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Digitized by the Internet Archive
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California Academy of Sciences Library

http://archive.org/details/zoologist40lond

THE

ZOOLOGIST:

A
POPULAR MISCELLANY

OF

Se luRAL HIS FOR.

CONDUCTED BY

EDWARD NEWMAN, F.L.S., Memes. Imp. L.-C. Acap.

VOLUME THE SEVENTEENTH.

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CONTENTS.

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.

ALmonp, G. A.

Agrotis Precox, 6503
ALTHAM, J.

A kite flying over London, 6676
ANDERSON, RosBert

Notes on Xanthia ocellaris, 6503
ARMSTRONG, THOMAS

Rare birds near Carlisle, 6378 ; Piebald
specimen of Mus rattus near Car-
lisle, 6442

Arxinson, Rev. J. C., M.A.

Reason and instinct, 6313, 6429, 6485,
6522; Inquiry respecting a bird’s
nest, 6563 ; The doubtful eggs,
6675

Bate, C. Spence, F,L.S., &c.
The Crab and its allies, 6567, 6622,
6676
Batrerssy, H. W.
Vanessa Antiopa at Torquay, 6461
Betz, Tuomas, F.R:S.

The edible frog long a native of Foul-
mire Fens, 6565 ; Hawfinch at Sel-
borne, 6729.

Brrcwatt, Epwin

A week at Killarney, 6765
Bircnaty, Henry

Extracts from correspondence, 6403
Biss1Lu, W. K.

A fortnight at Hornsea, Yorkshire,
6697

Brakiston, Capt. THomas W., R.A.

Scraps from the Far West, 6318, 6378 ;

Showers of feathers, 6675
Botp, THomas JoHNn

Capture of Notiophilus substriatus in
the North of Scotland and in Cum-
berland, English habitat for Quedius
auricomus, 6389 ; Latridius nodifer
and Corticaria borealis in the North
of England, Capture of Vespa arbo-
rea in Cumberland, 6792

Bonp, FREDERICK

_ Capture of the new snake, Coronella
austriaca, at Ringwood, 6787

Boyp, THomas

On the tendency of species to form
varieties, 6357; Reason and instinct,
6585

BrockHo_es, J. F.

Note on the habits of Heliothis mar-
ginata, 6338 ; Note on the habits’ of
the longeared owl, 6752

BromriE_p, The late W. Arnotp, M.D.
Extracts from letters, 6393
Brown, Epwin

On breeding Acherontia Atropos, 6356
Buxton, T. FoweE.u

Woodcock’s nest in Norfolk, 6562
Cuapman, T.

Reason for the specific name of Sphinx
Convolvuli, 6337

Criark, THomas

Black swan in Somersetshire, 6379 ;
Capture of Deilephila Galii, 6503 ;
Live toads underneath a bed of clay,
6537, 6565 ; A robin’s nest in a
gardener’s pouch, Dates of the
arrival of migratory birds, 6603

Cooxe, H.

Sophronia emortualis near Brighton,

6385
Coucn, JonatTuan, F.L.S.

Birds’ nests: Nests of the green wood-
pecker and nuthatch, 6327; Nidi-
fication of birds—the common mar-
tin, 6535

Coucn, R. Q., M.R.C.S., &c.

The Derbio in Mount’s Bay, 6333,
Black fish in Mount’s Bay, Cor-
rection of an error, 6335

Crewe, Rev. H. Harpur, M.A.

Food-plant of Sphinx Convolvuli,

Food-plant of the genus Acronycta,

6382; Larva of Heliothis marginata,
Larva of Teniocampa cruda, Larva
of Orthosia Upsilon, 6383 ; Larva of
Anchoscelis pistacina, 6384 ; Food-
plant of Acronycta Ligustri, Note on
Tephrosia crepuscularia and T. lari-
caria, 6462; Description of the larva
of Eupithecia assimilata, 6579 ; De-
scription of the larva of E. Haworth-
iata, 6609; Description of the larva
of E. innotata, 6610 ; Description
of the larva of E. coronata, 6639 ;
Description of the larva of E. veno-
sata, 6640 ; Description of the larva
of E. pimpinellata, 6694; Descrip-
tion of the larva of E. vulgata, 6695 ;
Description of the larva of E. absin-
thiata, 6734 ; Description of the
larva of E. denotata, Mr. Gregson’s
criticism on the description of the
larva of E. assimilata, 6735; De-
scription of the larva of EK. subnotata,
6769 ; Additional remarks on the
Jarva of E. innotata, Description of
the larva of E. centaureata, 6770 ;
Description of the larva of E. sobri-
nata, Description of the larva of E.
exiguata, 6759; Additional remarks
on the larva of E. assimilata, De-
scription of the dorsally blotched
larva of E. assimilata, 6790

Crewe, Rev. Henry R., M.A.

Peregrine falcon in Derbyshire, 6779
CrotcyH, G. R.
Is Micra parva double-brooded ? 6385

Crorcu, W. D. ’

Capture of Noctua flammatra in the

Isle of Wight, 6694
Curriz, FREDERICK
Sand grouse in Norfolk, 6764
Dix, THomas
Note on the turnip nigger. 6348
Dovueuas, J. W.

Notes on the food of Sphinx Convol-
vuli, Crymodes exulis a British spe-
cies (translated from the ‘ Stettiner
Entomologische Zeitung’), 6339 ;
The hatching of a larva of a Chry-
sopa, 6792

Drane, RoBertT
Little bittern near Cardiff, 6562 ; The
shower of fishes, 6564
Donn, Rosert
Adult glancous gull in Orkney, 6448
Dutton, Joun

Rock doves at Beachy Head, Pomarine

skua at Birting Gap, 6378
Epteston, R.S.

Observations on the Solenobie of Lan-

cashire, &c., 6462, 6542

Vi

Epwarpb, THomas

Great ashcoloured shrike in Banffshire,
6491; Variety of the common bunt-
ing in Shetland, 6492; A list of
the birds of Banffshire, acompanied
with anecdotes, 6595, 6631, 6665 ;
Plain Bonito in the Moray Firth,
6731

EExEs, Eviza ANNE
Warbling parraquet breeding in Eng-
land, 6638
Fox, C.
Late brood of starlings, 6328
GATCOMBE, JOHN

Rare birds in Devon and Cornwall in

1857 and 1858, 6376
GILBERT, Rosert H.J.

Curious fact in the nidification of spar-

rows, 6535
Gossez, P. H., F.R.S.

Ou Squilla Desmarestii, 6565 ; On the
transfer of Adamsia palliata from
shell to shell, 6580; A sea monster,
6729

Gray, J. E., Ph.D., F.RS.

The shower of fishes, 6540; A new

British snake, 6730
Gray, JoHn HENRY
Hawfinch breeding at Muswell Hill,
6763
GREEN, Rev. C. R.
Heliothis scutosa near Poole, 6694
GREENE, Rev. Josupu, M.A.

Larva of Tseniocampa cruda, Larva of
Orthosia lota, 6383; Larva of Sco-
pelosoma satellitia, Larvae of the
genus Xanthia, 6384; Larva of Co-
remia munitaria, 6542; How to cure
grease in insects, 6692; Xanthia
gilvago, &c., 6734; Mr. Gregson’s
criticism on the description of the
larva of Eupithecia assimilata, 6735 ;
The larva of Eupithecia assimilata,
6791

GreEnE, T. W.
Showers of feathers, 6442, 6763
Gregson, C.S.

Specific names: food of the genus
Acronycta, 6338; The genus Opo-
rabia, 6347 ; Appeal on behalf of
Mr. Jethro Tinker, 6505; Note on
the larva of Eupithecia assimilata,
6695 ; Reply to Mr. Crewe’s note on
the larva of Enpithecia assimilata,
6790

GrirFitH, Rev. Joun

Shower of fishes in the Valley of Aber-

dare, 6493
Gurney, J. H., M.P.
Note on the parasitic grubs found in

vu

the brain of the harte-beest and the
gnu, 6640
Gorney, SamvuEt, M.P.

Swallows in November, 6328 ; Black

swans breeding at Carshalton, 6330
Guyon, GEORGE

Familiarity of shannies, Quivering
movement of the first dorsal fin in
the five-bearded rockling, The
moulting of Crustacea, 6764

HapFiELp, Capt. HEnRy

Birds of Canada observed near King-
ston during the spring of 1858, 6701,
6744 ; Birds of Canada observed
near Kingston during the latter part
of the summer and in the autumn of
1857, 6781

Haroine, H. J.
Food-plant of Lycena Agestis, 6381
Hawarp, ALFRED
Capture of Emus hirtus in the Isle of
Sheppey, 6737

Haywarop, W. H.

Larva of Sphinx Convolvuli, 6788
HENsMAN, ARTHUR

Late Swallows, 6492
Hiceins, Epmunp THomas

A word on Otolithes, 6381
Hosson, Lieut. J uL1an

Sound produced by the larva of Ache-

rontia Atropos, 6337

Hopekxin, Tuomas, M.D.
Colouring of the eggs of birds, 6380

Howtpsworrh, E. W. H.

Thalassema Neptuni and a new species
of Zoanthus in Torbay, 6349; Note
on Zoanthus, 6389; How does the
wolf drink ? 6594

Horne, CuarLes
Spider and wasp, 6732
Hussey, Rev. AntrHur, M.A.
The tendency of species to form
varieties, 6474
Hutton, Lieut. F. Wottaston
On the Southern petrels, 6331, 6379
INcHBALD, PETER

The turnip nigger, 6348 ; Food-plant
of Bryophila perla, 6505 ; Entomo-
logical puzzle, 6579

KENT, Rosert

Little crake and Schintz sandpiper at

Hastings, 6537
Kittinesack, H. W.
Erastria venustula in Epping Forest,
6640
Kine, Epwarp L.
Whales at Lynn, 6367
Knaces, Dr. H. G.

Discovery of Clostera Anachoreta in

England, 6733

Leatuan, W. H., jun.
A hen catching a mouse, 6446
MacLacatan, Rosert

The black rat, 6317 ; Capture of
Hadena peregrina in the Isle of
Wight, 6734

Macuin, WILLIAM

Food-plant of the genus Acronycta,

6462
Marsu, Rev. Grorer S.

Goldenwinged woodpecker in England,
6327; Sea birds found inland, 6492 ;
Three British spotted woodpeckers,
6535

Maruews, Murray A.

Beautiful variety of the partridge,
6329 ; Pomarine skua and other sea
birds, 6330 ; Fulmar petrel in Barn-
staple, 6447 ; Variety of the common
buzzard, 6602 ; Hoopoe near Barn-
staple, 6603 ; Notes on the partridge,
6639 ; Notes on the wood sandpiper
and dunlin, 6728 ; Autumn notes on
birds, 6761; Little bustard near
Oxford, Kare birds driven inland by
the recent great storms, 6780

MatTuHeEws, GErvasE F.

Description of the larva of Ennomos
illustraria, Description of the larva
of Fidonia piniaria, Description of
the larva of Timandra_ imitaria,
Second brood of Zygena Lonicera,
6789

M‘Laren, Quarter-Master Sergeant

Larva of Acherontia Atropos, 6787

MEIKLAM, JOHN
Captures of varieties of Colias Edusa
at Brighton, 6732
Moore, Tuomas Joun
Sand grouse in Wales, 6728
More, A.G., F.I.S.
Remarks upon the migration of birds
6531 ;
Morris, W. H.
Food-plant of Lycena Agestis, 6336
Morris, W. R.
Late swarm of bees, 6348
Movunor, H.

Extract from a letter to Mr. S. Stevens,

6413
Newman, Epwarp, F.L.S., Z.S., &c.

Sophronia emortualis at Brighton,
6347 ; Is the mud-fish a fish or an
amphibian ? 6450 ; Bees roosting by
the mandibular process, 6468; Di-
narda Maerkelii and Heterius ses-
quicornis, 6580 ; Capture of Pieris
Daplidice on the Kent coast, Deile-
phila Galii, A ray of light on the
food-plant of Sphinx Convolyuli,

vill

Another specimen of Sterrha sacraria,
6693 ; Larve or descriptions of larve
earnestly desired, 6695; Friendly
alliance between blackbird and
thrush, 6723 ; Occurrence at Brigh-
ton of Lycena beetica, a butterfly
new to Britain, Colias Edusa and
Sphinx Convolvuli, Description of
the larva of Licamodes ‘Testudo,
6732 ; Larva of Notodonta dicte-
oides, 6770; Larva of Sphinx Con-
volvuli, Sterrha sacraria at Croydon,
6789 ; Heliothis armigera at sugar
and ivy, Diachromus germanus at
Hastings, 6791 ; Quedius auricomus
at Paisley, 6792

Newnay, Col. H. W.

Bats flying in the sunshine, 6317; A
late swarm of bees — artificial
swarm: are the combs hexagonal
or not? 6388, 6504; Instinct of
birds, 6491 ; Dates of the arrival of
migratory birds, 6563; Notes on
wasps, 6696 ; Disappearance of
swallows and martins, 6779

Newton, Aurrep, M.A,, F.LS.

Naturalization of the edible frog in
England, 6538; Pallas’s sand grouse
in Jutland, 6780

Newron, Epwarp
Correction of previous error respecting
the harlequin duck, 6536
Norman, GEORGE
Remarkable earth-worm, 6578
OrmeERopD, Epwarp LarHam, M.D.

Contributions to the Natural History

of the British Vespide, 6641
Ossern, W.

Notes on the birds of Jamaica, 6368 ;
Notes on the bats and birds of
Jamaica, 6587 ; Notes on the moun-
tain birds of Jamaica, 6658, 6709,
6753

ParrittT, Epwarp

An Acarus_ injurious

6461
Picxarp-CamBRinGE, Rev. O., M.A.

Note on a new British woodpecker,
6444; Remarks on Arachnida,
taken chiefly in Dorsetshire and
Hampshire, 6493; Phycis contu-
bernella in Dorsetshire, 6791

Power, Joun Arruur, M.D., F.R.G:S.
Capture of Polystichus fascivlatus in
Sussex, 6791
Reapine, J. J.
The Jay a bird of prey, 6443
Roserts, ALFRED

Kite, hoopoe and golden oriole shot

near Scarborough, 6561

to Orchids,

Ropp, Epwarp HEARLE
Tree sparrow at. Penzance, 6329 ;
Little bustard near Padstow, Birds
singing at night, 6446; Golden
oriole near the Land’s End, 6561 ;
Montagu’s harrier, 6722
Rocers, HENRY
Abundance of Colias Edusa in 1858,
6335 ; Snow bunting in the Isle of
Wight, 6780 ; Larva of Sphinx Con-
volvuli, 6788
Ross, Rev. JoHN
The mode by which the Pholas bores,
6541
Row ey, George Dawson
Parrot crossbill near Brighton, 6329 ;
Pomarine skua near Brighton,
Sabine’s gull at Brighton, 6331 ;
Black swan on the South coast,
6447
Savixxe, S. P.
Hoopoe near Cambridge, 6562; A
monster pike, 6564
Seaty, A. F.
Baillon’s crake, and its nesting in Eng-
land, 6329
Sraney, W. H.
Buff-coloured rabbits, 6560; Hoopoe
near Shrewsbury, 6561
Smit, Rev. Atrrep Cuarces, M.A.
On hereditary tricks in animals,
6673
SmitrH, FREDERICK
On the propriety of including imported
species in the list of British insects,
6385 ; Topsell’s ‘ History of the
Wasp, 6465; Note on Xylocopa
nigrita, 6468 ; Observations on two
species of fossorial Hymenoptera
which construct exterior nests, 6471 ;
Observations on the species of the
genus Prosopis of Fabricius, be-
longing to the family Andrenide,
with notes on the economy of P.
dilatatus, 6610 ; Note on the cuckoo,
6676
Situ, W. H.
Gastropacha ilicifolia, 6693
SmurRTHWAITE, HENRY
Curious situation for a dipper’s nest,
6561 ; Suggestion as to the eggs
mentioned by the Rev. J. C. Atkin-
son (Zool. 6563), 6638
SPENCER, J. B.
Ants store the
6697
Srarnton, H. T.
Discovery of a new Nepticula, 6385 ;
Observations on Butalis grandi-
pennis, 6463

seeds of violets,

Stevenson, H.

Goshawk in Norfolk, 6325; Notices
of ornithological occurrences in
Norfolk in October and November
(1858), 6326 ; Goshawk in Suffolk,
6443 ; Longtailed duck on the Nor-
folk coast, 6447; Paget’s pochard,
for the second time, in Norfolk,
6536; Dartford warbler in Norfolk,
6537 ; Ornithological notes for May
and June, Woodchat shrike and
ortolan bunting in Norfolk and Suf-
folk, Unusual number of Hoopoes
and ring ouzels in Norfolk and Suf-
folk, 6602; Peregrine falcon killed
by the telegraph wires, Variety of
the common nightjar, 6779; Red-
necked phalarope, redthroated diver
and merlin in Norfolk and Suffolk,
6780

Stewart, R. M.

A new British Noctua—Leucania pu-

trescens, 6733
SwinnHog, Rosert

Description of the small Chinese lark,
6723 ; Note on the paper on bovine
animals, 6777

Syme, J. T., F.LS.
Larve of Sphinx Convolvuli, 6788
THomrson, WILLIAM

Eagle in Dorsetshire, 6325 ; Bohemian

waxwing at Weymouth, 6326
Tompkins, H.

Psyche roboricolella, Psyche salicolella
and Psyche tabulella in Britain,
6464

1x

Tristram, Rev. H. B.
Hobby iu the Fern Isiands, 6602
Turner, Rev. WILLIAM
Extraordinary situation for a cuckoo’s
egg, 6562
Twiyy, G. R.
Singular sparrow’s nest, 6638
TYLDEN, the late Col., R.E.
Larva of a Carab, Painting of
animals by the Bushmen, 6737

Van Lennep, J. H.

Another sea-serpent, 6492
VaucGuan, P. H.

Habits of Nepticula argyropezella,6543
WaLkKEr, ALFRED O.

A beautiful gurnard, 6540
Watuace, A. R.

Extracts frum a letter to Mr. S. Stevens,
6409 ; Remarks on _ enlarged
coloured figures of insects, 6617

Wutre, Apam

Entomology of the Cape of Good

Hope, 6471
WILKINSON, THOMAS
Capture of Catocala Fraxini at Scar-
borough, 6770
Witson, Joun C.,
Rare birds near Worthing, 6604
WoLLey, JoHN
Is the edible frog a true native of Bri-
tain ? 6606
Woop, C.
Hoopoe at Dulwich, 6562
Wrartis.Law, Rev. A. H.
Capture of Sesia Chrysidiformis
near Folkstone, 6732

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF SUBJECTS.

Acatus injurious to orchids, 6461
Acarus Orchidarum, zd.
Accentor, alpine, 6377
Acherontia Atropos, sound produced by
the larva of, 6337 ; breeding of, 6356;
larve of, 6787
Acronycta, food of the genus, 6338, 6382,
6462
Acronycta Ligustri, food-plant of, 6462
Adamsia palliata, on the transfer of from
shell to shell, 6580
Agelenide, 6498
Agnia fasciata, 6470
Agrotis precox, 6503
Alauda alpestris, 6706
» arborea, 6596
» «arvensis, 2d.
» celivox, 6724
» Magna, 6706
Alcedo alcyon, zd.
Ampelis americana, 6701
Anas albecola, 6749
» americana, 6706
» canadensis, 6704
» Marila, 6706
», obscura, 6749
» sponsa, 6706
Anchoscelis pistacina, larva of, 6384
Andrenide, 6610
Animal possessions of the Egyptians,
6394
Animals, bovine, notice of the various
species of, 6360, 6414, 6475, 6506,
6547, 6700; addendum to to the paper
on, 6700 ; note on the paper on,
6777 ; paintings of by the bushmen,
6737
Animals, hereditary tricks in, 6673
Anser ferus, 6376
Anthus arboreus, 6596
» obscurus, zd.
»» pratensis, zd.
>, ..deicardi, ¢d.
Ants store the seeds of violets, 6697
Aplecta occulta, 6772
Arachnida, remarks on, taken chiefly in
Dorsetshire and Hampshire, 6493
Ardea miner, 6749

Bats flying in the sunshine, 6317 ; of
Jamaica, 6587

Bee-eater, 6672

Bees, late swarm of, 6348, 6388 ; roosting
by the mandibular process, 6468 ;
drinking from a chalybeate spring,
6773

Birchall, Henry, extracts from the cor-
respondence of, 6403

Bird, cedar, 6701 ; cat, 6747, 6784 ;
king, 6747 ; humming, 6748, 6784

Bird’s nest, inquiry respecting a, 6563

Birds, sea, 6330; of Jamaica, notes on
the, 6368 ; rare, in Devon and Corn;
wall, 6376; rare, near Carlisle, 6378
colouring of the eggs of, 6380 ; mostly
akin to English, 6396; of Soudan,
sketch of the, 6397; singing at night,
6446 ; instinct of, 6491; sea, found
inland, 6492; remarks upon the mi-
gration of, 6531; nidification of, 6535 ;
migratory, arrival of, 6563, 6603 ; of
Jamaica, 6587; of Banffshire, 6595,
6631, 6665 ; rare, near Worthing,
6604 ; mountain, of Jamaica, 6658,
6709, 6753 ; of Canada observed near
Kingston during the spring of 1858,
6701, 6744; autumn notes on, 6761 ;
rare, driven inland by the recent great
storms, 6780; of Canada, observed
near Kingston during the latter part
of the summer and in the autumn of
1857, 6781

Bittern, little, near Cardiff, 6562 ;
American, 6749

Blackbird and thrush, friendly alliance
between, 6722

Bluebird, 6704

Bombycilla garrula, 6378

Bones, fossil, in Philadelphia, 6448

Bonito, plain, in the Moray Firth,

6731

Brambling, 6598

Bromfield, the late William Arnold, ex-
tracts from the letters of, 6393

Bryophila perla, food-plant of, 6505

Buffalo, water, 6399

Bullfinch, 6601

Bunting, common, variety of in Shetland,
6492 ; snow, 6597 ; common, id.;
blackheaded, zd.; cirl, 6598; ortolan,
in Norfolk and Suffolk, 6602 ; white-
crowned, 6746 ; rice, 6749; snow, in
the Isle of Wight, 6780

Bushmen, paintings of animals by, 6737

Bustard, little, near Padstow, 6446; near
Oxford, 6780

Butalis grandipennis, observations on,
6463

Buzzard, common, variety of, 6602

Caprimulgus americanus, 6784

Carab, larva of a, 6737

Catocala Fraxini, capture of at Scar-
borough, 6770

Catoxantha (? Demochroa) carinata,
6615

Cattle of Nubia, 6399 ; of Egypt and
Nubia, 6700

Certhia familiaris, 6671

» Mmaculata, 6704

Chaffinch, 6598

Chatterer, Bohemian, 6378

Chrysopa, hatching of the larva of, 6792

Ciniflonide, 6498

Clostera Anachoreta, discovery of in
England, 6733, 6772

Coccyx splendidulana, 6620

Colias Edusa, abundance of in 1858,
6335 ; captures of varieties of at Brigh-
ton, 6732; general appearance of,
id.

Columba znas, 6378

id migratoria, 6703

Colymbus glacialis, 6707

Coracias garrula, 6672

Coremia munitaria, larva of, 6542

Coronella austriaca, capture of at Ring-
wood, 6787

Corticaria borealis in the North of Eng-
land, 6792

Corvus corax, 6631
» cornix, 6633, 6665
» coroue, id., 6706
» frugilegus, 6666
» monedula, 6668
» pica, 6670

Crab and its allies, 6567, 6622, 6676

Crake, Baillon’s, nesting of in England,
6329 ; little, at Hastings, 6537

Creeper, 6671 ; black and white, 6704

Crocodile more fearful than formidable,
6398

Crocodiles in the Nile, 6394

Crossbill, 6378, 6631 ; parrot, 6329,
6631; whitewinged, 6631 ; American,
6705

Crow, carrion, 6633, 6665, 6706 ; hooded,
6633, 6665

Xt

Crustacea, the moulting of, 6764

Crymodes exulis a_ British
6339

Cuckoo, egg of, extraordinary situation
for, 6562 ; note on, 6676

Cuculus canorus, 6672

Cultivation of the Valley uf the Nile,
6396

Deilephila Galii, 6503, 6693

Derbio in Mount’s Bay, 6333 -

Diachromus germanus at Hastings,
6791

Dinarda Maerkelii, 6580

Diplodoma marginipunctella, 6772

Dipper, curious situation for a nest of,
6561

Diver, great northern, 6707 ; redthroated,
in Norfolk and Suffolk, 6780

Dobchick, piedbilled, 6749

Dove, stuck, 6378

Doves, rock, at Beachy Head, 6378

Drasside, 6497

Duck, longtailed, on the Norfolk coast,
6447 ; harlequin, correction of an error
respecting (Zvol. 3331), 6536; scaup,
6706 ; wood, id.; buffelheaded, 6749 ;
dusky, zd.

Dunlin, note on, 6728

Dysderide, 6501

Eagle in Dorsetshire, 6325

Earth- worm, remarkable, 6578

Egg, cuckoo’s, extraordinary situation
for, 6562

Eggs of birds, colouring of, 6380 ; men-
tioned by the Rev. J. C. Atkinson
(Zool. 6563), suggestion as to, 6638 ;
the doubtful, 6675

Emberiza cirlus, 6598

species,

- citrinella, 6597
. leucophrys, 6746
‘, miliaria, 6597

ee nivalis, zd.

aa oryzivora, 6749
~ scheniclus, 6597
Emmelesia Taniata, 6772
Emus hirtus, capture of in the Isle of
Sheppey, 6737
Ennomos illustraria, description of the
larva of, 6788
Entomological puzzle, 6579
Entomological Society, proceedings of,
6349, 6390, 6468, 6543, 6613, 6656,
6698, 6771
Entomology of the Cape of Good Hope,
6473
Epeiride, 6500
Erastria venustula in Epping Forest,
6640
Eupithecia absinthiata, description of the
larva of, 6734

xil

Eupithecia assimilata, description of the
larva of, 6579; note on the larva of
6695 ; notes on Mr. Gregson’s criticism
on, 6735 ; additional remarks on the
larva of, 6790, 6791 ; description of
the dorsally blotched larva of, id. ;
reply to Mr. Crewe’s note on the larva
of, zd.

ae centaureata, description of the
larva of, 6770

$ coronata, description of the

larva of, 6639

My denotata, description of the
larva of, 6735
rs exiguata, description of the

larva of, 6789
z Haworthiata, description of
the larva of, 6609
rH innotata, description of the
larva of, 6610; additional remarks on,
6770
pimpinellata, description of
the larva of, 6664
3 sobrinata, description of the
larva of, 6789
‘3 subnotata, description of the
larva of, 6769
es tenuiata, 6772
o venosata, description of the
larva of, 6640
x vulgata, description of the
larva of, 6695
Falco cineraceus, 6722
» niger, 6704
Falcon, peregrine, in Derbyshire, 6779 ;
killed by the telegraph-wires, id.
Feathers, showers of, 6442, 6675, 6763
Fidonia piniaria, description of the larva
of, 6789
Finch, purple, 6705
Fish, black, in Mounts Bay, 6335 ;
shower of, in the Valley of Aberdare,
6493, 6540, 6564
Flycatcher, peewee, 6704 ; redeyed, 6747 ;
tyrant, 7d. ; wood peewee, 6785
Food of Lycena Agestis, 6336; 6381;
of Sphinx Convolvuli, 6337, 6382,
6693 ; of the genus Acronycta, 6338,
6382, 6462; of Acronycta Ligustii,
6462 ; of Bryophila perla, 6505
Fossil bones in Philadelphia, 6448
Fringilla borealis, 6600
Pe cannabina, id.
3 carduelis, 6599
“ chloris, 6598

ss cuccothraustes, 6599
5 celebs, 6598

s domestica, id.

if linaria, 6600

4 melodia, 6702, 6783

Fringilla montana, 6598
‘ montifringilla, id.
nt montium, 6600
4 nivalis, 6704
FS psaltria, 6702
ds purpurea, 6705
g pusilla, 6707
. Savanna, 6708
s spinus, 6599
6 tristis, 6704, 6784
Frog, edible, naturalization of in Eng-
land, 6538 ; long a native of Foulmire
Fens, 6565 ; is it a true native of Bri-
tain? 6606
Galleode, 6399
Gaour, gigantic, bull-calf of shipped for
England, 6441
Gastropacha ilicifolia, 6693
Gnat, larve of the, 6775
Gnu, parasitic grubs found in the brain
of, 6640
Goldfinch, 6599, 6704, 6784
Goose, gray lag, 6376 ; Canada, 6704
Goshawk in Norfolk, 6325; in Suffolk,
6443
Grackle, rusty, 6703
Greenfinch, 6598
Grouse, sand, in Wales, 6728; in Nor-
folk ; 6764; Pallas’s sand, in Jutland,
6780
Gull, Sabine’s, at Brighton, 6331; little,
6377; glaucous, in Orkney, 6448
Gurnard, a beautiful, 6540
Hadena (?) exulis, 6340
»» | peregrina, capture of in the Isle
of Wight, 6734
Harrier, Montagu’s, 6722
Harte-beest, parasitic grubs found in the
brain of, 6640
Hawfinch, 6599; at Selborne, 6729;
breeding at Muswell Hill, 6763
Hawk, black, 6704; American night,
6784
Heliothis armigera at sugar, ivy, &c.,
6791 ‘hs
“a marginata, note on the habits
of, 6338 ; larva of, 6383
ad scutusa near Poole, 6694
Hen catcbing a mouse, 6146
Heterius sesquicornis, 6580
Hippopotami seen above Berber, 6398
Hirundo americana, 6705, 6785
£ lunifrons, 6747
"A pelasgia, 6708
s purpurea, 6707
i. riparia, 6747
4 viridis, 6706, 6785
Hobby in the Fern Islands, 6602
Hoopoe near Scarborough, 6561; near
Shrewsbury, id. ; near Cambridge,

Xi

6562 ; at Dulwich, id.; near Barn-
staple, 6603; in Banffshire, 6672

Hoopoes, unusual number of in Norfolk
and Suffolk, 6602

Hornsea, Yorkshire,
6697

Hymenoptera, fossorial, observations on
two species of which construct exterior
nests, 6471

Icterus baltimorus, 6746
9» predatorius, 6705

Insects, British, on the propriety of in-
cluding imported species in the list of,
6385 ; remarks on enlarged coloured
figures of, 6617 ; how to cure grease in,
6692

Jackdaw, 6668

Jay a bird of prey, 6443

Killarney, a week at, 6765

King fisher, belted, 6706

Kite near Scarborough, 6561 ; flying over
London, 6676

J.anius excubitor, 6378, 6702

Lark, sky, 6596; wood, id.; meadow,
6706; shore, id.; small Chinese, de-
scription of, 6723

Larus minutus, 6377

Larva of Acherontia Atropos, sound pro-
duced by, 6337; of Heliothis mar-
ginata, 6383; of Teniocampa cruda,
ad.; of Orthosia lota, id.; of Orthosia
Upsilon, zd. ; of Anchoscelis pistacina,
6384 ; of Scopelosoma satellitia, zd. ;
of Coremia munitaria, 6542; of Eupi-
thecia assimilata, 6579, 6695, 6735,
6790, 6791; of E. Haworthiata, 6609 ;
of E. innotata,6610,6770; of E. coro-
nata, 6639; of E. venosata, 6640; of
E. pimpinellata, 6694; of E. vulgata,
6695 ; of Limacodes Testudo, 6732; of
Eupithecia absinthiata, 6734 ; of E. de-
notata, 6735; of a Carab, 6737; of
Eupithecia subnotata, 6769 ; of E. cen-
taureata, 6770; of Notodonta dicte-
oides, id. ; of Sphinx Convolvuli, 6788 ;
of Ennomos illustraria, 6789; of Fi-
donia piniaria, td.; of Timandra imi-
taria,zd.; of Eupithecia sobrinata, id. ;
of E. exiguata, 7d.; of a Chrysopa,
6792

Larve of the genus Xanthia, 6384; or
descriptions of, earnestly desired,
6695 ; of the gnat, 6775; of Acherontia
Atropos, 6787; of Sphinx Convolvuli,
6788

Latridius nodifer in the North of Eng-
land, 6792

Leptogramma
6355

Leucania putrescens, 6733

a fortnight at,

parisiana? (Boscana ?),

Lichia glaucus, 6333
Limacodes Testudo, description of the
larva of, 6732
Linnet, 6600
Linyphiide, 6499
Loxia curvirostra, 6378, 6631, 6705
» leucoptera, 6631
9) pityopsittacus, zd.
» pyrrbula, 6601
Lycena Agestis, food-plant of, 6336,
6381
» beetica,a butterfly new to Britain,
6732
Lycoside, 6494
Magpie, 6670
Mandibular process, bees roosting by the,
6468
Martin, common, nidification of, 6535;
purple, 6707; sand, 6747
Martins, disappearance of, 6779
Melanippe fluctuata, 6772
Merganser, hooded, 6749
Merlin in Norfolk and Suffolk, 6780
Merops apiaster, 6672
Micra parva, is it double-brooded ? 6385
Monohammus Grayii, 6470
Monster, a sea, 6729
Motacilla boarula, 6595
campestris, zd.
‘5 Yarrellii, id.
Mouhot, M., extract from a letter of,
6413
Mouse, hen catching a, 6446
Mud-fish, is it a fish or an amphibian?
6450
Mus rattus, piebald specimen of near
Carlisle, 6442
Muscicapa nunciolo, 6704
< olivacea, 6747
8 rapax, 6785
se tyrannus, 6747
Mygalide, 6494
Nepticula, discovery of a new, 6385
Nepticula argyropezella, habits of, 6543
Nest of green woodpecker, 6327; of nut-
hatch, zd.; of Baillon’s crake, 6329 ;
of dipper, 6561; of woodcock, 6562;
a bird’s, inquiry respecting, 6563; of
robin in a gardener’s pouch, 6603; of
sparrow, singular, 6638
Nidification of sparrows, 6535; of the
common martin, zd.
Nigger, turnip, notes on, 6348
Nightjar, common, variety of, 6779
Noctua, a new British, 6733
Noctua fammatra, capture of in the Isle
of Wight, 6695
Nonagria concolor, 6772
Northern Entomological Svuciety, pyro-
ceedings of, 6354

Notiophilus substriatus, capture of in the
North of Scotland and in Cumberland,
6389

Notodonta dictzoides, larva of, 6770

Numenius phzopus, 6378

Nuthatch, nest of, 6327; Carolina, 6708;
redbellied blackcapped, 6709; Canada,
6744

Oporabia, the genus, 6347

Orchids, an Acarus injurious to, 6461

Oriole, golden, near the Land’s End,
6561; shot near Scarborough, 7d. ;
Baltimore, 6746

Ornithological occurrences in Norfolk in
October and November (1858), 6326;
notes for May and June, 6602

Orthosia lota, larva of, 6383

» Upsilon, larva of, zd.

Otolithes, a word on, 6381

Ouzel, ring, unusual number of in Nor-
folk and Suffolk, 6602

Owl, snowy, 6702; great horned, 6748 ;
longeared, note on the habits of,
6752

Papilio (Ulysses, var.) Ulyssinus, 6657

Parraquet, warbling, breeding in Eng-
land, 6638

Partridge, beautiful variety of, 6329;
notes on, 6639

Parus atricapilla, 6705

Pastor, rosecoloured, 6631

Petrel, fulmar, in Barnstaple, 6447

Petrels, southern, 6331, 6379

Phalarope, gray, 6377; rednecked, in
Norfolk and Suffolk, 6780

Phalaropus lobatus, 6377

Pholas, the mode by which it bores,
6541

Phycis
6791

Picus auratus, 6705
» erythrocephalus, 6782
» Major, 6670
» minor, 6671
» varius, 6705

Pieris Daplidice, capture of on the Kent-
ish coast, 6693

Pigeon, migratory, 6703

Pike, a monster, 6564

Pipit, tree, 6596 ; meadow, zd. ; rock, zd. ;
Richard’s, zd.

Platalea leucorodia, 6377

Pochard, Paget's, for the second time in
Norfolk, 6536

Podiceps carolinensis, 6749

Polystichus fasciolatus, capture of in
Sussex, 6791

Prosopis, observations on the species of
the genus, 6610

contubernella in Dorsetshire,

XIV

Prosopis dilatatus, notes on the economy
of, zd.
Psyche roboricolella in Britain, 6464
, salicolella in Britain, id.
, tabulella in Britain, id.
Quedius auricomus, English habitat for,
6389 ; at Paisley, 6792
Rabbits, buff-coloured, 6560
Raphidia ? 6620
Rat, black, 6317
Raven, 6631
Reason and instinct, 6314, 6429, 6485,
6522, 6585
Redpole, lesser, 6600; mealy, zd.
Regulus calendula, 6706
» _ cristatus, zd.
Robin, 6704, 6781
Robin, nest of in a gardeney’s pouch
6603
Rockling, five-bearded, quivering move-
ment of the first dorsal fin in,
6764
Roller, 6672
Rook, 6666
Salticide, 6495
Sandpiper, Schintz, at Hastings, 6537;
wood, note on, 6728; spotted, 6786
Scolopax gallinago, 6705
» Major, 6377
» Minor, 6746
Scopelosoma satellitia, larva of, 6384
Scorpion sting, effects of, 6397
Scraps from the Far West, 6318, 6373
Sea monster, 6729
Serpent charms witnessed and vindicated,
6400
Serpent, sea, 6492
Sesia Chrysidiformis, capture of near
Folkstone, 6732
Shannies, familiarity of, 6764
Shrike, great gray, 6378; ash-coloured,
in Banffshire, 6491 ; woodchat, in Nor-
folk and Suffolk, 6602; American,
6702
Simaethis vibrana, 6772
Siskin, 6599; American, 6702
Sitaris humeralis, observations on, 6775
Sitta carolinensis, 6708
5 varia, 6709
Skna, pomarine, 6330; near Brighton,
6331; at Birting Gap, 6378
Snake, swimming, 6402; new? British,
6730, 6787
Snipe, great, 6377; American, 6705
Snowbird, 6704
Solenobize of Lancashire, observations on
the, 6462, 6542
Sophronia emortualis at Brighton, 6347 ;
near Brighton, 6385

XV

Sparrow, tree, at Penzance, 6329; tree,
6598; house, zd.; singular nest of,
6638 ; song, 6702, 6783; field, 6707;
Savannah, 6708

Sparrows, nidification of, 6535

Species, tendency of to form varieties,
6357, 6474 ; imported, on the propriety
of including in the list of British in-
sects, 6385

Specific names, 6337, 6338

Sphinx Convolvuli, notes on the food of,
6337, 6382; reason for the specific
name of, 6337; a ray of light on the
food-plant of, 6695; general appear-
ance of, 6732; larve of, 6788

Spider, scorpion, 6399; and _ wasp,
6732

Spoonbill, 6377
Squilla Desmarestii, 6565
Starling, 6631; redwinged, 6705
Starlings, late brood of, 6328
Sterna Hirundo, 6747
» higra, 6378
Sterrha sacraria, another specimen of,
6693 ; at Croydon, 6789
Strix nyctea, 6702
» Virginiana, 6748
Strophosomus limbatus feeding on Rho-
dodendrons, 6772
Sturnus vulgaris, 6631
Swallow, barn, 6705, 6785; green or
whitebellied, 6706, 6785; chimney,
6708; Canada or _ whitefronted,
6747
Swallows, in November, 6328 ; late, 6492 ;
disappearance of, 6779
Swans, black, breeding at Carshalton,
6330; occurrence of in Somersetshire,
6379; on the South coast, 6447
Sylvia Blackburnie, 6748
» canadensis, 6746
» Citrinella, 6745, 6784
»» pennsylvanica, 6747
» pusilla, 6746
» Sialis, 6704
» troglodytes, 6749
Teniocampa cruda, larva of, 6383
Tanager, scarlet, 6748
Tephrosia crepuscularia, note on, 6462
ey laricaria, note on, 6462
Tern, black, 6378 ; great, 6747
Thalassema Neptuni in Torbay, 6349
Theridiide, 6499
Thomiside, 6495
Thrush, ferruginous, 6746 ; wood, id.
Thrush and blackbird, friendly alliance
between, 6722
Tiger “ Jungla” shipped for England,
6441

Timandra imitaria, description of the
larva of, 6789
Tinker, Mr. Jethro, appeal on behalf of,
6505
Titmouse, blackcapped, 6705
Toads, live, underneath a bed of clay,
6537, 6565 |
Topsell’s ‘ History of the Wasp, 6465
Tringa macularia, 6786
Trinodes hirtus, 6620
Trochilus colubris, 6748, 6784
Troglodytes europeus, 6671
Turdus lividus, 6747, 6784
» melodus, 6746
» migratorius, 6704, 6781
» rufus, 6746
Twite, 6600
Upupa epops, 6672
Vanessa Antiopa at Torquay, 6461
Variety of the partridge, 6329; of the
common bunting, 6492; of the com-
mon buzzard, 6602; of common night-
jar, 6779
Varieties uf Heliothis marginata, 6339 ;
of Colias Edusa, 6732
Varieties, tendency of species to form,
6357, 6474
Vermin annoyances, 6402
Vespa arborea, capture of in Cumberland,
5792
Vespide, British, contributions to the
Natural History of, 6641
Violets, ants store the seeds of, 6697
Wagtail, pied, 6595; gray, id.; Ray’s,
id

Wallace, A. R., extracts from a letter of,
6409

Warbler, Dartford, in Norfolk, 6537 ;
blueeyed yellow, 6745, 6784; blue
yellowback, 6746 ; blackthroated blue,
ad. ; chestnutsided, 6647; Blackburn-
ian, 6748

Wasp, Topsell’s History of the, 6465 ;
and spider, 6732

Wasps, notes on, 6696

Waxwing, Bohemian, at Weymouth,
6326

Whales at Lynn, 6367; in the Indian
Seas, 6777

Whimbrel, 6378

Wigeon, American, 6706

Wolf, how does it drink? 6594

Woodcock, nest of in Norfolk, 6562 ;
American, 6746

Woodpecker, goldenwinged, in England,
6327; green, nest of, zd. ; new British,
6444; greater spotted, 6670; lesser
spotted, 6671; yellowbellied, 6705;
goldwinged, id.; redheaded, 6782

XV1

Woodpeckers, spotted, three British, Yellowhammer, 6597

6535 York Entomological Society, 6392
Wren, 6671; goldencrested, 6706; ruby- Yunx torquilla, 6471

crowned, id. ; winter, 6749 Zoanthus, new species of in Torbay,
Wryneck, 6671 6349; note on, 6389
Xanthia, larve of the genus, 6384 Zoology and vegetation of the Nile, 6396
Xanthia gilvago, 6734 Zovlogy of the Andaman Islands, 6738

» _ ocellaris , 6503 Zygena Lonicere, second brood of,

Xylocopa nigrita, note on, 7468 6789

The ‘Zoorocisr’ will be continued both as a Monthly and an Annnal
Publication. As a Monthly, it will contain about forty pages of letter-press,
occasionally accompanied with illustrations engraved on wood; will be on
sale two days before the end of every month; and will be charged One Shilling.
As an Annual, it will be sold on or about the 1st of December ; will contain
twelve Monthly Numbers, bound and lettered uniformly with the present
Volume; and will be charged Thirteen Shillings. An Alphabetical List, both
of Contributors and Contents, will be published once in the year.

THE ZOOLOGIST

FOR 1859.

Reason and Instinct. By the Rev. J. C. Atkinson, M.A.

Ir now we turn to investigate the phenomena which bear upon our
last position we shall find ourselves not without a series of facts on
which to form a judgment, but still with a series comprising fewer and
less closely connected facts than we shall desire.

We have, on the one side, the example of the white man, who, for-
saking many of the peculiarities and extricating himself from the action
of many of the influences of civilized life, assumes the habits and
undergoes the vicissitudes, physical and psychical, of savage life. I
refer to the professional hunters, the trappers, voyageurs, “ mountain
men,” of the Far West. “ Wild as savages,” “ Wild and half savage,”
are the descriptive epithets applied to them by one who knew their
class well, and had spent no small portion of his adventurous manhood
among them and in the scenes mainly frequented by them.

And, on the other, we have the evidence afforded by the condition
of those wretched human creatures who are known to have fallen lower
and lower in the grades of humanity ; in other words, to have lapsed
to the very lowest depths of barbarous or savage life: I mean the
Bushmen of South Africa, the Diggers or Yamparicas of Western
America, and the like. Both the tribes named—if indeed they can be
with propriety styled tribes at all—present many of the characteristics
of the lower animals, and but very few of the ennobling distinctions of
humanity, and even those few shining with a miserably obscured
light.

As to the psychical condition of the Bushmen, I must be content to
repeat part of a description already given (Zool. 5584) of their habits
and condition, physical and psychical. “No picture of human
degradation and wretchedness can be drawn which exceeds the real

XVII. B

6314 Reason and Instinct.

abasement and misery of the Bushmen, as we find it displayed by the
most accurate writers who describe this people without houses or even
huts, living in caves and holes of the earth. These naked and half-
starved savages wander through the forests in small companies or
separate families, hardly supporting their comfortless existence by
collecting wild roots, by a toilsome search for the eggs of ants, and by
devouring, whenever they can catch them, lizards, snakes and the most
loathsome insects. It is no matter of surprise that those writers who
search for approximations between mankind and the inferior orders of
creation fix upon the Bushmen as their favourite theme. The desire of
revenge is one of the strongest of their passions ; it urges them to the
most barbarous acts; they commit the most frightful outrages under the
impulse of momentary irritation. Their eagerness for vengeance is so
urgent as to render them indifferent on whom they wreak it, provided
the sufferer be of the same country as the offender.” Add to this, that
where vicinity to the residence of owners of flocks and herds, or the
numerical strength of their hordes permits it, marauding propensities,
quite equal in intensity to those of the lion or the wolf, display them-
selves, and are indulged quite as regardlessly as by either of those
animals, while the poisoned shafts of the Bushmen are more dreaded
by the herdsmen whose cattle are attacked,—as well as more than as
dangerous to them,—than the fangs of the fiercest lion; so that it has
often become necessary for the industrious Griquas or Bechuanas,
whose neighbourhood was infested by some horde of these Lilliputian
savages, to resolve to attack the Bushmen and accomplish their
destruction at whatever cost.

As to the condition of the Digger, precisely parallel to that of the
Bushman, Lieutenant Ruxton will bear testimony. Speaking of a
journey taken by certain persons, he says, “ They came upon a
band of miserable Indians, who, from the fact of their subsisting
chiefly on roots, are called Diggers. A few of these wretched
creatures came into camp at Sundown ; they appeared to have no other
food in their village but bags of dried ants and their larve, and a few
roots of the yampah. ‘Their huts were constructed of a few bushes
of grease-wood piled up as a sort of breakwind in which they huddled
in their filthy skins.” (Far West, p. 102). “ They were now entering,”
he continues, “a country inhabited by the most degraded and abject
of the western tribes, who, nevertheless, ever suffering from the
extremities of hunger, have their brutish wits sharpened by the
necessity of procuring food, and rarely fail to levy a contribution of
ratious, of horse or mule flesh, on the passenger in their inhospitable

Reason and Instinet. 6315

country. ‘The brutish cunning and animal instinct of these wretches
is such, that although arrant cowards, their attacks are more feared
than those of bolder Indians. These people—called the Yampaticas
or Root Diggers—are, nevertheless, the degenerate descendants of
those tribes which once overran that portion of the Continent of North
America now comprehended within the Boundaries of Mexico, and
who have left such startling evidences in their track of a comparatively
superior state of civilization. They now form an outcast tribe of the
great nation of the Apache. The Apaches and the degenerate Diggers
pursue a cowardly warfare, hiding in ambush, and shooting the passer-
by with arrows ; or dashing upon him at night when steeped in sleep,
they bury their arrow to the feather in his breast.”— (Id. ]81).

Such then is the effect of moral and physical retrogression—for
both these tribes, I repeat, are known to have retrograded in the scale
of humanity—upon the human creature. He becomes all but an
inferior animal in his obedience to instinctive impulses, and scarcely
more raised above the brute by any exercise of the higher gifts of
Reason, than are some of the craftier and more intelligent brutes over
the remainder of the great family they belong to. That is the accom-
plished result of the downward movement continued until it seems to
approximate towards completion.

The earlier stages are seen in the accounts given of the class of men
referred to a little above; the class, 1 mean, of ‘“‘ Mountain men ” or
“Trappers.” Here is a description of one of them :—‘“ The last in
height, but the first in every quality which constitutes excellence ina
“‘ Mountaineer,” whether of indomitable courage, or perfect indifference
to death or danger; with an iron frame capable of withstanding hun-
ger, thirst, heat, cold, fatigue and hardships of every kind; of wonderful
presence of mind, and endless resources in times of peril; with the
instinct of an animal and the moral courage of a man.”— (Far West,
235). Again, “The trappers of the Rocky Mountains belong to a
*“‘ genus ’ more approximating to the primitive savage than perhaps
any class of civilized man. ‘Their lives being spent in the remote
wilderness of the mountains, with no other companion than Nature
herself, their habits and character assume a most singular cast of
simplicity mingled with ferocity, appearing to take their colouring from
the scenes and objects which surround them. Knowing no wants
save those of Nature, their sole care is to procure sufficient food to
support life, and the necessary clothing to protect them from the
rigorous climate. When engaged in their avocation, the natural
Instinct of primitive man is ever alive, for the purpose of guarding

6316 Reason and Instinet.

against danger, and the provision of necessary food. Keen observers
of Nature, they rival the beasts of prey in discovering the haunts and
habits of game, and in their skill and eunning in capturing it. Con-
stantly exposed to perils of all kinds, they become callous to any
feeling of danger, and destroy human as well as animal life with as
hittle scruple and as freely as they expose their own. Of laws, human
or Divine, they neither know nor care to know. Their wish is their
law, and to attain it they do not scruple as to ways and means. They
may have good qualities, but they are those of the animal; and people
fond of giving hard names call them revengeful, bloodthirsty, drunkards,
gamblers, regardless of the laws of meum and tuum,—in fact, White
Indians. Their animal qualities, however, are undeniable. Strong,
active, hardy as bears, daring, expert in the use of their weapons, they
are just what uncivilized white man might be suppesed to be in a
brute state, depending upon his Instinct for the support of hfe. During
the hunt the Trapper’s nerves must ever be in a state of tension, and
his mind ever present at his call. His eagle eye sweeps round the
country, and in an instant detects any foreign appearance. A turned
Jeaf, a blade of grass pressed down, the uneasiness of the wild animals,
the flight of birds, are all paragraphs to him written in Nature’s legible
hand and plainest language. All the wits of the subtle savage are
called into play to gain an advantage over the wily woodsman; but
with the natural Instinet of primitive man, the white hunter has the
advantages of a civilised mind, and, thus provided, seldom fails to out-
wit, under equal advantages, the cunning savage.”—(Adventures in
Mexico, 241, 244). And this character, in a variety of delineations of
great force and breadth, and to the general accuracy of which the
writer pledges himself, is shown to be anything but a mere ideal. The
mountain man is seen to be no insufficient match for the Indian in any
of the peculiar qualifications for maintaining a savage existence pos-
sessed by the latter, and even to a degree, often a considerable degree,
acquires the peculiar keenness of vision and intuitive perception of
locality and direction, which, in their full development, are found only
in the savage. Butat the same time, out of that peculiar line in which
their faculties are wontedly exercised, the higher portions of man’s
intellectual nature are as little apparently employed as possessed.
Eager for collision with the Indian, who is instinctively—it may with
the utmost truth be said—regarded as their natural foe; gratifying
their thirst for his blood—if the chances of the contest so permit—
with a savage, inextinguishable lust; planning their attack and
executing it as stealthily and remorselessly as the lion or the bear ; or

Quadrupeds. 6317

prosecuting their object of hunting and trapping as craftily and perti-
naciously, and with as much eagerness and preoccupation as the
savage man or the savage animal; or pairing—for so it can only be
called—with an Indian woman or possibly two, perhaps with their
consent, perhaps after their purchase from some other trapper, perhaps
after a sort of Rape-of-the-Sabines wooing, and then as lightly dis-
solving the brief union by sale or desertion ; or, on revisiting scenes
of life less savage than their wonted one, indulging their animal
passions of sexual lust and drink and gluttony, and fighting at the
least provocation like so many brute beasts and with almost less
restraint ;—they do indeed show what are the steps trodden in the
downward direction from civilized life to uncivilized, and so mainly
tend, no less than the Bushman and the Digger, to support our last
position,—that, if by any chance man treads in a backward order the
steps he has already imprinted in his passage from the uncivilized to
the civilized state, he, at the same time, and as if inevitably, becomes
clothed upon again with some of his instinctive habits and loses some
of the finer functions of Reason: and that, at the same time, it is most
difficult to attempt to define at what point,—or indeed, if at any point,
—this process at length stops short.

J. C. ATKINSON.
Danby Parsonage, Grosmont, York.

The Black Rat (Mus rattus).—This species, usually considered rare and almost
extinct, has occurred in large numbers on board a ship lately arrived from Bombay :
whether they were on board on her departure from England, or whether she became
infested with them at one of the foreign ports, 1 am unable to say; but most of those
caught were of large size, and were probably on board for many months. With them
there were also a few of the common brown species, in the proportion of perhaps one
to three.— Robert M‘Lachlan ; Forest Hill, December 13, 1858.

Bats flying in the Sunshine.—It is not usual for bats to fly about during a bright
sunshine in an afternoon, as described by Mr. Holdsworth (Zool. 6257). I have no
doubt that these bats, described as of a larger size than usual, were only some old
ones which had been disturbed from soine old building or some “ ivy-mantled tower ’
in the neighbourhood, by workmen or other intruders upon their quiet roosting-place.
During the last two summers bats have made their appearance at the church I attend,
much, I fear, to the amusement of some of the juvenile male portion of the congrega-
tion; for many Sundays, as soon as the organ was played, these bats came out from
the belfry, near the organ, and flew about until some of the young ones fell exhausted
into several of the pews of the church.—H. W. Newman.

PS. On looking again at Mr. Holdsworth’s communication I find it is dated the
12th of September; this was an unusually hot and sultry day for the time,—the ther-

6318 Birds.

mometer stood at 76° in the shade in Gloucestershire at 2 P.M., with a dead calm ;
this extraordinary heat might have brought these bats out a couple of hours before
their usual time: two days previously the temperature was ten degrees cooler.

Scraps from the Far West. By Tuomas Buiakisron, Esq.,
Lieut. Royal Artillery.

Fort Carlton, Saskatchewan River,
January 14, 1858.

Dear B——_,,

In a letter to J , Which I suppose you will see,
I have given a description of my journey from Hudson’s Bay to this
out-of-the-way place, which will give you some idea of ‘ Voyages
and Voyaging in the Fur Countries,” the isolated portion of Red
River Settlement, my winter employment, position of Fort Carlton,
what I have done in the way of collecting, and the distance a letter
has to travel to reach England. You will observe that I have entered
into no particulars concerning Ornithology, the reason being that a
mere dry collection of observed facts could not be interesting, and I
refrain at present from drawing any general conclusions until I hare
compared my observations with those of others, which I cannot do
until I have leisurely ran through the ‘ Fauna Boreali-Americana,’ by
Richardson and Swainson, which is the great authority on this country.
However, as you have more knowledge of North-American Ornithology
than myself, and as you may have some opportunities of referring to
works on the same, perhaps the following notes concerning the birds
observed during a boat voyage from Hudson’s Bay to Lake Win-
nipeg and up the Saskatchewan River, in the fall of 1857, may be
interesting.

The first portion of the journey is from York Factory, lat. 57°—
long. 923°, in a general S.W. direction, about 300 miles to the North
end of Lake Winnipeg, in lat. 54°, during the first three weeks of
September. This may be despatched in a few words.

Eagles. Observed on one or two occasions.

Fish Hawk. Often seen.

Hawks. A good many, but none identified.

Belted Kingfisher. Not uncommon.

Shrikes. One, which I take for Lanius borealis, I have preserved.

Turdus migratorius. A few observed.

Warblers. I consider I saw Sylvia awstiva.

Birds. 6319

Wren. One species of Regulus (calendula).

Tits. Parus hudsonicus and P. atricapilla.

Sparrows. Fringilla iliaca, F. pennsylvanica, F. canadensis and
F. hyemalis seen and shit.

Redpole. Considered I saw some flying over.

Bunting. Emberiza Savanna shot at York Factory in August.

Grackles. Quiscalus versicolor sparingly ; Q. ferrugineus common.

Raven. Corvus corax everywhere; but no crows.

Jay. Garrulus canadensis also everywhere.

Woodpecker. Picus arcticus shot, and P. auratus seen.

Pigeon. A couple of stragglers observed.

Grouse. None seen, but plenty of droppings in some places. From
description I have no doubt the ruffed and Canada grouse are found
East of Lake Winnipeg.

Plover. One flight observed.

Sandpipers. Tringa remipalmata shot in Hudson’s Bay; T. ame-
ricana shot in the river; T.vocifera very common from the sea to
Lake Winnipeg at the season.

Geese,—the greater part of which I considered Anser canadensis.
Observed a migration first on the 16th of August. York Factory,
and continually seen along the route.

Ducks. Mallard most common; greenwinged teal, not rare; golden-
eye and buffel-headed ducks were distinguished, and others observed,
among them, | think, were the scaup and wigeon.

Cormorant. A species observed two or three times.

Two species of tern were observed at the mouth of Hayes’ River,
Hudson’s Bay, and oue on Lake Winnipeg.

Loon. Great northern diver not uncommon on the Lakes, but
never seen in rivers.

No birds of the swallow tribe were observed.

All this time I had been travelling over ground that is perpetually
frozen, and at York Factory is found to thaw only to the depth of
three or four feet during summer. Norway House stands just on the
dividing line between perpetually frozen ground and that which
entirely thaws, and this line appears to run from the south of Hudson’s
Bay to the north end of Lake Winnipeg, and in going west tends to
the north.

The second part of my journey, you will see, lies between 53° and
54° N. lat., until Carlton is reached, which is but seven miles south of
the former, and in long. 1063° W.

6320 Birds.

Lake Winnipeg divides two portions of country very different both
in geological formation and external aspect, and having traversed the
densely wooded part of primitive formation, we now enter a region of
“drift,” geologically speaking, under which lies limestone. After
passing the Grand Rapid and Cedar Lake the whole country is nearly
level, and being but little elevated about the river is nearly all swamps,
until you reach above Cumberland House, which you will see marked
on the map.

This is a great rendezvous for wild fowl, and where I was so
astonished at the immense numbers, which I have mentioned in
a letter to J After this you gradually rise, step by step, to
the great “ prairie levels,” the cutting of the river becoming deeper
and deeper, until, at Carlton, you have risen about 400 feet above
Lake Winnipeg. Wood gradually disappears, except along the river,
and here, at some distance from the river, you lose wood altogether,
and in other parts you have only a small growth of poplars and
willows, a tree of the pine family being a rarity.

Now, as you may have a faint idea of the country through which
this river passes, I will commence with the ornithological notes.

From the Autumnal Equinox to October 238.

Eagles. Were occasionally seen during the whole time, but not
identified.

Fish Hawk. Only observed once or twice.

Hawks. 1. A small species was observed, spotted under parts.
2. A large species of supposed buzzard, entirely of an ash-colour,
without the white rump. 38. Supposed hen harrier in adult plumage ;
also one in plumage part ash and part red-brown, with the white
rump. 4. A good-sized dark-coloured species. 5. One, of which I
have a specimen not made out.

I have an account of some mallards and teal chased by a couple of
hawks and our boat, which I noted at the time while the scene was
fresh in my mind, and hope to have the pleasure of reading the same
to you from my note-book, when we meet again. I also observed
the small species mentioned make a swoop at a belted kingfisher,
nearly as large as itself.

Owls. Ihave but twice noted an owl as seen. Having hard work
during the day I was asleep generally during the whole night; but, at
any rate, this open country is not well suited to these birds.

Belted Kingfisher. Common, but not observed after the 7th of
October, at “ Mosquito Point,” lat. 53°— 502% N., long. 102°— 53° W.

Birds. 6321

Specimen examined minutely, apparently differing in nothing from
Nova Scotia specimens.

Robin. Only once seen on the 18th of October ; there was no doubt
about it, for 1 had a near view, but missed killing him; this I con-
sidered rather curious, as I had not seen any since near Hudson’s Bay,
six weeks previous.

Hermit Thrush (Turdus solitarius). Observed at Cumberland House
on the 4th of October. I saw it several times, but had no gun.

Wren. One which appeared like T. hyemalis was once observed.

Ruby-crowned Regulus. Occasionally observed, specimens closely
examined. Gold-crest not seen.

Blackcap-tit (Parus atricapillus). Very common.

Cassin in his ‘ Birds of Oregon, California, &c., which I think I
showed you at Richmond, makes out a species which he calls the
** Northern Chickadie or Longtailed” (Parus septentrionalis), and puts
down the habitat as “ Missouri, Utah, Rocky Mountains.” I can see
no difference between those I have shot here and specimens preserved
in Nova Scotia, which I never doubted being the P. atricapillus. I
shall keep a sharp look out, and procure several specimens, of which
I shall send L one for comparison. If the one here is the
P. atricapillus, I think the other should rather be called western than
northern.

Shore Lark. Observed for one week, in small parties, from the 4th
of October.

Fringilla iliaca. Not after the end of September.

F. pennsylvanica. Not west of Lake Winnipeg.

F’. canadensis and Fxhyemalis. Always in company, and the most
common birds until the 14th of October, when the last of the former,
and the 18th of October, the last of the latter, were seen, they being
solitary stragglers. I have a specimen of the former.

Redpoles. Not certain.

Snow Bunting. Observed in small flocks from the 8th of October
(four days after the shore lark) ; in a few days they arrived in con-
siderable numbers, and were in large flocks at Fort Carlton. For
departure of them you will hear by another letter.

Purple Grackle. Observed sparingly, except about the little
cultivated ground at Norway House and Cumberland, after which
(October 4th) are not seen.

Rusty Grackle. Common along river banks until the 20th of
October.

Raven. I need hardly say was always to be seen, and, so far from

XVII. C

6322 Birds.

being solitary, is always in pairs, and occasionally a number together.
On the roosting of these birds at Carlton you will hear at a future
time.

Magpie. First seen on the 7th of October at Mosquito Point,
where the belted kingfisher was last seen. Observed occasionally at
Carlton, where it resides the winter. Not seen between Hudson’s
Bay and Lake Winnipeg.

Blue Jay. Seen only on two occasions, the 12th and 16th of
October. One shot and examined.

Canada Jay. This companion of the voyagers is seen everywhere,
and never refuses “ pemmican ” when he can get it.

Redbellied Nuthatch. In company with blackcap-tit and Regulus
on two occasions at the end of September, not far west of Lake
Winnipeg; a specimen preserved. You will observe that on this side
of Lake Winnipeg no Hudson’s Bay tits were seen.

Woodpeckers. 1. A large species, perhaps Picus pileatus, seen
middle of October; also supposed, 2. P. villosus once at same time
of the month. 38. P. pubescens, shot and examined, end of first week
of October, and again on the 14th. 4. P. varius. <A specimen pre-
served, and another shot at the end of September. 5. P. auratus.
Supposed seen.

Ruffed Grouse. Sparingly as far as near the “ Forks” of the Sas-
katchewan, where the north and sonth branches meet.

Canada Grouse. Seen on two occasions below the “ Forks.”

Sharptailed Grouse. First seen where the ruffed grouse ceased,
inhabiting the partially wooded parts of these plains in numbers. I
have many notes concerning them, which [ hope to perfect by ob-
serving their spring and summer habits. ‘They are said to collect in
great numbers and dance.

Plover. One decided flock was seen ; and although it may appear
rather late, a solitary golden plover was shot near here on the 8rd of
November, and preserved.

Sandpiper. Two or three species were observed, but none identified.

Totanus vociferus. Almost always to be seen, until the beginning
of October, a single one being seen flying over on the 16th. This
bird does not apparently require soft mud, but appears as much at
home where all is rock.

Snipe. The single squeak of the snipe was heard one evening
while waiting for ducks.

Geese. Numerous during the whole voyage, but most particularly
so in the low swampy country below Cumberland, which has been

Birds. 6323

mentioned. I distinctly recognised by examination Anser canadensis
and albifrons, but I shot one which resembled the former, except in
size, and I was assured by the Indian “ bowsman” that it was the
young of that bird; however, I cannot reconcile the considerable
difference in size, I therefore give you the particulars :—Length
273 inches; wing 164 inches; extent 543 inches; bill, legs and feet
black ; nail of the upper mandible dark brown,—that of lower horn-
colour; bill along the ridge 14 inch; eye hazel; upper tail-coverts,
from end of tail, 23 inches. It differed from Wilson’s description in
the following points :—lower part of neck and breast light ash ; upper
part of back brown; end of feathers lighter; rump nearly black ;
upper tail-coverts, belly, vent and under tail-coverts white; under
surface of wings nearly black; wings reach about end of tail; sides
ash-brown, tinged with lighter; legs and feet sometimes after death
assume Wilson’s colour. Do you consider this the young of A. cana-
densis, or may it be A. Hutchinsii? Geese were in numbers at a
saline lake near here on the third of November, at which time ice
covered portions of the lakes. I hope to do something during my
spare time in the way of waterfowl on their arrival in spring.

Ducks. Mallard the most common duck throughout, from Hudson’s
Bay, although usually not seen in large flocks. Had not left Carlton
till November; in fact, as long as there is open water, ducks and
geese remain.

Wigeon. Observed sometimes in immense flocks.

Greenwinged Teal. Common.

Goldeneye. Considered to be seen, and many which were not
made out.

Goosander. Was shot a couple of days below Carlton, and is pre-
served.

Cormorant. A few were observed before the close of September.

Pelican. Supposed from markings to be P. americanus, observed
in numbers at the “Grand Rapid,” where the Saskatchewan enters
Lake Winnipeg, on the 25th of September, and, a few days after,
a scattered one or two. I believe they do not range East of Lake
Winnipeg, and they tell me here they are seldom seen ; however, I
put little confidence in what I am told by casual observers, as I have
been so often deceived by them.

Tern. One species observed on Lake Winnipeg.

Gull. About three species observed on Lake Winnipeg; one
Specimen was procured in one of the small lakes, and they were ob-
served as late as the 2nd of Octeber.

6324 Birds.

Loon. Supposed great northern diver, seen at beginning of
voyage.

And now I have run through my list, and hope that the comparing
these notes with the observations of others will afford you some
amusement: I shall be glad when I receive any general conclusions
which you may draw from the same.

Of the progress of the season, suffice it to say, that in the beginning
of the time comprised in this second part of my voyage, Nature was
in her “ fall” dress, and, before I reached Carlton, ice was forming
along the banks and in the small bays of the river.

While we were in that land of waterfowl below Cumberland, I
witnessed a shower of feathers: as we sailed up a reach of the river
with a fresh breeze, without the knowledge of a human being within
many miles of us, it appeared to be snowing; this was nothing more
than small feathers, and we supposed that at some Indian Camp in
the swamps to {windward the operation of goose-plucking must be
going on; these feathers had likely travelled many miles, and would
continue while the breeze lasted.

I hope that you may be at some place where you may be able to
refer to the ‘Fauna Boreali-Americana, and I should feel much
obliged if, from the perusal of it, you would call my attention to points
requiring special observation. At present I feel myself on ground
trodden by those more capable, and with greater facilities than myself,
as Ornithology is only secondary with me, on account of duty requiring
so much of my time; but once at the Rocky Mountains, which I hope
I may be ordered to cross, I shall consider myself on new giound.

I have a young ‘“‘half breed” under instructions in the way of
skinning, who I hope will be of great use to me next summer while
travelling, as my time is not my own.

There is a species of grosbeak, which, as well as the pine grosbeak,
has been here all winter, but is not so numerous as the latter; I cannot
identify it by Wilson or Brewer’s Synopsis, and in my Journal have
therefore called it for distinction “ yellow-fronted grosbeak,” however,
if as you wish, and I hope for your sake, you are at present stationed
in Dublin, you will have no difficulty in procuring the ‘ Fauna Boreali-
Americana’ from the Dublin Society’s library, and no doubt make
the bird out. I therefore, as I have two specimens of each sex now
before me, will attempt a description :—

Birds. 6325

Male and female differ little in size, are from 72 to 8 inches; the
closed wing 42 to 4% inches; bill light dull greenish yellow; eye
dark hazel or brown; feet flesh colour ; claws brown.

Male. 'Top of head, primaries, and first secondaries, tail-coverts, tail
and line at base of bill black. Front, line over eye, ramp, abdomen and
under tail-coverts bright yellow. Throat, cheeks and neck dark olive,
fading gradually towards yellow on back and breast. The secondaries
near the body white, which, when wing is closed, forms a pure white
patch. Shoulder of wing tinged with yellow.

Female. WHead, cheeks and back dark ash, fading to light drab on
rump. Under parts light drab-ash, with throat whitish, with an indis-
tinct black line from base of bill on each side of throat. Base of bill
(as in male) margined with a thin line of black. ‘Tail and tail-coverts
black, each tipped with white. Primaries and other coverts black,
the six interior primaries marked with white below the coverts, and
all now more or less tipped with same. Secondaries variegated with
black, white and drab-ash. Abdomen and under tail-coverts dull
white. Shoulder of wing tinged with, and auxiliary plumes yellow.
Tinge of greenish yellow on hind neck and breast.

It is really a very handsome bird ; and, from Brewer's short descrip-
tion, I should consider it to be C. vespertaria, but this description
leaves out many points. This bird, I see, is quoted to be in the
‘Fauna Boreali-Americana ;’ however, the habitat given by Brewer is
*“ Columbia River.”

Tomas BLAKISTON.

Occurrence of an Eagle in Dorsetshire.—A sporting friend of mine has just informed
me that an eagle has been shot, within the last week, at Abbotsbury, about nine miles
from here, along the coast. My friend tells me it stood nearly three feet in height,
and that its legs were nearly the size round of his arms: if this is correct, there is
every probability that the bird is a golden eagle. I have, however, written to several
parties, in order that I may examine the bird, so as to verify the species for my
Dorset Fauna.— William Thompson ; Weymouth, December 12, 1858.

Occurrence of the Goshawk in Norfolk.—A female goshawk, in the plumage of the
first year, was shot at Hempstead, in this county, about the 23rd of November. This
species, although only an occasional visitant at uncertain intervals, has of late years
become even more scarce than formerly, which renders the present instance of its ap-
pearance on this coast more worthy of notice. The last specimen obtained in this district
was an immature male taken in a trap at Catfield, in April, 1854 ; and another male, also
in its first year’s plumage, was killed at Siraiton-Strawless, in November, 1850, which
shows that stragglers may be met with both in spring and autumn. Adult birds of
this species very rarely occur in this country; probably the only one known to have

6326 Binde

been killed in Norfolk is a male in the Norwich Museum, taken at Catton in 1841: in
the same collection is also an immature female, shot at Hingham in the following
year.— H, Stevenson ; Norwich, December 6, 1858.

Notices of Ornithological Occurrences in Norfolk in October and November, 1858.—
A few mealy and lesser redpoles, siskins and twites appeared about the first week in
October, and left us again in a day or two on their way southward: the arrival of these
birds early in the season usually indicates the approach of sharp weather, and in this
instance was followed soon after by the intense frosts which we have lately experienced.
On the 22nd of October a fine roughlegged buzzard, in nearly adult plumage, was
shot at Seething: the specimens obtained in this county are principally young birds.
An immature female of the longtailed duck was shot, about the same time, at Blakeney.
About the 28th of October an unusually large number of woodcocks were met with in
all directions, after a strong gale: a single specimen was picked up dead, close to this
city, having flown, in the night, with such force against the wall of a house as literally
to smash the frontal bone: within the last fortnight upwards of eighty-three woodcocks
were shot, in one day, in some coverts belonging to Lord Hastings, in the vicinity of
the coast. On the 10th of November a young hen harrier, male, was shot at North~
repps, near Cromer: these birds appear at the present time to be almost exterminated
as residents in this county. Ou the 12th of November a storm-driven specimen of the
little auk was picked up dead at South Walsham: this is the only one I have heard
of this season. Whilst snipe-shocting (which birds were extremely plentiful on the
Broad and Marshes from the 12th to the 15th), on the 16th, at Surlingham, I found,
towards the afternoon, large flocks of pied wagtails dispersed all over the Broad, many
of them clinging to the reed-stems, like the bearded tits, and smaller flights continually
passing high overhead or stopping to join their companions: this was at the commence-
ment of the severe frosts, and from the locality in which I found them, and their un-
usual numbers, I have no doubt that these were migratory arrivals, about to rest for
the night, on their way inland. On the 19th of November a gray shrike, an adult
male, was shot at Heigham, close to this city. On the 23rd of November a female
waxwing was shot at Beeston, near Cromer (the frost still intense): I have not been
able to ascertain if others were seen at the same time; but, during the last few years,
only one or two stray specimens of this interesting but irregular visitant have been
obtained: the last arrival of these birds in any quantity was in the winter of 1849-50,
when such immense numbers were met with along the entire line of our Eastern
counties. On the 26th of November another roughlegged buzzard, an adult female,
a somewhat older bird than the last, was shot at Burgh.—Id.; December 7, 1858.

Occurrence of the Bohemian Waxwing at Weymouth.—On the 10th of December
I had brought me a fine old male of the Bohemian waxwing (Bombycilla garrula) : it
has six tags on each wing: of course I secured it, having given five shillings for it:
it had been killed about half an hour before I purchased it, and was still warm. It
was first seen feeding on a haw bush (here the haws are called “ pig-berries”). Gil-
lingham, the man who killed it, fired and missed; it then flew a long distance, but
returned and perched on the top of a high tree: the man told me he had very great
difficulty in getting within shot a second time. ‘This is the third notice I have of its
occurrence in Dorsetshire: one was killed in January, 1850, at Abbotsbury, near Wey-
mouth, and Rolls, the bird-preserver here, tells me one passed through his hands about
ten years prior to that date. I fully expect there will be many notices from different
parts of the country; I hope the correspondents of the ‘ Zoologist’ will be particular

Birds. 6327

with their dates, as it will be of azsistance in tracing their spreading over the country.
I had the carcass dressed, and I find the flesh rather dark, but juicy and very well
flavoured,—so good, in fact, that I shall be glad to try it again: a good plan to serve
them up is with bread crumbs fried and a lemon: it should not be too much roasted ;
a little paste should be put over it, to keep in the juice, which otherwise would escape,
from its being skinned; this should be taken off just before it is quite cooked, and a
little flour and butter dusted over it and slightly browned, to disguise its want of a
skin.— William Thompson ; Weymouth, December 12, 1858.

Occurrence of the Goldenwinged Woodpecker in England.—I have in my collection
a specimen of the goldenwinged woodpecker, killed in Amesbury Park, in the autumn
of 1836. My brother, now Member for Salisbury, saw this bird in the flesh before it
was preserved; it was brought to him just after it was shot. I have never heard of
any other specimen of this bird being killed in England: it is, I believe, a native of
South America. It is something like the common green woodpecker, but has more
yellow on the wing, and black spots on the breast. It was preserved by Mr. Edwards,
of Amesbury, and has never been out of my possession.—George S. Marsh; Chip-
penham ; December 10, 1858.

Birds’ Nests: Nests of the Green Woodpecker and Nuthatch.—Among the subjects
which have solicited the attention of the readers of the ‘ Zovologist’ there are few which
have obtained less general notice than the nests of birds: I have supposed therefore
that it may be acceptable if I were to communicate to its pages some observations
which I have had an opportunity of making on the nests of such of our feathered
tribes as do not frequently fall in the way of naturalists, or of which, at least, distinct
accounts, drawn from personal observation, are not ofteu met with. I will begin with
the nests of the common green woodpecker and the nuthatch,—birds which I class
together, not only from the great similarity of their habits, but also because I have had
an opportunity of studying the proceedings of those species at the same time and in
the same neighbourhood, which is on the south-east border of the county of Cornwall,
in which district, I may further remark, it has been said that the last-named bird is
not to be found. On the rather extensive lawns that run eastward from the ancient
mansion of Trelawny there are some very ancient chestnut trees, which stand singly
at the distance of several yards from each other; and it is in such a sitaation that the
green woodpecker usually, perhaps invariably, forms its nest, for the watchfulness of
this bird is too great to suffer it to choose a place from which it shall not be able to
discern an intruder at a considerable distance. In one of those trees, much fallen
back from its ancient splendour of foliage and growth, I have remembered the existence
of the nest for more than thirty years,—a curious instance of local attachment, which
is not the less deserving of record because it is probable that they are not the same
birds which have occupied the place so long: it has at least descended from one
generation to another, without interruption, and an incident occurred in the course of
the last summer which tends to show that it is not a small matter which shall cause
these birds to forsake their long-accustomed haunt, to which their ancestors had
probably resorted for many years beyond the number I have assigned to them. It is
only a single tree which has thus been selected, although there are others that appear
to offer equal convenience; but the nest-holes are two in number, although I have
reason to believe that they were occupied by no more than a single pair of birds: my
supposition is that one of those recesses is properly the nest, in which the eggs are
hatched, while the other serves as the resting-place of the male bird: one of the holes

6328 Birds.

is seven or eight feet higher in the tree than the other; their situation is conspicuous
to every passer-by, and the lowermost of them is little above the giving-off of some
large branches, from which the aperture of the nest may be easily reached ; the opening
is ronnd, and, in appearance, seems of less size than could, without difficulty, permit
the entrance of the bird; round the border the bark is pecked away for the space of
about a quarter of an inch; inside this opening, for seven or eight inches, the descent
is but little, but beyond this it dropped rather steeply for about two feet. The inside
of the tree could be observed as wet and rotten, and the nest seemed formed out of the
rotten wood. In the last week of May there was nothing in this nest, but in the first
week of June there were five eggs, which were coloured by this rotten wood, but when
washed they were beautifully white, and then it appeared also that their contents could
be discerned through the shell: the eggs were taken away by a friend, who-assisted in
the examination of these nests, and the ojening of the nest was firmly plugged up with
a turf of grass: when, however, I came to examine it again a new opening had been
made into the passage, immediately above the place where the turf had raised an ob-
struction, and this hud been done by pecking in a circular form an orifice fitted to the
former opening, with just so much of descent as to join the old passage close behind
the obstruction. At this time the opportunity of a ladder was taken to examine the
higher of those openings into the tree, the uppermost having, before this been beyond
our reach: the floor of this nest or resting-place was covered with old rotten wood, and
there were also found two or three feathers of the male bird, which bird was also seen
to fly out of this hole. As there can be no doubt that successive generations of wood-
peckers have been reared from this tree, and sometimes the brood has consisted of
several individuals, it seems not the least remarkable circumstance in the history of
this bird, that the local attachment of a single pair should be accompanied with a
strong disposition to wander to a distance in the younger portion of the woodpecker
community. The nest of the nuthatch is also in the body of a chestnut tree in a
garden belonging to the mansion at Trelawny: the hole by which the entrance was
effected was about three inches in diameter, and consequently much larger, in propor-
tion to the size of the bird, than that of the woodpecker; but the opening was
reduced to about an inch and a half by a border of mortar plastered round it: the
passage went inward to the distance of three or four inches, and then descended six
or seven inches more, where was the nest,—formed of what seemed the inner bark of a
birch or plane tree,—dry and almost flat; it cont-ined one young, living bird: tne
bed of this nest was formed of rotten wood, and was wet, covering over two addled
eggs, which were stained with the colour of the rotten wood; it appeared probable
they were the produce of the former year.—Jonuthan Couch ; Polperro, Cornwall,
December 3, 1858.

Swallows in November.—On Friday, the 12th instant, I was passing by Ewell
church, and observed two swallows flying about. I watched them for some time, and
pointed them out to several persons who were passing, so that there can be no doubt
as to their identity. The sun was shining brilliantly, but there was frost on the
ground in the shade. The swallows assembled in large numbers here on the 14th of
October, and none were to be seen the next day; but I observed one straggler about
ten days afterwards.— Samuel Gurney ; Carshalton, November 14, 1858.

Late brood of Starlings.—A pair of starlings have recently made.a nest in a hole
by the side of a water-tank on the roof of my house; the hole is so dark that one

wre ay ee gy

Birds. 6329

cannot see whether the four nestlings are nearly fledged or not.—C. Fox; Middleton
Lodge, near Richmond, Yorkshire, December 4, 1858.

Occurrence of the Tree Sparrow at Penzance.—I last evening examined, in the
flesh, a good specimen of this species, which had been obtained very near this place in
a meadow with hedgerows, by Mr. Vingoe. I have not hitherto known any example
to have occurred in this locality, nor do I know of any record of its having been found
in Cornwall before, except in one instance, in the neighbourhood of Falmouth, where
I remember observing the specimen preserved in the Museum.—dward Hearle Rodd ;
Penzance, December 16, 1858.

Oceurrence of the Parrot Crossbill (Loxia pityopsittacus) near Brighton.—I saw
this bird, “in the meat,” at Mr. Swaysland’s shop; it had been caught the day before
(Monday, November 2, 1858), at Bognor, by a bird-catcher, in clap-nets: the bird
bit his fingers so much that he dared not place it among the newly-caught goldfinches,
and was therefore obliged to kill it. It had a very large beak, with the cross not
nearly so much developed as in Loxia curvirostra; there was a little yellow on the
head. It was curious to find such a bird, apparently a long way from any of its
appropriate food.

Beautiful Variety of the Partridge.—I yesterday saw a very strange and beautifully
pied variety of the common partridge, which was shot by a gentleman’s gamekeeper,
near this city. The bird in question is nearly of a pure white; the throat is slightly
mottled with a few ash-coloured feathers; the breast and belly are pure white, a slight
bar of light ash-coloured feathers marking the place of the ordinary horse-shoe on the
breast; the extreme primary feather of each wing is mottled with white and rufous ;
the second primary has a slight buff tinge along its shaft; the other primaries and the
secondaries are white; scapulars white, slightly barred with rufous; back white, barred
with a rich rufous; upper tail-coverts white; tail silvery brown, mottled with white
and rufous. The bird is as fat as any partridge I ever saw, and altogether is a singular
variety. Pied varieties of the partridge are not very common: I have seen silver birds,
and I have heard of one being shot which was of a uniform buff colour. The bird-
stuffer who is preparing the bird I have been describing has had many years’ ex-
perience, during which time he has set up several varieties of the partridge, but he
assures me he never saw one so strangely pied as this bird.— Murray A. Mathews ;
Merton College, Oxford, November 10, 1858.

Occurrence of Baillon’s Crake, and its Nesting in England.—Several instances of
the occurrence of this bird, during the present year, have come under my notice. It
will no doubt be interesting to the readers of the ‘ Zoologist’ to hear of authentic cases
of its nesting in England. I have a fine male bird, which was shot in our fens in
July; this appeared, from its internal state, to have been breeding, and led me to
suspect that this species had nested in this district: this I found had been abundantly
proved by the detection of a nest, on the 6th of June, containing six eggs, which were
shown tome by Mr. Baker, naturalist, of this town. Some birds were shot also near
the same locality about the same time: these, however, were unfit for preservation,
and the eggs were much, but not irremediably, broken; one has been kindly given to
me, and, though a little fractured, I value it highly, as one of the first British examples
yet taken. A second nest was discovered in the first week of August, and, in this
instance, the hen bird was taken on the nest: the eggs seven in number, had been sat
upon for some time, and had lost the usual fresh bloom, yet still are very characteristic
specimens: these were brought to me by Mr. W. Farren, of this town, in whose

XVII. D

6330 Birds.

possession they now are: the female is a fine specimen, in good plumage. The spotted
crake has also occurred in our fens in greater numbers than usual.— A. F. Sealy ;
70, Trumpington Street, Cambridge.

Black Swans Breeding at Carshalton.—My black swans hatched off a brood of six
cygnets on the 12th inst. The weather was intensely cold, and one morning, when
they were three or four days old, they were frozen into the ice; but they did not in
any way suffer from it. This is the third time they have bred this year: the first time
was on the 29th of January, when they brought off eight cygnets; the second time
was in the summer with seven, making a total of twenty-one young ones in ten months.
I should be glad to know whether any of your correspondents can bring forward a
similar instance of fecundity in the black swan.—Samuel Gurney ; Carshalton,
November, 1858.

Lhe Pomarine Skua and other Sea Birds.—T was very well pleased to read Mr.
Rodd’s note on the pomarine skua (Zool. 6267), as it somewhat confirms an idea of
mine, that the pomarine is far from being a scarce bird, and would readily be met with
anywhere on our southern coast, if looked for about the middle of October, when it is
making its migration southwards, This species is well known to the sailors at Torquay,
who call it and Richardson’s bird “ Irish lords ;” why, I could not discover. A sail
on Torbay would well repay an ornithologist staying at Torquay in October. Let
him cross the bay towards Berry Head, and then beat about its mouth, and note what
he sees. Countless simall flocks of “ Mers” (i.e. guillemots) will stud the waters all
round him, and will take but little heed of him as he passes among them. Kittiwakes,
old ones and the beautiful “ tarrocks,” will hover over him, and scan his boat with
curious eyes. He will see the “speckled divers” (i.e. the red and black-throated
divers) ever and anon rising to the surface and shaking their wings before they dive
down again into the blue deep after their prey: but these are wary birds and will not
easily be approached. I was somewhat struck by seeing a specimen of the red-throated
diver, in most perfect summer plumage, which was shot on the bay about the 15th of
last October: it was in magnificent plumage, and did not appear to have commenced
the autumn moult. But to return to the bay: look at that long line of dark-coloured
birds flying rapidly across the horizon seawards ; those are shags and cormorants,
either seeking some favourite fishing stations or hastening to their perching stations
on some distant cliffs. But what are those strange little birds which are flying rapidly
all over the bay, and never seem to rest, save when they souse for a moment into the
water, and, submerging themselves for a second or so, rise again into the air,
and skim as before hurriedly over the bay ? Those are the “‘ mackerel corks,” as the
sailors call them,—the little Manx shearwaters,—which have been attracted by the
Shoals of small mackerel fry now swarming in the bay. You note how swift and
straight their flight is, and when you examine their wings you are struck by their
resemblance to those of a plover’s, and mark the long tertiary feathers. Ever and anon
you see small flocks of the common scoter crossing the bay, and the little oceanic ducks
hurrying seaward by twos and threes. But what you justly consider the sight of all
is to watch the noble gannet make his strange downward plunge from a height in the
air into the sea below. What a time he stays underneath! and how the spray flies as
he plunges in with the velocity of a cannon-ball! The gannet is not easily shot,
unless he is so gorged with fish that he cannot fly ; he then becomes an easy victim, for
he cannot dive unless he can rise into the air, and gather momentum by precipitating
himself downwards. But you are watching those large dark birds which are bullying
and chasing the kittiwakes: the “ Irish lords” are plying their nefarious trade; you

Birds. 6331

see one or two of them settle on the water, and find that you can sail towards them.
These birds will let you get close to them, and are so tender that a very slight wound
will bring them down. See, you have a couple of them lying on the water, wounded :
you pick them up, and fina them both pomarines, the one an old bird, with the two
central tail-feathers elongated and rounded at their tips; the other a young bird, in
the rich chesnut-coloured garb of the bird which is so well figured in Yarrell’s third
volume. You may perhaps be fortunate enough to shoot one or two of Richardson’s
bird, but you will find that they are young ones, and you will hardly secure two alike.
A friend and I shot five pomarine and two Richardson’s skuas during a very short
stay at Torquay. Three of our pomarines were fine adults. I also saw several other
specimens of adult birds which had been killed about the same date by other shooters.
—Murray A. Mathews ; Merton College, Oxford, November, 1858.

Pomarine Skua (Lestris pomarina) near Brighton.—Of this bird I cannot do
better than quote the interesting account sent me by the Rev. R. N. Dennis, Rector
of East Blatchington, Seaford, Sussex :—‘* With a strong south wind and spring tides
the salt water runs through the shingle bank and overflows some twenty or thirty acres
of grass land in front of the little town of Seaford, and on this temporary salt-water
lake storm-driven sea fowl occasionally rest. A raised causeway leads across the
common from the town to the battery, and it was from this causeway that Willy Banks,
the bricklayer, shot the pomarine skua on the 7th of October, 1858, the bird fell winged,
and was brought out by his dog:+his brother saw three or four more birds, which he
described as of the same species, but did not think, as he says, ‘ of any account,’
which, I suppose, means not worth powder and shot. I had passed the spot but a
short time before, so that the bird had not long been in, and what surprised me a little
was, that it must have come in when the tide was ebbing and the gale sinking. It
is perhaps a little remarkable that on that same Thursday twelvemonth,—i.e.
October 8th, 1857,—I shot two pomarine skuas and a Richardson’s skua, during a
tremendous southerly gale: a little flock of eight were resting on the flood at the lower
part of this parish, and they had not only found shelter but a good feeding-ground too,
as they were gorged with earth-worms brought to the surface of the salt water. The
stomach of the bird shot this year contained nothing but a little green, swallowed (no
doubt) accidentally with its prey.” I saw the above mentioned specimen at Mr.
Swaysland’s “in the meat,” it was a male bird, very old,—in fact quite aged,—with
a most powerful beak, enough to kill any gull; it was just getting the two black
feathers of the tail, being in autumn plumage.

Occurrence of Sabine’s Gull (Larus Sabini) at Brighton.—This rare bird was shot
in the equinoctial gale of Thursday, October 7th, 1858, in Hove, near Brighton. The
head was not “ dark or ash-colour,” being an immature specimen, in autumn plumage,
and, on dissection, found to be a male bird. I saw it just after it had been skinned
by Mr. George Swaysland, naturalist, 4, Queen’s Road, Brighton, where it may be
seen for sale.

Remarks on the Southern Petrels.—Of all the birds that inhabit the southern
seas the albatross is the best known; every one going for the first time round the
Cape of Good Hope looks out with interest for his first sight of this far-famed bird,
and generally he is disappointed ; the bird he is pointed out is often of a dirty brown
colour, large enough certainly, but surrounded by shoals of smaller ones, who have
flown as far and braved the same dangers as the “ wanderer ” himself, these sadly take
away from the grandeur of the scene. Nevertheless, an old fellow: in his full white

6332 Birds.

plumage is a magnificent sight, as he, with outstretched wings, sails over the surface
of the sea,—now rising high in the air, now, with a bold sweep, descending till his
lower wing all but touches the crests of the waves as he skims over them; suddenly he
sees something floating on the surface of the water, and he prepares to alight; but
look how changed he is! Instead of the fine noble bird, all grace and symmetry, his
head gues back and his back goes in, down drop two enormous webbed feet, straddled
out to their full extent, and, with a hoarse croak, between that of a raven and a sheep,
he falls “souse” into the water: here he is at home again, breasting the foam like a cork;
presently he stretches out his neck, and, with immense exertion of his wings, runs along
the top of the water fur seventy or eighty yards; at last he gets sufficient momentum, and,
tucking up his legs, he is fairly launched in the air. The albatross ( Diomedea
exulans ) breeds in Prince Edward’s Island, and others in about the same latitude ;
they congregate there in August and September, although a few always remain at sea:
they breed on high flat plains, and lay one white egg; the nest is of the shape ofa
frustrum of a cone, with a slightly hollow top, made chiefly of dirt, which they obtain
chiefly by digging a circular ditch and throwing the earth towards the centre, until ©
they have heaped it up twelve or eighteen inches high, forming a miniature Martello
tower. In January the parents leave their young, who remain behind in their nests
until the next breeding season ; while they are there it is difficult to imagine how they
exist, as no old birds are seen to approach them for months together ; next year, when
the old birds arrive, they visit their former nests, and, after a little billing and coving
with their young (to make up, I suppose, for their neglect) they very unceremoniously
turn them out, and, sending them, like a sailor boy, to find their “bread on the water,”
repair their nests for the next brood. They walk very badly, using their wings to help
them, and cannot rise from a flat surface. The average breadth across the wings is
about 10 feet, but they vary a good deal, reaching from 9 to 12 feet,—the accounts
that make them 18 and 20 feet are fabulous; the length, from the tip of the
beak to the end of the tail, is about 3 feet 6 inches. It is of no use describing
so well-known a bird; so I will only remark that some of them have a rose~
coloured ring round their necks, but I do not know if this is a distinct species, or only
marks the sex. The albatross is not found north of the 30th parallel of south latitude,
and abounds most between 38° S. and 47° S.; they monopolize nearly the whole of
Prince Edward’s Is!and and Kergueland’s land. There are three species of albatross: —
the great albatross (D. exulans), the one we have been mentioning; the black-backed
albatross (D. melanophrys), called by sailors the “ Molly hawk ” or “ Nelly ;” and the
sooty albatross (D. fuliginosa or D. fusca, Audubon), which sailors call the “* Cape hen”
or * pea-u.” The yellow-nosed albatross (D. chlororhynchos of Latham) is, I suspect,
only a variety of D. melanophrys. The Molly hawk is smaller than the albatross,
being only 7 feet acoss the wings and 2 feet 7 inches in length ; its back between the
wings is of a dark brown colour: unlike the albatross, it sometimes dives for its food,
but does not appear to be very fond of it, generally preferring to let a mutton bird fish
it up, then, giving chase and running along the water croaking and with its wings spread
out, oblige the poor beast to drop it, which it then picks up before it can sink. The
sooty albatross is about the size of the last-named bird, of a sooty complexion and with
a head very much like a jackdaw’s: it is a magnificent flyer, sometimes not moving ils
wings for an hour ata time; they breed in the cliffs, and their nests are consequently
very difficult to get at; it has a very bad habit of screeching at night.—/’. Wollaston
Hatton, Lieut. 23rd R. W. Fusileers.

Fishes. 6333

On the Occurrence of the Derbio (Lichia glaucus, Cuv.) in Mount’s
Bay. By R. Q. Coucu, Esq., M.R.C.S., &c.

The Derbio seems to be a somewhat rare fish, even in the localities
in which it is most commonly taken; but in British waters this is, I
believe, its first recognized visit. By the kindness of the fishermen
of Mousehole and Newlyn I have generally an opportunity of examining
the rare fish captured in the neighbourhood of the Land’s End, and
from one of them I received the specimen from which the following
description is taken. It was captured in a drift-net employed in the
autumnal mackerel fishery, in deep water, off the Runnel Stone, at the
western entrance to Mount’s Bay.

The length of the specimen is 13 inches; it is deep from the ventral
to the dorsal margins, and is very much compressed laterally. The
general shape of the body is fusiform, being much contracted at the
root of the caudal fin, and the head is small and much pointed ante-
riorly. The general colour is dark; the dorsal surface is of a deep
bluish black tint, somewhat similar to the mackerel, but much deeper;
this tint terminates somewhat abruptly in a grayish neutral tint above
the lateral line ; and this inferiorly gradually fades away into a silvery
white, with patches of red and yellow, which disappear soon after
death. On the anterior and middle of the sides are traces of five per-
pendicular bands, similar to what is observed in the pilot fish ; above
they blend into the dark colour of the back; about the lateral line
they are distinct, but below they again fade into the surrounding tints.
The lateral line is straight posteriorly, and continues so till it arrives
nearly on a plane with the origin of the dorsal fin, when it gradually
arches up so as to reach the head above the margin of the gill-covers.
The head is small and short; the jaws, when closed, are sharp or
pointed,—lower jaw longest; the teeth are numerous, small and ir-
regular. The eye is small and bright, irides yellowish red, and
situated much interiorly ; moustache smooth.

The surface of the body is covered by numerous smal] scales. The
head and gill-covers are smooth.

The caudal fin is large, for the size of the fish, deeply falcate and
strong; the external fin-rays are stout, strong and closely arranged ;
the central ones are short and membranous. ‘The dorsal and abdo-
minal fins arise nearly opposite to each other and rather posteriorly to
the middle of the body. ‘The anterior rays of the dorsal fin are much

6334 Fishes.

longer than the others, marked with a large black spot, but they
rapidly get shorter posteriorly, so that the anterior part of the fin is
somewhat falcate in shape; the fin posteriorly is small and reaches
to within about half an inch of the tail. Anteriorly to the dorsal fin
are six large and long spines pointing obliquely backwards, and ante-
riorly to them is another long spine more or less imbedded in the skin
which lies horizontally and points forwards. The abdominal is
similar in shape to the dorsal; anteriorly it is marked with a large
dark spot, and the fin-rays are there longer than the others; and
anteriorly to the fin are two long and large spines, which obliquely
point backwards. The ventral fins are small and close together. The
pectoral fins are small and short, and arise on a plane anterior to the
ventral, and very near the gill-covers, and about the lower third of the
body.

This fish was taken in deep water, and as it is rolled up in the net
and much entangled, it seems to be a species of great muscular power,
and consequently it swims with great rapidity.

Judging from the authors to which I have access, there seems to be
much obscurity resting on the genus Lichia and the species included
in it. To secure accuracy of representation in the present case my
friend Alexander K. Mackinnon, Esq., has kindly taken a photographic
portrait of it forme. This gentleman has very liberally and kindly
taken the portraits of many of our Cornish fish, and many of them are
exquisite specimens of the art.

Most of the old writers on Natural History, as Aristotle, Ovid, Pliny,
Oppian, Atheneus, &c., mention the glaucus; and Pliny calls it
glauciscus, which is supposed to be the same; but Cuvier doubts
whether any, or at least most of those so mentioned, are the same that
bear the name at the present time, and he seems also to think that the
fish anciently bearing the name was the maigre (Sciena Aquila).
Rondeletius appears to be the first author who applied the name to
the present species : he speaks of three species of glaucus, the first of
which he calls by the provincial name “ cabrotte ;” the third of these
is figured in Johnston’s ‘ Historia Piscium,’ pl. 1, fig. 11, and by him
is called sinuosus, and so marked on the borders of the gill-covers
with twisted lines. Ray, in his ‘ Synopsis Piscium,’ considers these
as distinct species; the generic name Lichia here first appears, and is
said by him to be the common name of a species of this genus at
Rome and Leghorn; but ¢thzs he distinguishes from the three of
Rondeletius. ‘There seems to be some confusion as to the origin of
the name: Rondeletius says it is from its colour, but it is used asa

Fishes—Insects. 6335

proper name both by Ovid and Pliny, and therefore not to be put ina
feminine shape.

The present species is, I think, the glaucus of Rondeletius, and
therefore the Glaucus secundus of Ray, p. 94.

The Lichia Amia of Cuvier is the Scomber Amia of Linneus and
Amia of Aldrovandus and Ray. The glaucus of Cuvier has a charac-
teristic figure in his great work ‘Icthyologie,’ but the only other species
he mentions is Lichia Vadigo, a native also of the Mediterranean ; it
has a longer body and a shorter tail than L. glaucus. It is true he
has another species, but that belongs to the Coast of Africa.

I have been favoured with coloured tracing of two figures, from Col.
Hamilton Smith, of Lichia glaucus, and this, by comparing the coarse
wood-cut of Rondeletius with the recent fish, enables me to identify
the species; but coarse as the cut is, it is very characteristic : he
says, however, that the moustache is rough; in my specimen it is
smooth.

The difference between this description of Rondeletius and the
specimen I have in my possession is so small that there can be no

doubt that he refers to this species.
R. Q. CoucH.

Penzance, December 7, 1858.

Occurrence of the Black Fish (Centrolophus pompilus, Cuv.) in Mount’s Bay.—
A small specimen of this fish came into my possession last autumn twelve months,
which was captured in a mackerel seine, in Groavas Lake, in Mount’s Bay: it was
nine inches long, and presented all the markings of the larger specimens which I have
examined.—R. Q. Couch ; Penzance, December 7. 1858.

Correction of an Error.—In the ‘ Zoologist,’ (Zool. 5959) is a notice of the capture
of Notidanus griseus, “‘ a shark new to Britain, at Banff,’ by Mr. Edward; but if you
will turn to Vol, iv. for 1846, p. 1337, you will there find it both figured and described,
and I sent the MS. to you. Excuse my reference to the subject, but I thought it an
oversight, and would remind you of it.—Id.

Abundance of Colias Edusa in 1858.—In June I took two very fine females and
saw a third; in August and September the insect was very plentiful, and I took a
great many, likewise five of the white variety: on the 15th of October, being a fine
warm day, it was flying in great numbers on Norton Common, close to the sea ; I had
no net with me but I succeeded in capturing, with my hat, a fine white variety of it,
which makes the sixth taken by me this season, and on Sunday, the 7th of November,
I saw one very much worn: I should like to know if they have been seen in any
other place so late as this.—H. Rogers; Freshwater, Isle of Wight, December 1, 1858.

6336 Insects.

Food-plant of Lycana Agestis.—I have perused with great interest the different
articles which have lately appeared in the ‘ Zoologist’ respecting the identity of Lycena
Artaxerxes and L. Agestis, as well as on the habits, haunts, &c., of the latter
species. As I have never had an opportunity of seeing L. Artaxerxes in its native
localities, I cannot presume to express an opinion respecting the former part of the
subject; but as I may say that I am tolerably well acquainted with the habits of
L. Agestis, which occurs in this neighbourhood in abundance, I am induced to trouble
you with these few lines, especially as I observe that many of your correspondents are
either pledged to an opinion, or have had but limited opportunities of seeing L. Agestis
in anything like profusion. I cannot help thinking also that much misapprehension
arises from entomologists believing that what takes place in one locality must of
necessity occur everywhere else. In the present instance the controversy respecting
the connexion of the insect with Helianthemum or Erodium, strongly reminds me of
the well-known fable of the “ Chameleon,’ Mr. Harding’s last communication
especially, which is much in the style of the disputant who exclaims,—

‘“¢ And when before your eyes I’ve set him,
If you don’t find him black I'll eat him.”

It does not follow because Mr. Harding finds L. Agestis where Erodium grows that it
should not also occur where Helianthemum is found, and that it does so must be
admitted by all who are at all acquainted with the chalk downs of the South of Eng-
land, and Mr. Harding is certainly much mistaken when he wishes to make it appear
that the insect is almost confined to the localities he mentions. LL. Agestis is often very
abundant on the Downs in this neighbourhood, where the Helianthemum is also
plentiful, being dotted all over the soft short turf; whereas Erodium, if it occurs at all,
cannot be in any quantity, as it prefers, I believe, the sand, of which there is little or
none in this locality. At Caterham also (still on the chalk) it is very common (more so
in August than in May), I find it flying in company with L. Alexis and L. Corydon, and
sometimes with L. Alsus and L. Adonis. Here again the soil is chalk, and the commonest
plants are Hypericum, Origanum, Helianthemum, plenty of wild thyme, &c., but
not, I think, Erodium, or at any rate very little, as I have never observed it at all. I
have also taken L. Agestis at different times in localities so far from the chalk or sand
that I am certain there was neither Erodium nor Helianthemum within miles; and,
both this season and last, the insect occurred on the hank of a canal at Norwood, far
from either of the above plants, and so far from the localities where it is found in
abundance that I cannot think it could have been driven there by stress of weather.
I cannot help thinking therefore that the larva will be ultimately found to feed on
more than one plant, or at any rate on some one of more general distribution than
either of those which are now believed to be its food-plants ; this question, however,
I trust will be decided next season, as this controversy will no doubt lead many to look
for the larva. I am, however, exceedingly surprised at a man of Mr. Harding’s ex-
perience asking why the insect is not found in plenty where Helianthemum is
abundant? My reply is that it frequently is, and that I should have thought that
Mr. Harding must have visited Riddlesdown in August at some time or other ; if so,
he must have been aware that both Helianthemum and L. Agestis were common there,
and if he has not I advise him to do so, and I am convinced that “ one trial will
sufficiently prove the fact." W. H. Morris ; Croydon, December 3, 1858.

Insects. 6337

Notes on the Food of Sphinx Convolvuli.—The Editor of the ‘ Zoologist’ says
(Zool. 6311), “ I agree with Mr. Harding that the fact of an insect settling on the
blossoms of a plant proves nothing as to the food of the larva: Sphinx Convolvuli
obtained its name from the propensity of the imago to suck the honey of tubular
flowers, but the conclusion was a most rash one, and has Jed hundreds to seek the
larve among the leaves of the bindweed.” The former statement is certainly true, but
the latter is as certainly a curious mistake, which the Editor, as a lover of the truth,
will, I am sure, allow me to correct. Rvésel, in 1746, figured the larva, pupa and
imago (Fas. vii. Class 1, Pap. Noct.) without a name, and says expressly that the larva
fed on Convolvulus sepium and arvensis. Linneus, in the ‘Systema Nature’ (1767),
quotes Roésel, and describes the insect as “ Sphinx Convolvuli,” deriving the name,
there can be no doubt, from the food of the larva. Sepp again figured the larva in his
* Beschouwing der Wonderen Gods’ (Tab. 49), and states that he reared it on the
leaves of Convolvulus. Treitschke says he reared numbers on the leaves of Convolvulus
arvensis (Schmeit. von Europa, §. 139). Duponchel makes a similar statement ([cono-
graphie des Chenilles). In the ‘Annales de la Société entomol. Belge, 1857, p. 40, I
find the following under Sphinx Convolvuli, “ Chenille en juillet et en aott sur le
liseron (Convolvulus arvensis, Z.), la belle jour (Mirabilis Jalapa, L.) et quelques
espéces d’Ipomea cultivées dans les jardins.” Lastly, in Stainton’s ‘ Manual’ vol. i.
p. 90, there is the following yemark: “ Mr. Atkinson informs me that in July, 1838, he
found five or six larve of this insect feeding on a bed of the wild balsam (Impatiens
noli-me-tangere) a few miles from Dolgellan, in Merionethshire, on the road to Bala.”
There can, therefore, I think, be no doubt that the name Convolvuli is derived from
the food of the larva, although it would seem that sometimes other plants than Con-
volvulus are eaten. Several of the authors I have quoted say that the larve always
hide themselves under ground or among leaves on the ground, except when they are
feeding, but that occasionally their retreats are discovered by finding the excrement,
the pellets of which are very large.—J. W. Douglas ; Lee, December 8, 1858.

The Reason for the Specific Name of Sphinx Convolvuli.—In a note appended to
Mr. Harding’s paper “ On the food-plant of Polyommatus Artaxerxes and P. Agestis”
(Zool. 6311), Mr. Newman states that “‘ Sphinx Convolvuli obtained its name from
the propensity of the imago to suck the honey of tubular flowers.” I should be glad
to see the authority for this statement. I suppose Linné gave the name Convolvuli
to this hawk-moth, from the food of the larva being Convolvulus, relying on the
assertions of previous observers to that effect. Before Linné appeared, Madame
Merian figured the larva sitting on Convolvulus arvensis, and wrote that it fed on the
root. A. J. Roésel, in 1745, mentions, in his ‘ Insecten-Belustigung,’ that the food of
this species consists of the green leaves of the white and red-coloured bindweed, and
not of the root, as stated by Madame Merian, and that he fed the caterpillar on the
same leaves with success: he adds that the female deposits her eggs singly on the same
plant, and that the caterpillar is sometimes found on the great bindweed.— 7. Chapman ;
Glasgow, December 6, 1858.

[I am extremely pleased that my note has called forth these communications. I
have always regarded Madame Merian’s statement, that the larva fed on the root of
the bindweed, as an error, and the transference of its locus edendi from the root to the
leaves a plausible and probable theory, but not an established fact.—Z. N.]

Sound Produced by the Larva of Acherontia Alropos—I have read Mr. J. E.
Weatherhead’s account of the larva of A. Atropos producing a singular, sound, which

XVII. E

6338 Insects.

he has likened to the sound produced by the sparks of an electrical machine. Has he
not mistaken it for the sound produced by other larve feeding in his breeding-cage?
for I have this season raised sixteen specimens of A. Atropos, and have often heard
the sound so well described by Mr. Weatherhead, but always attributed it to the
other larve in the same breeding-cage biting their food (Carduus angustifolia), the
leaves of which are hard and scabrous. The larve of A. Atropos are very common
about Poona.—Julian Hobson, Lieut. 3rd Regt. Bombay N.I.; Poona, near Bombay,
October 14, 1858.

Specific Names: Food of the Genus Acronycia.—Sergeant Johnson brought me a
full-grown larva of Acronycta Alni for identification on the 24th of August: it was
beaten from a horse-chestnut tree, on which it fed freely. Mr. Cook, in the ‘ Intelli-
gencer,’ writes that he fed it upon alder; Mr. Brown, in the ‘ Naturalist, that he found
it on willow; Mr. Anderson fed it upon lime; I have fed it upon thorn, which it pre-
ferred to all other food offered: Mr. Greening also fed it upon thorn: a friend here
fed it upon sycamore, and I have known it successfully bred upon bramble. What,
then, is its food-plant? It appears to me that many species of this genus are queerly
named: A. Alni, a general feeder, is called after one plant; A. Menyanthidis, which
undoubtedly feeds better upon sallow and whitethorn than upon anything else, after
a plant I never knew it eat; A. Salicis, which is a variety of A. Menyanthidis, I pos-
sess bred from thorn by Mr. Hague; A. Rumicis will eat anything, but I never saw
its larve on its titular plant; A. Ligustri I have bred upon ash, &c.; and A. Myrica
is a Sallow-feeder: thus, of all the plant-named species in this genera, except A. Aceris
(which I know nothing about), we see they do not feed upon the plants they are named
after; and of A. megacephala, a poplar-feeder (about which I see little to call in
Greek on its head), and A. auricoma (not particularly yellow-haired, unless we take its
name from its larva) finishes the genus, except A. strigosa, about which I know
nothing whatever, except by hearsay. How our ‘Gradus’ friends are to get through
this little dilemma remains to be seen, but it strikes me that to stamble upon many
such rocks as these will spoil their “little game,” because it is to be hoped they will
not perpetuate errors by telling us that “ A. Alni is called after its food-plant” (which
it certainly is not), and so on of the others. In common with many other practical
men, I am anxious to see a specimen of the ‘Gradus’ before we subscribe for it; if,
as has been recently hinted, it is only to be “ An Accentuated List,” it will not be
worth the paper it is printed upon to a scholar, and of no earthly use tu those who are
not scholars, and the mass of entomologists are not scholars; still they wish to know
what certain names mean, but will for ever pronounce them in the dialect of their
district, however it may jar upon Scotch or English ears. All the fine points of
accentuation will go for nothing without a full explanation of how they apply, because,
as I have said before, those who are not scholars, in the full acceptation of the term,
cannot apply the points, and those who are scholars do not require it to be done for
them. Of the two species in the genus Semaphora (S. tridens and S. Psi), and one in
Apatela (A. leporina), the two first are general feeders, but prefer osier and long-coned
or Winchester willow, whilst A. leporina is confined to birch, on which it is a canary-
coloured larva, and to black or trembling poplar, on which its larva is white, with a
slight, light green tinge, generally producing the variety bradyporina.—C. S. Gregson ;
Fletcher Grove, Stanley, near Liverpool.

Note on the Habits of Heliothis marginata.—As I last year took a hundred, or
somewhat more, of the larve of Heliothis marginata, I can form a tolerably good idea

Insects. 6339

of its habits, and as it may interest some, especially young entomologists, I forward
this account. The larve are subject to considerable variation: the typical larva, or
variety, which is most plentiful, is pale or rather yellowish green, with a deep green
dorsal line; subdorsal lines whitish yellow and geuerally narrow; spiracular lines
yellow, bordered on the upper margin with white; the yellowish green ground-colour
is freckled over with white, and is mingled with gray near the spiracular lines, above
which, on each segment, there is a black dot.

Var. 1. Ground-colour reddish claret, with a dull black dorsal line; subdorsal
lines yellowish and inconspicuous; spiracular lines yellow and conspicuous. Between
the dorsal and each subdorsal line there are two rows of black dots; between the sub-
dorsal and spiracular line the colour is blackish gray, with one row of black dots ;
between the spiracular lines and bases of legs there are two rows of black dots. In
the colour of its back this variety somewhat resembles the larva of Notodonta
dictezoides, and is not uncommon.

Var. 2. Deep greenish gray, freckled with white; dorsal line black, bordered with

white; subdorsal lines yellow and conspicuous; spiracular lines broadly yellow, with
a white upper margin. Between the dorsal and each subdorsal line are two rows of
black dots ; between the subdorsal and spiracular lines the ground-colour is deeper gray,
with two rows of black dots ;‘between the spiracular lines and bases of legs there are two
rows of black dots. Less frequent than the last variety. The typical larve, as well as
yarieties 1 and 2, vary in depth of colour and distinctness of markings.
_ Var, 3. Ground-colour yellow, with an inconspicuous dull gray dorsal line; sub-
dorsal lines yellow and narrow ; spiracular lines broadly yellow, bordered on the upper
margin with white, and above that with gray. A scarce variety. These larve feed on
rest-harrow (Ononis arvensis), and are full-grown in the latter half of August: they
live exposed, and many of them might, at first sight, be mistaken for larve of Hadena
oleracea: they seem very subject to the attacks of ichneumon flies. The pupe are
subterranean, and are inclosed in earthy cocoons. The perfect insects, in a state of
nature, fly from the middle of June to the middle of July, are lively, and come
sparingly to syrup.—J. F. Brockholes; 16, Cleveland Street, Birkenhead.

Crymodes exulis a British species. 'l'ranslated from the ‘ Stettiner
Entomologische Zeitung, by J. W. Douatas, Esq.

[When Dr. Staudinger was here lately on a visit, he showed me
about a dozen of the most striking of the varieties of this moth
which he had collected in Iceland in 1856; and certainly they
appeared so different from each other that almost every one might
have been considered, per se, to be a distinct species, and it is no
wonder that they have been so considered and have received so many
names. He then told me that Hadena assimilis, Dowbleday, which he
had just seen in Mr. Stainton’s collection, was no other than one of
the dark varieties, and among his specimens there was one which so
exactly represented our insect as to leave no doubt about the matter.

6340 Insects.

I have thought it might be interesting to our English entomologists to
read the following remarks of Dr. Staudinger about the species, and
have translated them from his paper “ Reise nach Island zu entomolo-
gischen Zwecken unternommen” published in the ‘Stettiner Ento-
mologische Zeitung’ tor July, 1857, p. 238. The occurrence in the
Isle of Arran of this species, hitherto found only in the Arctic Circle,
is also a fact worthy of note, and it may happen that Hadena Sommeri
and some of the other new Lepidoptera found by Dr. Staudinger in
Iceland, and which he has enumerated in his very interesting paper,
may also yet be found in the North and North Western Islands of
Scotland, especially now that attention is directed to the subject.—
J. W. D.]|

HADENA (?) EXULIS.

Fusca seu nigricans, ferrugineo-mixta, alarum anticarum lineis macu-
lisque dilutioribus, costis albicantibus, macula reniforme extus
excavata. Magn. 32—45 mills. (38—40 mills.)—¢ 2. Lefebv.,
Annales de la Soc. Ent. de France, v. p. 392, pl. x. fig. 2, 4.
Dup. Suppl. iui. p. 588, pl. 49, fig. 2. Botsd. Ind. Méth.
p. 119. .

Crymodes exulis, Guenée, Noctuélites i., p. 185.

Hadena gelata, Lefebv., 1.c. p. 393, fig 3, 2. Dup., |. c, p. 590,
fig. 3. Boisd., 1. c. p. 119 (Catalog. name).

Polia gelata, Herr.-Scheff., Syst. Bearb. d. Schm. v. Eur., ii.
p. 267, fig. 452, 453.

Crymodes gelata, Guenée, |. c. p. 186.

Hadena Groénlandica, Dup. l.c. p. 288, pl. 21. fig. 3, a,b. Botsd.
l.c. (Catalog. name), Preyer, Neuere Beitr. Taf. 411, fig. 3?
Zetterst., Ins. Lapp., p. 939.

Polia Grénlandica, Herr.-Scheff,, 1. c. p. 274, fig. 151.

Crymodes Gronlandica, Guenée, 1. c. p. 185.

Hadena borea, Boisd., 1. c. p. 119 (Catalog. name).

Polia borea, Herr.-Scheff., |. c. vi., p. 55, fig. 566 3, 567 9.

Crymodes borea, Guenée, 1. c. p. 186.

Mamestra cervina, Germ., Faun. Ins., Eur. Fasc. 12, No. 19.

Neuria cervina, Herr.-Scheff., |. c. ii. p. 291, fig. 451. Marmorata,
Zett.

Exarnis difflua, Hub., Geyer, Zutr. z. Samml. exot. Schm. p. 9,
fig. 411,

Noctua arctica, Thunb. in litt. (Mus. Berol.).

Insects. 6341

Crymodes gelida, Guenée, 1. c. p. 186, pl. 4, fig. 7.
‘5 Poli, Guenée, |. c. p. 187.
? Hadena marmorata, Zetters., Ins. Lapp., p. 937.
? Noctua oleracea, L. (Kaupmans Fidrilde) Mohr, Isl. Naturh.
p- 90.

Var.
Var.

a. Alis anticis nigris, albido-marmoratis ¢ @.

b. Alis anticis nigris, fascia media lata pallidiore ¢.
Var.c. Alis anticis nigro flavo albidoque variegatis ¢ &.
Var. d. Alis anticis flavescentibus, nigro-adspersis @.

Var.e. Alis anticis flavescentibus, albido-marmoratis.

Var. f. Alis anticis concoloribus griseis, nigro-lineolatis ¢ @.
Var. g. lis anticis concoloribus fuliginosis ¢ &.

Var. h. Alis anticis concoloribus ochraceis ¢.

Var.i. lis anticis fuscis, linea exteriore maculisque flavis d ¢.
Var. k. Alis anticis nigris, maculisque flavis $ @.

Var.l. Alis anticis nigris, maculis albis 2.

Var. m. Alis anticis concoloribus nigris ¢ 2

No Noctua known to me varies more than the foregoing. To this
cause in part is due that it is so surrounded with synonyms, and a
further reason of the confusion is that authors mostly made their de-
scriptions from very worn specimens. First, Duponchel says in the
description of his Gronlandica, that he quite thinks it agrees with one
of Lefebvre’s species, but Lefebvre’s original specimen is so bad that
from it nothing can be decided. Exulis, Lefebvre, was already, by
other authors, with the greatest propriety, placed as the male of gelata.
Duponchel described this species very recognizably as Grénlandica,
and indeed in the same year, 1836, in which it was published as exulis
and gelata, of Lefebvre. But as Duponchel already, in his Grénlandica,
mentions the exulis and gelata of Lefebvre, so must the latter name
necessarily appear to be the earlier, and therefore the name exulis,
given to the male, is chosen for the species. The mere Catalogue
name borea, Boisd., is of no value; but the original in Boisduval’s
collection proves to be perfectly identical with exulis. Dr. Herrich-
Schaffer places this species under two genera, Polia and Neuria, as
gelata, Gronlandica, borea, and cervina.. These prove to be the best of
the types of Messrs. Kaden and Pogge apportioned to the descriptions
of Herrich-Schaffer. So also the Mamestra cervina, Germar, brought
from Iceland by Kaden, is only exulis. Eversmann described in the
* Bulletin de Moscou” for 1842, another Noctua as cervina, which

6342 Insects.

Herrich-Schiffer (fig. 163 and 164) figured, but it has nothing to do
with cervina, Germar, and the name must therefore necessarily be
changed. Exarnis difflua, Hub.—Geyer, received from Greenland by
Sommer, belongs here, without the least doubt. A single undoubted
specimen of this species stands in the Royal collection at Berlin under
the name of “arctica, Thunb.” All the species erected by Guenée
(1. c.) into his new genus Crymodes belong here, with the exception of
Sommeri, of which, indeed, only one female is known, and it does not
bear the characters of the genus. ‘The description of his gelida, and
still better the figure, prove that it also belongs here; yellow as this
example is, I possess the species still more yellow. His Poli can also
only belong here. ‘To make a genus for itself out of this species has
certainly much in its favour. Grénlandica, Freyer, is certainly exulis ;
Groénlandica, Zett. I place here only with a ?, because the description
also applies to Sommeri. Marmorata, Zett., referred here by others
with the greatest certainty, I also place with a? in the absence of
certain proof. Zetterstedt found it in Southern Lapland, but I did not
see the species in the Royal Museum in Stockholm. Oleracea, Mohr,
can only be referred here, on account of its time of appearance;
conflua which also flies at the end of June, is put by Mohr as
Vaccinii.

I have about four hundred examples of exulis from Iceland, and
about twenty from Greenland before me, and scarcely one specimen is
like the other in its variation. Also with respect to the variation the
examples from Iceland are more important than those from Greenland,
which are more uniform and like to each other. The smallest specimen
(32 mills.) is a black female from North Iceland (Myvatn); the
largest is a male from Julianahaab, in Greenland (45 mills.) Those
from Greenland are large throughout, the smallest nearly reaches
37 mills. The largest of those from Iceland attains only the length
of 43 mills., the average is 388—40 mills.

The variations in colour and marking in this species are truly in-
credible; only for the purpose of having the necessary forms of
variation I am obliged to keep about one hundred specimens of
exulis in my collection. The foregoing short diagnoses of the chief
varieties give but a poor idea of the endless varieties themselves; even
the best descriptions could here avail little; the differences could best
be seen by a series of good figures. But the knowledge of the early
state shows that not the least doubt of the specific identity of all the
above-mentioned specimens can exist. About two hundred specimens
were reared, and further, we often found the varieties of the species

Insects. 6343

in copuld; in short our observations made on the spot leave not the
least doubt about the matter.

The abdomen is the least variable in its colour, which is ash-gray,
sometimes with a shade of yellow. The thorax is much more variable,
frequently gray with two dark stripes on the shoulders. But it is
nearly black in black varieties, whitish in the light-coloured ones,
yellow or brown in others, and often it becomes of a variegated mixture
of different colours. The head in its different parts varies like the
thorax. The tongue always remains yellow-brown. The antenne of
the male are slightly serrated, and beset with a double row of short
hairs. The hips, thighs and tibie are mostly gray ; tarsi darker, the
end of each joint annulated with brighter colour. The colour of the
spurs on the tibize is very varied.

It is scarcely possible to determine the normal characters of the
fore wings, but the ordinary ground-colour may be considered to bea
gray black with a shade of brown or ferruginous, and the usual
markings to be four transverse lines, one of them at the base, two en-
closing the centre, and one on the outer margin; the colour of these
lines is generally dingy yellow-brown. The round and reniform stig-
mata are filled in more or less white or yellow. The ribs are also
white. The claviform stigma is rarely clear, but still more rarely is it
particularly coloured. The outer transverse line (which is sometimes
wanting) is either regularly toothed or bears two M-formed projecting
teeth. Frequently the whole portion exterior to the third transverse
line is of a uniform dark colour. The same thing sometimes occurs
before the second line, in which case the middle of the wing is pale,
making the var.b. The var.a.,in which the transverse lines are
white and the ground-colour nearly black, is scarce. Sometimes the
black, white and yellow colours proceed very clearly through each other,
being the var. c. In one specimen the fore wings are dingy yellow,
sprinkled all over with black atoms, and a dark transverse outward
line, var. d.; where the ground-colour is also yellow, but the markings
are very white, we have var. e.; in one example nearly the whole of
the costa is white. The varieties with the fore wings entirely pale gray,
and only the transverse lines and the circumference of the stigmata
slightly dark, are particularly marked out as var. f 'The same holds
with those having the ground-colour rusty, var. g., and intermediate
gradations are not wanting here. In one male the fore wings are
almost entirely of a uniform ochreous, var.h. In another they are
almost copper-red, with dark lines, and only on the ribs white. Many
specimens are dark rusty, and the outer margin and both stigmata

6344 Insects.

are yellow, var.t. Sometimes only both the stigmata are yellow. There
are also varieties with the wings entirely black, the stigmata alone
yellow, var. k.; or with quite white stigmata, var. d.: in the latter
case there are some little spots in the vicinity of the stigmata also
whitish. The fore wings are perfectly black only in a single specimen
from the North, var. m.; in a female they bear a yellow toothed line
on the outer margin. In one female from the North they are dark
with a brassy gloss, but the stigmata and lines are pale. ‘The form
and size of the somewhat-rounded stigma vary greatly ; itis seldom
exactly circular, often elongated oval, often very small, and, in a
single instance, it runs into the reniform stigma. Lastly, although it
appears so different in form and size, its outer side is alwavs evenly
curved, and only in very small specimens is this difficult to
recognise.

The hinder wings are gray, paler towards the base; frequently a
distinct darker lunate spot is visible at the end of the median cell,
and often a distinctly marked undulating line somewhat behind the
middle of the wing; on the under side this is very distinct, as also is
the lunate spot. In dark varieties the under side of the hind wings is
either entirely dark or only rather dark on the outer margin, while the
rest of the wing is entirely pale, with a black lunate spot. On the
under side of the fore wings an undulating line like that on the hinder
wings is generally distinctly placed, but it is at times entirely wanting ;
behind it and the outer margin the colour is sometimes much lighter.
On the under side of all the wings before the cilia is a connected row
of very rudimentary lunate spots. The cilia of the hinder wings are,
with very little exception, light, mostly yellow or gray at the base.
On the fore wings they vary much, and are gray, white, brown,
black or mixed, but never regularly dappled with light or dark
colour.

On the 16th of June I first found a newly-disclosed male sitting on
the grass, but the end of the same month was the chief time for the |
appearance of this species. Their flight in the evening was very
swift, but later in July, they also frequently flew in the day-time, often
in the hottest sunshine, and settled on various flowers, giving pre-
ference to Thymus Serpyllum, Silene maritima and Armeria maritima.
In August they still flew about singly ; on the 15th of July the last
female appeared from the pupz collected by us.

The history of the early states of this moth is as interesting as in-
structive, because it shows that not only pupe but also larve of one
and the same species can remain as such for two or perhaps more

Insects. 6345

years. On the 15th of June we first found several pupz of our exulis,
of which one was apparently not quite fresh. By means of very zealous
rakings in the high moss, we managed, by the beginning of July, to
find about thirty pupe of the species ; and we obtained a good many
in those places in particular where.the moss grew sparingly among the
grass. In these rakings {also early in May, near Reykjavik) we found
besides some pupez of conflua, together with larva and pupe of Gra-
minis, another dingy white species of larva, in all about thirty speci-
mens of various sizes. Some appeared to be full-grown and measured
about 40 mills., some were hardly half so large, and others still smaller.
All were decidedly healthy, with the exception of some large ones
infested with larve of Ichneumons. The best proof of their healthiness
was that the smaller ones increased visibly in size and cast their skins.
The largest would, nevertheless, not assume the pupa state, and at our
departure on the fifteenth of August, they were no larger than when
we found them at the end of June. When these larve ate for them-
selves ways and cavities in the moss, we at first thought they fed on
moss; but here we were mistaken, for their proper food consisted of
the lowest portion of the stems of grasses, or the roots. This was
chiefly the reason why most of them died on board ship, where we
had only moss to give them; some of them there also, in storms,
came in contact with the sea water ; nevertheless we brought some
home in a healthy state. These larve were those of our exulis.

We had found in the latter half of July a number of worn females
of exulis, which laid eggs. They were put into a large, airy case with
grass and flowers therein, but we could not find any eggs; indeed some
were already dead. There we saw on the 26th of July, during the
hottest mid-day sunshine, a female sitting on the thick lower part ofa
stem of Poa alpina. Kalisch wished to take it off, but to our amaze-
ment it sat faston the stem. The last segments of the body were moving
about in a nearly perpendicular position, and the ovipositor almost
bored into the stem. By further observation we found several holes
made by the ovipositor into the narrow sheath-leaves of the stem,
between which and the stem were laid about one hundred eggs. I
now examined the stems placed with the imprisoned moths, and found
a quantity of eggs deposited in a very similar manner. The eges are
almost disk-shaped, which, except for their peculiar position, they
would not be. They are smooth, yellowish brown, and small in pro-
portion to others; for example, about half the size of those of E. Gra-
minis. After two or three weeks the young larve appeared and as long
as their size permitted they remained on the grass-stem and gnawed

XVII. F

6346 Insects.

it; then they loved to feed on that part of the stem which is just above
the root, but they also ate down into the root itself, and appeared only
exceptionally to feed on the leaves.

About the middle of September we took out the caterpillars pro-
duced on the grasses brought from.Iceland ; at that time they were all
(about fifty) 5 to 8 mills. in length. At the end of November I again
examined them, and found, to my great astonishment, that about five
were already nearly as large as the largest specimens found in Iceland,
the perfect identity of which with our exulis reared from the eggs was
now as clear as day. About nine were half grown, and of the re-
maining six or eight still living ones, some were scarcely larger than
they were in September. These facts, taken in connection with those
observed in Iceland, are sufficient proof that our exulis sometimes
passes one, two or even three winters in the larva state.

The young larva, when it comes out of the egg measures 2°5 to
3 mills. in length. With the exception of the darker head and lighter
anterior feet, the colour, position of the spots and habit, are exactly
like those of the full-grown larva. The first pair of prolegs are not
very much shorter than the hinder ones. The position of the little
hooks on the prolegs in the semicircle on the inner side of the lower
plate is just the same in the adult larva, except that the number of
the little hooks, now eight to ten, is then twelve to fourteen. The
full-grown larva is 42 to 46 mills. long. It has no resemblance what-
ever to any larva of Hadena or Polia that L know. The hinder seg-
ments gradually but perceptibly diminish in breadth after the seventh
or eighth. The colour is dirty white with a shade of gray, the head
chestnut-brown, the plate of the thoracic and anal segments and the
anterior feet yellowish. The labrum and eye-marks are rather dark,
and just where the hemispheres join are two dark spot-like depressions.
The head is scarcely half as broad as the following segment, which,
on the upper side, is entirely overlaid by the exceedingly strong tho-
racic plate. The second and third segments bear on the upper side
several very obscure dark spots, which are scarcely distinguishable
from the ground-colour. The position of the spots appears to agree
with other Noctua larve. The slightly raised spots always bear a
rather long reddish hair springing from a dark speck. The thirteen
segments of the larva, as shown in my “ Dissertatio de Sesiis agri
Berol.” are here very distinctly seen. ‘The rudimentary stigmata are
always very distinct on the twelfth segment, and mostly appear close
under the fore part of the anal plate. The anal plate itself is very

strong, in form a somewhat elongated semicircle, and bears as usual
eight hairs.

Insects. 6347

The larve appear to assume the pupa-state at the end of May or
beginning of June, within a cavity eaten into the moss or turf, not far
from the surface. The pupa is chestnut-brown and very lively ; it has
a dark, often very conspicuous cremaster which is broadly obtuse at
the end, bearing at each angle two strong, sharp bristles. The skin
thrown off the larva very frequently remains attached to the cremaster.
The moth appears in from four to eight weeks, and the empty pupa-
cases are then very fragile and of a pale yellow colour. A large number
of the larve were ichneumoned, and, from the 16th of July to the
beginning of August, the pupe furnished some fifty specimens of Ich-
neumon luctatorius var., Wesmaél, of which first the males and then
the females appeared. In one full-grown larva I found a quantity of
small white cocoons; at the end of July they produced Pterilitus
islandicus, Ruthe, a species that also comes from E. Graminis.

Hadena exulis, according to the best authority, is as yet only found
in Labrador, Greenland and Iceland. Duponchel and Boisduval give
also the North Cape and Finland for Grénlandica, which is certainly
this species ; but both these authors err very often in giving the
native countries of species. If marmorata, Zett., belongs here, as is
very probable,;.then the species is also found in South Lapland, but
this matter requires confirmation.

Occurrence of Scphria emortualis at Brighton.—A single specimen of this Deltoid,
new to Britain, was taken in a garden at Brighton, on the 18th of June last, by Mr.
Pocock. This locality seems more productive of novelties than any other part
of Britain.—Hdward Newman.

The Genus Oporabia. — In reply to Mr. Logan’s question (Zvol. 6285), I may say
I formed my opinion of Oporabia autumnaria from specimens taken at Delamere
Forest by Mr. Greening and myself, Mr. Greening having submitted his specimens to
our friend Mr. Doubleday, who returned them as Oporabia autumnaria! I have a
series in my cabinet under the name of O. approximaria, bred from birch; the females,
to my eye, being distinct in form. I have also a specimen which I bred in August,
from larve, taken on the 19th or 20th of June, feeding in catkins, on sallows which
grow on the centre ride; in Wharncliffe Wood, Yorkshire: this insect has been
submitted to Mr. Doubleday, who returned it as a variety of O. dilutaria: Mr. Bond
has also seen it and decided it was O. dilutaria; it is exactly like O. borearia in the
upper wings, but has a band across the elongated under wings, as in O. approximaria,
not. parallel with the cilia, as in O. dilutaria; I call it O. precursaria. I shall
be glad to assist any one or more friends who will work out this question in a friendly
spirit; to all others Iam dumb. When Mr. Weaver brought his large specimens
of O. dilutaria from Scotland as O. autumnaria, Boisd., only one gentleman in

6348 Insects.

Lancashire bought a specimen, as it was considered not distinct from O. dilu-
taria: that gentleman wrote to me in these words, “I placed it in my cabinet as
O. autumnaria, because 1 had heard there was such a species.” I confess I feel little .
confidence in the opinion of one who lets an insect remain unexamined in his cabinet
for so many years, when it was only placed there because he had heard there was such
a species. Ido hope that my friend Mr. Logan, who once promised to publish the
Scottish Lepidoptera, will make a point of figuring this genus in particular, and shall
be glad to render him any assistance in my power. I think it would be exceedingly
interesting to the readers of the ‘ Zoologist’ to know if the specimens bred by
him from birch and the specimens bred by Mr. Wilson from heath resembled those
taken by Mr. Cooper and Mr. Weaver in Perthshire. One word more and I have
done: the habits of the October and November insects are so different that any one
can tell which species he is about to take: O. dilutaria flies off the tree bole rapidly and
generally upwards, O. autumnaria is one of the most sluggish flyers: an old friend
once observed to me, “ Nay, don’t hurry; autumnaria won't go fast or far.”.— C. S.
Gregson, Stanley, Liverpool, November 14, 1858.

[Will Mr. Gregson obligingly supply the cabinet of the Entomological Club with
a series of each species? they will then be accessible to all inquirers.—£d. ]

Note on the Turnip Nigger (Athalia centifolie).-- This year the turnip nigger
has been very destructive in this district, and acres of turnips have been stripped
of their leaves. I did not notice them in any number till the first week in
August, when the weather was very hot and dry, so that they throve and increased
amazingly. On the evening of the 18th we had a severe thunderstorm with a heavy
dashing rain ; the two or three following days were showery, and I think a great many
were killed ; the turnips afterwards grew very fast, so that those niggers left did but
little damage. I quite believe if the fine and hot weather had continued another fort-
night the turnip crop would have been nearly destroyed. But what strikes me as
very singular is that there is a second brood, which are, I think, even more numerous
than the first, though of course they will not do so much damage, as there is more
food for them. This time they have taken to the oldest turnips on the farm, which
were not touched in August: hundreds of the caterpillars are upon them now, though
they are not so numerous as they were a fortnight since ; the severe frosts of last week
did not seem to affect them in the least.—Thomas Dix; West Harling, Norfolk,
November 16, 1858.

The Turnip Nigger.—May I ask “ Rusticus” to be so good as assist me to the
name of a black larva that is ravaging the turnips to such an extent, as to leave little
else but the mid-ribs of the leaves. A whole field of many acres in extent is com-
pletely devoured by the little blackamoors. In Lincolnshire the little creature
is known by the name of the “ Black Jack ;” but whether it changes to fly, ichneu-
mon or beetle is a perfect mystery to the rustics in those parts. The larva is the
thickest at the head and tapers slightly towards the tail. It is furnished with six legs
in front, and with tentacles downwards to the tail; the exuvia is annulated, the annula-
tions being concolorous.—Peter Inchbald ; Storthes Hall, near Huddersfield," October
21, 1858.

[It is the Athalia centifoliz, figured in ‘ Rusticus,’ page 102.—Ead.]

Late Swarm of Bees.—The latest date that I have met with for a swarm of bees
was the 13th of September, and I was much surprised to be called into my garden
this day, at half-past one o’clock, to witness a swarm from my own hives ; it was very

Entomological Society. 6349

small and did not settle as usual, but took an easy flight and was lost after being fol-
lowed a quarter of a. mile—W. R. Morris; Kent Water Works, Mill Lane, Deptford,
October 16, 1858.

Occurrence of Thalassema Neptuni and a new species of Zoanthus in Torbay.—
Amongst a rich variety of animal life procured by dredging near Torbay, on the 14th
of October last, I was so fortunate as to obtain a specimen of Gaertner’s spoonworm
(Thalassema Neptuni), a species of Echinoderm that Professor Forbes was not lucky
enough to see alive. In his work on the British members of that class he quotes
Montagu’s description of this species, which is given with that naturalist’s usual minute
accuracy. This curious animal appears to be confined to the western coasts of our
island. A still greater prize, taken at the same time, was a small species of Zoanthus,
which differs in so many essential characters from Zoanthus Couchii,— the only
recorded British member of this tropical genus,— as to lead to the conclusion that it
is undescribed. It was found in ten or twelve fathoms water, at about a mile from the
eastern headland of Torbay, and, from the fact of three separate groups of them being
obtained, the species will probably be met with again in the same neighbourhood. A
full description of this interesting compound zoophyte will shortly be published.—
E. W. H. Holdsworth ; 26, Osnaburgh Street, November 9, 1858.

Proceedings of Societies.

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
November 1, 1858.—Dr. Gray, President, in the Chair.

Donations.

The following donations were announced, and thanks ordered to be presented to
the donors:—‘ Annales de la Société Linnéenne de Lyon,’ Tomes iii. and iv.; pre-
sented by the Societé Linnéenne de Lyon. ‘Annales des Sciences Physiques et
naturelles, d’Agriculture et d’ Industrie, publiées par la Société impériale d’ Agriculture,
&e. de Lyon, 2iéme Serie, Tome viii., 3iéme Serie, Tome i.; by the Society.
‘Mémoires de Académie impériale des Sciences, Belles-lettres et Arts de Lyon.’
Classe des Lettres, Tomes v. and vi.; Classe des Sciences, Tomes vi. and vii.; by the
Society. ‘Verbandlungen des zoologisch-botanischen in Wien,’ Vol. vii.; also
‘ Personen-Orts und Sach Register der fuuf usten Jahrgange der Sitzungsberichte und
Abhandlungen ;’ by the Society. ‘ Proceedings of the Literary and Philosophical
Society of Liverpool,” No. 12; by the Society. ‘Exotic Butterflies, Part 28; by
W. W. Saunders, Esq. ‘ List of Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection
of the British Museum, by Francis Walker, F.L.S., &c., Part xv. Noctuide ; by the
Author. The ‘ Zoologist’ for November; by the Editor. The ‘ Literary Gazette’
for October ; by the Editor. The ‘ Journal of the Society of Arts ;’ by the Editor, A
‘Manual of British Butterflies and Moths, No. 22; The ‘ Entomologist’s Weekly
Intelligencer’ for October ; by H. T. Stainton, Esq. Six specimens of Agrotis saucia ;
by F. Bond, Esq.

6350 Entomological Society.

Election of a Member.

Robert Slade, Esq., of 36, Gillingham Street, Pimlico, was balloted for and
elected a member of the Society.

Exhibitions.

Mr. Stainton exhibited a specimen of a new British Noctua, Micra parva, taken at
Torquay by Dr. Battersby: that gentleman had made a careful investigation of the
cliffs at Torquay, in June last, in consequence of his daughter having met with a
specimen of Micra ostrina, and the result was several more specimens of M. ostrina,
and with them two M. parva, which he at first mistook for small females of M. ostrina:
“they lay very close amongst the grass and brambles, and when disturbed did not fly
more than a yard or two.”

Mr. Gorham exhibited the living larve of Coleophora Virgauree, from Westerham,
Kent.

Mr. Westwood exhibited beautiful examples of Acherontia Atropos and Sphinx
Convolvuli, and remarked on the usefulness of setting out the legs of specimens of
Lepidoptera, which has hitherto been much neglected by entomologists in this
country.

Mr. Smith exhibited, on behalf of Mr. Plant, the following Coleoptera, viz :—
Tropiderus sepicola, from Buddon Wood; Zeugophora flavicollis, from Martinshaw
Wood, Lincolnshire ; and Orsodacna humeralis, captured in Birkland Forest, Notting-
hamshire.

Mr. Stevens exhibited some fine Coleoptera, taken by Mr. A. R. Wallace in
Celebes.

Mr. Westwood exhibited an ant, from South America, destitute of eyes; the
specimen had been obtained by him on his recent visit to Denmark. Mr. Smith
believed the insect pertained to the genus Kciton.

Mr. Bond exhibited, on behalf of Mr. A. F. Sealy, two specimens of Luperina
Dumerilii, taken in the South of England during the past season.

Mr. Stevens read some extracts from a letter received from Mr. Diggles, of More-
ton Bay, on the Entomology of that part of Australia, and stated that he had received
a letter from M. Mouhot, who had undertaken a journey to Siam in quest of
objects of Natural History, announcing his arrival at Sincapore in September
last.

Mr. Wilkins observed that he had lately had a female of Acherontia Atropos
brought to him, which, on beiug placed under a tumbler, had deposited eggs; it was
usually considered that the autumnal specimens of this and other allied species were
invariably barren.

Mr. Dutton had lately obtained a female of Acherontia Atrupos which contained
no ova.

December 7, 1858.—Dr. Gray, President, in the Chair.

Donations.

The following donations were announced, and thanks ordered to be presented to
the donors:—‘ Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou,’ Année

Entomological Society. 6351

1857, Nos. 2—4; 1858, No.1; presented by the Society. ‘Journal of the Proceedings
of the Linnean Society, Vol. iii., No. 10; by the Society. The ‘ Natural History
Review,’ Vol. v.. No. 4; by the Dublin University Zoological Association. The
‘ Zoologist’ for December; by the Editor. The ‘Atheneum’ for November; by the
Editor. The ‘ Literary Gazette’ for November; by the Editor. The ‘ Journal of the
Society of Arts’ for November; by the Society. A ‘ Manual of British Butterflies
and Moths, No. 23; The ‘ Entomologis’’s Weekly Intelligencer, Nos. 110—114; by
H. T. Stainton, Esy. ‘ Description de diverses espéces nouvelles ou peu connues des
Genre Scolia’ par H. de Saussure; by the Author.

Exhibitions.

Mr. Stevens exhibited a box of minute Coleoptera, chiefly Staphylinide, sent by
Mr. Wallace from Celebes, amongst which were several species of Philonthi and Steni,
He observed that he was informed by Mr. Wallace that the Staphylinide were no
doubt as numerous in the tropics as in more temperate regions, if assiduously searched
for.

Mr. Stevens also exhibited two fine longicorn beetles, Phosphorus angulator and
Tragocephala pulchella, from Sierra Leone.

Mr. Bond exhibited a specimen of Acherontia Atropos, having the markings of
both the anterior and pvsterior wings on the right side much more suffused than
usual.

Dr. Wallace exhibited a box of Lepidoptera taken in the Isle of Wight during
the past summer: it contained a fine specimen of Catephia alchymista, a Noctua new
to Britain, taken in September last; a specimen of Laphygma exigua, attracted by
light, also in September ; Heliothis armigera ; Leucania vitellina ; specimens of Micra
ostrina, taken in June and August, and an example of Nola centonalis, attracted by
light the first week in July.

Mr. Smith exhibited some beech leaves from Fontainebleau Forest, infested by
galls formed by Cecidomyia Fagi: he observed that the species was mentioned by
Mr. Walker in the third volume of the ‘ Insecta Britannica,’ p. 131, as found on beech
trees in Switzerland, &c.

Mr. Smith also exhibited specimens of Ponera contracta, found by Mr. Squire in
a bakehouse near Burton Crescent.

Mr. Westwood observed that the first recorded British example of this species was
found by him in St. James’s Park.

Mr. Westwood exhibited a specimen of Solpuga fatalis, a large and very poisonous
spider from India.

Mr. Westwood stated that the binding of the books in the library of a lady residing
at Oxford had lately been found to be- much injured by a Lepidopterous larva,
apparently that of Endrosis fenestrella.

The Secretary read the following, from a letter addressed by Mr. H. W. Bates to

Mr. Stevens :-—
“* Ega, September 29th, 1858.

‘The two species of Cymindis you mention as interesting things contained in my
last collection were taken under extraordinary circumstances, which I think are wotth
relating, although there is nothing of scientific importance connected with the
subject. One only is a Cymindis, the largest of eight or ten species: I have found
all but this one about roots of herbage in sandy, partly sheltered places ; the other

6352 Entomological Society.

metallic species, so similar to the Cymindis in its rufous square humeral patch,
is really a Coptodera or new genus allied thereto,—all the allied species of which, at
least twenty taken here, are found coursing over the bark of decaying trees. These
two species, however, were not taken in their proper habitats, but cast ashore on the
sandy beach near the town after a stormy night on the lake. I found them together
with vast multitudes of other insects; in fact, there was a ridge of sediment along the
beach, a mile in length, composed almost entirely of insects. It is remarkable that a
great number of the species I have never been able to obtain in any other manner.
The causes of the phenomenon I suppose to be these,—premising that it occurs only
once annually, at the end of August, during stormy, changeable weather, which follows
the first heats of the fine season: — a sultry night attracts vast numbers of nocturnal
insects from the forest to fly about over the Jake; a squall of cool wind arrives sud-
denly from the opposite shores, and the wind and chilled temperature cast the myriads
of gambolling insects into the water, the swell afterwards casting them on the beach.
It is a proof of the vast number of the nocturnal insects in the tropics. The greater
proportion consists of Coleoptera ; there are also many Hemiptera and moths; even
small birds, Cerabe and others.

“The Coleoptera consist chiefly of vast numbers of Scaritide, from minute species
less than the Dyschirius gibbus of Europe to large Scarites, 1} inch long; some of
them of very singular forms, such as Oxystomus, Stratiotes, and some, I think, new
genera; the most remarkable of which Mr. Westwood has recently described
as Solenogenys foeda. There are also many Truncatipennes, chiefly of genera
Polystichus, Zuphium, Diaphorus, Galerita, Casnonia and Brachinus. Other Geode-
phaga are in less variety, but some species, as a species of Dercylus, are in vast mul-
titudes. Next in numbers to the Scaritides are the Heteromera, chiefly small species
allied to Helops. After them come the Lamellicornes ; grand Dynastes—the;Mega-
losome, Mars and Acteon, Enema infundibulum, species of Strateegus, Czlosis, Ligy-
rus, Stenocrates, Chalepus and Cyclocephala. Some black species of Chalepus and
Stenocrates especially uccur always by thousands. There are also a few Melolonthida,
of the genus Microcranium (Burm.). Amongst the sediment I found also one or two
large handsome Buprestide. Staphylini occur in less abundance, although there are
great numbers of minute ‘species clinging to portions of wood, and a few very large
species, as Pinophilus torosus, Ey., a very large Staphylinidi. The Pselaphide are
also in vast numbers, clustering within the crevices of pieces of wood and rubbish cast
up by the waters. I could only find time to select a few of the more curious species ;
one was a minute Articerus, some others belonged evidently to genera at present un-
known. There were many other large Coleoptera, of which only single specimens
occured, such as two very fine Prionide, one, I think, a Mecosarthron. Numbers of a
Macraspis also occurred,—a genus which I thought were exclusively day-flyers, and it
was a species which I had not yet taken in its place in the forest. ‘There were also
many Coccinelle ; two Cantharides which I have never been able to meet with else-
where; several Anthici, Curculionides, Casside and other families of Coleoptera.

“ There are a few Hymenoptera, ants and one or two bees and wasps.

“The Hemiptera were chiefly two or three species of Pachycoridz, very handsome
insects, especially one, an Angocoris, but these were rare, whilst a species of Canthe-
cona was in great abundance.

“The greater part of the insects thus cast up by the waters of the lake were quite
dead, others nearly so, whilst many clinging to portions of wood and weeds were alive:

Entomological Society. — 6353

two or three hours of an equatorial sun soon dispersed the latter: of the former, the
large-bodied Lamellicornes became a prey to flocks of insectivorous birds, especially
bands of little sandpipers; they ate only the abdomen: the Carabides and Hemip-
tera they would not touch; many of them remained entire for many days, others fell to
fragments after being exposed to the sun. The waters of the rivers at this season were
retreating, but the fragments of insects were covered by a stratum of blown sand, and
this may serve to explain the method by which masses of the bodies and mutilated
remains of insects become imbedded in fossiliferous strata.

“This wholesale destruction of insect life does not occur frequently ; in fact, I
have witnessed it on a large scale only once a year. On many sultry evenings, in the
fine season, numbers of insects are to be seen flying abroad, but the various conditions
required for the grand iromolation do not combine frequently. I have found many
interesting Coleopterous insects by standing in a favorable place on the banks of the
river, and observing them as they pass; it is necessary to have the clear western sky
in the background. The insects are very uncertain in their appearance ; it is not even
every sultry night that proves favorable; they appear to be acted upon by atmospheric
conditions which we cannot ourselves appreciate or calculate. Many of the insects
taken flying in this way are the same_as those found drowned on the beach, as related
above, especially the Scaritidz, the Polystichi, Heteromera, &c.; but many others are
different,—for instance, many smal] Longicornes, especially Chrysoprasis, are eminently
day- insects.

* One evening on the banks of the Amazons at St. Paulo I witnessed an extraor-
dinary flight of Coleoptera, almost all Scaritide ; there was literally a shower of them,
nearly all the same species—some twenty or thirty—which I had previously found at
Ega, on the beach. These insects are extremely difficult to find in their proper habi-
tats; of the thirty or more species of Scaritide found flying in the evening, I have
~ not taken more than five or six 2 situ, and those at roots of herbage in shady places.
Sometimes these nocturnal insects may be attracted by a lamp at night, placed in a
favorable place, but a prolific night rarely occurs; in this way I have taken a great
variety of Pselaphide, Scaritide, including the Solenogenys foeda; Staphylinide,
including some extraordinary forms allied to Ophites; also Palpicornes, Calleide,
even Cicindele ; numbers of Harpalide, genus Selenophorus, but no Longicornes,
for many night-flying insects appear not to be attracted by light.”

Mr. Stevens stated that Mr. Bates proposed to return to England in the spring of
next year, having spent the last eleven years in the investigation of the Entomology
of the region of the Amazons.

Mr. Westwood trusted he would receive a hearty welcome from the entomologists
of this country, whose collections he had enriched with South-American insects to a far
greater extent than had been done by any other individual.

Mr. Stainton read descriptions of twenty-five new species of Indian Micro-
Lepidoptera received from Mr. Atkinson, of Calcutta.

Mr. Waterhouse read a paper intituled “ Notes on the Species of Elateride in the
Stephensian Cabinet.”—E. S.

XVII. G

6354 Northern Entomological Society.

NorTHERN ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
December 18, 1858.—B. Cooke, Esq., in the chair.

This being the Anniversary Meeting, the Secretary read a report of progress during
the year, which was most satisfactory.

Exhibitions.

The President exhibited a box full of beautifully-set Hemiptera, principally taken
last season.

Mr. Langeake exhibited a box of recent captures for identification, containing
many interesting species; amongst them was one Depressaria unknown to the mem-
bers present, and an extraordinary variety of Phibalapteryx gemmaria.

Mr. Marrot exhibited the box of the evening, an undoubted case of partheno~
genesis in Lasiocampa Quercus, and said he took only one larva during the season; it
was left in the box it was collected in, spun up at once, came out, and was pinned alive
into a pocket box, which box was never opened afterwards until the moth had laid its
eggs, died, the eggs hatched, and the young larve perished for want of food! There
were about twenty-eight egg-shells and twenty-five dead larve in the box.

Mr. Gregson exhibited a box recently received from Mr. Dale: in it were many
interesting species, especially Phloxopteryx upupana and some Peronez, of which here-
after. He then exhibited a box from Mr. Allis; in it were Gelechia nigra, G. Hubneri,
Coleophora troglodytella, Anesychnia langrella, &c., and an apple-feeding Ypono-
meuta; it is expected this will one day be proved a good species. He then exhibited
a very long series of Tephrosia crepuscularia, from Kent, London district, Black
Park, Shropshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, Westmoreland, Cumberland and Scotland ;
the latter supplied by Mr. Chapman, of Glasgow; one specimen from Delamere
Forest, as near white as possible, and another from the same place, very nearly black,
with every gradation of colour between them; the southern specimens, perhaps,
a little yellower in the ground-colour than the generality of others, yet not
to be separated from sume of the northern specimens, proving to the satisfaction of the
Meeting that Tephrosia crepuscularia and T. laricaria are one and the same species, the
first name standing. He then exhibited some beautiful specimens of Botys decrepit-
alis, kindly sent by Mr. Chapman, and a number of Cheimatobia autumnaria? taken
by Mr. Mawson, of Cockermouth, at the foot of Basenthwaite Water, during the last
week in October: this year they are like Oporabia filigrammaria, but as that species
would pass away in September, at the very latest, they confirm what has been advanced
at these Meetings before, namely, that there is a good species allied to O. filigrammaria.
A discussion ensued which led to some amusing remarks, it being conceded that
no man could confound the specimen before the Meeting with O. dilutaria. He then
exhibited a Geometra variety, which he thought Melanippe propugnaria, from
Cumberland, and the new Tinea, lately bred, which was brought before the last
Meeting, as likely to become British, having been imported in skins from Honduras,
observing that it had reproduced itself in a cold room.

Mr. Brockholes observed he had not yet bred it, but expected to do so shortly,
when it was asked by a Member, Would the ladies of England thank a bachelor for

Northern Entomological Society. 6355

introducing another destructive insect into their houses, in order to enrich our cabi-
nets? In the box were specimens of Scopelosoma satellitia, from Kendal, nearly
black, and a perfectly black Acronycta Rumicis? the variety Salicis of most cabinets,
but not of Curtis.

Mr. Johnson exhibited a box of Coleoptera, containing a Lesteva new to the
district.

The Secretary then exhibited a box to illustrate “ Lepidoptera and their Parasites,—”
a paper which it is hoped will be read before a Meeting shortly,—the perfect insect
and pupa-case, cocoon and two species of perfect parasites which attack the insect. He
then, after the discussion, called attention to a very long series of Leptogramma
parisiana? (Boscana ?) and made the following observations thereon :— :

Leptogramma parisiana ? (Boscana ?)

In placing this magnificent series of Leptogramma parisiana? (Boscana?) before
you, I may observe I have spent much time and trouble in getting them together, in
the hope that, from the various forms, we might judge whether they constituted one
variable species, or were really distinct and well-defined species. We have to thank
those kind friends who have assisted me, but we are especially indebted to Mr. Parfitt,
of Exeter, and to the Rev. E. Horton, of Wick, whose kindness in presenting me with
specimens and in forwarding specimens for exhibition here, from their own cabinets,
at great risk, deserve the best thanks of this Meeting. One of my friends writes me
from Yorkshire: ‘‘ You are not singular in supposing L. parisiana and L. Boscana one
species.” My attention was first called to this species by reading the Rev. Mr. Hor-
ton’s remarks in the ‘ Intelligencer,’ and I determined to work out this question, at
the same time I worked out the early states of the allied species in this group, and as
this is decidedly the most interesting question to us in the family, I have determined
to bring it before you first. You will observe that from the top of the series the spe-
cimens become gradually lighter and lighter until we see the eighth specimen, which
is the lightest autumn specimen yet seen (this belongs to the Rev. E. Horton), and
carries us into the true L. Boscana, or summer brood, in regular successive gradations ;
after which, the remainder lead us gradually down to the darkest or old L. seabrana
form again. I take my ideas of the true L. Boscana form from the specimen given to
me by my friend Mr. Allis, from Haworth’s collection. We now come to the shape of
the insects: here again the sexes are permanent in form in both the summer and
antumn brood; hence from the personal appearance of the perfect insects, we can only
conclude they are one and the same species; size, shape and markings, to the eye of
the closest observer, are the same, colour only varying in intensity. We now come to
the early state of the species, without which, I grant all I have done and said might
eventually be confuted, and about which some who pride themselves on the possession of
large collections of Leptogramma care little, preferring either to give all that is known
about this species at present, and leaving the further illustration of the history of this
insect before you to be worked out as opportunity offers. First, both forms are elm-
feeders; this is acknowledged on all hands, but perhaps I cannot do better than read
an extract from a letter I received from the Rev. E. Horton, who seems to have paid
more attention to the early states of this insect than any other person: he says,—“ I
could not discover any difference in the larve. I extract the following from
my journal as a description of the larva: Head brownish black, shining on

6356 Northern Entomological Society.

the first segment; a bilobed patch of the same colour, darkest externally, and shaded
lighter to the middle; the rest of the body pale bluish green, of a semitransparent
appearance, flattened ; skin rather loose, with a few pale hairs; the green becomes
more glossy as it approaches the pupa state; the young larva is pale reddish green ;
legs shining black.” I think we may leave the name of these insects an open
question ; it is probable it will revert to Fabricius’s name scabrana.

After the discussion (all being agreed that the specimen constituted one variable
species), the Secretary exhibited a long series of Peronea potentillana, Cooke, a
long series of Peronea Schalleriana, H. D. Cat., and some Peronea comparana,
H. D. Cat., and read a paper “On Peronea potentillana, Cooke,” by C. S. Greg-
son. The Meeting decided the species a good one.

The President then read the following paper from Edwin Brown, Esq. :—

On Breeding Acherontia Atropos.

“ As I esteem it the duty of any one who discovers a new and successful method
of arriving at a scientific object to impart that discovery, however little it may add to
the general stock of knowledge, I beg to occupy your attention for a few minutes,
whilst I mention a plan of developing Acherontia Atropos, which I found to answer
exceedingly well during the past autumn.

“ At short intervals five caterpillars of this species were brought to me, some found
on the potato, the others on Lycium barbarum. One or more of these larve had
been sorely pinched by the rustics, who held them in great dread, and indeed talked
of cutting down “the tree that had bred such venomous animals ;” the consequence
was one of them soon cast off the larva-skin, and in a short time died. The four
pupe I placed in a flower-pot, well shaded and partly filled with light soil, upon
which half an inch of powdered peat was spread. The pupe were placed upon
the peat and covered with a thickish layer of moistened moss (ypnum squarrosum), a
short and thick stick being planted in the midst. The pot was then sunk in a hot-bed
frame, underneath a wall facing the south, and a hand-glass, perforated at the top,
placed over the pot. Here, I argued, I possessed all the elements necessary for suc-
cess. My friends, however, shook their heads and lvoked incredulous, whilst
I expatiated upon the pupe being thus moist, without risk of injury from tearing,
or the growth of fungus matter — upon the exclusion of all excess of light, their
enjoyment of a regular temperature — on the absence of all external pressure, and on
the convenience furnished for ‘ stretching.’ It was of no avail, my friends said the
plan was ‘against nature, and not likely to succeed.’ To this I replied, ‘It was
owing to an imperfection in nature that so few moths exist, as compared with
the number of caterpillars, and my plan was offered by way of an improvement on
nature. The result justified my calculations. I obtained a moth from each pupa,
and all in fine condition, excepting one, which was somewhat crippled, owing, as I
imagine, to a hurt it had received in the larva state.”

After a vote of thanks to various contributors the Meeting broke up.—C. S. G.

Tendency of Species to form Varieties. 6357

On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties.
By Tuomas Boyp, Esq.

I HAve read the papers on the variation of species in the ‘ Zoologist’
(Zool. 6292—6308) with much interest; and yet they have left an
unsatisfactory feeling in my mind: on asking myself, ‘“‘ What does all
this prove?” the only answer I could make was, “A possibility.”
They seem, in common with very much of the argument and discus-
sion on allied subjects in the present day, like a return to the old
philosophy, “the anticipation of Nature,” as Bacon calls it, and the
only result attained, or likely to be attained by it, is that we lose our-
selves in doubt, like the ancient philosophers,

“ And find no end, in wandering mazes lost.”

The argument, it seems to me, starts upon the smallest possible
basis of facts, the known variation in species, and then goes on,
without any additional fact, to the possibility or probability of an
indefinite extension of this variation. Is this wise! Is it in accord-
ance with the spirit of modern Science?

But the last of the three papers referred to goes much further than
the others; it is much more definite in its aim, it claims something
of the character of a proof, and it carries the argument into ground
scarcely touched before. After ably sketching out the effects of
external circumstances on the numbers and variation of animals, the
author lays down two points,—/irst, “that the animal population of a
country is generally stationary, being kept down by a periodical
deficiency of food and other checks,” and secondly, ‘that the com-
parative abundance or scarcity of the individuals of the several
species is entirely due to their organization and resulting habits,
which, rendering it more difficult to procure a regular supply of food
and to provide for their personal safety in some cases than in others,
can only be balanced by a difference in the population, which have to
exist in a given area.” ‘This, it seems to me, is far more general and
comprehensive than is warranted by the facts of the case; all that is
proved is that the want of food and the inability of self-preservation
do exercise an influence over the number of species, and that it is
probable that these are two main causes of numerical variation; but
to go beyond this is to ground conclusions upon our ignorance, for
there may be many causes, of which we know nothing, which exercise
powerful influence over these phenomena.

In the next paragraph allusion is made to the probability that some

6538 On the Tendency of Species

varieties of a species might have a better chance of escaping or
protecting themselves against certain adverse circumstances than the
parent species; as, for instance, unusual length of limb might give an
antelope greater facility to escape from the feline Carnivora; and it is
argued that, after such a variety had become numerous, any subsequent
circumstances which would throw an additional strain on the vitality
of such species would result in the annihilation of the parent, leaving
only this variety, which is assumed to be a superior variety.

Now have we any right to assume that an antelope with longer legs
than its parent is superior to that parent? It seems evident that we
cannot, in any way, do so, unless we are certain that it has every other
power and faculty in the same perfection as its parent, and is exposed
to no other disadvantage on account of this partial superiority, and
I cannot think there is sufficient ground for such an assumption; the
additional speed which would enable it to escape from some enemies
might be accompanied with dulness of sight or hearing, which would
leave it more exposed to the attacks of others, and in all probability
it would be accompanied by a thinner coat, which would render it
more susceptible to changes of temperature, and by a necessity for
more food, which would throw an additional strain on its other powers,
and these and other circumstances of a similar nature would counter-
balance the partial superiority supposed; and even if not,—even if any
variety thus specially characterized should, under certain circum-
stances, acquire a numerical superiority over the parent species,—is
there any reason to suppose that a subsequent change of circumstances
would throw an additional weight into the scale in favour of the
variety? I think not. The perfection of any organized being con-
sists in its unity as a whole—in its adaptation to all the phases of ils
being; and a special modification in one direction, to meet certain
circumstances, so far from rendering it more suited for different cir-
cumstances, would in all probability produce an opposite result,

But it will probably be objected that this is all very inconclusive ;
and so it is, and so must all our opinions on this subject be till we
are far wiser than we are now. The fact seems to be that there is,
among organized beings, a tendency to vary; but a tendency is nota
law of indefinite progress; a tendency to increase is not a law of
indefinite increase, neither is a tendency to vary a law of indefinite
variation. Tendencies can be seen in their true light only when
viewed in connexion with other tendencies which modify and set
limits to them; and if, as in the present case, we know something
more of one tendency than of the opposing ones, we have not, on that

to form Varieties. 6359

account, any right to assume that those of which we know so little
are in reality as weak as our knowledge of them is small: the only
circumstance that can give us a right to conclude this is the fact that
they do exert that modifying effect which they would if they were in
existence and in active exercise; and of this fact, in the present
instance, we have no proof; indeed the facts of the case seem to me
to point, with no unmeaning finger, in the opposite direction—the
specific distinctness of species, closely allied and following each other
immediately in the course of time, seems now considered almost a
geological axiom; nor, so far as I am aware, is there in the whole
range of natural science, a single instance of indefinite progress,
except in the case of man himself; and here it seems closely connected
with, if not entirely dependent upon, his power of abstract conception ;
that is, upon that power which forms the grand distinctive mark
which separates man from all other organized beings. |

What we want on this subject is the record and collation of facts,
experiments and observations; and if this be done I feel assured that
we shall find here, as Kepler did with the irregularities in the orbits of
the planets, that the variations return into themselves in constantly
recurring cycles.

With regard to the last paragraph, I am quite at a loss to know what
meaning to attach to it. Mr. Wallace says, “This progression by
minute steps in different directions, but always checked and balanced
by the necessary conditions, subject to which alone existence can be
preserved, may, it is believed, be followed out so as to agree with all
the phenomena presented by organized beings, their extinction and
succession in past ages, and all the extraordinary modifications of
form, instinct and habits which they exhibit.” Does he mean that by
the tendency to vary we may explain all the differences that obtain
between different varieties of the same species, or between different
species of the same genus, or between different genera of the same
order; or, further still, that we may trace back all organic life, as we
see it now, to some unknown root in the far-off geologic ages, some
_ Sponge, or polype, or vitalized cell, from which everything has since
sprung. The words I have quoted will bear this construction, and if
the tendency to vary were a law of indefinite variation, it might carry
out this idea; but, being what it is, simply a tendency, it seems to
me that painting such an ideal picture on the subject is like Science
sitting down at the feet of Imagination.

THoMAS Boyp.
17, Clapton Square.

6360 Notice of the various

Notice of the Various Species of Bovine Animals. By the Editor of
the ‘ Indian Field.’ *

I will commence with the musk ox (Ovibos moschatus) of the
“ barren-grounds” of Arctic America. The present distribution of
this remarkable animal is, indeed, confined to that peculiar region,
similar however to the “'Tundras” of Arctic Siberia; but there is
evidence of its having formerly inhabited a far more extensive range,
and its fossil remains have been discovered even in Devonshire, in
England !—one of many evidences of a former glacial epoch in Europe,
-long anterior to the existence of human beings in all probability.
Remains of the rein-deer have likewise been found in England, with
shells of now arctic or sub-arctic species, and correlative signs of
glacier action in the valleys of the mountains, huge boulder-stones of
which the present position has only hitherto been explained, intel-
ligibly, by the transporting power of icebergs, &c. The musk ox
seems to stand quite alone in its tribe ; though Professor Owen classes
it with its very opposites, the buffalos! Its horns, indeed, bear a
certain resemblance to those of the Cape buffalo, but are much less
spread out in their curvature; the naked muzzle is reduced to its
extreme minimum ; and the tail is short, like that of Ovis Ammon: the
animal is densely covered with wool and long hair, which last falls
over the sides so as to conceal its short limbs to near the ground.
Most of our readers will have seen the fine stuffed specimen in the
British Museum ; but a much better idea of the living animal will be
gathered from a figure in one of the narratives of Arctic expedition,
we forget which (probably Ross or Back), and have not the work to
refer to. Most assuredly there is nothing in that figure to betoken a
near affinity to the buffalos. The head is carried very low in running;
whereas in the ordinary carriage of a buffalo the nose is held out
straight in a line with the back. The musk cattle clamber rocks and
traverse broken ground with extraordinary facility (assuredly not a
Bubaline trait), and their hoofs—unlike those of the buffalos—are
adapted to their climbing propensities.t+ There is even considerable
superficial resemblance between the Arctic musk ox and that very

* Communicated by Charles Darwin, Esq.

+ According to Colonel C. H. Smith, “ the under parts of the hoof and frog show
a singular softish transversely ribbed surface, of a brown-red colour, seemingly intended
to secure the foot on slippery snow and ice: the outer (?) toe is round, and the other
crooked and pointed.”

Species of Bovine Animals. 6361

remarkable beast, the Budorcas taxicolor of Mr. Hodgson (‘ Journal
of the Asiatic Society, vol. ix. p. 65), which inhabits the Mishmee
mountains at the head of the valley of Asam. But this latter we
take rather to be a massive goat or goral ; just as the nilgai is akin to
our little four-horned chikara, and the bubalis or ‘‘ Harte-beest” group
to the gazelles. It has been stated (with what truth we know not)
that the musk cow has only two developed teats,—as in the sheep,—
all other bovines having four. The dung of musk cattle resembles that
of sheep and goats.

The Siberian fossil skull figured by Cuvier (Oss. Foss. pl. 172, figs.
6, 7,) has the descending portion of the horns still more closely
appressed to the sides of the head than in the existing musk ox.—
(Id. pl. 17, figs. 15, 16, 17); this fossil animal being referred to the
Ovibos Pallantis of the late Professor de Blainville.

The rest of the bovines fall primarily into bisontines, taurines and
bubalines, which respectively inhabit, for the most part, or typically,
cold, temperate and hot climates; the indigenous taurines of tropical
regions obtaining a cooler temperature upon the mountains. The
humped cattle, however, form one exception, and seem proper to the
hottest regions of the anciently-known hemisphere.

The bisontines sub-divide into the bisons proper, and the yak. All
have cylindrical horns, very slight naked muzzle, (most developed in
the European zebra), and are clad with long shaggy hair, especially
on the head, chin and fore-quarters. The tail is short, not reaching
below the hocks.

The true bisons have a very broad convex forehead, and stout horns
curving in a semicircle. The head and fore quarters are particularly
large and heavy, and the hind quarters reduced, an appearance which
is exaggerated by the copious mane and beard in front. They carry
the head very low, and commonly stand with their fore and hind feet
near together. ‘The orbits of the skull are remarkably prolonged and
tubular. These animals inhabit swampy forests and prairies, such as
was much of Central Europe in the days of the Cesars.

The American bison (Bos Bison—americanus, L.; Bos Bison of
many authors, as distinguished from the next, erroneously designated
by them B, Urus). With fifteen pairs of ribs, and consequently but
four lumbar vertebra. The well-known so-called “ buffalo” of the
western prairies.* We have seen many alive, and have remarked that

* Whence the thriving town or city of Buffalo, on the shore of Lake Erie, and a
certain familiar ditty appealing to the Terpsichorean propensities of its young ladies
by moonlight.

XVII. H

6362 Notice of the various

the tail is not tufted merely at the end, but resembles that of the yak,
only with the hair much less developed.

The European bison, visent, wisent or wisund, zubr or (improperly)
aurochs, 2.e. ure-ox (Bison europeus, Owen; also B. priscus of
Bojanus, apud Owen; Los Bison, L., apud Nilsson, as distinguished
from the gigantic taurine urus of former days). With fourteen pairs
of ribs, and therefore five lumbar vertebra.* Now confined to the
great marshy forest of Bialowikza, in Lithuania (believed to be the only
remnant of genuine primeval or purely natural forest still in Europe),
but formerly much more extensively diffused, and considered by Owen
to be identical with the Bos priscus of paleontologists, which co-
existed with the Elephas priscus of what is now the temperate region
of Kurope—the remains of which last have been erroneously assigned
(according to Dr. Falconer) to E. primogenius, which is the mammoth
or Arctic elephant of Siberia. In the European, as compared with
the American bison, the peculiar bisontine characters are in every way
reduced, or more or less softened down in intensity. For an admirable
description of this animal and of its habits, vide Weissenborn in the
“Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.’ vol. ii. p. 305 et seg., also Nilsson, id. 2nd
series, vol. iv. p. 419 et seg. The bulls emit a powerful musky odour,
the chief seat of which is that part of the skin and hair which covers
the convexity of the forehead. This is strongest in the rutting season,
and is much weaker in the cows. The zubr has an invincible repug-
nance to the domestic Bos Taurus, which is not the case with the bison
of North America; which latter will readily breed with domestic
cattle, but the European bison never. (The mixed progeny are said
to be infertile). ‘The American is also far more tameable. Each has
been known to attain about a ton in weight; but the European bison
has greatly degenerated within historic times, and more so if truly
identical with the fossil Bison priscus, the horn-cores of which are
much longer and straighter, vide Owen’s figure of a British fossil skull
of B. priscus (Brit. Foss. Mam. and Birds, p. 490), as compared with
Nilsson’s Scanian sub-fossil skull of the modern type (in Ann. Mag.
Nat. Hist. 2nd series, vol. iv. p. 415). The existing zubr of Lithu-

* This character is not so absolutely constant as is generally supposed ; for a cow
zubr, examined by Bojanus, had only 13 pairs of ribs; and we have the authority of
B. H. Hodgson, Esq., for asserting that the Indian humped cattle have occasionally
fourieen pairs. That gentleman being detained in the course of a journey through the
Tarai, and seeing a number of skeletons of domestic cattle lying about counted the
ribs of several of them, and to his surprise observed the occasional variation re-
ferred to.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6363

ania does not attain to half the weight mentioned ; though so late as
1752 one is stated to have weighed 1,450 Ibs.

The Caucasian bison (B. caucasicus ?). This animal is little known.
It is supposed to be distinct from the Lithuanian zubr; has a black
dorsal stripe, which is not seen in the latter, and differently-shaped
hoofs. There is also a slight difference in the horns. According to
Professor Nordman, who was employed in 1836 on a scientific mission
in the Caucasus, (where he was often obliged to make his excursious
under the protection of a strong military escort, and a few field-pieces),
“this animal, though no longer occurring near the high road from
Tamar to Teflis, &c., is not very scarce in the interior of Caucasia.
Herds are still found in a few districts by the river Kuban; and the
animal is met with on Mount Caucasus from the Kuban to the sources
of the Psih, a distance of about 115 English geographical miles. Near
the Kaban it is met with, in swampy places, all the year round. In
the country of the Abazechians (Abchasians ?) it repairs to the moun-
tains in summer, and is then frequently killed by the Psoehs and other
Caucasian tribes. Late in autumn it descends from the mountains to
visit the pastures in valleys never yet trodden by the feet of any Kuro-
pean, except prisoners of war. It is particularly numerous in the
district of Zaadan. Lieut. Lissowski, who studied at Wilna, and
possesses a thorough knowledge of the zubr of Lithuania, assured me
at Bambori, that the latter animal was not very different from that of
Caucasia.”— (Vide Weissenborn, in Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. ii.
pp- 254 and 291). It is very desirable that this Caucasian bison
should be properly compared with that of Lithuania. Professor Nils-
son assumes their identity, as a matter of course, from known facts
connected with their former extensive distribution of the Huropean
bison ; but until positive and careful comparison, we cannot regard
the question as settled, however may lie the probability.

A kind of bison or zubr (more probably than the great taurine
“urus,” or some animal akin to it), is mentioned in the ‘ Travels in
Tartary ’ of the old traveller Bell, as existing in his time in the country
of the Tzulimm Tartars.— Vide ‘ Journey from Tomsky to Elimsky,’
vol. i. ch. ii. p. 224). “ On the hills and in the woods near this place,”
he remarks, “ are many sorts of wild beasts, particularly the urus, or
uhr-ox, one of the fiercest animals the world produces. Their force
is such, that neither the wolf, bear nor tiger dares to engage with them.
In the same woods is found another species of oxen called “ bubul”
by the Tartars. It is not so large as the urus; its body and limbs
are very handsome; it has a high shoulder and flowing tail], with long

6364 Notice of the various

hair growing from the rump to its extremity, like that of a horse.
Those which I saw were tame, and as tractable as other cattle.” Here
we have a distinct notice of the yak, both wild and tame, in a part of
Asia where it would appear to be now quite unknown! The name
*“pbubul” applied to it has probably its connexion with Bubalus.
Remains of extinct bisons have been found in Siberia, and of three or
four species in North America, as figured by Cuvier and by Harlan
and others; and we really feel some difficulty to imagine that our
modern European bison could, under any circumstances, have deve-
loped horns, the bony cores of which measure 23 feet “from base to
point upon the outer curve, 17 inches in vertical diameter [circum-
ference ’—surely not bow-string diameter, which gives an amount of
curvature quite unintelligible in the particular race or species] and
4 inches from front to back at their base;” asin a specimen of Bison
priscus from Clacton, in Essex, noticed in the ‘ Annals and Magazine
of Natural History,’ second series, vol. xx. p. 393. The largest horns
of the existing Lithuanian zubr do not exceed 18 inches round the
outer curvature, and this with their investing corneous sheath! The
only known indigenous bovines of America are its peculiar living
bison, the musk ox of the Arctic “barren grounds,” and the fossil
bisontine species referred to. Of one of the latter we possess drawings
of a most peculiar frontlet, with narrow yet bisontine forehead and
thick horn-cores, stated to be from the celebrated deposit of “ Big-
bone Lick,” in Kentucky, of a dwarf species, which seems to be
undescribed to this day.

We have not seen the skull of a yak of pure blood, but suspect
that it has not the protrusile tubular orbits of the true bisons.* The
general form appears to be a step nearer to the taurines, and there is
less inequality of the fore and hind quarters; still fourteen pairs of
ribs: long hair on the fore quarters and pendant from the flanks; but
the most striking peculiarity is the “chowry” tail. The horns are
longer than in the modern typical bisons, and their tips curve con-
siderably backwards—instead of the rigid semi-circular tlexure in at
least the bulls of the bisons proper. All appear to have the same
grunting voice. The general aspect of the yak, it may be added, is
distinctly bisontine, and it carries its head low, like the rest of the
subgroup.

* Mr. Hodgson figures a yak skull, in vol. x. of the ‘ Asiatic Society’s Journal,’ in
his “ Illustrations of the Genera of Bovine ;” from which the orbits would seem to be
a little protrusile; but the bisontine peculiarities are exceedingly reduced.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6365

- The yak (Bos poephagus or B. grunniens, or Boephagus grunniens)
is indigenous to High Tibet, and especially to Eastern Tibet, where
still tolerably numerous in the wild state, though the species (as every
one knows) is extensively domesticated, and the ordinary tame cattle
of that elevated portion of the globe. The wild animal is known
as the dong, or ban chour, and an interesting notice of it will be
found in the ‘ Friend of India’ for September 30th last.

We now come to the taurines, and among them may be recognised
three principal groups:—1l, that of the humped cattle; 2, that of
which the European bull is characteristic; and 3, the mostly tro-
pical group with flattened horns. All are more or less smooth-
coated, our British Highland cattle displaying about the extreme of
shagginess among the taurines.

The humped ox (Bos indicus vel gibbosus) is unknown in an abori-
ginally wild state; but large herds, the descendants of domestic cattle,
still roam about the northern parts of Oudh and Rohilkund, and thus
show that the species can maintain its existence, unaided by man, in
a region infested by tigers.* It does not appear that it has hitherto
been met with in a fossil state, nor can we venture to assert in what
country it is truly indigenous; for the domestic races are spread over

* These feral “ zebus” are noticed by Captain (now Colonel Sir T. Proby) Cautley,
in the ‘ Asiatic Society's Journal’ for 1840, p.623. He remarks that, “ In the districts
of Akharpur and Dostpur, in the province of Oudh, large herds of black oxen are, or
were, to be found in the wild uncultivated tracts, a fact to which I can bear testimony
from my own personal observation, having, in 1820, come in contact with a very large
herd of these beasts, of which we were only fortunate enough to kill one, their excessive
shyness and wildness preventing us from a near approach at any second opportunity.”
Another writer notices herds of these wild humped cattle as occurring on the road from
Agra to Bareilly. Again, in Dr. Butter’s ‘ Outlines of the Topography and Statistics
of the Southern Districts of Oudh, and of the Cantonment of Sultanpore—Oudh,’ we
are informed that “ Bengali bulls and cows are found near Harpu,’—7.e. living wild.
Their numbers would even seem to have increased of late years, to judge from a notice
of them which we saw not long ago in one of the newspapers, in which attention was
directed to their hides and horns as objects of commerce. As Dr. Butter distinctly
calls them “ Bengali bulls and cows,” it follows that they are of the small race common
in the country, as distinguished from the large cattle so numerous in the Upper Pro-
vinces ; and Cautley’s designation of them as “ herds of black oxen” would seem to
imply uniformity of colouring, as in aboriginally wild species. We should like, too,
tu know if their horns assume constantly the typical size and flexure; for these are
matters of considerable interest to a naturalist. The animals are understood to have
gone wild at one or more epochs, when whole districts were devastated in the grand
old style, and in the fine old times of wholesale rapine and slaughter, the remembrance
of which is still so fondly cherished by very many.

6366 Notice of the various

India, Arabia, great part of Africa, even Madagascar, and would ap-
pear to be found so far eastward as Japan; at least old Keempfer tells
us that the Japanese “have a sort of large buffles, of monstrous size,
with bunches on the back, like camels, which serve for carriage and
transport of goods only in large cities.” The name “ buffalo,” we may
here remark, is currently bestowed on the humped cattle by English
graziers ; and thus we commonly hear of “ buffalo’s hump,” whereas a
buffalo does not happen to have a hump! The extensive herds of the
Foulahs, Fellahs or Felatahs, pre-eminently a race of herdsmen, who
spread quite across Africa northward of the equator, consist exclusively
of these humped cattle. According to Denham’s ‘ Appendix,’ “ two
kinds exist i Central Africa, one with a hump before and very small
horns; the other altogether of a larger size, also with a hump, and
immense horns.” The latter (of which we have seen a pair sent by
Denham to the British Museum) are enormously thick at base, but
exhibit the true and peculiar flexure of the species; and again the
Galla cattle, mentioned by Bruce and Salt, with immensely long and
proportionately thick horns, are humped, and not unlike some big-
horned cattle we remember noticing at Madras.* In Madagascar
there is a wild humpless race or species, long ago indicated by Fla-
court, and since noticed by the missionary Ellis, but the domestic
cattle of the island are stated to be all humped, and such are com-
monly imported thence for the markets of Mauritius and Bourbon.
These humped cattle are particularly suited to a dry and torrid climate,
are indifferent to the fiercest rays of the sun, seldom seek shade, and
never go into the water and there stand knee- or belly-deep for hours,
like the humpless cattle of Europe. Being unknown in a primitive
wild state, most naturalists still regard them as a mere climatal
variety of the Bos Taurus, especially as the two interbreed freely, and
the hybrids in every proportion; but there are other instances of spe-
cies thus commingling. ‘lhe presence of the hump is but one
difference of very many ; and it and other distinctions are well shown
even in the small foetus. The one is born with teeth through the
gums, the other not so! The whole form is indeed remarkably
different. In B. gibbosus the body is shorter and rounder, and the
hind-quarters slope abruptly, instead of being continued straight to
form nearly a right angle; the limbs are longer and more neatly
formed; the ears lanceolate and somewhat pointed, instead of being
broad and rounded; the dewlap begins at the chin, instead of before

* Vide also the figures of cattle in some of Barth’s plates.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6367

the breast; the eyes are larger, considerably more full and lustrous—
indeed worthy of the famous comparison of Homer, his “ ox-eyed”
Juno! Again, the voice is utterly different, a mere grunt; and the
typical flexure of the horns is not the same. The ordinary varieties
of colouring are different, especially the Nil-gai markings of the feet
not unfrequently seen in the humped cattle; the quality of the coat
also is different, and the forehead is smooth or not shaggy.* At rest
the humped bull carries his head low as any bison, the neck sloping
down in a line with the fore part of the hump. But enough! We
shall believe that the humped ox or zebu is a climatal variety of Bos
Taurus, when we are persuaded that the knobbed goose (Anser cyg-
noides) is a mere variety of the European tame goose (A. cinereus),
and not till then; the said geese interbreeding freely as the taurines
in question, and producing mutually prolific hybrids! The yak also
produces a prolific hybrid with the humped cow; and if they are not
distinet species there is no meaning in the term. Both species of
smooth-coated domestic cattle are well and characteristically repre-
sented in the ancient Egyptian paintings. t

Occurrence of Whales at Lynn.—A fine specimen of Hyperoodon honfloriensis
was found on the 22nd of September last, stranded upon a sand-bank in the Wash,
near the mouth of the river Ouse, called the “ Ferrier Sand.” It measured
24 ft. Sin. long; the gape of the mouth 2 ft. 3 in.; nose or beak 1 ft. 8 in. to the
rising of the crest of the head, which rose nearly at a right angle to a height equal to
the length of the beak; the pectoral fin was 3 ft. long ; from the tip of the beak to the

* The hair of the crown and forehead is slightly elongated in all taurines, as
especially seen in the calves; but it mostly requires to be looked for to be observed.
The proper curly front is peculiar to the European type.

+ The humped cattle are remarkable for most extraordinary variation of size, from
the huge bullocks Jof Western India (the ordnance cattle) down to the pygmy gyna;
but the latter is not a distinct race—merely casual dwarfs, which, when they propagate,
usually produce offspring of the ordinary size. For some notice of the Indian breeds
of humped cattle, vide Hamilton’s ‘Journey to Mysore,’ vol. ii. p. 8 and plates; also
‘Transactions of the Agri-Horticultural Society of Calcutta,’ vol. vii. p. 112. As in
the next group, we think it probable that more than one aboriginal wild race have
contributed to produce our domestic races of humped cattle. ‘The books tell us that
there is a race or breed in Surat, with a second hump! We should be glad of any
information concerning it. We also find that it is currently stated that “the hump is
almost wholly composed of fat!” In India, where salt hump is so commonly seen
and much relished at table, we happen to know rather better.

6368 Birds.

front edge of the dorsal fin 14 ft. 5 in.; from the hind edge of the fin to the posterior
edge of the tail 8 ft. 7 in.; base of the fin 1 ft. 8in.; the length or height of dorsal
fin 1 ft. 10 in.; tail across 6 ft. 11 in. The horns of the crescent-shaped spiracle were
turned forwards. No teeth were visible in the mouth until the flesh was cleaned off,
when two were found in the lower jaw, at the end, measuring about an inch long.
The colour of the animal was a dark bluish slate on the back, inclining to brownish on
the sides. On the belly and a little distance up the side, in the region beneath the dor-
sal fin, it was mottled with white. On Wednesday night, the 3rd inst., whilst Smith,
a Trinity pilot, was entering the Wash with his smack, he saw a fine young specimen
of the great northern Rorqual (Rorqualis borealis) stranded upon the “ Wainfleet Sand.”
He went on shore and dispatched the creature with a boat-hook. When it floated the
next tide he brought it to Lynn. I was only enabled to make, satisfactorily, the fol-
lowing admeasurements: length 32 ft. 4 in.; pectoral fin 4 ft.; across the tail 8 ft.—
Edward L. King ; King’s Lynn, Norfolk, November 17, 1858.

Noles on the Birds of Jamaica. By W. Ossurn, Esq.
(Communicated by P. H. Gosse, Esq.)

Sandhurst, Torquay,
January 3, 1859.
My dear Sir,

The following letter, which I have just received, contains
such graphic pictures of Jamaican Ornithology, that I have thought
the readers of the ‘ Zoologist’ would be scarcely less interested than
myself in its perusal.

I am, my dear Sir,
Yours very truly,
P. H. Gosse.

To Edward Newman, Esq.,
F.LS., &c., &e.

** Mahogany Hall, Jamaica,
December 4, 1858.
“ Dear Sir,

“ The only reason I can offer for the liberty I take in addressing
you, as a perfect stranger, is your delightful book on the Ornithology
of Jamaica, which has afforded me so much instruction and valuable
information since my residence here, for the last twelve months.
I have during that time been forming a collection of bird-skins, and
given much of my time to the investigation of their habits. My list
still falls very considerably short of yours; but, as I have collected,
and am still collecting, in some localities which I gather you did not
visit, you may perhaps like to have some of the results of my observa

Birds. 6369

tions, where they appear not to have been anticipated by the large
mass of information you collected on the subject during your own
visit.

“ My first residence was for three months at Grand Vale, in
Westmoreland; afterwards at Camp Savanna, near Morgan’s Bridge ;
then at Savanna-la-Mar ; and finally here, on the borders of St. Anne’s
and Trelawny, about ten miles inwards.

“As Westmoreland had already been especially investigated by
yourself, it was not likely to yield much new; I have, however, a
Caprimulgus not in your list. I know nothing of its habits, it having
been brought to me by a negro, in August, shot close to Savanna-la-
Mar: the wings reach only half way down the tail; it struck me as
very much like our English nightjar in its general aspect, but it has a
broad white streak across the breast, rising to a point in the centre,
like a circumflex, and festooning on each side broader to the shoulders.
The following are the dimensions, taken from the recent bird :—
Length 103 inches; expanse 17 inches; tail 5} inches; flexure
6 inches. The wings are rounded; the first quill shorter than the
second; the third longest.

“TI have had frequent opportunities of observing the curious bird
you name, provisionally, in your work, as Acanthylis collaris: I first
saw them on the 6th of March last, careering over the dark wood that
covers the hill opposite Grand Vale House: it was about five in the
evening; the ‘ Norths’ had blown up some heavy clouds, though we
had had no rain. From the door-steps I fired at one and brought it
down: on going to pick it up, as it lay on the grass, its long wings
extended, to my great mortification it gave me ample proof of its
powers to rise from a flat surface, by rising at once and flying
languidly over the valley beneath, where it disappeared. A large
number (perhaps fifty) soon appeared; they darted down the wind
with extraordinary swiftness, coming up against it more slowly; then,
in a short time, the whole flock wheeled round once or twice in a kind
of gyrating column (I have seen rooks in England perform a manceuvre
very like it), when the whole disappeared. A week after they appeared
again, repeating exactly the same manceuvres: this time I loaded
with heavier shot, and procured a specimen. It proved a male, on
dissection, and its plumage was in very fine condition. The dimen-
sions agreed very nearly with those you give: I could not, however,
make the wings, expanded to their utmost, more than 192 inches, nor,
when closed, reach beyond the tips of the forked tail more than 14 inch,
I paid particular attention to the eyes, which are indeed singularly

XVIT. I

6370 Birds.

large and lustrous: the only explanation I am able to offer of your
correspondent’s assertion that the ‘irides are blacker than the pupil,’
is that these last are of that deep blue so observable in some of the
Strigidz, as, for instance, your Ephialtes grammicus, whereas the
irides being dark hazel and opaque, in some sense, do seem darker.
The claws were so fully curved as to make it impossible to force the
point back to the same plane as that of the sole, and there was a worn
patch beneath the first joint of the toes, corresponding to that beneath
the tarsus-joint, as if only that portion of the foot habitually touched
the surface to which the bird clung. I made a note that, the day after,
half-a-dozen again appeared at about 11 a.M., the north blowing,
a brilliant day, and no rain, though there was a slight shower the day
before. 1 had no further opportunity of observation until I came to
this side (Trelawny), about a couple of months ago. We have lately
had such a downfall of rain as rarely occurs, laying large portions of
the country under water, and doing considerable damage by torrents.
Being out with my negro servant during a little interval in the bad
weather, my attention was attracted by a loud cry I did not know:
the boy pointed to the ‘ rain-birds’ overhead, which, though at such a
height as not to be otherwise recognizable, I knew to be this swift
from the revolving column they stopped in their course to form. After
the rains I saw them, in much reduced numbers, steadily feeding at a
great height. I omitted to mention that the stomach of the one I dis-
sected contained a black mass, fragments of insects, among which
small Coleoptera seemed to predominate, many of them of a scarlet
colour. On the 2Ist of last month, a brilliant day, they appeared
again, when I made careful notes, at the time, oftheir habits. It was
about 11 a.m. when [ noticed their loud cry: I should imitate it by a
“wee—wee—wee,’ the last much prolonged. It is very harsh, and
I thought at the time in tone it bore some resemblance to that of our
common leggerheads: it is audible at a great distance, and appeared
kept up by the whole flock. They were then in no great numbers,
evidently busy feeding at an immense height, wheeling over a circum-
scribed space. Every now and then a small party of five or six
would set off at a prodigious rate very close together, come down
lower, shoot round a cotton tree or steep hill-side, uttering the same
cry with peculiar vehemence: they then exactly reminded me of our
English swift. From these observations I will venture to add that
my impression is that these birds cannot be considered, in any sense,
crepuscular, more so than our other hirundines.

“* Another very remarkable hirundine attracted my attention almost

Birds. 6371

immediately after my arrival here, which proved your beautiful
Hirundo euchrysea. I first saw it in the middle of October: it was a
dull overcast day, with drizzling rain; but the beautiful iridescence of
the back and head, as it dipped and wheeled over the canes, made it
at once conspicuous. I did not see it again till a month after
(November 16th), during rainy weather, and on the same day
Acanthylis appeared: they were then in great numbers over the
common attached to this ‘pen.’ I made the following note in my
journal:—‘ Their flight is much more like that of the English swallow
(Hirundo rustica) than any of the island hirundines I am acquainted
with. It darts, with arrowy swiftness low over the ground, its pearl-
white belly and lustrous green back showing by turns: or another
part of the flock will skim over a clump of bamboos, or whirl in rapid
circles with poised wings round the thick foliage of the bread-nuts.
The whole flock of perhaps two or three hundred constantly moved,
so that where there were numbers would be presently quite deserted
for another part of the valley. They seemed much more alarmed at
the discharge of my gun than is usual with swallows, the whole flock
rising and darting about in great alarm. The bird shot at generally
descended with a swiftness too great for the eye to follow, then sud-
denly checked its course near the ground, and joined the rest, with
the peculiar chattering of swallows.’

“ November 19. A brilliant day, after eight days’ almost uninter-
rupied rain. On going out, soon after sunrise, two or three of the
great swifts were wheeling over the valley, and the little golden
swallows were very numerous, flocks skimming over every meadow
and sheltered corn-piece. The gleam of their heads and backs, as
the bright morning sun flashed from them, now ruddy, now green, now
bright golden, was one of the most lovely of the many beautiful sights
of the tropics. The play of light as they shot along in their rapid
skimming flight reminded me of the glancing lustre of flying fish as
they leap shining from the water. At a greater height they ‘sailed’
more, as is usual with the Hirundinide ; and, rarely, one would spread
its tail and wings to the utmost, the latter rather deflexed, and wheel
very slowly over a small space, as if toying, or perhaps it was a mani-
festation of that consciousness of their own gay attire, which is so
constantly observable in brilliantly coloured animals. It was at this
moment I tried to get a shot; but my attempts were quite unavailing,
and they wheeled and skimmed in the most provoking security, within
a few feet of the muzzle of my gun: they appeared very constantly,
whatever the state of the weather, up at any rate to the 30th ultimo,

6372 Birds.

when I succeeded in bringing one down as it came up against the sea-
breeze rather more slowly. I have never yet seen them alight any-
where. The splendour of the plumage, examined closely, exceeded
even my expectations. As my measurements, taken from the recent
specimen, differ in some important particulars from yours, taken,
I presume, from the skin, I will venture to send them :—

a

“‘ HIRUNDO EUCHRYSEA, Gosse.

“ Trides hazel. Beak black. Legs brownish black (like that of
some Indian ink. I could see no purplish tinge).

“ Length 53 inches. Expanse 12 inches. Flexure 44 inches.
Tail 24 inches. Wings longer than the tail 4 inch. Rictus } inch.

“Intestine 54 inches. Two minute ceca $ inch from cloaca.
Stomach contained a black mass, fragments of small insects, among
which coloured elytra of Coleoptera were conspicuous.

“ The rest of your description I found very accurate ; but you do not
notice that the middle and external lateral toes are syndactyle as far
as the first joint of middle toes. This struck me as peculiar: Swain-
son does not mention it as a general characteristic of the class; and in
the little Hirundo. peciloma, the only one I had at hand (the rest
of my collection being despatched to England), though the toes are
unequally cleft, there is not the marked disproportion as in Hirundo
euchrysea. The tertials too are much more deeply emarginate,
characteristics which, with their brilliant colouring, reminded me of
the Meropide of Africa. As far as my observations go, there seems,
in one or two points, a similarity between the habits of this swallow
and the great swift: neither are constant inhabitants of the limestone
valleys midway between the coast and the central ridge; both appear
during wet weather in large flocks, not so intent on feeding as
apparently going over their hunting-grounds, and afterwards, for some
days after the bad weather, hawking in flocks of much reduced
numbers, as usual with the family. I mention this, however, with
much diffidence, as it requires much more extended observation than
mine to place the fact beyond doubt.

“T have never been able to hear anything that seems worth any
credit regarding the nidification of either species. I am meditating a
residence close to the Black Grounds, on the central ridge itself, and
my arrangements are already completed, so soon as the weather per-
mits travelling. Iam in hopes of obtaining some particulars while
there.

Birds. 6373

~ “Columba caribbza is, I hear on all sides, very numerous in the
neighbourhood, but I have never been able to catch sight of them, or
procure more than two specimens, both females. There are, I think,
some very interesting particulars about them. Robinson, whom you
quote, I can quite confirm as to the unusual length of the tibie. ‘The
tarsus is feathered, but only in front; the posterior surface is bare,
covered with very small circular scales, flattened, broad and soft.
Now, if its habits of alighting on the large limbs towards the centre
of trees be taken into consideration, together with its plump, heavy
make, loaded with fat (beyond anything I ever witnessed in wild
animals), and its short wings, it must be a bird of far from active
habits, not given to long fatiguing flights: and will not this, the
lengthened tibiz, be accounted for by their enabling the bird to use
its tarsi on the broad branches which it frequents, to support its
weight while reposing, exactly like a plantigrade animal ?

“The spacious caves of the neighbourhood have yielded me
several most interesting species of Cheiroptera; one with an extensible
tongue, pencilled at the tip, has much interested me.

“Trusting that these few observations may be of sufficient interest
to warrant the liberty I have taken,

* Believe me,
* Faithfully yours,
“ W. OsBURN.
“P. H. Gosse, Esq.”

Scraps from the Far West. By Capt. T. W. BiaxistTon, R.A.

Fort Carlton, Saskatchewan River.

Dear J :

Since my last letter to B , [ have made the following
short note on the ornithology of this neighbourhood during the winter
months that have passed since my arrival. The “ winter visitors ” are
not separated from the “resident natives,” because of course at present
I cannot separate them with certainty.

T’o begin at the top of the list: both eagles and hawks* go to the
southward, the last of the former being seen on the 10th of November,
and the river closed with the ice on the night of the 11th, so that they
did not leave as long as there remained open water. From this we may

* A small hawk was, however, seen on three occasions during the winter.

6374 Birds.

date the commencement of winter. The species of eagle was supposed
to be Falco leucocephalus, the white head, neck and tail, being
distinctly seen.

Hawk Owl (Str2a_ funerea). Specimen shot on the 8th of November,
and in middle of winter.

Snowy Owl (Strix nyctea ?). Seen on two or three occasions during
winter; one appeared to be of rather small size.

Great-horned Owl (Striz virginiana). Specimen obtained in
February.

Great American Shrike (Lanius borealis). I suppose, but am not
certain, that this is the same bird that winters far to the south. There
is also the same doubt in my mind as to Strix virginiana, which is
said to be resident in the Southern States ; however, I have specimens
of each.

Neither species of Regulus nor Parus hudsonicus have I observed
here this winter. I do not think that they go south of this on account
of the climate, but am more inclined to think that their absence is to
be accounted for either in consequence of there being no pine woods
here, or, that their range is not so far west ; if so, the latter has well
been named Hudson’s-Bay tit, as I found it between Lake Winnipeg
and that bay, and it is common enough on the eastern peninsula,
namely, Nova Scotia, during winter.

Black-cap Tit (Parus atricapillus ?). Common. 1 have placed a
mark of doubt because there is one described by Cassin as P. septen-
trionalis, which is said to differ but slightly, the habitat given being,
“¢ Missouri, Utah and Rocky Mountains.” I have preserved several
specimens for comparison, and if it turns out that my specimens are
P. atricapillus, and I cannot discern any difference between them and
those I obtained in Nova Scotia, then I shall think that the other
species is wrongly named “‘ northern,” for surely a bird that winters
here may be called more northern than an inhabitant of Utah. It may
perhaps be P. occidentalis.

Fringilla linaria,—or whatever it may be called, for there seems
much confusion concerning the different species of this genus,—at any”
rate the American lesser redpole, is here during winter, but not
numerous. Ihave several specimens of this also for comparison.

Snow Bunting (Emberiza nivalis). In large flocks till the end of
October, after which date but few were observed until the 8rd of
December, since which I have seen none.

Pine Grosbeak (Corythus Enucleator). In considerable numbers
from the 7th of November, and another species supposed to be the

Birds. 6375

Evening grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertina ?), was first observed
a week later, but it never was so numerous as the other. Both were
generally to be found about maple trees (Acer frawinifolium), the seeds
of which they eat.

No crossbills have been seen, which I account for by the absence
of pine woods.

Raven (Corvus coraz). Always to be seen, and so far from being
a solitary bird, as it is called in Europe, I made a discovery in its
habits, of which I had no idea before. At the beginning of winter I
observed that the ravens, which I saw about sunset, no matter where I
was, were always flying towards the same point, and I concluded there
must be some large trees somewhere in that direction, where a few
pairs perhaps roosted. One day, therefore, after having been out with
my gun, [ made a point of returning to the Fort in the evening, by that
quarter; judge my surprise! when among some clumps of young
aspen trees, none of which were above twenty-five feet high, or thicker
than my arm, on finding one of these clumps literally filled with ravens,
which, on my near approach, took wing and commenced flying about
in all directions. I judged, by counting a portion, that there were
upwards of fifty in that one place, and that no one should hereafter say,
“Oh! they were only a lot of crows,” I shot one, which I keep as a
specimen. I have been to the same spot on other occasions during
the winter, and always found my black friends. It is wonderful with
what regularity of time they repair to their roosting-place in the evening,
and leave again in the morning, by pairs, for their day’s hunt; one
pair flies directly over the Fort each morning, and as I sit on watch
for the minute-hand of the chronometer to come round to each hour of
observation,* they give a croak as they fly over, as a morning salutation
I suppose, at any rate I give them the credit for such civility, and
looking to see the time, I find it the same within two or three minutes,
but gradually earlier and earlier, for the sun, which is their clock, is
each day lengthening his course above our horizon. The raven is
only known by the name “ crow” here.

Magpie (Corvus Pica). Seen about the whole winter. I have
specimens for comparison with the European bird.

Canada Jay (Garrulus canadensis). Common.

No species of Sitta seen; probably on account of the absence of
pine woods.

* Capt. Blakiston holds the post of Magnetic Observer to the Government Ex-
ploring Expedition in British North America.

6376 Birds.

Picus canadensis was observed on a few occasions ; sometimes in
company with the downy woodpecker (P. pubescens). The former
appears to take the place of P. villosus. It would be interesting to
know where this species ceases to range.

Tetrao umballus and T. canadensis I have not seen west of the forks
of this river, which you will see by the map is a little east of this.
Certainly there are no woods suited to the latter.

Sharp-tailed Grouse (7etrao phasianellus), is a general inhabitant
of the semi-wooded portions of these northern plains. It is usually
in packs of large or small size in the fall and winter, but I cannot yet
speak as to the other seasons of the year. If it is not the ‘ prairie
hen ” of the southern plains, it certainly takes the place of that bird in
the north. I was always under the impression that the prairie hen was
T. Cupido, but you will be able to settle this point. The food during
the winter appears to be usually the seeds of Rosa blanda, the ordinary
briar of the plains or snow-berry (Symphoricarpus racemosus), also
the buds of a species of willow (Sala), but in the fall their food was
different. I have opened the crops of many, and Mr. Bourgeau, our
indefatigable botanist, kindly furnishes me with the names of the seeds,
&c. I find within them.

WillowGrouse (Lagopus Saliceti). Although I have hunted diligently
for this bird, I have not found one during this winter, and have only
heard of a single specimen which was shot to the west of this,
in about the same latitude. It was sent to me, and I have pre-
served it.

I have written to two or three gentlemen connected with the fur
trade, to procure me specimens of each kind of ptarmigan known in
the north, because Mr. Gould thinks there is one yet undescribed closely
allied to L. Saliceti.

As to water birds, none are to be seen here in winter, as there is not
an inch of open water anywhere.

THomas BLAKISTON.

Notes on the occurrence of rare Birds in Devon and Cornwall in 1857 and 1858.—
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea). On the 30th of October, 1857, I bought an imma-
ture bird of this species at the shop of a poulterer in Stonehouse.

Gray Lag Goose (Anser ferus). On January 18th I bought a fine old male
in the Plymouth Market, shot in Cornwall, and on the 25th of November I obtained
a female in the market at Devonport, which was killed on the river Tamar. This
species is very uncommon with us, the above being the only twé I ever observed in
our markets, although I have been for many years on the look-out for them.

Birds. 6377

Great Snipe (Scolopax major). In November, 1858, I saw a fine example of this
bird, in the flesh, killed by a gentleman residing near Piymouth.

Alpine Accentor (Accentor alpinus). On December 20th, 1858, I observed a pair
of these rare birds on the cliffs near Plymouth, but unfortunately bad no gun with
me. They were very tame, and allowed a near approach, but although I was at
the spot in less than an hour afterwards, with my gun, they were not to be found. I
have since searched the coast daily, but without the least success. The day before
they appeared we had a most tremendous thunder-storm (a very rare thing in
December), and I fear the constant severe gales we have since experienced must have
driven them inland. Their actions, when hopping about on the grass on the top of
the cliff, were very like those of the common hedgesparrow, but on being disturbed
they immediately flew to the rocks below. Their note resembled the syllables, “ tree,
tree, tree,” as described by the Rev. F. O. Morris in his ‘ British Birds.’ On Monday,
January 10, I had the good fortune to shoot them after a search of three weeks: I
examined the stomach of one, which I found to be very muscular, and contained
gravel, fine sand and seeds, but no insects. The only other Devonshire specimen of
this bird I ever saw was sent from Teignmouth to Plymouth to be stuffed, together
with a fine old male black redstart (Phenicura Tithys). It appears that these birds
frequent the same localities, for the place where I saw the alpine accentors was an
excellent one for the black redstart.

Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia). On December 24th, 1858, I saw a fine white
spoonbill that was killed about a fortnight before, on the St. Germain’s River, by Mr.
H. Spencer, of St. Germains. It was stuffed by Mr. Percy, of Plymouth, for the
Earl of St. Germains.

Little Gull (Zaurus minutus). A few days since Mr. Bolitho, bird-stuffer, of Ply-
mouth, had a beautiful specimen of the little gull to stuff for a gentleman living near
Plymouth: it was killed in the neighbourhood.

Gray Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus). Some of these birds have been killed at
Plymouth during the past autumn ; they are generally considered rare, but a few may
be seen every autumn in Plymouth Sound during the equinoctial gales: their actions
at such times are very elegant; they alight just outside the breakers, where the froth
and sea-weed have accumulated, swim with extraordinary activity and lightness, con-
stantly whisking their bodies round, and incessantly nodding their heads and dipping
their bills in the water, in search of food. So tame and fearless are they at these times
that I have actually seen them give a little spring and flutter only when fired at and
missed, and immediately go on feeding as if nothing bad happened. The stomachs
of those I have examined contained the remains of insects and what appeared like
sinall particles of coal. I have never seen these birds on the land, but a friend of mine
tells me that he once saw two, during a heavy gale, come in from the sea and alight
on the mud banks of the river, and run about just like sandpipers. In 1846 an extra-
ordinary flight of gray phalaropes visited Plymouth and the neighbouring coasts: they
remained about three weeks, and in such numbers were they that I saw a sailor with
an old rusty musket literally filling his pockets with them: on my asking what he
intended to do with so many, he coolly told me that they made capital pies. It seems
strange that the red-necked phalarope (Phalaropus hyperboreus) should be comparatively
so rare, considering it breeds in Scotland ; for, among the great number of phalaropes
I examined when they were so plentiful, and at other times, not one of the rednecked

AVIT. K

6378 Birds.

species could I find; indeed I only know one instance of its having been obtained in
Plymouth.—John Gatcombe ; Wyndham Place, Plymouth, January 15, 1859.

Occurrence of Rare Birds near Cuarlisle.—The following birds, now in the pos-
session of birdstuffers in Carlisle, have been shot in the neighbourhood during the
months of October and November, 1858.

Black Tern (Sterna nigra). A pair of these birds were shot on Rockeliffe marsh, in
October, in their autumnal moult; the back and wings are of a deep slate-colour; the
other parts, except around the head, are white.

Stock Dove (Columba enas). <A bird was shot on Duncan lime-kiln, near Eccle-
fechan, in November, which has proved to be this species.

Whimbrel (Numenius pheopus). This bird leaves the north in autumn for the
southern districts, where they pass the winter; the bird before us, which was making
towards our shores, was shot at Lilloth, in October.

Bohemian Chatterer (Bombycilla garrula). An individual bird of this species was
shot from a large flock, in November, at Newby Cross; no others have been observed
up to this time: it is only during severe weather that they approach near towns and
villages.

Great Gray Shrike (Lanius excubitor). One bird of this species was shot at Rough-
tonhead, on the 7th, and another at Blackwall on the 10th of November: they are
often met with in the North in the winter season ; they are constant attendants upon
the fieldfare and redwing, and when want is exhibited by the enfeebled bodies of
the latter, the shrike, which is ever ready to attack, terminates their existence.

Crossbill (Loxta curvirostra). A small flock of this species was observed between
Coathill and Armthwaite, where there is abundant food at High Stand and the
adjoining neighbourhood of Eden Brows: large numbers of them settled here in the
winter of 1856: their food is the seed of Scotch fir cones.

Will any reader of the ‘ Zoologist’ kindly inform the writer to what bird the nest
belongs which was found by him on a spruce fir, near the top, containing four white
eggs; the nest was composed of twitch-grass, such as may have been ploughed up and
laid for some time; the eggs, which are white, resemble the wryneck’s in shape and
colour, but are scarcely as large as the redstart’s.— Thomas Armstrong ; 12, Barwise
Court, English Street, Carlisle.

Occurrence of Rock Doves at Beachy Head.—On the 6th of January I purchased
two rock pigeons (Columba livia) of a boy, whose father had shot four out of a large
flock of some hundreds, at Beachy Head, a day or two before. A friend also told me
that he had seen and shot at a flock of about forty, at the same place, on Saturday last.
—John Dutton; South Street, Eastbourne.

Occurrence of the Pomarine Skua (Lestris pomarina) at Birting Gap.—A coast-
guard man brought me a good specimen of this rather rare visitant on the 5th of
January, which he had shot at Birting Gap, near Eastbourne, a few days before: itis
in exactly the same state of plumage, in fact a fac simile of Yarrell’s fine plate.
Weight, 133 oz.; length, 17} inches ; breadth, 3 feet, 74 inches. I did not ascertain
the sex. It was rather lean. The stomach contained a little green matter, also a few
small worms. Two middle tail-feathers about half-an-inch longer than the next
feather on each side; back, scapulars, tertials and upper tail-coverts nmber-brown,
margined with wood-brown ; great wing-coverts uniform amber-brown ; wing-primaries
blackish brown ; tail umber-brown ; under tail-coverts broadly barred across with
umber-brown and wood-brown: legs pale blue; the whole of the feet black. Birting

Birds. 6379

Gap is about five miles east of Seaford, at which place the Rev. R. N. Dennis, Rector
of East Blatchington, procured a specimen on the 7th of October, 1858. Doubtless
we shall hear of more captures this winter.—Zd.

Occurrence of the Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) in Somersetshire.—In the spring
of last year, five of these birds were shot in North Moor, near Bridgwater, Somerset-
shire. I did not at the time ascertain the species, but I have lately had the opportunity
of seeing one of the five at Taunton, when it clearly appeared to be the C. atratus of
Keill (Anas atrata, Latham), the whole plumage being black, or very nearly so, and
the bill red, with white marks near the point. It measured from the tip of the bill to
the end of the tail, 3 feet 10 inches. I could not measure the expansion of the wings,
as the bird was prepared for being stuffed. The birds, when first seen, were far from
wild, allowing a near approach before they attempted to fly off. This may have been
from excessive fatigue. Were they foreign immigrants, or is it more probable that
they escaped from some preserve? If immigrants, where did they come from?—
Thomas Clark ; Halesleigh, January 5, 1859.

Remarks on the Southern Petrels—A very common and well-known bird is the
Pentado petrel (Procellaria capensis), commonly known as the “ Cape pigeon,” from
July to December; it is by far the most numerous bird between the latitudes of 30° S.
and 40° S§.; during the rest of the year it is seldom seen. I have not been able to
ascertain where it breeds, as it is never seen in the islands of the Southern seas; and
at the time of the year when the other birds are nesting it is found plentifully out at
sea. It is very remarkable the preponderance of marine birds in cold climates over
those in tropical seas, being exactly the reverse of that which usually obtains on land,
but perhaps they are not quite so numerous as people imagine, as we must remember
that a ship at sea draws all birds towards it for a circle of at least 20 miles in diameter.
When caught, these birds, as indeed most of the petrels, vomit a quantity of strong-
smelling oil, not as a means of offence, but out of fright; their cry is like a piece of
iron drawn along a very large-toothed comb. It is useless to describe these pretty
birds,—they are too well known: their proper habitat is from 27° S. to 41°S., but they
often follow a ship as far as 24° S., and once one followed the ship I was in as far as
17°S., but the thermometer was only 70° in the shade ; that day I saw Tropic birds,
flying fish and a Cape pigeon all together. There are a great many species of petrels
in those seas: I made out ten different species; the names of some I do not know, and
T am certain that many more would be made out if one only had more facilities for
getting them. The sooty petrel (Puffinus major), called by the Australians “the mut-
ton bird,” is common in July and August, but retires to breed in September; it makes
a burrow in the ground horizontally from two feet to as much as six yards, and lays one
cream-coloured egg at the end of it. ‘The bird is brown above and white below, feet
yellow, beak blue; its feathers fit very cluse and have a glossy appearance ; it is very
fond of diving, poising itself in the air at a height of 20 or 25 feet, it shuts its wings and
takes a header straight into the water, sometimes it stops under several minutes, and
when it comes up shakes the water off like a dog: they open their wings under water,
and use them very rapidly; like all the other petrels they fly with their legs stretched
out behind them. Several of the petrels are very local: the whitecheeked petrel (Pro-
cellaria equinoctialis), for instance, is never found east of the Cape, but goes generally
farther north as far as 26° S., whilst several others are never seen to the west of it:
one of them is the longnosed petrel,—I do not know its name but there is an unnamed
specimen in the museum at Calcutta; it is blackish brown, with black feet and a

6380 Birds.

bright yellow beak ; its nostrils, which are very large, run all down its beak as far as
the bend. There are several others, as the necklace petrel and the beautiful little mow
petrel, with which I am not sufficiently acquainted. The stormy petrel is also seen,
but is not verycommon. Many people suppose that these petrels follow the ship all
night, and certainly you often see a bird or two flying about at all hours of the night.
Once about 1 a.m. a Cape pigeon, as it was flying over the ship, hit against a rope and
fell on the deck. You also sometimes see the same bird for two or three days together ;
and a naval officer told me that once a Cape pigeon, with a red ribbon round its neck,
followed the ship he was in for 1500 miles into 20°S. They say that if the birds
were to sleep on the water the ship might be 100 miles off before morning, and as they
do not fly high it is not likely that they would find it again; but it seems to me that
this is as absurd as the poet’s idea of their sleeping in the air,—

That oft the sleeping albatross

Struck the wild ruins with her wings,
And from her cloud-rocked slumberings
Started—to find man’s dwelling there
In her own silent fields of air:

for although you do see birds at night they are not common: also if you mark twenty
or thirty you will seldom see one again; but sometimes one will appear after two or
three days. It seems to me that they sleep on the water, and in the morning, knowing
that their best chance of breakfast is in the wake of some ship, they fly high to look
for one; some find the ship they were with before, others another: this seems rendered
more probable by the fact that at sunrise very few birds are about the ship, but soon
afterwards they begin to arrive in great quantitie.—J’. Wollaston Hutton; Lieut.
Q3rd R. W. Fusiliers.

Colouring of the Egys of Birds.—I1 have long been desirous to ascertain some parti-
culars respecting the minute anatomy of the mucous membrane of the oviducts of
birds, during the laying season, but the opportunity of making the needful observations
has not occurred to myself, and year after year I have suffered the proper period to
pass without taking adequate steps to obtain the co-operation of those who unite the
ability with the opportunity to aid me in the inquiry. It is well known that the eggs
of birds differ not only in form but also in colour and texture, and that in many
instances the colour and markings of the egg-shell are almost as characteristic as the
plumage of the full-grown bird. In the egg-shell of the emu we have a green colour
which seems to be analagous to the very remarkable green pigment in the maternal
portion of the placenta of the puppy. In that of some other birds, as the Guinea fowl,
we see a reddish brown, affording one of many illustrations of the cognate character of
the complementary colours green and red. Again the egg-shells of many birds present
various shades of deep brown and olive up to perfect black. As an example of the
black I would invite especial notice to those of a breed of black ducks. The black
colour of these shells is applied in the most irregular manner as regards both the
quantity and the distribution. Sometimes the shell is almost universally of a deep
black ; sometimes a shell, remarkably white for that of a duck, is partially smeared
with black as if daubed with a shoe-brush. The eggs of many birds are spotted in
such a manner as to form a characteristic pattern. It seems perfectly reasonable to
suppose that there must be some special anatomical arrangement destined to produce

Fishes—ITInsects. 6381

the varieties of colour just alluded to, and my conjecture is that for some of the modi-
fications the provision may consist in the proportion and distribution of the minute
veins. For example, retardation of the circulation and detension of the blood in the
veins seems to favour the production of black, as in the case of the black pigment of
the choroid coat of the eye and the co-existence of the vene vorticose of that structure.
This capillary arrangement may be such as to produce a pattern, and this inscribed on
the egg before its expulsion would give it the peculiarities belonging to its particular
species. The case may not be quite so simple as here supposed. Besides the capillary
vessels, the follicles and the epithetial element of the mucous membrane of the duck
are very probably concerned in producing some of the phenomena. The deposit of
earthy matter, forming the skell of the egg, may itself be brought about by something
like the conditions which determine the deposit of bony or earthy matter beneath the
attached surface of serous membranes. I shall be greatly obliged if some of the readers
of the ‘ Zoologist,’ who may be skilled in making fine injections and microscopic
researches, would take advantage of the coming spring to make some of the inquiries
here suggested.— Zhomus Hodgkin ; 35, Bedford Square, January 24, 1859.

A Word on Otolithes.—It may perhaps interest your ichthyological correspondents
to hear the results of my examination of the otolithes or ear-bones of fish. J have
examined upwards of one hundred species, and can now positively state that they
possess generic characters, and I believe I can as positively state specific ones
also. Such is unquestionably the case with the Gadoids; of course the specific cha-
racters are less marked than the generic, but with care can be made out. I have also
discovered that the Gadoids were in great numbers during the deposition of the crag,
having obtained otolithes of cod, whiting, whiting pout, pollack, &c, and, from the
Lower Marine of Hampshire, the whiting pout and some closely-allied species. The
greater part of my series is at present in the hands of Professor Agassiz, to whom they
were forwarded after my return from the States last autumn: as soon as I again
receive them, I shall be most happy to show them to any of your correspondents who
may feel an interest in the subject. As I purpose still continuing my investigations,
I will inform you of any further results—Edmund Thomas Higgins ; 2, Tamworth
Place, Redland Road, Bristol, January 17, 1859.

Food-plant of Lycena Agestis—When I took the ‘ Zoologist’ in hand, and saw
Mr. Morris’s paper (Zool. 6336), I expected he had been so fortunate as to have found
the larva of Lycena Agestis feeding on the Helianthemum ; but I find, on reading it,
that he has only confirmed my experience that it is the Erodium, and the Erodium
only, on which the larva feeds. Mr. Morris says, “ L. Agestis is often found very
abundantly on the downs in this neighbourhood, where the Helianthemum is also
plentiful.” I hope Mr. Morris will make himself better acquainted with the Botany
of Surrey. Again, he says, “I have also taken L. Agestis at different times in
localities so far from the chalk or sand that I am certain there was neither Erodium
nor Helianthemum within miles:” here, again, what he shows is simply want of

6382 Insects.

botanical knowledge; for the Erodium is found in plenty on the banks of the canal at
Norwood, but no Helianthemum: thus Mr. Morris proves that L. Agestis is found
where its food-plant grows in abundance. Helianthemum, as I have stated before,
will only grow on chalk or limestone, while the Erodium grows in open places, where
there are grassy slopes, such as run all through the Surrey hills; on the high mountain
ridges the Erodium is rare, but in those places the Helianthemum grows in abun-
dance; in such localities L. Agestis is rare. I am much obliged to Mr. Morris for
calling my attention to the Surrey hills, and more particularly to the canal at Nor-
wood, as it proves all that I wish. If Mr. Morris can spare a few days next summer
I hope he will search well the Helianthemum for the larva of L. Agestis, for I can
assure him it will be a discovery when he finds one; it does not follow that because
Mr. Morris finds L. Agestis where the Helianthemum is found that it must be its
food-plant.—H. J. Harding; 1, York Street, Church Street, Shoreditch, January 5,
1859.

[This discussion must now terminate for the present, to be renewed at some future
time, when Mr. Doubleday, Mr. Logan, Mr. Harpur Crewe, or some other close
observer of larve, shall actually breed Lycena Agestis from the larva.—Edward
Newman. |

Food-plant of Sphinx Convolvulii—I was extremely glad to read Mr. Douglas’s
paper on Sphinx Convolvuli (Zool. 6337). I believe the larva rarely or ever feeds
upon anything but the greater or lesser bindweed (Convolvulus Sepium and C. ar-
vensis, L.), and the perfect insect is thence most properly named Sphinx Convolvuli.
I know an entomologist in Kent who has several times bred the perfect insect in April
and May, from larve taken the previous autumn upon C. Sepium. A cousin of mine
has now in his possession a very lively pupa, the larva of which was taken last
September, at Eastbourne. — H. Harpur Crewe; Drinkstone, Woolpit, Suffolk,
January 14, 1859.

[I wish that any gentleman who finds either the larva or pupa of this insect
would oblige us all by transmitting a minute description of them to the ‘ Zoologist.—
Edward Newman.|

Food-plant of the Genus Acronycta.—I have read with much interest Mr. Gregson’s
remarks (Zovl. 6338), under the above heading. Iam able to add three more food-
plants to those he enumerates for Acronycta Alni, viz. beech, sallow and black Italian
poplar. I have three times had the larva, and respectively from the above-mentioned
trees. My brother, a few years since, brought me a fine pupa, the larva of which he
found and fed up upon alder, and my friend Mr. Herbert Bree beat a full-fed speci-
men from oak the year before last. Myr. Gregson remarks that he never saw A. Ru-
micis on its titular plant: this is certainly not the case in Derbyshire, where I have
seen the larve feeding upon all the common species of Rumex, and in profusion upon
the common sorrel (Atumex acetosa): this species, at any rate, is not, I think, mis-
named. I am, however, entirely at a loss to conceive how A. Ligustri came by its
title; I have taken the larve in some plenty on ash, but never, except in une instance,
upon anything else; this exception was at Malvern, where I once beat two small
larve from hazel, fed one of them up upon that tree, and bred the moth; I do not
believe it ever feeds, or did feed, upon privet, but I may be mistaken. The favourite
food-plant of A. Aceris is certainly sycamore; upon this tree the larve used to occur
in some plenty, when I was at Trinity, in the environs of Cambridge: during my
residence in Suffolk, however, I have myself beaten it from maple and oak, and seen

Insects. 6383

it beaten from birch. A. auricoma certainly does not take its name from the larva,
the hairs of which are sooty black. A. leporina is not confined to birch and black
poplar; I have taken a score or more of the larve upon alder, and have several times
seen it upon the Ontario poplar: the pale green larva with white hairs is not confined
to poplar; I have frequently beaten it from alder, and still oftener from birch, both in
Kent aud Derbyshire: I never met with more than three specimens of the canary-
coloured variety (if variety it be); one of them was feeding upon aspen, the other upon
birch. At Cambridge the larva of S. tridens used to be rather common in October on
the whitethorn hedges at the back of the colleges. —H. Harpur Crewe; Drinkstone,
Woolpit, Suffolk, January 14, 1859.

Larva of Heliothis marginata.—It may be interesting to Mr. Brockholes (Zool.
6338) to know that the larva of Heliothis marginata is common in some parts of
Suffolk. All the varieties he mentions occur, and in the same ratio as to rarity, var.
No. 3 being far the most scarce. I have taken this larva in various parts of England
fur some years past, but never upon anything except the thorny rest-harrow (Ononis
campestris, Koch); it eats the seeds and flowers, seldom, if ever, the leaves; I never
saw it upon O. arvensis; I have been told that it feeds upon various species of
crane’s-bill, but with what truth I know not. That it does feed upon other plants than
Ononis campestris I am almost sure, for I have taken the perfect insect at sugar ina
locality where little or no Ononis of either species occurred. I was once travelling
about with a number of these larve, and located for a time in a village where no
Ononis grew; after trying various experiments I found that they fed freely upon the
unripe seeds of the sweet pea. The perfect insect, when bred, is almost always
dwarfed.—Id.

Larva of Teniocampa cruda.—The caterpillar fastens two leaves together, lying
curled up between them during the day-time. I thought it must be, at least, a good
Ceropacha, and went on collecting them till I had “‘ amassed” about two hundred. T
shall not soon forget my disappointment, as day after day my friend T. cruda emerged.
My suspicions had already been grievously excited, by observing that the larva entered
the earth to effect its transformation ; the whole of the genus Ceropacha, if I mistake
not, spinning up between leaves, or in moss, &c. The larva is extremely variable, and
though preferring oak, will readily feed on hazel and sallow. The pupa may be found
from the beginning of July to March.—Joseph Greene in the ‘ Naturalist.’

Larva of Teniocampa cruda.—This larva appears more than any other to delude
and annoy the collector. The protean variety of its colours beats all description. I
found a variety this year and last, which was pale green with a very pretty orange and
red spiracular stripe. In addition to its other troublesome qualities the wretched larva
is a cannibal.—-H. Harpur Crewe ; Id.

Larva of Orthosia Upsilon.—I have taken the larva of this insect in some numbers
near Stowmarket, when sugaring just after dark, crawling up the pollard willows, and
occasionally upon the stem of the black Italian poplar. It conceals itself during the
day amongst the grass and roots at the foot of the tree, or under a piece of louse bark,
and as soon as it gets dark, climbs up to feed on the leaves, It isa dark dingy blackish
larva, and is full-fed about the 7th of June. It feeds most voraciously, and attains its
full size with marvellous rapidity. It remains a very short time in the pupa state,
sometimes barely three weeks. In confinement all my larve buried, and spun a cocoon
under the surface of the soil.—Jd.

Larva of Orthosia lota.—The egg would appear to be laid on the bud, as the larva

6384 Insects.

is almost invariably found among the young tender leaves, spinning four or five of
them together when young. It afterwards conceals itself, eating only at night. It is
a most voracious feeder. Asa rule, I should say it prefers sallow to willow; I have
not met with it on poplar.—Joseph Greene ; Id.

Larva of Anchoscelis pistacina.—I took the larva of this insect in some plenty last
year, at the end of May and beginning of June, by sweeping the mowing grass in the
meadows round Stowmarket. It closely resembles the larva of Hadena oleracea, and
is sometimes bright yellowish green, and at others reddish brown with black spots. It
feeds voraciously upon the leaves of the three species of meadow crowfoot, Ranunculus
bulbosus, R. acris and R. repens. It spins a very tight, neat earthen cocoon, in which
it remains some weeks before assuming the pupa state. This cocoon when kept dry
becomes exceedingly brittle. The eggs which I have had were laid in the autumn, and
hatched in the spring.—H. Harpur Crewe ; Id.

Larva of Scopelosoma satellitia.—The larva of this species is very singular in its
habits. I do not allude to its carnivorous ‘ propensities.’ In this respect unfortunately
it is not singular. Sometimes, when young, it feeds on trees, and afterwards on low-
growing plants; at other times it appears to invert this order of things. I found a
number of them last spring about half an inch long, feeding on the common primrose,
but when placed in a box, containing leaves of the wych elm, they immediately forsook
the former and devoted their energies to the latter. Conceals itself during the day.—
Joseph Greene; Id.

Larve of the Genus Xanthia.—This highly interesting genus is well represented
in Suffolk, as I have myself taken the whole six species; and this appears to bea
suitabte place to make a few remarks on the habits of the larve of this genus. The
general opinion seems to be, that when young they feed on the seeds of various trees,
and afterwards leave them for various low-growing plants. That this is by no means
necessarily the case, I have had abundant opportunities of proving. For instance,
X. citrago was nearly full-fed when beaten from lime, and in confinement they not
only preferred that tree as food, but would not touch any other. At Playford I beat
the larva of X. ferruginea in the greatest profusion from the wych elm of all sizes,
from a week old to their full growth. Again, the five pupe of X. gilvago, which I
dug up this year in Derbyshire, were all at the roots of elm, there being no plants at
all near. The same remark applies to X. xerampelina. Indeed, with regard to this
latter insect, I entertain little doubt that leaving the tree is the exception and not the
rule. I must at the same time acknowledge that I have not succeeded in finding the
larva. I am very anxious to know farther, whether the eggs of the different species in
this genus hatch in the autumn or not? T believe the general idea is that they do not.
My own impression is that they do hatch and hybernate. My only reason for thinking
so is, that in October I found, in beating some loose grass, weeds, &c., in a very small
plantation, two Jarve of this genus, about half an inch long. I cannot state the species,
as there were buth ash and elm in the plantation, and the larve (when young especially)
are so much alike that it is difficult to discriminate them. My notion, therefore, from
this circumstance is, that the eggs are hatched in the autumn on the trees, and that
just before the leaves fall the larve descend to hybernate among the weeds, &c., and
in the following spring ascend them for the purpose of feeding again. This idea is
much strengthened by the fact that X. ferruginea (the only species, unfortunately, I
can speak of from experience) may be found nearly three-quarters of an inch in length,
when the buds of the elm have scarcely burst. These remarks are only intended to

Insects. 6385

provoke inquiry, and I shall feel grateful for any information on the subject.—Joseph
Greene ; Id.

Occurrence of Sophronia emortualis near Brighton.—A specimen of this insect was
captured in this town, on the 18th of June, 1858, by Mr. Pocock. Unfortunately the
specimen is not in good condition, and it would therefore be difficult to describe it,
but a few characters may be given by which it may be readily distinguished from any
of our other Deltoides. In size it approaches Herminia tarsipennalis, and when perfect
the colour may perhaps agree with that species, but in the specimen recently captured
there is a distinct yellowish tinge ; the first line arises on the costa, and descends °
almost perpendicularly to the inner margin, in this nearly approaching H. grisealis ;
this line is but slight and indistinctly represented on the under wing; the second line
rises on the costa beyond the middle, and by a slight but uniform curve passes across
the wing to the inner margin, and is continued quite through to the inner margin of
the under wing: this line does not arise on the costa and then extend to the outer
margin, as in H. derivalis, but the point which actually crosses the costal nerve is
the most distant from the base of the wing: both these lines are well defined, and
appear of a pale yellowish or cream-colour, margined with darker on the inner side ;
the character of the second line would be best understood bv a reference to Ephyra
punctaria, but it is much more boldly defined than in that species. The posterior
margin of the reniform stigma is faintly outlined with pale yellow or cream-colour.
The state of the specimen precludes further remarks.—H. Cooke ; 8, Pelham Terrace,
Brighton, January 4, 1859.—From the ‘ Intelligencer.

Discovery of a New Nepticula.—Mr. Edleston lately sent for determination a number
of insects, and amongst them two specimens of a Nepticula taken amongst Spanish
chestnuts, and for which Mr. Edleston proposed the name N. castanella: this appears
to be a distinct species, something allied to N. tityrella, but the fascia straighter and
placed nearer the hind margin. We regret to learn that Mr. Edleston was unsuccessful
in finding any Nepticula larve in the leaves of the Fagus castanea last autumn,
having apparently demolished the whole tribe the previous year.—H. T. Stainton ;
January 10, 1858.—From the ‘ Intelligencer.’

Is Micra parva double-brooded ?—I should like to propound the following query
to the readers of the ‘ Zoologist,’—viz., is Micra parva double-bruoded? M. Bois-
duval gives this species as occurring in July, and its congener M. ostrina in spring
and summer. Now [I take M. parva on the 12th of June, in good condition, in a
place I had hunted over day after day last year, swarming with Satyrus Semele,
Lycena Agestis, &c. Can any of the readers of the ‘ Zoologist’ tell me in what state
these species are now, and where >—G. R. Crotch ; Uphill House, Weston-super- Mare,
December 26, 1858.

On the Propriety of Including Imported Species in the List of
British Insects. By Freprrick Smitru, Esq.

Ir is a fact, well known to entomologists generally, that a large
number of insects included in our Fauna are of foreign origin, and I
think a few words on this subject may elicit from others opinions as

XVIT. L

6386 Insects.

to the time when, and under what circumstances, we are justified in
including imported species in the British list. For some time past I
have paid considerable attention to the Formicide, particularly our
native ants, and I find two or three, undoubtedly imported species,
not only existing in numbers in gardens, green-houses, hot-houses
and dwelling-houses, but I find them continuing their kind, increasing
in numbers and spreading themselves over various localities, in short
becoming naturalized; once naturalized I conclude they become
British insects, and should be unhesitatingly included in our Fauna.

Some of these imported species are occasionally found at large, but
in all probability, only the individuals which our ships have conveyed
in merchandise, ballast, &c.; to these we may, I think, refer Carabus
cancellatus and C. auratus: neither of these increase and multiply,
and may, along with Calosoma Sycophanta, be properly expunged
from our lists. It is not amongst the Geodephaga, however, that any
large importations are to be looked for; we must expect the greatest
number to consist of such species as subsist upon the various articles
which our commerce with other countries is the means of bringing to
our shores.

Of the latter kind, those which feed upon the various sorts of corn,
pulse, rice, fruits, skins and furs, may be expected to be most
numerous. It is not my object here to furnish a list of these
imported insects, but I would, as stated above, invite others to give
their opinions upon the point in question. There are, doubtless,
several other cosmopolitan insects, the native country of which it
would be difficult to ascertain: what country, for instance, claims
Dermestes vulpinus,—it comes in merchandise from all parts of
the globe: the same may be said of Trogosita mauritanica, and
of what country is Sitophilus granarius or 8. Oryze a native? The
latter species is omitted by Mr. Walton in his list of native Cur-
culionidz, but it has equal claims, in my opinion, to being included
as British, with S. granarius; I found it very plentiful last summer
along the Suffolk coast, near Kessingland and Pakefield: here it
apparently has become acclimatized, for I not only found it on
the*shore, but in sandy spots at some distance inland; I have met
with S. granarius in similar situations, but, doubtless, both species
are most numerous and most frequently found in granaries and ware-
houses. Although rice may be the usual nutriment of S. Oryze,
it must subsist upon other food on the Suffolk coast: the greater
number of individuals were found in a sandy ravine or chasm, bor-
dered by fields of barley.

Insects. 6387

Carpophilus flexuosus, an insect belonging to the family Niti-
dulide, is constantly found in drums of figs, &c.: this species
appears to have spread over most parts of the world; specimens have
been received from North and South Europe, North and South
America, India and the Fedjee Islands: this insect I have taken
at large in this country, at Colney Hatch and in Plumstead Wood; I
also found it in a fir plantation on the border of Hawley Flat, Hants.
Those well-known and universally distributed species, Necrobia rufi-
collis and rufipes, Ptinus hololeucus, Anobium paniceum, Stene
ferraginea and Alphitobius picipes, with, no doubt, a host of other
species, which a Coleopterist would be able to catalogue, are now by
pretty general consent enrolled in the ranks of British beetles.

I now come to the more immediate purport of this communication ;
supposing a species to be undoubtedly imported, but which, un-
influenced prejudicially by change of climate, continues to multiply
its kind, until by degrees it spreads itself in all directions, and
becomes generally known, and its extermination impossible,—at what
precise point of time are we justified in naturalizing the insect? I
remember at a meeting of the Entomological Society, some twenty
years ago, the Ptinus hololeucus being exhibited as a novelty; this
species is now, I believe, generally incorporated with the British
Ptinide. About the same time, 1838, a notice on a minute species
of ant which had become so numerous in dwelling-houses that it
proved an intolerable nuisance, so much so, that houses were deserted
in consequence. I may be allowed here to quote a few observations
from my Catalogue of Formicide. The ant in question, named
Myrmica domestica, by Mr. Shuckard, “ has been admitted into the lists
of British ants, but is undoubtedly animportation. The Rev. Hamlet
Clark brought a number of specimens of this ant from Constantia, in
Brazil ; these have been carefully examined, and proved to be identi-
eal with Shuckard’s species. The Myrmica molesta of Say, I consider
identical with our insect, specimens from the United States having
been carefully compared: it is described as being equally abundant
and annoying in houses in that country, and is probably now
of almost universal occurrence, like other insects which attach them-
selves to the habitations of man ; South America is, in all probability,
its native country.”

Myrmica levigata: I described this species with a suspicion of its
being identical with the M. pallidula of Nylander, and, on a compa-
rison of specimens of the small workers only, I did not detect
differences which presented themselves when a series of all the sexes

6388 Insects.

were obtained for comparison: through the kindness of Mr. Parfitt I
have received examples of the female, and of the workers, major and
minor; on a comparison of these with specimens of Myrmica palli-
dula of Nylander and with those of the COicophthara pusilla of Heer,
I find them identical with the latter insect, the house-ant of Madeira:
this ant will, I have no doubt, in the course of a few years, become
generally distributed, not only in hothouses, but also in dwelling-
houses, and will, in that case, prove a much more troublesome insect
than the M. molesta; it is a larger species than the latter, and
belongs to the family Attide, the species of which have two distinct
forms of the working-ants, one, the soldier, or worker-major, being
distinguished by a monstrously enlarged head, and strong sharp
cutting-jaws: the M. molesta only possesses one form of worker, and
is a true Myrmica, according to my view of that division of ants.
Both these house-ants have heen introduced, and regularly repro-
duce their kind, and will, doubtless, continue to do so, and become
permanently located in this country; I have, therefore, included both
in my forthcoming work on the ants, and I conclude these rambling
observations with a repetition of the question, at what time, and under
what circumstances are we justified in including such imported species

in the list of British insects?

FREDERICK SMITH.
27, Richmond Crescent,

Islington.

A Late Swarm of Bees: Artificial Swarm. Are the Combs hexagonal or not P—
Tn the ‘ Zoologist’ for January (Zool. 6348) Mr. W. R. Morris, of Deptford, gives an
account of a swarm of bees as late as September 13th (a very hot day here, ther. 78°).
As I have frequently found very late and very early swarms turn out to be desertions,—
the latter also occurring on calm, hot days, —I wish Mr. Morris would let me know
the result of the examination of the parent-hive in a future number. I have
kept bees for more than fifty years, and nearly as long ago as the time named, on the
4th of April, on a fine calm hot day, I had the “ appearance” of a swarm about mid-
day : I found it wasa total desertion, which I attributed to having carried deprivation
of the combs too far in the autumn ; the bees went directly toa chimney some hundred
yards distance and were lost. 1 never saw a regular swarm come off any of my hives
without settling first, but on a hot day, with a scorching sun, unless shaded, they, the
bees, will not remain clustered above a few minutes. On two or three occasions early
Swarms were announced (on the 30th of March) in a newspaper and periodical, and,
on enquiring respecting two, one, the owner infurmed me, was a desertion from the
combs, having been entirely riddled by the Death’s Head Hawk-Moth (Acherontia
Airopos), and the other swarm the wet got into the combs, from the covering being
deficient and the combs becoming mildewed. Newly-hived swarms will often desert

Insects. 6389

a hive if it be musty or dirty, and I have known many desert if there is any
tarred twine carelessly used (too often the case) inside in binding straw-hives ; this is
always fatal, they will never stop. As I am on the subject of bees, I regret to see a
Most intelligent writer, in other respects, endeavouring to establish a new theory as to
the formation of the cells of the workers. All the best authorities for the last
hundred years have clearly proved that these cells are hexagonal ; there is no other
form which affords such economy of space, and nothing, in my humble opinion, dis-
plays more of that ‘“ Partem Divine mentis” (Virgil) in these wonderful insects, the
bees, than in the hexagonal formation of their cells. There is also too much
inclination now-a-days to try apiarian experiments,—the almost total prevention of
Swarming is carried too far, — for if there be one thing more wonderful than another,
it is that particular and extraordinary mode the Great Artificer of the world has
ordained to be the manner of increasing their species in throwing off their natural
swarms, &c.—H. W. Newman ; Cheltenhain, January 7, 1859.

[I do not understand Colonel Newman’s allusion to the Death’s Head: does he
not mean the honey moths, the larve of which do riddle the combs?—Edward
Newman].

Capture of Notiophilus substriatus in the North of Scotland and in Cumberland.—
When at Tain, Ross-shire, in September, 1857, I took all the Notiophili that came in
my way, and on examining them to-day I find that five of the specimens are, without
any doubt, substriatus. They were all taken at the base of the sand-hills, on the sea-
shore, down which they appeared to have fallen, in company with hundreds of com-
mon Amare. The wagtails, which were very numerous, seemed quite aware of this
natural trap, and if late in making my round I found that they had been earlier
risers than myself, and had eaten up the whole catch, leaving their foot-prints as a
memorial of their doings, and as a hint to me to get up sooner to-morrow morning. I
have a specimen of the same insect taken on the hills in Cumberland, which is of a
fine steel-blue colour. The species thus appears to be widely dispersed.— Thomas
John Bold; Long Benton, Newcastle-on-Tyne, December 28, 1858.

English Habitat for Quedius auricomus.—Amongst my Cumberland captures of the
past season is a very beautiful little Quedius, agreeing fully with the description of
Q. auricomus, Kiesenw., in ‘ Faune Frangaise,’ vol. 1.540. I took it beneath débris,
on banks of the river Irthing, in May, 1858. This species has not, to my knowledge,
been previously found on this side the border. Mr. Hardy records it as occurring in
Berwickshire, and has described it with great accuracy under the name of scintillans,
in the ‘ History of the Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club,’ vol. ii. 258. Mr. A. Murray,
in his ‘ Catalogue of the Coleoptera of Scotland,’ p. 123, indicates Q. auricomus as
“Rare; Berwickshire; near Hamilton.” It is also recorded in the ‘ Entomological
Annual’ for 1855, p. 123, on the authority of the foregoing Scottish localities.—Zd.

Note on Zoanthus. — The Zoanthus lately noticed in the ‘ Zovlogist’ (Zool.
6349) proves to be identical with Dysidea papillosa, Johnston, — an animal formerly
believed to be a sponge; it is, however, a true compound polype, and a detailed
description of it in its proper character has just been laid before the Zoological

6390 Entomological Society.

Society. The only question now is whether or not D. papillosa and Zoanthus Couchii
are the same; both have been found on the Cornish coast, and, as Mr. R. Q. Coneh
speaks of the Zoanthus being common there, he, or some other naturalist, may
have had an opportunity of comparing them, and will perhaps kindly help me out of
my present difficulty. — &. W. H. Holdsworth; 26, Osnaburgh Street, January
4, 1856. .

Proceedings of Societies.
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

January 3, 1859.—Dr. J. E. Gray, President, in the chair.

Donations.

The following donations were announced, and thanks ordered to be presented tv
the donors :—‘ Transactions of the Zoological Society of London,’ Vol. iv., Part 5;
presented by the Society. ‘On the Arrangement of the Cutaneous Muscles of
the Larva of Pygera bucephala, by John Lubbock, Esq., F.R.S., LS., G.S., &e. ; by
the Author. ‘Exotic Butterflies, Part 29; by W. W. Saunders, Esq. ‘ Mono-
graphie des Gomphines,’ par Edm. DeSelys Longchamps, Membre de l’Académie
Rvuyale des Sciences de Belgique et de plusieurs autres Académies et Sociétés
Savantes; avec la collaboration de M. le Docteur Hagen, de Koenigsberg; by
the Author. ‘The Journal of the Royal Dublin Society, Vol. i.; by the Society.
‘Proceedings of the Zoological Society,’ Nos. 363—369; by the Society. The
‘Zoologist’ for January; by the Editor. The ‘Atheneum’ for December; by the
Editor. The ‘ Literary Gazette’ for December; by the Editor. The ‘Journal of the
Society of Arts’ for December; by the Society. The ‘ Entomologists’ Annual’ for
1859; ‘A Manual of British Butterflies and Moths, No. 24; The ‘ Entomologists’
Weekly Inteliigencer, Nos. 115—118; by H. T. Stainton, Esq.

Election of a Member.

George S. Mosse, Esq., of Eldon Road, Kensington, was balloted for and elected
a Member of the Society.

Exhibitions.

Mr. Waterhouse exhibited a specimen of Tachyusa concolor of Kraatz = Homa-
lota concolor, Hrichs. ‘The insect was found at the uppermost of the Highgate Ponds,
on the 25th of May, 1855. Latterly, Dr. Power has taken the same species at
Barnes Common and at the Hammersmith Marshes.

Mr. Waterhouse also exhibited a specimen of Symbiotes latus of Redtenbacher,
which he found in sweeping the herbage in a wood near Ryde, in the Isle of Wight,
in the summer of 1854: Mr. Waterhouse believed this was the first occurrence of the
genus Symbiotes in England.

Entomological Society. 6391

Mr. Janson observed that he believed the discovery in Britain of Tachyssa
concolor was due to Dr. Power, from whom he had received the species some months
back; he had likewise seen it in the collection of Mr. H. Adams; Mr. Squire
had also met with it at Hammersmith, and had long since placed it in his cabinet
with its legitimate specific appellation.

With respect to Symbiotes latus, Redt., Mr. Janson remarked that he had been for
some time past perfectly familiar with it asa British insect. He had first taken it
beneath the loose bark of a dead tree, in which a formidable colony of Formica flava
had established itself for some years; the beetles were moving about amongst the ants.
Redtenbacher says (Faun. Austr. 2nd Ed. 371) that “the species” of this genus, of
which he describes two, “ live among ants.” ‘That Symbiotes latus is not, however,
a myrmecophilon, in the strict sense of the term, Mr. Janson stated he had
subsequently satisfied himself, as he had found several individuals subsisting on a
species of mould growing on a rotten elm stump, more than a mile distant from the
spot in which he had first discovered it, and certainly unaccompanied by any
ant. Mr. Janson added that Microchondrus (Guérin), Wollaston, Ins. Mad, 196
(1854) was coincident with Symbiotes, Redé., and that he should probably have occa-
sion to return to this subject at a future Meeting.

Mr. Stevens exhibited some Coleoptera from the interior of Peru, amongst which
were a fine new species of Psalidognathus allied to P. Friendii, and an Agaocephala
very distinct from all known species of that genus.

Mr. A. F. Sheppard exhibited some Coleoptera taken at Geelong, Victoria.

Mr. Janson exhibited a specimen of Oxypoda spectabilis, Maerkel, Germar,
Zeitschr. f. d. Entom. v. 217, 47 (1844) ; Kraatz. Naturgesch. d. Ins. Deutschl. ii.
162, 2 (1856), taken by Mr. R. Hislop, near Falkirk, during the past season,
transmitted him by that gentleman for identification. He remarked that the insect
had been first found in Saxony associated with Formica fuliginosa, and was hence
considered and described by Herr Maerkel as myrmecophilous, but it was sub-
sequently taken near Berlin, among damp fallen leaves, unaccompanied by ants: the
individual exhibited occurred “ amongst grass.” Dr. Kraatz, l. c., gives it as a dis-
tinct species, stating, however, that it appears to him not improbable that it will ulti-
mately prove to be a dark form of QO. ruficornis, Gyll., but that a long series
of examples was requisite, in order definitely to determine this question. Mr. Janson
had carefully compared the present specimen with four individuals of O. ruficornis,
Gyll., Kraaiz, and had been unable to detect any structural distinctions, the
only point of disparity being in colour: thus, O. spectabilis has pitchy black
antenna, the three basal joints alone red, the thorax and elytra likewise pitchy black,
the humeral angles of the latter rufous. O. ruficornis has the antenne and lateral
margins of the thorax rufous, the elytra rufo-testaceous, with the region of the scu-
tellum dusky.

Mr. Edwin Shepherd exhibited a specimen of Stenus palustris, Erich., a species
hitherto unrecorded as British, taken by Mr. F. Bond, in the fens near Cambridge.

Mr. Adam White exhibited a sketch of a curious Isopodous Crustacean, recently
sent home by F’. M. Rayner, Esq., Surgeon of H.M.S. Herald, and taken by him on
Flinders and Hummock Island; it belongs to the family Spheromida, but is
distinguished from every isopod hitherto described or seen by Mr. White, in having
a long horny projection from the epistome; the facetted eyes are conspicuous on each

6392 Entomological Society.

side of the same segment; with them isa projecting horn shorter than the middle one.
He named it Cephaloniscus Grayanus, in compliment to the keeper of the zoological
collections at the British Museum. Mr. White also made some remarks on the order
Isopoda.

Mr. Stainton exhibited, on behalf of tha Rev. H. A. Pickard, a specimen of
Plutella Annulatella, remarkable as having been taken in a new locality, the Isle of
Portland, and as being much whiter than ordinary specimens. The only previous
localities in this country recorded for this insect, were the North of England (near
Newcastle-on-Tyne), the North of Ireland and Scotland ; from the greater contrast
of colour in this Portland specimen, it was far prettier than the northern form of the
species.

Dr. Allchin exhibited a large Noctua allied to Catocala, said to have been taken
near Bolton, Lancashire; he had been unable to identify it with any species
contained in the extensive general collection of Noctuz in the British Museum.

Mr. Walker made the following remarks :—“At a former Meeting, on the occasion
of the exhibition of a horn-shaped gall inhabited by a Thrips, discovered by
Mr. Foxcroft, at Sierra Leone, I observed that it resembled the horn-shaped gall of
the lime-leaf, and that I had not discovered the insect which is the cause of the latter
excrescence ; but I have since found that its history has been investigated long ago
by the botanist under-mentioned : —‘ Observations Physiologiques sur le development
des gales corniculées de la feuille de tilleul de’ Hollande, et sur la cause qui les
produit. Par P. J. F. Turpin. (Mém. Acad. Roy. Sci. Institut. Fr. vi. 1835).”’ He
noticed that it was inhabited by a mite, which he named Sarcoptes Gallarum Tilia,
and of which he traced the development from the egg to the perfect insect. He
observes that it is not certain whether the mite is the cause of the formation of the
gall, in which it does not occur before the middle of May nor after the middle
of August, and, therefore, its mode of life during nine months of the year is
still unknown. Another horn-shaped gall appears on the leaves of the beech, and is
quite distinct from the pyramidal gall lately mentioned here as the habitation
of Ocidomyia Fagi.

Mr. Smith communicated a paper intituled ‘A Contribution to the History of
Stylops, with an enumeration of such species of Exotic Hymenoptera as have been
found to be attacked by these parasites.”

Mr. Waterhouse read the following papers: —“ A List of the British Species of:
Latridius.” “A Revision of the British Species of Corticaria.”

Part ix. of the current volume of the Society’s ‘Transactions, published in
December, was on the table.—£. S.

York Entomological Society. — At the Anniversary Meeting of this Society, held
on the 3rd of January, 1859, the Rev. F. O. Morris was elected President; Mr. J.
Birks, Treasurer ; and Mr. R. Anderson, Secretary, to whom all communications may
be addressed at his residence, Coney Street, York.

Letters of the late Dr. Bromfield. 6393

Extracts from the Letters of the late Wittiam ARNOLD
BromFIELD, M.D., to his Sister. |

RATHER more than six years have passed away since the universally
lamented death of Dr. Bromfield. His wanderings in pursuit of
Natural-History knowledge either in his own country,—more parti-
cularly his native Island, the Isle of Wight,—or in the wider field of
the West Indies, the United States, Egypt and Palestine, occupied
almost the whole of his life after he had arrived at manhood. He
entered Egypt on the 18th of October, 1850, ascended the Nile,
reached Cairo on his return on the 11th of June, 1851 ; passed onward
to the Holy Land, reached Beyrout on the 22nd of September and left
that place on the 28th, “ sleeping that night at Zahleh and arriving the
next day at Baalbec ill through long fasting, his servant having
omitted to take the requisite provision for the journey. The following
night he was seized with diarrhca, from which he suffered without
intermission until he reached, on the 1st of October, the house of the
Rev. J. L. Porter at Bludan, the summer station of the Mission, where
he was assiduously attended by Dr. Paulding.

“i. fforts were made to dissuade one so unfit to travel from proceeding
to Damascus ; but the combined illness of Mr. and Mrs. Porter, and
probably the restlessness induced by fever, determined him to press
on to that city. The journey seems to have greatly increased the
malady, and his recovery became, humanly speaking, hopeless.

“On reaching the Hotel de Palmire, his symptoms were rapidly
aggravated, and assumed the form of malignant typhus; while the
sufferer was watched during the brief remainder of his life, with the
kindest Christian care, by the Rev. James Barnett, and by Mr. George
Moore, an English traveller, who, under most trying circumstances,
volunteered his help to a fellow countryman.”

He died at Damascus on the 9th of October, 1851. No man ever
lived who attracted more entirely the affections of all who knew him;
he was of the most affectionate disposition, mild in his manners, sincere,
kind and considerate to all, of unwearying assiduity, of the most
invincible industry and the most ardent lover of truth: this latter
quality led him, during his voyage on the Nile, very frequently to
deprecate the high-flown terms with which previous travellers had
uniformly spoken of the antiquities of Egypt; and so great was the
confidence placed in the veracity and judgment of Dr. Bromfield,
that, among his friends, this modified estimation of Egyptian antiquities

XVII. M

6394 Extracts from the Letters of

became prevalent, and lasted until the photographs of Francis Frith
told silently, but with a power not to be questioned, a very different
tale, and Egypt is again restored to that estimation as a land of
wonders which she had previously held. Dr. Bromfield’s erroneous
estimation of these wonders has been held by some as a want of
candour, but those who know him best well know the utter fallacy of
such a conclusion ; he was annoyed and disgusted by the bombastic
phrases of conceited travellers, and his extreme love of truth revolted
at the inflated descriptions he had read. His truth-seeking mind
required a greater degree of exactitude than is to be found in any
record published up to the time of his visit: had he only seen the
photographs of Frith, unaccompanied by description, how different
would have been his feelings. There is not a greater proof of the
estimation in which Dr. Bromfield’s intense love of truth was held than
the effect produced by his criticisms on the antiquities of Egypt. I
confess myself to have been an unhesitating convert to his views, and
that I greatly under-estimated these antiquities until I beheld their
portraits painted by themselves: that evidence who shall dispute ?

A truly affectionate sister received these letters during her brother’s
last journey, and has printed them for private circulation only, distri-
buting the copies among the writer’s friends. From one of them, with
which the editor of the ‘ Zoologist’ has been favoured, the following
interesting passages are extracted—Hdward Newman.

Animal possessions of the Egyptians. — Camels, dromedaries,
donkeys and huge buffaloes, with a few dark brown sheep, are their
chief possessions ; the buffaloes may be seen continually lying in mid
river, with their noses alone out of the river, or swimming across to
the opposite bank, quiet inoffensive animals, used both for draught
and burden. We remarked many persons ploughing with a camel
and a buffalo yoked together in most ill-assorted fellowship. Dove-
cotes, swarming with myriads of pigeons, rose high above the houses
in some of the larger towns, of a conical shape, like immense hay-stacks,
and pierced with innumerable holes for the birds to enter in and come
out. Pigeons are a great article of consumption in Egypt, where
poultry takes the place of butchers’ meat in a great measure.—
p- 3l.

Crocodiles in the Nile.—Nearly coequal with the limits of the
Doum palm is the line that bounds the distribution of the crocodile

the late Dr. Bromfield. - 6395

northwards at the present day, for in ancient times it would appear to
have ranged much lower in the Nile, and it is said to have even
inhabited the Delta, and Lower Egypt properly so called. In our
day the crocodile is said first to make its appearance at or near Osiout,
but we saw none of them during our stay at that city ; but on Sunday
morning (December 14) on arriving about a quarter of a mile from a
sand-bank, which we learned from our boatmen was a favourite resort
of these reptiles, and which is a little beyond Girgeh, between that
town and Farshoot, we had the gratification of seeing a whole herd,
if I may use the term, of these river monsters emerge one by one from
the stream as the sun gained power, and assemble on the sand-bank,
where we soon counted no less than sixteen of various sizes, huddled
together, and evidently enjoying the warmth of the bright and un-
clouded morning ray. The smallest of those we saw, as we watched
them through our telescopes, seemed to be at least eight or nine feet
in length, and several were absolute leviathan monsters, as hideous
and terrific as can well be imagined, not less certainly than sixteen
and eighteen feet long, with bodies as thick as that of a horse; the
huge jaws of some gaping wide apart as they lay listless and motionless
on the sand, or occasionally dragged themselves forth from the water
to lie along like huge logs or trunks of palm trees, to which they have
no inconsiderable general resemblance in the rough and scaly covering
of their unwieldy forms, knotted with crested protuberances. We were
so near them, that by the aid of our telescopes we could perfectly
watch their motions, and discover their minutest characters, longing
all the time to be amongst them with our guns, and planning an attack
we intend making on their stronghold when we return down the river.
We propose to throw up a masked battery of sand the day previous
to our attack, and landing on the beach before day-break the following
morning, to open fire on them from behind our temporary fort as they
come up out of the river to bask in the sun. We have furnished our-
selves with balls of hardened lead expressly for the purpose, and
trust to be able to achieve the feat of shooting a crocodile, and carrying
off his jaws and scull as trophies of our campaign against the ancient
monster deities of Egypt's river. The young specimens of the cro-
codile of the Nile that are occasionally brought alive to England give
no idea whatever of the hideous deformity and ferocious aspect of the
full-grown animal. A more revolting creature does not exist; yet, I
believe, that to man they are seldom, if ever, dangerous, being
extremely watchful and timid, waddling slowly down to and sliding
into the water, on the too near approach of any person; and we

6396 Extracts from the Letters of

observed the sand-banks occupied by numbers of aquatic birds, geese,
cranes, pelicans, &c., walking about the outstretched monsters as if
possessed with a feeling that they were in no peril of their lives in
the society of these ugly reptiles. A boat, in rounding the bank, fired
a gun at the crocodiles, but not within range, which had the effect of
sending them all pell-mell into the water, but in a few minutes after-
wards the noses of one or two might be seen emerging, and soon the
sand-bank became re-peopled with the fugitives. We little expected
at this season to find crocodiles half so numerous, seeing how cold the
mornings are now, and how low the temperature of the Nile is,
compared with that which it obtains a few months later or eatlier than —
the present.—p. 86.

Critique on Popular Views of the Zoology and Vegetation of the
Nile.—The ornithology of the Nile is, as to its subject, less susceptible
of exaggeration than its zoology, for the multitudes of water-fow] that
haunt its stream may justify the use of the word “swarming.” The
same expression might be applied with almost as much correctness to
the various birds of prey that hover over its banks, far exceeding in
variety of species and number of individuals any amount of the same
tribes in other countries and, indeed, constituting one of the most
singular features of this strange and interesting land. Vast are the
flocks of geese, pelicans, storks, cranes, spoonbills, flamingoes, shags
and other aquatic birds that overspread the river.—p. 105.

Cultivation of the Valley of the Nile-——The valley of the Nile is
one vast uninterrupted kitchen garden, from the shores of the Medi-
terranean to the second cataract, a distance of a thousand miles; and,
I believe, it continues to be such a garden of herbs far beyond that
point into Abyssinia.—p. 108.

Birds mostly akin to English—Very few of the birds have much
beauty of colouring, and those commonly seen are either identical
with or are related to the species with which we are familiar in Eng-
land, such as the common sparrow, the gray wagtail, the Royston
crow, the sky lark, which abounds in every field in Lower and Central
Egypt, the Nile plover, very like our common peewit (also a native),
turtle doves, blue rock-pigeons, besides the kestrel, hen-harrier and
various other hawks identical with or closely resembling British
species, as are the owl, kingfisher and many of the water fowl, some
of which latter, as the flamingo, egrets, &c., are common to this
country and southern Europe. Of course there are many birds exclu-
sively African, as pelicans, paddy-birds, &c., but these are seldom
distinguished by any elegance or gaiety of plumage; although, of

the late Dr. Bromfield. 6397

course, there are certain exceptions to this general sobriety of colouring.
As regards insects, I will only mention, that of the few butterflies that
flit about the fields of this land of unclouded sunshine and high temper-
ature, that which is by far the most frequently seen is our English
painted lady (Cynthia Cardut), a species common with us in certain
years during the latter part of summer and autumn: I have noticed as
yet but a single insect of this order at all superior in size to the
largest of our English Lepidoptera: the rest, few in number as regards
the species, and not greatly abounding individually, do not exceed
our native butterflies either in point of size or beauty of colouring ;
which is another proof of the position before alluded to.—P. 112.

Effects of a Scorpion Sting.—On the 21st of February our progress
was delayed for some hours by an accident to our servant Ameen, who
was stung in the hand by one of the great yellow African scorpions,
that had been brought to me by one of the camel drivers. Ameen,
foolishly relying on a supposed immunity from the venomous effect of
these and other noxious animals, which he believed had been commu-
nicated to him by a serpent-charmer at Cairo, for a consideration of
eleven piastres, actually grasped the scorpion with his bare hand, and
it instantly struck him at the root of the second finger of the left hand. |
He suffered intense pain for a few hours, with a feeling of great cold-
ness all over, numbness on the left side of the body, indistinct vision,
sickness, and other constitutional symptoms of rather an alarming
nature. I had none of the proper remedies with me for scorpion
stings, such as ammonia and ipecacuanha, but applied laudanum to
the wound, and brandy internally ; the next day the symptoms had
quite subsided, and Ameen felt well able to continue the journey. The
scorpion was one of the largest I had ever seen, and was about five
inches in length to the end of the tail.—P. 117.

Sketch of the Birds of Soudan.—When you write to H tell
him that he would find abundant amusement in Soudan (Ethiopia
Proper) amongst the innumerable multitude of birds that inhabit this
region and the whole valley of the Nile; the number of individuals is
perfectly astonishing, and the species themselves numerous. Birds of
prey abound as in Egypt; hawks, kites, eagles, vultures, are ever seen
in the air; the multitude of aquatic fowl is incredible; geese, herons,
storks, cranes, spoonbills, ibises, pelicans, actually swarm, and fill the
air with their myriads. Every grove resounds with the cooing of doves,
of which we have killed five or six different species between Cairo
and Khartoun, the species changing with the latitude. Many European
genera are amongst the commonest of those inhabiting this country.

6398 Extracts from the Letters of

Wagtails, whitethroats, larks, plovers and sparrows are seen every-
where ; in many cases apparently identical with our English species ;
as for instance the sky lark, common plover or lapwing, and perhaps
the ordinary sparrow of the country, which comes exceedingly close
to our common house sparrow, if it be not the very same bird,—being
equally domestic and familiar, and even more plentiful than in Europe.
In the thickets and groves along the Nile, and which here and there
adorn even the desert, various richly decorated tropical birds are met
with, but the ornithology of this part of Africa, like its botany, has a
plain unadorned character, partaking throughout of that found to’
prevail in the temperate zone.—p. 126.

Hippopotami seen above Berber.—Talking of the hippopotami, we
saw several when in the upper country above Berber, and in the
White River, and could sometimes hear them blowing in the water at
night: we never saw them on land, and could only see their broad
truncated snouts, and part of their huge heads occasionally raised
above the surface: they are not at the present day to be found below
Berber.—p. 131

The Crocodile more fearful than formidable.—As to crocodiles,
Mr. Lake, an excellent shot with his rifle, killed at least three of these
monsters, on the sand-banks, but never could secure their bodies, as,
on being mortally wounded, they always contrive to flounder into the
water, where they either sink dead, the body not rising till after at
least twenty-four hours when decomposition has begun, or they come
on shore after some time to die. The crocodile is a very timid
animal, and I firmly believe rarely, ¢f ever, ventures to attack an adult,
and then only in the water, never on land; but there is no doubt that
they will seize children who venture into shallow water where they
abound: an instance of a little girl having met with such a fate
occurred at a village on our southern route, the very day before our
arrival. The Arabs along the Nile never evince the least fear of
crocodiles ; the boatmen are constantly paddling about in the water
to shove their boats off the innumerable sand-banks that obstruct the
navigation in all parts of this immensely long river; and I have seen
large birds strutting about almost within a foot or two of their huge
jaws, as they lie basking on the banks, a dozen or more together, and
have even seen them perch on the top of the crocodiles’ heads. The
real danger to a man, should he be able to approach so wary an
animal near enough to receive injury (which could happen only in
case of one disabled by a wound), would be from a stroke of his
powerful tail. Their mode of gliding into the water when disturbed

the late Dr. Bromfield. 6399

is by a slow motion like that of some gigantic serpent or fish; they
then look very slippery, and as if all joints and suppleness.—p. 132.

The Scorpion Spider or Galleode.—At the sugar-works at Ernout,
I saw one living and several dead specimens of the terrific scorpion
spider or galleode of Egypt and the adjacent countries; the latter
were found drowned in a large tank for supplying the engines; the
former was captured in the house by Mr. Fox. The outstretched legs
of the largest specimen measured about eight inches in the span.
The general aspect of this hideous animal is that of a gigantic spider,
which it resembles in the great length of its hairy legs the oblong
livid body, jointed like that of the scorpion, is destitute of any sting,
instead of which the head is furnished with a formidable pair of sharp
and very prominent pincers, capable of inflicting an extremely painful
though, I believe, not very venomous bite. It is a nocturnal animal,
frequenting out-houses and deserted apartments, running with in-
credible speed, and fearlessly attacking any object that is opposed to
it. Mr. Fox’s Arab servant, hearing a mouse squeaking in the room
one night as if in distress, was induced to ascertain the cause, when
he found one of these galleodes had fastened upon it, but whether with
the intention of making the mouse its prey, or from accidental offence
given by the latter, Mr. Fox could not say. The natives regard its
bite as not dangerous, but rather encourage it, as a noted destroyer of
its first cousins, the scorpions. I have several of the above specimens
(including the largest) in spirits, which I hope to send home with my
plants, &c. from Alexandria.—p. 155.

Cattle of Nubia—The Water Buffalo.—In the upper countries the
cattle are of a peculiar, probably distinct species of ox, very much like
our own, but with a hump on the back, and the females are, as milch
cows, good for nothing, being always nearly dry; so that we could
scarcely ever procure cows’ milk, even when meeting with large herds of
them, much as we should have preferred it to that of goats. Our common
breed or species is also seen in Nubia, &c., but more rarely. In most
parts of Egypt, but especially in the lower provinces, the common
and hump-backed cattle are in a great degree supplanted by the
water buffalo (Bos Bubalus) a huge grotesque, ungainly, but apparently
harmless and stupid animal, to which we were indebted for some of
the milk obtained in Egypt, and all the abominable mass of indigestible
fibres sold for beef. The water buffalo has not made its way very
far beyond the second cataract, or into Nubia; but it is well known, I
am told, in India. Its name is derived from its habit of laying a great
part of its time immersed in the water of pools and rivers, and it is an

6400 Extracts from the Letters of

excellent swimmer. Thousands may be seen on the banks and shallows
of the Nile, during the heat of the day, luxuriously reposing, with only
their heads, or even the tips of their hippopotamus-like noses visible
above water: the stream that is continually passing over them brings
renewed coolness with it: at times one envies them their position.—
._p. 176.

Serpent Charms witnessed and vindicated.—Just before quitting
Cairo, on the 10th of July, I had an opportunity of witnessing the
performance of the serpent-charmers who profess to clear the houses
of the city of the reptiles of that order, with which they are all more
or less infested. Dr. Abbot kindly allowed me to bring the men to
his house, in which they captured six snakes of a harmless description
in less than half-an-hour, which number included no less than three
different species. These snake-charmers belong in general to a parti-
cular tribe of Arabs, who boast of having possessed their mysterious
faculty for an indefinitely long period. The chief actor in this case
was a fine-looking man, with a handsome and intelligent, but peculiar
cast of countenance. He carried a stick in his hand, with which, on
entering each apartment, he struck the walls several times, uttering, in
a low measured tone, a form of exorcism in Arabic; adjuring and
commanding the serpent—which he declared, immediately on the door
being thrown open, was lurking in the walls or ceiling—to come forth.
Presently, the reptile would be seen emerging from some hole or
corner, with which every room, even in the better class of Egyptian
houses, abounds; on which the enchanter would draw the unwilling
serpent towards him with the point of the stick, and when within reach
put it in the bag he carried about with him for that purpose. It is
said that the charmer conceals one or more serpents in his ample sleeves
and these he contrives to let loose in the apartment during his
evolutions with the stick; such may very possibly be the case, seeing
that in ordinary juggling tricks the quickest eye may be deceived by
the dexterity and rapidity of the performer's movements. I can only
declare that I was myself utterly unable to detect such a manceuvre as
that on which the operation of charming these reptiles is said to be
founded ; for although the charmer did not allow the spectator to be
actually in the room during the exorcism, he permitted persons to stand
close behind him, whilst at the same time the door of the apartment
was thrown wide open. Besides I have been assured by persons of the
highest credit, that they have witnessed the feats of the serpent-
charmers after their garments had been thoroughly searched for con-
cealed serpents ; that they have been made to change their clothes for

the late Dr. Bromfield. 6401

others provided by the owner of the house, and, what is yet more con-
vincing, have frequently been compelled to divest themselves of all
covering before entering the room they engaged to clear. It is usual
to object that, in these extreme trials, the serpents were introduced
upon the premises the night previous to the experiment, by persons
who usually accompany the chief performers; but it is not easy to
conceive how, without some secret mode of enticing them from their
lurking-places, serpents so introduced could be found and captured at
the precise moment when it was desired to do so, as the nature of this
class of reptiles is to ramble about in holes and obscure retreats, and
to withdraw from the eye of man, rather than, like the lizard tribe, to
frequent open, sunny situations where they are much exposed to view.
Supposing the serpents to be introduced at the time of exorcising by
the performers’ attendants (which could not be done in the room in
which the charmer himself exhibits, as he always enters alone, and
under such rigid examination, when every precaution is taken to pre-
vent deception, he would not be allowed to have a companion), how,
I say, could the reptiles be prevented from making their escape
amongst the rafters or in the holes about the apartment, which instinct
would assuredly teach them to do, rather than come and present them-
selves to view, unless impelled to show themselves by some influence
like that by which they are apparently induced to come forth from
their retreats at the word of the enchanter? Were the art of serpent-
charming a mere juggling deception, how could it for so many ages
have been exercised as a profitable employment by a particular tribe?
it being, in fact, customary in Cairo to send to the serpent-charmer
when a house is much infested with serpents, just as we should
require the services of a rat-catcher to rid our premises of those de-
structive animals. The extreme antiquity of serpent-charming is much
in favour of its honesty as an art, and, were it once ascertained that
conveying serpents to the premises to be cleared was a general or even
frequent practice, the poor and generally covetous and parsimonious
Cairenes would not give a para to have their houses stocked with
noxious reptiles under the pretence of being rid of them. I certainly
did not witness the exhibition under any of the above-mentioned cir-
cumstances of rigid scrutiny, but the men were taken from the street
to Dr. Abott’s house, without a moment’s previous intimation as to
whither they were about to be conducted. One or two circumstances
respecting the kind of serpent brought forth, and the weak, torpid con-
dition of the whole six, throw a shadow of suspicion on the matter, but
I am not prepared to object too strongly against either of these points :
XVIT. N

6402 Letters of the late Dr. Bromfield.

the torpidity of the reptiles might be the effect of the incantation, what-
ever that singular process may consist in; and although one kind was
a species of slow-worm, it does not follow that, because our own
indigenous reptile of that name never is found in houses, no other
species of the genus can inhabit the haunts of man, as the same may
be said of all our English serpents, which shun the abodes of man-
kind, whereas, in warmer climates, snakes of various and totally different
genera haunt houses even in the most crowded purlieus of a great city,
as at Cairo, where perhaps not a house is free from them. The serpent-
charmers pretended to secure me from the accidental effect of the bite
of these reptiles, by the not very pleasant process of blowing into the
mouth and afterwards pressing the lobe of my left ear between the
jaws of one of the snakes, so as to draw a little blood. My late ex-
perience in the case of poor Ameen’s scorpion’s sting in the desert did
not strengthen my confidence in the charm, with which, at far less
cost of money and suffering, I was fortified by the Cairene exorcist.—
p. 218.

Vermin Annoyances.—There being no bedstead in the room, the
mattrass was spread on the floor, which I speedily discovered to be
peopled by innumerable hosts of fleas, bugs, ants and cockroaches,
whilst, from the time the sun went down, there was neither peace nor
quiet to be had, when sitting up, and endeavouring to read or write,
from the incessant attacks of mosquitoes, which sang their shrill, small
war-notes in my ears without a moment’s respite, inflicting punctures
on the back of my hands the instant I relaxed in my efforts to drive
them away; from these to me far the most annoying of all insect-
tormentors I could defend myself during the night by retiring into my
fortress of muslin, as Saad and myself contrived to suspend mosquito-
curtains very cleverly over the bedding beneath, by means of strings
made fast to nails driven into the walls of the room, and tied to the
window-bars; but this was no barrier to the other insect-annoyances,
with the exception of the cockroaches, which it effectually kept out,
as also a gigantic species of mouse, which replaces in Egypt the com-
mon European kind: it is almost the size of a small rat, the body very
long and the ears extremely large and round.—p. 227.

Swimming Snake.—I witnessed to-day a singular attempt of a large
snake to make his way against the current of the Nile: after persevering
for about a quarter of an hour to stem the stream, he, with the wisdom
of bis race, yielded to the force of circumstances, and turning his head
in the contrary direction, was carried, without effort on his part, to-
wards the Mediterranean, in which quarter, it is probable, what-

Natural-History Collectors. 6403

ever affairs had called him abroad would be as well transacted.—
295.

Extracts from the Correspondence of HENRY BIRcHALL, Esq., while
in South America.*

Santa Marta, New Grenada, July 9, 1856.—All around the north-
east side of the town a cactus-swamp extends, and then a sort of waste
plantation, through which paths run, goes round to the sonthern side:
the cactus trees are from twenty to thirty feet high, and their prickles
are fearful, making nothing of a boot-leather. In this plantation I have
had some excellent entomologizing: butterflies were in prodigious
numbers, but so extremely active that they were hard to catch beyond
belief; I, however, succeeded in capturing thirty species, besides some
Coleoptera and dragonflies. There is no grass anywhere; the ground
is covered with a sort of shrubby, bilberry-like plant, under which
myriads of blue, green and yellow lizards find shelter. The profusion
of butterflies is something quite astonishing, but they fly so fiercely
that they are soon injured, and perfect specimens are the exception.
It is only possible to collect for about two hours, from 7 to 9 A.M.,
the heat is so great. I knocked down with my towel yesterday a
beautiful swallow-tail (Papilio Epidaus). Almost all the shrubs and
trees are garnished with most villanous thorns, so one has to be on
one’s guard in rushing through the bushes after game, and many a fine
insect has escaped from my net becoming caught in the thorns. The
butterflies seem to me to take five times as much killing as our English
ones; no amount of nip appears to floor the larger species, and I have
no chemicals at hand for them. In the bush there are lots of our
familiar green-house plants,—Mimosas, Daturas, Bigonias; the mango
trees are something like walnuts, with a touch of yew about them, and
the fruit in great abundance, but I dare not touch it.

Barranquilla, July 13.—On my road here the butterflies fairly drove
me distracted, for I could not catch them with my spurs on: this
afternoon I have taken a walk, and persecuted them a little, but with
only middling success; in fact, I found two could play at that game,
and I got the worst of it, and had to procure some hartshorn as a
remedy for my persecutors’ bites. On my return I found the saloon in
a commotion, on the discovery of a large scorpion; I immediately got
out-«my bottle, and, after some manceuvring, persuaded him into it by

* Communicated by Edwin Birchall, Esq.

6404 Natural-History Collectors.

means of a paper-knife: they are horrid-looking wretches, and worse
than they look, by all accounts; their sting is said to be fever to a
certainty: this fellow is nearly six inches long. The natives say
scorpions are always in pairs, and as soon as one is found look about
for his companion, but we could not find the second this time.

July 22.—On board the “ General Mosquera” steamer on the Mag-
dalena: getting up at 5 A.M. saw the magnificent range of the Sierra
Nevada of Santa Marta under the eastern sky: this range is from sixty
to seventy miles distant, and yet looked quite near; but the clouds of
the horizon ran along between us and their base, showing their enor-
mous altitude,—17,000 to 18,000 feet is about the highest; during the
day they are quite invisible from Barranquilla. The Magdalena here
is perhaps three-quarters of a mile wide, and the current runs three
miles an hour; the waters are as yellow and muddy as those of Father
Tiber, and so continue upwards. Enormous quantities of a weed
called “batate” encumber the waters; in appearance it is like the
Lotus, and the lagoons are almost choked with it: it floats down
chiefly from the Cauca river. This evening, the ship being heated by
the sun, and kept hot by the great boilers, felt like a baker’s oven: I
went aft to a cooler corner, though it was very damp, and watched the
brilliant sparkle of the myriads of fireflies in the forest; they are most
charming in their brightness. I know not how to describe the beauty
and novelty of the scene through which I have been passing: trailing
plants, in long festoons, hang in all directions; sometimes a score of
trees are grown into one tangled mass of creepers, with hollows under-
neath, like wilfully contrived pleached alleys and secret arbours; birds
in orange and blue, gold and crimson, green and purple, and every
other possible combination, flit in and out as we go by, hugging the
bank; now and then a great alligator, stimulated by a rifle-bullet,
splashes from the bank into the muddy water, and disappears below ;
here a brace of white herons are watching for fish; gaudy kingfishers
dash into the water and ont again; huge macaws, in blue and yellow,
sail clumsily and scream as they go; over the tree-tops great hawks
wheel round and round; everywhere the hum of insects and the flut-
tering of butterflies,—all speak of the universality of life, and say to
man that he is not the sole object of the world’s existence and its
Maker’s care. The scenery is more like Windermere or the lower Lake
of Killarney than anything else I can think of; islands without number,
but so large as only to look like corners where another river comes in ;
we don’t see them as islands, but are constantly branching off right or
left to go past them. At 9 a.M. arrived’ at Pinto, a wood station,.

Natural-History Collectors. 6405

where, as three hours stoppage was necessary, I went ashore to perse-
cute my old friends : the abundance of one beautiful crimson and black
butterfly (Vanessa Amalthea) was quite embarrassing. It was pretty
hot, but not oppressively so.

July 23. Mompos.— Arrived at 3.30 p.mM., and found the heat
tremendous. Mompos is built along the river, by which runs a
terrace shaded by enormous trees, but shade is hot here as well as
sunshine: a fine church, half built and wholly overgrown with creepers,
shows the decadence of the place since the days of the Spanish régime,
but large fairs are held here, and much business for the interior trans-
acted. After being bored till near sunset I escaped from my Yankee
friends to have a look after my game; however, I went along the river-
bank among the thick growth of plantains ( Musa), and was rewarded
by the capture of several magnificent fellows, six inches across the
wings (Pavonia Ajax); I saw one in the cathedral at Santa Marta, but
could not catch it, having only my hat. In the evening swarms of
moths came on board, and I captured many ; one in particular, a huge
purple-brown fellow, with eyes in the under wings, is a capital-looking
subject, but being fat-bodied he is not for dying.

July 23. 12.45.—Arrived at Banco, another wood station; went
ashore of course with net, and straight into the forest, 100 yards from
the vessel, and had pleasant doings with my friends the butterflies, who
were numerous, but desperately lively ; nevertheless I overcame many,
and added fifteen species to my stock in the course of an hour. I find
that having a pursuit is essentially serviceable; nothing can be more
wearisome than life in a steamer like this, where every action is in
public, from getting out of bed to getting into the same: no bathing
to be had, which makes very uncomfortable mornings; dare not
try the river, the alligators lying in every sand-bank—the ugly
villains.

July 26.— My perseverance has infected my American friend
Mr. F , who has got me to rig a net for him: he says his sisters
will go crazy, he “ guesses,” when he brings them a lot of these butter-
flies; he also “ guesses” that whoever I am collecting for will “go
crazy” on seeing my “ assortment.”

July 30.—Saw troops of big brown monkeys jumping one after the
other along the tree-tops, swinging by their tails for an impetus when
the leap was rather a stiff one: I heard them roaring in the forest to-
day, where we wooded, just like tigers, but being aware of their
practices I did not look out for “fur and claws.” This evening the
chain of mountains beyond, and among which Bogota lies, came into

6406 Natural-History Collectors.

view towards the south-west; they look very magnificent, but no snowy
peaks in sight. I saw the “Southern Cross” last night for the first
time: why anybody took the trouble to give it so f6olish a name I
cannot imagine ; the “ Southern Rhomboid” would be nearer the mark,
besides it is not conspicuous: take the four stars of the square of the
Great Bear and diminish their brightness considerably, and you have
the constellation so much talked of: the great beauty of the southern
heavens lies in the region of the Milky Way, which is a perfect blaze
of stars.

Honda, August 5.—The town is beautifully situated, surrounded by
mountains of moderate elevation, with a loud, brawling stream of pure
water rushing through it and joining the Magdalena close to the town ;
the river is called the Guali, and much resembles the Wharfe ; Ilkley
gives a fair idea of Honda in general position, and the architecture has
also a certain resemblance, many houses being thatched and others
covered with badly-made red tiles.

August 6.— Rode to the mines of Santa Ana in about five hours; most
of the road lies across a grassy plain, bordered by walls of mountains"
in extraordinary forms, and presenting many splendid views: the heat
on these plateaus is very oppressive, but we descended now and then
into the “ quibrada” or ravine of a torrent, where trees shaded us, and
we were refreshed. For the last two hours we were ascending the side
of a steep mountain, but our fatigue was repaid by glorious views of
the valley below; the sun set in the valley long before we reached our
journey’s end, and we thus obtained a very beautiful effect of light and
shade, such as I never saw before: rising on the other side of the
valley was a cliff some 400 feet high, which, however, from our eleva-
tion, and backed by the immense mass of the “ Paramo,” or range of
Bogota, seemed inconsiderable, and only like a great castle com-
manding the valley ; when darkness had set in below, a ray of sunshine
through the clouds struck on this castellated cliff, lighting it up with
red and gold, whilst perpendicularly from its summit rose a broad
stripe of rainbow, being the lower arc of a very large one, the rest of
which was invisible; the piece of rainbow appeared nearly straight,
and looked like a pillar of coloured fire rising above the illumined
castle: even our American was enraptured with the spectacle.- The
Andes look magnificent from this point: the eastern range, on which
is Bogota, stretches, like a mighty wall, beyond the valley, and we can
see with a glass the trees and a house where the plateau of Bogota
begins, and past which I have to travel; the height looks prodigious,
and the confused mass of mountains between that point and this tells

Natural-Hislory Collectors. 6407

what a road we have to take. On the opposite horizon the sun-covered
central range ought to be visible, but clouds concealed it during my
stay.

August 12.—My luggage arrived yesterday; the ants have made
sad havoc amongst the butterflies, eating their heads and bodies
lamentably, although shut up in a writing-case in my carpet-bag; the
bulk are, however, safe, having been placed in a light box impregnated
with petroline.

Bogota, August 28.—The first few miles out of Honda are really
awful for one unaccustomed to these roads; the slopes we had to
ascend and descend looked almost perpendicular; some of them were
just like going down the outside of the dome of St. Paul’s, where a slip
of the anima] could send you further than was amusing, whilst the
ascents were done by fair scrambling up of the mules, during which it
was hard to avoid slipping off over the tail; nevertheless an hour or
two makes you regard all this with perfect indifference, so steady are
the mules. As we rode along, gradually ascending, we obtained
magnificent views of the valley of the Magdalena, with the broad river
winding through perpendicular cliffs, beyond the range of the Andes,
and far away over them, towering at a height inconceivable, the snowy
peak of Tolima, one of the central range, conical and massive, far
above the clouds that floated along the sides of the lower mountains.
Higher and higher as we wound through the mountain-passes, amid
woods and torrent-beds, the views of the lower country became more
and more splendid; mountains, which from Honda looked important,
sank down to a mere portion of the wild confusion of hills below us:
if the bottom of the Wharfe, from Bardentown to Bolton Abbey, were
dry, and you had to ride from the latter to the former along the river-
bed, you would be doing what there is any quantity of between here
and Honda; you have to clamber up places jump by jump, which is
bad enough, but more agreeable than going down smooth places like
the outside of a monstrous stone loaf, and this, you will please to ob-
serve, is the high road between the capital of New Grenada and its
principal sea-port. The plain of Bogota, situated 10,000 feet above
the level of the sea, seems of enormous extent, and is bounded on
every side by ranges of mountains of moderate height; westward, over
the nearer hills, Tolima, with his snowy head and a long range near
him are visible in the morning. The plain is rather swampy ; I noticed
the beautiful little Colias Dimera flying in great numbers, and settling
in damp spots in the road. In dry weather you have as good a road
to canter on as there is in England, but in wet—I won’t say—it must

6408 Natural-History Collectors.

be fearful, judging by a place or two where rain had fallen in the night.
I am most fortunate to come up in the dry season, for the road from
Honda is quite another business after a fortnight’s rain; man and beast
get bogged up to the neck, and every place is disgustingly shaky and
slippery. I forgot to say, when at the mines of Santa Ana, I captured
some magnificent and monstrous butterflies, six inches from tip to tip
(Morpho Adonis and M. Cytheris); I do not know which to admire
the most, the brillant metallic blue of the former or the perfect
resemblance of the latter to the glittering, flickering flashes of the opal:
here they are much in request for drawing-room ornaments. One
thing. we have here, the infinite beauty and glory of which never
satiates nor repeats itself—the wondrous sunsets, which lately have
been of singular splendour: a few evenings ago we had one I never
saw equalled; the cool, deep blue of the East was set off with fine
white clouds tinted with pink, and then to the zenith gradually
changing to a deep gray ; descending westward this formed a mighty
arch from south to north, perhaps thirty degrees high at the centre,
fringed with delicate red and flecked with patches of the same colour ;
the open arch itself was like the very portal of paradise, all clear, pure
white silver, of dazzling brilliancy, whence came light, which, thrown
on the warm reddish yellow of the cathedral, combined so as to give
it the most intense pure lemon-colour, standing in magic contrast
against the deep blue and purple-brown mountains behind. The
silver archway was groined with delicate lines of crimson, looking like
the tracings of the mason-work; right and left were golden clouds as
door-posts; below, all the buildings and the hills which bound the
plain were in darkness, with only here and there a turret sharply de-
fined against the silver brightness; watching awhile its beauty from
the “ Altozano,” or terrace in front of the cathedral, gradually the
colours changed, less bright perhaps, but, from the increasing darkness
below, this was not sensible; the silver gradually changed to gold, the
gray to greenish brown, whilst an intensely bright flame-colour marked
the place of the sun’s disappearance ; so the changes went on without
visible alteration of form, through all the combinations of the rainbow,
until all was gone. Perhaps the sunset here is not so very much more
beautiful than in Europe; it may be, as I always walk on the
Altozano or to the suburbs about that time, that I take more notice,
but it seems to me that the colours are more vivid than they are in
England. The most striking thing, perhaps, about these glorious
sunsets is that it is absolutely dark on the ground whilst all this
wondrous play of light and colour goes on in the west; you can see

Natural-History Collectors. 6409

nothing of the details of the houses between you and the western sky,
nor could you recognize any one a few paces distant.

(To be continued.)

Extracts from a Letter of Mr. A. R. WALLACE to Mr. 8. STEVENS.

Ternate, September 2, 1858.—When I arrived here from New
Guinea, about a fortnight ago, I found your two letters of January and
March, noting the safe arrival of the Aru collections and the advan-
tageous disposal of the birds: they gave me the greatest pleasure and
satisfaction, and the interest the collections appear to have excited
was a great encouragement to me; and I assure you I stood in need
of some encouragement, for never have I made a voyage so disagree-
able, expensive and unsatisfactory as the one now completed. I
suffered greatly from illness and bad or insufficient food, and am only
now just sufficiently recovered to work hard at cleaning and packing
my collections: my servants suffered as much as myself; two cr three
were always sick, and one of my hunters died of dysentery. My col-
lections will greatly disappoint you and my other friends,—more than
they do myself,—because you will be expecting something superior to
Aru, whereas they are very inferior in fine things. First and foremost,
all my hopes of getting the rare paradise birds have vanished, for not
only could I get none myself, but could not even purchase a single
native skin! and that in Dorey, where Lesson purchased abundance
of almost all the species: he must have been there at a lucky time,
when there was an accumulated stock, and I at a most unpropitious
one. It is certain, however, that all but the two common yellow spe-
cies are very rare, even in the places where the natives get them, for
you may see hundreds of the common species to perhaps one of either
of the rarer sorts. There are some eight or ten places where most of
the birds are got, and from each I doubt if there is more on the
average than one specimen per annum of any other than the Paradisea
papuana; so that a person might be several years in the country, and
yet not get half the species even from the natives: yet they are all
common in Europe! I sent two of my servants with seven natives a
voyage of one hundred miles to the most celebrated place for birds
(Amberbaki, mentioned by Lesson), and after twenty days they brought
me back nothing but two specimens of P. papuana and one of P. regia:

XVII. O

6410 Natural-History Collectors.

they went two days’ journey into the interior without reaching the
place where the birds are actually obtained; this was reported to be
much further, over two more ranges of mountains. The skins pass
from village to village till they reach the coast, where the Dorey men
buy them and sell to any trading vessels. Not one of the birds Les-
son bought at Dorey was killed there; they came from a circuit of
two hundred or three hundred miles. My only hope lies now in
Waigiou, where I shall probably go next year, and try for P. rubra
and P. superba. Even of P. papuana I have not got many, as my
boys had to shoot them all themselves; I got nothing from the natives
at Dorey. You will ask why I did not try somewhere else when | found
Dorey so bad: the simple answer is, that on the whole mainland of
New Guinea there is no other place where my life would be safe a
week: itis a horribly wild country ; you have no idea of the difficulties
in the way of a single person doing anything in it. There are a few
good birds at Dorey, but full half the species are the same as at Aru,
and there is much less variety! My best things are some new and
rare lories.

In insects, again, you will be astonished at the mingled poverty and
riches: butterflies are very scarce; scarcely any Lycenide or Pieridae,
and most of the larger things the same as at Aru. Of the Ornithoptera
I could not get a single male at Dorey, and only two or three females ;
I got two from Amberbaki and two from the south coast of New
Guinea, from the Dutch exploring ship. Of Coleoptera I have taken
twice as many species as at Aru; in fact, I have never got so many
species in the same time; yet there is hardly anything fine: no Lo-
mopterz,—in fact, not one duplicate Cetonia of any kind, and only
two solitary specimens of common small species! No Lucani!
perhaps nowhere in the world are Lamellicornes so scarce,—only
fourteen out of 1040 Coleoptera, and most of them small and unique
specimens. Of Longicornes there are full as many as at Aru; many
the same, but a good number of new and interesting species. Curcu-
lionide very rich; some remarkable things, and the _ beautiful
Kupholus Scheenherri and E. Cuvieri; the former rather abundant.
There is a very pretty lot of Cicindelide; two Cicindelas and three
Therates will probably be new to the English collections; they are
C. funerata, Bois., a very pretty species, with a peculiar aspect;
C. d’Urvillei; also a small new species, near C. funerata, very scarce.
Therates basalis, Dej., a very pretty species, I have sent a good many
of; ‘I. festiva, Dup. (1 think), a pretty brilliant little species, not
common, and another of the same size, and, I think, quite new, rufous

Natural-History Collectors. 6411

and black marked, also scarce; T. labiata and Tricondyla aptera are
the same as sent from Aru. I have never before found so many
species of Therates in one place: they form quite a feature in the
Entomology of Dorey. Carabidz were very scarce: I picked up,
however, some pretty things, especially two most brilliant Catascopi,
but both unique. Fora long time I took no Staphylinide: at last I
found a station for them, and by working it assiduously I got between
eighty or ninety species: some are the handsomest of the group I
have yet taken, and there are many curious and interesting forms.
Talk about Brachelytra being rare in the tropics ! of their place being
supplied by ants, &c., &c.! why, they are absolutely far more abundant
in the tropics than anywhere else, and I believe also more abundant
in proportion to the other families. I see in the ‘ Zoologist’ two local
lists of Coleoptera (Dublin and Alverstoke), in which the numbers of
Staphylini are 103 and 106 species respectively ; these are the results
of many years collecting by several persons, and in a country where
all the haunts and habits of the tribe are known ; here, in two localities
(Macassar and Dorey), I have taken at each nearly the same number
of species, in three months’ collecting, on a chance discovery of one or
two stations for them, and while fully occupied with extensive collections
of all orders of insects, in a country where every other one is new.
The fair inference is, that in either of these localities Staphylini are_.
really ten times as numerous as in England; and there is reason to
believe that any place in the tropics will give the same results, since
in the little rocky island of Hong-Kong Mr. Bowring has found nearly
100 species ; yet Dr. Horsfield, who is said to have collected assi-
duously in Java, did not get a solitary species. My next richest and
most interesting group is that of the Cleride, of which I have about
fifty species, perhaps more, for they are very puzzling: I have never
got so many in one locality, nor should I now had I not carefully set
them out and studied their specific characters, and thus separated many
which would otherwise certainly have escaped notice. In another
small and obscure group, the Bostrichide and allied Scolytidx, I
obtained no fewer than thirty-eight species, whilst the Lampyride and
ailied groups were in endless and most puzzling variety. 1 have also
got an exceedingly rich and interesting series of Galerucide and Chry-
somelide. The Elaters are small and little interesting. The Buprestidae
also are very inferior, and of the only fine species (Chrysodema Lotinii)
I could only obtain a single pair. With so many minute Coleoptera
I could not give much attention to the other orders; there are, how-
ever, some singular Orthoptera, and among the Diptera a most extra-

6412 Natural-History Collectors.

ordinary new genus, the males of which are horned; I have three
species, in two of which the horns are dilated and coloured, in the
other long, slender and branched ; I think this will prove one of the
most interesting things in my collection. One would have thought
Dorey would have been just the place for land shells, but none were
to be found, and the natives hardly seemed aware of the existence of
such things; I have not half-a-dozen specimens in all. Although
Dorey is a miserable locality,—the low ground is all mud and swamp,
the hill very steep and rugged, and there are only one or two small
overgrown paths for a short distance, my excursions were almost
entirely confined to an area of about a square mile,—yet the riches in
species of Coleoptera, and a considerable number of fine remarkable
forms of which I could obtain only unique examples, sufficiently show
what a glorious country New Guinea would prove if we could visit the
interior, or even collect at some good localities near the Coast.

You ask me if I go out to collect at night; certainly not, and I am
pretty sure nothing could be got by it: many insects certainly fly at
night, but that is the reason why they are best caught in the day in
their haunts, or else by being attracted to a light in the house. Besides
a man who works, with hardly half an hour’s intermission, from 6 A.M.
till 6 p.M., four or five of the hottest hours being spent entirely out of
doors, is very glad to spend his evenings with a book (if he has one)
and a cup of coffee, and be in bed soon after 8 o’clock. Night work
may be very well for amateurs, but not for the man who works twelve
hours every day at his collection.

I am perfectly astonished at not yet meeting with a single Paussus;
Several are known from the Archipelago, and have been taken in
houses and at light, yet my four years look-out has not produced one.
How very scarce they must be! You and Dr. Gray seem to imagine
that I neglect the mammals, or I should send more specimens, but you
do not know how difficult it is to get them: at Dorey I could not get
a single specimen, though the curious tree-kangaroos are found there,
but very rare: the only animal ever seen by us was the wild pig.
The Dutch surveying steamer bought two kangaroos at Dorey whilst
I was there: it lay there a month waiting for coal, and during that time
T could get nothing, everything being taken to the steamer. I send
from Dorey a number of females and young males of Paradisea papuana;
these females have been hitherto erroneously ascribed to P. apeda, of
which I am now convinced my specimen from Aru is an adult female ;
it is totally brown: the females of P. papuana are smaller than the
young males, and have the under parts of a less pure white: the bird

Natural-History Collectors. - 6418

figured by Levaillant as the female of P. papuana is a male of the
second year which has acquired the green throat in front, but not the
long feathers of the tail or fanks: to all the female specimens I have
attached tickets,—all not ticketed are males.

Whilst the Dutch steamer was at Dorey a native prow came from
the Island of Jobie, and bought two specimens of Atrapia nigra, which
were sold to a German gentlemen, who is an ornithologist, before I
knew any thing of them: I believe that island is their only locality,
and the natives are there very bad, treacherous and savage. That is
also the country of the rare species of crown pigeon (Goura Victoria) ;
a living specimen of this was also purchased on board the steamer. I
have great thoughts, notwithstanding my horror of boat work at sea
(for a burnt child dreads the fire) and my vow never to buy a boat
again, of getting up a small craft and thoroughly exploring the coasts
and islands of the Northern Moluccas, and to Waigiou, &c.; it is the
only way of visiting many most interesting places,—the Eastern
coast of the four peninsulars of Gilolo, the Island of Guebe, half-way
between Gilolo and Waigiou, a most interesting spot, as Gilolo and
Waigiou possess quite distinct Faunas.

A. R. WALLACE.

Extract from a letter of M. Movuot to Mr. 8. STEVENs.

Bankok, October 13, 1858.—I have had great difficulty in procuring
the few specimens I now send you, as I arrived here just at the end
of the rainy season, when the country was completely inundated ;
besides this, my first and charming collection of beautiful insects
was devoured by ants, which swarm here in an extraordinary manner ;
in the space of one night they destroyed about sixty Lepidoptera, with
about one hundred Neuroptera, Hemiptera, &c.; in the morning
nothing remained of them but shapeless atoms. In vain I employed
the most efficacious means to get rid of them, and such as had hitherto
always succeeded; oil Bombay or the Siam wood-oil alone was
effectual. During sixteen days that my boxes were oiled the ants kept
away from them, and it is no longer necessary to have recourse to sus-
pended planks or to place the feet of the table in basins of water. I
consider this an important discovery,—the more so, as none of the
inhabitants of Bankok, who have their magazines frequently ravaged
by these destructive insects, could inform me of a remedy.

6414 Notice of the various

Siam is a terrible country to explore; there are no other means of
communication than by water or on elephants ; I have therefore pur-
chased a boat and engaged rowers, who have consented to follow me.

The country is certainly most interesting and beautiful, and if I am
spared to return to Europe I hardly know how I shall like our cold,
dull and rainy seasons, our pale sun and our stunted vegetation: I
shall live in the memory of all that is most beautiful in Nature. How
pleasant it is to awaken to see the brilliant sun, to hear the thousand
sounds, the humming of insects and the noise of other beings: no
repose here. Always and everywhere an extraordinary vitality.

I am more than surprised here at seeing little children of two and
three years of age towing barks of large size on the deep, rapid river ;
they swim like fish, and are exceedingly intelligent and precocious ;
for a small piece of cigar or tobacco they will run after butterflies and
render me a thousand little services; whilst my great idle domestics,
on the contrary, sleep a great part of their time with a cigar behind
each ear and a third in the mouth. My little companions are ready
to help me everywhere.

I have found here a kind of spider which produces silk; she allows
herself to be milked or drawn, one may say, for you have only to take
a card and wind the silk, which comes from her abundantly : it is very
strong and very elastic.

How happy people may be in this country! Nature is so lavish of
her bounties ; excellent vegetables are found upon the trees, and roots
of the bamboo and others; in the woods exquisite fruits, and the
rivers overflow with fish.

November 4, 1858.—To day I have caught about twenty butterflies,
killed two owls, a cuckoo (quite black) and the most beautiful dove |
have ever seen, with green wings and a yellow head,—a very great
beauty.

Notice of the Various Species of Bovine Animals. By the Editor of
the ‘ Indian Field.’

(Continued from p. 6367.)
THE second group of taurines is exemplified by the domestic cattle

of Europe or ordinary humpless cattle. Their horns, as in the bison-
tines and also the humped taurines, are cylindrical ;* whereas in all

* There is a considerable tendency to a flattened form in the horns even of many
humped cattle.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6415

that follow the horns are much flattened; and the ¢ypical flexure of
the horns is first outward, then forward at about a right angle with
the line of visage, and finally upward and in some inward at the tip.
In al] other Bovine, without exception, the horns do not typically
curve forward beyond the plane of the face (a line drawn from the fore-
head or crest of vertex to the nose), but just attain to that plane, and
mostly incline backward at the tips. Abnormally curved horns are
very common in the humped cattle, but if they turn forward beyond
the plane of the visage, the flexure passes downward and inward; as
shown among other instances, by the hugely thick horns of the Bor-
nouese cattle of Denham. The typical curvature of horn of the humped
cattle is similar in direction to that of a yak’s horn (only laterally
more oblique in the set); or as shown by the immense head-gear of
the African Galla cattle.* That of the humpless taurines now treated
of may be familiarly exemplified by the horns of our British Devon
cattle, the so-called wild cattle of Chillingham Park, and equally so
by those of the fossil Bos primogenius, Bos namadicus, and others.f
Various abnormal forms of horn occur in the domestic breeds of Euro-
pean cattle, but these do not resemble the abnormal forms of horn of
the humped cattle ; and, to our apprehension, the mere typical or nor-
mal flexure of the horn of the “ zebu” or humped cattle (as will be
obvious on a little study of the subject) resembling that of the yak’s
horns as before remarked, and more or less all the rest of the tribe, as
opposed to the group of humpless taurines with cylindrical horns, is
sufficient evidence of the specifical distinctness of the humped races.
We might have added the configuration and physiognomy of the skull
to the other distinctions, the specifical difference being here also well
marked.

* In the small Bengali race of cattle there is a decided exceptional tendency, at
variance with the other races of humped cattle. The horns mostly incline forward at
a considerable angle with the plane of visage, as remarked by Buchanan Hamilton,
when noticing the contrary in the different races observed by him in Southern India ;
but they have an abnormal look, and very commonly curve downward and even inward
at the tips, as mentioned above. Indeed, not unfrequently the prolongation of the
growth would cause the tips of the horns to enter the orbits and so destroy the eyes, if
those tips were not sawn off in time to prevent such injury! This, therefore, must
necessarily be an abnormal curvature!

+ The Devon and Spanish cattle quite come up to our notion of a typical form of
the conventional or artificial species yclept Bos taurus. Why we call it so will appear
in the sequel. The Herefords are the same thing magnified and coarser. The
Alderneys smaller and still neater. We confess, too, a considerable admiration of the
little shaggy Highland cattle, so artistically pourtrayed by the pencil of Rosa
Bonheur.

6416 Notice of the various

As with the humped cattle, the living races of the humpless with
cylindrical horns have the latter thicker and shorter in the bull, longer
and more slender in the ox and cow ; but it does not appear that this
rule held with the more ancient of two races currently assigned to
Bos primogenius. This more ancient race, which was contempora-
neous with the long-horned form of bison (B. priscus), the Elephas
priscus, &c., had horns which were both longer and thicker, 7.e. every
way larger in the bull than in the cow, and we have measured a pair
(the largest of several examined), the bony cores of which were 3 feet
long and 19 inches round at base.* In this type the horns tend to
approximate towards their tips,—not so in the other. The skull too
is smaller, notwithstanding the huge magnitude of the horn-cores. In
the other, or less ancient of the two races, apparently, the remains of
which are found chiefly in peat-bogs, instead of the older clays and
pravel-drift which contain the bones of the former, the horns (as in our
modern cattle) were comparatively thick and short in the bull, longer
and more slender in the cow.— Vide Nilsson’s figures of a bull-skull
in the ‘ Annals and Magazine of Natural History,” 2nd series, vol. iv.
pp. 257, 259, and Professor Owen’s figures of a cow-skull in his
‘ History of British Fossil Mammals and Birds,’ pp. 498, 507. This
race we take to be the true urus of Cesar and other Roman writers
(ure-ox, uhr-ox, aurochs, as variously written, which last has been
transferred in Germany to the bison, as in modern times it is applied
to the Cape buffalo by the Dutch colonists of South Africa),—a
gigantic animal, which lived down to comparatively modern times, and
of which Mr. Woods, as quoted by Professor Owen, cites the discovery
of a skull and horns in a tumulus of the Wiltshire downs, as “evidence
that a very large race of genuine taurine oxen originally existed in
this country (England), although most probably entirely destroyed
before the Invasion of Britain by Cesar, since they are not mentioned
as natives of Britain by him.”’t In all other bovines, the horns are
both longer and thicker in the male sex,—the only exception (in the
former respect) that occurs, being the Indian buffalo in some instances.

* Another of the same linear dimensions, but eighteen inches in circumference at
base, is noticed in the ‘ Annals and Magazine of Natural History,’ vol. ii. p. 163
(1838).

+ It surely does not follow, that even great Cesar himself should know the animals
of the country by intuition! Our countrymen were long enough in India before they
discovered the Gaour! What, too, about the former tradition of the dun cow of Guy,
Earl of Warwick? One of the oldest known sub-fossil skulls of the giant ox is, we
believe, still exhibited in Warwick Castle: and the tradition may have reference to it
and be purely imaginary.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6417

Another particular in which the humped and round-horned humpless
races agree, while differing from all the rest, is in the greater length of
tail, which, with its tuft, descends considerably below the hocks ; the
short-horned Italian race of buffalos alone approximating them in this
respect.

At the present epoch, no cylindrical-horned humpless taurines are
_ known for certain in an aboriginally wild state, though immense herds
have gone wild in the pampas of South America, and there are many
in the Falkland Islands, which have been finely described by Darwin,
and more recently in the narrative of Sir James Ross’s Antarctic Ex-
pedition. These are of Spanish descent, and therefore akin to our
British Devons.—(Vide Jacobs ‘Travels in Spain,’ p. 154). Wild
cattle of some sort, however, quite possibly aboriginal, inhabited the
British forests during the middle ages, and likewise the great forest
of the Ardennes,* and in the Vosgian mountains, as mentioned by

* The latter, however, were perhaps bisons. Dr. Weissenborn (who so ably argues
for the identity of the urus and bison, despite the evidence afforded by sub-fossil
remains) quotes the work of a monk of St. Gallen, who describes a hunting party of
Carolus Magnus, which was held in honour of the Persian Ambassadors, not far from
Aachen (Aix la Chapelle), probably in the Ardennes, in order to kill “ uri or bisons ;”
and of one wounded by Carolus Magnus and killed by Isambardus, which he calls
‘bison vel urus,” mentions that its horns were of an enormous size (“ immanissimis
cornibus in testimonium prolatis”), which should rather indicate the urus; but
we have the testimony of Herberstein regarding a bison, “ within whose horns three
stout men could sit.” A peat-bog skull of the Bison priscus type, of the age of the
later uri so often met with, would serve alike to corroborate Herberstein’s statement,
and to help to identify the Bison priscus with the modern bison—or, better, as regards
the latter, gradations of form in the intermediate period. It seems clear that
the ecclesiastic cited did not distinguish between the bison and urus, which may indi-
cate that the latter had already been long extirpated in his vicinity, and the name
only vaguely preserved at the time he wrote. Of the so-called “wild cattle”
preserved in certain British parks, the white colour is alone strong evidence of their
former domesticity. Any cattle preserved as they are would become similarly wild in
the course of a few generations. A recent writer describes those in Cadzow Park,
belonging to the Duke of Hamilton, to be “about the size of our modern bullocks,
but differing from them in their extraordinary breadth of chest and strength of fore-
arm. They are of a creamy white, the ears, muzzle, and tips of horns being
jet black. The old bulls have a shaggy mane a few inches in length. They have the
range of an extensive park, the remains of an ancient oak-forest, through which they
roam unmolested; they thus retain many of their normal habits and much of their
original ferocity. When a calf is born it is carefully concealed by its mother, and if
any one is so rash as to approach it the whole herd rush to the rescue, when most
people think it safest to retreat. The old bulls in particular are very savage. A few
years ago Mr. Minto, head-keeper to the Duke of Hamilton, while riding through
the park was charged by one ; his horse was thrown to the ground and severely gored

XVII. P

6418 Notice of the various

various writers ; FitzStepben, for example, notices the Uri Sylvestres,
which, in his time, that is about 1150, infested the great forests round
London. In the Nineveh representations the hunting of the wild
bull is often depicted, and would appear to have been a favourite
pastime of the ancient monarchs ; and the animal would seem to have
been a humpless taurine of the present group, but nothing whatever is
known of it beyond what the Nineveh figures supply. “ Wild cattle”
are often noticed by travellers in North Africa; but the Bubalis (a
species of “ Harte-beest ”*) is generally intended, and sometimes even
the Leucoryx or white oryx ; while the gnoos are the “ wilde beests ”
(¢.e. wild cattle) of the Dutch colonists of South Africa, who again call
the hippopotamus the “sea cow,” a name elsewhere applied to the
Manati. ‘The wild cattle of Madagascar we know nothing about,
except that they are stated to be humpless, and longer in the legs than
European cattle; + and the fine South-African domestic Caffre cattle
are of the present group of taurines, though not introduced by Euro-
peans; a fact all the more remarkable, as we know only of humped
domestic races in all middle Africa and in Madagascar ; but we have
seen part of a fossil skull, with the particular flexure of horn, from the
neighbourhood of the Gariep or Orange River. { The horns of the
Caffre cattle extend out excessively, almost in a line with each other,

in the flank, but gaining its feet it galloped off, followed by the infuriated animal, so
affording its rider an opportunity of effecting his escape. I believe that the Dukes of
Hamilton are bound by an old charter to preserve the breed, and great attention is now
being paid to prevent the race degenerating.” —’eld.

* We have seen what appear to be two distinct species of Bubalis from North
Africa, one as big as the South African Caama or “ Harte-beest,” with black feet; the
other considerably smaller, with feet coloured like the body. A third from Tunis is
mentioned by Dr. J. E. Gray, as being probably distinct, with a dark brown streak
on the outer side of the front of the fore legs, as in the Cape “ Harte-beest.” Some
notice of the herds of Bubalis will be found in Barth’s recent ‘ Travels.’

+ Flacourt: we were wrong in terming this, the boury, which name refers,
according to this author, to a large race of domestic humped cattle common in
the island. ‘ Horned cattle are numerous, both tame and wild: many of the latter
resemble, in shape and size, the cattle of Kurope.”— Ellis’s History of Madagascar.

+ Perhaps of the same species as the enormous fossil noticed in the ‘ Proceedings
of the Geological Society’ for 1840, p. 152: —“ Cores and portions of an ox in the
alluvial banks of the Moddea, one of the tributaries of the Gariep or Orange River,
and forty feet below the surface of the ground. The cores, with the breadth of fore-
head, measured 11 feet 7 inches, but it is calculated that 5 inches had been broken off
at the end of each tip, and circumference of piths at base was 18 inches. The orbits
were situate immediately, under the base of the horns.” The only wild bovine at
present existing in South Africa is the Cape buffalo.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6119

but what flexure remains is nevertheless sufficiently typical.* Again,
the Indian fossil Bos namadicus, from the Nerbudda deposits, is sur-
prisingly like the European B. urus or B. primogenius ;+ and we have
much reason to suspect that an existent species of the same group,
with cylindrical horns, inhabits certain of the forests of Indo-China,
in addition to the different flat-horned taurines to be noticed in due
course.

The un-named species referred to is probably that mentioned by
Crawfurd in the following passage :—‘‘ The ox is found wild in the
Siamese forests, and exists very generally in the domestic state, parti-
cularly in the southern provinces. Those we saw about the capital
were short-limbed, compactly made, and often without horns, being
never of the white or gray colour so prevalent among the cattle of
Hindustan. They also want the hump on the shoulders which cha-
racterizes the latter. They are used only in agricultural labour, for
their milk is too trifling in quantity to be useful, and the slaughter of
them, publicly at least, is forbidden even to strangers. Hence, during
our stay, our servants were obliged to go three or four miles out of
town, and to slaughter the animals at night. The wild cattle, for the
protection of religion does not extend to them, are shot by professed
hunters, on account of their hides, horns, bones and flesh, which last,
after being converted into jerked beef, forms an article of commerce
with China.”—‘ Mission to Siam and Cochin China,’ p. 430. It is
probable that different species of wild cattle are here referred to, in-
cluding one or more of those with flattened horns. The Rev. J. Mason,

* The beautiful small Zulu cattle of Natal are humped. The fine Caffre cattle,
with very long horns directed almost at a right angle with the axis of the body, and
more or less tensely spiral, are large and noble game-looking beasts, with unusually
long limbs: from them were the famvuus “ war-oxen” of the Caffres selected and
trained.

+ The unfortunate supposition entertained by Linneus as well as Buffon, that the
European bison was the original wild stock of all domestic cattle, and the non-
recognition of the ancient urus as distinct from the bison, have led to sad confusion
in the systematic nomenclature, which can only be satisfactorily remedied by a
violation of the generally accepted canons based on the rigorous acceptation of the
first-applied systematic names, in this wise :—

Bos americanus, vel Bison americanus: the American bison.

Bos Bison, vel Bison europeus: the European bison. B. priscus, we apprehend,
had better be retained, at least for the present; if even in the form of Bison |
europeus (priscus).

Bos urus: the comparatively modern ure ox.

Bos primogenius: the more ancient type, which we suspect to be quite distinct ;
albeit the name may have been first bestowed on the other.

6420 Nolice of the various

in his ‘ Notes on the Fauna, Flora, &c., of the Tenasserim Provinces’
(1852), remarks that “a small ox from the Shan country is brought
down sometimes in considerable numbers, which resembles in its form
the English rather than the Indian ox, but is probably derived from
the wild race. Occasionally a young wild ox is domesticated, and
brought under the yoke.” By the latter, we suspect he means the
tsain, a flat-horned species akin to the banteng; and by the former
the indigenous round-horned species before referred to. It is to
be regretted that the last is so very vaguely brought to notice.*

To the above may be tacked Sir Stamford Raffle’s notice of the
domestic cattle of Sumatra. “There is a very fine breed of cattle
peculiar to Sumatra, of which I saw abundance at Menang Kabu, when
1 visited the capital of that country in 1818. They are short, compact,
well-made animals, without a hump, and almost without exception of
a light fawn-colour, relieved with white. The eyes are large and
fringed with long white lashes. The legs are delicate and well-shaped.
Among all that I saw I[ did not observe any that were not in excellent
condition, in which respect they formed a striking contrast to the
cattle generally met with in India. They are universally used in agrti-
culture, and are perfectly domesticated. This breed appears to be
quite distinct from the (flat-horned) banteng (Bos soudaicus) of Java
and the more eastern islands.—‘ Transactions of the Linnean Society,’
vol. xiil. p. 267.

There is a wild race of some kind in the Island of Celebes, which
has not yet been scientifically described. In an account of the pro-
vince of Minahassa, published in the ‘ Journal of the Indian Archi-
pelago,’ vol. ii. p. 831, we find it thus noticed :—“ Wild cows are also
found here, principally in the higher parts of the mountains ; but they
bear little resemblance to the banteng of Java; are below the middle
size, yet possess, notwithstanding, an incredible strength.” This is
vague enough, but undoubtedly refers to some unknown quadruped,—
bovine most probably, but not likely to appertain to our present sec-

* There is a horn powder-flask in the museum of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta,
which is cylindrical, and of true semi-circular bisontine curvature, which was brought
from the Shan“country by the late Mr. Landers, who assured the writer that he had
seen (had a good distinct view of) a true shaggy bison, “resembling the American
bison,” in the pine forests there. On our expressing doubt, he said that he possessed
a horn of it made into a powder-flask, and afterwards presented this to the museum,
being the specimen above noticed: certainly it has every character of a true bisontine
horn, but might perhaps be that of a wild taurine of the present group. The mere
conversion of it into a powder-horn, as a sort of trophy, is rather in favour of
its having belonged to a wild bull of some kind.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6421

lion of the taurines. The statement is nevertheless worthy of citation.
The curious little straight-horned buffalo, known as Anoa depressi-
cornis, is however perhaps meant.

For the same reason we quote the following from Earl’s ‘ Voyage to
the Molucca Islands and New Guinea,’ p. 361 :—‘“ Wild cattle are
numerous in Timor Laut, of a brown colour, with upright horns, and
size about the same as that of two-year old cattle in Holland. The
natives catch them with rattan, and also shoot them with arrows.”

Again, Mr. Hugh Cuming assured us, that the tamarao of the island
of Mindoro (one of the Philippines) is a small bovine species, but fierce
and dangerous to attack, of a dark colour, with horns rising at an angle
of 45° from the forehead; therefore not akin to the Anoa depressi-
cornis, which seems to be a diminutive buffalo.

The Tartar cattle of the steppes lying northward of the great Asiatic
watershed are, we believe, all of the European type; while in China
this would appear to be more or less mingled in blood with the humped
races,—as the domestic geese of India are obviously of a hybrid race
between Anser cygnoides and A. cinereus! Our information is, how-
ever, exceedingly scant and unsatisfactory concerning the breeds of
cattle in the Chinese region, comprehending Mongolia, Mantchuria,
the Corean peninsula, Japan, Luchu,* &c.; nor are the essential cha-
racters seized with reference to classification of those above described
in Siam and Sumatra. ‘The main object of the present sketch is to
direct the attention of observers to those leading differential cha-
racters.

It would seem that the humpless Tartar cattle referred to interbreed
with the yak in the northern limits of the range of the latter, as the

* The cattle of the Luchu islands are described by Captain Basil Hall as “a small
black breed, used principally for agricultural purposes.” ‘The presence or absence of
a hump is not mentioned, which should be negative evidence of the latter. In some
districts of China the humped would seem to predominate, and these are often repre-
sented in Chinese paintings. In Chusan the race appears to be mingled, with
no great admixture of blood of the humped species. Cattle are generally rare in
China, the strange inhabitants of that region having an aversion to milk, omnivorous
as they are in most other respects: the Mantchurian Tartars, however, are particularly
fond of milk. About Canton, if we mistake not, only buffalos are met with, which are
employed to till the ground. It is probable that where taurine cattle are kept, the
humped races predominate in the south, the humpless northward, with intermixture of
blood where the two meet. The cattle of Butan would seem, from all we can learn,
to be of the European or Tartar race, now, it would appear, becoming rare in the pro-
vince, and the exportation of them strictly prohibited: if so, they have, doubtless,
been brought round by an eastern route.

6422 Notice of the various

humped cattle are made to do in the southern limits of its range: at
least we have the evidence of Marco Polo to that effect.

To return now to Europe, which may be regarded as the head-
quarters of the cylindric-horned humpless cattle,* and from which part
of the world they have been introduced into the Americas and Aus-
tralian colonies, to the exclusion of other domestic cattle, though
perhaps the finer breeds of humped cattle might be better suited to
the warmer and drier localities of those grand regions of the earth.
That is an experiment still worth trying. After the camel, the large
humped bullock is the animal of all others best adapted for Australian
or South African explorations.

The establishment of Spanish cattle in America “dates from Colum-
bus’s second voyage to St. Domingo. They there multiplied rapidly ;
and that island presently became a kind of nursery, from which these
animals were successively transported to various parts of the continental
coast, and from thence into the interior. Notwithstanding these
numerous exportations, in twenty-seven years after the discovery of
the island, herds of 4,000 head, as we learn from Oviedo, were not
uncommon, and there were even some that amounted to 8,000.
Acosta’s report was 35,444; and in the same year there were exported
64,350 from the ports of New Spain. This was in the sixty-fifth year
after the taking of Mexico, previous to which event the Spaniards,
who came into that country, had not been able to engage in anything
but war.”—‘ Quarterly Review,’ vol. xxi. p. 335.

Having noticed the rapid multiplication of Spanish cattle in the
New World, it occurs to us, as worthy of remark, that European cattle
do not thrive equally in India. Why should they not do so as well as
at Rio Janeiro? Perhaps because the cattle of intertropical America
are derived from an ancestral stock inured and thoroughly acclimatized
to the torrid summers of Spain. And perhaps the same race of cattle,
if imported into India from Rio or the Bahamas, would take more

* A round-about expression; but we have positively no English word to designate
the species generally,—bull, cow, ox, bullock, steer, heifer, calf, &c., of which “ beeve ”
{analogous to the French beuf) comes nearest to the mark, more so than cattle, but
will hardly apply till the beast is of an age to yield beef! “ Black cattle” is most
absurd, seeing that they are of all colours; and “ horned cattle” equally so, as being
neither exclusive nor applying to the “ polled” or hornless breeds. Sometimes, as in
the Dutch language, this animal is emphatically the “ beast,” as, in the feathered
class, the commonest of domestic birds is emphatically the “ fowl;” but has no proper
name iv English, beyond such as are of more or less general application to all birds,
as cock, hen, chick, pullet, capon, &c.; or sometimes emphatically “ poultry,’ which
may be compared to “ beeve.”

Species of Bovine Animals. 6423

kindly to the climate than the improved and pampered breeds sent out
from Britain. We happen to be among the dissentients who do not
regard the beef of the humped ox—even well-fed Gyna beef—as equal
to our finely interstratified (with fat and lean) Christmas beef at home;
and therefore think that the cultivation of European cattle is desirable,
especially in the Nilgiris and other elevated localities when the land-
leeches do not interfere to prevent it.

Our notice of the “ feral” humped cattle has elicited some informa-
tion from a friend, who tells us that there are many in the now famous
Jugdespore jungles, which he has often shot over. The late Kooer
Singh granted permission to our informant to shoot what he pleased,
so long as he spared the wild cattle, which, according to tradition, had
inhabited the district for at least 400 years. Our friend, of course,
respected the injunction, but was curious about them, and had oppor-
tunities of watching them somewhat closely. All he saw were rather
of small size, of an earthy-brown colour, with shortish horns, and he
thinks without the Nilgai markings on the feet. We have very long
been of opinion that such was the primeval hue of the humped races ;
but the mottling of the feet—a white ring above the hoofs, set off above
and below with black—is so very prevalent among our domestic
humped cattle that we cannot help thinking it an aboriginal marking.
Another friend informs us that there are many wild cattle of the sort
upon the chur'r, or alluvial island, known as the “ Siddee churr,” lying
S.E. of Noacally in the Eastern Sundarbans. He adds that their
colours vary, as in ordinary domestic cattle; and he especially ap-
proves of the quality of their beef. On this churr there is no high
tree-jungle, and scarcely brush- wood enough to afford cover for tigers,
which do not occur on the island.

To return now to our general subject. The question has been much
disputed whether the urus of the old Romans was identical with their
bison; and the affirmative has been very ably argued, as by Dr. Weis-
senborn, in the ‘Annals and Magazine of Natural History,’ vol. iv.
p- 239 et seqg.; but the two are so repeatedly contrasted that we could
never doubt that the names referred to different animals, as in the
following passage of Seneca :—

“ Tibi dant varie pectora tigres,
Tibi villosi terga bisontes
Latisque feri cornibus uri.”—Hrpot., Act I. v. 63.

The most striking feature of each animal, from what we know of the
still-living bison and of the sub-fossil skulls of the huge taurine found

6424 Notice of the various

in the peat-bogs, being here distinctly indicated. ‘ Wide-horned”
might indeed suit the Bison priscus type, of a long anterior and far
ante-human period, but is much more applicable to the great extinct
taurine than to the modern type of bison. Again, Professor Owen, in
common with the other writers on the subject, quotes a very famous
couplet, as follows :—“It is remarkable that the two kinds of great
wild oxen recorded in the ‘ Niebelungen Lied’ of the twelfth century,
as having been slain with other beasts of chase in the great hunt of the
forest of Worms, are mentioned under the same names which they
received from the Romans. 7

‘ Dar nach schlouch er schiere, einen wisent und einen elch,
Starcher ure viere, und einen grimmen schelch.

‘ After this he straightway slew a bison and an elk,
Of the strong uri four, and a single fierce schelch.’ ”

Which last is believed by some to be the famons so-called ‘ Irish
elk’ of common parlance, though Owen is decidedly opposed to that
opinion, while offering no other suggestion beyond an allusion to the
superstitious fables which abound in that romance, Other authors
would identify the schelch with a lynx!
The fact is, that the Roman names are derived obviously from the
Teuton. As Professor Nilsson remarks, “The denomination ‘urox’
is derived from the language which the Germanic race seems to have
had in common in the earliest times, and signifies ‘ forest ox,’ wild ox
(Bos sylvestris), for ‘ur’ or ‘or’ signifies ‘ forest’ or ‘ wood,’ ‘ wilder-
ness, and is still used in many places in Sweden, Norway and Iceland.
* * * Also, in the older German, ‘ur’ signifies ‘ wood,’ ‘ forest,
but has, in compositions of later times, been changed to ‘ auer;’ ex. gr.
‘auerochs, auerhahn. The Romans, when in Germany, first heard
the word ‘urocs,’ and as they generally changed all names after the
fashion of their language, turned it into ‘urus.’ The uroxen which
were conveyed to Rome, and highly prized in the bull-fights of the
circus, were by the ignorant confounded with the African Antilopine
‘bubalis,— an error which Pliny notices; for example :—

“Tlli cessit atrox bubalus atque bison.” —Marriat, Spect. 23.

“ By our forefathers in Scandinavia, as well as in Germany, this wild
animal is, however, not called ‘ urox,’ but ‘ ur,’ or ‘ure,’ as in the poem
of the ‘ Niebelungen,’— thence ‘ ura-horn’ in our old Sagas. In cer-
tain provinces an angry bull is still called ‘ure’ The canton of Uni,

Species of Bovine Animals. 6425

in Switzerland, takes its name from this animal, and bears a bull’s
head in its arms.”

The name “ bison” is equally of Teutonic origin, and Cuvier thought
that “wisent,” &c., are derived from the German “ bisam” (musk) ;
but Dr. Weissenborn suggests, far more plausibly, that “‘ bisam” is
derived from the name of the animal in which the smell of musk forms
so striking a feature. This author, however, also suggests that the
name “bison” may still be of Greek origin, derived from the Greek
verb signifying “ to cough ;” whence “ bison,” the coughing ox, as the
voice of this animal must have struck the Greeks as much as that of
the Bos grunniens did the travellers in Tibet; and in this respect the
Indian humped bull resembles the bisons, its voice, however, being
even more like a cough than a grunt, while that of the cow is also as
unlike the low of the European cow as can well be. The latter ex-
planation of the word “bison” we take to be founded on a mere
coincidence.

Professor Nilsson remarks of the urus, “‘ This colossal species of ox,
to judge from the skeleton, resembles almost the tame ox in form and
the proportions of its body, but in its bulk is far larger. To judge from
the magnitude of the horn-cores, it had much larger horns, even larger
than the long-horned breed of cattle found in the Campania of Rome.
According to all the accounts the colour of this ox was black; it had
white horns with long black points; the hide was covered with bair,
like the tame ox, but it was shorter and smooth, with the exception of
the forehead, where it was long and curly.*

“* The only specimens which we now possess of this extinct wild ox,
are some skeletons dug up, of which two are at present preserved here,
at the Museum of the University of Lund, where are also preserved
about a dozen of skulls of earlier and later specimens. * * *

“In the Museum of the Royal Academy are fragments of the cranium

* Lengthened and curly hair on the forehead is, indeed, an especial feature of the
present group of taurines, as before remarked, and not only as compared with
the smooth-fronted humped cattle, in which hardly a tendency to lengthened hair upon
the forehead is commonly shown, but equally with the third or flat-horned group of
taurines, as the gaour, gayal, banteng, &c. True, Mr. Hodgson figures his Gouri
gau with a very curly forehead (‘Journal of the Asiatic Society,’ x. 470); but
he describes the hair there as merely “a little elongated and slightly waved or curled ”
(p. 464); and of several gaour-heads, with the skin on, that we happen to have seen,
not one presented anything like the curly front of an English bull, and in fact
the lengthening of the hair had to be looked for to be observed at all, and its waviness
still more so. The hair of the forehead is a little elongated also in the gayal
and banteng, but only noticeably so when specially examined.

XVII, Q

6426 Notice of the various

of the urox, which must have belonged to an animal more than 12 feet
in length from the nape to the root of the tail, and 63 feet high. On
one the distance between the base of the horns above is 9 inches,
below 133 inches; the thickness at the root 15 inches [2.e. of the
bony horn-cores! The skull of a cow in the British Museum, figured
by Professcr Owen, measures 30 inches from crown to tips of inter-
maxillaries!] The largest Scanian ox I have seen,” continues Pro-
fessor Nilsson, “and which was of an unusually large size, measured
in length, from the nape to the root of the tail, 8 feet, and was 6 feet
high over the mane. When we now consider that bulls and cows
never reach the size that oxen do, and that we ought to compare the
bull or the cow to the wild ox kind, we shall then easily perceive that
this last-mentioned was much larger than the tame ox, and perhaps he
was even somewhat bigger in the southern regions, for example, in
Germany, than here in Sweden. Ceessar’s account that the urus was
‘magnitudine paulo infra elephantos,’ was not so exaggerated as one
has imagined.”

The size of the urus may, in fact, be estimated as at least one-third
larger, in linear dimensions, than the largest breeds of existing Euro-
pean cattle, and with proportionally even larger and longer horns than
certain Italian, Sicilian and Hungarian bullocks, which are noted for
the size of these appendages. Such were the formidable animals which
Julius Cesar describes as both strong and swift, at the same time so
spiteful that they spared neither man nor other creature when they once
caught sight of them. With the chase of these animals the Germanic
youth became hardened, and the greater the number of horns of dead
oxen they could exhibit the more highly were they esteemed.—(Bell.
Gall. vol. vi. chap. 28.) One of Professor Nilsson’s specimens “has
on its back a palpable mark of a wound from a javelin. Several cele-
brated anatomists and physiologists of the present day, among whom,”
he remarks, “1 need only mention the names of John Miiller, of Berlin,
and And. Retzius, of Stockholm, have inspected this skeleton, and are
unanimous in the opinion that the hole in question upon the back-
bone is the consequence of a wound which, during the life of the
animal, was made by the hand of man. The animal must have been
very young, probably only a calf, when it was wounded. The hunts-
man who cast the javelin must have stood before it. * * * It was
yet young when it died, probably not more than three or four years old,
and not unlikely was drowned by falling through the ice into the water,
where, in after times, a turf-bog has formed over it. The skeleton lay

Species of Bovine Animals. 6127

with its head downwards, and one of its horns had penetrated deep into
the blue clay which formed the bottom under the turf.” *

A middle-sized European taurine is named Bos frontosus by Pro-
fessor Nilsson. Its remains “are found in turf-bogs in Southern
Scania, and in such a state as plainly shows that they belonged to a
more ancient period than that in which tame cattle existed in this
country [Sweden]. This species has lived in Scania contempora-
neously with the Bos primogenius and Bison europeus; that it has
also been found in England is shown by a cranium in the British
Museum. As with us it belongs to the country’s oldest ‘ post-pliocene
Fauna.” * * * If ever it was tamed, and thereby in the course of
time contributed to form some of the tame races of cattle, it must have
been the lesser large growth, small-horned and often hornless, which
is to be found in the mountains of Norway, and which has a high pro-
tuberance between the setting on of the horns above the nape.”

A third is the Bos longifrons of Owen, small and of slender build,
and elaborately described by Nilsson. Found in turf-bogs, and in
relatively older beds, together with bones of elephant and rhinoceros.
Professor Owen thinks it probable that the small shaggy Highland and
Welch cattle (“kyloes” and “runts”), with short or often no horns,
are the domesticated descendants of Bos longifrons. +

Professor Nilsson sums up by remarking that, “‘ We believe we come
nearest to the truth in this difficult subject, if we assume—

“1. That the large-sized lowland races, with flat foreheads, and for
the most part large horns, descend from the urus (Bos primogenius J,

* According to Colonel C. Hamilton Smith, “ the bull-fights in Spain originated
in the chase of the wild urus; and a Celtiberian vase, with an undecyphered Celti-
berian inscription, represents the animal and its hunter.” The Spanish bull-fights are |
generally supposed to have descended from the Roman combats of the circus.

+ Within the last two or three years we have read in one of the scientific periodi-
cals, but just now have sought in vain for the notice, of a quantity of bones that were
dug up in some part of England, together with other remains, of what seemed to be
the relics of a grand feast, held probably during the Roman domination of Britain (if
we mistake not, some Roman cvins were fuund assvciated). There were skulls and
other remaius of Bos longifrons, quite undistinguishable in form from the antique fos-
sil, whether wild or domesticated, which of course remains a question; but Cuvier
figures, in his ‘ Ossemens Fossiles, the skull of a small Scottish Highland ox (as we
take it to be), which can scarcely be other than a domesticated descendant of that par-
ticular aboriginal species. We also happen to possess a drawing of the skull of a
small Highland bull, with descending horns, as in Cuvier’s figure, which we have no
hesitation in referring to the antique species. If we mistake not, the discovery of the
quantity of bones above mentioned, is recorded in the first volume of the ‘ Proceedings
of the Linnean Society,’ which does not happen to be available to us just now.

6428 Notice of the various

and came into Sweden with a race of people who immigrated from the
south and west.

“2. The somewhat small-growth Highland races, with high occiput,
and small or no horns, descend from the high-necked ox (Bos fron-
tosus).

“3. How far the small-grown hornless Finn-ko race descends from
the dwarf ox (Bos longifrons) may be more fully determined through
future investigations.

“We can take it for a given and general rule,” he adds, “that the
tame race is always less than the wild species from which it springs.” *
Of this we are not so sure. Indubitably the larger breeds of
domestic rabbits, geese and ducks, pigeons and common fowls, vastly
exceed in size their wild progenitors; and the heavy dray-horse is
probably another instance. We therefore feel a difficulty in recon-
ciling even the largest races of humpless domestic cattle with the
gigantic urus. The probability is, that other and unknown wild
races have contributed to produce the domestic cattle of Europe and
Northern Asia,—e.g. that formerly inhabiting the Ardennes, &c. (if
different from the bison), even the Assyrian wild cattle, and perhaps
more that we know not of; and the races so originating being now
variously intermingled. An exceedingly near congener of the urus, but
smaller, existed in the Indian fossil Bos namadicus ;+ and it is likely
that others have existed which may yet be recovered in a sub-fossil
state. Moreover, this supposed multiplicity of origin of the races of
domestic humpless cattle may serve to hint the probability of more
than one primal origin for the humped races, varying, as they do, so
immensely in size, and more or less in a few other particulars.

The name Bos taurus, accordingly, seems to crumble to pieces like
Ovis aries, Capra hircus and one or two more; but will always be
useful in designating the aggregate of the particular domestic group,
as apart from the humped races, which most assuredly have no common
origin with the others.

We conclude this long notice of the present group of taurines by
giving some measurements of large bullock-horns, which we took
many years ago in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons,
London. What the horns of an ox urus might have attained to we
are almost afraid to conjecture.

* Professor Nilsson’s admirable treatise will be found translated in the ‘ Annals
and Magazine of Natural History, Second Series, vol. iv., pp. 256, 349 and 415.

+ There is a fine skull of this species at the Museum of the Geological Survey
Office, Calcutta.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6429

Lithuanian ox (No. 1084 of Museum Catalogue). Absolutely similar
in flexure to B. primogenius. White with black tips; 28 inches long,
12 inches in girth, and 88 inches from tip to tip.

Transylvanian ox (No. 1087). Colour black; 3 feet long, and
13 inches round at base.

Italian ox (No. 1088). Mottled white, dark-tipped; 37 inches long,
13 inches round at base.

Remarkable pair brought from America (No. 1091). Slender and
curved as in the more ancient type of B. primogenius ; 49 inches long,
12 inches round at base, and from tip to tip—following the curvature
outside, and including forehead—10 feet 4 inches.

From a note supplied by Mr. John Stanislaus Bell, who resided some
time in the interior of Circassia, we cite that “there were no cattle of a
humped breed, nor any with coats so shaggy as those of our Highlands.
The only remark I recollect to have made was, that there had been
much mixture of Highland and Lowland breeds, from the low stature
and short and slightly curved horns of some, and large ponderous
frame and huge curved horns of others; while the colours of all seem
to embrace all the varieties we have in our island.”

Colonel C. H. Smith remarks, that “the breeds of the Kirghiz and
Kalmuk Tartars, those of Podolia and the Ukraine, of European
Turkey, of Hungary, and of the Roman States, are amongst the
largest known. ‘They are nearly all distinguished by ample horns
spreading sideways, then forwards and upwards, with dark points;
their colour [that of the horns] is a bluish ash passing to black. That
in the Papal dominions is not found represented in the ancient bas-
reliefs of Rome, but was introduced most probably by the Goths, or at
the same time with the buffalo. *

With this quotation we terminate our somewhat rapid notice of the
European type of taurines.

(To be continued.)

Reason and Instinct. By the Rev. J. C. ATKtnson, M.A.

In the part of the inquiry on which we are now about to enter, a
degree of intricacy is noticeable at the outset, which may throw sen-
sible obstacles in the way of our arriving at a satisfactory conclusion.

* We have elsewhere met with the statement that buffalos were introduced into
Italy by the Lombards in the sixth century.

6430 Reason and Instinct.

We have already established, from the results of observation, that a
vast variety of animals, beginning with man at the head of the scale,
and proceeding downwards, manifest, in addition to the workings of
Instinct — whether more or less potential and operative — certain
peculiarities of conduct, which can only be attributed to the posses-
sion and the action of a power of Reasoning. And we have also
glanced at what appeared to be sufficient reason for arriving, @ prior?,
at the conclusion that such would be the case; those reasons origi-
nating in the fact that there is valid ground for supposing the minds
of the inferior animals to be essentially of the same nature as that of
the human race; and that therefore it would be strictly reasonable
to look for general features of resemblance in the different series of
actions performed by the animals in question; the resemblance,
of course,—however variable in degree,—being such as must result
from the operation of the same or similar disposing causes, but com-
bined for operation in very variable degrees. And, from the results of
observation, thus reinforced by those of a course of independent rea-
soning, we deduced the conclusion that Instinct presupposes Reason ;
at least with certain limitations, and subject to certain definitions.

Our first apparent difficulty is,—it may be from entire want of in-
formation,—that in not a few of not the lowest animals in the scale
of Creation, we find certain indications of Instinct as an influential
principle of action, but scarcely any of Reason; I say, in not a few
of not the lowest,— for there seems to be but little reason for believing
that in many of the lowest gradations in animal life there is any
power of action, properly so-called—that is, of conscious action—at
all. Most of the movements of such creatures, perhaps even all their
movements—in other words, every individual evidence of their pos-
session of animal life—seem to be due to organic sensibility or irrita-
bility, and to that only. Take the familiar illustration of the oyster,
whose life even is almost made a jest of,—and there are hosts of other
creatures even lower than the oyster in Nature’s animated chain, we
scarcely venture to raise the question that it may procure its food and
propagate its species, and by the use of the limited means for
that purpose at its disposal, avoid certain risks to its well-being or
continued existence, through Instinct. We seem forced to conclude
that it has no consciousness, but a faculty of Sensation we concede;
although, even in this, it must be observed, we are proceeding in the
dark; for what do we know—not assume as known—but really know
of these and kindred matters, in connection with the oyster and other
similar, or lower forms of existence? We reason from what we do

Reason and Instinct. 6131

know, and by analogy, to what we do not know; and certainly it
is conceivable that our conclusions may be wrong.

But I am sure of this, that whether or no we are wrong in denying
the presence, at least, the operation of Instinct in all these creatures,
the Instinct of those creatures in which the presence and influence
of that Power is only just displayed is very different in power or
degree (probably not the least so in nature), and in results, from that
of the alligator, the salmon, the swallow or the rabbit. In the one
case, it is a stream flowing on to its outlet, but a stream of small
volume and inconsiderable motion; and one or two small mouths are
sufficient for its debouchure. In the other case,—that of the higher
animals,—on the contrary, the stream is of greater—it may be, vastly
greater — volume and velocity; and it rushes on to the ocean of
Action through many and various and considerable branches and
outlets.

I think that this is an important consideration :—that Instinct—
assuming that Power or Attribute or Essence to be the same in all
cases; viz., a “ determination to act, given by Almighty Wisdom” —
acts with different degrees of intensity, as estimated by its collective
results, in the different orders of creatures whose conduct is per-
ceptibly influenced by it. I mean, that in some — at the lower end,
so to speak, of an ascending scale—the operation or influence of un-
questionable Instinct is only just recognisable with sufficient dis-
tinctness; in others near the other end of the scale it is very strong
and influential indeed ; and that between these extremes every inter-
mediate modification of power and energy in its action may be met
with. That this observation is well-founded, I think scarcely any one
will be disposed to deny who compares the instinctive actions,—say
of an earthworm, a snail or a caterpillar with those of a wild duck, a
dog or a monkey,—and then bears in mind the list of heads, confessedly
imperfect, under which the instinctive actions of animals must be
arranged, and how remarkably, as we descend the scale of animated
life, the decrease of evidences of instinctive action, in its strongest
forms, keeps pace with the descent. It would not be difficult to illus-
trate this point by successive comparisons of the instinctive tendencies
and performances, taken separately and collectively, of a reptile with
those of a fish, a bird, and a quadruped belonging to one of not the
highest classes: and we shall adduce something of the sort a little
further on.

And with a view to obviating the difficulty suggested above, I would
observe that the successive comparisons just named will probably lead

6432 Reason and Instinet.

the way to—perhaps even prompt—the suspicion, that where Instinct
is very inert in the exercise of its influences, there Intelligence also
must be found to be proportionably low: that as the impulses
of Instinct become more pronounced and decisive, the operation of
some other motive to action—also of variable power, and sustaining
accessions of strength co-ordinate to those of Instinct itself—may also
present unmistakeable evidences of its presence and potency ; this
other motive being, in plain terms, the motive of Reason and Will.

And certainly, the suspicion, once aroused, will, in no long time, be
converted into conviction: Instinct and Reason will appear to go
hand in hand together, at least up to a certain point; at which this
is seen to take an immense stride in advance, that to become, as it
were, oppressed and obscure, and more and more unable to exhibit
either its power or its presence, as heretofore. Ido not mean that up
to the point specified they keep even pace with each other; thata
certain increased activity of the Instinctive agencies presupposes a
certain corresponding and proportionate increase in the Intelligence
or Rational faculties ; but simply, that as we proceed from one class
of animals to another, if we find Instinct is, in the new class, more
strongly developed and more remarkably exercised than in that we
have just passed from, we shall also find that in that class greater
Intelligence also and greater Adaptiveness—without attempting to say
how much greater — will be observed to prevail than in the former
class. It may be then, that when we are investigating the case of an
animal in which the manifestation of Instinct-agency is as low as
possible consistently with admitting of recognition, the intelligence of
the animal in question shall be so low as not to be discoverable. At
the same time, while admitting the possibility of this, we ought
to bear in mind that in very many of the cases which might, perhaps,
be alleged as cases in point, we are, as yet, possessed of no infor-
mation, sufficiently precise and close, as to the habits and lives of
such creatures; no information such as oaly intimate acquaintance
with them and the closest observation of their ways would furnish us
with. And for my own part I feel little doubt that where we are for-
tunate enough to possess adequate information, the result will go to
prove the truth of the theory that under the limitations above
adverted to, Instinct presupposes Reason.

And certainly, as we proceed with an examination of the suc-
cessive links of the chain, presenting—as we have said—up to a certain
point, successive advances in the tokens and proofs of Instinct-
energy, we shall meet with much to assure us that we ought not too

Reason and f[nstinet. 6433

hastily to conclude that this or that quality cannot be then because
we fail to recognise it at the outset of the inquiry. For we shall find,
from time to time, certain Instincts themselves, under the influence
of altered circumstances, fading away, almost dying out; only to
recover their pristine force when the altered circumstances revert to
their former type; and besides that, new habits and manners—
certainly not due to Instinct at all—growing up and obtaining perma-
nent subsistency, in cases where nothing of the sort would have been
looked for originally, and most certainly not found if looked for.

And now we have reached a point at which it may be permitted us
to advert to the confirmation secured to our theory by the successive
developments of the brain in the several classes of animals; noticing
at the same time their corresponding psychical development, as we
successively proceed from the lower to the highest classes of ani-
mated life.

I suppose that it can scarcely be seriously objected that the com-
parative Anatomy of the brain can have no connection with, or bearing
on, the enquiry in which we are engaged. _It seems as impossible to
question the fact that the brain is the material organ through which,
in the animal, Instinct acts, as that it is the organ through which,
when more highly developed, true Reason or Intellect acts. Anatomy
shows that from the simplest, indeed, most rudimentary form of brain
in the lower animals, to its highest, most complete development, there
is a mechanical contrivance and arrangement employed, identical as
to its general principle, in all from the lowest to the highest; differing
only in what may be called the degree of nicety and completeness and
finish with which the plan is carried out in each successive step. In
every creature in existence possessing a brain, however rudimentary,
there are a series of nerves of sensation (few, or inconceivably many,
as the case may be) which are the telegraphs to the brain of external
incident ; and there are nerves of motion, which are telegraphs from
the brain, of instruction and direction for the various organs which
are elements in the composition of each several creature’s physical
frame. And in addition to this principle of general identity, experiment
steps in and declares authoritatively not only that there is no apparent
or discernible difference between the uses and the operation of the
nervous system in the highest animal and in the lowest, but that also
such and such parts of its cerebral centre may be demonstrated to have
and to fulfil stich and such functions. So that, in point of fact, we
may at once assume it to be placed quite beyond controversy that the
entire brain, or some part or parts of it—-the variation between the

XVII, R

6434 Reason and Instinct.

whole and a part depending on the class in the animal series which
may happen to be under discussion—is the mechanical engine through
which Instinct acts upon the other faculties of the animal. Indeed a
good deal has been already done in the direction of deciding what
particular parts of the brain are connected with such and such
Instinctive tendencies and operations: thus Sir B. Brodie says, “Those
bodies situated in the base of the brain, to which in the human subject
we give the names of medulla oblongata, cerebellum, thalami, corpora
striata and tubercula quadrigemina, and the parts corrresponding to
these in other vertebrate animals, are connected with that class of
phenomena which belong to the animal appetites and instincts.”—
p. 175.

We proceed then with our endeavour to show that the Comparative
Anatomy of the brain, from the most rudimentary to the most complete,
in the various orders of animal life as contrasted with the different,
but corresponding, degrees of development of Instinct and Intelligence
jointly—displayed as each order in succession comes under obser-
vation—is not simply very interesting, but very significant likewise.
And this, too, notwithstanding the fact that the sum-total of our
information on the entire subject is confessedly, in many respects,
meagre and unsatisfactory to a degree.

Commencing with a very brief notice of the nervous system of the
Radiata, we find no traces of a brain or even of a brain substitute,
properly so called. In some of the higher Echinoderms there is an
apparent advance in the nervous apparatus and an occasional glimmer
of something which looks like incipient Instinct. The instances
adduced by Mr. Couch (Ill. Instinct, p. 12) are not only interesting
but contain one more proof, if proofs were wanted, how invaluable
accurate and abundant information as to the habits and peculiarities
of the lower animals would be to us; as they also suggest the more
than possibility that Physiology has still much more to do than it has
already done, in revealing to us the complete structure and uses of
the nervous system and its separate components, especially in these
lower classes: he says, “The class of star-fishes (Astertade) show
the earliest manifestation of an advance towards a true nervous
system: for though seemingly very inert and destitute of intelligence
they display some sagacity in the discovery and choice of food, as.
well as in the manner of seeking it. The common sea-hog or sea-egg
(Echinus Sphera) though apparently destitute of every sense, or possi-
bility of regarding external objects by sight or hearing, will travel up
the rods of a crab-pot, enter the opening, descend within, mount again

Reason and Instinct. 6435

to the situation of the bait, and select the particular one that pleases
it best.”

Proceeding now to the Mollusca, we find in the lowest class of this
department no very striking advance in nervous development over the
creatures last noticed; but as we proceed with our investigations in
the higher classes, we meet with what either is or may be regarded as
a brain proper. A certain ganglion receives an accession of size, and
at the same time is evidently charged with the performance of certain
distinct functions, such as are unquestionably discharged by the true
brain. But I cannot do better here than avail myself of Mr. Couch’s
able and lucid statement on this part of our present subject. “In
this manner in the Molluscan Conchifera, there is a ganglionic dis-
tribution to the single organ termed the foot, by which voluntary
motions are elicited; and we are thus enabled to judge that this
enlarged portion answers to at least a portion of the cerebellum: and
this is the earliest development of real brain to be met with in the
ascending scale; and the advancement undoubtedly does not consist
in the mere increase of size, but in an acquirement of some additional
organization. The common mussel (Mytilus Edulis) possesses this
foot and corresponding ganglion ; and, therefore, though not capable
of positive change of place, it is able to extend and direct the organ
in such a manner as, with some approach to consciousness, to direct
the application of its mooring threads or byssus, so as to secure stability
of situation. The oyster, Anomia and kindred genera, which remain
fixed by calcareous adhesion, are destitute of the foot and the
ganglion, and are consequently among the lowest in the scale of nature
of molluscan animals. But in the highest of these orders or families,
the Gasteropods or cuttle fishes, not only is this nervous system much
more highly organized and developed, but the ganglia oegin to assume
the form of a real brain, inclosed in a defensive case approaching to
the nature of acranium ; and accordingly their faculties of intelligence
and passion approach closely to those of fishes. They are capable of
manifesting some degree of curiosity, as is seen in their moving up to
a shining object to examine it; and in the presence of danger they
become suddenly suffused with a decided blush of red, and then eject
the contents of their ink-bag, by which they become shrouded from
observation and baffle pursuit.”—‘ Ill. Instinct,’ pp. 10, 11.

Now it may be fairly remarked here that these creatures not only
exhibit, in their actions, indications of Instinct in respect of fear,
food-craving, sexual love, hybernation and local direction, but also,
from time to time, at least faint traces of a power of action with an end

6436 Reason and Instinet.

in view. The cuttle fish in discharging its ink must be guided by
some sort of judgment; the garden snail, too, which not only retreats
into its shell at the approach of apparent danger, such as the adhibition
of the finger or other object, but after a pause issues and seems to be
occupied in investigating the cause of disturbance, if it be stiil near
but not actively offensive.

Our next step in advance brings us to the class of Fishes. Among
these, universally, the mass of the brain is very small in proportion to
the mass of the body, though the proportion is an exceedingly variable
one; but still the encephalic mass consists of more parts, and those
parts comparatively more developed. There is a cerebellum in addition
to the spinal cord and medulla oblongata ; and besides this, the optic
lobes are well defined, and there are what appear to be rudimentary
cerebral hemispheres; while in some, olfactory nerves are found also.
Endless variations in relative size of these several ganglia are also
found, as well as the variations of total size of brain already referred
to, many of which already admit of illustration in the habits and pecu-
liarities of the several fishes concerned, and abont which no doubt
progressive physiological and Natural History discoveries will reveal
much more before long; but, on the whole, it is an unquestionable
fact that the brain in the class of fish is, in respect of contrivance and
development, an advanced and advancing organ. And on the other
hand Instinct and Intelligence both keep pace, speaking generally,
with the ascertained advance of the mental organ. The former operates,
taking the class as a whole,in most of its accustomed channels,— power-
fully in some. As cases in point I may cite the parental affection of
some species for their ova or young; the strong evidences of the
operation of the instinct of sexual love, which the history of others
affords ; the return to their breeding streams of others again ; and the
periodical arrival at, and passage beyond given points, of inexhaustible
shoals of other varieties; and so on. In fact, the increased operation
of Instinct in fishes is too evident to require more than passing notice
or illustration; and, moreover, in strict analogy with the advanced
organization of the brain, we find marked advances in Intelligence or
towards Rationality in all the varieties of fish with which we have
anything like a sufficiently intimate acquaintance. ‘Thus, some of
them are known to recognise sounds, and to connect with the sound
the idea of food ; some have recognised persons even, manifesting no
great unwillingness to be even handled by some favoured one, but
carefully avoiding familiarity with strangers ; they certainly learn by
experience, as in the case of the artificial fly, which is eagerly seized

Reason and Instinet. 64382

the first time it is offered, and as obstinately rejected —however perti-
naciously presented to them—on all subsequent occasions, if the
cheat have been safely detected at the former trial. Similar intelligence
is displayed also in another line. Almost all the fish which may be
taken with a bait, whether natural or artificial, seem to feed on with
perfect indifference, although sheep or cows or other quadrupeds are
standing conspicuously, or feeding, on the bank of the stream or other
water containing the fish; but if the angler displays himself carelessly
and conspicuously, the rule is that the fish he wishes to capture will
not take his bait; and it is a rule that does not admit of many ex-
ceptions. The clearer the water the more need to fish fine and far
off; the higher the bank, the more necessity to get to its bottom, and
by no means to make a public spectacle of yourself on its edge. Nay
I have even thought, in some of my angling experiences, that my
pointer dog, if he advanced a few paces in the direction in which my
flies were thrown, effectually rendered all my skill to no purpose, while
half a dozen sheep quietly feeding in the same place would have made
scarcely any difference ; and this certainly evidences a distinct power
of comparison as possessed by the scaly tribe. No doubt, in the case
of the artificial fly, rejected after experience once had of its ficti-
tious nature, the impression produced by it on the mind of the fish is
evanescent: it may be taken in the same place by the same fly ‘the
next day, or after discoloration and re-clearing of the water, and
possibly even with a precisely similar fly sticking in some part of its
mouth, but this simply proves that its memory is bad, and does not in
the least degree affect our argument. Again, in ascertaining and
selecting, and maintaining by force of arms, if necessary,—very likely
using those means for the purpose of ejecting a former occupant of
the position best calculated for furnishing a good supply of any coveted
food (an established habit of divers fishes, which every angler, who
knows even the rudiments of his science, is not slow to avail himself
of, particularly in waters which are familiarly known to him),—fish
manifest a principle of action which is clearly not instinctive, but
depending on observation and experience, and therefore intelligent.
The same point is strangely, though painfully, illustrated by the shark,
which follows the course of the slave ship with inveterate pertinacity ;
or, it may be, the other ship in which a mortal sickness is raging and
consigning daily victims to the deep.

The next step higher brings us to the Reptiles; among them—with
different degrees of comparative variation, as before—we find, on the
whole, a larger proportionate brain, and its constituent parts somewhat

6438 Reason and Instinct.

more highly developed; and, at the same time, a gradual advance in
both particulars as we ascend from the lower to the higher members
of the class. And once more, in perfect analogy with what we have
advanced in speaking of fishes, we meet with stronger instinctive im-
pulse —stronger, that is, in the aggregate, or sum-total of instinct-in-
fluence—and correspondingly stronger developments of Intelligence.
It is a sufficiently well-known fact that toads and frogs, tortoises,
lizards and snakes* are all capable of domestication; and the mere
fact of susceptibility to such influences as are implied in the word
“domestication” at once invests those creatures to whom it can be
correctly applied, with something very distinct from, and much in ad-
vance of, mere Instinct. The domesticated creature evinces in such of
its actions, or series of actions, as give rise to the declaration that it is
domesticated, the presence of memory, of confidence, of attachment.
The confidence it manifests results, beyond doubt, from a process of
reasoning founded on continued experiences recorded by means of
memory, and becomes developed into personal attachment: and this,
aitogether independent of the fact, that a certain course of training is
necessarily carried on, by which the domesticated creature is per-
manently affected in other ways besides those of its affections. And the
inevitable inferences, thus deduced from a portion of the history of the
reptile tribe, are sufficiently confirmed by a reference to the observed
habits and peculiarities of others of the tribe still in the state of nature,
and unsubjected to any influences beyond those which are, strictly
speaking, natural to them. For the purpose of illustrating this remark,
I must be content with a reference to observations made by Dr. Living-
stone on some of the habits of the alligator, and a brief notice of the
power of fascination undoubtedly possessed by many species of snakes.
The alligators not only, like the fish already noticed, manifest con-
siderable judgment in selecting favourable places as feeding-grounds,
but display evidences of careful design in their attempts to seize their
prey; thus one of these reptiles, on one bank of a river, is observed to

* T pass by without comment in the text the exaggerated idea of the craftiness
and so-called wisdom of the serpent, which seems to have prevailed universally in the
ancient world. Such expressions as “ wise as serpents” are probably due tu this idea
as their origin, as also the fabulous tales recorded by Pliny and others as to the
subtlety and astuteness of those creatures. I may observe also that whatever the
reputation of those creatures for cunning or wisdom in these old myths, the enormous
magnitude and might, as commonly attributed to them in ancient fable or tradition,
is equally remarkable. Whence the origin of this popular and wide-spread impression
of the attributes of the serpent is a question opening an ample field for a most
interesting and instructive enquiry.

Reason and Instinct. 6439

notice a possible prey on the other bank, or rather entering the water
from it; the wily creature sinks itself below the surface on its own
side and swims under water swiftly across in the direction of its in-
tended victim, the ripple on the water sufficing to reveal to the
observant human eye, which was watching the evolutions of the brute,
the secret path that would have been unnoticed by its destined quarry.
This appears to me to be a most remarkable instance of intelligent
design, and a distinct advance on any which, so far, is recorded of a
fish.

The fascinating power possessed by serpents—and certainly by man
and some other animals, at least in a degree—is a most remarkable
power. Unfortunately we know too little of its nature and mode of
operation, and of the means by which it is exercised, to render any
argument founded upon ita safe one. It is alleged to reside in the eye
of the snake employing it; and there is an unquestionable power
resident in certain human eyes, both over mankind and over the lower
animals. But whatever it be, and wherever situate, it seems to be per-
fectly volitional on the part of the reptile employing it. It is one
means, among others, by use of which it procures its prey, and I
believe nothing is more certain than that it does not make use of it,
if it be enabled to secure its prey by other means; and if this be so it
appears to argue a species of adaptiveness in its appliance by its pos-
sessor which renders the circumstance equally interesting to us,
and for the same reason, with that anecdote of the alligator just
quoted.

Our next advance places us among the Birds; and in this class,
while we find a greatly advanced development of those parts of the
brain which are believed to be connected with the various instincts, we
find also, not perhaps a proportional, but still a very considerable, ad-
vance in the development of the cerebral hemispheres; and their
connecting medium, the corpus callosum, begins now to have a rudi-
mentary existence. In other words, those parts of the brain, believed
with utter certainty to be connected with the higher functions of
Reason and Will, begin to have a distinctly developed existence. It
is hardly necessary to say the corresponding psychical advance,
including under that term both instinctive and rational peculiarities, is
certainly equally marked with that of the material organ through which
those powers are enabled to act.

In point of fact, the presence and operation of Instinct is almost, or
fully, as strongly and variously manifested in the different orders and
families of birds as in any portion of the animal creation whatever;

6440 Reason and Instinct.

and without question, on the whole, very much more decisively
and distinctly than in any of the lower classes. Indeed, so remarkably
is the truth of this statement borne in upon the observer, that we feel
ourselves constrained to assent to the opinion expressed by a great
physiological writer, that the bird is indeed the creature that of all
others acts under the impulses of Instinct. And when we contemplate
the wondrous skill with which the tiny architect constructs its first
nest, or the marvellous power of self-guidance with which it wings its
way, for hundreds on hundreds of untracked miles, or the readiness
and decision and perfect mastery of its limbs with which the young
water-bird, for instance, takes to its destined element, when yet but an
hour or two old, or the wonderful discernment by which others go to
their food,—their means of information and discovery being perfectly
beyond the reach of any powers of investigation belonging to man,—
or any other of the wonderful Instinct-prompted achievements of mem-
bers of this class,—bearing in mind the while that oftentimes several
of these marvellous powers are centred in one and the same individual,
—it does seem difficult to attempt to gainsay the opinion we have just
now quoted.

But, however marvellous the Instincts of the bird, the Intelligence
of this class as a whole is, though less conspicuous, still a very real
and important element in its character and qualities. The docility of
many of even the wildest and fiercest members of the family; the re-
markable adaptation of numbers of others to the influences of domes-
tication; the strong personal attachments formed by hundreds and
thousands, of endless varieties, to their owners or their companions,
feathered or quadruped; the innumerable instances of cleverness,
reasoning (within certain limits), judgment, comparison, persevering
labour for a given end, combination to effect a desired object and the
like,—all show the bird to be as much beyond the reptile in intelli-
gence or rationality, as the latter is above the classes beneath that to
which itself belongs.

The last step, before that which brings us to Man, places us among
the Mammalia: here we find a remarkable development,—remarkable
for its progressiveness as well as for its ultimate magnitude,—as we
ascend the scale from the Marsupialia to the Quadrumana. The true
brain from being but little in advance, in point of organization and
relative magnitude, over that of the bird, becomes at last inferior, in
proportionate size and development, only to that of man himself, while
those portions of the encephalic mass which are appropriated to the
several instincts, though maintaining positively some sort of relation to

Quadrupeds. 6441

the size of the animal, become, relatively to the continually increasing
development and magnitude of the cerebral hemispheres, as con-
tinually less and less.

Instinct, then, in this class, according to the testimony of Physi-
ology, should—without losing much or perhaps any of its intrinsic
energy, as exhibited in preceding classes—cease to assert the para-
mount power and influence it has hitherto exerted: and accurate and
trustworthy observation, so far as its results have yet been accumu-
lated in anything like a satisfactory or sufficient amount, goes far
towards supporting the inference. Instinct may be still, in the lowest
classes, the influential motive to action, though still, in general terms,
rather less so than in the bird; but somewhere between the lowest
and the highest classes—it is perhaps impossible, in the present state
of our knowledge, to fix the precise place where—there is a point at
which Instinct, never ceasing throughout the class to exert its own
appropriate power and produce the requisite results, yet seems to
forego its hitherto imperious claims, and either to employ, in a much
greater degree than ever before, or else become subservient to, the co-
ordinate power of Rationality. Any way it is most certain, that as we
go from link to link in the long chain presented by the Mammalia,
whether it be that the beings composing those links, especially towards
the higher part of the chain, are for the most part better and more
familiarly known to us, or that the workings of their rational part or
intellectual essence are more distinctly visible to us,—constellations,
as it were, contrasted with nebulz,—we are, as our attention is roused
to note their proceedings, sometimes almost startled, always strongly
impressed with the signs and tokens and proofs that their mind is a
reality,—a something far, very far beyond a mere engine of nothing
better than instinctive workings.

3 J. C, ATKINSON.

Danby Parsonage, Grosmont, York,
February, 1859.

The Tiger “ Jungla” and a Bull-calf of the gigantic Gaour (Bos gaurus) shipped
for England.—By the “ Nile; which proceeded down the river yesterday morning, we
hear that the celebrated huge tiger “ Jungla,” the largest and most beautiful of the
famous fighting tigers of Lucknow, is shipped for sale in England. This splendid
animal is not only remarkable for his size, which far surpasses that of any tiger or lion
yet seen in Europe, but for the extraordinary beauty of his colouring and markings,
having all his body-stripes double: he is, moreover, extremely tame and gentle to
those he knows; but many a big buffalo has been felled by his tremendous sledge-

AVII. s

6442 Quadrupeds— Birds.

hammer of a paw: there was, in fact, no sport at all about his method of procedure ;
he went most systematically to work, and the business was done in no time. Ina
civilized country he will of course have to forego the pleasure of such feats; but we
doubt not that he will become an object of great admiration for his size and beauty.
By the same vessel is likewise forwarded for sale in England a fine, healthy yearling
bull-calf of that very rare animal to obtain alive, the gigantic gaour (Bos gaurus),
which sportsmen in India persist in miscalling the bison: it is the largest of existing
bovine animals, the finest bulls even exceeding 20} hands high, measuring from the
summit of the singularly elevated dorsal ridge (vide ‘India Sporting Review,’ new
series, vol, iii. p. 329, and vol. v. p. 210). This indeed is one of the most remarkable
features of the species, the spines of some of the dorsal vertebre measuring 16 inches
in length. Another characteristic of the adult animal consists in its very broad con-
cave forehead, surmounted by a high transverse arched bony ridge between the horns ;
the skull is extraordinarily massive: we have seen one which, with the horns attached
but minus the lower jaw, weighed exactly thirty pounds. The peculiar form of the
head is scarcely even indicated in the yearling calf, and the animal is a very slow
grower; we have heard of one which lived for three years in the possession of an officer
in the Madras Presidency, and was still to all appearance a mere calf. This is doubt-
less the first gaour (Bo¥ gaurus) ever shipped for Europe, and the species must not be
confounded either with the gayal (B. frontalis) or with the banteng (B. soudaicus).
Though only generally known as a wild animal, we have been assured that the gaour,
in addition to the gayal, is domesticated in the interior of the Tippera hills. The
calf at present on board the “Nile” retains not a vestige of wildness, but is as
quiet and tractable as any ordinary domestic animal.— Calcutta,

December 8, 1858. ‘
Occurrence of a Piebald Specimen of Mus rattus near Carlisle.-—A beautiful pie-

bald specimen of this small animal was caught at Coathill on the 6th of January,
1859. On one side of the animal is a large clear white patch, on the other several
smaller ones; the head; neck and breast is of a lightish brown, intermixed with
numerous jet-black hairs; the Linder part is of a similar colour.— Thomas Armstrong ;
12, Barwise Court, English Street, Carlisle.

Showers of Feathers.—In reading a most interesting article by Captain Blakiston,
in the ‘ Zoologist,’ I was attracted by the following passage (Zool. 6324): —“ While we
were in that land of water-fowl below Cumberland, I witnessed a shower of feathers:
as we sailed up a reach of the river with a fresh breeze, without the knowledge of a
human being within many miles of us, it appeared to be snowing; this was nothing
more than small feathers, and we supposed that at some Indian camp in the swamps
to windward the operation of goose-plucking must be going on; these feathers had
likely travelled many miles, and would continue while the breeze lasted.” Now
Herodotus, in speaking of the northern Scythian tribes says, “ But as to the upper
country, which lies to the north of the extreme inhabitants of the land, they say that it
can neither be passed through nor discerned by the eye, on account of the showers of
feathers (7TEQHY HEX, Y{LEVOV) ; for the earth and the air are so full of these that they
effectually shut out the view.”—(Book IV. chap.7.) To this Mr. Blakesley appends
the following note: — This is a misrepresentation of the falling flakes of snow, which,
in the old German mythology, was represented as feathers tumbling from the bed of

dt ae Daas

Birds. 6443

the goddess Holda, when she shook it in making it.” In the thirty-first chapter of the
same book Herodotus delivers a similar opinion in these words, “ Concerning those
feathers, of which, as the Scythians say, the air is so full that they are neither able to
see the country that lies beyond them nor to travel through it, my opinion is this: in
the upper parts of this land there are continual falls of snow, and these are less
frequent in summer than in winter, as one would naturally suppose: whvever has ob-
served, from close by, snow falling thickly, will understand what I say, for the snow
resembles feathers; and owing to this severity of the climate the parts to the north of
this region are uninhabitable: the feathers, then, isa name which the Scythians, in my
opinion, give to the snow, indicating the similarity.” I merely make these quotations
for the purpose of ascertaining whether the theory of Captain Blakiston is to be
received against that of Herodotus and Mr. Blakesley, and with the hope that an in-
vestigation of the subject may throw light on two passages of the great historian. It
also shows that, as our researches in Natural History extend, so will other works
become more comprehensive to us, and particularly the writings of Greek and Roman
authors. Captain Blakiston does not say whether he was actually in the shower or
not; and, should this meet his eye, I trust that he will make a further communication
on the subject. If he only saw them ata distance, I must say that I incline to the
opinion of Herodotus. In case of his ever being caught in a similar phenomenon, it
would be worth while to send by post to England one or more of these feathers,—if
they be bond fide goose-down, and not snow-flakes,—for this would settle the matter
beyond doubt or dispute.—7Z. W. Greene; Tonbridge, February 3, 1859.

Occurrence of the Goshuwk in Suffolk.— About three weeks since an immature
female of this species was killed at Somerleyton, near Lowestoft, which much
resembled in plumage the one lately obtained at Hampstead, in Norfolk, as recorded
in the ‘ Zoologist’ (Zovl. 6325). This latter specimen was, I believe, shot by
Mr. Gould, while on a visit to Sir Morton Peto, at Somerleyton—H. Stevenson ;
Norwich, February, 1859.

The Jay a Bird of Prey.—As there are few recorded instances of this bird
attacking and making prey of other birds, and having had the opportunity of wit-
nessing this (supposed) rare fact, I think it worthy of being made a note of. About ten
o’clock one morning, last March, I was looking into the garden from one of the win-
dows of my house, and observing and hearing an unusual bustling and rustling
among the branches of a tree, I soon perceived that a small bird was pursued by a
larger one, when presently the lesser bird was struck down from the tree (shrieking and
crying) to the ground, and was instantly followed by its unequal opponent, which
seized the little bird in its claws and stood upon it, and was evidently exercising the
muscular power of its talons, for the little bird kept up broken cries of alarm. The
bigger bird very coolly gave a very systematic peck or dig with its bill into the body of
the captive, then looked up and repeated the last-mentioned acts, with the same cool-
ness and as systematically as before ; the little bird at each thrust it received cried
with convulsive ejaculations of distress, which grew fainter and fainter, until, as I snp-
pose, for want of life, cried no more. My view of this butchering scene ended here,
for the bird of might flew off with the body of the bird of lesser power. The smaller
bird I did not satisfactorily determine the species, but it was the size of the titmouse
(P. ce@ruleus), and I believe it to be that species. The large bird was the jay
(Corvus glandarius). All authors agree that the jay is a “shy bird;” it, however,
exhibited no symptoms of shyness on this occasion, for it was daringly impudent,

6444 Birds.

carrying out his designs “right under my nose,” and treated with unconcern
(amounting to contempt) my nuinterrupted “ tapping at the window.”—J. J. Reading ;
Plymouth, January 26, 1859.

Note on a new British Woodpecker.—The bird, which I describe, was shot by
E. P.-Cambridge, at Bloxworth Rectory, Dorset, December, 1836, from his bed-room
window, as it crept amongst some low shrubs in one of the flower-beds on the lawn.
We took it to be only a large and distinctly-marked specimen of Picus minor, noting
especially at the time that it had more vivid red on the head and more white on the
wings and back, and was larger than one or two other specimens of Picus minor which
my brother had shot before ; and I recollect well our hunting Bewick on the subject,
and concluding that it might possibly be his ‘ middle spotted woodpecker,” but for the
red on the head; however, the bird went to the stuffer’s, and in due time came back
labelled “least woodpecker, male adult.” It was stuffed by Havell,-at the Zoological
Gallery, 77, Oxford Street, an establishment I know not how long since broken up
and gone; from this time until April, 1855, the bird remained in my collection as
“Picus minor,” and was frequently seen, and by some experienced British ornitholo-
gists, but no one ever perceived that it was not Picus minor, until, in April, 1855, my
friend, Mr. F. Bond, saw it was something strange almost as soon as he entered the
room where it was, and taking it down, at once, with his usual acumen, pointed me out
the distinctions from Picus minor. At my suggestion, he kindly took it and submitted
it to the late Mr. Yarrell, who acknowledged its distinctness from Picus minor, but
confessed himself ignorant of the species, and regretted that his last edition was either
just ont or had got too far on in the printer’s hands to allow of its notice there: the
examination of this bird was, I believe, almost one of the latest acts of Mr. Yarrell’s
life, and is very interesting. Shortly after this I made some notes of an American
species in the Durham University Museum, labelled “‘ Picus pubescens,” and found
them to agree in the main with my specimen ; and since then it has been, until lately,
in Mr. Bond’s hands, waiting the examination and dictum of Mr. Gould. Mr. Gould
examined it, and I cannot precisely understand what conclusion he came to, for all T
heard of it was, that “he would like to see other specimens of the same species, from
the same locality, before describing it. This would, doubtless, be highly satisfactory,
but meanwhile (as getting these other specimens may take possibly some little time,
seeing that it is now twenty-two years since this one was killed), I venture to request
an insertion of this account and description, and hope any of the readers of the
*Zoologist’ who possess British small spotted woodpeckers will compare their speci-
mens, critically, with my description, as I consider it is not at all improbable that other
British specimens exist and pass for Picus minor. As far as I can gather, from
a desultory correspondence, neither Mr. Bond nor Mr. Gould were satisfied of
its identity with Picus pubescens, though Mr. Bond considered it was nearer to that
than to any other species. I have lately compared it with several American specimens
of Picus pubescens, and also with a Scandinavian specimen of Picus minor, through
the kind permission of the curator of the Derby Museum at Liverpool. The result of
this comparison I subjoin to the description of my specimen, and, on the whole, after
having also read carefully Audubon’s descriptions of Picus pubescens and the allied
species, and Cassin’s observations on Picus pubescens, and the distinctive marks of
American woodpeckers in general, I believe it to be identical with Picus pubescens
(the downy woodpecker) ; still there is one main difference in it from all the specimens
of Picus pubescens I have seen myself, and that is that mine has distinct black bars

Birds. 6445

across the white on the back, while those had in no case the white on the back barred
at all. Some other minor differences will be mentioned in the “ distinctions from
Picus pubescens.” The description of my specimen is as follows: —

Length from tip of beak to tip of tail 63 in. Length of upper mandible ,gin. Span of
toes and claws 1,3 inch. Capistrum dirty white; bristly feathers projecting over the
nostrils dirty white, mixed with blackish. Forehead broadly black. Top of the head
crimson-red ; the red extending quite to the nape of the neck, and meeting that and
the upper part of the back, which are jet black. From the eye a broad black streak
runs back, and, at the upper corner of its extremity, which is truncate, and wider than
near the eye, it meets the crimson of the head and black part of the back, forming a
continuation of the black forehead. From the corner of the mouth a blackish streak
runs downwards, and dilates itself into a black patch beneath the point of the meta-
carpus of the closed wing. The space between these two black streaks is white, with
a yellowish cast, and forms an L-shaped isolated marking. Between the crimson on
the head and the black streak from the eye is also formed an isolated longish oval
marking of white with a yellowish cast. The whole of the under side to the vent, in-
clusive, is dirty white, with a brownish yellow cast. Wings jet black; the lesser
coverts tipped with pure white ; the greater coverts, tertials and scapulars tipped and
spotted with white; the primaries and secondaries tipped and spotted with white
along the webs; all these white markings, when the wing is closed, form eight regular
white bars (beside the white tips on the primaries); the first and second bars
are formed by the tips on the lesser coverts and spots on greater coverts ; the third by
the tips on the greater coverts and spots on the tertials and scapulars; these three bars
are curved; the fourth bar consists of spots on the outer webs of the primaries
and secondaries ; this bar (as well as all those of the next) is sharply angulated, and
but little of it is seen in the closed wing, being hidden under the greater coverts and
scapulars; the fifth, sixth and seventh bars consist of spots on the outer webs of the
primaries and outer and inuer webs and tips of the secondaries and on the scapulars ;
the eighth bar consists of three or four spots on the outer webs of the primaries and tip
of the first secondary ; the black intervals between these bars are ail well marked,
thongh of different widths ; those between the three bars on the coverts being prettily
and regularly vandyked. Back white, with a yellow cast, and barred with black. The
two outer feathers of the tail on each side white, with one or two black markings; the
next two black, with irregular white margins, and the middle feathers black ; under
side of the tail irregularly barred with black,

The main distinctions that I could trace between this bird and, Picus minor are as
follows :—First, the greater size, Picus minor being 53 to 5j in, long, only. Second,
Picus minor has only five bars across the wings; three are across the primaries and
secondaries and scapulars and two on the coverts; wanting entirely that on the lesser
coverts nearest the shoulder, and the two nearest the tips of the primaries; also the
black intervals in Picus minor are not vandyked, and all are more regular on the edge
and in width more equal: Yarreli’s description only gives four white bars, but he evi-
dently overlooked that one which is almost hidden under the coverts and scapulars.
Third, Picus minor has no black streak from the eye: this alone is sufficient to
distinguish it ata glance; the red on the head in Picus minor is also much less vivid
_and does not reach so far down the nape of the neck.

The main distinctions between my specimen and those of P. pubescens, examined
in the Liverpool Museum, appeared to me as follows :—Picus pubescens had only a

6446 Birds.

narrow red occipital band, agreeing exactly with Audubon’s figure and description,
The value, however, of this distinction does not seem to be much, as we know that the
immature males of Picus major have the head much suffused with crimson, while in
adult birds it becomes merely a small patch at the occiput; and John Cassin
(‘ Illustrations of Birds of North America,’ published at Philadelphia, 1856), says “ the
young male of Picus pubescens has the head above entirely crimson ; the adult, a nar-
row occipital band.” Second, the back in Picus pnbescens was pure white, without
any trace of black bars, while mine is distinctly barred: Audubon makes no mention
of black bars on the back. Third, the black stripe from the eye in Picus pubescens
differs in commencing wider than the eye, swelling out in the centre and contracting
gradually to the crimson band; while in my specimen it is narrowest by the eye, equal
to the width of the eye only, and widens gradually, ending abruptly truncated.
Fourth, the white bar nearest the shoulder in one specimen of Picus pubescens,
examined, was hardly apparent, consisting only of a few confused spots, and not
forming a distinct bar from the second bar; in another specimen, the development of
this bar was more complete, but nothing like, in distinctness and regularity, my speci-
men, where the black interval is very clear. Fifth, Length of the two Picus pubescens
examined, was 64 in., that of mine 62 in.; Audubon’s measurement 62 in.; widest
span of toes and claws in Picus pubescens 1} in.; in mine, 1#, in.; the bill of Picus
pubescens was less robust than mine. Sixth, under parts of Picus pubescens much
whiter than in mine, which are more like the under parts of Picus minor. A
description in Audubon of a species he calls “ Picus Gairdnerii” (which appears, how-
ever, to be only a variety of Picus pubescens) agreed with mine in the quantity of
crimson on the head.

I have given these distinctions, minutely, more for the purpose of showing that I
am of opinion myself that my bird is “ Picus pubescens,” than to try and show it to be
distinct. Its distinctness from Picus minor is clear enough, and, but for the barred
back, which may, however, be only the immature state, there appears but little in the
above distinctions to justify its claim to a “species” of itself. My chief reason for
wishing the above descriptions to be made known, is to get collectors to compare with
them all their specimens of British small spotted woodpeckers, and also to get further
descriptions of the true Picus pubescens. I have been minute in describing the
shooting, &c. of my specimen, because it is necessary to be particular when a native
of a foreign land is brought forth as an inhabitant of Britain, after having been killed
so long.—O. Pickard-Cambridge ; Southport, Lancashire, February 4, 1859.

A Hen catching a Mouse.—Whilst one of my brothers was out riding this morning,
in passing a farmyard, he saw a barn-fow] (a hen) seize a mouse which was running
into a stack, catch it in its beak, and throw it about a foot up into the air; this it
repeated three or four times, letting it come on the ground each time; not being a
naturalist, he did not stay to see the result, but he says it was in a very fair way of
being killed. — W. H. Leatham, Jun., ; Hemsworth Hall, near Pontefract, Yorkshire,
February 5, 1859.

Occurrence of the Little Bustard near Padstow. — A female little bustard was shot
in a turnip-field very near the town of Padstow, in the early part of January last, and
the fact was kindly communicated by C. G. P. Brune, Esq., of Prideaux Place, Pad-
stow.—Edward Hearle Rodd ; Penzance, February 10, 1859.

Birds Singing at Night.— On the night of Tuesday, the 18th ult., or rather the
25th, the moonlight was particularly strong, from the vertical position of the full

Birds. 6447

moon. A friend of mine returned home late that night to his country residence, and
a sudden violent gust of wind and rain overtook him on his way home. On his
approaching a woody valley, where his residence lies, after the shower had passed
away, between one and two o’clock in the morning, redbreasts and thrushes were in full
song, principally redbreasts. It may be accounted for thus: the mornings in January
had been very dark and sluggish; the gust of wind had probably awakened the birds,
and, from the before-mentioned strong moonlight, they most likely thought it was day-
break.—Td,

Occurrence of the Black Swan on the South Coast.—Mr. Thomas Clark, in the
‘Zoologist’ (Zool. 6379), asks, respecting the black swans at North Moor, Bridgewater,
Is it probable that they escaped from some preserve? The fact of the tameness men-
tioned appears to indicate a preserve, but in the ‘ Times,’ of November Ist, 1855, the
following may be read, which would establish the black swan as a British bird, if
true : —“ During the past week a bird of unusual size was observed flying towards
Exmouth, on the Devonshire coast, from the sea. On arriving near land it wheeled
round, and after flying back some distance, was seen through a glass to descend into
the sea, near Straight Point. Two men immediately put off, and were fortunate
enough to capture it. On examination, it turned out to be a black swan; it was poor
in flesh, and evidently exhausted by long flight, but showed by its plumage and other
indications that it had never been in captivity. It is supposed that by a long
succession of storms it has been driven from the Pacific, its only known habitation.”
I remarked there had been very severe gales for some time past and made a note of
it at the time.— George Dawson Rowley; 5, Peel Terrace, Brighton, February
12, 1859.

Occurrence of the Longtailed Duck on the Norfolk Coast.—In my last notice of
winter arrivals on our coast I mentioned, as a not uncommon event, at this season, the
capture of an immature specimen of Harelda glacialis, off Blakeney, the young birds
of this species taking a far wider range, even in mild winter, than adults. I have now,
however, to record the very unusual fact of five adult specimens of this truly Arctic
duck having been recently killed on the sea-shore, at Winterton, near Yarmouth. The
first of these birds, a male, in full winter-plumage, was shot on the 10th of January ;
the other two pairs, male and female, respectively between the 15th and 17th,
and being sent up to Norwich for preservation I had an early opportunity of
examining them. The females exhibited the usual sombre tints of the winters
plumage, and the males that rich contrast of colouring which makes them so
conspicuous in collections. The one first killed was, if anything, the darkest on the
breast, with scapulars more white than gray, but three finer specimens I never had the
chance of handling. To what cause, accidental or otherwise, we are indebted
for the appearance of these hardy visitors during this mildest of winters, is a matter of
no little speculation. A season so unprofitable to the wild-fowl shooter I never
remember, whilst the absence from our shores of themost common species would
betoken no great amount of cold as yet in more northern regions. The long tailed
ducks, however, according to Yarrell, are amongst the last to proceed southward, even
in the most severe weather, “‘ remaining as long as any surface of water continues un-
frozen,’ and certainly, during the sharpest winters we have had within the last
ten years, I have looked in vain for an adult Harelda in this country, amongst many
rarities. —H. Stevenson ; Norwich, February, 1859.

Oceurrence of the Fulmar Petrel in Barnstaple.—On the afternoon of Wednesday,

6448 Birds— Reptiles.

the 2nd of February, a strange sea-bird was observed flying low over the people’s heads
in the fish-market at Barnstaple, the fish-market being near the river (Taw). A vio-
lent gale from the N.W. had been blowing allday. The bird continued flying up and
down the street for some little time, until at last it was shot from the street by some per-
son who had gone for a gun. It was taken to the bird-stuffer in the town, where I saw
it in the flesh, and found it to be a young bird of the fulmar petrel. It had, extraor-
dinary to relate, an immense wen-like protuberance on the neck; this protuberance
was the size of a small orange, perfectly spherical, and to a great extent nude of fea-
thers; the skin of the bare part seemed hard and horny. The bird-stuffer skinned the
bird while I was present, but was obliged first of all to remove the wen from the neck,
which came off without much difficulty: the body of the bird was fleshy and
well covered with fat; all its internal parts seemed healthy, and, from dissecting it, I
found it to be a young male. The tumour which was removed from the neck weighed
a trifle under three ounces, and, on making an incision in it, I found it composed of a
firm, fleshy substance. It is probable that the bird must have been incommoded and
weakened by this tumour, so as to have been unable to contend against the strong
winds which drove it to a place so far south. A specimen of the longtailed duck was
shot close to this town towards the end of last November: this is another bird
not often obtained so far south as this.— Murray A. Mathews ; Raleigh, near Barn-
staple, February 5, 1859.

Occurrence of the Adult Glaucous Gull in Orkney.—The winter here has been very
stormy, but unusually mild: I procured an adult specimen of the glaucous gull (Zarus
glaucus) on New Year’s day; this is only the third adult specimen I have seen
during my five years’ residence at Stromness. We have seen two immature specimens
this winter, but did not obtain either: some winters we have seen as many as half-a-
dozen immature specimens.—Robert Dunn ; Stromness, Orkney, January 24, 1859.

Interesting Fossil Bones in Philadelphia.—A remarkable exhibition of fossil bones
was made by Mr. Foulke and Dr. Leidy, before the Academy of Natural Sciences, at
a very full meeting, last evening, to which the attention of our readers is invited,
because the new light which it shed upon, and the greatly enhancing interest it
gave to, the common bone contents of the innumerable marl-pits of the Atlantic sea-
board, make it, in a scientific light, the duty, and probably will make it the pleasure,
of the intelligent and liberal-minded living in their vicinity to watch their periodical
excavation, and secure still more valuable relics than any yet discovered. * * * *
A month or two ago, according to Mr. Foulke’s graphic historical exordium, he visited
a neighbour's house, near his own summer residence at Haddonfield, in New Jersey,
a few miles out from Camden, on the Camden and Atlantic Railroad; and, in the
course of conversation, Mr. Hopkins described from memory some teeth and vertebre
which had been thrown out from a marl-pit on his property, not less than twenty years
ago: one by one they had been given away to curious friends or casual acquaintances,
or lost: he could remember no long or large bones, but only teeth and vertebrae.
Receiving permission to re-open the spot, Mr. Foulke set a gang of marl-diggers to
work at the bottom of a small ravine, near where it opens upon Cooper’s Creek, and
about twenty feet below the surrounding farm-land of the neighbourhood; three or
four feet of soil brought the workmen to the face of the marl, and discovering the old

Reptiles. 6449

digging, went down along its edge, six or seven feet, through a small bed of shells, to
where the bones had been exhumed; and here, sure enough, were the rest of them un-
touched; a hind thigh-bone 40 inches long, a shin-bone 35 inches long, a splint-bone
to match, an arm-bone 19 inches long, with one of the fore arm-bones to match, dozens
of vertebrae, neck, back and tail, huge masses of the pelvis and shoulder-blade, some
few bones of the foot or toe-joints, and a tooth,—all lying upon a second bed of shells:
as the teeth were all-important and were liable to be disturbed, the soil of the pit was
re-dug and carefully examined, and with great success. When Dr. Leidy was in-
formed of the discovery, he and some other Members of the Academy, Mr. Lea and
Dr. Le Coute among them, saw nothing in it but the common occurrence of Mastodon
or mammoth bones entombed in an ancient bog. On going to the rooms, to which
they had been with care conveyed, he recognised at a glance the evidences of their
reptilian character: since then, weeks of patient adjustment and study have resulted
in the noble lecture which he gave us last evening upon the Hadrosaurus Foulki of
the green sand of America. He first enumerated the indications of reptilian form ;
the thigh-bone ossified, not like the mammals, from half-a-dozen centres, but from
one single centre, as in the iguana, alligator, &c., and furrowed at the ends with the
large blood-vessels of reptile-joints, instead of being smooth as in all mammalians.
The whole form of the bones was different, and the vertebre of the tail were armed
above with the backward-leaning processes, and below with the loosely-shaped and
likewise backward-leaning spines, which characterize the powerful, long, thin, deep
reptilian tail. The teeth were also reptilian, and not carnivorous, like the crocodile’s,
but herbivorous, like the iguana’s, and most curiously shaped and set. The creature
was evidently of unimagined dimensions; its hind leg bones, when put together, would
reach seven feet, upon which the pelvis and back-bone and upper skin would still go
on, making it nine or ten feet upon the haunches: on the contrary, the fore legs were
so disproportionately short that, had they been found at a different time or in a
different place, no anatomist would have hesitated to assign them to animals of
different kinds, or at least to different individuals; but the animal which this one
most resembles, discovered in an English rock of the same age by Dr, Mantell, shows
the fore and hind legs equally dissimilar. The fact, no doubt, is, that we have here
the relics of a kangaroo-like alligator, of more than mammoth size, living near the
great tertiary rivers and lagoons, and feeding on the vegetation, as it sat erect on its
vast hind legs, supported by its tail. To get at its length, Dr. Leidy took the
number of neck and back vertebra common to all kinds of reptiles, and averaged
the number of tail vertebre between the hundred in a tail of the iguana and
the twenty or thirty in the tail of the crocodile, and thus fixed the probable
length of the whole creature at twenty-five feet; its tail must have been three
feet deep, its neck thin, and its head no doubt small; its teeth are but two
inches long, but set in such a tessellated wall around the mouth as to make a formid-
able cutting and grinding apparatus. * * * * The enormous size of this
creature was exposed by a comparison of its thigh-bone with one of a mammoth in the
Academy collection, only two-thirds as long; but what was the astonishment felt to
see the Doctor lift from the table a fragment of a thigh-bone nearly half as long again,
deseribing its reception some years ago from the same district, and its being stowed
away as an uncharacteristic, and therefore, for the time being, a worthless specimen,
since there were no more perfect bones of the same shape with which to compare it
and determine its relations. This is one of many examples constantly afforded by

XVII. T

61450 Fishes.

collections, of the possible future value of all objects of Natural History, when properly
labelled and arranged. Some happy accident is sure to come to the relief of the most
helpless of fossils, the most shapeless of fragments. * * * * The family must
have been very extensive, for Dr. Leidy is now able to recognise its representation by
some before enigmatical fragments from Nebraska and from the Lower Mississippi:
the formation, we know, extended across the Continent, because its shells are found
from Mexico to the Arctic Sea, and on Vancouver's Island. At the time this Had-
donfield individual browsed in the Valley of the Delaware,—for of course he did not
live at Haddonfield, at that time many fathoms under sea,—the Gulf Stream passed
up the immense strait or narrow tertiary ocean, bounded on the east by the rocks of
Missouri, Iowa and Lake Superior, and on the west by the Rocky Mountains, into the
Northern Sea. The climate of the Delaware was at that time deprived of its present
equatorial winds from the south-east, but was equally well secured from the north-
westers, which come out from the centre of the British possessions. The average cold
was no doubt greater, but the variation less severe. England was then as damp as
now, but much colder, and the mountains of Scotland were covered with ice and snow;
yet the Iguanodon, cousin of the Hadrosaurus, found himself comfortable there. As
whales can exist in every zone of latitude, as mammoths and elephants once lived on
the shores of the Siberian Circumpolar Sea, as well as in the jungles of India, so no
doubt these gigantic two-legged saurians made their earthquaking hops as friskly in
cold and heat, whenever the continental rivers ran strong and the ocean shore was
near.—Friends’ Intelligencer, December 17, 1858.

Is the Mud- Fish a Fish or an Amphibian ?
By Epwarp NEwMawn.*

It cannot but appear strange to those experts in Natural History,
who may chance to be unacquainted with the mud-fish, that there
should exist any animal of large size and clearly pronounced form,
which when dead has undergone the anatomical scrutiny of an Owen,
and when living has been exposed to the observation of a hundred
well-instructed eyes, yet concerning which doubts exist as to its amphi-
bious or ichthyac character. Such, however, is the case, and if by
chance, in conversation, we meet with any one who doubts or contra-
venes the assertion, we shall find on inquiry that he has adopted without
examining the ichthyac or amphibian hypothesis by the simple process
of pinning his faith on another man’s sleeve, has saved himself the
trouble of thinking at all by adopting implicitly the thoughts of another.
One man will say, ‘‘Oh, that question has long been settled: Fitzinger

* Read before the Greenwich Natural History Club, on Wednesday the 12th of
January, 1859.

Fishes. 6451

has proved it an amphibian; you should read him.” Another will assert,
“There is do doubt now: Owen has dissected it, and proved it a fish :
you must study his paper; it is quite conclusive.” I have been told
a hundred times over this story of the affair being “ settled,” but two
successive informants have rarely admitted the same mode of settlement,
and it therefore appears perfectly legitimate for the truth-seeker to re-
open the question and consider the subject de novo. And here, in the
very outset, I cannot too distinctly disclaim any knowledge of the
internal structure of the animal beyond that which I find in Professor
Owen’s invaluable memoir: in common with other naturalists, I regard
that great anatomist’s definitions of the structure of the mud-fish as
all that can be desired ; difference of opinion as to its icthyac character
originates in the inferences drawn from acknowledged facts. One cha-
racter alone has been the subject of discussion and doubt, and to this
I shall briefly allude hereafter.

The genus Lepidosiren was founded by Fitzinger, in Weigmann’s
‘Archiv’ for 1837, on two specimens of an animal discovered by
Dr. Natterer in South America: one of these was found in a swamp on
the left of the Amazon, about Villa Nuovo, the other in a pond near
Borba, on the river Madeira, a tributary of the Amazon. Fitzinger
unhesitatingly accepted the four tendril-like processes attached to the
ventral surface of the animal as legs, and hence concluded the creature
was amphibian, but of a new and uncharacterized family. The species
was named L. paradoxa, a name expressing the author’s difficulty in
reconciling its conflicting affinities. The genus was re-described by
Professor Owen, in the ‘ Transactions of the Linnean Society,’ in 1840.
The species, differing essentially from Natterer’s, is a native of the Old
World, was taken in the river Gambia, and presented to the Royal
College of Surgeons, in 1837, by Mr. Thomas C. B. Weir, together with
a smaller dried specimen in indurated clay, baked hard by the sun.
The new species was called L. annectens: itis perfectly distinct from
L. paradoxa, haying a less elongate form and only thirty-six pairs
of ribs, whereas the South American species has no less than
fifty-six.

Living specimens of L. annectens were imported from Western
Africa in 1856, and exhibited in the Crystal Palace: we have two
published accounts of them; the first by Mr. Waterhouse Hawking, in
the ‘ Illustrated London News’ for September 20, of that year, and the
second by Mr. Bartlett, in the illustrated ‘ Proceedings of the Zool-
ogical Society’ for the same year, at p. 346. This latter is included
in a paper by Dr. Gray, intituled “ Observations on a living African

6452 ’Fihes.

Lepidosiren in the Crystal Palace.” I select Mr. Bartlett’s communi-
cation for reprinting, because it not only comprises the main facts
noticed by Mr. Hawkins, but gives additional matter of much
interest.

“In June last,” says Mr. Bartlett, “I received from Western Africa
a case containing four specimens of this animal. Each specimen was
imbedded in a block of dry, hard, muddy clay, about the size of a
quartern loaf; these blocks of clay were each sewn up in a piece of
canvas to prevent the clay crumbling or falling to pieces. According
to the instruction I received from Captain Chamberlayne, the gentleman
who sent them, I placed them in a tank of fresh water, at the temper-
ature of 83 degrees ; in doing this a portion of the clay crumbled off
one of them, and partly exposed the case in which the animal was
contained ; I was watching the operation when suddenly the case or
cocoon rose to the surface of the water. I at first thought the animal
contained in it must be dead, but I shortly afterwards observed a
slight motion: apparently the animal was endeavouring to extricate
itself, and this it soon afterwards accomplished by breaking through
the side of its tough covering: it swam about immediately, and by
diving into the mud and clay, which by this time had become softened,
rendered it difficult to make further observations. I removed the case
or cocoon, which still floated. On the following morning I found that
two more of the animals had made their appearance, their cases, how-
ever, were not to be seen ; they evidently remained imbedded in the
soft clay. In the course of the next day the fourth animal suddenly
floated to the surface, enveloped in its case ; as it showed no signs of
life I removed it, and found the animal had been dead some time, as
it was much decomposed. At the time these animals first made their
appearance they were very thin, and about nine inches long; they
began to feed immediately upon earth-worms, small frogs, fish, &c.,
occasionally taking raw flesh. I saw them sometimes attack each
other ; and one of them (I imagine in endeavouring to escape) leaped
out of the tank into the large basin in the Crystal Palace in which the
tank was standing, and is still at large among the water-lilies, &c. The
remaining two lived together for some time, apparently on good terms ;
but, in the month of August, the one now remaining in the tank seized
its companion and devoured nearly half of it, leaving only the head
and about half the length of its body. In feeding, this creature masti-
cates its food much, frequently putting it forward almost quite out of
its mouth and then gradually chewing it back again, and often (when
fed upon raw flesh), after having so chewed it for some time, it will

Fishes. 6453

throw it out altogether. The growth of these animals is most extra-
ordinary ; in June, as I have before stated, they were about nine inches
long: in three months they attained their present size, which cannot
be less than eighteen inches in length. It rises frequently perpendi-
cularly to the surface to breathe, and at other times it supports itself
on its fin-like appendages, and, with the aid of its tail, raises its body
from the ground, the fins being bent or curved backwards. The move-
ment of this animal is generally very slow, and would give one the idea
that it was very sluggish ; this, however, I have good reason to know
is not the case, as in attempting to capture the one at liberty in the
large basin it darted away with the rapidity of an arrow. I have reason
also to believe the animal finds its food as much by scent as by sight.
With reference to the cocoon, the end covering the nose of the animal
is rather pointed, and has an aperture about the size of a pin’s head,
which I have no doubt enables the animal to breathe through during
its state of torpor. The animal, when in its case, is coiled nearly
twice round, and I observed in each of the blocks of clay a small hole
about the size of a mouse-hole, which was quite smooth on the inside,
as though the animal had crept through it.”

Dr. Gray, to whom this admirable letter of Mr. Bartlett’s is
addressed, publishes the following additional particulars, and ap-
parently from actual observation :—‘ The mouth is firmly closed by
the overhanging upper lip, except in front, where there is a small
oblong transverse horizontal opening on the outer edge of the lips,
admitting the water to the small open external nostrils, which are on
the middle of the under side of the upper lip. This opening does not
extend to the hinder part of the lips, which are closed behind it, so
that water cannot enter the mouth in that direction, except through
the nostrils. In this quiescent state the lateral gill-opening is gene-
rally closed, but sometimes it is slightly elevated, and a small current
appears to be emitted now and then from it, as if a small quantity of
water were taken in by the nostrils and emitted by the gill-flap; but
this action is not continuous nor very distinctly visible. While
remaining under the water the animal sometimes opens the mouth to
its full extent, leaving it open for some time, dilating the throat by the
action of the os hyoides ; when fully dilated it closes its mouth, opens
the gill-aperture, and, contracting the throat, emits a strong current of
water through the lateral gill-aperture. It occasionally, but at uncertain
periods, rises perpendicularly to the top of the water, until the front
part of the head and the whole mouth are exposed above the water ;
it then opens its mouth, which it retains. open for a time, dilates its

6454 Fishes.

throat, as if taking in all the air it can contain, closes the mouth, de-
scends under the surface and contracts it throat, as if it were forcing
the air into the lungs: sometimes during this action one or two very
small bubbles of air are emitted at the gill-aperture, and then the
animal takes up its old position near the bottom of the vase. I once
Saw the animal ascend, and so take in air almost immediately after it
had been passing a fresh supply of water to its gills: when I have been
observing it, it appeared to take in air more frequently than water. It
often rises with its body perpendicular, as if it were going to take in
free air, but descends without reaching the surface of the water.”

I will now give some account of my own interviews with the mud-
fish. These interviews were three in number, and I had the oppor-
tunity of examining the creature under two different aspects: on the
occasion of one visit, the second, he continually came to the surface,
holding his body at an angle of about 45°, keeping his four tendrils in
constant and graceful undulation, and frequently opening his mouth,
apparently for the purpose of breathing atmospheric air. Although,
however, this action was frequently repeated, an idea occurred to me
that he might have some other business in hand than merely satisfying
his spectators as to what class of endosteate animals he belongs ;
because I observed that the gold fishes in his immediate neighbourhood
were also hanging from the surface of the water at a similar angle,
were also smacking their lips, and were also apparently bent on
inhaling atmospheric air. ‘This, instead of inducing me to speculate
on the exact site occupied by the mud-fish in the System of Nature,
led me to advise the officer on duty to change the water, concluding
that mud-fish and gold-fish had combined together to exhaust the
oxygen of the small allowance of water in which they were confined.
Be this as it may, it is quite clear, that whatever conclusions are drawn
from the fact, that one fish in a tank appears to seek a supply of atmos-
spheric air, must be applicable to a second, and a third, and a fourth
fish, which, under precisely identical circumstances, seek the same
means of supporting life. Thus it appears to me that the observations
of Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins, Mr. Bartlett and Dr. Gray, coinciding as
they do most precisely with my own, go Simply to prove that fishes,
having exhausted the oxygen of the small portion of water allowed
them, seek to obtain that element of existence from the atmospheric
air. On the occasion of my other visits, the conduct of the mud-fish
was widely different ; he kept constantly below the surface, and, with a
sort of unhealthy restlessness, perambulated his prison like a caged
tiger; still the movements were free and unfettered ; and the involun-

Fishes. 6455

tary functions of breathing, &c., may be supposed to have been per-
formed in a somewhat natural manner. ‘The first character in this
function that struck me as worthy of comment was the extreme
regularity of the rythmical inspirations. J had not the opportunity,
on either occasion of observing the fish during anything like an entire
minute; its motion was incessant, but I marked the internals of
inspiration by a watch, and although, in many instances, the obser-
vation extended to but three inspirations the measurable recurrence
of the act was established beyond a doubt; the conclusion resulting
from observations made during twelve consecutive minutes being,
that the creature inspired water thirty-one times per minute. On the
occasion of another visit, a second set of observations was made with
equal care, and a somewhat different result obtained, the average
number of inspirations being thirty-three per minute: hence it must
be admitted that, in a state of confinement, in a limited quantity of
water, and with an atmosphere heated to 70° Fahr., the mud-fish
breathes once in two seconds, and it may be inferred from the vigour
and activity displayed by the animal, and from its enormous increase
in size, that this rate is that of health, and not the result of peculiar
circumstances. ‘These inspirations differed very considerably from
those of the gold-fish, inasmuch as the interior fleshy substance con-
tained between the rami of the lower jaw rose after each inspiration,
and being pressed against the palate, entirely precluded the return of
the water through the mouth. This mode of breathing I subsequently
found was that of the Esocidz, and is beautifully exemplified by a
pike in one of the tanks at the Zoological Gardens. His extreme
quiescence greatly facilitates the observation. I failed to observe the
characters of the external aperture, or gill-opening, but of the existence
of such an aperture there could be no doubt, for I saw, after every
third or fourth inspiration, a number of minute bubbles, having exactly
the appearance of globules of quicksilver, escape in front of the anterior
tendril, and ascending to the surface of the water there become amalga-
mated with the atmospheric air: the number of these globules was
usually five or six, sometimes seven or eight: one or two were always
larger than the rest, but still minute, and likely to escape the notice of
a hasty or superficial observer. During the two visits the creature
never once ascended to the surface, but frequently ascended almost
perpendicularly towards the surface, and before reaching it altered his
course and turned downwards among the weeds: this observation,
probably made prior to Dr. Gray’s, is exactly corroborated by him.
“Tt often rises with its body perpendicular,” writes Dr. Gray, “as if

6456 Fishes.

it were going to take in free air, but descends again without reaching
the surface of the water.” This action would perhaps, in some minds,
induce the conclusion that the alteration of course proceeded from
the fear of coming in contact with atmospheric air, but the action is so
common among fishes, both in aquariums and ponds, that it simply
proves that the mud-fish has, in this respect, the normal habits of a fish.
The curious position in which the creature is figured in the ‘ Proceedings
of the Zoological Society’ 1 had not the good fortune to observe. It
seems to be walking on its tendrils, and to be taking an enormous
stride with the hind pair: Dr. Gray does not, however, describe this
mode of progression. The creature, in the passage I have cited, is
described as simply resting on these tendrils at the bottom of the
tank, but this resting seems scarcely requisite in a creature whose
specific gravity is exactly equal to that of water. It is, however,
worthy of observation that this seeming habit of resting on the four
extremities is constantly observed in fishes and some even use their
extremities for terrestrial progression, a fact noticed by Dr. Gray.
There is then no single act, as far as yet observed, of the mud-fish that
indicates an amphibian rather than an ichthyac character. The ascer-
tained fact of its imbedding itself in clay, and the supposed fact that
it passes from river to river by some overland route are equally suscep-
tible of parallels among undoubted fishes: of this there are many
instances, but I prefer one already cited by Dr. Gray from the
‘Zoological Journal.’ Dr. Hancock observes “ When the water is
leaving the pools in which they commonly reside; the yarrow (a
species of E'sox, Linn.), as well as the round-headed hassar (Callich-
thys littoralis) bury themselves in the mud, while all other fishes perish
for want of their natural element, or are picked up by rapacious birds.
The flat-headed hassar (Doras costata), on the contrary, simultaneously
quits the place and marches overland in search of water, travelling for
a whole night, as is asserted by the Indians, in search of their object.
I have ascertained by trial that they will live many hours out of water,
even when exposed to the sun’s rays. Their motion overland is
described to be somewhat like that of a two-polled lizard: they project
themselves forward on their bony arms by the elastic spring of the tail
exserted sideways; their progress is nearly as fast as a man will
leisurely walk.”

Again, I would invite those who are familiar with fishes and the
more common amphibians to pay particular attention to the habit, so
particularly emphasized by Messrs. Bartlett and Hawkins, of dashing
or darting through the water: the very expressions indicate the move-

Fishes. 6457

ments of a fish, not of a reptile; and if we institute a comparison, in
this respect, between the mud-fish and those lethargic amphibians,
with which it has been more especially associated, the contrast
becomes still more striking.

From the actions of the living animal, let us now proceed to con-
sider its structure. In the first place, the limbs of all reptiles, in-
cluding the batrachians, are used as levers for propelling forwards a
body which rests on the ground; hence there is always a prominent
elbow giving to the creature a most ungainly aspect in walking: now
the limbs of the Lepidosiren are represented as being used as perpen-
dicular props to support the body clear of the ground when at rest in
the water. We can have no reason whatever to doubt the accuracy
of the observations I have cited or the beautiful drawing of Mr. Ford,
but we cannot fail to observe, that the action and position thus de-
scribed and indicated, are those of a fish, not those of a reptile.
We must also consider what is the composition of these tendrils: each
is composed of a single bone clothed with skin, which throughout its
length is produced into a thin membranous wing, the bone itself
being composed of from thirty to forty minute joints, exactly similar
to those which constitute the soft rays of malocopterygian fishes, and
totally different from the bones which compose the limbs of
amphibious or oviporous animals.

A second external character of importance is, the position of
the nostrils; these are placed on the under side of a slightly
projecting snout, as in the cartilaginous fishes, and not all in front, as
in the amphibians: the very important question, whether these
nostrils are olfactory organs, mere blind sacs as in fishes, or respi-
ratory organs communicating with lungs, as in reptiles, has yet to be
decided. Professor Owen, after the most elaborately careful dissec-
tion, declares them blind sacs; and the living animal proves they are
olfactory organs of great power, since, as Mr. Bartlett and all other
observers declare the animal seeks its food by scent, and not
by sight. Dr. Gray, but apparently without having made the
dissection, states that each nostril has an opening within the mouth,
and that a probe may be passed from the external to the internal
opening. In this instance I cannot courteously discard either asser-
tion ; but it must at once strike the naturalist that one or other of the
statements is erroneous, and the tendency will be to agree with that
which is based on dissection, and which corresponds with’ every act
of the living animal. Dr. Gray’s belief that the mud-fish respires

XVII. U

6458 Fishes.

through its nostrils is supported by another assertion, that the
creature has “ two well-developed cellular lungs of nearly equal size.
(See Owen, Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. xviii. plate 25, fig. 3, plate 26,
fos. 1,24)”

Nothing can be more candid than the way in which Dr. Gray here
gives chapter and verse for the assertion he has made, and no
authority can be higher than that which he quotes. All that can be
required of a naturalist is thus to refer to the source of his informa-
tion, and, making the required reference, we find Professor Owen
using the following words :—“ The lungs, for I know not how other-
wise to designate, according either to their physiological or morpho-
logical relations, those organs, which in the technical language of the
ichthyologist, would be termed the swim- or air-bladder.” Here then
we find the only authority for the well-developed lungs, carefully
explaining in parenthesis that he applies that term for want
of a better to that very familiar organ, the swimming bladder.
Now this conversion of the swimming bladder of fishes into a lung-
like organ is an abnormal, but by no means uncommon, character in
fishes, and has attracted the attention and consideration of all our
ichthyologists. Cuvier, and in ichthyology we cannot have a higher
authority, has particularly noticed this fact in the genus Amia, also an
inhabitant of rivers: of this genus, he says, at p. 327 of the second
volume of the ‘Régne Animal,’ that the swim-bladder is cellular, like
the lung of a reptile; the fact would appear to be that the swim-
bladder of fishes is im some measure the representative of a Jung, and,
like the lung, can be voluntarily inflated: the walls of this organ in
Amia and Lepidosiren become incrassated and cellular, and certainly
in this state represent the lung; but it is not allowable to take this as
evidence of the reptilian nature of the mud-fish, unless we make the
application of the theory universal, and thus transfer a perfectly
normal malacopterygian, which Amia certainly is, to the class of
reptiles also. The mud-fish is acknowledged on all hands to possess
a perfect apparatus for breathing water; it has exactly those proper
fish-gills which are the characteristic of fishes; and although the
external opening is small, this character simply indicates an approach
to the viviparous, rather than the spawning fishes.

The next structural character to which I wish to invite attention is,
the dermal envelope; this it will be seen is completely covered with
scales exactly like those of a fish, and on these scales is a lateral line
as distinctly and strongly pronounced as in the most typical of the

Fishes. 6459

spawning fishes. Dr. Gray, naturally anxious, of course, to explain
away so decidedly an ichthyac character as the possession of a lateral
line, which had previously been pointed out by M. Dumeril, and also
by myself in a paper read before the Linnean Society, makes use of
the following words :—‘ Authors have laid great stress on the fact of
its being provided with a lateral line, overlooking the fact that the
common eft (Zriton cristatus) has similar lines on both the sides and
head.” Now, has not Dr. Gray overlooked the fact that the lateral
line of fishes is on the external surface of the scales, and that am-
phibians being destitute of scales cannot by any possibility possess the
true ichthyac lateral line? Dwelling for another moment on the very
complete armature of scales with which the mud-fish is covered, it
must be remarked that this character alone is quite sufficient to
separate it from the Amphibia, which are, without exception, totally
destitute of scales; indeed, almost every naturalist has made this a
leading character in distinguishing the spawning from the oviparous
reptiles: the possession of scales, and the lateral line on those scales,
are both of them unmistakeable proofs that Lepidosiren is a fish, and
not an amphibian.

Lastly, let us make a transverse section of the body of the mud-
fish, and we find its vertical diameter incomparably the greater as in
fishes, while in reptiles, including the amphibians, a contrary cha-
racter obtains, the transverse diameter being invariably greatest. I
think that no attempt can be made to associate the mud-fish with
the isogenous, oviparous or scaly reptiles, because the only reptilian
character it possesses are those of the true amphibians; indeed no
one has assumed the existence of any affinity between the mud-fish
and the oviparous reptiles. Allow me then to recapitulate the cha-
racters in which it differs from the amphibians.

Ist. Its rythmical breathing and its mode of taking atmospheric
air at the surface of water, when the oxygen of the water in
which it has been kept is exhausted.

2nd. Its velocity in swimming, as particularly pointed out by
Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Bartlett.

3rd. Its mode of eating.

4th. The composition of, as well as the mode of using, its four
extremities.

5th. Its scaly covering and lateral line.

6th. The greater diameter of a vertical section of its body com-
pared with a transverse section.

61460 Fishes.

These six characters appear to afford conclusive evidence that
Lepidosiren is a fish, and not a reptile.

But if we find the true or normal characters of a class thus, as it
were, dying out, and the more obvious and positive distinctions
utterly failing, shall we not conclude that one class thus gradually
merges in another exactly in the same way that a species has lately
been said to have no precise or definite limits? I cannot admit the
position in either case, or the validity of the reasoning that thus breaks
down the barriers which nature appears to have set up. How numerous
are the opinions on record that the ornithorhynchus is something inter-
mediate between a suckler and a bird, and that it obliterates the line
of demarcation between the two. I cannot think so: I believe in
Nature’s barriers, and I regard the difference from what is called a type
as the simple and inevitable consequence of diversity in structure ; in
fact it is but another mode of expressing a self-evident truism. The
Lamarckian hypothesis would, I suppose, regard the ornithorhynchus
as a suckler struggling to become a bird, the mud-fish a reptile strug-
gling to become a fish. All that I can see in these creatures is that they
are forms to which we are unaccustomed : had our knowledge of their
respective classes commenced with these two, and had the perch and
the monkey been the recently discovered rarities, we should have
experienced precisely similar difficulties in associating them with the
mud-fishes and water-moles. The belief in connecting links appears
to be gradually fading under the light of elaborate investigation ;
superficial similarities, as that of a bat to a bird, a whale to a fish, a
pangolin to a lizard, have their own signification and teaching, but the
more carefully these forms are investigated the more palpable does it
become that the distinctions philosophers have laid down are absolute
discoveries of what has always existed, not the mere creations of the
brain. In Entomology the multitude of species enables us to see this
more clearly : for instance the coleopterous type of structure gradually
fades away, becoming less and less pronounced at a variety of points,
but still the beetle is to be traced; we found it nowhere so altered or
depauperated as to be mistaken for a member of some other division
of the world of insects. And thus the seemingly paradoxical mud-
fish is still a fish, although so reptilian in its superficial aspect as to
have induced such conflicting opinions.

The remaining mud-fish at the Crystal Palace finally fell a prey
to that fatal disease of fishes, so well-known as the fungus: at first the
extremely minute filaments protruded about the base of the anterior
tendrils, but after a time the whole surface of the body was covered,

Acaridea. 6161

as in an envelope of mould. Thus, even in its death, the creature

proclaimed its ichthyac character.
EDWARD NEWMAN.

An Acarus injurious to Orchids.—For several years past the beautiful tribe of
Orchids cultivated in this country have been troubled with what has been termed
the “ Orchid disease.” No one knew the cause of this so-called disease, or its cure:
about twelve months ago it was very bad in several valuable collections of these plants ;
it was then recommended to place the plants in a drier atmosphere and give them a
higher degree of temperature ; this was certainly beneficial, but it did not indicate the
cause. The drier atmosphere dried up the decaying tissues of the leaves, caused by
the puncturing of the insect I am about to describe: this left the leaves full of brown
blotches, which of course very much impaired the functions of the plants, not to mention
the unsightly appearance. About the 16th of January I was shown what appears to
be the cause of this disease ; several plants had been observed to be what is called
‘“‘ going wrong:” this led to the investigation of them with a lens; the little Acari
were then detected busily engaged in their work of destruction, puncturing the leaves
with their beak-like nostrums and sucking out the vital juices of the leaves. As soon
as they have sucked out their food from one part they move on tv another more healthy
portion of the leaf; they are not to be found where there is decay or the leaf has
been drained of its vital fluid, which shows that these creatures have nothing to do with
the decay of the leaves,—that is, they are not attracted by the decaying vegetable
tissues, but feed on the healthy sap. This apterologous creature appears to be unde-
scribed: it is undoubtedly an East Indian species, and has been imported with the
plants on which it feeds. The following is a description of it, and I have called it

AcAarus ORCHIDARUM.

A. rubro-miniatus, dorso nigro bilineato curvato, ovato-ellipticus antice acumi-
natus, postice elongato-obtusus, depressus, subtillissime corragatus, margini-
bus pubescentibus striatis, disco in mare carinato, pedibus rufescentibus

pallidioribus articulis subspinosis. 4—J lin.

Ovato-elliptical, depressed ; the back of the male running up into a strong keel
or dorsal ridge; the female is withoutit. The body striated and flattened on the
margin, so as to admit of the creature adhering closely to the leaves, similar to a
female Coccus; the margin finely pubescent. The male is of a vermilion-red colour
and marked on the back with a black line, which encloses a fiddle-shaped space. The
female is paler and rather larger, being of a yellower colour; the lines on the back
irregular and broken into dots ; the dorsal ridge obsolete ; the legs pale reddish yellow;
the articulations set with spines.—EHdward Parfitt ; 4, Weirfield Pluce, St. Leonards,
Exeter, February 7, 1859.

Occurrence of Vanessa Antiopa at Torquay.—A very fine specimen of Vanessa
Antiopa occurred here on the 26th of December last; it had settled on an iron railing

6462 Insects.

in the town, and allowed my brother, who discovered it, to approach quite close: this
is the second met with here this season, my father having seen another in September,
on the wing.—H. W. Battersby.

Food-plant of the Genus Acronycta.— In the ‘ Zoologist’ (Zvol. 6382), I find the
Rev. H. Harpur Crewe doubts the larva of A. Ligustri feeding npon privet; but that
it does so, the following facts will prove. While collecting in the lane that leads from
Greenhithe to Darenth Wood, a few years since, I found a long slender green looper
on privet, which spun up on the 25th of August, aud on the 22nd of September pro-
duced a fine female of A. fuscantaria. As this larva was new to me, I endeavoured to
procure others, and in beating along the hedge I obtained from privet several fat green
larve, slightly hairy, the hair hardly perceptible, unless held against the light; these
produced A. Ligustri thejfollowing May and June. Ihave also frequently beaten them
from ash, but as this food dries up very soon when put into the breeding-cage, I inva-
riably give them privet, upon which they thrive equally well. In September last, I
obtained the beautiful larva of A. tridens, respectively from sallow, birch and oak.—
William Machin; 35, William Street, Globe Fields, Mile End, London, January
5, 1859.

Food-plant of Acronycta Ligustri.—I hasten to acknowledge myself in error,
in doubting (Zovl. 6382) whether the larva of A. Ligustri ever fed upon privet. Mr.
Doubleday kindly informs me that he has for years past been in the habit of taking it
upon a privet-hedge in his garden.—H. Harpur Crewe ; Drinkstone, Woolpit, Suffolk,
February 7, 1859.

Note on Tephrosia crepuscularia and T. laricaria.— It isa very odd thing that if
these two insects be, as Mr. Gregson supposes, the same species, they should so regu-
larly occur at different periods of the year. Neither species is very uncommon in some
parts of Hampshire, and when staying with my friend, Mr. Hawker, I have had
some opportunity of becoming acquainted with their habits. Tephrosia laricaria
begins to appear_in March, and continues through the greater part of April. We
never saw a specimen of T. crepuscularia before the beginning of May, when not a
single T. laricaria was to be seen. J am well acquainted with the larva of T. crepus-
cularia, having both taken it on sallow and aspen, and reared it from the egg.
I have tried, but could not succeed in getting the females of T. laricaria to lay
eggs. Breeding both species from the egg is of course the only way to settle
the question satisfactorily, and this Iam happy to know is likely to take place during
the present season. The exhibition of a long series of varieties of either insect
amounts to nothing. Mr. Gregson might just as well take a long row of Acronycta
Psi and A. tridens, and, because the members of the Northern Entomological Society
could not distinguish one species from the other, endeavour to prove them identical.
—ITId.

Observations on the Solenobie of Lancashire, §&c.— Herewith I send, for your ex-
amination, six bred male specimens of Solenobia inconspicuella and a card with
females and cases, also seven males of my S. triquetrella (partly bred) and three
females and cases. I think, if you will refer to Bruand’s work, you will satisfy your-
self that these are really identical with the species he describes as S. triquetrella: it is
impossible to make anything out of the plates representing the males of S. inconspicu-
ella and S. triquetrella. The cases of S. inconspicuella are found here on beech trees
in Prestwich Wood, and the moths appear early in April, and are must sluggish crea-
tures. The cases of S. triquetrella are found on large millstone-grit stones on

Insects. 6463

the moors (occasionally on stone walls); in order to get them it is necessary to turn
over these big stones (not a very easy job, by the way), as these little rascals prefer the
sides nearest the ground. These insects appear in the perfect state from the Ist to the
20th of May, and are very active on the wing, and, what is very singular in this genus,
one rarely gets a female. The female chrysalis is seen projecting from the case,—
the insect is missing; whether its economy is different from that of S. inconspicuella,
or they become a prey to spiders, Coleoptera, &c., I know not: what females I
possess are chiefly bred: the anal aperture in the female is considerably less woolly
than in §S. inconspicuella. These Solenobie are a very difficult group: it is impos-
sible to know much about them without a deal of attention to their habits; but if my
insect is not the true S. triquetrella, depend upon it is a new species. The cases
found on granite rocks in North Wales may some time or other be bred. Another
species occurs in extraordinary numbers on an old limestone (I think) wall between
Conway and Llandudno; it is like none that I know of: I bred an apterous female
out of a lot of three cases (that I thought were not going to produce anything), and it
was of a yellowish colour and exceedingly active on its legs. Again, on some fir trees
in the centre of a large wood at Rudheath, Cheshire, I met with some twenty cases,
from which I bred a single female. Then there are cases on beech trees which I find
at Dunham Park ; for years these only produced females: these larve take two years
to arrive at perfection. I send some of these larve by the post for your artist to figure,
and I will shortly send you some larve of S. inconspicuella, from beech trees
at Prestwich, which regularly produce both sexes every year, and afterwards you shall
have some of the millstone-grit larve, so that you can compare all three together.
Perhaps between us we shall throw a little light on the subject. It is very odd how
this group is neglected by collectors generally: I am sure if they were systematically
worked a good many species would turn up. — &. S. Edleston ; Bowdon, near Man-
chester, January 17, 1859. [We are extremely obliged to Mr. Edleston for the above
valuable communication. Ona close scrutiny of the insects sent, and a comparison
with Bruand’s work, we have come to the conclusion that the S. triquetrella of that
author is, in point of fact, our S. inconspicuella (the S. triquetrella of the German
authors being a larger, darker insect), and we cannot ourselves distinguish the
S. triquetrella of Mr. Edleston from his S. inconspicuella, individual specimens of the
former differing more from one another than they do from S. inconspicuella. Indeed
the result of this investigation has been greatly to shake our faith in the specific dis-
tinctness of S. Douglasii. The neuration of the hind wings of these insects varies to
a very curious degree in the same species, two veins being either separate at
their starting points, or starting from the same point, or even fused together for some
distance, whereas, in one specimen we possess, one of these two veins has disappeared
altogether! But we admit that the difference of habit and periods of appearance
has great weight with us, and possibly the species which does not appear till
May may be really distinct from the early April insect, S. inconspicuella. Time will
show.—H. T. Stainton.—Intelligencer.|

Observations on Butalis grandipennis.— On the 19th inst., being well in advance of
my printers, I resolved to open the campaign by visiting the classic ground of
Wimbledon Common. My object was to try and obtain, either by inspection
or beating, the larve of Coleophora albicosta ; but either I was not at the precise spot
frequented by that insect, or else the larve are not obtainable at this period of the
year, for eyes and beating-stick were both used to no success, and no Coleophora

6464 Fnseels.

Jarve rewarded my labours. Instead thereof I fell in with the larve of Butalis gran*
dipennis, and wanting some of these to send abroad I proceeded to collect them very
eagerly. The webs they make in the furze bushes are very conspicuous, but often
very inaccessible; the larva likes to have its habitation where four or five branches
start off from the main stem, and to obtain them you must cut the main stem below
the web, and then proceed to tear off the branches seriatim. It is not possible
to avoid pricking the fingers. When the web is thus laid bare, it is too opaque to
allow of your seeing whether it is tenanted or not, and it must be cautiously removed
from the stem and pulled to pieces; in this process the larve are eventually brought
to light. I thus obtained between forty and fifty, and got a good notion of the crea-
ture’s habits. It is a very artful little animal, and, though very often solitary, one
sometimes meet with individuals so amiable that five or six will live harmoniously
together. On two occasions I found that the larva, not satisfied with the natural
protection of the web, had pressed a great coat into its service, in the form of an old
seed-pod of the Ulex. The outer web is tolerably thick and fluffy-looking, but besides
that, nearly every larva is separately enveloped in a white robe de soie. The creatures
were all quite active, by no means torpid, but then it was a mild, spring-like day, and,
with the thermometer above 50° and a light breeze from the south-west, torpidity was
not to be expected. Owing to the dry season Wimbledon Common was far from
being in its normal state; it was comfortable and clean walking, and the wet places
were all dry! Genista anglica was putting forth its young green leaves, without any
superfluous moisture at the roots of the plants. Thus I opened my season of 1859.—
H. T. Stainton ; Mountsfield, Lewisham, January 20, 1859.

Occurrence of Psyche roboricolella, P. salicolella and P. tabulella in Britain.—I
lately forwarded to Mr. Henry Doubleday specimens of some Psychide which were
unknown to me, and he has kindly informed me that they are the following species :—
P. roboricolella, Bruand (No. 72).—I bred a male of this insect on the 26th of last
June, and two or three females a few days after. The cases, which were similar to
those of P. nitidella, Steph., I found at West Wickham, on birch, the early part of the
same month. This species may be distinguished from P. nitidella, Steph. (P. inter-
mediella, Bruand) by the wings in the male being rounder and much blacker than in
the male of P. nitidella, and the female of P. roboricolella has the anal tuft of hair
entirely white. P. salicolella, Bruand (No. 74).— I bred a male and female of this
species on the 23rd of June last, from two cases that I found about a week previously,
near Hampstead, on buckthorn. The wings in the male of this insect are black, but
longer and narrower than those of P. roboricolella. The case is very different, being
covered over with pieces of bark, and is similar to that of P. fusca, but only a third of
the size. P. tabulella, Bruand (No. 75). — On the 24th of July, 1854, I took a male
specimen of a Psyche, whieh was new to me, flying round some beeches, at Mickleham,
Mr. Doubleday now informs me it is this species, and that he has also a single speci-
men taken near Epping, among beeches: the wings are very long and narrow and of
a pale brown colour. — H. Tompkins ; 44, Guildford Street, Russell Square, London,
February 11, 1859.

Inseets. 6465

Topsell’s “ History of the Wasp.” By Freperick Smita, Esq.

A FEW pages might, we think, be occupied with far less amusing
matter than a few extracts from the “‘ History of the Wasp,” as given
in “'The History of Serpents; or, the second Book of living Creatures:
wherein is contained their Divine, Natural and moral descriptions,
with their lively Figures, Names, Conditions, Kindes and Natures of
all venomous Beasts: with their several Poysons and Antidotes; their
deep hatred to Mankind, and the wonderful work of God in their
Creation and Destruction. London, 1608. By Edward Topsell.”

In the first place, our author describes a wasp as “a kinde of insect,
that is swift, living in routs and companies together, having somewhat
a long body encircled, with four membranous wings, without bloud,
stinged inwardly, having also six feet, and a yellow colour; the body
seemeth to be fastened and tyed together in the midst of the breast
with a certain fine thread or line, so that they seem very feeble in their
loins, or rather to have none at all.”

After this very graphic description, it will be most orderly if we
turn to our author’s opinion as to their origin, for we have no intention
of following the order of things as given in this delectable history, but
just to pick out such morsels as shall give the reader a tolerable idea
of the history of the wasp, as recorded two hundred and fifty years
ago.

“They differ also in their first breeding, stock, sex, place, feeding,
and manner of labour: some say wasps do first proceed from the
rotten carkases of dead asses; but I am rather moved to think they
were first bred from the dead body of some warlike and fierce horse.
And surely their incredible swiftnesse in their flight, their ardent and
burning desire they have to fighting, are sufficient inducements to
move me to think that they took their first beginning from some
gallant horse. And I rather lean to this side because else I do not
know what sense I should give to that Aristotelian proverb, ‘ All hail,
ye daughters of swift-footed horses ;’ for, besides the truth that lieth
in the bare words, I take the morall of it to be uttered as a witty check,
or a figurative flout, conceitedly to rebuke and hit in the teeth those
shrewd women, curst and scolding wives, which are so peevish that
they will not be paciffied, who are like unto wasps in their sullen, dis-
pleasant humours, tempestuous madness and pelting chafe.”

Their nests, says worthy Topsell, are “light, slender and thin, like
paper, dry, transparent, gummy not thin, and all made of one fashion,
but very different, some of them representing a harp, some made much

XVII. xX

6466 Insects.

after the fashion of a pear, a toadstool, a bottle, or budget of leather,
and some like a standing cup with handles.”

“They have such a tender care over their females (especially at
such times as they are great with young), and suffer them so much to
have their own wills, as they will neither permit them to take any
pains abroad for their living, nor yet to seek for their meat at home ;
but the males flying about, like good purveyors, bring all home to
their own dwellings, thereby, as it were, strictly enjoyning the females
to keep themselves within doors.”

“They make their combs in the beginning of summer, fashioning
their small cells with four little doors, wherein small worms do breed ;
these increase for the most part in autumn, not in the spring, and
especially in the full of the moon. This one thing here is to be noted,
that wasps do not swarm, and that in summer time they are subject
1o kings, and in winter the females prevaileth. And when they
have renewed and repaired their issue with a great supply, and
that they be fresh and lusty, the empire again returneth to the
masculine kind.

“‘ Wasps are not long-lived, for their dukes (who live longest) do not
exceed two years; and the labouring, that is the male wasps, together
with autumn do end their days. Yea, which is more strange, whether
their dukes or captains of the former year, after they have ingendered
and brought forth new spring-up dukes, do die, together with the new
wasps, and whether this do come to passe after one and the self-same
order, or whether yet they do and may live any longer time, divers
men do diversly doubt.”

Our author informs us further, that there are two kinds of wasps,
one “ wilde and fell,” the other “ meek and quiet;” of the former kind
he once found a colony in Essex, in a wood, where, as he informs us,
“going unwarily to gather simples with another physitian, and
offending one of this fumish generation, the whole swarm of them
presently rushed forth about mine ears, and surely had [ not had in
mine hand some sprigs or branches of broom for my defence, I had
undoubtedly paid dear for this my unadvisedness, if it had not cost me
my life, for they pursued me in every place in the wood, with a vehe-
ment rage, for a long season, insomuch that I was fain to take to my
heels, and so to seek to save myself from further danger. And if our
countryman Sir Francis Drake himself had been there, although he
was ‘Omnium aucum nostri seculi fortissimus ac famosissimus,’ yet I
make no doubt but he would have taken my part, and been a com-
panion with me in this my fearful flight.”

Insects. 6467

Worthy old Topsell, notwithstanding the “wild and fell” attack
recorded, proceeds to enumerate some of the uses of wasps, which, he
says, “is great and singular; for besides that they do serve for food
to those kind of hawks which are called kaistrels or fleingals, marti-
nets, swallows, owls, to brooks or badgers, and to the camelion: they
also do great pleasure and service to men in sundry ways, for they kill
the Phalangium, which is a kinde of venomous spider, that hath in all
his legs three knots or joynts, whose poyson is perilous and deadly,
and yet wasps do cure their wounds.” Another and still more remark-
able use in the wasp follows; it is, says our author, “ very effectual
against a quartain ague, if you catch her with your left hand and tie
or fasten her to any part of your body (always provided that it must
be the first wasp that you lay hold of that year).”

The remedies for the stinging of wasps are too numerous to be given
collectively, but a few samples may prove useful and entertaining, with,
in the first place; some of the effects produced by their stinging. “ Of
the stinging of wasps there do proceed divers and sundry accidents,
passions and effects, as pain, disquieting, vexation, swelling, rednesse,
heat sweatings, disposition or will to vomit, loathing and abhorring
of all things, exceeding thirstinesse, and now and then fainting or
swounding. I will now set before your eyes and ears one late and
memorable example of the danger that is in wasps; of one Allen’s
wife, dwelling, not many years since, at Lowick, in Northamptonshire,
which poor woman resorting, after her usual manner in the heat of
summer, to Drayton, the Lord Mordan’s house, being extreamly thirsty,
and, impatient of delay, finding by chance a black jack, or tankard, on
the table in the hall, she very inconsiderately and rashly set it up to her
mouth, never suspecting or looking what might be in it, and suddenly
a wasp, in her greedinesse, passed down with the drink, and stinging
her, there immediately came a great tumour in her throat with a red-
nesse, puffing and swelling the parts adjacent; so that her breath
being intercepted, the miserable wretch, whirling herself twice or
thrice round, fell down and dyed.”

Wasps have their enemies, but quaint old Topsell is the only author
who I remember that mentions the fox as one of them. “ Raynard the
fox likewise, who is so full of his wiles and crafty shifting, hes in wait
to betray wasps, after this sort. The wily thief thrusteth his bushy tail
into the wasps’ nest, there holding it so long till he perceive it to be
full of them, then drawing it slily forth, he beateth and smiteth his tail
full of wasps against the next stone or tree, never resting so long as
he seeth any of them alive; and thus playing his fox-like parts many

6468 Insects.

times together, at last he setteth upon their combes, devouring all that
he can finde. And thus much for the History of the Wasp.”
FREDERICK SMITH.

Bees roosting by the Mandibular Process—Mr. Kearley and M. Guenzius seem
both to claim the right of patenting this process, but if priority goes for anything, I
have the means of showing that it was very familiar to me as far back as the year
1832, and that by availing myself of this secret [ obtained large supplies of two little
bees, Nomada furva and N. borealis, previously unknown to our apiarians, who were
very glad to welcome the little strangers when I had the pleasure of introducing
them. When I first beheld the process in operation I was at Leominster, in company
with my lamented friend Edward Doubleday, whose extended reading de re entomo-
logicd had previously apprised him of a similar fact; and, ever ready with references,
he gave me chapter and verse, which, sorrowful to say, I have forgotten; still he was
delighted with this ocular demonstration, and remarked, as the fragile grasses gave way
in his attempts to withdraw them from the grip of the bees’ canines, that they, the
bees, were tenax propositi. Since that period scarcely a year has past but I have seen
bees in a similar situation, and never unaccompanied by a pleasant reminiscence of
the delightful excursion during which I first observed this episode in the wild bee’s
life. When long grass, in “ the sear and yellow,” hangs over a sandy bee-bank, you
may make sure of finding the self-suspended bees attached to the blades on a rainy or
cloudy day, or, better still, at early dawn, when the sun with slanting ray gives
abundant light but little warmth. Edward Newman.

Note on Xylocopa nigrita, Fabr.—In the fourth volume of the ‘ Zoologist’
(Zool. 1446) will be found some remarks on the habits of Chelostoma florisomne, as
detailed in the first volume of the ‘ Entomological Magazine :’ the observations appear
to have been partly based upon Reaumur’s history (theory ?) of the development of Xy-
locopa violacea. At p.160 of my ‘ Monograph of the Bees of Great Britain,’ the fol-
lowing observations occur: —‘ I will take this opportunity of correcting a very widely
diffused error, which appears to have originated with Reaumur, as, if his account of the
development of Xylocopa violacea be correct, it differs from that of every wood-boring
bee which inhabits this country: he says, ‘When the larva assumes the pupa, it is
placed in its cell with its head downwards, a very wise precaution, for thus it is pre-
vented, when it has attained to its perfect state, and is eager to emerge into day, from
making its way out upwards and disturbing the tenants of the superincumbent cells,
who, being of later date each than its neighbour below stairs, are not yet quite ready
to go into public.’ Having bred, at various times, nearly all the wood-boring bees
which inhabit this country, and having always observed their development to be in
the very reverse order to that laid down by the great French naturalist, I have been
led to adopt an opinion that Reaumur’s account of the bees emerging as he states was
conjectural; I could not, judging from the results of my own observations, believe his
history to be entirely founded on facts. Still I could not, never having observed the
development of a species of Xylocopa, speak positively on the sulject, and therefore
observed that if such was its history it was at variance with every observation which I
had made on the development of wood-boring bees.” I adduced one or two examples
in support of my opinions, showing instances in which the escape of the bee inhabiting

Entomological Society. 6469

the first cell formed was a matter of impossibility. In the case of Osmia aurulenta
or O. bicolor, constructing their cells in the whorls of a snail-shell, how could the bee
in the first-formed cell, at the end of the tube, make its escape? I have on numerous
occasions obtained straws and reeds containing cells of bees and wasps, so that by
removing a strip the whole of the cells became exposed and a larva was seen in each;
in every instance I have found the larve of males attain their perfect condition some
days earlier than those of females. I have at length had an opportunity of examining
the burrows of a species of Xylocopa, X. nigrita, an inhabitant of Sierra Leone.
Mr. J. Foxcroft, who has for some time past been engaged in forming collections of
insects in that locality, has from time to time forwarded nests of Hymenoptera to the
British Museum, where a log of wood perforated by Xylocopa nigrita has just been
received. There are three distinct tunnels formed by the bee in the branch; each
terminates in the heart of the wood, without any outlet at its apex ; one of these has
the first cell formed, leaving at the end a short space, like the end of a thimble, un-
occupied; the burrows are 1% inch in diameter, and would probably contain about
five or six cells each. These excavations have all been worked upwards, so that all
dust or raspings would be easily removed. One tunnel has a branch one commenced,
which is about two inches in length; the number of cells intended to occupy a tube is
marked by a slight contraction of the diameter at the length of each. This interesting
specimen of insect-labour is confirmatory of my opinion, based on the observation of
the habits of our native wood-boring bees, and proves, in my opinion, that Reaumur drew
upon his imagination when he penned the account of the development of Xylocopa
violacea. Let each one, therefore, who would avoid error, study the pages of the book of
Nature—the book of truth; records from these will live in the memories of succeeding
generations. ‘Trust not to the imagination, however plausible the reasoning may ap-
pear—however certain results may apparently be calculated upon. The means whereby
Nature arrives at her perfection of things are infinite in variety, in wisdom unlimited,
and offering to every one an inexhaustible amount of enjoyment and instruction.—
Frederick Smith ; Richmond Crescent, Islington, N.

Proceedings of Societies.
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Anniversary Meeting, January 24, 1859.—Dr. Gray, President, in the chair.

Messrs. J. Lubbock, E. Sheppard, H. T. Stainton and G. R. Waterhouse were
elected Members of the Council, in the room of Messrs. F. Bond, W. W. Saunders,
J.T.Syme and J. O. Westwood. Dr. J.E.Gray was re-elected President; S. Stevens,
Esq-., Treasurer ; and Messrs. E. Shepherd and E. W. Janson, Secretaries.

The Report of the Library and Cabinet Committee and the Treasurer’s accounts
were read and received; the latter showed a balance in favour of the Society of
£266 13s. 2d.

The President delivered an Address on the affairs of the Society, and the general
progress of Entomology, for which the meeting passed a cordial vote of thanks, and
ordered it to be printed.

6470 Entomological Society.

February 7, 1859.—Dr. Gray, President, in the chair.

Donations.

The following donations were announced, and thanks ordered to be presented to the
donors:—‘An acccentuated List of the British Lepidoptera, with hints on the derivation
of the names,’ published and presented by the Entomological Societies of Oxford and
Cambridge. ‘ List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the
British Museum,’ by Francis Walker, F.L.S., &c., Part xvi., Deltoides ; by the Author.
‘ Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,’ vol. iii. No. 2; by the Society.
‘The Zoologist’ for February; by the Editor. ‘ The Journal of the Society of Arts’
for January ; by the Society. ‘The Literary Gazette’ for January; by the Editor.
‘The Atheneum’ for January; by the Editor. ‘A Manual of British Butterflies and
Moths, No. 25 ; ‘ The Entomologist’s Weekly Intelligencer, Nos. 119—122; by H.T.
Stainton, Esq. ‘ Proceedings of the Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club,’ vol. iv. No. 2;
by the Club. ‘ Catalogue of Hispidz in the Collection of the British Museum,’ by
Joseph S. Baly, M.E.S., &c., Part I.; by the Author. ‘Stettiner Entomologische
Zeitung, Nos. 10—12, for 1858 ; by the Entomological Society of Stettin.

Nomination of Vice-Presidents.

The President nominated Messrs. F. Smith, H. T. Stainton and G. R. Waterhouse
Vice-Presidents for the year.

Election of a Member.

Godfrey Howitt, Esq., M.D. of Melbourne, Victoria, was balloted for and elected
a Member of the Society.

Exhibitions.

Mr. Stevens exhibited a box of insects received from Mr. Bates, containing a beau-
tiful series of Micro-Lepidoptera from the Upper Amazon ; and some fine Coleoptera
taken by Mr. A. R. Wallace in Amboina, amongst which were Euchirus longimanus,
some new and beautiful species of Buprestidz and Anthribide, a magnificent new species
of Batocera, and a fine Prionus also new to Science.

Mr. Pascoe has furnished the following diagnoses of two fine longicorns in this
Collection :—

Monchammus Grayii. M.aterrimus; prothorace antice, elytrisque fasciis quatuor,
et macula basali hirtis, ochraceis, his chalybeo-atris, nitidis, parce punctatis.
Long. 13 lin.

Dixi in hon. J. E. Gray, Ph.D., Ent. Soc. Lond. Preses., &c., &c.

Agnia fasciata.—A. aterrima ; elytris parce punctatis, fasciis quatuor hirtis,
ochraceis. Long. 9 lin.
Precedenti facie simillima, sed Agnia, Newm., genus bene distinctum, pertinet.

Mr. Janson exhibited a series of Symbiotes latus, Redtenbacher [Faun. Austr. Ist ed.
198, 184 (1849), 2nd ed. 371, 382 (1857), Gerstaecker, Mon. Endom. 400, 1 (1858)]
illustrating the variations in size and colour to which this species is subject. These
specimens were captured by himself, within the London district, on the 30th of June,
14th of July, and on the 8th and 29th of August, 1858, and, as previously stated, in
localities upwards of a mile apart, He remarked that he had experienced no difficulty

Entomological Society. 6471

in determining, within a few hours of first meeting with this insect, the genus to which
it pertained, The analytical method pursued by Dr. Redtenbacher, in his admirable
work above cited, and the clearness and precision of his generic characters, affording
peculiar facilities to the student ; but having advanced thus far, safe progress was inter-
dicted, for, although Dr. Redtenbacher’s description of S. latus satisfactorily applied, in
most respects, to the insect before the Meeting, two, apparently important, discrepancies
presented themselves, namely, that of his S. latus the author distinctly says that the
thorax has “ the upper surface smooth, shining, not punctured,” and “ the interstices
between the strie of the elytra not punctured,” whereas, in all the individuals of the
insect under consideration, the prothorax is conspicuously, although minutely and
sparsely, punctured, and the insterstices of the elytral strie present numerous irregularly
disposed punctures, very evident throughout the basal moiety, but obsolete on the apical
half. Under these circumstances, he had considered it right to defer bringing the
insect before the Society until he had ascertained its legitimate appellation, for which
purpose he had intended to transmit specimens to Vienna on the first opportunity
which should present itself. In the meanwhile, however, Dr. Gerstaecker’s valuable
‘ Monographie der Familie Endomychide, Berlin, 1858, came to hand, in which the
genus Symbiotes is treated, and the species fully described, and at once all doubt as to
the identity of our insect and S. latus, Redt., was dispelled. As the present insect so
closely resembles in its facies the common Mycetea hirta, Marsh., Steph., that it may
be very pardonably confounded with it (its usually larger size and more parallel elytra
might perhaps betray it), the following comparison of the characters of the two nearly
allied genera, jotted down some months back for a friend, may prove acceptable to
English students :—

MycrEtT#Aa.

Antenne. With the first joint of the
triarticulate club very little wider
than the preceding (8th).

Labrum. Transverse, truncate.

Maxillz. With the two lobes nearly
equal in length.

Max. Palpi. With the apical joint
elongate-ovate, acuminate.

Lab. Palpi. With the second and third
joints nearly equal in width.

SyMBIOTES.

With the first joint of the triarticulate
club conspicuously wider than the pre-
ceding (8th), very nearly as wide as the
succeeding (10th).

Transverse, slightly emarginate.

With the inner lobe very short and
narrow

With the apical joint ovate obliquely
truncate.

With the third joint much wider than
the second (penultimate), globose.

Mr. Smith exhibited the nest of a species of Larrade, and that of Sphex Lanierii,
Guérin, and read the following .—

Observations on two Species of Fossorial Hymenoptera which construct exterior
Nests.

“ The varied economy of the fossorial division of the aculeate Hymenoptera, equals,
if it does not exceed, that of the Mellifera. The name proposed by Mr. Westwood for
the former division, “ Insectivora,” is by far the most characteristic, since all the fos-
sors provision their nests with other insects. As far as my knowledge of the habits
of the British species enables me to judge, I believe the majority to be fossorial ; some,

6472 Entomological Society.

however, burrow in wood, whilst others avail themselves of ready-formed burrows, &c.,
adapted to their purposes, never, as far as I have observed, forming tunnels or recep-
tacles for their cells: this appears to be the habit of the species of the Genera Sapyga
and Pemphredon.

‘‘ Our knowledge of the economy of Exotic species is very limited ; I have had the
pleasure of bringing before the Society some very interesting observations, made by
M. Guenzius at Port Natal, upon various species of Hymenoptera, some belonging to
the fossorial division. Mr. Bates has also contributed occasional notices of the habits
of various species of these insects. Ina collection lately received from the latter
gentleman, a nest with the insect which constructed it was received, than which nothing
could be more at variance with our preconceived ideas of the habits of the genus to
which it belongs: the insect is a species of Larrada; the nest is composed apparently,
as Mr. Bates suggests, of th escrapings of the woolly texture of plants; it is attached
to a leaf, having a close resemblance to a piece of German tinder ora piece of sponge.
With the first nest of this description forwarded by Mr. Bates was received a note, to
the effect that he saw the insect issue from it, and he supposed it to be the builder; a
second nest has, however, been received with the information that he had now no doubt
of the nest being constructed by the Larrada, as he had observed it repeatedly busy in
its construction. I have raised the nest from the leaf, and found four or five pupa-
cases of a dark brown, thin, brittle consistency.

“JT am not aware of any similar habit of building an external nest having been pre-
viously recorded ; our British species of the closely-allied genus Tachytes, are burrowers
in the ground, particularly in sandy situations ; their anterior tarsi are strongly ciliated,
the claws bifid and admirably adapted for burrowing. On examining the insect which
constructed the nest now exhibited, I find the legs differently armed ; the anterior pair
are not ciliated, and the claws are simple and slender, clearly indicative of a peculiar
habit, differing from its congeners, and how admirably is this illustrated in the nest
before us.

*‘ Another nest, also sent by Mr. Bates from Ega, is equally interesting; it is that
of a species of Sphex, I believe the Sphex Lanierii of Guérin: this is constructed of
a cottony'substance, which fills a tunnel formed by a large curled leaf. Here we have
another instance of economy at variance with our preconceived notions of the habits of
the genus ; we have hitherto regarded the species as being pre-eminently fossorial, and
upon examing a large number of individuals I find they have the anterior tarsi very
strongly ciliated, and all the tibiw strongly spinose. On examining the Sphex which
constructed the nest in the rolled leaf, the anterior tarsi are found to be very slightly
ciliated, and the tibia almost destitute of spines, thus affording another instance
proving that difference of structure is indicative of difference of habit.”

Mr. Tompkins exhibited three species of Psychide hitherto unrecorded as British,
viz.:—P. roboricolella, Bruand, bred June 26, 1858; P. salicolella, Bruand, bred
June 23,1858; P. tabulella, Bruand, taken July 24, 1854 flying about beeches at
Mickleham ; the names were determined from Bruand’s Monograph of the family.

Mr. Stainton exhibited specimens of the coloured plates which were intended to
illustrate Mr. Logan’s projected work on the Lepidoptera of Scotland, on which the
transformations of the following species were beautifully delineated, viz. :—Poly-
ommatus Artaxerxes, Agrotis lucernea, Lampronia rubiella, L. quadripunctella and
Lozotenia costana. ;

Entomological Society. 6473

Mr. Westwood exhibited the larva of Anobium striatum commonly known as the
* bookworm,” and a living larva of Phlogophora meticulosa, found feeding on
southern-wood, which he considered a very extraordinary food-plant for the insect.

Entomology of the Cape of Good Hope.

Mr. Adam White read the following extracts from a letter addressed to him by
R. Trimen, Esq., dated Knysua, Cape of Good Hope, November 15, 1858 :—

** My experience in this part of the world since last July tends to show that the
entomologist in South Africa must not expect an abundance of active insect life; as
yet I have not in any place seen as many insects congregated and visible at one time
as in the woods of England in June or July. As far as the Lepidoptera are concerned,
T have found it hitherto almost impossibte to discover the metropolis of any species ;
with the exception of some common Pieride and Hipparchie, which are to be found
everywhere, the butterflies appear to be scarce. In this district the entomologist
requires a great deal of patience, for the nature of the woods—with their rotting stumps,
fallen logs, stones and immense variety of thorns—renders chasing insects an impossi-
bility, and the only way is to stand quietly in some sunny nook, and catch them as
they successively visit the spot. The following will show you the respective pro-
portions of the several genera of butterflies, as far as I have been able to obtain
them, up to this time, and as well as I can make out the number of species :—

Papilio : : : <i Euplea , : ‘ 1
Colias . 1 Acrea - : 2
Pieris : - : . 3 Polyommatus . 8
Anthocharis 1 Chrysophanus I
Erebia : : 3° Zeutis 4
Mycalesis (?) l Thymele 2
Euryteia. : : “Seal Steropes : 2
Cynthia . ‘ 1 Pamphila 2
Philognomes 1 e 2
Salamis . : : : 1

“Of moths I have upwards of 120 species, of which Geometra and Pyrales form
the greater proportion ; of Sphingide I have but five species, one Syntomis, two
Anthrocera, one Smerinthus and one Trochilium. Sugar does not seem to succeed
here in attracting them ; I sugared twice without the least success, and the third time
only found two moths, on sugared flowers. Light succeeds well on certain nights, and
I have obtained a good many in that way.

“November 19. It has been very warm all the week and insects are visibly increasing
in numbers every day. 1 have taken another Anthocharis (I think Danae), Danais
Chrysippus, a beautiful Zygena, intermediate between Procris and Syntomis, &c.

“ My collection of beetles comprises about ninety species of larger size and a good
number of small species. The Lamellicorns constitute the most numerous section of
the Coleoptera here, and many of the species are very curious and striking in their
appearance. The whole district is overrun by numbers of juvenile green and black
locusts, which hang in hundreds on the shrubs and plants, and strip them of their
leaves and young shoots in a very short time. The day before yesterday I sawa

XVII. Y

6474 Tendency of Species to form Varieties.

Bittacus (of a species very common here) carrying a large fly along by one of its hind
tarsi: the fly had evidently been abstracted from a spider's web, as it was wrapped in a
webby shroud.

“Tt is worthy of remark how few species of Lepidopterous larva I ean find ;
I imagine the greater number of them must feed at night, or high up on the
trees.

““ December 5.—I am going to morrow to some large woods near at hand to endea-
vour to obtain some wondrous butterflies I have been informed of ; they have, according
to my informant (an observant old farmer), ‘ hard wings’ which ‘ snap’ when they fly ;
they keep entirely within the forests, and are found sucking the sap from the Polygale
that grow there: I thought of Cicade, and suggested them to my informant, but he
knew the latter well, and insisted that those he meant were butterflies ; and that there
were several kinds, all large, and one with two tails on each hind wing. The only one
I have in my descriptions as possessing two tails on each wing is Charaxes Xipheus ;
it is probably that species.

“ December 13.—I have been out to-day in the woods, from 8 a.m. to 3 P.M., but
although I visited the express woods mentioned by my informant, I saw nothing of
the ‘snap-wing’ butterflies he described; indeed, though a splendid hot day, 1 saw
very little in the insect way in the forest itself, though near it I captured a large and
beautiful Trochilium, which must, I think, be quite new to Science, and some fine
specimens of Danais Chrysippus.”

Mr. White observed that no doubt the snapping sound alluded to was similar to
that produced by the Agerone.

Mr Waterhouse read a paper entitled “ Notes on the British species of Hetero-
cerus.”

The President announced that the Council had resolved that all Members and
Subscribers, whether residents in London or otherwise, shall in future be entitled to
receive the Transactions of the Society gratuitously.—#. S.

The Tendency of Species to form Varieties.—Of the papers upon this subject which
have appeared in the ‘ Zoologist’ (Zool. 6293—6308), those of Mr. Darwin seem to
extend the operation of his theory into a period resembling geological epochs, which
carries us at once into the region of conjecture,—a “ barren ground,” upon the bound-
less wastes of which I have no inclination to wander. If, however, Mr. Darwin’s
hypothesis supposes perceptible changes, and embraces the time present, it is sub-
mitted that the following observations may be not unworthy of attention in reference
to his reasoning, and I would suggest for consideration whether the views (concluding
the meaning of both writers to be essentially the same) propounded in the papers
alluded to above are not founded upon the imaginary probable, rather than obtained
by induction from ascertained facts, which last process I do not hesitate to pronounce
the only solid and satisfactory basis of a new opinion. As (the italics are his own)
Mr. Waliace writes (Zool. 6305), of ‘progression und continual divergence, deduced
from the general laws which regulate the existence of animals in a state of nature,”
he argues (if I understand him cvrrectly) that the production of varieties is of con-
stant occurrence ; and, according to his position (Zool, 6304), that “the variety would

Species of Bovine Animals. 6475

feplace the species,” the several races of animals familiarly known to us now must
differ materially from those with which mankind were originally acquainted. But is
this the fact? Comparing the oldest extant descriptions with any existing organisms
{inanimate as well as animate may be included) which we can identify, is there any
appreciable difference between the forms now before us and what are represented to
us as the earlier types? I fancy I can anticipate the reply. Again; Mr. Wallace
speaks (Zool. 6305) of “the undisputed fact that varieties do frequently occur.” No
doubt “ freaks of nature” do occasionally happen in respect to individual wild animals,
but how far they are perpetuated is very questionable. If Mr. Wallace’s theory is
sound, we ought to find in some part or other of this country colonies of white rooks,
white blackbirds, &c.; whereas we may challenge the reference to any example of
such departures from the normal configuration becoming permanent. Mr. Wallace
appears (Zool. 6304) to regard a casual instance of improved physical powers as the
regular variation from the original type of an animal; on the contrary, I conceive the
rule to be that the variation usually consists in a deficiency of those powers. I by no
means deny that among all races of organized beings some individnals may and do
possess a superierity in development over their congeners in general, but I do contend
that in a state of nature this superiority is not demonstrably continued in successive
generations; indeed I will declare my opinion, that, in the wild state, after a very few
generations at the utmost, any accidental variation, whether apparently favourable or
unfavonrable, will be merged in a return to that original condition in which the
creature was from the first adapted to the situation in which it was placed. Analo-
gously we may reason from the case of mankind: our own experience must inform us,
that monstrosities are not of very rare occurrence in the world, but it will not be
argued that these examples have possessed any general influence upon the average
standard dimensions of the human race. MReversely I believe it has been expressly
noted, that the progeny, if any, of either giants or dwarfs did not prominently exhibit
the peculiarities of the parents. I am not aware that the King of Prussia, who
showed such a mania for collecting tall men for enlisting in his guards, succeeded in
establishing a breed of giants in his dominions, although it is, 1 think, recorded that
Frederick was by no means scrupulous as to his measures for providing his extra-
grenadiers with proportionally tall wives—Arthur Hussey ; Rottingdean, February,
1859,

Notice of the Various Species of Bovine Animals. By the Editor of
the ‘ Indian Field.’

(Continued from p. 6429.)

Tue third or flat-horned group of taurines is distinguished as the
name imports, the horns having an oval section, at least towards the
base. As far as we know, the type is exclusively Asiatic ; and how-
ever the details of structure may vary, the species have certain cha-
racters in common. A short smooth coat, either black or of an
earthy brown colour verging more or less on black, at least in the bulls,
and white stockings from the mid-joint (inclusive) downwards ; as may

6476 Notice of the various

be commonly enough seen in the Indian buffalo, of the bubaline series,
regular forest animals, that browse more or less, the gayal especially
being much given to crop the leaves of trees and shrubs, while the
gaour is more ofa grazer. Very gentle creatures, where uot persecuted ;
and most readily tamed; inhabiting the upland forests of tropical and
juxta-tropical Asia, where they pasture in the more open glades; and
assimilating in their general habits to other taurines, and in no respect
to the buffalos, though the gayal is very bubaline in figure and pro-
portions. Three species are now well known and thoroughly esta-
blished, and a fourth less satisfactorily—if it really constitute a fourth,
which may be doubted ; but the balance of evidence is in favour of
its being a distinct species from the banteng of the Archipelago, how-
ever nearly akin.

The names Bibos and Gaveus have been proposed for the group ;
or rather the former has immediate reference to the gaour in
particular, which is especially characterized by its high spinal
ridge.

The gaour (Bos gaurus, Col. Ham. Smith; B. gour, Traill;
B.aculeatus, Wagler; Bibos cavifrons, Hodgson ; B. asseel, Horsfield
(founded on the head of a cow in the India House Museum); Gauri
Gau or Gaur, Nipal (Hodgson): Jungli Khoolga, Dukhani; Kar
Kona, Kanarese, and Gaviya, Mahratta (Elliot); As’ Gayal of the
Hindus in Chittagong, and Selot of the Kukis (Macrae); Gayal of
Cuttak sportsmen ; Pyoung of Burmese (Phayre); Sapz utan (literally
“ wild cow”) of the Malays of the peninsula.

“It is somewhat remarkable,” observed the Hon. Walter Elliot in
1839, “ that one of the largest animals of the Indian Fauna, frequenting
all the extensive forest-tracts from Cape Comorin to the Himilayas,
should only have been indicated distinctly within the last two years.
I have seen specimens from Tinivelli, and likewise from the whole
range of the Syhadri mountains, up to Mahableshwa, and I know that
the animal has been killed near Vellore, in the Shirwaroya hills near
Salem, at Asirgurh, in Kandesh, Rajamundri, and I doubt not that it
will likewise be found in all the deeper recesses of the Eastern Ghats,
and on the banks of all the great rivers passing through them. An
imperfect cranium, which seems to belong to a female of the species,
in the United Service Museum, is labelled thus,—‘‘ Head of a Bison
from Keddah, Straits of Malacca.” We happen to have drawings of
the specimen referred to, and have published copies of them, showing
the skuli in three aspects of view, in the ‘ Asiatic Society’s Journal,’
vol. xi. p. 470; from which it will be seen. that the species is quite

Ee

Species of Bovine Animals. 6477

different from the gaour, and we take it to be the skull of a bull
(divested of its horns) of the Burmese T’sain or T’soing, from the
Keddah coast.

But the gaour is nevertheless plentiful in the Burmese countries,
and all down the Malayan peninsula ;* and since we last treated of
the bovines, we happen to have obtained possession of a fine healthy
yearling bull-calf of the species, who is just now quietly chewing the
cud within a dozen yards of where we are writing, brought (together
with a Malayan tapir) from Singapore,—as gentle and tractable a little
fellow (little in comparison with the full-grown beast, not otherwise),
as can be imagined, albeit full of life and friskiness occasionally, that
will have started on his voyage to England before this notice meets the
eyes of our readers, who may look out for a sketch of him ere long in
the * Illustrated London News.’

The gaour is about the largest of existing bovines, a fine bull
standing fully 19 hands from the summit of his elevated spinal ridge,t
with a huge ponderous body, longish limbs, little trace of dewlap, a
broad head, with high upturned frontal ridge occasioning a hollowness
of the wide forehead, and a thorough Roman nose; eyes full and
lustrous ; the ears rather large ; tail scarcely reaching to the hocks;
and the horns of the bull out with rather a backward curvature, and
passing round inwards at the tips, with commonly a slight inclination
backwards at the extreme tips, which in general is much stronger in
the cows,—excepting in this respect, some cow-horns differ little from
those of the bull, save in being much smaller; but others we have seen,
more slender, and curving very much backward at the tips, as com-

* What was Aristotle’s wild bull of Persia with depressed horns? The extinct
Guavera of Ceylon, noticed by Knox, refers clearly to the species now under consider-
ation. A correspondent of the old ‘ Bengal Sporting Magazine’ (for 1835, p. 217),
writing from the southern Mahratta country, remarks that “ the * bison’ of this jungle
differ materially from those of the Mahableshwa Hills. The latter is merely a blue
cow, of the colour of a buffalo, but of large size. The regular ‘ bison’ of Dandelly is
a tremendous animal, the highest puint being the shoulder.” We have little faith in
any such distinction ; and merely suppose that the writer had seen a big bull in one
locality, and not in the other.

+ In the ‘ India Sporting Review,’ new series, No. III. p. 329, we read of “a most
splendid fellow covered with scars from fighting, his teeth gone from age, and most
magnificent horns. He measured 20 hands 14 inch without measuring his hoof.” In
the same periodical, No. V. p. 210, “ a splendid fellow” is mentioned, who “ measured
20 hands and 23 inches. His horns,” remarks the writer, “ were the finest I have ever
seen, either of my own shooting, or any one else’s.” In the preceding page “a fine
young bull” is mentioned, “ measuring 183 hands at the shoulder; horns not very
large.”

6478 Notice of the various

monly in the cow banteng ; and upon such a specimen (of which—the
actual individual—we possess figures) is founded the Bos asseel of the
much respected veteran zoologist Dr. Horsfield. The finest head of
a bull we ever saw, of several dozens, we purchased some time
ago at a Calcutta auction for one rupee, it being put up as a buffalo
skull; and this remarkably fine specimen is now in the Calcutta
Museum.

The horns upon it are beautifully symmetrical ; and—what is
unusual in first-rate gaour-skulls—they are not broken away at the
tips, the result, we may suppose, of the combats of these gigantic
animals. Round the outside curvature they measure each 30 inches,
circumference at the base 143 inches, 6 inches in horizontal diameter
across the vase, greatest width apart 3 feet (measuring from the outside),
lips 21 inches apart, distance apart posteriorly at base 84 inches ;
from forehead to tip of nasal bones 19 inches; the intermaxillaries
reaching 3 inches further; breadth of orbits apart posteriorly, 113
inches. Weight of the skull with horns, minus the lower jaw, just
30 Ibs. Skull extraordinarily massive. The horns are much flattened
as far as the outward curvature continues, rounder where the tips hook
inward, and are of a pale greenish glaucous hue, with black tips; and
for nearly the basal half they exhibit a series of bold transverse ruge.
The colour of the beast is brown, passing more or less to black, with
whitish fulvescent stockings to the four limbs, and the same pale hue
on the somewhat lengthened hair of the forehead, and on that lining
the ears; the cows running generally paler. According to Mr. Hodgson,
the rugous bases of the horns “are furnished posteally with a fragrant
secretion.”

He was a fine fellow who originally owned the above head-piece.
There is also a perfect skeleton of a very respectable bull, and another
of a cow, in the museum of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta; together
with a stuffed bull, which was in tolerable proportions when first set
up, but the great weight and contraction of the skin in drying have
spoiled the shape altogether.

The most remarkable feature of the gaour is its high spinal ridge,
the apophyses of the longest vertebree measuring 16 inches in length ;f
the dorsal line of them slopes back a little, and then terminates with a
remarkable abruptness, which is observed in a less striking degree also
in the gayal. In our living gaour-calf, this character is less prominent
than might be expected, and the head is much less broad, and is

* Vide figure in the ‘ Journal of the Asiatic Society,’ vol. vi. p. 748.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6479

remarkably deer-like ; the ears too seem proportionally large, and the
legs are conspicuously longer than in a gayal-calf of the same age.
In other respects there is considerable resemblance between the two
species at this early period of life, and notably in the colouring ; but
the voice is strikingly different. That of the gayal, which we have
often heard, is a prolonged, strange, somewhat shrill metallic cry, as
if blown through a horn. Our young gaoun’s voice, which we suspect
is pretty much that of the adult, is an equally prolonged, full, sonorous,
and not unplaintive hoo, of considerable volume and most peculiar in
tone, not to be forgotten when once heard, and which carries one at
once in imagination to the jungles ; in general likewise this is more
or less modulated, and not unfrequently it has almost a human
expression of languor and ennuz. “ The voice of the gauri,” remarks
Mr. Hodgson, “is very peculiar and quite unlike that of the ox, buffalo
or bison; but as I am not skilled in bestial languages, I shall not
attempt to syllable this utterance.”

There is doubtless a difference in the voices of the two sexes, at
least when adult ; just as White of Selborne remarks of those of Euro-
pean cattle. ‘‘ Oxen,” he observes, “ have large bent horns, and hoarse
[deep] voices when they low, like cows, for bulls have short, straight
horns; and though they mutter and grumble in a deep tremendous
tone, yet they low in a shrill high key.” How different this from the
gruff cough or grunt of the humped bull! One remarkable particular
connected with our juvenile gaour is the extreme fragrance of his
breath, which is noticeable sometimes at several yards distance ; it is
that of European cattle intensified, and still sweeter; and we have
never remarked this peculiar fragrance in the breath of the humped
cattle. That of the gaour is really an exquisite perfume. It may be
that we have not chanced to notice the same in the gayal.

Of this species in the sub-Himalayan region, Mr. Hodgson remarks:
—“ The Gauri Gau never quits the deepest recesses of the sal-forest,
avoiding wholly the proximate ¢araz on one side, and the hills on the
other. Itis gregarious in herds of from ten to thirty, the females
much preponderating over the males in the herds, though even in a
small herd there are usually two or three grown males, whose conjoint
office it is to guide and guard the party. This office is discharged
with uncommon alertness, proving the animal to possess great per-
fection in all the senses, and with indomitable courage too, if need be;
so that neither tiger, rhinoceros nor elephant dare molest the herd.*

* We have read of a big gaour-bull being killed by a tiger, but taken no doubt at
a disadvantage.

6480 Notice of the various

During the heat of the day the herd reposes in the deepest cover,
coming forth at morn and eventides to feed in the small and open
pastures interspersed throughout the forest. Here the animals spread,
of necessity, in order to feed, but in moving to and fro from their
pastures they advance in single file, along the narrow beats made by
themselves, by elephants, samburs, and other large tenants of the soli-
tary and seemingly impenetrable wilderness.

“On an elephant, and in the day-time, you may, if you show yourself
distinctly, approach the herd with facility, and I have seen the males
stand with a careless indifference within a few paces ; probably because
they fear not the wild elephant, and are never molested by sportsmen
with the aid of the tame one, the shastras having decreed that the
Gauri is like unto Bos. No gentleman of the country [Nipal] will
attempt to kill the Gauri; and plebeians, if they have less tender
consciences, have ordinarily no adequate appliances for the work.” A
mode of hunting these animals, by people of low caste, is however
described ; and the pertinacity of the gaour, in watching the tree into
which his pursuer may have mounted for shelter, is especially noticed.
“In cases in which the luckless climber has dropped his weapon, and
his companions have feared to come presently to the rescue, the Gauri
has been known to keep his station at the bottom of the tree for twenty-
four hours, and it is believed would never have stirred from the spot,
so long as the man was above, if the animal had not been eventually
destroyed.” Mr. Elliot, however, remarks that ‘the persevering
ferocity of the ‘ bison’ of the sub-Himalayan range, described by Mr.
Hodgson, is quite foreign to the character of the animal in the southern
forests. When wounded, it is true it charges its assailant with deter-
mined courage, and many instances have come to my knowledge of its
doing so with fatal effect ; but in general it will always seek its safety
by flight, if permitted.”

Mr. Elliot mentions different grasses and other plants upon which
the gaours subsist, and adds that “they will eat with avidity every
species of grain commonly cultivated on the hills or plains, as the ryots
find to their cost. They are so particularly fond of the Dolichos lablab,
when in blossom, that they will invade and destroy fields of it in open
daylight, and despite any resistance the villagers can offer. In other
respects it is a very inoffensive animal, very rarely attacking any one
it encounters, except in the case of a single bull driven from the herd.
Such a one has occasionally been known to take up his location in
some deep bowery jungle, and deliberately quarter himself on the
cultivation of the adjacent villages. The villagers, though ready to

Species of Bovine Animals. 6481

assist Europeans in the slaughter of these animals, will not themselves
destroy them (the inviolability of the cow extending to the gaour) ;
and so bold does this free-booting animal become in consequence,
that he has been known to drive the ryots from the fields, and deli-
-berately devour the produce. But in general it is a timid animal, and
it is often difficult to get within gun-shot of them. |

“The breeding season is said to be early in the year, and the
calves are born after the rains. The bulls are often found separate from
the herd, which consists generally of from ten to fifteen cows and a
bull. They generally feed during the night, browsing on the
young grass and the tender shoots of the bamboos, of which they are
very fond. In the morning they retire to some thicket of long grass,
or young bamboos, where they lie down to ruminate. When disturbed,
the first that perceives the intruder stamps loudly with its foot to alarm
the rest, and the whole rush through the forest breaking down every
obstacle and forcing their way with a terrific crash.

—— Dat euntibus ingens
Silva locum, et magno cedunt virgulta fragore.
“AE neid, vii. 676.

“When suddenly approached in the night they start off with a loud
hissing snort.

“The Gowdlahs say that they see great numbers of gaour when pas-
turing their herds in the neighbouring forest. They describe them as
very timid and watchful, more so than any other wild animal, always
reposing in a circle, with their heads turned outside, ready to take
alarm. They add that they see most calves from June to October,
but the greatest number about August. They do not know how long
the cow goes with calf, but suppose the period of gestation to be the
same as that of the buffalo, or ten months and ten days. The old
male drives the others from the herd at the breeding season, and the
single ones seen in the jungle are young males of this description, and
it is probable that the very old bulls are sometimes expelled also by
younger and stronger males.

“For the following particulars derived from the observation of the
animal in the Sherwaroya hills, I am indebted,” continues Mr. Elliot,
“to Mr. Fischer of Salem. ‘ The bison ordinarily frequent the hills,
seeking the highest and coolest parts, but during the hottest weather,
and when the hills are parched by the heat or the grass consumed by
fire, the single families, in which they commonly range the hills,
congregate into large herds, and strike deep into the great woods and

XVII. Z

6482 Notice of the various

valleys; but after the first showers, and when verdure begins to re-
appear, they again disperse and range about freely. In wet and windy
weather they again resort to the valleys to escape its inclemency, and
also to avoid a species of fly or gnat which harasses them greatly. In
the months of July and August they regularly descend to the plains,
for the purpose of licking the earth impregnated with natron or soda,
which seems as essential to their well-doing as common salt is to the
domestic animal when kept in hilly tracts.

*“‘¢ The period of gestation is with the gaour the same as with the
domestic animal; they drop their young in the months of September
and October. I once had one brought to me so young that the navel-
string was still unseparated. I should think that it was then about the
size of a common country cow’s calf of four months’ old. It seems a
slow-growing animal. A calf I had for three years was evidently in
every respect still a mere calf. They seem very difficult to rear. I
have known it attempted at different ages, but never knew the animal
live beyond the third year. Mr. Cockburn has tried it in vain, in its
native climate, the Sherwaroya hills, and I have made the attempt at
Salem repeatedly. Atone time I had five in my farm-yard ; one lived
for three years; but this one, with all the others, died suddenly in the
same week from some disease, marked by refusal of food, running from
the nose, and an abominable stench from the mouth. A similar disease,
it may be noted, prevailed (as I was informed) among the gaour of the
Sherwaroya, Shandamungalam and Nilgiri hills. The calves I had
never became in any degree domesticated: the domestic cow could
never be induced to suckle them.’ ”

A more domestic-looking little beast than the gaour-calf just outside
our window it would be difficult to imagine ; and when an epidemic
prevails over the country, as in the instance here noticed, it cannot but
be regarded as altogether an exceptive case. The fact happens to be
that the gaour, in addition to the gayal,is actually domesticated in the
interior of the Tippera hills. Of this we are assured by the Rev. J.
Barbe, a well-qualified observer, who to this day is (we believe) the
only European who has penetrated into that little-known region. His
verbal description left no doubt whatever on the subject ; and in proof
of his having correctly determined the species, as distinguished from
the gayal, he presented a pair of veritable gaour-horns to the Cal-
cutta Museum as those of one of the domesticated animals which he
saw.

The Hon. Walter Elliot thus describes a fine Dandelly gaour which
fell to his rifle. He had tumbled over a precipitous bank into a river,

Species of Bovine Animals. 6483

and, “ when drawn ashore and examined more minutely, the first senti-
ment produced in all present was astonishment at his immense bulk
and size ; but on measuring his height, we found him much taller than
his breadth at first led us to imagine.

“¢' The head is very square, and shorter than in the common ox ; the
forehead ample, the bony ridge rising about five inches in height from
the plane of the frontal bone, over which it inclines. When viewed
behind, it rises suddenly and abruptly from the nape of the neck, from
whence to the vertex it measures 7 inches; the horns make a wide
sweep in continuation of the arched bony ridge, and turn slightly back-
wards and upwards, forming an angle of about 35 inches with the
frontal bone; the whole of the head in front, behind the eyes, is
covered with a coat of close short hair, of a light grayish brown colour,
which below the eyes is darker, approaching almost to black. The
muzzle is large and full, of a grayish colour; the eyes are smaller than
in the ox, with a fuller pupil of a pale blue colour ; the ears are smaller
in proportion than in the ox ;* the tongue is very rough, and covered
with prickles ;t the neck is short, thick and heavy ; the chest broad ;
the shoulder very deep and muscular; the fore legs short, the joints
very short and strong; the arm exceedingly large and muscular.
Behind the neck and immediately aoove the shoulder rises a fleshy
gibbosity or hump{ of the same height as the dorsal ridge, which is
thinner and firmer, rising gradually as it goes backwards, and termi-
nates suddenly about the middle of the back. The hind quarters are
lighter and lower than the fore, falling suddenly from the termination
of the ridge ; the tail very short, its tuft only reaching down to the
hocks.

* Ju our calf they are decidedly and conspicuously large; and in form are inter-
mediate to the more lanceolate ears of the humped cattle, and the rounder ears of the
European type; we observe, moreover, that his lips are white, aud that he has a
distinct dark spinal list continued alike over the ridge and behind it. Be it observed
that this is a Malayan individual.

+ In our young animal the tongue is moderately rough to the feel, sind is of a pale
bluish colour on its upper surface, carneous below: he readily licks the hand that is
held out to him, which affords tolerable opportunity for observation.

{ Mr. Hodgson, who annotated a reprint of Mr. Elliot’s paper in the ‘ Asiatic
Society's Journal, vol. x. p. 579, puts a note of interrogation respecting this hump 3
but its presence in the specimen is distinctly and repeatedly noticed by Mr. Elliot.

§ “ Quere forwards. The height of the true dorsal ridge declines from the third
process of the vertebra, and the general appearance of the ridge therefore is a declina-
tion, not a rise, towards the croup from the withers.”—Hodgson. ‘This is well shown
in the skeleton.

6484 Species of Bovine Animals.

“The dimensions of this individual were carefully noted as
follows :—
Feet. Inches.
Height at the shoulder : 6 13
at the rump, taken from hoof t to ‘inset of tail «ib 5
Length from nose to insertion of tail 9 63
of tail 2. el
--. of dorsal ridge, enlaiee he one 3 4
Height of dorsal ridge, including the hump Mig K 44
Girth, taken behind the fore-legs : - - 8 0
Breadth of the forehead : 1 34
From muzzle to top of arched bony ridge 2 13
Length of ear 0 103
Circumference of horn at ian 1 74 *
ofthe arm , 2

6

“The skin on the neck and shoulders and on the thighs is very thick,
being about two inches in this one, which has already shrunk from
lying in the sun. It is used for making shields, which are much
prized.

** The cows differ from the male in having a slighter and more grace-
ful head, slender neck, no hump, a less defined dewlap, and the tips
of the horns do not turn towards each other at the points, but bend
slightly backwards ; the horns are smaller too, and the frontal bone
narrower, but the coronal ridge is distinctly marked. The bulls have
the forehead broader in proportion to their age. In the young bull it
is narrower than in the cow, and the bony ridge scarcely perceptible.
The horns, too, in the young specimen turn more upwards.

“The general colour is dark brown, the hair thick and short,’but in
old individuals the upper parts are often rather bare. That on the
neck and breast and beneath is longer, and the skin of the throat is
somewhat loose, giving the appearance of a slight dewlap. The legs
are white, with a rufous tint on the back and side of the fore legs.
The cow has the legs of a purer white. The skin of the under parts
where uncovered is of a deep ochry yellow.

“T saw,” continues Mr. Elliot, “a young gaour-calf in the possession
of some Gowalahs, the owners of large herds of buffalos. It was
caught when just dropped in the month of May, and when I saw it was
seven months old, very tame and gentle, though timid, licking the hands
of the Gowalahs, and frisking about with the buffalo calves. It was
the same colour as the old animal, very dark brown, with white legs.

* Query, 1 foot 14 inch.

Reason and Instinct. 6485

The head small, the forehead wanting the breadth so remarkable in
the adult, and the bony ridge of the crown was hardly perceptible.
The horns were just beginning to sprout, the ears larger and rounder
than those of the buffalo, the eyes a pale gray or cerulean colour.
The hair on the throat was long, and the dewlap slightly indicated.
No hump was perceptible, but the dorsal ridge was distinctly marked.”’
Comparing this description with our living calf, it applies exactly ;
only our animal is rather older, with horns a moderate span in length ;
and we estimate his height at the dorsal ridge to be about 3} feet, or
perhaps a trifle more. The great change which the skull undergoes in
shape is extremely remarkable, and much affects the position of the
orbits, which are placed considerably more backward in the young
animal before it developes the extraordinary breadth of forehead. In
the old gaour the orbits are remarkably prominent, and are situate
very forward in the head ; and there is much of corresponding change

in the shape of the head also in the gayal, which species we next pro-
ceed to notice.

(To be continued.)

Reason and Instinct. By the Rev. J. C. Arktnson, M.A.
(Continued from p. 6441.)

WE have yet one step more, and higher, to take before we close our
present investigation ; and that is, from among the subject-creatures,
to the human sovereign of creation. Touching the power, and place,
and functions of Instinct in prompting human actions, our enquiries
are too recent to need recapitulation here. Suffice it to repeat three
out of the four main positions which we endeavoured to illustrate and
make good in a former portion of the present essay (Zool. 6081
et seq.)

1. That man, in an uncivilized state, is the most influenced by the
impulses of Instinct; so that in some of his actions that essence or
attribute may predominate over Reason, as a practical rule of action ;
in an almost isolated action or two, may even operate to the exclusion
of Reason.

2. That, presumably, as he emerges from the uncivilized state,
Instinct, by degrees, ceases to have any predominant power, and,
infancy past, in no case utterly excludes the operation of Reason.

3. That, in a fully-civilized state, Instinct survives indeed, but is

6486 Reason and Instinct.

so restrained and regulated in its operation by Reason, tliat it
becomes difficult to allege any but a very few of man’s daily actions
as influenced by it, or even to distinguish between the workings of
Instinct and the rulings of Reason, in actions which, according to
analogy, are originally due to or prompted by Instinct.

The statements and considerations by which we endeavoured to
illustrate and establish these positions (Zool. 6083—6091, 6196—6206,
6313—6317) both give and receive mutual light and confirmation,
when brought into contrast with similar physiological observations to
those appealed to in the case of the lower animals. I do not mean
that there are in existence any available observations—at least, so far
as 1 am aware—upon the contrasted brains of uncivilized, semi- or
imperfectly civilized, and civilized man,—any series, that is to say,
intended to display the comparative conformation of each, and the
relative magnitudes and conditions of development of the cerebral
hemispheres, and the organs at the base of the brain which are the
analogues of the Instinct-organs in the several classes of the brute
creation; but, what is clearly approximating in value to such a series
of observations, we have the shape and dimensions of the different
skulls, and of the cranial cavity in each, which are to be met with
among the different communities and tribes of mankind. And itisa
sufficiently remarkable fact, that these skulls do arrange themselves
in three great classes—distinguished as the Prognathous, Pyramidal
and Elliptical type of skulls—corresponding precisely to the three
divisions or classes of mankind which we indicated by the nomencla-
ture adopted a moment since, and implied in our three positions; I
mean uncivilized, imperfectly civilized and civilized; while the de-
scription, given by physiological writers, of each several class of
skulls is equally remarkable, taken in connexion with the statements
and considerations which were advanced when what we have called
our “ positions’? were under discussion. .

The Prognathous Skull, which is the prevailing cranial conforma-
tion among the most uncivilized or savage communities in the world,
is remarkable, says Dr. Carpenter, “ for the large development of the
parts connected with the organs of sense, especially those of smell
and hearing. ‘The aperture of the nostrils is very wide, and the inter-
nal space allowed for the expansion of the Schneiderian membrane,
and for the distribution of the olfactory nerve, is much greater than in
most European heads. ‘The posterior openings of the nasal cavity
are not less remarkable for their width than the anterior. The exter-
nal auditory meatus is also peculiarly wide and spacious, and the

Reason and Instinct. 6487

orbital cavities have been thought to be of more than ordinary
capacity.”

The greater relative development of the zygomatic bones, and of
the bones of the face altogether, when compared with the capacity of
the cranium, indicates in the Pyramidal Skull, which is the type
obtaining among peoples or tribes certainly most imperfectly civilized,
amore ample extension of the organs subservient to sensation, the
same effect being thus produced by lateral expansion as by the for-
ward extension of the facial bones in the Prognathous skulls.

The principal features of the Oval Skull, found among all the
civilized nations in the world, “are thus of a negative character: the
chief positive distinction is the large development of the cranial
cavity, and especially the fulness and elevation of the forehead in
proportion to the size of the face ; indicating the predominance of the
intellectual powers over those merely instinctive propensities which
are more directly connected with sensations.” (Hum. Phys. p. 1075).

Thus, then, we have passed in review a very considerable portion
of the entire scale of animated creation; and, almost throughout the
whole of the gradations that have been brought under our notice, we
have had occasion to observe, that corresponding with the progressive
advances in cerebral development, are similar advances in instinctive
and intelligent development. Instinct is not developed independently
of Reason, nor Reason independently of Instinct, but both simul-
taneously and co-ordinately, though not by any means, possibly, in
any similar or definite proportion. Further, we observe that, at some
point near the upper end of the scale, Reason began to assert a
dominant power, and that from thence its sway continued to increase
ceaselessly and irresistibly, until, at last, it became difficult either to
allege any actions as due to its undoubted influence, or even to dis-
tinguish its operation in actions which, according to strict analogy,
ought to be induced by it.

It is, perhaps, scarcely necessary to advance anything in the way of
set proof, that Instinct and Reason are, besides being developed
simultaneously or co-ordinately, also developed co-operatively ; for,
indeed, it is self-evident that the intelligence of the creature—what-
ever one it may be that we take for the sake of example or illustration
—is made to subserve the natural ends peculiar to it; or, in other
words, the purposes for which it is endowed by the Creator with the
mysterious gift of Instinct. The trout, which eschews the detected
cheat of the fisherman’s fly ; the alligator, which endeavours to con-
ceal his advance upon his prey beneath the water; the flycatcher,

6488 Reason and Instinct.

which shelters its young from the fierce beams of the sun by the
interposition of its own body and fluttering wings; the fox, which
selects the apparently most frequented run at which to lie in ambush
for the return of the hares from their feeding ground,—all, as well as
every other actor in every conceivable instance of the kind, do what
is done in furtherance of an object the pursuit of which is Instinct-
prompted.*

I cannot but think that enough has now been alleged to serve as an
additional confirmation of the theory advanced in a former page, that
there is a necessary and self-existent connection between Instinct and
Reason ; so that where there is apparent Instinct, there is or may be
also (in however small a degree) a Reasoning power, whether latent
and perhaps undiscoverable in the present state of our knowledge, or
brought out and developed.

I must crave space here, before we pass on to another but allied
branch of our enquiry, for a few words in support of a former con-
clusion, which, though not prominently put forward in our later
remarks, has certainly been implied and perhaps tacitly strengthened
by almost all that has been said—I mean the conclusion, that the
lower animals are partakers in Mind; intending by that, “that the
mental principle in animals is of the same essence as that of human
beings.” (Zool. 5575).

* How far what I have advanced in the text holds true in respect of animals,
which have been not only domesticated, but are in the habit of constant or considerable
association with their master, may be open to question. For my own part I confess to
a decided belief that in the dog,—not to mention other animals brought much into
contact with man, and especially if purposely taught and kindly treated by him,—
Reason ceases in great measure to be subservient to Instinct. The sportsman, who—
as many a true sportsman does—makes a friend of his dog, has a thousand instances
presented to him in which the creature’s Instinct is as clearly made the servant of his
Intelligence, as is his own pursuit—Instinct-prompted originally—facilitated by his
powers of observation, comparison and reasoning. Certainly the same thing must be
conceded in respect of such cases as exhibit one animal interposing in aid of another;
e.g. a dog for a dog, a dog for a man, or for a horse, and the like; and there are
multitudes of such cases on record. The elephants, two iu the Eastern military
service,—last mentioned in terms of no slight admiration by the ‘Times’ special
correspondent (‘ Times, of January 24th), and often before that by other writers,—in
their separate and combined efforts for the extrication of guns sit fast in heavy sand,
or other bad roads, afford another and very distinct evidence that their Reason is
entirely unfettered by their Instinct. To enumerate other instances will, I fear, be
only tedious, and I certainly think unnecessary. It is, at the least, equally unneces-
sary to say anything as to the relative positions occupied by Reason and Instinct in
the human economy.

Reason and Instinct. 6489

’ It is, perhaps, unnecessary to say, that in speaking of mind some-
thing quite distinct from any part of the material organization of the
animal is intended; although we may and do hold that the mind
works through, or by means of, a certain part of that organization—
namely, the brain. And it may be observed, in passing (and in
reference to allusions made a few lines above), that in whatever degree
it is satisfactorily established, that the higher parts of the human
brain are the organs through which the human intellect acts, in almost
the same degree is the fact that brutes possess, at least, a modification
of precisely the same organs, converted into a powerful argument in
support of the belief that they too have a mind to act upon and
through those organs; a mind, moreover, of the same nature with,
and intended to act after, the manner of their great prototype.

But possessing a mind—even though it be but what Sydney Smith
terms “ fragments of soul and tatters of understanding”—it follows of
necessity that they have a will also; not, indeed, a dominant, irre-
sistible* will, such as is met with in the majority of the human
species, but still sufficient for the purpose. And here, again, obser-
vation steps in, and supplies us with sufficient proof of the soundness
of the inference; and this will, like the mind, is quite independent of
the brain, as to or for its existence, though, of course, not so as re-
gards its manifestation or exercise.

* Trresistible as compared with that which it is brought to bear on: I am aware
that in saying what I do in the text I am advancing an opinion which, at the least,
seems to be at variance with that expressed by Dr. Carpenter. ‘“ Notwithstanding
the evidences of Rationality,’ we find him saying, “which many of the lower
animals present, and the manifestations which they display of emotions that are
similar to our own, there is no ground to believe that they have any of that controlling
power, from the will, namely, over their psychical operations, which we possess. On
the contrary, all observation leads to the conclusion that they are under complete
dominion of the ideas and emotions by which they are for the time possessed, and
have no power either of repressing these by a forcible act of will, or of turning the
attention by a like voluntary effort into another channel. So that they may, in this
respect, be like the dreamer, the somnambule or the insane.” I certainly do think
these remarks are not borne out by observation; nay, are indeed contradicted by it.
The dog or the cat, which are taught, by thousands and tens of thousands, to retain
their urine and their dung until they can obtain egress from the room or the house,
surely exercise a measure of will in doing so; particularly as the functions in question
are generally believed to be performed by animals without any particular conscious-
ness of the act, if any at all. The trout that rises to the angler’s fly, but rendered
suspicious by some unnatural appearance it detects, turns aside without taking it,—
perhaps even darts off in evident alarm,—surely does so voluntarily, or by an effort of
will. And innumerable other instances of the same sort are available.

XVII. ZA

6490 Reason and Instinct.

Now, neither the weakness or comparative impotency of the will,
nor the infinite variety of degrees in mental endowment, are any
objection to our theory. We find parallels to both within the limits
of the human species. Thus, to speak only of mental endowment:
the variety, and the total distance between the first and lowest grada-
tion of mind and the last or highest among men, is neither greater
nor more startling than either the variety or the difference observ-
able in passing from the lowest to the highest brute animal. For
_ instance, compare Newton, not as Sir B. Brodie would do, with
what he would have been if born an Australian savage, nor even with
one of our London Bushmen,—but with many a member of not the
lowest or utterly uneducated classes of modern life,—with one of
those heavy, soulless, mindless labourers, whose features (caricatured
as they are in ‘ Punch’) are yet but too easily recognised as the features
of a not scanty class among the labouring poor of this country ;—and
what a huge, almost fathomless, gulf there lies between them! Every
one must have seen both children and adults, who seemed incapable
of mental culture beyond the merest rudiments; to whom mental
effort was intolerably laborious, and, at the upshot and close of it all,
bore too strong a resemblance to the Mons pariluriens of the fable.
While, on the other hand, to many, intellectual exertion is a delight
and a solace; to a few, here and there, knowledge, discovery, inven-
tion, seem to come as if by inspiration. The abyss between these
extremes is deep, and beyond measure wide; and yet, on either
side of it, stands the same human mind, working through different
specimens of the same human brain, and testifying in itself and
through itself—it may be with different degrees of energy, but with no
other difference—to the being of the human soul. The question,
“Why has God made man so?” is one we cannot answer. We
cannot even make any real advance in the path towards answering it ;
any more than we can towards answering this other question, “Why,
in such a sensible portion of the whole human race, no mental facul-
ties whatever, or certainly, the closest approximation to none, are
accorded or permitted to be exercised? or why, in such a consider-
able proportion again, the mental faculties actually bestowed at birth,
and exercised through a given, perhaps a considerable, portion of life,
should be withdrawn, or obscured by lunacy or raving madness ?”
The facts only are there; and startling, humbling facts they are.

Somewhat similar considerations, moreover, may be advanced with
respect to the power of the will in the human race. Some there are
of “iron will,” of irresistible powers of volition; others again, even

Birds. 6491

among civilized people, and in no small proportion either, whose.
“infirmity of purpose,” “feebleness of will,” “indecision of character,”
is so obvious and continually met with, as even to occasion phrases—
the very ones I have used among them—to be stereotyped for the
common purpose of expressing them; while among the uncivilized |
and semi-civilized tribes, the instability or infirmity of will is one of
the chief hindrances in the way of permitting newly introduced pro-
cesses and habits of civilization from becoming stable and capable of
self-support (Zool. 6205).

Now, it certainly seems to me that the facts connected with the
development of mind, and of the volitional faculty, in the several
orders of Vertebrates, are rendered much more comprehensible by a
recollection of such circumstances as those just mentioned, in con-
nexion with the development of the same faculties among mankind.
Taking these facts into dispassionate consideration, the objection that
the lower animals can have no mind at all, because the manifestations
of mind in their case are so slight, so comparatively imperceptible,
when put in contrast with those seen in the dog or the monkey, seems
to be almost as forceless and unreasonable as it would be to say that
the most stolid clod in the country side, the most stupid dolt at the
village school, are not endowed with intellectual faculties because
they differ so greatly, in a mental point of view, from some distin-
guished ornament of the learned professions—so inconceivably from
such almost superhuman intellects as Newton.

~~

J. C. ATKINSON.
Danby Parsonage, Grosmont, York,
March, 1859.

Instinct of Birds.—It is quite pleasing to observe the instinct of birds in certain
seasons: in December and January the missel thrush, or “storm cock,” during the
lulls between the storms, was frequeutly to be seen and heard, delighting us with his
beautiful short chant. On the 28th of January,—a fine, calm, mild day,—I heard a
lark sing part of his song, and he soared about half his accustomed height on the
occasion: this is about a month or six weeks before the usual time, but was a true
presage of the long mild weather which followed. Those sagacious birds, the rooks,
also began building their nests a full fortnight before the usual time. The hedge
accentor has been in full song for two months; and the first blackbird 1 noted in this
neighbourhood opening his beautiful plaintive but chary song, was on Saturday, the
19th of February. Our splendid songster, the thrush, has been in uninterrupted song
since the frost in November last.—H. W. Newman; Cheltenham, March 9, 1859.

Occurrence of the Great Ash-coloured Shrike (Lanius excubitor) in Banffshire. —A
male specimen of the above species entered Drummuir Castle about the middle of last

6492 Birds, &c.

month (February), in an apparently exhausted state: a severe storm raged at the
time; it died shortly afterwards, and was brought me for preservation. This is the
first instance of the kind, so far as I am aware, in this county.—Thomas Edward ;
Banff, March 7, 1859.

Occurrence of a Variety of the Common Bunting (Emberiza miliaria) in Shetland.
—A very beautiful and almost a yellow specimen of the above bird was killed on the
island of Bressay, near Lerwick, Shetland, on the 8th of February, by Mr. John
Kennedy, of Fisherie: it was seen fur some days previously in company with linnets
and sparrows. All the feathers of the tail are of a whitish yellow, except the second
from each side, which are of the usual colour. There are also a few dark spots on the
breast and wings, and one single brownish feather on the very crown of the head. In
other respects the bird has all the appearance of a large or monster canary. The bill,
legs, feet and claws are likewise yellow.—Id. ; March 10.

Late Swallows.—On the 13th of November last I saw two swallows flying in this
neighbourhood ; one was evidently injured in the wing, and flew very awkwardly.
The day was rather chill, although the sun shone brightly — Arthur Hensman ; Spring
Hill, Northampton, February 14, 1859.

Sea Birds found Inland.—I have in wy collection a beautiful specimen of Wilson’s
petrel, which was picked up dead in a meadow near the river Avon, November 2, 1849.
A specimen of the common stormy petrel was also picked up dead in a neighbouring
parish, about thirty years since. I presume these birds had been driven by storms so far
inland, but not being able to obtain their natural food they died of starvation : we are
at the least fifty miles from the sea. A labourer had found the specimen of Wilson’s
petrel, and brought it to his cottage, intending to bring it to me, but his wife per-
suaded him it was only a swift, and he threw it out in the road: another labourer
passing by picked it up and argued to himself that a swift had not webbed feet, and
so he brought it down to the Vicarage, and was rewarded for his pains. This anecdote
shows how often rare specimens may be missed for lack of knowledge.—G. S. Marsh ;
Vicarage, Sution Benger, Chippenham, Wilts.

Another Sea Serpent.—The ‘ Amsterdamsche Courant’ of October 6, 1858, inserts
the following letter from Captain L. Byl, of the Dutch bark ‘ Hendrik Ido Ambacht,’
to the ‘ Jorn-Bode :’-—* Sailing in the South Atlantic, in 27° 27’ N. lat. and 14° 51’
E. long., we perceived on July the 9th, between twelve and one o'clock in the after-
noon, a dangerous sea-monster, which during nine days constantly kept alongside of
us to 37° 55'S. lat. and 42° 9’ E. long. This animal was about 90 feet long and
25 to 30 feet broad, and, most of the time, it struck the ship with such a force as to
make it vibrate. The monster blew much water, which spread an unpleasant stench
over the deck. The captain, fearing lest the animal might disable the rudder, did his
utmost to get rid of his fearful antagonist, but without success. After it had received
more than a hundred musket-balls, a harpoon and a long iron bar, blood was seen to
flow from various wounds, so that at last, from loss of strength, the monster could swim
behind our vessel no longer, and we were delivered of it. By its violent blows against
the copper the animal’s skin had been damaged in several places.’ —J. H. van Lennep ;
Zeyst.

Fishes, &c. 6493

' The Shower of Fish in the Valley of Aberdare—Many of your readers might, per-
haps, like tu see the facts connected with this phenomenon. They will be better
understood in the words of the principal witness, as taken down by me on the spot
where it happened. This mau’s name is John Lewis, a sawyer in Messrs. Nixon and
Co’s yard. His evidence is as follows :—* On Wednesday, February 9, I was getting
out a piece of timber for the purpose of setting it for the saw, when I was startled by
something falling all over me—down my neck, on my head, and on my back. On
putting my hand down my neck I was surprised to find they were little fish. By this
time I saw the whole ground covered with them. I took off my hat, the brim of which
was full of them. They were jumping all about. They covered the ground in a long
strip of about 80 yards by 12, as we measured afterwards. That shed (pvinting to a
very large workshop) was covered with them, and the shoots were quite full of them.
My mates and I might have gathered bucketsful of them, scraping with our hands.
We did gather a great many, about a bucketful, and threw them into the rain-pool,
where sume of them now are. There were two showers, with an interval of about ten
minutes, and each shower lasted about two minutes, or thereabouts. The time was
11 a.m. The morning up-train to Aberdare was just then passing. It was not blow-
ing very hard, but uncommon wet; just about the same wind as there is to-day
(blowing rather stiff), and it came from this quarter (pointing to the S. of W). They
came down with the rain in ‘a body like. ” Such is the evidence. I have taken it
for the purpose of being laid before Professor Owen, to whom, also, I shall send to-
morrow, at the request of a friend of his, eighteen or twenty of the little fish. Three of
them are large ana very stout, measuring about four inches. The rest are small. ‘There
were some — but they are since dead — fully five inches long. They are very lively.
John Griffith ; Vicarage, Aberdare, March 8, 1859.

[The newspapers for the last three weeks have repeated similar statements to this
in a variety of forms, Wall some of our correspondents enlighten us on the subject ?
—E. N).

Remarks on Arachnida, taken chiefly in Dorsetshire and Hampshire.
By the Rev. O. Pickarp-CaMBRIDGE, M.A.

I BEG to enclose a list of Arachnida, taken chiefly in the counties
of Dorset and Hants, during the last six years. I have not made this
order the particular object of search during all that time, but have
merely “ had my eyes open” for them, in my daily constitutionals, and
whilst collecting Lepidoptera and other insects; and the great success
{ have met with will, I hope, induce others to open their eyes in the
same way. ‘The preservation of spiders has been fully detailed in
former numbers of the ‘ Zoologist’ by Mr. Meade; I will therefore
only add my testimony to the almost complete success of his method
of keeping them in corked tubes of spirits of wine, slightly diluted,
for the smaller species. The usual plan in collecting spiders is, to
put them at once, indiscriminately, into a phial of spirits ce a in
the pocket for the purpose) as soon as caught; and this kills them in

61494 Arachnida.

a few minutes. But, for myself, I prefer having a pocketful of small
pill-boxes, and in these taking home the specimens alive for examina-
tion before immersion; for the spirit sometimes givesa different cast
to the colours: a drop of chloroform renders the specimen quite quiet
for examination with a magnifying glass, and then if wanted for the
cabinet it is put into a tube, the tube filled with spirit and corked,
and the whole ceremony is done; while, if the specimen is not
wanted, it can be set free without any injury to itself. A small phial
of spirit should, however, always be carried in the pocket, for spiders
come across one at the most unlikely times; and it is very annoying
to twist up a rare species in a piece of paper, and then to sit on it
accidentally ; and very unpleasant to pin the paper cocoon in your
hat, and have the “ uncanny beastie” get loose and crawl among your
hair—both of which occurrences have several times happened to me.

Class ARACHNIDA.

Order ARANEIDEA.— Tribe OCTONOCULINA.

Family MyeGaipa£.

Atypus Sulzeri. A male adult taken in January, 1857, by my
brother, while ferretting in a rabbit’s earth at Bloxworth, Dorset; and
another by one of my sisters in August, 1857, crossing the high road
not far from where the first was taken. Up to this time, the male of
this species had never been captured in Great Britain. Long silken
tubes, which I believe must be the nests of this species, are very.
common at Portland, near Pennsylvania Castle; but though I have
dug many of them out entire, | could never discover the tenant either
at home or abroad.

Family Lycosip&.

Lycosa agretyca. Lyndhurst, Hants, and Bloxworth.

L. campestris. Freshwater, Isle of Wight; also near Bath, and at
Bloxworth.

L. andrenivora. Common on heaths in the south of England
generally, and at Bloxworth especially ; also at Portland, but not so
common.

L. rapax. Lyndhurst, Bloxworth, and Portland.

L. picta. Common on Bloxworth Heath in old gravel pits; less
frequent at Lyndhurst ; very numerous on Sandy Flat, by Chesil Bank,
Portland.

Arachnida. 6495

L. saccata. Common at Bloxworth, Lyndhurst, aud Hatch Beau-
champ, Somerset. :

L. lugubris. Lyndhurst and Bloxworth.

L. herbigrada. This species was discovered by myself at Blox-
worth and Portland in 1854, and named and described by Mr. Black-
wall in the ‘ Annals of Natural History’ in 1857; since then I have
found it plentiful, both at Bloxworth and Lyndhurst; and also on
the Sand Hills at Southport, Lancashire, in June, 1858.

L. obscura. Bloxworth.

L. exigua. Common at Bloxworth and Lyndhurst; also at
Durham. 1

L. cambrica. This rare species I have taken three times—twice
on Bloxworth Heath, and once on Lyndhurst Heath in 1858.

L. piratica. Bloxworth; rare.

Dolomedes mirabilis. Common at Bloxworth, Lyndhurst, and
Hatch Beauchamp.

D. ornatus. This species was discovered by myself, in a rushy
swamp on Lyndhurst Heath, in September, 1858; and it has been
lately named and described in the ‘ Annals of Natura] History’ by
Mr. Blackwall; all the specimens were immature.

D. fimbriatus. Common in rushy, boggy places on Bloxworth and
Lyndhurst Heaths.

Sphasus lineatus. This (both genus and species new to Great
Britain) was discovered by myself, in marshy places on Lyndhurst
Heath, in August, 1858, but very rare.

Family SauTiciD&.

Salticus scenicus. Common on walls and posts at Bloxworth and
Hatch Beauchamp, and also on the walls of University College,
Durham.

S. sparsus. On palings at Lyndhurst; also at Bloxworth, but not
common.

S. coronatus. Common at Bloxworth and Lyndhurst, beat from
trees and bushes; also under stones at Portland; males are rare;
an adult male beat from a fir near Ringwood, Hants, 1858.

S. frontalis. Not uncommon underneath stones near Pennsylvania
Castle, Portland.

S. cupreus. Bloxworth and Portland.

Family THOMISID.

Thomisus brevipes. A single specimen on Lyndhurst Heath, in
September, 1858.

6496 Arachnida.

T..cristatus. This very variable species is common everywhere.

T. sabulosus. This species, (though previously known on the
Continent), was discovered by myself on Bloxworth Heath in 1854,
and [ have since taken it plentifully on Lyndhurst Heath ; adults are
scarce, especially males. This species is fond of sitting on the bare
spots where turf has been cut, and where the small bits of gray mottled
stone are strikingly like itself.

T. atomarius. A single specimen under dry cow- ore at Lynd-
hurst, August, 1858.

T. luctuosus. Bloxworth, August, 1857. 7

T. bifasciatus. I have taken this handsome species spacial on
Bloxworth Heath in the early spring.

T. Cambridgii. This species (a single adult female) was taken by
myself on Bloxworth Heath, in September, 1857, and has been lately
described in the ‘ Annals of Natural History’ by Mr. Blackwall; who
at the same time paid me the compliment of naming it after me. It
is a large and handsome species, and showed very strikingly the habit
(common, more or less, to all of this genus) of setting itself back and
“ showing fight” when the fingers were put near it.

T. citreus. Taken sparingly, at Bloxworth, from the blossoms of
the common mullein and golden rod, in which it lies in wait to catch
the insects that creep among them to suck the honey. I have known
the female of this species overpower and kill a bee.

T. abbreviatus. Of this beautiful and delicately-coloured spider,
a very young specimen was discovered by myself in one of my ento-
mological collecting boxes at Bloxworth, in Septemher, 1857; but
during the last summer (1858) I have taken it freely on Lyndhurst
Heath ; previous to 1857, it was only known as an inhabitant of the
South of France, Italy, Spain, and Africa. This species is of a
singular shape, and sits with its two foremost legs slightly directed
forwards, and both close together like one leg, and likewise the two
hind legs similarly drawn backwards.

Philodromus dispar. Bloxworth; but rare. 7

P. pallidus. This species was discovered by myself in 1854, at
Morden Park, near Bloxworth—or rather rediscovered, for in an old
MS. of about the year 1714, lately lent me by James Salter, M.D.,
of Montague Street, London, and written by an ancestor of his, there
is a very truthful coloured figure and description of this species. I
have since taken it on Lyndhurst and Ringwood Heaths plentifully.
The MS. referred to contains 145 figures and descriptions of about

Arachnida. 6497

100 species of British spiders, and most of the figures are beautifully
drawn and coloured.

P. cespiticola. Common at Bloxworth.

P. aureolus. Bloxworth; but rare.

P. elegans. This strikingly marked species was discovered ne
myself at Lyndhurst, in August, 1858 ; and has been recently named
and described by Mr. Blackwall in the ‘ Annals.’ It appears to be a
very local species, and, as far as I could ascertain, entirely confined
to one spot on the Heath, where with a little trouble I could always
find it.

P. oblongus. Sparingly taken at Lyndhurst, in August, 1858 ; but
very plentifully at the base of grass stems on the sand-hills at South-
port, Lancashire, in October, 1858. This species drops to the ground
when disturbed, but quickly runs again up a grass mote, and, swinging
itself round, sits almost hidden, by stretching its four foremost legs
forwards and its four hinder legs backwards, into a straight line,
which, with the dull greenish straw-coloured abdomen, makes it look
exactly like the grass stem on which it is stretched.

Sparassus smaragdulus. Beaten from among sweetgale bushes at
Bloxworth Heath; but scarce.

Family DRrassip&.

Drassus lucifugus. Ringwood Heath, Hants, under pieces of turf,
June, 1855; also a specimen under dry cow-dung on Lyndhurst
Heath, in August, 1858.

D. ater. Under stones and rocks, near Pennsylvania Castle, Port-
land; but scarce.

D. sericeus. Bloxworth, but not common.

D. cupreus. Under stones, Bloxworth and Portland.

D. micans. This species was discovered by myself under stones
and rocks at Portland, in September, 1857, and has been named and
described by Mr. Blackwall during the past year, in the ‘ Annals.’

D. nitens. Under stones and rocks, Portland, September, 1858.

D. propinquus. Lyndhurst Heath; and Portland, under stones,
September, 1858.

Clubiona holosericea. Bloxworth, but not common.

. amarantha. Bloxworth ; common.

.epimelas. Bloxworth; rare.

. corticalis. Bloxworth; rare.

.comta. Near Bradford, Yorkshire; October, 1857.

. accentuata. Common at Bloxworth ; beat from trees.

XVII. 2B

Cra G3

6498 Arachnida.

C. domestica. Underneath stones, Portland, September 1858.

C. erratica. Common at Bloxworth and Lyndhurst among heath,
rushes, and furze.

Argyroneta aquatica. From ponds near Durham, April 1857.

Family CINIFLONIDE.

Ciniflo atrox. Bloxworth and Durham.

C. ferox. Common; Bloxworth, Hatch Beauchamp, Durham, and
Lyndhurst.

C. mordax. An adult specimen of this species was given me by my
friend Mr. F. Bond, who took it by lamplight in a garden at Fresh-
water, Isle of Wight. From this specimen Mr. Blackwall has lately
named and described it in the ‘ Annals.’

Ergatis benigna. Very common at Bloxworth and Lyndhurst
throughout summer and autumn, in swampy places ; where every rush-
blossom or tip of heath has its tenant snugly domiciled in a small
irregular web.

E. pallens. This pretty species was discovered by myself in a
wood near Lyndhurst, in July 1858; it was ensconced in a bramble
leaf sewn together by its web, and inside the leaf it brooded over
three flattish round white sacs, each enclosing several eggs; it has
been lately named and described in the ‘ Annals’ by Mr. Blackwall,
who, however, is of opinion that the eggs were not those of this
species.

Ki. latens. Bloxworth and Lyndhurst.

Veleda lineata. This spider was discovered by myself on Lynd-
hurst Heath, in August, 1858; and, belonging to no known genus,
Mr. Blackwall has constructed from its peculiarities a new genus, to
which he has given the above name; the few specimens of this
peculiar and distinctly marked spider, which I obtained with close
searching, were all immature.

Family AGELENIDE.

Agelena labyrinthica. Common on heaths at Bloxworth and Lynd-
burst ; and also in every lane side may be seen its large horizontal
webs, with a tube in the centre, in which the occupant hes wait.

A. brunnea. Bloxworth; and Southport, Lancashire, but not
common.

A. gracilipes. This species was discovered by myself on Lyndhurst
Heath, in September, 1858; and has been lately named and de-
scribed by Mr. Blackwall in the § Annals.’

Arachnida. 6499

Tegenaria domestica. I have received this species from my friend
T. W. Huthwaite, Esq., of Bath, taken there and also at ee
Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

T. atrica. Hatch Beauchamp, Bloxworth, and Lywalinsst in
carpenter’s shops and old dark sheds, but not common; one under a
stone at Portland, in 1858.

T. civilis. At Lyndhurst, August, 1858.

Celotes saxatilis. Taken when out with Mr. Meade, near Brad-
ford, October, 1857.

Textrix lycosina. I have only found this spider common at Port-
land, where it spins a snare something like a miniature of that spun
by Agelena labyrinthica (only not so compactly woven) among the
cracks and crevices of the dry and crumbling blue-lias cliffs.

Family THERIDIIDE.

Theridion lineatum. Common at Bloxworth and Hatch Beauchamp.

T. quadripunctatum. Bloxworth.

T. Sisyphum. Bloxworth and Durham ; rare.

T. tepidariorum. In peach houses at the seat of Lord Bridport, in
Somersetshire ; and in pinaries at Leweston House, near Sherborne,
Dorset.

T. nervosum. Common everywhere.

T. denticulatum. Bloxworth, Hatch Beauchamp, and Lyndhurst.

T. varians. Bloxworth.

T. pulchellum. Bloxworth.

T. albens. Common on Scotch firs, near Bloxworth.

T. filipes. Near Bradford, October, 1857.

Pholeus phalangioides. Common in corners of ceilings and walls
of dwelling and out-houses, Bloxworth, Hatch Beauchamp, and
Lyndhurst.

Family LinypHupD2.

Linyphia montana. Very common everywhere.

L. marginata. Common at Bloxworth.

L. pratensis. Hatch Beauchamp and Bloxworth.
L. fuliginea. Bloxworth and Lyndhurst.

.tubea. Bloxworth.

- minuta. Lyndhurst.

.cauta. Bloxworth.

. socialis, Lyndhurst.

. alticeps. Lyndhurst and Southport.

. tenuis. Common in summer-houses, Bloxworth.

PYerycere. &

6500 Arachnida.

L. terricola. Bloxworth.

L. anthracina. Bloxworth.

L. pulla. Bloxworth.

L. alacris. Bloxworth. |

L. ericea. On the sand-hills, Southport, October, 1858.

L. insignis. Bloxworth and Lyndhurst.

Neriene bicolor. Bloxworth, Bradford, and Southport.

N. livida. Bradford.

N. flavipes. Bloxworth.

N. cornuta. Bloxworth.

N. rubens. Bloxworth.

N. longipalpis. In University College Quadrangle, Durham,
November, 1857.

N. trilineata. Common everywhere.

N. rubella. Bloxworth.

N. variegata. Lyndhurst and Southport.

N. affinis. Lyndhurst, August, 1858; Mr. Blackwall had never
before seen the adult female, but had little doubt of its specific
identity.

Walckenaera cuspidata. Beneath a stone, Portland, September,
1858.

Pachygnatha Listeri. Bloxworth ; rare.

P. Degeerii. Bloxworth, but not common.

Family EPEiRipé.

Kpeira quadrata. Females very common at Bloxworth and Lynd-
hurst, though I never obtained but one male. |

EK. apoclisa. Common everywhere.

E. scalaris. Bloxworth and Lyndhurst, but not common.

E. umbratica. Not uncommon at Bloxworth, Ringwood, and in
the New Forest.

EK. Agalena. Bloxworth. |

K. solers. One of the commonest spiders on the Heath, both at
Lyndhurst and Blox worth.

K. similis. Bloxworth, and in verandahs at Weymouth.

K. calophylla. Very common among furze bushes on Bloxworth
Heath.

K. acalypha. This species was discovered by myself on Bloxworth
Heath in June, 1853, but was not recorded as a native of Britain until
after its capture by Mr. Meade in 1856; it is very abundant on the heath
at Bloxworth and Lyndhurst in September and October, and a dozen
or more may be seen on one heath plant, as close together as they can

Arachnida. 6501

spin their geometric webs, which are placed at: all inclinations with
the ground, contrary to the usual habit of this genus, which is to place
them perpendicularly, except E.cucurbitina, whose webs are com-
monly, though not always, horizontal.

K. cucurbitina. Common at Bloxworth and Lyndhurst.

E. adianta. Two specimens of this beautiful species were discovered
by myself on Bloxworth Heath in September, 1857; I have since
taken it more freely on Lyndhurst Heath, in 1858; this species was
only known before as a continental one.

E. fusca. Bloxworth ; and Finchall Abbey, near Durham, but rare.

E. antriada. Bloxworth, and University College, Durham ;.in out-
houses and dark places.

E. inclinata. Common everywhere.

KE. diadema. Common everywhere.

EK. angulata. A specimen of this spider was found by my friend Mr.
F. Bond on a fir tree on Ringwood Heath, one day when we were out
entomologising in June, 1854; I have since taken it at Bloxworth,
and Mr. Bond has also found it since at Black Park, Bucks; it was
previously only recorded as a continental species, but the MS. re-
ferred to before (of 1714) contains a description and a well-coloured
figure of it.

E. bicornis. Beat occasionally from firs near Bloxworth.

Ei. conica. Bloxworth; not infrequent on fir trees, and also
among flowers in Bloxworth House gardens.

E. tubulosa. This species had not been met with since the time of
Lister, until rediscovered by myself near Bloxworth in 1855; I have
since met with it freely at Lyndhurst, where it spins and lives in its
compact funnel-shaped web among the flowers of rushes, or at the tips
of heath shoots.

K. calva. Common on Lyndhurst Heath.

_ E. Herii. This spider (previously only known as a continental
species) was discovered by myself on Lyndhurst Heath, in August,
1858, where it occurs abundantly.

Tetragnatha extansa. Common everywhere.

Tribe ENocutina—Family DyYsDERIDz.
Dysdera erythrina. Common at Portland, under rocks and stones.
D. Hombergii. Bloxworth, under loose bark ; and Lyndhurst,
running on the ground, but not common.
Segestria senoculata. A single immature specimen under loose
bark at Lyndhurst, in August, 1858 ; common near Bradford, York-
shire, among the loose stones of walls, &c.

6502 Arachnida.

Oonops pulcher. Bloxworth.

In the above list I have only given particulars of time, &c., in
respect to those that are considered as yet rare and local, and those
which I have discovered myself. Of many of the commonest kinds I
have perhaps only myself met with one or two specimens, and in those
cases 1 have omitted any notice of their being common or rare.

It will be seen that out of 134 species which I have met with (all,
except two or three in Dorset, Somerset, and Hants) there are seven-
teen species, and two genera new; of these one genus and nine
species are new to Science, and one genus and eight species new to
Britain. ‘The greater part of these are far from being among our
minute spiders—some of them are of considerable size and great
beauty. These results of taking notice of this interesting order, while
collecting other orders, will I trust induce some others among our
now legion of entomologists to do the same; and I have not the
least doubt that the species of Arachnida in Britain, especially in the
southern counties of England, are not nearly yet exhausted, but that
a rich harvest would repay any ordinary search.

I will only now add a few words on the mode of taking spiders,
which 1 have found most successful, and by which most of my
novelties have been brought to light. First, among timber trees and
brushwood, by beating into a large entomological folding net; next,
among long grass, rushes, fern and heath, by sweeping with a very
stiff strong sweeping net, taking especial care to scrape as close to the
ground as possible ; this is hard work, and will soon blister the hands
if done properly—but the effect, particularly among heath, has been
wonderful. Of course, in this way no knowledge of the ways and
habits of spiders can be got—this knowledge must depend entirely on
a good eye, great patience, and a habit of observation. Still it is
something to ascertain the mere existence of species in any locality ;
and as yet my chief exertions have been directed to this end: with
regard to most of my novelties, everything almost has yet to be dis-
covered, even to the time of their coming to maturity, as most of them
were immature when taken. After the lapse of a year or two I look
forward to having more leisure to follow up a course of observation on
their manners and customs; and meanwhile I hope some of our
“butterfly catchers” will take up the study and collecting of this
order, which as yet has so very few votaries.

O. PICKARD-CAMBRIDGE.
Southport, Lancashire, .

February 10, 1859.

Insects. 6503

Capture of Deilephila Galii.—In the ‘ Zoologist’ (Zool. 6066), it is stated that a
specimen of this insect is in the Taunton Museum: it was presented to the Museum
by John Woodland, a gentleman now residing at Bridgwater, who has informed me
that it was taken in a garden at Taunton; he has alsu lately shown me another
specimen, which was taken in the same or a neighbouring garden, some time in the
last summer.— Thomas Clark ; Halesleigh, March 4, 1859.

Agrotis Precox.—Your correspondent “ Talpa ” (Intel. v. 132) states that he has
been unable to find the larva of this insect; as I have had little difficulty in obtaining
it in plenty, I will endeavour to enlighten him as to my method of procuring them.
Let him visit the sand-hills on the coast some fine warm day about the end of May,
when he will not fail to observe the tracks made by the larve crawling on the sand at
the edges of the patches of dwarf willows ; by tracing one of these he will find it
abruptly terminate at a small hillock or upheaving of the sand, under which is the
larva. Having once become acquainted with them he need not trace the tracks, but,
avoiding making too many tracks himself, carefully search for the hillocks or burrows,
where he will have no difficulty in procuring as many as he likes. I have taken in
this way upwards of eighty in an hour, and there is little difficulty in rearing them ;
mine fed well on the willow, the perfect insect appearing in August—G. A. Almond ;
50, Oliver Street, Birkenhead.—From the ‘ Intelligencer.’

Notes on Xanthia ocellaris—Having given attention to this reputed British
species, and availed myself of all the information I can concerning it, I find that the
statement as to its being British is liable to doubt, and as many of the facts connected
with it are not generally known I have forwarded you the result of my researches, for
the benefit of those who are interested in the question. The first su-called British
specimen was, I understand, captured at Brighton in 1856, and was forwarded to
Mr. Doubleday for confirmation, but the owner being a dealer in foreign Lepidoptera,
and his word not being thought reliable, it was not then admitted into our lists. Last
year five specimens, which were asserted to belong to this new species, were taken at
Brighton and Deal, but as they do not possess the characteristics, which, according
to M. Guenée, they should possess, the question naturally arises, Are not the so-called
specimens only varieties of Xanthia gilvago mistaken for X. ocellaris? In order to
investigate this inquiry, I will refer to each of the cases, but before doing so it is ad-
visable to give a description of X. ocellaris, so that we may better understand the
question at issue ; the one I give is extracted from M. Guenée’s ‘ Noctuelites :’—“ This
Xanthia is perfectly distinct from X. gilvago: it differs in the anterior wings, which
are more pointed at the tip, the costal portion of which is hollowed in its veins, which
are usually lighter than the ground-colour, in its posterior wings, which are of a purer
white, aud only duskied by some gray hairs on the border of the abdomen. The black
of the reniform stigma is almost always ocellated and the lines more distinct.” With
the above description as a criterion, I have examined the specimens captured by
Mr. H. Pratt, of Brighton, and find that, although it agrees with X. ocellaris in some
of its details, in others it is totally deficient: it agrees in the upper wings being more
pointed at the tip, in the costal portion being slightly hollowed, and in the hind wings
being duskied by gray hairs proceeding from the abdomen; but in the black of the
reniform stigma being ocellated, in the veins being lighter, or the wings of purer
white, it differs much. Mr. Allis and the Members of the Entomological Society to
which I belong are of opinion that it is only X. gilvago, in which I fully concur.

6504 Insects.

I forwarded it to Mr. Doubleday, who informs me that he cannot as yet satisfactorily
decide upon it. The Rev. H. Burney, in a letter which he kindly wrote to me on the
subject, says, “‘ I have seen two specimens of the so-called X. ocellaris, both very dif-
ferent, vet each, I think, is only a variety of X. gilvago. Mr. Harding sent me the
first, which was the best of the two taken by him at Deal; I sent it to Mr. Double-
day, and he returned it as a bright variety of X. gilvago. The other, a very light
specimen, was sent to me by Mr. Tidy, a pretty looking insect, but in markings I
could see no material difference from X. gilvago: this I also sent to Mr. Doubleday,
who considers it to be the latter species. Mr. Bond and others also saw Mr. Tidy’s
and Mr. Harding’s specimens, and pronounced them to be X. gilvago.” I am informed
by Mr. Pratt that Mr. Tidy’s specimen was exhibited at the Entomological Society of
London, and that Mr. Tidy was assured that it was X. ocellaris, which statement was
confirmed by Mr. Newman. It will be perceived that Mr. Tidy’s specimen thus ac-
knowledged was the same which Messrs. Doubleday, Bond, Stevens, Burney and others
consider only as a variety of X. gilvago. Whence this diversity of opinion? According
to M. Guenée X. gilvago varies, but not so much as X. ocellaris. This may in some
degree account for the difficulty in recognising X. ocellaris, but when there are distinct
characteristics in the perfect insect one wouid believe that it is surmountable, and that
the peculiarities could be detected. Had the difference existed only in the larve, had
X. gilvago and X. ocellaris been in a similar position to Acronycta tridens and A. Psi
one could have understood the relative position of each, and on the required proofs
being given as to the authenticity of the larva, one would accept the insect for what it
was represented to be ; but when a difference is stated to exist, not only in the larva,
but also in the perfect insect, which cannot be found in specimens that have been ac-
knowledged as X. ocellaris, 1 am at a loss at what conclusion to arrive. I have
referred to all the recorded specimens asserting a claim to this name, with the exception
of one taken by Mr. Turner. Concerning it I do not know more than what I learned
from Mr. Allis, who informs me that many think it a variety of X. gilvago. Mr.
Doubleday tells me that Lederer, in his recent ‘ Catalogue of Noctuez,’ unites them
as varieties of one species, but after the satisfactory accounts given by M. Guenée,
proving the distinctions both in the larva and the imago, I shall not enter upon this.
In conclusion I hope that before this species is included in our lists it will be fully
ascertained that some of the specimens are genuine, and I trust it will not be admitted
without proper investigation, to be at a future time erased.— Robert Anderson ; Coney
Sireet, York, March 9, 1859.

PS.—Since writing the above, I have received Mr. Doubleday’s ‘ Synonymic List
of British Lepidoptera’ (second edition), and am glad to observe that he places this
insect amongst the reputed British species, which position is, I think, its proper place,
and I hope that those authors and compilers of lists who have already included this
species will receive the facts connected with it as a lesson, teaching them not to be
too zealous in adding new species before they have proper proofs as to the truthfulness
and accuracy of their information.—R. A.

Correction of an error.—I am much obliged for your correction of an error of mine
in the ‘ Zoologist’ (Zool. 6388), in which I stated that the death’s head moth had
damaged the combs of a hive of bees; it was the honey moth (Galleria cerella of
Doubleday’s list) as you say, one of the worst enemies the bees can have.—H. W.
Newman ; Cheltenham, February 14, 1859.

Insects. 6505

Food-plant of Bryophila perlaa—We have a colony of the larve of Bryophila perla
that interests me vastly. As the little fellows have fixed their quarters on the house-
side I have not got far to go to observe their operations. During the day they carefully
secrete themselves in their sand nests; as they take care to make up the door-way on
entering their retreats, there is no chance of catching a glimpse of them then. The
early morning is their time of feeding ; then old and young are out, but soon after nine
they retire for the day. The plant that takes their fancy is the Lecidea confluens, a
crustaceous lichen that dots over old walls with its cracked and weather-beaten patches.
The shields or tubercles of this lichen are the chief attraction; these they gnaw, re-
moving the black crusts and exposing the white under-surface to view. Their depreda-
tions are thus readily seen in the morning, as the white tops are very conspicuous
in the sunshine. The Lecideas, it is well known, abound in tartar, none probably
more than L. confluens. Soon after 9 o’clock the larve withdraw to their nests for
the day. It is stated by Westwood that the larva of B. perla feeds on the lichens, but
as there are upwards of sixty Lecideas, not to speak of other genera, and many of these
affect rocks and old walls, I think you will be interested to learn the species that feeds
the caterpillar with us. The stone of which the house is built is granite. I would
just add a few words on the larva itself: it is, indeed, as you term it, “ gaily-coloured 5”
the dark livery is relieved by the orange-coloured stripe down the back; this stripe is
interrupted with dark spots, so as to give it the appearance of a chain-work of little
hearts. The tubercles have each a single hair, and are black, glistening like the head.
The sides of the little creature are beautifully mottled with slate-colour.— PeterInchbald ;
Storthes Hall, Huddersfield ; March 9. 1858.—‘ Intelligencer,’

Appeal on behalf of Mr. Jethro Tinker.—Will you permit me to call the attention
of your readers to the following extract from a circular, issued by a Committee of the
friends of Mr. Jethro Tinker, of Stalybridge, in order that those naturalists who can
afford to assist one of Nature’s gentlemen in his old age may have the opportunity of
giving each his mite? for I feel certain that his case only requires to be known to
ensure the support of all thoroughly practised naturalists. Mr. Tinker is the father of
a numerous family of naturalists; to his kindness pretty nearly all the Lancashire
naturalists are indebted for some part of their knowledge ; for fifty years he has worked
as none but a pure lover of nature can work, and for information on specimens none
ever applied to him in vain. Twenty years ago I thought his collection of Coleoptera
and Lepidoptera the result of superhuman labour ; they may have fallen behind the
present cabinets, yet they were part of the materials out of which our general informa-
tion was culled. Asa botanist he stands second to none in his district, and has always
held a leading place amongst muscologists. He is now sick, consequently unable to
attend to his work, and being above seventy years of age I think him fairly entitled to
any support the liberal-minded naturalists of the present day can afford him. Will you
Mr. Editor kindly undertake to receive any gratuities which may be forwarded to you
for him? “A number of friends, admirers of Mr. Jethro Tinker, the well-known
botanist and entomologist, believing him to be highly deserving of some substantial
token of sympathy in his declining years, assembled on the 19th of February last,
Mr. John Holden in the chair, when it was unanimously resolved :—Ist ‘That Mr.
Jethro Tinker having for half a century assiduously devoted himself to the interests

XVII. 2c

6506 Notice of the various

and propagation of the sciences of Botany, Entomology and gardening ; and who, pos-
sessing a knowledge of the beauties of Nature, which he has at all times, with most
disinterested willingness, imparted to others, leading many to look from Nature up to
Nature’s God, this meeting believes him entitled to the admiration of his fellow men,
and resolve that a substantial testimony of esteem be awarded to him. 2nd ‘ That
the following gentlemen be appointed a committee to carry out the above resolution,
viz.:— Messrs. G. Smith, T. Hague, J. Miller, J. Holden, M. Wild, J. Hallsworth,
J. Knott, G. Winterbottom, J. Castle and G. Chadwick. 3rd. ‘That Mr. Thomas
Hague act as Treasurer, and Mr. G. Stelfox Honorary Secretary. The Committee
take this opportunity of intimating that the claims of Mr. Tinker to public sympathy
are so universally acknowledged that little need be advanced in their support. His
services in the cause of Botanical science, Entomology, &c., have done much towards
perfecting many in the study of Nature’s works. Mr. Tinker has arrived at the age
allotted to man, and a little assistance, at his time of life, will do much towards
smoothing life’s rugged path in his latter days.”—C. S. Gregson ; Fletcher Grove,
Stanley, near Liverpool, March 3, 1859.

[I cannot object to receive any contributions that may be offered, but suggest that
the more direct mode would be to transmit to Mr. Hague, the authorized Treasurer.—
E. Newman.|

Notice of the Various Species of Bovine Animals. By the Editor of
the ‘ Indian Field.’

(Continued from p. 6485.)

THE gayal—Bos frontalis, Lambert; B. gavaus, Colebrooke ;
B. sylhetanus, F. Cuvier; Gaveeus frontalis, Gray ;* Gavaya, Sans-
krita; Gavat or Gaydl, Hind.; Gobay-goru, Beng.; Mithun or
Methana, mountains bordering on Asam; Shiall, of the Kukis or
Lunklas of Chittagong; Jhongnua, Mughs (if the latter does not
rather apply to the Burmese Tsoéng, which is identical with the ban-
teng of the Archipelagof).

Another fine Indian bovine, that has been much confounded with
the last, which it resembles, in many particulars while in other respects
it differs strikingly and conspicuously. The general figure is heavy
and recalls to mind the buffalo; spinal ridge much less elevated than
the gaour, but still a conspicuous feature of the beast; dewlap toler-
ably well developed ; and the horns curve simply outwards and a little
upwards, their points never hooking inwards as in the gaour. Both
in a wild and tame state, this species inhabits the hilly regions bor-

* Nobody who knows [has observed] the living gaour and gayal would think of
placing them in separate sub-divisions.

+ In Orissa, as we have seen, the gaour is designated by the name gayal; both, of
course, being but variations of the same root.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6507

dering the valley of the Brahmaputra, as also the Chittagong and
Tippera hills ; but we have not been able to trace it further southward
on sufficiently reliable evidence—not even in the Ya-ma-doung
mountains, which separate Arakan from Pegu, though it is likely
enough to occur there, and also to spread far eastward. Helfer, in-
deed, notices “ Bison guodus” (evidently a misprint for gavoeus) as an
inhabitant of the Tenasserim provinces; but he is not sufficient au-
thority, and we cannot learn that his statement has been confirmed.
The gayal is everywhere a hill species, and does not thrive in the
plains, away from its native forests ; and we have observed that both
the gaour and the gayal avoid the sunshine in lower Bengal, even
during the height of the cold season. As remarked by Mr. Macrae,
the gayal “ delights to range about in the thickest forest, where he
browses, evening and morning, on the tender shoots and leaves of
different shrubs; seldom feeding on grass when he can get these.
To avoid the noon-day heat, he retires to the deepest shade of the
forest—preferring the dry acclivity of the hill to repose on, rather than
the low swampy ground below; and never, like the buffalo, wallowing
in mud. He is of a dull heavy appearance,” continues that gentleman,
“yet of a form that indicates both strength and activity, and which
approaches nearly to that of the wild buffalo; his head is set on like
the buffalo’s, and is carried much in the same manner, with the nose
projecting forward; but in the shape of the head he differs consider-
ably from both the buffalo and cow, the head of the gayal being much
shorter from the crown to the nose, but much broader between the horns
than that of either; he has a full eye, and as he advances in age often
becomes blind; but it 1s uncertain whether from disease, or from
natural decay. ‘The withers and shoulders of the gayal rise higher in
proportion than those of the buffalo or cow, and its tail is shorter,
seldom falling lower [@. e. its terminal tuft of hair] than the bend of
the ham [hock-joint!]. Its colour is in general brown, varying from
a light to a deep shade ; it has at times a white forehead and [always?]
white legs, with a white belly and brush. The hair of the belly is
invariably of a lighter colour than that of the back and flanks. The
gayal calf is of a dull red colour, which gradually changes to a brown
as it advances in age.

“The disposition of this animal is gentle; even when wild in his
native hills, he is not considered to be a dangerous beast, never stand-
ing the approach of man, much less bearing his attack. The Kukis
hunt the wild ones for the sake of their flesh.

“ Gayals have been domesticated among the Kukis from time

6508 Notice of the various

immemorial ; and without any variation in their appearance from the
wild stock. No difference whatever is observed in the colour of the
wild and tame breeds; brown of different shades being the general
colour of both. The wild gayal is about the size of the wild buffalo
of India. The tame gayal, among the Kukis, being bred in nearly the
same habits of freedom, and on the same food, without ever under-
going any labour, grows to the same size as the wild one.

“ He lives to the age of fifteen or twenty years, and when three
years old the gayal cow receives the bull; goes eleven months with
young, and does not again engender until the following season, after
she has brought forth. She thus produces a calf once only in three
years, and so long an interval between each birth must tend to make
the species rare; the calf sucks his dam for eight or nine months,
when he is capable of supporting himself. The Kukis tie up the calf
until he is sufficiently strong to do so. The gayal cow gives very
little milk, and does not yield it long; but what she gives is of a
remarkably rich quality—almost equally so with the cream of other
milk, which it resembles in colour. The Kukis make no use what-
ever of the milk, but rear the gayals entirely for the sake of their
flesh and skins; they make their shields of the hide of this animal ;
the flesh of the gayal is in the highest estimation among the Kukis,
so much so that no solemn festival is ever celebrated without
slaughtering one or more gayals, according to the importance of the
occasion.

‘“‘ These animals lose their sight as they grow old, and are subject
to a disease of the hoof, which often proves fatal at an early age ;
when the Kuki considers the disease beyond the hope of cure he kills
the gayal and eats its flesh, which constitutes his first article of
luxury.

“ The Kukis train their gayals to no labour, although, from the great
strength and gentle disposition of this animal, he must be very com-
petent to every purpose, either of draught or carriage, to which the
buffalo or the ox is applicable.*

“ The domesticated gayals are allowed by the Kukis to roam at
large during the day through the forest, in the neighbourhood of the
village ; but, as evening approaches, they all return home of their own
accord; the young gayal being early taught this habit, by being

* Mr. G. Harris remarks, however, of the gayal cow, that “ she is very quiet, is used
for all the purposes of the dairy, as also (I have been informed by the natives) for
tilling the ground, and is more tractable than the buffalo.” We suppose that the
bulls rather are used for the latter purpose.

Species of Bovine Aninals. 6509

regularly fed every night with salt, of which he is very fond ; and
from the occasional continuance of this practice, as he grows up, the
attachment of the gayal to his native village becomes so strong,
that when the Kukis migrate from it they are obliged to set fire to
their huts, which they are avout to leave, lest their gayals should re-
turn thither from their new place of residence before they become
equally attached to it as to the former, through the same means.

“ The wild gayal sometimes steals out from the forest in the night,
and feeds in the rice-fields bordering on the hills. The Kukis give
no grain to their cattle. With us the tame gayals feed on calai
(Phaseolus maz) ;* but, as our hills abound with shrubs, it has not
been remarked what particular kind of grass they prefer.f :

“ The Hindus, in this province, will not kill the gobay, which they
hold in equal veneration with the cow. But the ‘ As’l gayal,’ or
‘seloi, [i. e. the gaour], they hunt and kill, as they do the wild
buffalo. The animal here alluded to has never been domesticated ;
and is, in appearance and disposition, very different from the common
gayal, which has just been described. The natives call him the_
‘ As'l gayal,’ in contra-distinction to the ‘gobay.’ The Kukis distin-
guish him by the name of ‘ seloi, and the Mughs and Burmans by that
of ‘phanj ;) and they consider him (next to the tiger) the most dan-
gerous and the fiercest animal of their forests.” No! this Burmese
phanj is the fhain apud Helfer, more correctly ‘ tsain,’ or ‘ tsoing,’
distinct both from the gaour and gayal, and a particularly timid and
inoffensive beast, identical (as we have before mentioned) with the
Javanese banteng.

“ The gayal,” Mr. Elliot writes from Tippera, “is little known to
the natives here ; it is principally considered as an inhabitant of the
Chatgaon (Chittagong) Hills. In conversation with people belonging
to the Raja of Tippera, on the subject of this beast, I have understood
that it is known in the recesses of the more eastern part of the Tippera
Hills, but has never been canght [!] In the past year some of these
animals [gaours ?] were seen in a herd of elephants, and continued
sometime with the herd; but they were alarmed at the noise used in
driving the elephants, and escaped being secured in the fenced en-
closure. ‘The ‘ khedda’ of that season was nearly five hours’ journey
from the skirts of the hills.

“This animal is found wild, but is readily domesticated; though,

* Phaseolus mungo, Z.; P. max of Roxburgh.

+ They graze readily enough on the ordinary grasses of Lower Bengal, when they
have not the opportunity of browsing.

6510 Notice of the various

in this state he essentially partakes of wild habits. I have some
gayals at Mannamutty; and, from their mode of feeding, I presume
that they keep on the skirts of the valleys, where they can browse.
They will not touch grass if they can find shrubs.

“ While kept at Kamerlah (Comilla) which is situate in a level
country, they used to resort to the tanks and eat on the sides; fre-
quently betaking themselves to the water to avoid the heat of the sun.
However, they became sickly and emaciated, and their eyes suffered
much; but on being sent to the hills they soon recovered, and are
now in a healthy condition. ‘They seem fond of the shade; and are
observed in the hot weather to take the turn of the hills, so as to be
always sheltered from the sun. They do not wallow in the mud like
buffalos ; but delight in water, and stand in it during the greatest heat
of the day, with the front of their heads above the surface.

“Hach cow yields from two and a half to about four seers (from
five to eight pints) of milk, which is rich, sweet, and almost as thick
as cream; it is of high flavour, and makes excellent butter.”

Mr. Dick writes :— ‘‘ Gayals are not confined to the woods; they
are domesticated, but wild gayals are found in the mountains of
Butan, &c. ‘They are kept in a tame state by the people who inhabit
the Kalanaga Hills, near Sylhet, on the eastern border of the province
of Kachar, west of Manipur, and north of a tract dependent on Tip-
pera. The tame gayals, however long they may have been domesti-
cated, do not at all differ from the wild, unless in temper ; for the wild
are fierce and intractable. The colour of both is the same—namely,
that of the antelope, but some are white and others are black; not any
spotted or pie-bald [we have seen one much blotched with white].
They graze and range like other cattle; and eat rice, mustard, chiches,
and any cultivated produce, as also chaff and chopped straw.”

Buchanan Hamilton’s description is still more elaborate, and very
excellent. “ The Gayal,” he remarks, “ generally carries its head
with the mouth projecting forward like that of a buffalo. The head
at the upper part is very broad and flat, and is contracted suddenly
towards the nose, which is naked like that of the common cow.
From the upper angles of the forehead proceed two thick, short,
horizontal processes of bone, which are covered with hair; on these
are placed the horns, which are smooth, shorter than the head, and
lie nearly in the plane of the forehead. They diverge outward, and
turn up with a gentle curve: at the base they are very thick, and are
slightly compressed, the flat sides being toward the front and the tail.
The edge next the ear is rather the thinnest, so that a transverse

Species of Bovine Animals. 6511

section would be somewhat ovate. Towards their tips the horns are
rounded, and end in a sharp point. The eyes resemble those of the
common [humped] ox ; the ears are much larger, broader, and blunter
than those of that animal.*

“ The neck is very slender near the head; at some distance from
which a dewlap commences, but this is not so deep, nor so much un-
dulated, as in the Bos zebu or Indian ox.t

“The dewlap is covered with strong longish hair, so as to form a
kind of mane on the lower part of the neck ; but this is not very con-
spicuous, especially when the animal is young.” {

If we remember rightly, F. Cuvier’s figure (copied from a drawing
sent by Duvaucel) represents the dewlap as unusually large. In a
carefully executed drawing of a fine bull, which was taken under our
immediate superintendence from the living animal, the skin is shown
to be a little pendent beneath the lower jaw, but not so at the throat,
below which again it descends and forms one obtuse angle in front of
the chest, and another between the knees, or rather just anteriorly to
the knees and a little above them. In this individual the tail-tuft
reached a little below the hocks. Buchanan Hamilton continues :—
“* The tail is covered with short hair, except near the end, where it
has a tuft like that of the common ox; but, in the gayal, the tail de-
scends no lower than the extremity of the tibia.

“ The legs, especially the fore ones, are thick and clumsy; the
false hoofs are much larger than those of the zebu; the hinder parts
are weaker in proportion than the fore hand, and, owing to the con-
traction of the belly, the hinder legs—although, in fact, the shortest
—appear to be the longest.

“In place of the hump, which is situated between the shoulders of
the zebu, the gayal has a sharp ridge, which commences on the hinder
part of the neck, slopes gradually up till it comes over the shoulder-
joint, then runs horizontally almost a third part of the length of the

* But they are not so broad as those of B. Taurus. Like those of the gaour, we
should term them broadly ovate.

+ From the name above given, it is evident that Buchanan Hamilton regarded his
Bos Zebu as distinct from B. Taurus.

¢ With regard to dewlap, it may be remarked that the humped bull has this pre-
posterously developed occasionally, almost reaching to the ground. Such a bull is
figured, as we remember, in one of the drawings bequeathed by General Hardwicke to
the British Museum; and we have seen others like it. The large up-country cattle
have also generally much pendent skin, and, what is curious, not unfrequently a very
considerable appearance of preputial skin in the cows; but this nevertheless cannot
be truly preputial, for reasons unnecessary to discuss here.

6512 Notice of the various

back, where it terminates with a very sudden slope. The height of
this ridge makes the neck appear much depressed, and also adds
greatly to the clumsiness of the chest, which, although narrow, is very
deep. The sternum is covered by a continuation of the dewlap.
The belly is protuberant, but in its hinder part is greatly contracted.
The rump, or ‘os sacrum,’ has a more considerable declivity than that:
of the European ox, but less than that of the zebu.

“ The whole body is covered with a thick coat of short hair, which
is lengthened out into a mane on the dewlap, and into a pencil-like
tuft at the end of the tail. From the summit of the head there
diverges, with a whorl, a bunch of rather long coarse hair, which lies
flat, is usually lighter coloured than that which is adjacent, and ex-
tends towards the horns and over the forehead. The general colour
of the aniinal is brown in various shades, which very often approaches
to black, but sometimes is rather light. Some parts, especially about
the legs and belly, are usually white ; but, in different individuals,
these are very differently disposed.”

We have seen a bull gayal, which must have stood at least 153 or
16 hands high at the spinal ridge, and whose horns were about 3 feet
from tip to tip; but this is considerably above the average size, and
he stood like a giant among his adult companions of both sexes.
This was in Barrackpore Park, in the time of Lord Auckland. There
were five or six splendid gayals then in the park, which Lord Ellen-
borough (as we were informed) gave away to whoever would accept of
them; and they fell into native hands, and very soon died off and
were lost to science. At that time, we believe, not a specimen (either
stuffed skin or skeleton, or so much as a frontlet or even a horn)
existed in any museum, and the species is still extremely rare in
zoological collections. In that of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta, there
is now a complete skeleton of a moderately fine adult bull, the skull of
a finer bull, with the horn-cores only (not the corneous sheaths), which
is believed to be that of a wild individual, and was picked up in one
of the hill-jungles bordering on Asam; also the stuffed skin of a
young bull, and another of a large calf. The height of the skeleton
is 4 ft. 4 in. from the summit of the spinal ridge; and the large skull
measures 15 in. across between the bases of the horns anteriorly,
183 in. in length from frontal ridge to tips of nasa!s, and 114 in.
greatest width at the orbits. For figures of a fine gaya! skull, with
those of the gaour and yak for comparison, vide ‘Journal of the
Asiatic Society,’ vol. x., p. 479.
© The cry of the gayal,” remarks Buchanan Hamilton, “ has no

Species of Bovine Animals. 6513

resemblance to the grunt of the Indian ox; but a good deal resembles
that of the buffalo. It is a kind of lowing, but shriller, and not nearly
so loud as that of the European ox. To this, however, the gayal ap-
proaches much nearer than it does to the buffalo.” We have tried to
describe the voice of the gayal in our notice of the gaour.

Baron Cuvier entertained the strange opinion (expressed both in
his ‘ Régne Animal’ and his ‘Ossemens Fossiles’) that this species was
merely a mixed race between the Indian humped cattle and the
buffalo. There have been several instances of its breeding with the
former, under peculiar circumstances; and in one which fell under
our own observation, the sire being a gayal, a cow-calf was produced,
which, to all appearance, scarcely differed from a cow gayal ; it died
when about half grown, and the skull is now in the Calcutta museum.

The sire was the bull whose portrait has been before alluded to ;
and, ponderous beast as he looked, he could leap a fence or gate with
surprising facility. Mr. G. Harris remarks of the species—* He 1s
naturally very bold, and will defend himself against any of the beasts
of prey.” All that we have seen, however, were the most gentle and
tractable creatures imaginable; but, as Turner tells us, in the nar-
rative of his ‘Embassy to Butan’ (we have not the book at hand),
these good-natured animals, fed on stimulating food, are there trained
for conflict, and no doubt can be worried into fierceness;* but it is

* We have since hunted up the passage, which is as follows :—

“* Towards the close of the afternoon we were entertained with the exhibition of a
bull-fight, between two animals, the strongest and fiercest of the species [genus] I ever
beheld. They were of a foreign breed, from a more eastern part of the same range
of mountains, and in Bengal are termed gyal. Their heads were small, their necks
thick, their chests prodigiously deep, and their fore-legs remarkably short. The
carcase lessened towards the loins, which made the hind-legs appear much longer
than the fore. Their colour was a dark brown, almost black. They were led to the
ground between many Buoteeas, well secured, with strong ropes fastened to them:
they struggled violently, as impatient of restraint, and their prominent eyes rolled
with fury, as if they were instructed in the fierce purpose for which they were brought
hither. Many men took post round the field of battle, armed with large bludgeons.
The bulls were released on opposite sides; and the moment they felt their liberty,
they tore up the turf with their horns, elevated the spines of their backs, and appeared
animated with the strongest symptoms of rage. They did not at the first instant rush
together, but, turning sideways, eyed each other askance, all the while making a slow
circular advance, until a very small distance divided them; they then turned, opposing
a full front, and ran impetuously, their heads meeting together with an astonishing
concussion. The horns, which constitute the guard as well as weapons of offence,
were now entangled, and they maintained the struggle, like wrestlers, for half an hour,
with surprising exertions of strength; the ground yielding to their heels as they

XVII. 2D

6514 Notice of the various

not their natural disposition; and the remarkable gentleness of this
animal is well exemplified by the following narrative of how whole
herds of wild gayals are tamed at a fell swoop.

“ The Kukis,” writes Mr. Macrae, “have a very simple method of
training the wild gayals. It is as follows :—On discovering a herd of
wild gayals in the jungles, they prepare a number of balls of the size
of a man’s head, composed of a particular kind of earth, salt, and
cotton; they then drive their tame gayals towards the wild ones,
when the two soon meet and assimilate into one herd—the males of
the one attaching themselves to the females of the other, and vice versd.
The Kukis now scatter their balls over such parts of the jungle as
they think the herd most likely to pass, and watch its motions. The
gayals, on meeting these balls as they go along, are attracted by their
appearance and smell, and begin to lick them with their tongues ; and
relishing the taste of the salt, and the particular.earth composing
them, they never quit the place until all the balls are destroyed.
The Kukis having observed the gayals to have once tasted their balls,
prepare what they consider a sufficient supply of them to answer the
intended purpose, and as the gayals lick them up they throw down
more; and to prevent their being so readily destroyed, they mix the
cotton with the earth and salt. This process generally goes on for
three changes of the moon, or for a month and a half; during which
time the tame and wild gayals are always together licking the decoy-
balls; and the Kuki, after the first day or two of their being so, makes
his appearance at such a distance as not to alarm the wild ones. By
degrees he approaches nearer and nearer, until at length the sight of
him has become so familiar that he can advance to stroke his tame
gayals on the back and neck without frightening away the wild ones.
He next extends his hand to them, and caresses them also, at the
same time giving them plenty of his decoy-balls to lick; and thus in
the short space of time mentioned he is able to drive them along with

pressed their brows, and alternately retreated and pushed forwards in the conflict.
At length, as their strength diminished, and when victory stood on the point of turn-
ing to the most powerful, they were parted. The weakest was driven away by the
Buoteeas armed with bludgeons ; the other, hampered with ropes, was conducted to
his stall highly indignant and full of wrath. In this manner commonly the battle
ends ; for, if they can prevent it, they never suffer the strongest bull to pursue his
advantage, which would terminate in the certain destruction of his antagonist, who is
also exposed to the greatest danger, if he should happen to be thrown down in the
conflict. As they are trained for this particular purpose, the Booteeas exert their
utmost eudeavours to preserve them for future sport.”

Species of Bovine Animals. 6515

his tame ones to his parrah or village, without the least exertion of
force or compulsion, and so attached do the gayals become to the
parrah, that when the Kukis migrate from one place to another they
always find it necessary to set fire to the huts they are about to
abandon, lest the gayals should return to them from the new grounds,
were they left standing. Experience has taught the Kuki the ne-
cessity of thus destroying his huts.

“It is a fact worthy of remark, that the new and full moon are the
periods at which the Kukis generally commence their operation of
catching the wild gayals, from having observed that at these changes
the two sexes are most inclined to associate. The same observation
has been often made to me by the elephant catchers.”

The taming of the wild elephant is truly an astonishing feat to be
performed by the class of people who engage in it; and this whole-
sale domestication of the gayal is most instructive, and reminds us
that the subjugation of almost every domestic animal was achieved, so
far as we know, by people in a similar primeval state of existence,
where little real transition of mode of life was required on the part of
the creatures who were won over to servitude and not forced into sub-
jection. Civilized men exterminate, but do not domesticate—have
not hitherto done so, at least; nor is a cultivated country adapted for
the kind of procedure detailed.

On looking over this account, we find that the gayal cow is scarcely
described ; but little more need be said than that she is altogether of
a slighter build than the bull, with the forehead less broad, and the
horns shorter and not so thick. We have borrowed largely from the
seventh volume of the ‘ Trausactions of the Linnean Society,’ and
from the eighth volume of the ‘ Asiatic Researches;’ compiling a
tolerably complete description of the beast under notice, by no means
however unassisted by familiar personal observation of the domestic
animal.

The banteng (Bos sondaicus, Miller; B. bentinger, Temminck ;
B. leucoprymnus, Quoy and Gaimard ;* Banteng of Europeans in
Java; Sapi leweng, Lembo wono and Sampi halas of Javanese —all
names signifying “ wild cow;” Rompo of Dyaks, in Borneo; Poung,.
Phain, Tsain or Tsoing of Burmese). After careful comparison of the-

* According to Professor Van der Hoeven, this name is founded on the hybrid
race often raised in Java and Bali, a figure of one of which we remember seeing
among the Hardwicke drawings in the British Museum. If we mistake not, this
mixed race, rather than the true banteng, is known by the appellation of “ Bali cattle”
at Singapore.

6516 Notice of the various

skull of an old (though not large) bull from Pegu, the horn of another
from the Arakan side of the mountains which separate the two pro-
vinces, with the admirable figures of the skulls of both sexes, at dif-
ferent ages, of the Javanese banteng, published by Dr. Salomon Miiller,
as also with two superb frontlets of bulls from Java, we can come to no
other conclusion than that they are one and the same species, and upon
present evidence we doubt if they can even be ranged as distinguishable
varieties. It is true that in the specimens before us, the continental
have more slender horns than the insular; but the peculiar flexure is
absolutely the same, and we can discern no difference whatever in the
configuration of the skulls. The truth is, as we suspect, that our con-
tinental specimens are ordinary, whilst the insular are extraordinarily
fine.* It has indeed been suggested to us, that the horns of the ban-
teng are more approximated at base ; but an appearance of this in one
of the Japanese frontlets under examination is found to be deceptive
on inspection. One very remarkable feature in an old bull banteng is
the excessive development of bony substance on the forehead, rising
up into coral-like asperities three-fourths of an inch above the plane
of the frontal bones, above which the cuticle is enormously thickened
into a rugged horn-like mass, which is hard and solid enough to turn
amusket-ball. This is well shown in the finer of two frontlets before
us; while in the other a portion of the same thickened cuticle, con-
tinuous with the base of each horn, has not been detached from the
latter, which nevertheless is sufficiently well marked,—-and hence the
deceptive appearance of the horns being more approximated at base.
In the Peguan skull before us, the horns are remarkably pale (even
whitish), with black tips; and it is worthy of remark that Pennant in
his ‘ Hindustan’ notices the existence of white-horned wild cattle in
the Indo-Chinese territories ; but the Arakan horn under examination
is darker, being much the same in hue as the larger Javanese pair.
The frontal bones in our Peguan skull are smooth, and they are equally
so in the smaller Javanese frontlet before us; though both are heads
of old animals, with the frontal suture nearly obliterated : nevertheless,

* In a shull from the “ Keddah” or Quedda Coast, referred to in our notice of the
gavur as being in the United Service Museum, London, and which is divested of the
horns, it can nevertheless be seen that the latter must have been of full dimensions.—
Vide figures in ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society, vol. xi. p. 470. In the same plate is
figured the smaller Javanese frontlet hereinafter described, with portions of the in-
durated skin of the forehead continuous with the horns, occasioning the latter to appear
more approximated at base than is truly the case, as noticed above. We have seen,
indeed, much greater difference of size in old bull gaour-skulls.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6517

the skin was indurated over the forehead of the latter, and we have
never heard of this occurring in the Burmese animal, but have little
doubt that it does so. One remarkable fact strikes us upon examining
these horns, which is, that the flattening of them at base does not
appear until they are fully half-grown; which may well account for
the reports of Burmese wild cattle with cylindrical horns! The bison-
tine-looking horn, however, from the Shan country, has not the peculiar
flexure of the present species, and most assuredly cannot be referred
to it.*

The banteng, as beautifully figured by Dr. 8. Miller (who gives
coloured portraits of the bull and cow, and of calves young and _half-
grown), has much more the aspect of the European Bos Taurus than
has either the gaour or gayal; and its less flattened horns present a
further approximation. There is nothing exaggerated about its figure ;
the spinal ridge is not more elevated than in B. Taurus and the tail-
tuft descends considerably below the hock-joint. There is a good deal
of the gayal in its general aspect ; but it has longer limbs, and is less
heavy and bubaline in its proportions. Indeed, we have heard it com-
pared to a Devonshire ox; but it has nevertheless all the general
features of the present group, and is true to the particular colouring
—showing the white stockings, and having also a great white patch on
the buttocks (whence the name Jeucoprymnus bestowed by MM. Quoy
and Gaimard). ‘The shoulder is a little high, with some appearance
of the dorsal ridge between the scapul, but this slopes off and gradu-
ally disappears behind. The rump is also nearly as much squared as
in European cattle. Dewlap moderate, with a different outline from
that of the gayal, more as in the B. Taurus. Colour of the calf bright
chestnut, with a black tail-tuft, and also a black dorsal line commencing
from where the ridge should terminate behind ;+ the white stockings
having much rufous intermixture at this age. The cows are deeper-

* Here it may be remarked that the curious small fossil frontlet from Kentucky,
with narrow forebead and thick horn-cores, and which we examined in a dealev’s shop
in London, we now identify for certain as the Bootherium cavifrons of Dr. Leidy,
figured and described in the fifth volume of the ‘ Smithsonian Contributions to Know-
ledge, Washington, 1853. It is the same as the Ovibos Pallantis, De Blainville,
and should therefore now stand as Bootherium Pallavtis. A second species existed in
the Bos bombifrons of Harlan, also figured by Dr. Leidy, together with Bison latifrons,
and avother which he terms B. antiquus. Bodtherium is evidently a good genus,
intermediate between the inusk cattle and the bisons.

+ The skin of a young calf from Mergui, in the Calcutta Museum, corresponds
with that figured by Dr. S. Miller. The same dorsal line occurs in some individuals
of the humped cattle.

6518 Nolice of the various

coloured, being of a rich light bay, and the old bulls are blackish,—
both, however, relieved with the white on the legs, buttocks, lips and
hair lining the ears, which last are scarcely so large as in the gaour
and gayal, but of similar shape. Sir Stamford Raffles mentions, that
“a remarkable change takes place in the appearance of this animal
after castration, the colour in a few months becoming invariably red ;”*
z.e., light bay, as in the female. The general figure, however, is still
much more that of the gayal than of European cattle; but (as before
remarked) the legs are conspicuously longer than in that animal, the
body is much less ponderous, the tail longer, and the head also
is much less broad at the forehead. The horns again are very
different.

In form of skull the banteng more resembles the gaour, with the
characteristics of that species subdued, only that the frontal ridge does
not turn up at all, as it slightly tends to do also in the gayal, occa-
sioning a perceptible hollowness of the broad forehead of that species
in a fine bull-skull before us. The horns of the banteng are thrown
off at the same angle from the head as in the gayal, or with less of a
slant backward than in the gaour, are continued out almost in a line
with each other, gradually curving upwards and uncinating inwards,
with a less considerable slant backwards at their tips. Such is the
usual flexure in the bull, but occasionally the tips incline less inwards:
in the cow the horns are small], and tend much backwards. Towards
the base they are generally very rugous in old bulls; and the full-
grown horn flattens gradually from about the middle to the base ; the
section of the base being oval and flattened on the lower surface.
Colour pale glaucous-green with black tips, and commonly more or
less black or blackish noticeable elsewhere.

* ‘History of Java,’ vol.i. p. 3. Probably the same would be observed in the
nil-gai; and certainly in a black buck of the Indian antelope, in which the colour
goes and comes with the “rut.” There is a head of an emasculated nil-gai in the
Calcutta Museum, which is coloured as in the female, and has small and slender horns,
the female being hornless, also a fine stuffed specimen of the castrated antelope, which
is likewise coloured as in a female, and has horns similar to those which the doe
antelope very rarely puts forth, but we are acquainted with three instances of the fact.
Vide ‘ India Sporting Review,’ new series, Nos. IV. p.94, VI. p. 239, and XI. p. 197;
and for figure of the horns of a female antelope, vide ‘ Bengal Sporting Magazine,
new series, vol. ii. p. 478 (1845). They resemble those of a castrated buck, but are
more slender, their curvature being au open arch and not a twist. Not improbably
these horned doe antelopes are barren: a doe fallow deer with one horn was found to
have the ovarium of the same side schirrous, analogous to barren hen pheasants with
more or less complete masculine attire, &c., Xc.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6519

Height of bull at the shoulder about 16 hands. Length of a fine
skull, from vertex to tips of intermaxillaries, 203 inches ; breadth apart
at orbits posteriorly, 9 inches; bases of horns apart anteriorly, 124
inches. The horns of our largest specimen measure 2 feet 8 inches
round the curvature outside ; circumference at base 18 inches ; breadth
across at base, measuring above, 64 inches; greatest width apart,
3 feet 5 inches; and the tips 2 feet 54 inches asunder.

The existence of a “ wild ox ” in Borneo was noticed by Beckman,
as cited by Pennant, who also recorded the occurrence of such an
animal in Java, and had likewise (as we have seen) obtained intelligence
of one “ with white horns” in the Indo-Chinese countries. In Java,
according to Sir Stamford Raffles, “it is found chiefly in the forests
eastward of Pasuran, and in Bali, though it also occurs in other parts
of Java.” Dr. S. Miiller remarks that the banteng is found in Java in
territories which are seldom visited by man, as well in the forests of
the plains and of the coast, as in those of the mountains up to 4000
feet, where it is tolerably common. ‘“ We have likewise seen traces of
it,” he adds, “in Borneo, and have even received a calf from the Dyaks
about a month old. According to Raffles it is found in Bali; but in
Sumatra it does not appear to exist.”* In Moor’s ‘ Notices of the
Indian Archipelago,’ p. 2, we read that—* The ox, under the name of
tambadao,t is a native of the forests of Borneo :” and at p. 95, it is

* Most likely, however, it will be eventually found there, if not also another wild
species, the aboriginal stock of the tame cattle described by Raffles. The elephant of
Sumatra was considered by the late Prince of Canino to be a peculiar species, and was
recognised as such by the late Professor Temminck. The rhinoceros of Sumatra is
the Asiatic two-horned species (RAinoceros sumatrensis), found also in the Malayan
peninsula and Burmese countries, but not in Java, nor (so far as known) in Borneo;
the rhinoceros of Java and Borneo (Rhinoceros sondaicus) being hitherto unknown in
Sumatra, though found in the Tenasserim provinces, according to Helfer: if so, it will
probably be more of a mountain species in the provinces and Malayan peninsula than
the other. Of wild hogs, according to Dr. 8S. Muller, the Sus vittatus inhabits
Sumatra, with Java and Banka; S. verrucosus also inhabits Java; S. barbatus,
Borneo; S. celebensis, besides the baba-rusa, Celebes; S. timoriensis, Timor and
Roti; and S. papuensis, New Guinea: a guodly series of wild swine, to which we have
lately added the iittle S. andamanensis, which needs comparison most with S. papuensis,
and with Mr. Hodgson’s pigmy hog of the Nipal-sal Forest, which he styles Porcula
salvania; these last three have only a tubercle in place of tail. The Continental
species of wild hog have been less studied. We can hardly expect, from analogy
with the neighbouring regions, that the mountain forests of Sumatra will prove
destitute of wild bovine inhabitants.

+ Compare this name with Tamarao in the Island of Mindoro, one of the Philip-
pines.

6520 Notice of the various

stated that “the breed of cattle [in Bali] is extremely fine, almost
every one of these beasts being fat, plump, and good-looking ; you
seldom, if ever, see a poor cow in Bali: it is a breed of a much larger
size than the common run of cattle in Java, and is obtained from a
cross with the wild cow [bull ?] with the same animal. They are
generally of a red colour, and all of them are white between the hind
legs and about the rump, so that I do not remember seeing one that
was not white-breeched. The people have no land expressly devoted
to grazing; but let their cattle eat their old stubble or fresh grass of
the rice-fields, after the crops have been taken off; and while the
rice is growing they let the cattle stray into the commons or
woods and pick up what they can get by the road-side. The rude
plough is drawn by two abreast, which the plougher drives with one
hand while he guides the plough with the other.” This account pretty
clearly indicates domesticated bantengs ; intermingled in blood,
perhaps, more or less, with the humped cattle; though there is nought
to indicate such intermixture in the notice quoted, but rather that—as
in the case of the gayal—both wild and tame exist and interbreed
occasionally. However, we have the authority of Professor Van der
Hoeven that the Bos leucoprymnus of Quoy and Gaimard is a hybrid
banteng ; and we have seen a figure of a cow of this mixed race among
the Hardwicke drawings in the British Museum, which—as also in the
instance of the hybrid gayal we observed alive—partook much more of
the general aspect of what may be termed the jungle parent. Sir Stam-
ford Raffles, indeed, notices, in his ‘ History of Java, that “ the degene-
rate domestic cows [of that island] are sometimes driven into the forest
to couple with the wild banteng, for the sake of improving the breed. id

In the Malayan peninsula, and in suitable districts of the extensive
region known as Indo-China, there is much reason to suspect that the
gaour, gayal and banteng are alike found. Thus Captain (since General)
Low, in his ‘ Dissertation on Penang and Province Wellesley,’ mentions
“two species of the wild ox, or bison;” and again, he elsewhere
notifies, as inhabiting the same region, in addition to the “ bison” or
gaour, “the wild ox, of the size of a large buffalo [probably the gayal] ;
and also a species [the banteng?] resembling in every respect the
domestic ox,”—besides the buffalo. Again, Helfer, in his crude notes
on the Zoology of the Tenasserim provinces says,— Of the ox kind,
the Bubalus arni and domesticus are both in a wild state [we do not
concede these to be two species]; and of the bisons, the great gaurus
is rather rare, but Bison guodus [a misprint for gaveeus]* very common ;

* The words may be written to look very much alike.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6521

besides another small [?] species of cow, called by the Burmese F’hain,
of which I saw foot-prints, but never the living animal ; it remains,
therefore, undecided to what species it should be referred.”

From what we know of the habits of the three animals, it is pro-
bable that the gayal keeps exclusively to the hills, the gaour chiefly
to the low or comparatively level country, while the banteng inhabits
all elevations, being, if possible, even the very shyest of the three. All
accounts seem to agree in this respect. Many years ago, the well
known and highly accomplished naturalist, Col. C. Hamilton Smith,
addressed the writer on the subject of “a wild ox, inhabiting to the
eastward of the Brahmaputra river, and very different from the gaour
and gayal. It is simply described,” wrote Col. Smith, “as a fine-
limbed and deer-like animal, of large size, and of a bright bay colour,
exceedingly like a Devonshire ox, very active, fleet, shy, and watchful ;
living in small herds in the wooded valleys, with watchers on the look
out, who utter a shrill warning sound on the least alarm, when the
whole dash through the jungle with irresistible impetuosity.” These
are just the habits of the wild banteng, and pretty much those of its
immediate congeners. Another writer, alluding to the Burmese “wild
cow, or Sine bar,” remarks that “ herds of thirty or forty frequent the
open forest glades” of the Tenasserim provinces; and our deceased
friend, Capt. Gason (formerly of H. M. 32nd Regiment), observed
them and killed a bull at a place called Nathongzoo, about 250 miles
eastward of Maulmain. They were “ excessively timid, and are gene-
rally seen feeding in the valleys, often about a large tank. It is avery
game-looking animal,” remarked Capt. Gason, “ with a heavy body,
but fine limbs; and stands about 153 hands high.” In no account
have we met with any notice of the browsing propensities so con-
spicuous in the gayal, and infer therefore that it is more of a yrazer
like the gaour. What its voice may be like we are unaware. Not
improbably the wild and domestic cattle of Siam noticed by Crawfurd
(vide p. 88 ante) are of this species; in which case it would be re-
markable that, as he states, the tame should often be hornless—
scarcely more so, however, than polled or hornless buffalos which
sometimes occur. He states that they are never of the white or pied
colour, so prevalent amongst the cattle of Hindustan; but of what
colour are they? The invariable white patch on the buttocks of the
banteng would go far towards enabling us to recognise that species.

XVII. Ig

6522 Reason and Instinet.

Reason and Instinct. By the Rev. J. C. Atkinson, M.A.
(Concluded from p. 6491.)

I Turn now to the discussion of a somewhat different subject, but
still one having a near connection with that branch of our inquiry
which has till now occupied our attention.

In an early portion of the present series of papers I observed that
the first conscious acts performed by a human infant are unques-
tionably Instinctive acts, and that weeks of its life must elapse before
it can be “decisively pronounced that Intelligence is fully operative,—
that the child understands,—that some of its actions are certainly,
though still possibly but in a small degree, under the influence of
something decidedly higher than Instinct” (Zool. 5457). These are
facts patent to every one who has a child of his own, or can obtain
admission to a friend’s nursery.

Now it would not serve any purpose were J to dwell upon the very
remarkable stages of development through which the brain of the
human fcetus passes, from its first rudimentary appearance up to the
time of birth ; or the resemblance distinctly traceable between it, in
these its successive stages, and the several brains of the different
classes of vertebrate animals, as we traverse the scale in the upward
direction ; but I certainly do desire, in connection with the statements
just made relative to the human infant, to draw attention to the fact
that at the period of birth the human brain is still imperfectly developed;
not perhaps as to all its organs, but as to some two or three only.
The cerebellum, for instance, in which is believed to centre the power
or function of co-ordinating and regulating the motions of the various
members and parts of the body, is still very imperfectly formed ; and
what is much more to our purpose, so is the cerebrum, and that in
severa! particulars. The two halves of this portion of the brain are
not only symmetrical—a most significant token of imperfect or arrested
development—but the convolutions are much more simple, possess
fewer undulations, and are much less deep and thick in proportion
than in adults, and a period of years, to be passed under such circum-
stances of training and exercise of the faculties as successfully conduce
to their due improvement, must elapse before these imperfections give
place under a gradual, but unceasing, growth towards complete develop-
ment.* The cerebellum, however, reaches its perfect development

* One or two minor imperfections of development might be quoted ; but it seems
scarcely necessary to do so.

Reason and Instinct. 6523

of form and structure at a much earlier period than do ‘the cerebral
hemispheres. In other words, in our early infancy those portions of
our brain through which our higher intellectual faculties are destined
to work eventually are just as unfit for their future work as is that
portion which is to enable us,—and much earlier,—to walk, to run, to
leap, to perform all those complicated and countless movements of
limb or member, or portion of member, on which our comfort and well-
being so much depend. No wonder, then, that the first actions of the
infant are scarcely more than consensual, and the next in order merely
Instinctive ; and that the dawning of Intelligence should be slow and
faint and indecisive ; or that its growth and increase, when distinctly
produced, should be but gradual and halting, and so much under the
influence of the Emotional and Instinctive faculties. But more than
a mere passing notice must be given to the results of proper training
and favourable circumstances, as assisting in the development of the
brain. The cerebral hemispheres of inferior races of mankind, among
whom neglect of mental culture and habits approaching those of brutes
are found to prevail—influences certainly unfavourable to Intellectual
development, and, as it would appear from what follows, to physical
development of the organs of Intellect also—present a symmetrical
disposition of the convolutions similar to that in the case of the
newly born infant, or of the brute animal.

However inexplicable the nature of the connection between mind
and nervous matter, it is yet “impossible to explain,” says an able
physiological writer, “ the great superiority of the human brain, both
in organization and absolute quantity of nervous matter which it con-
tains, without admitting its connection with the mind, and the influence
exerted upon its nutrition and growth by that immaterial principle.
We have many proofs to show that the neglect of mental cultivation
may lead to an impaired state of cerebral nutrition. It may readily
be understood that mental and physical development should go hand-
in-hand together, and mutually assist each other.” “ In fact,” writes
Tiedemann, “ the cerebral convolutions become atrophied, either from
continued absence from all cerebral excitement, as well as from any
other cause of intellectual] weakness.”

And what is especially worthy of notice in this connection is, that
any such change as may by these means be wrought upon the con-
figuration or dimensions of the cerebrum, may, under certain circum-
stances, become — so to speak —stereotyped. Indeed this result is
implied in what has been already stated with reference to the symme-
trical cerebral hemispheres peculiar to peoples of a low or degraded ,

6524 Reason and Instinct.

type, and to the shape of skull found to prevail among utterly savage
and uncivilized tribes. And the following remarks from Dr. Carpenter
are doubly interesting, as showing how the very change we are speaking
of is taking place under our own observation, and even to a degree
already rendered permanent. ‘ But not only,” says he, “may the
pyramidal and prognathous types be elevated towards the elliptical ;”
—and we shall notice what he says on this subject presently,—“ the
elliptical may likewise be degraded towards either of these. Want,
Squalor and Ignorance have a special tendency to induce that diminu-
tion of the cranial portion of the skull, and that increase of the facial,
which characterizes the prognathous type; as cannot but be observed
by any one who takes an accurate and candid survey of the condition
of the most degraded part of the population of the great towns of this
country, but as is seen to be pre-eminently the case with regard to the
lowest class.s of fresh immigrants. A certain degree of retrogression
to the pyramidal type is also to be noticed among the Nomadic tribes,
which are to be found in every civilized community. Among these, as
has been remarked by a very acute observer, ‘according as they partake
more or less of the purely vagabond nature, doing nothing whatsoever
for their living, but moving from place to place, preying upon the
earnings of the more industrious portion of the community, so will the
attributes of the Nomade races be found, more or less marked in them.
And they are all more or less distinguished for their high cheek-bones
and protruding jaws,’ thus showing that kind of mixture of the pyra-
midal with the prognathous type, which is to be seen amongst the
lowest of the Indian and Malayo-Polynesian races.”— Human Phys.
p. 1076.

The converse of this declension from a higher to a lower type is,
as already hinted, also to be met with in the human family. Thus,
“the Turks at present inhabiting the Persian and Ottoman empires
are undoubtedly descended from the same stock with the Nomadic
races which are still spread through Central Asia. The former, how-
ever, having conquered the countries which they now inhabit eight
centuries since, have gradually settled down to the regular habits of
the Indo-European race, and have made corresponding advances in
civilization ; whilst the latter have continued their wandering mode
of life, and can scarcely be said to have made any decided advance
during the same interval. Now the long-since civilized ‘Turks have
undergone a complete transformation into the hkeness of Europeans,
whilst their Nomadic relatives retain the pyramidal configuration of the
skull in a very marked degree. The great mass of the Turkish people

Reason and Instinct. 6525

have always intermarried among themselves; and in Persia, the real
Persians or Tajiks still remain quite distinct from their Turkish rulers.
In like manner even the Negro head and face may become assimilated
to the European by long subjection to similar influences. Thus in
some of our older West Indian colonies, it is not uncommon to meet
‘ with Negroes, the descendants of those first introduced there, who
exhibit a very European physiognomy ; and it has even been asserted
that a Negro belonging to Dutch Guiana may be distinguished from
another belonging to the British settlements, by the similarity of the
features and expression of each to those which peculiarly characterise
his master. This effect could not be here produced by the inter-
mixture of bloods, since this would be made apparent by alteration
of colour.”—Id. 1075.

It will not, I think, detract from the interest of these remarkable
statements if I proceed to connect with them the further statement that
precisely analogous changes take place in many families of the brute
creation, and that too in both directions, namely, from a higher to a
lower type of cranial formation, and vice versd. And this leads me
to the expression of an opinion or conclusion which I am afraid will
appear, at first sight, paradoxical, if not worse. What I mean is that
the influence of man upon the lower creatures, at least upon such of
them as are brought very strongly under his influence by the processes
of domestication, is attended with different results in different cases,
and those results of the most diametrically opposite natures. In some
instances the influence of man raises, elevates, almost ennobles the
brute creature; certainly induces a psychical improvement which, when
considered in its positive amount, is simply marvellous. In other
instances, and those probably by very much the most numerous,
human influence degrades the brute creature intellectually, and posi-
tively robs it of some of its natural psychical endowments, without
making amends in any one particular. And to such an extent do these
two opposite processess go, that a definite, perhaps very marked, and
equally permanent alteration in the form of the bones of the cranium
takes place. And further still, I have to observe that in case speci- -
mens of these deteriorated animals, with skulls fashioned after a
permanently degraded type, recover their freedom, Nature asserts her
power in gradually, but surely, reversing the effects of man’s influence,
and remodelling the skull of the now wild animal until it resumes its
original size and conformation.

For the purpose of illustrating the former or elevating process
ascribed to man’s influence I-select the dog, as presenting the most

6526 Reason and Instinct.

remarkable, as well as much the most common, example of the sort.
I need not expend time at this point of our essay, in describing what
the dog, under human care and kindness in training, has become
intellectually, and—one feels strangely tempted to add—morally. To
the question what the dog was antecedently to man’s acquisition of
power or influence over him, and what the subsequent physiological
changes induced in him, we give as an answer the following extract
from Dr. Prichard :—‘ The least domesticated races, and those which
have become wild, as the dingo or Australian dog,—the nearest
approach to the original type which can be discovered,— differ little
in the shape of their skulls and in other characters from the wolf;
while the more cultivated breeds, or those which have their faculties
most developed, and their habits most changed by domestication,
deviate in the same proportion from this form, and in particular exhibit
a much more vaulted and arched forehead, and a greater development
of the brain. The skull of the Australian dog differs but little from
that of a wolf. In both the head is very flat, and the cavity which
contains the brain has comparatively very little space. The Danish
dog and the mastiff resemble, in the shape of their heads, the Australian
dog; and they display as little development of Intellect or Sagacity.
In the terrier and hound the skulls are much more arched, and afford
a much larger space for the brain. In the shepherd’s dog the bones
of the skull rise perpendicularly to one half of their vertical extent,
and then become arched over the space occupied by the brain. In
the spaniel and water-dog the capacity of the cranium is relatively
much greater than in the shepherd’s dog; and in all these there is a
great development of the frontal sinus, which is so considerable as to
give the outline of the forehead a direction almost perpendicular to the
nasal bones.”

As instances of the degrading tendency of man’s influence upon
brute creatures, both as regards their mental and their psychical, or
rather, perhaps, their physiological development, I may quote the horse,
the pig, the ox and the sheep. Now I do not mean to assert or to
imply that various proofs of the possession of very considerable Intel-
ligence have not been given by many individuals in each of these
several families of animals, the sheep perhaps only excepted. But
still, generally speaking, the patience of the ox, the stupidity of the
pig and the mere docility of the horse are the attributes which are most
usually ascribed to these several creatures; and on the whole, I am
inclined to suppose it will be conceded that where great Intelligence
has been displayed by either horse, ox or pig, it has been in cases

Reason and Instinct. 6527

where considerable and continued care and kindness and training had
been expended on the individuals in question. The general result
of domestication on all three families has not been in the direction of
improving their intellectual faculties, but the reverse, and, except in
the case of the borse, very much the reverse. With respect to
the sheep there can be no doubt that it is so; in fact, we find in
the authority last quoted these expressions with respect to the present
psychical condition of the animal in question :—“ The sheep, always
stupid or of the most simple understanding, from its birth timid and
inert, follows its dam the same feeble and defenceless animal that it is
destined to remain through life.”

Now in the case of the pig, the changes which result in the confor-
mation of its skull, in consequence of its being suffered to revert to its
original wild habits, are thus described by the same writer :—“ Their
heads become larger, and the foreheads vaulted at the upper part,” of
necessity to afford room for a brain of increased dimensions, as in the
case of the shepherd’s dog, spaniel and water-dog quoted a page or two
back. Further,—‘ The difference in the shape of the head between
the wild and domestic hog of America is very remarkable. Blumen-
bach long ago pointed out the great difference between the cranium
of our swine and that of the primitive wild boar. He remarked that
this difference is quite equal to that which has been observed between
the skull of the Negro and European.”

In the case of the horse again, “ The heads of the wild horses are
larger, and their foreheads are of a round and arched form. Pallas
has confirmed this observation by an account of a race descended
from horses which have run wild in Eastern Siberia. These animals,
which are the remote offspring of domesticated horses, now differ from
the Russian breed in having larger heads and more pointed ears.
* * * He adds that their principal traits, or those which dis-
linguish them from domestic breeds of the horse kind, and which may
be considered as characters acquired by the race since it ran wild in
the desert, are as follows: they have larger heads than domestic
horses with more vaulted foreheads; the ears longer and bent more
forward.”

I need not occupy my readers’ time and my own by looking at and
transcribing similar remarks about the ox. Let it suffice to observe
that Nature, when the animals just mentioned are given up to her
sole influence, occupies herself in remodelling their skulls until they
once again resume their original type; and it would be vain to affect
to suppose that there is not a corresponding and commensurate

6528 Reason and Instinct.

increase in the volume of the brain beneath the enlarged and more
vaulted forehead. 3 7

But can we in any degree account for the original change, contrary
to Nature, which renders this second change, in conformity with
Nature, necessary ? I think we can. Let us bear in mind what is the
ascertained result to the brain in the human species by neglect, want
of appropriate cerebral stimulus, discontinuance of all intellectual
exercise, and the like; and not only to the brain, but eventually also
to the dimensions and form of the bones of the cranium covering the
said brain—diminution in quantity, a lower condition of development,
and a degraded type of conformation. And next let us look at the
condition of the pig, the ox, the sheep and the horse,—regarding
them collectively, I mean, and not at all individually or in the way of
exception to what must be conceded to be the general rule. Almost
everything is done for them, and they are left to their own resources,
whether of Intelligence or Instinct, for the supply of scarcely one of
their various wants. Treat a human creature and his descendants
after him for generations as pigs, cows and sheep are treated; suffer
him to do no more in proportion for himself, nor to have more scope
to occupy himself, than they do and have, and what would be the
result, however intellectual he might have been to begin with; how-
ever noble and elevated the type of his original cranial configuration ?
Why, that in the third generation, or sooner, his understanding, his
brain, his skull, would be those of—in one word—an idiot! No
wonder, then, that our stalled horses and cows, with their alternating
experience of cow-house and pasture, and nothing besides,—our folded
sheep and sty-imprisoned pigs,—are retrograde in their intelligence,
their brains, and the fashion and size of their crania.

Talk of the stupidity, the simple understanding of the sheep! I do
not believe in it. If it be stupid and a fool, it is because man has
made it so,—not God. It is not found stupid in its native dwelling-
places, and where the hand of man has not brought its blighting
influences to bear upon its mind. They are wary enough there; and
difficult as it may be for the sportsman to approach the different
species of wild deer, he will not find the task of getting within rifle
distance of a wild sheep an easier one—if indeed nearly so easy—in
either Asia or America. Such at least is the evidence of Mr. Atkinson,
the Siberian traveller, and of Lieut. Ruxton, the traveller in America.

Even among the black-faced or moor sheep, which abound in all
directions on the extensive moors surrounding the place in which I
am writing, | have many an opportunity of observing what effect a

Reason and Instinct. 6529

comparatively wild life—though still such only in a very slight degree
—has upon the mind of that species of sheep, as compared with the
larger, heavier, more inert and carefully tended Leicester sheep, a few
of which are kept here and there on the lowlands. The frequent in-
stances of watchfulness, in the former, speedily detecting the presence
of a human or canine intruder, the singular sound, half snort, half hiss,
with which they express their alarm and dissatisfaction, the impatient
stamp with their fore foot after following close on the strange sharp
“‘ Hist !”— as it sounds—all are hints to show what they would soon
become, if they were left for a few generations unbullied by sheep-
dogs, unshepherded by their owners. But even in them Instinct is
made to give place to a sort of Intelligence, superinduced over their
natural endowment with that faculty. Once or twice last year I crossed
the moor during the lambing season. On one of these occasions my
attention was drawn to a lamb that had certainly been dropped during
the hour and a half or two hours which had elapsed since my previous
passage. The little creature had full use of its limbs; and, at my
approach, it bounded off with every symptom of alarm. Here was
the instinct of Self-preservation evidently in operation. I whistled;
its alarm was increased tenfold, and it hurried far beyond its mother
to escape what, its instinct told it, might be danger. The parent ewe
in the mean time stood quietly grazing within a few feet of me, taking
no further notice than just to raise her head for a moment when I
whistled, and emitting a bleat of summons or recall, as she noticed her
lamb’s hurried flight from her side.

I may be permitted perhaps further to add, in reference to the
changes in size and form of the skulls of the animals above noticed,
which had, from a state of domestication, reverted to a condition all
whose elements were the same as those of their original wild condi-
lion, that the alterations were such as to give scope for an increased
volume, and, conceivably at least, advanced development of the higher
organs of the brain. And I think the inference fairly is, not only that
their wild hfe required an increase of Intelligence in addition to the
exercise of their instinct in all its pristine force, but also and conse-
quently that thus one more support is rendered to our theory of the
necessary co-existence and co-operation of Instinct and Reason.

There is one matter—which unquestionably forms a part, and an
important part, of the subject of our inquiry—which I have not
touched upon, and which I| confess I feel myself quite incompetent to
handle: I mean the Instinct of Insects. The difficulty arises in the
apparent Intelligence, often times great Intelligence, in so many of

XVII. a

6530 Reason and Instinct.

them, combined with the nature of their nervous system, which seems
to be constructed with entire independence of anything approaching
the nature of a brain or even a substitute for one. More refined
physiological discoveries may perhaps lessen or remove this difficulty,
especially if it ever should be satisfactorily established—as some have
suggested—that “a process of nervous matter, not in the form of a
ganglion, may possess the elementary functions of nerve and brain
combined in one” (Couch, ‘Ill. Inst.2 11). In the mean time
Dr. Carpenter disposes of the difficulty in the following manner,
though there are several points in his statements as to which | find
myself unable to agree with him:—“‘ The whole nervous system of
Invertebrated Animals may be regarded as ministering entirely to
automatic actions; and its highest development, as in the class of
Insects, is connected with the highest manifestations of the instinctive
powers, which, when carefully examined, are found to consist entirely
in movements of the Excito-motor and Sensori-motor kinds. When
we attentively consider the habits of these animals, we find that their
actions, though evidently adapted to the attainment of certain ends,
are very far from evincing a designed adaptation on the part of the
beings which perform them, such as that of which we are ourselves
conscious in our own voluntary movements, or which we trace in the
operations of the more intelligent Vertebrata.

“The adaptiveness of the instinctive operations of insects lies in
the original construction of their nervous system, which causes
particular movements to be executed in direct respondence to certain
impressions and sensations.

“The type, then, of psychical perfection among invertebrated
animals, which is manifested in the highest degree among the social
insects, consists in exclusive development of the automatic powers, in
virtue of which each individual performs those actions to which it is
directly prompted by the impetus arising out of impressions made
upon its afferent nerves, without any self-control or self-direction. So
that it must be regarded as entirely a creature of necessity performing
its specific part in the economy of nature from no design or will of its
own, but in accordance with the plan originally devised by the
Creator.”

Our author at this point subjoins the following note :—“ We have
not perhaps any right to affirm that there is nothing whatever analo-
gous in Invertebrata to the Reasoning powers and Will of higher
animals; but if these faculties have any existene among them, they
must be regarded as in a rudimentary state, corresponding with the

Birds. 6531

undeveloped condition of the cerebrum. In none of the Articulata has
any trace of this organ been discovered: a rudiment of it, however,
has been supposed to exist in the cuttle-fish.”

We then find these further remarks in the text :—‘ The only distinct
indication of Intelligence displayed by Invertebrata, is the slight degree
of capacity of ‘learning by experience’ which some of them display ;
this capacity being limited to the mere formation of associations
between mental states called up by different objects of sense, which
we observe to be the first stage in the development of mental powers
in the human infant. And it is interesting to observe that this
educability is less displayed by insects—in which we may consider
the automatic tendencies as attaining their greatest development—
than it is in spiders, which present in several parts of their conforma-
tion an approximation towards the Vertebrated Series.”—‘ Human
Physiology,’ pp. 665—667.

With this quotation I bring the present series of papers to an

end.
J. C. ATKINSON.
Danby Parsonage, Grosmont, York,
April, 1859.
Errata.—In the note to this paper, Zool. 6488, for The elephants, two read The
elephants too, and, two lines lower down, for set read sit.

Remarks upon the Migration of Birds.
By A. G. More, Ksq., F.L.S.

Ir was the apparently exceptional case of a small-billed migrating
warbler being found upon our shores in winter that first drew my
attention to a movement little noticed, but which, it is believed, will
be found to take place regularly in autumn and winter, in a nearly
direct line from the East to the West of Europe.

The black redstart is well known to occur every winter at different
spots along the channel, as well as in other parts of Great Britain, a
country which, for all practical purposes, occupies with regard to
Europe a westerly position; yet this redstart scarcely reaches so far
North as Scandinavia in its summer migration, though it is common
at this season in the more central parts of Europe.

Several herons, as the great egret and buffbacked herons, also the
ibis and the little ow], have been seen in England in late autumn or
winter, and all these, it is well known, are found during the breeding
season to inhabit the eastern and southern more than the northern

6532 Birds.

parts of the Continent. So has the courser,* a bird of the Mediter-
ranean basin, been shot upon Salisbury Plain in October; and the
Dalmatian Regulus, from the borders of Asia, was taken in Northum-
berland at the end of September; White’s thrush in January. The
little bustard is a still more striking instance of a species indigenous
to the Kast and South of Europe appearing with us during the winter
months; and this bird, too, has been observed in the act of migration
flying from East to West near the Caspian Sea.

In Devonshire and Cornwall t it is during winter that are found the
firecrested Regulus, Richard’s pipit, alpine accentor, spoonbill and
little bustard; and many birds of the highest rarity in Britain have
occurred at the Land’s End in September and October, yet can hardly
be supposed to have been reared in England: the crested and short-
toed larks, woodchat, ortolan, pastor, avocet aud ibis mnst have
proceeded from the central or even southern countries of Europe.
And the abundant flights of migratory birds which are yearly ob-
served in Cornwall at the period of the autumnal movement include
many species that nest rather on the eastern side of England, and
certainly do not breed in Cornwall,—e.g. nightingale, reed wren,
lesser whitethroat, &c.; and it is evident that these birds have no
intention of crossing the channel at its narrowest point. Other
examples of a short journey from East to West will be found in the
tree sparrow, stock dove and Norfolk plover that are seen in the West
of England in winter only.

Various birds which visit the Land’s End in spring, as the Kentish
plover, white and gray headed wagtails, purple heron, { &c., do not
go far North in England, and so must be advancing in an easterly
direction along the south coast, following at this season a reverse
course to that of the autumn.

In Ireland the redstart (probably not the black only) and the
crested lark have been obtained in winter; and the blackcap and
Norfolk plover are better known in the sister island as winter than

* Other birds no doubt come to us in greater numbers in autumn and winter
from the East and South of Europe; but it has been thought best to rely upon the
rare species, since they cannot have come to us from a northern latitude.

+ For Cornwall I have principally relied upon the numerous and valuable com-
munications of Mr. Rodd to the ‘ Zoologist.’ The Irish occurrences are quoted from
Thompson’s work; and for Great Britain use has been made of Yarrell’s birds and of
various notices in the ‘ Zoologist.’ The present paper contains but a short abstract
from a large collection of facts, and it is intended to invite discussion upon so
interesting and difficult a subject.

{ This bird has also frequently visited England in winter.

Birds. 6533

summer visitors. I have myself seen a wheatear upon the banks of
the Royal Canal in the month of December. The hoopoe has more
than once been killed in February, and many of the scarcest occasional
visitors to Ireland, as well as Great Britain, have been met with
during the autumn and winter months: as examples, the spotted
eagle, griffon vulture, spoonbill, avocet, blackwinged stilt, ibis,
whiskered and black terns may be quoted; to which perhaps might
be added White’s thrush and the Sabine snipe (if a good species), and
the two African birds, spotted cuckoo and goldvented thrush, both
obtained in winter. Nor are the instances in which some of these
birds have been noticed in the spring or summer sufficient to
invalidate those above quoted, since it is only here wished to prove
the occasional occurrence in Great Britain, during late autumn and
winter, of species that come from the South-east and Kast; and we
need not be surprised to find birds from any quarter visiting us at either
of the periods of the general migratory movement, it being well known
that a few species have, both in spring and autumn, wandered to our
shores from America * as well as Africa.

But indeed when we consider the differences presented by the
remarkable contrast between the climates termed ‘‘ maritime” and
*‘ continental” by geographers, the former being distinguished by its
mild temperature in winter, and more favourable from the-moisture of
its air to a continuance of insect-life at that season,—while the
continental is equally rigorous,—-why should not birds by instinct be
aware of these differences?

The recent occurrence in Sussex of Sylvia galactotes, a bird of
quite southern distribution on the Continent, sufficiently shows that
the line of autumnal migration does not lie at all arbitrarily North
and South; but, to a great extent, at right angles to the “ Isotherms ”
of winter temperature, which run in a direction of N.W. and N.N.W.
in Central and Western Europe, and migration must therefore take
place in a line from the N.E. and E. to W.S.W. and W. With
future observation I feel little doubt that the streams of migration
may hereafter be laid down in a manner analogous to that of the
ocean and air currents; and that the laws which govern those streams
will be found to depend upon the nicely balanced influences of—
Ist, prevailing winds; 2nd, physical features of mountain chains and

* At least eight Incessorial and nine Grallatorial birds have crossed the Atlantic ;
and, if we may trust all the notices, three species of woodpeckers, which, like the
belted kingfisher, are not generally credited with enduring powers of flight.

6534 Birds,

river systems; * and 3rd, the distribution of water and land; as well as
by temperature and the all-important consideration of a sufficient
supply of food, which are at present thought to be almost the sole
cause. It will thus be seen how desirable it becomes, with a view to
future generalization, that additional pains should be taken to register
exactly all occurrences of our rarest birds. At least the month, and
far better the day, are well worth recording where possible, instead of
the vague notices of “‘lately ” or “ within the last few months,” which
cannot serve a purpose like the present.

Another point upon which some further information would be very
acceptable is with respect to the periods at which the old and young
birds move. I believe it is very generally thought that the old males
precede the females and young by an interval of several days; but
that this rule does not hold quite absolutely I have had good proof by
finding female redstarts and blackcaps, as well as males, among the
first flights; and if the females are less noticed they are also more
retiring in their habits. I have certainly shot both male and female
godwits from the same flock in May.

And if in most cases “the females and young” are later in ad-
vancing to their breeding haunts, is 1t of males only or of both sexes
that are composed those small detachments of old birds only, which, at
least in the case of the dunlin, are the earliest to return in autumn? How
comes it, too, that when the birds of this family lay but four eggs, so
far smaller a proportion is found among the September flocks, unless
it be supposed that most of the parent birds have hastened on by
themselves at an earlier period. Yet sometimes at least the female is
found accompanying the young brood.

May we find some good observers who will try to solve a part of
these most interesting problems! And even if no precise rule can be
fixed, why need we despair of discovering something more than is
known at present of the general laws? though Natural History,
and especially migration, be not reducible to mathematical exact-
ness.

°

A. G. More.
Bembridge, Isle of Wight, ‘
April 16, 1859.

* It is believed that the course of rivers and the neighbourhood of the coast are
both followed in preference by migratory birds.

Birds. 6535

Curious Fact in the Nidification of Sparrows.—For some time past I have observed
that two branches of a lime tree, which stands about twenty yards from my bed-room
window, were half denuded of their bark. It struck me as something curious, for the
branches were not dead, so I paid a little more attention to them, and at last was re~

_ warded by discovering the bark-strippers in the very act; they proved to be sparrows
foraging for materials for their nests, fairly engaged tearing with their strong beaks
the bark from the branches. I saw one flying with a piece up to the houses. I ought
to mention that the bark seems to be partly diseased, and seems to be readily stripped
from the branch.— Robert H. J. Gilbert ; 17, Upper Phillimore Place, Kensington,
March, 1859.

Nidification of Birds: the Common Martin.—By those who maintain that man is
governed by reason, and animals by a different principle, which they denominate
instinct, it is argued, as a characteristic proof of the nature and influence of the latter,
that its actions are invariable, because incapable of improvement by experience. How
far such is the case will appear from the following incident. Under the eaves of a
house, not so high as to be beyond the reach of any urchin who could procure a rod
or fling a stone, a martin had built its nest, which had more than once been destroyed.
There is no doubt that under ordinary circumstances these birds would have gone on
building their habitation in the same place and manner, if left to themselves and their
own resources, although even in such case some important variation in the structure
has been known to have occurred. But in the present instance the inhabitants of the
cottage were not satisfied to see the labour of their favourites perpetually rendered
void, and they set their wits to work, in what manner to secure them from harm. The
method adopted was,—to place a small round basket under the eaves, at the place
where the nest had been, as a protection from injury below; but it was attended with
the inconvenience that the handle prevented it from being pressed into contact with
the stone, while the breadth of the basket was so great as to cause the dripping from
the eaves to fall within the cavity. It was to obviate this last annoyance that a flat
piece of board was laid as a cover on the basket, with the precaution of leaving an
opening, not in front, but at the side, for the birds to enter, if they should choose to
adopt this new contrivance for their advantage; and they did justice to the kind
intentions of their friends by adopting it, and that too in a way of their own contri-
vance. They began by placing a rim of their usual mortar round the basket, at the
border where the covering board rested on it; but in thus rendering it safe and close
on every side they observed the caution of leaving a small hole at the side, by which to
enter. In this convenient piece of wickerwork, then, they found a cradle in which they
were able successfully to rear their brood. But this was not all; another pair of birds
had seen the good fortune of their fellows, and they resolved to be sharers in the
advantage they were enjoying. The space above the board, and within the arched
handle of the basket, was only inferior to the basket itself as a situation fora nest, and
there accordingly they proceeded to place it: it was formed of clay, in the usual
manner; and here, immediately above their neighbours, they successfully hatched
their young. We shall see whether they will adopt the same expedients in another
year. The laying hold of a novel, but obvious conveniency to secure an important
object, is not the least of the operations of the reasoning powers.—Jonathan Couch ;
Polperro, March 13, 1859.

Three British Spotted Woodpeckers.—I have always thought that old Bewick was right
in saying there were three distinct British pied woodpeckers ; and the note, in the

6536 Birds.

‘ Zoologist,’ by Mr. Pickard-Cambridge (Zool. 6444), I think proves it. I transcribe a note
from my interleaved Yarrell, writen some years ago. ‘I cannot help thinking that
there are three different specimens of this bird, as Bewick thought. I have three very
different from each other; they are sometimes found in Draycot Wood, where one of
these specimens were shot. ‘The largest was killed here; the middle spotted wood-
pecker in Clarendon Park ; the small bird in Amesbury Park: these small birds bred
in Draycot Park.—George S. Marsh ; Vicarage, Sutton Berger, Chippenham.

[My correspondent does not describe the differences of the three supposed species,
a very necessary prelude to their reception as distinct species. I think, moreover,
that Bewick cannot be cited as evidence, except as regards the illustrations of the work
bearing his name: he did not write the text.—Hdward Newman}.

Correction of previous Error respecting the Harlequin Duck (Anas histrionica).—L
beg leave to correct an error made by me in the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1852 (Zool. 3331) in
a note on the “ Occurrence of the Harlequin Duck in Banffshire.” The specimen
therein mentioned was submitted to the inspection of the late Mr. Yarrell, who pro-
nounced it to be a young female harlequin duck, and he has mentioned it as such in
the last edition of his work (British Birds, 3rd edition, iii. 366) ; but I was very sorry
to find, shortly after the bird was given to me, that the decision of that illustrious
ornithologist was unfortunately wrong, and that it was only a female long-tailed duck
(Anas glacialis). I may add, that there can be no doubt that the bird in my possession
is the identical specimen seen by Mr. Yarrell.— Edward Newton ; Elveden Hall, Thet-
ford, March, 1859.

Occurrence of Paget's Pochard (Anas ferinoides), for the second time, in Norfolk.—
A male specimen of this rare duck, apparently in adult plumage, was killed on the
24th of February at Little Wareham on the North-East Coast of Norfolk. The only
other example known to have been met with in this county, an immature male, was
obtained on Rollesby Broad (in the same neighbourhood), on the 27th of February,
1845. This bird was figured and described in the ‘ Zoologist’ (Zool. 1379), by Messrs.
Gurney and Fisher, in their‘ Birds of Norfolk, as a hybrid between the common
pochard (A. ferina) and the white-eyed pochard (A. nyroca), having very strong points
of resemblance to both these species ; and a long and very interesting paper on the
same subject by Mr. Fisher will be also found in the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1847 (Zool. 1778).
By the latter communication it will be seen that the Rollesby specimen, together with
two other ducks of a similar character,—one purchased by Mr. Bartlett in a London
market in April, 1847, the other some years before in Leadenhall market, by Mr. H.
Doubleday,—were exhibited on the 13th of April, 1847, at the meeting of the Zoological
Society, when, after a careful examination and comparison of the three specimens, both
as to external appearance and anatomical peculiarities, it was concluded that they all
belonged “ to a new and hitherto undescribed species.” Mr. Bartlett's bird closely
resembled in plumage the immature male from Rollesby, but Mr. Doubleday’s, also a
male, presented every indication of an adult state, and is, in fact, the same bird figured
and described in Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ as the American scaup (Fuligula mariloides,
Vigors). The scientific name of F. ferinoides as applied to these ducks by Mr. Bartlett
has been very generally accepted by naturalists, and that of Paget’s pochard was like-
wise added, after the late C. J. Paget, Esq., of Great Yarmouth, a very zealous orni-
thologist. In‘ Naumannia,’ for 1852, p. 12, under the name of F. Homeyeri, a desciip-
tion, with illustrations, of a pair of ducks killed near Rotterdam, in April, 1850, is given
by Herr Badeker, and on March 28, 1854, these same birds were exhibited by Mr.

Birds. 6537

Gould at a meeting of the Zoological Society of London. Mr. Bartlett was then
present, and expressed himself perfectly satisfied that they were the same species, to
which he had given the name of Fuligula ferinoides. This fact was the more inte-
resting, inasmuch as no female of this new duck had till then been met with. Whether *
“F. ferinoides ” is or is not “ a good species,’ or merely a hybrid, as originally sup-
posed, is still a debateable question with ornithologists, the pros and cons of which
might occupy much time and space. Herr Badeker is evidently convinced that it is
entitled to specific distinction (as F. Homeyeri), and I believe Mr. J. H. Gurney, the
fortunate possessor of the two Norfolk specimens, has arrived at the same conclusion.
I have described this last specimen as an adult male, and I think, from the rich
colouring and well-defined markings of its plumage, I am right in so doing ; but although
in other respects it agrees with the description given of Mr. Doubleday’s bird, there is
no approach to “jet black” either on the neck or breast, but the latter has somewhat
of a purple gloss with a few indistinct dark lines along the tips of the feathers.—
HI. Stevenson ; Norwich, April, 1859.

Note on the Occurrence of the Dartford Warbler in Norfolk.—A young male of this
species was caught, by a dog, in a furze-bush on Yarmouth Denes, on the 25th of
February. This bird was sent toa birdstuffer in this city, together with a stoat killed
at the same time, and was intended to be placed in the mouth of the “ varmint,” when
fortunately it was recognised as a rarity. Iam aware of but one other specimen of
this warbler having been met with in this county, which was also obtained on Yar-
mouth Denes some years ago.—Id.

Occurrence of the Little Crake and Schintz Sandpiper at Hastings. — A beautiful
male specimen of the little crake (Gallinula pusilla) was caught near this town on
Friday, the 15th, and brought to me alive. It was discovered on the bank of a small
stream near the sea. I have set up the bird, and it is now in my collection. I do not
know whether the capture of a Schintz sandpiper (Tringa Schintzit), in this neigh-
bourhood, on the 8th of October, 1857, has been brought under your notice ; if not, the
following particulars may be interesting to some of your readers. The Schintz sand-
piper was in company with a rednecked phalarope (Phalaropus hyperboreus), the latter
swimming, and the Schintz sandpiper wading in a flooded meadow, about two- hundred
yards from the sea, ahd directly opposite to the village of Bexhill, Sussex. They were
not at all shy, and permitted me to approach them within easy gun shot, and to watch
their motions for several minutes, when seizing a favourable opportunity I fired and
killed them both ; they both proved to be male birds. I set them both up, and the
Schintz sandpiper is now in the possession of J. H. Gurney, Esq., M.P., of Catton
Hall, Norfolk. I find neither Mr. Yarrell nor Mr. Morris mentions more than one
instance of the Schintz sandpiper having been taken in this country, and that in Shrop-
shire, and is in the collection of Sir Rowland Hill.—Aobert Kent ; St. Leonards-on-Sea,
Sussex, April 20, 1859.

Occurrence of live Toads underneath a Bed of Clay. —In the early part of this month,
two live toads were dug out from the bottom of a bed of stiff brick clay, in the neigh-
bourhood of Bridgwater, at the depth of fourteen feet from the surface of the ground ;
a third was killed by the spade before they were observed. This bed of clay rests on
peat, and the toads were found at the junction of the two beds, in a small domed

a 0e 2G

6538 Reptiles.

cavity, about the size of the crown of a man’s hat. On being exposed to the air they
uttered a squeaking cry, resembling that of a rat, but in about a minute they seemed
reconciled to their new destiny, and moved freely about. They were kept in a jar for
a2 few days, and then placed at liberty in a garden, where I suppose they are still living.
The living ones were about two inches in length, but narrow in proportion, and of a
rather lighter colour than toads usually are ; the one which was killed was very much
larger. The clay under which they were buried had been gradually dug out from the-
surface, since about the beginning of the year, but the last five feet of depth was not
dug till the day on which they were discovered. After about two feet of the surface,
the clay is very close and adhesive, and far too moist to admit of cracks being formed
in it, even in the dryest summers.—Thomas Clark ; Halesleigh, March 25, 1859.
[Will my correspondent give the name of any scientific man who was present at
this exhumation ? I am confident he is too careful a naturalist to accept such a state-
ment except on the highest and most unequivocal testimony ; and I look forward with
great interest to a correspondence with the actual discoverer.—Hdward Newman].

Naturalization of the Edible Frog (Rana esculenta, L.) in England.
By ALFRED NewrTon, M.A., F.L.S.

On the 8th of June, 1853, as my brother Edward and myself were
driving along the road between Thetford and Scoulton, in the county
of Norfolk, we heard a most singular noise, and one we were unable
to attribute to any cause known to us, proceeding from an adjacent
field. We stopped, and he, getting out, entered the field,—a small
meadow,—presently returning to me with the information that the
extraordinary sounds came from a pond, hitherto hidden by the hedge,
and that the utterers of them were no other than the edible frogs. Of
course | went immediately to satisfy myself, and there, sure enough,
were the frogs,—some swimming to-and-fro in the water,—some sitting
on the aquatic plants, with which the pond was choked, and these last
were exceedingly noisy, puffing out their faucial sacs, like so many
dwellers in the cave of Holus. After observing them for a little while,
we tried to obtain some specimens, but herein fortune favoured the
frogs: we had no aggressive weapons beyond a walking-stick and an
umbrella, and they were wary to a degree and exceedingly active.
However, by persevering we became possessed of four individuals,
three, I regret to say, dead, and one, an indiscreet youth whom we
found rambling about the grass, alive. By the time these were obtained
our offensive operations had so be-muddied the pool and disturbed
the growth of the water-weeds, that the rest of the colony sought safety
in its turbid depths, and we could discover no more. We therefore

Reptiles. 6539

retired with our spoils: the deceased were decently embalmed, and
are now in the Norfolk and Norwich Museum. Our prisoner survived
the journey home and lingered for three months in a foot-tub, usually
resting on a floating island of cork, from which he would leap into the
water whenever a fly was thrown for him on to its surface, and seizing
it swim back to his station, when he disposed of it in about two gulps,
though, indeed, if it happened to be a large blue-bottle a faint buzzing
might be heard for some seconds after it had disappeared from the
light of day.

I lost no time in communicating the discovery we had made to Mr.
J. H. Gurney, who in reply informed me that some years before Mr.
George Berney had imported a great many animals of this species
alive, and had liberated them in this country. Here the matter rested
until a few days ago, when I received from the gentleman last named
an account of his proceedings, and, having his permission to do so, I
extract some portions of his letter, written from Morton Hall, Norwich,
March 25, 1859, which, I think, will be found interesting. Mr. Berney
says :—‘I went to Paris in 1837; some letters which I wrote from
that place, and which now lie before me, fix the date with certainty: I
brought home two hundred edible frogs and a great quantity of spawn.
These were deposited in the ditches in the meadows at Morton, in some
ponds at Hockering, and some were placed in the fens at Foulden, near
Stoke Ferry.

“They did not like the meadows and left them for ponds. I found
some in a pond at the top of Honingham Heights, near the old tele-
graph. I have measured the distance on a map, three chains to an
inch, this morning, and find it to be in a straight line 13 mile and forty
yards. In the whole distance there is not one drop of water, not a
puddle as big as a hand-bason, to be found between the meadows
where they were placed and the pond in which I saw and heard them.
it is impossible to mistake their cry or the two bladders that stick out
of their heads when they cry.

“In 1841 I imported another lot from Brussels. In 1842 [ brought
over from St. Omer thirteen hundred in large hampers made like slave-
‘ships, with plenty of tiers; these were moveable and were covered
with water-lily leaves stitched on to them, that the frogs might be
comfortable and feel at home. These were dispersed about in the
above-mentioned places, and many hundreds were put into the fens at
Foulden, and in the neighbourhood.”

Now the place where we found, in 1853, what were doubtless the des-
cendants of Mr. Berney’s importations, is nearly equidistant from the

6540 Fishes.

two districts mentioned by him in the above extracts, being about
thirteen miles from each. Should any of the readers of the ‘Zoologist’
wish to visit the spot, I beg to refer them for further particulars (as I
myself shall most likely be abroad most of the summer) to Mr. T.
Southwell, of Hempton, near Fakenham, who, I doubt not, will
willingly furnish them with the information necessary to re-discover
it. If they find it inhabited, I only trust they will be careful not to
diminish the number of the colonists too much, and that they will
record in the pages of this magazine their observations on the present
condition of the settlement, of which I have no knowledge whatever,
never having re-visited the locality. .

How far the facts above related will serve to answer the inquiry
propounded nearly twelve years since by Mr. J. Wolley (Zool. 1821)
“Is the Edible Frog a true Native of Britain?” I do not presume to
say, but 1 will merely draw attention to one point, namely, that, as
appears from Mr. Berney’s letter, upwards of 1500 edible frogs, besides
spawn, had been, by him alone, imported into the east of England,
some of them six years and all more than a whole year, before Mr. C.
Thurnall’s discovery of the species, in September, 1843, at Foulmire
fen in Cambridgeshire (Zool. 393).

ALFRED NEWTON.
Elveden Hall, Thetford.

April 5, 1859.

A Beautiful Gurnard.—When trawling in the Dee for shrimps, &c., I have
frequently taken a small gurnard of very beautiful appearance. It is generally from
four to six inches in length, and the body is of a pale reddish colour. When held in
the hand there is nothing remarkable to be observed about it, but if placed alive in a
tub of water a wonderful change comes over it. The large pectoral fins previously
folded up are now spread widely out, and display a border of the most brilliant tur-
quoise blue. There is also a large black patch on the upper surface of the fin which
is studded with spots of the same colour. Altogether it reminds one forcibly of a
butterfly, more especially of a South American species which is similarly studded with
blue spots. Were it not for the spots being blue instead of white, I should almost
imagine it to be the little gurnard (Zrigla peciloptera) of Yarrell, which from his
description seems to be taken in the same sort of situations. Perhaps some of your
readers may be able to enlighten me on the subject. I may add that it seems to do
pretty well in confinement, and I cannot imagine a more beautiful fish for the aquarium,
Alfred O. Walker ; Chester, March 29, 1859.

[Is not this the young of the Sapphirine gurnard, so remarkable for its beautifully
blue pectorals?—Edward Newman].

The Shower of Fishes.—You ask if some of your correspondents will enlighten you
on the subject of “ ‘The Shower of Fishes in the Valley of Aberdare :” I have seen the

Mollusks. 6541

fish sent as having been taken out of the rain pool referred to; they are very young
minnows. On reading the evidence it appears to me most probably to be only a
practical joke of the mates of Juhn Lewis, who seem to have thrown a pailful of
water with the fish in it over him, and he appears to have returned them to the pool
from which they were originally taken. The fish forwarded are very unlike those taken
up in whirlwinds in tropical countries, and we must make allowance for unintentional
exaggeyations of quantity, &c., in an account given a month after the event had
occurred.—J. E. Gray ; British Museum, April 2, 1859.

[In a small tank in the Zoological Gardens, Regent’s Park, are a few little fishes
purporting to be the identical specimens submitted to Professor Owen’s inspection:
one only of these is a minnow, the rest are the smooth-tailed stickleback (Gasterosteus
leturus). Dr. Gray is without doubt correct in attributing the whole affair to some
practical joker.— Edward Newman].

The Mode by which the Pholas bores—The mode by which the Pholas bores its
habitation, even in the hardest rock (?), has long been a subject of ingenious speculation
amongst naturalists. None of their theories advanced, however, have been accepted as
fully satisfactory ; and no one previous to myself has had, I believe, the satisfaction of
seeing the animal in the operation. I have therefore great pleasure in giving a short
account of the manner in which I have seen the act performed. ‘The aquarium, one
might have supposed, would have afforded an easy means of solving the problem. But
here we meet a fresh difficulty from the supposed fact that the Pholas, being once
dragged from its lone abode, would not take the trouble to excavate another. His
theory appeared to me most unnatural and improbable ; and my opinion seemed to be
further borne out from the fact that old logs of. wood thrown up by the waves were
frequently covered with holes of different sizes and depths from one-eighth of an inch
to the entire thickness of the log. These holes appeared to me evidently made by
Pholades, and to have been almost immediately abandoned, either through caprice or
necessity. The latter we may frequently suppose to be the case ; when the log, resting
quietly at the bottom of the sea, is pitched upon by a houseless Pholas, and operations
commenced, when the ruthless storm drifts the log on shore and hurls the Pholas once
more at the mercy of the winds and waves. There is another case, in which the Pholas
may require a fresh habitation, for procuring which we should suppose Nature had
given it the means: it is this. Many of the logs tenanted by Pholades are so thin
that they would serve the growing mollusk but a short time ; and, moreover, wood and
other substances used by them, being of a perishable nature must render a fresh abode
frequently necessary. Having, therefore, procured several of these mollusks in pieces
of timber, I extracted one and placed it loose in my aquarium, with the vague hope
that it would perforate some sandstone, on which I had placed it. It possessed the
powers of locomotion, but made no attempt to bore. I then cut a piece of wood
from the timber in which it had been found, and placed the Pholas in a hole, a little
more than a quarter of an inch deep. Its sheil being about two inches long, this
arrangement left about an inch and three-quarters exposed. After a short time, the
animal attached its foot to the bottom of the hole and commenced swaying itself from
side to side, until the hole was of sufficient depth to allow it to proceed in the following
manner. It inflated itself with water, apparently to its fullest extent, raising its shell

6542 Insects.

upwards from the hole ; ‘then holding by its muscular foot, it drew its shell gradually
down. This would have produced a perpendicular and very inefficient action but for
a wise provision of Nature. The edges of the valves are not joined close together, but
are connected by a membrane (extension of the mantle), aud instead of being joined
at the hinge (umbo) like ordinary bivalves, they possess an extra plate, attached to
each valve of the shell, which is necessary for the following operation. In boring, this
mollusk, having dilated itself with water, draws down its shell within the hole, gradually
closing the lower anterior edges until they almost touch. It then raises its shell
upwards, gradually opening the lower anterior edges and closing the upper, thus boring
both upwards and downwards. The spines are placed in rows, like the teeth of a saw;
those towards the lower part of the shell being sharp and pointed, while those above,
being now useless, are not renewed. So far for the mode of boring; but how to account
for the holes fitting the shape of the animal inhabiting them? I boldly assert that
this is only the case when the animal is found in the same rock or wood which it
entered when small. This mollusk evidently bores merely to protect its fragile shell,
and not from the love of excavating ; and in this opinion I am borne out by my own
specimens. The young Pholas, therefore, having found a substance suitable for its
habitation, ceases to bore immediately that it has buried its shell below the surface.
It remains quiescent until its increasing growth requires a renewal of its labours. It
thus continues working deeper and deeper until the substance fails ; when it has nothing
for it but to bore through, and seek a fresh place, where it may find a safe retreat,
The scrapings, &c., made during the operation of boring are expelled with considerable
force from the syphonal tube—John Ross; Talacre, Rhyl, North Wales, April 9,
1859.

Larva of Coremia munitarta.—Last June, Mr. Chapman, of Glasgow, kindly sent
me eight eggs of the above. They hatched the day after they reached me. Mr. Chap-
man did not know their proper food, so I tried dandelion, but they did not like it. I
then tempted them with groundsel, which they devoured with avidity. After the first
moult, three died, and the remaining five seemed disposed to follow their example.
However they continued to eat slowly, without increasing much in size throughout the
summer and autumn. In January they began to feed again, rapidly increasing in size.
By the beginning of March, they were full fed, and about a fortnight since became
pupe. The following is a description of the larva, when fuil fed. Length, one inch ;
ground colour, dull green or brown, very variable; segments pink or flesh-coloured.
The body is slightly sprinkled with black dots, with two very distinct blotches on the
sixth and seventh segments, the latter being the largest. The caterpillar spins up in
moss, and the-pupa is brown. I am now breeding lovely specimens (forced) of Eupi-
thecia assimilaria from larve beaten off black currants. As I do not wish to anticipate
my friend Mr. Crewe, I withold any description of the larva—J. Greene; Cubley
Rectory, Doveridge, Derby, April 8, 1859.

On the Solenobie of Lancashire, §c.—Lately the weather has been so changeable
here that I kept postponing my journey to the Moors for my S. triquetrella, but I went
on Friday: the first thing that occurred after my arrival at the locality was nearly two
hours rain ; I then turned over at least a ton weight of big stones, and found the cases
sought were very scarce, and, after all iny trouble, the larve had in every case already
assuined the pupa state, so that all my labour was thrown away, and another year must

Entomological Society. 6543

elapse before we get the larve. My cases of S. inconspicuella have been kept out of
doors, and the last few days their inmates have been making their appearance. I have
also bred a few females fromt he cases found on beech trees at Dunham Park, but not
a single male; this is my fifth year, and no males. The female from these cases is
quite distinct from S. inconspicuella Q ; though the cases are larger the females are
smaller, and the anal tuft is not half the size that it is in S. inconspicuella. In May
I hope to send vou a very distinct species that feeds on the trunks of fruit trees at
Bristol ; unfortunately these also are all females, and no males as yet. You seem to be
in doubt as to the food of these case-bearing insects ; it is the fine powdery lichen that is
met with on most trees, walls, old palings, &c.; on it I have fed Taleporia pseudo-
bombycella, Solenobia triquetrella, S. inconspicuella, Xysmatodoma argentimaculella,
X. melanella, &c. Passing the wall where X. argentimaculella occurs, I gathered a
few of the larve in their queerly formed bags.—R. 8. Edleston ; Bowdon, near Man-
chester, April 12, 1859.—‘ Intelligencer,’

Habits of Nepticula argyropezella.—Last October and November I met with some
yellow larve, mining close to the foot-stalk in leaves of Populus tremula; from these
I have now bred specimens of a bluish black Nepticula, with very large silvery cilia, a
minute white spot on the outer margin of the anterior wings, and a larger spot on
the inner margin, nearer to the tip of the wing; this Mr. Stainton considers N. argyro-
pezella, though much blacker than captured specimens. The egg appears to be
deposited, not on the leaf, but on one side of the long stem, about a quarter of an
inch from its junction with the leaf; the young larva, penetrating the stem, burrows
to the leaf, which it enters at the midrib, and mines the upper cuticle, rarely passing
through a rib, but completely devouring, as it goes, all the substance between the middle
and one side rib, thus forming a wedge-shaped mine, with the excrement irregularly
scattered; the larva, when full fed, emerges on the upper side of the leaf, and forms
on the ground a flat, pale brown and rather woolly cocoon, from which the pupa is
protruded on the escape of the perfect insect. From the mode of mining, it is obvious
that, unlike most Nepticule, only a single larva can be nourished by each leaf, and
they may be collected better in the fallen leaves than in those yet on the trees.—
P. H, Vaughan ; Redland, Bristol.—Id.

Proceedings of Societies.
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
March 7, 1859—Dr. Gray, President, in the Chair.

Donations.

The following donations were announced, and thanks ordered to be presented to the
donors :—‘ The Transactions of the Linnean Society of London,’ Vol. xxii. Pt. 3; pre-
sented by the Society. ‘{Konigliga Svenska Fregatten Eugenias Resa omkring Jorden
under Befal’ af C. A.Virgin, aren 1851—1853 ; by the Royal Academy of Sciences of
Stockholm. ‘An Accentuated List of British Lepidoptera,’ 3 copies ; by the Entomo-
logical Societies of Oxford and Cambridge. ‘ Journal of the Proceedings of the
Linnean Society, Supplement to Botany, No.1; by the Society. ‘ Proceedings of the

6544 Entomological Society.

Royal Society,’ Vol. ix. No. 33; by the Society. ‘The Journal of the Royal Agti-
cultural Society of England,’ Vol. xix, Part 2; by the Society. ‘ Tijdschrift voor
Entomologie uitgegeven door de Nederlandsche Entomologische Vereiniging,’ Vol. ii.,
Parts 2 and 3; by the Netherlands Entomological Society. ‘ Insecta Caffrarie, Part
ii.; by the Author, Professor C. H. Boheman. ‘The Zoologist’ for March; by the
Editor. ‘ The Atheneum’ for February ; by the Editor. ‘ The Literary Gazette’ for
February ; by the Editor. ‘The Journal of the Society of Arts’ for February ; by the
Society. ‘A Manual of British Butterflies and Moths, No. 26; ‘ The Entomologist’s
Weekly Intelligencer,’ Nos. 124—127; by H. T. Stainton, Esy. ‘ Linnea Entomo-
logica,’ Vol. xiii; by the Entomological Society of Stettin. ‘ Description of New
Species of Phytophagous Beetles ;’ by the Author, J. S. Baly, Esq. ‘A Catalogue of
British Coleoptera, Part 2; by the Author, G. R. Waterhouse, Esq.

Election of a Member and Subscriber.

The Rev. Evan Lewis, B.A., of Rothwell, Northamptonshire,’was balloted for, and
elected a Member, and W. B. Tegetmeier, Esq., of Muswell Hill, a Subscriber to the
Society.

Exhibitions.

Mr. Stevens exhibited two specimens of Petasia nubeculosa, which had that morning
emerged from the pupe : he had reared the larve from eggs received from Perthshire,
and the insects had passed two winters in the pupa state.

Mr. Stevens also exhibited some butterflies, chiefly Pieridz, sent from Siam by
M. Mouhot, and some beautiful Micro-Lepidoptera, taken by Mr. Diggles at Moreton
Bay.

Mr. Douglas exhibited a box containing 1300 specimens of Coleoptera, taken
during the last month, chiefly in the neighbourhood of Lee, but a few were from
Hammersmith Marshes and Darenth Wood, amongst them were the following :—

Stenus solutus. Stenolophus exiguus
»» pubescens Gyrophena lucidula
Sunius intermedius Euryusa laticollis
Calodera ethiops Homalota flavipes Founda
“ nigrita Thiasophila angulata nesta we
- riparia Quedius brevis Foust
Phlicopora reptans Saprinus piceus wait
Sericoderus lateralis Dendrophilus pygmeus i

Oxypoda n. sp.?

Mr. Douglas also exhibited a monstrous species of Pulex found in grass at the
margin of a pond, and some larve, supposed to be those of Trinodes hirtus, found under
loose bark of oak, also a specimen of Rhyzophagus politus, Hellw., Fab., a species new
to Britain, taken by sweeping in a ditch at Lee, in June.

Mr. Westwood exhibited a drawing of the larva of a species of the Dipterous
Genus Thereva, remarkable for the anomalous development of the abdominal seg-
ments which were comparatively of so large a size, each being also transversely
divided by an impression that there appeared to be double the usual number of joints,
which added to the head, three thoracic segments (of the usual size) and the anal
segment give the appearance of twenty-one segments, being eight more than
the usual number; the eight abdominal segments being as it were duplicated,
the alternate ones presenting a minute lobe on each side; the head is extremely small

Entomological Society. 6545

and dark-coloured, and the whole insect has the appearance of an elongated wire-
worm. He had received it from Mr. Mitford, who had found it to be carnivorous
feeding on the pupe of Aleucis pictaria. It has also been found to have destroyed
several pupe of the Sphinx Ligustri. No previous indication of its carnivorous habits
had been recorded nor had the peculiar structure of the abdominal segments been
previously described.

Mr. Westwood also exhibited three species of insects recently received by him from
Mr. Neitner at Ramboddo, in Ceylon, which have been found by that gentleman to
be injurious to the coffee plantations. These consist of a species of Coccide
(Lecanium Coffee) the scales of which infest the leaves in immense numbers;
a minute moth, which Mr. Stainton thinks is referrible to the genus Gracilaria, and
distinct from the Elachista coffeella of Guérin, which appears to belong to the genus
Bucculatrix ; the larve of this little moth mine the leaves of the coffee, as do also
the larve of the third insect, a minute species of Muscide, which Mr. Haliday,
to whom it had been referred, regards as belonging to the genus Agromyza.

Mr. Westwood also exhibited various insects which had been found to be injurious
to books, in the Bodleian Library, where a careful hunt after book-worms is now
going on. In addition to small cockroaches and Lepisme (generally dead and
crushed) two, if not three species of Anobium (A. striatum and A. paniceum), and
their larvae were more commonly found; the latter gnawing the interior of the
bindings as well as perforating the leaves. He considered that the larve might be
destroyed by placing the infected volumes in a large close box in which a small
quantity of benzine collas had been dropped.

He also exhibited an insect which he had received some time previously from Mr.
Backhouse, of Gateshead, as a gigantic flea, and which he had exhibited to the
Society on the 4th of May, 1857 (without, however, having previously had an oppor-
tunity of carefully examining it), and for which he then suggested the name of Pulex
Imperator. He had, however, recently examined the insect more minutely, and had
ascertained that it was a very young larva of a Blatta, much distorted by being crushed
flat in rather an oblique position, and with most of the limbs broken off. A small por-
tion of the base of one of the multiannular antenne was visible in such a situation
as to seem like a part of the mouth, but on microscopically examining it, as well as
the portions of the legs still remaining, it became evident that the insect was not a flea,
and on dissecting the mouth, its true character was at once detected.

Captain Cox exhibited some beautiful drawings of the larve of Lepidoptera,
including those of Carcocapsa saltatans, Westw., Phlogophora empyrea, Nyssia hispi-
daria, &c.

Mr. Stevens exhibited, on behalf of Signor De Tivoli, some larve of Lepidoptera,
spiders and other insects, preserved by having been immersed in a chemical solution
which had the effect of hardening them; in some instances the form and colour were
well preserved.

Mr. Gorham exhibited a specimen of Tachyusa concolor, recently found by him at
Chelsea Waterworks.

Mr. Janson called attention to the recently published Catalogue of European Cole-
optera, by Dr. Schaum, in which were many modifications and alterations, amongst
which he might mention the Strepsiptera being included in it as a family of Cole-
optera.

XVII. 2H

6546 Entomological Society.

Mr. Adam White mentioned that he had just received an interesting letter from
Mr. Gloyne, now a student in Geneva. Mr. Gloyne had been making excursions in
the neighbourhood of that Swiss city, and was struck with the occurrence of species of
Coleoptera not met with in Great Britain, but associated with species of common
occurrence in our islands. He had not himself taken Omophron limbatum, but a
friend of Mr. Gloyne’s found that curious geodephagous beetle in banks, by pouring
water on them here and there, when little groups of eight or ten individuals were some-
times met with.

Mr. Adam White remarked that he was glad to see in Dr. Schaum’s new ‘ Catalogue
of the European Coleoptera,’ that the learned chief compiler of that Catalogue had
separated the Brenthide from the Curculionidae, and placed them close to the Longi-
corn Beetles.

Mr. White added that he had, some time back, tried to show at a Meeting of the
Linnean Society, where he had exhibited the specimen of the rare Hypocephalus
Desmarestii, belonging to J. Aspinall Turner, Esq., M.P., that Hypocephalus
belonged to the Longicorns, and was close to Dorysthenes. He had then dwelt on
the Brenthide not being far removed frum the Longicorns ; some, such as the great
Eutrachelus Temminckii of Java, showing this affinity most markedly. He alluded
to Mr. Curtis’s paper on that insect, with its fine drawing. Mr. White expressed
himself pleased that in a Catalogue like Schaum’s, philosophical arrangement,
founded on an extensive study of the Coleoptera of all countries, had led Dr. Schaum

to place Amorphocephalus, the solitary European representative of the Brenthide,
just before the Longicorns.

The Secretary read a letter from L. Lardner, Esq., accompanying some living
larve, apparently of a species of Curculio, from Calcutta, feeding on poppy seeds,
received from Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy.

Mr. Stevens read the following extract from a letter just received, addressed to
him by Mr. A. R. Wallace, dated Batchian, Moluccas, October 29th, 1858 :—

“ As there is now a boat going which may just catch the mail at Ternate, I write
a few lines to let you know of my having arrived here safe and commenced operations.
I came here in a small hired boat with my own men, luckily it was fine weather, or
100 miles at sea with no means of cooking and only room for one day’s water, would
have been more than unpleasant. I stopped five days at the Kaiod Islands, just half
way, and gota nice collection of beetles, a fair number of new species, and some
curious varieties of those before found at Ternate and Gilolo. I have only been here
five days, but from what I have already done, and the nature of the country, Iam
inclined to think it may prove one of the best localities I have yet visited; I have
already twenty species of Longicorns new to me, nothing very grand, but many pretty
and very interesting ; the most remarkable is one of the Bornean genus, Triammatus,
also several species of the elegant little genus Serixia, which have been very scarce or
absent since I left Sarawak ; I have also an elegant new Pachyrhynchus, a fine Ips,
a small new Cicindela, and a small new species of Therates. In butterflies I have
taken an imperfect specimen of a glorious new species very like Papilio Ulysses, but
distinct, and even handsomer! I have also seen a female of a grand new Ornithop-
tera, but cannot say what the male will prove to be. I have several times seen what
I think is a new species allied to Papilio Codrus, but they are too wild to catch: the

Species of Bovine Animals. 6547

Papilio allied to P. Sarpedon, which I found at Macassar, is also here, and two or three
other species which I have not yet been able to capture.”

Part I. of the fifth volume of the new series of the Society’s ‘ Transactions’ was
announced as pnblished.—Z. S.

Notice of the Various Species of Bovine Animals. By the Editor of
the ‘ Indian Field.’

(Continued from p. 6421.)

The excessive vagueness of most notices of wild or little known
cattle is extremely perplexing to the naturalist, who would endeavour
to make some meaning out of them. Thus it is difficult to compre-
hend what animal can be meant by the “ gyall” of Bishop Heber’s
‘ Journal,’ briefly noticed, and oy rudely figured as having been seen
by that prelate in the Governor’s park in Ceylon ; and equally difficult
is it to understand what the following passage alludes to, in Mrs.
Graham’s work :—At the Governor’s house in Ceylon, this lady “
feeding by himself, an animal no less beautiful than terrible—the wild
bull, whose milk-white hide is adorned with a black flowing mane !”
Can there be such a creature ?

“In the ‘ Journal of the Asiatic Society,’ vol. xvi., p. 706, Mr. B. H.
Hodgson thus notifies the gaour—“ Bos Gaurus, vel ? cavifrons. The
Gaur or Gauri gau. Czeesar’s wild bull of Europe [the urus!], and
Aristotle’s of Persia, are two other species of Bibos or of Gaveeus,
which, could we test them, might be respectively called ‘ classicus et
Aristotelis.’ [The urus is surely sufficiently made out!] The gaurs,”
he adds, “ inhabit the primitive forests of India generally, under the
great ranges of mountains, such as the sub-Himalayas, the Vindhias,
the Sathpuras, the Ghats eastern and western, and their links with
the Vindhias, and with the Nilgiris. Beyond the Brahmaputra Bibos
is replaced by Gaveeus [quite a mistake, even if the types could be ac-
cepted as sufficiently different, in which case the banteng must needs
be acknowledged as a third type, about as well marked as either of
the others, or at least it certainly cannot be ranged with one rather
than with the other!], of which there would seem to be two species
in the Indo-Chinese countries, one of them extending to Ceylon, if the
Lanka wild ox be not rather a Bibos; 1 suspect,” continues Mr. Hodg-
son, *‘ there will prove to be at least two species of Bibos, as of Rusa,
inhabitants of India, between the Cape (Comorin) and the sub-Hima-
layas, or B. Gaurus and B. cavifrons.”

6548 Notice of the various

We respectfully submit that the gaour is one and the same species,
without appreciable difference, alike in northern and southern India,
formerly in Ceylon, and still numerous in the Burmese countries and
Malayan peninsula; also that nearly throughout this great range of
territory there is only one species of Rusa or Sambur deer, however
individuals may vary.* The gaour is the only existing indigenous
wild taurine in cis-Brahmaputran India; for it is very doubtful if the
wild humped cattle be indigenous to this country. The humped may
yet prove to be the proper African type of taurines.

Of his genus Gavceus, as apart from Bibos, Mr. Hodgson remarks—
* The Gavi or Gabi—habitat trans-Brahmaputran, the forests under
the ranges extending from Asam to the sea. The Senbar vel P’hain
may probably be a second species; and B. sondaicus, or the banteng,
a third and the insular species; but these want testing. The first is
more than half reduced from the wild state, like the yak of Tibet. The
others are entirely wild.” :

Not so: we credit Mr. Barbe’s statement, founded on personal ob-
servation, that the gaour, in addition to the gayal, is domesticated in
the interior of the Tippera Hills; and we have long known that the
banteng was partially domesticated in the Archipelago. The Rev.
J. Mason also remarks of this animal (as we believe, in the Tenasserim
provinces), that “ occasionally a young wild ox is domesticated, and
brought under the yoke.” We identify, with scarcely a trace of hesi-
tation, upon the strength of the evidence now before us, the T’sain
or ‘I’scing of Burma with the banteng of the Archipelago ; thus re-
ducing the number of known flat-horned taurines to three, all of
which (we have much reason to conclude) are found together, or within
the same district, in the Indo-Chinese region, if not also in the
Malayan peninsula. What the Sumatran domestic cattle, observed

* The Sambur of the Malayan peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo, or Rusa equina,
would appear to be a smaller and lighter-built species, with longer and finer limbs,
than that of all India, R. Aristotelis; the horns also being proportionally thicker, but
less elongated. That of Java, R. hippelaphus apud Gray, is very distinct, and has
- invariably the inner prong of the terminal fork of each horn much longer than the
outer prong, being the reverse of what occurs in the spotted Axis. The Javanese Rusa
is also smaller than the Malayan; but the difference of size, as represented by Dr. 8.
Miiller’s figures of skulls (drawn on the same scale), is conspicuously much less than
the difference of size of fine adult skulls from India and Java now under examination.
How far northward the R. equina extends, we have been unable to ascertain ; but R.
Aristotelis is certainly that inhabiting Arakan. The Javanese species has long been
naturalised in the Mauritius.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6549

and insufficiently described by Sir Stamford Raffles, may be, remains
still to be ascertained.

A further notice of the gaour may yet be quoted from the pen of
Mr. Hodgson :—“ The gaurs rut in winter and procreate in autumn,
producing usually but one young ata birth. The period of gestation
was in Nepaul always stated to me to exceed that of the common ox ;
but Mr. Elliot will not allow this.* The herds are ordinarily rather
numerous, twenty, thirty, forty, and sometimes even double these
numbers, being found together; but in the breeding-season, not above
ten or fifteen cows, with a single mature vigorous bull, who jealously
expels every young and old male from his harem. The sub-Himalayan
species entirely avoids the open tarai on the one hand, and the hills
on the other, adhering to the most solitary parts of the sal-forest, close
to and between the salient spurs of the hills, where the periodical
firing of the under-growth of the forest never reaches. In the Dukhun
these animals are said to penetrate into the hills in the hot weather—
very partially, I fancy, or else they must then lack cover on the plain,
for they are not a mountain race at all. They feed early and late in
the more open glades of the forest, posting sentinels the while, and
manifesting in their whole demeanour a degree of shyness unparalleled
among the bovines [unless by B. sondaicus]. They never venture,
even in the rains, when there is abundance of most rank vegetation to
cover their approaches, into the open tarai to depredate on the crops,
as the wild. buffaloes constantly do; nor do they ever associate or inter-
breed with the tame cattle, though immense numbers of the latter
every spring are driven into their retreats to feed, and remain there in
a half-wild condition for three or four months, when the wild buffaloes
frequently interbreed with the tame ones of their kind, of which, like-
wise, vast numbers are depastured there. Old males of the gaur are
often found solitarily wandering the forests they frequent, especially
in winter; but these have probably been recently expelled the herds
by their more vigorous juniors, and re-unite themselves with some herd
after the season of contention has passed. It is exceedingly difficult
to rear the Gauri Gau in confinement : nor did I ever know a successful
experiment, though the attempt has been, for fifty years past, constantly
made by the Court of Nepaul, which finds no difficulty in rearing wild
buffaloes and causing them to breed in confinement with the domestic
species, which is thus greatly improved in size and other qualities.

* There would seem to be some mistake about the excessively slow breeding of the
gayal, one calf in three years only !

6550 Notice of the various

I have remarked on the excessive shyness of the gaurs ; and it follows
that, when approached, they will retreat so long as they can; but if
compelled to stand and defend themselves, they do so with a courage
aud determination not to be surpassed. ‘Their beef is unequalled for
flavour and tenderness [we have been told this likewise of the banteng] ;
but to the aborigines only it is illicit food, and not to all tribes of them,
nor are any of them allowed to kill the gaur in Hindu kingdoms. The
gaur stands from 6 to 63 feet high at the shoulder, and is either of a
ruddy brown alias tan, or of a black colour, the forehead and limbs
below the mid-flexures being pale, and the forehead and knees [mode-
rately] tufted. Captain Tickell, a good observer, believes that there
are two species of Bibos in the Chota Nagpore territories alone!
Doubtless close investigation will reveal many new species in the
Bovine.

Not any more in cis-Brahmaputran India, we suspect; and we
regard the identification of the continental Tsoing with the insular
banteng as an important step gained. Strange indeed that such a
question, referring to animals of such magnitude and interest to the
sportsman, should not long ago have been settled, as all such questions
require to be, by actual comparison of specimens ; and still more
strange that educated sporting gentlemen should feel so little interest
in their decision,—that twenty years should have elapsed since Helfer,
for example, called attention to the different species of bovines that
inhabit the Tenasserim provinces, and that even yet they are not
determined—the gayal for instance—with absolute certainty, and the
banteng only now with a very near approach to certainty! Let us
hope that these notices will awaken some attention to the subject.

The third primary division of the bovine animals is the bubaline, or
that of the buffaloes, properly so called. We have treated of the bison-
tine, which comprises—/irst, Ovibos, or the musk cattle of Arctic
regions; secondly, Bootherium, extinct; thirdly, Bison, the true shaggy
bison of the north temperate zone; and fourthly, Poephagus, or the
yak of high Central Asia. Also of the taurine, in which we recognise
three principal types,—jirst, Bos or Taurus, exemplified by the
domestic cattle of Europe and Northern Asia; secondly, Zebus, or the
humped cattle of the tropical regions of the anciently known continents;
and, thirdly, Gaveeus, or the flat-horned group peculiar to tropical and
juxta-tropical Asia. We now arrive at the bubaline series, or that of
the true buffaloes.

These animals are peculiar to the warmer regions of the eastern
hemisphere, and are at once recognised and distinguished from other

Species of Bovine Animals. 6551

bovines by their hog-like aspect and wallowing habits,* and their
relative thick and thinly clad hide, the hairs of which are inserted verti-
cally ; in short by their pachydermatous exterior, superadded to the
ordinary characters of the group. Their horns are flattened and mostly
directed downwards and outwards, with a greater or less inclination
backwards, then uncinating or gradually curving upwards to the ex-
tremity. They carry the nose horizontally, being much guided by
the sense of smell ; and it is a position in which they pass hours in the
water, having little more than the nostrils above the surface. Their
proportions are heavy, indicative of this aquatic propensity. Though
inhabitants of hot climates, no animal is more impatient of heat; and
nothing can prevent the domesticated races from plunging or wallowing
whensoever an opportunity offers, at least when weary or over-heated,
—which of course unfits them for being laden with any article to which
moisture is injurious. They float, and commonly sleep in the water,
and cross the broadest rivers with little effort; the females, when
danger from crocodiles or other foes may be apprehended (like hippo-
potami), carrying their young upon the back.t They can also run
swiftly up to their bellies in the stream. Hills are naturally avoided
by them (albeit they thrive in hilly districts), though they scramble up
steep acclivities with surprising ease, where horses cannot follow ; and
they prefer the coarse plants of the forest, and such as grow in swampy
districts, to those of open plains. It is even stated that during the inun-
dations of the great tropical rivers these animals frequently dive, and
employ their horns to draw aquatic plants to the surface, where they
feed on them, while drifting with the stream.{ Their habits are, for
the most part, gregarious (as with the bovines generally), the leader of
a herd expelling the younger males as they acquire prowess to cope
with him ; and such banished individuals (like san elephants, &c.), are
particularly savage and dangerous to encounter. ‘Their voice is a low
rumbling moan. In their combats they strike and butt with the fore-
head (like all other bovines), endeavour to lift the opponent on their
horns, and when thrown, to crush him with their knees: they trample
upon the body; and their vindictive fury is so lasting that they will
return again and again to glut their vengeance on the same inanimate
corpse. ‘The Cape species tosses like a common bull, as the flexure

* The American bison, however, is a good deal of a wallower.— Vide Catlin’s work
and its illustrations.

+ Marsden’s ‘ History of Sumatra,’ p. 95.

t Pennant’s ‘ Hindustan,’ vol. 1. p. 115.

6552 - Notice of the various

of its horns would intimate; but the long-horned Indian buffaloes attack
a man or tiger by goring, which, notwithstanding the backward curva-
ture of their horns, they effect by bringing the head close under the
breast (much in the manner of an oryx), and charging with the point
of one horn directed forwards and almost touching the ground; the
action is, however, the same in both cases. “ Upon an attack or alarm,”
writes Marsden, “these animals flee to a short distance, and then
suddenly face about and draw up in battle array, with surprising quick-
ness and regularity; their horns being laid back, and their muzzles
projecting. Upon the nearer approach of the danger that threatens
them, they make a second flight, and again halt and form; and this
excellent mode of retreat they continue till they have gained a neigh-
bouring wood.” They manifest the same antipathy to glaring colours,
and particularly red, as the rest of the group, and likewise as the gnus
(Catoblepas), of which sundry anecdotes have been recorded ; but, as
in other cattle, habituation to the sight of such colours renders them
indifferent to them, as Sonnini remarked of the domestic buffaloes of
Egypt, where the inhabitants, besides their red turban, wear also (in
general) a shawl of the same colour enveloping the neck and chest.
The flesh of buffaloes is extremely coarse and cellular, like that of the
elephant, rarely fat, and of rank unpleasant flavour; but the milk of
the female, though not so sweet as that of the cow, is good, and given
in great quantity :* the hide, also, is very substantial, and, when well
tanned, proves equal to every purpose to which stout leather is applied.
Lichtenstein remarks, of the Cape species, that its ribs are extraor-
dinarily broad, leaving scarcely any intervals between them ; which is
perhaps a character of the buffaloes generally, though something very
like it may be seen in ordinary “‘ ribs of beef.” The young (both of
the African and Asiatic species) are born of a whitish colour, which is
succeeded by yellowish buff hair, when the animal is a third grown.
Those of Asia and Africa form two natural sub-divisions; the horns
of the Asiatic being more widely separated at base, though the Bubalus
brachyceros of middle Africa is intermediate in this respect. The
African have also rounder ears, which in B. brachyceros are extraor-
dinarily large; the Asiatic buffaloes having a more lanceolate form of
ear,—like the humped taurine cattle, as opposed to the European type

* Mr. Paget, in his work on Hungary and Transylvania (vol ii. p. 227), states that
it is richer than that of the cow ; but we suspect the quality varies much in the different

races. Buffalo’s milk is, indeed, particularly esteemed in the Dukhun and north-west
of India.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6553

of taurines. So far as known, all bubalines have, normally, thirteen
pairs only of ribs, like the taurines; not fourteen or fifteen pairs, as
normally (so far as known) in the bisontines.

The Indian buffalo—(Bos Bubalus, L.; Bubalus buffelus, Gray ;
B. Arna, H. Smith—at least in part; B. speiroceros and B. macro-
ceros, Hodgson). Domestic buffaloes are so familiarly known in this
country, that an elaborate description of the appearance of the animal
is unnecessary. They are ungainly and clumsy-looking creatures, but
useful in their way, from their great strength and fair amount of docility
combined with their adaptation to marshy localities and wet and heavy
soil. Emphatically, they are the beasts for tilling the ground in ordi-
nary rice cultivation, which is mainly conducted by their aid; and
they are the only domestic cattle over extensive regions of the Malayan
Peninsula and Archipelago, the south of China, and much of Indo-
China, and have long been introduced into Lower Egypt, Italy and
Hungary, the marshy tracks bordering on the Black and Caspian Seas,
and latterly on the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria, in Northern Aus-
tralia, by the Malays; and in all these different countries many have
returned to wildness, not excepting in Australia. In America it does
not appear that the domestic buffalo has ever been introduced, and
its name is there usurped by the bison.* There is considerable differ-
ence, however, between some of the races of domestic buffaloes, and to
this we shall advert in the sequel.

As an Indian animal, Mr. Hodgson thus describes the common
buffalo :—“‘ Habitat of the tame, universal; of the wild, also every-
where that adequate cover and swamp exist. The haunts of the Arna
or wild buffalo are the margins rather than the interior or primeval
forests. ‘They never ascend the mountains, and adhere, like rhino-
ceroses, to the most swampy sites of the districts they frequent. There
is no animal upon which ages of domestication have made so small
an impression as upon the buffalo,t the tame species being still most
clearly referrible to the wild ones at present frequenting all the great
swampy jungles of India. But in those wildernesses, as in the cow-
houses, a marked distinction may be observed between the long-horned
and curve-horned buffaloes—or the B. macroceros and B. speiroceros
of my catalogue—which, whether they be separate species or merely

* A correspondent of the ‘St. Louis Republican’ states, in a late number, that
“the Utah mail encountered myriads of ‘ buffaloes’ feeding upon the luxuriant grasses
of the plains, blocking up the highways, so as to delay it, while deer and antelopes were
more numerous than ever seen before.”

t¢ We think the donkey might bear comparison.

XVII. a |

6554 Notice of the various

varieties, J shall not venture to decide, but I incline to regard them as
species. The length of the horns of B. macroceros are sometimes truly
enormous, or 64 feet each.

“There is such a pair in the British Museum, and another pair I
saw in Tirhoot. The Arna ruts in autumn, and the females produce
one or two young in summer after a gestation of ten months. The
herds are usually numerous, and sometimes exceedingly so, though at
the season of love the most lusty males lead off and appropriate several
females, with which they form small herds for the time. This noble
species is, in the sal-forest and tarai, a truly stupendous animal, as tall
as the gaour, and longer considerably, and of such power and vigour
as by his charge frequently to prostrate a well-sized elephant! The
wild animals are fully a third larger than the largest tame breed,* and
measure from snout to vent 101 feet, and 6 to 64 feet high at the
shoulder. The wild buffalo is remarkable for the uniform shortness of
its tail, which extends not lower than the hock; for the tufts which
cover his forehead and knees; and, lastly, for the great size of his
horns and the uniform high condition of the animal, so unlike the
leanness and angularity of the domestic buffalo’s figure, even at its
best.”

This difference in the development of the wild and tame buffalo is
equally observable where the two frequent the same pastures and
commonly interbreed ; and we believe the main reason of it to be, that
the tame calves are deprived of their due supply of milk.t The import-
ance of an ample supply of suitable nourishment in early life, as bearing
on the future development of any animal, cannot be over-estimated.
It occasionally happens, during great inundations, that many wild
buffalo-calves are noosed while swimming about and added to the
domestic herds.

Still, it is remarkable that this swamp-frequenting animal thrives
particularly in hilly districts. The domestic are particularly fine

* Tn like manner, the sub-fossil urus is fully one-third larger than the largest breeds
of domestic taurines of the same type. This remarkable analogy of the wild and tame
buffalos should be borne in mind.

+ Since the above was in type, a friend who has just returned from Maulmein has
confirmed us in this opinion. He remarks that he never had an idea of what a fine
buffalo was, till he saw those of Burma. They are there much larger than in Bengal,
with splendid horns, and altogether a vastly superior animal,—in fact, resembling the’
wild buffalo. The Burmese never milk them; having the same strange prejudice
to milk which the Chinese have, though otherwise both people are nearly omni-
vorous.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6555

towards the sources of the Nerbudda; and Mr. Harkness, in his work
on the aborigines of the Nilgiris, remarks that the tame buffaloes there

e “ fine large animals, monsters in comparison to those of the low
country,”—-and again, “ the buffalo of the Nilgiris is of a much better
description than that of the low country, and the milk they yield is
of a flavour and richness superior to any of the kind I have met with.
The climate seems better adapted to them than that of the plains.
They are not tormented by the innumerable flies and other insects
that in the latter force them to plunge into water, or, as the case may
be, into some muddy pool, remaining there for the greater part of the
day with just their foreheads and nostrils above the surface ; but here
they quietly range over the downs, in herds often from 100 or 150 to
200, unmolested and unannoyed, feeding on a rich and luxuriant her-
bage, more adapted to their taste than the finer kinds of grass.” Few
sights surprise a novice more in India than to see a herd of these huge
brutes emerge from a small muddy tank, where the presence of so many
great animals was previously unsuspected.

In western Malasia generally, and especially in Sumatra, as about
Bencoolen, albino buffaloes are very prevalent, having the same dis-
agreeable leprous look as the white elephant. Those of the Philippines
and China are uniformly small, but robust, and this seems to be the
race figured by Dr. Salomon Miiller.* They are finer, however, -

* Tame buffaloes seem to be co-extensive in range with the Malayan race of man-
kind in the Archipelago; but we do not hear of that race having transported them to
Madagascar. There is much rice cultivation, however, in that island, where the
ground would appear tu be tilled by a superior race of the humped cattle. With regard
to the humpless wild race of cattle in Madagascar, hitherto undescribed, it seems that
these animals are very numerous in the province of Mena-bé, which occupies much of
the,western portion of the island. In Mr. J. A. Lloyd’s‘ Memoir on Madagascar,
published in the 20th volume of the ‘ Royal Geographical Society's Journal, we read
(p. 63) that “the northern part of Mena-bé contains great numbers of wild cattle.
Radama and his officers, in one of their warlike expeditions amongst the Sakalami,
passing through this country, killed upwards of 340 oxen in one day for the use of his
army, and two days afterwards 431 more were killed by the soldiers.” All that we can
as yet learn of this race (or probably species) is, that it is humpless, and with longer
limbs than the cattle of Europe.

There are “ wild cattle” of some sort in Albania! (Vide Count Karaczsay’s “ Geo-
graphical Account of Albania,” published in the ‘ Royal Geographical Society’s Journal,
vol. xii. p.57). Are these bisons, or a primitive taurine stock, or tame cattle gone wild ?

We have not thought it worth while to note down every locality where European
cattle have returned to wildness; as in the Sandwich Islands, where poor Douglas,
the botanical collector, met his fate in a pit-fall with a wild bull, and even in Rodri-
guez !— Vide * Journal Royal Geographical Society,’ vol. xix. p. 19.

6556 Notice of the various

towards the north, as in the Chusan Archipelago.* Those of Lower
Egypt are quite similar to the ordinary tame buffaloes of Lower Bengal;
and Ruppel remarks that they are now found also in the wild state in
the marshes of the Egyptian Delta, where termed Gamus. We have
remarked that they have likewise gone wild on the north coast of Aus-
tralia, where introduced by the Malays.t Chesney tells us that they
are found in a wild state towards the shores of the Black Sea. The
tame are numerous in Armenia, Persia, Kerdistan, Mesopotamia, and
in all suitable districts of Arabia; in which last-named peninsula
Chesney remarks that—* Next to the camels, in point of number, are
buffaloes, which are to be found in most places where water is abundant
[no prevalent feature of Araby the Unblest!j; their milk is rich and
tolerably good, although inferior to that of the goat or cow.”{ From
these countries they spread westward as far as Hungary and the valley of
the Nile; and are now also on the island of Zanzibar, on the east

* “Tn its productions, Chusan does not materially differ from the adjacent main-
land of Ning-po. The sleek and small cattle and the buffaloes, larger than those in
the South, are used exclusively for the plough, and never slaughtered for the use of
the Chinese, so near to the head-quarters of Budhism in the neighbouring island of
Pooto.” —Sir J. F. Davis, in ‘Journal Royal Geographical Society,’ vol. xxiii.
p. 248.

“In Kambodia the buffalo lives amongst mud and ditches, and is a very powerful
animal: further north its fierceness much decreases. ‘The bullock is of a very small
breed.” — Gutzlaff, in ‘Journal Royal Geographical Society,’ vol. xix. p. 104. Here
“all that comes from the cow is held in abhorrence !”

t Dr. Leichardt, in 1845, remarked that buffaloes were “ very numerous at Baki-
Baki’s Creek, which joins Mountnorris Bay. They are equally abundant between
Raffles Bay and the harbour: the whole country, particularly round Baki-Baki’s
Bay, and on the neck, being as closely covered with buffalo-tracks as a well-stocked
cattle-run of New South Wales could be.” —‘ Journal Royal Geographical Society,
vol. xvi. p. 237.

{ It may here be remarked that the humped cattle of Arabia generally are “ of a
very small and poor race, and are never, but with the greatest reluctance, killed for
food.” (Wallin, in ‘ Journal Royal Geographical Society, vol. xxiv. p. 148). Chesney
remarks of them, that “ bulls and cows take the next place to the buffalo, and like
those of India, they bear a hump, and are of smal] size ; some bullocks purchased at
Suweideyah, produced each only about 224 pounds of meat.” Again, in his
‘ Appendix’ (vol. i. p.279), he enumerates, among the domestic animals of Arabia and
Mesopotamia, “ both the common bull and cow, and the bull and cow with hunch.”
In the province of Kerman, in Persia, Mr. Keith C. Abbott remarks that ‘ the oxen
in this part of the country are of a small humped kind, and are commonly used
as beasts of burden; people also ride on them, seated on a soft pad, and a rope is
passed through the nostril, by which they are guided.’—‘ Journal Royal Geographical
Society, vol. xxv. p. 43.

Species of Lovine Animals. 6557

coast of Africa.* Those of Circassia, as we were informed by the late
J. Stanislaus Bell, “agree with the Italian in their highly-bombed
forehead and ponderous conformation, as also in the abundance of
excellent milk afforded by the cow (often for two years, as I was
assured); but the horns—especially those of the female—are very long,
incline backwards, and are much curved, annulated and serrated:
atlitude that of the Indian buffalo; the tail with its terminal tuft not
reaching above half-way to the ground. ‘The young are of a dusky
brown; but the full-grown are almost invariably black, without a single
spot of white; and their stature exceeds considerably that of the largest
European [taurine] cattle.” We recognise in this description an animal
similar to the tame buffalo of the Nilgiris.

According to a writer in the ‘ Bengal Sporting Magazine,’ “ there is
a wide difference observable between the buffaloes in and about Behar,
and those found near Titilaya: the former have invariably very thick
but short horns, the latter (as invariably) remarkably large spreading
ones ;” and another writer in the same work pourtrays the horns of
the wild buffalo of Asam, as contrasted with that of the Sunderbans.t
These races are the B. macroceros and B. speiroceros of Mr. Hodgson.
In the former the horns proceed out almost straighily, with a somewhat
abrupt hook inward towards the end; in the latter they curve uniformly
throughout, or very nearly so, to form a flat semicircle, with the usual
slight tendency backward at the extreme tip. The horns of the fossil
buffalo of the Nerbudda deposits (Bos paleindicus of Cautley and
Falconer) have again another flexure, inclining backwards, outwards,
and somewhat upwards, in a sweeping curve. In all, the cow-horns
are more slender, and not unfrequently much longer, than in the
bull.*

* “ Bullocks, cows, and water-buffaloes are to be had at Zanzibar, but are seldom
or never killed for food ; they are used to carry loads (but not for draught), and are as
dear as 50 dollars each.”— ‘ Journal Royal Geographical Society,’ vol. xxiii. p. 107.

+ ‘Bengal Sporting Magazine’ for September, 1836, p. 203, and zbid. October,
pri23hz

+ Of abnormal horns of the Indian buffalo, we have a drawing of a pair of cow-
horns (attached to the skull) from Southern Indda, the flexure of which is nearly that
proper to the horns of the Caffrarian taurine cattle, with the tips pointing outwards !
Distance apart from tip to tip 9 feet 5 inches.

The late Mr. R. W.G. Frith, who was a very close observer, considered that there
are “* two races of wild buffaloes in India, both of which are likewise found domesti-
cated. One, the Kachar bhainse, is distinguished by its greater height, having
longer limbs, by the general absence of hair at all seasons, and by its longer and
slighter horns, which vary in form considerably more than those of the other. The

6558 Notice of the various

The Italian buffalo is a very different-looking beast from that of
India, at least from the ordinary tame buffalo of Bengal. His carriage
is different—less emphatically bubaline ; he is better clad, and has a
remarkably convex or bombed forehead, and short horns, that curve
much down, then out and up, with the usual slant backward, which,
however, is but slight. The tail, too, with its tuft, descends quite to
the fetlocks. He is commonly more or less splashed with white ; but
this we have observed of many Indian buffaloes, especially in Oude.*
If our information can be relied upon, the same race is found in Sindh.
Hornless individuals occur sometimes; and skulls of this race, both
horned and hornless, are figured in the ‘ Ossemens Fossiles’ of Cuvier.
The buffalo is stated to have been introduced into Lombardy from
India by King Agilulf, who reigned from 591 to 616,* and has now gone
wild, as usual, in the Pontine marshes. It was first described as the
“ Arachosian ox” by Aristotle; the site of the ancient city of Ara-
chosia being near the modern Kandahar, as determined by Rawlinson
in 1841.

The Anoa buffalo—(Bubalus depressicornis ; Anoa depressicornis,
C. H. Smith). This is a very curious little animal, from the mountains
of Celebes, of which there is now a stuffed specimen in the British
Museum ; but we are unaware that aught has been added to its history
since the time of Pennant! We have seen several frontlets, and one
entire skull (minus the lower jaw), of which we possess drawings.
Pennant remarks, in his ‘ History of Quadrupeds,’ that the Anoa is a

calf, however, is densely clad with slaty white hair, having constantly a medial
white mark on the fore neck and chest, crossed by another on the fore part of the
neck. This is the more valuable of the two to the herdsmen, on account of its giving
more milk. The other stands lower on the legs, is altogether a thicker-made animal,
and much more hairy; the horns are much thicker, and very rugous or deeply
furrowed in the males; the calf has no white cross on the breast, and is of a more
rufous colour than that of the other. This race is called the Bhangar. Both occur
in the same herd, but the former are less numerous; and they breed freely together,
the offspring of the first, second and third crosses being readily distinguished by the
herdsmen ; nevertheless, characteristic specimens of both are generally to be found in
every herd.” We should be glad if any reader could verify and further carry out
these observations.

* Black, white and pied, or rather black splashed with white. We have seen no
intermediate shades of coloring, except in the calf.

¢ “ Tune primum caballi sylvatici et Bubali in Italia delatis, Italie populis mira-
culo fuerunt.’—Warnefridi, ‘ De gestis Longobardorum,’ Lib., vol. iv. c.2; Misson’s
‘ Voyage, vol. iv. p. 395, as qnoted by Pennant.

Species of Bovine Animals. 6559

very small species of buffalo, of the size of a middling sheep. They
are wild in small herds, in the mountains of Celebes, which are full of
caverns. They are taken with great difficulty, and even in confinement
are so fierce that Mr. Soten lost in one night fourteen stags [ Rusa ?
?], which were kept in the same paddock, whose bellies they

ripped up.”

In an excellent treatise on the generic sub-division of the hollow-
horned ruminants, by R. N. Turner, jun., published in the ‘ Proceedings
of the Zoological Society ’ for 1851, it is remarked that—‘ Although
Colonel C. H. Smith was deceived as to the affinities of the Anoa,
later as well as earlier naturalists have assigned it to its trne place,
and a glance at the stuffed specimen in the British Museum leaves the
matter beyond a doubt. I have examined the skull°in the Museum
of the Royal College of Surgeons, and cannot see that it has even a
title to generic distinction. Naturalists seem at all times to have been
prone to assign generic rank to whatever was mysterious or difficult
to classify, and I can in no other way account for this species being
made a genus.”

Mr. Turner does not carry the sub-division of the bovines beyond
Bison, Bos and Bubalus; but he admits Ovibos, and remarks of it :—
“ This animal, which derives its name from its general aspect being
intermediate to that of the ox and that of the sheep, has generally been
placed among the bovine forms. Taking the aggregate of its characters
it appears to me to be at least as nearly, if not more, allied to the
sheep, but should most properly stand alone.” To us it appears to be
immediately connected with the bisons by the intervention of the
fossil genus Bootherium. Mr. Hodgson, on the contrary, would separate
the African buffaloes from the Indian ; admitting which separation, the
Anoa should be likewise so distinguished.*

The Anoa has straight, flat, bubaline horns, continued back nearly
in a line with the forehead, as in the Cape or Abyssinian oryx, or as
in the eland; they are shorter than the head, smooth, and very sharp-
pointed, and are depressed below the plane of the visage; they scarcely
diverge in their exterior outline, but sharpen off from about the middle °

* Of the Budorcas taxicolor of Mr. Hodgson, Mr. Turner remarks that “a glance
at the representations of the skull indicates very plainly that it is closely allied to
Nemorhedus [in which we think he is altogether wrong in associating the goral with
the surrows], to which Mr. Hodgson admits certain resemblances, and that it has no
relationship with the gnus or the musk ox.” This quite coincides with our own

opinion.

6560 Quadrupeds.

in their interior outline.* In our drawings, made carefully on the scale
of an inch to a foot, the total length of skull, from vertex to tips of
intermaxillaries, should be 133 inches; greatest breadth posterior to
orbits, 6 inches ; length of horns, 9 inches; width apart at base, 14
inch ; at tips 44 inches; width apart at base, measuring from the out-
side, about 43 inches. The dagger-like shape of the horns indicates
them to be extremely formidable weapons. We can hardly think that
this very small animal can be the “ wild cow” of Celebes. It is the
Bos bubalus, var. 3B, of Pennant;.and some other species, unknown
to modern science, he has certainly indicated by his var. A, which he
has very rudely figured, and describes as follows :—

“ Naked: a small sort, exhibited in London some years ago, under
the name of Bonassus; of the size of a runt: hair on the body bristly,
and very thin, so that the skin appeared ; the rump and thighs quite
bare, the first marked on each side with two dusky stripes ; horns
compressed sideways, taper, sharp at the point. — East Indies.”+
Can this have been one of the “ wild cattle of Timor Laut,” noticed
by Mr. Earl, but said to have “upright horns?” Pennant’s figure
would seem to represent an animal nearly akin to the Anoa of Celebes,
with depressed horns curving a little inwards. He represents two
dark bars on the naked rump, and two others across the thigh; the
neck and body anterior to the haunch being clad with longish hairs.

(To be continued.)

Buff-coloured Rabbits. —In a former number of the ‘ Zoologist’ I sent some
account of several varieties of white and variegated birds, pheasants, blackbirds, and
a thrush met with here, and also of sixteen or eighteen buff or straw-coloured rabbits,
which had lately appeared amongst the other common rabbits ; the former being of
different broods and sizes and in different covers distinct from each other, so that they
could not have come from the same parents or stock, but were unquestionably bred

* Not a few of the humped taurine cattle have straight horns, more or less
resembling in direction those of the Anoa buffalo. Such are of tolerably frequent
occurrence among the large ordnance bullocks of this country. That the same type
prevails in Central Africa may be inferred from one or two of Dr. Barth’s plates.

+ The humped cattle of Algawf, it is elsewhere stated, “are, as generally
in Arabia, of a very small and poor race, and are never, but with the greatest
reluctance, killed for food.”

Birds. 6561

from the common coloured rabbits in different places and of different ages, and were
to be seen daily, and grew and thrived well, until within the last three or four months,
when they gradually disappeared, and now there is not a single rabbit out of all the
sixteen buff-coloured ones to be seen, though plenty of the common brown rabbits,
both old and young, are tu be seen in every direction as before. As the winter was so
remarkably mild, with scarcely a day’s snow and but very little frost, and as it is per-
fectly certain that these buff-coloured rabbits have not migrated, I am utterly ata
loss to account from what cause the singular and sudden disappearance of all these
buff rabbits is to be attributed to. It is impossible that the foxes or vermin can have
selected them in preference to the other kinds ; nor can the severity of the winter have
caused their death. But from what can it have arisen? — W. H. Slaney ; Hatton
Hall, near Shrewsbury, May 6, 1859.

Occurrence of the Golden Oriole (Oriolus galbula) near the Land's End.—A male
specimen of the golden oriole, in its full brilliant plumage, came into my possession
yesterday: it was captured in a sequestered valley about four miles westward of this
place, flying from hedgerow to hedgerow, very much in the style of the missel thrush
(Turdus muscivorus). The bird was in a state of emaciation and feebleness, but pro-
bably it had not been long so, for the whole plumage is in a state of unsullied purity.
—Edward Hearle Rodd ; Penzance, May 2, 1859.

Kite, Hoopoe and Golden Oriole shot near Scarborough.—I had the following rare
birds brought in last week: —a male kite (Falco mil/vus), in fine feather, trapped
near this town; a hoopoe (Upupa epops), and a second very beautiful specimen, shot
near Oliver’s Mount; a male golden oriole (Oriolus galbula), in the finest adult plu-
mage, shot at Hunmanby, on Rear-Admiral Mitford’s estate. — Alfred Roberts ;
King Street, Scarborough, May, 1859.

Curtous Situation for a Dipper’s Nest.—A curious fact in the nidification of the
dipper (Cinclus aquaticus) having just come under my notice, a fact, so far as I am
aware, quite unprecedented, I make no apology for laying the occurrence before your
readers. This nest was situated at the extreme end of a sand martin’s old hole, formed
in a sand-bank overhanging a small brook, and nearly two feet in depth. The old
bird was caught on the nest by the finder, and with some difficulty drawn out of the
hole, the aperture being barely sufficient to allow the introduction of his arm. Five
fresh eggs were taken froin the nest, which was subsequently dug out, and a good
deal resembled in shape that of the blackbird, but, as usual, was composed of moss
thickly lined with oak-leaves, the dome, however, being entirely wanting. I have
seen many dozens of dippers’ nests, but never either saw myself or read of one built
in a situation at all resembling the above, and, believing the circumstance to
be unique, I have lost no time in communicating it to you.— Henry Smurthwaite ;
Richmond, Yorkshire, May 16, 1859.

Occurrence of the Hoopoe near Shrewsbury.—On the first of May a fine specimen
of that rare bird, the hoopoe, was seen at Walford Manor, near Shrewsbury, the seat
of R. A. Slaney, Esq.,M.P. It was feeding in a turnip field near a farmhouse and
outbuildings, and was very tame, running from place to place in pursuit of worms, and
allowed Mr. Slaney and his brother to come within about twenty yards of it, so as to

XVII. oi

6562 Birds.

be distinctly observed. It had a pendant crest falling back, and not erected like
the one described in the Plate of the hoopoe in Bewick’s ‘ British Birds.’ The white
markings on the wings and body were very vivid, there seemed but little black between
the white bars, but a dull fawn or reddish brown colour prevailed. After some little
time the bird flew to a hedge, and there meeting with a blackbird a fight ensued, the
former driving the hoopoe away, who again came and lit where it had before been
feeding, and, eventually, went close to the farmhouse and buildings, and then flew off.
A similar looking bird, as described by the keeper, had been seen about a month
before near a small village about a mile distant, which was probably the same bird as
that before mentioned.— W. AH. Slaney; Hatton Hall, near Shrewsbury, May
6, 1859.

Occurrence of the Hoopoe near Cambridge.—The other day a labouring man
informed me that he saw a gamekeeper shoot, near Foulmire, Cambridgeshire, a
curious bird, at the same time asking me to show him a book on Natural History,
which I willingly did; he instantly pointed me out the hoopoe (Uupupa Epops),
which, upon seeing the bird, proved to be accurate. The same man saw, not many
fields off, one of the same birds sitting upon a hedge ; doubtless they were male and
female; the former one when shot was feeding in a ploughed field, and, he says, was
very active in its movemeuts. I have since had one procured near Bottisham, Cam-
bridgeshire, April 28th, 1859.—S. P. Saville, Jun., 93, Castle Street, Cambridge, May
6, 1859.

Occurrence of the Hoopoe at Dulwich.—A female specimen of the hoopoe (Upupa
epops) was shot in this neighbourhood by J. Willis, gardener to Mr. Barclay, of
Dulwich Common, in his garden, on the 26th of last month, and brought to me for
the name.—C. Wood ; May 10, 1859.

Extraordinary Situation for a Cuckoo’s Egg.—The vestry of my church is
a lean-to, the roof running up under the eave of the chancel; but, as the two roofs
are differently inclined, a kind of wedge-shaped space is formed by the eave and wall
of the chancel and the coping of the vestry. In this space, on the coping, a pair of
pied wagtails (Motacilla alba) last year built their nest, which when discovered con-
tained only an unfledged cuckoo. As a projecting rafter closed this space on one side
of the coping, and the distance of the eave from the coping was barely 13 inch,
there seemed no room for a cuckoo to enter; but, on examination, I found it might
do so on the other side of the coping, which did not extend quite to the next
projecting rafter; still it must have been a very confined and inconvenient situa-
tion for a cuckoo to deposit its egg in the ordinary way; and the question mooted in
the ‘ Zoologist’ (Zool. 1774), ‘Does the cuckoo carry its eggs?” may fairly be
repeated.— William Turner; Barholme Vicarage, Stainford, May 3, 1859.

Woodcock’s Nest in Norfolk. — A woodcock is at the present time sitting on four
eggs in a wood in Runton, near Cromer, on the coast of Norfolk: the nest is among
a very few dead ferns, in an otherwise bare spot, under some trees.— 7. Fowell Buxton ;
Cromer, April 30, 1859.

Occurrence of the Little Bittern near Cardiffi—A female specimen of the little
bittern (Ardea minuta) was run down and captured by some harriers gn the moors
west of this town, in February last. During its short and miserable captivity, at
which period I could not gain possession of it, it was remarkably fierce, darting its
beak with extraordinary activity, virulence and pertinacity at anything brought within
reach. By its unamiable disposition and refusal to take food (which, however, was of

Birds. 6563

an unnatural kind), it soon gained the dislike and ill will of its master, became
neglected and was starved to death. The ovaries were considerably developed, but it
had not assumed its fully adult plumage, if I am correct in supposing that the breast
should have lost its brown markings, and that the shoulder, instead of being rusty
brown, and the feathers slightly edged with buff, should in the adult be shining
bluish black, as are the top, the head, occiput and tail-feathers of this specimen.
Again, the back of the neck of this bird is bare, and the feathers on the base of neck
in front are elongated as in the adult, but the outer web of the first quill-feather is
buff-coloured, and the wing-coverts are rich deep brown.—R. Drane; Cardiff,
May 18, 1859.

Dates of the Arrival of Migratory Birds.—The swallows appeared partially here
about the 7th of April, a very hot day, but disappeared in a couple of days, as if fan-
eying they had made a mistake, on the change of temperature, with bitter cold north-
east winds; these birds reappeared on the 29th and 30th of April. I have not yet
seen a swift. On the 7th of April I heard the chiffchaff. On the 24th the
blackeap (Sylvia atricapilla) chanted his short but melodious song. On Sunday, the
Ist of May, I heard the nightingale, but as it was a cold evening, with strong north-
east winds, he only gave out three times “ sweet jug!” and then closed; it was about
5 P.M., in a small covert near the turnpike on the Gloucester road. ‘The cuckoo ap-
peared and was heard first here on the 26th of April, and was not heard again until
this morning, when I heard two in different directions at the same time; this
day being 9° Fahr., milder than yesterday, with a fine warm sun. — H. W. Newman ;
Lansdown, Cheltenham, May 6, 1859.

Inquiry respecting a Bird’s Nest.—I am rather perplexed by a nest with three eggs
which was brought to me three days since. I had employed a person to get
a few eggs for me, and the result of his first expedition was two nests; one, which I
had no doubt about, a ring ouzel’s; the other he pronounced to be a missel thrush’s.
I disputed the fact; but he said that he had seen the old bird fly off, and it was a
** May thrush.” The nest was in the fork of a stunted Scotch fir growing on the moor,
was composed of coarse grass externally, twined about with dry rushes and flexible
roots and longer pieces of grass; inside, lined with finer grasses, and between a
walling of clay. ‘The second nest had a good deal of ling and moss among its mate-
rials, was taken from the ground, and was twice as heavy, with clay, as the former,
and altogether unlike it in colour, compactness, general neatness and finish, inde-
pendently of dissimilarity of material. This, an undoubted ring ouzel’s nest,
contained four eggs; two of which resembled, in a degree, the missel thrush’s egg, as
to shade and markings; the other two might rank with Mr. Hewitson’s original.
They were all equally “ hardsat,” and I had some trouble in getting three out of the
four safely blown. The eggs in the other nest were, all three, perfectly fresh,
showing there had been no accidental confusion of eggs; but their markings were
not at all like those of any missel thrush’s eggs I have ever seen, and, besides, they
were all much Jess than the eggs in the ring ouzel’s nest, very distinctly less. Two
out of the three precisely resembled, in colour and markings, the two darker ring
ouzel’s eggs; the other was slightly lighter in shade. My question is, what nest and
eggs are these? ‘They are not blackbirds’, certainly; they aye not, I feel certain, a
missel thrush’s; and, [ think, the position of the nest, its nature and materials, pre-
clude the idea of its being a ring ouzel’s. The man who brought me them is a cha-
racter in his way; very keen to accompany me on any shooting expedition; a

6564 Fishes.

good fisherman, aud, though not of strong intellect, is a very shrewd fellow in such
things as I have named, and others like them. Had the bird which flew off the nest
been a blackbird or a ring ouzel, he would certainly have identified it. I think he
has mistaken in pronouncing it to be a missel thrush; and my own doubt is whether
or no it may not have been a redwing. There have been many more of those birds
here than usual during the winter: I think I never observed half so many, or even
nearly half so many, on any former occasion; and it is at least conceivable, that
storm-stayed by the late continued inclement weather—bitter indeed on our moors—
a pair (or more) of them have stayed to nest here. I have also met with another not
very usual circumstance in relation to birds’ nests this year: I observed a bird leave
her nest in a hedge as I passed, rather near; on looking in I saw a blackbird’s nest,
but with four thrush’s eggs in it—I mean that the nest was lined with fine dry grass,
&c., in precise resemblance to a blackbird ; the eggs, however, being such as to pre-
clude the idea that they were laid by a bird of that species,—or any idea, save that
they belonged to a thrush.
Length. Breadth.

dy Ring, op zePsse rg i955 weve: tenes ene Pps 26
2.» Blackbird)s:-egg, yi gespeieeeiceely waiguly bgy 33
3. Blackbirds egg out of different nest 14 38
4. Thrush’s egg otha lgit “ode Wateveddy 28
5. Doubtful egg dueericdtsty aut aiepe hale 5

These are the comparative lengths and widths of five eggs, the last of which is the
egg Iam puzzled with; 2, is a long narrow egg; 3, a round one, and, though shorter,
cousiderably heavier than 2; the proportions of 5 are much those of 2; of 4, much
those of 3. As for the markings of 5, they are much larger or more blotchy than in 1,
2 or 3, and a redder or more chestnut-brown. The figures show the lengths, &c. in
inches and “ thirty-seconds ” of inches. —J. C. Atkinson ; Danby, Grosmont, York,
May, 1859.

The Shower of Fishes.—Some remarks in the ‘ Zoologist’ (Zool. 6541) seem to
indicate the conviction that the ‘‘ shower of fish” in the Aberdare Valley was simply a
hoax. I think actual fact will nevertheless excuse the otherwise apparently un-
becoming assumption in me, of opposing such high authority by a contrary opinion,
for, from information obtained from many sources and very careful and minute
inquiry, I am quite convinced that a great number of fish did actually descend with
rain over a considerable tract of country. The specimens I obtained from three indi-
viduals, resident some distance from each other, were of two species, the common
minnow and three-spined stickleback; the former most abundant and mostly very
small, though some had attained their full size-—Robert Drane; Cardiff, May 18,
1859.

A Monster Pike. —The Rev. W. Barham, of Lulworth, Cambridgeshire, had the
good fortune to land a jack weighing 26 pounds, and measuring from tip to tip 3 feet
7 inches, across 83 inches, in the River Ouze, near Swavesey, Cambridgeshire; this
gentleman succeeded, after five hours, in landing his prize.—S. P. Saville ; Cam-
bridge, May 6, 1859.

Reptiles—Crustacea. 6565

The Toads in Clay.—To the notice, in the ‘ Zoologist’ (Zool. 6537), of the occur-
rence of live toads underneath a bed of clay, a note is subjoined by the Editor, asking
the name of any scientific man who was present at the exhumation. I am unable to
give such a name, further than as the intelligent foreman of the brickyard, Thomas
Duddridge (who witnessed the exhumation by one of the labourers of the yard), may be
entitled to the appellation ; but no one, however high his scientific attainments, could
be more careful than he was to give me correct information, or more exact in his
statements; and if, after minute inquiry, I had not been fully satisfied of the correct-
ness of his account, I should not have sought to occupy the page of the ‘ Zoologist’
with its recital. On showing him the notice in the ‘ Zoologist,’ he said it was im-
possible for anything to be more correct; and he added that the little cavity which
the toads occupied was quite smooth in every part, apparently by their long-continued
movements,—as smooth, to use his own illustration, as the inside of a china bowl.—
Thomas Clark ; Halesleigh, May 10, 1858.

The Edible Frog long a Native of Foulmire Fens. — In reply to Mr. Alfred
Newton’s query, in the last number of the * Zoologist, I have to remark that the
fact of the esculent frog being indigenous to this country appears to me to rest
on irrefragable testimony. My father, who was a native of Cambridgeshire, has often
described to me, as long ago as I can recollect, the peculiarly loud and somewhat
musical sound uttered by the frogs of Whaddon and Foulmire, which procured for
them the name of ‘ Whaddon Organs.” My father was always of opinion that they
were of a different species from the common frog, and this opinion of his, formed
nearly a century ago, was confirmed by Mr. Thurnall’s discovery that the frogs
of Foulmire are of the species Rana esculenta—Thomas Bell; Broad Street, May
1, 1859.

On Squilla Desmaresti. By P. H. Gosse, Esq., F.R.S.

For the last six weeks I have had a living specimen of that pretty
and rare Crustacean, Squilla Desmarestii (Risso). It was taken
by means of the dredge from deep water, off Torquay, about the
middle of April, and has lived in one of my aquariums until yesterday
morning, when | found it dead.

This individual agreed accurately with Professor Bell’s diagnosis
(Brit. St.-Eyed Crust. 354) and figure. It measured, from the front of
the eyes to the spines of the last abdominal segment, exactly
two inches. Its colour while alive was a pellucid white, freckled all
over with wood-brown or pale sepia; these frecklings or cloudings
under a lens resolved themselves into groups (constellations, so
to speak), more or less dense and more or less extensive, of very
minute stars; the whole bearing a close resemblance to the colouring
of Crangon vulgaris. The hands were white (ivory-like, but scarcely
so opaque) without freckles. The yellowish hue (a warm buff) of the
body, and the rose tint of the edge of the hand and of some other

6556 Crustacea.

parts, which Mr. Bell mentions, appeared only after immersion
in alcohol.

Though this animal lived so long with me, and was manifestly
in health, — for I have a strong suspicion that it died, at last, not of
disease, but of the sly pinch of a wicked Gonoplax angulata, that for
a much longer time has tenanted the same tank,—I have less
to record concerning its habits than I hoped to learn when I
first rejoiced in the possession of so great a prize. The mere
acquisition of a preserved specimen seems to me a very poor object
of ambition; when I get hold of a rarity it is with the hope of adding
something to its Natural History.

The tank in which my Squilla resided is large, long-established,
well-peopled, and furnished with abundant means of retirement.
Of these last it availed itself to such an extent that, for many days at
atime, I could not with the strictest search find it. Always inert
and sluggish, it was yet much more active by night than by day. It
never manifested the slightest disposition to burrow, but a favourite
position was stretched upon the gravel, between two pieces of rock
just sufficiently wide apart to allow it freedom. It had one most sin-
gular action, which it so frequently repeated as to be quite charac-
teristic. When annoyed by being touched with a stick, it would sud-
denly bend its tail forward under the body, and throw a complete
somersault, relapsing immediately into stillness again. The action
was performed with the most beautiful litheness and ease, and
in the smallest possible space, reminding me strongly of the feat of a
professed tumbler. The perfect flexibility of the long depressed
body was thus well displayed.

I fed it occasionally with small fragments of raw flesh, which
it seized and held with its foot-jaws, but without any special manifes-
tation of eagerness, and without bringing into operation (as I
had hoped) those sabre-like weapons with which it is armed. I
wished much to see the action of these, but was disappointed.
I observed that they were always carried in a different position from
that figured by Mr. Bell, in both S. Mantis and S. Desmarestii, though
I perceive that the limbs are capable of being put into the position
depicted. The terminal blade-like joint I always saw closed upon
the haft-like penult, and the united weapon was so carried that the
opening of the former would have been perpendicularly downwards,
so that the stroke or sabre-like cut which the blade makes would
seem to be an upward cut, contrary to what I had imagined. Yet, as
I never saw the animal take a living prey, it may be that, when

Crustacea. 6567

engaged in active warfare, the arm is so far erected that the stroke of
the blade shall be horizontally inward, as represented.

On one or two occasions, indeed, I saw it show fight with these
weapons. When I teased it with a long rod of wood, bringing
the annoyance close to its head, it would suddenly throw forward its
two arms together, and strike the stick with them. But with such
lightning-like rapidity was the double blow given, that the eye could
not determine with accuracy the relative positions of the parts. It
certainly appeared to me, however, that it was a perpendicular upward
stroke, and not a lateral one. The great force employed was shown
by these two facts,—that the vibration of the blow was distinctly felt
by my fingers that held the rod, and the clicking sound produced by
the contact was plainly audible through a foot of water.

The eyes did not reflect the light of a candle in a concentrated
glare, as do those of the prawn, and (in a less degree) those of some
crabs; and I saw no trace of luminosity from any part of the body.

It ordinarily carried the body fully extended; never swam, so far
as I saw, but was always on the ground.

P. H. Gossz,
Torquay, May 2, 1859,

The Crab and its Allies.
By C. Spence Bare, Esq., F.L.S., &c.

THE. sun was burning in the sky, the air was teeming full of heat ;
the horizon was shut out from view by the hot mist which steamed up
from the surface of the earth and sea. All Nature seemed at rest, and
basking in enjoyment; not a breath of air beyond the occasional
“catspaw’’ that slowly glided along the surface of the sea, and as it
swept our boat fluttered the small flag at the mast-head, and passed
on in its waving course.

- It was on such a morning as this, early in the beautiful and merry

month of May, that, being in a yacht and drifting with the tide, we
steered our path across the Plymouth Sound. Our course was slow ;
to gain advantage of the opportunity we threw overboard a towing-net,
and let it drift astern for some half-hour, and then hauled itin. There
is an interest in the hunt; the searching after little things that are
trapped in the small meshes of the gauze.

To the unaccustomed eye the net often comes up empty, whereas to
one who knows how to search there will be seen little patches of

6568 Crustacea.

unshapen substances here and there. Several of these were in the net
the first time we drew it in; these were carefully transferred to a
tumbler full of clear sea-water collected to receive them. Scarcely
had the seemingly shapeless masses been placed in the small prison
than they dashed away in the full gambol of life’s enjoyment, and
exhibited several forms that were formerly known to naturalists by the
name of Zoe. These were at one time thought to be mature animals,
adults of their kind, and described and named as such; but a zealous
and close-observing naturalist, in this same month, a few years ago, on
his homeward course, after an unsuccessful day of search, entangled
a solitary specimen: he took it home, and carefully tended his new
acquaintance, supplied it with food and fresh water, and daily watched
its habits; but all his care could not reproduce in the little prison the
conditions of the free and open ocean, and the poor thing, after a few
days, died. Had it been a starling or a man, we should say the poor
thing pined because it could “ not get out;” as it was but a Zoe, we
think it had no sorrow or joy, no knowledge of the freedom it had lost,
no hope to desire its removal ;. yet the free-swimming Zée, that outlives
the lashing of the surges of the storm, that skims the surface of the
water when warm with the sun’s rays, will not outlive a week of the
greatest care the naturalist can bestow upon it in confinement.

Mr. Thomson’s Zée died within a week, but in dying told its
history. The Zoe was but a young crab. Here was a discovery: it
startled men of science all over the Continent. In Germany Rathke
took up the challenge, and traced the history of the development of
the Crustacea, as found in the freshwater crayfish (Astacus fluviatilis),
and declared that Thomson was wrong. The Academy of Paris re-
quested a deputation to investigate the subject, and sent MM. Audouin
and Milne-Edwards to the Island of Rhé, where they remained some
time in search of the truth, and declared that Mr. Thomson was wrong.
In our own country the discovery was not left to pass unquestioned :
Mr. Westwood investigated the so-called metamorphosis in the deve-
lopment of the land-crabs of Jamaica, and Dr. Kirby, in his ‘ Bridge-
water Treatise, refused to admit the correctness of Mr. Thomson’s
observation. But while all these investigators were at work, Mr. Thom-
son was still pursuing his course of observations, and found that
another genus of Crustacea, that which Dr. Leach had named Mega-
lopa, was also a young form of the common crab, and singularly enough
the same volume of the ‘ Philosophical Transactions’ which contains
Mr. Westwood’s refutation of the possibility of the Zée being the
young of a crab contains also Mr. Thomson’s discovery that the Zée

Crustacea, 6569

is the first stage and Megalopa the second, and both are the young of
the same animal.

That which was received with so much caution is now a well-known
fact, nor was the scepticism with which it was received devoid of ad-
vantage; it led to a more extended investigation of the subject, and it
has since been proved that the Zée form of larva belongs only to one
order of marine Crustacea; those which are freshwater or land carry
their young until they have arrived to a form closely approximating
that of the parent. But the Zée that we take in the open water has
much altered, both in form and size, from that of the larva as it quits
the egg of the parent. As we see them first they
are scarcely a line in length, and closed up within
a membrane that conforms to each member and
confines every hair, as shown in fig. 1. This
tunic is thrown off within a few hours, and then
the animal assumes the grotesque form of the
recognised Zoe; it has one horn upon its back,
and another projecting forwards in front of the
head: these were confined down within the pre- F!%!.—Zce, as it appears when

; : just free from the egg.
vious tunic, but became extended as soon as they
were freed. The tail also, instead of being truncated and short, ter-
minates in two long styliform processes; these were previously con-
tracted within themselves, similarly to the
horns upon the back and head,—that is, folded
as a telescope is drawn within itself. These
extend when the tunic is thrown off. All the
hairs are liberated, and the animal appears to
have more control over its motions. Previously
it appeared, when in the water, to progress
spirally ; its big head led the way, but the tail
was curved beneath with little power of action, *16-2—Telson, one half in the
other partially freed from tunic,
and thus steered the young creature round and
round in the direction of its progress. But when the larva is liberated
from the embryonic tunic it immediately increases in size, and exhibits
a more energetic character; it advances with a jerking motion, and
always swims towards the light, keeping near the surface of the water ;
probably in the free state this is the case only in fine weather; when
storms prevail and the winds tear up the waters, they sink to rest
in the quiet depths of the ocean, where most of them become the prey
of fish and other hungry Carnivora. We say most of them, for we can
hardly believe but. that if all that were hatched were permitted to grow
XVII. ) ae

6570

Fic. 3,—Zoe free from embryonic tunic.

Crustacea.

to be adults, the seas
would be swarming
and running over
with crabs, so great
are the number born.
Attached to a com-
mon edible crab, and
that of very moderate
dimensions, we cal-
culated two millions
of ova, and when we
consider that they
are capable and pro-
bably do have two or
more broods in a
year, we cannot but
consider that the

enormous creation of young animal life is designed as food to older
and stronger creatures.

The egg is wrapped within a strong circular case, and this is attached
to the parent, and carried by her beneath her tail, or curtain, or flap

(the pleon).

There is a mystery in the attachment of the ova to the

parent: how they get there, and how they are attached we know not;
they are suspended every one by a thread, and that thread to another,
and so on, each thread suspending an ovum; thus, like a bunch of

Fic.4.—One of the pleopoda,
or false feet, with a few
>ova attached,

grapes, thousands hang in a mass, and each mass
is suspended from the hairs which are attached
to the swimming feet (pleopoda).

These organs (the pleopoda) vary, in the
female, from those of the male; in fact, they are
mostly absent in the male crab (Brachyura), and
are short, broad, double plates in the lobster
(Macroura). In the female they consist each of
two long appendages, the inner one straight, the
outer slightly curved, and both fringed with hairs:
it is the inner one to which the ova are suspended.
When the egg is first deposited it probably is
covered by gelatinous secretion, which forms the
protection over each, and hardens into the
thread by which it is suspended; but why they
are suspended to the hairs upon the one branch

Crustacea. 6571

and not upon the other is a question yet to be solved. For some few
weeks the ova are carried about by the parent, during which time the
embryo within developes itself and progresses in growth until it has
arrived at the form which is known as the Zéec. By some in-
stinctive consciousness, the parent now liberates the young from
the ovisac: this it does by rupturing the outer case, sometimes by
means of its feet, sometimes by pulling with its claws or nipper-formed
hands. The young baby is thus early and unprotected cast upon its
own resources in the wide world of waters, and soon no doubt large
numbers fall a prey to hungry enemies; but a protecting Providence
watches over a favoured remnant, which grow, and thrive, and people
the ocean.

Within a few hours the young Zée throws off its first tunic, or as a
little child who saw an older specimen remarked, ‘pulls off its
clothes ;” this is repeated in the earlier period of existence, something
about every week or ten days, but in confinement we have never been
able to get it to pass beyond the second moult. We have taken them
so frequently at different sizes that we think we are enabled to trace its
growth with but a small, or perhaps no, hiatus in its history: with each
moult the animal increases in size, then strengthens in its struc-
ture and developes its new growth, until it again throws off the
exuviee, and increases in dimensions; but with each progressive step
a change of form is visible: when it is born it has but two or
three swimming legs and a long tail; behind these swimming legs
small sac-like appendages are apparent; these gradually increase in
size, and become the strong claws and walking legs of the animal,
while those which are first the swimming legs decrease in their relative
importance, and fold themselves up as protecting and supplying organs
of the mouth.

These things are small, and the close observation of the microscope
is required to observe the facts. The growth of every part is progres-
sive, and, curious to tell, all those members and appendages con-
spicuous in the young lose their importance and become either obsolete
or of secondary value in the adult. In its youngest stage it is always
swimming and knows no rest,—its paddle-like organs never cease in
their vibration,—weeks pass away and there seems no wearying;
but the time comes when, casting off the tunic once again, the soft
and fleshy legs have progressed to a size sufficient to bear the weight
of the animal; the skin then becomes impregnated with lime, and the
structure sufficiently strong for use.

The animal now is changed; it is less a swimming creature, but

6572 Crustacea.

when it does swim its organs of progression are not those of its
younger days. In its first infancy the tail had no appendages; now it
has five pairs of plates fringed with hairs; these are the small oars
with which at this time it navigates its course in its occasional passages
through the water; but its more congenial position is in some sheltered
nook among the stones and weed at the bottom of the sea. Age is
creeping on, so it puts off its youthful Zoe habits and assumes those
becoming a grave and sober crab.

We said that in the hot and quict days in early summer these young
Crustacea may be found floating near the surface of the sea; but they
know no rest,—they swim by night as well as day, for in the calm
nights, when the air is warm and pleasant, the ocean shines with
myriads of its own native stars. Break the surface with the dip of the
oar, and it drops with a soft, sweet light, and every spark a living
atom: among this resplendent glow the living Crustacea form no in-
considerable portion. Dip but a small quantity of the water, and
carry home for observation, and small Entomostracan Crustacea in
abundance, both living and dead, cast-off skins and broken limbs,
testify to the number of the class that are present in the water.

The Zoe has ceased to be one,—it has lost its fantastic shape; the
horn upon its back and brow are gone—lost in the greater develop-
ment of the surrounding parts; the narrow sides of the animal swell
out, the eyes are smaller and more
in proportion, and the tail ceases to
be forked. The creature has now
become a Megalopa. This name
was given by Dr. Leach to what
he believed to be a new genus of
Crustacea, which contained two
species; but this genus as well as
both species that it contains are

Fic. 5.—Young crab in the intermediate stage. | NOW known to be but stages in the

progressive growth of the same
animal: the first of these that was found was taken by Colonel
Montagu amongst corallines on the back of the prickly crab (Maza
Sgquinado), on the southern coast of Devon, and namei after the finder ;
the other, which is the younger form of the two, is called Megalopa
armata, from the great spine upon its back; it was found in a crab-pot
in Bigbury Bay, by Mr. C. Prideaux. Both of them are figured in
Dr. Leach’s work on the British crabs.
When Mr. ‘Thomson first astonished naturalists, the wonder was

Cruslacea. 6573

created by the statement that the animals underwent a distinct meta-
morphosis,—that the Zée changed to a Megalopa and the Megalopa
became a crab, just in the same way that a caterpillar becomes a grub
and the grub passes into a butterfly ; and this idea has been taught by
implication ever since in the most important works upon the subject.
But observations upon many specimens taken at different ages have
proved that these different stages are but mile-stones in the passage,
and are arrived at by a series of progressive steps, each one scarcely
appreciable from that which has preceded it.

Most young naturalists look for wonders: things that are astonishing
are pleasing to the fancy. The Nautilus, when its history was dressed
in the poet’s fable, was a prettier thing than the poor cheat it has been
found out to be. So with the crab, truth is not so pleasant as fiction, and
there was something astonishing in these énsects of the deep fulfilling
in their history the conditions similar to their supposed analogues of
the land.

Successive moults still bring the animal nearer to the form of the
parent: the long projecting rostrum disappears, and the postorbital
region, the position in which the liver is developed, increases in
proportion, the tail is bent close beneath, and the animal assumes a
square form; the continuing growth of the liver region increases the
lateral dimensions of the crab, so that the adult is found broader than
it is long. But all these alterations are slow, and without any sudden
change, any metamorphosis, such as appears to exist in insects.*

The young crab is no longer a swimmer: those who wish to find
it now must search the rocky pools upon the sea-sbore, and turn the
stones and weed, and seek beneath their sheltering protection, where,
half-buried in the soil, it hides from the presence of its enemies, and
watches for prey.

Although there is no sudden metamorphosis, there is a great change
of form between the early larva and the adult Crustacea, and the same
law of development appears to be persistent, as in animals of the
higher types. The progressive growth of the creature passes through
many stages, which have their types in adult forms: these would
seem to suggest that each may be but an arrest in the development of
the more perfect animal. The entomostracous form is that which it
most resembles at first, both in its general appearance and in its move-
ments and habits; with its growth it assimilates to those of a higher

* The development of the butterfly, &c. is quite as gradual, but it is hidden by
the external forms of the caterpillar and grub.

6574 Crustacea,

type, but passes not through all the inferior forms. The higher forms,
such as the short-tailed crabs, skip over those of the stomapod type,
and put on more early their own peculiar features, whereas the young
of the Macroura, or long-tailed genera, enter more decidedly into the
forms that are beneath them; and at a certain stage the larva of the
prawn and shrimp can scarcely be detected from that of the adult
opossum shrimp. Great outcries are made against those philosophers
who endeavour to support the doctrines of the unity of animal crea-
tion; but there appears to us nothing outrageous in the idea that
supposes the adult form which resembles the intermediate stage in the
development of one of a higher type to have been the result of
an arrest in the progress of that particular species. We know that
an arrest in growth may take place under certain conditions for an
indefinite length of time, and that during that period they even pro-
pogate their kind, but when those conditions are removed animals pro-
ceed to a higher degree of development, and complete the history of
their lives. This has been shown to be true of the Tenoid
worms, which remain unchanged and reproduce their own kind while
inhabitants of one animal will, upon being devoured by another, pass
on to the adult condition. If this be true for a period, we have only
to suppose the conditions fixed, to make the arrest permanent, when
it must take its place as a separate species among the rank of
animals.

In the development of the common shrimp, the progress of the
animal is so nearly through the form of Mysis, that an arrest of
development of the animal at that particular stage would place it in
the genus. Now, whether the power to change the conditions, more
or less favourable to the animal, or the actual creation of a new crea-
ture is the more consistent in the great plan of creation, there is at
present not sufficient evidence for us to come to correct conclusions.

We know that altered circumstances induce a variety in form and
size. The Crustacea that are large and spinous in the Arctic regions
dwindle in dimensions and become less spinous in the temperate zones :
these changes made constant appear the only separation between the
variety and the species. |

When the crab first becomes a walking animal, it bears no very
distant resemblance to one of the triangular species, narrow in the
front and broad towards the posterior extremity of the carapax. The
spider-crabs, as they are nicknamed, from a general resemblance they
are supposed to bear to a spider, have been placed as the highest
forms in this class, but observation demonstrates that in the course of

Crustacea. 6575

development, the Portunide assimilate in form very closely to the
triangular group, and it appears but just that we should consider — if
any adult form be passed in the production of a species — that that
form must be less perfect than that at which the undeveloped creature
finally arrives.

This seemingly fair inference appears to receive considerable force
from a study of the habits of the animals. If we descend to the
bottom of the sea, there amidst the tangled branches of the zoophytes,
squatting beneath some stones or beside a mass of weed is the long-
legged spider-crab. Here the lazy creature, with nothing of the
habits of the active little being of the land whose name he has appro-
priated, sits and sits, and continues to sit on for weeks, perhaps
months and years, without desire to change more than to snap up
some bit of offal that has come as food to him. His great long legs
seem to be misappropriated, and appear as stilts that raise him up so
high that he is afraid to use them. Afraid, did I say ? — I mean he
does not know how to use them! Drive him from his lair where he
has been so long that plants have taken root and grown upon his
back; his limbs are a resting-place for sponges to fix them-
selves and thrive ; zoophytes spring up and look like trees; and the
calcareous coral takes its stony hold upon its back: amidst this forest
the worm is seen to creep about the roots and take up its abode, and
many other creatures fix upon the spot and think they have established
their home upon a rock ; and here they dwell, and would bury this
fakir of the ocean in their increasing growth, had not a fixed law in
Nature come to his relief. He sheds his skin, and breaks at “one
fell swoop” the hopes of all that rested on it. I said before, he
knows not how to use his legs. And one is almost startled to think
that in creation, so perfect in all its adaptations of the means to the
end, that any organs should appear so useless to the possessor.
The long sprawling members, generally incommoded by the attach-
ment of weed, seem too long for use, and, to raise them over imperfect
substances, they lift them up so high that it makes one almost think
that once up they are never intended to come down again. Thus
straddling on, he moves fearful of every thing he sees— timid, sluggish,
and defenceless. The species fall a prey by hundreds to the ground-
feeding fish.

Not so the depurators, the so-called cleansers of the ocean, under
an assumption that they dine on decomposing offal,—but which is an
error, for no marine animal is more particular in its feeding than the
crab; I have seen them perish rather than devour tainted food.

6576 Crustacea.

Although, no doubt, they considerably assist in. getting rid of
animal refuse from the sea, yet it is all eaten by them before de-
composition has commenced; and, therefore, the swimming crabs,
no more than other species, have a right to be considered foul feeders.
If among Crustacea such are to be found, they exist among the long-
tailed genera (Macroura) ; the lobster and the shrimp with their near
allies. ©The fisherman, if he wishes to catch a lobster, baits his trap
with stinking meat, but when he hopes to take a crab, he always sets
it with fresh ; and we know upon the sea-shore that a drowned dog
or cat is soon reduced to a skeleton under the devouring powers of
a flock of shrimps. Those who wish to have a skeleton of a bird or
other animal perfectly cleaned, will often thrust it into a nest of ants;
but should they find it more convenient, they may procure the same
results by mooring it in the sea where anumber of shrimps are known
to congregate. ‘The knowledge of this fact was made available by
the naturalists of the Arctic Expeditions; they placed specimens, of
which they wisbed to have the skeletons preserved, beneath the ice,
where they were rapidly reduced to that state by the myriads of small
Crustacea living there.

These depurators, or swimming crabs, are active, lively creatures
that seem conscious of existence, and endeavour to enjoy it to the full
extent of their capability. They are called swimming crabs, because
they manage to swim alittle: they can, by a great deal of kicking
with the legs, the two hind ones of which are flattened out to an oar-
shape, progress in a diagonal line, but they must crawl up again, and
this is called swimming. It puts me in mind of the flight of a
young domestic goose, which through a hard day’s labour has
climbed to the top of a neighbouring bill, will, at sun-down, lift him-
self upon the wing and drop, to the astonishment of his old mother,
in the valley below; but not to save his feathers could he perform
the feat back again.

And at the bottom, the so-called swimming crab alights upon his
feet, and then he feeis at home: ever on his guard, watching, ready
to run or quick to attack, as the case may require, to further his own
protection ; but it appears that where escape is impossible, and that an
enemy is too powerful, the creature will fold his legs together and
pretend that he is dead, trusting that where he expected no mercy
when alive, he may at least find pity or neglect when dead. This
trick is more common with the young edible crabs than any other;
they will often throw themselves upon their backs and remain with
their legs curled up and motionless for a considerable period, until

Crustacea. 6577

they imagine the danger has passed away, and then, cautiously
resuming their natural position, they steal slowly away to the nearest
place of security.

The edible crab, when it has put on this trick, cannot be awakened
out of it by any amount of annoyance. But the swimming crab, if
touched, will soon throw off the cheat and run away, raising high and
opening wide the two great biting-claws, and hasten to a place
of safety, where once arrived it will bury itself in the soil beneath and
permit only its dark back to appear on a level with the surface, that it
may be overlooked, in its general resemblance to the half-buried
stones upon the beach. But it is not asleep, no, nor like the foolish
ostrich think that if it denies itself the power to see, that therefore it
is safe ; the eyes are raised and watchfully keep guard. In the com-
mon shrimps upon our shores this process of hiding is very prettily
performed. In the little pools among the stones, where the shore is
sandy, if you surprise a small shoal of these Crustacea, they spring
with a simple flap of the tail to a considerable distance, where, resting
upon the sand at the bottom of the pool, they gently disturb it with
their feet and by their own gravity sink into the hollow; but when
they have buried themselves to the level of the surface, they keep the
sand upon their backs by the aid of the long filamentary extremities
of the lower antennz. ‘These brush up, in small quantities at a time,
the particles of sand; and when the labour is complete, I question if
the sharpest eye could detect the spots where they lie concealed,
unless they were seen to hide, and the black shining eyes and the
antennze alone be exposed. And there they lie at peace, secure in
their concealment, let the danger continue ever so long, The slight
jerking movement of the inner and the waving motion of the outer
are all that tells of animal life beneath; and, since these are organs of
hearing and smell, we may fairly infer that with the eyes they assist
to watch and intimate when danger is near and the animal may
securely come from its retreat.

But some are not so satisfied, and will not rest until they are con-
siderably beneath the sand. This is the case with Portumnus
variegatus, a pretty little shield-back mottled species of crab. Timid
to excess, it almost lives beneath the sand, but this may arise partly
from the circumstance of its habitat being between the tides, so that
when the water has receded it buries itself to find moisture. At
Swansea, where I have found them in considerable numbers, I had to
dig for them with a trowel, but it was not difficult to find their resting-

XVII. 2M

6578 Annelides.

places ; a little observation showed their track in thé scratches that
their feet had made, and where these ceased the animal was sure to
be some six or ten inches below the surface. Another burrower is
the masked crab (Corystes Cassivilaunus) so
named from the imprint of the human face being
distinctly marked upon its back. I took one
once and-kept it for some time to the amusement
of many, so striking was the resemblance to the
portraits of Mr. Pecksniff; and I only regretted
that the animal already had received a name,
and that I could not associate it with that
eminent sneak.
Fic, 6.—Carapace of the These are active creatures, all of them, and
ea much too nimble to allow weeds and animals
to fix an abode and grow upon their sur-
faces. Then is it unreasonable for us to assume that, coupling their
active character and general intelligence with the previously recog-
nised statement that in their growth they pass through the triangular
form, they stand as animals higher in their class than their more slug-
gish congeners, the spider-crabs. In the study of the lower forms
we may make use of our own experience in the human tempera-
ment. The most perfectly developed nervous system is also the most
active in its muscular action.

It is but just, since the triangular crabs have been recognised by
the leading carcinologists as the highest of the class, that the
reasons on which their opinions are based should be clearly under-
stood, since they rest strictly upon anatomical evidence. It is on the
fact of the consolidation of the nervous ganglia into a mass, and
which, therefore, has been considered by carcinologists in general,
and Professor Dana in particular, to be an increase of nervous power,
and to approach the animal nearer to those which possess a true
brain ; to use his own words, “a centralization of the nervous ganglia
is a true cephalization.”

(To be continued.)

Remarkable E'arth-worm.— I shall be very glad if some reader of the ‘ Zoologist’
can assist me with information in the following matter. How many species of earth-
worm (Lumbricus) have we in Britain? and have we one species whose movements

Insects. 6579

are exactly like those of a serpent? Iam led to ask these questions from having
seen in the fernery of a friend a remarkable worm, which, in outward appearance, dif-
fered little from the ordinary earth-worm, but whose motions were essentially
different, being far more lively and serpentine in character. There was a slight steel-
blue metallic colour about the anterior segments, but not more, I think, than in the
ordinary worm. I may mention that it is quite possible that the worm in question
may be a foreigner, for it was at first noticed in earth which came with some exotic
ferns from Belgium. It has now become very plentiful in the fernery. Possibly I
may be describing a species well known and common; if so, I must confess my igno-
rance, for I certainly never before noticed a worm with such lively and snake-like
movements.— George Norman ; Hull, May 9, 1859.

Description of the Larva of Eupithecia assimilata. — During the last two years I
have paid considerable attention to the larve of the genus Eupithecia, and, through
my own exertions and the kindness of friends, I have become acquainted with between
twenty and thirty species of many of these. I have taken descriptions, and, as
the Eupithecia family is one with which the majority of entomologists are but little
acquainted, I propose each month, as I may be able, to give an accurate description
of some one species. Having, in each instance, kept the larva separate and bred the
perfect insect, I can speak with a certainty. My friend, Mr. Greene, having
mentioned my name in connexion with E assimilata (Zool. 6542), I will begin with
that species. Last October, 1858, I happened to be staying here with my father, and
the thought struck me that there was no reason why EK. assimilata should not be
a Derbyshire insect. I had never seen the larva, but bad heard that it fed on black
currant, so out I turned into the kitchen-garden and set to work among the bushes; I
had not been there more than half an hour when the dinner-bell rang, but I had bagged
sixteen, which number in two days was increased to nearly forty. The majority of these,
however, were, as usual, ichneumoned. The larva is slender and tapering slightly to-
wards the head, and about three-quarters of an inch in length. The ground-colour yel-
lowish green. Segments of rings yellow; the central dorsal line dark green; the
two side ones of the same colour, but very indistinct; these latter studded, in some
instances, at intervals with black dots. The whole body thickly sprinkled with small
yellowish green tubercles, and very sparingly strewed with short whitish hairs. It
strongly resembles a young larva of E. cervinaria. It turns pinkish when ready
to spin up. The pupa is greenish brown, and enclosed in an earthern cocoon. The
larva feeds, towards the middle of October, on the under side of the leaves of the black
currant; mine were taken October J3—15. I am inclined to think it is double-
brooded. It eats oblong holes in the leaves, by which its presence may be generally
detected. In repose it mostly lies along the mid-rib of the leaf.—H. Harpur Crewe ;
Breadsall Rectory, Derby, May 6, 1859.

Entomological Puzzle.—In January last, while in Surrey, I noticed a fine Norway
spruce that had apparently been blown down by the wind; the bole was snapped
asunder about three feet from the ground. On a closer inspection, however, the wood
at the place of the fraciure was found mined in all directions by some wood-boring
larva, probably a Sirex; thus the primary cause of the fall of the tree was evident.

6580 Insects— Radiata.

But each of the bores contained one or two flies; these were, it seems, Sarcophaga
carnaria, Musca vomitoria, Musca meridiana and Sargus cupreus: these flies were
closely imbedded in the detritus of the wood. There were some hundreds so im-
bedded. Now the question arises, How did these flies become tenants of the bores?
It is preposterous to suppose that they were “ drawn into the bores by a spider, to be
preyed on at leisure!” Why, when the juices were extracted, were the flies not
ejected, as is usual under similar circumstances? Yet, strange to say, one of our
leading entomologists favours such an idea, but of what genus and species the spider
is, of course he cannot say! And so he leaves the matter. 1 am induced to ask you
to insert these particulars in the pages of your serial, in the hope of eliciting a more
satisfactory explanation. The bores were isolated, and apparently unconnected with
one another, and in some instances they seemed to have no connection with the outer
air.—Peter Inchbald ; Storthes Hall, Huddersfield, May 17, 1859.—‘ Intelligencer.’

[Mr. Inchbald most obligingly sent me the specimens of perforated wood before
he published the foregoing account: and be it known unto all men, that I am the
“preposterous” entomologist who suggested that the borings were those of a Sirex
larva, who gave Mr. Inchbald the names of the four flies, and who expressed the
opinion that they were “‘ drawn into the bores by a spider, to be preyed on at leisure.”
—Edward Newman.]

Dinarda Maérkelii and Heterius sesquicornis.— Dr. Power headed a ravaging party
to the Hogsback, near Guildford, on or about the birthday of Gracious Majesty: his
myrmidons were S. Stevens, J. W. Douglas and E. Shepherd. Fifty D. Maérkelii
were brought home. A few days previously fifteen beautiful specimens of Heterius
sesquicornis were taken at Hampstead by S. Stevens & Co. What is our friend Janson
about? Here is a theme for his indignant pen!—Ed. Zool.

On the Transfer of Adamsia palliata from Shell to Shell.
By P. H. Goss, Esq. F.R.S.

Ir has often been an interesting speculation with me,—In what
manner is the due relation of size maintained between Adamsia palliata
and its supporting shell, in the progressive growth of the former? We
find, almost without exception, the Adamsia adhering around the
mouth of an univalve shell, which is tenanted by the hermit crab
(Pagurus Prideauxti). There is, moreover, a certain proportion of
dimensions between the zoophyte and the shell; the young Adamsia
occupying a small shell, such as that of a Littorina or Trochus, the
full-grown individual a large one, such as that of a Natica or Buccinum.
The crab is able to shift from a smaller to a larger shell when he needs
enlarged accommodation, and since we know that his congener, P. Bern-
hardus does this habitually, we naturally conclude that such is the
habit of P. Prideauxii.

Radiata. 6581

Presuming then that this is the case, what becomes of the Adamsia?
If the crab shifts his quarters and leaves the Adamsia behind, the
association is broken, and we should certainly find Paguri without
Adamsiz, and Adamsiz without Paguri. But we find neither the one
nor the other.

On the other hand, if Adamsia is able to shift its quarters also, how
does it proceed in its search for a new shell? If it forsakes the old
tenement at the same time as the crab, and together with it takes
possession of the new one, by what means is unity of will and action
secured? What communication of thought takes place from the one
to the other’? As the Adamsia does not adhere to the crab, but to the
shell, that is as they are independent of each other’s movements, who
takes the initiative? Who goes to seek the lodging? And at what
point of the transaction does the other come in? All these questions
I had mused on with interest ; and at length have received some light
towards their solution.

On the 10th of last January I obtained, by dredging in Torbay, a
specimen of Adamsia palliata about half-grown, on a rather small shell
of Natica monilifera, tenanted by a Pagurus Prideauxii, which seemed
already too big for his habitation. Having put them into a well-
established tank of large dimensions, the contents of which were in
excellent condition, I succeeded in doing what I had never done before,
domiciliating both crab and Adamsia. Both continued in the highest
health, and became quite at home. :

For about a fortnight last past, however, J have noticed that the
Adamsia has not looked so well. One side or wing has .gradually
loosed its hold of the shell-lip, so that it hung loosely down beneath
the breast of the crab. Yet in other respects the zoophyte seemed
healthy. Latterly, too, the crab manifested symptoms of uncomfort-
able straitness, in the great extrusion of his fore-parts, so great, indeed,
as to expose even the front of the soft abdomen. Yet I felt reluctant
to present to the crab a larger shell, fearing that he would, in availing
himself of it, desert his zoophyte friend, which would then die, and I
should lose the specimen.

At length the desire to solve a problem in science prevailed over
this feeling. A fact is better than a specimen. And _ so this
‘morning (April 21st) I selected from my cabinet a full-grown
Natica shell, and placed it on the tank-floor, not far from the
disconsolate trio.

_ The Pagurus presently found the new shell, and immediately began
to overhaul it. He did not do, however, as his brother Bernhard

6582 Radiata.

would have done, at once shift into the new house. Having turned it
mouth upward, he took hold of the outer and inner lip each with a claw,
and began to drag it about the tank. Occasionally he relinquished
the hold of one claw, and probed the interior in the usual manner, and
then resumed his march. I watched the proceeding for an hour or
more, when, having other work to do, I left him alone.

The thought did occur to me,— Can this delay be intended to make
the Adamsia cognizant of what is in contemplation, and to prepare it
for the change? But | dismissed it as unlikely.

After about an hour’s absence I returned to the examination. The
Pagurus was comfortably lodged in his new abode, and the old one,
which now looked small indeed, lay deserted at-some little distance.
I eagerly turned the latter over, to see what was the condition of
Adamsia. Lo! no Adamsia was there; and the Pagurus, presently
approaching the front of the tank, I saw, to my great gratification, that
the old association was unbroken. There was the Adamsia, with one
wing adhering to the lip of the new shell, and apparently the opposite
wing also ; but from the position of the group, this I could not be quite
certain of. The situation of the zoophyte was quite normal,— the
centre immediately below the breast of the crab, and in contact with
the inner lip of the shell, while that wing which I could clearly see
was creeping round upon the outer lip.

Examining now more closely the condition of things, with a lens, I
saw that the central part of the Adamsia’s base was adherent by a small
point of its surface to the under thorax of the crab, between the bases
of the legs.

Now this adhesion to the crab is a circumstance which, so far
as I know, never takes place in the ordinary relations of the ani-
mals; and therefore I cannot but think it an extraordinary and
temporary provision for the removal of the Adamsia from the old
to the new shell, and for the correct adjustment of its position on the
latter.

How then can we avoid the conclusion, that as soon as the crab had
found the new shell to be suitable for exchange, the Adamsia also was
made cognizant of the same fact; and that during the two hours which
followed, the latter loosened its adhesion to the old shell, and, laying
hold of the bosom of its protector, was by him carried to the new house,
where immediately it began to secure the like hold to that which it had
just relinquished ?

But what a series of instincts does this series of facts open to us!
The knowledge by the crab of the qualities of the new shell; the

Radiata. 6583

delay of his own satisfaction till his associate is ready ; the power of
communicating the fact to her; the power in her of apprehending the
communication ; her immediate obedience to the intimation ; her
relinquishment of her wonted hold, which for months at least had never
been interrupted ; her simultaneous taking of a new, unwonted hold
where alone it could have been of any use; the concerted action of both;
the removal ; her relinquishment of the transitory adhesion as soon as
its purpose was accomplished; her simultaneous grasp of the new shell
in the proper places ;—all these are wonderful to contemplate, won-
derful considered singly, far more wonderful in their cumulation. Is
there not here much more than what our modern physiologists are
prone to call automatic movements, the results of reflex sensorial
action? The more I study the lower animals, the more firmly am I
persuaded of the existence in them of psychical faculties, such as con-
sciousness, intelligence, will and choice! and that even in those forms
in which as yet no nervous centres have been detected.

P. H. Goss.
Torquay, April 21, 1859.

Additional notes on the above.

May 2. Eleven days have elapsed since the above observations
were made, and I have now another interesting fact to record, bearing
on this strange association. ‘The Adamsia has not looked well since
the change of residence ; its adhesion to the shell has been but partial
at the best, some days more, some days less, extensive ; but for the
most part a considerable portion of the zoophyte was hanging down
from the shell. The crab, on the other hand, was evidently in clover,
and showed no inclination to go back to his old lodging.

This morning I found the Adamsia detached, and lying helplessly
on the bottom of the tank, beneath the crab, who, when disturbed,
walked off, leaving his companion behind. TI thought now it was a
gone case, and that it was all up with my elegant protegée.

An hour or two afterwards, however, how great was my surprise to
see the Adamsia fairly established again, adhering to the shell bya
good broad base, and looking more healthy than I had seen her for many
aday! Strangely enough, she was adhering in a false position, having
taken hold on the outer lip of the shell, instead of the inner, as usual.
Here was a fresh proof of intelligence somewhere ; and I at once sat
myself to find where.

6584 Radiata.

Carefully taking up the shell with the aquarium tongs, and bringing
it close to the surface, but not out of water, I gently dislodged the
Adamsia with my fingers, and allowed it to fall prone to the bottom.
I then released the shell and its tenant, and drove the latter towards
the spot where the zoophyte lay.

No sooner did the crab touch the Adamsia than he took hold of it
with his claws, first with one, then with both, and I saw in an instant
what he was going to do. In the most orderly and expert manner he
proceeded to apply the Adamsia to the shell. He found it lying base
upward, and therefore the first thing was to turn it quite round. With
the alternate grasps of the two pincers, nipping up the flesh of the
Adamsia rudely enough, as it seemed, he got hold of it so that he
could press the base against the proper part of the shell, — the inner
lip. Then he remained quite still, holding it firmly appressed, for
about ten minutes ; at the end of which time he cautiously drew away
first one claw, and then the other; and, beginning to walk away, I
had the pleasure to see that the Adamsia was once more fairly adhering,
and now in the right place.

May 4. The Adamsia is again lost. On searching I discovered it
lying in a crevice, whence I plucked it, and laid it on the bottom.
Here again the crab found it, and immediately went through the same
process as last described, and again made it adhere. But I fear that
the Adamsia is unhealthy, for it seems to have but an enfeebled power
of retaining its hold. The manifestation of the mode in which the
instinctive actings of the two creatures occur, is, however, I think
sufficiently clear. ‘The crab is certainly the more active promoter of
the partnership: it is abundantly evident that he values the company
of his elegant but very heterogeneous associate. These last observa-
tions have suggested a suspicion that the claws of the crab may have -
been employed in the transference of the cloaklet from shell to
shell.

The subject is one which will abundantly repay further investigation ;
and I commend it to the notice of those zoologists who have access to
the west coast of Scotland, where these animals appear to be most
common.

P. H. Gosse.
Torquay.

en re

Reason and Instinct. 6585

Reason and Instinct. By Tuomas Boyp, Esq.

THE author of the paper on Reason and Instinct has evidently
studied the subject far more than [ have had the opportunity of doing,
and yet, if you think your readers are not tired of it, I should be glad
to make some remarks upon it.

As a proof that animals do exercise powers beyond those included
under the term Instinct the paper in question is quite conclusive, but
it seems to me to go beyond this, and to hide if not to obliterate the
boundary line between man and the brute creation.

The rock on which almost all discussions on Instinct make shipwreck
is the attempt to separate the various acts of an animal’s life into two
distinct classes, viz.—those dependent on Instinct, and those to be
attributed to Reason: such a separation I believe to be simply im-
possible ; the only one which is possible being one which goes far
deeper than this and divides each act into its constituent parts; to
take, for example, an “instance of pure simple instinct” (Zool. 6052
and 6054), the return of animals from a distance to their home, often
by the use of other means than those supplied by their own limbs; if
this be analysed we find first, the desire to return home (this is an
impulse about which the animal has no choice), which is a part of his
nature and true instinct: there 1s, secondly, a knowledge where that
home is; this also is instinctive; he has not to learn it, he has no choice
whether he will learn it or not ; but he knows it; and then, in addition
to these, there is the adoption of means by which this instinctive
impulse, thus made possible by instinctive power, is carried out into
actual life; and here there is choice—there is the deliberate adapting
of means to the end in view, and this is Reason.

There is thus a radical distinction in the ideas included under the
common term Instinct; and this seems to be borne out by the definition
given (Zool. 6043). It is there called a “ certain power or disposition
of mind by which” animals do certain things ; now, are “power” and
“disposition” synonymous terms? and if not how is it that they
are both used, and are both suitable here unless it be as I have
suggested ?

The classification of the principal forms of instinctive action (Zool.
6082, 6083) does not seem to me satisfactory, partly from being so much
founded on the outward act, partly from the absence of the distinction
pointed out above, and partly from the absence of several important
forms. I should propose in its stead something of this kind :—

XVII. 2N

6586 Reason and Instinct.

First, as the three main divisions of instinctive impulse, those which

impel an animal

1. To self-preservation.

2. To the preservation of its species,

3. To submission to man.
(This last is entirely omitted but seems to me as truly instinctive as
either of the others, and, as a motive to action, quite as important ; it
is universal in the animal world, and shows itself unmistakeably where
the human soul is obscured by idiocy or madness).

Secondly, as subordinate to these, the various passions, as love, fear,
revenge, &c.

And lastly, those separate impulses from which arise all the varieties
of habit and mode of life, as swimming in the duck and herding in
the buffalo.

This seems to include all cases of instinctive impulse, and then there
is instinctive knowledge which consists in a power to do, without
previous experience and without instruction, whatever in the ordinary
course of nature each animal is called to.

And these two forms of instinct, combined with a rational use and
choice of means to the ends so supplied and a power of learning, seem
to me to embrace the whole range of animal life. We have seen their
application to one of the simpler forms of instinctive action ; let us
look now at one of the more difficult, for instance at that quoted from
Coleridge (Zool. 6050), of dogs preserving the lives and avenging the
deaths of their masters: here, if submission to human authority and
the subordinate passions of love and hatred be instinctive, they supply
the motive of the various acts without any choice on the part of the
dog ; there is in this case just as much as in his return home from a
distance, an end set before him which he is obliged by the laws of his
nature to endeavour to carry. out.

There do occur cases (Zool. 6489 and note) in which there appears
a choice between the end actually carried out and some other, but I
believe it will always be found that both ends are supplied by instinct;
and consequently that it is not a question of choice, but merely presents
this appearance on account of the nearly-balanced strength of the
instinctive impulses: take, for instance, the case of a horse impelled
on the one hand by the fear of some unknown object to run away, and
on the other by his obedience to his rider to go forward; his conduct
will waver just as either of these motives acquires ascendancy: he will
be induced to go forward either by being allowed to assure himself of
the harmlessness of the source of his fear, 7.e. by the weakening of

Bats and Birds of Jamaica. 6587

his impulse to run away; or by the application of the spur, ¢.e; by an
addition to the impulse to obey his rider.

Similar to this is the moral character which sometimes appears on
the face of the actions of certain animals; it arises, I believe, entirely
from the moral character of the instinctive impulse, and is quite inde-
pendent of the animal’s will; and as the fundamental idea of morality
is choice, animals having no choice have no moral character. The
form of righteous retribution, which the revenge of a dog sometimes
takes, is no proof of the individual excellence of the animal ; though
itis a proof, and no insignificant one, of the excellence of that instinctive
impulse from which it springs, and which thus shows its connexion
both in origin and object with those higher manifestations which it
simulates.

If this be so, the line of demarcation between man and the brute
comes out clear and distinct, for, in addition to this instinctive impulse
and much of this instinctive power, in addition to far higher exercises
of the rational faculty of adapting means to a given end than are found
in the most intelligent animals, man has yet another power totally
distinct from either of these—he has the power of conceiving and of
deliberately choosing for his own an end or object of which he has
had no experience, and which he may adopt or not according to his
own free will. This it is which forms the great gulf between man and
the brute ; this it is which is the source of all moral action properly
so called, and is, therefore, the foundation of all religion; this constitutes
his claim to be “ of kin” to God, and is uttered forth in those won-
drous words “The Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living soul.”

Tuomas Boyp.
Clapton Square, May 27, 1859.

Noles on the Bats and Birds of Jamaica.
By W. Ossurn, Esq.*

* Freeman’s Hall, Trelawny, Jamaica,
May 7, 1859.

“My dear Sir,—It was only on my return here from a journey of
unexpected duration in some of the southern parishes that I found
your welcome letter awaiting me. It was a great pleasure to me to

* Communicated by P. H. Gosse, Esq., F.RB.S.

6588 Noles on the

learn that you thought the information contained in my last important
enough for more general diffusion, and I shall be extremely glad if the
contents of this or any succeeding letters are considered worthy of a
place in the pages of the ‘ Zoologist.’

“ Let me first answer the queries in your letter. I am well acquainted
with your ‘ Naturalist’s Sojourn,’ and have gained from it all I know
about the Bats of Jamaica, independent of my own observations. My
list already amounts to ten species, and I have evidently many not
included among yours. The little Chilonycteris grisea is very com-
mon hereabouts: the boys knock them down aud bring them in. This
was one of five species I procured in an immense cave in the limestone
of Manchester. Besides this there is another so like it that I conclude
it to be a Chilonycteris also, but much larger and with other well-
marked distinctions. A species with the tongue protrudible an inch
or more beyond the muzzle, furnished with reversed bristles towards
the tip, much interested me: the lengthened jaws and round ears,
which give it a remarkable likeness to a pig, render it very distinct
from any of our other species I am acquainted with. From dissections
I have made, especially with specimens taken early in the day, I am
inclined to think the pulp of fruits is their nourishment. They are
very robust and vivacious, bear confinement extremely well, and are
to be found in great numbers in most of the limestone caves of this
range of mountains, so that I have had unusual facilities for observing
them. They lap water readily with the long tongue, and lick and clean
their faces with it up to the ears, and when the first alarm at their
position is over, lick the juice from oranges I have given them, but not
greedily enough to make me feel satisfied it is their regular food.
Artibeus jamaicensis I have never found in any cave, and, from the
instances that have occurred to me, I believe it always reposes under
the shade of some thicket: the negroes constantly tell me of them in
their yams. But A. carpolegus is very abundant in a large cave near
Mahogany Hall, the noise of their wings, when disturbed by the ap-
proaching light, sounding like the murmur of a distant sea: this large
bat brings into its domicile incredible quantities of the kernels and
fragments of large fruits, on which it feeds; the droppings and these
remains of their feasts mixed gradually form deposits of great extent
and many feet in thickness, on the floors of the caves. I have seen
them extend completely through a cave, which could not be less than
half a mile in extent, and at intervals in caves of much greater length.
This deposit is formed of many species of fruits with which I am yet
unacquainted, one especially about three times the size of an ordinary

Bats and Birds of Jamaica. 6589

bullet; but the kernels of the mamee are extremely common, and the
negroes gather the fresh-dropped bread-nuts from the surface, some-
times in great quantities. A sickly crop of young blanched plants
struggle upwards in the darkness, and vast numbers of a large wingless
Orthopterous insect with very large antenne, apparently feed on the
decaying matter, and large spiders with formidable jaws, very like the
claws of a scorpion, creep slowly along the walls, and doubtless prey
on these last. JI remark that 1 have often met with these deposits of
fruit where my captures seem to indicate only the presence of insecti-
vorous bats, or bats of very small size. Is it possible that the large
species migrate? But it would seem that these animals perform a very
important part in the great scheme of nature, by sowing broadcast
over the country the seeds of large fruits whose bulk precludes their
transport by birds, and whose universal occurrence and rapid appear-
ance in cleared spaces we should not otherwise be easily able to
account for. A friend gave me a skin of a very large species he had
recently shot, supposing at first it was a pea-dove; it seems about
twenty-four inches in expanse, and is remarkable for a very distinct
pale streak down the mesial line of the back; but it is, [ believe,
insectivorous. I think your collection contains at least four species
I am unacquainted with, which would make the total number fourteen,
instead of eleven, as the Society of Arts announce. But I have already
entered more fully into the subject than I intended, as I hope when
my specimens are sent to England to learn something of their
names, &c., which here I have no opportunity of getting at.

‘I spent a couple of days at the summit of the Dolphin,* and would
gladly have spent as many months; but it is extremely inaccessible,
except in the dry weather, and no accommodation near it, except the
house of an old Scotchman, whose hearty hospitality sheltered me
during my short stay. I did not remark anything unusual in birds,
but the plants were most tempting. Ihave seldom left a place with
more regret. ‘The view of the sea on both sides of the island is in-
describably fine. It is certainly higher than Bluefields, as the view
extends over the ridge to the Santa Cruz and Manchester hills
beyond. This latter (Bluefields), I am sorry to say, I never visited
whilst in the neighbourhood. I know the turning from the high road ©
towards the mountain extremely well, having often passed it on my
way from Grand Vale to Savanna la Mar; but 1 can vouch for the
accuracy of your sketch of the beautiful Cave Bay, along which I have
often ridden.

* A lofty peak in Lucea parish—P. H. G.

6590 Notes on the

“YT have not met with the blue partridge yet, but, from what I hear,
it is an eastern bird which does not come so far to the leeward as this.
During the journey I have alluded to, I devoted the greater part of my
time and attention to Ornithology, and it will perhaps be as well to
conclude this letter with a few notes of observations I then made, and
reserve these mountains for a future letter. My first day was across
a forest district of the Black Grounds, partially cleared and known as
Hector’s River. As my first stage was to Oxford, I took the op-
portunity of making some further inquiries respecting the great macaw;
there were several of Mr. White’s old servants still on the estate, but
I was unable to allay the suspicion and astonishment so strange a sub-
ject excited with the negroes, and anything they said was evidently
quite worthless; but 1 have in other quarters been constantly on the
alert for information: I have never seen anything of them myself, and
they appear equally unknown to the negro sportsmen. A gentleman
who has property, and has long resided in this district, however, told
me he had constantly seen them: at my request, he was kind enough
to enumerate the occasions he could distinctly remember; and it
seemed about four or five times in twenty-five years, and then they
were always flying at a great height. I think we may conclude from
this that they certainly are not common in these lofty forests, but are
to be placed in the list of ‘ occasional wanderers’ to the island. The
other three species are extremely abundant.

“The only bird of particular interest which occurred to me in the
swamps of St. Elizabeth’s was the beautiful Ortygometra Carolina;
1 shot it, after watching it some time, at the edge of a pool, busily
feeding on what proved to be a leaf of some water-plant partially
macerated, exactly in the state a botanical investigator would like it
if he wished to examine the structure, the cellular portion easily
separating from the fibrous. It is in this state I observe that water-
plants afford nutriment to great numbers of these birds, of many
allied species. The Santa Cruz mountains yielded me nothing of note
but a male specimen of your Ephialtes grammicus; the colours rather
brighter and size smaller than the females. Whilst exploring a large
cave near Peru, another flew out of a recess: I could find no nest, but
they do not seem uncommon in the Santa Cruz range. I have never,
however, seen or heard of them on the north side, where the brown
owl always refers to Nyctibius. At the foot of the same mountains
I procured a beautiful little falcon, whose blue back and slenderer
form make it very distinct from Falco columbarius. Vere is a most
peculiar district as to the features of the country,—a plain of dark mud,
which reminded me of the Nile Valley, and covered, where active cul-

Bats and Birds of Jamaica. 6591

tivation does not keep them down, with an interminable thicket of
cashaws. The Ornithology is peculiar also, chiefly from the immense
numbers of Icterus leucopteryx, Centurus radiolatus and lowland
Columbadz which inhabit these last. The Banana birds especially
abound: the nests, in the topmost branches of the logwood generally,
were the most familiar objects of every morning’s ride. All those I
examined were evidently old and deserted, as the time for building
had not arrived. There were often two or three in the same tree; this
was, I presume, not because these birds build in companies, but from
the same pair frequenting the same tree, and each year constructing a
new nest. I would remark that there is certainly a distinction in the
colouring of the quills and tail-feathers; in some they are black, in
others olive-green: as far as I have observed, this did not seem to be
sexual. Did you observe it?

“It may perhaps be as well here to mention the few particulars of
an unknown bird I met with in this district, though the evidence I have
to offer is not so satisfactory as I could wish. A friend had sometime
before asked me if I knew there were two species of nightingale *
(Mimus) in the island, but, as he was not sure whether the one we
then saw devouring bird-peppers in the garden was the larger or
smaller of the two, I did not think much of the remark; but in
crossing a dreary region, half swamp and covered with the shrubs that
flourish on tracts occasionally submerged, a bird flew across the track,
which I at first thought was one of the cuckoos, from its size, and then
saw was a nightingale, but at the moment, intent on other objects, the
difference did not strike me. The next day I was again shooting over
the same locality, a waste of great extent, which unites the Portland
ridge with the main land, when I again saw the same bird. It was
evidently a nightingale, but wanted the conspicuous white feathers in
the expanded wings, and J think also in the tail. It flew to the top-
most bough of a mangrove, and gave me ample proof of its vigorous
powers of song: | watched it with the greatest interest for some time.
During the song it every now and then rose perpendicularly about
three feet, alighting in the same place, but without interrupting the
song. I fired at it; it immediately dropped into the centre of the
thicket beneath, but afterwards I had the mortification of seeing it
glide off low over the ground; | pursued it without success. After
much fatigue I caught sight of another, which I likewise missed, and
then was obliged from fatigue to give up, for the day was already at
meridian heat. I soon after met.a negro with a gun, who seemed to

* The mocking-bird, provincially called “ nightingale.” —P, H. G.

6592 Notes on the

know the species perfectly, and told me the larger, which were shy
comparéd to the other species, were called “Spanish nightingales.”
I mentioned the circumstances to one or two planters in the neigh-
bourhood, who seemed quite aware of the distinction. My visit in the
neighbourhood terminated without affording me the opportunity I was
so anxious for, of putting the question beyond doubt by procuring a
specimen; but I wrote expressly to a gentleman living in the neigh-
bourhood to procure me one, and am still in hopes of being able again
to visit the locality myself. At all events my attention is awakened to
the point, and I may fall in with it elsewhere: it seemed about half as
large again as the ordinary species.

“Tt was during my visit to Vere that, at a friend’s house, I for the
first time fell in with your beautiful plates of Jamaica birds. I had
only time for a hurried inspection, but perhaps you may like to have
a few remarks on some of the species, as they occurred to me.

“ Trochilus Maria I have never seen, probably from not having
hitherto been sufficiently alive to the distinction between this gay
little bird and its congener.

“ Klania Cotta was a great puzzle when I first met with it near
Savanna la Mar, on the 28th of August, last year. I did not again see
it till I came to the mountains of Trelawny, where, during the winter,
I saw it four or five times. I shot one in the pastures of Vere on the
9th of April last, and on my return here saw it a few days ago (on
the 23rd of April) by the road-side. This still leaves it plenty of time
to migrate. So far as my observations of its habits go, it is an ex-
tremely sluggish little bird; it will move only a few yards at the re-
port of a gun. Like the Tyrants, or rather Myiobii, it sits apparently
absorbed on a bare twig, and then suddenly begins hunting after an
insect among the neighbouring leaves, but never, that I have noticed,
makes a regular swoop after a flying insect, like Myiobius; but they
are too rare for me to feel well acquainted with them.

“A large pear tree (Persea), near the house at Long Hill Pen,
St. Elizabeth’s, was during my visit in blossom: the insects attracted
brought numerous little birds after them, which were toying in dozens
among the branches: it was too high to distinguish them, but I shot
several, only one of which was unknown to me. A friend suggested
it was Sylvicola discolor in summer attire, and it certainly did look
like it. Fortunately I preserved the skin, and your plate immediately
put me right; it was Certhiola maritima. As the tongue was left in,
an inspection put me beyond doubt. I much regret I did not know
this at the time, as my impression is that there were more.

Bats and Birds of Jamaica. 6593

“None of my specimens of Sylvicola eoa (if [ am right in their
identity) have the rust-colour so suffused over the breast as in your
plate. This colour is confined to the centres of many of the feathers
of the under parts, so as to give the mottled appearance so common
among birds. I first saw it very early in July last year among the
mangroves that surround Savanna la Mar. On the 21st of the same
month I shot three, all very deeply in the moult. On the 2nd of
August I shot two; they were still moulting, so I did not procure
more. ‘They are very common round the town. The negro boys, from
their colour, call them ‘canaries. I never saw them, except in or
near mangrove swamps. On my arrival on the north side a pair were
constantly in a tree close to a room I inhabited in Falmouth during a
short period. I again fell in with them in the maritime district of the
Ridge of Portland before alluded to, but now in much brighter plu-
mage. I think it more than probable it will prove that this is a
Jamaica species which does not leave the island. I postpone my
notes on S. pharetra and S. pannosa (both very accurate plates) to
another letter.

“ Hirismatura ortygoides? I transcribe a note I made on shooting
one of these ducks :—

**¢ Camp Savanna, May 28, 1858. The bird mentioned by Mr. Gosse
(p. 406) must, I think, be a young example of this species. This, a
male in full breeding plumage, has no white on the secondaries, and
the head, instead of being ‘ dappled black and ochry white’ has a jet-
black crown, with almost a pure patch of yellowish white on each
cheek. This little duck is very common on all the ponds near here,
feeding among water-lilies and other floating weeds. On alarm they
leave the edges, and remain watching the intruders from the centre of
the sheet of water. They dive constantly and with the greatest facility.
The female is browner, without the patches on the cheeks. Mr. Hill’s
remark as to the mode of using the tail to clear the water from weeds,
besides the worn state of the tail-feathers, receives further probability
from the powerful muscles which move them.’

“J have since seen them at Long Pond Estate, in this parish, and
again on a sheet of water on a very elevated plateau on the summit of
the range which divides Clarendon from St. Ann’s. In all cases the
white patch on the cheeks is extremely conspicuous, much more so
than the beautiful cobalt-blue bill, which is only distinguishable at a
much nearer view than these wary little ducks are disposed volun-
tarily to permit. This distinctive mark makes your correspondent’s
choice of ‘ ortygoides’ as the trivial name still more appropriate.

XVII. 20

6594 Quadrupeds.

“T may mention that on the same elevated sheet of water (8000 feet
above the sea) I was surprised to find great numbers of Fulica Ameri-
cana. ‘They were much tamer in this lonely place than usual: I shot
one, and its mate watched its dying struggles with extreme surprise,
two or three more feeding near, taking no more notice of the report of
my fowling-piece than slowly to swim towards the opposite margin.
The shield was, as you describe, not entirely white.

“The morasses of Vere also afforded me a specimen of Nycticorax,
a male in the finest plumage, and what the negroes call a ‘ white crane,’
which seems a species of Egretta; it is 40% inches in length and
57 inches in expanse; it may be E. leuce, which you include in your
list.

“1 hope soon to follow this up with another letter especially devoted
to the birds of this central range.

“ Yours very faithfully,

“ W. OsBURN.
“P. H. Gosse, Esq., F.R.S.”

How does the Wolf drink ?—This was a question recently put to me by some
juvenile naturalists, and on my replying, “ Most likely in the same manner as the
dog,” I was triumphantly referred to the Rev. J. G. Wood’s ‘ Anecdotes of Animal
Life, fifth edition, p. 187, where it is stated that “ Wolves drink in a different manner
from dogs. Dogs, as we all know, drink by lapping with the tongue, but wolves
draw the water into their mouths after the manner of horses. These peculiarities,
together with the obliquity of their eyes, afford good reasons for separating them from
the true dogs, of which they were once supposed to be the ancestors.” The means of
testing the accuracy of this statement are fortunately within reach of all persons who
can visit the Zoological Gardens, and a reference to the best authorities on the matter
in that establishment—the wolves themselves—at once settled the question in favour
of their habit of lapping the water precisely as the dog does. Foxes and jackals also
lap like the dog: an examination of their noses will show that any other mode of
drinking would be difficult without an alteration of the position of the nostrils, and a
greater development of the lips, and I imagine these two characters will generally be
found a sufficient guide in determining the mode which every animal adopts in taking
fluids into the mouth. I am induced to notice this subject, as Mr. Wood is now
bringing out a very useful serial on Natural History, and, as one of the latest writers
on systematic Zoology, may probably be quoted in the works of subsequent authors:
I trust therefore he will pardon my inquiring on what ground he states that “ Wolves
draw the water into their mouths after the manner of horses."-—H#. W. H. Holdsworth ;
26, Osnaburgh Street, June 6, 1859.

Birds. 6595

=

A List of the Birds of Banffshire, accompanied with Anecdotes,
By THomAs Epwarpb.

(Continued from p. 5268.)

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla Yarrellii). Wherever there is a stream
or a quarry you will meet, in summer, with a pair or two of these
active little insect-eaters. During winter, however, they are invariably
to be seen here and there on lawns and about mills and farm-steadings.
They remain with us all the year round. A pair built their nest a few
seasons since on a ledge of rock at a road-side close to our harbour,
and managed, in spite of the bustle of such a place, and though the
nest was open to the gaze of all as they passed, to rear a brood of
five young ones. ‘They are in no way particular as to the choice of a
place to breed in. I have found their nests quite exposed like the
one referred to, and as often beneath stones and banks, and in holes
completely hidden from view. One of these latter cases occurred in
a sand bank. The hole was fully thirteen feet from the ground, and
the nest placed about sixteen inches from its month. But what added
more to the strangeness of the fact was that the whole bank was
occupied by sand martins. One which I kept, having winged it,
became quite tame, and was allowed to go about a garret amongst a
host of mates; and no better or greater dainty could be given it than
a piece of raw flesh. I have seen it, though incapable of using its
wings, leap nearly two feet from the ground for a morsel of flesh, as
also after flies.

The Gray Wagtail (M. boarula). This is our yellow wagtail, being
known here by no other name. Though generally distributed through-
out the county like the last, it is not nearly so abundant. Like the
last, too, I have found this species breeding in company with the sand
martin. In an old, but now disused, quarry near this town, on the
left bank of the Doveran, a pair nest almost every summer: this
they do amongst the stones. High above them, and amongst the
softer mould, the martins rear their young. These birds like their
pied brethren draw towards the towns in winter, and in frosty weather
may be seen at our very doors.

Ray’s Wagtail (M. campestris). This is, so far as I know, only an
occasional visitor with us. It may breed, however, but I am not aware
of it. I have found them breeding plentifully amongst the hillocks
which stretch along the line of coast between the Don (Aberdeenshire)
and Newborough ; then again from Peterhead to Fraserborough.

6596 Birds. "
Could we boast of similar suitable places, doubtless we should have
them too, but this we cannot; hence the fact, as I suspect and have
stated, that they are only visitors.

The Tree Pipit (Anthus arboreus). I have seen this bird on several
occasions in various parts of our county, but have never yet met
with its nest. That they all breed, however, there is no doubt, having
been known to do so ata place called Dunlugas, and again near Inver-
ness, Keithay, Rathiemay and Inveraven.

The Meadow Pipit (A. pratensis). Plentiful throughout the whole
county.

The Rock Pipit (A. obscurus). Along all our coast. Both these
birds are known here only by the name of “ peep,” the former being
known more inland by the term of “ heather peeper” or “ cheeper.”

Richard’s Pipit (4. Ricardi). I have only seen this bird once
within our limits, whilst resting on one occasion at the foot of the
Knock Hill.

The Sky Lark or, as we have it here, the Liverock (Alauda arvensis),
is universally distributed throughout the whole length and breadth of
our county. In my opinion it is the most numerous bird we have,
for go wherever you will in spring and summer and you cannot fail
either to hear its heaven-inspiring strains, as it mounts the skies, or see
the bird itself, or perhaps both.

Next to the mavis the lark is the bird for me, and has been since
first I learned to love the little warblers of the woods and fields. How
oft, Oh! how oft has the lark’s dewy couch been my bed, and its canopy
the high azure vault been my only covering whilst overtaken by night
during my many ramblings after Nature; and Oh! how sweet such nights
are, and how short they seem. Soothed to repose by their evening
hymns, and again to be aroused at the first blink of morn by their
early lays. ‘Towards the months of October and November a great
diminution of their numbers annually takes place. You might then
travel a whole day and neither see nor hear one, or at most you would
meet with very few. But about, or a little after, new year’s day, they
begin again to re-appear ; and should snow come at or about that time
then they may be seen in hundreds. Where they sojourn during their
absence I have never as yet been able satisfactorily to learn. One
thing is certain, however, that I have seen them frequently returning,
though never departing, both from the east and the north in immense
numbers.

The Wood Lark (A. arborea). I have seen but one of these birds
within our district. This happened on May 27, 1850 in the delightful

Birds. 6597

avenue of Duff House. The bird was alone and in song at the
time.

The Snow Bunting (E':mberiza nivalis). In large flocks during
winter, and exhibiting generally amongst the various members a motley
mixture of colouring, consisting of a pure white, a jet black, a dull
tawny and a deep chesnut,—the beautiful white band, however, across
the wings being conspicuous in all during flight. I have often met
with this bird in different places here during summer, such as at the
rocks of Melosoe, the Longman hill, and in Benvennis, but have never
as yet been able to detect them breeding. They generally arrive here
about the middle of October or beginning of November, and depart
again in March or the first of April. They have a most beautiful song;
though not loud it is very sweet, and it would seem that they begin
early, for | have heard them frequently lilting away at it in February
and March. On all such occasions they were either seated on the top
of a wall surrounding a field, or on ricks.

The Common Bunting, or as we call it here, the Corn Bunting (Z.
miliaria), is not very numerous with us, and, in fact, I do not remember
ever having seen them very plentiful anywhere, but I may be
mistaken.

The Blackheaded Bunting or Ring Fowl (E. scheeniclus). About
in equal numbers with the last. It is called the “moss sparrow” by the
country people. Mosses appear to be a favourite resort with them in
our quarter. I have found their nests in pretty bushes, amongst reeds,
and on the ground. There were a few, and only a few, whin bushes
on a sandy knoll near Aberdeen when I was a boy, where I never
failed to find a nest of these birds for many years in succession. I
never saw any other birds at the spot but themselves. I remember
having seen a black variety of this bird, and one almost yellow.

The Yellowhammer (£. citrinella). Far more numerous than
either of the two last. Its common name here is “ skite.” This is
another species by no means particular as to the choice of a site
whereon, or in, to build. On one occasion I knew of a nest which was
placed in a cart track, beneath a tuft of grass, and close by the way-
side. The road was a bye-road to be sure, that is, one not much used,
and quite narrow, there being only bare room for a cart and one person
to pass. I saw the nest when forming, and dreaded, nay knew, its
fate should a cart pass. I saw it again with eggs, and then with young,
which were at the time about twelve or thirteen days old. No vehicle
had passed, and I now began to hope that they would fly. Five days
afterwards, passing that way, curiosity tempted me to look once more.

6598 Birds.

Fresh prints of horses’ feet preceded me along the path. My old fears
returned, as now with eager step I hastened on. The spot was gained.
Alas! what a sight! the almost fledged young, four in number, and
nest, amalgamated in one shapeless mass. 7

The Cirl Bunting (EZ. cirlus). One near Cornhill, of Park, is the
only instance of the occurrence of this species with us, so far as I am
aware.

The Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs). Abundant.

The Brambling (F. montifringilla). A winter visitor. A few may
be met with almost every season. I have one, a male, which was pro-
cured here in May, 1848. They are sometimes taken by the boys
catching larks and linnets in stormy weather, and are denominated
“foreigners.”

The Tree Sparrow (f£. montana). In Duff House avenue, and, I
believe, in several other localities throughout the county.

The House Sparrow (£. domestica). Numerous. We call it “spurgie”
and sometimes “spurdie.” Pied varieties are not infrequent. One of a
jet black frequented our harbour for a Jong series of years. The sparrow,
like the skite, does not stand very high in the estimation of many of
the young folks ; but why, I am at a loss to understand.

The Greenfinch (/. chlorts).. By no means in such numbers as the
chaffinch and house sparrow, but pretty generally distributed through-
out the county wherever there is wood. This bird is easily tamed: I
have had them so trained as to sit on my shoulders and head, that is,
on my bonnet, and to accompany me wheresoever I went, and without
ever seeking to fly away. They knew me as well as I did them. If I
had left them or hid from them they would have come to me, to any
distance, so soon as I called to them or appeared in sight. That there
is a great diversity both as regards shape and colouring, amongst the
eggs of birds of the same species, is well known to all who pay the very
least attention to these things. I have found this to be particularly
the case as respects the greenfinch. In nearly every nest which I have
seen scarcely two have been alike: some round, like a marble; some
oblong, almond-shaped as it were ; some large and others small ; some
beautifully mottled with minute reddish dots, sometimes on a pure
white, and sometimes on a bluish or grayish ground, sometimes having
large blotches of red, at others having no spots at all. I have found
them with young as late as September. It would appear, at least so
far as I have seen, that six generally form a brood of this species: |
have found them, it is true, with four, as also five, but this very seldom.
They are easily reared; in fact, give them plenty of food, that is,

Birds. 6599

keep their crops continually crammed and themselves clean, and
there is no fear of them.

The Hawfinch (F. coccothraustes). So far as I know, this is a rather
a rare bird with us. Single individuals, very rarely pairs, are now
and then to be seen in our higher districts. A pair are said to have
bred in a wood near here called Whyntie. One was captured near
Huntly, three winters since, by boys taking linnets, larks, &c.

The Goldfinch (F. carduelis). Time was when we Banff folks could
have boasted of having the goldie in pretty fair numbers; but now
they are nearly as rare as white corbies or dead craws. About thirty
years ago, and previous to that, several were known annually to breed
in many of the gardens throughout the town, as well as in orchards,
gardens and plantations in the country. Bird-catchers, however, came
and scoured the land, and the bonnie-painted goldie, with several
others, grew less and less common by degrees. ‘That some may yet
nestle within our boundaries is quite probable, for small parties are
occasionally seen in very severe winters by the sea-shore ; but, by-
the-bye, these may come from Morayshire, or from the other side of
the Firth, where, I believe, they are rather plentiful, in summer at least.
Next to, if not before, the golden crest and the longtailed titmouse,
the goldfinch’s nest is one of Nature’s master-pieces. What a beautiful
piece of workmanship ! how exquisitely woven together! how light,
compact, soft and warm its internal lining! and how complete ! What
hand could imitate the woolly, feathery, mossy, cup-formed, half ball-
like structure? How vain the attempt! If any one wishes to have
a cage-bird to cheer him with its song, let him get a male hybrid
between this species and a canary, and [ am sure he will not be dis-
appointed. I have had them, and I have known many others who
have kept them also, and I must positively state that they are the most
lavish of their music of any cage-bird [| know. I do not think that
crosses with the chaffinch, or either of the linnets make such good
songsters as with the present species; at least, I have never found, or
known, them to be so.

The Siskin (F. spinus). Like the last once more numerous than
now ; bird-catchers having greatly thinned their numbers too: still
we have a few. This is another very tameable bird. I have had
birds of this species that have played with me like so many children,
and seemed to enter into the spirit of the fun as well as I did myself,
and that they understand my every move is an undeniable fact. They
were kept in an open room, from which they might at any time have
escaped, if they had so wished, but they never sought to fly away.

6600 | Birds.

Their pranks in the cage must be well known to all who have ever
had them. 1 have crossed these with the canary, but do not think
they do so well as the goldfinch. So numerous were they at one time
about Aberdeen that, having made a bargain with the bird-catchers to
purchase all their dead birds, I remember that for one of any other
species I got a dozen siskins, most of them females. Ido not know
whether they are as plentiful now, but it is not at all likely.

The Linnet (F. cannabina) or, as we have it, the Rose Lintie is
plentiful. There is no house bird which we possess that rejoices in so
many names as this one. It is the rose lintie so long as it retains its
red breast ; but when that is gone or wanting it is then the gray lintie,
whin lintie, brown lintie, rock lintie and tree lintie. Cultivation is
doing with us, for the poor lintie, what the bird-catcher leaves undone,
viz., tearing down every whin, knoll and brae where it is possible for
plough and spade to work their way. I have found the nest of this
species three times in trees,—twice in a beech, and once in a Scotch
fir. They are very easily reared: keep them clean, and give them
plenty of meat, that is, as much as they can hold. The plain truthis,
that most people who pretend to bring up young birds literally starve
them to death, piecemeal, and all through sheer ignorance ; they.
either do not know or do not choose to recollect that their lawful
parents are always and constantly feeding them during daylight: such
being the case, is it any wonder that so many of them die, when brought
up by hand? when we bear in mind, that many have the notion that
twice or thrice in the hour is quite sufficient to feed them ; and talk of
killing them by giving them too much. Nonsense, perfect nonsense.
I say again you cannot give them too much; they will not take it.
Water, too, is given them by many people: what foolishness! I have
seen it poured down their very throats against all advice until the poor
things sneezed again, and were likely to choke from its effects.

The Lesser Redpole (/. linaria). As the last was plentiful in the
lower districts, this is soin the higher. In severe winters, however,
large flocks descend to the lower grounds, where they remain so long as
the storm lasts, when they again betake themselves to the hills and
mountains, where they breed and remain during summer.

The Mealy Redpole (/. borealis). This is a rare species with us.
Once on a hill near Huntly and twice on Benvennis are the —_ times
I have met with them.

The Twite (F. montium). Another mountain as well as sea-shore
rocky species. The most elegant of all our linnets. It is called the
‘“‘ heather lintie ” with us, and is much liked as a house bird.

Birds. 6601

The Bullfinch (Zoxia pyrrhula). This is another prize for the
trapper ; but besides those taken by the professionals great numbers
are annually destroyed by our gardeners and nurserymen ; some from
the notion that they are destructive, and others to make prisoners of
them. They may be destructive, but really 1 do not think them more
so than any of their kindred species which frequent similar places,
as the sparrow, greenfinch, chaffinch, yellowhammer, hedgesparrow,
willow wren, common wren, or the bold little robin redbreast. Now
it is a fact well known to ornithologists that although some of these
do not themselves actually live on insects, these form the chief
food for their young: this being the case, what an enormous and
countless number of noxious and, allow me to say, truly destructive
creatures must they thus consume and rid us of; but we poor short-
sighted mortals do not know this. Oh, no! we do not see it in that
light ; we are all in the dark as regards the good they do us; but let
them meddle with any of our seeds or fruits, and then the hue and cry
is “ Get guns, and shoot every one of them.” We do not see the incalcu-
lable good they do, but catch hold at once of the little mischief they
may occasionally do us. I hope a better day will soon arrive for these
lively little birds, when they will be cherished and encouraged, rather
than hated and destroyed. Surely intelligence and common sense will
triumph in this respect before long. The bullfinch, though much
admired as a cage bird, cannot be said to be much of a songster, it
being more for its beauty than its music that itis kept; but it is
susceptible of improvement in that way, being easily taught to whistle
several tunes. My employer had a blackbird which whistled the
“Merry Masons” and “ Over the Water to Charlie” first rate; but to
return to the bullfinch. A gentleman belonging to this place, the late
J. J. Robinson, Esq., had one, which he bought from a shoemaker in
some part of Germany, that sung, or rather “ piped,” as Mr. Robinson
said, seven different airs: I have both seen and heard it, and must
confess that it was a most able musician.

In coming to a close with the finches, I may just mention, that in
rearing any of this tribe I invariably feed them on common oatmeal
mixed with a little water, bruised hemp and rape seed; this I knead
into a sort of paste, mixing it up twice a-day, to prevent it from be-
coming sour; and on this I have ever found them thrive remarkably ;
but, as I have already stated, you must give them plenty of it, and not
allow the little creatures to hurt their tender throats in calling for
food, which injures them and weakens their powers of song.

XVII. 2 P

6602 _ Birds.

Ornithological Notes for May and June.—May 4th: A fine old male spoonbill,
with a rich buff-coloured band across the breast, was shot at Hickling, in this county,
and about the same time a male pied flycatcher: this is rather a favourite locality for
the latter species on its arrival here in spring. Another male was obtained on
the 5th, at Hunstanton. May 13. A woodcock was flushed to-day in a plantation at
Spinworth, near Norwich, which probably had a nest close by. Six grasshopper
warblers obtained at Surlingham, in the marshes adjoining the Broad, between the 7th
and 27th of May; others heard singing up to the 12th of June. A woodcock’s nest,
with four eggs, was discovered at Aylmerton, near Cromer, on the 28th of April, in a.
valley planted with birch and oak: on the 19th of May two young ones were safely
hatched and carried off by their parents, leaving the other two eggs in the nest.
May 21. A pair of pied flycatchers, in adult plumage, shot at Beeston: these birds,
though in small numbers, seem to visit us pretty regularly in spring, appearing almost
invariably in certain favourite localities, either, as in this instance, on the coast, or in.
the vicinity of the Broads, as at Horsey and Hickling, where they occasionally remain
to breed. Some singular varieties of nightingale’s eggs were lately found in a nest at
Ketteringham, in this county: they were all much lighter in tint than usual, and
more or less spotted over the larger end, one of them exactly corresponding with the
figure given by Mr. Hewitson, in his ‘ British Birds’ Eggs’ (third edition), as a rare
variety.—H. Stevenson ; Norwich, June 15, 1859.

Occurrence of the Hobby in the Fern Islands.—Qn the 15th instant I picked up, on
one of the uninhabited Fern Islands, a fine specimen of the hobby (Falco subbuteo), a
male, in adult plumage: the bird was uninjured and fresh. On inquiry I found that
it had alighted, in an apparently exhausted condition, three days before, on the
Brownsman Island, and had been eaught by the keeper’s children, from whom it had
escaped the following day. This is, I believe, the first instance of the hobby being
found so far north as the county of Northumberland.—H. B. Tristram; Ferry Hill,
Castle Eden, June 18, 1859.

Variely of the Common Buzzard.—I have in my possession a very beautiful variety
of the common buzzard, which was trapped at Lynmouth, some time this spring.
This singular variety is nearly a pure white all over, the back of the head, wings,
scapulars and upper tail-coverts being narrowly barred with wood-brown. The thigh-
coverts are a pale buff. The bird is a female, and when trapped was in a strong and
healthy condition.—Murray A. Mathews ; Merton College, Oxford, June 8, 1859.

Occurrence of the Woodchat Shrike and Ortolan Bunting in Norfolk and Suffolk.—
On the 29th of April a male woodchat was shot at Yarmouth: this bird had very
nearly completed its spring moult, but from the appearance of the old feathers still
remaining in the tail, had probably but just attained its adult plumage: the chesnut
patch on the back of the neck and the tints of the back and wings were somewhat
lighter than in some older specimens. On the 2nd of May another, also, T believe, an
adult male, was obtained at Lound, near Lowestoft, in the adjoining county of Suffolk.
The woodchat is a rare visitant to this eastern district, not more than one or two
examples having been previously met with. A still greater rarity, in the shape of an
adult male ortolan bunting, was shot at Lowestoft, on the 5th of May. It is doubtful
if this species has ever been observed in Norfolk.—H. Stevenson ; Norwich, June 15,
1859.

Unusual number of Hoopoes and Ring Ouzels in Norfolk and Suffolk.—OF late
years the hoopoe has undoubtedly become not only a more regular, but a more

Birds. 6603

numerous visitant to our coast in spring; nor do I think that, in this case, the
apparent increase in number can be attributed to their being more observed and
recorded now than formerly. No bird has, I believe, from its striking and beautiful
plumage, been at all times more persecuted or more faithfully chronicled amongst the
“rare bird” paragraphs of local journals than the hoopoe, and deeply to be regretted
is that merciless slaughter which deprives us, in all probability, of a willing resident
during the breeding season. To what cause may be assigned the unprecedented
number that have during this spring appeared on our eastern coasts I am at a loss to
determine, hut between the 12th of April and the second week in May, six or seven
fine specimens were killed in various parts of Norfolk, and others seen. A still larger
number, however, appeared on the Suffolk coast, no less than seventeen examples
having been killed, to my knowledge, of which thirteen were shot on the Warren and
Denes, at Lowestoft, between the 28th of April and the 5th of May. Some of these
birds were in most splendid plumage, from the depth and purity of the varied
markings on the back and wings. The ring ouzels, generally arriving about the same
time as the hoopoes, have also been extraordinarily plentiful this year,so much so as to
become quite a drug in the bird market, and dealers were obliged to refuse, in some
cases, to purchase more specimens. I have seen upwards of twenty of these birds,
both adult and immature, shot in Norfolk between the beginning of April and the
first week in May, most of them obtained within a mile or two of this city. Probably
as many more were shot, but, not having been preserved, have escaped my notice.—ZJd.

Occurrence of the Hoopoe near Barnstaple.—A hoopoe was shot near Barnstaple a
few days after Easter. Many were killed about the same period in the neighbourhood
of Oxford.— Murray A. Mathews ; Merton College, Oxford, June 8, 1859.

A Robin’s Nest in a Gardener’s Pouch.—Most of our more familiar birds are known,
I believe, occasionally to choose strange places for their nests, and therefore I do not
give the following fact as anything very extraordinary, but only as another pleasing
instance of the confidence which, through kind treatment, animals may be brought to
repose in man. In the present case the bird was a robin, and the place chosen for its
nest a gardener’s leather pruning-pouch, which he had left for some time hung up in
a shed attached to the garden in which he was employed. He occasionally took his
meals in this shed, and observing that the robin was not disturbed by his presence, he
placed crumbs of bread near the nest, which the robin took, and by degrees she
allowed him to approach nearer and nearer, until at length she took the crumbs out of
his hand whilst sitting on her eggs. But before the eggs were hatched the gardener
required his pouch, in order to pursue his work, though of course he could not think of
taking possession without furnishing robin with another equally comfortable home.
This he did by ingeniously fashioning an old gaiter into a receptacle as near as pos-
sible like the pouch, and into it he carefully transferred the nest and eggs; and such
was the good understanding established between the parties, that this ejectment did
not in any way disturb the existing amicable relations, The robin sat on, and in due
time the young birds were hatched. I saw them a few days ago in their nest, and by
this time, I suppose, they are about ready to fly.— Zhomas Clark; Halesleigh,
June 13, 1859.

Dates of the Arrival of Migratory Birds.—The ‘ Zoologist’ (Zool. 6563) contains
a note of the arrival of migratory birds in the neighbourhood of Cheltenham: as the
arrival of the birds mentioned appears to be generally earlier in the neighbourhood of
Bridgewater, in Somersetshire, about fifty miles more southerly than Cheltenham,

6604 Birds.

the dates of the arrival of these, and also the wryneck, may perhaps be of some
interest.

Chiffchaff. Swallow. Nightingale. Blackcap. Wryneck. Cuckoo.
1851. April 2. April 3. April 14. April 10. April 5. April 16.

1852. March 30. ay | a bel is eae oe.
1853. April 4. <b at. ragga) ie mem
1854. March 381. Pret iP PaaS Ie Ss Phe ya. Boke
1855. April 5. TG hs 3 » 28. heh ic ea 3
1856. March 21. March 28. ce ee ol Tas vee i 2
iea7, |, «30, « April 12. men Lat 74 eT BS.
1858. ery » Il. March 31. Os cstek ee
MO os gs D5: cary i uc dan ss Apt 20. ah 3

The chiffchaff, nightingale and blackcap were first heard by myself, in my own
garden, at the dates given; the other three birds were heard or seen in the neighbour-
hood by myself or others; and of these it is possible that the arrival was sometimes
earlier than was observed, but I think not much earlier, and perhaps not often, as
I keep a pretty sharp look out. It will be seen that the arrival of the nightingale has
been remarkably regular, excepting in the year 1856: I cannot account for the late
arrival in this year, but had the bird arrived earlier, or at least had sung earlier, I am
confident I should have heard it. In 1858 the blackcap was as irregularly early, for
which also I can assign no cause.—Id,

Occurrence of Rare Birds near Worthing.
By Joun C. WILson, Esq.

THE subjoined are notices of the occurrence of some of the rarer
British birds in this neighbourhood, within the last few months, and
which, I believe, have not yet been chronicled in the pages of the
‘ Zoologist.’

Roughlegged Buzzard. Female, October 29, 1858 ; male, March
10, 1859.

Hoopoe. Male, April 25, 1859; female, April 5, 1859.

Kentish Plover. Two females, April 3 and 6, 1859.

Sclavonian Grebe. Male in full summer plumage, April 11, 1859.

Sandwich Tern. Male, May 21, 1859.

I also subjoin a list of a few rare birds which have occurred in or
about Worthing, within the last few years. For the observation of many
of them I am indebted to Thomas Wells, a most intelligent and trust-
worthy birdstuffer in this place; many, however, I have personally
examined.

Common Buzzard. November, 1855. During the four years
previous to that date six specimens were obtained.

Birds. 6605

Roughlegged Buzzard. December, 1850. Arundel.

Kite. Male, 1851.

Peregrine Falcon. Male, 1850; Female, September, 1853, taken
on the rigging of a vessel off Shoreham.

Marsh Harrier. June 14, 1854.

Hen Harrier. Male, autumn, 1853; female, autumn, 1854.

Great Gray Shrike. Male, July, 1853.

Pied Flycatcher. Spring, 1853; male and female, spring, 1854, not
perfect plumage ; spring, 1855, male in full plumage: April 29, 1856,
three young males, one old female; male, April, 1858.

Hoopoe. Specimens are met with annually. In April, 1855, seven
were brought to Worthing, besides several others that occurred in
other parts of the county of Sussex. It has been obtained in the imma-
ture plumage of a bird of the year. This would suggest the probability
of its having been reared in the neighbourhood.

Waxwing. Male, January 7, 1852.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Male and female, April, 1855; and
a male March 1], 1859. |

Whitewinged Wagtail. Generally occurs in the course of the year;

a specimen has been taken this spring.

Grayheaded Wagtail. A most magnificent inte of this rare species
was taken in April, 1855, and is now in the possession, I believe, of
Colonel Carr Lloyd, of Lancing. The head and nape are of a beautiful
blue gray, and the difference of colour between those parts and the
back is most marked. A female was obtained in April, 1856, but its
similarity to the female of the common yellow wagtail is so great that
I am led to doubt its identity with the rarer species ; the bird is in my
own collection.

Shorttoed Lark. Caught at Brighton. Iam assured by Mr. Wells,
who saw and examined the bird, that it could not be mistaken for any
other member of the family. :

Snow Bunting. Male, June 7, 1854.

Ortolan Bunting. A male was taken on the beach, close to the town,
im May, 1853.

Rosecoloured Pastor. August, 1855, and July 31, 1856.

Golden Oriole. Young, summer, 1852.

Bluethroated Warbler. April, 1853; a male was seen in April, last
year.

Black Redstart. Males and females have been met with occasion-
ally, in winter, for the last six years, and doubtless also before the
commencement of that period.

6606 Reptiles.

Dartford Warbler, of either sex, occasional, though rare. I have
obtained one or two specimens taken in the neighbourhood. The dates
I have registered are, male and female, summer, 1853 ; old male, 1857 ;
young, 1858.

White Spoonbill. Young, October, 1856.

Wood Sandpiper. August, 1851, three; August 4, 1856, one;
August 22, 1857, one; August 27, 1857, one.

Common Snipe. August 27,1857.

Curlew Sandpiper. Male and female, August 26, 1858.

Little Stint. September 20, 1855.

Temminck’s Stint. June 7, 1852. Four have been obtained.

Landrail. Male, January 28, 1858. Unusual at this time of year.

Purple Sandpiper. January 23,1857.

Gray Phalarope. Female, October 8th and 9th, 1857.

Smew. Male, January 1855; female, January, 1856.

Redbreasted Merganser. Male, spring, 1853.

Eared Grebe. Young, winter, 1856.

Great Northern Diver. May 5, 1854, male; November 15, 1857,
male. :

Ringed Guillemot. Taken in a field, August, 1854.

Sandwich Tern. Another specimen of this tern was seen October 18,
1858.

Ivory Gull. 1845.

Glaucous Gull.. December, 1857.

Manx Shearwater. 1847.

Forktailed Petrel. December, 1856, males and females.

: JoHn C. WILSON.

Montague House,
Worthing, Sussex.

“Is the Edible Frog a true Native of Britain! Sia
By JouHn Wot ey, Esq.

Since Mr. Alfred Newton, in his important communication (Zool.
6540), has. introduced my name as having formerly’ proposed the
question whether the edible frog is a true native of Britain, and as
Mr. Bell’s latest remarks on the subject (Zool. 6565) are before me,
I venture to send you what seems to me fairly to be said upon the
subject.

* See ‘ Zovlogist, p. 1821.

Reptiles. 6607

7 cannot see that Mr. Bell’s belief that the edible frogs being
“indigenous to this country rests on irrefragable testimony ” is suffi-
ciently securely founded.

Granting that Mr. Thurnall’s discovery at Foulmire makes it in the
highest degree probable that the recollections of Mr. Bell’s father (so
long ago made known to his son), of frogs that he considered of a dif-
ferent species from the common frog, and which were called, in the
neighbourhood of Foulmire, “ Whaddon Organs,” referred to the frogs
who were progenitors of those edible frogs of Mr. ‘Thurnall’s dis-
covering, nevertheless it scarcely seems a necessary consequence of
the edible frog being at Foulmire “nearly a hundred years ago” that
it was truly indigenous to Britain.

There are quadrupeds, fishes, mollusks, and plants believed to have
been introduced to this country far more than a hundred years ago,
and now naturalized and wild: why may not an amphibious creature
have been so introduced by man, and, as in many other cases, no
record been kept of its introduction? This would particularly be
likely to happen in the case of a being of some use to man. How
many French families of the upper classes, who value these frogs
highly, have from time to time settled in England !

How a supposed new species of frog may have been brought into a
country and turned out in numbers, without there being any desire
on the part of the introducer to make the fact known, Mr. Newton’s
account of Mr. Burney’s experiments is sufficient proof,—his turning
out in England two hundred edible frogs and a great quantity of their
spawn, in 1837, about two years before the publication of the first
edition of Mr. Bell’s ‘ History of British Reptiles, and thirteen hun-
dred individuals in 1842, the year before Mr. Thurnall’s discovery at
Foulmire, and nevertheless for the twenty-two years subsequent to
Mr. Burney’s first bringing over the frogs his avoiding making his
experiments in any way public, though indeed they became known,
sooner or later, to Mr. John Henry Gurney, who first communicated
them to Mr. Newton.

It is rather remarkable that Mr. Bell, in the first edition of his
work on British Reptiles, should so clearly indicate his disbelief in
the edible frog as a British species (vide Hist. Brit. Rept., 1st ed.,
art. “Scottish Frog”), though he figures, for the benefit of the Scot-
tish naturalists, a specimen of the edible frog sent to him from France
by M. Bibron (p. 104). For it would hence appear that his father’s
account of the “ Whaddon Organs,” which had been told to him “as

6608 Reptiles.

long ago as he could recollect,” had not struck him as referring to the
edible frog until Mr. Thurnall’s discovery was announced. )

Mr. Bell gives us, in this first edition, p. 86, an account of the
introduction into Ireland, now about a hundred and fifty years ago,
of the common frog, which in the same passage is reported to have
shortly spread over the whole country. In the previously prevalent
belief that no reptile had existed in Ireland, at all events since the
time of St. Patrick, a weighty reason appears for the preservation of
the account of their subsequent introduction. That, however, even’
this account was not generally known, appears from Mr. Bell being
indebted to Mr. W. Ogilby for a reference to it.

The edible frog has not appeared, as far as I know, in other locali-
ties than Foulmire in this country, excepting where it is known to
have been newly turned out. In a more recent case of a species of
Amphibia new to our Fauna, it was soon found at the extreme ends
of the island as well as at intermediate places, though I admit that
this does not prove much, for we certainly have some other species of
Reptilia and Amphibia very local.

I have heard reports that since the draining of Foulmire the edible
frog has not spread in the neighbourhood, but has disappeared.
I must acknowledge, from former observation, that I never saw in this
country a more peculiar place than Foulmire was. Deep, clear
springs in turf, lying near together, perhaps slightly warm; at all
events, the vegetation about them seemed luxuriant. It may be that
this peculiarity of character made it especially suitable for the
edible frog.

We must not forget the assertions of Pennant and Shaw, though
without detail, that the edible frog is a British species, though
Mr. Bell, in his first edition, refers to these assertions as errors.
There can be no doubt he was right in believing that Dr. Stark was
in error in exhibiting at the Zoological Society, in 1833, a skeleton of
a frog, caught near Edinburgh, as the edible, or indeed, as Mr. Bell
(vide Brit. Rept., 2nd ed.) afterwards saw, as any other species than
the common frog.

But I must repeat that, with all respect for the opinion of Mr. Bell,
I can hardly bring myself to believe that we have at present “ irrefra-
gable testimony” of the edible or esculent frog being indigenous to
Great Britain.

I am afraid we must wait for the discovery of some old fen bones,
undoubted allusions in old books, or some such testimony, to
strengthen what Mr. Bell has hitherto advanced; for at most he has

mY

Insects. 6609

proved or rendered highly probable nothing more than the existence, a
hundred years ago, at one spot in the island, of the edible frog, appa-
rently abundant,—the same spot where it was found, apparently indi-
genous, or at least naturalized, now nearly sixteen years ago.

The numerous competent naturalists who are familiar with the
Eastern Counties’ fens in their less-drained condition, and who, as far
as I know, never observed in them anything like what the “ Whaddon
Organs” are believed to have always been, afford in the question
negative evidence not without some little weight; at least, it makes
one believe that the edible frog was long nearly, if not quite, confined
to Foulmire. Still we must not forget Shaw. and Pennant.

But it scarcely seems past all doubt whether or not the term
“Whaddon Organs” referred to a peculiar species of frog; for the
fen Foulmire is out of the general fen district, and the village Whad-
don, being close to it, might get credit for its numerous frogs and
toads, which I believe to have been beyond the experience of the rest
of that immediate part of the country.

Still, every respect is of course due to the opinion of Mr. Bell,
senior, as recorded by his son. But supposing there were any mis-
take, it appears that there was time, after Mr. Burney’s introduction of
his first edible frogs, for a good many of them to have moved them-
selves, or to have been moved, to Foulmire, and to have increased there
in the course of the six years that intervened before Mr. Thurnall dis-
covered them. But, whether there be any mistake or not, Mr. Bur-
ney’s idea may have struck some one else many years sooner than it
did Mr. Burney, or than Mr. Bell lived within reach of Foulmire.

JoHN WOLLEY, JUN.
Beeston, June 18, 1859.

Description of the Larva of Eupithecia Haworthiata.—This larva seems to be little
known, and has not, I think, ever been described. I have, however, taken it in plenty
wherever its food-plant, Clematis vitalba, occurs. It is very short and stumpy, the
ground-colour pale bluish or yellowish green, with three horizontal dorsal stripes of a
darker shade: these stripes are often very indistinct, and sometimes altogether wanting.
The head is dusky, spotted with olive, and the body sparingly studded with minute
black dots. It is full fed from the middle of July to the middle of August. Tt feeds
inside the unopened flower-buds of Clematis vitalba, commonly known as the “ Tra-
veller’s Joy.” When nearly full it frequently feeds among the stamens of the expanded
flower, and may then be beaten into an umbrella: it also feeds on the common white
garden Clematis. The presence of the larva may generally be detected by the
blackened appearance of the flower-buds. When it has eaten up the inside of one
bud it comes out and bores into a fresh one: I have frequently seen a larva busily

RVU: 2a

6610 Insects.

engaged in this operation. In shape and general appearance it is closely allied to the
larva of Eupithecia tenuiata, The pupa is enclosed in a very tightly-spun earthen
cocoon. The thorax and wing-cases are green, and the abdomen red. ‘The perfect
insect appears in June and the beginning of July, and is abundant among Clematis
vitalba: it flies about with extreme rapidity in the hot sunshine, and it is almost
invariably wasted when caught; when fresh the upper part of the abdomen is orange.
The larva feeds very rapidly — H. Harpur Crewe; Breadsall Rectory, Derby, June 4,
1859.

Description of the Larva of Eupithecia innotata.—This larva has, I think erro-
neously, been said to feed upon various low-growing plants: I have been
acquainted with it for some years past, and never beat it from anything but ash. It
is long, smooth, rather slender and tapering towards the head. The ground-colour is
a uniform dark green, with a waved, yellowish spiracular line. The segmental
divisions are yellow, and on the anal appendage is a dark purplish spot. The belly is
whitish, and wrinkled with a dark green central line running the whole length. It
feeds upon ash, and appears to prefer the tall suckers in hedge-rows.. It is widely
dispersed, but nowhere common. It is full fed from the end of August to the middle
of September. The pupa is long, rather slender and tapering. The thorax and wing-
cases are dark olive; the abdomen still darker, almost black, tinged underneath with
red. It is either enclosed in a slight earthen cocoon, at the foot, or under moss on
the trunk, of the tree. My friend Mr. Greene has already given the entomological
world directions how to find it. The perfect insect appears in June and July.—Id.

Observations on the Species of the Genus Prosopis of Fabricius,
belonging to the Family Andrenide, with Notes on the Economy
of P. dilatatus. By FREDERICK sneer Esq.

In the year 1842 my first Hymenopterous Essay was published in
the ‘ Transactions of the Entomological Society ;’ it contained descrip-
tions of nine British species of the Genus Prosopis (Hyleus) ; since
that period much additional material has come to my hands. In the
year 1848 I again published descriptions of the species: at that time
I had not acquired much additional information, but added one species
and reduced a second to a synonym. In my ‘Monograph on the Bees
of Great Britain,’ published in 1855, I again added a species, and
reduced another to a synonym: the latter circumstance was inevitable,
having obtained the nest of P. cornutus, from which I bred P. plantaris
(male) and P. cornutus (female).

In the ‘ Entomologist’s Annual’ for 1859, I announced the capture
of aspecimen of the rare P. dilatatus, and also noticed the fact of
having found a stem containing the nest of a species of Prosopis, which
I expected would prove to be that of P. dilatatus: this opinion has
proved to be correct, but I was not prepared for the entire results ;

Insects. 6611

when these preseuted themselves, I exclaimed to myself, “Oh! how
much do we learn from the perusal of a single chapter in Nature’s
pages ! how completely are our most careful deductions set at nought,
and our most favourite theories scattered to the winds!” but your
readers can only feel an interest in a knowledge of the results; these
I will proceed to lay before them.

It appears necessary, in the first place, to add a few words explana-
tory of the synonyms given in my last work on these insects ; that of
the first species will remain unchanged : the sexes I know to be cor-
rectly assimilated, having bred them from their cells, and also taken
them repeatedly in cottu.

Of the P. annularis of Kirby two sexes are described in the ‘ Mono-
graphia’ of that author, and I have always considered them to be cor-
rectly united. I have carefully compared specimens with Kirby’s
types, and have described them in my various papers. The disclosure
of the sexes of P. dilatatus from the nest, shows that the hitherto-
supposed sexes of P. annularis belong to different species, the female
being that sex of P. dilatatus, and the male being that of P. hyalinatus.
This discovery enables me to publish the correct synonyms of the
genus, having now bred four species, and the remainder offering very
distinct specific characters. The following list I believe to be
correct :—

1. Prosopis communis, Nyland. Revis. Ap. Boreal. p. 234.
Melitta annulata, Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. 11. 36, 3 (nec Linn).

2. Prosopis dilatata, Nyland, Revis. Ap. Boreal. p. 234, ¢.
Melitta dilatata, Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 39, 5, &.
Melitta annularis, Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 38, 4, ¢.

3. Prosopis signata, Smith, Mon. Bees Great Brit. p. 12, 6, 3, 9.
Sphex signata, Panz. Faun. Germ. 53, 2.

4. Prosopis cornuta, Smith, Mon. Bees Great Brit. p. 10, 4, ?.
Prosopis plantaris, Smith, Zool. vi. 2205, 6, 3.

5. Prosopis punctulatissima, Smith, Mon. Bees Great Brit. p. 11, 5,

3, Q.
6. Prosopis hyalinata, Smith, Mon. Bees Great Brit. p. 13,7, g, 9.
Melitta annularis, Kirby, Mon. Ap. Angl. ii. 38, 4, ¢.
. Prosopis varipes, Smith, Mon. Bees Great Brit. p. 14, 8, ¢, @.
8. Prosopis variegata, Fabr. Syst. Piez. p. 259, 1, 2.

“I

I have given the neighbourhood of London as a locality for this
species, but this is an error into which I was led from having captured

6612 Insects.

the supposed male, which I now find to belong to P. hyalinatus. Mr.
S. Stevens took both sexes in Sussex, but I never suspected their
affinity. In the Kirbyian collection I had seen the male, which the
monographist himself had united to the species without any remark or
indication of doubt, so that nothing but positive observation, proving
him to have been mistaken, could have warranted me in differing from
so high an authority. The fact of the male of P. hyalinatus being
identical with that given-as that of Kirby’s P. annularis, had escaped
my observation.

The cells of Prosopis dilatatus, which I found at Pakefield, in Suf-
folk, were constructed in the dead stem of some umbelliferous plant ;
the parent bee had formed a burrow five inches in length and one in
diameter, the tube being lined with a delicate colourless transparent.
membrane; each cell was four lines in length, and separated from the
next in succession by portions of the excavated pith; the cells were
seven in number, six only being provisioned and closed; the food
stored up consisted of semiliquid honey. In a few days the young larva
appeared, and at the expiration of about ten days were full fed and
entered upon a lethargic state, in which they continued from July, 1858,
to May, 1859 ; at the beginning of the latter month they assumed the
pupa state, and gradually progressed to the imago or perfect condition ;
two males were developed on June 10, two females on the 15th, and
two on the 16th. Had the bee completed her task before I discovered
the nest, in all probability the number of males would have equalled
that of the females.

The economy of this genus was first discovered by Mr. Thwaites in
1841, previous to which they were considered to belong to the para-
sitic division of the Apide ; since that period I have bred P. communis,
P. dilatatus, P. signatus and P. hyalinatus. All the species usually
burrow in the stems of dead plants, bramble, sticks, &c.; but some of
the species at times deviate from the usual course: thus P. signatus
occasionally burrows in the mortar of old walls, and I once had
a hollow stone given me which contained cells of P. communis.

In conclusion, I should observe that the spots described as yellowish
white in the ‘ Monograph’ are snow-white in specimens when first
developed. The Prosopis variegata has not been captured, to my know-
ledge, since Dr. Leach is supposed to have taken it at Kingsbridge,
Devonshire ; and the correctness of keeping it in the British list
requires confirmation.

FREDERICK SMITH.

Entomological Society. 6613

Proceedings of Societies.
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
April 4, 1859.—Dr. Gray, President, in the chair.

Donations.

The following donations were announced, and thanks ordered to be presented to the
donors:—‘ Mémoires de la Société de Physique et d’Histoire Naturelle de Genéve,
Tome xiv. 2e Partie; presented by the Society. ‘ Mémoires couronnés et Mémoires
des Savants etrangers,’ publiés par l Académie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des
Beaux-arts de Belgique, Tome xxvii.; by the Academy. ‘On the Digestive and Nervous
Systems of Coccus Hesperidum, by John Lubbock, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.G.S.; by
the Author. ‘The Zoologist’ for April; by the Editor. ‘ Premiére Centurie de
Longicornes du vieux Calabar, par Auguste Chevrolat, &c.; by the Author. ‘A
Manual of British Butterflies and Moths, Nos. 27 and 28; ‘ The Entomologist’s
Weekly Intelligencer,’ Nos. 128—131; by H.T. Stainton, Esq. ‘ The Atheneum ’ for
March ; by the Editor. The Literary Gazette’ for March; by the Editor. ‘The
Journal of the Society of Arts’ for March; by the Society.

Election of Members.

W.S. Coleman, Esq., 7, Ampton Place, Gray’s Inn Road; and W. Jeekes, Esq.,
22, Camden Road Villas, Camden Town, were balloted for and elected members of
the Society.

Exhibitions.

Mr. Stevens exhibited some beautiful Coleoptera, taken by Mr. Wallace, at Dory,
New Guinea, amongst which were Eupholus Cuvieri, E. Schonherri, Promechus
splendidus and Oxycephala speciosa. He also exhibited, from the same locality, a
most extraordinary nondescript Dipterous insect, having long horn-like appendages
to the eyes.

Mr. Smith mentioned that amongst the Hymenoptera recently sent by Mr.Wallace
from Celebes, was a species of Dolichurus, which was interesting from the fact that the
only other known species of this remarkable genus, D. corniculus, is European.

Mr. Janson exhibited five species of Coleoptera hithertv unrecorded as British,
with notes of their localities, &c., as follows :—

1. Oligota atomaria, Eric., Kraatz. Colney Hatch, December 27,1855. Dis-
tinguished from O. pusillima by its broader form and its pitchy black legs and
antenne.

2. Stenus proditor, Eric., Kraatz. Near Finchley, December 5, 1858.

3. Platystethus nitens, Sahlb., Kraatz. Highgate.

4. Abracus granulum, Eric., de Morseul. Walthamstow, Essex, May 18, 1851.

5. Lemophleus duplicatus, Waltl., Eric. Beneath bark of a dead oak near High-
gate, March 27, 1859. Readily recognised from its congeners by the two impressed
longitudinal lines on each side of the thorax, and the truncate elytra of the male.

Mr. Janson also exhibited the following Coleoptera :—

Carabus granulutus, Liun. Variety, having one elytron bright green, the other

6614 Entomological Society.

and the remainder of the upper surface of the usual brassy tint. Hammersmith,
March 24, 1859. |
Lyctus brunneus, Steph. ee Shorey Felled elms, Highgate, August 11, 1858.
Stenolophus elegans. Ditch by the Fort below Gravesend, May 28, 1858. One
specimen. :
Lymneum nigropiceum, Marsh. Southend, August 3, 1858. One specimen.

Mr. Janson announced that having recently placed his collection of Trichop-
terygide in the hands of the Rev. A. Matthews, that gentleman informed him
that he has identified therein the following species, previously unknown as inhabitants
of Britain :—

Ptinella ratisbonensis, Gillm., var. )
P. tenella, Eric. (microscopica [Waltl. in litt.], Gillm.)
P. angustula, Gillm,

These insects were captured during the past year, at various points near London,
beneath the bark of dead trees. Mr. Janson added that this announcement was made
at Mr. Matthews’ request, and that he (Mr. M.) is now preparing for publication, in
the ‘ Zoologist,’ a a de cae paper to his former valuable contribution on this
family. 3

Mr. Wilson Saunders exhibited a living specimen of Scolopendra morsitans, found
in a chest of tea from China, and some living examples of Branchipus stagnalis:
this largest and most beautiful of British Entomostraca had lately been found by
Mr. Brewer, jun., on Reigate Heath, in some shallow pools which were, quite dry
during the summer.

Dr. Gray observed that he had noticed this species on Blackheath, in puddles left
by rain which had fallen within the previous twenty-four hours.

Mr. Saunders also exhibited some galls on branches of young oaks, also from
Reigate, and remarked that they appeared to be those produced by Cynips Quercus-
petioli, formerly observed only in Devonshire, but now apparently spreading over the
South of England; although they do not contain so much tannin as foreign galls, yet,
as they could be obtained in large quantities, he thought it worthy of consideration
whether they might not be advantageously collected and employed as a substitute for
the foreign article, and the young plantations would certainly be much benefited by
the removal of them. .

Mr. Westwood remarked that these galls were now found in the Midland Counties
as well as in the South of the kingdom.

Mr. Westwood exhibited specimens of the case-bearing larva of Culeophora gryphi-
pennella, which had recently been very injurious to some pot-roses in a greenhouse.

Mr. Waterhouse exhibited British specimens of

Epurea-neglecta, Heer, Sturm, Erichs.
Anisotoma nigrita, Schmidt, Erichs.
Olibrus oblongus, Erichs.

Mr. Waterhouse stated that the first of these insects had long been named, by
Mr. Murray, in Dr. Power's collection; that he (Mr. W.) had supposed the insect to.
be identical with an Epurea in his own collection, which he made out to be the
E. parvula of Sturm, and had not inserted the E. neglecta in the ‘ Catalogue.’
Having, however, recently had an opportunity of comparing the two insects, he was

Entomological Society. 6615

convinced of their being distinct. E. neglecta was taken by Dr. Power, at Holt
Forest, near Farnham. A. nigrita was taken by Dr. Power, at Addington, near
Croydon: Mr. Waterhouse believed that the insect inserted in his ‘ Catalogue’ as
Anisotoma rubiginosa, with a note of doubt, was a small female of the same species.
O. oblongus was found by Mr. Squire, at Horning Fen and Whittlesea Mere.

Mr. Waterhouse took this opportunity of mentioning that the following numbers
had been omitted in the third edition of his recently published ‘ Catalogue of British
Coleoptera,’ viz. :—

No. 14 to Hister 12-striatus.
» 2 to Oxylemus variolosus.
The omission of these numbers caused the names of these species to appear as
synonyms of the preceding insects.

Mr. Stevens exhibited a fine Buprestis, allied to Catoxantha, found by Mr. Wallace
at Gilolo, of which Mr. Adam White furnished the following description :—

“The Buprestide are separated into genera and even into great groups by
characters which, in many other families of insects, would be deemed hardly im-
portant enough to be regarded as anything but specific. ‘The subgenus, here briefly
described, more nearly resembles Catoxantha in the shape of its thorax than
Chrysochroa ; it has an apparently dull-coloured look, compared with either of the
two genera alluded to; its under side is decidedly metallic, except on the last
segment of the abdomen beneath; its elytra are strongly grooved, and in their con-
tour considerably resemble Catoxantha, differing in surface and in terminal pointing.
{t may be called Catoxantha (Demochroa) carinata. |

“ CATOXANTHA (? DEMOCHROA) CARINATA, N.S.

“C, Elytris viridi-purpurascentibus, creberrime acupunctatis, costis quatuor cul-
tratis elongatis, costa brevi obliqua ad suturam prope basim, apice subtruncato,
triapiculato ; capite, ceruleo, purpureo et viridi decorato, antice inter antennas
subcavato, et cultrato ; thorace dorso irregulari, creberrime acupunctato, postice
sulculis duobus curvatis longitudinaliter directis, et sulco ad latera singula ;
thorace, abdomineque subtus purpureis, pilis brevibus subdensis ochraceo-flavis,
indutis, pedibus cyaneis, femoribus, basi presertim, viridi et igneo variegatis,
abdominis segmento ultimo subtus pallido flavo, dorso lete metallico-viridi.

“Hab. in Insula Gilolo. Long. une. 1, lin. 6.”

May 2, 1859.—H. T. Stainton, Esq., V.P., in the chair.

Donations.

The following donations were announced, and thanks ordered to be presented to
the donors :—‘ Journal of Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. iii., No. 12; pre-
sented by the Society. ‘Abhandlungen der Koeniglich Bayerischen Akademie de
Wissenschaften,’ Vol. iii., Part 2; by the Society. ‘The Zoologist’ for May; by the
Editor. ‘The Literary Gazette’ for April; by the Editor. ‘The Journal of the
Society of Arts’ for April; by the Society. ‘The Entumologist’s Weekly Intelli-
gencer,’ Nos. 132 to 135, and Vol. v.; ‘Manual of British Butterflies and Moths,’
Nos. 29 and 30.

Election of a Member.

Douglas Timmins, Esq., of Oriel College, Oxford, was balloted for and elected a

Member of the Society.

6616 Entomological Seciety.

Exhibitions.

Mr. Stevens exhibited some butterflies taken by Mr. Wallace, in New Guinea, the
most conspicuous being a beautiful Hestia, allied to H. D’Urvillei.

Mr. Westwood exhibited a number of specimens of Oxytelus sculptus, one of the
smaller Brachelytra, which had been found by a correspondent upon young cucumber
plants after dark, four different sowings of which had been destroyed without any trace
of the depredator being visible, during the day. It was consequently supposed that
wood-lice were the cause of the mischief, but on examining the plant with a light,
after dark, vast numbers of this species, with a few individuals of two small species of
Philonthus, were captured, which were considered by Mr. Westwood to be the
cause of the damage in question, although contrary to the generally-received opinion
of the insectivorous habits of the Staphylinide. Mr. Westwood referred to the occur-
rence of great numbers of these insects in decaying Fungi, Boleti and dung, considering
that it was on the vegetable matter they fed, as was also the case with the larva of one
of the species described in the Linnean ‘ Transactions, by Mr. Walford, which destroys
young wheat plants by gnawing through the stems.

Several members present dissented from this view, end Mr. F. Smith especially
mentioned Oxyporus rufus, which, although always found in Fungi, is evidently, from
its structure, a very voracious insect-feeder.

Mr. Westwood exhibited both sexes of Mutilla (Psammothera) flabellata, one of
the Aculeate Hymenoptera, from South Africa, anomalous on account of the male pos-
sessing bipectinated antenna, a peculiarity known only to occur in two or three other
of the Aculeata. Mr. Westwood regretted that he was compelled to employ this term
anomalous after observations made at the last meeting, and subsequently in the ‘ Intel-
ligencer,’ with reference to its alleged impropriety, considering that no other word so
completely expressed the peculiarity of an animal which exhibited a departure from
the ordinary structure of the group to which it belonged. It was erroneous to assert
that it was only our ignorance which compelled us to regard such structures as irregu-
larities or anomalies; on the contrary, it was our knowledge of vast numbers of
species belonging to the group in question which enabled us to say what were its
regular, normal or ordinary characters.

Mr. Westwood also exhibited three very interesting additions to the British lists.
The first of these was the Blatta Acervorum of Panzer, which formed the type of the
genus Myrmecophila, and which, although strictly belonging to the family of which
the house cricket may be considered as the type, had been regarded by Mr. MacLeay
as the osculant form between the Blattide, representing the cursorial, and the Achetide,
representing the saltatorial, Hymenoptera. It had been found in moss by the Rev.
F. W. Hope, in the Archdeacon’s Copse, near Netley, Shropshire. The second was
the Bethyllus depressus of Fabricius (being the type of Klig’s genus Pristocera), and
interesting amongst the Hymenoptera as forming one of the connecting liuks between
the Aculeata and Terebrantia ; it had also been taken by Mr. Hope, in Shropshire.
The third of these insects was the Dryinus formicarius of Latreille, figured in the
‘Genera Crustaceorum,’ and of the greatest rarity on the Continent. This elegant
insect was remarkable for the anomalous structure of its anterior tarsi, which are ter-
minated by a long slender recurved forceps nearly as long as the entire tarsus: a
single specimen had been taken by Dr. Baly, at Cobham, in October, and by him pre-
sented to Mr. Westwood.

Entomological Society. 6617

Mr. Westwood also exhibited several specimens of the insects which injure books
and book-bindings, namely, a small species of Anobium with punctate-striate elytra,
in the imago state, which Mr. Westwood regarded as Anobium paniceum, but which
Mr. Janson thought was not a native species (a question, indeed, of considerable
importance); these had been found dead in eastern manuscripts, with many living
larve, which from their size might fairly be assumed to be those of this species of
Anobium: also a Ptinideous larva, which Mr. Westwood had found gnawing the
morocco covers of books in his own library, in the same manner as the Lepidopterous
larva which he had exhibited at a previous meeting of the Society: also a large
Ptinideous larva, found within the covers of a Syriac manuscript, which Mr. Westwood
considered to be that of Ptinus fur, as dead specimens of that species had also been
found in the same collection of books.

Mr. Smith observed that he had seen the female of Vespa vulgaris on the wing on
the 14th of February last,—a proof of the unusual mildness of the season at that
period.

The Secretary read the following communication from Mr. A. R. Wallace, Corre-
sponding Member of the Society, dated Batchian, Moluccas, Nov., 1858, intituled

Remarks on enlarged coloured Figures of Insects.

“ The practice of publishing highly-coloured figures of insects, more especially of
Coleoptera, above the natural size, is so very general that I fear I shall stand almost
alone in protesting against il.

‘Coloured figures should represent nature in every respect. They should as much
as possible take the place of actual specimens, enabling us more readily to determine
species than can be done by descriptions, and making us acquainted with the actual
appearance of the rare and beautiful forms which are daily being discovered. Insects,
it is true, vary very much in size; yet, as a general rule, magnitude is a great assist-
ance, and often an important supplementary character, in determining species. This
assistance we altogether lose by enlarging our coloured figures ; for not only does it
require time to look for the line of size appended to each, and to consider the effect of
reducing the insect to that size, but a small and obscure species is often so trans-
formed, by all its delicate detail being brought out and exaggerated, that we may
pass it over altogether as something we have never seen, although the identical insect
may be wailing for its name in our cabinet. The evil is made still greater by no
system being followed. In the same plate we have insects figured of the natural size,
and others slightly or very much enlarged; so that in some cases the largest figure
represents the smallest of the insects. See White’s Cat. of Longicorns in B. M. tab. 6,
figs.5 and 9, An instance of the same anomaly occurs also, I believe, in one of the
plates of Longicorns illustrating Mr. Pascoe’s second paper in the Transactions of the
Society. ©

“There is also another evil in this unsystematic enlargement of insects,—that we
cannot readily check the accuracy of the figures, which must be often very doubtful,
as the artist must trust solely to his eyes for the various proportions ; whereas in figures
of the natural size a fine pair of compasses will both give the principal dimensions
accurately, and enable any one in a moment to test their accuracy. Now, though

XVII. 2 R

6618 Entomological Society.

size may not be, yet proportion is certainly an excellent specific character; and it can-
not be considered a trifling matter that, by enlarging our figures in no determinate
scale, we can no longer use this character with confidence.

“In turning over good coloured plates of an entomological Monograph or of a local
Fauna, we may get at once a mass of useful information. We can compare the spe-
cies with those of our own country, or of any other district with which we may be
acquainted, or the species of a new genus with those of an allied group in our cabinet,
seeing at a glance their several relations of size, form and colour. But this can only
be done if the figures are of the natural size. In the other case we get quite an erro-
neous idea of the new group or of the unknown Fauna,—erroneous not only as to size,
but in form and colour also ; for a mass of colour, though of the same tint, strikes the
eye more forcibly than a small portion; and in like manner any abnormal form
becomes far more striking when exhibited of a larger size than usual. Let any one
compare two plates of well-known insects, in one of which all the figures are of the
exact natural size (representing actual specimens), in the other variously enlarged
(representing nothing in nature), and he will be convinced that the former is in a very
great degree more useful and instructive than the latter. It is the difference between
truth and error.

“Species which are too small to be well coloured of the natural size should be
represented by outlines enlarged in some definite given proportion; and such figures
should be given on separate plates, so as to be comparable with each other.

“To make our coloured figures larger than nature has formed the objects which
they are intended to represent, in order to make them more showy and ornamental
than they really are, is quite unworthy of Science. Such figures do not possess any
one solid recommendation, while they do possess many positive disadvantages to the
scientific inquirer. They are also likely to disgust the incipient entomologist with his
stndy when he finds that his cabinet can never be so showy as the plates on which
entomologists profess to represent his specimens.

“In Lepidopterous figures nature is seldom so falsified. Who ever thinks of
figuring a new Erycina or Lycena so as to equal in size a Papilio ora Morpho?
The thing would be scouted as absurd, yet it would be in reality not one whit more
objectionable than is the present practice as regards Coleoptera.

“T beg, therefore, to propose that the Entomological Society of London should
lead the way in this salutary reform, and allow, in its ‘Transactions,’ fully-coloured
figures only of the natural size, and outlines enlarged in some definite degree which
should be uniform for at least all the figures on the same plate.”

Several members present objected to the opinions expressed by Mr. Wallace, and
Mr. Smith suggested that Mr. W.’s dislike to enlarged coloured figures might arise
from the fact that he had never seen any well-executed plates containing such figures.

Mr. W. Wilson Saunders read a paper on some remarkable Dipterous insects from
Dory, New Guinea, having long horns arising under the eyes, and projecting forward
like those of some of the deer tribe. The specimens were exhibited at the last
meeting of the Society, and were sent to this country by Mr. Wallace. Mr. Saunders
proposed for their reception the genus Japhomya, and described five species, wiz.,
FE. cervicornis, E. Wallacei, E. alcicornis, EK. brevicornis, and E. polita.

Entomological Society. 6619

June 6, 1859.—Dr. Gray, President, in the chair.

Donations.

The following donations were announced, and thanks ordered to be presented to the
the donors :—‘ The Journal of the Royal Dublin Society, Nos. 12 and 13; presented
by the Society. ‘Journal of Proceedings of the Linnean Society,’ Supplement to
Botany, No.2; by the Society. ‘ Catalogue of the described Diptera of North Ame-
rica, prepared for the Smithsonian Institution, by R. Osten-Sacken ; by the Smith-
sonian Institution. ‘ List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection
of the British Museum,’ by Francis Walker, F.L.S., &c., Part XVII., Pyralides ; by
the Author. ‘The Zoologist’ for June; by the Editor. ‘ Bibliotheca Historico-
Naturalis herans gegaban, von Ernst A. Zuchold, Achter Jahrgang, Heft 2; by the
Author. ‘ Boston Journal] of Natural History, Vol. vi. No.4. ‘ Proceedings of the
Boston Society of Natural History,’ Vol. vi. Nos. 11—22; by the Society. ‘ Eleventh
Annual Report of the Board of Agriculture of the State of Ohio,’ to the Governor, for
the year 1856; by the Board. ‘ Report of the Commissioner of Patents for the year
1856; by the Patent Office of the United States. ‘The Journal of the Society of
Arts’ for May; by the Society. ‘The Literary Gazette’ for May; by the Editor.
‘The Atheneum’ for April and May; by the Editor. ‘The Entomologist’s Weekly
Intelligencer, Nos. 1837—140; ‘A Manual of British Butterflies and Moths, Nos.
31 and 32; by H. T. Stainton, Esq. ‘Stettiner Entomologische Zeitung,’ Nos.
1—6; by the Entomological Society of Stettin. ‘ Fabricia Entomologica, Part I.,
No.3; by the Author, M. H.Jekel. ‘ Description dela Leptura Militaris,’ par M.
Aug. Chevrolat; ‘ Description de Nouvelles espéces de Coléoptéres, par M. Aug.
Chevrolat ; by the Author.

Exhibitions.

Mr. Stevens exhibited some fine examples of both sexes of Papilio Zinomaus,
sent from Ternate by Mr. Wallace.

Mr. Stevens also exhibited specimens of Loemophleus Clematidis, of which spe-
cies above a hundred examples had been captured by Dr. Power, Mr. Jeakes and
himself, near Gravesend ; Stenolophus elegans, of which Dr. Power and himself had
secured about fifty, at Southend ; and a living example of Heterius sesquicornis, one
of several which he had recently taken near Hampstead, in nests of Formica fusca.

Mr. Janson exhbited specimens of Haploglossa gentilis, found by Mr. F. Smith,
in company of Formica fuliginosa, at Hampstead. The species had not hitherto
been detected in this country.

Mr. R. B. Were exhibited a specimen of Crioceris merdigera having a transverse
lateral black patch on each elytron, which had been recently found in a garden at
Homerton.

Mr. Stainton stated that when at Ratisbon lately, Dr. Hervich-Schaffer had
informed him of a new Lepidopterous insect frequenting ants’ nests, which he had
received from the East Indies; and he had been exceedingly surprised to hear that
this new inmate of the formicarium was a butterfly, apparently of the family Lyce-
nide. Dr. Herrich-Schaffer had been assured that this insect made no use of its
wings, and merely walked about in the ants’ nests, having thick legs, of a peculiar
construction, not unlike wooden legs.

6620 Entomological Society.

Mr. Westwood had little doubt but the butterflies alluded to were the singular
insects figured by Dr. Horsfield in his ‘ Lepidopterous Insects of Java,’ Plate II.,
under the generic name of Symetha (Polyommatus Symethus of the ‘ Encyclopédie
Méthodique’ being the type), and having remarkably developed and thick tarsi. This
Opinion was subsequently confirmed by Mr. Stainton.

Mr. Douglas exhibited the following insects, and notes of their economy :—

“ Orni« Scoticella, with its pupa-case projecting from its puparium, within a leaf
of Sorbus aria.

“ Coccyx splendidulana, Gueén., with its pupa-case projecting from its puparium,
in a piece of the bark of a willow, where I found it in March. Mr. Wilkinson, in his
‘ British Tortrices, says the imago of this species ‘appears among fir trees ; but this
does not accord with my experience, and in the present instance there is not a fir tree
within half a mile of the place where I found the pupa.

“ Ruphidia P Last February, when examining, in Richmond Park, the
rotten pieces of oak branches blown down by the wind, I found, in the centre of two
of them, a larva of a Raphidia. What they did there I do not know; they appeared
to have nothing except the wood to eat, but they were very lively. I touk them home
and put them in a large glass jar, still in the wood ; and there they remained till the
6th of May, when I found two perfect insects. Attached firmly by the outstretched
feet, was the pupa-skin which TI now exhibit; it was in a vertical position, rent on the
back where the imago had emerged, and resembled the exuvium of a dragon-fly, such
as we constantly see attached to the stems of plants growing in water. The other pupa-
skin I could not find. Twenty-five years ago Mr. Waterhouse read a memoir on the
transformations of a species of Raphidia, to this Society, and it is published in the first
volume of the ‘ Transactions.’ J should not have deemed it worth while to bring the
subject again under your notice, only that my observation of the position of the larva
goes to prove his supposition that the habit is not carnivorous; and, moreover,
I thought it might be of interest to show that, in the instances I noticed, the larve
were not immediately beneath the bark of solid wood as his were, but in the centre of
rotten branches, so rotten indeed that they crumbled beneath the fingers. Possibly
they are not the same species as Mr. Waterhouse’s. Percheron says the larve feed
on larve of Arachnides and Onisci; certainly mine had no such food after I got them,
and as the pupa state lasts, according to Percheron, about fifteen days, mine either
fasted two months or fed on the wood.

“ Trinodes hirtus. The larva I exhibited recently, at a meeting of this Society,
has, as I expected, produced an example of Trinodes hirtus. The following is a
description of the larva :—

“ Length I} line. Dirty white; head large, testaceous ; second segment narrow,
black ; each segment is narrowly margined with black, and down the back is a row of
black spots. The whole larva is densely clothed with black, stout hairs, arising in
fascicles ; these hairs are erect on the back, but those along the sides are rather
curved ; they are shortest at the head and anus, but the longest are more than half as
long as the body. The larva is without the dense anal tufts of hairs which are so
conspicuous in the larva of Tirestas serra.

“The pupa state was assumed about the middle of May, within the skin of the
larva, and under the web of the spider in whose company both this species and
Tiresias serra live together under the loose bark of old oak trees. The imago appeared
on the 3rd of June.”

Entomological Society. 6621

Mr. Stevens communicated the following extracts from a letter received by him
from Mr. A. R. Wallace, dated Batchian, January 28, 1859 :—

“‘T had determined to leave bere about this time, but two circumstances decided
me to prolong my stay—first, I succeeded at last in taking the magnificent new
Ornithoptera, and, secondly, I obtained positive information of the existence here of a
second species of Paradisea, apparently more beautiful and curious than the one I have
obtained. You may perhaps imagine my excitement when, after seeing it only two
or three times in three months, I at length took a male Ornithoptera. When I took
it out of my net, and opened its gorgeous wings, I was nearer fainting with delight
and excitement than I have ever been in my life; my heart beat violently, and the
blood rushed to my head, leaving a headache for the rest of the day. The insect
surpassed my expectations, being, though allied to Priamus, perfectly new, distinct,
and of a most gorgeous and unique colour; it is a fiery golden orange, changing,
when viewed obliquely, to opaline-yellow and green, It is, I think, the finest of the
Ornithoptera, and consequently the finest butterfly in the world? Besides the colour,
it differs much in markings from all of the Priamus group. Soon after I first took it
I set one of my men to search for it daily, giving him a premium on every specimen,
good or bad, he takes; he consequently works hard from early morn to dewy eve, and
occasionally brings home one; unfortunately several of them are in bad condition. I
also occasionally take the lovely Papilio Telemachus, n. s.

“T have sent off a small box containing four males, one female, and one young
bird of the new Batchian Paradisea, besides one red-ticketed private specimen ; six
males and five females of the new Ornithoptera, and seven Papilio Telemachus.

“Tell Mr. Gray and Mr. Gould that the Paradisea had better not be described
yet, as I am making great exertions to get the second species, evidently of the same
genus, which will enable a generic character to be more accurately given. The but-
terflies, I trust, will be both figured, male and female, either in Mr. Hewitson’s book
or in Ent. Soc. Trans. For the Ornithoptera I propose Croesus as a good name.
Butterflies are scarce; good beetles turn up occasionally, but nothing very grand. I
have now a handsume series of Buprestide, and a remarkably pretty lot of Longi-
corns; one of my last acquisitions is a grand bronzy Tmesisternus, 14 inch long, a
single specimen only. In almost all orders, and in birds, there is a deficiency of spe-
cies ; yet there are so many pretty and brilliant things, and a few so grand and new,
that on the whole I am inclined to think my Batchian collection will be the best
I have made anywhere.

“Another reason which may induce me to stay perhaps two or three months
longer at Batchian is that I have had no fever here, which I have never been free
from two months at a time for the last two years before; and I may therefore hope to
get my health well established for my next journey to New Guinea.

“ The butterflies will make a show-box which will, I think, be admired almost as
much as the birds of Paradise.”

Mr. Westwood observed that he had little doubt the male Ornithoptera of which
Mr. Wallace had given such a glowing description, in the letter just read, was the
Ornithoptera Tithonus of De Haan, figured on the first plate of his fine work on the
‘ Insects of the Dutch Settlements, the hitherto unique specimen of which is in the
Leyden Museum, and was seen by Mr. Westwood on his visit last year; he had also
little doubt that the female would prove to be the O. Victoria of G. R. Gray, figured,
some time since, in the ‘ Proceedings of the Linnean Society,’ from a specimen taken

6622 Crustacea.

by Mr. M’Gillivray in one of the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, and now in the
British Museum collection.

Mr. Shepherd thought, with Mr. Westwood, that Mr. Wallace’s description agreed
with O. Tithonus, but considered it hardly possible that Mr. Wallace was not
acquainted with De Haan’s figure. Previous to leaving this country for the East,
Mr. Wallace had carefully investigated the works containing descriptions and figures
of the entomological productions of the countries he was about to visit ; and it seemed
almost incredible that he could have overlooked or forgotten this fine insect.

Mr. Baly read a paper on new species of Phytophagous insects, together with the
characters of a new genus, Paralina: this latter is closely allied to Lina and Chryso-
mela, and is separated from these genera on account of its produced meta-sternum,
which, passing forwards between the meso-coxe, articulates with the base of the pro-
sternum, entirely concealing the meso-sternum; its type is Lina Indica, Hope. —

E, S.

The Crab and its Allies.
By C. SpENcE BatTE, Esgq., F.L.S., &c.

(Continued from p. 6578.)

Ir will be here, perhaps, desirable rapidly to review the nervous
system of the Crustacea.

The symbolical Crustacean consists of twenty-one segments, every
one of which carries a pair of limbs. ‘The nervous system that
supplies these segments and their appendages consists of a series
of ganglia, one being lodged in each successive segment, and
connected to each other by two parallel nervous cords: the whole of
these lie close to the ventral surface of the integument and beneath
the organs of the body, except the three anterior pair, which supply
organs of sense; these are situated above, or, rather, I should say
before, for the oral aperture is situated in the fourth segment; they
give off threads to the members and other organs: the more
important parts are supplied from the ganglia; those of less conse-
quence receive their supply from the intermediate cord. Though
this is the type of the nervous system, yet in no known Crustacea is
it found exactly to correspond. In all there is a tendency of the
ganglia and the corresponding segments to fuse with each other; this
is of a degree more or less in different species or groups; thus, in the
sessile-eyed Crustacea all the ganglia are distinct except the seven
anterior ; the three first form one, the supra-cesophagal ganglion, as it
is named; the four succeeding build up the infra-cesophagal, which
are so called from their relative position to the alimentary tube. But

Crustacea. 6623

this fusion, which here embraces but four ganglia, in the higher types
embrace as well the seven succeeding. This is more or less perfect
in its completion in different animals. In the Macroura, that is the
lobster, the long-tailed order, the union of these several ganglia
(according to Edwards) form one long ganglion, like several in con-
junction; but in the Brachyura, or short-tailed species, they are more
perfectly formed into one large ganglion; and the only difference
observable between the nervous systems in the swimming and the
spider crabs consists in there being a hollow space in the centre of
the large ganglion, or mass, in the former, whilst it is filled up and
solid in the latter. It has on this account always been orthodox, from
Edwards and Audouin, who first carefully described the nervous sys-
tem of Crustacea, down to Dana, the latest who has written systema-
tically upon the subject, to consider that of the spider crabs as being
the most perfectly fused, and therefore highest in grade.

But it should be remembered that that which gives rank to all
animals is the greater or less degree of its intelligence and instinctive
force. All consciousness of power and existence in animals comes
through the senses, and the organs endowed with the capability of
sensation are supplied by nerves that come directly from the brain.
We have, then, @ prior?, a right to assume that those organs which
are similarly endowed in the lower forms are supplied by nerves that
proceed from an organ which represents the seat of consciousness ;
and although it bears no resemblance to a brain, and in fact is
scarcely more if as important as the other ganglia of the body, yet
must be analogous toa brain. The antenne and the eyes receive
their supply of nerves from the first or supracesophagal ganglion,
which is the result of an union between the three most anterior
ganglia, and which are only separated in the Squilla, where the
anterior segments are not fused with the carapax.

The antenne and the eyes are known, from external evidences, ‘to
be organs of sensation, and therefore the mass from which their
nerves originate must be endowed with the capacity of receiving
impressions derived through those organs ; therefore it must be the seat
of consciousness. The more perfectly endowed the animal may be
with conscious power, the higher we should esteem its rank among
animals; and in dissecting for the purpose of verifying this hypothe-
sis, we should anticipate a greater or more perfect development in
the appearance of those ganglia that supply the organs of sense, with
or without a corresponding degree in that of the other parts of the
nervous system.

6624 | Crustacea.

It is the opinion of many naturalists that there is no analogy
between any of the ganglia of this class of animals and the brain of
the higher forms ; that in fact these animals live with scarcely a con-
sciousness of their existence; that their nervous system represents
only the spinal cord in the Vertebrata ;— thus depriving the animal
not only of feeling, but, as it seems to us, of all those powers which
make existence an enjoyment; for the arguments that are made use
of to prove the deficiency of any one faculty must possess the same
amount of importance in relation to the others.

It is a pleasant thing for the naturalist to believe that the animal he
wishes to impale in his collection does not, upon being killed,

“Feel a pang as great as when a giant dies.”

No doubt but that feeling, as every other sense, is much reduced, and
that a Crustacean cannot hear, taste or smell as animals endowed
with a higher nervous system; but it is hard to believe that pain is
unknown to this class of animals; and against the hard negative evi-
dence deduced from a study of the structure we must place that
which is demonstrable from the habits of the living creature.

It is true that certain animals, as the ant and the wasp, may lose
the body without, apparently, being conscious of the fact, and go on
without interruption in their present occupation. I have a friend who
was shot in the excitement of a naval engagement, the ball entering
near the waist and traversing the circumference of the body just
beneath the skin, and who was not aware of the circumstance until
he grew faint from the loss of blood. No one, I presume, will argue
that therefore he was not susceptible to pain.

The crab will, upon receipt of an injury in any of its limbs, throw
off the whole member, that a new one may grow: are we therefore to
infer that it suffered no pain from the original wound, or in the ampu-
tation because the act is voluntary? but rather should we not insist
that it was suffering that induced it to inflict the otherwise rash act
of mutilation? That this is the case, we may infer the more decidedly
from experimental evidence. In order to make observations I pro-
cured a number of young crabs. These I used to treat often un-
kindly. J would, with a pair of scissors, cut off a leg or an arm; but
the animals were very adroit, as if they knew of my intention; and
hard work I had to catch a limb between the savage blades, and when
it was there it would frequently escape again before the blades were
closed. Immediately the limb is injured it is thrown off by a violent

Crustacea. 6625

muscular contraction at the joint second from the body of the animal ;
it is then struck against some foreign substance, and belongs no more
to the creature. Simultaneous with this operation, a thin membrane
of chitine is generated upon the surface, and it is not impossible that
this may be the amputating means. The entire act is one of a few
seconds only, except when they have but recently cast the old shell ;
while the new one is soft and yielding it will remain attached some-
times for half an hour, but this attachment I presume to be merely me-
chanical, the organic union having been, internally, previously severed.

In carrying out these experiments I once cut the claw of a crab so
as to remove only part of the thumb and finger. The limb was not
rejected, and when the shell was cast the hand continued maimed,
and never was reproduced. I well remember that immediately after
the injury the poor thing raised up its wounded arm and fled from
the scene of danger; and when it had gone as far as the prison would
permit, it with the other hand cautiously felt the wound; and then
repeatedly, for some time, gently stroked the arm between the fingers
of the claw, and, as much as it was possible to express pain, showed
that it was suffering. It is easy to say, and perhaps demonstrable
theoretically, that the nerves which give an expression of agony are
not those which convey the sensation of pain; but a reflex action
seldom occurs in ourselves without a previous sensation of pain.

Philosophy teaches us that pain is no evil,—that it is sent as
a monitor to instruct us as to the health or disease of any part of the
body. But surely it would be unphilosophical to teach that the same
law holds not its place in relation to the lower forms of animal life,
because they are less dependent upon external curative treatment ;
and certainly the fact of the self-amputation of a limb, because it is
wounded, is evidence of the value of pain, since it is an operation
that we could never suppose any animal to perform unless it instinc-
tively felt that it would remove a greater evil, just as is the case in
man when he extracts a tooth to relieve himself of a severer pain.

_ As before remarked, the arguments which are made use of to prove

the animal cannot suffer pain must also have force in relation to the
senses. Pain is no independent sense: it is only a modification of
touch, in the same way as acute hearing amounts to suffering; and
no one doubts that these animals can see, hear and smell, and that
they have especial organs for the purpose.

The sense of sight may not be as definite in the Articulata as it is
in man, but there is every external evidence to demonstrate that the
organ of vision is perfect in its adaptation, and as perfect in its

XVII. 258

6626 Crustacea.

youngest stage of development as in its complete form. The eye in
the larva of a crab appears by far the most important organ that it
possesses, being considerably larger in relation to the animal than in
the full-grown crab.

I have not ascertained the circumstance in the pedunculated orders,
but it is a fact in relation to the sessile-eyed Crustacea that the organ
continues to grow, that is, the number of lenses in the visual organs
continually increases with age, and that a considerable number is
present to build up one eye; in the young amphipod there are from
eight to twelve, in the adult there may be from fifty to sixty ; but in
the crabs and lobsters there are a great many more; the quantity
being required to counteract the want of more perfect movement and
the position of the organ.

It was on this class of animals that Divine Will first manifested his
power, in the construction of these organs; and though ages, which
the mind wearies in attempting to calculate, have since passed away,
the plan of the organ is still the same; it differs not more than spe-
cifically from that of recent Crustacea. It evidently, in the Trilobites,
from its position, belonged to an animal that was always groping at
the bottom of the sea, for its vision was limited to things that were
situated above it; and that it frequented shallow water is also
demonstrable, from the limited extent of its upward range. In the
pedunculated order of recent Crustacea the range of vision is more
extended, and is also rendered more complete from the fact that the
organ is raised upon foot-stalks and moveable; but still the power
of vision appears most complete in the centre of the organ. Upon
the inner surface of the eyes there are no lenses placed; thus all
objects between them are less distinctly seen. To overcome this
circumstance as much as possible, and also to keep guard more
watchfully, the eyes are as in the timid hare, keeping especial look-
out behind. The common shrimp has often allowed the hand to
come quite close to it, when the action is made in front, before it
observed the circumstance; but will dart away long before if an
attempt be made to steal near it from any other quarter. In com-
paring the present with the past, the most recent with the most
ancient, there appears no change of purpose; the organ that was
found to be adapted for the primeval waters is equally available for
the ocean of the present day; the first-created eye and the last are
alike complete and perfect in their adaptation to the class of animals
to which they belonged, even though it may bear, as the Trilobite to
the recent Crustacea, in general structure, the most distant analogy

Crustacea. 6627

of parts, and as an animal has itself passed out of the list of the
living.

Among mammals we find the organs of vision adapted to the pecu-
liar wants of the animal. The mole, which burrows where but little
light can reach, possesses a very small eye. This regulation is also
carried out among animals of the lower order. . Some of the shrimps
are known to live deep in the mud and sand, and some amphipods
dwell in dark underground wells. The Thalianassa which was found
by Colonel Montagu at the mouth of the Kingbridge river inhabits
passages in the sand at the depth of a foot or more; the Gebia, also
a closely-allied genus to the last, dwells in the mud; and in Plymouth
Sound, Dr. Leach has excavated individuals, and found their sub-
terranean passages to extend in a horizontal direction often to the
length of a hundred feet or more ; the Callocaris Macandriz is stated
by Mr. Bell to be fossorial at the depth of eighty fathoms. Positions
such as these, we should suppose, must render the eyes useless as
organs of vision; we therefore find that in these and similar-dwelling
Crustacea the eyes are reduced to a rudimentary condition ; and to
such a degree in nature has this fact become constant that we are
fully justified, upon finding an animal the habits of which are
unknown, with but imperfectly-developed organs of vision, to infer
that they are generally so placed as not to require their use. An
instance may be given in one of these forms that is figured in Dana’s
great work on Crustacea (Cryphiops spinuloso-manus), where the
eyes are placed so far back beneath the carapax that they cannot be
seen until a considerable portion of the latter be removed. We can
scarcely doubt that in its natural state this animal is subterranean in
its habits.

Ampelisca Gaimardii, Kroyer.

In the Amphipoda, nearly the whole of which reside beneath stones,
or in dark recesses at the bottom of the sea, the eyes are lodged
beneath the common integument. Only one genus is an exception to
this rule, and that is the remarkable Ampelisca, an animal apparently

6628 Cruslacea.

with four eyes. Without doubt there are four distinct lenses, two to
each eye; and these are placed at the extremity of each organ, and
implanted in the integumentary structure; from which we may
assume that an arrest in the number of lenses takes place at an early
stage, and that in the Ampelisca they do not increase in number, as
is the case in the Amphipoda generally.

The distinction of the character of the eye in the Amphipoda and
Isopoda from that of the Decapoda appears, in an anatomical point of
view, to rest chiefly upon the peduncle being absent in the former,
rather than to any definite alteration in the eye itself; and by no
means is it the test of any inferiority on the part of the animal. This
appears to be easily demonstrated by the fact that in all the Diastylide
the eyes are sessile, and converge into a single organ; this is the case
also with some of the Entomostraca ; but, on the other hand, the genera
Tanais, among the Isopods, and Nebalia and Artemia, among Ento-
mostraca, have the eyes supported upon foot-stalks, in a manner cor-
responding with the decapod Crustacea.

The eye appears to be designed to suit the want of the animal, and
is developed according to the habits of the creature, being more im-
portant in those which are erratic and swim about in the light, as
Nebalia and the Macroura. ‘Take a prawn for instance, and see, in
the vivarium, how it will gracefully swim about in search of food; and
if you are in the habit of feeding it, as one which,I recently noticed
in the possession of Dr. Dansey, it soon. becomes very tame, and
knows the stick that hands its food to it, which as soon as it perceives
comes over to it. But to those animals which are so situated that
eyes can be of no use, as the fossorial Crustacea, whose residence is
in the dark; or, again, as to the barnacle tribe, which reside in the
light, perfect vision would have been an evil; for animals stationary
as they are could not have procured food, let them be ever so hungry,
that they saw swimming at a distance: sight is granted them only to
avert danger. When lashing the water with their plumose cirri, they
know no danger until an object swims between them and the light,
when they immediately dart in and close their valves. Diogenes
waits until Alexander has passed by.

It is probable that some may believe, and it was a fancy of my
own for a time, that the power of sight in the inhabitants of the water
must be very imperfect, and probably indistinct in outline. I
recollect how indistinctly objects are seen when diving under water,
but we also know how considerably objects are magnified when
seen through the water, and that a small alteration of the convexity

: Crustacea. 6629
of the several lenses would greatly perfect the adaptation of the organ
to the medium in which it exists. We may therefore fairly infer that,
in common with the universal scheme in nature, the organ is as
fully adapted to see objects distinctly in the water as other animals
see things on land; and thus, to all, the endowment is made a
blessing. Divine love has ruled this a paramount law, and nowhere
do we see it more forcibly exemplified than in the organs of vision of
the Cirripodia. Whilst they are young, and swim freely in the water
in the full light of day, and have to seek out and choose their own
permanent place of rest, they have distinct eyes, although in the
earliest form the two are confluent, and appear as a single organ. In
a second stage they increase in size, and separate; but directly the
animal is fixed to the rock, and shut up in his shelly cavern, the
organs are not to be seen, and eyes, really as such, probably do not
exist, although careful dissection first demonstrated, by Prof. Leidy,
in the Balanus, or sessile group of barnacles, and since by Mr. Darwin
in Lepadide, or pedunculated family of these same Crustacea, that
the ophthalmic ganglion is present in the adult form. Thus the
animals appear to be endowed with a low power of vision, which
probably does not reach beyond the consciousness of objects that
may interfere with the rays of light that pass into the shelly entrance.

We have repeatedly noticed them throwing their cirri with the
unerring constancy of clock-work, until a hand be moved in front of
their small opening, when they immediately retract themselves, and
shut up their valves until the supposed danger has passed away ; but
beyond this, sight can be of no use to them. No animal but man is
supposed to enjoy the beautiful in nature; sight, therefore, is only
valuable to animals to seek food and avoid danger, and it is only in the
latter sense that it can be available to the barnacles in their adult
character, since they are anchored to a rock and have no power to
move.

But the barnacle family are not the only Crustacea in which the
organs of vision are reduced to a rudimentary condition. Some of
the parasitic Isopods take up their abode beneath the carapax of the
higher forms, where they become a disease, and distort the fair pro-
portions of the creature upon whose life they feed. The females of
Bopyrus and allied genera are found upon crabs, shrimps and bar-
nacles, where they feed and vegetate to such an extent that they
outgrow all resemblance to the normal character of a Crustacean ;
whereas the male, which continues through life an active individual,
preserves the typical form.

6630 Crustacea.

The relation of one of these to Balanus balanoides, with which it is
found associated, was mistaken by Mr. Goodsir for the male Cirripodia,
but which Mr. Darwin has shown, from the hermaphrodite character
of the latter, must be a parasite inhabiting the shell. The females
of these genera appear to be quite blind.

There are parasites among Crustacea the eyes of which appear to
be monstrously developed, as in some of the Hyperide ; but this is
no evasion of the general scheme, that the organs of vision shall be
in accordance to the wants of the animals. Hyperia Galba and
many others take up their abodes within the transparent Meduse, and
swim the clear surface of the broad ocean, floating in their balloon-
like cars. ‘These, though parasites, live in the clear effulgence of the
day, but which must be lessened in degree, independent of the
passage of its beams through the water, by the interference of the
tissues of the animal, in the hollow chambers of which they reside.
The eyes of Hyperia are large, and embrace in compass nearly the
whole of the head of the animal; the colour is of a pale and delicate
green. But under whatever colour or circumstances perceptible, the
organ seems developed in a proportion best suitable to the wants of
the particular being it gives light.

When the range of vision is required to extend far, the eye is
carried upon foot-stalks, and these, in some species, are not much
less important than the legs of the same animal, as in the exotic
genus Podophalmata, and in the beautiful little translucent stomapod,
the Philosoma of the temperate ocean.

Sometimes they are lodged beneath the integuments ; and, again,
they are brought so near together that they converge into a single
organ; and in some they appear to be wanting, though this is pro-
bably owing to the absence of a coloured cornea. But, wherever the
eye is placed or formed, it holds, homologically, the same position
throughout Crustacea, and must be looked upon as first of a series of
members formed to suit peculiar conditions ; one is developed to act
as a leg; another to assist in swimming; a third is formed so as to be
useful asa mandible. Under all these various changes the appendages
are to be seen, each one adapted for an especial use; thus, the eyes
are but tactile organs, modified so that the nerves may receive im-
pressions of light, just in the same way as we may suppose an
extended arm would hold a ball, or, to speak more correctly, the
hand itself be converted into an eye-ball.

(To be continued.)

Birds. 6631

A List of the Birds of Banffshire, accompanied with Anecdotes.
By THomas Epwarp.

(Continued from page 6601.)

Crossbill (Loaia curvirosta). Of late years the common crossbill
has either become more plentiful or observers more numerous, or per-
haps partly both. Twenty years ago the bird was considered a rarity ;
but this is not so much the case now. It is now believed that they
nest with us, and have done so for some years. There is great diver-
sity in colour and size amongst these birds; of about two dozen
which have passed through my hands not two were alike, either in
size or colour, although from the same flock.

Parrot Crossbill (Z. pityopsetlacus). While walking, one morning,
round the fern-hill (whin-hill), and just as I reached the south side,
I was rather surprised at hearing the voice of what I knew to be a
stranger in that quarter, and in fact within our limits altogether. On
looking to a low, bare wall, about three or four yards in front of me, I
beheld, in all his pride and beauty, a male parrot crossbill. This is
the only instance, to my knowledge, of its occurrence with us.

Whitewinged Crossbill (Z. leucoptera). One very stormy winter,
about fifty years ago, the good lieges of our quiet little borough were
rather astonished by the presence of a large flock of these birds.
Having alighted on what are termed the “ Castle trees,” their strange
appearance and gaudy plumage soon attracted notice, nearly the
whole town flocking to the spot to see the “foreigners.” They ap-
peared quite exhausted, many of them dropping from the trees.

Starling (Sturnus vulgaris). More numerous now than they were
some years ago. ‘There are many places throughout the country
where they now breed annually, in holes in trees and old buildings.

Rosecoloured Pastor (Pastor roseus). ‘This is another rare beauty
whose presence we can boast of, a male having been shot in a garden
at Ardmellie. It was a most splendid specimen, and in first-rate
plumage. \

Raven (Corvus corax). A few pairs of these birds inhabit the pre-
cipitous parts of our coast, where they breed, generally in company
with the falcon, kestrel, gull, guillemot, &c. Single pairs are to be
met with also in other parts of the country. <A pair and their
descendants, but never more than a pair at a time, frequented and
bred for many generations on a particular rock in the crags close to
the bridge of Alvah, a most beautiful and romantic spot. From some

6632 Birds.

cause or other, however, they have long since disappeared, and are
not now known to visit the place. The raven will tame pretty well,
and become very tricky too if you like. One which I kept had such
a predilection for interfering with water, that he could not see a pail
or tub containing any without attempting either to capsize it, or ren-
der the water useless by throwing in all sorts of filth and stones he
could lay his beak on; this done, he would give a few croaks, and
retreat to some convenient spot out of harm’s way. And as for
thieving, he was a perfect devil. But everybody liked him, despite
his mischievous pranks. One kept by a person here was just such
another: he stole everything he could carry off, and when his retreat
or nefarious repository was discovered it contained more than a bar-
row full of miscellaneous articles. A bonnet or a cap was a most
glorious prize. You had no more to do, if you saw a boy passing,
than to whisper to the raven “ bonnet” or “ hat,” as the case might be,
when off he would go to the boy’s back, and soon possess himself of
the article, which not every little chap could retake. In a part of our
town called Gallowhill there once lived a bit of a character called
Robert Rhynd, but more commonly Rob Rinn, a shoemaker, who
gained for himself the cognomen of “ Boots,” simply because he wore
those articles, and delighted in having them always very clean. But
he did’nt like the name at all, in fact he could not bear it, and well
did the youngsters of the neighbourhood know it, and many were the
battles he had with them ; and to throw dirt of any sort on his boots
was just as bad. At this time another individual, of quite a different
stamp, and one which the mischievous portion soon initiated into the
secret of “ Boots,” came to live in the same locality ; and so artfully
did the new comer perform his work that the poor snob could not
leave his house without being instantly assailed by a hoarse, croaking
sound of “ Boots, Boots, Boots ;” and if dirt could be got, it was a
rare case if Rob did’nt get his boots bespattered before he got home
again. It was in vain that he swore and kicked: the raven was too
bold for him. It pleased the urchins to the very heart to see the bird
and Rob ina fix. The boys he chased; the bird he could make nothing
of. At length, however, the raven, during some of his wanderings about
the place, by mere chance got upon the top of a wall, where, through
a window, who should he espy but his old friend hammering away at
a piece of leather. This was too much to let slip. Habit is a terrible
thing. Round he turns fairly in front of the window, becking and
bowing, and croaking out “ Boots, Boots.” “Aye! !” roared our
friend, maddened at the seeming impudence of the bird, “ I'll ‘ boot’

Birds. 6633

you!” With that away flew the hammer right through the window,
—glass, frame and all,—and, hitting the unsuspecting creature on
the head, felled him to the ground, a corpse.

The Carrion and Hooded Crows (C. corone and C. cornia) seem
to be in about equal numbers, not very numerous. They appear also
to associate together, in winter as well as in summer. They are to be
found in certain parts of our coast all the year round. Many of them
breed there; others retire inland for that purpose. Our keepers
destroy them whenever opportunity offers. I wonder that our fisher-
men do not do the same, considering that they destroy great numbers
of a certain Crustacean, namely, Carcinus Meenas, which is some-
times used as bait. One would almost think that Mr. Crab’s head
would be proof against black-neb. But no; and what he cannot
manage below he goes up aloft with. What! to break the shell
against the edge of a cloud? Ono; but to let poor crabbie fall on
some stone or rock, chosen for that purpose. If one topsyturvy
doesnt do, up he goes again: another summerset, and still not
smashed. Up he goes a third time, and I have seen him a fourth,
but this is rarely the case, the first or second generally doing the
work of destruction. When once a convenient stone or rock is met.
with, these birds resort to it for along time. I myself know one, a
pretty high rock, which has been used for this purpose for the last
twenty years; I don’t say by the self-same birds, but it has been used
for that period, and perhaps considerably longer. Besides being
fond of crabbie, they are very partial to the finny tribes, and,
though very good fishers themselves, very seldom if ever lose an
opportunity of assailing the heron when he has had the good fortune
. to make a prisoner. I have seen them watch him intently, and, as
soon as a successful dive could be made, rush upon him; and if the
heron did not instantly swallow his prize, he was almost sure to come
off second best, with a good teasing to boot. I have also seen the
heron attacked when on his way home in summer time loaded with
food for his family.

Karly in the summer of 1845, whilst loitering shaiat the hills of
Boyndie, I observed a heron flying heavily along in a direction as if
passing from the sea, and seemingly well stored with provisions from
that rich and inexhaustible magazine of nature, and at the same time
pursued by a carrion crow, followed at some distance by two magpies.
They had not proceeded far when two hooded crows made their
appearance, and quickly joined their black associate in his attack
on the heron. The heron had by this time got into an open space

XVII. ay

6634 Birds.

between two woods, and it would appear to have been the determined
intention of his opponents to have kept him there until he should
satisfy their demands. During the whole time that the affray lasted,
nearly half an hour, they did not suffer him to proceed above a few
yards in any way, either backward or forward; his principal move-
ments being ascending or descending alternately, in order to avoid
the assaults of his pursuers. They having chosen their battle-ground,
as it were, near to where I was, and being sanguine in my hopes of
enjoying a rich treat, I concealed myself behind a whin-bush, where
I had an uninterrupted view of the whole affair. J was very much
gratified in having my expectations realised to the fullest extent.
The battle might now be said to have been fairly begun; and
between the sonorous screaming of the heron, the cawing of the
crows, the chattering of the magpies, who were hopping on the
ground beneath the scene of action, we had a most inharmonious
concert. The manceuvring of the crows with the heron was most
admirable ; indeed their whole mode of procedure had something in
it altogether very remarkable ; and so well did each seem to under-
stand his respective position, that the one never interfered with
the other’s point of attack. One rising higher than the heron,
descended upon him like a dart, aiming the blow in general at his
head ; another at the same time pecked at him sideways and from
before; whilst the third assailed him from beneath and behind. ‘The
latter several times, when pecking at him from behind, seized hold of
his feet, which, being extended at full length backwards, formed a
very prominent and tempting object for the crow to fix on. This
movement had the effect each time of turning the heron over, which
was always the signal for a general outburst of exultation amongst the
three black rogues, manifested by their much louder and complacent
cawings and whimsical gesticulations, no doubt laughing (if birds
can laugh in any way), after their own fashion, at seeing their victim
turning topsyturvy in the air, which, from his unwieldly proportions,
exhibited, before he could get himself righted again, a rather comical
scene. During one of these summersets the heron disgorged some-
thing, but, unfortunately for him, it was not observed by any of the
crows, and on its falling to the ground was set upon and soon
devoured by the magpies, which were still there in attendance.
Finding no relief from the dropping of the article, and being still
hard pressed, he again disgorged what appeared to be a small fish.
This was noticed by one of the hooded crows, who speedily secured
and made off with it, aud quickly disappeared, leaving his two less

Birds. 6635

fortunate companions to fight the battle out. The heron, having now
got rid 6f one of his pursuers, seemed, from his appearance, deter-
mined to push his way forward in spite of all opposition. But this
was not to be so easily done as Mr. Heron had anticipated ; for his
assailants, apparently either from being disappointed of the aid of
their comrade, or beginning to get irritated at the length of the
struggle, recommenced their attack upon him with renewed vigour,
and so artfully did they manage that they kept him completely at
bay, and baffled all his endeavours to get away. Wearied at last of
the contest, he once more dropped something, which from its length
appeared to be an eel. On its being observed by his opponents
they quickly followed it. In their descent they fell a-fighting with
each other; the consequence of which was that the eel, falling to the
ground previous to either of them, was set upon by the magpies, who
were very loth to give it up when the crows arrived. Of course
a battle amongst the four was the result. The magpies were soon
repulsed. The crows now seized hold of the eel with their bills, and
kept pulling it from each other until it eventually broke in two, when,
each still keeping hold of his portion, they rose, and were soon lost
sight of amongst the trees. On looking again for the heron I was
just in time to behold him far in the distance, ere he disappeared
from view, winging his flight with unusual rapidity, apparently little
if any the worse for the fray. |

On another occasion, when passing along the Green Banks, my
attention was attracted by a loud and clamorous noise. On
looking in the direction of the same I observed, upon a bank on the
opposite side of the river, a heron, surrounded by a very large crowd
of black-nebs, composed of hoodies, rooks and jackdaws, which were
making the noise alluded to. The hoodies were shouting at the dis-
tance of a few feet round about the heron, every now and _ then
bowing and cawivg very politely to him; whilst he appeared, from
his haggling, to be somewhat puzzled as to how he could manage to
swallow a fish, which was still alive, and which from its breadth I
considered to be a flounder. The crows began to press rather near ;
and the heron, not wishing to be so closely beset with so many of the
black gentry, and perhaps dreading that an attack was about to
be made upon him, very cautiously placed one of his feet upon the
fluke, and, raising his head, surveyed his sable neighbours with
a keen and distrustful gaze. Being satisfied, he suddenly sunk
from view, but presently reappeared with the fluke in his bill, and
betook himself to flight, followed only by two of the hoodies.

6636 Birds.

Wending his way up the river, pursued by these two, which teased
him very much, and made several unsuccessful attempts to snatch the
fish from his mouth, he passed over the bridge and alighted on an
embankment a little above it, the two hoodies taking up their position
at the distance of a few yards. The heron stood quite erect, and,
after having for a few minutes eyed his two attendants with a haughty
look, dropped the fluke, which he had hitherto held in his mouth, on
the grass, and, with a significant nod of his head, turned and bowed
to the hoodies, which was tantamount to saying, “ Come and take it
now, ye black rogues.” The invitation not being accepted, craigie
thought it proper to take it up again himself, and after a good deal of
labour and not a little difficulty, caused by the breadth of the fish, he
succeeded in putting it into his stomach, when he again took to wing,
and was hotly pursued by the hoodies, which pecked at him more
furiously than before. But, as bad luck would have it, a keeper,
chancing to pass that way at the time, soon put an end to the
squabble by shooting one of the crows, the other sneaking off when
he saw his companion fall.

Reclining on the beach, one afternoon, near to where the burn of
Boyndie falls into the sea, admiring the manners, but more particu-
larly the tameness of a flock of sanderlings, the greater number of
which were chasing each other to and fro in seeming sportive play,
and uttering their merry notes of “peak, peak, peakie chur;” while
others were enjoying themselves bathing in a shallow pool which
had been left in a hollow of the sand by the previous tide, the
remainder being employed probing with their bills the soft sand
round the margin of the pool, in search of marine insects ;—a gun
was fired by some person close by, which had the effect of raising,
from the rocks in my vicinity, amongst other birds, a heron and
several carrion and hooded crows. ‘The heron winged his flight, and
was closely pursued by three of the crows, in the direction of the
rocks situated a little below the “ Red Well,” and made as if he would
have alighted on them, but from some cause or other he did not do
so. Turning abruptly round, he came back nearly in the same path,
and, passing over the rock he had first left, bent his course eastward,
pursued now only by one crow, which pecked at him with such fury
that he kept him screaming almost without intermission. Having my
attention withdrawn for a few minutes, [ was surprised, on again
looking towards them, at finding that the progress of both had been
suddenly arrested, being still only a short way off. The crow was
attempting to pick something out of the sea, whilst the heron was

Birds. 6637

hovering round and round a little above him. | Whether it was any-
thing dropped by the heron to get rid of his tormentor, or some other
article of food floating on or near to the surface of the water, which
had attracted the eye of the crow, I cannot say, but I suspect the
former. The crow, after making a number of unsuccessful attempts
to pick the object of his solicitude out of the sea, had just succeeded
in getting hold of it with his bill, when I observed the heron suddenly
ascend close upon him, and, stretching out his long neck, strike the
crow on the back with his strong bill, and with such force that poor
hoodie had only time to cry out “caw” once before he fell plump into
the sea, right over head and ears. It seemed to me that the heron’s
only motive in hovering about the crow was to get him into the
water ; for no sooner was it done than he rose again a little higher,
and, doubling his neck again on his breast, pursued his way as
unconcernedly as if nothing particular had happened, leaving the
crow to get out of the briny dilemma he had unwittingly brought
himself into the best way he could. The crow, emerging to the sur-
face of the water, and having somewhat recovered from the effects of
the blow, and no doubt not feeling at all comfortable in his new
situation, began to sprawl furiously about, with the view of getting
out of the watery element. But, unfortunately for him, his feathers
had absorbed too much moisture, which for a time rendered his wings
entirely unfit for flight, so that he could not rise out of the water.
Although the sea was comparatively smooth, still there was what is
generally termed a rough jabble inshore; and the crow, instead of
turning his head, as water-birds would have done, to the waves,
turned his tail; the consequence of which was that each successive
wave tossed him over, and frequently submerged him for a time.
Growing wearied at length with exertion, he became quiet, and
resigned himself to the mercy of the waters. The wind and tide
being both in his favour, he eventually got landed on a rock at some
distance from the shore, surrounded by the sea, and, having scram-
bled to the top, he shook himself heartily, making the water fly from
his feathers in every direction. Marching about on the top of the
rock, the beams of the bright sun shining with unclouded lustre
upon him, he was, from his glistening appearance, an object of
curiosity to people passing on the shore at the time. He also
attracted the attention of a few of his own brethren, who, alighting on
the rock beside him, began to caw and bow to him, which made me
conclude that they were congratulating him on having escaped

a watery grave. Tuomas Epwarp.
(To be continued).

6638 Birds.

Warbling Parraquet (Melopsittacus undulatus) breeding in England.—In the first
place, the cage was a large, common breeding one, such as is used for canaries, with
boxes at the ends, which are entered by round holes, so as to form as nearly as possible
the hollow ofa tree. I put into the cage several different kinds of materials, such as
moss, feathers, hair, dried grass, &c , the same as we give other birds, hoping that
they would build with them ; this, however, they did not appear at all inclined to do,
but, on the contrary, tried hard to push out what little I had put into the boxes ;
therefore, finding the eggs were likely to get laid upon the bare boards, I took a pair
of scissors and cut up the above-mentioned materials quite fine, so that the birds
could not get them out; and this was all the nest they had. The first egg was laid
on the Ist of March, the second on the 3rd, and so on every other day until there were
four eggs. The hen began to sit when the second egg was laid, and continued to do
so until the 18th of Marcb, when the first bird came forth, and so on, in the same
succession in which the eggs were laid, until the four birds were hatched. I fed the
old ones entirely upon canary-seed, as I had always done; and all the young ones
appeared to grow and do extremely well till the 22nd of April, when one died, and
another on the next day. Iam quite unable to account for this, as they had inva-
riably appeared so healthy up to that period; but I fancy they were seized with cramp
in their legs. The eggs were perfectly white, and about the size of a canary’s. The
young are very much like the parent birds, but the plumage is not quite so bright at
present. The hen laid altogether nine eggs, in the same rotation as at first, but did
not sit again, and I am sorry to say died on the 19th of May. The two young ones
I have left are, I hope, a pair, and with their father are now in good health, and I
trust will continue so, and that I shall be more fortunate next year with them.—
Eliza Anne Eeles ; Southwold, July 1, 1859. [Communicated by John Curtis, Esq.]

Suggestion as to the Eggs mentioned by the Rev. J. C. Atkinson. — I do not for a
moment doubt that the eggs mentioned by the Rev. J. C. Atkinson (Zool. 6563) belong
either to a missel thrush or a blackbird. I have in my own collection, and have seen
in others, missel thrushes’ eggs bearing a very close resemblance to strongly-marked
specimens of the ring ouzel’s eggs ; and the situation mentioned is a very likely one
to have been chosen either by a blackbird or a missel thrush ; whtlst a ring ouzel, on
the other hand, would never have built in the fork of a stunted Scotch fir; and the
redwing also, as far as I can ascertain, never selects such a situation. The proba-
bility, however, seems to be that a blackbird was the real owner. ‘The size of the eggs
might be caused by their being the produce of a young bird, and the trifling varia-
tion in the materials of the nest from those usually used may, I fancy, be ascribed to
local causes. Mr. Atkinson has, I see, yet to learn to what an extraordinary and
puzzling degree the eggs of our common birds vary. I may mention here, for his
edification, that the eggs of the yellow bunting alone I have seen ascribed to no less
than five different species, and ail with a show of reason.—Henry Smurthwaite ;
9, Bedford Row, Barnsbury Street, Islington, July 11, 1859.

Singular Sparrow’s Nest.—Last month our gardener showed me an egg which he
thought a house sparrow’s, taken from a nest “ queerly built.” The egg was so very
light and simply marked, that he had misgivings. At once we proceeded to the tree
and visited the nest, which was undoubtedly “‘ queerly built,” being a kind of double
tenement. From it we took three more eggs, all very large, and much longer than
the one previously taken; their colour was extremely dark. Evidently they were
deposited by a different sparrow. From the peculiar shape of the nest I am inclined

Birds.— Insects. 6639

to the belief that it was occupied, if not built, by two pairs of birds, as there appeared
to be two distinct nesting corners inside; one was lined with feathers merely; the
other had a few rags, and a torn page of a hymn-book, on which the eggs were lying.
The nest was domed. — G. R. Twinn ; The Elms, Camp Hill, Birmingham, July 9.

Notes on the Partridge. — On the 18th of June a friend and I were driving on the
lower road from Oxford to Abingdon. On turning a corner we perceived a pair of
partridges, with a brood of freshly-hatched chickens, occupying the centre of the road
a little distance a-head. The herbage on either side of the road being scanty, offered
but little opportuity for concealment ; but the young birds made for the short grass,
and, crouching down, became at once invisible. The old birds, however, waited in
the road until we drove up, without seeming to evince any trepidation ; and we were
so much amused and astonished at their audacity that we drew up to see what they
would do. The male bird ran up and down by the side of our gig, uttering a low
sibilant cry, drooping his wings, and every now and then running towards our pony,
as if with the intention of attacking him. The female bird remained nearly sta-
tionary by the spot where her young ones were hid, occasionally calling to them with
a soft “‘cluck,” like a hen calling her chickens. When we drove on again the male
bird ran along the rvad before us, with his wings drooping, and his neck stretched far
forward so as almost to touch the ground with his head. He evidently imagined that
we were pursuing him, and thought, cunning fellow, by so decoying us on to lead us
from the spot where his family was concealed. When he had led us some hundred
yards or so, he triumphantly rose on the wing, and swept back to calm the fears of his
wife and her young brood. Such extraordinary boldness on the part of birds gene-
rally so timid as the partridge is a proof how great a change parental storgé can effect
upon their habits. I may also mention that a short time since I saw a partridge sit-
ting on her eggs on a railway-bank. I was in the train at the time, and looking down
saw the bird sitting quietly while the train thundered on close to her.— Murray A.
Mathews ; Merton College, Oxford, June 20, 1859.

Description of the Larva of Eupithecia coronata. — This larva is, I think, the pret-
tiest of all the genus. It is excessively variable in colour, so much so that it was not
till I had repeatedly bred the insect that I could believe that such different-looking
larve could produce the same moth. The following are some of the principal varie-
ties:— Var. 1. Ground-colour yellowish green, with three reddish dorsal lines, the
centre one interrupted, and sometimes enlarged into a chain of lozenge-shaped spots,
the two side ones very indistinct. Body, when closely examined, very slightly hairy.
Var. 2. Ground-colour one uniform sea-green. The dorsal lines and spots wholly or
almost entirely wanting. Var. 3. Ground-colour greenish yellow, with a series of rusty
lozenge-shaped dorsal spots or bars. The sides and belly more or less suffused with
rust-colour. Segmental divisions bright yellow. Var. 4. Ground-colour bright yel-
low, with a series of broad dull red dorsal bars, intersected and bordered by lines of
the same colour. Sides and belly thickly clouded with red. This larva is somewhat
different in gait and shape from those of all the other Eupithecie, and resembles that
of H.rupicapraria. Its favourite food is the petals of Clematis Vitalba, from which
plant it may be beaten in some pleuty from the middle of July to the middle of Au-
gust. I have also beaten it from the flowers of the hemp agrimony (Hupatorium can-
nabinum), the golden rod (Solidago Virgaurea), and the wood Augelica (Angelica

6640 Insects.

sylvestris). The pupa, which is enclosed in a rather closely-spun earthen cocoon, has
the abdomen very much curtailed and sharply pointed, the eyes black and very pro-
minent, the thorax and wing-cases spotted with black, the latter much ribbed. The
spots do not appear for a week or two after the caterpillar has turned, and till then the
pupa is a uniform pale yellowish red-colour. The perfect insect appears from April
to July. In confinement I have occasionally had the earlier fed July larva produce
the perfect insect in August.—H. Harpur Crewe; July 9, 1859.

Description of the Larva of Eupithecia venosata.— This larva is by no means un-
common, though the perfect insect is seldom seen. It is also very easy to rear. It is
short, thick and stumpy. Back dull leaden gray, sparingly studded with minute
white spots and short hairs. Belly and sides dirty greenish white. Head black. It
feeds inside the seed-capsules of the bladder campion (Silene inflata) and the com-
mon red Lychuis (Lychnis dioica), and is full-fed from the middle to the end of July.
When ready to assume the pupa state it comes out of the capsule and enters the
earth, where it spins a very slight cocoon, and turns to a bright red chrysalis. It is
very subject to the attacks uf ichneumons. The perfect insect appears from the
beginning to the end of May. When quite young the larva is black.—Id.

Occurrence of Hrastria venustula in Epping Forest. — I have met with this insect
two years running, at Loughton, in Epping Forest, having taken two last year and
four this. They were all taken in the month of June, flying low down among the
herbage at dusk. Upon the wing they are very inconspicuous, and appear to be
partial to thickets. The species would appear to be generally distributed over the
Forest. Had I known the rarity of the insect I might have taken some forty or fifty ;
but unfortunately I, in common with most of the gentlemen who have taken it, mis-
took it for a Tortrix ; and when I had taken enough to represent the species in my

‘own collection I did not care to catch more. Specimens were exhibited by Mr.
Eedles at the Haggerstone Entomological Society on the 14th instant. — H. W.
Killingback ; 10, Oldham Place, Coppice Row, July 14, 1859.

Note on the parasitic Grubs found in the Brain of the Harte-beest and the Gnu. —
Mr. Ayres, of Natal, in a letter which I lately received from him, informs me that the
“ Jarge kind of antelope, here called the Harte-beest, has invariably a number of large
white maggots in the brain, each the best part of an inch long, which do not seem to
affect the health of the animal at all.” Captain W. R. King, in his work entitled
‘Campaigning in Kaffirland,’ second edition, p. 306, gives the following account of a
similar phenomenon in a bull gnu, or Wilde-beest, which he shot near the Caledon
River :—* We had often heard that the brain of the Wilde-beest harbours gentles or
grubs, to which its wild extraordinary vagaries are by some attributed ; and being
anxious to ascertain the truth of such a phenomenon, the head was opened by Dr.
Fayson, R.A., in the presence of a number ef officers. To the disappointment of the
sceptics and the astonishment of all, in the very centre of the brain, still quite warm,
there was found a large maggot, which when put on the table wriggled across it with
great activity.” A friend of mine who was present on the occasion referred to by
Captain King assures me that the account contained in that officer’s work, and quoted
above, is strictly accurate. Can any of the readers of the ‘ Zoologist’ throw any light
on this very curious subject? —J. H. Gurney ; 24, Kensington Palace Gardens,
July 16, 1859. [1 cannot avoid feeling a doubt as to the exact site of these larve,
which are probably those of the dipterous genus CEstrus.— EF’. Newman. ]

”

Insects. 6641

Contributions to the Natural History of the British Vespide.
By Epwarp LatHaM OrMEROD, M.D., Physician to the Sussex
County Hospital.

In the summer of 1856 I procured, through the kind and able
assistance of my sisters, a small swarm of Vespa britannica with
their nest, which for some weeks hung in full view outside my study
window. I propose, in the following pages, to present a summary of
the chief observations made on this and other swarms, which I owe to
the kindness of different friends. For most valuable assistance in
identifying the various species, as well by his papers in the ‘ Zoolo-
gist’ as by personal communication, I am much indebted to Mr.
F. Smith, of the British Museum, who has made the subject of the
British Hymenoptera so peculiarly his own. I trust that these obser-
vations, however imperfect, may not be entirely without interest to
the student of Natural History, as a contribution to a subject not less
curious, though certainly less generally attractive, than the economy
of bees.

The swarm, in the regular narrative of whose history my disjointed
observations on other swarms have been interpolated, was discovered
in the middle of June, in a hedgerow in Gloucestershire, where this
species of wasp is not uncommon. The nest was then about three inches
in diameter, of a globular form, very smooth, and showing few loose
edges of paper on the outside, and, with the exception of one or more
entrance-holes, it was completely closed at the bottom; and it was
hung on a single spray, offering great facilities for its removal to a
more convenient situation for daily observation.

This was effected very neatly by my sisters on a dull day, a piece
of soft wet paper having been carefully applied, previous to the ope-
ration, over the entrances. In two or three days the wasps recovered
themselves, and set to work to repair the injuries which their habita-
tion had sustained. The nest grew rapidly, all the while retaining its
globular form, and being always closed in at the bottom, however the
form and position of the entrance-holes might vary. The ragged ends
of paper, which the rain and wind loosened, were always laid down
again or pared off, so as to keep the outside smooth. The nest had
very much the form of a large half-blown summer rose.

With a view to its safe transmission from Gloucestershire to.
Brighton, the nest and its inhabitants were now transferred to a box
of perforated zinc. The process, I am assured, was very exciting to

XVII. 2U

6642 Insects.

those engaged in it, and the chief steps may be related here. _ First,
the nest was enclosed in a muslin bag, and without delay removed
from the dangerous neighbourhood to a room with an open window,
out of which the wasps flew as the bag was taken off. The nest was
then, without further difficulty, fastened in the box, and thus returned
to the place whence it had been taken half an hour previously, and
where the houseless family were sitting on the hedge waiting for it.
I need not add that their tempers on this trying occasion were truly
waspish. However, they returned to it at once, and immediately set
to work to repair the slight damage it had sustained. There seemed
to be altogether about three or four dozen wasps in the swarm: they
were always at work, and, in spite of the injury done to.the nest and
the loss of some of the workers by the two journeys it had undergone,
it increased an inch in diameter in the course of three weeks,

It remained only to close the box at night on the eve of its next
journey, and the swarm was secured. The last step, which fell to
my share—namely, to transfer the nest from its travelling case to a
box outside my study window, where it could be easily and safely
observed—was effected, without much difficulty, by the aid of an old
gauze veil, a long pair of polypus forceps, and a large bell glass.

The wasps which were left behind in Gloucestershire claim a few
lines to complete their history. When the nest was first removed
from the hawthorn hedge, the stragglers which had been left there
immediately set about replacing it by a new one. These stragglers
were only four in number, and no wasp distinguishable by her larger
size was seen among them, At first they made a rough patch of
paper, adhering to the bough from which the former nest had been
suspended. As this grew into a hood, of an irregularly circular form,
a small tier of cells was hung from a pillar in the centre of the hood.
These cells, at first four in number, were multiplied to eight during the
ten days of the existence of the nest, and they had distinct eggs in
them. The eggs came to nothing when the nest was brought to me
at Brighton; and the four wasps, deprived of their second home,
made no effort to construct another nest in this place.

Again, when the original nest was taken away from the second
branch to which it had been fastened, the stragglers, who were more
numerous than on the previous occasion, built another, thus making
the third nest built by one colony. In less than a fortnight after its
removal they had constructed, on the branch to which it had been
tied, a new nest, of a flattened spherical form, measuring four inches
in height, and three by four inches in width. <A storm, about a week:

Insects. 6643

after, destroyed much of the outer case, exposing two tiers of cells,
the upper one full of grubs. Unfortunately, I was unable to have
any more observations made on this nest, which soon after was
entirely destroyed.

But to resume. The wasps were soon reconciled to their change
of quarters, and after the nest had been slung they established a
sentry. But they were still tired and frightened, for they made no
objection to the bottom of the nest being cut off to gain a clearer
view of what was going on inside; even the sentinel paid no atten-
tion to my operations, if | was careful only to work when her back
was turned. The lowest comb which was thus exposed consisted
only of rudimentary cells, in which no eggs had yet been laid. Ru-
dimentary as the cells were, still their tops were in close contact with
the outer case, which must have been cut away to allow the cell-walls
to be built up to their full height. Round the edges of this comb,
and much more on one side than on the other, the cells of the comb
above could be seen, filled with grubs, which the workers were busily
engaged in feeding.

It did not appear that any distinct order was observed in feeding
the grubs, but none were neglected; for not only did the little heads
which were greedily thrust out from the cells receive a supply, but
the nurses themselves put their heads down into all the cells to see if
any nourishment was wanted by the less clamorous embryos, and the
greater part of the morning was spent in running from cell to cell in
this occupation. For a day or two this seemed the sole business of
the swarm; for though they made themselves at home at once in
Brighton, yet probably the novelty of the situation threw some diffi-
culties in the way of obtaining a sufficient supply of food for their
young, and so prevented them setting to work at once to repair
the nest.

The food which was brought in was not intended exclusively for the
grubs. I often saw a wasp impart the fluid contents of her stomach
most amicably to her sister, directly, mouth to mouth. I could not,
however, make out how the solid food which was brought in was
divided, for it was carried up at once, out of sight, to the top of the
nest, where the wasps usually lived.

The first duty of the day was to feed the grubs. This done,
they proceeded to close in the bottom of the nest. Day by day we
watched the gradual extension of a hood, shutting off the comb from
observation, and closely applied over its surface, being apparently a
prolongation of the innermost sheet of the case. Some of the cells in

6644 Insects.

the lowest comb were lengthened and attached to the case, but these
were not otherwise materially altered, and were never further adapted
for breeding-cells. Sheet after sheet was added on, to the number
of five, and the nest finally was completely closed in, leaving only
one small entrance-hole. But, now that the nest was protected from
wind and rain by a wooden box, the wasps did not seem so careful
about cutting off loose ends from the outside as they had been in the
Gloucestershire hedgerow. They made all the repairs that were
absolutely necessary at the bottom, but to the rest of the outside of
the nest they added nothing all the while it hung outside my window.

When the nest was closed in we could of course make out little of
what was going on inside, though the scraps of paper and building-
pellets which lay about, and the interminable nibbling and scratching
which we heard, attested to the industry of the little creatures, which
kept flying in and out as busily as ever. Some insight into their
proceedings, however, was obtained by the expedient of marking par-
ticular wasps, and the interest of watching the nest only ceased with
the extinction of the entire colony.

Marking a wasp, like many other things, only wants a little prac-
tice to be very readily accomplished. Réaumur used to catch his
wasps with a rod pointed with some glutinous matter: I made use of
a glass tube, with a few inches of vulcanized India rubber and a glass
mouth-piece attached to one end. In the tube was a stop to allow a
free passage of air, and to prevent my sucking down the wasp. With
a very little practice it was easy to catch any wasp with this instru-
ment, and, gently blowing it out on a glove, to hold it safely
while some distinctive mark in white paint was put on the thorax
between the wings. By this means I often caught a wasp on the
wing, or picked one out of a cluster, without disturbing the rest. But
any attempt to remove the sentinel, however cautiously, was followed
by a commotion which drove me for safety to the dark corner of
my study.

There were ample opportunities for observing the process of paper-
making during the repairs of the floor of the nest. It was precisely
that which has been described by Réaumur as witnessed by him in
the ground nests. Thus, a wasp, previously marked with paint be-
tween her wings, was seen to fly to the nest with an appearance of
having her jaws projecting forwards. A practised eye readily recog-
nized, by this position of the head, a wasp laden with a pellet for
paper-making. On one or two occasions the wasps thus laden set to
work at once, without entering the nest; but generally they flew in

Insects. 6645

with their load. | By marking different wasps it was shown that they
did not stay more than half a minute in the nest, as if for orders; and
when they emerged, after a short preliminary examination, they laid
on their paper. The pellet was gradually attached to the free edge
of the sheet, the wasp pressing it down with her jaws, between which
it all passed. As she walked backwards, a broad black line, about
three-quarters of an inch long, marked the extent over which the
pellet had been spread; then she ran hastily forwards, and again
walked deliberately backwards, flattening out the new soft paper into
a frill; and this process was repeated some four or five times, till
the pellet had been flattened out to the same thinness as the adjoining
paper, from which, in a few minutes, when it had become dry, it was
quite undistinguishable. Then the wasp gravely walked into the nest
again.

During the process of paper-making one could approach quite
close to the wasp, and even touch her without driving her away from
her work. It did not appear that each wasp had her own place for
paper-making, or her own end to piece on to, for we repeatedly saw
one going on where a wasp had left off so short a time previously as
to render it very improbable that she was the same wasp, and could
have collected another pellet in the interval.

Generally speaking, the nature of the materials employed in building
is almost as characteristic of the species as the form of the nest.
Whatever other materials may be at hand, still each uses its own by
preference, one species using bits of wood and sand gummed together,
while another makes a tougher and lighter structure of vegetable
fibres. J am not acquainted with the nests of V. rufa and V. borealis,
but, of the other species, V. Crabro and V. vulgaris use wood and
sand, and V. britannica, V. germanica and V. holsatica herbaceous
filaments.

Though the materials used by the three last-named species are the
same, yet the paper of V. germanica is not so firm and tough as that
of the other two, apparently from the mucus employed being less
adhesive. The small nests of V. holsatica and V. germanica which
I have in my collection are of a singularly uniform texture, differing
much in this respect from the nests of V. britannica, and giving more
completely the impression of having been built by one insect, which
had collected the fibres from the same source as long as the supply
lasted.

Under the microscope the paper of these three species is seen to
be composed of vegetable fibres of all kinds, just such as a botanist

6646 Insects.

might select as specimens of the different tissues. These have appa-
rently been all pulled singly from plants, either growing or still
retaining their sap; for the paper made by these wasps strikes a dark
colour on being boiled in an alkaline solution to dissolve the mucus
by which the fibres are held together. An irregular kind of felting
of the component fibres gives the structure additional tenacity.

The fabric of V. Crabro and V. vulgaris is made of minute frag-
ments, not filaments, cut, rather than torn, from dry and rotten wood.
With this material V. vulgaris makes a light yellow, brittle paper,
which feels harsh and gritty, and crumbles under the hand into
powder. VV. Crabro fastens together large grains of sand and wood
into a structure which is, in general arrangement, a coarse exaggera-
tion of the paper of V. vulgaris, and owes its strength almost entirely
to the dark gummy secretion in which these fragments are set, like
stones in concrete. Where the structure is thick, as in the pillars, it
possesses very considerable strength, but hornet paper is very friable.

The case of the nest of V. britannica is well adapted to the cir-
cumstances under which it is usually placed. Being of a dull mottled
brown and gray colour, it is unlikely to attract notice; and being
formed of separate sheets overlapping one another, composed of a
substance not indeed impervious to water but insoluble in it, the
structure is well calculated to protect the enclosed comb from any
injurious effects of rain. The underground nest of V. germanica is,
in its turn, equally fitted to resist the injurious influences of a wet or
crumbly soil, to which it is most likely to be exposed. In the tree-
wasp’s nest we have unconnected sheets, overlapping one another
like the capes of an old-fashioned box-coat. In the ground-wasp’s
the wall is made of large flattened cells, built one upon another to
the thickness of halfan inch or more, not affording equal facilities
for drying, for indeed probably they never are dry, but capable of
sustaining a greater pressure than the case of the tree-nest could
bear, and giving more points of support by which the nest may be
attached to the irregularities of the cavity in which it is usually built.
Instead of a smooth ball, resembling a half-blown rose or a cabbage,
the nest of V. germanica forms a rough dirty-looking mass, covered
over with shelly patches, laid on without the slightest pretension to
order or appearance. When it builds in roofs, a less usual situation,
it retains the cellular mode of construction, as instinct guides it; and
indeed, in a situation protected from rain, this cellular structure
would answer the purpose intended quite as well as a laminated one.
But the form of these cells undergoes certain modifications, according

Insects. 6647 .

to their position in the nest and to the immediate object for which
they are designed; the upper part of the case, for instance, is made
of a close, compact set of cells, into which any roots or stones are
worked ; while the sides are made in longer channels, as being less
liable to pressure, and sustaining less traction. |

In a nest of V. germanica which I had under observation, where
the object of the work was merely to close in a large hole which I had
cut in the wall of the nest, I thought that the cells were wider and
longer, and the wall altogether much slighter, than when any more
substantial enemy than light had to be excluded. ‘These wasps
worked in the same way as V. britannica, and used the same mate-
rials, only, being larger, they got on faster. When making the shelly
patches which closed in the cells or channels of the wall, they worked
indifferently to the right or left, but always from without inwards,
forming an irregular spiral, which tended towards a little hole, just
big enough for the passage of the jaw of the wasp which put the
finishing stroke to the work.

Réaumur, speaking of ground-wasps and hornets (‘ Mémoires pour
YHistoire des Insectes,’ vi. p. 226), says that the nest remains open
at the bottom till it has attained its full size. From my own observa-
tions of nests of V. britannica and V. germanica, of all sizes, I
should say that the nest is always closed at the bottom except at
quite the earliest period. No doubt this is effected at a great
expense of labour, the walls having to be altered continually ; but
economy of labour is no object with wasps, which, like the other
Hymenoptera, seem to know no rest but sleep, and, whether in the
way of construction or destruction, must always be doing something.

Much perplexity has arisen from the different forms which wasps’
nests assume at different periods. At an early period there is no
specific mark to distinguish the nests of V. germanica and V. britan-
nica, for they are both alike formed of overlapping sheets and open
at the bottom. It is only in the cellular structure of the walls that
specific differences appear. I do not know the form of the nest of
V. vulgaris through all its stages, but only as the perfect nest, when
it resembles the structure of V. germanica diminished in all its parts,
Hornets do not seem to form the case of their nests on any uniform
plan, but rather to seek such extraneous protection as may obviate
the necessity of making any case at all, the numbers being fortu-
nately fewer in the colonies of this species than in the smaller
Vespide, and the necessity of finding something to do being conse-
quently not so pressing.

6648 Insects.

But besides the different mode of construction of the walls of the
finished nest, there are two distinct types which are displayed most
characteristically in the embryo nests of tree-wasps. One of these
types is illustrated in what we may call the rose-nest belonging to
V. britannica, which is a rose-nest through all its stages, and the
other in a bell- or bottle-nest, which I only know in the embryo form,
and can only conjecturally assign to V. holsatica. These little bell-
nests are very beautiful objects. The manner in which one bell
hangs loosely within another, and the comb, like a clapper, inside the
two or three envelopes, is very peculiar. So neat and complete are
they in all their parts, that it might seem as if the little architect
never designed any further enlargement of this pretty nest.

As to the internal structure, it may be said generally of all the
species, so far as I have had opportunities of observing them, that
they follow the same rule. The walls of the breeding-cells are made
of the same material as the case of the nest, but all fresh- gathered,
the cuttings of one part never being made up again into another part.
The building goes on irregularly enough, a bit being put on here or
there, according, as it might seem, to the taste of each builder; but
the work is very regular, and hangs well together when finished ; for
the cells are not made separately, but each pellet is always applied
in three continuous lengths, namely, on two sides of one cell, and on
one side of an adjoining cell. This mode of construction may always
be traced in the finished comb, and was very distinctly seen in a nest
of V. germanica, where I had a large surface of comb exposed to
observation. The cell-wall is single, but each cell is by this mode
of construction worked into the adjoining cells, each having a dis-
tinct mucous lining of its own, the work of the grub and the plaything
of the adult wasp. |

But to return to our colony. As soon as the nest was closed in at
the bottom, a regular watch was established at the entrance. The
same wasp was often on duty for a long time together, but it was not
always the same; and once, having caught the sentinel at her post to
mark her, before the operation had been completed I found that the
place was filled by another wasp. There she stood, with her jaws
extended, just inside the door-way, running forwards to exchange
compliments with each fresh-comer, or occasionally, when work was
slack, taking a walk on the outside of the nest. At night I generally
found one or more lying out on the nest instead of at the door, appa-
rently on guard.

Yet all this time I believe that the swarm had no queen, the only

Insects. 6649

female brought from Gloucestershire having died on the journey.
Under whatever form of government, V. britannica seems much more
vigilant and irritable than V. germanica, for in a nest of these I did
not notice any regular system of watching. The wasps which per-
formed the part of sentinels were commonly crippled in their wings,
and very crabbed in their tempers. They ran over the nest instead
of staying at the door, and seemed rather to hinder than to regulate
the stream of business. But, to the credit of the working part of this
swarm, it should be said that the crippled wasps were as fat and well
fed as the rest; and though V. germanica be not as vigilant as
V. britannica, yet it is directed by the same instinct. The workers
fly straight out and straight in again, and never straggle near home.
I hope my wasps were no trouble to any one else; they were never
seen or heard of inside my own house, except when they entered it
in pursuit of their master on some excessive provocation.

I believe that societies of wasps have no other law than the neces-
sity of the case, except where the love of their young or such-like
instincts are concerned. So in my small colony of V. britannica,
where one opening was sufficient they made no more, but used this
one for ingress and egress alike, contrary to what has been reported
of larger swarms.

Besides those passing out on business, from time to time a wasp
appeared at the door-way, merely to discharge her excretions, with
which the floor of the box was generally wet. This was, as one might
expect, most commonly observed in rainy weather, when the workers
stayed more at home. ‘The cleanly habits of these wasps contrasted
strongly with those of a nest of V. germanica which I had at the
same time in confinement; but it was the circumstance of living
underground in the first instance, and subsequently of their confine-
ment, which determined this, and not the nature of the wasps them-
selves ; for nothing could be cleaner than a deserted nest of V. ger-
manica which was brought me from a roof at Warbleton. I have on
several occasions analyzed these excretions, but found no sugar in
them, even when the insects lived entirely on honey. In this latter
case they were composed of uric acid; but this is not always a con-
stituent of the excretions of wasps.

On the 7th of August the drones began to make their appearance,
but [ looked in vain for any queens ; though the numbers kept up,
and indeed, for the safety of my neighbours, who might not feel so
great an interest in wasps as I did, needed occasional reducing ; and
sll, till September 4th, grubs of different sizes were thrown out daily.

XVII. 2%

6650 Insects.

After a very violent demonstration on the part of the wasps one sultry
afternoon, their numbers were reduced by twelve, caught in the usual
way by the tube ; but this was the last reduction which they needed.
Henceforth the numbers seemed insufficient for the duties of the
nest; and, a sudden change of weather adding to their other misfor-
tunes, the active exertions of the whole colony seemed paralyzed.

They were transferred to a new case, where they were better pro-
tected from the rain; but they seemed feeble, and now they fed on
anything which was placed for them outside the nest, while when in
full vigour they had rarely if ever touched anything laid in the imme-
diate neighbourhood. Two wasps in particular, smaller than the
rest, were actively employed in fillmg themselves with honey and
flying into the nest, and from their frequent re-appearance I thought
they must be employed in feeding the weaker wasps, which did not
venture out.

It does not require a very long observation of wasps to feel that
the general opinion concerning them is not strictly just. We know
them mostly as voracious creatures, spoiling our fruit, threatening us
in our beer, and on cold days crawling up the legs of our trowsers or
getling into our slippers. We see them in our windows, the tyrants
of the pane, if we spare them long enough, cutting up flies and
daddy-longlegs, and dancing about with the dismembered trunks.
But we must observe them in their nests to learn their better quali-
ties,—their affection for their young, and their untiring industry.
They do not idolize their queen as bees do, but they never neglect
her, and always bring food into the nest for her. With caution and
practice they may be managed to a certain extent, though their less
close relation to their queen deprives us of that authority over them
which we may exercise over bees. On fitting occasions they are very
ready with their stings, but these are rarely used in the nest even in
anger. ‘The jaw was the favourite instrument of offence with which
they assailed strange wasps, and with which they met the attacks of
any wires when I wanted to do anything to the nest. I fear, how-
ever, that it might not be always safe to calculate on this habitual
preference of their jaws when one’s fingers are concerned.

Difference of size is very characteristic of the Hymenoptera, and
is not therefore entirely to be connected with difference of age. But
T think it may be said generally that the younger the fully-developed
wasps are the larger they are; and, in connexion with this, it is
worthy of observation that the task of building is entrusted almost
exclusively to the larger wasps, as if, with their younger organs, they

Insects. 6651

had a more abundant supply of the mucous secretion which binds
the fibres of their paper together. To the smaller wasps are assigned
the duties of nurses and police. In the nest whose history I am
endeavouring to keep in view amid all these digressions, it seemed
that the post of sentinel was usually allotted to small, old, expe-
rienced wasps; and in the cold, wet days, which brought the colony
into the straits 1 have described, the two little, busy, active old wasps
seemed the nurses of those that shrunk from facing the wind and rain.

In the first instance the newly-hatched wasps look small, whitish
and shrivelled ; but when the mealy appearance which they wear at
their birth has passed away, as their down rises and exposure to the
sun brings out their colours, and when they have taken their place
with the other wasps, they are distinguishable by their larger size as
well as brighter hues, and the smooth edges of their wings.

The difference in size of different workers of the same swarm is,
however, not so considerable as it appears at first sight to be. Age
or infirmity, hunger or cold, will shrink up the abdomen, on the size
of which so much of the apparent size of the whole wasp depends ;
and a good meal, or a warm sun or fire, will make many a decrepit
wasp look young again. But a real difference may be proved to exist
by measuring parts which are not capable of such great distention or
contraction. By the aid of the microscope I have found the limb of
one wasp longer by more than a twentieth part than the corresponding
limb of another wasp; and a still greater difference may be found by
measuring the heads of different wasps of the same swarm.

A few more lines will suffice to convey all that remains to be told
of the history of this nest. The few remaining wasps, judging from
the continual nibbling and scratching, wery very busy inside, but
they rarely came out of their own accord, and even when the nest
was shaken only a few wasps flew lazily out. On the 8th of Septem-
ber I cut away the front of the nest, and discovered nine wasps only,
the last remains of the colony, all workers, living a kind of bachelor
or rather old maidish life between two tiers of comb. They were
very sluggish, and made no attempt to oppose my operations on the
nest. The warm sunlight thus let in seemed, however, to revive them,
and they went on at once with their work of destruction of the comb.
Moved into a box, they lingered on, fewer in number and smaller in
size day by day, till September 25th, when the last of them died, having
been about two months under observation.

It was interesting now to see the changes that had been going on
out of sight within the nest. The lowest comb had never been

6652 Insects.

completed, but had been covered in with five successive sheets of paper,
the space between the comb and the case being very small and quite
choked with fragments of paper. The other stages, contrary to the
habit of the British Vespide, had been connected at their edges to
the outer case, quite firmly all round, leaving only a gallery by which
the wasps might mount from one stage to another. Lastly, nearly all
the cells had been cut down or cleared entirely away, not merely, as
is generally observed, in the upper, but in all the stages.

A very probable explanation of these deviations from their ordinary
habits is to be found in the absence of a queen, and in the rough
usage to which this nest had been subjected. The latter circum-
stance gave every inducement to strengthen the general plan of the
nest in the course of repairing its frequent damages. The former not
only gave a definite limit to the enlargement of the nest, but toa
ereat degree relieved the workers from the duties of nurses, and set
them at liberty to build or destroy according to their individual tastes.
Not that the builders and destroyers are always two separate classes:
a wasp, after building, will immediately set to work to destroy with
equal zeal, cutting away some ragged end or some inconvenient pro-
jection.

All the British Vespide construct the interior of their nests on the
same general plan ; that is to say, they all build their cells, with the
mouth downwards, in flat combs hanging horizontally one from the
other. But the form of the cells is a little different in the comb of
V. britannica from what it is in the nests of V. germanica, V. Crabro
and V. vulgaris, involving certain modifications in the form of the
comb. In these three the upper surface of the comb rises uniformly
all round to a little central point which marks the insertion of the
main support, and the direction of all the cells is parallel and vertical,
or very nearly so; but the cells of V. britannica, and particularly in
the small combs at the top of the nest, are made larger at the mouth
than at the other extremity, so that at a short distance from the centre
the radiating direction of the axis of the cells becomes very per-
ceptible. The wasps correct this in a certain measure by elongating
the cells and bending their mouths down, like a horn. Notwith-
standing this correction, however, the upper surface of the comb
assumes a concave form, and the cells at the circumference are some-
times directed quite horizontally, at right angles to the cells which
were first built in the centre.

As the nest increases in size and weight the pillars or supports are
made proportionally stronger, and their number is increased. But as

Thsects, 6653

each comb hangs from the one immediately above it, none of the pil-
lars, not even the central one, being regularly continuous throughout,
the increase of weight necessitates a great change in the mode of sus-
pension of the uppermost comb from which all the rest hang. So,
in a large nest additional bearings are formed for the two or three
highest combs by working them into the outer case; the highest is
worked entirely into the cap of the nest; the succeeding stages are
only worked in at the edge, and, the cells being cut away, room is
gained here for a general place of assetably for the swarm. In these
large operations the little delicate egg-shell in which the colony first
was housed is almost lost; but I have sometimes been able to dis-
cover its remains in the apex of the nest.

I have already expressed a doubt of the€trectness of the opinion
that the nest is always built and the colony founded by a single
female, as far as concerns V. britannica. This doubt rests in part on
some observations on a colony of this species which rebuilt their
nests and laid eggs in the cells three times within periods far too
short for any of these eggs to have produced wasps, and at a season
too early for new queens to have been developed or impregnated.
Several wasps, larger than the rest, were seen engaged in building the
nests; but no single wasp was seen so much larger than all the rest
as to be considered as the queen par excellence. These wasps had
the faint rufous stains distinguishing queens of this species ; and the
ovaries were distinct, though not distended with eggs. So that, as
far as these observations go, we may conclude that these queens were
of the former year, and joint founders, though not evidently mothers,
of the new colony.

1 am still further inclined to accept this conclusion from the cir-
cumstance, already alluded to, of the embryo nest of V. britannica not
being of an uniform colour and structure, as if it were not exclusively
the work of one individual; and also from the very large number of
queen grubs which are to be found in the lower combs of this species,
as compared with V. germanica.

The observations thus far recorded were made on wasps in a free
state, either outside my study window at Brighton or by my sisters in
Gloucestershire. The strong attachment of wasps for their young
makes them disregard annoyances and changes which would render
similar experiments on other insects quite fruitless. But liberty is
indispensable to the exercise of a wasp’s faculties; and my observa-
tions on wasps in cages, for want of this, proved very unsatisfactory.
Yet these negative results are not altogether without interest.

6654 Insects.

Early in the summer I placed several queens of V. germanica and
V. vulgaris in a tall case, made with a division half-way down, across
which a turf was laid; the spaces above and below ground being pro-
vided with all that wasps could wish for, and a free access from the
lower to the upper regions being secured by notches cut in the edge
of the turf. But to no purpose: the wasps flew about and fed
freely, and were very sisterly one to another; but they would not
build. And when they died, one after another, by a natural process
or by the help of chloroform, I found a diseased condition of the
respiratory organs, all the air-tubes of the abdomen being thick and
opaque, matted together, containing very little air, and wholly unlike
the loose transparent Yructures which dissection of a newly-caught
wild wasp displays; but “e ovaries were for the most part distinct,
and distended with developing eggs; and I suppose that only liberty
was wanting for a free use of their wings to have converted each of
these queens into the mother of a thriving colony, could | only
have been sure that they would have built in the place I had prepared
for them; but I never saw any more of one which I released after
having familiarized her with the spot. With no family cares to recall
her to my study window, she preferred to seek a home elsewhere.

It was not to be expected that they would undertake the charge of
a nest already begun, and nurse the young grubs. In the absence of
such care I have never succeeded in rearing wasps from grubs, or
even from nymphe. The grubs will eat honey and water readily
enough; but after a few days their movements become less active,
and they die. This might be due in part to the less regular and later
hours of the artificial feeding ; but there was something in the nursing
of the wasps which the grubs needed, and which I could not supply.
It does not seem to make much difference in the hatching whether
the cells are in the natural position ; for a broken comb, laid with its
face upwards, under the care of its rightful owners, became a very
thriving colony. But the care displayed in covering in the exposed
comb seemed to show that an uniform temperature and the exclusion
of light were necessary to the well-being of little wasps; and for
want of these attentions nymphe which had just finished weaving
the silk caps of their cells died inside them, and others which were
almost ready to hatch died without coming forwards. The grubs,
however, do hatch often enough to make it very unsafe to leave
a fresh piece of comb lying about the house.

My attempts to study wasps in confinement at a later stage were
more successful. A small nest of V. germanica, with six stages of

Entomological Society. 6655

comb, was got out of a bank at Cheam, and safely transferred to the
glass case. By the time that the nest had been slung, and a large
piece cut away so as to display the inside of the nest, the swarm was
reduced to three, namely, two workers and one queen. However, they
soon began to multiply, and before long I could count as many as
sixty at once, a large number of them being drones, which appear to
be hatched at a later period by this species than by V. britannica.

But wasps in confinement are very dull and tame compared with
wasps in a wild state. They lingered on till the end of January,
when the last survivor died ; but they never made any paper; they
merely vegetated. ‘They seemed always made comfortable by having
the glass case in which they lived washed out, and never molested me
in doing this, though the process was repeated almost daily for several
weeks.

I thought that they knew me; perhaps it was that I knew them,
and was very careful never to shake the nest in my operations ; for,
gentle as they seemed at other times, even allowing me to handle
them, the true waspish spirit came out on one occasion, when the nest
had been accidentally displaced from its fastenings by a fall. They
were so furious against the wire with which I was replacing it, that I
was very glad that the glass had not been broken by the fall, and my
angry pets turned loose into the room to find me occupation for a
long winter evening in catching sixty wasps.

K. L. ORMEROoD,

Proceedings of Societies.

ENTOMOLoGIcAL Society.
July 4, 1859.—Dr. Gray, President, in the chair.

Donations.

The following donations were announced, and thanks ordered to be given to the
donors : —‘ Proceedings of the Royal Society,’ Vol. ix. No. 34; presented by the
Society. ‘Farm’ Insects; being the Natural History and Economy of the Insects
injurious to the Field-crops of Great Britain and Ireland, and also those which infest
Barns and Granaries; with suggestions for their destrnction.? By John Curtis, F.LS.,
&e. Part I.; by the Author. ‘The Zoologist’ for July; by the Editor. ‘A Manual
of British Butterflies and Moths,” No. 33; ‘The Entomologist’s Weekly Intelligencer,’
Nos. 141 to 144; by H.T.Stainton, Esq. ‘The Atheneum’ for June; by the Editor.
‘The Journal of the Society of Arts’ for June; by the Society. ‘The Literary
Gazette’ for June; by the Editor. ‘Exotic Butterflies,” Parts 30 and 31; by W. W.
Saunders, Esq.

6656 Entomological Society.

The following works were announced as having been recently purchased for the
Society’s Library :—Olivier, ‘ Entomologie,’ 8 Vols. Boisduval and Guenée, ‘ Species
Général des Lepidoptéres, 7 Vols. an 7 Fasciculi of Plates. Fabricius, ‘ Systema
Antliatorum.’ MacLeay, ‘ Annulosa Javanica,’ Part I. Martyn’s ‘ Spiders.’ Walcke-
naer, ‘ Faune Parisienne, Insectes,’ 2 Vols. ‘ Zoological Journal, 5 Vols. Spinola,
‘Essai Monographique sur les Clérites, 2 Vols. Guérin-Meneville, ‘ Tconographie
du Régne Animal, Insectes.. Redtenbacher, ‘ Fauna Austriaca der Kafer?

Election of a Member.

W. D. Crotch, Esq., Uphill House, Weston-super-Mare, was balloted for and
elected a Member of the Society.

Exhibitions.

Mr. Jeakes exhibited a specimen of Arrhenodes maxillosus,Oliv., a North-American
Curculio of the family Brentide, but which had been found flying in a garden at
Camden Town by Miss Jeakes.

Mr. Bond exhibited some Lepidoptera taken at Freshwater, Isle of Wight, amongst
which were beautiful varieties of Setina irrorella, a series of an apparently new spe-
cies of Coleophora, Cochylis flaviciliana, &c.; he also exhibited a splendid living
specimen of Calosuma sycophanta, found on the coast at Freshwater a few days pre-
viously, and had since been fed on the larva of Biston hirtarius, of which it devoured
three or four full-grown examples daily.

Mr. Shepherd exhibited specimens of Deleaster dichroa, lately taken near London.

Mr. A. F. Sheppard sent for exhibition two specimens of Erastria venustula, taken
near Loughton, Essex.

Mr. Janson exhibited the following species of Coleoptera, hitherto unrecorded as
British, viz., Stenus opticus, Grav., from Mr. Jeakes’ collection, taken by Mr. Squire
in Horning Fen; Conosoma pedicularium, Grav., from Holme Fen; and Scolytus
Pruni, Raiz., taken near London.

Mr. Mitford exhibited a fine series of Psyche fusca, which he had lately bred from
the larve taken near Hampstead; and a specimen of Carabus intricatus, found near
Bath, being a new locality for this fine species.

Mr. Holdsworth exhibited the nest and eggs of Hydrous piceus, from the aquarium
of the Zoological Society, in the Regent’s Park.

Mr. Gorham exhibited specimens of Anchomenus livens, taken near Eltham, in
Kent, on sugar placed on trees to attract Noctue.

Mr. Stevens exhibited an apparently new species of Phycita, taken near Mickle-
ham; and some beautiful Lepidoptera, chiefly Tineina, sent from Moreton Bay, by
Mr. Diggles; also the drawing of the larva of a species of Gastrophasia, Guén., and
the moth reared therefrom.

Mr. Stevens also exhibited both sexes of the splendid Ornithoptera alluded to by
Mr. Wallace in the Jeiter read at the last meeting of the Society; and also both sexes
of the beautiful Papilio allied to P. Ulysses, for which Mr. Wallace proposed the
specific name of “Telemachus,” which had arrived in this country since the last
meeting. He observed that the Ornithoptera, although allied to O. Tithonus, DeHaan,
was by no means identical with that insect, as had been conjectured by Mr. West-
wood, from the description given in Mr, Wallace’s letter.

Entomological Society. 6657

Mr. Westwood exhibited, and read the description of, a new and beautiful species
of Phasmide, for which he proposed the name of Donelytron Batesianum, and to publish
a coloured figure in the ‘ Transactions’ of the Society, it having been forwarded by
Mr. Bates, from the Amazon River, too late for representation in Mr. Westwood’s
monograph on the family, published by the Trustees of the British Museum.

Mr. Westwood also exhibited a fine Papilio, collected in New Caledonia, by Mr.
MacGillivray, of which the following are the characters :—

Papitio (Utyssss, var.) Utyssinus, Westw.

Alis nigris dimidio basali ceruleis, corpore et basi alarum viridi irroratis, venulis
tribus vene2 mediane macula holosericea nigra singulatim indutis, incisuris
marginalibus albido maculatis; alis subtus fuscis, luteo-variis striga trans-
versa aree discordalis, lutea ; posticis lunulis 6-maculaque anali luteis, squa-
mis ceruleis supra marginatis. Expans. alar. unc. 33.

Mr. Westwood, in describing this insect, called attention to the state of the
question as to the views of the modification of species entertained by different recent
writers, and observed that it appeared to him to afford an additional proof of the fact
that, whilst many species of insects seemed to be free, under any changes of time i
place, from more than occasional and slight individual variation, other insects evi-
dently exhibited decided modifications of higher than individual character, wherever
they existed in distinct localities. Of the former of these kinds of species he quoted
Cynthia Cardui, which maintained its pure specific character almost all over the
world (to which Mr. Douglas added Deiopeia pulchella); whilst of the other kind
Papilio Paris, and apparently P. Priamus (to which P. Ulysses might now be added),
might be cited. Hence Mr. Westwood considered that the fine Papilio exhibited
that evening was another local variety of P. Ulysses ; and he suggested for it the sub-
specific name of “ Ulyssodes.” He added that in the British Museum collection 1s
another geogra phical sub-species, also from New Caledonia, in which the male has
scarcely any trace of the silky patches on the fore-wings, although agreeing in size
with Ulyssinus. For this he proposed the name of P. (Ulysses) Ulyssellus. This
diversity in the modificational powers of certain species had, he believed, not been
sufficiently noticed in treating upon the question of the modification of species. He
considered it would be advisable, however, to give to each decided geographical modi-
fication of a species a separate specific or sub-specific name.

Mr. Waterhouse admitted the existence of decided and well-marked geographical
races amongst certain insects, citing certain species of Philippine Pachyrhynchus.
He had not, however, deemed it necessary to give to these races distinct names. He
also noticed the fact that whilst certain species seemed never to vary (Coccinella
7-punctata for example), other species in the same genus were so variable, in the
same locality, that it was scarcely possible to obtain two specimens alike.

Mr. Westwood also observed that he was not sure whether the grand new Orni-
thoptera, for which Mr. Wallace proposed the name of “ Cresus,” might not be a local
variety of O. Priamus.

Mr. Pascoe stated, with reference to his papers on the Longicorn Coleoptera,
published in the ‘Transactions’ of the Society, that he had ascertained his genus
Blemmya was identical with Euryarthrium, Blanch., and that Anomesia was refer-
rible to Eunidia, Erich., which is also the Evethis of Dejean. His names therefore,

XVII. mY

6658 Birds.

being the most recent, must be suppressed. He also mentioned that Sophronica, Dej.,
was synonymous with Dasyo, and that his Pachypeza implex appeared to be the
Cacostola leucophza of the same author.

Mr. Smith read some notes on the economy of the Ichneumons constituting the
genus Pezomachus of Gravenhorst, with observations on Pezomachus fasciatus.

Mr. Waterhouse read two papers, intituled “Notes on the British Species of
Donacia,” and “ Notes on the British Species of Cisside.”

Part 2 of the current volume of the Society’s ‘Transactions’ was on the table.
—E.S,

Notes on the Mountain Birds of Jamaica.
By W. Ossurn, Esq.*
“Freeman’s Hall, Jamaica,
“June 7, 1859.

“My dear Sir, —It may be as well to preface my remarks on the
mountain birds of Jamaica by defining briefly what I understand by
mountains. The centre of this portion of the island is occupied by
what may be termed the central ridge; but in truth it is a series of
ridges, succeeding each other so constantly that in crossing it is dif-
ficult to say when the highest point is reached. However, regarding
them as a whole, the summit of the chain may generally be recog-
nised, as far as my observations go, by the greater tendency of the
limestone to spread into clay-covered flats, often interrupted by
gullies, but which still render the forest which shrouds them much
more accessible than it is among the ridges and ‘ cock-pits’ which
furrow in every direction both the northern and southern slopes.
The red conglomerate here constantly appears from beneath the
limestone, as is the case in the little valley which includes the
pastures round this house. I have, unfortunately, no means of ascer-
taining the exact height of any point in this immediate neighbour-
hood ; but we may, I think, attain to an approximation. On my last
journey across the island I ascended the Bull’s Head, a lofty point of
the red conglomerate, near the boundaries of Clarendon and St. Ann’s.
The view from the summit was magnificent over the sugar-estates and
hills of Clarendon and Vere, and far out to sea beyond Old Harbour,
and eastward over St. John’s to the Blue Mountains, and westward
along the flanks of the many ridges of Manchester and St. Eliza-
beth’s. But the lofty, unbroken ridges of Trelawny and St. Ann’s
prevented any very extensive prospect northward, so that it was

* Communicated by P. H. Gosse, Esq., F.R.S.

Birds. 6659

quite impossible from this point to catch a glimpse of the sea on
either shore as from the Dolphin’s Head in Westmoreland. Indeed,
the Bulls Head is very improperly represented in the map as an iso-
lated peak; for from its summit it is very difficult to say whether
many other points in the same ridge are not even a little higher.
Now, its altitude in Wyld’s map (1851) is given at 3140 feet. As-
suming this to be correct, the height of these middle ranges here-
abouts may be estimated at about 3000 feet. They are characterized by
forest scenery peculiarly their own. The forest is largely composed of
Santa Marias (Calophyllum), whose gigantic size make the long
thatch-palms beneath them seem pure underwood. Besides these
and the arborescent ferns there is little undergrowth to mask the
interminable colonnades of gray trunks. The hog-hunters’ paths
wind among them for miles, and for immense districts are the only
roads. This I would call the central range. In this district, which ~
includes the Black Grounds, Freeman’s Hall is situated. Between
this and the northern coast the slope is interrupted by abrupt ridges,
also of limestone, so broken and precipitous that large portions of their
surface are inaccessible, and rendered still more so by the forest,
which clothes all but the precipices, and whose dense underwood
and general aspect is such as covers the mountains of St. Elizabeth’s
and Westmoreland, so well described in your works. Many plants,
for instance a species of Begonia common in this district, do not
penetrate into the mountains above, nor into the cultivated hills nearer
the coast. These I would term the lower ranges. The cultivated hills
still nearer the coast, though they attain to considerable height, as the
magnificent views of the Carribbean Sea, which so constantly burst
upon the traveller, prove, Trelawny being one of the oldest and most
assiduously cultivated of the sugar parishes, the eminences have long
been cleared, the soil in consequence washed off, and only the inter-
vening valleys planted in canes.

It is some points in the Ornithology of the two first districts I pro-
pose to consider. That the distinction I have drawn between thein is,
even for this purpose, important, there are abundant proofs. One of
the most remarkable is, that while Aramus Scolopaceus abounds in the
lower ranges so that I never cross the woods towards evening without
hearing or seeing these birds, I have not met with a single instance of
the species in the upper range ; and the negro sportsmen confirm this
observation. When I first proposed to visit the central range, the
general remark from persons well acquainted with it was, ‘ You will
find very few birds there” during the months of January and February.

6660 Birds.

And so far as the forest was concerned (and here it comprises all but the
small cleared patches), 1 found the observation much more accurate
than I supposed. I often rode for miles, carefully on the look out,
without seeing a single bird. Indeed, these vast wilds appeared like
mid-ocean, destitute of life, save at the edges and along the banks of
streams. It was not, however, silent, for it was rarely the long-drawn
bell-like note of the solitaire (Ptilogonys) was not audible at a greater
or less distance. I was already acquainted with it in the lower
mountains round Mahogany Hall; but here it abounded, especially
towards the edges of the forest. I soon procured specimens, and saw
others sitting on branches, in the puffed, absorbed posture you de-
scribe. On my return, in April, they were completely gone ; so that
I have never heard the nuptial notes or seen the summer dress of this
interesting bird. It seems that we are not sufficiently elevated here
for their constant residence. Equalling the solitaire in its love of
solitude is your little Sylvicola pharetra, but not in sedentary habit ;
for if at rare intervals [ came across an unusual bustle and flutter
among the twigs and leaves of the lower branches of some forest
giant, it generally proved this little bird. Ihave never met with it
but in the woods, and then quite alone. It was, however, at that
time far from abundant; for, though constantly on the look-out, I
only got a single specimen in January, and another in the first two
weeks in February. But on my return, in April, a marked change
had taken place: the forest was no longer silent, but resounded with
the differing notes of myriads of birds, of many different species; and
in none was the accession in numbers more marked than in this Syl-
vicola. Their cheerful, busy flutter occurred over head at every few
yards in some districts. I easily procured several more specimens.
My impression is, so far as observations made in the two last weeks
of April go, that it migrates here in the spring, and that those met
with during the winter are only stragglers left behind. Since my
return, a few days ago, the rains have been so constant and heavy
that I have had no opportunity for ascertaining whether they are still
here, though I have little doubt of it. Very similar in habit and
habitat is the other species you discovered (S. pannosa). I procured
one a year ago near Grand Vale, but never met with it again till
I arrived here. I only procured a single specimen, hunting quite
alone in the undisturbed recesses of the forest. It proved, as yours,
also a female. The most careful search never procured me another,
though I was anxious to ascertain the plumage of the other sex.
Hlowever, in crossing the mountains between Clarendon and St.

Birds. 6661

Ann’s, on Greenock estate, during the middle of April, I met with
them in considerable abundance. Though they gave me the oppor-
tunity of a pretty close examination, I was unfortunately unable at
the time to shoot one. The colours then seemed brighter, and the
yellow on the breast especially more decided. I expected to meet
with them at Freeman’s Hall (here), only ten or twelve miles west-
ward on the same ridge; but, to my disappointment and surprise, I
could not fall in with them. I have in my own mind no doubt as to
the reality of this distinct species.

“Towards the end of last year, whilst riding through the lower
mountains, a perfectly black bird alighted on a wild pine growing at
some height in a vertical position; and as I watched it I observed it
climb about the stiff leaves with great agility, and eagerly search
their sheathing bases. Your surmise as to the black banana bird
instantly occurred to me. I did not then procure it, but the negroes
assured me they were abundant higher up, and the investigation was
one of the chief objects I proposed to myself on coming here. I did
not find them very common, and procured only four specimens during
the first six weeks of the year. They are to be met with especially
in those deep damp hollows which the forest growth seems striving to
conceal, and where orchideous parasites and wild pines luxuriate in
abundance. It may there be seen climbing among them, as mentioned
above, or flying from tree to tree in short flights ; or, if not visible, its
very peculiar call is audible far over head. 1 would imitate it by
‘kep-chur-r-r-r, the first a loud, clear note, followed by a rattle
reproduced with sufficient exactness by a long, rough ‘r.2 The
whole bird is coloured black, and that of the plumage has the purplish
gloss of our Quiscalus. The hind toe seems rather more developed
than with Icterus leucopteryx; and it has, I think, a corresponding
increase of climbing power, oftener assuming the vertical attitude.
One I shot hung head downwards for some time, exactly as the com-
mon banana bird will do. Another very marked distinction is, that
the culmen, or upper ridge of the bill, is flattened and broad, dividing
the frontal feathers like a plate, but does not expand. The following
are the dimensions of two specimens ; the second was a female, and
the first, I believe, a male, though the part was much injured :—

Length 83. Exp.13. Flex.4}. Tail 2%. Rictus 1. Tarsus 1. Mid. toe 7.

mraithk- > pla. wilt Aa 1ee go) untte cane ny 1a), Se
Hallux §, not therefore so long as the tarsus.. Intestine 8. The
stomachs of all four contained fragments of insects, Coleoptera
chiefly ; I found no traces of seeds. On the 11th of February the

6662 Birds.

ova of the female were still minute; and in skinning them IJ noticed
a rank odour common to many Corvide. A female was brought to
me still alive, and apparently uninjured except a fracture of the leg.
It showed not the slightest pugnacity when handled, and lived
several hours. It had not any notion of applying the uninjured foot
to a flat surface, but kept it grasped. I put it on a perch: whether
from pain or weakness I do not know, but it immediately slipped
round, and hung suspended head downwards by its sound foot for
some time, and then fell. 1 do not regard this as a satisfactory proof
that the bird habitually rests in this position ; but it is not impossible,
because, according to the ordinary theory of perching, that in which
the weight of the body is brought to bear is, with most birds, the
easiest position; whereas this bird made no effort to keep upright,
but immediately slid round, as if that were the most available posture
for holding on. Of its nidification I have as yet learnt nothing.
Should this species prove new to Science, as well as an addition to
our Jamaica list, I would propose ‘ nigerrimus’ as the specific name,
if it is not already appropriated.

“IT have discovered nothing with regard to the second, and I pre-
sume smaller, black species you allude to. Had you any particulars
about it?

“ A second bird, rather abundant in this district, and not included
in your list, is a sober-suited olive-coloured little fellow, that keeps
pretty much to the higher branches of lofty trees, though I have not
unfrequently met with it on less elevated positions. From its strong,
compressed, deeply toothed bill, I was at first inclined to suppose it
might belong to Mr. Swainson’s extensive genus Thamnophilus ; but
a better acquaintance with its habits and structure has convinced me
that it should probably be classed among his Ampelide, and some-
where near Pteruthius perhaps, though I am unable to refer it satis-
factorily to any of his genera. Not to fill up my letter with a detailed
description, which I propose forwarding with the specimens, I may
add that the head is a gray dubious olive, which becomes greener on
the back. The quills and tail smoky black, with olive edges and the
under parts dingy yellow. But its chief characteristics are the dis-
proportionate size and thickness of the head, which seems only owing
to the arrangement of the feathers, for it would not be suspected from
the dried skin. I hope to forward an outline taken from a specimen
when quite recent. The gray-blue of the beak is singularly in
contrast with the prevailing tints of the plumage. The bird is tame
and fearless, and, if perching low, may be easily approached ; and is

Birds. — 6663

another of the lovers of profound solitude in the forest. I shot two in
the earlier part of the year, and in the spring two more. They were
then more sociable, and not uncommon. They hunt insects with
considerable bustle. It will give an idea of their movements if I add
that on shooting them at great heights I mistook, before firing, one
of them for Vireosylva, and the other for Sylvicola pharetra; but T
never saw it distinctly catch an insect on the wing. The stomachs
contained several large seeds, a plant-bug, elytra of beetles, &c.

“But the species which chiefly contributed its numbers to make
these lofty woods, during the winter so silent, resonant with the
cheerful sounds of spring, was Merula Jamaicensis. They were not
at all uncommon during the winter, coming at early dawn to the
edges of the forest, with the solitaires and M. leucogenys, to feed ;
but in the spring I found them abounding. The little river, or rather
brawling brook, that runs through this property, finds its way further
down to a deep, dark gorge, where the mountain forest gathers its
thickest gloom, and then disappears, like so many of our Jamaica
streams, with a rush down a chasm or ‘sink-hole,’ to reappear, say the
negroes, as the Rio Bueno, ten miles nearer the coast. Here these
beautiful birds are in great numbers; the valley and _hill-sides
resound with their ‘ quank, quank ;’ and they have, besides, a loud,
imperious call, uttered on the wing, very ‘merulaceous’. I con-
stantly hear there a beautiful, low song, with a note or two in it that
reminded me of the solitaire, and with which I am unacquainted.
I cannot but think it will prove to belong to this bird; bui I hope, as
soon as the weather will permit, to make further observations. I find
it so numerous almost everywhere in the woods hereabouts as to
suggest migration hither in this season. Just as with Sylvicola pha-
retra, I would take M. leucogenys as a standard of comparison.
These last were abundant here in the winter, especially about orange
trees. They are now common, but more dispersed, as a greater
abundance of food and the necessities of the breeding-season would
suggest; but there is no unaccountable change, apparently, in their
numbers. With M. Jamaicensis they seem to me to bear no propor-
tion ; this is, however, only a suggestion.

“T see my limits preclude my adding, on this occasion, some
notices on the nidification of Tyrannus crinitus, Myiobius tristis and
others, as 1 had intended; for I would not conclude without some
notice of an opportunity lately afforded me of observing the habits of
one of our magnificent pigeons, namely, Columba Caribbea. While
lately on a visit to Windsor Pen, on the leeward or western side of

6664 Birds,

this parish (Trelawny), situated among the mountains I have -de-
scribed as the lower range, I was surprised to hear that the ring-tail
was very abundant in a neighbouring pasture. I immediately went
there, and found that the pasture occupied only the bottom of a nar-
row valley of small extent, the thick mountain woods closely investing
the steep hills all round. About the centre was a fine tree, loaded
with bunches of the semi-transparent scarlet fruit the negroes call
cherries ; but I have not yet ascertained what it is. On approaching
the tree, to my great satisfaction I observed one of these birds
reposing on a thick branch near the centre, ‘ sitting down’ as the
negroes say, evidently resting on the whole tarsus. I watched it for
some time, but it was quite motionless. Another flew from the
neighbouring woods, and alighted on the topmost twig of a lofty
cedar. It was followed by a third bird, which immediately com-
menced feeding it, as usual with pigeons. I fired in a short time,
and one only fell, a young bird with the down still adhering to the
tips of the feathers. The old bird soon returned, and I secured it ;
it proved a male, thin, but in the very finest plumage. On dissection
the contents of the crops of both birds proved the same, a pulp com-
posed of a species of small fig. Their structure illustrated some inte-
resting particulars. The lower mandible is remarkable for the wide
divergence of its rami, which bifurcate only about one-third its length
from the tip. The feathers thus come far forwards under the chin,
and give the bird a peculiarly gallinaceous aspect, lost in a measure
in the skin. This is succeeded by an cesophagus so distensible that
I found I could thrust three of my fingers into it. The proventriculus
is rather conical than globose, as the lower end is not narrowed by
a stricture outwardly visible at the cardiac entrance; it is sparsely
studded with glands. J found a sweet-wood berry in the interior in
one case, the seed-vessel reduced to a green pulp, and the large seed
whole. The stomach is capacious, but so slightly muscular that
a vertical section of its muscles nowhere gives more than one-fourth
of an inch. I was surprised to find no trace of gravel or grit within.
The sweet-wood berries were simply denuded of their fleshy seed-
vessels, the large seeds remaining quite uninjured. I understood the
significance of this on uncoiling the intestine, sixty-nine inches in
length. Throughout its whole length it presented the appearance of
a necklace, from the succession of these kernels passing down the
canal, the spaces between filled with green pulp, which was alone
digested. I pushed some out at the cloaca quite uninjured. I found
seeds of figs and cherries in the same state. Thus it can be seen of

Birds. 6665

what deep significance is this peculiar form of beak. The whole ali-
mentary canal undergoes an adapted change, and the mode of nutri-
tion materially differs from that of other Columbadex. The white-
belly (Peristera Jamaicensis) feeds greedily on the fallen seeds of
Laurus, which its powerful gizzard reduces to pulp; while the ring-
tail digests the soft seed-vessel only. The influence of these two
species on the vegetation around them differs still more widely.
While the white-belly destroys hundreds of the plants on which it
feeds, the ring-tail scatters them abundantly over the forests it fre-
quents. J must reserve some further notes on this bird for a future

occasion.

*“W. OsBURN.
“To P. H. Gosse, Esq.”

A List of the Birds of Banffshire, accompanied with Anecdotes.
By Tuomas Epwarp.

(Continued from page 6637.)

Carrion and Hooded Crows (continued). The eyes of dead ani-
mals, perhaps living ones too, seem to be a very favourite morsel
with them; for if one is cast ashore, or met with elsewhere, those
organs are always sure to disappear first. And if a fish should be
stranded (the larger the better), oh! what a glorious prize it is !—
what a treat!—how they seem to revel in it! Like many others,
however, in a higher grade of society, they can’t always keep all the
good things of this life to themselves; for the gulls generally come in
and claim a share, if not the whole; and here too, as in higher life,
many are the disputes and tough battles they have in consequence.
Besides all these, I have seen them attack other game. Whilst
walking one morning along the Doveran, with a friend, and just as
we arrived at the mansion-house of Eden, our attention was attracted
to the other side of the water, by what seemed to us to be the faint
cries of a child in distress. On looking in the direction we beheld
two crows (whether hooded or carrion crows we could not tell from
the distance) pursuing and tormenting a hare, by every now and then
pouncing down upon it. Each blow seemed, as far as we could
judge, to be aimed at or about the head; and each time that one was
given the poor animal screamed piteously. These blows had the
effect of stupifying the creature, so much so that she would whirl round
and round for several minutes like a top. At other times, again, they

XVII. 22

6666 Birds.

would fell her to the ground. On these occasions the crows, cowards
that they were, always seemed to attack her with greater vehemence
than they did at other times. These onslaughts, however, had gene-
rally the effect of bringing the hare to her senses, if 1 may so speak ;
for she always sprang up as they were being inflicted, and seemed to
redouble her efforts to get away. But it was all in vain. Another
blow or two, and again she would become stupified, and either squat
or reel about, and scream. We eventually lost sight of them, in con-
sequence of their coming too close to the edge of the field, the wall
of which hid them from our view. I was well aware, from what I had
many a time seen, that crows destroyed leverets, young rabbits, &c.,
but was quite surprised to see them attacking an old one. I remem-
ber, whilst out on the hills at Boyndie, witnessing another, though less
daring, attack. Concealed amongst some trees and bushes, waiting
for a cuckoo which I expected to pass, I observed a half-grown rab-
bit emerge from some whins, and begin to frolic about close by.
Presently down pops a hoodie; not a mischievous, murderous hoodie,
as it seemed, but friendly, courteous and humoursome. Far away he
went along the green sward, or rather approached the rabbit, frisking,
pranking and jumping about just like a Merry Andrew: no one so
merry ashe. All of a sudden, however, as if he meant to finish the
joke with a ride, he mounts the back of the rabbit. Up springs the
latter, and away he runs; but short was his race. A few sturdy
blows about the head, from the bill of the crow, laid him dead in a
few seconds. 3

Rook (C. frugilegus). O yes, we have rooks, plenty of rooks, despite
the murderous warfare carried on against them; and I am sure a
more persecuted race does not exist. The time, however, will come
when they will be more respected and cherished, and the valuable
services which they render more correctly appreciated. As I have
already said, despite the war carried on against them, we have seve-
ral pretty large rookeries throughout the county. One at Forglen is
said to be the largest in the district, and to have been one from time
immemorial. As many as from twenty to twenty-six nests I believe
have been counted here on a single tree at one time; and I am
informed that the noise made during the breeding-season is so tre-
mendous that it is often heard, on still evenings or quiet mornings,
miles away. We have a small rookery here, amongst a few trees in
the grounds belonging to Banff Castle, situated in the centre of the
town, the occupiers of which seem to be in nowise incommoded by
the traffic going on in the streets beneath them. Pied varieties of the

Birds. . 6667

rook are sometimes met with, as well as white and of a cream-colour.
I have in my possession a live one of the latter colour; and as he is
a most wonderful bird, this rook of mine, I must tell you something
about him. Well, then, he was born at a place called the Torr of
Traup; his parents were both black, as well as his brothers and
sisters ; but how he came to be whitish I leave you to judge. It so
happened that when he was about two or three weeks old a young
urchin chanced to alight on the nest, and, no doubt thinking he had
gained a wonderful prize in a white rook, bore him off in triumph.
A friend of mine residing near, having heard of the affair, succeeded
in procuring the rarity for me. On his first appearance amongst us
he did not seem at all pleased, and would have picked all our eyes
out if we had been foolish enough to let him. My children, a pretty
good swarm, flocking round him, he pecked at them most furiously,
as in fact he did at all strangers ; but to my friend who brought him,
and with whom he had been living a short time previous, as well as
to all my family, he became quite gentle ; and when my friend asked
him for a paw, he held out one of his feet, and shook hands as
it were with him. In a short time he became as one of ourselves,
and strutted about the floor like a soldier on parade, making friends
with all but one, and to that one, a large tom-cat, he could not and
never did become reconciled. The cat no sooner put his nose in at
the door than he was flown at, and one blow from the bird’s bill was °
enough for him. Away he flew like lightning, whilst Jack, as we
call the bird, shouted victory by giving a loud “caw.” A stranger
could not enter the room without being attacked. A bare foot was a
most glorious object for him to peck at. For the first six months
he lived in the same room as ourselves. It so happened that we
had a baby at the time. Now, the youngster was always put into its
cradle shortly after breakfast. Jack, after he had been with us a
short time, began to give us a song of a forenoon; so that the baby
could get no sleep. The consequence was that we were obliged to
keep him in an old garret till dinner time, when he was generally
brought down. If he was not brought down then, and the door was
shut, his trumpet was set going, and continued until he was released.
One day, when we were all seated at the table, just about to begin |
dinner, a rap-tap was heard at the door. ‘Come in,” cried one of the
children, thinking it was some stranger. ‘“ Caw, caw !” roared Jack,
for it was none other, and he continued to rap with his bill until the
door was opened. ‘There is one most extraordinary trait in his cha-
racter, namely, when he has more food than he can consume he

6668 Birds.

invariably hides it beneath a chair or such-like place until he is
hungry. As to food, no choicer bit can be given him than a dead
mouse; beetles and worms appear to be favourites, but a mouse is
above all. He is also very fond of butchers’ meat. On the broth-
pot being taken off the fire one day shortly after we had him, down
comes Jack from his roost, and marches to and fro the room several
times in his own peculiar way, apparently taking no notice of the pot,
when all of a sudden dab goes the bill right in the boiling soup, and
out comes a piece of beef. Whenever the children had anything
which he liked, it was a rare case if he did not, by some means or
other, secure it for himself. If anything fell on the floor, and Jack
was near, it was useless attempting to pick it up, for he would be there
before you. Ihave said he sings; and so he does. But perhaps
you never before heard of a rook singing; it is nevertheless a fact
that this one does; and a most splendid noise he makes, by no
means sweet I can assure you, being similar to the gruntings of a pig
and the cackling of a hen, copiously intermixed with “ Craw-wa-
craw-wa,” and generally ending with “ Curr-warr-curr-war-war-watr.”
One more fact, and I have done. One day some neighbours heard
the baby crying rather loudly; presently Jack came to the door,
roaring “ Craw, craw, craw,” with all his might. Wondering what
was the cause of it all, one of the neighbours went to ascertain, and
found that the youngster had been left in the house with no one
but Jack.

Jackdaw (C. monedula). This rock and chimney species is sure to
be met with wherever favourable localities occur,—%in our towns,
amongst the higher rocks along our shores, as well as on precipices
inland; and an old castle, or any place of that sort, is sure to have its
colony of “ kaes,” with not unfrequently a mixture of starlings, &c.
The jackdaw is another species that is very easily domesticated ; and
a very tricky, amusing fellow he is too. One almost of a pure white
is now in the Banff Museum; it was killed near here, about two
years ago. I once possessed a “ kae,” and I must tell you something
about it. Well, I was down one day at the Middens, a place already
referred to, seeing the boys catching sparrows, when a person chanced
to pass with a gun. The boys, being very much annoyed by jack-
daws, requested him to shoot them. This he did, at least he fired
one shot, killing one and wounding another. The latter drew my
attention at once, as well as excited my covetousness. After a little
trouble I managed to obtain the bird. Away home I ran like a
lamplighter, proud, happy and joyful. Well, I enter the house,

Birds. 6669

and, holding up my prize to my mother, roar out, “See, mither!
see, mither! I’ve gota kae!” “QO, ye rascal, ye little nickern,” said
my parent; “did yer father na tell ye that ye was to bring na’ mair
creatures here? Ye ha’e the hoose in a perfect swarm already.”
“ Only this ane, mither,” I says. ‘‘ Na,” she replies;” ‘it canna be
here. Besides, it’s past ten o’clock, an’ time that ye was awa at yer
school. Sae awa wi’ ye, an’ dinna bring the bird back here again.”
And out I was bundled, kae and all. Part with it, however, [ could
not; and I durst not take it to school with me, for I had introduced
enough of this sort of Natural History there as well as at home.
What was to be done? I will tell you, as near as I can remember.
I had on a pair of trowsers much too large for me, especially in a
certain place, and in them I put the bird, little thinking of the conse-
quences. Away I marched to school, which was only a short dis-
tance. Up stairs I got, though with some difficulty, but, as was often
the case, found the door locked. Prayers, however, not being begun,
I was admitted, but gained the “ fool’s corner” for being late. This
was a sort of narrow, raised platform, which placed those who had
the honour of being elevated to it in full view of all the scholars. It
had only one seat, an old, rickety, trembling chair; so that two were
all that could be accommodated at one time. ‘The school was kept
and conducted by an old maid, and was attended by girls as well as
boys. We all kneeled on the floor during prayers, our arms resting
on our seats. Well, here I was, crowned like any king, having a
great thing on my head about six times as high as any nightcap,
and nearly the shape of that article. All was silent as death, save the
half-moaning, half-groaning voice of the mistress, Bell Hill, as we called
her. The devotions, however, such as they were, had not proceeded far
when whisperings and stifled laughter rose audibly above the voice
of prayer. These becoming louder and more frequent, I looked about
to see what was going on; but to my great surprise I found
more than one finger pointing, and al] eyes tured, towards myself.
I wondered what it could mean, as they had all seen me in the same
dress and place before ; but as I knew my trowsers would have been
none the worse had they been in the hands of a tailor, I dreaded
lest the bird had made his appearance; so I put my hand round to
ascertain, and found that to be the case. Fearing the result, as I
knew his doom if detected, I gave him a squeeze, in order to make
him draw in his head. Poor fool that I was. No sooner did
he feel himself pressed than he bawls out, “ Cre-waw, cre-waw ;” and

6670 Birds.

the more I squeezed him the louder he roared. “The Lord preserve
’s a’! Fat’s this, noo?” cried Bell, starting to her feet. “ It’s Tom
Edward again!” shouted the scholars en masse ; “ an’ noo wi’ a craw
stickin’ out o’ his breeks!” To crown all, down went the old chair,
which broke into fragments. Never shall I forget the uproar and
confusion which took place, nor Bell’s look as she stood, with both
arms raised at full length above her head, addressing me nearly thus,
“ Well, master Edward, you are at your old work again. Did I not
tell you only yesterday that I would not have my school annoyed in
this way any more? Take the beast from him, Willie,” she said,
pointing to the largest boy, “and throw it out of the window.” “No,
I winna gie my bird t’ nean; an’ gin onnay one dares t tak it, Vl
brak his skull!” I cried, trembling all the while for the fate of the
bird. Picking up a fragment of the old chair, I was determined, if
any one did make the attempt, to put my threat in execution rather
than lose my prize. This had the desired effect; for Bell, seeing
how matters stood, and perhaps fearing mischief, said, “ Well, yowll
leave this immediately ; and never come back, for you and your
vermin are complete pests. Where and how you get them all, the
Lord only knows. You cannot be here.” This was glorious, as 1 had
no taste for being confined in school; besides the joy of getting away
scot free, bird and all.

Magpie (C. pica). Very sparingly distributed, and in some places
scarcely known. Our keepers both shoot and trap them whenever
opportunity offers. The magpie is one of the most bashful birds
we have. When, however, they take up their abode beside farms, &c.,
they are by no means so shy, and, being generally held sacred by
those near whose place they may be, frequently occupy the same
tree or bush for many years. I knew of a pair myself that nestled in
this fashion for thirteen years successively. Their young always
disappeared towards winter each season, and never returned, but left .
the parent pair in quiet possession of the solitary tree.

Greater Spotted Woodpecker (Picus major). Several pairs of this
showy bird have been procured within our district. Some, in fact,
say that it lived in the higher parts of the county. Be this as it
may, it is very rare, and its known occurrences few and far between.
A most splendid pair, male and female, were killed about twelve years
ago on the hills of Boyndie. It has also been obtained at Traup,
Whinty, Park, Cullen, Auchintaul, Garden Castle, Kingerwie, and
doubtless other places.

Birds. 6671

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (P. minor). Far more rare, I should
suppose, than the last. One sent me, fourteen years since, from
Mayen, where it was shot, and another seen on the Lodge hills, are
all that I am aware of; but very probably others have occurred.

Wryneck (Yuna torquilla). The late Professor Macgillivray, of
Marischal College, Aberdeen, informed me that one was taken at or
near Portsay, by an old pupil of his.

Creeper (Certhia familiaris). Wherever there are suitable woods
these birds are sure to be found. We sometimes read and hear as
extraordinary occurrences that nests have been found in the hearts of
trees that have been sawn up. Now, to those acquainted with the
facts these occurrences are easily accounted for. I know a tree
myself which contains iwo nests, both with eggs. About seventeen
years ago there was in the side of this tree a small aperture, about
six feet from the ground, which led downwards to a cavity in the
centre of the trunk. The opening was so narrow outwardly that it
only admitted two of my fingers, but widened as it proceeded to the
bottom, a distance of about eighteen inches. In this hole, at the
time referred to, a pair of creepers built their nest and laid eggs, after
which they disappeared. Next season a pair of blue titmice acted
in a similar manner; and they also disappeared, doubtless in conse-
quence of being tormented by boys, and of the narrowness of the
entrance. I believe no more attempts were made to breed there after
this, for the growth of the tree caused the hole to get less and less
every year, and it is now, and has been for several years, so com-
pletely closed that the point of the finest needle could not be
inserted. The tree, a sturdy beech, has the two nests and eggs in its
very core. It is thus evident how easily these “ extraordinary occur-
rences”” may be accounted for.

Wren (Troglodytes europeus). The dear little wren, the lion of
small birds, with his short, jerking little tail, I have known and
admired from childhood. Who that has trod the woods in spring
or summer has not heard a very loud, though by no means inharmo-
nious song, proceeding from some bush or bank, and not admired the
same '—and who is there, if he did not know the bird, that would not
be surprised beyond measure at such a small creature being able to
make such a loud noise? Of all the deserted nests I have ever met
with, those of the wren would, I am sure, count twenty per cent. over
any other species. I am unable to account for this, but perhaps it
arises from their building several before they get one to please them.
I once found one of their nests in an old tin kettle, which had become

6672 Birds.

fixed amongst the branches of a holly. The bottom was out, so that
the nest could be all seen. There were young in the nest when I
found it. The wren, like other birds, does not sing so well in con-
finement. When in their native haunts, there is a pathos in their
voice and a music in their melody that make the heart thrill with
pleasure.

Hoopoe (Upupa epops). Three or four of these pretty birds have
occurred here: one was taken at Duff House, in 1832, by a Mr.
Mackay, in such a state of exhaustion as to allow itself to be captured
by hand; another was seen by myself, a few years back, in the same
place ; and two others are said tosliave been since obtained in other
parts of the county.

Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). This is another sweet and darling
gem. Well do 1 remember, when only a little fellow, rummaging
about the Den of Rubislaw, near Aberdeen, how surprised I was on
hearing the sound of “ Cuckoo, cuckoo,” from a small plantation close
by, and how overjoyed I was when I obtained a sight of the bird ;
and now that I am old the sweet voice of the harbinger of sunny days
still cheers me. They are not very numerous with us along the sea-
coast, but are more frequent towards the higher districts. They
generally appear about the end of April. It is said that they can
retain their eggs for a number of days after they are ready for extru-
sion. I will relate, without comment, a circumstance of this sort
which came under my own observation :—A female specimen, shot in
a garden here, was brought to me to be preserved. On dissecting it
I was agreeably surprised at finding in the oviduct an egg as perfect
as if it had been obtained from a nest.

Roller (Coracias garrula). Tam only aware of one specimen of
this pretty and rare bird being obtained in our county ; it was a most
splendid specimen, killed on the hills of Boyndie, by Mr. J. Brown,
gamekeeper to R. C. Nisbet, Esq.

Bee-eater (Merops apiaster). I give this species a place here from
having heard that a greenish bird, somewhat less than a thrush, with
a longish bent bill, and with two feathers of the tail longer than the
rest, was killed in a garden between Huntly and Duff town, about

seven years ago.
THOMAS EX,DWARD.
(To be continued).

“ Hereditary Tricks.” 6673

“ On Hereditary Tricks in Animals.”
By the Rev. ALFrep CHARLES Situ, M.A.

THAT in every tribe of animals a fine progeny may be expected to
spring from a good stock, is a fact which none will deny: indeed,
that acute observer of nature, Aristotle, was wont to assert, ages ago,
“"ES ayabiv dyabol;” and Horace, too, sang, as every school-boy
knows,

“Fortes creantur fortibus et bonis:
Est in juvencis, est in equis paternus virtus.”

This is all plain enough, and we can easily understand it. Nor do I
find much difficulty in perceiving how bodily peculiarities may be-
come hereditary, even when such peculiarities are not natural, but the
result of the interference of man. Thus it is notorious that from the
long-practised habit of cutting off the tails of sheep-dogs (or, rather,
of biting them off, which I believe is the detestable method of per-
forming that operation generally in vogue) there is now a race of tail-
less sheep-dogs, which come into the world without any caudal
appendage whatever, or at any rate with tails so little developed as to
be generally considered wanting. And Mr. Waterton, in his second
volume of ‘ Essays’ (page 161), speaking of the strange custom which
prevailed in this country not very many years ago, of removing the
whole of the tail of horses, says, “ You would have thought that Dame
Nature herself has ‘ taken smittle,’ as we say in Yorkshire, for I knew
a farmer’s mare in the county of Durham, about the year 1794, that
produced three foals successively without any tails at all.” So far
we see how Nature, accommodating herself to existing circumstances,
endeavours to produce in the offspring a fac simile of the parent; and
this comes under our notice so often with respect to bodily defects
and blemishes, as well in the human race as in other branches of the
animal kingdom, that it causes no surprise, and we have learned in a
manner to expect it. But when we pass from bodily to mental pecu-
liarities, if I may so call them, and note the tricks and individual
habits which are likewise sometimes hereditary and transmitted from
generation to generation, the question assumes a very different aspect,
and appears to me extremely remarkable, and well deserving of inves-
tigation ; for neither Aristotle nor Horace, nor any one else, as far as I
know, has attempted to explain to us the cause and origin of these
strange tricks which are practised in certain families, and, like the
gout and madness in the human race, seem to descend from father to
XVII. 3A

6674 “ Hereditary Tricks.”

son, in the most unaccountable manner; and I repeat that amongst
the many remarkable traits of instinct and natural peculiarity which
the diligent observer of the various tribes of animals meets with at
every point, there are perhaps none which are so difficult to explain
as these tricks, not peculiar to the whole class or species, but only to
individuals, and which in many instances seem to descend as heir-
looms from generation to generation. Any one who has at all studied
the Natural History of animals will have observed in many cases such
“hereditary tricks” as I have mentioned ; but to take an instance or
two selected from those animals which daily come under the notice
of most of us, and which we have already taken as examples of the
transmission of bodily peculiarities, let us examine the point in regard
to dogs and horses. Every one at all versed in the mysteries of the
kennel knows that hounds frequently inherit from their father or
mother certain tricks; thus one hound has a peculiar manner of
coming up to be fed, another walks across the kennel with an unusual
gait, while a third has a method peculiar to himself of running up to
his keeper; and all these tricks are precisely such as the fathers or
mothers of these hounds had before them: so that the huntsman will
often pick out such and such a puppy, and confidently predict him to
be a good one, because his father was before him, and he has inhe-
rited his tricks ; from whence he infers, and generally rightly, that
with his peculiarities he has inherited the good qualities of his sire
too. Again, I need only mention the well-known fact that the
pointer’s puppy, when but a few weeks’ old, will begin to point of its
own accord. And so with regard to horses, how often are we sur-
prised to find that the colt will inherit the peculiarities of his mother :
either he jerks his head in some strange fashion, or he stands in the
stable in some quaint manner, or he has some unaccountable trick, just
as one of his parents had before him: and Dr. Prichard has stated
that young horses will frequently adopt the artificial paces which
have been taught to their sires (see Zool. 1100). But to come down
from generalities to a particular example: a curious instance of here-
ditary trick once came under my notice in a mare that was driven in
harness: she had a strange habit of constantly licking the bit; she
was very high-couraged, and this was her way of showing her im-
patience: at length her work was over, and she became a brood
mare: in course of time her colt was broken into harness, and lo! he
had the very same trick, and licked his bit too, and in precisely the
same manner, rolling his tongue round the lower bar, as his mother
did before him. Now, one would be naturally disposed to refer the

Birds. 6675

tricks of animals which run in families, not to descent, but to imita-
tion: we know how clever many animals are in imitating many
things, and we should be disposed to attribute these tricks to that
head: perhaps in some cases we should be right in so doing, but in
the matter of the mare and foal the thing is impossible, since the foal
never had the opportunity (even if we would grant him the inclination)
of imitating his mother in this point, for he never saw her with a bit
in her mouth.

Many similar hereditary peculiarities will doubtless have presented
themselves to the experience of others; and, presenting as they do
fresh subjects of interest, and fresh sources of admiration at the won-
drous lessons which Nature contrives to instil into individual mem-
bers of the animal kingdom, I would express a hope that they may be
communicated through the pages of the ‘ Zoologist,’ and thus form
additional links of evidence on a subject with which we are as yet
but imperfectly acquainted.

ALFRED CHARLES SMITH.
Yatesbury Rectory, Calne,

July 21, 1859.

The doubtful Eggs.—I have read Mr. Smurthwaite’s “suggestion” (Zool. 6638) as
to the eggs mentioned by me (Zool. 6563). Itis not satisfactory tome. T certainly do not
lay claim to a power of discrimination like Mr. Smurthwaite’s, which enables him not
only to determine that certain eggs, unseen by him, are blackbird’s eggs, but also that
a person, of whom he knows as much as he has seen of the eggs, is unable, from lack
of experience or knowledge, to tell one “small bird’s” egg from another, even when
he has them before him. Still, while admitting this, and expressing my extreme
admiration of Mr. Smurthwaite’s remarkable gift of clairvoyance, I cannot quite put
on one side the fact that the man who gave me the eggs declares that the bird he saw
go off the nest that contained the eggs was neither a ring ouzel nor a blackbird, but
that his impression at the time was that it was a “ May thrush.” With the eggs
before me, in their nest, I ventured the opinion—a very decided one, too, it is, and I
repeat it—that they were not the missel thrush’s. However, I will forward those
which I have loose to the Editor, if he will permit me, that others may judge by sight
as well as myself. As to the sites selected for nidification by the redwing, I find that
Yarrell and Selby both mention trees, of different sorts, as the usual ones. Perhaps
Mr. Smurthwaite’s “ gift” enables him to decide that it is fir trees only which are
“never selected” for that purpose by the bird in question.—J. C. Atkinson ; Danby,
August 8, 1859. [Please to send them.—£d.]

Showers of Feathers.— On arriving in this country a few days since, my attention
was drawn by a friend to a note on “showers of feathers,” by Mr. P. W. Greene
(Zool. 6442). As that gentleman has intimated that he wishes a further communi-
cation from me in regard to some feathers of waterfowl I had mentioned in a letter
which found its way into the ‘ Zoologist’ (Zool. 6324), 1 must say that such a simple fact

6676 Birds.— Crustacea.

(not a “theory ”) as that of feathers scudding in a breeze, which even a closet natu-
ralist may witness any day by extracting a handful from his bed, without disturbing
that of “the goddess Holda,” and letting them loose at a window, I should have
thought could have been called in question by none. And as to mistaking feathers
for snow, I answer by asking, was the latter ever seen floating on water? I
can hardly agree with Mr. Greene, that it requires specimens of goose-down and
feathers to be sent “ by post to England,” some thousands of miles, in order to settle
“the matter beyond doubt or dispute,” when the experiments can be made, as I have
described, so near at home.— Thomas Blakiston ; Woolwich, July 24, 1859.

A Kite (Milvus regalis) flying over London.—On Friday, June 24th, between 5 and
6 o'clock p.m., I saw a large kite, with very long wings and a forked tail, flying at the
height of about a hundred yards above Piccadilly (opposite the Green Park), in a
north-easterly direction. As the bird moved slowly, it might have been easily shot at
that time. Its appearance excited a good deal of attention among the passengers in
Piccadilly, and probably it was seen by other readers of the ‘ Zoologist.”—J. Altham 5
Manchester Street, Manchester Square, June 30, 1859.

Note on the Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus).—I do not know whether the feltoeene note
on the cuckvo is worth recording ; but it appeared to me to offer presumptive
evidence of a love of offspring which I had never before witnessed ; neither had
T any very settled opinion of cuckoos possessing any share of natural affection for
their offspring. On the 7th of June I was collecting insects on Hampstead Heath,
about 7 o’clock in the evening. On arriving at that part which is contiguous to
North End, I started two birds, which flew from the middle of some dense furze-
bushes ; they rose with a sharp, snapping sound, and, after taking a wide circumyo-
lution, again flew close to me, uttering the same sharp, snapping sound, which was
immediately followed by a quick repetition of the call of “ cuckoo, cuckoo;” this was
repeated three or four times, the birds each time dashing within two yards of where I
stood. They then flew together into an oak tree, and continued to “ cuckoo,” appa-
rently in a state of great excitement. The impression on my mind was, that I had
disturbed and frightened them away from a nest which contained their young, or that
they were in attendance upon a young cuckoo which had not acquired sufficient
strength to take flight. I searched, hoping, but in vain, to find either a nest or
young bird, and so more satisfactorily arrive at the object of the anxiety of the pair
of old birds. The snapping sound resembled that made by the goat-sucker when
hawking in the evening after fern-chaffers. — Frederick Smith ; British Museum,
June 27, 1859.

The Crab and its Allies.
By C. Spence Bate, Esq., F.LS., &c.

(Continued from p. 6630.)

The Crustacea, in the tabulated idea, consists of twenty-one dis-
tinct segments, of which that furnishing the organ of vision is the
most anterior.

Sight is not the only sense with which these animals are endowed :
senses of hearing and of smell are more or less perfect in most of

Crustacea. 6677

them. The organs adapted for these senses are those which are
developed as antenne. Of these, in Crustacea, there are two pairs ;
the one internal, or anterior; the other external, or posterior. ‘These
organs differ both in form and relative length in different families and
genera; but throughout the class they are adapted, the anterior
to hearing, the posterior to smelling.

The anterior pair are always erect and on the watch,—jerking,
moving and in play. They are universally formed of a peduncle
supporting one, two or more filaments. In the lower forms these
filaments are generally long and thread-like; in the highest they are
very short, but the shortness consists in the decreased size of each
segment, rather than in the number of-the segments. Through the
many forms of autennz there appears to be one persistent scheme,
however varied the aspect of the individual structure may be. The
peduncle consists uniformly of three joints or segments. The first,
that is, the one nearest the head, carries the acoustic apparatus,
which consists, in the crabs, &c., of a bony cell that is circular, with
depressed sides, and attached at one point only to the internal sur-
face of the walls of the antennz. The apparatus is supplied with
nerves direct from the supra-cesophagal ganglion. In the lobster
species the apparatus is long instead of round, and not so large in its
relation to the organ; and Dr. Farre says it is always filled with
sand, which, he presumes, acts the part of otolithes. ‘The sand
I believe not to be constant, and where presentit is the result of
unintentional deposit ; but it affords evidence that there is an orifice,
small, though connecting the internal structure with external con-
dition. Professor Huxley has discovered an apparatus of a similar
character to that which Dr. Farre found in the lobster; but I have
failed to perceive anything of the kind in the antenne of the
amphipod and isopod species. ‘This probably arises from the less
perfect development of the part both in size and structure, rather
than from an absence of such apparatus. Again, upon the anterior
antenne—so that the absence is a circumstance to be commented
upon—there exists, upon one of the filaments, and one only, however
numerous they may be, a series of organisms that look like trans-
parent hairs, but differ in construction from the true hairs with which
they are mixed. They are not more slight, but are formed of a tissue
that is evidently membranous and very thin; they are often divided,
sometimes branched, and assume many different forms often charac-
teristic of genera or species. ‘The Crustacea on which they have not
been perceived are few, the most conspicuous of which are those of

6678 Crustacea.

Talitrus and its allied genus Orchestia: these respire air, and we
may presume that has something to do with the circumstance.

That these animals have the power of hearing, we think there is
abundant evidence. It is told by Mr. Bell that at the report of a
cannon they throw off their limbs; and in the same book we read
that whole cargoes of lobsters have thrown off their limbs in a thun-
derstorm, to the great detriment of their marketable value; and we
are informed that the following pleasant instance of maternal affection
has been observed, which also illustrates the faculty of hearing :—
One day, upon the coast of Cornwall, a fisherman, going the round of
his crab-pots, saw a number of young lobsters swarming together.
He watched them for some time before he attracted the notice of an
old one lodged in a corner of arock. This, from its post of security,
kept guard over the young ones at play ; and as soon as it perceived
there was danger near, rattled its claws together, and they all fled to
their holes. We know from observation in other species, and we see
no reason to imagine it different in the lobster, that the young are
torn out of the egg-cases in a very crude manner. The waves and
the winds carry them far beyond the protecting reach of the parent.
The number that are hatched would defy the most anxious mother to
watch. The youngest are not mature when the oldest quit the egg,
and I doubt if two or more weeks may not elapse between the free-
dom of the first and the hatching of the last. As I before stated, the
spawn of a moderate-sized edible crab consists of about two millions
of eggs. The manner by which I arrived at this conclusion was as
follows :—I tore off about three hundred and weighed them, and then
weighed the whole mass; and, after deducting the appendages which
held the spawn in its position, I found, as near as possible, that there
could not be less than two millions of eggs. We perceive, then, that
in the foregoing anecdote the parent watching over the welfare of the
young can scarcely be correct. But this, we think, is no reason why
the statement of the fisherman of Goran Haven may not be true.
Lobsters are known to be very gregarious, and seldom ramble far
from their favourite hnnting-ground.

We know the instinct of more familiar animals that live together
will induce them to set a sentinel to watch, and give notice of
approaching danger. The starling and lark among birds, and the
wild horse among animals, are ready instances. We would therefore
interpret the anecdote of the lobster by our knowledge of instances of
instinct among these. And the fact stated, that those which played
around the old one were young, corresponds with the history of other

Crustacea. 6679

animals: they were protected because they were young, not because
they were offspring.

But perhaps the fisherman of Goran Haven will not consent to this
interpretation, but claim that instinct to protect the young will be
greater in the parent than in any other, and of the two millions born
some thousands die, as many more are killed, and they that are
watched over are the youngest hatched, the proverbially most loved
by mothers. To support the idea I would give an instance in
a much lower form of the same class. It is told by Mr. Goodsir that
on one occasion, while examining a female spectre-shrimp (Caprella)
under the microscope, he found that her body was thickly covered
with young ones, being carried about from place to place by the
parent. And we know that the Arcturus, among the Isopoda, carries
its offspring about attached to their long antenne. Again, in the
leech we find the same maternal instinct; and therefore, by parallel
reasoning, it is not impossible that the lobster may know its own
offspring.

But these statements have drawn us off from the point we had in
view, which is, to show that lobsters have the faculty of hearing; thus,
according to the fisherman of Cornwall, the old lobster rattled its
claws, and the young ones fled at the signal to the protecting crevices
of the rocks.

Whether sound, as known to the human ear, is appreciable to the
organs of animals that live in the water, is a thing much to be
doubted. Water is said to be a very excellent conductor of sound,
which it travels four times faster than it does air. A bell struck in a
diving-machine sounds with increased power; but then the sound is
made in the compressed air, and not in the water; and, as far as my
experience goes, no sound at all equalling that which we recognise
as such is capable of being made in the water. Knock two hard
substances together as you dive when taking a bath, and these will
be not heard.* Sound is a vibration of air: can it be supposed that
the vibration of water will produce the same result? Sound, there-
fore, purely as such, is a questionable occurrence producible in
water. That an analogous phenomenon does take place is morally
certain; but that it is a modified occurrence is evidenced from the
altered condition of the organs belonging to animals that live in
water. The otolithe in fish is not found in the ear of an animal
that lives out of water, and the true cochlea is not known in any that

* Since this has been written, I have been informed that Gay Lusac rang a bell,
under water, that was distinctly heard nine miles across the Lake of Geneva.

6680 Crustacea.

live in it. In Crustacea the anterior antenne supply the place of
the ears.

The antenne which carry the acoustic organs surround and
enclose the entire apparatus with its bony tissue, leaving, as far as
our experience goes, no aperture in the crab, and a very insignificant
one, in the lobster; and, as far as this part is concerned, the
apparatus that receives impressions of sound is protected from the
influence of external agencies by the stout integumentary tissue,—a
circumstance that must preclude it from being at least a very
effective organ under ordinary conditions. To obviate this and
render it useful to the animal, the external walls are prolonged to a
very considerable extent, the greater in comparison with the lessened
perfectibility of the internal structure. Upon the slender and length-
ened continuation of the integument, intermixed with the numerous
more or less strong hairs, are placed the membranous ciliz of which
I have spoken.

These organisms are present, I believe, in all the higher orders of
aquatic Crustacea, from the most perfect to the most immature forms,
from the youngest to the oldest stage. In the larva of the crab the
organ, in the earliest condition, is scarcely observable except by
careful examination, by the aid of cautious dissection and a good
microscope; yet it can be clearly defined from any of the other
organs by the presence of these delicately-structured ciliz, which
assume a size, in relation to the antenne, that gives them a prepon-
derating importance. This agrees with observations made on the
lower forms. In the sessile-eyed Crustacea the antenne have no
internal structure that 1 can detect that assimilates with the apparatus
found in the higher animals, but exists as a member developed to
support these membranous ciliz, which appear to me to assume a
high importance in their relation to the sense of hearing, particularly
in embryonic and lower forms of Crustacea.

As sound is a minute vibration given by percussion to air, so
a parallel result probably is excited by the same means in water, the
difference between the two being equal to the difference of the den-
sity of the media. Thus, to make the vibration of the more dense
material readily perceptible to the consciousness of the animal
existing in it, long and delicate organisms, such as these cilia, must
considerably facilitate the power. The term of auditory . cilize
appears to be very applicable to them. And in the Amphipoda we
have traced what we believe to be a nerve traversing the lower side
of the organ to the extremity of the peduncle, and to the root of the

Crustacea. 6681

first of these appendages, which are repeated throughout the length
of the filamentary continuation, which appears as an extended base for
their support. The number of these ciliw bears no relative propor-
tion to the length of the antenne: they crowd together where the
limb is short; upon the more extended organ one is present at the
distant extremity of every articulation.

Hearing is given to us for a twofold reason: it is a source of enjoy-
ment, and a power that protects us from danger. Music is a pleasure
that cannot be surpassed by that derivable from either of the other
senses. And the eye, though it may more directly point to an
approaching danger, is scarcely so extended in its consciousness in
conveying its approach as the ear. JFver since the mermaids have
ceased to sing, and the destroying hand of Science visited with the
dredge the secrets of their magic caves, deep in the bottom of the
ocean,—ever since the syrens of the Greek poets have been found out
to be but painted and hired viragos, — the idea of a lobster or a crab
listening to soft music has not entered into the most wild poet’s fancy.
The note that can “ soothe the savage breast” cannot tame the fish :
it cannot be struck beneath the waters. The breath of mighty winds
and the heavy lashing of the shore-broken serges are the only sounds
that can penetrate the deep. These have been fancifully termed the
music of the sea by those whom a generous license of humanity has
permitted to alter the meanings of words, that they may awaken a
pretty idea at the expense of truth. Birds and animals may enjoy
the concerts of the air; but where there is an eternal silence an organ
formed for enjoying sounds must necessarily be a work of superero-
gation.

The organ in this class of animals.is formed for protection only,
to animals beneath the sea: this is evidenced by the fact that in
those Crustacea which are purely terrestrial the organ is never deve-
loped. This is evidently no (erroneously so called) freak of Nature,
but a persistent law, since we perceive that the importance of the
organ is gradually decreasing. In the sub-terrestrial amphipods, the
sand-hoppers (Talitrus and Orchestia), the upper antenne are rudi-
mentary ; in Ligia, among the isopods, we perceive the same degene-
rated state of the organ to exist; but in the land Crustacea, which
are mostly isopods, the upper antenne are microscopically present
in the adult stage, and this although they are more proportionally
important in the young. This argues, I think, that the antenne
developed to convey impressions by sound are organs adapted for the
water only.

XVII. 3B

6682 Crustacea.

But in Crustacea there are two pairs of antenne ; the first, or
anterior pair, 1s that to which is attributed the sense of hearing; the
posterior is supposed to have the power of smell.

It would scarcely be fair to those who have not given much atten-
tion to the subject, and consequently take for granted the unproved
assertions of the writer, to let it be supposed that these opinions have
been and are universally adopted, — that the senses here given to the
antenne belong respectively to each.

The subject was first introduced by Professor Milne-Edwards, who
attributed the sense of smell to the anterior pair of antenne, and that
of hearing to the posterior. This opinion, taken upon so great an
authority, was universally accepted and taught by naturalists, until
Dr. Farre threw doubt upon it in a paper read before the Royal
Society in 1843, wherein he showed strong reasons for believing that
the opinion of Edwards should be reversed in relation to the lobster.
But here the subject hung fire. Few saw the paper of Dr. Farre,
and of those who did there were fewer still who cared to verify the
fact; and so the old notion of naturalists still retained its place in
the works of those who wrote upon the subject. One who at the
age of twenty-three was elected fellow of the Royal Society, in his
capacity of assistant surgeon in the navy was attached as naturalist
to an expedition to the southern hemisphere, where, obtaining some
very transparent stomapod shrimps, he examined them with his
microscope while they were yet in a fresh state, and thought he
detected a strongly refracting otolithe in the basal joint of the upper
antennee, and stated it to be his opinion that the anterior pair was the
seat of the acoustic apparatus. This corroboration of Professor
Huxley’s I have more recently traced in the crab,—the relation of
the senses to the respective antenne,—ain a paper published in the
‘Annals of Natural History’ for 1855, in which I showed that there
existed an internal structure that bore no very distant analogy to the
cochlea in the mammalian ear. ‘Thus observations in three persons
arrived independently at the same conclusion, and these in distinct
divisions of the same class. I think, therefore, we are not rash in
accepting the idea thus aimed at to be the truth, even though
so recently published a work as the ‘ Conspectus’ of Siebold adheres
to the opinion of Edwards; but Siebold does not appear to have been
aware of the researches of Farre, Huxley, &c.

But this is evidence upon structural grounds only, aided by induc-
tive reasoning. The vivarium is a modern instrument in Science,
that, when carefully watched and studied, will be found a valuable

Cruslacea. 6683

assistant in the pursuit of Natural History. The water is not so
clear, the animals are not so happy and natural, as the same water
and the same animals in their original position. Few are the animals
that will not pine in prison; and those that do not, soon put on
appearances that are unknown in the free state. But still, with all
the drawbacks, the vivarium is invaluable to naturalists; and it is
only in them that the habits of the frequenters of the ocean can be
studied as living animals. The shrimp and the crab, out of the viva-
rium, and their congeners, are but known to many when boiled red
or dressed in a salad; and those that may have been seen alive were
in a frighted condition, as they ran from the cover of one stone upon
the beach to that of another, or struggling to escape from the fisher-
man’s trap. But, thanks to Mr. Warington and Mr. Gosse, the
awkward, hopping prawn, that was always jumping it knew not
where, and falling it knew not how, and so difficult to hold, is found
to be among the most graceful animals that float through the element
in which it lives. Under the posterior portion of the body, long,
sweeping, plume-like, feathery legs (pleopoda) beat the waters more
gracefully than fish’s fins, as the proud beauty traverses the ocean
many fathoms deep.

In a paper published in the ‘Annals of Natural History’ Mr.
Warington tells us that he has observed the hungry prawn watching
for its food ; and when it has been given to him, a piece will occa-
sionally fall to the bottom without being perceived by the animal,
which might perhaps have been more attracted by some other object
at the moment. But the long, sweeping antenne (the posterior pair)
are always on the watch; they slowly beat the waters in every
direction; and Mr. Warington says that the moment one of them
cuts the column of water through which the piece of food had fallen
to the bottom, the animal becomes cognizant of the fact, and turns
and hunts it up, or chase it through the water as Mr. Warington drew
it forwards on a piece of stick. My friend Dr. Dansey has recently
assured me that in his vivarium all the smaller fish fall a prey to the
prawns, who hunt and chase, giving them no rest until they capture
them. The instructed scent of the harrier and foxhound is pointed
out as a wonderful possession; and so it is; but is it less wonderful
or less true that the prawn can chase its prey at the bottom of the
sea? What has been proved with respect to the imprisoned animal
in the confined water of the vivarium, is more than probably
increased in force in the free creatures of the sea. In shallow
estuaries whole shoals of different species darken the stream in their

6684 Crustacea.

rapid passage up, in full cry, probably after some fast - swimming
prey; the prawns hunting near the bottom, the opossum-shrimps
near the surface. Mr. Couch tells us (Zool. 5616) that the nipper-
crab in his tank gave chase to a fish that was put in with it,
soon seized it with both its claws, and killed it; it devoured the
belly and lower part of the head, and, being satisfied, rejected the
remainder. The same crab took a fly that chanced to alight on the
water. How astonished a sportsman would have been if his artificial
caricature had been so taken! He would be catching crabs with
a truth.

Here we have, upon the testimony of Mr. Warington, evidence of
the possession of smell exhibited in the shrimp. Smell it could only
be; for the piece of meat passed to the bottom unnoticed and un-
attended to by the hungry animal on the watch for food, until the
long antenne swept the track through which it fell; it then immedi-
ately began to hunt, and hunted until it found it. There can be no
doubt, I think, that consciousness of the presence of food was obtained
through the long antenne, and this by the scent left from the food in
its passage through the water. ‘This organ is always present in
Crustacea, both in terrestrial and aquatic species; it consists of a
peduncle or base, and flagellum; the latter, in land species, generally
have the joints fused together.

There is but one sense more belonging to animals; and there is no
reason to suppose that taste is less likely to be present in those of a
low type than when the general organization is more complete. The
chief object of taste is to recognise between the food which nourishes
and that which is injurious. Even in the pampered appetite of
civilized man the meal that is enjoyed is more generally nutritious
than that which is not agreeable to the taste. The Crustacea seek
their own food, and choose that which they prefer. The crabs, or
short-tailed Crustacea, devour only fresh, wholesome animal diet,
and prefer living animals that they can overpower to that of other
food ; this they carry sometimes even to cannibalism, eating others
of their own or nearly-allied species, but only when hunger is
very sharp. The lobsters, or long-tailed Crustacea, feed generally, it
is said, upon carrion, and, as far as I am aware, are free from the
charge of cannibalism. The shrimp and its near allies feed voraciously
on animal refuse, and are as active as ants in clearing the bones of a
drowned puppy or cat. Itis for the latter supply of food probably
that they frequent the shallow waters and muddy banks cf estuaries,
and the shore-line of sandy inlets. The sessile-eyed Crustacea are

Crustacea. 6685

mostly carnivorous, and sometimes cannibals : I have seen the
Orchestia gluttonously feeding on an earth-worm, and others have
observed, when quantities abound, that the stronger prey upon the
weaker; and my friend Mr. Swain tells me that once, at a picnic, in
Whitsand Bay, where cart-loads of Talitri were seen upon the shore,
a handkerchief which a lady dropped for a few minutes among them
was picked up completely riddled with myriads of tiny holes. This
would lead us to infer that they are vegetable as well as animal
feeders,—a fact that is confirmed by the observations of the American
naturalist Say, on a fresh-water amphipod of Philadelphia, which is
not, he says, “very choice in selection of food; it tore out of the
shell a young Lymneus calascopium, and also ate some vegetable
food.” The latter we may also infer, to a greater extent, may be the
food of some species among the isopods. We find that the Idotea
partakes of the colour of the weed among which it is found. Not
perceiving that it has the chameleon-like power of changing its colour
at will, I am inclined to believe that it is a vegetable feeder, and that
the colour of the animals is dependant upon the colour of the food
made use of. ‘The Idotea taken among the green Ulva is of a com-
plexion scarcely distinct; while that found among the dark Fuci par-
takes of the same brown hue as the weed. But the general habit of
these is to hunt among the tall zoophytes and the creeping weeds for
infusorial animals that dwell among the branches.

But whether they prey on living or dead, either animal or vegetable
food, they seek and choose out that which they prefer, — an evident
sign that the pleasure of taste is sought to be gratified as well as
hunger appeased ; for the hungry crab will refuse the tainted meat
which the lobster devours.

The sense of taste has no especial organ. Even in the higher
animals it is only a developed feature in the consciousness of the
surface upon which the food is brought into contact; and we can
scarcely expect to find it other in that of lower forms of life, where
probably it is present in a considerably less perfect state.

The food which the animal devours remains not in the mouth, but,
after being torn off by the powerful mandibles, is passed instantly
through the short cesophagus into the stomach, where it undergoes
the different processes of trituration and digestion. The food is
swallowed eagerly, sometimes one extremity of a piece being in the
stomach before the other is in the mouth. I recollect once feeding a
poor little fellow that appeared to be very hungry, having been neg-
lected probably for some days. The food I gave him, a piece of

6686 Crustacea.

fresh mussel, he gluttonously endeavoured to bolt; but it was too
large and too thick; he got one half into his stomach, but the other
he could not get into his mouth; he struggled and pulled and tugged
in vain; the piece was too large to swallow, and his mouth was so
widely stretched that he could not bite it in two; so he tried to pull
it back again, but failed to do so, pull and tug as much as he would.
He tried and tried in vain; and repeated failures evidently produced
alarm. His eyes began to stare, and he tossed about his arms. He
raised himself upon his hind feet, and, beating the water with the
others, he ran away erect. He strained himself to that extent that
he fell upon his back a struggling, choking crab! and if he had not
been already green, he would most assuredly have gone black in the
face. He was in such a fright! I came to his rescue, and pulled
the piece of meat from his greedy mouth, to his great comfort and
greater relief. He took care not to eat so fast again, and to bite meat
before he swallowed it, all the rest of his life, unless a crab is like
some individuals among a higher order, who never learn by ex-
perience.

The crab is not a daily feeder; few carnivora are. Having satis-
fied his appetite, the greatest dainty may live in peace within his
reach, as a nipper-crab of Mr. Couch’s did with a Montagu’s sucker
for several days, although it fell a prey to him at last.

The stomach in Crustacea is very complicated. It is formed for
grinding up the food. Three calcareous plates, with serrated surfaces,
meet together at a common point, and do the work of mastication.
Digestion then goes on, and the altered food mixes with the bile as
it passes out of the stomach, when it is ready to be taken up asa
repairing-supply to meet the general wear and tear of the tissues of
the body.

The stomach differs not much in Crustacea generally ; it is more
strong, and with calcareous plates and teeth, in the larger kinds, but
has ciliated plates and fine hairs in the smaller and weaker forms.

‘I'he mouth of the crab is protected by several pairs of limbs that
overlie the mandibles, and the outermost are formed into a broad
operculum that encloses and protects the whole. — In the lobster and
prawn the operculum is less perfect, and the leg-like character of the
appendages more apparent. ‘This increases the lower we proceed,
until the leg is developed in all its proportions, as seen in the Edri-
ophthalmic Crustacea, where there are present two pairs more than
belong to the higher types. The Gnathopoda, which in the higher

Crustacea. 6687

forms merely brush and protect the mouth, in the lower fulfil the
office of hands, and supply the mouth with food.

The hands of the crabs belong to the third pair of legs, and but
little fulfil the duty of such, except when climbing over some uneven
rock or surface. They are developed into a finger and thumb claw,
and have the power of firmly grasping any substance. In supplying
themselves with food the claws are very efficient organs; but they
are somewhat differently used by some than others: the crab is
more gluttonous in its character, and snatches the food to its mouth
and greedily devours it; not so the graceful prawn and curious
soldier-crab.

Look in the vivarium, and see the transparent prawn. Look how
it holds the mass of food in one hand, and tears off small pieces with
the other, which it lifts to its mouth and eats, not in a crab-like man-
ner, but in a quiet, easy, comfortable way, as if it knew how to enjoy
an agreeable occupation ; nor is it so selfish but that another, with-
out raising its anger, may snatch a piece away; but the stranger
must not take too much. What gentleman likes to lose his dinner?

But the soldier-crab I have most watched, and look upon as a par-
ticular pet. It lives in the shell of a dead mollusk, which it occupies
and carries about as a tenant-at-will. It has one of its claw-formed
arms longer than the other; with the shorter, which in most spe-
cies is the left, it holds its food, and with the right he tears it away
piece by piece and puts it into his mouth. But this sociable indi-
vidual does not often dine alone: Mr. Gosse, in one of his pleasant
sea-side books, tells us how his meal is shared by a beautiful nereid
worm. ‘The soft and serpent-like annelide smells the repast that the
master of the house is enjoying, and, like a wily guest, takes care
to be present at the meal, even though unbidden. See! beneath
the crab the beautiful head glides out. While the self-confident
owner is devouring one piece, and in his full enjoyment looking
round and perhaps admiring the submarine scenery, the worm attacks
that which is in the other hand; by little and little the crab feels it
going, and makes an effort to stop 1t on the way; but it evidently can
be seen, by his manner, that he cannot believe that any one would be
so rude as to steal his dinner out of his very mouth, and does not
think much about the undevoured food, but which nevertheless is
slowly, gradually and surely taken away.

Did the reader ever hold a handkerchief or any other thing firmly
in his hand, determined that the object should not be lost, and
after some time has looked down and perceived that it was gone?

6688 Crustacea.

Just so with the crab: he feels it going, and he grasps it tight; after
atime the hold relaxes, the meat is pulled again, and the hand is
grasped the tighter; but confidence in its security again loosens the
grasp, and the cautious thief steals more gently, but perseveres until
the meat is procured, and then quietly retires, and within the shell
devours the meal that his friend procured for himself. Having
eaten his first mouthful and found the food most palatable, the crab
looks down and finds his dinner gone. He knew he had it in his
firm grasp, and will not believe his eyes. He looks and turns and
twists about. It must have fallen down; he looks, and, like a human
being, looks everywhere but where it is ; and evidently you can see it
in his face that the last suspicion in his mind is that his friend has
stolen his dinner. He would not do it, sir! Poor, confiding crab!

In these cases we perceive that the food which they have eaten has
been brought within their reach by some fortunate circumstance; but
occasionally hunger tempts them to go in search of prey; and herein
they frequently exhibit considerable ingenuity: we have it upon the
authority of a correspondent in the ‘ Magazine of Natural History’
for 1831, that a crab has been observed to make an effort to attack
an oyster in its strong recess; but the cautious oyster, by some
instinctive perception, knew that an enemy was near, and invariably
closed his shells whenever the crab tried to insert his claws between
them. But the crab was hungry; he made several attempts, and met
with the same result: the oyster had an objection to be eaten.

It may be in the memory of others besides myself, that in the
Natural History instruction of school-days we were told how a
famous fox would catch a crab. The sly and clever Reynard knew
that to catch him in his mouth the crab had claws to bite, and that
he might catch him by his nose, of which he was very careful, besides
his objection to dipping it into the salt water, which in itself is not
pleasant. So to prevent any disagreeable consequence, as well as to
succeed in his desire, he teases the poor crab with his soft, bushy tail,
which in weak revenge the crab firmly grasps in his strong nip-
pers and there holds firm. The wicked and cunning fox then runs
away, and pulls the crab ashore, where he destroys and devours him
at his will. Gulliver, in his Brobdignagian travels, tells us how birds
of prey, in that remote country, have the same habits as those of more
known lands; and when they have a mollusk of which they cannot
crack the shell, fly with it in their mouths to the higher regions of
the air, and let the poor thing fall. The bird then descends to the
earth, and devours the animal yet writhing in the broken shell.

Crustacea. 6689

Every one knows how the thrush carries the snail to a favourite stone
and smashes the shell, and what a charnel-house the spot looks like
with the remains all strewed about. But these may not be thought
to rank as cases analogous to the task which the lobster has before
him, to dine upon his marine neighbour; although they are each
respectively examples of instinct peculiarly apposite to the required
circumstances. But nearer the mark, and founded upon the autho-
rity of Carreri Gamelli, we are informed that the orang-otang (Szmza
Sulyrus) feeds upon a large species of oyster, fresh taken from the
water; and that, fearful of inserting his paws into the shell, lest the
oyster should close and crush them, his custom is to insert a stone
between the valves as they are peacefully opened in the calm enjoy-
ment of the incoming tide. Tle then drags out his victim with
safety. Ever since the veritable history has been written and
painted of the selfish ape that used the cat to draw the burning
chesnut from the fire, few things have been thought beyond a mon-
key’s wisdom, and some metaphysicians allow them a certain degree
of reason on account of the superiority of their instinct; and there-
fore it appears not strange or new. But few will perhaps be prepared
to learn that this is the plan the crab pursued. When he found that
the oyster was too wide awake, he watched in patience until his prey,
supposing all things to be safe, opened the valves again; he then
quickly inserted a stone. Alas! for the poor oyster; it never closed
its valves again.

But it is not always that the devourer comes off so successful as the
crab in this instance. My friend Mr. Barlee once dredged a mussel
holding tight the claw of a crab. I think the history is evident. The
crab, as in the former instance, wished to dine at the expense of his
neighbour, but was not experienced enough to get off scot free. The
mussel did not close the shell in time to keep out his claw. He
must have been a very young crab, without doubt a green one; for
when he put in his claw the mussel closed, and held it tight.
Anchored to the spot by the byssus, the mussel grasped the arm of
the crab, and never let it go again. We can only judge the sorrow
of others by imagining ourselves in similar conditions. Fancy the
boy that is tempted to steal apples finding his arm caught in a trap;
but how much worse if that trap should never let go again. Such
was the trap that caught the crab. What would the boy do? Not
all man’s boasted reason or grand philosophy could make him equal
the instinct and power of the crab. After every attempt to free it
from the shell had proved how useless was the effort, the crab went
away and left his arm behind,—a capability he has at will.

XVII. at

6690 Crustacea.

These observations upon the instinct that Crustacea exhibit in
procuring their food are exhibited from species that belong to the
shores of Great Britain. But the power has been as strongly exem-
plified in exotic tribes, as may be seen by the habits of a species of
Grapsus upon the small islet of St. Paul’s. The noddy, a species of
tern, builds a simple nest with sea-weed. “By the side of many
of these nests,” says Mr. Darwin, in his pleasant ‘ Naturalist’s
Voyage,’ “a small flying fish was placed, which, I suppose, had been
brought by the male bird for its partner. It was amusing to watch
how quickly a large and active crab, which inhabits the crevices of
the rock, stole the fish from the side of the nest as soon as we had
disturbed the parent birds. Sir W. Symonds, one of the few persons
who have landed here, informs me that he saw the crabs dragging
even the young birds out of their nests, and devouring them.”

[ have before alluded to the Crustacea as being fond of vegetable
food as well as animal. <A striking example we have, upon the same
authority as the preceding. A crab, closely allied to, if not identical
with, the Birgus latre (a genus near to our soldier-crab), is found on
all parts of the dry land, and grows to a monstrous size, on the islets
around Keeling Island: they live upon the cocoa-nuts that fall from
the trees which flourish there. “The first pair of legs terminate in
very strong and heavy pincers, and the last pair are fitted with others
weaker and much narrower. It would at first be thought quite im-
possible for a crab to open a strong cocoa-nut covered with husk ;
but Mr. Liesk assures me that he has repeatedly seen this effected.
The crab begins by tearing off the husk, fibre by fibre, and always
from that end under which the three eye-holes are situated ; when
this is completed, the crab commences hammering with its heavy
claws on one of the eye-holes till an opening is made; then, turning
round its body, by the aid of its posterior and narrow pair of pincers,
it extracts the white albuminous substance. I think,” continues Mr.
Darwin, “ this is as curious a case of instinct as ever I heard of, and
likewise of adaptation in structure between two objects apparently so
remote from each other in the scheme of nature as a crab and a
cocoa-nut tree.” “It has been stated by some authors that the
Birgos crawls up the cocoa-nut trees for the purpose of stealing the
nuts: I very much doubt the possibility of this; but with the Bada-
nus the task would be much easier. 1 was told by Mr. Liesk that on
these islands the Birgos lives only on the nuts which have fallen to
the ground.” “To show the wonderful strength of the front pair of
pincers, | may mention that Admiral Morseby confined one in a

Crustacea. 6691

strong tin box, which had held biscuits, the lid being secured with
wire ; but the crab turned down the edges and escaped. In turning
down the edges, it actually punched many small holes quite through
the tin!”

But Crustacea, upon the whole, must be viewed as carnivorous
animals ; and, as I have before remarked, they are occasionally can-
nibals, but this only, I believe, when in an extreme state of hunger.
Like most Carnivora, the crab does not feed every day ; and perhaps
occasionally when it wants food it cannot get it; then itis that it
attacks its own species. In this way generally the smaller forms fall
a prey to the greater; but sometimes an attack is made upon one
that, though weaker, is big enough to show fight, and can greatly
annoy with the powerful nippers the one that is feeding upon hin ;
it is then the instinct is exhibited by the stronger in biting or
so wounding the claws of the weaker that they-are thrown off, and
the foolish creature that has thrown away his only protection easily
becomes the prey of his stronger brother; at least so infers Mr.
Gregson in the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1857, from observations on Carcinus
Meenas in his own vivarium.

These several observations in different species all exhibit a higher
amount of instinctive power than animals so low in the scale of
beings are supposed to enjoy; and, moreover, it shows that in the
procuring of their food they are not simply the sea-scavengers, and
are no more to be considered as such than many fish. It is probable
that the smaller tribes of Crustacea come more under this appella-
tion, since the Talitri feed upon the offal that is found beneath the
festering weed thrown up by the sea, which they generally devour
where they find it; but upon being disturbed they run off to their
holes in the sand, and, like careful purveyors, carry away with them
some food, that they may devour at their more convenient pleasure.

The opossum-shrimp (Mysis), which abounds in such numbers in
most estuaries, forming a band many feet wide, is a very greedy
feeder “ seizing and eating every animal substance which the current
or tide carries along with it, and contending like vultures for the
possession of large masses. When confined together in a vessel of
sea-water they will even act the cannibal, killing and devouring one
another.” (Mag. Nat. Hist. iv. 258). The unhallowed creatures !

(To be continued.)

6692 Insects.

How to cure Grease in Insects. — Nothing can be more disfiguring to a collection
of insects than grease, a single oily specimen being sufficient to spoil the appearance
of an entire drawer. The usual method of removing it is, to immerse the insect for a
certain period in camphine, rectified spirits of turpentine, borneote of petroline, &c.,
according to the fancy of the respective operators; and, after having dried it with
blotting-paper, to envelope it in magnesia or finely-powdered chalk, which is after-
wards removed with a camel’s-hair brush. But, however well this may be done, the
insect rarely possesses, after the operation, its original fresh and downy appearance ;
it is always liable to become again greasy, and not unfrequently, especially in the
case of the Geometrae, the wings become hopelessly crumpled; at any rate, I have
experienced all these misfortunes. But irrespective of these objections, whether well
or ill-founded, “ prevention is better than cure;” and as an unfailing means of pro-
curing the former desirable result, I submit to your readers the subjoined method,
which I have tried, with complete success, for some years past. As the Bombyces are
especially liable to grease, let us take Notodonta dictza (male) as an illustration of
my system. When the insect has been on the setting-board a sufficiently long time
to render the contents of the body firm and viscid (not hard), remove it. Take a pair
of fine-pointed, sharp scissors, and cut, from the under side of the body, a small slip,
2.€., beginning at the extremity of the abdomen, on the left-hand side, cut up to the
thorax; and having done the same with the right side, remove the slip thus made.
Care of course must be taken not to cut too deep. Take now a penknife, and,
inserting the point at the thorax, draw it geutly down each side of the body. This
can readily be done if the contents are not hard, and in most cases the whole can be
picked out in one lump with the point of the knife. This being prosperously effected,
carefully break off the body immediately (otherwise the grease will run into the
thorax, and your labour be in vain); and having done this, take a fine pin, and run it
through one side of the empty body, for about one-eighth of aninch. Let it remain
for two or three days, and then immerse it any of the above-named fluids for about
six hours. Afterwards dry it on blotting-paper, which in most cases will be found
sufficient. Very feathery bodies, however, will be improved by covering them fora
day with magnesia, after having been dried for a quarter of an hour or so upon the
blotting-paper. After this process the body will be found wholly free from grease,
and may be re-united to the insect with a little strong gum. If kept for years it will
never grease; aud a second advantage is, that, all moisture being removed, the pin
cau never be crusted with verdigris. The object of running a pin through the side is,
first, that by means of it the body can be removed from the camphine, with a pair of
scissors, without injury; and, secondly, for the purpose of attaching a little paper
label to it. It would obviously be a troublesome business thus to wash out each
body as it became ready. Having therefore, suppose, twelve pupe of N. dictea,
which emerge at different times during a fortnight, I clean each as it is ready, and,
having broken off the body, attach to the pin a little paper label, numbered 1, 2, 3, 4,
corresponding with a similar Jabel attached to the insect. This is of course that each
insect may obtain its own “‘ corpus.” The number must be written in pencil, as, if in
ink, it will be obliterated. The body will sometimes (for what reason I know not) be
filled with a dark fluid. In this case take a little roll of blotting-paper, and fix it in
the body. This will absorb the moisture. Afterwards immerse it in the camphine,
&c., as above. The method may appear elaborate, but in reality is as simple as pos-
sib'e. It demands a little trouble, no doubt; but what of that? The result more than

Insects. 6693

repays you. It may also be objected that this is “patching” an insect. I can
only say that I am willing to mix up, patched and unpatched, the above dozen
insects, and to challenge any eye to detect the difference. ‘The only drawback to my
method that I am conscious of is that sometimes the body contracts. This, however,
may almost always be obviated by not “ operating” too soon, and by letting the body
remaiu some days before immersion into the camphine. A little practice and perseve-
rance will soon make perfect, and no one deserves the name of entomologist who will
not devote a little of each to make his collection worthy of inspection. Though my
plan, be it good or bad, applies of course chiefly to insects taken or bred by myself, I
adopt it, whenever I can, with those I obtain from my correspondents. In this latter
case the operation is much more difficult, owing to the hardness, and in some instances
the antiquity, of the specimens sent. I “clean out” ali my own insects, even the
litile “ pugs.” I may remark here, however, that females seldom grease. If the
wings of the insect, when removed from the setting-board, are not thoroughly dried,
the insect can of course be replaced. It may perhaps have occurred to some of your
readers (as it has to me) that when an insect has been taken at sugar, it (the sugar)
will exude, and spoil the body. In this case I also break off the body, and soak it for
half a day in water, and then place it on blotting-paper before a fire for some hours.
This completely removes it. I shall be happy to give any further information to any
one who may think it worth his while to apply to me for it.— Joseph Greene; Cubley
Rectory, Doveridye, Derby.

Capture of Pieris Daplidice on the Kent Coast.—Mr. H.J. Harding, whose name
as a most assiduous collector is so familiar to us all, has been fortunate enough to take
two specimens of this, the rarest of British butterflies. They were taken at Kingsdown,
close to the sea-coast, and had probably just been blown over from the coast of
France. The days of capture were the Ist and 18th of August.—Hdward Newman.

Deilephila Galit.—An unusual number of the larve of this insect have been found
near the south-east coast, feeding on the lady’s bedstraw. I have heard of more than
seventy ; thirty-six have fallen to the lot of one entomologist. Other examples of the
same insect have been found on Fuchsias near London.—d.

A Ray of Light on the Food-plant of Sphinx Convolvuli.—A friend of mine, long
resident in Paris, has, year after year, found the larve of Sphinx Convolvuli feeding
on cultivated balsams in the gardens of the Luxembourg. I have seen the moths bred
from them, and there is no doubt whatever about the species. Balsams are now in
perfection, and entomologists will do well to look under them for the very conspicuous
droppings of this huge caterpillar. A chrysalis has been dug up in a potato field
near Brighton, and sold for Acherontia Atropos.—Jd.

Gastropacha ilicifolia.—On looking for larve on the Moors, with Mr. Baker, of
Heeley, we found some larve very like potatoria. On returning home we called on
Mr. W. Green, who was the original discoverer of G. ilicifolia, and who informed us of
our good fortune; he also, the day before, received some larve from off the Moors,
amongst which he was very glad also to find G. ilicifolia.— W. H. Smith; Ecclesall
New Road, Sheffield ; August 15, 1859.—[‘ Intelligencer.”]

Another Specimen of Sterrha sacraria. —I am indebted to Mr. Button, of Peck-
ham, for the sight of a living specimen of this rare British insect: he took it ata
lamp on Clapham Common, on Thursday evening, the 11th of August, and brought

it to me the same evening, purposely to afford me the pleasure of seeing it alive.—
Edward Newman.

6694 Insects.

Capture of Noctua flammatra in the Isle of Wight.—Iam happy to announce
the capture of a new Noctua, by Mr. Rogers, in the Isle of Wight. I was in com-
pany with him at the time, and saw the insect alive. At that time I was unable to
determine the species, assigning it a place between N. triangulum and N. rhomboidea.
Mr. Rogers kindly allowed me to make a drawing of his specimen, which I took with
me to London, and was enabled, through the kindness of Mr. Bond, to compare it
with specimens of “ N. (ochropleura) flammatra” in the British Museum, with which
it proved to be identical. This species is widely distributed, occurring in India and
throughout Europe, and, with very slight difference, in Brazil. It will be instantly
recognised by the intensely black collar, more conspicuous even than that of T.
pastinum ; otherwise the resemblance to an indistinctly-marked specimen of N. trian-
gulum is great, but it has a black central dash from the base of the fore wings. It is
rather singular that this is the third new Noctua which has occurred in the Isle of
Wight within the last few months.—W. D. Crotch ; London, August 26, 1859.

Heliothis scutosa near Poole. — On Monday, the 11th inst., as I was out with my
pupils collecting in this neighbourhood, one of them (Mr. D. A. Neilson) had the
good fortune to capture a specimen of this insect, which is now in my possession.—
C. R. Green ; Parsonage, Humworthy, near Poole, July 25.—[* Intelligencer.’]

[What is the Heliothis scutosa of British authors? and who named the Rev. Mr.
Green’s capture? The celebrated specimen called Heliothis scutosa, belonging to
the late Mr. Heysham, of Carlisle, and lately sold with the collection of that gentle-
man at Mr. J.C. Stevens’, for 28s., had no resemblance whatever to the Heliothis
scutosa of continental authors. Would it not be well for Mr. Green to submit his
supposed H. scutosa to Mr. Doubleday’s scrutiny ? No one will question that gentle-
man’s decision. But when the genus and species of a moth really unknown to us as
British are thus given by a gentleman whose very name we have not the privilege of
knowing, I feel that it is allowable to entertain some fears of a mistake. — Hdward
Newman. |

Description of the Larva of Eupithecia pimpinellata. —I am inclined to suspect
that this insect has been wrongly named. I have constantly and most closely
examined both flowers and seeds of Pimpinella magna and P. Saxifraga, but could never
detect the slightest trace of the larva. I have repeatedly beaten it from the flowers of
the golden rod (Solidago Virgaurea), and from that plant alone, though both species
of Pimpinella are common in the locality. The larva is fulvous, with a series of black
dorsal triangular spots, becoming confluent towards the head, and faint or altogether
evanescent on the caudal segment. On either side a row of conspicuous, slanting,
whitish or yellowish stripes, forming a sort of inargin to the dorsal spots. Belly dusky,
reddish in the centre, and having a dusky central line running the whole length.
Body studded with various-sized white tubercles, and thinly clothed with short hairs.
Feeds upon the flowers of Solidago Virgaurea, in August and September. I have
found it by no means rare in the Kentish woods, where the underwood is from one to
two years’ growth, and the golden rod has room to grow and flower freely. In con-
finement the larva will feed freely upon Senecio Jacobea and S. palustris. The pupa,
which is enclosed in a slightly-spun earthen cocoon, is very distinct from all the rest
of the family. The thorax is yellowish green, with a very accurately and distinctly-
defined border, and looks almost as if set in a frame. When examined with a glass
some singular dark spots and markings are seen, which give it very much the appear-
ance of a skull. ‘The abdomen is yellowish red, with two indistinct interrupted dorsal,

Insects. 6695

and two more distinct subdorsal, dusky lines. Wing-cases yellowish olive, streaked
with dusky markings, and having the nervures very prominent. The perfect insect
appears in May and the beginning of June. The larva is rather slender, and tapers
towards the head; in general appearance it resembles E. castigiata and E. vulgata.
—H. Harpur Crewe ; Fernhill, near Oswestry, August 8, 1859.

Description of the Larva of Eupithecia vulgata.—Common as this insect is every-
where, the larva seems to be but little known. I have never myself beaten it, but
have several times reared it from the egg. It so closely resembles that of E. casti-
giata that it requires a very practised eye to distinguish it. It is slender, and
tapers towards the head. Its general colour is reddish brown or dusky olive ; along
the centre of the back a chain of dirty, greenish, lozenge-shaped spots, becoming con-
fluent at the capital and anal segments. Spiracular line waved, yellowish, occasion-
ally interrupted with black. Segmental divisions orange. The whole body studded
with minute white tubercles, and sparingly clothed with short whitish hairs. Feeds
on whitethorn ; full-fed the middle of July. The pupa is enclosed in an earthen
cocoon ; it is slender and delicate. Head, thorax, and wing-cases olive. Abdomen
reddish, sharply pointed.—Jd.

Note on the Larva of Eupithecia assimilata. —'The Rev. H. H. Crewe proposes
(Zool. 6579) to give us an accurate description of some one species of Eupithecia
Jarva each month, as he may be able, and commences with E. assimilata. Few
people could be found better pleased than I was when I read his proposal, and few
more disappointed when I read his professed accurate description of the larva of the
above insect. In some running notes on the genus Eupithecia, in the ‘ Intelligencer,’
I gave a rough description of this species, which all who run might read. This
description is so much at variance with Mr. Crewe’s “accurate” description that
one of us must be wrong. Mr. Crewe tells us that the larva of E. assimilata is three-
quarters of an inch in length. I gave no size; but perhaps Mr. Crewe will excuse
me if I now say that a full-fed larva of this species will almost measure twice the size
he gives; hence he has evidently been describing poor, half-grown, sickly larve. The
time he gives, “‘ October 13—15,” would also mislead any one who wished to breed
fine specimens ; for though no one will doubt that he took his larve at that date, still
I hope those who wish to breed this species will give themselves a full month’s mar-
gin, else they will not breed any males worth setting. Some of Mr. Crewe’s remarks
are right, and others wrong; the first and last are certainly correct. When he
speaks of a dorsal line, no one would suspect that he was describing the lozenge- or
diamond-shaped markings which are so conspicuous an object in one or two groups of
this genus, and particularly so in E. assimilata. Perhaps I ought to apologize to.
Mr. Crewe for venturing to dispute his accuracy; but as I have made the genus
Eupithecia my especial study for many years, I think he will excuse me, particularly
as my only object is to ensure accuracy for the future. On the 29th of March, 1856,
I exhibited this genus, re-arranged according tu my ideas, at the Northern Entomo-
logical Society ; and at the following June meeting I read a paper on the food of the
larve of the genus. At the following meeting I exhibited about fifteen species of
this genus in the larva state, alive. Thus Mr. Crewe will see that I know a little
about the genus Eupithecia, and this may perhaps incline him to excuse my seeming
presumption. In conclusion, I hope that more than one of the promised descriptions
will be given each month.—C. S. Gregson ; Stanley, Liverpool, June 26, 1859.

Larve, or Descriptions of Larvae, earnestly desired. — As I am now engaged in

6696 Insects.

describing the British moths and their caterpillars for the monthly numbers of ‘ Young
England,’ I consider it most desirable to make the descriptions directly from speci-
mens, without any reference whatever to prior descriptions. The rich collection of
moths in the cabinet of the Entomological Club affords me the means of describing
with the most painstaking accuracy all the perfect insects; and the equally rich col-
lection in the British Museum, always accessible for such an object, is the source to
which my friend Mr. Willis has gone for his admirable figures of each species. But
it is not equally easy to obtain ihe characters of larve. Those published in this
country, J regret to say, are often most inaccurate, a fact arising from their being copied
(avowedly) from continental writers, and these continental writers not having sufli-
ciently respected the law of priority: thus we find that the names employed by
Guenée and Doubleday, and now universally adopted in this country, continually
differ from those of Duponchel, Hubner, Freyer, &c.; and the descriptions, however
accurate as applied by these authors, become useless if transferred to other spe-
cies now bearing the very same names. Under these circumstances the readers of
the ‘Zoologist’ cannot render a greater service to entomological science than by
sending me minute descriptions of all the larve that fall in their way; or, should they
consider this too troublesome, I shall be obliged for the larve themselves, from which
to make my own descriptions. As a guide to what are more immediately wanted, I
may state that the September number will contain the genera Trichiura, Pecilocampa,
Eriogaster and Bombyx; the October number, Odonestis, Lasiocampa, Endromis
and Saturnia; the November number commences the Geometre. I wish most dis-
tinctly to state that I have no interest whatever in the sale of ‘Young England; but
I do most sincerely desire to make my contributions to it as accurate as possible, with
the sole view of conferring real utility on a work that has already attained a circula-
tion which I believe to be fully tenfold that of any entomological writings ever
before printed. I shall, with scrupulous exactness, give every contributor either of
larve or descriptions full credit for his assistance.~Edward Newman.

Notes on Wasps. —I was much pleased with Dr. Ormerod’s paper (Zool. 6641).
It is there shown that wasps (vr even hornets) are not the very irascible insects most
people suppose. Apart from their nests and young they never act offensively ; and I
have noticed, many years ago, that when wasps are in a predatory mood they are always
great cowards, and never attack any one. The whole of the Hymenoptera with stings
are the same. Walk into a field of Dutch clover (Trifolium repens), with fully-deve-
loped blossoms, where tens of thousands of bees of all sorts are congregated: they
make a great buzz, and appear angry at being disturbed at their pasture; but not one
will ever attack an intruder. But to return to wasps, I do not remember a season
in Gloucestershire with so few wasps as up to this day (August 3); the queeus
were numerous about the end of April and beginning of May, and I killed a great
many; perhaps the cold easterly winds destroyed most of them. Last year they were
so numerous as to be troublesome, but plums and wall fruit were in abundance: this
year pears, plums and peaches, the principal food of wasps, are few and far between ;
and the same cold winds and ungenial weather seem to have destroyed both the wasps
aud their food. J am of opinion that the three most common British wasps begin
with a single queen.— H. W. Newman; Cheltenham, August 3, 1859.

Insects. 6697

Ants store the Seeds of Violets.—Is it quite well known, and therefore a “ mare’s
nest” of mine, that the common garden ants collect violet seed in and around their
subterranean galleries? I have a large bank of violets facing the “sweet South,” and
all the ants’ nests within some yards are covered with the violet-seeds (which ripen
about this time). The seeds are white, hard and shining, and very like the pups of
the insect. I watched the insects bringing out the seeds from their holes on fine days,
as they do their pup. Can this be a case of mistaken instinct? They collect them
so abundantly as to be a convenient source from whence to preserve the seed if wanted.
—J. B. Spencer ; 9, Kidbrooke Terrace, Blackheath, July 2, 1859.

A Fortnight at Hornsea, Yorkshire.—In the immediate vicinity of Hornsea, a
small village on the coast of Holderness, Yorkshire, there is a large sheet of water
called Hornsea Mere. This Mere is two miles long and three-quarters of a mile
broad ; one side is wooded to the water’s edge; the rest is surrounded by pasture-land
and meadows. Though this attractive spot is almost unknown to the entomologist,
it has not produced so many rarities as perhaps might have been expected, which may
be attributed in a very great measure to the weather, the month of July being one of
those least prolific in insect life, especially Coleoptera. That part which is wooded is
by far the most productive, the margin being lined with quantities of cut reeds, which
when turned over can scarcely fail to present to the view something worth having.
The coast, with its cliffs and sand-hills, has also received some attention. The latter,
overgrown with Arenariz, Zostera marina, and Ononis vulgaris, harbour several local
insects, which are to be obtained by uprooting the plants. The soil of the whole
district is exceedingly sandy. I will proceed to enumerate those beetles which
were taken at the Mere, including a few species and specimens which fell to my lot
when over for a day in the middle of June. The following are the Geodephaga,
exclusive of common species :—

Elaphrus riparius. Anchomenus pelidnus (60).
Oodes helopivides (10). Pterostichus anthracinus.
Chlenius nigricornis. C. holosericeus is 3 gracilis (2).
said to have been taken here, but ai minor (10).
probably in the spring months. Us erythropus.
Synuchus rivalis (2). ss strenuus.
Anchomenus viduus (4). Bembidium obliquum (1). Rare.
? piceus. Abundant. Be assimile.

As the geographical distribution of the Brachelytra is yet but little known, nearly
all the species taken are mentioned :—

Homolota graminicola, Grav. Philonthus micans, Grav. (10). Local.
- elongatula, Grav. ei aterrimus, Grav.
Deinopsis fuscatus, Matthews (2). Rare. . cinerascens, Grav. (4). Local.
Tachyporus chrysomelinus, Linn. Quedius impressus, Payh.
* pusillus, Grav. = fuliginosus, Grav.
Conosoma littoreum, Linn. 3 maurorufus, Grav, (3). Rare.
Tachinus marginellus, Fab. 53 ruficollis, Steph.
M ycetoporus longulus, Mann. Lathrobium elongatum, Linn.
Xantholinus punctulatus, Payh. " fulvipenne, Grav.
Philonthus umbratilis, Grav. (6). Local. es brunnipes, Fab.
“3 corvinus, Erich, (2). Rare. - quadratum, Pay.

XVII. 3D

6698 Entomological Society.

Stenus bimaculatus, Gyll. Stenus plantaris, Zr. (6). Uncommon.
» Juno, Fab. » latifrons, Hr. (2). Rare.
» buphthalmus, Grav. Oxytelus rugosus, Fab.

vafellus, Hr, (1). Rare.

”

All worth mentioning belonging to the other divisions is Donacia impressa. The
sand-hills and cliffs have yielded in Geodephaga :—

Nebria livida.

Calathus flavipes.

» mollis. Abundant.

Synuchus vivalis (10).

Anchomenus elongatus, Dej.? The insect which is supposed to be this species
was taken at the base cf the cliffs, under some dead thistles. It was sent off by post
the following day ; but before it reached its destination the box came open, and the
insect disappeared. It is a great misfortune that this new British species should have
thus been lost. I have not yet seen a genuine A. elongatus, Dej.; when I have I may
write more confidently. The following description is what I remember : — Greenish
brass. Narrower than A. viduus or A. levis. Autenne black, basal joint red. Elytra
having on each a series of six distinct punctures, four in close succession on the third
interstice, and two either on the second stria or second interstice. Legs black; tibize
and tarsi testaceous. Length 33 or 4 lines. A single individual of A. elongatus is
said to have been taken, twenty-eight years ago, near Lowestoft (vide ‘ Annual, 1857).

Broscus cephalotes. Several.

Amara acuminata.

» fulva (40).
»» convexiuscula (12).
» Lrechus discus (2).
Bembidium eneum.
= littorale. Four or five of a singular variety which has been taken in
several parts of the Yorkshire coast, by the Rev. William Hey and myself. It differs
from typical B. littorale in being smaller, narrower, and having the spots much more
widely spread and conspicuous.
ns tibiale. Several.
I found B. concinnum, B. affine and B. gilvipes at Withernsea, a little lower down the
coast. The Brachelytra found on the sand-hills at Hornsea are not worth recording.
I captured Anobium molle in a window of the Marine Hotel. ‘The fortnight
commenced July 7th.—W. K. Bissill; August 12, 1859.

Proceedings of Societies.
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
August 1, 1859.—J. O. Westwoop, Esq., F.L.S., in the chair.

Donations.

The following donations were announced, and thanks ordered to be presented to
the donors: —‘ Proceedings of the Royal Society, Vol. x., No. 35; presented by the
Society. ‘Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. iv., No. 13 ; by

Entomological Society. 6699

the Society. ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London,’ Nos. 370—391 ; by
the Society. ‘Catalogus Hemipterorum, Herausgegeben von dem Entomologischen
Verein zu Stettin;’ by the Society. ‘ Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Koniglichen
Zovlogisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien, Jahrgang 1858;’ by the Society.
‘ Errinerung an Mitglieder der Mathematisch-Physikalischen Classe der Koniglich
Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, von Dr. Carl Friedrich Philipp von Mar-
tius, Secretari der gennanten Classe ; ‘ Monumenta Secularia, II. Classe; ‘ Alma-
nack fir das Jahr. 1859 ;? by the Koniglich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaf-
ten. ‘ Farm Insects, No. 2; by the Author, J. Curtis, F.L.S., &ce. ‘ The Zoologist’
- for July; by the Editor. ‘The Literary Gazette’ for July; by the Editor. ‘ The
Journal of the Society of Arts’ for July; by the Society.

The following works were announced to have been recently purchased for the
Society’s Library : — Mulsant, ‘ Coleoptéres de France, 8 Vols. Silberman, ‘ Revue
Entomulogique,’ 5 Vols. Erichson, ‘ Naturgeschichte der Insecten Deutschlands,’
Vol. i. Fas. 1—3; ii., 1—6; iii. and iv., 1 and 2. Ratzeburg, ‘ Die Forst Insecten,’
6 Vols. Germar, ‘ Zeitschrift far Entomologie, 5 Vols. Koch, ‘ Arachniden,’ 16
Vols. ; and ‘ Uerbersicht des Arachniden Systems, 5 Parts.

Mr. H. W. Bates, Corresponding Member of the Society, who had lately arrived
in England, was present, and very cordially received by the Meeting. He has
devuted the last thirteen years to the investigation of the Entomology of the Valley
of the Amazons; and the collections which he has from time to time forwarded to
this country sufficiently attest his energy and perseverance under the dangers and
hardships to which he has been exposed.

Exhibitions.

Mr. M‘Lachlan exhibited specimens of Cuchylis Francillana, with the pupa-cases
from which they were bred, projecting from a stem of the wild carrot, in which the
larva feeds ; they were found in February last, at Forest Hill. Also specimens of
Rhodophea rubrotibiella, taken recently at Forest Hill, in the same locality as the two
specimens exhibited hy him at the meeting of the Society in September last, and then
new to Britain.

Mr. M‘Lachlan also exhibited an example of Ochsenheimeira vacculella found at
Lewisham, on the 28th ult.,in a most singular situation for the imago of a Lepi-
dopterous insect, namely, under close bark on the stump of an old alder tree, about
three feet from the ground.

Mr. Bond exhibited the larva of Drilus flavescens, found near Folkestone.

Mr. Lewis exhibited a living example of Chlenius Schrankii, of which he had
lately taken about sixty specimens near Luccombe, Isle of Wight.

Dr. Wallace exhibited a specimen of Deilephila lineata, taken by Dr. Burkill, in
1856, at Tremeri, in Ireland; and Agrotis valligera, from the same locality. He also
exhibited examples of the following species, which he had lately found on a recent
visit to Waterford, namely, Leucania littoralis, Mamestra abjecta, Cidaria populata,
Larentia salicaria, Eupithecia denotaria, EK. constrictaria, E. satyraria, Acidalia im-
mutaria, and A. inornaria. Euchelia Jacobee and Cetonia aurata were in great
plenty in the neighbourhood ; the latter species, he was informed, had been very rare
till late years.

Mr. Mitford exhibited fine specimens of Trochilium Chrysidiformis, Timandra
prataria, and Spilodes palealis, taken near Folkestone,

6700 Species of Bovine Animals.

Mr. Westwood exhibited a mass of the empty cocoons of Ilythia sociella, for-
warded to him by Professor Harvey, of Dublin, of which the Irish naturalists had
failed in determining the nature, which had been taken from the stomach of a cow.
The only explanation which he could give of so unusual a situation was, that, as the
social caterpillars of these species frequent the nests of humble bees in considerable
numbers, it was probable that the cow, whilst grazing, had come upon the nest of a
moss-carder Bombus, and had chewed it together with the grass, the stomach not
having had the power to dissolve the mass of cocoons. Mr. Bond confirmed this
opinion, having found the mass of cocoons of the Ilythia in the nest of the moss-
carder bee.

Mr. Westwood had observed, last season, some elm trees near Oxford, which were
infested by the Scolytus destructor in the heat of the summer, exuded sap, and
attracted large quantities of insects. One of these, this season, has died off, stil
emitting small patches of extravasated sap: this had attracted vast quantities of
Cetonia aurata, the tree from the base of the trunk to the topmost branch being
covered by hundreds of specimens, in clusters of a dozen or score together, producing
shining masses visible at some distance, and which had attracted Mr. Westwoud’s
attention to the insects. Many had become so stupified from the fluid they had
imbibed that they had fallen down helplessly to the ground. Their sense of smeil
must have been extremely acute, and the odour of the sap (in very small quantities in
each place) very penetrative and diffusive, in order to have attracted so great an
assemblage of beetles.

Mr. Douglas remarked that an almost imperceptible exudation from the trunks of
trees was often caused by the young larva of Cossus ligniperda.

Mr. Tegetmeier described a practical application of Shirach’s discovery re-
specting the power of bees to raise a new queen from a neuter or worker grub;
by means of which the contents of old hives can be taken without destroying
the bees or sacrificing any brood. ‘The plan consists in driving out the queen,
and about half the bees, in the spring, and establishing them as a new swarm,
when the bees remaining in the old hive have tu rear a new queen from a worker
grub. From the time required to accomplish this, it follows that no eggs can be laid
for about three weeks ; by this time the workers producing eggs laid by the old queen
will have been hatched out, and the cells filled with honey, when the whole of the
bees are to be driven out, and the honey, which will be found perfectly free from
brood, retained for use. The plan had been very successfully worked at the bee-

house of the Apiarian Society, and specimens of the results were submitted to the
Meeting.—£. S.

Addendum to the Paper on Bovine Animals: the Cattle of Egypt and Nubia.—*‘ In
the upper countries the cattle are of a peculiar and probably distinct species of ox,
very much like our own, but with a hump on the back; and the females are, as milch
cows, good for nothing, being always nearly dry; so that we could scarcely ever pro-
cure cow’s milk, even when meeting with large herds of them, much as we should
lave preferred it to that of goats. Our common breed or species is also seen in
Nubia, &c., but more rarely. In most parts of Egypt, but especially in the lower pro-

Birds. 6701

vinces, the common and hump-backed cattle are in a great degree supplanted by the
buffalo, to which we were indebted for some of the milk obtained in Egypt, and all
the abominable mass of indigestible fibres sold for beef. The buffalo has not made its
way very far beyond the second cataract, or into Nubia. It is an excellent swimmer ;
thousands may be seen on the banks and shallows of the Nile during the heat of the
day, luxuriously reposing, with only their heads, or even the tips of their hippopota-
mus-like nuses, visible above water; the stream that is continually passing over them
bringing renewed coolness with it. At times one envies them their position.” (The
late Dr. W. Arnold Bromfield, in the ‘ Zoologist.’) As contrasted with the buffalo, of
course the humped cattle are “ very much like our own ;” but the hump is only one of
many distinctions, as already noticed in detail. We learn, however, something of the pre-
sent range of the domestic Indian buffalo in the valley ofthe Nile. The ox of Cochin
China, as noticed in Crawfurd’s ‘ Embassy to Siam and Cochin China,’ p. 479, “ is
a small animal, uniformly of a reddish brown colour, and destitute of the hump so
remarkable in the Fndian cattle.” It is not identified by this author with the hump-
less cattle of Siam, which he also notices. From Johnson’s ‘ Indian Field Sports’
(p. 24) it would appear that the gaour (Sos gaurus) inhabited the hill districts bor-
dering on the Damooda so late as about half a century ago; nor would it appear to
have been then of rare occurrence. Describing a “ hunquah,” or grand hunting
party, when the game had been driven from all quarters to a particular jungle, he
remarks, “ If any credit could be given to the assertions of the people, there were very
few of them who had not seen tigers, leopards, gours (a species of wild bullock), and
all sorts of wild animals in the course of the day.” The banteng (B. sondaicus), we
have lately been assured by our late and much-lamented friend Major Bedmore, is
found in the southernmost part of the Tenasserim provinces in large herds ; the ani-
mal so much resembling the humpless domestic cattle that our informant, at the time
of his personally observing them, was not aware that it constituted a peculiar wild
species. We have also learned that *‘ feral” humped cattle are numerous in parts of
the province of Mysore, where their beef is held in the highest estimation, and very
justly so, according to the judgment of our informant, who speaks from practical ex-
perience.—Editor of the ‘Indian Field,

Birds of Canada observed near Kingston during the Spring of 1858.
By Captain Henry HaApDFIELp.

Cedar Bird (Ampelis americana). March 8rd. Saw two of these
beautiful birds feeding on the berries of the mountain ash. It was a
frosty day, with about six inches of snow on the ground; but the
latter end of February had been mild, and the sun so powerful that
most of the snow had disappeared, which may account for their early
arrival. I subsequently observed a flock of about fifty in a large
willow by the road-side, and close to some houses. They did
not seem to be in the least disturbed by the foot passengers ; but on
the approach of a cart or carriage they would all rise together with
amazing rapidity, and, wheeling round the buildings, disappear in an

6702 Birds.

instant. The return to their favourite ash, for there was but one
covered with berries, was as sudden as their departure ; at one mo-
ment the tree might be empty, the next it was seen crowded with
these elegant birds, their glossy silk-like plumage glistening in the
sun. Their every attitude is graceful; and as I stood within ten
yards, gazing at them, I thought them the most gentle creatures I had -
ever beheld. Nevertheless, 1am bound to say that they are voracious
feeders, having found the throats of the specimens examined literally
crammed with berries. “ Lesser Waxwing” would perhaps have
been the more appropriate name.

Song Sparrow (fringilla melodia). March 3rd. Procured two.
On the 22nd of April observed one carrying building materials.

American Shrike (Zanius excubitor). March 8th. Having walked
through the snow to a very secluded spot about a mile from the town,
my attention was attracted by the plaintive and subdued notes of a
bird apparently concealed among the foliage of the fir trees over
head ; but, after vainly endeavouring to discover it, on emerging from
the wood I perceived it on one of the topmost branches of a lofty
tree, fully a hundred yards distant. Having to pass over an open
space, | was seen, and the shrike disappeared; but I had observed
that on a small-bird flying by he darted after it, but did not pursue it
to any great distance, speedily resuming its post of inspection. Al-
though I revisited the spot on the following day, I did not succeed in
finding it, but subsequently saw one or two which proved too shy and
wary to be approached. I had observed one, rather late in the
autumn, taking a southerly course; its flight was direct, but undu-
lated.

American Siskin (Fringilla psaltria). March 8th. Observed a few
feeding among the topmost branches of the pines; they were restless,
and, like the tits, in constant motion. Secured two specimens.

Snowy Owl (Siria# nyclea). March 18th. On passing through
some enclosed fields skirting the “‘ bush,” I was surprised and some-
what startled at seeing one of these noble-looking birds suddenly rise
from off the snake-fence, within a few yards of me, where it had sat
secure and unobserved, its plumage assimilating with the bleached
and weather-beaten palings: it was over the fence in an instant,
before I could get my gun to my shoulder. Knowing the sluggish
soporous nature of owls, and forgetting that this was the day-owl,
I momentarily expected to see it alight ; but on it went with buoyant
flight, never stopping till it had gained the shelter of a distant clump
of trees, among which it disappeared. Although in rapid pursuit, I

Birds. 6703

had not cleared half the distance when I discovered that I was
not the only enemy it had to contend with: some crows sallying from
the neighbouring wood attacked the poor owl, which was soon driven
from its position, and, being sorely harassed in its retreat, endea-
voured to avoid its persecutors, who had the advantage in speed, by
gradually rising until it had attained a considerable elevation. This
order of flight being unsuited to the pursuers, they gradually relaxed
their efforts; and there now remained but one crow in pursuit, which,
having momentarily succeeded in gaining the ascendant, made a
pounce at the owl, but whether a real attack or a feint the distance
prevented my seeing ; but, soon relinquishing the chase, it rejoined
its companions, and the persecuted bird was allowed to pursue its
course, and was soon lost sight of in the distance. The scene was an
exciting one, andI greatly coveted the prize, which I should probably
have secured had it not been for the untimely appearance of the
crows.

Migratory Pigeon (Columba migratoria). March 20th. At about
3 P.M. saw a flock of about forty or fifty, flying rather low in a north-
easterly direction. Though these are the first I have seen, I am
informed that on the morning of the 19th some were observed. On
the 21st, between 6 and 7 a.m. (there being a heavy gale from the
south-west) a vast number of pigeons passed over the suburbs of the
town, their flight low, in consequence of the violence of the wind.
Several small flocks were seen during the day, following the same
course. I understand that they have made their appearance some
weeks earlier than usual, which may be accounted for by the extreme
mildness of the season. On the 20th of May, on the passage from
Kingston to Toronto, when standing on the deck of the steamer, a
little before sunrise, a pigeon, coming from the American side of the
lake, passed close over my head, between the fore-mast and the fun-
nel. The rapidity of their flight is almost beyond belief: they no
sooner appear than they are gone ; and should the unwary gunner be
standing at ease, very possibly the pigeons may be a quarter of a mile
off before he has his gun to his shoulder. Having shot one in the
head, it towered to a considerable height, and then fell dead. Though
the length of the adult male is 174 inches, the body, exclusive of the
neck, measures but 44 inches.

Rusty Grackle (Gracula ferruginea). March 20th. In _ passing
through a wood my attention was attracted by notes somewhat
resembling those of the guinea-fowl. Following the direction of the
sound, I descried, among the branches of a large tree, a flock of

6704 Birds.

grackles. They were in perpetual motion, all singing together, if their
monotonous notes might be styled a song; but in the solitary wood
it had a pleasing effect. They frequent the marshes, and, like the
redwinged starling, roost, I believe, among the reeds, having observed
them assembling in great numbers of an evening in such localities.

Bluebird (Sylvia stalis). March 20th. Observed one of these
beautiful but common birds, so like the redbreast in figure.

Snowbird (Fringilla nivalis). March 29th. Observed one of these
common little birds, its black and white plumage making it re-
markable.

Robin (Turdus migratorius). March 29th. Observed the first
robin. On the 2Ist of April saw one picking up shavings in a
garden. ‘This is the first bird that I have noticed preparing its nest ;
for although the season has been an unusually mild one, the weather
has been rather cold for some days. On the 23rd found the robin’s
nest in the forked branch of a leafless willow, at about eight or nine
feet from the ground. It is composed externally of coarse grass,
intermixed with a few shavings, and has in its unfinished state a
rough lining of clay. The shavings being placed near the bottom,
the nest must have been almost wholly constructed between the
morning of the 21st and noon of the 23rd.

Black Hawk (Falco niger). March 30th. Saw what I believe to
have been one of these handsome birds, perched on the top of a lofty
tree on the border of a inarsh, but failed in my endeavours to get a
shot at it.

Pewee Flycatcher (Muscicapa nunciolo). March 10th. Saw two
or three on the banks of a stream, in a very sheltered situation ;
secured one specimen. On the 17th of April observed several at
the entrance of the Ridean Canal. They were taking flies from off
the surface of the water; and I also noticed that they occasionally
dropped on it for a second or two with expanded wings. After cap-
turing a fly, they would turn to a branch overhanging the water.

Canada Goose (Anas canadensis). March 31st. When about a
mile from the town, saw nine geese, flying very low in a north-easterly
direction. I subsequently heard that they had been seen on the lake,
but none were killed.

Goldfinch or Yellowbird (Fringzllu tristis). April 1st. Observed
the first. April 6th. Procured two specimens, both males, one in
perfect adult plumage.

Black and White Creeper (Certhia maculata). April 1st. Shot
one of these rather rare birds ; on the 18th of May procured another.

Birds. 6705

Length 5 inches 3-tenths ; extent of wings 74 inches; from flexure,
2 inches 7-tenths.

Yellowbellied Woodpecker (Picus varius). April 5th. Shot a
handsome male. Believe it to be rather an uncommon species in
this part of the country.

Barn Swallow (Hirundo americana). April 6th. Saw several ;
shot three. This species, unlike the purple martin, avoids towns and
villages, and frequents isolated barns and out-buildings. Its tail is
forked ; and this bird, in shape, colour, and manner of flight, bears so
strong a resemblance to the chimney swallow of Europe that even an
ornithologist might be excused for mistaking it on the wing.

American Crossbill (Zozxia curvirostra). April 6th. Procured a
specimen. They are, I believe, permanent residents, though I did
not fall in with them during the winter; but unless specially sought
for they might not be noticed, as they feed on the upper branches of
the pines, among the dense foliage that crowns the perpendicular
trunks.

American Snipe (Scolopax gallinago). April 7th. Shot a bird of
this species, weighing five ounces. Although darker, and I think
somewhat larger, it closely resembles the common European snipe.

Redwinged Starling (Icterus predatorius). April 7th. Procured a
specimen. Had observed one on the 8rd. Although a common
bird it is one of the most beautiful in the country, the glossy red and
black plumage of the male making it very conspicuous. It is to be
seen perched on the reeds and bull-rushes. Its constantly-reiterated
song is plaintive, but monotonous. They are restless, and perpetually
flitting about, making short excursions into the bush bordering the
marsh, where they are easily approached.

Purple Finch (Fringilla purpurea). April 7th. Shot a handsome
male. This is a common species, occasionally frequenting the gar-
dens in the town.

Blackcapped Titmouse (Parus atricapilla). April 7th. Observed
a few of these common birds, which are, I believe, winter residents.

Goldwinged Woodpecker (Picus auratus). April 9th. Found two
of these splendid birds, male and female ; secured them both, but the
latter, being merely winged, ran up a tree, and was caught with dif-
ficulty. It was put into a room with a few logs of wood, up which it
was constantly climbing, but when disturbed would conceal itself
between them. It fed well, and I was in hopes of preserving it, but
after a few days’ confinement it pined away and died, when I found
it had been wounded in the body as well as in the wing.

XVII. 3 E

6706 Birds.

Wood Duck (Anas sponsa). April 10th. Obtained a handsome
male specimen of this by no means common species, but which is
said to breed in the woods, constructing its nest in hollow stumps
and trees.

Scaup Duck (Anas marila). April 10th. Procured a specimen.

Meadow Lark (Alauda magna). First week in April found three of
these gigantic larks, which appear to be common hereabouts.

American Wigeon (Anas americana). April 14th. Examined a
fine specimen recently killed.

Green or Whitebellied Swallow (Hirundo viridis). April 14th.
At 6 P.M. observed a number of these birds in a sheltered situation in
the marshes. Had previously seen one on the Ist, about the same
hour; and I believe they resort there to roost among the reeds. On
the 5th of May I noticed that a pair had been for some days con-
structing their nest under the eaves of my house, on a projecting
quoin; and I observed them picking up straws from the street, to
mix with the clay.

Shore Lark (Alauda alpestris). April 16th. Saw a small flock, out
of which I shot one; though by no means common. I subsequently
fell in with a few; and a male being slightly wounded in the wing, it
was placed in a cage, where it thrived, but continued shy. It hada
plaintive but not prolonged note. They occasionally alight on the
fences, but never on the trees.

Rubycrowned Wren (Regulus calendula). April 17th. Shot a
handsome male.

Goldencrested Wren (Regulus cristatus). April 17th. Procured a
specimen. |

Belted Kingfisher (Alcedo alcyon). April 26th. Found a few of
these birds in a marsh about two miles from the town. One I saw
balancing itself over the water, being kept well nigh stationary by its
quivering wings before making the plunge. On emerging from the
water I observed it occasionally resort to a stranded log, but taking
care to keep out of gun-shot. Others I saw alight on the branches of
trees overhanging the swamp, but were far too wary to be approached,
so I failed in my endeavours to procure specimens.

Crow (Corvus corone). April 26th. Found a crow’s nest at the top
of a rather lofty fir tree. On shouting out the bird never stirred, but
on striking the trunk with a stick it flew out. My companion having
ascended the tree with some difficulty, the nest was found to contain
five eggs, but one was broken in the descent (Wilson says the crow
has four). As they vary somewhat in size, I give the exact dimen-
sions, which are as follows :— First, 1 inch 7-tenths in length, by 1

Birds. 6707

inch 1-tenth in diameter; second, 1 inch 6-tenths, by 1 inch
2-tenths ; third, 1 inch 5-tenths, by 1 inch 1-tenth in diameter ;
fourth, 1 inch 5-tenths, by 1 inch 1-tenth. On the 13th of May
found another crow’s nest in a moderate-sized fir, at about forty feet
from the ground. It was very imperfectly concealed, and contained
four half-fledged birds, apparently about ten days old.

Field Sparrow (fringilla pusilla). April 26th. Found a small
nest in a stunted bush near the ground; it contained four eggs. Saw
the bird leaving the nest, and believe it belonged to this species.

Great Northern Diver (Colymbdus glacialis). April 28th. Procured
a splendid old male, by far the largest that I saw during my stay in
Canada; it measured 36 inches in length, by 60} inches in extent of
wings; wing, from flexure, 154 inches; bill, along the ridge, 3 inches
4-tenths; lower mandible, from plumes, 3 inches; bill, from gape,
4 inches 9-tenths; upper mandible exceeds the lower by 1-tenth of
an inch; mouth, 1 inch 4-tenths wide; diameter of eye, 4}-tenths ;
tarsus 3 inches 7-tenths ; middle toe, 4 inches 4-tenths, claw 63-tenths ;
inner toe, 3 inches 8-tenths, claw 53-tenths; outer toe, 5 inches, claw
4}-tenths; back toe, 8-tenths of an inch, claw 3-tenths; tarsus,
3-tenths of an inch wide, 1 inch 1-tenth deep ; tail, 3 inches long;
black band or collar, 13 inches wide; depth of bill, 1 inch 2-tenths ;
nostril, $ an inch in length; circumference of head, 10 inches;
round the body, beneath the wings 18} inches, over the wings
213 inches; circumference of the neck, 74 inches; length of thigh,
85 inches; humerus or arm, 8+ inches; weight, 11} tbs. Wilson
remarks (vol. iii. p. 259), “the best and largest has been described for
this work; weight, 83 tbs.; length, 84 inches; extent of wings, 54
inches,” proving my specimen to be a gigantic one. Macgillivray, in
describing the northern diver, says the male is 31 inches in length,
and 49 inches in extent of wings. Both Wilson and Montagu seem
to agree in thinking that the size of the European specimens has
been exaggerated. I have no doubt, notwithstanding all that may
have been advanced to the contrary, of their being one and the same
species. On the 19th of May I observed three of these divers on the
Lake (Ontario).

Purple Martin (Hirundo purpurea). April 80th. Saw two of these
beautiful birds. Though not a rare species, they are by no means com-
mon in the neighbourhood of Kingston; so that I failed in obtaining spe-
cimens in the autumn; but I occasionally observed them in the town,
frequenting the houses near the Lake, but never fell in with any in the
country; so almost despaired of getting specimens. But this spring

6708 Birds.

I determined to secure some, if possible; consequently, sallied forth
at day-break into the streets, before the inhabitants were stirring, and
got a fair shot at one flying round the corner of a house near the
cathedral, but missed it, owing, I fancy, to over-excitement ; but as it
would have been imprudent to have ventured another shot I had to
return home disappointed ; and it was not until the 19th of May that
I succeeded in getting one. On walking through the streets on my
way to the steamer to embark for Niagara, perceiving one on the roof
of a house, I could not resist the temptation of shooting it. It fell
dead, almost on the heads of some children at play. This, together
with the report of the gun, proving too much for their nerves, they
set up a yell that might have alarmed the whole neighbourhood ; so
I was glad to walk off with my prize, which proved to be a handsome
cock bird; and I secured a female on the following day, near
Hamilton. By the 5th of May they had, I think, commenced
building, as I noticed them coming from under the eaves of the
houses.

Carolina Nuthatch (Sita carolinensis). May 8th. Shot one of
this very common species, which is permanently resident. Length,
6 inches; extent of wings, 11} inches; wing, from flexure, 3% inches.

Savannah Sparrow (Fringilla Savanna). May 8th. Shot one of
these rare and beautiful sparrows, which, according to Wilson, are
rarely found inland, or far from the sea-shore. Length, 6% inches ;
extent of wings, 8¢ inches.

Chimney Swallow (Hirundo pelasgia). May 9th. Observed the
first. On the 14th shot three; average length, 5 inches 2-tenths ;
extent of wings about 123 inches. In appearance, manner and
rapidity of flight, this bird greatly resembles the common Euro-
pean swift, although not much more than half the size. The pecu-
liar, bare, sharp-pointed shafts of the tail-feathers, like those of the
woodpecker, doubtless support and assist them in climbing. Wilson
says, “It is never seen to alight but in hollow trees or in chimneys ;”
is the “latest out in evening of all our swallows.” Like the European
swift, it is the last to arrive, but the first to depart. In describing
the nest, the same author states that the materials of which it is com-
posed are “ fastened together with a strong adhesive glue or gum,
which is secreted by two ylands, and mixes with the saliva.” Mac-
gillivray informs us that the “ materials of the nest of the swift are
confusedly felted and agglutinated,” and that the gelatinous matter is
probably derived from the salivary glands. He also remarks that the
claws are “very strong and acute.” And Wilson tells us that the feet of

Birds. 6709

the chimney swallow are extremely muscular, and the claws very sharp.
This being little more than a list of species observed, I cannot carry
out the comparison; but [ am convinced that the chimney swallow
of America is closely allied to the swift. I failed in procuring speci-
mens in the autumn, though I saw vast numbers, but almost inva-
riably at a great height. Long after the rest of the swallows had
retired they might be seen congregating about the tower of the cathe-
dral, their common roosting-place.

Redbellied Blackcapped Nuthatch (Silla varia). April 16th. Ob-
served a few of these small nuthatches in a fir wood; secured two.
Length, 4 inches 3-tenths; extent of wings, 7¢ inches; wing, from
flexure, 2 inches 6-tenths. This species is said to be migratory.

H. W. HAbvFIELD.

(To be continued.)

Notes on the Mountain Birds of Jamaica.
By W. Ossourn, Esq.*

‘* Freeman’s Hall, Trelawny, Jamaica,
“ July 7, 1859.

** My dear Sir,—I resume my notice of the mountain birds of this
portion of Jamaica, by continuing my remarks on Columba Caribbea.
I may first observe that the cherry tree on which they were feeding
I have since had good cause for supposing to be the clammy cherry
(Cordia collococca), though I have no botanical work at hand to
verify the surmise. From the two birds brought to me for sale in the
winter J had put down the colour of the iris as bright yellow, but I saw
on the present occasion that it was composed of two very distinct
circles, the inner hazel, the outer blood-scarlet. I was wondering at
the difference in a male bird I had winged, but which seemed other-
wise uninjured, when, on laying him on his back and applying severe
pressure to the ribs, so as to produce suffocation, I was surprised to
observe the colour of the outer circle of the irides change, rapidly
during the agonies of death from blood-scarlet to bright yellow. After
death they slowly resumed their first colour. In this young bird,
which was dead when it fell, the irides were bright yellow, and ex-
hibited no change. As all three adult specimens I procured were
alike in this scarlet ring, I would suggest that the natural colour of

* Communicated by P. H. Gosse, Esq., F.R.S.
-

6710 Birds.

the iris is yellow, but can be coloured by the corpuscules of the blood,
which, by some muscular effort, voluntary or involuntary, of the bird,
can be withdrawn, when the blood circulates as usual colourless. The
next evening I returned to the pasture for the purpose of watching
them only. It was about sunset, and there were at first no birds
visible; but, after watching a little, one here and there appeared at a
considerable height from the tall forest that covered the steep hills
around. The ring-tail, even at a great distance, is easily distinguished
from our other Columbade by the slow strokes of its wings, its heavy
flight and the disproportionate length of the tail; they have, too, a
habit of setting off in a wide circle, pausing as if they had not made
up their minds where to go, and then returning to the perch they had
left. My firing at them the preceding evening had probably alarmed
them, and these might be reconnoitring excursions. At length a pair
perched on the topmost twigs of the clammy cherry, so that I had
them en stlhouetie against the glow of the evening sky. After eyeing
me suspiciously a little (for there was no shelter near for concealment)
they descended to the lower branches, and | then remarked that the
ring of the expanded tail is much more obvious than I should have
supposed from the dead bird. They reminded me oddly of our green
parrots, in the heavy business-like way they almost tumbled in among
the twigs, and at once began to pluck and rapidly swallow the large
berries, quite regardless that the twigs behind raised the tail straight
up, or the leaves prevented a wing from closing; but they soon took
other positions, and the object of the large tail, the strong feathers of
which it is composed, and the vigorous muscles which move it, seemed
very apparent in its constant requisition as a balancer,—continually in
violent action as the heavy bird stretched and tugged at the ripest
berries, the twigs swaying and shaking with its weight and exertions.
It is remarkable that in our large Cuculide, birds which also obtain
their food by leaps, in positions when often the wings cannot be ex-
panded, the same contrivance is resorted to. They jumped from twig
to twig, as the berries were finished, with a good deal of commotion.
A sidling movement along a branch was a very common maneeuvre for
changing the bunches above, not foot over foot, like a parrot, but
moving one foot sideways and then the other up to it, and very
quickly. I approached nearer, and just as I stopped I observed the
female bird, on a thicker twig, try to reach a tempting bunch below;
she stretched but could not reach it, sidled a little further out, but it
was still beyond her; she then turned completely over, so that she
clung to the twig back downwards. A half turn of the neck brought

ad

Birds. 6711

the head in the natural position, and she thus easily picked ont four
or five: she then recovered herself, making a great commotion by
flapping against the leaves with her powerful wings. The male bird
had finished, and took the sitting posture on a thicker twig, but the
female seemed as voracious as ever. I now approached slowly still
nearer. The male observed me attentively, stretching his neck, not
rising from his crouch, but uttered a moan very like a person in pain,
constantly reiterated. I believe this to be analogous to the much
shorter, quicker snort the tame pigeon and others will give when par-
tially frightened. My distance from them was not now more than ten
yards. As they flew past me their wings produced a slight winnowing
sound, but nothing like most other pigeons. They perched on the
top of a cedar close by, doubtless to watch my movements.

“These observations were made under the very adverse circum-
stance of a cloud of mosquitoes; I was obliged to request a friend
with me and my servant to withdraw a little, as 1 was afraid their de-
fensive movements would keep the birds at any rate in a state of
partial alarm. My hands I could shelter, but on the face and ears it
was, during the hour I watched them, like suffering an attack of
measles; but I never could detect in the birds the slightest recogni-
tion of their presence: and, so far as I can gather from the structure
of the bird itself, the unusually thick, compact plumage, the horny
defences of the legs (plumed) and bill seem to leave not a vulnerable
point, except the orbits. However, it seems universally affirmed that
they are attracted by smoke, and will perch over a fire, partly spreading
their wings, as if intently enjoying it; and such statements should not
be lightly set aside, but that the cause of this is [the desire to evade
the assaults of ] mosquitoes does not appear quite so clear. Accounts,
too, seem to agree that when in their autumn quarters, the high moun-
tain woods, they repose in rows on the thicker branches during the
heat of the day. Their voracity also is famous, but this, I would sug-
gest, is fully explained by the small portion of the swallowed food
which is appropriated to their sustenance. I only saw eight or ten
birds altogether, but I was assured that before the tree was in a great
measure stripped of its fruit they might be reckoned by dozens in this
very pasture, and I can even imagine their numbers amounting to hun-
dreds were their food abundant in one particular spot of a district.
But it was a fine sight to see these noble birds feeding ; their fearless-
ness was so unusual. All the colours of their plumage,—the soft lake of
the head and neck,—the gay blue of the wings and back,—as well as
their actions,—all plainly visible, in beautiful contrast with the dark

6712 Birds.

green foliage and the splendid racemes of scarlet fruit among which
they were moving; and every action seemed to show how completely
they were adapted to their appointed mode of existence.

“On examining, a few days afterwards, one of our green parrots I
had just shot (Psittacus agilis), I was much struck with the similarity
the proportions of the tibia and tarsus bear in both birds; and this is
the more worthy of remark as in both the habits and mode of taking
food may be said to be identical. Both are heavy birds, seeking their
food at the ends of small twigs and in positions where great grasp is
required, and where constant efforts must be necessary to preserve
balance ; and both are birds with capacious crops, passing many hours
in repose amid the security of the forests. In the above observations
I have alluded to what I conclude to be the use, in part at any rate, of
the powerful tail with which this pigeon is furnished. With the par-
rot it is the reverse; the tail is extremely short; but I would suggest
that the form of foot in the parrot would lead us to suppose that as a
climbing instrument its grip is far greater. The tail therefore may be
a necessary compensation to the pigeon for a differing structure.

“JT alluded in my last to a beautiful but unknown song now con-
stantly to be heard in the forests here. I devoted a morning of the
past week to its investigation, but I found the task so much more
difficult than I anticipated that I had to repeat my observations for
several successive days before I could satisfy myself as to the songster.
I may mention here, as bearing on the subject, that when, during the
winter, 1 used to hear the long-drawn notes of the solitaire from the
tall forests between here and Mahogany Hall, the negroes always
assured me it was ‘Hopping Dick Shiny-eye.’ As I had your notes
I knew this to be a mistake, and after my arrival here I had soon an
opportunity of verifying your statements by procuring specimens of
Ptilogonys armillatus, and seeing them in the forests, though I never
had an opportunity of observing them actually emit the note. In the
spring, when I returned, I heard these notes no more, but I still hesi-
tated to conclude they were gone, for, from some far-distant depth of
the forest, I used to hear a note that seemed the well-known one of
the winter. If I stopped to listen it was audible, as the breeze passed,
once or twice more, and then was silent. I soon found that these
beautiful notes, like those of the solitaire, in quality of tone, were
introduced in a song, and as the spring advanced I became very
familiar with them. The song, if I was near enough to hear it com-
mence, always began with a ‘Quank, quank, quank, chu’ (a very
suspicious circumstance), and then

Birds. 6713

The first bar is rapid, and often repeated, a merle-like stave; the
second I intend to represent the flute-like notes which remind me of
the solitaire ; but flute-like is, I feel, an expression very unsuggestive
of the reality. It occurred to me, as I listened to it yesterday, that
perhaps the vibrating tones which can be produced on a glass with
water in it is something like it, but itis quite indescribable: there is a
fulness, a mellowness, a deep tone and feeling,—a consciousness of
life, about this voice of the forest,—that no mere instrument.can imi-
tate. You will see, by the little score I have given, they are ex-
ceedingly fond of the interval a fifth. The accented crotchets in the
second bar are followed by still longer notes of the same quality.
Sometimes there is a pause before the fifth is taken, with, to me, an
extraordinary effect. At others the interval of a fifth or sixth is taken
(as well as I can judge), after a run of two or three rapid notes. No
sweet sound of the forest I know of is more beautiful than this. The
' deep gloomy recesses in which it is heard, the influence on sound of
the shrouded gorges and rocks, the swell of the breeze which plays
far over head, unfelt below, combine to make this ‘sweetness long
drawn out’ one of the most deeply impressive of the voices of nature.
Often, as I have returned home from following it, the jocund lay of
the nightingale [mocking-bird], from a guava close to the house (for,
notwithstanding Dr. Robinson’s assertion, this lonely mountain resi-
dence has its full complement, three or four pairs at least), with its odd
interludes of imitation, has seemed a downright shallow warble com-
pared with its rival of the woods. But perhaps we should not attempt
such comparisons; each is perfect in its way. I cannot help sus-
pecting, however, that some of the notes supplied you for the solitaire
may apply to this bird; for they once or twice attributed this song to
a thrush. I have before remarked that hereabouts at the forest-edge,
or deep within, the song is constant; it may be heard on the road
which communicates between us and the lowlands, from some
dark valley close by, or a towering precipice crowned with wood.
The place I chose for my search was a bit of forest where they abound,
some way within its boundaries, but where the track crosses the sum-
mit of a hill, so as to have the ground as level as possible. J have no
negro on whose intelligence I could rely, so was obliged to undertake
XVII. 3 F

6714 Birds.

it myself. You will appreciate the abundance of these beautiful
songsters when I say that within a few hundred yards in all directions
from this: spot I followed not less than a dozen birds, not necessarily
all different individuals, because doubtless they resumed their strains.
The forest just here is extremely thick with underwood, composed of
small trees about the thickness of walking-sticks, bound strongly
together with climbing ferns, Passiflore, &c. The sink-holes, large
and small, often shrouded by fallen leaves, make some caution neces-
sary, and besides this the swarms of mosquitoes and perpetual clamour
of Vireosylva olivacea, which abound here, were very distressing.
Generally, when I had cautiously crept up and was trying, without
moving, to catch sight of the songster, the song would be suddenly
broken off, and followed by a ‘quank, quank,’ soon repeated more
rapidly and becoming more distant. The wary bird had caught sight
of me first. At other times I managed to get nearer, and then the
song ceased; a bird darted out stealthily and lowly, whose dark back
and rufous head could belong to no other than Merula Jamaicensis.
Several times, however, I was more successful; I got close up without
disturbing him, but not without his seeing me. The song would again
cease, and I should at last espy him perched generally on the lower
limb of a large tree, near the trunk, but sometimes on a low shrub a
foot or two from the ground, where his ¢olouring, in the sombre light,
made him particularly difficult to see. He would ‘ Quank, quank,’
flirting his wings and tail at each reiteration, then, as I kept quiet, re-
lapse into a puffed musing attitude, and, after keeping me waiting for
a quarter of an hour, drop and slide off among the bushes a foot or two
above the ground, to begin his song a hundred yards further on. But
on a few occasions I have, in birds disturbed by the man with me at
some distance, and which have taken refuge close by without seeing
me, seen the bird’s bill and throat move as it commenced ‘ Quank,
quank,’ till it seemed brimful of the lovely notes that were coming,
and burst into the first stave of the score given above; but they found
me out before the second or flute-like notes were produced, and which
do not seem to occur till the bird has sung a stave or two. I have thus
given at length the grounds upon which J attribute this beautiful song
to this wary thrush, and would place it amongst the most lovely of
the warblers of the tropics. I am quite glad to see I am borne out by
an assertion of your usually most accurate old Doctor (‘Birds of
Jamaica,’ p. 259).

“The Black Banana Bird is common in the deeper glens of the
forest. I shot one, the other day, swinging on a long strip of bark,

Birds. 6715

where, head downwards, he was probing a small Tillandsia. I see I
had not, when I last wrote, remarked that the tongue of this species
is pencilled; it is horny and semitransparent at the tip, where it is
hollowed by raised edges, the tip split into two portions, each of which
terminates in two or three fimbriz. The raised edges are jimped
(to the lens), so as to leave little barbs pointing forwards ; protrudible
easily about a quarter of an inch beyond tips of mandibles; hyoid
bones are slender, and not much longer than ordinary. You will
observe that all these parts are small; indeed they escaped my obser-
vation. But it often reminded me of Certhiola and Tanagrella in
its mode of inserting the beak into the sheathing bases of the leaves
of the parasites it frequents. I found in the stomach fragments of
insects, beetles, Orthoptera and a good many tough, leathery, empty
cases, like those of grubs or eggs of insects, but no seeds of any kind.
It has a swift dashing flight from tree to tree, the reflections of plumage
often deceiving as to its colour. It is frequently difficult to shoot,
from the rapidity with which it dodges about these epiphytes. I found
a nest the other day, in the densest portion of the forest, attached to a
wild pine (Aichmea ?); when these plants have attained some age the
terminal bud gradually leaves a long flattened stem of a foot or two
firmly fixed to the tree. The dead leaves of the plant sometimes col-
‘lect some of their in turn falling successors and leaves from surrounding
trees; these gradually form a little bit of black mould, soon appro-
priated by Polypodiums and other pendant ferns. It was on a little
but very graceful tuft of these the nest was placed; it was a simple
cup, not very deep. It is now in my possession, and | should describe
the whole to be composed of a thick interwoven mass of black fibres,
which, without having the two at hand for comparison, appear to me
precisely the same as those used by Icterus leucopteryx, only in this
case the mass is much thicker and denser, and the outer threads are
carried over so as to include bits of Lycopodiums, moss, &c., and the
threads within keep down similar materials for a soft bed. But nothing
could be more beautiful than the position of this artful structure on a
bracket of drooping ferns, the stiff, arching leaves of the wild pine
above sheltering it from the weather. ‘The boys brought me young
birds of this species, taken with bird-lime and evidently having just
left the nest, a month ago. But in the male | shot the other day, the
organs were still swollen, so that I conclude the breeding-season is
not yet over, and I may light upon further information.”

6716 Birds.

“ Freeman’s Hall, Jamaica,
August 6, 1859.

“ Dear Sir,—In the outset of your preface to ‘The Birds of Jamaica,’
you allude especially to the very interesting group of the Hirundines,
and as no less than three of our ascertained species were among your
own discoveries, I conclude you will be glad of any further particulars
respecting them which a residence among these mountains, the summer
haunts of the major part, may enable me to give.

“In my first letter I alluded to that very remarkable swift, Acan-
thylis collaris (?) and gave such few observations as the previous spring
and summer in the lowlands of Westmoreland and the latter months of
the year in the mountains of Trelawny enabled me to furnish ; but here
my experience strictly accords with yours; their appearance is only
very occasional, generally after rain or heavy gales of wind. On
my arrival in these mountains, in January, I found them much
more common, and during April and May, and since, during the sum-
mer, they may be said to be constant, scarcely a day passing when
they are not to be seen in great numbers, and fully impressing me
with the conviction that they inhabit some of the secluded precipices
of the neighbourhood, though I have hitherto been quite unsuccessful
in hearing of or discovering their hiding places. I have spoken with
some hesitation about their constant appearance, because it would
seem these birds use their extraordinary powers of flight to explore
Jarge districts in search of food, and do not, like swallows, regularly
beat over a circumscribed hunting-ground;_ but, in greater or smaller
numbers, rarely a day passes when their shrill scream does not here
announce their presence. Soon after sunrise they may be seen in
small numbers skimming backwards and forwards smoothly over a
small space, at no great height, the tips of the long wings depressed
much below the plane of the body, evidently busy feeding. As the
morning advances a ‘ wee-wee,’ very short, often not more than two
syllables, as if interrupted, is heard, when the whole party of six or
eight perhaps collect and dash furiously down the valleys, or round
prominent objects near. They are gradually joined by more such
parties, when the whole, consisting of from fifty to a hundred birds (in
heavy weather more) collect and form a gyrating column, produced by
the flock revolving at different heights in the same direction and
round the same axis. This is not invariably the case; I have often
noticed different parties come up and revolve in different directions
round different axes; the effect was thus of course merely that of an
eddying cloud. The screaming parties are then constant, from three

Birds. 6717

or four to a dozen birds dash off with amazing velocity, the wings of
now one and now another being elevated, motionless, above the
body, but the tips kept backwards (a manceuvre, I think, very unusual
with Hirundinide), and in this position shoot along with wonderful
impetus, the whole so close together that a lucky shot might bring
down half-a-dozen. I take great pleasure in watching them. No
bird seems to spend more of its time in amusement, or betrays more
exquisite pleasure in the exercise of the wonderful gifts bestowed
upon it. Often, when in the forest after other objects, I hear the
shrill ‘ wee-wee’ far over the tops of the trees, the birds themselves
of course invisible. ‘Towards the middle of the day they generally
disappear, and are again to be seen towards afternoon, when they
practise the same manceuvres till towards sunset. If there be heavy
rain, they come up with it, and, either before or after it, dash about
low over the ground in the manner described by your correspondent.
Then is the best opportunity the naturalist is likely to get for pro-
curing specimens. ‘l’o hit them when skimming low would be a diffi-
cult feat, and one I do not attempt; but they often rise about thirty
feet, and come up slowly against the wind, evidently catching drifting
insects. ‘They are then within the capabilities of an ordinary marks-
man. With regard to the gyrating column, the question has often
occurred to me whether this is to be considered as a mode of feeding
or not; 1 think not, from the extreme steadiness of every bird; but
that it is a mere concerted movement for collecting before making a
change of hunting-ground for the whole flock, or perhaps simply a
mode of enjoying their life and powers. I have often been amused
by watching a Cathartes join them, and steadily keep his place in the
crowd till it disperses. This arises, I imagine, not from any predi-
lection of the swifts for such strange company, but from an odd
inclination the John Crows have to join any gyrating bird, probably
supposing that, as they only gyrate steadily when there is something
near in their way of eating, other birds do the same. They often
join the chicken hawk in the same way, merely, I think, to see what
he has in his eye, for he sweeps along utterly indifferent to his train
of black attendants. But in the case of the swifts this curious habit
is in one respect fortunate, as, the rate of gyration of these Vulturide
in ordinarily calm weather being well known, it enables me to say
that that of Acanthylis is little, if anything, faster. If there be much
wind the velocity is greatly increased, and they soon break up.
Other birds are also deceived in the same way. I once noticed.
Hirundo euchrysea attack one that was gyrating lower than the rest,

6718 Birds.

doubtless from the resemblance of its action to that of a raptorial
bird. Towards the latter end of April, about 8 o’clock one bright
morning, I observed an unusually large number of these birds
revolving in column over a deep, thickly-wooded valley where our
little Quartiers river disappears down a chasm. My position was on
the road which winds round the summit of one of its enclosing hills,
the valley immediately below. It was with great interest I observed
a pair dart out from the summit of the column, and then one just
behind or just above the others fall, screaming with peculiar vehe-
mence, together into the valley below, recovering themselves just
over the tops of the trees by a curve of astonishing rapidity. Several
pairs did this in succession ; but though I watched them attentively
I always thought I could see a small space of two or three inches
between the birds, except in one case, where the juncture seemed to
me complete. 1 should add, that though I found their actions easy
to observe when they left the column, as their course became more
and more at right angles with the line of sight, and they plunged
into the valley and shot over the tree tops, their flight was so rapid
that I could not feel certain what they did. Sometimes several others
would join; but close proximity always seemed to point out the pair
whose nuptials the screams and activity of the pursuing birds were
intended to celebrate. They then, at a slower pace, rejoined the
column, and were lost amid the revolving crowd. But the contrast
between the speed and erratic sweeps of the pairs, and the majestic
revolutions of the column, was very striking.

“T shot a specimen the other day; but as you will probably have
anticipated any observations on it I have to make (if you have
received skins since your work was published), I will not add them,
further than to remark that the stomach I found stuffed with the
winged females of a small species of ant. There were a few iarger
insects,—Coleoptera, bees, &c.,—but not many.

“ Of Tachornis phenicobia I have nothing to add to the informa-
tion you collected, except that, so far as my observations go, it is
very much rarer on the north than on the south side of the island,
where it is one of the commonest birds. Indeed, along the whole of
the north coast from here westwards, the only place where I have
observed it in any numbers, or constantly, is at a spot near Rose Hall,
about mid-way between Falmouth and Montego Bay; and here,
curiously enough, is the only clump of fan palms I have met with on
this side, for it is certainly here an uncommon tree. In these moun-
tains this little swift is still rarer: I have only observed it once, where

Birds. 6719

it made the fourth species of Hirundine that were there skimming
round this house, and the fifth I had noticed within half-an-hour.

“Cypselus niger, from its having escaped your observation, as weil
as that of your coadjutors, | long considered as probably a rare and
very occasional visitor.

“On the 9th of June last we had much rain, heavy clouds which
did not disperse, and much thunder; when, hearing the scream of
Acanthylis, as well as the cry of Chordeiles, I went out to watch them,
and see whether there was any probability of either giving me a shot.
To my surprise Acanthylis seemed, as I thought, much smaller than
usual, and the curved wings did not form the remarkable arch I was
so familiar with. A great number of swifts were dashing about over
the meadow, in the violent, impetuous way they do on rainy after-
noons, when, one passing between me and a tree, followed by an
Acanthylis, I saw there were two species. The new one was smaller,
quite black, had no white collar, and seemed to me grayish about the
head and throat, points which seem to agree with your description of
Cypselus. I immediately went for my gun, but on returning they
had got high, and I fired one or two ineffectual shots. Their flight
and habits are, however, very different from those of Acanthylis. On
‘the afternoon in question, and since, I have observed when there is
little or no wind, they constantly practise a mancuvre | would repre-
sent by the accompanying diagram. By the
dotted line I mean a beating rise; by the !
entire, a festooning fall;—a habit very /
common with the martins, but one I have F
never observed Acanthylis adopt. These .”
latter birds soon collected into column; and
then the numbers of the other species, about thirty, became apparent,
who had not, evidently, the slightest inclination to practise a similar
movement, but continued hawking in an irregular body the rest of the
afternoon. I noticed a pair pursue, when the nuptials evidently took
place. Their motions were extremely rapid and irregular, not unlike
birds fighting; and the scream was not so shrill as that of Acanthylis,
and broken into separate syllables. I have since, when here, seen
them almost every evening, and for the last week have been watching
for a shot, but in vain. Except at the above-mentioned time, I have
never seen them, except just about an hour before sunset, when they
continue hawking till they are joined by numerous high-flying bats,
and the light is too uncertain to distinguish them. They generally
appear about half-a-dozen together, and glide along slowly, on

6720 Birds.

motionless wings, for great distances in a straight line; for instance, they
will do this for I calculate at least a quarter of a mile up and down
the course of our little river. They would present an easy mark if
they did not keep so high. If we watch them, while there is still
sufficient light, when they pass nearest, a slight jerk of the head from
side to side may be detected, but without any apparent motion of the
wings: it is thus, I imagine, the prey is taken. They are the
slowest in flight, and the most crepuscular of any of our swifts.
I would remark that when the tail is expanded for a sudden curve it
is exactly even like that of Acanthylis, whence | conclude that when
closed it is slightly forked as that of the latter bird. JI am still in
hopes of procuring a specimen.

“On Hirundo peciloma I have little to remark, except that they
do not seem so abundant here as in the lowlands; and their appear-
ance, though very general, is not constant. I have not fallen in with
a colony hereabouts, which is remarkable, as there are the large,
untenanted buildings of the thrown-up sugar estate and several caves
close by. However, I often met, during last month (July), with flocks,
evidently composed in part of this year’s young, perched at a great
height on the bare branches of forest trees, and, from the flights the
whole would take, they at once remind me of our English species pre-
paring for migration, though I certainly do not think they leave the
island. '

“T was extremely anxious, during my residence here, to procure
further information respecting the lovely little swallow you have
named Hirundo euchrysea. When I returned, in April, I was afraid,
as I rode by their winter haunts, they had gone; but I soon found
this was not the case: the flocks had only dispersed into solitary
pairs, or at most two or three pairs together. Two pairs, I was much
gratified to find, were constantly hawking round this house. They
have a singular and very melancholy note, which may be rendered by
‘tchee, tchee’ constantly repeated, as they wheel round the house, and
has become quite a part of my associations with the locality. When
toying, it is repeated much quicker, and more impetuously when both
birds skim round a tree or other object at a great rate. In the early
morning they perch as other swallows, on some bare, exposed twig,
and preen their feathers in the sup. I did not shoot more than a
single specimen in April, as I was anxious to ascertain where they
were nesting. I often saw them catch pieces of silk cotton, but my
searches were for some time in vain. At length I saw one enter the
old boiling-house. J watched for its return, and soon saw it arrive

Birds. 6721

with a bit of cotton; but it refused to enter, wheeling past the aper-
ture in the roof, uttering the plaintive cry with evident alarm. I then
found that we had left the opposite door open, and a man and horse
standing near it no doubt alarmed the wary little bird. The door
was shut, and it entered. I then went in, and for some time could
discover nothing of the hiding-place. At length it darted out of a
dark corner, where there was a deep recess between the angle of the
wall and roof. <A negro boy I sent up found only two bits of cotton
placed on the top of the wall. On returning, a week after, to my dis-
appointment these had been removed ; and though the birds were
about, all my searches after their nest were in vain. I observed
another pair constantly at a particular part of the road which passes
through the German settlement here; but the houses were all low,
and evidently not inhabited by them. Wishing to shoot one, I
stopped to watch them, and then noticed they often disappeared
among some bushes on a steep hill-side. I sent to examine the spot,
and my expectations were considerably raised on hearing there was a
cave. A pair flew round on my approaching the aperture, in evident
alarm ; and, concealing myself, after long waiting, I discovered they
entered a small crevice in the limestone in the interior of the cave.
The aperture was just large enough to admit the hand; but to my
disappointment there were then (19th July) three young. They were
naked and blind, the skin of a slate-gray colour. The nest, of which
the hollow was not more than three-quarters of an inch deep, was a
structure of considerable art. The interior was lined with a bed of
the softest silk-cotton, intermingled with feathers, among which those
of a green parrot were conspicuous. The foundation and external
portions were composed of a flocculent substance ; what it is 1 am
not sure, unless it be silk-cotton picked off the ground, and strength-
ened by intermingled soil and bits of trash. With this is mixed the
pappus of, I suspect, Composite and Tillandsiz, but the seeds are
broken off. The whole mass is intertwined with bits of Lycopodium,
which, though very ornamental, is extraordinary, as in the narrow,
deep hole it could not add to the concealment as in an exterior nest.
The diameter was about 5 inches, the outside depth 13 inch. It

was the only nest, apparently, in the cave.
* Yours faithfully,

* W. OSBURN.
“ P. H. Gosse, Esq., F.R.S.”

XVII. 3

fen)

6722 Birds.

Montagu’s Harrier (Falco cineraceus).—All the specimens of this harrier which I
have examined, from time to time, have exhibited, more or less, a variation in
plumage, which the difference of age and sex suggested. A variety came under my
notice yesterday which was remarkable. It proved on dissection to be a strongly-
developed old male bird in very fine condition, and weighed in the flesh 10} oz.
In the crop were portions of a hare with the fur, &c.,—a fact which rather
corroborates than otherwise the adult character of the bird, as the bird of the year
would probably hardly attack so strong and large a prey. The whole of the plumage,
both above and below, was of an uniform deep chocolate-brown, the only variation
being that the basal portion of the tail was paler, the transverse bars just showing
themselves, and the under surface of the wings the same, with four or five obscure
bars ; the occiput had a slight broken patch of rufous; the facial disk was scarcely
visible, and the head and face had no paler markings whatever to disturb the uni-
formity of the umber-brown ; nor in fact was there the slightest variation in this tone
of colour anywhere except where I have alluded to. Any one might remark at a short
distance that it looked like a diminutive young marsh harrier, which we all know is a
very brown bird; but the dimensions and inferior size of the bird, with the prominent
length of the third quill-feather and the general contour of the bird, leave no doubt as
to the species. In the adult male Montagu’s harrier, independently of the pale
rufous longitudinal streaks on the belly and the under surface of the wings, there is a
remarkable black diagonal bar across the upper and under surface of the wing ; but
all these peculiarities of the species in colour are of course not distinguishable in the
present example, from the uniformity of the tone of colouring throughout. I may
remark that in the young of this species, both male and female, there is more or
less white or pale yellow about the region of the eyes; and although the plumage on
the back and belly is brown, yet that on the whole of the under parts is of so light a
character as to deserve the appellation of bright bay. In the marsh harrier the wings
and tail are also long, but the bird is much larger and more robust, without that slim-
ness peculiar to the appearance of Montagu’s harrier. The third and fourth quill-
feathers, too, of the marsh harrier are of equal length.—Hdward Hearle Rodd;
Penzance, September 5, 1859.

Friendly Alliance between Blackbird and Thrush. — Early in the spring of 1853 a
dead thrush was found which appeared to have died from “ natural causes ;” and the
next morning a nest was discovered which had three eggs. This nest was in a Jaurel,
about four feet from the ground (the dead bird was supposed to be a hen). In the
afternoon of that day a thrush was seen sitting on the nest. This bird was never
seen off the nest for more than a fortnight. There was plenty of proof under the
laurel that the nest had been very rarely left, and during the time that this thrush
was so closely engaged a cock blackbird fed it very often. The hen blackbird was
never seen near the nest. When the young thrushes were about a week old the
cock thrush began to sing again, for no note of a thrush had been heard for more
than three weeks, and even now he seemed to say, “ I am too busy to sing a long song
ata time.” When the young ones flew the widower found another mate, and reared
two more broods in the same garden that spring. After the kind attentions of the
blackbird to his bereaved acquaintance were no longer needed, old feelings seemed
revived, for whenever the two met on the grass the thrush invariably gave way. The
blackbirds had lost so much time by these gentlemanly and Christian-like atten-
tions that they were in a muddle the whole spring. For their first brood they took

Birds. 6723

up with the thrushes’ nest of the year before without “cleansing or patching;” their
second was a very slim affair, and for their third anything would do. The lady of
the house laid out a heavy Vandyke collar on the grass to bleach, which was taken
by these birds, and formed at least one-third of their nest. There were but two
eggs in this nest, and only one of them hatched.—Comm. by E. Newman.

Description of the small Chinese Lark. By RoBertT SwinHok, Esq.

** Along the sky the music floats,
And distant hills resound the notes.”

This little songster, called in Mandarin “ Proan Tien-fei,” or
* flying in wnid-heaven,” and in the Amoy dialect the “ Paw-tewah,”
is a great favourite among the Chinese, and is generally kept in a
high, cylindrically-shaped cage, made of light bamboo wicker-work,
with a round, moveable, wooden bottom, fastened to the upper part
by pegs; a small stick projects from the centre of the bottom about
six inches, and on it is placed a piece of coral, or other rough sub-
stance, for the bird to stand on while singing or shaking his wings ;
and the height of the cage enables the bird to jump without fear of
striking its head. Besides the usual pots for water, millet, and dried
““ Notonectz,” or “ boatflies” (collected and dried purposely for the
support of insect-eating birds), a wee bit of a cage is generally
attached to the wires outside, into which live grasshoppers are from
time to time inserted, and torn out as soon as seen by the bird, and
devoured with evident relish. How much better the Chinese style of
cage is adapted for the lark than the cage used by fanciers at home,
I will leave others to judge. One thing is certain,—the captive, as
he hangs in his cage suspended over some shop in the busy throng
of men, sings away most merrily, regardless of all that passes below. |

His congener the northern lark (Melanocorypha mongolica, Pall.),
called the “ Pile-ling,” or “hundred spirits,” a bird far more highly
prized than our little friend, is kept in a very low-roofed wicker
cage, not above three-fourths of a foot high, but having also a circu-
lar wooden bottom, with a centre projecting piece, shaped like a
small round table, for the bird to stand on.

The fact of this bird being such a favourite among the Chinese makes
us the more wonder how it has been so long neglected by Europeans
as not even to have been described or named. When the great natu-
ralists at home were chalking down everything that came to them

6724 Birds.

from China as “sinensis,” though probably brought from some iso-
lated spot in this vast Empire, or from some distant part of Thibet or
Manchuria, it is indeed a wonder that this poor little bird was passed
over, and not specified with some similar name. ‘“Sinensis” would
certainly have been most erroneously applied in this instance, as
the bird is not found much above this province ; it is certainly not
found in Shanghai ; but it is abundant in various places in the neigh-
bourhood of Amoy, and particularly so in the plains on the western
side of Formosa; and I found it nestling on the high hill of Kooshan,
at Foochow. How far South its range extends I cannot say. People
may, however, argue that if a bird comes from any part of China it
may be entitled to the name “sinensis.” Such may be essentially
the fact ; but names are given to distinguish species, and surely most
birds have some peculiarity which could afford them a name. This
lark, which Mr. Blyth remarks is “ probably new, but nearly akin to
Alauda malabarica and to A. dulcivox of Hodgson,” I propose naming
Alauda ceelivox, and here give a short description of its characters.

ALAUDA CCELIVOX, Szeinhoe.

Descr.—The bill is dark grayish brown above, with a pale yellowish
edge to the upper mandible ; the lower mandible is yellowish tipped
with brown. The inside of the mouth is flesh-colour, with pale king’s
yellow on the rim and commissure. Ilrides are deep hazel. Feet and
claws light ochreous brown, the latter more or less tipped with brown.
Upper parts yellowish brown, with a tinge of red; the central streak
of many of the feathers, and the greater part of others on the head
and back, being blackish brown. The quills are hair-brown, the
second feather having the outer web reddish white; the other pri-
maries edged with a redder tinge, and the secondaries more broadly
with the same colour, the tips of both being whiter. The winglet is
marked in the same way, but the first and second coverts are some-
what whiter. The tail-feathers are also hair-brown, the middle ones
being very broadly edged with reddish brown, the others scarcely at
all. The outer feathers are white, with the exception of a small basal
portion of the inner web, which is brownish; the adjacent feather has
also the greater part of its outer web white. ‘There is an ochreous
streak over the eye, and another from the bill below round the ear-
coverts. The ear-coverts are reddish, but not more so than the top
of the head. Throat, belly and vent are ochreous white. The breast
and flanks are reddish brown, with a rusty tinge, the former spotted
with narrow arrow-head spots of blackish brown, the latter streaked

Birds. 6725
here and there with a pale shade of the same colour. The under
wing-coverts are pale rust-colour. The male is much redder than the
female on the under parts, and the female has speckles on the throat
and face, which are wanting in the male. She is also larger, as will
be seen from the following measurements, though her wings are
shorter and rounder. In the breeding-season the feathers get con-
siderably abraded in both sexes, which gives the bird a much browner
and dingier appearance ; but in the winter, after the autumnal moult,
the plumage once more resumes its rich tints. The male, while
singing on the ground, generally raises his crest, which gives him a
very elegant appearance.

Male.—Bill, 53-tenths ; to gape, 7-tenths; length to end of tail,
5 inches 1-tenth; wing, 3 inches l-tenth; tail, 2 inches 4-tenths ;
tarsus, 9-tenths; mid toe and claw, 74-tenths ; outer toe, 5-tenths ;
inner toe, 54-tenths ; hind toe, 4$-tenths, its claws over 5-tenths.

Female.—Bill, 43 tenths ; to gape, 6-tenths ; length, 6 inches 1-
tenth; wing, 32 inches; tail, 2 inches 4-tenths; tarsus, 1 inch;
hind-toe, 44-tenths, its claws over 5-tenths.

The members of this genus differ so slightly in colour, that with-
out attention to the proportions and other peculiarities it is almost
impossible to distinguish them ; for example, the skylark and wood-
lark are perfectly distinct birds at home, yet I have seen some very
good bird-fanciers for a while puzzled to point out which was which.
Our bird resembles A. malabarica in some degree, yet on comparison
I think there are sufficient grounds to separate them.

Having said something about its colours and its affinities, let us
now have an insight into its domestic habits. For this purpose we
must follow it to its haunts. There is an island in the Amoy Har-
bour honored by the name of Whale Island, from the similarity of its
profile to that cetacean; and when the day is gradually yielding to
darkness, and outlines stand out more apparent, the resemblance is
very complete when viewed from certain parts of the harbour. The
fore part of the island is clayey, covered with loose rocks, and stones
which crumble and rattle under foot, and thus make walking on it
very unpleasant. Here and there a few patches of coarse grass and
a few low plants occur. The middle and “ flapper” part abound, on
the contrary, in rich grass pasturage; and here the larks love to
dwell, and rear their young. Many a by-gone Chinaman who was
evidently determined to lay his bones in quiet has been deposited
here, and fine large graves overgrown with grass and herbage are

6726 Birds.

frequent, on the tablet-stones of which the merry lark, regardless of
the crumbling remains entombed beneath him, stretches his little
throat and quivers his wings as he carols to his mate; then, in the
ecstasy of his joy, up he rises, and, gradually soaring higher and
higher, soon becomes lost to view, though the cheerful cadence of his
notes still strikes the ear of the delighted listener. The notes are rich
and full, and sound delightful in the open air, especially when heard
in the comparative solitude of this island; but in a house they soon
become overwhelming. Leave the bird, however, where Nature
intended it to be, and its song will continue to enchant as long as
man has soul to enjoy. |

I was only able to find one nest, on which the parent sat so close
that I nearly trod on her before she bustled out and fluttered down
the hill. Emnsconced among the grass and almost concealed by it,
lay the nest on the ground. It was placed in no hole scraped for the
purpose, as the skylark places her nest, but knit among the roots of
the grass. The outside was composed of roots and coarse grasses ;
the inside was somewhat shallow, and lined with finer stems of grass.
In it were deposited three eggs, varying but slightly in size, shape
and colour; one that I brought away with me measures in width
7-tenths, and in length 83-tenths; it is of a pale brownish hue, with
numerous spots and blotches of umber-brown, smaller and scarcer at
the lesser end, but disposed in almost a mass at the larger. The
young are constantly exhibited for sale in the streets during the
breeding season, and are reared by the Chinamen on a creamy sub-
stance called bean-cake, until they are able to feed themselves. In
their markings they a good deal resemble the young of the skylarks.

The nestling has the inside of the mouth of an orange-chrome, which
as the bird grows to full size pales into flesh-colour, with light yellow
on the rim of the beak; the irides are umber. ‘The feathers on the
upper parts are smaller and rounder than in the adult, fringed with
light ochreous yellow. The margins of the wings and tail are not so
rich. The under parts yellowish white, and the pectoral band more
ochreous yellow, with indistinct spots of blackish brown. Feet pale
flesh-colour.

In autumn, when the season of incubation has come to a close,
they herd together in flocks, though never in any great numbers, and
may be seen all the winter through, in companies of twenty or thirty,
in the fresh-ploughed fields or stubble, on which it is very difficult,
nay almost impossible, to see them, from their being so much the
colour of the ground. I have often walked quietly up to a spot where

Birds. 6727

I but a moment ago saw a flock alight; and I have never been able
to get a glance at them on the ground. On my approach they would
spring up, several at a time, uttering the lark note, and rapidly remove
to a further part of the field, or would ascend into the sky, and after
fluttering round and round come down with quick descent to some
chosen spot. They seldom hovered much, as at the season of court-
ship they so love to-do.

Varieties of this lark occur with patches of white on various parts
of the body. I have an individual alive that has a good deal of white
on most of the feathers of the wings and tail; and a bird formerly in
the possession of a Chinese bird-fancying merchant here, but which
he subsequently presented to me, is entirely white, with reddish eyes,
and pallid beak and legs; in fact, a perfect albino.

The name of the lark is one of the few names used by the people
here to distinguish birds; and when a countryman meets you on the
hills, returning home with the produce of your morning’s chase, with
the prying curiosity so habitual to his race he examines the burden
in the hands of your game-carrier, and pronounces all the birds of a
brown colour—be they pipit, finch, or any other species—to be larks:
to him they are all “ Paw-tewahs.” His first question then is, for what
object the foreigner shoots, for the pot? When told for amusement,
he immediately points to a flock of sparrows or a passing crow, and
is extremely disgusted with the foreigner’s prowess if he does not
devote one or other of these luckless creatures to the amusement of
the gaping booby. The majority of these questioners go on their
way incredulous, and fully persuaded in their own minds that the
specimens are intended to satisfy the voracious appetite of the
stranger; for the Amoy Chinaman, more than the rest of mankind,
harps on the gratification of his appetite, as may be gathered from the
mutual salutation when friend meets friend. “ Have you dined?” is
the greeting question ; and the response is, “ I have eaten my fill,”
or “ Not yet,” as the case may be. I give this as a closing episode to
my notes on the lark merely to show that you may look for help in
vain from your Chinese friends in ornithological pursuits. The
Chinaman cannot understand your object. He quietly laughs to
himself, and thinks the indefatigabie naturalist a great fool for his
pains.

RoBERT SWINHOE.
British Consulate, Amoy,

July 1, 1859.

6728 Birds.

Occurrrence of the Sand Grouse (Syrrhaptes paradoxus) in Wales. —A fine male
of this rare bird was shot in a turnip field at Portreuddyn Farm, near Tremadoc, on
the 9th of July last. It was observed, together with two other birds of the same kind,
by a farm labourer in the employ of T. Chaffers, Esq., of 14, Great Howard Street,
Liverpool, while “scuffing” the turnips. Fortunately he was provided with a gun
for shooting rooks; but, it being single-barrelled, he was unable to kill more than
one bird. This was kindly forwarded to this Museum, while still in the flesh, as a
donation, by Mr. Chaffers ; it was shot in the head, and only one or two feathers were
displaced from the crown; it has been very successfully stuffed by Mr. Butterworth,
of this town, and is now open to the inspection of visitors. The two birds that
escaped flew off in an easterly direction towards Merionethshire ; and Mr. Chaffers
has been unable to obtain any information of their having been observed either
before or since. This species, which is rare in Museums, inhabits the plains of Tar-
tary ; and its occurrence in Britain is an event the importance of which is greatly
enhanced by the fact of its claim to be an Enropean species having previously been
doubtful. It is included in the European list by Prince Bonaparte in his ‘ Geogra-
phical and Comparative List of the Birds of Europe and North America, but is
omitted by Gould, Temminck, Schlegel and Degland. I have been informed by
Mr. Sclater that he has examined a specimen of the above species shot lately in Nor-
folk, and that he has heard also of another. These and the birds observed in Wales
doubtless originally belonged to the same flock. What special influence has this year
caused them to wander so far from their native land ?— Thomas John Moore; Free
Public and Derby Museum, Liverpool.

Notes on the Wood Sandpiper and Dunlin. —On the 11th instant my brother and
I were on our sands on the look-out for whimbrel, when we noticed among a small
flock of the summer snipe (7'. Aypoleucos) what seemed a decided stranger. This bird
soon separated himself from his companions, and alighted on the mud close to us,
uttering at the time a strange and dissonant cry, which my brother not inaptly com-
pared to the noise made by a person whistling into the tube ofa key. This note
sealed the bird’s death-warrant, as at my request my brother walked forward and
shot the bird, which unsuspiciously allowed him to get near to it, jerking its head
backwards and forwards all the time in the peculiar manner of the Tringe,—a mo-
tion which suggests to one that the birds have either very creaky necks, or else some-
thing wrong with their internal arrangements. When my brother brought me the
dead bird, from the very ochreous colour of the legs I at first thought I had become
the lucky possessor of a yellowshank ; but a closer examination proved the bird to be
a wood sandpiper (Totanus glareola) in adult plumage. When I skinned the bird (a
male) I found it to be in very poor condition ; and I fancy its thinness indicates that
it had just accomplished a migration. Its stomach was full of a sandy grit, amongst
which I found several small white larve and fragments of minute Crustacea. Ihave
since heard that another specimen of the wood sandpiper has been obtained in our
neighbourhood, very likely the companion of the bird I have. If any naturalist
wishes to amuse himself by contemplating the habits of that pretty little Tringa the
common dunlin, now is the time for him to visit the sand-flats. The birds are now
coming to them in great numbers from their breeding-stations on the moors ; and the
young birds, for the first month or so, are so very tame and confiding that they may
be watched very readily at a close distance. On a hot morning large flocks of these
lively birds may be noticed squatting lazily on the sands, and none of them will think

Birds. 6729

of raising as you walk among them. Take care, or else you will tread on some of
them. Perhaps one or two of the little fellows will run on before you; the majority
(whose plumage at this time of the year wonderfully matches the colour of the sand)
will squat close, a few of them yawning, and stretching their wings every now and
then vertically above their backs (another common habit peculiar to the Tringe). A
few of them, not quite so lazy, you may see within a few inches of your feet, prying
about for sand-worms and small Crustacea. See! that lucky fellow has just seized a
fine worm ; but, epicure as he is, he runs down to the retiring waters first of all, and
gives the worm a rinse or two before he swallows it. Another fellow wades out boldly
into the water, and when out of his depth swims about a little, and when he comes
out sits quietly on the sand close to you, and regularly preens his feathers. A gentle-
man told me that once, as he was watching a flock of these little birds, one of them
came up to him, and examined the sand which was clinging to his boots for insects !
These little fellows are extremely affectionate, and will squat close to a wounded com-
panion, until you fancy you are going to pick up an uninjured bird, when, just as your
hand is on the point of seizing them, up they fly, and dart off with their zic-zac flight,
and shrill ery, “Sesteely, sesteely!” While watching these little birds and other of the
Tringz, it has often struck me how unnaturally these birds are generally to be found
“mounted ” in collections. There you will see them with their legs and necks stretched
to the uttermost, and looking either as if they had been racked or drilled by some
martinet. On the sand these birds seem to have scarcely any necks at all, and their
bodies are low down close to the ground, looking very round and puffed out; the beak
generally with its tip almost resting on their porrected breasts. Altogether they look
very much like jack snipes appear when they are standing still on the ground and me-
ditating. Iam afraid the Editor will think this is a great deal to have to say about
such a common, unassuming little bird as Tringa variabilis; but I fancied a few
remarks from one who is fond of watching these pretty little Tringe and their habits
might be acceptable to those who have not lately visited a sand-flat.— Murray A.
Mathews ; August 14.

[The Editor does not think the observations on the dunlin at all de trop, and he
fully sympathises with his contributor’s observations on bird-stuffing.—. Newman.]

The Hawfinch at Selborne. — On Saturday last, the 27th of August, I picked up
on my lawn the wings and a few other feathers of a bawfinch, which had doubtless
been killed by a cat. This is the fifth instance I have known of the occurrence of this
species in our neighbourhoud; and I thought the fact worth recording, particularly
with respect to the season of the year.— Thomas Bell ; September 1, 1859.

A Sea Monster. — Captain John Dunn, of the schooner ‘ Rover, on a trip from
Quebec to Belle Isle, reports as follows : —“ On Saturday, the 20th of August, in lat.
59° 14'N. long., 59° 10’ W., at 4 o'clock a.m., weather fine, saw something like a vessel
bottom up, S.E., about three miles distant; bore down to ascertain what it was, and
on approaching close to it could discern something like the bow of a clinker-built ves-
sel bottom up, showing the rows of planks apparently the same. About what seemed
to be the head noticed a great deal of red. Bowsprit apparently under or in a wash
with the water. On nearing on the larboard side saw something suow-white on the

XVII. o

6730 Reptizes.

centre of the body. Brought the schooner close alongside, and to our great astonish-
ment found it to be a living monster. The large part of the body, or shell, was about
fifty feet long and sixteen feet high, conical shape and sharpening to the fore part,
with a long neck, and jaws about fourteen feet from the body. At the junction of the
neck with the body was a large horn. It had large white fins, something like the
wings of a bird, under the middle of the shell. We were scarcely thirty feet distant
when we saw the head come above water and turn towards our boat, when we hauled
off, tacked, and stood in on the other side for a further survey. The right fin was
more under the water than the left, and the horn we could see distinctly. It was very
long and blood-red. The neck and head again moved towards the boat, when we got
somewhat alarmed, and made all sail from this floating monster. We counted the
streaks from the centre of the back to the water fifteen to a side, and the top of the
shell was partly covered with birds’ dung. The shell was of a dark coluur, and came
down in wash with the water. Under the shell we could plainly see a curve, and then
a second projection. The hind part very much the shape of a turtle, but the fore part
was sharper. At 5.30 a.m., soon after we hauled off, saw an American schooner
passing very close to it’”.X—Quebee Chronicle. From the‘ Times’ of September 22.—
[Communicated by Mr. Gosse, who adds the following apposite note.]

What shall we say to this new American story? My first idea on reading it was
that of a rorqual, dead or nearly dead, floating belly upward. The plice of the throat
and belly would be the semblance of the planks of a clinker-built craft. The length —
and height would agree well enough, especially if we suppose the small of the body
and the tail to have been under water. This, too, would make the pectoral fins come
near the middle of the (visible) body, and their white hue would agree with their
reversed position. It might have been mortally wounded in some of those misadven-
tures which whales are liable to, perhaps having run a tilt against some ship, as a
cachalot once did to the good ship ‘ Essex ; and if so, there might well be “a good
deal of red about the head.” Tis true this hypothesis will not account for the neck
and jaws, “ about fourteen feet from the body,” nor for the large horn, “very long
and blood-red,” at the junction of the neck with the body. May the latter have been
the membrum virile, a little mis-stated as to position? And may we take the liberty
of supposing that possibly the two extremities of the body may have been confounded,
and that the flukes of the tail-fin, indistinctly seen in the wash of the sea, were the
“ jaws,” and the small of the body the “neck” ? In this case the “ red about the head ”
would require some other explanation. I may add, from my own observation, that
rorquals are quite common in that part of the Atlantic alluded to. Of course much
allowance must be made for imperfect observation and still more imperfect descrip-
tion, for the influence of surprise and terror, and for a natural love of the marvellous.
Whether, with this allowance, my hypothesis is tenable, I leave you and your readers
to judge. I am far from thinking that Science has yet chronicled all the monsters
that “‘ make the deep to be hoary ;” but I doubt whether this was one of the “ great
inknown.” Pray keep a sharp look out for the report of the American schooner. —
P. H. Gosse ; Torquay, September 23, 1859.

A new British Snake.—The Hon. Arthur Russell has sent to the British Museum
a specimen of the female Coronella austriaca, which was taken by a resident near the

Fishes. 6731

flagstaff at Bournemouth, Hampshire,—the habitat of the larger heath lizard (Lacerta
sterpium). These species are found together not uncommonly, and generally dis-
tributed over Europe. The snake is said to live on the lizard. This is one of the most
interesting additions to the British Fauna which has been made for many years, as it
is not common to find a new vertebrate animal, except occasional visitants. This
snake has small scales, is brown, with two lines of darker spots down the sides of the
back, a dark blotch on the shoulder and head, and a blackish streak under the eyes.
It is like a viper in size and general appearance, but wants the dark lozenge-shaped
spots on the back.—John Edward Gray ; British Museum.

[The following brief description of this interesting addition to our Fauna may
possibly be acceptable to my readers: my authority is Lord Clermont’s admirable
little work intituled ‘ Quadrupeds and Reptiles of Europe,—a work that I am very
glad to have this opportunity of heartily recommending. “The Coluber austriacus
is identical with Coronella austriaca of Dumeril and Bibron, vol. vii. p. 610, and it is
also the Coluber levis of Schinz, vol. ii. p. 45. It never attains a very large size, its
entire length being about two feet. The head is but slightly distinct from the body ;
the tail short, and strong at the base; the eyes small; the rostral plate presses much
upon the muzzle, and is of a triangular form, with its top pointed; there are seven
labial plates on the upper lip on each side, the third and fourth of which touch upon
the eye ; scales of the body smooth, rhomboid, in nineteen longitudinal rows ; ventral
plates 160 to 164; subcaudal 60 to 64 pairs; one anal plate divided ; the upper maxil-
lary teeth are on the same line with the others, and longer; the upper parts are
greenish brown, with two parallel rows of black markings along the back, more dis-
linct towards the head than in the binder portion; sometimes the spots on the back
are small and few in number; the lower parts have a lighter ground colour, but are
often much darkened by black marblings. It inhabits central and southern Europe,
is found in various parts of France, but is not very common in the south of that
country : it occurs in Sicily, and in the whole of Italy and its islands, but is more fre-
quent in the north than in the south of that peninsula ; it is included in the Fauna
of Gallicia and the Bukovina, Silesia and Carniola: it is common in Switzerland
near Zurich ; but rare in Belgium, where it has been met with near Louvain, and on
the right bank of the Moselle: Schinz states that it has been found in Sweden, but
it is everywhere less abundant than our common snake (Coluber natrix).”—E. N.]

Occurrence of the Plain Bonito (Auxis vulgaris) in the Moray Firth—A very fine
male specimen of the above rare fish was captured off Cullen, Banffshire, on the 7th
inst. It was taken in a herring-net. It measured over 20 inches in length and 12
in circumference behind the first dorsal. One very peculiar feature connected with it
was that if stroked down when wet it gave the hand all the appearance of having come
across a piece of metal newly black-leaded. I am not aware of this peculiarity being
mentioned in Yarrell or elsewhere.— Thomas Edward ; Banff, September 17, 1859.

6732 Arachnida— Insects.

Spider and Wasp.— In the autumn of 1858, Dr. Howard, of Sandgate, wishing
to observe what a large Diadem (or garden spider) would do if a wasp were put into
his web, took one by the wings and entangled it by the feet. The spider immediately
made a rush at it, when it turned and transfixed the spider in the belly with its sting.
On this, the unhappy spider doubling up, fell from his web dead upon the ground, and
the wasp, getting up, flew away. Dr. Howard thought that the spider had been
merely paralyzed or was shamming dead, so kept him until the next morning, but he
never revived, and showed clearly how deadly the venom of the wasp must have
been.—Charles Horne ; Sandgate, September 2, 1859,

Occurrence at Brighton of Lycena betica, a Butterfly new to Britain. —I1
am indebted to Mr. Thomas Thorncroft, of 87, North Lane, Brighton, for the
information that a new butterfly was taken near the chalk downs, on the 5th of
August last. My son being at Brighton at the time had an opportunity of
seeing it, and Mr. Doubleday has since determined the species. The fortunate
captor is Mr. McArthur, of Brighton. The species is common on the Continent,
and, simultaneously with its appearance at Brighton, was seen in profusion along the
northern coast of France and in the Channel Islands, so that its occurrence here does
not appear extraordinary ; nevertheless, it can only be regarded, like Pieris Dap-
lidice and Cherocampa Nerii, a purely casual visitor, and, like those, it should be
kept perfectly distinct from our truly indigenous insects. It is a dull brownish
insect, above and below has waved markings, rather like those of a Thecla than the
spotted appearance of a Lycena. Each of the hind wings has a short but very dis-
tinct tail, and near the hind margin of each hind wing are two small, but very distinct,
rounded red spots.—Hdward Newman.

Captures of Varieties of Colias Edusa at Brighton. — Since the 12th of this
month, Mr. George Smith, of No. 33, Marlborough Street, Brighton, and myself,
have captured nine very fine specimens of the light variety of Colias Edusa and two
of the small variety called Colias Chrysothemene.—John Meiklam ; 97, King’s Road,
Brighton, August 19, 1859.

Colias Edusa and Sphine Convolvuli.—The accounts of captures of these insects
are too numerous to insert; their appearance has been general.—£. NV.

Capture of Sesia Chrysidiformis near Folkstone.—I captured in the middle of last
July, on the Undercliff between Dover and Folkstone, a beautiful specimen of Sesia
Chrysidiformis. This was captured near the same place in 1855, according to the
‘ Entomologist’s Annual’ for 1856. Mr. Haworth had only seen a single specimen,
and this of Mr. Wratislaw’s makes the sixth known or asserted to have been
captured in Britain. — A. H. Wratislaw ; School Hall, Bury St. Edmund’s,
August 8, 1859.

[This insect was formerly rare, but has lately been proved to be only local: about
thirty specimens have been taken this year and as many last, at the spot mentioned by
the Rev. Mr. Wratislaw.—/id. ]

Description of the Larva of Limacodes Testudo.—Formed like a wood-lonse ; the
upper or exposed portion being an oval-arched carapace resembling that of a tortoise,
or perhaps still more closely the segmentally-divided carapace of a Chiton; this

Insects. 6733

carapace has two longitudinal waved raised ridges and a margin which is reflexed in
front, and its whole surface is delicately shagreened: the head and anterior segments
are retractile beneath the carapace, and these segments as well as all the under sur-
face of the larva seem to possess a mucous or adhesively glutinous covering or skin ;
there are six articulated but rather short legs, as usual in Lepidoptera, but singularly
enough they do not appear to be used in locomotion ; there are no claspers, the entire
under surface of the larva is prehensile, and the larva moves forward by an un-
dulating gliding motion like a slug; this gliding is equally well performed on a
rough surface and on the most polished glass, and either in a horizontal, per-
pendicular or inverted position, indeed on the oak-leaves, its ordinary resort, it
is usually found in an inverted position. The colour of the carapace is a light
delicate green, the two dorsal ridges and the margin being pale yellow; on the inside
of the dorsal ridges are nine oblong crimson spots, and between each pair of crimson
spots is a pair of transverse linear yellow spots placed end to end, the two having
almost the appearance of a continuous line; intermediate between each transversely-
placed pair of spots are a pair of longitudinally-placed smaller spots, exactly of the
same colour: on each side of the larva below the dorsal ridge are three longitudinal
series of pale yellow dots, the upper series of which have a dark green stigmatiform
centre: I du not detect real spiracles in any part of the carapace, and suppose them
to be concealed by its projecting margin. This larva feeds on the oak. The family
to which this singular larva belongs is of great extent in India and has a few
representatives in North America and Australia. 1n Europe there are but two
species, the present insect and a smaller one, Limacodes Asellus. This natural order
is perhaps the most distinct that has yet been eliminated from the vast and closely
interwoven class of insects called Lepidoptera: it is to be regretted that no
characters have yet been discovered distinctive of the imago.— Edward Newman.

Discovery of Clostera Anachoreta in England. — I am pleased to record my fortu-
nate capture of eleven larve, ten of which reached the imago state and proved to be
Clostera Anachoreta; a pupa found by a friend after I knew what it was, and pre-
sented it to me, also came out. I can at present give no locality for it nearer than ‘ the
home-counties,” for several reasons, not the least of which is the certain inundation of
the spot by persons collecting for profit, &c. I attempt a description of the larva,
which, being very attractive in appearance, would not be easily overlooked :— Covered
slightly with yellowish hair; a pale buff broad dorsal band extends longitudinally ;
below this on either side is a slaty black baud, with some dull orange spots, and
beneath this the prevailing colour is orange, the spiracles and spots above being
brighter. The head is black, the fold before it being dull orange. On the fourth
segment is a dull pinkish red tubercle, surrounded by a black patch, in which
on either side of the hump is a very conspicuous pure white spot, the hump or tubercle
appearing considerably larger when the larva is in repose or in fear; a second
smaller and similar tubercle is placed on the anal segment. ‘The larva appears to be,
to a certain extent, gregarious when full-fed; when young it feeds in companies. It
spins a brownish cocoon, and when about to turn to the pupa, the anterior part assumes
a bright green cvlour; the pupa is at first green anteriorly and yellowish brown pos-
teriorly, but soon changes to black.— H. G. Knaggs ; 1, Maldon Place, Camden Town,
N.W., September, 1859.

A new British Noctua: Leucania putrescens. — Early in July I took, flying over
bramble blossoms, three Noctuz which nobody here could make out. I sent one of

6734 Insecls.

them to Mr. Henry Doubleday, who writes that “it is certainly new to Britain, and
extremely near to Leucania punctosa and L., putrescens.” — R. M. Stewart; 3, Park
Place, Torquay. {A specimen of this insect has been forwarded to me, to be named,
by Dr. Battersby, of Torquay; it was taken at dusk, in the middle of July, hovering
over the blossom of the blackberry, on the cliffs. I presume this is the insect taken
by Mr. Stewart, and this is undoubtedly L. putrescens. L. punctosa is a redder
insect, with a less distinctly marked black streck from the base of the wing. LL. pu-
trescens is a native of the South and West of France. Herrich-Schaffer and Guenée
both place it next to L. obsoleta.x—Ed. ‘ Intelligencer.”]

Capture of Hadena peregrina in the Isle of Wight.—I have much pleasure in
recording the capture of a second specimen of the above insect: I took it on the
23rd ult., at sugar, within a few yards of the place where Mr. Bond captured his spe-
cimen last year: it is a female and in beautiful condition. I am indebted to
the courtesy of Mr. Doubleday in naming the insect.—R. MacLachlan ; 1, Park
Road Terrace, Forest Hill, September 7, 1859.

Xanthia gilvago, §c. —I have again bred a few specimens of this insect from the
larva. Iam unfortunately unable to give a description of it, farther than to say that
it so closely resembles that of X. ferruginea that I cannot separate it. Both feed on
the seeds of the wych elm, and it is impossible to distinguish them at that early stage
—at least, I cannot. In the ‘ Intelligencer’ (vol. ii. p. 94) I gave a description of what
I then supposed to be the larva of X. gilvago: it turned out to be X. ferruginea.
However, the description there given will answer equally well for X. gilvago, so far
as I can judge at present. My specimens of the perfect insect, which differ much from
others that I have seen, are small, which I account for in the following way. The
seeds of the wych elm appeared a fortnight earlier than usual, owing to the uncommon
warmth of the season. This warmth was followed by a sudden and protracted frost,
and the seed perished by wholesale. It was, therefore, with the utmost difficulty that
I could supply them with food, since, as far as my experience goes, they will not eat
the leaves. For the same reason, I doubt not, I have been unable to find a single
pupa. I have bred a fine series of X. cerago, from the catkins of the sallow, and shall
be happy to supply, as long as they last, any collector with bred specimens of it, or
any of the following, viz., X. silago, Trichiura Crategi, Hypogymna dispar and
Tethea subtusa.—J. Greene ; Cubley Rectory, Doveridye, Derby.

Description of the Larva of Eupithecia absinthiata.—It would be impossible to
give an accurate description of the almost endless varieties of this most variable larva ;
they run so closely into each other that it would be an almost Herculean task to
separate them. The ground-colour is either yellowish green, deep rose-colour or dirty
reddish brown, with a series of reddish lozenge-shaped spots down the centre of the
back, generally becoming faint or confluent towards the head and tail. In the green
variety these spots are often entirely wanting. On each side a number of narrow,
slanting, yellow stripes, furming a sort of border to the dorsal spots. Spiracular line
waved, yellow. Body wrinkled, thickly studded with minute white tubercles, and
somewhat more sparingly with short white hairs. Segmental divisions yellow, thick
and stumpy, tapering but little. Feeds from the end of August to the beginning of
November, upon the flowers. of common yellow and hoary-leaved ragwort (Senecio
Jacobea and S. crucifolium), the hemp agrimony (Hupatorium cannabinum), the mug-
wort (Artimesia vulgaris), yarrow (Achillea millefolium),. golden rod (Solidago
virgaurea), &c. The pupa, which is encosed in-a tightly-spun earthen cocoon, has the

Insects. 6735

wing-cases bright green, the nervures very prominent; thorax yellowish green;
abdomen reddish yellow, with a dark green dorsal line. The perfect insect appears in
June and July.—H. Harpur Crewe ; Breadsall Rectory, Derby, September 6, 1859.

Description of the Larva of Eupithecia denotata.—-This larva, in size and general
appearance, closely resembles that of E. innotata. It is long, rather slender and
tapering towards the head. There are two varieties: var. 1 is green, with three purple
dorsal lines, the centre one broad and distinct, expanding considerably on the anal
segment, the two side ones very indistinct. Head and prolegs purple. Segmental
divisions and spiracular line yellowish. Belly green. Back studded with a few
minute white tubercles, interspersed here and there with a black one. Vur. 2 is of a
uniform purple, with two lines of a deeper shade on each side of the back. It feeds,
as far as my experience goes, exclusively on the flowers and seeds of the lesser Burnet
saxifrage (Pimpinella saxifraga), and is full fed throughout the month of September,
and occasionally at the beginning of Octuber. It prefers the hedge-sides and banks.
It is fearfully infested with ichneumons, not above one in ten escaping. The pupa is
enclosed in an earthen cocoon: there are two varieties; the one yellowish green, the
other red. The perfect insect appears at the end of June and in July. The larva is
by no means rare in the Eastern Counties; I have also taken it in Derbyshire.—Jd.

Mr. Gregson’s Criticism on the Description of the Larva of Eupithecia assimilata.—
I have just been reading Mr. Gregson’s strictures (Zool. 6695) on my description of
E. assimilata, and I can assure him, with no unfriendly spirit, he must not fear any
accusation of presumption from me. I am well aware of the labours he has bestowed
upon the genus Eupithecia, and I feel that perhaps no one has so much right to
criticize as himself: I only wish he and I were located nearer each other, so that we
might have much Eupithecian talk and many a Pug-hunt together. I must, however,
stand up in my own defence, and maintain the accuracy of my statements. First,
with regard to size, I know not whether there is anything in the soil in the neighbour-
hood of Liverpool which causes the larve of E. assimilata to attain gigantic propor-
tions, but in these parts they certainly do not increase in stature according to
Mr. Gregson’s ratio. Last autumn I took between forty and fifty larve. Some were
ichneumoned, it is true, but the rest certainly were not sickly; they fed well, spun
well and turned well, and they were all about the size of the one from which I took
my description. But then these were taken in the middle of October, and this Mr. G.
says is too late to form a correct idea of their size. However, yesterday (September 6tb)
I took a stick and umbrella into the garden, and thrashed the black-currant bushes;
twenty-six larve, of all sizes, were the fruits of my labour: those that are full fed are
no longer than those I took iast October; some have already turned pink, preparatory
to spinning up. Secondly, with regard to the dorsal markings: out of toose I took
last autumn some three or four had a few small black specks along the central dorsal
line, and this was the only approach to a dorsal marking or lozenge-shaped spot which
any one of them showed: all the rest were a uniform green colour. All the larve I
took yesterday are green, without a spot or speck. In some localities almost all the
larve of Smerinthus Populi are studded with large rust-coloured spots, whilst in others
this variety seldom or ever occurs. May not the same be the case with the larve of
EK. assimilata?—Jd. ; September 7, 1859.

Mr. Gregson’s Criticism on the Description of the Larva of Eupithecia assimilata.—
I read, with very considerable surprise, Mr. Gregson’s remarks (Zool. 6695) upon
Mr. Crewe’s description of the larva of this insect. My. Crewe is well able to defend
himself, and needs no advocate in me; but I wish, on my own behalf, to express my

6736 Insects.

entire dissent from the statements somewhat dogmatically set forth by Mr. Gregson.
He objects, first, to the length given by Mr. Crewe (three quarters of an inch),
affirming that his specimens are double that size! A Pug larva an inch and a half
long I have never seen; possibly that of E. togata may be so, but E. assimilata is
certainly to be ranked among the small species of this genus. Secondly, he objects to
the time specified by Mr. Crewe: the period for the appearance of larve varies, as
every one knows, according to localities and the backward or forward state of the
season. Thirdly, he finds fault with the description of the dorsal markings: “ When
he speaks of a dorsal line, no one would suspect that he was describing the lozenge
or diamond-shaped markings which are so conspicuous an object in one or two groups
of this genus, and particularly so in E. assimilata.” These are the three particulars
in Mr. Crewe’s description objected to by Mr. Gregson. I am prepared to support
Mr. Crewe in every point. I took a considerable number of the larve last year, at
precisely the same period as that named by Mr. Crewe, from which I bred a fine series
this spring: I made a carefully coloured drawing of the best marked specimen at the
time, and find it to agree, in the minutest particular, with the description given by
Mr. Crewe. ‘‘ No one would suppose,” says Mr. Gregson, * that Mr, Crewe was de-
scribing the lozenge or diamond-shaped markings, which are so conspicuous an object
in one or two groups of this genus, and particularly so in E. assimilata.” I will under-
take to say that Mr. Crewe would be much surprised if any one did suppose it. T have
at this moment some half-fed larve before me, and I can unhesitatingly affirm that,
neither in its youthful or full-grown stage, is there the slightest trace of anything like
diamond or lozenge-shaped markings. With regard to the time, as I have already
said, that varies according to circumstances: I have some already “ gone down,”
others about half fed, aud this morning (September 5th) I have beaten some, evidently
only just hatched, so that there is no occasion to suppose that Mr. Crewe was
“evidently describing poor, half-grown, sickly larve.” Lastly, with regard to size,
Mr. Crewe is not to be understood as saying that every single specimen is exactly
three quarters of an inch, and no more, but that that is the average length, and I quite
agree with him, as no specimen that I have seen has exceeded one inch, at the utmost ;
but perhaps the Lancashire measurements are different from ours. My firm impres-
sion is that Mr. Gregson’s insect is not E. assimilata at all. JI may add that the
description in the ‘Manual’ (vol. ii. p. 89) and the ‘ Intelligencer’ (vol. i. p. 203), as
far as they go, tally exactly with that given by Mr. Crewe. In the sixth volume of
the last-named work (p. 64) is a communication facetiously representing the ‘ Zoologist’
as the “heavy coach” of Entomology, and, from his signature of a “ Fast Man,” we
are led to infer that the writer considers the ‘ Intelligencer’ as the “light” or “ fast”
coach. There is an old proverb, ‘* Most haste, worst speed,”—a proverb applicable, in
my opinion, to many of the communications addressed to the ‘ Intelligencer, and to
none more so than Mr. Gregson’s so-called descriptions of the Eupithecia. I should
not have made this remark were it not that Mr. Gregson takes such a “ patronizing”
tone. Compare Mr. Crewe’s elaborate and minute descriptions with those of Mr.
Gregson. ‘The ‘ Zoologist’ may be a “slow” coach, but it is “ steady,” and I have no
hesitation in expressing my conviction that we have not, in any entomological work
whatever, such accurate and careful descriptions of the larve of the Eupithecie as
those recently given by Mr. Crewe. Mr. Gregson seems to think that no one breeds
Pugs but himself. If I mistake not, Mr. Crewe has descriptions of twenty-three
species, and I myself have bred eighteen, and am making drawings each year of all I
meet with.—Joseph Greene; Cubley Rectory, Doveridge, Derby.

Insects, &c. 6737

Capture of Emus hirtus in the Isle of Sheppey.—Accompanied by Mr. Lewis, one
well initiated in the mysteries of insect haunts, I started yesterday morning on an
excursion through the Isle of Sheppey, designing to huat up certain interesting species
of Coleoptera, which that fertile locality is known to present. After much futile labour
for a well-known rarity, the main incentive of our visit, I happened by a fortunate
chance to cast my eye on a bank sloping to the sun. There, wriggling in a mass of
dried cow-dung, I caught a hasty glance of a creature clothed in long golden hair, and
having the appearance of a large Bombus. It immediately occurred to me that a bee
wallowing in dung was somewhat incongruous, and at the same moment I arrived at
the conclusion that it could be no other than Emus hirtus. My companion was scep-
tical, which did not surprise me, and after assisting in the hunt left me. In faith of
the correctness of my conviction, I continued digging for about ten minutes, and, at a
depth of about 8 inches, succeeded in turning out a beautiful and perfect specimen of
this rare and conspicuous insect. Having preserved my specimen alive for observation,
I would first remark the rapacious manner in which its powerful mandibles are brought
into play to destroy whatever opposes it. The cork of the bottle in which it was stored
was so excavated that, if undisturbed, it would doubtless have effected its escape.
Being enveloped in the débris, I was next interested in observing how effectually every
particle was removed, by elevating the hind legs and passing them by a comb-like pro-
cess over the upper surface of the body. The insect being in the constant habit of
unfurling its wings, I observe that they are strongly nerved and so long as completely
to cover the abdomen. This seems to indicate that, like certain of its allies in this
group, its habit is to fly in the sunshine, from one patch of dung to another, in search
of its prey.— Alfred Haward ; Gloucester Road, Croydon, September 23, 1859.

Larva of a Carab.—Extract from a letter of the late Col. Tylden, R.E., dated
““Gaika’s Kop, Amatola Range, South Africa, Oct. 9, 1850 :’—“ I have observed the
ground perforated with small round holes, the entrances to which appeared to be
very elaborately and neatly finished with mud, bits of grass, &c. For some time I
thought them the habitation of the Tarantula, but as they appeared unusually large
for that gentleman’s location, I one morning proceeded to a nearer inspection.
Having picked out one of the smartest and most compact holes I could find, I
lodged a charge of powder therein, in engineer-like style. The mine was completely
successful, demolishing the edifice with a suitable ‘ crater’ of about eight inches, and
ejecting the occupant, which proved to be an animal closely resembling a large flea
in form and colour, about 24 inches long, with a flat head like a locust, to which
were attached two most formidable nippers or jaws. He was rather a vicious-looking
fellow altogether. I wished to preserve one, but, as the body is soft like that of the
scorpion, it is difficult to do so, and the ants usually get them in the end.”— [Pro-
bably the larva of one of the large African Anthias.— Edward Newman |

Paintings of Animals by the Bushmen. — Extract from a letter of the late Col.
Tylden :—“ I have been occasionally amused by the remains of rude paintings of
animals, &c., which are to be found upon the rocks about the caves formerly fre-
quented by the Bushmen. Some of the animals are really well represented, and
nearly all are to be recognised. They are coloured with clays, &c., generally rather

XVII. oI

6738 Zoology of the Andaman Islands.

smaller; but in some cases, especially snakes, the size of life. Considering the extra-
ordinarily degenerate state of a Bushman’s cranium, compared with that of an
European, these productions are singular, and would be an interesting fact to the
phrenologist.” :

The Zoology of the Andaman Islands. By the Editor of the
‘Indian Field.’

WE learn from the ‘ Moulmein Advertiser’ that “ Dr. Walker is pre-
paring a very interesting account of the Andaman people, furnished
by a Pandy who has been domesticated amongst them for more than
a year.” Pandy’s information will of course have to be well sifted ;
but it should not be difficult to eliminate truth from fable and
exaggeration, or the flightiness of an Oriental imagination. We have
therefore pleasure in anticipating some trustworthy revelations on the
habits and mode of life of this remarkable wild tribe, one of the far-
scattered remnants, as we hold, of a wide-spread primeval population,
of no proved African origin, nor indeed greater probability of African
descent than the negroes have of Oriental origin, but which races of
higher culture and prowess would appear to have long since com-
pelled to take refuge in mountain fastnesses or remote islands, where
not a few of such remnants yet survive, including a population still in
great force on the extensive and little-known island of Papua, or New
Guinea (whence, of course, so denominated), and its vicinity. On the
principal island of the neighbouring group of the Nicobars, such a
race still inhabits the mountainous interior, and is stated to be ever
at war with the coast population; which latter is derived obviously
from the adjacent territories of Burma and Malasia.

Inclining strongly to these views, we do not venture to indulge the
hope or expectation expressed in the recently-published Government
Report on the Andaman Islands, with reference to their Negrillo
inhabitants, that “to ascertain their manners and customs, and to
establish their identity with any existing portion of the negro race, to
which they clearly belong, would solve the mystery of ages, and lead
to a knowledge of the probable manner in which Asiatic islands came
to be occupied by an African people.” This, we opine, is rather
like “jumping to a conclusion.” We are not at all surprised to learn
that the indiyidual captured by the expedition did not “ comprehend
a word of the several African dialects spoken by the Seedees in the
service of the Peninsula and Oriental Company, with whom he was
confronted.” On the contrary, we should have been exceedingly
astonished had he done so.

Zoology of the Andaman Islands. 6739

The inhabitants of the Andamans, we are told, “are dwarf Negril-
los, strong and robust when their supply of food is abundant, as it
was during the time of our visit; intensely black, and possessing most
of the physical characters of the true negro, with the exception of the
projection of the heel.

“The individual captured at Interview Island was singularly quiet
and docile, imitated regularly the actions and gestures of those by
whom he was surrounded, and never, from first to last, exhibited the
smallest indication of ferocity.” Of the vulgarly reputed cannibalism
of the Andamanese there does not appear to be the slightest proof,
but every indication that, however ancient and prevalent the notion,
it is utterly unfounded ; nor can we learn that any Negrillo tribe has
been elsewhere convicted of the abomination.

Vague as may be the information derived from Ptolemy, from Marco
Polo, and from the two Arab travellers of the ninth century of our era,
we still gather sufficient, even from these imperfect records, to feel
incredulous of the story in the ‘Calcutta Monthly Register’ for No-
vember, 1790, quoted in the Government Report. “ We are told
that when the Portuguese had a settlement near Pegue, two of their
ships, with cargoes of slaves on board, amounting in number of men
and women to three hundred, were cast away there ; and as the inha-
bitants are of the Coffree caste [caste !], it must be allowed that pro-
bability favours this opinion or conjecture.” It did so, perhaps,
when so little was known of the Negrillos or Negritos of the Philip-
pines and elsewhere, and when Ethnology was more completely in its
infancy than at present. But we happen to have heard how the
domestic pig found its way to the islands from a wrecked ship;
whereas the fact is that the little wild pig of the Andamans (Sws an-
damanensis) is of a totally different species from the domestic porker,
and peculiar (so far as hitherto known) to the Andaman Archipelago,
though identical on the islands of Great and Little Andaman, which
are separated by some thirty miles of sea. On conversing with a
well-known gentleman who has often visited the Nicobar islands, and
is familiar with their ordinary productions, we once asked him, by
way of jest, how the potato came to grow wild on certain of the Nico-
bars, and were duly informed of the manner of its introduction.
Indeed, it may be remarked that if a few domestic swine were actually
to find their way on shore from a wrecked vessel, their tameness
would at once betray them to the human inhabitants, and so lead to
their immediate destruction. Besides which, the chances would be
very great against there being an unmutilated boar amongst them, to
continue the race if allowed the chance.

6740 Zoology of the Andaman Islands.

' With some surprise we remark that not a word is said in the
Government Report respecting the curious fact, that, whilst the pig
is the only warm-blooded quadruped as yet determined on the islands,
it proves to be of a species exceedingly different from any race of
domestic swine, whether Indian or Chinese, and equally so from all
the numerous wild swine of S.E. Asia and its Archipelago, with the
two exceptions of Sus papuensis of New Guinea, and the curious
pygmy hog of the sub-Himalayan sal-forest, which is described by
Mr. Hodgson by the name Porcula salvania. These three species
differ from all the rest by their diminutive size, and externally by
having a mere tubercle in place of a tail; while in the relative pro-
portion of the molar teeth the difference is so considerable that Mr.
Hodgson separated the one known to him as the type of a distinct
division, styled by him Porcula.

Whether the little wild pig of the Andamans inhabits also the
neighbouring group of the Nicobar islands remains to be ascertained ;
but the modern Nicobarians have domestic swine of a very large size,
which they have doubtless obtained from the European shipping.
There is a slight notice and very rude figure of the skull of the tiny
hog, from the Little Andaman, in Jameson’s ‘ Kdinburgh New Philo-
sophical Journal,’ vol. xvi. (1826-7); but all that is stated of the ani-
mal occurs in the description of an Andamanese hut,—“ Ranged in a
row round the walls [!] were the smoked skulls of a diminutive hog,”
—a statement which, with the figure, serves to prove the existence of
the species on that particular island. It is not unlikely, but rather
the reverse, that it may yet prove to inhabit the forests of the neigh-
bouring mainland, the zoology of which has not been much investi-
gated; for be it remembered that its congener of the sub-Himalayan
sal-forests was long overlooked.

In the Preface to the Government Report we read that the Anda-
mans “are extremely deficient in animal life, and the birds inhabiting
them are comparatively few; but the reefs and bays abound in shell
and other fish.” Shell and other fish !—do not these constitute ani-
mal life in their way? But it is a vague method of writing, another
instance of which we have just chanced to notice in Ogle’s book on
‘Western Australia, where the author tells us that “the fish are with-
out number, from the whale to the shrimp.” In a late number of the
‘Illustrated London News’ we find a seal figured as “ the talking and
acting fish ;” and in like manner the flying fox might as well be
termed a bird, albeit surely not of the feathered class ; and we might
adopt the Indian and Chinese fancy of classifying the Manis, or Pan-

Zoology of the Andaman Islands. 6741

golin, asa fish! ‘Shell-fish” are more than once mentioned in the
Report, meaning alike crustaceans and shelled mollusks; and we read
also of the coral “insect.” ‘“ The only mammal whose existence we
ascertained was the pig, their skulls being found suspended in the
huts of the savages.” The pig, as before remarked, naturally elicits
the question, What sort of pig ?—it being not even mentioned whether
wild or tame! But, being wild, it surely merited an inquiry regarding
its particular species. In like manner we read of “ the bamboo, the
rattan, and the cane.” ‘The last, we apprehend, must mean some
kind of rattan (Calamus); but, the precise species not being identi-
fied (so far as appears), would it not have been better to have em-
ployed the expression “a species of,” or “species of bamboo and of
rattan”? A Frenchman or a German would have been far more
explicit in his statements; and the reader, desirous of accurate infor-
mation, is disappointed at such want of precision.

The only additional mammal as yet determined from the Anda-
mans is the dugong (Halicore indicus), a marine creature, one of the
Syrenia, or Cetacea herbivora of Cuvier, some bones of which (now
in the Asiatic Society’s museum) have been obtained from an Anda-
manese hut; and this is the most northern locality in which we as
yet know of its occurrence.

Rats, however, there certainly are, and their burrows have been
remarked by recent observers; but rats of some kind are not of recent
introduction. The writer in the ‘Calcutta Monthly Register’ (1790)
mentions “ wild hogs and rats (the only animals that were perceived
in that country ;”’ and Lieutenant Colebrooke notices monkeys in
addition, a statement which greatly needs confirmation. We are
credibly informed, however, of the loris (or so-called “sloth” of Euro-
peans, “little Bradypus” of Helfer!) having been observed on the
island of Preparis, situate to the north of the Andamans in a line with
Cape Negrais. Bats may of course be looked for, probably a shrew
or two, perhaps a Tupaia, and squirrels and flying squirrels; but,
unless bats, not any of the rest would appear to have been hitherto
remarked at Port Blair. Even the alleged rat may not improbably
turn out to be a species of Rhizomys, or bamboo rat. *

* Since writing the above we have taken a mouse from the stomach of a venom-
ous snake from Port Blair, the Trigonocephalus Cantori (heretofore only known from
the Nicobars). So far as it can be made out the mouse is the M. Manei, which is the
common house mouse of India. Another mammal since reported,seemingly a Tupaia.
In an extract from a letter from Port Blair, dated June 22, and published in the
* Delhi Gazette’ for July 15, it is stated that “ the settlers had caught another small

6742 Zoology of the Andaman Islands.

According to Colonel Symes, “Birds are not numerous in Great
Andaman ; doves, parraquets, and the Indian crow are the most com-
mon species.” Which Indian crow? Not the common Calcutta
species, but the Indian black crow (Corvus culminatus), which is
popularly miscalled the “raven.” The doves and parraquets are as
yet undetermined, though a large fruit pigeon (Carpophaga sylvatica)
abounds. We have seen only one decided bird novelty from Port
Blair, which is a peculiar shama (Kittacincla albiventris), like our
favourite Indian songster, but having a pure white belly, and the
middle tail-feathers being much elongated beyond the next pair. We
have been assured that it is an equally fine musician.

From the Report we learn that “ At old Port Cornwallis, where
water abounds, there were numerous birds; but our occupations did
not permit of any collection worthy of notice being made.” We
should have been glad to learn, however, what actually were col-
lected. Novelties among water-fowl and wading-birds are not to be
expected, nor among the birds of prey, of which last we have seen
two species from Port Blair, both common in the neighbouring
countries,—the Hematornis cheela and the Blagrus leucogaster ; but
the parrots, the pigeons, and the small perching birds are tolerably
sure to yield some novelties, to judge from analogy with the neigh-
bouring group of the Nicobars ; and at Port Blair a pretty species of
the starling family (Zemenuchus erythropygta) abounds, a bird pre-
viously observed only in the Nicobars. The Andaman oriole, or
“mango bird,” appears to be the Oriolus coronatus of the great
Asiatic Archipelago; and we have never seen this bird from the
adjacent countries, the fine oriole of the Nicobars (O. macrourus)
having hitherto been met with only upon those islands. Another
common species at Port Blair, which was originally discovered in the
Nicobars, is a fine redbreasted thrush (Geocichla innotata), doubtless
the “redbreast” of Mr. Quigley ; and we have seen other species that
occur there as a matter of course; among them the large “hill
maina” (Gracula javanica), which is also common in the Nicobar
islands. The splendid Irena puella is an inhabitant of the Andaman
forests. There is little use in quoting such vague enumerations as

quadruped on the island, somewhat like a mungoose, but its genus has not been
determined,—in all probability a Tupaia, a small squirrel-like animal, with peaked
snout and insectivorous dentition. In one of the early volumes of the ‘ Calcutta
Journal of Natural History’ a Tupaia is actually figured for a species of mungvose
(Herpestes) !

Zoology of the Andaman Islands. 6743

those of Mr. Quigley (vide Report, pp. 60, 65) ; and we have hitherto
always supposed that the Trochilide, or humming birds, were quite
peculiar to America! Even Lieut. Colebrooke, however, tells us that
“a species of humming bird, whose notes are not unlike those of the
cuckoo, is frequently heard in the night!” But, for that matter, we
might cite a quasi-scientific book that treats cursorily of the zoology
of the province of Kemaon, wherein we read, amid other utter rub-
bish, of “ Trochilus, or humming bird. In Kemaon this is a very
splendid genus, but so numerous that it would be impossible to enter
into an enumeration of the species” !—two or three species, and
scarcely more, of Nectariniide being here intended. ;

If the very remarkable genus Megapodius ever existed in the An-
damans, as it still does in the Nicobars, it is likely to have been
extirpated by the human inhabitants, who would dig the eggs from
the mounds, and so eventually exterminate the race; inasmuch as it
is not likely to have penetrated far inland, especially in a dense forest.
Such a forest may be inhabited by Psittacide, Bucerotidx, Picide,
Bucconide, Cuculide, Trogonide, Batrachostomi (perhaps), and Co-
lumbide ; but the small perching tribes would be little seen until
clearance had been effected, and then we doubt if the islands would
be remarkable for paucity of species! At present our knowledge of
the Ornithology of the Andamans is meagre in the extreme.*

Of reptiles we have seen as yet but four—a lizard, apparently a
female of a second species of the remarkable genus Dilophyrus; a
particularly interesting small gecko (Phelswma andamanense, also
new); a venomous snake (Trigonocephalus Cantort), which previously
was known only from the Nicobar islands; and a harmless tree-snake,
common in the neighbouring countries, the Dendrophis picta. In the
inferior classes the reader will probably not be much interested ; and
we shall therefore merely remark that the most notable discovery is
that of a superb large land-crab, which there can be little doubt con-
tributes, and probably to no small extent, to the ordinary food of the
Andaman savages.

No fresh-water fishes have been seen as yet; but some little mud-
skippers (Pertopthalmus), and a curious new genus of them, which

* The species as yet determined with certainty are Hematornis cheela, Blagrus
leucogaster, Todirhamphus cullaris, Halcyon coromander, H. smyrnensis, Corvus cul-
minatus, Gracula javanica, Temenuchus erythropygia, Tephrodornis grisola, Geocichla
innotata, Copsychus saularis, Kittacincla albiventris (new), Artamus leucoryhynchos,
Edolius retifer, Pericrocotus peregrinus, Pycnonotus jocosus (Malayan var.), Irena
puella (Indian var.), Oriolus coronatus, Carpophaga sylvatica, Calenas nicobaricus
(from the Cocos), and Anous stolida.

6744 Birds.

has been styled Andamia; also a new type of fresh-water crab, and a
few insects, with the common large centipede (Scolopendra morsitans),
which seems to be universally distributed in hot countries. The
marine productions are of course those of the Bay generally ; and a
better locality for studying and collecting them there cannot be. The
products of the sea, moreover, are obtained with comparative facility ;
the implacable and ever-vigilant hostility of the islanders proving a
serious obstacle to the collection of the animal inhabitants of the land.

Birds of Canada observed near Kingston during the Spring of 1858.
By Captain Henry HaApFIELp.
(Concluded from p. 6709).

Canada Nuthatch (Torchepot de la Canada of Buffon). April 16th.
Shot what I believe to be a bird of this species, it having a blue head,
and differing materially from the common redbellied blackcapped nut-
hatch, which has the upper part of the head of a pure glossy black,
the sides and the whole of the lower parts rusty brown; whereas the
former has the crown bluish gray like the back, with numerous small
longitudinal dark brown spots. The white line over the eye passes
quite round the forehead without any interruption; there is also con-
siderably more white about the cheeks and throat, which, meeting at
the nape, forms a collar; the breast, sides and belly are of a grayish
white tinged with rufous. The primary quills, as in the other species,
are of a glossy hair- brown, but they have considerably less grayish white
on the margins; the first is about a quarter the length of the second ;
the third slightly exceeds the fourth, whereas the latter feather is the
longest in the redbellied nuthatch. The former has the secondaries
broadly tipped with white ; but what forms the chief distinction, and
I think proves it to be a different species, is that the wing is rounded ;
both primaries and secondaries being greatly incurved; the outer
webs, from the second to the fifth quill inclusive, are but slightly
indented ; whercas in the other species the whole of the primaries are
emarginate and recurved. In the present species both primaries and
secondaries are broader than in the redbellied nuthatch, and the inner
secondaries are more elongated. The tail in both kinds is almost
similar, but the white patches on the three exterior feathers are
smaller, and do not extend to the outer web on the second quill of the
Canada nuthatch, which, though of the same length and extent, is
a somewhat slighter bird than the other. The head being blue, and

Birds. 6745

the wing of a different shape, there can be no doubt of its being
a distinct species, though Wilson seems to hesitate in pronouncing it
_ to be so, for he remarks, vol. ii. p. 203, “ Buffon’s Torchepot de la
Canada is either a young bird of the present species (Redbellied
blackcapped nuthatch) in its imperfect plumage, or a different sort
that rarely visits the United States, probably the latter, as the tail and
the head appear of the same bluish gray or lead-colour as the back.
The young birds of this species (redbellied), it may be observed, have
also the crown of a lead-colour during the first season.”

In my note on the habits of the European nuthatch (Zool. 5684) I
remarked :—“ The bill, although undoubtedly strong, I should not at
first sight have considered sufficiently so either to have perforated or
cracked a nut, unless it had been so stated on the best authority ;
besides, if constantly used in drilling holes through nuts, it would ne-
cessarily have become, I should have thought, in some degree blunted
thereby ; whereas the bills of all these birds are very acute, and the
upper mandible exceeding the lower in length, which seems unlikely
to be the case if constantly brought in contact with so hard and
polished a surface as that of the nut.” And I am glad to find my
opinion corroborated by so great an authority as Wilson, who, in
remarking on the habits of the Carolina nuthatch, says, ‘‘ The name
*‘nuthatch’ has been bestowed on this family of birds from their sup-
posed practice of breaking nuts by repeated hatchings or hammerings
with their bills. Soft-shelled nuts, such as chestnuts, chinkopins
and hazel-nuts, they may probably be able to demolish, though I
have never yet seen them so engaged; but it must be rather in search
of maggots that sometimes breed there than for the kernel.” “ From
the great numbers that I have opened at all seasons of the year,
I have every reason to believe that ants, bugs, small seeds, insects
and their larve form their chief subsistence, such matters alone being
uniformly found in their stomachs. Neither can I see what neces-
sity they could have to circumambulate the trunks of trees with such
indefatigable and restless diligence, while bushels of nuts lay scattered
round their roots.” Although I have skinned several, 1 omitted to
examine the contents of the stomachs; but there can be no doubt of
their being insect-feeders, though they may occasionally amuse them-
selves with a nut. This bird is a tree-creeper, and closely allied to
the woodpecker, but the latter has the bill worn and blunted, though
_ the decayed bark and wood perforated cannot offer the resistance that
the hard and polished surface of the nut does.

Blueeyed Yellow Warbler (Sylvia citrinella). May 9th. Saw

XVII, 3K

6746 Birds.

three of these elegant little birds among the willows in my garden; had
noticed one on the 6th. It is undoubtedly a true willow wren, though
differing somewhat from the European in shape and colour.

Blue Yellowback Warbler (Sylvia pusilla). May 18th. Shot one
of these diminutive birds, a handsome male, measuring 4} inches in
length, and 7 inches in extent of wings.

Blackthroated Blue Warbler (Sylvia canadensis). May 13th. Shot
one of these rather rare birds (length 5 inches, extent of wings 64
wing from flexure 23 inches), of which Wilson says, “It is highly
probable that they breed in Canada; but the summer residents among
the feathered race, on that part of the Continent, are little known or
attended to;” “and unless there should arrive an order from Eng-
land for a cargo of skins of warblers and flycatchers, sufficient to
make them an object worth speculation, we are likely to know as
little of them hereafter as at present.” Later in the month I saw
another that had been sent into Kingston to be stuffed; so I am
inclined to think they breed in the country.

Baltimore Oriole (Icterus baltimorus). May 13th. Procured one of
these handsome but common birds.

Whitecrowned Bunting (Emberiza leucophrys). May 14th. Saw
two of these rare and beautiful birds in a tree in the garden; suc-
ceeded in shooting one, which proved to be the male.

American Woodcock (Scolopax minor). May 15th. Found two of
these diminutive woodcocks in a swampy bit of ground, so closely
covered with alders and brushwood that it was a difficult matter to
get a shot at them; but, both being eventually killed, they proved to
be males. They were highly prized, for although a common bird
they were the first I had seen. The largest measured 11 inches 4-
tenths in length, and 17 inches in extent of wings.

Wood Thrush (Turdus melodus). May 15th. Shot one of these
fine songsters. I found it at the edge of a wood, where it might have
remained concealed and unobserved among the thick foliage, had it
not been betrayed by its song. This is one of the few birds of North
America whose song is deserving of thename. Although a handsome
bird, the plumage is not so rich as that of the ferruginous thrush. It
measures 72 inches in length, and 13 inches in extent of wings.

Ferruginous Thrush (Turdus rufus). May 18th. When in quest of
birds near an extensive marsh and cedar swamp, I saw and heard, for
the first time, this large and elegant thrush, which from the clearness
of its notes I at first took for the wood thrush; but in shape, colour
and size it differs widely, having a more elongated tail, richer plumage,
and greater weight.

Birds. 6747

Canada or Whitefronted Swallow (Hirundo lunifrons). May 21st.
Saw a number of these beautiful little swallows near Toronto, the first
I had observed since my arrival in Canada. It was not until after
several unsuccessful attempts that I succeeded in shooting one; whe-
ther this arose from over-excitement, or’ was caused by the unsteady
flight of the bird, it is difficult to determine, but they appeared to be
constantly wheeling in narrow circles, frequently within a few yards
of one, and then would suddenly disappear behind the trees. I never
knew a bird more difficult to shoot, except perhaps a jack snipe; as
to the swift-flying Hirundo pelasgia, I had found it comparatively
easy. I merely secured one specimen, but had a few days before pro-
cured another near Kingston, the only one seen during my residence
there, possibly the limestone formation being unsuited to its habits,
as it is said to breed in the cliffs of barren grounds.

Sand Martin (Hirundo riparia). May 21st. Found these birds
very numerous in the sand-banks and cliffs near Hamilton ; secured
some specimens. Although this town, as well as Kingston, is on Lake
Ontario, I never observed a sand martin at the latter place, owing
no doubt to the different nature of the soil. They vary much in
size, the largest being 5 inches 3-tenths in length, and 11 inches.
2-tenths in extent of wings; the smallest measuring but 4 inches
9-tenths in length, and 10 inches 2-tenths in extent.

Cat Bird (Turdus lividus). May 21st. Saw two of these birds,
male and female, near Toronto, in some bushes skirting a stream ;
shot the latter. It is not, I think, a very common species; at least I
observed but few the previous autumn, and those were invariably in
low, swampy Situations.

Tyrant Flycatcher, or King Bird (Muscicapa tyrannus). May
22nd. Obtained a specimen ; length 8% inches, extent of wings 124
inches. ‘This is a common species.

Great Tern (Sterna Hirundo). May 22nd. Obtained a specimen ;
extent of wings 314 inches.

Redeyed Flycatcher (Muscicapa olivacea). May 24th. Shot one of
these elegant flycatchers, which are so closely allied to the warblers
that had it not been for the slightly decurved upper mandible I should
have set them down as such. The tarsus is unusually long, namely,
7-tenths of an inch ; the length of the bird is 5% inches; in colour it
somewhat resembles the wood wren.

Chestnutsided Warbler (Sylvia pennsylvanica). May 24th. Shot
one of these rather rare and beautiful birds; it proved to be a hand-
some male; length 5 inches, extent of wings 7] inches, wing from

6748 Birds.

flexure 2} inches. I subsequently saw another that had been recently
killed. As this bird, according to Wilson, passes through Pennsyl-
vania in April, or early in May, there can be little doubt of its
breeding in Canada. The bill is rather stout and slightly decurved,
and this bird, both in form and habits, seems allied to the tits.

Blackburnian Warbler (Sylvia Blackburnie). May 24th. Shot one
of these rare birds, the only one I ever saw; length 43 inches, extent
of wings 73 inches, wing from flexure 2 inches 4-tenths. This bird
also appears to migrate northwards in May, returning in September,
consequently must breed in Canada. Wilson remarks, “ Of the nest
and habits of this bird I can give no account, as there are not more
_ than one or two of these birds to be found here in a season, even with
the most diligent search.” The bill of this species is slighter and
less decurved than that of the preceding, which it seems to resemble
in habits, frequenting the upper branches of the fir trees.

Scarlet Tanager (Tanagra rubra). May 24th. Shot a handsome
adult male (had previously observed one). Although not a very com-
mon species, I saw several in a small wood about two miles from the
town, on the above day; the splendid red and black plumage of the
males making them very conspicuous, and though but 7 inches in
length and 113 in extent of wings they appear much larger (Wilson
gives 64 inches as the length, and 103 as the extent of wings). The
females are of a yellowish olive-green, with dusky quills and tail-
feathers, margined with greenish yellow; the under parts yellow
tinged with green, except at the vent, where the feathers (including
the under tail-coverts) are of a pure bright yellow. Except in size
and shape they bear no resemblance to the males, and might be taken
for another species until closely examined and compared. I do not
think so great a disparity exists between the male and female of any of
our EKuropean birds.

Great Horned Owl (Strix virginiana). May 25th. A fine bird of
this species was brought to me for sale; it had been badly wounded,
having lost one eye, and appeared in a dying state; and it bemg
imagined that pressure alone would have extinguished life, it was
placed on its back, and stood on, but its muscular power was still so
great that it succeeded in freeing itself of the load, probably some
180 Ibs. It measured 22 inches in length, 49 inches in extent of
wings, and 15} inches from flexure, and weighed 4Ibs.; eye dark
blue; iris yellow.

Humming Bird (Trochilus colubris). May. Towards the end of the
month several of these birds were seen by my sons, flitting about in a

Birds. 6749

hawthorn bush (a common shrub, not unlike our own, but the thorns
and berries are larger). It was found impossible to count them, as
they were in perpetual motion; but my sons are agreed in thinking
that there must have been twenty or more congregated in this single
bush, possibly for the purpose of roosting, as it was late in the day
when they were discovered. Probably they had recently migrated,
as not one had I observed, although out early and late collecting spe-
cimens to bring home with me. During their short stay in Canada,
where they breed, they frequent the flower gardens in and near the
towns and villages ; but I never met with one, either in the fields or
woods.

Rice Bunting (Emberiza oryzivora). May. Procured a specimen,
the first I had seen, though a common species.

Winter Wren (Sylvia troglodyles). May. Saw one of these com-
mon birds. My gun having missed fire more than once, it was
allowed to escape; but as it was very tame, creeping among the
decaying trunks of the fallen timber, I had a good opportunity of
observing it. Although Wilson seems to think it is “ the same spe-
cies as the common domestic wren of Britain,’ one that I examined
in the autamn was decidedly a much darker bird than the common
European wren.

Piedbilled Dobchick (Podiceps carolinensis). One was shot by
my son.

Buffelheaded Duck (Anas albecola). Saw one recently killed.
Rather a common species.

Hooded Merganser (Mergus cucullatus). Saw several up a creek ;
endeavoured to approach them in a boat, but did not succeed in
getting within shot. When disturbed they made for the lake. Their
flight is rapid.

Dusky Duck (Anas obscura). There have been great numbers of
these ducks on the lake since the breaking up of the ice. Itisa
very common species. I also observed large flocks late in the
autumn. Several other kinds of ducks and teal were occasionally
seen, but not identified.

American Bittern (Ardea minor). Observed one rise out of a marsh.

Remarks.— Gulls, rails, divers, hawks, and numerous other species
were observed, but not identified ; so it must not be inferred that the
above list includes anything like the whole of the migratory birds
that may have arrived up to the 29th of May, the date of my leaving
Canada; for not only must many have escaped my notice, but the

6750 Birds.

immediate neighbourhood of a town is not the most desirable locality
for carrying on one’s observations on any but the swallow tribe and a
few others. Most of the birds seen or collected were found within a
very narrow range, and within two miles of the town; and I intend,
for the benefit of any ornithologist who may chance to stray
to that part of the country, to point out the exact position of the
secluded and sheltered glen in which the greater part of my speci-
mens were collected.

Quitting the town of Kingston by the upper Portsmouth road,
leaving the Cathedral on the right and the splendid new Court-house
on the left, you proceed for nearly a mile on the usual raised boarded
foot-way, through level, half-cultivated fields almost without a tree or
even a stump; then, leaving the high road, and striking off obliquely
to the right for half a mile or more over a barren-looking common,
dotted here and there with clumps of the everlasting fir, the first
wood or enclosure is reached (where a few birds only are likely to be
met with, there being neither underwood nor water), but not quite so
smoothly as on paper, there being endless snake-fences to be clam-
bered over, no easy matter when encumbered by shot and gun, to say
nothing of heavy boots (rendered imperatively necessary by the
swampy and spongy nature of the soil in Canada, which would puzzle
the ingenuity of the most skilful agriculturist to drain, the country
being generally a dead level); and ornithologists afflicted with obe-
sity, if such excitable beings ever are so, should pause ere they trust
themselves astride on the topmost bars of suspicious-looking snake-
fences, as they are in these old enclosures very apt to give way, when
great is the fall thereof. {1 have in my mind’s eye a vivid recollec-
tion of a scene of the sort, but the sufferer, fortunately, was of the
leaner kind, or the fall of some five or six feet, gun in hand, might
have knocked out his own brains as well as those of the much-prized
specimen he held. But supposing these intolerable zigzag. bar-
ricades to be surmounted, passing a “‘ clearance” or two, 7. e., fields
literally covered with charred stumps, the glade is approached, its
sloping banks margined with a profusion of scrubby underwood
and stunted hawthorn-bushes. In the back-ground trees of various
kinds are seen, though, the soil being shallow and rocky, they
are somewhat dwarfish in growth; but their spreading branches and
thick foliage serve to shelter and protect the various kinds of birds
now daily arriving from the South, and which seemingly make this
their resting place before dispersing to their breeding stations or
spreading themselves over the country. At the head of the vale is a

Birds. 6751

swamp, swarming with frogs, or marsh nightingales as our neighbours
cal] them, whose notes it would be in vain to attempt to describe,
there being something unearthly about them ; suffice it to say that it
is overpowering, and unlike that of frogs in any other quarter
of the globe. The prostrate trunks of some gigantic trees in different
stages of decay lie half-embedded in the marsh, but there are still a
few of equal size standing erect, their decaying and perforated trunks
the abode of nuthatches and woodpeckers, which may be seen peering
out at the intruders, and if unmolested will present themselves on the
trunks or on the blasted weather-beaten limbs. Lower down the glen
there is the source of a small rivulet, which, winding through the
rocky and broken ground, falls into the lake at the pretty and shel-
tered village of Portsmouth. But returning to the sloping woods that
skirt the upper valley, where many an hour was passed in close and
diligent search after newly-arrived species: here warmth and shelter
are doubtless the chief attractions, but the running stream must be
preferred to the stagnant pools or swamps that more usually abound.
The “bush” in reality is no bush at all, but forests of lofty trees,
with bare and branchless trunk, canopied with dense foliage imper-
vious to the sun; and on the leaf-covered ground beneath there is
neither shrub nor bramble that could afford birds shelter or screen
their nests. Though so narrow and confined, there is in this glen a
diversity of soil; in the more elevated portions of it the blue lime-
stone crops out in all directions, and very peculiar-looking it is,
having occasionally the appearance of gigantic slabs of blue slate, so
even and horizontal that it might be imagined this favoured land had
escaped the floods and convulsions that in ages past have torn and
rent our globe, leaving it in a state of chaos. But suddenly the
scene changes: the dwarfish growth is succeeded by lofty beech, elm,
and other forest trees, showing the rich nature of the soil. Here a
few pigeons may be found; some small birds too on the outskirts of
the wood, where sun and light have caused the trees to throw out
lateral branches, and promoted the growth of underwood and brier.
The notes of the thrush may here be heard early and late, but we
listen in vain for those of any other songsters. Having heard the fer-
ruginous thrush (French mocking bird) and the wood thrush, I am
inclined to think the former the best songster, but neither, in my opi-
nion, equals our own mavis either in power or compass. Chirpings
and occasional subdued warblings we may and do hear, but nothing
approaching to a song; so we might be inclined to set down Wilson’s
description as an overdrawn, if not a figurative one, did we not bear

6752 Birds.

in mind that the far-famed mocking bird, together with many a song-
ster that charmed the enthusiastic ornithologist of the West (whose
early impressions of his native warblers must have been well-nigh
obliterated) are never met with north of St. Lawrence.

In returning to the town by the lower road which skirts the lake,
blueeyed warblers (like our willow wrens) may be seen flitting among
the branches of the lofty poplars (probably planted by the early
French settlers, as many of them are now falling into decay), and a
few gulls and terns may be observed soaring over the water or
reposing on its surface.

HH. W. HapFIE.LpD.
Lossiemouth, Elgin, N.B.

Note on the Habits of the Longeared Oul (Strix otus). — Having paid successful
attention to this species for the last two years, I am in a position to state several facts
which I believe are litle kown. Large, sombre and retired woods, in which the various
species of evergreen fir are freely interspersed, are the favourite haunts of the long-
eared owl. When a pair are in possession of such a wood they seldom leave it per-
manently, unless driven by some very powerful cause. They spend the day in sleep,
aud come forth at dusk to search for prey. An evergreen fir, where such is available,
is the most esteemed roosting place. They perch in an erect position; and when on
one of the larger limbs of a tree of this description they sometimes get so close to the
bole that an ordinary observer would mistake them for a crooked or enlarged portion,
so nearly do they approximate it in colour. Occasionally, also, the thick stem of an
old gorse bush will be selected as a roost. The same dormitory is seldom resorted to
for more than a few days consecutively. Their hearing is so acute that even a very
stealthy approach will awake them. I have endeavoured to form an intimate
acquaintance with them, but without success. From whatever point I tried to ob-
serve them, the head always turned and the eyes were towards me. Generally they
are wary, and will fly as an unwelcome intruder advances. When disturbed, the
tufts on the head are raised, and maintained in that position while the cause con-
tinues. The food of the longeared owls consists of mice, with an occasional finch. I
have not known anything larger to be taken. With regard to the way in which they
capture birds, an observant and trustworthy countryman told me that he had watched
them flying about trees and bushes, and following the course of their branches, at
dusk; his idea being that they were looking for birds, though he never saw them
catch any. Ihave not seen this movement, but believe the man’s statement, and

think it original. This owl is seldom its own architect, but generally selects and
repairs the old nest of a hawk, magpie or wood pigeon. ‘The only instance within
my knowledge in which a pair may have built their own was in last spring. I dis-
covered three or four young ones, still unable to fly, scattered at short distances in a
place where no nest large enough to contain them could be found. Dead bracken
was in profusion everywhere about, and gorse and small black firs were growing up
and down. Now, I think these birds must have been reared on a prepared bed of

Birds. 6753

decaying vegetable matter, either under a fir or amongst the gorse. When they
could fly the parents led them to a neighbouring wood, and continued to feed them
for several weeks. I state the facts of the case, and leave others to judge for them-
selves. When a pair of longeared owls take possession of a nest, usually early in
March, they roost by it until the first egg is laid, about the middle of the month,
when incubation at once commences. Frequently the full complement of eggs—two,
three or four in number—are laid on consecutive days, whilst occasionally a week or
so may intervene between ; for instance, the second and future ones. As a proof of
this, I took a nest last spring which contained four eggs; of these one was fresh, as

though Jaid that morning ; a second was slightly sitten, whilst the third and fourth

were still more so, each differing a little in degree. The difference between each was
as much as a day might make. I have previously seen an old bird sitting on her
first egg. A second nest which I took contained three eggs; of these two were
deeply sitten, whilst the third was only slightly so. These facts seem conclusive,
whilst their beating the trees and bushes, as above related, will tend to show that they
take birds off roost. — J. £. Brockholes ; 16, Cleveland Street, Birkenhead, October 3.

' Notes on the Mountain Birds of Jamaica.
By W. Ossorn, Esq.*

‘¢ Freeman’s Hall, Trelawny, Jamaica,
“September 6, 1859.

* Dear Sir,—I have in my former letters made frequent allusion to that.
very remarkable bird Acanthylis collaris; and as, during some rainy
weather last month, I had unusual opportunities for observing them,
I propose to devote this letter to some further remarks. On the 20th
of August last they came close to the house, when I procured one.
About an hour and a half afterwards my servant again reported them
close over, when I got another, this time very fortunately only breaking
the wing, so that I was able to observe its actions much more
closely. Having washed and restored the broken wing as well as
possible, I let it go on the polished floor; but notwithstanding this
unfavourable surface it scuffled off, the tip of the wing and tail touching
the floor, at a great rate, taking refuge in a dark corner. On being
taken up it made a loud and very harsh screeching, quite distinct
from the ordinary scream. On putting it in a position where it could
see out, it stretched its neck and made several attempts to rise, tum-
bling over each time; so that without my experience at Grand Vale
I should certainly have concluded it could rise from a flat surface.
During the whole of this time it made no attempt to stand on the foot,
resting always upon the points of the curved claws and the heel-bone.

* Communicated by P. H. Gosse, Esq., F.R.S.
XVII. 3.L

6754 Birds.

In no position I could place the bird did the sole of the foot rest on
a flat surface, even conjointly with the heel-bone; so that it cannot
be said to walk, but merely scuffles along with the assistance of the
wings, though it can thus make considerable way. I then put it to
the wall, but found it had no secure hold on the finished plastering of
the room. But on being placed on a roughened wall outside, it im-
mediately ran up with such surprising quickness that I was obliged
hastily to secure it. The tail was partially spread, so that the points
were even pressed against the wall; but what chiefly surprised me
was that during its progress I could see the feet in action on each
side of the neck. On placing it against the wall with an object above
it, it remained in an attitude of perfect repose. The points of the tail
rested against the wall, as we should suppose; but the feet were
hitched so far upwards as to be only about half an inch below the
bird’s eyes ; the heel-bone I could see resting on the wall just below
the flexure, so that the femur, tibia and tarsus formed a single straight
line. It is obvious that from gravitation this straight line from the
foot to the head of the femur would always tend to the vertical, and
thus the ventral surface of the bird would be inconveniently pressed
against the surface clung to. But this is entirely prevented by the
salient nodosity at the heel, which intervenes and keeps the leg off,
forming also another point of support. The powerful but elastic
shafts of the tail lend additional aid. I found a recent bird could,
after death, be supported on the tail alone, provided it were prevented
from swaying over laterally. I unfortunately omitted to try whether
it could perch, but I thought of it immediately after I had killed it,
and, placing my finger in the claws, pressed them towards the breast.
The toes bent as usual, but the grasp was scarcely perceptible. I am
inclined to think they could not perch, at any rate without the volun-
tary action of the muscles ; they could not sleep on a branch in fact.
But if, before the limb become rigid, the leg is straightened and
stretched forward in the position when clinging, then the foot remains
perfectly pliable ; but a very violent flexure takes place between the
ultimate and penultimate phalanges of all four toes, so strong that
the points of the claws are doubled upon the sole, and cannot be
forced back so long as the leg is kept in this position, without the
exertion of far greater force than the bird’s weight could bring to
bear. The hallux is lateral; it will form a right angle with the znder-
nal fore toe with perfect ease, but cannot be brought completely for-
wards without manifest violence; its most usual position with the
living bird is antagonistic with the external toe, and there seems

Biras. 6755

some reason for this. As the bird hung, the distance between the feet
was greater than the space between the femur joints, as of course it
almost necessarily must be. Thus the drag on each leg is slightly
oblique in opposite directions, and the hallux therefore is opposed to
the direction of pressure, or very nearly so. These birds can there-
fore cling with perfect security to any vertical surface rough enough
to give hold to their powerful claws, and without any continuous
effort. You will observe from this that your correspondent was in
error when he stated that the tarsus could not be bent beyond 28°
with the tibia. It is obvious, if this were the case, that the bird’s leg
could never be altered from the position of perching, @.e., the femur
directed forwards, the tibia backwards, and the tarsus forwards again.
This does support the bird when the direction of gravitation is per-
pendicular to the axis of the body or approaching it, but with a
clinging bird this direction of course coincides with it. If the bird
attempted to cling with the leg in this position, the claws, which give
the point of suspension, would be very little in advance of the poste-
rior margin of the sternum. Thus the head, the greater part of the
sternum, the viscera it encloses, and the powerful muscles which
cover it, by far the heaviest portion of the bird, would be above the
point of suspension. Its protuberant breast would prevent its throwing
this weight on the claws; and we can hardly imagine that, thus cir-
cumstanced, even the powerful tail would prevent its fall backwards.
But by placing the feet forwards the whole body is below the points
of suspension ; the head only, or a portion of it (for the neck is drawn in
when the repose is complete), is above the claws. This inclination
to climb, as a means of escape and safety, was so strong that it over-
came every other. On replacing the bird on the floor it hurried to
me and ran up my clothes, taking refuge in the skirts of my coat. I
showed one of my skins to an old hog-hunter, who assured me he had
often seen them fly out of caves where, during their long expeditions,
these men stop for shelter or rest. I took care he should not confound
it with Hirundo peciloma, of which I do not think there was much
danger.

“JT remarked in my last letter that these birds, from their occa-
sional appearance, and their uncertain stay in any one spot, do not,
like our other Hirundines, seem to hunt over a circumscribed locality,
but explore large districts. The little valley which cleaves through
the limestone down to the red conglomerate, in which this house
stands, consists of about a hundred acres of pasturage. It possesses
some unusual advantages for the observation of Hirundines; for

6756 Birds.

though scattered clearings occur to some distance on each side the
road from the lowlands after it leaves the lower range, the forest sud-
denly approaches on either side at the gates leading to the house,
and, with this exception, closely hems in the whole pasturage. So
far as my observations go, no Hirundine goes in or over the forest for
food; H. pesciloma ventures the furthest, but I have never seen it
exceed the pathways a few hundred yards from the edge. I would
estimate our usual allowance for these isolated pastures at about
twenty H. pewciloma, the same number of Progne, and two or three
pairs of H. euchrysea, rarely all these together; for many hours in
the day not a single bird is visible, but still small numbers look round
from time to time. Early in the morning they are almost always
busy on the western hill; towards evening the eastern hill and the
river beneath it have more attractions. On dissection of the stomachs
of any of these three species of birds, we shall arrive at very much the
same result: five or six species of insects, small beetles, small
Ichneumonide, &c., with perhaps one large plant-bug ; in another,
shot soon after, many insects are the same, but some different, and
the plant-bug is replaced by two small bees; in Progne the bees will
be more numerous, but accompanied by many small insects. So that
though an expert entomologist (and I feel every ornithologist who
wishes to progress ought to know at any rate something about the
kindred science) might be able to say with certainty, this bird has
been shooting round the mangos, that has been skimming over the
grass,—there would be no marked characteristic deducible, save that
these birds evidently hawked over a certain space, and took any suit-
able insect that happened to come in their way; in fact, that they
were local feeders. But in the case of Acanthylis collaris the results
are very different. I give four cases of birds, for the most part shot
at great intervals, both as to time and locality :—

“Stomach examined March 6, 1858. A small species of Coleoptera,
with a few of a second species, and one large insect.

“Stomach examined August 1, 1859. The winged females ofa very
small species of ant, a few other insects, and one or two bees..

“ Stomachs examined August 20, 1859. First bird: numerous small
ereen beetles, one or two bees, and six wasps whole and just swal-
lowed, which I could not distinguish from a specimen of Polistes
rubiginosa? building in the verandah. Second bird, an hour and a
half later: traces of the same small beetles but slight, antenne of a
Capricorn beetle, and a mass composed of disjointed segments, empty
legs, thoraces of some wasps; little clots were composed entirely of

Birds. 6757

wings folded longitudinally ; there were about thirty heads, which
probably helped to digest the rest.

“We have thus, I think, very good evidence that these great swifts
do not content themselves with the insects which a single locality
may furnish, but search for large congregated swarms,—are swarm-
destroyers. And this quite conforms with the irregularity of stay on
any particular spot they visit. Some very remarkable points with
regard to their mode of finding these swarms have latterly much
attracted my attention. Let me give two examples. On the 20th of
August, just before 1 shot the first bird, I had heard the column
coming up. A good number of Progne were skimming low over a
grass-covered mound in the pasture, of about an acre and a half in
extent, and two of the swifts with them, for they always join and
explore a flock of another species. Soon the number increased, and in
a short time the column had disappeared, and a hundred and fifty or two
hundred birds were dashing in every direction over the spot. They
continued in different parts of the meadow adjoining the hillock, till I
shot the next. On the 3rd instant I heard them again coming, but
this time from the forest above. Just as I got out, the column, com-
posed of numerous birds, descended and deployed over the meadow,
but I presume found nothing, for they speedily formed again, gyrating
slowly and moving along the western ridge, thus approaching the house,
Though it was still distant three hundred or four hundred yards, seve-
ral birds were shooting in an impetuous, irregular way over the house
round the neighbouring trees, dashing even through the yard, without
any apparent object rising to some height, then darting up the river
course for a great distance, and back again. As the column pro-
gressed along the ridge, which it did very slowly, a man walking
along the path would have arrived opposite the house before it.
There skimming birds became more numerous; perhaps ten or
twelve were over the yard and house at once, and the whole space
between the house and the ridge was equally densely occupied by
great numbers of birds shooting about low, in the same wild, irregular
manuer. The column stopped a little, and then moved in the same
direction. It now began to leave the house, and the skimming birds
became fewer. If one was selected, and its motions watched atten-
lively a little, it would be evident that, notwithstanding its irregu-
larity and amazing rapidity, its deviations did not prevent it from
steadily keeping after the column. As this passed out of our little
valley, and became scarcely visible over the intervening ridge, now
one and then another bird might be seen darting after it in a straight

6753 Birds.

line, evidently intent only on coming up with it. Now, if it be con-
sidered that we have here a swift of very extraordinary size which
does not, as might be supposed, secure a sufficient amount of prey by
hunting in small parties, but, notwithstanding its size, wonderful
activity, and the voracity which these imply, hunts after its prey im
very large numbers, it will be understood that the ordinary produce
of insects of one locality is not sufficient, especially in an island
where | have your authority for saying insects are by no means in
extraordinary abundance. It is absolutely indispensable to the flock
that they should seek for swarms; but for this, it will be seen, extra-
ordinary obstacles are to be overcome. In a large flock of gregarious
birds, which have simply to rise to a certain height, survey the coun-
try beneath, and then, selecting some large geographical object,
descend and feed, their cries and ordinary powers of vision are quite
sufficient to keep the whole flock together ; but with a number of birds
seeking swarms of insects the case is widely different. No powers of
vision we have any cognizance of could possibly enable them to dis-
cover swarms half a mile off; indeed, there is abundant evidence
they do not see them till close upon them. The birds then would be
obliged to beat over immense districts, following a small number
of leaders if they are to keep together,—a mode of hunting evi-
dently involving great loss of time and great fatigue. If, on the
contrary, they availed themselves of their numbers in the obvious
mode of exploring in different directions at once, they would infal-
libly be separated, and then their numbers would be of no avail, for
when a party have found the swarm how are the rest to know it?
They would cease to be swarm-destroyers at all. The probability is
that this mode of feeding requires the simultaneous action of great
numbers to explore large spaces at once. It is far from impossible
that without some such power the birds would perish. As you may
have gathered from the observations given above, this combination of
action is secured by the very remarkable habit of a varying proportion
of the flock rising and forming a gyrating column. Whilst thus
revolving a bird darts out, followed by others who form a screaming
party, and then rejoin the column. 1 have in other letters mentioned
that these screaming parties are so constant that I often, through
them, know of the passage of the column over head while in the
forest, or it gives notice of their approach when, from their great
height and distance, they would otherwise elude my observation. It
cannot be doubted that these perpetual screams, and the column
itself, so conspicuous as it floats, equally or in a far greater degree,

Birds. 6759

announce to the host of birds below the direction of its movements,
and thus combine the movements of the whole flock. And we may
observe that by the introduction here of the ordinary instinct of
swifts to scream when they pursue each other, the hunting birds can
concentrate their powers of vision on their search, and by ear know
the direction those searches must take. If, therefore, every bird in
the flock regulates its course by the slow movements of the column,
which thus gives them ample time to explore thoroughly, it will be
obvious that, whatever the movements of each individual bird, quite
unconsciously the column will always tend to be over the centre; and
we might expect exactly what ] observed on the 3rd of September,
that the hunting birds were thickest immediately round it.

“ But though now it can be comprehended how these large flocks of
birds keep together in their search, another most formidable difficulty
presents itself. Supposing a couple of birds (as I observed on the 20th
of August), sweeping up to a troop of Progne, find they are feeding on
wasps—a prey which will suit them: the successful birds do not
hesitate a moment; their wild, irregular dashes are suddenly changed
to a dart in a straight line, a rapid whirl and a dart back again; in
fact, they begin at once to feed. How then is the column to know it,
or be prevented from moving off in another direction? This, I believe,
is effected by a most remarkable structural change, involving a cor-
responding habit. To describe this change of structure I use the
words of your exact old Doctor, ‘ Eyes large, deep sunk im the head,
with remarkably large eyebrows,’ only remarking that the surface of
the feathers is considered by him as synonymous with ‘head.’, If the
skin and feathers are removed the eyes are remarkably prominent.
He afterwards adds, ‘ the head large, like whip-poor-will.’ I will add
to this that the pupil is very large, lustrous and of a very deep blue.
So little is, L believe, known as to the effect upon vision which the
almost endless changes of form we meet with have in this organ,
that we could not say that such and such a form is unnecessary in a
particular case; but, reasoning from analogy, we have examples of
other birds which pursue insect prey precisely, so far as we can see, in
the same manner as these birds: the humming-birds are perhaps even
more rapid in their movements, yet none of these are remarkable for
large lustrous eyes; quite the contrary, they are rather apt to be
smaller than larger than those common to the greatest number of birds.
But if we learned that a particular species had such wants that it was
necessary it should be able to take a careful survey of objects below
it whilst it floated above, we should be able to say, with perfect cer-

6760 Birds.

tainty, it must have a prominent, lustrous eye with a large pupil (deep
blue often), carefully screened from the light above by a prominent
eyebrow, that it may be wholly unembarrassed in its watch over objects
below. Now let us consider the effect of the central position of the
column, its commanding height, if suddenly, in any one or two birds
at any part of the vast circle it is over, the motions change, like the
two birds who had reached the little flock of Progne, detailed above.
Can we suppose that an alteration of action, observable to us at a con-
siderable distance, for a moment escapes the keen scrutiny of a hundred
telescopic eyes watchfully gyrating above? We may be quite sure it
does not, for the sudden descent of the column may often be witnessed.
Now it will be understood what will be the effect of this on the
scattered birds who are less successful: the column, which has been
the centre of their movements, is gone; the birds then rush up in the
direction it has disappeared, or, rising above intervening objects, catch
sight of it busy feeding. And thus we have the extraordinary spectacle
of dozens of birds dashing to the very spot where the prey has been
found, as if each had received accurate and separate intelligence.
Then a boundary is traced out by a flickering succession of rapid
wheels—all within is a storm of dashing courses in every direction at
once. The moment the disturbed or angry insects rise from the
plants or grass their fate is certain. Others dart out and probably
take the wasps as they return to the spot. If we multiply 200 birds
by 30 wasps’ heads I found to be the allowance of one in an hour and
a half, we have 6000 of these formidable insects destroyed in that
short time, but I think the number was probably far more. And then,
the work accomplished, this wonderful army resumes its aérial march,
the magnificent living standard re-erects itself, and its screams growing
faint and still fainter, recall the scattered rear.

“JT would guard against an impression which may possibly arise
from the foregoing details; namely, that in their curious habits there
is anything like the rigid instincts observable in other classes of
animals. I believe the whole to be carried on by the very simplest
instincts, more or less observable in most Hirundinide. The same
instinct which makes the searching birds join Progne, and often
Progne join them, induces them to keep near the column, the column
to descend when it sees the prey is found, and the rest to rush after
the missing column. It is but a very extraordinary modification of a
well-known habit: it results in giving the column a central position,
precisely the one where it can best overlook the whole; its motion is
probably directed by the direction it observes in the search of a

Birds. 6761

number of birds markedly pushing in one direction, and we can under-
stand why it tends to move slowly in one direction, unless something
occur to stop it, because the whole flock has got that direction also.
Slow gyration is precisely the movement with which the watching
birds can progress slowest with least fatigue to themselves, and thus
give time to the searching host below; it is also precisely the move-
ment best calculated for the exercise of their telescopic vision and
ensure their immediate detection of the discovery of prey, important
to the whole flock. And thus we have an instance of a great swift
approaching raptorial birds in habit and structure the moment its
wants are similar. The mistakes of Cathartes I have before alluded
to are accounted for—than whom no bird is less given to frolic—in
oddly joining strangers so far removed from him in wants and habits,
but whose manners in this one particular so strangely agree with his
own. I would add there is no certain proportion between the column
and hunting birds. Individual birds are continually passing from one
to the other; they resort to the column possibly for rest. A bird in
the column sees a locality or object that it thinks betokens prey; it
darts out, is followed by a screaming party, only one or two of which
return; the rest deploy and become hunting birds.

“I trust I have thus made clear the mode in which I believe these
curious birds are enabled to take a survey of an immense district, and
wherever they detect insects in such numbers that the little colony of
Hirundines stationed on the spot would be unable to cope with them,
suddenly throw into the scale their numbers, great size, activity and
unusual voracity.

“ You will, I fear, be alarmed at letters of such length as this, and
all about a single species, but I found the subject so interesting I
knew not where to break off. I trust it will prove interesting enough

to you to repay the perusal.
“Yours very faithfully,
“ W. OsBURN.
“To P. H. Gosse, Esq., F.R.S.”

Autumn Notes on Birds.—A small flock of the tufted duck appeared in our river as
early as the 27th of July, and towards the middle of August I obtained a specimen of
a young mallard. A far greater number of terns have haunted our sand-flats this
autumn than for several recent seasons. The arctic, common and black terns have
been plentiful; of the latter beautiful little species I have on several occasions seen
large flocks fishing assiduously at low water. While the terns were about the river one
of my brothers one day shot and brought home to me a specimen of the gullbilled tern

XVII. 3M

6762 Birds.

(Sterna anglica) in immature plumage. This specimen had the beak two-thirds of the
length of the head, and of a greenish black, short and rather conical in form ; the legs
were greenish black. The bird was the same size as a young bird of the common tern,
and its markings were not dissimilar to those of that species. A short time afterwards
I saw another specimen of this tern which had been killed on our sands. This specimen
was an older bird, and had the beak longer than that of the first specimen, and the
angle on the lower mandible very prominent. Its back was a uniform French blue,
the nape of the neck black, crown of the head black, streaked thickly with white. Beak
and legs greenish black. A specimen of the-little auk was picked up in the middle of
August on the sands. This was a young bird of the year, with the slate-coloured
cheeks characteristic of the immature state. Amongst large flocks of dunlin and ringed
plovers I have noticed the curlew sandpiper and sanderling, and of the former one
afternoon I noticed a very considerable number. On one or two occasions I noticed
the sanderling very numerous. This pretty little Tringa is by no means a regular
autumn visitant with us; one September afternoon I had the rare fortune to see a
flock of the little ringed plover (Charadrius minor), and have since mounted a beautiful
specimen, which was killed out of the flock. I was pleased to find this rare and peaceful
little plover so distinct from the larger and common C. hiaticula. Yarrell is, as usual
most happy in giving an accurate account of the distinctive peculiarities of each species.
There have been one or two flocks of the little stint with us this autumn, and I have
had some pretty specimens brought to me. When a single bird of this species is seen
on the sands he appears a ridiculous little pigmy, but his proportions become grander
when he rises on the wing, and the long tertiary feathers of the Tringe become notice-
able. The flight of these little fellows is very rapid, and in a zigzag, not unlike that
of a dunlin or jack snipe. They have a shrill cry, quite distinct from that of the other
Tringz which haunt the flats. Godwits and knots have been scarce this autumn; of
the former we have not had so many as haunted our sands in May on their way north,
and in all the glories of their nuptial plumage. I was on the Braunton sands the
morning after a heavy gale towards the end of September, and found them strewn
with dead and dying razorbills and guillemots. For more than five miles the sands
were dotted in all directions with the white bodies of these birds, and the tide, which
was then running in, washed up the bodies of fresh victims each instant; and not
only on the sands, but far out in mid channel lay the bodies of these birds, innumerable,
floating backwards and forwards on the waves, and puzzling the sailors of the passing
ships to account for their destruction. The destruction of life must have been immense,
If all the victims to sportsmen, and all those which have been devoured by the “ cliff
hawks” (Falco peregrinus), who have their eyries in one or two places among the breeding
stations of the guillemots; if all these which have thus perished during the last century
were added together they would not represent one tithe of the birds which perished in
that fatal gale: and all these birds were drowned. It seems strange that birds whose
very home is on the bosom of the ocean should die thus, but nevertheless it is the fact.
As soon as ever the birds are drawn within the influence of the heavy surf they are
rolled over and over, and are at length tossed up dead or dying on the beach. The
storm falling on them while they are sickly from being in the midst of the great yearly
moult is the more fatal. But stranger than this is the number of dead kittiwakes one
sees on the sands after a heavy gale of wind at midsummer. These birds are entirely
surface feeders, and it seems a fair conjecture that after the waters had been violently
disturbed by a gale there would be more food for them on the surface than in calm

Birds. | 6763

weather, but yet all the dead birds you examine have unmistakeable marks about them
of having died from starvation.—Murray A. Mathews; Raleigh, near Barnstaple,
October 5, 1859,

Showers of Feathers.—It is with great reluctance that I venture to reproduce this
subject in the pages of the ‘ Zoologist,’ but Capt. Blakiston’s hasty and somewhat dis-
dainful reply to my inquiry is not quite satisfactory. That gentleman has entirely
mistaken my meaning. I did not fora moment deny the possibility of “ feathers
scudding in a breeze ;” and I agree with him in believing that it is generally known
that feathers are capable of being wafted by the wind. Nor did I propose that goose
down should be sent to England for the purpose of making “ experiments,” but merely
to afford an interesting and tangible proof to an inquisitive and incredulous mind. If
we “let loose at a window” all the “ chaff” in Capt. Blakiston’s létter instead of
“ extracting a handful from our bed,” nothing but the following sentence remains :—
“And as to mistaking feathers for snow, I answer by asking was the latter ever seen
floating on water?” but nothing of this sort seems to be mentioned in the first notice
of the subject (Zool. 6324). I there find that the writer “ witnessed a shower of
feathers,” and that “ it appeared to be snowing.” This statement immediately brought
to my mind some passages of Herodotus (Zool. 6442), in which he says that showers
of feathers were always mistaken by the northern Scythians for falls of snow. Having
compared these observations of the ancient traveller and the modern, and found them
exactly contrary, surely I am justified in expecting a fuller explanation than that I
have received, and I shall be greatly indebted to Capt. Blakiston if he will comply
with my request at the earliest convenient opportunity. Was he in the midst of the
shower, ot ata distance? Did the flying goose-down extend over a large region of
air? Are the Indians in the habit of carrying on the ‘ operation of goose plucking ”
to such an enormous degree as to cause it to rain feathers? Perhaps they observe a
sort of Michaelmas day, in which whole tribes, individually aud collectively, indulge
in goose-flesh ; or, perhaps, they were merely “ extracting handfulls from their beds ”
to make “ experiments,” and astonish the natives of the neighbourhood. With every
apology to Capt. Blakiston for having aroused his indignation by presuming to imagine
that he could possibly have mistaken feathers for snow flakes, I sincerely hope he will
prove that his account of “ showers of feathers” possesses more authenticity than the
old story of “ showers of frogs.’— 7. W. Greene ; September 26, 1859.

[I hope the subject may not be allowed to drop, merely adding that I believe it
quite impossible for an observer of Capt. Blakiston’s experience to have mistaken snow
for feathers : I was surprised that such a suggestion should be made. Such showers
of feathers are not so rare as either of my correspondents seem to suppose.—Edward
Newman].

Hawfinch breeding at Muswell Hill. Having noticed in this month’s number of
the ‘ Zoologist’ an account of the appearance of the hawfinch at Selborne, it occurred
to me to mention that a pair of these birds built in the spring of, this year, as far as I
can recollect, in the end of May or beginning of June, in an apple tree in a garden, at
Muswell Hill, near London. The gardener there informed me one afternoon that he
had just destroyed a nest, which he believed to be that of a butcher bird, and killed
the five young ones which it contained, and that the old birds were still perched on an
adjacent elm tree, uttering a harsh note. On repairing to the spot I found one of
them had disappeared ; but with some difficulty, for it was very wary, I succeeded in
shooting the other, which, upon examination, proved to be a female hawfinch. I also

6764 Fishes. —Crustacea.

subsequently discovered, on the ground, one of the young birds still living, which I
took into the house, and endeavoured to rear, but it died before morning. The foliage
of the apple tree was very thick, and the nest—which was, as I understood, very coarsely
constructed—about six feet from the ground. This is the only recent instance of the
occurrence of this bird in the neighbourhood, as far as I can ascertain.—John ay
Gray ; 7, New Inn, Strand, October 14, 1859.

Occurrence of the Sand Grouse in Norfolk. —FEarly in the month of July last a very
beautiful specimen of Pallas’s sand grouse (Syrrhaptes paradoxus) was shot in the parish
of Walpole St. Peter’s, in this county, about two miles from the Wash. The bird was
alone when shot, but at least one other, apparently of the same species, was observed
about the same time in the neighbourhood. There is reason to believe the present
specimen to be an adult male, in perfect plumage, the beautifully elongated feathers
of the tail and wings happily uninjured. It has been beautifully mounted by Mr.
Leadbeater, of Brewer Street, and is now in the Lynn Museum. This is, I believe,
the first occurrence of this bird in England, if not in Europe.— Frederick Currie ;
Clenchwater, Lynn, Norfolk, September 29, 1859.

[See the account of another specimen Zool. 6728.—Hdward Newman].

Familiarity of Shannies (Blennias pholis).—I think the familiarity of some shannies
I took a few days ago is worth noticing. Two of them were placed in a pan along with
a pair that had been captured more than a fortnight, and were consequently tame. The
very next day, on feeding these latter, I was surprised to see the new-comers approach
for their share of the food, and found that they would follow the finger, and bite at it
after the manner of the domesticated specimens. Could it be that they were
influenced by the example of the others? —G. Guyon; Ventnor, Isle of Wight,
August 10, 1859.

Quivering Movement of the first Dorsal Fin in the Five-bearded Rockling.—Last week
I took a specimen of the five-bearded rockling, and while viewing it in the aquarium
was struck by the peculiar quivering movement of the delicate appendage termed the
first dorsal fin. This mane-like organ was alternately agitated and quiescent, re-
minding one of the action of the breathing-apparatus along the sides of the larva of
Ephemera. Yarrell notices this movement in the three-bearded rockling, and no
doubt it is common to both species. The death of the specimen the same evening
prevented any further observations. Is any cause known for this peculiar action ?—Id.

The Moulting of Crustacea.—The moulting of Crustacea is usually described as a
painful and tedious process, only accomplished after many struggles. Perhaps dif-
ferent species vary in this respect ; at least I saw nothing of the kind in the case of a
Carcinus Menas in my possession last spring. ‘The first part of the process I did not
witness, as when I louked into the pan the crab had about a fourth of its body pro-
truding from the hinder portion of the shell. Though I watched it closely, no effort
appeared to be made, but the shell seemed to slide off gradually, as if the body was
expanding, and the shell was compelled to slip off by its natural spring. No diffi-
culty seemed to occur about the claws, but when nearly free the crab withdrew itself

Insects. 6765

at one step from its old covering, and the operation was completed. Whether any
exertions were required to make the first opening in the shell I had no opportunity of
observing. It is remarkable how seldom the act of exuviation is witnessed ; while the
cast shells in the aquarium prove its frequent occurrence: probably it takes place in
the night or early morning; and no doubt the creature avails itself of concealment
where it is procurable, or its comrades might act on the principle that when a man has
his coat half off to fight is the time to pitch into him.—George Guyon ; Ventnor, Isle
of Wight, August 10, 1859.

A Week at Killarney. By Epwin BircHatt, Esq.

June 18. Reached the Muckross Hotel, at 5 p.M., accompanied by
my friends A. A. Dunlop and N. Cooke: walked to Tore Waterfall,
about a mile from the inn, capturing Hepialus velleda, H. hectus,
Hypena crassalis and Ennychia octomaculalis. Subsequently sugared
in the wood at the foot of Tore Mountain, but with small success,
Thyatira Batis, T. derasa and Geometra Papilionaria being the only
captures worth naming.

June 19. Walked to the head of the upper lake; it was a glorious
summer day,—

* One of those heavenly days that cannot die,”—

whatever the moths might do, and die they did, some hundreds of
them. Rogers sarcastically said, “ Englishmen are all alike in this
matter; they come down to breakfast, look out of the window, and
say, What a lovely morning! what a heavenly day! Come, let us
kill something.” The wooded slope from Derrycunily Waterfall to
the boat-house is first-rate collecting-ground, and commands a magni-
ficent prospect: at our feet the lake studded with wooded islands; on
the opposite shore rises the Purple Mountain, barren, but singularly
brilliant in colouring ; further to the left the huge mass of the Reeks,
the mightiest mountain in Ireland, shoots its jagged crest into the
air, and closes up the valley; here the fleecy masses of vapour pour
out of the Gap of Dunlo, and across its dark and rugged breast,
seeming to cling to it and circle the giant around with a belt of light:
as the lakes are not many feet above the sea-level, nearly the whole
height of the mountain (3,400 feet) is here seen at a glance in one
vast sweep. It is not often given to entomologists to collect in fairy-
land, nor very easy, when it does so happen, to avoid envying the
people who dwell in such a paradise all the year round; however, let

6766 Insects.

us hope they are sufficiently grateful to Providence for their good
fortune, and proceed to business. Our captures included—

Hydrelia Bankiava. In abundance.
It is out a full week earlier than last year ;
the caterpillar is said by Stainton to feed

on grasses, but the moth seems attached -

to the Myrica Gale; it flies about sunset,
but is easily disturbed at any time, settling
again within a few yards.

Erastria fuscula.

> iupeana.

Cabera strigillaria. Quite a dif-
ferent looking insect to the English
C. strigillaria.

Macaria notataria.

Melanippe hastaria.

Phytometra nea.

Corycia temerata.
» taminata.

Euthemonia russula.

Lasiocampa Quercus.

Thecla Rubi.

Cvenonympha Davus.

Saturnia Carpini. Larve abundant.

Hypena crassalis. Flitting about
the gloomiest parts of woods in plenty.

Eupithecia debiliaria. On the stems
of the old holly trees, from which a smart
blow is required to dislodge it: the labour
of taking it in this way is, however, very
great; perhaps we got one specimen for
every hundred trees examined.

On- our way back called at the Tower, to see P. Bouchard: he showed
us a splendid male specimen of Notodonta bicolora, captured the pre-
vious week. Sugared in the evening, but with no result. Noctue
seem very scarce.

June 20. Over the same ground, and captured most of the species
taken yesterday, also Melitza Artemis, Hyria auroraria and Ligdia
adustata. On swampy ground near the lake took a pair of Dolomedes
fimbriatus, a monstrous and horrid-looking spider. Mr. Meade, of
Bradford, to whom I am indebted for the name, informs me that it is
not a common species; fortunately so, I think, for it has a very
tropical and truculent aspect.

June 21. To the Gap of Dunlo, and thence round the lakes to
Killarney; heavy rain most of the day. Our only captures were
Melanippe hastaria, Macaria notataria and Melanthia albicillata. The
brilliant flowers of Pinguicula grandiflora studded the sides of this
rugged mountain pass, which, although shorter than Llanberris, I
think far exceeds it in grandeur. ?

June 22. My companions ascended Cromaghlan Mountain. On
the summit is a small tarn, which appears to have no connexion with
the lakes below; from it were obtained many specimens of the
Limneus. involutus of Harvey; I believe no other locality is known
for this curious and fragile shell. Donacia nigra (taken on the bank
of the tarn), Olinda Ulmana and Emmelesia teniaria (beaten from
hedge-rows), and a pair of Microdon apiformis (Diptera) were our
only entomological doings worth recording.

Insects. , S767

June 28. Spent on the lakes. Cossonus Tardii in immense profu-
sion on Innisfallen Island, under bark of decayed ash and holly,
occasionally clustered in such masses that we held our hats under and
scraped them down by handfulls. The guardian of the island, who,
on our arrival, very politely pointed out the decayed trees, was soon
horrified at our proceedings, seeming to think that three maniacs,
bent on destroying the timber under his care, had landed on his lonely
isle; he was stupidly impervious to our explanation that Cossonus
was the real culprit, and we were compelled to separate and attack
three trees at once, so that two of us at least might fill our bottles in
peace. Future visitors are advised not to ask to see the vegetable
ruins of the island, but to confine their inquiries to the stone
antiquities, unless they wish to encounter a frantic Kerry man. A
large proportion of the timber on the island is suffering from the
attacks of Cossonus; the specimens vary greatly in size, some speci-
mens being eight or ten times the bulk of others. We obtained
Gyrinus bicolor, from the lake near Dina’s Island, and Trechus
? under stones at Old Weirbridge. A brilliant sunset, leaving
Tore mountain a mass of intense indigo blue. Remained in the
birch-woods till day-break, in the hope of making out the habits or
hour of flight of Notodonta bicolora. About midnight Arctia Men-
thrasti flew past, and its white wings for a moment cheated us into
the belief that we had secured the prize; possibly we were too late for
N. bicolora, which is said to appear on the Continent in May.

June 24. Muckross domain and peninsula (which, by the liberality
of Colonel Herbert, are thrown open to visitors) occupied us to-day.
Among the Lepidoptera captured were—

Nola strigula Eupithecia castigata
Venusia Cambricaria ™ irriguata
Emmelesia teniata a coronata
Eupithecia Satyrata ‘ debiliata

~ plumbeolata

Among Coleoptera—

Phyllopertha suturalis Leptura sexguttata
Melolontha hippocastani CEdemera lurida
Auchenia 4-maculata Silpha subrotundata

Galeruca calmariensis

Libellula czerulescens was very common near the lake : saw one pursue
and capture a specimen of Hydrelia Bankiana. In the evening
divided our week’s captures, and went to bed by daylight.

Hadena rectilinea
» contigua
Agrotis saucia
Triphena fimbria
Cymatophora fluctuosa
Phoxopteryx biarcuana
be Mprtillana

The following insects were also taken during our visit :—

Lampronia rubiella

_ Psychoides Verhuellella

Adela Degeerella
Prays Curtisellus
Plutella annulatella
Gelechia tripariella
» Mouffetella

Grapholita geminana (cophora lambdella
Stigmonota perlepidana a pseudo-spretella
Lobesia reliquana Butalis grandipennella
Eupecilia nana » fusco-eneella

Clepsis rusticana Argyresthia retinella

Capua ochraceana Gracilaria hemidactylella

Penthina sauciana Pterophorus bipunctidactylus
» ochromelana Chilo forficellus

Lampronia prelatella

Including eighteen species not previously recorded as occurring in
Treland. Although this looks a pretty fair result for one week’s work,
still there was not that abundance of life that might have been looked
for in a district apparently so well suited to the requirements of living
creatures; in the vast woods the silence of death seemed to reign:
with the exception of a few species insects were not numerous, and
the most promising-looking spot often proved a total blank. Of many
of the species above recorded only single specimens were observed.
Of birds we saw very few; the wren only was abundant. We saw
one bullfinch, also the place where the eagles are not,—it is to be
feared this noble bird now only exists, with O’ Donoghue and his fairies,
among the traditions of Killarney.

The district is characterized botanically by the occurrence of

* various plants, of which the following may be named :—

Saxifraga umbrosa, Erica Mackaiana,

* elegans, » mediterranea,

i hirsuta, Daboécia polifolia,

a Geun, Arbutus unedo,

y affinis, Pinguicula grandiflora,
- hitta, Arabis ciliata,

which are not found in any other part of the British islands, or any
nearer point of Europe than the coast of Spain, with which country
the late Professor Edward Forbes suggested a connexion subsisted in
some past geologic age, by means of land over which the Atlantic now

Insects. 6769

rolls: at that time (1846) Professor Forbes stated, “There was no
evidence of any local assemblage of animals corresponding to this
Flora.” The missing link is now, in part at least, supplied, a number
of peculiar shells having been found attached to the district and
neighbouring shores; and although with regard to the insect tribes
we are still imperfectly informed, evidence is not wanting that a local
assemblage of insects also exists. Anthrocera Minos, Notodonta
bicolora and Hydrelia Bankiana will fairly represent three of the
great divisions of the Lepidoptera, and if the first-named be also a
native of Scotland, the west of Ireland is certainly its head-quarters.
How strange that these fragile creatures should be preserved through
such vast changes to be evidence of the destruction which has over-
whelmed the mightier works of God—that they should endure while
great continents have sunk beneath the waves.

In the ‘Entomologist’s Annual’ for 1859 it was intimated that a
splendid butterfly, Charaxes Jasius, might not improbably occur at
Killarney, being attached to the Arbutus, one of the peculiar plants of
the kingdom of Kerry ; we were not fortunate enough to meet with it,
although there was a nymphalidous chrysalis found suspended to a
rock below an overhanging Arbutus, of which great hopes were enter-
tained. Respect for the feelings of my companions induces me to
draw a veil over the rest of the story, suffice it to say it did not
produce what was expected of it.

June 25. Out at 5 a.m. and dug up a hamperful of Osmunda regalis
as a peace-offering to the ladies at home: a wet morning, heavy
thunder-clouds shrouded the mountain and the lake looked dark and
stormy. As we drove to the station a brilliant rainbow spanned the
valley between Torc and Mangerton, and the whole scene was one of

lurid grandeur.
EDWIN BIRCHALL.

Description of the Larva of Eupithecia subnotata. — Ground-colour dull yellowish
green, pale green or reddish gray, with a chain of dull olive lozenge-shaped dorsal
spots, becoming confluent towards the head and tail, and often bordered by an indis-
tinct olive line. The spots and lines sometimes very faint. Segmental divisions yel-
lowish or reddish. Spiracular line yellowish. The whole body very rough, thickly
studded with minute white tubercles and black spots, and sprinkled here and there
with short stumpy hairs. Belly pale green, with an interrupted line running the
whole length. Feeds on the seeds and flowers of various species,of Atriplex and Che-
nopodium, in August and September. It seems to prefer the banks of tidal rivers. I
have taken it in profusion on the banks of the Orwell and the Stour near, Ipswich, but

XVII. AN

6770 Insects.

have also met with it in some plenty in waste ground near Bexley. It is not so easy
to rear as others of the family, and often pines in confinement. The pupa, which is
enclosed in an earthen cucoon, has the wing-cases dark green. Thorax and abdomen
yellowish, the latter not so tapering as many of the other Eupithecie. The perfect
insect appears in June and July.—H. Harpur Crewe ; Breadsall Rectory, near Derby,
September 28, 1859.

Additional Remarks on the Larva of Eupithecia innotata. — During the last fort-
night I have taken a few larve of E. innotata off ash in this neighbourhood. I find
that a variety occurs here which I have not previously noticed. Its characteristics are
as fullows :—Central dorsal line wanting. Supplied by a series of dusky triangular
markings, becoming very faint or altogether evanescent on the anterior and posterior
segments. On each side a row of slanting yellowish stripes tinged with pink.—Id.

Description of the Larva of Eupithecia centaureata. — Long, rather slender, and
tapering towards the head. Has a slightly wrinkled appearance. This larva is almost
as variable as that of E. absinthiata ; and so dissimilar are some of the varieties that
I am not surprised at many a tyro being “awfully puzzled.” The following are those
most commonly met with: — Var. 1. Bright yellowish or bluish green, with a number
of dorsal and subdorsal spots and lines of a darker shade; the dorsal markings very
often forming a series of disjointed lozenge-shaped spots. Var. 2. Uniform yellow,
yellowish or bluish green, without any spots or markings whatever. Var. 3. Greenish
or pinkish white, with a chain of deep red, trident-shaped dorsal spots, connected
together by the central prong, and becoming confluent towards the head. Belly
whitish, with a short red line or spot in the centre of several of the segments. The
larva feeds in August and September, upon the flowers of Senecio Jacobea and S.
erucifolius, Solidago Virgaurea, Achillza Millefolium, Eupatorium cannabinum, Pim-
pinella magna and P. Saxifraga, Silaus pratensis, Campanula glomerata and Scabiosa
columbaria. Vars. 1 and 2 I have almost invariably found upon the three first-
named plants, whilst those on the other flowers were var. 3. This latter variety
strongly resembles the pink form of E. nanata. The pupa is enclosed in an earthen
cocoon. There are two varieties, the commoner one scarcely, if at all, distinguishable
from that of E. absinthiata; the other a uniform pale red. The perfect insect ap-
pears more or less from May to August.—ld.

PS.—In my description of the larva of E. absinthiata (Zool. 6734), at line 10
there should be a full stop at the word “yellow;” and at line 13 “ S. crucifolium ‘
should be “S. erucifolius.”—Jd.

Larva of Notodonta dicteoides. — Mr. Smithson, Mr. Button, and some others of
our hard-working entomologists have beaten the larve of Notodonta dicteoides off
birch trees at Wickham. They feed on the elegant pendant branches of trees that
have been allowed to grow up, and are never found on those which have been cut
down and have thrown up suckers. —Edward Newman.

Capture of Catocala Frawini at Scarborough. — On the 17th of this month (Sep-
tember) I had the good fortune to take a very fine specimen of Catocala Fraxini at
rest on a wall in this town.— Thos. Wilkinson ; 6, Cliff Bridge Terrace, Scarborough,
Seplember 29, 1859.

Entomological Society. 6771

Proceedings of Societies.

EntTomotocicaL Society.
September 5, 1859.—Dr. Gray, President, in the chair.

Donations.

The following donations were announced, and thanks ordered to be presented to
the donors : —‘ Proceedings of the Ruyal Society,’ Vol. x. No. 36; presented by the
Society. ‘Farm Insects,’ Parts 3 and 4; by the Author, John Curtis, Esq., F.LS.
‘The Zovologist’ for September; by the Editor. ‘Smithsonian Contributions to
Knowledge, Vol. x. ‘ Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution for the year 1857; ‘Reply to the Statement of the Trustees of the Dud-
ley Observatory,’ by Benj. Apthorp Gould, jun.; ‘Defence of Dr. Gould, by the»
Scientific Council of the Dudley Observatory ;? by the Smithsonian Institution. ‘The
Atheneum’ for July; by the Editor. ‘The Journal of the Society of Arts’ for Au-
gust; by the Society. ‘The Literary Gazette for August; by the Editor.

Election of a Subscriber.

R. W. Fereday, Esq., of 2, Leighton Villas, Talbot Road, Kentish Town, was bal-
loted for and elected a Subscriber to the Society.

Exhibitions.

The President exhibited, on behalf of their captor, Dr. Power, the following
British Coleoptera, with localities and dates of capture :—

Anchomenus versutus, Gyll. Wimbledon, July 30, 1858.

Polystichus fasciolatus. Sheerness, June and August, 1859.

Trechus longicornis. Banks of Ribble, July, 1859.

Acrognathus mandibularis, Gyll. Darenth, June 19, 1859.

Odacantha melanura. Merton, August, 1859.

Deleaster dichrous. Colney Hatch. June 25, 1859.

Anchomenus pelidnus (var. Thoreyi ?). Merton, July, 1859.

Ancylophorus glabricollis, Eric. Merton, July 26, 1859.

Helophorus intermedius. Merton, July, 1859.

The two last-mentioned species had not previously been recorded as natives of Britain. -

Mr. Smith remarked, with reference to Polystichus fasciolatus, that Mr. Hewitson
took this species in some plenty, on the shore to the west of Southwold, near Lowe-
stoft; they were found under stones above the shingle on the sloping shore, in front
of the salt marsh beyond which is the mud wall leading to the ferry over to Walben-
wick. The salt marsh abounds in species of Coleoptera. The date of capture was
the month of April.

Mr. Stevens exhibited a portion of a collection of Coleoptera and Lepidoptera
made by Mr. Trimen in South Africa, about 300 miles east of the Cape of Good
Hope; and a fine series sent from Sierra Leone by Mr. Foxcroft.

Mr. Stevens also exhibited a living specimen of Locusta migratoria, which he had
captured near Brighton, in which neighbourhood, he stated, the species was un-
usually common this autumn.

Dr. Knaggs observed that he had seen a specimen lately taken at Camden
Town.

6772 Entomological Society.

Mr. M‘Lachlan exhibited a specimen of Hadena peregrina, which he had lately
captured at Freshwater, Isle of Wight, being the second recorded British example ;
also Phibalapteryx gemmaria and Eupeecilia flaviciliana, from the same locality,

Dr. Allchin exhibited a specimen of Synia musculosa, taken at Brighton, and two
fine examples of Nola centonalis, taken in Kent. |

Mr. Janson exhibited a fine new species of Adelops, found by M. Jacquelin Duval
in the Pyrenees, and for which he proposed the specific name of Bonvouloirii.

Dr. Knaggs exhibited the following Lepidoptera, with notes of capture :—

Clostera Anachoreta. He had lately been fortunate enough to capture eleven
larve of this insect in one of the home counties, and succeeded in rearing ten moths ;
a friend who subsequently took a pupa presented it to him, and this also reached the
imago state. The only reputed British examples of this species hitherto known are
contained in the British Museum Collection, and were obtained by the late
Dr. Leach from the collection of Mr. Spratt: so many years having elapsed without
the occurrence of other specimens, its claim to rank as a British insect has been
almost universally disputed, and the present capture may therefore be looked upon as
a re-discovery.

Aplecta Occulta. A specimen taken in his own field at Camden Town in August
last. Few examples of this fine insect have occurred in the southern districts of
Britain. He had captured, during the past three years, upwards of ninety species of
Noctue in this piece of ground.

Emmelesia Teniata. Taken by B. Piffard, Esq., at Tintern, at the end of June;
the locality is interesting, the insect having previously only occurred in Ireland and
in the Lake District.

Eupithecia tenuiata. Also taken by B. Piffard, Esq., at the same time and place.

Nonagria concolor. Taken at Folkestone, end of June. Some of the Members
present were of opinion that it was not that species, the examples being paler and
apparently a more slender insect than those found in the fen district.

Simaethis vibrana. Taken at Folkestone, end of June. Previous captures of this
insect certainly do not exceed six examples.

Diplodoma marginipunctella. Bred by Dr. Knaggs from larve, taken chiefly near
Epping, at the beginning of June. Dr. Knaggs observed that the case-bearing larve
of this species were by some entomologists considered tv be entirely carnivorous; he
had, however, found them to feed freely on bramble and hazel.

Melanippe fluctuata. A singular variety, destitute of the larger costal blotch, the
central spot being thereby brought out conspicuously.

Dr. Knaggs also exhibited the living larve of Acidalia strigillata, he believed
never before seen in this country ; they were reared by him from the egg, and were a
few weeks old: he observed that he had supplied them with various plants as food,
but all were rejected by them till (by the advice of Mr. Henry Doubleday) he had
given them the common knot-grass (Polygonum aviculare), on which they fed
freely.

And lastly, Dr. Knaggs exhibited a male of Pamphila Linea and a female of
Anthrocera filipendule, which he had taken in copula, and which was confirmed by
Mr. J. B. Lynch, who also saw them in that state; he kept the Anthrocera alive for
some time, in the hopes of getting ova, but was doomed to disappointment.

Strophosomus limbatus feeding on Rhododendrons.
The Secretary read the following letter, addressed to him by Mr. Charles Noble,
of Bagshot Nursery, dated August 19th, 1859 :—

Entomological Society. 6773

“ Sir,—I trust you will pardon the liberty I take in sending the enclosed insects
to you; they are doing me an immense amount of injury by eating the leaves of
young Rhododendrons, and it appears to me they will destroy some thousands if a
remedy cannot be found to destroy them. Could you favour me with its name, its
mode of life, how and where its eggs were laid, and if any known remedy can be
adopted to destroy it?”

Mr. Janson observed that the insects sent were Struphosomus limbatus, a Curculio
common on heath, and therefore doubtless abundant in the immediate neighbourhood
of Mr. Noble’s grounds; and the President remarked that it was scarcely to be
wondered at that the insect should attack Rhododendrons, which belong to the same
natural order of plants as heaths.

Bees drinking from a Chalybeate Spring.

Mr. Tegetmeier stated that when recently at Blechynden, near Southampton, he
was informed that the bees in the neighbourhood resorted almost exclusively to one
particular spring, or deep upen cutting dug for draining: on examination, he found
that the water was strongly impregnated with iron, evidently derived from the
decomposition of iron pyrites. He noticed that the bees congregated in the greatest
numbers at the head of the cutting, drinking the water as it issued from the ground,
before it had deposited any of the iron as peroxide. There were numerous other
open cuttings in the field, the water in which was not impregnated with iron, and
they were not freyuented by the bees. The fact of bees preferring a chalybeate
spring had not, he believed, been previously noticed.

Mr. Pascoe stated that the collection of insects of all orders belonging to the
United Service Museum was to be disposed of by private contract.

October 3, 1859.—Dr. Gray, President, in the chair.

Donations.

The following donations were announced, and thanks ordered to be presented to
the donors:—‘ The Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, Vol. xx.
Part 1; presented by the Society. ‘ Tijdschrift voor Entomologie uitgegeven door de
Nederlandsche Entomologische Vereeniging,’ Vol. iii. Parts 3, 4 and 5; by the Ento-
mological Suciety of the Netherlands. ‘Journal of the Procedings of the Linnean
Society,’ Vol. iv. No. 14; by the Society. ‘Farm Insects,’ Part 5; by the author,
John Curtis, Esq., F.L.S. ‘ Exotic Butterflies, Part 32; by W. W. Saunders, Esq.,
F.R.S. ‘ The Zoologist’ for October; by the Editor. ‘ The Journal of the Society
of Arts’ for September; by the Editor. ‘The Literary Gazette’ for September; by
the Editor. ‘The Atheneum’ for August; by the Editor. ‘A Manual of British
Butterflies and Moths,’ Vol. ii.; ‘ The Entomologist’s Weekly Intelligencer, No. 157;
‘The Natural History of the Tineina, Vol. iv.; by H.T. Stainton, Esq. ‘ Bijdragen
tot de Dierkunde uitgegeven door het Koninklijk Genootschap Natura Artis Magistra
te Amsterdam.’ Part 7; by La Commission du Jardin Zoologique V’Amsterdam. Four
specimens of Pterophorus Loewii; by the Rev. O. P. Cambridge.

Election of a Member.

The Baron Maximilian de Chaudoir was balloted for, and elected a Member of
the Society.

6774 Entomological Society.

Exhibitions.

Mr. Stevens exhibited a specimen of Pieris Daplidice, taken by Mr. Shickle on the
Kentish coast.

Mr. Bond exhibited specimens of Laphygma exigua and Heliothis armigera, taken
at Freshwater; also single examples of Noctua flammatra and Leucania extranea,
from the same locality ; these two last-mentioned species being additions to the list
of British Noctue, and the latter especially remarkable as not being hitherto recorded
as an European insect, although found in various parts of America, Asia and Aus-
tralia.

Mr. Bond also exhibited, on behalf of Mr. Matthews, a specimen of Aspilates
sacraria, taken by him in Devonshire; and on the part of Mr. Lynch, a fine specimen
of Acidalia rubricaria, taken in Kent.

Mr. Smith exhibited a specimen of Aspilates sacraria, taken on Banstead Downs,
on the 22nd of August last; and a number of the original drawings of the illustrations
of Roesel’s ‘ Insecten Belustigung, lent to him by Dr. Gunther.

Dr. Allchin exhibited a specimen of Lycena Beetica, taken near Brighton on the
7th of August last, and the first known instance of the occurrence of the species in
Britain; and an example of Leucania extranea taken near Lewes on the 9th of Sep-
tember. He also exhibited specimens of Coremia ferrugata and the variety called —
unidentata by Haworth, taken in copula.

Dr. Allchin also exhibited beautiful drawings of Lycena betica and Leucania
extranea, made by Mr. W. S. Coleman.

Mr. Stainton observed with reference to the occurrence of L. beetica in England,
that the species is usually rare in the north of Paris, but this season it had been very
abundant in the north of France, and also in the Channel Islands; it was not, there-
fore, to be wondered at that it should have reached our southern coast.

Mr. Stainton exhibited a specimen of Pterophorus brachydactylus, taken in Cum-
berland by Mr. Hodgkinson ; this being the second British specimen of the insect, of
which a single specimen had occurred in N orfolk more than twelve years ago.

Mr. Stainton exhibited a drawing of a new species of Lithocolletis (L. Helianthemi)
with a cocoon of the insect; the habit of this species was altogether abnormal, as the
larva, which mines the under side of the leaves of the Helianthemum vulgare, quits the
mine to undergo the change to the pupa state, and forms a flattish, white cocoon, very
similar to those formed by some larve of the genus Gracilaria. The perfect insect
has considerable resemblance to L. sylvella, and, despite the habit of the larva, appears
to be a veritable Lithocolletis. Mr. S. has received the drawing and cocoons from
Herr Hofmann, of Ratisbon.

Mr. F. Moore exhibited the larve of the Eria moth, of Bengal (S. Ricini, Boisd.),
and of the hybrid between it and the Eria of China (S. Cynthia, Drury), reared from
eggs received from M. Guerin-Meneville. The larve have been fed on the castor-oil
plant (Ricinus Palma-Chrisi?).

Mr. Gorham exhibited some Coleoptera taken near Westerham, including Amara
ruficincta, Tetratoma Desmarestii and Philonthus thermarum; also Stenolophus Skrim-
shiranus, from Hammersmith.

Mr. Trimen exhibited a further portion of the entomological collection made
by him in South Africa, and part of which had been exhibited at the September
meeting of the Society ; amongst the Lepidoptera were some splendid Hepialide and
Zygenide.

Entomological Society. 6775

Dr. Knaggs exhibited some specimens of a species of Ino, which he considered
might be distinct from the known British species, Ino Statices and I. Globularie: he
also exhibited a singular mass of cocoons found on a twig of the Virginian creeper,
at Kentish Town, which Mr. Westwood pronounced to be the cocvons of Microgaster
alvearius.

Mr. Janson exhibited a specimen of Emus hirtus, taken at Southend by
Mr. Haward; and an example of the true Anchomenus elongatus, Dejean, taken by
Mr. Brewer at Southwold, Suffolk,—the specimen, which is unique as British, now
belongs to the collection of Mr. Jeakes.

Mr. Janson read some extracts from Henry Mann, Esq., of Mercarra in Coorg,
Madras Presidency, respecting a species of Coccus, which has done much injury to
the coffee plantations in that part of India.

Mr. Mitford stated that he had recently captured a single larva of Deilephila
Euphorbiz in the Isle of Wight.

The Larve of the Gnat.

Mr. Westwood read a letter from Mr. Swan, which stated that whilst trying some
experiments in bleaching materials for paper, he had occasion to use some rain-water
swarming with the larve of the gnat. Wanting to make some strong alkaline ley, he
put 2 oz. of soda (used for washing) with 2 oz. of quick-lime into a pint of the water,
whereupon the larve darted about as usual, and did not appear in the least incon-
venienced after the soda was dissolved and the lime slacked, nor did they succumb till
the ,water was placed over a fire to be boiled. Knowing that chloride of lime was
very destructive in killing fish (from seeing the effects of the spent liquor thrown by
the paper-makers into the river, after having used it for bleaching their pulp), he tried
the effect of it upon these larve in two quarts of water, in which over 1 [b. of bleaching
salts (or chloride of lime) was thoroughly dissolved, and which was so strong that
after stirring it up with the hand he was obliged to anoint it with some oil to take off
the injurious effect produced upon the skin; these larvae, however, seemed quite at
home and comfortable, if anything a little more lively, even after having been in the
liquor an hour and a half.

Observations on Sitaris humeralis,

Mr. Smith read some remarks on Sitaris humeralis by Mr. Stone, in which the
writer, afler stating that his attention had been directed to these insects on sume old
walls in the neighbourhood of Brighthampton, by a paper by Mr. J. W. Douglas,
published in No. 149 of the ‘ Entomologist’s Weekly Intelligencer,’ observes :—

“On the 17th of August the insect made its first appearance this season, and in
the course of that day I secured seven specimens. On the following day I obtained
four more, and on the third and fourth days a couple of dead ones. Nota single
specimen was to be met with from this period till the 3rd of September, when the
insect again appeared, and this time in great profusion. I procured that day upwards
of thirty specimens, and they have been coming out daily, in numbers apparently
varying somewhat, according to the temperature, from that time to the present
(September 27th).

“ When the insect first began to appear in the winged state I set about exploring
the cells of the bee upon which it was said to be parasitic. In doing this I obtained
three or four larve just about to become pupe. The change from one state to the

6776 Entomological Society.

other reminded me more than anything else of a ‘ dissolving view. First, there was
a distinct picture in the shape of a white, fat larva; presently an obscurity began to
extend itself over the picture, gradually becoming more and more dense, and after a
while as gradually clearing away, when an entire change was found to have taken
place; and instead of a white, fat larva, there was to be seen an amber-coloured object,
in shape much like a coffee-berry, loosely enveloped in a semi-transparent covering.
Having removed several of these coverings, and examined them with the aid of a
powerful lens, they appear to me to be the skins of bee larva, and if so, it is clear the
Sitaris larva must feed upon the body of the bee larva, living and undergoing its
changes iuside the latter.

“I obtained a considerable number of pupe, which were found in groups, each
group consisting of from three or four to ten or twelve, and each pupa occupying a cell
of the bee upon which the insect is parasitic.

“The perfect insects make their way out of the cells in which they have been bred by
gnawing away the mortar or dirt of whch they are composed. The females, on emerging,
station themselves just outside the cells they have quitted, and there await the coming
of the males. They are not in general long without a partner, for by some curious
arrangement they mostly contrive to emerge in pairs. Copulation takes place without
loss of time, and in a brief space (generally not longer than three or four minutes)
impregnation is effected, and the female, without removing from the situation she has
been occupying, proceeds to deposit her eggs. They are deposited in immense masses,
sometimes in the roof of the cell she has just vacated, or if not there, then in some con-
venient cranny or crevice immediately adjoining.

“‘T have observed many instances of females dying, apparently of exhaustion,
before they had completed the task of depositing their eggs; and in any case they
appear to survive its accomplishment but a very brief period. ‘The males also appear
to be almost as short-lived as the females.

‘“‘ Nature would seem to have given these creatures wings merely by way of orna-
ment, for I have never seen either sex make the least attempt to use them, aerial exer-
cise being a thing they seem never to dream of taking; indeed, they appear to be of
the most sluggish habits, rarely, if ever, quitting the wall in which their whole life has
peen passed, but to it they cling with amazing tenacity, and it requires some degree
of force to compel them to loose their hold.”

Mr. Smith observed that having examined the “ semi-transparent coverings ”
alluded to by Mr. Stone, which that gentleman had forwarded to him, he was of opinion
that they were not the skins of bee larve, as supposed by Mr. Stone, but the cast skins
of the larve of Sitaris.

Mr. Lubbock said that M. Fabre had recently published, in the ‘ Annales des
Sciences Naturelles,’ an interesting account of the habits and metamorphoses of Sitaris.
After much trouble he convinced himself that the active little hexapod larva, after fixing
itself to the body of the bee, patiently awaits the deposition of an egg, at which moment
it quits the bee and attaches itself to the fresh-laid egg. After devouring the yolk it
swims about for awhile in the empty egg-shell, and then, after undergoing the first
metamorphosis, commences to eat up the honey. M. Fabre is so excellent an observer,
and his paper is evidently written with so much care, that this statement is pro-
bably correct, in which case Mr. Stone must be wrong in supposing that the Sitaris
larva feeds on the body of the bee larva. Mr. Stone will be doing good service
to Entomology if he is able, in a future season, to confirm the interesting observa-
tions made by M. Fabre.

Quadrupeds.—Cetacea. 6777

Mr. Westwood stated that he had himself made neatly the same observations as
Mr. Stone, on the habits of the perfect Sitaris, many years ago, in a village, in Oxford-
shire, when he had found it usually abundant, and had succeeded in rearing the larve
from the eggs laid by the females. He had since been favoured, by Madame Audonin,
with permission to make copies of the extensive series of observations made on the
habits and transformations of the same species, by the late lamented Prof. Audouin,
which he promised to lay before the Society at a future opportunity.

Part 3 of the current volume of the Society’s ‘ Transactions’ was on the table.—
ELS.

Note on the Paper on Bovine Animals. —In reading a very interesting paper on
the “ Species of Bovine Animals ” in the ‘ Zoologist,’ I found a statement (Zool. 6553)
to the effect that buffaloes are the only domestic cattle over extensive regions of the
South of China, and are used for the purpose of tilling the ground. I have no doubt
it would afford some information to your readers to state that in Amoy and its neigh-
bourhood the small yellow cow is chiefly used for ploughing the wet paddy fields. The
buffalo is mostly kept for its milk, which article the natives in the neighbouring coun-
try of Chang-chow consume largely, though the Amoyites will not touch it. It is the
only milk the Europeans drink here, and is much richer and more unwholesome than
cow’s milk. Buffaloes are slaughtered as well as cows for the market, but the flesh of
the former somewhat resembles horse-flesh, and is far inferior to that of the latter,
which in winter often puts us in mind of good old English roast beef. The Chinese
here seem to have little partiality for beef, and it is therefore the cheapest meat pro-
curable. The yellow cow is rather a timid animal, and always turns tail when a
stranger approaches. Not so the buffalo: this brute faces you and snuffs at you, and
has often been known to chase a European for a considerable distance. The only
two-legged animals it seems to humour are the black magnalis (Acridotheres cristatel-
lus, Linn.) and the russet egrets (Bupluris russator, Temm.) I have often seen seve-
ral of these perched on the backs of buffaloes who were wallowing in the water or
quietly grazing. Sometimes, in catching a fly off the sides of the buffalo, the egret
would give the brute a sharp “ dig,” but the buffalo would merely turn his head round,
and then continue grazing as before. — Robert Swinhoe; British Consulate, Amoy,
August 1, 1859.

Whales in the Indian Seas.—At the meeting of the Asiatic Society, held on the 7th
of September, the curator read the introductory portion of a paper “On the Great
Rorqual of the Indian Ocean, with Notices of other Species of Cetacea.” He remarked
that the gigantic whales (Balenide) of the inter-tropical regions of the ocean had been
little studied; that the existence of them was even ignored by Dr. J. E. Gray, of the
British Museum, in his elaborate Synopsis of the known species of Cetacea, published
in the Zoology of the celebrated antarctic voyage of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror (1846) ;
but that not only were such whales, attaining enormous dimensions, familiarly known
to navigators, but there happened to be a satisfactory notice of them at the northern
extremity of the Arabian Sea more than two thousand years ago, in the narrative of
the famous voyage of Nearchus, who commanded Alexander's fleet that sailed from

XVII. 30

6778 Cetacea.

the Indus to the Persian Gulf,B.c.327. Not only did the ancient navigator encounter
a troop of these huge animals, but it would appear that they were at that time not
unfrequently stranded on the coast of Mekran, where the Icthyophagi of that treeless
country used their bones for building purposes. From that distant period until
quite recently Mr. Blyth had been unable to discover a single record of the occurrence
of great whales in the Indian Seas north of the equator; but they were, nevertheless,
so far from being rare, indeed the sight of a shoal of these huge animals was so familiar
a spectacle to mariners, that to this very cireumstance—combined with the fact of their
being of no commercial value—might be attributed the extraordinary absence of such
memorial. Had the appearance of a shoal (or “school,” in nautical language) of
enormous whales in the Arabian Sea or Bay of Bengal been a phenomenon of unusual
occurrence, it would unquestionably have been recorded from time to time. From
reliable information obtained, Mr. Blyth was enabled to state, with confidence, that
these huge animals are still occasionally observed within the Persian Gulf,—rarely,
however, in shoals, but generally one or two stragglers at a time; that just now a par-
ticular individual “ cruising” about the neighbourhood of Muskat, has been familiarly
known to persons visiting that port for some years past. It might therefore be con-
cluded that to this time a shoal of them may now and then be seen off the coast of
Mekran, at the head of the Arabian Sea a little further to the east, where Nearchus
and his fleet encountered them; and that a carcass may still occasionally be stranded
on the same rarely-visited coast, and the bones even yet be applied to like purposes
by the scanty fish-eating population of that inhospitable region. An interesting account
was cited, from the ‘ Friend of India’ of the time, of a whale (described to have been
ninety feet in length and forty-two feet in diameter) which was stranded alive on the
west side of Maskal Island, on the Chittagong coast (in about lat. 21° north), on the
15th of August, 1842. Another, stated to have been eighty-four feet long, was thrown
up dead upon Juggoo or Amherst Islet, south of Ramri and east of Cheduba, on the
Arakan coast (about 2° further south), during the rainy season of 1851. A few of the
bones of this individual were collected in the following year by the present Major
T. P. Sparkes, then Assistant-Commissioner of Ramri, and were presented by him for
the Asiatic Society’s Museum, where they are now exhibited: they consist of the two
rami of the lower jaw, which are within less than two inches of twenty-one feet in
length, a rib, the left radius, and five vertebra. The proportional length of the radius
bone sufficed to show that the animal was a rorqual, “ Finner” or “ Finback” of sea-
men (Balenopiera of zoologists), as distinguished from a “ Hunchback” (Megaptera),
and still more from a finless or “ right whale” (Balena) ; but in the remarkable slen-
derness of the lower jaw it differed much from all previously known rorquals, for which
reason the name Balenoptera indica was proposed to distinguish the particular species.
Further reasons and arguments were adduced to prove that the great whale of the
Indian Seas was a true rorqual, as distinguished from other generic forms of
Balenide ; and Mr. Blyth was of opinion that no other species of large whale existed
in the Indian Ocean north of the equator. From the concurrent testimony of many
trustworthy observers, he remarked that it possessed a high and conspicuous dorsal
fin, which again is a marked characteristic from which the name “ Balenoptera ” is
derived. He stated that it was not unfrequently observed in and about the Bay of
Bengal, often in numerous herds; yet the only additional notice he had met with of
these huge creatures consists of a statement in the Rev. J. Mason’s work on the
‘Natural History of the Tenasserim Provinces,’ that, “ The whale is found south of
Merguj, and Capt. Lloyd named a bay a few miles south of the parallel of 12° north,

Birds. 6779

‘Whale Bay,’ from the circumstance, he says of its being resorted to by numerous
whales, and its being the only part of the cuast where I have seen them.” <A proper
description of the fresh animal is a desideratum.—Communicated by the Editor of the
‘Indian Field,’

Occurrence of the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) in Derbyshire-—On Saturday
last, as one of my sons was shooting rabbits on a moor, about a mile from hence, he
saw a large hawk chasing some wood pigeons; after flying off some distance it returned
and hovered over a spaniel he had with him, as if inclined to attack it; being within
distance he fired, and brought it screaming to the ground, but, not being dead, it
fought both him and the dog most furiously. It proved to be a most rare bird in these
parts, a female Falco peregrinus, a fine specimen and in excellent preservation.
I am not aware that it has been ever before shot in this county— Henry R. Crewe ;
Breadsall Rectory, near Derby ; October 25, 1859.

A Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) killed by the Telegraph-wires.—A fine young
female peregrine, a bird of the year, was picked up one day last week on the Yarmouth
line, near Needham, having one wing broken at the shoulder-joint, and a deep cut at
the base of the upper mandible, from coming in contact with the wires of the
telegraph. The poor bird, when found, was still alive, but did not long survive its
injuries; whether these were received from coming in contact with the wires
in the dark, on its nocturnal migration, as occurs frequently with the snipe,
plover and woodcock at this season of the year, or from its too impetuous chase of
some intended victim during the day, must remain a matter of speculation for
naturalists.—H. Stevenson ; Norwich, October 22, 1859.

Disappearance of Swallows and Martins.—These birds were late in leaving this
season: about the 16th of October nearly a hundred martins were round the house I
live in, and on the 17th none were to be seen. On Monday, October 24th, at 7 a. M.,
about fifty martins returned and surrounded the house, and kept flying at a nest in the
corner of one of the windows; they all disappeared in about four hours: the morning
of their return was very frosty, with the thermometer at 23°. ITs it usual for them
to stay so late? Mr. Whistlecraft, in his ‘Weather Almanac’ for 1860, repeats his
observation of the late departure of these birds as the sign of mild weather during
winter, and also observes that the house swallows during the last three hot summers
have forsaken the close chimneys and built more in open places.—H, W. Newman ;
Hill Side, Cheltenham, November 9, 1859.

Variety of the Common Nighijar (Caprimulgus europeus).— On the 29th of
September another beautifully pied variety of the nightjar was killed near Holt, the
same locality in which the specimens which I recorded in the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1856
and 1858 (Zool. 5278, 6242) were also obtained. In its singular variation of plumage
this bird, a female, strongly resembled the previous examples, having the wings,
throat and upper part of the breast, with the vent and under tail-coverts, pure white.
This singular freak of nature in a species rarely subject to any deviation from its
normal colouring is the more remarkable from the birds having been met with in
three successive seasons in the same neighbourhood, and, although strictly migratory
in their habits, being undoubtedly the offspring of the pair obtained in 1856, thus
assuming the nature of a permanent variety.—H. Stevenson ; Norwich, October 22,
1859.

6780 Birds.

Occurrence of the Rednecked Phalarope (Phalaropus hyperboreus), Redthroated
Diver (Colymbus septentrionalis) and Merlin (Falco esolon) in Norfolk and Suffolk.—
A specimen of the rednecked phalarope, in winter plumage, was shot at Hickling on
the 22nd of September, and on the 10th of October a very perfect adult male merlin
was killed at Malton, in this county: these birds, in their adult stage, have become, of
late years, very scarce. A male redthroated diver, assuming the winter plumage, but
still retaining a broad patch of red on the throat, was killed off Lowestoft, about the
14th of this month.—Id.

Occurrence of the Snow Bunting (Emberiza nivalis) in the Isle of Wight.—On the
28th of October I saw several snow buntings on our downs: they were very active,
running on the ground much like the meadow pipit; they were exceedingly tame,
and I approached within twenty yards of them: when disturbed they flew but a very
short distance, always pitching on the ground again, and though there were several
low bushes and fences close by they did not attempt to alight upon them. I returned
home for my gun, but only got one specimen. Another was shot by a visitor staying
here, which I preserved. I have searched several times since for them, but they have
quite disappeared.— H. Rogers ; Freshwater, Isle of Wight.

Occurrence of Pallas’s Sand Grouse (Syrrhaptes paradoxus) in Jutland,—It will, I
am sure, interest the readers of the ‘ Zoologist’ to learn that a third specimen of that
rare and curious bird, Pallas’s sand grouse (Syrrhaples paradoxus), was obtained during
the past summer in Western Europe. By the kind permission of Professor Reinhardt
I am enabled to inform British ornithologists that an adult male of this species was
shot, on the 23rd of July last, near Hobro, in Jutland (Jylland), and it is stated that
another example was observed, but not killed, about the same time, some few miles
from the same locality. I had the opportunity, through the Professor's favour, of
examining the specimen obtained, which is now in the Museum of the University of
Copenhagen, and is a remarkably fine one. I am glad to say that the sternum of this
example was carefully preserved by the bird-stuffer, as was done in the case of a speci-
men killed in Wales (Zool. 6728), though, unfortunately, not in that of the Norfolk
bird (Zool. 6764).—Alfred Newton ; November 10, 1859.

Occurrence of the Little Bustard (Otis tetrax) near Oxford.—I half expected that
some one would have recorded in the ‘ Zoologist’ the interesting occurrence of the
little bustard in the neighbourhood of Oxford, at the beginning of this last October ;
but, as I have seen no notice of the fact in the last number of this periodical, I venture
to give information respecting this by no means common visitant. The bird in ques-
tion was shot (by a gentleman of St. John’s College) not far from Oxford, and is a very
fine specimen of a young male, which has very nearly completed its autumn moult.
I saw it at the bird-stuffer’s just after it had been mounted.—Murray A. Mathews ;
Merion College, Oxford, November 11, 1859.

Rare Birds driven Inland by the recent Great Storms.—After the great storms
which have recently been prevalent all over the country, one expected to hear of some
rare birds having been driven inland by stress of weather. I was therefore not
surprised to see a specimen of Leach’s petrel, which had been killed in Blenheim
Park. I have also heard from home that many petrels, both Leach’s species and the
common stormy petrel, have been picked up exhausted in the neighbourhood of
Barnstaple; and also that a very fine adult specimen of the great northern diver (still
in summer plumage) had been brought to the bird-stuffer by a man who found it dead
by the river-side.—Id.

Birds. 6731

Birds of Canada observed near Kingston during the latter part of
the Summer and in the Autumn of 1857. By Captain
Henry HADFIELD.

BEFORE proceeding to enumerate the different species, I would
remark that the latter part of the sammer, for there is neither antumn
nor spring in Canada, is a bad time for carrying on observations on
birds, or for procuring specimens; for, the trees being then clothed
in a dense and all but impenetrable foliage, it is difficult to descry
them or watch their movements; moreover, many of the specimens,
when procured, are of little value, the plumage being almost inva-
riably imperfect, and not unfrequently in a very ragged state; for
instance, the meadow lark (Alauda magna), found in the long grass,
were scarcely able to rise above it, and then their flight was not sus-
tained. On inspection many of the quills were wanting, and the rest
of various lengths, all imperfect. The tail-feathers were in the same
plight. The ornithologist of America has in one respect a great
advantage, for the birds of that Continent are, I think, much easier of
approach than are those of Europe, apparently still unconscious of
the destructive powers and propensities of mankind.

Robin (Turdus migratorius). August. This most common but
beautiful bird, in size intermediate between the blackbird and mavis,
is so widely spread over the face of the country that in whatever
direction a person goes he is sure of falling in with it; and so tame
and fearless are they that even when disturbed they do not conceal
themselves among the foliage, but with a low, direct flight often alight
within gun-shot. As far as I have been able to observe, this bird in
its habits and manners bears a stronger resemblance to the fieldfare
and redwing than to either the blackbird or the thrush, being com-
monly found on the ground. In plumage it also somewhat resembles
the former. Though it has a red breast, the familiar name of robin
was doubtless bestowed on it on account of its great tameness and
sociability. They are not at present in song, but the notes of a caged
robin I thought somewhat like that of the blackbird, but far less
' powerful. As an article of food they are apparently prized by the
Indians, for a sick squaw who I found camped in the woods was very
grateful for a robin or two that I gave her. The northern migration
of this species must be very extensive. I found great numbers
towards the end of July, near St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Redheaded Woodpecker (Picus erythrocephalus). August. Shot

6782 Birds.

a young male and female of this common species (the first birds I
have procured, with the exception of the robin). The male is 94
inches in length, and 17 inches in extent of wings. Bill along the
ridge, 1 inch. Tarsus, 1 inch; thigh, 14. Inner hind-toe, 4-tenths
of an inch; claw, 34-tenths: outer toe, 3-fourths of an inch; claw,
4-tenths. Inner fore-toe, 6-tenths; claw, 3-tenths: outer toe, 8-tenths;
claw, 4-tenths. Bill bluish black, but of a horn-colour at the base
and on the lower mandible. Head black, spotted with red and gray;
throat gray, spotted with black; there are two red patches on the
sides of the head, a streak of the same colour beneath the eyes, and a
small spot over them and at the nape. Back black; feathers tipped
with gray ; there is also a line of the same both over and under the
eye, extending towards the nape. Nostrils oval, partly concealed by
black bristles. Upper tail-coverts white and rather elongated. The
tail is 84 inches long, rounded; it has twelve feathers; the lateral
ones are only an inch in length, weak and incurved, white on the
outer webs, black on the inner, except at the extremities, which are
white. Four centre feathers black and doubly pointed ; the second
external feather white on the inner web for one-third its length, and
on the outer margin throughout, point yellowish white ; the third is
white on the inner web at the base, yellowish brown at the tip; the
fourth has a small white spot on the inner web at the base, and
is light brown at the extremity, which is forked: the whole of the
feathers are arched, and the centre ones very stiff. Wing has nine-
teen quills: first, black ; from second to seventh inclusive, tipped
with gray, and partially margined with the same on the outer webs ;
eighth, slightly tipped with white, and there is a small spot of the
same on the margin of the inner web, about half-way up; ninth, white
at the point, broadly margined with the same on the inner web ; tenth,
black at the base and on the outer web, barred with black on the
inner towards the extremity; eleventh, black at the base, with patches
of the same on the outer web and at the extremity, and there is a nar-
row bar of black on the inner; from twelfth to seventeenth inclusive,
the quills are black at the base, and there are spots of the black on
the outer webs, with a bar of black across both webs; eighteenth,
black on the outer web at the base, with three spots of the same
higher up the web, two on the margin and one near the shaft, besides
being barred with black ‘on the inner; nineteenth, almost similar:
the third quill is longest, second nearly equal, fourth little shorter,
first 6-tenths of an inch shorter than the second. Primary coverts
black, tipped and margined with gray. Secondary coverts black,

Birds. 6783

edged with gray. Legs and toes of a dull lead-colour, claws black.
Female equals the male in size, but the colours are less bright, and
there is no appearance of red about the head, and but one bar of
black on the wing; and the black spots towards the base of the quills
are small and irregular, and on some of the feathers there are none
whatever. There is also more gray about the back, and on the mar- |
gins of the primaries and lateral tail-feathers. The old birds took
shelter in the hollow trunk of a tree. The nest was in a decayed
branch, at no great height, the hole comparatively small and perfectly
circular.

Song Sparrow (Fringilla melodia). August 16th. Was shown the
nest of a little bird, which proved to be that of this species; it was
placed in the forked branch of a willow, at three feet from the ground;
it contained three spotted eggs, greatly resembling those of the house
sparrow, but not so elongated; the nest (subsequently examined) is
roughly and loosely put together; externally it is of coarse grass,
with a considerable admixture of shavings arranged in alternate
layers ; internally it is composed of finer grasses, with a thin and
partial lining of horse-hair at the bottom. Though the concavity is
perfectly even and circular, externally the nest is somewhat elongated
or pear-shaped, in consequence of the straws being for the most part
so arranged that, after passing round the nest, all the ends are brought
together both from the sides and bottom, forming an acute angle, the
whole having the appearance of a racket. Internal diameter 2+
inches, and it measures about 43 inches externally not including the
projecting angle; it is 13 inch in depth internally, and about 33 inches
externally. On the 3lst examined oneof the young ones, which I found
had recently left the nest, though barely twelve days hatched ; it was
running swiftly about, but could not fly. Probably in consequence of
being disturbed, this bird may, with the rest, have left the nest pre-
maturely ; it was, however, strong and active, so that I had some dif-
ficulty in capturing, and still more in retaining it in my hand, for un-
less tightly pressed it was sure to escape, and run mouse-like through
the long grass, and its screeching soon brought both parents to the
rescue. The male approached within a few yards of me, running and
fluttering about with expanded wings and tail, emitting the while a
sharp and angry note. ‘The mouth of the nestling was of a purplish
hue, as if stained by berries. This is a most common species.

American Night Hawk (Caprimulgus americanus). August 26th.
Procured a handsome male of this common species. (For description
see Zool. 5798).

6784 Birds.

Humming or Bird (Trochilus colubris). August 28th. Observed one
hovering over the flower of a scarlet-runner. They are said to be
common wherever flower-gardens abound, but I have seen but two or
three of these solitary wanderers.

Goldfinch Yellow Bird (F'ringilla tristis). August. This goldfinch
in miniature is an elegant little bird, and, like its European relative,
might be named the thistle finch, as the seeds of that plant form its
chief food. It is seen flitting from thistle to thistle, and clinging to
the capsules. The summer plumage of the male—black and yellow—
is very brilliant; but after the autumnal moult it assumes its dusky
green and olive hues; it is then not unlike the siskin, except in length
of bill. Itis a very common, tame and familiar species, and has a
pleasing twittering song emitted on the wing, reminding one of our
native songster. Length 5 inches. Extent of wings 9 inches. Fore-
head black. Nape and back greenish yellow. Neck, breast and
belly bright yellow. Under tail-coverts white. Under wing-coverts
gray, tinged with yellow.

Cat Bird (Turdus lividus). August. Saw two or three of these
birds, which, though smaller, are very like the common blackbird (of
Europe) when seen at a distance, and, like that bird, it is shy and
wary, concealing itself among low trees and bushes, but generally in
wet or swampy ground. Its cat-like note I never heard. A female
that I shot measures 9} inches in length; tail, 4 inches. Extent of
wings, 12 inches. Upper mandible, 3-fourths of an inch from gape.
Bill and head black ; back dark ash-gray ; throat, sides and whole of
the under parts light ash-gray. ‘The tail has twelve black feathers,
margined with gray on the outer webs for two-thirds of their length,
the centre ones longest, the rest regularly graduating, giving the tail
a rounded form. The wing has nineteen quills, of a dark brown on
the outer webs and light on the inner: fourth longest, fifth and sixth
nearly of equal length; the first is but 13 inch in length, and two of
the quills, about the centre of the wing, are short, new feathers.
Upper wing-coverts dark brown in the centre, margined with gray.
Under wing-coverts light gray. Under tail-coverts bright chestnut,
the centre ones extending to half the length of the tail. Thigh,
1 inch 6-tenths in length. Tarsus, ] inch 2-tenths. Middle toe,
3-fourths of an inch. Inner toe, 3 an inch; outer toe, $ an inch;
back toe, 4-tenths of an inch. The legs, toes and claws are black.

Blueeyed Yellow Warbler (Sylvia citrinella). August. This beau-
ful but common little bird bears so striking a resemblance to the yel-
low wood wren (of Europe), that it was not until I had shot one and

Birds. 6785

examined it that I perceived the difference, which is but slight, the
American willow wren being somewhat shorter and stouter, with more
and brighter yellow on the plumage, besides having on the breast,
sides and belly numerous longitudinal reddish brown streaks and spots.
Having occasionally had several at a time in my garden I have had
opportunities of observing their habits, which are similar to those of
the wood wren. They frequent low and swampy grounds where the
willow and other aquatic trees abound, among the higher branches of
which they may be seen in perpetual motion, flitting among the foliage
in quest of flies and other insects, and, like our own species, rarely
pitching on the ground, and but for a few seconds at a time.

Wood Peewee Flycatcher (Muscicapa rapax). August. A common
species. One shot by me measured 6 inches in length and 10 inches
in extent of wings; mandible, $ an inch; tail, 2} inches, nearly even,
and has twelve light hair-brown feathers; the wings are of the same
colour, but the first primaries are slightly, the rest broadly, margined
with white on the inner webs; under wing-coverts gray; under tail-
coverts light brown, margined with white ; upper wing-coverts brown,
tipped with gray; throat and breast gray; belly white. There isa
spot of gray beneath the eye. Mouth very large; the mandible
3-tenths of an inch wide at base. Thigh, $ths of an inch in length;
tarsus, 6-tenths of an inch; middle toe, 33-tenths; claw, 14-tenth.
Inner toe, 2-tenths; claw, 1j-tenth. Outer toe, 24-tenths; claw,
14-tenth. Hind toe, 2-tenths; claw, 1$-tenth.

Green or Whitebellied Swallow (Hirundo viridis). August. This
appears to be the most common species, but Wilson states that the
brown swallow is more so, frequenting the houses, where they build
under the eaves. One that I measured was 5% inches in length and
12+ inches in extent of wings. Tail somewhat forked, 24 inches in
length, and has twelve feathers. Bill black; head and back glossy
green and blue; wings and tail brownish black. Throat white;
breast tinged with gray; the rest of the lower parts pure white.
Tarsus, $ an inch in length, bare of feathers.

Barn Swallow (Hirundo americana). August. Only less common
than the preceding. It greatly resembles the European redfronted
swallow. I observed them late in the season. The head and the
whole of the back is of a glossy purplish blue. The chin, throat and
forehead dark reddish brown. The belly, vent and under wing and.
tail-coverts light rufous. ‘There is a narrow collar of blue encircling
the lower part of the throat. The tail has twelve feathers, and is
greatly forked, the exterior feather being 1 inch and 1-tenth longer

XVII. 3 P

67856 Birds.

than the second. ‘Tarsus, 4}-tenths of an inch. Wing from flexure
42 inches.

Spotted Sandpiper (Tringa macularia). August. Found a small
flock of these birds on the sandy shores of Lake Ontario; secured two.
Wilson remarks, “ Mr. Pennant is of opinion that this same species is
found in Britain; but neither his description nor that of Mr. Bewick
will apply correctly to this.” As my specimens differ somewhat, both
in size and colour, from Wilson’s, I shall endeavour to describe them
rather more fully than T should otherwise have done. The latter
author quotes an amusing anecdote with regard to this species :—“ My
venerable friend Mr. W. Bartram inforins me that he saw one of these
birds defend her young for a considerable time from the repeated
attacks of a ground squirrel.” Though I do not wish to call in question
Mr. Bartram’s statement, I am inclined to believe that the squirrel was
endeavouring to drive away the sandpiper, for it seems very impro-
bable that such a playful, nut-loving creature should so suddenly and
unaccountably be transformed into a savage carnivorous animal. My
two birds are so unlike, that I was inclined to believe they were
distinct species, but possibly the white-bellied one—though the larger
of the two—may be a young bird; it measures 8 inches in length.
Extent of wings, 13} inches; from flexure, 43 inches. Thigh, 13 inch,
bare for half its length. Tarsus, 1 inch. Middle toe, 9-tenths of an
inch; claw, 13-tenth; hind toe, 2-tenths; claw, 3-tenth; inner toe,
6-tenths ; claw, 14-tenth. Foot, webbed between middle and outer
toe to first joint.. Bill, 1 inch along the ridge. Upper mandible, dark
horn-colour, except towards the point, which is black ; lower mandible
flesh-colour, all but the tip, which is dark brown. Head, and the
whole of the upper parts hair-brown, with a reddish tinge ; feathers
dark on the shafts, tipped with rufous. Upper tail-coverts considerably
darker than the back, very elongated, reaching to within half an inch
of the extremity of the tail, which is considerably rounded, and has
twelve feathers; centre ones longest; first lateral feather white, barred
and spotted with black; second, dark brown, spotted with yellow,
barred with black, and tipped with white; third, marked the same ;
fourth, white at the tip, with some black and reddish brown spots ;
fifth is also dark brown, but the point is rufous, and there are spots of
the same, intermixed with black on the margins ; sixth, similarly
marked. Scapulars reach to within one inch of the extremity of the
tail, and are ofa glossy hair-brown, spotted and barred on the outer webs
with black and pale yellow. Chin, throat and the whole of the under
parts, except the breast, which is tinged with brown, pure white; the

Reptiles—Insects. 6787

under tail-coverts the same. Thigh white. First wing-primary black 5
second, slightly marked with white on the inner web; from third to
ninth, inclusive, there is a large spot of white on the inner webs,
extending from near the base to within an inch of the points, which
are tipped with gray ; the rest of the quills, excepting the four inner
ones, which are black, tipped with white, are about half white from
the base. Primary coverts black, with white points. Secondary coverts
glossy reddish brown, barred with black. There is a white patch over
the eye, extending to the nape, and a narrow dark brown line, com-
mencing at the gape, passes through the eye and on to the nape, where
it becomes gradually blended with the general plumage. There are
on the head numerous minute longitudinal dark spots. The second,
or spotted bird, is 72 inches in length and 18 inches in extent. Bill
barely linch. Upper mandible dark ; lower reddish brown. Thigh,
14 inch. Tarsus, 1 inch. Inner toe, 6-tenths of an inch; claw,
13-tenth of an inch; outer toe, 7-tenths; claw, 14-tenth; middle
toe, 8-tenths ; claw, 14-tenth; back toe very short. Head small; from
forehead to nape, 3-fourths of an inch. Kye small and black. ‘Throat
and breast white, but speckled all over, the feathers being slightly
tipped with black ; the spots are very minute on the throat, but
increase in size towards the chest. The sides are also spotted with
black. Vent and under tail-coverts white; the two centre ones as
long as the tail. Head, neck and back are of a glossy purplish brown.
Tail has twelve feathers, lateral ones brown and white, spotted aud
barred with black ; second dark brown, barred with black, and tipped
with white ; third and fourth similarly marked ; fifth and sixth are
darker. The first quill is the longest. This is a much darker bird
than the former.
H. HADFIELD.

Capture of the new Snake, Coronella austriaca, at Ringwood.—I captured a speci-
men of the new British snake, Coronella austriaca, five or six years ago, in June, near
Ringwood, Hants, when I was after Eulepia cribrum: I thought at the time I had
something new, but, not taking muck interest in the reptiles, it was put into spirits
and forgotten till I saw Dr. Gray’s notice in the ‘ Zovlogist’ (Zool. 6730). I have sent
the specimen to the British Museum, so that any one may see it. If this species
always accompanies the sand lizard (Lacerta stirpium), it may possibly be found nearer
London, as I have found the sand lizard at Weybridge, Surrey.—F’rederick Bond.

Larve of Acherontia Atropos.—I had brought to me, on the 22nd of Octuber, a
very fine larva of Acherontia Atropos: it is about six inches in length and as thick as
my fore-finger, but it is a most extraordinary variety, being of an olive or brown

6788 insects.

colour, with beautiful dark markings down the back, the two anterior segments white
(inclining to pink), with a black stripe from the head to the third segment; then
begins a series of lozenge-shaped markings, gray and black all the way down, -
spiracles black. It was found feeding on the common tea-tree (Lycium barbarum).—

J. M‘Laren ; Worley Barracks, Brentwood, October 25, 1859.

Larva of Sphinx Convolvuli.—I found a larva, which I suppose to be that of
Sphinx Convolvuli, on the 5th of October, in a stubble-field near this place. It was
not feeding at the time, but I gave it Convolvulus arvensis; it did not seem to eat
much, but went underground and died. The colour was dark chocolate-brown; the
horn of exactly the same colour, smooth and slightly curved; the head was striped
with yellowish white, and a waved band of the same colour extended the whole length
of the body along the side just below the spiracles, which were black, enclosed in a
light-coloured ring: on each side were seven oblique lateral stripes, nearly of the
ground-colour, but no dorsal stripe— Henry Rogers; Freshwater, Isle of Wight,
October 21, 1859. :

Larva of Sphinx Convolvuli.—“ A larva, which I suppose to be that of Sphinx
Convolvuli, was lately found near this place: it was about the same size as that of
S. Ligustri; the colour dark olive-green, with an interrupted lateral white streak ;
there were also two or more dots on each segment; the horn smooth and curved. It
fed sparingly on Convolvulus arvensis, but I did not observe that it ate Calistegia
Sepium, with which I supplied it..—Mr. W. H. Hayward, of Penzance, in a letter to
FE. Newman.

Larva of Sphinx Convolvult.—I am iudebted to Mr. Doubleday for the loan of a
specimen of this rare larva: it was found in a potato-field in Hampshire. The colour
is almost black, and the caudal horn entirely so: below the spiracles on each side is a
distinct, rather broad and somewhat interrupted white stripe; there is no indication of
the oblique lateral stripes so common in the true Sphinges; the horn is shorter than
in S. Ligustri, but bent in a similar manner: each segment is distinctly divided into
eight rings by the same number of longitudinal furrows: there is no evidence as to its
food.—Edward Newman.

Larve of Sphinz Convolvuli.—Last autumn, when at Deal, I had three larve of
Sphinx Convolvuli brought to me, on the 7th of September, by a boy working in a
potato-field, who told me they fed on privet. I of course tried this, but they refused
it; I then gave them Convolvulus arvensis and Sepium, both of which they
devoured greedily, and in a few days went down in the sand, with which the box was
filled. I was obliged to dig them up when I left Deal, and found two had changed
to pupe; the third had died. The larva considerably resembles that of S. Ligustri,
but is of course larger and the colour is much duller, not the semi-transparent look
which the privet caterpillar has; the side stripes are black, and two of them somewhat
broken up into lines of spots; below the black stripes one had pale yellow, about the
same breadth as the black; head with a black stripe on each side; the thoracic
segments entirely green; legs black; horn orange tipped with black; spiracles black,
edged with orange and again surrounded with black. They are not night-feeders, but
very lazy, and I never saw them assume the Sphinx posture. I went to the place
where the boy found them, but the field was all ploughed up and nothing green left:
his first statement that they fed on privet turned out to be the result of confounding
them with the privet larve, which he had previously found.—J. 7. Syme ; 12, Gordon
Street, W.C., November 7, 1859.

Insects. | 6789

Description of the Larva of Ennomos illustraria.—Larva mulberry-brown, head
paler; bifid humps on the fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth segments; there are, properly
speaking, but two humps, as they are on the segmental divisions ; thus the hump on
the fifth and sixth segment stands just on the ring between the two segments, one
part in the fifth and the other in the sixth; so likewise in the eighth and ninth
segments. The pupa is not truly subterranean, but generally found spun up between
two leaves.—G. F’. Mathews ; Raleigh House, near Barnstaple.

Sterrha sacraria at Croydon.—A splendid specimen of Sterrha sacraria, taken at
Croydon on the 5th of October, was obligingly brought to me on Thursday evening
for exhibition. It was attracted by a gas-lamp, and on the following evening a fine
specimen of Heliothis armigera came to the same lamp. Several other specimens of
S. sacraria have occurred in different parts of the South of England during the past
month.—Edwuard Newman.

Description of the Larva of Fidonia piniaria.—Larva whitish green ; dorsal line
rather broad, white; subdorsal line pale bluish white; spiracular line yellow, spiracles
orange; belly streaked alternately with light and dark green; head rather large in
proportion to the body. The segmental divisions of the body are conspicuously marked
with pale whitish green.—G. F. Mathews; Raleigh House, near Barnstaple.

Description of the Larva of Timandra imitaria.—Laiva very long and slender,
brownish ochreous, anal segment dark umber-brown. Feeds freely on Senecio vulgaris
or any species of Galium.— Ld.

Second brood of Zygena Lonicere.—I took a specimen of Zygena Lonicere
flying in the sunshine on the 12th of October; it was evidently, from its perfect
condition, just fresh from the pupa. Is not this a rather extraordinary capture for the
time of the year? This specimen must have been produced from eggs laid last
May or June.—ld.

Description of the Larva of Eupithecta sobrinata.—This larva is rather variable in
appearance. The ground-colour is either dark green or yellowish red, with a series of
rust-coloured dorsal blotches, intersected by a central dorsal dark green horizontal
line, and bordered on either side by a yellowish one. These blotches generally disappear
on the posterior segments, and are sometimes wanting altogether. Spiracular line
waved, pale yellow or whitish. Belly with a whitish central horizontal line. Feeds on
juniper. I have found it tolerably common on old trees in gardens and shrubberies
in Derbyshire. It is full fed at the end of May and beginning of June, and the
perfect insect appears in July. Pupa enclosed in an earthen cocoon or a slight web
among the stalks. Head, thorax and wing-cases dark green; abdomen yellowish.—
Hf, Harpur Crewe ; Shooter's Hill, Kent, November 1, 1859.

Description of the Larva of Kupithecia exiguata.—This larva somewhat resembles
that of the little blue Emerald (Jodis lactearia), and appears at the same time. It is
long, slender and tapering. Ground-colour dark green, with a central row of small
dull red lozenge-shaped dorsal spots, connected by a central dorsal line of the same
colour. Spiracular line red, bordered with yellow. Segmental divisions yellowish.
The dorsal blotches are often wanting on the anterior segments, and their place
supplied by a greenish line. In the centre of each dorsal blotch a small yellow spot.
Feeds, in September and October, on barberry, whitethorn, black currant, ash, alder
and sallow. Pupa enclosed in an earthen cocoon; long, slender and tapering.
Wing-cases dark olive-green. ‘Thorax and abdomen dusky olive. Abdominal divisions
very conspicuous yellow.—ld.

6790 Insects.

Additional Remarks on the Larva of Eupithecia assimilata.—I feel that, in justice
to Mr. Gregson, I ought to make a few additional remarks on the larva of Eupithecia
assimilata. A few days after writing my reply (Zool. 6735) to Mr. Gregson’s critique
(Zool. 6695) on my description of this larva (Zool. 6579), I found, upon examining
the larva which I had lately taken, that a few of the smaller ones had moulted and
assumed some dorsal dusky lozenge-shaped spots, and I subsequently met with others
upon the black-currant trees in the garden. About the same time I happened to pay
Mr. Greeneja visit, and found that he had also met with this variety; and a few days
afterwards Mr. Gregson was kind enough to send me four or five of his dorsally-blotehed
larve, which precisely corresponded with those I had taken. It is quite clear, there-
fore, that a dorsally-marked larva does occur, but my observations lead me to feel sure
that this is rather the exception to the rule than otherwise. Last autumn I took
nearly fifty larve. Not a single one had any dorsal lozenge-shaped spots at all, and
only about half a dozen had a few small black dorsal specks, about the size of a pin’s
point. This autumn one of my brothers and myself, by diligent searching, took about
two hundred larve off black currant and wild hops (upon which they feed equally
freely), and out of this number about thirty were dorsally blotched. Neither
Mr. Doubleday nor Mr. Bond had ever seen this variety till I showed and gave them
specimens. I leave the readers of the ‘ Zoologist’ to draw what inference they please
from these facts. The conclusion at which I have arrived is this: that, though a
dorsally-blotched variety most undoubtedly occurs, yet that this is rather an exception
to the rule than otherwise, and that the plain green larva is the typical form.—Id. ;
November 8, 1859.

Description of the Dorsally blotched Larva of Eupithecia assimilata.—Till the last
moult uniform pale green; afterwards with a chain of rusty brown dorsal spots
running from tip to tail, and intersected and united by a central dorsal line: ground-
colour dirty yellowish green. The dorsal spots confluent on the anterior and posterior
Segments; bordered on either side by a dusky line. Sides suffused with dusky
reddish brown, and streaked with waved lives of the same colour. Belly greenish.
Body covered with small white tubercles and studded with a few short white hairs.
Segmental divisions orange. Head greenish, marked with black. Fee s on black
currant and wild hops in September and October.—Zd.

Reply to Mr. Crewe’s Note on the Larva of Eupithecia assimilata—Myr Crewe
writes (Zool, 6735) to prove that I am in error in saying there are dorsally lozenge-
marked larve of Eupithecia assimilata, and, it would seem, proves to his own
satisfaction there are no such things, at least in his own neighbourhood. I have had
the pleasure of sending him specimens of such dorsally-marked larve, and of course
expected he would set me right with the readers of the ‘ Zovlogist,’ but in his reply to
my letter and box containing the said dorsally-marked larve, he says, “ Your dorsal-
marked larve were not a surprise, for a few days after Mr. Greene and myself had
written to the ‘ Zoologist’ I found a few of the dorsally-blotched larve, and upon going
over to spend a day with him at Cubley I found he had done the same. We both
agreed to keep them separate until the perfect insect appeared, and then, in justice to
you, to publish our experience in the ‘ Zoologist.’” Thus, it would seem, though he
has both seen such lozenge dorsal-marked larve from me and absolutely found such
in his own neighbourhood,—where I knew them to occur, having taken them at
Ashburn, at Mayfield (in the late Tom Muore’s garden), and at Burton-on-Trent, on
the Ashby-de-la-Zouch side of the river, all of which places, I take it, are in his

Insects. 6791

neighbourhook,—he agrees with Mr. Greene to put off the evil day until next year,
when the question might have been so easily settled now without this note from me.
As to Mr. Greene’s bilious letter (Zool. 6735), I who have spent many years of my
life in successfully separating the larve of the Tineina can well afford to live down
the “clap-trap” of any writer who confessedly cannot separate the larve of two of our
finest Orthoside (see Zool. 6734), and only notice his communication to say that I
never asserted that the larva of E. assimilata was one inch and a half lung (see Zool.
6695), and regret he should have led the readers of the ‘ Zoologist’ to think I did
say so.—C. S. Gregson; Spring Hill, Fletcher Grove, Stanley, October 17, 1859.

The Larva of Eupithecia assimilata.—In justice to Mr. Gregson, I think it right
to state that larve have been sent to me (of the above insect) possessing dorsal
markings such as he describes, and that I have also taken a few in this neighbourhood.
In justice to myself I must add that, up to the time at which I sent my remarks to
the ‘ Zvologist, I had neither seen nor heard of such a variety.—J. Greene; Cubley
Rectory, Doveridge, Derby, November 10, 1859.

Occurrence of Heliothis armigera at Sugar, Ivy, §c.—My entomological friends
have been unusually successful in taking this rarity during the past autumn.
Mr. Bond took three one evening; Dr, Allchin two; and Mr. Wright one,—this last
in the old locality for Phlogophora empyrea. In the ‘ Intelligencer,’ Mr. W. D. Crotch
records the capture of two specimens at Weston-super-Mare ; Mr. Tompkins one near
Worthing; Mr. Thorncroft five near Brighton; and Mr. Stewart two near Torquay:
the dates are from the Ist to the 25th of October.— Edward Newman.

Occurrence of Phycis contubernella in Dorsetshire—On examining lately some
Micro-Lepidoptera, taken during the past summer by the Rev. G. C. Green, of Ham-
worthy, one among them, a “ knot-horn,” struck me as a novelty; I accordingly sub-
mitted it to Mr. Bond’s inspection, and he and I have come to the conclusion that
it is identical with Phycis contubernella of Hiibner, and not hitherto recorded as
British. It is as large as Phycis Roborella, handsomer and more distinctly marked,
but bears no resemblance to it or any other British species of the genus. Its natural
position in the British list would appear to be next after P. ornatella—O. Pickard-
Cambridge ; Southport, Lancashire, October 24, 1859.

Occurrence of Diachromus germanus at Hastings.— Mr. Wilson Saunders has
obtained a specimen of this somewhat doubtful native at Hastings: the locality does
not seem quite satisfactory, but it is sufficiently so to induce our ardent collectors to
search thoroughly: may their efforts be successful. Dr. Power has opened up to us a
mine of Drypta emarginata, Polystichus fasciolatus and Lebia crux-minor, and by his
unexampled liberality has made these insects comparatively common in our collections.
—Edward Newman.

Capture of Polystichus fasciolatus in Sussex.—About a fortnight since Mr. Wilson
Saunders was kind enough to describe to me the locality in which he had met with
Polystichus fasciolatus, an insect which many years ago was once taken in considerable
quantity by Mr. Hewitson, at Southwold, but of which, since that time, only isolated
specimens have occurred, and that very rarely. I accordingly took a trip by an excur-
sion train to the neighbourhood he mentioned, and was fortunate enough to secure
twenty-three specimens. The locality is apparently a very circumscribed one. It was
lurking under stones and bricks, and seems to me to be fond of insinuating itself
between the stones and earth in dryish places. I have kept some of them alive, and
they are still flourishing in a tumbler with a piece of turf, &c., in it: its habits

6792 , Insects.

appear to me to be nocturnal: if the insect is upon the surface; the moment it is ex-
posed to the light it rushes down and takes refuge in a crack in the turf or at the
bottom, between the turf and the glass, and never seems to run about in the light if it
can helpit. I suspect that it would be found roving about at night, if searched for by
the aid of a lantern. It nibbles at pieces of meat which I put into the glass, and when
the turf becomes dry sucks apparently with avidity any moist substance introduced.
Its habits are very like those of Lebia crux-minor and Drypta, which I formerly kept
for some two or three months in the same manner, but they do not show the tendency
to congregate and creep into the same hole which I observed in Drypta—J. A. Power ;
52, Burton Crescent, October 26, 1859.

Occurrence of Quedius auricomus at Puisley.—Mr. Morris Young, of Paisley, has
discovered a habitat near his home for this beautiful Brachelytron: it is adorned with
two patches of golden pile on the exposed part of each abdominal segment, and by
this very conspicuous character may be distinguished at a glance from every species of
Quedius with which we are acquainted. It was first recorded as British in the first
volume of the ‘ Entomologist’s Annual.—Edward Newman.

Occurrence of Latridius nodifer and Corticaria borealis in the North of England.
—I captured, about the middle of October last, a single specimen of Latridius nodifer,
Westwood, and a long series of Corticaria borealis, Wollaston, by tearing up the
patches of Convolvulus arvensis growing on the sea-banks, and shaking them over a
sheet of paper.— Thomas John Bold; Angas’ Court, Bigg Market, Newcastle-on-Tyne,
November 10, 1859.

Cupture of Vespa arborea in Cumberland.—In working up my wasps I find several
females of Vespa arborea, Smith, all captured in Cumberland, during the month of
July. When there in April, May and June, I invariably took all female wasps, in
hopes of finding V. arborea, but, after the most careful examination, I cannot find
that I have taken it at any other time than in July, when the females were certainly
by no means rare. Can it differ so much from its fellows as not to appear till mid-
summer ?—Id. ; November 18, 1859.

The Hatching of the Larva of a Chrysopa.—* Twenty eggs of a species of Chrysopa,
which hatched on the 20th of June, have afforded to me a different result than that
which Schneider and others have mentioned. Thus instead of, as with them, a smaller,
rounder top of the egg being loosened, there was seen in each egg a straight slit,
extending nearly half its length, not however quite reaching to the micropyle, and at
the upper end of this slit was a shorter transverse, sidelong fissure, through which the
exit of the larva was made. The larva cast its skin in the act of exclusion, and left
behind it in the cast skin the saw with which (as in Osmylus) the slit was made. The
saw is nearly in the form of a carpenter's axe, but having a more curved edge, which,
beneath, is drawn out at one end to a point, and is rather irregularly furnished with
sharp teeth. The upper end of the edge forms a peculiar round, projecting, sharper
toothed flap. The young larve did not burst direct from the eggs, but crawled down
along the thread. It appears to be a general law that the larve cast their skins in the
exclusion from the egg, and leave the skin in the slit in the egg, as I have before
attentively observed in Osmylus.” The above very interesting note by Dr. Hagen
appears in the last part of the Stettin ‘ Entomologische Zeitung,’ and may not, except
in the English dress, meet the eyes of many readers. of the ‘ Zoologist.’—J. W. Douglas ;
Lee, November 14, 1859.

E,. Newman, Printer, 9, Devonshire Street, Bishopsgate, N.E.

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