first person who asks him, we think such a system, if in 
existence, would make the incipient rely upon others rather than upon his 
own exertions, and thus by producing idleness, obstruct the progress of 
Entomology. We therefore think that in all exchanges a quid pro quo is 
not only reasonable but just. 

Fourthly, those who exchange insects ought always to write to each 
other with courtesy and gentlemanly feeling. Science is a "humanizer," 
and a "civilizer" of the mind. Though a republic, it is a republic of 
gentlemen, and mild, kind, friendly, and courteous language is the medium 
of communication between the members of such a fraternity. 

We think that all letters which are sent in answer to a notice in any 
publication, ought to be answered either directly, or as soon as possible 
by another notice in the same journal. The omission of this courtesy is, 
we are afraid, not unfrequent. 

Fifthly, we think that all collectors who have duplicates which they 
cannot or do not wish to exchange, ought to send them to those who want 
them, the recipient in such a case paying the return postage. 

Such are some of the rules which we think ought to guide those who 
wish to increase their collections and knowledge by exchanging through the 
post office; and though it does not come within the scope of this Journal 
to insert lists of duplicates and desiderata, which is of the less consequence 
so long as the "Intelligencer" is in existence, yet we shall always have 
great pleasure in promoting the friendly exchange of insects among our 
brother Entomologists, knowing as we do, from experience, the pleasure it 



LIST OF 1EPIDOPTERA. 273 

creates, and the kind feeling which it often produces between individuals 
who would probably under other circumstances have been strangers through 
life to each other. 



Lepidoptera near Bungay, Suffolk. — My father not having paid much 
attention to Entomology of late years, has commissioned me to forward 
you a list of the rare insects that have been captured in this neighbour- 
hood. — Colias edusa is taken here occasionally, and in 1855 Miss Spalding 
captured two of C. hyale at Westleton. A few years since my father found 
Melitoea artemis in the greatest abundance in some marshes close to Bungay, 
but since that time we have never seen one there. I have taken it at 
Rockland in company with P. machaon. Of Vanessa C-album I have taken 
one in our own garden, the only one that I know of that has been taken 
about here for many years. Of V. antiopa, Mr. F. Spalding captured one 
at Ditchingham, in 1 846, and his father caught one at Westleton this year, 
in August, and my father saw one at Ellingham about the same time, 
which, unluckily, he was unable to capture. Arge galathea is very plen- 
tiful every year at Ellingham, about three miles from Bungay. — William 
Garness, Jun., Bungay, Nov. 7th., 1857. 



LIST OF LEPIDOPTERA OCCURRING IN THE COUNTY 

OF SUFFOLK. 

BY THE REV. JOSEPH GREENE, M.A., ASSISTED BY THE REV. H. HARPUR CREWE, M.A., 

AND C. R. BREE, ESQ. 

[The portions of these papers contributed by Mr. Crewe and Mr. Bree, are signed with the 
initials C and B respectively. N.B. at the head of a paragraph signifies that the remarks 
are made after those of Mr. Greene.] 

Part II. — Heterocera. Division I. — Sphingidjs. 

Genus Trochilium. — I did not meet with a single specimen of this genus 
during my residence in Suffolk. 

1. T. cynipiformis. — One specimen taken at Buxhall, by Mr. Levett. 
(C.) 

2. T. myopeeformis. — Two specimens taken in an orchard at Battisford, 
near Stowmarket, by Mr. W. Baker. The larva, which is white and fleshy, 
like the rest of this genus, feeds under the bark of apple-trees in the 
autumn and winter, and turns to a pupa at the beginning of spring. It 
betrays its hiding-place by the frass. (C.) 

3. G. culiciformis. — One specimen of this fine insect was given me by 
Mr. Gr,«rod, of Ipswich, taken in 1856 in a wood near that town. (B.) , 

4. Algeria apiformis. — Extremely abundant in the larva-pupa state. 



274: LIST OP LEPIDOPTERA. 

The eggs are laid by the parent insect in the trunk of the tree, about 
four feet from the ground. When hatched, the larva burrows into the 
tree, and its presence may easily be detected by the frass and little 
hole in the wood, like that produced by a gun-shot. The larva must 
gradually work its way downwards, as the cases are always found either 
level with or below the surface of the earth. The case consists of little 
pieces of wood tightly matted together, and lined with a glutinous silk. 
Inside the larva passes the winter, not changing to a pupa until the end 
of April. Directions for finding these cases will be found in the third or 
fourth number of the "Intelligencer;" but they are extremely difficult to 
rear. I only bred one out of forty in my possession this summer. This, 
I think, was partly owing to the probability of their being injured in 
cutting them out of the trees, and partly to their not having received 
sufficient moisture. They must do great injury to the trees, as the poplars 
round Playford were quite honey-combed by them; and when I was at 
Schwalback this year, I saw a number of young poplars, lately planted by 
the Grand Duke of Nassau, either dead or dying, while the young trunks 
were quite perforated with the little holes made by the larvae of, I presume, 
this or an allied species. 

N.B. — The pupae of this insect require to be kept rather moist; they 
are then not difficult to rear. I have now and then had them by a dozen 
at a time from the Cambridge collectors, and have seldom failed to breed 
the perfect insect when I attended to the moisture. I think the best plan 
is to place them in a tin box, the lid of which fits pretty tight, about 
half full of slightly damp earth. It must be only slightly damp, or the 
pupaa will go mouldy. (C.) 

5. JBL bembiciformis. — The larva of this insect is common in the sallow 
stumps in this neighbourhood. It is difficult to rear from the larva, and 
even after the pupa is cut out it frequently dies. (B.) 

6. Sesia bombyliformis. — Rare. (B.) 

Taken at Ringshall, near Stowraarket, by Mr. W. Baker. (C.) 
[, 7. S. fuciformis. — Rare. (B.) 

Taken at Ringshall by Mr. W. Baker. The larva feeds in June and 
July upon honeysuckle. When full fed, it is pale green on the back, 
brighter on the sides, the whole rugose, and minutely spotted with yellow; 
on each side is a pale yellow line from head to tail; the spiracular spots 
are red; the caudal horn is purple, lighter at the tip; the mouth, legs, 
and belly are purple, the latter edged with yellow; the head dark green. 
The pupa, which is a dusky purple, is enclosed in a slight cocoon amongst 
moss or the roots of grass. I beat a larva, when quite small, into my 
umbrella, June 30th., 1856. It was full fed, and spun up July 30th., 
and the perfect insect appeared June 6th., 1857. This insect, when bred, 



LtSl (P LEPIDOPTERA. 275 

has, like Jtombyliformis, the wings covered with a fine down, which is 
rubbed off the moment it flies. The larva becomes reddish when ready 
to spin up. (0.) 

8. Macroglossa stellatarum. — Frequent in the summer and autumn. The 
larva feeds on Galium verum. (B.) 

I took about twenty-six of the larvae of this insect in August a few years 
since, in Bucks., in one field, feeding on Galium verum. They spun up 
and turned to pupae in loose cocoons among moss and dry roots of grass, 
precisely similar to those of S. fuciformis. The pupa is a delicate pale 
drab. All mine produced Moths at the beginning of October the same 
year. I am convinced that this insect hybernates, and lays its eggs the 
following spring. Has no entomologist ever taken it in a dormant state? 
The larvae from pale green become reddish when ready to spin up. (C.) 

9. Chccrocampa percellus. — Not uncommon. (B.) 

10. C. elpenor. — Common in larva state on Epilobium. (B.) 

I once took about thirty larvae on a small patch of Galium palustre in 
about half-an-hour. This is, I think, its favourite food-plant. I have once 
taken it on Galium verum, L., and have known it to be taken on Im- 
patie?is noli me tangere, L., Epilobium hirsutum, L., and Circcea lutetiana, 
L. (C.) 

11. C. celerio. — Two specimens of this insect have been taken in this 
town. They fell into the possession of the late Mr. Peck. (B.) 

12. Deilephila galii. — Two specimens of this fine insect were taken in 
this town in the present year; one £ by my gardener, when mowing the 
lawn in my garden, on September the 2nd.; the other, a $, was found 
on the gravel walk of a gentleman's garden, a quarter of a mile from my 
house, on the 4th. of September. Both specimens are in my collection 
The larva has been taken by Professor Henslow at Felixstowe. (B.) 

13. D. lineata. — One specimen taken by Mr. Garness, Jun., at Thetford, 
which, being on the borders of the county, may be noticed here; in fact, 
the Suffolk insects may, we consider, be fairly taken as representatives of 
the Entomology of the eastern counties. (B.) 

14. Sphinx convolvuli. — I took three specimens in 1847 in my garden. 
I have not seen it since. (B.) 

15. S. ligustri. — Larva not uncommon on privet and ash. Seems to 
be terribly exposed to the attacks of Ichneumons, its beautiful green skin 
being sometimes quite dotted with the punctures made by its ruthless 
enemy. Surely S. pinastri ought to be expunged from our native lists? 

Ii .B. — I have taken the larva of this insect several times upon the mealy 
guelder rose, (Viburnum lantana, L.,) and the common dogwood, (Cornus 
sa,tguinea, L.) The Moth apparently lays her eggs indiscriminately upon 
thesu two plants, and ash and privet, as I once took the larva upon all 



276 LIST OF LEPIDOPVEUA. 

four within a space of a few yards square. I have also known the larva 
to be taken upon lilac and laurustinus. The eggs may be found in plenty 
where the insect occurs on the under side of the leaves of ash and privet, 
at the end of June. (C.) 

16. Acherontia atropos. — The larva is brought to me almost every season. 
In 1856 I had four, but I did not get one imago; in fact, I should be 
glad to hear if any certain method has been found tor rearing this insect. 
A correspondent in the "Intelligencer" adopts the plan of drenching them 
once a week with water. As far as my experience goes, however, with 
other species of Lepidoptera, I should say that pupae cannot be kept too 
dry. There are, I have no doubt, exceptions to this rule among marsh- 
plant feeders, but I invariably find when digging that the part of the tree 
where pupae are found is that which is dry, and for the most part where 
wet has not penetrated for years. (B.) 

17. S. tilice. — Very common in the pupa state, though I have only 
observed the larva very rarely. I was once asked, I think by Mr. Bond, 
whether I had ever bred an Ichneumon from the many pupae I had 
had of this insect, as he had never known of one, to which I replied 
that I had not. It has always struck me as a very curious circumstance 
how subject some genera and species are to the attacks of Ichneumons, 
while others appear comparatively exempt. As illustrations of the former 
I may mention Centra and Notodonta. As far as my experience goes, 
clear green larvaa seem most frequently to fall a prey to these parasites. 
What a benefactor to entomologists would he be, who might discover a 
method of destroying these horrid little creatures without injury to the 
unhappy larva. If I mistake not, Mr. Douglas records somewhere in the 
"Zoologist," one instance in which an Ichneumoned caterpillar produced a 
Moth, the eggs of the Ichneumon having been extracted from the larva 
with a sharp-pointed instrument. Of this, however, I am not sure. 

N.B. — The larva of this insect occasionally feeds on birch. I took one 
half-fed upon this tree last year, (1856.) It sometimes lays up under the 
loose bark of old elms. I found two pupse this spring, (1857,) more than 
four feet from the ground. The larva, when ready to bury, loses entirely 
its beautiful green colour, and becomes a sort of dirty purple. As an 
incipient, I remember being very much taken in by finding one in this 
state. I thought I had got something quite new. (C.) 

18. S. ocellatus. — Much the rarest of the three species; sallow is, I 
thmk, the favourite food of the larva, but it seems almost impossible to 
find one unstung. 

This insect is, I think, in this locality equally common' with]; S. tilia 
(B-) 

Last August, (1856,) I took a larva of this insect on the Ontario 



SPECIES GENERAL DES LEFIDOPTERES. 277 

poplar. It also feeds upon apple, crab, willow, and the various species of 
sallow. My brother took it in great abundance a few years since in 
Radnorshire, on crab in the hedges. I am compelled to differ from my 
friend Mr. Greene as to its penchant for Ichneumons. I have taken it for 
the last eight or nine years at least, but never yet found one stung. I 
may remark as a curious fact that a few years since I had a brood of 
eggs laid by a female S. ocellatus, of the union with a male S. populi. 
I reared the larvae; the produce were every one genuine Ocellatus, without 
the slightest cross of Populi. The parents were bred by my brother, and 
were the only two insects in the breeding-box, so there could be no mistake. 
(C.) 

19. S. populi. — Common. The perfect insect not unfrequently comes to 
light. 

N.B. — I found a pupa of this insect this spring, (1857,) under the bark 
of an old willow, nearly five feet from the ground; it was enclosed in a 
cocoon of gnawed bark and rotten wood, similar to that of Acronycta 
psi, Widens, and meyacephala. (C.) 

20. Anthrocera Jllipendulce. — Very common near Stowmarket. (B.) 

21. P. statices. — Extremely local. Confined to one corner of a marshy 
meadow bordering upon Kesgrave Heath, about a mile and a half from 
Playford. 

(To be continued.) 



ABSTRACTS FROM THE "SPECIES GENERAL DES 
LEP1DOPTERES." PAR M. M. BOISDUVAL ET GUENEE. 

Part I. 

Translated, with remarks, from the "Noctuelites Par M. Guenee," by C. R. Bree, Esq. 

It is our intention in this and subsequent papers, to give our readers, 
who may not have access to the original works, some knowledge of the 
valuable labours of M. Guenee, probably the first of European lepidopter- 
ists. M. Guenee's arrangement is that, which, by common consent, seems 
to be adopted by entomologists in this country. Mr. Stainton has used 
it in his "Manual;" and we understand that so soon as the "Geoinetridae" 
is published, Mr. Doubleday intends to issue a second edition of his 
"Synonymic List," founded on the elaborations of M. Guenee. In the 
meantime we cannot do better than make ourselves acquainted as much 
as possible with the works from which these classifications are taken. The 
following is M. Guenee's general description of the Noctuce. — Ed. 

vol. VII. 2 o 



27S SPECIES GENERAL DES LEPIDOPTERES. 

HETEROCERA.— Division VI. 

Noctoelites. (Noctuce, Linn.) 

GENERAL CHARACTERS. 

Larva elongated-cylindrical, with six scaly legs, the two anals constant; 
ventrals varying from four to eight, never inclosed in sheaths, or contained 
between the two membranes of leaves; living solitarily, at least in adult age, 
on leaves, in pith, or roots. Chrysalis unarmed, smooth, never attached 
or suspended. Abdominal rings free; form conical, terminating in a hook 
or spine. Contained in exterior cocoons, or in cavities formed in the 
earth. 

Imago with antennae long or middle-sized, growing less from base to 
apex; filiform, ciliated, or pubescent; more or less pointed or rounded, 
never terminating in a hook. Those of the $ nearly always simple; 
labial palpi only visible, well-developed, passing more or less beyond the 
head, the last joint distinct, nearly always less covered with hairs or 
scales, and always slighter, than the preceding joint. Two stomates con- 
stant; the spiral tongue more or less long or strong, but never completely 
absent. 

Body generally robust; more squammose or velvety than woolly; often 
crested. Abdomen never furnished with down susceptible of detaching 
itself after the laying of eggs in the females. Legs of a variable length, 
but generally long, above all, the last or hind pair, which are always 
longer than the preceding. Anterior legs shorter, and furnished with a 
distinct epiphysis; the middle legs furnished with one pair, and the poste- 
rior with two pairs of spurs well developed. 

Wings large, never raised in repose, or rolled round the body; well 
furnished with scales; the superior wings nearly always marked with three 
lines and two distinctive annular spots or stigmata. 

Inferior wings more or less folded; generally covered by the superior. 
Nervulation. Superior wings. Sub-costal nerve constantly furnishes three 
nervules and three costal branches an areola, (wanting only in one family 
and one genus,) well closed, always unique, placed above the cell, of which 
it is entirely independent. The median nervure quadrifid, the sub-median 
simple; never an intermediate. Inferior wings. The sub-costal nervure 
always elbowed with the costal, (except in one family,) only admitting between 
the two three nervules; the median trifid or quadrifid, according to cir- 
cumstances; no pre-costal or intermedian. 

The Noctuelites above characterized may be placed indifferently either 
after the Bombyces or the Geometrcs. They are connected with the first 
by the Noduo- Bombyces, and the Bombycoides, and with the last by the 
Anthopkilides, the Erastrides } and the Bhalenoides. If the last arrange- 



SPECIES GENERAL DES LEPIDOPTERES. 279 

merit is adopted, which would have the advantage of leaving linked together 
without ohstacle the Noctuelles, the Deltoides, the Pyrales, and the 
Micro-Lcpidoptera. The Geometrce must be connected with the Bombyces 
by the genera Amphidasis, Nyssia, etc., which are true Bombyx Pioneers, 
(Bombyx arpenteurs;) and to the Noctuelles by the above-mentioned families. 
But up to this time all authors have placed the Noctuelles immediately 
after the Bombyces, and when I reflect that in upsetting this order so long 
adopted, there would be as much inconvenience as advantage, I feel but 
little disposed to make the innovation. 

It is besides, now universally acknowledged, that though the arrange- 
ment of species upon a single line is imperiously commanded for the con- 
venience of publications and collections, it is not in complete harmony 
with the footsteps of nature, who appears to have proceeded in groups 
linked one with another, nearly without any regular succession; it is 
therefore very often immaterial which of them is made the commencement. 
But if there is one division which cannot be separated from the Noctuelles, 
it is that of the Deltoides, between which groups the transition is scarcely 
perceivable; so that it appears to me absolutely necessary to make them 
follow immediately afterwards. If this necessity has not yet been felt, it 
is that till now the systems have been formed upon European species, and 
the transition of which I speak are generally met in the Exotic species. 
I think the examination of my last family will completely evince this 
truth. The Noctuelles pass then from the Bombyces to the Deltoides, by 
a succession of intermediate shades; and just as the Pseudo-Deltoides 
approach the last, so the Pseudo-Bombycoides are allied to the Notodontidte 
and the Pygeridne. 

I must anticipate an objection which will certainly be addressed to me 
— that of the multiplicity of the genera. Many persons, strangers to 
Entomology, will in reality be frightened at the number which I have 
been obliged to introduce into this division of Nocturnes, and it will per- 
haps be useless to try to prove to them that I have never created any 
except against my will: it is, however, perfectly true. It will in reality 
always be easy to reduce these genera to a very limited number, and I 
have myself shewn the way by my division into families, which may be 
considered, if so preferred, as the true genera, by reducing the actual 

* These families have had till now, in Lepidopterology, the name of Tribes. But as this 
denomination is contrary to all ordinary rules in other branches of Zoology, Botany, etc., 
I have thought it better to change it before it becomes too old. My old tribes, in fact, 
correspond to the families of Jussieu, and besides which, language, which one would not 
wish unnecessarily to ofiend even in technical works, demands that the group which bears 
the last name, should extend further than that which is designed by the first. I have 
therefore reserved the name of Tribe for the larger sections which follow the Phalanges, 
and each of which comprehend a certain number of my actual Families or ancient Tribes. 



280 



SPECIES GENERAL DES LEPIDOFTERES. 



generic divisions into sub -genera. This is only a chancre of words, and 
1 state beforehand that I have no amour proper in these sort of ques- 
tions. This reduction would be still more easy, inasmuch as T have 
given as much as possible to the Family a name derived from the prin- 
cipal genera contained therein. Having made these reservations, I will 
explain my classification in a few words. 

I divide first the Noduelles into two Phalanges, which I name Trifidue 
and Quadrifidce. These Phalanges are again divided into Tribes — three 
for the first, and eight for the second phalanx. These Tribes enclose 
Families, as I have just stated, and each Family is divided into genera. 
A genus is often sub-divided into groups, which again are split into sec- 
tions. Many of these groups are certainly destined eventually to form 
genera. 

The following tables will show at a glance the arrangement of M. 
Guenee, as far as the British Tribes and Families of Nocturnce and 
Pyralites are concerned. 

Heterocera. Division VI. — Noctuelites. 



Phalanges. 



1— Trifidee. 



2. — Quadrifidso. 



1.— 



Tribes. 
Bombyciformes. 



«{ 2. — Genuinse. 



3. — Minores. 



I 



1.— 

2.- 
3.- 

4.- 



Variegatse. 

Intrusse. 

Limbatae. 

Serpentina}. 



Families. 

-Noctua Bombycidae. 

-Bryophilidae. 

-Bombycoidee. 

-LeucanidsD. 

-Apamida?. 

-Caradrinidse. 

-Noctuidae. 

-Ortkosidae. 

-Cosmidae. 

-Hadenidae. 

-Xylinidae. 

-Heliothidae. 

-Acontidae. 

-Erastridse. 

-Anthopkilidae. 

-Phalaenoidae. 

-Plusidae. 

-Gonopteridae. 

-Amphipyridae. 

-Toxocampidae. 

-Stilbkke. 

Catocalidae. 
-Ophinsidae. 
-Enclididae. 
-Poaphilidae. 



Heterocera. Division YII. — Deltoides. 
Families. 1. — Hypenidae. 2. — Herminidae. 



REVIEWS. 

Heteeoceea. Division VIII. — Ptealites. 
Tribes. Families. 

I. — Squamosse. Odontidse. 

2,-Pulverulentae. { ^-Qedlobkk 

1. — Ennychidse. 
2. — Asopidse. 
3. — Luridse. { 3. — Steniadse. 

4. — Hydrocampidse. 
5. — Botydee. 

4. — Plicatse. Scoparidse. 

(* To be continued.) 



Tlie Natural History of the Tineina. Vol. 2, containing Lithocolletis, Part 
1. By H. T. Stainton, assisted by Professor Zeller and J. W. 
Douglas. London: Van Voorst. 

The first volume of this important work was published in 1855, and 
comprised the Nepticula, Part 1, and Cemiostoma, Part 1, with eight coloured 
Plates of the larvae, food-plants, cocoons, and perfect insects of twenty-four 
species of these interesting and beautiful motbs. 

The volume before us is a continuation of the history of these little 
gems among the smallest of the Lepidoptera family. The larvae and insects 
of twenty-four species highly magnified, (and also natural size,) of the 
family Lithocolletis are given with much fidelity and beauty of execution. 
The drawings of the perfect insects are by Mr. E. W. Robinson, and the 
larvae partly by the late Mr. Wing and Mr. T. D. Scott. 

The letter-press, extending to 312 pages, is written in four languages, 
English, French, German, and Latin, in parallel columns. It consists of 
general observations upon the genus Lithocolletis, including a catalogue of 
the seventy- six species already known in the world; an arrangement of the 
larvae according to the food-plants — a new and most interesting feature in 
the work; and a valuable chronological history of the literature of the 
family. The rest of the volume is occupied with a minute description of 
each of the twenty-four species illustrated; the heads of which are — The 
larva, how noticeable — The imago — Mode of life — Description of the imago 
— Description of the larva — Geographical Distribution — Synonymy and Ob- 
servations of Authors. 

Few people are aware of the exquisite beauty of these small moths. To 
the naked eye their minuteness frequently conceals them from observation, 
even that of the Naturalist; but if any of our readers wish to have a rare 
treat, we advise them to look at any of the genus treated of in this 



282 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

volume through a lens of moderate power, with a good light. He will 
hardly know whether most to admire the brilliancy of colour, the graceful 
symmetry of form, or that delicate yet perfect organization which gives 
such a charm to these creatures in the eyes of those who study Nature 
to satisfy the intellect, as well as to gratify the senses. 

We heartily recommend this volume to our readers. Vol. 3, partly 
already in the press, will contain twenty-one species of the grass-feeding 
Elachistae; Vol. 4, the genus Coleophora; and Vol. 5, either the genus 
Depressariae or a further portion of the Nepticulae, with some of the genus 
Bucculatrix. 

The work is exceedingly well printed, and ample attention has been 
afforded to details. 



Nine Botanical Diagrams, Prepared for the Department of Science and 
Art. By the Bev. Professor Henslow. Size, 40|- by 29, fully coloured. 
Drawn from Nature, and on zinc, by Mr. W. Fitch. 

This series of Diagrams, following in the wake of those by Marshall 
on Physiology, Patterson on Zoology, Drew on Astronomy, etc., will prove 
a most useful addition to our means of making science a portion of popular 
education. Each of the Diagrams before us contains beautifully coloured 
sections and dissections of the typical species; illustrating each genus of 
Phasnogamous plants, and the various parts of the flower, stem, seed, or 
root, are distinctly shown. Each Diagram contains marginal references 
to the letters and numbers, indicating the minute anatomical parts of the 
plant. They are executed in the first style of modern art, and will 
prove most useful to the student in botany, as well as in their intended 
more general application to the teachers of this delightful branch of natural 
science in our village and other schools. 

We understand the Professor intends to publish a small work to explain 
them to the student more thoroughly, and to illustrate his system of 
"Village School Botany." 



"On Monday morning last, a young Whale, of the species JBalcenoptera 
Rorqual, was discovered on the rocks behind the outer pier. It is sup- 
posed to have been left there by the tide of the previous night, as it 
was quite dead when found. This monster of the deep was upwards of 
thirty feet in length, and nearly fourteen feet in circumference at the 
thickest part of the body. A party of fishermen who found the prize, soon 
commenced the work of dissection. The outer skin was exceedingly tough, 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 283 

and under this was the fatty substance from which a considerable quantity 
of oil would be obtained. The skin on the back was quite black, and 
had the appearance, when wet, of polished leather; on the belly it was 
of the purest white. This fish was, we believe, the largest that has ever 
come ashore here, though many of the same kind, and much larger, are 
frequently seen by the herring-fishermen when oflF at sea. Like the fisher- 
men, they are probably in quest of the herring, which, with other small 
fish and mollusca, constitutes the food of this species. The Rorqual is not 
unfrequently taken on the most northerly coasts of our island, especially 
in the inlets of the Scotch coast, where they are, indeed, frequently the 
special objects of search and capture, their presence being indicated very 
often a considerable time before they are taken. The present specimen 
is supposed to have been dead some days previous to its being washed 
up here. Its stomach contained a quantity of herrings." 

Ornithological Notes. — The mildness of the weather and the lateness of 
some of the broods have caused many of the swallows and martins to remain 
through the first week of October. Several Snipes, both the Common and 
the Jack Snipe, have appeared in the Dearne valley, and on the 5th. of 
September that rare bird, the Great or Solitary Snipe, was shot on the 
Fleets, being the first instance recorded in this neighbourhood of its 
being seen. It was taken to Mr. T. Lister, and its weight being twice 
that of the common species, it was readily distinguished as the rarer 
bird. A goatsucker or nightjar was twice seen near the same place and 
time, and favoured by the screening trees, it fortunately escaped the gun- 
ner. Less favoured than this rare bird, a much scarcer one, a male 
Honey Buzzard, was shot by the keeper of Sir L. S. Pilkington, of Chevet 
Hall, on the 9th. of September, while attacking a wasp's nest, its crop 
being filled with grubs, young wasps, etc. This noble hawk was once as 
useful in checking the increase of this noxious insect as Owls and Kestrels 
have been for destroying vermin. But all are doomed alike to extermina- 
tion. — Wakefield Express. 

Late Breeding of the Greenfinch. — On the 30th. of August last, in a 
garden about six miles north of Patrington, I was shewn a Greenfinch's 
nest containing four full-fledged young ones. Is not this an instance of 
late breeding, as it is fully a month later than any case that I ever 
observed in this neighbourhood? — R., Wortley, Leeds, October 10th., 1857. 

The Wryneck. — A fine specimen of the Wryneck, ( Yunx torquilla,) was 
found a few days ago on the Glasgow and South- Western Railway, near 
Thornhill, Dumfriesshire. It appears to have been killed by flying against 
the telegraph wires, and has been stuffed for the Thornhill Museum. — 
W. G. Gibson, 75, High Street, Dumfries, October 21st., 1857. 



284: THE QUERIST. 

Occurrence of the Pomerine Skua in Norfolk. — On the 28th. Septemher 
last, a magnificent specimen of the above rare Gull was shot at Marshton, 
Norfolk. It is an immature male, in that stage of plumage from which 
the late lamented Mr. Yarrell took his figure in his valuable work on the 
Birds of Britain. — S. P. Savill, Jun., 13, Regent Street, Cambridge. 

Great Skua, (Larus cataractes.) — On Thursday last, 9th. October, 1857, 
some boys caught a bird on the road at Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, which 
proved to be a female of the year of the above. — Idem. 

Common Tern, (Sterna Hirundo,) shot Inland. — A farmer shot one of 
these truly sea-birds when resting on his cow-lodge, on the afternoon of 
Thursday, October 8th., 1857, at Hardwick, Cambridgeshire, driven thither 
far from its native home by the late heavy gales. — Idem. 

Ring Ouzel, (Turdus torquatus.) — A labouring man shot one of these 
birds, a male, which was sitting at the time upon a plum-tree in Cherry 
Hinton chalk-pits, Cambridgeshire, September 6th., 1857. This is ex- 
ceedingly early for their appearance in this county. — Idem. 

Since penning the above, I have received notice of an adult Pomerine 
Skua, (Lestris pomerinus ;) also an Arctic Skua, and three pairs of Great 
Skuas, (Larus cataractes,) shot on the coast of Scotland by some fishermen^ 
who were at the time herring-fishing there, were bought in the market at 
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. — Idem. 

Sphinx convolvuli. — I took a fine specimen of this fly on the 7th. of 
September, on a post, just out from its chrysalis. — Arthur Havers. 

The Spider. — The other day I was passing through my kitchen, when 
my servant drew my attention to a Spider which had descended from 
the ceiling, crawled along the table-cloth for a few inches, caught a fly, 
and was again ascending its web to the ceiling. I saw it ascending with 
the fly in its claws. My servant saw it in the act of holding or seizing 
the fly on the cloth, as it was the buzz of the fly on being caught that 
attracted her attention. Is not this a curious proceeding for a web-spinning 
Spider? — Idem. 



€\t (tarist. 



Can any of my — I beg pardon, our — Entomological readers tell me which 
is the best part of the New Forest for Entomological operations, which «,je 
best time of the year there, and where a poor man, a working Ento- 
mologist, could obtain suitable accommodation, and at what rate? — F. O. 
Morris, Nunburnholme Rectory, Hayton, York, October '. \d. 




INDEX. 



American Chimney Swallow, 39. 

American Lesser Redpole, 39. 

April showers bring spring flowers, 185. 

Auk, Little, 32. 

Autumnal Tones, 260. 

Baloenoptera Rorqual, 282. 
Beggar Woman's Dog, 62. 
Birds, Common, Characteristics of, 189, 220. 
Birds' Nests, 117, 143, 171. 
Birds, Rare, 112, 113, 197. 
Bird Eetreating, 24. 
Birds, Singing of. in 1857, 164. 
Birds, Song of, 237. 
Birds using: oil from 'Glands, 25, 111. 
Bittern, 138. 
Blackbirds, 163. 
Blackbirds and Rat, 20, 
Blind Horse, Beautiful action of, 165. 
Blue Tit, 33. 
Butterflies, 203, 236. 

Butterflies and Sphinges observed at Lau- 
sanne, 80. 

Cader Idris, Ascent of, 13. 

Classification of the Animal Kingdom bv the 

Nerves, 48, 97, 117, 174, 207,' 240.' 
Clausilia Rolphii, 248. 
Clouded Yellow Butterfly, 236. 
Collyweston Slate, 16. 

Contributions to Entomology of Banffshire, 87. 
Corn Crake, 185. 
Cotteswolds, On the, 194. 
Crossbill, 262. 
Crustaceans, Notes on, 232. 
Cuckoo, The, 163. 

Destruction of Birds, 3, 101. 
Dog, Curious Freak of a, 111. 
Dyson, Mr. David, Death of, 43. 

Eagle, White-tailed, 112. 

East Cumberland, Notes on Natural History 

of. 225, 250. 
English Snakes, 66. 
Entomological Captures in 1856, 82 
Entomological Dream, 108, 134. 
Entomology, Curious Incident in, 65. 
Erebia blandina at Braemar, 212. 
Eristalis nubilipennis in Ireland, 211. 
Exchange, 20, 38. 
Exchanging Insects, 271. 
Extracts from Correspondence with a Brother 

Naturalist, 5. 

Filling and Emptying an Aquarium, 67. 
First Appearance of Migratorv Birds near 

Kilnsay, 153. 
Fish Notes', 150. 
Four Days Collecting near Dorking, 236. 

Grey Phalarope, 32. 
Grease in Drawers, 260. 
Greenfinch, Late Breeding of, 283. 
Guillemot, Bridled, Specific Distinctions of, 

217. 
Guillemot, Ringed, 212. 

Remarks upon, 166. 

Harlequin Duck, 163. 
Heratical Subject, 40. 
House, Fall of, 235. 



Hudson's Bay Tit, 39. 
Hymenoptera, Setting of, 140. 

Ichneumon and Tortrix Larva, 250. 
Insects, Injurious, 54. 
"Water, 247. 

Kingfishers, 20. 
Kittiwake, 63. 
Knot, 33. 

Larks, Extraordinary Flight of, 64. 
Lepidoptera, List of near Wisbeach, 61. 

near Bungav. 273. 

of Suffolk', 253, 273. 

Liparis monacha in Lincolnshire, 212. 

Marine Shells, Exchange of, 259. 
Merlin, 32. 
Migration, 156. 
Mistletoe, The, 154, 188. 
Mole, Utility of, 213. 

Natural curiosity, (Yellow-breasted Martin,) 

137. 
Naturalist's Wish, The, 232. 
New Forest, Quaere respecting Entomology 

in, 284. 
Nightingale, 19, 68. 
Notes from Norfolk, 60. 
Notice, 232. 

Notice of Diurnal Lepidoptera, 85. 
Nova Scotia, Birds of, 103, 

â–  Addenda to, 136. 

Nunburnholme, Natural History of, 269. 
Nuthatch, 261. 

Oil Glands of Birds, 164. 

Orchis, Flv, 20. 

Ornithological Notes, 283. 

Ornithology in the House of Commons, 210. 

Owl, Long-eared, 112. 

Peep at the Ferns of Sutherland and Ross, 

8, 29, 77. 
Penguin, 260. 

Plants, Resuscitation of. 211. 
Pupae found on roots of Ash Trees, 40, 41, 
Purple Emperor in Lincolnshire, 212. 

Rara Avis, 65. 

Raven, 112. 

Redbreast, 226. 

Representation of Snow and Ice in Bird 

Cases, 39. 
Reviews : — 

Blunders in Behaviour, 92. 

British Botanists' Field Book, 188. 

Hours of Sun and Shade, .34. 

Index Filicum, 188. 

Natural History of the Tineina, 281. 

Natural Histofv Review, 35, 68, 114, 139, 
186, 260. 

Nine Botanical Diagrams, 282. 

Prize Essay on the Prevention of the Smoke 
Nuisance, 34. 

Simple Catechism of the Animal, Vege- 
table, and Mineral Kingdoms, 34. 
Ring Ouzel, 284. 
Ring-tail Harrier, 32. 



286 



Scarcity of Birds in Hard Weather,32. 

Scolopax Sabini, 65. 

Singing Birds near Large Towns, 185. 

Bkenea rota, 113. 

Skua, 284. 

Poraerine, 284. 

Skylarks, 33. 
Snipe, Jack, 113. 

Species Generales des Lcpidopteres, Abstracts 

from, 277- 
Sphinx convolvuli, 284. 

euphorbia? on Box Hill, 186. 

Spider, 284. 

Spring, Indications of, 112. 

Starling, 33. 

Stratford-on-Avon, a Memory from, 192. 

Study of Natural History conducive to 

Health, 1, 21, 45. 
Swallows, 69, 93. 

Boosting in a Hedge, 212. 

Sunday in the Country, 200. 

Sympathy between Man and Animals, 47, 141. 
Svnapta lineata, Qusere respecting, 164. 
Systema Naturae, 18, 61, 89, 110, 136, 162, 
184, 205, 254. 



Tern, Common, 62, 284. 

Thibet. Tree of, 204. 

Thirsk Natural History Society. 164. 

Three Days in the Falkland Islands, 74. 

Turtle Doves, 211. 

Unexpected Arrivals, 152. 
Unitv of System, 21, 57, 72, 132, 148, 198, 
223, 245, 264. 

Vegetable Caterpillar from New Zealand, 39, 
106, 115, 116. 

Wasp and Spider, 259. 

Weather Wisdom, 66. 

What are thev for? 146. 

White-belted Clear Wing, 236. 

Wild Cat, 91. 

Winter Work, 66. 

Wood Pigeon, Late Nesting of, 235. 

. Voracity of, 267. 

Wrens, Young, 235. 
Wryneck, 283. 

Xanthia Silago, 236. 



LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS. 



Alington, Rev. R. P., 82, 91, 185. 
Armstrong, Thomas, 225, 250. 
Atkinson, T. K., 137. 

B. E. K., 212. 
Bladon, James, 62, 63. 
Blakiston, Leiut. T., 39, 103. 
Bland, 103. 
Bonney, T. G., 80. 
Bree, C. R., 232, 253, 259, 271. 
Burton, P.M., 5. 16, 48, 97, 116, 117, 
174, 206, 240. 

Clogg, S.. Ill, 112. 
Cooper, W. W., 212. 
Crewe, Rev. H. H., 42, 253, 273. 

D'Alquen, F. C, 91. 
Dumfries Herald, 236. 

E. J. M., 185. 

Falconer, R. W., M.D., 115. 
Farren, W., 112. 
Foggit, T., 163. 

Fuller, T., 1, 21, 25, 45, 101, 141, 163, 
164, 185. 

Gardner, J., 186, 236. 
Garland, J., 114. 
Garness, Jun.. W., 273. 
Gatcombe, J., 113, 138, 163. 
Gibson, G., 32, 236, 283. 
Grav, R., 166. 
Greene, Rev. J., 253, 273. 
Guise, W. V., 106, 194. 

Haliday, A. H., 140. 
Havers, A., 39, 284. 
Hobson, R., M.D., 111. 

John ap John, 234. 
J. P., 211. 

K. C, 13. 

Marris, R., 61. 
Maude, E. J., 153. 



Mcintosh, J., 54, 91, 92, 154, 213. 

Melhuish, J., 112. 

Morris, Rev. F. O., 18, 33, 38, 40, 41, 42, 
43, 61, 65, 66, 81, 83, 89, 92, 110, 
113, 115, 136, 139. 140, 162, 164, 184, 
205, 210, 211, 212, 217, 235, 236, 260, 
269, 284. 

Oldfield, G. T., 67. 
Outis, 134. 

Payne, D., 260. 

R 283 

Round, O. S., 3. 47, 69, 93, 127, 143. 156, 

171, 189, 200, 220, 226, 237, 247, 26T, 

262, 267. 

Savill, S. P., 284. 
Simonds, T. R., 92. 
Smith, C. E., 197. 
Smoothy, C. 32. 
Southwell, T., 38. 
Stockley, G., 85. 
Style, S., 116. 
Sutherland, W., 212. 

Thirsk Natural History Society, 38, 164. 
Thurnall, C, 32. 
Thynne, J. C, 138. 
Tootal, C. F., 259. 

Twinn, G. R., 19, 20, 24, 33, 60, 138, 
146, 164, 165, 192, 203. 

W., 8, 29, 77, 87, 150, 232. 
Walford, C, 66. 
Walker, J. S., 74. 
Walsh, J., 33. 
Waterton, C, 111. 
Watkins, C, 211. 
Webster, W., 113, 248. 
Wedderbum, Major, 136. 
WtjIIs, W., 116. 
Wightwick, G.. 138, 204. 
Wilkinson, J. E., 67. 

Yellowly, W., 32. 




A BOOK OF PROSE POETRY, 

FULL OF SUNSHINE AND GLADNESS, AND BREATHING OF 
BEAUTY IN EVERY LINE, 

JUST PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN AND CO. 

In a neat Octavo Volume, Price Five Shillings, cloth, 

BRAMBLES 

AND 

BAY LEA YES; 

ESSAYS ON 

THE HOMELY AND THE BEAUTIFUL. 

BY SHIRLEY HIBBERD, 

Author of "Rustic Adornments for Homes of Taste," etc., etc. 

Contexts: — Grass and other Green Things — Season of Buttercups — Season 
of Brown Leaves — Memories of Mischief — The Soul in Nature — The Sparrow 
— The Inner Life — The Land of Blackberries — The Soul of Song — Suggestions 
of a Broomstick — The Poetry of Chemistry — Floral S3'rnbols — Fairy Rings — 
The Love of Flowers — Floral Antiquities of the East; Summer Pictures — 
Uses of Wild Plants — Progress of Discovery and Science — The Formation of 
a Herbarium — Footsteps of the Seasons — Floral Customs, Superstitions, and 
Histories. 

NOTICES OF THE PRESS. 

"Seldom haB it been our lot to feel our spirit attuned so much in unison 'with the expr 
of natural feeling as with this. We can but admire the fervour and eloquent outpouring of 
the glad spirit which is perceptible throughout tbese pages." — Clare Journal. 

"It abounds in the evidences of a refined taste, i . reading, study, and positive in- 

vestigation, all coloured 'and heightened by a vivid and poetical imagination. It is a book for 
the fireside and the fields, and one we feci the warmest satisfaction in introducing and recom- 
mending to our readers." — Weekly Dispatch. 

"To those who love a quiet country life, far removed from noise and turmoil, this collection 
of essays, by one who is at once a student of nature, and a lover of the Beautiful, will prove 
very acceptable. What a quaint essay is that picturing the past glories of our boyhood — 'The 
Land of Blackberries.' Indeed the whole book is such, that every lady fond of a gentle and 
not unlearned gossip about flowers and green things, and every gentleman who, seated by his 
fireside, wishes to call up the leafy glory he has seen a-field, should buy it." — Field. 

"A genial and hearty book, full of healthy reading, which is more than oan be said uow-a- 
days for most books that profess to deal with the Beautiful." — Athen 

"Inspired by a genial spirit." — I 

"Miscellaneous papers on topics conn. vegetation and the country, but branchin 

into rustic practices, ; itifio observation. The information and description 

please and fill the mind by recalling the original. — Spect 

' 1 Wq have in 'Brambles and Bay Leaves' an amount of information respecting 'green things' 
which proves the author to be a man of deep research and extensive reading; and no one, 

te for the Beautiful, can peruse this clever work without truly 

vie in which Mr. Bibberd writes on truly poetical subjects." — Governess. 

LONDON: 
LONGMAN, BROWN, AND CO., PATERNOSTER-ROW. 



GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS WILL PUBLISH, 

On the First of January, 1858, PRICE FOURPENCE, 
To be continued Monthly, 

NO. I. OF THE 





AND 



GARDEN GUIDE. 

A PRACTICAL MISCELLANY OF FACTS AND INTELLIGENCE IN 
EVERY DEPARTMENT OF HORTICULTURE. 



PROSPECTUS. 



Our Periodical Literature is by no means deficient in ably conducted journals of 'Gardening, 
and its associative pursuits, and yet it has long been felt, by those interested in such subjects, 
that there is still a need of one so conducted as to meet the wants of a large class of read- 
er-, who fail to find, in the established journals, the kind of information of which they are 
most in need. The large and increasing class of Amateurs, who have neither expensive estab- 
lishments, nor the help of skilful salaried gardeners, are almost unrepresented; and though they 
may find much to interest them iu existing gardening literature, there is not one Horticultural 
journal wholly devoted to their interests, or that affords them an unfettered medium of inter- 
communication. The "Floral World" is intended to fill this, at present, unoccupied ground; 
and though professional gardeners will not be wholly forgotten, those who pursue gardening 
as a pleasure, and with limited resources, will be most anxiously cared for. 

The "Floral World" will be devoted entirely to Gardening subjects, and no subsidiary 
topics will be allowed to interfere with the full consideration of these, as represented in the 
several departments of Plant Houses, Flower, Fruit, and Vegetable Culture, Garden Scenes 
and Embellishments, the Management of Allotment Lands, Flower Shows, and Horticultural 
Botany. These will be severally treated, in a simple and pi'actical manner, by experienced pens, 
and the fullest attention will be given to communications from correspondents," whether seeking or 
conveying information. 

The contents of every number will be varied, and practical usefulness will always have 
preference over speculation and theory; so that it is hoped the "Floral World" will soon 
become a necessity of the time, as a guide to seasonal work iu the garden and greenhouse, a 
journal of intelli lly interesting to Amateurs, and a medium of intercommunication 

in every department of Horticulture. 

The "Editor has made arrangements for the co-operation of several well-known horticultural 
writers, who will enrich the pages of the "Floral Would" with the results of thetr ex- 
perience in assigned them. Amongst other subjects which will be 
treated of, ; Flowers will occupy a prominent plnce; a series of papers on Pro- 
fitable Gardening, in which many new and improved methods of vegetable culture will be 
described, by a â–  pen, will appear regularly, and each number will, as far as pos- 
sible, be so as that the several matters treated of will be applicable to the seasons. 

NO. I. WILL CONTAIN: 



it w of the Tast Tear. 
I ly Summary of Horticultural Intellij 
itive Pit for Amateurs. 
Greenli 

:.il Bulbs. 
The Pla 

iarden and Greenhouse. 

Trees adapt 11 Gardens. 



I Climbers for North Walls. 
' Planting for Pictorial Effect. 
j The Cultivation of the Cineraria. 
; -Notices of Books and Nurserymen's Catalogues. 
A Selection of Choice Tlants for Greenhouse 
Culture. 

in January. 
Preparations for Spring Shows. 
Meteorological and Floricultural Calendar for 
January, &C, &C. 






., t$c , to be addressed "Editor 'Floral 

' «, E. (J. 



LONDON: 

GEOOMBEEDGE AND SONS, PrBEISETEES, 5, PATEENOSTEE-EOW 



No. 83. 



.JANUARY, 1858. 



Price 6d. 



n 



% 



A POPULAR MONTHLY MAGAZINE, 

ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE 

ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, AND MINERAL 
KINGDOMS. 

WITH OCCASIONAL ENGRAVINGS. 



CONDUCTED BY 

THE EEV. F. 0. MOEEIS, B.A., 

Member of the Asbmolean Society, etc. 

THE ENTOMOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT 

BY C. E. BEEE, ESQ. 



Lord, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: 
the earth is full of Thy riches.— Psalm civ., 24. 



LONDON: 

GEOOMBEIDGE AND SONS, 5, PATERNOSTEE EOW. 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

On the Natural Order of Ancient Geologic Organisms. By F. M. 

Burton, Esq • • 

Characteristics of Common Birds. By 0. S. Round, Esq 4 

Notes on Crustaceans. By 0. Hodge, Esq 

Entomology: — 

The Study of Nature; an Entomological Pro' em for 1858. By The 

Editob • • • 

List of Lepidoptera occurring in the County of Suffolk. By The 

Rev. J. Greene, The Rev. H. H. Crewe, and C. R. Bree, Esq. . 11 

How to Set Lepidoptera, (with Engravings.) By The Rev. J. 

A List of the Rarer Species of Coleoptera. By J. Leedes Eox, and 

W. Garness, Esqs. • 16 

A List of the Insects observed in the Southern Parts of Sussex. 

By W. C. TJnwin, Esq 18 

Miscellaneous Notices.— Carnivorous Propensity of the Hedgehog. 

Mildness of the Early Winter of 1857. A Winter Visitor 20 

Review. — The Natural History Review 21 

Exchange.— Conchology 22 

Pkoceedings of Societies.— Thirsk Natural History Society 22 

The Querist.— Autumnal Tone ~ m of the Rook. The Cockchaffer. 

Animalcules • 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

Communications have been received by the Rev. P. O. Morris, from Messrs. 
O S. Round, (two;)— H. Buckley;— T. Aied ;— Rev. R. P. Alington ;— P. M. 
Burton;— J. G. Bakee;— H. Maech;— J. J. Beoadhead ;— Rev. J. C. Bbowne; 
— "Glasgow Bulletin." 

Communications, Drawings, Advertisements, etc., to be addressed to the Bev. F. 
MOBBIS, Nunburnholme Bectory, Hayton, York;— Books for Beview and 
Parcels, to the care of Messrs. GBOOMBBIBGE, 5, Paternoster Bow, 
London. 

ENTOMOLOGY. 

Communications have been received from tbe Rev. J. Greene ;— Rev. H. H. 
Ceewe;— H. Wood, Esq;— W. C. Unwin, Esq. 

* * All communications on Entomology intended for insertion in this department of "The 
Naturalist," must be sent before the 15th. of the month to C. K. BREE, Esa., Stowmarhet, 
Suffolk. 

Errata in December NuMBER.-Page 277, seventh line from top, for "o/ the «»«<' 
reT"afterthe union." Page 280, second line from top, for "amour proper," read "amom 
proprt." __^__«— i — . 

New Edition of Turton's British Land and Fresh-water Shells. 

BY DR. J. E. GRAY. 



In crown 8vo., with Woodcuts and twelve coloured Plates, price IBs., 

DR. TURTON'S MANUAL 



OF the 



LAND AND FRESH-WATER SHELLS OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 

New Edition, thoroughly revised, with considerable Additions. By John 
Edward Gray, Ph.D., P.R.S., Keeper of the Zoological Collection in the 
British Museum. 

LONDON: LONGMAN, BROWN, AND CO., PATERNOSTER ROW. 



T II E 



NATURALIST; 



A POPULAR MONTHLY MAGAZINE, 



illustrative or the 



ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, AND MINERAL 
KINGDOMS. 



CONDUCTED BY 

THE REV. F. 0. MORRIS, B. A. 

THE ENTOMOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT BY 

C. R. BREE, ESQ. 



VOL. VIII. 



WITH ENGRAVINGS. 



O Loud, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them 
all : the earth is full of Thy riches.— Psalm civ., 24. 



LONDON: 

GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW. 

M DCCC l.Vlll. 



THE NATURAL] 

^ 




ON THE 
NATURAL ORDER OF ANCIENT GEOLOGIC ORGANISMS. 

BY F. M. BURTON, ESQ. 

Every student in zoology, who has at all examined the systems of our 
great naturalists in the past and present time, is doubtless at first inva- 
riably struck with the want of a pure classification of the Animal King- 
dom, that will shew without fail the gradual increased development of one 
creation over another, in at least one important organism; and looking at 
the inconsistencies that prevail throughout nature in this matter, he is apt 
to think that the true classifying principle has not yet been discovered, 
that the master minds that have from time to time attempted to elucidate 
the secrets of nature, and to separate the true gold from the rock where 
it lies buried, our Cuviers and Owens have yet failed to find out the key 
which will give access to the whole, the one true principle of all organic 
created matter. He remembers that nature never recedes, and this is apt 
to confound him more, and further strengthens the belief he fosters, and 
then a spirit of inquiry is raised within him, and he searches deep into 
the works of those who have made zoologic development, as it exists in 
the present fauna of the earth, their study, but without getting nearer the 
goal. He then recollects that the whole world of organisms, as it now 
exists, is merely a portion, part decaying, part decayed, of one vast fabric 
of creation, which has been going on for ages, and then he takes a wider 
sweep, and endeavours to understand the link between ancient and modern 
cycles, as shewn in the geologic records of the past, and here he sees at 
last nature as a whole, and finds what man's wisdom has discovered, though 
failing in perfection, is yet worked out on true creative principles. 

But to put the question in a more forcible light, let us take the several 
great divisions of the Animal Kingdom according to modern classification, 
and compare them one with another, and then let us mark how it is that 
we do not find the lowest class of one division higher in point of organic 
development than the highest of the last class, as, for instance, the Anne- 
lidas, the lowest of the Homogangliate division, over the Echinoderms, the 
highest of the preceding Nematoneurose division. The answer to this, when 

VOL. VIII. B 



A ANCIENT GEOLOGIC ORGANISMS. 

viewed by the experienced eye of the advanced geologist, is obvious. 

In the first place it must be borne in mind that it would not be 
necessary, from local causes, that the lowest class of one division, and each 
tribe of animals, should in all respects be more fully organized than the 
highest preceding lower class or tribe, because the development of one or 
more organisms would entirely depend upon the circumstances of life in 
which each animal is placed; the inhabitant of the water, for instance, 
would not require certain senses and organs so highly elaborated as those 
of another species whose habits were terrestrial, and vice versa. But the 
chief answer to the inquiry lies in this, and the fact has been partly worked 
out and elucidated in the last work of one of our great geologists, whose 
end we all lament, that of "The Testimony of the Rocks," by Hugh 
Miller, who makes the simple statement that the various creations, so to 
speak, of the different divisions of the Animal Kingdom were an act of 
parallelism. Too much stress cannot be laid on this important fact. This 
is the key which will unlock the truth of advanced systems, and throw a 
light over the whole, when we come to consider that the lowest organisms 
with which we are acquainted were the first to be developed, and that, 
when the great Silurian sea was in being, with its muddy, slimy shores, 
the acritous animals held sway. True it is we cannot find traces of the 
remains of many, whose types of form we still are acquainted with in 
existing life, in the rocks where now their history is read, but the reason 
of this is apparent — their bodies were evanescent, and no more traces of 
them could have been left than of the soft jelly-fishes of our own shores, 
which, when thrown up by the waves, before the returning tide can reach 
them, are melted by the sun's rays, and disappear. 

But were acritous animals alone permitted to live on those ancient shores? 
Nature, ever bountiful, and delighting in liberality, or rather nature's 
' consummate Author, willed it otherwise. Co-existent with acritous develop- 
ment appeared also tribes of the great Nematonourose, Homogangliate, and 
Heterogangliate divisions, — nature worked in parallels. Together with the 
bonj' secretions of Polyps, we find Trilobites and Braohiopodous Molluscs, 
nay, from the soft nature of the lower orders allowing them to perish 
without an impress of their form, the latter kinds almost appear to pre- 
dominate. And further, in addition to this divisional creative parallelism, 
it appears that in the four first kingdoms a certain parallelism also existed 
in the several classes composing each division, as, for instance, among the 
Heterogangliata; for, co-existent with low Brachiopods, we find imbedded 
in Silurian stone remains of the highest families of this division, Cephalo- 
podous Molluscs, animals that approach the vertebrate world in type by 
the possession of the first rudimentary bony skeleton, though again we are 
confounded in our attempt to understand the creative truth by the light 



ANCIENT GEOLOGIC ORGANISMS. O 

of discovery, in the fact that the lowest class of the Heterogangliate 
division does not make its appearance till the tertiary system was being 
formed, in other words, not for numberless unreckoned ages after the 
highest Molluscan genera had been called into being. 

But all this, it may be urged, does away with the six days of creation, 
either as literal or prophetic periods. No such thing; nature's own testi- 
mony, engraved in ancient rocks and cliffs, is to the contrary; any tyro 
in geology knows to the contrary, and can tell you that great eras of 
development were elaborated in successive periods of the world's history, 
that, notwithstanding the appearance of lower orders of the higher animal 
divisions during the acritous sway, they were merely the forerunners of a 
nobler world afterwards to be perfected, and that the successive but con- 
tinuous deposits of the Silurian and other systems, speaking of them as 
periods of time, were the eras of greatest development of different tribes 
of animals. 

And when, ic may be asked, did the last and highest kingdom appear? 
Its creation began in the days of the Upper Silurian age, when water 
prevailed over the surface of the earth, when the coral of acritous Polyps 
was in a high state of formation; it began with the lowest class of the 
vertebrate division, tribes which alone could live in that watery age, when 
higher genera would, like Noah's dove, have found no rest for the soles 
of their feet, an age adapted entirely to fishes; and afterwards, when the 
dry land began to appear, in the time of the uppermost deposits of the 
old red sandstone, then those great monsters, whose bony remains may be 
found imbedded in such numbers in our liassic and oolitic deposits, those 

"Dragons of the Prime, 
That tore each other in their slime," 

appeared with it. Truly nature never receded, but from the time when 
God first clothed the material world with life, till the day of perfection 
arrived, when He placed the pinnacle on the noble structure He had raised, 
and formed the spirit of man within him, and fitted him to serve and 
worship Him, nature never receded. God's work was complete, but it was 
left to man to recede. It is a beautiful fact, fully in accordance with 
geologic truth, that, when God had finished all His work, "behold it was 
very good," and that man, now, alas ! so degraded, was good too, a fitting 
head to such an edifice. God formed him perfect, but from that original 
righteousness, from his high estate, puffed up with pride, and seared with 
ingratitude, man himself receded and fell; and I know not whether there 
is a more striking proof of the mighty foresight and wisdom of God than 
that, though He had made him perfect, and doubtless meant him but for 
his rebel sins to continue so, still, foreseeing the dire calamity of his fall, 



4 CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMON BIRDS. 

He had, during the successive preceding periods of creation, so framed the 
crust of the earth, with its coal forests, its minerals, rocks, and soil, that 
it was at once ready for a fallen race, only requiring that labour to bring 
it out, that toiling sweat of brow to keep down the rugged crops of thorns 
and thistles, which was one of the merciful fruits of man's rebellious sin. 

Uppingham, November 4th., 1857. 



CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMON BIRDS. 

BY 0. S. ROUND, ESQ. 

{Continued from page 223, Vol. vii.) 

Birds, like other wild animals, are divided into classes pursuing various 
modes of life, each path exercising a manifest influence upon their manners 
and appearances, the search after food to sustain that life being the great 
motive power whereby their movements are regulated. Hence, whilst the 
graminivorous are walkers and runners, because their food is gotten on the 
earth, so the insectivorous are endowed with extraordinary powers of wing, 
and the aquatic birds are web-footed. But there is one class, which is, 
perhaps, the most limited number of all, which subsists upon nocturnal 
prey, and the reason for this is obvious, for nocturnal animals are likewise 
comparatively few, and in this, as in all nature, we find that all-wise 
adaptation of the means to the end that must strike the most unobservant 
at every turn in the pursuit of natural science. Almost all night-birds are 
garrulous, for although their ocular powers are far superior to our own, or 
that of diurnal creatures, for distinguishing objects during the hours of 
darkness, still, to a great extent, it is darkness even to them, and they 
cannot see each other at any great distance, and it is therefore necessary 
that they should have some other means of collecting their forces, or of 
knowing each other's locality. Thus, as we all know very well, Owls hoot 
and scream, Nightjars rail, and Stone Curlews whistle, and Herons, which 
are somewhat nocturnal, have a note approaching to a shriek, whilst the 
Bittern utters a harsh note like a trombone. Nay more, birds which are 
strictly diurnal, particularly water-birds, when they do move at night, which 
sometimes chances, immediately become noisy, and for the same reason as 
I have above stated; and who knows but that, like many a youth-would- 
be-man who manfully starts to walk home across a common after nightfall, 
the silent darkness has not something awful and fear-inspiring even to non- 
reasoning creatures; and as he makes the air echo with his whistle, so they 
awake the stillness in their own way. It has been advanced by a divine 
of superior talents, who met an early grave from over-exertion in his sacred 



CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMON BIRDS. 5 

duties, that darkness has, per se, a degree of terror in it, quite apart from 
associations of any kind, and here there is this strange anomaly, that, 
instead of fear prompting silence, it should produce garrulity, yet so it is. 
The majority of our nocturnal birds are inhabitants of wilds, and the 
"lonely places of the earth," as if it was intended that their shrieks or 
wails should not trench upon the rest of creatures located in peopled 
districts, 

"The Bittern's boomitigs, dissonant and harsh, 
Wake only echoes from the dreary marsh; 
And nature's ordering hand, ibr ever kind, 
The Owlets' screams has to the woods confined." 

This last observation, however, does not universally hold good, for there is 
not a plough-boy in agricultural places who does not know how sacred the 
Yellow Owl is held in the farm-yard, by reason of his mousing propensities. 
It is almost incredible, it is said, how many of the genus Mus fall into the 
clutches of these midnight hunters, and I have myself at dusk seen them 
watching, cat-like, at the foot of stacks for their prey, though how they 
are quick enough to catch them then I do not know, as I never saw the 
feat performed; in flying it is a different matter, of course. Most members 
of the Owl tribe are fond of the woods, but there is a handsome species 
which is as often found on commons; this is the Long-eared Owl, of which 
the hen is really a very large bird when on the wing, and it is probable 
that small rabbits and leverets are preyed upon by this bird, as well as 
young game; indeed this is taken for granted by sportsmen, although they 
would be puzzled to give any proof of the fact. This idea is easily kept 
up by gamekeepers, who get so much a head for destroying "vermin," 
and therefore, it is obvious, the more they can swell the number of luckless 
animals to- be included under that general term, the better for them. The 
talons of this tribe of birds are of a very formidable description, and 
therefore it is obvious that there must be some use for them, which is 
hardly to be accounted for if we confine their prey to mice only. 

It is a somewhat remarkable circumstance that the plumage of all night- 
birds should be so very much more downy, as to the quill feathers, that 
is, than that of day-birds, and Gilbert White and other naturalists assume 
that the purpose to be answered is the being thus enabled to steal unper- 
ceived upon their quarry. But the difficulty is this: are nocturnal animals 
more active than diurnal? or are nocturnal animals of prey less endowed 
with activity? I do not know that I can honestly answer either of these 
questions in the affirmative. Mice are certainly very quick in their move- 
ments, but it is in a limited space, and I don't know they are more so 
than ordinary wild animals. Then again, no doubt, the Owl has a clumsy 
appearance, chiefly from his large head, (which, by the way, owes much 



b CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMON BIRDS. 

to the feathers upon it;) and when we ordinarily see him, he looks dull 
and stupid; but you must remember that we see him under great disad- 
vantages, namely, in the daytime, when his eyes are dazzled, and he is 
half asleep. But see him at night, as far as you can, and you will confess 
that he is indeed a different creature, active and full of energy, wilh the 
most expressive eye that can be imagined; in fact, his whole being is 
changed, and there is activity enough for anything. His flight is certainly 
very noiseless, and it may be that the very stillness of the dark hours 
makes every sound so distinctly and easily heard that some such provision 
is necessary. This I look upon as the most probable and true reason 
why there is this peculiarity, and also that nocturnal animals are generally 
very quick of hearing, probably from so much more depending upon this 
sense than can be the case with diurnal animals. 

The large Owls, such as the Eagle Owl, seem to prefer open situations, 
and not only so, but those which partake of a marshy character; but the 
reason for this does not clearly appear, unless it be that the water-rat is 
there an attraction, but so it is. 

Owls are very generally dispersed through the country, but it is not so 
with the Nightjar, which is essentially a moor-bird, and, as a general rule, 
never found in the cultivated districts, except such as abut upon wastes 
and commons. Having resided in a heathy district during many years of 
the early part of my life, I had very good opportunities of observing their 
habits, in which I took a great interest; and in support of my first asser- 
tion, my experience goes clearly to the fact that since cultivation has made 
inroads upon nature's wilds, the numbers of these birds have greatly de- 
creased, and in some parts they have altogether ceased to return in May, 
as was their former wont. 

The tribe Caprimulgus, or Goat-sucker, to which this bird belongs, is a 
very large one, and contains a vast number of varieties, chiefly to be found 
in America, and some bear a very strong resemblance to the Owl. Others 
we are familiar with the names of, through Fenimore Cooper, the trans- 
atlantic novelist, when he speaks of the note of the "Whip-poor-will," and 
the valley of the "Wish-ton-wish," both varieties of the Nightjar, if not 
one and the same bird, which I am not learned enough in American 
popular ornithology to determine. We know very well the ridiculous su- 
perstitions which have attached themselves to this poor creature, traceable 
back to the dark ages, and even now, I believe, held in some unsophisti- 
cated village districts, where old wives and tottering rustic sages shake their 
heads and predict ill-luck at the appearance of the sprite-like Evechurn, 
or Puckeridge, as they call it; more especially when there are young calves, 
or cows likely to become mothers. How hard it is to knock the veriest 
nonsense out of the heads of superstition and ignorance! It is not so long 



NOTES ON CRUSTACEANS. / 

since witches were believed in, and antidotes administered. I remember 
perfectly well hearing a Captain of Horse-guards tell a story, which would 
now be hardly credible. He was, (now many years since,) quartered, some- 
where in the midland counties, upon a blacksmith, who had a sickly son, 
the said son's weakliness being commonly ascribed to the evil influence of a 
poor old woman in the village, who had the misfortune to be particularly 
old, ugly, and cross-grained — a not uncommon combination, the last being 
almost a natural sequitiur upon the two former. This subject was discussed in 
the gallant captain's presence, but he could scarcely believe that the matter 
was treated seriously; but the sequel shewed that it was only too much so. 
For every evil there is said to be a cure, and in this instance it was considered 
that the infallible antidote would be that some member of the family should 
dra%o blood of the witch 1 but how was this to be accomplished without 
the intervention of actual assault and battery? Some ingenious person at 
last hit upon a device, which, alas! for the poor old crone, was but too 
successful. She was invited to tea, in the most (apparently) amicable 
manner, and accommodated with a rush-bottomed chair, where she had 
hardly "got comfortable," when a youthful scion of the blacksmith race 
being introduced surreptitiously beneath, with no other weapon than a cob- 
bler's awl, surprised the poor old lady's leg in the most unceremonious 
manner; the requisite antidote was, as may be imagined, quickly produced, 
and need I add, the hitherto sickly youth grew up a healthy man; but 
this last was the blacksmith's version of the matter, when he and the 
captain accidentally met in after years, and he related to him the above 
episode, which is so far incomplete that I cannot say whether the poor old 
woman obtained redress for her injury, or was punished for a witch upon 
such evidence — the more likely conclusion. If we believe such a thing as 
this, and I have no reason whatever to doubt that it took place, how can 
we doubt that a bird, known better by hearsay than by personal know- 
ledge, having its movements involved in obscurity, and being capable of 
uttering so wonderful a sound for its size, should be invested with more 

than ordinary qualities. 

(To be continued.) 



NOTES ON CRUSTACEANS. 

BY G. HODOE, ESQ. 

On reading "Notes on Crustaceans," by W, in the October number of 
•'The Naturalist," it brought to mind numerous instances in which I had 
found Crabs with parasitic growths upon them, those that have come 
under my notice being Hyas coarctatus, a species unusually plentiful on 
this coast, amongst the rocks towards low-water mark. They are deci- 



NOTES ON CRUSTACEANS. 



dedly gregarious, for I invariably find several in one pool, however small 
that may be. They seem to prefer the dark overhanging rocks containing 
deep muddy holes, and I have counted as many as eleven and thirteen 
in such a spot, when the pool has been no larger than an ordinary table. 

W seems to incline to the idea that the fragments are first entangled 
in the hairs, take root, and gradually extend into the shell: now to me 
this appears a scarcely feasible notion, as it is generally held that these 
forms of life (Algce and Zoophytes) must be regularly developed from spores 
and ovules. How then can a torn fragment take root and flourish? 
Those individuals of the Crab kind that have come under my notice, 
and they have been not a few, have given the preference to Algce of a 
reddish brown colour, portions of which were nipped off and laid on the back 
and about the head, a careful examination of large individuals would also 
shew numerous minute growths springing up. I was much amused at the 
appearance of a fine large Ilyas, which was stalking along, with all the 
majesty which borrowed plumes often produce. It was seen in a large 
deep pool, round the edge of which abrupt rocks stood out, affording a 
shelter for some very fine tufts of Delesseria sanguinea; well, this indi- 
vidual had established himself amongst the Delesseria, but noticing, no 
doubt, that the colours of his shell was an unpleasing contrast to the 
handsome weed, he proceeded to array himself with the desired covering; 
little bits, the tips of the leaves, were accordingly detached and stuck upon 
the carapace in an extremely irregular manner, giving the crab a most 
ludicrous appearance; and as I moved to the pool to get a good view, 
it merely stalked leisurely along, evidently quite safe. It is next to im- 
possible for this delicate plant to grow from such fragments as here 
described, the tips of leaves. 

Now having shewn that the covering is in certain cases mechanically 
attached, I will endeavour to prove that it is a regular work which the 
crab performs. My first acquaintance with Hyas was a small specimen 
found during one of my early searchings on the rocks. This, with the 
other captures, was put into an aquarium, but in four or five days I 
missed it, and doubted not that like numerous other animals it was dead, 
and therefore commenced a search, and soon found the remains, which I 
immediately removed, and instituted a further search to see that nothing 
else had shared the same fate, when lo! another Hyas was there, flapping 
away with his little brushes, no doubt wondering who I was that thus 
invaded his domains: now this completely nonplused me, as certain was I 
that only one had been put into the trough. Being young on the subject 
of aquaria keeping, I did not at first alight upon the idea that the 
supposed dead body was merely the cast-off shell; but as this slowly 
gained possession of me, the luxuriant growth of Algce upon the newly- 



THE STODY OF NATURE. if 

cased article rather upset my faith in the idea, as the utter impossibility 
of a fine tuft of weed half an inch high, springing up in three days, 
was more than I could fancy. Taking the crab out and carefully examin- 
ing it, I found the weed was not growing, being merely laid across and 
cemented in some manner, and on looking at the contents of the aquarium, 
I saw it had been taken from a large tuft under which I first found it. 
This weed could only have been nipped off, as there were no floating 
fragments; and further, the weed could not have been torn off, by the 
hairs being much too strong and healthy for that. There is a small 
specimen of the same class in one of my troughs, which has during the 
last few days varied his covering by a few bits of Alvce, this plant being 
the principal vegetable part of my stock. 

I therefore beg to suggest that although the coverings of many of 
these crabs are in a healthy state and growing, such growth is not the 
result of the first mechanical attachment, excepting in an indirect way, 
as any temporary attachment would eventually decay and die out, not 
before such secured germs might have escaped from them, and being 
received on the shell, there form root and flourish; still it is just as 
likely that those regularly rooted, make their appearance in the same 
manner as they do on the rocks and stones by purely natural causes, 
and at the same time it appears to be a wise provision of the Great 
Creator, that these defenceless creatures should, at their most helpless 
stage, (when they have just cast their old and hard shell for a new and 
soft one,) be able to frame a temporary covering and shelter for themselves, 
until time has elapsed sufficient for the regular growth of a more perfect 
and lasting one. I may remark that all that I have seen being littoral 
specimens were covered with Alga, the Zoophytic growth appearing only 
to be found on those from deeper water. 

SeaJiam Harbour, October 9th., 1857. 



(ffltamtagf. 



THE STUDY OF NATURE; 
AN ENTOMOLOGICAL PEO'EM EOE 1858. 

BY THE EDITOE. 

Theee are many impulses by which, unknown to ourselves, we become 
students of Nature. Perhaps the most common is that which springs from 
an instinctive and earnest love of the good and beautiful in the glorious world 
around us. It is a morbid and sometimes ill-natured view of the objects of our 
existence, which endeavours to chill the -warm and enthusiastic feelings with 

VOL. VIII. c 



10 THE STUDY OP NATURE. 

which the Naturalist regards the objects of his study. "The greatest amount 
of happiness to the greatest number," is the Benthamite dogma upon which 
philanthropists of modern days found their theories for benefitting mankind. 
To some, things sensual form the greatest means of being what they call 
happy. Manly sports, as the excitements of the ring and the turf, have charms 
for many. The love of money, the stern duties of a life of labour, even the 
contentions of party, small and great, include the aspirations of vast numbers 
after the desideratum of life — human happiness. 

Turning from the sensual to the intellectual, the field opens still wider, and 
we make a great lift in the scale. The human mind is after all a wonderful 
and noble effort of Creative Wisdom. Divest it of its little and pardonable 
vanities, let it revel in the wide field of thought and reflection, develop its 
hidden powers, moderate its somewhat too lofty aspirations, and imbue it with 
the great truth that it is part of a responsible Being: and how glorious a 
picture can that self-same mind draw of its own position in the scheme of 
Nature. 

Now of all intellectual operations the love of Nature is among the purest 
and the best. We will not disparage others, as the love of art — of science — 
of profound study — of oratorical display — of poetry or song — but we say 
among these, intimately wound up as it is with some of them, we rank not 
least, the Study of Nature. 

It is our business, however, to confine ourselves here to that part of 
Nature which comprises the "World of Insects." Those gay, transient, often 
insignificant forms, which live their short day of life and then pass away for 
ever, leaving behind them records of their habits and instincts: a part of 
the Great Scheme it is the vocation of the Naturalist to unravel. And let 
not any one imagine that this is a trifling or a useless study. We have no 
sympathy with those who shrug their shoulders and cry cui bono to a 
pursuit which they do not xmderstand. All science is useful as a means of 
education. A knowledge of insects has in addition other claims to our 
notice. One of the greatest discoveries of modern days — that of the reflex 
function of the nervous system — was perfected by the dissection of the larva 
of Sphinx ligustri by Newport and Marshall Hall ; and many a poor sufferer 
who is treated with the knowledge which this discovery has added to the 
science of medicine, has reason to bless those who have thus studied the 
Physiology of Insects. 

Entomology, as a popular pursuit, has the great advantage of being open to all 
classes of society. The poorest and most uneducated person can rig up a 
net, stick a piece of cork into a box, and become at once a "Student of 
Nature." We care nothing about such a one being termed a "mere collec- 
tor;" his collection makes him happy, and the pursuit expands his mind, and 
gives him an insight into the beautiful works of Creation. "I am a poor 
man," writes one of our correspondents, "and have a family to support, 
which obliges me often to work from four in the morning to eight at night. 
after which I go into the woods to sugar for insects," Surely the pursuit, 
must have many charms if it can produce effects like this. 



LIST OF LEPIDOPTERA. 11 

We most heartily wish, then, a happy and prosperous New Year to all 
Entomologists, whether our readers or not; and we will conclude these brief 
remarks with the following quotation from the author of "Sea-side Studies," 
in "Blackwood's Magazine" for October last; a writer whom we predict will 
rank high among the first Naturalists of the present age. 

"The Naturalist may be anything, everything. He may yield to the charm 
of simple observation; he may study the habits and habitats of animals, 
and moralize on their ways; he may use them as a starting-point of laborious 
research: he may carry his newly-observed facts into the highest region of 
speculation; and whether roaming amid the lovely nooks of Nature in quest 
of varied specimens, or fleeting the quiet hours in observation of his pets; 
whether he make Natural History an amusement, or both amusement and 
serious work, it will always afford him exquisite delight. From the school- 
boy to the philosopher, all grades find in it something admirably suited to 
their minds. It brings us into closer presence of the great mysteries of life; 
and, while quickening our sense of the infinite marvels which surround the 
simplest object, teaches us many and pregnant lessons which may help us 
through our daily needs." 

"And of such truths 
Each to itself must be the oracle." 



LIST OF LEPIDOPTERA OCCURRING IN THE COUNTY 

OF SUFFOLK. 

BY THE REV. JOSEPH GREENE, M.A., ASSISTED BY THE REV. H. HARPUR CREWE, M.A., 

AND C. R. BREE, ESQ. 

[The portions of these papers contributed by Mr. Crewe and Mr. Bree, are signed with the 
initials C and B respectively. N.B. at the head of a paragraph signifies that the remarks 
are made after those of Mr. Greene.] 

Part II. — Heterocera. Division II. — Bombyces. 

1. Euchelia Jacobece. — Taken in this neighbourhood, but rarely. (B.) 
Not uncommon at Woolpit, near Stowmarket, in the larva state. (C.) 

2. Deiopeia pidchella. — Taken once by Mr. Levett in Finborough Park. 
It was brushed out of a fir-tree close to a stream of water. (B.) 

A pair were taken a few years since in the garden at Rougbam, near 
Bury, by the gardener of Mr. Edward Bennet, and are in Mr. B.'s col- 
lection. (C.) 

3. IAthosia rubricollis. — Very abundant at Playford. The larva, which 
is very subject to Ichneumons, may be found from the middle of August 
till nearly the end of October, though, at this late period, it is nearly 
sure to be stung. It feeds upon various lichens, having, however, a deci 
ded preference to those growing on fir trees. In the "Manual" it is 
stated that all the species of this genus fly in the evening. Rubricollis 



12 LIST OF LEPIDOPTERA. 

is, however, an exception, and the perfect insect may he seen in the 
noonday sun, swarming round the tops of fir trees with an undulating 
flight, not unlike that of H. humuli, $ . 

4. L. quadra. — Not rare at Playford. When at rest the folded wings 
will at once remind the ivy-hunter of Vetusta and Exoleta. The larva 
is very handsome, and feeds upon lichens, preferring, I think, the oak. 
It may occasionally he seen after windy weather crawling up the trunks 
of trees; but the best way to obtain it is by beating, and the nearer it 
is full-grown the better the chance of rearing it: when bred it is a 
splendid insect, and grows to a large size. I have specimens in my col- 
lection measuring two inches and two lines. It is said to be "common" 
in "Westw. and Humph. British Moths," but I must entirely dissent 
from this statement. 

5. L. griseola. — Very abundant: comes to light. The larva is lichen- 
ivorous, preferring poplars, but will also eat low-growing plants. 

N.B. — I bred this insect July 10th., 1857, from pupa brushed out of 
oak. (B.) 

The larva of this insect will feed freely upon sallow. I bred a pair a 
year or two since from larvse entirely fed upon this tree. (C.) 

6. L. stramineola. — Rare: two at light. 

N.B. — I took two specimens at light last summer early in August. (B.) 

7. L. complanula. — Very abundant : comes freely, alas ! too freely, to 
light. The larva may be found on trunks of poplar, in company with 
that of Griseola. Both may be taken at night with the aid of a lantern. 

N.B. — I have bred this insect from a larva fed entirely on crab. The larva 
of L. griseola and complanula are very slow in arriving at their full growth; 
though they are one-fourth grown now, (Nov.,) and hybernate, many of them 
will not be full fed till July. In appearance they closely resemble each other, 
being both black and hairy, with an orange stripe on the side. In Griseola 
this stripe is paler. (C.) 

8. L. helveola. — Once at sugar last summer, June 18th. (B.)* 

9. L. aureola. — Scarce. I used to beat the young larvae (?) from fir 
trees in April, at Playford, but could never succeed in breeding them. 
The "Manual" gives the end of June and July as the period of its ap- 
pearance in the perfect state; it must, however, often occur much earlier, 
as I have taken it more than once on the wing as early as the middle of 
May. 

N.B. — Taken at Eingshall, near Stowmarket, by Mr. W. Baker, and at 
Woolpit, near Bury, by myself. (C.) 

10. L. miniata. — Not uncommon. From the fact of my having always 

* I did not find this insect at sugar myself. It was brought to me by my gardener, 
whom I had sent to the woods to sugar, and he took it with others. It was doubtless at 
rest on the tree, and not feeding; just as ft Ligniperda is sometimes found. — Ed. 



LIST OF LEPIDOPTEHA. 13 

beaten the perfect insect from alders I am disposed 'to think that the 
larva must feed on the lichens of that tree, but I cannot speak positively, 
having never met with it. 

N.B. — I have beaten this insect not unfrequently out of oak in Kent. I 
never saw the larva. (C.) 

11. L. mesomella. — Not common. (B.) 

12. S. Irrorella. — Not common. (B.) 

I took the larvae of this insect in great abundance in May, 1856, on the 
Hampshire coast. They are black, very hairy, and marked with yellow. They 
were feeding upon the ground lichens, about two hundred yards from the tide 
mark. I took them home, and having cut a sod, placed it in an earthenware 
pan, upon this I placed a quantity of lichen, and having turned in the larva), 
tied some gauze over the pan, and kept it as much as possible in the sun. 
As I was residing some miles from the sea, I was obliged to feed the larva? 
with tree instead of ground lichens, but they did not seem to mind the change. 
I used to sprinkle the lichen with water nearly every morning. I reared a 
fine series of the perfect insect. In the wild state the larva, when full fed, 
crawls under loose stones or oyster shells, where it spins a very slight web, 
and turns to pupa. The perfect insect appears in June and July. (C.) 

13. Nudaria senex. — Very rare. (B.) 

14. N. munda. — Common, (B.) 

15. Callimorpha dominula. — Rare. I met with a few larvae last March, 
crawling about in the sunshine on Kesgrave Heath, but did not succeed 
in breeding them. 

16. Euthemonia plantaginis. — Not uncommon in woods near Ipswich. (B.) 
Some few years since, when at a private tutor's, at Matlock, I used to take 

the larva of this insect on the limestone hills in May. It is very fond of 
sunning itself. It feeds on Poterium sanguisorba, (L.) Helianthemum vulgare, 
(L.) and other low plants. It may easily be recognised by its half-red and 
half-black appearance. It feeds up half grown in the autumn, and hybernates. 
(C.) 

17. Ardia villica. — The same remarks are applicable to this species as 
to C. dominula. 

N.B. — Has been taken at Creeting and Barham, near Stowmarket, by Mr. 
W. Baker. (C.) 

18. A. caja. — Abundant of course in the larva state. Mr. Crewe and 
I made some experiments this summer upon this insect, namely, trying to 
breed some varieties by forcing the larvae to eat some strong coloured 
flower, and not allowing them to touch anything else. What his success 
was I do not know: I failed entirely; I gave my larvae wallflowers. 

19. Phragmatobia fuliginosa. — Very abundant in larva state, feeding upon 
yarrow in September and October. It hybernates; it does not, however, 
feed in the spring, at least mine did not; I kept them in a box covered 
with a wire lid; at the bottom was a sod of earth, and on it I placed 



14 



HOW TO SET LEI'IDOPTERA. 



five or six handfuls of loose moss. I left them in the open air, but did 
not expose them to rain. They spin up about the beginning of March, 
but do not turn to pupse for a fortnight or three weeks. One of my 
pupae produced a fine Hermaphrodite. 

N.B. — I took a larva this day, Nov. 10th., snugly ensconced under the bark 
of a willow tree. (B.) 

I am sure that this insect sometimes passes the winter in the pupa as well 
as the larva state, as I have taken it flying on a bright sunny day in March. 
The larva is polyphagous on low plants. (C.) 

(To be continued.) 



HOW TO SET LEPIDOPTERA. 

BY THE REV. J. GREENE, M.A. 

It will readily be granted that an insect, however fine its condition 
may be, loses much, both of its beauty and value, when badly set. To 
set an insect well is not an easy matter, and requires a considerable 
amount of patience and skill. There are three methods in general use, 
which I may mention — the flat, the rounded, and the sloping. The first 
of these prevails generally on the continent, but meets (in my opinion 
deservedly) with little favour in England. The second may, I think, be 



FIG. I 




termed the metropolitan method, being, as far as my experience goes, 
almost confined to the London entomologists. The third is the plan 
adopted by a large number of the country collectors, and is the one I 
employ myself. But there are, unfortunately, not a few who employ a 
method of their own. The following is the recipe: — 



HOW TO SET LRPIDOPTERA. 35 

"Take the largest pin you can find, if with a gigantic head so much 
the better; thrust it hnp-hazard into the body of the insect, then pin it 
to a piece of cork, push up the right-hand wing half an inch, the left 
a quarter ditto; the abdomen may turn either to the right or left, and 
the antennas should stretch out straight from the head, or lie above or 
below the insect." 

Now assuming for the moment, that this plan, however simple, is any- 
thing but pleasing to the eye, I venture to suggest to the inexperienced, 
as the result of many years trial, the following method, requesting them 
at the same time to bear in mind that I do not assert it to be the 
best — only better than that which they have been in the habit of adopting. 

Get a board of soft deal, (fig. 1, A A A A,) a foot or somewhat more 
in length, and about three inches in breadth. In the middle make a 
groove, B B, one third of an inch in depth, and a quarter of an inch in 
breadth. Glue a thin layer of cork on the bottom of the groove. 
Commencing then at the edge of the groove, plane each side of the 

FIG.5L. 



FIG.3. 



3-:^-^. 



:_J 



board until it assumes the form in figure 2, taking the greatest care 
that each side exactly corresponds.* Suppose now you have a specimen, 
say of L. turca; hold it underneath with the fore-finger and thumb, 
pressing up the wings, until their apices nearly touch; then take the pin, 
insert it exactly in the centre of the thorax, (C,) the head of the pin 
sloping slightly forwards towards the head of the insect. The point of 
the pin should emerge at the juncture of the legs. The pin should be 
clear of the moth on the under side, at least one fifth of an inch: fix 
the moth now in the groove. There should be a slight space between the 
moth and each side of the groove. Push in the pin until the wings are 
nearly, not quite level with the board. Then move up the fore wing to 
the required height, and having a little slip of paper on the moistened 
tip of the middle finger of the left hand, hold the wing with it by the apex 
in this position; then take in the other hand a pin, (D,) and insert it in 
the board, as in the figure, and press it gently down till it holds the 
wiug firm. Pursue the same method with the other side. By this means 

* If preferred, the board may be rounded, as in figure 3. 



1G RARER SPECIES OP COLEOPTERA. 

you will sco whether the wings are the game height, a condition inseparable 
from good setting. 

When this is arranged to your satisfaction, take a slip of stiff paper, 
(E,) and pin it on the apex of the wing, as in the figure. Remove now 
pin D, and having pushed up the under wing, fasten it by slip F. In 
order that the abdomen may be in its proper position, fix it, as in the 
figure, with the two pins, G and H. The antennse should also be arran- 
ged with pins: this being done the operation is accomplished, and the 
insect should be left there for from ten days to three weeks. However 
intricate this "modus operandi" may appear in the description, it is in 
reality very simple after a little experience; and, aided by the figures, I 
trust my readers will find it so, should they feel disposed to adopt it. 
I need scarcely remark that the boards and grooves must vary in size 
according to the insects; but having once settled the amount of slope it 
should be alike in all. 

Entomological pins may be obtained of Edelsten and Williams, Iron 
Works, Birmingham, who will, upon application, forward a list of prices, 
etc. The sizes I use are as follow: — For the large Sphingidce and Bom- 
byces, 11 and 12; for the Ehopalocera, middle-sized Sphingidce, Bombyces, 
Noctuce and large Geometrce, 8; for middle-sized JPyrales and Geometree, 7; 
and for the small species of all orders, 10.* 

Should these remarks prove of any service to the readers of "The 
Naturalist," I shall be happy, if spared, to forward occasional similar 
notices as to catching, killing, etc. 

32, Lower Pembroke Street, Dublin. 



A LIST OF THE RARER SPECIES OF COLEOPTERA, 
WHICH OCCUR, OR HAVE BEEN TAKEN IN 
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF HARLESTON, NORFOLK. 

BY J. LEEDES FOX, ESQ. 

AND IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF BUNGAY.f 

BY W. GARNESS, ESQ. 

[When no initial is affixed the insect has been recorded by each of the above gentlemen. 
The initials F and G respectively intimate that it has been observed only by the person to 
whom the said initial refers.] 

Carabus clathratus. — Once by my father, a few years ago, close to the 
town, and is now in our collection. (G.) 

* No8. 5 and 15 are also most useful sizes. — Ed. 
f Bungay in situated in the north of Suffolk. Harleston is just in the borders of Norfolk, 
about seven miles west of Bungay. The latter town is about twelve miles from Lowestoft. 
—Ed. 



RARER SPECIES OP COLEOPTERA. 17 

Calosoma sycophanta. — I have one specimen that was found at Lowestoft. 
(G.) 

Nebria livida. — At Dunwich this year. (G.) 

Panagceus crux-major. — Several a few years ago in a flood. (G.) 

Anchomenus sexpunctatus. — Once in a flood. (P.) Plentifully some years 
ago by the late Mr. Cooper, in Sexton Wood. (G.) â–  

Lelia chlorocephala.— Occasionally. (F.) 

Oodes Jielopioides. — Rare in floods. 

Pterostichus picimanus. — I took two specimens in a flood about four years 
ago. (P.) 

P. anthracinus. — Frequent in marshes in spring. (F.) 

P. ruficollis. — I once took a specimen at St. Margaret's. (P.) 

Amara spinifer. — Frequent in autumn. (F.) Occasionally. (G.) 

Harpalus sabulicola. — Very rare. (G.) 

H. punctatulus. — Rare. (F.) 

H. serripes. — Occasionally in gravel-pits. (F.) 

Trechus discus. — One specimen some years ago. (F.) 

Bembidium rufescens. — Very rare. 

Agabus agilis. — Very rare. (G.) 

Hydroporus Davisii. — Very rare. (G.) Occasionally. (F.) 

H. punctatus. — Frequent. (F.) 

H. picipes. — Very rare. (G.) 

H. vittula. — Occasionally. (G.) 

H. memnonius. — Occasionally. (G.) 

H. Gyllenhulii. — Not uncommon in one pond near Bungay, in the 
winter and early spring months. (G.) 

Haliplus obliguus. — Frequent. (F.) 

H. elevatus. — Occasionally. (G.) 

H. mucronatus. — I took this insect once, in May, I806, in a ditch on 
Bungay Common. (G.) 

H. confinis. — Occasionally. (G.) 

Cnemidotus cossus. — Rare. (G.) Occasionally. (F.) 

Poelobius Hermanni. — Frequent. (F.) 

Colymbetes bistriatus. — Rare. (F.) 

G. vitreus. — Rare. (F.) 

Dytichus punctulatus. — Frequent. (F.) 

Pamus auriculatus. — Very rare. (G.) 

Elmis variabilis and E. lacustris. — Not uncommon. (G.) 

The Rev. Hamlet Clark, in speaking of these two insects in the 
"Zoologist," for April, 1856, says, "It is to be noticed, that while E. 
variabilis is taken only or principally in the northern counties, E. lacustris 
has its metropolis in the southern." I find them together in the same 

VOL. VIII. d 



18 LIST OP INSECTS. 

stream, under the same stones, and on the same plants. (G.) 

JElmis cupreus. — Occasionally. (G.) 

Helophorus dorsalis. — I took this insect once this year, (1857.) (G.) 

Hydrochus elongatus. — Frequent. (F.) 

Oiceoptema dispar. — Very rare. (G.) > 

Silpha trislis. — Very rare. (G.) 

Enicocerus viridkeneus. — Frequent. (F.) 

Berosus oericeps. — Occasionally in early spring in a pond at Weybread. 
(F.) 

Phalacrus carices. — Sometimes abundant. (F.) 

Necrophorus sepultor. — Occasionally. (F.) 

Nitidulce variegata. — In blossoms of Oxycanthus crategi. (F.) 

Strongylus imperialis. — Rare. (F.) 

Campta lutea. — Frequent. (F.) 

Micropeplus porentus. — Frequent. (F.) 

M. staphylinioides. — I once took this species under some fir trees. (F.) 

Triphyllus punctatus. — Occasionally in fungi in December. 

Tetratoma oncora. — Once by my father. (G.) 

(To be continued.) 



A LIST OF THE INSECTS 

OBSERVED IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE 

COUNTY OF SUSSEX. 

BY W. C. UNWIN, LEWES. 

In submitting to the readers of "The Naturalist" the following list of 
some of the Insects of the different orders, observed on the chalk range of 
the county of Sussex, within a limited district, I would briefly remark it 
has no pretensions to perfection, as doubtless many species still remain to 
be added to it; but all that are here noted are from personal observations, 
or from those of my friends, on whose accuracy I can rely. It is intended 
the list in its continuation should embrace portions of the other orders, and 
it is hoped it will be a means of affording some degree of interest to those 
who delight in the same pursuit. To entomologists of a higher rank it will 
appear but a trivial effort towards the advancement of science, being, as it 
is, the result of a collector's notes: but a good collector must necessarily be 
a tolerably good observer. I will commence with the order Diptera. 

Family Syephid^;* 

* The student in Entomology will find ample details of this interesting family of insects 
in "Insecta Britannica — Diptera." Vol. I. By Mr. Walker. And also a shorter notice in 
Dallas's "Elements of Entomology," just finished. The family is divided into thirty-one 
genera, (British,) and the species are familiar to all those who have observed the small 
bee-like insect, hovering over the flowers in gardens or woods from spring to autumn. — En. 



LIST OP INSECTS, 19 

Eristalis tenax. — A very common species, and usually appears on the first 
warm days of March; probably, like some of the Lepidoptera, is called forth 
from its winter hybernation by the genial warmth of spring. It is an insect 
of successive occurrence throughout all the summer months, even until late 
in autumn, being one of the few insects which may be seen on the blossoms 
of the ivy on a bright October day. 

Var. Campestris. — This variety is very common. 

E. ceneus. — I have taken this species off the flowers of Senecio Jacubcea, 
(common ragwort,) at Pevensey, on the shingle, and also in a lane near Kingston, 
Lewes, in August, but not common. 

E. similis. — Of very frequent occurrence throughout the summer; habits 
similar to tenax. 

E. intricarius. — Not common, but observed on the blossom of the blackthorn, 
(Prunus spinosa,) in April and May, near Landport and Iford, near Lewes. 

E. nemorum. — In the Plashet Wood in June and July, on umbelliferous 
plants. 

E. arbustorum. — Abundant everywhere throughout the summer months. 
The male and female present such a very different appearance that the young 
collector might readily mistake them for separate species. 

E. horticola. — In Plashet and Warringore "Woods. Rare. 

Helophilus pendulus. — In Plashet Wood and the lanes in the neighbour- 
hood of Lewes and Hailsham, from early spring throughout the summer. 
Varies much in size. 

H. lineatus. — Very rare. One specimen only, taken in a wood near Firle. 

Syritfa pipiens. — Most abundant. An active lively little insect, and one 
that may be observed on almost every roadside or garden flower throughout 
the summer. 

X.ylota sylvanum. — Not common, and chiefly to be found in the lanes near 
to woods — the Plashet and Warringore Woods. A very shy insect. 

X. segnis. — Found in the same localities as the preceding, but rarely. 

Criorhina oxyacanthce. — In the Plashet Wood on warm days of March I 
have observed it tolerably common, settbng before me on the pathways in the 
bright sunshine; it is apparently a rather bold species, similar in its habits 
to Sarcophaga carnaria. 

Volucella pellucens. — Taken, but rarely, in the Plashet Wood in July and 
August, basking in the hottest sunshine upon the leaves of trees and plants. 
It is a very beautiful species. 

V. inflata. — Equally as rare as the preceding, and equally as handsome. It 
frequents the same localities in June and July. 

V. bombylans. — Common in August, and usually found at rest on the flowers 
of the knapweed, (Centaurea scabiosa,) on the borders of corn-fields at the 
foot of the Downs. It is very sluggish, allowing itself to be taken with the 
fingers. It has a very bee-like appearance. 

Chrysotoxum intermedium. — Rare. I captured two specimens on July 23rd., 
1854, in the Plashet Wood. 

C. marginatum. — Rare. In a moist wood near Firle, in July, 1855. This 



20 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 

with intermedium, is a very prettily marked species. 

Pipiza noctiluca. — Taken off the leaves of hazel in a lane near Landport, 
near Lewes, in June. Occasionally. 

P. notata. — Two specimens from the blossoms of the common blackberry 
by the roadside near the Spittal, Lewes. 

P. virens. — Found near Landport in the flowers of Ranunculus acris, in 
June, 1854. Individual species of this genus do not appear to be very common. 

Chrysogaster chalybeata. — Rare. I have observed, or ratber captured, two 
specimens from the flowers of ranunculi. The flowers of the ranunculi, and 
also tbose of the dandelion, appear to be especial favourites witb the Diptera. 

C. viduata. — Not uncommon in June and July in the neighbourhood, on 
the flowers of Ranunculus acris and bulbosus. 

C. metallica. — Same habits as tbe last, and, no doubt, frequently confounded 
with it. A difficult genus to determine. 

Brachyopa bicolor. — Of frequent occurrence generally. I have observed it 
in several localities in the neighbourhood in May and June. 

Rhingia rostrata. — Very common and generally distributed in this locality, 
visiting the blossoms of the hawthorn in May and June; it continues to be 
found all the summer montbs, and is then attracted by the flowers of the 
different species of Cardui. It is a very pretty species, and one which may 
be easily known. 

{To be continued.) 



BHsrtlltwnms r Sntirm 

Carnivorous Propensity of the Hedgehog. — When shooting in the preserves 
of Sir Brydges Henniker, near Dunmow, the beginning of the present 
month, I saw among the "vermin" a long row of Hedgehogs. I asked 
the [keeper what his object was in exterminating this, in my opinion, 
harmless animal. He answered, "It sucks eggs, and I once saw it kill 
a Leveret." On further enquiry, he stated that this took place when he 
was in the service of a gentleman in Norfolk, who was present and saw 
it done. The young have been tamed and turned down in the garden. 
Should this meet the eye of the gentleman referred to, I should be much 
obliged if he will confirm or deny the story. — C. R. Bree, Stricklands, 
Stowmarket, October 15th., 1857. 

[It is well known that the Hedgehog is, on occasion, carnivorous. — 
F. 0. Morris.] 

Mildness of the Early Winter of 1857. — "As a proof," to use the ste- 
reotyped phrase, "of the extraordinary mildness of the season," I have to 
mention, in addition to other instances from Lincolnshire and elsewhere, 
that here we have at the date of "these presents," in our garden, sweet- 
peas, fuchsias, and violets in bloom and bud; and until within the last 



REVIEW. 21 

week or so, the elms at Kilnwick Percy, Londesborough, and other parts 
of the country, were almost as perfectly green as in the height of summer- 
Last Saturday, the 21st., I heard the Thrush singing in a wood near the 
first-named place, and gathered three mushrooms in the field by its side. 
There is no appearance of any change yet, so that we may again have, 
as I saw some years ago, and recorded the fact at the time in the 
"Zoologist," the fuchsia in blossom in Christmas week near Malton 
eighteen miles north-east of York. I hear that it has been very cold in 
the south in Berkshire and Cambridgeshire, but here we have had nothing 
but mild fine weather with occasional fogs. — P. 0. Morris, Nunburnholme 
Rectory, November 24th., 1857. 

P. S. — 27th. — On the 25th. we dined, from choice, with the window 
wide open, and several times the fires have been forgotten, and let go out. 
To-day is a lovely, warm, nay hot, sunshiny day, "as mild as midsummer." 
— F. 0. M. 

"Beautiful ripe strawberries were gathered on Wednesday last, (25th. 
of November,) in the garden of Fred. Glenton, Esq., at Redcar, (the 
extreme north east point of Yorkshire, and on the sea coast.") — Yorkshire 
Gazette, November 28th., 1857. 

A Winter Visitor. — A fine specimen of the Butcher Bird, (Lanius excu- 
bitor,) was shot last week at Twecher, near Kirkintilloch, by John Duncan. 
When shot it was engaged at dinner on a mouse, which, according to its 
usual custom, it had stuck on the point of a thorn in a hedge, to enable 
it to tear it more easily to pieces. The above expressive name has been 
given to this bird from its suspending its prey before devouring it. It 
is an inhabitant of the northern parts of Europe, and is seldom seen in 
this district. — Glasgow Bulletin, December, 1st., ]857. 



The Natural History Reweio. No. I., January, 1857. London: Highlet, 

Fleet Street. Edinburgh: Johnstone and Hunter. Dublin: Hodges 

and Smith. 

This number contains the following Reviews: — 

Review 1. — "Synopsis of the British Diatomacese." Vol. II. By W. 
Smith, F.L.S. 2.— "Elements of Entomology." By W. S. Dallas, F.L.S. 
3.— "Ornithological Synonyms." By H. E. Strickland, F.G.S. 4.— 
"General Outline of the Animal Kingdom." Second edition. By T. R. 
Jones, F.R.S. 5.— "Entomologist's Annual for 1857." By H. T. Stainton. 
6. — "Typical Forms and Special Ends in Creation." By Rev. J. M'Cosh, 
L.L.D., and George Dickie, M.D. 7. — "Elementary Course of Geology, 



22 EXCHANGE. PROCEEDINGS OP SOCIETIES. 

etc." Second edition. By Professor D. F. Ansted. 8. — "Miscellaneous 
Notices." 0. — "Austrian Fauna — Coleoptera." By L. Redtenbasher. 10. — 
"French Fauna — Coleoptera." By M. M. Fairmaire, and Laboulbene. 
11. — "Insects of Germany — Coleoptera." By Dr. Herman Schaum, and 
Mr. G. Kraatz. 12. — "Works on General Zoology," New English Trans- 
lations. 13. — "Manual of British Botany." By Charles C. Babington, 
F.R.S. 1'4.— "Glaucus; or, The Wonders of the Shore." Third edition. 
By Charles Kingsley, F.S.A. 

Also nine original communications made to various societies, and thirty 
notices of serials. 



No doubt there are many of your correspondents, and readers of "The 
Naturalist," who take an interest in Conchology. I should be glad to 
afford information and lists to any such respecting the shells of this coast 
and district, and also to make exchanges of Marine, Land, and Fresh- 
water shells, as mutual accommodation in exchanging is a means of acquiring 
a complete collection, especially to inland subscribers. "The Naturalist" 
offers a medium of communication on the subject; being a subscriber, I 
venture to avail myself of it. — Charles H. Brown, Southport, Lancashire, 
October 20th., 1857. 



^rnmiiugH nf Inratita. 

Thirsk Natural History Society. — On Monday, November 2nd , was held 
the fifth annual meeting of this Society, Mr. J. Q. Baker in the chair. 
The officers for the past year brought in their reports, were thanked for 
their services, and re-elected as follows: — President, Mr. J. G. Baker; 
Secretary, Mr. R. D. Carter; Librarian, Mr. J. J. Packer. 

Mr J. G. Baker said, that by reason of the sale of its herbaria, and 
other causes, the exchanges of British plants, which had been carried on 
for so many years with eminent utility by the London Botanical Society, 
were at present suspended, and that in consequence there was now no 
convenient centre to which collectors might send their duplicates to receive 
desiderata in return. Whilst this position of affairs continued, he sugges- 
ted that the Thirsk Natural History Society might profitably lend its 
endeavours to fill up the vacancy; and he volunteered, if this idea met 
with the approbation of the members, to undertake the management of 
the distribution of flowering plants and ferns. 

Mr. J. H. Havies expressed his approbation of the idea, and a wish 
that mosses should be included in the scheme. After some discussion of 



PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 23 

their details, the following resolutions, which were proposed by Mr. G. R. 
Baker, and seconded by Mr. J. Rhodes, were adopted unanimously. 

I. — That pending the abeyance of the Botanical Society of London, this 
Society establish a club for the interchange of dried specimens of British 
Plants, especially of the higher orders, the management of which shall 
be vested in two Curators and the Secretary. 

II. — That in order to further the carrying into effect of the previous 
resolution, the Society agrees to admit Corresponding or Non-proprietary 
Members at the ordinary rate of subscription, (viz., six shillings per 
annum,) remitting in their favour the customary entrance fee. 

III. — That to such of its Corresponding or Proprietary Members as are 
engaged in the formation of their herbaria of flowering plants or ferns, 
the Society will undertake to furnish a selection of desiderata in return for 
a supply of specimens of such species as it requires ; and that to such of 
them as need assistance in naming their specimens, and to such as wish to 
exchange mosses, it will be prepared to lend such help as lies in its power. 

Mr. J. G. Baker was appointed Curator for flowering plants and ferns, 
and Mr. J. H. Davies for mosses. 

Mr. H. Ibbotson exhibited specimens of Leucolrium glaucum in fruit, 
and Dicranodontium longirostre, collected by Spruce in the Pyrenees. 

The managers of the club have issued the following circular: — 

BOTANICAL EXCHANGE CLUB. 

Information and Instruction to Contributors. 

I. — It is required that the specimens contributed shall have been dried 
carefully, and that without exceeding the size of half a sheet of demy, 
they furnish as complete illustrations of the species they represent as 
circumstances will admit. 

II. — To each specimen sent for exchange must be fastened a written 
or printed label, furnishing the following items of information, namely, lst. ? 
the number and name of the plant, with the authority for the latter, as 
given in the latest edition of the London Catalogue, or if a moss, in the 
Bryologia Britannica; 2nd., the locality, county, and date; 3rd., the name 
of the collector and contributor. 

III. — In furnishing lists of desiderata, it is requested that the London 
Catalogue and Bryologia Britannica be followed as standards of nomenclature 
and arrangement. 

IV. — It is proposed to send out the return packets as early in the 
year as practicable, beginning with I808; and to distribute each spring a 
report of the operations of the Club, and a list of its desiderata. 

John G. Baker, and John H. Davies, Curators; Richard D. Carter, 
Secretary. 




24: 



tyt (tarist. 

In "The Naturalist" for November, I noticed your query with regard to the 
autumnal tone of the Rook. I, too, have been struck with the peculiarity 
of that tone, and have stated my impression of it in a little poem entitled 
"Frank Sylvan." I send you along with this the volume in which the 
poem is published; and I beg you will do me the honour and kindness to 
accept it with my best wishes. I have just read the sixth volume of 
your "History of British Birds," and I cannot refrain from expressing to 
you my admiration of the masterly manner in which you have completed 
your charming work. — Thomas Aird, Dumfries, November 18th., 1857. 

The following is the passage referred to, and a good passage it is, as 
is another on the flight of the Cushat, on the following page. 

"Has not the Eook a harvest cry? a slight 
Percussive breathing through her usual note; 
A chuckle? that's too strong; well call it then' 
The halitus of a spirit crowding through 
Her feeble voice, like thanks for God's good corn. 
Is this a fancy, or is this a fact?" 

F. 0. MORRIS. 

I think you quite right about the notes of birds. The seasonal variations 
in the case of the Rook are very discernible. — R. P. Alington, Swinhope 
Rectory, November 27th., 1857. 

The Cockchaffer, (Melolontha vulgaris.) — On the 17th. of November last, 
a workman was removing the earth heaped on the side of a gravel-pit 
I had opened here, for the purpose of excavating further, and under the 
soil, and on the grass on the former surface, he found two specimens of 
the common Cockchaffer alive. I never before knew this insect alive except 
in the height of summer. Was it an early or late hatch from the chrysalis? 
Had they lain there since they first came out, or had they burrowed in 
there since? And is it a usual or even an unusual circumstance for these 
insects to go under ground for the winter? — F. 0. Morris, Nunburnholme 
Rectory, December 14th., 1857. 

Animalcules.— For some time past I have observed in a brook in thi3 
neighbourhood, patches of Animalcules, of a blood colour, on the surface 
of the mud. On examining some of the mud into which they sink 
upon being touched, I found it to contain reddish worms, of about the 
thickness of a pin, and three-quarters of an inch in length. Could any 
of the readers of "The Naturalist" favour me with the name of them, 
and also any other information respecting them. — Henry Buckley, Cal- 
thorpe Street, Birmingham, November 25 th., 1857. 



CHRISTMAS OR NEW YEAR'S PRESENT. 



In Foolscap Octavo, gilt edges, price Is. 6d., 

THE INSECT HUNTERS. 

BY EDWARD NEWMAN, F. L. S. 

"Unrivalled as a first book." — William Spence. "The execution excellent." 
— Literary Gazette. "A most acceptable present." — British Friend. "An 
admirable book." — Entomologist 1 s Intelligencer. "Admirably adapted for com- 
mitting to memory." — The Friend. "Children will devour its pages." — 
Zoologist. 



LONDON: 

NEWMAN, DEVONSHIRE STREET, CITY 

W. KENT AND CO., PATERNOSTER-ROW. 



TO EGG COLLECTORS. 

Mr. J. C. Stevens will Sell by Auction, at his Rooms, 38, King Street, 
Covent Garden, London, W.C., on Tuesday, the 9th. February, 1858, a 
Collection of rare and well-authenticated Eggs, formed in Algeria last sum- 
mer, by the Rev. H. B. Tristram; including those of the Griffon and 
Egyptian Vultures, Golden and Spotted Eagles, Orange-legged Hobby, Kite, 
Little Owl, Chough, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Bee-eater, Roller, Thrush-like, 
Savi's, Rufous, Sedge, and Orphean Warblers, Crested and Short-toed Larks, 
Barbary Partridge, Andalusian Quail, Houbara and Little Bustards, Pratincole, 
Little Egret, Buff-backed and Squacco Herons, Glossy Ibis, Baillon's Crake, 
Stilt, Avocet, Whiskered and Gull-billed Terns, Ruddy Shieldrake, Gadwall, 
White-eyed and Red-crested Whistling Ducks, &c, &c. 

* # * Catalogues are preparing, and may be had on application to the 
Auctioneer after the 15th. inst. 



BIRDS' EGGS. 

Mr. J. C: Stevens is instructed to announce for Sale by Auction, on 

Tuesday, 23rd. February, a Collection of Rare Eggs, made during the past 

season in Lapland, by J. Wolley, Esq. It will contain many great rarities. 
Catalogues are preparing. 



G. H. KING, 

HAS OPENED EXTENSIVE PREMISES AT 
85, TOWER UNION STREET, TORQUAY, 

And in returning his thanks to the gentry and others for the patronage 
they have kindly bestowed on him, begs to inform them that he has now 
on hand a large stock of P. empyrea, 10s. each. D. Templi and C. obtu- 
sellus, 5s. each. H. hispidus, 3s. 6d. each. P. bractea, 2s. each. A. 
australis and L. phragmitella, Is. each. S. conspicuaria and P. stramentalis, 
9d. each. P. flavalis and S. angustalis, 6d. each. Also Chrysophanus Hip- 
pothoe, and several other rare and valuable Insects, all collected this 
season, in the fens and other localities. 

G. H. K. has also a quantity of rare BIRDS' EGGS from Shetland 
and Orkney, and a number of Specimens of living and dried FERNS; 
also MARINE ANIMALS and PLANTS for the Aquarium, Specimens for 
which he is constantly collecting on the Devonshire coast, which ho sup- 
plies at a reasonable rate. 



THIS DAY IS PUBLISHED, NO. I., PRICE EOURPENCE, 

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AND 



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A PRACTICAL MISCELLANY OF FACTS AND INTELLIGENCE IN 
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A Gardener's Review of the Past Tear. 

Monthly Summary of Horticultural Intelli- 
gence. 

A Cheap Preservative Pit for Amateurs. 

Greenhouse Plants in "Winter. 

Scarce and Curious Ornamental Bulbs. 

The Planting of a Fern Case. 

January "Work in the Garden and Greenhouse. 

Flowering Shrubs. 

Profitable Gardening : Earthwork and Drain- 
ing. 

Fruit Trees adapted for Small Gardens. 



Climbers for North Walls. 

Planting for Pictorial Effect. 

The Cultivation of the Cineraria. 

Notices of Books, and Nurserymen's Cata- 
logues. 

A Selection of Choice Plants for Greenhouse 
Culture. 

Poses in January. 

Preparations for Spring Shows. 

Meteorological and Floricultural Calendar 
for January, &c., &c. 



18mo., Cloth, price Is., 

MORALITIES FOR HOME. 

BY G. E. SARGENT. 



Gossiping. 

"Will-making. 

History of a Life Insurance. 

Suretyship. 

Legacy Hunting. 



CONTENTS. 

Suspicion. 

Confidence. 

John Johnson in Perplexity. 

Prejudices and Antipathies. 

Promises to Children. 



Old Granny. 
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Occupation and Idleness. 

Stimulants. 

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Amusements. 

Children. 

Economy. 

Modern Reading. 

Temper. 



CONTENTS. 
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Arts and Artistes. 
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Niceties. 

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Confidantes. 

Debt. 

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these preachings, without being the better for them." — Globe. 



LONDON: GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS, 5, PATERNOSTER ROW. 



No. 84. 



FEBRUARY, 1858. 



Price 6d. 



Tl 



A POPULAR MONTHLY MAGAZINE, 



ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE 



ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, AND MINERAL 
KINGDOMS. 

WITH OCCASIONAL ENGRAVINGS. 



CONDUCTED BY 

THE EEY. E. 0. MORRIS, B.A., 

Member of the Ashmolean Society, etc. 

THE ENTOMOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT 

BY C. E. BREE, ESQ. 



Lord, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: 
the earth is full of Thy riches.— Psalm civ., 24. 



LONDON: 
GEOOMBEIDGE AND SONS, 5, PATERNOSTER ROW. 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

A Word about Mice. By 0. S. Round, Esq 25 

Characteristics of Common Birds. By 0. S. Bound, Esq 28 

A Summer Day at Selborne, Hampshire. By "W. G. J 30 

Entomology : — 

List of Lepidoptera occurring in the county of Suffolk. By The Rev. 

J. Greene, The Ret. H. H. Crewe, and C. R. Bree, Esq 35 

A List of the Insects observed in the Southern Part of Sussex. 

No. II. By W. C. Unwin, Esq 39 

The Eood-plants of Gonepteryx Rhamni. P. fuliginosa. Chry- 

sophanus dispar 41 

Argynnis dia. Exchange Boxes. Are the Lithosia attracted by 

Sugar? 42 

Nottingham Natural History Society. Cambridge Entomological Society 43 
Review. — Species General des Lepidopteres. Par M. Boisdtjval et 

Guenee. Tome IX. Uranides et Phalenites. Par M. A. Guenee 

Tome 1 44 

Miscellaneous Notices. — The Missel Thrush. Mildness of the Season. 45 

Proceedings of Societies. — Thirsk Natural History Society 46 

The Querist 48 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

Communications have been received by the Rev. E. O. Morris, from Messrs. 
O. S. Round, (four;)— T. Southwell;— S. Clogg;— W. M. F;— W. G. Gibson; 
(two;)— J. Brown;— J. G. Baker. 

Communications, Drawings, Advertisements, Boohs for Review and Parcels, to 
be addressed to the Rev. F. O. MORRIS, Nunburnholme Rectory, BZayton, 
Yorh. 



ENTOMOLOGY. 

Communications have been received from Messrs. Sealy; Unwin; Rev. H. 
H. Crewe, (two;) Rev. J. Greene, (two;) J. Porter, Jun. 

We regret that we had not room last month for Mr. Douhleday's communication, and 
the reports of the Cambridge Entomological, and Nottingham Natural History Societies. 
We shall always be glad to give publicity to the proceedings of Societies, hut they must 
he sent before the 15th. of the month. By a mistake the above were advertised to ap- 
pear in the January number. 

We must positively decline to insert Mr. Gardner's very "innocent" communication 

Want of space obliges us to postpone the second part of "Rare Suffolk Coleoptera" 
until next month. 

* * All communications on Entomology intended for insertion in this department of "The 
Naturalist," must be seut before the loth, of the month to C. It. BltEE, Esq., Stowmarket 
^Suffolk. 



TO ADVERTISERS. 

Advertisements are inserted on the Cover of TnE Naturalist, on the following 
Terms: — \ of a page, 4s.— \ of a page, 7s.— \ of a page, 12s.— Whole 
page, 21s. Pills stitched in, 20s. 

Advertisements to be sent in not later than the \5th, of the Month. 




25 
A WORD ABOUT MICE. 

BY O. S. ROUND, ESQ. 

Our lady readers will not, I fear, think this a very pretty subject, and 
some, and perhaps not a few, will associate it in their minds with some 
degree of nervous terror; but I must say that I think, however common 
this feeling may be, it arises and is perpetuated in great error, which a 
very little reflection, and a more intimate knowledge of the poor little 
object of it, will immediately dispel. Only consider your bulk in proportion 
to a Mouse; it is too ridiculous an idea to admit of a comparison. It 
may be said so is a wasp; but even a noxious insect seldom attacks, and 
a Mouse never; nay, it is the emblem of timidity, and did we but reflect 
upon the real terror which we inspire, and how their little hearts beat at 
the sight of, to them, so really monstrous an animal as ourselves, we 
should directly see the utter irrationality of our feeling. I believe that 
nurses and ignorant people, with whom children are necessarily brought 
much in contact, originate and foster this mistake, but I am sure it needs 
but little reasoning to shew how great a one it is. Only look calmly at 
one of these little creatures, as he steals forth warily from his hole to pick 
up a crumb which we may chance to have dropped, observe his elegant 
shape and proportions, the gentle curve of his back, his delicate legs and 
ears, his bright eyes, and agility and grace of movement, and you cannot 
fail to be struck by them. Then regard him as a beautiful work of the 
Creator; consider that his conformation is in all respects, as far as natural 
wants and qualifications are concerned, the same as our own, only that in 
agility and in natural grace he is far our superior; indeed it is, like all 
God's works, beautiful in its adaptation to its wants and necessities to the 
place it is destined to fill in the scale of creation. 

' Upon the question of the necessity that exists, or is thought to exist, 
for their destruction, I will not enter. They have many enemies, the 
cat, above all, being so common a domestic animal as to insure the supply 
being equal to the demand, and being always sufficient to scare them from 
intrusiveness, if she does not make them her prey; but this is a part of 
that wonderful scheme which we cannot fathom. In our country there are 
six distinct species — the Common Mouse, or Mus domesticus, the Long- 
tailed Field Mouse, or Mus campestris, the Short-tailed Field Mouse, or 
Mus prateiisis, the Mower's Mouse, {Mus inessorius,) and the two Shrews, 
the common one, {Sorex araneus,) and the Water Shrew, {Sorex fodiens ;) 
besides, the following have been considered distinct species: — The Black 
Short-tailed Field Mouse, otherwise the Black Water Vole, {Arvicola ater,) 
the Oared Shrew, {Sorex remifer,) and the Water Vole, {Arvicola am- 

VOL. VIII. E 



26 A WORD ABOUT MICE. 

phibius.) These last differ chiefly in size, and the Black Water Vole is 
certainly much less than the Short- tailed Field or Grass Mouse, to which 
it bears in form and habits so striking a resemblance. 

The Common Mouse it would almost seem a work of supererogation to 
describe particularly, most of my readers being very well acquainted with 
him, as he is a great lover of domestication, and is seldom or never found 
in the fields, but prefers the shelter of houses, and the ample supply of 
farinaceous food which the barns and granaries and stacks of farms supply 
him with. Here the owl is as much his enemy as the cat, and it is very 
entertaining to see one of these wise-looking gentlemen in the dusk of the 
evening sitting motionless near the bottom of a corn-stack watching for 
his prey; and I dare say my readers have often observed the small hole 
at the barn end, which is purposely made for his ingress and egress. 

Mice occasionally are fond of literature, and a hoard of old papers laid 
up for years without being disturbed, will be often found to be the nursery 
of a brood of these creatures, who have shredded up the sheets to form 
a soft bed for the scions of the race of Mus. When I was a boy, I 
have sat for hours together watching these pretty creatures, to see how 
they sat on their hinder legs, when by chance a real prize, in the shape 
of a whole uneaten oat, was found, and with what dexterity they chaffed 
off the husk, which fell in a tiny shower around them, and then on the 
least alarm how they disappeared with the rapidity of thought; but withal 
they are not good runners neither; take them on to a large surface, without 
the advantage of corners and appliances of concealment, and they are what 
is vulgarly called "done;" they make a poor show, and gallop along very 
helplessly; in fact, they are much like anything else out of its element. 
Mice are very prolific, and the young are blind and hairless for some 
days after they are born, and the male is darker and smaller than the 
female, and this holds good of all the other kinds. 

The next kind we come to is the Long-tailed Field Mouse. This is 
a very pretty creature, larger than the Common Mouse, and of a fine 
sandy brown, with large, fine, dark eyes, and a white under part. He it 
is who commits such depredations in the crocus and pea-beds, and who is, 
perhaps, the handsomest of the whole race. The fields are his home, and 
those who have lived in the country know how often the ploughman 
dislodges him from his hole in the fallow. Schoolboys too well know how 
these little fellows make a famous team of miniature coach- horses, harnessed 
with thread like the "set out" of the famous Cinderella. 

We next come to the Short-tailed Field Mouse, who is certainly not 
so handsome a gentleman, although his mode of life is curious enough. 
His head is large, and his nose blunt, and his fur blueish, with red brown 
extremities. His retreat is in the pasture, hence his name of "pratensis" 



A WORD ABOUT MICE. 27 

or "of the meadow;" and here, under a canopy, to him, of vast and com- 
plex herbage, he makes arcades in all directions, but all centring in an 
underground retreat; and I have observed that he adapts himself to cir- 
cumstances in the formation of his nest, namely, that where the grass is 
long and undisturbed, he usually places his "cradle of the young" on the 
ground, but where the grass is short and more or less fed, it is under- 
ground, although he does not by choice fix upon a fed pasture. 

We now come to the Shrews, and these are very elegant little creatures, 
and familiar to every one, as cats kill, but will not eat them, and thus 
they are constantly found dead in our paths. The fur is most beautiful, 
and much partakes of the character of that of the Mole, which keeps a 
soft surface in any direction. These little creatures it is which we hear 
like grasshoppers chirping in the herbage near us, so shrill is the sibilous 
sound from their tiny throats. The Water Shrew is larger than the 
common one, and, I think, somewhat lighter in colour; he is strictly 
amphibious, and swims and dives with the greatest facility; his nose is 
also prolonged more than that of his congener, and partakes very much of 
the character of a snout. 

Last, and although least in one sense, not in another, we come to the 
Mower's Mouse, a species which, until the year 1767, was, as far as is 
known, unnoticed by naturalists. In that year Gilbert White, the Selborne 
historian, in a letter to Thomas Pennant, first brought them into notice, 
although we must suppose, as they are merely locally uncommon, they were 
always known to villagers and others, whose occupation took them into the 
fields so much. They are something like the Shrew in shape, but generally 
smaller, and much lighter and redder. Their nest is about the size of a 
cricket-ball, and usually suspended about three or four inches above the 
ground, and fastened, or rather woven, around the stalks of the surrounding 
corn. Into this "procreant cradle" there is apparently no entrance, but 
the mother of the little ones, who are nestled so warmly within, has some 
mode of getting in and out, although it be hid from human sight. These 
little animals are very tame, and I have seen them feed from the hand 
readily when in a state of domestication. 

There are varieties of almost all the different species, albinos or white 
Mice, grey and black, but in all the chief characteristics are very distinct; 
and let us never forget that these little creatures are only one out of 
unnumbered genera of living beings, formed by the same hand which has 
"done all things well." 

Pembroke Square, Kensington, December, 1857. 



28 



CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMON BIRDS. 

BY O. 8. ROUND, ESQ. 
( Continued from page 1.) 

The wings and tail of the Nightjar are very large for his size, and he 
has a flapping way of flying, which gives the idea of a certain degree of 
stupidity or helplessness; but this is a mistake, for it arises, I am con- 
vinced, from the ease with which he flies, and partly, perhaps, the hour 
at which we see him, for it must be still light, and therefore he has by 
no means awoke from his day's slumbers, for there can be no doubt that 
his powers of flight are very great, of which any one on a light night who 
will take the trouble to watch him may be soon convinced. It is very 
common to hear him called ugly, by reason of his large mouth and eyes, 
but when he is really awake and alert, he does not deserve this character, 
for instead of nodding head and half-closed eyes, he sits erect, constantly 
looking round after prey, after which he dashes away like an arrow. His 
colours are certainly unobtrusive, and well suited to his habits, for the 
resemblance which he exhibits to the grey stones and moss among which 
he sits is very extraordinary, and in the day-time you may stumble upon 
him almost before he will rise, but he does not fly far, unless roused again, 
and then merely skims away beyond reach. The cock and hen are very 
similar in general appearance, but his wings and tail are garnished with 
white spots at the ends of the outermost feathers, which shew very prettily 
when he is on the wing; in the hen bird these spots are ochre-coloured. 
Generally speaking, the Nightjar flies low, and will sit on gravel paths 
watching for prey, rising, and catching, and settling again, but when he 
makes a flit from cover to cover at any distance, I have seen him fly 
very high and boldly. It is also his custom to rise almost perpendicu- 
larly, and strike his wings over his back, after the manner of the Smiter 
Pigeon. 

But the most singular attribute of the Nightjar is the loud noise he 
makes when seated upon some elevated point, and which has procured him 
the name of the "Night Rail." Almost every one knows the instances 
Gilbert White gives of the vibration caused by this sound when uttered 
by one of these birds, which was seated on the small cross of a wooden 
summer-house, in which he and some friends were taking tea. I have 
never had any similar proof of this, but I have got as near this bird when 
uttering this sound as it is possible to approach any wild bird, namely, 
under the very tree he was upon, and so loud did it sound, that I could 
easily realize the fact of a hollow wooden edifice being actually shaken by 
it, so as to cause a sensible vibration. I remember very well some years 



CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMON BIRDS. ZV 

ago a Nightjar had a predilection for the tops of some tall beeches which 
grew close to our house, and the sound was so sonorous that I have laid 
awake and anathematized him in no gentle terms or temper. 

The resemblance which this bird bears to the ground upon which . he 
ordinarily sits is carried out in his eggs and young, albeit that the former 
are by no means destitute of beauty. They are more spherical than ordi- 
nary, and are covered with every variety of brown and grey, in a very 
soft and varied pattern. They make no nest, but choose a bare patch or 
hollow of earth, sheltered by a near heath-tuft, and there the young are 
hatched, and lie like lumps of dirt or toads for a long time before they 
make any shew of feathers. The female will not readily desert her eggs, 
and her young never. She will suffer herself to be pelted, (as I remember 
to my shame,) and undergo every species of persecution, in one instance, 
as I also remember, actually extending to the loss of her tail, and yet 
she succeeded in rearing them; under the circumstances it was certainly 
little less than a miracle, but boys in their pursuit of natural history are 
sadly thoughtless, and little reck of the pain which they inflict. In in- 
culcating the taste, never let the tutor forget to instil likewise the lesson 
of mercy. 

Before leaving my Caprimulgus, I must refer to his feet, which are worth 
attention. He is sometimes called the Nighthawk, but this is a most ridicu- 
lous name, unless the fact of preying upon moths and beetles entitles him 
to it, in which case all birds which feed on living creatures are Hawks. 
However, his feet are very small and pretty, and answer no purpose 
apparently but that of perching, and yet the nail of the middle toe is 
serrated, or rather pectinated, that is, like a comb. The object of this pro- 
vision does not clearly appear. Gilbert White thought that he had seen 
prey taken by the foot, but this was mere conjecture, and I don't see 
how such a formation could much assist in securing the prey; certainly 
the same formation is observable in the Heron, and in his case the prey 
is assuredly slippery enough, but it does not appear to me that we have 
any sufficient warrant upon evidence or observation for assigning any par- 
ticular use for this natural comb, that is, there is nothing apparently to 
shew the necessity or particular use of such a formation in these two birds, 
and therefore, like many other things of the same nature, we must rest 
content with the conviction 

"that not for nought 
Was any one thing given or made," 

although we may not be able to discern its use. 

In speaking of Owls as mousers, as is well known, a greenhorn coming 
to a farmer is invited to an expedition at what is called "Owl-catching," 
at which he is easily persuaded to play the subordinate part of standing 



30 A SUMMER DAY AT SEI,BORNE. 

•with a sieve below in the barn to catch the game, which is to be caught 
napping above and thrown down; but need it be said that after a little 
time a shower of dirty water, from a pailful taken aloft on purpose, soon 
discovers the true nature of this "Owl-catching." 

Much controversy has arisen as to what is really a u Screech Owl." 
My own experience would decidedly fix this name on the Yellow Owl. 
The Brown Owl hoots, with the peculiar melancholy tremulous sound, 
which fills the ignorant with such terror as it breaks the silence of the 
midnight air. How often I have watched him against the moonlight, 
quivering on his perch! and, when all is said and done, there is great 
melancholy in it. 

Another heath-bird which is nowhere numerous is the Stone Curlew, 
(Charadrius (Edicnemus,) and, from his wild habits and habitat, can never 
be so familiar as other wild birds. It is evident to me that these birds 
take very long flights. I have been in districts where they were by no 
means numerous, and yet it was evident as darkness came on, by their 
cries, which resounded on all sides, that there were very many on the 
wing. The note is between a whistle and a scream, and they have also 
a running note; the former supposed by Buffon to resemble the word 
turlui. These birds are somewhat wild, and difficult to come near, unless 
flushed by chance; they run very swiftly, and are off on the least alarm. 
Amongst the country people they are known under the general name of 
" Curlews." They bear a striking resemblance to the Golden Plover in 
shape, and vary a good deal in plumage, some specimens being very dark 
indeed, whilst others exhibit only the varieties of greyish brown, with a 
dark bar across the wing; and when in flight they have much the ap- 
pearance of water-birds, and the same shape and buoyant flight. The eggs 
of these birds much resemble those of the Peewit, but lighter, and are 
placed on the ground, and very difficult to discover. The Common Peewit 
is somewhat of a nocturnal bird, as are many of the Ducks and Snipe 
genus, but the small hours of darkness are left to the undisturbed possession 
of the true nocturnals. 

C To be continued.) 



A SUMMER DAY AT SELBORNE, HAMPSHIRE. 

BY W. G. J. 

Sixty years have come and gone since he that made Selborne a house- 
hold word was laid under the sod; or, to count time as he in his lifetime 
used to do, sixty times has the Cuckoo left the vale, and sixty times has 
he returned; sixty times has the Swallow taken his migration to and from 



A SUMMER DAY AT SELBORITE. 31 

our native isles; sixty times have the beech trees in his beloved "Hanger" 
put forth their leaves, and sixty times have they strewed the plains; but 
while sixty years have thus passed away, the names of Gilbert White and 
Selborne are better known than when the latter contained the former, a 
living man. 

To carry out a long- cherished desire, on a merry morn in June last 
we left Clapham by the South-Western Railway for Alton, the nearest 
point to Selborne by rail. Arrived there; — after going through the village, 
and immediately after leaving it to the left, you enter into a charming 
lane, with hedgerows on every side, noble conservatories for the botanist. 
Walking leisurely along, you here and there get through some opening a 
glimpse of a beauteous woodland scene, or a field covered by the hop-vines, 
now climbing vigorously up their poles, or it may be some fallow-field 
ploughed by the brown oxen, or you have to step aside to allow some 
joyous Giles to drive past his loaded wain. Amid such rural scenes, amid 
so much that was pleasing and lovely, many times did we verify the sweet 
language of Clare. 

"Upon ji molehill oft he dropt him down, 
To take a prospect of the circling scene, 
Marking how much the cottage roofs thatch brown 
Did add its beauty to the budding green 
Of sheltering trees it humbly peeped between; 
The stone-racked waggon with its rumbling sound; 
The windmill's sweeping sails at distance seen; 
And every form that crowds the circling round, 
Where the sky, stooping, seems to kiss the meeting ground." 

But time progresses, and so must we. And now, having walked about four 
miles, crossing a bridge over the Well-head, you ascend a short rise, and 

* The following I think worthy of record, not only as strengthening the fact of the return 
of the same Swallows to this country, but to the very neighbourhood where they had left 
the previous season. It is communicated by my worthy friend Thomas Durham "Weir, 
Esq., of Boghead, Linlithgowshire, a man loved and respected by all who know him: — "The 
late Professor Maogillivray, of Aberdeen, being very anxious to ascertain if the White-rumped 
Swallows returned to the same locality, I caught several of them in September, 1838, and 
put small rings (silver) on their legs. In the beginning of May, 1839, a weaver shot one 
of these 'joyous harbingers of summer' in the neighbourhood of Whitburn, which is about 
three miles distant from Boghead. He observed a piece of parchment suspended from its leg, 
which had attracted his attention. He gave it to Mr. Nairn e Mc Nab, bird-stuffer, in Bath- 
gate, who sent it to me. I was delighted on discovering that it was one of those Swallows 
which I had caught during the previous year. To the silver ring there was fixed with a 
silken thread a small piece of parchment, on one side of which was written distinctly, in a 
female hand, 'Madrid, 28th. March, 1839,' and on the other side 'Donna Maria;' as some 
of the letters of the surname were effaced, it could not be deciphered. Below the name 
there was a flaming heart pierced through by two arrows.— Boghead, 16th. August, 
1856." • 



32 A SUMMER DAY AT SELBORNE. 

at once you are introduced to the Plestor,* as sweet a scene as could be 
looked on. In the centre of it, and surrounded by a wooden seat, stands 
a fine Sycamore, (Acer pseudo-platanus ;) while to the left, and close by 
the church-yard wall, is a stately Horse Chestnut, (JEsculus hippocasta- 
nicus.) The cottages are covered by Roses and Honeysuckles, now yielding a 
glorious perfume, and not a few of these humble cottagers literally "sit under 
their Vines," if not "their Fig trees." In favourable seasons the Grape 
perfects its fruit. Proceeding a few yards up, the vicar's house appears, 
and a little further on the church-yard gate. Stepping in, the noble old 
Yew tree, (Taxus baccata,) which White so particularly writes of in his 
Antiquities, (Letter V.,) first attracts your attention. He gives its 
greatest measurement then as twenty-three feet, whilst it now is twenty- 
three feet four inches; in good health, pushing out new growths at every 
extremity. Altogether it is a tree quite equal to those of Borrowdale or 
Lartan's Vale, and will well bear out the solemn lines of Wordsworth 
addressed to these. 

"A pillar'd shade, 

Upon whose grassless floor of red brown hue, 

By sheddings from the piercing umbrage tinged 

Perennially — beneath whose sable roof 

Of boughs, as if for festal purpose, deck'd 

With unrejoicing berries, ghastly shapes 

May meet at noontide — Fear and trembling Hope — 

Silence and Foresight — Death the skeleton, 

And Time the shadow — there to celebrate, 

As in a natural temple, scattered o'er 

With altars undisturb'd of massj r stone, 

United worship." 

The church is a primitive looking building with a heavy tiled roof; at 
the west end a square embattled tower forty-five feet high somewhat 
relieves its low equal appearance; everything in and around is, however, 
clean and neat; there is a sacredness brooding over the whole place, mel- 
lowed by time, that the heart at once responds to, and feels deeply 
there is something here that the modern church, with its fretted roof, its 
gilded dome, and too often gilded preacher, cannot produce. Now, as in 
White's time, the south side of the kirk-yard seems to be the favourite 
resting-place; but passing over many graves round by the chancel, and on 

* The Plestor, or Pleystow, as White describes it. In the centre of the village, and near 
the church, is a square piece of ground surrounded by houses, and vulgarly called the Plestor. 
And in Letter X. (Antiquities) he further states that in 1271 Sir Adam Gurdon, in con- 
junction with his wife Constantia, granted to the Prior and Convent of Selborne all his 
claim and right to a certain place, called "La Pleystow," in the village aforesaid, "in 
liberam, puram, et perpetuam elemosinam." This Pleystow, (in Saxon Plegestow or 
Plegstow,) locus ludorum, or play-place, is a level ai - ea near the church, of about forty- 
four yards by thirty-six, and is now known by the name of the Plestor. 



A SUMMER DAY AT SELBORNE. 33 

its south side is the sweet resting-place of Gilbert White. All that tells 
such is the case is a simple stone about eighteen inches high, fifteen inches 
broad, rounded at the top, and the initials G. W., 26th. June, 1793. 
Above all compare is such a resting-place; the green daisy-covered sod 
exposed to the seasons preaching the silent lesson 

"That plants and flowers 
Anew do deck the plain; 
The woods do hear the voice of Spring, 
And flourish green again." 

And lower down beneath that sod the lesson is also forced upon us 

"That man, when laid in lonesome grave, 
Shall sleep in death's dark gloom, 
Until the eternal warning wake 
The slumbers of the tomb." 

Retracing our steps back through the Plestor, immediately to the right 
we come to the residence of White, his birth-place, his life-long abode, 
and where he died; indeed, with a few exceptions, his whole life may be 
said to have been spent in the district, almost in the parish of Selborne, 
and a place better adapted to a naturalist of White's stamp could scarcely 
be found. The house remains very much in the same state as White left 
it, excepting a wing added at the west end by the present proprietor, 
Professor Bell. The grounds are much finer than when White had them, 
although in making them so nothing characteristic of its former occupant 
has been sacrificed. His brick-laid walk is there, his sun-dial is there, his 
large Oak and Cedar still flourish; you may sit down and bring to your 
mind what his appearance was, and you have the picture of a former time 
complete. 

Again . passing along the village, now much as it was in 1780, "a, long 
straggling street," some houses thatched, and with their moss-covered 
ornaments present a pleasing appearance, some as the church, with square 
tiles, but all having a tidy and cosy aspect. At the east end of the 
village a path leads up to the Zigzag, (so named from its construction,) 
and as you ascend this, a most glorious landscape reveals itself to your 
gaze, such a sight as the soul delights to drink in through the eyes. This 
hill rises above the village about three hundred feet, and is divided into 
a sheep-down, a high wood, and a low wood called the "Hanger." This 
wood consists entirely of Beech, and growing as it here does on chalk, 
attains a beauty not elsewhere attained. The Beech tree, when it puts 
forth its young downy leaves in the early spring, is a cheering and lovely 
sight. In the autumn, when it assumes its rosy and brown tints, it lends 
a warmth to the landscape that no other tree does. No wonder then it 
was such a favourite with White. And this same "Hanger" is that wood 

VOL. VIII. F 



34 A SUMMER DAY AT SELBORNE. 

of which he writes so often, and which by his writings is known (at least 
by name) wherever the English language is spoken. 

Sitting on the sheep-down, we can look around and over those scenes 
he so faithfully describes. In the distance is Wolmer Forest and pond; 
close by to the right is Nore Hill, beautifully wooded; below nestles the 
quiet village; and far away stretches the lovely scene, till the view is closed 
by the horizon, on the far-famed Downs of Sussex, round to Eyegate in 
Surrey. One pleasing feature in the sbeep-downs are the bells attached to 
the sheep by a ribbon round their neck. Where there is nothing else to 
disturb the solitude, it is a pleasant, although not harmonious sound, the 
tinkling of each bell every nibble the sheep make. A train of associations 
are at once called up; we are led back to the time of the patriarchs, 
when the riches of that day were so invested, even to the time when Abel 
offered up the firstlings of his flock, till that glorious time when the shep- 
herds, watching their flocks by night on Bethlehem's plains, beheld the 
star pointing the birth of our and the world's Great Shepherd. 

It is somewhat interesting, too, on looking down from this eminence, to 
see the Swift and Swallow sporting below, the same as in the days of 
White; and coming through the woods, we are saluted by the mellow 
pipe of the Blackbird, the commanding note of the Thrush, and the laughing- 
like notes of the Willow Wren, all going on as they did sixty years ago. 
And now the thought, after having seen all these quiet scenes, and knowing 
the unobtrusive life White led, is forced upon us, how is it with these 
materials and in so simple a way has White produced such a book, which 
is prized by young and old, by scientific and non-scientific readers? It may 
be advanced as the grand cause that he "described everything simply and 
truthfully, recorded only as facts such as were known, and could be proved 
to be such, and he never forgot that one hand only fashioned all the 
objects which gave him pleasure and interest to observe, and that the same 
power regulates their continuance or change," In his forty-ninth letter he 
says, "It is now more than forty years that I have paid some attention 
to the Ornithology of this district, without being able to exhaust the 
subject; new occurrences still arise as long as enquiries are kept alive." 
Now this applies to a single parish. It shews very strikingly that Natural 
History, when studied in the way and in the light White studied it, is 
no mere waste of time, as too many suppose. If it can call up fervent 
reflections and sagacious reasonings, if it can keep a mind engaged for 
forty years without cloying, if it can yield pure delight and unblemished 
happiness, if its pursuit can keep mind and body in good health till the 
threescore years and ten are overreached, surely it may be argued this of 
itself is no small gain in this changing scene. But when we come to add, 
and to feel as he did, that the works of Nature are indeed the works of 



LIST OF LEPIDOPTERA. 35 

God, that when we study these works in a right spirit we are but reading 
a portion of His many-leaved book, that which He pronounced six thousand 
years ago to be very good, and which were placed here, no doubt, for our 
study. It was in this spirit and with these feelings White pursued his 
studies; it is in this spirit and with these feelings we would have all to 
study the works of Nature; and when so studied, we will feel the full 
force of the inspired Psalmist's exclamation — "0 Lord, how manifold are 
Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy 
riches. The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice 
in His works." 

Our short remarks are made not with a view to act as a guide to a 
place so well known, for it is not needed; it is meant as a memorial of a 
happy day spent among the scenes of the parish of Selborne, a place that 
is, and will continue to be, sacred to every one who cherishes the memory 
of Gilbert White; and who that has read his interesting History does not? 



(£tttnmnlngt|. 



LIST OF LEPIDOPTERA OCCURRING IN THE COUNTY 

OF SUFFOLK. 

BY THE REV. JOSEPH GREENE, M.A., ASSISTED BY THE REV. H. HARPUR CREWE, M.A. 

AND C. R. BREE, ESQ. 

[The portions of these papers contributed by Mr. Crewe and Mr. Bree, are signed with the 
initials G and B respectively. N.B. at the head of a paragraph signifies that the remarks 
are made after those of Mr. Greene.] 

( Continued from page 14.) 

20. Phragmatobia lubricepida. — By no means so common as its brother 
Menthrasti. 

N.B. — In the larva state this insect is more abundant than its congener, 
Menthrasti. Before they change their last skin it is almost impossible to 
distinguish the larva? of P. lubricepida and P . fuliginosa, and their food-plants 
are the same. After its last moult, the larva of the latter insect loses the 
rather conspicuous, whitish, dorsal stripe, and becomes much more hairy than 
that of Lubricepida. It moreover hybernates, whilst the other invariably assumes 
the pupa state in the autumn. (C.) 

21. P. menthrasti. — Most collectors, who have tried light as a method of 
attracting insects, will agree with me in execrating this species. The protracted 
period of its appearance in the perfect state, its abundance, its pertinacity in 
returning to the window after being forcibly ejected, and finally, its blind 
and warm affection for the candle, combine to render it a perfect nuisance. 
I. have only met with one variety, a pure white, devoid of markings. I have 



36 LIST OF LEP1DOPTERA. 

little doubt that here, as elsewhere among the Bombyces, some of the larvae 
hatched from the eggs deposited in July and August, can be made to feed 
up rapidly, so as to produce the perfect insect in the same year. 

N.B. — I most feelingly concur in my friend Mr. Greene's remarks on this 
insect's penchant for light. It is the most irritating thing in the world to 
have five or six of these insects striving round one's candle for the first chance 
of self-immolation. (C.) 

22. P. mendica. — I once or twice met w r ith the pretty Q. of this species 
sporting about, in the noonday, on the banks of a stream running through 
Playford, but it seemed to be rare. It is a curious circumstance that the $ 
and not the g should be found flying in the day-time. 

N.B. — I have twice reared a brood of larva? from the egg. I fed them 
upon various species of mint and Epilobium hirsutum, (The Great Willow- 
herb.) It is rather difficult to distinguish this larva from that of P. lubrice- 
pida and P '. fuliginosa : the latter it most closely resembles. The <§ must be 
killed as soon as ever they are dry, after emerging from the pupae, or they 
utterly ruin themselves. I am surprised that this insect does not come to 
light, but I never heard of its doing so. My larvae were full fed, and spun 
up in August. Some of them went just below the surface of the soil. (C.) 

23. L. monacha. — By no means rare in the larva and pupa state. The larva 
may sometimes be found, like that of A. Aprilina, during the day-time, in the 
crannies and chinks of the bark of oak trees. Here also the singular pupa 
may occasionally be detected by entomological eyes. 

N.B. — I have bred this insect from larva beaten off birch. Mr. Stainton, 
on the authority of Ochsenheimer, states in the Manual, that it feeds on fir, 
but I cannot think that it ever does so, and have no doubt that the mistake 
arose from its having been found resting on the bark in the day-time. (C.) 

24. P. salicis. — Poplar being a very common tree in Suffolk, this insect 
is proportionately abundant. I remember, some years ago, being at Hammer- 
smith, where a row of poplars bordered the river. The quantity of wings of 
this insect was almost incredible. I was digging for pupae at the time, and 
some idea of the number may be formed when I say that I had actually to 
scrape them away with the trowel. I once bred a specimen with a round 
hole in the left hand forewing. It is now in the colleetion of the Hoyal 
Dublin Society. The immature caterpillar much resembles some of the 
XiithosicB. 

25. L. auriflua. — Some change having taken place in the nomenclature of 
this species and Chrysorrhcea, I am not sure which is which. Whichever is 
the common one, is as common in Suffolk as elsewhere, and in its aggravating 
powers emulates Menthrasti. 

26. O. fascelina. — I found about thirty larvae of this insect on broom in 
the middle of May. I fed them up in my garden under muslin, and bred 
about half of them beginning of July. It is a difficult insect to rear, and, 
with me, almost impossible to do so, except on the growing plant. (B.) 

N.B. — I used to take the larvae of this insect at Cambridge, upon the 
hawthorn hedges. I took them this year, near here, on broom, but not being 



LIST OF LEP1D0PTERA. 37 

able, like my friend Mr. Bree, to feed them on the growing plant, and give 
them plenty of sun and air, they all died. (C.) 

27. O. pudibunda. — Not uncommon. The beautiful larva may be found on 
almost every tree. The colour of the tufts varies from bright yellow to dirty 
brown. In forming its cocoon it produces more silk than any other British 
insect. The cocoon indeed, in colour and consistency, strikingly resembles 
that of the famous B. mori. 

N.B. — I have always found that the dirty brown or rather smoky-looking 
larva produced g and the lemon-coloured ones $ . (C.) 

28. O. coryli. — Strange to say, I never met with the slightest trace of this 
insect, though oak and hazel abounded, both at Playford and Brandeston. 
Perhaps my fellow-labourers may have been more fortunate. I may just men- 
tion that the larva varies in colour from pale primrose to brick red. 

N.B. — I bred this insect from larvse taken in the autumn of 1856, this 
spring, 1857. (B.) 

I have taken the larvse in tolerable plenty in the woods round Ipswich, 
and both larva? and perfect insect in the woods near here. The moth appears 
in May, and flies, almost before it is dark, along the hedges and ridings. I 
had this year a brood of eggs, laid the 27th. of May; from these I had 
about thirty pupae in August. On October 28th., three $ and one g made 
their appearance, and since then two more £ an d one g have emerged. I 
attribute this premature development to the very hot summer and extraordi- 
narily mild autumn. The insect is, however, double-brooded, as I have beaten 
the larva fall-fed in July, and the perfect insect appeared the following August. 
I have beaten the larva off beech, hazel, maple, and oak. It prefers the two 
former. It may be interesting to remark that all the five 0_ I bred this 
autumn were full of eggs. I have kept some of them in the hope that they 
are impregnated, and will hatch in the spring. The £ flies I may say before 
his wings are dry, and it is next to impossible to secure a good specimen, 
even when bred. (C.) 

29. O. antiqua. — Very common. 

30. C. Neustria. — In immense profusion. The larva was a perfect pest, 
crawling over the walls of the house, and entering the bed-rooms, in fact 
"putting in an appearance" in the most unexpected places. This seems to me 
a convenient place to make inquiries on a subject which has puzzled me ever 
since I began to collect, namely, "what becomes of the perfect insect in this 
and other species?" I could not have observed less than from four hundred 
to five hundred larva? of this insect; I am certainly beyond the mark when 
I say that I did not see a dozen of the imago. Now, making every allowance 
for ichneumons, muscardine, birds, and every other ill to which caterpillar 
flesh is heir, is not this an immeasurably small proportion? The trifling 
number of perfect insects, (at least the trifling number visible,) compared with 
the abundance of larvae, must have struck every collector. Look at the vast 
number of eggs deposited by one single female caja! see the caterpillars by 
hundreds feasting on juicy nettles, or scuttling across the footpath, and yet 
how many have seen a dozen specimens of the perfect insect during their 



38 LIST OF LEPIDOPTERA. 

whole entomological careerP Take again D. ceruleocephala. Every hawthorn 
hedge swarms with the conspicuous larvae of this species; yet, during seven 
years collecting, I never saw a specimen of it on the wing, and I doubt not 
that many others are in the same predicament. In fact, as regards the Bom- 
byces, I conceive that I do not exaggerate in asserting, that nine-tenths of the 
specimens in our cabinets have been produced from the egg, larva, or pupa, 
that is, have been obtained in one or other of those stages of their existence. 
It is unquestionably true that an occasional capture is made on the trunks 
of trees, on palings, or at light; but if some of our collectors, (who keep one 
or two rows of each species,) trusted to this method of supplying their wants, 
they would painfully realize the truth of the saying, that "hope deferred 
maketh the heart sick." Can any one explain the cause or causes of the 
paucity of this order in the perfect state? We have all heard or read of ivy- 
hunting, sallow bloom, sugaring, pupa-digging, etc., and these subjects are 
well-nigh exhausted; but it still remains open to the enthusiastic aspirant after 
Entomological honours to disclose to us the habits, haunts, and "favourite 
varieties" of the Bombyces in the last stage of their existence. It is said, I 
know, that they come to light. I think I have tried that method as perse- 
veringly as most people; but, with the exception of, at the outside, a dozen 
species, and those very common, I never found a Bombyx come to light. 
Besides, the few that do come are generally males, and they are so irritable 
in their tempers, and excitable in their movements, that it is no easy matter 
to capture them. When this feat is at length accomplished, and the stupified 
insect (which is almost sure to be found lying on its back) is examined, there 
meets the expectant collector's eager gaze a — but I need not go farther; every 
one knows what I mean. We have a very remarkable exception to the above 
observatious in one of the Sphingidce, namely, S. convolvuli, which, though 
not unfrequently observed in the perfect state, has very rarely been taken in 
the preceding stages in this country. Mr. Weaver once found the larva near 
Birmingham, I believe; and I myself, when in Gloucestershire, once bred a 
fine specimen from a pupa found in my garden. — These are the only cases I 
know of. 

N.B. — I think Mr. Greene's remarks about the scarcity of this and other 
Bombyces in the imago state, arises principally from the simple difficulty of 
getting them at night, their habits being so different from those of the Noc- 
tua or Geometrce. Having no spiral tongue, they do not of course come to 
ivy, sallow, or sugar. They do not, as a rule, fly about in twilight, like the 
Geometrce, but many of them, such as L. griseola, complana, complanula, and 
stramineola, L. chrysorrhea, O. pudibunda, P. populi, cassinea, etc., come 
here freely to light; while several other species are beaten or found on trunks 
and palings abundantly. (B.) 

I have not very unfrequently taken the <£ D y putting a candle at 
my bed-room window. This and several other of the Bombyces, e.g. P. 
cassinea and P. populi, do not, I think, fly till an hour or two after dark, 
and can only be attracted by a very bright light. There is a row of six or 
seven gas-lamps just outside this town. About a fortnight since Mr. Bree and 
myself turned out about half-past nine p.m., to examine them. They were all 



LIST OF INSECTS. 39 

burning dimly except one. At the dim lamps we found a solitary &" P. 
populi, whilst at the one bright one we took six in about five minutes. I 
believe, entomologically speaking, it would pay any one residing in a tolerable 
locality to keep a bright lamp burning from nine to twelve p.m. throughout 
the season. A very large per centage of the produce will, of course, be g . 
Breeding is the only certain mode of procuring the $ of the Bombyces. (C.) 

(To be continued.) 



A LIST OF THE INSECTS OBSEEVED 
IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE COUJSTY OF SUSSEX. 

BY W. C. UNWIN, LEWES. 

No. II. — The Syephid-e concluded. 
C Continued from page 20. ) 

Cheilosia lucorum. — Not uncommon in May and the following months in 
the Plashet Wood, the plantations near Firle Park,- at Chailey, and elsewhere. 

C. cestracea. — Rare. The Plashet Wood, on Heracleum sphondylium, (the 
Common Cow-parsnip,) in July. 

C. means. — Frequently met with on the flowers of the Ranunculi, by road- 
sides and in meadows, in April and May. 

C. chlorus. — This fine insect is not uncommon in May, June, and following 
months ; frequenting the flowers of Ranunculus bulbosus and acris especially. 

C. albitarsis. — Not unfrequently observed in the spring and summer months 
affecting the same localities as the last species. 

C. mutabilis. — A few examples of this species have been observed, but 
rarely, in meadows near the woods in this neighbourhood, in May and July. 

C. scutellata. — Not common: in April and May. 

C. chalybeata. — Rather rare in this district in spring. 

C.funeralis. — Not uncommon in June, July, and August, on the Composites, 
especially the Common Ragwort, (Senecio Jacobcea,) as well also on the Ra- 
nunculi. 

Syrphus pyrastri. — Very abundant everywhere. This fine handsome species 
is to be found throughout the summer months, now hovering with apparently 
invisible wings over flowers, and then sipping their nectar: if once alarmed 
it darts away with amazing rapidity. All the Syrphi fly very swiftly, and 
most of the species may be observed in flower-gardens, enjoying the hottest 
sunshine of a July or August day. 

S. grossularice. — Rare. Once captured in a garden at Firle. 

S. ribesii. — Common in gardens and elsewhere during the summer months. 

S. vitripennis. — Abundant. And found in the same situations with the 
preceding throughout the summer; often frequents the Umbelliferce. 

S. bifasciatus. — Equally common with the two former species. 

S. luniger. — Not uncommon in gardens and the borders of corn-fields. 

<S. arcuatus. — Rare. Near the Plashet Wood in May and June: it may 



40 LIST OF INSECTS. 

be readily distinguished from its allies by the dark brown stigma on the wing. 

S. corollas. — Common in gardens, hovering over or settling on flowers; also 
in meadows on the Ranunculi and Senecio Jacobcea, (Common Ragwort,) in 
June and following months. 

S. balteatus. — Abundant. Frequenting the flowers of the Ranunculi and 
Senecio Jacobcea; it may often be observed basking on the leaves of plants 
and shrubs: appearance from June till September. 

S. tricinctus. — Rare. It has been observed in the Plashet Wood, near 
Brighton, and at Firle, in June. 

S. latemarius. — This species is comparatively rare. It has been captured 
at Pevensey, on the shingle, off the Common Ragwort, (Senecio Jacobcea,) in 
August. 

S. albostrialus. — Rare. Captured with the preceding species in the same 
locality and at the same time. 

S. cinctus. — Not common. Has been found in Blind Lane, Ilford, and 
near Newhaven, in May. 

S. manicatus. — Common. Frequents flowers by the road-sides generally, 
and the borders of corn-fields from Aprd throughout the summer. 

5. peltalus. — Several specimens were taken off the Ragwort, (Senecio 
Jacobcea,) in July, 1854, at Pevensey, and also at Eastbourne, but it has 
not been observed in the neighbourhood of Lewes. 

S. clypeatus. — Not uncommon on Ranunculi and Umbelliferce in favourable 
situations in April and the following months. 

S. scutatus. — Like its congeners it is very partial to the Ranunculi and 
the Ragwort, and is very general in this locality. 

S. cyaneus. — Abundant everywhere from April to September in sunny 
weather. 

S. rosarum. — Rare. One specimen only has been noticed. 

S. mellinus. — Occasionally observed, but not common ; near Lewes and 
near Chailey, in May and following months. 

S. scalaris. — Of very frequent occurrence in May and June, on the flow- 
ery banks generally. It is very partial to the Ranunculi and Ragwort. 

Doros citrofasciatus. — Rare. Two examples were captured near Firle in 
July, 1845, and had not been observed since, until the present year, when 
it was detected amongst a collection of Diptera and Hymenoptera, made by 
a young friend near Brighton. 

D. ornalus. — Not so rare as the last, and has been captured at Ringmer, 
and also near Newhaven, in May and June. 

Melithreptus scriptus. — Common. Frequenting warm banks generally, 
wherever the Common Ragwort (Senecio Jacobcea) grows, in July and 
August. It is a beautifully-marked insect. 

M. rnenthrasti. — Not so common as the preceding species. It affects the 
same situations at the same period. 

M. tceniatus. — Rare. Near Winterbourne, and in a lane near Landport, 
in May and following months. 

Baccha elongata. — Uncommon. Has been observed in the Plashet Wood, 
in June. 



ENTOMOLOGY. 41 

Ascia podagrica. — Abundant. A very pretty little species ; found the end 
of March, in early springs, on the blossoms of the Blackthorn and the 
Strawberry-leaved Cinquefoil, (Potentilla fragariastramj and continues one 
of the many associates of bright sunny summer weather until autumn. 

( To be continued.) 



The Food-vlants of Gonepteryx Rhamni. — I have looked over the paper on 
the Suffolk Lepidoptera, in "The Naturalist," and think it a very interesting 
one. I notice Mr. Crewe's remarks about the larvae of G. Rhamni. I used to 
fancy that they must feed upon some other plant beside the two species of 
Rhamnus, but I never could detect them upon anything else. Lewin men- 
tions the Wild Rose, but I think this is a mistake. I once saw a female 
Rhamni in a lane where scattered bushes of Rhamnus Catharticus grew in 
the hedge, mixed with White-thorn, Black-thorn, and abundance of Dog 
Roses, but she invariably selected the Buck-thorn to deposit her eggs, even 
when it was closely entwined with other shrubs. — H. Doubleday, Epping, 
November 20th., 1857. 

P. fuliginosa. — I must dissent from my friend Mr. Crewe's opinion that 
this insect occasionally passes the winter in the pupa state. Though the ma- 
jority of my larva spun up at the beginning of March, yet a considerable 
number turned to pupae at the end of February, and produced the perfect 
insect in twelve days. — J. Greene, Pembroke Street, Dublin. 

Chrysophanus dispar. — In the "Zoologist," for December, 1857, and the 
"Zoologist" and "Naturalist" for January, 1858, Mr. Gr. H. King inserts an 
advertisement in which he offers Chrysophanus hippothoe for sale, collected 
by himself during the past season in the fens. Now, with the single exception 
of one specimen taken this last season in Somersetshire, and recorded in the 
"Intelligencer," No. 47, by Mr. Crotch, this insect has not been met with in 
Britain for eight or ten years. It was formerly abundant in the fens of 
Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, but from these localities (to which it was 
I believe strictly confined) it has since then entirely disappeared, and though 
it has diligently been sought for not a single specimen has, to the best of my 
knowledge, been seen or heard of. Mr. King was collecting this summer in 
Horning Fen, near Norwich; this locality has been well worked by some 
very diligent entomologists for some years past, but I never heard of C. dispar 
being seen or taken there. Mr. King was here in August, and shewed both 
Mr. C. R. Bree and myself the insects which he professed to have taken at 
Horning, there was no C. dispar among them, nor did he say one word about 
having taken it. I do not wish for one moment to cast a doubt on Mr. King's 
veracity, but when we hear of one hundred and fifty pupae of Not. Carmelita 
being imported from the Continent, and such insects as O. lunaris and T. 
vespiforme turning up common, it really does make us all suspicious. I do not 
ask Mr. King to give us the exact locality. In these days of insane and 

VOL. VIII. G 



42 ENTOMOLOGY. 

ruthless extermination it would be unwise and impolitic to do so; but I must 
tell him as a friend that unless he gives us the neighbourhood, date, and manner 
of its capture, I very much fear that his advertisement will not only be a 
dead letter, but will most seriously damage his reputation as an honest dealer. 
As a dealer in insects Mr. King comes before us in a public capacity, and 
must therefore be prepared to give the fullest information as to the genuineness 
of the articles he vends. C. dispar does occur on the continent, but it is ex- 
cessively rare, so much so that in its palmy days here it was bought up 
on all sides by the continental collectors. It is, I believe, common in Nubia, 
but I am not aware of any other locality. Will Mr. King be good enough 
to tell us whether by C. hippothoe he means C. dispar, and if so, when, where, 
and how he took it? — H. Haepue Ceewe, Stowmarket, Suffolk, January 13th., 
1858. 

Argynnis dia. — "We have heard all the circumstances connected with the 
supposed capture of this insect, and we are bound to say that we do not 
think a sufficient case has been made out to warrant its admission as a British 
species. We entirely exonerate the gentleman whose name has been connected 
with it from the imputation of having made the slightest wilful misrepresentation, 
but we believe that a mistake has occurred, and the identity of the insect 
taken has been confused with some of the Foreign insects that gentleman had 
in his possession. The extreme scientific interest which is attached to the ad- 
dition of any fresh Lepidopterous insect to our Fauna, and the readiness with 
which such an admission real or erroneous, is followed by the importation of 
a large family of the "insect new to Britain," the following year, demands 
that all newly-discovered species should be free from even the shade of sus- 
picion. We regard the word of a gentleman as sufficient proof of his sincerity, 
and as settling at once the truth of his statement as far as his belief is 
concerned, but in the case of Dia two distinct statements as to its capture 
have been made, both of them essentially different, and the possession of foreign 
insects by that gentleman, coupled with these statements, leads to the inevitable 
inference that a mistake may have occurred. — En. 

Exchange Boxes. — The great desideratum in these boxes is to get size united 
with strength and lightness. We have lately had some made, corked on both 
sides, five inches by two inches and three-eighths, which unite all the above 
requirements. Mr. Betts, Cabinet Maker, of this place, will make them for 
one shilling each, and will send a specimen box on receipt of sixteen penny 
stamps. They will go through the post in wool for fourpence. — Ed., Stow- 
market. 

Are the Lithosiae attracted by sugar? — One evening last summer, I found 
three specimens of L. griseola on a tree I had sugared, together with four 
or five S. xanthographa. They were on the part of the trunk that was sugared, 
but whether feeding or not I was unable to determine. I should imagine the 
sugar had some attraction for them, as Mr. Bree mentioned a similar instance 
of L. helveola in last month's number of this magazine. I mention this fact 



ENTOMOLOGY. 43 

as the Editor suggests that it was doubtless at rest on the tree, and not 
feeding. — John Poetee, Jun., 8, East Street, Lewes, December 14th., 1857. 

Nottingham Natural History Society. — "We are glad to find by a letter 
from Mr. J. H. Wood, that this Society is in a prosperous condition. On 
the 17th. of November an excellent paper was read by Mr. Morley, on 
Lepidopterous Insects, which contained much interesting information, and 
many observations especially valuable to the student. The meetings are held 
weekly, when a paper is read upon some subject connected with Natural 
History — these papers being for the most part the result of the writer's 
personal experience and observation. This is the right principle to act upon, 
and we wish the Society every success. We shall be glad at any time to 
receive a report embodying any original facts brought before the Society. 

Cambridge Entomological Society. — The November meeting of this Society 
was held on Friday, the 27th. ult., at the Secretary's rooms; F. Barlow, 
Esq., Vice President, in the chair. The following are the names of the 
members balloted for and elected: — F. Stainforth, Esq., Queen's College; Mr. 
L. Cumming, Cambridge; H. S. Bainbridge, Esq., St. John's College; F. H. 
Knapp, Esq., Pembroke College. — Mr. Preston read a paper on the structural 
differences observable in the several stages of Lepidopterous insects. Passing 
over the varied forms of the egg, Mr. Preston commenced by a description of 
the structure of the larva; he sketched the various organs of the head and 
trunk, with the abdomen; he dwelt at some length on the structure of 
the mouth. Respecting the internal organization the author noticed in suc- 
cession the nervous, the digestive, the circulatory, the respiratory, and the 
muscular systems. Pointing out the arrangement in each, and especially the 
wonderful development of the last-mentioned in the larvae of insects. Mr. 
Preston then enumerated the various changes that the organs of insects under- 
went in passing through the pupa stage to that of the imago. The parts of the 
body of the imago then were described and their purposes explained. Several 
diagrams were exhibited as illustrative of the subject. — After the chairman 
had tendered the thanks of the meeting, an interesting discussion arose from 
some questions put by Mr. Dunning, Mr. Bree, and Mr. Crewe, regarding the 
sensations of insects. — The "vexed question," as to the advisability of keeping 
pupse dry or moist, was also discussed. — Mr. Brown exhibited M. peltigera, 
taken near Newmarket; also very pale varieties of Ncenia typica and Pascilo- 
phasia marginaria, and two specimens of Dosithea eburnata. — Mr. Barlow 
exhibited a splendid insect nearly black, which was said to be a variety of 
Galleria cereana, also a fine series of cereana which were distributed. — Mr. 
Crewe exhibited a box of Eupithecice. — Mr. Preston exhibited Cynips aptera. 
— Mr. Sealy exhibited a series of L. callunce, collected in Pomona, Orkney, 
during the past summer. The meeting broke up at half-past ten. 

A. F. SEALY, Hon. Sec. 
70, Trumpington Street, Cambridge. 



44 



Species General des Lepidopteres. Par M. Boisd-ttval et Gcenee. Tome IX. 
Uranides et PhaUnites. Par M. A. Guenee. Tome I. 

At length we have an instalment of the long-expected work on the 
Geometridce, by 3VL Guenee. The first volume, and the two livraisons of 
plates for both volumes are before us, and we hasten to give a short resume" 
of M. GueneYs arrangement. 

The Uraniles are a small section of Lepidoptera, chiefly exotic, having a 
general contour much like our Swallow-tails ; and M. Guenee places them 
between the Pyralites and the Geometrce — simply because he can find no 
better place for them. 

The Phalenites or Geometrce of Linnaeus, occupy the rest of the present 
volume and that which is to come. The first family in M. Guenee's arrange- 
ment is the Ubapteridje; and V. sambucata, the type of the genus Urapteryx, 
will henceforth occupy the first place in our collections of Geometridce. Then 
follows the second family, Ennomid;e, the British genera of which are 1. — 
Epione, in which the Linnaean name of Vespertaria is substituted for Par- 
allelaria, W. V. 2. — Rumia. 3. — Venilia. 4. — Angerona. 5. — Metrocampa. 
6. — Ellopia. 7. — Eurymene. 8. — Pericallia. 9. — Selenia., Hub., which now 
includes Illunaria, Lunaria, and Illustraria. 10. — Odontopera. 11. — Crocallis, 
which includes a species from Van Dieman's Land, called Newmannaria, 
after Mr. E. Newman. 12. — Ennomos. 13. — Himera. 

The family Amphidasyd^e includes, 1. — Phigalia. 2. — Nyssia. 3. — Biston, 
which only contains P. hirtaria and its varieties. 4. — Amphidasis, containing 
Prodromaria and Betularia. 

The family Boaemiele includes 1. — HemeropJiila. 2. — Cleora. 3. — Boar- 
mia. 4. — Tephrosia. 5. — Gvophos, the typical species of this genus is G. 
obscurata, which includes our G. pallaria. 6. — Dasydia. 7. — Psodos. 8. — 
Mniophila, (Tephrosia of Hub.) 

The small family of BoletobiDjE, containing only three genera, has one 
British genus, Boletobia, and one British representative, B.fuliginaria. 

The family Geometeidje contains: 1. — Pseudoterpna, (Remithea of Dup. 
and H. D's catalogue.) 2. — Geometra, containing Papilionaria and Smarag- 
daria. 3. — Nemoria, containing C. viridata of H. D's catalogue. 4. — Iodis, 
containing Vernaria and JEruginaria under the Linnaean name of Lactearia. 
— Phorodesma. 6. — Hemithea, in which, under the name of H. thymiaria, 
Alb., we find our C. astivaria, 

The family Ephtbidje contains Ephyra; and the last family in the vol- 
ume, the AciDALiDiE, contains 1. — Hyria. 2. — Asthena, i